Ignite Search Weekly Wrap – 7th March 2018
100% Curated SEO/Online Marketing Goodness
Key Industry Updates:
SEO: Multifaceted featured snippets begin rolling out in Google search results
Google updates the search results features with an expanded featured snippet targeting broad, nuanced queries
SEO: Bing has confirmed support for JSON-LD formatted Schema.org markup
Bing has confirmed that it is actively building out verification tools within its Webmaster Tools set to enable verification of schema.org structured data markup that is in JSON-LD format. Existing support includes validation for schema.org markup in Microdata or RDFa format only.
Comparison shopping engines aren’t satisfied with Google’s response to the European Commission’s demand that the search giant give equal treatment to competitors.
SEO: Google selling Zagat to restaurant recommendations site The Infatuation
The New York Times is reporting that Google will sell Zagat to restaurant search and recommendations site The Infatuation. Terms were not disclosed; an announcement will be made today.
SEO: Bing Entity Search API is now available
Bing announced that their Bing Entity Search API is now available to US based users and also in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain and the United Kingdom regions. The API enables you to pull Bing Knowledge Graph information about people, places, things, and local businesses into your sites and apps.
SEO: Google is extending Search capabilities to iMessage and other browser apps on iOS
Google announced on Monday a couple of integrations to extend Google Search functionality to more apps on iOS. They include extensions for iMessage and browser apps such as Safari.
SEO: Google’s Gboard for Android keyboard now supports 300+ languages
Google announced that its mobile keyboard, Gboard, now supports over 300 languages on Android.
Traditional and simplified Chinese and Korean are notable additions among the more than 20 languages Google has added to Gboard. Google also said it is also working on bringing support to lesser-known and used languages such as Manx and Maori.
Paid Search: Yelp offers new ad customization to advertisers
Yesterday Yelp announced “custom ads” for small businesses. They offer advertisers on the platform the ability to select a desired review and image to appear in their ads. This is similar to TripAdvisor’s ad program allowing advertisers to feature a favorite review.
Paid Search: Bing Ads launches ‘fan’ community program for its most dedicated advertisers
Bing Ads is creating a community for its most enthusiastic advertisers to help advance the platform. Thursday’s announcement from Bing Ads Community Manager Frances Donegan-Ryan says the team is looking for active users who want to engage with the community and help Bing Ads “build better products,” “push us to be innovative” and “advocate for our tools”.
Social: Repurposing What Works: The Journey, Episode 19
The Journey, a Social Media Examiner production, is an episodic video documentary that shows you what really happens inside a growing business. Episode 19 of The Journey follows Michael Stelzner, founder of Social Media Examiner, as he continues to pursue what many will see as an impossible goal: to grow his company’s customer base by more than 62% year over year.
In this episode, Mike discovers a specific message is working and instructs his team to repurpose it in creative ways.
Helpful Strategies, Tips & Tricks:
SEO: What is GS1 SmartSearch Schema markup and why should e-commerce sites use it?
In this article contributor Tony Edward explains the new, more advanced schema markup for products called GS1 SmartSearch and how it helps listings gain visibility in the search results.
SEO: Declining Organic Traffic? How to Tell if it’s a Tracking or Optimization Issue
This article will discuss how to tell if declining organic traffic is a tracking or optimization issue. It does so alongside an audit that has been conducted. An audit of which was used to determine if a decline in organic traffic was actually due to poor SEO performance.
SEO: 30 questions to ask that so-called PPC ‘expert’ before hiring him/her
When it comes to pay-per-click (PPC), it’s often best to call in the experts. But sometimes even experts need to be put to the test. Just say no to the expert if he/she can’t answer the following 30 PPC, content and remarketing questions, says contributor John Lincoln.
SEO: High-Quality Links vs. Low-Quality Links: What’s the Difference?
This article will discuss the different between high quality and low quality links and how to assess the value of a link.
Paid Search: 10 ways to increase calls from paid search
The massive increase in phone calls is one of the most notable side effects of the emergence of the mobile consumer. Mobile has changed everything. Phone calls can be your most valuable conversions. Read this article for 10 ways to increase calls from your paid search efforts.
Paid Search: Machine Learning in AdWords: How & When to Use Smart Bidding
Advertisers need to decide between Google’s automation, adopting a manual approach, or using alternative automation to achieve the best results. This article will focus on smart bidding. Here’s how and when to use this generally awesome addition to AdWords.
Conversions: Get inside your customer’s head: A guide to writing irresistible calls to action
In this article contributor Jacob Baadsgaard looks at common search motivations and different types of calls to action you can use to motivate people so they can’t help but click.
Content: Content Definition: What Are We Even Talking About?
How do you define content? Does everyone on your team agree with your definition? Do the people on other teams define content the same way? Read this article to find the answers.
Social: Instagram Stories: How Businesses Can Make the Most of Stories
Do you want to create more engaging and effective Instagram stories? Are you using all of the Instagram Stories features available to you? To explore how you can use the latest Stories features, The Social Media Examiner interviews Sue B. Zimmerman.
Social: How to Use Live Video in a Product Launch: 7 Ways
Do you use live video to sell products or services? Wondering how to grow an audience that will show up for your launch? In this article, you’ll discover seven live video tactics that will create a warm and engaged audience for your next launch.
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