SEO & SEM

Google To Penalize Obtrusive Mobile Ads & Remove 'Mobile Friendly' Label

Everyone hates interstitial ads and obtrusive banner ads, i.e. ads that hide or cover up most or all of the content of your web page. Everyone hates them. EVERYONE. Especially when browsing on a Mobile device.

That includes Google, apparently, and now they're going to do something about it: starting next year, Google will apply an algorithmic ranking penalty in mobile Search results for web pages that use interstitial and obtrusive ads. Previously, Google only penalized app interstitials specifically.

Such sites may appear lower on SERP's starting in January of next year (2017). This will not affect interstitials used for specific purposes such as tracking cookie disclaimers or age checks. Nor will it affect unobtrusive banner ads, or vignette ads which only appear only when users navigate between pages on the same websites but not when navigating directly to web pages from Search Engines, Social Networks, etc...

In addition, Google will no longer display the Mobile Friendly tag on appropriate web links in Mobile Search results, as nearly all results in Mobile Search now meet this criteria. The algorithmic penalty for non Mobile Friendly web pages will, nonetheless, remain in effect.

#GoogleUpdates #SEO



Fewer Than 1-in-4 SEO Professionals Are Using AMP
 
A new survey by SEO PowerSuite reveals some insights about how SEO professionals are using and preparing for the new Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) standard being pushed by Google and partners.
 
While most SEO's are aware of AMP, to-date only 23% have begun to implement AMP on sites they manage, despite an overwhelming awareness that failure to adopt the standard is likely to lead to reduced Mobile Search ranking and traffic.
 
This is, therefore, a good time for forward-thinking SEO's to become Early Adopters, in order to benefit from the inevitable Early Mover Advantage.
 
#MobileSearch #AMP #SEO #SEOTips

Google Posts: A New 'Social' Search Experiment

Google has unveiled, and is beginning to display, a new type of 'social' advertising that lives on Google Search itself. Called 'Google Posts', the feature is being made available to U.S. Presidential candidates according to the landing page for the new feature.

Currently, it appears that the feature is free for the eligible candidates, though one can easily see how this could become a form of paid Search advertising in the future. And although the feature doesn't bill itself as social, it would be impossible to miss the fact that this is awfully, awfully similar to +Post Ads, or that these posts appear in the same spots where embedded Tweets might otherwise appear, or that they're shareable to social networks.

I've often remarked that it was peculiar that more brands haven't used +Post Ads, given that until recently (when Tweets were added to AdWords), they were the only social option for Search advertising on Google, but the general perception that too few people use Google+ has dragged down what would arguably have succeeded otherwise. Google Posts will either prove that Google can succeed as a social advertising platform even without a market leading social network of their own, or prove that they can't.

#SEO #SEM #SocialMediaMarketig #Election2016 #GooglePosts

Penguin Update Coming Within 'Weeks'

Google's +Gary Illyes has given those of us in the SEO World the closest thing to a timeline for the highly anticipated Google Penguin Web Spam Algorithm update we've ever gotten from the Search Giant: within weeks.

Penguin's update schedule has been sporadic, with long gaps between, and the most recent update was actually just a refresh to restore the rankings of sites whose web spam problems were fixed and also the demote sites with newly discovered spam problems.

The new version will (by all accounts) finally introduce a 'Real Time' Penguin, allowing it to better keep up with new web spam as well as making life easier on webmasters who have fixed their spam problems by more quickly restorting their site ranking.

#GoogleUpdate #Penguin #SEO

Google My Business Testing Messaging Feature

Google My Business has begun inviting select businesses to test a new Search feature allowing businesses to chat with customers directly from Search results.

The feature works with the business's SMS number or, interestingly, via Allo, the company's new AI infused chat client.

#SEO #Messaging

Google Ads Tag Goes Green (Literally)

Google is testing a new green Ads Tag for Search ads. This should solve the common complaint that the previous yellow Ads Tag wasn't sufficiently visible... but it won't surprise anyone if there are still similar complaints.

#SEM #AdWords

New Study of TOP SEO Ranking Factors

Backlinko recently analyzed 1 Million Google Search results to determine the top Ranking Factors for Search Engine Optimization. Their results highlight key areas for optimization:

1) Backlinks

Backlinks remain, in their study, the #1 factor correlated with high Search Ranking. Overall link authority appears to be the most important factor, but ranking is influenced by a combination of link quality and link quantity. Exact match anchor text also correlates significantly with high ranking.

2) Topical Relevance and Depth

High ranking was correlated with the depth of content on a topical basis. Short content tends not to rank as highly as long content, but at the same time, long content on one topic performs better than long content covering a variety of topics in less depth.

3) Site Speed Matters

Site speed correlates significantly with high Google Search ranking.

4) Low Bounce Rates

Sites with low bounce rates rank significantly higher than sites with a high bounce rate.

5) Image(s)

The use of at least one image correlates significantly with high ranking, though it does not appear to matter beyond the use of at least one image (i.e. two images or three images or ten doesn't do better than one, but one or more do better than none at all).


It must be noted that these are correlations, and don't necessarily prove causation. Low bounce rates, for example, could be related to other factors such as backlink profile (bounce rates can sometimes be a measure of engagement, and highly engaging content is more likely to attract links).

That said, the logical takeaway is that Google continues to place higher value on content, links, and site quality with each passing year, but that despite extremely punitive Webspam Penalties like Penguin, Google still values link quantity and exact match anchor text to some degree.

Link building has almost become a dirty word in some marketing circles nowadays, but non-spammy link building remains a valuable part of ranking in Search, and may not always be best served by focusing exclusively on 'high quality' links. (+Eric Enge does an excellent job describing a non-spammy approach to link building in, "Is Link Building Dead?" - https://goo.gl/Aj7rMD)

#SEO #SEOTips