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.
The Google November spam update seems to be significant and making an impact, which I find unusual of a spam update - but hey. Google said it will test out the new IndexNow protocol for instant indexing that Microsoft Bing introduced - I do hope they officially support it. Google released Ads Editor version 1.8. Google said you should not create links to your site, really, Google said that. Google said there is no need for legal interstitials or banner requirements or guidelines from Google Search. Google posted an outstanding video on how to create key moments for your videos. And Google lost a big antitrust case in the EU over shopping search but won a even bigger case in the UK around iOS tracking. It was a busy day...
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- The Google November Spam Update May Have Legs
I am honestly surprised to report that I am seeing the chatter build up around ranking drops since the rollout of the Google November spam update. I am seeing numerous posts from people in the forums and on social that they got hit by this update - some claiming to be 100% white hat and not spammy. - Google May Use IndexNow Protocol For Instant Indexing
Surprise, surprise, Google has confirmed it is testing the new IndexNow protocol that was headed by Microsoft Bing and launched a few weeks ago. I am honestly shocked and I didn't expect Google to participate since the search company has been shy when it comes to pushing content to its index over the years. - Google Ads Editor 1.8 Is Now Available
Google has released version 1.8 of Google Ads Editor. This version has a new overview page, support for additional ad extensions, recommendations for display modes, upgraded match type support, a new sign in process and so much more. - Google: No Need For Legal Interstitials / Banners Requirements Guidelines
Google has said before that legal interstitials are fine and you don't really have to worry about any penalty or ding for those types of legal banners. But John Mueller of Google said the other day that the search company actually thought of coming up with "proposal for implementing legal interstitials / banners" but decided it was not currently needed. - Google: You Shouldn't Be Creating Links To Your Site
Google's John Mueller said on Twitter this morning "you shouldn't be creating links to your site in general." So there you have it - do not create links to your site, he added that he recommends you check out the webmaster guidelines. - Google Video: How Key Moments Work In Videos In Search
Danielle Marshak, Product Manager at Google, posted an absolutely outstanding video on how video key moments work in Google Search and how to get them working for your videos. While the details on the implementation are not new, they have been in the help documents for months, the video walkthrough is new and it is done super well. - Google Loses Antitrust Shopping Search $2.8B Fine But Wins iOS Tracking UK Case $4B Fine
It was a busy morning for Google in the European region; first losing its EU antitrust case for $2.8 billion for abusing search engine dominance by promoting its own shopping service. Then the UK Supreme Court dismissing the case against Google for allegedly tracking iOS Safari users without their consent for $4 billion. - Googleween Is Back: Googlers In-Person, Dressed Up For Halloween
Last year, we did not see any Googlers in Google offices dressed up for Halloween, of course we didn't see anyone together dressed up in Google offices. But this year, we've seen that change and share
Other Great Search Threads:
- 10 things / tips about Search Console performance data you mightn't know about 💡 1/ Position is only recorded when an impression is recorded. 2/ If you only operate in one country, your data will be skewed by default., Andrew Charlton on Twitter
- Want to know a secret? Want to become better at SEO? Seriously - go to the Google Search Central Community (?What muppet changed it to that? Google Webmaster Forums!!! :D) Tons of questions, tons of advice, c, Lyndon NA (Darth Autocrat) on Twitter
- We do try to show a diversity of sites in the search results, but sometimes it just makes sense to show 2 or even more results from the same site. They're essentially normal search results from our point of, John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google publishes the list of Googlebot IP addresses
- The future of marketing starts now. Join Zeta Live November 16-17th, 2021
- Google is testing the IndexNow protocol for sustainability
- 9 ways to level up your search marketing career
- Pricing, deals, and checkout features now live in Microsoft Bing Shopping
- Google Keyword Planner Tool gains year-over-year, 3-month change and trends data
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- 6 Real-World Uses of Regex in Google Analytics, Annielytics
- Advanced Guide to Page View Tracking in Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Online Metrics
- Channel Grouping (Other) and how to fix it in Google Analytics, GlowMetrics
- Embedded Twitch Streaming Video Tracking for Google Analytics with GTM, Adswerve
- Google Analytics Manage Users Permission Has Been Replaced, Cost And Revenue Metric Restrictions Now Available, tl;dr Marketing
Industry & Business
- You.com lands $20M Series A to reimagine the search engine, TechCrunch
- Google loses battle with EU as court upholds 2017 order, CNBC
- Google Wins Dismissal of Data Privacy Suit by U.K. Top Court, Bloomberg
Links & Content Marketing
- 7 Things Content Marketers Told Us About Video [New Research], Content Marketing Institute
Local & Maps
- Google Maps gets Material You bottom bar redesign, 9to5Google
- Google Maps on iOS now has a dark mode, here’s how to enable it, The Verge
- Local SEO for 'Adult' Businesses is Beyond Crazy, Online Ownership
Mobile & Voice
- Google tests Project Relate, a voice recognition and synthesis app for people with speech impairments, TechCrunch
- Lamborghini Connects Alexa to what3words Voice Navigation, Voicebot
SEO
- 13 Ways to Use CTR Data for Your SEO Campaigns, SEO Clarity
- 6 Ways Your Enterprise Can Improve Authority with E-A-T Principles, iPullRank
- Analyze Search Intent Instantly with Semrush, Semrush
- Googlebot currently unable to crawl/access many Siteground hosted websites, Matt Tutt
- How Many Keywords Per Page Should You Use?, Dan Rich
- How you can use multilingual SEO to generate more organic traffic, Oncrawl
- Meta Tags for SEO - Ones You Need, and Ones You Don’t, Koozai
- The Low-down on IndexNow From Mr. Bingbot (Fabrice Canel and Jason Barnard), Jason Barnard
PPC
- 8 Perilous PPC Mistakes to Avoid This Holiday Season, WordStream
- Finding Competitive & Data Insights using the Auction Insights Report, Adalysis
- Google's Local Services Ads: Understanding the Ranking Factors, DAGMAR
Search Features
- Shop what’s trending this holiday season, Google Blog
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