In October’s first weekly news roundup, we review Google`s latest updates, uncover some gems of Google wisdom, and highlight two posts that could help improve your site`s performance.
Those include:
Google updated its Search Console Performance reports with sticky filters.
Google`s Search advocate explains how to encourage Google to pick up your new site.
Search Liaison Danny Sullivan denies Google favors big brands (saying it’s all about quality, not quantity)!
Google launches AI-organized search results to provide a bespoke user experience.
Elsewhere on the web, SEJ writer Roger Montti reports on a new Chrome tool that helps improve site performance. Kevin Rowe, founder and head of Digital PR Strategy, writes an excellent post on using Google Trends to analyze your competitors’ brand engagement.
Google’s Search Console Now Has Sticky Filters
Google updated its Search Console Performance report by adding sticky filters. This feature enables you to use one setting when navigating between Search results, Google Discovery, and Google News.
Google said the update will help streamline navigation and improve your data analysis.
Key takeaways:
- Google added its new feature to Search Console Performance reports in response to community feedback.
- Google said the update will save time, as the sticky filters enable you to switch between the Queries and Pages tabs.
- Google included a “reset filters” button to clear sticky filters and add new ones for each performance report when needed.
Google Advises On New Site Pickup Strategies
Google’s Search Advocate, John Mueller, joined a Reddit conversation to advise on how to encourage Google to pick up a new website.
Other Redditors provided some handy strategies, but Johns’s expert advice touched on an often-forgotten technical issue that could make a huge difference to new site owners and their ranking strategy.
Key takeaways:
- A Redditor who had just registered a new domain asked for advice on the three most important things they should do when launching their new site.
- The Redditor said their business and niche didn’t matter, and they had already added their domain to Google Search.
- Mueller’s advice was invaluable. It provided insight into how Google picks up on new websites faster and warned against making one common mistake.
Google’s Denies It Favors Big Brands
During an interview with Aleyda Solis on her Crawling Mondays podcast, Google Search Liaison Danny Sullivan denied Google gives preferential treatment to big brands.
Sullivan did, however, admit independent websites are having a difficult time in Search because of past updates, but also said that Google’s algorithms are improving and will soon reward high-quality content.
Key takeaways:
- Aleyda Solis questions Danny Sullivan about Google’s preference for ranking big brands over smaller, independent websites.
- Sullivan said Google doesn’t care about size and it’s all about content quality and relativity,
- Sullivan advised independent site owners to develop their brands because they are their brands. However, that alone won’t improve their search rankings.
Google Launches AI-organized Search Results
Google rolled out its AI-organized search results in the US and the UK last week. The new search format personalizes search and content results and provides a unique experience for every user.
Google said, “It’s some of our most significant search updates yet!”
Key takeaways:
- Google’s AI-organized results provide a one-size-fits-all full-page user experience, created using results relative to each user’s search intent and history.
- Google chose recipes and meal-related searches to launch the new AI-organized search results.
- However, many site owners believe placing AI overviews above their organic search listing will lower click-through rates.
Google denied this, saying:
- “With AI-organized search results pages, we’re bringing people more diverse content formats and sites, creating even more opportunities for content to be discovered.”
- “We’ve seen that this improved experience has driven an increase in traffic to supporting websites compared to the previous design, and people are finding it easier to visit sites that interest them.”
From Around The Web
Google Rolls Out CrUX Vis Core Web Vitals Tool
SEJ writer Roger Montti reports on Chrome’s new brand tool, CrUX Vis, which enables users to see Core Web Vitals trends and use them to improve website performance.
Key takeaways:
- Montii explains Chrome’s new CrUX Vis tool, saying it’s an entirely new approach to understanding website performance and provides a clear view of crucial data at the website and URL levels.
Chrome said Crux is:
- “The Chrome User Experience Report (also known as the Chrome UX Report, or CrUX for short) is a dataset that reflects how real-world Chrome users experience popular destinations on the web.”
- “CrUX is the official dataset of the Web Vitals program. All user-centric Core Web Vitals metrics are represented.”
- “CrUX data is collected from real browsers around the world, based on certain browser options which determine user eligibility. A set of dimensions and metrics are collected which allow site owners to determine how users experience their sites.”
How to use Google Trends to analyze your competitors’ brand engagement
Kevin Rowe, founder & Head of Digital PR Strategy, explains how to use Google Trends to gain a competitive advantage by tracking search patterns and identifying media placements.
Key takeaways:
In Rowe’s comprehensive post on how to use Google Trends to drive growth, he explains how:
- “People use a search engine to find deeper details about the topic or its elements. This workflow can drive short- or long-term brand or non-brand keyword search patterns.
- “How an audience searches out brand details as a result of either short-term or long-term engagement with brand messaging across other platforms and that brand search behavior is a strong indicator of brand engagement.”
- “By analyzing these patterns, you can answer very strategic digital marketing, PR, and SEO questions.”
When he is not writing content, Terry can be found on his boat in Italy or chilling in his villa in Spain.
- SEO Weekly News Roundup [December 16 to 20, 2024] - December 23, 2024
- Google Enforces New Penalties For Ad Policy Violators - October 16, 2024
- Google Goes Nuclear To Power AI Data Centers - October 15, 2024
