* This blog post is a summary of this video.

Rewritten SEO Title Based on YouTube Video About Google and SEO News

Author: RustyBrick Barry Schwartz Search Engine RoundtableTime: 2024-02-08 11:45:01

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Latest SEO and Search News

The search engine optimization landscape is constantly evolving with new updates, features, and announcements from the major search engines like Google and Bing. It can be challenging for SEOs and marketers to stay on top of everything. This blog post provides a comprehensive overview of the latest news and developments in March 2023 that are important for search marketers to be aware of.

Overview of Content

In this post, we will cover key announcements regarding Google algorithm updates, upgrades to Google Bard and Bing Chat, Bing's new content controls, Google's removal tool, stances on AI-generated content, ranking factors, Bing's use of AI, Google's travel and maps features, Google Ads appeals, and more. Having a pulse on these topics is crucial for executing effective SEO strategies this year.

Google Algorithm Updates in March 2023

Google rolled out several algorithm updates in March 2023 that are worth noting:

The February 2023 product reviews update that started in February came to an end in March. This update was designed to improve rankings for helpful, high-quality product review content.

Google also launched the March 2023 core update which rolled out slowly over a couple weeks in March. As with previous core updates, this one was designed to improve Google's overall search results. Site owners may have experienced fluctuations in rankings and traffic as a result.

Google Bard Improvements

Google announced upgrades to Bard, its conversational AI chatbot, in March. According to Jack from Google, Bard now better understands and responds to multi-step math and logic problems through the incorporation of PaLM, a new Google AI language model.

Sundar Pichai also gave an insightful interview about plans to continue improving Bard through research and feedback. SEOs should pay attention to advancements in Bard and how it may ultimately impact search.

Bing Chat Upgrades

Microsoft has been actively upgrading Bing Chat as well. Some of the new features and capabilities include:

  • Showing videos and images directly in chat responses

  • Improved local search results

  • Adding Bing Chat to the search sidebar

  • Image creation abilities

  • Read aloud responses

  • Better refusal handling for writing code examples

  • Reduced disengagement

Bing Content Controls

Bing's CEO mentioned they are developing content controls for Bing Chat versus Bing web search. These controls would allow webmasters to specify what content Bing can index and understand from their sites in each section.

This is expected to help content creators ensure Bing only indexes appropriate pages and uses appropriate content. The Bing team plans to announce more details in April 2023.

Google's Removal Tool Clarification

Clarification from Google

There was speculation that Google's removal tool could potentially remove competitors' pages by claiming they returned 404s even if they didn't. However, Danny Sullivan from Google clarified the tool only removes pages that legitimately return 404s. It can also remove cached content if the live page no longer contains the indexed content. But it won't arbitrarily remove competitors' pages.

Google's Stance on AI-Generated Content

Concerns from Google

While Google's official stance is that high-quality AI-generated content is fine to index, John Mueller has expressed concerns:

  • He compared it to using food with toxic chemicals - risky without thorough vetting
  • He questioned if lawyers should use it for legal cases
  • Advised creators carefully review AI content instead of blindly publishing This contrasts with Google's official statement and indicates hesitancy about quality and accuracy of uncontrolled AI-generated content.

Google Date Factors for Rankings

Danny Sullivan explained that date and freshness factors still carry weight for ranking pages about trending news and information. Even if a page has great evergreen content, Google will likely rank more recent pages higher when a topic is timely and topical right now based on current events.

Bing's Use of AI Content

Bing has begun generating and showing AI-written content modules in search sidebars without any backlash. This includes AI-generated stories on topics ranging from lentils to major news events.

While Google would likely receive criticism for doing the same, Bing seems to have more leeway with direct implementation of AI text generation given its smaller market share.

Google Travel Features

Google introduced several new travel-related features that are useful for hotel properties and travelers:

  • Hotel stories - Automatically generated long-form narratives about hotels using aggregated data and photos.

  • Flight price guarantees - Guaranteeing estimated flight costs and reimbursing differences.

  • Discovery options - New ways to explore travel destinations right in Google Search.

Google Maps Fake Review Blocking

Google significantly ramped up its blocking of fake reviews, photos, videos, and business profiles in Google Maps over the past year. Highlights include:

  • 115 million fake reviews blocked in 2022, up from 95 million in 2021

  • 250 million fake photos removed

  • 7 million fake videos removed

  • 20 million fake business profiles blocked from being published

  • Leveraging AI to detect fraudulent business profiles and photos

Google Local Pack Testing

Google is experimenting with changing the look and feel of the local pack in its search results:

  • Moused over local listings now show the business profile card without leaving search

  • Moused over Maps preview opens an interactive map overlay without clicking through

Google Ads Policy Appeals

Google Ads added a new warning message when appealing disapprovals to fix policy violations before appealing. Too many appeals without addressing issues can limit appeal abilities.

This change emphasizes the importance of actually resolving identified issues instead of just appealing everything.

Conclusion

Key Takeaways

March 2023 was an eventful month in SEO and search marketing. Some key themes include:

  • Google pushing core algorithm updates along with product review updates
  • AI advancements like Bard and Bing Chat showing practical improvements
  • Concerns around quality of uncontrolled AI content generation
  • Google enhancing travel search features and fake review detection
  • Continued user interface experiments in local pack
  • Stricter appeals process for Google Ads violations Staying on top of developments like these will be key for SEO success in 2023 and beyond.

FAQ

Q: What Google algorithm updates happened recently?
A: There were signs of an unconfirmed Google update in early April 2023. Google did not confirm an official update.

Q: How did Google improve Bard?
A: Bard was upgraded to better understand multi-step math and logic problems through integration of the POM language model.

Q: What new features does Bing Chat have?
A: Bing Chat can now show videos, images and improved local results directly in chat responses.

Q: Can Google remove competitor content?
A: No, Google clarified its removal tool will not remove competitor content, only outdated content.

Q: What's Google's view on AI-generated content?
A: Google seems more skeptical, warning about potential inaccuracies and need for validation.

Q: How is Bing using AI content?
A: Bing is generating AI sidebar stories for topics to accompany search results.

Q: What's new in Google Travel?
A: Google launched hotel stories, flight price guarantees and discovery options in travel results.

Q: How did Google Maps fight fakes?
A: Google Maps blocked over 115 million fake reviews and 20 million business profiles in 2022.

Q: What's new in Google local packs?
A: Google is testing showing expanded business profiles and larger maps when mousing over local results.

Q: What's the change to Google Ads appeals?
A: Google now shows a warning when appealing without fixing policy violations first.

PreNext