Google Delays Mobile First Indexing
Google Delays Mobile First Indexing to March 2021 Google delays mobile-first indexing deadline to March 2021. Due to the pandemic, Google pushed the deadline from September 2020. The following posting appeared in the online SEO blog, Search Engine Land, and gives a comprehensive explanation as to the reasons for the delay. Google announced Wednesday that it has decided to give webmasters, SEOs, developers and developers more time to prepare for the mobile-first indexing switchover. The deadline has been moved from September 2020 to March 2021. Previously. Google in early March, before all the lock-downs began across most of the world, announced the deadline for all sites to switch over to mobile-first indexing would be September 2020. At that time, Google said, “To simplify, we’ll be switching to mobile-first indexing for all websites starting September 2020.” Now. Now that we are still knee-deep in this pandemic, Google said, “We realise that in these uncertain times, it’s not always easy to focus on work as otherwise, so we’ve decided to extend the timeframe to the end of March 2021.” This does not come as a surprise. Google has been dropping hints that it may push off the mobile-first deadline for months now. Most sites switched already. Most sites have already been switched to mobile-first indexing. In early March, Google said that “70% of those shown in our search results have already shifted over.” I am sure that number is a bit higher now. In fact, all new sites by default are indexed using mobile-first indexing. You can check if your site has moved over by logging into Google Search Console. More on how to do that over here. Years in the making. Google started the mobile-first indexing process in 2016. Google has been working up to this point for almost four years now. We have had plenty of time to get ready for this and it should come as no surprise to anyone here. Google said mobile-first indexing “has been an ongoing effort of Google for several years.” Prepare. If you have sites that you manage that are still not migrated over, Google documented some of the issues you should look into to that may be holding the site up from being automatically migrated to mobile-first indexing. Here is a summary listing of what Google wrote but check out Google’s post for more details: > Robots meta tags on mobile version > Lazy-loading on mobile version > Be aware of what you block > Make sure primary content is the same on desktop and mobile > Check your images and videos including > Image quality > Google delays mobile-first indexing deadline to March 2021 > Alt attributes for images > Different image URLs between desktop and mobile version > Video markup > Video and image placement While you no longer need to get your sites ready by September 2020, aim to get your site ready before next March. It is best that Google migrates your site voluntarily when it’s mobile-ready than to simply force your site on mobile-first indexing. If your site is migrated before the deadline, it means Google feels the site is ready and won’t see harm to its rankings when it is migrated.
Google Offering Upgraded GMB Profile
Google Offering Upgraded GMB Profile Google is offering an ‘upgraded’ GMB profile with Google Guaranteed badge for $50 per month. Google is starting to offer Google Guaranteed certification for a monthly fee, outside of Local Services Ads. It’s positioned as an “upgraded profile” that will include a badge appearing on the profile and which may also appear in the Local Pack. Search Engine Land asked Google a number of questions about the new program and will update this post when the company responds (update: see below). Below is a promotional screenshot captured by Tom Waddington, who said the new upgraded profile is being promoted within the Google My Business dashboard. New upgraded Business Profile promotion from GMB dashboard Cost is $50 per month The cost is $50 per month, subject to Google Guaranteed’s normal eligibility rules, which include background and licensing checks. The annual cost of the program would be $600, assuming eligibility requirements are met. Google Guaranteed was introduced in connection with Local Services Ads to instill greater consumer confidence in the advertised businesses. However, it has also evolved into a distinct program used to certify local businesses for inclusion in Google Home/Assistant search results. Google Guaranteed has been historically used in the home services category. Last year, Google introduced a similar program for professional services called Google Screened. Assume Screened is next if Google decides to roll out upgraded profiles to professional services categories. CTR