Buckle up – it was one insane month of changes that all SEOs who care about Google need to catch up on. We had very unstable and heated Google search results, Google is testing links in AI-answers in SGE and videos in those answers, while also working on an alternative to robots.txt for AI. Did you know the Search Console links report is broken and Google News had an indexing bug for three full weeks.
Google scared a bunch of SEOs with INP issue emails, Google also dropped the related search operator and Google is still working on improving the preferred language issues in Search. Google posted a new Merchant Center policy against AI-generated reviews, and said AI content doesn’t have magic ranking powers and warned against using keyword tools for content development.
Google fixed some site name issues, detailed more on syndication partner guidance, but promises to pass feedback along on that topic.
Oh, I removed AMP from this site and Google announced earnings.
If you missed last month’s recap see it over here and here are the top headlines for the past month:
Google Algorithms:
- Google: Expect A Confirm Google Algorithm Update This Summer
- Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update Chatter Signals – July 26
- Google Search Ranking Algorithm Volatility Finally Cooling?
- Did Google Search Volatility Break Rank Tracking Tools?
- Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update & Volatility Explodes This Weekend
- Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update & Volatility On July 12th
- Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update & Volatility Super Heated
Google Search Generative Experience:
- Google Search Generative Experience Tests Links In AI-Generated Answers
- Google Search Generative Experience AI-Generated Answers Gain Videos
- Google Search Generative Experience Does Not Show Snapshot Answers For Original Responses
- Poll Shows We’re Using Google Search Generative Experience Less Often
- Google Bard Gains New Features & Available To More Users
Google Search Console:
- Google Search Console Link Report Showing Drastically Fewer Links
- Google Search Console Page Indexing Report Updated July 2nd With More Granular Errors
- Google Search Console Notifying About INP Core Web Vitals Issues
Google Search:
- Confirmed: Google News Indexing Bug Fixed After 3 Weeks Of Issues
- Confirmed: Google Working On Google News Indexing Issue Impacting All Publishers
- Google Drops Support For Related Search Operator
- Google Still Working On Improving Preferred Language Search Issues
Google SEO:
- New Google Merchant Center Policy Says AI Generated Reviews Are Spam & Disallowed
- Google: AI Content Has No Ranking Magic Powers
- Google: Content Written By Tapping Into Popular Searches Is Likely Not People-First Content
- Google Site Names In Search Results Updated With More Subdomain Support & Workarounds
- Google Might Not Showing Your Site Name Over A Confidence Issue
- Google Details SEO Guidance For Content Syndication Partners
- Google Will Pass Along Feedback From Publishers Around Canonical vs Noindex For Syndication Partners
- Google Merchant Center Collections – Group Products Together
- Google: Our Core SEO Advice Has Not Changed In Two Decades
- Google Search On Top Level Domains: Spammy, Keyword Rich, Coming Soon Page & More
- Google’s Revised Site Name Questions & Resources Thread
- Google Clarifies URL Structure Guidelines With Supported Characters
- Google: Journalistic Awards Are Not A Direct Search Ranking Signal
- Google’s John Mueller On Keyword Research For SEO
- Google: Making Up Fake Online Profiles Is Awkward & Cheap; You Don’t Need Multiple Personas
- John Mueller: Programmatic SEO Often A Fancy Banner For Spam
- Google Quality Rater Traffic In Analytics From Raterhub.com
- Google To Work On Complementary Robots.txt Protocols For AI & More
- How It’s Going After Removing Google AMP Pages 3 Weeks Ago
Google Business Profiles & Local:
- Google Business Profile Tests Generative AI To Help Owners Write Business Descriptions
- Google Business Profiles Appointment Link Moved To Booking Section
- New Google Business Profile Policies Overview Page
- Google Categorizes Reviews By Type Of Reviewer
- Google Business Profiles Food Ordering Settings
- Google Business Profile Adds View As Customer Link
- Google Business Profiles Automated FAQs Feature
- Google Business Profile Messaging With Availability Status & Away Mode Settings
- Google Business Profiles Drops Call Tracking Features
Google User Interface Tests:
- Google Search Tests More Visual Elements For Featured Snippets, Top Stories, Products & More
- Google Search Tests Bold & Underlined Title Links For Snippets & Triangle About This Result Icon
- Google Officially Rolling Out New Search Settings Interface
- Google Search Comparison Sites List & Box Interface
- Google Search Compare Systems & Savings From EnergyStar & Energy.gov
- Google Search Tests Boxed-In Favicon Design
- Google Search “Updates For You” Section
- Google Tests Swipe To Share & Save A Search Results
- Test: Google Top Stories With Author Names
Other Google:
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