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.
Google Ads has a serving issue with ads on Gmail desktop browsers since before Christmas. Google wants all its algorithms to work across all languages, but they don't always roll out that way. Google said it does keep a log of all its algorithmic search changes but it is often hard to look back at the log as pinpoint why a specific URL didn't perform well. Google Search won't rank G-rated branded sex toy companies for their company name in the free organic results but they will in Google Ads. Google Search Console's link report is not a priority for Google, they said. John Mueller posted his year in review for SEO memes. John was also working over the Christmas holiday break helping SEOs and site owners. Hope all of you had a nice Christmas and Kwanzaa holiday!
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google Search Won't Rank Sex Toy Companies For G-Rated Brand Names But Google Ads Will For The Money
If you do a search in Google or Bing for [adam and eve] or [jack and jill], both very G rated phrases that also have very X rated companies behind it, you will get mixed results. On the Google Search organic results, by default, the sex toy companies websites are filtered out. But the Google Ads, by default, show ads to those sex toy company brands. - Google Ads Serving Issue For Ads On Desktop Gmail
Google has a new serving issue with Google Ads that is impacting ad serving on the desktop version of Gmail. So if you are serving Google Ads on Gmail, your ads may not show to a "significant subset of users," according to Google. - Google Keeps Track Of Algorithm Changes But It's Hard To Use Even Internally
Alan Bleiweiss, a smart and fun SEO, asked John Mueller of Google if Google has a "Google Book of Secrets" where it stores all the algorithmic changes it makes in a single location. The short answer is, yes, Google does store all the changes it makes but the long answer from John is that it isn't always useful. - Google: Most Of Google's Search Algorithms Work For All Languages But Not All
Did you know that most of the search algorithms Google launches work across all languages? There are exceptions, like when Panda first launched and the product reviews update and some others. Some launch first in some languages, like the English language, and some launch globally in all languages - like Penguin. - Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Product Reviews Update Done Before Christmas, Lots Of Ranking Tremors & SEOs Working On Holidays
Happy holidays and merry Christmas to all of you, hope you are not watching this video on your break but if you are - you clearly love search... - Google Search Console's Link Report Not A Priority For Google
Google's John Mueller was asked on Twitter why the pipeline to get data into the link report within Google Search Console seems slower than most the other reports. In short, John said that links is not an area they think SEOs should focus too much on and thus the report is not an area where Google thinks there is "any need to spend lots of resources" on. - John Mueller Of Google Providing Webmaster Support on Christmas Again
Google's John Mueller again, actually since 2007, year-after-year, has jumped into the Google support forums and on social media to answer webmaster questions on Google Search. It is a tradition for him... - The John Mueller Meme Report 2021
Like last year, Google's John Mueller put together a year end meme report of SEO for 2021. John said on Twitter "It's time for the dreaded end-of-year reports. Here's a compilation from the monthly internal reports that I put together. There's more to them, but this is the fun part. The memes of 2021 SEO." - Vlog #152: Colt Sliva On Entities, Python For SEO & Winning Over Developers
In part one, we spoke about how Colt Sliva became an SEO engineer and some topics around visualizing search graphs. In part two we spoke more about entities, python for SEO and winning over developers... - Doogler At The Google Christmas Party
Here is a photo from the Google Hong Kong office of a Doogler, a Google dog, at a Google Christmas party. Mika posted this a couple weeks ago on Instagram and wrote "a company cwrismas pawty #doogler - 2021 Microsoft Bing Swag - Backpack, Coffee Mug, Water Bottle, Ear Buds & More
Menachem Ani shared a photo of the new swag he received from the Microsoft Bing team. They sent him a backpack, water bottle, coffee mug, ear buds, and a couple other things I am not sure about.
Other Great Search Threads:
- Another big update in how Google shows colleges/universities See below what I mean, Brandon Schmidt on Twitter
- Google is doing more testing with result indenting (that rolled out in September 2021). Now seeing the complete removal of URLs for the indented results, which looks a bit strange. Also seeing a test where indenting doesn't, Brodie Clark on Twitter
- Say hello to the December episode of Google Search News with @JohnMu! Google ranking algorithm updates ✨ Interactive checklist Holiday outtakes …and much more! Watch, Google Search Central on Twitter
- Sure. Highlight the important parts of your page. (and don't fall for the SEO-trap of "if doing a little helps, doing it everywhere must be better". A littl, John Mueller on Twitter
- This looks like my website traffic says every SEO https://t.co/rb9w14xuKD, Barry Schwartz on Twitter
- @Map_Wrangler Just heard the very sad news - Rest In Peace Roger, I enjoyed our friendship and shall miss you on the Google Maps Help Forum. Sleep well xx 💔 #CancerSucks 💔, BeadieJay aka Sue on Twitter
- It sounds like it was a DMCA request which isn’t a casual thing at all. It’s a legal process we follow, with the ability for a publisher to appeal. That’s the ge, Danny Sullivan on Twitter
- This case was covered again in the latest hangout video (w/the site's SEO). @johnmu passed the site along to the SafeSearch team at Google & they said it's *not* a bug. G's systems are working as intended. John said to not expe, Glenn Gabe on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google Ads not serving fully on Gmail
- PPC 2021 in review: Privacy and automation force advertisers to adapt
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
Industry & Business
- Potential DOJ suits against Apple and Google delayed amid budget woes, POLITICO
- Russian court fines Alphabet's Google 7.2 bln roubles, Reuters
Links & Content Marketing
- 3 Ways to Get More Leads from Your Content Marketing, Business 2 Community
Local & Maps
- Big Tech’s Next Monopoly Game: Building the Car of the Future, POLITICO
- The Influence of Local Guides on Google Reviews: Part 2, Street Fight
Mobile & Voice
- Amazon’s Voice-Controlled Smart Speaker Alexa Can’t Hold Customer Interest: Docs, Bloomberg
- Pixel Watch to get next-gen Assistant, possible Exynos chip, Chrome Unboxed
SEO
- My SEO and Growth predictions for 2022, Kevin Indig
- SEO: Drive Clicks with Video Rich Snippets, Practical Ecommerce
- Your 2022 Boring (and Ridiculous) SEO Predictions, iPullRank
- Aesthetics vs SEO in Web Design: Should You Ever Compromise?, Business 2 Community
- Search Engineers Home Pages and Research Profile Pages, SEO By The Sea
- Web Accessibility and Compliance: Essential for Users, Good for SEO, PPC Hero
- SEO Podcasts to listen for improving SEO Expertise in 2022 & beyond, Supple
- Your Handy Dandy Google E-A-T Checklist, Wellspring Digital
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