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.

I am seeing more ranking volatility from the Google core update today. Google’s helpful content update is no longer, it is just a core update that has systems for determining helpfulness. Bing is testing dropping the estimated search results count in the search results. SEO is not about magic says Google. Google Ads has a new warning for location issues. Google Merchant Center published its annual product data specification.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• 
  New Google March 2024 Core Update Ranking Volatility
  
  
  As the Google March 2024 core update hits the 36th day of its rollout, we are seeing more ranking fluctuations and volatility being reported both by the Google tracking tools and within the SEO community through a spike in chatter. Maybe this is the last wave of the update before it is done?
• 
  Reminder: Google’s Helpful Content Update Is No More – It’s A Core Update
  
  
  As a reminder, with the release of the Google March 2024 core update, the old Google helpful content update is no longer a thing. As we reported, Google has incorporated helpfulness signals into the overall core update, but that old helpful content update is no longer around.
• 
  Bing Search Tests Removing Estimated Number Of Results
  
  
  Microsoft is testing removing the estimated number of search results count in the Bing Search results interface. This comes after Bing began testing removing the cache link from the search result snippets.
• 
  Google: SEO Is Not About Magic
  
  
  Google’s John Mueller had another one-liner, this one he said, “keep in mind that SEO is not really about magic.” This was in response to trying to SEOs trying to find some magic by using various HTML elements and thus seeing some sort of SEO benefit to that “magic.”
• 
  2024 Google Merchant Center Product Data Specification Updates
  
  
  Google has published its yearly update for its Merchant Center product data specification. Some of the changes listed below went into effect yesterday, April 9, while some go into effect on July 31, 2024, and others don’t go into effect until September 1, 2023.
• 
  New Warning Google Ads For Location Not Matching
  
  
  Google Ads has a new warning notification within the Google Ads reports that reads, “The search location doesn’t match this campaign’s location targeting settings.” This is a way for Google Ads to target ads to geographic locations.
• 
  Eclipse Viewings At Google Offices
  
  
  As you know, Monday we had many spots in the US to view the eclipse, some even got totality. Here are some photos from various Google offices of the eclipse. This one above is from the NYC office, which had about 90% coverage.

Other Great Search Threads:

Search Engine Land Stories:

Other Great Search Stories:

Analytics

Industry & Business

Links & Content Marketing

Local & Maps

Mobile & Voice

SEO

PPC

Search Features

Other Search

Feedback:

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