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 Maps released a bunch of data on its efforts to combat spam, fraud and abuse on its platform. Google's Gary Illyes, Martin Splitt and Lizzi Sassman talked about de-SEOing Google's own site. Google Search can help you find and book health appointments. Google is testing new ad extension icons and a lower price badge. Google Search has a bug with dark mode and that grey search bar. Plus I posted my weekly SEO video recap.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google Maps 2021 Blocked 100 Million Fraudulent & Abusive Edits & More
Google announced its 2021 Google Maps and Google Business Profile spam fighting efforts, like it did for the 2020 year. Google said it blocked more than 100 million Business Profile edits and protected over 100 thousand businesses from suspicious activity and abuse attempts. - Google Talks About de-SEOing The Search Central Web Pages
Google's Martin Splitt, Gary Illyes, and Lizzi Sassman sat together on the latest Search Off the Record to talk about de-SEOing - what we would probably call over-optimization strategies. It is an interesting listen to, stuff you probably heard before but it is interesting to hear Googlers who are intimate with how Google Search works tackle this issue on their own site. - Google Search Tests Healthcare Provider Appointments & Booking
Google announced that in addition to helping searchers find healthcare providers that take their insurance, they are now helping searchers book appointments at these healthcare providers. This is a limited pilot test with MinuteClinic at CVS and some other healthcare booking software services. - Google Testing Lower Price Icon In Search Shopping Results
Google is testing displaying a badge or icon or label that demonstrates if a product you are looking at is a low price or not. So if your product sells well below other products in that product category, Google might tell you with this new label. - Google Ads Tests New Ad Extension Icons
Google may be testing new Google Ads extension icons in the search results. Khushal Bherwani spotted these and notified me of these on Twitter, and I think they are new. New contact us and buy now icons are being placed in the Google search ad snippet. - Google Search Bar Bug Makes Autocomplete Query Hard To See
Many searchers are seeing a bug or a test gone bad within the Google Search bar or box while in dark mode. The text displayed in the autocomplete search suggested are grayed out on a light background, where it is super hard to read. - Search News Buzz Video Recap: 3rd Google Product Reviews Update, Spring Update, Google Data That Might Surprise You, Google Ads Updates, UI Tests & More
This week was pretty busy, we had the third Google product reviews update and I go deep into this algorithm update. We saw what I called a Spring 2022 Google search update... - Google NYC Office New Food, New Games & New Places For Returning Googlers
As Googlers return to the office, I guess those Googlers are welcomed to some new food options, new areas to explore, new games and more. Google wants employees in the office so they are doing what t
Other Great Search Threads:
- Exciting to see continued support for our #IndexNow protocol across the #SEO industry! @buildwithduda rollout: https://t.co/hZft61xonc @aioseopack integration: https://t.co/An9vWj6ez0 @rankmathseo plugin, Microsoft Bing Dev on Twitter
- Little Microsoft Ads update I noticed. #ppcchat, Brett Bodofsky on Twitter
- Oh happy day!(?) Google Business Profile Help Center contact options include Chat (again), and "Get a call." The only option I've seen for a long time has been Email. The additional options seem to only be available for som, Allie Margeson on Twitter
- I'm meeting with some Google search quality folks on Monday, who want to learn more about the world of SEO & co. What's one thing that I absolutely must mention? Bonus points for memes., John Mueller on Twitter
- We don't do anything special for wordfence. URLs are URLs :-). If they lead nowhere, we sometimes learn and ignore them (but sometimes it takes long). Easiest is just blocking via robots.txt, eg disallow: /*?par, John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Measurement in a cookieless world: Are you ready for what’s next?
- Twitter adds keyword search to Direct Messages
- Google Maps blocked 100 million abusive business profile edits in 2021
- Google Search adds booking and appointment availability for healthcare providers
- First-party data: 4 internal checks to make sure you’re ready
- Marketing leadership: 4 lessons learned from military service
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Asynchronous Variables In Server-side Google Tag Manager, Simo Ahava's blog
- GA4's Custom Dimension & Parameter Data Model, Seer Interactive
- Google to Deprecate Universal Analytics (UA), Merkle
Industry & Business
- Google employees bombard execs about pay at recent all-hands meeting, CNBC
- Google Faces Justice Department Accusations that Echo Big Tobacco Cases, Bloomberg
- Google is getting rid of its bidets in California, Protocol
Links & Content Marketing
- Which Matters More: Content Skills or Subject Matter Expertise?, Content Marketing Institute
Local & Maps
- Google Confirms Major Google Maps Bug, Update on Its Way, AutoEvolution
- How to Set Dietary Requirements on Google Maps 2022 Tip, Bollyinside
Mobile & Voice
- Google working on new 2022 Nest Hub w/ detachable tablet, 9to5Google
- HomePod mini now available in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, The Apple Post
- How to Use Siri on Apple's Studio Display, MacRumors
SEO
- How Negative SEO A/B Tests Help SEO KPIs, Semrush
- How Social Media Trends Can Influence Your SEO, Moz
- How to SEO Split Test According to 10 Experts, Semrush
- What are SERPs? A Simple (But Complete) Guide, SEOSherpa
- Wix vs. WordPress: The Analysis of Indexing Data, Onely Blog
PPC
- Maximize Your Google Ads’ Shopping Campaigns Alongside Performance Max, Adswerve
- How To Generate Home Improvement Leads Using Google Ads, The Drum
Search Features
Other Search
Feedback:
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