Blimey, really?

Every Wednesday / 21st August 2024 / goodsignals.com

Weekly Trivia: How many people are willing to wait for a website to load more than 10 seconds?

Happy Spumoni Day! In case you didn't know, spumoni is a moulded Italian dessert layered with chocolate, cherry and pistachio flavours - perfect for summer days.

As mentioned in our last newsletter, a Google core update is rolling out. It's still too early to see the results, but some sites hit by the September 2023 helpful content update are already seeing small improvements. If you are unsure what to look out for, read our blog post about what to do over the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, there was a ranking bug impacting a large number of search results recently. It had nothing to do with the core update and has now been fixed. Google has also welcomed a new AI crawler for their Vertex AI clients, while OpenAI is launching the widely requested fine-tuning feature to help developers customise responses at a lower cost.

Joyce, editor at The Signal

P.S. The answer to our Trivia? According to a recent Forbes Advisor survey, it's only 24% of searchers. This is a reminder that if your website loads too slowly, you risk frustrating your visitors and losing them to your competitors, especially when your brand is a lesser-known one.

Common Misconceptions About How to Optimise LCP

Google Search Console now allows bulk data export to the AI ready data analysis platform BigQuery. Here's a walkthrough on how to do it. By Mike Ginley on mikeginley.com.

OpenAI Signs Deal to Train on Condé Nast Content, Surface Stories in ChatGPT

Condé Nast - the publisher of The New Yorker, Vogue and Wired - has recently joined news organisations, including the Associated Press, Financial Times and Axel Springer, to sign a deal with OpenAI, permitting it to train on its brands' content. By Kyle Wiggers on TechCrunch.

Google’s Gary Illyes Continues to Warn About URL Parameter Issues

Google has warned again about URL parameter crawl issues, which can result in different web addresses leading to the same content. Illyes recommends using robots.txt to resolve the issue. By Matt G. Southern on Search Engine Journal.

Google’s John Mueller on Removing Unwanted Content from Search

A Reddit user asked how to remove an old article about their arrest in search results. Google's John Mueller suggested four ways: a complete takedown, adding a noindex tag, name swap and using "the right to be forgotten" law. By Matt G. Southern on Search Engine Journal.

Publishers are Redoubling Their Presence on Reddit as the Platform Rises in Search Visibility

Since last year's Helpful Content Update, publishers are ramping up their visibility on Reddit using the new AMA feature and converting popular posts into stories. Could this help bridge the gap between news outlets and communities? By Mark Stenberg on AdWeek.

Google’s Top Stories Look Broken: Are News Publishers to Blame?

Have you noticed the unusual trend of news websites like The Times of India and The Hindu, which are prominent in India, appearing at the top of search results in the UK and US? We don't know what's causing it yet, but Google has just acknowledged the issue. By Nicola Agius on Search Engine Land.

The DNC is Officially the Influencer Convention

More than 200 influencers are invited to the Democratic National Convention's yacht parties to boost reach among Gen Zs. However, journalists are unhappy as some can't even find an outlet to plug in their laptops. By Makena Kelly on Wired.

Google AI Overviews Now Show for Signed-Out Users in the US

Google AI Overviews is now available in incognito mode. As Lily Ray explains on X, this will allow SEO tools to track AIO data better and provide more accurate feedback. By Barry Schwartz on Search Engine Land.

Joyce Yang,

editor at The Signal

Last thing.

We hope you enjoy this email from Good Signals. However, if you no longer wish to receive any further communications from us, you can simply unsubscribe below.

Enjoy This? Tell Us

Unsubscribe Here