Google says Performance Max ‘intentionally’ doesn’t show channel-specific KPIs

Google confirmed that it deliberately withholds channel-specific KPIs for Performance Max campaigns because it could be “misleading.”

Some advertisers suspect Google is not being fully transparent about PMax campaign performance data because doing so would impact its ability to push automation.

What Google is saying. When an advertisers asked why Google doesn’t offer channel-level reporting for PMax campaigns in the Google Ads Help Center, a spokesperson replied:

• “It intentionally doesn’t show channel-specific KPIs because looking at aggregate ROAS or CPA for a single channel within Performance Max can actually be misleading and doesn’t accurately represent the value of a given channel.”
• “One channel may seem better than another with stronger ROI on average. However, this doesn’t account for the marginal cost of the next conversion on that channel. The ‘best’ channel in one auction isn’t the best option in another auction.”
• “Performance Max makes a real-time decision about where to place your ad based on which inventory it predicts will deliver the most cost-efficient, high-ROI conversion at that moment.”

Reaction. Julie F Bacchini, President of Neptune Moon LLC, shared a screenshot of the exchange on X and commented:

• “New PMax questions answered from Think with Google… From the first answer… Paraphrased – we won’t show you the stats for channels within PMax because you might get the wrong idea about their performance if you actually see it.”
• “Trust us to always do what’s best.”

Why we care. Advertisers want more transparency in how their campaigns are performing because even though AI can be highly effective, it’s not perfect. And since Google’s products are designed to benefit Google rather than advertisers, many would feel more comfortable having insights to ensure that decisions about their campaign performance prioritize their brands rather than Google.

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Deep dive. Read the full Google Ads Help Center Q&A for more information.

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Google pilots new PPC ad format

Google confirmed it is testing a new PPC ad format. However, key details such as the official name, functionality, influence on auction dynamics, and effect on metrics are yet to be released.

The lack of information surrounding the new ad format has drawn criticism from advertisers.

First spotted: The new ad format was first flagged by Anthony Higman, CEO of online advertising agency Adsquire, who shared a preview on X:

He posted: “These aren’t LSAs, they’re PPC ads. What are we calling this new ad format? And why was no one informed about It?”

Lack of transparency. Commenting on the new ad format and lack of information provided from Google, Higman told Search Engine Land:

• “What bothers me about most things that Google has rolled out recently is the lack of transparency.”
• “I get that it’s 2024 and things are moving faster than ever, but when they roll out a new ad format, of which we have seen about ten in past few weeks, it would be really helpful if they explained how these new ads work and what changes they imply via auction dynamics.”
• “But it seems to me like they just roll these new ads out, then try and figure out how to explain what these changes mean for advertisers.”
• “As a PPC veteran, what rubs me the wrong way is that this feels more and more like we are being forced into adopting everything that Google wants via AI, machine learning and just “trusting” the machine – which again still lacks a lot of transparency in my opinion.”

‘Beyond crazy’. Melissa Mackey, paid search director at Compound Growth Marketing, also criticized the lack of information around the new ad format. She wrote on X:

• “It’s beyond crazy what’s happening in the LSA world right now. Thankfully, we don’t have any clients who use them, but for those who do, this is a new nightmare on the daily.”
• “We haven’t seen these for any of our clients but agree it’s a cr*p ad format plus there’s no info on how this affects metrics etc.”

Why we care. The new ad format lacks clear information on costs and metrics, making it difficult to monitor and optimize campaign performance.

What Google is saying. A Google spokesperson confirmed to Search Engine Land that the new ad format is still in the experimental stage, and there is no certainty about its full launch yet.

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Deep dive. Read our PPC marketing guide for more information on how PPC ads work.

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YouTube expands free editing app to 13 new markets

YouTube Create, a mobile app designed to make editing videos easier, is expanding to 13 more markets in beta.

Content creators can now download the app for free in the PlayStore on Android in the following additional countries:

• Argentina
• Australia.
• Brazil.
• Canada.
• Finland.
• Hong Kong.
• Ireland.
• Netherlands.
• New Zealand.
• Spain.
• Taiwan.
• Thailand.
• Turkey.

What is YouTube Create? YouTube Create is a free mobile app that allows you to edit Shorts or longer videos for YouTube. You can also add soundtracks, captions, and more, all directly from your phone.

Why we care. The app helps users to enhance the quality of their YouTube content without the need for additional expensive editing tools or complicated desktop software.

What YouTube is saying. Conor Kavanagh, Lead for Monetization Policy at YouTube, said:

• “In September, we announced the beta launch of YouTube Create, a new app that gives mobile creators the tools they need to take their videos to the next level.”
• “With YouTube Create, you can easily make high-quality videos with editing tools, effects, filters and transitions all in an intuitive easy-to-use interface.”

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Deep dive. Watch YouTube’s announcement in full for more information.

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Google unveils major Search Partner Network update as it removes opt-out option

Google is giving advertisers more control over ad placement within the Search Partner Network.

From March 4, advertisers using Performance Max will have access to impression-level placement reporting of Search Partner Network sites.

Additionally, if you exclude certain ad placements at the account level, it will now apply to the Search Partner Network, as well as YouTube and display ads, according to Ad Age.

Why now? These substantial changes come after an Adalytics report accused Google of quietly placing search ads on inappropriate non-Google websites through the Search Partner Network – including sites containing pornographic, sanctioned and pirated content. Google denied the claims, saying Adalytics has a track record of publishing inaccurate reports that misrepresent Google’s products.

