MOZ team says, “When Google says jump, it’s hard not to jump. Often we take the words of Google representatives as edict and law, but it’s important to understand subtleties and to allow for clarification with time. In today’s Whiteboard Friday, Rand discusses some angles to consider that will help you stay grounded when the “Big G” makes a statement about SEO”. When and How to Listen to Google’s Public Statements About SEO – Whiteboard Friday MOZ  [...]

SBT team says, “Two new events have been added to the Feature Calendar for November! Read more about both events, each with a starting date of Nov. 14, in our calendar below. Influencer Marketing Days, a two day event held at the TKP Conference Center located in Midtown, Manhattan, will cover issues pertinent to this burgeoning industry. Information shared at the conference will include research and statistics, different kinds of influencers, influencer marketing channels and more. Meanwhile NextCon 16, being touted by organizers as the must-attend business event of 2016, will be held at... [...]

George Freitag says, “Last week, Casey Meraz did a great breakdown on the state of local, showing where you should be heading with your strategy and answering some tough questions about the future of local search. Today, let’s look at all the recent changes that Google itself has been making to its own local product and examine how that will help you understand where they’re heading. This has been a big year for local search, with Google launching a ton of changes related to local, including several changes directly to their local platform, Google My Business. Marketers and brands are... [...]

Ginny Marvin says, “Google is testing a new overview in the Opportunities tab in AdWords that gives advertisers an “Account Health Score for Search.” The feature was spotted and first reported by the team at Receptional, a UK-based digital marketing agency. As Receptional points out, the idea is similar to that of WordStream’s AdWords Grader, showing an overall score and a more detailed assessment. Clicking on the View Campaigns button brings up campaign overview with Health Scores listed for each and links to recommendations“. Google tests showing an overall Health Score for... [...]

James Perrott says, “On the 11th May 2016, Google announced an update to its Adwords Policy on Lending Products. This introduced the policy of banning ads for payday loans and some related products on all Google ad systems from 13th July 2016. Further to this, Google is also banning ads for loans with an APR of 36% or higher in the US only. Ads sending you through to products where repayment is due within 60 days of the date of issue are also banned. (UPDATE: As of the beginning of August 2016, the payday loan ban has still not been implemented by Google. There has been no official word... [...]

Nick Barber says, “Google this week added yet another chat app to the mix with Duo, a smartphone-only video chat application that bridges the gap between iOS and Android devices. Rather than solve the problem of interoperation between different video chat applications, though, it made another application altogether. The killer video chat app will be the one that works like a telephone. Regardless of your carrier, device, or network, you can dial a number anywhere in the world and talk to someone on the other end. Google, Apple, Facebook, Snapchat and others who offer video calling: take... [...]

Russ Jones says, “Let’s start with the happy ending, which is actually a happy beginning, too. Moz Keyword Explorer has utilized clickstream-derived keyword data in a novel manner since day 1, allowing us to provide consistent keyword volumes despite Google Keyword Planner’s dramatic shifts in data availability and reporting. You probably haven’t noticed any changes in our keyword volume, and you probably won’t notice any going forward, which is just how we built it to begin with: resilient, evolving, and trustworthy. That being said, the truth is that keyword data... [...]

Ginny Marvin says, “Beginning the week of September 12, new keywords and keywords that haven’t received any recent clicks and impressions will have a reported Quality Score in AdWords of null, represented by dashes (“–“). By default, any keywords with null Quality Scores will be excluded from reports and automated rules that have Quality Score filters unless you check a new box that will appear with this change to include them. Google recommends reviewing any reports, filters, rules and scripts that include Quality Score before September 12 to be sure they will function properly”. Google... [...]

Aleh Barysevich says, “Have you taken the plunge with your mobile content strategy and optimized for Google AMP and Facebook Instant Articles? Only 23% of SEO professionals have taken concrete actions to implement the Google AMP protocol, which suggests that the uptake is still relatively low. Should you optimize for these mobile-focused initiatives? Let’s look at both the pros and cons of optimizing for both Google AMP and Facebook Instant Articles, and the three tools you should use to ensure that your web content is living well in a mobile-friendly world”. Should You Optimize Content... [...]

Ginny Marvin says, “Google is improving the integration of Report Editor into the AdWords experience. The next time you opt to download a report from AdWords, you may notice an option to “Open in Report Editor.” Spotted by Kim Clinkunbroomer of Philly Marketing Labs, the option is available at the campaign, ad group and keyword levels of an account. Note, you’ll have to allow pop-ups for the report to open in Report Editor, which opens in a separate tab”. Google adds Export to Report Editor option in AdWords Search Engine Land  [...]