In a move that should please many online businesses, Google is making it easier to leave reviews on the platform. Finally, users can leave reviews without a Google+ account.
To clarify, while you don’t need a Google+ account, you do still need a regular old Google account. The change was first spotted by Conrad O’Connell from Serptests.com.
The difference seems small, but in this case, semantics is everything. By not requiring a Google+ account, Google is opening the door to a considerable number of reviews. Considering review counts and overall rating are top ranking signals for local search, this also means it will be easier to improve your local rankings with reviews.
This doesn’t mean you will have to do with an enormous amount of anonymous or troll reviews either. The first and last name of the reviewer will still be shown, so you shouldn’t have to worry about being flooded with one-star reviews by nameless accounts.
At the same time, Google also fixed a well-known bug which would keep reviews from being submitted from a mobile device for businesses without another pre-existing review.
Reputation is everything for local businesses, and these changes make it easier than ever for your customers to spread the gospel of your quality service or products.
00Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2016-04-05 13:59:472016-04-05 13:59:47Google+ Accounts Are No Longer Needed To Leave Reviews On Google
Want to know what everyone will be searching for this spring ahead of time? Yahoo claims to have the answers in their newly revealed list of top search trends for this spring. Using search data from last year and recent months, Yahoo uncovered the top trends in search to keep an eye on this season.
These are the top search trends for spring 2016, according to Yahoo:
DIY: Spring is the season of house improvement projects, which means people are searching for “how to” tips for their new venture. January, March, and April are the peak months for “how to build” searches, especially in the Southeast. In particular, Yahoo says sheds, tree houses, decks, and raised garden beds are especially popular this year.
Painting: Along with DIY projects, searches for phrases like “what paint colors go with…” are going up. Putting a new paint of coat on living rooms and kitchens are the most popular projects for many searchers this year, according to Yahoo.
Organization: As people are making the switch from their winter clothes to their warm-weather wardrobe, there’s going to be a big increase searches for closet organization.
Outdoors: Searchers are also getting ready for the warm weather by searching for outdoor equipment and furniture like patio furniture, outdoor furniture, lawn mowers, and spring sets.
BBQs: Unsurprisingly, searches for “grills” go way, way up from March to May.
Chairs: Adirondack chairs are a big item this year, looking to peak in April. Interestingly, Yahoo says people searching for this style of chair are also 98% more likely to drive a luxury SUV.
Allergies: Allergy season is just getting started, but clearly people are already ready for it to be over. From February to June there is a large increase in searches asking “when do seasonal allergies end.”
Taxes: Up until Tax Day, this is going to be a popular topic for searchers every year. However, this year has some noteworthy changes from the past. Over a quarter of searches for “tax prep” are expected to come from mobile devices, and those looking for tax prep advice are skewing younger than 35 years-old with an annual income below $75k.
Yahoo is offering this information to help search marketers and seasonal businesses refine their content strategies and get ahead of the trends this year. If you act now, you can take advantage of the insight to make yourself the first choice as this year’s hot searches heat up.
00Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2016-03-25 11:44:032016-03-25 11:44:03Yahoo Predicts The Hottest Search Trends For Spring 2016
Google has always kept it search engine ranking algorithm a closely guarded secret, but it is finally letting webmasters and online marketers in on the three most important factors for ranking well. Google has confirmed the top three ranking factors are links, content, and RankBrain.
The news isn’t much of a surprise. Links have long been one of the most important signals for websites, and content has become an essential cornerstone of SEO in recent years.
Google said RankBrain was the third most important ranking signal last year, but its inclusion is still a little puzzling. RankBrain is technically a part of the Google algorithm, but it is hard to call it a search signal so much as an artificial intelligence system which informs Google’s main search algorithm.
Andrey Lipattsev, a Search Quality Senior Strategist at Google, confirmed the top two are links and content during a Google hangout yesterday. Lipattsev was asked what the top search signals are, to which he told SEOs:
I can tell you what they are. It is content and links pointing to your site.
Of course, there are over 200 search signals and Lipattsev suggested “there is no order” to the most important search signals, so don’t expect a complete ordered list of search factors anytime soon.
You can see the video of the Google hangout below, with Lipattsev responding to the question around the 30:20 point.
00Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2016-03-24 16:21:162016-03-24 16:21:16Google Finally Tells Us The Three Most Important Ranking Factors
Google Analytics is an essential tool for webmasters and marketers looking to take control of their marketing efforts and increase both revenue and engagement. Now, Google is taking the platform even further with the introduction of the new enterprise-oriented measurement platform, Google Analytics 360 Suite.
