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Highlights brought to you by Search Lately @SMGSearchUK this week include:
Google Test “Trusted Stores” Badges
Google Launches another Algorithm Update
Google AdWords Account Labels
Increasing transparency in Google AdWords Quality
Browse last week’s Search Lately for more details and initial reaction from industry experts on recent hot topics
Google Test “Trusted Stores” Badges – 24th April 2012 As some advertisers have started to notice this week, Google have started to test the use of a “Trusted Store” badge, to help users distinguish between genuine advertisers. “As part of the Google Trusted Stores program, we’re currently conducting a test with a small set of advertisers to help users identify online merchants that offer a great shopping experience. In our ongoing efforts to provide ads that are useful and relevant for users, we’re experimenting with different ways to communicate information about the quality of the shopping experience for a particular advertiser in the search ad itself.”
– Google Spokesperson
The aim of this badge is to increase consumer confidence in ecommerce stores that qualify for this trusted certification. To qualify for this badge an advertiser must have a track record of on line shipping and reliable customer service, among other criteria. While this is currently in the testing phase still, as with other Google initiative, if it proves effective then expect to see this feature being rolled out across the wider network.
More details: searchengineland.com/google-testing-trusted-stores-badges-on-searchadwords-119305
Google Launches another Algorithm Update – 24th April 2012 After the last Panda update in January, which affected websites with content of a low quality above the fold, Google is launching another algorithm change in the next few days. This change will target spammy websites which have unusual linking patterns or use tactics like keyword stuffing. The update will go live for all languages at the same time and have an impact on about 3.1% of English search queries, which might be noticed by regular users. Since Google is always working on their algorithm to present the most relevant websites in their natural search results it becomes more and more important to avoid spammy techniques to improve rankings. If a website is optimised for a good user experience and follows the guidelines of best practice SEO, it is unlikely that those sites will be penalised by the new algorithm change. - Christina Zoellmann More Details: googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/another-step-to-rewardhigh-quality.html
Google AdWords Account Labels – 24th Apr 2012 Google has announced the launch of account labels. With labels, you can organize the elements in your account into meaningful groups so you can quickly and easily filter and report on the data that is of most interest to you. You can apply labels to keywords, campaigns, ad groups, and ads, which enables you to see how the custom categories you create are performing relative to each other and to the unlabelled entities in your account. According to Google, AdWords Account Labels will begin rolling out this week to all AdWords accounts. – Blair Liu More details: adwords.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/slice-and-dice-your-data-usingadwords.html
Increasing transparency in Google AdWords Quality Score – 24th Apr 2012 Google has introduced more details about Quality Score in AdWords. Using the status hover for a keyword in the Keywords tab, you’ll see the traditional 1-10 numeric score and new ratings for each main factor in Quality Score. The new ratings have a relative scale so you’ll understand whether your performance for click through rate, ad relevance, and landing page experience is average, above average, or below average compared to other advertisers. – Blair Liu More details: adwords.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/increasing-transparency-in-quality.html