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 Search Console Temporarily Disables Issue Validation
If you login to Google Search Console and check out the coverage report, you will see a notice about another feature that Google has temporarily disabled. Google posted "issue validation is temporarily disabled due to upcoming changes in the report." - Google My Business Call History Report Shows Answered & Missed Calls
In October we saw Google testing a feature called Preview Call History that shows you recent calls made to your business through Google Search and Google Maps. Now folks are seeing this report live in Google My Business under business.google.com/calls/IDgoeshere. - Google Structured Data Testing Tool Moving To Schema.org; SEOs Now Happy
In July 2020 we reported that SEOs were not happy that Google was going to deprecate the Structured Data Testing Tool. Well, Google heard that loud and clear and announced that it will instead not deprecate the tool but migrated it off Google and onto Schema.org. - Microsoft Bing Launches Holiday Recipe Search Results
Jordi Ribas, the Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Bing, posted about the new Microsoft Bing recipe result experience. He said he is "extremely proud of the Bing recipe team's hard work on the new recipe search query experience - and just in time for the holidays." - Google Maps Local Listings Adds Web Search Results
Google is now showing web search results when you are viewing a local listing in Google Maps. For some reason I thought Google was doing this years and years ago but I cannot find a story I wrote about this (if you find it, let me know in the comments). Brian Barwig spotted this and shared some screen shots on the LocalU blog. - Google Tests New Local Pack User Interface Buttons
Google is testing more changes around the local pack in the search results. On desktop, Google is testing using round buttons as opposed to square buttons. On mobile, Google is testing bubble designs for the tabs, instead of simple text with underlines. - Google Office By The Railroad Tracks
Here is a photo, I think of the Google Zurich office, which is near the railroad. It is a cool show to see the railroad and power lines and of course the graffiti.
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- 4500 plus reviews suspended for a 26-year-old hotel business., Local Search Forum
- How much do you know about how Google Search works? 🤔 Test your knowledge of some of the topics we cover in our new (home) movie below 🧠 👇 #SearchMovie https://t.co/QX1Yjlt42t, Google on Twitter
- I mute early, and if it's on a channel I control, delete the comment. There's enough mental overhead with doing good things, I see no need or value in donating my energy to people who seek out & spread negati, John Mueller on Twitter
- If a page is blocked by robots.txt, we won't see the noindex. If you need to prevent a page from being indexed (even without its content), make sure to allow crawling & block with noindex. Or, for urgent case, John Mueller on Twitter
- Thin content in 600k URLs-site. 'Canonical' pointing to main pages?, WebmasterWorld
- We don't use Search Console or Google Analytics for data. https://t.co/cxq8Iy5odK has a bit more about the CrUX data we show in Search Console. And yes, sometimes we don't have a lot of data for sites, or so, John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google Ads moves campaign goal metric
- What would it take for new search engines to succeed?
- Google to move the Structured Data testing tool to schema.org
- Google Maps local listing now showing web search results
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Building a Google Analytics 4 Dashboard in Data Studio, ClickInsight
- Getting Started with Google Optimize, Lynchpin
- How to Set Up Google Analytics: A Step-by-Step Guide, Hootsuite
- What CTOs Need to Know about GA4, Cardinal Path
Industry & Business
Local & Maps
Mobile & Voice
- Gboard gets 'enhanced voice typing' w/ new Google Assistant, 9to5Google
- Siri can now play animal sounds and more, The Verge
SEO
- Meta Keywords: What Are They and Should You Use Them?, Ahrefs
- 2020 Review: Core Web Vitals & Ranking Factors, Searchmetrics
- Google's December 2020 Core Update Themes, RankRanger
- SERP Pursuit SEO Quiz (Holiday Ed.) w/Brodie & Izzi, Brodie Clark Consulting
PPC
- Do Display URLs Matter in Paid Search?, PPC Hero
- Making it easier to see your campaign goals in optimization score, Google Ads Help
- The Importance of Regular Account Audits: 10 Key Categories to Evaluate, Seer Interactive
Search Features
- These 33 projects tackle diversity in local news, Google Blog
Other Search
