Welcome to the week in SEO! Every Saturday, Supersede Media will trawl the internet and bring together a delightful smörgåsbord of the top stories, updates, tips and general happenings in the world of tech. Here’s what you need to know from the past 7 days!
The Headlines
This week in SEO saw a potentially game-changing release from Facebook and search engine updates ranging from the positive to the slightly baffling. Here’s the latest!
Facebook Releases First Ever Report On Most-Seen Posts
Constant accusations that Facebook facilitates the spreading of dangerous conspiracies and right-wing extremism has pushed the platform to publish a fascinating report on its most widely viewed content. The first of it’s kind, the What People See on Facebook document reveals the most viewed posts, domains, links and pages from the second quarter of 2021.
While the report focuses on data from the United States, the information included, particularly that regarding the types of posts that prove most popular with users, is surely useful to SEOs around the world.
So, which posts were people most drawn to? Here’s the top 4:
- A word search with the heading, “First three words u see are your reality [sic]” (80.6m viewers)
- Black text on a plain white background reading: “I’m old But I look Young Challenge. Drop a pic 30 and up [sic]” (61.4m viewers)
- Post no longer available. (61.2m viewers)
- Ombre blue background with white text reading: “What is something you will never eat, no matter how hungry you get?” (58.6m viewers)
These results may be a bit disheartening for digital marketers, who can spend hours crafting the perfect social media post. Turns out, people just want to learn or talk about themselves—and bad grammar is not a turn off!
Facebook says it is planning to release more reports like this every quarter, so stay tuned…
YouTube Upgrades Search Function to Include Auto-Translated Captions and More
Image source: Szabo Viktor (via Unsplash)
In an effort to improve search experience for users, YouTube this week added two new features to make it easier for people to find the video content they’re looking for.
First up, those accessing the platform via mobile will be able to see time-stamped images showing which topics are covered in a video. Scrolling over videos will also trigger a brief autoplay snippet with captions. Both of these features are designed to enable users not just to find the video they want, but the specific section of a video that meets their needs.
The second update involves search results from other languages including automatically translated captions, titles and descriptions. So, if you’re from Poland, but the ideal video for your query happens to be in English, you can enjoy it with Polish-language captions. Handy! This feature is currently only available on English-language videos, but could be expanded to other languages in the future.
Google Replacing Title Tags in SERPs with Other Relevant Text
Numerous members of the SEO community have begun to notice Google rewriting title tags on pages appearing in search results. Most of the rewrites involve the title tag being replaced by a page’s H1 tag. However, a few SEOs noted some more unusual changes. These included Google replacing the title tag with anchor text from an internal link and inserting dates at the beginning of a title.
It is unclear whether these actions are part of an A/B test Google is running, or if we can expect these adjustments to continue going forward.
Other tech news on our radar…
- Twitter Tests ‘Misleading’ Post Report Button for First Time
- Facebook Could Be Forced By UK Watchdog to Sell GIF Creator Giphy
- New Google Chrome Update Warning as Hackers Discover 7 Alarming Security Flaws
Step up your SEO game
Round off your week on a productive note by learning some new tricks of the trade! Below are some handy guides and tips from SEO experts.
- 15 Conversion Copy Tips Every SEO Writer Needs to Know
- 4 Ways to Improve Page Speed and Master Core Web Vitals
- How to Plan SEO Content That Actually Ranks
Workplace wellness
Whether you’re back at the office or still holed up in your WFH den, here are some gems of wisdom (this week’s come courtesy of the guys over at Trello) that will make a difference to your professional and personal wellbeing. You’re welcome!
Image source: Markus Spiske (via Unsplash)
“Being able to understand concepts and communicate them clearly is essential, no matter what you’re doing. As a leader, it’s important to be able to grow and share knowledge with those around you. But sometimes it’s overwhelming to think about really learning a subject.“
In Boost Your Leadership Skills with the Feynman Technique, Britt Joiner explains what the Feynman Technique is and provides tips on how you can use it in your own life to learn new skills and pass them on to others in a clear and confident way.
That’s it from us for now! We hope you enjoyed this latest round-up. You won’t have to wait long for your next instalment of SEO news, because we’ll be back same time, same place next week. Until then, have a great weekend. Ta-ra!
