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How to create a guide that is optimized, useful and comprehensive

Tuesday, April 25th, 2023

Guides are all over the web. Google any word + “guide,” and you’ll probably find someone has written about that topic, no matter how obscure.

But there’s a good reason for this: Well-written guides are extremely valuable pieces of content.

When your audience encounters your guide at the right place and time, it can be life-changing. Your guide may be the cornerstone or the turning point in their experience of a particular topic.

You could teach them valuable skills, introduce them to a vital concept, expand their knowledge, or help them understand a complex subject.

As you’d imagine, a good guide can help build a strong trust between a person and a brand.

And trust contributes to the customer experience. It can eventually translate to profitable action like converting a casual reader into a subscribed follower or turning a fan into a customer.

That’s why it’s time to learn how to create optimized, useful, and comprehensive guides – so you, too, can build trust with your audience through high-quality content.

What is a guide?

A guide is a comprehensive piece of content that aims to educate an audience by:

• Introducing them to a topic or subject.
• Teaching them a set of concepts or ideas.
• Walking them through a process to achieve an end goal.
• Showing them the steps to complete an action.

Quite simply, an effective guide will teach you in some way.

But, the best of this content type will meet you at your level of understanding, speak to you in terms you understand, and take you to the next level to broaden your knowledge.

How to create a guide, ultimate-style

1. Understand the knowledge level of your target audience

To write a great guide, you need to understand your audience and know their knowledge level about your topic.

• What do they already know?
• Where are they starting from? (Are they beginners? Intermediates? Experts?)
• What do they not know?
• What are their top challenges?

These points are crucial to understand because you will use them as a benchmark for where your guide will begin and what it will cover.

Not understanding your audience’s knowledge level about your topic will lead to a less useful guide.

For example, starting a guide on baking bread with information about buying mixing bowls will be helpful only to true beginners who don’t have the right equipment yet. It won’t be helpful for baking enthusiasts who have moved beyond acquiring tools.

So, if you’re unsure what your audience knows or doesn’t know about your topic, you’ll need to do some research. 

When all else fails, ask them directly. Post a poll or survey on social media, or post a question asking for feedback on what your audience would like to know about X topic.

2. Research and outline your topic

Now it’s time to start drafting your guide. 

I always start with an outline and jot down everything I know the guide should include.

Then I research the topic to see what I’m missing, what others have written about it, and any additional tidbits I should add.

For example, even as an expert, you don’t want to rely entirely on your brain for fleshing out a topic.

You may know it well, but you also need to ensure you cover all the key areas readers care about.

Start by researching the topic on Google. Look at what the top articles cover and make sure your guide includes all of those sub-topics, too. 

For example, say you’re writing a guide on planting tulips. You discover the guides at the top of Google also include information about when to plant them, how to care for them, and additional tips on varieties and container planting. That means your guide needs to be just as thorough.

When your outline is equally as comprehensive as the top articles in Google, you’re still not done. You need to go further.

Include information guided by your expertise (or the brand’s expertise). That’s the mixture of experience and education that’s unique to you that will differentiate your content from the masses.

• Add insights based on personal experience.
• Add insider knowledge that most people don’t have.
• Include tips, tricks, shortcuts, or advice.
• Include useful information that similar guides are missing.

For instance, in this particular tulip planting guide, the author added information on common pests and fun facts. Similar guides are missing these pieces:

Beyond Google, look at other information sources to flesh out your topic. Research books, look at interviews with experts, or watch videos.

Double-check to ensure you include the most accurate, relevant, and useful details in your guide.

3. Split your guide into sections, organized by sub-topic

At this point, while your draft is still pared down, it’s a good idea to get it organized.

• Split it into sections, with each section covering a specific sub-topic. For example, the tulip planting guide would be split into sections like “when to plant tulips,” “how to plant tulip bulbs,” “how to care for growing tulips,” and “tulip varieties.”
• Order the sections logically. You wouldn’t put “how to care for tulips” above the section on planting tulips, for instance, because one naturally precedes the other. (You can’t care for tulips you haven’t planted yet!)
• If your guide includes any instructions or steps, ensure they’re clear, laid out logically, and easily read. Number each step so readers understand the sequence at a glance.

4. Use keyword-rich headings 

The best guides have clearly labeled sections with descriptive headings. This format helps readers find the information they’re looking for without having to hunt through unlabeled paragraphs that all bleed together.

It’s also good for SEO, especially if you include keywords in your section headings.

Here’s an example of a Chicago travel guide that uses clear, keyword-rich headings for each section:

Particularly, note that the keyword “Chicago” is included in each heading.

Imagine if each heading was more generic, like “When to Go” vs. “When to Go to Chicago.” The difference is optimization. The latter heading is optimized – and the former isn’t.

If adding the focus keyword in your section headings doesn’t make sense, consider including related terms and phrases instead. You can find these by entering your main keyword into Semrush or Ahrefs.

At the very least, write headings that help your reader scan your guide and find the necessary information.

5. Go deep

Guides are typically long-form content for a reason. When readers look for a guide on a subject, they expect comprehensiveness. 

For that reason, don’t just skim the surface of your topic. Go deep.

That means you should try to include examples, descriptions, comparisons, or definitions in your guide. 

• Examples put your subject in context for your readers. It shows them real-world applications of what you’re talking about.
• Descriptions give readers sensory details that can widen their understanding. For instance, you can describe how something looks, feels, tastes, or smells to help your audience imagine it better.
• Comparisons give additional context by comparing things your audience may not be familiar with to things they are familiar with.
• Definitions also lay the groundwork for understanding a topic or difficult concept. Defining these in plain language can set up your reader to get the most out of the rest of your guide.

You may use some of these techniques or all of them – it really depends on your topic.

For example, in a guide about making a complex dessert, you might want to describe how it should look and taste to help your audience understand a successful end product.

Similarly, in a guide about bird-watching, you could help your audience identify a particular bird species by comparing it to a similar species and noting the key differences.

Explaining a subject well is an art form, so take the time to get it right to create the most useful guide possible for your particular audience.

6. Research and link to useful, authoritative sources

Let’s return to high school English class briefly for this one. A useful lesson for writing guides is the importance of referencing sources to beef up your points.

