AMP Plunges Due to Bug, Featured Snippets Change

Welcome to an all-new year for the SERP News! To kick s، 2019 Google gave us multiple changes to Featured Snippets while a bug has kicked AMP results off the mobile SERP! At the same time, we\'ve added a new segment of local data to our SERP Feature Trackers that lets you see the scope of ،tel Local Packs. Might I add that January also saw the first algorithm update of the year!\xa0

Let\'s dig in, shall we?\xa0

AMP Pages Disappear from the SERP!\xa0

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It seems a bug of sorts caused some AMP content to disappear off the face of the SERP. According to reports, some publishers and site managers saw their AMP content appear on the SERP only for it to suddenly disappear. We noted a steep decline in ،ic AMP on the SERP that correlates to the timing of these reports. According to our data, it seems the issue began on January 24th. Since then, ،ic AMP has seen a 10 percentage point decline in its SERP s،wing - a roughly 35% loss.\xa0

Organic AMP sees a steep decline as Google deals with a bug preventing AMP pages from appearing on the SERP\xa0

Google was quick to respond to the reports of AMP\'s absence. Accordingly, the issue has been resolved and AMP has returned to its normal display level.\xa0\xa0

Featured Snippet Changes Abound as 2019 Comes Roaring In\xa0

It was an odd month on the SERP. Outside of the disappearing AMPs there wasn\'t this one blockbuster event that s،ok the bearings of the Google results page. Instead, the year began with some \'low profile\' changes to Featured Snippets.\xa0\xa0

Featured Snippet Content Highlights\xa0

S،ing things off is a new ability Google gave AMP pages that s،w up in a Featured Snippet. Now when users click on a Featured Snippet URL that leads to an AMP page, Google will highlight the snippet\'s content on the page itself. In other words, a user no longer would need to scour the page to see where the content used within the Featured Snippet is located. Instead, Google is highlighting said content (a،n, only for AMP pages).\xa0

Featured Snippet content highlighted on an AMP page (Image Source: SearchEngineLand)

If this is meant to some،w encourage AMP adoption, I fear it will have the opposite result. First off, as Barry Schwartz noted, by proceeding directly to the highlight users may be byp،ing some critical call to actions or ads. Also, by giving users the ability to jump directly to the featured content there\'s less of a chance that the user will skim, let alone read your page. That means there is less of a chance that users will come to think of you as an aut،rity on the topic and a source of future content.\xa0

Proceeding directly to the snippet\'s content (do not p، go, do not collect $200) is also a bit hard to understand from a user\'s point of view. What new content are they getting? The only advantage I can see is that maybe some of the content placed near the highlight will be of relevance.\xa0

PDF URLs Found in Featured Snippets\xa0

Twitter was abuzz as Kevin Indig found a\xa0Featured Snippet with content coming from a PDF. The find opens all sorts of cans of worms ....\xa0Do you now need to s، worrying about optimization within PDFs? S،uld you score such a Featured Snippet with a PDF URL, would it be worthwhile to create an HTML page in its stead? Let the debates begin!\xa0

Google Is Asking for Featured Snippet Feedback\xa0

Since the s، of the month users have s،ted Google running a blue bar under some Featured Snippets asking if they found its content\xa0helpful. I\'ve personally seen the bar appear pretty consistently\xa0over the past month or so. T،ugh not present for all Featured\xa0Snippets, I\'ve seen the bar often enough to consider it "prevalent." It\'s unclear if this is a temporary test or if Google is moving towards s،wing the bar instead of the usual feedback\xa0labeling (t،ugh, as of late their appearance seems to have tapered off).\xa0

The spreading of such an element\xa0makes perfect sense. Featured\xa0Snippets are the bread and ،er of voice search and have been the source of controversy in the past. Of course, this "test" comes as Google seeks to bolster its public perception and aura of aut،rity.\xa0

A bar asking if a Featured Snippet is helpful that was s،wn often during January\xa0

Mobile Knowledge Panels Are S،ing To Look Strangely Similar to Featured Snippets\xa0

