The list of features being removed from Google Assistant
Google said these changes are to "focus on quality and reliability" but Google has also fired hundreds of employees with these changes.
Staff
Barry Schwartz's latest articles
Google Search home page broken on Android devices using Firefox
Google confirmed the issue some mobile users seeing a blank home page and is working on a fix.
Googlebot crawl rate tool is now gone
You can no longer set your desired crawl rate within Google Search Console.
Google says search result snippets primarily come from page content, not other sources
Google removed references to rich results the snippet control help document.
Google algorithm updates 2023 in review: Core, reviews, helpful content, spam and beyond
In 2023, we had nine official and confirmed Google algorithm updates - which was one less than the previous two years.
Google Search is investigating reports of delayed indexing issues
Google said it is "working on identifying the root cause" that is affecting a "small number of sites."
Google local search ranking algorithm strengthens ‘openness’ signal
If your business isn't open 24/7, Google does not recommend you change your business listing to be open 24 hours per day.
Google November 2023 reviews update now done rolling out
This update will be the last time Google has confirmed a reviews update.
Data providers: Google November 2023 core update was more volatile than the October 2023 core update
Keep in mind, the November 2023 Reviews update overlapped with this core update and is still rolling out.
Google Search Console to stop reporting on product results search in performance reports
This e-commerce related search reporting will end next month, in January 2024, Google said.
Google expands video requirements for “Video mode” where video must be main content of the page
If your video is not the primary part of the page, Google will not show your videos in search and within "Video mode" of Google Search.
Google officially drops Mobile Usability report, Mobile-Friendly Test tool and Mobile-Friendly Test API
We knew this was coming and now these Google mobile tools are no longer available.
New Google Search vacation rental rich result
This new vacation rental structured data comes with new Search Console and Rich Results reports.
Google patent describes how the Search Generative Experience works
This may be the first and only patent Google has related to SGE.
Google Search Organization markup adds name, address, contact information, and other business identifiers
Google has updated the Search Console and Rich Results test reporting to support these new additions.
Google November 2023 core update rollout is now complete
The fourth broad core algorithm update of 2023 is now done rolling out.
Google Search now supports discussion forum and profile page structured data
Google can show these as rich results in Google Search and Google also added new Search Console reports.
Google Search Console was down today
You may be seeing a 500 error when trying to access the tool.
Googlebot crawl rate tool in Search Console is going away
The tool is going away on January 8, 2024 because Google says it is no longer useful.
Google Search Console experience and enhancement reporting bug
Google is working on a fix, this has no impact on indexing or ranking.
Google adds small business filter to shopping search results
Google said it is "making it easy for U.S. shoppers to discover and shop at small businesses this weekend and beyond."
Google updates search quality raters guidelines
It has been 11 months since the last update, here is what changed.
Google Search goes after fraudulent and manipulative DMCA takedown requests
The lawsuit alleges two men created over 65 Google accounts and submitted hundreds of thousands of fake DMCA takedown requests to remove competitors from the search results.
Bing adds AI-generation captions to some search result snippets
This uses GPT 4 to make the Bing search results more relevant and informative, Bing said.
New Yahoo Search experience to start rolling out in the first weeks of 2024
At SMX today, Brian Provost, the SVP & GM at Yahoo said the new Yahoo Search experience will be launching soon.
Google Search ranking improvement aims to surface hidden gems
Google will surface personal insights and experiences from social media blog posts and forums. This is not an updated helpful content update.
Google launches new personal search experience with follow button and personalized ranking
Plus, perspectives is coming to desktop, content creators get more visibility and more.
Google Search tests Notes on search results
The notes feature is a labs experiment that you can turn on or off.
Google says major changes coming to search rankings
Danny Sullivan, Google's Search Liaison, was quoted as saying that major changes are coming Google's search ranking algorithms.
Google adds reports for learning video rich results
The reports are within Google Search Console's performance report, where you filter by search appearance.
Google SGE expands to 120 countries while adding new follow-up questions, AI translation help and more definitions
SGE now in more countries, more languages with more features.
Google releases November 2023 reviews update
This is the third reviews update of the year and the last reviews update Google will likely confirm.
Google page experience report updated in Search Console
Plus the good page experience search appearance filter from the Performance report has been removed.
Microsoft patent on website and site content reliability scores for Bing Search ranking
Having a patent does not mean that Bing is using these techniques in Bing Search - but it is fun to read.
How Danny Sullivan shares SEO issues with Google’s Search team
Part of job of the Search Liaison at Google is to share feedback on how to improve search.
Google November 2023 core update released
The reviews update will be switching to ongoing regular updates, which means Google will not be announcing future review updates.
Google fixed a bug with the October 2023 core update impacting Discover traffic
Some sites may see an increase in their Discover traffic starting soon.
Google adds small business attribute and other information to business profiles and shopping listings
Google is also rolling out Product Studio.
Google says mobile-first indexing is complete after almost 7 years
Google said it will turn off the indexing crawler information in the settings page in Search Console.