Google is showcasing and rewarding local product inventory data as part of its larger competitive strategy with Amazon.

It’s no secret today’s young people prefer searching for recommendations on video apps over text-based search engines. Even the executives at Google know this. SVP Prabhakar Raghavan recently said that according to the company’s internal studies, 40% of young people, when looking for a place for lunch, go first to TikTok or Instagram over Google Maps or Search.

Australian-based digital marketing service provider for small-and-medium-sized businesses, Localsearch, is aiming to become Australia’s number one online business directory (now digital presence service), overtaking the longstanding Yellow Pages within the next 24 months.

Big news in the SEO world. Google is releasing a new, site-wide ranking signal that targets “unhelpful content”. I was able to speak with Google’s Danny Sullivan about the ranking signal and will provide that information, including my thoughts about the update, below. Note, Google also announced that a new Product Reviews Update will be rolling out in the coming weeks. I’ll cover more about that separately (soon).

Last Friday, Meta announced the launch of ‘digital collectibles’ on Instagram in Hong Kong.

Globally, some 140 billion messages on Meta’s apps were being sent daily with a growth adoption in Asia Pacific, according to the report conducted with 6,500 respondents across APAC including Australia, Korea, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.