Category: Search
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The ChatGPT Referral Traffic Paradox: 52% Decline Reveals Shifting AI Citation Patterns
The artificial intelligence search landscape is experiencing a seismic shift, and the latest data reveals a surprising contradiction in ChatGPT’s role as a traffic driver. While AI-powered search has been hailed as the future of information discovery, recent analysis shows that ChatGPT’s referral traffic to websites has experienced a dramatic…
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Study: Google Changes Your Meta Titles in 76% of Searches
Hey. You. We know you spent all that time creating the perfect title for that article or blog post. But. Forget it. We’ll just scan your article and come up with our own title. That’s what Google’s doing now in the majority of cases, according to this article at Search…
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Is Reddit Part of Your Content Mix?
Maybe it should be. Since Google cut a deal with Reddit, things have changed. According to Niklola Baldikov at Inbound Blogging, Reddit’s daily active users shot up to 97.2 million in 2024. That’s a 47% increase in case you’re keeping track. Some niche communities experienced a 937,700% surge in organic…
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Google Cracking Down on Site Reputation Abuse
Whether you do it or work with a third-party content provider, if it’s not related to your site’s core mission, you’re at risk. “Site reputation abuse is the practice of publishing third-party pages on a site in an attempt to abuse search rankings by taking advantage of the host site’s…
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Optimizing for GEO: Generative Search Engine Optimization
A new study of 10,000 search queries focusing on generative search results by researchers from Princeton, Georgia Tech, The Allen Institute of AI, and IIT Delhi found that you can improve visibility by: “Specifically, our top-performing methods, Cite Sources, Quotation Addition, and Statistics Addition, achieved a relative improvement of 30-40%,”…
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Bing Adding Generative Search Experience (AI Search Results)
Microsoft’s Bing search engine is introducing a new generative search experience, currently being rolled out to a small percentage of user queries. This new feature combines the power of generative AI and large language models (LLMs) with traditional search results to create dynamic, tailored responses to user queries. Bing provided…
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Google Research Paper: Is Generative AI Ruining the Internet?
“Google researchers publish paper about how AI is ruining the internet” “Google: AI Potentially Breaking Reality Is a Feature Not a Bug” I saw these headlines in Futurism and 404 Media. They’re powerful statements and came from a review of a paper by researchers at Google’s DeepMind titled Generative AI…
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Easy SEO Wins to Improve Your Website Rankings
Improving your website’s search engine rankings may seem daunting, but there are several relatively simple SEO tactics you can implement to help move the needle in the right direction. As an experienced SEO practitioner, you know that driving organic growth takes a comprehensive strategy – but you can make incremental…
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Analyzing Searcher Intent Signals for Better SEO Content
Understanding user intent is central to effective SEO content creation. Search engines are getting increasingly sophisticated at detecting the underlying needs and goals behind each query. In order to rank for those queries, your content must align with searcher intent. By researching and analyzing intent signals around your target keywords,…
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The World’s Top Websites in 2020
With people stuck inside their home, they relied on technology to stay connect more than ever. Businesses had to adapt to this online shift. It resulted in new online habits and the way people used the internet in 2020. A study done by the UK Domain has revealed the top…
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Google’s Top Searches in 2020
Google says people asked “Why” in searches more than ever before. They also asked “What day is it?” a lot. Overall, here are the top five searches in 2020 in the US. Election results Coronavirus Kobe Bryant Coronavirus update Coronavirus symptoms Globally, results were similar: Coronavirus Election results Kobe Bryant…
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SEM: Is There Value in the Google Guaranteed Program?
