Daily Search Forum Recap: January 28, 2019

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 Officially To End Some Old Search Console Features
  I reported on Friday that Google will be deprecating some or all of the old Search Console features so they can focus more on the new Google Search Console. Well, Google made it official by posting a blog post on the news on the Google Webmaster Blog.
• Google Investigating AMP Errors & AMP Pages Not Showing In Search
  Over the past few days or so, Google has been having issues showing AMP pages in the search results. I've been hearing reports on social media around publishers seeing their content show up in Google search labeled as AMP and then that content goes missing. Also, Google has been sending out AMP errors to many folks via Search Console.
• Google Ads Poaching Advertiser Clients Again But Now Requiring Opt Out
  Every few years or so we cover Google Ads (former AdWords) representatives caught trying to poach or steal clients for advertising agencies and SEM agencies. Well, this time, as reported by Ginny Marvin on Search Engine Land, Google is doing so automatically and requiring the advertiser to opt out if they don't want Google to take over their campaign.
• Google My Business Photo Bug Prevents Photos From Showing On Google Maps
  Joy Hawkins posted in the Local Search Forums that a bug with Google My Business is causing photos that were recently uploaded via Google My Business by the owner not to be able to be seen in Google Maps by searchers. There is no ETA for a fix, but she suspects it will be fixed by the end of this week.
• Google Tests Bolding Content In Knowledge Panels
  I cannot replicate this but some searchers are seeing Google bold the query they used in the knowledge panel blocks. Both Valentin Pletzer and Mordy Oberstein posted examples of this on Twitter. Again, every time I try to replicate it I come up empty handed, without any bold.
• Google NYC Office With Penguins
  Remember last Thursday, Google invited a bunch of SEOs to a small meet up at the New York City office? Well, in the registration area waiting for us were all these Penguins. I won't make any assumpti

Other Great Search Forum Threads:

• Baidu Found to Have Provided Biased Search Results for Own Platforms, WebmasterWorld
• Imagine if @JohnMu stopped responding to people on Twitter/doing Webmaster Hangouts. That would be a sad day for SEO, Brodie Clark on Twitter
• Not necessarily -- a lot of these things can run in parallel, they just don't necessarily all complete at the same time.… https://t.co/huqR8sQlQu, John Mueller on Twitter

Search Engine Land Stories:

• Google My Business messaging via SMS to end, but where is the alternative?
• Google AMP errors widely reported by webmasters and publishers
• Learn how to build an online to offline attribution model for local businesses
• Amazon advertising attribution: Here’s how it works
• Want to speak at SMX London? Here’s how
• Entries are open for the 2019 Search Engine Land Awards
• MarTech Today Research: A marketer’s guide to enterprise SEO platforms

Other Great Search Stories:

Analytics

• Data Driven Approach to A/B Testing, Seer Interactive
• Google Data Studio: How Marketers Can Build Powerful Dashboards, Social Media Examiner
• In-Depth Guide on How to Leverage Google Analytics Channels, Online Metrics
• Understanding Website User Engagement with Google Analytics Metrics, Business 2 Community

Industry & Business

• Google opens new innovation space in San Francisco for the developer community, Google Developers Blog
• Google's next I/O conference begins May 7th, Engadget

Links & Promotion Building

• Content Marketing Must Bridge the Gap Between Brand Goals and Customer Needs, Stone Temple

Local & Maps

• Google My Business Deprecating SMS – Caught in the Google Messaging Cluster F%#k?, Mike Blumenthal
• Location, location, location!, Bing Maps Blog
• You can finally set a departure time for driving in the Google Maps app on your phone, Android Police

Mobile & Voice

• Google Assistant may scan your face to personalize commands, Engadget
• [Update: Fixed] Google Assistant reminder notifications on Android are broken for some, Android Police

SEO

• How a Rocket Internet Startup, Daily Mail, and Others Exploit Google’s Algorithm and Make Millions, medium.com
• Yes, Google Likes Affiliate Sites & They Can Rank., Adam Riemer

PPC

• When Things Go Wrong at the Worst Time, Seer Interactive
• Amazon Gives Advertisers Needed Insight into New vs. Existing Customers but Leaves Out Sponsored Products, Merkle

Search Features

• Google's Brain Team: What does it do?, BBC News