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 Keeps Printing Money: Up 23% YoY & Search Up 17%
Google announced impressive earnings last night showing their revenue was up 23% year-over-year. If you just look at the Google Search category, Google earned $31,903M in Q4 2020 compared to $27,185M in Q4 2019, that is a 17% increase. Overall revenue was up 23% with YouTube doing specifically well. - Chrome Data Added To Google Search Console Discover Performance Report
Google announced it added Chrome data to the Google Search Console Discover performance report. I guess previously this report only included data from the Google home page and Google Search app. Now, it will include data Chrome users see when they open a new tab on Chrome mobile. - February 2021 Google Webmaster Report
So the first month of 2021 is now over and it has proven to be an important month. We had Google trickle out a few unconfirmed ranking algorithm updates this month, including confirming rolling out subtopics rankings last year. Google launched a new mobile redesign, did tons of various UI tests and feature launches. - Google My Business Adds Guidelines For Co-Working Spaces
Google has added one line to its Google My Business guidelines around co-working spaces. In short, if your business is out of a co-working space it must have signage, accept customers and be staffed to be eligible to have a Google My Business listing with a co-working address. - Google Tests Compare Search Results
Google is testing a method to compare the set of search results it gives you after you enter a query. Google lets you select a number of search result snippets and compare them. - Google Swing Table & Chairs
Here is a photo from the GooglePlex in California of an outdoor patio table and chairs. But this table and chairs are on ropes so they can all swing. Pretty cool.
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- If a site loses verification for a longer period of time, we don't collect the data for Search Console, and we don't back-fill it afterwards. So this is, unfortunately, probably not going to sh, John Mueller on Twitter
- What’s going on with this “did you mean” suggestion? It reloads the same SERP if I click it @JohnMu @dannysullivan https://t.co/9XKVC8Jyu7, Candice Lyna on Twitter
- Jeff Bezos to Step Aside as CEO of Amazon and Become Executive Chairman, WebmasterWorld
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Australia’s showdown with Google has profound implications for domestic businesses and other digital platforms
- Google Search Console Discover performance report now includes all data
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- How to create events in the Google Analytics 4 Interface, Conversion Uplift
- It's Here: GA4 FAQs and Guidelines, Wheelhouse
Industry & Business
- Google Co-Founder Brin’s Family Office to Open in Singapore, Bloomberg
- Google Rides Global Ad Recovery to Record Revenue, Wall Street Journal
Local & Maps
Mobile & Voice
- Google Assistant seeing 'device hasn't been set up yet' error, 9to5Google
- Microsoft is Adding New Cortana Voice AI Features to Outlook and Teams, Voicebot
- Microsoft rebrands Office Lens, adds new scanning features, 9to5Google
SEO
- 3 Cool (and Cheap) Writing Tools I Can't Live Without, SuccessWorks
- IndexWatch 2020 - SEO Losers in Google US, SISTRIX
- Website Structure: How to Build Your SEO Foundation, Ahrefs
- What Is Google’s “Needs Met” Rating and Why Should You Care?, BruceClay
PPC
- Negative keywords and how to use them, Vertical Leap
- New in Web Stories for WordPress: animations and ads, Google Blog
- February key product updates, Microsoft Advertising
- How to add an Ad Schedule to your Google Ads account, Koozai
