This Week’s Industry News
Compiled by the Rocket Clicks Team
Top Stories
Google Announces Showcase Shopping Ads
Google recently unveiled a more visual type of Shopping ad known as Showcase Shopping Ads. Their aim is to help people find what they’re looking for even if they’ve entered a query that is too broad. Retailers will be able to pick and choose images they want to appear in the search results for different keywords and queries. When users click an image, they’ll be taken to a separate page to learn more about the product. Source: Adweek
New Search Tools Available for Mobile Travel Planning
Due to the growing number of people visiting travel sites on mobile, Google is now providing filters that let users search for hotels by star-rating and price directly to the SERPs. The update also allows users to see new hotel deals that are available. In addition, Google will make it easier for users to monitor airfare fluctuations for specific flights. Source: Search Engine Land
Google Adds Shopping Product Search to Local Panel
Google has recently added a new paid feature to local business knowledge panels. This link that directly sends users to a custom product search landing page. The search, notated by “Powered by Google” at the bottom of the page, also gives users the option to switch stores, or browse categories. In addition, this link will show up inside map listings as well. Source: The SEM Post
Vulnerability Discovered in All in One SEO Pack
The All in One SEO Pack plugin, a popular SEO tool for WordPress and the main competitor to Yoast, was plagued by a vulnerability that allowed hackers to insert JavaScript code to any page with the intentions of implementing destructive administrative changes without proper access. If you’re currently using the All in One SEO Pack plugin, Wordfence recommends updating the plugin immediately to the latest 2.3.8 version. Source: Wordfence
Additional Commentary
Getting Started With Expanded Text Ads
Alka Du Mont asks us one simple question: Are your expanded text ads lit? Although she admits to being too old for such slang, she gives us helpful tips to improve our ETAs. The best way to get started is to pinpoint your highest volume non-brand ad group to launch ETAs in to gather data as quickly as possible. You can take the top performing ads in these ad groups and create a label called “ETA Control” to use when writing new ETA formatted ads. You should also have a specific goal in mind when testing these ads, like “What % increase in CTR or conversion rate do I want to achieve?” Analysis: Alka Du Mont, PPC Hero
What Does the Perfect Local SEO Landing Page Look Like?
Using his own experience, Marcus Miller offers a best-practice guide for creating high-quality landing pages that perform and convert for local businesses. Keeping local SEO ranking factors top of mind, Miller explains that feature and benefit-driven copy, strong headlines and clear call to actions are key elements to any local landing page. But he also talks about the importance of reviews, testimonials and relevant case studies that can provide social proof that a business is good at what they do. The full infographic is available at Search Engine Land. Analysis: Marcus Miller, Search Engine Land