In a nutshell, citing sources gives your content more credibility. Include them, and you’re essentially saying, “Hey, all these other authoritative people on this subject agree with me about this. That’s why you should listen to me.”

Even if you’re a known expert on your topic, including sources still shows that you did your homework. You’re drawing from the collective knowledge that exists on the topic, not just your own brain. 

Even further, some claims need proof to be credible – like if you write a guide on birds and claim that 10% of bird species can’t fly. You’ll need to prove that’s true, even if you’re the top bird expert.

So, to add credibility to your guide, look for opportunities to link to authorities on the subject. 

Search for recognizable names that are established authorities in the field. (Example: For medical information, known authorities include WebMD, Mayo Clinic, or the American Medical Association.)

Check their credentials and experience on their About page if the name isn’t well-known.

When evaluating websites, look at a variety of factors like their DA (domain authority) score, whether they accept and publish sponsored content, how they label that content, and whether the site is actually providing good information or if they’re just trying to sell you something.

(Note: A good identifier for credible websites is whether they accurately link to outside sources in their own content!)

Along with proving your credibility, linking to other sources can help provide additional information or context on your topic for readers from a trustworthy point of view (one you vetted for them!).

For that reason, consider adding links to related blog posts, ebooks, or even full-length books to allow the reader to learn more.

7. Add helpful visuals

It’s true what they say: A picture is worth 1,000 words. For that reason, adding helpful visuals to your guide is a great idea.

And, by the way, “visuals” means much more than just a few stock photos. Instead, try to find a variety of visuals in different formats that truly add meaning to your guide and clarify concepts.

• For instance, a guide on planting tulip bulbs might benefit from photos demonstrating how deep and far apart to dig the planting holes. 
• A guide on learning to knit begs for a video or a series of photos demonstrating how to cast the yarn onto the needle. 
• A guide on different types of mental disorders could use an infographic chart that compares and contrasts them.
• A beginner’s guide to a piece of software is much more useful with screenshots of processes and steps to use that software.

Think about what visual elements would add clarity to your text. If you were reading this guide as a beginner, what visuals would help you most? 

8. Format for readability

Without good formatting, long-form guides can be a chore to read.

After all, when faced with a lengthy, unbroken wall of paragraphs on a web page, what’s your first instinct?

If you’re like most people, you probably want to run away screaming. Or, you try to read a few paragraphs, but they all start to run together as your eyes glaze over and your mind wanders.

If that’s your guide people are trying and failing to read, that’s a failed guide.

Instead, the most successful guides are easy to read, scan and skim to find the information you need.

That’s because they are:

• Organized and split into sections with clear, scannable headings.
• Formatted for online reading with short paragraphs and plenty of white space around the text.
• Digestible, even if the content is long, through the smart use of bulleted and numbered lists.
• Not dominated by walls of text – they include helpful visuals to break up the text further.

9. Edit and optimize

With your first draft complete, you can edit and optimize your guide.

Even if you don’t have an editor, self-editing helps you trim your content’s fat and improve it.

Editing steps:

• Walk away. Don’t try to edit the same day you finish writing. Give yourself a solid day away from the piece so you can see it more clearly.
• Edit for flow. Ensure your sections are ordered logically and flow well from one to the next.
• Clarify your writing. Simplify overly complex sentences, clean up your grammar, and check for spelling errors with an editing tool.
• Tweak the readability. Break up long paragraphs, look for places where you could replace paragraphs of information with lists or bullets, and determine whether you could add more visuals.
• Get a second pair of eyes. If you don’t have an editor, ask someone you trust to read the guide, edit, and provide feedback.

Optimization steps:

• Keyword placement. Check for your focus keyword in the title (H1), main headings (H2s), and at least one subheading (H3). It should also appear naturally throughout the piece, along with related terms. If you haven’t used it enough, edit it into the content a few more times.
• Meta title and description. Your keyword should appear at the beginning of these. When you write a meta description, think about how you can draw searchers in Google and describe the major benefit of reading your guide.
• Image alt text. Make sure your images have alt text defined and that a few of them contain the keyword.
• Links. Check that you’ve linked to related content on your site in a helpful way.

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5 examples of effective guides

For inspiration and guidance, check out these examples of effective guides that incorporate all of the above steps well.

Hiking guide

This beginner’s guide to hiking the Appalachian Trail details everything you need to know, including a trail overview, when to start, what to pack, where to sleep, what to eat, additional resources to read, and more.

This guide is also a great example of how to link to authoritative and useful sources in your content:

Definitive guide to influencer marketing

This ultimate guide will teach you every facet of influencer marketing – including the how, the what and the why.

It’s super comprehensive and is broken down into chapters like “Getting Started with Influencer Marketing” and “How to Work with Influencers.”

Cooking mushrooms guide

This guide is a great example of delving deep into a specific topic. The author breaks down 15 types of mushrooms, how they taste, and how to cook them for delicious results. 

The kinds you’ve heard of – button mushrooms and shiitakes – are included, as well as ones you’ve probably never seen before, like black trumpet mushrooms or lion’s mane mushrooms.

Financial planning guide

This financial planning guide is a great example of what I like to call “overview” content.

This type of guide provides an introduction to a topic for beginners. It helps them understand what something is, its importance, and how to get started.

This guide doesn’t go deep but gives newbies the basics they need to understand the topic and eventually dive in deeper.

Tech stack guide

This tech stack guide’s audience is software companies, so the content is framed for that audience’s particular needs and problems.

It also uses vocabulary that the average person won’t understand but the average software company staffer or founder will.

Create useful guides to nurture your audience

Creating a guide can be a huge undertaking, but it’s worth it.

A useful guide will earn more than search traffic if optimized correctly – it will also bring in and build connections with people who need the information you’re offering.

Provide helpful, readable, educational, and useful information, and your guide just might become the turning point in someone’s experience of a topic.

That’s powerful and can lead to greater things like growing your audience and, thus, growing your business.

The post How to create a guide that is optimized, useful and comprehensive appeared first on Search Engine Land.

Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing

Lookback: Google launched the Penguin algorithm update 11 years ago

Tuesday, April 25th, 2023

It’s been 11 years since Google launched one of its most significant algorithm updates, Penguin. Here, we’re looking back over more than a decade of Penguin. 

Find everything you want to know about Google’s Penguin algorithm update – what it is, why it was launched and its impact – plus Search Engine Land’s coverage of Penguin from 2012 to 2021.

