Shay Harel's Profile | Rank Ranger

How the Yandex Leak Will Forever Change Your SEO Game Plan

Recently a portion of Yandex's source code was leaked.

What does that mean to your SEO moving forward?

Think about this…

Understanding their source code will give you a glimpse into the inner workings of the search engine. This gives you an opportunity to analyze the Yandex ranking factors and compare them to those used by Google.

In this post, I’ll break down some of the high-level themes we see as well as show you some unique elements of the algorithms that might change how you do SEO moving forward.

But first, let’s explore why analyzing the Yandex algorithms is so important.

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Similarweb Search Volumes Are Now in Rank Ranger

Big announcement.

As you probably know by now, Rank Ranger is a Similarweb company and this puts us in a unique position.

You see, Similarweb’s data is second to none. And we have access to it.

And that brings us to how we bring you search volumes in our rank tracker UI.

Until now, we’ve always used Google’s Keyword Planner search volumes. The reason we did this is that we were looking for accurate data. And since the data comes from Google it’s likely to be accurate.

But over the years it became apparent that Keyword Planner search volumes are severely limiting.

Discover why we changed our search volume data source, what it means to you and how you can get access to it.

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Comparing the May 2022 Core Update to the June Update

After a long wait, we finally saw the May Core Update. When the update started, the Rank Risk Index reported violent SERP fluctuations starting on May 26th. Fluctuation levels quickly returned to normal the following day and remained that way until Google announced that the update was over.

However…

The story was far from over.

We then saw violent SERP fluctuations starting again on June 20th. What’s more, the fluctuations continued all the way to June 29th. We can only speculate that the updates are related.

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Understanding Google’s Things to Know SERP Feature

Now that the May 2022 Core Update is officially rolled out and the dust is settling, we are all looking at the Google SERPs wondering what has changed.

Yes, there are always rankings that change based on quality signals. But, as Google adds and changes its many SERP features it really pays to be aware of those changes.

In the aftermath, a SERP feature caught my attention. Things to Know From what I'm seeing, the new feature could change how you do SEO moving forward.

Here is my analysis.

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A New Beginning with Similarweb: How Our Customers Will Benefit

Last week, we made a big announcement and our excitement is just starting to settle in. Rank Ranger has been acquired by Similarweb.

This isn’t just exciting for those of us who have worked tirelessly to build our beloved Rank Ranger product, but for our customers, this good news is just the beginning. This marks a great investment in the enablement of all SEO managers and will allow for new functionality in the coming months.

We understand that an acquisition can raise questions for our long-term users. Especially if you rely on our dashboards and reporting for the success of your business. First, we want to let you know that our number one priority is you, our customers, and our continued investment in our relationship.

Here are the key questions I’ll be answering for you in this post:

Will there be any big changes to the Rank Ranger functionality?
Will there be significant pricing changes?
Will there be any changes to customer service?

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Core Rank Tracking - A Local Enterprise SEO Tool

Picture this…

You’re running an SEO agency and you’ve just landed a big client.

How big?

We’re talking about a big franchise that has hundreds of locations country-wide.

Okay, so before you break out the champagne, you might want to think about a few issues first. I mean, how on earth are you going to manage the data or performance of so many locations?

Each location has its own SEO issues to deal with. Are you going to track each one separately? Can you imagine how cumbersome that would be?

Well, one of our brilliant brand ambassadors, Jenny Halasz, has been asking us for a solution to this problem for years. Our response?

Rank Ranger Core Rank Tracking.

In this post, I’ll show you how Core Rank Tracking:

Elegantly deals with the complexity of big business by giving you unlimited locations all in a single campaign
Allows you to create your own big database
Has no keyword limit
Allows you to easily filter your data to present it any way you need

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Google Web Stories Tracking

There is no question that winning a SERP Feature is one of the most effective ways to increase your site’s SERP visibility. So, when Google rolled out Web Stories on May 1st we took it as a new SERP feature opportunity.

Since Web Stories offer big SEO opportunities, we felt we wanted to help you take advantage of this new format.

In response to this, we’re really excited to announce that Rank Ranger is now tracking Google Web Stories in our rank tracking suite.

In this post, I'll be sharing what Web Stories are and how they are now seamlessly integrated into Rank Ranger's software.

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Share of Voice - A 30,000-Foot View of Your Organic Rankings

As a marketer, it's important to track how your brand compares to your competitors. Not knowing this is like navigating a ship without plotting where your current location is. You’ll never know if you are nearing your destination if you don’t know where you currently are.

Wouldn't it be great if you had a 30, 000-foot view of your marketing campaign demonstrating where your brand stands in comparison to your competitors?

Hope no more, we just released a brand new metric designed to give you the big picture.

Introducing...

Share of Voice (SoV).

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SERP News: A Month of Wild Rank Fluctuations

I'm not one to quote (or even listen to) Katy Perry, but her "adage" of "you're up then you're down" is quite applicable to the rank fluctuations seen on the Google SERP in the recent past. There was some downright bizarre movement on the SERP in August... on multiple occasions... There have also been changes to how Google extends 'Search Journeys' (and how Google promotes its own shopping experience), the schema supported by Google, scroll to text highlights, etc.

I'll be diving into all this and more! This is the September 2020 edition of the SERP News!

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Google Charges SMBs for Guarantees but Frees Retail Commissions

Cosmic balance. It exists in reality (perhaps) and it exists on the SERP (evidently). Just as Google announced a new verification badge that could set businesses back 50 bucks the search engine forwent its commission on sales made via Buy on Google! How's that for bringing balance to the SERP?

