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 released a new policy around showing different availability on your product page compared to the cart page. Google also is testing new reports in Google My Business. Google tests extras section for movie queries. Shopify now lets you edit your robots.txt file. And a nice poll shows you where SEOs go for help. Also, Google announced a new spam update in Google Search and I wrote about it at Search Engine Land already but will have more insights into this tomorrow at this site.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
Google My Business Rush Hours & About Your Company Reports
Google may be releasing two new reports within Google My Business Insights. One report shows your business’s popular times or “rush hour” and the other report shows what your company is known for.
Shopify Now Lets You Edit Your Robots.txt File – Yay?!
The folks at Shopify were excited to announce that they now let you modify and edit your robots.txt file. Previously, Shopify handled it all automatically but now, if you know better, you can make your own modifications.
Google Merchant Center Inaccurate Availability Enforcement
Google is replacing the “Delivery issues” policy violation within Google Merchant Center with a new policy violation named “Inaccurate availability (due to inconsistent availability between the landing page and checkout pages on your website).”
Google Tests Extras Section For Movie Queries
Google seems to be testing a new section in the mobile search results for movie related queries. The new section is titled “Extras” and shows additional details on the movie from analysis, interviews, recaps and more.
Where SEOs Go For Help: Forums, Twitter, Reddit & More
Matt Tut posted a poll on Twitter asking where do SEOs go for help when they run into an SEO that they cannot solve themselves. The poll has over 850 responses and the responses probably have a bias towards Twitter (since it is a Twitter poll) but it interesting.
Lily Ray’s Little Nephew Playing With GoogleBot
Lily Ray shared a video a few years back of her then toddler nephew playing with a GoogleBot. I think it is pretty cute and it made me smile, I thought it might make you smile. She shared the video
Other Great Search Threads:
Since we got such helpful feedback on the detailed blog post we wrote about layout shift and long-lived pages, we’ve decided to explain our ideas for future metrics in the same format. @NicPenaM just published the first on, Annie Sullivan on Twitter
Happy Pride Month! 🌈 Today we’re introducing the Pride theme to our new Bing Themes, which allow you to further personalize your search experience on #MicrosoftBing’s web search. Try it out! https://t.co/aomZYA5agW”, Microsoft Bing Dev on Twitter
I am incredibly excited to announce that as of today I will be serving as the Head of Communications for @semrush! It’s an honor to work with so many people that I so highly respect and for a tool that is such a staple of, Mordy Oberstein on Twitter
No, crawling, indexing, and ranking are all independent systems. There can be indirect effects, but just because there is a change in one system, John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
The future of digital advertising: Personalization through agility and automation
Google is pushing hard to make it easier to create ads; Tuesday’s daily brief
Google may suspend merchant sites that show invalid product availability
Google top stories carousel now showing non-AMP listings
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
How to use Site Search in Google Analytics, Amazee Metrics
Q&A: Telling Stories With Google Data Studio, Ecommerce Fast Lane
What are the Differences Between a GA4 Configuration Tag and a Settings Variable?, InfoTrust
Industry & Business
Google drops engineering residency after protests over ‘inequities’ | Reuters, Reuters
Google will show employees how their pay may change if they move offices, CNET
Microsoft (MSFT) Market Value Hits $2 Trillion, Bloomberg
Links & Content Marketing
The demise of amateur content, Kevin Indig
Local & Maps
Celebrating local businesses on International Small Business Week, Local Guides Connect
How to check competitors’ GMB categories with GMB Spy, SearchLab Digital
How to add Local Business Schema – Step-by-Step Guide, Hill Web Creations
Mobile & Voice
SwitchBot makes Google Assistant curtains a reality, 9to5Google
SEO
Core Web Vitals Study Review, Searchmetrics
How An Artisan Bakery Is Increasing SEO Through Competitor Analysis, SEM Rush
How To Gain Your Best SERP Ranking with Zero-Click Search, Amsive Digital
10 Reality-Slap SEO Writing Tips for Awesome Results, SuccessWorks
Cluster Up To 1,000 Keywords In Google Sheets, For Free, tl;dr Marketing
How SEO Impacts Brand Awareness, Outbrain
SEO Trends for 2021- Part Four, RankRanger
PPC
Standalone Gmail campaigns becoming read only in Google Ads, Google Ads Developer Blog
Trademark Infringements in Paid Media, PPC Hero
Use Keyword Gap Analysis To Uncover Competition, BrightEdge
Search Features
Google’s Visual Inspection AI spots defects in manufactured goods, VentureBeat
Other Search
Brave’s non-tracking search engine is now in beta, TechCrunch
Common misconceptions about Baidu, Searchmetrics
Feedback:
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