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 Bugs, Navigation Removal, AMP Updates, OMG I Don’t Know & More
This week, we covered the ongoing Google bugs, this time with Google News indexing, Search Console issues, and other issues with Google. Google also is unaware of a... - Google: We Don't Hand Rank Web Pages, It Would Be Impossible
Google's John Mueller said on Twitter that Google does not manually hand rank any web page. He added the web is too big for that and if they tried, it would be impossible. - Google Search Console URL Parameters Tool May Change
Google's John Mueller hinted on Twitter that the URL parameter tool that was added to Google Search Console in 2009 may not be 100% ported to the new Google Search Console. He said Google may make the tool evolve versus make it a 1 to 1 switch over. - Google Might Change How NoIndex In Robots.txt Works
For years Google has been communicating and we've been reporting that Google does not support using the noindex direction within your robots.txt file. Well, people still use it and now Gary Illyes from Google is on the case - he may end up making sure it completely doesn't work. - Google Posts Supports Highlighting Customer Testimonials & Reviews
Google posted on Twitter that within Google My Business you can now highlight and post automatically suggested reviews as customer testimonials. Google said "Google My Business now provides suggested posts to help you showcase positive reviews. These posts are automatically suggested based on 4 or 5-star reviews recently left for your business." - Submit Questions Around JavaScript SEO For Google
As you know, Google posted their last video on their JavaScript videos for SEO yesterday. But now that the first part of the series is over, Martin Splitt from Google wants to keep it going. He asked folks to post their ideas and questions in this Google form - so he can make new videos that may be useful to developers and SEOs on this topic. - Google AMP Kimonos At AMP Conf
At the Google AMP Conference in Tokyo they had some Googlers dressed in strong blue kimonos with the AMP logo all over them. Kenichi Suzuki posted a photo with him posing with them on Twitter.
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- Correct -- we generally don't support "#" URLs. Sometimes there are "weird" exceptions, where we find it's the only way to highlight that content. Definitely not something I'd rely on though. Good job finding an example like th, John Mueller on Twitter
- Just Rand calling Google Employees Dishonest and Untrustworthy, Reddit
- Noticed 2 related search image carousels on a Google query. Is this new? cc @rustybrick…, Eli Schwartz on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Why featured snippets could be less of a win going forward
- Here’s how digital word of mouth and search have converged
- AMP WordPress plugin now supports Stories
- Google to offer browser, search-app choices in Android Europe set-up flow
- Some cheers, a few sneers for Google’s URL solution for AMP
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Follow-up: I found two identical packs of Skittles, among 468 packs with a total of 27,740 Skittles, Possibly Wrong
- Know your Mobile Audience, Digity
- Track Page Translations with Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics, Analytics Mania
Industry & Business
- Better protection against Man in the Middle phishing attacks, Google Online Security Blog
- Google Employees Are Upset About Measles At Silicon Valley Headquarters, Internal Messages Show, BuzzFeed News
Links & Promotion Building
Local & Maps
- Google Turns on "Reserve" for Trip Advisor – Where's the Effing Off Button?, Mike Blumenthal
- Explore U.S. National Parks in Google Earth, Google Blog
- Three tips on how to navigate Google Maps, IOL Business Report
Mobile & Voice
- Google Home adds support for YouTube Music’s free ad-supported tier, The Verge
- Facebook is working on an AI voice assistant similar to Alexa, Google Assistant, Ars Technica
- [Update: Norwegian added] Google Assistant is now your multilingual interpreter, Android Police
SEO
- 4 Unconventional Ways to Become a Better SEO, Moz
- How the travel industry is playing the Google rankings game, Search Metrics
- Why storytelling is good for SEO, Yoast
PPC
- Publishers Lash Out Against Google Over 'Unified Pricing' Changes, AdExchanger
- YouTube Music is now free with ads on Google Home devices, TechCrunch
Search Features
- Google to block sign-in attempts from embedded Chrome pages, Android Police
