2023
Major updates and improvements to SISTRIX in 2023 summarised
Behind the scenes here at SISTRIX we work on hundreds and hundreds of small updates and improvements every year. We also bring our customers major improvements too. Across the product you will now find major new features such as an AI tool that is primed with exactly the right data, […]...
SISTRIX Christmas Fundraiser 2023: You Click, We Donate
Christmas is also a festival of traditions. That’s why our Christmas big wheel turns again this year . Our goal: 10,000 euros of funding for the ‘worlds emergency medical organisation’ – Action Medeor....
The Top Domains and Content for Life Insurance
For this SectorWatch, we are looking to get our finances in order as we dive into the search market for life insurance. We’re highlighting the winning domains and most effective content formats to reach those buying or researching life insurance topics – searches with huge commercial value. Who has got […]...
Climate Change in Google Search: Keywords, Clusters, Trends and Leaders
The UN Climate Change Conferences are important events. Thousands of people meet to influence, discuss and agree on the current status and new activities for the future of climate change action. Many of the organisers are here in Bonn, a UN City that hosts over 1000 United Nations staff. Bonn […]...
Core Update, Reviews Update November 2023 -Status, Examples and Data
Quickly following the previous two updates in October 2023, the Core update and Reviews update have overlapping dates which makes it more difficult for SEOs to analyse the separate impacts of the two core changes. This post shows data and examples that will help you identify the effects of the […]...
The Top Domains and Content for Headphones
Tune into the market for headphones - a market pulsating with innovation and driven by a blend of audio performance and aesthetic appeal...
Google Core Update, Spam Update October 2023
The third Core Update of 2023 joined the first Spam Update of 2023 at the beginning of October for a two-week roll-out. Overlapping updates make it almost impossible to separate the effects of each update but by using the analysis and list of winners and losers here, you will get […]...
UK IndexWatch Q3 2023: Search Visibility Wins & Losses
In the continually evolving realm of organic search, the last quarter has emerged as a wild one – many of us have been grappling with the implications of both the Helpful Content & August Core Updates. In this Google visibility report you’ll learn about some of the wildest movements – […]...
Google uses Click Data for Rankings
So far, Google has. at least publicly, vehemently denied using click data to sort search results. In the hearings currently underway in the USA regarding potential antitrust violations by Google, a different perspective is now emerging. Eric Lehman, who worked for Google for 17 years on search quality and ranking, testified […]...
Google Helpful Content Update, September 2023
Just days after the Core Update had finished, Google followed up with a new Helpful Content update. Announced on the 14th of September the roll-out is said to take two weeks. It’s been a while since the last Helpful Content update in December 2022. Analysis and lists are shown in this […]...
Google Core Update August 2023 – Data and analysis
The second Core Update of 2023 was announced on August 22nd 2023 and was active for two weeks as it rolled out globally. The overall effects of the Core Update were low, but there are, as always, significant examples of domain movement. In this article you’ll learn from examples of […]...
Google Removes FAQ Snippets from Search Results
The FAQ snippets have been one of the most popular extensions for organic search hits so far: with a little modification in the source code, common questions and answers could be highlighted in the search results. As a result, this led to more visibility in the search results and thus […]...
The Top Domains and Content for CRMs
In this SectorWatch analysis you’ll learn about one of the most popular SAAS categories – Customer Relationship Management. We’re looking for the winning domains and examples of excellent content around customer relationship management tools. Who’s building a great rapport with their customers? Who has lost all their leads? Domains, content […]...
Indexwatch: SEO Visibility Losers Jan-July 2023 🇺🇸
The first half of 2023 has been one of the busiest and most eventful periods the SEO industry has seen for a long time, and this time, it’s not just because of ongoing Google updates like we’ve seen in recent years. ...
Indexwatch US: SEO Visibility Winners Jan-July 2023 🇺🇸
The first half of 2023 has been one of the busiest and most eventful periods the SEO industry has seen for a long time, and this time, it’s not just because of ongoing Google updates like we’ve seen in recent years....
Google Core update without official confirmation from Google?
