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:
- New Google Livestream Support In Search With Structured Data & Indexing API
Google now supports showing livestreams in the search results and in Google Assistant. Google added structured data to help Google understand the information in the live stream and also added using the Indexing API to support communicating the new live stream to Google quickly. - Matt Cutts: Google Index Was Cursed In The Month Of March
There is this outstanding article from The New Yorker named The Friendship That Made Google Huge. It talks about how Googlers Jeff Dean and Sanjay Ghemawat fixed code and server problems, with the rest of the team, in the early days. - Most SEOs Think Google Shouldn't Delist A Hacked Site
As you know, Search Engine Land was delisted from Google's search results for most of the day on Friday because a bug in Google's hack sites classifier labeled the site as being hacked. Colin McDermott ran a Twitter poll asking if Google should delist the site or just issue a warning. 2/3rds of those who responded said Google should just issue a warning. - Google Images Best Practices Guide Updated, But What Changed?
Google announced yesterday on Twitter that they updated their Google Images best practices guide. I did a compare of the old and new pages, and for the most part, it seems like there is no new specific advice. They cleaned up some of the text and page but I think the advice did not change - unless I am missing something? - Google: Canonical Tags May Not Work With Other Inconsistent Signals, Like Redirects
Aaseesh from Google responded to a complaint about Google not picking up on a web site's canonical tags. He said that "even if you setup the canonical tags properly, other signals like inconsistent redirects can make Google not select your preferred URL." - Google's New LA Office In Historic California Hangar
Here is a photo of the new Google LA office which is in a restored historic California hangar named Spruce Goose Hangar. This photo was shared by @Maderayconstruc and links to more details over here
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- Beyond the email & log files, if you're wondering if a site has been moved to mobile-first indexing, you can use the URL inspection tool and look for "Crawled as". It will show Smartphone or Desktop. And I've seen this show Smartp, Glenn Gabe on Twitter
- I'd avoid randomly changing URLs regardless of the type of content.…, John Mueller on Twitter
- Ideally a page would really return 404 if it's gone.…, John Mueller on Twitter
- Oh my Twitter finger was itching..…, Matt Cutts on Twitter
- Search Console Reporting Mobile Issues when there are none, WebmasterWorld
- We generally ignore those kinds of links anyway, but if you're ever worried or uncertain, I'd just use the disavow links tool and submit the domains there. It's pretty quick & easy.… https://t.co/bc8SyKb81C, John Mueller on Twitter
- @rustybrick @henshaw Google test price, size and category filters on google shopping results (in USA). @JohnMu @pedrodias @aleyda… https://t.co/5EVatOW6FI, Nabeel Ahmed on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google rolling out more features for responsive search ads, adding 10 languages
- Missed opportunities: Here’s a checklist to stay on track
- Google shutting down Allo, where Google Assistant made its debut
- What we learned when Google deindexed our site for a day
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- 6 Ways to get data from SQL Server into Google Data Studio, Analytics Canvas
- How To Know Your Email Marketing Is Successful: The Metrics You Should Be Tracking, Inbound Rocket
- Master the Art of Advanced Segments in Google Analytics, Life With Data
Industry & Business
- Proposed copyright rules: bad for small publishers, European consumers and online services, Google Blog
Links & Promotion Building
Local & Maps
Mobile & Voice
SEO
- How to Protect a #1 Ranking (When Your Pesky Competitors Are Trying to Take You Down), SEM Rush
- You have to know the past to understand the present - Case Study Patient.co.uk, SISTRIX
PPC
- Google mistakenly floods internet with dummy ads, Irish Times
- Google releases Chrome 71 with features to block abusive ads, The Verge
- New Google Ad Position Metrics, PPC Hero
Search Features
- Reducing gender bias in Google Translate, Google Blog
Other Search
- Yoast SEO 9.1 Vulnerability Explained, Search Engine Journal
