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:
- A Google Search Algorithm Update Over December 15th Weekend
It looks like over the weekend, starting maybe this past Friday or Saturday and picking up speed on Sunday that Google pushed out another search ranking algorithm update. I saw chatter from the SEO community over the weekend and the automated tracking tools are also picking up signs of an update. - Google: You Can Ignore Negative SEO Threats
Google's John Mueller said it again, you can ignore negative SEO threats, attacks, blackmail and other manipulative attempts to get you to do something you do not want to do. John simply said on Twitter "You can just ignore it." - Google Tests Expandable More People Carousel
Google seems to be testing an expandable "more people" carousel. So instead of jumping to the person details when you click on a specific person, Google will load more details about the people in the carousel. Here are screen shots of this from Valentin Pletzer. - Google's John Mueller On The Medic Update: Improve The Whole Site
It has been a while since we talked about the Google Medic Update, the big August 1st update, that seemed to have been one of the largest core ranking updates from Google this year. John Mueller from Google chimed in about it on Reddit basically suggesting that when looking at it, you shouldn't look at things like H1 tags but rather look at the site overall. - Google: Links Within iFrames Can Be Interpreted Multiple Ways
Google's John Mueller said that when it comes to links within iFrames, Google can interpret those links in multiple ways. So if you want Google to follow a link a specific way, then don't set up your links in a way that can confuse Google. - The SEO Cave
Here is a photo of a cave, I believe somewhere in Vietnam, that is named the "SEO Cave." The photo was taken by Eli Schwartz and posted on Facebook with permission to post over here.
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
- I really like property sets, but I think they're much too complicated for the average user. With my various test sites, verification also flakes out from time to time, and it throws everything off in sets. Feedback & use-cases, John Mueller on Twitter
- The "." (period) is just there to mark the end of the sentence (like with the other examples referenced in the doc). I'll pass your feedback on to the folks. Thanks for poking into the details here!… https://t.co/GRt8Cpqz26, John Mueller on Twitter
- New York Times hides job ad in source code, WebmasterWorld
- If you're doing an info-query, then you might as well just pull up the tool :)…, John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- SMX West Early Bird rates expire Saturday – book now!
- All the ABM metrics to measure for your quarterly reporting
- Google Posts decline in traffic leave many to wonder if strategy is worth the time
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
Industry & Business
- Google Hudson Square: our expanded New York campus, Google Blog
- Google's Secret China Project "Effectively Ended" After Fight, The Intercept
- Russian interference in Trump's election – report prepared for US Senate, 9to5Google
Links & Promotion Building
- Search Intent: The Key to SEO & Content Marketing Success, Online Marketing Blog
Local & Maps
Mobile & Voice
- Google finally rolls the new Discover out to the Google beta app, Android Police
- Google is testing a new UI for Assistant that puts Explore and your visual snapshot in the bottom bar, Android Police
SEO
- An SEO's Letter to Santa: All I Want for Christmas This Year, Search Engine Journal
- Google Webmaster Hangout Notes: December 14th 2018, DeepCrawl
- The Chrome User Experience Report: Retain More Users, Stone Temple
PPC
- AdWords API v201802 sunset reminder, Google Ads Developer Blog
- How to Do Keyword Research in 2019 for Maximum Traffic, Search Engine Journal
