SEO
What a 504 Gateway Timeout Error is, and How to Fix it
The 504 Gateway Timeout Error. It’s one of the many server-side issues that prevents your website from loading properly. It’s frustrating to see, especially for your users.
Think of it like walking up to a busy restaurant; if your waiter doesn’t come to your table in time, you will get frustrated and consider leaving–that’s what your users will do if they see a 504 error on your website. And every second it’s up, it’ll keep hurting your website’s performance and rankings.
So how do you fix a 504 Gateway Timeout error? Well, keep reading. This article will help you understand them in detail, and teach you how to diagnose and fix it.
What is a 504 Gateway Timeout Error?
A 504 Gateway Timeout error is one of the many status codes that can be returned by a web server.
Whenever a user wants to load a page on your website, their web server will attempt to communicate with an upstream server, on which all of your website’s content and data is stored. If this connection is successful, then the page will load like normal.
But in this step, mistakes can happen. In the case of 504 errors, the mistake is this: these two servers are unable to communicate fast enough–which prevents the page’s content from being sent, leading to a timeout of sorts.
Webmaster’s Note: This post is part of our advanced guide to Technical SEO, where I cover everything you need to know about crawlability, indexing, and page speed optimization, as well as helpful tips on how to troubleshoot common website errors. I also cover other 5xx errors in other posts.
Like other 5xx errors, websites can show a 504 error in many different ways.
- 504 Gateway Timeout
- Gateway Timeout Error
- HTTP 504 Error
- Gateway Timeout (504)
- 504 Error
- HTTP Error 504 – Gateway Timeout
- The page request got canceled because it took too long to complete.
- 504 Gateway Time-out – The server didn’t respond in time.
- This page isn’t working – Domain took too long to respond.
How Do I Fix the 504 Gateway Timeout Error?
Since a 504 Gateway Timeout Error is generic, you need to do some trial and error to find what exactly is causing the communication breakdown between the web server and the upstream server. Here are the steps you can take to resolve the issue:
- Check your internet connection
- Reload the page
- Clear browser cache
- Wait and retry
- Check server status
- Monitor server health
- Optimize server configuration
- Load balancing
- Check upstream server health
- Increase timeout settings
- Implement caching
- Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
- Resolve Domain Name System (DNS) issues
- Review your third-party services
- Monitor and test
Check your Internet Connection
If you’re experiencing the error as an end user, ensure that your internet connection is stable and functioning properly. Sometimes, network issues on your end could be causing the error.
Reload the Page
Sometimes, the error might be temporary. Try reloading the page by pressing F5 or using the refresh button in your browser.
Clear Browser Cache
Cached data can sometimes cause issues, which can show a 504 error on your end (but not necessarily all of the users trying to load your website). Clear your browser’s cache and cookies, and then try accessing the site again.
Wait and Retry
The 504 error might be caused by a temporary server overload, especially if it’s getting a lot more traffic than you usually do. To see if this is the cause, just wait for a while and then try accessing your site again. The issue might resolve itself once the server load decreases.
Check Server Status
Contact your server host or check your website’s backend to see if the administrators have acknowledged any ongoing issues or maintenance. If so, the issue can be resolved once your server is back online.
Monitor Server Health
If you’re managing your website yourself, you should monitor your server’s health, CPU usage, memory usage, and network traffic. This will help you check if your server is currently experiencing high, sudden traffic load, or dealing resource constraints. If so, then it’s a likely culprit to your 504 error.
Optimize Server Configuration
Review and optimize your server’s configuration settings, including proxy and gateway configurations. Ensure that these settings are correctly configured to support quick communication between web servers and upstream servers. Here’s a guide you can use to avoid server misconfiguration issues if your web maintenance is done in-house.
Load Balancing
If possible, try to implement or adjust load balancing mechanisms to distribute incoming traffic more evenly among multiple servers. This can help prevent overloading.
Check Upstream Server Health
Ensure that the upstream server is healthy and responsive. Monitor its resource usage, check for any ongoing maintenance, and address any issues.
Increase Timeout Settings
Adjust the timeout settings on the gateway server to provide more time for the upstream server to respond, especially if the server processing is naturally slow.
