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 Algorithm Update Signals On Friday February 22nd
Over the weekend I have been tracking a lot of chatter within the SEO community on WebmasterWorld and other channels of a Google update. Many of the automated tracking tools also show significant changes in the Google rankings starting on Friday, February 22nd through the weekend. - Venues Can't Turn Off Confirm Your Visits On Google Maps
The other week, I had a customer ask me if there is a way to stop Google from asking their customers or visitors to confirm their visits in Google Maps. As far as I know, there is no way to do that from the Google My Business venue end. - Google Test My Site Tool Adds New Features & Improvements
Google announced this morning that they have rebuilt the Test My Site tool from top-to-bottom. They added a whole set of features that can help developers build a faster site. You check check out the tool over here. - Google Search Console New Products Report & Merchant/Manufacturer Center Upgrades
Google announced on Friday some upgrades to products in Google search. Specifically, Google Search Console added a new enhancements report like I covered at Search Engine Land, to show you how your product market is doing. They also added the ability for Product data feeds uploaded to Google Merchant Center will now be eligible for display in results on surfaces like Search and Google Images and up-to-date product information through Google Manufacturer Center. - Google Ads Tests Large Image In Search Ads
Google is back at it, testing large images in their search ads. Glenn Gabe posted about this on Twitter on Friday and Search Engine Land received a comment from Google on it. Google has done this for automative ads starting in 2016 but they started testing large images for search ads back in 2013. - Google New York Hammock
We know Google is into having fun seating solutions in their offices and we've covered a number of hammocks within their offices. Here is one more, from the New York City office that I found on Insta
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- New Tool for Q&A on Google My Business, Local Search Forum
- I must have missed the memo ... does anyone know when Google moved the ved parameter from the href of their URLs? @rustybrick ? David Kelly at @DPO_uk ?… https://t.co/6KiN1ATZSP, Beanstalk IM on Twitter
- Not that I'm aware of.…, John Mueller on Twitter
- Has Google's algorithm been demoting one-person sites?, WebmasterWorld
- We’re aware of an issue causing inaccurate conversions for Nigerian Naira currency, so we will remove the conversion onebox from appearing in search results until we are able to diagnose the issue., Google in Africa on Twitter
- Google language filter seems to be misbehaving @searchliaison. /cc @rustybrick @sengineland #seo, Alistair Lattimore on Twitter
- We'll probably pick up both languages from the content, but it would certainly be more confusing than if we had a single language on each page.… https://t.co/0OHvwD2YCA, John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Controversy over Google Featured Snippets stealing publisher traffic reignites
- Google revamps Test My Site mobile site speed tool
- Google Assistant everywhere: more dedicated buttons, expansion on lower-end phones
- Nearly half of users have a bad reaction to ‘not secure’ browser warning, survey finds
- Think like a search marketer to drive growth with YouTube
- Content structure and structured data: Will they impact featured snippets?
- Not just for auto anymore: Google tests giant image search ads in new verticals.
- Google Q&A: More than 90 percent of questions unanswered by business owners
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Elevate Your Brand: Rethink Your Top of Funnel Measurement Approach, aimClear Blog
- Search in Google Analytics, Google Analytics Help
Industry & Business
- Google Assistant Oscar ads reimagine classic movies with a helpful AI, The Verge
- Google Is the Best—and the Worst— Wireless Carrier, Wall Street Journal
Links & Promotion Building
Local & Maps
- Google My Business Updates Guidelines on Content Related to Terrorism, Sterling Sky Inc
- The Google Maps "satellite" view was almost called "bird mode", Boing Boing
Mobile & Voice
- Shaping the future of mobile with Android, Google Blog
- 6 reasons to get a Google Home for your grandparents, CNET
- Build Actions for the next billion users, Google Developers Blog
- Building the Google Assistant on phones for everyone, everywhere, Google Blog
- Global smartphone sales reached $522 billion in 2018, GfK Global
- Two tools to build a better mobile experience, Google Blog
SEO
PPC
- Who Owns Your PPC Ads Account?, PPC Hero
Other Search
