At Brighton SEO, I asked for clarification on an issue that has had mixed responses – whether sites that are using AMP as their only mobile version of a site – would see their desktop or their mobile indexed when Google switches to mobile first indexing. I raised the question with Gary Illyes from Google, […]
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
Baby Boomers are the Audience Most Advertisers are Missing on YouTube
I admit that I’m a Baby Boomer. And I confess that I’ve been writing about video marketing for more than a decade. But, despite these two facts, I was still surprised to read the counter-intuitive findings in the Strike Social Data Report entitled, “YouTube’s generational divide.” This report examines a year’s worth of YouTube data […]
Google: Ranking Fluctuations With a Site Redesign
When you launch a new redesign of a site, some site owners are still surprised when they launch a fancy new site design – even when the URLs remain the same – and see their rankings change. At Brighton SEO, as part of a larger conversation about HTTP to HTTPS site migrations, Gary Illyes from […]
Still No Plans for a Google Penguin 5.0 Update
Ever since real time Penguin launched in September 2016, many SEOs have wondered if there would be a Penguin 5.0 from Google. At the time of the real time launch, Google confirmed that there would be no more Penguin updates as we knew it, and that still seems to stand today. At Brighton SEO, I […]
Google Penguin Fine Tuned After Real Time Launch
One of the interesting bits that came out of the Brighton SEO Q&A chat I had with Gary Illyes from Google was regarding Penguin, specifically around changes made after the launch of the new real time Penguin. After real time Penguin launched a year ago, Google has had very little to say about it. But […]
Most Google Algo Changes Not Actionable by SEOs
At Brighton SEO, I had the opportunity to chat with Gary Illyes from Google on all things Google search, and I asked about all the Fred updates, which encompasses many different quality algo changes Google has made this year. Google has said before that when major algo changes happen that are actionable by webmasters – […]
Why Brands Don’t Always Earn Featured Snippets for Their Name in Google
Should a brand name automatically own the featured snippet for any Google search query that includes their brand name? And what about if there isn’t a relevant page on the brand’s site to show in relation to the query, but there is on another website? Should it just go to the best and most relevant […]
Nested Structured Data Can Influence Whether Google Shows Rich Snippets
When it comes to Google not showing rich snippets in the search results for a site that has the markup, it is usually for two reasons. Either the structured data is implemented incorrectly or there are quality issues with the site. But according to Google, there is a third reason that Google might not show […]
Google Quality Impact of Using NoIndex on Large Part of a Site
Many SEOs use the noindex page for a variety of reasons, such as for duplicate landing pages for tracking, for crawl budget purposes and for content that site owners are concerned is below a quality threshold. But does Google do anything with those noindexed pages, since they are still crawled by Googlebot, for assessing the […]
Google Integrating AdWords Into Google My Business for Local Business Owners
Google seems to be quietly adding AdWords integration into Google My Business accounts, based on some new screenshots we are seeing of the GMB dashboard. This change will make it easier for local businesses to advertise, as not all business owners are as well versed in how to use AdWords. When logged into the Google […]
Google Allows Businesses to Manage Local Listing from Search Results
Google has just made it a lot easier for local business owners to update their business listings. The local listings can now be updated directly from the Google search results. Previously, site owners had to login to Google My Business in order to make changes to their listings, such as contact information or updated hours. […]
Keeping Old Site Live Can Cause Site Move & Ranking Issues in Google
Normally when one does a site move – whether for https or moving to an entirely new domain, one of the steps to to redirect all the old site pages to the new ones. This helps Google match up the old pages to the new ones, as well as transfer all the ranking signals, including […]
Google Now Showing AMP Results in Featured Snippets
It seems that if you have an AMP page and also have the featured snippet that Google will now show the AMP version in the featured snippet. When AMP first came out, Google was still using the mobile version of the page if the page that won the featured snippet also had an AMP version. […]
Google Adds New Booking Link to Local Knowledge Panel
Google began testing a format in the local knowledge panel back in 2015 that would allow searchers to book an appointment. Google has a new version they are now displaying in the knowledge panel that is much more prominent to searchers and likely will lead to an increase in bookings. There are two versions Google […]
Google Adds AdWords Ads in Local Knowledge Panel in Test
Google is now adding AdWords ads directly into the local knowledge panel in a new test in the Google search results. The ads appear immediately below the business description, and before it lists relevant information such as location, address and hours in a test Google is running in the search results. This is a huge […]
Google Sends “Violating Ad Experiences” Violation Notices to Site Owners
Google has begun sending out a new warning related to the Ad Experience Report added earlier this year. The violation notices warn of specific infractions related to the Better Ads Coalition with the way site owners have implemented ads on both desktop and mobile sites. This new violation does require site owners to file a […]
Google: Microsites versus One Larger Site for SEO
There are many differences of opinions over the value of creating one larger site versus multiple smaller ones from an SEO perspective, with both techniques being successfully used. However, it really comes down to execution and how well someone can create quality microsites versus the value of a single larger site with the potential for […]
Site Navigation & Google SEO
Site navigation is one of those areas that has many facets of importance when it comes to both SEO and usability. A good site navigation makes it easier for Google to crawl and index a site, but it also needs to be usable for visitors to the site, since many use that same navigation to […]
Google AdWords Beta Feature Creates New Ads… & Auto Enables Them
There is a new Google AdWords beta that is causing some concern among advertisers – namely that Google will suggest new ads to run that it feels will perform well. But if the advertiser doesn’t respond to those suggestions within 14 days, instead of removing them, Google will instead automatically enable those ads and start […]
Google Testing Review Snippets in Local Pack in Search Results
Google is testing a new feature that would show partial review snippets within the local pack. The snippets show up both in the regular local pack as well as once someone clicks the “more places” to view the longer list of local businesses. When the test is active, it shows a short snippet from one […]