Implement Caching
Implement caching mechanisms to store frequently accessed content on the server. This can help reduce the load on your upstream servers, and reduce the chances of loading issues like a 504 Gateway Timeout error.
Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
Use a CDN to distribute content across several servers in different locations. This can help deliver your website’s content even to users located far from your main server, which also alleviates server load and improves overall site speed.
Resolve Domain Name System (DNS) Issues
Check your DNS–particularly your DNS cache. If it’s outdated or corrupted, it could be causing an HTTP error 504 code. Otherwise, if you have recently changed your domain’s DNS server, then web servers might still be trying to find your website with the old DNS records stored in your Operating System’s cache.
In both cases, fixing the error is simple: you just need to flush your DNS cache.
Review Third-Party Services
If your website relies on third-party services or plugins, make sure they are functioning properly. Sometimes, issues with external services can impact your site’s performance.
Monitor and Test
Continuously monitor your website’s performance, conduct regular load testing, and be prepared to scale your infrastructure as needed.
Remember that resolving a 504 Gateway Timeout error might require you to work with your hosting provider and website development team, especially if the issue involves server configurations or network problems.
If you’re having trouble maintaining your website, SEO Hacker also offers web development and design services–we have years of experience creating beautiful, functional, and SEO-friendly websites from the ground up.
What Can Cause a 504 Gateway Timeout Error?
A 504 Gateway Timeout error can be caused by many things that affect the communication and responsiveness between two servers in your web infrastructure. Here are some common causes:
- Slow upstream server
- Network connectivity issues
- Server misconfiguration
- Server overload
- Maintenance or downtime
- DNS issues
Slow Upstream Server
Imagine a busy toll booth on a highway. If too many vehicles are trying to pass through the toll booth at once, the toll collectors might struggle to process all the transactions quickly.
Similarly, if the server that needs to process requests from the gateway is overwhelmed with too many requests, it might not be able to respond on time, causing a 504 error.
A slow upstream server can cause a 504 gateway timeout error because the upstream server’s delayed processing and generation of a response exceeds the timeout threshold set by the gateway server.
Network Connectivity Issues
Network issues can cause a 504 Gateway Timeout error because they disrupt the smooth flow of data between the gateway server and the upstream server, leading to delays in communication.
Think of a telephone conversation between two people. If there’s static or interference on the line, the conversation might become garbled or drop altogether. Similarly, if there are network problems or “static” between the gateway and the upstream server, the communication might be delayed or disrupted, leading to a timeout error.
Server Misconfiguration
Server misconfiguration can cause a 504 Gateway Timeout error due to improper settings or configurations that hinder the communication between the gateway server and the upstream server.
When you introduce processing bottlenecks, incorrect routing, or other issues that hinder the timely communication between the gateway server and the upstream server, that’s when server misconfiguration takes place.
Imagine a translator who is supposed to convey messages between two individuals who speak different languages. If the translator misunderstands the message or doesn’t know the language well, there’s going to be a communication breakdown.
Likewise, if the server configurations are not set up correctly, then the intended message might not get through, resulting in a 504 error.
Server Overload
To understand why server overload causes a 504 Gateway Timeout error, picture a chef trying to prepare multiple complex dishes at the same time in a small kitchen. With too many tasks to handle, the chef might start to slow down and struggle to keep up with the orders.
Similarly, if the gateway server is trying to manage too many incoming and outgoing requests simultaneously, it’s going to struggle to accommodate those requests, eventually leading to timeouts.
Server overloads can happen if there’s a sudden surge of visitors on your website, or if your website is experiencing a malicious attack. Either way, this causes your server to exhaust its resources, which prevents it from accommodating user requests, leading potentially to 504 errors.
Maintenance or Downtime
Your server being in maintenance or downtime means that it just won’t respond to any server requests. It’s like a bridge that’s temporarily closed for maintenance. During this time, cars cannot cross the bridge, causing delays. It’s the same for your website–if the server is down or temporarily unavailable, it won’t respond to requests, resulting in a timeout error.
DNS Issues
DNS issues can cause a 504 Gateway Timeout error when your DNS fails to resolve the IP address of the upstream server, preventing the gateway server from establishing a connection.
