Lead Google Analyst Says Links Are No Longer a Top 3 Ranking Factor

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For years, backlinks have been considered one of the most important ranking factors for ranking on Google’s search engine. In 2016, the company even confirmed as much when a search quality senior strategist said that the top ranking factors were links, content, and RankBrain.

According to new comments from Google’s Gary Illyes, an analysis for Google Search, things have changed since then. 

What Was Said

During a panel at Pubcon Pro, Illyes was asked directly whether links are still one of the top three ranking factors. In response, here is what he said:

“I think they are important, but I think people overestimate the importance of links. I don’t agree it’s in the top three. It hasn’t been for some time.”

Illyes even went as far as to say there are cases where sites have absolutely 0 links (internal or external), but consistently ranked in the top spot because they provided excellent content. 

The Lead Up

Gary Illyes isn’t the first person from Google to suggest that links have lost the SEO weight they used to carry. Last year, Dan Nguyen from the search quality team stated that links had lost their impact during a Google SEO Office Hours session:

“First, backlinks as a signal has a lot less significant impact compared to when Google Search first started out many years ago. We have robust ranking signals, hundreds of them, to make sure that we are able to rank the most relevant and useful results for all queries.’

Other major figures at Google, including Matt Cutts and John Mueller, have predicted this would happen for years. As far back as 2014, Cutts (a leading figure at Google at the time) said:

“I think backlinks still have many, many years left in them. But inevitably, what we’re trying to do is figure out how an expert user would say, this particular page matched their information needs. And sometimes backlinks matter for that. It’s helpful to find out what the reputation of the site or a page is. But, for the most part, people care about the quality of the content on that particular page. So I think over time, backlinks will become a little less important.”

Ultimately, this shift was bound to happen because search has become so much more complex. With each search, Google considers the intent behind the search, the actual query, and personal information to help tailor the search results for each user. With so much in flux, we have reached a point where the most important ranking signals may even differ based on the specific site that is trying to rank.

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X Is Likely Going To Start Charging All Users For Access

X (formerly Twitter) is likely to do away with free accounts in the near future and shift to a strictly paid business model according to a recent statement from owner Elon Musk. 

Rumors had been swirling that Musk is considering moving away from free accounts, and the controversial business leader confirmed as much in a live-streamed interview with (similarly controversial) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week. 

In the discussion, Musk mentioned that he X is “moving to a small monthly payment” as a solution to problems on the platform. 

Specifically, Musk said this approach is “the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots. Because a bot casts a fraction of a penny – call it a tenth of a penny – but even if it has to pay … a few dollars or something, the effective cost of bots is very high.” 

How this paid model would prevent issues that have been seen on other platforms with a small entry fee is unclear. 

At the same time, it is hard to believe Musk isn’t also considering introducing a mandatory fee for users as a solution to continuously dwindling ad revenue. 

Since taking over Twitter, ad revenue has fallen throughout Musk’s ownership, largely due to reductions in moderation and increases in objectionable content including hate speech. The platform has had several high-profile incidents of advertisers being unwittingly shown alongside nazi imagery, slurs, and calls to violence.

Meanwhile, Musk argues these incidents are rare exceptions and blames organizations such as the Center for Countering Digital Hate saying they are “actively working to prevent free expression.”

Despite the series of controversies and questionable decisions, Musk touted several milestone achievements throughout the livestream, including saying that X has 550 million monthly users who post between 100 to 200 million times a day. 

For businesses continuing to include X as a part of their social media strategy, it is important to monitor these continued changes and assess whether the platform is worth paying for access.

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Amazon Launches New AI Tool To Generate In-Depth Product Listings From a Few Keywords

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Online retailers who hate trying to come up with compelling product listings for all your products can breathe a sigh of relief. Amazon is making it easier to develop engaging and attractive product listings with a new generative AI tool. 

As was revealed at the recent Amazon Accelerate event, the new AI tool can craft product listing details including product titles, bullet points, and descriptions using large language models (LLMs). 

Retailers only need to provide a short description (it can even just be a few keywords) and the AI system will generate in-depth product details. 

As Robert Tekiela, vice president of Amazon Selection and Catalog Systems, said in the announcement:

“With our new generative AI models, we can infer, improve, and enrich product knowledge at an unprecedented scale and with dramatic improvement in quality, performance, and efficiency.

Our models learn to infer product information through the diverse sources of information, latent knowledge, and logical reasoning that they learn.

For example, they can infer a table is round if specifications list a diameter or infer the collar style of a shirt from its image.”

While early feedback for the tool is reportedly very positive, brands are still encouraged to review their product descriptions before using them in product listings.

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TikTok Shop is Officially Here For US Brands

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TikTok is finally making its foray into e-commerce with the official launch of TikTok Shop for businesses and users in the United States. 

The new feature has been in beta since at least April, but now all US-based brands can set up their own shops within the app.

To make it easy to set up your own shop, TikTok Shop is integrated with the most widely-used e-commerce platforms including Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, and Salesforce Commerce Cloud. 

Additionally, TikTok has made it possible to easily add apps like Zendesk, Printful, Yotpo, EasyShip, and more to expand the features already available in TikTok Shop. 

What Can TikTok Shop Do For Your Business?

TikTok has already proven it can be a highly influential platform for e-commerce brands hoping to be the next big thing. With a US user base of over 150 people, the app is well-positioned to connect brands with engaged consumers who are likely to spread the word of your brand even further. 

Now, the app is streamlining the process of discovering and purchasing a new brand or product by allowing brands to set up stores in a dedicated “Shop Tab” to promote and sell their products without leaving the app. 

Along with product listings, TikTok Shop also allows users to read and leave reviews to promote trust in your brand. 

Interestingly, the platform also includes options for affiliate sellers such as influencers or creators with over 5,000 followers to sell and promote TikTok Shop products. 

For more, read the full announcement from TikTok here.

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Reddit Introduces An Official Keyword Research Tool To Improve Ad Targeting

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Years after it introduced the ability to buy and target ads across the platform, Reddit is officially launching its first keyword research tool.

The new AI-powered tool allows you to better target the people who will see your ads and improve their performance – meaning you pay for fewer irrelevant impressions or clicks. 

Wise advertisers can also use the tool to brainstorm new ways to connect with their audience which may have been previously elusive. 

How Does It Work?

The Keyword Suggestions tool is being rolled out as a feature available in the Reddit Ads Manager – the platform’s self-service tool for creating and managing ads.

The tool uses machine learning and natural language processing to compile lists of relevant keywords and to filter out irrelevant keywords based on the original context of the keyword. 

Once done, the tool compiles these keyword options and sorts the list based on the number of monthly Reddit views each keyword has received. 

How This Differs From Other Tools

Third-party keyword research tools for Reddit have been available for some time, though all third-party tools will inevitably have gaps in the data they have to work with. Meanwhile, Reddit can theoretically use raw data to provide the most accurate keyword recommendations for users.

The tool is rolling out now for advertisers to put it to the test and see how its keyword recommendations compare and whether they can effectively drive more ad engagement.

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