I attended the Google Webmaster Conference Mountain View: Product Summit on November 4, 2019, one day of direct access to the product managers who build Google Search.
Thanks to the Google team for organizing it and for the invite. I took notes throughout to share what I could with the SEO community.
Per Danny Sullivan’s request, no Googlers are named or quoted by name in this post.
The general schedule of the day:
- 9:00 AM: Check-in and Breakfast
- Coffee Break
- 10:30-12:00 PM: Lightning Talks
- Lunch Break
- 2 PM: Improving Search Over the Years
- Tea Break
- 2:45 PM: Product Fair (speaking with specialist product managers about their search feature)
- Coffee Break
- 4 PM: Fireside chat
Lightning Talks
Before I got far into my own writeup, I found a thorough set of notes by Jackie Chu. Her Notes from the Google Webmaster Conference Mountain View: Product Summit capture the sessions so well it feels like you were in the room. Follow her and say thanks on X @jackiecchu.
What follows is a set of photos and X posts, kept here as a record of the day for future reference.
There are far more from the event than I can post. Browse the #GWCPS hashtag on X, and see SERoundtable for a fuller gallery.
One of my favorite moments: the community gave candid feedback while the Webmaster Tools team sat there listening and taking notes. From the outside it looked like a friendly roasting, and it was exactly the kind of two-way exchange this format is built for.
These guys from Google Search Console team seem like on trail from SEO managers during discussion forum #gwcps #roastme
I talked briefly with @JohnMu, who was as approachable as his reputation suggests. He pointed me to his t-shirt and the Google Merchandise store. Appreciated.
Good to meet @JohnMu the person behind google #webmastertools #SearchConsole at #gwcps
I also met Barry Schwartz, who filmed during the lunch break:
I just met @rustybrick after following him on @twitter for years #gwcps
Lunch at #gwcps thanks Google
You can spot me in there for a few seconds, mid-lunch.
How to hear about these events early
X remains one of the fastest ways to stay plugged into the SEO community and catch news and events before they fill up. Follow Google’s official accounts and the people who speak for Search:
- @johnmu: John Mueller, longtime Search Advocate at Google and a trusted voice in the community
- @googlewmc: the official Google Webmasters account
- @methode: Gary Illyes, another key liaison between Google and SEOs
- @searchliaison: Danny Sullivan’s official account sharing how Google Search works
Learned a lot about #Search and other #WebmasterTools today at #GoogleWebmasterConference good to meet you all and see you soon again! #gwmcps
A rare day of direct access to the people building Search, and well worth the trip.