The timeout mechanism on the gateway server is in place to ensure that requests don’t hang indefinitely, but if the DNS issues hinder IP address resolution, the gateway server generates the 504 error message.
Imagine trying to find a specific house in a new town without a proper address. If you can’t locate the house’s address, you won’t be able to reach your destination. Similarly, if there are problems with DNS resolution, the gateway server might not be able to locate the IP address of the upstream server, preventing communication.
How 504 Gateway Timeout Errors Affect SEO
504 Gateway Timeout errors can have negative implications for user experience, which means they can also hurt your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and website rankings.
- User Experience – User experience is a critical factor for SEO. When visitors encounter 504 errors, it reflects poorly on the website’s reliability and can frustrate users. Users who experience such errors are more likely to leave the site and seek information or services elsewhere.
- Crawling and Indexing – Search engine crawlers regularly scan websites to index their content. If these crawlers encounter 504 errors while trying to access specific pages, they might not be able to index the content properly. This can affect how well your content ranks in search results.
- Website Accessibility – If search engines find that a website frequently returns 504 errors, they might consider the site less accessible and reliable. This could potentially impact how search engines rank the site over time.
- Algorithm Updates – While not a direct factor in search engine algorithms, user experience is becoming increasingly important for search engine rankings. Search engines aim to provide the best results for users, and sites with frequent 504 errors might be perceived as less user-friendly.
- Backlinks and Referrals – If other websites link to your site and users encounter 504 errors when following those links, it can negatively affect your referral traffic and potential backlinks, which can influence SEO.
- Indexing Frequency – Search engines might adjust how often they crawl and index your site based on its reliability and uptime. Frequent 504 errors could result in less frequent indexing, affecting how quickly new content is added to search results.
- Competitive Advantage – A website that consistently provides a smooth user experience, without 504 errors, could gain a competitive advantage over sites that keep serving them. This advantage might translate to more engagement and longer visit durations.
To mitigate the potential negative impact of 504 Gateway Timeout errors on SEO, it’s crucial to promptly address the underlying issues causing these errors. Regular monitoring of server health, configurations, and network infrastructure can help prevent or minimize the occurrence of such errors.
In addition, providing clear error messages to users and maintaining an informative maintenance page during planned downtimes can also contribute to a better user experience.
Key Takeaway
504 Gateway Timeout errors can happen from time to time on your website, so keep this troubleshooting guide in mind whenever you see this error message pop up on your pages. Fixing this as quickly as possible is key to maintaining seamless user experience, and ultimately contributes to a website’s reputation and effectiveness.
With the right knowledge and tools, you can get past this hiccup, lessen its effect on your website, and continue delivering a great online experience to your audience.
SEO
The Best Times To Post On Social Media In 2024
Marketers worldwide know the importance of having a solid social media marketing strategy – and a key part of this is finding the best times to post on social media.
The old adage ‘timing is everything’ holds especially true in the world of social media, where the difference between a post that fades into obscurity and one that goes viral can often be just a matter of when it was shared.
With an always-growing array of social platforms hosting billions of users worldwide, it has never been more challenging to stand above the noise and make your voice heard on social.
To determine the best times to post on social media in 2024, we reviewed original data from leading social media management tools.
It’s important to note that the data from these sources present a variety of findings and suggestions, which underscore the fact that social media is an ever-evolving landscape. The most crucial thing is understanding the behavior of your own target audience.
Let’s dive in.
The Best Times To Post On Social Media
| Source | Day Of Week | Time To Post |
| Sprout Social | Tuesday and Wednesday | 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Local |
| Hootsuite | Monday | 12 p.m. EST |
| CoSchedule | Friday, Wednesday, and Monday (in that order) | 7 p.m. Local |
- Best times to post on social media: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
- Best days to post on social media: Monday and Wednesday.
- Worst days to post on social media: Saturday and Sunday.
Determining an ideal time for posting on social media in general is complicated, as each platform is different, with unique users, features, and communities.
When deciding which social media platforms to focus on, you should think carefully about your brand’s target audience and overarching goals.
