We hope you are in good health. Here are some of the major SEO news updates of the week you need to know:
Search Related Updates And News From Major Search Engines
Google Launches A Replacement For Structured Data Testing Tool
Nearly a year after the original structured data testing tool was shuttered; Google now launches a replacement for it. This new tool is named Schema Markup Validator. It is officially launched as a subdomain on the Schema.org website. The new tool features similar functionality but it’s not 100% similar to Google’s structured data testing tool.
Google Announces Updates To Track Data Using Machine Learning
Google is rolling out several updates to help the site owners and advertisers track the data even if cookies aren’t available. Now, Google analytics will be using first-party data and machine learning to track data without cookies. The updated solution no longer involves the controversial FLoC technology. But, this is designed to help marketers to unlock insights without disrespecting user consent.
Best Practices of Video SEO For Ecommerce To Get Most Out Of Google Search
Video is getting more popular on search engines. It can be prominent in search results if it follows the best practices. These best practices of Video SEO will help the ecommerce site owners to use video strategically to provide shoppers a deeper understanding of the products, build a reputation as trusted experts, and drive awareness and engagement on the site.
Yelp Announces New Features To Expand Local Businesses Reach
Yelp is rolling out new features to help the local business owners to expand their reach. Now, they are no longer limited to promoting strictly around their physical location. These new features include machine learning-generated budget recommendations, custom location targeting, and a couple of other features to help businesses to have more control over the ads and presence on the platform.
Surpass BingBot & Submit HTML Directly To Bing
Now, you can surpass BingBot and submit HTML directly to Bing. Earlier, paid search experts have already discussed the effect of automation on their testing strategies and plans. But, when it comes to automation in Microsoft advertising and Google ads, there are common complaints like muddy data, control over tests, less visibility, and more difficult implementations. But, now they are making it work.
Google Releases a Short Explainer Video after Rachel Maddow’s Complaints
Last week, Rachel Maddow from MSNBC complained on Twitter that Google ads were jumping in and out and were not labeled. Twitting back the response of Rachel, Google’s Danny Sullivan said that Google always labels its ads. It never sounds like these ads come from Google. In reaction, Google also released a short explainer video on how these Google ads appear in the searches and that these are labeled.
Google May Migrate More Data To GMB Performance Report From GMB Insights
Google will be adding website visits and direction requests to the new Google my business performance report. The data will be migrated from the Google my business insights to Google my business performance report. These data points are included already in the insights report. But, these are yet to be added to the new performance report of Google my business.
Google Is Rolling Out Changes In Event Structured Data Reporting
Google confirmed that from May 10, 2021, it has changed the event structured data reporting. Google will begin detecting the event entities not just at the root level but at all hierarchy levels. Also, the errors will be flagged as warnings from now in recommended properties. This may lead you to see a small change in the severity of issues from errors to warnings.
An Increase in the Frequency of Google Showing “people also ask”
Both the RankRanger and Semrush have reported that there has been an increase in the frequency of Google showing “people also ask” boxes. It’s not yet a huge jump but a significant percentage has increased. The semrush chart shows an increase from 59.1 to 64.1% whereas the RankRanger chart shows an increase from 64 to 66.1%.
“Booking” Tab Is Showing Up In New GMB Insights Section
If you check your Google my business account page and click on the insights, there will be a newly added “bookings’ tab. This will help people to understand or evaluate whether customers have booked any appointments, reservations via Google search local or Google maps.
PPC Related Updates And News
Google Ads Is Rolling Out Privacy-focused Changes
In the Google marketing live stream of upcoming product launches, vice president of Engineering at Google ads, Vidhya Srinivasan wrote about new privacy-focused changes for tag manager, analytics, and enhanced conversions. In the announcement, Google also said that they are extending the advanced machine learning to behavioral analytics reporting. These solutions will preserve user data while ensuring search marketer gets the best information to improve their campaigns.
Social Media Updates And News
YouTube Is Launching Brand New Tools For US Creators
YouTube is rolling out four brand new tools for US users. Now, creators can use these in-app creation tools for short video editing. The four new tools feature 6o second recordings, short video filters, video captions, and a short tab on the home page. Plus, users can use a short camera directly from the YouTube mobile app for recording, editing, and publishing small clips.
