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:
- Search Buzz Video Recap: Google Search Console, Image Search, Mobile-First, Disavow & Much More
This week, we covered how Google said the old Search Console may sunset in March and specifically which features are going away. Some European Google searchers were seeing... - Google: Disavowing Bad Links May Help Google Algorithmically Trust Your Links
Google's John Mueller said in a webmaster hangout on Tuesday at the 16:44 mark that in some cases, disavowing or cleaning up bad links to your site may help Google's algorithm trust other links to your site. Let me quote what the question was and how John responded, plus you can watch it yourself below. - Google May Drop The Old Search Console In March
Last night in the Google NYC event John Mueller said Google is currently aiming to deprecate most, if not all, of the old Search Console by March of this year. That timeline may change but that is the goal. With that some features in the old Search Console are going away, some will have replacements, some will not. - Google: Last 50% Of Mobile-First Indexing Migration Will Be Harder
As you know, Google said over 50% of the search results they deliver were processed through the mobile-first indexing mechanism. But Google still has another 50% or so to go and that next 50% will be the harder batch for Google to migrate over. - Google Image Search Changes Coming This Year: Think Different
Google's John Mueller said last night that bigger changes are coming to Google Image search this coming year. Instead of thinking of how to optimize for images like you have been for the past two decades, you will need to think differently about image search when these changes role out. - Google To Host More In Person Meetups But Focused On Webmasters
Back in November, Gary Illyes from Google said they are changing the name of the Google Dance, removing the dance part but hosting more in-person Google events worldwide. Last night at the last-minute Google NYC event put together by John Mueller, John confirmed this but added the events will be more focused towards webmasters and not SEOs. - Google's John Mueller First Time In Google NYC
John Mueller has worked at Google in their Switzerland office for almost 12 years now and this week was the first time he went to the Google New York City office. He invited a bunch of SEOs and webma
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- Chrome Browser Update Might Break Independent Ad Blockers, WebmasterWorld
- Today MarksThe 35th Anniversary Of The Mac, WebmasterWorld
- Looks like I'm doing an AMA on the TechSEO sub! Drop by on Feb. 8 and ask me something! PS: you must wear a suit during the AMA.… https://t.co/DGrhX51bhD, Gary Illyes on Twitter
- Redirects: One Way to Make or Break Your Site Migration - Whiteboard Friday, Moz
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Mueller previews Google image search changes, old Search Console sunsetting at NYC meetup.
- How to keep your SEO team (and yourself) relevant
- Fighting brand fatigue through A/B testing
- 4 building blocks to help your brand’s SEO strategy succeed
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- 5 Reasons to Use a Tag Manager to Increase Visibility for Conversions, SiteTuners
- Data blending and custom metrics in Google Data Studio, Scandi Web
- Page count triggers in Google Tag Manager, Julien Coquet
Industry & Business
- Google Urged the U.S. to Limit Protection For Activist Workers, Bloomberg
- Our fight to protect the future of software development, Google Blog
- SEJ Is Launching a New Column Dedicated to Self-Care: Friday Focus, Search Engine Journal
Local & Maps
- Google Discover surfacing 'Posts on Google' from brands and artists, 9to5Google
- Google Maps is getting another cool Waze feature you’ve been dying to use, BGR
Mobile & Voice
SEO
- Common Robots.txt Mistakes and How to Avoid Them, DeepCrawl
- Does Google Use Schema to Write Answer Passages for Featured Snippets?, Go Fish Digital
- Mapping the Overlap of SERP Feature Suggestions, Moz
- 4 Google Ranking Factors You Probably Aren’t Aware Of, DealerOn
- Focusing on the new Search Console, Official Google Webmaster Central Blog
- Google Webmaster Hangout Notes: January 22nd 2019, DeepCrawl
- SEO Consultant: The Complete Guide To Hiring a Consultant For Your Digital Marketing Strategy, Raven Blog
PPC
