Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
Publishers, as expected, are super concerned over the new AI features in Google and Bing, leading to fewer clicks to their content. Google updated its policy circumvention web search spam policy. Google reorganized a bunch of the sitemaps SEO documentation. Google said CDN bot interstitials are really not search engine friendly. And six-plus years, Google is still migrating sites to mobile-first indexing, but we may be almost done. Finally, I have another vlog for you.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
Big Publishers Concerned With AI Powered Search From Google & Bing
It is somewhat satisfying to see non-SEOs dig deeper into how search is changing at Google and Bing and to hear the concerns they have about these changes. We covered your concerns as SEOs and publishers a week ago but now the big publishers are voicing their concerns around AI-search and what it means for publishers.
Google Simplifies Policy Circumvention Spam Policy
Last November Google introduced a new catchall search spam policy named policy circumvention. That spam policy was listed to be able to take action on sites that bypass the other Google spam policies through other means.
Google Reorganizes Sitemaps Documentation
I believe Google changed the sitemaps-related search developer documentation last week. I am not sure if any of the content specifically changed, but Google did rename some of the pages and create new pages, maybe to consolidate the content and make it easier to understand and access.
Google: Checking If The Site Connection Is Secure CDN Interstitials Are Not Search Engine Friendly
Gary Illyes from Google is back and this time he said that those “Checking if the site connection is secure” interstitials you see on some sites, some of the time, is the “last search-friendly things you can do.”
Google: Mobile-First Indexing Transition Might Be Completed In A Couple Months
Google’s John Mueller said he thinks, and he said he might be wrong, that the final mobile-first indexing batch will be done in the next couple of months. Desktop indexing is not going away, and it will be used for “a tiny number of sites,” John added.
Vlog #210: Jeff Ferguson On The Zero Click Google Study & The Future Of SEO
In part one, we go through Jeff Ferguson’s long history in search marketing. In part two, we pick up with him starting his own agency. Then in part three, we talk about the state of SEO studies…
Google Sphere At Pier 57
At the newish Google Pier 57 complex in New York City there is this Googley sphere like art object. It is a colorful ball on a stand. I spotted this on Instagram and I am not sure what else to say ab
Other Great Search Threads:
I’ve always stressed how important competition is for the #Search industry because it leads to innovation that benefits users in this critical area for society. Many didn’t understand why we’d never give up. Now we’re sho, Jordi Ribas on Twitter
If an anchor doesn’t have anchor text, is it still an anchor?, Gary Illyes on LinkedIn
The rel-canonical is between different URLs for equal pieces of content. If you post something on Mastodon and the same thing on your blog, they’re not equal. If you have strong opinions on what you want to have shown, then you need to be clear about it. , John Mueller on Mastodon
Tip for folks stepping into News SEO roles for the first time: Chase news boxes. If your target keyword doesn’t have a news box, find a keyword that does., Will Flannigan on Twitter
Just to state the obvious, there are many ways to make a mediocre website, you can even write it yourself. Making something truely awesome, something Google engineers would w, John Mueller on Twitter
Search Engine Land Stories:
Microsoft: Bing saw the largest relevancy jump in search in two decades
TikTok enhances organic content reach with improved ‘Promote’ features
2 free tools for tracking your Google reviews
6 new Microsoft Ads updates, including data exclusions and in-market audience segments
7 emerging skills every SEO must master in 2023
Walmart’s retail media network: What advertisers need to know
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
Google Analytics 4 Vs Adobe Analytics: Which is Better?, Measure Minds Group
Google Analytics Location – Is It Accurate or Wrong?, Data Driven U
Industry & Business
Exclusive: Yahoo to lay off more than 20% of staff as it shrinks ad biz, Axios
Google paying $500M to shed office space, San Francisco Chronicle
The Inference Cost Of Search Disruption – Large Language Model Cost Analysis, Semianalysis
Links & Content Marketing
Measuring Link Profile Density, SEO Theory
Local & Maps
Google wants to help developers make experiences like Maps’ new ‘immersive’ view, The Verge
Thank you for playing Guiding Stars Trivia!, Local Guides Connect
Mobile & Voice
Google Lens screen search coming to Assistant on Android, 9to5Google
SEO
7 on-page and technical SEO tips to boost traffic to your product pages, STAT Search Analytics
Scaling SEO: A Framework, Gray Dot Company
Why are your SEO reports being ignored?, Builtvisible
Wix’s SEO Dashboard makes GSC data available at a glance, Wix SEO Hub
How To Exclude A Website From Google Search: A Complete Guide, SEOSLY
Lessons Learned from SEO Tests that Didn’t “Win” – Whiteboard Friday, Moz
The State of eBay SEO in 2023 (and a Winter Seller Update), List Rank Sell
PPC
Use Mobile Ads SDK Volume APIs Correctly to Maximize Video Ad Revenue, Google Ads Developer Blog
Your top questions about ads privacy at Google, answered, Google Blog
Updates to Gambling and games policy (February 2023), Google Advertising Policies Help
Search Features
Microsoft to demo its new ChatGPT-like AI in Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook soon, The Verge
Other Search
Is the future about one all-knowing AI or many? The new app Poe gets you ready to chat with them all, Nieman Journalism Lab
Bing’s Revenge and Google’s A.I. Face-Plant, New York Times
Feedback:
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