The StepForth Web Marketing Blog
Informing on SEO, SEM, and PPC since 2001SEO 101 Ep 450 – Google Bugs, Why Blogs Rock, and More Algorithmic News
Google has had a few bugs as of late that are discussed here, along with some valuable anecdotes about existing client SEO issues that you should avoid, the vast importance of blogs and why, and much more. Noteworthy links from this episode: Google Search bug caused a...
SEO 101 Ep 449: AI quits Google, Google UA Historical Data, Google Search Ranking, April 2023 Updates, and More
Ross and Scott discuss AI pioneer quitting Google to warn about the technology’s danger, the use of historical data to evaluate search quality, and more Google updates. Noteworthy links from this episode: Google Market Share AI pioneer quits Google to warn about the...
SEO 101 Ep 448 – Project Magi, the Product Review Update, and More Bing
April’s latest and significant Google product review update is discussed along with the announcement that Google is building a new search engine codenamed Project Magi.The hosts discuss the recent changes to the search landscape… most notably that Bing is in the news...
SEO 101 Ep 447: Ranking Updates, Snippet Mistakes, Google Bard, and More
Another broad core update is unleashed, improvements to the Search Status Dashboard, a tip for video SEO that you don't want to miss, and more insights into the good and bad of AI for SEO. Noteworthy links from this episode: Google Sunsetting Google Glass Google...
SEO 101 Ep 446 – ChatGPT for Keyword Research, Google Product Reviews Update & More
More information continues to be revealed about Google’s Product Review Update. Ross and Scott review more about ChatGPT and SEO, plus a local SEO tip, and more thoughts from Google’s John Mueller. Noteworthy links from this episode: Elementor WordPress Contact...
SEO 101 Ep 445 – Bing AI and Bard Plus Google will Help with Analytics 4 but Don’t Rely on That
Google says they will automatically set up Google Analytics 4 for anyone who hasn’t done so, but it comes with serious caveats you must be aware of. Also, AI chat is all over the news right now; for a good reason, it is changing how we work! Ross and Scott discuss the...
SEO 101 Ep 444 Google’s Many Latest Updates and the Impact on AI Content
Scott and Ross discuss the long running round of Google algorithmic updates and their respective (but significant) impact on search results. They discuss the impact of the helpful content update on AI written content and finish off the episode with the answer to an...
Google’s “People Also Ask” Suggests Buying Reviews
Google does an admirable job of providing a variety of search result data by injecting images, video, and related questions that "People also ask". Unfortunately, Google's algorithms are only so good and mistakes are made. The following mistake (highlighting added for...
Apple Business Connect: A Rival of Google Business Profile
Apple introduced Business Connect on January 11, 2023. It’s an improved version of Apple Maps Connect released in October 2014 and a free tool allowing small and large businesses to customize the information that appears across Apple apps. Images Source: Apple Let’s...
SEO 101 Ep 443 New Google Search Status Dashboard, December Google Helpful Content Update, Link Spam Update, and More.
The hosts started the show by reminiscing on the beginning of Search Engine Land, which is now celebrating its 16th birthday. Next up, was the New Google Search Status Dashboard which reports widespread issues for site owners. Other topics discussed include the latest...
SEO 101 Ep 442 Impact of Backlinks on Ranking, Duplicated Website Content, AI-altered Plagiarized Content, and More.
The hosts started the show by discussing the lawsuit Google filed against a company promising Page 1 rankings. Other topics discussed include duplicate website content, the impact of backlinks on ranking, Google algorithms to detect & demote AI-altered plagiarized...
SEO 101 Ep 441 Disappearing Google Reviews, Updates on Google Business Profile Features, and More.
Ross & Scott started the show with news on WooCommerce WordPress plugin vulnerabilities. They then talked about review structured data, updates on Google Business Profile photos, the impact of local review keywords on local rankings, disappearing reviews caused by...
SEO 101 Ep 440: WordPress Vulnerabilities, October Spam Update, Google Search Result Display Update, and More.
Ross & Scott started the show with news on WordPress vulnerabilities. They then talked about Google’s October 2022 spam update, Google SERP display update, testing of expanded pricing details in Google Product Panel, guidelines for soliciting Google reviews, and...
SEO 101 Ep 439: Drupal Vulnerabilities, Multiple Google Updates, Google Business Profile Suspensions, and More.
Ross & Scott started the show with news on Drupal vulnerabilities. They then did a rundown of the many Google updates in the last few months. Other topics discussed: Google testing “More Like This” snippet feature, Google Search Console missing data, Google Local...
SEO 101 Ep 438: WordPress 6.02 Security Issues, Google’s Advice on Meta Descriptions, and More.
The show started with a status check on Google’s Helpful Content Update. Ross & Scott then moved on to Wordpress 6.02 security issues and Google’s advice on meta descriptions. They also gave valuable tips when they answered a few questions from the audience....
SEO 101 Ep 437: Google’s Helpful Content Update, Changes to International Targeting Report, Indexing Updates, and More.
The show started with a big update on Google Helpful Content, which could change SEO as much as Panda did. The hosts then discussed the August product review update, changes in People Also Asked results, Google’s simplified page indexing report, duplicating content in...
SEO 101 Ep 436: July 2022 Product Review Update, Google’s Indexing Issue, GBP Automated Messaging, and More.
The hosts started the show with Google’s release of a super basic video on SEO. They also talked about the July 2022 product review algorithm update, the Google indexing issue last July 15, new automated messaging through the Business Profile FAQ section, a Google...
SEO 101 Ep 435: GMB App Update, New Video Index Report, New Rich Result Guidelines, and More.
The show was packed with updates from Google. Ross & Scott discussed Google Search ranking updates, the rollout of new Search Console Video index report, new rich result guidelines, Google My Business mobile app, expiration of Google posts, and much more! ...