Industry News

Google seems to have this loophole where you can essentially hijack or destroy a Google Business Profile that is also using Local Service Ads. What happens is if someone else links their Local Service Ads to that same Google Business Profile, the Local Service Ads will stop performing.

Google seems to be having a bit of an issue with spam getting into its popular products section. This may be fed in through Google Merchant Center or normal rich results - I am not 100% sure. But here is a screenshot showing one company listing the same product over and over again, even though it should be 10 different stores.

Microsoft Advertising published its monthly what's new feature announcing changes and new features to its advertising platform. Microsoft announced enhanced conversions is rolling out to more markets, new targeting options, new ways to set up campaigns, an update to hotel center subaccounts and RSA reporting updates.

Google Ads will stop supporting Commissions (per Stay) and Commissions (per Conversions) bid strategies for Hotel Ads in October 2024. Google says this is because third-party cookies are being phased out and these models will not work in the future.

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 explains the difference between ranking signals...

Danny Sullivan, the Google Search Liaison, gave a good analogy of the differences between ranking systems, ranking signals and ranking factors. He said signals and factors are the same, the "signal/factors are like fuel; systems are the machine that uses them," Sullivan wrote.

Danny Sullivan, Google's Search Liaison, said we should expect to see more clarification from Google on its creating helpful content page, specific to the section "Get to know E-E-A-T and the quality rater guidelines."

Google is sending some domain holders who were with Google Domains and who are automatically being migrated to Squarespace notices that their Search Console verification may go away. This is only if you do not host your DNS records with Google and you set up DNS verification with Google Search Console.

Google is testing adding the ability to search for just web results, like you would filter by just video results, just image results, just news results, just shopping results and so on. Google is testing placing "web results" to the top search bar under the search box.

Last November, Google told its AdSense publishers that it would be switching how it pays them for the Google Ads they embed on their websites. Now, it seems like many AdSense publishers are noticing that Google has completely switched over to this new payment model. Note that not all are switched from CPC to CPM bidding fully.