Daily Search Forum Recap: January 2, 2024

Vernon January 2, 2024

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Daily Search Forum Recap: January 2, 2024

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.

Welcome to 2024 – we may have had an unconfirmed Google Search update over New Year’s Eve. I also launched a new version of the Search Engine Roundtable after 13 years. A Wharton profession slammed search calling the decay of internet search. Microsoft launched its Copilot app on Android and iOS, it is the same as the Bing App. Don’t create your Google Business Profile in a different language. Google’s data highlighter tool works but there are caveats. Bing is testing a knowledge panel design that looks like Google. Google posted its New Year’s Doodles. John Mueller was helping SEOs on New Year’s as well.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

Google New Years Eve Search Algorithm Update

There has been a ton of chatter within the SEO community over the past couple of days related to extreme ranking volatility within the Google Search results. The Google tracking tools have also picked up the volatility over the past day or so. There is no way Google pushed out a confirmed update this week but hey, Google’s search results live a life of their own.

Wharton Professor, Ethan Mollick, On The Decay Of Internet Search

Ethan Mollick, an Associate Professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, posted on X about his disappointment with overall internet search. He wrote, “There is no greater way to feel the overall decay of internet search then to try to figure out when & if a new season of a show is coming out.”

Bing Tests Copying Google’s Knowledge Panel Design

It looks like Bing may be testing a new design for its search knowledge / answer panels in the search results. And that new design looks very much like the new Google knowledge panel Google has for the past year-plus.

Create Your Google Business Profile Listing In Your Language Or You May Have Issues

Before creating your Google Business Profile listing, make sure you are using the right language. If not, it may cause serious issues for you in the long run where the services will be wrong and will appear in that language.

Google Data Highlighter Tool Still Works But There Are Caveats

Google launched its data highlighter tool in 2012, and it still works today despite not being migrated to the new Search Console interface, and almost no one I know uses it anymore. Google’s John Mueller said on Mastodon that it just isn’t easier to use the data highlighter these days with all the plugins you can add to your site to handle it automatically.

Chat In Bing & Copilot Apps Are The Same

Last week, Microsoft quietly released the Copilot App for Android and iOS. Don’t tell anyone but the Bing App and Copilot App use the same chat feature, the only difference is the Copilot App takes you directly to the chat interface and bypasses search.

YouTube Wooden Plank Sign

Here is cool signage from the Google Nederland office of a YouTube sign made out of wooden planks. I spotted this on Instagram, it happens to be from 2016, so I don’t know if the sign still exists.

Search Engine Roundtable Version 5: Redesign & Platform

Today we have released version 5 of the Search Engine Roundtable. We have redesigned the site from the ground up while also revamping many of the site’s backend and technical features. The site is now over 20 years old and the design was just over 13 years old – it was time for a redo.

Google’s John Mueller Providing SEO Support On New Years

John Mueller, Senior Search Analyst, and Search Relations team lead at Google, was again out there on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, providing SEO support for site owners, creators, publishers, SEOs, and others. He has done this on Christmas every year and also New Years every year.

Google’s New Year’s Eve 2023 Doodle Is Shiny

Google’s Google’s New Year’s Eve doodle for 2023 is live in some regions and will be live in New York in the next five hours or so. If you want a sneak peek at it early, here it is.

Search Engine Land Stories:

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