Sep 4 2024
How New Chrome AI Feature Challenges SEO To Evolve via @sejournal, @martinibuster

A Google Chrome Engineer published a LinkedIn post outlining the new Chrome AI History feature and the signals it uses to surface previously visited sites. The post illustrates that natural language browser history search could become a traffic source, and SEO must evolve in response.

History Search Powered By AI

Google recently announced a new opt-in feature in Chrome that gives users the benefit of AI to search through their browser history and find a page that they have previously visited. This makes it easier for a site that has previously been visited to obtain another visit from the same person.

Chrome AI History Searches Page Content

Chrome Engineering Leader Addy Osmani wrote a description of the new Chrome AI History feature that contained some undocumented information about how it works which shows how text and images are used as data sources for the AI to identify a site that a user had previously visited.

The Chrome Browser history normally just searches the URL and Page Title to find something in the search history. “History Search, powered by AI” looks at the webpage content, including the images.

Osmani shared an example where he identified a page he had previously visited in which the AI used image content to find what he was looking for.

He gave an example of finding a page he visited that’s related to shopping:

“Recently, I was browsing for a new sweater and took a look at a few options across a few sites. I saw some neat Burberry designs. But there was one specific Burberry sweater I liked from a while back that said “England” on it. I can’t remember where I saw it or how to find that page again.

With AI history search, I simply type “Burberry sweater England” and voilà – the exact page appears, even though “England” was only mentioned within an image on the site.”

What does he mean that the word “England” was only mentioned in an image? He doesn’t specifically say that the word was in the image meta data like in the alt tag. I assumed that’s what he meant, that the word England was in the image metadata. So I found the exact page he was looking at (it’s in a video he embedded in his LinkedIn post) and checked the source code and the word “England” was not in the meta data.

If you watch the video the AI Browser history shows multiple pages so it’s possible that the AI simply ignored the word “England” just surfaced everything that had a partial match. But, Osmani said it was surfaced because of the image.

Here’s a screenshot from his video:

Screenshot of a page surfaced by Chrome AI Browser History result

Here’s the AI search results showing multiple pages in the results:

Screenshot of Chrome AI Browser history

The above image shows that the AI history surfaced more than just one page and the other pages weren’t about a shirt that said England, only the one. So it could very well be that the AI history was surfacing the England page not because it had the word England in the image but because it was relevant for the words Burberry and Sweater. But again, it could be because the word was in the image, this is something that needs clarification.

Osmani then offers two more examples that show how using keywords that appear in the page content will help surface web pages that a user had previously visited.

AI Browser Search Documentation

Google maintains a help page dedicated to this new feature where it lists the following tips that also give more information about how the AI browser search works.

  • “When you search short and simple text, you’ll be matched directly to the page title or URL. You won’t find an AI-powered result.
  • You can rate the best match result. At the bottom of the best match result, select Thumbs up or Thumbs down .
  • If you select Thumbs down , you can provide additional feedback on why the result didn’t meet your needs.
  • You can also search for browsing history in the address bar.”

Takeaways

Chrome AI search enables repeat visitors through natural language searches. But when users search with simple text Chrome will default to simple keyword matching to the page title and URL.

  • Exact keywords are not necessary
  • URLs are not necessary
  • Short simple text is matched via Title tag and URL
  • Keywords in title tag and URL that match to how users will remember the site (the topic) can still be important
  • The ability to rate results shows that this feature will continue to evolve

Chrome AI History is a useful feature and will likely become more prominent as people become more aware of it and people become more accustomed to using AI that’s built into their browsers and devices. This doesn’t mean it will become useful to add keywords all over the meta data but it does show how the future of SEO is growing to accommodate more than just search as AI takes a greater role in surfacing web pages.

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Cast Of Thousands

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Sep 4 2024
WordPress Just Locked Down Security For All Plugins & Themes via @sejournal, @martinibuster

WordPress announced a major clampdown to protect its theme and plugin ecosystem from password insecurity. These improvements follow a flurry of attacks in June that compromised multiple plugins at the source.

Improves Plugin Developer Security

This WordPress security update fixes a flaw that allowed hackers to use compromised passwords from other breaches to unlock developer accounts that used the same credentials and had “commit access” enabling them to make changes to the plugin code right at the source. This closes a WordPress security gap that allowed hackers to compromise multiple plugins beginning in late June of this year.

