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 now paying Reddit for its content, when no one really wants to see Reddit content in Google Search anymore. Google Ads is changing its Ad Strength formula after expanding generative AI in PMax campaigns. Google said it is up to you to decide what is helpful. Google Ads API version 16 is out. Bing Search is testing opinion labels. And I posted the weekly SEO video recap.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
Google: You Decide What Old Content Is Helpful Or Not
The topic of removing or updating or blocking old content from Google is not new, and we covered it countless times. I saw John Mueller of Google comment about it again, this time on Reddit, saying, it is up to you to decide which of your old content is helpful and useful – it is not up to Google to decide that.
No Joke: Google Is Paying Reddit For More Content, More Often
Google has announced a deal with Reddit to gain access to its content using the Reddit Data API reportedly worth $60 million annually. Yes, Google is paying Reddit to get access to its publicly available content through an API that should make it faster for Google to consume and show us all that content. Not that any of us want to see Reddit content show up in Google Search…
Google Ads API Version 16 Now Available
Google released version 16 of the Google Ads API yesterday. The update includes additional recommendation types, support for time-related segments, support for advertiser verification, plus much more.
Google Ad Strength For PMAX To Weigh Assets Quantity & Variety More As AI Expands
Google Ads announced that within Performance Max the search ad company is rolling out asset generation globally in English with more languages to come. Plus, image editing will finish rolling out in the U.S. in March, with global English expansion following shortly after. This means that Google is adjusting its Ad Strength formula to weigh asset quantity and variety more than it use to.
Bing Search Yellow Opinion Label On News Stories
Bing Search now has these yellow “opinion” labels on news stories within its search results. The label is overlayed on the news story’s image and really makes the story stand out from the others.
Google spoke more about the time it takes to recover from a helpful content update and then said it is up to you to decide ice what old content is helpful or not. Google said it wants to reward the best content no matter the site size…
Here is a photo of a Doogler, Google employee dog, sitting at a workstation on a chair at the Google Dublin office. I bet it is using Gemini to code up some new search ranking algorithms that really bark.
Other Great Search Threads:
data-nosnippet is for the snippets, it doesn’t affect indexing, John Mueller on X
Without consent mode v2 implemented, you will lose the ability to remarket to your EEA traffic and lose the ability to serve them ads based on any of their data. This could include: demographic ta, AdsLiaison on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
Google Ads API version 16 is launching
Instagram expands Creator Marketplace to help brands find creators for ads
Google Ads’ ‘pushes’ Performance Max with new Call To Action
Google Analytics 4 updates Advertising workspace to simplify reporting
Google announces Performance Max updates – including Gemini integration
Report: Reddit signs AI content licensing deal with Google
Link building in 2024: 12 ways to win or fail
Location targeting in Google Ads: Balancing automation and control
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
Advertising section updates, Google Analytics Help
Guide: Using GPT for Digital Marketing Analytics (with examples), Portent
SEO ROI Calculator & 5 Ways to Improve SEO ROI, Measure Minds Group
Industry & Business
Google expands partnership with Reddit, Google Blog
Nextdoor Board Discusses Replacing CEO Friar or Selling Company, The Information
US Justice Dept names first AI officer as new technology challenges law enforcement, Reuters
Why Google ended their on-site childcare, Fast Company
Google Tweaked Search to Comply With EU Rules. Yelp Says It Makes Results Even More Unfair, Wired
Links & Content Marketing
What a content marketing manager does: Skills, responsibilities, and keys to success, Wix SEO Hub
Marketing Team Reorgs: Why So Many and How To Survive, Content Marketing Institute
Local & Maps
Heads-up: Connect temporarily inaccessible on February 28, Local Guides Connect
How to Add Your Business to Google: The Ultimate Guide for 2024, Semrush
Mobile & Voice
Google spotted making a major push for seamless updates across Android, Android Central
Simplifying our payment apps in the U.S., Google Blog
SEO
Exploring TikTok’s Potential as a Complementary Force to Google Search, iPullRank
How Google Search crawls pages, Google Search Central YouTube
How many news websites block AI crawlers?, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism
PPC
Demand Gen vs Display (the revenge): discover who won, Adworld Experience
Google Ads scripts updates for v15, Google Ads Developer Blog
How to Do a PPC Audit in 8 Simple Steps, WordStream
Search Features
Google tests removing the News tab from search results, Nieman Journalism Lab
Other Search
Use ChatGPT to Build a Customer Journey, Moz
Feedback:
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