Welcome to this month’s SEO report, thank you for reading. If you think someone you know would benefit from this report each month please do share. Thank you!
Algorithms
Quiet on the Google Algorithm update front this month, but we do know a Core update is on its way so it often gets a little quieter beforehand.
October 28th there looks to have been a small algorithm update.
Bing is no more!
That is correct, Bing is no longer a product. But! Welcome to the new world of Microsoft Bing!
That was my best attempt to make the renaming of Bing exciting, I think I may have failed. 🙁
Passage Indexing
Ok, this is a big change so a little more detail required from me.
Google has launched Passage Indexing which means when you search for a query not only will Google take you to the page but also the paragraph on that page that answers your query.
Although called passage indexing it isn’t actually just indexing the passage of the page, it will still index the whole page. It really isn’t indexing but more of a change in their search algorithm.
How can we benefit from this?
Split up your content to answer specific queries to help Google find what they need.
Also, try and include a “Sales” link close to the passage – if not in it – to take the visitor to your product/service.
Mobile-First Index
If you read my SEO blog post each month you will have read about mobile-first indexing many many times.
I won’t go into it too much detail again but essentially Google will be indexing your mobile version of your website – if you have one – for mobile searches.
“Why have you brought this up again Stu?”
Well, this will be live at the end of March 2021, as they will only be indexing your mobile version there are some things you need to check before this date.
1. Make sure the same copy and images are displayed for mobiles.
2. Make sure all the correct links are in place.
3. Double check you have optimised the mobile content.
You may, however, have already been moved over to mobile-first indexing already like most websites.
Links in Comments
A quick one here, if you add a URL in your websites HTML as a comment it will not be used as a ranking factor.
Google will however know it’s there. 😉
Google Analytics
Adding the code needed to use Google Analytics does NOT affect your website’s ranking.
Only add if you need it as it does slow your page down a little. There are other options out their too.
Apple Search
Lots of rumours about a new search engine being launched by Apple in the coming months.
If they do they have a big task but they do have a lot of phones out there which they could load it on very quickly.
That’s it for this month, Google often performs a large update in December so I am expecting the over-due core update to happen then.