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.
After we missed deadline after deadline with Google's mobile first indexing switch over, Google said they are dropping the deadline completely. Google said a site can sometimes be stuck between algorithm updates and be penalized for several years - it is rare. Google said site speed is not a reason why a site would see a huge drop in rankings. Microsoft Bing sends penalty and violation clarifications via email. Google is taking precautionary action during the Omicron variant of COVID with its support team. And I have a vlog with the guy who does the video editing of the vlog.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google: Sites Can Be Stuck In Algorithm Penalty Limbo For Several Years (Rare)
Google's John Mueller said in this past Friday's hangout that in rare situations some sites can get stuck in some sort of algorithmic penalty limbo or black hole state and not be able to recover because Google stopped updating that algorithm. He said this can lead to some sites not being able to recover for several years. - Google Drops The Deadline For Mobile-First Indexing
On Friday, Google's John Mueller announced Google is doing away with the deadline for sites to switch over to mobile-first indexing. Some sites just can't move over yet and Google won't force them by giving them a deadline that it will continue to push off. - Google: Site Speed Is Not Why A Site Would See Significant Changes In Search Visibility
Google has once again said that if you see significant changes in your Google search visibility it likely has nothing to do with how fast or slow your site is. John said in a hangout last Friday, "I would not assume that making a website from really slow to really fast would cause a significant rise in visibility." - Bing Violation Of Webmaster Guidelines Email
The other day we shared a screenshot of an email of an email notification when a website is no longer in violation of Bing's webmaster guidelines and thus is no longer blocked. Today I wanted to share an email that tells a site owner that their site is still in violation of the Bing Webmaster Guidelines. - Google Takes Precautionary Health Measures Due To COVID & Omicron
If you visit the Google Support pages, any of them, at support.google.com, you will see a banner at the top come up again. The banner says "as a precautionary health measure for our support specialists in light of COVID-19, we're operating with a limited team." - Vlog Episode #147: Joseph Goldsmith On Video Production, Vlog Editing & Filming
This is a very special vlog, I interviewed the very person who has been editing these videos for the past couple of years, Joseph Goldsmith. And we did it overlooking the George Washington Bridge, from the Fort Lee Historic Park... - YouTube Thanksgiving - Friendsgiving at Google NYC
Here is a set of photos I found on Instagram the other day where I think Googlers got together to put food together to be delivered for Thanksgiving. Lisa Nguyen who posted this said - Google Doodle For Seasonal Holidays
Google has this interesting Christmas looking Doodle on its home page today with the alt tag that says Seasonal Holidays 2021. When you click on it, it goes to a query for [seasonal holidays]. Tonight is Chanukah, so maybe that is why they put up the Christmas decorations logo?
Other Great Search Threads:
- I don't know about you, but for some questions, all I need is a short answer. For others, I want in-depth content. And then for recipes, there's "In Search of Lost Time, John Mueller on Twitter
- Cross-language canonical is not great. One idea could be to just do hreflang on the homepage, and not do it for the actual content. That would help guide the branded queries to the right version, and assuming th, John Mueller on Twitter
- Our apologies here. We're looking into this. It seems to only appear for those searching in the Bay Area. It might be caused by co-occurrence where stories about the shooting also reference or link to stories, Danny Sullivan on Twitter
- What's an unnatural internal anchor? Usually the cases where I see that it's more about keyword stuffing than anything else. Consider it more a matter of providing *relative* imp, John Mueller on Twitter
- I'm planning on doing another batch of #AskGooglebot videos next week - what am I missing, which questions should I cover? Is there something short & common on your mind, or that you've often seen, which you'd like to see, John Mueller on Twitter
- Old isn't automatically better, or worse., John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- November 29: The latest jobs in search marketing
- Google drops its mobile-first indexing deadline, leaves it open-ended
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- How To: Do Local SEO for Multiple Stores Using LocalBusiness Schema and Google Tag Manager, Organic Digital UK
Industry & Business
- SERPWoo Interviews Barry Schwartz of RustyBrick, SERPWoo
- SISTRIX Christmas Campaign 2021: You Click, We Donate, SISTRIX
- The Screaming Frog & BrightonSEO Charity Five-a-Side Tournament, Screaming Frog
Links & Content Marketing
- How to Create Content for Your Business That’s Worth Sharing 101, Red Canoe Media
- How to Perform a Content Gap Analysis on a Website, Inflow
Local & Maps
- Ask a Googler: Kevin, Local Guides Connect
- LBMA: Google Maps Goes Head to Head with Instacart, Street Fight
Mobile & Voice
- Wear OS gets redesigned 'System updates' screen, 9to5Google
SEO
- Retail News & Search Marketing Tips For The Holiday Season, Vertical Leap
- 99 Problems: Local SEO for Auto Dealers Ain’t One, Sterling Sky Inc
- Meta Tags: The Definitive Guide to Meta-Data for SEO (2021), SEOSherpa
- Search Analytics for Sheets Can Now Pull in News, Discover Data From Search Console to Google Sheets, tl;dr Marketing
PPC
Other Search
- Google suggests reduction in business travel post-pandemic, Travel Weekly
- Google Store checkout issue prevents store credit usage, 9to5Google
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.
