SEO Rank Video Blog: SearchCap: Google local messaging & booking, business insights & crawl spikes

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.

From Search Engine Land:

Google begins rolling out messaging feature within Google My Business
Jul 12, 2017 by Barry Schwartz
You can now message with your customers directly via your Google local panel in mobile search.
Google My Business updates insights email sent to businesses
Jul 13, 2017 by Barry Schwartz
Check out the new, fancy emails Google is sending businesses with analytics for their local listings.
Rand Fishkin to step away from day-to-day operations at Moz
Jul 13, 2017 by Barry Schwartz
Moz’s founder is moving into an advisory role at the company early next year.
Brace yourself: The benefit and shock of analyzing Googlebot crawl spikes via log files [Case Study]
Jul 13, 2017 by Glenn Gabe
Site owners really don’t know the full story about who, or what, is crawling their sites until they analyze their server logs. Columnist Glenn Gabe shares a case study that illustrates some insights to be gleaned from a server log file analysis.
Google adds booking for spa and salon appointments from Search & Maps
Jul 13, 2017 by Ginny Marvin
The Reserve with Google program makes it possible to book appointments right from Google.
7 features you’ll only find in the new AdWords interface
Jul 13, 2017 by Ginny Marvin
Advertisers getting used to working in the new UI will find some bonus capabilities.
12 things to know to succeed with Google Posts
Jul 13, 2017 by Joy Hawkins
Local businesses, are you utilizing Google Posts? Columnist Joy Hawkins shares her observations from several months of testing this new feature.
SMX East agenda is now live! Check out the SEO & SEM sessions in store for you.
Jul 13, 2017 by Search Engine Land
Feed your obsession for SEO & SEM with actionable and proven tactics by attending Search Engine Land’s SMX East, October 24-26 in New York City. The agenda is packed with 50+ sessions and led by search marketing experts in paid search advertising, search engine optimization, conversion and analytics, social media and much more. Here’s a quick look at some of the sessions […]
The AMP is a lie
Jul 13, 2017 by Patrick Stox
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) are a hot topic right now, but are they really the answer to your mobile page speed issues? Columnist Patrick Stox weighs in.