Digital Marketing News

Google’s New Link Attributes Added Nuance to SEO Hygiene

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…

Google’s Core Update Guidance Told Site Owners to Improve the Whole Page

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…

Mobile-First Indexing Became the Default for New Websites

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…

The June 2019 Core Update Made SEO Volatility Hard to Ignore

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…

Google Marketing Live 2019 Pointed Ads Toward More Visual Discovery

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…

Instagram Testing Hidden Likes Challenged Vanity Metrics

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…

The March 2019 Core Update Reminded Site Owners That Quality Compounds

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…

Google Ads Signaled the End of Average Position Thinking

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…

Google’s GDPR Fine Put Privacy on the Digital Advertising Agenda

January 2019 gave marketers an early sign that privacy regulation was becoming a real operating issue, not just a legal headline. France’s CNIL fined Google over GDPR consent and transparency concerns tied to personalized advertising.…

WordPress 5.0 and Gutenberg Changed the Content Publishing Workflow

WordPress 5.0, named “Bebo,” was released on December 6, 2018 with the new block-based Gutenberg editor. For businesses using WordPress, the release changed the way pages and posts were built, edited and maintained. For SMBs,…