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 Analytics is not showing data from yesterday or today right now, hopefully it will be fixed soon. There is a sad story of a site that filed for bankruptcy the day before the August core update, and then saw their rankings improve. Google Search Console updated its documentation on the search appearances. Bing Image search is testing new refinement cards. Google is testing a new local pack design and user experience. Google said many noindexes and nofollows don't mean low quality. Google is migrating all to the new Google Merchant Center Next in September. And I posted the SEO video recap today.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google Analytics Missing Data From Yesterday/Data
There are a ton of complaints and a lot of concern around Google Analytics missing data in the normal overview report for yesterday and today. I see it also, I am seeing no data from this site and others in my GA4 reports for yesterday or today - although the real time reports work. -
Hardbacon Announced Closure Day Before August Core Update, Then Sees Traffic Surge
There are many sad stories around sites getting hit by Google algorithm updates, such as core updates and of course the September 2023 helpful content update. But Hardbacon, a financial and budgeting company, was hit hard by those Google updates, then announced the company would file for bankruptcy the day before the August 2024 core update. -
Google: Many Noindex & Nofollows Do Not Signal Site Quality Issues
Martin Splitt from Google said on the latest SEO office hours that having lots of nofollow or noindex tags or attributes on your site does not signal to Google that you have quality issues with your site or many low quality pages. -
Google Search Local Pack UX Update
Google has updated the local pack, the local results box, in the Google Search results. Now when you click on the results in the local pack, the map slides to the left, behind the local pack listings. Then the detail local listing slides to the right. -
Google Migrating All To Merchant Center Next By Next Month
Google announced that all merchants will be migrated (or as Google put it "upgrading") from the old Google Merchant Center to Google Merchant Center Next by September (next month). We knew this was coming, we covered the upgrade emails back in July but here is the official announcement. -
Bing Images Search Refinement Cards
Microsoft now has these refinement cards or boxes directly in the Bing Image Search results interface. In these cards, Bing will show you a refinement option for your query with example photos you might find for that refined search query. -
Google Search Console Search Appearances Documentation Updated
Google has greatly expanded and clarified its documentation around how Search Appearances work within the Google Search Console reports. Google wrote on X, "We improved our documentation on Search Appearances supported in Search Console." Daniel Waisberg from Google said, "I've been asked about this 1000 times, hope you're all happy now." -
Dooglers Fighting It Out
Here is Jeff and Luna, Dooglers, or Google dogs, at the Google London office in 2020, fighting it out for this dog toy that looks like an Oreo cookie. -
Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Ranking Bug Fixed, August Core Update Swings, AI Overviews, Google Ads Bug & More
Google's larger search ranking bug was fixed four days after the issue was confirmed. Google's August core update continues to roll out, some hit by the helpful content update are seeing some surges, but Google says wait until the update is complete...
Other Great Search Threads:
- Good Morning Google Land! This is the August 22 edition of "Core Update Notes". First, interesting to see several sites focused on gifs and memes surge like crazy. But the devil is in the details. Love that @semrush breaks out organ, Glenn Gabe on X
- Got a ton of respect for you Danny. I do feel like a bunch of folks on the Search team aren’t tapped into how Reddit is getting manipulated these days. I broke it down here with an example of a Reddit mod abusing, Lars Lofgren on X
- Sites impacted by the HCU rn, Brodie Clark on X
- Small change but good change: third-party partners now have different email addresses than actual google employees, Greg on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google SA360 now supports Microsoft automated bidding
- Google tightens rules on Crypto Ads in Switzerland
- Google releases Ad Manager API v202408
- How to use Google Search Console to unlock easy SEO wins
- How search query length is shifting in the LLM era: Insights for brands
- 7 ways to segment Performance Max and Shopping campaigns
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
Industry & Business
- Google and OpenAI Are Competing for the Future of Search, NY Mag
- Google Makes Former Character.AI CEO Shazeer a Co-Leader of Gemini AI, The Information
- Google preps huge San Jose site for advanced research and tech efforts, Mercury News
- How Status-Quo Bias Shaped the Google Antitrust Trial, iPullRank
- The Google Bike: An In-Depth Review, DC Rainmaker on YouTube
Links & Content Marketing
- Bad Backlinks: A Complete Guide on Spotting and Avoiding Them, Backlinko
- Optimize Your Organic Content Strategy Beyond Google, MarketingProfs
- What is Content Marketing? A Comprehensive Guide for 2024, Mobile App Daily
Local & Maps
- Apple supports US national parks with Apple Pay donations and upcoming Apple Maps updates, 9to5Mac
- Find free pop-up events with new Google Maps layer, Pix11
- Google Maps rolling out simplified bottom bar redesign to iPhone, 9to5Google
Mobile & Voice
- Apple Ring rumor: Universal control for iPhone, Mac, and home, AppleInsider
- Future Apple headsets may use liquid lenses to correct vision, AppleInsider
- How Google designers developed the Pixel 9 series devices, Google Blog
SEO
- Keyword Mapping: A Step-by-Step Guide to Better SEO, Backlinko
- Mastering Google Trends to improve your SEO, Yoast
- Rich Snippets = Higher Traffic & CTR: How to Optimize Your Site in 4 Steps, SEO Webster
- Working With Search Console API, Search Off the Record
PPC
- Search Ads 360 adds support for Microsoft automated bidding, Google Blog
- 9 Attributes to Deploy to Supercharge Your Google Shopping Feed, PPC Hero
- Demand Gen Campaigns Introduce Video Partners, PPC News Feed
Other Search
- The Ultimate guide to SearchGPT, BrightEdge
- Upcoming changes to the browser choice screen, default apps, and app deletion for EU users, Apple Developer
Feedback:
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