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Unraveling SERP Features – How to track and analyze urls ranking within Top Stories, People Also Ask, Image Packs, Short Videos, Recipe Packs, and more using Semrush’s New SERP Features reporting

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Semrush SERP features upgrade.

Google’s search engine result pages are filled with an amazing combination of features to present many different types of content. From images to video to news to recipes, there’s no shortage of interesting features at your fingertips. And for site owners and SEOs, we want to track all of them, and at a granular level.

Although Google Search Console (GSC) provides a wealth of information, it can fall short when it comes to SERP feature data. Two important examples of that include the lack of tracking of Top Stories and Featured Snippets in GSC. They are two incredibly important search features that unfortunately do not have their own filtering options in GSC. And beyond just filtering of a specific feature, there are many search features that contain a carousel or list of urls, which would be incredible to unravel for analysis purposes.

But that’s where third-party tools come in handy. Their ability to track SERP features across many sites provides site owners and SEOs powerful information about how their content, and competitors’ content, are ranking in the search results (and across both desktop and mobile). That’s why I was super-excited to see the latest update from our friends at Semrush. They rolled out upgraded SERP features functionality that takes tracking the SERPs to a new level.

In this post, I’ll walk you through unraveling SERP feature rankings to reveal the urls and content ranking within them. We’ll pull apart People Also Ask (PAA), Top Stories, Video Packs, Image Packs, Recipe packs, and more. By the end, I’m confident you will be eager to analyze your own site (and your competitors).

Semrush now tracks a whopping 38 features, up from 24:
First, with the upgrade, Semrush now tracks a whopping 38 SERP features. That’s up from 24 previously tracked. Some of the new additions include powerful features like Top Stories, Short Videos, Twitter Carousels, Recipes, Popular Products, Web Stories, and more.

I just wanted to point this out since it underscores how dynamic the Google search results have become. Here is a quick visual from Semrush showing the SERP features tracked now:

Semrush tracks 38 SERP features

Understanding which SERP features are accessible per tab in Semrush:
Based on the SERP features addition, there seems to be some confusion about where to find the various SERP features within each tab in the Positions reporting (Organic versus SERP features). To help site owners and SEOs understand where to find each feature, Semrush published a helpful visual that breaks out each feature by tab.

The features highlighted in yellow can be found under the SERP features tab, the features highlighted in purple can be found under the Organic tab, and the features highlighted in green can be found under both tabs.

A SERP Features test drive – Traversing the reporting in Semrush:
I think the best way to show you the new SERP features reporting is to walk you through some examples. Let’s fire up Semrush and analyze espn.com and some specific queries.

In the overview tab of the Organic Research reporting, you can scroll down the main dashboard and you’ll see a new report titled “SERP Features Trend”. This is a global snapshot of the domain you are analyzing from a SERP feature standpoint.

You will see a stacked bar chart with trending by SERP feature. This can be done by day or month, depending on the date selection you have active. For example, the reporting launched on April 6, so you will see the SERP features the domain ranks for in the stacked bar chart (based on the number of keywords per feature). You can select or deselect specific SERP features, which are then reflected in the bar chart below. This enables you to view the changes for each SERP feature over time.

Here is the stacked bar chart for all SERP features for espn.com:

SERP features trending in Semrush

For example, espn.com ranks in People Also Ask for 108K+ queries:

A breakdown of SERP features ranking for a domain in Semrush

Moving to the Positions report – A new tab for SERP Features:
Next, you can select the Positions report to view all queries the site ranks for and their associated data. But you’ll notice two new tabs, Organic and SERP Features. If you click the SERP Features tab, you will filter the queries by keywords that rank in specific SERP features. That’s an awesome way to dig into SERP feature data.

The new SERP features tab in the positions report in Semrush

For each query, you will see icons for the SERP feature it ranks within. For example, below you can see queries that rank in People Also Ask (PAA), Top Stories, Video packs, Short Videos, and more. And remember, you can view this for both mobile and desktop (separately).

SERP features in the Positions reporting in Semrush

If you want to see the screenshot for the query where the site ranks in a SERP feature, click the SERP snapshot icon on the right side of the report. Boom, you can see what was captured.

The SERP snapshot icon in Semrush for viewing a captured search engine result page

If you click a specific SERP feature icon, then the Positions reporting will be filtered by just that feature. It’s yet another way to slice and dice SERP feature data. You can see below that the reporting is filtered by queries where espn.com ranks in Top Stories.

