Episode 205 contains the Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Mar 25-29, 2024. 1. GOOGLE'S GUIDANCE ON HELPFUL CONTENT UPDATE - Google's Search Liaison recently addressed concerns about the Helpful Content Update (HCU), providing clear guidance for content creators facing ranking changes. Announced on March 25, 2024, this advice aims to dispel misconceptions and offer recovery strategies. Unlike earlier perceptions of the HCU affecting entire domains, Google now evaluates content on a page-by-page basis, focusing on the helpfulness of each page independently. This means that having some unhelpful content doesn't penalize an entire site, allowing helpful pages to be recognized individually. The clarification that the HCU is not a single signal but part of Google's complex ranking system highlights the need for creators to focus on producing genuinely helpful content. The emphasis is on the quality and relevance of content, rather than on trying to manipulate rankings through a single algorithmic factor. For those noticing ranking drops, Google suggests a thoughtful review of the content in question, urging creators to focus on its relevance and usefulness to users. Such decreases in visibility might indicate Google's preference for more pertinent content options, not necessarily a penalty against the site. Google has also introduced a new FAQ page to help publishers understand how to align their content with HCU principles, especially for content that has lost traffic following the update. By adhering to these guidelines and prioritizing user experience, website owners and SEO experts can better navigate the post-HCU search landscape. 2. RETHINKING BACKLINK IMPORTANCE IN SEO - John Mueller of Google indicated in a Reddit discussion https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1brhrvo/why_are_my_backlinks_not_showing_up/ that solely focusing on increasing backlink counts might not be the most effective strategy for marketers anymore. This change is part of Google's consistent effort over the past six months to update its stance on the role of links in SEO, suggesting a more comprehensive change in the valuation of links. The discussion was initiated by questions regarding the variation in backlink counts reported by different SEO tools, like Ahrefs and Google Search Console. Mueller pointed out that due to the varied methodologies of web crawling and indexing across these tools, discrepancies in link counts are natural. He stressed that concentrating on the sheer number of backlinks might divert marketers from improving their website's quality or relevance. Mueller further encouraged marketers to focus on other website aspects that could more significantly affect SEO success. He mentioned that search engines are now using more advanced methods, like sitemaps, for content discovery and evaluation, reducing dependency on backlinks for website ranking. This conversation is in line with recent adjustments in Google's guidelines and statements from Google representatives such as Gary Illyes, indicating a reduced emphasis on backlinks as a ranking factor. The removal of the term "important" from Google's description of links as a ranking signal confirms this trend. For business owners and digital marketers, this shift highlights the need for a more holistic SEO approach that extends beyond backlink building. Concentrating on content quality, user experience, and technical SEO elements, while keeping abreast of Google's algorithm updates, is crucial for maintaining a competitive edge in the digital arena. 3. CORE WEB VITALS: A RANKING FACTOR THAT REQUIRES BALANCED ATTENTION - On March 29, 2024, in episode 71 https://youtu.be/QdcKuo-N3kU of Google's "Search Off The Record" podcast shed light on the complex role of Core Web Vitals (CWV) in SEO, making it clear that excelling in CWV scores alone does not ensure higher search visibility. This episode, featuring insights from Google engineers including Rick Viscomi, a web performance lead, and Lizzi Sassman, a senior technical writer, emphasized the importance of focusing on real-world user experiences over merely achieving high CWV scores. The conversation revealed a common misunderstanding among developers and marketers who prioritize CWV scores without considering actual user satisfaction. An eye-opening example shared was Google’s own page experience documentation, which scored only 45 out of 100, illustrating that achieving top CWV scores is not crucial for success. John Mueller, explained that while CWV metrics do influence Google's ranking algorithms, slight improvements in these metrics may not significantly impact search rankings. He advised against focusing too much on CWV at the expense of other SEO priorities, as CWV is only one aspect of a comprehensive ranking system. The podcast also advocated for a holistic approach to web performance, suggesting improvements in CWV should be part of a broader strategy to enhance the overall user experience. This includes focusing on content quality and website design, aiming for a balanced effort that enhances user satisfaction and engagement. This discussion serves as a reminder that Core Web Vitals, while important, should not detract from other essential aspects of SEO like content relevance and user engagement. A well-rounded approach that prioritizes a superior user experience overall is crucial for long-term success in search engine rankings. 4. QUALITY OVER QUANTITY: GOOGLE'S STANCE ON CONTENT AND INDEXING - Again from episode 71 https://youtu.be/QdcKuo-N3kUof the "Search Off The Record" podcast episode with Google's Gary Illyes, Lizzi Sassman, and guest Dave Smart, a key SEO principle was highlighted: the significant impact of content quality on Google's crawling and indexing frequency. The discussion emphasized a shift towards prioritizing content quality over quantity, a stance Google has consistently maintained. This approach contradicts the belief that merely increasing content production will lead to better rankings or more rapid indexing. John Mueller from Google further clarified this point on LinkedIn, addressing a misconception among website owners that boosting content volume could signal a site's quality to Google, thus improving crawl rates. Mueller likened this to the futile effort of making children prefer kale over ice cream by increasing kale consumption, humorously illustrating that quality cannot be replaced with quantity. Google and Bing's spokespeople have consistently stated that the frequency of content publication is not a ranking signal. This clarifies that producing more content does not automatically enhance a site's search visibility or ranking. Bing's Fabrice Canel supported this by advising a "less is more" strategy, suggesting that focusing on creating high-quality content is a more efficient use of crawl budgets and can result in higher quality traffic from search engines. Moreover, publishing repetitive content could negatively impact a site's crawl allocation, underlining the need for original and valuable content. For business owners in the digital marketing field, this underscores a critical message: investing in content quality, rather than quantity, is more likely to improve SEO performance. As user experience and content value become increasingly important, tailoring digital strategies to meet these expectations is key for sustained success in search engine rankings. 5. GOOGLE'S PLEA TO SEOS: FOCUS ON YOUR VISITORS, NOT JUST ON RANKINGS - On March 2...

13m

Apr 01

Episode 202 contains the Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Mar 4-8, 2024. 1. INDEXNOW INSIGHTS & TOP SEO INSIGHTS REPORT - In an announcement at PubCon and then shared on the Bing blog https://blogs.bing.com/webmaster/March-2024/Optimize-your-Impact-with-IndexNow-Insights by Fabrice Canel, Principal Product Manager at Microsoft Bing, Bing Webmaster Tools has introduced new insights and reports aimed at enhancing site performance across Bing and general search engines.  The new IndexNow Insights https://www.bing.com/webmasters/indexnow report, now offers more than just a glimpse into URLs submitted through IndexNow; it provides: __ __ With IndexNow reaching 2.5 billion URLs submitted—up from 1.2 billion six months ago—and accounting for 17% of new URLs clicked in web search results, as stated by Canel, the importance of adopting this protocol cannot be overstated.  2. YOUTUBE'S ALGORITHM INSIGHTS FOR CREATORS - In a recent conversation https://youtu.be/wrIlifWnKDs on the Creator Insider channel, Renee Richie, a creator liaison, delves into the intricacies of YouTube's algorithm with Todd, who leads the Growth and Discovery team at YouTube. The discussion focuses on clarifying common misconceptions creators have about the algorithm and offers valuable insights into optimizing content for better visibility and engagement. The algorithm, contrary to popular belief, evaluates videos on an individual basis rather than assessing the overall performance of a channel. This approach ensures that a single off-topic viral video or a poorly received video does not adversely affect the channel's standing with the algorithm. Todd emphasizes the importance of aligning content with audience interests to maintain and enhance video performance. One of the most enlightening points made during the discussion is the concept that YouTube does not push videos to viewers; instead, it pulls videos based on viewer preferences. This viewer-centric approach means that the algorithm is activated when a user visits YouTube, making recommendations based on the user's history, device, and other contextual factors. Such insights underscore the importance for creators to focus on creating content that resonates with their audience, rather than trying to game the system. Another key takeaway is the algorithm's persistent support for videos, regardless of their immediate performance. Todd reassures creators that a video's success is not confined to its initial launch period. YouTube continues to recommend videos over time, adapting to shifts in viewer interests and trends. This perspective encourages creators to remain patient and not to disregard videos that do not perform well initially. The conversation also touches on the dynamics of content strategy, highlighting the necessity for creators to adapt to changing viewer preferences, such as the rising popularity of short-form content. Recognizing and responding to these shifts, and understanding the competitive landscape, can significantly influence a creator's success on the platform. Creators are advised to analyze their content's performance, especially how it's received by subscribers, to identify areas for improvement. This process can help pinpoint issues related to content packaging or delivery that might affect viewer engagement. In summary, the discussion between Renee and Todd sheds light on the operational principles of YouTube's algorithm, debunking myths and providing creators with a clearer path to optimizing their content strategy. Understanding that the algorithm favors content that meets viewer demands and preferences can empower creators to produce more engaging and successful videos. 3. LOCAL SERVICES ADS VERIFICATION TO COMBAT SPAM - On March 4, 2024, Google updated the verification process for Local Services Ads (LSAs), aimed at enhancing security and trustworthiness among users and advertisers. This update, first rolling out in smaller U.S. states and progressively expanding to larger ones throughout the year, introduces a stringent verification procedure that includes identity checks alongside the existing license verifications for professionals featured in LSAs, such as lawyers. The revised verification process is Google's response to the growing concern over spam and fraudulent activities within the LSA program. By enforcing identity verification, Google intends to safeguard consumers from impersonators posing as licensed professionals. This move ensures that only verified business owners or senior partners, along with their affiliated professionals, are eligible to appear in LSAs, thereby enhancing the integrity of the ads shown to users. Affected advertisers are notified via email, with instructions on completing the verification process through Google's partner, Evident. Failure to comply within a specified timeframe results in the removal of the ads from search results, impacting the visibility and potential reach of the business. This initiative reflects Google's commitment to improving the LSA ecosystem, protecting both consumers and legitimate advertisers from the adverse effects of deceptive practices. 4. "SOLUTIONS": GOOGLE ADS' LATEST INNOVATION TO STREAMLINE AD MANAGEMENT - Google Ads has announced "Solutions." This new tool is designed to simplify and automate the management of Google Ads accounts, offering a seamless experience for advertisers. Accessible for free under the "Tools" section in Google Ads, Solutions empowers users with the ability to generate comprehensive reports, automate basic management tasks, and much more, all tailored to enhance campaign performance relative to business goals. Here is what you can do with it: __ __ Solutions help you to create automated and customized workflows without making changes to the code. Solutions are accessible for all advertisers and don’t require technical skills or coding knowledge. Here are the types of solutions: __ __

7m

Mar 11

Episode 201 contains the Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Feb 26 - Mar 1, 2024. 1. ‘HOW GOOGLE SEARCH CRAWLS PAGES’ - In a comprehensive https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuK7NnfyEuc video from, Google engineer Gary Illyes sheds light on how Google's search engine discovers and fetches web pages through a process known as crawling.   Crawling is the first step in making a webpage searchable. Google uses automated programs, known as crawlers, to find new or updated pages. The cornerstone of this process is URL discovery, where Google identifies new pages by following links from known pages. This method highlights the importance of having a well-structured website with effective internal linking, ensuring that Google can discover and index new content efficiently. A key tool in enhancing your website's discoverability is the use of sitemaps. These are XML files that list your site's URLs along with additional metadata. While not mandatory, sitemaps are highly recommended as they significantly aid Google and other search engines in finding your content. For business owners, this means working with your website provider or developer to ensure your site automatically generates sitemap files, saving you time and reducing the risk of errors. Googlebot, Google's main crawler, uses algorithms to decide which sites to crawl, how often, and how many pages to fetch. This process is delicately balanced to avoid overloading your website, with the speed of crawling adjusted based on your site's response times, content quality, and server health. It's crucial for businesses to maintain a responsive and high-quality website to facilitate efficient crawling. Moreover, Googlebot only indexes publicly accessible URLs, emphasizing the need for businesses to ensure their most important content is not hidden behind login pages. The crawling process concludes with downloading and rendering the pages, allowing Google to see and index dynamic content loaded via JavaScript. 2. IS GOOGLE HAPPY WITH 301+410 RESPONSES? - In a recent discussion https://www.reddit.com/r/TechSEO/comments/1b0c5qd/is_g_happy_with_301410_responses_for_the_same_url/ on Reddit, a user expressed concerns about their site's "crawl budget" being impacted by a combination of 301 redirects and 410 error responses. This situation involved redirecting non-secure, outdated URLs to their secure counterparts, only to serve a 410 error indicating the page is permanently removed. The user wondered if this approach was hindering Googlebot's efficiency and contributing to crawl budget issues. Google's John Mueller provided clarity, stating that using a mix of 301 redirects (which guide users from HTTP to HTTPS versions of a site) followed by 410 errors is acceptable. Mueller emphasized that crawl budget concerns primarily affect very large sites, as detailed in Google's documentation. If a smaller site experiences crawl issues, it likely stems from Google's assessment of the site's value rather than technical problems. This suggests the need for content evaluation to enhance its appeal to Googlebot. Mueller's insights reveal a critical aspect of SEO; the creation of valuable content. He criticizes common SEO strategies that replicate existing content, which fails to add value or originality. This approach, likened to producing more "Zeros" rather than unique "Ones," implies that merely duplicating what's already available does not improve a site's worth in Google's eyes. For business owners, this discussion underlines the importance of focusing on original, high-quality content over technical SEO manipulations. While ensuring your site is technically sound is necessary, the real competitive edge lies in offering something unique and valuable to your audience. This not only aids in standing out in search results but also aligns with Google's preference for indexing content that provides new information or perspectives. In summary, while understanding the technicalities of SEO, such as crawl budgets and redirects, is important, the emphasis should be on content quality. Businesses should strive to create original content that answers unmet needs or provides fresh insights. This approach not only helps with better indexing by Google but also engages your audience more effectively, driving organic traffic and contributing to your site's long-term success. 3. UTM PARAMETERS & SEO - Google's John Mueller emphasized https://www.reddit.com/r/TechSEO/comments/1ax2mk9/disallowing_utm_urls/ that disallowing URLs with UTM parameters does not significantly enhance a website's search performance. Instead, he advocates for maintaining clean and consistent internal URLs to ensure optimal site hygiene and efficiency in tracking. Mueller's advice is straightforward: focus on improving the site's structure to minimize the need for Google to crawl irrelevant URLs. This involves refining internal linking strategies, employing rel-canonical tags judiciously, and ensuring consistency in URLs across feeds. The goal is to streamline site management and make it easier to track user interactions and traffic sources without compromising on SEO performance. A notable point Mueller makes is regarding the handling of external links with UTM parameters. He advises against blocking these through robots.txt, suggesting that rel-canonical tags will effectively manage these over time, aligning external links with the site's canonical URL structure. This approach not only simplifies the cleanup of random parameter URLs but also reinforces the importance of direct management at the source. For instance, if a site generates random parameter URLs internally or through feed submissions, the priority should be to address these issues directly rather than relying on robots.txt to block them. In summary, Mueller's guidance underscores the importance of website hygiene and the strategic use of SEO tools like rel-canonical tags to manage URL parameters effectively. His stance is clear: maintaining a clean website is crucial, but blocking external URLs with random parameters is not recommended. This advice aligns with Mueller's consistent approach to SEO best practices, emphasizing the need for site owners to focus on foundational site improvements and efficient management of URL parameters for better search visibility and tracking. 4. TRANSITION REQUIRED FOR GOOGLE BUSINESS PROFILE WEBSITES - Google has announced that starting in March 2024, websites created through Google Business Profiles (GBP) will be deactivated, with an automatic redirect to the businesses' Google Business Profile in place until June 10, 2024. This move requires immediate attention from GBP website owners to ensure continuity in their online operations. For businesses unsure if their website is hosted through Google Business Profiles, a simple search on Google for their business name and accessing the edit function of their Google Business Profile will reveal if their website is a GBP creation. It’s indicated by a message stating, “You have a website created with Google.” For those without a GBP website, the option to link an external site will be available. In response to this change, Google has recommended several alternative website builders for affected businesses. Among the suggested platforms are Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy, Google Sites, Shopify (specifically for e-commerce), Durable, Weebly, Strikingly, and WordPress. Each offers unique features, with WordPress notable for its free website builder incorporating generative AI capabilities. However, users should be aware ...

10m

Mar 05

Episode 200 contains the Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Feb 19 -23, 2024. 1. GOOGLE : YOU DECIDE ON THE FATE OF YOUR OLD CONTENT - The question https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1amxwx7/can_old_news_articles_which_have_low_word_count/ of what to do with old content on your website is a recurring dilemma. Google's John Mueller recently shed light on this topic, emphasizing the importance of self-assessment over stringent guidelines when deciding the fate of outdated material. His insights, shared on Reddit, underscore the value of content quality and relevance over mere word counts. __ __ This guidance from a Google insider offers a fresh perspective on managing old content. Business owners should view their content through the lens of utility and uniqueness, rather than adhering to arbitrary standards. By evaluating content's relevance to your audience and considering creative archiving solutions, you can enhance your website's value without compromising on quality or cluttering your digital space. In essence, the approach to old content should be strategic and thoughtful, tailored to your business's unique needs and the interests of your audience. This mindset not only aligns with Google's advice but also paves the way for a more engaging and resourceful online presence. 2. CLARIFYING THE USE OF GOOGLE'S INDEXING API - John Mueller, from Google, reiterated https://twitter.com/JohnMu/status/1759517693248450902 the intended use and limitations of the Google Indexing API, shedding light on its appropriate application. This clarification comes amid ongoing discussions within the digital marketing community about leveraging the API beyond its official capacities. Mueller's comments aim to guide and inform website owners and digital marketers about the proper use of this tool. The Google Indexing API is designed with a specific purpose: to facilitate the indexing of job posting and live stream content on Google. This narrow scope is intended to streamline the process for these particular types of content, ensuring they are promptly recognized and indexed by Google's search engine. Despite clear guidelines, there exists a trend where the Indexing API is applied to content types it wasn't designed for. Some users report temporary success in speeding up the indexing process for other types of content. However, Mueller warns, "it's great to see passionate people try to do more with it, but a) it's often for spam & low-quality, and b) it's not supported." Essentially, while experimentation is noted, it's often associated with low-quality outputs and is not officially endorsed by Google. Mueller's stance emphasizes the API's limitations and discourages attempts to use it beyond its intended purpose, stating plainly, "So you can keep trying to use it but hey, it won't work." This serves as a reminder that while innovation is valued, adherence to Google's guidelines ensures the longevity and visibility of content within its search ecosystem. Attempting to exploit the Indexing API for unintended purposes may yield brief results but could ultimately lead to content being dropped from the index or associated with spam. 3. STRUCTURED DATA SUPPORT FOR PRODUCT VARIANTS - Google has rolled https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2024/02/product-variants out structured data support for Product variants. This move, building on the previous expansions in 2022 for Product structured data and the addition of shipping and returns data in 2023, marks a new milestone in enhancing online shopping experiences. Structured Data Support for Product Variants enables merchants to showcase a wider array of product variations, offering shoppers more relevant and detailed results directly in search.  Products often come in various options, such as size, color, material, or technical specifications like memory size and processor type. Recognizing this, Google's latest update facilitates the representation of these product variants in search results through the use of structured data. By adopting the Schema.org ProductGroup type for your product listings, you can now make your product variants eligible for enhanced visibility in Google Search. For business owners, the ability to display product variants more prominently in Google Search can significantly enhance product discovery and customer engagement. By providing detailed variant information directly in search results, you can improve the shopping experience for your customers, potentially leading to higher conversion rates. 4. NEW GOOGLE MERCHANT CENTER REQUIREMENT: TAGGING AI-GENERATED IMAGES - Google has introduced a new requirement for businesses leveraging AI-generated images in their Merchant Center listings. This change mandates the preservation of specific metadata tags within AI-created imagery, aiming to maintain transparency about the origin of these images. When you use AI to generate images for your product listings in Merchant Center, Google now requires that these images retain their original metadata tags, specifically indicating their AI-generated nature. This requirement is centered around the 'trainedAlgorithmicMedia' tag under the IPTC DigitalSourceType category, a standard for photo metadata. This tag serves as a clear marker that the image was created by generative AI technologies. By ensuring these AI-generated images are appropriately tagged, Google aims to foster an environment of transparency and authenticity within the digital marketplace. This move is particularly relevant in a time when the distinction between AI-generated and traditionally created content is becoming increasingly nuanced. Action Steps __ __ Compliance with these requirements not only aligns with Google's standards but also signals to your customers that you value honesty and transparency in your digital marketing practices. As AI continues to play a significant role in ecommerce, understanding and implementing these guidelines will be crucial for maintaining a competi...

15m

Feb 26

Episode 199 contains the Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Feb 12 -16, 2024. 1. GOOGLE UPDATES IMAGE REMOVAL PROCESS FROM SEARCH INDEX - Google has  updated https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/prevent-images-on-your-page their guidelines regarding the removal of images from their search index. As of February 16, 2024, the updated guidance includes new details for both emergency and non-emergency situations, ensuring that you can swiftly address image removal needs. Properly managing these images can protect your brand's reputation and ensure that only relevant and positive images are associated with your business in search results. The guidance highlights various methods to remove images, covering scenarios where immediate action is required and where there is no direct access to the Content Delivery Network (CDN) or Content Management System (CMS) hosting the images. For urgent removals, Google recommends using https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9689846#zippy=%2Cimage-url the Removals Tool, which temporarily removes images from search results. However, it's crucial to block or remove these images from your site to prevent them from reappearing after the removal request expires. One common issue addressed is the inability to access images hosted on a CDN or through a CMS that doesn't support indexing blocks. In such cases, deleting the images from your site may be necessary. Furthermore, Google has provided more detailed instructions on using robots.txt with wildcards for more effective control over which images are indexed. This update is essential for tailoring your site's visibility and ensuring that unwanted or irrelevant images do not detract from your online presence. Additionally, the update includes a caution regarding the use of the "noimageindex" robots tag. While this tag can prevent images on a specific page from being indexed, if those images appear on other pages, they might still be indexed. To fully block an image, the "noindex" X-Robots-Tag HTTP response header should be used. 2. GOOGLE UPDATES CANONICAL TAG DOCUMENTATION - Canonical tags play a foundational role in SEO by helping prevent duplicate content issues. They signal to search engines which version of a page is preferred when similar content appears under multiple URLs. Proper use of these tags ensures that the right page gets indexed and ranked, leading to improved website visibility and user experience. The essence of the update https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/consolidate-duplicate-urls#use-rel=canonical-link-annotations, based on Google's adherence to RFC 6596 standards, is the emphasis on explicit use of rel="canonical" annotations. Google specifies that the canonical tag is intended to identify the preferred version of a webpage among duplicates. This clarification does not change how Google processes these annotations but aims to make their intended use clearer. A noteworthy addition to Google's documentation is the guidance against using rel="canonical" for non-duplicative purposes, such as indicating alternate versions of a page (e.g., in another language or for a different media type). Instead, Google recommends using rel="alternate" for such cases. This adjustment highlights the importance of accurately using canonical and alternate tags to avoid confusion and ensure the correct page version is presented to search engine users. 3. A NEW VIDEO SERIES FOR LEARNING GOOGLE SEARCH - Google has launched https://youtu.be/5MIAugQ17ks a video series titled "How Search Works" on its Search Central YouTube channel, aimed at demystifying the complexities of Google Search. Spearheaded by Google engineer Gary Illyes, this initiative promises to offer a behind-the-scenes look into the operational intricacies of the world's leading search engine. The series is designed to cater to a broad audience, including business owners, marketers, and even the general public, with the ultimate goal of boosting website visibility in Google's search results. The debut episode lays the groundwork for the series, with subsequent installments set to dive into practical strategies for improving your website's search engine ranking. Illyes highlights the series' technical focus, emphasizing its intent to equip viewers with the knowledge to enhance their site's online presence. Central to the discussion are the fundamental processes of Google Search: crawling, indexing, and serving. These stages represent how Google discovers URLs, understands and stores webpage content, and finally, how it ranks and presents search results. From the initial episode, Illyes stresses two pivotal insights. First, Google staunchly denies accepting payments for improved crawling frequency or search ranking positions. Illyes firmly states, "If anyone tells you otherwise, they’re wrong," dismissing any misconceptions about pay-for-play in search rankings. Secondly, the quality of a website's content is underscored as the cornerstone for securing a favorable spot in search results. The definition of "quality" content, as per Google's standards, will be explored in future episodes, offering viewers a roadmap to achieve better visibility. 4. GOOGLE'S GUIDANCE FOR UNDERSTANDING RANKING DECLINE - In the dynamic landscape of search engine optimization (SEO), even the most authoritative websites can experience fluctuations in Google search rankings. This was the case for Wesley Copeland, owner of a gaming news website, who noticed a significant downturn in traffic and reached https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1757857199773339677?s=46&t=J18EyM2ZxJ-8nNMx55Kmpw out to Google’s Search Liaison, Danny Sullivan, for insights. On February 14, 2024, Sullivan responded https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1757857199773339677?s=46&t=J18EyM2ZxJ-8nNMx55Kmpw with a practical blueprint for diagnosing and potentially reversing ranking declines, shedding light on the intricate dance of maintaining visibility in Google's search results. Sullivan's advice centers on leveraging Google Search Console to dissect and understand the factors contributing to a site's performance dip. He outlines a five-step process aimed at identifying where and why these declines might occur. This method starts with comparing the site's metrics over recent months against a previous period, focusing on the Queries report sorted by click change. This analytical approach helps pinpoint significant decreases in clicks, providing a clearer picture of the site's current standing in search rankings. "If you’re still ranking in the top results, there’s probably nothing fundamental you have to correct," Sullivan reassures, indicating that fluctuations can often be attributed to Google's algorithmic changes rather than a decline in content quality or SEO efforts. He emphasizes that Google's algorithms are designed to evolve, constantly refining how content is ranked and presented to users based on relevance and utility. For business owners and SEO professionals, this conversation underscores the importance of regular performance reviews using tools like Google Search Console. It's crucial to recognize that high search rankings are not static achievements but ongoing efforts that align with Google's ever-changing criteria. Sullivan's parting message offers both assurance and a dose of reality, suggesting that while fundamental issues may not be present, the variability in how content is displayed can impact site visibility over time. The dialogue between Copeland and Sullivan se...

19m

Feb 19

Episode 198 contains the Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Feb 5 -9, 2024. 1. GOOGLE'S SEO STARTER GUIDE REVAMP: STREAMLINING FOR CLARITY AND EFFICIENCY - Google has recently https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2024/02/ssg-gets-a-makeover overhauled its SEO Starter Guide, a move that marks a significant shift towards simplifying SEO practices for website owners and digital marketers. The revised guide has been condensed from approximately 8,639 words to about 4,058 words, making it nearly 53% shorter than its predecessor. This streamlining effort is aimed at eliminating redundancy and focusing on the core essentials of SEO. The reduction in content volume is matched by a decrease in the use of heading elements, from 92 in the original to 27 in the updated version, indicating a more orderly page structure and a tighter focus on key topics. Key Takeaways from the Updated Guide: __ __ This revamped SEO Starter Guide is a valuable resource that demystifies SEO by presenting it in a more digestible and actionable format. It highlights the shift away from technical SEO manipulations towards creating high-quality, user-focused content that naturally improves search rankings. 2. DECODING SEO: UNDERSTANDING GOOGLE'S RANKING SYSTEMS, SIGNALS, AND FACTORS - In a recent clarification https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1754523318743343529, Danny Sullivan, Google's Search Liaison, provided valuable insights into the intricacies of Google's ranking process, which is crucial for business owners striving to enhance their online visibility. Sullivan's explanation sheds light on the often-confusing terms within SEO: ranking systems, signals, and factors. He emphasized that signals and factors are used synonymously at Google, serving as the "fuel" for the ranking "machine" or systems. This analogy is particularly enlightening for small business owners navigating the complex world of SEO. Sullivan described the signals and factors as the essential elements or criteria that Google's algorithms evaluate when determining the relevance and quality of a webpage for a specific search query. These can range from the use of keywords within the content to the speed at which a page loads and the quality of inbound links. On the other hand, the systems are the algorithms themselves – the "machines" that process these signals or factors to rank content. This distinction is critical for understanding how SEO works and how to optimize content effectively. It highlights that while the signals or factors are the inputs or "fuel," the ranking systems are the engines that analyze these inputs to determine search rankings. In summary, Sullivan's analogy provides a clearer understanding of how Google's search ranking process works, distinguishing between the inputs (signals/factors) and the systems that process them. For businesses, this means that SEO efforts should be holistic, focusing on improving all aspects of their website's content and user experience. By doing so, they can provide the right "fuel" to power the "machine" that determines their visibility in search results, driving more organic traffic to their site and ultimately, enhancing their online presence. 3. CLARIFYING GOOGLE'S STANCE: PAGE EXPERIENCE AND CORE WEB VITALS AS RANKING FACTORS - Google's Danny Sullivan provided clarity https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1753508687484744167 on the ongoing confusion surrounding page experience and core web vitals as ranking factors. Despite previous discussions and documentation updates, Sullivan emphasized, "We don’t confirm any of the things [page experience or core web vitals] as a direct ranking factor." This clarification is crucial for business owners navigating the complexities of SEO to enhance their online presence. Sullivan further elaborated that Google evaluates numerous elements to determine search rankings, indicating that no single factor, including page experience or core web vitals, directly influences ranking. This approach underscores Google's multifaceted evaluation system, which assesses a wide range of signals rather than relying on a singular metric. The confusion stems from past updates to Google's helpful content guidance and page experience documentation, which led to mixed messages about their role in search rankings. While Google previously stated that page experience is a ranking signal, Sullivan clarified it is not a ranking system but rather one of many signals used by other systems. This distinction is vital, as it highlights the importance of considering a broad spectrum of factors in SEO strategies. On X, Sullivan reiterated, "While not all aspects may be directly used to inform ranking, they do generally align with success in search ranking and are worth attention." This statement is a reminder that, although not every aspect may directly impact rankings, focusing on page experience and core web vitals aligns with overall success in search results. 4. GOOGLE UPDATES EXTENDED CRAWLER DOCUMENTATION FOR AI MODEL TRAINING - Google has recently made updates https://blog.google/technology/ai/an-update-on-web-publisher-controls/ to the documentation of its Google-extended web crawler user agent. Introduced on September 28, 2023, the Google-extended user agent allows web publishers to control how their sites are crawled, specifically offering the option to opt-out of having their content used in AI training datasets. This move by Google aims to give publishers more control over their content, addressing concerns about the use of web content in training AI models like Bard (now renamed Gemini Apps) and Vertex AI generative APIs. The updated documentation clarifies that the Google-extended crawling is exclusive to Gemini Apps and has no impact on Google Search. This distinction is crucial for business owners who may worry that blocking the Google-extended crawler could affect their site's search rankings. The revised guidance reassures publishers that opting out of Google-extended AI data collection does not impact a site's inclusion or ranking in Google Search. Key points from the update include: __ __

17m

Feb 12

Episode 196 contains the Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Jan 22-26, 2024. 1. GOOGLE'S SEO STARTER GUIDE UPDATE: STREAMLINING FOR CLARITY AND EFFICIENCY - Google is currently reworking https://search-off-the-record.libsyn.com/rewriting-the-seo-starter-guide its popular SEO Starter Guide, initially released in 2010 and updated in 2017 to significantly streamline the guide, making it more accessible and relevant for today's website owners. The current SEO Starter Guide, which is about 8,500 words, will be reduced to less than half its size in the upcoming revision. Lizzi Sassman from Google mentioned that the new guide would be a little over 3,000 words. This reduction is achieved by cutting out repetitive and redundant information, aiming to eliminate duplication and streamline the content. Key aspects of the updated guide include: __ __ This updated guide will be a valuable resource for understanding the fundamentals of SEO in a more digestible format. It will provide clear, impactful advice without overwhelming readers with excessive details or outdated practices. 2. GOOGLE'S STANCE: NO GUARANTEED TRAFFIC IN SEO - A recent statement https://twitter.com/JohnMu/status/1747638481524858940 by Google's John Mueller on January 17, 2024, has sparked attention among business owners and SEO professionals. The essence of Mueller's statement is that no one, not even experts, can guarantee increased traffic to a website as a result of specific changes. This was in response to an inquiry about whether removing certain parameters from a website would lead to an increase in traffic. Mueller's unequivocal response was, "Nobody can guarantee you traffic, sorry." This highlights a crucial aspect of digital marketing – the unpredictability and non-guaranteed nature of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). SEO involves optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results, ideally increasing visibility and traffic. However, the algorithms that search engines use are complex and constantly evolving. This makes it challenging to predict exactly how changes to a website will impact its traffic. Many SEO professionals use estimates and formulas to predict the ROI (Return on Investment) of making specific changes to a website. They might estimate that improving rankings could lead to increased clicks and potentially more revenue. However, these are just estimates and should not be considered guaranteed outcomes. The digital marketing landscape is dynamic, and what works today might not work tomorrow. 3.  GOOGLE'S STANCE ON HTML STRUCTURE FOR SEO RANKINGS - It's crucial to understand the factors that influence your website's visibility on search engines like Google. One common area of focus is the structure of a website's HTML code. On January 26, 2024, an insightful update was shared https://search-off-the-record.libsyn.com/rewriting-the-seo-starter-guideregarding Google's stance on this matter, which is particularly relevant for those managing their own websites or working with digital marketing professionals. Gary Illyes from Google clarified on the latest episode https://search-off-the-record.libsyn.com/rewriting-the-seo-starter-guide of the ‘Search Off The Record’ podcast that the HTML structure of web pages does not significantly impact search rankings. This revelation addresses a common misconception among website owners and SEO specialists who often prioritize meticulous HTML structuring in the hopes of boosting their search rankings. Illyes emphasized the value of diversity in website designs and structures, suggesting that if every website had the same HTML structure, the internet would become monotonous. He acknowledged that while basic elements like headings, title tags, and well-organized paragraphs are beneficial, obsessing over the intricate details of HTML structuring is largely unnecessary for SEO purposes. In 2018, John Mueller of Google also remarked that while a clear content structure is helpful for users, it does not directly influence ranking. This reinforces the idea that user experience should be the primary focus rather than the complexity of HTML structure. Furthermore, Google has stated that overusing elements like H1 tags or constantly rearranging them has little to no effect on a site's ranking. This information is especially useful for small business owners who might be allocating resources to fine-tune HTML structures under the assumption that it significantly impacts SEO. In summary, while maintaining a basic, user-friendly HTML structure is important, overemphasizing its complexity does not yield significant benefits in terms of SEO rankings. Business owners are advised to focus on creating valuable content and a pleasant user experience, rather than getting caught up in the intricacies of HTML coding for SEO purposes. 4. GOOGLE BOT DOES NOT READ CONTENT WITHIN HTML COMMENTS - On January 25, 2024 Google’s John Mueller clarified https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/199pg07/thoughts_on_comments_for_the_google_bot/ that HTML comments, which are parts of the website code not visible to users but can contain notes or additional information for developers, were believed by some to influence Google's understanding of a site's content. However, John Mueller clarified that Googlebot, the search engine's crawling software, does not read or utilize the content within these HTML comments for indexing or ranking purposes. This clarification came as a response to a query on Reddit, where an individual inquired about the potential benefits of including content in HTML comments to enhance text recognition from images on their website. Mueller's response underlines an essential principle of web content creation: the importance of putting content directly on web pages, rather than in hidden elements like HTML comments. For business owners, this insight is particularly valuable. It emphasizes the need to focus on creating high-quality, visible content that users and search engines can easily access and understand. This approach not only ensures better engagement with potential customers but also aligns with Google's guidelines for optimal website performance in search results. Business owners should stay away from gimmicks and instead prioritize content that adds real value to their website visitors, as this is what Google's algorithms are designed to recognize and reward in search rankings. This update reiterates the ongoing need for transparency and user-centric strategies in digital marketing practices.

