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 is being sued by the DOJ again over alleged monopolistic actions, and the DOJ wants to break up its ad business. Google Search is apologizing for the preferred language issue but blames mobile site issues for the cause. Microsoft Bing is testing infinite scroll after Google launched it a month ago. Google said generating fake URLs on your competitor’s site won’t harm them in Google Search. Google Search is showing double justifications in local search results. Microsoft reported earnings, and their search ad revenue growth was 10%, but it keeps shrinking.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
DOJ Sues Google Again To Break Up Its Ad Business Over Monopolistic Actions
The big news out of yesterday was that the US Department of Justice and several states has once again sued Google calling for the breakup of its ad tech business that allegedly monopolizes the US ad market. Google of course does not agree with this action.
Google Search Issue With Search Results In Preferred Language Due To Mobile-First Indexing
Google’s Search Liaison, Danny Sullivan, posted a message on Twitter and other social networks, apologizing for the ongoing issues and complaints with Google showing the preferred language in the search results. Google said the issue seems to be from mobile sites not being properly configured and Google’s mobile-first indexing being more widespread.
Bing Tests Infinite Scroll
Microsoft Bing is testing infinite scroll just a month after Google fully launched continuous scroll on desktop search. I guess this should come as no surprise that Bing would test this, it does not seem to be live yet, so this is just a test.
Google: Generating Fake URLs On Competitors Site Shouldn’t Hurt The Site In Google Search
John Mueller from Google said that bulk-generating fake URLs of your competitor’s site should not lead to negative SEO and ranking issues for that site. “This is not something I’d worry about,” he added.
Two Justifications In The Google Local Search Results
Now, Google is showing double justifications for some local results. Google’s local search results has a feature to highlight and/or summarize some of the local reviews in the map pack and local search results snippet. These highlights or summarizations are known as justifications.
Microsoft Bing Ads Revenues Up 10% – Growth Slowing…
Microsoft reported earnings last night, and in after-hours trading, it seems, for the most part, that Wall Street is happy. But if you look at the search ad revenue numbers, that department’s growth continues to slow.
Google Kirkland Lit Up Crazy Like A Fox Wall
For some reason, Google has the words “crazy like a fox” with a photo of a fox chancing a rabbit (I think) on one of the walls. This is at the Google Kirkland, Seattle office. I know Vanessa Fox worke
Other Great Search Threads:
Google > Mobile I saw a new “Find it near you” section in the SERPs with a suggested search query right underneath it., Saad AK on Twitter
This happens more often than you’d think, we have to make do :). Usually initially Googlebot goes on binge-crawling, and then finds its focus again after a bit. Doing anything to prevent the “infinite URL space” is helpful., John Mueller on Twitter
Google > Mobile > News Tab I saw new filters in the “News” tab 1: Sort by relevance 2: Sort by date, Saad AK on Twitter
Since a PBN is usually under your control, I’d just delete the whole PBN., John Mueller on Mastodon
No, because you *are* serving the same content after the redirect. It can help with showing the right URL in search though., John Mueller on Twitter
Saw Popular on Twitter in google News Section. Its old for google serp which covered in @seroundtable but in news section, Khushal Bherwani on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
Google updates image SEO best practices and Google Discover docs
Understanding quiet quitting in SEO – the silent exodus
Yoast SEO version 20 with a new interface for settings
This day in search marketing history: January 24
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
The 2023 Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Update, BrightEdge
Industry & Business
DOJ to Sue Alphabet’s Google Over Digital Ad Market Dominance, Bloomberg
Google says “nothing was random” about layoffs in town hall, 9to5Google
Google to Reduce Top Executive Bonuses, CEO Sundar Pichai Says, Wall Street Journal
Google CEO defends layoff process in heated town hall Monday, CNBC
Hedge fund billionaire asks Sundar Pichai to lay off 1.5 lakh Google employees, BusinessToday
Links & Content Marketing
CNET’s AI Journalist Appears to Have Committed Extensive Plagiarism, Futurism
How To Help the Perfectionist on Your Content Team, Even If It’s You, Content Marketing Institute
Local & Maps
How Waze Changed the Way We Drive, New York Times
5 tips to optimize your Google Business Profile, Rank Ranger
Mobile & Voice
6 simple ways to launch Google Assistant on your Pixel 7, Android Police
How to Integrate ChatGPT with Siri and More, The Mac Observer
SEO
How to cannibalize your own product well, Kevin Indig
How To Fix “Blocked by page removal tool” in Google Search Console, Onely
IndexWatch 2022: SEO Visibility Losers on Google UK, SISTRIX
JavaScript Redirects and SEO: The Ultimate Guide, Oncrawl
Keyword Cannibalisation: What It Is & How To Fix It (2023), Hallam
PPC
Advocates say firms use Google ads to mimic gov’t sites, confusing small businesses, NBC News
Google Ads invites being abused to push spam, adult sites, Bleeping Computer
Other Search
ChatGPT Won’t Replace Google Search (Yet), Moz
Feedback:
Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, you can follow us on Facebook and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or just contact us the old fashion way.
