Bridgeline’s Google News Update | Ad Position Metrics and More

Bridgeline’s Google News Update | Ad Position Metrics and More

It can be difficult to keep up with Google’s ever-changing algorithm and constant updates, but luckily, we do it for you! Check out the latest in Google Search and Ads news below!

Google Search News

Unconfirmed Google Halloween Algorithm Update: If you’ve been keeping an eye on search rankings, you may have noticed that there seems to be some sort of algorithm update affecting Google since Halloween night. Google has not given an official update, but you should keep an eye on this one to see if it’s affected you!

Multifaceted Featured Snippets in Desktop SERPs: The desktop version of multifaceted featured snippets surface for queries that are not very clear or broad enough to allow for more than one interpretation. Google is showing more than one featured snipper in the search results, but also rearranging the original query in a way the algorithm assumes was intended by the searcher.

The Google Lazy Loading Implementation Guide: “Lazy loading” is a common performance and UX best practice that defers the loading of non-critical or non-visible content. Google’s lazy loading SEO guide seeks to help sites with lazy-loaded content find a way to be “seen” by Googlebot with tips including:- Load content when it’s visible in the viewport- Support paginated loading for infinite scroll- Test implementation

Google Ads News: New Ad Position Metrics in Google Ads

On its official Google Ads Help page, Google announced four new search ad position metrics, explaining that people commonly perceive the average position of ads to describe where an ad appears on the SERPs. Average ad position, however, doesn’t refer to its sequential position on the page, but rather its position relative to competing ads. The four new metrics will be rolled out over the next few weeks, and will help advertisers clearly see where their ads are appearing on the search results pages:- Impr. (Absolute Top) % - the percent of ad impressions that are shown as the very first ad above the organic search results- Impr. (Top) % - the percent of ad impressions that are shown anywhere above the organic search results- Search (Absolute Top) IS – the impressions you have received in the absolute top location (very first ad above the organic search results) divided by the estimated number of impressions you were eligible to receive in the top location- Search (Top) IS – the impressions you have received in the top location (anywhere above the organic search Google advises, “if you are using average position to understand the location of your ads on the page, it’s better to use Impression (Absolute Top) % and Impression (Top) %. If you are using average position to bid to a page location, it’s better to use Search (Abs Top) IS and Search (Top) IS."

New Customer Match Rules in Google Ads: On October 22nd, Google updated its Google Ads policy, requiring advertisers who have been using “Customer Match” in their campaigns to meet additional requirement in order to continue to use the feature. Those requirements are:- A good history of policy compliance - A good payment history - At least 90 days history in Google Ads- More than $50,000 total lifetime spend.

Advertisers who don’t meet the above requirements will no longer be able to use Customer Match, and existing campaigns using the feature may also stop running.

Store Visits “New vs. Returning” Segmentation in Google Ads: The new “New vs. Returning” segmentation feature will help advertisers understand how many store visits come from new or repeat customers and, based on these insights, they can then create more personalized content and a unified customer experience to reach the segment with the most value. An example from Google:

“If your business goal is to maximize sales from existing customers, identify which campaigns and ad groups reach the most returning customers and focus your budgets, bid increases and keyword expansions there.”

Google Ad Preview and Diagnosis Tool New Features: According to Google’s October 26th announcement, two new features in Ad Preview and Diagnosis will allow advertisers to better understand who is seeing their ads – and then take immediate action to get their ads to show. The new features’ functionality is explained by Google:- See which ads are showing for a particular audience – allows advertisers to preview/filter their ads by search audience, in addition to by search term, location, language and device- Take immediate action to get your ads to show – allows advertisers to fix issues related to ad visibility in search from directly within the Ad Preview and Diagnosis tool Do you have more Google news or updates to add to this list? Let us know in the comments!