Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
Google Ads is rolling out new ad policies around dating and companionship ads. Google Search results now label if they are personalized and let you opt out of personalization. Google Ads is testing new offers for agencies and advertisers, that upset some agencies. Google Shopping cards replace popular stores with a where to buy section. Google Search is showing "view all" buttons in the shopping results.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google Search Buttons For: Results Are Personalized - Try Without Personalization
Google Search has a new button at the bottom of the search results that shows you if the results are personalized or not and a way to turn off personalization. Google can say the "Results are personalized - Try without personalization" and clicking on that would then flip to Google showing "Results are not personalized." -
New Dating & Companionship Google Ads Policy & Certification
Google announced a new set of Google Ads policies for dating and companionship that will go into effect on March 4, 2025. Along with the new policy, advertisers will be required to be certified by Google before they can advertise dating and/or companionship-related ads through Google Ads. -
Google Ads To Test New Offers / Incentives For Agencies & Advertisers
Google Ads is testing new offers for agencies and advertisers, trying to find impactful incentives for agencies who sign up new advertisers in Google Ads. This information comes from Ginny Marvin, the Google Ads Liaison, after responding to complaints that agencies incentives are not good enough compared to incentives Google Ads offers advertisers directly. -
Google Shopping Card Replaced Popular Stores With Where To Buy
As Google continues to test its shopping / e-commerce card format, Google is now testing replacing the "popular stores" section with a "Where to buy" section. I mean, it seems super similar to the other format, but who knows... -
Google Shopping Results Tests View All Buttons
Google is testing "view all" buttons in the Google Search results, maybe shopping oriented results, next to search result listings that lead to shopping category landing pages. The view all button is at the right side of the snippet, and when clicked, takes you to the category landing page on the e-commerce site. -
Google NYC Indoor Street Sign
Here is a photo from inside the Google New York City office where they have these street signs telling you which direction to go to find specific locations in that office. It is hard finding your way around that office - I've been there many times - I know. So this may help.
Other Great Search Threads:
- Easier consent management is here! Integrated CMP setup in the Google Tag UI is fully available with the following Google CMP Partners: consentmanager, Cookiebot by Usercentrics, iubenda, Usercentrics. Connect your CMP & config, AdsLiaison on X
- Ideally, we want the automated system that makes snippets to work great for both sites and searchers. But ultimately sites have control -- they can suggest text, restrict the display of certain text or length of snippets or even, Google's Search Liaison on Bluesky
- The AI review overviews only show up for restaurants with a 3.1 star rating or higher and it looks like its trained to be polite when mentioning the negatives. Pretty smart., ClaudiaT on X
- The organic product carousel type for ‘In stores nearby’ has exploded recently - appearing very often for queries. But many relevant stores that sell products online with physical stores are ineligible to appear (due to gaps in, Brodie Clark on X
- OpenAI to Launch Features, Products, Demo a Day in12 Days of "shipmas", WebmasterWorld
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google Analytics enhances remarketing with Customer Match integration
- How to improve PPC lead quality for B2B campaigns
- How to search Google by date with before: and after: search commands
- 19 advanced Google search operators you need to know (and some we’ve said goodbye to)
- How to fix the ‘Alternate page with proper canonical tag’ error in Google Search Console
- 6 tips for successful ecommerce search campaigns
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Key event recommendations, Google Analytics Help
- Looker Studio & Google Search Console Tips, Lumar Podcast
Industry & Business
- Apple Hits Snags Adapting Baidu’s AI Models for China Users, The Information
- Google C.E.O. Comments On Landmark Monopoly Ruling, New York Times
- Sundar Pichai Hits Back at Criticism of Google’s A.I. Leadership, New York Times
- Sundar Pichai says he’d love to compare Google, Microsoft’s AI models, CNBC
- Google Split Still on the Table, New EU Antitrust Chief Says, Yahoo Finance
Links & Content Marketing
- 24 Best AI Tools for Developers in 2025, Moz
- Top Tools for Business Efficiency and Leading Platforms for Content Marketing in 2025, TechBullion
Local & Maps
- Google Maps users want ski lifts, ski slopes, and cable cars restored, Tech Issues Today
- How to Use Reviews for Local Keyword Research, RicketyRoo
Mobile & Voice
- Google teases ‘AI Mode’ as new way to talk to Search [APK Insight], 9to5Google
- Tim Cook Wants Apple to Literally Save Your Life, Wired
- Exclusive: Xreal One Smart Glasses Have Entered the Vision Pro Zone, and I Wore Them, CNET
SEO
- Different ways to Map Keywords to topics - with Supervised and Unsupervised ML approaches, MLforSEO
- How Robots.txt Works, Google Search Central YouTube
- How SearchPilot Analyses Test Data, SearchPilot
- What SEOs need to know about testing AI-generated content, SearchPilot
PPC
- 2024 Microsoft Advertising Partner Awards: APAC winners, Microsoft Advertising
- Automated order insertion now available through Prisma in the Microsoft Advertising Platform, Microsoft Advertising
- December 2024 update to Display & Video 360 API, Google Ads Developer Blog
- Keyword Research in 2025: Your Playbook, Marketing Aid
- Poisson Distribution: How Does It Help You Predict Outcomes?, PPC Expo
- 7 PPC Automations That Save You From Burnout, Optmyzr
Search Features
- ChatGPT search: How it works and what it means for marketers, Receptional
- How Chrome doubled its Speedometer scores on Android, Chromium Blog
Other Search
- Google CEO Pichai Says ‘Hill Is Steeper’ For AI Advancements, The Information
- OpenAI’s 12 days of ‘shipmas’ include Sora and new reasoning model, The Verge
Feedback:
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