Recently, in a Google Webmaster Hangout, John Mueller answered a query that would using the same content for product and category pages demote or affect any one or both the pages. He threw light on how Google handles duplication of content among product and category pages, the consequences of repeating snippets, and puts forward his opinion on how publishers should handle this.

Category pages consist product listings, which users can browse through and click on a specific product. They will be then redirected to the product page. The problem arises when these two contain the same content.

Google has recently released an important AMP testing tool update. Users can now access the tool in two ways. One, at its usual destination, and second, by entering AMP directly in the Google search bar.

Google is constantly adding new features and advanced filtering options to it’s new Search Console.

One of the major change in Search Console that Google announced earlier this week was the access to 16 months of data. On top of that, Google now brings up new ways to filter data.

Business owners with access to the new Google Search Console can see the filters within their Search Performance report.

Recently, in a Webmaster Central Hangout, John Mueller from Google discussed content optimization for voice search and Google Assistant, and answered queries related to the same. He classified good and bad content, and suggested what’s not a good fit. He advises to avoid over-optimizing and provided examples of what might be perceived as a spam.

Some time back, Google launched Google Assistant for speakers and cars. They sent notice to publishers suggesting them ways to upgrade their content to be more visible on Google Assistant. Currently, the feature is applicable only to a handful kinds of content, which would surely expand to other types of content. Thus, understanding content optimization for Google Assistant would be an important aspect of search marketing in 2018.

Google recently announced about launching another resource for you to understand your website better and improve its performance. It has begun with a new series of short videos, which they call SEO snippets, used for providing short & to the point answers to specific questions.

Have a look at the following video for detailed understanding of SEO snippets:

Google spokesperson confirmed to the Search Engine Journal about minor changes made to the core algorithm this month. He said, “We released several minor improvements during this timeframe, part of our regular and routine efforts to improve relevancy”.

Many websites experienced volatility mainly from December 12-14.

Danny Sullivan, Google’s public liaison for search, in a Twitter post, made it appear less important. He said, “Reports calling this a single “update” or calling it “Fred” don’t reflect what we actually said: there were several minor changes that happened as they routinely do in any particular week.”