We’ve been blogging about Google since 2007. A lot has changed in that time! Here’s a recap of the latest Google updates that we think will impact your business online that’s happened recently.

1. Google Launches Beta Version of Brand New Search Console

   Google has rolled out the beta version of the new and improved search console and so far we’re liking how it looks. It was built from scratch and the way the data is presented allows you to easily toggle on the clicks, total impressions, average CTR, and average position.

   To access the new console click here and then click the “Try the new Search Console” link. See below for what that looks like.

   

   The most promising new feature is access to 16-month-old historical data. It enables year over year comparison which is great.  So the new search console currently includes index coverage, performance, and the ability to upload a new site map. All of the other features remain in the old version.

   Some stats we found on our site that were interesting: 273k impressions over the last 12 months (this is how many times we’ve shown up in search results), out of that number 64k were on mobile, and lastly we received 505 clicks from Google search. For the last year in total we have received just over 25k in visits. Some views below from the new console.

    

   

   

   The new search console will also help you validate newly fixed AMP URLs. The updated AMP status report will provide details into the specific Errors.

   As of now, the above-mentioned tools and features are the biggest highlights of the new search console. But it’s still in the beta and many tools and features are yet to come, so stay tuned.

2. You Can Now Add Videos To Your Google My Business Listing

   Google was testing a new video feature in early January that allowed business owners and customers to add videos, related to the business. Allyson Wright from the Google My Business advertiser community announced that they have fully rolled out the video feature and now all business owners can add videos to their listing. These videos will be visible on Google Maps and local search results. Some important points to consider:

   • Videos up to 30 seconds in length are supported.
   • Videos will appear in the overview tab of the GMB Dashboard.
   • Customer uploaded videos can be found in the “customer” tab.
   • Merchant uploaded videos can be found in the “by owner” tab.
   • All videos can be viewed together in the “videos” tab.
   • After upload it could take up to 24 hours for the videos to appear. Once live, they will display where local photos do.

   The process to add videos is same as photos. Go to your GMB dashboard, click photos on the left and instead of adding photos, add the link to the videos. We just posted a video to our page so the video should be live within 24 hours.

3. Page Speed Will Officially Be A Ranking Factor In Google From July 2018

   It’s 2018 and if your web page takes more than 10 seconds to load, then you are far behind! Nobody likes to wait minutes just for your page to load — they will simply hit the back button. Personally I hit the back button sooner!

   According to this study, 53% of the users will abandon sites that take more than 3 seconds to load. So it came as no surprise when Google announced that site speed will be a ranking factor within the mobile search results in July 2018.

   If you are not sure about your site’s speed, you can use the Google’s “Test My Site” tool. This tool uses a standard 3G connection to replicate what most people are using to surf the web using mobile. It not only tells you about your site speed but also gives suggestions on how you can improve. Our home page loaded in 5 seconds which Google says is “good” but according to the above study it’s “not good”. We NEED to improve our page speed ASAP. I’ll post a followup blog on how we improved our website speed and provide some insight into how we did it.

   

4. Important Google AdWords Updates For February 2018

   There’s a ton happening in the AdWords world. Here’s the important stuff:

   • The Dynamic search ads allow you to target the entire website or domain name so that you can target a broad audience. However, Google has made some significant changes to it and the changes will go live soon. To know exactly how it will affect you, click here.
   • Google made changes to their algorithm for AdWords sometimes increasing budgets by 2X. Find out how advertisers are responding to it and does it really change anything within AdWords … find out.
   • Google and Facebook get the biggest slice of advertising cake. A recent study revealed that 25% of the global advertising spend goes to Google and Facebook. However, the number may drop soon as people are starting to allocate their ad budget to different platforms.
   • Google is officially removing the Adwords Review extension and all the performance data will be deleted by the end of February 2018.
   • Last year we saw shocking reports that YouTube ads were running alongside some inappropriate videos. It scared advertisers. Addressing the issue, YouTube has now made it mandatory for users to have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours  of viewed content if they want to monetize their content (more below on this).
   • Remarketing is one of the best marketing weapons in your arsenal. Here’s a great guide on how to utilize it to the fullest.
   • What is Doubleclick adoptive re-marketing and how does it work? Find out more here.
   • Manually selecting placements to run display ads may seem like a good option, but it is not the right solution to click frauds. Also, it causes you to miss the flexibility of automated placements.
   • Remarketing is good but only if done in a balanced manner. Many advertisers overdo it and as a result, annoy the users. Although Google can’t tell advertisers to stop targeting a particular user, they may give the power to the users to block re-marketing ads coming from a specific advertiser.

    

5. Youtube’s New Monetization Policy, Not A Bad Decision

   

   Recently, YouTube has announced that it will demonetize all the small channels on the platform, as per the site’s new eligibility criteria channels need to have more than 1,000 subscribers, with at least 4,000 hours of watching within the past 12 months.

   The decision came after Logan Paul’s ‘suicide video’ incident. According to the company, the decision of demonetizing the small channels is taken in order to, “prevent bad actors from harming the inspiring and original creators around the world who make their living on YouTube.” The channels that fail to meet these criteria will no longer be able to monetize and will lose access to tools and features associated with the YouTube partner program by next month. If any channel fails to meet the criteria but, later if they manage to pass it, will be automatically re-evaluated in the new criteria. All the new channels joining the platform will have to, manually apply for evaluation.

   Though many are criticizing YouTube’s new policy and terming it as “favoritism” for big channels or “penalty” for small channels, we feel it’s not a bad decision.

If you’ve made it this far YOU are my hero. May the Google gods bless your website.

Warm regards,

Matt Ramage
Chief Emarketed Guy

Emarketed

Matt Ramage is founder of Emarketed a web marketing agency located in Los Angeles. He loves coffee, good design, and helping businesses improve their look and getting found on the Internet.

https://www.emarketed.com