GOOGLE SEARCH NEWS
Google Updates Its Core Search Algorithm.
Google has announced that it updated its core search algorithm. This is a routine, broad update that was released on 16 April. These kinds of updates are rolled out a few times each year, and they can impact a websites’ ranking by increasing or decreasing their rankings. As Google confirms, websites cannot and should not do anything specific about the changes they see.
Sources: Google Confirms Rolling Out a Broad Core Search Algorithm Update Earlier This Week
Google’s PageRank Gets a New Patent
Sources: United States Patent; PageRank Updated; Should SEOs Care About the Updated Google PageRank Patent?
Google renewed its patent for using PageRank. The patent document describes the operating principle and the value of PageRank. Although Google continues using PageRank for its rankings, they eliminated toolbar PR back in 2016 so that SEOs would stop relying on these numbers. Google’s representatives claim that the patent renewal will not impact ranking algorithms, and emphasize that a sheer fact of renewing the patent does not necessarily mean that the company is actually using PageRank in a way it is described in the document, and at all.
“Mentioned in Wikipedia”, a New Carousel in SERP
Google added a new carousel in search results, called «Mentioned in Wikipedia». The new feature is rolled out for both mobile and desktop search. For instance, if you enter a [dog food brands] query, this carousel only shows those brands that have a Wikipedia presence. Upon clicking on the “mentioned in Wikipedia”, the user gets directed to a special page on the encyclopedia’s website. And if you click on the brand within the carousel, you will be directed towards a new tab with search results for that particular company. It is still unclear which countries and which queries are already seeing the new carousel.
Sources: Google Adds “Mentioned on Wikipedia” Carousels in Search Results
Google Optimizes Its Autocomplete
In the forthcoming weeks, Google will start removing various types of its autocomplete predictions. The autocomplete feature is based on an analysis of real searches performed on Google and returns the most popular and trending combinations that are relevant to the characters you have entered; this is also based on your geolocation and previous search history. The search giant admits that the autocomplete is far from being perfect, and can even offer predictions that contradict the autocomplete policies. Google removes inappropriate suggestions based on the user feedback.
Manual Actions from Google for Expired Job Listings
Google renewed the schema documentation for Job Postings. According to the new rules, Google may issue manual actions on those website owners who failed to remove expired job listings. Google offers plenty of ways of removing your job posting:
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- By removing the markup from the webpage.
- By removing the entire page (404 or 410 status code).
- By adding a noindex meta tag to the page.
- By making sure the validThrough property is completed and in the past.
The manual actions will only impact websites that publish their vacancies with the job schema documentation.
Sources: Google May Issue Manual Actions Over Job Schema on Expired Job Listings
