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 announced a new core update yesterday and so far and early on, this one seems very big. Google also may be showing fewer featured snippets as of a week ago. Google updated its review guidelines to prohibit incentivizing people to remove negative reviews. Google consolidated its A/B testing help content. Google said it will never penalize you for not having H1 tags.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google September 2022 Broad Core Update Is Live - What We Are Seeing Now
Google Search has started to roll out the second broad core update of the year, the September 2022 broad core update. It started on September 12, 2022 at about 11:25 am ET and can take about two weeks to roll out. - Google Review Guidelines Now Prohibit Incentivizing Removal Of Negative Reviews
Google has updated its Google Maps contributor guidelines, specifically disallowing a business to incentivize those who leave negative reviews to remove those reviews. Previously, the guidelines only prohibited incentivizing leaving positive reviews. - Report: Google Showing Fewer Featured Snippets, But I Am Not Sure...
According to both RankRanger and Semrush, Google is showing fewer featured snippets in the search results since Thursday, September 8th. Personally, I am not seeing this when I search but this is what these two tracking tools are showing. - Google: We Will Never Penalize You For Not Having H1 Attributes
Google's John Mueller said something he normally does not say, the word "never." He said Google will never penalize a site for not having an H1. John said this on Reddit, adding that it is good practice and low effort to have H1s but you won't be penalized for not having them on your site. - Google Consolidates A/B Testing SEO Impact In Search Help Documentation
Just like with Google's consolidation of preventing spam on your site, Google did the same with its blog post on how to minimize A/B testing impact in Google Search. Google has repurposed that old blog post into an official help document in the Google Search developer docs. - Bonsai Plant At Google Office
Every tech firm needs to have Bonsai trees and plants, it is the joke about tech firms. So here is one at the Google office in New York City. At least one sitting on someone's desk there.
Other Great Search Threads:
- One of the interesting things about SEO is that a lot of folks started doing SEO in the hope of quick & easy wins ("unhelpful" content, in some cases), and many, John Mueller on Twitter
- Google has 20 years practice ignoring those., John Mueller on Twitter
- If you want something to be seen as a normal link, I'd just use a normal link., John Mueller on Twitter
- Major companies remove Facebook login option over privacy concerns, WebmasterWorld
- Did a few local searches, and this is what it looks like. Searching directly from the home screen is faster than opening a browser or an app. So I predict a decent amount of search volume will start flowing through, Greg Sterling on Twitter
- Hi folks, I'd love to have your throughts on the new office hours format. How did you find it overall? Was it a good use of your time? What could we change to make it better? Thank you!, John Mueller on Twitter
- Low number of Valid items in Breadcrumbs, WebmasterWorld
- Out of the box, the left hand navigation in GA4 looks pretty bare, there are only 18 reports vs the 90+ (not including integration reports) in Universal Analytics. But contrary to popular belief, GA4 actually has a lot o, Krista Seiden on Twitter
- Yelp bidding on this keyword and outranking Google is pretty great. How do you like them apples, Google?, Darren Shaw on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- How to build an enterprise SEO team
- YouTube is testing new search and engagement insights for Creator Studio
- Google’s Search On event is on Sept. 28
- Google releases September 2022 broad core update
- It’s time to de-frenzy PPC
- Your guide to seasonal content marketing
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Top 10 Google Analytics 4 Configuration Mistakes, Online Metrics
Industry & Business
- Google closes $5.4B Mandiant acquisition, TechCrunch
- Google spins out new telecom project called Aalyria, UPI
- Google vs. EU, Part 2: Record EU fine set for Wednesday ruling, POLITICO
- Google’s Loon Project Finds New Life Without Google or Balloons, Bloomberg
- Google faces €25bn lawsuit in UK and EU over digital advertising, The Guardian
Links & Content Marketing
- A Guide to B2B Content Marketing for 2022 [+ Strategies], Siege Media
- TikTok: Time To Get Serious About Its Content Marketing Promise?, Content Marketing Institute
- 10 Hated Marketing and Business Expressions: Catch Us If You Can, Content Marketing Institute
- 12 B2B Marketing Sessions You Can't Miss at Content Marketing World 2022, Online Marketing Blog
Local & Maps
Mobile & Voice
- BMW Sticks With Cerence to Build Next Car Voice Assistant, Voicebot
- Customize your Lock Screen with Google apps in iOS 16, Google Blog
- Galaxy Watch sales boost Samsung to Q2 2022 boost, 9to5Google
- Google Plots Pixel Phone Assembly in India Amid China Lockdowns, The Information
- Google’s next Pixelbook Chromebook is canceled, The Verge
SEO
- Deprecation of Structured Data Files v5.2 and v5.3, Google Ads Developer Blog
- How To Get Execute Buy-in for SEO, Siege Media
- How to think about video and SEO, Kevin Indig
- What Is A Title Tag & How to Optimize Your Title Tags for SEO, Semrush
- 5 Things I Learned About E-A-T by Analyzing 647 Search Results, Moz
- Important SEO KPIs You Must Report On, I Love SEO
PPC
- Non-Branded vs Branded Keywords in Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Ads, Pure Visibility
- The New Google Ads Destination Requirements Policy: What You Need to Know, WordStream
- Google Advertiser Wants To Update Apple Collusion Suit, Law360
- Microsoft’s Cash-Back Promotions, JumpFly
Search Features
- All about Google surfaces: SERPs, News and Discover, WTFSEO
- Answer: How can you find answers to those mysterious and inarticulable questions you might have?, SearchReSearch
- Our work toward health equity, Google Blog
Feedback:
Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, you can follow us on Facebook and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or just contact us the old fashion way.
