Just when you think everything is going smoothly and the new business year has started off without a hitch, Google comes in and decides to throw a major update at us!
And not only that, but it introduces a bunch of new features and changes, just to keep us occupied and on our toes.
But, as always, our team is on top of everything that’s going on, making the best of every update, and making sure YOU come out even stronger. Here’s what’s been going on.
So, this core update that Google rolled out is pretty big – impacting all search results on a worldwide scale.
It affected roofers’ rankings both ways – some experienced drops, and some significant increases.
This is exactly why it’s crucial to know the marketing game, to update and even predict what works and what doesn’t when it comes to SEO.
Our roofers are living proof because not only did they come out without a scratch thanks to our SEO strategies, but their rankings skyrocketed!
Check the photos below to see how strong the update was and the amazing results that our roofers experienced.
Google is now also bringing back Site Removal option to their Search Console, which is great news because now you’ll be able to remove any of your unwanted sites from the search results.
This will ultimately help you rank better.
Some helpful new features were also added to the Console. For example, you can request the removal of outdated content and track the status of the request.
And through SafeSearch Filtering, you can see which pages on your site have been reported as adult content and filtered out of safe search.
That’s it for the good news part, now let’s see some changes that didn’t really sit right with most of us.
So, Google decided to update the look of paid and organic search results, adding favicons to the desktop version, basically causing a worldwide outrage.
It looked bad and too cluttered, everyone started complaining, so Google is now removing it and testing the old-new look.
A very important issue has come up here as well – and that’s how Google has been trying for a long time to make the paid ads less visible, pushing them front and center in order to make more money.
This is pretty obvious in the favicon example because with favicons, paid results are basically indistinguishable from organic results.
This past month Google just kept hitting us with changes and updates, so to wrap things up, one final but equally significant change – web pages with featured snippets will no longer appear twice on page 1.
This basically means that if you win the featured snippet position, you hold the #1 position.
So don’t be surprised if you can’t find your site in the search results – go back and check if you’re holding the featured snippet position.
And if that’s not the case, well, we’re very sorry…
For more information, check full articles:
- Google January 2020 Core Update is Rolling Out Imminently
- Google Makes it Possible to Temporarily Remove Sites From Search Results
- Google Changes the Look of Paid and Organic Search Results on Desktop
- Google: Webpages with Featured Snippets Won’t Appear Twice on Page 1
From Google Ads, we bring only good news!
For the first time ever, bid simulator support will be available for smart bidding campaigns, too, and not just for manual bidding.
Now, you’ll be able to better understand and predict the performance and conversions of your campaign by comparing the targets and the key metrics.
The simulator can, for example, analyze data from the past 7 days and show you what would have happened with a higher target, for example.
With this data and predictions, you can then make adjustments and make your future campaigns even more cost-effective.
For more information, check full articles:
Facebook has, on the other hand, introduced some changes that will benefit the audience and the users more, as opposed to the advertisers (boo hoo).
Following this change, users will now be able to hide the ads that target them via Custom Audience, which, in turn, could potentially hurt your campaign performance.
For more information, check full articles:
Now that you’re all caught up, let’s keep up the good work and continue to dominate together!
If we can help you scale up your business or you have any questions about what you’ve just read, feel free to contact us anytime!
Matt Jacob has been in the marketing business since 2008, working exclusively with roofers for more than 5 years now. He has come to know all the tricks of trade inside-out and he is committed to helping roofers by sharing some of the most important ones. Find out where your best opportunities lie, as well as which challenges lurk out there for roofers – all in his detailed blogs.
