Welcome back to Ricemedia’s digital marketing monthly round-up! July is now in the bag and as we all adjust to the new normal around us during August, there are some interesting developments in the world of digital marketing to look back on. As always, we’ve compiled the latest SEO, PPC and Social Media news in one place just for you! Grab a cuppa and put your feet up as we take you through what happened in digital marketing in July 2020.
1. Google Closes Structured Data Testing Tool
July started with Google closing its structured data testing tool. This is because its Rich Results Test is now out of beta as it now supports all Google Search rich results features. The current structure data tool will remain live for a short period, but they recommend that users get comfortable using the new tool. We’re excited for the new tool as it will bring you the following benefits:
- It displays which Search feature enhancements are valid for the markup you provide
- It can handle dynamically loaded structured data markup better
- It will render mobile and desktop versions of results
- It works seamlessly with Search Console reports
We look forward to reaping the benefits of this new tool!
2. We showed you How to do a Competitor Analysis
We love providing you with the latest insights and advice for managing your website. The latest of these followed June’s Best Competitor Analysis Tools for SEO as we focused on the competitor analysis itself. While you might have the tools, what exactly are you looking for, how should you present this and why? We provided this information and more in How to do a Competitor Analysis.
3. Bing WordPress Plugin Indexes Content
At Ricemedia, we champion the use of WordPress for building a site as it’s easy to build pages and to add/improve content. It’s also full of incredible Plugins that every site owner should use. The latest of these excellent Plugins comes from Bing, who has released a tool that will automatically index content in Bing search results right after you’ve published it. This is a dream for SEOs as the indexing process can sometimes be slow, which is frustrating when you want some quick wins. Find out how to install it over at Search Engine Journal.
4. We also showed you How to Quickly Improve Your Google Rankings
Speaking on quick wins, climbing up the Google rankings is a great win for any website. Doing so requires a few little changes and improvements here and there, some of which can be done quickly and easily. Follow our simple tips on How to Quickly Improve Your Google Rankings and you too can see some fast success on your website.
5. Google Delays Mobile First Indexing Rollout
We’ve written previously about Mobile First Indexing and, like everybody else, have been preparing websites for that move for September 2020. However, Google announced during July that they have delayed the rollout until March 2021. While most websites are already being indexed by mobile first, there are a huge number of sites with issues that Google says must be fixed. Those issues are:
- Robots meta tags on mobile version
- Lazy-loading on mobile version
- Blocked Assets Specific to Mobile
- Primary Content Must Match Between Mobile and Desktop
- Mobile Images and Videos Follow Best Practices
It’s important that every website checks these ahead of the new March 2021 deadline. You can find out more about what you need to do here.
6. We answered the question: What is Organic Traffic?
Websites are measured by the traffic that they drive to it. While big name brands can depend on direct traffic and others can afford to pay for extensive paid search traffic, what is left for other businesses to get noticed? There is free traffic, which is known as organic traffic. Every website owner and SEO marketer wants organic traffic. What is Organic Traffic? Why is it important? Find out on our blog!
7. New features added to Google Responsive Search Ads
Responsive search ads are great for marketers as the ad copy is assembled automatically, based on the marketer’s preferences, without having to type out copy for every single ad. To help RSAs and marketers further, Google have added two new features: location insertion and countdown customisers. The location insertion instructs Google to include the city or area in the ad for the user who is based or is interested in a particular area. The countdown customiser adds urgency to an ad, dynamically updating the amount of time left on a particular deal for each time a user sees that ad. These new customisers have been released alongside improvements to copy asset suggestions and cross campaign asset reporting for an excellent overall update for PPC marketers.
8. New Facebook Messenger Features for Marketers
Facebook Messenger is a great tool for marketers to connect with their customers. The recent lockdown across the world has led to the company delivering new features to support users on Messenger. The biggest of these is the ability to screen share, which is possible in one-one-one chats or in a group call of up to eight people. The feature is also being added to Messenger Rooms, which can have up to 16 participants. This adds an alternative for teams to work together online.
Other additional features for marketers include the ability for admins to switch between profiles to answer customer messages in the Messenger app without needing a separate app. Don’t forget that you can also download the desktop app for both Windows and macOS, allowing you to use the feature without needing to use a browser.
