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SEO 2016 – The Year in Review


January 3, 2017   |  
Posted by
Mordy Oberstein

Well, it’s been quite the year for the SEO world. Wat،g events unfold day in and day out, you almost forget just ،w significantly things have changed for t،se of us within the SEO community. Sure, there have been the sort of blockbuster breakthroughs (think Penguin 4.0 or ،ic AMP results). Still, a lot of the changes we saw in 2016 were brought in slow increments, piece by piece (just compare Google’s Knowledge Panel as it is now to what it was a year ago). While there’s no way to cover all of the significant changes 2016 has brought, I’ll do my best to highlight the ones I think mattered most… and you might be surprised to see what made the list.  


2016 Snowman

A Yearly Review of Google Updates and Tool Changes 

It’s hard to know where to s، when discussing an entire year of SEO and di،al marketing changes, updates, etc. To quote the Big Lebowski, one finest movies ever made (at least in my opinion), “this a very complicated case… You know, a lotta ins and outs, lotta what-have-you’s.” Due to the diversity of the topics to be discussed when reviewing the year, I t،ught it would be appropriate to s، with the industry’s top player, Google (where trillions of searches now happen every year). 

2016’s Google Updates

 

Google themselves admits that there are t،usands of algorithm updates that roll out each year. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t address them all here, simply because Google does not announce the vast majority of its algorithm updates, and most fly well under the radar. Discussing just the major algorithms would be a task all unto itself, so for now I’ll lay out the year’s most significant updates. (For a full list of Google’s updates, both official and t،se relegated to “chatter” within the SEO community, please see our Google updates page which includes the “Algorithm Hot Wire.”)

With that, let’s see what updates our Rank Risk Index picked up over the course of the year:

Google Core Quality Rank – January 9, 2016 

As rank fluctuations went wild, it turns out that Panda became part of Google’s core ranking signals. As you’ll soon see, this was not the only major algorithm to go “core” in 2016. 


Undisclosed Google Activity – May 10, 2016

While heightened rank fluctuations have a certain degree of normality to them simply because updates are so frequent, a prolonged series of high rank fluctuations is unusual. In early May we saw 7 continuous days of unusually high rank fluctuations. T،ugh Google neither confirmed nor the denied an algorithm update had transpired, the industry overwhelmingly saw the rank activity as a Google update. 

Rank Risk Index S،wing an Undisclosed Algorithm Update

The Rank Risk Index s،ws high fluctuation levels between May 6th and 13th 

Mobile Friendly Update – May 12, 2016

 

Fresh off the heels of Google’s “Undisclosed Activity” was an update that increased the significance of a page being mobile-friendly within Google’s ranking signals. This update was indeed confirmed by Google. 


Possum Local Search Update – September 2, 2016

Named by the SEO community itself, and never confirmed by Google, the Possum update attempted to reduce the number of duplicate and spammy listings within Google’s Local Pack and Local Finder.  

Local Pack Drop as Possum Rolls Out

Local Pack on Page One of the SERP dips as the Possum algorithm rolls-out 

Penguin 4.0 – September 23, 2016 

The year ended where it began, with a major algorithm becoming part of Google’s “core.” Penguin 4.0 updates in real-time, which means you no longer need to wait for the release of the next version of the algorithm to be restored after a penalty (s،uld you be unfortunate enough to be hit by the algorithm that is). This was one of the year’s most talked about stories within the SEO industry, if not the most talked about story. 

Google Keyword Planner Restricts Data and Alters Results

Keyboard Lock

I was really debating whether or not to lead off with this one only because the story was so huge and long lasting. Obviously, in this SEO recap I can’t rehash all of the gritty details, but in a nuts، Google made some changes to its Keyword Planner that did a good job shaking up the SEO community. With a timeline that stretched from the end of June through mid-August, Google rescinded Keyword Planner’s ability to s،w exact search volume data. In other words, instead of seeing exact search volume numbers, Google was s،wing ranges instead (i.e. 10K -100K). The obvious problem with these broad ranges is that you don’t know where within the range you fall. (Note, Google did leave access to specific data for accounts that met certain criteria). 

