Search Engine Roundtable Podcast

This week, we covered that the Google October 2023 core update is done rolling out; it was a super and incredibly heated core update. Google also finished rolling out the spam update this morning, and the overlap is upsetting. X/Twitter is now blocking Bing Search, Bingbot, from crawling. Google rich result test now supports paywalled structured data validation. Google Search Generative Experience can and does link to paywalled content, so Google updated its docs to say this and say how to block SGE. Google added vehicle listing structured data with Search Console support. Google seems to have stopped showing event rich results. Google dropped the Favicon user agent and clarified to allow Googlebot and Googlebot-Image for favicon indexing. Googlebot crawls from the Pacific time zone, in case you were wondering. Google dropped the host groups section from its virtual elements gallery. Google tests show the Discover feed on the desktop home page. Google tests "Shop all deals" banner in the search results. Google top stories test “mentioned in these stories” section. Google Explore seems to be coming up much earlier in the search results, and Google Explore has a product section. Bing Webmaster Tools sends out a new comprehensive performance insights report. Google Business Profiles added disabled-owned and indigenous-owned attributes. Google Local is testing card designs for reviews, menus, and more. Google now lets you set your food preferences for local restaurant filters. Google Ads certification exam has a bunch of new rules. The Google Ads verification form is just way too long. Google AdSense launched a new related search for Auto ads. And I posted a photo of the Google algorithm wall in the NYC office. 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 Studio launched some new features at wix.com/studio/features including AI responsive design tools, the ability to manage your CSS in Wix, a robust client hand off kit, plus much more, so check it out at wix.com/studio/features.

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. Now, in part three, we spoke about SEO strategy and SEO testing.

Chris said SEO strategy starts with having a clear goal, and often, the goals are revenue or leads. But you need to figure out how to make that happen for that website and company; how do you generate revenue or leads? He gave some examples of how to succeed with those SEO goals. Sometimes it is also about thinking about new markets to enter to achieve your SEO strategy and goals.

For most clients, the SEO strategy is leads and revenue. But sometimes, it might make sense to review a public company’s earnings reports and earnings calls to see what goals you can figure out from there. The weirdest goals may be related to reputation management, but the most interesting thing is that the goals may be very diverse. Chris shared a bunch of neat examples that are very helpful to help us understand this concept.

SEO testing is a super fascinating area because of how hard it is to isolate variables in the test. Chris explained there is almost no such thing as a perfect SEO test. He does not like to use only traffic as your primary SEO KPI. Chris went through reasons on why it is so hard and strategies to do the best SEO tests as possible.

You always need a business case behind each SEO test. Like, if you increase clicks or CTR, how can that impact revenue or leads?

More to come...

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

This week, we saw the impact of both the Google October 2023 spam update and the Google October 2023 core update with some really heated volatility. The day before, we saw some sites compiling their spam sites were no longer in the index. Google Ads had a long ad serving and billing bug that lasted over a day. Google is testing a lite version of the Search Generative Experience. You can now create images and text with Google SGE. Google is no longer indenting search results, something it did for over a decade. Google’s new Google-Extended bot does not stop SGE from using your content. Google Discover has “get the latest on” and “mentioned” feature. Google Discover also can now show e-commerce products. Google Discover can also show news from the Google News Showcase. Google is testing local result refinement expansion boxes. Google Local Ads can show business images in a carousel expansion feature. Google Business Profiles may edit your business attributes all on its own. Google Local Service Ads leads can now be texted to your phone, not just email. Bing is testing a new layout for its video search results. Google is testing people icons in the search bar. Google Search is treating “trending seller” icons. Microsoft is improving its image creator moderation system. Google Ads policy for ads that offer rewards will allow indirect and non-monetary items at the end of this month. 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, 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.

