This Week’s Industry News
Compiled by the Rocket Clicks Team
Top Stories
This is Advice from Google on Optimizing for RankBrain
According to Gary Illyes, the key to optimizing for RankBrain is to write naturally – not like a machine. Google is a machine, so it is very good at recognizing machine-speak. Stuffing your content with keywords will not help you rank well for keywords. If you write naturally, naturally you will rank better than if you write like a machine. Machines are not good at writing, so this makes sense. Wouldn’t you agree that machine writing is very hard to follow because it is not written naturally? Source: The SEM Post
Green Ad Tags Now in Google Search Results
Following previous testing of green “Ad” tags for AdWords Ads, Google officially announced that they will be globally launching these new tags. Google stated they are rolling it out “based on positive feedback from users and advertisers.” They also noted that is purely an aesthetic change and has had no effects on CTR for organic or AdWords ads. Source: The SEM Post
New Search Console Feature is Beyond Compare (but Not Really)
Without any official announcement, Google has given webmasters the ability to compare queries in Search Console’s Search Analytics report. This new feature allows users to type or paste in any two relevant queries and compare standard Search Analytics report data like clicks and impressions between the two. Source: Search Engine Land
Google Testing Filters in PLA’s
A recent test for PLA’s in Google has been spotted, this time with new filter buttons below the product carousel. A test spotted by Merkle involved three buttons below a PLA for Keurig Coffee Makers for “In Store” “Top Rated” and “Up to $130.” This currently seems to be a limited test since several other advertisers have been unable replicate the same results. Source: Search Engine Roundtable
Google Has Spies
There was a thread recently posted in the Google Maps Help forum that detailed the process by which Google tries to keep its local information up to date. The author of the thread explained that Google will often send out “in-field operators” to collect and test public information like Wi-Fi availability, GPS, Bluetooth and cell tower signals. While these representatives are obviously not spies (they can only collect publicly available information), they aren’t required to announce their presence. But, with that said, if you are the business owner, you have the right to opt out of this program. Source: Search Engine Roundtable
Additional Commentary
12 Step Morning Routine for PPC
Pauline Jakober shares the 12 things successful PPC managers do with their accounts first thing in the morning. She begins with typical maintenance tasks like placement reporting and adding negative keywords but also recommends you get a bird’s-eye view by looking top level at daily performance in the dimensions tab. This way you can check day-by-day fluctuations in position or spend. She also recommends you read any AdWords alerts and, if you launched a new campaign the previous day, make it a priority to check its performance right away. Analysis: Pauline Jakober, Search Engine Land
The SEO Community Can’t “Makeup” it’s Mind on Technical
On Monday, Search Engine Land columnist Clayburn Griffin caused quite a kerfuffle when he callously compared technical SEO to the likes of concealer. Griffin rationalized his metaphor by explaining that, like makeup, technical SEO can only take you so far. Although Griffin made some perfectly objective, reasonable statements, many in the SEO community felt the need to stick up for technical SEO – including Search Engine Land’s own Patrick Hathaway. In his retort, Hathaway insisted that technical SEO is a “fundamental requirement for websites of any size to rank in organic search” amongst other things. Analysis: Clayburn Griffin, Search Engine Land and Patrick Hathaway, Search Engine Land
