TikTok is now looking to expand its content offerings by allowing creators to sell premium episodes of their shows directly to viewers. How it works. The new feature, which is still in the testing phase, would allow TikTok users to purchase access to exclusive episodes of their favorite series, with creators setting their own prices for the content. The move is seen as a way for TikTok to compete with other streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, which already offer a wide range of original programming. While the new feature is currently only available to a limited number […]

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today…

Google has confirmed that the February 2023 product reviews update is now finished rolling out. This update announced on February 21, 2023, has officially completed rolling out over a 14-day period. February 2023 product reviews update. As a reminder, the February 2023 product reviews update started to roll out at about 5 p.m. ET on February 21. This update took 14 days to roll out after it was announced. So this update started on February 21 and lasted through March 7, 2023. This update is similar to past product reviews update, but it was more widespread, impacting more languages than just English. This […]

Google has added more than 70 different types of Local Services Ads (LSAs) to their network. How LSAs work. Local Services Ads allow you to showcase your services prominently at the top of Google’s search results pages and attract high-quality phone calls, messages, and appointment bookings in your selected areas. You can efficiently monitor your leads’ performance, including listening to call recordings with potential customers, and manage your listings, such as updating your hours and service areas. You can manage LSAs either on desktop or through the Local Services Ads mobile app, which is available on both Android and iOS […]

Building authority has a compounding effect on how brands perform in organic search. And the acceleration of AI in search is only increasing the importance of developing authority, trust and credibility as a signal on the topics or areas you are known for or known to be helpful for.  That’s according to new research from enterprise SEO platform BrightEdge. Why we care. Economic uncertainty has kept marketing budgets flat (or even reduced) and put greater focus on SEO this year. But that also means SEOs are being asked to drive more revenue and conversions without a greater investment in SEO. […]

SEM stands for “search engine marketing.” It is the process of combining SEO and PPC strategies to create a holistic internet marketing strategy that drives traffic and visibility through search engines based on a user’s search query.  Originally called “search engine marketing,” the shorter phrase “search marketing” is often used as the umbrella term for SEO and PPC. But today, much of our industry defines SEM as digital advertising strategies where you pay to have your website featured on the search engine result pages (SERPs).  SEO and PPC are both forms of marketing on search engines. Organic search marketing and paid search marketing […]

Performance Max for travel goals creates ads in multiple formats that will automatically serve across Google channels and inventory, including Maps, Search, YouTube and Hotel Ads (coming later this year). What’s new. Here’s what you need to know: Performance Max for travel goals can help hotels create ads in multiple formats and, in one campaign, reach more travelers across YouTube, Display, Search, Discover, Gmail and Maps. Hotel ads will be added to Performance Max for travel goals later this year. Advertisers select their hotel properties from a map using a hotel picker tool during campaign setup. A single campaign can […]

Performance Max for travel goals is Google’s new AI-powered tool for hotel advertisers, enabling them to create multi-format ads and reach more travelers across channels. The post Google Ads Launches Performance Max For Travel Goals appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Microsoft has just announced six new updates for March. Let’s dive in. What’s new. Code-free custom conversion setup wizard UET tags with deletion option Custom combinations Multimedia Ads with logos New shopping markets in North America Local Search Ad extensions Code-free custom conversion setup wizard. Microsoft has simplified the process of setting up custom conversion tracking. By enabling Microsoft Clarity insights through Universal Event Tracking (UET) tag setup, it is now possible to set up event-based conversion tracking without any coding. Earlier, setting up a manual tag required website code updates. However, the new code-free process only takes a few […]

Microsoft announces local search ads for Bing and new updates to help advertisers track conversions and create custom audiences. The post Microsoft Launches Local Search Ads For Bing appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Google announced last week that Google Search “now makes it easier to search for datasets” by showing “more datasets” and explore more features for datasets within Google Search.

Google Explore is that weird feature you get when you keep scrolling and scrolling through the search results. Then Google hits you with this explore feature to expand your query in a very visual way. Well, it seems like Google added local listings to the Google Explore section.

Google may be testing replacing the “people also ask” with a “more to ask” box. I am unsure if this is just a headline change or if there is any functional difference.

Google’s John Mueller was asked if having hyphens in your domain name, like www.my-site-goes-here.com, can cause ranking issues in Google Search. John Mueller said no, domains with hyphens are not seen as low quality by Google algorithms.