This Week’s Industry News
Compiled by the Rocket Clicks Team
Top Stories
Trouble-Shooting Rich Snippets
Google was recently asked why rich snippets were not displaying in search results even though the webmaster console didn’t display any errors. Google responded with three potential reasons; technically incorrect, use Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool to identify technical issues. The structured data does not comply with Google’s policies or the site has some type of quality issue such as thin content, not-mobile friendly or low quality inbound links. Source: Search Engine Journal
Details Arise on Recent AdSense & Ad Buyer Exploit
Google has recently released details on an AdSense exploit where specific advertisers were using “irresponsible campaign parameters” to render their ads virtually unclickable. This gave the advertisers the ability to show their ads for free since they did not have to pay for any clicks. Google stated that they were able to identify this issue and resolve it quickly, resulting in the advertisers that posted these ads getting blacklisted. Source: Search Engine Roundtable
Google Testing Lightweight Search App for Slow Internet Speeds
Reports have been coming in that a new version of the Google Search app is being tested in Indonesia. The app looks and behaves similarly to the normal app, but slightly simplified, most likely for speed purposes including leaving the search bar at the bottom for ease of access. This testing makes sense as Google consistently tries to make it easier to access the web for slow connections. Source: Search Engine Land
Single-Listing Local Packs Found on Bing
Bing’s usual local pack is fairly large and obtrusive, but some users have recently noticed a new test that inserts a single listing local result into the organic results. The new design lacks the usual icons and features of the regular map pack, making it easy to overlook. If clicked the local result will bring up the businesses knowledge panel. At this point, it has yet to be determined if the test is targeting small numbers of searchers or the businesses themselves. Source: TheSEMPost
Bing Ads Releasing Colored Labels
To continue to further assist with campaign management, Bing Ads has begun to roll out color coded labels. These labels can be associated with campaigns, ad groups, ads, and keywords with the possibility of up to 50 labels being assigned to one item. Once this feature has been activated in your account, you can find it in the new “Labels” menu. In addition, when importing from Google AdWords, any labels you have set will transfer over to Bing Ads. Source: Search Engine Journal
Analysis
Simple Landing Page Updates to Improve Quality Score
Diane Anselmo covers three basic tips to improve landing page experience and, in turn, quality score. The first tip is to keep it relevant: make sure there is a connection between copy and landing page to keep user intent consistent. Her second tip is to check your load time, recommending reviewing these the sites load times and how to fix them using Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool. Her last tip comes down to ease of navigation. Based on this, an important question to ask yourself is if you are providing your users with an experience that will get them what they want. If the site is not easy to navigate, users are more likely to abandon; clearly meaning they did not get want they wanted. Source: Diane Anselmo, PPC Hero
5 Tactics That Could Be Holding Your SEO Back
SEOs both experienced and new can easily get lost in the variety of SEO related optimizations, but certain mindsets could be harming your SEO efforts. Tom Demers identified 5 common tactics that could be holding you back.
- Content Topic Narcissism: make sure you create blogs that are useful and relevant to the site, not just whatever could use a content boost.
- Excessive Content Pleasing: Google’s guidelines have a lot of recommendations that are in the best interest of Google, but not for your business so optimize wisely.
- Shiny Blog Post Syndrome: Just because a certain strategy worked well for someone else, don’t immediately throw out the current plan without testing a bit.
- SEO FOMO: Hunting down the next get-traffic-quick scheme is more likely to a waste of time and effort compared to a sustainable long-term strategy.
- Fear of Commitment or ‘Box Checking’: Some companies can be hesitant of SEO and hold-back support while smaller businesses would likely benefit from a SEO-focused project instead of monthly services.
Source: Tom Demers, Search Engine Land
