Industry News

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

Google is testing a new search ad format that lets you expand and collapse the sponsored search ads. When you expand the ads, it then shows a carousel of search ads. Google is also testing search refinements under search ads.

The other day I wrote about a Google test named Quick view for recipes that gave the searcher no reason, whatsoever, to click over the the publishers site. But then I was notified that Bing has something just as bad and it is fully live, it is not a test.

Google will be updating its Google Ads data retention policy on November 13, 2024 to only store data 11 years old or newer. Anything older than 11 years of data will be removed from Google's servers. Google says if you want to hold on to the old data, make sure to download it before November 13th.

Google is updated its Google Ads third-party policy to add new penalties for third parties, such as PPC agencies, "that enable significant or sustained policy violations." These new penalties include removal from programs, such as Google Partners, and account suspension.

Google is testing angled or off-centered design elements within the search results. The search box seems angled, the favicons seem twisted, the box elements throughout seem tilted - it just seems like an interesting test that should never see the day of light.

Oh my, Justin (from my favorite newsletter platform Buttondown) nails it here:

Customers make for good historians but poor futurists, and certainly they won’t do the hardest and most important job of identifying your leverage points for you.

That was your shot. Here’s your chaser:

None of this is to say you shouldn’t talk to customers: you should! But it should be neither the first nor the last step in your process: if someone needs to talk with people to figure out what to build...

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.

A new video from a famous YouTuber talks about why Google is falling apart...

Arun Maini, a famous YouTuber known for his Mrwhosetheboss channel, posted a scathing video named "Why Google Search is Falling Apart. The video goes through three reasons why Google Search is failing: (1) the results page, (2) SEO, and (3) AI changes.

Google is testing swapping out the normal spelled-out Google logo with the Super G (that is what Google calls it) logo at the top of the Google Search results page. I find it weird but I guess it can work?