If you’re looking to reach a network of professionals, LinkedIn might be a good fit; if your brand is hoping to speak to Gen Z consumers, you might consider TikTok or Snapchat.
This explains why – when analyzing data from Sprout Social, Hootsuite, and CoSchedule on the best overall times to post on social media – we can draw some similarities but also see a variety of recommendations.
Weekdays emerge as a clear winner. CoSchedule and Sprout Social both highlight Wednesday as a good day, with Hootsuite and CoSchedule also highlighting Mondays as a strong day for engagement.
The most common time range among the sources is in the morning to mid-afternoon, with CoSchedule providing some very specific suggestions for post-timing.
Both CoSchedule and Sprout Social agree on avoiding Saturdays and Sundays.
The Best Times To Post On Facebook
| Source | Day Of Week | Time To Post |
| Sprout Social | Monday to Thursday | 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. Local |
| Hootsuite | Monday and Tuesday | 1 p.m. EST |
| CoSchedule | Friday, Wednesday, and Monday (in that order) | 9 a.m. Local |
- Best times to post on Facebook: 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.
- Best days to post on Facebook: Weekdays.
- Worst day to post on Facebook: Sunday.
Facebook remains the most used social media platform in the world, with the largest advertising market share (16%).
While it’s experienced a shift in user demographics over recent years – now catering to older users – its popularity continues to climb, and its potential as a brand marketing tool cannot be disputed.
Regarding the best times to post on Facebook, all of our sources agree that weekdays are best. Sprout Social, Hootsuite, and CoSchdule all name Monday as a great day to engage on Facebook, along with calling out various other days of the week.
There is a general consensus that Sundays should be avoided.
The sources vary in their suggestions for optimal time slots, but generally speaking, early to mid-morning seems to be the most popular selection.
The Best Times To Post On YouTube
| Source | Day Of Week | Time To Post |
| SocialPilot | Sunday | 2-4 p.m. EST |
| HubSpot | Friday and Saturday | 6-9 p.m. Local |
- Best times to post on YouTube: 2-4 p.m. on weekdays and 9-11 a.m. on weekends.
- Best days to post on YouTube: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
- Worst day to post on YouTube: Tuesday.
As the second most visited site in the world and the second most used social platform globally, YouTube offers an unparalleled opportunity for brands and individuals to connect with audiences through video.
And with its continued expansion – by introducing features like YouTube Shorts, initiatives like expanding the ways creators can get paid on the platform, and its increasing popularity as a search engine – the platform shows no signs of slowing.
YouTube is no longer just a video-sharing site; it’s a robust marketing tool that empowers businesses to raise brand awareness and drive meaningful engagement.
Finding recent data on the best times to post on YouTube proved harder than for some other channels, so these recommendations should be taken with a grain of salt.
While HubSpot suggests Friday and Saturday are the strongest days to publish on YouTube, SocialPilot specifically calls out Sunday as the most engaging day – so it’s worth experimenting with all three.
SocialPilot doesn’t specifically name the worst day, but according to HubSpot, you’d be wise to steer clear of Tuesday.
Both sources suggest the afternoon as an effective time for posting during the week. SocialPilot specifies that publishing in the mornings on weekends (9-11 a.m.) is effective, so this is important to bear in mind.
The Best Times To Post On Instagram
| Source | Day Of Week | Time To Post |
| Sprout Social | Tuesday and Wednesday | 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Local |
| Hootsuite | Wednesday | 2 p.m. EST |
| HubSpot | Saturday | 6-9 p.m. Local |
| CoSchedule | Wednesday, Friday, and Tuesday (in that order) |
9 a.m. Local |
| Later | Monday | 4 a.m. Local |
- Best times to post on Instagram: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Best day to post on Instagram: Wednesday.
- Worst day to post on Instagram: Sunday.
From its origins as a photo-sharing platform, Instagram has evolved into one of the most popular social media networks in the world – and an indispensable marketing tool.
With billions of users – 90% of whom are following at least one business – Instagram has become a powerful engine for ecommerce, brand awareness, and community-building.
As a leader in the social media space, Instagram constantly provides new formats and features for users to try out – from Reels to Stories, user quizzes and polls, and more.
