Atomic Media text

Home
Blog
SEO Services
Web Development Services
Free Stuff
Software Products
Contact

Atomic Media

You are currently browsing the Atomic Media blog archives.


Pages

  • About

    • Archives



    Categories

    seo news (13234)

    Blogroll

    Development Blog
    Documentation
    Plugins
    Suggest Ideas
    Support Forum
    Themes
    WordPress Planet

    YouTube’s crackdown on ad blockers intensifies

    Written on September 20, 2023 at 6:34 pm, by admin

    YouTube appears to be ramping up its efforts to crackdown on ad blocks

    The platform has reportedly been sending users with ad blockers enabled more aggressive prompts, warning them to either “Allow YouTube ads” or subscribe to YouTube Premium. The notification appears in place of videos or as a pop-up when playing videos on fullscreen.

    If the viewer fails to comply, the platform threatens to block video playback after three plays.

    Why we care. This is promising news for advertisers in terms of extending your ad’s reach. However, it’s important to consider that pushing ads onto people who have no interest may not yield great results, as they’re less likely to convert into customers.

    What does the prompt say? The prompt reads:

    Here’s a screenshot:

    Why now? YouTube has said that it is taking more measures against ad blockers to ensure that its content creators are compensated for their work. “YouTube’s ad-supported model supports a diverse ecosystem of creators, and provides billions of people globally access to content for free with ads,” the company said in a statement.

    How much is YouTube Premium? YouTube Premium costs $13.99 a month in the US. The price was increased by 17% from $11.99 in June.

    Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.

    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmMedium” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmCampaign” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmSource” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmContent” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”pageLink” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”ipAddress” value=”“>

    Processing…Please wait.

    See terms.

    What has YouTube said? Oluwa Falodun, a spokesperson for Google, previously told The Verge in a statement:

    Deep dive. Check out the full discussion on Reddit or read YouTube’s ad policy on the YouTube Advertising hub for more information.

    The post YouTube’s crackdown on ad blockers intensifies appeared first on Search Engine Land.

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




    Meta Verified is rolled out to brands on Instagram and Facebook

    Written on September 20, 2023 at 6:34 pm, by admin

    Meta Verified is being rolled out to businesses on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp. 

    Mark Zuckerberg announced that testing will begin in select counties on Facebook and Instagram in the coming weeks, with WhatsApp trials planned at a later date.

    What is Meta Verified? Meta Verified is a monthly subscription package designed to help creators and brands establish their presence on Instagram and Facebook more easily. This bundle includes exclusive benefits and perks – but it’s only available to eligible profiles.

    Why we care. Meta Verified is a way for brands to provide more authenticity and credibility, which can ultimately lead to increased trustworthiness among followers, and confidence when it comes to making purchases.

    How much does Meta Verified cost? Monthly subscriptions begin at $21.99 per month for a single Facebook page or Instagram account, or $34.99 per month for both.

    What does a Meta Verified subscription include? Businesses will get a toolkit for their subscribed Facebook page, Instagram business account or WhatsApp phone number that includes:

    Who is eligible? To be eligible for Meta Verified, you need:

    Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.

    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmMedium” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmCampaign” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmSource” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmContent” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”pageLink” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”ipAddress” value=”“>

    Processing…Please wait.

    See terms.

    What has Meta said? A Meta spokesperson said in a statement:

    Deep dive. Read Meta’s Verified Business announcement in full for more information.

    The post Meta Verified is rolled out to brands on Instagram and Facebook appeared first on Search Engine Land.

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




    Microsoft Audience Ads announces new AI bid strategies and market expansion

    Written on September 18, 2023 at 12:29 pm, by admin

    Microsoft is launching two new automated bid strategies to help “advertisers reach their target audience with minimal effort”:

    The two new offerings are currently in pilot with general roll out planned for October 2023.

    In addition, the tech giant has expanded into 58 new markets, meaning its ads are now served in 187 countries across the globe.

    Why we care. Automated bidding can save advertisers time and effort, thanks to AI doing the heavy lifting. It takes care of improving your campaign’s performance without you needing to get hands-on. With these particular new bid strategies, you also maintain control as you still have the freedom to set your budget and choose how you want to measure success.

