We all know that keeping up to date with the masterminds over at Google can be incredibly time consuming and can sometimes feel like you are always playing catch-up. With that in mind, we alert you to three of the most recent developments in one quick and accessible article. These are the Google news highlights for July 2010:
Google is Testing New AdWords Billing Page
Google is at present testing out some new features within the AdWords system and these new features are designed to make the lives of all PPC Managers that much easier. As always, Google loves to put its new ideas to the test and there are PPC Managers out there as you read, giving their professional opinions on the subject. A list of the new features included as part of this new billing page can be found below:
- There is now additional support on the page. The new billing tab has improved help content attached and the help centre has been updated. Good news!
- You can now utilize multiple forms of payment and switch between them at any time. There is no limit to the payment forms that you are able to add to your account and you can also choose to use any of the forms listed each time you pay. The payment method is really flexible!
- There is more control with the new billing page as you can now pay at any time through your account and you can pay using your country’s currency too. Very useful!
- An option has been included to register different billing addresses to business addresses. Each form of payment, in fact, can have a different billing address. Far more control!
- You can also make payments directly from your billing page through the new “Make a Payment” button. Incredibly straightforward!
Finally, some important terminology has been changed:
- postpay = automatic payments
- prepay = manual payments
- direct debit = bank account
Google May Day 2010 Video Update by Matt Cutts
Over the May Day 2010 period, lots of clever little internet users, who know Google inside and out, began noticing some changes to their Google page ranks, specifically concerning those pages with long tail URLs. The buzz and concern was huge and fast. It revolved around the following areas:
- Why were long tail URL pages being affected?
- How had the criteria for page ranking used by Google changed?
- How could people ensure that their long tail URL pages would not continue to lose traffic in the future because of the apparent change (even though no official announcement was made) to the Google system?
Matt Cutts explains everything about the May Day saga very clearly in this video.
The video is thorough, very easy to follow and will put everyone up-to-date and in perspective regarding the Google May Day 2010 topic.
In addition, you might find it useful to read the Webrageous Studios article about long tail keywords and how they are a blatant waste of time, money and resources too.
Google News Home Page Design is Rejected
Earlier on this year, Google sent out to huge numbers of users all around the world, new designs that it had in testing for its new home page. One of the largest changes to the page was the inclusion of a fixed side bar that adjusted the query and provided the user with additional search tools and filters. These options already exist on the Google home page, but are generally hidden by default. The idea was to have these features permanently visible.
However, the new designs were recently rejected and discarded once and for all due to such a high level of dissatisfaction from internet users across the board. The major reasons for rejecting the designs were as follows:
- the new interfaces were too dull.
- the new layout demanded a lot of scrolling up and down all the time, which was just too annoying and too much of an effort for users.
- the ability to be able to put all topics into neat categories had been lost within the new design.
Moral of the story for Google? Don’t change! Your internet users love you just as you are!
