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

Analyze data distribution more accurately with time series
Using a time series layer to histograms and box and whisker plot visualizations can add true diagnostic value. Read more

Google showing zero results again for many time, calculations & conversions search results
And it is back! Google may now show no search results for queries it’s confident it can answer on its own. Read more

Google’s EU shopping comparison rivals say their situation is getting worse
They argue in an open letter to the European Commission that Google’s auction-based remedy to antitrust claims is fundamentally flawed. Read more

Is Google Image Search launching a new design for image preview?
We’re waiting for official confirmation from Google but they may be rolling out a design update to their image search product. Read more

Google Search Console updates index coverage report for mobile-first indexing and warns about replacing old reports
Google has made a couple changes within Google Search Console. Here is your update. Read more

Did you know you can report Google Maps-related spam calls and other violations to Google?
Google local has its share of spam and manipulation issues. There’s a form you can use to report some of those violations. Read more

7 ways to use dynamic content and multiply your conversions
Five years ago, people were awed when Amazon could recommend a product they’d love. Read more

Moz ‘State of Local’ report shows confusion, fragmentation in local SEO efforts
90 percent of respondents believe Google’s focus on proximity “frequently or sometimes” harms search results quality. Read more

Here’s what happened when I followed Googlebot for 3 months
This experiment uncovered no direct way to bypass the First Link Counts Rule with modified links but it was possible to build a structure using Javascript links. Read more

From Marketing Land

Virgin Holidays powers travel recommendations with social posts
Marketers have yet another reason to promote and track their offerings on social media. Read more

Teach yourself about machine learning and artificial intelligence
Shifting to data-driven marketing requires hiring or training staffers familiar with the latest technologies. Bolster your staff development with these free educational resources. Read more

Compare 15 top marketing automation platforms
Regardless of your company’s size and marketing sophistication, marketing automation tools can provide the following benefits to the organization: Increased marketing efficiency. Read more

From Search Engine Roundtable

Google: You Can Rank In Google Even When You Spam By Mistake
Google’s John Mueller said on Twitter that even if you make a mistake and do keyword stuffing or some other spammy mistake on your site, it is still possible for the site to rank in Google because of the positive things the site is doing. Read more

Google My Business Insights Data Latency Not Being Speed Up Now
A week or so ago, Google told us that they released an update to Google My Business Insights that would result in us getting improvements in terms of how soon we see fresh data from the analytics tools. Read more

Google Top Stories In Double Carousel View
Top stories in Google search on mobile search normally is made up of a carousel that shows a single row of stories you can flip through. Read more

Google Tests Image Thumbnails Again In Search Result Snippets
Google is yet again testing image thumbnails in their search results snippets. This is a test that has been ongoing for several years now in many different forms. Read more

Google Thanksgiving Search Algorithm Ranking Update
There are a nice number of SEOs and webmasters in the forums claiming they saw huge changes in terms of their rankings in Google starting on November 22nd or so. Read more

Google Really Launches Zero Search Results For Time, Conversions & Math
This is not a joke, Google has officially launched showing zero search results – yes, showing no actual search results – for a some very specific types of queries. Read more

Google My Business Updates Service Area Businesses Sign Up
Joy Hawkins noticed that Google recently updated the steps in Google My Business for service area businesses to sign up. Read more

Google Search Console Index Coverage Report Updated For Mobile-First Indexing
Google posted that they made a change to how the index coverage status report works around sites that have been migrated to the mobile-first indexing initiative. Read more

Notice: Google Search Console To Replace Search Analytics With Performance Report
Google has posted an important notice in Google Search Console, above the Search Analytics report that it will “soon be replaced” by the new Performance report within the new Google Search Console. Read more

Some Google AdSense Payments Delayed & Still Pending
Some Google AdSense publishers and YouTube creators are noticing that they didn’t get paid yet in November from Google. Read more

Google: Build A Site That If Google Doesn’t Rank Well, It Would Be A Search Bug
Google’s John Mueller said it is wise to think long term with your web site and build a site that is so fantastic that if Google isn’t ranking it well for relevant queries that Google would consider it a bug. Read more

I Wish Google Would Stop Saying They Do Hundreds Or Thousands Of Updates Per Year
I really wish Google would stop responding to algorithm update questions with “we do hundreds or thousands of changes per year. Read more

Why Does Google Confirm Some Core Algorithm Updates & Not Others?
I always wonder why Google will confirm some core ranking algorithm updates and not others. Read more