Search News You Can Use - SEO Podcast with Marie Haynes

Google is changing their SEO starter guide. They're removing a bunch of content. This episode has visuals. Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/we3n9NTeSAU In this episode we talk about Google's Search off the Record Podcast and I'll share my thoughts on what is most important when it comes to ranking on Google today. We'll go through the latest Google Search off the Record podcast episode that talks about the changes they are making to the guide. Then, near the end we'll take my notes on this story and I'll show you how I use Gemini in Google's AI studio to summarize stories like this for newsletter. Newsletter: https://mariehaynes.com/newsletter/ Marie's Thoughts (paid newsletter): https://community.mariehaynes.com/spaces/12261861/feed SOTR podcast: https://content.libsyn.com/p/6/6/0/66095646568452e4/_SOTR068__Search_Off_the_Record_-_68th_episode_-_Video_en_us.pdf?c_id=166779698&cs_id=166779698&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf&Expires=1706206368&Signature=dczPIGWZ9UbDLwAwbeu9pmhl-OL~PspXTQqtTOU1qXwNZqX8pC9OmWxSPqm~FYb4-ZowqcS57MVVK4ZKuuiPr4YHJeeEMT8JaLHcoeB2PLjEC95iU0Pdv-abPZlRNWL63dXq2eFpAHhv6FqnYjPtReqZCHeTum7Dilbz7rOAMpK2b8fP4d27~RplnP0fSaE3ZZmPgvRT~kDHk1dn8zG8y6MCpS-p0K0sXdRpx3YizlQTADebGEcZWG06aIvZtuu9p2epH~5CCTLz~TjENxYA3suE~GwJMy2LCn328mNV6t5WLz6iBv8ucb2aByasVSwZZj1EUITWQ2~wkS-XRS1KuQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K1YS7LZGUP96OI

This is an impromptu, unscripted episode with Dr. Marie Haynes, recorded because of a recent news headline from Search Engine Roundtable that said, "Google: Author Bylines Don't Help You Rank Better; Google Doesn't Check Credentials. Barry's article was prompted based on comments from Google's Search Liaison Danny Sullivan regarding yet another Verge article that does not look favourably on SEO. Are author bios a ranking factor? If you've followed my theories and teachings on Google's ranking systems, you know that I am indeed a proponent of using author bios in many situations. In the episode I share anecdotes of sites that did indeed see improvements after getting qualified authors and then doing more to share about their qualifications. Are author bios a ranking factor? No. Will having an author bio increase the chances that searchers will trust your site and find it useful. Sometimes, yes. We have recently learned from the DOJ antitrust trial against Google that user engagement signals are incredibly important when it comes to shaping the algorithm. In this episode, we go back to statements from John Mueller's help hangouts several years back to look at why the industry developed rules about author bios that most sites follow. They make so much more sense now that we understand how user engagement signals (called IS - likely information satisfaction) signals in the DOJ trial are used to train RankBrain. RankBrain is Google's AI that is used to re-rank the top 20-30 results and SERP features you see when you do a search. Hopefully this episode convinces you that both the following can be true: 1) Author bios aren't a ranking factor 2) Author bios can be a part of the entire package that helps improve user engagement and satisfaction signals, which in turn is what drives rankings. SER article: https://www.seroundtable.com/google-author-bylines-ranking-36684.html Verge article: https://www.theverge.com/c/23998379/google-search-seo-algorithm-webpage-optimization Danny Sullivan's comments: https://x.com/searchliaison/status/1744371735405772927?s=20

In this episode, we dive deep into Google's revolutionary new language model, Gemini, destined to be the most impactful technological shift of our time. Host Dr. Marie Haynes unravels its capabilities, which extend beyond text to encompass images, video, and beyond. Discover how Gemini's potential to transform information access, problem-solving, and decision-making could reshape our lives. While we wait for its full potential to unfold in 2024, learn how Bard, soon integrated into Google Assistant, offers a taste of the future. This episode delves into the criticisms of AI, encouraging listeners to actively engage with Bard and explore its possibilities. We also explore the exciting world of GPTs (apps built on chat GPT), which may possibly be seen in a similar form in Google AI Studio.

