We do know that Google is able to determine content that is high quality – or low quality – as well as being able to determine when content is nonsensical, such as the cases with spam content. But how does Google determine it? Do they use things such as evaluating the level of vocabulary, the […]
Archives for January 2018
Google Adds Tips to Definition Boxes in Search Results
If you search for a word that is spelled similarly to another word that a searcher might confuse it for, Google is now giving searchers a heads up that they might be looking at the wrong word with a new “Tips” feature in the definition box. Here is what it looks like: For example, when […]
How Hackers are Hiding Content & Links via PNG Files
For nearly 7 years (of my 19 year SEO career) I did “forensic SEO”. From dealing with penalties, hacked sites to general traffic loss, sorting out why things are going wrong was my life. Over that time I’ve seen a lot of nasty hacks and negative SEO attacks. Recently, I was inadvertently dragged back in […]
Google Adds New “Best” Product Carousel to the Search Results
Google has added a new feature to the search results to highlight the “best” products when someone does a search for that particular product. The carousel is similar to the type of carousel we see on mobile search results. Each individual product is in its own card, with a star review score and number of […]
Google Adds Research Search Feature to the Search Results
Google has added a new section to the search results to help searchers research a product they are looking for. This new section is similar to the top stories style search feature, but instead uses it to highlight articles relevant to someone researching the search query. However, it does have some failings. Here it is […]
Google’s Mobile Page Speed Update: Everything SEOs Need to Know
Google has officially announced that mobile page speed will be a ranking factor. The new “mobile speed update” will launch in July 2018, giving site owners roughly six months to ensure their mobile sites will not be negatively impacted. It had been confirmed that mobile page speed would be included as a ranking factor, but […]
Bing Adds Appointment Booking to Local Panel in Search Results
Bing has added a new feature to their local knowledge panel that allows searchers to book appointments directly through Bing rather than contacting the business independently. Here is what it looks like: The new book link appears between the usual directions and website boxes below the map for the business, or next to them. When […]
Google Adds “Best Answer” to the Search Results for Q&A Page Results
Google has added a new feature to the search results, marking a best answer in the search results when displaying a result from a Q&A type of webpage with possible answers. The example comes from StackOverflow and was shared by Alexis Sanders on Twitter. In addition to highlighting the best answer, it also includes information […]
How to Check Your Google Search Console Account for Beta Access
If you have a long list of properties in Google Search Console and are anxiously awaiting beta access, and are worried your beta access invitation went astray, there is an easy way to double check and see if you actually do have access to the beta or not. You just need to access the landing […]
New Google Featured Snippet Style Includes Thumbnails to Additional Searches
Google is serving a new style of featured snippet. And while they are pulling the data from the page of the featured snippet, they are using that data to create thumbnails for searchers to click to new Google searches, rather than leading them to the page they are pulling the data from. This means that […]