Usually when we talk about international SEO and languages, hreflang is the hot buzzword. But what about the older <html lang=”en-gb”> tag that was previously used? If you have been adding it to your pages, you can save that tiny bit of code… Google ignores that tag. John Mueller explained that one of the problems […]
Archives for August 2016
Use Caution When Switching Between www & Non-www Preferred Domains
Usually when a site owner launches a website they pick and choose whether they want Google to index the www or the non-www version of the domain name, tell Google their preferred domain and then submit a sitemap or use fetch and submit for that variation. Sometimes when a site owner discovers that a site […]
Google AdWords Begins Restricting Keyword Planner Data for Non-Advertisers
Google AdWords has once again begun restricting access to the AdWords Keyword Planner tool for those who are not advertising. In June, Google AdWords turned off access to the Keyword Planner tool for those who did not have an active AdWords campaign running. However, they later backed away from this, and instead said it was […]
Google Brain Team Hosting Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything)
Want to learn more about machine learning at Google? Have a specific question for the Google Brain team? They are hosting an AMA on Reddit this week. You can submit your questions now, and they will begin answering them on August 11. We’re a group of research scientists and engineers that work on the Google […]
Google Adds AdWords Ads Within the Organic Local 3-Pack Listings
Ever since Google began displaying ads in a local pack style, many were anticipating that Google would also begin to display ads within the regular local 3-pack as well. And it seems they are now doing just that. Ryan Scollon spotted an AdWords ad appearing within the regular local 3-pack in the Google search results: […]
No Ranking Boost for AMP in Google Search Results
When Google announced that they were bringing AMP to the main organic search results – the “ten blue links” – they specifically said there would be no ranking boost associated with AMP. To clarify, this is not a ranking change for sites. However, many are still questioning whether there is or isn’t a boost for […]
Google Changes AMP Reporting in Search Console
If you have suddenly noticed a drop in the number of errors in Google Search Console for AMP, you didn’t accidentally change something. Google has updated the error reporting in Search Console to prepare for Google showing AMP in the main search results. The change in reporting is made with the upcoming addition of AMP […]
‘We’re The Superhumans’ is Second Most Shared Olympics Ad of All Time
With the Opening Ceremonies set to start this Friday, Channel 4, the British broadcaster airing the Paralympics, currently leads in the race to become the most shared Olympic ad of 2016. According to data compiled by Unruly, a video ad tech company, Channel 4’s “We’re The Superhumans” has generated 1,256,567 shares across social media since […]
Google Bringing AMP to “Ten Blue Links” in Search Results
Are your sites AMP ready yet? If not, you will want to make it a priority as Google has announced they will be launching AMP in the mobile search results for the ten blue links. Since Google initially launched AMP, they have shown AMP results only in their news section of the search results, and […]
HTTPS Ranking Boost Does Not Vary Depending on the Site’s Industry
Someone raised an interesting question in last week’s Webmaster Office Hours… whether Google varies the amount of the HTTPS based on the industry the site is in. For example, would banking or ecommerce sites get a larger boost for being HTTPS than a regular blog or news site? John Mueller said that Google does not […]