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.
Google is dropping the follow and welcome offers for local business profiles. Google Maps is showing the questions and answers feature in the maps interface. Google said adding individual pages does not impact crawl budget. Google posted a new video on how BERT helps Google with search. Bing is testing emojis favicons in the title of the search results. I also posted my weekly video recap - this one was a good one, don't miss it.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google Business Profiles Follow & Welcome Offer Going Away
Kara a Google Community Manager announced that Google is doing away with the Google Business profile feature to follow a local listing in Google Maps or Google Search and also dropping the welcome offer feature. There is no date on when this is happening, so it might be happening now or already happened depending on the roll out timing. - Bing Tests Various Favicons In Title Tags
Here is an interesting test from Microsoft Bing. The search company is testing placing a newspaper emoji and a magnifying glass emoji as the favicon in the title of the search results pages. It is unusual and I am not sure why Bing is testing it, but they are. - Questions and Answers In The Google Maps Interface
The questions and answers section is often found for local listings local knowledge panel listing on both desktop and mobile but now it is also showing up in the Google Maps interface. - Google: Adding Individual Pages Does Not Impact How We Crawl Your Site
Google's John Mueller said that simply adding individual pages won't impact how Google crawls your site. Crawl budget generally is only impacted by hundreds of thousands, if not millions of pages - not individual pages here or there. - Video On How BERT Helps With Google Search - It's The Little Words
Google has posted a new video on how BERT helps Google Search understand language. Google has been using BERT in search since 2018, we only knew about it in 2019. That being said, the short video basically says it is about Google understanding the little words better. - Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Algorithm Update Brewing, Google Ads Disapprovals, Google Reporting Glitches & More
This week, we reported about a possible Google search ranking algorithm update brewing, after weeks of calmness. Google Ads may be mass disapproving ads... - Life Size Outdoor Chess Set At Google Zurich
Here is a photo from outside by the Google Zurich office of a life size chess board with life size pieces. This was shared on Instagram recently but this is not new, it has been around for a while.
Other Great Search Threads:
- I think it's new. When trying to verify a GBP listing I get a new interface and it takes me to the Google Merchant Center if you select that customers can purchase products through website @TheSocialDude @JoyanneHawkins @Aden, francastrokw on Twitter
- I think they're super cool - but also challenging from an SEO POV. Including enough relevant textual content is hard with such a visual format. But finding the right words is probably second-nature to you as an, John Mueller on Twitter
- Google pays Mozilla ~$400M per year to be the default search engine -> Firefox's market share decline is pushing Mozilla to diversify its revenue, such as through browser personalization, as it seeks independence from Google d, Glenn Gabe on Twitter
- Have you ever Googled yourself and found info that you think is outdated? Watch our new video to learn all about requesting content removals under the right to be forgotten → https://t.co/Vy1foC3iV1 https://t, Google Search Central on Twitter
- If you use Inspect URL or check the cached page, you can see that we pick the new URL as canonical. However, the query looks very much like you're "asking for" the old URL, so we show it. If you use [my grea, John Mueller on Twitter
- Microsoft @Bing is committed to making #Search more visually immersive. A favorite redesigned feature is our knowledge cards, which surface key information in a fun and beautiful way. I'm proud to share that this experience i, Jordi Ribas on Twitter
- What’s the roadmap to becoming a professional SEO? @JohnMu and @methode chat with @aleyda about her path to becoming an SEO, and the lessons she’s learned along the way. → https://t.co/7BkxxMtGc5, Google Search Central on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google confirms Standard Shopping campaigns will remain available
- Google dropping follow and welcome offers in local listings
- How to avoid international SEO mistakes
- Amazon and Visa come to a truce over fee increases
- Google vs. Edible Arrangements: Court rejects ‘theft’ claim
- Google launches Google Business Profiles calls API
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Google Analytics: What's A Good Bounce Rate In 2022? [Podcast], Search Engine Journal
Industry & Business
- Facebook, Google, Amazon and more marked Black History Month with fanfare — after donating to lawmakers who blocked voting rights bills, MarketWatch
- Google focuses on idle Cloud projects to reduce carbon emissions, Axios
- Our new $100 million Google Career Certificates Fund, Google Blog
Links & Content Marketing
- 15 Content Trends for SEO Success in 2022, Internet Marketing Ninjas
- The Ultimate Guide to Digital PR: From Brainstorming to Backlinks, Go Fish Digital
- Writing Is Writing, Right? Not If You Want To Keep Your Content Creation Team, Content Marketing Institute
Local & Maps
Mobile & Voice
- ‘The juice isn’t worth the squeeze’: Why Future waved bye bye to Google's AMP and hasn’t looked back, Digiday
- Google Assistant keeps saying 'Sorry, I didn't understand', 9to5Google
- New Google Assistant Feature Speeds Up Voice Assistant, Voicebot
- This Googler wants to ‘add every voice’ to AI, Google Blog
SEO
- Hiring an SEO Consultant? Ask These 9 Important Questions, Ahrefs
- How To Benefit From Free Product Listings in Google Merchant Center, Onely Blog
- SEO Split Test Result: Should You Sentence Case or Title Case Your Title Tags?, Semrush
- Using the URL Removal Tool in Google Search Console, Onely Blog
- Validate your ROI: 6 best practices for SEO split-testing, Semrush
- Who Should Take a Search Engine Optimization Training Course?, BruceClay
- How Often Should Your Keywords Appear In Your Content?, DealerOn
- SEO Pricing: How Much Does SEO Cost in 2021?, Semrush
- SEO Tools from Google and Bing, Practical Ecommerce
PPC
- Google Has Made Millions Advertising Phony Government Handouts, HuffPost
- New EU antitrust frontier emerges for Microsoft and Google: Spam ads, POLITICO
Other Search
- Bing Removes Pokemon Website Serebii From Search Results, The Gamer
- Duncan, Dennis: In new book, author dives deep into history of the index, WBUR
- Is Reddit a better search engine than Google?, Fast Company
- What Is Search Intent? A Complete Guide, Semrush
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