Anyone who has done website audits has probably come across situations where canonicals have been set up incorrectly, sometimes to disastrous results. But how does Google handle canonicals when a large number of pages are pointing to the same page, or if the canonicals are set up in such a way that it is likely […]
Google’s Mobile First Index Changes
Google’s Mobile First Indexing Change: Everything SEOs Need to Know
Google’s search index is becoming mobile first. This means that Google will be crawling the mobile versions of the website to rank webpages… and if you truncated content on your mobile pages, your rankings could suffer. Read more…
Latest News
Bing Adds Deal Tag to Local Pack in Search Results
Bing is testing a new feature in their local pack… adding a “Deal” tag directly into the local pack results when there is a coupon code Bing has sourced for the store. Here is what it looks like: As you can see, Bing is pulling the coupon information from the partial list that shows in […]
Google Testing “See More Results” on Mobile, Reduces Results Per Page
Google has a new mobile test which is taking a cue from infinite scroll design by adding a “see more results” button at the end of the search results, instead of the usual “next” button. And in addition, Google has reduced the number of results on the page dramatically, reducing it to 4 results from […]
Google Adds Vacation Rentals to Hotel Search
Google is getting into the vacation rental space by adding specific vacation rentals to their popular hotel search. Now, when you do a hotel search for some locations, Google will add a prompt asking if you’d rather search for vacation rentals instead. This is a huge change and could have a huge impact on the […]
Google Adds Autoplay Video to Search Results Page
If you hate when videos auto play, then you really won’t like this new feature in the Google search results. Google is now autoplaying video when you do a search query that brings up a video in the knowledge panel on the right side of the results. Yes, Google begins autoplaying the video when loading […]
Google Adds Dictionary Search Box to the Google Search Results
If you do a search in Google for a word that triggers the definition box, Google is now including an added search box just for searching definitions, directly to the answer box at the top of the search results. + AM spotted it yesterday and posted a screenshot to Twitter. Here is what it looks […]
Changes to Impressions & Position Data in Google Search Console
If you have noticed changes in Google Search Console reporting with impressions and position data, that is to be expected. Google made some changes to make searches with lower positions more accurate, which is reflected in the changes. Google has posted an update in their Data Anomalies list, as well as including a notation when […]
Google Testing Rounded Sitelinks Carousel Buttons on Mobile
Google has been testing multiple variations of a less colorful and more black mobile UI this year. This test includes an interesting feature – adding bubble style buttons in place of the usual sitelinks links at the bottom of some search results. Here is the screenshot of the test, shared by Faisal Ahmed on Twitter. […]
Google Asking Searchers to Submit Tags in Movie Knowledge Panel
Google is making a new change to their movie knowledge panels. Google is asking searchers to add tags related to the movie they search for, at the bottom of the movie knowledge panel on mobile. Paul Shapiro spotted the test. When you click to vote for tags, it brings up a pop over to […]
Google Adds Follow Button to Search Results in Google Search App
Google has added an interesting new feature to their Google search app – the ability to follow search results, allowing Google to show updated stories related to those searches in the Google search app feed. Here is what it looks like: When you click the follow button, you get the confirmation that stories related to […]
Using Meta Keywords Tag Not a Google Spam Signal
We have known for some time that Google ignores keywords placed within the meta keywords tag, something Google officially announced back in 2009, as it was something that was heavily spammed many, many years ago. But what about the possibility of Google using it as some kind of spam flag, in a reverse use of […]
Google Encouraging Local Ratings & Reviews With Call to Action Test
Google is encouraging searchers to leave ratings and reviews for local businesses with a new call to action test in the mobile search results. It adds a new “Tell everyone about your experience” above the usual five empty stars. Sergey Alakov spotted the test. Here is what it looks like: The interesting part of “tell […]
Google Testing More Visible AMP Icon in Search Results
Google is testing a much more visible version of their AMP logo in the search results. Instead of the usual light grey that you see in the mobile search results, the new test shows them in black instead. Aleyda Solis posted screenshots of the new style on Twitter. They show in both the regular search […]
Google: Using Nofollow on Links to About Us, Terms, and Policy Pages
When looking at crawl budgets, pages like terms and policy pages are usually among the first to get their links nofollowed, so that Google focuses on pages a site owner thinks are higher priority. But should you nofollow links to those types of pages by default? The question came up in the last Google webmaster […]
Google: Check Your Mobile Site Has Alt Text Tags on Images
Most site owners are pretty good about ensuring their images have alt tags, especially ones that might also be used as links, as Google will use that alt text for SEO purposes. But John Mueller had an interesting side note about the use of images when they are on a mobile site, which could have […]
Google: Position & Weight of Internal Links for SEO Value
An interesting question came up in the last Google webmaster office hours, with Google’s John Mueller being asked about internal links, and how Google weights those links for SEO purpose. While one use for internal links is for users to enable them to easily find their way around a site, there is also a great […]
Google Flags User Submitted Store Hours in Local Knowledge Panel
Google has received some criticism when hours listed in a local knowledge panel don’t match a location’s actual hours. Google is now showing when a user submits hours that don’t match the hours either Google has added or that the business has submitted, and flags them clearly as being different hours that someone has submitted. […]
Google Recommends Using Self Referencing Canonicals
Some SEOs automatically include self referencing canonicals on all pages, while others only use it when it is actually needed due to similar or duplicated pages that should all reference a single page. But what should be considered best practices? The question came up in Google’s last webmaster office hours about whether Google recommends using […]
Google Adds Other Locations to Local Knowledge Panel
Google has made yet another change to how they display local businesses in the knowledge panel. Google is now showing additional locations when it displays the knowledge panel, in a carousel at the bottom of the knowledge panel. Here is what it looks like: It has an additional “view all” link that can be clicked, […]
Google Adds Trending Now to Knowledge Panel “People Also Search For”
Google has added a new feature to their knowledge panel that shows when a person related to the one in the knowledge graph is also trending. Here is an example for a search that brought up Serena Williams in the knowledge panel. Under the “People also search for” section with additional people, it shows that […]