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.
Microsoft Bing will stop using the old BingBot user agent by the Fall of 2022. Google spoke about if you should avoid using 404 in the product or company name. Google said yea, if you swap out your home page content, your rankings may change. Google is testing lighter purple links in the search results. Google caches the Search Console inspection tool live test URL for 90 days. I also posted the weekly SEO video recap - to catch you all up on the past week's news. Have an excellent weekend all!
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Search News Buzz Video Recap: AI Lawyers Demanding Links, Google Not Stealing Content, Old Bingbot, Google URL Parameter Tool & AdWords API Gone & More
This week in search, a reporter uncovered that sketchy SEOs are making up fake lawyers using AI to send out fake DMCA requests demanding links to their sites... - Old BingBot User-Agent To Stop Being Used In Fall 2022
Fabrice Canel from Microsoft Bing announced on the Bing blog that the search company will retire the legacy BingBot user-agent in the Fall of 2022. Instead, Bing will use a user-agent that is more representative of its evergreen BingBot rendering engine. - Google Search Console Caches Inspection Tool Live Test URLs For 90 Days
In Google Search Console, you can use the URL Inspection Tool to test how Google sees a URL in its index versus in real time by using the live test button. Jamie Indigo asked on Twitter how long does that URL for the live test cache. Daniel Waisberg of Google responded that it lasts about 90 days. - Google Asked If You Should Avoid Naming Your Company Or Product 404?
We know that sometimes Google can be triggered to treat your pages as a soft 404, essentially Google thinks that page should be 404ed and thus removed from the search results. So one SEO asked if he should avoid naming his new product or service with the name 404 in it? - Google Search Tests Lighter Purple Color For Clicked On Search Results
Google Search is testing a lighter colored purple for the links you have clicked on and visited in the search results. This report came from both Mordy Obserstein and Khushal Bherwani and I can replicate it myself in different browsers. - Replacing Your Blog With An App Landing Page Will Impact Your Google Rankings
It is not too uncommon to see app developers, before the app is launched, to launch a blog on the home page of the app's domain name. This is done to gain traction on the domain name before the official app is actually live. But will moving the blog off the home page and replacing that with the app details on launch impact the site's overall SEO and ranking in Google? - Kelvin Newman's John Mueller & Gary Illyes Jackets
Kelvin Newman, the man who runs Brighton SEO, had two jackets made for him to wear at the event. One was a John Mueller jacket and the other was a Gary Illyes jacket. He tweeted a while back, asking
Other Great Search Threads:
- For what it's worth, Google has removed that notice about "working with a limited support team" that was placed at the top of its help pages at the beginning of the pandemic, Damian Rollison on Twitter
- Google app is crashing in iPhone 13 Pro, Google Search Community
- It's usually not a problem. A server is supposed to return that if a page is "not modified"., John Mueller on Twitter
- You probably know about robots.txt, now here's security.txt. Check out the details at https://t.co/rhVtIsbWTa or take a peek at Google's one at https://t.co/9qqx0OuXxu - make one for your site, even if you, John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Outrank in organic search with these 5 core tactics
- Bingbot user-agent change coming in the Fall of 2022
- Google lets users limit three more types of ads on YouTube, GDN
- CodeFuel awarded ‘Global Supply Partner of the Year’ by Microsoft Advertising
- Baseline analysis for your SEO strategy
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- The Ultimate Guide to Sales Analysis Reports, Databox Blog
Industry & Business
- Google begins building its largest campus outside US headquarters in Hyderabad, Business Insider India
- Google's troubles lead analysts to point fingers squarely at YouTube, MarketWatch
- Yandex Provides Update on Convertible Notes, Yandex
Links & Content Marketing
- When Is Gated B2B Content A Good Idea?, SuccessWorks
- At Least 66.5% of Links to Sites in the Last 9 Years Are Dead (Ahrefs Study on Link Rot), Ahrefs
- Yet Another Reason Not To Build Your Content Home on Rented Land, Content Marketing Institute
Local & Maps
- Is Local Search Inherently Transactional?, STAT Search Analytics
- Local SEO: The Complete Guide, Ahrefs
Mobile & Voice
SEO
- 4 Things You Should Expect From Your SEO Agency, Onely Blog
- Everything You Wanted to Know about Google's SERP (Search Engine Results Page) But Were Afraid to Ask, Wellspring Digital
- How to Get New SEO Clients, Semrush
- Internal Keyword Cannibalisation: What Is It And How To Fix It?, Koozai
- SEMrush vs. Ahrefs: Which SEO Tool is Better?, Databox Blog
- SEO Split Test Result: Find the Best Answer for Both Users And Search Engines, Semrush
PPC
- Native advertising: Why it’s a smart choice, Microsoft Advertising
- April monthly insights for gifting season, Microsoft Advertising
Other Search
- Chrome 102: Window Controls Overlay, a Host of Finished Origin Trials, PWAs as File Handlers and More, Chromium Blog
- Google Docs expands warnings about dodgy files and links, The Verge
Feedback:
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