We consulted a handful of sources to determine the top posting times for Instagram and came away with a mixed bag of answers.
Wednesday appears to take the cake as the most consistently recommended day, with CoSchedule, Sprout Social, and Hootsuite all suggesting it.
Generally, our sources seem to lean towards weekdays as being strongest for Instagram engagement – with the exception of HubSpot, which recommends Saturday.
In terms of timing, the morning to midday hours seem to be your best bet, especially around 8 a.m. through 1 p.m. HubSpot and Later provide times that significantly differ from other sources, which suggests that effectiveness can vary based on audience and content type.
The Best Times To Post On TikTok
| Source | Day Of Week | Time To Post |
| Sprout Social | Tuesday and Wednesday | 2-6 p.m. Local |
| Hootsuite | Thursday | 10 p.m. EST |
| SocialPilot | Tuesday and Thursday | 2 a.m. and 9 a.m. EST |
| HubSpot | Friday | 6-9 p.m. Local |
- Best time to post on TikTok: Inconclusive.
- Best day to post on TikTok: Tuesday.
- Worst day to post on TikTok: Inconclusive.
While it’s a relative newcomer to the fold, TikTok has quickly become one of the most beloved social platforms worldwide – and is drawing brands in increasing numbers.
With the average user spending nearly 54 minutes on the app daily, it’s hard to beat the hold that TikTok has among audiences. By optimizing your presence there, you can stand to generate some impressive returns on your marketing efforts.
So, what’s the best time to post on TikTok? The jury is out on this one – and it may take extra experimentation on your part to find the sweet spot that engages your audience.
Tuesday seems to rise to the top among the sources we consulted, with Wednesdays and Thursdays also getting recommendations. Generally speaking, it looks like midweek is a good time to test out your TikTok content, but there are plenty of discrepancies in the data.
While HubSpot named Friday as the best day, it also highlighted that Saturdays and Thursdays are strong for B2B brands, and Saturdays and Sundays work well for B2C brands.
Sprout Social found Sunday to be the worst performing day, while Monday and Tuesday are the worst days, according to HubSpot.
We also find a mix of recommended time slots, from early morning to mid-afternoon and also evening being suggested.
The Best Times To Post On Snapchat
Snapchat, the pioneer of ephemeral social media content (and the inspiration behind Instagram Stories), provides unique opportunities to reach younger demographics.
It differs from other platforms in how it works and the type of content that engages there. Snapchat typically centers around showcasing real-time experiences and authentic behind-the-scenes content versus polished marketing content.
This makes Snapchat an advantageous yet often underutilized tool in digital marketing. But it should not be overlooked, especially given that the platform continues to innovate.
While we have seen 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. cited as the best times to post on Snapchat in various secondary sources around the internet, we have found no recent original data to either confirm or refute this.
Given this, we would recommend testing out different times and days based on the behaviors and lifestyles of your target audience and then iterating based on your results (which is what you should be doing across the board, regardless!)
The Best Times To Post On Pinterest
| Source | Day Of Week | Time To Post |
| Sprout Social | Wednesday to Friday | 1-3 p.m. Local |
| HubSpot | Friday | 3-6 p.m. Local |
| CoSchedule | Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday (in that order) |
8 p.m. Local |
- Best times to post on Pinterest: 3-6 p.m.
- Best day to post on Pinterest: Friday.
- Worst day to post on Pinterest: Sunday.
Pinterest, once thought of as a simple inspiration board-style site, has today become a crucial player in the world of ecommerce.
Businesses can leverage Pinterest to showcase their products and drive conversions, but also to grow and expand brand awareness and sentiment.
Success on Pinterest can be found through sharing brand-specific imagery, optimizing for mobile, and appealing to your audience’s sense of aspiration and inspiration.
Friday, alongside other weekdays, is consistently mentioned as a strong day among our sources. On the other end, Sunday is commonly named as the least effective day for posting on Pinterest.
When it comes to the most fruitful posting time on the platform, it appears that the late afternoon to early evening, specifically around 3-6 p.m., is optimal for best engagement.
