Google’s John Mueller announced in a Google+ post that there have been a handful of updates to the Search Console API (formerly the Webmaster Tools API). This is the API that lets you add sites to a Search Console account, retrieve data and diagnostics, and submit sitemaps.
One update is the addition of pagination in Search Analytics. You can request over 5000 rows of data for your site without having to iterate through filters, he says.
Additionally, crawl errors now include “linked from” info from the start. See urlCrawlErrorsSamples.list here.
Google announced the expansion of the Safe Browsing protection efforts it discussed back in November. These involve protecting users from installing unwanted software or revealing personal info due to tactics like deceptive download buttons or images ads that falsely tell users their system is out of date.
The efforts are being expanded to deceptive embedded content like “social engineering” ads. Social engineering is described as a broader category than phishing, encompassing more types of deceptive web content. Such attacks are when content emulates a trusted entity (like a bank or government) or when it tries to trick you into doing something you’d only do for a trusted entity (such as sharing a password or calling tech support).
Here’s an example of a warning users might see when they visit a site that Google has flagged for containing social engineering content.
Here, Google shares several examples of such deceptive content shown via ads. These include an image that claims software is out-of-date, one that mimics a dialogue from a software developer (but doesn’t originate from that developer), and fake “download” and “play” buttons.
Google says if your site is flagged, you should troubleshoot with Search Console. There’a also a help center section for webmasters here.
Google is starting to send some publishers messages about AMP in Search Console.
G-Squared Interactive digital marketing consultant Glenn Gabe shared a screenshot on Twitter (via Search Engine Roundtable) showing what it looks like. It tells publishers:
Google has detected that news content on your site might benefit from enhanced exposure on Google Search if you implement Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)…
One month from launch, Google starts sending GSC messages to news publishers about implementing AMP. It's close 🙂 pic.twitter.com/7efahFeJI9
Last year, Google app indexing came into its own with the company officially making it a ranking signal and implementing it in iOS.
Now, Google has announced a refresh of Android app-indexing crawl errors data in Search Console, simplifying the error types it shows.
There are now three error types that appear in the App Crawl Status report: Package not found, URI unsupported, and Removed from index. The first two are unchanged, but the third is new.
Regarding the Removed From Index error type, Google says, “These are app pages that don’t meet our technical guidelines — for example, users get redirected to the home page or the app crashes when the user attempts to open the deep link.”
“To fix this, check the example URIs both in Fetch as Google and on an actual device, and make sure your app doesn’t crash on opening, the deep pages don’t redirect to the homepage, and the content is equivalent,” it says. “Once you fix the issues and we recrawl your app pages, these deep links from Google search to your app will be reexamined.”
Google has reset the data in the report so you can see updated stats for the three error types since December 11.
The Google Webmaster Central Help Forum section for app indexing is available here, should you need further assistance.
Last month, Google made some changes to its App Indexing docs, which you might want to take a look at.
Accelerated Mobile Pages will start sending search traffic from Google search results sometime in late February. This is likely to be one of the biggest changes to Google search in 2016, if not the biggest.
Google is already showing AMP-related errors in Search Console for some users.
Barry Schwartz at Search Engine Roundtable points to a tweet in which one webmaster shares a screenshot (in French):
Earlier this month, Google announced the Search Analytics API to make the data from the Search Analytics feature in Google Search Console accessible for developers. The company said it wanted to help people bake search performance data into their apps and tools.
Now that this has been made available, Google announced that it is getting rid of the old CSV download scripts for information on queries and rankings. They’ll be turning off access to downloads of these on October 20.
In a quick post on the Google Webmaster Central blog, Webmaster Trends analyst John Mueller writes:
These download scripts have helped various sites & tools to get information on queries, impressions, clicks, and rankings over the years. However, they didn’t use the new Search Analytics data, and relied on the deprecated Client Login API.
Farewell, CSV downloads, you’ve served us (and many webmasters!) well, but it’s time to move on. We’re already seeing lots of usage with the new API. Are you already doing something neat with the API? Let us know in the comments!
Mueller said earlier this month that if yuo’ve used any of Google’s other APIs or one of the existing Search Console APIs, it will be easy to get started with the new Search Analytics API.
The API can be used to verify the presence of data, and can be used for things like top ten queries by click count, top ten pages, top ten queries in India, or top ten mobile queries in India. These are just examples.
Google announced that over the coming weeks it’s going to be changing the way it sends messages in Search Console (formerly Webmaster Tools) and to whom it sends them.
Google Webmaster Trends analyst Gary Illyes announced this in a post on Google+ on Tuesday morning (via Search Engine Land). Here’s how he described the changes:
After the change, we will send messages only to the direct owners of a particular site; owners of parent properties will no longer be sent messages for their child properties.
For example: Currently, if the site https://example.com/dont/panic/have/a/towel triggers a message, all of the following sites will be sent the message:
https://example.com/dont/panic/have/a/towel (the site triggering the message)
https://example.com/dont/panic/have/a
https://example.com/dont/panic/have
https://example.com/dont/panic
https://example.com/dont
https://example.com
With the upcoming change, only the owners of https://example.com/dont/panic/have/a/towel will receive the message triggered by their own site.
Illyes says the change will affect most messages, but notes that critical messages like hacked site alerts “might” still be sent to all parent site owners.
