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:
- Vlog #75: Purna Virji On Search Accessibility & Inclusion & PPC Automation
Purna Virji is the Senior Manager of Global Engagement at Microsoft Advertising, won the US Search Personality Award and is one of the most kind people in the industry. Her job is to share new technology at conference and events with... - Google: Make Your Site Architecture Easy & Interesting
Google's John Mueller said the way to make your site architecture and navigation easy and interesting is to make a "smart site structure." This will not only help GoogleBot find your content and more interesting pages but also help users navigate and convert on your web site. - Google: Links Placed Without Your Input Is A Good Thing
Google's John Mueller said on Twitter that links placed without any input by you is not a bad thing, often he said it is a good thing. John wrote "just because links are placed without your input doesn't make them bad (it usually makes them good, even)." - New Google Shopping Ads Policy Against Phishing & Scamming
Google has updated its Google Shopping Ads policies to add two new "unacceptable business practices." These include (1) scamming users by concealing or misstating information about the merchant's business, or product, or service and (2) offer destinations that use "phishing" techniques to gather user information. - Google Discover Help Document Updated With E-A-T Mentions & More
Google has updated the help document on Google Discover. It has been almost completely revamped but one of the more interesting areas of the update is the section added to E-A-T. I mean, we know Google Discover can be impacted by Core updates in a big way but still. - Robots At Google Kitchener Office
This is from a few years ago, yes, I am going into my archives (sadly so many of them are from Google+ and forever gone). Here is when Google Canada's Kitchener office hosted a robotics challenges.
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- The previous poll was fun, so here's another one. Once again, try to answer without the help of a tool. How will this affect Googlebot specifically: User-agent: Googlebot Allow: / User-agent: * Disallow: /, Gary Illyes on Twitter
- An interesting spike for a 2018 article. Why? Ends up it started ranking as the 1st People Also Ask for another brand's customer support query. The PAA was labeled "How do I contact {brand} support?" It listed the 800 # *for m, Glenn Gabe on Twitter
- Hreflang question: (en-nz) on a (en) subdomain? : TechSEO, Reddit
- Links in QR codes are the real nofollow links., John Mueller on Twitter
- Self proclaimed SEO guru/rock star/hacker/wizard title on one's social profiles, Gary Illyes on Twitter
- In this case it's quite simple - the website and Google cache use the same query param, so it shows up in the search field of the cached website., Martin Splitt on Twitter
- Why would users click through to page 160 to find a product? I'd recommend limiting the number of pages and instead using better categorization., John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google’s 3D Swirl ad format now available in DV360
- What’s behind the hype about Customer Data Platforms?
- Coming up on Live with Search Engine Land: Special three day series on SEO for developers
- Google Ads to prohibit spyware, surveillance products and services
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- App + Web Measurement in Google Analytics 360, DELVE
- Google Tag Manager Guide | How To Measure & Track Your Marketing, Knapton Wright
- New predictive capabilities in Google Analytics, Google Blog
- What is 'Pages Per Session' in Google Analytics & How Do I Increase It?, Databox Blog
Industry & Business
- California investigating Google for potential antitrust violations, POLITICO
- How May Google Fight an Antitrust Case? Look at This Little-Noticed Paper, New York Times
- Investing in India's digital future, Google Blog
Links & Content Marketing
Local & Maps
Mobile & Voice
- Google Discover tests more AMP Stories with carousel, 9to5Google
- Google Shares Image of Upcoming Nest Smart Speaker After Accidental FCC Filing Reveal, Voicebot
SEO
- Stop! Consult your SEO before you delete web pages, Aimclear
- What Year Is It? A Glimpse At The Future Of Google Search & YouTube, Brodie Clark Consulting
- How Long Does SEO Take to Work? Plan Ahead!, Koozai
- UX and SEO: Experience as the Fourth Pillar of SEO, Hallam
PPC
- Changes to campaign_bid_modifier reporting in the Google Ads API, Google Ads Developer Blog
- Trusted partnership interview series: in brands we trust, Microsoft Advertising
Search Features
- Tools for language access during COVID-19, Google Blog
