SEO News October 2024

Let’s start with a situation that has significantly impacted the SEO industry. On October 16, Search Engine Land announced that it had been acquired by Semrush. Besides SEL, Semrush also acquired SMX (Search Marketing Expo), the MarTech conference website, and Digital Marketing Depot. According to Search Engine Land, the “mission to inform and educate you on all the latest developments in search marketing will remain the same.” Readers were also reassured that the relentless Barry Schwartz will continue to deliver SEO news. This acquisition has intensified the competition between Semrush and Ahrefs. The acquisition of such a significant platform as Search Engine Land affects the positioning of both players. Concerns about monopolizing the industry are not unfounded, with Search Engine Journal aptly questioning: “What happens when a large search marketing industry player buys a prominent media outlet focused on the search marketing industry?” Many have also brought up the context of Backlinko, acquired by Semrush somewhat earlier.

The Sitelinks Search Box first appeared in search results just over ten years ago. Google justified its removal by stating that users simply used it less and less frequently (it’s also worth noting that many websites blocked the feature). And the second reason – Google’s intent to simplify and standardize search results. This will not affect rankings or other rich snippet elements, so as a user or SEO specialist, you don’t need to dwell on it for too long.

Have you recovered from the first SEO news of October? Well, here’s the nex bigt update: Google has a new Head of Google Search: Nick Fox, who was previously closely associated with Google’s AI products. (If you search for his name, you may need to clarify your intent since the name Nick Fox is more associated with a character from Zootopia.) Nick Fox has been with Google for 20 years and now takes over from Prabhakar Raghavan, who held the position for four years. Why these changes? There are many reasons, and, to be fair, the community is surprised that Fox’s predecessor held the role for as long as he did. After all, Raghavan has been called “the man who killed the Google Search.” And by the way: Raghavan’s official reason for stepping down is that he wants to return to his “roots” as a Chief Technologist.

The changes in SERPS and search results volatility we’ve observed since August 2024 are both significant and, to some extent, unsettling. Specialists feel this isn’t a single update, but rather cumulative changes contributing to unpredictable fluctuations in search results. And it’s not over yet. According to Barry Schwartz of Search Engine Land, based on what he learned at the Web Creator Summit, a new Google update is expected… fairly soon. So, sooner rather than later. What else did we learn from the conference?

(Source: https://searchengineland.com/googles-next-update-coming-soon-but-dont-expect-to-recover-lost-traffic-447873)