We’re starting a monthly round-up of the most interesting digital marketing news from around the web. From Google’s death of exact match keyword type to new targeting features on LinkedIn, we saw a ton of digital marketing news in April. Read below for our top digital marketing highlights:
What the Data Tells Us About the Death of Exact Match and its Impact
Summary: In March, Google announced the end of exact match keyword type. Our office was abuzz with this news as we believe exact match helped improve campaign performance by ensuring specific word order and keeping out filler words. With the update being live now for over a month, there’s finally data to share regarding this update.
Action: Subject Matter Experts are monitoring traffic regularly. We’ve made it a priority to monitor the effect of this update and will have more info to share during our monthly Action Items Report.
Google Owl Update Promotes Authoritative Content for Fake News Queries
Summary: Google recently announced the Owl algorithm update in an effort to promote more authoritative content and demote low-quality content specifically around queries that potentially can show offensive or misleading content. This also includes new feedback forms for autocomplete and featured snippets.
Action: Google is proactively taking actions to curb “fake news” in a world where tens of thousands of pages go live every day. This should not impact our clients directly, but may help Google rebuild trust with its’ users.
What Will the Future of Google Search Results Pages Look Like?
Summary: Google looks to expand hyperlocal targeting and personalization, while continuing to move to a mobile-first index with AMP search results.
Action: Discuss mobile-first indexing with your SEO Manager at Obility.
8 Easy Steps to Targeting Competitors on Social
Summary: Obility’s Social Media Specialist, Kendra Macek, breaks down competitor social targeting and outlines 8 easy steps to grow your social media marketing.
Action: Ready to ramp up social? Talk to your Obility team about where to start.
LinkedIn Launches New Targeting Capabilities
Summary: LinkedIn launched Matched Audiences, a new set of audience targeting. The new tool includes three targeting capabilities: Website Retargeting, Account Targeting and Contact Targeting.
Action: Obility’s really excited about this update as it greatly expands LinkedIn’s capabilities. Discuss with your Obility SEM Manager to see if any of these tactics fit your LinkedIn strategy.
Moz Report: 50% of Page One Search Results are HTTPS
Summary: Half of the Google’s page one search results show HTTPS URLs. This is up from 30% in July 2016. Based on this growth trend, we could see 70 percent of the page one search results be HTTPS by the end of 2017.
Action: Obility is encouraging our clients to move to HTTPS, but we know it’s not easy. Talk to your SEO Manager about whether it’s needed for your website and what to look out for as your make the switch.
Content and Links: It Really Does Take a Village
Summary: Great tips on who needs to be involved with your link-building strategy and how to get high-quality links.
Action: Obility has grown our content and link-building offerings in 2017 to meet client demands. Talk to your Obility team if you are interested in starting a link-building strategy or growing your content resources.
