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: Sites Are Not Tainted From Old Manual Actions
Gary Illyes from Google said on Twitter a "site being "tainted" after a manual action is a SEO myth." He said once you "you request a reconsideration request and if successful, you're off the hook." - Google Writes FAQ For Google Image License Metadata
An unnamed Google employee posted an FAQ around that new Google Image license metadata for the licensable label on images. The Googler said that the "FAQs listed below where you can also submit feedback or additional questions if you need help to troubleshoot issues along the way." - Google Confirms No Recent Campaign Against Unnatural Links
There have been some discussions about Google penalizing guest blog posts or a spike in unnatural link penalties. They were wrong. Gary Illyes from Google said "no" there was no change, adding "I don't know of any specific campaign run recently, but this manual action has been around for quite a while." - Google: All Sites To Be Switched To Mobile First Indexing Within 6-12 Months
Google is sending out notifications for mobile-first indexing issues detected on your site. And in that notification it says "Google expects to apply mobile-first indexing to all websites in the next six to twelve months." Yes, probably by the end of this year, all indexing will be done using mobile-first indexing at Google. - Burberry Implements 3D Images & AR In Google Search Results
Burberry is one of the few, as far as I know, that currently show 3D images in the Google search results. Remember last May, Google announced 3D image support, with AR features? It showed a demo of it in the live results. Well, now Burberry is live with them for some of its products. - Google Ski Lift Room
We have seen numerous ski lifts of all sorts at various Google offices over the years. This one here is from the Zurich office and has skis on them, plus if you look inside, there is a phone for confe
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- Does G Take Any Notice Of Social Sites For Ranking?, WebmasterWorld
- I have a question for SEOs. When you see something displayed incorrectly in the SERPs, do you actually press the small 'feedback' option in italics? It's really helpful for enhancing Google's algorithms and machine-learning., Itamar Blauer on Twitter
- I'll pass the feedback on. But when I read something like "While featured snippets are technically considered organic" or the idea that for "Lollipop" that the first listing isn't the big video listings, Danny Sullivan on Twitter
- If it's blocked by robots.txt, we won't crawl it for search. The date is when we attempted (wanted), but robots.txt would prevent us from doing so. That's essentially as expected., John Mueller on Twitter
- Lighthouse now available on Firefox as an extension! 🦊🔥 https://t.co/5f6smULp4i More audits to you..., Chrome Developers on Twitter
- Sure. We do use speed as a ranking factor, but ... what good is ranking if users go away without reading, John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google mobile-first indexing to be applied to all sites within a year
- Create display network exclusion lists with this (free) tool
- The seven elements of a high-converting landing page
- Google search view in 3D now live for e-commerce sites
- Google Search Console now lets you export more data
- Know your site. That’s how you stay ahead of algorithm updates
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- How to Use Google Analytics to Renew Content Marketing, CMSWire
- Top Challenges For Retail CIOs In 2020, DELVE
Industry & Business
- Continuing to grow and invest across America in 2020, Google Blog
- Meet the Doodle for Google guest judges, Google Blog
- Google is teaming up with Adidas and EA for a new Jacquard product, The Verge
Local & Maps
Mobile & Voice
- Google Assistant problems that no one seems to have noticed, Fast Company
- Voice-Controlled Personal Robot Maker temi Closes $15M Funding Round, Voicebot
SEO
- SEO Is A Scam? No, But Your ‘Marketing Expert’ Could Be (repost), Smokehouse SEO
- When Should You Insert Keyphrases Into Your Copy?, SuccessWorks
- Digital PR and SEO: Back to the SERPs | Laura Hampton, State of Digital
- What Exactly is Keyword Cannibalization?, DealerOn
PPC
- 5 Ways to Incorporate SEO Data Into PPC Deliverables, Seer Interactive
- Guarding Against Click Fraud for Your PPC Campaigns, Red Canoe Media
- How to Use UTM Parameters and Tracking Templates for PPC, Seer Interactive
- Uncover New Targeting Options with Google Ads Audience Insights, Seer Interactive
- Celebrated Partner winners for January 2020, Microsoft Advertising
- When To Create New PPC Campaigns, PPC Hero
Search Features
- Google Translate adds five languages, Google Blog
- Open Images V6 — Now Featuring Localized Narratives, Google AI Blog
Other Search
