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:
- Google Confirmed Search Algorithm Update Rolled Out; Here Is What We Know
As you know, we saw a huge amount of chatter around a big Google search ranking algorithm update starting November 7th and 8th through the weekend. There were mixed signals in that the chatter in the industry was very heavy but (a) Google did not pre-announce it and (b) the automated tracking tools... - Vlog #25: Danny Sullivan On Working At Google & What He Sees Differently Now
In part two of my interview with Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan), Google Public Liaison of Search, we go into what it is like being at Google. Does his access at Google change how he sees things from the perspective as a publisher? - Frederic Dubut Now PM Of Bing's Core Ranking Team
Frederic Dubut, who lead up search quality and search spam at Bing has received a promotion. He is now the PM of overall Bing's core search team. He announced this on Twitter, although I think it happened a few weeks earlier. He said... - Google: We Only Rewrite A Low Number Of Page Titles But If We Are...
Gary Illyes from Google was quoted as saying "We rewrite page titles in a low number of cases." Jennifer Slegg also loosely quoted him as saying "if Google is rewriting your titles, that is a sign you should work on rewriting those titles." This is from a conference... - Bing Fixes Cache Bug That Showed Third Party Content
Last week, Bing had an unusual bug, a bug with its cache page results. The Bing cache was showing not just the cache page they had of your site, but also showed content from non-related sites below or above your page. - John Mueller: Google Does Not Use A Spam Score
Google's John Mueller said on Twitter "Google doesn't use the spam score." This was in response to someone saying they have an 11% spam score (I guess on some third-party tool).... - Google Ferris Wheel
Google has a toy ferris wheel at the Google Boulder, Colorado offices. No, this is not a real ferris wheel, that would be way cooler. I wonder if any Googler submitted a request for Google to build a ferris wheel.
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- If you block the crawling, we can't even see the rel=canonical. The more signals align, the more likely we'll follow your lead. If you hide some of those signals, we'll have to guess. SEO is, John Mueller on Twitter
- It's good to understand the difference between 200, (301/302), (404/410), 500, 503. The exact details often don't matter that much., John Mueller on Twitter
- Seeing a bump up in Featured Snippets right around BERT (morning of Oct. 22) -- jumped from 14.1% to 15.8% prevalence in MozCast (+12% increase). No clear pattern, though, and they dropped about 5% on November 5. Not sure, Dr. Pete Meyers on Twitter
- Like you mentioned, there's not much that can be done without those attributes. Since this is on a per-page basis, if you just don't need product rich results on individual, John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google did several search algorithmic updates; somewhat confirming update rumors
- Want to speak at SMX West? Here’s how
- Here’s what you need to know about Google’s newest local algorithm update
- Google expands Local campaigns inventory, BOPIS offers for Shopping campaigns
- Google My Business discontinues toll free phone support
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Deep-Dive into Leveraging Hit-Scoped Segments, Online Metrics
- How to Set Up & Use Google Analytics Conversion Tracking, Databox Blog
- Measuring Effectiveness, HMA
- Set up product analytics with Google Data Studio, Anna Grigoryan
Industry & Business
- Google's new health deals trigger privacy concerns in Congress, CNBC
- One Google Staffer Fired, Two Others Put on Leave Amid Tensions, Bloomberg
Local & Maps
- Bing Maps helps Seeingit.com save users from FOMO, Bing Maps Blog
- Drive holiday shoppers into local stores, Google Blog
- Google Maps adds local business pins to navigation just in time for the holidays, Android Police
Mobile & Voice
- Overall Consumer Voice Assistant Use Rises Deceptively Quickly: Report, Voicebot
- Siri comes to Walmart for online grocery, Supermarket News
SEO
- 3 Ways Google Posts Can Help You Win This Holiday Season, DAC
- 5 Steps To Track SEO Recommendations With Blended Data in Google Data Studio, Seer Interactive
- Google Update November 2019: Latest News and Analysis, Search Metrics
- Google Webmaster Conference: Key SEO Learnings, Botify
- Most Common ECommerce SEO Problems That Online Stores Face, HigherVisibility
- Optimizing Your Website for SEO - Title Tags, Red Canoe Media
PPC
- 10 Important PPC Trends to Watch in 2020, Search Engine Journal
- SEO & PPC Differ, But They Should Work Together, Portent
Search Features
- 6 steps to being a smart searcher, Google Blog