    What are Audience Ads? Audience Ads are Microsoft’s native, display ads. These products enable you to target your ideal audience based on Microsoft’s understanding of people’s interests and consumer intent signals. The ads are then served in placements across the web like Microsoft’s MSN, Start, Outlook, and more.

    What has Microsoft said? Microsoft Senior Product Marketing Manager Mallory Harwood told Search Engine Land:

    Deep dive. Read Microsoft’s Automated Bidding guidelines for more information.

    The post Microsoft Audience Ads announces new AI bid strategies and market expansion appeared first on Search Engine Land.

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




    Google Ads explains ‘limited by bid strategy’ status amid manual bidding concerns

    Written on September 18, 2023 at 12:29 pm, by admin

    Google Ads has clarified its new “limited by bid strategy” indicator.

    Digital marketing expert Anthony Higman first noticed the pop-up on an enhanced manual CPC campaign.

    He shared a screenshot of the notification on X (formerly known as Twitter) and claimed there no further explanation had been provided:

    After the screenshot raised concerns in the PPC community, Google explained that the indicator simply highlights when a campaign can achieve better conversion value while maintaining a similar ROAS or conversions at the target CPA with a value-based bidding strategy.

    The platform reassured that despite the notification, no action is actually required by advertisers – it currently just serves as a potential recommendation.

    Why we care. Advertisers are concerned that this could be a signal that Google Ads is taking another step towards manual CPC deprecation, which may prove problematic for industries that aren’t suited to enhanced conversion data or conversion values.

    However, as pointed out by digital marketing expert Greg Finn, this feature could be beneficial for Smart Campaigns. He explained on X:

    Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.

    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmMedium” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmCampaign” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmSource” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmContent” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”pageLink” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”ipAddress” value=”“>

    Processing…Please wait.

    See terms.

    What has Google said? Google Ads Product Liaison officer Ginny Marvin said:

    Deep dive. Read Google’s Bid Strategy Status guidelines for more information.

    The post Google Ads explains ‘limited by bid strategy’ status amid manual bidding concerns appeared first on Search Engine Land.

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




    Google Ads apologizes after automatic data migration causes confusion

    Written on September 18, 2023 at 12:29 pm, by admin

    Google Ads has apologized for causing confusion with a recent account update.

    Advertisers were caught off guard when the platform started automatically migrating configurations from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4.

    While these changes had been planned following the sunset of UA and notifications were issued, some were taken by surprise as the turndown of UA has taken considerably longer than many expected.

    Why we care. Advertisers have been experiencing issues with their accounts following the automatic updates, which may impact their ability to create reports and monitor campaign performance. Those encountering problems have been advised to contact Support or the Google Ads Product Liaison officer on X (formerly known as Twitter).

    What is happening? Google is automatically migrating configurations – such as “goals”, “audiences”, etc – from your UA property that have not been marked as complete to your GA4 property. This also includes conversion swapping and audience pairing in linked Google Ads accounts for opted-in properties.

    Who is impacted? The update will impact anyone who has not opted out of automatically created GA4 properties.

    What if you didn’t opt out in time? If you didn’t opt out in time and don’t want your automatically configured GA4 property, then simply follow these steps:

    1. Click on ‘Admin’ in your account.
    2. Select your Universal Analytics property.
    3. In the “Property” column, click GA4 Setup Assistant.
    4. Click on “Disconnect” next to your “Connected property”.
    5. Go to your GA4 property and delete it.

    You can check for any changes made to your GA4 property by going to the “Change History” section. Automatic migration changes will be marked as “System (Migration)” in the “Changed by” column.

    Next steps. GA4 properties made automatically only have basic features. To make the most of your new property, you might need to add extra features that suit your business and measurement requirements.

    You can also check and adjust key metrics in your UA property to match those in your new GA4 property as closely as possible.

    If you’re an advertiser, you can compare data from UA and Google GA4 in Google Ads in a similar way.

    Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.

    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmMedium” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmCampaign” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmSource” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmContent” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”pageLink” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”ipAddress” value=”“>

    Processing…Please wait.

    See terms.

    What has Google said? Google Ads Product Liason Ginny Marvin said:

    Deep dive. Read Google’s ‘Automatically Created Google Analytics 4 Properties‘ update in full for more information.

    The post Google Ads apologizes after automatic data migration causes confusion appeared first on Search Engine Land.

