Today In SEO & Search News: March 27, 2017

Today In SEO & Search News: March 27, 2017

As usual it’s been busy in the SEO and search space with a lot of ground to cover since our post last Friday so let’s dive right in …

Improving AdWords Performance
Who doesn’t want to improve their AdWords performance and increase their ROI? Wesley Parker wrote a piece for Search Engine Journal that I’m happy to say I don’t fully agree with and that’s what makes it a great read.  He takes a different approach to PPC management and if you’re not reading something that makes you look at something differently then it’s probably not worth reading.  His 7 strategies are worth considering and if not employing, at least considering and augmenting for your scenario.

Google Featured Snippets Analysis

An Analysis of Google's "Featured Snippets" and 280k E-Commerce Keywords

Eugene Feygin wrote a good article for Search Engine Journal with some featured snippet stats based on his analysis of 280k keywords in the ecommerce space.  This analysis isn’t about how to get them specifically but rather about what the space looks like, who owns them and how the numbers are changing. I find this type of data incredibly interesting as watching it will indicate the changes in the space as they unravel. I’m hoping Eugene does an update a year from now.

Google Search Analytics Glitch
Barry Schwartz covered a glitch in Google Search Console for Search Engine Land.  There’s a known bug with no ETA on a fix that is causing some image search data to be MIA.  This is a reported logging issue not a traffic one and is not impacting real traffic to sites.

Local Marketing Stats You Can Use
Top 10 insights on local marketing at LSA17

Wesley Young wrote an excellent summary of of 10 insights from the Local Search Association’s 2017 conference for Search Engine Land.  The piece is filled with some very interesting state of the industry stats (for instance location-based marketing is expected to increase from it’s $12.6 billion in 2016 to $32.4 billion by 2021).  There is also some great functional advice from Google and others in the article.  If you couldn’t attend the event and you care about marketing it’s highly recommended reading.

Google Adding 200 Headlines To News App
Matt Southern covered the story for Search Engine Journal – Google is adding over 200 stories to the home screen of their News & Weather app.  They will be located in a browsable stream titled, “More Headlines”. The app will also be gaining support for AMP.

Reviews And Their Impact On Marketing
Thomas Ballantyne at SMX West 2017

Greg Gillford covered the SMX West 2017 session on reviews given by speaker Thomas Ballantyne.  Having heard Thomas speak I know the man knows his stuff and from what this article covers – he didn’t disappoint. His session covered reviews (the good and the bad) with action items and examples. A good read and great slide deck:

Google Downgrades Symantec Secure Certificates
Based on the accusation that Symantec and it’s partners have misused tens of thousands of security certificates Google is downgrading the level or trust Chrome will place in certificates issued by Symantec. While Symantec is responsible for about 30% of the worlds certificated they apparently haven’t properly verified the websites receiving them in at least 30,000 cases according to Google – a very serious accusation.  This is definitely one to watch but for now I’m glad our certificate doesn’t come from Symantec.

Facebook & Amazon Partner To Take On Google
The Motley Fool covered the news that Facebook and Amazon are partnering up to take on Google in the display ad space.  Facebook is already a dominant player but the partnership with Amazon in header bidding (I’ll let you read the article for the full description of that if you’re unfamiliar) gives them access to a larger audience, better bidding and more revenue.  This is, quite honestly, a game changer for Facebook and highly recommended reading.

If you think we missed any stories feel free to add them in the comments below.