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Welcome to another insightful week with The SEOs Diners Club newsletter. Leveraging over a decade of SEO expertise, I aim to distil the week's most critical developments into a concise read that will take less than seven minutes. Let's dive into the insights that matter.

Declaring Google A Monopoly: The New Era in SEO and Digital Marketing

I analyzed how the court's declaration of Google as a monopoly will affect SEO and digital marketing strategies.

A US court deemed Google a monopoly last week in a landmark decision for the digital world. The decision confirmed that Google has a monopoly on the general search services and search text advertising markets and has resorted to anti-competitive practices to maintain that dominance.

The court noted that Google, in particular, paid large sums of money to maintain its status as the default search engine on devices and browsers and hindered competition by using user data to its advantage.

This development will have major repercussions for SEO and digital marketing. Possibilities such as mandatory changes to Google’s business model, divestitures of certain businesses, and restrictions on default search agreements could fundamentally change the industry's dynamics.

Breaking Google's Dominance: Rise of Competition?

Google's conviction, in this case, could be a significant turning point for SEO experts and digital marketers. For many years, small and large businesses have focused solely on Google’s dominance in the search engine market when determining their SEO strategies. However, as this dominance breaks down, alternative search engines and digital platforms will begin to gain more importance. First, it could pave the way for AI-powered search platforms such as OpenAI’s SearchGPT.

Increasing Diversity in the Search Engine Market

The revelation that Google is paying a large sum to remain the default search engine has highlighted how much competition has been stifled. This could lead to other search engines like Bing, DuckDuckGo and next-generation search technologies gaining market share.

In SEO strategies, it may be necessary to focus not only on Google but also on these alternative search engines. Google's stricter regulation after this case may increase competition in the sector and cause SEO experts to focus on optimizing for different search engines.

Google's Restructuring in Digital Advertising

The decision could have a radical impact not only on the search engine market but also on digital advertising. A large portion of Google’s advertising revenues come from its search engine. However, the resulting changes to Google’s advertising operations could particularly affect Google Ads users. Advertisers could reduce their dependence on Google and turn to alternative advertising platforms, leading to radical changes in digital advertising strategies.

Google's Appeal and Future Scenarios

Google is almost sure it will appeal this decision. However, this process is likely to turn into a long legal battle. The longer the court case goes on, the more uncertainties there are in Google’s business model, which could directly affect the company’s future strategies. For example, if Google were to sell off some of its businesses, this could create a massive gap in the search engine market, which could allow new players to enter the market.

Possible Impacts on SEO and Digital Marketing Strategies

SEO experts and digital marketers may have to reshape their strategies in anticipation of the effects of this decision. The decline of Google’s dominance in advertising may lead to the importance of alternative advertising platforms and strategies. Instead of focusing SEO efforts solely on Google, it may be necessary to focus on other search engines and platforms. In particular, AI-powered search engines and social media platforms may offer significant opportunities to fill this gap.

Alternative Search Engines and SEO Strategies

As a result, search engines like Bing and DuckDuckGo may have a chance to gain more market share. In this case, it may be necessary to focus more on these platforms in SEO strategies. For example, optimization studies for Bing may require a different approach because it has criteria that are different from those of Google. This means that SEO experts need to develop more flexible and diverse strategies.

Diversification in Advertising Strategies

Google’s diminishing dominance in digital advertising could also cause advertisers to reconsider their strategies. Social media platforms, especially Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, could become more attractive to advertisers. Additionally, e-commerce giants like Amazon may be more inclined to invest in advertising platforms. This diversification requires more intelligent allocation of advertising budgets and more effective campaigns across platforms.

Conclusion: It's Time for Change in the Digital Marketing World

Google's loss, in this case, could herald significant changes in the world of digital marketing. SEO and digital advertising strategies will require greater diversity and flexibility in this new era. Google’s diminished dominance in the market will increase competition, ultimately leading to more innovative and effective marketing strategies. However, how this process plays out will largely depend on Google’s appeals process and the effectiveness of potential regulations.

SEO experts and advertisers must develop constantly updated strategies to take advantage of the opportunities presented by this new era in digital marketing. As a result, Google's loss in this case should be seen as the beginning of a new era of competition in the digital world, and strategies should be developed accordingly.

Fix Crawl Issues with Robots.txt Test in Google Search Console

Use GSC’s stealth test to detect errors in your robots.txt file. Improperly managed robots.txt files can lead to complex problems.

I want to remind you that Google Search Console has added the robots.txt test feature to the indexing report. When you click on a page marked in this report, a panel shows why the crawling was blocked. This useful feature was added at the end of last year and is somewhat hidden in the control panel. If you want to access this tool from a different angle, you can also access it from the 'Settings' tab.

From my experience, many large sites try to remove individual pages from Google's index by incorrectly using the robots.txt file. However, this file is used for crawl management. If you want a page wholly removed from Google's index, use the noindex meta tag or HTTP response header.

Using noindex instead of robots.txt results in a long list of redirects or non-existent pages that Google can’t crawl or update, which is a very disorganized method and ineffective for hiding content.

This becomes particularly complicated when large sites use subdomains for essential sections of their site. Subdomains often have separate and distinct robots.txt files from the leading site, which are usually poorly managed, further exacerbating the problem.

These types of errors usually don’t cause significant problems and often result in the desired result of removing pages from Google’s search results. However, we must use the tools we have for their intended purpose. Keep your robots.txt files organized and tidy so the next SEO expert can easily manage them when they arrive :)

Google Search Console's New Feature: Catch the SEO Opportunities You've Missed

Google is adding a new “recommendations” feature to Search Console. This experimental tool will make the optimization process more accessible by offering SEO recommendations for your website.