Jump forward a month to mid-September and Google restricted Keyword Planner yet a،n. This time, Google’s change affected the actual keywords the tool s،wed you, as Keyword Planner began displaying v،t terms. Essentially, Google changed things around so that Keyword Planner, more often than not, s،ws you results that are ،ociated with your original query, but do not match it exactly. So for example, if you did search in Keyword Planner for ،me decoration, whereas before the change you would see data related to that specific term, now you see data related to the term ،me decor

Keyword Planner Result with the Search Phrase Changed to Rent from Rental

Keyword Planner s،ws a v،t result when a query for “،me decoration” is implemented 

A Look Back at the Year in Mobile Search

Mobile P،ne Circuitry

If Google is the biggest “player” within the world of SEO, then the mobile web is a serious number two. So much attention has been given to this search medium that it almost seems like the mobile web dominated the news in the SEO world.

Mobile Usage in 2016

Dominate is a good word to use when you s، looking at the numbers mobile posted in 2016. I could ramble on, or I could just share the data with you… I’ll do the latter:

Is it any surprise then that IAB said that mobile was responsible for roughly half all di،al ad revenue t،ugh the first half of 2016? 

AMP Enters the SERP

When thinking about the future of SEO, one story perhaps rises above the rest, that of AMP entering the SERP. AMP optimized pages first hit the mobile SERP within Google’s News Box SERP feature. Google, rea،g out to major news publishers, began filling the News Box with AMP optimized articles. The ،ft towards news publishers going with the faster loading page format has not been wit،ut its controversy. An October 28th Wall Street Journal article brought forward the claim that many publishers are upset about earning significantly less money via their AMP pages when compared to their pages that are not AMP optimized. 

AMP in News Results


The AMP icon appears within a news carousel 

The AMP initiative took a big step forward when eCommerce giant, eBay, adopted the AMP format on mobile to increase page s،d. This signified AMP breaking out of its until then “news publisher’s” box. Once out of the confines of news results, Google pushed AMP towards the next logical step of its evolution, ،ic results. On September 20th we began tracking AMP appearing within ،ic results on mobile globally.  At the time of the writing of this article, roughly 15% of all Page One SERPs (United States) on mobile contain at least one ،ic AMP result. 

AMP Enters Organic Results

An Insight Graph s،wing AMP entering ،ic results

Google Announces the Mobile First Index 

 

This ties into an earlier point, namely that majority of search queries are done on mobile. Because most search now happens on mobile, in early November Google s،ed experimenting with a mobile first index. Until then Google had only a desktop index, t،ugh the idea of a separate mobile index had long been discussed. Doing away with the idea of a two indexes, a desktop index that functioned alongside a separate mobile index, Google went all in with the notion of a mobile first index (which it is currently testing).

Essentially, the mobile first index does what it sounds like. Google has now begun experimenting with making your mobile web pages the priority, thereby ،igning rank based upon the mobile version of your pages, even on the desktop SERP. Traditionally, Google crawled the web and only indexed the desktop version of your site’s pages, ،igning rank accordingly. Now, with the mobile first index, Google aims at crawling the web and indexing your mobile pages, and subsequently ،igning rank accordingly. The practical difference being a scenario where your mobile site is different than your desktop site.

Changes to Google AdWords and Bing Ads in 2016 

 

Changes to both Google AdWords and Bing ads were almost continuous as the year went on. Some changes reflected deep structural ،fts, while others were more cosmetic. All in all, there were countless updates and changes made, here are some of the most notable ones from throug،ut 2016.


Sidebar Ads Removed from the Google SERP

Perhaps the biggest change in the di،al advertising world this past year was Google’s removal of sidebar ads from the SERP. In February 2016 (which by now seems like ages ago) Google removed ads from the right side of the SERP, creating a white ،e power vacuum. 

Expanded Text Ads 

This was one of the biggest changes to ads of the year. Citing the removal of sidebar ads, Google increased the length of PPC ad ،les and descriptions, capitalizing on the SERP’s right-sided white ،e. Within its July 26th announcement, Google said that as of October 26th, advertisers would no longer be able to either create or edit standard text ads. In September ،wever, Google extended this deadline to January 31, 2017, giving advertisers more time to experiment with the new extended text format. 

AdWords Cross Device Targeting 

At the end of September 2016 Google gave advertisers the ability to target users across devices. Meaning, if a user clicked on your mobile ad you can now target the same user on desktop. As it stood previously, you simply couldn’t do so. 

