In the last Google Webmaster Office Hours, the topic of synonyms in Google Search was discussed, specifically around how Google recognizes synonyms, and when there is a new word introduced, how Google learns to connect it. First, he says that Google learns synonyms automatically. There isn’t a generated database of synonyms that Google obtains and […]
Archives for 2018
Google Testing Large Product Knowledge Panel With Paid & Organic Features
Google is testing a new large product based knowledge panel in their search results. This new style is a cross between a product knowledge panel and a Product Listing Ad, something they first began testing several years ago, with a combination of both paid and organic search features included. Dr. Pete Meyers from Moz spotted […]
Keyword Stuffing Will Not Cause Sites to be Removed from Google
Keyword stuffing is an SEO trick that dates back many, many years – predating Google – and it is still periodically seen by sites that are ranking well in the search results. But how bad is it to do it on a site? The question came up on Twitter and John Mueller from Google clarified […]
Google Adds New Hotel Carousel Features to Search Results
Google is testing a new carousel style feature to local packs for resorts and hotels. In addition to the usual information, it has added an additional carousel before the listings. Dr. Pete Meyers spotted the test. Here is what it looks like: As you can see in the screenshot, there are new buttons in a […]
Google Adds Location & Location Icon to Search Results
Google is testing a new icon in the search results to show the specific location of a search result, in addition to showing a location icon, similar to the map icon used on Google Maps. It seems to be used primarily for news results in the regular organic search results. Here is what it looks […]
Google Treats Hreflang in Sitemaps and HTML the Same
There are multiple ways to add hreflang annotations for webpages, but are any of the ways treated differently by Google? Is one way processed faster than another? The question came up on Twitter, and John Mueller from Google confirmed that Google treats each hreflang application the same, regardless of whether it is in HTML or […]
Google Dropping Meta Tag Description Length Warnings from Search Console
Ever since Google has very publicly taken the stance that they do not have a recommended character count for meta description tags, some have wondered what that means for the meta tag warnings in Google Search Console that alerts site owners when their meta description tags are too long or too short. But with no […]
Google Search Console Crawl Stats to Update Soon
Google Search Console stopped updating data for crawl stats back on May 23rd for all users. But for those worried it might be a permanent change due to the migration to the new Google Search Console, it is not. The stats should start updating again soon. John Mueller from Google confirmed that it is a […]
Google: Don’t Block Googlebot from Slow Resources on Page
An interesting question came up in the Google Webmaster Office hours – if a site has a slow loading resource, such as javascript, that does not break the render, is it okay to block Googlebot from crawling it because it is slow and could impact the page negatively with regards to page speed? First, it […]
Google’s Googlebot Crawling, Search Visibility and Rankings
When it comes to crawling the web, Googlebot crawls some pages with high frequency, with many crawls per day, while other pages can go months between Googlebot visits. John Mueller from Google made some interesting comments regarding web pages that are crawled infrequently and why that might be, and if it is a concern for SEOs. […]