Filtering the Positions reporting by a specific SERP feature

Jumping to the Keyword Overview reporting and unraveling urls ranking within each feature:
This is probably my favorite new feature. Not only can you see that a site ranks within a specific SERP feature for a query, but you can reveal all of the urls that rank within that feature. For example, you might see a query where the site ranks in Top Stories, but wouldn’t it be great to see all of the urls ranking in that Top Stories module? You can do that now via Semrush via the Keyword Overview report.

For example, I clicked the query “New York Yankees” in the Positions reporting, which opens the Keyword Overview report. You can scroll down to the SERP Analysis module to see the urls ranking in the top 100 listings for that query. You will notice some new SERP features in the list ranking in the top ten. For example, you will see a Twitter carousel, Top Stories, and a Knowledge Panel for this query.

The Keyword Overview report in Semrush with SERP features listed.

That’s cool, but that’s not all you can do here. You can actually click the arrow icon next to each feature to reveal the urls ranking within the feature! Yes, you can unravel SERP features to quickly view which urls and content are ranking there. That’s awesome.

Unraveling SERP features in the Keyword Overview reporting in Semrush to reveal urls ranking within each feature

And here I’m unraveling the Twitter carousel to view the tweets and PAA to see the urls ranking in the default PAA for the query:

Viewing the urls ranking in a Twitter carousel and People Also Ask (PAA) in the Keyword Overview report in Semrush

As another example, I entered “Yankee Stadium” in the tool and checked the top ten. And wow, check out all of the SERP features ranking.

There’s a Twitter carousel, Knowledge Panel, Image pack, urls with FAQ snippets, and more. And again, you can unravel some of those SERP features to see the urls ranking within them.

The Keyword Overview report for the query Yankee Stadium revealing all of the SERP features ranking for the query

And if I switch to mobile, you can see a Short Videos feature in the list. Click the arrow to reveal the urls of each video ranking in the feature. Again, it’s awesome to be able to quickly do this via Semrush.

Viewing the urls ranking in the Short Videos feature in the Keyword Overview report in Semrush

Here is what the Short Videos feature looks like (typically containing four short videos). With Semrush, you can now see each of the videos ranking within the feature:

The Short Videos SERP feature in Google

A note about image packs:
One issue I have with the new functionality is that urls ranking in image packs aren’t collapsed behind the arrow like other SERP features are. Each image is listed separately versus being in one SERP feature that you can expand. I would much rather know that an image is contained in the pack and view them all together. Right now, you might see six images taking up the top ten, but in reality, they are part of one SERP feature. I’ll send that feedback to Semrush to see what they think.

For example, these urls are in one SERP feature, but listed separately:

Image packs ranking in the Keyword Overview report in Semrush

Here is what an image pack looks like for the query in the mobile SERPs:

An image pack in the Google mobile search results.

Exporting SERP Features
It’s important to note that you can also export the SERP features data per query. For example, exporting the Keyword Overview report for “New York Yankees” provides the urls ranking within each SERP feature. Below, you can see the urls ranking in Top Stories, the Knowledge Panel, and PAA.

Exporting SERP features in Semrush

Another example of unraveling SERP Features – Recipes
As another quick example, let’s unravel a recipes carousel to reveal the urls and content ranking in the feature. I entered epicurious.com in the Organic Research reporting, clicked the SERP features tab in the Positions reporting, and then clicked the query “stout cake recipe”, which I saw ranked in a recipes carousel.

Viewing recipe SERP feature data in Semrush

In the Keyword Overview report for the query, I can see a recipes carousel ranks first in the SERP. Clicking the arrow icon reveals the four recipes ranking there, including one url from epicurious.com.

Viewing urls ranking in a Recipes carousel in the Keyword Overview report in Semrush

Quickly checking the SERP snapshot or a live SERP yields the carousel and epicurious.com ranking in the feature. Again, it’s powerful to be able to view this data via a third-party tool (for any site and query):

A recipes carouse in the Google search results.

Summary – Identifying and Unraveling 38 SERP features via Semrush
I hope this post helped you learn more about the new SERP features functionality in Semrush. Again, the search results are filled with powerful features, so it’s important to understand when your content is ranking within those features. And now with Semrush, you can easily view the urls ranking within each feature (and across the competition). I recommend checking out the new SERP features reporting soon. I think you’ll dig it. Have fun.

GG

How to compare hourly sessions in Google Analytics 4 to track the impact from major Google algorithm updates (like broad core updates)

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Hourly tracking in Google Analytics 4

I was just asked on Twitter if there was an easy way to compare Google organic traffic hourly like you can in Universal Analytics. That’s a great question, and that’s a super useful report to have as major algorithm updates roll out. You can typically start to see the separation over time as the update rolls out (if your site was heavily impacted by a major update like broad core updates, Product Review Updates, etc.)