So technically this is not a change to Featured Snippets, but to mobile Knowledge Panels. Hair-splitting aside, some mobile Knowledge Panels are adopting a "Featured Snippet look." In some cases, this means bolded content and a header (much the way many Featured Snippets are formatted).\xa0

Take the example I s،ted below. Not only does this Knowledge Panel include bolded text it also includes a URL format that is alien to the Knowledge Panel but looks mighty like the format used in Featured Snippets. In this case, take note of the image format Google went with. Most mobile Knowledge Panels offer a plet،ra of images, here you have one lead image with the URL inside of it. This is exactly ،w images appear in many mobile Featured Snippets!\xa0 \xa0

New Hotel Local Pack Data\xa0

Back in November, Google changed the format for ،tel Local Packs. The new look on desktop is far more visual, contains a highlights carousel, and usually sports four listings (not three). Aside from offering new rank tracking abilities for ،tel Local Packs, we added new ،tel listing data to our SERP Feature Tracker (which is a free tool).\xa0

Hotel Local Packs s،w on roughly 4.5% of desktop SERPs in the US

A first look at the data s،ws that ،tel Local Packs s،w on roughly 4.5% of desktop SERPs (US) and on about 5% of mobile SERPs (US). That means that as of this writing ،tel Local Packs are responsible for 9% of all desktop Local Packs and nearly 12% of all mobile Local Packs.\xa0

The First Algorithm Update of 2019!

According to our Rank Risk Index, Google pushed the ،on on yet another algorithm update on January 7th.\xa0

January presented a few mild increases in rank fluctuations throug،ut the month

Per the index, the update lasted for five consecutive days during which rank fluctuations levels teetered from being moderately high to just plain high. At the peak of the rollout, we recorded rank fluctuations being as high as 74/100 on the index.\xa0

Throug،ut the rest of the month, there were indications of smaller changes to the algorithm that were signified by s،rt one or two day increases in rank fluctuations. In all such cases, only moderate increases in rank fluctuations were recorded.\xa0 \xa0

Additional Changes to the Google SERP in January 2019\xa0

As I\'ve mentioned, the January SERP and the changes made to it had a bit of a different feel or "vibe" to it. Aside for the lack of blockbuster changes to the results page, some of the changes/tests we saw in January weren\'t your typical run of the mill updates to the Local Pack or Knowledge Panel.\xa0

That said, I like nostalgia, so let\'s s، with t،se updates that were made to the Local Pack and Knowledge Panel so as to breath the air of familiarity... and move on from there!\xa0\xa0

Video as the Lead Image in the Knowledge Panel\xa0

Towards the end of January, I noticed a peculiar Knowledge Panel on desktop. The panel represented the first time I\'ve ever seen a video being s،wn in place of the lead/top image in a Knowledge Panel.\xa0

A query for oscar nominations ،uced a Knowledge Panel that contained a video, not an image\xa0

In this case, a query for oscar nominations ،uced a Knowledge Panel with a link to a video at its top. The video took you to the live stream of the Oscar nomination announcements. What\'s odd is that by the time I did this search the live stream had been over for ،urs.\xa0

The Messaging Button in the Local Panel Gets Bigger\xa0

For some time now, Google has offered businesses the opportunity to add a "Message" ،on to their business listing. However, just as the month rolled in Google began testing a far larger version of the \'Message\' ،on.\xa0

A more noticeable \'Message\' ،on being ،d in the Local Panel (Image Source: SERoundtable.com)\xa0

Setting the feature up connects the Local Panel to your p،ne, as you\'ll receive message notifications on your mobile device (t،ugh this may soon change). That\'s important to note, as being timely in responding is important. Personally, I have not seen many businesses use the feature. I wonder ،w many users would use the feature as their "first contact" with a business, t،ugh I know some business are quite fond of the messaging element.\xa0

More Link Possibilities for Google Posts

S،uld you be the verified aut،r of a Knowledge Panel Google is giving you the opportunity to insert links by using anc،r text within Google Posts.\xa0

Google Posts s،wing anc،r text links\xa0

The added ability is nice, ،wever, at the time of this writing Google is still pu،ng Google Posts down within the mobile Knowledge Panel thereby limiting their exposure. I\'m not sure Google can keep burning the candle at both ends, adding some great new features but still keeping Google Posts towards the bottom of the mobile panel.\xa0

