Google This Week: Generating Web Page Titles
It’s been an interesting week at Google this Week. Google has announced a new system that generates titles for web pages. They also completed the link spam update that ran for 4 weeks. And Google launched the new interface designing form in Google Ads which takes users on a step by step process.
ICYMI, here’s what happened at Google This Week.
- Unsampled Explorations in Google Analytics 360
- Impression Share Data Now Available in Custom Columns in Google Ads
- Google Updates ‘How Search Works’ Website
- Google Search Tests New Carousels
- New Google Ads Interface
- Link Spam Update Finally Rolled Out
- Google Shopping Product Glitch
- Google Confirms Change to How it Generates Web Page Titles
- Google Search Console Performance Report Glitch
Unsampled Explorations in Google Analytics 360
Google is introducing a new feature in Exploration for Google Analytics 360 users. Now you’ll be able to request unsampled results when a query returns sampled data. While it’s unusual to see sampled results in Google Analytics 4 360 properties, if they are, you can re-run the query with a much higher sampling limit by clicking ‘Request unsampled results’. The results are usually returned within 30 minutes and can be viewed by clicking on the link in the completion email or by refreshing the page.
Impression Share Data Now Available in Custom Columns in Google Ads
Google Ads has announced that certain impression share metrics are now available within custom columns. You can use search impression share, click impression share and display impression share metrics within custom columns. You can use these metrics to determine your visibility relative to the visibility you’re eligible to receive based on your targeting and settings.
Google Updates ‘How Search Works’ Website
Google has launched a fully-redesigned How Search Works website to explain the ins and outs of Search. The website was first launched in 2016 and has now been updated with fresh information, it’s also easier to navigate and bookmark sections and there are new links to additional resources that share how Search works and answers common questions.
Google Search Tests New Carousels
Google is testing new carousels in Google Search, including “research”, “people also shop” and “similar products” carousels. These carousels are designed to help users research and/or shop for more products easily, straight from the search results.
Interesting: I am seeing “People also shop” carousel in Google SERPs (Mobile), it has product pages in it.
I have recorded it.Query was: jeans short 36 size
I saw it for many queries.
Sending to: @rustybrick SIR.
CC: @brodieseo & @glenngabe SIR. pic.twitter.com/2tC3l049Pt
— Saad AK (@SaadAlikhan1994) August 20, 2021
New Google Ads Interface
Google appears to have launched a new design for the campaign set up form/wizard in Google Ads. The new interface now has the steps on the left sidebar and takes users through a new step by step process to set up campaigns.
Link Spam Update Finally Rolled Out
Google has finally completed the rollout of the link spam update, which started over four weeks ago. Danny Sullivan of Google tweets that “The link spam update is now complete.” Google’s original timeline was only two weeks (similar to most algorithm rollouts). We’re not sure why it took double the amount of time to complete, but we’re happy it’s done.
Google Shopping Product Glitch
Recently there was a lot of chatter around impressions and spend dropping in Smart Shopping for advertisers in the UK and elsewhere, starting around August 20. Google Ads Liaison, Ginny Marvin, responded: “Our team uncovered a technical issue that prevented some products from being served via Shopping Ads, since 8/20. As a result, corresponding impressions & clicks may have been impacted. This issue is now completely resolved as of 8/24.”
Our team uncovered a technical issue that prevented some products from being served via Shopping Ads, since 8/20. As a result, corresponding impressions & clicks may have been impacted. The issue is now completely resolved as of 8/24.
— AdsLiaison (@adsliaison) August 24, 2021
Google Confirms Change to How it Generates Web Page Titles
Last week, Google introduced a new system of generating titles for web pages. Previously, titles may have changed based on the search query, typically this will no longer happen with the new system. Google will most often show the main visual title or headline shown on the page, usually the H1 tag or other header tags. Google says other text contained in the page might be considered, as might be the text within links that point to the page. Google confirms that a focus on good HTML title tags remains valid.
“Focus on creating great HTML title tags. Of all the ways we generate titles, content from HTML title tags is still by far the most likely used, more than 80% of the time.”
Google Search Console Performance Report Glitch
Data appears to not be fully represented in the Google Search Console Performance report. The data appears to be delayed and looks like a global issue. Google’s John Mueller confirmed there is an issue and it is being looked into. The data appears to have stopped collecting on the 23rd of August. It is simply a reporting glitch and hopefully the data will be backfilled. Google posted a notice saying
“An internal problem caused a data loss in Search and Discover performance during this period. Users might see a significant data drop in their performance reports during this period. This does not reflect any drop in clicks or impressions for your site, only missing data in Search Console.”
Thank You for Reading
Have you noticed any changes from Google this week?
Check back next Friday for the latest from Google This Week.
