What does the year 2020 hold in store for digital marketing? Stay on top of the latest updates and announcements from Google, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube
- Google Search Console launches new removals tool
The removals tool has been added to the Google search console to remove URLs temporarily from Google Index. In its announcement Google said, “we’ll focus on three areas that will be part of the new Search Console report: temporary removals, outdated content and SafeSearch filtering requests”.
Temporary remove URL will hide the URL from Google Search results for about six months.
The outdated content section provides information on removal requests made through the public Remove Outdated Content tool, which can be used by anyone (not just site owners) to update search results showing information that is no longer present on a page.
The SafeSearch filtering section in Search Console shows a history of pages on your site that were reported by Google users as adult content using the SafeSearch Suggestion tool.
Read the Announcement here: https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2020/01/new-removals-report-in-search-console.html
- Featured snippets will not repeat on the first page of Google search
Google has made some changes as part of its algorithm update. The featured snippets won’t repeat and it will be counted amongst the ten organic listings shown. In an official tweet they said that it helps users locate relevant information more easily.
Official tweet: https://mobile.twitter.com/dannysullivan/status/1220094125480919040
- Responsive search ads available globally in all Microsoft Advertising interfaces
Microsoft Advertising had announced responsive search ads in September 2019, and it was running on beta. Now it is available to all advertisers in all available markets, and they can set up responsive search ads in their Microsoft Advertising accounts.
Announcement: https://about.ads.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/post/january-2020/save-time-and-increase-ad-engagement-with-responsive-search-ads
- Google’s ‘My Business Provider’ program replaces ‘Trusted Verifier’ for GMB outreach
The new program replaces Google Trusted Verifier Program, which allows third party to verify local business listings. However, agencies, SEOs, and resellers are not eligible for the program.
More details here: https://support.google.com/business/answer/7577344?hl=en&ref_topic=7577342
- Instagram Begins Testing of DMs in Its Desktop Version
Instagram has now confirmed in a tweet that it has begun a small roll out of direct message access through the web-based version of its app.
Official tweet: https://twitter.com/instagram/status/1217122528755240960
- New updates for LinkedIn Company Pages
In their blog, LinkedIn said: In this quarter’s update, we’re introducing some new tools to help you engage with your community in more personal and interactive ways. Features including Invite to follow, LinkedIn Live integration and new posting options can help you give your followers, customers and employees a better sense of the people and values behind your brand, so you can form stronger relationships.
Embed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiNPFxPuNuk&feature=emb_logo
- Reddit Bans Deceptive Misrepresentation, including Deepfakes on its Platform
"We’ve been doing significant work on site integrity operations as we move into 2020 to ensure that we have the appropriate rules and processes in place to handle bad actors who are trying to manipulate Reddit, particularly around issues of great public significance, like elections. To this end, we thought it was time to update our policy on impersonation to better cover some of the use cases that we have been seeing and actioning under this rule already, as well as guard against cases we might see in the future."
Read more here: https://www.reddit.com/r/redditsecurity/comments/emd7yx/updates_to_our_policy_around_impersonation/