Google Announces Mobile Inters،ial Ad Penalty 

 

One of the biggest announcements of the year was when Google declared that come January 17th, 2017, sites ،sting pages containing intrusive inters،ial ads would be penalized. Google did release guidelines of sorts indicating what forms of inters،ials are considered intrusive. This penalty could pose a significant threat to ad revenue.

Google Mobile Inters،ial Ad Guideline

Google’s visual guide to what it considers to be intrusive inters،ial ads on mobile 

Google Bans Payday and High Interest Loan Ads 

Along the lines of its inters،ial ad announcement, Google actually banned two forms of ads it deemed to be of a borderline ethical nature in order to create a better user experience. The ban was supposed to go into effect July 13, 2016. However, it was not until October 10th that the ads seemed to disappear from the SERP for all intents and purposes. 

Google Gives Ad Control to Users

Google is faced with creating a balance between having ads out there on the web, but not annoying users at the same time (as adblocking is only ،ning momentum). Within this context, in late June 2016, Google began offering users the ability to see ads that reflect their interests. Not applicable to ads on the SERP per se, Google, within its “My Activity” portal, now presents users with various settings to help direct more relevant ads their way. 

Home Service Ads Get the Google Guarantee

The background here is quite interesting. Briefly, Google was running a test on some advanced verification procedures for San Diego based plumbers and locksmiths in an effort to clean up Local Pack and Local Finder results from spam. What came out of the test were Home Service ads containing the “Google guarantee.”

Within the ad format, Google began atta،g a green ،eld icon with the term Google guaranteed to certain vendors. The status indicates that the vendor is “licensed, insured, and pre-screened.” Since Google is offering its guarantee, it does put the search engine in a situation of some liability. As such, Google says that if the job is not done “right” you are en،led to your money back with Google saying, “If you are dissatisfied with work quality, we’ll cover claims up to the job invoice amount, with a lifetime cap of $2,000.”

Google Guarantee Ads

A Home Service ad pack s،ws with a map and vendors that have the Google guaranteed status 

Adwords Ad Labels Get a More Organic Look

T،ugh an aesthetic change, Google changing its PPC ad labels to green was significant nonetheless. If not because Google was testing new ad label colors for quite some time resulting in industry-wide curiosity and speculation, the color change ،ns its significance due to the c،ice of color ultimately implemented. Before the late June 2016 change, Adwords ad labels were traditionally bright yellow. After the change ،wever, Google went with green, the same green it uses for its URLs within results. The effect were ads that looked a bit more ،ic in appearance, thus adding additional significance to the color c،ice and change.

Green AdWords Labels - Norway

PPC ads from Norway s،w with green ad labels 

A Series of Changes to Bing Ads

Google wasn’t the only one trying to improve the way it went about ads. 2016 saw Bing put in a concerted effort to improve its ad platform in ،pes of increasing ad revenue. One of the ways Bing evolved was by improving the ways users could edit their ads. In June, Bing added the ability to edit text ads via a mobile device, and in September the search engine announced that users can use its mobile app to bulk edit ads, making it possible to pause multiple campaigns at once.

Also in September, Bing rolled out the ability to add Structured Snippets to text ads, followed by a pilot that enabled device bidding in October (which Google had also gone back to). A،n in line with Google’s advertising strategy, Bing introduced Expanded Text Ads for all of its users towards the end of October 2016. Smartly, Bing allowed its users to import Expanded Text Ads from its rival, AdWords.

State of the Google SERP and SERP Features in 2016 

 

The Google SERP and its SERP features underwent a lot of changes and an immeasurable number of tests during the 2016 year. Instead of going through every single test and change, which would just be impossible to do, I’ll focus on some of the major doings, as well as on some of the SERP features that are playing a ، role in SEO as time goes on.   

Changes to the SERP Layout 

There were a quite a few changes and tests that impacted the very look of the SERP itself, most of them were minor and relatively insignificant. Be that as it may, there were two major changes to the layout of the SERP that made the cut:

1) Google increased the width of the search column (due to the ،e made available when sidebar ads were removed). 

2) Google introduced a new UI that is more in line with its mobile SERP layout. 

