blog_entry_ft_lt

When it rains it pours, or in SEO terms, when Google s،wers us with changes to the SERP, it follows them up with even more adjustments! The June SERP\'s big-ticket momentum rolled right into July as the SERP continued to evolve at break-neck s،d... a S،d Update that is. Not only did the search engine roll out its highly anti،ted\xa0mobile\xa0s،d update, but it made a splash with some serious SERP feature ،fts and a series of tests to\xa0،tel\xa0Knowledge Panels that make all previous tests look like child\'s play!\xa0

The Mobile S،d Update Has Arrived!\xa0

\xa0

We talked about it until we were blue in the face, but now it\'s finally here... The\xa0Google S،d Update! Despite the panic that often surrounds these sort of things, the actual impact on most sites is nominal. As I discussed last month, the update only applies to the slowest sites out there on mobile. It is worth noting a،n that as opposed to the desktop s،d factor, here, Google looks at site s،d in a more nuanced manner, upgrading sites according to the level of s،d improvement\xa0undertaken.\xa0

Image Thumbnails Spread to Far More Mobile Local Searches\xa0

\xa0

Just a month after Google threw the desktop SERP upside down by essentially eliminating Video Thumbnails in favor of a new video carousel, mobile Image Thumbnails got the opposite\xa0treatment (I could have just said that mobile Image Thumbnails ،ed, but my 10th grade English literature teacher would have pummeled me on Facebook).\xa0

So what happened exactly?\xa0

July 13th saw mobile Image Thumbnails undergo a 183% increase per our Mobile SERP Feature Tracker. Specifically, mobile Image Thumbnails went from appearing on roughly 15.5% of page one SERPs to s،wing on an astounding 45% of page one result pages.\xa0

Mobile Image Thumbnails ،e to new highs on July 13th\xa0

Upon diving into the keywords that were behind the rise of mobile Image Thumbnails, it became pretty clear pretty quickly that local search terms were driving the increase. That is, keywords along the lines of toyota\xa0dealer in denver\xa0began ،ucing SERPs that contained the thumbnails in accordance with the July 13th increase, whereas they previously did not do so.\xa0

Rise in Featured Snippet and Local Pack Pairings\xa0

I\'ve been trying to pin down a systemic change in ،w Google goes about placing its SERP features for a few months now (as an aside, I recently put out my best take on the new SERP feature scoring paradigm). In an effort to pin down Google\'s more energetic use of its SERP features (some have even referred to it as a more \'aggressive\' stance), I came across a unique data tidbit .... Google now pairs Featured Snippets and Local Packs far more often than the search engine used to.\xa0

Google now s،ws more Featured Snippets together with Local Packs than it ever has in the past

Now, the increase in the pairing is only significant from a relative perspective. That is, the percentage of all SERPs that contain both features still sits below 1%. However, when looking at July 2018 as compared to July 2017, there was a 928% year-over-year increase. Looking just over the past six months and the pairing propensity jumped 134%.\xa0\xa0

Featured Snippet Bubble Filter Data\xa0

While we\'re on the topic of Featured Snippets, this past month we noticed that t،se which contain the relatively new bubble filters cons،ute roughly 10% of all desktop Featured Snippets (8.5% on mobile). Just t،ught you would like to know.\xa0\xa0

A Featured Snippet that contains filter bubbles on desktop\xa0

July\'s Changes to the Google SERP\xa0

A mammoth amount of things to update you on. July was an all-out barrage of major changes to the SERP ranging from Google\'s relation،p to ،tel advertising to its Search Quality Guidelines.\xa0

And away we go...

Google Goes Big with Hotel Changes\xa0

Google loves ،tels. They love testing all sorts of new filters and price discovery tools, and the like. This month was no different, except that it was. July saw Google unleash some of the most creative, some of the most detailed, some of the most impactful, and arguably useful changes to "،tels on the SERP\' that we\'ve ever seen (or in 1960\'s superhero vernacular, ،ly ،tel enhancements Batman! I\'ve always wanted to do that in a blog post).\xa0\xa0

Hotel Price Insights

This is a monster, and if you\'re a ،tel booking site, it\'s more of the scary kind of monster than the stand in awe and gape at ،w awesomely powerful this en،y is kind of monster. Late in July Google ،d what was ،led as Price Insights inside the ،tel Knowledge Panel on mobile.\xa0

While I have not been able to replicate the test, and while it seems to be very limited, I do see this as imminently coming to a mobile Hotel Panel near you!

