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 Search Tests New Open Design? Maybe It's A Bug?
I had two different people share with me screen shots and video grabs of Google possibly testing a new more open styled search results page design. The design seems so off to me that it seems like a bug, but now that two different people have seen it recently, I am thinking it might be a real test. - New Google My Business Feature: Own This Business? Claim It Now.
Seems Google is testing or launched a new feature to help business owners reclaim and login to their Google My Business listing. Elizabeth Linder posted a screen shot of this feature that has the option for you to click on a button to "Own this business? Claim it now." - Google Clarifies GoogleBot's New Useragent Name Usage
Yesterday we reported that Google said the new name for the GoogleBot useragent is now 100% live. Well, that was wrong, it technically was not 100% live. Martin Splitt from Google broke it down for us explaining that when the web rendering service renders the page, that is using the new user agent name 100% of the time. - Google Search Console Auto-Verifies Tag Manager Causing Security Confusion
As you remember, Google had a bug with Google Tag Manager verifications for Google Search Console. I guess sometime after that, Google decided to automatically reverify sites using Google Tag Manager for Google Search Console verification. That led to people getting emails that they have new access to a property in Search Console. - Bing Was Offline For Several Hours In Windows 10 Search
Did you know that the other day Windows 10 Search powered by Bing was offline for several hours? The Verge reported "Microsoft's built-in Windows search went down for many users for more than three hours today. Windows search is built into Microsoft's latest Windows 10 operating system, and it started presenting blank search results for apps or any other search queries at around 8AM ET today. Windows search uses the Bing backend to search for results across the web, and it appears that this was the source of the issue." - Google Maps Celebrates 15 Years: New Maps Icon & Map Features
Google launched Google Maps 15 years ago, well, technically on February 8, 2005 - so almost 15 years ago. And to celebrate, it announced today in numerous blog posts, a new map icon, new features and more. - Google Asks You To Scan Your Badge To Get Food
Here is a photo I found on Instagram of a device where Google is asking its employees to scan their badge when eating. It is called badge for food and I guess it gives Google another way of tracking
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- February 2020 AdSense Earnings and Observations, WebmasterWorld
- From rags to rich results ✨💸 Up next in Search Console Training, @danielwaisberg discusses… ☑️Rich results ☑️Errors in structured data ☑️Enhancement reports …and more! 📺Watch now → https, Google Webmasters on Twitter
- You can't measure them. I'd recommend getting a voice assistant and trying it out with queries where you'd want your site to be mentioned. It's often a bit clearer how these things can work when you us, John Mueller on Twitter
- Google Updates Chrome Ad Blocker For Fewer Intrusive Ads, WebmasterWorld
- Has Google just updated the algorithm again?, BlackHatWorld
- I've gotten to the point that I get nervous when I'm not close to panicking before doing anything public. I don't know if it'll ever go away, and I'm ok with that. You'll do fine, I'm sure !, John Mueller on Twitter
- msnbot still active?, WebmasterWorld
- No, it's not the same., John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Using the Apriori algorithm and BERT embeddings to visualize change in search console rankings
- Justice Department homing in on Google Ad Manager in antitrust probe
- Tripadvisor’s new ‘Review Hub’ lets restaurateurs manage reviews from multiple sources in one place
- 2 weeks until Search Marketing Expo. Don’t miss out!
- Video: Jim Boykin on how link building has evolved over two decades
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- 15 Ways for Using Google Analytics to Track Your SEO Efforts for Free, Databox Blog
- Top 7 Digital Analytics Industry Trends for 2020, Blast Analytics
- Treemaps Tutorial for Google Analytics, Amazee Metrics
- UTM Codes: How to Track Campaign URLs in Google Analytics, Hallam
Industry & Business
- Texas AG says break-up, all other remedies on the table in Google probe, Reuters
- Why Google Might Prefer Dropping a $22 Billion Business, Bloomberg
Links & Promotion Building
Local & Maps
- 2020 Prediction Month: Why Local is Becoming Voice Search’s Main Growth Source - Courtney Wakefield // Cwake.digital, Search Metrics
- Tripadvisor Launches "Review Hub" to Help Restaurants Easily Manage their Online Reviews across Major Dining Sites and Apps, GuruFocus
- Charting the next 15 years of Google Maps, Google Blog
- Google Maps is turning 15! Celebrate with a new look and features, Google Blog
- Google Maps’ biggest moments over the past 15 years, Google Blog
- Hate-Selling in the Age of Google Travel, Skift
- Street View’s 15 favorite Street Views, Google Blog
- Visible speed limit tracking returns to Google Maps in the UK, 9to5Google
Mobile & Voice
- Lights, camera, red carpet-ready with Search and the Assistant, Google Blog
- New ‘CarKey’ feature in iOS 13.4 beta brings built-in support for unlocking, driving, and sharing NFC car keys, 9to5Mac
SEO
- 3 Tactics to Help You Rank for Your Most Competitive Keywords, Seer Interactive
- How to Use Google’s Speed Report for Effective SEO, Seer Interactive
- Rank & File: How to do SEO for any CMS, iPullRank
- Scaling Google indexation checks with Node.js, Builtvisible
- [Data Study] The Websites Most Likely to Rank for a Brand Name, Go Fish Digital
PPC
- 12 Free Keyword Research Tools for 2020, SEM Rush
- Google Ads Smart Bidding Best Practise, Site Visibility
Search Features
- News Brief: January updates from the Google News Initiative, Google Blog
- You can vote for Pokémon of the Year on Google, 9to5Google
Other Search
- Videos with fewer intrusive ads, Chromium Blog
- Windows search went down for hours because of a Microsoft services outage, The Verge
- María Teresa Vera's 125th Birthday, Google
