Google News Initiative’s Post

So, still mulling over my top takeaway from the 2024 Niche Media Conference - informative as ever, and where last year we decided to launch NichePublisher.biz. Here it is: Google's search AI will finally push publishers off of the first page of search results entirely. That leaves, uhhmmmm, 2% of searches. Virtually no clicks to publishers. What say you? #GardnerBusinessMedia, #NicheMediaConference,#RyanDohrn,#katehand,#ai,#googlesge

Fascinating insights from the latest Rand Fishkin research about how people use Google (from a 332M queries analysis over 21 months). Top takeaways: #1: Google has become every brand’s home page: one-third of Google’s usage is purely navigational #2: Google’s zero-click answers, including AI overviews have already taken over many of the largest categories of search demand #3: A few thousand query terms make up a quarter of all Google searches, and that looks to be rising over time. #4: It is far better to be the brand your target customers search for than it is to do search marketing for the millions of query permutations in a space #5: Google has become a place people go *after* they discover a need rather than a demand-creation or even demand-nudging platform More: https://lnkd.in/dGJzfiyU

Discover how one-third of searches are navigational, zero-click answers are dominating, and why being the brand matters more than chasing endless SEO permutations... 🚀

📰 #imNEWS: Get caught up on our 3 favorite online marketing news stories from this past week in just under 1 minute: 👓 You can now run Google Ads in AI Overviews and Lens  ▶️ Post 3-minute YouTube Shorts 📈 Instagram shares best practices for growth on the platform Which story interests you the most? Comment below with your thoughts, questions, or feedback! #googleads #google #googlelens #googleaioverview #ai #youtubeshorts #youtubecreators #instagram #instagrambestpractices #instagramcreators

Google Trends Aren’t Just Searches, They’re Business Opportunities  Every search tells a story. Whether it’s AI, politics, sports, or career trends. 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟱/𝟯𝟲𝟱 Google Trends give us a real-time pulse on what the world cares about right now. But the real question is: How can businesses, marketers, and analysts turn this data into action? Google Trends aren’t just numbers—they’re a real-time roadmap for content creation, marketing strategy, and investment insights. Which trend interests you the most? Let’s discuss how businesses can leverage these insights! 🚀 #GoogleTrends #Marketing #AI #BusinessStrategy #DataAnalytics

Google has announced the rollout of SGE to US search users, with plans to expand to over 1 billion by the end of the year 💡 Liz Reid, VP Head of Google Search, stated in the announcement, “Now, with generative AI, Search can do more than you ever imagined. So you can ask whatever’s on your mind or whatever you need to get done — from researching to planning to brainstorming — and Google will take care of the legwork.” The rollout could potentially change how we shop, how we search (long tail complex queries being answered) and how we find and absorb information. It's going to be interesting however to see the rollout in action, how much Google will utilise AI responses, the value they bring and the impact on rankings. The updates are part of wider plans to make it easier to find trustworthy and helpful responses to search queries and soon we’ll be able to: 🔎 Use AI Overviews to get quick answers 🔎 Simplify language or expand on responses to get more detail 🔎 Ask more complex queries so you don’t have to conduct multiple searches 🔎Use search to plan (think meal plans, workouts, trips, date nights) 🔎 Use videos to conduct search queries I put some thoughts together on SGE and what it means for Digital PR late last year, but ultimately if you’re focusing on your brands expertise, and creating genuinely useful content for your audiences, it’s the best we can do.  https://lnkd.in/e_R_ySc3 

How much do you trust Google search results? Recently, as part of a wave of changes made to Google, AI-generated answers have been introduced to the search engine’s result pages. Unfortunately, these answers are now making a buzz on social media as it appears they can deliver misleading information. Some screenshots floating across the internet show the AI suggesting adding glue to a pizza sauce or even that people eat one rock a day (note: we do not suggest you do this!) While it has a disclaimer below the answers, it’s at the top of Google search results, potentially sharing harmful information. This is particularly concerning as Google usually garners immense trust from its users - and now those people are leaving to find their information elsewhere. What does this mean for marketers? It could lead to an increased focus on other search providers like Bing, as well as increasing focus on SEO-led social media channels like TikTok. While Bing is integrating AI capabilities into search, you’re able to turn off their version “Copilot”, while there is currently no way to turn off Google AI overviews - hence Google trends for ‘Turn Off Google AI’ spiking this week across social! Let us know what you think of these changes. We’ll be watching closely for updates 👀 #DigitalMarketing #AI #Google #AIOverviews

When perceptions collide with reality: We are fast approaching the most effective month for advertising - August. Yes, for the last three years (since deep data dives started) the month of August has been in the top slot for advertising performance - not what most of us would perceive to be as the best month to invest in advertising, yet the data, and even AI, confirms it. ⏳ So, time is running out to book your space. Inventory is genuinely limited, so please do get in touch with Aron Marusic or me to find out more or book your campaign in the best month of the year! (Image: bad spelling and AI analysis using Google Ad Manager campaign data for all campaigns during each month in the last 3 years).

“Discovery happens in lots of places, but decisions happen on Google Search.” Brendon Kraham, VP of search and commerce for Global Ads Solutions, breaks down the latest Search innovations that are giving us stronger intent signals to connect marketers with the right customers at the right moment. ➡️ Visual search: With Lens hitting nearly 20B monthly searches, visual discovery is exploding. ➡️ AI Overviews: Think “supersmart librarian” for Search. This feature, one of Google’s most significant improvements to Search in 20 years, offers a new way to connect with users seeking in-depth info. Explore the future of Search: https://goo.gle/4gY35MM #ThinkwithGoogle

Staying ahead in the fast-paced world of digital marketing means keeping up with the latest trends. AI, data privacy, social commerce, voice search, and video content are just a few of the areas that are shaping the industry right now. What digital marketing trends are you most excited about? Share your thoughts in the comments below! #digitalmarketing #trends #AI #dataprivacy #socialcommerce #voicesearch #videocontent