Plus, has COVID-19 become the norm on the SERP? With less COVID related updates to features and more consistent COVID rankings, that seems to be the case (for better or worse).

Of course, there were like a gazillion other tests, changes, and updates to the SERP.

So let's have at it... Here's the SERP News for August 20

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SERP News: Scroll-to-Text Featured Snippet Highlights Go Universal

This was one of my favorite months on the Google SERP. Not because the changes Google made "broke the way of the SEO industry." Rather, it's because the changes Google made may seem slight or even negligible. But that would underestimate the search engine. Sometimes, the most innocuous changes to the Google SERP harbor the biggest impact. Such was the case on the June SERP.

Get ready, get set, here comes the July 2020 edition of the SERP News!

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Introducing Absolute Visibility: Pixel Rank Tracking & Better!

Is there was a way to give you a better sense of what ranking at a given position on a given SERP actually means?

After all, ranking #2 on a SERP with an ad at the top is not the same as ranking #2 on a SERP with a Featured Snippet, Video Box, and an ad at the top!

To help you better understand what your rankings really mean, we are pleased to introduce Absolute Visibility - pixel-based rank tracking without the problems of pixel-based rank tracking!

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SERP News: May's Core Update Spells Massive Ranking Movement

May 2020 has come and gone and so has another core update. Google's May 2020 Core Update brought a blast of rank volatility to the SERP the likes of which we have not seen for some time. A lot to talk about here from the update's timeline to who and what were most impacted. Beyond algorithmic changes, Google's adjustments to the ever-evolving COVID-19 pandemic continues as a few curious tests and updates made their way to the SERP recently.

Get ready to explore a month of Google SERP intrigue.... This is the June 2020 edition of the SERP News!

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Geo Insights For a Bird's-Eye View of Your Local Marketing Performance

Getting a clear and easy understanding of your website's organic performance at the local level can get complicated really quickly. If you're looking for something a bit more accessible than extrapolating data from a series of tables and graphs then do I have a treat for you... Rank Ranger's Geo Insights report!

Here's how you can survey your site's performance across local markets around the world from multiple perspectives without driving yourself nuts in the process.

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SERP News: More COVID-19 SERP Changes as Google Shopping Is Set Free

As COVID-19 continues to rage on Google has been quite adept at updating the SERP accordingly. While March saw the introduction of major COVID-19 elements to the SERP, this past month saw Google refine the way it handles the pandemic.

But wait, that's not all. April also saw Google set its shopping experience free... literally. Add on a few notable tests and changes and you have yourself quite the brimming month on the Google SERP.

This is the May 2020 edition of the SERP News!

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SERP News: How Coronavirus Has Impacted SEO

As a result of COVID-19 there are a significant number of changes to the SERP, to Google My Business listings, to Google Ads, etc., that arise from the current pandemic. So we'll get to that.

At the same time, Google has made other serious changes to the SERP including the migration of right-side Featured Snippets and the release of stricter FAQ markup guidelines. So we'll get to that as well.

This is the April 2020 edition of the SERP news.

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Managing Your Online Reputation in Google Search

You really don't want to give a potential consumer an excuse not to trust you. This makes knowing what shows on the SERP for your brand extremely important. Nothing can be worse for brand trust than a branded query that yields negative sentiment. With that, I am both happy and proud to present Rank Ranger's new Reputation Management Rank Tracking Suite designed specifically for tracking brand sentiment on the SERP!

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SERP News: Waves of Ranking Reversals & Explore Panel Losses

Havoc.

That's how you might describe the February SERP, particularly the unconfirmed update that hit mid-month. With reversal upon reversal, the rankings resembled the sort of discombobulated u-turn a 16-year-old would make on their way to failing their driver's test for the umpteenth time. Throw on such SERP spectaculars like new entity pairings and a new multi-image carousel for Google Posts and you have yourself a month of SERP changes to remember.

This is the March 2020 edition of the SERP news!

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Real Ways to Use TF*IDF to Boost Your SEO Efforts

TF*IDF for SEO... depending on who you talk to it's either the most over-hyped thing in Search since the last over-hyped thing in Search or it's a great way to boost your SEO efforts.

What I'd like to do here is take a look at both sides of the argument and show you how you can use TF*IDF analysis for your benefit in a legitimate way... all while highlighting Rank Ranger's new TF*IDF tool!

Sounds like a plan to me!

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Google Deduplicates Featured Snippet URLs & Rolls-Out Core Update

It seems like everything and everything that was once the Google SERP has been turned on its head in what has been a downpour of serious changes to the results page! Featured Snippet URLs have been pulled from the organic results, the desktop SERP started to look like the mobile SERP only for it to not look like the mobile SERP, and life just got a bit more complex for retailers with Google's Popular Products extravaganza. Oh, and we got our first core update of 2020 to boot!

Welcome to the February 2020 edition of the SERP News.

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Tracking Rank Now That Featured Snippets Are Position 1

Google's removal of the URL that appears within its Featured Snippets from the page one organic results has thrown the SEO world into a bit of tizzy. As things begin to settle down, one of the questions we have to deal with is how to consider Featured Snippet URLs when tracking our ranking progress. With only one instance of the URL on page one of the SERP many are now considering Featured Snippets as the new position 1. But tracking rank with Featured Snippets as the #1 organic result presents its own problems.

Learn how to track rank with Featured Snippets as position 1 and how you can identify when a top-ranking result is a Featured Snippet vs. an organic result.

