With all due respect to Linus Van Pelt, The Great Pumpkin does not exist. The Great Google, however, not only exists but is also making big news right now. Some are digital marketer treats, while others are downright scary for those working in SEO and SEM. Keep reading to find out which you’ll be pleased to unwrap and which may leave you shouting “BOO.” 

Google Unleashes New Updates for Search

What’s the name of that song? Hum a few bars; Google knows. That’s one of a host of new search features to be aware of from the search leaders.

In addition to the song identification, new features include improved spelling recommendations, the ability to identify passages of text (lookout high school plagiarists!), and critical moments within videos that meet the search criteria.

Of all the new search features, the one digital marketers need to pay close attention to is the addition of clickable sub-topics within queries. This addition may require staying on top of matching your listings to relevant categories based on keywords and filters. 

Google’s Analytics 4: The Future of Analytics

The latest incarnation of Google Analytics is jam-packed with AI-powered insights and predictions. Included in the tool is the ability to alert marketers of hot searches topics based on historical data and current trends. 

There’s also cross-device measurement tools, deeper integration with Google Ads, and more granular data controls, to name a few.

For a complete overview of each new tool within Google Analytics 4, visit the Google Blog. 

Google Drops Search Indexing Request

Boooooo. This news is the scary one for some digital marketers. Google has removed the “Request Indexing” feature of the URL Inspection Tool. 

What does it matter? Well, considering Google is still debugging an issue with indexing where some sites lost positioning and even their associated URLs within search, many SEOs had been using the feature to have their pages recrawled and indexed. 

Normal crawling and indexing are unaffected by removing the feature, and Google has said that the tool will return in the future.