Search Engine Roundtable Podcast

In part one with Dave DiGregorio we spoke about his journey from working in sports memorabilia to getting into SEO. Then, in part two we talked about some local pack reductions, diversifying your local SEO efforts, the services feature, and the amazing SEO community. Then, in part three, we talk about ChatGPT, process-focused, conferences, and more.

Dave said it was still the early days when we were speaking about it, and the first thing that came to everyone’s mind was to write content with it. They tested it, and it worked pretty well and pretty fast. Dave said there could be some ethical and maybe legal issues with that. So, they moved to improve their internal tasks using AI; he provided some examples. They use it to help rewrite title tags and other things, but he would love to have it help with coding on a calculator on a website.

I then asked about what they use to manage their almost 40 employees. He said they took the local SEO guide to use it internally to manage their processes. They turned it into an internal Wiki that is like 700 pages that does not just include your vacation day policies and employee stuff but also how to do specific local SEO tactics. They use Asana for internal process management, and it is working pretty well, he said.

Joy Hawkins is super focused on processes now, which I personally am a fan of.

We then spoke about remote work and how things changed with COVID. We spoke a bit about the benefits of working in the same office versus remote. He said he does miss that in-person aspect, but that is why they do the Local SEO Conference, LocalU. We got off on a conference management tangent.

You can learn more about Dave DiGregorio on LinkedIn or on X @deegs20.

This week was much slower than the previous weeks, and yes, the core and reviews updates are not yet completed, and Google has no estimate for us on when they will be completed. Google seems to be testing a “Simple Search” feature. Google may still be getting the dates it shows for some search results wrong again. Google is investigating an issue with some Search Console reports. Google asked you to submit some sites that saw significant traffic drops recently. Google launched the follower count in the search results. Google said that follower count is not a ranking factor. Google Search has an “Ask a Doctor” section that looks like a people also ask section. Google’s new search notes are public and indexed by Google. Google removed the Robots FAQs document. Google seems to be testing flight price rich results. Google is testing shading favicon colors. Google Merchant Center can automatically create promotions based on your live site. Google Ads PMAX for products has brand and custom labels. Google’s Ginny Marvin posted seven FAQs on automatically created assets for responsive search ads. Google Bard can now under videos, including this one. And if you want to help sponsor those vlogs, go to patreon.com/barryschwartz. That was the search news this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

SPONSOR: This week's video recap is sponsored by Duda, the Professional Website Builder You Can Call Your Own.

0:00 - Introduction

0:53 - Google: No Estimate For Completion Of November Core & Reviews Updates

1:47 - Google "Simple Search" - New Search Refinement Option?

2:21 - New Reports: Google Search Getting Dates Wrong Again

3:05 - Google Investigating Issue With Search Console Experience & Enhancement Report URL Declines

3:49 - How To Let Google Know That Your Google Search, Discover & News Traffic Significantly Dropped

5:17 - Follower Count Fully Live In Google Search Result Snippets

5:40 - Google: Follower Count Is Not A Google Search Ranking Factor

5:45 - Google Search "Ask A Doctor" PAA

6:31 - Reminder: Google Search Notes Are Public & Can Show In Google's Search Results

6:55 - Google Removed The Robots FAQs Document

7:37 - Google Tests New Flight Prices Rich Result?

8:17 - Google Tests Shading Colors Of Favicons - Altering Your Official Favicon

8:33 - Google Merchant Center Automatically Creating Promotions Based On Your Site

9:18 - Google Ads Performance Max Products With Brand & Custom Labels

9:42 - Seven FAQs On Automatically-Created Assets For Google Responsive Search Ads

9:56 - Google Bard Can Now Understand YouTube Videos

10:21 - Conclusion

In part one with Dave DiGregorio we spoke about his journey from working in sports memorabilia to getting into SEO. Then in part two, we talk about some local pack reductions, diversifying your local SEO efforts, the services feature, and the amazing SEO community.

Several months ago we saw some local packs shrink or disappear so I asked Dave to explain what was going on. So we spoke about how local companies and local SEOs need to diversify their traffic to not 100% depend on local packs in Google Search. So they do a lot of DIY, do it yourself, type of content and videos so that people can hire them through those content plays.

