Industry News

Google has finished rolling out the December 2024 core update, it finished super fast and was incredibly volatile. The volatility started over the weekend but lasted throughout the whole update. Google then released the December 2024 spam update...

Google is testing a new style of sitelinks again (I cover these way too often). This one turns the sitelinks into shades / gray buttons.

Google Search will roll out an 'AI Mode' within Google Search that will look "nearly identical to its Gemini AI chatbot" according to some reports. We also saw sources post screenshot of early tests of AI Mode within the Google App and on Android devices.

Google seems to be testing adding buttons/links to nearby hotels and restaurants directly at the top of a Google Business Profile listing. This may be related to the Digital Markets Act (DMA) rules in European regions or it might just be some sort of other test.

Microsoft has this "studies of" carousel in the Bing Search results. It can help you find content that helps you prepare for a specialized exam or course, of sorts.

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

The Google December 2024 core update quickly and brutally finished rolling out yesterday at around 2:00 PM ET. It took just over 6 days to roll out, starting on December 12, 2024 at 10:45 am and finishing on December 18, 2024 at 2:00 pm. This update finished fast, but it seems quick and mighty (or fast and furious).

There are a number of reports of Google Business Profile listings in Google Maps coming up broken. Google seems to be showing half of the listing, with flickering maps portions, missing business names, blue maps and more issues.

Google's John Mueller said, "It makes no sense to block" privacy, disclaimers, or other legal types of pages from your site. He added on Reddit, "They don't cause a 'duplicate content issue'."

The folks over at GMBapi have put together a large study on the topic of how and why Google removes reviews from Google Business Profiles. It looked at nearly 5 million reviews across 78 countries and over 19,000 locations.