What was the Google Penguin update?

The Google Penguin update was an algorithm update launched on April 24, 2012, to combat webspam techniques. Penguin’s primary focus was link building, keyword stuffing and general webspam.

The war against webspam wasn’t new as Penguin followed the Panda and Page Layout algorithm updates.

All of these updates had a common goal – to reward high-quality content and sites in search that provided a great user experience and fulfilled search intent. Penguin was an extension of these efforts.

It was thought that Penguin affected 3.1% of queries in English and around 3% of queries in German, Chinese and Arabic. To contextualize its significance, it was expected that a regular user would see the impact of Penguin in SERPs.

Penguin was a pretty big deal, and it impacted a lot of sites. What made this change frustrating for web owners and SEOs is that an algorithm change isn’t something a site owner can appeal to. 

There was no quick fix to recover from Penguin. If hit, it was made clear that website administrators needed to reduce spam on their sites.

As a result, sites suffered, and some didn’t recover. Naturally, there was a question about whether or not the algorithm improved or worsened the SERPs.

Oh, I’m sure there are. Penguin & Panda were big changes, but they also improved things. Mobilegeddon was also an interesting one. It would also be fun to celebrate the first paid link, but I bet people would fight over the honor :).

— johnmu is not a chatbot yet (@JohnMu) March 25, 2022

Considering that Penguin is still highly influential in the algorithm today, it’s safe to say that it improved the SERPs, web owners, and SEOs have collectively learned what constitutes spam. 

Most conscious site owners wouldn’t even need to think about the Penguin update since the webspam tactics that felt the wrath of Penguin – like keyword stuffing and link schemes – are an industry no-no.

Why was Google Penguin launched?

Before Penguin, the quantity of links was weighted in the algorithm. As a result, poor quality or spammy pages were ranking when they didn’t really deserve to. 

Their rank was influenced by the quantity of links pointing to the site rather than the quality of the site or the content itself.

If quantity is the only factor, then it’s easy to manipulate. You just need links and lots of them.

To help us understand what constituted spam, Google shared examples of spammy pages with keyword stuffing and poor uses of links.

If link quantity mattered, then links like the above were useful to websites. 

But it’s clear that the linked text has nothing to do with the article’s content. Plus, the link text reads very unnaturally within the context of the article.

If it’s not an engaging and helpful read, the content shouldn’t be ranking at all. 

The link tactic demonstrated above is a black-hat SEO tactic executed solely to manipulate SERPs.

Penguin was designed to identify and demote websites that were engaging in these spammy link building tactics, while rewarding websites that had natural and high-quality links pointing to their well-researched and well-written content. 

Why did Google name it Penguin?

Despite being named Penguin by Google, there doesn’t seem to be a known story about why it’s called Penguin, unlike the Panda algorithm, which was named after a key engineer. But it was the second major new Google algorithm named after a black and white animal.

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Google Penguin algorithm explained: How it worked

If you want to recover from Penguin or understand how Penguin fits into the wider guidelines and algorithms it helps to understand how it worked.

Penguin was a webspam algorithm

There’s a bit to unpack here. 

Penguin was a webspam algorithm, meaning it impacted all sites across the web at around the same time. 

Sites were crawled and new algorithm factors were taken into account. The intention of this algorithm was for high-quality sites following Google guidelines to be prioritized.

The Penguin algorithm was launched to combat spammy sites. To do this, the algorithm needs to consider many factors, including spam links and content.

Perhaps it was the timing of the Penguin update – after Panda and before the Disavow Tool – that has Penguin heavily associated with spam links and link farms, but truthfully, Penguin was more than that.

As Google’s John Mueller put it:

“The Penguin algorithm is a webspam algorithm and we try to take a variety of webspam issues into account…It does also take into account links from spammy sites or unnatural links in general…but I wouldn’t only focus on links. A lot of times what we see is that when a website has been spamming links maybe they’re also doing some other things that are kinda borderline or against our webmaster guidelines. I wouldn’t only focus on links, I’d make sure that you’re cleaning all of the webspam issues as completely as possible.”

Penguin ignores spam links and considers individual pages and entire sites

When Penguin launched, one of its purposes was to devalue links, taking spam links weighting out of the algorithm. However, it’s thought that the Penguin algorithm can do more than just that.

In the video, Mueller says:

“When we can recognize that something is problematic and kind of a spammy link we will try to ignore it. Across a website if we see a very strong pattern there, then our algorithms can say, ‘We really have lost trust in this website…’ We need to be more on a conservative site when it comes to understanding this website’s content and ranking it in the search results and then you can see a drop in visibility.”

Recovering from Penguin 

Recovering from Penguin was no easy feat for SEOs. There were long delays between updates which were incredibly frustrating. 

As an algorithm update, the only way out was a lot of hard work, cleaning a site of its spam, which for many was no easy feat.

Google forms

For sites that had previously been flagged as spam by Google, there used to be a reconsideration request where webmasters could request a second view of their site. 

This was useful in the case of a manual action, meaning a person had spotted an issue and manually marked it as spam.

But, Penguin was an algorithm change. Google announced that reconsideration requests wouldn’t work if a site has suffered since the Penguin update. 

Instead, webmasters had to reduce the spam on their sites. Once done, they’d eventually recover from Penguin and appear in SERPs again.

That said, there seemed to be some acknowledgment that sites were impacted by Penguin unfairly.

Google released a form where webmasters could flag this issue to Google. This same form could also be used to report sites that should’ve been penalized.

Clean spammy backlinks

Since Penguin was launched to fight spam with a primary focus on link spam, one strategy to recover from Penguin was the disavow tool launched on October 16, 2012.

In 2012, Matt Cutts explained how and when to use the tool.

It’s important to note that this tool was not designed for most websites but for that 3% of sites using spammy links, manipulating SERPs and using link farms.

If you follow the guidelines and create content consciously, you won’t need the disavow tool.

Remove on-page spam

Earlier, I shared an image of a spammy article linking to payday loans unnaturally from an article about exercising. This is the sort of spam that webmasters needed to remove from their sites.

Other on-page spam might include keyword stuffing. The thing to remember is that Google wants to prioritize content that is useful to readers. 

So, before publishing content, ask yourself: is this informative? Do I meet search intent? Is this content helpful?

