Spring has officially sprung people! The weather is warming up, the daffodils have made their annual appearance, the BBQ’s are being dusted off and we’re one month away from the new season of Game of Thrones (eeek!) But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s not forget about all the other exciting events that happened in March 2019. Of course, the long-awaited McDonalds Monopoly made a comeback, Captain Marvel was finally released in cinemas, there was some big debate in parliament and to our surprise, we managed to hit the records for the hottest March on record. As for the world of SEO, PPC and Content Marketing, we saw some big changes here too! So without further ado, let’s take a look at this month’s Digital Marketing Monthly Round-Up for March 2019!
1. Google March 2019 Algorithm Update
On March 15th, Google announced the release of its latest Core Update. Although there have been many speculations as to what the update was about, there have been many proposed theories. One theory is that Google adjusted the algorithm to introduce a bias toward more “authoritative” brands and websites. By this, they moved away from links as a ranking factor and moved more towards links as a relevance factor. What is for certain, is that the update focused on the user and what they want to see. As a result, the March 2019 update was primarily about figuring out where the disconnect is between your content and the user. See more here.
2. We Revealed Everything You Need To Know About Google Possum
Like many other Google algorithms, it’s important to understand the impact they can have on your local search results. By understanding the backbone of Google, you can successfully tailor your content and SEO tactics accordingly to produce result driven strategies. Our Search Account Manager, Elliot Williams collated together everything you need to know about Google Possum in this months blog including the impacts and How to Recover From Google Possum.
3. SEMrush Collated Together An Ultimate List of Tech and Marketing Conferences & Events in 2019
At the start of the month, SEMrush presented us with a comprehensive calendar of all tech and marketing conferences & events across the globe. As if we didn’t love them enough, these events covered all areas of online marketing and also featured the exciting BrightonSEO which our Head of Content, Coral Luck, will be speaking at in April.
4. Instagram debuts an in-app checkout for e-commerce brands
March also saw the introduction of Instagram’s in-app checkout feature which allows users to purchase products without leaving the app. The feature is currently only available to a limited number of brands including Adidas, Burberry, Dior and MAC Cosmetics. The company said it will be making the feature available to more brands over the coming months. RIP our bank accounts!
5. Google Releases Google Ads Editor 1.0
Towards the end of March, Google introduced The new Google Ads Editor v. 1.0. After redesigning and renaming AdWords as Google Ads, they decided it was Editor’s turn. The update showcased a new look, a new layout, new features, new capabilities and a new name. The updated version aims to improve functionality and help you manage a lot more accounts.
6. Google Search Console Adds New Actions to Sitemap Report
Google has pushed forward an update of the new Google Search Console to the sitemap report. Now you can open the contents of a sitemap in a new tab, delete a sitemap, review more detailed errors and more. They also added some older features which now gives SEOs, webmasters, developers and site owners more control over their XML Sitemap files.
7. Bing upgrades and Improves Visual Search
Earlier in the month, Bing announced several upgrades to their text-to-speech capabilities in voice search as well as improvements to their intelligent answers and visual search capabilities. The aim of these upgrades was to take a huge step towards the enhancement of efficiency and coverage. Bing is now able to show visually-similar images and purchase options at different price points in order to save time overall.
8. Google Revealed It Is Okay To Redirect Lower Quality Content Pages To Better Pages
In a video hangout, Google’s John Mueller said that redirecting a low-quality page to a higher quality page won’t hurt the higher quality page. Google will evaluate the content on the final page, the ultimate page, and not evaluate the content from the redirected page. However, it must be noted that this is just about content and not any of the other factors that affect the page.
9. We Shared The Biggest Secrets In Digital Marketing Agencies
Ever feel a bit out of the loop? Earlier this month, we opened up about the top 5 things your digital marketing agency isn’t telling you including realistic results, false promising and overachieving targets. When it comes to hiring a digital marketing agency its important to understand when you’re being fed a lie. Our Content Executive, Emma Battrick sums up the things to look out for and the importance of asking questions and challenging what you hear.
10. Google Tests New Search Menu
This month, Google tested out a new search bar menu that featured icons next to the names of the search categories. After being previously tested in 2010 on desktop and 2011 on mobile, Google have reinvented the system despite removing it from desktop after just a year. Will it impact search marketers or SEO? Probably not but it does give a new fresh look to the Google search results page.
So that’s it for this month’s Digital Marketing Monthly Round-Up. As we move forward into April we cannot wait to see what the next month has in store for us all. As stated previously, Our Head of Content, Coral Luck will be speaking at this month’s BrightonSEO so make sure to look out for her and the rest of the team travelling down! Let’s hope the weather stays warm, ice cream by the sea sounds rather appealing don’t you think?
