At BrightonSEO today, Gary Illyes revealed that local pack results are not affected by the new mobile friendly ranking algorithm that is due to arrive on April 21st, which makes perfect sense. Then Gary replied to me and tweeted this: @jenstar yep, just the "10 blue links" are, but of course teams who own the […]
Archives for April 2015
Duplicate Content Will Not Trigger a Penalty… With One Exception
At SMX West, Gary Illyes talked about how duplicate content is not a penalty, it is merely a filter. In today’s Google Webmaster Office Hours Hangout, John was asked a question about duplicate content and whether it could trigger an algorithmic penalty or lower your rankings. Essentially, he said that Google will just pick one […]
New GWT Search Analytics Has a Release Date… But It’s Still Secret
Everyone is waiting for the new update of Google Webmaster Tools when the new Search Analytics is added… but no one knows yet when it will go live for all users. We do know they were still adding testers as of the end of March. John Mueller was asked today about the release date, and […]
Page Speed is Not a Factor in the New Mobile Friendly Ranking Signal
At Brighton SEO today, Gary Illyes, a Google Webmaster Trends Analyst, was talking about mobile and the upcoming mobile friendly ranking signal which will come into play on April 21st. Many SEOs have been emphasizing page speed rather aggressively when it comes to ensuring sites are mobile friendly before the 21st. At SMX West earlier […]
Google’s Mobile Friendly Ranking Signal Will Not Affect Local Pack Listings
Gary Illyes, a Google Webmaster Trends Analyst, was speaking at Brighton SEO today, discussing the upcoming mobile friendly ranking signal that will be starting on April 21st. And he had some interesting things to say about local businesses at their pack listings. According to Illyes, if a local business is appearing in the Google Pack […]
Yahoo Removes “Powered by Bing” From Some Mobile Search Results
Business Insider is reporting that some users searching on Yahoo from mobile devices are seeing the “Powered by Bing” removed from the footer of the search results page. The screenshots show a redesigned look to the search results, looking far different from how they appear to most users today. Could this signal something significant to […]
Google Removes Thumbnail Images from In-Depth Articles
It appears that Google is testing more tweaks to their In-Depth Articles section in the Google Search results. They appear to be testing a variation of it with the thumbnail images removed. Here is how they are currently appearing for US users. Google has been showing thumbnails for in-depth articles: This is the second tweak […]
Google Looking for Feedback on Webmaster Office Hours Hangouts
Do you love or hate Google’s regular Webmaster Office Hours Hangouts, often hosted by John Mueller? John is looking for feedback! I’d love to get your feedback on the format of our Webmaster office hour hangouts! What should we change, what should we keep? In a magical world where you always get your wish, what […]
Why Google Ranking a Non-Mobile Friendly Brand Site is a Good Thing
In this week’s Google Webmaster Office Hours, Barry Schwartz asked John Mueller about brand related searches and whether Google would be demoting brand sites if they are not mobile friendly. After all, this new mobile friendly search ranking signal is supposed to give preferential treatment for sites being mobile friendly. So in general what happens […]
YouTube Plans Launch of Ad-Free Subscription Service by End of Year
It appears that the rumored ad-free subscription for YouTube is closer to reality, with plans to launch the service before the end of the year. Rumors first surfaced last August that YouTube was working on an ad-free subscription option for YouTube users. Susan Wojcicki then confirmed the rumors last October st Re/code’s conference, but since […]