Changes. Before the Adalytics report was published in November, all Pmax campaigns were automatically opted into the Search Partner Network and could not opt out. For other campaigns, being opted into search partners was the default setting, but advertisers had the option to opt out.

Following the Adalytics report, Google temporarily permitted Pmax users to opt out of search partner inventory until March 1. As this option is set to be removed, Google is now providing advertisers with unprecedented insights and control over ad placement within the Search Partner Network.

Why we care. Advertisers will gain better control and insights into the placement of their ads within the Search Partner Network. This enables them to address concerns about their ads being placed near inappropriate content, safeguarding their brand reputation.

What is the Search Partner Network? The Search Partner Network consists of websites and apps that collaborate with Google to display search ads. This network extends beyond traditional search platforms and includes major Google properties such as YouTube and Google Discover. Additionally, it encompasses numerous other websites that may not be directly associated with typical search activities.

Why are campaigns added to the SPN? Google opts campaigns are opted into the Search Partner Network because the search engine claims it sees “a measurable improvement” in clicks and conversion when advertisers extend their reach to these sites.” Opting into the SPN can enable advertiser to reach customers on sites like YouTube.

What is Adalytics? Adalytics is a crowd-sourced advertising performance optimization platform that was set up to review and improve the digital advertising landscape. 

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Deep dive. You can learn more about Adalytics’ investigation by reading its report ‘Does a lack of transparency create brand safety concerns for search advertisers?‘

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A technical guide to video SEO

Videos are likely the most captivating tool to draw in prospects and guide them through the customer journey.

For videos to be deemed a potent tool for your online strategy, there’s a crucial condition – they must be easily discoverable and suitable for indexing.

This article tackles:

• Why technical SEO matters for video content.
• Self-hosting or embedding videos.
• Tips and tactics for video indexing.

Why technical SEO matters for video content

Creating captivating videos is crucial for engagement, but mastering video SEO basics helps search engines index your pages effectively, especially as SERPs expand to include diverse media formats beyond text.

Around February this year, we could observe videos showing up on the search results page through multiple formats, including carousels and social media platforms such as Facebook or TikTok.

Videos embedded through social media often outrank across multiple SERPs. They take away portions of search market share to self-hosted proprietary videos businesses have always used on their websites.

The good news is that fellow SEOs can technically control most stuff that goes through a Google SERP.

In such a varied landscape, doing SEO for your videos can provide the following benefits:

• Increased audience reach through improved user engagement.
• Securing a spot in Google’s Knowledge Graph to help enhance brand reputation Dominance in specific SERPs by aligning your content strategy with various multimedia formats.
• Simplification of decision-making for search prospects roaming back and forth across multiple touchpoints in the consideration stage of the funnel.

Dig deeper: Video search optimization: Top tips for 2024

Self-hosting or embedding videos

Have you noticed that videos with Peppa Pig on YouTube or TikTok tend to perform better in top rankings than self-hosted sources?

Embedding YouTube videos may not necessarily result in more backlinks but could improve rankings. However, it may expose your website to potential security breaches or spam.

On the flip side, hosting videos locally may attract more backlinks but may not guarantee higher rankings, as Peppa Pig proved.

While it provides increased security and full ownership, self-hosting requires efficient web hosting and a CDN for ample bandwidth.

Contrary to the common belief that embedding videos is the best shortcut that preserves page speed, self-hosting a proprietary video requires fewer scripts to download from the server while upgrading the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX).

Take an example sourced from the jewelry segment.

The London-based Daisy jewelry website loads 12.9 MB in 70 seconds of YouTube-embedded video.

In contrast, Tiffany’s loads 8.4 MB for a self-hosted hero video in autoplay. 

With the proportion of JavaScript files considerably lower, featuring a self-hosted hero video on a landing page is unlikely to strain the server bandwidth, especially if compared to embedding an iframe with a video from your YouTube channel.

Nevertheless, it is worth stressing that every website is an island and the weight of SEO best practices is highly reliant on the type of industry.

Plus, in this huge trade-off between self-hosting or embedding videos with a third party there are several further variables to consider, including:

• Internet connection
• Web hosting platform
• CDN
• Geographic location
• Type of device

As usual, the ideal solution depends on your business goals and how videos can fit as a purposeful touchpoint in your customer journey. 

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Video indexing: Key tips and tactics 

Before diving into indexing, make sure that your pages with videos can be crawled and that you are helping Google discover your videos.

Below are some checks you need to perform to index your videos properly.

Video formatting

Video file names containing special characters and underscores might discourage search engines from indexing them. 

Also, improperly formatted pages with videos could lead to non-indexing or some components being ignored for indexing (e.g., SWF).

Make sure your videos follow these guidelines:

• Descriptive filenames: Opt for filenames that accurately reflect the video content.
• Supported file formats: Upload videos in any of the supported formats, such as 3GP, 3G2, ASF, AVI, DivX, M2V, M3U, M3U8, M4V, MKV, MOV, MP4, MPEG, OGV, QVT, RAM, RM, VOB, WebM, WMV and XAP.

Applying these recommendations boosts your video indexing chances.

Structured data

Structured data helps search engines understand your content better, making it easier for them to index. 

Google gains a better understanding of your video content when you provide clear instructions or relevant information to your audience.

This is imperative within the e-learning segment, where structured data for educational videos, concepts and skills covered in the video significantly contribute to content understanding.

To debug your video structured data, you should head to the Schema.org validator and input your URL to test. You want to make sure the validator returns a comprehensive @VideoObject schema markup just like the following.

