It was yet another busy month in terms of Google algorithm updates, all of which are unconfirmed. But we had six, maybe seven, unconfirmed updates in March. This is all while we wait for the next Google core update. The good news, featured snippets returned to normal levels in the Google search results.

There was a lot of debate around a new zero click study that Google disputed and then Rand Fishkin added more clarity to later.

I covered a lot of information around the Page Experience Update and core web vitals, including how it might roll out, the updated FAQs, how top stories won’t need the core web vitals to be cleared for eligibility and much more. I also covered how Google has one last batch of sites to move over to mobile-first indexing in the upcoming month or two.

Google came out with free hotel listings this month. Google released new rich results for practice problems and math solvers, and released a bunch of Search Console features or updates. Plus there was a lot of topics on the local front including two-pack testing and suspension notices and more.

There are a lot of these details categorized below, plus if you missed the March report catch it here. Finally, the ongoing WebmasterWorld thread has discussions around a possible reversal of the latest update – I may cover that later – maybe. It might just be Easter weekend slowness, so hard to tell.

Google Algorithm & Ranking Updates:
Google March 2021 Search Ranking Algorithm Update
Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update/Instability Over Weekend
Large Unconfirmed Google Local Search Algorithm Update Yesterday
Yet Another Unconfirmed Google Search Ranking Update Last Night
March 19th Google Search Ranking & Algorithm Tremors
Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update This Weekend?
Featured Snippets Back To Normal Levels In Google Search

Google Page Experience Update & Core Web Vitals:
Google Page Experience Update Rollout: Slowly Or Abruptly
Google Updated The Core Web Vitals & Page Experience FAQs
Google: Core Web Vitals Does Not Need To Be Met For Top Stories Inclusion
Google: Bad Idea To Make Your Images Low Quality To Improve Core Web Vital Scores
Can Browser Extensions Impact Your Google Core Web Vitals Scores?
Google: Pages With Core Web Vitals May Have Tiny Ranking Advantage
Many SEOs Will Prioritize Core Web Vitals Google Page Experience Efforts

SEO:
Google To Move Last Batch Of Sites To Mobile-First Indexing Soon
Google’s New Free Hotel Listings Option
Google PageSpeed Insights Now Supports HTTP/2 – Scores Might Go Up
Google Search More Critical Of E-Commerce Sites That Sell Medical Equipment
Video: E-Commerce & Products In Google Search
Google Video SEO Tips In New Video & Updated Help Docs
Google Limits Key Moments Feature To Small Set Of Video Providers
Google To Update Robots.txt & Robots Tags Help Docs – Asks For Feedback
Google Added To The Help Documentation For Meta Robots Directive
Google On When To Canonical Category Landing Pages To Others: It Depends.
Google: Words In A URL A Very Light Weight Factor But Less After Indexing
Google Officially Adds Full Coverage News Links From Search Results
Google News Algorithmic Inclusion Is A Failure For Publishers

Google Search Console:
New Google Structured Data & Debugging Tools For Practice Problems & Math Solver Search Results
Google Adds Free Property To Dataset Structured Data Docs
Google Search Console Job Posting Rich Results Report Change
Google Search Console Q&A and FAQ Reports Upgraded
Google Crawl Stats Report Internal Data Issues March 10-23, 2021
Google Search Console Security Notice For SharedArrayBuffers

Zero Click Google Study:
Study Says 65% Of Google Searches Do Not Click On Results But Should They?
Google Disputes Zero Click Study, Shares More Data, But It’s Not Enough
Rand Updates Metrics On Zero Click Study; Google, It’s Now Your Turn

Google Local, Maps & Google My Business:
Google Search Dropping Three Pack For Two Pack (Local Results)
Google Local Tests Estimated Prices Near You (Local Service Ads)
Google My Business Suspension Email Notifications
Google My Business Review Removal Request Status Tool
Google New Label For Local Business Reviews Now Live
Not Helpful Button On Google Local Reviews
Google Maps To Improve Curbside Pickup & Delivery Features
Creepy: Google Maps Street View Images For Service Area Home Businesses
Google Local Adds Custom Order URLs To Online Order CTA

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.