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 Ranking Update, Page Experience Update Won't Be Massive, Mobile-First Indexing Deadline & Partner Program Changes
Google may have pushed another algorithm update starting this past weekend, I almost did not cover it. There was also a possible local search ranking update by Google over the past two days. Google's Danny Sullivan said... - Possible Google Local Ranking Update February 24th & 25th?
Generally when it comes to a Google local ranking algorithm update, you need to wait a week or so to see the chatter from the local SEO community. I am not seeing that chatter yet but BrightLocal's tracking tool is lighting up over the past two days, showing signs of serious fluctuations in the local rankings in Google Search. - Watch The Google Search Central Live Recording
If you missed the live Google Search Central Live conference from the other day, you are in luck, the recording is now officially available on YouTube. It is relatively short for a conference and won't take you too long to watch. - Google: URL Structure Matters For International Sites & Adult Content
Google's John Mueller said on Twitter that the place where your URL structure matters most is likely with international websites and sites that have sections of adult oriented content. It will help Google figure out the site better and know how to segment or filter elements if you have the proper URL structure. - Pass Google PageRank To Mailto Or Telephone Links - Nah
Here is a fun SEO question I found the other day where Google's John Mueller if Google passes PageRank to mailto or telephone hyperlinks. The answer is no, Google only follows links between canonical URLs and in mailto and tel links, there is no real canonical set. - Google Tests Playing Videos As Overlays In Search
Google Search for many queries and search result pages shows a video box that takes searchers to videos mostly on YouTube but other platforms as well. Now, Google is testing playing those videos directly in the search results page and not taking you to YouTube.com or the site the video is hosted on. - Google Maze Pen
Here is a photo I found on Instagram back in December 2016 of a special pen. This pen, if you can get your hands on, gives you the opportunity to unlock the secrets of the search algorithm. That is
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- In the first, it says "in Israel" and the second doesn't give a location, so it's probably local to you. I'm not sure why the first would list Israel if you're not actually there, but I'll pass, Danny Sullivan on Twitter
- That sounds fine to me. If you're doing it in CSS (as long as the images aren't loaded via CSS and linked using HTML img tags), that shouldn't affect crawling at all., John Mueller on Twitter
- There's often not a lot we can do when it comes to legal issues like these. You're welcome to work to change the legal foundation for these processes though... (I'm not the one you have to convince, and Twitter, John Mueller on Twitter
- Twitter "Super Follows" To Enable Charging for Tweets, WebmasterWorld
Search Engine Land Stories:
- More Google Ads changes and SERP fluctuations; Thursday’s daily brief
- Server-side rendering: What SEOs need to understand
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Scroll tracking with Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager, Analytics Mania
- Creating meaningful channel groupings for better data and insights, Builtvisible
Industry & Business
- Let’s finalize an international tax deal, Google Blog
Local & Maps
- Three easy ways to support Black-owned businesses, Google Blog
- Google Posts: Conversion Factor — Not Ranking Factor, Moz
Mobile & Voice
- 'Apple Glass' microphones may locate sounds and direct users to the source, Appleinsider
- Apple researching voice accessibility features for Siri like stutter detection, AppleInsider
- Google Assistant loses a huge list of read-along books, 9to5Google
- Tech Firms Train Voice Assistants to Understand Atypical Speech, Wall Street Journal
SEO
- 10 SEO Tips for Podcasts, Practical Ecommerce
- 8 SEO Trends That Will Continue in 2021, Ahrefs
- How Fast Should My Webpage Be and Why Should I Care?, BruceClay
- Organic Keywords: SEO for Beginners, SEM Rush
- Rich Snippets: Everything You Need To Know In 2021 [With Case Study], SEObility
- Shopify SEO: Issues & Tips For 2021, Hallam
PPC
- Partner Awards: Congratulations to our winners!, Microsoft Advertising
