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.
We saw more extreme Google search ranking volatility this weekend. Google said it has taken steps to deal with the parasite SEO issue. OpenAI responded to claims that ChatGPT GPT-4 is getting lazy. Google SGE does not show Google's internal ranking factors or system. There is a bug where Google may show the reporters headshot in the top stories section. Google AdSense, Admob, etc adds limited ads support. And I posted another vlog with Dave DiGregorio, this one on sport card trading, not SEO.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google Search Results Super Volatile Days After Reviews Update Completed
The last likely Google confirmed update of the year, the November 2023 reviews update, completed last Thursday afternoon on the 7th. But days after it completed the Google search results are still super volatile and the fluctuations and chatter are heated. - Google: We Have Taken Steps To Deal With Parasite SEO & More To Come
On Friday, Google's Search Liaison, Danny Sullivan, said that the search company has taken steps to deal with the parasite SEO problem. He also added that the specific change with the upcoming helpful content update is still not live yet but Google did take other steps to deal with the issue. - OpenAI On ChatGPT GPT-4 Getting Lazier
OpenAI responded to the complaints that ChatGPT's GPT-4 is getting "lazier." The AI company responded to X saying, "we've heard all your feedback about GPT4 getting lazier! we haven't updated the model since Nov 11th, and this certainly isn't intentional. model behavior can be unpredictable, and we're looking into fixing it." - Google: SGE Does Not Show You Google's Search Ranking System
Danny Sullivan, Google's Search Liaison, said something that is probably somewhat obvious to many of the readers here, that SGE is not able to tell you how Google's search ranking systems work, what scores or ranking factors it does or does not use, or any of that. SGE learns from the web, not from secret algorithms that are not public for the LLMs to learn off of. - Google Search May Show Reporter Headshots As Story's Main Image
Google has confirmed it is looking into reports of Google Search showing the wrong image for the story it displays in the search results. Recently Google has been showing the headshot of the reporter, instead of showing the main article's image, for some top stories images in the search results. - Google Adds Programmatic Support For Limited Ads With AdSense, AdMob & Ad Manager
Google sent an email to AdSense, AdMob and Ad Manager users saying they are "launching support for programmatic bidding on inventory eligible for Limited ads." Limited ads (LTD) give publishers the ability to serve ads in a limited way. Limited ads disable the collection, sharing, and use of personal data for personalization of ads. - Vlog Episode #252: Dave DiGregorio On The Sports Trading Cards Market
In part one with Dave DiGregorio we spoke about his journey from working in sports memorabilia to getting into SEO. Then, in part two we talked about some local pack reductions, diversifying your local SEO efforts, the services feature, and the amazing SEO community... - Rudolph At Google
Here is a photo from the Google Dublin office of Rudolph the reindeer saying hi to some guests. This was posted on Instagram and they said "we met Rudolph."
Other Great Search Threads:
- FUN FACT: Did you know...due to the growing number of community members, the Top Contributors Program (the former PE Program) hosted its first Regional Summits (instead of a Global Summit) in 2017! They took place in Singapore, Dublin and Mountain View., Google's Product Experts Program on X
- Interested in Perspectives? Google announced in Nov that it would be coming to desktop. I'm seeing that consistently this morning. The Perspectives feed is a bit different on desktop. More like a traditional SERP, Glenn Gabe on X
- Nextdoor announced in their November earnings call that they created 300k new pages for SEO with AI., Eli Schwartz on LinkedIn
- As @glenngabe noted, @LinkedIn is serving an empty meta description for that page: https://twitter.com/glenngabe/status/1733215707406504337 If there was a page-specific meta description tag, that's something our systems would consider using, as cover, Google SearchLiaison on X
- Google testing new variation and interface for visual stories on mobile serp as carousal formate. Look like cards., Khushal Bherwani on X
- Primarily those who want to sell you aged domains :-), John Mueller on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
- The latest jobs in search marketing
- Threads now has its own version of hashtags
- Top 10 tools for PPC agencies
- Google Analytics 4 rolls out new reports for linked 360 campaigns
- When to use branded and competitor keywords in PPC
- X launches its ChatGPT rival: Grok
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- 5 Tips to Enhance Google Analytics Using ChatGPT Plus, AMBCrypto
- GA4 Calculated Metrics: The Performance Marketer’s Guide, Lunio
Industry & Business
- Google against potential EU break-up order, says not proportionate, Reuters
- Google Takes Aim at the EU’s ‘Flawed’ Ad Tech Break Up Threat, Bloomberg
- Championing Diversity From Inside Google, Wall Street Journal
- Inside OpenAI’s Crisis Over the Future of Artificial Intelligence, New York Times
Links & Content Marketing
- 20 Important Tips For Leveraging AI In Content Marketing, Forbes
- Are nofollow links good for SEO?, Blue Array SEO
- Content Marketing Best Practices For A Successful Campaign, Forbes
- Content Marketing Strategy in the Age of AI, Social Media Examiner
- Credibility in Writing: 8 Tips to Build Audience Trust, Erik Emanuelli
Local & Maps
- 5 Essential Google Maps Tips for Less Tech-Savvy Users, AutoEvolution
- How to share Maps directions from your Mac with your iPhone — and why you'd want to, Tom's Guide
- Scrawled bits of paper and an A-Z: How I went cold turkey on Google Maps, The Guardian
Mobile & Voice
- Google tests a bottom search bar on Android, Android Police
- Apple Vision Pro launch may happen before March, AppleInsider
- Google Podcasts now has a definite shutdown date, Android Authority
SEO
- Black Friday 2023 SEO Results & Top News Ranking Sites in Google, NewzDash
- E-E-A-T: Everything You Need to Know, Digitaloft
- On-page Video SEO – Whiteboard Friday, Moz
- A Guide to Recovering from Google Algorithm Updates, SEOTesting
- What Today’s Google Search Ranking Volatility Says About Tomorrow’s SEO Strategies (Updated December 2023), Ethan Lazuk
- Google Search & Shopping, Product Variants And A Gap To Bridge, Search Engine Journal
PPC
- Google Ad Tactics for 2024, Practical Ecommerce
- Reddit CEO Steve Huffman on search, video ads, new billboards, Ad Age
- Why the ad industry still isn’t ready for Google to remove third-party cookies in Chrome, Digiday
Search Features
Other Search
- Sparsity-preserving differentially private training, Google Research Blog
- Google is reportedly working on a project that lets AI models tell someone's “life story.”, The Verge
- Round 2: We test the new Gemini-powered Bard against ChatGPT, Ars Technica
Feedback:
Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky and you can follow us on Facebook and on Google News and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or just contact us the old fashion way.
