It is time for the monthly Google Webmaster Report where I sum up the more important organic Google topics for SEOs and webmasters. The big news is that Google had some unconfirmed algorithm updates and one was big that had a larger impact on government sites. Google is going to be removing counterfeit goods from organic search. Google Shopping is going free, even on Google.com. Oh, and Google has a new head of Google Search – Prabhakar Raghavan.

Google Search Console is testing something called Google Search Console Insights. It has a deeper level of integration with Google Analytics and gives you a perspective of your traffic that Search Console previously did not give you. Search Console also added search appearance filters for recipe results.

Google took a stronger stance on guest posts for links, paid or not, they should be nofollowed. Google updated its how search works help document. GoogleBot is able to add products to your shopping cart. Google fixed an issue, partially, with indexing comments powered by Disqus. And you can now get fact labels on images if you want to use ClaimReview schema there.

There is a lot more, both on the SEO front, local side and Google is testing a ton of user interfaces. But they did launch the featured snippet highlight feature after a lot of testing.

The ongoing WebmasterWorld thread is pretty new, not much there right now. And to catch up on last month, check out the June report.

Here are the topics below:

Google Algorithms & Ranking Updates:
A Big Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update Happening Now?
Google Promoted Governmental Web Sites In Its Latest Algorithm Update? The Federal Update.
Google Search Ranking Algorithm Updates Thursday, June 18th
Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update Brewing
The Google Page Experience Scores Will Use AMP Version
Google Will Now Remove Counterfeit Goods From Search

Google Misc:
Google Shopping Free On Google.com, Not Just Google Shopping Tab
Prabhakar Raghavan New Lead Of Google Search; Replaced Ben Gomes
>Google: One-Percent Of Australian Queries Are News Related

Google Search Console:
Google Search Console Insights BETA – Deeper Integration With Analytics
Google Search Console & Google Analytics New Integrated Reports Beta?
Google Search Console Added Search Appearance Filters For Recipes

Google SEO:
Google: All Guests Posts Links Should Be Nofollowed; Paid Or Not
Google Doubles Down On Guest Blog Links: Nofollow Them
Google Updates The How Google Search Works Doc
GoogleBot Is Able To Add Products To Your Shopping Cart
Google Fixed The Disqus Indexing Issues
Disqus Comments May Not Get Indexed Even After Google’s Fix
Google Having Issues Indexing Disqus Comments?
Google Fact Labels On Image Search Results With ClaimReview Schema
Google: Stock Photography For Google Search Does Not Matter
Google: Random Or Unrelated Links Aren’t Necessarily Bad
Google: Landscape Orientation For Web Sites Does Not Impact SEO
Google: Structured Data Does Not Help Us Trust Authority Or Expertise Of Content
Google: We Don’t Explicitly Measure EAT In Search
Google Does Support Nofollow On HTML Link Tag
Google Merchant Center Rendering & Product Data Specification Updates
Google Web Spam Report: 99% Spam Free Search Experience
Google On Brand Based Queries & Search Result Influence
Google Nofollow Change Might Be About Fixing Webmaster Mistakes
The Google Nofollow Change A Ranking Change?
Google: Sites Noticing Indexing Issues Is Not New; Better Search Console Reporting
Preventing Google’s Featured Snippet Scroll Won’t Lead To Snippet Removal
Are You Writing Too Much Content On Your E-Commerce Category Pages For Google?
Google Does Not Rank Pages Before Content Analysis
Google BERT Does Not Determine Content Quality But Helps Understand Your Content
Google: Disavowing Links Would Rarely Help You Algorithmically

Google Local & Maps:
New Google My Business Custom Hours By Category
Google Fixing Bug Where Dealership Service Shops Show Over Main Dealership Local Panel
Google To Close The Door On Garage Door Spam
Google Local Panels Tests Images In Story View
Google Maps Adds Large Button To Support Local Businesses
Google Expands Business Messages In Search & Local
Political & Social Commentary Or Personal Rants Not Allowed On Google Posts
Google Local Panel Box With “Service Update” Box
Google Maps Street View Adds Icon To Launch Business Knowledge Panel
Google Online Care Icon Added To Local Pack

Google User Interface Tests:
Google Featured Snippets Now Highlight Answers On Your Website
Google Tests New Fonts For Search Results Page
Google Tests Star Rich Results With Only One Star Icon
Google Movie & TV Results Slick Hover Over Feature
Google Expanded More Hours Now In Direct Answers
Google How To Schema On Desktop, Now With Images
Google Search Suggestions On Scroll
Google Search Fireworks Show Is Back
A Clever Google Query Modifier
Google Tests Product Image Thumbnails On Desktop
Google Image Search Tests Previous & Next Buttons With Image Previews
Interesting Google Featured Snippet Outlined
Google Pagination Tests With Dancing Google Logo

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.