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 now shows why it ranks a specific search result by labeling which factors caused it to rank. Google may have fixed the soft 404 issue causing pages to be de-indexed. Google confirmed a bug with review snippets (stars) being dropped from the search results. Google says some file extensions can confuse Google Search. Google redesigned the Question Hub a bit. I also posted the weekly video recap and more.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google Shows Which Ranking Factors Resulted In A Page Ranking
Google is rolling out a new feature for the about this result overlay that actually tells searchers (and SEOs) why Google is ranking that page for that given query. Yes, Google is telling you which high level ranking factors are the reason this page is ranking. - Google Removed A Soft 404 Classifier To Fix Some Deindexing Bugs
Google's John Mueller said this morning that the Google Search team has removed a classifier it was using to determine soft 404s. As a reminder, a ton of sites were complaining about pages being deindexed and noticed a spike in soft 404s reported by Google Search Console. - Google Review Snippets Missing From Search Results (Confirmed Bug)
Over the past couple of days, Google stopped showing review snippets, the stars under the search result snippets, for all queries. I did ask Google about this yesterday morning, as it really seems like a bug, but I have not heard back yet. - Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Shows Ranking Factors, Core Updates Impact PAAs, Redirected Signals Can Last Forever & AMP Icons Are Gone
Google is rolling out a feature to show in the about this result overlay why the company ranked that page for that query... - Some File Extensions Can Confuse Google Search
Technically, when it comes to using file extensions in your URLs, it doesn't really make a difference which one you use for ranking purposes. .PHP, .HTML, .ASP, etc - it doesn't matter. But if you use image based file extensions for web page based file extensions, that might end up confusing Google Search for a period of time. - Google Question Hub Redesign & Features
Google Question Hub which has been in beta for years but officially launched earlier this year seems to have undergone a redesign. I am not sure when this happened but Eric Heiken noted it on Twitter and I think he is right, it looks new. - Recap Of The Google Search Central Unconference 2021
A few weeks ago marked the second Google Search Central Unconference edition, almost a year after the first one took place (though most probably remember the first edition under a slightly different name, the Virtual Webmaster Unconference). - Old Google Coder Clock
Here is an old photo from the old Google Kirkland, Seattle office, of a clock on the wall. It is a coder clock that shows how much of the day a coder sleeps, games, hacks and codes.
Other Great Search Threads:
- LOL. Keep blaming it on COVID @GoogleAds. Phone support is unavailable for a suspended account. Shameful. cc @adsliaison #ppcchat https://t.co/F87BriAGyX, Greg Finn on Twitter
- Love how the Cavity Creeps are outranking webmd & healthline for a health/medical query. :) And the articles are written by dentists while the Crest article is written by... well... nobody we know since there's no author. Yes,, Glenn Gabe on Twitter
- Microsoft Bing Clarity Rage Click Heatmaps, WebmasterWorld
- Stepping back: there's no non-canonical URLs in the index. Those URLs can't perform stepping forward: when choosing a canonical url for indexing, we compare A's and B's sign, Gary Illyes on Twitter
- We're pretty flexible in that regard, it's just a comma-separated list of key/value pairs. cc @methode in case you want to set up an EBNF for the docs., John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- These 4 local SEO tips will help you improve your Google ranking
- Google removes standalone Maximize conversions and Maximize conversion value strategies
- Google now shows why it ranked a specific search result
- Why search marketers don’t think a dedicated four-year degree is necessary; Thursday’s daily brief
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- How to Use Automated Insights in Google Analytics 4, Data Driven U
- Bing Webmaster-Clarity Series #3: Scroll map – what can it do for you?, Bing Webmaster Blog
Industry & Business
- Google Cofounder Larry Page Found Hiding Out in Fiji During Pandemic, Business Insider
Links & Content Marketing
- Yes, Content Details Impact Your Rankings, Business 2 Community
Local & Maps
- 5 ways Google Maps can improve public transit for you, Popular Science
- The 7 Best Map Apps for Getting Directions Somewhere, Make Use Of
Mobile & Voice
- Google's redesigned Wear OS will only reach a few current smartwatches, Engadget
- An Explosive Spyware Report Shows the Limits of iOS Security, Wired
- YouTube hits 10 billion Play Store download milestone, 9to5Google
SEO
- Checklist for Moving to Another Domain Name, Bill Hartzer
- Core Web Vitals: Discover Fundamentals & How to Improve Performance, Advanced Web Rankings
- Google's Knowledge Graph and How it Impacts SEO, I Love SEO
- How To Adjust The Shopify Robots.txt, Go Fish Digital
- How to Build User Trust With CRO & UX Tweaks, Screaming Frog
- Image Extensions: An Image Is Worth 1,000 Clicks, Metric Theory
- Page Experience Update: Safe Browsing, Seer Interactive
- Quick Tips: Google Search Console, DealerOn
- The Ultimate SEO Contract Template [100% Free], Ahrefs
- Using Keywords in YouTube Videos: How to Get More Views, Moz
- What Is a Slug? URL Slugs and Why They Matter for SEO, SEM Rush
PPC
- NEW Optimized Targeting in Google Ads: What You Need to Know, WordStream
- Plan for business growth with Display & Video 360, Google Blog
- Updates to how Google Ads API Smart Bidding strategies are organized, Google Ads Developer Blog
Other Search
Feedback:
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