This Week’s Industry News
Compiled by the Rocket Clicks Team
Top Stories
Videos in Google My Business Listing Dashboards
Business owners can finally upload videos to their Google My Business listing. The videos will be displayed to users inside the GMB dashboard. They will likely be organized as a sub tab under the ‘Photos’ tab in the dashboard’s main navigation. Business owners in the past have had the ability to add a video to their Google Maps local listing; with the new GMB update they’ll have even more options to showcase their business. Source: Sterling Sky
Top AdWords Features of 2017
Michael Knight shares his top features that were introduced into AdWords in 2017. First is “If Functions,” which Knight found impactful since he could create multiple ads in one with dynamic messaging, based on specific variables, allowing him to have more flexibility with his ad text. Knight also found “Similar Audiences for Search” to be a handy feature introduced in 2017, allowing him to use more advanced targeting strategies as well as the meet the basic goal of getting more new traffic. The last feature he found effective is promotion extensions, which he found to have high value in showing specific promotions through direct links. Source: Michael Knight, PPC Hero
Google’s Parent Company Alphabet Considering Sale of Zagat
Alphabet purchased the reviews publication in 2011 to compete with rivals in local search. When Zagat was acquired, Google needed local review content but it’s clear that it no longer needs it. Local Guides now consist of more than 50 million people from around the world writing reviews, replacing Zagat’s content. It’s not 100% certain whether a sale will happen but likely purchasing candidates will be publishers, online competitors or a private investor group. Source: Search Engine Land
Why Your Google Search Analytics Report Displays Unusual Keywords
It’s not unheard of to find unusual keywords in Google Search Analytics reports. Some SEOs detailed that reports sometimes show keywords ranking in the number one or two spot with a lot of impressions, only to find that they aren’t ranking at all. Search Engine Roundtable reveals that a simple regional or US filter will refine the misplaced keywords. Google’s John Mueller offers another solution. He stated in a Google Webmaster Help thread that it may be related to images showing up in featured snippets or knowledge graphs. Source: SERoundtable
Optimizing for Voice Search With Contextual Mobile Content
As mobile search begins to rise, the correlation of voice search is clear. Clark Boyd of Search Engine Watch discusses the importance of preparing mobile SEO for voice search. The biggest point Boyd drives home is that technical SEO is always important but for voice search it is crucial that a search engine has access and can understand your content. Voice queries are contextual my nature, but search engines are becoming better at understanding contextual information. When working on a mobile strategy it’s important to create contextual content that can potentially rank for voice queries. Source: Search Engine Watch