Dave explained that local SEO is not just the local pack, it is everything with local intent across all of search.

We also saw Google moving up the services button in the local listings. Dave spoke about how you optimize for services in your Google Business Profile and Google local listings. The issue he has is that small businesses that are working all day and don’t have a marketing team know about how to do all these things. They don’t know how to do it and they don’t know that they should. But it might be for a reason as we discussed.

We also discussed how great the SEO community is, including the local SEO community. Also how Joy Hawkins runs the Local Search Forum and how forums in general are a great free place to learn.

You can learn more about Dave DiGregorio on LinkedIn or on X @deegs20.

It was a very busy week, so I apologize for the length of this video, so buckle up and get ready. Not that Google wanted to say that, but changes are coming to Google Search. We saw signs earlier this week that the Reviews update has rolled out but it seems weak. Google also shocked us by telling us that the Hidden Gems algorithm is live and has been live for months. Google has personalized search results based on your search history, added more perspectives, added a new follow feature, and has a new notes feature that many think will fail. Google also added gift ideas to SGE, with AI-generated images for apparel and men’s try-on. Google is testing new SGE ads, “you may also like.” Bing Chat was renamed to Copilot. Google said we should expect to see changes around third-party content issues in Google Search. Google won’t detail how it uses user interactions in search. Google updated its search quality raters guidelines; it seemed like a smaller update. Google Search Console has a new robots.txt report, which replaced the tester tool. Google said you should avoid including prices in the titles of your flight pages. Google added new carouse carousel information structured data and Search Console reports. Google seems to be showing FAQ-rich results again. Danny Sullivan shared his Google Search presentation on X. Google Business Profiles added gym attributes and you can now verify your business by taking a photo of your vehicle at a customer location. Google sued over fraudulent use of DMCA takedown requests. Google documented its safety crawler. Google is testing arrows by sitelinks. Bing Chat may now use AI to write your snippets. Bing image search ads are super hard to see. Microsoft Advertising is sending faster email disapproval notices. Yahoo may launch the new Yahoo Search experience in the coming months. And if you want to help sponsor those vlogs, go to patreon.com/barryschwartz. That was the search news this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

SPONSOR: Wix - Wix has a new AI meta tag creator to help you automate title tags and meta descriptions, check out this overview from George on Wix about this feature.

0:00 - Introduction

1:15 - Buckle Up: Google To Make Major Search Ranking Changes

1:35 - Signs The Google November 2023 Reviews Update Hit This Weekend

2:03 - Google Hidden Gems Ranking Algorithm Update

3:23 - Google To Personalize Search Results To Your Previous Searches

4:37 - Google Search Adds Follow Feature

5:32 - Google Search Labs Adds Notes To Search Results

6:36 - Google SGE Gift Ideas, Generate Images For Apparel & Men's Virtual Try On

7:05 - Google Testing SGE Ads - Sponsored Content - You May Also Like

7:26 - Bing Chat Now Named Copilot

7:43 - Google: Expect To See Changes In Search Around Third Party Hosted Content

8:34 - Google Won't Detail How It Uses User Interaction Signals In Search

9:20 - Google Search Quality Raters Guidelines Updated With Fewer Pages

9:44 - New Google Search Console Robots.txt Report Replaced Robots.txt Tester Tool

10:11 - Google: Avoid Including Prices Of Flights In Your Title Tags

10:40 - Google Adds New Course Carousel Info & Search Console Reports

11:11 - Google Search Console Adds Learning Video Rich Results Data To Performance Reports

11:38 - Google Showing More FAQ Rich Results By Tweaking Which Sites Can Show Them?

12:31 - Danny Sullivan Posts His Google Search Presentation On X

12:50 - New Google Business Profiles Gym Attributes/Amenities

12:56 - Google Business Profiles Verification Method: Upload Photo At Customer Location

13:18 - Google Sues Over Fraudulent & Weaponized DMCA Takedown Requests

13:54 - Google Safety Crawler Google Help Documentation

14:08 - Google Tests Northeast Arrow By Sitelinks

14:23 - Bing May Now Use AI To Write Your Snippets With AI-Generated Captions

14:43 - Bing Image Search Hard To See Ad Labels

15:00 - Microsoft Advertising Sending Faster Email Disapproval Notices

15:07 - New Yahoo Search Experience May Launch Soon

15:35 - Conclusion 

Dave DiGregorio is the Vice President at Sterling Sky, Inc, and while we spoke a lot about SEO, we also spoke about lot about Michael Jordan trading cards. This is a long interview where we talk SEO while also looking at the cards. At the end of this video segment, I travel to his home to see how PSA graded the cards, so don’t miss the last video in this segment.

