Joy Hawkins says, “For those of you wondering what “Possum” is, it’s the name we in the local search community decided to give the massive Local algorithm update that happened September 1, 2016. Phil Rozek suggested the name, pointing out that it is fitting since many business owners think their Google My Business listings are gone, when in fact they are not. They have just been filtered — they’re playing possum. What was the update? All the evidence seems to indicate this particular update only impacted ranking in the 3-pack and Local Finder (AKA the local results or Google... [...]

Dave McIninch says, “Today, Google ends support for Converted Clicks in Google AdWords. Advertisers still using this metric in reports or for Target CPA bidding need to take a few steps to successfully migrate to the Conversions metrics instead. This article outlines how this change may affect you and what you need to do. What This Change Means Converted Clicks is a metric that came about in 2001 with the introduction of conversion tracking, and has lost much of its relevance since AdWords made updates to the Conversions column in 2015, at which point AdWords encouraged anyone still using... [...]

Danny Sullivan says, “Hey! Google has a new messaging app out today called Allo. Pity I can’t send you a text message about it. Allo can’t handle that, not from my actual number, which is a core failing out of the box. It’s a failing Google can’t afford with yet another messaging app. The glory that was Google Voice I am a long-time Google messaging app user. Let me go back to Google Voice, a wonderful programthat lets you use one phone number for any phone you have. Free SMS messages. The ability to search all your messages. Messages sent also to Gmail. Not using Google Voice?... [...]

Greg Sterling says, “In August, Google announced Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) would be moving beyond “Top Stories” into the main organic mobile search results. Today, AMP officially rolls out broadly in mobile search. Rudy Galfi, Google’s lead product manager for AMP, told me that the global rollout would be complete by the end of the year. He reiterated that this does not represent a rankings change. AMP pages won’t get a special boost in mobile results. However, when there are two versions of a page, Google will prefer and link to the AMP version. AMP pages open within the AMP... [...]

Barry Schwartz says, “Earlier this month, we reported about significant chatter around a Google algorithm update. Well, it looks like we have another update to report to you this week. On Tuesday of this week, there were some early signals of a Google update. Those signals intensified Thursday and seem to just be getting stronger day by day. In short, the webmaster and SEO community is confident that there was an algorithm change with the Google organic search results this week. Not only are the SEO forums and communities discussing it, the tracking tools from Mozcast, Accuranker, RankRanger... [...]

Sherry Bonelli says, “Analytics has always been a challenge for most digital marketers. It can be confusing, overwhelming and, quite frankly, difficult for the ordinary human to understand and decipher. In many cases, marketers don’t even report back their clients’ analytics because they’re just not sure where to start — partly because of information overload and difficult-to-understand data. To make matters worse, there was really no easy way to provide their local SMB clients with an overview of how their site or campaigns were performing that was easy to read and understand. If... [...]

Amy Taylor says, “Expanded text ads. The removal of right-rail ads and the addition of a fourth text ad at the top of desktop searches. Customer Match. These are just a few of the “major” Google announcements made over the past year that caused big reactions across the search industry. Analysts, myself included, have been scrambling to report on how these updates are impacting brands and to come up with best practices in light of the results. Analyzing the paid search landscape, however, I find that it’s often the silent, unannounced updates that have the largest impact on performance. Of... [...]

Brandon Leibowitz says, “The fight to become a top-ranking site in search engines had compelled many site owners to play dirty for a few years. From paid links and keyword stuffing to spam comments and invisible text, people used to manipulate their techniques in such a way that they’d be guaranteed one of the top-ranking positions in search engines. However, changes in Google’s algorithms have ensured that sites making use of these techniques will get penalized and delisted. With these changes, site owners can now ensure better ranking with the help of healthy, white hat SEO techniques. At... [...]

Greg Sterling says, “Google has quite successfully pivoted toward mobile over the past few years. And while more searches now happen on mobile devices, it has been hotly debated whether search plays as central a role for mobile consumers as it does for desktop users. Earlier this week, Google released survey data that asserts search has indeed become a primary resource for smartphone owners. In addition, it’s the most frequently used shopping tool for mobile consumers, according to the findings. Earlier this year, Google polled 1,000 smartphone users “several times a day for a week”... [...]

Wesley Young says, “Images have become ever more important in online presence and marketing.  It seems rare that an article, email, ad or social media post isn’t led by a hero image or graphic. There’s no question that images boost visibility, engagement and click-through rates. A study on Google+ concluded that posts with images were shared three times more than those without images. Likewise, Socialbakers reported that of the top 10 percent most engaging Facebook posts (likes, shares, comments), 93 percent of them were photos. And a study by BrightLocal found that60 percent of consumers... [...]