SearchCap: Google local pack ad, expanded AdWords ads & more

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.

From Search Engine Land:

• First appearance of ads in Local Pack found in UK mobile search result
  Aug 7, 2016 by Greg Sterling

  The configuration showed three organic listings with one ad at the top.

• Expanded Text Ads: from quirks to testing methods & early results, what we know so far
  Aug 8, 2016 by Ginny Marvin

  Marketers share how they are approaching the new text ad format and results they’re seeing.

• Survey: Local search marketing top channel for SMBs, but many not tracking ROI
  Aug 8, 2016 by Greg Sterling

  The paradoxical findings suggest many SMBs are making assumptions about marketing effectiveness without actually measuring.

• Don’t miss your last chance to save big on MarTech Europe
  Aug 8, 2016 by Search Engine Land

  Don’t miss out on MarTech Europe, THE conference for professionals at the intersection of marketing and IT. Rates go up this Saturday, register now and save £300 off on-site prices. You’ll get case studies from leading brands about the marketing, technology and management issues we all struggle with in trying to keep up with, and […]

• Advanced Google Shopping: Is price a proxy for Quality Score in product ads?
  Aug 8, 2016 by Andreas Reiffen

  Columnist Andreas Reiffen shares insights about price sensitivity and user behavior in Google Shopping, based on an analysis of 15,000 conversions across the German, UK and US markets.

• So we have 45 more characters in AdWords text ads… Now what?
  Aug 8, 2016 by Pauline Jakober

  Expanded text ads recently went live in AdWords, so what’s the next step? Columnist Pauline Jakober explains how to strategically expand on your existing text ads when making the transition.

Recent Headlines From MarTech, Our Sister Site Dedicated To Internet Marketing:

• Dentsu Aegis acquires Merkle in deal estimated at $1.5 billion
• Move over, phones. Cars are becoming the new mobile target for marketers.
• Snapchat will air first NBCUniversal show on Discover on August 22
• KPIs for SEO: measuring SEO success
• [WATCH] Marketing Land Live #23: Facebook & clickbait, Instagram vs. Snapchat & more
• The fundamentals of the first email
• How Verizon’s Yahoo buy will reshape the digital ad marketplace
• Walmart confirms it is acquiring Jet.com for $3B in cash plus $300M in Walmart shares
• MarTech Today: First VR auto showroom, IBM Watson’s summer job & Zeta Interactive buys Acxiom Impact
• Facebook organic reach is down 52% for publishers’ Pages this year
• Jack In The Box wins the night and other insights from QSR foot traffic report
• Google adds Street View images and indoor maps to Rio 2016 Olympic venues

Search News From Around The Web:

Industry

• What is it like in the SEO industry?, Social Patterns
• Newspapers team up to take on Google and Facebook in the ad market, Business Insider
• NYC Google employee killed while jogging in Massachusetts, NY Daily News

Local & Maps

• Google My Business Updates Edit Business Information User Interface, Search Engine Roundtable
• Landslide Dams in Google Earth, Google Earth Blog

Link Building

• Google Says Links From Adult Sites Are Not Always Spammy Or Problematic, Search Engine Roundtable

Searching

• Answer: How many center-pivot irrigation systems do you see?, SearchReSearch

SEO

• Google Analytics: 4 New Reports for SEO, Practical Ecommerce
• Changes to Markup and Structured Data in SEO, Stone Temple
• Google Says Any 300 Redirect Passes PageRank But 301s Help With Canonicalization, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google Search Analytics Data Bug Extended Through August 5th, Search Engine Roundtable
• SEO Conclusions With Google Analytics, State of Digital
• Three Pillars of SEO: Authority, Relevance, and Trust, Search Engine Journal
• What we Learned when we Re-Ranked the Inc. 500 Based on SEO (Announcing the Vector Report), iPullRank

SEM / Paid Search

• How Expensive Will The Cost Per Click On My Google Adwords Keywords Eventually Get, Search Engine People
• Reach The Right Users With Gmail Ads, PPC Hero

Search Marketing

• Digital Strategy Basics: The What, the Why, & the How, Moz