boost? There’s no public data on any CTR or engagement lift from the presence of a Google Guaranteed badge, but I would speculate that such profiles do and would see higher click-throughs. Below is another screenshot from Tom Waddington showing the Guaranteed badge in a Local Pack. The listing with the badge calls more attention to itself. Google Guaranteed badge on Profile and in Local Pack Google’s market opportunity. In April 2019 Google sent out a small business owner survey, that also went to digital agencies. Among other things, it asked about enhanced GMB services and profile upgrades and how much businesses might be willing to pay for them. Verified profiles and Google Guaranteed certification were among the options in the survey. The Search Engine Land posting adds that subscription fees, for new or enhanced services, we’re on the GMB product roadmap as Google looks for new offerings for small business customers who either are resistant to Ads or churn out of Ads regularly. Google AdWords has had high SMB churn rates historically. Google is also looking for ways to more directly monetize GMB. The Google Guaranteed badge does that without clawing back and trying to charge for any existing features, which is what the local SEO community was afraid of. CallJoy, one of Google’s first experiments with a subscription model (outside of GSuite) was shuttered. The virtual agent for SMBs, which answered the phone and transcribed calls, was $39 per month. Yelp offers a number of different paid profile upgrades that can together cost more than $1,000 per year absent discounts or bundled pricing. Such subscription-based revenue has the benefit of lower churn and fewer ROI expectations from business owners. There are roughly 30 million SMBs in the U.S. according to the Commerce Department. Google hasn’t published any public numbers but let’s assume that the company has the most comprehensive set of business listings online and that there are more than 20 million locations in the database (90% of which are single location businesses). According to a yet-to-be-published analysis of 800,000 business listings from Whitespark, 49% were claimed. That is Google’s “installed base.” Google: an “experiment.” A Google spokesperson provided the following comment in an email: We’re always testing new ways to improve our experience for our advertisers, merchants and users. This experiment will show the Google Guaranteed badge on the business profile. We don’t have anything additional to announce right now.”
SEO in Your Marketing Campaign?
Why Include SEO in Your Marketing Campaign? If you aren’t already taking advantage of organic traffic from search engines such as Google and Bing, you are potentially missing out on leads that your competitors are taking for themselves. Higher Credibility By ranking in the top 3 for your business’s industry terms, you can build credibility to your business by being one of the first seen in your industry. Steady, Long-Term Gains People are always searching on Google for terms in your industry. By taking this traffic, you can build consistent leads month over month. Not only does SEO pay for itself long-term, it allows you to beat your competitors. SEO is a long-term marketing plan Great SEO takes time. In today’s era of search engine marketing, websites can take a minimum of 6 months to see strong results in their campaign. In order to provide a fantastic service, we provide many elements in our service including competitor analysis, keyword research & gap analysis, technical audits, on-page audits, backlink audits, and much more. Our service provides all the tools to help grow your business in search engines, we just need to understand that SEO takes time to get its true value. Our SEO Process SEO is not a one size fits all marketing strategy. We understand your industry and understand your business’s unique needs, with a focus on building long-term relationships with our clients, we deliver services including SEO, PPC, content marketing, social media marketing, web design and e-commerce websites. We believe in strong client communication and complete transparency. The core of our business is founded on collaboration and teamwork. Our goal is simple, get our clients more customers through online marketing. By working closely with you and your business, we can build a successful online presence that will last. With offices in Durham and Newcastle, we pride ourselves on delivering top-quality results that are based on proven techniques and an intimate, dynamic knowledge of ethical search marketing practices. Call today on 0845 272 2350 or visit our contact page to get more information. You’re just one phone call away from starting on the road to success.
