Here is the December 2023 Google webmaster report for all of you. Here I recap what happened and changed with Google Search on the organic space over the past month or so. The big items, the November 2023 core and November 2023 reviews updates rolled out. Google also told us the hidden gems algorithm was live. Google Search got more personalized, new follow feature, notes and more.

The 3 pillars of Google search rankings were exposed. Google is testing a simple search version and added follower/like counts to the results. Google is testing ask a Doctor, new small business features and flight prices. Google added support for new organization markup and profile and discussion forum markup with the corresponding Search Console reports, plus learning vide reports were added to Search Console. Oh, Search Console got rid of the page experience reports, as expected and the crawl rate setting is going away.

There was just a lot this past month, so scan the story headlines below. I try hard to just include the most important and useful stories from all the stories I wrote in the past month.

If you missed last month’s recap see it over here and here are the top headlines for the past month:

Google Algorithms:
Google November 2023 Core Update Is Super Volatile & Super Fast
Google November 2023 Core Update Finished Rolling Out
Google November 2023 Reviews Update Rolls Out
Signs The Google November 2023 Reviews Update Hit This Weekend
Google To Personalize Search Results To Your Previous Searches
Google Hidden Gems Ranking Algorithm Update
Google Search Ranking Volatility – Is It The End Of Reviews Update?
Google Search Algorithm Ranking Update Winter Blast Continues

Google SGE, Bard & AI:
Google Expands Search Generative Experience To More Countries & Adds New Features
Google Bard Can Now Understand YouTube Videos
Google SGE Gift Ideas, Generate Images For Apparel & Men’s Virtual Try On
Google Patent For SGE: Generative Summaries For Search Results
Google SGE Tests Search By Image Feature

Google Search Console:
Google Search Console Redesigns Page Experience Overview Screen
Google Crawl Rate Setting Going Away & Googlebot To Lower Minimum Crawl Speed
Gone: Google Search Console’s Mobile Usability Report & Mobile-Friendly Tests
Google Expands Video Guidelines (Primary Content) Change To Video Mode Results
Google Search Console Adds Learning Video Rich Results Data To Performance Reports
Google Search Console Currently Down (Back Up After 50 Minutes)
Google Search Console Down Again For Many
Google Investigating Issue With Search Console Experience & Enhancement Report URL Declines
Google Merchant Center Automatically Creating Promotions Based On Your Site

Google SEO:
Google’s 3 Pillars Of Search Ranking Via DOJ Documents
Google Adds Organization Structured Data With More Business Details Support
New Google Profile Page & Discussion Forum Structured Data With Search Console Reports
Google: Follower Count Is Not A Google Search Ranking Factor
Google: Expect To See Changes In Search Around Third Party Hosted Content
Google Showing More FAQ Rich Results By Tweaking Which Sites Can Show Them?
Reminder: Google Search Notes Are Public & Can Show In Google’s Search Results
Google Search Adds Vacation Rental Structured Data, Rich Results & Reporting
Google Groups Gets Ranking Boost In Google Search?
Google Search Actively Working On Fixing Obituary Spam Problem
Google: The SEO Value Of Bringing Back A 404 Page Is Less Than The Effort
Google Removed The Robots FAQs Document
Google Won’t Detail How It Uses User Interaction Signals In Search
Danny Sullivan Posts His Google Search Presentation On X
Buckle Up: Google To Make Major Search Ranking Changes
Google Safety Crawler Google Help Documentation

Google User Interface:
Google Search Adds Follow Feature
Google Search Labs Adds Notes To Search Results
Google “Simple Search” – New Search Refinement Option?
Follower Count Fully Live In Google Search Result Snippets
Google Search “Ask A Doctor” PAA
Google Tests New Flight Prices Rich Result?
Google May Be Testing Removing Cache Link From Search Results
Google Tests Line Separators Between Sitelinks
Google Tests Shading Colors Of Favicons – Altering Your Official Favicon
Google Tests Northeast Arrow By Sitelinks
Google Tests “Interview” Label For News Results “For Context”
Google Hanukkah Decorations Are Live For 2023

Google Local & Google Business Profiles:
Not New: Google Announces Small Business Shopping Filter
Google Shopping Search Filter Shows For Local Queries
Google Tests Multiple Local Packs In Search Results As You Scroll
Google Tests Longer Local Justifications From Third Party Sources
Google Local Photos Results With Heart & Other Reactions
New Google Business Profiles Gym Attributes/Amenities
Google Business Profiles New Activities Section
Google Search Local Panel Tests New Reviews Layout

Google Industry/Business:
Head Of Google Ads, Jerry Dischler, Steps Down After 15 Years
Google Sues Over Fraudulent & Weaponized DMCA Takedown Requests

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.