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 Ads is launching confidential matching, a new privacy-centric ad feature. Google is testing a new AI Overview interface. Advertisers are complaining about fraud on the Search partner network. Google is testing for reference boxes in search. Google is testing search results without breadcrumbs. Plus, I posted my weekly SEO video recap.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Ranking Volatility, Apple Intelligence, Navboost, Ads, Bing & Local
Well over a week after the Google August 2024 core update finished, we still have a ton of volatility. Apple Visual Intelligence was demoed at the Apple event this week…
Google Ads Introduces Confidential Matching
Google Ads announced what it calls “confidential matching.” Confidential matching is a “way to securely connect your first-party data for our measurement and audience solutions,” Google said. And it will be used on Google Ads in numerous areas.
Google Tests AI Overview With Small “More” Link
Google is testing removing the large “show more” button and replacing it with a small “more” link at the bottom of the AI Overview snippet. Also, the AI Overview header and Gemini logo at the top left is being removed, or at least being tested being removed.
Complaints On Google Ads Search Partners Network Fraud
I am seeing a spike in complaints from the PPC community around there being an increase in fraudulent traffic from the Google Ads Search Partner network. Many have seen an unusual spike in fraud from that network in the past week, say some advertisers.
Google Testing For Reference Search Box
Google is testing a new search box named “for reference” which is placed under a set of search results and contains more news articles related to the query. This seems similar to some other features Google has tested over the years.
Google Tests Search Result Snippets Without Breadcrumbs
Google is testing showing search results snippets without the breadcrumbs in the URL section of the snippet. Google has tested removing URLs and breadcrumbs completely before, but now Google is testing removing just the breadcrumb and leaving the URL.
