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:
- Search Buzz Video Recap: Google November Update, Recipe Bug During Thanksgiving, Google Ads Overreporting & The Best SEO At Google
This week we covered more rumors around the Google November update and how John Mueller of Google downplayed the links portion of it. Google's recipe image bug remained an issue through the Thanksgiving cooking season. Google said your robots... - Survey Says: The Best SEO At Google Is John Mueller
It is the Friday after Thanksgiving, so let's have some fun. I ran a very scientific, statistically accurate, and unequivocally clear survey on Twitter (sarcasm) asking which Googler would win an SEO contest. The winner of the poll was John Mueller! - Google: Robot.txt Blank Vs Allow Is No Difference
John Mueller from Google said in a Reddit thread that using a blank robots.txt file or just stating all is allowed in that file is the same thing, it doesn't matter which you use. He said "Doesn't matter" when he was asked Is there a difference? I've always used Dissallow: (blank) as it seems more efficient. But the current client is using Allow: /. - Google My Business Adds Job Types For Services With Services Editor
Google launched yesterday, I believe, on Thanksgiving, a new feature in Google My Business for job types for services. This is where services businesses in the US can choose from suggested types of services. This includes things like "repair toilets" and/or "install faucets" for plumbers. - Google Tests More Spacious Search Result Snippets
The eagle-eyed Sergey Alakov spotted Google testing a taller, more spacious, Google mobile search results user interface. There is simple more vertical space between the search results. Here is a side by side comparison so you can see yourself. - Google Laundry Room
Here is a photo of maybe a Google laundry room? Well, it looks like some demo of Google Lens with laundry. I found it on Instagram taken at the Google London office. Pretty cool shot also! - Google & Bing Thanksgiving 2019 Logos
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Today is a holiday in the United States and I will just post this recap of some of the logos from Google and Bing for the holiday. Google has "hand turkeys" and Bing goes with some fierce looking turkeys on its home page.
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- I love @DuckDuckGo. My default search engine for a while now. The app is even better!, jack on Twitter
- Slight correction #1: the *special matching* is not done in the parser. It's still relying on the parser for traditional matching. Slight correction #2: the special matching might be mentioned, Gary Illyes on Twitter
- The 1st episode of my Youtube series is live! 🤩 Intro to Google Search Console - check it out and subscribe to the webmasters YouTube channel! https://t.co/b1cqgs5wjM, Daniel Waisberg on Twitter
- What's the site you're seeing these issues on, and for which queries? (Also, what's up with the PBN giveaways on your Twitter profile?), John Mueller on Twitter
- Curious how many have quit AdWords, WebmasterWorld
- New Website Potential G SEO Issues, WebmasterWorld
- Sir Tim Berners-Lee: "Contract for the Web" With Backing From Over 80 Organisations, WebmasterWorld
- That's fine to have, but it can make it a bit harder for you to maintain & debug, so I'd recommend using just one kind, if you can., John Mueller on Twitter
- 50 Years since ARPANET to Today's Internet, WebmasterWorld
- That looks really slow, but since it's for a lot more URLs, it'll likely settle down over time (fewer requests = faster responses)., John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Back to basics: Understanding your paid search metrics
- Google cleans up [Christmas]
- Video: Andrea Cruz Lopez on Google Ads expanding match types
Other Great Search Stories:
Industry & Business
- Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey uses DuckDuckGo over Google, The Next Web
- Google accused: Now over 40 rivals call for crackdown on Google Shopping, ZDNet
Links & Promotion Building
- 18 Popular Link Building Tactics You Should Actually Avoid, Search Engine Journal
- New Time-Saver: Compare Related Sites, Majestic Blog
- 5 Ways to Use Social Profiles to Get Quality Links, Search Engine Journal
Local & Maps
- Apple and Google Maps accommodate Russia’s annexation of Crimea, TechCrunch
- People Are Posting Really Weird Stuff On Google Maps At Trump Properties, BuzzFeed News
Mobile & Voice
- All About Fraggles (Fragment + Handle) - Whiteboard Friday, Moz
- Will Microsoft Take on Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri?, Market Realist
SEO
- It's not enough to 'write content'. You have to publish resources., Yoast
- Why Are Title Tags Still Important for SEO?, Seer Interactive
- Google Webmaster Hangout Notes: November 26th 2019, DeepCrawl
- Improving Cross-Functional Relationships to Boost SEO Endeavors, Search Metrics
PPC
- 3 ways to bridge the gap between SEO and PPC, Vertical Leap
