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In this episode, we discuss the June Core Update, the Page Experience Update, an introduction to Search Console Insights, great tips from a recent help hangout, SEO audit templates, and lots more.

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The following topics are covered in the premium version of this episode:

• What industry experts are saying about the core update
• Did you lose rich snippets with the core update?
• The Page Experience update has begun rolling out
• John Mueller talks the latest on Google’s Page Experience badge
• A flowchart to help guide your ‘prune or optimize content’ decision making
• Is it okay to use non-English characters in a URL?
• When a site is negatively impacted by a core algorithm update, does a site command search return less relevant results for sites?
• John touches on what Google likes to see regarding your above the fold content
• How does Google evaluate a high quality page on an otherwise lesser quality site?
• PageSpeed Insights will now provide this kind of data
• This case study examines whether increasing the number of recommended articles at the end of a page had any impact on organic traffic
• What are ‘Relations’ in GMB?
• Aleyda Solis shares two types of SEO audit templates
• A compilation of useful Chrome extensions
• Our tl;dr summary of some awesome recent SEO articles

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The June 2021 Core Update has finished rolling out. Here is what we know so far.

When I, Marie, shut down my computer for my “staycation” last week, we had not seen much movement across our client base even though Google had announced a core update had launched on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. Normally with core updates we will see drastic changes across many sites that we monitor that start within 24 hours of the update announcement.

However this update was different. 

While some of the algo weather reported picked up changes in SERP turbulence starting as early as June 3, we first started seeing people report changes on Twitter on June 6 or 7. 

The update has had a drastic effect on the traffic of many sites across the web. In this newsletter episode, we’ll break down what industry experts are saying, and what we can learn so far from the data. We do hope to publish our own article soon which will focus on some of our clients who did well with this update. We will share what types of things they worked on with the hopes that this can also help you improve your website in ways that Google’s algorithms will hopefully reward with future updates.

What you need to know about the core update 

• The update was announced June 2, 2021. However, most people did not start noticing effects until several days later.
• There will be a second part of this update released at some point in July. 
•  “A very small slice” of content that saw changes with this update will see those changes reverse in July. 
• The update finished its rollout on June 12, 2021.
• This update was not the Page Experience update which deals with Core Web Vitals.

If you are a premium subscriber of Search News You Can Use, in the next section you will see what industry experts are saying about the update so far along with some of my thoughts as well. We will have an article out on the update at some point when we feel we’ve learned enough to share. We hope to be sharing some case studies to help you understand what specific kinds of changes were made to help improve E-A-T, technical aspects and better meeting the needs of searchers.

If you were affected negatively by this update, our advice remains the same:

• Study and do all you can to meet the standards suggested in Google’s blog post on core updates.
• Read the Quality Raters’ Guidelines and pay special attention to examples given that are similar to your site or situation. (Or you can read our book with a checklist of things that we look at when assessing websites through the eyes of the QRG.)
• Improve how you demonstrate E-A-T both on and off your site wherever possible.
• Improve on technical aspects of SEO where possible (although technical fixes usually are not the solution to core update hits.)
• Look at keywords that lost rankings and try and determine why the pages outranking you could be seen as better meeting the needs of searchers. Adapt your content to be even better. 

There is more information here on having an MHC site auditor review your website to help you find ways to improve as mentioned in the bullet points above. We do have a little bit of a waiting list right now.

Marie is back, and so is the podcast! 

As Marie was on vacation last week, there was no podcast episode. But don’t sweat it, she’s back and ready to report on all things June Core Update. We appreciate your understanding and can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this week’s episode. 

Read our full Google help hangout transcriptions

If you haven’t yet, you will want to read our Google hangout transcriptions that we post each week. These are only available to our premium subscribers. Here’s a look at this week’s highlights. 

The June 4, 2021 office-hours hangout delivered some excellent topics like Google’s preferences on word count and long-form content, how Google treats UGC and rel=sponsored links to more reminders about disavowing, anchor text and the URL removal tool. https://t.co/woqTKrbuhi

— Marie Haynes Consulting (@mhc_inc) June 15, 2021

Introducing Search Console Insights

Search Console Insights is aimed at helping you “…Better understand which content of yours resonates with your audiences.” By coupling Google Analytics and Google Search Console data, performance data will be featured as an overview of helpful insights. You don’t need to use Analytics to access this feature, but Google does advise associating both accounts in order to get the full experience. 

📢 Today we are introducing a new experience called Search Console Insights 🍾. Learn more about how it can help you understand which content resonates with your audiences and how they discover it 🧐 https://t.co/vZQKs6NDRF pic.twitter.com/U30C4uC5QD

— Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) June 15, 2021

WooCommerce merchants can now list their products across Google

If you’re a WooCommerce merchant, this is good news. Google announced last week that you will be able to list your products FOR FREE across Google. This integration with Google Shopping should help you expand your reach and improve traffic. We hope this helps with your brand’s discovery! 

Upcoming Google conference

The Search Central Unconference is happening next Monday June 21st. These conferences are catered to you, so you choose which conferences to attend based on your needs and interest. The registration deadline was June 14th, but you should have received confirmation on the 16th if you signed up. Make sure you’re available June 20th as there will be a Google Meet call to attend. 

