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:
- Were There Google Search Canonical URL Issues Around September 23rd?
Remember that possible Google search ranking algorithm update from September 23rd? As I mentioned in my weekly video this Friday, some felt it may have been caused by a canonical bug with Google search. I wanted to share more around that topic before I go offline tonight for Yom Kippur, since I am not posting anything tomorrow. - Google Again Had An Indexing Issue With News Content Last Night
Just amazing, again, Google had an issue indexing news content last night. Ewdison Then, a publisher at SlashGear, Android Community and other places notified me on Twitter of this showing screen shots of CNN, Fox News, WSJ, and Engadget all showing zero new content in Google Search at around 6:50pm. - Anti-Semitic Image Search Results Pollute Google, Bing & DuckDuckGo
Over the weekend Google and Bing (and DuckDuckGo) were all called out for displaying horrid and disgusting images that convey babies burning in ovens for searches like [jewish baby stroller] and [jewish bunk beds]. Google and Bing responded immediately to me when I forwarded it to them about their disgust but the issue is, these images still come up. - Vlog #87: Drew Madore on Black Hat SEO In 2020 & How Black Hat Has Changed
Drew Madore ventured out from his lock down to meet with me at a nearby baseball stadium. I selected the area because it let us have several football fields of space for socially distancing. Looking at it now, it does look a bit too much but hey... - Google Tests Related Searches List View Format
Google has been super busy testing tons of variations of the user interface for the related searches section in the search results. I think this one is a new one from Amit Dubey of a list view format, with each related search on its own line. - Give Google Examples Of Canonical URL Issues
On Sunday I reported about a canonical URL issue with Google that may have caused major turbulence with the Google search results last week. Well, Google said they need examples to investigate. - Wearing A Mask At The GooglePlex
I am a bit obsessed with photos of people wearing masks at Google offices. Here is a photo of a guy at the GooglePlex, the Google Mountain View offices, with a mask on. I love the facial expression, a - Programming Note: Offline Monday For Yom Kippur 5781
This is just a programming note that I will be 100% offline starting Sunday night (September 27th) through Monday night (September 28th) for Yom Kippur. I am not scheduling any stories on Yom Kippur, everything here will be paused until Tuesday morning (or if something is urgent... - Google Celebrates Its 22nd Birthday This Sunday
Tomorrow, Sunday, September 27th, is Google's 22nd birthday. To celebrate, Google will be posting this animated Google Doodle. The cute thing is that since it is #2020, the Google logo is celebrating the birthday event over Google Meet in a socially distant way.
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- We added new metrics to make your frequency reporting on video campaigns more helpful. Learn more about them → https://t.co/CqhISU14Hu, Google Ads on Twitter
- This sounds much more like a general site quality problem rather than anything related to crawl budget. Crawl budget is worth thinking about with sites that have much more than a million pages. You, John Mueller on Twitter
- A disavow is not a signal that a site is bad (eg, maybe they're just showing ads without rel-nofollow/sponsored). Usually there are enough oth, John Mueller on Twitter
- A tricky part is that the data is collected over 30 days, so it takes time to update. To get fresher samples, you can instrument some pages and collect the data via Analytics., John Mueller on Twitter
- Think about when you'd use nofollow links, and apply your judgement for social media links the same as you would for any other kind of link., John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- How to audit sites inside corporate networks
- Microsoft Advertising adds brand safety with IAS partnership
- Social Shorts: Facebook’s 20% rule, Pinterest Story Pins, Reddit brand safety options
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Digital Debrief – New Templates in App+Web Analysis, Krista Seiden
- 3 way to accelerate digital transformation, Think with Google
- How to Get Started With Marketing Analytics: A 5-Step Framework, Social Media Examiner
Industry & Business
- Alphabet Settles Shareholder Suits Over Sexual Harassment Claims, New York Times
- Building on our workplace commitments, Google Blog
- Australia’s media code won’t allow fair negotiations, Google Blog
- Google Shopping accused of failing to address competition problems, Financial Times
- Making SEO more inclusive w/ Areej AbuAli, Kevin Indig
- Some Google Search Rivals Lose Footing on Android System, Wall Street Journal
Links & Content Marketing
- Link Building: Long Term vs. Short Term Strategies, Siege Media
- SEO vs Traditional Writing Principles: Achieve a Winning Combo, State of Digital
Local & Maps
- Local Service Ads (LSA) Opens to UK, Online Ownership
- How to get cycling directions in Apple Maps for iOS 14, Appleinsider
- Google Maps set to gain new car mode driving UI, 9to5Google
Mobile & Voice
SEO
- A Guide To Bing Search Engine, BrightEdge
- How to Detect and Improve Underperforming Content: A Guide to Optimization, Moz
- Optimizing for Holiday SEO Success, Searchmetrics
- An appeal for more science in SEO, SISTRIX
- Is It Time for SEOs to Adopt a Growth Mindset?: SEO Podcast, RankRanger
- My 8 Best Local SEO Tips for the 2020 Holidays, Moz
PPC
- An Overview of the Microsoft Audience Network, Metric Theory
- Scoop: Google to block election ads after Election Day, Axios
- Get platform-wide brand safety protection, Microsoft Advertising
- The Beginner’s Guide to Designing Display Ads, Koozai
Search Features
- Fact check labels in search results, SearchReSearch
Other Search
