Search Console: Is it every marketer’s favorite tool?; Tuesday’s daily brief

Search Engine Land’s daily brief features daily insights, news, tips, and essential bits of wisdom for today’s search marketer. If you would like to read this before the rest of the internet does, sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox daily.

Good morning, Marketers, and why do you love Search Console?

It’s definitely a trove of data for search marketers — whether you’re in charge of content, technical SEO, or even advertising. You can understand what’s going on with your site in Google’s search results all in one place. Plus, there are always new reports and data tools popping up — like the new Core Web Vitals report under Experience.

Google’s Search Console is a go-to tool for SEOs, PPCers, and more. And we want to know what your favorite Search Console features are and why. How do you use them? What makes them your favorite? Give us all the details in our latest two-question survey for a chance to be quoted on Search Engine Land.

Carolyn Lyden,
Director of Search Content

Google officially dropped Q&A on Google in search results

Google is officially removing the Q&A on Google feature from Google Search. Just to be clear, this does not impact the Google Question Hub feature, but it does impact some searchers in India who have submitted questions and/or answers using the Q&A on Google feature.

“The feature was only available in India for a select set of topics, and users who submitted answers were notified so they can download their contributions via Google Takeout,” a Google spokesperson told Search Engine Land. 

Read more here.

Google Ads announces steps for smooth transition as Apple’s ATT goes live

With Apple’s App Tracking Transparency policies going live yesterday, iOS users will now be prompted to accept or decline sharing data across apps. Because of these changes, Google is updating the way they report and measure conversion information for ads service on iOS14. 

Here are some of the details for advertisers promoting web-based conversion goals:

• Google is no longer sending the Google click identifier (GCLID) for iOS 14 traffic coming from ads on a handful of Google apps. As such, you may see a decrease in reported website conversions.
• Advertisers running Display, Video and other campaigns promoting web-based conversion goals may see performance fluctuations as Apple’s ATT policies go into effect and as Google expands modeled conversions to more iOS 14 traffic. 

The support piece by Christophe Combette, Group Product Manager, Google Ads also dives into how advertisers that are promoting iOS apps may see changes as well.

68% of consumers feel better about buying products from companies that include LGBTQ representation in digital ads

This year, GLAAD partnered with P&G to release the first-ever “LGBTQ Inclusion in Advertising and Media” study, which measures the attitudes of non-LGBTQ Americans to exposure to LGBTQ people and images in the media. The survey was conducted online by Cint from November 20 to December 3, 2019 among 2031 non-LGBTQ Americans ages 18 and over. The main findings from the study include the following:

• Non-LGBTQ people are very comfortable with LGBTQ people appearing in the TV, movies, and ads they consume, opening the door for more opportunities in the future.
• Companies benefit from including LGBTQ people in advertisements, with the vast majority of non-LGBTQ consumers looking favorably upon companies that do so.

Using artificial intelligence, Pattern89 predicts that LGBTQ ad creative will increase engagement in 2021. In fact, the rainbow emoji has gained popularity in digital ads by 1022% since 2018. “The findings of this study send a strong message to brands and media outlets that including LGBTQ people in ads, films, and TV is good for business and good for the world,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD. 

Shimon Sandler on building and growing your search marketing agency

Shimon Sandler has worked at some of the most recognizable brands in our space, including with Kevin Lee of Didit and at Viacom/MTV, amongst other spaces. He also started an agency and sold it, and now has started another search marketing agency and is growing that one.

Barry spoke with Shimon about his history in the search space, dating back to the early 2000s. But in our two part interview we also spoke about tips on how to build and grow your search marketing agency, and the ever so important – how to keep your current customers and keep them spending money.

Watch the video here.

Algo update chatter, searchers looking for nostalgia travel, and how to A/B test with Google Optimize

SEO: Local SEO and search communities chatter about weekend algorithm updates. Starting around Friday, April 23rd or so, there seems to have been an unconfirmed Google Search ranking algorithm both on the web search results side and the local search results side. There is chatter in the SEO forums, coupled with the automated tracking tools picking up big changes, it does seem like we had some sort of unconfirmed update.

PPC: Travel searches take off: Searchers crave safety and nostalgia. As vaccination rates increase, workplaces reopen, and restrictions begin to loosen, we’re beginning to see a growth in travel and vacation searches. But there’s still a lingering hesitancy in planning these trips. In a recent survey Microsoft Advertising conducted, 48% of travelers considered safety and safety regulations as top factors that defined their vacation planning. That’s why when we look at reasons for upcoming travel, many are going to revisit places they know and love, and reconnect with loved ones because they’re all presumably safer choices.

CRO: How to create a redirect test in Google Optimize. In this video from Google Analytics, learn how to create a redirect experiment in Google Optimize in three easy steps: how to use a URL as a variant, decide who should see your test (targeting), and determine what to measure (picking an objective).

The beginner’s guide to information architecture in UX

Information architecture is all about organizing the things people need from your site in a way that makes them easy to find. The idea is to reduce the barriers that prevent a seamless experience in using a site to reach a goal — whether the goal is to get more info, sign up for a newsletter, call to speak to someone, or make a purchase.

“Time is the most precious resource people have. We live in a world where people expect to find a solution to their problems with the least amount of effort. When finding information becomes too complicated or too slow, there’s a risk that people will simply abandon it. And when people abandon an app or a website, it’s more difficult to bring them back. This is where information architecture design plays a key role,” wrote Nick Babich.

This ultimate guide to IA from Adobe explains the cognitive psychology behind the practice of organizing website information including how Gestalt principles, mental models, and cognitive load affect how users have positive and negative experience on the web.

While content may be what gets people to your site, the information architecture and UX is what gets people to stay.