Two Google Algorithm Updates, Machine Learning at Google, Google My Business Updates & More

While we had our typical weekend Google Search ranking update, we also saw a ton of chatter on Thursday morning and that is unusual. So there may have been two updates to Google Search this past week, one between May 7th and 9th and the other on May 13th. With that, Danny Sullivan of Google confirmed the company did not launch any new core update since December 2020. I asked John Mueller more about how Google uses machine learning and his response was interesting. Google’s Danny Sullivan said it does not use The Trust Project directly for search rankings. Google I/O is next week, and there are already videos in the queue around SEO and search. Google Search Console changed how it reports on event structured data. Schema.org launched its replacement for the Google structured data testing tool. Google may be showing more people also ask results. Google may be testing a local ten pack, but it might be a bug. Google My Business added Google My Business is going to add direction requests and website visits to the performance report. Google My Business also launched a new call history report, this time with data. They also released a booking report in the performance report but it does not show much data at all. There was a bug for 18 months or so that displayed the addresses of businesses that set their addresses not to show in the local results. Google released a video on how it labels Google ads after Rachel Maddow may have had malware messing up the ads. Google Search launched a new easter egg for a query on dvd screensaver and for the 25th anniversary of the WNBA. Just a note, I am offline Monday and Tuesday for a Jewish holiday, so I won’t be posting any breaking news since I won’t be able to turn on my computer. That was this past week in search at the Search Engine Roundtable.

0:00 – Introduction
0:36 – Google Search Ranking Algorithm Tremors On May 7th & May 9th : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-ranking-algorithm-tremors-31389.html
1:06 – May 13th Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update (Not Confirmed) : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-ranking-algorithm-update-31415.html
1:31 – Google Confirms No Broad Core Update Since December 2020 : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-no-broad-core-update-31419.html
2:29 – More On How Google Uses Machine Learning In Google Search : https://www.seroundtable.com/how-google-search-uses-machine-learning-31386.html
3:41 – Google: We Do Not Use The Trust Project Directly For Search Rankings : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-trust-project-31394.html
4:55 – SEO Sessions At Google I/O : https://www.seroundtable.com/seo-related-sessions-at-google-i-o-31405.html
5:46 – Google Search Console Changes Event Structured Data Reporting : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-console-event-structured-data-reporting-change-31397.html
6:19 – Schema.org Markup Validator Is Now Live : https://www.seroundtable.com/schema-org-markup-validator-now-live-31403.html
7:01 – Report: Google Showing People Also Ask Results More Often : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-people-also-ask-results-more-often-31395.html
7:25 – Google 10 Local Pack – A Bug? : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ten-local-pack-31402.html
7:56 – Google My Business Performance Report To Add Direction Requests & Website Visits : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-my-business-performance-report-more-31409.html
8:34 – Google My Business Call History Feature Now Showing Call Data : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-my-business-call-history-data-31399.html
8:55 – Google My Business Insights Now Shows Bookings Reporting Data : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-my-business-insights-bookings-data-31391.html
9:15 – Google Bug Displayed Hidden Business Addresses In Google Local Shopping Search : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-bug-address-google-local-shopping-search-31392.html
10:01 – Google Releases Video On Google Ads After Complaints From Rachel Maddow : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-video-rachel-maddow-complaints-31413.html
10:15 – Google Search Screen Saver (Easter Egg) : https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-screen-saver-31414.html
10:26 – Google Search WNBA Easter Egg : https://www.seroundtable.com/wnba-google-search-easter-egg-31421.html
10:38 – Conclusion