Google Rolling Out New Top Stories Design On Desktop

 Google is now rolling out a new design for the Top stories section in the desktop version of its search results, a Google spokesperson confirmed with Search Engine Land. The new design matches the design efforts of the mobile Top stories section that launched about two years ago.

Google’s confirmation. A Google spokesperson confirmed with Search Engine Land that this new design is rolling out globally now. “We’re always working to make it easier for people to dive into the most useful, timely articles available through Search to help them form a better understanding of the world and the topics they care about most,” Google told us. “This newly launched feature is the desktop version of the Top stories experience you can already find on mobile,” the search company added.

What it looks like. Here are a couple of screenshots of the new look:

The Top stories list view.

Why we care. Top stories can send publishers a lot of search traffic from Google Search. The new design may end up impacting that traffic, you may see more if you are featured in the large image box or you may see less. Publishers should watch their Google Search traffic and see if this new design has an impact on that traffic.

Content Source: https://searchengineland.com/google-rolling-out-new-top-stories-design-on-desktop-376984

Google December 2020 Core Update rolling out

 Google has launched the December 2020 Broad Core Update yesterday afternoon, this comes after SEOs eagerly awaiting an update since the May 2020 core update seven months ago. Some thought we might not get another core update in 2020 but we did.

This update, so far, and it is early, seems to have the teeth of a true Google broad core update. Some sites are reporting huge wins or losses, like over 30% or more and it is less than a day since it began to roll out.

We have been tracking many Google algorithm updates that have gone unconfirmed since the May 2020 update, including one over the past few days. It seems the updates we noticed earlier this week are unrelated to this December 2020 core update.

Google said yesterday on Twitter "later today, we are releasing a broad core algorithm update, as we do several times per year. It is called the December 2020 Core Update. Our guidance about such updates remains as we’ve covered before."

Yes, last time it took about two weeks to fully roll out but most noticed the last update within 24 hours after the update started to roll out. The May core update started on May 4th and ended on May 18th. So that is a full two weeks, although like I said, most people noticed the impact very early on.

So keep an eye on it!

Timing The Core Update

The previous core update was 7 months ago on May 4, 2020, the May 2020 core update. The one prior to that was on January 13, 2020, the January 2020 core update and the one before that was on September 24, 2019, the September 2019 core update. Oh, before that was on June 3, 2019, the June 2019 core update and I can go on and on.

The fun thing is that SEOs have been bracing themselves for this update since August. So instead of getting about four of these updates each year, in 2020 we had three - I mean, it makes sense, it is #2020. I mean, Google had its share of search bugs this year.

Many are surprised Google released the update now, before the holidays. But it is after Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping, so my gut feeling was they would release it in early December because late December everyone is off at Google. I was just talking about this with someone a couple of days ago that my gut feeling was Google would release an update soon before the end of the year. Of course, if a business got hit by this right before the holidays, that will make for one sad holiday season for that family. 

Source about: https://www.seroundtable.com/google-december-2020-core-update-30545.html

What are Google Algorithms

 What are Google Algorithms?

Google’s algorithms are a complex system used to retrieve data from its search index and instantly deliver the best possible results for a query. The search engine uses a combination of algorithms and numerous ranking signals to deliver webpages ranked by relevance on its search engine results pages (SERPs).
In its early years, Google only made a handful of updates to its algorithms. Now, Google makes thousands of changes every year.
Most of these updates are so slight that they go completely unnoticed. However, on occasion, the search engine rolls out major algorithmic updates that significantly impact the SERPs such as:

Source: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-algorithm-history/