SEO Updates: Google Core Update, Bing Test, Microsoft Advertising, and More - Date: July 24th, 2024

Google SEO News

Google Core Update Expected Soon

Danny Sullivan, Google's Search Liaison, announced that a new core update is anticipated in the coming weeks. Danny Sullivan wrote, "I would expect we'll see one in the coming weeks, because that fits in with our general cycle." "But precisely when, that's just not known yet," he added.The exact timing remains uncertain as updates undergo rigorous testing and evaluation before launch.?

SEO Recommendations by Jason

I would expect this update to occur over the weekend, specifically on Saturday, from my experience these core updates are focused on EEAT, and potentially will affect rankings and create volatility during and after the update. With that being said, no changes need to be made for this specific event. Observe and monitor your positions in Google Search Console and document or annotate any important changes that occur on your search properties.?

July 18th Google Search Ranking Algorithm Volatility

As of July 18th, there are signs of increased volatility in Google Search rankings, suggesting a possible algorithm update. This spike in fluctuations might indicate that Google is currently testing or evaluating changes ahead of the next core update.

SEO Recommendations by Jason

Interestingly enough, we saw a large spike on one of our own websites (https://argentineasado.com/) last week, and this could be related, or not, to the volatility of the algorithm changes and Google testing AI overview will surely create spikes and troughs. As I mentioned in previous news articles, it's important to document your traffic/impression, Low range vs High range, and the % of impact of both. Building historical data or observing the traffic patterns will help you interpret the volatility better. Often, these algorithm updates can be associated with specific niches or markets; they are not always inclusive of all websites or search preferences.?

Bing SEO News

Bing Tests Related Searches Under Search Bar

Bing is experimenting with placing related searches at the top of the search results page, just below the search bar. This change aims to make related search suggestions more prominent and easily accessible to users.

SEO Recommendations by Jason

This is really good news from Bing, as they strive to improve their search experience and provide a more semantically linked search experience. By searching one search term, you get a list of closely related options. It is key to interlink content semantically, focus on content clusters, and nail gaps in your content strategy. This way, your content has more density and is considered more authoritative.?

Microsoft Advertising Introduces Brand Lists for Performance Max Campaigns

Microsoft Advertising is launching brand lists for Performance Max campaigns. This feature allows advertisers to exclude specific brands, improving control over ad placement and relevance. Brand lists help optimize return on ad spend (ROAS) and make sure that ads appear in appropriate contexts.

SEO Recommendations by Jason

Very similar to Google’s performance max options, the “black-box” solution strikes again! The black box refers to the plug-and-play aspect of p-max campaigns. They are great if you don’t have the time to set up agnostic campaigns for each of your funnels, buyer profiles, or products/services. That being said, they have little control, and often, it's a case of spending more dollars to get more results that get more expensive each time. I have rarely seen a P-max campaign CPA improve over time, it is generally a slow depletion of ROAS.?

General Search Marketing News?

Google Core Update Coming, Ranking Volatility, Bye Search Notes, AI Overviews, Ads & More

Key updates from Barry Schwartz's video include:

• An upcoming Google core update as noted by Danny Sullivan.
• Notable volatility in Google Search rankings around July 17th-18th.
• Google will discontinue the Search Notes feature by the end of August.
• Expansion of AI overviews to UK workspace accounts.
• Reduction in citations from Reddit and Quora in AI overviews.
• Google's classifier for AI-generated content.
• Impacts of Google's site reputation abuse policy on affiliate sites.
• Phasing out of the goo.gl URL shortener.
• Testing of AI-organized local search results and 3D/AR images in search results.