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 Ranking Algorithm Update Signs Heating Up More
On Friday, yes, Friday the 13th (hence the graphic), I reported on signals of a possible Google update. As an update, these signals are still there, the chatter is still ongoing through this morning, and the tracking tools are also showing changes even as of over the weekend. - Google Product Grid & Expandable Shopping Ads
To be honest, I am not sure if this is new, but I am being told this is new. The first is what looks like an organic product grid, where Google shows product selections for a query in a new grid like format. The second are paid Google shopping ads that expand to show more details. - Google Shortens Title Length In Search By ~5 Characters On Average
The folks at RankRanger are showing data that on average, the title tag length shown in the Google desktop search results have gone down from 55.3 characters to 50.9 characters on average. - B.B. King, The King Of Blues, Google Doodle
Today on the 94th birthday of B.B. King, Google has posted a special video Doodle to honor B.B. King's life. B.B. King is known as the King of Blues and pretty much everyone is familiar with his music. So listening and watching the Doodle is just so nice. - Google Video Result Timeline With In This Video Snippet
Amit Singh shared a screen video capture of a new form of video results in the mobile Google search results. This one shows a video result with a section named "in this video." The "in this video" section gives you a timeline in the video of what is being discussed so you can jump to those sections. - I Love Cheese Hat On Google's John Mueller
A few weeks ago there was some sort of cheese event at the Google Zurich office and Gary Illyes was busy snapping and posting photos of John Mueller with cheese. Apparently, John is a big cheese fan.
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- New GSC feature (bug?) - emailing incorrect "warning"., WebmasterWorld
- I'll go out on a limb ... if your site is serving 500's for more than a week on important URLs, you have a bigger problem than just SEO :), John Mueller on Twitter
- I'm creating slides for a deep dive in how search works for SEOs that I plan to use at conferences, including wmconf. If you have (serious) questions or you'd like to have some things clarified, please leave a commen, Gary Illyes on Twitter
- We're doing another round of #AskGoogleWebmasters this week -- if there's something you'd like to have answered in a short video, make sure to use the hashtag and send it our way as soon as possible!, John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Here’s a script to spice up your Facebook demographics reporting
- The secret formula for determining a marketing budget
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- How Recruiters Can Get More Out of Google Analytics, HR Technologist
Industry & Business
- Former Project Maven Google engineer warns robot weapons could cause accidental mass killings, Business Insider
Links & Promotion Building
Local & Maps
- Google Maps navigates you a gazillion times better now. Get crackin', CNET
- Yelp adds two new features to restaurant product portfolio, Verdict Food Service
Mobile & Voice
- Amazon Echo and Alexa hardware expected on September 25, Gearbrain
- Google Assistant testing denser suggestions UI on Android, 9to5Google
- The best Google Assistant compatible tech to build out your smart home, WIRED UK
SEO
- Basic Tips To Ensure Your Content Is SEO-Friendly, Forbes
- SEO for Creatives: What Designers, Artists, Photographers & Writers Need to Know, Search Engine Journal
PPC
- New Keyword Tool, SEO Book
- Seer Solves It: PPC & SEO Analysis Leads to $43K in Savings, Seer Interactive
- Optimization score is now available in the Google Ads mobile app, Google Ads Help
Search Features