Oh boy, finally another podcast episode! This is an unscripted chatting episode where I share the story of what happened to my agency. It formed because of an understanding of AI - except I didn't know that at the time. Imagine my surprise when I realized that wait a second - Panda and Penguin - the Google algorithm shifts that made me obsess over SEO and leave my career as a veterinarian - were machine learning systems. It was understanding AI that created my SEO agency. But, understanding and optimizing for Google search was also our downfall. I expect many of you are going down the same road I did. It is time for a huge mindset shift when it comes to SEO. We found out in the Department of Justice's Trial against Google that user engagement plays a much bigger role in determining rankings than we thought. I hope you enjoy this episode! Links mentioned: ============ My Helpful Content Workbook https://mariehaynes.com/product/creating-helpful-content-workbook/ The Search Bar: https://community.mariehaynes.com/ DOJ trial exhibits showing how much user engagement is used in the algo: https://www.justice.gov/atr/us-and-plaintiff-states-v-google-llc-2020-trial-exhibits Marie's Thoughts (paid newsletter episode) where I explain this more: https://community.mariehaynes.com/posts/ep-12-how-user-engagement-signals-are-used-in-ranking-new-info-from-the-doj-trial-against-google

Google has confirmed that SGE (Search Generative Experience) is not just an experiment, it is the future of search. Google's CEO Sundar Pichai said the SGE is "the next step in the journey" and also, "over time this will just be how search works." Here's what we know so far about the SGE, including screenshots of it in action. This is primarily a video episode, but even just listening, it should be quite helpful. Links mentioned in this episode: Marie's Helpful Content Workbook ($150) - This workbook will guide you through understanding user intent and creating content that meets it. https://www.mariehaynes.com/product/c... Episode 297 of Search News You Can Use https://www.mariehaynes.com/newslette... Google's Earnings Call where they discuss SGE being the future of Search https://www.mariehaynes.com/googles-v... Google's helpful content criteria https://developers.google.com/search/... Work with Marie https://www.mariehaynes.com/work-with...

In this long-awaited return episode of Search News, Dr. Marie Haynes explains how Google's helpful content system has radically changed search rankings. She provides background on her experience studying Google's algorithms for over 16 years, and how the company has shifted to relying more on AI systems like helpful content rather than just links and keywords. Marie walks through the evolution of major algorithm updates like Panda and Penguin, and what they revealed about Google's capabilities and focus on content quality. She explains how machine learning models can now predict helpful content, with training data from quality raters. The episode provides real-world examples of sites that were impacted by recent helpful content updates, and what specific changes Google rewarded. Marie also offers advice for those struggling with helpful content suppression and wanting to better align with Google's criteria. This episode will completely change your understanding of modern search rankings, and what you should prioritize on your site for visibility and traffic in 2023 and beyond. Don't miss Marie's long-awaited insider perspective on Google's helpful content! More from Marie: Purchase my workbook to help you assess your content and improve its helpfulness https://www.mariehaynes.com/product/creating-helpful-content-workbook/ Have me assess your site: https://www.mariehaynes.com/work-with-marie/ Book time on my calendar to brainstorm with me about your site: https://calendly.com/mariehaynes/brainstorming-with-marie? Links mentioned in this episode: https://www.mariehaynes.com/newsletter/episode-295/ (Latest episode of newsletter where we discuss Project Tailwind/NotebookLM) https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content (Google’s Guidance on creating helpful content) https://searchengineland.com/whats-now-next-with-google-search-smx-next-keynote-389628 (Barry Schwartz and HJ Kim interview) https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2011/05/more-guidance-on-building-high-quality (Panda questions) https://www.mariehaynes.com/google-ai-systems/ (My article on how the helpful content system works) https://moz.com/blog/nine-years-of-google-algorithm (Dr. Pete Myers heatmap showing Penguin algo turbulence) https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2023/02/what-is-chatgpt-doing-and-why-does-it-work/ (understanding the math behind systems like the helpful content system) https://www.mariehaynes.com/what-we-know-about-googles-quality-raters/ How raters rate sites.

