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.
Google launched a new version of the products reviews algorithm, this one takes into account the diversity of your outbound links and much more - it is a big post, so dig through it in the link below. Most SEOs said they didn't see changes with the big November core update. Google said human readable sitemaps aren't really necessary. Google's product experts do not get ranking secrets. I posted the big Google December webmaster report, oh boy was it an insane month - make sure to scan the report. Finally, today is the 18th anniversary of the Search Engine Roundtable - I put together a look back at the year with this anniversary post, I think you might like it.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- December 2021 Google Product Reviews Update Rolling Out - What We See So Far
Google is rolling out yet another confirmed Google search ranking algorithm update - the second Google Product Reviews Update of the year. So if you were hit by the April 2021 Google Product Reviews Update, you may see improvements if you made the necessary changes. - December 2021 Google Webmaster Report
What an insanely busy month we had with Google in November 2021! We had a big core update named the November 2021 core update, we had a spam update named the November 2021 spam update and Google said the page experience update is coming to desktop in February 2022. - 18 Years Covering The Search Industry
For the past 18 years I've been writing on this site, covering what you - the search marketers are chattering about. Today marks the 18th anniversary of the Search Engine Roundtable. I've been writing about search for over 40% of my life - which is weird to think about. And I've been doing it consistently every workday, several times per day, even through a pandemic, for 17 years. It is hard for me to fathom that I still can find several new things to write about every single day. - 60% Of SEOs Saw No Changes With The Google November Core Update
Marie Haynes posted another poll asking SEOs what they saw from the Google November 2021 Core Update now that the update is finished rolling out. Most, like 60% of the SEOs that responded said they saw "no obvious change." - Google: Human-Readable List Of Links Like Sitemaps Not Always Necessary
Google's John Mueller said for some sites, you can ignore the Google Webmaster Guidelines that says you should have "a page with a human-readable list of links to these pages (sometimes called a site index or site map page)." John said in some or probably many cases, you don't need to do that. - Google: Our Product Experts Don't Get A Ranking Boost Or Ranking Secrets
Google's John Mueller said on Twitter that the Google Product Experts do not get access to any ranking or SEO secrets. Nor do these Product Exerts get any sort of ranking boost in Google Search for being a Google volunteer. - Google Boulder Office Conference Room Views Are Insane
Here is a photo from inside the Google Boulder office, it looks like a pretty nice conference room but look out of those windows - look at the views of the mountains.
Other Great Search Threads:
- It's immediately read and taken into account incrementally as we continue to reprocess the web. It's unlikely you'd see an immediate strong effect since we discount a lot of junky links automatically anyway., John Mueller on Twitter
- December 2021 AdSense Earnings and Observations, WebmasterWorld
- There are lots of ways you could break a page's "SEO", I imagine you'd know most of them :-). Maybe something just quirked with the server when you switched the homepage out? Usually we recrawl them of, John Mueller on Twitter
- Maybe, maybe not. A sitemap file doesn't replace internal linking. If you think something's important & useful, then show that through internal linking on your site., John Mueller on Twitter
- Twitter Tightens Rules on Sharing Without Consent, WebmasterWorld
Search Engine Land Stories:
- 6 steps to help you prioritize tasks when everything is a priority
- Google December 2021 product reviews update is rolling out now
- 3 SEO metrics to help secure executive-level buy-in
- Demographic audiences deliver twice the reach of narrow interest audiences, according to Facebook
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- How Startups Can Best Use Analytic Tech Reports, Pierre DeBois | Medium
- Why Is It Important to Display Data in a Visual Way?, Seer Interactive
Industry & Business
- Here Are the Pay Cuts Google Staff Get for Leaving Silicon Valley, NYC, Business Insider
Links & Content Marketing
- Content at Scale: Building a Modern, Simplified Approach, Merkle
- Google changes the SEO rules with a small nudge and a big signal, Arhg
Local & Maps
- All Reviews Matter, Meta-Giphy Split, Cyber Monday $100M Short, Near Media
- Update Restaurant Hours for a Single Day, Online Ownership
Mobile & Voice
- Get festive this holiday season with new Android features, Google Blog
- Alexa can now tell you if your washing machine stops or water is running, Engadget
- Apple announces the 2021 App Store Award winners and most downloaded apps of the year, TechCrunch
SEO
- 2021 Semrush Updates: Our Annual Guide, Semrush
- Building High-Performing Content Pillars: Your Ultimate Guide, Semrush
- How to Use Keyword Clustering to Seamlessly Optimize Your SEO Content, Moz
- SEO Content Assistant — the Content Analysis Tool You Need, The Blogsmith
- SEO Split-Test Result: How to Use Headings Effectively, Semrush
- Updated: Inferring Geographic Entity Locations in Queries, Go Fish Digital
PPC
- 7 Tools To See Your Competitors on Google Ads, Inflow
- Five Best PPC Advertising Strategies in 2021, PPC Hero
- Keyword Search Volume: 5 Things You Need to Know to Avoid SEO Mistakes, Ahrefs
Other Search
- Faster Chrome - Let The Compiler do the work, Chromium Blog
- New SISTRIX packages: More Data, Analyses & Functions, for All Users, SISTRIX
Feedback:
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