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.
Google says indexing systems and algorithm update systems are independent and don’t impact each other. Google clarified its structured data carousel beta to add feature availability and where the markup goes. Google says ranking well in product results, images, etc does not impact how well you rank in web search. Google is testing mentioned in section within the knowledge panels. Google Maps updated its suggest an edit workflow. We have a recap of the Google Search Central Live event in Romania from Mihai. And I posted the weekly SEO video recap.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
Google: Indexing & Algorithm Updates Are Independent
Google once again said that its indexing systems are completely independent of its ranking updates, like the core update. Gary Illyes from Google said indexing, canonicalization, and those types of “systems are independent” of core updates.
Google Structured Data Carousels Beta Docs Clarifies Feature Availability & Markup Location
Google has made some changes to its new Structured data carousels (beta) documentation to list the feature availability of this carousel and also to clarify where to place the markup. Google wrote the “markup must be on the summary page, and you don’t need to add markup to the detail pages in order to be eligible for this feature.”
Google: Ranking In Shopping, Images & Other Verticals Doesn’t Hurt Your Web Rankings
John Mueller from Google said that ranking well in the Google Shopping or Google Image vertical boxes does not impact your ranking in the core web results. He said, “I can’t imagine that they’d be connected” when asked about how ranking well in the Merchant Center results can impact the web results.
Google Knowledge Panels – Mentioned People
Google is testing a “mentioned” button that shows other people mentioned in the knowledge panels in the Google Search results. We saw variations of “mentioned by” in Google Discover and Explore but now we are seeing something similar in knowledge panels.
Google Maps Suggest An Edit Flow Updated
Google has updated the Suggest an edit feature within Google Maps business listings. Google said the new flow is “easier” and should help make updates to the Google Maps data.
Recap of Google’s Search Central Live Romania 2024
Last week marked the first-ever official Google SEO-focused event in Romania ‘” Search Central Live Romania ‘” on a sunny 4th of April in Bucharest. As a Search Central Product Expert who lives in Bucharest, the event made for an exciting occasion for people from my local SEO community to listen to and interact directly with Googlers…
Google Bowling Alley Is Still There
Google has had its very own bowling alley at the GooglePlex, the main Google headquarters in Mountain View, California for well over a decade now and guess what, it is still there. Here is a recent photo I found on Instagram of some Googlers bowling at that alley.
This week, we covered that the Google March 2024 core update is still rolling out 38 days later, but we saw more volatility this week. Just a reminder that the Google helpful content update no longer exists. Gary Illyes from…
Other Great Search Threads:
The rollout of the March 2024 core update is still going on! How have your sites been affected so far by it?, Aleyda Solis on X
Google is now testing out a new mobile format for branded sitelinks. Instead of the standard sitelink with light lines, there is currently an active test with darker lines that shows alongside other features and also in blue to match the, SERP Alert on X
I analysed the top-ranking sites for 1,000 health symptom keywords — many covering serious concerns. The most prominent domain Google ranks is Mayoclinic. The second most prominent is Quora, where it’s easy to find spammed,, Glen Allsopp on X
Will the Google March 2024 core update finish today?, Barry Schwartz on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
Google structured data carousels (beta) clarified for summary pages
Google CEO on the evolution of Search and SGE
TikTok launches enhanced ad placement controls
Google testing People Also Consider label on branded search ads
The Performance Max playbook: Best practices and emerging tactics for 2024
Advanced Google Ads tracking for local service companies
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
Why is Data Privacy Important: What Brands Should Know, Measure Minds Group
Industry & Business
OpenAI Researchers, Including Ally of Sutskever, Fired for Alleged Leaking, The Information
Will Google Buy HubSpot?, Content Marketing Institute
Links & Content Marketing
13 Best Content Marketing Podcasts to Listen to Now (2024), 99 Signals
The 3Rs of Content Marketing for B2B Brands, MarketingProfs
Local & Maps
Google Maps Error Sends People Seeking a Doctor to a School, AutoEvolution
Google Maps Is Officially the Greatest App of All Time, Gizmodo
These are the best CarPlay apps for EV owners, 9to5Mac
Mobile & Voice
Humane AI Pin review: the post-smartphone future isn’t here yet, The Verge
Apple teaching an AI system to use apps; maybe for advanced Siri, 9to5Mac
Google is bringing its most advanced Gemini AI to OnePlus phones, Android Police
Google’s Gemini 1.5 Pro can now hear, The Verge
SEO
Dixon Jones, of Inlinks, on SEO in age of AI, the future of link building, and the potential of JavaScript-based SEO tools, eMarketing Association
Efficient SEO Mapping: FuzzyMatches in Google Sheets AppScript, Decode Digital Market
SEO for Brand Awareness: A Complete Guide, Semrush
SEO Takeaways from SGE’s Partial Rollout, Practical Ecommerce
The Role of Topic Clusters in SEO (+ How To Create Them), Keyword Insights
PPC
Let’s Talk Google Shopping Product Feed Providers, ZATO Marketing
10 Paid Search & PPC Planning Best Practices, Search Engine Journal
Google Merchant Center Misrepresentation Verify Identity, FeedArmy
Search Features
DuckDuckGo Is Taking Its Privacy Fight to Data Brokers, Wired
Google may soon have unified message search feature on Android devices, recent patent reveals, MSPoweruser
Microsoft is shoving default Copilot prompts in Edge’s address bar, but they’re irrelevant and annoying, Windows Report
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