OrderDynamics Monthly Google Updates Report – December 2012

Last month we reported that businesses saw minimal search results fluctuation in November; it would appear that Google was putting off updates until November, as they reported several updates while there were also suspicions of additional updates that have not been confirmed by Google. Google Adwords continued to make updates and enhancements every few days as seen in October, while Analytics made one small but significant change.

Google Search

Google made a Panda Refresh on November 5, just over five weeks after the last Panda change. The refresh was suspected by some sites, leading Google to confirm via Twitter that 1.1% of English searches in the US would be affected, while 0.4% of global searches would yield changes noticeable to a ‘regular user’ – e.g. someone not technical.

Two days later, Google announced a Page Rank update for Google Toolbar users (for searches via the Google Toolbar). These updates are generally infrequent – the last being in August – and as Page Rank contributes but does not weigh heavily in Search Rank, many SEOs considered this update very minor.

It was suspected that an update to Google Images Search was being rolled out November 15 to 16, as many SEOs and businesses reported seeing a drastic change in the way images were being indexed. It was noted that ALT text and a keyword-rich file name appeared to hold less relevance with respect to image search placement. However, Google did not confirm whether there was an update.

On November 21, Google implemented an official Panda Update with less drastic results than the Refresh earlier in the month. Google tweeted that 0.8% of searches would display a noticeable difference.

Google AdWords

In October, Google announced that changes to Impression Share Reporting would take place in November. Impression Share refers to the amount of overall ad space on the web that a single business encompasses. According to AdWords Support it is calculated based on the total number of impressions an Adwords campaign receives divided by the number of impressions the business was qualified to receive. Google confirmed that updates to Impression Share Reporting went live November 7, and included features that allow for improved display and easier reading of reports; new filters, charts and rules to segment the reports including “Hour of Day” segmentation; and improved calculation of Impression Share.

Google unveiled AdWords Editor 9.9 on November 12, with major updates and improvements to the following:

• Google Display Network - Google implemented the Flexible Reach panel to easily manage flexible reach settings.
• Import and Export Improvements - changes to various campaign settings (including flexible reach) and how AdWords handles duplicate ads pointing to different URLs by uploading changes via CSV.
• Device Targeting - the release only applies to Blackberry devices currently; it allows AdWords users to point ads specifically to Blackberry users.

On November 15, AdWords announced significant improvements to location targeting:

• Airport Targeting - allows AdWords users to target ads to the devices of those who are in and around airports.
• Location Extensions - a link below Sitelinks in the search results stating the location (or nearly location for a chain business) that displays a map when clicked on.
• Better Location Matching - this allows AdWords users to extend the reach of their ad campaign to just outside a given postal code area, enabling them to attract people who may be travelling or who are close by but not within the postal code area
• Conversion Reporter - Analytics within AdWords enable conversion tracking for each Location Extension

AdWords also updated the Call Extensions feature, as mentioned in last month’s report, which covers up a business’ phone number in an AdWords ad with a Google Forwarding number to allow for phone conversions of AdWords campaigns. The November 29 update made the Click to Call feature available for ads on mobile apps.

Google Shopping

Just in time for the holidays, Google also released on November 13 exciting updates to the new Google Shopping model. The Holiday Toy Collection is a section within Google Shopping which retailers can use to provide enhanced views of toys including 360 View, which Google hopes will instill confidence in online shoppers by providing the tools to mirror the in-store shopping experience – something that many shoppers struggle with when purchasing toys online. Along with the Holiday Toy Collection, Google also unveiled Shortlists, which is essentially a wishlist or shopping cart of items found in the Google Shopping network that can be shared with friends, and allows for side-by-side comparisons of related items – also in an attempt to channel an in-store experience.

One day later, Google announced that the new Google Shopping, which officially changed over in North America on October 17, is now available in 10 more countries: UK, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain, Brazil, Japan and Australia.

Further updates to the Google Shopping model include the display of promotions for items in Google Shopping that have gone on sale; the ability for shoppers to read reviews written by people they know; view visually similar items; and the release of the Google Shopper 3.0 app for Android devices.

Google Analytics

In November, Google Analytics introduced Enhanced Link Attribution. The feature applies to in-page analytics, and allows for tracking of user behaviour regarding individual links on a single page. Site owners can implement the feature with two lines of code in their current tracking snippet, and the click-through data provided is relevant even if links lead to redirects or are triggered by Java Script.