Our weekly digest of what’s happening/trending in the digital world provided by Search Engine Land, Marketing Land and Search Engine Roundtable.

From Search Engine Land

Google Search Console reporting currently delayed
No need to panic, these reporting delays have no impact on your search rankings. Read more

‘Navigate’ query prompts Google to ask, ‘Were do you want to go?’
A new one-box answer now gives you quick access to driving directions in Google Maps. Read more

Bing Ads changes when conversions are reported
The change applies to conversion and assist reporting. Read more

Google local pack now showing book, schedule buttons for some businesses
Google is now pushing booking and scheduling services in the local results through Reserve with Google. Read more

Google fixes the cache 404 issue with mobile-first indexing
After several months, Google has fixed the bug that caused the cache page to fail to load. Read more

Paid Search Tactics That Drive Quality Inbound Calls
Click-to-call ads and direct dial from voice assistants are making it easier than ever for consumers to turn their digital research into phone conversations. Read more

Google lets users delete search data & control ad settings from Google Search page
Users no longer have to go to their Google Account page to access privacy controls. Read more

Bing resolves backlog with its Webmaster Tools URL submission tool
Spammers went from the public Bing URL submission tool to the authenticated version, causing a backlog of URLs that needed to be processed. Read more

Google Search Console is sending notices for slow loading pages
Fix slow page loading notices are new and are now being sent to site owners via Google Search Console. Read more

Google Ads announces new click-to-message ad features and store visits updates
The features, aimed at helping advertisers “work smarter and exceed your omnichannel goals”. Read more

Ready or not, Google’s mobile-first indexing is here
No mobile-friendly site? You’re missing a huge and growing opportunity. Read more

How to get links to your site: Create content that people want to link to
Alli Brenner, Lisa Barone and Paddy Moogan talked about how to make content that attracts links. Read more

From Marketing Land

Is Facebook the only platform using 2FA for ad targeting purposes?
After Facebook confirmed it used two-factor authentication phone numbers to target ads, we questioned if other platforms did the same. Read more

Google lets users delete search data & control ad settings from Google Search page
Users no longer have to go to their Google Account page to access privacy controls. Read more

Facebook Messenger 4 will make it easier for users to connect with brands
The messaging app is giving more prominence to its ‘Discover’ tab where users can directly message companies on the platform. Read more

Latest version of Facebook’s Marketing API gives details on why ads fail to run
The new Facebook Marketing API v3.2 will alert advertisers when an ad isn’t delivered and provide error codes. Read more

80% of Amazon advertisers plan to increase budgets in 2019
Our survey indicates 44 percent of Amazon advertisers plan to add automation tools for campaign management in the coming year. Read more

From Search Engine Roundtable

Google Listens & Responds To A Site That Lost 60% Of Their Traffic After An Algorithm Update
In this mornings hangout with Google’s John Mueller, one web site owner who lost 60% of his traffic over a Google search algorithm update several months ago asked John what he should do Read more

Google My Business Insights Shows Branded Searches Now
As I covered yesterday at Search Engine Land, Google has added a new slice in the pie within the Google My Business Insights section to segment out branded searches from direct or discovery related searches. Read more

Google My Business Video Upload Not Working: Server Reject Error
Google has confirmed they are working on fixing a bug within Google My Business for uploading videos to your business listing. Read more

Google Search Console Pipeline Issues Cause Reporting Delays
Google announced this morning on Twitter that some reports within Google Search Console are delayed. Read more

Google Caches JavaScript & CSS Files For A Long Time & Why That Matters
Google’s John Mueller confirmed on Twitter that Google does cache your JavaScript and CSS files for a “fairly long” time. Read more

Google My Business Products Beta Lets You Add Products To Your Local Listings
Last week we showed how Google added a products and services section to the local listings in Google. Now I see reports of Google showing a beta tab in Google My Business to add your own products. Read more

Old Google Search Console Sitemap Bug With Mobile-First Indexing
Google’s John Mueller said in a Google Webmaster Help thread that there is a bug with the Sitemaps reporting section of the old Google Search Console specifically with sites that moved to mobile-first indexing. Read more

Google: Putting Out More Content Doesn’t Make Your Site Better
Google’s John Mueller said on Twitter that putting out more content doesn’t necessarily make your web site any better, nor does it necessarily make your web site rank higher in Google’s search results. Read more

Google Link Penalty Can Remove Rich Snippets/Results
Google has said they can issue a rich snippets or results manual action, removing the ability for the site from showing rich results in the Google listings. Read more

Google My Business Cards In Google Maps Results
Google Maps is showing some people a card asking them to to take charge of their listings in Google My Business. Read more

Google Finds Content Via Links & Sitemaps; In That Order
Google’s Gary Illyes said at PubCon last week that Google finds content mostly through links and XML Sitemaps. Read more

Bing To Invest In Bing Webmaster Tools
Frederic Dubut from Bing said on stage yesterday at SMX East that they are investing “quiet a bit” into Bing Webmaster Tools in the future. Read more

Google: Safer To Use Absolute URLs With Canonical Tags
Google’s John Mueller said on Twitter that when it comes to implementing canonical tags on your site, it is recommended to use absolute URLs instead of relative URLs. Read more

Google: We Fixed Over 50 Bugs In Search Console Over Past Month
Google announced on Twitter that they fixed over 50 bugs in Google Search Console over the past month or so. Read more

Bing Confirms & Fixes Bug With URL Submission Tool; Will Add Rate Limits
Earlier this month, we reported that there was an issue with the URL submission tool in Bing Webmaster Tools where URLs that you would submit would not show up in the Bing index for weeks later. Read more