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 My Business Launches New Search Metrics

Google has announced new performance metrics that are specifically meant for Google My Business Insights. Google stated, ‘’business Profile Performance reporting is moving closer to your profile on Search and Maps. You’ll be able to access more of the core profile metrics directly from your Business Profile.” They also stated that they would start with interactions to let businesses know how people contacted them. More metrics will be included in the next few months and will comprise detailed reports related to searches and the number of people who viewed a profile. Once the metrics are included in Performance reporting, earlier versions of those metrics will be removed from Google My Business web and app platforms. According to Google, these performance reports are available on Search at present and will soon be available on Maps.’’

Google States That There Are Indexing Issues With Canonicalization As Well As Mobile-Indexing

Experts had been suspecting canonicalization issues with Google for some time, and they are partially correct. Google has stated that there are issues not only in canonicalization, but also mobile-indexing. It is widely believed that the issue started around September 22 or 23, when SEO experts began noticing major changes in search results. Google confirmed on Twitter through the Search Liaison account, “we are currently working to resolve two separate indexing issues that have impacted some URLs. One is with mobile-indexing. The other is with canonicalization, how we detect and handle duplicate content. In either of these two cases, pages might not be indexed.”

Google SERP Study Shows Which Rich Result Types Generate The Majority of Clicks

All rich results in Google SERPs are not created equal, according to the findings of a new study. Milestone Research, which is the research division of Milestone Inc., analyzed more than 4.5 million queries to find that users click on rich results 58% of the time, in contrast, a CTR of 41% for non-rich results. This study shows how much CTR can differ based on the type of rich result. Some types of rich results had a CTR as high as 87%. The study also focuses on branded versus non-branded results and which has more chances of generating more leads.

Google’s New Mini-Site Includes Holiday Marketing Resources

The new small business holiday hub of Google includes several resources that can be used by marketers to prepare for the year’s busiest shopping season. This mini-site includes personalized recommendations to help companies reach out to shoppers across Google Maps, Google Shopping and Google Search. Reaching out to customers is essential this year since a study by Google shows that 71% of adults in the US plan to do more than half of their shopping online. These shoppers have stated that they are willing to buy from new retailers, including local small businesses.

Google To Soon Launch ‘News Showcase’ Feature For Search Results

Google is soon going to release ‘New Showcase’ which is soon going to be included in search results. It is an interactive set of story panels which will first be released to Google News on Android. There are clear signs that Google intends to add the feature to Google News on iOS also, as well as on Search and Discover in the days to come. Some distinctive features of Google News Showcase are a timeline of events, related articles, more in-depth understanding of key bullet points and more perspective from publishers.

Keep A Track of The Latest News From Social Networking Sites

Facebook Ads To Do Away With The 28-Day Attribution Model

Facebook Ads announced on Monday that it’s removing the 28-day attribution model. Once it is done, the longest remaining attribution will be the 7-day option. As per the official announcement directly sent to advertisers, the upcoming digital privacy initiatives that are impacting multiple browsers will reduce a business’s ability to measure interactions of people across various domains and devices. One of these limitations is the ability of companies to attribute conversion events back to an ad through longer attribution windows. However, the email doesn’t cite any particular privacy initiative which has caused the change.

Pinterest Publishes A New Search Trends Report Which Shows Topics That Have Seen A Rise In Interest

Pinterest has released a new report on search trends with details on what is likely to be popular during the fall of this year. Search trends are identified based  on the exact topics which at present has seen a rise in search volume as compared to this time of 2019. Social media marketers can utilize this data as a guide for their campaigns for the rest of the season. So, it is not a surprise that searches related to ‘’positivity’’ are one of the top trends. Some popular topics that are popular among millennials are schedule for children at home, conscious parenting, occupational therapy for children, etc.

Instagram’s New Mini-Suite Includes Useful Guides For Small Businesses

Instagram is launching a mini-site that has valuable resources which have been created to help businesses make the best use of Instagram Shops. Instagram Shops is a feature which was launched in May this year to enable businesses to create a free online storefront. Payments are facilitated via some e-commerce partners. However, transactions can be finished without users having to leave the Instagram app. To assist businesses to navigate the new tool and know how to make the best use of it on their Instagram page, many resources are now available.

Follow The Latest News Updates Related To Paid Ads

Now Google Shopping Ads Are Free Across The World

After the rollout of free shopping ads in the early part of 2020, Google is making these ads free across many more countries. Retailers can now run free listings in Shopping tab across Latin America, Asia and Europe. This change will come into effect from mid-October. The decision to allow free listings comes because of the financial problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this situation, many companies cannot afford to pay for Google Shopping listings. Free listings are not only beneficial for retailers. Free listings benefit more than just retailers, according to Google, many more individuals have moved their shopping activity online. Providing free shopping listings enables Google to present more products in front of buyers who are looking for them.

Author

Navneet Kaushal is the Editor-in-Chief of PageTraffic Buzz. A leading search strategist, Navneet helps clients maintain an edge in search engines and the online media. Navneet is also the CEO of SEO Services company PageTraffic which is one of the leading search marketing company in Asia.