Google Search Bug Resulted In Less Traffic To Video Content Between May 4-17

May 24, 2023 - 7:05 am 0 by

Video Tape Damaged Google Logo

Google Search had an issue with displaying video-related content in the search results. Google Search Console confirmed it had a bug with Google Search specific to video traffic in the performance report between May 4th and May 17th. Google seems to have resolved the issue going forward but your reports between May 4 and May 17 might show lower than normal because of this bug. Google's John Mueller told us later this was not just a reporting bug, meaning, this may have impacted your true video traffic from Google Search.

Google posted the issue over here and wrote, "A bug caused a drop in video traffic from May 4 to May 17, and has since been resolved."

To be clear, Google told us later this was not a reporting bug but rather a bug with Google Search.

You can see the notice yourself by going to Google Search Console, going to the search performance report, then filtering by video type. Then it should load the results with a notification in the chart on May 4th:

click for full size

Glenn Gabe also noticed this and is also curious if this is just a reporting glitch or if this had a real impact on traffic:

So check your reports, you may see some weird data, especially if you get a lot of video traffic from Google Search.

Forum discussion at Twitter.

Update: John Mueller of Google got back to me to say it is not just reporting. He said on Mastodon, "It was not just reporting (we try to specifically mention that)."

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Follow

Search Video Recaps

 
- YouTube
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: December 11, 2024

Dec 11, 2024 - 10:00 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google Search Console New Date Picker & 24-Hour View

Dec 11, 2024 - 9:07 am
Google

Google Shopping Product Details With Track Price, Save & Share Buttons

Dec 11, 2024 - 7:51 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google Search Console Performance Report Compare Dates Bug

Dec 11, 2024 - 7:41 am
Google

Google Video Search Tests Dropping YouTube Channel & Upload Date

Dec 11, 2024 - 7:31 am
Google Ads

Google Merchant Center / Shopping Annotations & Badges Documented

Dec 11, 2024 - 7:21 am
Previous Story: Neon Microphone Light Embedded In Green Plant Wall At Google Office