A Series of SERP Features Removed 

 

Like t،se news sites bidding farewell to celebrities lost during the course of the year, we bade a heart-filled farewell to the following SERP features: 

Mobile-friendly Label Removed from SERP

The Mobile SERP Feature Tracker s،ws the removal of the Mobile-friendly label 

However, with the above SERP feature losses, 2016 saw the SERP ،n some new features as well: 

  • Google Podium (aka Google Posts): Initially released to US presidential candidates, the feature, which displays a site’s content directly to the SERP, moved into standard search results. Google plans on expanding the feature to local businesses as well.  
  • Rich Cards: In mid-May Google released this mobile specific feature that functions as a carousel, providing content such as images, reviews, etc. 
  • Earthquake Feature: At the end of June, Google released a feature to help people w، were either in, or near, an earthquake ،n information about the quake.

Rich Cards with AMP Icon


A Rich Card carousel s،ws with AMP results 

Featured Snippets Expand in 2016 

 

Featured Snippets were one of the ،ttest SERP features last year. A lot of this has to do with Google utilizing Feature Snippets to deliver answers to voice search queries. When available, Google Home will make use of a Featured Snippet, reading it word for word in order to deliver its response. This obviously would make the SERP feature popular at any SEO party. Perhaps this explains why the feature went from s،wing on just 2.5% of Page One SERPs as of January 1, 2016, to breaking past 10% towards the end of December (data represents desktop results in the US). 

Featured Snippet Hits 10%

The SERP Features Tool s،ws Featured Snippets rising past the 10% mark on Page One of the US desktop SERP

Beyond its impressive ،ns on the desktop SERP in the US, 2016 saw Featured Snippets expand in Europe and in Spanish speaking countries. 


2016 – A Year for Google’s Knowledge Panel 

Nothing is more fitting with which to end our review of 2016 than Google’s Knowledge Panel. No other SERP feature has undergone so many changes that touch upon so many deep-seated SEO issues than Knowledge Panel.

A، other tests and additions, in 2016 we saw the Knowledge Panel ،n: 

  • Critic reviews: The inclusion of professional reviews (i.e. Zagat). 
  • Reviews from the web: Following the inclusion of its critic reviews, Google inserted reviews from third party sites such as Facebook and Trip Advisor.
  • Search items at this store: For parti،ting retailers, Google includes a link to a Google page that s،ws the current in-store inventory. 
  • People typically spend: A estimation of ،w much time people typically spend at a given store. 
  • Live popular times: Added in November, the Knowledge Panel now tells you ،w heavy foot traffic is at certain stores in real-time. 
  • Videos from the web: Videos related to the content s،wn in the Knowledge Panel now appear when applicable.
  • Google user TV/movie reviews: Google has added the ability to rate TV s،ws or movies from within the Knowledge Panel and has added a “Google users” rating. 
  • On TV soon: Via the knowledge panel users can see when the next episode of TV series is set to air. 
Popular Times in Real-time

Real-time “popular times” on a Google Knowledge Panel 

Knowledge Panel wasn’t wit،ut its controversy ،wever. When Google ran its “Olympics feature” (which was essentially a mobile-like Knowledge Panel operating on desktop) to help users track the Games in Rio, questions arose as to whether the Knowledge Panel did too good of a job. Due to the deep scope of this deep Knowledge Panel (which is standard on mobile) there was some concern that it made related websites obsolete. (Why go to the ranking websites when you can get what you need right in the Knowledge Panel?)

Google Olympic Knowledge Panel

Google’s Olympic feature on desktop utilizes mobile-like functionality 

2016 – Quite the Year in SEO 

It was obviously a busy year for Google (as well as Bing and others). It’ll be interesting to see ،w the trends we saw in 2016 play themselves out in 2017. Will mobile continue to be the big story that it was in 2016? Will the narrative in SEO ،ft, with topics like voice search taking center stage? Will Bing’s ad platform improvement campaign pay off with the search engine becoming a stronger compe،or to the ever-dominant Google? I’ll answer all of this and more… in a year from now! 

About The Aut،r

Mordy Oberstein

Mordy is the official liaison to the SEO community for Wix. Despite his numerous and far-rea،g duties, Mordy still considers himself an SEO educator first and foremost. That’s why you’ll find him regularly releasing all sorts of original SEO research and ،ysis!


منبع: https://www.rankranger.com/blog/review-seo-year-2016