This is a large report for Google webmasters in August 2022. Related to Google Search and his SEO topic, we’ve rounded up what you may have missed over the past month. Confirmed Google Algorithm Updates, his July 2022 product review update launched Friday, and tools just picked up this morning. There was a massive indexing outage, some unconfirmed updates, and Google created its own algorithm update landing page.
Google updated its Search Quality Rater guidelines last week. This is always big news in the world of SEO. Google Search Console has updated its help documentation on anonymized queries. Google Search Console Insights now works with Google Analytics 4, allowing you to once again verify properties using DNS CNAMEs. Also, its new video indexing report is now slowly rolling out.
We also covered many SEO topics and user interface changes.
Google has announced a series of changes to Merchant Center that will stop the Google My Business app from working locally. Additionally, Google is testing a new AR prototype and announced earnings.
There’s a lot more, but the chatter in the ongoing WebmasterWorld thread is very light.
Below are the more important stories that I have pulled out for you.
Google Algorithm Update:
- July 2022 Google Product Reviews update rollout – everything we’ve seen so far
- Google Product Reviews update for July 2022 launched Friday afternoon
- Are your tracking tools noting the volatility of the July 2022 Google Product Reviews update?
- Was it related to the July 16th Google search algorithm update, or indexing issues?
- July 10th Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update – Unconfirmed
- Google Search Ranking Update Volatility on July 5th and July 7th
Other Important Google News:
- Google Search indexing issue on July 15th – Google not indexing new content
- Google updates search quality rating guidelines on July 28
- Google creates landing page with timeline of major ranking updates
Google Search Console:
- Google Search Console anonymizes a large number of queries. Help documentation update after Ahrefs research
- Google Search Console Insights Finally Supports Google Analytics 4
- New validation for Google Search Console with DNS CNAME
- Google Search Console video index report rollout very slow
- Potential bug in Google Search Console performance reports for video on desktop
Google SEO:
- Google: Age verification requirements may prevent your site from appearing in Google Discover
- Google super basic video on SEO
- Google repeats that unique IP addresses don’t help Google rankings
- Google Signed Exchanges for Desktop, Top Stories and News are now live
- Google: Pages for search queries are equivalent to pages for low-effort categories
Google User Interface:
- Destination queries on Google Discover Stories with TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube
- Google Now test interactive card knowledge panel box layout
- Google Search tests rich card layouts on net worth, news, videos and more
- People at Google also ask for a return to normal levels
- People at Google also asked significantly less
- RankRanger: What You Need to Know About Google No Longer Appearing in Desktop Search
- Google’s top ranked SERP feature leads to critic reviews and product review articles on mobile
- Google’s Interesting Find SERP Features Disappearing from Search Results – Maybe They’re No Longer Interesting
- Google Perspective search results
- User-Rated Google Search Carousel
- Google Tests List View Top Stories, News Takes Over Web Results
- Google testing further explores search refinement for product queries
- Google Search shows return period in search result snippet
- Google tests a sleek search bar combined with vertical navigation
- List of Google hotels newly featured in the section
- Video added to Google’s Popular Products section
- Google product results carousel with highlights
- Product reviews appear in the Google product carousel Appear in these listings
- Google product results test customer favorites, most mentioned and more labels
- News box for trending topics in Google Search on mobile
- Google Search updates Suicide Prevention Box with new options
- Test Get There, Weather and Map Cards with Google Search
- Google Search Timer & Stopwatch Stop Tick
Google Merchant Center:
- Google Merchant Center now allows free listings with purchase restrictions and login required
- Google Merchant Center Website Improvement Policy Needs Update: Remove Disapproval
- Google Merchant Center adds auto-tagging to all free listings across Google
Google Business Profile and Local:
- Google My Business app is no longer available
- Google’s Response to Recent One-Star Review Scams and Extortion Threats
- Google Business Profile Messages FAQ for Autoresponders to Customers
- Google Business Profile, testing expandable menus in web search
- Google pushes business profile verification with video
- Hide your address from customers by switching your Google Business Profile
- Google Maps may remove selfies, blurry or low quality images
- Google Tests ‘Reviews Not Verified’ Label
- Google posts now expire after 6 months
- Add aerial shots, cycling details and more to Google Maps
Other Other Google:
- Google Analytics 4 Now Supports UTM Duration, UTM Content, Conversion Rate and Bounce Rate Metrics
- Google tests new AR prototype – watch out for Google Glass
- Google Ads revenue increased 13.5%, Microsoft Bing Ads revenue increased 15%, but growth slowed
Forum discussion on WebmasterWorld.
