Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update Around January 6th
Google may have pushed out their first larger search algorithm update of 2019 over this weekend. It may have started around January 5th or 6th and it seems to be continuing on through today - the 7th. There is both chatter within the SEO community and ranking tools validating the shifts in the Google search results. - Google Says Isaac Newton As FA Cup Player
If you go to Google and search for [fa cup] and then click on the players tab. The second player Google is currently listing is Issac Newton from 1600s and one of the most recognized and well known personalities of all time in science and beyond. - Google's John Mueller Gives Hard Advice To Low Quality Site
Google's John Mueller often doesn't give direct advice that contains hard messages. But in a Google Webmaster Help thread John decided to give the hard truth to one webmaster producing low quality content. In fact, John recommended that he "take the site down, and start over fresh." - Google: Unnatural Links By Humans Or Bots Are Your Responsibility
Google's John Mueller was asked if there is a difference between a human adding unnatural links on your web site compared to AI, algorithms doing it on their own. John responded that ultimately it is the responsibility of the site owner to make sure their site is clean no matter how the content or links get on it. - Gary Illyes From Google Now Takes Speaking Requests Via Google Form
Gary Illyes speaks at a lot of conferences around the world on Google SEO and webmaster related topics. He works for Google and over the past several years has spoken at most large SEO conferences from what I've seen. He said if you want him to speak at your event, you should fill out a Google form he made instead of just emailing him. - Matt Cutts Flying A Drone Inside Google In 2010
Last month we shared a video of someone flying a drone inside one of the Google offices. Well, it turns out he was not the first (not surprised). Matt Cutts back in 2010 flew a drone inside the Goog
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- I'm not aware of anything there -- I suspect it would be pretty visible if there were a general problem. Removal / hide requests aren't instant, maybe it was just a matter of time for it to be processed? (Happy to check if you, John Mueller on Twitter
- I just noticed that Google links some "top stories" to Google News "full coverage" but most are still linked with the news search vertical "more news". @badams is this going for a long time now? Haven't seen that in german s, Valentin Pletzer on Twitter
- Big decrease in Google AdSense Revenue, WebmasterWorld
- Join us for #AcademyOnAir to learn how to save time with automation, drive growth with attribution, and build connections through video. Sign up now ➡ https://t.co/PsaN3Rk5LX… https://t.co/gw1y1ruEzE, Google Ads on Twitter
- URLs aren't going away.…, John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google’s Rich Results testing tool now supports code editing
- StrategiQ launches Spark, an SEO deployment platform
- Leading local SEO predictions: Reserve with Google will grow, real-time local inventory gets real
- Bing Ads’ AI-powered Performance Insights now available globally
- Google buys expert community and ‘answer engine’ Superpod for $60 million
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Deliver Step Change Impact: Marketing & Analytics Obsessions, Avinash Kaushik
Industry & Business
- Google picks up company behind Q&A app, Axios
- Google gets go-ahead from Central Bank for payments, Irish Times
- The party’s over: Google and Facebook will pay taxes in Israel, Haaretz.com
Links & Promotion Building
- Backlinks: How to Analyse Competitors, Distilled
- DuckDuckGo: No, we’re not using browser fingerprinting to track you, TechCrunch
Local & Maps
- Google Adds Your Match Score to Local Packs, Sergey Alakov on Twitter
- Taking Local Inventory Online: An Interview with Pointy’s Mark Cummins, Moz
Mobile & Voice
- Here’s how the Google Assistant became more helpful in 2018, Google Blog
- Moen's digital shower system will soon support Google Assistant and HomeKit, VentureBeat
- Samsung's newest TVs will work with Google Assistant and Alexa, Engadget
SEO
- What Are the Benefits of SEO Outsourcing for Your Business?, Search Engine Guide
PPC
- Boost your productivity with performance insights, Bing Ads Blog
- Help influence and understand how your products appear on Google, Google Blog
- Ways to Reduce PPC Spend in a Pinch, PPC Hero
Search Features
- MOZ Analysis: 4 Years of SERP Screenshots, Elite Strategies