Double Layer Of Developer Security

WordPress is introducing two layers of security, one on the individual developer account and a second one on the code commit access. This separates the author security credentials from the code committing environment.

1. Two-Factor Authorization

The first improvement to security is the imposition of a mandatory two-factor authorization for all plugin and theme authors that will be enforced beginning on October 1, 2024. WordPress is already prompting users to use 2FA. Users can also visit this page to configure their two-factor authorization.

2. SVN Passwords

WordPress also announced it will begin using SVN (Subversion) passwords, an additional layer of security for authenticating developers as a part of a version control system. SVN ensures that only authorized individuals can make changes to the code, adding a second layer of security to plugins and themes.

The WordPress announcement explains:

“We’ve introduced an SVN password feature to separate your commit access from your main WordPress.org account credentials. This password functions like an application or additional user account password. It protects your main password from exposure and allows you to easily revoke SVN access without having to change your WordPress.org credentials. Generate your SVN password in your WordPress.org profile.”

WordPress noted that technical limitations prevented them from using 2FA to existing code repositories, thereby requiring them to use SVN instead.

Takeaway: Vastly Improved WordPress Security

These changes will results in greater security for the entire WordPress ecosystem and immensely contribute to ensuring that all plugins and themes are trustworthy and not compromised at the source.

Read the announcement

Upcoming Security Changes for Plugin and Theme Authors on WordPress.org

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Cast Of Thousands

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Sep 4 2024
Google’s AI Overviews Slammed By News Publishers via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Since its U.S. launch in May, Google’s AI Overviews feature has created controversy among news publishers.

The generative search tool attempts to directly answer queries by synthesizing information from web sources into AI-generated overviews.

While offering users a new level of convenience, AI Overviews has been criticized for factual inaccuracies, lack of transparency in sourcing content, and disincentivizing clicks to original articles.

Despite an initial scale-back, Google has doubled down – releasing Overviews in six more countries and additional languages in August.

Background on AI Overviews

Google introduced AI Overviews as an experimental opt-in feature that has since been rolled out to general search results.

Instead of listing links to webpages, AI Overviews aim to provide a complete answer using natural language.

Many publishers are concerned that AI Overviews could cannibalize their organic search traffic by satisfying user queries without requiring a click-through.

There are also complaints that Google is repackaging and republishing content without attribution or revenue sharing.

Audience Directors Speak Out

In interviews with the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard, seven leading audience strategy experts shared their perspectives on adapting to the AI Overviews disruption.

Veronica de Souza of New York Public Radio emphasized reducing reliance on Google by building direct audience relationships through owned channels like apps and newsletters.

Souza states:

“We’ve doubled down on converting people to our O&O (owned-and-operated) platforms like our app and newsletters…More transparency about which categories of search queries surface AI Overviews would be a good start.”

Washington Post’s Bryan Flaherty raised concerns about misinformation risks and lack of performance data insights from Google.

Flaherty states:

“If Google loses users due to the quality issues in its results and AI Overviews, users could continue to turn to non-traditional search platforms that don’t have as direct a tie back to sites, like YouTube and TikTok, which will have an impact on traffic.”

Vermont Public’s Mike Dougherty pointed out the lack of clear citations to original sources in Overviews.

Dougherty states:

“This product could so easily put clickable citations into or above the text. It could even write, ‘According to [publisher],…’ the way one news outlet might credit another.”

Scott Brodbeck of Local News Now remained optimistic that quality journalism can outcompete brief AI summaries.

Brodbeck states:

“If you as a news publisher cannot out-compete a brief AI-written summary, I think you have a big problem that’s not just being caused by Google and AI.”

Marat Gaziev of IGN advocated for deeper symbiosis between Google and reputable information providers to uphold accuracy standards.

Gaziev states:

“RAG requires a deep and symbiotic relationship with content publishers and the media industry to ensure that only credible sources are utilized during retrieval and augmentation.”

YESEO founder Ryan Restivo warned about potential carbon impacts from the heavy computing power required at scale.

Restivo states:

“The biggest problem, in my opinion, is the competition entering this space…The amount of compute needed to produce these at scale is hurting our environment.”