So Dave DiGregorio has two personalities: local SEO by day and trading card expert by night. He first got into professional trading cards and sports memorabilia early on in his career in 2009 through 2013. In fact, he did a lot of writing and creating blog posts at his first job, writing about memorabilia, and that is how he started to get into SEO. So he traded his way into SEO through trading cards, what a journey.

He joined Martindale for six years to do SEO there and then eventually joined Joy Hawkins in 2019 at Sterling Sky. Dave is involved in a lot of the operations as the company scales and grows. Dave spoke about how they hire at Sterling Sky they don’t often look at the most skilled individuals but rather the one that fits best into the company culture. They can train people to do the work.

Sterling Sky has always been a remote company, and that is why hiring the right person is so important. He said a lot of those they hire had a bad experience with their previous companies. We transitioned a bit into talking about how the Chicago Bulls had to bring Dennis Rodman into the Bulls culture. So just like with trading cards, you want to find something that is scarce and in very good condition. So just like you want to find the best employees who are hard to find, you also want them to be in good condition.

I explained how I used Google Lens to find the price of these, and the prices were all over the place.

You can learn more about Dave DiGregorio on LinkedIn or on X @deegs20.

Google released the November 2023 reviews update on Wednesday afternoon, while the November 2023 core update rages on with a ton of heated volatility. I posted the Google webmaster report for November. DOJ documents released showcase the three pillars of Google’s search rankings and more. Danny Sullivan shared how he documents SEO feedback for internal review with the Google Search team. Google Search adds more shopping deal features, some is pretty intense. Google also has these new toggles on and off sidebar search filters; it also works for some local queries. Bing is testing other shopping filters in its product overlays. Google Search Console removed the page experience report, filter, and API is going away soon. Microsoft released a patent for Bing on reliability scores for content and sites. Google expanded the Search Generative Experience to more countries and added more features. As an FYI, parasite SEO is not a term Google uses internally. Google Search does not use Sistrix's virus scanner. Google is testing showing multiple local packs in the search results. Google Business Profiles has a new actives option. Google Ads launched its generative AI features for performance max campaigns in the US. Google Ads updated its policies for Merchant Center around abuse. Google Shopping has a promotion for Amazon Prime and Nike membership. Google AdSense will stop serving ads under google.com, which will remove ad personalization and impact ad earnings. Microsoft said Bing Chat demand is not going down. And if you want to help sponsor those vlogs, go to patreon.com/barryschwartz. That was the search news this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

Sponsored by Rank Ranger (SimilarWeb), the all-in-one- professional SEO software. Rank Ranger is a comprehensive SEO platform that allows you to grow your business with data and analytics. It offers valuable insights through advanced rank tracking, including above-the-fold tracking, Organic Share of Voice reporting, actionable SERP feature data, and SERP analysis tools.

This was a fun week, being that you all ruined the internet. First up Google shocked us with a new core update, the November core update. The Google October core update had a bug that impacted some sites’ performance in Google Discover. A new Google reviews update is coming next week; it will be the last they confirm. Google announced again that mobile-first indexing was complete but added more news around Search Console. The Verge said that SEOs and Google ruined the internet, but no, the internet is better off because of us. Google explained why it updates and changes its search algorithms. Google warned recipe bloggers to ensure easy access to key parts of the recipe. Google said we should stop thinking about what we should do for Google. Google’s helpful content update uses machine learning; it is not about content being old, and it is not about one character on a single page. Google again said schema doesn’t improve rankings. Google said keyword stuffing is not about the number of times a word is on a page. Google updated its video structured data documentation to include timezone recommendations. Google Search is testing bold green deal labels for product results. Google added more details on top retailer knowledge panels. Google Business Profiles added small business and parking attributes. Google Merchant Center Next added the Business Profile section. Google Local Service ads now more evenly show advertisers. Google Ads has this intrusive survey when you pause a campaign. Google Ads Editor 2.5 is out. Google AdSense is changing how it pays publishers. Google launched a new Ad review center in AdSense, Ad Mob, and Ad Manager. Google Search Generative Experience now triggers for recipes. Google Bard now responds in real-time. That was the search news this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

Sponsored by BruceClay, who has been doing search marketing optimization since 1996 and also has an amazing SEO training platform.

