Google Core Update, Google Product Reviews Update, Google Mobile First Indexing, Algorithm Hell & 18 Years

An insane week to end an insane month of Google changes is how to sum up this SEO video recap. Google finished rolling out the November 2021 core update on Tuesday afternoon, November 30th. So you know, 60% of SEOs said they didn’t see changes with that core update. Then a day later, on Wednesday, December 1st, Google began to roll out the second product reviews algorithm update of the year – with new rules and changes. Google also told us they are doing away with the mobile first indexing deadline (I forgot to talk about this, so read that news below). Google admitted there are some rare cases a site can go into Google algorithm limbo or hell. I posted the big Google December webmaster report – it was an insane month. Google said site speed is not why your rankings dropped or increased in a significant way. Google said your URL changes from a year ago is not why your rankings are still down today. Google said human readable sitemaps are really not necessary for SEO. Google still does not index parts of a page. Google said links to or from small sites are fine. Google Ads performance planner added a bunch of features. Google Merchant Center has a new competitive visibility report and a report to show which badges you are eligible for. Google Shopping Ads displayed negative prices for some ads automatically. Google is rolling out an expandable snippet carousel. Google is also showing a language carousel in some countries. You can now filter healthcare providers by the insurances they accept in the U.S. Google has some neat Chanukah easter eggs, with donuts, menorahs and dreidels. And I am humbled to say it has been 18 years of me writing about search – it is the 18th anniversary of the Search Engine Roundtable. And if you want to help sponsor those vlogs, go to patreon.com/barryschwartz. That was the search news this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

SPONSOR: This week’s video recap is sponsored by Loud Interactive, a Chicago-based SEO firm led by Brent D. Payne.

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