Category: google

To bring consistency to reporting, Google Ads will begin including cross-device conversion data in all attribution reports starting May 1. This includes metrics such as Conversions total, Conversions Value and Last Click Conversions. Why you should care. Currently, cross-device conversion activity is only included in the Devices, Assisting Devices and Device Paths attribution reports. That means conversion metric calculations are inconsistent when looking at different reports. The change will mean cross-device metrics are included and treated the same across all attribution reports. Not retroactive. Keep in mind that the cross-device conversion data will only…

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Will this reduce the issues with fraud and spam in the Google My Business listings? We’ll see. Marissa Nordahl, a Google My Business Community Manager announced that Google launched a new form named the Business Redressal Complaint Form that will allow searchers and users to “report fraudulent activity relating to businesses Google Maps,” she said. The form is designed to help Google tackle some of the serious issues around bad and fraudulent information on Google Maps. Google said you should use the form if “you come across misleading information or fraudulent activity on Google…

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The Secure URL label HTTPS will no longer be seen on Google Chrome by September of this year. Google believes that secure websites should be the norm and as such, do not need any more labels. The news was confirmed on May 17 by Google Chrome Security Product Manager Emily Schecter on the company’s official blog. According to Schecter, users of Chrome version 69 will no longer see the green “Secure” label and lock icon beside HTTPS secure websites starting in September. Meanwhile, sites without HTTPS certificates will trigger a “Not Secure”…

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You can now edit the code in the rich results test and see what those edits do in real time. Google has updated its Rich Results Test tool to let webmasters edit the code and see how those edits impact their results results. Google announced this as part of the Chrome Developer Summit this morning. What are rich results? Rich results are search results that go beyond the standard blue link, they may include a carousels, images, stars, ratings, images or other non-textual user interface elements. How it works. Here…

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Google’s response is that significant SERP personalization is ‘a myth.’ Greg Sterling on December 4, 2018 at 4:11 pm More A new study (via Wired) from Google rival DuckDuckGo charges that Google search personalization is contributing to “filter bubbles.” Google disputes this and says that search personalization is mostly a myth. The notion of filter bubbles in social media or search has been a controversial topic since the term was coined a number of years ago by Eli Pariser to describe how relevance algorithms tend to reinforce users’ existing beliefs and biases.…

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The company is investing in Duo and Android Messages, where it says it’s seeing consumer traction. Google has struggled with its messaging strategy over the years, with numerous experiments and false starts since Google Talk was launched in 2005. Add to that list two of its more recent initiatives, Hangouts and Allo, which are being shuttered. Hangouts will live on as an enterprise tool, while Allo’s features are being integrated in the Android messaging app Messages. Allo will be supported until March 2019 and users can export their messaging histories…

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Is my search ad at the top, or can I be doing even better? It’s one of the things I think about most often regarding Google Ads. For the searches that matter to me and my business, am I showing up and showing up prominently? Average position has long been used by advertisers to try and approximate where their ads show up on the page. However, that position only reflects the order of the auction results, not their location. For example, an ad position of “1” means that your ad…

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Google has rolled out a new feature in their search engine portal, allowing users to track their own online footprints. Dubbed “Personal,” the new feature will expand the user’s search to include the whole Google portfolio. So if you have an account with Gmail, Google+, or saved a photo or video on the cloud, chances are you can find them by filtering your search further. Accessing Google Personal is quite straightforward. You just have to type your query in the search box like you ordinarily would. After the results are…

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Google is always evolving. But some things in the world of search never change. One such thing is the presence of Wikipedia across the Google SERPs. From queries about products and brands to celebrities and topical events, Wikipedia still features heavily across Google searches – even while our habits as search engine users change (with voice and mobile increasingly having an impact), and while Google itself works to make its results more intuitive and full of rich features. Back in May my piece No need for Google argued that wikis themselves were…

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Reports from digital marketing firm Merkle show Amazon’s Shopping campaigns slowed after end of Q1, stopped abruptly April 28. It looks like after a year and a half of running Google Shopping campaigns, Amazon has stopped bidding on product listing ads. According to data pulled by the digital marketing firm Merkle, Amazon’s shopping campaigns had begun to slow down near the end of Q1, and then they completely disappeared from Auction Insights reports on April 28, with no Amazon PLAs (product listing ads) reappearing since then. “While it’s not uncommon…

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