The Best Times To Post On X (Twitter)
| Source | Day Of Week | Time To Post |
| Sprout Social | Tuesday to Thursday | 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Local |
| Hootsuite | Monday and Wednesday | 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. EST |
| CoSchedule | Wednesday, Tuesday, and Friday (in that order) | 9 a.m. Local |
| HubSpot | Friday and Wednesday (in that order) | 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Local |
- Best times to post on X (Twitter): 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
- Best days to post on X (Twitter): Wednesday and Friday.
- Worst day to post on X (Twitter): Sunday.
X (formerly known as Twitter) has long been a place for marketers to connect and engage with their audience, join trending conversations, and build community.
The real-time nature of X (Twitter) differentiates it from other social platforms and allows for spur-of-the-moment and reactionary marketing moves. And with CEO Elon Musk’s big plans for the app, it’s undoubtedly a space to watch.
When looking for the top days to post among the sources we consulted, Wednesday and Friday are most often mentioned – with Sprout Social specifying Tuesday through Thursday.
Hootsuite nominates Monday and Wednesday as the top days, proving that weekdays reign supreme on X (Twitter).
Like many other platforms, Sunday seems to be the least effective day for post-engagement.
Looking for the best times to post on X (Twitter)?
Late morning, from around 9 a.m. to noon, seems to be the most recommended time – though, as always, this will differ based on your specific audience and the type of content you are sharing.
We always recommend testing and experimenting to see what works for you.
The Best Times To Post On LinkedIn
| Source | Day Of Week | Time To Post |
| Sprout Social | Tuesday to Thursday | 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Local |
| Hootsuite | Monday | 4 p.m. EST |
| CoSchedule | Thursday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (in that order) | 10 a.m. Local |
| HubSpot | Monday, Wednesday, and Tuesday (in that order) | 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Local |
- Best times to post on LinkedIn: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- Best days to post on LinkedIn: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
- Worst days to post on LinkedIn: Weekends.
Though first and foremost a platform for professionals, LinkedIn has picked up steam in recent years, becoming a hub of engagement and a frontrunner among social media networks.
It’s also an essential tool for businesses that want to reach business executives and decision-makers, as well as potential candidates.
Done right, LinkedIn content can go a long way in building a public perception of your brand and providing deep value to your target audience.
Digging into the data, we can see that weekdays provide the biggest opportunities for engagement on LinkedIn, which is hardly surprising. Tuesdays through Thursdays are often mentioned as the top days, with Mondays also highlighted by Hootsuite and HubSpot.
All of our sources agree that weekends are less effective for LinkedIn posts.
If you’re searching for the right time, you might try your hand at posting from late morning to mid-afternoon, based on what these sources discovered.
But (and not to sound like a broken record) your results may differ based on your brand, niche, target audience, and content.
What Is The Best Time For You To Post On Social Media?
Finding the best times to post on social media requires a delicate blend of testing, experimentation, and personal analytics.
And it never hurts to start your journey with industry insights like the ones we’ve covered in this article.
By aligning your content strategy with your target audience and trying out different posting strategies – taking into account these recommended time slots – you will be able to determine what works best for you and significantly enhance your social media presence and engagement.
Sources of data, November 2023.
All data above was taken from the sources below.
Each platform conducted its own extensive research, analyzing millions of posts across various social networks to find the times when users are most engaged.
Sources:
- Sprout Social analyzed nearly 2 billion engagements across 400,000 social profiles.
- Hootsuite analyzed thousands of social media posts using an audience of 8 million followers. For its Instagram updates, it analyzed over 30,000 posts.
- CoSchedule analyzed more than 35 million posts from more than 30,000 organizations.
- SocialPilot studied over 50,000 YouTube accounts and over 50,000 TikTok accounts to compile its data.
- Later analyzed over 11 million Instagram posts.
- HubSpot surveyed over 1,000 global marketers to discern the best times to post on social media. For its Instagram-specific data, it partnered with Mention to analyze over 37 million posts.
More resources:
Featured Image: Kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock
SEO
Google Updating Cryptocurrency Advertising Policy For 2024
Google published an announcement of upcoming changes to their cryptocurrency advertising policies and advises advertisers to make themselves aware of the changes and prepare to be in compliance with the new requirements.
