Welcome to 2023, and with that, here is our Google webmaster report for 2023 – where we summarize the bigger Google SEO-related changes in the past month. The big items were the release of the December 2022 helpful content update and the December 2022 link spam update – those should be done soon, I think.

Google also revamped its search quality raters guidelines and added an E to E-E-A-T. Google revealed the names of some search features. Google also launched continuous scroll on desktop and the dynamic topic refinemnts in Search. Also, Google is testing a neat feature that lets you search in video.

Google is also testing content ideas in Search Console. Google also has a new status dashboard for search, it is shutting down Question Hub, Web light and Duplex.

If you missed last month, check out the December Google report.

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

Google Algorithm Updates:
December 2022 Google Helpful Content Update Rolling Out With Global Impact
Google Unleashes December 2022 Link Spam Update With SpamBrain AI
Google Helpful Content Update & Link Spam Update Still Making SERP Turbulence
December 2022 Google Helpful Content Update Taking Longer, Said Google
Google Helpful Content Update & Link Spam Update Delayed Rollout Due To Holidays
Google December 2022 Link Spam Update’s Impact
New Google Search Algorithm Ranking Fluctuations On December 26th
Large Google Search Ranking Algorithm Updates & Volatility Continues

Google SEO:
E-E-A-T – “Experience” Added To Revised Search Quality Raters Guidelines
Google Gives Official Names Of Some Search Features With Visual Elements Gallery
Google: No Core Update During Remainder Of The Year
Google: There Is No Helpful Content Score Or Threshold
Google: Your Content Does Not Need To Be Niche, It Can Be Diverse – Just Write For Your People
Google On Pages Popping In & Out Of The Google Index
Google SafeSearch Can Be Triggered By Use Of Explicit & Extreme Cursing
Google: Our Search Algorithm Doesn’t Look At Words Per Section
Google: Spam Update Hits Won’t Be Fixed By Removal Internal Duplicate Content
Google: Building Your Site On Bad Links Over Time Will Have A Lasting Effect
Google: “Here” Is Bad Link Text
Google: Links On YouTube Won’t Help Your Google Rankings & SEO
Google:Unique Text, Infographics & Video Does Not Make Content Good, Accurate & Helpful
Google: Ignore Spammy Links Even When A Whole Penalized Site Is Redirected To You
500/503 HTTP Status Code On Robots.txt Can Remove Your Site From Google Search
2023 Edition: Google Says Only Update The Date When Significantly Updating The Content
Google: Using A CDN Or Cloud Hosting, Set Up Routine Tests To Ensure Googlebot Is Not Blocked
Google Clarifies Using Noindex & 404 Status Codes For Crawl Budget Optimization

Google Search & Search Console:
Google Search Console Content Ideas – Experimental Feature
New Google Search Status Dashboard Tells Us When Crawling, Indexing Or Serving Goes Down
Google Shutting Down Question Hub Next Month
Google Stops Using Web Light To Serve Lighter/Faster Version Of Your Pages
Google Search Console: Sites Using Subscribe With Google May See Increase In Impressions & Clicks
New Retired Google Crawlers Document With DuplexWeb-Google Being Retired

Google User Interface:
Official: Google Continuous Scroll Now On Desktop Search
Google Launches +Topic Search Bar Refinements After Several Months Of Testing
Google Search In Video
Google Search Testing New Desktop Search User Interface Design
Google Search Product Listings With Price History Graph
Google Featured Snippet Perspectives Now Live On Mobile?
Google Tests +Topic Search Bar Refinements On Desktop After Launching On Mobile
Google Search Things To Do Carousel Gains More Details In Scroll Window
Google Tests About Carousel For Websites
Google Search Adds Grammar Check Feature
Google Search Tests Short Product Reviews In Image Thumbnails

Google Local & Maps:
Google’s New Local Pack Full Design Now Live?
Google Business Profile Web Search Interface Gains Add Map To Your Website
Google Testing Displaying Local Business Profiles In Google Discover
Google Top Products Added To Business Profiles Performance Reports
Google Business Profiles Services Now Displays On Desktop Interface
Google Business Profile Photo Uploads Processing Notice & Pending Label On Photos

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.