LA Times’ Seth Liss speculated Google may eventually prioritize generating answers over linking to external sites.

Liss states:

“If Google decides its best way forward is to keep all of those readers on its own site, there will be a lot of sites that have to figure out other ways to find new audiences.”

Measured Optimism

While most publishers interviewed by Nieman Journalism Lab expressed reservations, some took a more optimistic view.

The consensus is that high-quality, in-depth journalism will draw readers to visit publisher websites for full context beyond a brief AI summary.

There’s also hope that Google will find mutually beneficial ways to incorporate publisher content without usurping it entirely.

The Path Forward

As the search evolves, publishers are exploring strategies to adapt – from re-investing in email newsletters and mobile apps to developing AI-focused SEO best practices.

The debate highlights a challenge all publishers share – how to remain discoverable and generate traffic/revenue when search engines can directly answer queries themselves.

Featured Image: Marco Lazzarini/Shutterstock

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Sep 4 2024
Survey Shows Ecommerce Strategies For 2024 Holiday Season via @sejournal, @martinibuster

WooCommerce survey offers insights into the strategies that online retailers are using to prepare for Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) and why it’s important to be proactive.

Online Sales Is Most Important Sales Channel

One of the important takeaways from the survey is that 76% of respondents confirmed that their online sales are the primary revenue channel during the holidays, highlighting the importance of a high performance website that’s optimized for sales.

46% of stores answered that up to 30% of their annual sales volume happens during a combination of the BFCM and holiday period, while 24% answered that over 30% of sales occurred during that period. 8% of stores reported that over 50% were accounted for during the BFCM and holiday season.

Top Merchants Prepare Early

Interestingly, almost 20% prepare for BFCM three to over six months ahead of time, although most merchants tend to prepare closer to the holiday season. Online stores with revenues of $250K or more were 12% likelier to prepare ahead of time, with 34% preparing 3- 6 months in advance.

This is the breakdown of how early merchants are preparing:

  • 26% prepare 1 to 4 weeks ahead
  • 27% prepare 1 to 3 months ahead
  • 13% prepared 3 to 6 months ahead
  • 4% prepare 6+ months ahead

Strategies Merchants Plan To Use

Many online merchants are planning for a strong holiday season, with 26% of stores increasing inventory as a main part of their strategy.

The top strategies reported by merchants are:

  • Increase inventory
  • Marketing
  • Promotions
  • Website optimization

Email outreach was reported by 29% of merchants to be their most effective marketing channel. The next top marketing channel is organic search at 25%. Content marketing was reported by 6% and the balance is social, and search ads.

34% of merchants plan to change alter their strategies in the following ways:

  • 26% will add new products.
  • 24% are making marketing enhancements.
  • 16% are making website improvements.
  • 10% are focusing on early sales.
  • 9% are offering special discounts.

Changes to customer engagement, social media, and inventory management round out the list of changes.

Takeaway:

It’s important to understand what other merchants are doing to prepare for the competitive BFCM shopping season and to make sure that you or your clients are considering all available opportunities to make take a greater share of the sales and not leaving anything behind due to a lack of planning.

Read the report by WooCommerce:

WooCommerce Black Friday Trends

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Red Vector

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Sep 3 2024
Google Quietly Cancels Google Trends Subscriptions via @sejournal, @martinibuster

Google emailed users to communicate that it is ending the Google Trends subscriptions for trend alerts, warning that the program will no longer be available beginning on October 29, 2024 and that all existing alerts will end.

Google Trends is popular with many users, especially those who are digital marketers.

Aleyda Solis posted about it on X (formerly Twitter):

Can Still Make A Copy

The email stated that users can still obtain a copy of their data from the Google Trends subscription page before the 29th.

Google Trends Users Disappointed

A discussion on Reddit showed that many users were disappointed that the service was ending.

One Redditor commented:

“It’s really disappointing to see Google shutting down yet another useful feature. It feels like they used to be all about rolling out innovative tools that made our lives easier – I’ve used quite a few of them over the years. But lately, it seems like they’re closing these services one by one.”

Another Redditor commented that the unreliability of Google’s services is what stops them from using Google Gemini because they don’t want to rely on a service that can’t be depended to be around in the near future.

