SearchCap: Google doesn’t personalize SERPs, don’t fixate on CTR, Google sub-images & 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:

• Google is right; click-through and conversion rates kinda don’t matter
  Sep 17, 2018 by Andy Taylor
  Say what? Turns out you may be focusing on the wrong things if you’re fixated on click-through and conversion rates. Here are a number of reasons why.
• Google admits it’s using very limited personalization in search results
  Sep 17, 2018 by Barry Schwartz
  Outside of a searcher’s location or immediate context from a prior search, Google doesn’t personalize the search results.
• Google tests sub-images in search result snippets for sitelinks
  Sep 17, 2018 by Barry Schwartz
  SEOs and webmasters may want to look into how to optimize for images that Google may use for sitelinks in mobile search with this new test.
• Keyword research strategies in a close-variant world
  Sep 17, 2018 by Megan Taggart
  Revisiting your keyword research approach is essential to preparing for imminent match type changes. Here are some considerations for a successful keyword research strategy in a close-variant world.

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

• How the hospitality industry should approach online reviews and citations
  Sep 17, 2018 by Jamie Pitman
  Looking for more positive reviews? Here are some smart ways to build citations and reviews plus tips to boost the visibility of businesses in the hospitality sector.
• Report: Connected TV impressions have grown 106 percent since 2016
  Sep 17, 2018 by Greg Sterling
  CTV may help realize brand marketers’ long-held dream of ‘addressable TV.’
• Amazon’s new ‘Storefronts’ gives SMBs a dedicated channel to sell
  Sep 17, 2018 by Amy Gesenhues
  More than 20,000 US small and medium-sized businesses make up Amazon’s new section, offering over 1 million items across 25 product categories.
• Google debuts Shoppable Image ads, video in Shopping Showcase ads
  Sep 17, 2018 by Ginny Marvin
  The new formats, introduced for the holiday season, are intended to help advertisers attract new customers.
• Commercetools’ Kelly Goetsch: Think ‘spokes,’ not ‘hubs’
  Sep 14, 2018 by Barry Levine
  The chief product officer for this cloud commerce platform previews his MarTech Conference talk about buying commerce services à la carte.

Search News From Around The Web:

• Has Google killed SEO?, Pixelchefs
• Account-Based Marketing Metrics: What to Track and Why, Business 2 Community
• Competition tab, performance insights and location recommendations: 3 new AI powered features, Bing
• Full Q&A: Former Google lawyer and deputy U.S. CTO Nicole Wong, Recode
• How to Harness Link Equity, Optus Digital
• The White House Startup, Led By Matt Cutts, Is Changing Government One Fire At A Time, Crunchbase
• We sat in on an internal Google meeting where they talked about changing the search algorithm — here’s what we learned, CNBC
• Getting Audacious With Audience-Led Account Structures, Periscopix

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.

About The Author

Debra Mastaler

Debra Mastaler is an internationally recognized authority on link building and is an OMCP Certified Link Building Trainer. Based in Washington DC, Debra is also a columnist for Search Engine Land, has written for or been featured in numerous tech publications and is active on the search marketing conference circuit as a speaker and trainer. Debra serves as a judge for the Landy Awards and is the President of Alliance-Link.com. Connect with Debra on Twitter and LinkedIn to stay in touch.