Google announced an algorithm update intended to rank original news higher. Despite Google’s update, apparently an authority site like Yahoo News can syndicate content and outrank the original. In the past 24 hours or so, we had numerous reports sent to us that searchers are seeing only URLs for the Google search results snippets. The title and description portion of the snippets were missing. LinkedIn is introducing skill assessments which allow users to demonstrate their expertise and add a “verified skill” badge to their profile. New research from LinkedIn shows that 76% of professionals wish that employers were able to verify their skills. In response to that feedback, LinkedIn is providing a way for professionals to validate their skills to employers, which can help them stand out amongst other candidates.