Although some of these guidelines were set or improved upon more than 10 years ago with the Penguin algorithm update, you might note that these items are still prevalent today.

Does Google still use Penguin? 

Yes, Google still uses Penguin as part of the core algorithm.

Mueller shares tips and insights on what a site owner should do if their site is flagged as spam.

As you can see, this video is very similar to the video published by Cutts 10 years ago. 

Mueller recommends the webmaster forums and advises you not to hide anything about your website. 

A complete timeline of the Google Panda Updates

Here’s Search Engine Land’s coverage of Penguin, from 2012 to 2021:

April 24, 2012: Penguin Update 1.0

Google Launches “Penguin Update” Targeting Webspam In Search Results

April 25, 2012

Did Penguin Make Google’s Search Results Better Or Worse?

April 26, 2012

Penguin Update Peck Your Site By Mistake? Google’s Got A Form For That

The Penguin Update: Google’s Webspam Algorithm Gets Official Name

Google Penguin Update Recovery Tips & Advice

May 3, 2012

Adjusting Your SEO Strategies During Panda & Penguin

May 10, 2012

Two Weeks In, Google Talks Penguin Update, Ways To Recover & Negative SEO

May 14, 2012

5 Local Linkbuilding Ideas For The Post-Penguin/Panda Era

May 15, 2012

In Wake Of Penguin, Could You Be Sued For Linking To Others?

May 17, 2012

Google’s Penguin Update Makes The Wall Street Journal

May 21, 2012

Bing Offers Advice On Google’s Penguin Update: Diversify

May 26, 2012: Penguin Update 2.0

Google Releases Penguin Update 2

May 29, 2012

First Report Of Google Penguin Recovery

May 31, 2012

Google Penguin & Panda Talk Now In Coffee Shops & Elementary School

June 11, 2012

The Four Keys To Post-Penguin Directory Submission Happiness

Aug. 16, 2012

Google: Further Penguin Update “Jolts” To Come; Panda Is Smoother & Monthly

Oct. 5, 2012: Penguin Update 3.0

Google Penguin Update 3 Released, Impacts 0.3% Of English-Language Queries

The EMD Update: Like Panda & Penguin, Expect Further Refreshes To Come

Feb. 20, 2013

No, Google Hasn’t Released Unannounced Penguin Updates

March 11, 2013

Google’s Matt Cutts On Upcoming Penguin, Panda & Link Networks Updates

March 19, 2013

Study Finds Google’s Penguin Update Getting Stricter Over Time

April 23, 2013

Risk Management for Links - How To Prepare For The Next Penguin Update

May 10, 2013

Google’s Matt Cutts: Next Generation Of The Penguin Update “Few Weeks” Away

May 22, 2013: 

Penguin 4, With Penguin 2.0 Generation Spam-Fighting, Is Now Live

May 23, 2013

Still Seeing Post-Penguin Web Spam In Google Results? Let Google Know

Penguin 2.0 Losers: Porn Sites, Game Sites, & Big Brands Like Dish.com & The Salvation Army

June 3, 2013

Big Brand SEO & Penguin 2.0

June 18, 2013

Is Link Building Dead? 3 Tips For Link Builders Post-Penguin 2.0

Oct. 4, 2013: 

Penguin 5, With The Penguin 2.1 Spam-Filtering Algorithm, Is Now Live

April 8, 2014

Google’s Penguin Algorithm Comes In Different Levels Of Degrees?

May 28, 2014

No, Google Says There’s Been No Penguin Update

July 30, 2014

Penguin: Google’s Punitive Algorithm - And A Call To Google To Fix It

Sept. 12, 2014

A Year Later, Are We Finally Going To Get A Penguin Update Refresh?

Oct. 2, 2014

Google: Penguin Refresh May Come As Early As Next Week

Oct. 19, 2014

Google Releases Penguin 3.0 — First Penguin Update In Over A Year

Oct. 21, 2014

Google Penguin 3.0: Worldwide Rollout Still In Process, Impacting 1% Of English Queries

Nov. 4, 2014

18 Days Later, Google Penguin 3.0 Continues To Slowly Roll Out Worldwide

Dec. 1, 2014

Google: Penguin 3.0 Rollout Still Ongoing

Dec. 3, 2014

Is This The End Of The Penguin & Panda Era Shakeups And Recoveries?

Dec. 4, 2014

Was Your Site Hit By Google’s Panda Or Penguin? This Flowchart May Help You Find Out.

Dec. 10, 2014

Google Says Penguin To Shift To “Continuous Updates”

Dec. 11, 2014

How Google’s Penguin 3.0 Is Playing Out Across The Web

Feb. 11, 2015

Google Says There’s No Whitelist To Save You From Panda Or Penguin

April 8, 2015

Google Says The Penguin & Panda Algorithms Still Require Manual Data Pushes

April 13, 2015

Google Panda & Penguin Lack Real-Time Updates, Despite Google’s Past Statements

June 2, 2015

Google: We Are Working On Making The Penguin Update Happen Continuously

July 13, 2015

Google Says Penguin Refresh Months Away From Happening

Oct. 1, 2015

Google Confirms The Real Time Penguin Algorithm Is Coming Soon

Oct. 29, 2015

Google: Next Penguin Update Should Happen By End Of 2015

Nov. 17, 2015

How To Prep For The Pending Penguin Update & Ensure You’re Penalty Free In 2016

Dec. 3, 2015

Google: New Penguin Algorithm Update Not Happening Until Next Year

June 23, 2016

Key takeaways from the Google AMA: RankBrain, Panda, Penguin, bots & more

Sept. 6, 2016

How many days has it been since the last Google Penguin Update?

Google: Friday’s update was not due to the Penguin algorithm

Sept. 23, 2016: Penguin Update 4.0

Google updates Penguin, says it now runs in real time within the core search algorithm

Sept. 28, 2016

Google Penguin doesn’t penalize for bad links - or does it?

Google says Penguin recoveries have started to roll out now

Sept. 30, 2016

Authority & link building with real-time Penguin

Oct. 10, 2016

Google Penguin looks mostly at your link source, says Google

Google labels your links, such as ‘footer’ or Penguin-impacted

Oct. 13, 2016

Google says Penguin 4.0 rollout now complete

Oct. 25, 2016

Penguin 4.0: Necessary and positive improvement

Oct. 27, 2016

A Penguin’s Tale: Responding to the latest update

Nov. 1, 2021

Google on Penguin algorithm; aims to ignore spammy links but can lead to distrusting your site

The post Lookback: Google launched the Penguin algorithm update 11 years ago appeared first on Search Engine Land.

Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing

Google explains the use cases for its different crawler types

Friday, April 21st, 2023

Google has now added new details that explain the three categories its Google crawlers fall into, they include Googlebot, special-case crawlers and user-triggered fetchers.

In addition, Google now lists a JSON formatted file containing the list of IP addresses each of these different crawler types use.

Types of Google crawlers. At the top of this Googlebot page, Google listed these three crawler types:

• Googlebot – The main crawler for Google’s search products. Google says this crawler always respects robots.txt rules.
• Special-case crawlers – Crawlers that perform specific functions (such as AdsBot), which may or may not respect robots.txt rules.
• User-triggered fetchers – Tools and product functions where the end-user triggers a fetch. For example, Google Site Verifier acts on the request of a user or some Google Search Console tools will send Google to fetch the page based on an action a user takes.

IP addresses. Google also listed the IP address ranges and reverse DNS mask for each type:

• Googlebot – googlebot.json (crawl-–––.googlebot.com or geo-crawl-–––.geo.googlebot.com)
• Special-case crawlers – special-crawlers.json (rate-limited-proxy-–––.google.com)
• User-triggered fetchers – user-triggered-fetchers.json (–––.gae.googleusercontent.com)

What is new. Here is the section of the page that was updated; the rest of the page is mostly unchanged.

Why we care. I believe Google made this change after they saw some of the reactions to the GoogleOther robot they announced the other day. This now explains how Google crawlers act, when they respect the robots.txt and how to identify them better.

Now, if you want not to block Google’s main crawler, Googlebot, but you decide to block the others, you can better identify those crawlers more accurately.

The post Google explains the use cases for its different crawler types appeared first on Search Engine Land.

Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing

Bing Chat gets better at news questions and minimizes no-response answers

Friday, April 21st, 2023

Microsoft Bing Chat said it is now better at responding to news questions and also reduced unnecessary duplicate searches, end conversation triggers, and returning no response to queries.

News answers. Bing wrote, “We’ve taken steps to help Bing give better answers if you’re asking questions about news. Bing said we should try to ask Bing Chart “What are today’s top breaking news stories?” So I did and it gives me these stories about Theodore McCarrick, a top news item from a few days ago; a six-year-old being shot, which is a more recent news story; Clemson being a top pick for Casey Poe, also recent news and some financial advice from CNBC from 30 minutes ago.

Here is a screenshot:

When you compare it to Google Bard, they both tell very different stories. I like how Bard breaks it down but I also prefer the top news box that Bing Chat provides:

Other Bing Chat improvements. Other items Bing mentioned as updates to Bing Chat include updates to its :

• Formatting of math formulas so it is easier to read
• Reduction in how often Bing Chat triggers end-of-conversation statements
• Reduction in triggered unnecessary duplicative searches
• Minimizing errors that led to Bing chat returning no response to queries

Why we care. News publishers may be starting to notice some traffic from Bing Chat. If not, if Bing Chat grows, it may drive more and more traffic over time, as Bign Chat grows in popularity.

Plus, watching these rapid improvements to AI search and AI chat features is really exciting.

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Generative AI coming soon to Google Ads

Thursday, April 20th, 2023

Google is set to integrate generative artificial intelligence into its advertising business in the coming months, joining other major tech companies in adopting the technology.

The company plans to use AI to generate unique ads using materials provided by human marketers, based on an internal presentation for advertisers obtained by the Financial Times.

The new technology will be integrated into Performance Max, a program offered by Google since 2020 that uses an algorithm to determine ad placement, budget allocation, and simple ad copy creation.

AI-powered ads 2023. The presentation, titled “AI-powered ads 2023,” describes how generative AI opens up new possibilities for creativity. While Google already employs AI in its advertising to create simple prompts that encourage users to make purchases, the introduction of generative AI will enable the creation of more sophisticated campaigns akin to those made by marketing agencies.

How it works. Advertisers can submit creative content such as images, videos, and text related to a campaign, and the AI will “remix” these materials to generate ads that target specific audiences and meet objectives like sales targets, according to the presentation.

However, there are concerns that the tool could disseminate misinformation, as AI-generated text can confidently assert falsehoods. One individual familiar with the presentation commented that the AI is optimized for converting new customers and does not have an understanding of truth.

Google told the Financial Times that it intends to implement strict safeguards to prevent such errors, or “hallucinations,” as it rolls out its new generative AI features.

Why we care. Google’s integration of generative AI into its ad business offers the potential for increased creativity and sophistication in ad campaigns. By utilizing AI-generated content, advertisers can benefit from customized ads that target specific audiences and help meet objectives, such as sales targets. As a result, this technology can lead to improved conversion rates and more effective marketing strategies, giving businesses a competitive edge in the evolving digital advertising landscape.

ICYMI. Google has already confirmed that it is testing integrating AI into the Google Ads interface. The feature would help brands and marketers create responsive search ads (RSAs) using suggested headlines and descriptions. At this time we’re unsure if the two features are related.

AI – so hot right now. This is just the latest Google product that is adding generative AI. In addition to launching Bard last month, we know Google is working on new AI features to Search as well as planning a new search engine. Google is also bringing generative AI into Google Docs and Gmail.

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4 new Google Analytics 4 Home page features

Thursday, April 20th, 2023

Google has announced four new enhancements for the GA4 homepage:

1. New welcome tutorial
2. New banner along the top of the Home page
3. Improvements to the Suggested for you section
4. Dismiss suggestions, insights, and recommendations

New welcome tutorial. Google Analytics has incorporated a brief tutorial for new Google Analytics 4 users on the Home page. This tutorial introduces essential concepts and settings to help users get started with their new property.

New banner at the top of the Home page. Editors and Administrators who utilize Google Ads in conjunction with Google Analytics data will now see a banner titled “Verify your Google Ads settings” at the top of the Home page. The banner outlines key tasks that must be completed to bid against Google Analytics 4 data. The banner disappears once all tasks are marked as complete in Setup Assistant.

