7 Google updates from the month of August.

From tweaking minor features to entire platform redesigns, Google updates change the way we work. We bring you seven updates from last month to add to your digital toolkit.

1. Updates to the Keyword Planner Tool.

Good keyword research can mean the difference between your website holding a coveted first-page ranking on Google or languishing somewhere in its depths.

Google’s Keyword Planner Tool is one of the many resources used to find effective keywords for your business’ purpose.

In August, it was announced that the Keyword Planner Tool will show limited data for advertisers with a lower monthly spend.

Data is now limited to show ranges of search volume, instead of a specific figure. Users considered ‘low-spenders’ will be shown a range of 1 – 100, 100 – 1k, etc.

The change has been met with criticism from the search marketing community. Many question how providing less information could be beneficial to anyone –  especially smaller businesses requiring preliminary figures before committing to an advertising budget.

Google has responded by saying that the update was made to prevent bots and other services from abusing the intended use of Keyword Planner.

However, it is unclear as to how the tool will be better off by restricting data to users in the still undefined ‘lower monthly spend’ threshold.

2. Updates to Google’s AMP Search Results.

Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) allow websites to offer mobile optimised versions of their pages. These pages load instantly from Google. Currently, AMP pages only support content in the ‘Top Stories’ section of Google’s mobile search results.

However, Google plans to roll out AMP for all search result listings, regardless of content type. This means that more sites will be optimised for viewing on a mobile device. Applying this update to a business site delivers a faster and more accessible user experience for your clients.

3. Updates to mobile-friendly label.

Due to our increasingly mobile-centric environment, Google will be removing the ‘mobile-friendly’ label next to pages in search results.

This label was added two years ago to help people identify which pages would provide a good experience on mobile. Pages with this label also received a slight ranking advantage over non-mobile friendly pages.

This will now be removed in order to ‘unclutter’ the search, although the mobile-friendly ranking advantage will continue to be a ranking signal.

4. Updates to mobile interstitials.

Interstitials are pieces of content that interrupt the user’s experience from the main content of a page.

Interstitials come in the form of pop-ups that partially or completely take over the page. You know, the ones that ask you to subscribe to a newsletter just when you’ve started browsing for your favourite pair of shoes.

As of January 2017, Google will be applying ranking penalties to web pages that use interstitials in mobile search. This penalty is intended to dissuade sites from using them to bombard users with adverts or additional content.

5. Updates to Google Analytics.

Google Analytics—now installed on more than 10 million websites—can be an incredibly powerful tool for data-driven insight and decision-making. For those of you itching to get some practical experience with this popular analytics platform, there is now a demo account open to the public.

The demo account  contains data from the Google Merchandise Store. This helps people  get comfortable with using a fully implemented Google Analytics account before setting it up for their own business. It is also a useful resource for SEO novices looking to gain insight from the tool to optimise web content.

6. Updates to PageRank Redirections from Google.

A redirect is a way to send visitors from one URL to a different URL. They’re usually set up when content has been moved or when a URL for a page has changed.

There are different types of redirects that can be used. 301s are permanent redirects, while 302s and 307s are temporary redirects.

For a long time, it’s been SEO best practice to use 301 redirects. This is because using 301 redirects ensures the page passes PageRank.

PageRank is one of over 200+ ranking factors that Google uses to rank a web page. It contributes to gauging how authoritative a page is. Sites with high rankings are given preferential treatment by the search engine. By passing PageRank, 301 redirects enable pages to retain their established ranking.

Previously, this was not the case for redirects such as 307 and 302. If a page was accidentally set up using 302 redirects instead of 301, it was made a priority by those working in SEO.

The latest update, however, enables users to apply 302 and 307 redirects without fear of losing their PageRank power.

Gary Illyes from Google recently tweeted:

30x redirects don’t lose PageRank anymore.

— Gary Illyes (@methode) July 26, 2016

This means that 302 and 307 redirects pass PageRank in a similar fashion to 301. Woo!

But later, in reply to a tweet, Gary also said:

@AndyNRodgers redirects pass same, but 301 helps with canonicalization @JohnMu

— Gary Illyes (@methode) August 5, 2016

So to us, this means business as usual: use 301s when permanently moving content.

Nonetheless, the change does mean we don’t have to freak out as much when 302s or 307s are in use.

7. Updates to Adwords Interface.

source: Search Engine Land

Earlier this year, Google announced they will be completely redesigning the AdWords platform. For many users, this is the long-awaited facelift the tool needed to improve its user experience.

Google are rolling out the new interface to users globally over the next 12 months. While core functionality will remain the same, this update will focus on bringing UX improvements to all devices.

This update claims to allow users to visualise their business goals in more actionable ways. This could involve streamlined campaign and brand management (we certainly hope so).

By viewing data that is more relevant to your business goals, your business will be able to spend more time identifying the right opportunities and pursuing them.

That wraps up seven Google updates you can add to your digital toolkit and knowledge bank.

We’ve got our eyes peeled for more and look forward to next round of updates.