Ep173- Google Warns: Content Pruning Can Hurt Your SEO

Episode 173 contains the notable Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of August 7 -11, 2023.1. Amazon is Testing AI to Write Product Descriptions for Sellers - Amazon is reportedly testing a generative AI tool for sellers that writes copy for product listings. This marks a significant move in integrating large language models (LLMs) into ecommerce. The tool is anticipated to revolutionize how merchants create and optimize product descriptions.According to a report by TechCrunch, Amazon is testing the tool with a small group of sellers. The tool is able to generate titles and descriptions for product listings, as well as bullet points and images. The tool is still under development, but it has the potential to save sellers a significant amount of time and effort.The use of LLMs in ecommerce is still in its early stages, but it has the potential to disrupt the industry. LLMs can be used to generate product descriptions, write customer reviews, and even create marketing campaigns. As LLMs become more sophisticated, they are likely to play an increasingly important role in ecommerce.2. Meta to Replace Inactive Group Admins: What You Need to Know -  Meta has begun notifying some group admins that they need to be more active in moderating their groups, or Meta will assign another group member to the job instead. This change is likely in response to the ongoing moderator conflict at Reddit, which has seen some large and popular communities become unmoderated or even taken over by bad actors.The notification that Meta is sending to group admins says that they need to "take action to maintain activity" within their groups within one week. This includes things like posting new content, responding to comments, and enforcing the group's rules. If admins do not take action, Meta will assign another group member to the role.This change is likely to have a significant impact on many Facebook groups. Many groups rely on their admins to keep them active and moderated, and if those admins are replaced, it could lead to the decline or even collapse of those groups. It is also possible that this change could lead to an increase in spam and abuse in Facebook groups, as there will be fewer admins to monitor them.3. YouTube Cracks Down on Spammy Links in Shorts - YouTube is rolling out a new linking policy that will make it more difficult for creators to post spammy links in their Shorts videos and channel descriptions. The new policy will take effect on August 31, 2023.Under the new policy, links in Shorts videos and channel descriptions will be automatically converted to unclickable text. Creators will still be able to include links in their videos and descriptions, but they will need to be manually approved by YouTube before they can be clicked on.YouTube is making this change in an effort to curb the spread of spam on its platform. In recent months, YouTube has seen an increase in the number of spammy links being posted in Shorts videos and channel descriptions. These links often lead to malicious websites or scams.The new linking policy is expected to make it more difficult for spammers to spread their content on YouTube. It will also make it easier for users to identify and avoid spammy links.4. YouTube Expands Link Limit for Channel Profiles: Add Up to 14 Links Now! - YouTube is rolling out an update that will allow creators to add up to 14 links to their channel profiles, up from the previous limit of 5. This new feature is designed to give creators more ways to promote their content and drive traffic to their websites, social media profiles, and other online destinations.To add links to your channel profile, simply go to the "About" tab and click on the "Links" section. You can then enter up to 14 links, each with a title and a description. The links will be displayed in a grid format on your channel profile, and viewers can click on them to visit the linked destinations.This new feature is a welcome addition for YouTube creators, as it gives them more flexibility and control over how they promote their content. It can also help creators to drive traffic to their websites and social media profiles, which can help them to grow their audience and reach more viewers.5. YouTube Makes it Easier to Find Longer Content from Shorts - YouTube is testing a new feature that will allow creators to link their Shorts clips to longer video uploads. This will make it easier for viewers to find and watch longer content that is related to the Shorts they have enjoyed.The new feature is currently being tested with a small group of creators. If it is successful, it could be rolled out to all creators in the coming months.The ability to link Shorts clips to longer video uploads is a significant development for YouTube. It could help creators to grow their audiences and drive more traffic to their channels. It could also help to make YouTube a more discoverable platform for users.6. YouTube's New Report: See How Your Videos Are Performing by Format - YouTube has announced a new report that will allow creators to see how their videos are performing by format. The report, which is available in YouTube Studio, breaks down views, watch time, and other metrics by video format, including Shorts, longform videos, and live streams.This new report is a valuable tool for creators who want to understand how their viewers are engaging with their content. It can help creators to identify which formats are performing well and which ones could use improvement. This information can then be used to make strategic decisions about future content creation.For example, if a creator sees that their Shorts are getting a lot of views but their longform videos are not, they may want to focus on creating more Shorts in the future. Or, if a creator sees that their live streams are getting a lot of engagement but their Shorts are not, they may want to experiment with different ways to promote their live streams.The new report is just one of the many ways that YouTube is helping creators to succeed. By providing creators with insights into their performance, YouTube is empowering them to make informed decisions about their content creation.7. 3 Ways to Keep Your AI Chatbot Content Out of Google Search - AI chatbots are becoming increasingly common on websites across the globe, providing instant customer service and engagement. But AI-powered agents can also produce inaccurate content that website owners may not want to be a part of their human-edited and generated content. Google's Search Advocate, John Mueller, recently advised website owners to consider ways to block artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot content from indexing. This is because AI chatbot content can often be repetitive and low-quality, which can negatively impact a website's search engine ranking.There are three main ways to block Google from indexing AI chatbot content:Use a roboted iframe. This is a frame that the site owner can control independently, allowing them to apply a noindex directive to it, which prevents it from being indexed by search engine bots since Google can crawl iframes.Use a roboted JavaScript file / resource. This is a file that can be used to control how Google crawls and indexes a website. By adding a noindex directive to this file, Google will be prevented from indexing the AI chatbot content.