If you’re a “set it and forget it” kind of AdWords manager, you might not have realized that these ads are even running–and you are paying for it. This AdWords feature gives you 14 days to review their ad suggestions, and if you don’t happen to check your account during that time, those ads will start running.

The ads first appear in AdWords Beta mode under the Opportunities page. If they have already started running, they appear with the tag “Auto-applied ad suggestion”. While Google’s intentions were to help busy business owners get the most value out of their ad spend, Google could find itself in hot water if they run an ad saying something your business does not intend to advertise. The good news is, you can opt out of this automated service

Also Read: What Every Content Marketer Should Know About Artificial Intelligence

Here’s how to opt out of automatic AdWords Ad Suggestions:

1. Inside of the new AdWords Beta experience, navigate to the Opportunities tab (or click on the link in the notification email).
2. Select the ad suggestion opportunity (there are typically a few “opportunities”) -> Select “Change Settings”.
3. This brings you to the “Account settings” page which is also accessible from the normal settings menu option.

4. This allows you to turn off automatic apply for ad suggestions.

5. By clicking the “Learn more” next to the short description in the right, it brings you to a Google Support page, which includes a link to disable this setting globally for an MCC account.

Aside from spending your money without your explicit consent, this new AdWords feature poses a risk to advertisers in industries where wording can result in a lawsuit. Doctors, Lawyers and other heavily regulated industries are careful to craft their ads for compliance. If these ads are rolling out without their knowledge, they could potentially have a huge problem on their hands. Even if you stay away from specific phrasing for non-regulatory personal reasons, Google can still be rolling out ads if you missed their email and failed to opt out.

According to Google, the ads are based on ads that you’ve run previously, using the same keywords, headlines, descriptions, ad extensions and information on the landing page. This is by no means a foolproof method. If you do not decide to opt out of the automated suggestions, you’ll want to monitor closely.

New ad suggestions could appear in your account as frequently as every seven days, or whenever Google deems there is an opportunity for performance improvement. While there are potential benefits that can come from this feature, advertisers should be aware of the risks that automated ads could pose.

The post Google Ad Suggestions : How to Turn it Off appeared first on Relevance.

An unofficial statement from Google’s John Mueller responded to a user on Twitter who asked him directly about the possible update affecting their rankings. The Webmaster Trends Analyst tweeted back “Yep! We make updates all the time.”

Despite this, Google has not officially confirmed nor denied.

Here is some of the evidence presented by analysts using SERP monitors this week

:

The SEO community has lit up over twitter, with countless users experiencing fluctuating rankings in SERP’s. Unfortunately, most of the chatter cites pages appearing lower in rank. Analysts deduce that Google is opting to prioritize older, quality content.

What we’re seeing in the past few days is similar to Google’s Penguin update, which declared war on spammers who bought links in order to boost rankings. SEO professionals should be aware of this update, as any black hat (or even gray hat for that matter) practices are being taken on by the search engine.

If you’re looking to use SEO to improve your online presence, this is a perfect example of why you should consult someone with extensive experience in the field. If Google sees your SEO as “spammy”, you can say goodbye to your page one rankings on the SERPS.

The post Did Google Just Update Their Algorithm? Sources say yes. appeared first on Relevance.

Obviously, these age-old questions were designed to challenge any dangerously blind modeling to peer pressure I may have been developing, and more importantly to teach me how to think and act for myself – based on my own values, analysis, and logical thought processes.  It seems this pattern of common sense thought can also successfully be applied to general business decision making, and more specifically to how we make decisions at our interactive agency when it comes to search engine optimization rules.  Thanks Mom!

As a result, our agency’s SEO best practices have developed to model those websites that are actually performing at peak levels, and not to simply adhere to what the SEO community and Google executives claim the best practices should be. Sure, most of the best practices we review, we find to be valid, but Interact Marketing regularly applies additional due diligence and analysis to challenge a few doozies, such as META Keywords, HTTPS, and about two dozen other commonly accepted best practice variables. We are confident that the resulting decisions we make using this real data are not just coincidental, but utilized by the world’s top-ranking websites as well as our respected clients to garner that extra edge over the competition.

In short, we’re not jumping off certain bridges just yet.

Background:

In 2017, search engine optimization professionals have endless tools at their disposal for everything from keyword research, to link-back assessments, and automated HTML markup validation. But, sometimes we forget about the most basic tool of human input–common sense.

