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.
After the Google June spam update completed, we had even more Google Search ranking volatility over the weekend. Bing has a new Bing Webmaster Guideline for prompt injection. Some are seeing small increases for sites hit by the Google helpful content update. Google explained why soft 404s are bad. Google Maps added troubleshooting and FAQs for missing and removing reviews. Google Search is testing a top quality store badge near the site name.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google Search Ranking Volatility Over June 28th & 29th Weekend
On the heels of the completion of the June 2024 spam update this Thursday, June 27th, I am now seeing signs of an unconfirmed Google Search ranking algorithm update and volatility. It seems more heated than the week of this spam update rollout but less weak than you'd see with a Google core update. -
Some Sites Hit By Google Helpful Content Update Seeing Small Lifts
There are reports that some sites hit by the Google September 2023 Helpful Content Update are seeing small, somewhat tiny, lifts over the past week or so. Again, based on what we've been tracking, we have yet to see any recoveries but we are all hopeful we will see significant recoveries for some of those sites with the next core update. -
Prompt Injection Added To Bing Webmaster Guidelines
Bing added a new guideline to its Bing Webmaster Guidelines named Prompt Injection. A prompt injection is a type of cyberattack against large language models (LLMs). Hackers disguise malicious inputs as legitimate prompts, manipulating generative AI systems (GenAI) into leaking sensitive data, spreading misinformation, or worse, according to IBM. -
Google Explains Why Soft 404s Are Bad
Gary Illyes from Google explained two reasons why soft 404 errors are bad. Soft 404s are when a page returns a 200 status okay, but Google thinks that page should return a 404 page not found error. According to Gary, soft 404s are bad because they (1) limit crawl budget and (2) the pages won't likely show up in Google Search. -
Google Posts Reviews Troubleshooting & FAQs For Missing and Remove Reviews
A Google community manager, Alistair D., posted a Reviews troubleshooting and FAQs document in the Google Business Profiles forums. It goes through why reviews go missing, why reviews are removed and how to troubleshoot those issues with the Google Business Profiles tools. -
Google Search Tests Top Quality Store Badge Near Site Name
Google is testing placing the top quality store badge and icon next to the site name area in the Google mobile search results. This brings up that icon from the bottom portion of the snippet to the very top of the snippet. -
Mechanical Bull Riding At Google
Google had an employee appreciation day event of some sort and here is a photo of one Googler riding a mechanical bull. I posted the embed of the video he posted on Instagram of the event.
Other Great Search Threads:
- So we switched over to mobile crawling for the affected site. In desktop crawling your site gave us a 301 (permanent redirect) and we took that into account and canonicalised that., Martin Splitt on LinkedIn
- robots.txt is virtually error free. By that I mean that parsers are generally ignoring mistakes in the file and they won't "crash", virtually no matter what., Gary Illyes on LinkedIn
- X Domain Migration: looks like things are starting to heat up, with a lot more migrated URLs. Seeing examples where both handles rank (not ideal) – an outcome of users embedding the new URL. Doing a decent job of it so far consid, Brodie Clark on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Microsoft AI CEO: Web content is ‘freeware’
- Apple expands 30% fee on Facebook and Instagram ads globally
- The latest jobs in search marketing
- Google expands Product Studio to new markets, adds features
- Report: Menu items, busier businesses may be Google local ranking signals
- Google Colab for SEO: How to get started
- 8 SEO concepts explained in business terms
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- How to Backup Universal Analytics Data Easily, Measure Minds Group
Industry & Business
- Italy claims 1 billion euros in unpaid taxes from Google, Yahoo Finance
- Meta and Google Have Become Allies for Retailers to Grow Ad Revenue, Business Insider
- Microsoft and OpenAI partnership, Google and Samsung's AI deal in EU crosshairs, Reuters
- OpenAI and Time strike multiyear content deal to improve ChatGPT, CNBC
Links & Content Marketing
- 10 Best Content Writing Services to Drive ROI in 2024, Siege Media
- ChatGPT Tips for Copywriters, Go Fish Digital
- Enterprise Link Building & The Power Of Links, Ahrefs
- How Mid-funnel Content Can Be Your Secret SEO Weapon, Ahrefs
- What Should Agencies Do in a Flat-Growth Year?, Content Marketing Institute
- How to Build Links to Your Website in 2024, Cornwall SEO
Local & Maps
- 5 Google Maps Hacks Everybody Must Know Before Going on Holiday, AutoEvolution
- Google Maps User Plunges Into River, Thank God for a Tree, AutoEvolution
- It's a Good Idea to Download Google Maps Offline. Here's How to Do It, CNET
Mobile & Voice
- Apple Vision Pro finally on sale outside the US, AppleInsider
- Apple looking for more suppliers for future Apple Vision headset, AppleInsider
- Apple’s Longer-Lasting Devices, iOS 19 and Apple Intelligence on the Vision Pro, Bloomberg
- Kuo: Apple to begin mass production of AirPods with cameras by 2026, 9to5Mac
- New AirPods with IR camera coming to enhance Spatial Audio in Apple Vision Pro, AppleInsider
SEO
- Enterprise Sites Are Where Technical SEO Shines, Ahrefs
- SEO Consultants Guide: When to Hire and What to Expect, Backlinko
- SEO Strategy: A Simple Step-by-Step Guide, Cornwall SEO
- Testing the Impact of Schema Markup for SEO, Search Pilot
- The Value of SEO Beyond Traffic and Leads — Whiteboard Friday, Moz
- Top Enterprise SEO Challenges & How to Conquer Them, seoClarity
- How to Create a Winning SEO RFP (Request for Proposal), Level343
- "How to Fix Page Indexing Issues: Crawled vs. Discovered - Currently Not Indexed":, SEO Webster
PPC
- After months of testing, Google faces growing pressure to revamp the Privacy Sandbox, Digiday
- Poseidon malware menaces Mac users via Google Ads, SC Media
Search Features
Other Search
- Microsoft says it's okay to steal content published on the web, Windows Central
- Quora’s Chatbot Platform Poe Allows Users to Download Paywalled Articles on Demand, Wired
Feedback:
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