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 Drops Sort By Date But Adds before: & after: Search Commands
Google announced yesterday a new feature they are "beta testing" to allow searchers to filter their web searches by dates. So they announced a new before: and after: search operator that lets you do this. Then quietly noted that they discontinued the sort by date feature in search. - Google Recipe Rich Results & Mobile Friendly Bugs Reported
With the indexing issue going on, people have also been reporting that Google is having issues showing their rich results in the search results and also claiming their mobile-friendly pages are not mobile friendly. - Was 4% Of Google's Index Removed With The Indexing Bug?
I asked Google but I didn't hear back, so I then asked some of the tool providers - what percentage of the index was removed, dropped or de-indexed as of result of the issue from Thursday/Friday? Dr. Pete Meyers said he is researching it but he is seeing about a 4% change. - Google Prefers Content Tweaks Vs URL Redirection For Personalization
Google's John Mueller said it would be better to offer personalization to users through dynamically tweaking the content on the page versus redirecting that user to a different page with personalized content on that page. - Froot Loops At Google
I am a fan of Froot Loops, I don't eat them much, except maybe when I travel, but I like them. They are tasty. So when I saw Froot Loops in a Google bowl, I had to share it with you all.
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- I'm not aware of anything there, but AFAIK this updates with anonymous pings too, so it might be your CMS just doing that for you silently (which is a good thing :))… https://t.co/wOtV3IIsUh, John Mueller on Twitter
- The main things I'd watch out for with URLs is that you don't accidentally create infinite spaces (all variations that end up being valid URLs), and that you create something usable for the long term. Changing URL structure is, John Mueller on Twitter
- Asos profits plunge 87% after difficult year - https://t.co/xWkeVkgcAx via @aleyda. Looks like they were hit back in the core algo update in March '18. But wtf is this SEO strategy part -… https://t.co/DUgUo6fNe9, Screaming Frog on Twitter
- Client Buys retiring Competitor url, Local Search Forum
- Hey presenters at Brighton SEO, I'm in Brighton tomorrow afternoon. If anyone wants to chat before their session, drop me a note :-). (not sure what I'm getting myself into with this, we'll see :-)), John Mueller on Twitter
- I liked it :). I do think there's a trend of SEO activities splitting into "very technical" and "not technical" themes, so some amount of specialization is expected. Speaking both sides' languages & knowing the scopes is criti, John Mueller on Twitter
- Is there anything Like Text to Image ratio that we should maintain in a blog post?, Reddit
- This is a pretty cool compilation of smooth, fast, mobile-friendly sites, with breakdowns for various attributes that were tested. https://t.co/lX5Fd1KYkh, John Mueller on Twitter
- Twitter Cuts Follower Numbers Per Day Down to 400, WebmasterWorld
Search Engine Land Stories:
- How you can make the most of your YouTube video advertising
- Search Google by date with new before: and after: search commands
- Just 4% of U.S. businesses ‘voice search ready,’ finds analysis of nearly 75,000 companies
- Skip the SEO and SEM basics
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- 11 Ways to Use Naming Conventions in Google Analytics and GTM, Online Metrics
- The Best Google Tag Manager Containers (Download For Free), Directom
- How to create a Twitter Dashboard in Google Data Studio, Michael Howe-Ely
Industry & Business
- Google’s Founders Haven’t Shown Up At Its Weekly Town Halls In 2019, BuzzFeed News
- Yahoo in new $117.5 million data breach settlement after earlier accord rejected, Reuters
Links & Promotion Building
- 10 Bad Links That Can Get You Penalized by Google, Search Engine Journal
Local & Maps
- Google Maps removes ‘Nikhil Ellidiyappa’ locations that went viral on social media, Times of India
- Google Maps to speed up discovery of nearby hotels, parks, and other places, Android Police
Mobile & Voice
- Amazon Alexa now offers long-form news coverage in addition to Flash Briefings, TechCrunch
- Roku Alters Voice Search to Prioritize The Roku Channel in OS 9.1 Update, Digital Trends
SEO
- Paint by Number Scalable SEO Strategies & What Actually Works Today, SEO Book
- Working Related Entities Into Sites, Go Fish Digital
- Yoast subscriptions: keep your SEO on track, Yoast
- Does Your E-Commerce Page Make This Big SEO Mistake?, SuccessWorks
PPC
- 21 PPC Lead Generation Tools for More High-Quality Leads, KoMarketing
- Improve Your Quality Scores With These Simple Tips, Portent
- Bing Ads Action Extensions: What You Need To Know, PPC Hero
Search Features
- Taking the initiative with data journalism, Google Blog
