SearchCap: Google sitemaps, Gboard ads & Sitelink card ads

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.

From Search Engine Land:

• Bug? Google Sitemap index counts drop across Search Console reports
  May 13, 2016 by Barry Schwartz

  Many publishers and webmasters are seeing huge drops in the reported index count in the Google Search Console sitemaps report. It seems like a widespread bug.

• Google: No “current plans” for ads in Gboard
  May 13, 2016 by Ginny Marvin

  But the new iOS keyboard app from Google sure looks like a big new opportunity for mobile search ads.

• Google testing a carousel of Sitelink cards in search ads
  May 13, 2016 by Ginny Marvin

  Spotted on mobile, the carousel features individual cards that link to separate landing pages.

• NFL-YouTube deal will bring highlight videos & related news directly into Google search results
  May 13, 2016 by Amy Gesenhues

  Searches for specific NFL teams will deliver direct answers that include YouTube videos of highlights from games in progress.

• Report: 2 years in, 75 percent of Right to Be Forgotten asks denied by Google
  May 12, 2016 by Greg Sterling

  More than 50 percent of requests come from Germany and the UK.

• The SEM agency is dying (and what to do about it)
  May 13, 2016 by David Rodnitzky

  Search engine marketing is an ever-changing field, and columnist David Rodnitzky warns that agencies that fail to adapt will be left out in the cold.

• Search in Pics: Gboard team, Google Boston’s vintage arcade room & new weight training room
  May 13, 2016 by Barry Schwartz

  In this week’s Search In Pictures, here are the latest images culled from the web, showing what people eat at the search engine companies, how they play, who they meet, where they speak, what toys they have and more. Google’s Gboard team photo: Source: Twitter Google Boston’s vintage arcade game room: Source: Twitter Google London’s […]

Recent Headlines From Marketing Land, Our Sister Site Dedicated To Internet Marketing:

• Amid talk of a possible sale, Marketo announces upcoming next-gen platform that is built for the Internet of Things era
• Report: Most iOS app store revenue goes to top 1 percent of publishers
• The true value of technical SEOs
• SEM ad copy tips that you may find scary
• Three ways to deliver future-focused digital advertising
• Inside Twitter’s video showcase at Tastemade’s Los Angeles studio
• Which trend-setters will shape back-to-school marketing in 2016?
• MarTech Today: Adobe pumps up its Marketing Cloud, Callidus wires up for IoT & Google’s mobile-friendly algorithm boost rolls out
• Automattic to offer .blog domain names, WordPress not required
• Mark Zuckerberg responds to Facebook Trending Topics allegations
• Android grows its share vs. iOS, Windows in all major markets [Report]
• Tune study: Overwhelming number of mobile users won’t pay even $1/year for content

Search News From Around The Web:

Link Building

• New Bulk Backlink Checker Features, Majestic Blog

Searching

• Google Launching Wider & More Spacious Search Results User Interface?, Search Engine Roundtable

SEO

• On-Page SEO in 2016: The 8 Principles for Success – Whiteboard Friday, Moz

SEM / Paid Search

• Bing Shopping Campaigns Launched in Germany, Bing Ads Blog
• Building Successful PPC: Implementing Ad Extensions, Portent

Search Marketing

• How PLAs cost one client 104k organic visits per month, Branded3
• Video: Google Mobile SEO Update, Analytics & Search Console, AdWords & Bing Ads Bans, Search Engine Roundtable

About The Author

Barry Schwartz

Barry Schwartz is Search Engine Land's News Editor and owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on SEM topics.