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.
There was another unconfirmed Google search ranking algorithm update. Google Ads is rolling out experiments for Performance Max campaigns. Google Search Console's performance report may show a spike in data for product results due to a change. Google removed the playable podcast list view rich results. Bing is testing topics search refinement, like Google.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update On Wednesday?
It looks like we may have had another tremor or Google search ranking algorithm update kickoff yesterday, Wednesday, January 18th. We just had one this weekend after the December 2022 helpful content update and December 2022 link spam update finished on January 12th and now we have this, again. - Google Search Console Search Performance Product Results Clicks & Impressions Spike
Google has posted that you may see an increase in clicks and impressions in your search performance report when filtering by the product results search appearance in Search Console. Google said this is because Google is now picking up these products even without structured data. - Google Ads Rolling Out Performance Max Experiments
Google is rolling out Performance Max experiments in Google Ads today. We knew this would come and now, I think for the first time but I might be wrong, we are seeing some advertisers gain access to this. - Google Search Drops Playable Podcast Rich Snippets
Google has dropped the playable podcast search result rich snippets. 9to5Google reported this first, and there is a bit of confusion around what exactly Google removed. Google seems to have removed the recent episodes playable rich results for podcasts, where Google would show under a specific search result the recent podcasts. - Microsoft Bing Tests Topics Search Bar Refinements Like Google
Microsoft Bing is testing topics refinements options in the search bar, this is similar to what Google Search launched a few months back on mobile search and has been testing on desktop search. - Green Google Singapore Office
Google's Daniel Waisberg shared some photos of the Google Singapore office. The images are embedded below but the one on top shows how green this space is. There is even a place that lets you grow
Other Great Search Threads:
- An new version of #LearningSEO is here w/ a new section about ChatGPT for SEO on the Automate SEO Tasks page! Featuring resources with prompts, extension and more from @cemper @wordliftit @joehall @MattTutt1 @i, Aleyda Solis on Twitter
- I think one of the tricky parts of Search Console reports is that you have to interpret the data to determine if you need to make a change., John Mueller on Mastodon
- Yeah, the whole idea of country-targeting there is bad., John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- How marketing compensation and roles are changing: Take the MarTech Salary and Career Survey
- Ecommerce content: How to demonstrate beneficial purpose and expertise
- Efficiency vs. volume in PPC: 4 tips to strike a balance in incremental conversions
- This day in search marketing history: January 18
- Google ranking signals: A complete breakdown of all confirmed, rumored and false factors
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- GA4 Audience Guide: How to Create and Use Audiences, Adswerve
- Organic Search Traffic in Google Analytics 4 - The Guide, Data Driven U
Industry & Business
- Amazon, Meta and Google buy more clean energy than any other companies, CNBC
- Google Draws Support In Battle At Supreme Court Over Recommendations, MediaPost
- Microsoft and Google Will Both Have to Bear AI’s Costs, Wall Street Journal
- Microsoft is laying off 10,000 employees, CNBC
Links & Content Marketing
- AI content writer vs a human: results of our case study, Hallam
- What Is The Content Marketing Funnel?, Search Engine Journal
Local & Maps
- Google Publishes User-Generated Content (UGC) Posting Restrictions, Local University
- The Ultimate Guide for Taking Full Control of Your Google Business Profile and NMX, Moz
Mobile & Voice
- Apple introduces the new HomePod with breakthrough sound and intelligence, Apple
- Siri pulled a false alarm at the gym and caused 15 armed police officers to show up, 9to5Mac
SEO
- Duda Partners with Bridgeline to launch WooRank SEO app for digital marketing agencies, Duda
- How to Measure the ROI of SEO: Guide and Free Calculator, Pure Visibility
- IndexWatch 2022 - Google US SEO Visibility Winners, SISTRIX
- Keyword Clustering and Tagging, Schemantra
- Revitalizing Your Website: The Importance of Updating Old Content for SEO Success, UrbanMatter
- SERP’s Up | How big of a headache are site migrations?, SERP's Up SEO Podcast
PPC
- Google Ads Q&A: Budget, Keywords, Search Network, Practical Ecommerce
- Publisher tips and resources for 2023, Google Blog
Search Features
- Google Podcasts disappears from Search results, 9to5Google
Other Search
- A Pondering on the Potential Downsides of chatGPT, ZATO Marketing
- Google Research, 2022 & Beyond: Language, Vision and Generative Models, Google AI Blog
- Wikipedia gets its first makeover in over a decade…and it’s fairly subtle, TechCrunch
Feedback:
Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, you can follow us on Facebook and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or just contact us the old fashion way.
