Industry Buzz: The Latest Updates on SEO, PPC, and Social

In today’s blog post, I’ll be giving you a round-up of industry trends and news that you need to keep on top of your mind if you want to beat the competition and boost your search presence.

Here’s what you need to know:

What’s New in Search?

Google Making Updates on Their Algorithms

Google seems to have made some changes to their algorithms when it comes to targeting link spam. According to Barry Schwartz, the tweaks may be targeting websites that are doing aggressive link building.

Here’s what people are saying about the update:

The updates may involve how Google Penguin is detecting and devaluing spammy links. Schwartz also thinks this may be an algorithm update in the making, but Google has yet to confirm this news.

Local Knowledge Box Expanded

Mike Blumenthal noticed a new box on Google’s local knowledge box panel, and this can be the next big thing for website owners and digital marketers. There seems to be an additional box that allows websites listed on Google My Business to post deals and promotions below their listing.

Here’s how the listing appears:

This new box provides search users with more information about the listed business, with a link pointing them to the directions of the business’ location or to the main website. If Google will push through with this added feature on the local knowledge box, this can change the direction of local search strategies for businesses.

Mobile-Friendly Test API Now Available

Google is making it easier to check the mobile-friendliness of your website with their Mobile-Friendly Test API.

This allows you to run tests on individual pages using automated tools, so it will be easier to resolve website issues.

What’s New in PPC?

New AdWords Interface Rolling Out

A new user interface is on its way to Google AdWords, with alpha access becoming available to AdWords users. Jerry Dischler, Google’s head of search ads, even confirms the news of rolling out the new UI to more accounts in the following months.

According to reports, AdWords account users with alpha access can switch back and forth between the old and new interfaces. Some functionalities are not yet available, such as downloading data. The Advanced bid adjustment and other added features are worth a try when you get access to the new UI.

Google’s Ads Added by AdWords

Paid marketing might just shift towards a new direction with Google’s Ads Added by AdWords. This new pilot program enables Google to write new ad variations for improved performance. According to Google, more ads to ad groups can boost performance by 5 to 15%.

The ads will be created based on the information from your existing ads, such as headlines, descriptions, ad extensions, and the content on your ad’s landing page. The new ads will only be created and added to each ad group once. AdWords account users can also pause or remove the pilot program anytime.

Bing’s Dynamic Search Ads on the Rise

Bing’s dynamic search ads are gaining attention, with some saying the ads are better than Google. Through dynamic ads, you can match a user’s search more accurately and get them to click on your ads more often. The ads are more targeted, allowing you to use as many parameters as you need to widen your audience reach.

Making ads dynamic opens many opportunities for website owners, especially for those targeting e-commerce keywords. You might want to keep dynamic ad insertion on top of your mind when you’re planning your next PPC strategy.

What’s New in Social Media?

Objects Now Recognizable in Facebook Search

Facebook launches Lumos, a visual search system that enables objects to become recognizable when users run a Facebook search. This was initially developed to help visually-impaired Facebook users, but was further developed to cater to all users.

Through “cutting-edge deep learning techniques”, the new visual search system allows Facebook to process and understand the semantic meaning of billions of photos. This, in turn, helps searches become easier for users. So, if you have a query with the description “black shirt photo”, Lumos will search and sort the photos containing a black shirt in it. Facebook will then only provide the results that are relevant to the query.

More Brands to Have Search Ads on Pinterest

Advertisers are ecstatic to try the first paid search product on Pinterest. The new search ads include keyword campaigns, shopping campaigns, targeting, and reporting. Just like in Facebook and Twitter ads, Pinterest paid search ad will offer pricing based on impressions, pin clicks, and engagement.

Pinterest, however, emphasized that their search ads product is different from Google AdWords due to the visual element of their content. Instead of text-based ads, users will mostly see images. Pinterest is also starting a partnership with marketing software provider Kenshoo to make search advertising available to more brands.

That’s all for this week! Tune in on our next round-up here at Siteoscope and find out the latest buzz in the digital industry!