The change, he says, is designed to lighten they email loads of users.
Google wants to know if webmasters would find it useful to combine different sites in Search Console (formerly Webmaster Tools). The company has a survey out inquiring about the subject.
“For example, to view a combined Search Analytics report that includes different URL versions of your site (http and https) and different subdomains (mobile and international subdomains),” Google explains in the survey.
First, it asks if Search Console allowed you to group together sites to view a combined report, would you use it? Answers respondents can give include:
– No
– Yes, I’d use it to combine different URL versions of my site (i.e. https/http and www/non-www)
– Yes, I’d use it to track my subdomains (i.e. desktop/mobile sites and international subdomains)
– Yes, I’d use it to track my entire brand (i.e. all subdomains and apps)
– Other (with a form for explanation)
Respondents are asked to state their role, choosing from SEO, Webmaster, Developer, Marketer/advertiser, website owner, or other. They can also provide Google with the websites they manage. Google says it can use this information to understand different use cases for sites of different sizes.
The next section of the survey asks respondents to explain why they wouldn’t need a feature that groups multiple sites together. Possible responses include:
– I only have one verified site
– I only monitor my primary/canonical site
– Other people manage the remaining sites for my company
– Other (with a form for explanation)
That’s pretty much the entirety of the survey.
It would seem like the best solution for Google would be to give people the option to combine sites if it works for them. It seems likely that this will become a feature based on the company’s interest in feeling out the community. That is unless there is just little to zero interest in it. Still, I would guess that most webmasters (and other roles noted) would at least like to have the option even if it’s not something they immediately need.
Earlier this week, Google announced that it has rebranded Google Webmaster Tools as Google Search Console. The company did not announce any new features to accompany the name change, but it didn’t take them long to unveil the first updates to the product under the new brand.
On Friday, Google announced the addition of new reports to show how Google understands and treats app content in search results. If you have an Android app, you can open Search Console, and enter your app name. You’ll have to use your Google Play account to let it know you have access to the app. If you don’t, you’ll need to ask the owner to verify it and add you. You’ll also have to associate your site with your app, which is required for App Indexing to work. Google notes that it also helps with understanding and ranking app content better.
There’s a new Search Analytics report, which shows detailed info on top queries, app pages, and traffic by country. It includes a “comprehensive” set of filters so you can narrow down to a specific query type or region, or sort by clicks, impressions, CTR, and positions.
“Use the Search Analytics report to compare which app content you consider most important with the content that actually shows up in search and gets the most clicks,” Google writes in a blog post. “If they match, you’re on the right track! Your users are finding and liking what you want them to see. If there’s little overlap, you may need to restructure your navigation, or make the most important content easier to find. Also worth checking in this case: have you provided deep links to all the app content you want your users to find?”
The Crawl Errors report will show the type and number of errors it detects with your app content. There’s also a new alpha version of the Fetch as Google tool for apps to let you see if an app URI works and how Google renders it.
“It can also be useful for comparing the app content with the webpage content to debug errors such as content mismatch,” says Google. “In many cases, the mismatch errors are caused by blocked resources within the app or by pop-ups asking users to sign in or register. Now you can see and resolve these issues.”
Google announced app indexing as a ranking signal earlier this year at the same time it announced its mobile-friendly update. It just went into effect earlier. At first it was only for signed in mobile users who had the apps installed on their devices. Google has since expanded the signal to include all Android users. It said in April it had indexed 30 billion links within apps.
Recognizing that a lot of different types of people use Webmaster Tools beyond just traditional webmasters, Google has decided to rebrand its popular product to reflect that. From now on, Google Webmaster Tools will be known as Google Search Console. Here’s the logo:
“For nearly ten years, Google Webmaster Tools has provided users with constantly evolving tools and metrics to help make fantastic websites that our systems love showing in Google Search,” wrote product manager Michael Fink in a blog post. “In the past year, we sought to learn more about you, the loyal users of Google Webmaster Tools: we wanted to understand your role and goals in order to make our product more useful to you.”
“It turns out that the traditional idea of the ‘webmaster’ reflects only some of you,” he added. “We have all kinds of Webmaster Tools fans: hobbyists, small business owners, SEO experts, marketers, programmers, designers, app developers, and, of course, webmasters as well. What you all share is a desire to make your work available online, and to make it findable through Google Search. So, to make sure that our product includes everyone who cares about Search, we’ve decided to rebrand Google Webmaster Tools as Google Search Console.”
Google did not announce any new features beyond the rebranding.
Google webmaster trends analyst John Muller had this to say on Google+:
I remember … back when Google Webmaster Tools first launched as a way of submitting sitemap files. It’s had an awesome run, the teams have brought it a long way over the years. It turns out that the traditional idea of the “webmaster” reflects only some of you. We have all kinds of Webmaster Tools fans: hobbyists, small business owners, SEO experts, marketers, programmers, designers, app developers, and, of course, webmasters as well. So, to make sure that our product includes everyone who cares about Search, we’ve decided to rebrand Google Webmaster Tools as Google Search Console .
The rebranding does seem much more user-friendly than the term Webmaster Tools, which some with limited web experience may have found a little intimidating. In an era where businesses must have and maintain a web presence, the offering is more important than ever, and the rebranding could just lead to more businesses utilizing the Webmaster Tools features.
