The Best of Ahrefs’ Digest: March 2024

Every week, we stock blistery SEO news, absorbing reads, and caller posts successful our newsletter, Ahrefs’ Digest.

If you’re not 1 of our 280,000 subscribers, you’ve missed retired connected immoderate great reads!

Here’s a speedy summary of my idiosyncratic favorites from the last month:

Best of March 2024

How 16 Companies are Dominating the World’s Google Search Results

Author: Glen Allsopp

tl;dr

Glen’s probe reveals that conscionable 16 companies representing 588 brands get 3.5 cardinal (yes, billion!) monthly clicks from Google.

My takeaway

Glen pointed retired immoderate truly actionable ideas successful this report, specified arsenic the information that galore of the brands dominating hunt are adding mini-author bios.

This thought makes truthful overmuch consciousness successful presumption of some UX and E-E-A-T. I’ve already pitched it to the squad and we’re going to instrumentality it connected our blog.

How Google is Killing Independent Sites Like Ours

Authors: Gisele Navarro, Danny Ashton

tl;dr

Big publications person gotten into the affiliate game, publishing “best of” lists astir everything nether the sun. And contempt often not investigating products thoroughly, they’re dominating Google rankings. The result, Gisele and Danny argue, is that genuine reappraisal sites endure and Google is accelerated losing contented diversity.

My takeaway

I person a batch of sympathy for autarkic sites. Some of them are trying their best, but unfortunately, they’re lumped successful with thousands of others who are much than blessed to spam.

Estimated hunt postulation to Danny and Gisele’s tract fell disconnected a cliff aft Google’s March updates 🙁 

I cognize it’s hard to hear, but the information is Google benefits much from having large sites successful the SERPs than from having diversity. That’s due to the fact that results from large brands are apt what users really want. By and large, radical would alternatively store astatine Walmart oregon ALDI than astatine a section store oregon farmer’s market.

That said, I hold with astir radical that Forbes (with its dubious contributor exemplary contributing to scams and mediocre journalism) should not beryllium rewarded truthful handsomely.

The Discussion Forums Dominating 10,000 Product Review Search Results

Author: Glen Allsopp

Tl;dr

Glen analyzed 10,000 “product review” keywords and found that:

• The ‘Discussions and forums’ SERP diagnostic was contiguous successful 7,702 of them (77%).
• Reddit was contiguous successful 97.5% of those.
• 51% of Reddit’s top-ranking threads presently person spam arsenic a apical comment.

My takeaway

After Google’s dense promotion of Reddit from past year’s Core Update, to nary one’s surprise, unscrupulous SEOs and marketers person already started spamming Reddit. And arsenic you whitethorn know, Reddit’s moderation is done by volunteers, and obviously, they can’t keep up.

I’m not definite however this second-order effect wholly escaped the astute minds astatine Google, but from the outside, it feels similar Google has capitulated to immoderate extent.

I’m not 1 to marque predictions and I person nary thought what volition hap next, but I hold with Glen: Google’s results are the worst I’ve seen them. We tin lone anticipation Google sorts itself out.

Who Sends Traffic connected the Web and How Much? New Research from Datos & SparkToro

Author: Rand Fishkin

tl;dr

63.41% of each U.S. web postulation referrals from the apical 170 sites are initiated connected Google.com.

My takeaway

Despite each of our complaints, Google is inactive the main level to get postulation from. That’s wherefore we each privation Google to benignant itself retired and do well.

But it would besides beryllium a mistake to look astatine this station and deliberation Google is the only channel you should thrust postulation from. As Rand’s later blog post clarifies, “be cautious not to ascribe attribution oregon recognition to Google erstwhile different investments drove the real value.”

I deliberation galore affiliate marketers learned this acquisition good from the past fewer Core Updates: Relying connected 1 azygous transmission to thrust each of your postulation is not a bully idea. You should beryllium utilizing different platforms to physique marque awareness, interest, and demand.

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