In an announcement posted this week on the blog Inside Adwords, Vice President of Analytics, Display, and Video Products Paul Muret said:
“Sophisticated marketers who use analytics platforms are 3X more likely to outperform their peers in achieving revenue goals. It’s no wonder enterprise-class marketers have been telling us they need more from their marketing analytics tools. Many toolsets can’t cope: They’re too hard to use, lack sufficient collaboration capabilities, are poorly integrated, and require hard to find expertise.”
Muret also told Marketing Land that marketers are “trying to engage with brief moments of engagement” referring to so-called micro-moments. “If the value is not delivered” within the brief window of time, “consumers will quickly move on.”
The new platform is intended to deliver an enterprise-oriented analytics service that is both comprehensive and easy-to-use while focusing in on those brief moments of engagement and opportunity.
Google has remained mum on if there are any new data sources feeding into the Suite, and cross-device tracking remains the same. Rather, Google Analytics 360 Suite is intended to expand upon Google Analytics Premium, its previous enterprise-oriented analytics platform.
The suite includes four new tools, as well as two old mainstays:
Google Audience Center 360 (beta). This powerful data management platform (DMP) helps marketers understand their customers and find more like them across channels, devices, and campaigns. It offers native integration with Google and DoubleClick, plus it’s open to third-party data providers, DSPs and more.
Google Optimize 360 (beta). This website testing and personalization product helps marketers deliver better experiences. Marketers can show consumers multiple variations of their site and then choose the version that works best for each audience.
Google Data Studio 360 (beta). A new data analysis and visualization product that integrates data across all suite products and other data sources ― turning it into beautiful, interactive reports and dashboards. Built-in real-time collaboration and sharing is based on Google Docs technology.
Google Tag Manager 360. Built from our industry-leading tag management product, it empowers enterprise marketers to move faster and make decisions with confidence. It offers a simplified way to gather site information (all those tiny bits of code) and powerful APIs to increase data accuracy and streamline workflows.
Google Analytics 360, formerly known as GA Premium, will roll out exciting new capabilities throughout the next couple of months as investments continue to grow. It will serve as the measurement centerpiece by analyzing customer data from all touch-points and integrating with our ad products to drive marketing effectiveness.
Google Attribution 360, formerly known as Adometry, has been rebuilt from the ground up to help advertisers value marketing investments and allocate budgets with confidence. Marketers can analyze performance across all channels, devices, and systems to achieve their most effective marketing mix.
All these tools are available on the dashboard, and Google has said the platform also includes a broad set of integrated third-party providers, such as customer relationship management platforms.
The individual products will be offered à la carte, under to-be-announced pricing. Google Analytics Premium and Adometry will be relaunched under the Google Analytics 360 Suite platform “in the coming months.” Google Analytics Premium and Adometry customers will also be offered access to the new tools in a limited beta test in the future.
00Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2016-03-17 11:39:122016-03-17 11:39:12Google Announces Google Analytics 360 Suite
Despite once being the gold standard for assessing a site’s authority and optimization, Google announced this week it will be shutting down PageRank and all toolbars featuring the tool will no longer show a PageRank score.
The algorithm-based tool would assess web pages and rank them on a scale of one to ten based on numerous signals that Google uses to evaluate pages. It was an easy-to-understand way to quickly “score” a website and know if optimization, link building, or other marketing efforts were having a positive effect. However, the tool has not been updated in years.
Many webmasters have been holding onto hope that PageRank would get an algorithm update, but the company has been slowly moving away from it for some time. PageRank scores were never displayed inside Google Chrome, and the scored were dropped from Google Search Console in 2009. The Google Open Directory website, which showed PageRank metrics, was also shut down in 2010.
The last bastion of the PageRank score was the IE Google toolbar, which continued to show scores up until now.
Google has confirmed it will not be updating the tool for the public, but it will continue to be used by Google internally.
The move signals a big shift away from Google’s old way of doing things, but in practical terms it will change very little. Since PageRank hadn’t been updated since 2013, SEOs and webmasters have learned to rely on other tools and methods of assessing their marketing efforts.
00Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2016-03-10 16:04:422016-03-10 16:04:42Say Goodbye To Google PageRank
Google is experimenting with a new change that could up the profile of local businesses in the search results. The search giant is conducting a limited test featuring a new card carousel of results and content from local businesses near the top of search results pages.
Mike Blumenthal first noticed the test, but it has since been confirmed by Google. The “Local Business Cards” use the same functionality as Candidate Cards, which were recently launched. The main difference with this new test is how limited it is.
Currently, Google is only including a “few dozen” hand-chosen local businesses in the experiment. Instead of pulling the content being used to fill the cards from search engine content or Google My Business listings, Google is also using custom content for the cards.
This test is also notable for being the first time Google has allowed animation or GIFs on the search results pages.