Enhancements to the “Suggested for you” section. This section now offers users cards that are popular across all Analytics properties (to aid new Google Analytics 4 users) and cards that users frequently return to.

Dismissal of suggestions, insights, and recommendations. Users can now dismiss irrelevant cards in the “Suggested for you” or “Insights & recommendations” sections by clicking the thumbs-down button. Google Analytics will use this input to better curate the Home page for users in the future.

Upon clicking the thumbs-down button, Analytics will remove the card from the Home page, and the card will not reappear for the next 30 days. However, if users do not submit the feedback form that appears after clicking the feedback button, the card will remain in view for the remainder of the session but will be removed in future sessions.

Users can still access all insights and recommendations from the Insights Hub, including dismissed ones.

Open the setup assistant. GA4 properties now include an action button at the bottom right of each page. Hovering over the button reveals the number of tasks marked as complete in Setup Assistant. Clicking the button opens the Setup Assistant, allowing users to continue completing essential setup tasks.

Why we care. The new enhancements to the GA4 Home page provide a more user-friendly experience, enabling users to quickly grasp essential concepts and settings through the welcome tutorial. Furthermore, the integration of a banner for verifying Google Ads settings ensures a seamless connection between Google Ads and Analytics data, while the improved “Suggested for you” section offers tailored content based on user preferences.

The ability to dismiss irrelevant insights and recommendations ensures a personalized Home page experience, and the easily accessible Setup Assistant helps users efficiently complete key setup tasks. Overall, these updates significantly streamline the process of utilizing Google Analytics data to inform and optimize advertising strategies.

The announcement You can read more about the new features on Google’s Analytics Help page.

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Power next-best action with first-party data by Cynthia Ramsaran

Thursday, April 20th, 2023

In today’s fiercely competitive market, delivering personalized experiences is crucial for customer engagement and loyalty. However, marketers who fail to adapt to the transition from decision-tree to trigger-based engagement strategies risk falling behind and missing out on the opportunity to captivate customers at every touchpoint with hyper-personalized experiences. 

In this workshop, discover how to seamlessly collaborate with your data team to unlock the full potential of your first-party data and create personalized experiences that captivate your customers at every touchpoint. 

Register and attend “How To Power Next Best Action with First-Party Customer Data,” presented by Snowplow.

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Top 9 WordPress technical SEO issues to address

Thursday, April 20th, 2023

Currently holding strong at just under a 65% market share, WordPress has been the world’s top CMS platform for many years.

From novice and experienced bloggers and small businesses to the largest ecommerce and news websites, WordPress has been a popular choice because of its simplicity in set-up, endless customization, and large actively supported community.

The great thing about WordPress is it does a lot of the heavy lifting for you. 

It’s SEO-friendly out of the box, and comes with clean code, semantic markup, and a structure that search engines can easily crawl and understand. This makes it easier for your content to be indexed and ranked in search engine results pages (SERPs).

That being said, every WordPress blog has its shortcomings. 

As a site auditor focusing exclusively on WordPress blogs, I can confidently say that focusing on specific technical aspects is one of the quickest and easiest ways to improve SEO, build traffic, and increase bottom-line RPMs (revenue per thousand impressions).

Here are some top priorities to help make your WordPress site as technically sound as possible.

1. Setting up Google Analytics 4 before the July deadline

Google has warned us for over two years that Google Analytics 4 (GA4) would replace Universal Analytics on July 1. Yet, many site owners still haven’t moved to the new system. 

To help smooth the transition, the search engine has said they will automatically migrate your properties from UA to GA4 for you (unless you opt out).

But they also warn that since the setup of GA4 is slightly different, you’re better off doing it yourself to ensure you’re happy with the choices.

Google provides an interactive Quickstart tutorial that will effortlessly allow someone to set up the new GA4 account to run parallel to their existing GA3 Universal setup.

Once that is done, WordPress users have two popular plugin options to add the tracking to their site: Google Site Kit and Code Snippets.

Here’s a detailed tutorial on how to add GA4 with the Google Site Kit plugin.

And here’s a walkthrough on how to add GA4 with the Code Snippets plugin.

2. Passing Core Web Vitals on WordPress

Core Web Vitals (CWVs) and page speed are important ranking factors and warrant your attention. 

Let’s focus on bottom-line recommendations that will result in 99 out of 100 WordPress blogs passing CWVs.

Compressing all images

I recommend you use Imagify or Shortpixel. Compressing images down to 200KB max or less should be the focus.

Don’t use cheap hosting

Hosts with “Blue” or “Gator” in their names should be avoided like the plague.

I recommend Big Scoots or Agathon. Invest in managed WordPress hosting.

Use a CDN

A CDN (content delivery network) stores your files on numerous servers worldwide, delivering them from the location closest to a user. Cloudflare is a good choice.

Invest in a quality caching plugin

I recommend WP Rocket. When set up correctly, this will eliminate 99% of all CSS and JavaScript-related PageSpeed Insights warnings.

Set your site up with a quality theme

Genesis, Feast, Kadence, and Astra are all good choices.

If it’s a “free theme,” it’s probably not a great option.

Optimize your fonts

Custom fonts may be flashy, but “system fonts” load faster.

If you must use custom fonts, limit their number, and load them asynchronously.

Paginate comments

Paginating comments reduces DOM nodes and page size, increasing bottom-line speed.

Go with 20 comments maximum, and show newer comments first.

Passing Core Web Vitals is all about reducing page size and optimizing the delivery of on-page elements. Focusing on the above strategies solves both of these priorities in WordPress.

3. Removing internal permalink redirects

An internal permalink redirect is a way to redirect an old permalink to a new permalink within your website. 

It helps maintain the SEO value of your website by avoiding broken links, 404 errors, and other issues that can harm your website’s search engine rankings. 

You can do this by creating a redirect rule in your website’s .htaccess file or using a plugin such as Redirection or Yoast SEO.

For example, links to https://sample.com/2022/02/sample-url.htm can be redirected to https://sample.com/sample-url/ and links from https://sample.com/sample-url can be redirected to https://sample.com/sample-url/.

The problem with the above is that most site owners fail to do a “find and replace” and remove all the old internal links (with the previous URL permutation) to the new URL internal links (without the previous URL permutation).

