SEO From The Front Lines – Détails, épisodes et analyse

In this episode of “SEO From The Front Lines”, I cover the ranking swings and volatility in Google Search post-August core update. There has been a lot of chatter about ranking changes AFTER the Google August 2024 core update rolled out. After digging in, I noticed a ton of volatility across several dates post-core update. And beyond that, I noticed that a number of sites heavily impacted by the August 24th tremor have started to reverse course on some of those dates. For example, sites that surged on August 24th started dropping on September 6th, 2024, September 10th, and now September 14th. And on the flip side, some sites that dropped with the August 24th tremor are now surging. Beyond that, there are some sites that were unaffected by the August core update that are surging or dropping. And for sites heavily impacted by the September helpful content update (HCUX), a number that started surging back with the August 2024 core update are now dropping a bit. It’s not like a full reversal, but definitely reversing course somewhat. In this video, I cover what I’m seeing and why I think this might be happening.
00:00 Crazy ranking swings and volatility AFTER the August 2024 core update completed.
00:49 My initial tweet about the volatility and reversals I was picking up across sites.
01:56 Examples of sites reversing course and dropping on 9/6, 9/10, and 9/14.
02:59 Examples of sites reversing course and surging back post-August core update.
04:38 Barry Schwartz picked up a lot of chatter and volatility on 9/6/24.
05:08 Important dates to review for site owners and SEOs.
05:31 Helpful content sites impacted and dropping after surging with the August core update.
06:36 Examples of visibility trending for HCU(X) sites impacted and dropping.
08:01 PSA about rank tracking your most important queries.
09:22 What’s happening, and the possible decoupling of algorithms from broad core updates.
11:17 Quick summary about the recent volatility post-August core update.

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In Episode 14 of ‘SEO From The Front Lines”, I cover how some publishers are hijacking the browser back button and providing a feed of articles that drives users to more publisher content, including sponsored content and ads. That’s versus allowing them to return to the sites they visited from… Disabling, or hijacking the back button, is a tricky and deceptive tactic, since users might not know they actually stayed on the same site. And that’s especially the case when visitors arrive on the site from Google Discover since the publisher feed looks very similar to the Discover feed.

I also cover some reasons that some publishers are choosing to hijack the back button. For example, driving users to a publisher’s feed after hitting the back button can yield more pageviews, more ad impressions, and more ad revenue. But there’s another possible benefit of doing this… It can lead to more engagement for users that remain on the site, even if that’s not what the user intended to do. And with Google’s Navboost system at play, which tracks 13 months of user interaction signals (and can impact rankings), publishers could be gaming Navboost. And that led me to Google’s spam policies, if Google should issue manual actions for hijacking the back button, or if they should just tackle it algorithmically. I also cover how hijacking the back button was often the tip of the iceberg from an aggressive and deceptive advertising situation (and how some sites employing that tactic have seen big drops during major algorithm updates, including broad core updates).

And I end the video with some advice for publishers that might be currently hijacking the back button. My recommendation is to run a user study to better understand how real, objective users feel about having their back button hijacked, not being able to easily leave a site, etc. By running a user study, publishers can listen to, and watch, frustrated users on their own sites. It might just lead to publishers reevaluating their decision to hijack the back button.

00:00 Hijacking the browser back button and its impact on SEO.

01:32 Reasons publishers are hijacking the back button.

02:59 What the feed of content and ads looks like when the back button is hijacked.

03:57 Google’s stance on publishers hijacking or disabling the back button.

05:42 An introduction to Navboost and Google tracking 13 months of user interaction signals.

07:53 Google’s spam policies.

09:40 A Navboost twist and negative user interactions signals.

11:21 Aggressive advertising and broad core update impact for sites hijacking the back button.

12:47 My case study about The SEO Engagement Trap.

14:11 Publishers have serious decisions to make about ‘back button hijacking’.

14:36 Running a user study to understand user frustration from hijacking.

16:02 Quick recap and read my latest blog post covering hijacking the back button. Read my blog post covering 'back button hijacking' and its impact on SEO: https://www.gsqi.com/marketing-blog/hijacking-the-back-button-gaming-navboost/

Google’s Core Algorithm Updates and The Power of User Studies: https://www.gsqi.com/marketing-blog/google-core-ranking-updates-user-studies/ Visualizing The SEO Engagement Trap:

https://www.gsqi.com/marketing-blog/user-frustration-behavior-flow-google-analytics/

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With Google recently expanding support for translated results in the search results, I explain how to export those translated results by country from Google Search Console via the GSC API and Analytics Edge. I also cover how translated results work, what they look like in the search results, how to opt-out from having your content translated, and more.

View the blog post now.

Confused about aggressive and disruptive ads and how that impacts a site with major algorithm updates? Well, the Ad Experience Report in Google Search Console might add to that confusion. Glenn Gabe of GSQi explains how the Ad Experience Report in Google Search Console fails to provide an accurate view of the advertising situation for site owners, and how that provides a false sense of security. Glenn explains how aggressive ads can impact a site during broad core updates and how the Ad Experience Report could help if Google provided stronger data there. You can read the blog post on gsqi.com.

