Episode 196 contains the Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Jan 22-26, 2024.

1. Google's SEO Starter Guide Update: Streamlining for Clarity and Efficiency - Google is currently reworking its popular SEO Starter Guide, initially released in 2010 and updated in 2017 to significantly streamline the guide, making it more accessible and relevant for today's website owners.

The current SEO Starter Guide, which is about 8,500 words, will be reduced to less than half its size in the upcoming revision. Lizzi Sassman from Google mentioned that the new guide would be a little over 3,000 words. This reduction is achieved by cutting out repetitive and redundant information, aiming to eliminate duplication and streamline the content.

Key aspects of the updated guide include:

This updated guide will be a valuable resource for understanding the fundamentals of SEO in a more digestible format. It will provide clear, impactful advice without overwhelming readers with excessive details or outdated practices.

2. Google's Stance: No Guaranteed Traffic in SEO - A recent statement by Google's John Mueller on January 17, 2024, has sparked attention among business owners and SEO professionals. The essence of Mueller's statement is that no one, not even experts, can guarantee increased traffic to a website as a result of specific changes. This was in response to an inquiry about whether removing certain parameters from a website would lead to an increase in traffic. Mueller's unequivocal response was, "Nobody can guarantee you traffic, sorry."

This highlights a crucial aspect of digital marketing – the unpredictability and non-guaranteed nature of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). SEO involves optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results, ideally increasing visibility and traffic. However, the algorithms that search engines use are complex and constantly evolving. This makes it challenging to predict exactly how changes to a website will impact its traffic.

Many SEO professionals use estimates and formulas to predict the ROI (Return on Investment) of making specific changes to a website. They might estimate that improving rankings could lead to increased clicks and potentially more revenue. However, these are just estimates and should not be considered guaranteed outcomes. The digital marketing landscape is dynamic, and what works today might not work tomorrow.

3.  Google's Stance on HTML Structure for SEO Rankings - It's crucial to understand the factors that influence your website's visibility on search engines like Google. One common area of focus is the structure of a website's HTML code. On January 26, 2024, an insightful update was shared regarding Google's stance on this matter, which is particularly relevant for those managing their own websites or working with digital marketing professionals.

Gary Illyes from Google clarified on the latest episode of the ‘Search Off The Record’ podcast that the HTML structure of web pages does not significantly impact search rankings. This revelation addresses a common misconception among website owners and SEO specialists who often prioritize meticulous HTML structuring in the hopes of boosting their search rankings.

Illyes emphasized the value of diversity in website designs and structures, suggesting that if every website had the same HTML structure, the internet would become monotonous. He acknowledged that while basic elements like headings, title tags, and well-organized paragraphs are beneficial, obsessing over the intricate details of HTML structuring is largely unnecessary for SEO purposes.

In 2018, John Mueller of Google also remarked that while a clear content structure is helpful for users, it does not directly influence ranking. This reinforces the idea that user experience should be the primary focus rather than the complexity of HTML structure.

Furthermore, Google has stated that overusing elements like H1 tags or constantly rearranging them has little to no effect on a site's ranking. This information is especially useful for small business owners who might be allocating resources to fine-tune HTML structures under the assumption that it significantly impacts SEO.

In summary, while maintaining a basic, user-friendly HTML structure is important, overemphasizing its complexity does not yield significant benefits in terms of SEO rankings. Business owners are advised to focus on creating valuable content and a pleasant user experience, rather than getting caught up in the intricacies of HTML coding for SEO purposes.

4. Google Bot Does Not Read Content Within HTML Comments - On January 25, 2024 Google’s John Mueller clarified that HTML comments, which are parts of the website code not visible to users but can contain notes or additional information for developers, were believed by some to influence Google's understanding of a site's content. However, John Mueller clarified that Googlebot, the search engine's crawling software, does not read or utilize the content within these HTML comments for indexing or ranking purposes. This clarification came as a response to a query on Reddit, where an individual inquired about the potential benefits of including content in HTML comments to enhance text recognition from images on their website.

Mueller's response underlines an essential principle of web content creation: the importance of putting content directly on web pages, rather than in hidden elements like HTML comments. For business owners, this insight is particularly valuable. It emphasizes the need to focus on creating high-quality, visible content that users and search engines can easily access and understand. This approach not only ensures better engagement with potential customers but also aligns with Google's guidelines for optimal website performance in search results.

Business owners should stay away from gimmicks and instead prioritize content that adds real value to their website visitors, as this is what Google's algorithms are designed to recognize and reward in search rankings. This update reiterates the ongoing need for transparency and user-centric strategies in digital marketing practices.