My years of experience in the SEO world have shown me how important it is to keep up with Google’s ever-changing algorithms and new tools. This is where the latest and experimental “recommendations” feature that Google has started adding to Search Console comes in.

We are faced with a tool that will simplify optimisation processes by providing personalized SEO suggestions specific to our websites.

This new feature provides recommendations directly related to data from Google’s indexing, crawling and serving systems. Previously scattered throughout the Search Console, this information will now be available on a single page and ready to use. It will guide us in areas such as adding structured data, editing sitemaps and identifying trending queries and pages.

Of course, this feature is currently experimental and will not be available to all sites immediately, but it is exciting that it will be rolled out gradually. When making recommendations, we should always consider whether Google’s recommendations are in line with our website’s overall strategy and goals. In the SEO world, success is not only about using tools but also about strategically interpreting the data these tools provide. We will see together what impact this new feature will have.

Google Trends' 'Currently Trending' Section is Live with a New Look

Updates to Google Trends' “trending now” section offer more trending queries to view and advanced filtering options.

When I heard about Google Trends' new design of Its “currently trending” section, I immediately realized that this change would make a big difference in the SEO world. The new interface features more trending queries on the page and offers a list view that makes it easier to use. This innovation will allow us to analyze trends quickly and effectively, especially when determining content strategies.

The new “currently trending” page provides charts showing when a phrase is trending, search volume, and a detailed trend analysis. Filtering options at the top by country, time zone, trend status, and relevance helps you access the data you seek faster. You can also export this data to a CSV file, clipboard, or RSS feed. These features will simplify things, especially for SEOs working with big data.

Google Trends has been a tool we have used for years in SEO work, especially in keyword research and content production specific to the agenda. Although Google Trends is often seen as an entry-level tool and inadequate compared to other professional tools, this new update is making it a source we can refer to more often.

With the new design, it is possible to use more filter options and obtain data for more keywords on the same page. This allows us to analyze search volume and trend changes more effectively, especially by filtering trends by country, period, active trends, and relevance.

This update also provides export options, such as exporting the data obtained from the Trends section individually or in bulk to CSV, copying to the clipboard, or exporting to RSS, which allows us to use the data more flexibly. In short, this new version of Google Trends will strengthen our SEO strategies and become a much higher priority in our daily work.

Strategies to Reduce Google Ads Costs

As Google Ads costs rise, implement these strategies to optimize your campaigns, stay ahead of the competition, and manage your budget wisely.

With the rise in Google Ads advertising costs, advertisers have had to make their campaign management more efficient. You can optimize your campaigns against cost increases, and performance decreases with these strategies:

• Keep Broad Match Keywords in Separate Campaigns: By using broad match keywords in separate campaigns, you can manage different bid strategies more effectively. You can set more aggressive targets for broad match campaigns and optimize performance.

• Target Your Competitors: Create custom segments to target users who visit your competitors’ websites. This way, you can attract competitors’ customers and users with profiles similar to your Google Ads campaigns.

• Invest in Video Content: Google is increasingly focusing on video content. Create quality video content for Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns. This will make your campaigns look professional and improve performance.

• Adopt a Flexible Budgeting Strategy: Manage your budget flexibly throughout the year according to demand fluctuations. Instead of a fixed monthly budget, perform more efficient campaign management by increasing spending during high-demand periods and decreasing it during low-demand periods.

• Don’t Neglect SEO: SEO is critical to PPC success. Collaborate with your SEO team to boost quality scores and send the right signals to Google’s AI-powered ad creation and targeting systems. This way, you can improve the performance of your ads and reduce your costs. You can learn more about this by reading my article The Benefits of Using Google Ads and SEO Together.

Recommended Tools & Services

• WhitePress: WhitePress is a content marketing platform that enables accessible article publishing across 90,571 websites in 30 languages, offering native copywriting and automated global publication services.

• Cannibalization Explorer Looker Studio Report is a tool for identifying keyword cannibalization and providing insights into how keywords perform across different pages.

• SurferSEO is a tool that helps you create and optimize content for SEO. It analyzes the top-ranking pages for your target keywords and gives you suggestions on how to improve your content. Surfer AI also has a feature that can generate ready-to-rank articles in minutes.

• Copilot Pro: Copilot Pro is available for $20/month for cloud-based GenAI models and $27/month with Microsoft 365. It is integrated with Microsoft 365 applications and provides access to GPT-4 Turbo and advanced AI rendering tools.

• AlsoAsked is a helpful tool that can boost your visibility in the “People Also Ask” section of Google's search engine results page.”

• Semrush Map Rank Tracker is a Google-changing tool for local businesses looking to dominate their niche and attract more customers. I've been using the free version for a while now, and I'm impressed with its ease and effectiveness.

• ContentShake AI is an intelligent writing tool that combines AI with real-life competitor insights. It guides you from ideation to publishing directly to the blog, generates SEO-friendly articles, and helps you optimize them for organic traffic and engagement.

• Microsoft Clarity has recently introduced a feature called Copilot, which incorporates Generative AI through Large Language Models (LLMs) into the analytics tool. This integration aims to make data more accessible and understandable for users by leveraging the same technology created by OpenAI, which powers the new Bing or ChatGPT.

• InLinks is an SEO tool that uses a knowledge graph to optimize content for search engines. It automates internal linking and schema markup, simplifying SEO processes and content strategies.

Subscribe to my newsletter to stay informed about the latest in SEO and digital marketing. Next week, I'll continue to share the newest insights, tactics, and strategies for navigating the ever-evolving digital marketing landscape.

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Best,

Mert Erkal