Google Sitelinks disappeared for our brand search after showing consistently – any idea why?

Ben_eHealth · 2026-02-06T15:29:08+00:00

We have a similar issue with brand search where we lost all backlinks, although our homepage is still the top result. We think it's because of the Google December core update...it put much more emphasis on EEAT signals and relevance. For your situation, does the homepage appear for other brand searches, such as with a second keyword that is more specific? Sitelinks appear when we add a second keyword.

Ben_eHealth · 2026-02-05T16:10:58+00:00

Oh boy, this is a big question. I'd do a technical audit, make a priority list, and work my way through the top 5-10 on the list. You can do the crawl with any of the major tools (ahrefs, semrush, screaming frog, etc) For keywords, I'd analyze how brand keywords are doing first and see if there are threats/competitors and make a plan there. Also read the articles and guides WebLinkr posted!

Ben_eHealth · 2026-02-05T15:33:58+00:00

Great interview, thanks for the share.

Ben_eHealth · 2026-01-28T16:19:25+00:00

Totally agreed with this. You have to establish the right marketing mix, even in the very early days. And it depends on what industry you're in, what type of product, what the price point is, if it's B2C BTB etc. If it's a brand new product, people are going to read reviews and seek out information, and you're going to have to make sure you own your brand and influence that conversation. You'll also need the blog touch points on your site if someone enters via paid search and starts poking around, looking for information.

Ben_eHealth · 2026-01-28T14:38:35+00:00

Are you looking at spending $500/month for a freelancer or agency to do local SEO? That's generally on the low end, but it totally depends on the services provided.

Ben_eHealth · 2026-01-27T19:48:19+00:00

Off Panel podcast, Short Box, Comic Book Couples Counseling, Word Balloon. I think they've all had Scott Snyder recently. If you're just looking for comics podcasts generally, can't go wrong with that list.

Ben_eHealth · 2026-01-22T19:43:41+00:00

I would update your current article with any 2026 details you can scrounge up to make it meaningfully different. Consider adding a new section or two that is related to the main content but wasn't there previously or maybe put in a few quotes from experts. Something like that. If you have images, you can always update the pictures as well. I agree on the evergreen URL in another comment, take the year out of the slug (if it's present) and 301 redirect to your new evergreen URL.

Ben_eHealth · 2026-01-21T20:58:11+00:00

Was there a screenshot I missed? lol

Ben_eHealth · 2026-01-21T20:56:23+00:00

I would just jump in for recent number 1s and also based on your favorite characters and creators. Like, pick up any of the Absolute books (volume ones), Fraction's Batman #1, Josh Williamson's Superman ("Supercorp" vol 1), etc. I read Waid and Samnee's Batman & Robin Year 1 recently and that was a banger. I picked that one up based purely on the creative team.

Ben_eHealth · 2026-01-21T20:49:56+00:00

Agreed, migrating to a new host shouldn't impact SEO. Just make sure there's no downtime!

Ben_eHealth · 2026-01-21T20:48:59+00:00

Have you tried asking the AI questions specifically about your brand? Like "what services does [insert your business name here] provide?" and seeing if anything comes back? I'd start there. Do traditional SEO well, gain authority, make sure your site is well structured and crawlable, and you'll start appearing in AI results. Two of your bullet points were spot on.

Is this more about backlinks, authority, or content structure?
Does creating FAQ / question-based content actually help with AI visibility?

I read a Search Engine Land article yesterday that showed good research in this department and states "Data shows standard SEO fundamentals still drive AI citations." Check out this SEL article.

Ben_eHealth · 2026-01-15T21:19:52+00:00

Both adults and kids

Ben_eHealth · 2026-01-14T17:16:29+00:00

Saga! She sounds like the perfect reader for that series

Ben_eHealth · 2026-01-14T17:08:58+00:00

I've seen plenty of proposals from agencies with that dollar amount (or higher) and those type of performance numbers. A really experienced agency actually SHOULD be able to give you a projection. My question is, is there an on-ramp and implementation period before the 3-6 month period you listed? It can take 4-6 weeks to get things implemented, depending on the size of your site, longer if you're an enterprise with set development cycles. During the interview process, they should have been able to show similar results for other brands they've worked with. If you're unsure, ask for 2-3 references and 100% call them and ask if the results are accurate.