Schema mark-up validation is an important step for SEO and shouldn’t be limited to the syntax and grammar of your schema.

Once Schema.org validates your @VideoObject markup, you can use the Rich Results Testing tool to check if the page qualifies for a video rich snippet.

Here are three bonus tips to optimize your video schema markup:

• Before implementation, decide on self-hosting vs. YouTube embedding so you can use the most appropriate property to nest within the @VideoObject schema. Google offers a comprehensive guide covering these options.
• Avoid schema markup stuffing. Not all the properties I listed in the validation screenshot above are mandatory because they may refer to bits of information that don’t exist on your website. Include only existing information to prevent schema markup stuffing
• Align timezone with uploadDate schema property. Ensure the timezone specified in the uploadDate property matches the website’s geographic location. Google recently emphasized this to avoid defaulting to the US timezone for Googlebot.

Video sitemaps

If your website is mostly videos, relying solely on structured data might not be enough to tell search engines how important your videos are. Especially if you’re a publisher, you might need to create a dedicated XML video sitemap to help Google find your videos.

For your video sitemap, make sure to include the following tags:

• <video:video>
  • The parent element for all information about a single video on the page specified by the <loc> tag.
• <video:thumbnail_loc>
  • A URL pointing to the video thumbnail image file.
• <video:title>
  • The title of the video.
• <video:description>
  • A description of the video
• <video:content_loc>
  • This is used to include one URL pointing to the actual video media file and it must not be the same as the URL in the parent <loc> tag.
• <video:player_loc>
  • An alternative of video:content_loc for Vimeo, YouTube and other video hosting platforms that allow embedding videos through iframe.

The official video guidelines state Google prefers <video:content_loc>. If it’s not available, you can use <video:player_loc> as an alternative.

When video is not the main content

Google has announced that video thumbnails on the main search results page will now only appear if the video is the primary content of a page.

For pages with videos to get rich results on the SERP, videos must be the primary content. Otherwise, the video is supplementary and it won’t appear in search results.

In other words, a page with videos may get indexed but might not rank with their own videos.

But is that really so?

Out in the wild, you would find websites with self-hosted videos ranking in video mode with a rich snippet.

A research for “luxury jewellery” on the UK SERPs suggests that luxury brands ranking in video mode should entail pages with videos being the main content.

However, after clicking on Chaumet’s rich result, you’ll land on the brand’s homepage where the video is in the hero banner and introduces the whole range of products.

It’s clear the video isn’t the main content of the page, but it’s (surprisingly) still ranking with a video snippet. 

I don’t have access to Chaumet’s Google Search Console, but I could test Google’s response for a client using the same video embedding pattern.

While I couldn’t provide a screenshot of the specific website, Googlebot was able to detect and index a self-hosted video.

Based on the above tests, you can address the “Video is not the main content” issue by considering:

• Positioning the video above the fold or in the most renderable area.
• Self-hosting the video with proper HTML formatting, as mentioned above.

Make your videos easy to find and index

Adding videos to your pages gives your audience a more interesting experience. Google likes pages with a mix of good text, images and videos.

But you have to do it right; otherwise, you might miss chances to guide your prospects.

Follow these steps to help Google find and list your videos on your site. This way, your video content will be easy for people to find and enjoy.

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Lookback: Google Panda algorithm update launched 13 years ago

It was 13 years ago today that Google launched the Panda update. This algorithm update had a massive and far-reaching impact on SEO and content strategies for years to come.

Here’s a complete history of the Google Panda algorithm update.

What was the Google Panda update?

Google Panda was a major algorithm update that impacted search rankings for 11.8% of queries in the U.S.

Google said Panda was designed to reduce the rankings for low-quality sites (“sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful”) and reward better rankings to high-quality sites (“sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on”).

The algorithm officially started rolling out on Feb. 23, 2011, but it wasn’t until Feb. 24, 2011, that we learned about it.

Panda didn’t only impact content farms. Websites of all sizes, across industries, felt the wrath of Panda.

There were multiple reports of companies going out of business because they had relied on Google traffic for years. Once that organic traffic was gone, so was their business.

After its initial launch, Google announced several refreshes and updates to Panda on a near-monthly basis for the next two years (9 in 2011 and 14 in 2012). You will find a complete timeline and our coverage of those updates at the end of this guide.

One thing Google Panda was not: a penalty. Websites impacted by the Google Panda Update were downgraded algorithmically. This means no Google employee took manual action to cause the lower rankings.

For anyone hit by Panda, it probably felt like a penalty. But Google doesn’t consider downgrading rankings for a website algorithmically as a “penalty.”

Why was Google Panda launched?

The main target of Google Panda was low-quality content. In 2011, Google was trying to find a solution for its content farm problem.

In case you’re not familiar with the term, a “content farm” was a website that paid freelance writers (typically poorly) to pump out as much content as fast as possible. The sole goal for these companies was to rank extremely well in Google’s search results for high-traffic keywords. Article quality was typically low.

Those high rankings meant these content farms got lots of traffic. And they monetized that traffic via display advertising (ironically, many of those sites were using Google AdSense.) Demand Media is probably the best example of the classic content farm model. Suite 101 was another big content farm.

Interestingly, many of the content issues Google was trying to solve in 2010 had come about after the Caffeine Update. Google was now crawling content faster, and its index grew rapidly. But it also meant some “shallow” content was ranking prominently.

Business Insider even published an article with this rather blunt headline: Google’s Search Algorithm Has Been Ruined, Time To Move Back To Curation.” On TechCrunch, there was: “Why We Desperately Need a New (and Better) Google.”

