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.
Microsoft advertising launched new health insurance ad search ad units. Google is testing larger fonts in the mobile search bar. Microsoft Bing said it checks your XML sitemap file daily. Google says buttons are not links and opening links in new tabs is not going to hurt your SEO or rankings.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
Bing Checks XML Sitemap File Daily
Fabrice Canel from Microsoft said that Microsoft tries to check your site’s XML Sitemap file one per day. He said on Twitter “we attempt looking at sitemaps once a day.”
Google Tests Larger Font In Mobile Search Bar
Google is testing a larger font and larger search bar in the mobile search interface. This was spotted by Brodie Clark, who posted two images on Twitter. I made those images into an animated GIF so you can visualize the size difference between the two.
Microsoft Advertising Launches Health Insurance Ads
Microsoft Advertising announced a new ad format for Bing Search named health insurance ads. Microsoft said advertisers are already seeing a 4X increase in return on ad spend (ROAS) and lower costs per acquisition (CPAs) with this new format.
Google: No SEO Benefit For Opening Links In Existing Or New Windows
Google’s John Mueller was asked if opening links in a new window versus the existing window (tab) would make a difference SEO or ranking wise in Google. John said no, there is no difference for ranking purposes.
Google: Buttons Are Not Links, Buttons Not Used For Crawling Purposes
Google’s John Mueller was asked if the button attribute is treated like a link attribute. The answer was a straight forward, “no.” John said on Twitter “buttons aren’t links and don’t inherently have urls attached to actions, so we wouldn’t use them for crawling or otherwise.”
Google Super G Basketball Logo GIF
Here is a video Google shared on social of its super G logo made up of basketballs. They posted this message along with it The most searched NBA query last season was “How many games in nba season.” A
Other Great Search Threads:
Find success on your own terms. 🎤 Introducing Google for Creators – a new home base for creators to learn, grow and get inspired. 🔭 Explore more → https://t.co/8oE55LcFVU https://t.co/H4kOSy1Jcy, Google for Creators on Twitter
If we see different content when we crawl, we might index both URLs., John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
Microsoft partners with Shopify to help retailers expand their reach
How to achieve consistent SEO growth
How to solve the marketing reporting conundrum without being a magician
The revised Google search quality guidelines are out; Wednesday’s daily brief
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
Google Analytics 4 Vs Universal Analytics, Skynet Technologies
How to Run Google Optimize A/B Testing (Step-by-Step), Seedprod
Poker Tournament Tracking with Google Data Studio and Sheets, Caldimus
Industry & Business
Inspiring 1.4 million students to learn computer science, Google Blog
Swiss court rejects Google appeal over cloud contract, Reuters
Google’s biggest moonshot is its search for a carbon-free future, Live Mint
Links & Content Marketing
3 Key Types of Link Building Metrics & How To Use Them Successfully, Search Engine Journal
How to Identify and Then Repurpose Old Blog Posts, RankRanger
How to Perform Content Gap Analysis on Brand, PPC Hero
Writing Conversational Content? Don’t Flush Away Keyphrase Research, SuccessWorks
3 Disruptions To Know To Prepare for the Future of Content and Marketing, Content Marketing Institute
Local & Maps
How ratings and reviews impact local SEO, Semrush
Mysterious Google Maps Message Hitting Android Auto Even When the App Isn’t Running, AutoEvolution
New Google Maps Update Lands on iPhone and CarPlay, Could Actually Be Good News, AutoEvolution
Mobile & Voice
A dozen things to love in Android 12, Google Blog
Actions on Google now supports the tag. Use it to customize the TTS voice in your response. Learn more here → https://t.co/rSNH80k4gy https://t.co/5pkAyAZazh, Actions on Google on Twitter
SEO
Case Study: Can Including a CTA in Meta Descriptions Impact Organic Traffic?, Semrush
Google for Creators: Helping creators learn and grow, Google Blog
SEO On-Page Analysis: Comprehensive Page-Level Reporting, SEO Clarity
4 Of The Biggest SEO Challenges Right Now, Vertical Leap
SEO Writing is Long Dead: Meet User Intent, Onely Blog
PPC
Considerations for Successfully Bidding on Microsoft Advertising, Merkle
Tips on how to create excellent responsive search ads, Hallam
Feedback:
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