We hope you are in good health. Here are some of the major SEO news updates of the week you need.
Search Related Updates and News From Major Search Engines
Google’s John Mueller on Brand Mentions
John Muller from Google was recently asked that if “Brand Mentions” actually helped with SEO and its ranking or not. The Webmaster trends Analyst explained the topic in detail and told the viewers how brand mentions matter and what is the role of the same in SEO and ranking.
Google Product Reviews Update For December 2021 Has Finally Been Wrapped Up!
The Google product reviews update for December 2021 has now fully rolled out. Google announced that the update was ready to roll on Tuesday, December 21, 2021. On asking for an update, Alan Kent mentioned on Twitter that, “The Google product review change has fully rolled out.”
The update began about 20 days ago, on December 1 and the original announcement declared that it would be ready to roll out from around three weeks from now.
Google Does Not Use it’s Analytics Tool 4 For Ranking Purposes
John Muller from Google recently clarified through Twitter that they do not make use of Google Analytics 4 for ranking purposes. Google has also mentioned a number of times that they do not use Google Analytics in its ranking system, and according to them, the new Google 4 is no exception to it!
Bing Shopping Buy Now Integrates With Shopify and Ethical Shopping
Microsoft
Bing announced the introduction of its Shopify integration, which allows users to purchase items directly from Bing Shopping and Bing Search on the Shopify site. It also created a new Ethical Shopping hub in the UK a few weeks ago, which is expected to grow beyond the UK.
So, it’s true that Microsoft Bing just announced a collaboration with Shopify? Yes, they did, but it is now live, and if you click Buy Now, it will skip the steps and add the goods and your experience to the shopping cart’s check outflow on that site.
Google Says There is no Requirement of Working Over Holidays!
On Twitter, Google’s John Mueller stated that there is no need to focus on SEO concerns over the weekends or holidays when it comes to Google Search ranking algorithm upgrades. “Algorithms at Google tend to focus more on the long term,” he remarked. “As a result, it doesn’t make sense to “urgently” modify a site for them,” he continued. “You don’t need to work nonstop over the weekend/holidays” with these upgrades, according to John Mueller.
Now Google’s Top Stories Will Not be Showing AMP Logos in the Dark Theme
When the searcher is using the beta version of dark mode, Google’s Danny Sullivan verified that the AMP specific emblem for your news items would not appear in the top stories carousel. “Logos aren’t visible in Top Stories when you set the search appearance to the Dark Theme, even if the website is AMP,” Kenichi Suzuki noticed and provided the examples on Twitter.
New Travel Search Features Announced by Microsoft
Microsoft recently announced new travel search features, which also included suggested itineraries and inspiration, Drink and dining information, and 360 immersive views. This feature has started rolling in the US for now so, let us know what these travel search features are.
PPC Related Updates and News
Conversion Data Getting Affected Due to a Bug in Google Ads Confirms Google
Google has verified that an issue in Google Ads is causing conversion numbers to be skewed.
The problem only affects Google Ads conversions that employ attribution models other than First/Last Click, such as Data-Driven Attribution (DDA). Google also said that the data could be delayed for up to 24 hours and that it is working to resolve the issue.
Social Media Updates and News
Tiktok Takes Over Google as the Top Domain Spot
If you are looking for the world’s most popular domain and expecting Google to be the answer, you must know that TikTok has dethroned Google! Yes, according to the rankings from WSCC, also known as Web Security Company Cloudflare, the worlds most popular domain does no longer belong to Google. When Google was the topmost last year, TikTok was placed at number 7 on the list!