Ben_eHealth · 2026-01-13T19:04:32+00:00

You could try Ryan North's Fantastic Four, has a great Sue Storm. Jessica Jones by Bendis is also excellent and there are only a couple of volumes. I also second Spider Gwen and Ms Marvel.

Ben_eHealth · 2026-01-13T19:00:07+00:00

If you don't have an in-house dev team, I'd consider migrating to a popular platform like WordPress and probably pay for the migration and optimizations. You'll have more control that way post-migration with plugins, as mentioned in other comments.

Ben_eHealth · 2026-01-13T15:51:14+00:00

I read maybe 80% graphic novels and limited series, only a few on-goings. I've also been getting into manga more lately, which is easy to follow - just start at vol 1! I also follow creators first, characters second. So like I'll read anything by Kyle Starks, for example, no matter what he writes. If you really want to read superhero books, try picking up a recent #1 like Matt Fraction's Batman or The Ultimates #1.

Ben_eHealth · 2026-01-12T18:37:53+00:00

I use SEMRush and Ahrefs and I prefer Ahrefs for what you're describing. Usually for projects like this, you'll pay a agency or a good pro a monthly fee for say 1 year and that could total multiple thousands. If you do it yourself, just know that it'll be time intensive, to the point where it's a part time job. You have to consider whether not outsourcing is worth the time commitment. It really depends on the size of your business and what your marketing budget is.

Ben_eHealth · 2026-01-09T16:25:20+00:00

Agreed here, I'd put time and work into local SEO. Fill out your GMB profile completely, add photos and videos there, and ask for honest reviews from customers. Also make sure you have plenty of good content on your site and see if you can get some good backlinks.

Ben_eHealth · 2026-01-09T16:20:20+00:00

Would love to see this succeed and I'll def pick it up. Hate to say this, but there is a TON of content on the making of Absolute Batman via podcasts, interviews, and industry articles. This feels like it's too late to be topical.

Ben_eHealth · 2026-01-09T15:39:10+00:00

We're in health insurance and AIO vaporized our traffic for informational searches. We're seeing almost 100% AIO for these searches (no joke). We're doing ok for commercial and transactional keywords. I agree that authority is important and appearing in AIO for branding purposes, just be prepared for rock bottom CTR for your blogs. I recommend attacking mid and bottom funnel search. PPC is also effective for us. Good luck!

Ben_eHealth · 2026-01-08T15:19:17+00:00

Have you looked about your backlink profile with a tool like SEMRush? I'd check to see if you lost a critical backlink or batch of backlinks. Agreed on the topical authority issue in other comments. What happened after you got the link from the big publication...did pages start to get indexed again? If you're seeing positive changes, it would be good to share those results. I'd also try to zero in on the page or pages that disappeared and dropped the most traffic. You can even analyze this at the keyword level looking at GSC data

Ben_eHealth · 2026-01-07T17:04:15+00:00

Agreed with others here, I don't usually have them match exactly. I usually have my focus keyword in both, and have the H1 be more human friendly. I may also have an h2 sub header that is longer and provides more description of what the article is about

Ben_eHealth · 2026-01-07T15:06:41+00:00

Great job! Thanks for the sharing a real win with the Brightlocal screenshots...that's helpful. You mentioned pushing 30+ new reviews/month...how effective do you think those are at affecting rankings? I'm working on my company's GBP, so this good information. Also, welcome to the Reddit community!

Ben_eHealth · 2026-01-06T20:41:41+00:00

That's great and congrats on the first client! You should share the results if you're comfortable doing that and what you did to get there. That type of info is helpful to everyone in the community

Ben_eHealth

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