15m

Jan 29

Episode 195 contains the Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Jan 15-19, 2024. 1. GOOGLE'S GUIDE TO SEAMLESS WEBSITE TRANSITION WITHOUT SEO HICCUPS - Google's John Mueller has provided advice https://youtu.be/xRW7qktF9rI?si=FfJBF4xIlMk8eBoi for businesses transitioning to a new website without affecting their SEO. This guidance is crucial for small business owners who are considering or in the process of moving to a new website. Mueller emphasized the importance of either removing or updating the old website. Keeping both the old and new sites live with conflicting information can confuse users and harm SEO. Inconsistent details, such as different business hours or addresses on both sites, can frustrate customers and make it challenging for search engines to index and rank pages correctly. To ensure a smooth transition, Mueller suggests implementing redirects from the old site to the new one. This approach aids users in finding the correct website and helps search engines transfer any existing signals to the new domain, potentially boosting its standing. Mueller recommends getting help from a web developer or hosting provider to implement the redirects properly and suggests keeping them in place for at least one year. Redirects are crucial when transitioning from one website domain to a new one. They ensure users who visit the old website domain are automatically forwarded to the new domain and pass on the value of links pointing to the old domain to the new domain. This link equity transfer is vital for the new website to retain its search engine ranking. If redirects to a new domain aren't possible, Mueller suggests updating the old site with a notice alerting visitors that the content has moved to a new domain. If that can't be done, take down the old site completely. He assures that the new site won't be penalized by search engines for outdated content on the old domain. However, both the old and new websites may still appear in searches for a while, which may need clarification for users. After making the transition, it's important to monitor the process closely. Use analytics software to check that redirects function correctly and traffic is sent to the right places. Keep an eye on your search engine rankings to catch any unexpected dips that might indicate a problem with the transition. Informing users about the change through emails, social media, and website announcements is also crucial. In summary, moving to a new website is a significant change for any business. Handling the shift carefully is vital to maintaining search engine rankings and providing users with a continuous experience. Mueller's guidance should assist in making the transition from an old site to a new one go smoothly. 2. GOOGLE'S CLARIFICATION ON 'INDEX, FOLLOW' META TAG: WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOUR WEBSITE - Google's John Mueller recently provided https://www.reddit.com/r/TechSEO/comments/1944d8k/questions_about_index_tag/ clarity on the use of the 'index, follow' meta tag, a topic of interest for many website owners and SEO professionals. The HTML meta element communicates metadata. Metadata is machine readable information that a crawler like Googlebot can read. Muller’s clarity sheds light on a common misunderstanding in the SEO community. The 'index, follow' meta tag has been widely used with the belief that it instructs search engine crawlers to index the content of a webpage and follow its links. However, Mueller clarified that this tag is essentially redundant for Google, as indexing and following links are default behaviors of search engine robots. The tag looks like this: . Mueller explained that the 'index' directive in the robots meta tag has no function for Google and is completely ignored. Similarly, the 'follow' directive is unnecessary because Googlebot automatically follows links unless instructed otherwise. Google's documentation confirms that the default values for robots tags are 'index, follow', and these don't need to be specified.  Furthermore, he wrote, “G https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/special-tags https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/robots-meta-tag” If the robots meta you want to use isn’t’ listed in Google’s documentation then Googlebot is going to ignore it. So don’t try to be cute or innovative unless you want to throw people off. The tag is still valid and tells the search engine crawlers to not index the content on the webpage and to not follow any links. For small business owners managing their websites, this clarification means that including the 'index, follow' meta tag does not impact how Google crawls or indexes their pages. The focus should instead be on ensuring that the website is accessible, with high-quality content that serves the audience's needs. While Bing treats the 'index, follow' tag similarly, it does allow explicit statements of 'index' or 'follow' if desired, as per Bing's documentation https://www.bing.com/webmasters/help/which-robots-metatags-does-bing-support-5198d240. However, for Google, the emphasis is on streamlining the website's HTML and removing unnecessary elements that do not contribute to its performance in search results. 3. UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF CHANGING FROM WWW TO NON-WWW ON SEO - In a recent discussion, Google's John Mueller clarified https://mastodon.social/@johnmu/111750737766619881 a common query among website owners and digital marketers about the impact of changing a domain from 'www' to 'non-www' on search rankings. This is particularly relevant for business owners who are considering such changes to their websites. Mueller stated that switching from a 'www' to a 'non-www' domain should not significantly affect a website's rankings. He suggested that Google is adept at recognizing such changes, and the rankings are unlikely to suffer substantially as a result. This response came after a query about a large site that changed its domain URL to remove 'www' and implemented 301 redirects via user agent Mozilla. The site owner noticed a worsening impact over time, leading to concerns about Google's recognition of this form of 301 redirect. Mueller clarified that server-side redirects like 301 do not use user agents, indicating a possible misunderstanding in the implementation. He emphasized that changing from 'www' to 'non-www' doesn't really change much in terms of SEO. If a website is experiencing significant changes in rankings, it is likely due to other factors. It's important for business owners to understand that while such domain changes are recognized by Google, the key is in the proper implementation of redirects. Google is quick to pick up on changes like 'http to https' or 'www to non-www,' and these types of changes should not negatively impact a site's rankings. However, changes in URL structures or significant parts of the site might lead to slower reactions from Google. 4. MAXIMIZING SEO: THE IMPORTANCE OF TEXT PLACEMENT OVER IMAGES - In a recent /http...

11m

Jan 22

Episode 194 contains the Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Jan 08-12, 2024. 1. GOOGLE'S CLEAR MESSAGE: NO 'PERFECT PAGE' FORMULA FOR SEARCH RANKINGS - Google's Search Liaison, Danny Sullivan debunked https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1744750934742458618?s=20 a common myth in SEO: the existence of a 'perfect page' formula for achieving high rankings in search results.  Danny emphasized that there is no universal formula or set of rules that websites must adhere to for high placement in search results. This clarification challenges the widespread belief, dating back to the early days of SEO, that specific word counts, page structures, or other optimizations can guarantee success in search rankings. According to Danny, third-party SEO tools often suggest creating pages in certain ways to succeed in search. However, he asserted that these tools cannot predict rankings accurately. Their advice is usually based on finding averages among top-ranking pages, but Google's algorithm values both commonalities and unique differences in content. Following such generalized advice does not guarantee a top ranking. Instead of focusing on mythical formulas, Danny recommended prioritizing helpfulness and relevance to users. For instance, including an author byline should be based on its usefulness to readers, not because it might supposedly boost rankings. His key advice is to put readers and audience first, as being helpful to them aligns more closely with the various signals used by Google to reward content. For small business owners, this means shifting focus from trying to crack a non-existent 'perfect SEO formula' to creating content that genuinely serves its audience. This reader-first approach is more likely to resonate with the diverse and evolving signals used by search engines. It's not just about organizing content; it's about making your site more accessible and relevant to both your audience and search engines. In summary, Google's message is clear: there is no perfect blueprint for guaranteed rankings. However, creating content that genuinely serves its purpose continues to be rewarded. This approach encourages small business owners to focus on quality and relevance, rather than chasing elusive SEO shortcuts, ultimately leading to a more robust and effective online presence. The question for you: Who will you listen and follow? Danny Sullivan, Google’s Search Liaison or a third-party tool who makes money when can keep you as a customer?  2. AUTHOR BYLINES DON'T IMPACT SEARCH RANKINGS - Google's Search Liaison, Danny Sullivan, stated https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1744373098432864386, "Author bylines aren't something you do for Google, and they don't help you rank better." This statement addresses the belief that including author bylines and bios on a website can directly influence its ranking in Google's search results. Sullivan emphasized that these elements are for the benefit of the readers, not for the search engine. He further explained that while publications with author bylines may exhibit other characteristics that align with Google's criteria for useful content, the bylines themselves do not contribute to better rankings. This clarification dispels the myth that specific structural elements like author bylines can be used as a shortcut to achieve higher search rankings. John Mueller of Google also previously stated https://twitter.com/lilyraynyc/status/1438256953776558083?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1438256953776558083%7Ctwgr%5Ec9b34d2e60e8a5aa7934ed4eda6239546021a145%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.seroundtable.com%2Fgoogle-bylines-for-trust-on-articles-32110.html (Sep 20, 2021) that author bylines are not a requirement for Google Search. This reinforces the idea that while bylines can enhance the credibility and transparency of content for readers it is not going to give you a ranking boost.  For small business owners, this means prioritizing the creation of content that genuinely serves the needs and interests of their audience. By focusing on being helpful and providing value to readers, businesses are more likely to align with the various signals Google uses to reward content. This approach not only enhances user experience but also supports long-term SEO success without relying on misconceptions about specific page elements. 3. NAVIGATING THE JAPANESE KEYWORD HACK: GOOGLE'S JOHN MUELLER OFFERS RECOVERY ADVICE - In a recent interaction https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/191h1eb/unexpected_indexing_of_20k_foreign_language_pages/kgvkps4/?context=3 on Reddit, Google's John Mueller provided crucial advice for website owners who fall victim to the Japanese keyword hack. This is especially relevant for small business owners who manage their websites and are concerned about online security and SEO. The Japanese keyword hack is a type of SEO spam attack where a website is injected with thousands of foreign language pages, often in Japanese or Chinese, without the owner's knowledge or consent. This attack can significantly impact a site's search rankings and integrity. In the reported case, a website owner discovered over 20,000 such pages suddenly indexed on their site. Mueller's advice for recovery begins with identifying how the breach occurred. It's crucial to understand the vulnerability that allowed the hack, to ensure it is properly secured. He suggested considering automatic updates or switching to a hosting platform that handles security as potential solutions. For SEO implications, Mueller advised that once a site's most important pages are cleaned of unwanted content, they can be reindexed quickly. He reassured that old hacked pages, if not visible to users, do not pose immediate problems and can remain indexed for months without issue. Importantly, Mueller clarified that spammy backlinks pointing to these invisible indexed pages do not require disavowing. Instead, the focus should be on cleaning up the site's visible content and preventing internal search results from being indexed. Regarding the issue of spammy backlinks causing internal search pages to be indexed, Mueller clarified that this was separate from the hacking issue. He recommended against disavowing the links, as the pages would naturally drop from search results over time. Proactively blocking search results pages from indexing, using methods like robots.txt or noindex, is advised for both new and existing sites to prevent exploitation by spammers. For small business owners, this incident underscores the importance of website security and regular maintenance. Regular security updates, malware scans, and link audits should be part of routine website management. It's a shared responsibility between website owners and search engines to keep search results free of hacked and spammy content. In summary, Mueller's advice highlights the need for proactive security measures and vigilant maintenance to protect websites from hacking and spam attacks. By focusing on these areas, small business owners can safeguard their online presence, maintain their search rankings, and ensure a trustworthy experience for their users. 4. GOOGLE'S UPDATED GUIDANCE ON SEARCH SNIPPETS - Google has recently updated https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/snippet its documentation to clarify how its algorithm selects snippets for search results. Traditionally, it was believed that the snippet in search results, which consists of a title, URL breadcrumb, and a brief description, was derived mainly from the meta description of a webpage. However, Google's updated guidance indicates that the primary source of the snippet is the page content itself, not the structured data or the meta description. This update represents a shift in how meta descriptions might be written and how content is optimized. The previous version of Google's documentation implied that the snippet was mostly derived from the meta description, suggesting that on-page content could also be selected for the snippet. The new documentation makes it clear that the page content is the main source of the snippet, with the meta description being used only when it describes the page better than other parts of the content. Google has removed a substantial amount of content from the previous version of the documentation, including a paragraph that advised site owners on how to suggest content for snippets. The new wording emphasizes that snippets are primarily created from the page content, and the meta description is used only when it might give users a more accurate description of the page than content taken directly from the page. 5. GOOGLE'S TEMPORARY REPRIEVE FOR SELECT SITES ON THIRD-PARTY COOKIE PHASE-OUT - Google Chrome has started restricting third-party cookie access, a significant change that began on January 4, 2024, and is expected to reach 100% of users globally by Q3 2024. Recognizing the challenges this transition poses, Google is offering https://developers.google.com/privacy-sandbox/blog/third-party-cookie-deprecation-trial?hl=en a limited "Deprecation Trial" to allow websites and businesses additional time to migrate away from third-party cookie dependencies. This trial is specifically for non-advertising use cases and will temporarily re-enable third-party cookie access for eligible third-party services until December 27, 2024. To qualify for these trials, services must meet strict eligibility criteria set by Google. Services categorized as advertising-related will not be approved, and origins matching known ad-related domains, including subdomains, will be rejected. Only services with proven functional breakage, not just data collection issues, are eligible. Applicants must provide detailed steps to reproduce the broken functionality in bug reports, and Google will only accept requests where apparent breakage is validated. For approved services, unique access tokens can be added in Chrome to enable trials. Google has granted a grace period until April 1, 2024, for approved sites to deploy their tokens, addressing the short window between registration opening and the initial blocking of cookies for 1% of traffic. This extension is not intended to relieve data collection inconveniences but to allow services with functional breakage to use third-party cookies. Business owners relying on third-party services or cookies should conduct an audit of their site's usage and prepare contingency plans. With the rollout already underway, it's crucial to address potential impacts before a larger percentage of visitors are affected. 6. GOOGLE SEARCH CONSOLE RETIRES CRAWL RATE TOOL - Google has officially removed https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2023/11/sc-crawl-limiter-byebye?resource_id=https%3A%2F%2Fmarketandgrow.com%2F&hl=en&utm_source=wmx&utm_medium=deprecation-pane&utm_content=settingsthe crawl rate setting tool from Google Search Console. The crawl rate limiter was a legacy tool within Google Search Console that allowed website owners to communicate to Google how frequently their site should be crawled. It was primarily used when a website experienced server load problems due to frequent crawling by Googlebot. However, Google has deemed this feature no longer necessary due to improvements in its crawling logic and other tools available to publishers. With the removal of this tool, Google now relies more on its enhanced crawling logic to determine the appropriate frequency for crawling websites. Googlebot now automatically adjusts its crawl rate in response to how a site or server responds to its requests. For instance, if a server consistently returns HTTP 500 status codes or if the response time for requests significantly lengthens, Googlebot will automatically slow down it's crawling. This means that Google's automated systems are now more adept at managing crawl rates without manual intervention. While this may reduce the level of control website owners have over crawl rates, it also simplifies the process, as Googlebot will intelligently adjust its behavior based on the site's response. Google has set the minimum crawling speed to a lower rate, comparable to the old crawl rate limits. This adjustment aims to continue honoring the settings that some site owners had previously set, especially if the search interest is low and the crawlers do not waste the site's bandwidth. 7. THE EVOLVING ROLE OF HASHTAGS ON LINKEDIN - On January 12, 2024, Andrew Hutchinson reported in Social Media Today about the changing effectiveness of hashtags on LinkedIn. For a long time, LinkedIn did not support hashtags. However, in 2018, the platform reactivated hashtag discoverability and began encouraging users to categorize their posts using hashtags. The goal was to segment content better, enabling LinkedIn to show users more relevant content. But as algorithms have evolved, the necessity for hashtags has diminished. Modern social platform systems are now adept at understanding the context of a post's text, visuals, user history, and all keywords included, making hashtags less critical for content categorization. LinkedIn's current stance is that while hashtags can be helpful for viewers to easily identify what a post is about and find related posts, they should be closely related to the topic of the post to be most effective. LinkedIn also considers conversation topics and keywords to surface relevant information. This suggests that LinkedIn is now less reliant on hashtags for maximizing discovery. However, when searching for conversations on a specific topic, users can still use topics or hashtags. For business owners, this means that while hashtags in LinkedIn posts are less relevant than before, it's still important to be mindful of the keywords mentioned in the main post. Understanding and tapping into the right conversation streams based on target topics is crucial. Following popular pages and people within your business niche can provide insights into common hashtags related to your sector. Additionally, searching for hashtags in the app can help identify trending topics and discussions in your industry. Research by LinkedIn expert Richard van der Blom indicates that using 3-10 hashtags in LinkedIn posts used to significantly boost reach, but now hashtags provide no additional reach boost. This change suggests that LinkedIn is gradually deemphasizing hashtags as a discovery tool, focusing more on topical relevance rather than maximizing reach. LinkedIn's system is not designed for virality, so hashtags do not necessarily function on LinkedIn the way they do on other social media platforms. This could be part of LinkedIn's strategy to prevent users from gaming the system with hashtags. 8. EXPANDING E-COMMERCE HORIZONS: X'S NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH SHOPIFY - On January 9, 2024, X announced https://twitter.com/benarroch_joe/status/1744748140610420749 an expanded partnership with Shopify. This collaboration is set to open new opportunities for Shopify merchants to promote their products on X's platform, aligning with X's vision of becoming an "everything app." The partnership is designed to enable all Shopify merchants to reach a broader customer base by leveraging the power of X Business. While X already had a deal with Shopify in 2022 to display products in-stream, this new development promises to facilitate broader product awareness actions, enable easier catalog uploads, and provide more ways for Shopify merchants to maximize ad outcomes. Shopify President Harley Finkelstein highlighted the importance of reaching customers wherever they are. He emphasized that more platforms mean more choice, entrepreneurship, and opportunities for business growth. Although many details of the partnership are yet to be disclosed, the collaboration is expected to offer significant benefits for retailers. X's work with Shopify could potentially facilitate new opportunities for retailers in-stream. This would be particularly impactful if X's vision of integrating peer-to-peer payments and transfers in the app materializes. Such a feature could lead to innovative ways for retailers to expand their audience and leverage X's reach. For small business owners, this partnership represents a significant opportunity. It suggests that leveraging platforms like X, in conjunction with e-commerce giants like Shopify, could be a strategic move to expand their digital footprint and reach new customers. The potential for in-stream payments and transfers could further enhance the customer experience and streamline the purchasing process. 9. MICROSOFT HAS A NEW AD CREATION TOOL - On January 11, 2024, Microsoft announced a significant update to its retail media tool https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/industry/blog/retail/2024/01/11/microsoft-introduces-new-capabilities-that-help-retailers-bring-ai-to-the-shopper-journey-and-enhance-store-associate-experiences/, introducing a new Creative Studio https://about.ads.microsoft.com/cmsctx/pv/03aff669-a32b-40e2-adcc-948dfa6042e4/culture/en-US/wg/ba008dda-d846-4ac8-8151-47ba6019bced/h/aa967e3edba45cd24457e96ae2dc1015c56bf5beaa43a2f89d9207581917fdb5/-/cms/getdoc/9fba16ef-9484-4602-9f00-aecfc8521512/pv.aspx element powered by generative AI. The new Creative Studio allows users to generate entirely new ads in various formats using conversational AI prompts. This AI-powered solution is designed to boost creativity and productivity, particularly benefiting retailers and advertisers by simplifying the process of creating banner ads. The tool's ease of use is particularly advantageous for smaller businesses that may lack the resources to run effective banner campaigns. One of the key features of this tool is its ability to create ads based on just a product URL. Users can then further customize the creative for different channels. Microsoft ensures that the AI-generated ads will automatically align with each retailer's style guide. Additionally, users have the flexibility to customize ads by updating and emphasizing selected words and phrases, cropping and cleaning up backgrounds, and modifying other ad elements, all based on text prompts.

13m

Jan 15

Episode 193 contains the Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Jan 01-05, 2024. 1. GOOGLE'S SHIFT AWAY FROM THIRD-PARTY COOKIES HAS STARTED - On January 4, 2024, Google embarked on a significant change in the digital marketing landscape by initiating the first stage of its strategy to remove third-party cookies. We have mentioned in our previous episode that it will begin in January 2024. However, I did not expect it to start so soon.  Third-party cookies have long been a staple in digital marketing, allowing businesses to track users' browsing habits across different websites and deliver personalized advertising. Google's decision to phase out these cookies is part of its Privacy Sandbox initiative, which aims to balance user privacy with the needs of online businesses. Initially, this change will impact 1% of Chrome users globally, equivalent to about 30 million people. The impact of Tracking Protection's rollout is yet to be fully realized, but it's clear that advertisers need to be ready for a cookie-less future. This shift will cause issues for sites that depend on third-party cookies.  Third-party cookies have traditionally provided vital insights for targeted advertising. With their removal, Google will categorize users into anonymized topic listings, allowing brands to target subsets of users but without the granular data previously available. This change is expected to lead to less effective advertising campaigns and, consequently, reduced revenue for web publishers. It also signifies increased costs for businesses in targeting ads. For small business owners, this shift represents a significant challenge and opportunity. The removal of third-party cookies means that the traditional methods of targeted advertising, which rely on detailed user data, will become less effective. Instead, Google plans to categorize users into anonymized topic listings. While this still allows for targeted advertising, it will be less specific than before, potentially leading to less effective campaigns and reduced revenue for web publishers. Additionally, the cost of ad targeting is likely to increase for many businesses. Google's move also reflects a broader trend in the digital world towards prioritizing user privacy. This trend is not only driven by tech giants like Google and Apple but also by regulatory changes in regions like the European Union. As a result, digital marketers are entering a phase of trial and error, learning to utilize new tools and strategies to maximize their advertising effectiveness in a privacy-focused online ecosystem. Business owners must adapt their digital marketing strategies to align with these new privacy standards. This adaptation involves exploring new tools and methods for reaching audiences in a way that respects their privacy while still achieving marketing goals.   2. THE COMMUNITY'S VERDICT ON BUYING DR & DA SERVICES: MORE HARM THAN GOOD - As a small business owner, you might be tempted to quickly boost your website's Domain Rating (DR) and Domain Authority (DA) by purchasing services from platforms like Fiverr. DR and DA are metrics developed by SEO companies to estimate a website's likelihood of ranking well in search engine results. While these metrics can be useful indicators of a site's health and link profile, they are not direct factors used by search engines like Google for ranking websites. The allure of these services is understandable: they promise quick, significant improvements in your website's perceived authority. However, it's crucial to understand the potential risks and downsides. __ __ The Reddit SEO community strongly advises https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/18tiwx0/why_not_buy_a_fiverr_service_for_dr against purchasing services to artificially boost Domain Rating (DR) and Domain Authority (DA) from platforms like Fiverr. Here are some key takeaways from their responses https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/18tiwx0/why_not_buy_a_fiverr_service_for_dr: __ __ In conclusion, the Reddit SEO community strongly advises against buying DR and DA boosting services. These services offer short-term, superficial gains at the expense of long-term SEO health and credibility. For small business owners, the focus should be on building organic backlinks, creating quality content, and following best SEO practices for sustainable growth and success. 3. REVAMP YOUR WEBSITE WITHOUT LOSING SEO: ESSENTIAL TIPS FROM JOHN MULLER - Google's John Mueller highlights https://youtu.be/GAZ6j00geMk?t=262 the critical importance of careful planning in website revamps to avoid SEO pitfalls. This topic is particularly relevant for small business owners who are considering updating their website's user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). UI and UX are fundamental aspects of a website, influencing how visitors interact and their overall satisfaction. Changes in these areas, along with adding new pages, can significantly impact a site's SEO performance. This is because these changes can affect everything from how Google crawls and understands a page to the on-page ranking factors. Here is what he mentioned: “” We also recommend that you discuss your needs with a reputable, competent SEO professional. Here are some key steps to consider: __ __ For small business owners, understanding and implementing these steps is crucial. A well-planned website revamp can enhance user experience and SEO performance, while a poorly executed one can lead to significant setbacks in site visibility and user engagement. Therefore, it's not just about making the site look better; it's about ensuring that these improvements align with SEO best practices to maintain or enhance your site's ranking on search engines. 4. IMPORTANCE OF A WEBSITE'S HOMEPAGE IN GOOGLE'S EYES - Historically, the homepage was deemed the most important page due to the prevalence of directory and reciprocal links pointing to it. However, the focus shifted to inner pages as link-building strategies evolved, targeting content-rich pages for better ranking in search results. Despite this trend, recent statements from Google's Gary Illyes and John Mueller suggest a resurgence in the importance of the homepage. Illyes, in ep#66 of the Search off the Record podcast, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULX4GHcQd9U emphasized that from Google's perspective, the homepage is the most important page of a site. Here is what he said https://content.libsyn.com/p/7/3/f/73f2b9206f03af2d/Search_Off_the_Record_-_66th_episode.pdf?c_id=164050383&cs_id=164050383&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf&Expires=1704741603&Signature=MOxZvyN2aFa4uUrKiz~Rj8-Uo0SPs1~6aPEHv4BO4dV2iCq5sMR~Lvd-IML4U-Oi494OtlR5g~nM6EkrYp9FNRZI2~ydymIjvq3H3bqfv0i5T-iwoGikJhha6GLPhr6EYgggB0flfuLqR2lTbVXHXCQBmWzPiycrfc3eUVieNndQHbTKwNAwi4va0qsEpd02zJR2pkVqyhcfhWVJvYISpOd41JhlSvGEjNpXv7I5cz48ZH7N5gXBoPNnpHYy3tOjQs00u3~vLHs4mtRBOaLrHKu4apGnstccTpQvufTZXms8Ng~xtEv627S8SpS9Pkq3VX3zT6xwwZusMU4a2ocfnQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K1YS7LZGUP96OI : “” This statement is significant for business owners, as it implies that Google pays special attention to the homepage for indexing and understanding a website's structure. Mueller echoed this sentiment, noting that Google uses the homepage as a starting point for crawling and gauging the importance of other pages. He explained that pages linked directly from the homepage are often considered more important, influencing their weight in search results. This renewed focus on the homepage does not negate the value of inner pages but highlights the homepage's role as a gateway to the rest of the site. For business owners, this means ensuring that your homepage is not only well-designed and user-friendly but also strategically links to key inner pages. This approach can enhance the visibility and ranking of your website in Google's search results. In summary, while the importance of individual pages varies, the homepage holds a special place in Google's indexing and ranking process. As a small business owner, prioritizing your homepage's content and structure can significantly impact your website's overall performance in search results. This understanding is essential in today's competitive digital landscape, where a well-optimized homepage can be a game-changer for your online presence. 5. BRAND OVER KEYWORDS: JOHN MUELLER'S ADVICE ON DOMAIN NAMES FOR SEO - In the realm of SEO, the choice of a domain name is a critical decision for any business owner. And the idea of using keyword domain name keeps on coming up. In a now deleted reddit post, https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/18v8xru/comment/kfq2kmw/?context=3 John Mueller, Google's Search Advocate addressed a common query: Do keyword domain names offer an SEO advantage? His response was clear and straightforward. He advised against relying on keyword-specific domain names for long-term SEO strategy, stating that such a domain name does not provide a significant SEO advantage on Google. This advice is particularly relevant for businesses planning for long-term growth and online presence. The rationale behind Mueller's advice is twofold. First, keyword-focused domain names can limit brand recognition. They may pigeonhole a business into a narrow niche, making it challenging to expand or diversify offerings in the future. Second, these domain names can be restrictive when targeting other keywords, thereby limiting the website's ability to adapt to new products, services, or market trends. Mueller's insights reflect a shift in SEO trends, emphasizing the importance of building a strong, recognizable brand across various channels. This approach aligns with omnichannel marketing, where consistency in branding across different platforms is key to connecting with customers. In today's digital landscape, brand recognition and quality content are increasingly significant in achieving SEO success. In conclusion, Mueller's advice for 2024 and beyond is to focus less on keyword-centric domain names and more on developing a comprehensive, brand-focused online presence. This strategy not only aligns with current SEO trends but also ensures versatility and adaptability for businesses in the ever-evolving digital market. For small business owners, this means investing in a domain name that reflects your brand's identity and values, rather than just targeting specific keywords. This approach will help in building a lasting and flexible online presence, crucial for long-term success in the digital world. 6. FACEBOOK'S NEW LINK HISTORY FEATURE: IMPLICATIONS FOR TARGETED ADVERTISING - On January 3, 2024, Facebook introduced a significant update affecting digital marketing: the global archiving of all users' link history on both Android and iOS devices. This is particularly relevant for small business owners who utilize Facebook for targeted advertising. The new feature, which is enabled by default, allows Meta to use the collected data from users' link history for targeted advertising. This means that Facebook will keep track of the websites visited by users within its mobile browser over the last 30 days. However, it's important to note that links visited in Messenger chats are not included in this history. The feature could provide a valuable source of data for reaching high-value consumers, especially as the industry moves towards a cookieless future and faces stricter privacy laws. On the other hand, the reliance on such data could be temporary, and there are concerns about user privacy and the potential backlash. Users have the option to opt-out of this feature. To disable it, they can select any link within the Facebook app, launch Facebook's mobile browser, click on the three dots in the bottom right corner, select browser settings, and then toggle the switch next to "Allow Link History." A Facebook spokesperson stated, "." 7. LINKEDIN AD PRICES SURGE AMID ADVERTISER BOYCOTT OF PLATFORM X - As of January 2, 2024, LinkedIn has experienced a significant surge in ad prices, a development crucial for small business owners to understand. This change https://www.ft.com/content/bd56a91a-9c99-4184-b230-9b7c3de19f79, is attributed to increased demand following an advertiser boycott of another major platform, referred to as "X." The cost of ads on LinkedIn, a Microsoft-owned platform, has risen by as much as 30% in some cases. This increase is a direct result of advertisers shifting their focus from Platform X to LinkedIn. Leesha Anderson, Vice-President of Digital Marketing and Social Media at Outcast Ad Agency, noted that most of their clients have moved away from Platform X and are now focusing on LinkedIn. Despite the steep increase in prices, marketers are reporting substantial returns on their investments in LinkedIn ads. Advertisers are seeing up to 20% ROI, meaning for every $100 spent, they are generating profits of $120. This high ROI is particularly noteworthy given the increased costs of LinkedIn campaigns compared to those on Meta's platforms, where the cost per 1000 impressions can be as low as $10 to $15. LinkedIn's ad prices are determined by an auction system based on market demand. The greater the demand, the higher the ad price. This system has led to the current surge in prices due to the influx of advertisers from Platform X. The platform's annual ad revenue soared by 101% year-on-year in 2023, reaching almost $4 billion. Insider Intelligence forecasts that this growth will continue, with an additional 141% increase expected in 2024. Penry Price, LinkedIn's Vice-President of Marketing Solutions, attributed the increased investment in LinkedIn ads to the platform's unique targeting capabilities. LinkedIn claims to have twice the buying power of the average web audience, with four out of five members driving business decisions. For small business owners, this information is vital. While LinkedIn presents a solid alternative for advertising, especially in light of the boycott of Platform X, the increased costs must be considered. The platform's robust targeting capabilities and high ROI potential make it an attractive option, but businesses must carefully assess their budgets and advertising strategies to ensure the best use of their resources.

