Google Tests ... Everything!

Google seems to be one a "testing spree" releasing more and more tests through its Search Labs and actual SERPs.

I found about those by following Aleyda Solís and Antonis Dimitriou , be sure to follow both for up-to-date SEO news and expert advice :)

Let's quickly dive into each of the updates I have collected over the last couple weeks:

Follow Topics

If you allow experiments on Google Search Labs, you get early access to topics you can follow. This is to show you more results around a topic in search and Discover.

This seems to be more relevant to the discover feed.

Read more about it on Techcrunch.

Adding Notes

Add notes to specific search results and then get a number of those notes ranked to support the content in the page.

Notes can be formatted.

Aleyda points out that we will be seeing more "notes spam" when this is released which I agree. This feature, if released, has a huge potential for abuse.

More on Search Engine Land

Perspectives

A more diversified view for a search result, perspectives gives you a more social, video-based, and forum-based experience. Getting topics to be viewed by a wider perspective.

Here are more details.

Reddit & Quora Results (Discussions and Forums)

More forum tests, a featured result to share more social, human results on search. While this comes on time to combat AI spam, it also has a potential for huge abuse.

We might see a resurgence in bot & AI spam on Reddit & Quora now (not that it didn't already exist).

Sound on PAAs

Antonis first discovered this and then I got one as well, Google is testing sound PAAs, where a generated voice talks for the result.

Is this a way to keep you more in the SERPs and "steal clicks" or trying to combat other rivals like Siri and a potential Bing + Voice Search from Google (eyeing you Cortana).

More Social on the Feed

So, it seems in some cases searching for people or celebrities, you will see their feed. That's probably to show their perspective, social media, or their "own voice".

Logos in Auto-Complete & Related Brands

I also came upon enriched auto-complete results.

Google in some cases shows logos, more information, and competitors/alternatives right in the search box.

This was a featured snippet below, but they are testing it directly in the search box now. I am wondering if it stays there, knowledge panels and the knowledge graph will be more "in-demand" now.

Knowledge Panel on Main Column

Another change on the knowledge panel, on one case I found a panel in the middle column instead of the right. Not sure how new this is, but seems like a preparation to insert SGE in the middle column and kill the right one.

Bonus: Experimenting with GPTs

Are you up for some GPT action?

Me and my buddy Antonis Dimitriou have created our own GPTs and keep experimenting.

Try my lead magnet generator GPT which I "creatively" named LeMaG to quickly create a lead magnet checklist, ebook, or spreadsheet.

Or, Antonis' Hreflang Goblin, where it helps you to setup Hreflang (a question he gets ... a LOT).