The upcoming updates are to Google’s Cryptocurrencies and related products policy for the advertisement of Cryptocurrency Coin Trusts. The changes are set to take effect on January 29th, 2024.
Cryptocurrency Coin Trusts are financial products that enable investors to trade shares in trusts holding substantial amounts of digital currency. These trusts provide investors with equity in cryptocurrencies without having direct ownership. They are also an option for creating a more diversified portfolio.
The policy updates by Google that are coming in 2024 aim to describe the scope and requirements for the advertisement of Cryptocurrency Coin Trusts. Advertisers targeting the United States will be able to promote these products and services as long as they abide by specific policies outlined in the updated requirements and that they also obtain certification from Google.
The updated policy changes are not limited to the United States. They will apply globally to all accounts advertising Cryptocurrency Coin Trusts.
Google’s announcement also reminded advertisers of their obligation for compliance to local laws in the areas where the ads are targeted.
Google’s approach for violations of the new policy will be to first give a warning before imposing an account suspension.
Advertisers that fail to comply with the updated policy will receive a warning at least seven days before a potential account suspension. This time period provides advertisers with an opportunity to fix non-compliance issues and to get back into compliance with the revised guidelines.
Advertisers are encouraged to refer to Google’s documentation on “About restricted financial products certification.”
The deadline for the change in policy is January 29th, 2024. Cryptocurrency Coin Trusts advertisers will need to pay close attention to the updated policies in order to ensure compliance.
Read Google’s announcement:
Updates to Cryptocurrencies and related products policy (December 2023)
SEO
SEO Trends You Can’t Ignore In 2024
Most SEO trends fade quickly. But some of them stick and deserve your attention.
Let’s explore what those are and how to take advantage of them.
If you give ChatGPT a title and ask it to write a blog post, it will—in seconds.
This is super impressive, but there are a couple of issues:
- Everyone else using ChatGPT is creating the same content. It’s the same for users of other GPT-powered AI writing tools, too—which is basically all of them.
- The content is extremely dull. Sure, you can ask ChatGPT to “make it more entertaining,” but it usually overcompensates and hands back a cringe version of the same boring content.
In the words of Gael Breton:
How to take advantage of this SEO trend
Don’t use AI to write entire articles. They’ll be boring as heck. Instead, use it as a creative sparring partner to help you write better content and automate monotonous tasks.
For example, you can ask ChatGPT To write an outline from a working title and a list of keywords (which you can pull from Ahrefs)—and it does a pretty decent job.
Prompt:
Create an outline for a post entitled “[working title]” based on these keywords: [list]
Result:
When you’ve written your draft, you can ask to polish it in seconds by asking ChatGPT to proofread it.
Then you can automate the boring stuff, like creating more enticing title tags…
… and writing a meta description:
If you notice a few months down the line that your content ranks well but hasn’t won the featured snippet, ChatGPT can help with that, too.
For example, Ahrefs tells us we rank in position 3 for “affiliate marketing” but don’t own the snippet.
If we check Google, the snippet is a definition. Asking ChatGPT to simplify our definition may solve this problem.
In short, there are a near-infinite number of ways to use ChatGPT (and other AI writing tools) to create better content. And all of them buck the trend of asking it to write boring, boilerplate articles from scratch.
Programmatic SEO refers to the creation of keyword-targeted pages in an automatic (or near automatic) way.
Nomadlist’s location pages are a perfect example:
Each page focuses on a specific city and shares the same core information—internet speeds, cost, temperature, etc. All of this information is pulled programmatically from a database and the site gets an estimated 46k monthly search visits in total.
Programmatic SEO is nothing new. It’s been around forever. It’s just the hot thing right now because AI tools like ChatGPT make it easier and more accessible than ever before.
The problem? As John Mueller pointed out on Twitter X, much of it is spam:
I love fire, but also programmatic SEO is often a fancy banner for spam.
— I am John – ⭐ Say no to cookies – biscuits only ⭐ (@JohnMu) July 25, 2023
How to take advantage of this SEO trend
Don’t use programmatic SEO to publish insane amounts of spam that’ll probably get hit in the next Google update. Use it to scale valuable content that will stand the test of time.
