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 said word count does not define thin or unhelpful content. Google also removed any references to word count by removing the “article too short” Search Console content error. Google Merchant Center updated its feed to support target countries. Google is promoting Google Lens in mobile search for some queries. Google Ads scripts now support Performance Max campaigns.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
Google: Word Count Is Not A Sign Of Thin Or Unhelpful Content
Google’s John Mueller said on Twitter this morning that word count is not a sign or factor for what Google considers to be thing content or unhelpful content. John wrote, “Word count is not a sign that a page is thin content.”
Google Merchant Center No Longer Needs Primary Country Of Sale & Additional Countries Fields
Google has made changes to how your feeds work for countries, removing the need to list a primary country and additional countries, and replacing them with target countries.
Google Drops Article Too Short & Word Count Section From The Search Console Content Errors
Earlier this month, Google said it might remove the word count reference from the best practices for your article pages help document in the Search Console news errors page. Well, it did, it removed the whole section and error around “article too short.”
Google Promotes Google Lens In Mobile Search
Google is promoting the Google Lens feature in the mobile search results based on the type of query you enter. Google has a promotion box smack in the middle of the search results page that says “search what you see, camera search” with a picture of a dog on its back.
Google Ads Scripts Gains Support For Performance Max Campaigns
Google announced that Google Ads scripts now support Performance Max campaigns. Google said, “this treated as a brand new campaign type in scripts, similar to how video or shopping campaigns already work.”
Stuffed Animal Bears At Google Office
I guess the Google offices are still not too filled with Googlers, so Googlers who do come need to bring in stuffed animals and bears to keep them company. Here is a photo of two such bears at the Goo
Other Great Search Threads:
Look Like cards – Google has changed ux for Discover feed. Aslo ask for is this helpful?, Khushal Bherwani on Twitter
EU Court Upholds Fine Against Google, But Reduced to 4.1 Billion Euro, WebmasterWorld
In the latest #SOTRPodcast, you’ll learn what file types are indexed, like PDFs, PowerPoints, and images, as well as whether you should convert other file types into HTML. Tune to hear from our hosts, Google Search Central on Twitter
Is Youtube an authority signal source?, WebmasterWorld
Up to you. You decide what you want to publish on your site. In the bigger picture, it’s rare that news articles are new, and sometimes old can be good & useful too, John Mueller on Twitter
We don’t show all kinds of emoji in title-links / snippets, and tbh given how unserious a lot of these look, I wonder if they’re actually doing the sites any favors. It is/, John Mueller on Twitter
What’s the best way to remove a web page from the Google index? @JohnMu answers this question and shares 3 additional tips in this week’s episode of #AskGoogleBot., Google Search Central on Twitter
Are you asking me if you should delete your other sites? Ultimately that’s your decision. Sometimes sites are just not worth the effort anymore, the world ha, John Mueller on Twitter
This was a visual update in the UI to make service area selection consistent across channels. This should not affect the location targeting set in accounts., AdsLiaison on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
Walmart is expanding their self-service Marketplace platform
Instagram is testing a “Gifts” monetization feature for creators
Google is now allowing products in all countries to use a single Merchant Center feed
New Apple ad spots are coming by the end of the year
Google launches new HTTPS report in Google Search Console
Google’s helpful content update: A critical recap
Google launched support for Performance Max campaigns in ad scripts
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
How to Get More Accurate Campaign Analytics, Merkle
Industry & Business
Google cancels half the projects at its internal R&D group Area 120, TechCrunch
Google faces $25.4 billion damages claims in UK, Dutch courts over adtech practices, Reuters
Links & Content Marketing
How To Avoid Going Down Google’s Instant Answer Search Trap, Content Marketing Institute
How To Measure and Fix Poor Content Performance, iPullRank
Local & Maps
What companies – and platforms – can do to help stop fake post-for-pay reviews, Federal Trade Commission
Mobile & Voice
Google Assistant preps custom Quick Phrases, 9to5Google
US Voice Assistants and Smart Speakers Forecast 2022, Insider Intelligence
SEO
Executing SEO Project Management ft Montse Cano, iPullRank
Expand keyword lists & add value with our new Keyword Suggestions, STAT
Helpful Content Update: Google’s Message has the Biggest Impact, SISTRIX
How Long Does SEO Take To Work?, Dan Rich
Podcast rewind: 3 insights into SEO’s radical reinvention, DAC
PPC
12 Ways to Improve Your Click-Through Rate in Google Ads, WordStream
The Pros and Cons of Combining Content Marketing With PPC and How to Pull It Off, PPC Hero
Search Features
This Google-owned semantic experiment lets you “talk to books” to find what you need, Chrome Unboxed
Other Search
Google Allegedly Eavesdrops and Monitors the Brain 24 hours a Day to Control Humanity, Bill Hartzer
The State of Digital Accessibility: Three Key Challenges, Moz
LOLNeRF: Learn from One Look, Google AI Blog
Feedback:
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