This Week’s Industry News
Compiled by the Rocket Clicks Team
Top Stories
Bing Local Pack Adds Deal Tag
Local pack search results on Bing can now display a Deal tag. This tag indicates if a local result has a coupon or discount available. The deal tag appears on both branded and mixed local results, but Bing isn’t prioritizing deal results over other, relevant results. This new addition to the local pack does take up a lot of space, forcing organic results farther down the page. Source: TheSEMPost
Google Testing List Format for Sitelinks
A new test has been rolled out for enhanced sitelinks in AdWords where the sitelinks appear in a single column list format on the search results page. Although the sitelink font in this new test appears to be smaller than your typical sitelink, the single column of four sitelinks takes up much more real estate on the SERP since they push other ads down even further. Source: Search Engine Roundtable
Google Instant Search Shut Down
After nearly seven years of providing instant search results while typing on desktop, Google has officially disabled Google Instant. This change is part of Google’s attempt to align desktop and mobile experiences, with the primary focus being the mobile experience as mobile search continues to dominate. While announcing the change, Google offered further explanation that by disabling the function they could focus on future enhancements that will seamlessly integrate with both. Source: Search Engine Land
Google Now Supports Call Bid Adjustments
Google announced yesterday that you can now set bid adjustments for click-to-call-ads. This may be a useful new feature because, according to Google, phone calls convert three times better than web clicks. Google also stated that “you can increase your bid for mobile devices to show call interaction ads more frequently for mobile phone users.” As of now, you can only find this feature in the new AdWords interface. Source: Search Engine Roundtable
SOS Alerts Appearing on Google Search Results
If you’re searching a location or event and there is a nearby crisis, Google will now display a bright SOS Alert banner with relevant news, maps and information below. This information is indented to help users decide their best course of action. This feature also works on map searches and may even send mobile notifications if you are near one of these areas. Source: Search Engine Roundtable
Analysis
Most Expensive AdWords Keywords
Elisa Gabbert reviews the top 25 most expensive keywords in the paid search realm according to 2017 data. Casino comes in as the third most expensive keyword with a CPC of around $55.48, while Bail Bonds ranks second with a CPC of $58.48. But, with a CPC of $58.64, the title of most expensive keyword in paid search goes to Business Services. Ironically, Google AdWords itself ranks at the bottom of the list in the 25th slot with a CPC of $30.06. Source: Elisa Gabbert, Search Engine Journal
The Battle of Google’s Index Continues…
Google has fired back from a decision in June by the Canadian Supreme Court ordering them to globally de-index a site. While there are no further actions available in Canada, Google has filed an action in the California courts saying the ruling violates their First Amendment rights. A recent French ruling has put Google in the same situation in Europe and they have escalated the situation to the highest courts available as well. These new rulings put the free-flow of online information at risk, but until an international agreement can be reached for these situations, it appears Google will continue fighting to keep search results an uncensored source of information. Source: Search Engine Land
