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 Tests Search Refinements When You Scroll Up
Here is a new test Google is running, where when you do a search on mobile, scroll down and then scroll back up, Google will show you other search refinement options for your original query. I cannot replicate this but Brodie Clark posted a video of this in action. - Apple Lists Its Search Ranking Factors
Apple has updated the "about Applebot" help documentation page the other day and in that document it lists information about how Apple ranks web results. It also updated information around Applebot. - Google Mortgage Search Results Box For You To Compete With & In
Google has a newish search feature for searches related to mortgages. While Google had mortgage calculators and tools for a while, those featured only came up for specific and exact queries. Now, Google has a much wider search feature box that gives you a lot more on mortgages. - How To Improve Google Indexing? Create Great, Unique & Compelling Content.
Google's John Mueller said that "best way to improve indexing is to create great - unique & compelling - content that users have been seeking out, and which users recommend to others." Google has said that many indexing issues are related to quality issues. - Google My Business Upgraded Profiles; $50 Per Month
Google is now trying a subscription billing model for Google My Business, something Google has explored doing in the past, and is now actively pursuing. Google sent Tom Waddington an email asking him to "upgrade" his business profile for $50 a month. - Android Fashion Face Masks
Louis Gray from Google, who may be the single person who owns more Android swag than anyone else in the world, has new face masks. These face masks have Android on them, of course. - Google Search Console Coverage Report - Experiencing Indexing Issues Notice
If you login to Google Search Console, click on your coverage report, you will see a new message at the top of the page. It has a blue background and reads "we're currently experiencing indexing issues (started July 14, 2020)." The learn more goes no where useful and it is confusing as to what indexing issue this is about.
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- I can't imagine anyone reading this tweet would both be an SEO person and not already have seen this, but @iPullRank's Runtime technical SEO movie was brilliant and amazing. https://t.co/4MeLZn5eOZ #MozCon, Mike Kupfer on Twitter
- Update to Account pausing for Advertiser identity verification (September 2020), Google Advertising Policies Help
- The first v2.0 beta pre-release of the official AMP plugin for WordPress is now available for testing! 🎉 This will be a major release with key new features and improvements. See release notes or this thread 👇 for highli, AMP Project on Twitter
- Yes, we generally try to index one version of a piece of content, but this is best effort. if you look up some AP articles you'll see what i mean. syndication happens a lot and it's generally fine, Gary Illyes on Twitter
- You can submit sitemaps with any URL, using multiple methods. Google isn't going to guess the sitemap URL though, you need to submit them somehow., John Mueller on Twitter
- I mean technically you'd want to 301 them somewhere, but we, Google, don't particularly care if you do a 302. you could redirect to the login page perhaps, John Mueller on Twitter
- Yes, JSON-LD structured data can be implemented on AMP too. We don't show all structured data as rich results, but that's common across all kinds of sites & pages." /, John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- How 9 major Google My Business updates in 2020 can help you rebound
- Google offering ‘upgraded’ GMB profile with Google Guaranteed badge for $50 per month
- 4 ways to speed up your Shopify site
- What content survives Google algorithm updates?
- Replay: How to future-prep your skills to advance your marketing career
- Google adds new mortgage feature box to search
- How and where to fight for your marketing budget
- Google delays mobile-first indexing deadline to March 2021
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- How to build a recommendation system on e-commerce data using BigQuery ML, Medium
- What Is App + Web? The New Version Of Google Analytics, Search Discovery
Industry & Business
Links & Content Marketing
Local & Maps
- How to use YouTube Music in Google Maps navigation mode, Android Central
- Your Trusty Maps App Can Help You Navigate the Pandemic, New York Times
Mobile & Voice
- Google rolling out light theme for Nest Hub Max settings, 9to5Google
- 'Apple Glass' may use sensors to react to wearer's stress or attention span, Appleinsider
SEO
- Do SEO Writers Need Technical Skills?, SuccessWorks
- Compare Site Keywords with Keyword Generator, Majestic Blog
- Image Search & Stock Photography, Searchmetrics
- Small Business SEO: A Beginner‘s Guide for SMBs, SEM Rush
PPC
- How To Optimize Your PPC Campaigns During a Pandemic, Go Fish Digital
- PLAs and the Overlap Between SEO & SEM, Searchmetrics
Search Features
- Find helpful information on the mortgage process in Search, Google Blog
- Google Translate dark theme rolling out on Android, 9to5Google
Other Search
