There are constant changes in SEO and PPC, AI is a prominent and seemingly permanent feature to our news updates now. The digital marketing sphere is ever-changing, so keeping on top of the latest updates and news is a must for any business wanting online results.
Here we share the latest big news with June’s digital roundup.
SEO
Screaming Frog Releases Version 20.0
Screaming Frog is a vital tool used by many SEO experts to run audits and check a site’s health. In May they announced their ‘cracker’ update to the software, giving it new features that have been driven by feedback from users.
The new features include:
- Custom Javascript snippets – with the ability to crawl using Chat GPT.
- Mobile usability audit – with the integration of Lighthouse you can now see common mobile usability issues through the tool.
- N-Grams analysis – phrase analysis is now available across pages during a crawl. Helpful for SEO as you can see how many times you’ve got your keyword in, and it may also help with identifying any internal link opportunities quickly.
- Grouped anchor text – The inlinks and outlinks section now allows for you to check your anchor text meaning it will be easier to check internal link descriptions and easily audit these.
To see all of the updates in more detail, take a look at Screaming Frog’s blog post.
Google Document Leak
Maybe the biggest story of the year for SEO experts; a huge Google document leak gave us an insight into how the Google algorithm may rank content in terms of links, clicks and more. It didn’t detail the importance each factor has on rankings, but knowing they are a factor at all is still important.
We’ve done our research into the main takeaways from the leak.
- Google is using Nav boost to identify your click quality, it will assess what it thinks are ‘goodclicks’, ‘badclicks’ and ‘lastlongestclicks’ as well as looking at impressions. (This means the new Screaming Frog anchor text feature is more relevant than ever).
- Building brand awareness is a big factor for Google – putting effort into your brand and guidelines and building a reputation through user generated signals is important such as reviews and brand mentions on social media.
- Google keeps the history of at least your last 20 changes to a page URL, so could easily identify any major changes.
- Your money, your life content gets scored when content is short and is assessed for its originality. Quality is key, so while longer blog posts may seem like they give better opportunity for keywords and links, more concise content with good quality links and original copy is also important, as one of Google’s key focuses is on providing the best user experience.
- A directive ‘siteauthority’ is thought to be used. In the past Google has stated that low quality content on one page could impact an entire site, so content is clearly king.
As always with these leaks the information is never concrete, we can only analyse and link together what we already know with what has been discovered. Google is famously tight-lipped on the subject, usually revealing only small snippets of information on what algorithm updates focus on.
That being said Google have responded to speculation about the leak of the documents, erring on the side of caution when it comes to the analysis of what has been revealed. Shrouded in mystery is how they would like to remain, see the response given from a Google spokesperson on the leak.
Learn more about the latest developments in the Google leak on Search Engine Land.
Useful tool – Copyleaks AI Detector
This is a great tool to utilise when you suspect that content may have been AI generated. All you have to do is copy and paste the selected content into the tool and it will assess whether AI content has been used.
As Google is laser focused on the user experience element it has notoriously been cracking down on AI generated content. So while using AI to help you in your day to day can be useful, using it to create whole blocks of content isn’t necessarily going to give the best user experience. AI generated content is not always trustworthy and can be inaccurate. Some content needs an expert opinion from someone with actual experience, something AI cannot replicate.
Take a look at the CopyLeaks AI Detector Tool.
PPC
AI dominates the updates made to Google Ads over the last month. The following are the main takeaways to be in the know about.
AI Generation For Performance Max and Demand Gen Campaigns
AI Image Generation is now available for Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns. Smaller Google Ad users who don’t necessarily have to budget to take high-quality photography assets can use this feature to improve the look of their ads in the Display Network.
Brand Guidelines for Googles Generative AI
Brand Guideline features will also be coming to Google’s generative AI, where you’ll have the ability to upload your brand’s specific colours and fonts to match your visual style, and help you and your brand stand out on the web.
AI Image Editing In Merchant Centre
AI image editing is slowly rolling out to users with a Merchant Centre account and an updated product feed. Add and remove objects, extend backgrounds and crop to any aspect ratio or orientation. It looks like only specific product categories will be eligible for AI image editing.
Interactive Experiences In Search Ads
In the US, AI is also providing more interactive experiences in search ads with personalised recommendations based on what the user has searched for, and allowing them to have more input on the specifics of what they are looking for. If successful in the US, we’re hoping this will be available in the UK by the end of the year.
Read more on Google Ads announcements and keep on top of the latest developments within PPC.
Stay On Top Of The Changes With Wildcat Digital
Discuss your digital goals with our team of SEO and PPC experts. We monitor and stategise around the latest developments within digital marketing, and use this insight to assist in meeting your objectives. If you’re looking for some help with your digital presence, get in touch with a member of our team today!
In case you missed it, here is May’s Digital roundup.
Thea Chapman
SEO Account Manager
