Good morning Search Marketer, Instagram is getting more shoppable, but first some search news.
Google's introduction of GMB video conferencing and the recent move to auction-based pricing for Local Services Ads are a couple of examples of the investments Google has been pouring into local since the pandemic hit. The latest Local Search Ranking Factors survey, now in its 12th year, indicates that Google My Business and Reviews have the greatest impact on Map Pack rankings. But quality of inbound links was found to be the most important ranking factor for local SEO.
Conversions still win. The biggest takeaway is "the growing importance of focusing on conversions from your Google listing instead of just obsessing about ranking," the survey's author Darren Shaw of Whiteshark told Greg Sterling. To that end, the survey respondents said reviews are the biggest conversion factor from Google My Business.
Following last year's rebrand of Bing Ads to Microsoft Advertising, the search engine itself is taking on the parent company name. Announced yesterday, the newly-named Microsoft Bing also has a refreshed logo. The new branding "reflects the continued integration of our search experiences across the Microsoft family," the company said. Those integrations include Office 365, Edge and more.
The company is also expanding the Give with Bing program to more countries. Give with Bing is an extension of the Microsoft Rewards program and enables users to donate the rewards they earn for searching with Microsoft Bing to more than 1.4 million charities and non-profit organizations. Through December 31, the company will match points donated by users. Microsoft says Give with Bing users have already donated Microsoft Rewards points valued at over $1 million. Besides the good deeds, more searches yields more clicks.
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Ginny Marvin
Editor-In-Chief