I cover scary and confusing surges and drops in indexing in Google Search Console (GSC) and why that might be totally fine for site owners and SEOs. If the surges are due to urls categorized as "Indexed, though blocked by robots.txt", then that can cause the spike and drop you are seeing. And since Google is on record that it can't impact the site quality-wise, it can be totally fine. This is a companion video to my blog post covering the topic: https://www.gsqi.com/marketing-blog/scary-surge-drop-indexing-google-search-console/

Now that AI overviews rolled out in the United States in Google Search, I dug into Google Search Console (GSC) to track those overviews (the queries and landing pages ranking there). In this episode, I walk you through several examples of sites ranking lower on page one in the 10-blue links, but also ranking in AI overviews at the top of the SERPs. Based on that, I was hoping I would clearly be able to track those overviews. Nope, it wasn't clear at all.

Glenn presented at SMX Advanced about the latest Google algorithm updates that rolled out in 2023 and 2024, but due to a tech glitch, he had to cut the presentation short by a few slides (due to time). So, he decided to record the end of the presentation and post it here! Glenn covers an interesting March 2024 core update case study, the counterbalancing of systems, the 'site reputation abuse' update, and then covers some key points from the entire presentation.

Google’s August 2024 broad core update finally completed on September 3, 2024 after a 19-day rollout. It was a huge update that impacted many sites across the web. In the final episode of core update notes, I cover HCU(X) sites recovering, the big tremor from 8/24 into 8/25, forums seeing volatility, an update on a site pumping out a ton of AI content, and then how site owners can move forward after the update. That includes understanding the difference between relevancy adjustments, intent shifts, and quality, running delta reports to understand the top queries and landing pages that dropped based on the core update, and then how to take a “kitchen sink” approach to remediation.

00:00 Final "Core Update Notes" for the August 2024 broad core update.

00:40 The August core update completed in 19 days.

01:24 More about September helpful content update sites surging.

03:48 And some September helpful content update sites dropping even more.

05:42 Continued movement for sites seeing impact post-update.

06:21 The August 24th Tremor was big for some sites.

08:13 Was the tremor commerce-focused?

09:12 Another reminder that links will not save you from broad core updates.

10:12 Huge drop: An update on a site pumping out tons of AI content.

11:03 Forums volatility: A correction?

12:17 Reddit still surging, Quora flat.

13:13 Understanding the difference between relevancy adjustments, intent shifts, and quality problems.

14:33 If "Quality" is the issue, then focus on the Usual Suspects.

15:40 "Quality" is more than just content.

16:49 Run a Delta Report (or several).

17:55 Use the "Kitchen Sink" approach to remediation.

19:09 When will the next core update roll out and wrapping up.

Blog posts I reference in the video:

Google’s Broad Core Updates And The Difference Between Relevancy Adjustments, Intent Shifts, And Overall Site Quality Problems

https://www.gsqi.com/marketing-blog/google-broad-core-updates-difference-between-relevancy-adjustments-intent-shifts-overall-site-quality/

Google’s Core Algorithm Updates and The Power of User Studies: How Real Feedback From Real People Can Help Site Owners Surface Website Quality Problems (And More)

https://www.gsqi.com/marketing-blog/google-core-ranking-updates-user-studies/

Smart Delta Reports – How To Automate Exporting, Filtering, and Comparing Google Search Data Across Timeframes Via The Search Console API and Analytics Edge

https://www.gsqi.com/marketing-blog/how-to-automate-delta-report-gsc-api-analytics-edge/

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This is Part 3 of "Core Update Notes" for the August broad core update. I cover an update on September Helpful Content Updates sites (HCUX), tremors I'm seeing during the update, sites violating Google's Site Reputation Abuse spam policy, how YMYL sites can surge even with a fraction of the links of competitors, how Google will eventually catch up with sites heavily publishing AI-generated content without human involvement, how LinkedIn pulse and advice are dropping with the August core update, and more.

00:00 "Core Update" notes for August 30th

00:51 An update on sites impacted by the September helpful content update (HCUX)

02:38 Algorithm update "Tremors" - or changes pushed by Google during the core update

05:00 Site reputation abuse - big drops and some surges

07:07 YMYL site impact - not always about the links...

08:26 Links will not (always) save you from a broad core update.

09:28 Pushing the Limits? Google will eventually catch up.

10:42 Recovery from the June 2024 spam update?

11:37 PSA: Domain name changes and migrations DURING broad core updates.

12:36 LinkedIn Pulse and Advice directories dropping.

14:14 Things to Know SERP feature impact.

16:18 Summary of "Core Update Notes" for August 30th 2024

And make sure to check out the other episodes covering "Core Update Notes" from the August core update:

Core Update Notes from August 19, 2024

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4TK7m2NAhw5Kth25f1f0tb

Core Update Notes From August 23, 2024

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3U5ugx08nT6IuFnPPn0jxR

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Part 2 of "Core Update Notes" for the August Google broad core update. I cover the latest with helpful content update sites surging back from the dead, reviews sites also rising from the ashes, Google confirming that AI overview rankings can be impacted by broad core updates, how SERP features could be impacted during core updates, and the connection between the May 3rd and May 10th unconfirmed updates and the August core update.

00:00 Google August 2024 Core Update Notes - 8/23 Edition00:37 An Update On September Helpful Content Sites (HCUX)

02:18 An example of a full recovery from the HCU(X)?

04:00 The Aug core update connection with the May 3rd and May 10th unconfirmed updates.

05:40 Gif and Meme sites: SERP features impacted versus 10-blue links.

07:20 Confirmed: Core updates can impact AI overview rankings.

08:50 Reviews sites rise from the ashes. Not just HCU(X) sites. Follow me on X: https://x.com/glenngabe Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glenngabe/