This Week’s Industry News
Compiled By Rocket Clicks Staff
Google Releases First Panda Update Of 2013
On Tuesday, Google announced the arrival of Panda Update 24, adding that it should affect around 1.2% of all English-based queries. Adjust your SEO accordingly.
Source: Search Engine Land
Google Chrome Joins Other Major Browsers With Auto-Encrypted Searches
The most recent version of Google’s Chrome browser will now automatically encrypt searches coming from its Omnibox (the URL input bar). Firefox and iOS browsers already do this with their URL bar-based searches, and it’s hard to predict how much this will increase (not provided) keyword data in Google Analytics.
Source: Search Engine Watch
Google Image Search Changed To Increase Click-Through Rates
Google’s Image Search has been overhauled in the spirit of easier navigation and image preview. Anticipating that the new scrolling top bar layout might irk webmasters, Google now included four clickable links to each preview, which they claim has led to increased visits in their research.
Source: Search Engine Land
AT&T Acquires More Wireless Spectrum
AT&T forked over $780 million to acquire more wireless spectrum by purchasing Atlantic Tele-Network, a wireless operation carrier operated under Alltel. The deal is still seeking regulatory approval. If all goes as planned, AT&T will acquire spectrum across the 700, 80 and 1900 MHz bands. ATNI offers service to 4.6 million people in Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio and South Carolina.
Source: Mashable
Mobile Devices Account For Nearly 26% Of Paid Clicks
The Search Agency’s recent State of Paid Search Report found that Google saw 25.9% of total paid clicks coming from smartphones and tablets in Q4. For Bing, that share dropped to 12.6%. While these are significant increases, they apparently didn’t come at the expense of PCs. The report found that paid clicks coming from PCs remained constant between Q3 and Q4.
Source: Search Engine Land
Notable Commentary
Protected From Facebook Search
Advertising On Twitter: Should You Abandon Mobile Devices?
This Search Engine Watch post from Jennifer Wong takes a look at a Twitter ad study that revealed a negative gap in conversions for mobile vs. desktop devices, and a higher cost-per-acquisition. She runs down the findings, lays out the testing process, and calls on advertisers to replicate her experiment.
Analysis By: Jennifer Wong, Search Engine Watch
This Tumblr Chronicling Actual Facebook Graph Searches Is Fantastic
Facebook has so much data that you can pretty much type any absurd thing into its Search Graph and return hilarious results. So is the reasoning behind this Tumblr account, which catalogues real results from users’ strangest search queries.
Bonus coverage: Matt McGee has a quick analysis of how this blog is a good example of Facebook’s continued privacy issues.
Analysis By: Tom Scott, ActualFacebookGraphSearches.Tumblr.Com
How Public Discussions Shape Google’s Search Results
Whatever your opinion may be, it’s increasingly clear that guns and their place in American society have become a major topic of discussion over the past year. Kerin Foster, at Search Engine Watch, has an interesting article that looks at how Google’s search results have morphed as queries and news about this controversial subject increase. It’s an interesting look at the relationship between online activity and public policy.
Analysis By: Kerin Foster, Search Engine Watch
A Guide To Advanced Guest Blogging
The Daily SEO Blog offers up an expansive guide to advanced guest blogging techniques, breaking it down into 20 dos and 20 don’ts.
Analysis By: Pratik Dholakiya, SEOmoz
20 facts About PPC Agencies
Here are 20 illuminating fast facts about PPC agencies.
Analysis By: Elisa Gabbert, Wordstream
Making Sense Of Social Media Link Building
Social media link building is still a topic few clients really understand. Search Engine Watch offers up an extensive tour through the social media landscape and how it can be leveraged for link building efforts.
Analysis By: Jill Joyce, Search Engine Watch