Daily Search Forum Recap: July 12, 2023 -

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 might not show your site name if it doesn’t have confidence in the name and site. Google has not updated Bard in 5 weeks. Google is testing a share and save swipe feature for search result snippets. Google Explore section now has ads. Google said if you weren’t buying links, then don’t disavow.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

Google Might Not Showing Your Site Name Over A Confidence Issue

Google introduced the site name feature last October for mobile and last March for desktop search. Did you know that sometimes Google might not show a site’s site name in search if it doesn’t have enough confidence in the name?

Google Search Explore Section Gains Ads

Google’s explore section, which we first found a year ago and is now live for all, now seems to be showing Google Ads or sponsored listings. I have not seen ads in the Explore section before, maybe I missed it, but now they are showing for some people.

Google Bard Goes Without Updates For 5 Weeks

Google has not published a new update for Google Bard for five weeks now. The last update published was on June 7, 2023 and since then it has been quiet.

Google Tests Swipe To Share & Save A Search Results

Google is testing a feature to swipe over a specific search result snippet so you can save or share it. When you swipe over the snippet, you are presented with two icons, one to save and one to share.

Google John Mueller: If You Weren’t Buying Links, Don’t Disavow

John Mueller, a Search Advocate at Google, was asked when you should use the link disavow too. He said on Twitter, “Essentially — if you weren’t buying links, don’t disavow.”

YouTube Shopping Cart At Google’s Office

Did you know Google makes their own YouTube branded shopping carts? Here is a photo I found of one on Instagram. This is from the Google Hong Kong office.

Other Great Search Threads:

I’m not really a fan, you’re basically a subdomain on someone else’s site. If you want a domain of your own (and imo you should, if the web is part of your business), then get a real domain name. Even if they’re super cheap, a real domain name isn’t that , John Mueller on Twitter

New documentation for setting traffic sources for GA4 Measurement Protocol has been provided. You set them by attaching them to a new event: campaign_details. Tested this with a client-side tag, and it’s working, Charles Farina on Twitter

Sorry. I don’t try to be defensive, or sound that way. My goal is to explain things. And Twitter, it’s not a great medium like any text medium, in expressing tone. Which is … OMG, being defensive! But I will work on it., Google SearchLiaison on Twitter

You’re not alone with these worries. I obviously can’t predict the future, but I know the folks in Google Search care deeply about all parts of the ‘web journey’., John Mueller on Twitter

Back to Bing traffic to @seroundtable since Bing Chat launched… it went from 1.78% to 3.38% share of my search traffic. Google went down from 97.61% to 96.02% (green slice is Bing), Barry Schwartz on Twitter

I love quote-tweets that take things out of context and post screenshots. Well done., John Mueller on Twitter

Non-pro tip: if you’re running a photography business, don’t use other people’s photos. It’s embarassing. (And also, asking Google why your site isn’t ranking well in those cases is a bit awkward.) Right-click on an image, Search image with Google., John Mueller on Twitter

SEO is not a set of magical incantations where you have to dance properly to make them take effect — most of it is either based on technical specifics, or focused on what users want., John Mueller on Twitter

Search Engine Land Stories:

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