Well, on Feb. 24, 2011, Google rocked the world of content farms – and the entire SEO industry. Google now had a way to look for signals that differentiate high-quality and low-quality sites.

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Why did Google name it Panda?

In an interview with Wired, Amit Singhal, head of Google search, revealed where the Panda name came from:

“Well, we named it internally after an engineer, and his name is Panda. So internally we called a big Panda. He was one of the key guys. He basically came up with the breakthrough a few months back that made it possible.”

– Google’s Amit Singhal in 2011

The full name of that Google engineer is Navneet Panda.

However, the update wasn’t referred to as “Panda” outside of Google when it initially launched. Search Engine Land founder Danny Sullivan called it the “Farmer’ update – until the Panda name was revealed in Wired. So if you see the Farmer name pop up in any of our old coverage of Panda, that’s why.

Google Panda algorithm explained: how it worked

Much speculation followed the arrival of Google Panda. Most of that is irrelevant today, so we won’t rehash the many Panda myths in this guide.

Here’s a rundown of what we learned about how Google Panda worked and what made it unique.

Panda was an algorithm applied to sites

The most important thing you need to understand about Panda is that it evaluates the overall quality of the entire website.

Here’s what Gary Illyes, Google webmaster trends analyst, told Search Engine Land in a 2016 interview:

“… we don’t think of Panda as a penalty now, but rather as an algorithm applied to sites … or sites as a whole.

It measures the quality of a site pretty much by looking at the vast majority of the pages at least. But essentially allows us to take quality of the whole site into account when ranking pages from that particular site and adjust the ranking accordingly for the pages.”rea

Google’s Gary Illyes, in 2016

So what Illyes confirmed is that Panda demotes content, essentially meaning low-quality content can harm ranking.

Google’s John Mueller also said that Panda looks at site architecture to assess website quality.

And Panda also assigned a sitewide score, according to Mueller.

Did removing or improving low-quality content help?

On March 8, 2011, Michael Wyszomierski, a member of the Google webspam team, posted a message in a Webmaster Central help forum thread:

“Our recent update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites, so the key thing for webmasters to do is make sure their sites are the highest quality possible. We looked at a variety of signals to detect low quality sites. Bear in mind that people searching on Google typically don’t want to see shallow or poorly written content, content that’s copied from other websites, or information that are just not that useful. In addition, it’s important for webmasters to know that low quality content on part of a site can impact a site’s ranking as a whole. For this reason, if you believe you’ve been impacted by this change you should evaluate all the content on your site and do your best to improve the overall quality of the pages on your domain. Removing low quality pages or moving them to a different domain could help your rankings for the higher quality content.”

– Google’s Michael Wyszomierski, in 2011

What’s important to note here about Panda:

• It can identify content that is shallow, poorly written, or copied from other websites.
• Poorly written content can hurt rankings.
• Removing low-quality pages from part of a website can help high-quality pages rank better.
• Improving content (making it “useful”) can help your rankings.

Later on, Google tried to walk back the idea of removing content. Google started recommending adding high-quality content and fixing the low-quality content instead. This is most likely because many in SEO started taking a metaphorical blowtorch to their content instead of a scalpel.

At SMX East 2017, Illyes said pruning content didn’t help with Panda.

“It’s very likely that you did not get Pandalyzed because of your low-quality content. It’s more about ensuring the content that is actually ranking doesn’t rank higher than it should. …  It definitely does not work with the current version of the core algorithm, and it may just bring your traffic farther down. Panda basically disregards things you do to rank artificially. You should spend resources on improving content instead, but if you don’t have the means to do that, maybe remove it instead.”

– Google’s Gary Illyes, in 2017

Google on how to evaluate whether a site was ‘high-quality’

On May 6, 2011, Google published a list of 23 questions to explain how Google searches for high-quality sites, to help those that Panda had been negatively impacted:

• Would you trust the information presented in this article?
• Is this article written by an expert or enthusiast who knows the topic well, or is it more shallow in nature?
• Does the site have duplicate, overlapping, or redundant articles on the same or similar topics with slightly different keyword variations?
• Would you be comfortable giving your credit card information to this site?
• Does this article have spelling, stylistic, or factual errors?
• Are the topics driven by genuine interests of readers of the site, or does the site generate content by attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines?
• Does the article provide original content or information, original reporting, original research, or original analysis?
• Does the page provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?
• How much quality control is done on content?
• Does the article describe both sides of a story?
• Is the site a recognized authority on its topic?
• Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators, or spread across a large network of sites, so that individual pages or sites don’t get as much attention or care?
• Was the article edited well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
• For a health related query, would you trust information from this site?
• Would you recognize this site as an authoritative source when mentioned by name?
• Does this article provide a complete or comprehensive description of the topic?
• Does this article contain insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?
• Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?
• Does this article have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content?
• Would you expect to see this article in a printed magazine, encyclopedia or book?
• Are the articles short, unsubstantial, or otherwise lacking in helpful specifics?
• Are the pages produced with great care and attention to detail vs. less attention to detail?
• Would users complain when they see pages from this site?

How to recover from Panda

The big question for anyone whose site was hit by Panda: How do I recover? Aside from pointing to the blog post with those 23 questions, Google provided a little more information over time.

On July 9, 2012, during a Google Search Central hangout from India, Google’s Matt Cutts said it was possible to recover 100%. How?

