Google &num= and Changing SERP lengths in Moz Pro
Why did Google remove the long-standing &num= parameter, and what happens now? We explain the industry-wide impact on SERP scraping costs and detail the specific changes taking effect in Moz Pro.
Search Engines
Understanding how search engines work, Google in particular, is important when working in SEO. The basics of crawling and indexing are amazingly useful to understand if you want to rank your own content.
Additionally, Google updates its algorithm several times a year. Understanding the more significant updates, and how they work, can help you to craft content and SEO strategies that are up-to-date.
We've written extensively about how search engines work, and included some of the top resources here. You can also browse the latest posts on search engines from the Moz blog below.
How Search Engines Work : New to SEO? Start with the basics of how search engines operate with our free beginner's guide.
Search Engine Ranking and Visibility : Learn the fundamentals of how search engines rank content on search engine result pages.
Google Algorithm Update History : A complete history of Google algorithm updates since 2000. This includes important links and references for understanding how Google works.
How Search Engines Value Links : Search engines work off a number of signals, but two of the most important are content and links. In this video, Rand Fishkin explains the basics of link evaluation.
MozCast : Is Google updating it's algorithm as we speak? MozCast is the Google algorithm weather report, so you can see how much Google results are changing each day.
Will The Anti-Monopoly Ruling Crack Open Google's Data?
Wondering how the latest news around the Google Antitrust ruling will impact search and SEO? Dr. Pete breaks down the final Google antitrust remedies as determined by the court and how this landmark ruling will reshape search and SEO over the next five years.
What Is Google AI Mode? — Whiteboard Friday
In this week’s episode of Whiteboard Friday, Tom introduces us to Google's AI Mode, a new tab in Search that offers a conversational, ChatGPT-like experience with longer-form AI-generated responses and the ability to ask follow-up questions. Learn how the "query fan-out" technology works, its current limitations, and what it could mean for the future of search and content visibility.
What's New in AI Search? | Whiteboard Friday Revisited With Garrett Sussman
This week, Jo is joined by Garrett Sussman as they look back on 12 months of AI Overviews and talk about Google AI Mode, query fan-out, AI search in e-commerce, local SEO, and where we stand on the age-old "Is SEO Dead?" debate.
How to Future-Proof Your SEO Strategy with Relevance Engineering
Future-proof your SEO strategy with Relevance Engineering, a new framework for AI search. Learn how to optimize content for LLMs, build topical authority, and adapt to Google's AI Mode for increased brand visibility.
Moz’s Brand Authority: Multi-Market, More Features, More Data!
Moz's Brand Authority now delivers data across US, UK, Canada, and Australia, with expanded data on 2M brands and new integration in SERP Analysis and Keyword Gap tools. Discover how these improvements help you better understand your brand's global presence in an increasingly AI-driven search landscape.
Level Up Your SEO Skills With Our Free Training
Moz Academy Training
Complete courses to master SEO basics
Keyword Research Master Guide
Learn Keyword Research like the pros
Guide to SEO Competitor Analysis
Win rankings and traffic from your competition
Optimizing for AI Overviews — Whiteboard Friday
In this Whiteboard Friday, Garrett discusses AI Overviews and how to optimize your SEO strategy for this new super-charged AI-powered search ranking snippet.
Content Churn in Google Doubled Over Five Years
We know that Google changes constantly, but what about the internet itself? Dr. Pete's analysis shows that from the end of 2019 to the end of 2024, content churn has more than doubled. What does this mean in the context of content marketing?
11 Years of Google Warming: Is Search Heating Up?
If your job has anything to do with search, you might feel like Google changes every day. Don’t worry, it’s just your imagination — in reality, it’s more like 13 changes every day. We can’t chase every change, but the past 11 years can tell us a lot about where Google is headed.
AI Overviews: Are They Affecting Your Search Results? — Whiteboard Friday
In this video, we analyze 46,000 keywords to reveal where AI Overviews are actually appearing in search results, which industries are most affected, and what this means for your SEO strategy. Using data from STAT, we break down the differences across markets, search intent, and SERP features to help you understand if and how AI Overviews impact your vertical.
Google HCU: What Can You Do? — Whiteboard Friday
In this week’s episode of Whiteboard Friday, Tom follows up on his previous blog post about the Helpful Content Update and provides actionable insights into what you can do if you’ve been impacted by this rollout.
The Helpful Content Update Was Not What You Think
Are Google’s Helpful Content Updates affecting your rankings in unexpected ways? It might not be just about your content. As the August update rollout wraps, we can expect some winners and some losers, but why? Tom Capper digs into the data and reveals the surprising reality of what sites impacted by the Helpful Content Update have in common.