BIRMINGHAM, UK – 11th September 2015
When it comes to achieving success from SEO and PPC campaigns, the key is to keep up to date with the latest Google changes. The Internet giant is constantly moving the goal posts and turning the world of search on its head, so if businesses fail to remain in the know, they could end up making little mistakes that have a huge impact on their online visibility.
Google has been busy making changes to AdWords and local search, whilst also rolling out new algorithm updates.
Changes to Google Local Search
One of the most recent changes Google has made affects all businesses attempting to rank in local searches. In the past, the aim was to become part of the Google 7 Pack i.e. one of the top seven results to show up on relevant local search results pages. However, just a few weeks ago, Google made the decision to show just three results in local searches. This is bound to have angered those ranking in positions 4 and below, as there’s a high chance of them now experiencing fewer phone calls and sales. The aim is now to get into the prestigious Google 3 Pack; the positions that undoubtedly offer better exposure and a greater chance of conversions.
Google has reduced its local search results from seven to three.
“In order to shift things around and get into the Google 3 Pack, businesses need to work on their SEO and PPC strategies” says David Bryan, Managing Director at Birmingham based digital marketing agency Opace.
He continues, “It’s not something that will happen over night but with hard work, dedication and the right digital marketing agency behind them, there is a great chance of local businesses making a difference to their rankings.”
Changes to Google AdWords
Google AdWords, the search engine’s pay per click advertising platform regularly undergoes changes, with numerous updates taking place each month. This month has seen the launch of new 360 degree adverts on YouTube, updates to Display campaigns and a new suite of automated bidding solutions for Google Shopping.
In addition to these changes, Google has also released a brand new Report Editor tool, which is designed to help advertisers explore their account data in new ways, directly from their browser. The new AdWords feature comes with an easy to user interface for building custom tables and charts, which can be easily segmented and filtered to show the most important insights to a business.
More information about the new feature can be found in Google’s brand new guide, which is packed full of advice on how to cultivate the right insights and turn them into valuable actions.
New AdWords app updates
Google has also been busy making updates to its Android AdWords app. New features include billing summary, additional columns and enhanced performance tables. The idea behind these new features is that they will give advertisers greater visibility of their ads’ performance.
Enhanced Dynamic Search Ads
Google created dynamic search ads to help businesses reach their customers with relevant information during their searches, without the need to manage keywords. Recently, they have enhanced and retooled DSAs so they not only crawl and index websites but also actively organise a business’s content into recommended categories for creating targeted adverts.
The recommended categories are customised to the products and services offered by a business and will only trigger ads for search queries that a business has relevant landing pages for.
Other updates to dynamic search ads include new previewing tools, as well as recommended bid calculations for each category.
Google’s Mobile Search Algorithm
Businesses may remember that Google launched a new mobile search algorithm on 21st April this year. Whilst the algorithm has already impacted mobile search, with Moovweb finding that 83% of the time, the top results on mobile searches are mobile-friendly and 81% the top three are; it is still being rolled out.
David says “This means that just because a business’s website hasn’t been affected yet (either positively or negatively) it doesn’t mean that it won’t be. Businesses that are yet to invest in a mobile-friendly or responsive web design must do so as soon as possible in order to benefit from elevated rankings. Whilst the algorithm does not set out to penalise non mobile-friendly website, numerous reports have claimed that many non-responsive websites have been negatively affected by it”.
Google Panda 4.2 is here
Since the 22nd July, Google has been rolling out its latest Google Panda refresh (4.2), which comes ten months after its predecessor. Many industry experts have noted that this update is being rolled out much slower than previous ones and Google has since said that this is down to internal technical issues. With this in mind, it is likely to take months before the full affect of Google Panda 4.2 is clear.
Like its predecessors, Google Panda 4.2 is site-wide. Even if a business has only seen changes to a few of its web pages so far, other pages are likely to be affected one way or another over the coming months. What’s more, those that were penalised by the previous update and have since made changes, may have to wait a while to experience an increase in their rankings but can be rest assured that it will be worth the wait.
Keep up to date with the latest Google changes and updates by visiting www.opace.co.uk.
Contact information
Telephone: 0845 017 7661
Email: [email protected]
Address:
Opace
Longbridge Technology Park
Birmingham
West Midlands
B31 2TS