Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
FYI, the volatility picked up with that Google search ranking update I reported about a couple of days ago. Google is testing a new mobile search interface where the search menu is on the left side in an overlay. Google says stop using 403s or 404s to reduce Googlebot crawling. Google said not all Googlebots render the page. Google is testing knowledge panels that scroll and expand. Bing is testing an animated more menu. Plus, I posted my weekly SEO video recap – it goes down the rabbit hole of AI search and EEEAT.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
Search News Buzz Video Recap: Big Google Search Update, Google Ads Bug, New Link Best Practices & More On Bing AI Search
What a week, we had another big unconfirmed Google search ranking algorithm update. Google Ads had a pretty massive bug with campaign disapprovals and suspensions. Google published a new SEO link best practices. Google has implied its guidelines…
Google: Stop Using 403s or 404s To Reduce Googlebot Crawl Rates
Gary Illyes posted a new blog post on the Google Search Central site asking all of you to stop using 403 and 404 server status codes to reduce the crawl rate of Googlebot. He said they have seen an uptick in the number of sites and CDNs doing this and they need to cut it out.
Google: Not All Googlebots Use Same Rendering Engine & Render JavaScript
John Mueller of Google said not all Googlebots use the same rendering engine, in fact, not all Googlebots need to do rendering John added. So while the main desktop and mobile Google search crawlers, the main Googlebots, do rendering and render JavaScript pretty well, not all the Googlebots do or need to.
Google Mobile Tests Search Menu On Left Side Bar
Several months ago, Google tested displaying a left-hand sidebar filter on the desktop search interface. Google is doing something similar on mobile search, but now they are tucking the search menu items, video, images, maps, etc., in a left bar menu.
Scrollable & Expandable Google Knowledge Panel
Did you see the scrollable and expandable features in some user experiences with the Google Search knowledge panel and answer boxes?Well, here are examples of both – I am not sure if they are new, for some reason, I don’t think they are – but I don’t think I’ve covered it before.
Bing Featured Snippet More Expansion Button
Microsoft Bing has added a “more” button on some featured snippets in the mobile search interface. When you click on the more button, there is this brief and subtle animation that opens up more details from the site.
Google Dungeons
Okay, this is fake but I found it funny. Mike Ryan shared on Twitter these Google looking, Googley, dungeons. One looks even to be made of large lego.
Other Great Search Threads:
(What is cascading sampling?) Anyway, I suspect it’s nothing controversial, but I’ll poke around and see if I can dig something up for you all (and the 172.3k people reading, John Mueller on Twitter
If you only listen to one Raquel Welsh link today, make it @internetarchive‘s 80s treasure. Abdominal breathing exercises (🪑 not included) before it was cool. “When you let go of your body, you’ll notice that your t, Dan Brickley on Twitter
Site ranks only for its brand name in incognito mode, WebmasterWorld
The cheese penalty, definitely., John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
Google publishes new link best practices
Bing’s new ChatGPT has multiple personalities
Ex-Googler: Ad revenue is hiding Google’s fundamental problems
3 questions SEOs are fielding in the wake of AI-powered search
3 new Google Analytics 4 updates
New Bing is mind-blowingly fast and better than I expected
If your Google ads are disapproved, don’t panic just yet
Understanding the key differences between the top video game ad networks and exchanges
Google is testing ways to allow Android apps to track you, but not really
Local search in 2023: Key trends and tactics for marketers
How to create an effective Facebook advertising campaign in 2023
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
CallRail Launches Google Analytics 4 Integration, MarTech Series
Industry & Business
Hundreds of Google Staff in Zurich Stage Walkout Over Job Cuts, Bloomberg
The maze is in the mouse. What ails Google. And how it can turn…, Praveen Seshadri
Microsoft’s AI Chatbot Finds Early Success in Bing Searches, Bloomberg
Links & Content Marketing
58.4% of Marketers Expect Their Content Budgets to Increase in 2023, KoMarketing
Creating Linkable Content (Without A Long-Term Commitment!), The Upper Ranks
Visual Content for Social Media [New Research], Content Marketing Institute
Local & Maps
Think Twice Before Using Chat GPT for Local Content, Sterling Sky Inc
Yext hops on the generative AI train with Yext Chat, an enterprise-focused chatbot, TechCrunch
Google Can’t / Wont Help Your Google Business Profile from Malicious Activity, Online Ownership
How to Craft Unique and Helpful Location Pages, BrightLocal
Mobile & Voice
Google is bringing a redesign to Gboard, GSMArena
Google Home app gains touch remote control feature for Xbox consoles, XDA Developers
SEO
How to Build an SEO Roadmap in 7 Steps (Template Included), Ahrefs
How to Fix Error 404 on AMP Pages After Deactivating the AMP Plugin, Omi Sido
Introducing Clarity 360: The World’s First SEO Intelligence Cloud, seoClarity
PPC
Bid Manager API v1.1 will sunset on April 27, 2023, Google Ads Developer Blog
Google Ads Performance Max – Do they deliver results?, Browser Media
Successful Marketing Campaign Examples That Worth Emulating, PPC Expo
Making automation work for you, Microsoft Advertising
Search Features
5 tips to confidently shop and pay online with Google, Google Blog
Google asks employees to rewrite Bard’s incorrect responses to queries, CNBC
Other Search
Answer: What do you call this thing?, SearchReSearch
Playing the Long Game: How Bing Could Ultimately Win It All, Frederic Dubut
Feedback:
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