Google Recommends Keeping Redirects Live for ...
SEOForLunch issue #257 covers redirects and a new product review update.
Hi Lunch Buddies!
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If you’ve been following the news regarding Zillow’s planned layoff of 25% of their workforce you may enjoy my post on my second newsletter TheSEOFreelancer - The illusion of the 9-5 job security. I take a controversial view on the topic and would love to read your thoughts in the comments too!
Let’s jump into this week’s #SEOForLunch.
-Nick
How SEO agency Blue Array avoided $200K revenue loss for a client
[sponsor]
One of SEO agency Blue Array's clients made a change that caused page titles to be removed across 5,000 key pages.
Blue Array was notified immediately and alerted their client to revert this change right away.
The revenue loss avoided? North of $200K!
Official Search Engine Updates
Video:
How Long Should You Keep 301 Redirects In Place?
What's Important:
Google’s John Mueller discusses permanent ‘301’ redirects when changing URLs. He further recommends that redirect stays in place for at least one year.
Nick's Take:
I don’t know guys. I’m wearing my tinfoil hat on this one. I’m sure the one-year rule is indeed accurate to signal to Google that URL A is now URL B. However, I’d be extremely hesitant to remove redirects as John also mentions in this video that ideally you would go back and update all link mentioned from URL A to URL B. If this isn’t done properly I suspect you’ll have ranking issues once the redirect(s) are removed.
Article:
Product Reviews Algorimth Update and Your Site
What's Important:
Google employees, Perry Liu, Jianfei Zhu, and Alan Kent announced another product reviews update since the last one launched in April 2021. Two best practices they recommend are providing videos/audio and proof of personal experience with products. In addition, it is recommended that you link out to multiple sellers providing the product you are reviewing.
Nick's Take:
This update seems to be targeting affiliate websites that solely exist for the purpose of selling products — Amazon affiliate sites come to mind. Gone are the days of buying an exact match product domain, using stock photos, and throwing a bunch of comparison links/prices in a table.
Top SEO Resources From Last Week
Want To Create More Content? Focus On Repurposing
Ryan McCready, Foundationinc.co
What’s better than creating a great piece of content? Leveraging that same piece of content to create 3-4+ MORE pieces of awesome content. This is exactly what Ryan walks us through to make sure you get as much return from your content as possible.
A Marketer’s Guide to Using Regex in Search Console [Video]
Annie Cushing, Annielytics.com
When I have a question about regex I always refer to the multiple resources that Annie has written over the years. This video is the icing on the cake to maximize the value of pulling data from GSC.
The 2021 Local Search Ranking Factors
Darren Shaw, Whitespark.ca
I don’t consider myself an expert in local SEO. That’s why I have Darren at the very top of my “phone a friend” list when I have questions. It’s comprehensive guides like this that make him one of the best in the industry when it comes to local SEO. If you have time, I recommend you check out some of the archived ranking factors writeups from previous years too.
14 Tips for First-Year SEO Freelancers
Adam Gent, Gentofsearch.com
Adam recently completed his first year as a full-time freelance SEO. In this post, he outlines 14 tips for those who are also considering the move to full-time freelancing. Congrats on the fantastic first year, Adam!
Why there are no VP SEO jobs
Tom Critchlow, SEOMBA
Good SEO career advice is hard to find. Great advice is nearly nonexistent. I’m excited that Tom is committed to writing more about career opportunities within the SEO industry. Although, as you’ll quickly find out from this article, staying strictly within SEO may limit you in your growth.
Download Nick’s FREE Chome Extension
[#SEOForLunch Partner]
I had the Inspect Canonical Chrome extension built for my own personal auditing needs after a similar extension disappeared overnight. I’ve made the extension available to everyone, for free.
Inspect Canonical is a free Chrome extension that tells you the canonical value of any URL you are on right in your browser. No more scrolling through the source code.
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Learn More About The Guy Behind The #SEOForLunch: Nick LeRoy
Nick LeRoy is a professional SEO Consultant specializing in technical SEO, content strategy, and website migrations.
Nick is also the author of two SEO focused newsletters: #SEOForLunch and The SEO Freelancer.
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