Starting in July, Google Chrome will mark all HTTP sites as “not secure,” according to a blog post published today by Chrome security product manager Emily Schechter. Chrome currently displays a neutral information icon, but starting with version 68, the browser will warn users with an extra notification in the address bar. Chrome currently marks HTTPS-encrypted sites with a green lock icon and “Secure” sign. Google has been nudging users away from unencrypted sites for years, but this is the most forceful nudge yet. Google search began down-ranking unencrypted sites in 2015, and the following year, the Chrome team instituted a similar warning for unencrypted password fields. The Chrome team said today’s announcement was mostly brought on by increased HTTPS adoption. Eighty-one of the top 100 sites on the web default to HTTPS and a strong majority of Chrome traffic is already encrypted. “Based on the awesome rate that sites have been migrating to HTTPS and the strong trajectory through this year,” Schechter said, “we think that in July the balance will be tipped enough so that we can mark all HTTP sites.” Developers have been transitioning their sites to HTTPS and making the web safer for everyone. Progress last year was incredible, and it’s continued since then: Over 68% of Chrome traffic on both Android and Windows is now protected Over 78% of Chrome traffic on both Chrome OS and Mac is now protected 81 of the top 100 sites on the web use HTTPS by default Chrome is dedicated to making it as easy as possible to set up HTTPS. Mixed content audits are now available to help developers migrate their sites to HTTPS in the latest Node CLI version of Lighthouse, an automated tool for improving web pages. The new audit in Lighthouse helps developers find which resources a site loads using HTTP, and which of those are ready to be upgraded to HTTPS simply by changing the subresource reference to the HTTPS version. Chrome’s new interface will help users understand that all HTTP sites are not secure, and continue to move the web towards a secure HTTPS web by default. HTTPS is easier and cheaper than ever before, and it unlocks both performance improvements and powerful new features that are too sensitive for HTTP. Developers, check out our set-up guides to get started.
Your website is a living, breathing entity on the internet. Every update you make to your website once it is “live” on the internet plays a part in its interaction with visitors, customers, and the powerful search engines. However, a static website without updates of any kind may be viewed by search engines as a “dead” entity – with no life and nothing new to offer. By keeping your website updated by having a blog or new projects added, it offers search engines a haven for fresh content and sources of new information for their search requests. Simply put, if you update your website often with high-quality content, search engines will love you for it. Some other reasons why it’s important for your website to be updated frequently with fresh content… Fresh Content – Frequent Indexing Don’t confuse this phrase with the thinking that fresh content will give you higher indexing. That may not be the case. However, the more frequently you update your website with articles, downloads, and new web pages, the more frequently a search engine will stop by to visit your website. When search engines look at your site more frequently, you have the opportunity to achieve higher rankings based on the content you provide. Keep in mind, more content is not the key here, quality is. So, yes, it is a good idea to update frequently, but keep your content standards high. If you blast your page with a ton of low-quality articles stuffed with keywords, you are going to be penalized. Google Loves Frequent Updates By far, the most frequently used search engine is Google. As the king of all search engines, Google has a tremendous influence on webmasters and how websites are constructed. When Google expresses its love for websites that update frequently, this is a sure sign that you should add fresh content to your website as often as you can. Of course, you should not make unnecessary changes, additions, or postings every hour of every day. However, a site that is updated once a day, or at least two to three times a week, is considered a frequently updated site. The “Googlebot” that crawls the web is constantly searching for web pages that are new or updated and then adds the fresh content to the Google index. If you update your content often with reliable and valuable information, then you have a better chance of Google ranking your site higher with each update. More Content, More Keywords When you publish new content, you present yet more opportunities for your site to contain more keywords. Keywords are high on the algorithm chart for search engine indexing and ranking. Frequently added content, such as blog or article postings, allows you to optimize the article with pertinent keywords that can attract visitors to your site. For instance, if you run an insurance quote website and update four to five times a week with new articles, you can focus each article on a different aspect of insurance, such as “automobile liability