What Happened to ChicagoNow.com?
On August 18, 2022, the website ChicagoNow.com was suddenly shut down. No announcement was made prior to the closure. The decision was made by Tribune Publishing who owned the website. Alden Global Capital had been received approval to purchase Tribune Publishing on May 21, 2021 with a bid of $633 million. Source: ‘Vulture’ Fund Alden […]
The December 2021 Google Local Pack Algorithm Update
On December 16, 2021, Google announced that they completed an algorithm update which impacted local search results, also known as the “local pack” results. The algorithm change occurred between November 30 and December 8, 2021. What did the Local Pack Algorithm Update change? Google announced that the algorithm update “involved a re-balancing of various factors […]
Google Slows New Content from Entering Search Results in October 2020
With just weeks remaining until the 2020 United States Presidential Election, Google has made an interesting decision that will slow some blogger’s ability to share information quickly. Prior to October 14, 2020, website owners and bloggers could log into Google Search Console and request that Google index their new or updated content and display the […]
August 15 2020 Google Algorithm Update and Organic Traffic Fluctuations
On August 15, 2020, Google’s algorithm changed, affecting the way search results are ordered in Google search engine result pages (SERPs). On August 16, 2020, it appears that results reverted to their previous state. The SERP flux was noted by all the major SERP monitors, including RankRanger: I personally have limited data on this algorithm […]
August 10, 2020 Google Algorithm Glitch
On August 10, 2020, Google’s algorithm went haywire. This was corrected and the issue was confirmed by Google. Traffic fluctuations on August 10, 2020, and August 11, 2020 were temporary. The issue resulted in several very odd results surfacing on the front page of Google’s Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). On Tuesday, August 11, Google […]
April 10, 2020 Google Algorithm Change
There was a minor tweak at Google which impacted some sites on April 9, 2020. Sites impacted would see a gain or loss in keyword visibility, generally noticeable in Google Analytics by a loss or gain in traffic. Here’s a screenshot of a site which gained traffic on April 10, 2020: Not a Core Algorithm […]
YouTube’s CEO Addresses Coronavirus Content Concerns – March 2020
As the coronavirus continues to dominate international headlines, YouTube is taking proactive steps to ensure authoritative news reaches its users. In a recent blog post, CEO Susan Wojcicki said YouTube will prioritize coronavirus content that has been put together by reliable, science-backed organizations. In particular, YouTube will highlight the latest data from the World […]
January 14, 2020 Google Core Algorithm Change – Traffic Gains and Losses
On January 13, 2020, Google began rolling out their first Broad Core Algorithm update of 2020. This article will be updated as data is collected and details emerge. Lindsey, one of our SEO managers here, began calling this algorithm the “Hindsight” algorithm. After all, hindsight is 2020, am I right? At least, that’s what we’re […]
Do Google’s Algorithms use Scientific Consensus to Censor Health Content?
August 1, 2018, Google adjusted their core algorithm. Overnight, several sites with medical content tanked. Google didn’t nickname it “Medic“, people in the SEO industry did. While it is a very fitting name, the algorithm also affected a huge variety of niches including finance, news, sports, business, fitness, travel and more. It would later become […]
October 23 2019 Google Algorithm Update – No Changes Made, Rankings Return for Nutritional Supplement Sites hit July 11 2019
On October 23, 2019, a Google algorithm change rolled out. There’s a lot I do not know and will not know about this algorithm, but, I’m going to share what I do know. First, let’s start with a screenshot from RankRanger: Sometimes the best change after a traffic loss is no change at all. There […]
Google BERT Algorithm Update October 2019 & How To Optimize for BERT
On October 25, 2019, Google announced the BERT update which impacts search results. In a nutshell, this is a great update which helps Google produce more relevant search results for longer / natural language / conversational search queries. A BERT example: Instead of a keyword, such as “pizza”, many people search using “natural language”. Here’s […]
Google Search Console Error Message “Fix Breadcrumbs markup for https://www.website.com/”
On September 20, 2019, Google began sending out messages via Google Search Console titled “Fix Breadcrumbs markup for https://www.website.com/”. Here’s what the message looks like: It reads: Google systems show that your site is affected by one Breadcrumbs markup issue. This means that your Breadcrumbs pages might not appear as rich results in Google Search. […]
September 5 2019 Google Algorithm Update
On September 5, 2019, a significant change to Google’s algorithm took place. SERP trackers, such as RankRanger’s, showed this as seen in the screenshot below: The September 5, 2019 Update Timeline of Events This timeline of events will be updated as the algorithm rolls out along with my findings and observations. September 4, 2019: Tremors […]
August 2019 Google Algorithm Update
August 28, 2019, a Google algorithm update began rolling out. This came shortly after Google began demoting websites which participate in “subdomain leasing” around August 23. Google engineers also made slightly noticeable changes to the algorithm on August 1 and August 20. Some people feel the August 20 change was a test for a future […]
July 18, 2019 Google Algorithm Update
And it’s here. A major change to Google’s algorithm rolled out, as can be seen here thanks to RankRanger’s monitoring tool: July 2019 Google Algorithm Update – Live Timeline Here’s how the July algorithm rolled out: July 13, 2019 – On July 13, 2019, there were several fluctuations in Google’s search engine results. The vast […]
Alex Jones’ Infowars Whacked by Google Algorithm in June 2019
On June 8, 2019, an article hit InfoWars.com titled “Google De-Lists Alex Jones From Web Search“. The article explains that if you use Google to search for the phrase (name) Alex Jones, InfoWars.com is no longer a result near the top of page 1 of Google’s search results. It is true that, historically, Infowars.com was […]
The June 3 2019 Google Broad Core Algorithm Update
The June 2019 Google Broad Core Algorithm Update impacted the rankings of websites in Google’s Search Engine Results Pages. Several aspects of the algorithm were changed which caused some sites to gain visibility and others to lose visibility. Generally speaking, sites negatively impacted will see a drop in rankings for many or all of important […]
The March 2019 Google Broad Core Algorithm Update
On March 12, 13, and 14, 2019, many webmasters began noticing a change to their rankings and traffic. That’s because Google rolled out an update to their algorithm. Google frequently rolls out updates, but this one was a significant “Broad Core algorithm update”. The update began rolling out late on March 10 or early March […]
The YouTube Subscriber Purge of December 2018
In December 2018, YouTube deleted subscribers from many channels on their platform. With all of the massive problems YouTube faces lately, apparently they thought this was a priority. 😛 Users can still fake review counts. One company I briefly tracked adds a lame video, then inflate the view count by 2,000 views a few days […]
The Yelp Purge of 2018 – Yelp’s New Algorithm Filters More Reviews
In November 2018, Yelp changed their algorithm, also known as their “recommendation software”. Millions of Yelp reviews were lost in what one Yelp representative called the “Yelp Purge of 2018”. Yelp filtering reviews is nothing new, but the way Yelp filters which reviews are prominently displayed as “recommended reviews” completely changed in November 2018. The […]