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:
Search Buzz Video Recap: Google Algorithm Update, 20th Birthday, Image Search Updates & More
This week, we covered a new Google algorithm update that touched down Thursday. Google celebrated their 20th birthday on September 27th. Google Image Searchâs algorithm was updated to factor in page authority…
Google Search Algorithm Update On September 27th
I am hearing some chatter around a possible Google search algorithm update that took place yesterday, September 27th. To be honest, not all of my indicators, i.e. the community chatter and the tracking tools, are 100% convincing that there was a big update. I do believe that a nice number of sites were impacted yesterday but the impact was not as large as a bigger update.
Here Is Google My Business Video Verification Feature
A couple years ago we reported Google was testing a way for you to verify your local business in Google My Business over a video call. Well, here is a screen shot of a business seeing that option when they are trying to verify their business in Google My Business.
Google Imags Search Adds Creator & Credit Metadata For Image Credits
Google announced yesterday they have added support for Creator and Credit metadata and will be adding Copyright Notice metadata. This meta data will be used by Google to display Image Credits information on the image within Google Image Search.
Google Image Search Desktop Redesign Officially Rolls Out
After some testing, Google yesterday officially rolled out the new design for the image search results on desktop. The new design adds titles/captions and the URL to the image thumbnails, adds images to the top filter options and more.
Google My Business Adds Family Led Attribute Icon
Google My Business has just added a new attribute that Google My Businesses can add to the list of attributes. The new attribute is for “family led” businesses, and this adds on to the women led and veteran led attributes that are already available.
Google’s Birthday Celebration At The GooglePlex
Yesterday was Google’s 20th birthday and at many of the Google offices the Googlers celebrated. Here are some photos from the GooglePlex with some of the cake, cookies, ice cream, party hats, and even
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
Sure! Sitemaps are independent of language. For hreflang in sitemaps, the same rules apply as if the markup were on the page, the sitemaps-aspect is completely separate from that.… https://t.co/aVHMoXnK8u, John Mueller on Twitter
Alright @googleanalytics team – that Optimize enhancement is bleedin’ sweet. Haven’t played much with it yet but I’m excited. 🙂 Not sure if it’s been around a while and I just got notified but I’m pretty stoked to jump in. @rus, Beanstalk IM on Twitter
It is probably clear by now that Dataset Search is only as good as the metad…, Google+ – Aaron Bradley
Running tests at scale is certainly a science, but we have a lot of practice with that. It’s fascinating to chat with some of the people who do these things, and certainly not limited to Google.… https://t.co/75GBtbjjGP, John Mueller on Twitter
Some of you are reporting issues with Google Analytics real time reports not showing any data. This is being investigated in real time.… https://t.co/nqynvAkI0B, Google Analytics on Twitter
If you do SEO on a bunch of sites, it’s worth building a framework for automated testing. Don’t fix the SEO issues once, make sure they don’t sneakily come back. (FWIW Lighthouse can also help with some of this)… https://t.co, John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
A basic SEO audit for small businesses
Google adds new ‘family-led’ attribute to Google My Business profile
Link building in the age of content skeptics
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
How to Find New Content Ideas With Google Analytics, Whatagraph Blog
Tracking YouTube Video Average Watch Time in Google Analytics, ClickInsight
Industry & Business
Google Executive Declines to Say If China Censors Its Citizens, theintercept.com
Google CEO will testify before U.S. House panel in November, Reuters
Google could pay Apple $9 billion this year to be the default search engine on iPhones, Business Insider
Local & Maps
Google Maps and Waze in Apple’s CarPlay review: broken dreams, The Verge
Hands on: Use your iPhone and Apple CarPlay to access Waze while driving, Apple Insider
Mobile & Voice
Google breathes new life into Wear OS smartwatches with today’s update, The Verge
SEO
4 Data-Driven Tricks to Find the Optimal Mix of SEO and PPC strategies, SEM Rush
Automating SEO Reporting with Google Data Studio, DeepCrawl
Surprising SEO A/B Test Results – Whiteboard Friday, Moz
What to Do When Things Go Wrong in SEO, Search Engine Journal
PPC
Google reverses ban on cryptocurrency exchange advertising in US Japan, CNBC
How to stop Google ads: The steps to turn off personalized targeting, USA Today
Search Features
Introducing the Kaggle “Quick, Draw!” Doodle Recognition Challenge, Google AI Blog
Other Search
