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.
Sites hit by the product reviews update a few months back can and probably did feel an impact from the June 2021 core update, but no, Google did not run another product reviews update last week. Google added support for back ordered items in its product structured data and Google Ads may automatically apply location extensions to some of your ads. Oh, and don't delete your sitemap file - I know you can, but don't.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- There Was No Product Review Update; A Core Updates Can Impact Product Review Sites
To double check, Glenn Gabe asked Danny Sullivan of Google if there was a product reviews update that happened at the same time or so as the June 2021 core update. The answer from Danny Sullivan of Google was no, if a product reviews site was impacted, it was "almost certainly related to" the core update. - Google Product Structured Data Supports Back Order Availability
Google has added support to mark a product as back ordered for its product rich results. You can now set the availability property with a BackOrder value to communicate to Google Search that the item is back ordered. - Google: You Need Some Unique Content To Rank Templated Content Above The Fold
Google's John Mueller was asked if templated content above the fold can rank in Google Search, where the unique content is below the fold. John Mueller said "the important part for us is really that there is some amount of unique content in the above the fold area." - Google May Automatically Add Location Extensions To Your Ads
Google has posted that it may begin to start automatically adding location extensions to some of your Google Ads. Google wrote this in a Google help document saying "if you have not added locations to your account, Google Ads may automatically match your business to known locations." - If You Don't Need A Sitemap File Google Says You Can Delete It
Google said that if you don't need an XML sitemap file anymore, all you need to do is delete the sitemap file from your server and CMS. There is not much more you need to do after that, just delete it. - Google Video Best Practices Adds Details For SafeSearch & Adult Content
Google has added a new section to its video best practices help document for SafeSearch and adult oriented content. The document was updated on June 3rd, after a big update to that document this past March. - Google Zurich's G Door
If you visit the Google office in Zurich you may have to enter a door that has this big G logo on it. At first, it kind of looked like a fancy garage door but as you look closer, it is just a fancy do
Other Great Search Threads:
- 301 moved permanently question, Reddit
- "SEO scam" = spam report? Sometimes it's tempting to spend more time & energy being upset rather than taking action, or learning what to do. "SEO is so broken, (...) It's about how much money you pay to some punk, John Mueller on Twitter
- These are not so much SEO basics, as plain networking basics -- and CDNs are good at networking. When things are purely about SEO, it gets more complicated :-), John Mueller on Twitter
- State of Ohio sues Google, WebmasterWorld
- There is no word count maximum or minimum., John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Free eBook: Driving sales for software companies thanks to email marketing
- Why you need to rethink your SEO approach
- Google drops the auction from its search choice screen
- Google’s June 2021 core update was slow to roll out; here is what the data providers saw
- Google My Business phases out short names
- Google changes Core Web Vitals metrics; How to use lab and field data for optimization
- What we learned about YouTube’s “Right to Monetize”; Tuesday’s daily brief
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Blog: Enhance your application with the help of Google Tag Manager, Tudip
- What Comes After Third-Party Cookies?, DELVE
Industry & Business
- Google Bows to EU, Rivals With Android Choice-Screen Tweaks, Bloomberg
- Ohio sues Google, seeks to declare the search engine a public utility, Dispatch
- Will Apple Mail threaten the newsletter boom?, Platformer
Links & Content Marketing
- Benefits of Link Building - What Is It & Why Do It, Go Fish Digital
- The Most Challenging Parts of the Content-Led Link Building Process, Moz
- What Are Outbound Links? Why Are They Important? And How Do They Work?, BruceClay
- No content, no problem; creative link building within a tight brief, Builtvisible
Local & Maps
- Android Auto runs on a Tesla in proof-of-concept video, 9to5Google
- Google Local Spam Hall of Fame: Game On!, Mike Blumenthal
- How to Do Local SEO, Part Two: User Intent, Portent
- CarPlay in iOS 15: Announce Messages with Siri, Driving Focus customization, new wallpapers, 9to5Mac
Mobile & Voice
- Microsoft Augments Outlook Mobile With More Cortana Voice Controls, Voicebot
- Google Duplex expands its usefulness by letting you book restaurants on your Nest Hub, Chrome Unboxed
- Google gets closer to dropping 'Hey Google' for some Assistant tasks, Android Police
- iOS 15 enables Siri personal requests with 'Unlock with Apple Watch' feature, 9to5Mac
- Watch Apple’s Siri blaze through requests with on-device processing, The Verge
SEO
- Best Rank Trackers: Choosing the Right One for You, Ahrefs
- Deep Insight: SEO leader Orit Mutznik on eCommerce SEO, automation, and the future of search, DeepCrawl
- Google is the "Other Woman": The Relationship Algorithm, SEO Arcade
- Page Experience for SEO: A Guide for the Rest of Us, iPullRank
- Top Skills of an SEO Manager (and How to Manage Them), SEO Clarity
- What Are Core Web Vitals (and How to Optimize for It), RankRanger
PPC
- Event Recap: Google Marketing Livestream 2021 Sets the Stage for the Future of Digital Marketing, Adswerve
- How to Succeed in Google Ads Without Modified Broad Match, WordStream
- Subscription-based streamers outstrip ad-supported services’ share of watch time, Digiday
- Sunsetting the KEYWORD_MATCH_TYPE recommendation type, Google Ads Developer Blog
- The 5 most common types of PPC ad fraud, PPC Hero
- WooCommerce merchants can now list their products across Google, Google Blog
Search Features
- New tools to support vaccine access and distribution, Google Blog
Other Search
- How Google supports today’s critical cybersecurity efforts, Google Blog
- News Brief: May updates from the Google News Initiative, Google Blog
- A packed set of Apple announcements could have big impacts on news publishers — for good and for ill, Nieman Journalism Lab
Feedback:
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