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 Nofollow Change Might Be About Fixing Webmaster Mistakes
Google published its first podcast named Search Off the Record and in that podcast, Gary Illyes from Google talked a bit more about all the nofollow link changes coming. He said again that he is working on something but it seems like these changes won't be a huge deal. - Google Again: We Don't Look At Analytics Bounce Rates For Ranking
Again, Google has said that it does not look at [Google] Analytics bounce rate data for ranking web sites. John Mueller of Google said in a webmaster hangout video at the 25 minute mark, "I think there's a bit of misconception here that we're looking at things like the analytics bounce rate when it comes to ranking websites, and that's definitely not the case." - Google Merchant Center Rendering & Product Data Specification Updates
Did you know that the Google Merchant side of things crawls a bit differently than the rest of Google. Google's Martin Splitt said on that podcast this morning that the Google Merchant team will first try the HTML only and if it cannot find what it needs, then it may render the page. - Google Ads New Clickbait Ads Policy
Google announced yesterday that in July 2020, next month, Google will introduce a new clickbait ads policy under the Google Ads Misrepresentation policy. Google wrote "this policy covers advertisement which uses sensationalist or clickbait text or imagery which intend to drive traffic to the Ad through pressurizing the viewer to take immediate action in order to understand the full context of the Ad." - Google My Business Pulling Data From Facebook
It looks like Google My Business is able to pull data from Facebook to show in the Google Maps and Google Search local panels. Here is an example from Tom Waddington of a plumber listing that shows the owner's name and the source of that information shows Facebook.com. - A Clever Google Query Modifier
Omar Ortiz shared a search result query modifier feature from Google search with me on Twitter that is pretty clever. It shows that when you search on Google for [how much do you need to retire] Google is smart enough to ask you different ages that you want to retire at. - Google Cocoon
Here is a cozy looking chair at the Google Sao Paulo office. This looks like a cocoon of some sorts. I've seen other cocoon hammocks but this one is made out of some sort of wood, not cloth.
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- CNET doesn’t run guest posts, but I still get several requests a month to publish them. I’d say half are from people who want direct free publicity, but half are attempts to get SEO (search engine optimization) mojo from, Stephen Shankland on Twitter
- Have you heard? We've launched a new AdSense Earnings Drop Checklist! This resource will help you troubleshoot earnings by taking you through a 5-step process aimed at optimizing your revenue ➡️ https://t.co/mXMLVTS2WS, Google AdSense on Twitter
- If you have Recipe structured data on your site 😋, you can now monitor your traffic using the Search Console Performance report 📈. You'll find it in the Search Appearance tab. Learn more about the Performance repo, Google Webmasters on Twitter
- Use Magento? Googlers will be presenting at @MeetMagentoUK on Wednesday, June 17. We’ll cover creating memorable moments on mobile and how Web Vitals can help you quantify the experience of your site and identify oppo, Google Webmasters on Twitter
- Yeah, it can be tempting to assume that rewritten URLs will always be good -- but that's not always the case. I've seen session-IDs rewritten into URL paths, that makes them almost impossible to use., John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Next on Live with Search Engine Land: The future of AMP and what to consider before Google lifts the Top Stories requirement
- May e-commerce exceeds holiday 2019, setting up the battle of the marketplaces
- Black Lives Matter content: Latest in unintended brand safety consequences
- The Complete Guide to SEO On-Page Content Optimization
- What’s Digital Asset Management and why are marketers adopting the technology?
- Google Smart Shopping: How it’s different from standard Shopping campaigns [Video]
- Video: Eli Schwartz on Google Panda gutting a site’s traffic
- Should Google not trust links in all guest blog posts?
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- 5 Best Practices for Creating Your Events and Parameters in a Google Analytics App + Web Property, Ken Williams
- How to do A/B tests with Google Optimize, Goodish Agency
- Why Are My Conversion Rates Down?, Metric Theory
Industry & Business
- Honoring Pride, in solidarity, Google Blog
- Providing Google.org support to LGBTQ+ organizations worldwide, Google Blog
- Announcement: Duplicate Post joins Yoast, Yoast
- Why Apple’s Acquisition of DuckDuckGo Would Not Work, The Street
Local & Maps
- Apple Maps' new Nearby feature will help it better compete with Google Maps in India; everything to know, The Financial Express
- FoodFinder maps food resources with help from Google, Google Blog
- Google Maps adds 'Black Lives Matter' mural in Washington, 9to5Google
- Google Maps letting 3rd-party sites integrate 'Local Context', 9to5Google
- Does Merging Google My Business Listings Help Ranking?, Sterling Sky Inc
- Yelp adds new features for reopening businesses, TechCrunch
Mobile & Voice
- Android Auto prepares to regain Google Calendar integration, 9to5Google
- How to make the right device hear 'Hey, Siri', Appleinsider
- Source: Google to launch 'prince,' a new standard Nest-branded smart speaker, 9to5Google
SEO
- Ranking Search Results based on Information Gain Scores, Go Fish Digital
- Creating Content that Performs Well Across the Board: In Search SEO Podcast, RankRanger
- How to Adapt Your SEO Strategy to Changing Trends, Botify
PPC
- 3 Forecasting Strategies For Data Anomalies, PPC Hero
- Entity IDs as 64-bit in AdWords API, Google Ads API beta, Google Ads scripts, and Content API for Shopping, Google Ads Developer Blog
Search Features
Other Search