Per Google, unnecessary server hops and HTML redirects should be avoided as they dilute the flow of PageRank and authority to your site.

“Additional HTTP redirects can add one or two extra network roundtrips (two if an extra DNS lookup is required), incurring hundreds of milliseconds of extra latency on 4G networks. For this reason, we strongly encourage webmasters to minimize the number, and ideally eliminate redirects entirely – this is especially important for the HTML document (avoid “m dot” redirects when possible).”

To fix this, reach out to your host and have it scan your site to fix this at scale. Or, install a plugin like Search and Replace and do this yourself.

Always edit internal links within content to reflect the new URL, especially after instituting redirects. Internal redirects slow down the server, add complexity, and annoy users.

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4. Fixing link targets

Have you ever navigated through a site and had every hyperlink you clicked on open in a new tab? Pretty annoying, right!? 

Unfortunately, understanding the correct behavior for link targets still confuses most users. To simplify it as much as possible, the best practice is as follows:

• Internal links open in the same tab.
• External links open in new tabs.

It’s actually common sense.

Nothing annoys users more than the needless generation of new tabs/windows on a mobile device as you navigate through the same site.

This problem is called “tab fatigue” and should be actively combatted.

In contrast, having all internal hyperlinks open in the same tab as a user navigates the average website increases the chance the user stays on the domain longer.

You can also correctly track the user’s path through the entire journey. This is just simple SEO 101 and a sound UX practice.

Finally, understand that link behavior has an accessibility component. 

By forcing all links on a page to open in new tabs, you have removed the choice from the user. 

Always inform the user if you force links to open in new tabs. I recommend the WP External Links plugin as a simple way to mark for the user when a link opens in a new tab.

5. Fixing broken links

Broken links are a tremendous frustration to users. When someone navigates through your site and hits a 404, they aren’t coming back.

404s and 503s, per Google, are not a sign of low quality. But they impact crawl quality by interrupting the flow of link equity between pages, which can affect the rankings of internal pages. 

Every broken link should be fixed quickly and efficiently.

Fortunately, you don’t have to manually check all your links, as the good folks at WPMU DEV have developed a convenient, open-source plugin called Broken Link Checker.

Recently completely relaunched and rebuilt, I still find the “Classic Version” works the best. I recommend running this plugin at least once a month to find and fix issues at scale.

Other options for WordPress users include external SEO tools like Semrush, Sitebulb, or Screaming Frog. All do well in surfacing internal and external 404s and 503s.

6. Improving internal anchor text

Appropriate anchor text helps inform users about what is expected if they click on a link. It also helps the search engines establish a contextual relevance between source and destination pages. 

Anchor text like “Read more” or “Here” are essentially useless from an SEO standpoint.

They provide no contextual information to users and are a lost opportunity to connect two logically and semantically relevant pages.

Related to this, using the same anchor text on links to similar internal pages creates a content cannibalization and topical dilution issue that must also be discussed.

For example, if I have four “banana bread recipes” and use the identical anchor text “banana bread” on all of these, I will cannibalize my ability to rank these recipes independently of each other. It’s a topically confusing signal to Google.

As such, selecting detailed anchor text is one of the easiest ways to increase your SEO rankings. It makes it easier for Google to find and rank your best content.

Maybe I use instead “instant pot banana bread” and “gluten-free banana bread” to intentionally differentiate my various recipes? Doing so will significantly prevent possible topical dilution and improve my ranking prospects.

For WordPress users, there exists no greater ability to harness the power of internal linking than through the Link Whisper plugin.  

Whether you’re using the free version (available from the WordPress repository) or a premium version with additional features, this plugin takes all the strain out of finding effective anchor text and identifying internal pages with few or no internal links. 

Internal linking is one of the most under-appreciated SEO ways to build massive traffic. This plugin helps automate the process considerably.

7. Optimizing sidebars

Sidebars are often visible on every webpage – so it’s ironic that many webmasters pay the least attention to this significant real estate.

WordPress blogs historically used sidebars for things like blogrolls and email embeds.

Now, in a mobile-first world where users don’t even see the average sidebar on their phone or tablet, the value of the sidebar has been forgotten.

This has resulted in a recent trend to “remove sidebars altogether.” But definitely do not do this!

Sidebars are incredibly important for internal linking and content discovery. 

The average site should use a fully optimized sidebar to showcase popular content and seasonal content. You should also be rotating that content as seasons and holidays change.

You may not notice the sidebar on mobile, but the links are there, and they still count… a lot!

8. Reinforcing E-E-A-T in 2023

WordPress blogs provide multiple methods to reinforce individual authors and teams. 

Search Engine Land has a great overview article on E-E-A-T, covering each individual component in more detail.

But for our purposes, the average WordPress blogger can greatly influence their personal E-E-A-T by focusing on the below:

• Consider showing a clear photo of the author or team on the sidebar. 
• Ensure all content is linked to custom author pages or an About page at the top of all posts.
• Show Published and Last modified dates on all content.
• Put some effort into your About page – show credentials, an FAQ block with top questions, media mentions, and more. Great examples to emulate here and here.
• Link out regularly to reputable sources to support claims, facts, and statistics, as needed.
• Don’t use stock photography if you can avoid it. Generate your own AI images with Midjourney or Dall-E 2.

The above list is not absolute, but it provides a quick and easy list of ways WordPress users can build and influence E-E-A-T for the long term.

9. Addressing accessibility concerns

If you’re unaware of your legal responsibilities to make your WordPress blog accessible, you’re due for a wake-up call. Accessibility lawsuits are on the rise, and entire websites exist to track them monthly.

Here are some of the most important aspects of accessibility you should focus on immediately:

Provide informative alt text on images for those using screen readers

Alt text is not a place to stuff keywords. It should be short (12-16 words or less) and descriptive of the image.

Always end it with a period so the screen reader recognizes the end of the description. 

Design with adequate color contrast ratios in mind

The most common reason behind ADA harassment lawsuits against bloggers is inadequate color contrasting.

Ensure hyperlinks and all colors on your site pass accessibility standards – a 4.5:1 contrast ratio or higher, for links, for example.

Add an accessibility policy to your website

Even if everything isn’t yet up to standards, this will at least communicate to your visitors that “hey, we’re working on it.”

You can get a free policy from the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative to link to in your footer.