14m

Jan 08

Episode 192 contains the Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Dec 18-22, 2023. 1. SITE STRUCTURE STRATEGY - Understanding the basics of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can significantly enhance your online presence. Gary Illyes from Google has recently shed light on the importance of using a hierarchical site structure for SEO, a strategy crucial for making your website more accessible and understandable to both users and search engines. Illyes explains two types of site structures: hierarchical and flat. A flat site structure links every page directly from the home page, making each page just one click away. This approach was popular when sites relied heavily on web directories and reciprocal linking. However, as Google reduced the influence of PageRank as a ranking factor, the flat structure became less relevant. In contrast, a hierarchical site structure organizes content from general to specific. The home page covers the most general topic, with links to categories, subcategories, and individual pages that delve into more specific topics. This structure not only makes it easier for users to navigate your site but also helps search engines understand and categorize your content effectively. A hierarchical structure offers several advantages: __ __ The choice between a hierarchical and a flat structure depends on your site's size and complexity. For larger sites with diverse content, a hierarchical structure is more beneficial. It allows for better organization and easier management of different content sections. He explained, "" For small business owners, adopting a hierarchical site structure, as suggested by Gary Illyes from Google, can significantly improve your website's SEO performance. It's not just about organizing content; it's about making your site more accessible and relevant to both your audience and search engines. By implementing this structure, you can enhance user experience, improve search rankings, and ultimately drive more traffic to your site. 2. DECODING THE DEC 21 SPAM ATTACK: KEY LESSONS TO ELEVATE YOUR SEO STRATEGY! - On December 21, 2023, Google's search results were overwhelmed by a massive spam attack. This event highlights the vulnerability of search engines to spam tactics and the potential impact on businesses relying on online visibility. The attack involved numerous domains ranking for hundreds of thousands of keywords, indicating a large-scale operation. The spam was first noticed when almost all top search results for specific queries, like "Craigslist used auto parts," turned out to be spam, except for a few legitimate listings. The spam sites exploited three main opportunities within Google's ranking system: __ __ The effectiveness of this technique lies in the different algorithms Google uses for local and non-local searches. Local search algorithms are more lenient, allowing these spam sites to rank with minimal effort. he December 21, 2023, spam attack on Google's search results offers valuable insights for business owners looking to enhance their SEO strategies. This incident, where numerous domains ranked for an unusually high number of keywords, sheds light on the vulnerabilities and opportunities within Google's ranking system. Key Learnings from the Spam Attack __ __ Applying These Insights to Your SEO Strategy __ Diversify Your Online Presence: Don't rely solely on organic search rankings. Utilize social media, email marketing, and other channels to build a robust online presence. __ 3. IS YOUR COMPANY BLOG GOOGLE NEWS WORTHY? - Google's John Mueller addressed a crucial question: Can company blogs be eligible for Google News? This is particularly relevant for small business owners seeking to expand their reach and visibility online. Mueller clarified that while he works on search, which is somewhat separate from Google News, there's nothing in Google News content policies specifically excluding company blogs. This opens up an opportunity for business blogs to be featured, provided they meet certain criteria. To be considered for Google News, your blog content must adhere to specific guidelines. These include: __ __ While Google can automatically discover news content, being proactive can increase your chances. You can submit your blog URL for consideration through Google's Publisher Center https://publishercenter.google.com/. This step is crucial for small business owners looking to leverage their company blog for greater visibility. FYI: Google News does feature content from company blogs. For instance, GridinSoft https://gridinsoft.com/ company's blog and Adobe's company webpage have been shown in Google News. This demonstrates that while dedicated news sites are more common, company blogs that publish news are also considered. For small business owners, this information is a game-changer. It means that your company blog has the potential to be featured in Google News, provided it meets Google's content policies. This can lead to increased exposure, traffic, and potentially, a steady stream of advertising income. It's an opportunity to elevate your content strategy and expand your digital footprint in a meaningful way. 4. PERFECT SEO ISN'T A REALITY FOR YOUR BUSINESS - Google's John Mueller in his last SEO office hours of December 2023 https://youtu.be/GAZ6j00geMk, where he stated, "no SEO is perfect." This insight is particularly relevant for business owners who may feel overwhelmed by the constantly evolving landscape of SEO. SEO is an ever-changing field, influenced by the continuous evolution of the internet, search engines, and user behavior. This fluidity means that what works today in SEO might not be as effective tomorrow. The technical elements like structured data and quality considerations are always in flux, making the idea of achieving 'perfect' SEO unattainable. Despite the impossibility of perfect SEO, Mueller emphasizes the importance of engaging in SEO practices. The goal isn't to achieve perfection but to adapt and evolve with the changes. SEO remains a crucial element in enhancing online visibility, driving traffic, and improving user engagement. Key Takeaways for Business Owners __ __ For small business owners, understanding that 'no SEO is perfect' can be liberating. It shifts the focus from chasing an unattainable goal to developing a flexible, quality-focused approach that grows with your business and the digital landscape. Embracing this mindset allows you to navigate the complexities of SEO with more confidence and less stress, ultimately leading to a more robust and effective online presence. 5. DOES A DOUBLE SLASH IN URLS AFFECT YOUR SEO? - Google's Gary Illyes addressed https://youtu.be/GAZ6j00geMk a common query: does a double forward slash in a URL affect a website's SEO?  Double forward slashes in URLs often result from coding issues in the CMS (Content Management System) or the .htaccess file. This can lead to the creation of duplicate webpages that differ only in their URL structure. Resolving this issue isn't as simple as rewriting the URL to remove the extra slash; the root cause must be identified and corrected. Gary Illyes clarified that from a technical SEO perspective, having double slashes in a URL is not problematic. According to RFC 3986, section 3, a forward slash is a standard separator in URLs and can appear multiple times, even consecutively. However, from a usability standpoint, double slashes are not ideal. They could potentially confuse users and some web crawlers. The usability of a website is crucial because it can affect user satisfaction and, indirectly, the site's popularity and visibility. If a site is difficult to navigate or understand, it may deter users and reduce the likelihood of being recommended or linked to by other sites. Similarly, anything that causes confusion for web crawlers can directly impact SEO. It's essential for a site to be easily crawlable and understandable. To avoid potential issues: __ __ For small business owners, understanding and addressing these seemingly minor details can make a significant difference in SEO performance. While Google may be able to navigate through such issues, relying on this is not a best practice. Proactively managing your site's technical health ensures a better user experience and optimizes your site for search engines. 6. DBAS NOW ACCEPTED FOR ADVERTISER VERIFICATION! - Google Ads has made a change to its Advertiser Verification Program and now accepts DBAs (Doing Business As) or trade names for verification. This development is particularly important for small business owners who often operate under trade names or DBAs. Previously, the Google Ads Advertiser Verification Program required advertisers to use their legal business names for verification. This posed a challenge for many businesses that operate under a DBA or a trade name different from their legal name. With this update, Google Ads acknowledges the common practice of using DBAs and adapts its verification process accordingly. Implications for Business Owners __ __ To be verified under a DBA or trade name, the legal document submitted for verification must include both the legal name and the DBA/trade name. This ensures that Google can accurately associate the trade name with the legal entity behind it. 7. RESERVATION CAMPAIGNS IN YOUTUBE ADS - YouTube/Google Ads has simplified the process of setting up reservation video campaigns, a type of advertising that offers fixed-rate impressions, ideal for brand awareness and product promotions. Reservation campaigns are a form of advertising where ad placements are purchased in advance at a fixed rate, typically on a cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM) basis. Unlike auction-based ads, where placements are bid on in real-time, reservation campaigns guarantee ad placement, making them ideal for high-impact advertising and ensuring visibility for crucial campaigns. Key Features of the New System __ __ Benefits for Business Owners __ __ For small business owners, Google's update to reservation video campaigns on YouTube simplifies the process of creating impactful brand awareness and product promotion campaigns, leveraging YouTube's vast audience. Familiarizing yourself with this new system and aligning your campaigns with Google's policies will be key to maximizing your brand's exposure on one of the world's most popular video platforms.

13m

Dec 25, 2023

Episode 191 contains the Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Dec 11-15, 2023. 1. GOOGLE REITERATES: DOMAIN AGE DOES NOT IMPACT SEARCH RANKINGS - In a recent discussion, Google's John Mueller addressed a long-standing question in the SEO community: Does the age of a domain name impact Google search rankings? This topic, often debated among SEO professionals, has been clarified by Mueller, providing valuable insights for business owners looking to understand the nuances of search engine optimization. Key Insights from the Discussion: __ : Mueller stated that the age of a domain name does not impact Google search rankings. This clarification dispels a common belief among SEOs that older domain names correlate with top rankings. : The misconception about domain age as a ranking factor may have originated from a misreading of a Google patent titled "Information Retrieval Based on Historical Data." The patent, however, focuses on identifying spam sites using domain-related information, not on boosting the rankings of legitimate domains. : The patent mentions using domain data to catch throwaway domains used by spammers. It indicates that valuable, legitimate domains are often paid for several years in advance, unlike spam domains. However, this information is used to predict the legitimacy of a domain for spam detection, not for ranking purposes. __ This clarification from Google means that focusing on the age of your domain as a ranking strategy is misguided and highlights the importance of accurate information in the SEO industry. Instead, attention should be directed towards creating high-quality, relevant content and optimizing your website for a better user experience. It is a reminder to always seek clarity and accuracy in SEO strategies, ensuring that efforts are directed towards genuinely effective methods. 2. GOOGLE CHROME: PHASING OUT THIRD-PARTY COOKIES FOR ENHANCED PRIVACY - On January 4, 2024, Google will begin testing a new feature that restricts third-party cookies by default in Chrome, impacting 1% of users globally. This rollout is part of Google's broader initiative to phase out third-party cookies entirely by the second half of 2024, marking a significant shift in online privacy and digital advertising practices. Key Aspects of Google's Update: __ : The new tracking protection tool will be rolled out to a small percentage of Chrome users, starting with 1% globally. This feature is designed to limit third-party cookies, which have been a fundamental part of the web for nearly three decades. : Websites that depend on third-party cookies for advertising or other purposes might face challenges due to this rollout. It's crucial for site owners to prepare in advance for a web without third-party cookies. : This initiative aims to develop technology that safeguards online privacy while providing tools for successful digital businesses. The primary objectives are to phase out third-party cookies and reduce cross-site tracking, maintaining free online content and services. __ For small business owners, especially those relying on digital advertising, this update signals a need to adapt to new privacy-focused online practices. The phasing out of third-party cookies will require a shift in how businesses target and reach their audiences online. Preparing for these changes is essential to ensure continued effectiveness in digital marketing strategies. 3. GOOGLE'S LOCAL SEARCH ALGORITHM UPDATE: PRIORITIZING OPEN BUSINESSES - On December 16, 2023, Google announced an update to its local search ranking algorithm, emphasizing the 'openness' signal for non-navigational queries. This change means that Google now ranks open businesses higher in local search results than those that are closed, particularly during the business's operating hours. This update is a response to the evolving needs of users who are increasingly looking for immediate services or products. Key Aspects of the Update: __ : Google's local search algorithm now considers whether a business is currently open as a more significant factor in ranking for local pack rankings. This change applies to non-navigational queries, where users search for types of services rather than specific brands. : Businesses that are open at the time of a user's search query are more likely to appear higher in search results. This update benefits businesses that operate 24/7, as they remain visible even when competitors are closed. : Google's Search Liaison, Danny Sullivan, advised against changing business hours to appear open 24/7 unless true. This manipulation could lead to penalties or adjustments in the ranking signal in the future. __ For small business owners, this update underscores the importance of accurately listing business hours on Google. Ensuring your Google Business Profile reflects true open hours can improve your visibility in local search results, especially during your operating hours. This change can significantly impact customer footfall and inquiries, making it crucial for businesses to update their profiles accurately. 4. GOOGLE CONFIRMS: PUBLISHING CONTENT IN BOTH PDF AND HTML FORMATS IS ACCEPTABLE - On December 13, 2023, Google's John Mueller clarified https://youtu.be/DVdOUqaBQ00 a common query regarding the publication of content in both PDF and HTML formats. In a recent AskGooglebot video, Mueller confirmed that it's perfectly fine to publish content in both formats, as Google's systems can index them separately, even if the content is technically a duplicate. Key Insights from John Mueller's Statement: __ : Google can find and index both PDF and HTML pages separately. This means that even if the content in both formats is the same, they can be shown independently in search results. : If Google's systems identify the content as duplicates, they usually defer to the HTML page version. However, website owners have control over this through various methods like using a 'noindex' HTTP header or robots meta tag to block indexing of one format, or using the 'rel=canonical' link element to indicate a preference. : Mueller highlighted that the choice of format often depends on what the audience prefers or requires. For example, restaurant menus are best suited as HTML pages for mobile viewing, while forms or guidebooks might be more practical in PDF format. __ Google's stance on publishing content in both PDF and HTML formats offers businesses an opportunity to diversify their content strategy. By understanding how Google indexes and handles these formats, business owners can make informed decisions about content publication, ensuring their information reaches the audience effectively in their preferred format. 5. GOOGLE TAKES ACTION AGAINST PARASITE SEO - On December 11, 2023, Google's Search Liaison Danny Sullivan announced that the search company has taken steps to address the issue of 'parasite SEO.' This term refers to the practice of leveraging high-authority third-party websites to rank content that otherwise wouldn't perform well in search results. Sullivan indicated that while the specific change related to the upcoming helpful content update isn't live yet, Google has implemented other measures to combat this problem. Key Points from Google's Announcement: __ : Google has enhanced its systems to better handle third-party content that falls under the category of parasite SEO. This includes content hosted on reputable sites but created primarily for SEO manipulation. : Sullivan emphasized that Google will continue to refine its approach to dealing with such issues, indicating an ongoing commitment to maintaining the integrity of search results. : The advice given by Google regarding third-party content remains relevant. Creators are encouraged to focus on producing helpful, people-first content to be recognized as valuable by Google's algorithms. : This development is particularly important for small business owners who rely on organic search traffic. Understanding and adhering to Google's guidelines is crucial for maintaining visibility and credibility in search results. __ Google's proactive steps to address parasite SEO highlight the importance of ethical SEO practices. For business owners, this serves as a reminder to focus on creating high-quality, user-centric content rather than resorting to manipulative tactics. Staying informed about these changes and aligning with Google's guidelines is key to achieving long-term success in search engine rankings. 6. GOOGLEBOT CRAWLING EXPERIMENT: SURPRISING INSIGHTS FOR WEBSITE OWNERS - On December 14, 2023, an intriguing experiment conducted by technical SEO expert Kristina Azarenko revealed the impact of disabling Googlebot from crawling a website. This experiment, which ran from October 5 to November 7, offers valuable insights for business owners about the importance of Googlebot crawling and its effects on website performance. Key Findings from the Experiment: __ : The website's favicon was removed from Google search results, and video search results took a significant hit, which still hadn't recovered post-experiment. : While positions remained relatively stable, there was slightly more volatility in Canada. : The website only saw a slight decrease in traffic during the experiment. : Despite pages having 'noindex' meta robots tags, they ended up being indexed because Google couldn't crawl the site to see those tags. : The site received multiple alerts in GSC, such as 'indexed though blocked by robots.txt' and 'blocked by robots.txt.' __ This experiment highlights the critical role of Googlebot in maintaining and updating a website's presence in search results. For business owners, it underscores the importance of ensuring that Googlebot can crawl their site effectively. Any impediments to crawling can lead to unexpected issues, such as outdated information in search results or the indexing of unintended pages. 7. GOOGLE ADS UNVEILS EXPANDED VIDEO REACH CAMPAIGNS - On December 12, 2023, Google Ads announced a significant enhancement to Video Reach Campaigns (VRC), offering businesses more formats to maximize their brand awareness on YouTube. This update reflects the evolving ways people engage with YouTube, from mobile Shorts to TV screen browsing, presenting brands with diverse opportunities to connect with their audience. Key Features of the Update: __ : Video Reach Campaigns now include the ability to scale video creatives to in-feed and Shorts, in addition to in-stream ads. This expansion allows advertisers to reach viewers across various YouTube formats, increasing the potential for brand exposure. : Leveraging Google's AI, multiformat ads in VRC deliver enhanced reach and efficiency. Testing has shown that campaigns opting into all three inventory types (in-feed, in-stream, and Shorts) achieved an average of 54% more reach at 42% lower CPM (Cost Per Mille) compared to in-stream-only campaigns. __ Case Study - Bayer's Midol Campaign: Bayer utilized VRC for their Midol multi symptom relief campaign, opting into in-feed, in-stream, and Shorts ads. A head-to-head test against in-stream-only VRC revealed that the multiformat approach delivered 30% more reach at a 45% lower CPM. 8. GOOGLE ADS ENHANCES BUSINESS OPERATION VERIFICATION PROCESS - On December 12, 2023, Google Ads announced https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/14293883 the rollout of a comprehensive guide to assist businesses in completing their Business Operation Verification. This new resource aims to clarify the verification process, providing detailed explanations and examples to help advertisers understand and successfully navigate the verification requirements. Key Features of the Update: __ : The guide offers a clear, step-by-step explanation of the Business Operation Verification process, including reasons for verification failure and example scenarios where verification might be required. : The guide is accessible through the billing icon in Google Ads and via in-account prompts, ensuring that advertisers can easily find and use the resource. : The document outlines specific scenarios and reasons why a business might need to undergo verification, helping advertisers to better prepare and complete the process efficiently. : This update reflects Google's ongoing efforts to maintain a secure and transparent advertising environment. By providing additional information to advertisers, Google aims to enhance the overall experience and effectiveness of the advertiser verification program. __ Google Ads' introduction of a detailed guide for Business Operation Verification is a proactive step towards supporting advertisers in meeting compliance standards. For business owners, this resource is a valuable tool in optimizing their advertising efforts and maintaining a credible presence on Google's platform. 9. META'S THREADS APP EMBRACES DECENTRALIZATION WITH ACTIVITYPUB INTEGRATION - On December 13, 2023, Meta announced a significant step towards decentralization and interoperability for its Threads app by integrating with ActivityPub, a decentralized social networking protocol. This move allows Threads content and profiles to be accessible via other Fediverse-based apps, marking a notable shift in Meta's approach to social media. Key Aspects of Meta's Integration with ActivityPub: __ : The integration enables Threads content to be viewable on Mastodon and other ActivityPub-based systems, effectively plugging Threads into the Fediverse concept. : The Fediverse is a collection of independent, federated servers working together to facilitate open social media access. It aims to reduce centralized control, allowing each server to establish its own parameters and algorithms. : Historically, Meta has been known for its 'walled garden' approach. This integration represents a significant move towards decentralization, potentially connecting Threads content to a range of tools and platforms that utilize the ActivityPub standard. : The integration aligns with Meta's commitment to data portability and control over content. It also facilitates a broader connection into the Mastodon network, expanding Threads' audience reach and engagement. __ Meta's integration of Threads with ActivityPub is a bold step towards a more open and interconnected social media ecosystem. For business owners, it presents an opportunity to leverage the expanded reach and interoperability offered by this integration, potentially enhancing their social media strategy and audience engagement.

15m

Dec 18, 2023

Episode 190 contains the Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Dec 4-8, 2023. 1. GOOGLE ADS RESPONDS: TEMPORARY OPT-OUT FOR SEARCH PARTNER NETWORK IN PMAX CAMPAIGNS - Last week in Ep 189, I highlighted the study by Adalytics that revealed Google search ads were appearing on websites violating Google's own publisher policies. This revelation raised significant concerns among advertisers about the placement of their ads. It seems Google has taken note of these concerns, as they have now introduced a temporary opt-out feature for advertisers in Performance Max (PMax) and Universal App campaigns, allowing them to avoid placements in the Search Partner Network (SPN). This move, unprecedented in the realm of automated campaigns, marks a significant shift in Google's advertising approach. Key Points from the Update: __ : Advertisers can now temporarily opt out of placing their ads on SPN for all campaign types, including PMax and App campaigns. This change, effective until March 1st, is a direct response to the concerns raised by the Adalytics report. : While Google has contested the methodology and conclusions of the Adalytics report, they acknowledge the importance of improving their products to meet partner needs. : The opt-out feature is currently gated and requires a Google representative to enable it for advertisers. This process is being developed for wider accessibility. __ For small business owners using Google PMax Ads, this update is crucial. It offers more control over ad placements, ensuring that ads are displayed in contexts that align with brand values and reach the intended audience. The ability to opt out of SPN in PMax campaigns allows for more targeted advertising and potentially better ROI. Google's introduction of a temporary opt-out feature for SPN in PMax campaigns is a significant response to  concerns about ad placements. This development serves as a crucial reminder for business owners: always check your ad placements and don't blindly trust any ad platform. Regularly verifying where your ads are displayed is essential. Failing to do so could mean unintentionally leaving money on the table or giving more to Google than necessary. Trust but verify – it's a key principle in digital advertising to ensure your investments are yielding the best possible returns. 2. GOOGLE'S 3 ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR TECHNICAL TROUBLESHOOTING - Google has shared https://youtu.be/jFeLHfY0xkE insights for diagnosing and resolving technical SEO issues that can affect a website's indexing and ranking. This guidance is particularly crucial for business owners who may not have an in-depth understanding of SEO but want to ensure their website performs optimally in search results. Google's Three Key Tips for Technical SEO Troubleshooting: : Use Google Search Console's URL Inspection Tool to determine if a page is indexed and indexable. This tool provides information on whether a page is indexed and, if not, offers suggestions for why Google might be having trouble indexing it. It also shows the last crawl date, indicating Google's interest in the page. : Google advises checking if a page is being ignored as a duplicate and if another page is selected as the canonical URL. While it might not be the canonical URL you expected, if the content is indexed, it can still appear in search results. This is generally acceptable and not a cause for concern. : Inspecting https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/11626894?hl=en the rendered HTML, which shows the HTML after all JavaScript has been executed, is crucial. This can reveal issues related to JavaScript or other technical aspects that might not be visible in the source code HTML. Google suggests using Search Console and Chrome DevTools to view the rendered HTML. : Google cautioned against using the cache or site:search operator for any kind of diagnostic purposes. For example, a page can be indexed but not show up in a site:search. The site search operator, just like all the other site operators, is completely disconnected from the search index. This has always been the case, even when there was a site search operator for showing backlinks. Understanding and addressing technical SEO issues is vital for ensuring your website is properly indexed and ranked by search engines. By following Google's tips, you can identify and fix problems that might be hindering your website's performance. This can lead to better visibility in search results, potentially driving more traffic and customers to your business. Regularly checking for indexing issues, understanding duplicate content and canonicalization, and reviewing rendered HTML are key steps in maintaining a healthy and search-friendly website. 3. GOOGLE ADS GAMBLING AND GAMES ADVERTISING POLICY UPDATE - Google Ads is updating its policy regarding gambling and games advertising, effective from December 12. This change is particularly relevant for businesses in the sports betting and lottery sectors, as it opens new advertising opportunities in specific regions. Key Changes in Google Ads Policy: __ To be eligible to promote these ads, advertisers must apply for certification. This process involves filling out an online gambling application form in the Google Ads Help Center, providing all requested information to prevent delays. Different forms are available for privately-licensed operators, state-run entities, and social casino game operators. __ 4. GOOGLE'S CRYPTOCURRENCY ADVERTISING POLICY UPDATE - Google has announced significant changes to its cryptocurrency advertising policy, set to take effect on January 29, 2024. This update is particularly relevant for businesses involved in advertising cryptocurrency coin trusts, a type of financial product that allows investors to trade shares in trusts holding large amounts of digital currency. These trusts offer equity in cryptocurrencies without direct ownership and can diversify investment portfolios. Key Aspects of the Policy Update: __ : Advertisers targeting the United States will be able to promote these products and services, provided they comply with specific policies and obtain certification from Google. : The updated policy is not limited to the United States but will apply globally to all accounts advertising cryptocurrency coin trusts. : Advertisers must comply with local laws in the areas where the ads are targeted. This is a crucial aspect of the policy, emphasizing the need for advertisers to be aware of and adhere to regional regulations. : In case of policy violations, Google will first issue a warning, giving advertisers at least seven days to rectify non-compliance issues before imposing an account suspension. This approach provides an opportunity for advertisers to address any issues and align with the revised guidelines. __ 5. GOOGLE'S CRITERIA FOR VIDEO CONTENT IN SEARCH RESULTS - Google has updated its requirements for video search results, particularly affecting the "Video Mode" feature in Google Search. This significant change mandates that videos must be the main content of a webpage to be featured in search results and Video Mode. Video Mode is a feature in Google Search that displays under the video tab. It specifically showcases videos that are the central element of their respective web pages. This mode is designed to provide users with direct access to video content, ensuring that the videos they find are the primary focus of the pages they visit. Key Aspects of the Update: __ : Google now requires that for a video to show up in search results and Video Mode, it must be the primary content of the page. This means pages where videos are supplementary to text or other content will not be featured in these search results. : With this update, Video Mode will only show videos that are the main focus of their respective pages, enhancing the user experience by directing them to pages where the video is the central element. : Google provided examples of pages where videos are not the primary focus, such as blog posts with complementary videos, product detail pages with additional videos, and video category pages listing multiple videos of equal prominence. __ 6. GOOGLE ANALYTICS 4 AUDIENCES NOW INTEGRATED WITH GOOGLE ADS - Google has made a significant update to Google Analytics 4 (GA4), integrating GA4 audiences directly with Google Ads. This update, announced on December 6, 2023, allows advertisers to create and apply GA4 audiences, including predictive audiences, within Google Ads. This integration streamlines the process of audience creation and application, enhancing the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. Key Features of the Update: __ : Advertisers can now build analytics audiences, including predictive audiences, using the Audience Manager feature in Google Ads. This integration simplifies the audience creation process and makes it more efficient. : A predictive audience is defined by at least one condition related to a predictive metric. For example, an audience named "likely 7-day purchasers" consists of users predicted to purchase in the next 7 days. This feature allows for more targeted and effective advertising. __ 7. THREADS EXPANDS KEYWORD SEARCH AND CONTENT RANKING INSIGHTS - Threads, the X (formerly Twitter) alternative social media platform, has recently made two significant updates. On November 30, 2023, Threads expanded its keyword search functionality to all regions, enhancing users' ability to find relevant content. Additionally, Instagram Chief Adam Mosseri provided insights into Threads' content ranking approach, emphasizing a mindful strategy to avoid the pitfalls of spammy tactics and divisive content. Key Updates from Threads: __ : Initially tested in selected regions, Threads' keyword search is now available globally. This feature allows users to search for posts using specific terms, including hashtagged and topic-tagged content. The expansion supports all languages available in the app, with more search enhancements promised soon. Threads is cautious about adding tags and search features due to their potential to amplify spam and irrelevant content. To mitigate this, users can only add one topic tag per post, and hashtag use is not straightforwardly enabled. This approach aligns with Meta's vision for Threads as a more positive public conversation app. : Mosseri explained that Threads aims to avoid the negatives of engagement-focused platforms, which often amplify divisive content. Threads' content ranking strategy is designed to foster healthier, more engaging conversations without over-promising reach and engagement to news outlets. __

10m

Dec 11, 2023

Episode 189 contains the Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Nov 27-Dec 1, 2023. 1. GOOGLE ADS CONTROVERSY: AD PLACEMENTS ON QUESTIONABLE WEBSITES - A recent study https://adalytics.io/blog/search-partners-transparency by Adalytics has sparked a debate over the ethical and transparency issues surrounding Google's Search Partner Network (GSP). The report https://adalytics.io/blog/search-partners-transparency found that Google search ads appeared on websites that violate Google's publisher policies, raising significant concerns for advertisers about where their ads are being displayed. Key Points from the Study: __ __ What Can Advertisers Do? __ __ This report underscores the importance for business owners of being vigilant about where their ads are displayed. It's crucial to regularly review and adjust ad settings to ensure that your brand's values align with the platforms where your ads are shown. As digital marketing continues to evolve, ethical considerations and transparency in ad placements remain key concerns for advertisers. 2. GOOGLE UPDATES POLICY FOR FOR CONSUMER FINANCE ADS - Google has updated https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/14118861?hl=en&ref_topic=29265 its personalized ads policy in February 2024, and introduced new limitations on personalized advertising related to consumer financial products and services. This policy change is particularly important for businesses in the consumer finance sector, including those offering credit cards, loans, banking services, and debt management products. Understanding the Policy Update: __ __ Implications for Business Owners: __ __ 3. GOOGLE'S NOVEMBER 2023 CORE UPDATE ROLLOUT COMPLETE - Google has finalized its November 2023 Core Update, marking the fourth major algorithm update of the year. This update, which began on November 2, 2023, concluded on November 28, 2023, after 26 days. It followed closely on the heels of the October 2023 Core Update, which itself had significant impacts on search rankings. The November Core Update was notable for the breadth of its impact, affecting a wide range of sites and causing considerable ranking volatility. Many SEOs reported substantial changes in site rankings from the outset of the update. Adding to the complexity, the November 2023 Reviews Update, which began on November 8, overlapped with the Core Update. This meant that websites experienced the effects of two significant updates simultaneously, although the impacts of each were distinct. Understanding Google's algorithm updates is crucial for businesses, as these updates can impact how your site performs in search results. Any change in rankings from a core update, positive or negative, can impact your organic traffic, conversions, and revenue. Knowing when Google makes these updates enables site owners to know if traffic fluctuations resulted from a change to the site or something Google changed with its ranking algorithm. 4. GOOGLE SEARCH EXPANDS ORGANIZATION MARKUP: ENHANCING BUSINESS VISIBILITY - Google has recently updated its organization markup in Google Search, now supporting additional fields such as name, address, contact information, and various business identifiers. This expansion is a significant development for business owners, as it allows for more comprehensive representation of their organizations in Google's search results. What's New in the Update: __ __ Google's expansion of the organization markup in search results is a valuable opportunity for business owners to improve their online visibility and provide users with more detailed information about their organizations. By effectively utilizing these new structured data fields, businesses can enhance their search presence, improve user experience, and potentially increase customer engagement. 5. GOOGLE ADDS SUPPORT FOR DISCUSSION FORUMS AND PROFILE PAGES - Google has announced https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2023/11/discussion-and-profile-markup the introduction of structured data for profile pages and discussion forums, a significant update for Google Search. This new markup, along with corresponding reports in Search Console, is designed to improve the accuracy and completeness of search results, particularly for content from social media platforms, forums, and online communities. Key Features of the Update: __ __ For business owners, especially those with a strong online community presence or who engage in forum-style content, this update is crucial. Implementing the new structured data will enhance your content's visibility and accuracy in Google Search, potentially driving more traffic to your site. It's an opportunity to ensure that Google accurately represents your brand and content in search results. 6. TIKTOK CREATIVE CARDS : WILL IT BOOST CONTENT ENGAGEMENT? - TikTok has launched a new feature called Creative Cards, designed to help small businesses and content creators enhance engagement, relevance, and relatability in their posts. This so-called innovative tool offers data-backed prompts, providing tips on crafting content that resonates more effectively with the TikTok audience. Key Features of TikTok Creative Cards: __ __ Why It Matters for Business Owners: __ Access and Usage: To use this feature, content creators need to register for access. Once granted, they can scroll through the digital cards for ideas, breaking down their content creation needs by category. __ 7. META RELEASES Q5 STRATEGY GUIDE FOR POST-HOLIDAY MARKETING - Meta's recently released a Q5 marketing guide that offers a strategic approach to maximizing post-holiday marketing budgets. This period, known as Q5, spans from late December to mid-January and is often overlooked by marketers. However, according to Meta’s guide, this period presents a unique opportunity for businesses to capitalize on continued consumer shopping behavior. Key Insights from Meta's Q5 Marketing Guide: Extended Shopping Season: A YouGov survey commissioned by Meta found that 41% of holiday shoppers continue their shopping past the holidays into January. This indicates a sustained consumer interest in purchasing even after the main holiday season. Lower Media Costs: Global data from January 2023 shows that CPM (Cost Per Mille) rates were on average 15% lower than their levels on October 1st. This suggests that advertising during Q5 can be more cost-effective compared to the peak holiday season. Five Best Practices for Q5 Marketing: The guide outlines crucial strategies for marketers: __ __

