Google Assistant is Not Disclosing That Some Search Results are Ads
Google Assistant isn’t making users aware that some of its recommendations are being generated by local services ads.
About
Matt G. Southern, Senior News Writer, has been with Search Engine Journal since 2013. With a bachelor’s degree in communications, Matt specializes in gathering details, checking facts, and making complex subjects easy to understand. In addition to writing articles, Matt oversees strategy development for SEJ’s news department.
Articles
Facebook’s “Why Am I Seeing This Post?” Explains How its News Feed Algorithm Works
Facebook is adding a new component to the news feed that answers the question “why am I seeing this post?”.
Google Ads Editor Introduces Full Cross-Account Management
Google has officially launched Google Ads Editor version 1, which now offers full cross-account management.
DuckDuckGo Upgrades Search Results for Weather Forecasts
DuckDuckGo has introduced enhanced search results for weather-related queries.
Facebook’s Faulty SMS Two-Factor Authentication is Locking Out An Alarming Number of Users
An issue with Facebook’s SMS two-factor authentication is keeping a significant number of users locked out of their accounts.
Google Ads Brings Cross-Device Activity Data to All Attribution Reports
All attribution reports in Google Ads will soon include information about cross-device activity and conversions.
Facebook Lets Users Search for All Active Ads That Pages Are Running
Facebook is expanding its Ad Library tool to include information about all active ads from any page.
Google Expands Travel Searches to Include Vacation Rental Properties
Google is expanding hotel search results to include a greater number of vacation rental properties.
Google Makes Podcasts Searchable by Automatically Transcribing Them
Google Podcasts is making it possible to search for episodes based on what was discussed in a show.
Google Tests a New Look for Top Menu Bar
Google is testing out a new look for the top navigation bar in search results.
79% of Digital Advertisers are Also Using SEO in Their Marketing Strategies
New data reveals that 79% of digital advertisers are also using SEO as part of their marketing strategy in 2019.
Google Search Console Now Shows Google-Selected Canonical URLs
Google Search Console will now show site owners which URL has been selected as the canonical version.
Google’s Mobile-Friendly Testing Tool Lets Users Test and Edit Actual Code
Google’s mobile-friendly and AMP testing tools have been upgraded with the ability to test actual code.
Google Hurt Pinterest’s Growth in 2018 by Deindexing Keyword Landing Pages
Pinterest’s recent IPO filing contains details about the site’s growth being hurt in 2018 due to a Google update.
Google Maps Rolls Out New Public Events Feature
Google Maps is letting users create public events associated with specific locations–a feature that could compete with Facebook events.
YouTube Makes Up 37% of Mobile Web Traffic Worldwide
According to data revealed in a new report, YouTube is responsible for 37% of all mobile web traffic.
Google Made More Linking Practices Less Effective at Manipulating Rankings
In Google’s newly released webspam report, the company reveals how it dealt with link spam in 2018.
Google Explains the Difference Between Neural Matching and RankBrain
Google addressed questions going around the SEO community as of late related to neural matching and its used in search.
Google Stopped Supporting Rel=prev/next in Search Indexing Years Ago
Google finally decided to tell the search community that rel=”next” and rel=”prev” haven’t been used in years.
Bing Rolls Out Text-to-Speech for Search Results
Bing introduced a number of new search features this week including text-to-speech, expanded intelligent answers, and enhanced visual search.
LinkedIn Now Lets Marketers Target Ads to ‘Lookalike Audiences’
LinkedIn is upgrading its ad targeting options with the ability to reach more of the right people.
Google Updates the Sitemaps Report in Search Console & Adds Ability to Delete Sitemaps
Google has updated the sitemaps report in Search Console with new features, including the ability to delete a sitemap.
Facebook Removes Targeting Options From Certain Ads to Fight Discrimination
Facebook is taking steps to stop discriminatory advertising practices by removing targeting options that were used to exclude people.
Google: Most Algorithm Updates Have Incremental Changes to Previous Updates
Google’s John Mueller was asked about the March core algorithm update and whether it softened the impact of previous updates.
Instagram Lets Brands Sell Products Directly Through the App
Instagram is rolling out an ecommerce solution for brands which will allow them to sell products in the app.
Google: Don’t Blindly Stuff Text into Ecommerce Category Pages
Google’s John Mueller cautions ecommerce site owners about adding unnecessary text to category pages.
Google+ Public Posts to be Preserved by the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine
Google+ will be shut down in a matter of weeks, but its archive of public posts may live on indefinitely.
Google: Invalid URLs Should Return 404s, not 5XX Server Errors
Google’s John Mueller recently provided some guidance with regards to invalid URLs on a website.
Twitter to Introduce a ‘Subscribe to Conversation’ Feature
Twitter is working on a feature that will allow users to follow specific threads with a ‘subscribe to conversation’ button.
Google My Business Adds New Seasonal Business Guidelines
Google My Business has updated its guidelines with new rules and regulations for seasonal businesses.