Full Text Of Email

This is the text of the email sent to subscribers:

“We’re writing to let you know about some upcoming changes to Google Trends subscriptions.

As of 29 October 2024, Google Trends trend notifications will no longer be supported and existing alerts will no longer be sent. In addition, creating new trend alerts using the subscription page will no longer be possible.

You can still copy your subscriptions from the Google Trends subscription page before 29 October 2024, if you wish to keep a record of them.

We understand this change may affect how you stay updated on trends. While email subscriptions will no longer be supported, there are alternative ways to access trending information:

Homepage Newsletter: Visit the Google Trends homepage to sign up for our daily newsletter and receive the latest trends in your inbox.

RSS Feed: Subscribe to the RSS feed for real-time updates on trending topics. We hope these alternatives will help you continue to discover insights on Google Trends.”

Read the discussion on on Reddit:

Google Trends email subscriptions will terminate as of 29 October 2024

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Cast Of Thousands

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Sep 3 2024
Google’s August Core Update Rollout Completed via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Google has announced the completion of its August core update. Website owners and SEO professionals can now fully assess the update’s impact on search performance.

The August core update, launched on August 15, is part of Google’s ongoing effort to improve the quality and usefulness of its search engine.

Gradual, Extended Rollout

Unlike typical day-to-day updates, core updates require an extended rollout. For the August update, Google indicated it could take up to a month to finish.

With its completion confirmed, now is the time to analyze the data and identify any significant ranking shifts.

“You’d really need to wait until the core update finishes rolling out to make any call about its effect,” John Mueller, Google’s Senior Search Analyst, stated in a LinkedIn discussion last month. “If you want to compare before vs after, waiting for it to be finished is important.”

Mueller also noted that it’s normal for search rankings to fluctuate during the rollout process, cautioning against drawing conclusions.

Measuring Content Quality

Throughout the rollout period, Google reiterated that core updates are intended to better match search results with content that provides users genuine value and relevance.

The company has maintained that sites focused predominantly on search engine optimization rather than helping users are likelier to experience negative ranking impacts.

To help affected sites, Google recently updated its guidance on core algorithm updates, providing clearer recommendations for pinpointing and addressing significant ranking drops using tools like Search Console.

Refined Advice For Recovery

The revised core update documentation emphasizes substantive content improvements over quick remedies.

It encourages thorough self-auditing against Google’s quality guidelines, stressing meaningful changes aligned with user needs rather than deleting underperforming pages outright.

The updated guidance states

“Things to keep in mind when making changes [include] prioritizing substantive, user-centric improvements rather than quick fixes. Removing content should be a last resort…suggesting it was created for search engines rather than users.”

Additionally, Google’s refreshed advice sets realistic expectations that regaining lost rankings may require waiting for future core updates even after enhancements are implemented.

AI Overviews Also Impacted

In a related development, Mueller confirmed that Google’s AI-generated overviews displayed in some search results are also influenced by core algorithm updates, tying the experimental AI features more directly to the core ranking systems.

“These [AI overviews] are a part of search, and core updates affect search, so yes,” Mueller stated when asked if the overviews are subject to core update changes.

Looking Ahead

While disruptive, Google maintains these core updates are necessary to continually refine how its systems prioritize the most useful information for search queries.

Publishers should focus content strategies on meeting user needs rather than pursuing SEO in isolation. As AI-generated overviews become further intertwined with core ranking systems, demonstrating true value may be more critical than ever.

Featured Image: Longfin Media/Shutterstock

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Sep 3 2024
Vulnerabilities In Two WordPress Contact Form Plugins Affect +1.1 Million via @sejournal, @martinibuster

Advisories have been issued regarding vulnerabilities discovered in two of the most popular WordPress contact form plugins, potentially affecting over 1.1 million installations. Users are advised to update their plugins to the latest versions.

+1 Million WordPress Contact Forms Installations

The affected contact form plugins are Ninja Forms, (with over 800,000 installations) and Contact Form Plugin by Fluent Forms (+300,000 installations). The vulnerabilities are not related to each other and arise from separate security flaws.

Ninja Forms is affected by a failure to escape a URL which can lead to a reflected cross-site scripting attack (reflected XSS) and the Fluent Forms vulnerability is due to an insufficient capability check.