So I fired up GA4 and created a quick exploration report for analyzing hourly traffic. Here is a short tutorial for creating the report:

1. Fire up GA4 and click the “Explore” tab in the left-side menu.

Explore tab in Google Analytics 4

2. Click the “Free Form” reporting option.

Free form exploration reporting in Google Analytics 4

3. Click the plus sign next to “Segments” to add a new session segment. Then create a segment for Google Organic by adding a new condition, selecting “Session source / medium” and then adding a filter for “google / organic”.

Creating a segment for Google Organic in Google Analytics 4
Selecting session source and medium and then filtering by Google Organic when creating a new segment in GA4

4. Add that segment to your reporting by dragging it to the “Segment Comparisons” section of the report.

Adding a segment to the reporting in Google Analytics 4

5. Set “Granularity” to Hour.

Selecting Hour as the granularity for the reporting in Google Analytics 4

6. Add a new metric and select “Sessions”. And then drag “Sessions” to “Values”.

Adding sessions as a metric in Google Analytics 4

7. Change the visualization to line chart by clicking the line chart icon.

Changing the visualization of the reporting to line graph in Google Analytics 4

8. For timeframe, select “Compare” and choose a day. Then choose the day to compare against. Note, GA4 isn’t letting me choose today (which is a common way to see how the current day compares to a previous day). So, you’ll have to just compare the previous day to another day. Sorry, I didn’t create GA4.

Comparing timeframes in Google Analytics 4

9. Name your report and enjoy comparing hourly sessions.

I hope you found this helpful, especially since the March 2023 broad core update is currently rolling out. Have fun. :)

GG

It’s all in the (site) name: 9 tips for troubleshooting why your site name isn’t showing up properly in the Google search results

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Site names in Google Search

Update: April 21, 2023
Google published a form for reporting site name problems in the search results. This is based on a number of companies reporting the wrong site names appearing in the SERPs. Read more here:

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With favicons and site names now appearing in both the mobile and desktop search results, it’s important to make sure both are showing up correctly. Learn how Google generates site names and how to troubleshoot the wrong site name showing up in the SERPs.

In addition to helping a number of companies with favicon problems in the Google search results, I’ve also had companies reach out about botched site names. Site names are the visual partner to favicons and reside to the right of the favicon and above the url. The favicon and site name combination can definitely impact how users perceive your site and can impact click-through rate from the SERPs, so they are important to get right.

For example, here is an example of site names appearing in the search results for Newegg and Best Buy:

An example of site names in the Google search results.

In May of 2019, Google rolled out favicons and site names in the mobile search results. At that time, Google explained that the visual treatment would also be coming to desktop at some point (and I had been sharing that information often to make sure site owners were prepared). Well, the desktop rollout finally happened on March 8, 2023 (after heavy testing over the past several months). So now it’s even more important to make sure you put your best foot forward in the search results…

First, if you are having problems with favicons (and not your site name), then read my post dedicated to favicon issues. This post is focused on site names (which is the name Google is providing to the right of the favicon and above the url). I’ve seen some weird situations with site names since 2019… and this post provides a number of tips for making sure the right site name shows up in the SERPs.

Here is a quick table of contents if you want to jump to specific sections:

Multiple Names, Multiple Variations:
First, it’s important to understand that Google could be providing multiple site names in the search results right now for your website. The easiest way to check this out is to fire up Google Search Console (GSC), check the Performance reporting, open an incognito window in Chrome, and then start testing searches across both desktop and mobile. You might be surprised with what you find.

For example, you might see various site names showing up for your listings, including acronyms, the full domain name versus your brand name, a person’s name, and more. I recommend documenting the queries and taking screenshots of the variations so you can easily track site name changes over time.

How Does Google Create Site Names?
After going through the process of checking and documenting site names, you might be wondering how Google actually creates a site name. Well, Google explains in it documentation that they use several signals for creating a site name. I’ll quickly cover each below and then cover various issues I have seen when helping companies troubleshoot site name problems.

Structured Data:
You can provide WebSite structured data that can influence the site name in the search results. For example, you can provide both a name and then alternateName property. I highly recommend doing this to avoid problems down the line. You only need to add this to your homepage and it’s very easy to do.

