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.
Google Search Console performance reports again has more data loss. Google said code to text ratio is not an SEO factor. Google also said having CTAs above the fold is not a bad thing. Google Ads global site tag now supports automatic data collection. Microsoft Bing has expanded car search features.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google Search Console Performance Report Suffered A Data Loss Again
Google is having a hard time holding on to its data in Google Search Console. Google posted yet another data logging issue on its site, this time it impacted the performance reports for all - Google Search, Google Discover, and Google News. This happened between February 1st through February 3rd. - Google: Code To Text Ratio Is Not & Has Never Been An SEO Factor
Google's John Mueller and Gary Illyes both said in a Reddit thread that code to text ratios for SEO does not matter. John Mueller said it is not an SEO factor and Gary Illyes said "it doesn't matter." This is not new, Google has said this numerous times in the past but this is the 2022 version of, is code to text ratio and SEO factor. - Google: CTAs Above The Fold Is Not Bad For Google Search Or SEO
There is a new SEO myth floating around that says CTAs, call to action buttons, placed above the fold is bad for Google search ranking and SEO. That is simply not true and John Mueller of Google said so on Reddit saying "Google search doesn't say anything about CTA buttons." - Google Ads Tests Global Site Tag With Automatic User Data Collection
Google Ads is testing a new feature for the global site tag that can be configured to automatically collect user data. Dario Zannoni spotted this and wrote on Twitter "Global Site Tag can now automatically collect the information that the user submits on the website (like email and telephone)." - Microsoft Bing Expands Car & Automobile Search
Microsoft Bing, in this crazy car market, has expanded its search features to help you buy a car. Bing also lets you filter the results in numerous ways and a lot of this is powered off of the MSN Autos Marketplace. - New Google Atlanta Tower
Here is a photo of the new Google Atlanta office building tower when it is almost done. There are drone videos of the building on Instagram, this is a photo from one of those, but I embedded the vide
Other Great Search Threads:
- I’m not sure when this changed but the Apple @AppStore now collapses the search result listings for apps you already have installed. https://t.co/zHswxWd50U, Barry Schwartz on Twitter
- Thx for flagging. This is a difficult problem for the ecosystem and there is not one simple fix since bad actors are targeting some pros across lead gen platforms. The team takes spam, AdsLiaison on Twitter
- We have two spare tickets for BrightonSEO in April! We're offering the tickets to those from under-represented groups in our industry. (Credit to @AzeemDigital for the idea.) If this is you, or you want, BrightLocal on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- The SEO tool you use shouldn’t become the SEO project
- Yelp introduces Keyword Boosting, rolls out Custom Location Targeting to all advertisers
- 4 ways to boost your paid search performance
- Google Search Console performance reports data issue may impact analytics
- Google tests Buying Guides in mobile search results
- Google says Shopify sites are in a good crawling state after reports of stalled crawling
- Secrets of marketing agency success
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Using Secondary Dimensions in Google Analytics 4, Krista Seiden
Industry & Business
- Google co-founder Larry Page sold more than $80 million worth of stock, MarketWatch
- Alex Hanna quits Google, Protocol
Links & Content Marketing
- 5 Content Marketing Ideas for March 2022, Practical Ecommerce
Local & Maps
- Accurate Establishment Locations in Google, Go Fish Digital
- Google Maps to fix directions after years of trapped travellers around Burketown, ABC News
Mobile & Voice
- Amazon's Super Bowl commercial imagines if Alexa were psychic, Ad Age
- Google releases its last Pixel 3 security update, Engadget
- Google Assistant for the Galaxy Watch 4 is still 'months' away, 9to5Google
SEO
- 3 Ways Digital Marketers Can Leverage AI for SEO Success, Built In
- How to Get Rid of the Most Common Types of SEO Spam, Security Boulevard
- How to Improve Your SEO Strategy with These 3 Channels, RankRanger
PPC
- 6 Ways To Conduct an In-Depth Competitive Audit, PPC Hero
- Bing Ads for eCommerce - How to Set Up, Strategies & More, Go Inflow
- Microsoft Advertising Partner Sweepstakes winners, Microsoft Advertising
Search Features
- How to Remove & Suppress Negative Search Results, Go Fish Digital
- Making you safer with 2SV, Google Blog
Other Search
- Google’s (Sort Of) Subtle Control Mechanisms; Record Low Ratings For The Beijing Winter Olympics, AdExchanger
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