Google Search Ranking Volatility Tools Cool Down
For the first time in forever (see what I did there?) the third-party Google Search volatility tools have cooled down to normal volatility levels. The chatter has been somewhat more typical levels over the past week, that is not to say some have not s…
Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Local Ranking Bug, Reddit Drops, Microsoft Fools Searchers & More SEO, PPC & Local
We had this weird Google local ranking bug that seemed to happen over last weekend but resolved itself by around Tuesday. Then, the other day, we noticed that Reddit may be seeing a decline in Google Search traffic and visibility, but it might…
Google: URLs Don’t Need To Be Lower Case For Search
Google’s John Mueller clarified once again that your URLs do not need to be lowercase, they can be uppercase, it really doesn’t matter. But he did say, pick either lowercase or uppercase, just be consistent.
Google Local Services Ads For Tax Specialist Drops Auto Credits & Features
Google has turned down some features for the tax specialist vertical in Google Local Service Ads. The big one is that there is no auto-crediting for this vertical. Also, Google removed message leads, booking and all recording for the Tax Specialist ve…
Google Ads Updates Political Content Policy For CA Residents For Deepfakes
Google has announced it has updated its Google Ads political content policy this month for to include a form related to California restrictions. “California residents may use this form to report ads that may violate California Elections Code Division 2…
Google Search Product Detail View Tests Share Icons
Google is testing adding a share icon to the product detail view within the search results. This comes up at the top of the panel, after you click on a product from the popular products section of the search results. And as you scroll, the share and ot…
Google Tests Super Long Cookie Notice On Home Page
Google is testing writing out a 57 words, 364 characters, notice on its home page, about its cookie usage and data usage. It is super weird to see three lines of legal text right below the Google search box on its home page.
Finding Striking Distance Keywords — Whiteboard Friday
Striking distance keywords can highlight where sites may be able to make a big impact on their rankings and traffic with less effort. In this episode of Whiteboard Friday, Jo talks about how to locate, track, and label these keyword opportunities in Mo…
Daily Search Forum Recap: January 9, 2025
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.
Reddit seems like it is not ranking as well as it used to…
Reddit Not Ranking As Well In Google Suddenly?
It seems like Reddit, the site that ranks well for every single query in Google Search, is starting to see a small but visible ranking drop in Google Search. It seems Reddit is losing Google Search visibility when you look at its ranking reports in Sem…
Screenshot: Google Ads Negative Keywords In Performance Max
We have been hearing Google Ads will provide a feature to manage negative keywords for Performance Max campaigns for a while and now, maybe, the day has come. Joe Shmo on X posted a screenshot of him seeing the feature in his Google Ads account.
Google: Using Generative AI To Create Content For Links Against Spam Policies
Google’s John Mueller said that using generative AI to create blog posts and content for the purpose of getting backlinks is “almost certainly against Google’s spam policies.” He said this in response to a complaint that this was being done on their si…
Google Tests A Darker Dark Mode
Google Search is testing a darker dark mode. Instead of the grayish dark mode, Google is testing a dark black version of the dark mode. The darker version is #111217 whereas the gray version is #1f1f1f.
Google Business Profiles Gains Add To Menu Option
Google now lets you add to your restaurant’s menu within Google Business Profiles. Previously, I believe you were only able to replace your previous menus, but now you can add to them by uploading the new menus.
Google Daily Listen Labs – Audio Version Of Google Discover
Did you ever want to listen to a summary of your Google Discover feed? Well, now you can. Google has a new Search Labs experiment called “Daily Listen” that puts together a five-minute or less audio overview of the top stories you’d be interested in fo…
Google Grays Out Logo On National Day of Mourning for President Jimmy Carter
If you go to the Google home page today, you will see a gray Google logo. Google does this on somber days and since today is the national day of mourning for President Jimmy Carter, Google has grayed out the logo.
Google On Losing Lots Of Links Fast: SEOs Often Overestimate Links
What happens when you lose a lot of links really quickly, how might that impact your Google search rankings and SEO performance? Well, John Mueller of Google was asked that question and after much back and forth, he responded, “SEOs often overestimate …
Google Tests Local Pack Ads Without Review Stars
Google is testing showing local ads in the local pack without review stars. Normally you’d see review stars for the sponsored results in the local pack, but in some cases, Google is testing removing the reviews from the sponsored results in the local …
Google Search Console Validate Fix Does Not Expedite Fixes
Using the “validate fix” button within Google Search Console to communicate to Google that you fixed an issue, does not signal to Google to expedite anything on its end. It just a reporting mechanism for you to track when Google recrawls the issue and …
Google Ad Scheduling & Smart Bidding Campaigns Doc Update Confuses
Google has updated one of its help documents to specifically say that ad scheduling isn’t compatible campaigns that use Smart Bidding. The previous version of that page said, “Ad scheduling is not compatible with both Smart Shopping campaigns and App c…