Ep174- Google Doesn't Use Third-Party SEO Tool Scores for Rankings

Episode 174 contains the notable Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of August 14 -18, 2023.1. Google Ads Sunsetting Enhanced CPC on Shopping campaigns - Google Ads Shopping campaigns will no longer use Enhanced cost-per-click (eCPC) starting in October. Instead, Shopping campaigns using eCPC will behave as though they are using Manual CPC bidding, according to an email Google sent advertisers. Google explained that it is adopting more advanced strategies and campaigns as its technology improves. Google pointed out that eCPC was launched more than 10 years ago, and new strategies, such as target ROAS, Maximise conversion value and fully automated campaigns like Performance Max, can help you achieve the same or better results.If you are using eCPC, Google recommends taking the following actions:  In your Standard Shopping campaigns, try the one-click Target ROAS experiments for Shopping, which you can find in your campaign settings.  Alternatively, you can trial Google Ads’ newest fully automated solution, Performance Max campaigns.
2. Google Testing Small Advertisers Premium Support - Not sure if this true but Search Engine Journal reported that Google Ads has launched  a new pilot program to provide enhanced customer service for a select group of small Google Ads customers. The goal of the paid pilot program is to: “… provide agencies and advertisers with specialized one-on-one support tailored to specific customer needs.”This marks a shift for Google, which has historically reserved this high-touch level of support for its largest advertising clients.My thoughts in the show. Listen and find out.3. Google Makes it Easier for Customers to Find You on Social Media - Google has announced that businesses can now add social media links to their Google Business Profiles. This new feature allows businesses to make it easier for customers to find and connect with them on social media.
To add social media links to your Google Business Profile, you will need to: Go to your Google Business Profile. Click on the Edit button. Click on the Contact tab. Under Social profiles, enter the URL for each social media platform where you have a presence. Click on the Save button. Once you have added your social media links, they will be displayed on your Google Business Profile. Customers will be able to click on the links to visit your social media profiles.
4. Google: Domain Name Does Not Make Or Break Your SEO - We’ve covered this topic in the past however it came up this week so we are covering it again. Here is what Google’s John Muller wrote:“An #seo question from the X-Twitter world: In the domain name, is the use of dash ( – ) recommended or not? It’s fine  Pick a domain name for your brand for the long run, don’t just collect keywords (the common reason for dashes). Build out a domain. – For SEO, dashes are very minimally better in URLs than underscores. Don’t change your URLs for them tho. Don’t use spaces, commas, colons, etc in URLs.  Your domain name is never going to make or break your SEO.” 5. Is It Okay to Use noindex to Remove a Page from SERP Sitelinks? - Google's John Mueller answered a question about whether it's okay to use the noindex meta tag to remove a page from SERP sitelinks. Here is the original question: “Is noindex a good way to get a page out of a search result sitelinks? Should be an option in web console imho but a specific real estate agent’s page is part of the website sitelinks where there are lots of other pages like About etc. that should be there instead. Should I temporarily noindex the agent’s page to g