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SERP News: BERT Goes Global & Reaches News Results

It's 2020 and what better way to kick off the new year than by looking back at the December 2019 SERP! Don't think for a second that Google took it easy as 2019 wound down.... The last month of the year saw Google take BERT international and use the natural language processing (NLP) technique to take the Top Stories feature to places no news carousel has gone before. Couple that with an onslaught of local changes to the SERP and you have yourself a mighty month of SERP madness!

And away we go!

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SERP News: Google Updates Go Stealth Mode - The Nov. 2019 Local Update

Did you blink? Because if you did you may have missed Google's clandestine algorithm update that mystified not only the SEO industry but every single rank fluctuation weather tracker! How does it connect to the November 2019 Local Update?

We'll cover the latest update incarnation as well as changes and tests to the SERP that brought Google's travel domination to all-new levels, kicked Featured Snippet URLs out of the organic results, and gave recipe hunters one less reason to click on your site!

It's on. Welcome to the December edition of the SERP News!

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SERP News: Google Introduces BERT for Human-Like Understanding

Another month... another series of changes to the SERP with far-reaching implications....but this month is special. This month Google says they've reached a breakthrough... and it's live on the SERP! On top of that, Google has dispensed a new set of enhancements aimed at making users salivate over Google Shopping. But wait, there's more! Google is giving you far more control over how your rich results appear on the SERP. And, of course, we'll get to a whole heap of changes to the SERP and its features!

This is the SERP News covering October 2019!

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New Core Update, Nofollow Hinting, & Starmageddon Hit the SERP

Looking back at the Google SERP in September and all I can say is... Holy cow!

Another core algorithm update landed, reviews on the SERP have tanked like an airplane made of lead, the nofollow attribute is no longer a directive, & original news reporting now ranks at the top of the SERP (or does it?)!

Throw in an overhaul to Google's Quality Rater Guidelines and... holy cow!

Here are the juicy details!

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URLs Are Out, Breadcrumbs Are in (And Big Changes to Google Ads)

Mobile continues to be the pied piper to desktop's SERP layout as Google seems to have moved on from the URL in favor of Breadcrumbs. Google Ads brings the meaning of "close variants" to a whole new level while it announces the average position metric will die. Plus, a new podcast carousel hits the SERP while Google moves its "Featured Snippet anchor highlights" beyond AMP and gives hotels access to edit their amenities inside the Local Panel! Oh, and there were more Google bugs too...

Welcome to the September edition of the SERP News covering the memorable month of August 2019!

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How to win SERP Features with Rank Ranger's SERP Feature Monitor

When should you target a Featured Snippet and when is it not worth your while? What queries are open for a serious 'People Also Ask' win? What keywords are more consistent and which are less consistent at bringing up Google's Video Box? Which sites win in the Top Stories carousels and what are the topics and stories that are propelling them?

Learn how you can use our fresh out of the oven SERP Features Monitor to help propel your SERP feature strategy and gain the deepest feature insights you've ever feasted your eyes on!

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One Crazy Google Update & A Crazy Amount of Google Bugs (Again)!

What if I told you Google unleashed an algorithm update that pushed rank volatility to levels we haven't seen in years, fixed bugs that weren't really fixed while denying their cause only to have that cause accidentally revealed?! You'd think I was nuts, right? Well, that's pretty much what happened in July.

Throw a stream of changes to the Knowledge Panel, Featured Snippets, and Image Search into the mix and you have one absolutely wild month on the Google SERP!

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How to Perform an Advanced Content Gap Analysis with Rank Ranger

A true content gap analysis does much more than point to the keywords you either need to target or need to better optimize for. There is an endless number of deep insights that emerge from the woodwork when getting into the nitty-gritty of a content gap analysis.

Here are some advanced (if not out of the box) ways to utilize a content gap analysis!

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SERP News: More Domain Diversity & Topic Layers on the SERP

Finally, a month of endless updates to the Google SERP! I've been complaining ever since 2019 began that Google has slowed down its production of changes, updates, and tests to the SERP. No more! June 2019 was a month for the ages with changes to domain diversity at the top of the SERP, additional layers of sub-topical information in all sorts of SERP features, and some good ol' updates to Google Ads!

And away we go with Google's whirlwind of SERP alterations made in June 2019!

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SERP News: A New Mobile SERP, More Google Bugs, & I/0 2019 Recapped!

A plague of Google bugs has reached biblical proportions, the mobile SERP now contains favicons, & ads have hit the Discovery Feed! It's been a peculiar month in what has been a peculiar year thus far on the Google SERP. We're talking a barrage of announcements, a few bugs, and a whole heap of changes to the SERP that throw tradition out of the window!

Plus, even though we're covering May... let's touch on the June 2019 Core Update as well!

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Google Adds More Media to the SERP as a Bug Misplaces Results

Another month has come and gone and in some respects, the Google SERP is not what it once was. As April becomes a distant memory, the SERP is now a far more visual place with multiple search features showing display level increases. AMP also eked its way back into the news throughout April with a motley collection of announcements & updates. Of course, there were various spikes in rank fluctuations and a myriad of changes to a plethora of SERP features!

Ready to jump into the thick of it all?!

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Core Algorithm Update Confirmed & New SERP Image Data Trends

Well, the SERP is quiet no more as Google has confirmed its first algorithm update of 2019!

Of course, the news of the March SERP was more involved than just the latest incarnation of Google's broad core updates. The month saw multiple data shifts for multiple image oriented SERP features (as well as some really interesting image search announcements/changes). With that was a pretty substantial increase in Featured Snippets in a wide variety of markets within Europe and beyond.