Title tags:
Yes, title tags are still extremely important on several levels SEO-wise. But for site names, it’s another signal that Google uses to understand the site name. So don’t overlook the power of making sure your brand name is accurately reflected in your title tags (and especially on the homepage).

Headings:
Google also explains that headings are important. And just to clarify, I’m referring to html headings like <h1>, <h2>, etc. Review your homepage and make sure you are accurately using the name you want Google to use as your site name in the heading tags. It’s just another signal Google will use.

Open Graph tag: og:site_name
Google can also use the open graph tag og:site_name when understanding which site name to use. So don’t leave that out either, especially if you are having problems with site names in the search results.

Not confirmed, but had me thinking… Are inbound links and anchor text influencing site names?
I just helped a company troubleshoot the wrong site name showing up in the SERPs, and after digging in a bit, I  started wondering how anchor text might be influencing the site name. For example, inbound links using the wrong brand anchor text. I saw that heavily with the site in question, so it’s possible… I might reach out to Google about this just to get some clarification. I’ll update this post if I hear back from them about this.

For example, a website that had the wrong site name showing up in the SERPs had many inbound links pointing at it using that name as the anchor text:

Does anchor text influence site names in Google Search?

Now for some tips based on my work helping companies with the wrong site name showing up in the search results.

9 tips for troubleshooting site names in Google’s desktop and mobile search results:
Below, I’ll cover several issues that could be causing problems with your site name showing up properly in the search results. This is based on helping a number of companies with site name problems.

1. WebSite Structured Data on the domain homepage:
I covered WebSite structured data earlier in this post, and Google lists that first in their documentation. I highly recommend adding accurate WebSite structured data to your homepage and providing both name and alternateName properties. Again, it’s very easy to add to your homepage and I’ve seen this work well when helping companies. After adding the structured data and verifying it’s valid, you should request indexing of your homepage in Google Search Console (GSC). Note, it can take time for Google to recrawl your homepage, pick up the structured data, etc., so definitely have patience.

WebSite structured data for site names in Google Search

2. Duplicate homepages? Fix that (or at least be consistent).
If your site resolves with both www and non-www, or at http and https, then I highly recommend 301 redirecting the non-canonical versions to the canonical version. For example, 301 non-www to www if www is the canonical version of your site. And I would always make sure to redirect all requests from http to https. Then Google will see one version of the homepage, the WebSite structured data on the page, title tag, etc.

For example, redirecting non-www to www:

Redirecting non-www to www

If you cannot redirect the non-canonical versions for some reason, then make sure you are using the same structured data on all versions of the homepage. Again, that’s not great on several levels SEO-wise, but I had to mention it. Speak with your developers about using redirects like I mentioned earlier. You’ll be in much better shape (and beyond just site names).

3. Site names at the domain-level:
Google supports one site name per domain (and not at the subdomain-level or subdirectory-level). Also, Google explains that the subdomains www and m are considered domain-level (so they are special cases). Just keep this in mind if you are trying to have a different site name show up for a subdomain or directory. That can’t happen (unless it’s www or m).

How Google handles domains for determining site names in search

4. The homepage must be crawlable and indexable:
The site’s homepage must be crawlable by Google, or it might not be able to accurately generate a site name. Make sure you aren’t mistakenly blocking the homepage via robots.txt. In addition, make sure it’s indexable and it doesn’t contain the meta robots tag or x-robots-tag using noindex. In other words, make sure it’s not being noindexed.

Blocking a homepage via robots.txt

5. Nest Structured Data Properly:
If you are already using WebSite structured data on your homepage, then make sure to nest site name properties correctly and accurately. For example, some sites are already using Sitelinks search box structured data. If you are, then make sure you add site name properties correctly in your JSON-LD code.

Nesting WebSite structured data properly

6. Adhere to Google’s content guidelines:
Google has provided a section containing content guidelines for site names. I highly recommend reviewing those guidelines to make sure you aren’t violating them. For example, choose a unique name, one that’s not misleading, and double check Google’s content policies for Search as well to make sure your site name isn’t violating them.

Content guidelines for site names in Google Search

Also, use a concise, commonly recognized name. Don’t provide something super long that most people wouldn’t use. Google can truncate the site name due to device limits. And as I covered before, I recommend adding an alternate name via structured data, which can be an acronym. For example, I use G-Squared Interactive and then GSQi as the alternate.

7. Consistency wins, align your signals:
Google only checks your homepage when creating the site name, so be consistent with the use of that name across the homepage. For example, make sure your title tag, structured data, headings, and og:site_name are all consistently using the site name you desire. To check your open graph settings, you can check the source code of your site via DevTools, or you can use Facebook’s sharing debugger, which will provide the open graph tags being used for a url.