We've had so many updates lately! It's almost impossible to know why your traffic is down. And for many sites traffic *is* down tremendously. In this episode I've discussed the craziness we've seen this year with Google updates. September Core Update. Helpful Content Update. Two spam updates...there are so many things that have happened! On top of that many sites are losing traffic to Google Explore and because of ChatGPT. We also discuss whether topic filter bubbles in search and continuous scroll on desktop could be impacting you. And um, I just can't talk about E-E-A-T without bursting out laughing. Still, this is very important as Google is now valuing not just Expertise, but also Experience. I hope you enjoy this episode! Links: Buy Marie's book on Google Spam Updates: https://www.mariehaynes.com/product/spam-update-book/ Buy Marie's book on the QRG: https://www.mariehaynes.com/product/quality-raters-guidelines/ Contact Marie: https://www.mariehaynes.com/contact/

I interviewed Charles Floate, an SEO known for ranking websites in ways that go against Google's spam guidelines. We discussed PageRank and the importance of links in Google's algorithms. Charles revealed ways he's been able to manipulate Google's guidelines and succeed, though I don't condone such practices. Our chat helped me reform my thoughts on links and their power to move the needle for rankings. Links are most definitely important in Google's algorithms and will likely remain the core for quite some time. But as Google develops new ways to identify quality content, most of which comes with AI innovations, I believe PageRank is not as important to SEO as it used to be. In this video Charles shows me how he is able to get sites to rank. Some of what he is doing is actually improving E-A-T! I must reiterate that breaking Google's policies can lead to serious consequences While good links can be powerful, building your own links is often either ignored by Google, or can cause manual or algorithmic penalties which can be very difficult to identify and recover from. My hope with this video is not to encourage blackhat SEO tactics, but rather, to talk about the power of GOOD links and how that power is much more than PageRank. Thanks for doing this, Charles. I enjoyed our chat! Charles Floate on Twitter: https://twitter.com/charles_seo https://www.youtube.com/user/D4rkHacking?app=desktop Marie’s info: https://twitter.com/Marie_Haynes https://mariehaynes.com/contact/ Contact Marie for a referral to companies that can help you get good links and mentions from authoritative sites in ways that comply with Google’s guidelines. My book on auditing links (used by many agencies to train their link auditors). My book on using the Quality Raters’ Guidelines as a checklist for site quality. Wix SERPs Up Podcast with Mordy Oberstein and Crystal Carter: https://www.wix.com/seo/learn/podcast

This week we learned from Google's HJ Kim that E-A-T is used for every single query searched on Google! In this episode Dr. Marie Haynes shares advanced information on how to assess E-A-T. Audience questions answered: Does E-A-T matter for tech blogs? Is being mentioned on a big news site good for E-A-T? Does adding expert reviewers help? How would an ed-tech platform increase E-A-T? How do you measure E-A-T? Should you update old articles that were not written with E-A-T in mind? Common E-A-T mistakes and misconceptions Examples of sites doing well after improving E-A-T How do you do an E-A-T audit? Marie's QRG Book: https://mariehaynes.com/book Links SMX Next: https://marketinglandevents.com/smx/next/agenda/ About the QRG: https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/hsw-sqrg.pdf The QRG: https://static.googleusercontent.com/media/guidelines.raterhub.com/en//searchqualityevaluatorguidelines.pdf How search works: https://www.google.com/search/howsearchworks/how-search-works/ranking-results/ Efficient storage and query of schemaless data https://patents.justia.com/patent/20220358160 Google’s Guide to creating helpful content https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content The video version of this podcast will be up on YT soon!

