OrderDynamics Monthly Google Updates Report - August 2013

Throughout August, the various Google Platforms introduced new features and tools to help to enhance and simplify  creating, implementing and measuring both organic and paid search campaigns.

Google Search

Google Search remained relatively quiet in August, as has been seen over the last few months. On August 6, Google announced an addition to the Rich Snippets markup: In-Depth Search Snippets. The new Snippet aims to help users identify reference articles that provide detailed information on a subject rather than a quick answer by presenting the publisher name and logo within search results. For example, an article published by OrderDynamics would have “OrderDynamics Corporation” appended to its search result, along with a logo thumbnail. Google stated that this Snippet is currently only resonating on Google.com for English – which saw a 3% search rank fluctuation upon launch - and will gradually phase into other versions of Google.

There was a speculated algorithm update in late August, however feedback from SEO specialists is inconsistent . Google did not confirm or deny any such update.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics announced new reporting tools in August that seek to enable more automated reporting.  The Real Time API, launched in beta on August 1, acts as an extension to the traditional Real Time analytics tool, allowing users to not only view current traffic in real time, but to also query the tool to report on specific pages and URLs to better understand customer behaviour.

On August 19, Google introduced Google Tag Manager for Mobile Apps. The Tag Manager for Mobile Apps is implemented the same way as the desktop version, and enables developers to push updates to the app, configure changes, and insert tracking tags that will resonate to already downloaded versions of the app in addition to newer versions.  

August 20 saw the first update to the Attribution Model Comparison Tool that was launched in June. The Data Driven Attribution tool – available in Google Analytics Premium – is a more automated version of the Attribution Model Comparison Tool, wherein algorithms based on a user’s specific goals measure the differences between various conversion paths and their respective conversion probability. Google then applies values to highly weighted touchpoints in the conversion path so that users can optimize these areas to increase potential conversions.

Google Adwords

Google Adwords saw heavy updates throughout August, especially in the early part of the month. The updates are convenience-based, refining the number of steps and accounts needed to acquire certain campaign metrics and information. On August 2, the Adwords blog reported that 3 Adwords tools – Contextual Targeting tool, Placement tool, and Google Ad Planner – had been consolidated into one platform called the Google Display Planner.  A few days later, Google Adwords announced that advertisers could now compare ad performance week-to-week, similar to how weekly traffic comparisons can be viewed in Google Analytics. Comparisons can be viewed by clicking the ‘+’ sign now present above the ‘Clicks’ column in Adwords reports.  

On August 8, Adwords launched an improved Adwords for Video tool, that acts like a wizard to take advertisers through a campaign creation workflow, ensuring all the necessary steps are taken to create an effective video ad campaign. The same day, the Google Adwords integration into the Google Maps App was also announced. This can be implemented using the Location Extensions tool, and shows local business information for areas being viewed in the Google Maps App.

Later in the month, the Paid and Organic Search Report was introduced, which allows advertisers to compare how their organic and paid listings show up in search results according to specific queries. This tool is beneficial as many advertisers struggle to understand whether to allocate more resources to paid or organic search, as well as how either initiative affects the other. The report identifies keywords that a business ranks for organically, but does not currently pay for so that they may decide to, as well as measure changes in paid and organic search ranking that may result from website updates as opposed to specific SEO or SEM initiatives.

On August 26, Adwords implemented very useful cross-account tools to remedy the issue of a single conversion being reported as many if the conversion path touched multiple ads from different campaigns. Cross-Account Conversion Tracking utilizes a single tag to monitor conversions across all campaigns/accounts so they are not double-counted, while the Cross-Account Search Funnels shows the specific conversion path for each purchase.

Google also phased out their Google Adwords Keyword Tool in August, transitioning to the Google Adwords Keyword Planner. As with the old Keyword Tool, the new Keyword Planner generates keyword recommendations for specific URLs with their respective average monthly searches and level of competition, but also provides information on average cost per click and ad impression share. The additional features help to optimize keyword bids by providing a visual estimate of potential ad costs depending on the keyword used.