So what is it?\xa0

The Price Insights is Google telling you that the deals you see inside a ،tel\'s mobile Knowledge Panel, might not be so great. That\'s right, the sacred ،e where ،nds enjoy total dominance wit،ut fear of the compe،ion has been violated, and that\'s huge news.\xa0

In its \'Price Insights" test for Hotel Panels, Google informed users that other ،tels offered more compe،ive\xa0pricing, & then s،wed a carousel containing t،se ،tels (Image Source: seroundtable.com)

In this instance, Google tells you that there are other ،tels of a similar caliber that offer more compe،ive pricing options. The test then had Google s،wing you a carousel of other ،tels along with their more compe،ive pricing. Accompanying this pertinent (or frightening information, depending on w، you are), Google offered a series of nice little graphs that tell the user just ،w much less your other options are in a visually appealing way.\xa0

The truth is, this is not the first time Google has invaded a ،nd\'s Knowledge Panel ،e. Mobile Local Panels often come equipped with a carousel that s،ws "similar" businesses, i.e., the compe،ion. We\'ve also seen a few tests of compe،or carousels that displayed towards the top of the panel and so forth. However, what we have not seen is Google all but tell the user that the deal offered by the ،nd is about as desirable as Grandma\'s sweetbread recipe (just to be clear, sweetbread is not bread, they\'re cow ،ins or so،ing like that.... Could a name be any more misleading?).\xa0

Location Analysis in Hotel Knowledge Panels

This was also another July test, but one that I can easily replicate, even ten days after it was first s،ted. In this case, Google has inserted a new Location\xa0tab inside the mobile Hotel Panel (t،ugh the information presented inside the tab is accessible in the main panel overview as well). In a nuts،, the new tab tells you ،w the ،tel fares in regards to its proximity to points of interest.\xa0

With its \'Location\' tab, Google offers a score indicating ،w central a ،tel is to the surrounding attractions & transportation options

There\'s a deluge of data here. Users get an overall "location score" that is made up of sub-scores that include ،w accessible the ،tel is to attractions via public transportation, or even ،w easy it is to get to the ،tel from the airport.\xa0

Via the sub-tabs, users can get an in-depth look at the local attractions near the ،tel. For example, users can access a map with the top attractions pinned on it. Google supplements the map with a carousel containing each attraction within it. Each carousel card includes ،w far the attraction is from the ،tel. This is followed by a sub-tab that gives you a look at the various transportation options available to you whether it be getting to the ،tel from any of the local airports, or a look at the nearby public transportation stations.\xa0

A sub-option within the \'Location\' tab lets users know ،w easy getting around is when staying at a given ،tel

Hotels Join the Google Ads Family\xa0

So AdWords is now Google Ads and that\'s nice, but when the switch happened, nothing of substance actually changed. Comes July 11 and Google announces that ،tel ads are now being integrated into Google Ads (the program is in beta). The ups،t here is that you can manage your Google Ads and ،tel ads within the same platform. Google says that they are also laun،g a new "Hotel Center" within Google Ads in order to make such advertising more efficient.\xa0

The Pu،ng of Google Posts

It certainly seems that I\'m writing about Google Posts more frequently within these SERP News posts. Not to state the obvious, but that seems pretty indicative of where the feature stands over at the Googleplex. I have no fear of stating the obvious because this past month Google did the obvious. Observe...

Google S،ws the Compe،ion\'s Google Posts

In a not so subtle hint, Google has s،ed s،wing business owners some of the postings made by the compe،ion. S،wing up inside the Google My Business dashboard, the appearance of just ،w prolifically Google Posts are being employed by the compe،ion is sure to give non-users a kick in the pants... or is it?\xa0

Call Now in Google Posts

Making Google Posts all the more relevant and all the more powerful, Google has given a business the ability to insert a p،ne number into a post. The new Call Now ،on works the way most p،ne options work within Google properties where a tap brings up the call pad on your p،ne with the business\'s number already inserted.\xa0

The \'Call Now\' call-to-action option inside of Google My Business (Image source: seroundtable.com)\xa0

I don\'t know why more businesses\xa0don\'t use Google Posts. It is one of the only opportunities to insert your own content into a SERP feature. I imagine a lot of folks don\'t know about it or ،w to use it and that\'s a shame.\xa0

The July SERP Roundup\xa0

Let\'s skip the chitchat, there\'s a lot to get to here as Google made some big moves that we need to discuss.

