Hamsterdam Part 22: SEO News Recap from 9/4 to 9/10, 2023
By Ethan Lazuk
Last updated:
A weekly look-back at SEO news, tips, and other content shared on social media & beyond.
Quote source: Google Search Central
Opening notes:
*Feel free to jump down to the recap, or keep reading for an introduction and summary of the week’s news!
Introduction to week 22: Kickoff Week!
This week is the start of the National Football League 2023 season (or American football, as my wife would call it). In light of NFL games returning to the airwaves, and this being the 22nd version of The X Files, we’re switching it up this week and instead of using The X-Files series as an analogy, we’ll use Super Bowl XXII (22).
As a lifelong Denver Broncos fan, this one hurts my heart lol. According to the Denver Broncos official history website — where I got this post’s featured image, so hopefully they’re cool about it 😉 — which is on a subdomain at history.denverbroncos.com (but let’s not start that debate), this is how the game is described:
“After taking a 10-0 lead on the Redskins, the Broncos collapsed.”
– BRONCOS FALL IN SUPER BOWL XXII
Succinctly put.
In fact, this was the second Super Bowl loss in a row for the Broncos, who had lost to the New York Giants the year prior. But what’s interesting about Super Bowl XXII is how the Broncos got off to a hot start, only to lose it all quickly.
In a way, the Google August 2023 Core Update that rolled out for the last week of August and first of September was a Super Bowl of sorts for websites that focus on their SEO efforts. Maybe there were ways to get ahead quickly by generating loads of AI content or faking E-E-A-T signals in various ways, but in the long run, those tactics are likely to get a site beat by the authenticity of websites that go about crafting helpful content and user-first experiences the right way.
While analyzing winners and losers of a core update can be interesting, it’s hard to isolate specific actionable variables as opposed to general trends. Rather than trying to reverse engineer complex ranking systems, more can be gained from introspectively assessing your own content against the needs of your audience, and whether you’re truly creating “helpful, reliable, people-first content,” as Google puts it. If your traffic dipped, it may be you were getting less relevant traffic anyway, and conversions are actually quite steady, or maybe your competitors simply are now doing a better job at serving the search intent of your shared audience.
Despite losing two super bowls back to back in 1987 and 1988, the Broncos eventually repeated as super bowl champs in 1997 and 1998, and again in 2015.
Last year’s 2022 season was a tough one, like a website losing visibility in a core update, so the team got back to basics with a new coach, Sean Payton.
As Google explains about core updates:
“Content that was impacted in Search or Discover by one might not recover—assuming improvements have been made—until the next broad core update is released.”
– Google Search Central
Hopefully, we’ll see the Peyton-led Broncos recover this year. 😉
Buckle up for a full week’s recap.
Summary of the week’s SEO news and content
- Google’s August 2023 Core Update completed its rollout as of September 7th, 2023. Just prior and following this date, there were lots of tweets examining some of the winners and losers. Not unexpectedly, Google seems to be rewarding real expertise and experience in content.
- There’s also a “Search this page with Google” functionality coming to Chrome; coupled with “SGE while browsing,” the lines between the in-SERP and webpage experiences seem to be converging more and more.
- And while not directly SEO focused, there’s news in the TikTok realm that could spill over, including its growing prevalence as a search engine within Gen Z, as well as the introduction of a wild-west-style TikTok Shop marketplace that could make the ecommerce space interesting, especially as Google continues adding more shopping-related features, as seen in some of the tweets below.
But don’t just take my word for it! All of this info and more is contained below in the weekly recap.
Notes:
- If the article times out on mobile, my apologies. Please try viewing on a desktop or WiFi.
- I’ve cut back on the amount of info I include; if you’d like to see more, scrolling through my likes on X or following the people in this recap is probably the best place to start. 😉
Missed last week’s recap? Don’t worry, I got you! Read Part 21 to catch up.
Okay, time for (home)work.
Jump to a section of this week’s recap
- Top posts
- News, Google updates, & SERP tests
- SEO tips & tidbits
- Fundamentals & resources
- Articles, videos & case studies
- Local SEO
- Technical SEO
- Content marketing
- SEO tools, AI & reporting
- Humor section
- Miscellaneous & general posts
Enjoy the recap below! And please support content you find valuable with a like or follow. 🙂
Top posts
These are key news items, tips, or other content I felt were relevant to highlight for the week, particularly if you just want a quick glance.
SEO news, Google updates, & SERP tests
These are newsworthy events in the SEO world from the last week or SERP tests to be aware of.
SEO tips & tidbits
This section has actionable tips, cool tidbits, or other findings and observations that can be teaching moments.
SEO fundamentals & resources
If you’re new to SEO, this section includes essential information, concepts, or resources to learn more about.
Articles, videos, case studies & more
These are longer-form content shared on social.
Local SEO
If you’re into local Search, this section is for you!
Technical SEO
Yep, it still matters. 😉
Content marketing
What’d SEO be without content?
Tools, AI & reporting
Here’s a recap of updates to tools, and new tools, along with tips for reporting on data.
Humor
Humor is subjective; hopefully, you find these funny as well!
General Marketing & Miscellaneous
This is for great content that isn’t necessarily SEO (i.e., PPC, PR, dev, and social friends check it out!) or even marketing-specific.
Great job making it to the end. You rock!
Show your support for creators: If you liked any of the content shared above, please support that person by liking their post or following them. 🙂
Hungry for more? Check out the past weeks of Hamsterdam.
Or sign up for the newsletter! (Until I get the form back up and running, feel free to shoot me an email to get added to the list.)
Want to work together on your brand’s SEO?
I’m currently taking clients for SEO and content audits and strategy consulting, and soon training. You can learn more about me on my about page.
Get in touch: hit me up on social at @EthanLazuk, by text or call at 813-557-9745, or via email at ethan.lazuk@gmail.com.
Cheers!
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