All things considered, I'd say March was the most intriguing month on the Google SERP 2019 has brought us thus far!

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More Mobile SERPs with Image Thumbnails for Product Keywords

For the second time in a year's time, Google has dramatically increased the number of mobile SERPs that contain an Image Thumbnail. As before, the increase focuses on a specific keyword demographic. In this case, product keywords have pushed mobile Image Thumbnail to an extraordinary display level. As a result, both the percentage of page one SERPs that contain a minimum of one Image Thumbnail as well as the average number of mobile Image Thumbnails on page one has seen a significant increase.

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New Local Features & Steps Into Featured Snippet Controversy

The year kicked off with a slew of Featured Snippet changes and it now continues with Google, the search engine of search engines, adding some hefty elements to its local SERP features. As it has done so the search engine may have stepped into a bit of "Featured Snippet controversy" along the way.

Here is the March 2019 edition of the SERP News!

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Local Pack Ranking Insights (Quicker and Deeper Insights)

What would our recent release of beta reports (or Beta Blitz as we refer to them) be without something crafted specifically for all you local SEO? That's rhetorical questions, by the way! Thus, I am quite happy to say that we have just released a new local SEO report to our Rank Insights Report! In simple terms, Rank Ranger is now offering quicker and deeper insights into your Local Pack performance!

Care for a tour?

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SERP News: AMP Disappears Amidst Multiple Featured Snippet Changes

Welcome to an all-new year for the SERP News! To kick start 2019 Google gave us multiple changes to Featured Snippets while a bug has kicked AMP results off the mobile SERP! At the same time, we've added a new segment of local data to our SERP Feature Trackers that lets you see the scope of hotel Local Packs. Might I add that January also saw the first algorithm update of the year!

Let's dig in, shall we?

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How to Use Rank Ranger's New Site Audit Tools

Performing a technical site audit doesn't really have to be all that intimidating. To ensure it isn't we went ahead and created an all-new Site Audit Report aimed at simplifying the barrage of data normally associated with technical SEO audits. Here's how to use our new Site Audit to gain straightforward, clear-cut, helpful, and emboldening technical analysis and insights (so that you can breathe easier the next time you need to do a site audit).

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SERP News: Zero-Results SERPs Return Amid Major SERP Feature Decreases

November did not disappoint as Google unleashed a series of SERP feature data downgrades amid not one, not two, but three algorithm updates all while officially doing away with organic results in certain instances! During the month we also saw multifaceted Featured Snippets show up in all-new places, hotel Local Packs become picture perfect, and AMP Stories get an advertising addition.

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Beta Blitz 2018! Exploring New Reporting for a New Era in SEO

Things have changed so drastically in the world of SEO that we reached a tipping point that made us ask, how could we best serve the needs of the industry in this new world of search? So, we enhanced all sorts of reports to give you insights that would help you day in and day out. But it wasn't enough. It wasn't drastic. It didn't offer a new way to provide SEO insight, a way that matched this new ranking environment. So we returned to the drawing board and came up with a set of new reports to track rank and site performance in all-new ways.

Now we're testing the waters in what we're calling Beta Blitz!

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New Updates, Redesigned Hotel Results & First Data on Explore

Here we go, yet another month of all sorts of changes to the Google SERP and the features found on it! In the great month of October, we were privy to see Google start to roll-out its 20th birthday updates, the coming of an all-new way to hunt down the best hotel, and some more Google update action (yep, more updates... again). I've also got an exclusive look at the first set of data on the relatively new Explore Panels!

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What Are the Top Sites in the World & Where Does Yours Rank?

What are the top sites on the web? Which sites accumulate the most traffic month in and month out? How much would it cost to compete with these sites by utilizing ads? And of course, where does your site's traffic rank among the site traffic prowess of 500K other sites?

As an SEO data freak, I am both excited and honored to announce Rank Ranger's Top 100 Websites Ranking on the Web - A free resource giving you access to the top 100 sites each month and an explorable database to see where your site's traffic ranks!

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Google Announces Major Changes & Releases a Series of Updates

There was no major Google algorithm update this past month that shook up the entire SEO community. Instead, we got a few shorter "bursts" of rank volatility that had their own story to tell. On top of that, mobile indexing multiplied by immense proportions, Chrome's update brought us more direct answers, and a good dozen or so SERP feature tests and changes popped up.

Oh, and Google announced a slew of some pretty big changes that could change the entire way we think about search and go about optimization vis a vis the user's experience.

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SERP News: A Monster of a Google Update & Google Posts Goes Solo

August was a month for the Google SERP record books and it's not all thanks to the monster of an update that rolled-out. Yes, the early August Google Update, commonly referred to as the Medic Update, was massive and I'll surely discuss it and how it has changed the name of the game in many ways. However, one of the most exciting things to develop over the month has been Google Posts and it's move towards independence.

Welcome to the SERP News covering August 2018!

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Google's Speed Update Hits the SERP (Also More Image Thumbnails)

When it rains it pours, or in SEO terms, when Google showers us with changes to the SERP, it follows them up with even more adjustments! The June SERP's big-ticket momentum rolled right into July as the SERP continued to evolve at break-neck speed... a Speed Update that is. Not only did the search engine roll out its highly anticipated mobile speed update, but it made a splash with some serious SERP feature shifts and a series of tests to hotel Knowledge Panels that make all previous tests look like child's play!

