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 Search Customized Headers Based On Query
This is wild, I mean, I think it is a bit over the top even for Google. Google is changing the background heading image for the Google search results based on your query. If you search for things like [creative ideas], [ideas for christmas], [flower ideas] and even others, Google will swap out the white background with an image background. - New Publishers Say Their Content Is Not Being Ranked In Google News
There are a nice number of vocal SEOs and online publishers who have been complaining all year long about their new online publishing news web sites are not being indexed and ranked in Google News. It is hard for me to debug any of this but they asked that I bring some of their complaints to a wider audience. - Google My Business New Performance Metrics
Colan Nielsen spotted a new analytics dashboard for Google My Business data named performance metrics. It is a bit tricky to get to, but it is available via the updated inline editing features. They also don't seem to match up with the Google My Business Insights data. - Google Expands Search Activity Cards To Shopping, Jobs & Recipes
Google Search activity cards are not new, they've been in testing since 2018 and launched in January 2019. But Google has upgraded them for shopping and product searches, job searches and recipe searches. Google said they have "updated them for shopping, jobs & recipes, to show you related and new information." - Bing Shopping Now Allows Free Listings In The Footer
In April Google allowed free listings within the Google Shopping tab and then expanded it to the main Google web search results. Bing seems to be following suit and allowing free product listings in the Bing Shopping tab of search. But those free product listings may go unseen since they seem to be placed in the footer. - Google Ads Societal Biases Targeting Being Disabled In 30 Days
In June we reported that Google will prohibit targeting ads based on employment, housing, and credit. Google now said this is going into play in 30-days from now, on October 19, 2020. Google said "in an effort to improve inclusivity for users disproportionately affected by societal biases; housing, employment, and credit products or services can no longer be targeted to audiences based on gender, age, parental status, marital status, or ZIP code." - Julius Lothar Meyer Honored With Google Doodle On 190th Birthday
Julius Lothar Meyer, the German chemist who was one of the pioneers in developing the first periodic table of chemical elements, is being honored by Google today with a Google Doodle on his 190th birthday. Google wrote "Happy birthday, Julius Lothar Meyer, and thank you for braving the elements for the sake of scientific knowledge!" - Google NYC Security Feeding Dog
This is Rick from Google NYC, I am not sure if he is security, maintenance, a greeter or something else but look at how nice he is. The dog knows to come to him for a treat. Check out the video from
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- Call it our summer glow-up. ✨ A new color-mapping algorithmic technique will help over 18 billion football fields of mountains, snow, and forests look more detailed on Maps. Learn more → https://t.co/rogNWO1OyG https://t., Google Maps on Twitter
- it's fine from search pov, semantically might arguably be weird, but then the web is weird so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯", Gary Illyes on Twitter
- Market Finder has tools and guides to help your business navigate during and beyond COVID-19. Check out our new resource page for business category search trends, international shopping behaviors, operations best practices, an, Google Ads on Twitter
- More Search Console Training magic 🪄🎩 We’re looking back at moments from the series so far. Watch till the end for a never before seen blooper and look out for more episodes with @danielwaisberg coming soon! Sta, Google Webmasters on Twitter
- Tired of Google Double Standards, WebmasterWorld
- Travel the world in amazing detail with over two million cities, real mountains, animals, traffic, and more. Available now: https://t.co/e2U7bQLrcK #MicrosoftFlightSimulator https://t.co/vJWM0VbXka, Bing on Twitter
- Updates to Gambling and games policy (August 2020), Google Advertising Policies Help
- You can also cloak a sitemap (or robots.txt) file to search engines, though it's probably a maintenance hassle. You can also make multiple sitemap files and submit them separately. Ultimatel, John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Microsoft Advertising Editor gets updated with recommendations and campaign-level targeting
- Bing Shopping opens up to free product listings
- How to Boost Your Google Ads ROI with Call Tracking & Conversational Analytics
- Google’s new features for product, job and recipe activity cards usher users along their journey
- Why machine learning and understanding searcher intent is so important to search
- Yelp’s updated ‘Request a Quote’ and new ‘Nearby Jobs’ provide lead-gen for SMBs
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Build Custom Reports in Google Analytics, PPC Hero
- Introduction to Google Tag Manager Server-side Tagging, Analytics Mania
- How to Validate Marketing Tags and Pixels, PPC Hero
Industry & Business
- Tips to Overcome Webmaster Depression, SEO Book
Links & Content Marketing
- Link Building Case Study: How We Built Backlinks With a 'Stats' Page (And Ranked #1), Ahrefs
- Creative Diversification — More Hooks and Less Risk for Link Building, Moz
- How to Do a Backlink Audit in 5 Simple Steps, SEM Rush
Local & Maps
- A more detailed, colorful map, Google Blog
Mobile & Voice
- 6 ways to use your voice to get more done, Google Blog
- Apple Glass could communicate with other devices for accurate AR mapping, Appleinsider
- House music: New multi-room audio control from Nest, Google Blog
- A new way to video call with Google, Google Blog
SEO
- Free Google Shopping Listings: What We’ve Learned Three Months In, Metric Theory
- SEO Request for Proposal (RFP) Template: Free Download, HigherVisibility
- How to Drive Traffic to Your Website: Winning the Traffic Race, SEM Rush
- How to Optimize for Featured Snippets (Part 2), RankRanger
PPC
- Google Ads Guide: How to Leverage Responsive Search Ads, Seer Interactive
- Google Ads Launches Image Extensions Beta, Seer Interactive
- What Is a PPC Audit? Why Are PPC Audits Important? How Do You Do One?, BruceClay
- Editor updates: Recommendations and more, Microsoft Advertising
Search Features
Other Search
