Google has made some changes to make mobile search results much more visual. Google announced on Google+_ the addition of “new, more visual mobile search results at your service.” These results appear as thumbnail search results we have seen Google test periodically in the search results. Here is what it looks like: These changes appear […]
Huge Drop in Image Results Block in Google Search Results
Google has dropped image results from a large percentage of Google search results on Tuesday, which is also contributing to the volatility in search results many are seeing right now. Mozcast recorded a significant 49% drop in search results that feature image results appearing within the organic search results. This means that searchers are only […]
Google AdWords Requirements for Detailed Keyword Planner Data
A few days ago, Google AdWords shut off detailed Keyword Planner data from all AdWords accounts except for those advertisers above a specific threshold. And many have been questioning what that threshold is… in other words, how much do they have to spend to keep the detailed data level. Unfortunately for SEOs and low budget […]
AdBlock Plus Selling Ads to Display in Place of Blocked Ads
AdBlock Plus, the most popular tool to block ads on websites, is now selling their own ads through a partnership with ComboTag . AdBlock Plus has launched the Acceptable Ads Platform, a new ad network that replaces the blocked ads on a website – ads that would normally disappear on a site for a user […]
Google AdWords Removes Detailed Keyword Planner Data From All Non-Advertisers
Google has continued their removal of detailed data from search marketers. Now, all legacy accounts (even those that weren’t currently advertising but had previously advertised via AdWords in the past) now only see the general monthly search range instead of the detailed data they previously were able to see. And Google has also closed the […]
Increased Googlebot Crawling Not a Sign of Google Update or Manual Action
In yesterday’s Google Q&A with John Mueller and Andrey Lipattsev, I asked a question about Googlebot suddenly increasing the amount of crawling it does on a site, when there are no obvious reasons – such as a new URL structure – for Google to do so. Is it a sign of a Google update or […]
Is Code to Text Ratio a Google Ranking Factor?
During yesterday’s Crawling and Indexing Q&A with Google, the question was raised about whether code (actual code on the page) to text (the text content) ratio has any impact on Google’s rankings. It is something that people periodically bringing up with regards to SEO. And compounding the issue that it is potentially important is that […]
Google Warns About Followed Links in Widgets Again
Google has posted a reminder for site owners to not use widgets that have a followed link within it. Despite it being clearly against Google’s webmaster guidelines, many site owners still gain links via widgets. And regardless of the motivation, links – in widgets or just as a regular link – cannot be placed in […]
Check If Page Quality is Preventing Rich Snippets from Showing in Search Results
When a site owner implements structured data for rich snippet features in the search results, and then those rich snippets do not show up in the search results, the next step is to figure out why that is. First, when a site owner implements structured data, they should run it through the Structured Data Testing […]
Ad and Analytics Blocking: It’s More Complicated Than You Think
Content blocking has been a feature of the internet for a long time. Usage, and industry chatter, reached panic levels when Apple released iOS 9 in September 2015. The question everyone is facing is simple: How does content blocking affect my business? Turns out, when you directly measure what’s happening on websites, the answer is […]