Month: January 2021

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1-29-21 What We Are Watching This Week

McCord Web Services is a Google Partner and a Certified Google Ads Professional

There are just a few new things in the world of Google that we are watching this week.

Rich Snippet Changes

Google has a new validation tool for Rich Snippets you may be using on your website. You’ll want to click in and check your code in the new validation tool as Google is stating that they will drop your snippets indexing in search if you do not make updates to have the code be valid. Read the full detailed article here.

Local Service Ads and the Impact on Standard Google Ads Campaigns

In 2020 Google started testing Local Service Ads for lawyers. A number of firms have done research on how using both Google Ads and Local Service Ads impacts Google Ads performance negatively.

After review of the data, it appears that Local Service Ads will be shown preferentially by Google and are typically clicked on more by users due to the richness of the interface and ad appearance. CTR and CPA are negatively impacted in Google Ads when the client is using both programs.

If you are using Local Service Ads AND Google Ads (standard professional version), you will want to dive in and read the full article.

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Google is Continuing to Test New Google My Business Features and Components

Nancy McCord and Bandit

If you have not set up and regularly update your Google My Business page, now is the time to start getting serious about it. Google considers the Google My Business page important and is currently testing a number of features and enhancements.

We encourage you to read this article – what is of most value is the images that show several of these new enhancements actually from searches and how Google is handling services, reviews, and the addition of Google My Business Posts, Events, and Special Offers in Google Maps listings.

We have not been able to duplicate these searches to see the results ourselves, but we do know that when Google tests layouts and features it usually is about getting ready to rollout a wider test.

What is important to know is that if Google considers Google My Business important, so should you.

Of late other items that Google has tested in Google My Business are local service ads, a Google Guaranteed money back feature, and Google Verified – for vetted businesses.

With Google considering that the local experience and ability to find services “near me” is crucial to relevancy, Google My Business is just one part of the equation for web visibility and success in Google organic listings.

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What to Know About Google Indexing and Ranking

Nancy McCord and Bandit

I recently ready a very interesting article and wanted to share some of the important nuggets with you in Google indexing in this January 1, 2021 post.

First, Happy New Year! 2021 simply has to be better than 2020.

Second, there are the nuggets that I find of particular interest for our clients from this article.

• Google has now verified that it can take two months or more to impact search results when you make a change to your website.

• Google does validate that when you regularly add new content to your website, that the Google Bot spider will focus on the new content and not the old content for its time to index your website.

• If you have poor quality sections on your website, these poor sections can drag down the rating/ranking of your entire website.

• Rankings are determined not by page, but by weighing the entire website.

• However, now the Google team has stated that regularly updated new sections of your website that are of good quality may keep the poor sections of your site from making a strong impact that drags down your website in the rankings. Hmm, kind of conflicting from what has previously said and Google couches this with “it depends on your website.” So, not a conclusive nugget.

• What I find of particular importance in all this is that ranking and changes to your site have far reaching long term impacts that in some cases not seen even in two months from the changes. Keepng your content fresh is crucial to attracting and keeping the attention of the Google Bot spider.

If you are mystified by this, it may be time to visit our website to check our services. When you need a team that is trustworthy on your side to help you understand and then act to improve your website visibility, McCord Web Services is your top choice.