This past month we had a bunch of tremors and somewhat unconfirmed and semi-confirmed Google search algorithmic updates. We also had a big Google Local and Maps update that seems to be about relevancy, not proximity. It was not an insane month of news but it was busy.

On the bug side, Google had a bug with the new meta tags where in some cases pages would be removed from the index. The recipe markup bug is still ongoing, through Thanksgiving. Google may be ignoring the rel=canonical for syndication partners, in some cases. Oh, and Search Console lost data again.

Google got the median time to render for GoogleBot down to 5 seconds, which is super impressive. Google added a method to preview your recipes on smart displays like Google Home Hubs. Google added product result filters to Search Console. And Google updated the video structured data help documents in a big way.

The ongoing WebmasterWorld thread is pretty calm, it was a slow Thanksgiving weekend.

Here are the more important Google webmaster stories over the past month but if you missed the month prior, see here.

Google Algorithms & Updates:
Unconfirmed Google Search Algorithm Ranking Update November 8th
Google Confirmed Search Algorithm Update Rolled Out; Here Is What We Know
Yet More Google Search Ranking Algorithm Tremors Over The Weekend
Did Google Just Confirm The Weekend Google Algorithm Update?
Google Search Result Rankings Had A Very Volatile Week: Tremors All Week?
Google November Core Algorithm Updates Probably Not Just Links
Google My Business Local Listing Update This Week
Google Local Update (Bedlam Update) Related To Relevancy Not Proximity

Google SEO:
New Google Meta Tag Resulted In Pages Not Being Indexed: Now Fixed
Google Ignoring The rel=canonical For Syndication Partners?
Google: Best Approach For Syndication Partners Is To Use rel=canonical
Do Republish Your Content Elsewhere? Google May Rank That Content Above Yours.
Google: Median Time For GoogleBot To Render Is 5 Seconds
Google Search Recipe Bug Continues Into Thanksgiving Cooking Season
Google Workaround To Get Google To Find Noindex Faster
Google: Setting A Geographic Target Doesn’t Prevent Your Site From Showing In Other Locations
Google: Do Not Use Robots.txt To Block Indexing Of URLs With Parameters
Google: There Is No Indexing Limit For Number Of Pages Indexed Per Site
Google Featured Snippets Are Impacted By Algorithmic Updates
Google: Our Production Parser Is Different; The Search Console Parser Uses A Java Port

Google Links:
Google: We Ignore Links From Sites Where Links Are Unlikely To Be Natural
Google Negative SEO Attack Response: These Links Have No Effect
Google: Links Are Between Indexed URLs, If One Side Is Gone, The Link Is Ignored

Google Search Console:
Google Search Console Lost Image Search Click Data Between Nov 14 & 19
Google Rich Results Test Shows Google Home & Smart Display Previews
Product Results Filter Added To Google Search Console Performance Results
Google: Search Console Team Working On “New Email Stuff”
Google Video Structured Data Help Document Gets A Big Update

Google Local, Maps & GMB:
Is Google My Business To Provide Its Own Booking & Reservation System?
Google My Business Adds Job Types For Services With Services Editor
Google My Business Listings Disappear – It’s A Bug
Report: Google Local Q&A Display Bugs Confirmed
Google My Business Limits Businesses To 20 Service Areas

Google User Interface Tests:
Google Dictionary Search Results Add Images
Google Tests Recipe Rich Result Preview; Making It Harder To Go To Publisher
Google Offering Searching Tips When It Can’t Find Search Results
Google Tests More Spacious Search Result Snippets
Google Tests Arrows By Titles In Search Result Snippets
Google Search Tests Grouping Results From Same Domain In Single Box

Google Misc:
Wall Street Journal Is Wrong & Why I Think The Google Story Should Be Retracted

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.