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 May Suspend E-Commerce Sites That Change Prices On Checkout Page
Google announced that starting on April 6, 2021 it will begin to enforce that the price feed to Google in the Merchant Center feed is not higher than what is displayed on the checkout screen. This is in addition to price enforcement validation of the price in the feed and on your landing page. - Wikipedia Gatekeeping The About This Result Google Feature?
I honestly think this new "about this result" feature is not a big deal (I can be wrong) but with anything new with Google Search, SEOs tend to obsess about it. So now SEOs are concerned about the information within that feature. Specifically, why is most (all) of it coming from Wikipedia and when Wikipedia does not have information, it just shows when Google first indexed it. - Google Displays Stars With Reviews In Local Knowledge Panel
Google is now showing actual stars in the reviews section of the local knowledge panel reviews area. Tom Waddington showed a screen shot of this on Twitter and I can replicate it for some businesses. - Google Experience Update Label Requires All Factors To Be Complaint
Google's John Mueller said in Friday's Google Search Central SEO hangout that if Google does launch the Page Experience Update label/indicator, for your site to show up for it, all the requirements must be met. He said "we really need to know that all of the factors are compliant." - Reminder: Google Search Console Does Not Backfill Data
This is just a reminder that if you verify a new website in Google or your old website loses its verification for a period of time, the data where the site is not verified will likely be missing. Google's John Mueller recently reminded us of this on Twitter. - Google Soft Cup Holders
Here is some old swag from the folks at Google. This is for the Think With Google portal from March 2017 in Taipei, Taiwan. This was shared almost four years ago on Instagram.
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- February 2021 AdSense Earnings and Observations, WebmasterWorld
- I have no idea what you're looking at there, but it's not uncommon that tools give you unactionable things. It's up to you to decide what you need to do with it. You need to understand your tools and determi, John Mueller on Twitter
- New cookie standards and banner = impact on adsense, WebmasterWorld
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google will suspend merchant sites that show higher prices in the checkout
- How data science can change the way you look at SEO
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Google Analytics 4: Should You Upgrade Now?, DELVE
- How to Filter Referral Spam in Google Analytics, Search Engine Journal
- How to Use the GA4 Demo Account, Seer Interactive
- Top Google Analytics Features for Data-Driven Businesses, Smart Data Collective
Industry & Business
- Microsoft backs Australia's proposed media laws, eyes expansion, Reuters
- What we’re looking forward to in 2021 for news, Google Blog
Links & Content Marketing
- Try Not to Be Awkward: 5 Tips for Writing Seamlessly Optimized Content, Internet Marketing Ninjas
- 5 Ways to Use Search as a Growth Channel for B2B in 2021, Moz
Local & Maps
- Apple Maps 'Look Around' feature now available for Portland, San Diego, Appleinsider
- Google Maps appears to be testing a new route option UI, 9to5Google
Mobile & Voice
- Android 'Phone Hub' begins arriving in Chrome OS [Gallery], 9to5Google
- Android TV’s latest update makes it look more like the Chromecast’s Google TV, The Verge
SEO
- The Comforting Mirage of SEO A/B Testing, Blind Five Year Old
PPC
- Chrome’s Cookie Update Is Bad for Advertisers but Good for Google, Wired
- Wasteful Wednesday #24 - Keyword of the Week "Definitions", Seer Interactive
- What Are Buyer Keywords and How Do I Find Them?, SEM Rush
- Why Google's approach to replacing the cookie is drawing antitrust scrutiny, Digiday
Search Features
