If you use the WordPress 404 to 301 plugin, you will want to remove it, or at the very least update it. Users discovered that the plugin is injecting paid links that are only visible to search engines. So a site owner visiting their site would not see anything amiss, but checking it via a […]
Google Testing Mobile Style in Local 3-Pack on Desktop
Google is testing a new style of local 3-pack in the desktop search results – and this style draws directly from how Google styles the mobile search results. Sergey Alakov spotted this test in the search results (via incognito) The blue color and the style of icons all match the style from the mobile results. […]
Google Alerting Site Owners About Pages With AMP Errors
If you have AMP errors on any of your webpages, and you do a query that triggers a page with those errors, Google is now showing a notification in the search results to alert site owners to the issue. Here is what it looks like: This error is only shown when you are logged into […]
Google AdWords Keyword Planner Limits Number of Queries for Data
Google has started restricting detailed data from non-advertisers and those with a low budget threshold. But now we have learned that Google is also limiting the number of queries that can be done by account. If you go over that limit, Google will begin showing the averaged data instead, even for those with high budgets. […]
Google AdWords Reduces Keyword Planner Data to Low Budget & Non-Advertiser Accounts
Last week, we were first to report that Google AdWords was restricting data for the AdWords Keyword Planner for those advertisers without active campaigns. Google has now officially confirmed the change, and revealed another detail – accounts that are also under a certain monthly spend will also see the reduced data in the Keyword Planner […]
Google Adds New “People Also Ask” Carousel to Desktop Search Results
Google is testing out a new format in the search results for their “People also ask” feature, which shows different popular questions and queries related to the current search. This one has the questions appearing in boxes and the searcher can side scroll to see more in a carousel style. TurtlePie Solutions spotted the Google […]
HTML5 is Not a Google Ranking Factor
In last week’s Google Webmaster hangout, the question was brought up about HTML5, the current version of HTML code standard and whether it benefits SEO in any way. Does HTML5 tags have a positive effect in SEO? John Mueller answered the question: No. HTML5 can be really useful for making a modern website, but it’s […]
Why Google Ignores HTML Lang Attribute for Indexing in Search Results
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 […]
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 […]