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Websites using first-person pronouns, first-hand experience and a cookie consent banner were more likely to see positive visibility gains during Google updates, according to a new correlation study from Zyppy SEO.
Meanwhile, fixed footer ads and fixed video ads were two features that were potential reasons for a website to be negatively impacted.
Why we care. Credibility and experience are becoming increasingly important elements of SEO, in my opinion. As the analysis by Cyrus Shepherd put it brilliantly, “everything in SEO connects to everything else.” This doesn’t mean you’ll always win for every keyword you want, but inspiring trust will greatly increase the odds in your favor.
Google update winners. Five websites features had a “strong” correlation among winners during Google algorithm updates:
Google update losers. Twelve website features had a “very strong” or “strong” correlation among the winners of Google updates during the same time period:
What these all have in common? It call comes back to experience and, ultimately, credibility. These all relate back to content creators demonstrating their own expertise or the website providing a great user experience.
About the data. This is a small sample size (50 websites), based on Ahrefs estimates, during a particular volatile period of Google (August to December 2023). Also, correlation is not causation.
Features, not factors. Also, just to be clear, this report does not call any of these website features direct “ranking factors” or “ranking signals.” While the results are interesting, they are not definitive proof that these individual website features could be credited or blamed for any Google Search visibility gains or losses.
The report. You can read it here: Winning & Losing Big Google Updates: 50-Site Case Study
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