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.
Google's Gary Illyes explained how Google Search does ranking in the latests search off the record podcast. Dewey from the Google search quality team explained how machine learning handles most of the obvious spam issues. I published the big Google webmaster report today and we have a bunch of other news below.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google: Machine Learning Takes Care Of Most Obvious Spam
On the latest Search Off The Record podcast, John Mueller, Gary Illyes and Martin Splitt had a special guest from the Google Search Quality team named Dewey. He said that Google has built a "very effective and comprehensive machine-learning model that basically took care of most of the obvious spam." - How Google Cuts & Ranks Result Sets With Magic Signals
In the second part of the Search Off The Record podcast released this morning Gary Illyes from Google explained how Google does ranking. In short, he said Google first cuts down the pages that can rank for a specific query to a short list of let's say about 1,000 pages. Then the magic happens where Google will apply ranking signals or as he calls it "magic signals" to that cut down list. - Google AdSense Anchor Ads Wider Screens Support
Google Adsense announced that anchor ads, the AdSense ads that stick to the top or bottom of the page as you scroll, now are supported on wider screens. Google launched anchor ads on AdSense in 2013 and has expanded its features over the years. - Bing Testing Graphical Version Of Explore Further
In February, Microsoft Bing started to show explore further recommendations based on what is popular in a textual and simple link user interface. Now, Bing is testing showing this in a more graphical version. - July 2021 Google Webmaster Report
The past month in Google SEO and webmaster land was a bit insane... - Vlog #127: Mad Mango On E-Commerce SEO vs Trade SEO
In part two of my talk with the the Mad Mango team; Aaron Uscilla and Robert DeFeo we spoke about E-Commerce SEO is very different from working with tradesmen because it is just a different business, they said. Tradesman are out working all day, so you won't generally hear from them during business hours... - Google Juices In Haifa
Somewhere near the Google office in Haifa, Israel, someone brewed up some Google juices, Google drinks. The person who posted it on Instagram actually said they were "pride drinks" but they look more
Other Great Search Threads:
- Our logs are showing some issues with the tool, but given the non-uproar externally, I'm wondering if it's just our logs that are confusing us (and the team is working on fixing the underlying issue so it should, John Mueller on Twitter
- We saw some incorrect information in stories yesterday about how our audio recognition technologies work, coming from a deposition before the Parliamentary Standing Committee in India. Here’s correct information abo, Google SearchLiaison on Twitter
- $300 for a single follow link on a major university's not-so-obscure subdomain:, Gary Illyes on Twitter
- After a weird week, it's good to do some ... random SEO things., John Mueller on Twitter
- And here we go. Saw a lot of movement starting yesterday based on the July broad core update. Some sites are seeing big changes very quickly vs the June update. First, some examples of surges during the update so far. And one, Glenn Gabe on Twitter
- July 2021 AdSense Earnings and Observations, WebmasterWorld
- Any site move can affect your site's visibility -- I wouldn't move things without having a good reason. If you do have a good reason to move things, then go for it. Don't let an update hold you back (there are al, John Mueller on Twitter
- No, if they're known to have a noindex (and it's in a correct location), then we wouldn't index them. Sometimes we just don't recrawl URLs for a long time though, so if you change a big part of a site,, John Mueller on Twitter
- The URLs might still get indexed. that's been the case since forever we just spelled it out more clearly, Gary Illyes on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- GA4: Advertising Workspace, Analytics Boosters
- Marketing Analytics: Attribution Is Not Incrementality, Avinash Kaushik
Industry & Business
- Google must face Voice Assistant privacy lawsuit -U.S. judge, Reuters
- Good news: Google no longer requires publishers to use the AMP format. Bad news: What replaces it might be worse, The Register
- Facebook, Twitter, Google Threaten to Quit Hong Kong Over Proposed Data Laws, Wall Street Journal
Links & Content Marketing
- A Step-by-Step Strategy for B2B Pillar Pages, Moz
- 10 tips to streamline your blog content workflow, Yoast
- How to Do PR When There Is Nothing to PR, Screaming Frog
- The Different Types of Links: When and How to Use Them, Business 2 Community
Local & Maps
- Restaurant Delivery Business Holds Strong as In-Person Dining Returns, New York Times
- Google Maps Offensive Continues as Apple Starts Mapping New Regions, AutoEvolution
- Google Maps: Nifty new Insights feature is now rolling out more widely, Android Police
- What Everybody Ought to Know About Events & Google My Business, Sterling Sky
Mobile & Voice
SEO
- 8 Tips for Working at an Agency & Agency Life, Go Fish Digital
- How Artisan Bakeries Boost SEO with Link Building, SEM Rush
- Technical SEO for WordPress: Step-by-Step Guide & Checklist, SEO HandBooks
- A Step-By-Step Guide For Website Migration That Keeps SEO & Traffic Intact, Business 2 Community
- 3 tips to prioritize your SEO actions and boost your business, OnCrawl
- Original Content and Original Authors Identified by Google, Go Fish Digital
- Top 7 SEO Myths & Misconceptions, Koozai
- User perception, organic search, and algorithm updates, Kevin Indig
- June Winners and Losers, Searchmetrics
PPC
- Product updates for July: Dynamic Remarketing, Microsoft Advertising
Search Features
Feedback:
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