Google has published the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Starter Guide for the people who own, manage, monetize, or promote online content via Google Search. This guide provides a complete overview of the basics of SEO according to the Google best practices. The following are the contents of the guide: Getting started Help Google find your content Tell Google which pages shouldn’t be crawled Help Google (and users) understand your content Manage your appearance in Google Search results Organize your site hierarchy Optimize your content Optimize your images Make your site mobile-friendly Promote... [...]

Google has introduced the new Webmaster Video Series comprising short videos. Through this series the Google team will be answering some of the webmaster and SEO questions. Google’s Aurora Morales says, “From 404 errors, how and when crawling works, a site’s URL structure, to duplicate content, we’ll have something here for you. Check out the links shared in the videos to get more helpful webmaster information, drop by our help forum and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more tips and insights!”. Introducing the new Webmaster Video Series Google Webmaster  [...]

Google has always projected quest to improve the search experience. Google has added more images and related searches inside select ‘Featured Snippets’. This will help searchers learn more about their topics and discover new things related to their interest. The company has also updated Knowledge Panels in Search to show related content. Apart from this,  Google will also show suggestions for related topics in the at the top of the search results page. Improving Search and discovery on Google Google  [...]

Google Analytics is going to add four new features to provide webmasters better ways to measure their site performance. The new features will allow them to focus on users in reporting, measure lifetime metrics and dimensions for every user, reach users most likely to convert and more. On how to focus on users in the reports, Google’s Gene Chan says, “Analytics standard reports have been updated to focus on your users. User metrics are an essential way to understand engagement with your customers, especially those who may have multiple sessions across multiple days. With our updated... [...]

We reported about Google Chrome’s ad blocking plan in August 2017. Google has confirmed its ad blocking plans for Chrome web browser. Google announcemenet: In June, we announced Chrome’s plans to support the Better Ads Standards in early 2018. Violations of the Standards are reported to sites via the Ad Experience Report, and site owners can submit their site for re-review once the violations have been fixed. Starting on February 15, in line with the Coalition’s guidelines, Chrome will remove all ads from sites that have a “failing” status in the Ad Experience Report... [...]

Google has introduced rich results & the rich results testing tool to help webmasters make diagnosing their pages’ structured data easier. The new testing tool focuses on the structured data types that are eligible to be shown as rich results. On using the new tool, Google’s Shachar Pooyae says, “Testing a page is easy: just open the testing tool, enter a URL, and review the output. If there are issues, the tool will highlight the invalid code in the page source. If you’re working with others on this page, the share-icon on the bottom-right lets you do that quickly.... [...]

MOZ columnist Tom Bennet has published the Complete Guide to Direct Traffic in Google Analytics. This guide is aimed at helping marketers and webmasters understand the ways they can analyze sources of direct traffic using Google Analytics. Bennet says, “When it comes to direct traffic in Analytics, there are two deeply entrenched misconceptions. The first is that it’s caused almost exclusively by users typing an address into their browser (or clicking on a bookmark). The second is that it’s a Bad Thing, not because it has any overt negative impact on your site’s performance, but... [...]

Google has introduced #SmallThanks Hub for businesses to provide with free, customized marketing materials to promote their business. To promote your business with #SmallThanks Hub you just need to search for your business name on the site, and Google will automatically create posters, social media posts, window clings, stickers and more—based on the reviews and local love from your customers on Google. This service is available in U.S. to any verified Google listing with an address. On using #SmallThanks Hub, Google’s Lisa Gevelber says, “Here are a few tips on how to use the materials... [...]

Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) is an open-source project aimed at allowing mobile website content to render quickly. Since its launch many brands have started employing it. MOZ columnist Eric Enge has published an article guiding marketers on how they can start using AMP in 2018. Enge has also shared some case studies and his observations. On how AMP can affect marketers’ performance, Enge says, “Before adopting any new technology, you need understand what you’re getting into. At Stone Temple Consulting, we performed a research study that included 10 different types... [...]

MOZ has published the Whiteboard Friday video featuring Rand Fishkin. He talks about the impact of Google AdWords on organic search results. MOZ team says, “It’s common industry knowledge that PPC can have an effect on our organic results. But what effect is that, exactly, and how does it work? In today’s Whiteboard Friday, Rand covers the ways paid ads influence organic results — and one very important way it doesn’t”. How Google AdWords (PPC) Does and Doesn’t Affect Organic Results MOZ  [...]