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The big stories in September saw a focus on some items that are still in the works: an upcoming Search redesign integrating the MUM algorithm was announced at Google’s Search On event, and Google is apparently working on deals to allow them to index TikTok and Instagram content. Meanwhile, a new update to Lighthouse 8.4 helps improve reports and offers new audits, and the automotive industry saw some ruffled feathers this month with the addition of new data in car related SERPs.

[Read more…] about September 2021: This Month in Search

The big story in August was all about page titles, as SEOs started to see a high volume of SERPs with rewritten titles (often based on H1s on the page). We’re also seeing some more clarification and detail around the Page Experience update (including Core Web Vitals) and how it integrates with the core algorithm updates. 

In other Google news, the July link spam update took a month to fully roll out, and Google is still working on moving all websites to mobile-first indexing. John Mueller offered some thoughts on handling website downtime and Google News sitemaps, and the Google Trends team published a list of 15 tips for getting the most out of Google Trends. On the SERP features front, SEOClarity did an analysis that showed the People Also Ask and Local pack features were the most commonly shown in SERPs, and Google is now showing an “Affordable Picks” carousel in mobile search. We’re also seeing a “Did You Know” box in Bing search results.

And for those who want to test their SEO knowledge, Google has updated the format of their documentation to be more interactive, with a new “Google Crawling Exam”.

[Read more…] about August 2021: This Month in Search

July kicked off with more Google algorithm updates, as part two of the June/July core update landed bright and early on July 1st. Google also released a new link spam update later in the month, as well as the first application of their new MUM technology, an AI-based solution driving greater efficiency in parsing and processing information. 

In other Google news, John Mueller has provided some clarifications around internal linking, and the Page Experience update (vs the old Google Speed update); and commented on a lag users were seeing in the GSC Index Coverage report. Google Search Console has added Math Solvers as a search appearance filter, and SERP features continue to evolve, with new guidance (and a new structured data property) for job postings and a new way to enable video key moments in Search. Another update to SERP features was the addition of ranking factor notes to the “about this result” overlay.

[Read more…] about July 2021: This Month in Search

This month was a big one for algorithm updates! In addition to the much-anticipated Page Experience update beginning its rollout, Google announced two core updates, one in early June and one in early July. There was also a separate spam update released on June 23rd and June 28th.  

In other Google news, John Mueller reiterated that quality changes can take several months to be reprocessed and evaluated, and Google released additional documentation around Google News sources as AMP no longer is required for Top Stories carousel or Google News inclusion. Google search data also got a refresh, with the new Search Console Insights feature, combining Google Analytics and GSC data to offer insights into how audiences discover websites’ content.

In tech and tools updates, the acquisition of Moz by email marketing provider iContact generated quite the buzz, while Shopify announced that they are now making it possible for site owners to edit their site’s robots.txt file. 

Read on for our top stories and roundup of what else is new in search this month:

[Read more…] about June 2021: This Month in Search