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: An Indexing System Failure Caused The Search Results Glitch
Just to catch you all up, on Monday afternoon we saw some insane changes to the search results rankings. Google confirmed later it was a bug and things were back to normal. Google then explained the bug stemmed from the indexing system. But what does that mean? - Google Says Not Correct: It Does Not Monitor Sites Listed In Disavow Files
There have always been rumors that if you are listed in someones disavow file that it can end up hurting your site. But Google has said time and time again that is not true. Being in a disavow file won't end up hurting you Google said. And it won't lead to Google monitoring your web site more closely, John Mueller said on Twitter. - Google Tests People Also Ask On Right Side Bar
Google is testing placing the people also ask box on the right side column of the search results interface. Normally this shows up on the left hand search results side but here is a screen shot from Mordy Oberstein showing it on the right side. - Google Merchant Center New Attribute To Exclude Products From Certain Countries
Google Merchant Center added a new technical attribute you can use to exclude some or all of your products from displaying in specific countries. The new attribute is shopping_ads_excluded_country and you can use it in your product feeds to communicate to Google to not show these products in specific countries. - Google Local Listing Reviews Asking More Questions
It looks like Google is expanding on its local listing reviews for service level businesses. Amy Toman posted a screen shot showing how when she selected five stars to give to a power washing company, Google then asked her if she used the business and which services did they provide. - Super G Logo Google Cake
We've seen the pasta version of the super G Google logo. Now let me show you the cake version of the super G Google logo. I wonder if it is kosher and if so, how do I get one.
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- No. Sitemaps are just processed to extract URLs & meta-data. It doesn't matter which Googlebot user-agent is used to read them (my guess is they're all read by the desktop Googlebot, regardless of mobile-first indexing, John Mueller on Twitter
- Check out the answers to the live chat from @danielwaisberg's Rich Results & Search Console Webmaster Conference Lightning Talk ⚡️ (and if you didn't watch it 🎥, here's your chance!) https://t.co/aOdejC9nvf, Google Webmasters on Twitter
- Googlebot ignores the non-standard crawl-delay token in robotstxt files, it has no effect at all. For slowing Googlebot crawls down, use Search Console or submit a problem with Googlebot., Gary Illyes on Twitter
- Is anyone facing issue in Ad preview and diagnosis while scrolling for results in mobile view for different locations?? @rustybrick https://t.co/4hU2CZAjRE, Kunal Jain on Twitter
- Out of Bing index with all websites, WebmasterWorld
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google and Ignite Visibility to host advanced paid media event you won’t want to miss
- Genius not looking so smart after Google escapes liability for ‘misappropriating’ lyrics
- Google launches ‘people cards’ in Search
- Google Search bug caused by issue with its ‘indexing systems’
- A Google Search bug wreaked havoc on the search results last night
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Four Analytics Goals Every Association Should Track, ASAE
- Google Tag Manager and Multiple Domains: How to Configure?, Analytics Mania
- Implementing Google Analytics on AMP pages using Google Tag Manager (GTM) - A step by step Guide, Tushar Gupta's blog
Industry & Business
- Denmark angry at Google censorship of some Danish content, seeks talks, Reuters
- Google Beats Song Lyric Scraping Lawsuit, Hollywood Reporter
- Neil Young spends $20K to leave 'corrupt' Facebook, Google, Mercury News
Local & Maps
- The 'Apple Car' may be able to detect, warn drivers of cracked windows, Appleinsider
- How to Identify Local SEO Keywords in Bulk, Local University
Mobile & Voice
- 5 new things your Android phone can do, Google Blog
- Earthquake detection and early alerts, now on your Android phone, Google Blog
- Google Home 2.26 adds Nest Hub Max to Android 11 menu, 9to5Google
SEO
- Beginner‘s Guide: 9 Things to Know if You Are New to Mobile SEO, SEM Rush
- On-Page SEO: How to Optimize Landing Pages, Portent
- Republishing Content: How to Update Old Blog Posts for SEO, Ahrefs
- SEO: What We Believe, BruceClay
- Why You Might Not Want a Featured Snippet, Sterling Sky
PPC
- Navigating A Successful "Difficult Conversation", PPC Hero
- Sunset of the Ad Manager API v201908, Google Ads Developer Blog
- The PPC Ascending Seesaw of Scaling Awesomeness, ZATO Marketing
- Class act in sustainability, Microsoft Advertising
- Google integrates into IAB Europe TCF v2.0, Google Blog
Search Features