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




    Website redesign SEO checklist: Retaining and improving SEO

    Written on September 18, 2023 at 12:29 pm, by admin

    A new website should be an opportunity to improve SEO, conversion rates and digital marketing as a whole. Unfortunately, it can also be an SEO disaster if not carefully managed. 

    This article outlines the main areas you must consider when redesigning a website to ensure you retain (and improve) your SEO.

    If retaining and improving your SEO is a priority for your new website, then your first job is to understand how to integrate SEO into your new site from day one. 

    As a primer, “SEO and website design: How to build search engine-friendly sites” will provide you with the background knowledge to build SEO into the fabric of your website redesign. 

    A cautionary tale

    Maintaining traffic during a redesign can be tricky.

    Google’s John Mueller was asked if there is a way to prevent traffic loss during a redesign, and he had a strong, simple answer – no. 

    John Mueller tweet on recovering traffic

    During my career, I have seen many new, expensive, mission-critical websites that have wholly decimated important and profitable organic traffic. 

    However, one project has always stuck with me among the many horror stories.

    The website was for a small multiple sclerosis (MS) charity. The charity promoted a natural approach to helping with MS and, as such, was not well-funded. 

    The site had gradually built organic traffic over several years but desperately needed a visual overhaul.

    After a protracted website redesign involving two companies over 12 months, the new site finally launched. Everyone was super excited about taking things to the next level. 

    And then this happened:

    Organic traffic drop for redesigned website

    Organic traffic dropped by over 90%. 

    This was not simple turbulence – the traffic stayed low. 

    Excitement turned into panic. 

    After a month of waiting for things to improve and receiving no support from either of the web design agencies involved, we got the call and took it on as a pro bono project.

    To try and resolve these issues after the fact is difficult. 

    It is hard enough if you consider your organic traffic from the outset – but to try and reverse engineer the problems is far more difficult. 

    Where SEO has not been considered, any number of problems may make recovering traffic problematic. 

    Fortunately, with much pain, wailing and gnashing of teeth, we recovered around 90% of the traffic. But it was painful for all involved. 

    Two years later, we helped architect a new site and weave SEO into the website planning, enabling the charity to supersede historic organic traffic. 

    With this site, we were careful to establish clear SEO goals and track SEO KPIs, so we understood what worked and used that to inform the website planning. 

    The SEO website redesign takeaway is simple – failing to plan is planning to fail. 

    Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.

    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmMedium” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmCampaign” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmSource” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmContent” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”pageLink” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”ipAddress” value=”“>

    Processing…Please wait.

    See terms.

    SEO and website redesign: The basics 

    Maintaining (and ideally improving) your rankings and organic traffic during a redesign has three key components:

    My advice would always be to aim high. Don’t just try to retain traffic. Look to improve it. Research to understand both your SEO strengths and weaknesses. 

    Let us look at each of these areas in more detail. 

    What works currently

    If you are running SEO campaigns, you should (hopefully) have a good idea of what is working currently: keywords and topics that rank, pages that bring in organic traffic and any other organic visibility. 

    By clearly documenting what works, you can ensure this is factored into the design and planning for the new website – you can’t rank for something that is no longer there! 

    Common issues

    There are many reasons for a site redesign, and this can be as much to do with branding and technology as it can be with traffic and lead generation. 

    Things that typically can change or be problematic for SEO during a redesign include:

    Any of the above can cause issues with your SEO. And if there are multiple issues, such as content changing and being moved to a new URL, then it gets harder to diagnose the root cause of problems.

    Multiple issues can multiply your SEO problems. Changing your website’s domain, hosting, CMS and architecture in one go? This will multiply the likelihood of SEO problems. 

    Have this conversation with the team so you can balance the desire for change with the need to retain and improve organic traffic. Remember, you don’t need to do everything at once in most cases, so minimize the variables. 

    Ensure that during all website planning discussions, an SEO stakeholder is involved and armed with information on what works and must be factored into the new site. 

    Get SEO in at the planning stage – don’t try to fix things when development has started. 

    What will change with the redesign?

    Armed with a knowledge of what works and what can go wrong, you can review the goals for the new site. 

    Two key SEO goals should be:

    Ideally, you will have a complete sitemap for the new site that you can use to compare against the existing site and create mappings for URL moves.