5. Understanding Google's Reindexing Process for Website Updates - Google's John Mueller addressed a common query about triggering a complete reindexing of a website. Reindexing is essential when significant changes are made to your website, as it ensures that Google's search results reflect the most current version of your site. This process is vital for businesses, as it directly impacts how easily potential customers can find you online.

Mueller clarified that there is no direct method to request a complete website recrawl and reindexing all at once. When changes are made to a site, Google's search algorithms automatically update the indexing over time. However, there are strategies that can expedite this process:

Mueller also mentioned that a major restructuring of a website, like changing many URLs or switching content management systems, may necessitate a more thorough reevaluation of the site by Google. This process can be more time-consuming and can impact your site's search rankings temporarily.

6. Google Ads Introduces Gemini-Powered Campaign Creation: Enhancing Advertising with AI - On January 23, 2024, Google announced a significant update to its Google Ads platform by integrating Gemini, its most advanced AI model. Beta access to the conversational experience in Google Ads is now fully available to English language advertisers in the U.S. and U.K. It will begin rolling out globally to all English language advertisers over the next few weeks. This integration marks a new era in digital advertising, offering business owners an easier and more effective way to connect with potential customers. Google's Gemini AI is designed to streamline the ad campaign creation process, making it more intuitive and less labor-intensive.

The introduction of Gemini into Google Ads is a game-changer, especially for small business owners who might not have extensive marketing resources. This AI technology simplifies the creation of search advertising campaigns, enabling users to generate high-quality ad content, including creatives and keywords, directly from their website URL. By automating these aspects of campaign creation, Gemini helps businesses focus more on strategy and less on the technicalities of ad setup.

One of the key benefits of this update is the enhanced ad strength and performance it offers. During preliminary testing, businesses using the conversational ad building tool powered by Gemini reported a significant improvement in ad quality and a decrease in manual effort. The AI's ability to analyze and optimize ad content has led to increased conversion rates, with businesses experiencing an average of 12% increase in conversions when their ad strength improved from poor to excellent. Tom Foster, a Paid Search Manager at Page1, praised the new system: “I found the conversational experience very easy to use. It helped me create even more high-quality ads with ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’ Ad Strength, which has further improved the performance of my campaigns.”

Google plans to add more AI-driven features, including tools to recommend images for campaigns. These images will be marked with invisible "synthid" watermarks to indicate AI-generated content, ensuring transparency in advertising.

7. Understanding 'Other Search Terms' in Google Ads: Insights from Google Ads Liaison - Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin addressed concerns regarding the 'Other Search Terms' issue in Google Ads after an advertiser noticed that a high percentage of ad spend and conversions in a campaign using all exact match keywords were attributed to 'Other Search Terms'. The client was concerned about the quality of these conversions. In response, Marvin explained that search queries not meeting Google Ads' privacy thresholds are aggregated into the 'Other Search Terms' category. To better understand the performance of these aggregated terms, Marvin recommended using 'Search Terms Insights' on the Insights page.

'Search Terms Insights' analyzes all search terms, including those not included in the standard search terms report for privacy reasons. The tool groups terms based on intent and attributes, providing metrics for each category and subcategory. This feature helps advertisers understand how customers search for and engage with their business on Google without needing to sift through individual terms, some of which are kept private.

For business owners, this means that while some search terms may be aggregated under 'Other' due to privacy thresholds, they can still gain valuable insights into their campaign's performance. By using 'Search Terms Insights', advertisers can view and download aggregated metrics for categories and more granular data on subcategories, helping them refine their campaign targeting and creative strategies.

8. LinkedIn to Sunset Lookalike Audiences - LinkedIn is retiring its Lookalike Audiences feature, effective February 29, 2024. 

Lookalike Audiences on LinkedIn have been a crucial tool for reaching potential customers. They allow ads to be shown to new individuals who share similar characteristics with a business's existing customers, thereby increasing the likelihood of reaching an audience interested in their products or services.

As LinkedIn phases out this feature, advertisers must revise their audience targeting strategy. The platform suggests two main alternatives: Predictive Audiences and Audience Expansion. Predictive Audiences use data from contact lists, conversion, or lead gen form sources to forecast potential buyers most likely to take action. Audience Expansion, on the other hand, broadens the scope of Matched Audiences and targets users based on LinkedIn attributes such as skills or interests.

For existing campaigns using Lookalike Audiences, it's vital to transition to these new options to maintain an effective targeting approach. LinkedIn will provide a 30-day grace period during which unused Lookalike Audiences can be accessed before being archived. Additionally, the API for creating Lookalike Audiences through third-party marketing platforms, such as HubSpot, will also be discontinued, urging marketers to explore other options.