Does Local SEO Bring You New Customers
Does Local SEO Bring You New Customers? This very moment, people in your city could be searching online for a business just like yours. Will those customers find your business website or your competitors? Since most consumers now research local purchase decisions online, the answer to that question can make or break your company. In order to rank well for local searches, it’s most important to understand how today’s consumers search online for businesses. Importance of Mobile Optimisation for Your Business When searchers actively look for a local business, they often use mobile devices. A potential customer could be home, at the office, or sitting inside their car. Today’s local search engine optimisation must function on every kind of device desktops, laptops, phones, tablets, and soon other devices like smart appliances & wearables. Online searchers assume their mobile device knows their location and will pass it on to the search engine or app. For example, they may simply query for “nearby Lebanese restaurants” or “emergency dentists” by using a phone or tablet. Other searchers might still type in “plumber in Durham” or something similar. Other searches may even return results on map apps, so potential customers can see exactly where your business is located or how to contact you. Local SEO increases visibility of your business by driving your website to the top of local listings. If you have a local business, you need geographically relevant traffic to your site through specifically targeted local rankings that will launch your company to reach the target customer demographic in your market. Studies show that 97% of consumers now go online to find local services, with 82% of smartphone users use a search engine when looking for a local business or service. Think about the extra sales and business you would get from being top of those local search results. Call us today on 0845 2722350 for a free conversation about local SEO and how it can help your business attract new business. Our aim is to keep you above your competitors when it comes to local searches online.
RAMs App Risk Assessment Software
RAMs App Risk Assessment Software. A new client has arrived with Direct Submit. RAMs App Risk Assessment Software offers all types of business the freedom to create Health & Safety documentation easily and accurately in the minimum of time. We look forward to helping the client attract new business and raise their profile. Whether you are a sole trader or run a large business with many different projects at one time at RAMs App Software they have a variety of packages available at different prices so you will be able to select the option most suited to your company’s needs. RAMs App have asked us to help them promote their range of products and to raise the company profile across the UK using a range of online marketing tools. Direct Submit is a leading SEO & Digital Marketing Agency who have a reputation for delivering tangible results and excellent customer service. We help our clients get more customers from search. We have developed a proven set of SEO Services that can help your business grow by focusing on three key areas: > Higher Search Engine Rankings > Quality Website Traffic > Measurable Results With offices in Durham and Newcastle, we pride ourselves on delivering top-quality results that are based on proven techniques an intimate, dynamic knowledge of ethical search marketing practices. We’re a white-hat agency with the credentials to back it up. If you would like to know more about how we can help you make more of your online presence, call us today on 0845 27272350.
Potential Clients Searching for Your Services
Potential Clients Searching for Your Services No two businesses are the same, so no two PPC marketing strategies should be the same. Direct Submit Pay Per Click (PPC) plans are customised to fit your individual company’s needs and make it relatable to your customers. We understand that your money is on the line and so we treat your account like it is our own, and Direct Submit works with you to decide what combination of PPC tools best suits your needs. Unlike other forms of digital marketing, PPC advertising has an instant impact and gives your brand a larger reach and exposure as a result of first-page exposure on Google. When looking for the best PPC Management Agency you want to find a company that is going to truly be a partner, not a vendor. It’s important to partner with an agency that REALLY knows their PPC services or you could be wasting a lot of money. One of the advantages of PPC advertising is that you are getting in front of potential customers who are actively looking for your product or service. The best part is that you only pay when they click on your ad! At Direct Submit, we consider ourselves a top PPC marketing agency when it comes to set up and management of your PPC campaigns. We understand what works and what doesn’t work with Google and this gives us an advantage in getting you the best ROI possible. Direct Submit can help you start getting new clients today! Google AdWords advertising is one of the best ways to reliably attract new customers to your business, month after month. If you need expert help with your PPC campaigns, we invite you to contact us today to request a Google AdWords quote. In search of the right team to help build your online marketing vision, contact us on 0845 2722350 or find out more by visiting the Direct Submit website today.
