Link Building Strategies

The Financial Times has a detailed interview with the newish Head of Google Search, Elizabeth Reid. The interview can be gated, so here are some of the quotes that stood out most to me from this interview.View the full article

As you know, Google is okay with linking its AI Overviews back to more Google Search results. But is Google okay with linking the same query, to the same query, over and over again, through the AI Overviews?View the full article

Google said it again - structured data does not help your site rank any better. John Mueller of Google said this on Bluesky, "Structured data won't make your site rank better." He said, all it is "used for displaying the search features listed in" this search gallery document.View the full article

There seems to be a bug that is impacting the first image in the product snippet image carousel set. I was notified about this a few times in the past few days by various people and while I cannot replicate this, many can.View the full article

Google is testing a new shortcut location for AI Mode in the Google App on Android. Google is placing the shortcut button directly in the search bar.View the full article

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today...View the full article

Google released a new Google Ads ad strength guide and best practices document. The document should help you improve your overall ad strength in Google Ads.View the full article

Google is testing yet another search feature that generates new queries on Google Search. This one is named "Ask a follow-up" and they are sported with the Gemini stars next to them.View the full article

Microsoft is testing yet another variation for its favicons in the Bing Search snippets. This one uses a dark gray background, with a circle formatted favicon, next to the search result snippets.View the full article

Google is experimenting more with shopping carousels, this time, showing products and then which articles are recommending those products. These can be shown in best of articles and recommended in articles. View the full article

Microsoft is testing trending icons on Bing Search's related searches section. We've seen both Google and Bing use trending icons in various search features over the years, but now Bing is testing them on the related searches feature.View the full article

This is a programming note that I am completely offline for the Passover holiday today. In fact, this post was pre-written and scheduled to be posted today - so you know I am offline. Passover is/was Sunday and Monday...View the full article

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web. Google has officially made AI Overviews text link back to more Google Search results, no...View the full article

This week, we covered yet again some more Google search ranking volatility. Google Discover will be coming to the desktop version of Google's homepage. Google Search Analytics API now shows hourly data for the past ten...View the full article

Recently, I've been complaining that Google is linking many of its search features back to more search results, this is also includes the AI Overviews. Well, Bing Search is also doing this for some of their AI-based answer snippets.View the full article

A month ago, we reported that Google was testing linking words in the AI Overviews back to its own search results. We felt this set a horrible message but hey, Google did not, instead, Google made it an official feature of AI Overviews because it helps "people more easily explore topics and discover relevant websites," the company told me.View the full article

Google is testing a new ad format that overlays more product ads when you click on a "more" button. This is different from expanding a product carousel, in that this overlays on top of the current search results interface.View the full article

Google will stop showing reviews and ratings on school listings in Google Search and Google Maps. Google Business Profiles said, "Starting April 30, 2025, your school's associated Business Profile will no longer allow reviews and ratings."View the full article

Google Search representatives often tell us to use the feedback link when we see something that is off or needs improvement with Google Search. Well, what happens when you use that feedback link?View the full article

Google has expanded where the Structured data carousels (beta) search feature works and for what types of queries. When it first launched, about a year ago, it was available for flights queries in Germany, France, Czechia, and the UK. Now it is available for queries related to ground transportation, hotels, vacation rentals, local business, and things to do (for example, events, tours, and activities) in all European Economic Area (EEA) countries.View the full article

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today...View the full article

It's been about a week since we reported on an unconfirmed Google search ranking update and well, now I am seeing multiple signs of an unconfirmed updates of sorts. I am seeing the third-party tracking tools showing volatility and I am also seeing a spike in some of the chatter within the SEO community.View the full article

Google announced a number of new goals and image controls that are now available on Google Ads Performance Max campaigns. Google added customer lifecycle goals and reporting and additional image controls.View the full article

Google Search is testing a new expandable carousel that says "more from" a specific retailer. When it loads, it loads more products in a carousel beneath the search result snippet from that retailer.View the full article

Google sent out emails yesterday through Google Merchant Center inviting some brands to manage and edit their brand content on Google Search. I suspect this is the visual brand profile ads/pages but I am not sure.View the full article