    Website redesign SEO checklist 

    Fortunately, with some preplanning, avoiding SEO disasters and maintaining SEO during a website redesign is pretty straightforward. 

    Following the stages in this website redesign SEO checklist will ensure you preserve your precious SEO rankings and traffic. 

    Keep the old site live

    Keep the old site live on a private web address if you can. Make sure a crawler can’t access the site. 

    Some HTTP authentication is best, but having the old site to refer to when you hit a snag can be a godsend. 

    Some or part of the site will often be on the web archive, but having the real thing is way better.

    Save crawl data

    Save a crawl of the old site, even if you have the site on a temp URL. Screaming Frog is great for this, and again, you can load up the old site crawl if you need to do any analysis.

    Don’t fix what is not broken

    Keep things the same where you can – particularly URLs. If you can keep the URL structure and page names the same, there is way less that can go wrong. 

    If you have to make changes, so be it. But make sure they are warranted for the greater good, not just done for the heck of it. 

    Remember, you don’t need to keep things that are not working. 

    Set up 301 redirects

    Redirecting old URLs to new ones should be the first job on your list. If possible, keep content on the duplicate URLs when redesigning a site. 

    For instance, a WordPress or Shopify redesign can keep the same URL structure. This is desirable. If not, you will want a spreadsheet of all URLs on the old and new sites to implement and test your 301 redirects. 

    When the new site is live, you will want to crawl the old list of URLs (another time that saved crawl comes in handy) to ensure everything 301 redirects correctly.

    Maintain your content

    Where you have content that performs well, you’ll want to minimize changes (or improve it). 

    There will be plenty of opportunities to tweak your content in its new home after it is indexed and ranked, but for now, aim to minimize the variables of change.

    Optimize for on-page elements

    Crawling your old site will allow you to easily export all key on-page elements: page titles, meta descriptions, headers, etc. 

    Where the site is well optimized, keep these elements the same. 

    Update your backlinks

    Document your backlinks and where URL changes are made. Attempt to update these links – research in Google Search Console and the typical link index tools. 

    Once you have a list, contact the website managers to update these where possible. You should have a 301 in place, so don’t lose any sleep over this, but updated backlinks can help get the new site indexed and ranking quickly.

    Be mindful of internal links

    Be mindful of any changes to the internal link structure. Again, your historic crawl data can be helpful here. 

    If you have pages that had thousands of internal links previously but are now barely linked, then this can impact the rankings for that page.

    Update your XML sitemap

    Update your XML sitemap and submit it to Google and Bing.

    We want our 301s, page structure, navigation and XML sitemap to align and indicate the new site structure to help search engines understand the changes quickly.

    Monitor rankings

    You can expect some fluctuations, but you should be back at a baseline within a month or so of launch (ideally sooner). 

    If you have issues, investigate them now to identify and resolve them. Sometimes, with more significant sites, it can take longer for deeper pages to be recrawled, so be mindful of this.

    Monitor organic traffic

    For larger sites, you can never rank-track every possible keyword that drives traffic, so also monitor traffic to key pages to ensure you see improvements. 

    You can compare a simple before and after using Google Search Console that will clearly document any drops so you can take action. 

    Do a technical site audit

    Ideally, use a technical site audit tool to provide proactive information on any technical issues.

    Use Google Search Console

    Google Search Console keeps improving and will give you diagnostic information directly from Google. Here you can track:

    If you have problems, the information here can help you track and remediate them. 

    Retain and improve your SEO during a redesign

    The crucial factor here is planning. 

    New websites fail in many ways, but always due to a lack of diligent planning. 

    SEO failures in website redesigns are, in our experience, nearly always down to a lack of planning and a clear and well-articulated SEO plan for the new site. 

    Ensure that SEO is factored into the website redesign process, and you can launch your new site confidently. 

    The post Website redesign SEO checklist: Retaining and improving SEO appeared first on Search Engine Land.

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




    Google search antitrust trial updates: Everything you need to know (so far)

    Written on September 16, 2023 at 6:24 am, by admin

    Google is on trial for allegedly using underhand tactics to ensure it stays the world’s leading search engine.

    The U.S. Justice Department claims Google, which owns a 90% market share in search, paid massive sums to companies like Apple to make it the default search engine on products like the iPhone.

