If you’ve ever done a Google search, you know already that Google ads are occupying more and more space on the SERP. What you might not know is that the fancy Product Listing Ads you see are commercial intent-sucking monsters and are stealing all the conversions from both the organic and non-PLA search results.

Today, when someone searches for anything related to a product name, Google automatically populates most of the above-the-fold space on the SERP with PLAs and other blinged-out ads:

When I search on “keurig coffee maker,” about 80% of the screen is devoted to sponsored results – I have to scroll below the fold to see more than two organic listings. All the ads you can see here make use of extensions (such as offer extensions, location extensions, etc.) but the PLAs are especially compelling because

As I mentioned in our monthly Google webmaster report this morning, it seems like there is an uptick in chatter around a possible Google update kicking off this morning. It is extremely early but I've received emails, tweets and other correspondence of a possible Google update.

In addition, the WebmasterWorld thread has some renewed discussion around changes in traffic and search results and both SERPmetrics and especially SERPs.com show volatility in the Google search results. And MozCast just updated showing incredibly high changes in the Google search results.

Mozcast:

SERPs.com:

SERP Metrics:

So it does seem something is going on based on all

In the past month, we had a major Penguin update, Google went after a link network, likely TLA, Matt announced ten SEO changes coming down the pipe and made a clear stance on advertorials.

It was a busy month to say the least and now I am seeing more than normal chatter around a possible Google update. I'll probably write about that right after I submit this post, so stay tuned. Update, here is the post on a possible Google update.

I'll summarize the key posts specific to webmaster related Google topics below. But to see last month's summary, go here.

Google Update:

• Google Pushed Out The Major Penguin Update (v2.0 #4)
• Google Penguin 2.0 Goes Deep - But What Does That Mean?
• Poll: Were You Affected By Google Penguin 2.0?
• Your

There is an interesting discussion going on in the Google Webmaster Help forums between an old community site that is supposedly heavily moderated and Google. It is long but in summary, it seems like the details are as follows.

This site has been around since the 90s. It is a community site where people ask English questions and others respond and help. The site has done well in Google since maybe before Google was even on the radar. But in mid-November, likely because of the Panda 22 update, that site took a major hit in Google's search results.

John Mueller of Google came in to pinpoint specific pages that have poor quality content and linked the site owner to the official Google Panda advice blog post.

John then goes deeper and talks about

Now if you want to know how many carbs are in an Apple, you no longer need to go to WolframAlpha, you can just go to Google and ask it.

Google announced they've added nutrition information to the Google knowledge graph.

Google now currently supports over 1,000 fruits, vegetables, meats and meals. I personally do not see it but that is likely because it is still rolling out. Google said, "the feature will begin to launch today in English and will be rolling out in the US over the next ten days."

Ilya Mezheritsky, a Google Product Manager, said:

This new nutritional information builds on our work on the Knowledge Graph, which brings together all kinds of information from across the web that wasn't easily accessible. The graph helps us connect things that are