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 made 4,500 changes to search in 2020, that is up from 3,200 in 2019 - I guess COVID didn't slow them down. The Google keyword planner tool has not shown data in over 24-hours but you can export the raw data if you want, this was resolved this afternoon. Google Shopping campaigns has a bug that resulted in huge drops in impressions, this was resolved this afternoon. Google Ads is rolling out a new campaign set up screen. Google is testing new carousels for research, people also shop and similar products. SEOs mostly said COVID did not change how they do SEO and more.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google Made 12.5 Changes To Search Each Day In 2020
We cover tons of Google changes here, from user interface changes to ranking changes - most of which Google does not announce or confirm. But yesterday, Google said it made 4,500 changes in 2020 to Google Search. That is 12.5 changes per day or over 17 changes per work day in 2020. - Google Keyword Planner Tool Not Showing Data
For the past 24-hours or so, the Google keyword planner tool within Google Ads has been broken. It is giving people errors and showing "no data" found responses. - Google Shopping Bug Leads To Huge Impression Declines
Google Ads seemed to have a bug last week with Google Shopping in some regions, like the UK, but I think others, where the shopping listings were not showing up. Some advertisers were claiming drops in their listings from showing up by over 90%, yes, 90% impression drops for Google Shopping campaigns. - Google Search Tests Carousels: Research, People Also Shop & Similar Products
Google is testing a number of additional carousels in Google Search. These carousels are titled "research," "people also shop" and "similar products." Here are screenshots and screencasts of these in action from those who spotted them. - Google Ads Campaign Set Up Redesign
Google Ads seems to have launched a redesign for the campaign set up form/wizard. The new interface moves the steps from the top to the left hand side bar, and takes you through a new step by step process to set up your Google Ads campaigns. - COVID Change How You Do SEO? Poll Results
J Turnbull posted a poll on Twitter asking SEOs if COVID changed how you do SEO. Like any SEO poll, the results were somewhat mixed. But of the 259 responses (not a ton), 52.5% said no, COVID did not change how they do SEO. - Clear Google Umbrella From 2017
Here is an old photo from 2017 of two people together, one holding a clear Google umbrella inside a building. Isn't there a thing about not opening an umbrella inside? Anyway, here is that photo from
Other Great Search Threads:
- 5Blocks data shows that over the past couple of days there has been a significant dip in @Crunchbase search ranking for individuals and companies. Most of the pages we checked had been de-indexed by Google., David Sedley on Twitter
- A site:-query is a pretty artificial query, and if you know the URL already, I'm not sure what more you're looking for ..., John Mueller on Twitter
- Google labeled us as a duplicate of our competitor, Local Search Forum
- I think there's a balance to be found. If anyone knew the perfect & only answer to a question, fine -- that's rarely t, John Mueller on Twitter
- Pinging search engines directly is just as good, yeah. I guess the tricky part is that the site owner doesn't see it happening. (Though honestly most shouldn't even need to see it happening - too m, John Mueller on Twitter
- Title Checker: check how Google is changing the appearance of your title tags 🚀 600 free requests per month. Check any search query, across all countries and languages. 🙌 https://t.co/f7Y2copT1F https://t.co/TL1P4Y2, Andrew Charlton on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Messy SEO Part 1: Navigating a site consolidation migration
- Google made 4,500 changes to search in 2020
- SERP trends of the rich and featured: Top tactics for content resilience in a dynamic search landscape
- The case for advertising on search engines other than Google
- Awkward: SMBs think they know their customers; their customers disagree; Monday’s daily brief
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- How Google Analytics Consent Mode Helps Marketers Keep Compliant, CMSWire
- UTM Codes: How to Create UTM Tracking URLs on Google Analytics, Hubspot
Industry & Business
- Apple and Google’s Fight in Seoul Tests Biden in Washington, New York Times
- S.Korea set to curb Google, Apple commission dominance, Reuters
Links & Content Marketing
- How to Leverage Newsjacking for Your Content in 2021 (+Examples), Semrush
- Outsourcing Content Creators: The Complete How-To Guide, Content Marketing Institute
Local & Maps
- Apple Maps 'Ratings and Photos' feature debuts in US, Appleinsider
- Finding belonging in Google's Aboriginal and Indigenous Network, Google Blog
- Google Developer Group Spotlight: A conversation with GDG Juba Lead, Kose, Google Developers Blog
- Google Maps navigation requires you to crowdsource data, 9to5Google
Mobile & Voice
- How to disable AMP in Google Search on Android and iOS, Phandroid
- In-Car Voice Assistant Users 127 Million in the U.S. with Strong Adoption in the UK and Germany as Well - New Report, Voicebot
SEO
- Pi Datametrics x Oncrawl: Unlocking the World of Data, OnCrawl
- SEO for planned news events - by WTF is SEO?, WTF is SEO?
- SEO Tools: A List Of Best SEO Tools For 2021, SEOSLY
- The 3 stages of SEO career development, Kevin Indig
- YouTube SEO: How to use analytics for your video strategy, Yoast
PPC
- Age Appropriate Design Code (AADC) support, Google AdSense Help
- Exploring life’s transitional moments, Microsoft Advertising
- Updates to Gambling and games policy in Arizona (August 2021), Google Advertising Policies Help
- Updates to Gambling and games policy in Wyoming (August 2021), Google Advertising Policies Help
- Keyword Research in Searchmetrics - How's It Done, Searchmetrics
Other Search
- Google NLP Demo Shuts Down, Inlinks
- YouTube says its Partner Program now has 2 million members, The Verge
Feedback:
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