Working with Direct Submit SEO Services
Working with Direct Submit SEO Services We offer a range of results-driven SEO services. If you are looking for a technical website audit, link building audit, on-going creative link building, or if your website needs a complete in-depth SEO review then we have the solution for your business. The services we offer include: Technical SEO Audit We look at areas where your website can be fixed from a technical SEO point of view. A typical audit will examine for crawling errors, redirects, 404 pages, keyword optimisation, title tags, internal linking, and content duplication issues. Keyword Research We do this to identify which areas will bring you the best search engine conversions. By combining keyword knowledge with the right SEO support, you can utilise those keywords and phrases to enhance your content marketing strategy and boost your search engine ranking. Content Strategy We will examine your content assets and suggest how to leverage them to assist with the SEO campaign. Content marketing is fundamental to the success and growth of any website, and in this posting, we looked at tips you can use to enhance your content marketing game. SEO Strategy We will develop a robust strategy for your business to ensure you get the page rankings you deserve. We will focus on bringing key areas of the business together in order to implement an effective SEO strategy. On-going link acquisition/development & Management We are constantly at the ready to ensure that your campaign is achieving the results you want. By developing an on-going, high-quality link acquisition and content asset campaign your business will remain competitive in the SERPS. Specialising in ethical SEO, we have a deep understanding of search engine optimisation. With over 18 years of experience helping clients like you, we know how to produce sustainable SEO results. If you are looking for top-quality digital marketing services in Newcastle, Durham or the North East then Direct Submit can take care of everything for you. We will identify your marketing requirements and will discuss the various options available to you. Direct Submit SEO Services has many years’ experience in helping clients boost their online presence and, therefore, online sales. Call us today on 0845 2722350 for a free consultation and free SEO advice.
Google Launches Search Tips to Help with Relevancy
You may see a new message in Google search that reads “it looks like there aren’t any great matches for your search”. Google today announced it is launching a new feature that tries to help you rephrase your query when the search engine cannot find relevant results on the web. Google said it is rolling out in the U.S. today “a new message that lets you know when Google hasn’t been able to find anything that matches your search particularly well.” Who will see this. Google said you are unlikely to see this message because for most queries, Google does hope to give you great search results. But for a “fairly small proportion of queries,” a Google spokesperson told us, you may see this message come up. The message will give you advice on how to change your query to find better results. What it looks like. Here is a screenshot of the message, which reads “it looks like there aren’t any great matches for your search.” It then gives you tips and advice on how to retry your search: More results. Google did test this last November, but in those tests, Google made you click to see more search results. In the launched version of this feature, Google will show you search results — although not great results — below this box. “While you can still go through the results to see for yourself if they’re helpful, the message is a signal that we probably haven’t found what you’re looking for,” Google said. COVID-19 help. This may turn out to be helpful for the spike in COVID-19-related searches. As information and advice around COVID-19 is changing all the time, search results may not be available. That is one of the reasons Google expanded the question hub to the U.S. Now, here is another feature that can help searchers find better results for COVID-19-related queries. Why we care. If you see this box come up for any of your customers’ keyword phrases, in their analytics, in their performance reports and in their keyword lists, you may want to rethink your strategy for those keyword research. Maybe you need to build out more content around the query, maybe you need to see if those searching for those keywords are converting on your site. There may be opportunities for you here as SEOs.
SEO will be a Primary Focus for Marketers
SEO will be a primary focus for marketers during the downturn, says a survey. Respondents said SEO was their top-performing channel last year and is more likely to be maintained going forward. A new survey validates the importance of maintaining your SEO efforts through the coming downturn. The survey, by Conductor, had 317 respondents drawn from Conductor’s extended network across a range of industries, including B2B (24%), Retail (12%), Healthcare (11%), Media (10%) and others (travel and hospitality, consumer technology, financial services, insurance, automotive, e-commerce and manufacturing). Budgets down, but goals the same or up. Like the most other marketer surveys right now, the Conductor study shows that budgets are being adversely impacted by the outbreak. However, the majority of these survey respondents — most of whom are hands-on practitioners — said their budgets were only decreasing slightly or remaining the same. Only 20% were seeing budgets “decrease greatly.” Despite this, 68% said that their goals would remain the same (32%) or increase (36%). Accordingly, 86% said that their marketing goals would be more difficult to achieve this year given reduced budgets and other circumstances. Asked “Will SEO be more or less important during this time?,” 63% said SEO would gain in importance either slightly (34%) or steeply (29%). Only 5% responded that SEO would decrease in importance. Organic Search the Top Channel Organic search was seen by 66% as these marketers’ top-performing channel last year, followed by paid search (50%) and email (50%). Social media was named as the top-performing channel by just 14%. These perceptions will drive future marketing decisions in a downturn. Confronted with a global recession, these marketers say they would, lower budgets, invest more in SEO and raise the ROI threshold for marketing decisions. Only a minority (25%) said they would issue layoffs. Data and images Source: The Impact of COVID-19 on Marketing (2020)
How Important Are Citations In Local SEO?
