Google SEO News

Some Sites Hit by Google Helpful Content Update Seeing Small Lifts

Reports indicate minor improvements for sites affected by the Google September 2023 Helpful Content Update. Although full recoveries are not observed, small gains suggest potential for future growth, possibly influenced by recent updates. Monitoring continues for more substantial recoveries in upcoming updates.

SEO Recommendations by Jason

Instead of just focusing on vanity metrics like clicks (lol), focus on the causes of clicks, impressions and volume of indexed content/keywords. Improve how you monitor your site's organic visibility performance by focusing on impressions and volume of indexed keywords. See the screenshots below on how to pull the volume of keywords per month. Create a 6 month analysis and build out the volume of indexed keywords on a month by month basis.

Step-by-Step Guide to Reviewing Indexed Keywords Monthly

  1. Access Google Search Console

    • Go to Google Search Console.
    • If you haven’t added your site yet, click on “Add Property” and follow the prompts to verify your site.
  2. Select Date Range

    • Once your site is added, navigate to the “Performance” section in the left-hand menu.
    • At the top of the Performance report, you will see a date range selector. Click on it and choose the date range you want to review. You can select a specific monthor a custom date range.
  1. Create a New Filter

    • Below the date range, you’ll see options to add filters. Click on “+ New” and select “Query”.
    • Choose “Query” and “Not containing”.
    • Enter your site name or any other keyword you want to exclude from the results.
  1. Export Data to Google Sheets

    • After applying the filter, you’ll see the updated list of queries. Click on the export button (represented by a downward arrow) at the top right of the report.
    • Select “Google Sheets” from the export options. This will create a new Google Sheet with your filtered data.
  1. Apply Filters in Google Sheets

    • Open the Google Sheet with your exported data.
    • Click on the first row and then select “Data” > “Create a filter” to enable filtering for the first row.
  1. Sort by Position

    • Locate the “Position” column in your Google Sheet.
    • Click on the filter icon in the “Position” column header and select “Sort A to Z” to sort the keywords by their position in ascending order. This will help you identify the keywords that are ranking higher.

Additional Tips

  • Track Monthly Changes: Repeat this process each month and save the results in separate sheets within the same Google Sheets file. This will help you track changes and trends over time.
  • Analyze Performance: Look for patterns in the data. Identify keywords that are improving or declining in position, and consider creating targeted content or optimizing existing content to improve rankings.
  • Combine with Google Analytics: For a more comprehensive analysis, combine your Search Console data with Google Analytics data. This will give you insights into user behavior and how indexed keywords are driving traffic to your site.

July 4th Weekend Google Search Ranking Update & Volatility

Increased volatility in Google search rankings was noted over the July 4th weekend, reminiscent of past weekend ranking bugs. Starting July 5, 2024, some tools reported significant fluctuations, though the cause remains speculative.

SEO Recommendations by Jason

Volatility continues to play tough. Unfortunately, there is very little we can do about external influential factors that impact search rankings. Use the guide above to review your month's performance, start to build historical data so you can plan in advance and set clearer expectations of what the traffic might or might not do. Predictive search behavior is very powerful both for SEO Teams and Marketing Leadership to make informed forecasts and take alternative decisions to account for this.

Bing SEO News

Microsoft Advertising Property Center & Lodging Campaigns Expands

Microsoft launched Property Center, improving Hotel Price Ads and Property Promotion Ads management. Lodging Campaigns are now available worldwide, allowing all customers to increase bookings for hotels and vacation rentals. Users can access this feature through their Microsoft Advertising account.

SEO Recommendations by Jason

Interestingly enough, this function is very similar to Google’s advertising dashboard. It is good to see Microsoft bringing these options to the table to give PPC’ers more control, flexibility and better management. 

General Search Marketing News 

Google AI Overviews: Learn About Their Newest Test

Google is testing a new layout for AI Overviews, moving link cards to the top of the result page. This change could affect traffic for sites visible in AI Overviews, signaling potential shifts in user engagement and click-through rates.

SEO Recommendations by Jason

We are all VERY MUCH filled with expectations for this one! As we see Google’s successful rollout across a lot of industries and regions, the question is specifically when this will be pushed to all searches and maybe even applied to other search engines. To avoid losing traffic from Google AI Overview, it is key to continue to establish your website as the authority in a niche and develop your content to fulfill as many of the search terms as possible that align with the intent and organizational strategy.

Concentrate on building our long-tail keywords and foundational topics within your content clusters, and then build out the content for more of the competitive keywords or higher volume searches. The more niche you are, the quicker your organic visibility will be.