It was not a slow month when it comes to Google webmaster topics. We saw an unconfirmed Google algorithm update that hit spammers for the most part. We saw Google confirm a Japanese algorithm update but we had a couple smaller updates as well.
Google did tell us the mobile-first index is not rolling out any time soon. But they did confirm the mobile interstitial penalty is rolling out on a recrawl basis. That penalty can hurt but has seen some minimal impact thus far.
Google officially killed the link operator this past month but promised to keep the site operator. They explained what crawl budget is and released infrastructure updates to the Google Search Console. There were tons of local/map tests and user interface tests as well.
Finally, Matt Cutts officially resigned from Google and his boss, Amit Singhal joined Uber.
Overall, the ongoing WebmasterWorld thread is still talking about the Google algorithm update and some zoombie chatter.
Here is January's recap and here are some of the more important posts from the past 30-days or so:
Google Algorithms:
- New Google Algorithm Update Targets PBNs & Links, Penguin Tweak?
- Google Japan Algorithm Update Lowers Ranking Of Low Quality Sites
- Google Update Brewing? Chatter & Tools Point To Algorithm Update
- Google Algorithm Update On January 16th, MLK Day?
- Google: We're Done With Big Numbered Penguin Releases & Updates
- Google: We Try To Launch All Our Algorithms Globally Now
- Google Mobile-First Index Not Launching Too Soon
- Google Intrusive Interstitials Mobile Penalty Does Hurt
- Google: Intrusive Interstitials Mobile Penalty Still Rolling Out Based On Recrawl
- Google Intrusive Interstitials Mobile Penalty Having Minimal Impact
- A Google Intrusive Interstitials Mobile Penalty False Positive
- Google: The Link Operator No Longer Works
- Google Won't Tell Webmasters Which Links They Do Not Count For Spam Reasons
- Google: Crawl Rate & Crawl Demand = Crawl Budget
- Google: No Plans Or Desire To Remove The Site Command
- Google: The Site Command Not Ranked In Any Defined Order
- Google On Negative SEO: Keeps Competitors Busy While You Get To Move Forward
- Google Structured Data Testing Tool Validates Multi-Typed Entities MTE
- Google: Use Nofollow When Linking To Bad Sites
- Google Adds Preview Button To Structured Data Testing Tool For Some Types
- Google: Tell Us About Your HTTPS Migrations Again
- Google: Don't Build Links From Google Sheets
- Google: Folder Level & Hierarchy Not That Important For Google
- Google Tips On How To Block User Generated Spam
- Google: AMP Not Ranking Factor But If AMP Page Is Canonical, It Will Be Used For Site Quality
- Google: International Targeting In Search Console Doesn't Reduce Visibility In Other Countries
- Tell Google What Technical SEO Topic They Should Write About
- Google Has Search Quality Raters In Tons Of Countries
- Google Search Console Warnings For Infrastructure Updates
- New Google Mobile-Friendly Test API
- Google Horizontal Scrollable Local Pack Ads
- Google Local Panel Business Owner Promotions Box
- Google Local Knowledge Panel Tests Showing Phone Number
- Google Tests More Carousel Features In Local Card
- Google My Business Shows Adds Temporary Closed Status
- Google Hotel Search Results With Pricing Trends & Top Rated Data
- New: Google Local Pack Showing Google Shopping Ads
- Google Jump To Links In Mobile Search Snippets
- Google Search Testing Box Layout Design Again
- Google AMP In Google News More Than Doubles, Hits 70% Of Results
- Google News Removes Shareable Sections
- The Google Spinner In Search
- Google Adds Book Previews Now On Mobile Search
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