0:00 - Introduction 

1:01 - Google Search Volatility Heats Up As Core Update & Spam Update Rollout

2:20 - Google's October 2023 Spam Update Starting To Target Spam Sites

2:44 - Google Ads Serving & Spending Bugs Impacting Many Advertisers

3:33 - Google Search Generative Experience Lite Version Test

3:52 - Google Search Generative Experience Can Create Images & Text

4:29 - Google Search Stops Indenting Results

5:05 - Google-Extended Robots Directive Does Not Work For Search Generative Experience

5:49 - Google Discover "Get The Latest On" Feature

6:06 - Google Discover Showing E-Commerce Products Section

6:18 - Google News Showcase Can Show In Google Discover

6:33 - Google Search Local Results Expandable Refinement Feature

6:55 - Google Local Ads With Expanding Images In Carousel

7:18 - Google Business Profiles Auto Edits Business Attributes

7:50 - Google Local Services Ads Leads Can Now Be Texted To Your Phone

8:12 - Bing Tests New Video Search Results Layout

8:29 - People Icon In Google Autocomplete Search Bar

8:43 - Google Search Trending Seller Icon In Snippet

9:02 - Microsoft: We're Improving The Bing Image Creator Moderation System

9:21 - Google Ads Policy For Ads That Offer Rewards To Allow Indirect or Non-Monetary Items

9:43 - Conclusion 

In part one, we learned about Chris Long and also spoke about his co-worker, the profession of SEO, Bill Slawski. In part two we dig into helping people in SEO on social media and SEO career change

Chris Long is super active on LinkedIn, he is one of the most popular SEOs on LinkedIn. I spoke about my concerns with LinkedIn, and the hustle-bro attitude, but there is a lot of quality on LinkedIn. Chris said what works for him on LinkedIn are mini blog posts in that format and that is probably why they do well.

We spoke about various SEO communities on social media and the pros and cons of each. The trick might be that you need to follow the right people on the right networks to get the best content.

We then spoke about career change in the SEO space using Facebook. He said he was able to target Facebook ads to target a specific ad to an individual, that is no longer possible, but it was back in the day. So he tried to get job interviews using this technique on Facebook. He did not land a job from it but he did get a bunch of calls and interest from the marketing campaign.

We spoke about the job marketing during COVID and post-COVID, how things have changed.

More to come...

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

This week, we had Google officially release another core update, the October 2023 core update. Also, a day before Google started to roll out the October 2023 spam update. We also had an unconfirmed Google algorithm update start on October 1st. Last night, Google also had indexing or serving issues with new content. Google teased the new Assistant with Bard, which will come out in a few months. I posted the monthly Google webmaster report this week. Google said it does not delete queries and replace them with better-monetized ones. Google has a big issue with obituary spam. Google posted a helpful document on why Discover traffic may change. Bing launched DALL-E 3 for image generation, and it works well now. Google Screened Local Service Ads now show unique advertisers on page load. Google Keyword Planner no longer forecasting individual and ad group keywords. Google tests “ask your own” under the people also ask. Google is testing a new hotel snippet carousel. Bing knowledge panels have learned more cards. Bing is also testing video chapters. Bing shows the number of visits to search ads per month. Bing is testing ads in the trending with Bing carousel. You can now edit your social profiles on Google Business Profiles. Google Business Profiles bulk data had data changes. Apple Business Connect added peer group benchmarks. Bing Webmaster Tools updated its colors to its darker blue. 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 BruceClay, who has been doing search marketing optimization since 1996 and also has an amazing SEO training platform.

0:00 - Introduction

1:02 - Google October 2023 Core Update Rolling Out - Only Weeks After Previous Core Update

2:13 - New Google October 2023 Spam Update Targets Spam In More Languages

3:35 - Google Search Ranking Algorithm Volatility Sunday, October 1st?

4:07 - Google Issues With Indexing & Serving New Content

5:23 - Google Assistant With Bard (As Expected)

5:47 - October 2023 Google Webmaster Report

6:11 - Google: We Do Not Delete Queries & Replace Them With Better Monetized Ones