The October 2022 spam update had a massive impact on many sites. Many of these were "niche sites" - not overtly spammy, but still breaking Google's spam guidelines. With this update, it looks like Google's AI spam fighter - SpamBrain has gotten much better at finding unnatural links - links made for SEO purposes. This is an important listen, even if you were not impacted by this update. Buy Marie's Quality Rater's Guidelines Book/Checklist: https://mariehaynes.com/book Google's Spam Policies (If you were hit, you likely were doing one or more of these things) https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies Google's guidelines on creating helpful, reliable, people-first content: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content What Google has said about guest posting: https://www.mariehaynes.com/google-guest-posting-recommendations/ Gary Illyes talking to Danny Sullivan about links being labeled as "footer", "penguinized" and so on: https://searchengineland.com/googles-link-labels-260892 What links can you get that comply with Google's Guidelines? Marie's Moz Whiteboard Friday. It's old, but still good. https://moz.com/blog/what-links-comply-googles-guidelines-whiteboard-friday

The September Core update feels different to me! In this episode I share my thoughts after analyzing many pages that won and lost following this Google core update. The most important thing a site can work on if hit is ensuring that you are the best option to meet the immediate needs of the searcher. If we thoroughly understand the intent of searchers, we can create content that helps them meet that need better than other sites. In this episode I review two pages that did well following the September core update. They may look like they are lacking E-A-T, but I think Google promoted them because they quickly met searcher needs. I also share how the Helpful Content Update may have introduced a way for Google to better determine which pages are meeting the needs of searchers. https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2019/08/core-updates https://www.amsivedigital.com/insights/seo/winners-losers-of-the-september-2022-core-update-product-reviews-update/ https://www.semrush.com/blog/september-2022-core-update-impact/ https://www.google.com/search/howsearchworks/how-search-works/ranking-results/ https://www.amsivedigital.com/insights/seo/winners-losers-of-the-september-2022-core-update-product-reviews-update/ https://www.wix.com/seo/learn/resource/content-lessons-google-may-2022-update https://moz.com/blog/click-based-seo-engagement-signals Interview with Alan Kent from Google. Machine learning is discussed at 18:00 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZuEQY11khw How the quality raters work: https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/hsw-sqrg.pdf Frédéric Dubut of Bing on SEOs shifting to intent research instead of keyword research https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTriTRmEf34 Register for free to watch Marie’s talk on Google’s quality questions at SMX Next: https://attend.marketinglandevents.com/smx-next-2022?i=H0RFJApYbpWJKGGJ1ihWY0ciBytHmhUB Book a strategy session with Marie: https://mariehaynes.com/contact https://mariehaynes.com/book - QRG checklist book

SEO is changing so much! In this episode Marie shares what SEOs can learn from Google’s Search On 2022 event. Is Google going to replace Amazon as the place where people go to buy online? Google announced many changes coming to shopping. Many of the upcoming changes to search are going to make the life of SEOs difficult. If you want to stay on top of these changes, listen to Marie’s thoughts on how search is changing and how we can keep up. Marie’s notes on the Search On event: https://twitter.com/Marie_Haynes/status/1575195686366085120 Search On Google 2022 https://blog.google/products/search/search-on-2022-announcements/ Newsletter: https://mariehaynes.com/newsletter Marie’s book on using the QRG as a checklist for site quality: https://mariehaynes.com/book Contact Marie: https://mariehaynes.com/contact

