SearchCap: Google AdWords interface, Google Home listens & Apple Search Ads expands

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

From Search Engine Land:

• AdWords rolls out new interface to all advertisers
  Oct 11, 2017 by Susan Wenograd

  The new experience touts speed, upgraded visuals, more management tools.

• AMP up your call conversions: 5 things you need to know
  Oct 11, 2017 by Digital Marketing Depot

  In Google’s world, site speed matters. And the search giant is pushing hard on AMP, its open source initiative to improve web page speed and performance for mobile users. But that speed comes at a cost for digital marketers. AMP eliminates scripts — including the scripts that help you track mobile calls. Join Eric Enge […]

• Echo and Home will probably have to tell you they’re always listening — in Europe
  Oct 11, 2017 by Greg Sterling

  As smart speakers proliferate around the world, some governments will require strong privacy disclosures and consent to recording.

• ‘High-quality content’ tips from Google’s own style guides
  Oct 11, 2017 by Brian Ussery

  To meet Google’s standards for content that deserves a high rank, contributor Brian Ussery suggests following the guidelines the search giant has set for its internal content creators.

• Investors anxious about Google traffic acquisition costs, which regulation could further increase
  Oct 11, 2017 by Greg Sterling

  Mobile fees and new regulatory moves could bump Google’s revenue costs.

• The AdWords 2x budget change: Considering the potential impact
  Oct 11, 2017 by Ginny Marvin

  There are still many questions about how this sudden change will affect ad delivery and spending.

• Faster & smarter: Moving from manual to automated SEM campaign management
  Oct 10, 2017 by Chris Sherman

  Automating SEM campaigns is a smart move, thanks to the benefits you reap from eliminating drudge work, but also from the reductions in potential execution errors. Google has consistently built new tools that help with automation, and has recently beefed up capabilities within AdWords. As Frederick Vallaeys recently wrote on Search Engine Land, AdWords Scripts […]

• Apple Search Ads expanding to Canada, Mexico & Switzerland
  Oct 10, 2017 by Susan Wenograd

  New countries will be available in the platform starting October 17.

• Placed introduces offline attribution for paid search campaigns
  Oct 10, 2017 by Greg Sterling

  An early test delivered 4x return on ad spend when store visits reported.

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

• The ever-increasing importance of usability and trust in link building
• Being SMART with your martech: Balancing product inputs and performance outputs
• Why it pays to skip the form (and embrace chat)
• The new CMO role in digital commerce
• Live from Facebook-owned Oculus’s annual VR conference: Day 1
• Adelphic adds digital-out-of-home to its repertoire
• Here’s how Marketo sees its new ContentAI
• Twitter announces what’s ‘Happening Now’ for sporting events, and plans for a bookmarking feature
• This startup used blockchain to raise $15 million for a blockchain-based ad network that pays users
• The rise of the customer data platform as marketing’s ‘central nervous system’
• 4 (not so) ordinary conversion elements you may be abusing
• Marketing and culture: The key drivers of growth
• 6 ways IoT will make local search for SMBs scalable

Search News From Around The Web:

Industry

• Amazon has replaced Google as the company others are most worried about, Recode
• Be inspired by the 2017 Google Business Group storytelling contest winners, Google Blog
• Google, Facebook, and Twitter Need a New Approach to Tackling Chaos, Wired
• Majestic and SEMRush Combine Forces, Majestic Blog

Local & Maps

• Navigating The Local Search Ecosystem To Yield Results, Search Engine People

Link Building

• 5 Ways You Can Build Links Like a PR Pro, Search Engine Journal
• Google Penguin On Autopilot & Only Tweaked Occasionally, Search Engine Roundtable
• Link building in competitive markets can sometimes be complicated, Majestic Blog
• The SEMrush & Majestic Integration: For a Big Picture Backlink Analysis, SEM Rush
• What Is Link Blending and How Does It Work?, Hallam Internet

Searching

• Answer: The story behind these bodies of water? (Part 2), SearchReSearch
• Yandex introduces Alice, an Alexa-like assistant that speaks Russian, TechCrunch
• Google Swears It Didn’t Nerf Giphy in Search After Exec Bragged ‘We Own Happy Birthday Now’, Gizmodo
• Now on iOS: Get paid to share your opinion, Google Blog
• Searching for Better On-Site Search Usability, Pole Position Marketing
• SearchResearch Challenge (10/11/17): How many people die each year in the US?, SearchReSearch

SEO

• 6 SEO Tests You Need to Try, WordStream
• 7 Ways You Do SEO Wrong, SEO Theory
• Google Mobile Ranking Search Update?, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google Says Featured Snippets Are Evolving & Changing, Search Engine Roundtable
• Google Suggests They Look At Off-Site Sentiment For Ranking, Search Engine Roundtable
• How To See If Google Is Testing The Mobile First Index, Search Engine Roundtable
• New Tool to Spot Google Algorithm Updates in Real Time, cognitiveseo.com
• The Yoast SEO Configuration Wizard, Yoast

SEM / Paid Search

• 10 PPC Alerts to Boost Your Performance, The AdStage Blog

Search Marketing

• Excel for Search: How to analyse keyword fluctuations, Branded3