Open graph tag for site name

8. Homepage Redirects and Destination URLs:
If your homepage automatically redirects users to another location (like a subdirectory), then Google will use the site name based on the target of the destination url you are redirecting to. So, if your homepage redirects to /en/ or something like that, then Google will create your site name based on the /en/ url and not the homepage. Just make sure the destination page can be crawled by Google and it’s not being noindexed via the meta robots tag or x-robots-tag.

Redirecting a homepage to a directory

9. Have Patience Once Implementing Changes:
As I covered earlier, it can take a few days or longer for Google to recrawl the homepage and process the changes before it updates your site name in the search results. I would periodically check the search results via incognito mode in Chrome based on top queries after requesting indexing of the homepage (after the changes are implemented). I’ve seen site names change relatively quickly for some sites, where it takes longer for others. This is typically not an instantaneous change.

Request indexing in Google Search Console (GSC)

Submit your site name problems directly to Google:
On April 20, 2023 Google published a form where site owners could provide more information about site name problems in the SERPs. Google explained they want to collect examples and forward them to the engineers so they can improve their systems. This comes after a number of sites have complained about the wrong site names showing up. I have seen this as well based on companies reaching out to me about the wrong site names appearing, despite the sites having the correct setup and signaling to Google what the actual site name should be in the SERP. You can access the site name form here.

And here is a tweet from Google’s John Mueller about the situation:

Summary: Put your best foot forward with site names in the SERPs.
I hope this post helped you understand more about how Google generates site names in the search results and how to troubleshoot site name problems. Favicons and site names are now in both the mobile and desktop search results and the treatment can impact a user’s perception of your brand, and click-through rate from the search results. I recommend making sure both your favicon and site name are accurate, look great, and work for your business. And again, if you are looking for specific help with favicons, check out my post dedicated to troubleshooting favicons in the SERPs. Good luck.

GG

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Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Can Google show multiple site names in the search results for my website?

A: Yes, Google can show various site names for a single website in the search results. It uses several signals to build the site name and you can end up seeing multiple site names in the SERPs.

Q: Can I influence site names in the search results?

A: Yes, you can influence the site name Google chooses by using a variety of methods, including using structured data, refining your title tag, heading tags, and using the site_name open graph tag.

Q: Will using structured data help Google understand the right site name?

A: Yes, using WebSite structured data can help Google understand the correct site name. It’s not absolute, but can help influence which site name is displayed by Google.

Q: Can I have a different site name for subdomains or subdirectories?
No, Google chooses site names at the domain-level, so you can’t have a different site name for subdomains or subdirectories. There are two special cases, which are www and m subdomains, which are treated like domains. For all other subdomains, you cannot have a different site name.

Q: How long does it take for Google to change the site name in the search results?

A: This completely depends on the site, how quickly Google recrawls the homepage, processes the changes, etc. It’s important to have patience. It can take days, or longer, for the correct site name to appear in the search results. Also, Google might keep the current site name if it’s algorithms believe that site name is correct.

Q: Can Google pick up the right site name if I’m disallowing the homepage via robots.txt?

A: No, the homepage must be crawlable and indexable in order for Google to pick up the correct site name. Make sure Google can crawl and index the homepage. You can test the page in the Robots.txt Tester and the URL Inspection Tool in Google Search Console to make sure the page is not being blocked or noindexed.

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Google Explore – The sneaky mobile content feed that’s displacing rankings in mobile search and could be eating clicks and impressions

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Google Explore in the mobile search results

I just completed a SERP analysis for a client and decided to write this post to highlight an important search feature that I don’t hear many people talking about in the industry. It’s Google Explore and it’s a super-interesting feature I have covered in a previous blog post. Google tested Explore in the spring of 2022 and then it was officially announced at Google Search On 2022 in September. So yes, it’s ranking in the mobile SERPs now, and for many queries (more than most think).

I actually presented various tests of Explore at the Google Meetup in New York City in June, and called it an “Explore Wonderland”. After sharing some examples of Explore in action, Lily Ray chimed in and said it looked like the merging of Search and Discover. I think that’s a great way to put it.

What is Google Explore?
If you’re not familiar with Explore, it’s a feed of content that can show up in the mobile search results and can contain articles, blog posts, and video broken down by subtopic. The best way to explain what it looks like is to just show an example.

