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:
- Search Buzz Video Recap: Google Passage Based Ranking Impact, Google Update, Responsive Search Ads & Google Maps Spam
I got to say, I am a bit frustrated with the release of Google passage based ranking. I rant on it for a while and clarify a lot of things around it, including how it seemed like a small update and the scroll to text misinformation... - Google Maps Spam Efforts Lead To Removal Of 55M Reviews & 3M Business Profiles
Google wrote about some of the efforts it takes towards preventing and removing "fake and fraudulent contributed content" on Google Maps. The numbers of how much Google has removed from the Google Maps ecosystem is pretty amazing. - Google Search Central Live Conference Is Next Week
Google announced the Google Search Central Live Conference. It seems to be taking place on February 23, 2021 between the hours of 7:00PM and 8:35 PM (EST). Google said this event is scheduled for the "timezone to suit parts of the Asia-Pacific region." - Google Ads Responsive Search Ads The New Default Ad Type
Google announced responsive search ads will be the default ad type for Google Search ad campaigns in Google Ads. Google said the expanded text ads can still be created if needed. But Google doesn't think you will need them because they are wicked smart when it comes to machine learning. - Google May Provide Method To Block Content From Google Discover
Danny Sullivan from Google said Google is "looking at" providing a mechanism to block pages or subsections of your site from being displayed in Google Discover. This comes off the controversy that there are new manual actions for Discover and Google News but no way to control if you show in Discover. - Google May Discover URLs In Form Action Attributes & Text Files
Google's John Mueller said Google may discover and index URLs it finds in form action attributes, just like it does when it finds URLs in simple text files. Again, these are not normal HTML hyperlinks but URLs listed in files. - GoogleBots Had A Day Off
John Mueller a few weeks ago took his GoogleBots out for the day to get some vitamin D and relaxation after what has proven to be a troubling year. John shared this photo on Twitter of the two bots e
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- I'm not aware of any rise. Canonicalization is a very fluid process, and internationalization can make things complex (especially same-language / multiple-country content)., John Mueller on Twitter
- This is nice. If you search for [perseverance] on Google, fireworks appear to celebrating the successful landing of @NASAPersevere #Perseverance https://t.co/nY0BM4HJdi, Danny Sullivan on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google brings Display ads to attribution reports as an open beta
- Digital-first commerce boosts Shopify’s earnings
- Responsive search ads now the default in Google Ads
- Clubhouse, Shopify, and unconfirmed algorithm updates; Thursday’s daily brief
- Google updated metric boundaries for core web vitals in Search Console
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Google Tag Manager: A GA4 Beginner's Guide, Search Engine Journal
- Properties vs. Data Streams in Google Analytics 4 Properties, Bounteous
Industry & Business
- Amazon, Facebook, Google back lawsuit against Maryland’s new online ad tax, Washington Post
- Google Vs Amazon Stock: Which Is The Better Buy, Seeking Alpha
Links & Content Marketing
Local & Maps
- Apple Maps cycling navigation expands to San Diego, Portland, Appleinsider
- GMB Free Websites Used for Spam & Google Cant Remove, Online Ownership
- Maps 101: A look at how we tackle fake and fraudulent contributed content, Google Blog
Mobile & Voice
- Android 12 developer preview is available now with many under-the-hood updates, The Verge
- Apple TV+ is now available on Google TV, Google Blog
- Try it on: Connected clothing that helps everyone, Google Blog
SEO
- Google Page Experience Audit For 2021 [+ Free Template], SEOsly
- Local Business SEO: Tactics to Improve Your Ranking, SEM Rush
- UX & SEO: How to Prepare for Google's May Algorithm Update, Conductor
- Video SEO: How to rank your videos in Google, Yoast
- How to Explain Domain Authority to a Non-SEO, Moz
PPC
- 7 Tips For Writing An Irresistible Native Ad Headline, PPC Hero
- Announcing v202102 of the Google Ad Manager API, Google Ads Developer Blog
- Attribution reports now include YouTube and Display ads, Google Ads Help
- Why Rob Tate moved from print to digital ad sales, Google Blog
Other Search
