Daily Search Forum Recap: December 5, 2019

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:

• December 4th Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update. Maybe?
  Some of the tracking tools are spiking up and showing signals of a Google search ranking update over the past couple of days - maybe December 3rd or 4th. There is some limited chatter, nothing crazy, but some chatter at WebmasterWorld. Some are saying they saw...
• Google My Business Reviews Select Rated Highly For Tags
  Google is now letting Local Guides and maybe other Google users to select a tag to describe why you like the business you are reviewing. So not just leave a star rating and a review and photos but also select a descriptive tag that Google can use in a more structured fashion.
• Simple Video On How Google Search Works
  Google posted on their Google Webmaster YouTube channel a nice very clear and simple beginner video on how Google Search works as it relates to how you, webmasters, can make your web sites better. This might be one of those videos you share with new, newbie, clients?
• Google: Only Insane CPU Usage Will Limit How It Renders JavaScript
  Google is good, really good, at rendering JavaScript these days, even pretty inefficient JavaScript. So much so that Martin Splitt from Google said the only time you really need to worry about CPU usage being a problem is when it is such a big issue that your users CPUs get so hot the fans on the computer sounds like it is going to "lift off."
• Google Search Console Updates Messaging Interface
  As we reported, new stuff has now come to Google Search Console's messaging. Google announced a new method for viewing messages in Google Search Console. You can now access these messages in the bell icon at the top right, it will have a red indicator when there are new messages for you to view. You can even view the messages by category.
• GoogleBot Hits Tel Aviv
  Here is a photo from John Mueller of Google who brought his 3D printed GoogleBot to Tel Aviv, Israel. It is the Google Webmaster Conference in Tel Aviv, so I suspect he brought a handful of these to

Other Great Search Forum Threads:

• Genius sues Google and LyricFind alleging anticompetitive behavior and that song lyrics on its service were stolen, asking for over $400M in damages (@danideahl / The Verge) https://t.co/C9MUsmQyjC https://t.co/SOIvifF0lH, Techmeme on Twitter
• Mojeek gets investment, 100 new servers deployed, WebmasterWorld
• Google Spam & Hacked Machines, WebmasterWorld
• I chatted with the @ycombinator podcast about the early days of Google, and the US Digital Service: https://t.co/y6IRTHdIHt We're looking for great product managers, engineers, and designers! Apply here: https://t.co/DhPlLOtRP2, Matt Cutts on Twitter
• Instagram Now Requires Birth-dates For Sign-ups, WebmasterWorld
• It's not so much about parity (though that's useful to know too), but more about understanding the whole web. For example, we wouldn't realize that a site now has m-dot pages if we don't check how a desktop user s, John Mueller on Twitter
• Optimization score now includes Display campaigns, Google Ads Help
• The top stories section is an organic search feature -- not all pages show up there that's normal., John Mueller on Twitter

Search Engine Land Stories:

• Now is the time to position your site for a successful start to 2020
• Google Search Console messages can now be viewed without leaving reports
• Video: Jeff Selig on the early days of SEO, Google algorithms & international SEO
• How deep learning can reduce bias in advertising
• Google co-founders step down, Sundar Pichai to lead both Google and Alphabet

Other Great Search Stories:

Analytics

• How Can Big Data Contribute To Digital Marketing Success?, InGenium Web
• Persist Campaign Data On The Landing Page, Simo Ahava's blog
• The 3 Essentials for Properly Setting Up Google Analytics Conversion Tracking, Databox Blog
• Using Drill-Down Charts in Data Studio, ClickInsight

Industry & Business

• Google Retaliation Claims Spread With New Labor Board Filing, Bloomberg
• Google's founders came up with the Alphabet model after meeting Warren Buffett, Business Insider
• Key Takeaways from Google Webmaster Conference Tel Aviv 2019, Fandango SEO

Links & Promotion Building

• The Importance of Internal Linking to Boost Site Performance and UX, Seer Interactive
• 9 ways to use data to get authoritative links, Koozai blog
• SPAM Nofollow Backlinks are nothing to worry about - Think Again..., Majestic Blog

Local & Maps

• Better Than Google Maps Or Waze? This New Navigation App Pulls Out All The Stops, Forbes
• Google Street View for Kenya’s National Parks launched, KBC

Mobile & Voice

• Google Assistant now recommending recipes based on your dietary restrictions, Social Barrel
• Google Assistant supports more bedroom, kitchen appliances, 9to5Google
• I Tried on Google and Levi’s Smart Jean Jacket and It’s Cool, but Not There Just Yet, KTLA

SEO

• Botify Partners With Looker: Powering Insights To Boost Website Performance, Botify
• Understand Page Speed, Metrics, and How to Improve Speed with the 9 Best Speed Fixes, BrightEdge SEO Blog
• Medium’s Got a Large Problem - Onely, Medium
• New Google Search Console report checks site speed, Yoast
• SERP News: Google Goes Stealth with the Nov. 2019 Local Update, RankRanger
• 7 Tips to Write More Effective SEO Reports, Seer Interactive

PPC

• Google’s Shiny New Lead Form Extension, State of Digital

Search Features

• Live from the North Pole, it’s Santa’s Village!, Google Blog