15Nov
In November 2019, Instagram expanded its hidden likes test to some U.S. users. The move created anxiety for creators and brands that had used public like counts as a quick signal of influence. But it…
Digital Marketing News
25Oct
In October 2019, Google announced BERT, a language understanding update designed to help Search interpret more nuanced queries. Google said BERT would help with ranking and featured snippets, especially for longer or more conversational searches…
13Sep
In September 2019, Google introduced new link attributes: rel=”sponsored” for paid or sponsored links and rel=”ugc” for user-generated content. Nofollow also became more of a hint for Google rather than a simple directive in all…
16Aug
In August 2019, Google published guidance for site owners about broad core updates. The post encouraged site owners to focus on content quality, expertise, presentation, comparison to other pages and whether the content would be…
26Jul
Starting July 1, 2019, Google made mobile-first indexing the default for new websites. That meant Google’s systems would primarily use the mobile version of a new site’s content for indexing and ranking. For years, mobile…
07Jun
Google’s June 2019 Core Update was notable partly because Google pre-announced it, giving site owners advance notice that a broad update was coming. The rollout produced major discussion across SEO communities and reminded businesses that…
17May
Google Marketing Live 2019 introduced advertisers to formats such as Discovery ads and Gallery ads, showing Google’s interest in more visual, feed-like ad experiences. Search was still intent-driven, but the ad ecosystem was clearly moving…
30Apr
At Facebook’s F8 conference in April 2019, Instagram announced a test in Canada that would hide public like counts on posts. The account owner could still see performance, but followers would no longer see the…
22Mar
Google’s March 2019 Core Update was one of the most discussed search updates of the year. Some sites saw recoveries from earlier losses, while others experienced new volatility. For SMBs, the update reinforced that SEO…
22Feb
In February 2019, Google Ads announced that average position would be retired later that year. For many advertisers, average position had been a familiar shorthand for where ads appeared. The replacement metrics, such as top…