Here’s a new wrinkle to Google search for local businesses. Advertisers on Google can now display a green checkmark, which Google will tag businesses with either “Google Screened” or “Google Guaranteed.” It’s only available right now for certain categories of business, such as law, financial planning, and real estate for…
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Anti-Trust Hearings Against Facebook, Apple, Amazon, and Google: What’s at Stake
Nearly half of Americans now believe major tech companies should face more regulation. That was one key finding in a new survey by the Pew Research Center. The survey was released as a House Judiciary Committee is looking into tech companies. Specifically, they are examining anti-trust concerns. Google, Facebook, Amazon,…
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TV’s Influence on Purchase Decisions Exceeds All Other Media Combined
Once again, consumers cited traditional television advertising as having the strongest influence on their purchasing behavior, greater than the influence of all other media combined. That was the key takeaway from a research study, 2019 Purchase Funnel, conducted by GfK which measured the influence of media on consumers during their…
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A Game-Changer for Internet Privacy
You’ve probably never heard of it, but a new protocol called DOH could be a game-changer for online privacy. DOH stands for DNS-over-HTTPS. It would encrypt DNS traffic within your browser and hide requests and responses. When you enter a website’s URL into a web browser, it’s sent to the…
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Google says New Algorithm Update is “One of the Biggest Leaps Forward in the History of Search”
“With the latest advancements from our research team in the science of language understanding–made possible by machine learning–we’re making a significant improvement to how we understand queries, representing the biggest leap forward in the past five years, and one of the biggest leaps forward in the history of Search,”…
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More Bad News for Organic Search + New Research on Paid Search, Social Media, and Mobile Ads
If you’re hoping organic search is the way to increase conversions on Google, we’ve got some sobering news for you: organic search on Google is producing just 22% of site visits, according to the new 3Q 2019 Digital Marketing Report from Merkle. Here are a few of the others insights…
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Google to Recognize Original Reporting in Search Rankings
We’ve seen it play out too many times. One news outlet puts significant resources into reporting a story. As soon as it goes online, it’s being reported by other media. The place that broke the story quickly cedes control as higher- rated websites rank higher in search. Often, cloned copies…
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Changing Channels: Direct to Consumer Brands Are Moving Digital Dollars Back to Traditional Advertising
Many D2C brands are moving digital dollars back to traditional marketing channels. Rising costs of digital mediums Need to build brand awareness, trust, and credibility They are finding out that the direct response type campaigns that can work on search and social media channels will only take you so far. …
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Facing a $5 Billion Fine, Facebook Adds $10 Billion in Market Value
“Facebook’s infringements of the 2011 consent decree and its pattern of violating user trusts have been both vast and brazen.” – Letter to FTC from Sen. Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) The Senators are reacting to word that’s leaked out that Facebook will by…
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GDPR vs CCPA: How Privacy Regulations Affect Businesses
New privacy laws on the world stage are impacting businesses that have any online presence and capture personally-identifiable data. GDPR The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has already had a significant effect on companies doing business in the EU or doing business with EU residents. It’s affected most U.S.…
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Should Content Creators Share in the Wealth from Search Engines?
Here’s an idea: tech companies pay you for the data you provide. State lawmakers in California, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom have proposed assessing a financial value on the personal data companies collect about their users. The LA Times reports that there is a research team looking at the issue…
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Study: Half the Business Listing Online Contain Inaccurate Information
It seems so simple. How hard is it to get your name, address, phone number, and website URL right online? Apparently, it’s not so easy. A new study by Uberall and reported in Search Engine Journal analyzed 73,000 online business location listings in the Boston metro area. They found nearly…
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AI is changing the way we interact with brands
New advancements in AI-based search, including voice search, are fundamentally changing the way people interact with brands. Research from Yext Inc and Vanson Bourne shows marketers are struggling to evolve quickly enough for this new reality: only 8% of marketers believe their organization’s brand management strategy is completely effective to…
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85% of Websites Fail to Meet Google Page Load Speed Standards
The faster your mobile site loads, the better you’ll look to Google’s robots when it scans your site. Slow-loading websites are now being penalized in the algorithm while fast-loading sites are rewarded. Google recommend your site loads on mobile in 5 seconds or less. Research from Unbounce, however, shows that…
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Amazon is predicting what you want and sending out free samples
Amazon is apparently beta-testing a new advertising strategy that leverages its logistics and delivery expertise with its massive treasure trove of consumer data. A report in Axios says Amazon has teamed up with advertisers Maybelline and Folgers to send free samples to users with a predilection for purchasing their products. …
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French regulators hit Google with $57 million fine for violations of GDPR
Google has been hit with a $57 million fine for violations of the EU’s GDRP privacy regulations. CNIL (French data protection regulators) concluded that Google had failed to comply with the law. Lack of Transparency When setting up Android phones, the regulators said Google did not disclose “essential information” to…
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Online Brand Search Spikes Within Seconds of TV Ads Airing
Advertise on TV and people will search for you online… almost instantly. As many as 90% of TV viewers have a digital device either in their hands or within reach while watching. “Forget the remote,” said Lisa Gevelber, VP Global Marketing at Google. “Smartphones are becoming the essential TV-watching companion.”…
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Google Algorithm: Low Traffic Does Not Equal Low Quality Content
Google’s John Mueller had some good news for bloggers (like me) when it comes to evaluating the quality of content. Just because it doesn’t have a lot of page views doesn’t mean Google’s algorithm will flag it as low quality. During a recent Google Webmaster Central hangout, he was asked…
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Did Google violate the 2011 consent order by tracking users without permission?
