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 has removed the "safe browsing" signal from the Google page experience update, so that is no longer a ranking factor. It was also removed from the page experience report, along with some bug fixes to that report. Google does use searcher queries to determine what supplemental information should be shown in the knowledge panel. Google Ads for a short period of time showed the full details in the search terms report. Plus a lot more news for you below.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Safe Browsing No Longer A Google Ranking Signal
Google announced that it has removed the safe browsing signal as part of the page experience update. In fact, Google implied it was never used as a signal, saying the it is "clarifying that Safe Browsing isn't used as a ranking signal." - User Queries Help Google Determine What To Show In Knowledge Panels
Ever wonder why some knowledge panels show the authors books, while others might show movies or TV shows and maybe less or more information. Google sometimes determines what to show in a knowledge panel based on how people search for that person or entity. - Google Search Tests Discussions Carousel
Looks like Google is testing another design and layout for displaying forums in the search results. Now Google is labeling this "discussions" and showing it in this two column and multiple rows carousel interface. - Google Ads Search Terms Report Stops Hiding All Searches
Back in September 2020, Google announced it would show less search term data in the Google Ads Search Terms report. As you can imagine, the advertising community was not happy. But something changed yesterday and all the search term data is now showing in that report. - Data: Most Popular Google Search Features Are People Also Ask & Local Pack
Eric Enge along with SEO Clarity published a snippet of data showing which are the most popular search features you would find in the Google Search Results. In order of popularity comes people also ask, local listings, popular products, images, videos, and featured snippets. - New Google Auckland Office
Looks like Google opened a new office in New Zealand, in Auckland. Google said "As we approach 15 years on the ground in New Zealand, Google is investing to put down stronger roots here - including by
Other Great Search Threads:
- Redirect Notice on iPhone Safari Browser, Google My Business Community
- The nice part about the web is that anyone can publish whatever they want. Affiliate sites can publish news, news sites can publish affiliate content. It doesn't mean it'll, John Mueller on Twitter
- Hiding SEO text for logged in users, WebmasterWorld
- I think the screenshot doesn't reflect what I see in the first page of results. That said, I think more broadly we've given guidance about any site that hosts content, Danny Sullivan on Twitter
- It's fine to rename sitemap files. We use them to discover URLs, there's no "value" in the files themselves. That said, I'd use redirects like you would with other URL changes., John Mueller on Twitter
- Same keyword phrase in GMB Insights but separate results, Local Search Forum
- The disavow tool is not about relevance, it's about discounting bad links which you placed and can't remove. I would not use it as a SEO tweak -- it's a big hammer to fix big link problems., John Mueller on Twitter
- Why would you disavow links on a subdirectory level though? Just disavow it (and usually the whole domain) for the whole site., John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- 5 tactics to scale your agency
- Yelp introduces “Proof of vaccination required” and “Staff fully vaccinated” profile attributes
- Google drops safe browsing as a page experience ranking signal
- Meet Make Every feature Binary: Bing’s sparse neural network for improved search relevance
- A new way to approach your PPC personas: Learning from the sales process to limit waste and accelerate ROI
- Do you follow the Google guidelines?; Wednesday’s daily brief
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Advanced Analysis with Explorations, Merkle
- 4 Most Seen Analytics Errors, Hallam
Industry & Business
- Amazon and Google patch major bug in their DNS-as-a-Service platforms, The Record by Recorded Future
- Google's hidden search algorithms are being investigated by researchers. Here's what they've found, ABC News
- Google+ lawsuit payouts start rolling out to former users, 9to5Google
- Leaked Document Says Google Fired Dozens of Employees for Data Misuse, VICE
- Brainlabs acquires Canadian Programmatic Buying and Google Marketing Platform experts MediaNet, Brainlabs
Links & Content Marketing
- Are you paying for links with your principles?, Builtvisible
- Internal Link Audits for SEO - Video and full guide from Natalie Arney, Sitebulb
- 26 Eye-Opening Ideas for Putting an End to Digital Content Fatigue, Content Marketing Institute
- How to Carry Out Content Audits — Yes, Plural, Moz
- User-generated content: The good, the bad, and the ugly, DAC
Local & Maps
- Google Maps on iOS is finally getting a dark mode, The Verge
- Google Maps Update on Android Auto Finally Gets Navigation Directions Right, AutoEvolution
- Hell froze over? Apple Maps caught up to Google Maps with iOS 15. Top features to know, CNET
Mobile & Voice
- Future Apple devices may let you select text just by looking at it, AppleInsider
- Google's first TikTok heavily promote Google Lens [Video], 9to5Google
SEO
- Bad Grammar or Broken HTML: Which Does Google Care about More?, SuccessWorks
- How to survive any conversation with an SEO, OnCrawl
- The Search Singularity: How to Win in the Era of Infinite Content, Animalz
- 7 eCommerce SEO Tips to Drive Organic Traffic, Search Metrics
PPC
- August 2021 update to Display & Video 360 API v1, Google Ads Developer Blog
- New tools to manage publisher deals in Display & Video 360, Google Blog
- SEO vs Pay Per Click advertising: Which one to choose?, Yoast
- Free Amazon Keyword Tool Updated, SISTRIX
- Update to Gambling and games policy in India (August 2021), Google Advertising Policies Help
Other Search
Feedback:
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