SEARCHENGINES
Daily Search Forum Recap: March 30, 2022
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.
This newsletter showcases a ton of search interface tests, a ton of them. Yes, mostly from Google but also from Bing. There is one thing about redirects and XML sitemap files – hope you enjoy and always be testing!
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
- Google: Keep Old Redirected URLs In Sitemaps Files Temporarily
Google’s John Mueller said again on Twitter that you should only keep old URLs that have been redirected elsewhere in your XML sitemap file temporarily and not long term. John has said this a few times before – but now John is saying keep them there for one to three months, as opposed to less than six months. - Google Continues Expandable Tab Search Result Snippets Test
Back in August 2021, Google began testing this expandable tab search result snippet. Then the test seemed to have expanded in November 2021. Last week, I had countless folks ask me about this again, but I am not yet able to see it myself – but clearly Google is re-testing this search feature. - Bing Interactive Wikipedia Box In Search Results
Microsoft Bing seems to be testing a new search feature that embeds snippets of content from Wikipedia in this large Wikipedia box in the search results. It basically brings in portions of content from Wikipedia broken down by the Wikipedia’s page content. - Bing Round Category Icons To Explore More Images
Microsoft Bing is testing (or maybe rolling out) new explore icons for images that show up in the web results. There are these round circle category icons that let you refine your search for the query, to show more images that match the refined query. - Google Search Local Pack Refine Query & Location Search Box
Google seems to be testing a specialized local pack that looks more like the local service ads. Maybe this is a bug because the ads are not labeled or maybe Google is testing free local service listings? The local pack design looks more like local service ads and gives you the option to refine the query and location. - The Lengths Googlers Go Through To Get Coffee
Look at how hard it is, how much effort, the long journey, this Googler needs to take to get his coffee at the office. He swipes through several locked doors and walks through numerous hallways, ju
Other Great Search Threads:
Search Engine Land Stories:
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
Industry & Business
Links & Content Marketing
Local & Maps
Mobile & Voice
SEO
PPC
Feedback:
Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, you can follow us on Facebook and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or just contact us the old fashion way.
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Unconfirmed Google Update Impacting Product Reviews Sites On January 26th

On Thursday, January 26th, there were some signs of a possible Google search ranking algorithm update. The signals and chatter I was tracking, honestly, were not at super high levels. However, now that I see Glenn Gabe shared some really shocking charts of sites previously impacted by Google updates but now seeing a big swing. This is not necessarily a product reviews update but rather sites in the product reviews space that are seeing massive swings on the 26th.
Let me first share Glenn’s charts, which he posted on Twitter and said, “Heads-up, run a product reviews site? Google pushed something on 1/26 that, once again, impacted some product review sites HEAVILY. These are sites I’ve documented before with crazy surges/drops, even outside of Product Reviews Updates. Let’s see if this sticks. I hope it does.”
Here is that tweet:
Heads-up, run a product reviews site? Google pushed something on 1/26 that, once again, impacted some product review sites HEAVILY. These are sites I’ve documented before with crazy surges/drops, even outside of Product Reviews Updates. Let’s see if this sticks. I hope it does 🙂 pic.twitter.com/ZXa1r3xwcD
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) January 29, 2023
Starting on the 25th, I began to see limited chatter kick into gear at WebmasterWorld. The chatter there was not specific to the product reviews update but it could have been related to it. Here are some quotes from there:
My site has been climbing rankings all week and yet today the traffic has been dismal (UK). Do I smell an update?
My ranks, as I said, have been getting better after being in decline steadily since this time last year. I haven’t done anything to improve. Could this mean that google are indeed looking at different ranking signals, not just links? I could have gained a link or two that has turned it around I suppose but no evidence so far.
After great improvement over the month of January, got a big bang down since January 24 onwards. Changes again?
Definitely, something is wrong with Google. My traffic is going down without any reason. Are there any delays with Analytics?
I don’t know what’s going on, but my website has been in free fall for a week now. And it’s the usual picture again, old news articles or meaningless keyword spam ranks in my area on the top places. It’s really no fun anymore …
Google Tracking Tools
Here are what the tracking tool are showing:
So the tools are not lighting up but this update may have been something tweaked with the product reviews update, or a new update impacting product review sites or limited to those segments of websites?
Have any of you seen any big changes around January 26th?
Forum discussion at Twitter.
SEARCHENGINES
Jeff Ferguson On Starting His Own Digital Marketing Agency

In part one, we go through Jeff Ferguson’s long history in search marketing. Here, in part two, we pick up with him starting his own agency. Jeff explained how he was working at this arbitrage company, and they were not profitable for a decade, and then overnight, he helped them become profitable, and they were making a ton of money. But they didn’t do it right, and eventually, they took a major hit. So he was offered a package to leave but picked up doing consulting during that time. He ran his agency for ten years before merging with Amplitude Digital.
He loves agency life and doing his own thing. He is at a point in life where doing his own thing and owning his agency is where he wants to be. He does write a lot of content; he shares a lot of advice on Twitter and Facebook.
You can learn more about Jeff Ferguson at Amplitude Digital and follow him on Twitter @CountXero.
You can subscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking here so you don’t miss the next vlog where I interviews. I do have a nice lineup of interviews scheduled with SEOs and SEMS, many of which you don’t want to miss – and I promise to continue to make these vlogs better over time. If you want to be interviewed, please fill out this form with your details.
Forum discussion at YouTube.
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Google Pier 57 Display Wall

Here is one of the many walls at the new Google Pier 57 location. You can see they set up a display wall that houses a Google surfboard, Google letters, Android figurine, and much more.
I spotted this on Instagram.
This post is part of our daily Search Photo of the Day column, where we find fun and interesting photos related to the search industry and share them with our readers.
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