Daily Search Forum Recap: July 28, 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 says AI-generated reviews are spam according to Merchant Center policies. Google updates site names in search results, with improvements and workarounds. Google rolled out a new search setting interface. Google Merchant Center, customer support details are wanted. Google Business Profiles has a food ordering feature. And I posted the SEO video recap, don’t miss it.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• New Google Merchant Center Policy Says AI Generated Reviews Are Spam & Disallowed
  
  Google has posted a new policy saying AI-generated reviews are against its policies, disallowed and considered spam. If you find such content, Google said you must mark it as spam in your feed with the is_spam attribute.
• Google Site Names In Search Results Updated With More Subdomain Support & Workarounds
  
  As Google promised, it has updated its support for site names in its search results. Google said it has expanded support for subdomains and also has compiled more information on how site names work in Google Search. Plus, Google had documented a few workarounds for when it does not work.
• Google Officially Rolling Out New Search Settings Interface
  
  Ashwarya, Google Search Community Manager, posted that Google Search will soon roll out “a new experience to make access to key items easier on the Search Results Page on the web.” In short, it is a new way to access Google Search Settings on desktop and mobile.




• Google Merchant Center Next Wants You To Add Your Customer Support Details
  
  Google wants you to add your customer support details to Google Merchant Center Next. Google said, “Shoppers are often dissatisfied when they can’t easily find customer support and returns related information when they’re shopping online.” So if you add this information, it will improve your shoppers experience.




• Google Business Profiles Food Ordering Settings
  
  Google has updated the Google Business Profile food ordering section with more options and settings. This feature was in the old Google My Business section but was updated recently in the new Google Business Profile interface.
• Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Ranking Cooling But Chatter Heated, AI Reviews, TLDs, Programmatic SEO, UI Changes, Bing Dark, Local, Earnings & More
  
  
  
  This week, we noticed that many, but not all, of the Google rank tracking tools were cooling, but then later this week, the SEO chatter heated up. Google Merchant Center says AI-generated reviews are spam. John, Gary…




• Google Brazil Seesaw
  
  Here is something you can all relate to, a Google seesaw. The ups and downs of the seesaw, feeling excited but also nauseous at the same time… Here is a seesaw I spotted at the Google Brazil office.

Other Great Search Threads:

Search Engine Land Stories:

Other Great Search Stories:

Analytics

Industry & Business

Links & Content Marketing

Local & Maps

Mobile & Voice

SEO

PPC

Search Features

Other Search

Feedback:

Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky and you can follow us on Facebook and on Google News and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or just contact us the old fashion way.