Hey, You. How've you been? 

The season has changed, UpBuild has a new SEO audit template, Google released a major algorithm update, and Instagram will now allow users to buy from brands in-app. There's a lot going on!

Brevity isn't always my strong suit, but for this week I'll let the content speak for itself. Check out three important posts below and continue to keep us posted on how this newsletter can make your job as a marketer easier.

Until next time, happy optimizing.

Mike Arnesen

Founder & Geek-at-Large at UpBuild

Google Core Algo Update

While Google has been known to make up to 600 tweaks to its search algorithm each year (that's multiple tweaks per day!), "core algorithm updates" are fewer and further between. Google rolled out its latest big change last week (on the 12th to be specific). This month's update follows August's core update (named "Medic") and, according to more than a few sources, this recent core algorithm change seems to flip the winners and losers from last time — sites that were hit hard with Medic seem to have regained their footing while sites that benefited last time appear to have fallen in the rankings. Google, in typical fashion, has declined to comment on that observation but they did officially remark that "it's not the biggest update we've released". Very helpful, Google.

If you aren't checking in on your organic visibility regularly, now might be a good time to take a look.

Read more on Search Engine Land.

UpBuild's SEO Audit: Where Is It Now?

As Google's algorithm changes, so must SEO audits. UpBuild recently overhauled our SEO audit — what we look at, how much importance we place on certain factors, etc. — to ensure that we were keeping pace with the evolution of search. Led by Senior Strategist, Will Hattman, this exercise produced a more thorough and exponentially better product. We're excited to share how we thought about this project and what exactly changed.

Read about it over on our blog.

Instagram to Empower Brands to Sell Directly Through the App

If you're in the eCommerce space (as many of our clients are) and you're actively using Instagram, the social platform's recent announcement is a big deal. Soon, brands will be able to sell their products directly to consumers via the Instagram app and "Checkout with Instagram".

Is this the end of the high-friction yet ubiquitous "link in bio" message accompanying brands' product posts on the platform? Seems like it.

Read more about it here.

Also, read Instagram's announcement on instagram-press.com. As an SEO aside, this is a perfect example of marketing moves that big brands can pull off but that you really shouldn't emulate. Hosting all of your backlink-generating news and blog posts on a separate web property? Yikes! Instagram doesn't need good SEO; most of us do. Don't be like Instagram.