14 Feb 2024
- 04 Jun 2018
- 4 Min read
May 2018: SEO news & Google updates
- by Emily Park
In May 2018, there were some huge developments in the world of SEO and digital marketing. Google began to send mobile-first index notifications to webmasters and issued its final warnings about HTTPS. It was also revealed that personalisation of the search engine’s results is “very light”. Plus, Amazon announced that it’s planning to offer display ad targeting.
Want to know more about these updates and how they could affect your business? Read on to learn more.
Google starts sending mobile-first index notifications to webmasters
In May, for the first time since Google announced the rollout of mobile-first indexing, SEOs and webmasters began to receive notification of their sites being “enabled” for this. The notifications, which are sent via Google Search Console, read “mobile-first indexing enabled for” and specify the domain name of the site in question. They then go on to say:
“This means that you may see more traffic in your logs from Googlebot Smartphone. You may also see that snippets in Google Search results are now generated from the mobile version of your content.
“Background: Mobile-first indexing means that Googlebot will now use the mobile version of your site for indexing and ranking, to better help our (primarily mobile) users find what they’re looking for. Google’s crawling, indexing, and ranking systems have historically used the desktop version of your site’s content, which can cause issues for mobile searchers when the desktop version differs from the mobile version. Our analysis indicates that the mobile and desktop versions of your site are comparable.”
This is the biggest development since Google announced that it would be rolling out its mobile-first index.
Google Chrome issues final warning on HTTPS
The Google Chrome browser currently uses a green icon to show that a website is secure. But, because so many sites are now secure, it will instead begin to flag insecure sites with a prominent red warning.
The changes will be rolled out in two stages: in September, Chrome will stop displaying the familiar green icon for safe websites. Then, in October, the browser will begin to warn users about insecure sites.
This warning means that, if you haven’t already converted your site to HTTPS, it’s about time you did. And, this isn’t exclusive to ecommerce sites — all websites will be affected, and a red warning icon could scare away your site’s visitors.
Google says personalisation of search results is “very light”
On 15 May, Google’s Danny Sullivan tweeted that personalisation of the search engine’s results “is very light”. He then went on to say that location and language are the most important factors, so anyone searching in the same language from the same place will typically be presented with the same information.
It seems that, while Google was focusing a lot on personalised search results a few years ago, it’s not something you need to be putting much thought into — at least for the time being.
Amazon plans to offer display ad targeting
Amazon is set to launch a new display ad targeting service as it takes another leap into the digital advertising market, according to PerformanceIN.
Full details of the retargeting product are yet to be revealed, but Bloomberg has said that it will allow merchants selling online through Amazon to purchase ads that can track the user buying journey. The idea is that this will bring them back to the website to make a purchase.
Retargeting is a technique used by a lot of businesses who wish to keep tabs on consumers who view their products in the hope that they’ll come back to buy a product. Theoretically, if you sell on Amazon, taking advantage of this new feature could help to drive more conversions and, ultimately, make you more money in the long run.
You’re now up to speed with all of the latest news from the SEO and digital marketing industry. We also post daily updates on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, so make sure you follow us to stay in the know.