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Google Adds Image Thumbnails to Far More Local Searches on Mobile

Image Thumbnails, a mobile SERP favorite, are now present on far more SERPs than they had been just days ago. The proliferation of the thumbnails on the mobile SERP does not appear to be a simple across the board increase in the SERP feature. Rather, the data indicates that the uptick is heavily due to the feature now being relevant to local queries on mobile.

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SERP News: Google Drops Thumbnails for Carousels & Offers New Mobile-First & Speed Update Info

Here we go again! Google shakes up the SERP with an unexpected move that saw YouTube lose some significant organic visibility (among a slew of other implications that seem to keep piling up). Not only that, but June gave us more information on two major Google mover and shakers, the mobile-first index and the Speed update. Oh, and there was another onslaught of SERP feature changes.

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Google is Replacing Video Thumbnails with a Desktop Carousel

In what was all but one fell swoop Google has largely done away with Video Thumbnails on the desktop SERP. In its place, the search engine is favoring a video carousel that has until this point been mainly relegated to mobile. Perfectly merging two worlds, the move over to the carousel not only offers a new look for the desktop SERP, but brings a whole host of implications for both sites and YouTube creators. Let's have a look at what exactly is going on.

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Google Reduces Description Lengths & Mobile First Indexing

Not too shabby. At least, that's my sentiment when looking back on the moves Google made on the May 2018 SERP. After analyzing the changes made to the Google SERP over the course of the month, I'm left wondering where we are heading and what is Google pushing towards? Not that most of us are not always concerned about those two questions, but there were quite a few tests that seem uniquely "interesting." Add on a major change to meta-descriptions and the continued push towards a mobile-first world, and we have ourselves quite the month for this, the latest edition of the SERP News.

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Google Confirms Another Update & Removes Mobile SERP Pagination

Get set to explore another wild month on the Google SERP as the search engine continues its trend of both confirming algorithm updates (with what is perhaps some ambiguity) and making major changes to what the SERP and its features look like. April, in particular, came with a change that has some serious potential to alter how users interact with sites on the mobile SERP.

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SERP News: The Arrival of the Mobile-First Index & Another Core Update

Whoa, Nelly! It's here, mobile first indexing! However, that wasn't the only shocker. Do you hear that sound? That's the sound of Google confirming an update to their core algorithm! We'll take a hard look at these big ticket items and all of the notable changes and tests Google ran in the merry month of March.

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Google's Mobile-First Index is Out!

We've noticed some big changes to the HTML structure of the mobile SERP over the last few days. Admittingly, this is not the first time we've seen structural changes to the mobile SERP. Thing is, the last time we did, Google announced that they were significantly testing the mobile-first index. Add on that for the first time in years the structure of the desktop SERP has changed and you have quite the case for asserting that, indeed, the mobile-first index is quite near.

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New Google Update, a Featured Snippet Loss, and a New AMP Format

Google was firing on all cylinders last month. The February SERP was just brimming with new data trends and some major changes to both the SERP and the features found on it. Of course, Google threw in an algorithm update of some significance just for good measure. Join me as I explore the ins and outs of the Google SERP for the frigid month of February (unless you're in Australia and the like, where I would imagine February is quite warm).

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One Seriously Long Google Update & an Assortment of Feature Tests

A new year in the world of SEO is upon us. Breathe in that new and refreshing air. Can you smell it? The air of change is upon us. Change to rank on the SERP as one long, and I mean seriously long, Google update helped kicked the new year off. Not enough change for you? Not to worry, Google also released a slew of SERP feature tests that dominated the first month of the year. My, my! Aren't we off to a fast start?! Welcome to a new year, welcome to the SERP news for January 2018!

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SERP News: A Powerful Google Update & Upgraded Featured Snippets

While we may be in the new year, we're not done with 2017 just yet. Google closed the year off on the SERP with a heavy hitting algorithm update and some of the most interesting SERP feature tests and upgrades that we've seen all year. Whether it was images in AdWords ads or more content inside Featured Snippets, Google capped the year off in a way that was anything but boring.

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Google Shuffles SERP Feature Trends & Overhauls Product Search

November was one wild month on the Google SERP. Google's update to its ccTLD policy sent SERP feature trends into an international whirlwind. On top of that Featured Snippets saw a mobile loss while Knowledge Panels jumped off the charts. If that weren't enough, Google revamped product search on the SERP with what was nothing less than a strategic SERP feature strike force aimed at its retail rivals. This, and a deluge of SERP feature data changes and upgrades!

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Google Alters SERP Feature Trends with International Domain Change

Accessing country-specific Google search results has been turned a bit on its head recently. When Google announced that you could not use a specific ccTLD to access a country's search results, international SEO underwent a dramatic change. Though, in typical Google fashion, accessing international search results was not the only thing to change. With the domain change, Google changed the data trends of some of the most important features on the SERP across the globe. Beyond the inherent interest in tracking such changes, these alterations present both new SERP feature trends as well as insight into the very domain-level change Google made in late October.

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Google's Mobile First Index in the Wild & Booking Button Spreads

It's hard to believe another month has gone by. With a new month comes a new set of SERP news to sort through. The October SERP saw one of the year's biggest SEO story-lines move onto the next chapter while Google's recent revenue narrative continues to evolve. These newsworthy SERP scoops, plus a slew of SERP feature tests and changes, made October's Google SERP quite the provocative place!

