SEO newsletter issue #489
Simon Schnieders
Founder of the UK's largest specialist SEO & generative engine optimisation (GEO) agency | B Corp
Editor's notes
I found the Search Engine Land article about how the CEO of Google (Sundar Pichai) thinks that search will profoundly change in 2025 to be most insightful this week.
Google are primarily focused on their search product and how “In a world in which you’re inundated with content, you’re trying to find trustworthy content” and how Google hopes to be at the forefront of this still in 2025 and beyond.
For content creators, Sundar does seem to project an end to the ‘blue link economy’ (probably considering Jarvis in his response) and said “There’ll be a marketplace in the future, I think. There’ll be creators who will create for AI models or something like that and get paid for it. I definitely think you know that’s that’s part of the future and people will figure it out.” (Google aren’t trying to figure it out).
Simon Schnieders
Blue Array -
Founder and CEO
SEO News ???
Google November 2024 core update rollout is now complete
*Summary: The November 2024 Google core update has completed its rollout after 24 days. This update focuses on improving the relevance and quality of search results by prioritizing helpful content while demoting content created solely for rankings. Sites impacted by previous updates, like the Helpful Content Update, may not see immediate recovery. Google's advice remains
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Barry Schwartz on Search Engine Land, or follow him on X
Google CEO Sundar Pichai: Search will profoundly change in 2025
*Summary: Google CEO Sundar Pichai revealed that 2025 will bring profound changes to Search, enabling it to tackle more complex queries through advanced AI technologies like Gemini and multimodal transformers. He emphasized the increasing value of Search in navigating the flood of content online, while addressing ongoing concerns about fair use and content licensing. Pichai hinted at evolving models to compensate creators in the AI era, signaling shifts in the "blue link economy."
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Danny Goodwin on Search Engine Land or follow him on X
Advanced SEO Industry News ??
Google Search Results Are Personalized - Try Without Personalization
*Summary: Google has added a feature to Search results that lets users see whether results are personalised. A toggle now allows users to switch to non-personalised results, providing greater transparency. This feature uses the "pws=0" parameter to disable personalisation, which has existed for over a decade but is now more accessible. The update reflects Google's efforts to offer users more control and clarity about their search experiences.
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Barry Schwartz on Search Engine Roundtable or follow him on X
Google adds FAQs on site reputation abuse policy
*Summary: Google has updated its site reputation abuse policy with a detailed FAQ to clarify key concerns. Topics covered include the treatment of third-party, freelance, and affiliate content, along with guidance on noindexing and moving policy-violating content. The update emphasises proper handling of content to avoid manual actions and highlights steps to resolve violations effectively without impacting site rankings.
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Barry Schwartz on Search Engine Land, or follow him on X
Google Chrome Browser Site Engagement Metrics
*Summary: Google Chrome's Site Engagement Metrics tool allows users to track their engagement with websites based on factors like active time spent and interactions. Available through the "chrome://site-engagement/" URL, it provides insights into personal browsing behaviour. While this data is stored in Chrome and not directly linked to Google Search, it highlights the growing emphasis on understanding user behaviour to optimise site engagement.
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Barry Schwartz on Search Engine Roundtable or follow him on X
*Summary: Google’s December Blog focuses on crawling efficiency and resource management. It emphasises prioritising high-quality, updated content to ensure better visibility in search results while reducing unnecessary crawling of low-value pages. Site owners are encouraged to leverage structured data, XML sitemaps, and server optimisations to align with Google’s evolving crawling strategies for 2024 and beyond.
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Google Search Central on X
领英推荐
How Robots.txt Works
*Summary: In this video, Martin Splitt explains the basics of robots.txt files and how to use them to control Google's crawling and indexing behaviour. He covers the difference between robots.txt and the robots meta tag, how to block certain bots from accessing specific pages, and the importance of using the correct directives. Splitt also discusses common pitfalls, such as using both robots.txt and meta tags simultaneously, and the best practices to avoid issues with Google Search. For further insights, he recommends checking Google Search Console and testing tools.
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Google Search Central on X
Google Says Just Because You Call Yourself Something, It Doesn't Mean You Will Rank For It
*Summary: Google's John Mueller clarified that a company name alone doesn’t guarantee top search rankings, especially for generic terms. He highlighted that competitive spaces require more than a keyword-rich domain to rank effectively. Businesses need to focus on comprehensive SEO strategies, as simply rebranding or using a generic name like “The Wedding Company” won’t automatically lead to top search positions.
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Barry Schwartz on Search Engine Roundtable or follow him on X
Handling Dupes - Same Same or Different? | Search Off the Record
*Summary: In this episode of Search Off the Record, the Google Search team are joined by Alan Scott from the De-duplication and Canonicalisation team to discuss the intricacies of duplicate detection and elimination in Google Search. The conversation delves into topics such as the internal and external terminology discrepancies for 'dupes,' the complexities of canonicalisation and clustering, and the challenges posed by localisation and error pages. Alan highlights some advanced issues like the handling of rel canonical signals, marauding black holes of dead pages, and best practices for avoiding clustering pitfalls. The episode concludes with Martin, John, and Alan emphasising the importance of consistent signals and correct HTTP status codes to ensure proper site indexing.
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Google Search Central on X
How to create your own Knowledge Panel / Entity Tracker on Google Sheets [5 Steps]
*Summary: Gus Pelogia offers a five-step guide to creating a Knowledge Panel Tracker using Google Sheets. This tool automates the monitoring of entities like names or brands, tracking their recognition and information displayed in Google's Knowledge Panels. It's particularly beneficial for emerging entities aiming to observe their online presence and how Google perceives them over time. The process involves setting up a Google Sheet integrated with relevant data sources to streamline entity tracking.
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Gus Pelogia on X
Google Gemini AI Search Testing New Link Sources
*Summary: Google’s Gemini AI is testing a new link display format in search results, giving publishers increased visibility. The update includes a “Sources and related content” header at the bottom of AI results, allowing users to view all referenced websites. This enhanced transparency could help publishers gain recognition for their contributions to AI-generated answers, offering opportunities to optimise content for inclusion
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Barry Schwartz on Search Engine Roundtable or follow him on X
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