Larry Kim says, “Here’s a crazy new idea: Imagine a tool that analyzes your AdWords account and grades you based on your performance. OK, it’s not so crazy. Or new. My company, WordStream, has provided a free AdWords Performance Grader for over five years now. But here’s what is new: A feature is now available in some (not all) AdWords accounts called an AdWords Account Health Score. The new feature was first spotted by Chris Whyatt at Receptionaland subsequently written up by Ginny Marvin for Search Engine Land. A lot of people on Twitter have been asking me: How is AdWords’ own... [...]

Stavros Vichos says, “It’s absolutely vital that your business’ online presence is Search Engine Optimized to help generate new leads. However, achieving organic search success is an ongoing battle, and Google’s business listing tools have thus far not made it easy for SMEs. There have been many confusing name changes (Google Local, Google+ Local, Maps Listing, Google My Business) and new versions come with new sets of information requirements. The latest and greatest iteration is Google My Business (GMB), it’s free for any business to claim their listing. It’s more user-friendly... [...]

Jordan Kasteler says, “It’s no secret that Google is in a constant state of change. The “ten blue links” that used to comprise a search engine results page (SERP) are diminishing in importance, and new features are becoming more essential with every passing month. From image results and local packs to site links and knowledge panels, Google is reshaping search marketing. Clearly, focusing only on your website is no longer effective. Ranking higher than your competitor in Google’s organic rankings is less meaningful if that competitor is displayed in, say, an answer box. The current... [...]

Joe Robison says, “For almost two years (707 days, to be precise), one question has dominated the SEO conversation: “When will Google update Penguin?” Today, we finally have the answer. Google announced that a Penguin update is rolling out and that Penguin is now operating in real-time. In a normal month, a temperature of 82°F would be slightly interesting, but it’s hardly what many people were expecting, and September 2016 has been anything but a normal month. It takes time to refresh the entire index, though, so it’s likely Penguin volatility will continue for a few days.... [...]

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... [...]