Daily Search Forum Recap

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.

Google said you should look for ways to reduce duplication on your site by a factor of 10X. Google said sometimes it makes sense to have an "often updated" XML Sitemap file. Google removed some structured data fields from HowTo, QAPage and SpecialAnnouncement schema. Survey said that link acquisition is the most challenging aspect of SEO. Facebook renamed to Meta and Google Search picked up on the change fast. I published the weekly video recap, which is now also on Spotify and Google Pocasts. Finally, Google updated some of their social media icons for Halloween.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Search Update On 10/26, Continuous Scroll Confusion, Search Console API Updates & Meta
  This week, we almost made it without reporting on a Google search ranking update but we did have one, maybe on October 26th. There is confusion around Google's continuous scroll and the impact it has on Search Console reporting...
• Google Search Handled Facebook Name Change To Meta
  The big news yesterday was that Facebook announced its new company name - Meta. Yes, Facebook's company name is Meta. Like meta data, meta tag, and all the other metas that Google Search might have ranked prior. But when Facebook's announcement came out - the Google Search results adapted quickly to rank this breaking news.
• Google On How To Reduce Duplication By A Factor Of 10X
  I spotted an interesting comment from John Mueller of Google about URLs and reducing duplication. He said focusing on individual URLs here and there won't help you much, it is more about looking where you can "reduce duplication by a factor of 10x."
• Google: An Often Updated Sitemap Might Be A Good Idea
  Google's John Mueller told one webmaster that for his specific example, it might be a good idea for him to have a separate XML sitemap file for URLs that are "often updated." John said "putting the newer URLs into a single "often updated" sitemap file is probably a good idea here."
• Google Removes Some HowTo, QAPage & SpecialAnnouncement From Help Documents
  Google has removed the following structured data fields from its Google Search help documentation. Google said these were removed "since they are unused by Google Search and Rich Result Test doesn't flag warnings for them."
• Survey Says: Links The Most Challenging Area Of SEO
  A Twitter poll by Brodie Clark has SEOs voting that link acquisition is the most challenging area of SEO. The poll had over 750 votes, and almost 60% of those who voted said link acquisition is the "most challenging" area of SEO. Links were followed by technical SEO with 25% of the votes, then copywriting and then local SEO.
• Google Halloween Scary Social Icons From Google Ads To Google Maps
  Google has redesigned some of their social icons on Twitter and other platforms for Halloween. Google, Google Maps, Google Ads, Google Play, Google Developers and others are now dressed up for the sca

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