SEO
The “Don’t Panic” edition
Stressed by poor Google News traffic? Scared that Apple is coming for your newsletters and AI for your job? Relax. It's not as bad as people claim…
links
Lunchtime links: subs, Google News and the problem with Wikipedia
It must be the silly season. LinkedIn is getting into subs? Plus some useful stuff on Google News and a critical look at the media/Wikipedia intersection
SEO
SEO Update #3: agency death, Yandex growth and MOAR carousels
A quick pre-Christmas round-up of the latest search news.
SEO
New Google update aims to prioritise original reporting over rapid writethroughs
Big news from Google: it's tweaked its algorithms to prioritise original reporting - and to display it for longer.
accuracy
Google put speed ahead of accuracy three years ago - and we're all paying the price
Here we go. Following on from my last post [https://www.onemanandhisblog.com/archives/2017/10/google-top-stories-carousel-news.html] , it seems that Google has been including non-Google News posts in the “In the News” box for three years [http://searchengineland.com/googles-news-listings-beyond-traditional-205213]: > Google has confirmed that new “In The News”
AMPs
Google's Top Stories algorithm is failing to detect authoritative sources
This is a pretty significant Google algorithm fail: > Also, apparently Google is putting 4chan threads in their top story unit now? So, the number one hit for his name is a /pol/ thread. pic.twitter.com/OYwW6pbWvy [https://t.co/OYwW6pbWvy] — Ryan Broderick (@broderick) October 2, 2017 [https://twitter.
first click free
Google tightening up First Click Free
Google is making changes to its “first click free” system [http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/first-click-free-update.html] : > In 2009, we updated the FCF policy to allow a limit of five articles per day, in order to protect publishers who felt some users were abusing the spirit of
games
Gamification the dumb…err…Google way
Beautiful summary: > Google News US has launched collectable badges for reading news stories [http://googlenewsblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/shareable-google-news-badges-for-your.html] . This is stupid. Mary has provided plenty of more detailed reasons why it’s stupid [http://maryhamilton.co.uk/2011/08/google-news-doing-gamification-wrong/], too. Another example of Google jumping
BBC
How Boris Johnson gets his news
From his column in The Telegraph [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/borisjohnson/8116584/So-journalists-at-the-BBC-went-on-strike-Thats-news-to-me.html] **, in which he explains why he barely noticed the BBC journalists’ strike: > I consume vast quantities of news – but almost entirely without the assistance of the BBC. I get up early and
fact-checking
Fact-checking, Wikipedia and basic journalistic credibility
When I was in my early 20s, and working in my first proper journalism job, my features editor and boss at the time, Andy [http://www.ridgwaymedia.co.uk/whychooseus.html], took me for a pint. But he didn’t take me to the usual pub, he took me to