6:56 - Obituary Spam On Google Too Fast & Out Of Control

8:03 - Google On Why Google Discover Traffic May Drop Or Increase

8:32 - Bing DALL-E 3 Went Live Over The Weekend But It Was Painfully Slow

8:55 - Google Screened LSAs Now Show Unique Advertisers On Page Load

9:14 - Google Keyword Planner Stops Forecasting Individual & Ad Group Keywords

9:44 - Google Tests "Ask Your Own" Under People Also Ask

10:02 - Google Search Tests New Hotel Snippet Carousel Design

10:18 - Bing Knowledge Panels With Learn More Cards

10:33 - Bing Search Tests Video Chapters Key Moments

10:47 - Bing Tests Showing Number Of Visits On Search Ads Per Month

11:00 - Bing Search Trending Carousel With Embedded Ads

11:18 - You Can Now Edit Your Social Profiles In Google Business Profiles

11:41 - Google Business Profile Bulk Data Changes

11:49 - Apple Business Connect Adds Peer Group Benchmarks

12:00 - Bing Webmaster Tools Updated Colors To Darker Bing Blue

12:07 - Conclusion 

Chris Long, the VP of Marketing at Go Fish Digital, stopped by my office to chat SEO and that is what we did. Chris does a lot of internal marketing efforts at Go Fish Digital but also works on some executive client projects. Chris got into SEO in 2013, before that he was in finance and he didn’t like finance jobs so he decided to switch to a new profession - which was SEO. He got hooked on SEO after reading an article, and some content online and then worked hard to get an internship in the field of SEO, and it has stuck with him.

Chris got into SEO when SEO was more mainstream, post Panda and Penguin updates. He said he remembers the "not provided" where Google went SSL completely and removed query data. Content was a serious deal when he was first getting into SEO, which he credits as a good thing for him.

Go Fish Digital has been around since 2005, so they have a lot of history. Bill Slawski worked at Go Fish Digital, so we spoke a bit about how Bill's legacy. Chris said it was incredible working with Bill, and he remembers watching Bill do a client call and how he was windblown by his knowledge of SEO. Bill always went above and beyond to help anyone, both online and offline, Chris said.

More to come...

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

This week in search, Google finished rolling out the September 2023 helpful content update, which seemed to target SEO-first, search engine-first content in a big way. Google won’t be rolling back that update, if you were wondering. Google SGE got an update, too, with new, improved responses, safer responses, and also the “about this result” feature. Google’s Gary Illyes said links are not in the top three ranking signals anymore. He also said comments can be a good thing for websites. Google said removing content doesn’t make the other content rank higher. Google won’t stop giving advice on SEO despite some people using that advice to make websites for Google. Google said to keep the important content out of your CSS pseudo-elements. Google updated its spam policies and ranking system guides for CSAM content. Google updates its charts and content to analyze organic search traffic drops. Google Ads VP implies that they pressure the Chrome team and maybe the Search team to make ranking tweaks to improve ad revenues. Google Ads now lets you expire report sharing. Google Ads may suspend advertisers over non-fulfillment issues. Microsoft is hiding search ads in Bing again. Microsoft Advertising will launch a bunch of AI features and new AI-specific ads for Bing Chat. Microsoft said clicks on ads in Bing Chat are 1.8 times higher than traditional search. Google blocked the new Bard shared conversations from showing in Google Search. Google-Extended is a new Googlebot you can use to tell Google to stop using your site for Bard or other Google AI. Bing now offers methods to block Bing Chat from your content. OpenAI relaunched the ChatGPT browse with the Bing feature after respecting robots.txt directives. Bing Chat’s precise mode is much better now. IndexNow is now supported on Wix. Google celebrated its 25th birthday this week! 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.

0:00 - Introduction

0:54 - Google September 2023 Helpful Content Completed Rolling Out - Targeting SEO-First Content

3:09 - Google Helpful Content Update's Last Surge Of Ranking Fluctuations?

3:21 - Google Not Rolling Back The Last Helpful Content Update

4:01 - Google Rolls Out Updates To The Search Generative Experience Including Algorithm Improvements

5:01 - Google: Links No Longer A Top Three Ranking Signal

5:37 - Google Gary Illyes: Comments Sections On Websites Can Be Good

5:54 - Google: Removing Content Doesn't Make The Other Content Rank Higher

6:18 - Google: We Won't Stop Giving Advice To SEOs Despite Some Creating Made For Google Sites

6:55 - Google: Keep Important Content Out Of Before Or After CSS Pseudo-Elements

7:13 - Google Spam Policies & Ranking Systems Guide Updated For CSAM Content

7:40 - Google Updates Charts & Content On Analyzing Organic Search Traffic Drops

8:24 - Google Ads VP Emails Chrome & Search Team For Ranking Tweaks & Query Injections From Chrome

9:28 - Google Ads Gains Share Alerts With Expiration Dates

9:44 - Google Ads May Suspend Advertisers Over Non-Fulfillment Issues

10:01 - Microsoft Advertising Hiding Search Ads On Bing Search Again?

