Summer ends, Autumn begins, and Google’s recent updates continue to cause ripples and, in some cases, a tsunami of negative consequences for small, independent site owners.
This week’s news roundup reviews Google’s advice on ALT text and SEO best practices, how Google’s new policy violation restrictions are affecting site owners’ business profiles, and Google’s updated spam policy documentation.
Elsewhere on the web, Barry Shwartz reports on how minor Google business profile updates are triggering re-verification and that Google Search has removed its cache feature. We also look at an insightful post by Loren Baker on the importance of content in SEO.
Google Advises On Best Practices For Alt Text And SEO
Google’s Search Advocate, John Mueller, explains why ALT Text is vital for SEO as it conveys crucial context relevant to the user and why using AI to write it for you isn`t a good idea.
Key takeaways:
- Mueller explains that alt text conveys context relevant to an image and the webpage it’s on, saying it’s crucial for the viewer, SEO, and Google Search.
- Mueller says using alt text to describe what’s in your image is a perfect opportunity to provide context users will find helpful.
- Mueller also explains why using AI for alt text is a bad idea: saying it cannot convey an image’s true meaning.
Google Business Profile Restrictions on Fake Reviews Begins
Google’s new business profile restrictions, warning users it has removed fake reviews from a business’s Google profile, are taking effect in the UK.
Key takeaways:
- Google warned businesses that its new restrictions for policy violations would sanction business profiles using fake reviews; Google is staying true to its word.
- In what could be a first-case scenario, Google has placed the “Suspected fake reviews were recently removed from this place” on a UK Google Business Profile listing.
- The warning was first reported on LinkedIn and a local UK search forum, where many local business owners reported that their genuine reviews were also being removed.
Google Refreshes Web Search Spam Policy Documentation
Google has updated its spam documentation by rewriting many sections and amending its site reputation abuse policy.
While the update isn’t a vast change (more like a refresh) to Google’s web search spam policy, publishers and site owners should review the documentation to avoid violating Google’s new definition of site reputation abuse.
Key takeaways:
- Google refreshes and updates its web search spam policy documentation.
- A new definition of site reputation abuse is the significant change.
- Google said reviewing and refreshing is normal, and this update is part of an ongoing process to clarify its spam policies.
From Around The Web
Report: Small Google Business Profile Updates May Trigger Re-Verification
Barry Schwartz from Search Engine Roundtable reports on recent revelations by Google local product expert and Vice President at Uberal Krystal Taing about how re-verifications from Google Business Profiles are rising for even the smallest changes to a Google Business Profile listing.
Key takeaways:
- Krystal Taing reveals she has seen “a rise in re-verification triggers on Google Business Profiles for small changes/additions to categories and phone numbers for all industries.”
- Taing warns, “If you are editing these fields on your profiles, proceed with caution.”
- Taing said, “This can happen both by making these edits manually through the web interface or via the API.”
Why Content Is Important For SEO
Search Engine Journal writer Loren Baker writes about the importance of content in SEO and how it can contribute to your search engine success.
Baker also explains how to give your users a satisfying experience by providing helpful content.
Key takeaways:
Loren Baker explains the connection between content and SEO and how Google chooses what content to rank; in his post, Baker says:
- “One core function of search engines is to connect users with the information they’re looking for.”
- “The other core function of search engines is to retain users.”
- “Your SEO success depends on being found by your target audience for what they are looking for and consistently providing a satisfying user experience based on the context of the queries they type into search engines.”
Google Search completely kills the cache feature
Search Engine Land writer Barry Schwartz reports on Google finally dropping the cache link two weeks after integrating The Internet Archive Wayback Machine into its About This Page feature results.
Key takeaways:
- Google kills off its cache link operator.
- Google advised it would remove the cache link in January, but it didn’t happen for nine months.
- Schwartz says, “I use the Wayback Machine a lot for my research here and for other work-related projects. Having quick access to these links in Google Search can be more useful for me and searchers.”
When he is not writing content, Terry can be found on his boat in Italy or chilling in his villa in Spain.
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