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Google Top Stories Rank Tracking Guide

Where does a news publisher rank within Google's mobile Top Stories news carousel? Is the outlet's article the first card Google shows or the 15th? Tracking rank within Google's mobile News Box is not easy, but it is well worth it. If you're an SEO who is working with a news publisher, tracking rank within Google's mobile Top Stories carousel can really set you apart. Allow me then to show you how to best track mobile Top Stories rankings.

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Algorithm Irregularities as the Sitelinks Search Box Disappeared

The September SERP was a doozy! The month was just downright interesting with Google throwing some real curve balls out there. Whether it was pushing an algorithm update or altering SERP feature trends, Google did not seem like its traditional self. On multiple occasions it seemed as if Google had shifted course a bit this past month. All I can tell you is, this one is going to be interesting.

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Google Has Removed the Search Box Feature from the SERP

Dearly beloved we are gathered here today, on Google's very own birthday, to announce the departure of the Search Box SERP feature from the face of the earth. In less dramatic terms, Google has removed its Search Box feature from the SERP on both desktop and mobile. The removal is uniform, and as such, applies to every country that previously carried the feature.

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SERP News: Google Flights & Hotel Reservation Features Mean Business

August made for quite the interesting month on the Google SERP. At first glance you might not think of August as being SERP spectacular. Don't be fooled however, amidst the multitude of SERP features tests and changes Google revealed a big card that gives us a nice look at what's in store for the future of Google's monetization strategy. Welcome to your ticket to the August SERP train. Hold onto your wallets because this is going to be a wild one!

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SERP News: HTTPS Spreads as AMP Spikes

After June's monumental algorithm update you might have figured that Google would lay low for a bit. Not so. The search giant merely shifted its focus from fine-tuning algorithms to adjusting the proportions of its SERP features. More than that, it would seem that Google took this lull in algorithm activity to bring some of its SERP features into the shop for a series of readjustments.

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SERP News: Google Update Targets Position 6 through 10

For the second month is a row, Google has rolled-out a significant algorithm update. Following a May 18th Google update, the end of June heralded in an update that just kept on going, and going... and by month's end still had not entirely run its course. As expected, the impact on rank was no small matter. Truth be told, this elongated algorithmic anomaly nearly eclipsed the rest of June's SERP news. Not to fear, it will all be covered here in the latest (and possibly greatest) edition of The SERP News.

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SERP News: Retail Sites Slip on SERP as Hotel Reviews Morph

Nothing says fun like tracking Google hit some big time retail sites as part of an algorithm update. Should such an endeavor sound like fun then this article is for you, because that's exactly what happened last month on the Google SERP. To be sure, that's not all of the SERP news that's fit to print. The month of May also saw the introduction of a whole new way to approach Google reviews that could be a "ratings" game changer. Of course, the month was filled with your usual parade of tests and changes to Google's rainbow of SERP features.

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SERP News: HTTPS Dominates Results - AMP Falls off

Some big news on the Google SERP in the month of April. The month saw some interesting SERP feature milestones that included HTTPS reaching new heights and AMP in organic results taking its first real dip. Of course, there were also a few SERP feature tests, and even a new character whose SERP personality is yet to be determined. Thus, despite the fact that Google seemed to have taken a break from major algorithm updates, we have much to talk about and talk we shall.

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SERP News: A Powerful Google Update & SERP Feature Changes

Beware of the Ides of March! For sites that harbored low quality content, March 15th was something to be wary of. Due to a powerful Google algorithm update, March proved to be an eruption of SERP significant action. Combined with some interesting SERP feature shifts and tests, the March SERP has quite the story to tell.

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SERP News: Major Ranking Event, Ad & AMP Changes

It seems no month is spared significant SERP and SERP feature changes. February, was an exceptional example of the continuously evolving nature of Google's SERP. The simple fact that Google changed its PPC ad label for the second time in less than 10 months is testament to the fact that Google views its SERP as malleable, an ever-changing experiment.

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SERP News: AMP Takes Over Google News Results

The first month of the new year began without much noise on the Google SERP. Perhaps the festive spirit that comes with the new year ran counter to the volatility and malleability that so often characterizes the Google SERP. Have no fear true believers, the SERP did show considerable activity as the month progressed, eventually evolving into one of the more dynamic months on the Google SERP.

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AMP in Google News Results Skyrockets Globally

Back when AMP first entered Google's mobile News Box in early 2016, the faster loading, lighting bolt indicated, cards were a rare novelty. All of that has now changed as the number of AMP optimized news articles appearing within Google's Top Stories on mobile has skyrocketed across the globe.

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SERP News: New Google UI & SERP Feature Filters

Now that we've entered the new year, I guess taking a look back at December's SERP is a bit nostalgic. For those of you who eagerly let go of 2016 and quickly embraced 2017, I promise this post will not retroactively kill another beloved celebrity, nor will it make any mention of politics. This post will however fondly review some interesting changes to Google's SERP as December 2016 presented us with some important happenings.

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SERP News: Knowledge Panel Goes Real-Time, Home Service Ads Guaranteed

It's interesting to see Google hone in on a specific SERP feature(s) in such a concentrated manner the way it did this past month of November. Couple all of the format changes and additions to SERP features with the removal of Notable Online and a bug that decimated SiteLinks globally, and you have yourself a really interesting month on the Google SERP.

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The Full History of Google's Penguin Algorithm

As Google's Penguin 4.0 update recently completed its rollout (according to Google), I thought I would take this opportunity to provide the complete history of this Google algorithm and its updates. Up until recently, an update to the Penguin algorithm was a very big deal (particularly for those penalized by it). Until the most recent version, the only time a site could recover from a Penguin penalty was when the algorithm underwent an update. Now Penguin operates in real time (more on that later), but the question is how did we get to this point?

