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 Update, GoogleBot Name, Google Search Console & Bing Webmaster Tools
This week, I covered another unconfirmed Google search algorithm update. I posted the monthly Google webmaster report. Google said the new GoogleBot user agent name is live... - Bing Webmaster Tools Sitemap Diagnosis Tool Coming Soon
Nagu Rangan, a Product Management at Microsoft working on Bing, said on stage at PubCon that the Bing Webmaster Tools team is working on a sitemap diagnosis tool. This is according to Purna Virji, who was in the audience and works for Microsoft Advertising. - Google: Nofollow Hint Ranking Change Has Not Been Worked On Yet
Gary Illyes from Google said at PubCon yesterday that yes, Google may start to decide to use nofollow links for ranking but the work on that from the engineering team has not yet begun. Google originally said they would make this change after March 1, 2020 but I guess it might be delayed a bit? - Did Google Says It Will Offer Curriculum For Optimizing For BERT?
So Gary Illyes from Google was on stage at PubCon and yea, he may or may not have said some things that caused a bit of a stir in the SEO community. Some are quoting him as saying that Google will be providing "a curriculum for optimizing for BERT." - Google My Business Bug? Google Posts Being Rejected In Masses
Something is going on with Google My Business, specific with Google Posts. There has been a spike in the number of complaints from businesses owners using Google Posts about their posts being rejected. Literally tons of complaints in the Google My Business Help forums about this... - Google Tree Bench In Zurich
Here is a very outdoorsy Google area, where the signage and area around it is made out of trees and grass. In fact, there is this long wooden tree log that has carve outs to sit on.
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- Chrome 82 to Start Warning and Blocking "Mixed Content Downloads", WebmasterWorld
- Let's be careful here: We do respect nofollow - we don't associate the link with your site. However, we may still use the link for discovery. That's an important nuance here..., Martin Splitt on Twitter
- Our new chromium based user agent should be able to handle this scenario. We are rolling this out gradually to all the sites. Can you share/DM the sites where you are seeing the issues., Bing Webmaster Team on Twitter
- Twitter Q4 Revenues $1.01 Billion and Year End 2019, $3.46 Billion, WebmasterWorld
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Now, get your Google Shopping ads on Gmail, Discover, YouTube
- 60-Minute Masterclass: Google Ads & Phone Call Conversions
- The importance of building brand awareness through Amazon advertising
- Happy 15th birthday to Google Maps, the company’s second most important product
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Google Analytics Deprecating 'Network Domain' and 'Service Provider', Seer Interactive
- The Beginner's Guide to Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), Dreamhost
- What does Keyword (not provided) mean in Google Analytics?, Hallam
Industry & Business
- Google planning three new offices in Canada, 9to5Google
- Making an impact in Canada, Google Blog
- After data breaches, it’s time to kick Google out of our public schools before it’s too late, Dallas News
- U.S. trade panel opens patent probe into Google speakers after Sonos complaint, Reuters
Links & Promotion Building
Local & Maps
- 5 Ways to Make Google My Business Work for You, DealerOn
- The straight line from Google Maps to Clearview AI, The Verge
- Why paper maps better than Google Maps, Apple Map, GPS, USA Today
Mobile & Voice
- Apple now sells more watches than the entire Swiss watch industry, The Verge
- Amazon's Alexa vs. Google Assistant: Which one is smarter?, Reviewed Smart Home
- Google Assistant Wants Parasite To Win Best Picture At Oscars 2020, Screen Rant
- Like songs in YouTube Music for Android w/ Google Assistant, 9to5Google
SEO
- How Google might handle Query Classification and Re-writes, Wellspring Search
- Log Files Analysis: 9 Actionable Ways They Can Be Used for SEO, Hallam
- Real-time SEO for Organic Product Features in the SERPs, Search Metrics
- The Small Business Guide to Online Reputation Management, WordStream
- 5 Uses for Google’s New URL Removal Tool, Koozai
- Google Webmaster Hangout Notes: January 31st 2020, DeepCrawl
PPC
- Gmail on standard Shopping campaigns, Google Ads Developer Blog
- How Learning Python Can Improve Your PPC Campaigns, PPC Hero
- Introducing the ‘Sergeant Pepper’ of Search Ads, Microsoft Advertising
Search Features
- Helpful shortcuts for Google apps on iOS, Google Blog
Other Search
- Google Search Results Serve A Sexist 'Caveman' Slant, MediaPost
- Protecting users from insecure downloads in Google Chrome, Chromium Blog
- Protecting users from insecure downloads in Google Chrome, Google Online Security Blog
- Lantern Festival 2020, Google
