This Week’s Industry News
Compiled by the Rocket Clicks Team
Top Stories
Hawk: The Local Algorithm Update
Local results have been shifting since the Google algorithm update that happened on August 22nd. Dubbed “Hawk” this update appears to primarily effect the proximity filter launched when Possum went live. The previous local filter would exclude similar business that within a certain range of each other, only displaying the listing with the most organic value. Hawk’s update reduced the proximity filter allowing more similar results to display. Businesses that share an address or are very close to each other still struggle to differentiate from each other. Source: Search Engine Land
Google Officially Rolling Out AMP Landing Pages
Google has announced that AMP landing pages will officially be rolling out to all advertisers in two weeks. The beta for AMP landing pages was initially rolled out back in May to help advertisers improve page speed and conversions on mobile devices. Although Google stated this feature will be available for all mobile clicks, caching will at first only available for Google Chrome on Android devices. Source: Search Engine Roundtable
Google Shuts Down White House Q&A
At the end of August, Google launched a question and answer feature for local results. Since then the White House Q&A has been flooded with sarcasm and shenanigans. Shortly after, Google shut down the feature for the White House and wiped out all the previous comments. Source: Search Engine Roundtable
Google to Launch New Reporting Dashboard for AdWords
Another recent announcement by Google is that they will be implementing new reporting dashboards that will give advertisers, what Google calls, a “panoramic” view of their account. This will allow them to create their own dashboards lumped onto one screen to view campaign performance. Google has stated that this will allow advertisers to: create customized views of their data, monitor performance in one place, and collaborate and share that data with their team. Source: Search Engine Roundtable
Bing Wants to Shift Ranking Values Away from Links
A recent interview of James Murray at the Bing Headquarters in London revealed that eventually Bing would like to begin shifting ranking values away from links and prioritize personalization and content. SEOs believe that Bing realizes the value and possibilities that the vast user data could provide to further personalize user experience. Source: Search Engine Journal
Analysis
Explaining How PPC Works to a Non-PPCer
PPC Hero’s Alaina Thompson knows the struggle that all PPCers face in their careers: how to explain what they do to a non-PPCer. If you’re speaking with someone who is at least tech-savvy you may find their reactions to either be of disinterest, confusion, or annoyance because it’s your fault those remarketing ads are following them around the internet. Thompson brings up a point to say that not all PPC looks like spam and that a more professional response would be to explain to them that PPCers maximize value for their clients by managing their paid presence of a given brand. This response would be much more acceptable than “I run the ads that follow you around the internet after you leave a website.” Source: Alaina Thompson, PPC Hero
Using Analytics to Understand the Customer Journey
Determining how people use your site can help you promote interactions that convert. The large volumes of data available in Analytics means that having a specific question you want to answer will make it easier to filter, aggregate and read valuable consumer data. Google provides Sankey charts and heat maps that help visualize trends, page views, associations and user progress. This information can provide SEOs with data regarding popular and unpopular pages as well as insight into how the user navigates the site and where the find the most value. Source: Becky West; Lunametrics
