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. I posted the poll results for the Google August 2024 core update…

Some advertisers see Google Ads show this request dialog popup asking them to change their bid strategies. This shows in the Google Ads advertiser console, which asks the advertiser to change their bid strategy from one option to another.

Google has this ad format, I don’t think it is new, but it is titled “Here are some in the area.” These look like a version of Local Service Ads, but they look different.

Google is now showing video reviews in the reviews of popular products section in the Google Store ratings landing area on Google Search. Got all that?

Earlier this week, I posted polls across numerous sites, asking SEOs how they were impacted by the last Google August 2024 core update – knowing the update is not done rolling out yet. Overall, most said their rankings and traffic from Google Search are down but honestly, it is a pretty even distribution of responses.

We have been tracking the Google core update and seeing more surges and changes with those hit by the September helpful content update. I ran a survey asking how SEOs were impacted so far by the August 2024 core update…

Google Search is showing the shopping results but now shows “more like this” buttons under the products it shows for some carousel groupings. When you click on that “more like this” button, Google will dynamically load more products like it beneath the product you clicked on.

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. Yandex sued Google…

Google Search seems to be testing a new search box that is titled “from your notifications.” I assume this works for Android devices only, where Google Search can detect the Android notifications, and show them when the query may be relevant to the notification?

Yelp has officially filed a lawsuit against Google for allegedly using its monopolistic powers to give Google an unfair advantage in local search and local search ads. “For years, Google has leveraged its monopoly in general search to pad its own bottom line at the expense of what’s best for consumers, innovation, and fair competition,” Yelp’s General Counsel, Aaron Schur said.

Google announced what it is calling “strengthen your first-party data strategy with new tools.” These new tools are Tag Diagnostics and a new consent management setup within Google Ads, Google Analytics, and Tag Manager.

We know Google has told us for many years that word count is not a thing, Google doubled down on it last year. Google’s John Mueller reiterated that over the weekend saying not just words on a page but also links on a page are not counted by Google.

Google emailed some local businesses saying it will begin “unifying” booking on Google Business Profiles (GBP) and Local Services Ads (LSA). Google said this will create a “more seamless experience for your clients and their customers.”