New FTC Rule Targets Deceptive Reviews

• The US Federal Trade Commission announced a final rule prohibiting the sale, purchase, and creation of fake reviews and testimonials.
• The rule allows the FTC to seek civil penalties against violators, which should strength enforcement capabilities.
• Some of the specific shady practices now prohibited are:
  • AI-generated fake reviews.
  • Buying or incentivizing reviews (both positive and negative).
  • Misrepresenting independent review websites controlled by a business as unbiased sources.
  • Review suppression through threats, intimidation, or false public accusations.
  • Selling or buying fake social media indicators, like bot-generated followers.
• Reviewers must clearly disclose material connections when writing reviews or testimonials.
• Do these new rules affect your agency or your clients? Will you educate clients it affects to help protect them from penalties and fines?
• Read the release from the FTC and consider how you may need to respond.

Google Rolls Out the August 2024 Core Update and Provide Guidance for Users

• The search giant continues to make core changes that aim to boost high-quality content and demote SEO-focused material.
• They clarified this update is to “improve the quality of our search results by showing more content that people find genuinely useful and less content that feels like it was made just to perform well on Search.”
• Google also reaffirmed their commitment to showcasing high-quality content from diverse sources, including smaller, independent websites.
• Coupled with this release, Google Search Central released a support document to help users react (and not react) to core updates.
• They claim most website owners don’t need to worry about core updates and probably will never even realize one has happened.
• Google clarified that, “Core updates are designed to ensure that overall, we’re delivering on our mission to present helpful and reliable results for searchers.”
• The support doc offers suggestions about what to do if your site suddenly drops in rankings (especially if they drop significantly).
• The three main suggestions are:
  • Avoid doing “quick fix” changes.
  • Consider how you can improve your content in meaningful ways. 
  • Deleting content is a last resort.
• The Search Engine Journal highlights the main changes in the August update in their recent article.

Can the New Offline Mode for WordPress Playground Replace Your Local Dev Environment?

• TLDR; – No, but it is outstanding at what it does well.
• WordPress Playground now supports offline mode and can be installed as a Progressive Web App (PWA).
• Now you can explore and experiment with WordPress without needing an active internet connection.
• When you first visit playground.wordpress.net, your browser automatically caches all the necessary files to use Playground.
• From that point, you can access Playground even in areas without internet access or while flying.
• For an enhanced experience, you can also install Playground on your device as a Progressive Web App (PWA).
• There are some limitations in offline mode regarding PHP versions, browser compatibility, and a few other minor features.
• I’ve found Playground to be a great tool for experimentation and giving demos, but it’s not a substitute for a true local development tool.
• The real deal-breaker for my agency using it for local development is that standard backup plugins will not work in Playground.
• Get all the details on the Make WordPress blog and give Playground a spin offline.

Worth a Look

• Has Gutenberg won you over? WPShout did a study of where people are in their adoption of the block editor. The results may surprise you.
• WordPress is amping up their presence on Youtube and announced that Jamie Marsland has joined Automattic as the manager of the Youtube channel.
• Michelle Frechette and Corey Maass are working on an Independent Product Alliance (IPA). It’s a directory of craft WordPress plugins and products with a focus on co-promoting and cooperative marketing. Find more about it and/or get involved.
• Learn WordPress got a redesign that was over a year in the making. More changes are planned for the near future, including courses in multiple languages and new learning paths.
• “Security through obscurity” is not a reliable defense from hackers. Learn why over at The Admin Bar.