“Take a fresh look and basically ask yourself, ‘How compelling is my site?’ We’re looking for high quality. We’re looking for something where you land on it, you’re really happy, the sort of thing where you wanna tell your friends about it and come back to it, bookmark it. It’s just incredibly useful.”

Google’s Matt Cutts in 2012

Here’s the video:

Cutts also provided some high-level insight in another Google Search Central video released Sept. 11, 2013:

“… the overriding kind of goal is to try to make sure that you’ve got high-quality content, the sort of content that people really enjoy, that’s compelling, the sort of thing that they’ll love to read that you might see in a magazine or in a book, and that people would refer back to, or send friends to, those sorts of things,” Cutts said. “So that would be the overriding goal. …

So if you are not ranking as highly as you were in the past, overall, it’s always a good idea to think about, OK, can I look at the quality of the content on my site? Is there stuff that’s derivative, or scraped, or duplicate, and just not as useful?”

– Google’s Matt Cutts in 2013

Here’s the video:

Google still uses Panda (sort of)

On Jan. 12, 2016, we reported that Panda had become part of Google’s core algorithm. Google never confirmed an exact date when Panda was consumed into Google’s core ranking system.

All we know with 100% certainty is that it happened at some point in 2015 (according to Google’s guide to Google Search ranking systems) after Google’s last confirmed Panda update (4.2, on July 17, 2015).

In June 2016, Mueller said that Google’s search engineers still tweaked aspects of Panda, but it was fundamentally the same algorithm.

Although Panda was continuously running, Panda wasn’t real-time and the rollouts took months, Illyes confirmed at SMX Advanced 2016.

Panda was replaced by Coati

Technically, Panda no longer exists. That’s because Panda evolved into a new algorithm called Coati.

Basically, Google Coati was the successor to the Panda algorithm. We learned this from Hyung-Jin Kim, the VP of Google Search, in November at SMX Next 2022.

So even though it’s been years since Panda was replaced, Panda lived on through Coati, as part of Google’s core algorithm.

So that’s why I say Google sort of still uses Panda – because Google’s core algorithm today continues to do many of the same things that Panda was originally created to do in 2011.

The legacy of Google Panda

Google Panda is still impacting SEO to this day, more than a decade after it launched. Here are just three big changes that came from Panda:

• E-E-A-T. The concept of Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (plus the additional E for Experience, as found in the quality rater guidelines) can be traced back to the content farm problem. Google always wants to reward websites that publish high-quality content by experts who are authorities on a subject. The quality rater guidelines are the ultimate guide for how not to be a content farm.
• Content marketing. Content marketing, as a term, wasn’t really a thing before Panda. Just go to Google Trends and you’ll see when the term started gaining popularity, and not by coincidence. The term itself may date back to 1996 (and the concept itself is as old as marketing), but content marketing as its own thing was essentially born as a result of Panda.

• Differentiate or die. Perhaps the biggest lesson coming out of Google Panda was to never put all your eggs in one basket. Especially not Google’s. Relying on any one channel for all, or nearly all, of your traffic and income is not a business plan. It is a gamble. Never leave yourself at the mercy of any one channel. or platform – because you have no control over a third party. If one algorithm change can wipe out your entire company overnight, you’re doing it wrong.

A complete timeline of the Google Panda Updates

Below is the complete list of all 28 confirmed Panda updates and refreshes. Oh, and since we didn’t get into the difference between an update versus a refresh, here’s what that means: an update was a change to the Google Panda algorithm, whereas a refresh meant Google reapplied all the same signals from the most recent update.

Here’s Search Engine Land’s coverage of Panda, from 2011 to 2016:

Feb. 23, 2011: Panda Update 1.0

• Google Forecloses On Content Farms With “Panda” Algorithm Update
• Demand: Google Changes Have Produced “No Material Impact” Yet
• Number Crunchers: Who Lost In Google’s Panda Algorithm Change?
• Google Trying To Minimize Collateral Damage From “Farmer” Update
• Google: We’ve Made No “Significant” Changes To The Farmer Update
• More Farmer Update Winners, Losers: Wikihow, Blippr & Yahoo Answers
• Google Speaks More About The Farmer Update, AKA Panda Update
• PPC Data On “Farmer” Shows Traffic Quality Improvement
• The Farmer/Panda Update: New Information From Google and The Latest from SMX West
• Four Sites Impacted By Google’s “Farmer Update” Speak Out

April 11, 2011: Google Panda Update 2.0

• Panda 2.0: Google Rolls Out Panda Update Internationally & Incorporates Searcher Blocking Data
• Winners & Losers As Panda 2.0 Goes Global? eHow, Bing’s Ciao.co.uk & More
• Panda Update: Google Lowers The Boom On eHow.com
• Demand Media: Panda’s Impact On eHow.com “Significantly Overstated”
• Hitwise Data Pegs Panda Impact On Demand Media Sites At 40%
• New York Times: Yes, Google’s Panda Update Hit NYT-Owned About.com
• Hit By Panda Update? Google Has 23 Questions To Ask Yourself To Improve

May 9, 2011: Panda Update 2.1

• It’s Panda Update 2.1, Not Panda 3.0, Google Says

June 21, 2011: Panda Update 2.2

• Official: Google Panda Update 2.2 Is Live
• Why Google Panda Is More A Ranking Factor Than Algorithm Update
• Can You Dig Out Of Your Google Panda Hole By Offloading To Subdomains?

