Hi, fellow SEO-ers. Welcome to your weekly dose of SEO news. In just a blink of an eye, we are already more than halfway through the month of October. Let’s get down to our list of news for the week, shall we? 

• Google Emphasize Services With Expanded Service Listing
• Google’s John Mueller Says To Leave Alt Texts For Decorative Images Empty 
• Google Rolling Out October 2022 Spam Update 

17/10 – Google’s John Mueller Says To Leave Alt Texts For Decorative Images Empty 

Google’s John Mueller said in the recent Search Off The Record Podcast that you should leave alt texts for decorative images empty. This is also supported by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). 

Decorative images are images that don’t add information to the content of a page. By leaving the alt texts for these decorative images empty, these images can be ignored by assistive technologies, such as screen readers. 

19/10 – Google Rolling Out October 2022 Spam Update

Google has announced that they will be rolling out a spam update 11 months after the previous one. 

Google said that the update would take several days and would have a global effect that impacts all languages. There has been very little chatter within the SEO community of the spam update, which has been expected by SEO experts as this update would only be targeted spam hit, so only a small percentage of sites would be affected. 

Google Emphasize Services With Expanded Service Listing

Google seems to be testing a new local finder for local queries that trigger the local pack, which makes more ‘Services’ than before. 

In the new design testing, all services are listed no matter how long or short. A Twitter user by the name of Andy Simpson said that in the current design and format, it is expected to be spammed. Additionally, he also stated that the services menu has no impact on ranking. 

That’s it

That is all for today’s news, dudes, and dudettes. What do you think of Google’s emphasis on services? Is this a good move? Do let me know in the comments below. 

Updated: 7 May 2024

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