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 Can't Help Its Internal SEO Team With Search Questions
Google's John Mueller said in a recent published video that he is not able or allowed to help Google's internal SEO team with SEO questions. In fact, he said he wasn't able to help answer a redirect question that the Google SEO team wanted an answer on, but he was able to help external SEOs with that question. - Google Easter Egg Scrolls Number Of Search Results - Marquee Tag
If you search for [marquee tag] in Google, you will see a new easter egg. The section that shows the number of results will scroll like a marquee board. - Google Has Free COVID-19 Posters For Your Business
Google is now offering free printable posters for your local business with messages related to COVID-19. The posters can be hung in your business door window and they range from messages about takeout and delivery and no contact delivery. - Google Search Console Inviting Publishers Into Question Hub
Yesterday we reported how Google launched a pilot in the US to expand the question hub feature. This is a feature where searchers can say the search results do not answer my query, let me type in my question manually for a content creator to look at and respond with. Well, here is a screen shot from a publisher who got an email from Google Search Console about creating such content. - Bing: Noindexing Your XML Sitemap Won't Hurt Bing From Discovering Those URLs
Frédéric Dubut from Bing said on Twitter that if you noindex your sitemap (not that you can technically do that), it still won't prevent Bing or other search engines from discovering your URLs. This is similar to Google and how other search engines work. - An Empty Office At Google New York City
Someone named Emma Mackey, who may or may not work at Google, snapped a photo of a single office room at the Google NYC office this week. It has an eerie feeling since I know the building is almost e
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- I can't reproduce this at all, it redirects to a normal search results page for me... Maybe that's weird in Switzerland, or different on iPhone. I'll ask around :). Thanks!, John Mueller on Twitter
- Dealership Service Centers - New Area Based Services because of Covid., Local Search Forum
- Generally speaking, if you feel they don't add value, I'd avoid creating them, or if they're useful as navigation but not as landing pages, use noindex to prevent them from being indexed. The "va, John Mueller on Twitter
- Google shares mobility data to fight COVID-19, WebmasterWorld
- The SpecialAnnouncement markup is a bit ... special & new, so I wouldn't generalize from how things are handled there. There's been a lot of work put into making it useful as i, John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Up next on Live with Search Engine Land: Content marketing during COVID-19
- Google shouldn’t pause algorithm updates during the pandemic, expert SEOs say [Video]
- Pro Tip: How to overcome obstacles to try new PPC tactics
- Did you know that Google employs 810 features on its SERPs?
- TapClicks buys AdStage to expand marketing intelligence, predictive campaign optimization capabilities
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Do’s & don’ts for measurement during a pandemic, Think with Google
- These Google Analytics Training Courses Are Perfect For Boosting Your Resume, The Daily Caller
Industry & Business
- Findings on coronavirus & online security threats, Google Blog
- Our data centers now work harder when the sun shines and wind blows, Google Blog
Local & Maps
- First version of Apple/Google contact tracing API will be available on April 28, 9to5Mac
- Why "Temporarily closed" is costing your business money, DAC
Mobile & Voice
- Apple Has a Team Working to 'Save the HomePod' [Report], iClarified
- IFTTT outage takes down Google Home integration, 9to5Google
SEO
- Google Search Trends Amidst COVID-19 and How to Respond, BruceClay
- How to Adapt Your SEO Strategy to Survive the Crisis, Internet Marketing Ninjas
- How to Use Structured Data to Support E-A-T, Search Engine Journal
- Site Migration Development and Implementation, Searchmetrics
- What does Yoast SEO do?, Yoast
PPC
- Announcing: The Keyword Research Master Guide [New for 2020], Moz
- Introducing multi-account Google Imports, Microsoft Advertising
Search Features
- A Scalable Approach to Reducing Gender Bias in Google Translate, Google AI Blog
- At-home & indoor entertainment ideas, Google Blog
Other Search
- Protecting yourself from coronavirus scams, Google Blog
- SparkToro's Finally Here, SparkToro
