Good morning, search marketers, hello from Seattle!
SMX Advanced kicks off today. If you're unable to join us, follow along on Twitter — @SMX and #SMX — and stay tuned for coverage on the site.
The week is off to an interesting start with Google rolling out the June 2019 core search algorithm update yesterday. Google actually gave SEOs and site owners a heads up Sunday that the update would be coming so we all wouldn't be left "scratching their heads after-the-fact." Google Search Liaison Danny Sullivan also said this month's update isn't a big one.
There's not much you can do if you get negatively impacted by a core update. As Google has stated in the past, "There's nothing wrong with pages that may now perform less well. Instead, it's that changes to our systems are benefiting pages that were previously under-rewarded."
Ahead of the July 1st move to mobile-first indexing for all new sites, Google's rich results testing tool now shows developers and SEOs how Google sees rich results between Googlebot desktop and Googlebot mobile. "The new functionality will help you review your structured data implementation using both user agents to prepare for mobile-first indexing," Google said.
We've updated (and redesigned) our visual history of Google ad labeling to include the latest black "Ad" label that rolled out in mobile search results last month. To our eyes, the labeling has become less prominent since the FTC issued guidance in 2013 for search engines to improve the ways they differentiate ads from organic listings. What do you think?
It appears new antitrust inquiries into major tech platforms are back on the table in the U.S., with the FTC and DOJ reportedly coming to an agreement to divvy up investigations into Google, Amazon and Facebook. Fallout, if any, is likely years away, but Greg Sterling reports the new regulatory stirrings are partly driven by tectonic shifts in public and Congressional attitudes toward regulating big tech companies since the FTC closed its last Google antitrust investigation in 2013.
Read on for a YouTube Pro Tip from Joe Martinez (who will be speaking at Advanced on Wednesday), and more.
Ginny Marvin,
Editor-In-Chief