New Study Reveals Top Local SEO Ranking Factors for 2016
A new study reveals information about the factors behind high ranking Google My Business (GMB) pages.
About
See short video versions of news stories on YouTube and TikTok. Matt G. Southern is the Senior News Writer at Search Engine Journal, where he’s covered Google, SEO, and AI for over 13 years.
Articles
Big Change to Keyword Planner: Google Restricts Access to Those With AdWords Accounts
Google Keyword Planner, a tool relied upon daily by SEOs and advertisers alike, has become restricted for use only by those logged in with an...
Google’s Local 3-Pack Now Includes Paid Listings
Google’s local 3-pack of organic listings may begin to show ads for certain searches, bringing the number of organic listings down to just 2.
Live Streaming Coming to YouTube’s Mobile App
This week ad VidCon YouTube announced it will be adding live streaming capabilities to the company’s mobile app.
Google Will Now Send Alerts Via Google Analytics About Hacked Sites
Google has announced it is expanded its set of security alerts in Google Analytics.
Google to Tell You When You Found a Good Hotel Deal
Next time you search for a hotel on Google it may tell you where you can find the best deal.
Updates to Bing App Create a Better Search Experience for iPhone Users
Version 6.6 of the Bing app for iOS rolled out this week, which brings with it a number of improvements that are designed to create...
Google to Provide Instant Medical Information for Symptom Searches
Searching for symptoms on Google is going to yield more immediate answers in the coming days, as the search giant rolls out an update to...
Google ‘Ad’ Tag Color Changed to Green, Same Color as URL
Two months ago Google began testing the color of its ‘Ad’ tag in Google AdWords ads — changing it from yellow to green. What was...
Compare Keyword Data in Google Search Console’s Search Analytics Report
Google has quietly rolled out a useful new feature to Search Console which will give site owners the ability to compare keyword data side by...
Google Starts Asking People to Verify Edits to Google Maps
Over the past few weeks users have been noticing a slight change to Google Maps.
Google Introduces Apps Search Engine: Springboard is Search for Business Users
This week Google announced a new tool called Springboard, which is a search engine designed to search through all of Google’s suite of apps.
Apple’s Siri Coming to Mac Devices, Google Not Default Provider
At the Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) this week, Apple announced its voice assistant Siri will be coming to Mac devices.
Google Sets the Record Straight on Autocomplete
In response to recent questions and controversy surrounding Google’s autocomplete feature, the company published an article on its official Inside Search blog in an effort...
Google Street View Gets Much Needed Update: Navigate With a Swipe
Google has replaced its arrow-style navigation in Street View with a more continuous scroll style of navigation. Previously, when using Street View, you had to...
Google Introduces Nearby for Android: Find the Right Apps at the Right Time
How useful is an app if you don’t know it exists in the first place? App stores are great so long as you know what...
Google Contacts Web App Now Shows Verified Information From Maps
The Google Contacts web app, first introduced over a year ago, is rolling out new a feature despite still being in preview mode. The new...
Bing Searches Could Eventually Lead to Early Detection of Cancer, says NYT
The New York Times reports that Microsoft researchers have been able to identify internet users suffering from pancreatic cancer, according to the analysis of large...
Expand the Reach of Your Content with Bing News PubHub
This week Bing released a new tool for content publishers to get their work discovered by more readers. Bing News PubHub allows publishers to submit...
Ads on AMP Lead to Greater Visibility and Higher CTRs, Study Says
When AMP was first introduced, one of the promises Google made to content publishers was that they would be able to sell and distribute their...
Google Denied Appeal in Class-Action Lawsuit over Deceiving AdWords Users
Google was denied an appeal by the US Supreme Court regarding a lawsuit dating back to 2008 where Google was accused of misleading advertisers about...
Google Releases More Efficient Mobile-Friendly Testing Tool
Google has release a more efficient, and arguably more aesthetically pleasing version of its mobile friendly testing tool.
DuckDuckGo Becomes Default Search Provider for Tor Browser
Privacy-focused browser Tor has begun serving search results from DuckDuckGo by default. Previously, Tor used a privacy tool called Disconnect to access Google’s search results,...
Google Assistant to Be Given a Personality and Backstory
Google’s new Assistant will be given a personality, complete with a backstory, to make the bot more relatable to human users.
Google App for iOS Gets a Speed Boost
The Google app for iOS is now faster according to an official announcement from the company. In addition to cutting down loading times the app...
Reddit Breaks Up With Imgur, Releases Its Own Image Uploading Tool
This week Reddit announced it will be moving away from its integration with Imgur and introduce its own image uploading tool. At first the beta...
New Google Test: Third Party Reviews in Search Results
Google has been spotted conducting another one of its tests in the search results; and this one involves third-party review sites Traditionally Google has always...
New Search Engine Omnity Said to Be “Smarter Than Google”
The Washington Post reports that a new search engine called Omnity is on the way, which is targeted at researchers and students. Not only is...
Study Shows Positive Correlation Between Traffic and Referring Domains
A new study conducted by SimilarWeb and Majestic concludes that there is a positive correlation between a website’s traffic and the number of referring domains...
New Length of Titles and Descriptions is Just a Test, Google Says
After much speculation as to whether or not the extended length of search snippet titles and descriptions is a test or a permanent change, we...