On desktop, you can see the Local Business Cards directly adjacent to the Knowledge Panel featuring that business. On mobile, it is shown below the Knowledge Graph. You can see an example below:
The idea behind the new test is to allow businesses to stand out more in search results and highlight content or information about the business’s products or services in ways not quite possible through the Knowledge Graph. With this in mind, Google has also made content directly sharable from within the carousel.
Most likely this is an early test since Google chose such a small number of businesses and is using custom content to fill the cards. There’s no telling when or if Google will roll out the feature to a wider audience. Hopefully, the cards come soon, as they could be a huge benefit for local businesses that depend on organic search traffic.
00Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2016-03-08 10:48:412016-03-08 10:48:41Google Experiments With Cards For Local Businesses In Search Results
Google is always changing. Over just the past few years, the way search works has changed radically – moving to a more user-based model and mobile-first mindset.
This shift in attitudes has changed how the world’s most famous search engine works down to its very foundation, with the intent of moving away from a system that started with information and aimed to connect it with its audience. Instead, Google has made it its philosophy to start with the user and aim to provide the best search results for them.
SEOBook recently shared an infographic to visualize how Google’s search engine works in 2016. It shows that in SEO and Google Search, you can’t rely on the same methods from 2013 to keep your business growing online today.
You can see the infographic below. If you can’t see the small text, a larger version is available at SEOBook.
00Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2016-02-02 11:29:022016-02-02 11:29:02Infographic Shows How Search Works at Google in 2016
Android users will soon be able to install apps to their smartphones directly from Google search results. According to Android Police, Google has begun testing the new feature which will let users bypass the Play Store and directly install an app by performing a Google search.
To try out the feature, open the Google app on any Android phone and search for any app you want to install. Within the Google card, which previously directed users to the Play Store, you will now see an Install button.
If you press the Install button, your phone will ask for the normal permissions that appear with all Play Store app download. If you accept, the app will immediately begin downloading and installing.
The feature hasn’t been rolled out to all Android phones, so there is no guarantee you will be able to directly install the app. Many users are still being directed to the Play Store.
Ryan Whitwam of Android Police speculates the feature is just in testing currently, and will see a wider rollout in the future. He also suggests the feature is likely to be available only in the Google app and not through Chrome.
The bad news is half or more of your website traffic likely comes from bots. The good news is that is actually a huge improvement from in the past.
A new report from Imperva Incapsula shows that approximately 48.5% of all traffic to websites comes from bots, not actual online users. That number comes from a review of over 19 billion visits to 35,000 Incapsula client websites around the world with a minimum daily traffic count of at least 10 human visitors gathered over a 90 day period in 2015.
According to the data, 51.5% of all Web traffic comes from human users, while 29% come from “bad bots” which automate spam or other malicious activity, and 19.5% came from “good bots” which are used by search engines and other online services.
While this sounds bad, the share of human traffic is actually rising compared to past year. The report explains:
In a similar 2013 study conducted by Imperva, humans made up only 31.5% of all visits to sites, compared with 51.5% in 2015. This shift is mainly due to an increase in human traffic as more people use the Web and a decrease in good bot traffic.
The ratio of bots-to-humans your website receives is likely influenced by how popular your site is, as the most popular sites examined showed the smallest ratio of bot traffic (39.7%). In comparison, the least popular sites included in the traffic had the highest share of bot traffic (85.4%).
No matter what percentage of your traffic comes to bots, the best solution is to continue emphasizing marketing that directly connects with real humans such as social media marketing and PPC.
00Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2016-01-11 12:57:232020-08-08 22:18:01Report Shows Almost Half Of All Traffic Comes From Bots
As of January 1st, Bing is officially powering AOL’s search results as the result of a long-term deal made by the two companies in June of last year. Rick van der Kooi, Corporate VP of Microsoft Search Advertising announced the change, saying:
“Today, I am excited to share that as of Jan. 1, Bing powers AOL’s web, mobile, and tablet search, providing paid search ads and algorithmic organic search results to AOL’s properties worldwide.”
Van der Kooi also shared some interesting bits of information to help illustrate the scale of the partnership, including:
1 in 5 searches happen on Bing.com
Bing also powers search results for the third largest search provider in the US (Yahoo)
With Bing now powering AOL searches, the engine now powers close to one-third of all US PC web searches.
The company looks to gain even more ground by acquiring the built-in audience from AOL, which is responsible for generating billions of search queries a year.
Unlike Bing’s deal with Yahoo, Bing’s will be powering 100% of AOL’s search results across all devices. In the Yahoo agreement, only 51% of Yahoo’s desktop search results are powered by Bing, with no support for mobile.
00Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2016-01-05 15:02:412016-01-05 15:02:41Bing Announces It Is Now Powering All Search Results On AOL