14m

Dec 04, 2023

Episode 188 contains the Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Nov 20-24, 2023. 1. OVERLOOKED DETAILS THAT MAKE OR BREAK YOUR SEO - Search engines look at many factors when determining how to rank web pages in search results. While flashy new SEO trends come and go, focusing on foundational website quality and technical basics tends to pay off more in the long run. Google's John Mueller, Martin Splitt, and Gary Illyes recently https://search-off-the-record.libsyn.com/which-aspect-of-my-site-should-i-focus-on delved into the concept of site quality in a podcast, offering valuable insights for business owners and digital marketers. Their discussion demystifies site quality, emphasizing its simplicity and practicality. __ __ In summary, Google's experts highlight the importance of user-focused content, uniqueness, and value addition in achieving site quality. For business owners, this means focusing on creating content that genuinely helps users and offers something beyond what's already out there. 2. MASTER THE SEO BASICS: GOOGLE'S ADVICE FOR EFFECTIVE WEBSITE OPTIMIZATION - In the ever-evolving world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), it's easy to get caught up in the latest trends and advanced tactics. However, Google's Search Relations team, featuring Martin Splitt, Gary Illyes, and John Mueller, emphasized the importance of mastering basic technical SEO issues first. This advice is particularly relevant for business owners who might not be deeply versed in the intricacies of SEO. Technical SEO involves optimizing the architecture and infrastructure of a website to enhance its crawling and indexing by search engines. This is crucial because, no matter how innovative your SEO strategies are, if search engines like Google can't properly crawl or render your site, your efforts won't yield the desired results. Illyes highlights the importance of ensuring that your content is accessible and useful, as these are key factors that Google considers. Another significant point discussed is the common misconception that high traffic automatically means high-quality pages. Mueller advises looking beyond just traffic metrics and focusing on user engagement and satisfaction. These are more accurate indicators of a page's usefulness and quality. It's important to focus on relevant queries and track lower-level pages to better understand a site's performance. The key to creating high-quality content is to focus on what helps people achieve their goals when they visit your page. This could mean providing comprehensive answers to common questions, solving problems, or sharing engaging stories. Illyes suggests that quality might be simpler than most think – it's about writing content that genuinely helps your audience. For business owners, the takeaway is clear: before diving into complex SEO strategies, ensure that your website's technical foundation is solid. Also, prioritize creating content that is not just high in volume but high in value to your audience. By focusing on these areas, you can significantly improve your website's SEO performance. 3. RETHINKING SEO SUCCESS: BEYOND TRAFFIC METRICS - In episode 66 of Google's "Search Off the Record" podcast, Google's John Mueller and Martin Splitt discussed a crucial aspect of SEO: the real value of traffic metrics. The conversation highlighted a common misconception in the SEO community—equating high traffic with success. While many SEO professionals boast about traffic increases, Mueller and Splitt emphasized the importance of focusing on more meaningful goals, like conversions and business impact. The podcast shed light on the tendency of SEOs to prioritize traffic statistics over Return on Investment (ROI) or the actual impact on earnings. Mueller speculated that this might be due to the delayed effects of SEO efforts on tangible business results. He pointed out that while traffic data is useful, it can be misleading if not analyzed in the context of its relevance and contribution to business goals. The discussion also touched on the different types of traffic and their varying values. Not all traffic contributes equally to sales or brand building; some may be irrelevant or non-converting. Therefore, understanding the nature of the traffic and its actual impact on sales or business growth is crucial. Mueller and Splitt's conversation serves as a reminder for SEO professionals to align their strategies with broader business objectives, rather than just chasing traffic numbers. It calls for a more nuanced approach to SEO, where the success is measured not just by the quantity of traffic, but by its quality and contribution to the business's bottom line. 4. GOOGLE CLARIFIES THE SEO VALUE OF 404 PAGES - Google recently shed light on the SEO implications of 404 error pages, offering valuable insights for business owners and digital marketers. A 404 error occurs when a page on a website cannot be found. Contrary to common belief, these pages can have a positive impact on a site's SEO if managed correctly. Google's John Mueller explained https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1848334/finding_broken_links_for_free/ that 404 pages are a normal part of the web. They signal to search engines that a page no longer exists, which is crucial for maintaining a clean and up-to-date site structure. Importantly, 404 errors do not directly harm a site's overall ranking in search results. For business owners, this means that occasional 404 errors are not a cause for alarm. However, it's important to monitor these errors and ensure they are appropriate. For instance, if a product is no longer available, a 404 page is suitable. But if the page has moved, a 301 redirect to the new location is better for both users and search engines. Understanding the role of 404 pages in SEO is vital for maintaining a healthy website. It's about balancing user experience and search engine signals. Regularly checking for 404 errors and addressing them appropriately can contribute to a more effective online presence. This insight from Google highlights the importance of website maintenance and understanding the nuances of SEO. It's a reminder that not all errors are detrimental and that proper management of these pages can support a site's SEO strategy. 5. AI IN CONTENT CREATION: A TOOL, NOT A THREAT - Google Search Relations team, including Martin Splitt, Gary Illyes, and John Mueller, discussed the role of AI in content creation. They view AI as a valuable aid to human creativity, not a replacement. The team emphasized that AI is excellent for certain tasks but not a catch-all solution. They humorously noted how technology, like Google Plus, can quickly become outdated, highlighting the rapid evolution of tech. The Google team believes AI can be particularly useful for overcoming writer's block or meeting tight deadlines. AI tools can suggest frameworks, phrases, and variations to speed up the writing process. However, they stressed that AI should be used responsibly and as a complement to human creativity, not as a substitute. This perspective encourages a balanced approach to AI in content creation, viewing it as a tool to enhance human efforts rather than overshadow them. Key Takeaways: __ Rapid Technological Evolution: The discussion also touches on the fast-paced nature of technology, using Google Plus as an example of how quickly tech can become outdated. __ 6. GOOGLE'S GUIDANCE ON SEO TOOLS - Google's John Mueller addressed a query regarding the use of SEO tools for content writing, specifically in the context of a Vietnamese travel agency blog. The question revolved around whether to include Vietnamese accents in keywords, as suggested by an SEO tool, considering the primary audience comprised American and Australian tourists unlikely to use these accents in searches. Mueller's response emphasized the importance of writing in the language of the audience, particularly for headers and body text. He advised not to depend entirely on SEO tools for writing guidance but to conduct independent research. Mueller suggested examining the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) with and without accents (e.g., "quảng binh" vs. "quang binh") to understand better what ranks higher and is more relevant to the target audience. The key takeaway from Mueller's advice is the significance of not relying solely on SEO tools. These tools are based on the current knowledge and trends in SEO, which can be limited and sometimes outdated. They were developed based on what SEOs believed to be effective at the time, such as keyword densities and reciprocal linking strategies, which eventually became less effective. Mueller's guidance underscores the dynamic nature of SEO and the need for writers and marketers to use their judgment and stay updated with current best practices. While SEO tools can provide valuable insights, they should not dictate content creation. Instead, a balance between tool-guided insights and personal research and understanding of the audience should drive content strategy. This advice is particularly relevant for small business owners and digital marketing enthusiasts who aim to create content that resonates with their audience while also performing well in search engines. Understanding the limitations of SEO tools and the importance of audience-centric content can lead to more effective and engaging digital marketing strategies. 7. FOLLOWER COUNT: NOT A GOOGLE SEARCH RANKING FACTOR - There's a common belief among some digital marketers and business owners that a higher number of followers on social media platforms like Twitter or Instagram could positively influence their Google search rankings. This assumption stems from the idea that social signals, such as likes and followers, might be interpreted by Google as indicators of a site's popularity or credibility. Google has explicitly stated that follower counts on social media are not a factor in determining search rankings. This clarification is significant because it helps refocus SEO strategies on more impactful practices. Google's search algorithms are complex and take into account numerous factors, but social media follower counts are not among them. For small business owners and digital marketing enthusiasts, this information is vital. It means that while having a robust social media presence can be beneficial for brand awareness and customer engagement, it does not directly contribute to how well your website ranks in Google searches. Therefore, efforts should be more strategically directed towards proven SEO practices like content quality, website optimization, and building authoritative backlinks. Key Takeaways: __ __ Understanding what does and does not impact your website's ranking in search results is key to effective SEO. This clarification from Google serves as a reminder to focus on the core aspects of SEO that genuinely make a difference, rather than misconceptions like the impact of social media follower counts. 8. GOOGLE TO REMOVE CRAWL RATE TOOL FROM SEARCH CONSOLE IN 2024 - Google has announced that it will be deprecating the Crawl Rate Limiter legacy tool within Google Search Console on January 8, 2024. This decision comes as Google believes the tool has become less useful due to advancements in its crawling logic and the availability of other tools for publishers. The Crawl Rate Limiter allowed website owners to communicate to Google how often to crawl their site. It was particularly useful for sites experiencing server load issues due to frequent crawling by Googlebot. However, Google has improved its crawling algorithms to automatically adjust based on a site’s server response. For instance, if a site consistently returns HTTP 500 status codes or if the response time significantly increases, Googlebot will automatically slow down its crawling. Gary Illyes from Google explained that the tool's usefulness has diminished over time. He noted that the tool's effect on crawling speed was slow and it was rarely used. With its removal, Google will set a new minimum crawling speed, which will be comparable to the old crawl rate limits, especially for sites with low search interest. For website owners experiencing issues with Googlebot crawling, Google recommends referring to a specific help document and using a report form to communicate any concerns. As a business owner, it's crucial to stay informed about changes in Google's tools and services, as they can impact your website's visibility and performance. The removal of the Crawl Rate Limiter tool signifies Google's confidence in its automated systems to manage site crawling efficiently. However, it also means that you should be more vigilant about monitoring your site's performance and be ready to use alternative methods to communicate any crawling-related issues to Google. 9. GOOGLE REMOVES KEY ROBOTS.TXT FAQS - Google recently removed its Robots.txt FAQ help document from its search developer documentation. This change has raised questions among webmasters and SEO professionals about the implications for website crawling and indexing. Robots.txt is a file used by websites to communicate with web crawlers about which parts of the site should or should not be processed or scanned. Google's FAQ page on this topic was a valuable resource for understanding how to use this file effectively. Its removal means that some specific guidance and clarifications are no longer directly available from Google. Key Takeaways from the Removed FAQs: __ Blocking Google from crawling a page using Robots.txt doesn't guarantee removal from search results. For explicit blocking, use the 'noindex' tag. __ As a business owner, it's important to understand that while the specific FAQs are no longer available, the fundamental principles of using Robots.txt remain unchanged. It's crucial to ensure that your website's Robots.txt file is correctly configured to guide search engines effectively. Remember, incorrect or unsupported rules in this file are typically ignored by crawlers, so accuracy is key. The removal of the Robots.txt FAQs by Google underscores the dynamic nature of SEO and the importance of staying informed about best practices. Business owners should consult with SEO professionals or refer to updated resources to ensure their website's Robots.txt file aligns with their digital marketing goals. 10. GOOGLE ADS TO UPDATE LOCATION ASSET REQUIREMENTS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW - Google Ads is set to update its location asset requirements in December. A location asset in Google Ads is a feature that allows advertisers to include specific location details, like addresses and phone numbers, in their ads. This is particularly useful for businesses with physical locations, as it helps potential customers find them easily. The upcoming change aims to clarify which types of location assets are not allowed, helping advertisers better understand the restrictions. The update will specifically address locations that are closed, not recognized by Google, or do not match the business running the ad. Additionally, assets with products or services that do not match the specified location will be disallowed. This update is significant for business owners and digital marketers. Using location assets effectively in ads can significantly boost a business's visibility and conversion potential. However, not adhering to these updated requirements could result in leaving out vital details, potentially harming your return on investment. 11. MICROSOFT ADVERTISING'S LAST-MINUTE SHOPPER INSIGHTS - As the holiday shopping season reaches its peak, Microsoft Advertising's Festive Season Marketing Playbook offers valuable insights for advertisers to capitalize on consumer spending. Here's a concise summary: __ __

21m

Nov 27, 2023

Episode 187 contains the Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Nov 13-17, 2023. 1. DANNY SULLIVAN'S INSIGHTS ON GOOGLE'S RANKING MISCONCEPTIONS - In a recent presentation https://mastodon.social/@searchliaison/111422176506414081, Google's Danny Sullivan addressed a common misunderstanding in the SEO community regarding how search rankings work. He emphasized that the SEO industry might be misinterpreting Google's guidance and documentation. A key example Sullivan provided was the widespread adoption of author pages and bylines, based on the belief that Google's algorithm prioritizes these elements. However, Sullivan clarified that Google does not specifically look for author pages. The main point of Sullivan's presentation was the gap between Google's communication and the SEO community's interpretation. He acknowledged that Google needs to improve how it conveys its expectations for successful content. Sullivan urged SEO professionals to focus on creating 'people-first' content, emphasizing the importance of trustworthiness and reliability in content, rather than specific elements like author pages. Sullivan also highlighted the challenge in communicating what Google looks for in content. He explained that Google's guidance is often interpreted too literally, leading to misconceptions about the ranking algorithm. For instance, when Google advises assessing a webpage's trustworthiness, it does not mean the algorithm is specifically looking for features like author pages. Instead, it's about evaluating the content broadly for trust factors. The presentation led to a significant shift in how SEOs should approach Google's documentation. Sullivan presented examples of how certain parts of Google's advice are cherry-picked and misinterpreted as direct ranking factors. He encouraged more critical thinking and a closer examination of what is being advised, distinguishing between opinions and actual Google statements. Sullivan concluded by revealing that much of Google's recent update documentation is a reiteration of decades-old advice. The core message has always been about creating helpful, people-first content. The difference now lies in the advanced technology like AI and machine learning, making it plausible that these long-standing principles are integrated into Google's algorithm. P.s: For business owners, this insight from Danny Sullivan is crucial. It suggests a shift from focusing on specific SEO tactics to prioritizing the overall quality and trustworthiness of your content. Understanding that Google values 'people-first' content can guide you in developing a more effective and sustainable SEO strategy, ensuring your website not only ranks well but also genuinely serves your audience's needs. 2. GOOGLESAFETY - GOOGLE'S NEW CRAWLER - Google has updated its official list of crawlers, adding details about a previously undocumented and somewhat mysterious crawler. This update is particularly relevant for website owners and digital marketers who need to understand how Google interacts with their sites. Understanding Crawlers: Crawlers, also known as bots or spiders, are tools used by search engines like Google to collect information from websites. This process is crucial for indexing and ranking websites in search results. There are different types of crawlers, each serving a specific purpose. __ __ The GoogleSafety Crawler: The newly documented crawler is known as the "GoogleSafety" user agent. It plays a critical role in Google's process of identifying malware and is unique among special-case crawlers. Unlike others, the GoogleSafety crawler completely ignores all robots.txt directives. Its primary function is to crawl for malware in publicly posted links on Google properties. The full agent string for this crawler is "GoogleSafety." 3. GOOGLE'S HIDDEN GEMS RANKING SYSTEM - Google has introduced the "Hidden Gems" ranking system, a significant update aimed at promoting authentic content buried within forums, social media, and blog posts. This update is distinct from the Helpful Content Update and has been part of Google's core updates for a few months. The Hidden Gems algorithm is designed to identify content that offers personal insights and experiences, which might have been challenging to find in search results previously. The Hidden Gems update is not a classification system but rather a method to highlight content perceived as especially helpful. This content often resides in unexpected places, such as comments in forum threads, posts on lesser-known blogs, or articles with unique expertise on a topic. Google's approach with this update is to make these valuable pieces of content more accessible to users. Initially, there was some confusion about whether this update was live and its relation to the Helpful Content Update. However, Brad Kellett, Senior Director on Google Search Product and Engineering, clarified that Hidden Gems is its own algorithm and ranking system, separate from the Helpful Content Update. This initiative is part of a series of ongoing updates, not just a single change. 4. GOOGLE SEARCH CONSOLE INTRODUCES NEW ROBOTS.TXT REPORT - Google has announced a significant update to its Search Console with the introduction of a new robots.txt report. This new feature replaces the older robots.txt tester tool. The report is designed to provide webmasters with detailed insights into the robots.txt files found for the top 20 hosts on their site. It includes information about the last time these files were crawled by Google and highlights any warnings or errors encountered during the process. This update is particularly important for business owners and digital marketers who rely on Google Search Console to monitor and optimize their website's performance in search results. The robots.txt file plays a crucial role in controlling how search engines crawl and index a website's content. By providing a more comprehensive report, Google aims to make it easier for site owners to identify and fix issues that could affect their site's visibility and ranking in search results. However, the removal of the older robots.txt tester tool has been met with mixed reactions. While some users appreciate the new report's enhanced capabilities, others miss the simplicity and familiarity of the previous tool. It's worth noting that Bing still offers a robots.txt tester, which might be a useful alternative for those who prefer the older format. 5. GOOGLE'S $18 BILLION SECRET: PAYING APPLE FOR SAFARI SEARCH DOMINANCE -  In a surprising revelation during the federal antitrust trial, Google CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed that Google pays Apple a significant 36% of its Safari search revenue. This payment, amounting to a staggering $18 billion, is in exchange for Google maintaining its status as the default search engine on all Apple devices. This disclosure came to light when Google's final witness, Kevin Murphy, inadvertently mentioned the figure during the trial. This information is crucial for business owners to understand the competitive dynamics of the digital market. Google, often touted as the superior search engine, spends billions to secure its default position on Apple devices. This raises questions about Google's dominance in the search engine market and whether it's due to quality or strategic financial agreements. The implications of this revelation are significant. The Department of Justice (DOJ) argues that this agreement between Google and Apple demonstrates Google's efforts to unlawfully control search and advertising markets. If the DOJ's case succeeds, it could lead to a court order halting Google's practices, potentially even breaking up the company. This outcome could have a profound impact on the digital marketing landscape, affecting how businesses strategize their online presence and advertising. 6. GOOGLE'S TAKE ON TOPICAL AUTHORITY -  In the realm of SEO, the term "topical authority" has been a buzzword, often causing confusion among professionals and business owners alike. Google's John Mueller recently addressed this topic, providing clarity and a refreshing perspective. The concept of topical authority emerged from the SEO community's interpretation of Google's approach to authoritativeness. It suggests that by creating and interlinking content around a specific topic, a website can gain 'topical authority' in Google's eyes. Imagine a website dedicated to sustainable living. This site regularly publishes in-depth articles, blogs, guides, and videos on topics like eco-friendly home practices, sustainable products, renewable energy, and environmental conservation. Over time, the website becomes a go-to resource for information on sustainable living. However, Mueller's advice is straightforward: don't worry about it. The key takeaway from Mueller's response and the article is that while Google does look for signs of authoritativeness, there's no specific 'topical authority' metric or score. Good content naturally gains authority due to its quality and relevance to user queries. The idea of linking related articles for the sake of gaining topical authority is overthinking what is essentially a basic best practice in content organization and site architecture. In conclusion, the concept of topical authority, while rooted in valid SEO practices, is not a revolutionary tactic. It's a common-sense approach to creating and organizing quality content. As Mueller suggests, rather than getting caught up in buzzwords, focus on the fundamentals of good SEO practices. 7. GOOGLE INTRODUCES NEW STRUCTURED DATA FOR EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS - Google has introduced a new type of structured data markup specifically designed for educational videos. This markup, based on schema.org metadata, allows site owners to specify the educational level, concepts, and skills their videos cover. The primary goal of this update is to enhance Google Search's ability to understand and categorize educational video content more effectively, thereby providing users with more relevant search results. The new structured data for learning videos enables Google to display rich snippets in search results. These snippets can include information like the target education level and the type of video, such as an overview or a solution-focused piece. This feature is currently available in English on Google Search globally, both on desktop and mobile platforms. It appears for searches related to academic learning and educational content. For implementation, publishers with content management systems (CMS) can integrate structured data plugins to add this markup more easily. Those using JavaScript-based websites can generate the schema.org metadata through coding. Google emphasizes the importance of following best practices for implementation, such as adding the required schema.org properties based on the video format and using Google's structured data testing tool for validation. The technical requirements for this feature include a minimum video duration of 30 seconds, and the videos must be publicly accessible without any login or subscription barriers. The structured data must be present on the page where users can view the video directly. 8. GOOGLE SEARCH CONSOLE ADDS LEARNING VIDEO RICH RESULTS DATA -  Google has enhanced its Search Console by adding a new feature for learning video rich results. Learning videos are specifically designed for students and teachers, encompassing a range of educational levels and covering various concepts and skills. In June 2022, Google introduced new rich results for these learning videos, which include details like the educational level and the skills or concepts taught in the video. The latest update in Google Search Console allows users to track the performance of these learning videos as a search appearance in the performance reports. This means that content creators can now get detailed insights into how their educational videos are performing in Google searches. The inclusion of learning video rich results in performance reports is a step forward in understanding the impact and reach of educational content on the web. 9. YOUTUBE MANDATES TAGS FOR AI-GENERATED VIDEOS - YouTube is introducing new tagging requirements for AI-generated content to enhance transparency and viewer awareness. Over the coming months, creators will be required to disclose when their content is synthetic, especially if it realistically depicts events or actions that didn't actually happen. This includes AI-generated videos that might show someone saying or doing something they never did. While AI-generated animations are acceptable, realistic depictions of people and events must be tagged. Non-compliance could lead to penalties like content removal, suspension from monetization, or even account suspension. YouTube will also automatically tag content created with its own AI tools. Additionally, the platform is adding new removal request processes for individuals and musicians whose likenesses are used in AI creations. This move aligns with YouTube's efforts in music discovery and generative AI music creation, working with record labels to set parameters for AI-generated music. Both Meta and TikTok have also implemented similar tags for AI-generated content, reflecting a growing trend in the industry for transparency in the use of generative AI tools. 10. YOUTUBE EASING THE COPYRIGHT CLAIMS PROCESS FOR CREATORS - YouTube is enhancing its copyright claims process to better support content creators. This update aims to reduce the burden of multiple claims and provide more effective solutions for creators to manage their content in compliance with copyright laws. The key change involves the notification system for copyright claims. Instead of receiving separate emails for each claim, creators will now get a single notification encompassing all claims. This consolidated approach not only streamlines communication but also includes clear steps for resolving the issues. For instance, if a video violates copyright due to its soundtrack, creators can now easily access YouTube's copyright-free music library, Creator Music, to find a suitable replacement. This improvement is part of YouTube's ongoing efforts to refine its automated detection system, which has significantly reduced false claims. Additionally, YouTube has introduced an educational approach for repeat violators, offering guidance to prevent future violations. Creators can also utilize a pre-publish check to identify potential copyright issues before their content goes live. These enhancements reflect YouTube's commitment to creating a more creator-friendly environment. By simplifying the copyright claims process and providing accessible tools for compliance, YouTube is helping creators and brands navigate copyright regulations more effectively. 11. MAXIMIZE YOUR TIKTOK AD IMPACT: NEW METRICS UNVEILED! - TikTok is enhancing its advertising analytics with a new measurement metric, the Engaged View-Through Attribution (EVTA). This metric aims to provide a deeper understanding of how TikTok ads influence user conversions. EVTA tracks conversions that occur after a user views an ad for at least six seconds, even if they don't click on it, and then makes a purchase within seven days. This approach acknowledges that the path from ad exposure to conversion isn't always direct. TikTok's introduction of EVTA is part of its broader effort to improve conversion tracking. The platform recognizes that traditional last-click attribution methods often undervalued TikTok's role in driving purchases. A recent report revealed that these methods underestimate TikTok conversions by 73%, missing 79% of purchases influenced by the platform. EVTA, combined with other recent ad measurement tools, offers a more comprehensive view of how TikTok ads lead to customer engagement and sales. 12. META PARTNERS WITH AMAZON FOR SEAMLESS SHOPPING ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM - Meta has struck a significant deal with Amazon that will allow Facebook and Instagram users to purchase Amazon products directly within these apps. The integration is designed to facilitate one-click purchases by linking Instagram and Amazon accounts, offering a seamless shopping experience without leaving the social media app. The new feature will display real-time pricing, Prime eligibility, delivery estimates, and product details on select Amazon product ads within Facebook and Instagram. This development, while not entirely groundbreaking, as in-app purchases are already possible, marks a significant step in enhancing the convenience and efficiency of social media shopping. A crucial aspect of this partnership is the data integration between Meta and Amazon. The agreement involves sharing limited in-app activity data to show more relevant product ads based on user engagement. However, it's important to note that Amazon will not share specific shopping actions like purchases, product views, or searches with Meta. This means the data exchange is somewhat restricted, focusing mainly on improving ad targeting rather than creating a comprehensive data-sharing ecosystem. Despite the limited data flow, this collaboration could drive more engagement with Amazon ads on Facebook and Instagram. It also aligns with Meta's ongoing efforts to boost in-app shopping activities. While Meta has scaled back some of its e-commerce initiatives, like livestream shopping and dedicated shopping tabs, this partnership with Amazon, which boasts over 167 million Prime subscribers in the U.S., could open new avenues for in-app shopping. 13. MICROSOFT ADVERTISING'S NEW ALERT SYSTEM FOR POLICY VIOLATIONS - Microsoft Advertising has enhanced its policy violation notification process, aiming to inform customers more promptly when their ads, keywords, or product offers are disapproved. This change involves sending more frequent email alerts, often within 24 hours of a violation. These emails, titled "Notice of Violation of Policy: Ad or Ad Component," detail the rejected content and provide insights into which accounts under a manager's customer account are affected. The emails link directly to the Microsoft Advertising campaign interface, allowing advertisers to view specifics on disapprovals. If advertisers choose not to modify the disallowed content, no action is needed. However, for those wishing to have their content reconsidered, edits must be made to comply with policy standards before requesting an appeal. Common violations highlighted by Microsoft include misleading product claims, inappropriate content, counterfeit goods, and gambling/alcohol promotions. The tighter policies aim to decrease such violations but may also restrict advertising potential in certain cases. This initiative is part of Microsoft's broader effort to increase transparency and safety across its products and services. The rise in email notifications suggests an increase in policy violations, indicating a more rigorous approval process to catch and address these issues.

15m

Nov 20, 2023

Episode 186 contains the Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Nov 6-10, 2023. 1. GOOGLE'S COOKIELESS FUTURE UNVEILED! - As third-party cookies are being phased out, Google is introducing https://youtu.be/9eEpEDjrg1A?si=Jb01ettniqg7JYE_ new, privacy-focused ad targeting methods that rely on first-party data and artificial intelligence (AI). This change, set to take effect in 2024, is crucial for business owners to understand and prepare for. Third-party cookies have long been a staple in digital advertising, enabling brands to track users across websites and serve targeted ads. However, they've also raised privacy concerns. Google's research indicates that a staggering 89% of internet users would trust brands more if they used privacy-safe technologies. In response, Google is transitioning to a cookieless future, emphasizing the importance of first-party data and privacy-preserving tools like the Privacy Sandbox's Protected Audience API. This API introduces new techniques to limit constant tracking, such as minimum thresholds for ad targeting and shorter user data storage durations. The shift to first-party data means advertisers will still be able to build audience lists, but with enhanced AI filling the gaps left by reduced tracking capabilities. Tools like Smart Bidding and Optimized Targeting are expected to improve ad relevance using internal algorithms. For instance, Optimized Targeting has already increased conversions by 50% for some Google Display customers. Additionally, Google is expanding capabilities like Customer Match, allowing personalized ad targeting based on an advertiser's customer data. This transition away from third-party cookies is part of a broader movement towards stronger data privacy protections. While some advertisers are concerned about the potential impact on digital ad revenues, the introduction of alternative targeting and measurement approaches offers a new way forward. For business owners, investing now in automated and consent-based solutions is key to adapting to this changing advertising landscape. In summary, while targeting precision may decrease post-third-party cookie phaseout, the advancements in first-party data use and AI optimization present viable alternatives for online marketers. Embracing these changes and preparing for the cookieless future is essential for staying ahead in the digital advertising game. P.S. The future of digital advertising is here, and it's more private and user-focused than ever. Start adapting today to stay competitive! 2. INSIGHTS FROM GOOGLE SEARCH RANKING DOCUMENTS IN ANTITRUST TRIAL EXHIBITS - Key documents released during the U.S. Department of Justice antitrust trial involving Google provide insights into Google's search ranking processes, which are crucial for business owners to understand in order to optimize their websites for better visibility in Google searches. Key Takeaways: __ __ Implications for Business Owners:  It's crucial to grasp these pillars. Your website content (Body), how it's referenced across the web (Anchors), and how users interact with it (User Interactions) are all vital for your site's search ranking. Ensure your website's content is high-quality and relevant. This not only appeals to your audience but also aligns with how Google assesses and ranks content. User interactions are a significant factor. Pay attention to how users engage with your site and continuously improve their experience. 3. GOOGLE CLAIMS THAT CORE WEB VITALS SAVE DECADES IN LOAD TIMES! - Every second counts, especially when it comes to website loading times. Google's recent https://blog.chromium.org/2023/11/how-core-web-vitals-saved-users-10000.html announcement highlights a groundbreaking achievement: Core Web Vitals (CWV) optimizations have saved Chrome users over 10,000 years in page load time in 2023 alone. This remarkable feat underscores the importance of optimizing your website for speed and user experience. Core Web Vitals are a set of metrics developed by Google to measure the user experience on web pages. These include Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), which tracks load time; First Input Delay (FID), measuring responsiveness; Interaction to Next Paint (INP), assessing overall responsiveness; and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), which gauges visual stability. By focusing on these metrics, websites can significantly enhance user experiences. The time savings were calculated by Google's Chrome team, analyzing data from millions of website visits. Specifically, optimizations related to CWV saved over 8,000 years on Android devices and over 2,000 years on desktops in 2023. These improvements are not just about faster loading times; they also include better page response metrics, contributing to a more seamless user journey. Technical improvements in Chrome, such as preconnecting resources and rendering optimizations, played a crucial role. For instance, prioritizing image loading reduced layout shifts and improved LCP by over 5% on mobile. The broader web community, including platforms like WordPress and JavaScript frameworks like React and Angular, have also contributed to this progress. Currently, over 40% of websites meet the CWV thresholds, indicating that there's still room for improvement. As a business owner, this is a call to action. Optimizing your website for Core Web Vitals is not just about complying with Google's standards; it's about providing a superior experience for your users. This can lead to increased engagement, higher conversion rates, and ultimately, business growth. In conclusion, Google's Core Web Vitals are revolutionizing the way we experience the web. By focusing on these key metrics, you can ensure that your website not only meets Google's standards but also delivers an exceptional experience to your customers. P.S. Embrace the change and optimize your website for Core Web Vitals today. 4.  BOOST YOUR WEBSITE'S SPEED WITH EXPERT TIPS FROM GOOGLE'S JOHN MUELLER! - The speed of your website is more than just a convenience; it's a crucial factor in attracting and retaining customers. Google's John Mueller recently shared https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/17lgvnh/comment/k7hzzh6/?context=3 valuable insights on improving website performance, specifically focusing on Google's PageSpeed Insights (PSI) scores. This tool evaluates web pages' loading speeds and provides a score from 0 to 100, along with recommendations for enhancement. For anyone involved in managing a website, understanding and improving these scores is vital for both search engine optimization (SEO) and user experience. Mueller's tips are particularly helpful for those who have tried common optimization techniques, like compressing images and videos, but haven't seen the expected improvements in PSI scores. He suggests a more targeted approach: testing individual page elements on a noindexed page. This method allows you to isolate specific changes and understand their individual effects before applying them to your entire website. For example, if a test page with a compressed image loads faster but the live page doesn't show similar improvements, it indicates other factors are slowing down the live page. Mueller emphasizes the importance of focusing optimizations where they're most needed. If your website's page speed is already reasonable, extensive extra work may not be necessary. However, if improvements are needed, Mueller advises making a copy of the actual page, removing the elements you've already optimized, and then trying out changes on the rest. This step-by-step, selective process helps identify and address the real limiting factors affecting your website's performance. In summary, optimizing your website's performance requires patience and incremental testing. By isolating webpage elements and evaluating their impact, you can make informed decisions about where to focus your efforts. Remember, achieving and maintaining high PSI scores is possible with the right strategies tailored to your website's specific needs. 5. GOOGLE UPDATES PAGE EXPERIENCE REPORT IN SEARCH CONSOLE - Google has recently updated the Page Experience Report in its Search Console, aiming to provide a more holistic view of page experience as part of the content creation process. This update is significant for business owners who rely on Google for online visibility and customer engagement. The Page Experience Report now offers an informational page with links to relevant reports, making it easier for site owners to understand and improve their web pages' performance. This change is part of Google's ongoing efforts to evolve its understanding of page experience, which now encompasses more than just core web vitals and HTTPS. One notable change is the removal of the "Good Page Experience" search appearance filter from the Performance Report in Search Console. This filter was previously used to identify pages that met certain criteria for a good user experience. With its removal, Google emphasizes the need to consider a broader range of factors in evaluating page experience. The update also includes the retirement of the search appearance filter from the Search Console API, which will take effect in 180 days. This means that businesses and SEO professionals will need to adjust their reporting and analysis practices to align with the new framework. For business owners, this update underscores the importance of focusing on comprehensive quality and user experience on their websites. It's not just about meeting technical benchmarks but creating content that genuinely serves and engages the audience. Adapting to these changes in Google's approach will be crucial for maintaining and improving online visibility and performance. 6. GOOGLE SHARES HOW YOUR FEEDBACK SHAPES SEARCH RESULTS! - Recently, Danny Sullivan, Google's Search Liaison, revealed https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1720491595420856329 internal documents highlighting how Google incorporates feedback from SEO professionals into its search algorithms. This insight is vital for anyone looking to improve their website's visibility on Google. Sullivan's documents show that Google actively listens to SEO feedback and considers it when updating its search algorithms. This process includes gathering opinions on various updates like the "Helpful Content Update" and "Parasite SEO." For instance, Sullivan discussed the challenge of creating "people-first" content. He emphasized that content should be designed for readers, not just to rank well on Google. This is a fundamental shift from traditional SEO practices, where the focus was primarily on pleasing search engines. Another key point Sullivan addressed is the misconception about old content being unhelpful. He clarified that Google does not penalize sites for having older content, as long as it remains relevant and people-first. This is reassuring for businesses that have a wealth of archival content. Sullivan also touched on the idea of a "Helpful Content Tool," a potential future feature that could help website owners understand what Google considers valuable content. This tool could be a game-changer for businesses struggling to align their content with Google's guidelines. The documents also debunked the myth that certain SEO tactics, like using schema and recipe sites, directly boost rankings. Sullivan's insights suggest that while these elements are important, they are not the sole factors in determining a site's ranking. In summary, Google's approach to SEO feedback is a dynamic process that involves constant evaluation and adaptation. For business owners, this means staying informed and adaptable is key to maintaining a strong online presence. Understanding that Google values user-centric content and does not solely rely on technical SEO tactics can guide your content strategy in a more effective direction. 7. HOLIDAY MARKETING WITH META'S LATEST LEAD GEN INNOVATIONS! - Meta (formerly Facebook) has recently announced several updates to their lead generation campaigns, which are particularly relevant for the upcoming holiday season. These updates aim to enhance direct customer engagement and streamline the lead generation process, making them vital for businesses looking to capitalize on the holiday rush. One of the key updates is the expansion of Meta's lead objective to Facebook and Instagram ads that initiate a WhatsApp chat. This feature allows businesses to tap into the growing trend of direct messaging (DMs) for customer engagement. With more people preferring DMs over public social media posts, this update offers a new avenue to connect with potential customers directly and personally. Another development is the introduction of a question-and-answer flow in Instagram Direct ads, where businesses can offer coupons to customers who engage with the flow. This not only incentivizes customer interaction but also drives sales by offering discounts on future purchases. Meta is also testing a new instant form ad format. This format allows users to submit their information to multiple related businesses at once, increasing convenience for customers and exposure for businesses. For example, someone signing up for a bridal hair trial can simultaneously share their contact information with related businesses like nail salons. Furthermore, Meta is exploring the potential for businesses to make phone calls through Facebook, displaying their business name and information on the caller screen. While this might be more appealing to older demographics, it's an interesting option for businesses looking to establish a more personal connection with their audience. Lastly, Meta is testing full campaign automation for lead generation campaigns. This feature utilizes AI to manage various campaign elements, including targeting, creative content, placements, and budget. While it may take time for businesses to trust AI with these aspects, the potential for streamlined, efficient campaign management is significant. In conclusion, these updates from Meta offer innovative ways to enhance lead generation and customer engagement. As a business owner, staying updated and adapting to these changes can significantly impact your holiday marketing strategy and overall business growth. 8. LINKEDIN UPDATE: CAROUSEL POSTS AND PROFILE VIDEOS TO BE REMOVED! - In a recent announcement, LinkedIn has informed users that  starting December 14, 2023, LinkedIn will remove all carousel posts and profile videos. This change is noteworthy because carousel posts have been a popular feature for engaging audiences with multiple images or slides in a single post. LinkedIn introduced carousel posts in July last year, allowing users to upload PDFs with each page as a separate slide. This feature gained popularity due to its interactive and engaging format. However, LinkedIn has decided to discontinue this feature, along with profile videos, which were added in 2021 but didn't gain as much traction. Additionally, the ability to embed clickable links within images or videos will also be deactivated. While the content itself will remain, the interactive links will no longer function. This update is significant for businesses that rely on LinkedIn for marketing and engagement. Carousel posts, in particular, have been effective in generating high levels of user interaction. With their removal, businesses will need to adapt their content strategies on LinkedIn. The platform suggests reverting to the previous method of creating carousels by uploading PDFs, but this might not offer the same level of engagement as the native carousel feature. For those who have used these features extensively, LinkedIn offers a solution to retrieve their content. Users can contact LinkedIn at contentsupport@linkedin.com by December 11th to request a copy of their profile video or files from their carousel posts.

