Daily Search Forum Recap: January 11, 2021

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 Confirmed Launching Subtopics Ranking In Mid-November 2020
  Danny Sullivan of Google confirmed on Twitter that the search company launched the subtopics ranking feature or algorithm in November 2020, just weeks after announcing it at the Search On event in October 2020.
• Google Index Coverage Report Updated With More Specific Categories
  Google has updated the index coverage report in Google Search Console with more "more fine-grained" status and categories. The change will cause some of the errors or statuses to "relabeled with the new, more specific categories," Google said.
• Google Ads Begins Identity Verification
  Since last March, March 2020, Google has been giving us a heads up about the Google Ads team doing some sort of verification for your Google Ads account. We learned a bit more in April but now I am seeing advertises getting emails from Google that says "start identity verification by February 6, 2021."
• Google News Intent Article Labels
  Google seems to be categorizing and labeling news articles in mobile search by intent, such as interviews or other intents. Valentin Pletzer shows a screen shot of this in action. I am not sure if this is new but it is interesting to see Google automatically assigning these labels to articles.
• Google: 410 Status Code or 404 Status Code Are Both Fine
  Google's John Mueller responded to a concern in the Reddit forums that when it comes to the Salesforce Commerce Cloud, the only real way to use a 404 page not found, is not to use a 404 but a 410 status code. John Mueller of Google said "404 is fine. 410 is fine," trying to reassure this person that both should be fine and not to be concerned.
• Vlog #102: Phillip Thune On The FindWhat Days In 2000 To Running Textbroker in 2020 - Part One
  Here is episode 102 with industry vet Phillip Thune. Phillip Thune's Deep History In Search: Phillip Thune is the current CEO of Textbroker and has been for over 10 years, but he goes back further in the search space including working for FindWhat in early 2000s...
• Google Yellow Pool Table and Pink Boxing Gloves
  Here is an old photo found on Instagram from 2017 at the Google Dublin office of a yellow pool table and woman in pink boxing gloves. I don't think boxing and pool go together but I can be wrong.

Other Great Search Forum Threads:

• They're different types of redirects, I'd use the type that's correct for your scenario. There's no magical SEO juice to be gained from switching between 301 or 302 redirects, they're just different kinds of redir, John Mueller on Twitter
• Those are different queries, so it would be kinda normal to have different rankings., John Mueller on Twitter
• We don't index everything on the web, so that can be normal. Why would you want to remove your blog from the index? Is it that bad? Perhaps improve it instead of removing it :), John Mueller on Twitter

Search Engine Land Stories:

• Google launched subtopics ranking in mid-November
• Halting campaigns shouldn’t be your only brand safety precaution
• Google Ads and SMBs: How to drive results on a low budget

Other Great Search Stories:

Analytics

• Google Tag Manager: Firebase Analytics, Search Discovery
• Do I need to switch to Google Analytics 4 (GA4)?, Browser Media

Industry & Business

• He Created the Web. Now He’s Out to Remake the Digital World., New York Times
• U.S. judge overseeing Google case will sell mutual funds holding Alphabet stock, KFGO

Local & Maps

• Google Maps 2020 Timeline recap shows travel trends, 9to5Google
• Google offers a silly solution for multilingual Android Auto users: Stick to one language, Android Police
• Google Releases New Google Maps Updates for Android and Android Auto, AutoEvolution

Mobile & Voice

• Apple HomePod's Intercom feature is like a whole-house walkie-talkie. How to use it, GameSinners
• Cadbury does something besides Easter – makes your Google Assistant rebel against you, Chrome Unboxed

SEO

• Top 15 Most Important SEO Metrics to Track Performance, Terakeet
• 2021 Local SEO Success: Expert Tips & Predictions, Moz
• The Difference Between 301 And 302 Redirects, Koozai

PPC

• The content-streaming consumer journey, Microsoft Advertising