Google Pushed Back Mobile-First Indexing – WDA Marketing Pit Stop

Google Pushed Back Mobile-First Indexing

In our latest Marketing Pit Stop, we have news from Instagram, Google, Snapchat, Facebook and Microsoft Advertising.

Let’s take a pit stop and get into it.

Reels to launch in the US next month

Instagram has confirmed that Reels, its TikTok rival, will launch in the US early next month. This comes following its testing in Brazil, France and Germany. A spokesperson for Facebook said “We’re excited to bring Reels to more countries, including the U.S. in early August. The community in our test countries has shown so much creativity in short-form video, and we’ve heard from creators and people around the world that they’re eager to get started as well”.

Instagram launches redesigned Shop

The social app has launched its new Instagram Shop, providing users with a place to buy products from within the app’s Explore section. Instagram Shop aims to encourage more product browsing, shopping and discovery of brands through the platform. Only available in the U.S. at this time.

Google to notify My Business account owners of suspensions

This comes into effect based on a new European law. Google will now be notifying Google My Business account owners of any local listing suspensions via email, although the notice still won’t explain why the account has been suspended.

Snapchat Testing New TikTok-style Navigation

Snapchat look set to join the growing list of social networks looking to compete better with TikTok as they have confirmed the testing of TikTok-style navigation. This new UX will enable users to explore public content on Discover with a vertical swiping motion, the same way that browsing content is done on TikTok.

Smart Shopping Updates

Google has made some updates to Smart Shopping campaigns, launching in the U.S. initially. The updates include the introduction of annotations such as free shipping and the ability to optimise campaign conversions for new customer acquisition.

Google Pushed Back Mobile-First Indexing

Due to the pandemic, Google has decided to push back its mobile-first indexing deadline from September of this year to March next year, giving webmasters longer to prepare for the switch. Many sites have already been switched over and all new sites are now indexed with mobile-first indexing. You can check the status of your website using Search Console.

Microsoft Advertising partner with Shutterstock

Microsoft Advertising has partnered with Shutterstock to offer free stock images to advertisers for its Audience ads. There are more than 230 million images to choose from and access to the images will roll out first in the States before launching here in the UK.

Facebook Tests New Design For Pages

The new Facebook Page design they are testing is cleaner and also remove the “Like” count and button, just show follow/followers instead. Facebook’s aim with this new design is to provide a better experience for visitors to a page, making it easier to see key details.

Google Upgraded Business Profiles

Google is starting to offer upgraded Business profiles with the Google Guaranteed badge for a monthly fee of $50. Google Guaranteed is designed to give consumers greater confidence in your business. Likely, profiles with the badge will also enjoy a higher number of clicks and calls compared to those without.

That’s it for the most important digital marketing news and updates from last week. Subscribe to our blog and podcast and also follow us on Social Media so you don’t miss future updates.

Sharing is caring!

Ready to drive more business?

Start your journey to driving more business today by simply completing your details on our contact form below.