Every episode of the EDGE includes a bonus news roundup segment because we know how important it is for you (and us, for that matter) to stay up-to-date on the latest digital marketing headlines. The latest features host Erin Sparks and Creative Studio Producer Jacob Mann along with special guest Greg Finn, Partner and Digital Marketer at Cypress North. Here’s the bonus news roundup from episode 358 of the award-winning EDGE of the Web podcast: 

00:00:47

Google Explains Which Pages Should be Removed

From Roger Montti on Search Engine Journal we learn that Google Explains Which Pages Should be Removed. Google’s John Mueller on how to identify pages to block. Then he explains why some low traffic pages are okay. In a Google Webmaster Hangout, Google’s John Mueller answered which low traffic pages to noindex and which ones to not worry about.

  • Erin Sparks: Why “noindex” anything and are low-traffice pages really harmful? It’s generally understood that Google does look at things both on a per-page basis and on an overall understanding of a whole site as well as to make sure it’s working well. But just because a page is getting little traffic doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a low-quality page.
  • Greg Finn: When you look at what Mueller says it’s not really a clear answer because it’s an impossible question to answer with broad strokes. But I do like how he says that even a page that gets little traffic could be providing value to a small number of users, so noindexing based on traffic alone would be the wrong approach.
  • Erin Sparks: And part of the value a low-traffic pages brings is how it relates to other pages on a site. Maybe a low-traffic page explains something really well that’s mentioned in passing on another page. It’s linked up and part of the site’s network of knowledge, so it might be playing an important role even though it doesn’t get a ton of traffic.

00:06:08

Will publishers drop AMP when it’s no longer a requirement for Top Stories?

According to George Nguyen on Search Engine Land, Will publishers drop AMP when it’s no longer a requirement for Top Stories? With the recent announcement that Google plans to lift the AMP requirement beginning in 2021, publishers are reevaluating whether their resources are better spent optimizing their mobile experiences to be eligible to appear in the Top Stories section without AMP, or if it’s just easier to continue maintaining AMP versions of their pages.

  • Erin Sparks: Loosening this particular restriction might be related to the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of letting businesses get a bit more visibility without having to jump through as many hoops as they usually do. AMP means accelerated mobile pages because Google is always concerned about speed. But what impact is loosening the restriction going to have on AMP?
  • Greg Finn: I strongly dislike AMP because the user experience you can deliver simply isn’t 100% there in terms of what you can get from your mobile site. The AMP version of your mobile website just isn’t as good or detailed. It’s had plenty of problems and glitches along the way, and maybe it serves a good function in areas where cell signals are poor, but I just don’t like being constrained by Google’s filter when I what I want is total control over the user’s mobile experience of my site. So I’m happy about this. And opening up Top Stories to more publishers is always a good thing.
  • Erin Sparks: Playing in the Google sandbox is a necessity, but it seems to always come with an increasing erosion of maintaining control over your own content. And they say AMP doesn’t affect SEO, though there are people who disagree with that claim.
  • Greg Finn: From the people I’ve talked to at large content publishers, they seem to see very little upside to continuing putting effort into AMP, so the impact of this move on AMP itself is a question that will eventually reveal itself.

00:12:16

LinkedIn Adds Engagement Remarketing for Video and Lead Ads

On Search Engine Journal, Susan Wenograd reports on LinkedIn Adds Engagement Remarketing for Video and Lead Ads. LinkedIn has announced much-anticipated targeting for its ads: engagement retargeting options for Lead Ads and Video views.

  • Greg Finn: This is a really strong and good move on LinkedIn’s part. This allows for retargeting marketing for those who have engaged with specific content inside of LinkedIn. This is also a good move to make in light of the upcoming “third-party cookie” problem Google has announced. So this will let you target people based on actions they’ve taken on the site itself. And even better is that you’ll be able to segment this targeting based on WHEN they engaged, such as past 30 days, 60 days, 90 days etc. all the way up to 365 days ago. This is important because obviously you’d be willing to pay a higher price for more recent engagements.
  • Erin Sparks: LinkedIn has always been a bit behind in rolling out these kinds of features relative to other social media sites, so it’s good to see them making it happen.

Connect with Greg Finn and Cypress North

Twitter: @gregfinn (https://twitter.com/gregfinn)

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregfinn

Podcast: Marketing O’Clock (https://marketingoclock.com

Website: https://cypressnorth.com 

CN Twitter: @Cypress North (https://twitter.com/cypressnorth)

CN YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxm5P0CGF5510aYO3_fGesw

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