This week in search, Google documented their fake news efforts code named Project Owl. We covered a potential Google algorithm update, but it is unclear if there really was a big update. Google told publishers to noindex content from the AP, Reuters and other feed sources. Google released their new how search works site and with that shared some numbers of their search tests and launches. Google said they have no plans to boost the HTTPS ranking signal. Google said links from high traffic pages aren’t any more valuable. Google’s request indexing doesn’t replace sitemap files. GoogleBot doesn’t understand audio in podcasts. Google said they can check out SEO agencies that are scamming. Google seems to have AMP bugs in the search results, they also had an analytics issue with AMP. Google said patents and research papers are good but they don’t mean they use it in their ranking algorithms. Google updated the how search works site. Google added more review filters to the local pack. Google is testing carousels in the hotel booking feature and they are also testing call to actions there. That was this past week in search at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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Search Topics of Discussion:
Google Owl Update Promotes Authoritative Content For Fake News Queries
Was There A Google Algorithm Update On Monday & Tuesday? Unsure.
Google Tells Newspapers, Like NY Times, WSJ & Others, To Noindex News Feeds
Google: 1,653 Search Launches With 9,800 Live Experiments & 130,336 Search Quality Tests
Google: No Plans To Boost HTTPS Ranking Factor
Google: Links From High Search Traffic Pages Aren’t More Valuable
Google Request Indexing & Crawl Direct Links Is Not A Replacement For Sitemaps
GoogleBot Doesn’t Understand The Words In Your Podcast Audio Files
SEO Agencies Spamming Google? Google Would Take A “Fair Look”
Google Tests Dropping AMP Logo From Search Results
Google Mobile Results Tests Dropping AMP Results Completely?
Google Quickly Fixed The AMP Analytics Bug
Reminder: Google Patents & Research Not Always Used In The Ranking Algorithm
Google: Organic & Paid Search Policies Don’t Always Match
Google Updates The How Search Works Site
Google Adds More Granular Review Filtering In Local Listings
Google Hotel Booking Interface Testing Carousel Layout
Google “View Rates” Call To Action Overlay For Hotel Listings Search Results

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