This Week’s Industry News
Compiled by the Rocket Clicks Team
Top Stories
SEO Company Impersonates Google; Receives Lawsuit
Local Lighthouse, an SEO company in California, has been sued by Google for robocalling local busineses and pretending to be Google. For example, Google alleges that Local Lighthouse used phrases such as “We’re a Google subcontractor”, “we’re working for Google”, and “the $100 fee [to initiate our services] goes to Google.” So far, there has been no comment provided by Local Lighthouse on the situation. Source: The SEM Post
Washington Post Taking Action Against AdBlock Users
The Washington Post has taken action against users who are viewing their website with an ad blocker enabled. AdBlock users are met with a pop up overlaying the article they’re trying to read, stating that if they want to keep reading, they need to disable their ad blocker if they’re in Firefox or enter their e-mail address if they’re in Chrome. They stated their purpose for doing this is because without income via subscriptions or advertising, they will be unable to provide the same quality journalism that’s expected from them. Source: The SEM Post
Google Found Guilty of Preventing Competition in Russia
After complaints by Yandex, Google’s number one competitor in Russia, Google has been found guilty for violating Russia’s anti-trust laws. Yandex’s argument centered around the fact that Google preloads its own apps on Android and does not allow apps from competitors to be installed. While there certainly may be some legitimacy to Yandex’s claims, many experts are seeing this move as a way for the Russian company to push Google out of its home market completely. Source: Search Engine Watch
New Conversion Column Changes in AdWords
Some new changes will be coming for conversion data in AdWords mid-October. With this update, you’ll be able to use an “Optimization” option for each conversion action to decide whether or not the data will be included in the “Conversions” column. Also being introduced is an “All Conversions” column, where you’ll see all created conversion actions, regardless of optimization settings. Because of these new controls and conversion types, Google recommends using the “Conversions” column instead of the “Converted Clicks” column for bidding or reporting once these change roll out. Source: Search Engine Roundtable
HTTPS Serves as a Tiebreaker in Highly Competitive SERPs
In what comes as more of a confirmation than breaking news, Google’s Gary Illyes explains that while moving to HTTPS isn’t required, it can make the difference in a highly competitive space. In the same Hangout, Illyes also briefly touches on the Panda update and reiterated that Google plans on working it into their core ranking algorithm. Source: Search Engine Land
New to AdWords: Drag-and-Drop Report Editor
The new Drag-and-Drop Report Editor function has recently been rolled out by Google and will be included in all accounts through the next couple months. This handy new function allows you to quickly change data inputs rather than having to pull a whole new report if you were missing something. It also includes a filter functionality as well as some basic charts and graphs. The Drag-and-Drop editor will prove to be useful for users who love Excel pivot tables, but hate pulling data repeatedly for small tweaks. Source: Search Engine Watch
Hackers Infiltrating Google Search Console Accounts to Prolong Infections
In an attempt to hide malware they’ve uploaded to a website, hackers have been working their way into Google Search Console to erase the warnings that Google commonly issues when malware is detected. While this practice is becoming more common every day, webmasters can take steps like checking the list of verified owners for each of their properties often and getting rid of owners they do not recognize. Source: CSO
Additional Commentary
Increasing Conversions Through Lowering Perceived Risk
Adam Lundquist covers a few ways to make users more comfortable with completing the conversion process. Lundquist starts by stating that by adding a guarantee, you can potentially lower perceived risk enough to increase online sales by 49%. Also, offering free trials can eliminate perceived risk altogether on the users side. Eliminating form fields can also be useful. According to the author, asking less from them will lead to less perceived risk. Lastly, you can reduce perceived risk by showing users how happy others are with a product or service. Analysis: Amanda West-Bookwalter, PPC Hero
Will the Rise of Mobile Apps Kill SEO and SEM?
“Not necessarily” answers author Yuyu Chen in this look at the increasing popularity of mobile apps and whether they will diminish the need for SEO and SEM. While she does agree with several industry experts that the mobile app landscape will undoubtedly have a sizeable impact on SEO and SEM, she doesn’t think the need for optimizing will ever fully disappear. Finally, Chen sums up the issue by offering a quote from industry expert Vikas Gupta. Gupta says, “If you can develop search products that solve users’ pain points and offer more convenience than the existing solutions, you will win in the long run.” Analysis: Yuyu Chen, Search Engine Watch