insurance” or “universal life insurance.” Each time you add a new article, you incorporate valuable keywords that help a search engine recognize your website as a place searchers can visit for their specific insurance needs. Now, you have to remember that with the algorithm updates, Google does not base a ton of weight on how many keywords your website has. Google is looking at top quality content, rather than keyword-stuffed nonsense content when it indexes a site. Fresh Content Increases Your Authority Potential All webmasters strive to become the industry “authority” in Google’s eyes. The predominant strategy to becoming an authority site is by abiding by the SEO adage, “content is king.” The more informative, valuable content you can publish that pertains to your industry, the greater authority potential your website enjoys. In addition, if you review your competitors’ websites, you will quickly find that the authority sites in your industry have tens of thousands of pages indexed by Google, who also measures relevance by site saturation. The more valuable content you publish, the better your chances of becoming an authority site. Keep Your Audience Informed and Updated Another good reason to update your website with valuable content is to keep current subscribers updated, as well as provide necessary information for new visitors to convert to customers. By keeping your audience engaged, you develop long-term loyalty, which translates into returning traffic that adds tremendous value to your website. Regularly updating your website with fresh content will not only garner appreciation and loyalty from your visitors but will put you in good standings with the powerful Google. If a visitor finds your site and begins reading through your content and finds it is outdated, do you think they will stay or go? What would you do? I certainly would not order anything from someone who had an article from 2011 on their main page. I want to know the business is active, alive, worthy. If you do not have the time to maintain a blog make sure you give us a call today to discuss our special monthly blog or our monthly blog/social media package offer we have going on right now! Don’t lose rankings by not having fresh content on your site! Call us at (678) 457-7939 today Article from https://seositecheckup.com/articles/5-reasons-why-fresh-content-is-critical-for-your-website-and-seo
Google has expanded the ability for more businesses to add their services to their menus. This includes not just restaurant owners, which they added a few months ago, but more service businesses, from plumbers to florists to health and beauty, and even web developers. To access this, log in to your Google My Business listing, click on the info tab and select the add or edit services icon: Google said, “[S]ame as the food establishment menu editor, this feature will only be available if the listing is not currently connected to a third-party provider and for listings in English speaking locals.” And Google added, “If your listing is currently displaying an incorrect menu, please see this help center link for more information on how to correct or remove the link.” Article from https://searchengineland.com/google-my-business-expands-menu-editor-to-support-service-menus-295917
Google has posted on Twitter that it released a “broad core algorithm update” this past Monday. Google said it “routinely” does updates “throughout the year” and referenced the communication from the previous core update. Google explained that core search updates happen “several times per year” and that while “some sites may note drops or gains,” there is nothing specific a site can do to tweak its rankings around these updates. In general, Google says to continue to improve your overall site quality, and the next time Google runs these updates, hopefully, your website will be rewarded. Google explained that “pages that were previously under-rewarded” would see a benefit from these core updates. Here is the statement Google previously made about this type of update: Each day, Google usually releases one or more changes designed to improve our results. Some are focused around specific improvements. Some are broad changes. Last week, we released a broad core algorithm update. We do these routinely several times per year. As with any update, some sites may note drops or gains. There’s nothing wrong with pages that may now perform less well. Instead, it’s that changes to our systems are benefiting pages that were previously under-rewarded. There’s no “fix” for pages that may perform less well, other than to remain focused on building great content. Over time, it may be that your content may rise relative to other pages. Here is Google’s confirmation from today about the update on Monday: Each day, Google usually releases one or more changes designed to improve our results. Some are focused around specific improvements. Some are broad changes. Last week, we released a broad core algorithm update. We do these routinely several times per year…. — Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) March 12, 2018 Article from https://searchengineland.com/google-confirms-rolling-out-a-broad-core-search-algorithm-update-earlier-week-296600
