In this weeks digital news to watch, our Senior Performance Marketing Manager Tom, and Senior Performance Marketing Executive Kylie, discuss keywords in the URL slug not improving SEO, Google Ads new metrics, why marketers should invest in auction packages and Google’s top searches of 2021.
Naming the topic or category in a URL slug will not improve SEO
A recent Tweet from Google’s John Mueller has sparked conversations between search engine marketers. The Tweet was a response to a question asked by one of his followers: “How important it is to have a Category/Topic in the URL slug?” John replied with a Gif saying “Zero”. This follows statements from both 2020 and early 2021, where Google announced that keywords in URLs have minimal impact.
Google ads adds new metrics and refreshes custom columns UI
Google have announced a new update where advertisers will be able to reference Search, Click and Display impression share, phone call metrics, spreadsheet functions and much more. Custom columns provide advertisers with their most valuable metrics that they can compare suited to their individual needs. This new update will prove to be more useful as advertisers can monitor their search impression share alongside other important campaign metrics. Some of the additional functions that are being introduced are spreadsheet functions, non-metric columns and Search, Click and Display impression share.
Why auction packages are becoming a secret weapon for marketers and publishers
Auction packages add addressability to digital by bringing data and media closer than ever. Just to clarify, an auction package is a collection of open auction inventory specified by targeting criteria set by you or other buyer accounts.
With the digital industry facing lots of changes in regards to privacy settings, advertisers need to look at other ways of addressability. Typically, advertisers use a combination of first, second, and third-party data on their campaigns. However, auction packages can help advertisers when the data protection commences. The Drum have spoken with industry experts to understand why auction packages are a must have for advertisers next year.
Google reveals top searches of 2021
Google have revealed their top searches of 2021 which provides content creators with a brilliant opportunity to capitalise on long-tail keyword opportunities. This data is released every year however can leave creators wondering what to do with the information.
These long tail keywords are the ‘trending searches’ on Google, which means they have had the largest increase of searches from 2020 going onto 2021. Under “How to..” searches, the one with the highest ranking was “How to help the afghan refugees”. Under “How to be…” searches, the highest ranking search was “How to be eligible for stimulus check”. The list of highest searches continues, however publishers should consider content creation on topics which link to these searches in order to stand a chance of generating eyeballs.
Google updates search results for News stories on desktop
Google have updated how their search results are displayed when there are multiple stories to the search question. Previously, Google presented top news stories in a carousel format, however the new format is in a box display with the story headlines being presented as the titles. Google took to Twitter to explain the reason for the change, where they stated “The new structure will make more room for quality content–beyond just the most recent coverage”. The new format was rolled out on mobile in 2019, however now users will have a new experience with desktop searches.
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