Here is Google Explore after searching for “New York Yankees 2023”. Notice the massive feed that shows up after several scrolls in the mobile SERPs:

Example of Google Explore for the query New York Yankees 2023

Surfacing Google Explore, sometimes just a scroll or two away…
In the example above, Explore showed up after four scrolls, but it can actually show up after just one scroll. Yes, that means that whatever was ranking on page two in the desktop SERPS could vanish when you search on mobile (unless those displaced listings are part of the Explore feed for that query). This is why Explore is a powerful feature that more people should be talking about and analyzing.

For example, here is Explore showing up after just one scroll for the branded query “apartments.com”:

Example of Google Explore for the query Apartments.com

And here is Explore showing up after two scrolls for the query “bing chat vs bard”:

Example of Google Explore for the query Bing Chat vs Bard

An example of Vanishing Rankings Based On Google’s “Explore Wonderland”:
I mentioned that if you ranked on page two or beyond, and Explore now shows up for that query in the mobile SERPs, then your rankings could vanish. I have seen this a number of times while analyzing the search results for various clients. So, if you are seeing a drop in impressions or clicks for content that was ranking beyond page one, Explore could be the reason. Again, the Explore feed kicks in and displaces all rankings that were there beyond that point (unless some of that content ranks in the Explore feed).

For example, here is the query “email marketing” and you can see the last page ranking from the standard “blue links” and then the Explore feed starting. All listings beyond that point have been removed from mobile, unless they end up ranking in the Explore feed.  The only way the site owners would know this is happening is to actually check the live SERPs and see the Explore feed showing up. Unfortunately, I know many site owners aren’t checking the SERPs as much as they should.

Most of the listings beyond the red horizontal line on desktop will be displaced by Explore on mobile:

Desktop search results getting displaced by Google Explore on mobile

You can see where Explore starts and many of the pages ranking beyond that point on desktop are being displaced on mobile:

Google Explore showing up in the mobile search results and displacing desktop rankings

Tracking Explore in Google Search Console (GSC): Good luck.
It would be incredible to have a filter in GSC to isolate rankings in Google Explore, or even have separate reporting like we do for Discover. Unfortunately, that’s not the case (at least as of yet). Explore data is mixed in with the web results in Search Console. So, content ranking in Explore is reported just like any other listing in the SERPs.

For example, your ranking in Explore is the actual position in the SERPs overall, which would be somewhere beyond page one. I documented this for a client a while ago where they were ranking well in Explore and it accurately showed up as position #32 in GSC. But for most site owners, a position of 32 wouldn’t turn heads unless they knew they were ranking in Explore. I’m sure many have no idea when they are ranking there, which is why a filter or dedicated report would be incredible. I mocked up what that filter could look like in GSC when I tweeted about that client ranking well in Explore (but position 32).

The best way to try and isolate Explore data now is to filter by mobile and then dig into specific queries. You can also compare desktop and mobile to see the change in position (if Explore is displacing your rankings).

Comparing desktop to mobile data in Google Search Console (GSC)

Also, it’s important to understand that there could be heavy filtering for some GSC properties. You can read my post about tracking continuous scroll for more information about that. For example, Google filters out anonymized queries, which can drastically cut down on the data in your reporting. For some properties I was analyzing, I was only able to see 24% of the data… Clearly that’s a problem when you’re trying to analyze the impact of a feature in the SERPs. Anyway, there is nothing you can do about that. It’s just important to know that filtering is happening and that it could be extreme in certain cases.

Heavy data filtering in Google Search Console (GSC)

“Exploring” what can you do about the feed. See what I did there?
First, you can use Explore as a research tool and then take action based on your findings. Google is providing a feed of content based on a query, broken down by subtopic. That’s interesting by itself… but you can also dig into each section of Explore to see what’s ranking for each subtopic, the formats of the content ranking there, and more. And then you can perform a gap analysis to see if you have content that can rank for important subtopics. Do you have articles, blog posts, videos, etc.?

For example, the Explore feed for the query “artificial intelligence” has 22 subtopics. If you focus on writing about AI, it’s worth reviewing those subcategories to determine if you should address them, to determine if you have content that can rank for the subtopics, and in what format (like articles, video, etc.).

