This Week’s Industry News
Compiled by the Rocket Clicks Team
Top Stories
Local Pack Review Snippets
This week Google began testing a new feature that displays a partial review in the local pack. Review snippets are appearing on both the regular local pack and when users select the “more places” to see a longer list of businesses. The added reviews mean that fewer businesses display on the initial local pack, but the review could entice users to click on a business instead of skimming past it. Source: TheSEMPost
New AdWords Beta Feature Creates Ads for You
A new AdWords beta has been ruffling some feathers among AdWords advertisers. The beta allows Google to suggest new ads to run that they feel perform well. The problem is that advertisers will get a notification and if they don’t respond to it within 14 days, Google will automatically launch their recommended ads rather than remove them. So, if you ignore Google’s suggestions for ads, they will launch those suggestions anyway, costing advertiser’s money for ads they didn’t even approve. This feature is expected to roll out starting September 24th. Source: The SEM Post
Google Launches International Webmaster Blogs
To give webmasters around the world more resources Google has created five new Webmaster Blogs to target Hindi, Russian, Turkish, Thai and Vietnamese webmasters. The new blogs will have the same information and be updated in tandem as the current blogs. Additionally, the new international blogs will have access to language specific testing tools. Source: Google Webmaster Central Blog
Google Adds Popular Search Term Highlights
A new “Searches” card has been added to the new Google AdWords experience. This card will highlight popular words that searchers use to find your business which will allow advertisers to identify valuable new keywords based on these words in addition to irrelevant words. This new feature can be found on the Overview page and although some users may have already had access to this feature, this is the first time Google has gone public with it. Source: Search Engine Journal
A Mobile First Index Update
Google’s John Mueller was recently asked in a Google webmaster hangout for an update on the mobile first index. While he didn’t have any big updates to share he did say that “things are looking pretty good” and the team is running tests to double check the classifiers they will use to verify a site is ready for the mobile first index. There is still no hard date for when mobile first will officially roll-out. Source: Search Engine Roundtable
Analysis
How Teen Fiction Can Help You Write Ad Copy
Allen Finn looks at the similarities between young adult novels and search ads to help you create better ads for your audiences. Finn notes that tweenage readability is the secret to improving CTRs. As he puts it, the best text ads are written at a complexity level between colloquial speech and “Catcher in the Rye.” The author broke our average CTR by reading level and found that ads with middle and high school readability actually had a higher CTR compared to elementary and college levels. Finn also notes the power of emotionally charged ad copy. Teenagers are typically brimming with emotion, so sentiment can make a very big impact as it evoked a more emotional response from the user. Source: Allen Finn, Search Engine Land
Restaurant Tips for Local Success
SEO strategies can vary depending on the industry and restaurants are one of those categories that has a plethora of SEO optimization opportunities if you know what they are. Search Engine Land contributor Dave Davies gave four tips for restaurants to start winning at SEO. Take full advantage of Google My Business including Google Posts and Quick Links. Create and maintain citations on sites like FourSquare and Yelp. Use 3rd party menu sites to get your menu on the SERP. Finally, add relevant schema to your site especially address, hours and the menu. Source: Dave Davies, Search Engine Land
