Daily Search Forum Recap: October 7, 2024

Vernon October 7, 2024

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Daily Search Forum Recap: October 7, 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.

Google is testing ad / sponsored label variations. Google Shopping has this “Researched with AI” AI Overview format. Google Merchant listings now supports certification markup. Google has dropped support for the noarchive meta tag. Google product details in search have nearby labels.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

Google Tests Sponsored Ad Label Variations

Google is testing multiple variations of the sponsored ad label in its search results. These are more subtle than the huge ad sponsored labels we saw weeks ago. Google is testing adding “by” or | or ‘¢ or : between the sponsored label and the site name or domain name.

Google Shopping “Researched with AI – Experimental” Answer

Google Shopping is testing a new AI Overview answer titled “Researched with AI – Experimental.” This seems to pull together reviews for specific products based on Google Gemini AI.

Google Merchant Listings Adds Certification Markup Support

Google now supports Certification markup support for merchant listings in the product structured data documentation. Google wrote, “starting in April 2025, we’re replacing the EnergyConsumptionDetails type with the more robust Certification type, as the new type supports more countries and a broader scope of certifications.”

Google Search Product Detail Grid With Nearby Label

Earlier we reported Google was testing “most popular” and “best price” labels in the product detail grid within Google Search. Now, Google is also testing a “nearby” label in that same product grid detail view.

Google Drops Support For Noarchive Meta Tag Directive

With Google removing the cache operator from its search service, Google has stopped supporting the noarchive directive in Google Search. The directive, the noarchive meta tag, would tell Google not to keep a cache copy of your page. Since Google doesn’t have a cache anymore, there is no need for Google to support this directive.

Google Bird House Wall

In the Google offices in Colorado, they have this wall of birdhouses. I am not sure why. I don’t think birds live in there. But they have them.

Other Great Search Threads:

Search Engine Land Stories:

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