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.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- This Is What Google Is Saying About The Google September Updates
So we had a nice number of updates to the Google search ranking algorithm in September. Google is honestly not saying much but they did confirm some of these updates, including the Google Birthday update. John Mueller from Google has commented about the update both in yesterday's video hangout and on a Reddit thread. - Google Finally Releases Dynamic Rendering Documentation
Google has released the documentation around dynamic rendering. This was first announced back in May of this year and about five months later, SEOs and Webmasters now have something detailed and comprehensive to reference if they want to implement dynamic rendering. - Fixed: Google Search Results Bug Prevents Clicks To URLs With + Characters
Google fixed a bug that prevented some searchers from viewing some search results over the past five or so days. It seemed to impact URLs that contained + signs in them or other special characters. Google confirmed the issue and fixed it as of yesterday. - Google Tests Search Box For Local Business Reviews
Google seems to be testing a search box in the reviews section for a local business listing in Google Maps and web search. I personally do not see this yet but Ben Fisher posted a screen shot of this on Twitter. - Google: Making Quality Links Is Against Google's Webmaster Guidelines
Google's John Mueller said in a Google Webmaster Help thread that making quality links is against their Google webmaster guidelines. He said "if *you're* making quality links to your site, then that would be considered against our webmaster guidelines, and by that, those links would definitely not be considered "quality"." - Close Up Of A Google Dog Badge
We've seen some dogs at the Google offices with their very own badge, but here is a close up. The dog has their photo, their first name and then some other information, which is blacked out here.
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- Are Adobe Target links good for SEO?, WebmasterWorld
- Google Display Ads has a New Look We've updated the visuals around Google Display ads to help you get better performance. Learn more ‚û° https://t.co/khDzhoaK9x… https://t.co/Ve7MRdgGgX, Google Ads on Twitter
- Looks like some of the informational/help dialogs are not working in Google Search Console @googlewmc @rustybrick…, Michael Brown Jr on Twitter
- The crawl rate setting can take a day to be effective. Sometimes it's a matter of a different hostname being crawled though (not always clear in the server logs). Feel free to DM me the URL if you want me to double-check somet, John Mueller on Twitter
- Things always change in search, it's a very dynamic ecosystem... Even if something has been there for long, it's possible that it'll change over time.… https://t.co/ApNd8KezCl, John Mueller on Twitter
- Another day, another facebook scandal, WebmasterWorld
- Google „Ƕ„Çß„Éñ„Éû„Çπ„Çø„ɺÂêë„ÅëÂ֨ºè„Éñ„É≠„Ç∞:Google Dance Osaka 2018 ÈñãÂǨ„ÅÆ„ÅäÁü•„Çâ„Åõ https://t.co/9KxcJI4zI4 @googlewmc„Åï„Çì„Åã„Çâ, æù¾å´éãžãÅïãŲãÇç on Twitter
- I don't think word count was ever indicative of quality on Google's side. That wouldn't make any sense.…, John Mueller on Twitter
- If you have a preference when it comes to SEO, don't be coy - tell search engines every chance you have.…, John Mueller on Twitter
- Kim Kardashian most dangerous search online, WebmasterWorld
- Yahoo Japan is shutting down the last remnants of GeoCities, WebmasterWorld
- Yeah, that's where experience is useful :). Lots of issues can be found, but which ones are really critical for that site? We can crawl most small sites before the morning coffee, so even if it takes a bit longer, that's not a, John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Choose your ideal SMX East pass
- Google redesigns the Assistant for touch and digital transactions
- Here’s how to copy old AdWords column settings to the new Google Ads UI
- Bing Ads now supports language targeting at the campaign level
- Google publishes documentation on dynamic rendering for crawling, indexing JavaScript webpages
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Code Example - How we Transform Log Files to Improve SEO Rankings, Go Fish Digital
Industry & Business
- BrightonSEO September 2018 - Keynote Recap - Rand Fishkin, DeepCrawl
- Google acquires AI customer service startup Onward, VentureBeat
Links & Promotion Building
- A Beginner's Guide to Outbound and Inbound Link Strategies for Improved SEO, Search Engine Guide
- Building SEO Bridges with Backlinks | Importance of Backlinks, DealerOn
- Wikipedia fixes 9 million broken links thanks to the Internet Archive, Engadget
Local & Maps
- Take control of your commute with Google Maps, Google Blog
- Google Testing New Knowledge Panel Changes, Mike Blumenthal
Mobile & Voice
SEO
- Common Pitfalls with Dynamic Rendering for JavaScript SEO, Briggsby
- Explaining Organic Search to Colleagues, Stone Temple
- How Much Do Google Officials' Tweets & Posts Affect Your SEO Strategy?, Cognitive SEO
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider Update – Version 10.0, Screaming Frog
PPC
- Google Sheets Query Functions for PPC, PPC Hero
- Looking back, looking forward..., Inside AdSense
- Expand your global reach with multiple language targeting, Bing Ads Blog
Other Search
- Start a new .page today, Google Developers Blog
- Trustworthy Chrome Extensions, by default, Chromium Blog