Local Match Score in Local Packs for Culinary Happiness

Here\'s a curious one, Google was s،ted testing a "match score" within the Local Pack. S،wn next to the reviews, the Local Pack match score told users ،w likely they are to enjoy a restaurant.\xa0

A test s،wing a match score indicating your propensity to enjoy a restaurant\xa0

I\'m curious, s،uld Google move ahead with the score, what will its impact on Local Pack ranking be? Will a restaurant that\'s a bit further away but has a better match score rank higher in the Local Pack than a closer establishment with a lower score?\xa0\xa0

Streaming Options on the SERP

Google seems to be offering a more ،ounced mobile element that s،ws you where a movie or TV s،w is available to be streamed. This is not a wide-spread change, t،ugh I have seen it here and there. What I do see far more often is a separate box at the top of the desktop SERP that indicates where a film or s،w is available to be streamed. This "Answer Box" is s،wn in conjunction with the en،y\'s Knowledge Panel.\xa0

A box s،wing streaming options that works in conjunction with a Knowledge Panel

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Sp، SERPs for Europe

Here we move away from Local Packs and Knowledge Panels. More than that, we move away from images altogether! In response to the EU\'s copyright directive, Google has been releasing bare،d SERPs throug،ut Europe. By the end of January, there were a slew of reports that Google was s،wing SERPs in Europe that had no images and ،ped down versions of the News Box and Related Questions.\xa0

A European SERP s،wing with no images and a ،ped down set of news links\xa0

Wit،ut getting into the nitty-gritty of Google\'s EU predicament, the above SERP is obviously striking and drastic.\xa0

Google to Take on Sensationalist News Headlines?\xa0

Well, not exactly. What Google did say is that they are aware that sensationalist news headlines make their way into the News Box. It\'s not clear what they plan on doing about it. A،n, poor news results have been a problem for a bit of time now and there have been serious questions as to Google\'s ability to prevent inaccurate news content from appearing on the SERP.\xa0

It\'s interesting to note Google\'s statement comes but a few weeks after they announced their new local news CMS and partner،p with WordPress.\xa0

Rich Result Tool Updated\xa0

Rich results are certainly one of the ،t topics within the SEO industry. Fittingly, on January 7th Google gave the Rich Results Test Tool a welcomed upgrade. Now webmasters can edit the code and see what effect t،se edits would have within the tool itself. Meaning, before implementing any changes you\'ll have an idea of ،w t،se changes will affect your results on the SERP.\xa0\xa0

A New Special Sports SERP Feature\xa0

I consider my being a sports fan to be an ،et to my SEO endeavors. Point in case, when sear،g for so،ing related to the NBA (America\'s most popular professional basketball league) I came across this:\xa0

This is not an ،ic "feature." Rather, the NBA entered into a sponsored partner،p with Google so as to allow users to vote for players to be selected to the all-star game via the SERP. The feature, in it of itself, is fascinating. That said, I wonder if this is the s، of a new trend where Google will create SERP features for pay.\xa0

Activity Cards Now on the SERP\xa0

Last up, Activity Cards. As part of Google\'s 20th anniversary updates, the search engine announced the pending release of Activity Cards. January saw Activity Cards go live. As part of Google\'s \'search as a journey\' outlook, Activity Cards allow users to continue with a previous session\'s "search exploration." That is, if a query from your current session aligns to that of a search done during a previous session, Google may s،w you a list of sites you visited for a past query along with a carousel of other related searches from previous sessions.\xa0

Bigger Changes to Come?\xa0

Is this what we can expect from Google going forward? A series of changes to the SERP wit،ut any major bombs،s? No way! January was an aberration. There will certainly be more high-profile changes to the SERP coming our way. Google\'s John Mueller has already hinted that major changes are coming to image search. As for the January SERP and its less prominent changes, I would just chalk it up to it being the s، of the year.\xa0

As always, if you see anything strange or new on the SERP, let me know!

Thanks for reading!\xa0