Following an Associated Press report revealing that Google tracks user location even when users opt-out, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) in D.C. contends the Google if violating the 2011 consent order on privacy issues. In the settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Google is not allowed to track users after…
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Location-Based Targeting and Geo-Reporting Key to Efficient Programmatic Ad Buys
When you are buying programmatic advertising, you need to know that not all programmatic platforms are created equally. It is very easy to waste a lot of money using inefficient platforms that scatter-shot your ads or show your digital ads in places where your services are not available. Geo-targeting and…
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Google hit with $5 Billion fine by EU regulators
Can a software maker require a hardware maker to pre-install its software apps on a device as a condition of doing business? We’ll find out. The European Union, which is taking digital privacy seriously, is now attacking on another front. With a whopping $5 billion fine against Google, added to…
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How to Delete Your Google Search History
Like Facebook and Apple before it, Google has introduced a new user privacy policy to comply with a new European data privacy law — General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — that went into effect on May 25. Google’s updated privacy policy makes it easier to understand what information it collects about you. More importantly, Google has improved its privacy controls…
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Publishers could be required to get permission and pay to link to copyright material
Now that GDPR is the law in the European Union, lawmakers have their sights on copyright reform, which could have significant impact on the way websites work. They want to bring digital copyright laws across Europe into a unified code. According to the proposed legislation, it “provides for measures aiming at…
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Why You Should Focus on Improving Google Citation
SEO affects every web page and when you have an internet business, you’ll need SEO for the site. SEO stands for ‘search engine optimization’. An internet site’s SEO assists you to determine precisely how well it’s going to rank on Google and also the other the search engines. Quite simply,…
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How Your Landing Page Can Impact Your Quality Score and Search Performance
According to Google, AdWords looks for how useful your landing page will be when someone clicks through your ad. They cite “well organized” and “relevant text” as measures, along with keyword matches. Improving Your Landing Page Quality Score Useful and original content – specific to the ad’s keyword Transparent and…
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Google will start flagging non-secure websites
Starting in September, websites that aren’t secure will start being flagged in Google’s Chrome browser. If your website starts with HTTP that means visitors will see something like this when they go to your site: If you haven’t switched to a secure site (HTTPS), it’s time. Chrome is the dominant…
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SEO Copywriting Tips to Impress Both Search Engines and Readers
SEO copywriting is an essential skill for anyone who wants to be successful online. It is the art and science of creating content that is loved by readers and search engines alike. Doing so is the key to rank high and convert well. SEO copywriting is a relatively new field.…
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7 Ways to Improve Search Engine Optimization
Want to boost your site’s rankings in search results for keywords and phrases related to your business? Of course you do! Ranking higher in search results can help you reach more customers and earn more revenue online. So how can you improve your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy to achieve…
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Responding to Reviews Can Increase Your Conversion Rates
Location 3, a digital marketing agency, reviewed 16 months of AdWords campaign data, 93 million impressions, 32 months of historical user reviews on Google, 72,000+ reviews for more than 7,000 businesses. The research showed a direct correlation between better reviews and ratings and improved performance. As stars increased, so did…
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With the Rise of Ad Blockers and Privacy Concerns, Can We Reverse “Ad Avoidance?”
Let’s face it. Most folks don’t like ads. They put up with them in order to get free access. But these days, more people are saying “enough is enough.” Consumers are bombarded by more than 10,000 messages every day. Is it any wonder they are trying to avoid looking at…
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Social Media for Publishers: Revenue Doesn’t Match Investment
Despite all the work media companies put into their Facebook and other social media channels, it has not turned into any significant source of revenue. If you’re in the business you know that. You get some traffic from social media, but not any real dollars. A research report by trade…
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Google and Facebook face potential anti-trust claims
Germany is the latest to level potential anti-trust violations at Facebook and Google. Germany’s anti-trust regulator has started a formal investigation into online advertising. Google and Facebook have said they will cooperate, according to Reuters. When you are an international company, it can be tricky to navigate different laws in…
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Who should solve the problem of advertisements placed against fake news?
