Google: Text To HTML Ratio Makes No Sense For SEO & Ignore It
Google’s John Mueller is at it again, saying that text-to-HTML ratios are not a thing for SEO. He said on Reddit, “It makes absolutely no sense at all for SEO,” and you should “ignore any report that gives you a text:html ratio.”
Google Tests Colored +Topics Search Bar Refinements
Google is testing using colors for the +topic search bar refinements, those bubble buttons you sometimes get under this search bar in Google Search. I am seeing normal white buttons, then grey, blue and green, but I am sure there are more.
75% Of SEOs Are Not Happy With Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
I posted a poll on Twitter asking if SEOs thoughts on Google Analytics 4 (GA4). X% said they “hate it” and about X% said they have “somewhat negative” thoughts on GA4, so that is about 3/4th of SEOs saying they are not pleased with GA4.
Google Business Profiles Adds “Fix Photo That Doesn’t Show” To Appeal Form
Google has added a new option in the Google Business Profile appeal for “Fix photo that doesn’t show.” This means you can submit a support request for when you know a photo is not showing up on your Google Business Profile and you want it to.
Google Ads Tests Scan To Call QR Code Extension
Google is testing a new phone ad extension that lets you scan a QR code on your phone to call the number. Also, you can see three images across the ad, which is also a test.
Google: No Points For Trying To Provide A Good User Experience
Google’s John Mueller said trying to provide a good user experience but not succeeding will not result in any ranking benefit in Google Search. John said during office hours at the 9:29 minute mark, “What matters for Google is not that a website is att…
Google Ads API Version 14.1 Now Available
Google has released a minor release for its Google Ads API, version 14.1. This comes just about two months after version 14 was released. New in 14.1 includes new recommendation types, more search terms insights support, and much more, the full list i…
Google Local Service Ads Photo Guidelines Now Faster Reviews & More Creative
Google is now saying that its new Local Service Ads guidelines are faster for reviews and also more flexible by allowing more creative images. What that really means, well, time will tell, but that is what Google is emailing local advertisers.
Daily Search Forum Recap: August 9, 2023
Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
Google will show fewer HowTo and FAQ rich results in search going forward…
Google Ads Gains New Ads & Reporting Insights For Upcoming Holidays
Google announced several new features for the upcoming holiday season; yea, it is coming… These features include Customer Acquisition with High Value optimization, local ad changes, new product reporting, and more visibility for your Google shipping …
Google: Don’t Delete Older Content, It May Be Helpful Content
Danny Sullivan, Google’s Search Liaison, posted a PSA on Twitter that you should not delete old content from your site because you think Google Search doesn’t like old content. He said it is not true, Google Search can find older content to be helpful….
Google Search To Show FAQ & HowTo Rich Results Less Often
Google said you will soon see fewer FAQ and HowTo rich results showing up in the Google Search results. Why? I assume because there is just too many of these rich results being displayed in search that Google is now making the benchmark to show them mu…
Google Search “From Publishers You Follow” Section
Google Search now has this section titled “From publishers you follow” in the search results. That is if the query returns content from a Google News publisher you actually follow.
Google Search Tests Star Store Badge
Google is testing replacing the “top quality store” badge with a “star store” badge in the search results. Previously it was a “Trusted Store” badge but that was replaced by the “top quality store” badge.
Google Images Now Shows Site Name, Favicon & Page Title
Google Images are now showing the site name, favicon and below that, a second line, for the page title that image is sourced from. Previously, Google showed just the image, then Google tested the site name and favicon but now Google is showing it all.
Google: Maybe Don’t Let Google Search Index Your AI Chatbot Output
With all these AI chatbots out there now, Google Search seems to be seeing more and more of them publishing AI-generated outputted content in the wild. And if you don’t want Google indexing that content, make sure to block Googlebot from seeing that co…
Google: You Don’t Need A Niche Site To Rank On A Topic
Google’s John Mueller said on Twitter, “You don’t need to have a niche site in order to rank in Google; in fact, sometimes that’s a good way not to rank.” He explained that “A page doesn’t have to be on a site that’s “related to the niche” in order to be useful & helpful.”
Google Search Major League Baseball “Recent Featured Highlights”
Google has a new search feature titled “recent featured highlights” for Major League Baseball players. It showcases stats for recent games, short video clips and more.
Changes to HowTo and FAQ rich results
To provide a cleaner and more consistent search experience, we’re changing how some rich results types are shown in Google’s search results. In particular, we’re reducing the visibility of FAQ rich results, and limiting How-To rich results to de…
Vlog #235: Lance Bachmann On Growing A Winning Digital Marketing Agency
I met up at one of Lance Bachmann’s businesses, 1SEO Digital Agency, where we chatted about marketing and running a business. Lance started doing digital marketing over 20 years, and while he owns five other companies…