16m

Nov 13, 2023

Episode 185 contains the Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Oct 30 - Nov 3, 2023. 1. MOBILE-FIRST INDEXING: GOOGLE'S 7-YEAR MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! - Imagine a world where your smartphone is the key to unlocking the vast potential of the internet. That's the vision Google has pursued for nearly seven years, and they've just announced a significant milestone: the completion of mobile-first indexing. This means that Google now primarily uses the mobile version of content for indexing and ranking across all websites. Back in 2016, Google embarked on this journey, recognizing the shift towards mobile internet usage. By 2018, half of the websites in Google's search results were indexed this way. Fast forward to today, and Google has officially declared the process complete. What does this mean for you? It's simple: if your website isn't optimized for mobile, you're not speaking the same language as Google's search engine—and potentially missing out on valuable traffic. As a business owner, this update is a call to action. Ensure your website is mobile-friendly, with responsive design and content that shines on smaller screens. This isn't just about staying in Google's good graces—it's about providing your customers with the best experience, no matter how they find you. Google's update is a reminder of the ever-evolving nature of the web and the importance of keeping pace with these changes. As mobile-first indexing becomes the norm, it's an opportunity to review your online presence and ensure that your business is set up for success in a mobile-centric world. P.S. Don't let your website get left behind in the desktop era. Embrace mobile optimization and open the door to a world of opportunities. 2. GOOGLE LAUNCHES NOV’23 CORE UPDATE -  Google has announced its November 2023 Core Update. This update is the latest in a series of adjustments that Google makes to its search algorithms, which can significantly impact where your site appears in search results. The November update is particularly noteworthy because it's the fourth broad core algorithm update of the year, following closely on the heels of the October 2023 Core Update. These updates are part of Google's ongoing efforts to improve the searcher's experience by providing the most relevant and high-quality results. What's new with this update? Google has improved a different core system than the one adjusted last month. This means that even if you've made recent changes to your site, you might still see fluctuations in your search rankings. Google's guidance remains the same: focus on creating high-quality content that provides value to your users. If your site's rankings are negatively impacted by an update, Google advises that there aren't specific actions to take to recover. However, they do offer a list of questions to consider if your site is hit by a core update. It's also possible to see a bit of recovery between core updates, but the most significant changes typically occur after subsequent updates.  In conclusion, Google's Core Updates are a reminder of the importance of having a robust content strategy that prioritizes user experience. By focusing on creating valuable, high-quality content, you're more likely to weather the storm of algorithm changes and maintain a strong presence in search results. 3.  ACCORDING TO GOOGLE, SMALL WEBSITES CAN WIN IN THE EVER-EVOLVING SEARCH LANDSCAPE - In the digital age, where the internet seems dominated by large players, it's easy to wonder if small websites still have a fighting chance. Danny Sullivan, Google's Search Liaison with over 25 years in the search space, shared https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1717681134497333470 an encouraging perspective that's vital for you as a business owner to understand. Search engines have evolved tremendously since the pre-Google era, and with each update, concerns arise about the visibility of small sites. Yet, history has shown us that small sites have not only survived but can thrive and become leaders in their niches. Sullivan himself has witnessed this growth firsthand, having run two successful small sites before joining Google. The key takeaway? Google's goal is to reward great content, regardless of the site's size. They are committed to the success of the open web ecosystem, where quality content leads to satisfaction all around—for searchers, content creators, and the search engines themselves. However, the web is dynamic, with changing content and shifting user expectations. Google continuously adapts, striving to improve search results. This includes recognizing valuable contributions from various sources, including forums and personal experiences, ensuring a diverse mix of results. For you, the message is clear: don't get caught up in an "expert arms race" or create content solely with Google's algorithms in mind. Instead, focus on what benefits your readers. Author bios, for instance, should be crafted for your audience, not for search engine optimization. Quality content that serves your readers' expectations aligns naturally with Google's ranking principles. Sullivan emphasizes that there's no checklist for success. Instead, he points to guidelines that help assess if content is genuinely people-first, such as providing original information or analysis. If your content consistently delivers value and leaves visitors thinking, "Wow, that was great. I learned something. That was helpful," you're on the right track. Remember, it's not about being labeled as an "expert" or having the perfect About page—it's about creating content that resonates with and serves your audience. As a business owner, focusing on delivering great content is your key to thriving in the search landscape. P.S. For more insights on creating helpful content, visit Google's guide here: Creating Helpful Content https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content. 4. UNPACKING THE REAL IMPACT OF KEYWORD STUFFING ON YOUR SITE - In the realm of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), "keyword stuffing" has been a buzzword for all the wrong reasons. But what does it truly mean for your website's content? Danny Sullivan, Google's Search Liaison, sheds https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1719435571725258877 light on this topic, clarifying that keyword stuffing isn't about the number of times a word is used. Instead, it's about the context and quality of your writing. Keyword stuffing refers to cramming a webpage with keywords or numbers to manipulate a site's ranking in Google search results. This often results in content that sounds unnatural or out of context. For example, repeating "unlimited app store credits" to an excessive degree can be flagged as keyword stuffing. It's not the repetition per se that's the issue; it's when the repetition leads to non-sensible patterns and unhelpful writing. Sullivan advises against writing with Google's algorithms as your primary audience. Phrases shouldn't be repeated unnaturally just to ensure Google "gets it." Instead, focus on how people consume content. Google's sophisticated language analysis can understand meaning and concepts without the need for over-repetition. The best practice is to write naturally, as if you're explaining something to a person, not a search engine. This insight is crucial for you as a business owner. The content on your website should be crafted for your customers, providing them with value and a pleasant reading experience. If your content is engaging, informative, and written in a natural tone, you're already aligning with Google's preference for high-quality, user-focused content. Remember, the goal is not to outsmart search engines but to create content that genuinely serves your audience. By doing so, you'll naturally improve your site's SEO and foster a trustworthy relationship with your customers. 5. WRITE FOR YOUR READERS, NOT FOR GOOGLE - In the digital world, where Google's algorithms can feel like an enigma, Danny Sullivan, Google's Search Liaison, offers https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1719416730752307574 a simple yet profound piece of advice: "Stop thinking 'What should I do for Google?' when writing content." Instead, focus on what your readers need and want. This shift in perspective is not just refreshing; it's crucial for creating content that resonates with your audience and, ironically, performs well on Google too. Sullivan's guidance comes as a reminder that the content you produce should cater to the interests and queries of your readers, not to the perceived demands of search engines. The essence of his message is to prioritize the quality and usefulness of your content over SEO tactics. Google's ranking systems are designed to reward content that serves readers well, which is why your primary goal should be to address the needs and questions of your audience. This approach is more than just a best practice; it's a strategic move in the ever-evolving landscape of SEO. By focusing on your readers, you're likely to naturally include the keywords and topics they're searching for, which aligns with how Google assesses and ranks pages. Sullivan reiterates this point, encouraging content creators to write in a way that's most helpful for their audience. For you, this means taking a step back from the technicalities of SEO and asking yourself: What information does my audience seek? How can I provide value in a way that's engaging and informative? The answers to these questions will guide you in crafting content that stands out, not just to search engines, but more importantly, to the people you aim to serve. In conclusion, let go of the "What should I do for Google?" mindset. Instead, embrace a reader-first approach to content creation. It's a strategy that will serve your business well, building trust with your audience and, as a result, with search engines too. 6. VINTAGE OR OUTDATED? GOOGLE'S TAKE ON OLD CONTENT'S VALUE - Understanding the importance of content relevance is crucial for any business owner. The digital space is often seen as a race to stay current, but Sullivan's insights suggest that the true value lies in the content's quality and utility to the reader, not its publication date. He states, "Just because something is older doesn't make it unhelpful." This is a significant point, especially for news publishers and content creators who worry about the need to constantly update their articles to maintain relevance. The conversation arose from a question about the feasibility of news publishers updating old articles. Sullivan's response https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1719003502234763544 was clear: if the content is written with the audience in mind and remains relevant, it doesn't lose its value over time. This perspective is part of Google's broader guidance, which emphasizes creating content that prioritizes the reader's experience. For you, this means that the evergreen content on your site—those pieces that provide timeless value—can continue to serve your audience and contribute to your site's authority. It's a reminder to focus on quality over quantity and to consider the lasting impact of what you publish. In summary, don't rush to discard or rewrite your older content just because of its date. Evaluate its ongoing relevance and usefulness to your audience. If it still answers questions, solves problems, or provides insight, it remains a valuable asset to your website. 7. THE TRUTH ABOUT SCHEMA: DOES IT REALLY BOOST YOUR GOOGLE RANKING? - Are you looking to improve your website's ranking on Google? You might have heard that adding schema, or structured data markup, to your pages can give you a leg up in search results. However, Danny Sullivan, Google's Search Liaison, has clarified https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1717618866564788436 a common misconception: schema does not directly improve your site's ranking. Schema markup is a code that you put on your website to help search engines return more informative results for users. While it's true that schema can enhance the way your page appears in search results—potentially increasing click-through rates—it's important to understand that it doesn't give your page a ranking boost. Sullivan emphasizes, "Using schema doesn't give you a ranking boost. It can help you be eligible for certain displays or enhancements, but it doesn't somehow boost you to the top of results." This clarification is crucial for business owners like you who are investing time and resources into SEO strategies. It's easy to get caught up in the myriad of tips and tricks out there, but Google's stance is clear: schema is about aiding search engines in understanding your content, not about climbing the search result ladder. Moreover, if your site violates Google's schema guidelines, it won't impact your ranking. Instead, it may disqualify your site from being eligible for those rich results or enhancements that schema can provide. Sullivan's message is a reminder to focus on creating quality content first and foremost. The use of schema should be viewed as a tool for improving user experience, not as a shortcut to higher rankings. As a business owner, it's essential to align your SEO efforts with practices that genuinely help your audience. By focusing on delivering valuable, high-quality content, and using schema as it's intended—to enhance user understanding—you're setting your site up for long-term success. Remember, the goal is to make your content helpful and accessible to your audience. Schema can contribute to this by making your content more understandable to search engines, which in turn helps users find the great content you're providing. 8. BOOST YOUR VIDEO'S VISIBILITY: GOOGLE'S NEW STRUCTURED DATA GUIDELINES - Google has updated https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/video its guidelines for video structured data with new recommendations that could enhance your video content's visibility in search results. Structured data is a standardized format for providing information about a page and classifying the page content. For videos, this means using specific code to communicate details to Google about the video content on your site, which can then be displayed in rich search results. The key change is that Google now requires not just the date but the exact time a video was published and also when the video expires, using the ISO 8601 format. This update aims to make the publication time more precise, which can be crucial for timely content. Google suggests including timezone information with this data; otherwise, it defaults to the timezone of Googlebot, which may not align with your local time. If you ignore these new recommendations, the only immediate consequence is the potential for a timezone mismatch. However, it's always wise to present structured data as Google expects. Think of it as fine-tuning your content for optimal performance – you're giving Google exactly what it's looking for, which can only benefit your site. In summary, take the time to update your video content with the precise publication time and timezone. It's a simple step that aligns with Google's best practices and could make a noticeable difference in your content's online presence. 9. GOOGLE'S SEP’18 TOP MONEY-MAKING SEARCH QUERIES REVEALED - Have you ever wondered which search queries are the golden tickets in the vast lottery of Google searches? A recent revelation https://www.justice.gov/d9/2023-10/417395.pdf from an ongoing antitrust trial has shed light on this very topic, and the insights are invaluable for any business looking to capitalize on Google's search engine. For a single week in September 2018, terms like "iPhone," "auto insurance," and "cheap flights" were the most profitable for Google in the United States. This information, previously shrouded in secrecy due to Google's tight-lipped policies on revenue data, was disclosed in a heavily redacted slide. While the exact figures remain undisclosed, the list of terms provides a fascinating glimpse into user behavior and market trends. Why does this matter to you? Understanding these high-revenue search terms can inform your digital marketing strategy. If your business is related to any of these lucrative categories, there's a clear opportunity to align your online content and advertising efforts with what users are actively seeking. The top revenue-driving searches ranged from tech products to insurance and entertainment services, indicating diverse areas where Google users are willing to spend their money. This diversity suggests that there's room for businesses of all kinds to find their niche in the search engine landscape. In conclusion, while the specifics of Google's earnings from these searches are not public, the takeaway for you is the importance of targeting the right keywords in your SEO and PPC campaigns. By focusing on terms related to your business that have proven profitable, you can potentially increase your visibility to high-intent customers and drive more revenue through your online channels. 10. GOOGLE ADS CLICK TRACKER POLICY - In the digital age, tracking the performance of your online ads is crucial for understanding customer behavior and maximizing your return on investment. Google Ads has recently updated its policies, and there's an important change you should be aware of: the requirement to use certified click trackers. A click tracker is a tool that records clicks on your ads, providing valuable data on how users interact with your advertising. Google has now mandated that, for accounts using click trackers for the first time after September 11, 2023, only certified click trackers will be accepted. Ads using non-certified trackers may be disapproved. This policy will be fully enforced over the next 12 to 18 months, with the timing depending on factors like the advertiser's history and account activity. Why is this important for you? Compliance with Google's policies ensures that your ads remain active and effective. Using a certified click tracker not only aligns with Google's standards but also guarantees that the data you collect is reliable and actionable. If you're currently using a third-party click-tracking service, it's time to check if it's on Google's approved list https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/13707634. If not, you'll need to switch to a certified provider or risk having your ads disapproved. This may seem daunting, but it's a step towards more transparent and trustworthy ad tracking. For those who provide click-tracking services, Google has opened applications for certification https://forms.gle/kAXnFfU6uPwES2VE7. Meeting their guidelines https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/13707399 means you can continue to serve businesses like yours without interruption.

17m

Nov 06, 2023

Episode 184 contains the important Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Oct 23-27, 2023. 1. GOOGLE INTRODUCES “SEARCH THEMES” -  A NEW OPTIONAL PERFORMANCE MAX SIGNAL : Google has introduced a new feature called "Search Themes" for its Performance Max campaigns. If you're not familiar, Performance Max campaigns use Google's AI to automatically place ads across Google’s landscape after analyzing your budget, assets, feeds, and landing pages to predict valuable placements. . The new feature allows advertisers to have more control over these automated campaigns by providing specific topics or categories relevant to their business. This helps the AI system better understand what kind of traffic would be most beneficial for your business - better targeting means more relevant traffic, and more relevant traffic means higher conversion rates. Why should you care? Traditional keyword-based advertising has its limitations. For instance, if you've just launched a new product or entered a new market, you might not have enough data for effective keyword targeting. Search Themes fill this gap by allowing you to provide additional context about your business, helping Google to better understand and target your ads. You can add up to 25 search themes per ad group  in your Performance Max campaign, and these themes will be treated like phrases and broad match keywords in regular search campaigns.  Search themes will respect any brand exclusions and negative keywords you've set at the account level.  This is a significant step towards giving advertisers more control over automated systems, which has been a long-standing request from the business community. Google has launched this feature in beta and plans to add more robust search term insights and guidance around utilizing Search Themes in 2024. Early feedback from pilot testers has been positive. 2. GOOGLE'S LATEST UPDATE ON STRUCTURED DATA! - Google has just rolled out an update that allows you to mix different types of structured data on your website. If you're wondering what structured data is, it's a way to label your website's content so search engines like Google can understand it better. This helps improve your website's visibility in search results, which is crucial for attracting more customers. Before this update, you had to choose between using JSON-LD or Microdata formats for your structured data. Each has its own pros and cons. JSON-LD is easier to maintain and read, while Microdata integrates directly into your HTML. Now, Google says it's okay to use both formats together. This flexibility can make your website more efficient and effective in communicating with search engines. Why is this important for you? Imagine you run a blog on your business website. Previously, you might have had to duplicate your article content in the structured data to make it understandable to Google, making your code bulky. With this update, you can use Microdata for the article content and JSON-LD for other metadata, avoiding unnecessary duplication. This means cleaner, more efficient code, which can lead to faster load times and a better user experience. This change is optional, so you don't have to rush to update your existing structured data. But it opens up new possibilities for optimizing your website. Whether you're looking to improve your site's SEO or streamline its code, this update offers a valuable opportunity to do both. 3. DON'T LET GOOGLE PENALIZE YOU: AVOID THESE CONTENT MISTAKES NOW! - Are you aware that the type of content you publish on your website can either make or break your online presence? Google's Search Liaison, Danny Sullivan, recently shed light on what the search engine considers "unhelpful content." In simple terms, unhelpful content is material written primarily to rank well in search engine results, rather than to serve your audience's needs. Why should you care? Google is the gatekeeper to your online visibility. If your content is deemed unhelpful, it could seriously harm your website's search engine ranking. This means fewer people will find your business online, leading to lost opportunities and revenue. Sullivan pointed out that if you're writing articles like "20 Fun Things You Can Do Today" just to rank well for the term "fun things," then you're on the wrong track. The focus should be on creating content that is genuinely useful to your audience. He also cautioned against using tools that suggest what to write about based on what might rank well. According to him, this approach often leads to content that Google considers unhelpful. So, what's the takeaway? Shift your focus from trying to please search engines to meeting the needs of your audience. If someone asks a question and your content provides a clear answer, that's "people-first content." And guess what? Google loves it! Don't risk your online visibility by making easily avoidable mistakes. Make the shift to audience-focused content today and watch your online presence grow. P.S. Google's guidelines are not just rules but opportunities to improve. Take action now to align your content strategy with what truly matters! 4. THE REAL CULPRIT BEHIND YOUR WEBSITE'S RANKING DROP: IT'S NOT CLS! - Have you noticed a sudden drop in your website's Google search rankings and are scrambling to find out why? You might be tempted to blame it on "Cumulative Layout Shift" (CLS), especially if you've recently received warnings about it from Google Search Console. But hold on, Google's John Mueller has made it clear: CLS is not the reason for sudden, significant drops in search rankings. Firstly, what is Cumulative Layout Shift? It's a metric that measures the visual stability of your website. For example, if elements on your webpage move around as it loads, that's a high CLS score, and it's generally considered bad for user experience. However, according to Mueller, even if you have issues with CLS, it's not going to cause a drastic drop in your Google rankings. Why is this important for you? Because focusing on the wrong issue can waste your valuable time and resources. Google has consistently stated that page experience signals, like Core Web Vitals (which includes CLS), are not significant ranking factors. They might act more like a "tie-breaker" than a major ranking signal. So, if you've seen a drop in traffic, the culprit is likely something else. In summary, while it's good to optimize for a better page experience, don't panic or "over-focus" on metrics like CLS when you see a drop in your rankings. Your time is better spent analyzing other potential issues that could have a more significant impact on your website's performance. P.S. Understanding what really affects your website's ranking can save you from unnecessary stress and help you focus on what truly matters for your business. Don't chase the wrong problems! 5. STOP BLAMING YOUR WEB HOST: THE REAL STORY BEHIND GOOGLE'S "HOSTLOAD EXCEEDED" ERROR! - If you've been scratching your head over the "Hostload Exceeded" error message on Google Search Console, you're not alone. This error has left many website owners puzzled, leading them to question their web hosting services. But Google's John Mueller has clarified that the issue is not with your web host; it's something else entirely. First, let's break down what "Hostload Exceeded" means. This error appears when you try to index your website's pages using Google Search Console. Indexing is crucial because it helps Google understand your website's content, making it searchable and visible to potential customers. So, when you see an error like this, it's natural to worry. However, Mueller has stated that the problem is not with your web host or even with Google's crawling and indexing processes. Instead, the issue arises when people "spam" the URL inspection tool by submitting too many URLs for indexing. In other words, the error is a result of user behavior, not a technical glitch or quality issue with your website. Why is this important? Because understanding the real cause behind this error can save you time and effort. You don't need to switch web hosts or make drastic changes to your website. Instead, be mindful of how many URLs you're submitting for indexing. Normal crawling and indexing by Google will happen naturally, so there's no need to force the process. P.S. Transparency and accurate information are key to solving problems. Don't waste time fixing what's not broken; focus on what truly matters for your website's success! 6. GOOGLE'S NEW PRIVACY FEATURE : IP PROTECTION - Google is taking a significant step in enhancing user privacy with its new IP Protection feature for Chrome. If you're wondering what IP Protection is, it's a feature designed to mask users' original IP addresses, making it harder for websites to track them. This is crucial for you as a business owner because it could impact how you target and reach potential customers online. Why is IP Protection important? In today's digital age, privacy is a growing concern. Many users are wary of how their data is being used, and Google's new feature aims to address this by limiting cross-site tracking. This means that the feature could potentially disrupt traditional online advertising methods that rely on tracking users' behavior based on their IP addresses. Here's how it works: Users will need to opt-in to activate IP Protection. Initially, the feature will focus on Google-owned domains and be available for U.S.-based IP addresses. Google plans to roll out this feature in phases, starting with a single company-owned proxy server responsible for routing web traffic. Future updates will include a more complex system for added privacy. So, what does this mean for your business? If you rely heavily on targeted advertising, you may need to rethink your strategies. The feature is still in its early stages, but it's essential to stay ahead of the curve and consider how these privacy changes could affect your marketing efforts. P.S. Privacy is not just a user concern; it's a business concern too. Stay updated and adapt your strategies to meet the evolving digital landscape. Don't get left behind!   7. GOOGLE'S Q3’23 AD REVENUE BOUNCES BACK - Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc., has reported an 11% year-on-year increase in search advertising revenue for Q3 2023. If you're wondering why this matters to you, it's simple: this uptick indicates a stabilizing ad market, which could be a golden opportunity for your business. Why is this important? The 11% gain in search revenue is a significant improvement from the 5% loss reported in the previous quarter. This suggests that the digital advertising landscape is recovering, making it a ripe time for businesses like yours to invest in online advertising. Alphabet's CFO, Ruth Porat, stated that the "fundamental strength of our business was apparent again in Q3," with a total revenue of $77 billion, up 11% year over year. The report also highlighted a 12.5% increase in YouTube ad revenue, while Google's advertising network saw a 2.6% decline. However, this decline is an improvement over the previous quarter, signaling a positive trend. Sundar Pichai, Google's CEO, emphasized the role of AI-driven innovations in driving this growth, particularly in search and YouTube. 8. INDEXNOW IMPRESSIVE GROWTH : 1.4 BILLION URLS SUBMITTED DAILY FOR INDEXING - If you're a business owner with an online presence, you know how crucial it is for your website content to be up-to-date in search engine results. The problem? Search engines often lag behind in reflecting the latest changes on your website. This is where IndexNow comes in, a service that has made significant strides in solving this issue. Established two years ago, IndexNow aims to streamline how websites communicate their content changes to search engines. The service has seen exponential growth, with 60 million websites joining daily and a staggering 1.4 billion URLs submitted each day. The platform bridges the gap between search engine results and real-time website content by sending a simple "ping" to participating search engines whenever a URL is added, updated, or deleted. This ensures that search engines crawl only the updated content, making the process more efficient for both businesses and search engines. IndexNow is integrated with popular platforms like WordPress, Wix Premium, and Duda, making it easy for website owners to adopt. If you're using SEO plugins like Yoast, All-in-One SEO, RankMath, or SEOPress, IndexNow is already included. Even if you're not using these services, activating IndexNow is straightforward. All you need to do is generate an API key, host it on your web server, add the necessary code to your website, and monitor the details via webmaster tools. 9. MICROSOFT'S PUBCENTER RELAUNCH: THE GOOGLE ADSENSE ALTERNATIVE - If you're looking to monetize your website, Microsoft has relaunched its PubCenter as a compelling alternative to Google AdSense. For those unfamiliar with these terms, monetizing your website means displaying ads to earn revenue. Google AdSense has been the go-to platform for this, but Microsoft's PubCenter is stepping up as a strong competitor. Why should you care? PubCenter offers a way to display both native and display ads from Microsoft's advertising network. The platform is not new; it's been around since 2008. However, Microsoft is repositioning it as a U.S.-only pilot program. The process is simple: choose an ad format, add some code to your website, and start earning every time an ad is displayed. There are no signup costs, revenue minimums, or volume requirements. What sets PubCenter apart? Microsoft claims to offer "higher engagement and more revenue" compared to Google AdSense. The platform allows you to use their ads alongside Google AdSense ads, serving Microsoft's ads only when they predict a higher bid for you. This flexibility can be a game-changer for small and mid-sized publishers looking to maximize their ad revenue. Currently, PubCenter is open only to U.S.-based businesses, but if you're outside the U.S., you can join a waitlist for when international support is added. If you've been relying solely on Google AdSense, this could be the perfect time to diversify your revenue streams. 10. MICROSOFT'S Q3 SURGE IN AD REVENUE - Microsoft has just reported a remarkable 10% year-on-year increase in its search and news advertising revenue for Q3 2023. If you're not familiar with the world of online advertising, this is a significant metric that indicates the health of the digital advertising ecosystem. As a business owner, this news should catch your attention because it signals a recovering ad market and the growing importance of diversifying your advertising platforms. Why is this surge significant? For starters, it marks a substantial jump from last quarter's 3% increase. This growth suggests that ad spending is bouncing back after the economic downturn, offering a more fertile ground for your business to advertise and reach potential customers. Microsoft's overall revenue in productivity and business processes also rose by 13% to $18.6 billion, further emphasizing the company's strong market position. So, what does this mean for you? If you've been solely relying on Google for your online advertising, now might be the time to consider Microsoft's platforms as well. With the ad market recovering and Microsoft showing strong performance, diversifying your advertising strategy could be a wise move. 11. META'S Q3 PROFITS SKYROCKET TO $11.6 BILLION - Meta Platforms, Inc., the parent company of social media giants like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has reported a staggering $11.6 billion in profits for Q3 2023. So, what's driving this success? Meta's Q3 revenue soared by 23% year-on-year to $34.15 billion. The company saw a 31% increase in ads viewed during the quarter, even though the average price per ad decreased by 6%. This is the smallest decline in seven quarters, signaling a robust ad market. Meta's CFO, Susan Li, attributes this to "ongoing improvements to ad targeting and measurement," which are driving better results for advertisers. Cost-cutting measures also played a role. Meta has reduced its workforce by about a third and cut expenses by 7% from a year earlier. The company is also heavily investing in AI-powered marketing planning and ad measurement to drive growth. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced plans to hire more AI-focused technologists, emphasizing the role of AI in the company's future. 12. HUBSPOT AND TIKTOK'S GAME-CHANGING PARTNERSHIP FOR B2B LEAD GENERATION - HubSpot and TikTok have joined forces to redefine B2B lead generation. If you're a business owner, you know how crucial lead generation is for growth. This partnership aims to make that process more efficient and cost-effective. HubSpot's CRM (Customer Relationship Management) platform will now integrate seamlessly with TikTok, allowing businesses to automatically capture leads from the social media giant. This is TikTok's first CRM lead generation collaboration. Why is this important? Small and medium-sized businesses are grappling with rising customer acquisition costs. HubSpot's research shows that 53% of such businesses in the U.S. have seen these costs go up from 2021 to 2022. TikTok, a platform where over half of its U.S. users discover new brands, aims to alleviate this issue. The integration offers automated lead capture from TikTok, turning its highly engaged audience into potential high-value customers. Once you link your TikTok for Business account with HubSpot, you can create lead-generation ads that automatically sync leads into HubSpot's CRM in real-time. This centralizes all your prospects, making it easier to manage your sales funnel. Plus, you can engage with these new leads using HubSpot's Marketing Hub and determine the effectiveness of your campaigns through AI-powered analytics. As an added incentive, the first 500 advertisers to integrate HubSpot CRM with TikTok will receive $200 in TikTok ad credits. Currently, this integration is only available in the U.S. and Canada but is expected to expand to other countries soon.

17m

Oct 30, 2023

Episode 183 contains the important Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Oct 16-20, 2023. 1. MICROSOFT'S NEW AUTOMATED BIDDING FEATURES FOR YOUR BUSINESS! - Microsoft Advertising has rolled out two automated bidding strategies, Target CPA and Maximize Conversions, to all advertisers. These features aim to simplify the advertising process and are now available in all regions where Microsoft's Audience Ads are served. Automated bidding strategies help you optimize your ad campaigns without constant monitoring, freeing up your time for other business tasks. Target CPA allows you to set a cost-per-acquisition goal, and the system will automatically adjust your bids to meet that target. Maximize Conversions, on the other hand, aims to get you as many conversions as possible within your set budget. Both strategies offer flexibility in budgeting and performance measurement, putting you in control while also reducing manual effort. Microsoft's Audience Ads are native display ads that leverage Microsoft's data insights to target your desired audience effectively. These ads appear on various platforms like MSN, Outlook, and more.  2. GOOGLE'S OCTOBER 2023 CORE AND SPAM UPDATES COMPLETED! - Google has finished rolling out two significant updates that you should be aware of: the October 2023 Core Update and the October 2023 Spam Update. These updates can affect your website's visibility on Google, so let's break it down. October 2023 Core Update: This update took almost 14 days to roll out completely, starting on October 5th and ending on October 19th. It had a significant impact on SEOs and websites, causing a lot of volatility in search rankings. The update is global and affects all types of content. If you've noticed changes in your website's performance, this could be why. Google hasn't specified what percentage of queries were impacted, but it's safe to say that the reach is wide. October 2023 Spam Update: This update started on October 4th and ended on October 20th. It targets spam techniques that violate Google's policies, particularly in languages like Turkish, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Hindi, and Chinese. If your website was affected, Google suggests reviewing its spam policies. Interestingly, these two updates overlapped, making it challenging to pinpoint which update caused changes to your website's rankings. If you're not involved in spammy practices and see changes, it's likely due to the Core Update. If you do engage in spam and notice alterations, it's probably the Spam Update. Why Should You Care? These updates can either elevate your website's visibility or push it down the search rankings. If you've been hit, it's crucial to adapt your strategies accordingly. Need Expert Guidance? If all this sounds overwhelming, we're here to help. Contact us for expert advice on navigating these Google updates seamlessly. 3. YOUTUBE'S NEW AI-POWERED "SPOTLIGHT MOMENTS" - YouTube has launched an advertising feature called "Spotlight Moments," designed to boost your brand's visibility during key cultural events. This new feature uses artificial intelligence to place your brand's videos next to the most relevant and engaging content related to specific cultural moments, like Halloween or Christmas. Here's how it works: YouTube uses AI to identify popular videos related to these cultural moments. Your ads will then be served alongside this content, giving your brand a chance to shine during these high-traffic periods. All these videos will be curated into dynamically updated playlists on a sponsored hub called the "YouTube Culture Hub," which will also feature your brand's logo. "Spotlight Moments" offers a unique opportunity to increase your brand's visibility and reach your target audience during times when they are most engaged. The big question, of course, is what kind of return on investment (ROI) you can expect from this new ad package. 4. YOUTUBE WITH NEW PRODUCT TARGETING FEATURES! - YouTube is introducing a new feature that allows creators to add timestamps to tagged products in their videos. This new feature aims to enhance your advertising strategy by targeting potential customers at the most opportune moments. When a timestamp is added to a tagged product, a shopping cart button appears at a time when viewer engagement is expected to be high. This precision in targeting can result in increased engagement and conversions. The feature is especially timely as YouTube plans to remove some ad controls for newly uploaded videos next month (), giving creators and sponsors more control in the meantime. But that's not all. YouTube is also rolling out additional features to improve the shopping experience. One such feature allows creators to bulk tag affiliate products in video libraries, potentially earning revenue from older, high-traffic content. Additionally, a new reporting tool will soon be available in YouTube Studio to reveal which affiliate products are generating the most revenue for brands. 5. GOOGLE ADS CERTIFICATION NOW REQUIRES VIDEO RECORDING: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW! - Google Ads has recently updated its certification process, adding a new layer of scrutiny for those taking the exam. The new rules require test-takers to record themselves during the exam, among other requirements. Specifically, you'll need to take a picture of your photo ID, a picture of your face, and record a video of your test-taking environment. These steps are part of Google's efforts to ensure exam integrity. During the exam, a live proctor will monitor your activity via webcam and screen-sharing software. If any unauthorized behavior is noticed, the proctor will pause your exam and message you. The guidelines also prohibit the use of open books, notes, scratch paper, and even restroom breaks during the exam. The new rules have stirred some reactions in the community, with some finding them overly strict, especially for those who work from home and may have other people around. According to Google, the changes aim to maintain the credibility of the Google Ads certification, making it a more reliable indicator of expertise. However, I disagree with Google. 6. 📊 GOOGLE SHAKES UP AD ATTRIBUTION: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW! - Google has recently announced that it will be retiring four rules-based attribution models in Google Ads and Google Analytics. If you're not familiar with attribution models, they are essentially methods to understand how different marketing channels contribute to conversions. The models being retired are First Click, Linear, Time Decay, and Position-Based. This change is significant because these models help you understand how your ads are performing and where your customers are coming from. Why is Google making this change? According to Google, these models are being retired due to low adoption rates, with fewer than 3% of conversions in Google Ads using these models. Instead, Google is encouraging advertisers to switch to data-driven attribution models, which use advanced AI to better understand customer behavior. Google claims that switching to these data-driven models can result in a 6% increase in conversions. What does this mean for you? If you're currently using any of the retiring models, your settings will automatically default to "Paid and Organic Data-Driven Attribution." While Last Click models will still be available, tracking anything other than the last click will become more challenging. This could make it harder to understand the customer journey and optimize your ad strategy. If you're concerned about how these changes will impact your advertising efforts, we're here to help. Contact us for expert guidance on navigating these updates and optimizing your ad strategy. 7. 🔍 GOOGLE CHANGES THE GAME: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FAVICONS AND CRAWLING! - Google has recently made changes to its favicon search developer documentation that could impact how your website's favicon appears in search results. If you're not familiar with a favicon, it's the small icon that appears next to your website's name in browser tabs and search results. It's a small but crucial part of your online branding. Previously, Google had a separate user agent specifically for downloading favicons from websites. This user agent has now been removed. Instead, Google has clarified that if you want your favicon to be displayed in search results, you must allow both "Googlebot-Image" and "Googlebot" to crawl your pages. In simpler terms, you need to make sure that Google's web crawlers can access both your website's homepage and the favicon file. If either is blocked, your favicon won't show up in Google's search results. This change means that you no longer have to request indexing specifically for your favicon; it will be automatically crawled by Googlebot and Googlebot-Image. The update aims to streamline the process and make it easier for website owners, but it's essential to ensure that your website is configured correctly to take advantage of this.

