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 Changes, Sticky Search Bar, Filter Bubbles, Livestreams & Holidays
This week I covered the big monthly Google webmaster report for December. Google may have done a big search algorithm update last Friday. Google launched their sticky rounded search bar last Friday night. Google said they do not have a filter bubble…
Google Assistant Testing Audio News
Google announced audio news for the Google Assistant. This is not speakable markup or YouTube videos playing on the Google Home Hub, this is real audio news, like broadcaster, podcaster, etc that produce audio form content.
Google Again: Do Not Worry About Words Or Keywords In URLs
Google’s John Mueller said it again, do not worry about words or keywords in the URLs. John responded to a recent question on Twitter saying “I wouldn’t worry about keywords or words in a URL. In many cases, URLs aren’t seen by users anyway.”
Join Google’s John Mueller In Zurich For A Webmaster Hangout
Google’s John Mueller rarely invites people to join him for his webmaster hangouts but when he does, it is a good opportunity to have some fun at a Google office. If you are in Zurich this December 21st, you can go to the next hangout at the Google Zurich office.
Google To Shut Down Many Old Search Console Reports December 13th
Google has posted the date of December 13, 2018 as the date they will be removing some of the old Google Search Console reports. The reports are already replaced by similar reports in the new Google Search Console.
Hauling Google Bikes
Here is a photo of a truck with a bunch of Google bikes stuffed in the back of it. I guess this trucks drives around the Google offices to relocated bikes left? Or maybe they are picking up stolen bi
Other Great Search Forum Threads:
Hmmm @rustybrick seems Google broke again… This time on action_result module if you don’t have the Android app installed cc @searchliaison… https://t.co/PnGrQCqcNN, David Iwanow on Twitter
Nice recap of the situation. And this can be a terrifying problem for site owners (especially for those that don’t know what to do first…) -> What we learned when Google deindexed our site for a day https://t.co/UTjNSu1X6d, Glenn Gabe on Twitter
Google reCaptcha Bypassed by Spammers, WebmasterWorld
If you redirect on a per-page basis, that sounds fine. If you redirect all pages to the EN homepage, that feels more like a 404.… https://t.co/VAenjzI4c6, John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
Google to redirect old Search Console reports to new ones Dec. 13
Google Analytics admin emails sent to Search Console users in latest bug
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
Data Studio with BigQuery: 2018’s best practices, Towards Data Science
Industry & Business
Top U.S. general urges Google to work with military, Reuters
Local & Maps
What’s Up with This Weird Google Maps Spam?, How To Geek
Mobile & Voice
Coty unveils Clairol Color app for Google Assistant, Retail Dive
SEO
Yoast SEO in WordPress 5.0: a visual guide, Yoast
Helping Others See The Value of SEO Recommendations: How to secure buy-in, BrightEdge SEO Blog
Understanding Google Rich Snippets: [Examples + How to Add Worksheet], Higher Visibility
PPC
Tackling ads abuse in apps and SDKs, Google Online Security Blog
Search Features
The Official AMP Plugin for WordPress, Accelerated Mobile Pages Project