For example, Wise’s currency conversion pages currently get an estimated 31.7M monthly search visits:
This is because the content is actually useful. Each page features an interactive tool showing the live exchange rate for any amount…
… the exchange rate over time…
… a handy email notification option when the exchange rates exceed a certain amount…
… handy conversion charts for popular amounts…
… and a comparison of the cheapest ways to send money abroad in your chosen currency:
It doesn’t matter that all of these pages use the same template. The data is exactly what you want to see when you search [currency 1] to [currency 2].
That’s probably why Wise ranks in the top 10 for over 66,000 of these keywords:
Looking to take advantage of programmatic content in 2024 like Wise? Check out the guide below.
People love ChatGPT because it answers questions fast and succinctly, so it’s no surprise that generative AI is already making its way into search.
For example, if you ask Bing for a definition or how to do something basic, AI will generate an answer on the fly right there in the search results.
In other words, thanks to AI, users no longer have to click on a search result for answers to simple questions. It’s like featured snippets on steroids.
This might not be a huge deal right now, but when Google’s version of this (Search Generative Experience) comes out of beta, many websites will see clicks fall off a cliff.
How to take advantage of this SEO trend
Don’t invest too much in topics that generative AI can easily answer. You’ll only lose clicks like crazy to AI in the long run. Instead, start prioritizing topics that AI will struggle to answer.
How do you know which topics it will struggle to answer? Try asking ChatGPT. If it gives a good and concise answer, it’s clearly an easy question.
For example, there are hundreds of searches for how to calculate a percentage in Google Sheets every month in the US:
If you ask ChatGPT for the solution, it gives you a perfect answer in about fifty words.
This is the perfect example of a topic where generative AI will remove the need to click on a search result for many.
That’s probably not going to be the case for a topic like this:
Sure. Generative AI might be able to tell you how to create a template—but it can’t make one for you. And even if it can in the future, it will never be a personal finance expert with experience. You’ll always have to click on a search result for a template created by that person.
These are the kinds of topics to prioritize in 2024 and beyond.
Sidenote.
None of this means you should stop targeting “simple” topics altogether. You’ll always be able to get some traffic from them. My point is not to be obsessed with ranking for keywords whose days are numbered. Prioritize topics with long-term value instead.
Bonus: 3 SEO trends to ignore in 2024
Not all SEO trends move the needle. Here are just a few of those trends and why you should ignore them.
People are using voice search more than ever
In 2014, Google revealed that 41% of Americans use voice search daily. According to research by UpCity, that number was up to 50% as of 2022. I haven’t seen any data for 2023 yet, but I’d imagine it’s above 50%.
Why you should ignore this SEO trend
75% of voice search results come from a page ranking in the top 3, and 40.7% come from a featured snippet. If you’re already optimizing for those things, there’s not much more you can do.
People are using visual search for shopping more than ever
In 2022, Insider Intelligence reported that 22% of US adults have shopped with visual search (Google Lens, Bing Visual Search, etc.). That number is up from just 15% in 2021.
Why you should ignore this SEO trend
Much like voice search, there’s no real way to optimize for visual search. Sure, it helps to have good quality product images, optimized filenames and alt text, and product schema markup on your pages—but you should be doing this stuff anyway as it’s been a best practice since forever.
People are using Bing more than ever before
Bing’s Yusuf Mehdi announced in March 2023 that the search engine had surpassed 100M daily active users for the first time ever. This came just one month after the launch of AI-powered Bing.
Why you should ignore this SEO trend
Bing might be more popular than ever, but its market share still only stands at around ~3% according to estimates by Statcounter. Google’s market share stands at roughly 92%, so that’s the one you should be optimizing for.
Plus, it’s often the case that if you rank in Google, you also rank in Bing—so it really doesn’t deserve any focus.
Final thoughts
Keeping your finger on the pulse and taking advantage of trends makes sense, but don’t let them distract you from the boring stuff that’s always worked: find what people are searching for > create content about it > build backlinks > repeat.
Got questions? Ping me on Twitter X.
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