Mega-SERP: A Visual Guide to Google
Have you ever wondered what a Google result would look like if they put all of the SERP features on one page? Wonder no more. I present to you Mega-SERP, sponsored by my obsession with tacos.
Search Engines
Understanding how search engines work, Google in particular, is important when working in SEO. The basics of crawling and indexing are amazingly useful to understand if you want to rank your own content.
Additionally, Google updates its algorithm several times a year. Understanding the more significant updates, and how they work, can help you to craft content and SEO strategies that are up-to-date.
We've written extensively about how search engines work, and included some of the top resources here. You can also browse the latest posts on search engines from the Moz blog below.
How Search Engines Work : New to SEO? Start with the basics of how search engines operate with our free beginner's guide.
Search Engine Ranking and Visibility : Learn the fundamentals of how search engines rank content on search engine result pages.
Google Algorithm Update History : A complete history of Google algorithm updates since 2000. This includes important links and references for understanding how Google works.
How Search Engines Value Links : Search engines work off a number of signals, but two of the most important are content and links. In this video, Rand Fishkin explains the basics of link evaluation.
MozCast : Is Google updating it's algorithm as we speak? MozCast is the Google algorithm weather report, so you can see how much Google results are changing each day.
Most Recent Articles on Search Engines
From Keywords to Contexts: the New Query Model
Gone are the days when a search query simply involved a string of words. Today's queries include all sorts of implicit data — location, device, etc. — that add to the search engines' understanding of what searchers really wanted to find. That fact has some very real implications for the way we think about keywords.
The Day the Knowledge Graph Exploded (+50.4%)
On July 19th, there was a major Google update that almost all of us missed. Overnight, the number of queries with Knowledge Graph entries jumped 50% to just over a quarter (26.7%) of the searches we track.
Inside In-depth Articles: Dissecting Google's Latest Feature
Google has officially launched their latest feature, in-depth articles. We pulled some preliminary data on how widespread in-depth articles are since launch, what kind of queries they appear on, and which sites are getting the most out of them.
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101 Google Answer Boxes: A Journey into the Knowledge Graph
Google's Knowledge Graph has exploded over the past year, and it's driving more and more direct answers in organic results. I explore 101 answers boxes, and demonstrate how these are intimately connected to the Knowledge Graph.
Google's "Multi-Week" Algorithm Update
On June 21st, Matt Cutts hinted that Google was rolling out a "multi-week" update. We saw massive MozCast spikes on multiple days, and now that the weather has cleared, I thought it was time to do a deeper analysis.
Early Look at Google's June 25 Algo Update
On the morning of June 26th, MozCast registered a record high temperature of 113 degrees. This is an initial investigation into the possible algorithm update, and a potential partial-match domain (PMD) connection.
I Think I Might Have Been Wrong About Voice Search
I roundly mocked voice search for such a long time, but I think I might have been wrong. I thought that looking stupid and being unable to easily correct your search would make it useless, and that even if it became useful, it wouldn't affect us as marketers. I now think both parts might be wrong. Here's why.
A Universe of Graphs
Sometimes, we have to look at things from far away to really understand them. In today's post, we look at the web and the universe at large, and realize that these two mysteries may have more in common than we think.
Penguin 2.0/4 - Were You Jarred and/or Jolted?
Penguin 2.0 (4) rolled out Wednesday, and initial reports suggest that the impact was less than many had feared. I explore MozCast data, including industry categories, and the Big 20 sites (by SERP share). I also discuss the unconfirmed May 9 Google update.
SEO: The Future Is Bright, The Future Is Linkless
Less than a year ago links were everything to the SEO industry. Whether it was guest blogging or content marketing, the sole aim of many agencies revolved purely around sourcing and acquiring links. Even now you can still find conferences and 'how to' guides yammering on about how great they are. So what if I was to say that links aren’t that important, won’t add as much value eventually and shouldn’t be the main focus of your SEO campaigns?
Is Your Website Being Replaced with Google Plus Local Listings?
It has been almost a year since Google replaced their business listing service, Google Places, in favor of Google+ Local as part of the search engine’s continuing efforts to increase the relevancy of their social media network, Google+. I don’t know about you, but lately there has been a bit of a stirrup among some of our clients.
The Google AdWords Landscape (Infographic)
The evolving AdWords landscape impacts more than just PPC - on-page ads effect ranking position, CTR, and ultimately SEO success. We looked at 10,000 queries to find out where ads appear, how many of them there are, and how often they show up.
How Low Can #1 Go? (A Ranking Study)
We measured 10,000 Google SERPs to find out where #1 really ends up. It turns out that the top position actually covers a lot of land, and can be impacted not only by ads but many new search features. Post includes a full visualization of the data plus screenshots of the worst-case scenarios.