Are XML Sitemaps A Google Ranking Factor?
Despite only being used by search crawlers, is it possible XML sitemaps have nothing to do with rankings? This chapter aims to answer that question.
About
See short video versions of news stories on YouTube and TikTok. Matt G. Southern is the Senior News Writer at Search Engine Journal, where he’s covered Google, SEO, and AI for over 13 years.
Articles
How Google Search Console Tracks ‘People Also Ask’ Performance Data
Google clarifies how performance data for pages in the ‘people also ask’ section is measured in Search Console – such as clicks, impressions, and positions.
WordPress Plugin SEOPress Updated With IndexNow Support
SEOPress is the latest plugin for WordPress websites to support the IndexNow protocol, which automatically pings search engines when content is added or updated.
New Google Blog Series About Search Console & Data Studio
Google is launching a new blog post series dedicated helping people do more with Data Studio when it comes to analyzing Search Console reports.
LinkedIn Profiles Can Now Display Career Breaks
A new feature for LinkedIn profiles allows you to highlight career breaks and provide more context about skills and experiences gained away from the workplace.
Google On Recipe Pages – Are They Getting Too Long?
Google hears the complaints about recipe pages getting too long, and suggests more concise pages might be better for users.
User Search History As A Google Ranking Factor: What You Need To Know
Check out the claims around user search history as a ranking factor and get clarity around the extent to which it impacts results.
Google Page Experience Update – Desktop Rollout Complete
Google confirms the page experience update finished its rollout to desktop search results. Now it’s time to start assessing the impact.
Google Search Trends Show How Customer Expectations Are Changing
A new report from Google contains data on how customer expectations are changing, and reveals what people want from businesses this year.
YouTube Adding More Analytics Data About Views & Revenue
YouTube is working on ways to give creators more data about video performance, including detailed reports about the sources of views and revenue.
Google On The SEO Impact Of Changing Website Hosting Location
Google addresses whether the changing your website hosting provider to one in a new location can impact SEO and search rankings.
BrightEdge Acquires Oncrawl To Help SEOs Do More With Data Science
BrightEdge, a leader in enterprise organic search and content performance, acquires Oncrawl “to make data science solutions more accessible to SEO professionals,” the company says.
Google Explains Geotargeting Via URL Subdirectories
Google’s Search Advocate John Mueller explains how websites can optimize content for search results in specific countries by using subdirectories in a strategic way.
Google Page Experience Update Starts Rolling Out On Desktop
Google’s Page Experience algorithm update for desktop search results is now rolling out “slowly,” the company confirms.
Google Says ‘Discovered – Currently Not Indexed’ Status Can Last Forever
The ‘Discovered – Currently not indexed’ status in Google Search Console’s Index Coverage report can last forever as there’s no guarantee every page gets indexed.
How Google Crawls Pages With Infinite Scrolling
Google is capable of crawling webpages that utilize infinite scrolling to a certain extent. Here’s how it works and the impact it has on SEO.
Google On The SEO Value Of User Comments On Websites
Should you allow users to leave comments on your website? They could help with SEO, as long as you’re able to moderate them, Google says.
Google Web Stories – The New AMP?
Google’s push for adoption of Web Stories is drawing comparisons to AMP, another lightweight web technology that received a similar push in its early years.
YouTube Rolls Out New Metadata For Educational Videos
YouTube creators can now optimize educational videos with additional metadata, which will be displayed in search results in the future.
Conductor Acquires ContentKing To Offer Real-time SEO Monitoring
Conductor announces its first major move after raising $150M in funding with the acquisition of ContentKing, a real-time SEO auditing and monitoring technology.
Mark Zuckerberg Announces Meta’s New Company Values
In an effort to reshape public image as Facebook transitions to Meta, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announces new company values emphasizing Meta’s vision for the future.
Google: Good Core Web Vitals Scores Won’t Improve Indexing
Having good Core Web Vitals scores won’t necessarily lead to improved indexing of your webpages in Google’s search results.
Instagram Enables Likes On Stories
Instagram is introducing a new way for users to engage with stories by showing appreciation with a simple like, rather than sending a direct message.
TikTok A Key Part Of Consumers’ Path To Purchase
A global research study finds TikTok is a key part of consumers’ path to purchase, where are increasingly discovering and buying new products.
How To Premiere A Video On Facebook Live
Premiering a video on Facebook allows your business to enter the world of livestreaming without the pressure of broadcasting live footage. Here’s how.
YouTube Giving Creators More Ways To Make Money
YouTube’s Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan reveals that creators will soon have new ways to monetize Shorts, livestreams, and regular videos.
Google On The SEO Impact Of Dates In Title Tags
Google’s Search Advocate John Mueller addresses whether including publishing dates in webpage title tags has any impact as far as SEO is concerned.
Google Search Data Reveals Top Trending Careers
A report from Google looks into search data to discover what careers people are pursuing following a record number of resignations over the past year.
Google Recommends Original Photos For Product Reviews
Google’s Search Advocate John Mueller recommends using original photos when publishing product reviews in order to benefit from the algorithm update that rewards in-depth research.
Google On The SEO Impact Of Changing Page Titles Every Day
Google’s Search Advocate John Mueller explains whether updating page titles every day will have a positive or negative impact to your website’s SEO.