Ninja Forms Reflected Cross-Site Scripting

A a Reflected Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability, which the Ninja Forms plugin is at risk for, can allow an attacker to target an admin level user at a website in order to gain their associated website privileges. It requires taking an extra step to trick an admin into clicking a link. This vulnerability is still undergoing assessment and has not been assigned a CVSS threat level score.

Fluent Forms Missing Authorization

The Fluent Forms contact form plugin is missing a capability check which could lead to unauthorized ability to modify an API (an API is a bridge between two different software that allows them to communicate with each other).

This vulnerability requires an attacker to first attain subscriber level authorization, which can be achieved on a WordPress sites that has the subscriber registration feature turned on but is not possible for those that don’t. This vulnerability was assigned a medium threat level score of 4.2 (on a scale of 1 – 10).

Wordfence describes this vulnerability:

“The Contact Form Plugin by Fluent Forms for Quiz, Survey, and Drag & Drop WP Form Builder plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized Malichimp API key update due to an insufficient capability check on the verifyRequest function in all versions up to, and including, 5.1.18.

This makes it possible for Form Managers with a Subscriber-level access and above to modify the Mailchimp API key used for integration. At the same time, missing Mailchimp API key validation allows the redirect of the integration requests to the attacker-controlled server.”

Recommended Action

Users of both contact forms are recommended to update to the latest versions of each contact form plugin. The Fluent Forms contact form is currently at version 5.2.0. The latest version of Ninja Forms plugin is 3.8.14.

Read the NVD Advisory for Ninja Forms Contact Form plugin: CVE-2024-7354

Read the NVD advisory for the Fluent Forms contact form: CVE-2024

Read the Wordfence advisory on Fluent Forms contact form:
Contact Form Plugin by Fluent Forms for Quiz, Survey, and Drag & Drop WP Form Builder <= 5.1.18 – Missing Authorization to Authenticated (Subscriber+) Mailchimp Integration Modification

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Cast Of Thousands

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Sep 3 2024
Googler’s Tip About Favicons Can Make A Big Difference via @sejournal, @martinibuster

Google’s John Mueller responded to a LinkedIn post about the visual impact of favicons in search results, sharing a tip that isn’t officially documented but could improve their visibility.

Favicons

Favicons are small icons that represent a website’s brand that are displayed in browser tabs, bookmarks, browser history and in search engine results pages (SERPs). They improve brand recognition, draws attention to itself and makes it easier to identify a brand when it’s in the search results.

Discussion On LinkedIn

A post in LinkedIn by Mark Williams-Cook (LinkedIn profile) highlighted the value of a good favicon in the search results, speculating that they might make a difference in search results interactions.

A discussion followed in which others observed the value of a favicon that draws attention to itself in the search results and that an eye-catching favicon is useful for SearchGPT.

The following screenshot shows how some favicons blend into the search results while two of them stand out, especially the one with the bold color scheme.

Screenshot Of Favicons In The SERPs

A distinctive favicon won’t help a site rank better but as can be seen above it can help the page stand out in the search results.

A Good Tip For Favicons

John Mueller’s observation about favicons mentions something really obvious but is also not mentioned in any of the official documentation about favicons. Mueller simply said that it’s not a bad idea if the favicon looks attractive when cropped into a circle.

This is what Mueller said:

“Round-croppable favicons, for those who like technical SEO.”

Designing a favicon that looks attractive when cropped into a circle something that is obvious in retrospect but easily overlooked. Considering a favicon by how well it appears cropped in a circle suggests the usefulness of testing a favicon to see what it looks like when cropped into a circle or even designing a favicon that is already in a circle so that it fills the entire available space when it’s displayed in the search results (or anywhere else).

None of Google’s documentation on favicons mentions that they are cropped into a circle nor does Google advise that it might be a good idea to design them in a round configuration.

This tip is a small and seemingly obvious one but it can make a big difference.

Read the LinkedIn discussion here:

I imagine custom favicons make an actual difference with SERP interaction…

Read Google’s Favicon documentation

Define a favicon to show in search results

Landing page guidelines – Favicons

Visual Elements gallery of Google Search – Attribution

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Cast Of Thousands

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments