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 Asks What Do SEOs Do? Help Us Highlight Your Work.
Google's John Mueller asked SEOs on Twitter to describe what they do, to a developer/coder/engineer. It looks like Google is looking to add more information about why developers should hire or consult with SEOs to their developer docs, maybe the why hire an SEO document? - Google Finds Content Via Links & Sitemaps; In That Order
Google's Gary Illyes said at PubCon last week that Google finds content mostly through links and XML Sitemaps. He said the number one way is through links, crawling links on the web and the number two way is through XML Sitemaps. - Google: Regional Hreflang Markup Not Coming Soon
Google's John Mueller said on Twitter he was surprised that so many international SEOs were interested in Google supporting regional hreflang markup. He thought hreflang was complex enough, to support another layer, would be overboard. - Google Red Live Label & Live Blogs Schema Going Away?
Back in 2015 Google launched a test of showing a red live label in the Google search results for blogs and publishers that covered events live. It looks like Google removed support for it, but it is unclear if Google is going to kill the feature completely or just keep testing it. - Google Local Pack Results Add Book & Schedule Buttons
Google has added the ability to book reservations or schedule appointments directly from the local pack. This is a feature from the Reserve with Google platform but now it has surfaced directly in the local pack results. - Google White Objects Hallway
I am not really sure what this is, but it looks like a bunch of objects pasted to the walls and ceilings at Google in this hallway. It was posted on Instagram and Kamila who posted it quoted Steven Le
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- That connection seems a bit stretched..., John Mueller on Twitter
- Whew :). I passed @Jammer_Volts & @originalelliott 's URLs on to the team, and they appreciated that feedback. Happy to pass on more if anyone has any, but I think the team found some things to improve already :).… https://t., John Mueller on Twitter
- 'Navigate' query prompts Google to ask, 'Where do you want to go?' https://t.co/Pc3JGs65lQ…, Barry Schwartz on Twitter
- #GoogleAdsUpdates Starting October 30, 2018, parallel tracking will be required for all Google Ads accounts, to ensure a better landing page experience for users. Read more here ➡ https://t.co/54H5WvC50i… https://t.co/numm9n4S, Google Ads on Twitter
- Hreflang & duplicate content on mulit-language website, Stack Exchange
- It surprises a lot how many SEOs rarely directly look at the SERPs, but do that only through “the 👀 “ of a tool. Shame! Look at them & youl’ll: 1) see clearly the search intent detected by Google 2) see how to form, Gianluca Fiorelli on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google lets users delete search data & control ad settings from Google Search page
- Bing exec: Microsoft’s AI is giving it the ‘right to innovate’
- Bing resolves backlog with its Webmaster Tools URL submission tool
- Yext creating local knowledge graph, adds Snapchat to data network
- Google Search Console is sending notices for slow loading pages
- Google responds to large ad fraud operation that utilized more than 125 Android apps
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- B2B Marketing Attribution: Models, Tools, and Processes, Conversion XL
- Custom Tables in Google Analytics 360: When to Use Them & How, Seer Interactive
- The Most Important Metrics Your Business Team Should Be Using in Google Analytics, Nimble
- 7 KPIs to Measure Traditional Media Buy Success with Digital Analytics, State of Digital
Industry & Business
- Google Is Putting More Privacy Controls Directly in Search, Wired
- Making it easier to control your data, directly in Google products, Google Blog
Links & Promotion Building
Local & Maps
Mobile & Voice
- Amazon Alexa goes AWOL for many users, TechCrunch
- Google Assistant lists and notes integration begins rolling out, 9to5Google
SEO
- When the Topic Cluster Model Doesn't Work, Siege Media
- Find out how much SEO your website needs - with stats on SEO audit fails, Vertical Leap
- How to Break into China‘s Market: Best Practices for Baidu SEO, SEM Rush
- Misusing the Chrome User Experience Report, ohgm
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