Core update complete + Brands dominate SEO

Pro Snippet "Google's August Core Update has drawn to a timely conclusion. The long-anticipated, much-awaited recovery for Helpful Content Update victims? Partial at best. Meanwhile, Google's results seem to be an ever tougher place to compete for smaller brands, and a wide variety of people are worrying about various SERP features only making this worse." - Tom Capper, Senior Search Scientist, Moz What We're Reading:   The Helpful Content Update Was Not What You Think Tom Capper digs into the fate of tens of thousands of sites through the Helpful Content Updates, and reveals the surprising reality of what impacted sites have in common - and it isn't (un)helpful content. Interview Of Google's Search Liaison On The August 2024 Core Update Barry Schwarz interviews Google's Danny Sullivan. As usual with Google official statements, there's not a lot of news here. But there is some refreshing contrition regarding the mistakes that have been made in recent updates. An Open Letter to Google from a Small Publisher Meanwhile, hear from one of those victims - a thought provoking exploration of what has happened to small, specialist brands in search, and the difficult tradeoffs Google has to balance. The Sites Dominating Google's Top Stories SERP Feature in 2024 Talking of big-brands dominating search - this is a news-focused piece, analysing the Top Stories feature and what it can tell us about news SEO today. Here's How 7 News Audience Directors Are Thinking About Google's AI Overviews What do the SEOs on the frontlines at major publishers think about Google's AI Overviews? Opinions are varied, but refreshingly measured. How to Relaunch a Website Without Losing Search Visibility Learn how to set yourself up for success when planning and executing a site migration or overhaul. Tina Reis covers common reasons for the loss of search visibility as well as key steps to take to avoid seeing that dreaded drop in traffic. Sins of an Agency: Parting Ways With Our Biggest Client How do you decide whether to fire or keep your biggest client? Discover how one agency used a risk-benefit analysis to make a difficult decision. Do Backlinks Impact Rankings on Google? Joy Hawkins talks through why she considers links as important for local rankings on Google and how she tested her theory. Elizabeth Rule on Scaling Multi-Location Brands with Local SEO (Podcast Episode) In this podcast episode, Claire Carlile is joined by Elizabeth Rule from Sterling Sky, to discuss how to successfully scale your business using local SEO. Yelp Sues Google Over Local Search Dominance Yelp wants to make sure the fallout of Google's recent woes extends to local SEO - and, of course, their own bottom line.         Products  |   Learn  |   Community  |   Blog  |   About . Moz, 720 Robson St, 400  Vancouver, BC V6Z 1A1 Canada You received this email because you are subscribed to The Moz Top 10 newsletter from Moz. Update your email preferences.  Unsubscribe from all future emails.

It's Core Update time + Featured Snippet tactics.

Pro Snippet "Our selection this week is a mix of industry news, tactical advice, and local SEO spam problems. The big news on many SEOs' minds is the August Core update, but as usual we caution against jumping to conclusions, especially whilst the update is still ongoing. There are a lot of rumours about partial reversal of the September and March updates, and that could be good news, but it's too early to be sure right now." - Tom Capper, Senior Search Scientist, Moz What We're Reading:   How to Optimize for Google's Featured Snippets [Updated for 2024] Google's featured snippets started as an experiment almost a decade ago. They have since become integral to Google SERPs, especially for informational queries. Find out how to structure and iterate your content to secure that #1 position. What to Know About Our August 2024 Core Update Another one of Google's feared Core Updates is currently underway. Few sites move in the same direction in successive updates, so many SEOs speculate this could be the moment of recovery for March's victims... Google AI Overviews In Incognito Mode (Not Signed In) This change has significant implications for rank tracking and shows that Google is continuing to advance the rollout of these highly contentious features. How Extra HTML Attributes in Canonical Tags Impact Search Engines This useful experiment documents some otherwise ambiguous canonical behavior, and the lesson is simple - don't overcomplicate your canonicals. How To Plan and Run a Successful Client Meeting – Next Level Effective SEO consulting is not only (perhaps even mostly not) about SEO. Communication is key. Meghan outlines a useful framework for a key part of that picture: effective meetings. The SEOFOMO State of SEO Consulting – Survey 2024 Results Speaking of which - this survey by Aleyda shows a useful state of the industry snapshot. If you're a consultant yourself, or considering hiring one, you might be curious to see how you compare. Perplexity AI Plans To Start Running Ads in Fourth Quarter As AI-Assisted Search Gains Popularity In the aftermath of US v. Google, many have suggested that Google's real moat is not search quality but search monetization. Indeed, Apple pointed to this as a key reason they didn't want to use Bing. So, this will be a critical test of Perplexity's viability in search. FTC Finalizes Rule To Combat Fake Reviews, Testimonials It's interesting to see regulators looking closely at review manipulation, but it's not yet clear how this will play out in practice. Does Having an Address on Your Website Impact Your Ranking on Google? Another quick case study from SterlingSky - this time confirming the importance of addresses to organic rankings, as well as the more obvious local map ranking impact. Hacking a Business Phone Number on a Google Listing Is (Still) Easy Mike hijacks a Google Business listing's telephone number in about 20 minutes, highlighting Google's surprising toothlessness in combatting the issue.       Products  |   Learn  |   Community  |   Blog  |   About . Moz, 720 Robson St, 400  Vancouver, BC V6Z 1A1 Canada You received this email because you are subscribed to The Moz Top 10 newsletter from Moz. Update your email preferences.  Unsubscribe from all future emails.