Google’s “Speed Update”, Garage Door SPAM Gets the Boot, and Big Instagram Updates

As always, Google has some big updates this week.
Also, Instagram is one to watch closely as it takes a bigger bite out of Snapchat. See Search Engine Land’s top 3 SEO actions to kick 2018 off with a bang! We couldn’t agree more.

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• Google ads keyword functionality to AdWords app 

If you are an advertiser that checks up on or creates campaigns on the fly, this is great news! You can finally add and remove keywords from running campaigns right from the mobile app.

• Google’s “Speed Update” will start impacting websites that load slowly on mobile

Pushing for better user experience Google is going to start using site speed as a ranking factor in mobile searches. This has already been a factor for desktop searches, and in July 2018 site speed will be a ranking factor in mobile as well.

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• Google gets tough on a notorious garage door company, saving potential customers overcharges

This is a HUGE boost for the notorious very spammy garage door repair industry. We’ve been fighting off this spam for clients for years and it looks like Google has taken some action against one of the biggest offenders, GDS.

• Google updates GMB Websites to include posts as they pass 1.25 million sites created

Mike Blumenthal has been reporting on Google’s journey with their website feature. This update now allows users to add posts to their sites. It will be interesting to see where Google takes this. They are still lacking some basic SEO features like meta descriptions, but they are a decent solution for small businesses who have only been relying on a Facebook page for their web presence.

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Ok, ignoring the sensationalist headline, the message is pretty accurate. Instagram is continuing to take more and more market share from Snapchat, and their new text-only stores are just another feature that is increasing their appeal.

• Instagram just added a powerful new way to stalk people on the app

A new feature was just released that will allow you to see when your friends were last online. It’s met with some mixed reviews…

• 3 SEO tasks to start 2018 off with a bang

These are GREAT tasks to tackle for your businesses SEO right now. Search Engine Land goes into detail about each item, but to nutshell it:

• Improve your page speed
• Leverage personal brand for link building
• Incorporate video