This Week’s Industry News
Compiled by the Rocket Clicks Team
Top Stories
Paring Down Mobile Navigation is Alright with Google
Google’s Mobile First Indexing forces developers to ensure their sites accurately transition the data between mobile and desktop versions of sites. Desktop sites with large, multi-level navigation struggle when transitioning to mobile. During Webmaster Office Hours Google confirmed that having a simplified navigation on mobile is okay as long as primary content and linking structure is uniform across desktop and mobile. Source: TheSEMPost
Converted Clicks Column Retiring in March
After 15 years of being in business, the converted clicks column will be retiring to a better place next month. Google is urging users to switch to the conversions column if they haven’t already, noting that it does everything converted clicks did and more. Source: Search Engine Roundtable
Search Console Now Connected with Google Data Studio
Last week Google announced that users can use Google Data Studio to create unlimited reports. This week, Search Console joined AdWords and Analytics as an integrated source in Data Studio. Combining the upgraded Google data with other sources allows marketers to create dynamic reports for comparing organic and paid traffic. Source: Search Engine Land
Google Testing Ad in Local 3-Pack & One Less Organic Listing
A test recently spotted in the Local 3-Pack is the addition of a local ad with only two organic listings. This change didn’t come as a surprise to some ever since Google began testing ads in local packs. This test follows up a local 4-pack test with three organic listings and one ad. With potentially only two organic listings now, the space may end up being more competitive. Source: The SEM Post
Google Doesn’t Care About Your Custom 404 Pages
It turns out that it doesn’t matter in an SEO sense whether you have a default or custom 404 page, because Google doesn’t crawl 404 pages. When a 404 page is found, Google logs the response and moves on to the next page. Custom 404 pages aren’t completely useless though, Google Quality Rater Guidelines report that custom 404 pages provide better user experience by providing information or guidance to the page users are looking for. Source: TheSEMPost
Additional Commentary
Customer Re-Engagement With Facebook Messenger
PPC Hero Cassie Oumedian walks us through why we should use Facebook’s new Messenger ads feature. She first notes that this feature is great for re-engaging a specific group of people in addition to building brand awareness. Users can even interact with a bot that Facebook users can respond to. Another interesting feature is that users can click on a News Feed ad and any click on that ad will open up a messenger thread. Source: Cassie Oumedian, PPC Hero
The Most Impactful Algorithm Updates of 2016
Google stayed busy in 2016 and rolled out plenty of updates to their super-secret algorithm. While some of these updates didn’t have much of an impact, there were a few that shook up the web. In Q1, Google rolled out a full algorithm update, changed AdWords placement on SERPs and updated how AMP listings display. May saw a boost to mobile friendly rankings and Q3 features the launch of the Possum algorithm for local and Penguin 4s return from hiatus as well as a major organic shift when Google started dropping images form the search results page. 2017 has already seen one Google algorithm update and there is no doubt that more are on the way. Source: Rohan Ayyar, Search Engine Watch