July 23, 2011: Panda Update 2.3

• Official: Google Panda 2.3 Update Is Live

Aug. 12, 2011: Panda Update 2.4

• Google Panda Update 2.4: Panda Goes International, In Most Languages

Sept. 28, 2011: Panda Update 2.5

• Confirmed: Google Panda 2.5 Update Arrived This Week
• Google Panda 2.5: Losers Include Today Show, The Next Web; Winners Include YouTube, Fox News
• They’re Back! Google Issues Weather Report For Panda Update
• Google: Low PageRank & Bad Spelling May Go Hand-In-Hand; Panda, Too?

Oct. 19, 2011: Panda Update 3.0

• Panda Update 3.0 Live & Panda “Flux”

Nov. 18, 2011: Panda Update 3.1

• Google Panda Update 3.1: “Minor” One Made Live On November 18th

Jan. 18, 2012: Panda Update 3.2

• Google Panda Update Costs Demand Media $6.4 Million In 4th Quarter?

Feb. 27, 2012: Panda Update 3.3

• Google Confirms Panda 3.3 Update, Plus Changes To How It Evaluates Links, Local Search Rankings & Much More

March 23, 2012: Panda Update 3.4

• Google Says Panda 3.4 Is ‘Rolling Out Now’

April 19, 2012: Panda Update 3.5

• Panda Update 3.5 Is Live: Winners & Losers

April 27, 2012: Panda Update 3.6

• Confirmed: Panda Update 3.6 Happened On April 27th

June 8, 2012: Panda Update 3.7

• Official Google Panda Update Version 3.7 On June 8th

June 25, 2012: Panda Update 3.8

• Official Google Panda Update Version 3.8 On June 25th
• Google Panda Hits Japanese & Korean Languages

July 24, 2012: Panda Update 3.9

• Google Pushing Out Panda Update 3.9 Tonight

Aug. 20, 2012: Panda Update 3.9.1

• Google Panda Refresh On August 19th: Version 3.9.1

Sept. 18, 2012: Panda Update 3.9.2

• Panda Update 3.92 Rolling Out (Or Is It Panda 20 Time?)

Sept. 27, 2012: Panda Update #20

• Google Panda Update 20 Released, 2.4% Of English Queries Impacted

Nov. 5, 2012: Panda Update #21

• Google Releases Panda Update 21, Impacts 1.1% Of US Queries In English

Nov. 21, 2012: Panda Update #22

• Confirmed: Google Panda Refresh #22 On November 21st; 0.8% Of Queries Impacted

Dec. 21, 2012: Panda Update #23

• Official: It’s Google Panda Update 23, Impacting ~1.3% Of Queries

Jan. 22, 2013: Panda Update #24

• Google Panda Update Version #24; 1.2% Of Search Queries Impacted
• Google Panda Two Years Later: 5 Questions With HubPages CEO Paul Edmondson

March 14, 2013: Panda Update #25

• Google Panda Update 25 Seems To Have Hit

July 18, 2013: Panda Update #26

• Google Confirms Panda Update Is Rolling Out: This One Is More “Finely Targeted”

May 20, 2014: Panda Update 4.0

• Google Begins Rolling Out Panda 4.0 Now
• Is eBay A Big Loser In Google’s Panda 4.0 Update? — Winners & Losers Data

Sept. 23, 2014: Panda Update 4.1

• Panda 4.1 — Google’s 28th Panda Update — Is Rolling Out

July 17, 2015: Panda Update 4.2

• Google Panda 4.2 Is Here; Slowly Rolling Out After Waiting Almost 10 Months
• Google: Panda 4.2 Is Rolling Out Slowly For Technical Reasons
• What Happened To The Google Panda 4.2 Update? Did It Make A U-Turn?
• Google Panda 4.2 Is Still Rolling Out

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2 Dead, Several Injured After Cement Tanker Hits Bus In Gujarat: Cops

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Google: Don’t punish us for our success in Search

Google accused the U.S. government of wanting to punish it for being more successful than its competitors.

The company made the comments in an unsealed post-trial brief submitted to a DC federal judge as part of its ongoing legal battle with the U.S. Department of Justice, which has accused it of unlawfully monopolizing the search market.

Within the legal documents, Google argued that its position as the world’s leading search engine results from its “unceasing hard work” and contended that if it lost the antitrust trial, the verdict would contradict U.S. antitrust law.

What Google is saying. Google stated in the legal document:

• “The evidence conclusively established that Google is the highest quality, most popular search engine in the United States, with the highest general search engine advertising monetization…Yet Plaintiffs would have Google punished and uniquely handicapped from competing to win these revenue share agreements.”
• “The purpose? To prop up lesser general search engine competitors in the hopes that will give them greater incentives and opportunities to improve their search quality — despite a long track record of failing to achieve such success in the past.”
• “That result is antithetical to U.S. antitrust law. Punishing a successful firm that has out-innovated its competitors to the benefit of consumers harms competition, not the other way around.”

What the DOJ is saying. The DOJ accused Google of employing contracts with phone manufacturers and web browser operators for substantial sums of money to limit competition from other search engines like Microsoft’s Bing. The DOJ is expected to submit its own brief.

Next steps. The final arguments for the trial that spanned several weeks last year are expected in May.

Why we care. If the U.S. Government wins, Google might not be the default search engine on computers, laptops and mobile devices anymore. This could let rivals like Microsoft and Yahoo have a chance at becoming the top search engine, changing how we search online.

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Deep dive. Read Google’s post-trial brief in full for more information.

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Best of SearchBot: Guide me through a technical SEO audit

Best of the SearchBot showcases Search Engine Land’s SearchBot’s responses to prompts submitted by readers. The language model is based on content from Search Engine Land layered on top of ChatGPT. The editors of Search Engine Land selected this response for its usefulness and have supplemented it with additional relevant content.

