Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today…

ChatGPT’s source behavior shows why crawlable facts, third-party validation, and query-level search triggers matter more than generic GEO tactics. The post How ChatGPT Actually Picks Sources (I Read The Network Traffic, Not The Outputs) appeared first on Search Engine Journal .

Learn how multi-location brands fix complex marketing & GBP challenges with an AI layer and a 4-step local optimization framework. The post 61% of CMOs Say Local Marketing Is Too Complex: Here’s the Fix appeared first on Search Engine Journal .

Google’s John Mueller said that while it is useful for site owners to add meta descriptions to their web pages, it is “definitely not a requirement,” he added. The usefulness comes from sometimes writing a meta description, “helps you to figure out a clear focus for a page,” John wrote on Reddit.

We knew this was coming, Google Ads now allows you to upload your customer loyalty data, i.e. Customer Match data, via the Google Merchant API.

Microsoft Bing is testing having the source favicons at the top of the search results page work as an overlay box with more links. Previously, when you clicked on an icon it would anchor you down to that specific search result on the page but instead, in this tests, there is an overlay with the links.

High click-through rates no longer guarantee advertising success due to automated bidding and AI optimization changing traditional metrics.

Google rewrites meta descriptions. Here is what you can do to take back control of those snippets. The post The Absolute Best Way To Write Meta Descriptions appeared first on Search Engine Journal

Google rewrites meta descriptions.

Google is testing adding an open in new window icon on sponsored results within the Google Search results. This icon appears at the end of the URL in the Google search ads.