0:00 - Introduction

1:00 - Google November 2023 Core Update Rolling Out

2:02 - Google Core Update Bug Resulted In Discover Traffic Issues - Now Fixed

3:12 - New Google Reviews Update Coming Next Week; It Will Be The Last Confirmed Reviews Update

3:55 - Google Mobile First Indexing Now Really Done

5:20 - No, SEOs & Google Didn't Ruin The Internet & Nor Is The Internet Ruined

7:19 - Google On Algorithm Updates: The "Web Changes. Content Changes. People's Expectations Change"

7:41 - Google To Recipe Bloggers: We've Heard Complaints, Ensure Key Parts Of Recipe Have Easy Access

8:31 - Google: Stop Thinking What Should I Do For Google When Writing Content

8:45 - Google Helpful Content System Uses Machine Learning To Understand If Content Is Helpful

8:52 - Google: Old Content Doesn't Make It Unhelpful Content

9:00 - Google's Helpful Content Update Is Sitewide; A Single Character Change Won't Help You

9:27 - Google Again Says Schema Does Not Make Your Site Rank Better

9:55 - Google: Keyword Stuffing Isn't About The Number Of Times A Word Is Repeated

10:19 - Google Video Structured Data Docs Now Recommend Time & Timezone Inclusion

10:36 - Google Search Deals Section With Green Discount Labels

10:57 - Google Will Add More Details To Retailers Knowledge Panels

11:10 - Google Business Profiles Adds Small Business Attribute

11:35 - Google Business Profiles Adds Detailed Parking Attributes

11:57 - Google Merchant Center Next Adds Google Business Profile Details

12:10 - Report: Google Local Service Ads Showing Ads More Evenly

12:33 - Google Ads New Intrusive Popup Survey When Pausing A Campaign

12:55 - Google Ads Editor Version 2.5 Is Now Out

13:05 - Google AdSense Payment Revenue Share Structure To Change & Impression Payments Coming

14:22 - Google AdSense Launches New Ad Review Center

14:42 - Google Search Generative Experience Now Triggers AI Answers For Recipes

14:57 - Google Bard Responds In Real Time, Like Its Competitors

15:07 - Conclusion 

In part one, we learned about Chris Long and his experience working with Bill Slawski. Then, in part two, we spoke about helping people with SEO on LinkedIn and using Facebook for a career change. Then, in part three, we spoke about SEO strategy and SEO testing. In part four, we talked about SEO for e-commerce sites. In this last part, part five, we talk about improving your technical SEO skills and playing offense SEO.

Chris started more on the content SEO side of things and was not great at technical SEO early on but he learned it over the years and became a real pro at technical SEO. At Go Fish Digital he had to do more technical SEO tasks and dove in right away.

Chris said you need to force yourself to get that experience, start by doing a Screaming Frog crawl on a large site and analyze e-commerce sites. Just dig in, even if you don’t understand everything, just start. He just read a lot about technical SEO and re-studied the same information over and over again until he understood it completely. Don’t stop reading and learning, don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know today. Force yourself to be uncomfortable.

We briefly spoke about how Google stopped looking at the pure HTML but rather the rendered HTML page back 10 years ago.

Chris then spoke about offensive SEO versus defensive SEO. He said many SEOs act in a defensive way as opposed to being offensive about it. Instead of reacting to SEO issues, be proactive about your SEO. Chris ran off a ton of examples about how to be offensive with SEO.

You can learn more about Chris Long on LinkedIn or Twitter @gofishchris.

