Industry Focus for Friday, September 23, 2022
It’s the first Friday of fall, and the iFocus team are, frankly, feeling fantastic about these fresh marketing trends!
This week, we talked in-depth about search engine optimization, Google indexing, website updates, cross-platform promotions, and everyone’s favorite topic: TikTok.
It’s how we stay obsessively up-to-date on the latest in the digital marketing industry, and our clients reap the benefits of our knowledge.
“Confusion: Google Search Console’s HTTPS Is Invalid and Might Prevent Indexing,” by Barry Schwartz inSearch Engine Roundtable
Last week’s rollout of a new Search Console report for HTTPS sparked confusion with an error about invalidity and failure to index in the URL inspection tool. Google clarified that these error messages are “just an FYI” and doesn’t cause issues in Google Search. The message simply means that Google hasn’t yet seen or crawled the URL yet – but it will.
-Submitted by Alisha Ahern, Senior Digital Marketing Strategist
“Google Discusses Zero Search Volume Keyword Targeting,” by Roger Montii inSearch Engine Journal
Should you try getting your website ranked for keywords with zero search volume? The answer is “it depends!” Your SEO keyword strategy should focus on how users might find your website. Consider how users of different experiences may conduct the search. For example, someone who is unfamiliar with your services may use unconventional phrases, while someone with experience will use jargon in their search. Your keyword targeting strategy will vary depending on the audience you’re trying to reach.
-Submitted by Jaron Thompson, Senior Operations Manager
“TikTok Copies BeReal with New ‘TikTok Now’ Feature,” by Andrew Hutchinson inSocial Media Today
TikTok just announced a new feature called “TikTok Now,” which – exactly like BeReal – prompts users to share a selfie at a random time each day. Instagram and Snapchat have already copied BeReal by developing their own similar feature, so we’re not surprised TikTok has followed suit. TikTok Now has its own tab in the app, so it won’t clutter up your endless scroll of videos. The feature is designed to promote friend-to-friend engagement, which feels like the antithesis of TikTok’s original intent. And how can businesses use this new feature for social media promotion? We’ll know more soon.
-Submitted by Morgan Kuhrt, Account Operations Coordinator, and Sydney Weeks, Social Media Coordinator
“WordPress Drops Security Support for Older Installations,” by Roger Montii inSearch Engine Journal
WordPress announced it will no longer be providing security updates to versions 3.7 to 4.0, effective December 1, 2022, and anyone still using these versions will put their website at risk of hacking. WordPress advises that website publishers update to version 6.0.2, the latest installation, although they will still provide security support for version 4.01. Unless your site is very old, it’s unlikely this change will affect you; in fact, WordPress noted that less than 1 percent of installations are affected by their decision. Not sure if it affects you? It’s time for a website redesign.
-Submitted by Amie Veach, Digital Marketing Strategist
“New Microsoft Feature Lets You Run Ads on Google, Facebook, Instagram,” by Nicole Farley inSearch Engine Land
Advertisers can now manage multiple ad platforms with ease, as Microsoft adds a new multi-platform feature. Available in Smart Campaigns, the feature isn’t yet available to all advertisers, but Microsoft is taking a waitlist. The feature lets advertisers expand the reach of and report on campaigns across popular platforms, while optimizing your budget. Smart Campaigns and the new multi-platform also can help drive traffic to your website and social media pages.
-Submitted by Dillon Lewis, Senior Digital Marketing Strategist
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