Big shift in Google’s SERPs, HTTPS and more news from WebmasterWorld.

[Webmaster World.com]( Welcome to the February 2017 email newsletter from WebmasterWorld. [Forums Index]( Posts]( Posts]( Experts]( Tools]( WebmasterWorld Newsletter In the last few weeks there’s been a big shift in Google’s SERPs, and many WebmasterWorld Members were assessing the significant changes, and what it means for their sites. What’s clear is that Google were remaining tight-lipped about the changes, which has become quite normal these days. It’s become up to us to review the changes and draw conclusions. There were also significant shifts in Google image search traffic, and it’s turned out to be a hot topic.  Join our threads on these topics and let’s hear your views and assessments on the changes. With many sites opting to switch to HTTPS, the question was posed, what would happen if I don’t switch to HTTPS? This is an interesting thread, and it’s a topic that many sites are wrestling with: Should they switch, and if they don’t, what are the implications? As usual, there were some security issues that required swift action from webmasters to protect their sites, so please keep up-to-date by following our threads. Are you looking for specialists to help your web development? Our "[Hire Experts Directory]( will be a good place for you to visit.  Once again, [our free tools]( are proving popular, and our site reviews in the [Pro Area]( for WebmasterWorld Supporters are great places to discuss the detail and specifics of your own site. Moving on swiftly to our hot topics and news featured in the forums during February in this newsletter. See you in the forums. We're Feeling Lucky Jim and Neil Here are some of WebmasterWorld's Hottest Discussions and News this month. [Google Updates and SERP Changes - February 2017]( [Google Updates and SERP Changes - January 2017]( [Understanding the Google Image Search Traffic Drops]( [Feb 7, 2017 Google Algorithm Update - Studies Suggest it was Phantom]( [Domain Name Leasing]( [Important Wordpress Update to 4.7.1]( [What Will Happen If I Don't Switch to HTTPS?]( [Server Farms - Update]( [Over 50pct of Web Pages Loaded by Firefox are Using HTTPS]( [SHA-1 Defeated, Google Urges Movement to Cryptographic hashes such as SHA-256 and SHA-3]( [Pinterest to Roll Out PPC Search Ads]( [Google GSC and Google Data Studio Connector Improved]( [Facebook adds support for hardware security keys]( [Bot Building Now Easier With New Bing Intelligence Services]( [Facebook Tests Ads in Publisher Videos]( [FCC Halts Investigation of Zero-Rating - Net Neutrality Gone]( [Twitter Takes Further Steps to Help Stop Abuse and Improve Safety]( [Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15031 Gets Picture in Picture]( [Bing and Google Agree to Demote Pirated Music and Movie Sites in UK]( [Anonymous Takes Down 10,613 Dark Web Portals]( [Microsoft Delays Patch Tuesday for a Month]( [New JavaScript Code Could Make Drive-By Exploits Much Worse]( [Google "Perspective" Machine Learning To Hide Toxic Comments]( [CloudFlare Bug: Private Sessions and Personal Information Exposed - CloudBleed Bug]( [Facebook Tests Ads in Publisher Videos]( [Facebook Q4 Revenue $8.81 Bln, Monthly Active Users Reach 1.86 Bln]( [Yahoo and Verizon Deal Cut by $350 Million to $4.48 billion]( [Google to End "Google Site Search" for Publishers]( [Google Assistant Comes To Android 6.0 and 7.0 Phones]( [Ad blocker Shine rebrands as ad platform]( [Google to Close Group Sharing App, Spaces]( [Windows 10 Privacy Still Concerns E.U. Data Regulatory Authorities]( [Google's YouTube to Put and End to Unstoppable 30-Second Ads]( [Apple Sets Out its Appeal to E.U.'s €13 billion Tax Bill]( [Facebook Gets Into Hiring With Job Postings on Pages]( [Maile Ohye Leaves Google]( [When a Social Network is Sold, Beware of Data Exposure]( For WebmasterWorld Pro Members [Is it possible to Geo-locate mobile traffic?]( (subscription required) [EV SSL: user perception of "Secure" vs "Company name"]( (subscription required) [( [( [Previous Newsletters]( Connect with us: [Google+]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( WebmasterWorld, c/o/ Internet Marketing Ninjas 21 Corporate Drive, Clifton Park, NY 12065 []( 512-231-8107 All trademarks and copyrights held by respective owners. Member comments are owned by the poster. WebmasterWorld is a [Developer Shed Community]( owned by [Jim Boykin]( © Webmaster World 1996-2017 all rights reserved [Terms of Service]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Report Problem]( | [About]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences]( WebmasterWorld · 21 Corporate Park Dr · Clifton Park, NY 12065 · USA