Yes, tools are imperative for success in any digital marketing strategy, but the bulk of our success often comes from decisions that go against common knowledge, and rely more on common sense. To be truly effective, you can’t always qualify your SEO decisions on what others are saying within the digital marketing industry–even sometimes what leaders at Google and Bing are saying.

Instead, true innovation often comes from challenging the established norm, and this how we make key SEO decisions at Interact, once our team members sense something isn’t quite adding up to logic with so-called “industry best practices”.

We do not just believe what we read.

Our Simple Common Sense Studies:

To validate these common sense instincts, the team is always performing isolation testing, and measuring the global adoption rates of dozens of SEO variables based on what is actually working or in-use on the top-ranking websites on the web. This is, in fact, a much more logical approach than just basing an entire strategy on what the SEO community is touting.

Two of our example studies are outlined below, the first being our study on the use of META Keywords–something even Google has claimed useless as early as 2009–and the second being the site-wide use of HTTPS (secure certificates), which is standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between the browser and web server, that Google first announced could actually boost ranking signal in 2014.

META Keywords Common Sense: The Top-Ranking Websites Still Use Them

For almost a decade, Google and Yahoo/Bing reps at popular search marketing conferences have touted “don’t use META keywords” –keywords infused in the HTML META code initially intended to direct search engines–saying they have no ranking factors whatsoever.

The reps also warn that though META keywords certainly can’t help, they can actually harm rankings if used wrong—such as using too many keyword phrases, too lengthy a list of phrases, or obvious keyword “stuffing”.  Because these tactics were once heavily abused, the strong recommendation in the SEO community was to completely abandon their use.

This news went viral, and of course all the SEO community immediately framed this as best practice, though most content management systems still support the feature in their SEO tools to this day, and the W3C (international consortium that manages html standards) have not deprecated or suspended use of the tags in the official HTML markup language. So, why would we argue with an ultimate source like Google?  Answering that question led us to do something so simple, that many fail to do it – actually analyze the usage of the META keyword tag on top ranking sites.

In fact, we’ve checked over 150 websites annually, and the top-ranking sites on the web are mostly all still using the META keywords tag. So, what gives?

If it can’t hurt, and you’re abiding by white hat SEO rules such as not keyword stuffing and keeping lengths to a minimum, then can it hurt to use META keywords? What is your logical, third-grade opinion given this data?

At Interact Marketing, we continue to recommend the use of META keywords for all of our clients, most which rank for dozens of phrases on page one of search results within their respective industries. That doesn’t seem to hurt, now does it?

Many competitors have even taken notice, and some have even tried rogue spamming to snipe Interact Marketing clients, claiming we are using outdated SEO tactics because so-called “established authorities” say the tags are useless. Nothing can garner client confidence more than justifying our decisions by attributing our reasoning not to just what the SEO community thinks as a whole, but what some of the top-ranking–and most profitable–businesses out there are actually doing – especially Google-owned properties.

We’ll certainly be open to re-consideration when we are challenged to “do as they do”, rather than blindly just “do as they say”.

HTTPS Common Sense: Most Top-Ranking Sites are Now Using It

The second study we conducted was measuring the global use of HTTPS, or an SSL certificate, which Google has strongly suggested since 2014, saying its preferred and may actually help search rankings. Interact Marketing also recently completed some analysis on this variable, and almost all the top-ranking sites, including many Fortune 10 sites, are now actually exclusively serving page content using HTTPS.

In fact, these sites are using HTTPS not just on their checkout or login pages, but across the entire site, something that’s strongly recommended by Google. Again, it comes down to common sense; if the top-ranking websites are using it, why shouldn’t everyone? But Interact Marketing has dozens of clients that worked with former SEOs who didn’t stress the use of HTTPS, especially on sites that don’t make actual purchasing transactions.

As of 2017 Interact Marketing is making site-wide use of HTTPS a “strong recommendation” for all clients – and not just for SEO purposes either.

Why? The answer is three-fold. First, SSL certificates provide serious defense against hacks, protecting your stored data from cyper-criminals. Even if it’s only an email database, hackers can do much damage. The second and third reasons are more for your business—SSL certification will enhance your brand credibility, and customers will trust your business. Just the psychological aspect of seeing that green secure lock before the URL can do much for credibility and trust. These reasons alone can help not only boost your site’s credibility and business trust, and may be the first vital step–even if subconscious–towards conversion. SEO value is an added bonus.

