#ThinkSearch March Wrap Up Search Highlights

There has been lots of big news across the digital industry this month, as well as some exciting changes. In our #ThinkSearch March wrap up, we’ve compiled some of the highlights from SEO, Content and Paid Media to make sure you’re always up to date.

New Keyword Planner interface provides valuable insights

This month, Google rolled out a brand spanking new version of Keyword Planner.

Keyword Planner is a Google Adwords tool that was designed to identify the best keywords to incorporate into pay-per-click campaigns. It is also useful for those who create SEO-optimised content, as you can identify exactly what information people are searching for.

This new version offers improved aesthetics which are more in line with the most recent version of AdWords. Keyword Planner now provides a breakdown of the proportion of devices that will be targeted during a campaign. This additional information is valuable in helping you choose the most effective plan.

Users of Keyword Planner can also see on a map exactly where the campaign will be targeting. You will also be provided with an estimate of how keywords will affect the maximum cost-per-click. You can also add keywords in bulk and see forecasts in one place, which beats having to constantly switch between menus.

Google’s decision to change the nature of email evokes mixed feelings

Google has announced that ‘Accelerated Mobile Pages’ (AMP) will be rolled out into email throughout 2018. According to Gmail’s Product Manager, Aakash Sahney, AMP for Email will make for ‘more engaging, interactive, and actionable email experiences’.

This means you’ll be able to do things that were previously reserved for website functions.

Without leaving your inbox, you could:

• RSVP to an event
• Schedule an appointment,
• Browse and save your favourite Pinterest recipes

With these changes, content within an email can be updated. The idea is that email content could be ‘live’ rather than static.

How would these changes affect our method of measuring performance metrics of SEO efforts since users wouldn’t be leaving Gmail? Initially, these redevelopments of Gmail will be available to developers as a preview, and changes will be rolled out later this year. We’ll be watching.

Google announces changes after a surge of bad ads in 2017

Google has reported that it removed more than 3.2 billion bad ads in 2017, which is almost double the 1.7 billion ads removed in 2016. These ads were taken down because they violated Google’s advertising policies. These include ads that sent users to malware-laden sites, “trick-to-click” ads and ads that resulted in unwanted software installations.

Your Google AdWords account – use it or lose it

As of now, Google will start deactivating Adwords accounts that haven’t spent any money in the past 15 months.

This is good news if you have experienced the frustrating and seemingly impossible process of trying to delete your Adwords account.

Starting next week, we’re helping speed up your AdWords experience by automatically deactivating accounts that don’t have spend in the last 15 months. If you still need access to these accounts, you can reactivate them at any time in AdWords. Learn more: https://t.co/W6laVA4wsW

— Google AdWords (@adwords) March 20, 2018

Reviving your deleted account is easy though. Simply sign into your AdWords account, click ‘Settings’ and then click ‘Account settings’. On the ‘Preferences’ tab, click ‘Reactivate this account’.

If you don’t spend any money on ads within three months of reactivating, be warned that your account will be cancelled again. The goal of this ‘housekeeping’ effort by Google is to speed up the Adwords experience for those who are planning a solid PPC campaign.

Mark Zuckerberg announces new changes after Cambridge Analytica scandal

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has finally responded to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. It comes days after news broke that through a quiz app created by University of Cambridge researcher Aleksandr Kogan, the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica gained access to the data of 50 million Facebook users. This data was then used to try and manipulate voters during the Trump presidential campaign.

Zuckerberg claimed that there had been a “breach of trust between Kogan, Cambridge Analytica and Facebook.” He also laid out certain changes they were going to make in response to the scandal. These include investigations of all apps which had access to large amounts of data before changes to the Facebook Platform in 2014, restricting the data access of developers and introducing a tool on the News Feed that allows users to easily revoke access to personal data.

What do you think? Are these changes enough, or too little too late?

Do you have any search highlights from March? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Maybe you’ll make the next #ThinkSearch wrap up! Leave a comment below or tweet us at @Honcho_Search.