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.
So far, at least by the time I wrote the story, the Google helpful content update has been weak. Google said soft 404s do use crawl budget. Google said adding video structured data won't make your videos more prominent. Google Search is testing quick read labels. Google is asking for feedback on the helpful content update. And I posted a vlog today.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google Helpful Content Update Seems Weak & Slow To Roll Out So Far...
Google announced the helpful content update on August 18th and it officially started to roll out on August 25th. I thought this update would hit hard and fast, but so far, and I know it has only been a few days since it officially rolled out, it has been slow to roll out and pretty weak relative to what I thought it would be. - Google Helpful Content Update Feedback Form
As you know, the Google helpful content update started to roll out on Thursday, August 25th. Google has opened up a feedback form for you to leave Google URLs of sites that you think shouldn't have been affected or other feedback. - Google Tests Quick Read & 5 Minute Read Label In Search Results
Google is testing a new label in the search results to tell searchers what is a quick read or a page that takes less than five minutes to read. I love this, Google is showing a searcher that they can scan through a piece of content quickly - Google: Soft 404s Do Waste Crawl Budget
Google's Gary Illyes said on the latest Search Off The Record podcast that soft 404s, pages Google thinks are 404s but return a 200 server status code, do waste crawl budget. However, 404s or 410s do not waste crawl budget, Gary added. - Google: Adding Video Structured Data Won't Make Your Video More Prominent
Google's John Mueller said that adding video structured data to pages with videos on them will not make that video more prominent on that page. This comes from a video indexing issue notice in Google Search Console. - Vlog #187: Jill Fecher On Podcasting & Agency Business Development
In part one, we learned about Jill Fecher, Chief Growth Officer at Cypress North. We learned about her past history in marketing, why she joined Cypress North, what she does there, and the importance of job titles and descriptions. In part two we talk about the importance of podcasting for agencies and business development at agencies. - Poker Table At Google Chicago Office
Here is a pretty neat card or poker table that is at the Google Chicago office.
Other Great Search Threads:
- Does your content promise to answer a question that actually has no answer" ?, John Mueller on Twitter
- If you think they're helpful pages, then I'd recommend not blocking them by robots.txt., John Mueller on Twitter
- That's fine, it's quite common. It's easy to worry too much about redirect chains, it's really unlikely to cause problems., John Mueller on Twitter
- Just you wait until aged content is in -- "last updated 1986", John Mueller on Twitter
- Don't most websites have shared content in the footer of their pages?, John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- The latest jobs in search marketing
- Twitter now has podcasts
- Google AdSense FLEDGE API testing delayed until September
- Performance Max optimization: How to improve your performance
- The pros and cons of using AI content writing tools
- Page speed and experience in SEO: 9 ways to eliminate issues
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
Industry & Business
- Google employees frustrated after office Covid outbreaks, CNBC
- Google refuses to reinstate man’s account after he took medical images of son’s groin, The Guardian
Links & Content Marketing
- Change Is Good Even When You Don't Achieve the Desired Results [Rose-Colored Glasses], Content Marketing Institute
- The TOP Framework: Prioritise Content That Drives Sales, Freddie Chatt
Local & Maps
- Wireless Android Auto with Google Maps is terrible, Android Authority
Mobile & Voice
- How to use Spotlight in iOS 16, AppleInsider
- What happened when we disabled Google AMP at Tribune Publishing? Shockingly little. So you should try it, too, Medium
SEO
- How to Implement an International SEO Strategy (Step-by-Step Guide), Ahrefs
- Leveraging Paid Data for SEO Insights, Screaming Frog
- Vincent Terrasi: The importance of the Helpful Content Update, Oncrawl
- How to Find Your Real SEO Competitors — Whiteboard Friday, Moz
- Local SEO Mistakes That Can Negatively Impact Your Results, I Love SEO
- On-page SEO Mistakes That Can Negatively Impact Your Site's Performance, I Love SEO
- Find programmatic SEO datasets, Ian Nuttall
PPC
Other Search
- Google wants you to chat with its experimental AI chatbot at your own risk, Business Standard News
Feedback:
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