Summary:

 So, when the tendency of your colleagues is to blindly believe what they read, and all your “friends” are diving off bridges, try to take just a moment and remember the ageless wisdom of mothers everywhere.  Don’t be afraid to take a closer look, think things through, and decide for yourself what makes sense.  You may be surprised how this new paradigm of thought can effortlessly allow you to make wiser decisions that are grounded in factual analysis, questioned authority, and of course… common sense.

Keep optimizing my friends.

The post SEO Coding Best Practices: Common Sense Prevails for META Keywords and SSL appeared first on Relevance.

But first, what is Google Quality Score? It’s simply the rating Google gives of the quality and relevance of your keywords and PPC ads.

The score takes into consideration various PPC campaign factors, including:

• Click-through rate
• Ad copy
• Landing page quality and relevance
• Campaign structure
• Relevance of keyword to the chosen ad group
• Past Google AdWords performance history

All of these factors have influence over one another, so optimization of each element is a must. You can’t just optimize one or a few, and forget about the others. For true success, each element needs to be optimized not only on its own but with the other elements in mind.

For example, ad copy directly impacts click-through rate, and your chosen ad group will directly impact the relevancy of your landing page. So an overall optimization strategy of each element combined is needed.

When you get this all right, Google increases your Quality Score, which results in many rewards, including the two backbones of AdWords success: lower PPC costs, and higher ad rankings.

Things change, though, and quickly. The latest Google Quality Score update arrived in May. GQS now features an estimated historical Quality Score data for the following elements: Quality Score, Landing Page Experience, Ad Relevance, and Expected Click-Through-Rate (CTR). These new parameters allow advertisers to see how Quality Scores have changed over time.

The key word here is “estimated,” meaning the importance is estimated. Of course, the one element most advertisers will surely pay attention to is the expected historical Click-Through-Rate parameter.

This is the metric that pays the big bills for Google, and what paid search marketers spend so much time improving. There’s no wonder Google stresses the importance of ad relevancy and post click-through experience such as the quality of the landing page.

Additional changes will surely follow from the Google Gurus. Here are a few tactics that will help improve your Quality Score as you see the historical data flow come into play. These GQS tips are also designed to help regardless of what changes Google makes to its Quality Score metrics.

Improve Copy

Make sure the AdWords copy completes three missions: explains features, explains benefits, and has a Call-To-Action (CTA). The writing needs to be uncluttered, simple, and drive home the value of your products/services, or AdWords message.

Incorporate Negative Keywords to Improve Ad Targeting

Having negative keywords (trigger words that would make your ad show) in your AdWords campaigns can help increase your CTR.

Most people use negative keywords in their PPC ads based around their industry, but there are also some standards that can help make a difference: free, cheap, craigslist, eBay, naked, porn, YouTube and torrent. These negative keywords are the solution to combating poor ad targeting.  You’ll want to add hundreds more specific negatives as you discover ongoing broad or wasteful spend on campaigns.  You can look at you matched query report to find these.

Also, make continued research of industry-related negative keywords part of your long-term strategy. New trends and products/services arrive on the marketing quickly with their own jargon. This can cause additional negative keywords you weren’t aware of.

Mobile Friendly Landing Pages

This is a huge deal for conversion rates. If a prospect lands on your page through an AdWords campaign, but is confused, the conversion rate dwindles. Your Quality Score will subsequently suffer, along with your pocketbook.

Get One Up on Your Competitors

Competitive research is part of any smart Google AdWords campaign, and seeing what works for others can help present some secrets to you, which will ultimate raise your Quality Score.

Using competitive spying tools, you can see your competitors PPC keyword performance, along with estimated monthly PPC clicks. This gives you an edge to bid on keywords they are targeting; just make sure your ad is more appealing, and you’ll likely be able to steal that keyword from your competition, and increase your CTR and ultimately your Quality Score.

Concluding Thoughts

Google Quality Score metrics will constantly be revised, and it’s your responsibility and that of your interactive agency to remain ahead of these changes. The easiest route is by staying up to date from the top SEO news websites.

Some things will always remain the same, though, such as improved copy and landing pages, and competitive research. Incorporate the four tips above into your PPC campaign strategy to help improve CTR and Quality Score.

All of these changes will also do more for your brand than just improve your PPC performance; they’ll also improve the overall quality of your web presence, which shows professionalism and a trusted source–two elements that will always remain on top of a prospects list.

