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Good morning, Marketers, and lots happening in the search world today,
Google launched the final algorithm update of the summer (of those that we knew to expect). It’ll take a week or two to roll out in its entirety, and you can read more details in the brief from Barry (your algorithm tracker) below. If you saw some fluctuations with part one in June, you may see your data shift around again with this change.
Plus, we’ve got the latest on un-skippable video ad pods on YouTube, which may be a good thing for advertisers but may be annoying for viewers. (Google says ad pods are better for long form viewers.)
And don’t forget to check out our SEO Periodic Table, we’re going to feature a section from it here every Friday for the next few weeks.
Carolyn Lyden
Director of Search Content
The July core algorithm update has launched just in time for your holiday
Just as Americans are prepping for a long holiday weekend and Canadians took the day off for Canada Day, Google announced the rollout of the July core algorithm update. It’ll take about one to two weeks to fully roll out, they said..
This is the latest update in the 2021 Summer of UpdatesTM. The product reviews update started in April. Then we had the June core update and the page experience update followed by the two spam updates — all in June. And finally, we cap it off with yesterday’s announcement. We knew this one was coming, but whew, what a doozy.
Google has given advice on what to consider if you are negatively impacted by a core update in the past. There aren’t specific actions to take to recover, and in fact, a negative rankings impact may not signal anything is wrong with your pages.
In your inbox: The updated Search Engine Land Periodic Table
Since it first debuted in 2011, Search Engine Land’s Periodic Table of SEO has become a globally recognized tool that search professionals have relied on to help them understand the elements essential to a winning SEO strategy.
And this year we’ve expanded our Periodic Table even further to encompass even more in SEO. Along with the regular annual updates of individual elements, we’ve made some major changes and added a new Niches section. While the overall SEO Periodic Table gives you an idea of the overarching best practices, the Niches section focuses on the nuances of SEO for three new areas: Local, Publishing and Ecommerce.
Over the next coming weeks, we’ll deep dive into each section to give you an overview of what’s essential when you’re looking to achieve success in SEO. It isn’t all about rankings, but it IS about achieving positive results from greater visibility in search engines. So stay tuned every Friday for the next few weeks to get these sneak peek.
While SEO is indeed an art, it is also a science. We hope this refreshed tool serves as an essential reference for your experiments.
Want it all now? Download the full table ASAP.
Ad pods on YouTube will soon be eligible for non-skippable in-stream ads
Ad pods, introduced in 2018, are when two video ads are served back to back. The idea was to compact the ad-viewing experience to ensure that viewers do not leave when multiple ads are played during the video they’re watching. This ad type is most often served to audiences watching longer form content in order to reduce the number of interruptions to the viewing experience.
“We saw that users who engaged with multiple ads in an ad break experienced up to 40% fewer interruptions,” wrote Tript Singh Lamba, Director of Product Management at Google. The new format will make ad pods “eligible to serve non-skippable in-stream ads in addition to skippable in-stream ads and bumpers.”
Why we care. This is a good move for advertisers who want to reach their audiences on YouTube without being skipped over, but will likely be an annoying addition for YouTube watchers who will now have to sit through multiple ads before, during, and after their videos without a way to skip it. Either way, YouTube wins because of the ad revenue coming in or viewers switching to their ad-free paid subscription.
On the hunt for something new in 2021? Here are the latest career opportunities in search
Digital Marketing Analyst @ Fidelity Life (Chicago, remote)
- Provide data analysis and insights related to digital purchase performance to help accelerate sales growth and profitability of the digital purchase experience
- Track and analyze the digital purchase funnel KPIs such as page conversion rates, cart abandonment, and sales conversion by marketing sources
Head of SEO (Native French Speaker) @ JoinJump (remote, Europe only)
- Perform ongoing keyword discovery, expansion and optimization
- Create and manage the content marketing plan
- Manage our freelance writers
Head of Social Strategy & Execution @ Catch Co (remote, USA)
- Develop and continuously update social strategy for our many brands across networks (including FB/IG, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube).
- Build rolling content calendars and execution plans based on a deep understanding of consumers in this category and an ability to dive into data to uncover opportunities.
Growth Marketing Manager @ Netgear (remote, USA)
- Drive and own all day-to-day activities associated with the growth and success of our subscription business
- Enable marketing strategies and campaigns for the company’s subscription business by acquiring, activating, and retaining subscribers through optimizing customer interest, education, and engagement
Enter a job opening for an opportunity to be featured in this section.
SEO and PPC mentorship, managing a content team and Instagram experiments with full-screen videos
Search Engine Land mentorship applications are due by 5pm ET today. We’ve had a HUGE pouring in of applications for both mentors and mentees. If you want the chance to get one of the coveted mentorship spots, make sure to get your application in ASAP. The mentorship is open to everyone and for both SEO and PPC.
How to manage a content team. “CMOs and VPs have unrealistic expectations for their content team leads,” wrote Jimmy Daly for Superpath. This article is Part 1 on how to manage the people-side of a content tem.
Instagram to start showing users full-screen, recommended videos. It’s one move the app is taking to compete with TikTok. “We’re also going to be experimenting with how do we embrace video more broadly — full screen, immersive, entertaining, mobile-first video,” said Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri.
What We’re Reading: Top online platforms commit to tackling abuse of women online
Yesterday Facebook, Google, Twitter, and TikTok pledged to help make women safer online through new platform features. The commitment was made at the UN Generation Equality Forum in Paris and come after the tech giants consulted with Tim Berners-Lee’s Web Foundation where 120+ women from 35 countries shared their experiences online and worked to determine the best solutions.
The companies committed to working on features focused in reporting and control. “Companies have promised to offer more granular settings that will give women more control over who can interact with their posts,” wrote Katie Collins for Cnet. “When it comes to reporting, platforms said they will offer more features that allow women to track and manage their reports, allowing them to track the journey of posts they’ve reported to give them greater insight into how they’re being handled.” The Web Foundation will report on how well the companies are reaching these safety goals, publishing reports on their progress toward their promises.
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