Welcome to the big Google Webmaster Report for December 2022, the last one for the 2022 year. It was a fun 30 days or so; we learned a lot. The VP of Google Search, Hyung-Jin Kim, told us E-A-T is used everywhere and that there was a Coati algorithm that replaced Panda. Talking about algorithms, we had zero confirmed algorithm updates in the past month but a bunch of unconfirmed updates. Google also documented its more notable Google algorithm updates, calling updates now systems.

Google added a new spam policy to trump all spam policies, a catch-all, if you will. We heard more about Google’s stance on AI content and how links are not as important. Oh and we are still at our last batch of desktop-first indexing.

There was just a lot, like November webmaster report. Oh, and we still have ongoing chatter from the last unconfirmed update.

Here are the top headlines specific to Google SEO and webmaster topics from the past thirty-days:

Google Algorithm Updates
Thanksgiving Holiday Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update – Maybe…
Yet Another Weekend Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update – November 18th – 20th
Another Weekend Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update – November 11th – 12th
Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update November 4th and 5th – Unconfirmed
Google Coati Algorithm – The Google Update You Never Heard Of
Google Documents Search Ranking Updates As Systems; Labels Live Or Archived Notable Algorithms

Google SEO
Google: E-A-T Applies To Every Single Query
Google’s New Spam Policy: Policy Circumvention
More From Google On AI Content – It’s About If The Content Is Helpful
Google: Links Have A Lot Less Significant Impact For Ranking Today
Google: Links Will Be Less Important As A Ranking Factor In The Future
Google: Last Batch Of Sites Moving To Mobile-First Indexing Coming Soon, Again
Google: We Have Algorithms To Detect & Demote AI Altered Plagiarized Content
Google: Rich Results Manual Actions Can Lead To Removal Of Rich Results & Broader Spam Penalties
Poll: SEOs Are Mixed On Importance Of Domain Age For Google Rankings
Google: If Your Most Important Page Is Terrible, Then That Is Not Good For SEO
Google: HTTP/3 Likely Won’t Help Your SEO
Google: URLs Don’t Have To Be In Same Language As Content Of The Page
Google’s John Mueller On When To Use Subdomains
Google Rewriting Your Titles Is Not A Sign Of A Quality Issue, Said Google
Google Recommends Dot Over Commas Numerical Separators In Review Snippet Structured Data
Google: We Pick Up On URL Patterns That Don’t Work But Should Slow Crawling Those URLs
Matt Cutts Fought With Sergey Brin & Larry Page On That Google Search Can Be Spammed

Google Search Console
Google Improved The Search Console Discover Performance Report
Google Search Console Goes Adds Shopping & Merchant Features
Google Removes Search Features Bug Confirmation & Replaces It With Google Discover Search Console Reporting Error
Google Search Features Bug Impacted Top Stories & Other Features On October 18th & 19th
New Google Merchant Center User Interface Being Tested

Google Search User Interface
Finally: Google Adds Lens Button To Desktop Homepage Search Bar
Google AR Products & Clippable Coupons Live
Google Search Adds New Ways To Find Deals While Shopping
Google Rolls Out Multisearch, Lens, AR, Maps & Other Expanded Search Features
Google Tests New Site Name & Favicon On Desktop Results
Google Tests Map Interface Within Search Result Snippets For That Company
Google Search Tests New Box “Maps On This Topic” & “From Your Subscriptions”
Google Local Reviews Bar Representing Positive Vs. Unfavorable Mentions
Google Tests New People Also Ask User Interface
Google Tests Carousel Format For Things To Know
Google Maps Tests New Sidebar Navigation
Google Tests Picture In Picture For Videos In Search Results
Google Search Shopping Pre-Owned Green Leaf Labels
Google Tests Multiple Size Sitelinks Designs

Google Local & Maps
Google Business Profile Manager Redirecting To Google Search
Google Sues Company That Impersonates Google Through Scammy Telemarketing Calls
Google Business Profiles Now Offering Suggested Services Areas
Google Business Profiles Now Showing Review Time For Some Edits
Google Business Profile Can Notate Previous Location
Google Shows Download Your Google Business Profile Data When You Remove Your Listing
Google Posts / Updates Adds Cropping Photo Tool

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