The Featured Snippet is the official SEO newsletter of Performics and is dedicated to keeping you up to date with the latest SEO industry news, trends, and events—all in an easy-to-read, summed-up format.
In the December 2021 issue of The Featured Snippet:
In early December, Google released a new search algorithm update named the “December 2021 products reviews” update—Google’s second product reviews update with the first rolling out in April 2021. (covered in the April 2021 issue of The Featured Snippet). The update is meant to reward product reviews that share in-depth information. The official announcement from Google is below:
Sources:
Between November 30 and December 8, Google confirmed that it ran a local search ranking update. According to Google, the purpose of the update was to rebalance “various factors we consider in generating local search results.” The update may have impacted local rankings in the Google Maps and local pack results and could potentially impact overall traffic. The official announcement from Google is below:
Sources:
Google officially rolled out a new design for its Top Stories section on desktop search results. The updated design is shown below:
Sources:
Google has launched a new search bar autocomplete design that comes with additional predictions that could be related to your search. Google is currently testing another type of autocomplete labeled “edge to edge.” The edge to edge version includes a feature where the search box at the top would blend into the other parts of the search results page. The update search bar is shown below:
Sources:
There were a few errors coming from GSC in December. The first one was an internal issue that caused Google to send out Search Console notifications regarding redirect errors. Google later confirmed that it was a bug that caused these notifications to go out and that they weren’t due to any website issues.
The second error was the Google Search Console Outage. A large number of people reported this outage, and when trying to access GSC they instead received 429 error codes. Google confirmed five days later that the issue was fully resolved.
Sources:
Google is now offering the ability to connect Google Analytics 4 and Google Search Console properties. This joint data view will allow users to compare search traffic data and find correlations along the user’s journey. The official announcement from Google is below:
Sources:
DuckDuckGo will be launching a desktop app similar to their mobile app. The desktop browser promotes online privacy across search, email, and more. An official launch date has not been released. Images of the new browser are below:
Sources:
Google Launches New Map & Local Interface
On December 9, Google confirmed that there will be design changes to the local map pack within search results. This new design features the map and locations side by side on desktop rather than stacking the map on top of business location information. The new design is shown below:
Sources:
Google Posts Open for Hotels
In mid-December, Google announced that hotels are now able to use the Google Posts feature in a limited capacity. While Google is not allowing hotels to post promotions or deals, the feature can now be used to provide information pertaining to the hotel such as events, COVID-19 protocols, and/or updates like renovations or new amenities.
Sources: