Google is not shy about promoting its latest developments and updates, and more announcements can be expected from today with the opening of Google I/O, the internet giant’s annual developer conference. The 2014 event was used as a platform from which to unveil Android TV as well as Android Auto and Android Lollipop, the newest version of the Android operating system. Google also used the 2014 event to unveil Android Wear.

Google has announced that it is to add indexed app content to Search Console, the service formerly known as Webmaster Tools. The rebranding exercise was announced earlier in May with the objective of reaching out to more users with an active interest in search marketing. Webmaster Tools was developed originally to enable webmasters to determine indexing status and to equip them with the tools necessary to optimise website visibility. Some functions of Webmaster Tools are:

Google has responded to the revelation that online searches using racist terms can bring up the White House and other locations with a promise that it will extend its so-called Googlebomb protection to incorporate Google Maps.

Google has made changes to its search results in terms of how it assesses quality content. From the start of May, a number of publishers had begun to detect changes in Google search results. Google had initially declined to say if any updates had been made to its search function, leading to the apparent change being labelled the “Phantom Update”, but it has now disclosed that there have indeed been changes to its core ranking algorithm. The changes are in respect of how Google processes quality signals.

Link building is seen as a useful component when developing a successful website in SEO terms; however, no less a figure than John Mueller, webmaster trends analyst with Google, is questioning the focus on link building at the expense of other essential elements in SEO. That having been said, many other experts feel that links are still very much a major component in any SEO strategy.

Search engine optimisation (SEO) professionals – and, by extension, website copywriting providers – need to start preparing for a future where voice will have a big impact on SEO. In the future, online queries will originate with voice input features on mobile devices. In order to accommodate voice – as well as text – queries, Google will turn increasingly towards what is known as “direct answers.” Having tweaked its algorithms over the years, Google has shifted towards an approach where specific user searches generate direct answer results, otherwise known as “rich answers,” rather than returning a variety of links to other websites. Bing runs specific search returns on the same basis, though to a lesser extent.

Google has taken the step of removing its reading level search feature. Rolled out in 2010, reading level allowed users to find search results better suited to individual needs. Using the reading level enabled users to filter out content according to basic, intermediate or advanced reading level.

Google’s release of Mobilegeddon, the latest and major update to its search algorithm, has been gradual, and the message is that the transition has been successful, but challenges for some businesses may still remain.

On 5^th February we reported breaking news that Google and Twitter had re-established relations after a four-year standoff. The new deal again allows the search giant access to Twitter’s “Firehose” data stream. But since then, there’s been radio silence – a verbal void that’s generated enormous speculation around what search results will look like and how Google will use the Twitter data. Search expert Miriam Hirschman, writing this week in SearchEngineLand, has offered some informed suggestions.

Reports that Google may be launching a new bid to purchase Twitter have seen the latter’s share value leap by 4.8 percent this week, adding more than £1bn ($1.5bn) to its value.