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.
The Google search fluctuations have not slowed down, this weekend the volatility was just as high or higher than previous days. Google said it looks at language on a page by page basis. Google said ghost directories do not impact SEO. Google is testing more interactive search quizzes. Google Ads is testing new ad icons. I also post part one of my vlog with Colt Sliva on becoming an SEO engineer.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google Search Ranking Algorithm Tremors Continue & It's Big
Are you dizzy yet? The Google search results are still super volatile and we are seeing high levels of chatter spike back up over the past 24 to 48 hours and the tracking tools are also running incredibly hot. There is just so much going on right now in Google Search for an SEO that taking off for Christmas might not be an option for many. In short, the chatter and fluctuations have continued and they actually spiked in a big way on December 18th. - Google: Ghost Directories Don't Impact SEO Or Rankings
Google's John Mueller said on Reddit that Ghost directories do not impact SEO or have an effect on your Google rankings. John replied to a thread about this saying "no effect." - Google: We Look At Language On A Per Page Basis, Not Site Wide Basis
This is just a reminder, that Google says it does not look at the language of your site overall but rather the language of each of your individual pages on your site. So you can have some pages in English, some in Spanish, some in Hebrew, etc. Just don't mix the languages on the same page, the same URL. - SEO Hired To Gain Links Hacked The Client's Related Site To Acquire Those Links
Image you hire an SEO company for SEO services and they email you the links they acquired for you and in that report it shows a link from a site you own. But you didn't sell any links on your sites, so you then realize the SEO company hacked your other site to get that link for you. - Vlog #151: Colt Sliva On Becoming A SEO Engineer & Visualizing Search Graphs
Colt Sliva came out to my outside office spot to chat SEO with me. I asked him a bunch of personal questions to start, to make him tense up - just kidding. We spoke about his career, he is the SEO engineer at iPullRank... - Google Ads Adds New Icons & Workspace Filter
Google Ads is rolling out new icons and a workspace filter to some accounts and eagle eyes advertisers are noticing it. Menachem Ani and Brett Bodofsky both tweeted about it the other day. - Google Search Interactive Quizzes Test?
Saijo George spotted a possible Google Search testing related to more quizzes in the search results. He spotted these for vocabulary, geography, entertainment, and others and posted about it on Twitter. - Google Fiber Splice Box Fire Damage For Google Datacenter - 100Tbps Capacity
Urs Hölzle, the Senior Vice President of Engineering at Google, shared a photo on Twitter on Friday of a Google fiber splice box that caught on fire in a rural area of South Carolina. That caused a G
Other Great Search Threads:
- #googleads showing new notification on bid strategy and conversions. I am trying to understand how to understand this notification! Guess need to learn more! #PPC any comment #ppcchat? https://t.co/Md5OxBOPwv, Armina Fareed on Twitter
- I can't quite tell from your post, but it sounds like that would make geotargeting impossible. Hreflang isn't a replacement for geotargeting. Not all sites need geotargeting though (most, John Mueller on Twitter
- I think you're asking whether Google can tell if "a friend" just really likes your site, or if you're spamming. The simple answer is that those are very different situa, John Mueller on Twitter
- Love this analogy from @MichaelLewittes in the latest Search Central Hangout w/@johnmu about improving a site overall versus trying to find that one thing (or just a few) that's keeping a site down. Think of your website like a house, Glenn Gabe on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
- December 20: The latest jobs in search marketing
- Bing launches travel-oriented results pages and a trip-planning hub
- Why running digital commerce campaigns without a CDP is running blindly
- How to optimize your site for better findability
- How to gain SEO insights using data segmentation
- Google Maps adds dock to bottom
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Digital Debrief – Where did my Bounce Rate go?? Meet Engaged Sessions in GA4, Krista Seiden
- Square improves conversion measurement securely with Server-Side Tagging, Google
- Why You Shouldn't Wait to Set Up Google Analytics 4, Cypress North
Industry & Business
- Exclusive: California probes Google's treatment of Black female workers, Reuters
- Google still ran ads on climate denial, despite promising to stop, The Verge
- Why Google News Showcase US launch could be delayed (again), Press Gazette
- Google buys big Mountain View building next to Googleplex headquarters, Mercury News
- Competitive Keyword Advertising Claim Fails-Reflex Media v. Luxy, Eric Goldman
- YouTube TV Reaches Deal To Bring Back Disney-Owned Channels Including ESPN, Disney Channel, & ABC, The Streamable
- Some Google employees may resign if not offered flexibility over remote working, Computing
Links & Content Marketing
- 4 User-Generated Content Ideas (and Tools To Check If They Work), Content Marketing Institute
Local & Maps
- Patent troll hits Apple with second lawsuit over Apple Maps, AppleInsider
- This archaeologist fights tomb raiders with Google Earth, Google Blog
- Waze will start showing EV charging stations along your route, 9to5Google
- Navigational Apps for the Blind Could Have a Broader Appeal, New York Times
Mobile & Voice
- Apple Should Sell Bigger iPad for Smart Home; Amazon Echo Show 15 Review, Bloomberg
- Google's Stereo Pair feature is breaking volume controls, 9to5Google
SEO
- Google Mum Update, Go Fish Digital
- SEO Split Test Result: Does Adding the Category Name to Product Page Titles Make a Difference?, Semrush
- JavaScript and Google Indexation: Test Results Reveal What Works for Search, SEO Clarity
- The Complete Guide to Private Proxies and How They are Disrupting SEO, TechStory
PPC
- Google Ads Resources for the Novice or Expert, PPC Hero
- Google Ads API and Google Ads scripts issues on Dec 17, Google Ads Developer Blog
Search Features
- Save time and money with Travel from Microsoft Bing, Bing Search Blog
Other Search
- Understanding the Impact of Apache Log4j Vulnerability, Google Online Security Blog
- Apache Log4j Vulnerability, Google Online Security Blog
Feedback:
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