SEO

With the robots.txt file, site owners
have a simple way to control which parts of a website are accessible by crawlers.
To help site owners further express how search engines and web
crawlers can use their pages, the web standards group came
up with robots meta tags in 1996, just a few months after meta tags
were proposed for HTML (and anecdotally, also before Google
was founded). Later, X-Robots-Tag HTTP response headers were added.
These instructions are sent together with a URL, so crawlers can only take them into account
if they’re not disallowed from crawling the URL through the robots.txt file. Together, they
form the Robots Exclusion Protocol (REP).

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
Google began rolling out the March 2025 core update yesterday…

Digital marketing is continuously evolving, with new technologies reshaping the online landscape. In our connected world, emerging technologies like the Internet of Things (Iot) and virtual reality (VR) have opened up new advertising possibilities. However, not all of these developments are positive. Cybercriminals constantly refine their tactics, creating more sophisticated malware. Some, like ransomware, can …

Most consumer journeys begin with search, says Felina Tan of Kaizen. Which is why brands should put SEO at the center of their marketing strategy, rather than treating it as an add-on.Every marketer knows SEO. It’s been a cornerstone of digital marketing since the ‘90s, helping brands stay visible and relevant. And yet, when budget season rolls around, SEO often gets shoved to the bottom of the priority list despite its undeniable impact on visibility, brand equity, and revenue.Why does this keep happening? Is it a lack of understanding? A bias toward short-term wins? Or do marketing and procurement teams not fully grasp just how much SEO influences brand positioning and the bottom line? Read more here

Microsoft is testing a new Copilot answer interface and layout in the Bing Search results. Instead of the grid/block design, Microsoft is testing a more bullet point design, and when you hover over each answer, you get the sources overlay.

Google is now testing a new accommodations carousel in the search results for hotel-related queries. The new accommodations carousel shows up under the hotel pack.

Google is once again showing a local pack in the AI Overviews, formerly known as SGE (Search Generative Experience). Google removed the local pack from those AI Overviews back in September 2023 after having a 5 pack during the early months of SGE. Now, I am seeing them return.

For the original iTunes version, click here.
This week we covered Google’s March 2025 core update being released. Google responded to some complaints or concerns about Google’s new AI Mode. A study showed Google grew 22% over the past year…

Google officially announced the rollout of the March 2025 core update yesterday at around 12:30 pm ET. This core update is expected to take up to two weeks to roll out. Google said this is a regular core update but did make a note about helping surface content from content creators.