Daily Search Forum Recap: July 18, 2023 -

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

Just when you thought the ranking tools couldn’t get any hotter, today, we saw volatility like never before. Google’s John Mueller spoke about keyword research and his dislike of fake personas on websites. Google is testing boxed-in favicons in the search results. Google is testing Google News sources suggested for you.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

Did Google Search Volatility Break Rank Tracking Tools?

Some of the Google Search rank-checking tools are so far off their scales that they look broken to me. Did Google’s insane volatility break the automated Google Search volatility tracking tools?

Google Search Tests Boxed-In Favicon Design

Google Search is testing boxed-in favicons for snippets. That is, instead of the favicon as is, Google is placing them in a square box.

Google’s John Mueller On Keyword Research For SEO

Google’s John Mueller was asked if keyword research helps SEO. John immediately replied, “no,” but then explained why he said no. It is not the task keyword research that helps with SEO, but understanding what you are writing about and why that kind of helps.

Google: Making Up Fake Online Profiles Is Awkward & Cheap; You Don’t Need Multiple Personas

Google’s John Mueller seemed to get annoyed the other day around people faking who they are with fake personas. He posted a PSA, public service announcement, on Twitter Monday saying, “PSA making up fake people for your review site is awkward, even with fake Linkedin profiles. Copying YT reviews from others together to make your own is cheap. Submitting it as a ranking question to the office hours, uhm, what do you want us to say?”

Google News Suggested For You – To Find News Sources

Google News seems to be testing a new section in the “for you” section named “Suggested for you.” This section shows you news sources that you can follow within Google News.

Google Pinball Arcade Games In Irvine Office

We know Google has its game rooms, many with arcade games; we saw also the pinball games in the Seattle office that got used a lot. But here is a photo from the Google Irvine office with pinball games