What’s going on in the search marketing world? A lot, that’s what. We’re here to break down the biggest announcements affecting your PPC and SEO performance. Buckle up, because here we go:
Google expands safeguards for ads targeting minors
Google announced early last month that they will block certain ads targeting minors. The blocks include targeting the age, gender or interests of anyone under the age of 18. This is similar to an announcement Instagram made in July that is intended to give “young people a safer, more private experience.” Google also has a new policy that enables anyone under the age of 18, or their parent/guardian, to request the removal of their images from Google Image results.
Author URL property added to Google
The new author property included in Google’s structured data help document will make it easier to identify the authors of an article. The URL added can be anything from the author’s personal social media pages to their own website. You can use the “sameAs” property (Google will know the difference), but there are plenty of benefits to using this new URL property instead:
- Could be a future ranking signal
- Helps Google get more information about the page
- Used in author knowledge panels
Google tool to report indexing issues now available worldwide
There is now a new tool to report indexing bugs for all Search Console users. First announced in April, the rollout has expanded to worldwide use, though reports can currently only be filed in English. You can access the tool in Search Console with either the Index Coverage report or URL Inspection Tool.
Instagram offers better e-commerce support with Shop Tab ads
Instagram is testing ads in their Shop Tab. They have their own new e-commerce business, Instagram Shop, and other retailers can benefit from it. The test is currently limited to a handful on U.S. retailers, and is expected to roll out globally in the next few months. The current test features an auction-based model and allows either single image ads, or a carousel of images. This is a welcome update for advertisers, as people who are already shopping are more likely to make a purchase via ad than those who are just browsing.
Every week, the digital marketing analysts at Rocket Clicks round up the most interesting, exhilarating and dare we say controversial news to share with the team. We’ve collected the most notable PPC & SEO news from August to share with you here… Reach out to us if you’re ready to take your internet marketing to the next level!
