Table of Contents
  1. Intro
  2. SNYCU Podcast
  3. Not a premium subscriber? You're missing out!
  4. News about Google’s Algorithms
  5. MHC Announcements
  6. Google Announcements
  7. SEO Tips
  8. Other Interesting News
  9. Local SEO
  10. Local SEO - Tips
  11. SEO Tools
  12. Recommended Reading
  13. Jobs
  14. Want More?
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Ep. 229 - April 7, 2022 - Light Version

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In this episode, we discuss Marie’s analysis of the product reviews update, MHC’s guide to understanding Google’s search algorithms, a recent Google blog post on answering searchers’ needs, and some great tips and tools to help you with your SEO efforts.

SNYCU Podcast

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Ask Marie an SEO Question

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The following topics are covered in the premium version of this episode:

  • More analysis from Marie of the latest product reviews update
  • Using MUM to better understand if a person is in a personal crisis and in need
  • Does your site search answer users’ needs?
  • Upcoming changes to help diagnose performance issues
  • What to include in a semantic SEO audit
  • Using this tool for bulk internal linking
  • Search traffic monitoring feature in Data Studio
  • E-A-T features and examples for eCommerce sites
  • New data insights tool for eCommerce – This looks important
  • Can’t get new content indexed? Here are some things that may help.
  • Our tl;dr summary of some awesome recent SEO articles
You’ll also have access to all past episodes, including this one.
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News about Google’s Algorithms

It has been a fun week at MHC as we dug into the impact that the Product Reviews Update has had on the sites that we monitor. A number of other SEOs who study algorithm impacts have been noticing significant and interesting impacts so far. Lily Ray is reporting some sites seeing dramatic reversals since the last PRU. 

Conversely, Glenn has highlighted an instance where a site has seen a slight improvement, but in the context of the last PRU, it is barely noticeable. 

Turning to the sites that MHC monitors, so far we have had several of our clients see nice improvements that we feel are connected to this update. In the next section, Marie has shared some examples of what types of content are performing well.

MHC Announcements

The ultimate guide to understanding Google’s ranking algorithms

We shared the first part of this guide written by MHC’s Callum Scott. This series is going to cover every aspect of the Google ranking system that we know about. From Penguin to Panda, from Medic to mobile-first indexing. 

Part one focuses on the core ranking system, how it works, and all the algorithms we know have been integrated into it over the years. This is the system that gets updated with Core Updates, so we think it is important for SEOs to know exactly when it is included in it! 

In the coming weeks there will be more released covering the other known aspects of the ranking system such as the PRU, Page Experience Algorithm, and much much more! Be sure to give it a read!

Google Announcements

New “Highly cited” label in Top Stories

We’d like to take a moment to quote Bo Burnham, “Could I interest you in everything? All of the time?” 

The widespread availability of information can make it hard to decipher what is credible. As one of the many steps Google has been taking to help address this, you may start seeing a new “Highly cited” label in the SERPs that appear for Top Stories. This is supposed to help readers identify content that has been cited frequently by other news organizations. “Highly cited” will roll out globally in the coming weeks. In the future, we feel as though we’ll be seeing more and more ways Google is addressing misinformation and ways of educating users to sort out what the best sources are. 

SEO Tips

Marie’s guide on toxic links and disavowing

Have you used SEO tools to identify toxic links? Can spammy links hurt your rankings in search? Should you be disavowing these links? Does disavowing work? These are questions that the SEO community has debated at length. In case you missed it, Marie published a comprehensive guide to answer all your questions about toxic links and disavows.  

Read the full article on Search Engine Land and tweet us with your questions!

 

The alternative anatomy of a blog post

This graphic breaks down an alternate way to organize your blog post and we love it! Not only does it help to see a visual representation of a post, but there are hidden gems of tips in each section. Key points to consider: use an image that is formatted for social distribution, ensure you have a CTA in your conclusion and have a clear and concise summary of your main points. 

Other Interesting News

Don’t write fake reviews for medical sites

The title sounds obvious enough, but yes, people still do this. Unfortunately for them, there is a severe price to pay for writing a fake medical review. In this scenario, someone responded as a patient with their confidential medical information. The result? A $50k fine and HIPPA violation. Just don’t go there, folks.  

 

How much do you know about semantic SEO?

Marie recently asked users in a Twitter poll how much they know about semantic SEO. Surprisingly, 41.3% responded indicating they are just learning, and 36% responded that they know little to nothing about the topic. Only 22.7% felt they knew a lot about semantic SEO.

In a nutshell, semantic SEO is used to identify the intent behind a query and answer questions that users might have around said query. We really liked this blog post by Bill Slawski on “What is semantic SEO?” which you might find helpful as well to learn about the topic.

Local SEO

Local search industry insight

BrightLocal has come out with a Local Search Industry Survey for 2022. There are quite a few nuggets of interesting information but here are some of our favourites:

Male local marketers earn 27% more than women in the US, 16% more in the UK, and 32% more in Canada. As Canadians, it’s sad to hear there is a $25,000 difference in median salaries, according to their data. For this data, fewer women were defined as working in “senior” positions, and they questioned whether women in SEO are even getting the opportunities they need to grow to achieve these higher positions.

Local SEO - Tips

What to do if your GBP vanishes

In the odd circumstance where your Google Business Profile simply vanishes, Claire walks you through what to do in a detailed post. The main ways are to find the CID number of your GBP and to follow some breadcrumbs from past GBP usage. 

 

How to list upcoming courses

For any local businesses that are hosting courses or workshops, here is how you should do it. Event schema is your friend here. Specifically, Tim Capper comes in with a great tip. Listing an event in a post as well as marking it up with schema, can help you get a knowledge panel. 

SEO Tools

Free tool for all creators who live stream or record – Melonapp! (Sponsored)

Melon is a browser-based platform that lets you go live for free! Used by thousands of people, lightning fast and extremely useful. 

Melon team is constantly releasing new features, here are the latest:

  • Reactions – engage with your audience by adding audio gifs (claps, cheers etc);
  • Stream Forwarding – Livestream your Zoom call, go live from Streamlabs Desktop to multiple destinations, and more;
  • New themes in theme library to help you customize streams even more;

Start for free and upgrade for $5/month with MELONLOVESYOU code at the checkout!

Recommended Reading

Importance of Topical Authority: A Semantic SEO Case Study – Koray Tuğberk GÜBÜR
https://www.oncrawl.com/technical-seo/importance-topical-authority-semantic-seo/
February 11, 2021

This is an intriguing set of successful SEO case studies from Koray Tuğberk Gübür with a focus on semantic SEO, including the use of a topic map, entity info from the knowledge graph, and Google trends and Google autocomplete/suggest data.

There is a lot more detail on his strategy provided within the article, but his application of much of the theory around semantic SEO is well laid out, and the impressive results hammer home to us a broader point we’re often making with our clients: establish topical authority and topical completeness within the subjects for which you want to rank.

Jobs

Want More?

Premium members also get the following:

It’s well worth the $18 per month!

The following topics are covered in the premium version of this episode:

  • More analysis from Marie of the latest product reviews update
  • Using MUM to better understand if a person is in a personal crisis and in need
  • Does your site search answer users’ needs?
  • Upcoming changes to help diagnose performance issues
  • What to include in a semantic SEO audit
  • Using this tool for bulk internal linking
  • Search traffic monitoring feature in Data Studio
  • E-A-T features and examples for eCommerce sites
  • New data insights tool for eCommerce – This looks important
  • Can’t get new content indexed? Here are some things that may help.
  • Our tl;dr summary of some awesome recent SEO articles
You’ll also have access to all past episodes, including this one.
I

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