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Rank Tracker Gets New Target Rank Feature

At Rank Ranger we like to think of ourselves as "inventors" who are constantly creating new ways to make our SEO software that much better. In addition to the completely new tools we roll out, we are continuously developing enhancements to our existing ones. As such, we are quite pleased to introduce our Target Rank feature, a new feature that we have added to our popular Rank Tracker.

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Google My Business Rank Checker - Track Your Listing in Local Pack

Managing Google My Business listings for a business with multiple locations is no easy task. Now tracking rank for a business across multiple locations has gotten that much easier and it's no small deal. If you're running a campaign for a site whose business is spread across multiple geographic locations wouldn't you want to be able to track which locations are ranking in a Local Pack or if more than one location is ranking? Well, now you can!

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SERP News: Dramatic Decline in AdWords & Rising AMP in Europe

The month of October saw a dramatic decrease in AdWords appearing on the SERP for desktop searches while AMP appearances grew steadily in European countries. Although these developments were not as unsettling as the algorithm updates and rank fluctuations last month, these changes and others are definitely significant and worth following.

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Google Eliminates Notable Online SERP Feature

Making my way down the list of those features that are embedded within Google's organic results on our SERP Features Tool, I was shocked to see that Notable Online had made an abrupt and complete exit from the SERP stage.

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SERP News: Multiple Algorithm Updates, AMP Enters Organic Results

The September SERP was action-packed to say the least. Just when all seemed quiet, Google rolled-out several algorithm updates, added a SERP feature to the mix, and took one out of the fray. Last month's SERP was anything but typical both quantitatively as well as qualitatively.

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Google Algorithm Update Shakes Up Image Boxes & Rank

Try as they may to hide it, but on September 7th, Google began rolling out an algorithm update that had a serious impact on Page One ranking. The algorithm was broken into two phases over the course of a week and correlated to the drop off in Page One Image Boxes.

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Google's Penguin 4.0 Algorithm Update – What's New

After months of speculation and anxious anticipation, the latest incarnation of the Google's spammy website killing algorithm is upon us. But what does it all mean for you and your site? What makes Penguin 4.0 different than Penguin 3.0? What can you expect and how should you act now that Penguin has been updated and modernized.

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Tracking AMP in Organic Mobile Results

True to its word, Google has placed AMP pages within the blue organic results. As speedier pages with their lightning bolt icons begin to appear within organic links, our Mobile SERP Feature Tracker has been tracking their frequency. We are happy to announce that Rank Ranger is now monitoring AMP within both news and organic results on mobile.

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Why Did Google Remove 50% of Image Boxes From Page One?

Between September 13th and September 14th the SERP feature saw a more than 50% drop off in its Page One appearances. Such an unusual drop off left us wondering, where have all the images gone? Did they just fall off the face of the Earth? Did they get pushed down? Were they replaced with another feature? Were all Image Boxes affected or simply those that related to certain topics or categories?

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Keyword Planner is Altering Keyword Queries

The Rank Ranger team has discovered that Google's keyword research tool, Keyword Planner, is now altering search queries, presenting results that don't exactly match the initial search phrase. As a result, at times it shows results that not only don't match the query exactly, but may seriously deviate from the original intent behind it.

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SERP News: Mobile Friendly Retired, AMP is Here

August was a month with SERP news aplenty. In fact, last month had everything you could possibly want, hot summer days, the coming of the school year (a parent's best friend), and a multitude of SERP features coming and going. In any event, all of the news and happenings on the SERP last month made for quite a rich SERP experience, so without further adieu may I present to you the very much altered August 2016 SERP.

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Google Keyword Planner Limits Data - Problems Ensue

The SEO community has been abuzz with discussion about Keyword Planner's recent data restrictions that have deep implications for SEOs and digital marketers. Due to the significance of the data limitations Google has rolled out I thought it pertinent to update you as to the exact issue you may be facing and how to most effectively deal with it.

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Google's New Feature for the Rio Olympics

I love the Olympics and I'm the first to admit that I have Olympic fever. There's something about the Games that excites just about everyone even those who aren't regular sports fans. There's also something interesting happening on the Google SERP with the introduction of a "deep" knowledge panel about the Rio Olympics.

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SERP News: Google Rank & Mobile SERP Highly Volatile

Just in time for a SERP fluctuation frenzy, the newly released Mobile SERP Feature Tracker saw a seesawing series of SERP features over the course of July. Join me as I investigate what went up, what went down, and which SERP feature data trends on mobile corresponded to desktop.

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SERP News: Abounding SERP Feature Data Changes

As July began to truly set in with the passing of its first full week, Google SERPs around the world displayed some odd data patterns. Join me as I employ the ever potent SERP Features Tool to pull in last week's Google SERP features data from around the world in an effort to reveal the latest Google SERP fluctuation patterns.

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SERP News: SERP Features Shifts Abound

As June faded away what enduring SERP legacy did it leave behind? What SERP significance did the first two days of July bring with them? As always the SERP Features Tool is ready, willing, and able to help decipher the latest SERP data coming out of Google.

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SERP News: Featured Snippets Show in New Countries

SERP features continue on their path towards world domination as the SERP Features Tool shows an old feature in new countries. A familiar feature gets a face-lift and a new addition while Google pursues its medical degree. So without further adieu, may I present to you, last week's SERP.