10:29 - Microsoft Advertising Copilot To Create Ads and New Compare & Decide Bing Chat Ads

10:56 - Microsoft: Ads Clicks Within Bing Chat Are 1.8X Higher

11:22 - Google To Block Bard Shared Conversations From Google Search

12:04 - Google-Extended Is The New Google Crawler To Block Bard Or Google AI

12:41 - Bing Offers Methods To Block Bing Chat From Using Your Content

12:58 - ChatGPT Relaunches Browse With Bing Respecting Robots.txt Protocols

13:18 - Microsoft: Bing Chat Precise Mode Now Better

13:27 - Bing Chat History For Personalized Answers Only For Edge Now

13:49 - IndexNow Added To Wix

14:00 - Google's 25th Birthday Doodle Shows Some Of The Early Google Logos

14:13 - Conclusion 

Google’s helpful content update is still rolling out, and the SEO chatter is super heated this week, with tons of sites reporting huge drops. But the Google tracking tools are not showing heated weather, in fact, they are super calm. Google clarified that the helpful content update does not yet demote hosted third-party content. Google Bard added a bunch of features, including the ability for Google Search to double-check the answers. Google said quality affects every system in search and then dug into quality of old large sites. Google’s John Mueller said a compilation of ChatGPT output is not unique content. Google had some more issues with site names, this time in the Google News tab. Bing announced big updates to the Bing Webmaster Tools performance report, but Bing did not break out Bing Chat data there. Bing Webmaster Tools sitemap index coverage report is fully live. Bing is dropping the disavow link tool. Bing Chat is rolling out personalized answers, what we’ve been calling memory. Bing Search shows recent Bing Chat topics at the top of some searches. Google raised its ad prices to reach revenue goals. Google expanded its access to its AI tools. Google Ads has a new indicator for limited by bid strategy. Google Ads caused confusion during a migration of mapping data from UA3 to GA4. Google Maps updated its fake engagement and personal information user-contributed policy. Google is testing blue highlighted texts in normal snippets. Google is testing EU energy label icons for products. Bing is testing a new lock icon on secure websites. Google AdSense has updated its verifications. And congrats to Yusuf Mehdi and Mikhail Parakhin of Microsoft Bing on their promotions. 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 

1:02 - Google September 2023 Helpful Content Update Current Impact & Volatility

3:05 - Theories On Why The Google Tracking Tools Show Calm Volatility & Weather

4:47 - Google's Helpful Content Update Doesn't Target Third-Party Hosted Content Yet

5:50 - Google Search Can Now Check Bard's Answers

7:22 - Google: Quality Affects Everything In Google's Search Systems But What About Large Old Sites

8:26 - Google: Compilation Of ChatGPT Output Is Not Unique Content

8:40 - Google Site Names Issues Continue For News Tab?

9:00 - Bing Webmaster Tools Performance Report Update Gets New Data But Bing Chat Data Hidden

10:23 - Bing Webmaster Tools To Remove Disavow Links Tool

10:54 - Bing Webmaster Tools Sitemap Index Coverage Is Fully Live

11:22 - Bing Chat Personalized Answers - aka Memory

11:48 - Bing Search Showing Recent Bing Chat Topics

12:09 - Google Raised Ad Prices To Hit Revenue Goals, Google Executive Said

12:55 - Google Expands AI Tools For Search Ads

13:50 - New: Google Ads Indicator "Limited By Bid Strategy"

14:16 - Google Ads UA3 To Google Analytics 4 Conversion Mapping Causes Confusion

15:23 - Google Maps User Contributed Policy Fake Engagement & Personal Information Updated

15:48 - Google Tests Blue Highlighting Text Within Search Result Snippets

16:02 - Google Search Tests European Union Energy Labels On Products

16:18 - Bing Tests Lock Icon In Search Results For Secure Websites

16:28 - Google AdSense Gains Real Time Verification & Meta Tag Verification

16:55 - Yusuf Mehdi & Mikhail Parakhin New Roles At Microsoft With Panos Panay's Departure

17:26 - Conclusion 

In part one, we got to learn about David Iwanow and why it is important to reinvent yourself in this space, over and over again. In part two, we talked about Google algorithms and he said even though they are so big they still need to deal with the Medic update and core updates.

