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.
Bing announced a bunch of upgrades to Bing Webmaster Tools. Semrush acquired Third Door Media, Search Engine Land, SMX, etc. Google released version 18 of the Google Ads API. Google Merchant Center lets you rename your shipping policy. Google Ad renamed text assets to customizations. Google is testing a product carousel for Amazon. I am offline Wednesday night through Saturday night, so anything you see from me was pre-written and pre-scheduled to be posted. I’ll catch up when I return.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
Google Ads API Version 18 Now Available
Google Ads has released an update it the Google Ads API, version 18. Version 18 includes updates across account management, ad groups, ads, assets, campaigns, hotel/travel, local, PMax, reporting and more. This is a major release update of the Google Ads API.
Bing Webmaster Tools Gets 16 Months Of Data, Recommendations & Copilot Tools To Come
Microsoft has provided some new updates to Bing Webmaster Tools, including 10 months more of data for the search performance reports, an updated recommendations section, and a preview of Copilot tools coming to the toolset.
Google Merchant Center Lets You Name Your Shipping Policy
Google Merchant Center now lets you name your various shipping policies. This is a welcomed change because previously, it was hard to know which shipping policy was associated with which products.
Semrush Acquired Search Engine Land, SMX & Third Door Media (Industry Reaction)
Semrush, the well-known and popular SaaS search marketing platform, has acquired Third Door Media and all its properties, including Search Engine Land, SMX, MarTech, and Digital Marketing Depot. As you know, Semrush went public in March 2021 and has grown its business over the past 16 years to over 1,000 people and hundreds of millions of dollars.
Google Ads Renames ACA Text Assets To Customizations
Google Ads has renamed “text assets” to “customizations” within the Automatically created assets section of Google Ads. Customizations lets you use text from your website, landing pages, ads, and provided assets to create customized ad copy.
Google Tests Snippet Product Carousels For Amazon
Google is testing a product carousel within the search results snippets that contain product images, product information, ratings and prices. This might be specific to Amazon, but I am not sure.
Google Tree Root Ceiling At Google Brazil
Here is an interesting ceiling at the Google offices in Brazil. They have the roots of a tree, or at least the design of one, coming out from the top of the ceiling.
Programming Note: Offline For Sukkot On Thursday & Friday
This is a programming note that Thursday and Wednesday are Sukkot and I will be offline the next two days. I will be offline on Thursday and Wednesday, October 17th and October 18th.
Other Great Search Threads:
Looks like Google Ads is now showing offers and price drops above images on mobile SERP., Shameem Adhikarath on X
Google with vertical “Things to Do” section., Khushal Bherwani on X
Microsoft Rewards started in Bing a decade ago and now is a company-wide program. Users earn loyalty points by searching on Bing, playing games in Xbox, shopping for games and digital content in the Microsoft Store, and more. These, Jordi Ribas on X
SEO Case Study: CNN dominates searches for the ’24 Election, one of the most competitive spaces in SEO right now. Here’s a breakdown of how they do it: In the middle of an election cycle, publishers are all pushing extremely aggress, Chris Long on X
The NYT sends a cease-and-desist letter to AI startup Perplexity to stop using its content; Perplexity says it is “interested in working with every” publisher (@alexbruell / Wall Street Journal), Techmeme on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
Google simplifies Video ad testing with new experiment tool
YouTube’s triple threat: Mastering Feed, Shorts and Skippable ads
How the Digital Markets Act is reshaping search and Google’s monopoly in Europe
Semrush acquires Search Engine Land
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
15 Best Google Analytics Alternatives, Semrush
Industry & Business
Don’t Break Up Google, The Information Readers Say, The Information
Italy in talks with Google over bases for submarine network in Sicily, Reuters
Trump Signals Skepticism of Google Breakup, Citing Competition With China, New York Times
Links & Content Marketing
Dofollow and Nofollow Links: A Beginners Guide, Sitebulb
YouTube Shares Insight Into What Viewers Are Seeking From Content, Social Media Today
Local & Maps
Mobile & Voice
Android 15 is now available for Pixels, The Verge
Apple’s iPhone breaks record as smartphone market recovers, AppleInsider
Linux Terminal app could be coming to Android, just like ChromeOS, Android Authority
SEO
3 Tips for International Websites, Google Search Central YouTube
Page speed optimization: What it is and how to improve it?, Oncrawl
SEO Case Study: How CNN Dominates Searches For The 2024 Election, Go Fish Digital
More visibility in search is a top priority for SMB owners, according to Duda’s survey on websites, Duda
PPC
Amazon’s AI Generator Tool Can Now Create Audio Ads, AdWeek
How To Integrate Your Paid Media & SEO Teams, PPC Hero
Unlocking the power of impression-based remarketing, Microsoft Advertising
Search Features
YouTube rolling out new miniplayer, fine playback speed, timer, 9to5Google
Other Search
AI Search 8%, Mrwhosetheboss, Google DMA Compliance, Near Media
Google’s Chrome Browser Starts Disabling uBlock Origin, PC Magazine
New York Times Tells Perplexity to ‘Cease and Desist’ From Content Scraping, Joining Uprising Against AI Startup, Wall Street Journal
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.
Note: This was pre-written and scheduled to be posted today, I am currently offline for Sukkot.