Online competition is fierce, even between small businesses competing for customers across a small geographic region. It’s vital, therefore, that local firms use SEO to the fullest extent possible to attract customers and win sales. Citations are an essential ingredient in the struggle for search supremacy. Companies that have the most consistent and widespread citations tend to do better in search results and can gain far more organic traffic for their websites. It’s important to note that citations encompass more than just your business’s name, address and telephone number. Today, search engines consider a wide variety of parameters to be citations, including things like fax numbers, reviews, owner information, the type of business you operate, your geo-coordinates, business descriptions, images, videos, opening hours, accepted payments, and slogans. Ideally, you want all of these to be consistent across the web. Citation building makes it much easier for potential customers to find your business, and also present it as a reliable and trustworthy company. But if you’re neglecting this process, could you be hampering your local SEO potential? How important are citations in local SEO? Citations are online references to your business, particularly your brand name, address, and phone number—known collectively as your NAP. These details are important because they act as a unique marker that solidifies your identity and helps Google separate you from all the other businesses listed online. Your NAP also demonstrates your physical presence in a particular geographical area, which is required if you’re going to appear in local search results. Generally, the more citations you have the better. For instance, a local business with lots of online mentions is more likely to rank higher than one that’s receiving little attention. Having the same NAPs across multiple locations also help to establish reliability, as this consistency effectively verifies these contact details. For example, if you’re listed by both a local blog and an online newspaper for that area, this suggests your business is part of a local community. What’s the best way to build citations? Best practice citation building for local SEO is about quality as much as quantity. Yes, acquiring lots of listings are good, and business websites ranking in their local top 10 have an average of 75-86 citations—but those on high-authority and relevant web pages are the ones that will have the biggest impact on your ranking. For that reason, it’s worth exploring other possible sources such as blogs, forums, and press releases, or trying to replicate some of the places your main competitors have managed to get listed. How effective are citations in boosting local SEO? Citations are incredibly important in gaining trust from Google, and without this trust, it’s unlikely you’ll rank particularly well. They also help boost your visibility in local search, and if Google sees that you’re getting more attention than one of your competitors, you’ll probably beat them in SERPs. They are also believed to add more value to businesses which aren’t yet appearing in Google’s local business pack. However, their wider importance has somewhat diminished in recent years, and citations are now typically considered to be a foundational tactic as opposed to the be-all and end-all of local SEO. Improving local SEO To really move the needle, acquiring local citations should only be a small part of a wider local SEO strategy. Other important components include localised link building, gathering online user reviews and ratings and content optimisation. It’s also a good idea to expand your keyword research strategy to encompass more location-specific terms and phrases. This, of course, doesn’t mean neglecting the use of citations altogether. The presence and reliability they give your business make them far too important to be ignored. However, to really see a difference in your rankings, devising an all-encompassing strategy that strengthens all elements of local SEO is the best way for your website to make an impact. Does your business need local SEO and citation support? If so, get in touch with Direct Submit today by calling 0800 669 6848 or visit our Digital Marketing website and find out more about our incredible services.