If you are suffering from Panda issues, or suspected ranking issues related to low quality content, the most obvious fix is to improve content quality. But after you make major site-wide changes to improve the quality of that content, how long does it take for Google to adjust their ranking signals accordingly for the new […]
Google: 301s & 302s, What is Best For PageRank & Ranking Signals
At State of Search in Dallas last week, I asked Gary Illyes about the issue about 301 versus 302s when it comes to passing PageRank. While Google has said previously that both pass PageRank, there are arguments from many SEOs that 301s are better for passing PageRank while others insist 302s are better for PageRank. […]
Why Google Rewrites Title Tags in Search Results
One thing Google does in the search results that tends to annoy site owners is when Google will rewrite a carefully crafted title tag with one of their own, sometimes with mixed results and effectiveness. And these titles can vary significantly based on the query – a single search result could have dozens of different […]
How Google Determines Which Ads & Search Features to Show on Search Results Page
At State of Search last week, I asked Gary Illyes from Google about Google’s search results pages and how Google determines what to show. I started by asking if there was any discussion between the ads side and the search side when such things as Google AdWords switching from 3 ads to 4 ads at […]
Removing Low Quality Pages Won’t Result in Sitewide Google Rankings Boost
At State of Search this week, I asked Gary Illyes from Google about the issue surrounding removing or noindexing low quality content versus leaving it or improving it. It has been a long debated topic from SEOs, especially for those sites suffering from Panda issues. I specifically asked about whether or not noindexing low quality […]
Google: Dynamics of Top Three Ranking Factors & Link Effectiveness in Rankings
There has been a great deal of discussion over the top three ranking factors ever since it was confirmed that links, content and RankBrain were the top three. And there has been some more information about those factors and the various weights they may have in recent Twitter discussions too. At State of Search this […]
Google Adds Audience Reviews to Movie & TV Show Knowledge Panels
Google has made another new addition to the knowledge panels displayed for television shows and movies – user submitted reviews. These reviews, which are called “Audience Reviews” are showing up for a variety of searches that show a knowledge panel for the movie or show. Here is what it looks like, within an entire knowledge […]
Use Sitemaps for Sites With Many Hreflang Annotations
If you have a large international site that has many hreflang annotations on each page, you might want to consider moving those annotations to a sitemap instead. The question came up on Twitter about the use of multiple hreflang tags on the same URL, with an example of ten different EU countries on it for […]
Google Testing “Instant” Tag for AMP in Search Results
Google is testing a new way to let searchers know that AMP results shown are much faster than a typical web page. They have added an “Instant” tag next to the usual AMP logo for those results, instead of the usual AMP icon along with the word “AMP” next to it. Jonathan Jones spotted the […]
Bing Testing Google-Like Ads Tag in Search Results
Bing is running another test to make their “Ads” tag look nearly identical to the way Google marks up their own paid results in the search results. Here is what it looks like: It also appears in their right hand sidebar ads as well. Here is how it normally looks: While the new version they […]