13m

Oct 23, 2023

Episode 182 contains the important Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Oct 9-13, 2023. 1. GOOGLE'S DEMAND GEN ADS: THE AI-POWERED VIDEO ADS  - If you're using social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram for advertising, you'll want to know about Google's latest ad product: Demand Gen campaigns. Google Ads is a platform that allows you to place advertisements on Google's search engine and other platforms. Demand Gen is Google's newest effort to compete with traditional social media sites for your advertising dollars. What sets Demand Gen apart? It uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create highly targeted video and image ads, specifically designed for platforms like YouTube. These ads can be up to 15 seconds long, ideal for YouTube placements, and can also feature image carousels tailored for mobile users. The tool uses Google's powerful AI to identify "lookalike audiences" that share characteristics with your existing customers, allowing for more targeted advertising. Why is this important for you? Consumer habits are changing. People are now splitting their time between traditional social media platforms and video sites like YouTube. Google's Demand Gen aims to help you capitalize on this shift by offering visually compelling ads tailored to specific audiences. Early adopters have already seen promising results; for example, Argentine fintech startup Naranja X reported 3x higher click-through rates at 61% lower costs compared to its paid social campaigns. 2. GOOGLE ADS POLICY UPDATE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT OFFERING REWARDS 🎁 -  If you're using Google Ads to incentivize customer engagement, there's a significant policy change you should be aware of. Starting October 31, 2023, Google Ads will update its policies to allow indirect or non-monetary items to be offered as rewards. However, direct monetary items will still remain disallowed as rewards. Here's what the change means in simple terms: __ __ This update is crucial for businesses that use rewards to attract and retain customers. It gives you more flexibility in what you can offer as rewards, such as discounts, loyalty points, or even game character skins. However, these rewards must be confined to your own platform and cannot be converted into cash or transferred to third parties. Why is this important? This policy change allows you to be more creative and flexible in your advertising campaigns. It could be a game-changer in how you engage with your audience and could potentially lead to higher customer retention rates. 3. GOOGLE'S COOKIE 🍪 CRUMBLE: HOW CHROME'S UPCOMING CHANGES WILL IMPACT YOUR BUSINESS - If you're using Google Chrome to manage your online advertising, you need to be aware of a significant change coming your way. Google Chrome is a widely-used web browser, and it's about to alter how it handles third-party cookies. These cookies are small pieces of data that track user behavior across websites, helping businesses like yours target ads more effectively. Starting in early 2024, Google will disable third-party cookies for 1% of Chrome users as an initial step. By mid-2024, this will extend to all Chrome users. This move aims to enhance user privacy but will also force a shift in how digital advertising operates. The change could impact your ability to collect data and serve relevant ads to your audience. Why is Google making this change? The tech giant aims to improve user privacy and security while still providing tools for businesses to sustain themselves. Google plans to introduce new "Privacy Sandbox APIs" to replace the functionality lost by the removal of third-party cookies. These will cover use cases like identity verification, advertising, and fraud detection. What does this mean for you? If you rely on third-party cookies for advertising, it's time to prepare for this change. You'll need to adopt new methods for serving ads and possibly face a shift in the digital advertising landscape that could benefit larger platforms like Google, Facebook, and Amazon. The upcoming changes present an opportunity to reassess your advertising strategies. If you're feeling overwhelmed by these shifts and need expert guidance, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We're here to help you navigate these changes seamlessly. 4. TAKE CONTROL 🎛️ OF YOUR CUSTOMER DATA WITH GOOGLE'S NEW TOOL - If you're using Google Ads for your business, there's a new tool you should know about: Google Ads Data Manager https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/simplifying-the-management-of-your-first-party-data/. Google Ads is a platform that allows you to advertise your products or services on Google's search engine and other affiliated sites. The tool aims to simplify the management of first-party customer data, which is the data you collect directly from your customers. This is crucial because first-party data is generally more reliable and valuable than third-party data, which is collected from external sources like browser cookies. Google Ads Data Manager offers a unified platform where data analysts and marketers can collaborate. It streamlines the process of setting up new data integrations and activating customer datasets for measurement and targeting. The tool eliminates the need for coding, reducing duplicated work between analysts and engineers. It even promises future integration with major platforms like Salesforce and Lytics, where many businesses build audience profiles and analytics repositories. Why is this important for your business? As privacy concerns grow and third-party cookies become less reliable, focusing on first-party data becomes increasingly essential. Google's new tool aims to make this transition easier by providing a unified interface for managing your customer data. It's set for a full launch in 2024, starting with core features like conversion measurement and customer list activation within Google Ads. 5. GOOGLE ADS GLITCHES COULD BE DRAINING YOUR BUDGET! KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING 🚨 - If you're using Google Ads to promote your business, you need to be aware of recent issues that could be affecting your advertising budget. Google Ads is a platform that allows you to place advertisements on Google's search engine and other affiliated websites. It's a crucial tool for driving traffic and sales, but recent glitches could be causing you unnecessary financial strain. On October 11, 2023, Google confirmed a significant issue affecting a large number of Google Ads users. The problem lies in the serving of ads and the spending controls for campaigns. In simpler terms, the platform is not functioning as it should, which could lead to your ads being displayed incorrectly or your budget being spent faster than you intended. Google has been actively investigating the issue but has yet to provide a concrete resolution time. This isn't a one-off event. Google Ads has experienced multiple outages and issues throughout the year, affecting various aspects like responsiveness and billing. These glitches have led to numerous complaints in Google Ads forums, indicating that the problem is widespread. After almost three days, Google finally announced that the issue was resolved on October 13, 2023. However, the damage for many could have already been done by then. As a business owner, it's essential to keep an eye on your Google Ads campaigns, especially during such turbulent times. Make sure to check your ad performance and budget spending regularly to avoid any unpleasant surprises. 6. GOOGLE'S 🤖 AI-POWERED IMAGES: WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOUR BUSINESS - Google is testing new AI-powered features that can generate both images and written content based on your search queries. Imagine typing "draw a picture of a capybara wearing a chef's hat and cooking breakfast," and Google actually generates that image for you. This feature aims to help users visualize concepts more easily during the search process. It's currently available to a limited test group in the U.S., but it's a glimpse into the future of how we might interact with search engines. Another fascinating feature is AI-powered writing inspiration. For example, if you search for "garage conversion projects," Google could generate a draft email that you could send to a contractor for a quote. This feature is designed to assist in longer research sessions by providing AI-assisted writing ideas. Like the image generation feature, this is also in the testing phase. Why should you care? These advancements could significantly streamline your business operations, from conceptualizing ideas to drafting content. However, Google is also implementing safeguards to prevent misuse and maintain user privacy, which is crucial for business integrity. 7. GOOGLE'S RGSP: THE AUCTION 💰🔨 SYSTEM THAT COULD CHANGE YOUR AD GAME - If you're using Google Ads to promote your business, you need to understand RGSP—Randomized Generalized Second-Price auctions. Google Ads is a platform where businesses bid to place their ads on Google's search engine. The highest bidder doesn't always win; instead, Google uses a complex metric called "Ad Rank" to determine the winner. This system takes into account not just the bid amount, but also the long-term value (LTV) of the campaign, ad quality, and relevance. RGSP is a practice that adds another layer to this process. It picks the winner at random from the top bidders, as long as their LTVs are close enough. The winner then pays the price of the next-highest bid plus one cent. While Google argues that this system provides a better user experience, critics, including the Department of Justice (DOJ), claim it makes ad auctions unfair and benefits Google financially. Why is this important for you? If you're not aware of how RGSP works, you might end up spending more on your Google Ads without understanding why you're not getting the desired results. The system is complex and can be confusing, especially since Google hasn't specified how advertisers can improve their campaign's LTV. Your only option to avoid the randomness of RGSP might be to significantly increase your bid amount, which could inflate your advertising costs. If you're finding it challenging to navigate the complexities of Google's ad auction system and need expert guidance, we're here to help. Feel free to reach out to us for tailored advice on how to optimize your ad campaigns. 8. META'S NEW AD FEATURES FOR FACEBOOK REELS: GET READY FOR THE HOLIDAYS! - As the holiday season approaches, Meta (formerly Facebook) is rolling out new advertising features for Facebook Reels, aiming to help businesses like yours tap into its rapidly growing user base. Facebook Reels is a short-form video feature on Facebook, similar to Instagram Reels or TikTok, where users can create and explore engaging video content. One of the key updates is the introduction of Collections Ads for Facebook Reels. These ads allow you to showcase a series of products within a single ad, making it easier for potential customers to browse and shop. Meta has also introduced Multi-Destination Reels Carousel Ads, which enable you to direct viewers to multiple product pages based on the images shown in the ad. Another noteworthy feature is the new "swipe left" functionality, designed to make it easier for viewers to learn more about the products featured in an ad. This could be a game-changer for brands looking to provide more information and engage viewers effectively. In addition to these, Meta is offering new automation solutions, including auto-generated templates for Reels promotions. These templates will help optimize your creative content, ensuring it performs well in the Reels format. Meta is also enhancing its music selection tool, allowing advertisers to automatically apply free music to their ads. Why is this important? With people spending more time on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, it's crucial to adapt your advertising strategy to where your audience is most active. These new features offer a more interactive and engaging way to connect with potential customers, especially during the busy holiday season.   9. MAXIMIZE YOUR 🎄 HOLIDAY AD REACH WITH MICROSOFT'S NEW MARKETING GUIDE - The holiday season is a crucial time for businesses, and Microsoft Advertising has released a comprehensive guide to help you make the most of it. Microsoft Advertising is a platform that allows you to place ads across Microsoft's network, including Bing. Their new guide, "Your Festive Season Marketing Playbook https://about.ads.microsoft.com/en-ca/microsoft-advertising-holiday-guide.pdf," is designed to help you understand and adapt to changing customer behaviors and trends during the holiday shopping period. The guide emphasizes the importance of early planning and budgeting. Data shows that brands see a significant increase in website traffic and purchases during September and October in the U.S., Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). These months account for 44% of ad clicks and 40% of conversions, often at a 5% lower cost-per-click (CPC). Another key takeaway is the impact of October clicks. On average, 67% of purchases in November and 50% in December can be traced back to consumer clicks in October. Microsoft suggests using remarketing, in-market audiences, and automated bidding strategies to capture this segment of deal-seekers. Lastly, the guide highlights the rising trend of deal-seeking among consumers, especially in the U.S. More than two-thirds of shoppers spend considerable time searching for coupons and deals. Diversified ad strategies are also recommended, as 28% of holiday ad clicks come from mobile devices. Why is this important for you? The holiday season is a prime opportunity for boosting sales and customer engagement. Microsoft's guide offers actionable tips based on the most recent trends, helping you to plan more effective ad campaigns. 10. WORDPRESS 6.3.2 UPDATE FIXES 8 SECURITY 🛡️ FLAWS—IS YOUR SITE SAFE? - If your website is powered by WordPress, it's crucial to be aware of the latest security update, WordPress 6.3.2. WordPress is a popular platform for building and managing websites, and keeping it secure is vital for your business's online presence. The new update addresses eight different vulnerabilities, including one that could potentially lead to a full site takeover. These vulnerabilities range from "Cross-Site Scripting" (a type of security risk that allows hackers to inject malicious code into your website) to "Cache Poisoning Denial of Service" (a flaw that could make your site unavailable to users). The update aims to patch these security holes and make your website safer. Why should you care? A compromised website can severely damage your business reputation and result in financial loss. The vulnerabilities are rated as medium severity, but they can have severe implications if not addressed. WordPress strongly advises users to update to the latest version to benefit from these security patches. The update also delivers 41 bug fixes, enhancing the overall performance and reliability of your WordPress site. If you're not tech-savvy and the idea of updating and managing your website security feels overwhelming, we're here to help. Our team can guide you through these changes to ensure your website remains secure and functional. So, don't delay. Make sure your WordPress site is updated to version 6.3.2 as soon as possible. Your website's security is not something to be taken lightly.

14m

Oct 16, 2023

Episode 181 contains the important Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Oct 2-6, 2023. 1. NEW COURSES TO UNLOCK THE POWER OF REDDIT ADS - If you're a business owner looking to diversify your online advertising, Reddit has some exciting news for you. The platform has updated its "Reddit Ads Formula" marketing education program, adding a new "Boost 2.0 Certification" to its existing courses. What does this mean for you? It's a golden opportunity to understand Reddit's advertising tools better and use them to your advantage. Originally launched last June, Reddit Ads Formula offers a straightforward guide to Reddit's advertising options. The new Boost 2.0 Certification takes it a step further by providing in-depth knowledge and insights. The course covers essential topics like selecting the right bid and budget strategy, identifying performance opportunities, and effectively engaging Reddit communities. Completing the course earns you a certification badge, which can add credibility to your business. Plus, you'll have the option to make a Reddit-funded donation to charity. Why is this important? Reddit is a growing platform with a diverse user base, making it a fertile ground for advertising. The new courses aim to help you optimize your ad campaigns, thereby increasing your reach and ROI. With over 5,800 participants from 26+ countries already benefiting from the program, it's time you consider hopping on the Reddit advertising bandwagon. 2. LINKEDIN TESTING FULLY AUTOMATED ACCELERATE AD CAMPAIGNS - LinkedIn is stepping up its advertising game with a new feature called "Accelerate," designed to automate your entire ad campaign process. If you're a business owner, this is big news. Why? Because advertising on platforms like LinkedIn can be complex and time-consuming. Accelerate aims to simplify this by recommending a complete campaign in as little as five minutes. Here's how it works: You provide a URL for the product you want to promote, and LinkedIn's AI systems take care of the rest. The AI analyzes your company's LinkedIn page, past ads, and the website you shared to create a tailored campaign. You can then fine-tune the campaign's copy, images, and targeting parameters. The AI also adjusts your campaign bids and budget in real-time to maximize results. Why should you care? LinkedIn claims that its AI tools have led to a 47% improvement in cost-per-conversion and a 21% improvement in average cost-per-lead. Essentially, you're letting LinkedIn's AI manage your ad budget in the most efficient way possible, which could save you both time and money. The Accelerate feature is currently available to a limited number of customers in North America. It's a hands-off approach to LinkedIn ads that could make your life a lot easier. So, is it time to let AI take the wheel in your LinkedIn advertising? It might be worth a try. 3. META EXPANDS ROLL OUT OF GENERATIVE AI FEATURES FOR AD CREATION - Meta, the company behind Facebook, has recently expanded its Generative AI features for ad creation. These features include text variations, background generation, and image expansion tools. What does this mean for you as a business owner? It means you can now create more dynamic and personalized ads with just a few clicks, saving you both time and money. In early tests, advertisers found that these AI tools saved them an estimated five or more hours a week. That's almost a month's worth of time saved per year! These tools not only speed up the ad creation process but also help in maximizing the effectiveness of your campaigns. For instance, you can quickly develop multiple variations of ad creatives, which allows for more strategic work and better performance. But that's not all. Meta is also developing AI tools for business messaging on platforms like Messenger and WhatsApp. These tools will help you engage with customers more effectively, offering instant conversational responses. In summary, Meta's new AI features are designed to make your life easier by automating tedious tasks, allowing you to focus on strategy and creativity. These tools are rolling out globally and are expected to be fully available by next year. Don't miss out on this opportunity to take your advertising to the next level. 4. META'S NEW SUBSCRIPTION MODEL COULD CHANGE YOUR BUSINESS ADVERTISING STRATEGY - Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is planning to introduce a subscription-based model that offers an ad-free experience for $14 a month. This move is in response to the European Union's Digital Services Act, which will take effect on January 1, 2024. The act requires platforms to seek user consent for serving personalized ads, impacting businesses that rely heavily on ad revenue. Why is this important for you as a business owner? Well, if users opt for this subscription, they won't see ads, which could significantly reduce the reach of your advertising campaigns on these platforms. This means you might need to rethink your advertising strategies and possibly invest in alternative platforms for better visibility. Meta has not yet made an official statement about this new model, but it's crucial to stay ahead of the curve. The cost of the subscription could be a determining factor for user adoption. If fewer people see your ads because they've opted for the ad-free subscription, you'll need to adapt quickly to maintain your online presence and customer engagement. Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story, as it could have a significant impact on how you approach advertising on social media platforms. 5. TIKTOK TESTING SUBSCRIPTION PLAN - TikTok is exploring a new avenue to enhance user experience: an ad-free subscription plan. This move comes as social media platforms are grappling with changes in digital privacy regulations, particularly in the European Union. The new plan would cost users around $4.99 per month to enjoy an ad-free TikTok experience. Why is this important for you as a business owner? Ads are the lifeblood of social media platforms, helping businesses like yours reach potential customers. However, with increasing regulations and user demands for a cleaner interface, platforms are considering alternative revenue streams. TikTok's ad-free subscription is not just a user-centric move; it's a signal of changing tides in the digital advertising landscape. This shift could impact how you allocate your advertising budget and engage with your audience on TikTok. It's also worth noting that while this feature is currently in the testing phase and targeted at a single English-speaking market outside the U.S., it could potentially be rolled out more broadly in the future. 6. NEW GOOGLE RULES FOR EMAIL MARKETING: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO KEEP YOUR BUSINESS IN THE CLEAR! - Google is tightening its rules for businesses that send bulk emails to Gmail users. If your business sends more than 5,000 emails per day to Gmail addresses, you'll need to pay attention to these new guidelines, which will take effect in February 2024. The changes aim to reduce spam and improve email security, making it crucial for business owners to adapt. __ __ These new rules are not just about compliance; they're about maintaining a healthy relationship with your customers and ensuring your emails actually reach them. Even if your email list has fewer than 5,000 recipients, following these best practices is still recommended. By adhering to these new guidelines, you'll not only avoid potential penalties but also improve the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns. Make sure to update your email practices before the February deadline to stay compliant. 7. GOOGLE'S NEW GA4 FEATURE! 🛡️ #DATAPROTECTION #GA4UPDATES - Google has rolled out a new feature in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) that you should know about. It's called Data Redaction, and it's designed to help you comply with privacy laws like GDPR. This feature automatically removes Personally Identifiable Information (PII) such as email addresses and phone numbers before they are sent to Google. This is crucial for avoiding legal issues and maintaining customer trust. Here's the scoop: For new GA4 properties, this feature is enabled by default. But if you're using an existing GA4 property, you'll need to turn it on manually. The Data Redaction feature scans the data before sending it to Google and removes any PII. It's particularly useful for redacting information that might accidentally be included in URLs. However, it's important to note that while this feature is a strong step toward data privacy, it doesn't absolve you of all responsibilities. You still need to ensure that no PII is being sent to Google in other ways. Google also provides a "Debug View" to test and monitor how the feature works in real-time. Why should you care? In today's digital age, data privacy is not just a legal requirement but also a competitive advantage. Customers are more likely to trust businesses that protect their data. So, go ahead and enable this feature to take a step forward in responsible data management. 8. GOOGLE LAUNCHES OCTOBER 2023 CORE ALGORITHM UPDATE - Google has rolled out its third core algorithm update of the year, known as the "October 2023 Core Update." This is important for business owners because Google's algorithm determines how websites rank in search results. A change in the algorithm can significantly affect your website's visibility to potential customers. The update is expected to take several weeks to fully implement, and during this period, you may notice fluctuations in your website's search rankings. Google's core updates aim to improve search quality and make it harder for websites to manipulate rankings. These updates can either positively or negatively impact your website's position in search results. If you're concerned about changes in your website's rankings, it's crucial to review your web content for quality and relevance. Google values high-quality, relevant, and authoritative content. Factors like page load speed, mobile-friendliness, and ease of navigation also play a role in how Google assesses your website's overall quality. In summary, staying updated on Google's algorithm changes and continuously improving your website are key to maintaining or improving your search rankings. Patience and ongoing effort are essential for staying competitive in the digital landscape. 9. EXCLUDING GOOGLE SIGNALS FROM REPORTS AND EXPLORATIONS - If you're a business owner, you know how crucial it is to understand your customers' behavior online. Google Signals, a feature in Google Analytics 4 (GA4), can help you do just that. It allows you to track how users interact with your website or app across multiple devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops. This is known as cross-device tracking. Why is this important? Traditional tracking methods might count a single user using multiple devices as separate users, skewing your data. Google Signals solves this problem by associating session data with users who are signed into their Google accounts and have enabled ads personalization. This gives you a more accurate picture of user behavior, helping you make informed business decisions. Google Signals also enables features like cross-device remarketing and reporting. For example, you can see how a user browses products on your site from a phone and later completes a purchase from a laptop. This data can be invaluable for optimizing your marketing strategies and understanding your customers' journey. However, there are some limitations. Google Signals doesn't support iOS 14+ devices, and you need to have editor-level access to your GA4 property to activate it. Once activated, you can choose the regions where data is collected, and you're subject to Google's policy requirements for advertising features. GA4 now has the ability to enable advertisers to exclude certain demographic and interest data from reports, particularly data from signed-in, consented users. If you’ve enabled Google Signals for your property, simply disable “Include Google Signals in Reporting Identity” on the Admin’s Data Collection page. Turning this option off helps to minimize data thresholding (a safeguard to anonymize the data so that individual user information is not exposed.) if your property uses Blended or Observed reporting identity. However, even with this option off, GA4 can still gather Google Signals data, allowing you to use it in audiences and conversions. Additionally, you can share this data with linked Google Ads accounts for re-marketing and bid optimization.   10. X (TWITTER) AND PARTNERS WITH GOOGLE ADS - Twitter, now rebranded as 'X,' has recently partnered with Google Display Network to boost its advertising capabilities. This move comes after a 59% decline in X's ad revenue in the U.S. alone. So, what does this mean for business owners like you? You can now tap into X's home feed inventory through Google Ads, reaching a vast audience of over 200 million daily users. This is a golden opportunity to expand your reach and potentially increase sales. If you are already familiar with Google Ads dashboard then this is an opportunity for you to reach X’s vast audience of over 200 million actively engaged daily users using Google Ads’ familiar campaign set-up and targeting tools. However, there's a catch. X doesn't have strict guidelines for ad placement, meaning your ads could appear alongside content that may not align with your brand values. This partnership also raises questions about data sharing between Google and X, which could either enhance or hinder your advertising performance. Elon Musk, who took over the platform last year, aims to resolve the ad revenue issue by outsourcing some ad sales to Google, one of the biggest players in the advertising industry. This collaboration could potentially create the most powerful marketing database out there, according to industry experts. In summary, this partnership offers new avenues for advertising but comes with its own set of challenges and risks. It's crucial to weigh these factors carefully as you consider incorporating this new opportunity into your marketing strategy.   11. 🚨 GOOGLE REMOVES INDIVIDUAL AND AD GROUP KEYWORD FORECASTING 🚨 - Google's Keyword Planner is a tool commonly used by businesses to forecast how specific keywords will perform in advertising campaigns. It helps you decide how to allocate your budget effectively. However, Google has recently made a significant change: it has stopped providing forecasts for individual and ad group keywords. Why is this important? These forecasts were valuable because they gave insights into metrics like spending, helping businesses make informed decisions. Google decided to remove these features due to low usage, according to Ginny Marvin, Google's ad liaison. While campaign-level forecasts and historical keyword-level data are still available, the absence of individual and ad group keyword forecasting could impact how you optimize your advertising strategies. So, what should you do now? You'll still have access to campaign-level forecasts and historical data, which can guide your advertising decisions. What this means is that you will view aggregated forecast at the campaign level across all keywords that you have entered based on the proposed targeting in the keyword planner. Did you use this feature or you won't be missing it?

18m

Oct 09, 2023

Episode 180 contains the important Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Sep 25-29, 2023. 1. IS GOOGLE LYING ABOUT USING CLICKS IN RANKINGS? A X-GOOGLER TESTIMONY - The debate over whether Google uses clicks as a direct ranking factor has taken a new turn. Eric Lehman, a former 17-year Google veteran who worked on search quality and ranking, recently testified in the ongoing U.S. vs. Google antitrust trial. Lehman stated that Google's machine learning systems, BERT and MUM, are becoming more critical than user data for search rankings. He believes https://www.law360.com/articles/1724110/judge-told-new-google-search-systems-don-t-need-user-data that Google will increasingly rely on machine learning to evaluate text rather than user data. Lehman's testimony has sparked controversy, especially among SEO experts, who have long questioned Google's transparency about its ranking factors. Google's Gary Illyes, at a recent AMA, confirmed that Google uses historical search data for its machine-learning algorithm, RankBrain. However, he clarified that clicks are not necessarily a direct ranking factor. Instead, they are used for evaluating experiments and personalization. The Department of Justice (DOJ) also attempted to challenge Lehman's statements by questioning Google's advantage in using BERT over its competitors. Lehman clarified that Google's edge comes from inventing BERT, not from its user data. The DOJ's attempt to impeach Lehman's testimony seemed to backfire, adding more credibility to his statements. Lehman also touched on the sensitive topic of using clicks in search rankings. He mentioned that Google avoids confirming the use of user data in rankings to prevent people from thinking that SEO could be used to manipulate search results. This adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing debate. In summary, while clicks may not serve as a direct ranking factor, they are part of a more complex system that includes machine learning algorithms and personalization. Lehman's testimony has reignited the discussion about Google's ranking factors, raising questions about the company's transparency and the future of SEO. 2. 🚨 IS GOOGLE PLAYING FAIR? WHAT BUSINESS OWNERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GOOGLE'S AD REVENUE TACTICS! -  You might be wondering why Google's advertising tactics should matter to you. Well, Google is the go-to search engine for most people, and it's where your business likely appears in search results. Recent revelations during the Federal Antitrust trial suggest that Google might be prioritizing its own revenue over user experience and fair competition. Here's what you need to know: __ __ So, why should you care? If Google is manipulating search results to boost its own revenue, it could affect where your business appears in those results. This could directly impact your visibility and, ultimately, your bottom line. 3. GOOGLE'S JOHN MUELLER DEFENDS OFFICIAL SEO ADVICE - Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a crucial aspect of your online presence that helps your website rank higher in search engines like Google. However, there's a fine line between optimizing your site for Google and overdoing it.  John Mueller, Google’s official representative, defended the company's ongoing support for SEOs through documentation, video content, and Q&A sessions. He acknowledges that while some people misuse this information to create "made-for-Google" sites, the majority benefit from it. Mueller states, "Yes, it's also awkward that we're writing how to do well in Google, explaining algorithms, giving technical tips, but even with a minority that abuses that, it doesn't mean we should stop helping sites get the most out of search." He pointed out that Google aims to benefit the broader web community, not just those who are trying to game the system. While Google may withhold some details to prevent exploitation, most of their advice is rooted in common sense.  In summary, Google claims that is committed to helping website owners understand how to optimize their sites effectively. They believe that the benefits of providing this information outweigh the risks of some people abusing it. As a business owner, it's essential to stay updated on Google's guidelines to ensure your website performs well in search results while adhering to best practices. 4. GOOGLE MAY IGNORE YOUR HIGH-QUALITY WEBSITE. HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW! - If you've ever wondered why your well-crafted website isn't appearing in Google search results, you're not alone. Google's indexing process, which determines which pages show up in search results, has always been a bit of a mystery. Traditionally, Google has stated that if a page isn't indexed, it's likely because it doesn't meet certain quality standards. However, a recent update from John Mueller of Google has thrown a curveball into this understanding. John Mueller stated https://twitter.com/JohnMu/status/1707434010564009997 that even "high-quality pages aren't guaranteed indexing." In simpler terms, even if your website is top-notch, there's no guarantee it will appear in Google search results. He emphasized that "pushing it through these tools doesn't guarantee that they'll stay or even become indexed." This is a significant revelation because many business owners invest time and resources into creating high-quality content, assuming it will automatically be indexed by Google. So, what does this mean for you as a business owner? First, understand that Google's indexing is not perfect and is not always a reflection of your website's quality. Second, while it's crucial to maintain high-quality content, know that this alone won't guarantee visibility on Google. Lastly, consider diversifying your online presence through other channels like social media to ensure you're reaching your target audience. 5. UNLOCK THE FULL POTENTIAL OF YOUTUBE WITH NEW AI-DRIVEN CAMPAIGNS AND ANALYTICS! -YouTube has globally launched Video View Campaigns (VVC), a new ad campaign type that uses AI to target audiences more efficiently. VVCs offer a variety of ad formats and have been shown to achieve 40% more views and 30% lower cost per view compared to traditional instream skippable CPV campaigns. Video View Campaigns (VVC) are a new type of YouTube ad campaign that leverages artificial intelligence to target audiences more precisely. Unlike traditional instream skippable CPV campaigns, VVCs combine various ad formats like skippable instream ads, in-feed ads, and shorts ads to maximize reach and engagement. The AI-driven approach ensures that ads are served to the most relevant audiences at the right time, leading to 40% more views and 30% lower cost per view on average. On the non-ads front, YouTube has rolled out a new analytics features that offer insights into why subscribers cancel their memberships through exit surveys and how new and returning viewers engage with the channel content. This data can be invaluable for fine-tuning your content strategy and making improvements to retain your most valuable audience. YouTube has also introduced new data cards that provide context on total member counts and which videos are driving more subscriptions.  6. GOOGLE’S 2023 HELPFUL CONTENT UPDATE ROLLOUT COMPLETE - Google has completed its September 2023 Helpful Content Update, aimed at improving the quality of search results. The update, which rolled out from September 14 to September 28, brings several key changes: __ Third-Party Content: The update advises against hosting third-party content on a website's primary domain or subdomain unless it is closely related to the main site's purpose. __ 7. THE MYSTERY BEHIND GOOGLE DISCOVER TRAFFIC FLUCTUATIONS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW! - Google Discover is a personalized content feed that shows articles, videos, and other content you might be interested in, right on Google's mobile homepage. It's a significant source of organic traffic and plays a crucial role in the SEO landscape. Google has recently updated its Discover documentation to shed light on why traffic from Google Discover may experience fluctuations. The update outlines three key reasons: __ __ Google also emphasized that Discover traffic is less predictable compared to keyword-driven search traffic. Therefore, it should be considered supplemental to your main search traffic. The tech giant warned against relying solely on Discover traffic for your site, stating that changes in traffic may not always be related to the quality or frequency of your published content. 8. MICROSOFT'S BILLION-DOLLAR BID FOR BING REJECTED BY APPLE: IS GOOGLE THE REAL CULPRIT? - Microsoft recently attempted to sell its search engine, Bing, to Apple but faced rejection despite offering a deal that was financially superior to Google's existing agreement with Apple. Mikhail Parakhin, Microsoft's CEO of Advertising and Web Services, revealed that the company offered Apple more than 100% of the revenue or gross profit to make Bing the default search engine on Apple devices. This offer was allegedly higher than what Google was offering, which was around 60% of the revenue. The revelation came during the federal antitrust trial, where Parakhin claimed that Microsoft was willing to incur a "several billion dollar loss" in the short term, viewing it as a justified investment for the long-term benefits of being the default search engine on Apple devices. Despite this, Apple chose to stick with Google, raising questions about whether the decision was solely based on financial considerations or if other factors were at play. Interestingly, Microsoft also approached Samsung with a similar proposal to make Bing the default search engine on its products. However, these discussions were also shut down in their early stages, with Samsung indicating that a deal wouldn't be worth discussing due to their existing contract with Google. Parakhin summed up the situation by stating, "We were just big enough to play but probably not big enough to win." This raises questions about the influence Google holds over these tech giants and whether its dominance in the search engine market is stifling competition. The case underscores the importance and high stakes involved in securing default search engine status, as companies are willing to incur significant losses for the position. My $0.02: I use Bing occasionally, and the quality of results I receive from Bing is often sub-par when I compare it with Google. I usually start my search journey with Bing only to switch to Google out of frustration. So I'm unsurprised that Apple and Samsung declined Bing's offer despite dangling a more significant payment. 9. 🚀 UNLOCK THE SECRETS OF SEO WITH GOOGLE'S NEW "SEO MADE EASY" YOUTUBE SERIES! - Google has launched https://youtu.be/wvJIOQndzow?si=lkGDgSCju0NCNcAH a new YouTube series called "SEO Made Easy" aimed at helping both beginners and experienced website owners optimize their sites for better search engine performance. The first episode, hosted by Martin Splitt from Google's Search Relations Team, focuses on using structured data to customize how a website's name appears in Google's search results. The series promises to offer practical tips and actionable insights, such as using Google Search Console for quick wins and implementing lazy loading for better page experience. 10. GOOGLE'S NEW CRAWLER: CONTROL HOW GOOGLE'S AI INTERACTS WITH YOUR WEBSITE! - Google has introduced a new crawler called "GoogleExtended" that allows website owners to manage how their content interacts with Google's Bard and Vertex AI generative APIs. This feature gives site administrators the ability to specify whether they want their site's content to be used for improving these AI models. The "GoogleExtended" user agent can be added to a site's robots.txt file to either allow or disallow Google's AI from scraping the site's content. This move comes as part of a broader trend to give web publishers more control over their data and how it's used in AI training, especially as discussions around AI regulation intensify. 11. RELAUNCHED CHATGPT “BROWSE WITH BING” PLUGIN NOW RESPECTS ROBOTS.TXT - OpenAI has relaunched the "Browse with Bing" feature in ChatGPT. The "Browse with Bing" feature allows chatGPT to access real-time, authoritative information from the internet, which is crucial for staying updated in today's fast-paced world. Previously, OpenAI had disabled this feature due to concerns about accessing content behind paywalls. However, the relaunch comes with significant improvements. The AI now respects "robots.txt" protocols, which means it only accesses content that websites allow. This is a win-win situation for both content owners and users like you, ensuring ethical and responsible browsing.

