New Academy Course: How to Master Local Keyword Research
Keyword research is one of the most important activities in SEO and should be at the top of any priority list when it comes to digital marketing.
For any beginners, keyword research is the process of finding the words that potential customers use to find solutions to their problems.
Essentially, every time somebody searches the internet, they are using keywords.
This means that keyword research is a prerequisite for building an effective local SEO and content strategy. If you don’t know the types of terms people are searching for, how are you going to plan and write content that attracts and converts them?
There are also things specific to local SEO that will help take localized organic performance to new heights.
How to Master Local Keyword Research
This is why we’re proud to announce the next free course to land in BrightLocal Academy: “How to Master Local Keyword Research”.
This highly practical course has been created in collaboration with local search expert Claire Carlile. Newcomers to the local keyword research game can use this course as a step-by-step guide, while industry veterans will find a wealth of new techniques and tools to take their skills to the next level.
Over nine lessons, Claire shares her knowledge on what types of local keywords you can, and should, target, and also how to:
- Write a keyword seed list
- Expand your keyword list using free tools
- Create a comprehensive keyword profile
- Bucket your keywords and prioritize them
Read more: New Academy Course: How to Master Local Keyword Research
Search marketing in the dark: Google, give us more data!; Wednesday’s daily brief
Anyone who has been in the search marketing industry for any period of time knows that one constant is change. Google is changing algorithms, user interfaces, and features all the time. We are changing our sites, while competitors are launching new sites or modifying their own. We embrace change and leverage change for our benefit.
But approaching it in the dark, in such a data-centric world, is not fun. As you will see below, we lost a significant amount of data in the performance report in Search Console last week. Measuring the impact of our changes or Google’s changes (i.e., title changes) is hard enough, but harder when there is data loss.
If Google wants to make these changes, which some believe are massive and disruptive, at least give us the data to see how it impacts our click-through rates, positions, and our bottom lines. In 2021, there is no reason to keep us in the dark when the data is so available. Show us the before and after titles, show us the before and after CTR and let us be able to opt-out of those title changes.
Google ads to drop expanded text ads for responsive search ads
Starting June 30, 2022, responsive search ads will be the only Google Search ad type that can be created or edited in standard Google Search campaigns, the company announced. That means you will no longer be able to create new ETAs or edit existing ETAs in Google Ads. “Your existing expanded text ads will continue to serve alongside responsive search ads, and you’ll still see reports on their performance going forward. Additionally, you’ll be able to pause and resume your expanded text ads or remove them if needed. You’ll also still be able to create and edit call ads and Dynamic Search Ads,” said the announcement.
Google lost some data in Search Console’s performance report
When you are looking at the performance report in Search Console, you will notice an annotation on August 23 and 24 stating that Google lost Search and Discover data between those dates. The data cannot be backfilled and is likely gone forever, Google said. Some sites are seeing huge impressions and click declines, while others are not.
“An internal problem caused a data loss in Search and Discover performance during this period. Users might see a significant data drop in their performance reports during this period. This does not reflect any drop in clicks or impressions for your site, only missing data in Search Console,” wrote Google.
Google still uses your HTML titles for ranking
Just because Google made changes to some of the titles it shows in the search results does not mean Google is not using your HTML title tag for ranking purposes. Google’s John Mueller confirmed that HTML title tags are still a ranking factor and that the title change has nothing to do with ranking. It may impact your click-through rate from the search results, but it should not impact your rank position in Google Search.
“This just changes the displayed titles, it doesn’t change ranking or takes [sic] anything different into account,” John Mueller of Google elaborated.
Read more: Search marketing in the dark: Google, give us more data!; Wednesday’s daily brief
Google to sunset Expanded Text Ads (ETAs) in June 2022
This is the latest move that Google is making to push automation through their ad products. Beginning in July 2022, advertisers will no longer be able to create new ETAs or edit existing ETAs in Google Ads according to an announcement by Sylvanus Bent, Product Manager, Google Ads. “Your existing expanded text ads will continue to serve alongside responsive search ads, and you’ll still see reports on their performance going forward. Additionally, you’ll be able to pause and resume your expanded text ads or remove them if needed. You’ll also still be able to create and edit call ads and Dynamic Search Ads,” said Bent.
Use ETA info for RSAs in the transition. “To prepare for this change, we recommend that you have at least one responsive search ad in every ad group in your Search campaigns by June 30, 2022,” Bent suggested. Google’s announcement also includes ways advertisers can repurpose their ETA content for RSAs. Recommendations include the following:
- Repurpose high-performing content from your expanded text ads and focus on Ad strength
- Pin headlines or descriptions to specific positions in your responsive search ads
- Evaluate the success of your ads based on incremental impressions, clicks, and conversions your ad groups and campaigns receive
Read more: Google to sunset Expanded Text Ads (ETAs) in June 2022
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