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.
We are finally seeing movement, big volatility, from the Google helpful content update - we think. Google at 2pm ET said the helpful content update is done. Google updated its traffic quality site to give more examples of invalid traffic. Google also updated its quality guidelines with help on how to prevent spam on your site. Google Business Profile photos labeled with X weeks ago. Google said some one box treatments get special tracking. I also posted the weekly SEO video recap and dig deep into the helpful content update, so you might want to watch it.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google Helpful Content Update Not Done Yet (Now Done) But Now We're Seeing Fluctuations
Today marks the two-week and one-day mark since the Google helpful content update started to roll out and by the time I am writing this (at 5:30 am ET on September 9th - jet lagged) Google has still not noted that the helpful content update is done rolling out (at 2pm Google said the update is done). Plus, as I noted yesterday, we are now seeing more significant volatility and fluctuations as of yesterday and more today. - Google Traffic Quality Site Adds More Invalid Traffic Examples
Google's Aurora Morales posted on Twitter that her team has updated the Google Ads Traffic Quality site to provide more examples of what is invalid traffic. The previous site had seven examples, the new site has twelve examples. - Google Business Profile Photos With Timestamp Of Photo
Google seems to be testing showing when a photo was taken or uploaded to a Google Business Profile listing. Google has done this for image search and other areas but I am not sure if this was done for photos on Business Profiles. - Google Consolidates Tips On Preventing Spam On Your Site In Help Docs
Google has added a new section to its quality guidelines category named "Prevent abuse on your site and platform" yesterday. The content is mostly not new, it is mostly from a 2017 Google blog post on how to protect your site from user generated spam and has now been consolidated into the core documentation. - Google One Box Results Get Tracking Parameters With Unique Integrations?
Have you ever noticed that some Google one boxes, like the Twitter carousel, in Google Search, have special tracking parameters added to the URLs when you click on them. Carolyn Lyden asked John Mueller of Google why is this the case. - Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Helpful Content Update Impact, Search Console Review Type Changes, Google Ads Updates & More
This week, I posted the large Google webmaster report a bit late but then dug into the Google helpful content in a lot more detail... - Google Peranakan Tile
Here is another fun one from the Google Singapore of a G Pay section at the office with Peranakan tile design. I am not sure what Peranakan tile is but I used Google Lens image search to figure it out
Other Great Search Threads:
- I'd ignore them., John Mueller on Twitter
- SEO is not magic, but finding the right answers to your questions is sometimes tricky, especially if you don't know the answers already., John Mueller on Twitter
- Google might just index one version, that's not a penalty, it's just being practical :). Talk about the good things you've done, press releases are fine., John Mueller on Twitter
- It's up to you. *You* are the expert on your site's topic (hopefully). You should be able to tell if those pages are good or not, and make a call if they should be improved. If you can, John Mueller on Twitter
- Tempted to keep this to myself, but that's no fun. Google just added an amazing new feature to their documentation that allows you to receive notifications when changes are made. Have added a bunch to my Developer Profile in, Brodie Clark on Twitter
- Yes, a website should have its pages linked together with normal links. You should be able to start on one page, and "click around" to find all of them. Ideally, John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Instagram is cutting back on its shopping features
- Google reports issue affecting Ads Manager Data Transfer
- New Microsoft feature lets you run ads on Google, Facebook, Instagram
- Google Search Console reports may be impacted by review-type changes made in Google Search
- Top 5 data feed errors that can sabotage your ecommerce campaigns
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- How to downgrade Google Analytics 4? [5 steps], Data Driven U
- Try Google Analytics, It Can do Wonders to Your Business, Entrepreneur
Industry & Business
- After 260 journalism innovation grants, Google has decided smaller and quicker is better, Poynter
- Google hosting Search On 2022 later this month, 9to5Google
- Real-life SEO at MarketingSyrup: Learning and teaching SEO, Oncrawl
- Google Pays ‘Enormous’ Sums to Maintain Its Search Engine Dominance, Bloomberg
Links & Content Marketing
- 6 link building myths for SMBs, Wix SEO Hub
- A Content Engine that Drives Revenue — Whiteboard Friday, Moz
- How to Build Successful Content Pillars, Ahrefs
Local & Maps
- An update on Local Guides events, Local Guides Connect
Mobile & Voice
- Google okays fantasy sports and rummy apps in India in a pilot, TechCrunch
- Tim Cook made it clear that Apple won't adopt RCS any time soon, AppleInsider
- Google Assistant Adds Quick Phrases for Skipping Wake Words to Nest Hub Max, Voicebot
SEO
- 4 SEO Opportunities in Google Search Console, Practical Ecommerce
- Is Google's Helpful Content Update a Red Herring?, iPullRank
- Non-HTML files on the web, Search Off the Record
- SEO Split-Test Result: Do Numbers in Title Tags Affect CTRs?, Semrush
PPC
- How Effective are Google Ads for Pressure Washing?, PPC Expo
- SMBs can find customers and save time with Smart Campaigns and Multi-platform, Microsoft Advertising
Other Search
- A Multi-Axis Approach for Vision Transformer and MLP Models, Google AI Blog
- Google tributes Queen Elizabeth II w/ muted logo, 9to5Google
Feedback:
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