Each week the Croud SEO team collate the latest news from relevant sources around the web so you don’t have to. Read through the top SEO news stories for this week below and follow us on Twitter or sign up to our newsletter.
Bullish forecast predicts 31 million Americans will ‘shop’ on their smart speakers in
2019 10/07/2019
Despite multiple surveys indicating the widespread adoption voice commerce is unlikely, a report by eMarketer appears to contradict this indicating that 31 million Americans will shop via smart speak in 2019, up 31.6% from 2018. In this case “voice shopping” includes product researching, re-ordering and adding things to shopping carts with the caveat that these will be almost exclusively digital goods; movies and music.
Yoast SEO 11.6 updates how-to structured data block, following Google’s changes
09/07/2019
The Yoast SEO plugin has been updated to include schema and security fixes as well as including new how-to schema blocks following Google announcement of how-to structured data support.
The need for speed in search: 5-speed types to master now
09/07/2019
SEL runs through the different types of site speed webmaster must consider to improve search performance; site and page speed, mobile-specific speed, content that quickly answers a query, data ready for activation and real-time optimisation.
UX, Content and other secrets to Overstock’s SEO turnaround
08/07/2019
SEL looks at how Overstock managed to turn around its poor SEO performance by improving UX and content on site. One example includes using machine learning to personalise images tailored to a specific visitor which not only provided a personalised experience but also improved speed across the site.
Why addressing ethical questions in AI will benefit organisations
06/07/2019
A report by Capgemini has found that 62% of global consumers place higher trust in an organisation whose AI interactions are viewed as ethical, with 59% saying they would have more loyalty to the company and 55% they would buy more products and provide positive reviews if this was the case. 74% also wanted more transparency when a service uses AI.
Six HTTP status codes most critical to your SEO success
08/07/2019
Search Engine Watch released a quick reference article to HTTP status codes that commonly occur and can impact search performance; 404, 301, 302, 307, 503 and 410.
Seven time-tested tactics to generate more Google reviews
04/07/2019
With 97% of customers relying on online reviews to make purchase decisions and Google ratings specifically helping improve CTR by over 35%, SEW looks at how to garner Google reviews for a brand. This includes providing a great service, simply asking for them in-person, email, physical cards and CTAs, encouraging customer service to collect reviews by providing a script or offering incentives, creating a customer Google review link on site or app, responding to all reviews, addressing WIIFM (what’s in it for me) and by hosting experiential events.
Google Probably Won’t Be Turning Off Any Other Search Console Features
05/07/2019
Google’s John Mueller has indicated that no additional legacy features in Search Console will be switched off, saying if they thought something wasn’t important, they would have turned it off already.
