Google Updates:

(00:26) Google is rolling out a core algorithm update

In this thread, Barry Schwartz (SE Roundtable) and Danny Sullivan (Google Search Liason) go back and forth on the timing of a new core algorithm update that will roll out over Thanksgiving. Many other SEOs chime in, the fear is around unintentional search visibility drops during Black Friday which is one of the most important weeks of the year for online retailers.

(03:01) Bolded text can help your SEO

Now a lot of SEOs or business owners might be concerned that they need to implement bold styling of their content for every keyword that they own, but this isn’t the correct approach. John Mueller was merely indicating that bolding appropriate content for emphasis in moderation would communicate to Google that the text is important. 

As Google becomes smarter, the algorithm will see right through only bolding keywords. Use this like you would use correct spelling or a well-structured article.

(05:04) One Year Anniversary of Google Search Central – Replacing Google Webmasters

Creating the Google Search Central website is an admirable project to organize, optimize, and update all of the key documentation, updates, and best practices from the Google search team. It’s fun to know that they were tasked with the same SEO challenges that all websites encounter. Over the past year, they have:

• Worked with SEOs to improve their content (including content migration, keyword research, metadata improvements, and more)
• Added more documentation
• Added a widget to the homepage to surface key info
• Reflected on what worked and what didn’t for the SEO community

(07:01) Google Search News – John Mueller 

(07:31) Found in Videos feature from Saad

This just shows one of the ways that Google is rolling out MUM. Google is able to identify entities in a video and surface it in a related query.

Twitter Threads/Tweets:

(08:16) 2022 SEO Predictions from Myriam Jessier (Snarky Tweet Addition)

(09:39) Moz Twitter thread: “How would you explain #SEO to a kid?”

(10:48) Intent-based Keyword Research – the methods, the complexities for international keyword research, and how to adapt per industry by Lazrina Stoy (Twitter Thread)

Lazarina’s accompanying blog post

There are a lot of unique challenges for identifying the intent of keywords on an international scale. You’ve got to worry about different languages, local slang, idioms, and homonyms.

Her techniques focus on using:

• Using RegEx strategically to identify keyword variations
• Building Behavior Datasets using Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and Google Trends Data
• Consult a Local SEO expert

General SEO:

(12:23) 2021 CTR Research Study by Mitul Gandhi of SEOClarity

Key takeaways:

• Click-through rates have declined significantly – especially for top positions since their last study
• Click-through rate for position 1 decreases from 8.17% on desktop to 6.74% on mobile devices.
• Searches without a click on an organic result on page 1 or page 2 account for an estimated 65% of searches.
• Mobile users are less likely to click top-ranked listings than desktop users.

(13:31) Conducting an SEO Content Audit: 6 Things You Might Be Overlooking by Tory Gray and Tyler Tafelsky

1. Ensure Content Is Being Fully Accessed and Rendered (Hello, JavaScript SEO)
2. Audit Core Web Vitals and Optimize for Page Speed
3. Audit Index Bloat and Keyword Redundancies, and Prune Mindfully
4. Determine (And Improve) Pages Where You’re Losing Users
5. Leverage Content Gaps Inspired by Competitors and Keyword Data
6. Consider non-SEO Segments and Overall Conversion Value

(14:26) Shopify SEO: An Ultimate Guide by Nitin Manchanda via Botspresso

1. Dealing with Duplicate Product Pages
2. Dealing with Internal Links to Canonicalized Pages
3. Editing Robots.txt now & what can you do to help SEO
4. Bulk NoIndex & Use Cases
5. Implementing Structured Data Markup
6. Content Optimization on Product & Collection Pages

Technical SEO Articles:

(15:24) The Web Alamanac by HTTP Archive | Chapter 4: Structured Data

Amazing deep dive on all things technical when it comes to structured data. This guide was written by Andrea Volipini and Jono Alderson and details everything you need to know from a definition of the semantic web, different use cases, types, and actual syntax. The address the evolving standards as the technology is adopted and evolves.

Tools/Features: 

(16:34) Google Discover Insights by Alexis Rylko

Alexis Rylko created this cool tool to surface what’s going on with your Google Discover traffic. It’s ideal for news sites 

Identify:

• How many pages appear in Google Discover per day?
• What is the lifespan of your pages in Google Discover?
• Which terms in your headlines are most efficient in Google Discover?
• How does the article length impact performance in Google Discover?

(17:48) RegEx Learn – Step by Step by Aykut Kardaş

Want to learn RegEx? This is a great gamified tool that walks you through all of the various character uses available.

Rankable: 

(18:11) Ep. 61 Modern Audience Research for Marketers ft. Rand Fishkin

Register for Ep. 62 The Value of Google Tag Management Across Your Organization ft. Simo Ahava – Dec 2nd 10:00 am ET