In a Google Office Hours podcast, Google’s Gary Illyes answered a question about 404 Page Not Found errors that coincided with a drop in rankings. Fake External 404 Errors There are probably many reasons for 404 errors created by bots. One reason for those error responses could be that they are originating from automated scanners … Read more
Google’s Search Off the Record podcast covered the topic of Core Web Vitals (CWV), noting that while it’s a ranking factor it’s not so important that improving it will improve search visibility. The podcast explains how to reconcile how CWV can be a ranking factor while at the same not something that will noticeably help … Read more
Google’s SearchLiaison responded to a tweet that was kind of “thinking out loud” about whether a particular tactic might be useful for recovering from the Helpful Content Update system. SearchLiason offered his opinion on why that might not be a good idea. One thing that SearchLiaison made clear is that he didn’t want his tweet … Read more
Google updated their Page Experience Documentation in order to make it explicitly clear that Core Web Vitals are used by their ranking systems. What’s curious about the change is that Google continues to not say that Core Web Vitals are a ranking factor. Googlers And Statements About Ranking Factors Something kind of weird about Googlers … Read more
The idea that something is not a ranking factor that nevertheless plays a role in ranking websites seems to be logically irreconcilable. Despite seeming like a paradox that cancels itself out, SearchLiaison recently tweeted some comments that go a long way to understanding how to think about E-E-A-T and apply it to SEO. What A … Read more
Google’s Search Liaison, Danny Sullivan, recently offered guidance on how to diagnose ranking declines. Sullivan provided the advice on X (formerly Twitter) to Wesley Copeland, owner of a gaming news website, who sought help after seeing a significant drop in traffic from Google searches. Google’s Search Liaison Offers SEO Tips According to Copeland’s post, he’s … Read more
Multiple Google support forum discussions call attention to a possible bug in Google’s algorithm that causes select generic top level domains (gTLDs) to disappear completely from the search engine results pages (SERPs). Multiple publishers with the same kind of gTLD are reporting the exact same Google Weekend Ranking Bug. What they all have in common … Read more
In a recent clarification on social media, Google’s Search Liaison addressed a widespread misconception regarding the influence of author bylines on search rankings. Misconception In The SEO Community The issue arose after a notable publication suggested that including author bylines could boost content’s visibility in Google’s search results. According to the publication, this claim has … Read more
Celebrate the Holidays with some of SEJ’s best articles of 2023. Our Festive Flashback series runs from December 21 – January 5, featuring daily reads on significant events, fundamentals, actionable strategies, and thought leader opinions. 2023 has been quite eventful in the SEO industry, and our contributors produced some outstanding articles to keep pace and … Read more
Celebrate the Holidays with some of SEJ’s best articles of 2023. Our Festive Flashback series runs from December 21 – January 5, featuring daily reads on significant events, fundamentals, actionable strategies, and thought leader opinions. 2023 has been quite eventful in the SEO industry and our contributors produced some outstanding articles to keep pace and … Read more
Explore the debate of whether or not user signals are a ranking factor in this article with Tom Capper. Source link
Google updated their spam policies for web search and the guide to ranking systems to clarify how Google handles sites with a high number of non-consensual explicit imagery and requests for their removals. The changes are to the policy that specifically mentions sites that charge for removal of negative information but the guidance also states … Read more
Recent findings by SEO professionals suggest that Google has recalibrated its local search algorithm, placing more emphasis on a business’s listed hours of operation as a key ranking signal. According to Joy Hawkins of Sterling Sky, the trend became noticeable after the November 2023 core update, leading to businesses that appear as closed being significantly … Read more
As China’s largest search engine and a global AI and Internet technology leader, Baidu is a powerhouse of innovation. The ERNIE language model, surpassing Google’s BERT in Chinese language processing, positions Baidu at the cutting edge of technological advancement. In our comprehensive Baidu SEO Ranking Factors Correlation Study*, we analyzed the SERPs for 10,000 Chinese … Read more
Alt text is used to help computers read images. But can alt tags affect your organic search rankings? Read on to learn whether there is any connection between alt text and improved rankings in Google Image Search results. The Claim: Alt Text Is A Ranking Factor What is alt text? Alt text is an HTML … Read more
Systems, Signals, And Page Experience The most important thing you can do if you are worried about ranking is write content that satisfies intent and fulfills the aspirations of E-E-A-T. –Ben Steele, 09:11 Join us as we talk about the biggest updates to Google Ranking Factors this year, and what that means for you as … Read more
Google’s Danny Sullivan posted details of a recent presentation he gave that focused on how the SEO community may have misunderstood how search rankings work, blaming the misunderstanding on Google’s guidance and documentation. One of the examples he gave was how virtually the entire publishing industry adopted the idea of adding author pages and bylines … Read more
Unless you’re lucky enough to register a domain name no one has thought of before, chances are a domain registered today will have a history attached. Is there any reason for the new domain owner to be concerned with what the previous owner(s) did with it? Yes – a domain’s history matters, even after ownership … Read more
