Daily Search Forum Recap: January 7, 2020

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 January 7th Search Ranking Algorithm Update Early Signals
  I am seeing some early signals of a possible Google search ranking algorithm update starting today, January 7, 2020. There is some chatter within the SEO community and some of the tools are picking up on ranking fluctuations.
• Google Reconsideration Requests Responses With Longer Wait Times?
  There have been numerous reports within the SEO community that Google has been really slow recently to respond to some reconsideration requests. Some are taking months but most are taking many weeks. I believe at some point, responses use to take days - not weeks or months for the most part?
• Google Search Console Crawl Stats Report Stuck
  We have another Google Search Console bug to report, this one is with the crawl stats report. Yes, another legacy tool and report. The crawl stats report is a bit out of date, only having data as fresh as December 30, 2019. That is over a week old, and generally this report is about three-days old.
• Google Ads Outsourced Partner Teleperformance Trying To Poach Your Clients
  We know that Google has a history of calling companies and selling them to use Google Ads. Sometimes that means they may call your clients that are already using Google Ads to convince them to do things differently, which might result in you losing a client. These poaching efforts, either intentionally or not, happen all the time.
• Google Search Console URL Parameter Data Issues
  John Mueller from Google has confirmed an issue with the data being displayed in the URL parameter tool within the old Google Search Console. In short, the tool is showing sometimes zero and often less than it should, URL parameter settings for the sites that have configured them. There are numerous complaints over the past 24-hours of this.
• Google Fruit Truck
  This is from the Google São Paulo, Brazil office parking lot. There is a fruit truck with a canopy with a Google license plate. This was shared on Instagram, it was from a year ago.

Other Great Search Forum Threads:

• If it's still pending, there's no need to resubmit it. Sometimes these things just take a while to be processed & reviewed - sorry about the delay!, John Mueller on Twitter
• Twitter Promoted Trend Spotlight Ads Now Generally Available, WebmasterWorld
• Looks like G is testing arrows beside sitelinks again. This time with grey arrows instead of the blue ones that were previously reported on by @rustybrick here: https://t.co/KEaLSgunjY https://t.co/OJruwfxOSV, Brodie Clark on Twitter
• You can always update your disavow file., John Mueller on Twitter

Search Engine Land Stories:

• Standard text ads will live on a bit longer, Microsoft Advertising says
• 2020 Outlook for AI in B2B Marketing
• SMX Overtime: Broaden your reach with YouTube campaigns
• Video: A.J. Ghergich on not chasing the Google algorithm and focusing on human intentions

Other Great Search Stories:

Analytics

• 3 marketing skills & tools to focus on in 2020, Think with Google
• Google Analytics 360: Get a Bird's Eye View with Rollup Reporting, Seer Interactive

Industry & Business

• Alphabet Stock Off to Strong Start in 2020, Wall Street Journal
• Google hits all-time high despite antitrust probes, CNBC

Local & Maps

• Amazon is pushing Alexa deeper into the automotive market, VentureBeat
• Waze for Work? Navigation Apps Come to Mazelike Offices, Wall Street Journal

Mobile & Voice

• Alexa will help pay for your gas at ExxonMobil pumps, Engadget
• Amazon Now Claims Hundreds of Millions of Alexa-Enabled Devices and Hundreds of Millions of Weekly Smart Home Interactions, Voicebot
• Lamborghini and Rivian Will Integrate Alexa into 2020 Car Models, Voicebot

SEO

• Google Has Updated Quote Searching to Focus on Videos, SEO By The Sea
• What Changes to the Quality Raters Guidelines Mean: In Search SEO Podcast, RankRanger
• Yoast SEO 12.8: Fixes and enhancements, Yoast

PPC

• Delivering on the customer experience imperative, Microsoft Advertising
• Google Ads vs. AdSense: What's the Difference?, PPC Hero

Other Search

• Doodle for Google 2020: How do you show kindness?, Google Blog