SEO TL;DR #12: 5 Steps to Diagnose Ranking Drops, Disavow Tool Usefulness in 2024 & Spam Reviews in Google
SEO TL;DR - 19/02/2024
How useful is the link disavow tool in 2024
In a post on the subreddit r/SEO, one user posted about a 61% drop in organic traffic which he believed could be due to a bunch of toxic links reported by Semrush
Sumrush identified 876 highly toxic backlinks and 1,700 OK links.
The drop in organic traffic is true, we don't know why. There was some vulnerability in our wordpress plugins, led to spam links pointing us. We updated the plugins a month ago.
I did find John Muller saying, Google would automatically discount harmful links. Should we disavow to get back our rankings?
Google's John Mueller simply replied:
You're not going to get your rankings back by following Semrush's report or by disavowing those links.
This is just one of many examples of Google telling us not to use the disavow tool - stating it can hurt more than it helps. Google have even blasted agencies that sell link disavow services.
In a separate Reddit thread on the same day, John wrote this about toxic backlink reports:
Ignore them. Ignore the Semrush report. Let your competitor spend that sweet $5 for nothing. Be glad they're not investing that into making their own site better. That said, if you have time to browse & take reports in tools like that seriously, you're probably not spending enough time to make a truly awesome site.
The crux of the argument is that SEOs should spend less time focusing on links and more time on making their content and websites better overall.
I still believe there is value in disavowing obviously toxic backlinks, but it’s something that takes up very little of a retainer. I’ve experienced sites that have been the target of negative SEO attacks, who have started to receive clicks for adult-oriented keywords overnight, and it’s better to be proactive than to do nothing and hope Google just knows. It’s maybe something I look at every quarter or at the start of a big project, but not something I’d recommend looking at every month, as there’s likely something more useful I could be doing with that time.
5-step Plan to Diagnose Ranking Drops
So as we’ve ruled out the disavow tool as a silver bullet for getting your rankings back, what can we do?
As reported on Search Engine Journal; Google's Danny Sullivan provided SEO diagnosis tips to a website owner who experienced a traffic drop; he asked:
Any chance you could take a look at my site retroresolve[dot]com, please? We used to be the go-to for guides on Steam Deck but got hit pretty badly and I’m a bit lost as to why.”
Sullivan recommended several steps to diagnose and address potential issues with the website’s performance:
First, use Google Search Console to compare the site’s metrics over the past six months versus the prior period.
Next, sort the Queries report by click change to identify notable decreases.
Check if the site still ranks highly for those terms.
If so, the content quality and SEO may not be the problem.
Recognize that Google’s ranking algorithms evolve continually, so some volatility is expected.
He went on to elaborate, saying
“If you're still ranking in the top results, there's probably nothing fundamental you have to correct. We just might find other content that our systems think is more useful, and moving down a bit can cause a traffic drop.
Which ... no doubt will lead to a gazillion people now jumping into this thread to say "but whatabout....." which leads to this post.
We keep at improving our ranking systems. Being in the top results often means you're lined up with what our systems are looking for (not always, because our systems aren't perfect). But you probably don't have any fundamental issues, and it *might* be the mix of how we show content could change to help you over time.”
Google Maps blocked 45% more fake reviews than the previous year
Covered over at Search Engine Roundtable, Google has released a new machine learning algorithm to fight spammy reviews. Google blocked over 170 million fake reviews in 2023 compared to 115 million in 2022.
Google said they "launched a new machine learning algorithm that detects questionable review patterns even faster. It does so by examining longer-term signals on a daily basis — like if a reviewer leaves the same review on multiple businesses or if a business receives a sudden spike in 1 or 5-star reviews.”
Recipe carousel issues and the rise of Pinterest
Search Engines Roundtable covered an issue about recipe search results. It seems Google has dropped many recipe sites that were doing well in the recipe carousels in favour of Pinterest.
Google is aware of these issues but hasn’t estimated a time for when or even if they will be resolved. The standout thing for me is if you’re not already using Pinterest as part of your overall strategy, it might be time to consider it. This article gives a little more insight into how relevant Pinterest is in 2024 and lists recipe content in their top perming niches:
Home decor and DIY projects
Fashion and style
Food and recipes
Health and wellness
Travel
Beauty and skincare
Weddings and events
Parenting and kids
Quotes and inspiration
Technology and gadgets