19m

Oct 02, 2023

Episode 179 contains the important Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Sep 18-22, 2023. 1. YOUTUBE'S NEW AI-POWERED TOOLS! - YouTube is stepping up its game with a slew of innovative creator tools, including groundbreaking generative AI features. Unveiled at the "Made On" showcase event, the platform introduced the "Dream Screen" generative AI tool, allowing creators to integrate AI-generated video and image backgrounds into their YouTube Shorts. This tool aligns YouTube with the latest creative trends, matching efforts by platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram. Additionally, YouTube is launching "YouTube Create," a free video editing app reminiscent of TikTok's CapCut. This app offers a suite of editing tools, including audio cleanup, auto captions in multiple languages, filters, transitions, and direct publishing options. Initially tested in India and Singapore, it's now expanding to more regions and is currently available for Android users. To further fuel creativity, YouTube is introducing an AI ideas generator. By inputting a topic, creators receive content suggestions and even a downloadable content outline. While this tool offers inspiration, it's essential to use it as a guide rather than a strict blueprint to maintain originality. Other notable features include an automatic dubbing tool for content translation and an assistive search in creator music. These tools aim to simplify the content creation process, allowing creators to focus on their unique vision.   2. GOOGLE'S NEW REPORT TO SPOT CHECKOUT ISSUES ON 🛒 E-COMMERCE SITES! - Google has introduced the "Checkout Journey Report" to assist brands in pinpointing checkout challenges on their e-commerce platforms. This report showcases the number and percentage of users who initiate and progress through the checkout stages. It adopts a closed funnel method, focusing on users who start at the 'begin checkout' phase. The report is instrumental in identifying and resolving bottlenecks, enhancing the shopping experience, and potentially boosting sales. To access this report, brands need to integrate specific e-commerce events into their platforms. Google emphasizes the value of this tool, stating it offers a "clear picture of the number and percentage of users" progressing through the checkout funnel. By identifying drop-offs, brands can address issues like high shipping costs or mandatory logins that may deter customers.   3. GOOGLE'S GA4 TRANSITION SHOCKER: WHAT ADVERTISERS NEED TO KNOW! - Google's recent automated transition from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) has taken many advertisers by surprise. Intended to simplify the shift to GA4, these automatic changes have instead led to confusion. Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin explained on X (formerly Twitter): “Some advertisers have noticed our system making changes to GA4 conversion actions in their Google Ads accounts. This is the conversion swapping piece of the Setup Assistant migration process with the turndown of Universal Analytics. With the turndown process taking some time, we understand that some advertisers may be caught off guard with these changes being made now and apologize for the confusion.” She explained that the changes aim to “map UA conversion to GA4 conversion settings for bidding & avoid duplicate measurement.” According to a Google help page, not all Universal Analytics settings have a clear GA4 counterpart. Hence, the automated migration process might not consistently deliver the same choices that users would make.  That’s why Google advises manually migrating your Universal Analytics settings to GA4 to maintain control over your configurations. Google reaffirmed that a new GA4 property will automatically be created if users do nothing, and Universal Analytics configurations will be copied to this new GA4 property.  If you didn’t opt out in time and don’t want your automatically configured GA4 property, then simply follow these steps: __ __ You can check for any changes made to your GA4 property by going to the “Change History” section. Automatic migration changes will be marked as “System (Migration)” in the “Changed by” column. 4. MICROSOFT ADVERTISING ANNOUNCES GENERATIVE AI TOOLS FOR ADVERTISERS - Microsoft Advertising has announced a range of new generative AI tools aimed at revolutionizing search and advertising. They are: __ __ Copilot for Microsoft Ads: Specifically designed for advertisers and agencies, Copilot is a new tool that leverages AI to generate recommendations for product images, headlines, and descriptions. To use it, simply describe the content you need, like an image, and Copilot will generate suggestions based on your description. Microsoft is currently testing the new tool on a handful of advertisers but plans to bring it to open beta in the next few months. 5. MICROSOFT GIVES WEBSITES MORE CONTROL OVER CONTENT IN BING CHAT - Microsoft has introduced new options for publishers to have more control over their content usage in Bing's AI-powered chatbot feature. This move comes after publishers expressed concerns about their content being used without permission in Bing Chat. To address these concerns, Microsoft now allows webmasters to use meta tags like "nocache" and "noarchive" to limit or block content in Bing Chat. However, it's important to note that content blocked from Bing Chat will still be visible in regular Bing search results. Fabrice Canel, Principal Program Manager at Microsoft, emphasized that the company is committed to maintaining open communication with publishers and ensuring that they have control over their content. 6. WIX INTEGRATES WITH INDEXNOW FOR LIGHTNING-FAST UPDATES! - IndexNow offers a method for website owners to promptly inform search engines about content modifications. IndexNow was covered in Episode#90 after it was released by Microsoft to make it easier for a WordPress site to automate the submission of URLs from WordPress sites to the multiple search engines without the need to register and verify your site with them. Now Wix, a widely-used website publishing platform, has integrated IndexNow, a Microsoft-backed indexing initiative. This significant update means that over 60 million Wix websites can now swiftly update their content changes in search engine results. Users don't need to take any action as this feature is enabled by default. Recently, more than 60 million sites have been publishing over 14 billion URLs daily to the IndexNow API. The integration aims to provide Wix users with efficient SEO solutions, making website promotion faster and more straightforward. 7. MICROSOFT BING BIDS GOODBYE TO DISAVOW LINKS TOOL! - Bing has announced its decision to remove the "disavow links tool" from Bing Webmaster Tools. Fabrice Canel from Bing stated that due to the advancements in Bing's algorithms and artificial intelligence capabilities, there's no longer a need for users to disavow bad links. Bing's AI can now efficiently differentiate between natural and unnatural links, disregarding the latter without affecting the former. Interestingly, while Google has been contemplating the removal of its disavow tool for years, Bing has taken the lead in both introducing and now retiring the tool. Fabrice said Bing will be "removing the disavow links feature and associated API in October 2023." So what exactly does a link disavow do? It is a request for Search Engines to ignore links to your domain. If the link disavow is successful, it won’t be counted for or against you when determining ranking in the search results. More information on this from SemRush here https://www.semrush.com/blog/how-to-disavow/. P.S: Bing beat Google to launching the disavow tool in June 2012 and now Bing is beating Google in sunsetting the disavow tool. And we have covered in the past that backlinks are no longer helpful in getting to the top of the search results. I guess this indirectly proves that backlinking as a SEO strategy is no longer effective. 8. MICROSOFT ADDS NEW FUNCTIONALITIES TO BING WEBMASTER TOOLS - Microsoft has introduced a new performance report in Bing Webmaster Tools, which now includes data that Bing hadn't previously reported. While in the past, Bing only displayed web search and crawling data, the updated report now provides metrics on Bing images, videos, news, knowledge panels, and chat data. However, users cannot filter solely by Bing chat data; it's combined with web data. This update enhances Bing web data by merging web and chat clicks and impressions. The report also offers performance data for various new verticals. Fabrice Canel from Microsoft highlighted the new features and mentioned that the integration aims to give SEO professionals deeper insights into their website's performance on Bing. 9. UNLOCK BETTER SITE VISIBILITY WITH BING'S NEW SITEMAP REPORTING FEATURES! - Bing Webmaster Tools has rolled https://blogs.bing.com/webmaster/september-2023/How-to-Use-the-new-Sitemap-Index-Coverage-to-Improve-Your-Site-s-Index-Coverage out enhanced sitemap reporting features aimed at improving website index coverage and user experience. These new features provide webmasters with a deeper understanding of how Bing indexes their sites. Key enhancements include a page that displays all submitted and organically discovered sitemaps, complete with submission dates, status reports, last crawl dates, and a count of URLs found. The update also offers a detailed breakdown of the indexing status for URLs. By utilizing these features, webmasters can ensure their sitemaps are accurate, current, and relevant, leading to better site visibility on Bing and an improved user experience. 10. MICROSOFT ADVERTISING INTRODUCES VIDEO & CTV ADS - Microsoft Advertising has introduced video and connected TV (CTV) ads to its platform. This new feature allows advertisers to set up online video and CTV ad campaigns directly within the Microsoft Advertising platform. These ads will be displayed on popular streaming platforms such as Max, Hulu, and Bloomberg, as well as on websites like MSN, Huffington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. Leveraging billions of unique first-party data points exclusive to Microsoft, advertisers can target their ideal audience more effectively. The platform uses powerful signals from online searches and combines them with Microsoft's vast audience intelligence data, including search activity, content interests, demographics, and more. This ensures that brands can present their message to high-value audiences at the right moment. The process of creating video ads is straightforward, and businesses of all sizes have already reported success during the pilot phase. 11. GOOGLE'S U-TURN: FROM DENYING AD AUCTION MANIPULATION TO ADMITTING IT! - In a recently resurfaced clip from SMX Advanced 2015, Google's Jerry Dischler firmly stated, "we are not manipulating search results or manipulating the ad auction in order to increase profits." However, during the 2023 federal antitrust trial, Dischler's stance shifted as he revealed that Google frequently alters its ad auctions without notifying advertisers, potentially increasing ad costs by up to 10%. This revelation has raised concerns about Google's transparency and reliability, especially since its trustworthiness was already under scrutiny. The 2015 clip was brought back to light by Andy Taylor, VP of Research at Tinuiti, who had long suspected Google's manipulation of ad prices. Google's justification for these tweaks? Meeting revenue targets set for Wall Street. 12. GOOGLE ADS UPDATES MISREPRESENTATION POLICY - Google has announced an update to its "Misleading Representation Policy" set to take effect on November 21, 2023. The key change involves the removal of "non-fulfillment of a product or service due to lack of qualifications" from the Misleading Representation category. Instead, this will now fall under the "Unacceptable Business Practices Policy." It's crucial for advertisers to stay informed about these changes, as violations can lead to the immediate suspension of Google Ads accounts. This policy update aims to ensure that ads and websites do not mislead users by omitting essential product details or presenting false information. 13. GOOGLE ADS' NEW INDICATOR: WHAT IT MEANS FOR MANUAL BIDDING! - Google Ads has introduced a "limited by bid strategy" indicator. This was first spotted by digital marketing expert Anthony Higman on an enhanced manual CPC campaign. The notification raised eyebrows in the PPC community, leading Google to clarify its purpose. The indicator suggests when a campaign might achieve better conversion value with a value-based bidding strategy.  Ginny Marvin, Google's Ads Liaison, said, "This is a relatively new indicator that may appear when the system determines the campaign can get more conv value at a similar ROAS or convs at the target CPA with a value-based bidding strategy. You can review the recommendation, but no action is required.” Some advertisers fear this might hint at Google Ads moving away from manual CPC, which could be problematic for certain industries. On the other hand, some experts believe this feature could be beneficial for smart campaigns. 14. GOOGLE'S TAKE ON CSS PSEUDO-ELEMENTS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW! 🔍 - Google recently advised against adding significant content or symbols using the 'before' or 'after' CSS pseudo-elements. Such content might not be indexed on your pages. This isn't a change in how Google Search operates but a clarification in their documentation https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/get-started-developers. Google emphasized that while these pseudo-elements can be used for decorative purposes, essential content placed within them might not be indexed. This update is crucial for web developers and SEO professionals to ensure their content is accessible and indexed correctly by search engines. 15. GOOGLE: LINKS NO LONGER A TOP THREE RANKING SIGNAL - In a recent revelation at PubCon, Gary Illyes from Google's search team stated that links are no longer among the top three ranking signals used by Google Search. Over the past few years, Google has been subtly reducing the emphasis on links in its ranking algorithm. Illyes was quoted during his Q&A session at PubCon, highlighting that many might overestimate the importance of links. He mentioned, "I don't agree that it's the top 3, and it hasn't been for some time. The top ranking factor is content." This shift aligns with previous statements from Google's search quality team, suggesting that backlinks have a diminished impact compared to the early days of Google Search. The evolving perspective on links underscores the increasing importance of content quality in search rankings. 16. GOOGLE'S TOP FACTOR IN 🔍 SEARCH INDEXING! - In a recent "Search Off the Record" podcast episode, Google's John Mueller and Gary Illyes emphasized that the quality of content is the main factor guiding Google's indexing and crawling choices. Even though top-notch content doesn't ensure the highest rankings, it significantly affects Google's engagement with websites. Illyes stressed that quality is crucial across all search systems, affecting everything from sitemaps to rankings. He said, “Quality affects pretty much everything that the Search systems do. The most important is quality. It’s always quality. And I think externally, people don’t necessarily want to believe it, but the quality, that’s the biggest driver for most of the indexing and crawling decisions that we make.” This discussion highlighted that Google uses quality indicators to decide which URLs to crawl. When Google determines the number of URLs to crawl on a site, it organizes them based on anticipated quality. The quality of a website can influence how it's crawled, even for newer sites. For instance, when Google finds a new page via sitemaps, it assesses the quality of previously crawled pages to decide if the new page should be crawled. Illyes pointed out that different website sections might have varying quality levels. If a section consistently offers excellent content, it might be treated differently than another section known for subpar content. Conversely, sections with persistent low-quality content might be crawled less. He used user-generated content (UGC) as an example, noting that if a UGC section consistently has poor content, it might affect Google's crawling approach for that section. Illyes assured listeners that it's possible to enhance their site's quality, even if it once had inferior content. He suggests that site owners delete poor content to improve the overall site quality. Doing so can positively shift Google's view of the site, potentially affecting its crawling and indexing strategies. During the chat, Illyes also addressed some common SEO myths. He clarified that duplicate content isn't always problematic, and affiliate links are fine as long as they're accompanied by unique and valuable content. This principle applies to translated content too, though manual checks of machine translations are advised. On the topic of affiliate sites, Illyes emphasized that the focus isn't solely on the affiliate link. He mentioned, “If a product is reviewed, pictures are taken, and unique content is created, it counts as high-quality content.”

15m

Sep 25, 2023

Episode 178 contains the notable Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Sep 11-15, 2023. 1. TIKTOK SHOP LAUNCHES IN THE US - With inspiring hashtags like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, TikTok now aims to revolutionize online shopping culture. TikTok Shop is now officially available in the US, allowing US businesses to sell their products directly on the TikTok platform. TikTok Shop is a social commerce platform that allows users to discover and purchase products directly from their favorite creators and brands.  TikTok Shop adds shoppable videos and LIVE streams directly into the “For You” feeds for its 150 million American users. TikTok Shop extends beyond in-feed videos and LIVE streams. Users can discover new products via the search bar inside the TikTok app, filtering results to Shop. Businesses and brands get a dedicated “Shop Tab” to display products and promotions. This incorporates a product showcase where users can read reviews and purchase directly from your brand’s profile. In addition, sellers can take advantage of “Fulfilled by TikTok” – a new logistics solution where TikTok manages storage, picking, packing, and shipping. The platform even includes an affiliate program, letting popular influencers and creators earn commissions by promoting TikTok Shop products.  To get started, go to your TikTok app, visit your profile and, using the menu, navigate to Creator Tools. There, you will see the options to sign up for TikTok Shop as a seller or creator to earn brand commissions. Creators must have at least 5,000 followers and be 18 years old to be eligible for the TikTok Shop Affiliate program.  TikTok Shop is integrated with well-known ecommerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, and Salesforce Commerce Cloud. This should make it easier for existing ecommece sellers to start selling on TikTok without creating a new store from scratch. In addition, TikTok has partnered with several multi-channel platforms like Channel Advisor and Feedonomics to support omni-channel businesses. Sellers can utilize apps from Zendesk, Printful, Yotpo, EasyShip, and more to add more functionality and features to TikTok Shops. 2. AMAZON LAUNCHES NEW AI TOOL TO HELP SELLERS CREATE LISTING CONTENT - Creating compelling product titles, bullet points, and descriptions has traditionally been a cumbersome task for sellers. Amazon has taken a significant step forward in simplifying the lives of its sellers by employing generative artificial intelligence (AI) to generate listing content. The process is remarkably straightforward. Sellers only need to supply a brief description or a few keywords about the product. Amazon’s AI generates high-quality, detailed content for the seller’s review. If satisfied, sellers can directly upload this content to their product listings.  Robert Tekiela, vice president of Amazon Selection and Catalog Systems, expressed excitement about the developments in the announcement post. “” 3. SUSPENDED GOOGLE ADVERTISERS NEEDS TO COMPLETE VERIFICATION BEFORE APPEAL - Google wrote https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/13993199?hl=en, "In October 2023, selected advertisers whose accounts were suspended due to a violation of our Google Ads policies must complete Advertiser verification first to be able to appeal their account suspension." Google said that those advertisers on monthly invoicing are not required to complete Advertiser verification. If they do get suspended, Google said they may directly appeal their account suspension. Google will be rolling out this process on October 10, 2023, with full enforcement ramping up over approximately four weeks. Advertisers may be required to provide the following information for advertiser verification for the account suspension appeals process: __ US Social Security Number or phone number if the advertiser is an individual __ 4. STRUGGLING TO GET RESULTS FROM YOUR YOUTUBE ADS? GOOGLE ADS CREATIVE GUIDANCE CAN HELP! - Google Ads Creative Guidance https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/13812351is a new tool that helps advertisers improve the performance of their YouTube ads. It provides feedback and recommendations on key creative attributes, such as brand logo, video duration, voice-over, and aspect ratio. To access Creative Guidance, advertisers simply need to go to their Google Ads account and click on the "Videos" tab. Then, they can select the video ad they want to analyze and click on the "Creative Guidance" button. Creative Guidance will then provide feedback on the following creative attributes: __ __ Creative Guidance will also provide recommendations for how to improve the performance of the video ad. For example, if the brand logo is not displayed prominently in the first 5 seconds of the ad, Creative Guidance will recommend adding a logo overlay to the video. Creative Guidance can be a valuable tool for advertisers who want to improve the performance of their YouTube ads. By following the feedback and recommendations from Creative Guidance, advertisers can create video ads that are more likely to capture the attention of viewers and drive results. While this tool seems promising, advertisers must remember that the AI can only provide recommendations based on historical data and existing https://www.youtube.com/intl/en_us/ads/abcds-of-effective-video-ads/ best practices. Therefore, its suggestions may not align with every brand’s style and strategy. To access Creative guidance in Google Ads, follow these instructions: In your Google Ads account,  __ __ The steps listed above are part of a new Google Ads user experience that is set to launch for all advertisers in 2024. A spokesperson for Google Ads said in a statement https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/youtubes-ai-powered-solutions-enhance-ad-creativity/: __ "These features empower marketers to take charge of their creative. AI can help turbocharge performance by tuning creative elements across all the different viewing experiences and content that YouTube viewers love." __ 5. GOOGLE: DON'T STUFF LOW-QUALITY CONTENT AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR E-COMMERCE CATEGORY PAGES - During September 2023, Google SEO Office hour https://youtu.be/gnmXbUMxFoM, Gary Illyes has advised against stuffing low-quality, auto-generated content at the bottom of e-commerce category pages. Gary said, instead, "" 6. GOOGLE SAYS META DESCRIPTION LENGTH DOESN'T MATTER FOR SEO - Your SEO professional may disagree with this, but Google's John Mueller has said https://twitter.com/JohnMu/status/1701220595289981212 that the length of meta descriptions does not matter for the Google search ranking algorithm. However, meta descriptions are still important for SEO, as they can influence click-through rates (CTRs). His exact words were, "I'm" after Kushal wrote to John stating https://twitter.com/b4k_khushal/status/1701217824570806433 "" 7. GOOGLE: NO SUCH THING AS "BACK TO THE SAME" FOR SEARCH RANKINGS AFTER A SITE REVAMP -  In a recent tweet, Google Search's John Mueller said https://twitter.com/JohnMu/status/1701870150796853605 that there is no such thing as "back to the same" for search rankings after a website revamp. This means that when you make changes to your website, your search rankings may go up, down, or stay the same. There is no specific time or guarantee for how long it will take for your rankings to stabilize after a revamp. It can depend on a number of factors, such as the size and scope of the changes you made, the quality of your content, and the competitiveness of your keywords. If you are considering revamping your website, it is important to be aware of the potential impact on your search rankings. You should also make sure that you have a plan in place for monitoring your traffic and rankings after the revamp. So before you embark on your website revamp journey, work with a reputable SEO professional to figure out a SEO strategy that will either maintain the rankings or even improve. 8. GOOGLE: FIXING INP ISSUES WON'T IMPROVE SEARCH RANKINGS - Google's John Mueller reiterated what Google has been saying for some time around Core Web Vitals and the specific metrics within the page experience system. In short, if you fix INP issues, John Muller said, don't expect it to visibly change search ranking visibility. INP, or Input Interactivity, measures how responsive a page is to user input by selecting one of the single longest interactions that occur when a user visits a page. For pages with less than 50 interactions in total, INP is the interaction with the worst latency. For pages with many interactions, INP is most often the 98th percentile of interaction latency. It is one of the three Core Web Vitals, which are a set of metrics that Google uses to measure the user experience of a web page. In July, Google began sending out scary INP core web vital warnings to users. That email notice came a few weeks after Google created the INP report in Google Search Console. As a reminder, INP, Interaction to Next, is replacing FID, First Input Delay, in March 2024. More on INP can be found here https://web.dev/inp/ and how to optimize for it can be found here https://web.dev/optimize-inp/. P.S: While INP is important for user experience, it is not a direct ranking factor. This means that fixing INP issues is not guaranteed to improve your search rankings. However, it is still important to fix INP issues, as they can improve the user experience of your website. 9. GOOGLE ANNOUNCES SEPTEMBER 2023 HELPFUL CONTENT SYSTEM UPDATE - Google rolled out a new update to its Helpful Content System on September 14, 2023. The update, which is the first since December 2022, is designed to promote helpful content and demote unhelpful content. It will take about two weeks to complete. And they’ll update their ranking release history page when the rollout is complete. The three main things you should be aware of are: __ New warnings on attempts to fake updates to pages and faking freshness - Google added this line “Are you changing the date of pages to make them seem fresh when the content has not substantially changed?” under the avoid creating search engine-first content section https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content#avoid. I see it all the time where sites will make a couple of changes to their content from years ago, update the date, and re-publish it. This is a common SEO “strategy” that is on Google’s radar. __ So what is Helpful Content update? Google’s helpful content update specifically targets “content that seems to have been primarily created for ranking well in search engines rather than to help or inform people.” This algorithm update aims to help searchers find “high-quality content.” Google wants to reward better and more useful content that was written for humans and to help users. Searchers get frustrated when they land on unhelpful web pages that rank well in search because they were written for the purpose of ranking in search engines. This is the type of content you might call “search engine-first content” or “SEO content.” Google’s helpful content algorithm aims to downgrade those types of websites while promoting more helpful websites, designed for humans, above search engines. Google said this is an “ongoing effort to reduce low-quality content and make it easier to find content that feels authentic and useful in search.” Google has provided a list of questions you can ask yourself about your content. Read through those questions here https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/08/helpful-content-update, and in an unbiased manner, ask yourself if your content is in sync with this update. You should also read this https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content.  Please note if this update has hit you, it can take several months to recover if you do everything right and make changes to your content over time. Here is what Google wrote on this: “”

21m

Sep 18, 2023

Episode 177 contains the notable Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Sep 4-8, 2023. 1. GOOGLE AUGUST 2023 CORE UPDATE - Google has confirmed that the August 2023 core update, which began rolling out on August 22, 2023, has completed on Sept 7, 2023. This is the second core update of 2023, following the March 2023 core update. FYI: Core updates are major changes to Google's search algorithm that aim to improve the quality of search results. They are not focused on any particular kind of content or website, and they can affect rankings for a wide variety of websites.  The early SEO industry chatter suggested this update was a fairly impactful update compared to previous core updates. The exact impact of the August 2023 core update is still unknown. Google stressed that pages impacted by core updates aren’t necessarily flawed. According to Google, this update focused on improving Google’s overall content assessment. As always, Google advised site owners to focus on quality content as a response to fluctuations in search rankings. Sites that are experiencing a dip should consider conducting an audit to understand which pages were most impacted and for what types of searches. Google also cautioned that improving your website content may not lead to an immediate change in rankings. 2. GOOGLE UPDATES HELPFUL CONTENT GUIDELINES: SELF-ASSESS YOUR CONTENT & REMOVE UNHELPFUL CONTENT - Google recently updated https://developers.google.com/search/updates/helpful-content-update its documentation on the helpful content system, designed to identify and demote low-quality content from search results. The updated documentation now states that website owners should self-assess their content to determine if it is helpful to visitors. If website owners find their content unhelpful, they are encouraged to remove it. Marie Haynes asked https://twitter.com/Marie_Haynes/status/1697657046710051049 Danny Sullivan, the Google Search Liaison:" Does a site need to remove unhelpful content published in the past in order to recover? Or could they focus on simply producing content that is helpful and original from this point onwards. Would that be enough?" Danny replied https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1697659149318750645: "" I know that Google does not provide specific guidance on what constitutes unhelpful content. However, the documentation does provide some general examples, such as content that is plagiarized, spammy, or irrelevant to the user's search intent. Website owners concerned about their content being labeled as unhelpful should carefully review their pages or enlist the help of a trusted third party. How do you all go about assessing if your content is helpful or not? 3. GOOGLE SITES: NOT IDEAL FOR SEO - Google Sites is a free website builder that allows users to create and publish websites without coding knowledge. The Google site is a hosted website builder that's free and published under a sites.google.com domain, although one can opt to use an actual domain name.  Now, Google's John Mueller shared additional details on Google Sites and SEO after someone asked https://youtu.be/gnmXbUMxFoM?t=197 him why Google did not index his Google site. Here is what John replied: "" P.S: The Google Sites service is popular with link spammers who create links on Google subdomains in a tactic called "Google Stacking." The idea behind Google Stacking is that spammers generate a page of links on Google Sheets, Google Docs, etc., and then interlink them all from a Google Sites. Google Stacking is based on the mistaken belief that there's "authority" and "trust" in Google subdomains that is transferred over to the spammer sites through links. Of course, that's wishful thinking. There's no such thing used by Google called "trust" or "authority" that gets transferred from one site to another through links. 4. THE BEST WAY TO DO PAID GUEST POSTING (ACCORDING TO GOOGLE) - Whether paid or unpaid, guest posts are an old tactic. In 2014, Google's Matt Cutts wrote a blog post telling SEO practitioners to "put a fork in it https://www.mattcutts.com/blog/guest-blogging/," since guest blogging does not work anymore. The same year Google issued a series of penalties on guest blogging platforms. But these days, Google doesn't hand out penalties like it used to. Google stops the links from passing PageRank. That makes it hard to know whether the guest post is working. So people keep guest posting because the penalty feedback isn't there. During the September 2023 Google SEO Office Hours https://youtu.be/gnmXbUMxFoM?t=282, an individual asked: "" John Mueller answered: " " So, Paid Guest Posts with links advertisements as far as Google is concerned. Failure to label advertisements is not only misleading to readers but also violate laws that prohibit misleading advertisements. 