I am the first generative AI chatbot for search marketers. I am trained with Search Engine Land content.

Here’s something somebody asked me! After that, how you can improve prompts to get even better answers from me.

Prompt:

What are the three most important areas you would focus on when creating a SEO technical audit?

Answer:

When creating a SEO technical audit, there are three key areas that I would recommend focusing on: 1. Indexing: It is crucial to check how many pages of your website are indexed by search engines. This can be done by navigating to your desired search engine and entering your website’s URL. If the number of indexed pages does not match your total number of pages, it may indicate a penalty or issues with your internal linking structure. 2. Robots.txt: Reviewing your robots.txt file is important to ensure that search engine crawlers are not being blocked from indexing any pages that you want to be indexed. The robots.txt file is located at domain.com/robots.txt. 3. Preferred domain: It is essential to ensure that all variations of your website’s URLs (e.g., https://domain.com/ and https://www.domain.com/) are 301 redirected to a single, preferred version. This helps to avoid confusion and consolidates the incoming link weight to one point. These three areas provide a solid foundation for a technical SEO audit and can help identify and address common issues that may be impacting your website’s search engine performance.

How this prompt could be improved:

You are an experienced SEO consultant specializing in identifying and resolving technical website issues that impact organic visibility in search engine results. You use a variety of tools, both free and paid, to comprehensively address all aspects of technical SEO. Your approach includes presenting findings in easily digestible formats, such as graphs, tables, and presentations, ensuring effective communication of complex issues to clients.

You’ve recently brought on board a junior technical SEO specialist to become a valuable part of your team. Guide them through the process of constructing a thorough technical SEO audit. Explain why these audits are crucial, back it up with stats showing the positive changes from SEO fixes. Also, share the top tools for SEO audits and what issues each tool can find.

Outline the three main technical SEO problems you would prioritize when conducting an audit, explain how common they are and how these issues impact websites. Explain how simple and fast it is to fix these issues. For each problem, share the steps you would take to make things right.

Give tips on how to present this data in a client-friendly format.

Make sure the guidance you provide is helpful and easy to understand for someone who is new to SEO. Use headers and bullet points where appropriate to break up your guidance in an easy to follow format.

The key elements and enhancements to this prompt are as follows:

(Task)

You’ve recently brought on board a junior technical SEO specialist to become a valuable part of your team. Guide them through the process of constructing a thorough technical SEO audit. Explain why these audits are crucial, back it up with stats showing the positive changes from SEO fixes. Also, share the top tools for SEO audits and what issues each tool can find.

Outline the three main technical SEO problems you would prioritize when conducting an audit, explain how common they are and how these issues impact websites. Explain how simple and fast it is to fix these issues. For each problem, share the steps you would take to make things right.

Give tips on how to present this data in a client-friendly format.

(Context)

You are an experienced SEO consultant specializing in identifying and resolving technical website issues that impact organic visibility in search engine results. You use a variety of tools, both free and paid, to comprehensively address all aspects of technical SEO. Your approach includes presenting findings in easily digestible formats, such as graphs, tables, and presentations, ensuring effective communication of complex issues to clients.

(Tone)

Make sure the guidance you provide is helpful and easy to understand for someone who is new to SEO.

(Format)

Use headers and bullet points where appropriate to break up your guidance in an easy to follow format.

Answer:

Title: Constructing a Comprehensive Technical SEO Audit: A Step-by-Step Guide for Junior Specialists

Introduction:
Welcome to the world of technical SEO audits! As a junior technical SEO specialist, your role is crucial in identifying and resolving website issues that impact organic visibility in search engine results. In this guide, I will walk you through the process of constructing a thorough technical SEO audit, explain the importance of these audits, provide statistics to highlight the positive impact of implementing SEO fixes, and introduce you to the top tools for conducting SEO audits.

Why are Technical SEO Audits Important?
Technical SEO audits play a vital role in optimizing websites for search engines. By identifying and resolving technical issues, we can improve website performance, enhance user experience, and increase organic visibility. Here are some statistics to emphasize the significance of technical SEO audits:

1. Website Speed: According to Google, if a page takes more than 3 seconds to load, the probability of bounce increases by 32%. Additionally, a 1-second delay in page load time can result in a 7% reduction in conversions.

2. Mobile-Friendliness: Mobile devices account for approximately half of all web traffic worldwide. Google prioritizes mobile-friendly websites in its search results, and 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble accessing.

3. Site Structure: Well-structured websites with clear navigation and internal linking tend to perform better in search engine rankings. A study by Backlinko found that sites with a strong site architecture ranked significantly higher in search results.

Top Tools for SEO Audits and Their Capabilities:
To conduct a comprehensive technical SEO audit, we rely on various tools. Here are some of the top tools and the technical SEO issues they can identify:

1. Semrush Site Audit:
– Structure: Identifies issues related to website structure, crawlability, and internal linking.
– On-page SEO elements: Checks for keyword optimization in title tags, meta descriptions, filenames, and paths.
– Compliance issues: Assesses HTML validity and accessibility score.
– Images: Evaluates image loading speed and optimization.
– User experience: Provides insights into site speed and mobile-friendliness.

2. Screaming Frog:
– Crawlability: Uncovers issues related to website crawling and indexing.
– On-page SEO elements: Extracts data on meta titles, headings, and other on-page elements.
– Internal links: Identifies internal linking opportunities and issues.
– Compliance issues: Flags HTML and code-related problems.