Google may have had an unconfirmed Google search ranking update on October 25th and a new one this morning on the 27th. Google provided information on what it thinks is unhelpful content. Google has finally confirmed it is testing ads within the organic search results. Google now supports syntax graph merge. Google Search Console had a hostload exceeded error bug. Google said cumulative layout shift is not the reason for a sudden ranking drop. Google SGE is testing bolded text and new link formats in the AI answer. Google about this image rolls out with recency, AI details, and more. Google SGE also added about this source details. Google perspectives search filter is being tested on the desktop results. Google is testing user-uploaded images in the product results. Google launched new AR beauty ads. Google Ads is testing a new dynamic overview carousel. Google Ads launched version 15 of the Ads API. Google Local Service Ads shows your competitors even after the searcher selected you. Google Ads search themes for Performance Max campaigns are going live as a beta. Google AdSense launched frequency controls in vignette ads. Microsoft officially relaunched pubCenter, claiming it is new. Google Maps is making the search results “photo-first.” Google Business Profile is sending out more detailed suspension notices. Google and Microsoft both announced earnings, and both showed lifts in ad revenues. And if you want to help sponsor those vlogs, go to patreon.com/barryschwartz. That was the search news this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

SPONSOR: This week's video recap is sponsored by Duda, the Professional Website Builder You Can Call Your Own.

0:00 - Introduction

0:43 - Google Search Algorithm Ranking Update October 27 (Unconfirmed)

1:09 - Google Search Algorithm Ranking Update October 25 (Unconfirmed)

1:42 - Google Provides Signs That You're Writing Unhelpful Content

3:09 - Confirmed: Google Tests Ads Mixed Within Free Search Results

3:55 - New: Google Search Supports Syntax Graph Merge

5:07 - Google Search Console Failed: Hostload Exceeded Error

5:32 - Google: Cumulative Layout Shift Not The Reason For Sudden Ranking Drops

5:48 - Google SGE AI Snapshot Answer With Bolded Text & New Link Formats

6:15 - Google About This Image Now Live Recency Of Image, AI Details & More

6:51 - Google Search Generative Experience Gains "Supportive" Links In About This Result

7:30 - Google Tests Perspectives Search Filter On Desktop

7:47 - Google Search Tests Displaying User Uploaded Images For Products Results

8:09 - New Google AR Beauty Ads

8:40 - Google Ads New Dynamic Overview Carousel

9:05 - Google Ads API Version 15 Now Available

9:15 - Google Local Services Ads Shows Competitors After You Selected A Business To Message

9:59 - Google Ads Beta Search Themes For Performance Max

10:45 - Google AdSense Vignettes Ads New Frequency Controls

11:18 - Microsoft Officially Relaunches The Old pubCenter As New

11:58 - Google Maps Local Listings Are Now "Photo-First" Results

12:33 - New Google Business Profile Suspension Emails

12:40 - Google Ad Revenue Up 9.5% & Bing Ads Revenue Up 10%

13:10 - Conclusion 

In part one, we learned about Chris Long and his experience working with Bill Slawski. Then, in part two, we spoke about helping people with SEO on LinkedIn and using Facebook for a career change. Then, in part three, we spoke about SEO strategy and SEO testing. Now, in part four, we talk about SEO for e-commerce sites.

We discussed how messy e-commerce sites can get with pagination, category pages, faceted navigation, infinite scroll, etc. Chris said crawl control is a big issue for many e-commerce sites and SEO. There are plenty of legacy e-commerce sites that have a lot of these SEO issues that new platforms would not have.

We then talk about which pages and categories of pages you should show Google or not show Google. So maybe colors and sizing pages you want indexed but you probably don’t want pricing pages to be indexed. The rule of thumb is more than two facets; you may be a little too much long tail, but it depends.

Chris is not a fan of infinite scroll, he prefers pagination over no pagination. But infinite scroll does make a lot of sense based on people being used to that UX but it does make it harder to find products in some cases.

Images are becoming more and more important for e-commerce sites in SEO. Google has done a lot to promote those images in the search results. Google has been going wild with UX changes in search for products and shopping. We also briefly spoke about Google Lens and e-commerce.

More to come...

You can learn more about Chris Long on LinkedIn or Twitter @gofishchris.