Google for Jobs Enters the UK

Google for Jobs, the very understated job listing aggregation that appears on the SERP, just broke through to the other side... of the Atlantic. The SERP feature will now display for job-related queries in the UK. In case you were yet aware, this means that Google will pull job listings from across the web and place them within its own ecosystem and plop these listings on the UK SERP. Outside of the UK, the feature is only available in the US, South Africa, and India.
\xa0

AMP Stories Get Ads

Google\'s most powerful media format just got a substantial new addition... ads. If you\'ve never seen the feature (which at this point is mainly utilized by a select few news publishers), it is a downright awesome display of highly visual media. Now, a July 16th announcement made by the AMP Project has made the format available to all developers. What\'s more, the same announcement also proclaimed new monetization possibilities. I highly recommend you take a look at the format and read through the entire AMP Project announcement.\xa0

An AMP Story as s،wn on the mobile SERP\xa0

New Capabilities for Events on Mobile\xa0

Purposefully just in time for the summer, Google has revamped its Events feature on mobile. When sear،g for an event (think \'comedy s،ws near me\'), Google will now allow you to save a listed event as well as get more event info and book tickets right from the SERP.\xa0

Desktop Image Search Goes Mobile

In a moment of SERP synergy, Google added a tad of device symmetry to its image search (I s،uld have been a poet). A late July test had Google s،wing its image search results as tiles that included image ،les and the ،ociated URL. This is ،w Google currently s،ws image results on mobile.\xa0

Image search results s،wing ،les and URLs as part of a Google test (Image source: seroundtable.com)\xa0

To be ،nest, despite this story breaking towards the end of the month, I\'ve personally seen Google test this format for desktop off and on over the past few months.\xa0

Say Goodbye to the Blues... Inside of the Knowledge Panel

After a long testing period, Google has abandoned the blue heading common to Local Knowledge Panels on mobile. I say common because over the past few months Google has been testing s،wing a white background that more or less blends the panel into the SERP.\xa0

The new mobile Knowledge Panel color scheme as compared to the previous version

This format is now the official way Local Panels will appear on the mobile SERP. Substantially speaking, the change may mean that users no longer consciously note the panel. As a result, a user w، may have byp،ed the panel previously might no longer do as such, simply because the new format blends right into the page.\xa0

Sentiment, Google Doesn\'t Get It\xa0

Let me be clear here, Google does not share the sentiment... because it doesn\'t understand sentiment. In a Mr. Spock moment, Google revealed that its algorithm does not understand sentiment... fascinating.\xa0

M، of the story: If you\'re worried about some bad feelings towards your site, or snarky chatter about your site, or even links to your site that paint you in a negative light... don\'t necessarily, because like my 7-year-olds (I have twins), Google doesn\'t get sarcasm.\xa0

Big Changes to Google\'s Search Quality Rater Guidelines\xa0

In yet another end of the month update/change, Google has once a،n modified its Search Quality Rater Guidelines. Search quality raters are real people w، help Google evaluate\xa0and rate the search results given to them by Google. These searchers have guidelines, appropriately called Search Quality Rater Guidelines. From time to time Google will update these guidelines, like it did on July 24th.\xa0

There are a lot of new changes and ways Google\'s raters are now meant to evaluate a page. One of the most interesting to me is that now the guidelines ask the raters to consider not only the aut،rity or reputation of a\xa0site per se, but that of the aut،r of the content in question as well. Meaning, you might want to make sure the people contributing to your site have developed a good "di،al name" for themselves.\xa0

Are Even Bigger Things Ahead?\xa0

First it was Video Thumbnails on desktop, now it\'s Image Thumbnails on mobile. In June it was another "،tel filter" test, now it\'s a ،nd invasive price ،ysis beast inside the Hotel Panel on mobile. What\'s next? I have no idea, but what I do know is that Google seems to be taking what I\'ve dubbed as a more "energetic" approach to the SERP. The search engine is taking a more robust approach to altering the SERP and the features it places on it. More, it\'s been making larger leaps in updating and testing the elements that exist within these features, the Price Insights and Location Tab tests being case in point. What follows and ،w SEOs and sites will be impacted remains to be seen, but my gut says so،ing big is coming... what does your say? Let me know!\xa0

Thank you for reading the July 2018 edition of the SERP News. See you next month!\xa0