    These multibillion-dollar deals gave Google an unfair advantage, the DOJ alleges, making it nearly impossible for rival companies to compete.

    The trial will last 10 weeks and include testimonies from key figures like Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

    The outcome of the landmark case could bring significant changes to Google and the future of the Internet. But it’s equally likely the trial will result in no changes and Google will be free to continue operating however it wants.

    We’ll keep updating this article with the latest developments from this landmark trial.

    As the trial is set to cover many Google search-related issues, we have organized the updates by topic to make the timeline easier to follow.

    Google credits its 90% market share to being a superior platform (Sept. 12)

    Google ‘hid and destroyed evidence’ (Sept. 12)

    Apple allegedly didn’t want a default search engine (Sept. 12)

    Google pays $10 billion a year to maintain default status (Sept. 12)

    Google calls its competition ‘inferior’ (Sept. 12)

    Google’s search engine default status on phones was a ‘priority’ (Sept. 13)

    Google faced competition to become default search engine on mobile (Sept. 13)

    Googlers were told to be mindful of their language (Sept. 13)

    Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.

    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmMedium” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmCampaign” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmSource” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmContent” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”pageLink” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”ipAddress” value=”“>

    Processing…Please wait.

    See terms.

    Verdict. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta isn’t expected to issue a ruling until early next year. If he decides Google broke the law, another trial will decide what steps should be taken to rein in the Mountain View, California-based company.

    Why we care: If the US Government wins this case, it could mean Google is no longer automatically installed as the default search engine on everyday products, which could threaten its position as the world’s search leader. This means rival companies like Yahoo could realistically stand a chance of taking Google’s crown for the first time, which could bring significant changes to the search landscape as we know it.

    What’s at stake. The U.S. and state allies are not asking for money; they want a court order to stop Google from its alleged unfair practices. This order could greatly affect Google’s business. For example:

    This lawsuit is considered one of the most significant challenges to the tech industry’s dominance since the DOJ sued Microsoft in 1998 for its control of the personal computer market. In that case, the trial court ruled that Microsoft had unlawfully attempted to hinder the rival browser Netscape Navigator. Microsoft ultimately reached a settlement that didn’t break up the company.

    If Google’s lead attorney Schmidtelein looks familiar, that may be because he represented Microsoft against the DOJ in the 1998 trial.

    Deep dive. Read the US Justice Department’s official statement for more information on why it is suing Google.

    The post Google search antitrust trial updates: Everything you need to know (so far) appeared first on Search Engine Land.

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




    Google launches new AI tool to improve YouTube ad optimization

    Written on September 16, 2023 at 6:24 am, by admin

    Google Ads has launched a new feature to assist advertisers in optimizing their YouTube campaigns

    Known as Creative Guidance, this innovative tool is now available through Recommendations and has been integrated into Video Analytics within Google Ads.

    Creative Guidance leverages AI to evaluate your content and offer best-practice feedback. For example, if critical information is missing from your video ad, Creative Guidance will notify you, ensuring that your campaigns are as effective as possible.

    Why we care. Creative Guidance offers rapid feedback and actionable steps for enhancing video ad performance, ensuring ideal setup and quick optimization to maximize your video ad’s performance.

    Creative attributes. Creative guidance can detect if your video ad is missing the following key creative attributes:

    Depending on what’s missing in your video ads, you’ll get suggestions for high-impact improvements as well as links to handy tools that could boost the performance of your campaign.

    Google has confirmed that it will be introducing more attributes in the not-too-distant future.

    How it works. To access Creative guidance in Google Ads, follow these instructions:

    1. In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon Campaigns Icon.
    2. Click the Assets drop down in the section menu.
    3. Click “Videos”.
    4. Click the “Analytics” tab next to “Videos”.
    5. Select your video ad in the drop down menu.
    6. In the “Ideas to try” section below the retention curves, you’ll find the creative attributes you’re missing with recommendations on how to take action.

    The steps listed above are part of a new Google Ads user experience that is set to launch for all advertisers in 2024.

    Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.

    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmMedium” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmCampaign” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmSource” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”utmContent” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”pageLink” value=”“>
    <input type=”hidden” name=”ipAddress” value=”“>

    Processing…Please wait.

    See terms.