They even have to worry about it because sometimes their content is old and outdated, and they need to work on it. He even sees a lot of outdated SEO tactics being pitched to him and he knows to stay away. He is shocked by what SEOs pitch him. He still sees agencies pitch him strange ideas, he said.

He then goes into examples around how to properly do SEO reporting, not with spreadsheets but with BigQuery. He doesn’t get why you should pay someone to do manual work when you can program it. He gave some specific examples, which is useful. Even Google Search Console will show you the details, or via the API and the bulk export.

David is also not a fan of removing pages all the time and you can figure out what you should do with those pages by pulling this data down. You first see if the pages are being crawled, indexed, and then ranked. He said then you can use ChatGPT to evaluate the page. ChatGPT can help you figure out if the content is updated and relevant.

You can follow David Iwanow on Twitter @davidiwanow.

We got another official Google ranking update, the September 2023 helpful content update. This week, we had our first post-Google core update tremors and fluctuations. After saying they would a month ago, Google also finally dropped the FAQ-rich results snippets. Google also surprised us by saying How-to rich results are not going away just for mobile but also for desktop search. Google Search Console has new helpful Merchant Center reports. Google also said the site names issues have massively dropped. Google said fixing your INP issues won’t improve your rankings. Google said to avoid low-quality content blurbs on your e-commerce category pages. Google said there is no way to prevent search traffic loss on website revamps and you won’t be “back to the same” either. Google said meta descriptions do not matter for search rankings. Google said very few robots.txt files are over 500KB. Google has a new process for Google Business Profile reinstatements. Google Local is testing and showing third-party reviews again. Google is forcing some suspended advertisers to become verified. An advertiser said they lost thousands of dollars due to a Google Ads experiment. Google also promotes its new Search Generative Experience in the traditional search results. Bing Search is testing playable video snippets. Bing Chat is working on custom instructions feature 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 Studio launched some new features at wix.com/studio/features including AI responsive design tools and the ability to manage your CSS in Wix, plus much more, so check it out at wix.com/studio/features.

0:00 - Introduction

1:08 - Google September 2023 Helpful Content Update Rolling Out With Improved Classifier

4:39 - Google Search Ranking Update Volatility Tremors Around September 12th

5:28 - Google FAQ Rich Results Now Only Displayed For Authoritative Sites

6:17 - Google Drops All How-To Rich Results For Desktop (& Mobile) Search

7:03 - New: Google Search Console Shows Merchant Center Visibility Issues & Changes

7:35 - Google: Site Name Issues Massively Dropped Since Last Algorithm Update

8:10 - Google: Fix Your INP Issues? Don't Expect Visibility Changes Search Rankings.

8:19 - Google On Content On E-Commerce Category Page: Stay Away From Low-Quality Blurbs

8:42 - Google: There Is No Way To Prevent Search Traffic Loss From A Website Revamp

9:12 - Google: No Such Thing As "Back To The Same" For Search Rankings After A Site Revamp

9:38 - Google: Meta Description Length Does Not Matter For Ranking Algorithms

9:57 - Google: Very Few Robots.txt Files Are Over 500KB

10:24 - New Google Business Profiles Reinstatement Process (US)

11:03 - Google Maps/Local Tests Third Party Reviews Again

11:25 - Google To Force Some Suspended Advertisers To Get Verification Before Lifting Suspension

12:00 - Advertiser Lost Thousands Of Dollars Lost During Google Ads Experimental Test

12:36 - Google Promoting Search Generative Experience In Traditional Search Results

12:56 - Bing Search Snippets With Playable Video Thumbnails

13:09 - Bing Chat Working On Custom Instructions Through Useful Memory Feature

13:26 - Conclusion