Technology News and Industry Knowledge

Happy New Year! Welcome to the first installment of what will be a daily, ongoing feature here on Search Engine Land in 2023 – This day in search marketing history . Search Engine Land has been the publication of record for all things search and search marketing since launching in 2006. And the founders of that 2006 team had been reporting on and educating the industry for about a decade prior to that (at Search Engine Watch). So join us every day, as we rediscover the headlines and history of SEO, PPC and digital marketing from years gone by. Also on this day  Happy New Year Google Doodles! On Jan. 1, every year since 2000 , Google has consistently given us Doodles, in lieu of any significant news of note to report on. Hey, it is a holiday after all. The editorial team is getting some much-deserved rest (not counting Barry , who is almost always working) and traffic is pretty dismal on New Year’s Day. It’s been years since we covered Google’s special logos. But once upon ...

Since Search Engine Land launched, we have given SEO experts a platform to share their in-depth knowledge and timely insights – with the goal of helping you solve problems, manage challenges and understand the constantly shifting SEO landscape. That’s why one of my top priorities this year was to help relaunch the Search Engine Land Subject Matter Expert program, which had been on pause for the most part for the past few years. Below you’ll find links to the 10 most-read, must-read Search Engine Land SEO columns of 2022 that were contributed by our fantastic group of Subject Matter Experts. I have to give some recognition to Olaf Kopp, who authored three of the 10 most popular SEO columns of the year. Amazing! 10. How to use 12 micro intents for SEO and content journey mapping Analyzing the SERPs for these micro intents will help you create the right content that a searcher will want to find. (By Olaf Kopp . Published July 18.) 9. Google search quality rater guidelines update: Wh...

Since Search Engine Land launched, we have given PPC experts a platform to share their in-depth knowledge and timely insights – with the goal of helping you solve problems, manage challenges and understand the constantly shifting landscape of paid search, paid social and display. That’s why one of my top priorities this year was to help relaunch the Search Engine Land Subject Matter Expert program, which had been on pause for the past few years. Below you’ll find links to the 10 most-read, must-read Search Engine Land PPC columns of 2022 that were contributed by our fantastic group of Subject Matter Experts. Before that, I have to give some special recognition to PPC expert Melissa Mackey, who authored the most viewed column of the year, which published Nov. 9 –  10 things to eliminate from your life to be more productive at work . That article isn’t included on our top 10 list because the insights can apply to anyone really – not just search marketers. Regardless, the article d...

As 2022 proved once again, SEO is never boring.  Was 2022 the year of AI – or perhaps the official dawning of the age of AI? For the last month, it’s been hard not to read about or avoid the temptation to spend hours playing with ChatGPT.  We also had our usual share of algorithm updates, new tools and features, acquisitions, and plenty more changes.  One constant through it all? For 16 years , Search Engine Land has covered all the biggest stories, just as we did again in 2022.  Here’s our look back at the biggest SEO news of 2022 – from Google and other search engines, tool providers and the community.  Google news Google Search Essentials and more documentation changes Google did a major refresh of its 20-year-old Webmaster Guidelines and also renamed it to Google Search Essentials . The updated guidelines were streamlined, simplified, and updated “to ensure people have clear guidance for how to build sites that serve people well.” While Search E...

This year had different stresses accompanying the Google algorithm updates, fewer pandemic stresses, and more recession-related stress. We had ten confirmed Google algorithm updates this year, the same number of confirmed algorithm updates we had in 2021. This year, we had a brand new ranking system named the helpful content update, and we had two of them. Also similar to last year, Google rolled out two big algorithm updates at the end of the year. Google confirmed algorithm update summary We whipped up this timeline documenting all the confirmed Google search algorithm updates in 2022, so you can visualize the updates over the year. Please note, the last two updates have not completed yet, when they are finished, I will update this story. Google’s May and September core updates were big updates May 2022 core update . On May 25, 2022, Google released the first core update for the 2022 year, the  May 2022 core update . That update took 15 days to roll out, ending on June 9, 2...

2022 was a wild ride and we’re not just talking about NyQuil chicken or the slap heard ‘round the world at the Oscars. The digital marketing world was inundated with a new Chief twit, old platforms making comebacks (enter Microsoft), and more campaign automation features then we really care for. As the year comes to a close, let’s take a look at some of the most headline-worthy, controversial, biggest-impacting changes that rocked the PPC world over the last 12 months. The bigger picture We asked and you answered. This year marketers told us that although the adoption of Google Ads automation is high, it’s their least favorite part of PPC. The gradual loss of control, as well as forcing automation and broad targeting on marketers, doesn’t give us that warm and fuzzy feeling after all. Who knew?  But automation and economic uncertainty aside, search advertising is thriving and spending in 2023 could hit $112 billion (nearly double the spend in 2019). Google dominates that spe...