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Mixed Signs Of A Thanksgiving Holiday Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update

Published

2 years ago

November 28, 2022

Mixed Signs Of A Thanksgiving Holiday Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update

For the past several weekends, I’ve been reporting about a Google search ranking algorithm update that hit on a Friday and continued throughout the weekend. Well, last weekend was the Thanksgiving holiday in the US and I did see some signs of a possible Google Search ranking algorithm update – but truth is, it is unlikely that Google pushed something out on a Friday of Thanksgiving.

Weekend Update Trend

Here are the past weekend updates I’ve covered. For example, we had reports of an update last weekend, on November 18th through 20th, then again on the 11th through 12th and then on November 4th and 5th, the weekend before that on October 28th/29th, the spam update kind of surged on a Friday/Saturday with Octber 21st and 22nd, but the one before that was on a Thursday, October 13th.

Recently, it just seems we are seeing adjustments on Fridays and Saturdays. I mean, that can make sense if Google has search launch meetings towards the end of the week and pushes happen on Fridays? I am just guessing here…

But this past Friday, I doubt Google pushed an update. But yet we had some signals, less so, than in previous updates. So I think this one is just Thanksgiving holiday traffic changes, seasonal changes you’d see in both traffic and search volume?

SEO Chatter

Here is some of the chatter I found across the SEO community about this unconfirmed Google search update from WebmasterWorld starting around Friday:

An 18 hours dead zone for my global site with modest traffic returning at 06.00 UK time but for how long?

UK sites have seen less traffic for several days yet real-world business is still holding-up for the moment.

Yesterday was the worst day for me as well in the last 17 years. We have been hit hard and down 50% since last year though. We always see a decline before or on a holiday in the US (in this case Thanksgiving) and then a bump afterwards.

Same here. Yesterday I had numbers from the beginning of my main website that I started in 2013. It’s unfortunate…

I am seeing tanking traffic too. Across all my sites.

Some of it probably is due to Google going into turbo greed mode for Black Friday/Christmas, but it’s more than that – a steady downward trend started after US midterm election.

About 10-20% below normal all day today (UK traffic)

Our traffic is down about 12% and conversions (US Ecom) are down 50%+. In normal times we would see an increase in traffic and conversions with consumers who are in Black Friday spending mode. Inflation, recession, etc. all play a role in spending. However, our overall traffic drop is a combination of a substantial drop in buyer traffic to our product pages with a less substantial increase in traffic to our information pages. Taking a look at the SERPS it’s evident big brands are being promoted more than ever with an increase in Amazon crowded SERPS for many buyer intent queries. This is more of the same we’ve seen from Google in prior years, though each year it gets worse.

Traffic to my global site is precisely where I expected it to be with USA -33% with PVs.

UK hotel site with 95.6% long-term UK traffic is seeing both traffic and real-world footfall and takings up considerably. So far the World Cup is being good to us and with some good live bands over the next few weeks plus lots of Xmas lunches etc we may end 2022 on a high note :-)))

This weekend my traffic has gone down 90% overall, I am unsure if just a bad combo of world cup and post black Friday on the weekend which can be unpredictable but this is nuts.

USA traffic has been down this weekend…-16% yesterday. Today it’s starting the morning -53%. I don’t think it’s unusual for a holiday weekend when everyone is shopping for discounts, traveling or just not online. However, people have usually made their inquiries for Christmas purchases by now and it has been practically nil. The ones that did inquire in mid November had low budgets and no sales resulted. People are not spending freely, despite what news reports say about the well off spending…perhaps on food, travel and eating out yes but not on non-essential material goods. 2022 has been my lowest year for sales in memory…absolutely mind blowing. Even worse than the 2008 crash and worse than during the pandemic in 2020. I don’t see 2023 changing that. Unfortunately I used to be able to depend on at least one foreign market to bring in sales at any time…this year the high dollar, UK economy plunging due to Brexit and the slow economy in Europe and Australia meant that there was no place to turn really.

So there is chatter, for sure…

Google Tracking Tools

Here are what the tracking tool are showing:

Advanced Web Rankings:

Algoroo:

Again, I doubt Google pushed something specific on Friday of Thanksgiving but maybe we are just seeing the seasonality of the holiday shopping season? What do you all think?

Not all the tools picked up on it, and again, it was a long holiday weekend.

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

Source: www.seroundtable.com

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Daily Search Forum Recap: September 11, 2024

Published

18 hours ago

September 11, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

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 is testing a new ad label header, it makes the ads stick out more. Google Search ranking volatility is still incredibly heated, even over a week after the core update finished. Google is sending out verification notices to Local Service Ads advertisers. Bing is testing a local pack with review source icons. Google AdSense is expanding auto ads to more languages. Google Search has a new video property for ineligible regions.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated A Week After Core Update

I sound like a broken record, but the Google Search ranking volatility is still incredibly heated and has not let down, even over a week after the Google August 2024 core update was completed on September 3rd.

Google Tests New Ad Label / Design That Makes Ads Stand Out

Google is testing a new ad label and interface that really make the ads way more noticeable in the Google Search results. The ad label still is a black sponsored label, but Google is testing it on a tall gray background, with subtitles like “promoted products” and “promoted results.”

Google Emails Advertisers On Local Services Ads Verification Requirements

In March, Google announced a new verification process for its Local Service Ads program. Well, now, Google has started to email advertisers that need to take the steps to verify their advertising accounts.

Bing Local Pack Tests Review Source Icons Instead Of Review Stars

Microsoft is testing adding the source of the reviews in the Bing Search local pack, instead of showing review stars. So if the Bing Search local pack is showing reviews from Yelp, it would show the Yelp logo, and if it is showing them from Facebook, it would show the Facebook logo.