Google has publicly announced major algorithm updates for quite a few years now. It remains to be seen whether the motivation behind this is an intrinsic desire for transparency or rather the watchful eye of the regulators in Europe and the USA but it’s been useful to have notification before they […]...
UK IndexWatch Q2 2023: Search Winners & Losers 🇬🇧
The SEO industry has experienced an eventful second quarter of 2023. We have been actively preparing for the sunsetting of Universal Analytics, while also exploring the potential of Search Generative Experience (SGE) alongside our colleagues in the USA (thank goodness for VPNs!)....
IndexWatch SE – A Lens on the Swedish SERPS 🇸🇪
In this new study, we present domain visibility trends from Google Search Sweden based on six years of historical data. The domains are categorised based on industry sectors, categories, and business models. ...
New data protection agreement between the US and the EU, but how long will it last?
Three years after the European Court of Justice overturned the last data protection agreement (Privacy Shield) between the USA and the EU, there is now a successor. This new agreement makes it easier once again to transfer personal data from the EU to data centers in the USA, in theory. The […]...
Twitter down 32% in 24 hours – Crawling Case Study
Data ‘scraping’ is core to Google’s crawling process so if you block that, you’ll lose visibility. Following measures taken by Elon Musk are evidence that the rate-limtiing of access to twitter.com resulted in it being removed from significant keyword rankings. Yankees, reddit, roblox and the one that no self-respecting media […]...
Google Reduces Search Options (And Organic Results)
Google has also been applying the same principle for several years in its search results – Mobile first. Innovations and optimisations are always displayed in the mobile SERPs before they can be seen on the desktop. Google is currently making some of these adjustments on the desktop: All of these efforts by […]...
The Top Domains and Content for TVs
One of the most popular home technology categories that exists is for TVs. In this report we show you the winning domains and analyse examples of high performance content for both commercial and informational search intents. Which sites have a ranking picture that looks ultra-high-definition? And who seems to have […]...
Visibility in the AI Future: Which Brands are Recommended By OpenAI?
The search engine of the future will be different from the “10 blue links” We have been accustomed to from Google until now. Nevertheless, internet search will continue to make recommendations. Today we present a view of the brands that OpenAI recommends....
Visibility Leaders in Travel: The Leading Content Hubs Analysed and Listed
The second Visibility Leaders study has been published and this time we look at the travel sector – one that’s huge in scale and is dominated by big brands. Five detailed reports from five data journalists and SEO experts include detailed analyses of the winners, key findings, a searchable list […]...
Google Manipulation: Today’s update is slightly different!
To simulate a semblance of transparency for regulators worldwide, Google has been publishing a list of relevant ranking systems (often called ranking factors in SEO circles) for some time. A recent update removed Page Experience from the list of current systems and Mobile Friendly, Page Speed, and HTTPS/SSL from the retired factors […]...
Project Magi: Google rethinks search
A recent article in the New York Times sheds light on the extent to which the success of OpenAI (and thus also Microsoft/Bing) is putting the market leader Google under pressure. The NYT reports that Samsung is considering replacing Google with Bing as its default search engine. This is prompting hectic activity in […]...
IndexWatch Q1 2023: Winners & Losers in Google UK Search 🇬🇧
Google blessed us with 2 updates in the last three months that have caused big movements in SERPs. They add an interesting dynamic to the usual shifting of SERPs and we analyse another three months of movements. We’ve selected and analysed 12 domains that have seen both positive and negative […]...
Google’s Route out of the AI Trap: Authors, Confidence, Variety
Google is in a difficult situation – rapid advances in AI development. If Google does nothing it ends up, very soon, with search results being flooded with mediocre, regurgitated and popular content. After some time for reflection, it is now becoming clearer how Google intends to escape from this AI […]...
Google Core Update March 2023
Around half a year after the last major core update, Google is currently rolling out a new core update. In the SISTRIX blog here we have the first numbers, analyses and explanations....
The Top Domains and Content for Garden Tools
This month, SectorWatch is getting horticultural as we take a look at the search market for garden tools. We’ll show you the growing domains and some examples of content that is sprouting results. Which sites are ready for the spring, and what can we learn from them?...
