How This Marketing Agency Is Handling Google's Frequent Updates

Anyone in the world of online marketing is well aware of how quickly Google changes the way the system works. This is not something you can afford to ignore. With the knowledge that content marketing will generate $300 billion by 2019, you need to make sure you're playing by Google's rules.

The first job of the marketing agency is to make sure it's adhering to the latest rules put in place by Google. SEMGeeks is one such agency that has managed to do this. Here's how SEMGeeks handles Google's regular updates and how marketers can follow their lead.

The World of PPC Advertising

Google recently changed its advertising format to better serve both advertisers and searchers. The newest change implemented by Google has expanded text ads. These expanded text ads provide two headline fields, an 80-character description field, a display URL, and two "path" fields that can be used with the ad's display URL. They have also removed right-hand side ad placements and made ads more responsive than ever before.

Every marketing agency will eventually have to adapt to the new format of ads. The trick is to start rolling out new ads for your clients before the competition. SEMGeeks ensured that its entire client base had updated and optimized ads as soon as the changes were announced, allowing their clients' to garner increased performance before their competitors.

What these changes have done is made advertising more competitive. With the right tactics, marketing agencies will be able to get more insight into ad performance, via attribution modeling, and optimize their ads in a way that lowers cost without hindering effectiveness.

Preparing for SEO Updates

It's well-known that Google has updates for SEO every two to three months. Most of these updates are minor and don't require a total change in strategy. But every so often there is major changes, such as the unconfirmed "Possum" update and the Penguin 4.0 (real-time) updates this September. These changes force marketing agencies to reevaluate their strategies.

The hardest part of staying up to date with Google is that many algorithm changes happen without any prior warning (and often without acknowledgment) from Google.

SEMGeeks makes a point of closely following the announcements coming out of Google and in the industry news. SEMGeeks has been prepared for the update targeting spammy internal links and local search algorithms for months. To counteract any penalization that could have resulted from this recent update, SEMGeeks is has been performing link audits both internally and for their clients, adding no follow tags where needed and removing unnecessary links.

Another major change was the second mobile-friendly update back in May. SEMGeeks and other marketing agencies are pushing clients to make their websites mobile responsive. Big ranking penalties are coming for websites that don't manage to adjust to the needs of mobile.

Finally, semantic search is continuously evolving. This is an example of how Google is focusing on the user experience and intent of the searcher, and that's what SEMGeeks loves to preach. They focus on strategizing for the user so that they may have the most pleasurable and user-friendly experience. Focusing on the intent of the user, SEMGeeks strategizes keywords and search behavior so as to anticipate better what specific customers are going to be searching for going forward.

Coming Up with an Integrated Strategy

An integrated strategy to bring together SEO, PPC, design and development are necessary to make the most of the Google platform. Every successful marketing agency has to be able to concoct an integrated strategy to keep up with the industry standards. Additionally, SEMGeeks helps its clients through professional consulting on all aspects of the digital spectrum. SEMGeeks takes pride in adding value to their services through taking the time to educate clients about their expertise and how to leverage this knowledge for the betterment and success of their business.

They specialize in helping clients come up with tailor-made strategies unique to them. Ultimately, they are there to educate the client on what they need to do to conform to Google's high standards.

As CEO, Chris Delany, explains, "Customers should expect constant expansion when it comes to our talent and strategies. We work within an agile environment that is constantly testing new tactics. Our team integrates various digital marketing strategies that are structured around Google's algorithms. At the end of the day, our clients benefit from this diverse method as Google demands and respect a naturally engaging structure to a brand's approach."

It's important that all agencies have teams that are familiar with Google and the tools needed to make the most of it. It's why SEMGeeks has a team filled with members that are Google Certified and has an exclusive partnership with the corporation.

What's Happening in 2017?

It's important to be aware of what's likely to happen going forward. This allows SEO experts to adjust, so changes don't take them by surprise. SEMGeeks is one such company. They always prepare contingency plans if any of their detailed predictions on SEO come true.

One of the main changes SEMGeeks anticipates is the expansion for local SEO. It's becoming increasingly important as Google seeks to make its search engine more accurate and more relevant for people on a local basis. Local SEO is sure to become crucial for targeting national audiences, along with local audiences.

Voice recognition technology is also getting better, which makes it likely that it's going to be used far more often. SEMGeeks is also investigating how this could impact paid search.

Some of the main changes to PPC SEMGeeks expects in 2017 include a focus on experience-based advertising, the growth of Bing ads, and the increasing use of advanced prediction engines as part of a general move towards more PPC campaign automation.

Conclusion

It's important that you prepare for the future of search. The marketing agency you work with has to be able to adjust to changes.

What do you think is in store for Google going into 2017?