Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

Google should be completing the December 2022 helpful content update and link spam update soon, but as of this morning, it was “still ongoing” according to Google. Google Search Console is not tracking local pack data properly, according to local SEOs. Google said it ignores hidden text on a page. Google is testing full coverage for news results in desktop search. Reviews with photos last longer than without photos, says a new local SEO study.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Google: The Helpful Content Update & Link Spam Update Still Ongoing
  
  Welcome back from the holidays, don’t worry; you didn’t miss much. The December 2022 helpful content update and December 2022 link spam update are not done yet. They should be done soon, but right now, when I write this, they are not done.




• Ongoing Report: Google Search Console Not Tracking All Local Pack Clicks
  
  For the past few months or so, I’ve been tracking reports that suggest that Google Search Console is not properly tracking clicks and impressions from the local pack. This first came up in September and after numerous requests from SEOs, I have not seen a serious reply from Google on the matter, not yet at least.




• Google Search Full Coverage Label On Desktop
  
  Google since 2019 had this “full coverage” label for news stories that showed up in mobile search results. I am not sure if this ever was presented in the desktop results, and that is what we have for you today.




• Google: We Ignore Hidden Text On A Page
  
  Google’s John Mueller said that when it comes to hidden text on a page, Google is “good at ignoring it.” It is one of those things that Google seems not to penalize for anymore but rather just not count the text that is not visible on the page.




• Study: Reviews With Photos Last Longer In Google Local Results
  
  Another small study says that reviews with photos with them last a lot longer in the Google local listing for a business than reviews without photos. This was another study done by Joy Hawkins and her company.





• Google Outdoor Holiday Decorations In Brazil
  
  Here are some photos from the Google Brazil office, they have this amazing outdoor area and they really decorated it up for the holiday season. You can see a massive Christmas tree, large menorah, sta

Other Great Search Threads:

• I’d recommend looking into x-frame-options and using that by default. This also prevents Google when rendering a page to use any iframed content, since it can’t be loaded like that., John Mueller on Twitter
• No, but if you’re finding that you use the feature regularly, probably Google has issues (often quality-wise) with your website that you should work on instead of clicking the button in Search Console that often. Focus on what’s important, and you’ll have, John Mueller on Twitter
• probably yes, but why?, John Mueller on Mastodon
• I’d like to better understand the reluctance about full #search on #Mastodon. Is there an overview somewhere?, John Mueller on Mastodon
• SEO The spammers are ringing in the new year w/ a fresh wave of spam @GoogleMaps @GoogleMyBiz.. Google was letting most of my edits go through last night., Len on Twitter

Search Engine Land Stories:

Other Great Search Stories:

Analytics

Industry & Business

Links & Content Marketing

Local & Maps

Mobile & Voice

SEO

PPC

Other Search

Feedback:

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