The post Google Adwords Quality Score Metrics Change Again: How to Keep Scoring appeared first on Relevance.

Multiple Search Engine Optimization specialists, including Interact Marketing, have analyzed the data from websites affected by Fred. It’s clear that Fred has targeted three elements that have caused these traffic drops: thin and irrelevant content, low-quality back-links, and a focus on ad revenue over engaging content.

All three, especially when combined, negatively affect the user experience, which is always the number-one thing Google wants to improve. This is exactly why Google implements multiple algorithm updates throughout the year.

Just how “bad” was Fred? According to Interact Marketing data, some of the more than 120 major company websites we review in our index suffered between a 15% to 35% drop in traffic since March 8.

Fred is watching

Did you notice a substantial drop in organic traffic on your site? If so, what can you do to recover from Fred, and how do you protect yourself from future content, back-link, and advertising display algorithm updates? Following are five solutions that will have positive impacts on your website’s SEO.

Update Outdated Content

Most of the websites affected by the Fred update had outdated content that caused some concern for irrelevancy–something Google obviously frowns against.

Update your content, paying close attention to any content that’s not worth any value, such as products no longer available or events that have passed. Along the way optimize each piece of content with updated targeted keywords and call to actions. Make sure all of your lead forms are concurrent with the latest versions, and any outbound links are not directing clicks to dead webpages.

If you must delete content–like a page about a temporary sales page or past job postings–don’t simply hit the delete button or unpublish it. The best SEO practice is to redirect it to another page through what SEOs call a 301 redirect. Point old product pages to the newest product, or old job postings to your careers page.

Create More Engaging Content

When creating new content, make sure it’s relevant and of the highest quality. Don’t skimp on resources for quality; hire only the best content producers, especially those completing the copy-writing.

The writing should be written for humans, not search engines. Google’s algorithms get smarter and smarter everyday, and the latest Fred update is just a continuation of Google’s path to having nothing but valuable content across the web, which includes good writing flow, spelling, and grammar.

Above all, content should be free of grammatical errors, fact checked, and also educate and entertain your readers. Remembering to chunk content into smaller sections with sub-titles (H tags for you SEOs), and stray far from “black hat” SEO techniques like keyword stuffing, as has been the norm for many years now, but we will continue to issue warnings here until we see compliance. Resistance is futile.

There also used to be a case for shorter content due to modern attention spans while online, but based on studies like the Searchmetrics’ Ranking Factors & Rank Correlations (searchmetrics.com), Google rewards websites with longer-form content. The days of 300-word blog posts are gone for those who want success.

Check those Back-links

Back-links are simply other websites that have linked to a page or post on your website for a reference. The problem is some of those websites linking back to you are of poor quality, or even worse, unknowingly display porn or other unwaned links deployed by malware or blackhat spammers. This is where it’s imperative to have an SEO perform some back-link analysis and resolve any bad back-links.  We suggest using webmaster tools (search console) first, but also use third party tools such as MOZ tools to identify and formally disavow bad links.

Less Intrusive Advertising and Affiliates

From our studies, the Google Fred algorithm update had the largest impact on content-heavy websites. Many of these types of websites, such as a news blog or product review platform, create income through advertising and affiliate marketing.

The problem is some of these ads–you know, those annoying pop ups that are impossible to click off without losing the page you’re viewing–are too intrusive. The same goes for some affiliate ads such as the ones within the text you are reading.

The Fred algorithm penalized those sites with the most intrusive ads, which take away from user experience. Again, user experience is the main focus for Google, and always will be.

Think Like a Visitor

This sounds simple, but most business owners get so tied up in CTAs and marketing messages that they forget to think like a visitor. Think about your favorite online experiences, whether you’re searching for a digital marketing agency or someone to clean the rain gutters. How was your online experience, and what drove you to ultimately become a customer or client?

Simplicity will always reign, so keep things that way. Create content that engages and educates your visitors, and you’re much closer to conversion than annoying them with in-your-face information.

Concluding Thoughts

Leaving much of the technical details for business owners, the above five tactics should help improve your website’s SEO if it was hit by the Fred algorithm, and prevent it from being penalized in the future.

Google continuously has its energy set on one thing: improving the user experience. If you build sites and content with the same end-goal, you will usually be pretty safe throughout algorithm updates.

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