When doing credit card related searches, we have all seen the credit card comparison ad unit, which is a variation of a Google Product Listing Ad, but which leads to the Google Compare Credit Card page. Now they are testing a new version which highlights the different features of various cards. Here is how the […]
Google Penguin Sounds on Track for January 2016 Real Time Update
There were many mixed reactions about Penguin not launching in December like many believed it would. While last week John Mueller wouldn’t give a timeline for when we would see it go live, this week he commented that it sounds likely for a launch next month. He again wasn’t going to give any specific date […]
Why Google Doesn’t Comment on Various Smaller “Phantom”-Type Updates
There has been a lot of chatter over some of the fluctuations people noticed last month, particularly the one on the 19th, and John Mueller was asked about it specifically in today’s Google webmaster help hangout. While many in the industry agree that this is one of the regular core algorithm changes – one of […]
Advantages to Using Multiple Sitemaps in Google Search Console
Depending on the size of your site, you have probably been presented with whether you should split up sitemaps into sections – such as by category or page type – or leave it as one big one. In today’s hangout, John Mueller was asked if there are any advantages to splitting up sitemaps, and he […]
Bing Testing New Smaller Brand Organic / Local Pack Hybrid
Normally when you do a search for a brand on Bing, you see an expanded version of the brand’s organic search results, complete with sitelinks and often with the site search box too. Then you normally see the local pack results placed below in the search results. But Bing seems to be testing a scaled […]
What Your Web Marketer Doesn’t Know (About You) Can Kill You
A good SEO needs to know a heck of a lot more than just web marketing if they want to be able to be able to market your business effectively. While you’ll be hard pressed to find an SEO who is an expert in your particular field, there are some things they need to know […]
Google Changes Emails for Reconsideration Request Response
Google has changed the wording on emails it sends out to webmasters who have filed a successful reconsideration request. Previously, the emails read “Manual Spam Action Revoked” but now Google has changed that to “Reconsideration Request Approved”. They have also changed the body of the email to say: Good news! Your reconsideration request has been […]
How Machine Learning Impacts the Google Search Ranking Algo
Another Penguin question was raised in Friday’s webmaster hangout with John Mueller, this time specifically on how machine learning impacts Penguin, but the answer turned into something far more interesting about Google’s use of machine learning in the search algo. The question was “Are you using more machine learning algorithms into Penguin, or are you […]
Bing Adds How Many Days Countdown Feature to Knowledge Box
Bing has added a new feature to their knowledge box results at the top of the search results. Now, if someone searches for a specific event or holiday, Bing not only shows the date but also how many days away it is. Here is an example when you search for Valentine’s Day: By comparison, here […]
Bing Testing Larger News Story Thumbnails in Search Results
Bing is drawing more attention to news stories in the search results my including much larger image thumbnails with some news stories. Here is an example: The larger thumbnail is 195 x 195 pixels while the original thumbnail size is 80 x 80. The news stories don’t seem restricted to a particular news sites, as […]