Daily Search Forum Recap: April 15, 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.
The Financial Times interviewed Google’s head of search, Liz Reid. Google AI Overviews can link to itsel…
Financial Times Interviews Head Of Google Search, Elizabeth Reid
The Financial Times has a detailed interview with the newish Head of Google Search, Elizabeth Reid. The interview can be gated, so here are some of the quotes that stood out most to me from this interview.
Google AI Overviews Linking Over & Over Again To Itself
As you know, Google is okay with linking its AI Overviews back to more Google Search results. But is Google okay with linking the same query, to the same query, over and over again, through the AI Overviews?
Google Again Says Structured Data Does Not Make Your Site Rank Better
Google said it again – structured data does not help your site rank any better. John Mueller of Google said this on Bluesky, “Structured data won’t make your site rank better.” He said, all it is “used for displaying the search features listed in” this…
Google Bug Product Snippet Image Carousel
There seems to be a bug that is impacting the first image in the product snippet image carousel set. I was notified about this a few times in the past few days by various people and while I cannot replicate this, many can.
Google Tests AI Mode Shortcut In Search Bar
Google is testing a new shortcut location for AI Mode in the Google App on Android. Google is placing the shortcut button directly in the search bar.
New Google Ad Strength Guide Best Practices
Google released a new Google Ads ad strength guide and best practices document. The document should help you improve your overall ad strength in Google Ads.
Google Ask A Follow-Up Search Box
Google is testing yet another search feature that generates new queries on Google Search. This one is named “Ask a follow-up” and they are sported with the Gemini stars next to them.
Bing Tests Dark Gray Favicons Backgrounds
Microsoft is testing yet another variation for its favicons in the Bing Search snippets. This one uses a dark gray background, with a circle formatted favicon, next to the search result snippets.
Google Product Carousel Recommended By Article Carousel
Google is experimenting more with shopping carousels, this time, showing products and then which articles are recommending those products. These can be shown in best of articles and recommended in articles.
Bing Related Searches Tests Trending Icon
Microsoft is testing trending icons on Bing Search’s related searches section. We’ve seen both Google and Bing use trending icons in various search features over the years, but now Bing is testing them on the related searches feature.
Programming Note: Offline For Passover Today
This is a programming note that I am completely offline for the Passover holiday today. In fact, this post was pre-written and scheduled to be posted today – so you know I am offline. Passover is/was Sunday and Monday…
The Google HCU Helpful Content Update & Helpfulness
“It is now part of a “core ranking system that’s assessing helpfulness on all types of aspects.” Danny Sullivan, Google March 2024 Google’s helpful content updates are a series of algorithm changes designed to ensure search resu…
Daily Search Forum Recap: April 11, 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.
Google has officially made AI Overviews text link back to more Google Search results, no…
Google Ranking Movement, Discover On Desktop, Linking To Self, Google Ads, Maps Bing & Apple News
This week, we covered yet again some more Google search ranking volatility. Google Discover will be coming to the desktop version of Google’s homepage. Google Search Analytics API now shows hourly data for the past ten…
Bing Answer Snippets Also Linking To More Search Results
Recently, I’ve been complaining that Google is linking many of its search features back to more search results, this is also includes the AI Overviews. Well, Bing Search is also doing this for some of their AI-based answer snippets.
Official: Google AI Overviews Link To More Search Results
A month ago, we reported that Google was testing linking words in the AI Overviews back to its own search results. We felt this set a horrible message but hey, Google did not, instead, Google made it an official feature of AI Overviews because it helps…
Google Ads More Button Overlays More Products In Hover
Google is testing a new ad format that overlays more product ads when you click on a “more” button. This is different from expanding a product carousel, in that this overlays on top of the current search results interface.
Google To Drop Reviews On School Business Profiles
Google will stop showing reviews and ratings on school listings in Google Search and Google Maps. Google Business Profiles said, “Starting April 30, 2025, your school’s associated Business Profile will no longer allow reviews and ratings.”
How Google Search Uses Your Feedback Submission
Google Search representatives often tell us to use the feedback link when we see something that is off or needs improvement with Google Search. Well, what happens when you use that feedback link?