Google Announces A SPAM Update Rolled Out Last Week
SEOForLunch issue #253 covers the latest Google update, future desktop algorithm updates, and the risk of blocking CSS in your robots.txt file.
Hi Lunch Buddies!
I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. I spent the weekend celebrating my wedding anniversary and driving around town grabbing a few COVID-19 vaccines.
I started by getting my booster on Friday (right after publishing my latest post on TheSEOFreelancer.com) and was able to get each of my (3) kids their first shot at different locations on Saturday. Outside of that, it was a weekend full of preparing for the upcoming snow.
I don’t have a relevant picture to post for this week so I’ll make do with a photo of a Ferrari 448 that I saw while driving to the hardware store. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Let’s jump into this week’s #SEOForLunch.
-Nick
The Ratio of Wix Sites with Good CWV Scores Increase by over 10x
[sponsor]
HTTPArchive has made some exciting updates to its CWV Report, one of which being the ability to filter by geographical location.
The graph below shows the percentage of Wix websites with good CWV, filtered to the US market. We can see that over the past year, the ratio of sites built on Wix with good CWV scores has increased by over 10x. Wix expects this upwards trend to continue as they roll out additional updates to their platform.
You can change the filter to see your specific GEO and stay on top of CWV trends at the Core Web Vitals Technology Report from Google Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX).
To learn more about how Wix prioritizes CWV, check out their webinar hosted in partnership with Google.
Official Search Engine Updates
Tweet:
Google Announces A New SPAM Update on Twitter
What's Important:
Google’s Search Liaison, Danny Sullivan, tweeted last week that a SPAM update has been released within their systems.
Nick's Take:
Many tools that measure the volatility of the search results confirm an update has been launched. I personally have not seen any sites significantly impacted but it’s always worth checking your analytics to see if you saw your Google organic traffic impacted on this date (11/3).
Video:
Can Blocking CSS (Via Robots.txt) From Google Cause Issues?
What's Important:
Google’s John Mueller tackles a few different questions that have short but meaningful answers. He tackles blocking CSS, XML sitemaps, resetting a site’s index, and if RSS feeds cause any issues for search engines.
Nick's Take:
I really enjoy these rapid Q/A sessions. In many instances, having a documented answer from a Google source can help in situations where internal debate is happening. Thanks, John!
Article:
Google: Page Experience Update Will Impact Desktop Rankings in ‘22
What's Important:
Jeffrey Jose, Product Manager on Search announced that Google’s page experience update (which is rolled out on mobile) will also be a factor for desktop rankings in February 2022.
Nick's Take:
Google’s page speed experience update (including core web vitals) hasn’t had a significant impact on the mobile search results. We can probably assume this will be the case for desktop as well. While the impact might be negligible, it’s still highly encouraged to focus on site speed and user experience for all your sites visitors.
Top SEO Resources From Last Week
Why SEOs Need to Invest More in Long-Form Content
Paddy Moogan, Moz.com
Content is king! The longer the content the better. Right? Not quite but long form content absolutely has its place within a larger SEO strategy. Paddy shows several great examples of evergreen long form content that will no doubtly be a hit for years to come.
Multilingual SEO: An Untapped Resource for Local Businesses
Mark Crowe, BrightLocal.com
It’s easy to focus on the language that accounts for the majority in your location. However, the best part of our world is the diversity. Not only does Mark have a map (of the US) that outlines popular languages spoken by state, but he explains how to tap into this data to help businesses grow their organic visibility to their targeted audience/
GSC vs. GKP: Comparing Search Volumes for 72k Keywords
Tim Soulo, Ahrefs.com
When we conduct keyword research we utilize third party tools including Google’s own keyword planner. However, how often is this data accurate? The not so secret answer - rarely. Tim walks us through an analysis of 72K+ keywords and how Search Console impressions (actual searches) compare against traffic estimates.
AMP Has Irreparably Damaged Publishers’ Trust in Google-led Initiatives
Sarah Gooding, WPTavern.com
“Google throttles the load time of non-AMP ads by giving htem artificial one-second delays in order to give AMP a ‘nice comparative boos.’” Yikes! This is a great read that definitely causes you to go down a rabit hole of other resources and articles to read. Google has definitely dug itself into a hole with AMP. Is it too late to fix this relationship or is a divorce truly the only option?
Digital Marketing Agency Pricing Survey
John Doherty, Credo.com
From my experience, the pricing in this survey skew a bit lower. However, the data available from 500+ survey members on the topic of search marketing pricing is an interesting data point to consider whether your selling your own services or looking to hire.
Still Creating Content Without An SEO Brief?
[#SEOForLunch Partner]
I use Content Harmony for all my clients SEO briefs. I’ve yet to meet a writer who doesn’t appreciate the data points and direction that I’m able to provide with this tool. I’m convinced that SEO briefs are critical to creating content that ranks well.
You can test out Content Harmony too. Get 10 briefs for $10.00 today.
You Made It To The Bottom. You’re AWESOME!
Thank you for reading this week's issue of the #SEOForLunch. If you know anyone who may also enjoy this newsletter please consider sending them to the signup page. https://nickleroy.com/newsletter