Daily Search Forum Recap: September 24, 2023 -

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.

This is a special Sunday edition because I am not posting any stories tomorrow in observance of Yom Kippur. Google said it will not roll back the helpful content update. Google said links are not a top three ranking factor anymore. Google said removing content doesn’t make the other content rank higher. Google said comments on websites can be a good thing. Clicks on ads within Bing Chat are 1.8X higher than traditional search ad clicks. Google said keep your important content out of the before or after CSS pseudo-elements.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

Google Not Rolling Back The Last Helpful Content Update

Google’s John Mueller said it is very unlikely that the search company will roll back the last Google update, the September 2023 Google helpful content update. The update is currently rolling out, first touching down on September 14th, and has really wreaked havoc for some SEOs.

Google: Links No Longer A Top Three Ranking Signal

Google has been downplaying the importance of links in its ranking algorithm for the past couple of years now. But last Thursday, at PubCon, Gary Illyes from the Google Search team said he wouldn’t even put links into the top three ranking signals Google Search uses.

Microsoft: Ads Clicks Within Bing Chat Are 1.8X Higher

At the Microsoft AI event on last Thursday, I had a sit down with Kya Sainsbury-Carter, the Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Advertising, who told me that clicks on ads within Bing Chat are higher than clicks on ads in traditional search. 1.8X higher to be exact and with shopping ads, specifically in Bing Chat, it is 11% higher.

Google Gary Illyes: Comments Sections On Websites Can Be Good

Gary Illyes from the Google Search team said at PubCon that comments sections on websites can be a good thing. This messaging is on target with what Google has said about comments sections in the past, assuming the comments are useful and not filled with spam – they can be a good thing.

Google: Removing Content Doesn’t Make The Other Content Rank Higher

Google’s John Mueller said on Twitter that removing content doesn’t make the rest of your content rank higher. He said, “keep in mind that removing content doesn’t make the rest rank higher.”

Google: Keep Important Content Out Of Before Or After CSS Pseudo-Elements

Google posted on Twitter “we recommend not adding meaningful content or symbols using ::before or ::after CSS pseudo-elements.” Google said such content “might not be used for indexing your pages.”

Google Cloud Swag Mug

Here is a new mug from Google, the Google Cloud team, that I have been seeing on social media recently. Seems like a bunch of folks got this new Google Cloud mug from Google recently.

Programming Note: Offline Monday For Yom Kippur 5784

This is just a programming note that I will be 100% offline starting Sunday night (September 24th) through Monday night (September 25th) for Yom Kippur. I am not scheduling any stories on Yom Kippur…