Google Explore subtopics

Here is a partial list of subtopics for the query:

  • Articles against artificial intelligence
  • Funny AI applications
  • In the Age of AI summary
  • Four categories under which AI is classified
  • Artificial intelligence analogy
  • Show about artificial intelligence
  • National Geographic artificial intelligence
  • Artificial Intelligence course
  • Creative AI examples
  • Machine learning now
  • Artificial Intelligence images
  • AI beats humans
  • Westworld artificial intelligence
  • AI generated food
  • What robots can’t do
  • Questions robots can’t answer
  • And more…

One Final Note: Could Explore come to desktop?
Before I end this post, I just wanted to mention that there’s always a possibility of Explore coming to desktop. I have no idea if Google has plans to do that, and I have not seen it tested yet, but it’s entirely possible. If that’s the case, then the displacement of rankings could impact Google Search on desktop. I’ll be watching the SERPs closely like I always do and will be sure to share any tests of Explore on desktop on Twitter. I’ll also update this post if that happens to document various examples.

For example, could we see this at some point?

Mockup of Google Explore in the desktop search results

Summary: Keep an eye out for Explore. It could be displacing your rankings in mobile search.
For many site owners, mobile traffic from Google Search is extremely important. And that’s why it’s incredibly important to be aware of Explore and to analyze the most important queries for your site. Again, it’s a large feed of content broken down by subtopic that can sometimes show up after just one or two scrolls in the mobile search results.

So, if you receive questions about a drop in mobile traffic for some queries, and your site was ranking beyond page one, then it could be Explore causing issues. The best way to understand what’s going on is to dig into the SERPs, try to analyze the data in GSC, and then perform a content gap analysis. Then try to take action and track your results to see if you can enter the Explore feed. One thing is for sure, I would check this out soon. I’m seeing Explore often when analyzing the SERPs.

GG

Bing Chat in the Edge Sidebar – An AI companion that can summarize articles, provide additional information, and even generate new content as you browse the web

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I’ve been heavily testing Bing AI Chat since last week and it’s been fascinating to see how it works both in the search results and in chat mode. As I explained in my post about the “code red” that triggered thousands of “code reds” at publishers, AI in the SERPs is one of the most important, and monumental changes, we have ever seen in the search industry. And it can potentially have a huge impact on publishers across the web. The financial impact could be massive.

During Microsoft’s presentation in Seattle, they showed off Bing Chat in the Edge sidebar, but I hadn’t seen it live during my testing… until yesterday! This is where Bing Chat can act as an AI companion while you browse the web (sitting in the Edge sidebar). For example, you can use Bing Chat to answer questions based on the content you are viewing in a tab you have open in Edge. And that opens up a ton of opportunities to have Bing AI help you as you browse the web. For example, you can ask it to summarize the article you are reading, pick out the most important information, understand who the author is, and more.

Well, yesterday I took one more look at the sidebar in Edge to see if Bing Chat would show up, and I’m glad I did! I quickly noticed I had access to Bing Chat in the Edge sidebar! I shared a Twitter thread with some findings based on my testing, but I wanted to document those tests here on my blog.

Below I’ve included several screenshots of using Bing Chat in the Edge sidebar. Again, it’s like an AI companion as you browse the web. I’ll keep testing and adding to the this post.

Permission to access browser web content from the Edge sidebar:
First, Bing Chat in the Edge sidebar asked if it can access browser web content to “get the best experience with relevant responses”. This is so you can select text for highlighting assistance, generate page summaries, and more.

Bing Chat asking for permission to access browser web content.

Summarizing an article:

Bing Chat in the Edge sidebar summarizing a blog post.

As you can see, although I asked Bing Chat to summarize my article, it also pulled in information based on other sites that were writing about the overall topic. The good news is that my site was the core citation, however, there were several other citations listed there, including Bing citing itself (which I have reported before). But that Bing citation led to a search result with my blog post winning the featured snippet. So, I’m cool with that. :)

Bing Chat in the Edge sidebar citing Bing and leading to a featured snippet.

Understanding more about the author of an article or blog post:
Based on pulling up some articles from some top people in the SEO industry, and our interest in Google and Bing understanding more about authors of content, I decided to ask Bing Chat who the author was based on the content I was reading in Edge. Bing Chat did not do very well… at all. You can see it doesn’t know Lily Ray wrote the post and it believes a journalist from The Atlantic wrote Barry Schwartz’s post.

Bing Chat in the Edge sidebar identifying the author of an article.
Another example of Bing Chat in the Edge sidebar identifying the author of an article.

Although, I have seen Bing Chat in the Edge sidebar sometimes respond with the correct author information. For example, when I asked Bing Chat in the Edge sidebar who wrote my blog post. It responded correctly:

I tweeted about the author situation on Saturday and it was great to see Fabrice Canel from Microsoft say that he passed that feedback along to the Bing Chat team.

https://twitter.com/facan/status/1627109124919140353

Selecting text and taking action (like code):
In the Bing presentation in Seattle, Microsoft demonstrated selecting code on a page and asking Bing Chat to refine it. So I searched for a PHP code example, highlighted it, and Bing Chat asked me what I want to do with that text. I could ask Bing Chat to explain it, revise, it, expand it, or ignore it. When I chose “Revise”, Bing Chat responded that it needed to move on… so that functionality isn’t active yet. But good to know that’s coming soon.