The September 2022 Core update is live! The helpful content update has finished rolling out. In this episode we discuss: 1) How the September Core Update and Helpful content updates may be related 2) What to look for in early analytics data to see if you’ve been hit 3) Google has told us specifically how to recover - It’s all about content and E-A-T 4) Why Google’s core update questions are so important - machine learning likely plays a role! 5) A bit on how we analyze competitors’ pages after a core update hit Apologies for the pointer clicking as I was screensharing! I’ll mute that sound the next time I record my screen. Links mentioned: https://developers.google.com/search/updates/ranking https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/08/helpful-content-update Resources on E-A-T: https://www.mariehaynes.com/resources/eat/ https://static.googleusercontent.com/media/guidelines.raterhub.com/en//searchqualityevaluatorguidelines.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gccNPlL-a1g Marie’s newsletter: https://mariehaynes.com/newsletter Marie’s book https://mariehaynes.com/book Contact Marie https://mariehaynes.com/contact

In this special podcast episode Marie welcomes Alan Kent from Google. Alan is a developer advocate who currently works on communicating changes in regards to Google’s product reviews updates. The product reviews updates are discussed in detail. Alan also shares some very interesting thoughts on how machine learning is used by Google in this type of algorithm. Links: Google Search Central videos with Alan Kent All things Google Merchant Center with Alan Kent https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EMAqeyKYgk How to improve your ecommerce websites presence in Search results (6 tips) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIUQolZDecM How to SEO optimize your ecommerce website (8 tips) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGyZqUs9XqA&list=PLKoqnv2vTMUPAMjD4uEeBjlMaB-Jj1iSo&index=7 How to make your ecommerce website stand out in Google Search (6 tips) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEpiG_AbaxA&list=PLKoqnv2vTMUPAMjD4uEeBjlMaB-Jj1iSo&index=8 How to optimize images for your ecommerce website (6 tips) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQH9IpcAucY Send examples to Alan: https://twitter.com/akent99

Google added more information to the "About this Result" information in the search results. Their wording on what they've added to this feature is very similar to some that is in the Quality Rater Guidelines. In this episode of Search News You Can Use, Marie discusses how we can possibly use this info to improve E-A-T. Links mentioned in this episode: https://blog.google/products/search/information-literacy/ https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2019/08/core-updates https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/hsw-sqrg.pdf https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/12003459 Marie’s book https://mariehaynes.com/book Contact Marie https://mariehaynes.com/contact

In this episode Dr. Marie Haynes discusses five interesting changes Google has made to the Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines, including some information from a new Google document about the raters and the work they do. We’ll learn more about what YMYL is and what Google is looking for in terms of E-A-T for the topics you write on. Links mentioned: https://static.googleusercontent.com/media/guidelines.raterhub.com/en//searchqualityevaluatorguidelines.pdf https://www.blog.google/documents/37/How_Google_Fights_Disinformation.pdf/ https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/hsw-sqrg.pdf https://www.google.com/search/howsearchworks/ho w-search-works/ranking-results/ Marie's book: https://mariehaynes.com/book

In this episode Marie discusses the new “pros and cons” SERP annotations you may have seen. These are not produced by structured data! A new Google patent explains how n-grams, terms and phrases can be used to discover attributes about a product or entity and then show those right in the search results Links mentioned in this episode: https://www.mariehaynes.com/pros-cons-and-serp-annotations/ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/google-proscons-rich-results-annotations-simone-de-palma/ https://towardsdatascience.com/understanding-word-n-grams-and-n-gram-probability-in-natural-language-processing-9d9eef0fa058 https://patents.google.com/patent/US20210406268A1/en https://cloud.google.com/natural-language https://searchengineland.com/micro-intents-seo-content-journey-mapping-386544 https://www.kopp-online-marketing.com/micro-intents https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2021/04/product-reviews-update Hire Marie and the MHC team: https://mariehaynes.com/contact/