    What has Google said? A spokesperson for Google Ads said in a statement:

    Deep dive: Read Google’s Creative guidance in Google Ads update in full for more information.

    The post Google launches new AI tool to improve YouTube ad optimization appeared first on Search Engine Land.

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




    Microsoft calls deceased NBA player ‘useless’ in AI-written obituary

    Written on September 16, 2023 at 6:24 am, by admin

    Microsoft has been criticised after publishing an AI-generated obituary for NBA star Brandon Hunter.

    The former Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic player passed away suddenly this week, aged 42, after collapsing during a hot yoga class in Orlando, Fla.

    Shortly after his passing, fans were shocked to see the father of three described as “useless” in an obituary published on MSN.

    The headline read:

    Why we care. MSN laid off two dozen editorial staff a few years ago with plans to replace the writers with generative AI, the Guardian reported. This case highlights the importance of not relying solely on AI for generating content due to factual inaccuracies and problematic errors, and the need to ensure that all work produced by AI is supervised by humans. Failure to do so could harm your brand’s reputation as well as negatively impacting your search rankings.

    Incomprehensible. While the MSN headline was offensive, the rest of the article was incoherent. It read:

    Reputational damage. Despite swiftly removing the article from the MSN website, Microsoft was criticized on social media for publishing the offensive content:

    What Microsoft is saying. A Microsoft spokesperson told Search Engine Land:

    However, the company is yet to officially apologize.

    Dig deeper. Futurism broke the news in Microsoft Publishes Garbled AI Article Calling Tragically Deceased NBA Player “Useless”.

    Other brands stumbles with AI. We’ve previously reported on a number of brands that have published articles with errors, all of which were lacking in E-E-A-T in different ways:

    As a reminder, Google doesn’t care who – or what – writes your content, as long as that content is helpful and not created to manipulate search results.

    The post Microsoft calls deceased NBA player ‘useless’ in AI-written obituary appeared first on Search Engine Land.

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




    Google September 2023 helpful content system update rolling out

    Written on September 15, 2023 at 3:22 am, by admin

    Google has begun to push out an update to its helpful content system, the last helpful content system update was the December 2022 helpful content update. The update started on September 14 and should take about two weeks to fully roll out.

    What is new. Google said, “The September 2023 helpful content update is rolling out with an improved classifier. It will take about two weeks to complete. We’ll update our ranking release history page when the rollout is complete.”

    Google added new details about helpful content, specifically:

    In May, Google told us a helpful content system update would be coming this year. Google said this update would enable the helpful content system to “more deeply understands content created from a personal or expert point of view.” “We’re also improving how we rank results in Search overall, with a greater focus on content with unique expertise and experience,” Google also said a few months ago.

    Google said this is not today’s update. Google wrote, “This work is still continuing and is not part of this particular update. We’ll share more about our work in this area in the future.”

    What to do if you are hit. Google has provided a list of questions you can ask yourself about your content. Read through those questions as we posted over here, and in an unbiased manner, ask yourself if your content is in sync with this update.

    Please note if this update has hit you, it can take several months to recover if you do everything right and make changes to your content over time.

    More on the helpful content update. Google’s helpful content update specifically targets “content that seems to have been primarily created for ranking well in search engines rather than to help or inform people.”

    This algorithm update aims to help searchers find “high-quality content,” Google told us. Google wants to reward better and more useful content that was written for humans and to help users.

    Searchers get frustrated when they land on unhelpful webpages that rank well in search because they were written for the purpose of ranking in search engines. This is the type of content you might call “search engine-first content” or “SEO content.”

    Google’s helpful content algorithm aims to downgrade those types of websites while promoting more helpful websites, designed for humans, above search engines.

    Google said this is an “ongoing effort to reduce low-quality content and make it easier to find content that feels authentic and useful in search.”

    Why we care. If you notice any ranking and visibility changes in Google search over the next two weeks or so, especially if those were big changes, you can likely attribute it to this update. Read Google’s advice, make the necessary changes, and hope for a recovery in the upcoming months.

    We hope you all will see a positive trend with your ranking and visibility in Google Search from this update.

    The post Google September 2023 helpful content system update rolling out appeared first on Search Engine Land.

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




    SEO San Diego
    Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS)
    Copyright ©1999-2026 ADM, Inc.