12m

Sep 11, 2023

Episode 176 contains the notable Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of August 28 - Sep 1, 2023. 1. GOOGLE ANNOUNCES LIGHTHOUSE 11 WITH NEW ACCESSIBILITY AUDITS, AND LCP BUG FIX - Google PageSpeed Insights (PSI) is a free tool https://pagespeed.web.dev/ to help you find and fix issues slowing down your web application. PageSpeed Insights https://developers.google.com/speed/docs/insights/v5/about (PSI) reports on the user experience of a page on both mobile and desktop devices, and provides suggestions on how that page may be improved. An open-source tool called Lighthouse collects and analyzes lab data that's combined with real-world data from the Chrome User Experience Report dataset.  Google has released https://github.com/GoogleChrome/lighthouse/releases/tag/v11.0.0 the latest version (v.11) of Lighthouse, an open-source tool that helps developers and webmasters measure the performance of their websites. Lighthouse 11 https://developer.chrome.com/blog/lighthouse-11-0/ includes a number of new features and improvements, including: __ __ These changes make Lighthouse 11 a more powerful and useful tool for developers and webmasters who want to improve the performance of their websites. 2. YOUTUBE CREATORS CAN NOW REMOVE COMMUNITY GUIDELINE STRIKES - YouTube has announced that creators will now be able to remove Community Guideline strikes from their channels by completing educational courses. This is a new policy that was introduced in June 2023, and it is designed to help creators learn about the Community Guidelines and how to avoid violating them in the future. To remove a strike, creators will need to complete a course that covers the Community Guidelines and how to create compliant content. The course is available in several languages, and it takes about an hour to complete. Once the course is completed, the strike will be removed from the channel. This new policy is a positive step for YouTube creators. It provides them with a way to learn from their mistakes and avoid getting strikes in the future. It also shows that YouTube is committed to creating a safe and positive environment for its users. 3. YOUR SITE'S LANGUAGE DOESN'T PROTECT IT FROM GOOGLE’S PENALTY - Google can issue manual actions to any site, regardless of the language it is written in. This means that sites written in non-native English can still be penalized by Google if they violate the company's webmaster guidelines. Google Search Advocate, John Muller was asked https://twitter.com/JohnMu/status/1696861069703098540 if Google penalizes sites written by non-native English writers. Mueller responded that manual actions and algorithm changes are independent of the native language of the authors or the site language. He also said that Google does not have a list of "bad" languages, and that all sites are treated equally. This means that site owners who write in non-native English need to be just as careful as those who write in English as their first language. They should avoid any practices that could lead to a manual action, such as keyword stuffing, cloaking, and duplicate content. 4. HOW GOOGLEBOT HANDLES AI-GENERATED CONTENT 🧐 - Google’s Martin Splitt was asked how Googlebot’s crawling and rendering was adapting to the increase in AI generated content during a webinar produced by Duda. Martin’s answer provided insights into how Google handles AI generated content and the role of quality control. The questioner wanted to know if there are any special processes happening on Google’s end in response to the AI content in order to deal with the increased crawling and rendering load? Martin did not explicitly confirm that Google was applying AI detection on the content. However he did confirm that Google was using Quality Detection at multiple stages. Remember, back in December 2022, Google published https://research.google/pubs/pub49668/ a research paper (after conducting extensive qualitative and quantitative analysis over 500 million web articles, the largest-scale study conducted on this topic) where they wrote that while their algorithm was written to find low quality content the researchers discovered that the algorithm was successful in detecting AI generated content. So if you are thinking of using AI generated content for your site then you need to ask yourself: What is the purpose of this content? Is it to get ranked? Or is it to look great in front of visitors who visits my site? And the most important question you should be asking: Can I live with a penalty from Google? You can watch the Duda webinar here https://youtu.be/-newLrArh6c. 5. URL STRUCTURE DOESN'T MATTER FOR SEO, ACCORDING TO GOOGLE - Michael Baggelin asked Google's John Mueller if the URL structure plays a role when it comes to ranking. Here is the original question: “” John replied with this: “” In conclusion, your URL structure does not help you with ranking. You need quality content. 6. GOOGLE DEBUNKS REDIRECT MYTHS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW - In a recent video https://twitter.com/googlesearchc/status/1697278154975346828, Google Search Advocate John Mueller debunked several myths surrounding redirect types. The conversation dispelled long-standing confusion surrounding how Google handles various redirects. One myth is that the use of one redirect type over another can significantly impact PageRank. Mueller clarified that Google does not treat different redirect types differently when it comes to PageRank. Another myth is that permanent redirects (301s) are irreversible. Mueller said that this is not the case, and that it is possible to reverse a 301 redirect. However, he also cautioned that doing so can have negative consequences for SEO, so it should only be done in exceptional circumstances. Mueller also addressed the myth that 302 redirects are only temporary. He said that this is not necessarily true, and that 302 redirects can be used to permanently redirect traffic to a new page. However, he also said that it is generally better to use a 301 redirect for permanent redirects, as this will give Google a stronger signal that the old page is no longer relevant. 7. GOOGLE: TECHNICAL SEO IS NOT DEAD - Google Search Advocate John Mueller recently reaffirmed the ongoing significance of technical SEO. This counters claims that its importance is diminishing. Mueller's statement responded to a comment by Yiğit Konur on X, formerly Twitter. Konur claimed "" He went on to say misconceptions surround technical SEO. Some approach it in an excessively complex way. Unless major technical problems occur, the focus should shift to creating and optimizing high-quality content. In April 2023, Google removed technical items like HTTPS and Core Web Vitals from the ranking systems section. But it quickly clarified these still hold crucial weight. Google Search Liaison Danny Sullivan said at the time: "" Sullivan explained the difference between ranking "systems" and "signals." The update moved certain page experience factors from "systems" to "signals." This change doesn't diminish their relevance. But it shows they are signals used by other systems. Mueller's recent statement underscores technical SEO's integral role in website success. Despite an evolving SEO landscape, technical SEO remains all open web constructions' backbone. 8. GOOGLE ADS LIMITED AD SERVING POLICY: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW - Google Ads has announced a new policy called "Limited Ad Serving" that will affect some advertisers. This policy will limit the number of times that an advertiser's ads are shown to users, and it will also prevent the ads from being shown in certain places. The Limited Ad Serving policy is designed to prevent misleading and scammy ads from being shown to users. It will also help to ensure that users only see ads that are relevant to their interests. The policy will apply to advertisers who are new to Google Ads, or who have a low Quality Score. It will also apply to advertisers who are targeting certain brands with their ads. If your ads are affected by the Limited Ad Serving policy, you will see a message in your Google Ads account. So it is important to let Google Ads get to know you and that you become a qualified advertiser. How does one become a qualified advertiser? Google said it considers a number of criteria including: __ Advertiser Identity Verification: Completing Google's Advertiser Identity Verification process is an important step in building trust between users and advertisers. __ A qualified advertiser's ad impressions are not limited by this policy. Google said https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/13889491 will take into consideration various factors to evaluate whether an advertiser is qualified, such as: __ __ To become qualified, you should continue to build campaigns and creatives with positive user engagement while Google assesses your account. Make sure you are complying with Google's advertising policies. And if your account is eligible, consider initiating advertiser verification, Gooogle added. Google won't give a timeframe for how long an advertiser account would be limited in terms of serving their ad under this policy. Google wrote, "We will automatically review and update advertisers’ ad serving limits as we continue to monitor your accounts. Unfortunately, we can’t say how long this might take." Below are the scenarios in which your ads may be limited: Advertisers with unclear brand relationships and generic ads: Google said it wants to ensure that users know which advertisers they are interacting with. At times, users may not be seeking content related to a particular advertiser, brand, product, or service; other times they may have a specific brand in mind. In both situations, Google wants to ensure that the identity of the advertiser the user chooses to engage with is unambiguous. While an advertiser may not intend to purposefully mislead a user or misrepresent themselves, ads that reference other brands and generic ads that have no branding at all may confuse the user into thinking they are interacting with their desired advertiser. In these cases, Google may limit impressions for all branded and generic ads for that advertiser. Examples that reference a brand where the relationship to the advertiser is unclear include (non-exhaustive): __ __ Examples when a generic ad may be unclear include (non-exhaustive): __ Users searching for specific brands, products, or services who encounter unbranded ads from third parties __

15m

Sep 04, 2023

Episode 175 contains the notable Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of August 21 -25, 2023. 1.LINKEDIN MAKES IT EASIER TO CREATE AND MANAGE NEWSLETTERS - LinkedIn is updating its newsletter creation user interface (UI) to make it easier for users to create and manage their newsletters. The new UI includes a number of improvements, such as a more intuitive design, a preview pane, and the ability to host multiple newsletters. First off, LinkedIn’s rolling out an updated newsletter editing and publishing process, improving on the current creation flow. The preview pane allows users to see how their newsletter will look before they publish it. This is a helpful feature for ensuring that the newsletter is formatted correctly and that all of the content is displayed as intended. “” The ability to host multiple newsletters is a new feature that allows users to create different newsletters for different purposes. For example, a user could create one newsletter for their company's news and updates, and another newsletter for their thought leadership content. “” Finally, LinkedIn’s also now adding auto-follow for newsletter subscribers, so that when a new subscriber signs up to your newsletter, they’ll also follow your regular LinkedIn updates as well. I’m not sure that this is the best way to go, as newsletter subscribers are not explicitly seeking to follow all of a member’s updates, but it could help in building your LinkedIn audience, and maximizing engagement through extended notifications. LinkedIn says that its newsletter updates will be rolled out to all users over the next month. 2. TIKTOK PUSHES RETAILERS TO ADOPT NATIVE SHOPPING - TikTok is pushing retailers to adopt its native shopping elements, as it looks to further grow its in-app commerce business. The company recently announced that it is shutting down its Storefront feature, which allowed merchants to connect their third-party shopping process into the TikTok UI. Originally launched back in 2021, TikTok’s Storefronts are primarily focused on direct connection with Shopify, and enabling Shopify merchants to display their products in-stream. TikTok has since expanded Storefront integration to other eCommerce providers as well, but now, it’s confident that its own TikTok Shop offering will cover all retailer requirements. Now, TikTok wants retailers to rely on its own shopping tools, such as TikTok Shop, which allows users to browse and purchase products directly from videos and live streams. According to TikTok: “” TikTok Shop is still in its early stages, but it has already seen some success. In April, TikTok announced that it had processed over $3 billion in GMV through TikTok Shop. The company is also working on expanding TikTok Shop to other countries, including the United States. The move to native shopping elements is a sign of TikTok's ambitions in the e-commerce space. In China, in-app shopping has become the key revenue stream for the local version of the app, but thus far, Western users haven’t shown the same enthusiasm for in-stream purchases. TikTok has the reach, the experience, and the expertise to make this happen. Now, it’s just down to whether users actually want to be able to shop in-stream. 3. TIKTOK LAUNCHES SEARCH ADS: A NEW WAY TO REACH YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE - It’s official – TikTok is bringing ads to its search results.  TikTok has begun rolling out ads in search results, giving brands a new way to reach users who are actively looking for information about their products or services. The ads will appear alongside organic search results, and they will be labeled as "Sponsored." TikTok said this depends on: Relevancy, user intent (as understood from their search query), and broader learnings from other user behavior. Per Tiktok: “” TikTok’s search ads are not a standalone ads product. Rather, ads are an extension of a TikTok video ad buy. TikTok's search ads are powered by the same technology as its In-Feed Ads, which means that they can be targeted to users based on their interests, demographics, and other factors. This makes them a highly effective way to reach a specific audience with relevant advertising. The launch of TikTok's search ads is a major development for the platform, as it opens up a new revenue stream for the company and gives brands a new way to reach their target audience. It is also a sign of TikTok's growing ambitions in the advertising market. TikTok has 100 million U.S. monthly active users, which means there is a big opportunity for your brand or business to be found. Google has acknowledged TikTok search is a legitimate threat to its search business. 4. YOUTUBE'S TIPS FOR CREATING SUCCESSFUL SHORTS - YouTube Shorts is the fastest-growing content type on YouTube, and is now driving over 50 billion daily views in the app. YouTube has published https://youtu.be/n3jsYK_-aRU a new interview with Shorts Product Lead Todd Sherman, in which Sherman answers some of the most common questions about Shorts, including how they’re using hashtags, how often you should post, the Shorts algorithm, and what’s coming next. “” Sherman says that Shorts views are not measured when a Short appears on screen, but are more aligned with actual viewer interest. “” Sherman says that YouTube doesn’t publish its actual calculations on this, in order to stop people trying to game the system. Sherman says that the Shorts team has opted not to add specific thumbnail creation tools for Shorts because most Shorts views come from people swiping through the Shorts feed, which means that most people won’t see your thumbnails anyway. YouTube has added the capacity to select a frame from your clip as the thumbnail, but there are no plans to add custom thumbnail options. YouTube advises that creators should “think audience, not algorithm” within their creative process. On hashtags, he said “” Creators should also experiment with different types of content and collaborate with other creators to reach a wider audience. In terms of the Shorts algorithm, YouTube says that it takes into account factors such as watch time, engagement, and the creator's overall channel performance. The company also advises against posting too many shorts in a short period of time, as this can lead to lower engagement. “” Some gurus claim that re-uploading can effectively re-trigger the algorithm to expand your distribution, but Sherman says that this is not a great strategy. “” 5. GOOGLE ADS ENHANCED CUSTOMER SERVICE: GET HELP FROM A GOOGLE ADS EXPERT FOR $50 PER CALL - Google Ads has started rolling out a new paid customer support service for small businesses. PPC expert Natasha Kaurra spotted the new feature on her account for the first time and decided to provide a sneak preview of what it looks like on X (formerly known as Twitter). The service, called "Enhanced Customer Service," offers businesses one-on-one phone consultations with a Google Ads expert for $50 per call. However, the new tool is still in beta and so is not yet available to everyone. The service is currently available to a limited number of businesses, but Google plans to expand it to more businesses in the coming months.  Google claims that in the consultation, a Google Ads expert will help the business with a specific issue they are having with their Google Ads campaigns. The expert can help with a variety of tasks, such as setting up campaigns, optimizing bids, and creating ad copy. The service is designed to help small businesses get the most out of Google Ads. By providing businesses with one-on-one support, Google hopes to help them improve their campaigns and get better results. Please listen to me and stay away from this service. If you want to hear why I’m asking you to stay away from this service then do give the show a listen.  6. GOOGLE AUGUST 2023 CORE UPDATE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW - Google announced https://twitter.com/googlesearchc/status/1694041614950293948 its August 2023 core update on August 22, 2023. This is the second broad core algorithm update of 2023, following the March 2023 core update. The August 2023 core update is designed to improve the quality of search results. Google has not released any specific details about the update, but it is likely to focus on factors such as relevance, expertise, and authority. Early unconfirmed reports suggest that the August 2023 core update has had a significant impact on search results. Some websites have seen their rankings improve, while others have seen their rankings decline. It is important to note that core updates can take several weeks to fully roll out. This means that the full impact of the August 2023 core update may not be known for some time. Here are the most important things that we know right now in short form: __ NAME: Google August 2023 Broad Core Update LAUNCHED: August 22, 2023 at around 1:30 pm ET ROLLOUT: It will take about one to two weeks to roll out TARGETS: It looks at all types of content PENALTY: It is not a penalty, it promotes or rewards great web pages GLOBAL: This is a global update impacting all regions, in all languages. IMPACT: Google would not tell me what percentage of queries or searches were impacted by this update but so far, this seems to be a typical core update that reaches wide and the impact is fast. DISCOVER: Core updates impact Google Discover and other features, also feature snippets and more. RECOVER: If you were hit by this, then you will need to look at your content and see if you can do better with Google's core update advice https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2019/08/core-updates. __ 7. GOOGLE SEARCH CAN NOW INDEX CSV FILES: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW - Google Search has recently updated its help document https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/indexable-file-types to say that it can now index Comma-Separated Values (.csv) files. This means that Google Search can now show CSV files in its search results when relevant to the query. This is a significant change, as it opens up the possibility of indexing a much wider range of data. CSV files are a common way to store data, and they are often used to store information such as customer lists, product data, and financial data. This means that businesses and organizations that have CSV files can now potentially have their data indexed by Google Search. There are a few things to keep in mind if you want to have your CSV files indexed by Google Search. First, the file must be publicly accessible. Second, the file must be well-formatted and easy to read. Third, the file must contain relevant keywords. 8. GOOGLE: INTERNAL LINKS POINTING TO SAME PAGE DON'T AFFECT SEO -  John Mueller was asked if internal links that point to the same page have any SEO value. The exact question from Sina Afkham was, "" Mueller replied https://mastodon.social/@johnmu/110926485690494735 that Google does not give these links any more weight than other links. He explained that Google understands that internal links are often used to create a navigation structure for a website, and that they do not necessarily indicate that the linked page is more important than other pages on the site. This means that internal links pointing to the same page should not be used as a way to artificially boost the ranking of that page in search results. Instead, internal links should be used to help users navigate your website and find the information they are looking for. 9. ON GOOGLE'S RANKING SYSTEMS FROM GOOGLE’S SEARCH OFF THE RECORD PODCAST - In a recent https://search-off-the-record.libsyn.com/help-the-algorithm-has-been-updated episode of the Google Search Off The Record podcast, Danny Sullivan, Google's Search Liaison, discussed the company's ranking systems and how they are evolving. Sullivan revealed that Google uses multiple ranking systems, not just one algorithm, and that these systems are constantly being updated.  “” He also said that Google is now viewing updates as ongoing, rather than one-time changes. The podcast touched on SEO professionals’ mistaken beliefs about ranking algorithm updates. One misconception is that each new update necessitates reworking your SEO strategy. However, Sullivan disagrees with this view. “” Sullivan addressed the concerns of some SEO professionals who believe that Google's increased transparency about its ranking systems could lead to more gaming of the system. He said that Google is committed to providing accurate and relevant search results, and that it will continue to take steps to prevent gaming. “” Finally, Sullivan discussed the importance of creating high-quality content that is relevant to users' search intent - Create genuine, engaging content tailored to your target audience. He said that this is still the best way to rank well in Google search results. “” In conclusion, while staying informed is essential, Sullivan says most updates don’t require dramatic alterations to your overall SEO approach. 10. GOOGLE: A PAGE DOESN'T HAVE TO BE IN THE TOP 10 RESULTS TO BE A FEATURED SNIPPET - Featured snippets (also known as Answer box) are a type of search result that appears at the top of the search engine results page (SERP) and quickly answer the users search query. They are typically a brief summary of the most relevant information from a web page, and they can be a great way to get your content noticed by searchers. There are a number of factors that can affect the ranking of featured snippets, including the quality and relevance of the content, the use of keywords, and the overall structure of the page. However, Google has not revealed the exact algorithm that is used to determine which pages are eligible for featured snippets. Shubham Davey asked John Muller "Google's John Mueller said there is no rule that a page has to rank in the top ten search result positions for it to be considered eligible for a featured snippet position. This directly contradicts the results of a study https://ahrefs.com/blog/featured-snippets-study/ published by Ahrefs and backed by their own data where they wrote: “” Google’s Danny Sullivan added https://twitter.com/dannysullivan/status/1220096026981175296: “” Given that Ahref contradicts with what John and Danny said, my question to you: Who will you listen to? An outsider or Google’s official rep?

22m

Aug 28, 2023

Episode 174 contains the notable Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of August 14 -18, 2023. 1. GOOGLE ADS SUNSETTING ENHANCED CPC ON SHOPPING CAMPAIGNS - Google Ads Shopping campaigns will no longer use Enhanced cost-per-click (eCPC) starting in October. Instead, Shopping campaigns using eCPC will behave as though they are using Manual CPC bidding, according to an email Google sent advertisers. Google explained that it is adopting more advanced strategies and campaigns as its technology improves. Google pointed out that eCPC was launched more than 10 years ago, and new strategies, such as target ROAS, Maximise conversion value and fully automated campaigns like Performance Max, can help you achieve the same or better results. If you are using eCPC, Google recommends taking the following actions:  __ Alternatively, you can trial Google Ads’ newest fully automated solution, Performance Max campaigns. __ 2. GOOGLE TESTING SMALL ADVERTISERS PREMIUM SUPPORT - Not sure if this true but Search Engine Journal reported that Google Ads has launched  a new pilot program to provide enhanced customer service for a select group of small Google Ads customers. The goal of the paid pilot program is to: “… provide agencies and advertisers with specialized one-on-one support tailored to specific customer needs.” This marks a shift for Google, which has historically reserved this high-touch level of support for its largest advertising clients. My thoughts in the show. Listen and find out. 3. GOOGLE MAKES IT EASIER FOR CUSTOMERS TO FIND YOU ON SOCIAL MEDIA - Google has announced that businesses can now add social media links to their Google Business Profiles. This new feature allows businesses to make it easier for customers to find and connect with them on social media. To add social media links to your Google Business Profile, you will need to: __ __ Once you have added your social media links, they will be displayed on your Google Business Profile. Customers will be able to click on the links to visit your social media profiles. 4. GOOGLE: DOMAIN NAME DOES NOT MAKE OR BREAK YOUR SEO - We’ve covered this topic in the past however it came up this week so we are covering it again. Here is what Google’s John Muller wrote: “ __ ” __ 5. IS IT OKAY TO USE noindex TO REMOVE A PAGE FROM SERP SITELINKS? - Google's John Mueller answered a question about whether it's okay to use the noindex meta tag to remove a page from SERP sitelinks. Here is the original question: “I” What are SERP sitelinks? SERP Sitelinks are clustered links in the search results from one domain and are are typically shown when someone searches for the name or URL of a website. And a noindex meta tag is a directive, which means that search engines are obligated to obey the request. In the case of a meta noindex tag, this means that search engines are required to drop a webpage from the index. In simple terms, there’s an indexing engine, which is the part with Googlebot that goes out, crawls the web and acquires website content for possible inclusion into Google’s index. And there’s also a ranking engine. Mueller said that it's generally fine to use noindex for this purpose, but there are a couple of things to keep in mind. “” Google lists a number of steps that publishers can take to keep less desirable pages out of the sitelinks in their official documentation https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/sitelinks: __ __ However it still does not solve the mystery as to why a less desirable page is showing up in SERP sitelinks. May be what is less desirable to the site owner is more desirable to Google?  6. WHY YOUR SITE MIGHT NOT BE RANKING IN GOOGLE DESPITE GOOD SEO? During August 2023, SEO Office hour, someone asked “” Before I jump into what Google’s John Muller said in his reply, I want to point out that “Good” is subjective here. It depends on the expertise, knowledge, and competence of the individual making that judgment. Until failure makes a knowledge gap obvious, it is difficult to be aware of what one does not know.So "good" SEO might mean different things.  Anyways, now on to how Muller responded. First he said “ A good way to think about this is to compare it to the offline world.  When it comes to books, does a good cover photo, a reasonable sentence length, few misspellings, and a good topic mean that a book will become a best-seller? Or as a restaurant, does using the right ingredients and cooking in a clean kitchen mean you’ll get a lot of customers? Technical details are good to cover well, but there’s more involved in being successful.” Hmm. So Mueller responded to the question in riddles. IMO, what he is saying that in addition to technical details you need to have good quality content aka helpful content. More of my thoughts in the show.  7. GOOGLE DOESN'T USE THIRD-PARTY SEO TOOL SCORES FOR RANKINGS - Google has clarified its stance on third-party SEO tool scores, stating that Google does not use these scores to determine search rankings. “” This means that while these tools can be helpful for providing insights into a website's SEO performance, they should not be relied upon as a definitive measure of success. “” John Mueller, a Google Search Advocate, made the clarification in a recent episode of the "Ask Googlebot" video series. He explained that Google's algorithms are constantly evolving, and that they take into account a variety of factors when ranking websites. These factors include the quality and relevance of the content, the number and quality of backlinks, and the user experience. Mueller mentioned Google’s Chrome Lighthouse tool as a helpful tool that doesn’t directly impact rankings. Lighthouse generates scores for website performance, but Google doesn’t use them to rank websites in search results. However, Mueller explained the performance scores from Lighthouse could benefit you: “” Website analytics scores can help you find problems, such as utilizing overly brief anchor text that could negatively impact site navigation. Though these concerns may not directly affect search engine ranking positions, they could still affect user experience and click-through rate. He said that these tools can be helpful, but they should not be used as a substitute for understanding how Google's algorithms work. Website authority scores, spam scores – Google doesn't use any of those in ranking. It's just an SEO myth that won't die.

16m

Aug 21, 2023

Episode 173 contains the notable Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of August 7 -11, 2023. 1. AMAZON IS TESTING AI TO WRITE PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS FOR SELLERS - Amazon is reportedly testing a generative AI tool for sellers that writes copy for product listings. This marks a significant move in integrating large language models (LLMs) into ecommerce. The tool is anticipated to revolutionize how merchants create and optimize product descriptions. According to a report by TechCrunch, Amazon is testing the tool with a small group of sellers. The tool is able to generate titles and descriptions for product listings, as well as bullet points and images. The tool is still under development, but it has the potential to save sellers a significant amount of time and effort. The use of LLMs in ecommerce is still in its early stages, but it has the potential to disrupt the industry. LLMs can be used to generate product descriptions, write customer reviews, and even create marketing campaigns. As LLMs become more sophisticated, they are likely to play an increasingly important role in ecommerce. 2. META TO REPLACE INACTIVE GROUP ADMINS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW -  Meta has begun notifying some group admins that they need to be more active in moderating their groups, or Meta will assign another group member to the job instead. This change is likely in response to the ongoing moderator conflict at Reddit, which has seen some large and popular communities become unmoderated or even taken over by bad actors. The notification that Meta is sending to group admins says that they need to "take action to maintain activity" within their groups within one week. This includes things like posting new content, responding to comments, and enforcing the group's rules. If admins do not take action, Meta will assign another group member to the role. This change is likely to have a significant impact on many Facebook groups. Many groups rely on their admins to keep them active and moderated, and if those admins are replaced, it could lead to the decline or even collapse of those groups. It is also possible that this change could lead to an increase in spam and abuse in Facebook groups, as there will be fewer admins to monitor them. 3. YOUTUBE CRACKS DOWN ON SPAMMY LINKS IN SHORTS - YouTube is rolling out a new linking policy that will make it more difficult for creators to post spammy links in their Shorts videos and channel descriptions. The new policy will take effect on August 31, 2023. Under the new policy, links in Shorts videos and channel descriptions will be automatically converted to unclickable text. Creators will still be able to include links in their videos and descriptions, but they will need to be manually approved by YouTube before they can be clicked on. YouTube is making this change in an effort to curb the spread of spam on its platform. In recent months, YouTube has seen an increase in the number of spammy links being posted in Shorts videos and channel descriptions. These links often lead to malicious websites or scams. The new linking policy is expected to make it more difficult for spammers to spread their content on YouTube. It will also make it easier for users to identify and avoid spammy links. 4. YOUTUBE EXPANDS LINK LIMIT FOR CHANNEL PROFILES: ADD UP TO 14 LINKS NOW! - YouTube is rolling out an update that will allow creators to add up to 14 links to their channel profiles, up from the previous limit of 5. This new feature is designed to give creators more ways to promote their content and drive traffic to their websites, social media profiles, and other online destinations. To add links to your channel profile, simply go to the "About" tab and click on the "Links" section. You can then enter up to 14 links, each with a title and a description. The links will be displayed in a grid format on your channel profile, and viewers can click on them to visit the linked destinations. This new feature is a welcome addition for YouTube creators, as it gives them more flexibility and control over how they promote their content. It can also help creators to drive traffic to their websites and social media profiles, which can help them to grow their audience and reach more viewers. 5. YOUTUBE MAKES IT EASIER TO FIND LONGER CONTENT FROM SHORTS - YouTube is testing a new feature that will allow creators to link their Shorts clips to longer video uploads. This will make it easier for viewers to find and watch longer content that is related to the Shorts they have enjoyed. The new feature is currently being tested with a small group of creators. If it is successful, it could be rolled out to all creators in the coming months. The ability to link Shorts clips to longer video uploads is a significant development for YouTube. It could help creators to grow their audiences and drive more traffic to their channels. It could also help to make YouTube a more discoverable platform for users. 6. YOUTUBE'S NEW REPORT: SEE HOW YOUR VIDEOS ARE PERFORMING BY FORMAT - YouTube has announced a new report that will allow creators to see how their videos are performing by format. The report, which is available in YouTube Studio, breaks down views, watch time, and other metrics by video format, including Shorts, longform videos, and live streams. This new report is a valuable tool for creators who want to understand how their viewers are engaging with their content. It can help creators to identify which formats are performing well and which ones could use improvement. This information can then be used to make strategic decisions about future content creation. For example, if a creator sees that their Shorts are getting a lot of views but their longform videos are not, they may want to focus on creating more Shorts in the future. Or, if a creator sees that their live streams are getting a lot of engagement but their Shorts are not, they may want to experiment with different ways to promote their live streams. The new report is just one of the many ways that YouTube is helping creators to succeed. By providing creators with insights into their performance, YouTube is empowering them to make informed decisions about their content creation. 7. 3 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR AI CHATBOT CONTENT OUT OF GOOGLE SEARCH - AI chatbots are becoming increasingly common on websites across the globe, providing instant customer service and engagement. But AI-powered agents can also produce inaccurate content that website owners may not want to be a part of their human-edited and generated content.  Google's Search Advocate, John Mueller, recently advised website owners to consider ways to block artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot content from indexing. This is because AI chatbot content can often be repetitive and low-quality, which can negatively impact a website's search engine ranking. There are three main ways to block Google from indexing AI chatbot content: __ __ It is important to note that these methods are not foolproof. Google may still be able to index AI chatbot content if it is not properly blocked. However, by using these methods, website owners can significantly reduce the chances of their AI chatbot content being indexed. 8. GOOGLE ADS UPDATES: GET MORE CUSTOMERS WITH NEW FEATURES - Google Ads is rolling out a number of new features and making major updates to its platform in the coming months. These changes are designed to help advertisers improve their campaigns and get better results. The changes to Google Ads were unveiled via an announcement on their announcement page https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/13844604. They wrote: __ __ Here are  the things you should know about: __ AI Strategy in Performance Max - Google urges more advertisers to adopt its AI-powered Performance Max campaigns this holiday season. The platform can now optimize for high lifetime value new customers, helping businesses focus spending on valuable first-time buyers. Early adopters who have switched from standard Shopping campaigns to Performance Max have reportedly seen a 25% increase in conversion value on average, at similar return on ad spend levels. __ 9. GOOGLE UPDATES PERFORMANCE MAX BEST PRACTICES: HOW TO GET BETTER RESULTS - Google has updated its Performance Max best practices guide, with new recommendations for businesses of all sizes. The guide covers everything from setting goals and budgets to creating effective creative. One of the key changes in the new guide is the emphasis on using Performance Max to achieve specific business goals. The updated best practices guide underscores how Performance Max campaigns can help retailers optimize ad spending across Google’s search, display, YouTube, and other inventory. In short – Performance Max utilizes AI to present customers with the most relevant combination of ad creatives across devices and marketing channels. The guide also provides new recommendations for leveraging Google’s Performance Planner for optimizing budgets and bids. Performance Planner gives retailers suggested budget and bid adjustments to help campaigns achieve better performance for the same spend. Additionally, the guide offers tips on demand forecasts to understand predicted trends relevant to your business. The guide encourages marketers to experiment to measure the uplift in conversion value from switching to Performance Max. Here is what Google wrote: “” The guide provides tips on strategies like lower ROAS targets to increase visibility for high-priority products leading to significant retail moments. “” To help Performance Max campaigns learn faster, Google advises consolidating campaign structures where possible. “” With the latest Performance Max capabilities, retailers can optimize for acquiring high-value customers. “” The guide concludes with a thorough review of reporting and insights, focusing on using retail-centric reports. The updated https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/11546049 Performance Max best practices guide is a valuable resource for businesses of all sizes. By following the recommendations in the guide, businesses can improve the performance of their campaigns and achieve their desired results. 10. GOOGLE DOWNGRADES HOWTO AND FAQ RICH RESULTS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW - Google will be showing fewer rich results in its search results, specifically showing less FAQ rich results across the search result snippets and limiting How-To rich results to desktop devices. Google said the FAQs, FAQPage structured data, rich results will only be shown for “well-known, authoritative government and health websites.” For all other sites, this rich result will no longer be shown regularly, Google added. Which sites Google decides to show them for are automated and algorithmic. Google said there is no reason to remove structured data from your site. Google said “Structured data that’s not being used does not cause problems for Search, but also has no visible effects in Google Search.” Google said the How-To, from HowTo structured data, rich results will only be shown for desktop users, and not for users on mobile devices. Google added that “with mobile indexing, Google indexes the mobile version of a website as the basis for indexing: to have How-To rich results shown on desktop, the mobile version of your website must include the appropriate markup.” Google wrote, “For both of these items, you may also notice this change in the Search Console reporting for your website. In particular, this will be visible in the metrics shown for FAQ and How-To search appearances in the performance report, and in the number of impressions reported in the appropriate enhancement reports. This change does not affect the number of items reported in the enhancement reports. The search appearances, and the reports, will remain in Search Console for the time being.” 11. SEMANTIC HTML: CAN IT HELP WITH SEO SUCCESS IN 2023? - Semantic HTML is the practice of using HTML elements to convey the meaning of the content on a web page. This is in contrast to using HTML elements only for presentational purposes. There are many benefits to using semantic HTML for SEO. First, it helps search engines understand the content of your page better. This can lead to your page ranking higher in search results. Second, it can help users find the information they are looking for on your page more easily. Third, it can make your page more accessible to people with disabilities. Google’s John Mueller, in a recent https://youtu.be/HdR1_g-gPEY SEO Office Hours session, answered a question about whether the semantic HTML element has an impact on Google. John answered the question directly but there is a fair bit of nuance that was left out of his answer that needs to be addressed. The questioner asked: “Does the use of an HTML tag have an impact on Google? Is it better to put the content of a product listing page in an tag?” John responded: “The HTML element does not have any particular effect in Google Search. This is similar to lots of other kinds of HTML tags. There’s so much more to using HTML than just Google Search though! Sometimes there are accessibility or semantic reasons to use a specific kind of markup, so don’t only focus on SEO.” John Mueller correctly said that there are “semantic reasons” for some HTML elements. Semantic HTML tells developers (or search engines) what the purpose of that code is. For example, the element tells developers or search engines that whatever is wrapped within that element is the footer section of the webpage. The semantic HTML element describes the purpose of that section of content.  The element makes it easier for search engines to identify where the main content is, making it easier to find where to find what Google’s Martin Splitt calls, the Centerpiece Annotation https://youtu.be/BG56C6XI0YM. Of course you need to have good content in the block and if you do then you definitely make it easier for the Google crawler. 12. GOOGLE WARNS: CONTENT PRUNING CAN HURT YOUR SEO - Gizmodo published an article https://gizmodo.com/cnet-deletes-thousands-old-articles-google-search-seo-1850721475 “exposing” CNET for deleting thousands of pages, as they put it to “game Google Search.” This, even though content pruning is a fairly common advanced SEO practice. And CNET decided which pages to “redirect, repurpose or remove (deprecate)” by looking at metrics such as: __ __ And from an August 2023 leaked internal memo https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23903730-faq-on-cnet-content-pruning-aug-2023 we learned that someone at CNET thinks that old content “sends a signal to Google that says CNET is fresh, relevant and worthy of being placed higher than our competitors in search results,” It’s evident that, CNET needs better advice on how SEO works. Deleting content does not signal those three things. Publishing relevant, trustworthy, helpful, quality content for your audience on a technically sound website is what makes you worthy of greater organic search visibility. Here is the bad news for CNET - Google doesn’t want to reward sites that are primarily driven by SEO traffic. The helpful content system is meant to reward websites that are primarily creating content for users, not search engines. Also, there is no “penalty” for having old content on your website. Google will not send a manual action notice to CNET, or any site, because you have an article that was published in 2015, or 2007, or 2003, or whatever year. To bolster my point, Google’s Danny Sullivan, via his @SearchLiaison account on X, posted: “Are you deleting content from your site because you somehow believe Google doesn’t like ‘old’ content? That’s not a thing! Our guidance doesn’t encourage this. Older content can still be helpful, too.” When someone asked Sullivan on what to do if the old content has broken links, is no longer relevant or can’t be made more helpful. Sullivan’s response was: “The page itself isn’t likely to rank well. Removing it might mean if you have a massive site that we’re better able to crawl other content on the site. But it doesn’t mean we go ‘oh, now the whole site is so much better’ because of what happens with an individual page.” The “deleting old content is good for SEO” belief started back to 2011 (12+ years back) after Google launched the Panda update. After the launch, a Google employee wrote :”In addition, it’s important for webmasters to know that low quality content on part of a site can impact a site’s ranking as a whole. For this reason, if you believe you’ve been impacted by this change you should evaluate all the content on your site and do your best to improve the overall quality of the pages on your domain. Removing low quality pages or moving them to a different domain could help your rankings for the higher quality content.” IMO, may be that idea made sense back in 2011 but these days one needs to be informed and careful.  Google’s Danny Sullivan, clarified https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1689385940438155264 that there is more need for nuance in this particular discussion and tried to make it clear that Google has never advised people to delete content simply because it’s old. Other prominent Googlers, including John Mueller and Gary Illyes, have also advised improving content, instead of removing it, whenever possible. Deleting old content can be good for SEO performance. To be clear: deleting old content alone – just because it’s old – probably won’t help you much. However, deleting, improving and consolidating content should be part of your SEO strategy because it helps improve your overall content quality – or, as Mueller once put it, “building out your reputation of knowledge on that topic.”

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Aug 14, 2023