Inside Google Maps: 72 ranking signals and the architecture behind local search
When a business appears in Google Maps, the listing you see is the end product of a much larger system. Behind it sits a canonical geographic entity assembled from multiple data sources, connected to the Knowledge Graph and the web, scored by several…
Before scaling programmatic SEO, prove the pattern works
Programmatic SEO is attractive because one strong page pattern can unlock hundreds or even thousands of search opportunities. That same scale can also amplify a weak idea very quickly. A team might identify 5,000 potential pages around locations,…
The 11x ROAS account that lost money on every order
An 11x return on ad spend (ROAS) sounds like a win. It can represent an outstanding ecommerce business. It can also represent a business quietly destroying cash. The difference is context. It’s probably the most overused phrase in marketing, other than…
Google says DMA changes in EU resulted in worse degradation of search quality ever
Google told Reuters that the launch of the most recent changes to the search results in the European Union under the DMA requirements led to the worst degradation of search quality in its history. “The changes mark the largest reduction in quality of…
When Attribution Looks More Precise Than The Data Behind It via @sejournal, @bngsrc
Modeled data now fills the gaps left by signal loss, and mistaking estimates for measurements can lead to costly budget misallocation. The post When Attribution Looks More Precise Than The Data Behind It appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
Some Sites Use llms.txt Like robots.txt, Common Crawl Finds via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern
Common Crawl analyzed 584,107 llms.txt files and found most came from templates, many had no links, and some carried crawler rules the format can’t enforce. The post Some Sites Use llms.txt Like robots.txt, Common Crawl Finds appeared first on…
How to build an AI governance framework for SEO
Somewhere between “just ask ChatGPT” and a full-blown incident response plan, most SEO teams are winging it. We’ve all watched someone paste a client’s entire GA4 export into a random AI tool “just to see what it says.” We’ve all seen an LLM confidently…
Why growing restaurant chains win at local search and AI visibility by SOCi
You’ve seen the headlines this year. Culver’s, Texas Roadhouse, and Nothing Bundt Cakes are opening hundreds of new locations. Wendy’s, Papa John’s, and Pizza Hut are closing hundreds. Jack in the Box, Red Robin, Denny’s, and Red Lobster have trimmed…
6 Months Into ChatGPT Ads, Advertisers Still Don’t Know What ‘Good’ Looks Like via @sejournal, @brookeosmundson
Advertiser data now spans single-digit to $22 CPCs, but ChatGPT Ads still lacks auction insights, industry benchmarks, and reliable audience data to judge performance. The post 6 Months Into ChatGPT Ads, Advertisers Still Don’t Know What ‘Good’ Looks…
AI Overviews may be affecting Shopping ad CTR and impressions
Shopping ad click-through rates are rising while impressions are falling, according to an analysis by Mike Ryan, head of ecommerce at Smarter Ecommerce — a pattern he thinks could be connected to how Google serves AI Overviews. Why it matters. AI…