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 is rolling out an updated Google helpful content update/system, I cover everything we are seeing about this update. Google launched the topics search bar refinement feature it has been testing for a while. Google added a disclaimer to the appointment provider links in the local panel. Google Chrome added three new search shortcuts. And 40% of SEOs think link building is as effective as it was years ago.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- December 2022 Google Helpful Content Update Rolling Out With Global Impact
Google has officially confirmed the launch of the second release of the Google helpful content update/system. It started lightly on December 5th but became noticeable, according to Google, on December 6th, which is why Google did not announce it until the 6th. This update adds new signals, most notably making it work for all languages globally - it is not just looking at English content anymore. - Google Launches +Topic Search Bar Refinements After Several Months Of Testing
Back in July we reported that Google was testing a new more dynamic search bar refinement option that adds keywords to the filters at the top under the search bar. Then Google demoed that feature at Search On and this week, Google is now rolling out the feature. - Poll: 40% Of SEOs Say Link Building Is As Effective As It Always Was
We have heard a lot from Google recently that links are just not as significant of a ranking factor in Google Search as they used to be. But 40% of SEOs still feel link building is as effective now compared to a few years ago. 60% of SEOs think it is less effective compared to a few years ago. - Google Local Panel Adds Disclaimer To Appointment Providers Links
Google has added a disclaimer to the appointment provider links that you find in the Google Search local panel and in the Google Maps business listings. The disclaimer partially reads under the "about these providers," adding "providers are listed in random order." - Search Chrome Tabs, Bookmarks & History
Google announced three new ways to search in Chrome - including search your tabs, your bookmarks and your history. You can search with three new site search shortcuts directly built into the Chrome address bar, with @tabs, @bookmarks and @history. - Google Dublin Office Tower Viewer
We saw a tower viewer, those binoculars at the top of buildings, from the Google Brazil office. But did you know the Google Dublin office has one as well? Here is a photo on Instagram I found of this
Other Great Search Threads:
- This is bad. Heads-up to check your Bing listing. It looks like Bing pulls in your Facebook reviews, but then if they're spam and you delete them from FB, they will live on forever on your Bing listing. Now I gotta figure out, Darren Shaw on Twitter
- If you disallow crawling of a page that has a noindex, Google won't see that noindex. Also, robotstxt shouldn't be used as a tool for canonicalization., Gary Illyes on Mastodon
- Sitemap.xml - Should Images (CDN Urls) be in the main sitemap? : TechSEO, Reddit
- Do you like manga? Google has published manga to illustrate How Search Works. It's only available in Japanese at the moment, Kenichi Suzuki on Twitter
- GA4 alert "Partial data shown for date range" Ok, I've never seen this alert before. GA4 surprise me every day. Did you find other alerts?, Matteo Zambon on Twitter
- The story of Googlebot and the cats ..., John Mueller on Mastodon
- Dear SEO Industry, We Need to Talk | LinkedIn, Myriam Jessier
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google Chrome adds 3 site search shortcuts
- Google helpful content system update rolling out now (December 2022 update)
- 4 new Microsoft features, and 5 other December updates
- Ecommerce SEO & UX: 4 simple tips to boost traffic and sales
- Location pages in Google’s crosshairs after October spam update
- Google Search rolls out new search refinements for top bar filters with related topics
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- An introduction to Looker Studio Pro, Google Cloud Blog
- How to use conversions in Google Analytics 4, Wix SEO Hub
Industry & Business
- Google Faces Pressure in Hong Kong Over Search Results for National Anthem, Wall Street Journal
- Google Wins Antitrust Appeal Over Advertising Algorithm Changes, Bloomberg
Links & Content Marketing
- How A Non-Marketing Content Approach Produced Award-Winning Results, Content Marketing Institute
Local & Maps
Mobile & Voice
- Apple Overhauls App Store Pricing to Range From $0.29 to $10,000, Bloomberg
- Google working on faster OTA updates for its Pixel line, PhoneArena
- Microsoft mulls building 'super app' to take on Google, Apple, Yahoo Finance
SEO
- DIY SEO: 4 Questions to Ask Before You Start, BruceClay
- Doing SEO is Better Than..., Bill Hartzer
- How to structure an SEO training session, RankRanger
- Which semantic HTML5 tags to use on what content, Oncrawl
PPC
- 5 ways to get PPC and SEO working together, Startup
- Clarification to Circumventing Systems Policy (December 2022), Google Advertising Policies Help
- How to Create a Negative Keyword List for Google Ads, Koozai
- How to Use Google Ads to Generate Home Improvement Leads?, PPC Expo
- Using PPC Data to Build Your Business & Marketing Strategy, Adam Riemer
Search Features
Other Search
- Giphy is adding alt text to make GIFs more accessible, Engadget
- YouTube is making its own Twitch-like emotes, The Verge
- Google’s Year in Search 2022: Top trending searches of the year, Google Blog
Feedback:
Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, you can follow us on Facebook and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or just contact us the old fashion way.
