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.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
Dan Leibson (@DanLeibson) is the VP of Search at Local SEO Guide. He started in SEO in around 2007 with e-commerce and did some ‘review manipulation’ before it was a cool thing to do. In 2012 he got into local search and he has a pretty good name in local SEO now…
Bing Drops Twitter From Connected Pages
Bing has quietly dropped the Twitter option from the Bing Webmaster Tools Contacted Pages option. Bing said “by adding the various web presences as “connected pages” in Bing Webmaster Tools, you can get an overview of how many impressions and clicks you are getting not only for your main website, but also for each of these connected pages.”
Google My Business Reply to Reviews Returns
Google My Business had the ability for owners to reply to reviews within the console directly. Heck, it even tested automating some of those replies. But at some point, that feature went away. It is now back and working.
Google Postpones New Partners Program Requirements To 2021
Last week Google announced it is postponing the new Google Partners Program requirements for a year. Google said “As the circumstances around COVID-19 continue to evolve, we understand this is a difficult time for you, your families, and your business. In light of this, we’ve decided to postpone the launch of the new Google Partners program until 2021.”
Google Ads Editor Version 1.3 Now Live
Google has upgraded the Google Ads Editor to version 1.3 last week. This version adds a number of additions and improvements including supporting shared budgets, optimization score and much more.
Bing Adds Snippet Controls Tags; Like Google
Last September, Google added methods for controlling elements of your search results snippets. Last week, Bing also announced similar controls that it will begin supporting later this Spring. Bing said “Now, with these new features, webmasters will have more control than ever before to determine how their site is represented on the Bing search results page.”
Google Bollards In Empty Parking Lot
Here is a photo, a recent one, of one of the Google parking lots at the main headquarters in Mountain View, California showing off the Google colored bollards but with no cars nearby.
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
It’s not a matter of ranking, but rather usability: the AMP version should be equivalent to the legacy version, otherwise users will get confused. One way to not have to worr, John Mueller on Twitter
New idea: weekly podcast where i comment on SEO articles., Gary Illyes on Twitter
People go nuts regardless. Acting like seo’s, as people or companies, don’t exist (=being super neutral, not mentioning names) doesn’t help anyone. There’s great work being done that should be highl, John Mueller on Twitter
To help public health officials slow the spread of #COVID19, Google & @Apple are working on a contact tracing approach designed with strong controls and protections for user privacy. @tim_cook and I are committed to working, Sundar Pichai on Twitter
20 Years with WebmasterWorld, WebmasterWorld
What is the best reporting tool for Local SEO, Local Search Forum
Search Engine Land Stories:
SMX Overtime: Optimize ranking in AnswerBox and People Also Ask
TikTok 101: A primer for brands
Social Shorts: Creative highlights, Quora queries, Twitter ad data, Facebook’s newest app
16-straight days of rankings volatility: SEOs dig into the COVID-19 effects on search
Content and coronavirus: How you can differentiate from the masses
What Safari’s 7-day cap on script-writeable storage means for PWA developers
As advertisers cut back, U.S. paid search spend estimate is slashed by billions
SMX Overtime: 3 steps to make e-commerce faceted pages crawlable and optimizable
Track how PPC performance changed when specific COVID-19 events took place
Google reviews coming out of quarantine
The reason websites are losing valuable traffic from Google
How SEO and PPC strategies can work together to drive business goals
Microsoft Advertising adds ‘Include in Conversions’, view-through conversion options
Google postpones Google Partners program changes slated for June
View and change all your budgets easily with this script
Bing adds CDC coronavirus self-checker chatbot to search results pages
Bing adds snippet controls to help sites control their search result previews
Pick up the phone, Neo. Why Call Analytics Is One of the Most Underrated Marketing Strategies.
Video: Alexis Sanders on SEO strategy and how to test your SEO
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
How to Track Site Search with Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics, Analytics Mania
Industry & Business
Google bans employees from using Zoom on work computers, 9to5Google
Google Wins U.S. DOJ Backing to Use Segment of U.S.-Asia Undersea Cable, New York Times
Introducing our new book “Building Secure and Reliable Systems”, Google Online Security Blog
U.S. Justice Department backs Google request to use part of U.S.-Asia undersea cable, Reuters
Google Ordered to Pay for News in French Antitrust Crackdown, Bloomberg
U.S. approves Google request to use segment of U.S.-Asia undersea cable, Reuters
Yelp cutting 1,000 jobs, furloughing others, Axios
Links & Content Marketing
How to Create a Content Marketing Strategy, Dreamhost
Local & Maps
Apple Maps will soon display COVID-19 testing locations, 9to5Mac
Connecting People to Virtual Healthcare Options, Google Blog
Google starts highlighting virtual care options in Search and Maps, TechCrunch
How to turn off CarPlay on your iPhone or iPad, Apple Insider
How Your Local Business Can Be a Helper, Moz
New Reviews Now Showing at Google – Sort of, Local University
Mobile & Voice
Google quietly expands Duplex to the U.K., Australia, and Canada, VentureBeat
Google rolling out redesigned Assistant settings on Android, 9to5Google
Google testing new Lens logo in Photos for Android, 9to5Google
Samsung Will End S Voice Support in June, Voicebot
SEO
Resource information for SEOs during the Coronavirus pandemic, Marie Haynes Consulting
Search Trends and The Coronavirus Outbreak: Causation or Correlation, SEM Rush
SEO ranking factors for 2020, Pole Position Marketing
How Agency SEOs & In-House SEOs Can Work Together, Botify
How to Align SEO with Brand Strategies…and Win Over Your Brand Team in the Process, Go Fish Digital
March 2020 Winners and Losers: How COVID-19 Impacted SEO – Tyson Stockton, Searchmetrics
Rich Snippets: What Are They and How Do You Get Them?, Ahrefs
Should You Cancel SEO During COVID-19?, Ignite Visibility
Some Featured Snippet URLs May Still Repeat in Search Results, Brodie Clark Consulting
The SEO Elevator Pitch – Best of Whiteboard Friday, Moz
Yoast SEO 14.0: The Indexables, Yoast
PPC
COVID-19: Finance, retail and technology consumer insights for Europe, Microsoft Advertising
Google Ads conversion reporting issues starting April 9, Google Ads Developer Blog
Google Local Campaigns How-To, PPC Hero
Track your impact with conversion goal options, Microsoft Advertising
Search Features
Knead some baking inspiration? We’ve got you covered, Google Blog
Using Google Trends to find COVID data, SearchReSearch
Other Search
News Brief: March Updates from the Google News Initiative, Google Blog