Marie welcomes MHC’s Technical Director, Alec Brownscombe, who also owns and operates the website Mapleleafshotstove.com. In this episode, Marie and Alec both discuss how MHC’s traffic drop assessments have evolved, reasons behind traffic drops, relevance, intent, machine learning, and more! This is an episode you don't want to miss. Newsletter episode 242 www.mariehaynes.com/newsletter/episode-242/ Subscribe to the newsletter: www.mariehaynes.com/seo-newsletter/ Links: Mordy Oberstein discussing sites affected by the May Core update https://www.wix.com/seo/learn/resource/content-lessons-google-may-2022-update Cyrus Shepard - 3 Vital Click-Based Signals for SEO: First, Long, & Last https://moz.com/blog/click-based-seo-engagement-signals Tyler Hermanson - Why keywords are still so very important for SEO https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-guide/why-keywords-important-seo/ Neeva discussing using quality raters and machine learning https://www.surgehq.ai/blog/beyond-clicks-how-neeva-uses-human-evaluation-of-search-quality-to-take-on-google https://www.seroundtable.com/how-google-search-uses-machine-learning-31386.html Contact Marie and the MHC team: www.mariehaynes.com/contact help@mariehaynes.com twitter.com/Marie_Haynes Alec Brownscombe's Twitter: twitter.com/mapleleafshs Submit a question for the next Q&A Mariehaynes.com/qa-with-mhc

Has your Google traffic dropped? In this episode Marie goes into great detail describing how you can assess a decline in organic traffic. Your losses may be because of a Google update but there are many other reasons. Marie covers technical issues, core web vitals, competitor research and much more. In the next episode, two weeks from now we will go into even further detail on how you can determine if your drops are due to a change in intent, relevancy or because of quality issues. Newsletter episode 240 https://www.mariehaynes.com/newsletter/episode-240/ Links mentioned in this episode: Using a knowledge of semantic search to improve E-A-T https://twitter.com/Marie_Haynes/status/1537087939968221188?s=20&t=KOEJWeSmtERtphpydbriWw SMX Advanced Talk/Agenda https://marketinglandevents.com/smx/advanced/ Is Google Search Dying? https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/06/google-search-algorithm-internet/661325/ MHC clients that did well with May core: https://twitter.com/Marie_Haynes/status/1536722779889979392?s=20&t=KOEJWeSmtERtphpydbriWw Google algorithm update list: https://mariehaynes.com/algo Screaming Frog article on redirects: https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/how-to-use-the-seo-spider-in-a-site-migration/ Using Archive.org to get old urls to test redirects: https://exposureninja.com/blog/extract-urls-archive-org/ Local SEO case study on improving page speed on Moz: https://moz.com/blog/local-seo-speed-optimization-case-study Mobile Moxy to monitor SERP changes for your brand: https://mobilemoxie.com/ Newsletter: https://mariehaynes.com/newsletter Hire Marie and the MHC team to help improve your site or assess a traffic drop: www.mariehaynes.com/contact help@mariehaynes.com twitter.com/Marie_Haynes Submit a question for the next Q&A Mariehaynes.com/qa-with-mhc

In this episode, Marie Haynes and Lily Ray both discuss the early impact of the May 2022 core update, advice for recovery, a little about how Google handles title tags, and more! Newsletter episode 238 https://www.mariehaynes.com/newsletter/episode-238/ Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.mariehaynes.com/seo-newsletter/ Links mentioned in this episode: How Google generates titles for documents with language or script misalignment https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/06/title-script-misalignment Lily’s recent article on E-A-T https://friendsofsearch.com/nl/blog/interview/lily-ray-amsive-digital-any-seo-who-hasnt-jumped-onto-the-e-a-t-wave-is-not-playing-close-enough-attention/ Youtube’s use of knowledge graphs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-bTGefJj0A Google’s announcement on the core update https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/05/may-2022-core-update How people read on the web https://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-people-read-online/ Barry Schwartz and John Mueller on whether machine learning is used to weight ranking factors https://www.seroundtable.com/how-google-search-uses-machine-learning-31386.html Register for SMX advanced https://marketinglandevents.com/smx/advanced/ Contact Marie and the MHC team: www.mariehaynes.com/contact help@mariehaynes.com twitter.com/Marie_Haynes Lily Ray's Twitter: twitter.com/lilyraynyc Submit a question for the next Q&A Mariehaynes.com/qa-with-mhc