Good morning search marketers, let's hear it for authority and professional inspiration.
Did you know SEO veteran and agency-owner Marie Haynes used to be a veterinarian? That's just one interesting tidbit to come out of Barry Schwartz's recent interview with her. The two talked about algorithm updates and her thoughts on the concepts behind E-A-T. "Really the most important part of E-A-T. is the "A" part — the authoritativeness — and that's closely tied into Page Rank," says Marie. "I have a theory that Google only wants to pass Page Rank for YMYL [your money your life] queries through sites that have decent EAT. And that can explain why they feel comfortable ignoring spammy links." Watch the full interview here.
SEOs think Google's entry into more verticals and competing directly with publishers will have the biggest impact on SEO in the next three years. That's according to a survey of more than 1,500 SEOs conducted by SparkToro. In his analysis, SparkToro founder Rand Fishkin said he was surprised privacy regulations and U.S. federal investigations ranked low on the impact list. That may be because the penalties for Google have seemed minimal so far — despite ongoing investigations on both sides of the Atlantic — but also, as Rand says, the fact that these investigations could drag on for many more than three years.
I do think we are just starting to see how privacy regulations and changes in attitudes around data rights affect Google — and Facebook and others for that matter. More than a year on, and GDPR has only begun to play out. CCPA hasn't even taken effect yet. It's hard to see the impact at the site level, but Google's business model and the ad tech economy as a whole is facing significant scrutiny and potential upheaval. I'd love to hear what you think: gmarvin@thirddoormedia.com or @ginnymarvin.
Read on for a Pro Tip on Google search partners and much more.
Ginny Marvin
Editor-In-Chief