Selecting text on a webpage and having Bing Chat explain, revise, expand, or ignore it.

Room for ads in the Edge sidebar (and more content modules):
When using Bing Chat proper (not in the Edge sidebar), there is plenty of room for ads in the citations and below the answer. For example, ads typically have shown above the citations when hovering over parts of the answer and additional modules of content can show up under the answer. The modules can be shopping results, news articles, local listings, etc. That also opens up a ton of opportunity for ads to show up while working with Bing Chat.

Well, there is obviously less room in the Edge sidebar, but there still are opportunities for ads and content modules. For example, when I was asked Bing Chat in the Edge sidebar to summarize an article about the Samsung Galaxy S23, it provided shopping results under the response. And clicking that launched a fresh SERP for the query, “Samsung Galaxy S23”. If you focus on ads, keep an eye on what Bing is doing in the sidebar.

Bing Chat in the Edge sidebar providing a shopping module under a response about a product.

Collapsing citations behind a “Click to view” button. Oh no…
In my post covering the potential impact of AI chat to publishers, I explained how Microsoft vowed to continue to link downstream to publishers. Satay Nadella even said they shouldn’t be crawling websites unless they link to them. That was amazing to hear, but I noticed something in the Edge sidebar that was concerning. For some queries, Bing Chat did provide citations in the response, but then collapsed the bottom citations behind a “Click to view” button. That essentially hid the websites that were being cited (which makes it harder to click those links to visit the sites). I’ll provide feedback to Microsoft about this, but it’s clearly something all publishers should watch closely.

Bing Chat in the Edge sidebar collapsing citations behind a "click to view" button.

Using “Compose Mode” in the Edge sidebar to generate content:
In the Edge sidebar, there are three tabs. One is labeled “Chat”, which I’ve been explaining in this post, but the second tab is labeled “Compose”. I dug in a bit and that’s where you can have Bing Chat generate content. You can tell it the style you want, the format, the length, and then have Bing Chat generate the content for you.

One you generate the content, you can copy it to use elsewhere, or you could click a button labeled “Add to site”. That was very interesting to see… so maybe Edge will create content for you and then let you quickly add that content to the page you are viewing? That button doesn’t work yet, so I’ll keep an eye on it. But again, very interesting to see that.

Using Bing Chat in the Edge sidebar to enter compose mode to generate content.

Here is a short blog post I asked Bing Chat in the Edge sidebar to write about how to throw a knuckleball:

Bing Chat in the Edge sidebar writing a short blog post via Compose mode.

And just for the heck of it, I ran that content through a few AI content detection tools like GPTZeroX. Yep, it sees the content as AI-generated. Just a a quick warning if you are going to use Bing Chat for publishing content.

AI content detection tools identifying a shot blog post written by Bing Chat in the Edge sidebar as AI-generated.

Tracking Bing Chat traffic in Google Analytics:
I noticed a new referral in Google Analytics the other day, which was edgeservices.bing.com. I also saw traffic started arriving via that referral right after Bing Chat was announced in early February. After testing visits from both Bing Chat and Bing Chat in the Edge sidebar, I realized that new referral was traffic from Bing Chat in the Edge sidebar. Traffic from Bing Chat proper shows up as Bing Organic (so there is a distinction in Google Analytics). Also, Bing’s Fabrice Canel confirmed to me on Twitter that the traffic was in fact from Bing Chat in the Edge sidebar.

That’s interesting, since Fabrice Canel also announced that Bing Chat data would be available in Bing Webmaster Tools at some point. But now we also have the ability to track sidebar traffic in GA (via the new referral). Just keep that in mind when analyzing traffic in GA.

For example, here is traffic from Bing Chat in the Edge sidebar showing up in GA:

Bing Chat in the Edge sidebar opens key opportunities for Microsoft (and You)
As you can see based on the examples I provided above, having an AI assistant browsing the web with you, that’s ready to answer questions about the content you are viewing, is almost like having a rudimentary version of Jarvis at your side. I covered how Jarvis is where AI chat in the search results is heading, and this is an interesting first step. Now back to my testing… I’ll try to update this post with more examples soon.

GG