Google Expands AdSense Auto Ads To French, Spanish, and Japanese

Google is expanding AdSense’s Auto ads to support French, Spanish, and Japanese languages. Previously, Auto ads were worked for English and German languages only.

Google Search Supports Ineligible Regions Property For Videos

Google Search now supports specifying where (which regions) a video is not allowed to be viewed in its video structured data and video SEO documentation. A new ineligibleRegion property was added to the Google video structured data documentation.

Google Chelsea Market Tile Backsplash

At the Google office in New York City, the Chelsea Market location, they have this kitchen area that has the old Google logo, with the location, Chelsea Market, tiled into the wall.

Other Great Search Threads:

Check scores on perplexity!, Aravind Srinivas on X

Data suggests that if Google does not recrawl a URL after 129 days URL it falls out of the index, Mic King on X

Google Loses €2.4bn Appeal In E.U. Over Market Dominance, WebmasterWorld

Looking at your URL placement in Google’s AI Overview’s isn’t just for SEOs… It’s for anyone trying to gauge brand presence and brand power Run your site vs your competitors in @semrush & see the relative level of URL placement, Mordy Oberstein on X

On the video from O’Keefe Media Group: The claims here are completely false — they were made by a junior sales rep, secretly filmed while on a date, who has never worked on these topics. As we’ve shared before, we do not manipulate our products or m, Google Communications on X

The time has come (after being replaced by INP as a CWV) -> Chrome ends support for First Input Delay (FID) “In January, Chrome announced its intention to officially end support for FID. Well, that time has finally come, and as of to, Glenn Gabe on X

GSC Issue, Reddit

You randomly stumble across a new website crawler / scraper service – it turns any website into a CSV file (just for sake of something to discuss, I don’t have one for you). Isn’t that cool?, John Mueller on LinkedIn

Search Engine Land Stories:

Feedback:

Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky and you can follow us on Facebook and on Google News 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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Daily Search Forum Recap: September 10, 2024

Published

2 days ago

September 10, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

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.

Apple Visual Intelligence is Apple’s version of Google Lens but it uses Google, ChatGPT, Yelp and others. Google AI Overviews are showing for commercial queries again, showing product and shopping results. A new report on AI Overviews says about half of the links in the AI Overviews overlap with the traditional organic results. Google is showing Business Profile photos on its review sentiments. And Bing Search has a footer message to search again.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

Apple Visual Intelligence – Local, Shopping & More

Apple had its big event yesterday, and during the iPhone talk, they announced Apple Visual Intelligence. Where you can take photos of anything, and it will use Apple Intelligence for local search, shopping, homework help, and more.
Google AI Overviews Show Shopping Results For Commercial Queries Again

Google is bringing back shopping and product results in the AI Overviews for commercial queries. I’ll be honest, I don’t remember them going away but I am told they have now returned. Maybe they went away with the Ray update, when Google restricted how often AI Overviews showed.
Report: Half Google AI Overviews Links Overlap With Top Search Results

A new Google AI Overview study says that about half of the links displayed in the AI Overviews overlap with the links shown in the traditional Google Search results. Plus, the most linked to sources are YouTube and Wikipedia, according to the new report.
Google Maps Showing Business Photos On Review Sentiments

Google is now showing business submitted photos from Google Business Profiles in the Google Local and Maps review sentiments section. So above the reviews, Google may show photos submitted by the business, related to those reviews.
Bing Search Footer Message To Encourage More Searches

Microsoft is testing, showing a notice at the bottom of the Bing search results that says, “Search by typing anything on the keyboard.” This happens when you reach the footer of the Bing Search results. When you start typing, your characters appear in the search box for a new Bing Search session.

Google Flying Dutchman Cafe In Netherlands Office

Here is a photo from the Google Netherlands office, they have a cafe there named the Flying Dutchman cafe. This is the salad station in that cafe and you can see the art on the walls.

Other Great Search Threads:

Search Engine Land Stories:

Feedback:

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Daily Search Forum Recap: September 9, 2024

Published

3 days ago

September 9, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

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 Ads will sunset enhanced CPC in March 2025. Google Business Profiles sends out broken appointment link notifications. Bing doesn’t yet use ProductGroup markup, but may use it soon. Bing treats 308 redirects like 301 redirects. Bing is testing a button for shopping results named “see details.”

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

Google Ads Saying Goodbye To Enhanced CPC In March 2025

Google Ads emailed advertisers using Enhanced cost-per-click (eCPC) to let them know that in March 2025, Enhanced CPC will be sunset and any campaigns using Enhanced CPC will be migrated to Manual CPC bidding.

Google Business Profile Appointment Link Broken Notifications

Google is emailing some businesses when it detects that their Google Business Profile appointment link is not working. Google’s email says, “Fix your business Google link.”

Bing Treats 308 Redirects Same As 301 Redirects

Fabrice Canel from Microsoft said that Bing Search treats 308 redirects the same as they treat 301 redirects. This is the same as what Google said back in 2021, although Google has been a bit wishy-washy on redirects over the years.

Bing May Use ProductGroup Markup In The Future

Microsoft Bing may use ProductGroup markup in the future for its “captions” in the Bing Search results. Fabrice Canel from Microsoft said while they do not support it yet, “it’s on our radar” and “the team is closely monitoring its adoption.”

Bing Product Search Results With See Details Button

Bing is testing a big blue “see details” button for some of the product listings in its search results. Normally when you hover your mouse cursor over the products, they expand a little but now they are also showing a blue button to “see details.”

Google European France Fence

Here is the fence in front of the Google office in Paris, France, I believe. It is one of those European castle-like fences, but the polls are in the Google red, blue, green, and yellow colors.