Last month was not that slow of a month, while we didn't have any confirmed Google search algorithm updates, we had several unconfirmed ones and some felt pretty big. Google also said it will weight business names less. in its local search ranking algorithm. Also Google confirmed an issue with its navigation and site command searches for a few hours last month.
Google moved the deadline for mobile-first indexing to next March because of COVID. Google Search Console added a news filter to its performance report and said it will retire the structured data testing tool. Google launched knowledge panels in image search results. And Google has launched a $50 per month plan for Google My Business.
There is a lot more going on, so see the handpicked stories below. The ongoing WebmasterWorld thread is a bit chatty on the latest Google ranking shuffle. You can also catch up on last month with the June 2020 report.
Here are the topics below:
Google Algorithm Updates & Issues:
- Signs Of A Small Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update Around July 6th
- Google Search Ranking Update On July 23rd & 24th
- Google Ranking Update & Fluctuations July 31st & August 1st
- Google Local Algorithm Weighs Business Names Too Highly; Google To Fix This.
- Google Site Command & Navigational Query Operators Failed Yesterday
- Google: Forget Everything You Read About Link Juice
- Google: Links Are Not The Most Important SEO Factor
- Google: A Lot Of Negative Reviews Can Hurt Your Site
- Google: Negative Review Sites Don't Hurt Your Sites Search Ranking
- Google On When Comments Can Hurt Your Blog & When You Should Block Them
- Google Deadline For Mobile-First Indexing Now March 2021, Not September 2020
- Google: Spam Reports Not Used For Manual Actions
- Google Discover Help Document Updated With E-A-T Mentions & More
- Google: Many Manual Actions Are Algorithmic Now & Not Used
- Google Clarifies Structured Data For Multiple Items On A Page
- How To Improve Google Indexing? Create Great, Unique & Compelling Content.
- Google: Multiple Fact Checks Rich Results May Not Show In Search
- Google On How It Measures Web Vitals
- Google's John Mueller Says Don't Use Loading Screens & Delay Users
- Web Stories Image Thumbnails In Google Mobile Search Results
- Web Stories Also Get More Exposure In Google Image Search
- US Congress Investigation Suggests Google Uses Clicks & User Data In Search
- WordPress 5.5 With Google Sitemaps Integration In Its Core
- Google Pruning The Rich Results & FAQ/How To Schema Results?
- The Google Indexing Issue From A Month Ago Was A Crawling Issue
- Google Search Console Performance Reports News Filter
- Google Structured Data Testing Tool Going Away; SEOs Are Not Happy
- Google: We're Planning On Expanding The Rich Results Test Tool
- Google Search Console & Rich Results Test Tool Supports Image License Structured Data
- Google Sending Work From Home Telecommute Markup Notifications
- Google Search Console Video Structured Data Reporting Tweak
- Google Image Search Knowledge Panels Now Live
- Google Top Stories Tests "For Context" Section
- Google Mortgage Search Results Box For You To Compete With & In
- Google Home Smart Displays How-To Tutorials, Like Recipes
- Google Adds Games To Search Results
- Google Tests Search Refinements When You Scroll Up
- Google Featured Snippets Without Borders - A Bug Or Feature?
- Google Tests Thick Gray Borders Between Search Results
- Google Tests "Also In The News" Box Under Top Stories
- Google Tests Categorized Sections For Search Results Again
- Two Google Search Boxes - Seeing Double...
- Google Tests New Interface For Local Q&A Box?
- Google Brings Back The Twitter Carousel
- Google Removed Twitter Results From Search
- Google Showing Large Image Packs For Queries
- Google Tests Blue Shaded Related Search Buttons
- Google Tests Boxed In Related Searches User Interface
- Google My Business Upgraded Profiles; $50 Per Month
- Google Adds Call Button To Local Panel On Desktop Results
- Google Local Panel Displays When Hours Were Last Updated
- Google My Business Adds Black-Owned Attribute For New Icon
- Google Local Pack Carousel With Products
- Google My Business Will Notify Business Of Listing Suspensions
- Google My Business Notification For Duplicate Listings
- Google Local Panel Listing With Two Phone Numbers
- Google My Business Products Section Design Updated
- Google Maps Tests Local Listing Carousel In Footer
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
