This week at SEOPartner, we’re sharing: SEO updates that can deliver significant impact to your results, exciting changes in the marketplace to watch out for, good-to-know studies and information, and tips to try based on recent findings on search, online marketing and more.
The Year in Search: Google Reveals Top Trending Topics of 2016
Google takes a look back at the last 12 months and came up with the list of trending trends that “defined the year in Google Search.”
The following are the topics that ranked high in search interest and are unique to this year:
1. Powerball
2. Politicians and athletes
3. Pokémon Go
4. Quinoa and Budweiser
5. Slime and… mannequins
In Global News, the top 5 searches in order are: U.S. Election, Olympics, Brexit, Orlando Shooting and Zika Virus.
Meanwhile, the most searched people are: Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Michael Phelps, Melania Trump and Simone Biles.
Source: https://blog.google/products/search/year-search-2016/
New Google Wallet Unveiled
Google Wallet recently received a design overhaul. The changes aim to make sending and receiving payments on the web faster and more reliable.
The new Wallet on the web look and additional features will allow users to:
– Use Google Wallet without leaving their browser – it’s now available across all browsers including Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari and more.
– Send money to contacts via email or phone number. The receiver can also make quick Wallet-to-bank money transfers without the need to install an app.
– Request money. Google will send and log the transaction request, reducing inefficient or awkward debt collection situations.
– Make payments easier. Set default payment methods to transfer Google Wallet money to your preferred account without the need to cash out.
Source: https://blog.google/topics/shopping-payments/new-google-wallet-web/
Google Issues Reminder Vs. Automated Queries
Google’s Gary Illyes recently published a quick warning against sending automated searches to search engines, a practice that is against webmaster guidelines.
In a Twitter post, Illyes said:
Friendly reminder that sending automated queries to search engines are generally against their Terms of Service.
— Gary 鯨理／경리 Illyes (so official, trust me) (@methode) December 14, 2016
His fellow webmaster trends analyst John Mueller posted a similar message, calling out a software company that offers a tool designed to conduct automated queries.
https://twitter.com/JohnMu/status/808953946169606145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Insiders say it is a sign of an impending crackdown when the search giant issues announcements about their known policies.
No More Cussing for Google Reviews Schema
Statements that contain profanity and vulgar language will not be eligible for Google’s critic reviews, new markup guidelines show.
Google’s Critic review policies were recently updated to show an additional item saying: “[P]rofanity and vulgar language are prohibited. Do not include reviews that contain vulgar or profane language.”
If Google discovers profanity and vulgar language in a site’s review section, the search giant may decide to remove the site’s rich snippets from the search results.
Businesses are advised to clean up their site and update their internal quality control and spam detection process to ensure their site is free from dirty talk.
SUMMING IT ALL UP
Here are the top headlines in this week’s SEO news roundup:
The Year in Search: Google Reveals Top Trending Topics of 2016. This year, there is a heightened search for Pokémon Go, Donald Trump, quinoa and Stranger Things.
New Google Wallet Unveiled. Google updated Wallet to make payments on the web easier, quicker and more reliable.
Google Issues Reminder Vs. Automated Queries. Experts are expecting a crackdown against sites that still use this blackhat practice.
No More Cussing for Google Reviews Schema. Profane and vulgar language can now cause a site’s rich snippets to be taken down from search results.