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.
This newsletter showcases a ton of search interface tests, a ton of them. Yes, mostly from Google but also from Bing. There is one thing about redirects and XML sitemap files - hope you enjoy and always be testing!
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google: Keep Old Redirected URLs In Sitemaps Files Temporarily
Google's John Mueller said again on Twitter that you should only keep old URLs that have been redirected elsewhere in your XML sitemap file temporarily and not long term. John has said this a few times before - but now John is saying keep them there for one to three months, as opposed to less than six months. - Google Continues Expandable Tab Search Result Snippets Test
Back in August 2021, Google began testing this expandable tab search result snippet. Then the test seemed to have expanded in November 2021. Last week, I had countless folks ask me about this again, but I am not yet able to see it myself - but clearly Google is re-testing this search feature. - Bing Interactive Wikipedia Box In Search Results
Microsoft Bing seems to be testing a new search feature that embeds snippets of content from Wikipedia in this large Wikipedia box in the search results. It basically brings in portions of content from Wikipedia broken down by the Wikipedia's page content. - Bing Round Category Icons To Explore More Images
Microsoft Bing is testing (or maybe rolling out) new explore icons for images that show up in the web results. There are these round circle category icons that let you refine your search for the query, to show more images that match the refined query. - Google Search Local Pack Refine Query & Location Search Box
Google seems to be testing a specialized local pack that looks more like the local service ads. Maybe this is a bug because the ads are not labeled or maybe Google is testing free local service listings? The local pack design looks more like local service ads and gives you the option to refine the query and location. - The Lengths Googlers Go Through To Get Coffee
Look at how hard it is, how much effort, the long journey, this Googler needs to take to get his coffee at the office. He swipes through several locked doors and walks through numerous hallways, ju
Other Great Search Threads:
- My free input is that if a URL is not getting crawled, it can't be the quality of *that URL* because it's *not even looked at*. Look at the whole site instead., John Mueller on Twitter
- They can still be shown as subpage-anchor-sitelinks, which is why they're reported as impressions & clicks. They're not indexed like that though., John Mueller on Twitter
- Google > Mobile I am seeing New designs of Product, Video, Recipe & other Labels in Image Search. It might be New., Saad AK on Twitter
- Emergency Chromium Update: In-The-Wild Exploit, WebmasterWorld
- Massive drop in click-through rate since mid-January, WebmasterWorld
Search Engine Land Stories:
- AIOSEO WordPress plugin integrates Microsoft Clarity
- 3 ways Google Performance Max campaigns boost paid search in 2022
- Google Docs can write your meta descriptions
- Lessons in Buying Group Marketing – Learning to dance with your sales team
- 15 content strategy myths debunked
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Google Analytics 4 Won’t Support IP Addresses. Now What?, Merkle
- How xAscent Digital Gets Proactive about Their Goals with Real-Time Data in Databox, Databox Blog
Industry & Business
- Tax advisory company sues Google over suspension of advertising account, Irish Times
- In Warsaw: Announcing more support for Ukraine, Google Blog
- Russia draws up two cases against Google for not removing banned content, Reuters
- Russia’s Yandex lays off two dozen US-based workers from its robot and self-driving teams, The Verge
Links & Content Marketing
- 40+ Content Marketing Statistics to Power Your 2022 Strategy, Semrush
- What Your Brand Can Do To Win the Instagram Game, Content Marketing Institute
Local & Maps
- My Google Business Profile Vanished. What Do I Do?, Sterling Sky Inc
- Consumer Review Trust Down but Usage Up, Near Media
Mobile & Voice
- Google rolling out Nest Hub redesign, but update bootloops, 9to5Google
- Google Discover tests expanded weather info at top of feed, 9to5Google
SEO
- What Is robots.txt? A Beginner’s Guide with Examples, BruceClay
- Getting Started with Machine Learning in SEO with Lazarina Stoy, RankRanger
- The Ultimate SEO Website Migration Checklist, Jeff Bullas
- User Behavior Analytics: Boost Your SEO with Microsoft Clarity and AIOSEO, Bing Webmaster Blog
- Women in SEO - 90 Female Specialists Shared Their Experience, Sitechecker
- SEO Split Test Result: The Importance Of User Oriented Tests, Semrush
PPC
- Google Ads Video Campaigns: Beware These 4 Settings, WordStream
- Tips to Combine Paid & Organic Search Strategy, PPC Hero
Feedback:
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