July 2021 – SEO and Marketing News

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Jul 30, 2021 / by
July 2021 – SEO and Marketing News

OK, we didn’t win the Euros. But at least the sun is shining and the restrictions that have been plaguing our lives for 18 months now have been largely cast aside. Of course, the constantly evolving world of digital marketing has hardly lain dormant in the wake of the pandemic, but this month it would appear there is even more news to sift through than usual.

So, as we settle in for what promises to be a long and hot summer, let’s take a few moments to pick out the most interesting stories from the past month.

The Google July 2021 has officially rolled out

As of July 12, the July 2021 Google core update is officially over so any subsequent changes you’ll see in rankings will probably be due to the normal shifting of search results. If you lost rankings it’s probably safe to no longer expect a last-minute reprieve, it’s time to get to work understanding what happened.

Of course, Google rarely says explicitly what is involved in the core algorithm update. But Google has said that a core algorithm update is one that introduces changes across a wide range of indexing and ranking processes. One of the observations we’re seeing so far is that solid on-page and off-page SEO practices with quality links are paying off with stable rankings. There’s also been a supposed increase in People Also Ask (PAA), a query refinement feature designed to get users to the answers they want to see.

There is also anecdotal evidence of a seeming increase in spam in Google’s search results since the recent spam updates that is persisting through the July 2021 Core Algorithm Update. Although Google is actively trying not to show low quality search results, arguably questionable search results continue to show up in Google. Generally speaking though, it’s too early to really say what’s changed. So let’s give it a few weeks first before making any grand proclamations.

Google and GoDaddy join forces

Google announced this week that they were teaming up with GoDaddy to help site owners get their products in front of more viewers. The announcement was published on Google’s blog, specifying that merchants can more easily be present across the search engine in “just a few clicks.”

The partnership works to help merchants get found by new customers across Google Shopping, Search (including Image Search), and YouTube. More than that, GoDaddy merchants can add products ‘to Google’ from their online store and either promote them via a Smart Shopping campaign or make them eligible for free listings.

The partnership aims to create more visibility for online merchants and provide Google users with more shopping choices. Greg Goldfarb, Vice President of Commerce and Products at GoDaddy, said of the partnership: “Expanding our work with Google simplifies creating an e-commerce presence across Google surfaces and jumpstarts sales momentum by leveraging their best in class automated advertising solutions.”

Facebook announces monetisation platform for writers

Facebook recently announced a new service for writers called Bulletin that will help them engage with, grow and monetise their audience. Bulletin is a set of tools for writers to use to publish a standalone website, process subscription payments and to leverage Facebook’s social media to further engage with and grow their subscription and reader base.

The service is currently launching in the United States with a select group of writers like Malcolm Gladwell. It offers writers 100% of earned revenue and portability of content and email lists, it will handle collecting subscriptions and includes analytics to help writers understand their audiences. That means a writer can choose to move to another platform if they choose and to take their content and subscribers with them.

Facebook described their subscription payment system and offerings: “Subscription payments will be securely handled by Facebook Pay, allowing subscribers to pay with a credit card, debit card or PayPal account. Writers are able to offer a range of subscription-based features, including content, commenting abilities and Facebook groups accessible only by subscribers.”

The news site created to stand against Google and Facebook has failed

Knewz.com, which was launched in January 2020 and owned by News Corp has been shut down. The goal behind the platform was to provide aggregate news operating across the political spectrum. Perhaps the most enticing draw to this site from a publisher’s perspective was the fact that Knewz was operating without Google and Facebook’s ‘alleged bias’. However, there is no supporting evidence to this allegation of bias.

The premise of the platform was to showcase original news stories from outlets that Knewz believed were being demoted in Google and Facebooks search results. The platform would favour original reporting over rehashes of articles and would showcase stories from big and small corporations regardless of political stance. Knewz would also share data directly with publishers.

What led to the closure of Knewz then? According to the closing note on the website, Knewz simply wasn’t profitable enough to remain in operation. The note also recommends and links to other News Corp websites, therefore, while the platform was short-lived, a mere 18 months, News Corp may still be able to profit from the website in the immediate future.

Keep internal links to a minimum according to Google

Finally, a little insider SEO wisdom straight from the horse’s mouth. In a recent Google Search Central SEO hangout, John Mueller explained that using too many internal links on the same page can dilute their value.

Of course, Internal links are important for SEO as they send signals to Google about which pages are most important to a particular website. They don’t send the same ranking signals as external links, but they still matter. In addition, Google uses internal links to better understand a site’s structure. A sitemap can also be used to communicate that information, but a logical structure of internal links helps make it even clearer.

According to Mueller though, not only does too many internal links mean it’s harder for Google to figure out which ones are the important ones but too many internal links also dilute their value. The takeaway here? Stick to two or three internal links per page. Don’t get greedy!