Understand how to use headings

Headings are the main mechanism by which impaired users can navigate a website. They must follow a hierarchy. 

For instance, never use an H3 unless preceded by an H2. And don’t use a heading simply because you like the size or font involved. 

Here’s a great guide on headings: Modern Guidelines for Page Headings.

Finally, there has been a considerable rise in the use of automated overlays to “solve accessibility” via a plugin.

Even the Yoast SEO plugin founders have announced a recent equity investment in the Equalize Digital Accessibility Plugin for WordPress.

This seems promising. However, most overlays and automated accessibility fixes are hated by the very audience they are trying to help, and it’s too soon to see if this plugin will be embraced. Stay tuned.

A technical SEO path to success exists for all WordPress users

It has never been more competitive to be a WordPress blogger. 

Although WordPress does a lot of the heavy lifting for you, there is much that it does not do. This list is but a small concentration of popular priority action items of which to be aware.

Technical SEO is one of the most underrated areas of digital marketing, especially considering the ROI that even small technical changes can mean for the average blog.

Get a handle on the issues covered here, and I guarantee you and your users will have a much more successful year overall. Good luck out there.

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Google Search Console page experience report going away

Wednesday, April 19th, 2023

The Google Search Console page experience report, at least how we know it today, is going away. It will be replaced by a content page that links to Google’s general guidance about page experience.

Why we care. You may have relied on this report for some of your SEO work. With these changes, you will need to adapt some of your reporting practices going forward.

Page experience report changes. Google is removing the existing page experience report within Google Search Console and replacing it with content around what Google thinks is a good page experience. This change will happen in “the coming months,” Google wrote.

“The page experience report was intended as a general guidepost of some metrics that aligned with good page experience, not as a comprehensive assessment of all the different aspects. Those seeking to provide a good page experience should take an holistic approach, including following some of our self-assessment questions covered on our Understanding page experience in Google Search results page.”

Core Web Vitals & HTTPS report remain. There will be a dashboard view of the individual Core Web Vitals and HTTPS reports that will remain in Search Console, Google added.

Mobile-friendly test going away. With that, Google is also removing the Mobile-Friendly Test tool and Mobile-Friendly Test API. Google said that this “doesn’t mean that mobile usability isn’t important for success with Google Search,” it is important. “It remains critical for users, who are using mobile devices more than ever, and as such, it remains a part of our page experience guidance,” Google added.

Changes to helpful content and page experience. Google also announced that good page experience is a requirement for creating, what Google defines as, helpful content.

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Google says helpful content should have good page experience

Wednesday, April 19th, 2023

Google now says that good page experience is a part of the aspects for creating, what Google defines as, helpful content. Google added a new section for providing a great page experience to its guidance around how to create helpful content, Google explained. Google also revised its help page about page experience to add more details about helpful content.

To be clear, good page experience is not a requirement for content to be considered helpful, it is just one of the aspects that is factored in by Google.

Page experience section in helpful content. Google added the following section to the helpful content guidance here, it reads:

“Provide a great page experience: Google’s core ranking systems look to reward content that provides a good page experience. Site owners seeking to be successful with our systems should not focus on only one or two aspects of page experience. Instead, check if you’re providing an overall great page experience across many aspects. For more advice, see our page, Understanding page experience in Google Search results.”

“In turn, that section links over to our revised Understanding page experience in Google Search results help page, which explains the role of page experience in more detail, along with self-assessment questions and resources,” Danny Sullivan of Google wrote. “That page brings together in one place some key aspects of page experience to consider, aspects that are unchanged from what we’ve talked about in recent years,” he added.

Search Console report changes. Google also removed the page experience report from Search Console and while keeping the core web vitals and HTTPS report and also dropped the mobile-friendly testing tool. More on those changes can be found over here.

More FAQs. Google also posted these FAQs on this change, which mentions the site-wide versus page-specific evaluations when it comes to measuring page experience:

Without the Page Experience report, how do I know if my site provides a great page experience?
The page experience report was intended as a general guidepost of some metrics that aligned with good page experience, not as a comprehensive assessment of all the different aspects. Those seeking to provide a good page experience should take an holistic approach, including following some of our self-assessment questions covered on our Understanding page experience in Google Search results page.

Is there a single “page experience signal” that Google Search uses for ranking?
There is no single signal. Our core ranking systems look at a variety of signals that align with overall page experience.

Page experience signals had been listed as Core Web Vitals, mobile-friendly, HTTPS and no intrusive interstitials. Are these signals still used in search rankings? While not all of these may be directly used to inform ranking, we do find that all of these aspects of page experience align with success in search ranking, and are worth attention

Are Core Web Vitals still important?
We highly recommend site owners achieve good Core Web Vitals for success with Search and to ensure a great user experience generally. However, great page experience involves more than Core Web Vitals. Good stats within the Core Web Vitals report in Search Console or third-party Core Web Vitals reports don’t guarantee good rankings.

What does this mean for the “page experience update”?
The page experience update was a concept to describe a set of key page experience aspects for site owners to focus on. In particular, it introduced Core Web Vitals as a new signal that our core ranking systems considered, along with other page experience signals such as HTTPS that they’d already been considering. It was not a separate ranking system, and it did not combine all these signals into one single “page experience” signal.

Is good page experience required to appear in the “Top stories” carousel on mobile?
Page experience is not an eligibility requirement to appear anywhere in the “Top stories” section. As long as content meets Google News best practices and Google News policies, our automated systems may consider it.

Is page experience evaluated on a site-wide or page-specific basis?
Our core ranking systems generally evaluate content on a page-specific basis, including when understanding aspects related to page experience. However, we do have some site-wide assessments.

Does page experience factor into the helpful content system?
The helpful content system is primarily focused on signals related to content, rather than presentation and page experience. However, just as our core ranking systems consider signals that align with good page experience, so does the helpful content system, to a degree.

How important is page experience to ranking success?
Google Search always seeks to show the most relevant content, even if the page experience is sub-par. But for many queries, there is lots of helpful content available. Having a great page experience can contribute to success in Search, in such cases.

Why we care. Reviewing these changes and understanding where Google wants your content and page experience to meet is important. The more you understand what it means to create helpful content, the better chances you have to rank well in Google Search.

Removing some of the tools in Search Console may not be something any of us are looking forward to, but we do learn to adapt.

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