It seems a safe bet to say that it’s an advertising agency issue to avoid placement on questionable websites. Or a tech solution from the programmatic companies to avoid placing ads on ad networks that rely on fake news websites. That’s not how U.S. marketers feel, though, according to a…
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Insider Secrets of the Google 3-Pack
Getting ranked in the Google 3-pack of local businesses has never been more important. With the big shift from desktop to mobile in the past couple of years, it has become easier for local businesses to get featured based on proximity to the mobile user. That opens huge opportunities for…
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Seismic Shifts in Digital Marketing in 2018
As we look ahead to 2018, there are some clear pattern emerging when it comes to digital marketing and advertising. What’s in and out? Here are my predictions for 2018: Content Marketing, SEO, and Value Exchange With the reduced reach of social and the continuing fragmentation of media, marketers are finding…
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Google is moving to mobile-first indexing
Google gave webmasters plenty of warning — more than a year — but it now appears they are ready to step up efforts on indexing mobile websites and serving results based on what they find. Currently, Google’s crawling, indexing, and ranking algortihms look at desktop version. Now, they will switch to mobile-first indexing. “Mobile-first…
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Apple ditches Bing for Google search
In 2014, Apple dropped Google for its search and switched to Bing for iOS and Mac. Now, it’s dumping Bing and going back to Google. The same goes for Siri as well. “Switching to Google as the web search provider for Siri, Search within iOS and Spotlight on Mac will allow these…
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Dominating Digital Ad Revenue: Google, Facebook, Amazon, and … ?
Amazon has gotten a lot of attention lately for its move into the advertising sales space, but another online retailer is making moves as well. Wal-Mart is now in the advertising business. Both companies have a dizzying array of consumer information in their databases to target consumers. Wal-Mart is positioned…
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How to check if your website violates new Google Chrome “Annoying Ads” filter
Google recently announced its going to penalize websites that have poor ad experiences in its upcoming update to the Chrome browser. Starting next year, Chrome will block sites with “annoying ads” in search results. If you think because you’re a name brand publisher, you’ll be exempt, think again. Google has…
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If Programmatic Ad Buying is the future, why are advertisers not buying it?
We’ve heard so much about “Programmatic Ad Buying” in the past two years, it’s almost become a joke around our place. Everybody tells us it’s coming and we’d better be ready. If you’ve ever bought a self-serve Google ad or a Facebook ad, that’s really the kind of thing we…
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What really drove the sale? When metrics lie
Let me take you back a few years, then we’ll jump ahead to the digital advertising world we live in now. Several years ago, I was talking to the owner of a small business one day about what drove customers to their store. She told me it was simple: the…
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Website video might hurt, but won’t help Google ranking
Adding videos to your website may be a great idea, but it won’t help your site rank better on Google. “Having a video on your page will absolutely not help you rank better in web search,” said Google’s Gary Illyes in response to a Twitter discussion. Having a video…
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It’s over: Mobile has won
We passed the tipping point in 2014. Since then, the use of mobile has exploded. If you’re still focusing on your desktop website first, you’re way behind. 71% of web traffic in the United States is mobile, according to ComScore. Mobile usage is larger than desktop in almost every country.…
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Ranking in Local Search: Location is the top factor
What’s that saying about real estate? Location, location, location. It appears the same can be said about what it takes to be listed in the local listings on Google. With the big shift to mobile occurring over the past year, it’s no surprise that the biggest signal Google looks for…
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Is Google getting ready to launch its own ad blocker?
The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is readying its own ad-blocker as part of its Chrome browser. Chrome is the undisputed most used browser in the world with a market share north of 41%. The ad blocker would be added to both mobile and desktop versions, per the report,…
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Google ad changes hurt organic search
When Google announced expanding text ads in April allowing publishers more characters to use in text ads, it claimed it could lead to up to a 20% increase in CTR (click-through-rates) for advertisers. So how did it do?
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Vast majority of search is mobile
How are people searching for your content or business? These days, it’s all about mobile. Hitwise says that about 58% of all search is done on mobile devices. They came to that conclusion by analyzing 100s of millions of online searches during April and May, 2016. For news and sports…
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What really drove the sale? When metrics lie
Let me take you back a few years, then we’ll jump ahead to the digital advertising world we live in now. Several years ago, I was talking to the owner of a small business one day about what drove customers to their store. She told me it was simple: the…
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Five great viral video campaigns for your enjoyment
Some fun spots to break up your day. Ellen DeGeneres and Adele teamed up for a fun adventure. Ellen sent Adele into a Jamba Juice store with an earpiece. She had to say whatever Ellen told her. Funny stuff. As you can imagine, the video went viral on social media.…
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Organic search dropping: What’s a marketer to do?
So what’s a marketer to do? Paid search is taking over more real estate on Google. Google eliminated the right rail paid search ads and cut the map pack from 7 listings down to 3. But that still means often the organic search results often fall below the fold, meaning…
Paul Dughi.com 