All articles tagged with #links
Google announced five updates to how links are shown in AI Mode and AI Overviews: end-of-answer suggestions linking to related articles; highlighting links from your subscriptions for quick access to trusted content; showing creators’ names/handles to provide context for online discussions; placing more links near the relevant text; and enabling hover previews of inline links on desktop to preview sites before clicking.
Engadget reports Meta is testing clickable links inside Instagram post captions for subscribers of Meta Verified. A tester could add a clickable Link (Substack) to a caption, with an in-app message noting a limit of up to 10 links per month. Meta didn’t reveal how many users have access or whether the feature will roll out widely, and the test currently appears to affect mobile views (not all desktop views). If expanded, it could reduce reliance on “link in bio” tools and reflects Meta’s broader paid-feature experiments for creators; Meta Verified for creators starts at $14.99 per month (up to $499.99 for higher tiers).
Google is updating AI Overviews and AI Mode to show groups of links in a hover pop-up on desktop and to use more descriptive, prominent link icons across devices, aiming to improve source visibility and potentially increase clicks to publisher sites.
Google is enhancing its AI Mode in Search by introducing embedded link carousels on desktop, smarter inline links, and expanding its Web Guide feature to provide more contextual and accessible source links, aiming to improve user experience and site engagement.
Gary Illyes, an analyst on the Google Search team, stated at Pubcon Pro that links pointing to a website are no longer among the top three ranking factors in Google Search. While links still hold importance, Illyes emphasized that their significance has been overestimated. Google's algorithm now places more importance on factors such as machine learning, natural language understanding, and relevance signals. Illyes mentioned a case where a website with zero links ranked consistently due to its exceptional content, which Google discovered through the website's sitemap. Other Google representatives have also downgraded the importance of links in recent years, stating that they are not the most crucial factor for SEO.
Google has removed links from its AI-generated answers in the Search Generative Experience (SGE) feature. The change was noticed by users who reported the absence of links in the SGE answers on Twitter. Google's Search Liaison clarified that while the links have been removed, the company is still experimenting with different formats and changes will continue. The removal of links may be a temporary measure until a better solution is developed, as some users found that the links provided were often incorrect or out of context.
Google is testing the inclusion of links directly within the text of its AI-generated answers in the Search Generative Experience. Previously, links were only displayed in the cards at the top right section of the answer. This update aims to address the issue of not being able to click from the text of the answer to the source of the information, making the experience more useful for users.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the boss of the private military company Wagner Group, has deep and complex ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, which are causing a dilemma for the Kremlin. Prigozhin's connections to Putin, including his involvement in election interference and military operations in Ukraine and Syria, have put the Russian government in a difficult position as it tries to balance its support for Wagner Group with international pressure and concerns about Prigozhin's activities.
Instagram now allows users to add up to five links in their bios, instead of just one. This new feature makes it easier for users to share multiple links to their content. However, social media companies are incentivized to keep users engaged on their platforms, so this change took a while to implement. To add multiple links to your Instagram bio, go to Edit profile > Links > Add external link and enter the URL with a title.