Google Product Reviews Update Feb 2023 – Examples of losing domains.
With the series of Product Reviews Updates, Google has been trying to improve the quality of product ratings and recommendations in the search results. So far, these updates were only relevant for English-language content – but with the latest update, effects could be seen in many countries. Here’s the latest data […]...
Microsoft is multiplying prices for Bing data (and damaging the internet ecosystem)
Microsoft has announced that it will significantly increase the prices for using the Bing search engine interface. Depending on the intensity of use, the costs will increase by up to 1,000 percent, automatically, from May 2023. This surprising step could massively restrict competition in the search engine market. Apart from Google and Microsoft, […]...
Google Bard Risk Assessment: What does the AI innovation mean for my website?
After this week’s AI presentations from Microsoft and Google , it’s clear – Search will see more changes in the near future than in the previous ten years. Although it is still unclear what the future will look like, we’ve already had the first glimpses....
Google’s ChatGPT: Bard brings AI to the SERPs
In recent weeks, developments have driven Google forward. ChatGPT has gained so much popularity, so quickly, that Google has internally declared a “Code Red” to counter the threat. Google has a choice to make. On the one hand, AI models have the potential to disrupt the search market and threaten Google’s […]...
IndexWatch 2022 – UK Retail in Google Search 🇬🇧
We have taken a closer look at the UK retail sector as part of our IndexWatch project. In this post you’ll see the Top 20 winning and losing domains of the last 12 months, and analyses of important changes. There’s a lot to learn from....
Yandex code leak reveals ranking factors
A former Yandex employee has leaked source code for the search engine and other services. This allows interesting insights into the inner workings of the search engine: ranking factors, weightings and more....
Top Domains and Content for Air Fryers
To kick off 2023, SectorWatch is looking to cook up a (healthy) feast as we look at who’s winning the search market for air fryers. We’ll show you the leading domains and some examples of the tastiest content. Which sites are doing well for one of the hottest culinary trends, […]...
Antitrust Suit: US Department of Justice targets Google’s advertising business
Previous antitrust proceedings have left Google unfazed: Penalties in the EU were only spare change for Google, lawsuits in the USA are still being clarified. This could now change with a newly filed lawsuit in the USA. The US Department of Justice, along with eight US states, filed a lawsuit […]...
IndexWatch 2022: The Losing Domains in Google US
2022 was a volatile year in Google’s organic search results, with Google launching many new SERP features as well as introducing and updating several significant ranking systems, such as the Product Reviews updates and the Helpful Content Update. This article analyses the losing domains of the year, with sector breakdown […]...
IndexWatch 2022: SEO Visibility Losers on Google UK 🇬🇧
We’ve reflected on the winners of the year, but what about those domains that struggled in 2022? Using our Visibility Index archives, we have uncovered 200 sites that have seen significant declines in visibility on UK Google. Read on for lists and expert analysis....
IndexWatch 2022: Google US SEO Visibility Winners 🇺🇲
2022 was yet another volatile year in Google’s search results, with the announcement of the new Helpful Content system, updates to other ranking systems, major algorithm updates rolling out concurrently, and significant volatility caused by external factors, such as the global economy. This issue of IndexWatch analyses the winning domains […]...
IndexWatch 2022: Google UK SEO Visibility Winners 🇬🇧
As we wave goodbye to 2022, we also bid farewell to another year of organic search developments. Although we experienced one less core update than in 2021, the Google algorithm updates were more diverse – in 2022, we saw the Helpful Content Update. There were also many product review updates, […]...
How Bankrate.com is ranking with AI-generated text
Bankrate.com, a US financial site, has been publishing AI-generated content for a few months. Does this work in Google Search? How could Google deal with AI-content in the future? More importantly, is this a model that can be recommended?...
The Top ‘non-profit’ Domains Grew in 2022 – Trust and Visibility to Learn From
The .org.uk domain registry has 440,642 registered domains and nearly all are owned by non-profit organisations. The aim of the non-profit websites in this domain space is to be visible, valuable, trustworthy and transparent, within a defined, sometimes sensitive topic remit – which sounds like a good starting point for […]...