3. SiteBulb:
– Comprehensive crawl: Provides in-depth technical information about the website.
– Audit Score: Evaluates overall technical SEO performance.
– SEO Score: Assesses on-page SEO elements and optimization.
– Security Score: Checks for website security vulnerabilities.

Prioritizing Technical SEO Problems:
When conducting a technical SEO audit, it’s essential to prioritize the most impactful issues. Here are three common problems to focus on:

1. Website Speed:
– Impact: Slow-loading websites lead to higher bounce rates and lower conversions.
– Steps to Fix: Optimize images, leverage browser caching, minify CSS and JavaScript, and enable compression.

2. Mobile-Friendliness:
– Impact: Mobile devices account for a significant portion of web traffic, and Google prioritizes mobile-friendly sites.
– Steps to Fix: Implement responsive design, optimize viewport settings, and ensure mobile-friendly navigation.

3. Site Structure and Internal Linking:
– Impact: Well-structured websites with clear navigation and internal linking tend to perform better in search rankings.
– Steps to Fix: Optimize site structure, create XML sitemaps, implement breadcrumbs, and ensure proper internal linking.

Presenting Data in a Client-Friendly Format:
When presenting the findings of your technical SEO audit to clients, it’s crucial to communicate complex issues effectively. Here are some tips:

– Use visual aids such as graphs, tables, and presentations to present data in a clear and concise manner.
– Focus on key findings and actionable recommendations.
– Explain the impact of each issue on website performance and organic visibility.
– Provide a prioritized list of issues and their corresponding fixes.
– Use client-friendly language and avoid technical jargon as much as possible.

Conclusion:
By following this step-by-step guide, you can construct a comprehensive technical SEO audit that addresses key issues and improves website performance. Remember to prioritize impactful problems, leverage the top SEO audit tools, and present your findings in a client-friendly format. Your role as a junior technical SEO specialist is crucial in enhancing website search engine performance and driving organic visibility. Good luck!

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Google Ads API version 16 is launching

Google announced the v16 release of the Google Ads API.

To leverage some of its features, you’ll need to update your client libraries and code. Look out for the updated client libraries and code examples, which will be released next week.

Why we care. The updated version of Google Ads offers a range of new tools and capabilities to help you better monitor the performance of campaigns, so that you can make data led decision to improve optimization efficiency.

New features. Although there are no breaking changes, there are several new features available through the updated Google Ads system:

• Recommendations based on your specified settings, such as recommendation types or advertising channel types, which could be helpful when creating a campaign.
• Insights into why an ad group or an ad group ad is serving or not serving.
• The ability to apply changes made to the original campaign to the experiment campaign, while the experiment is running. This saves time from manually applying changes to the experiment campaign.
• Updated operation types for customer life cycle goals and campaign life cycle goals to make them consistent with other operation types.
• Additional support for tracking the progress of the business registration verification process of Local Services.

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Deep dive. Read Google’s blog post in full for more information.

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Delivery Apps, Rental Cars Used To Supply Drugs In Colleges: Noida Cops

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Instagram expands Creator Marketplace to help brands find creators for ads

Instagram is expanding its Creator Marketplace, aiming to make it simpler for brands to discover creators for partnership ads.

The platform will start inviting creators and brands based in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Japan, India and Brazil to join Creator Marketplace in the coming weeks.

Chinese export brands will also be invited to connect with onboarded creators in countries outside of China.

Why we care. Instagram’s Creator Marketplace can help brands find the creators best suited for their campaigns, and also help creators get discovered by brands.

How it works. The Creator Marketplace leverages Instagram’s data to offer machine learning-based recommendations, making it simpler for brands to identify creators perfectly suited for their campaigns. Brands can also conduct targeted searches for creators, applying filters for both creator and audience attributes. Furthermore, they have access to a list of creators who have shown interest and can explore creator portfolios.

Getting started. To get started using Met’a Creator Marketplace, follow these steps:

1. Join Instagram’s Creator Marketplace: Brands join Instagram’s Creator Marketplace in Meta Business Suite, and creators sign up via their professional dashboard in the Instagram app, indicating relevant brands and interests while showcasing their uniqueness through portfolios.

2. Find the Right Match: Go through the recommendations and choose a creator you would like to collaborate with.

3. Connect and Collaborate: Creators get brand messages in a dedicated folder, additionally, brands can reach out directly or send project details to multiple creators, including opportunity specifics and rates, all within the Instagram app. Creators then review the details and requirements of the opportunity, as well as the rate, all within the Instagram app.

4. Create and Launch: Once brands and creators agree, they can create partnership ads by boosting existing organic Instagram content or generating new ones in Ads Manager.

Partnership ads explained. Partnership ads, previously branded content ads, enable advertisers to amplify content featuring a creator or other partner’s handle, enhancing the reach of their collaborations. This approach, facilitated by Instagram’s Creator Marketplace, offers a high-performing and transparent avenue for advertisers and creators to collaborate on running ads together.

What Meta is saying. A Meta spokesperson said in a statement:

• “Brands have told us it can be challenging to source creators for partnership ads.”
• “That’s why we’re excited to begin testing our brand new, machine learning-based recommendations that use Instagram data to help brands more easily discover creators who are the best fit for their campaigns”
• “Partnership ads are the most performant and transparent way for advertisers and creators to run ads together and Instagram’s creator marketplace helps brands discover creators to partner with.”

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Deep dive. Read Instagram’s announcement in full for more information.

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