Industry News

Google is testing labeling product images in the product grid search results with a label that says "product." I am unsure if this is Google mislabeling the percent discount tag and sticking "product" there instead or if this is a real feature test.

Microsoft is testing showing more grouped cards in the Bing Search knowledge panel design that it launched earlier this year. Bing is showing four more cards, by splitting some of the cards in half, to make room for these knowledge bits.

Google is testing showing local carousels, local search results to Business Profile listings, within the related searches section. It seems off but Google is sub-categorizing them with the types of local results they are.

Google is testing showing four images, instead of three images, in its search results. This is a small change but it does give more publishers a chance to show their images on the first page.

Google has a special easter egg in its search results for the upcoming solar eclipse. When you search for solar eclipse, you are shown a sun that gets covered by the move, in an animation, just like you'd see it if you were in the path of the solar eclipse.

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 may charge for some AI features in its search results...

A report from the Financial Times (subscription required) says that Google is considering charging for some of its AI-related search features, such as the Search Generative Experience (SGE) and AI overviews. This is likely because of the cost to serve AI search results and because the SGE interface would severely impact ad revenue.

Google has posted yet another reporting and data logging issue with Google Search Console. This one occurred between March 28, 2024 through April 2, 2024 and impacted reporting on AMP pages and Web Stories in Google Images. This was just a reporting issue and did not impact real traffic.

Google is testing a new format for search ads, the ads go in a slider or carousel that let you swipe through various ads, instead of scrolling past them. I kind of like this but I assume advertisers will not like it.

Google is testing showing a label on some search ads that reads "Related to your search." I am not sure why Google needs to label the search ads as being related to your search, I mean, I'd hope the search ads shown from your query is related to your search. But yet Google is testing the label.