rlS_5oo3iIk, Google AMP, SEO for HTTPS, Google’s Rank Modifier Engines, May 6, 2016 SEO Theory Hangout
Michael Martinez of Reflective Dynamics, Inc. and Kent Yunk of Roaring Pajamas SEO discuss accelerated mobile pages, search engine optimization for HTTPS sites, and how Google uses rank modifier engines.
* Google AMP delivers content faster
* Only Google News publishers are benefiting from AMP the most
* People who are not using Content Delivery Networks can also benefit
* AMP republishes your content in a stripped HTML format
* News searchers see AMP articles in a carousel
* Michael does not click on Carousel results
* Differences between AMP/non-AMP content may be substantial depending on what the site publishes
* Some SEO bloggers rewrite Google articles without adding much value
* Good bloggers add screenshots that Google should but does not provide
* CDNs still deliver the same amount of content to mobile and desktop users
* Responsive Websites serve the same content to all users
* Smartphone users don’t have the bandwidth to download large pages and images
* CDNs reduce only some bottlenecks in delivering content
* Hard line connections can speed up delivery to smart phones
* SEOs who try to speed up site performance by prefetching content are creating problems, not solving them
* Using a CDN with AMP adds an extra hop in the transmission
* For non-Google News publishers AMP is probably no better than a CDN
* Static content HTML probably does not need either AMP or CDN help
* Ecommerce sites and Video sites need to choose the right CDN to deliver their non-text content
* There is not yet a general case for making every site AMP-compliant
* Some people are struggling to make their sites AMP-compliant
* Google has improved AMP error reporting
* A team of Canadian researchers have determined that all TLS connections are vulnerable to hacking (HTTPS offers no security)
* Google has now converted all Blogspot sites to use HTTPS
* Google made canonicalization optional but the search engine prefers the HTTPS versions of the sites
* This may negatively affect link cleanup because SEOs won’t see referral data from the HTTPS sites
* Even Weebly publishes some good sites
* Some spammers prefer Weebly
* Michael does not believe in disavowing or removing links just because they are on free-hosting platforms
* Google uses rank modifier engines
* Michael discusses a question he answered in the newsletter
* Content has always been the most important factor in Google’s algorithms
* What should SEOs be looking at if links, content, and social signals have been reduced or disavowed by Google?
* Search engine patent analysis may suggest some possibilities
* Search engines file patents to protect ideas, not to document the algorithms they use in the wild
* Google has been developing “rank modifier engine” technology for several years
* Rank modifier engines process search results after they have been compiled
* Rank modifier engines use different signals to resort the search results
* Michael suggests that RankBrain might be a rank modifier, or related to that concept
* Personalized search may be using rank modifier engines to evaluate user behavior (clicks and dwell time)
* Dwell time is a very messy signal and it’s unreliable
* Search engineers admit that dwell time can be wrong for many reasons
* Aggregated dwell time data in personalized search may be useful
* It is dangerous for marketers to discuss and speculate about these kinds of concepts
* When enough popular SEO bloggers discuss a concept, the general community assumes the concept is being used despite all disclaimers from the bloggers
* Kent points out that marketers naturally want guidance on new concepts
* A newsletter subscriber asked if Reflective Dynamics, Inc. follows a specific protocol when developing new sites
* Yes, but as you get more experience you can make better decisions on the fly
* Michael wrote an in-depth article in the newsletter
* Reflective Dynamics prefers simple page layouts
* Reduce page cluter
* Use tiered, hierarchical navigation where possible
* WordPress does not do tiered, hierarchical navigation very well
* HTML sitemap pages are important for WordPress sites
* The last thing you want on a growing or large Website is a flat site architecture
* Teach users to navigate your site efficiently
* Improve the on-site search experience as much as possible
* Quality of images and articles text is also important but it’s hard to narrow down to a single set of principles
* Some types of content have very different quality standards from a typical essay format
* If you cringe when you look at content you created 2 years ago that means you have improved as a writer or in knowledge
* It is important to know that you are learning as you write
* When you write 50 articles about a new topic your 50th article will be better than your 1st