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Google SERP News: Green AdWords Ad Tags Go Global

The green eyed monster of PPC makes its global appearance while the mobile SERP gets a taste of summer's scorching heat. With a SERP significant introduction and heat generating shifts, last week's SERP has an interesting story to tell. Lift the curtains, activate your SERP Features Tool, and let the music start to play as we venture off into the drama that was last week's SERP.

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Google SERP News: Featured Snippets Trending Up

Offering a SERP bounty of sneak peeks, surprises, and all around SERP treats, this Snapshot is not one to miss! While the SERP offered some interesting surprises, the SERP Features tool was reloaded to track new and powerful data. Dilly-dallying no further let's hop to it and get into the data (and closer to our sneak peek).

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SERP News: Brand Names Added, Titles Truncated

As June rolled in and May ebbed away the SERP continued to change, evolve, and serve as Google's guinea pig. In this SERP Snapshot we have the distinct honor of welcoming in the month of June and saying goodbye to dear 'ol May. In what SERP shape did May leave us and where is June seemingly taking us?

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SERP News: Local Pack & Answer Box Both Volatile

Over the past few weeks there has been an overabundance of volatility on the SERP. Whether it be major tests to the SERP's layout or hot risk levels on the Rank Risk Index, etc., the SERP has been anything but boring! Though not as dramatic as weeks past, last week provided us with some strange patterns as I dig deep into the SERP.

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SERP News: Desktop & Mobile SERPs Converging

Yet another surging risk level spike as Google shakes up the SERP with a surprising test. Are things simply as they seem or is Google distracting us from the real story with bells and whistles?

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SERP News: Big Rank Fluctuations, New SERP Layout Tests

The Rank Risk Index continued to be hot for the majority of last week (before finally cooling off). Did increased space between results on the SERP play a role? Could Google's test to the length of titles and descriptions on the SERP be a factor? What other tests to the SERP has Google rolled-out?

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SERP News: Google Tested Black Organic Results

The Rank Risk Index rises off the charts. What was responsible? Was it the colorless organic results? Data dips in the features? Also, Ads in various countries show quite the interesting intertwining, coincidence? Take a tour of New Zealand's SERP and see what went up near the land down under.

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SERP News: SiteLinks Prevalence Dropped, Ads Rose

Which SERP Feature was resurrected from the dead? Why did SiteLinks nosedive? How did the globe perform on the SERP for HTTPS? What were some overall SERP trends for April? In this Snapshot we wrap up SERP performance for April 2016.

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SERP News: Featured Snippet Appears in Spanish-Speaking Countries

Featured Snippets show in Spanish speaking countries, Local Pack goes off the deep end, and a plethora of SERP Features take an inverse twist to each other. Take a tour of last week's SERP situations as we uncover what went down (and up) on the SERP.

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Hola! Featured Snippets Appear on Spanish Speaking SERPs

Features Snippets have spread across the Spanish speaking world, appearing in Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Venezuela, etc.

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SERP News: In-Depth Articles Disappear, Ads Spike

Join me for a quick tour of the wide-world of SERPs with our weekly snapshot of trends, news, and data events related to Google organic search results and special SERP features.

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Turning Up the Volume: Rethinking the SEO Impact of Google AMP

Other than quicker load times and their appearance in a nifty carousel, do AMP pages have a deeper SEO impact? Are they applicable to 'non-newsy" sites? Are they to be regulated only to mobile pages, as funny as that sounds?

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Join Together! LinkedIn Now Available on the Insight Graph

The addition of LinkedIn to the available social analytics metrics that can be plotted on our Insight Graph provides the opportunity to trend and compare the effectiveness of social media marketing activities. In truth, LinkedIn has become a marketing giant of sorts, with over 400 million users how could it not be part of any marketing strategy?

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SERP News: Local Pack Dips, Featured Snippets in Europe

Join me for a quick tour of the wide-world of SERPs with our weekly snapshot of trends, news, and data events related to Google organic search results and special SERP features.

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AdWords Eagle Eyes: Ads Monitor Email Notifications

We are proud to announce our new Ads Monitor Email Notifications service that offers a simple way to be alerted of AdWords advertising displaying on page one of the SERPs for your brand and keywords, including your competitors' ads. Rising above the competition can seem to get harder with each and every passing day. Maintaining your advertising edge and marketing magic can mean the difference between being in the red or blue, but how do you stay on top of it all?

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Featured Snippets Come to Europe!

We've noticed a significant shift in the data on the Featured Snippets in the European countries of France, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany, and the Netherlands. While the frequency of their appearance in these European countries might not compare to Featured Snippet Goliaths like the United States or oddly enough Nigeria, this is significant news qualitatively as the Insight Graph data indicates.

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Facebook Gives Its Video Metrics a Long Overdue Facelift

Facebook revamps its video metrics to provide a more in-depth analytic picture. With its new features Facebook enables videos to become an even greater marketing force.

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A New Piece of the Pie: Google Analytics Pie Chart & Metrics

Comparing Google Analytics data just took on new meaning with the release of our Google Analytics Pie Chart/List widget. We’re excited to offer this new and innovate widget that will undoubtedly change the way you see and compare Analytics data.

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A Loud and Colorful Rebellion: Google Analytics Stacked Columns Widget

Getting a quick, user-friendly, and dynamic view of your Google Analytics data has never been easier… or this much fun! In a loud and colorful rebellion to dreary and overwhelming data, Rank Ranger is offering its new Stacked Columns widget to bring life to your analytics. We’re excited to launch this new tool that is sure to make evaluating your Google Analytics data more dynamic and more accessible.

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