Google Algorithm Tweaks, Evil Featured Snippets, Bing Content Submission API & More

Google seemed to have another unconfirmed update last weekend, but that one seemed more focused on the product reviews side of things. The local tracking tool is going insane but the local SEO community says all is status quo. Microsoft finally announced a beta of the content submission API, this is interesting. I caught Google adding links to featured snippets again, those links were not in the site’s content but added by Google as query refinements back to itself – Google told me it was a bug. Google also seems like it can make up artificial author names for its search result snippets. Google’s John Mueller, Gary Illyes and Martin Splitt spoke hypothetically about creating their own search engine named Steve and how they would run it – it was fun and also educational. Google’s John Mueller gave some detailed advice on optimizing images and what to watch out for when it comes to image search rankings. Google confirmed that you can be indexed but not on all of its data centers. Google said it does not penalize sites for using Google Analytics. Google Search Console has stopped reporting on the scroll-to-text fragment URLs. Microsoft Advertising has decided to also expand phrase match to cover broad match modifiers, they blame Google Ads. Google Ads customer match now has a real time match rates report. Google Local Service Ads has a bug that can change your bid modes. Google My Business added wheelchair accessibility attributes. Google My Business support contact us form lets you select your business in a drop down. Google Search now can show emojis in the jump links. Google search is testing a super wide image results box. Rachel Maddow from MSNBC tweeted that she is not happy with the Google results because it hides ads and jumps around and more…

* Sponsored by Loud Interactive, a Chicago-based SEO firm led by Brent D. Payne

0:00 – Introduction
0:54 – May 2021 Google Webmaster Report : https://www.seroundtable.com/may-2021-google-webmaster-report-31355.html
1:18 – Google Ranking Algorithm Update : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ranking-algorithm-update-product-reviews-related-31348.html
2:18 – Local SEOs Not Seeing Unusual Google Local Ranking Fluctuations : https://www.seroundtable.com/local-seos-no-google-local-ranking-changes-31346.html
2:44 – Bing Content Submission API Beta Is Now Available : https://www.seroundtable.com/bing-content-submission-api-beta-open-31381.html
4:29 – Google Adds Links To Featured Snippets Leading Back To Google Search Results : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-links-featured-snippets-more-queries-31352.html
5:52 – Google Artificially Creating Author Names : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-artificially-creating-author-names-31380.html
6:26 – Google Talks Hypothetically About Speed As A Ranking Factor : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-talks-hypothetically-about-speed-as-a-ranking-factor-31375.html
8:06 – Google Advice On How To Optimize Images While Not Hurting Image Search Rankings : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-images-optimization-not-hurting-image-search-rankings-31347.html
9:08 – Google Confirms Your Content Be Indexed But Not On All Data Centers : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-indexed-data-centers-31370.html
9:38 – Google: We Do Not Penalize Sites For Using Google Analytics : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-analytics-no-search-penalty-31361.html
10:04 – Google Search Console Stops Reporting On Scroll To Text : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-console-stops-scroll-to-text-data-31358.html
10:48 – Microsoft Advertising Also Expands Phrase Match To Cover Broad Match Modifier : https://www.seroundtable.com/microsoft-advertising-expands-phrase-match-to-cover-broad-match-modifier-31366.html
11:26 – Google Ads Customer Match Now Has Real-Time Match Rates : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-upgrades-customer-match-31344.html
11:49 – Google Local Services Ads Bug May Have Changed Your Bid Mode : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-local-services-ads-bug-bid-mode-31374.html
12:18 – Google My Business Wheelchair Accessibility Attributes : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-my-business-wheelchair-accessibility-attributes-31368.html
12:44 – Google My Business Contact Us Form Select Business Drop Down : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-my-business-contact-us-form-select-business-31372.html
13:03 – Google Search Jumplinks With Emojis : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-jumplinks-sitelinks-with-emojis-31379.html
13:15 – Google Search Super Wide Image Results Box : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-testing-wide-image-results-box-31376.html
13:23 – Rachel Maddow Of MSNBC Calls Out Google For Hiding Search Ads But She Likely Has Malware : https://www.seroundtable.com/rachel-maddow-msnbc-google-search-malware-31364.html
14:35 – Verizon To Sell Yahoo & AOL For $5 Billion After Buying Each For ~$5 Billion : https://www.seroundtable.com/verizon-to-sell-yahoo-aol-for-5-billion-31354.html
16:15 – Conclusion