😎You asked, we listened. The Search Central Unconference will be back on June 21st!

📆 Apply now until June 14th to participate in the event or check out this blog post with more details: https://t.co/B2WZumTwJn

— Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) June 9, 2021

Unnatural link manual actions still require manual link cleanup

Bill Hartzer asked John Mueller via Twitter, whether or not just using the disavow tool is enough to remove a manual action.

We do recommend taking the time to review, clean up, and document any issues like those. The webspam team likes to see that you're aware of the details & have taken action. If for whatever reason you can't clean it up on the other site, the disavow tool can be useful too.

— 🍌 John 🍌 (@JohnMu) June 5, 2021

Manual action removal can be a lengthy process and this is one more reason to avoid a manual action at all costs.

Does Google do anything with those lists of ‘link building networks’?

John Mueller tweeted about an email offering guest post links on a “DA 80 google news site”. We have always wondered if Google uses these unnatural links or spam network lists. At the very least they use the list to test whether their algorithms are working properly. 

Yes, we do use these kinds of lists to check our existing manual actions & algorithmic classifications, as well as to expand them. I like seeing "we're already covering most of these algorithmically." Obviously you can't just drop the list of URLs into a file blindly though.

— 🍌 John 🍌 (@JohnMu) June 10, 2021

There was a possible local update on June 8th according to Barry. It looks like there were spikes on the 8th and 9th affecting accounting, finance and real estate properties. According to the flux, things have died down but we’ll let you know if it picks up again.

How to Promote Your Blog: 21 NEW Strategies – Brian Dean
https://backlinko.com/promote-your-blog
June 11, 2021

Whether you’re just starting out, or have been in the blogging game for quite some time, Brian Dean gives us a few tips to help promote your blog in a recent article of his. You can read the entire article to find out all 21 (plus two extra) different ways to help promote your blog. Some you may have heard, some you might not have, but either way, it is definitely worth the read.

How Do You Get a Branded Google Map Pin? 5 Facts to Know – Joy Hawkins
https://www.sterlingsky.ca/how-do-you-get-a-branded-google-map-pin-5-facts-to-know/
June 2, 2021

Have you been wondering how to get that branded pin in Google Maps? Joy Hawkins at Sterling Sky has all the facts and here is the main thing that you need to know: Branded pins are a paid feature so you can’t earn it unless you purchase it through Google Ads’ local campaign product. Check out Joy’s article for a brief summary of what you should know before you buy.

How to Configure Google Analytics for Local Businesses – Alex Ratynski
https://moz.com/blog/google-analytics-for-local-business
June 11, 2021

Are you using Google Analytics for your business? In a recent Whiteboard Friday, Alex Ratynski, goes over five important steps that local businesses can adopt to get the most out of Google Analytics. If you’re a local business that uses Google Analytics (or considering using it), we recommend watching the full Whiteboard Friday for more details on the five important steps, and how to implement them in your business. 

4 Known GMB Issues & What To Do About Them – June 2021 – Ben Fisher
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/gmb-issues-june-2021/409818/
June 14, 2021

Local wiz Ben Fisher highlights four recent Google My Business issues (along with fixes and timelines) impacting webmasters. In it, you can get the latest advice on the following topics: reviews not showing, vanishing listings, SABs and more! 

#Hiring a Head of #SEO Ops, leading a team of ridiculously talented #TechSEO Consultants
🌍hybrid WFH & London
💰<£65k plus profitshare

Apply to @clockworktalent by emailing CV to jobs@clockworkTalent.com to discuss in more detail#SneakPeekJobs #SEOJobs #DigitalJobs pic.twitter.com/0aJemrCWzv

— Natasha Woodford (@TashaWoodford) June 10, 2021

👋 Hey!

We have an exciting position opening up on the @Shopify SEO team.

I'm hiring an experienced SEO that uses content to grow qualified traffic at scale. 📈

My team works with content marketing, dev, and design to craft content strategies that accelerate growth.

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— Kyle Risley (@KyleRisley) June 14, 2021

Premium members also get the following:

It’s well worth the $18 per month!

The following topics are covered in the premium version of this episode:

• What industry experts are saying about the core update
• Did you lose rich snippets with the core update?
• The Page Experience update has begun rolling out
• John Mueller talks the latest on Google’s Page Experience badge
• A flowchart to help guide your ‘prune or optimize content’ decision making
• Is it okay to use non-English characters in a URL?
• When a site is negatively impacted by a core algorithm update, does a site command search return less relevant results for sites?
• John touches on what Google likes to see regarding your above the fold content
• How does Google evaluate a high quality page on an otherwise lesser quality site?
• PageSpeed Insights will now provide this kind of data
• This case study examines whether increasing the number of recommended articles at the end of a page had any impact on organic traffic
• What are ‘Relations’ in GMB?
• Aleyda Solis shares two types of SEO audit templates
• A compilation of useful Chrome extensions
• Our tl;dr summary of some awesome recent SEO articles

⎋ SUBSCRIBE NOW

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