Weekly SEO News August 23-29

Google Enhances Organization Structured Data Documentation

Source: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/organization?hl=tr?

The updated introduction to the documentation now offers a more comprehensive overview, focusing on four key areas. This revision serves as an excellent example of how to craft a high-quality introductory paragraph, demonstrating the importance of high information density—communicating more with fewer words to convey ideas more effectively.

The key updates include:

1. Clarification of Organizational Identity: The documentation now highlights how organization structured data helps distinguish one organization from others by using specific properties like iso6523 and naics, making the data less ambiguous.
2. Impact on Search Appearance: It explains how certain Schema.org properties can affect the visual elements in search results and in the knowledge panel, which appears on the right side of search results for specific queries.
3. Enhanced Knowledge Panels: The update specifically mentions how this structured data can enrich merchant knowledge panels and brand profiles with additional details such as return policies, addresses, and contact information.
4. Emphasis on Flexibility: The introduction now clarifies that while there are no required properties for organization structured data, it’s recommended to include as many relevant properties as possible. This is not a new concept but is now more prominently featured.

The previous version of the documentation was more general and lacked specific details, making it less effective at preparing readers for the rest of the content. The new introduction, on the other hand, improves the document by clearly communicating what the web page is about, how organization structured data benefits users, and highlighting the specific users who will benefit the most, such as merchants.

Google Search Now Includes OG Title as a Source for Title Links

Source: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/title-link?hl=tr#sources

Google has introduced a new update to its search documentation, now allowing the OG title meta data to be used as a source for title links in Google Search results. This brings the total to nine possible sources from which Google may draw your title links.

Here’s the complete list of sources Google may use for title links:

• Content in <title> elements
• Main visual title displayed on the page
• Heading elements like <h1> tags
• Content in og:title meta tags
• Other prominently styled text
• Any large and noticeable text on the page
• Anchor text found on the page
• Text within links that direct to the page
• WebSite structured data

What’s New: The latest addition to this list is the use of content from og:title meta tags.

What is an OG Title? The og:title is the title of your object as it should appear within the open graph protocol. It's commonly used by social media platforms to determine the title that appears when a URL is shared on their platforms.

What is a Title Link in Google Search? The title link is the clickable title that appears in the Google Search result snippet, leading users to your page.

Boost SEO with Google’s New Gemini Gems AI Experts

Source: ??https://blog.google/products/gemini/google-gemini-update-august-2024/

Google has introduced a new feature in its Gemini AI platform called Gems, designed to help users efficiently handle specialized tasks, including SEO.

What Are Gemini Gems?

Gemini Gems are customizable AI experts tailored for specific tasks. Users can create these experts by providing instructions, enabling the Gems to assist with tasks in a highly specialized way.

Using Gems for SEO

Imagine creating a Gem that’s equipped with Google’s quality rater guidelines and SEO starter guide. This Gem could analyze your content, identify areas for improvement, and suggest actionable changes.

Specialized SEO Tasks with Gems

• Screaming Frog Analysis: A Gem could process Screaming Frog crawl data, identify issues like redirects or 404 errors, and generate organized reports.
• Content SEO Optimization: Another Gem could assess your content’s structure, ensuring titles, headings, and paragraphs are well-organized and SEO-friendly.
• Image Evaluation: A Gem could suggest relevant images to enhance content, improving both user engagement and SEO performance.

Why Gemini Gems Matter

Gems could significantly enhance efficiency, reducing the need for multiple AI tools. This new feature has the potential to streamline various business tasks, making it a powerful addition to the Google Gemini platform.

Google describes Gems as “a team of experts to help you with challenging projects, brainstorming, or content creation,” making it a tool worth exploring for both business and personal use.

Hidden Features in Google Trends

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kkd2PkbCdSc&t=2s

Google recently released a video tutorial revealing seven powerful tips to maximize the potential of Google Trends for keyword and topic research. These tips help users access hidden filters, leverage search operators, and gain more actionable insights.

7 Ways to Enhance Your Google Trends Experience:

1. Punctuation Insights: Use quotation marks, plus (+), and minus (-) signs to refine search queries and dig deeper into user data.
2. Language Segmentation: Filter search data by specific languages or compare keyword volumes across different languages for a more granular view.
3. Comparison Filters: Compare keywords to identify meaningful trends, such as seasonal variations or localized growth.
4. Seasonality Discovery: Analyze five-year data to uncover seasonal trends and better understand search patterns.
5. Year-over-Year Trends: Remove seasonality effects by comparing data across different years, allowing for more accurate trend analysis.
6. Interest by Country: Compare search query volumes across different countries using filters for global insights.
7. Save and Share: Easily share results via URL, embed dynamic charts on your website, or export data to a spreadsheet for further analysis.

Why Use Google Trends?

Google Trends is a free, powerful tool for keyword and topic research. These advanced tips will help you extract even more actionable insights from your data.

Google Clarifies Impact of Internal Nofollow Links on Quality Signals

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj42gKDQxYI&t=77s

Google's Martin Splitt recently addressed a concern about whether internal nofollow links or noindex meta robots directives could signal low quality to Google. The nofollow attribute, originally designed to prevent PageRank flow from untrusted or paid links, has been used by some SEOs for PageRank sculpting. However, Splitt clarified that using nofollow on internal links or noindex tags does not send a low-quality signal to Google.

Key Takeaways:

• Nofollow Links: These are used when you don’t want to be associated with certain links, often in user-generated content. They do not affect Google’s perception of your site’s quality.
• Noindex Tags: These are simply directives to prevent specific pages from being crawled and do not indicate low quality.

Splitt reassured that neither practice negatively impacts a website’s quality in Google’s eyes.

Why Best Practices May Have Minimal Impact on SEO

Source:? ?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj42gKDQxYI&t=1064s

Google’s John Mueller recently discussed why following SEO best practices might not always yield noticeable improvements in search rankings or traffic.

Key Points:

• SEO Complexity: SEO is multifaceted and what works can vary greatly. Some focus on keywords, others on content quality, technical aspects, or link building. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution.
• Challenges in SEO: Even with a well-optimized site—good layout, fast speed, structured data, etc.—issues like incomplete content, overemphasis on keywords, or mismatched content can hinder results.
• Minimal Impact: Mueller highlighted that some best practices, like a clean page structure, might not lead to immediate ranking changes or traffic boosts.
• Varied Criteria: SEO effectiveness can differ by topic, requiring tailored strategies based on content type, user intent, and other factors.

Mueller’s takeaway: Effective SEO requires more than just following best practices; it involves a nuanced approach and ongoing adjustments.