Search News Round Up July 2021

Google has announced that it has added a ‘deals related to your search’ section which will show discounted products related to the search query under the Shopping tab.

This will expand further during key sales events such as Black Friday with a carousel of deals and associated information.

Sellers can also now promote their offers for first time customers (such as 10% off first order) and add their current promos and offers to free listings within Shopping via the Google Merchant Centre.

Global ecommerce firms enjoyed double digit growth in 2020

If you’re finding it a challenge to keep up with the latest news across the fast-moving SEO landscape, fear not. We’re rounding out the month with a recap of all of the most important stories you need to know to manage your web design, SEO, content and social media projects with confidence as we head into August.

New Google algorithm is rolling out now

It has been a busy year for Google on the new algorithm front, with several rolled out in the first six months of 2021. There is still more to come however, with the Link Spam algorithm now being deployed. Launched on Monday, it is expected that it will take around two weeks to be fully rolled out.

This latest update is designed to tackle link spam and is expected to target links originating from sponsored content, affiliate posts and guest post content which hasn’t been appropriately flagged up as such with the rel=sponsored attribute.

New search results features launched for holiday shopping season

The holiday shopping season may be a few months away yet, but businesses are getting a helping hand to prepare early this year with the launch of several new

An astonishing nine in ten global ecommerce firms reported double digit sales growth in 2020 as a result of the ecommerce boom. The latest figures from GlobalData  illustrate just how quickly consumers adapted to online-only service, with Amazon posting a 37.8% growth, homewares firm Wayfair reporting a 55% year-on-year revenue increase while marketplace Alibaba grew by 40.9%.

Some pandmeic shopper habits that are here to stay

In addition to the growth in ecommerce, additional research by Mood Media has confirmed that some new consumer habits are here to stay. It says ordering online to collect in store is especially popular, with one third of US shoppers saying that’s how they now prefer to order. Around a quarter of people globally say they now prefer to order their groceries online and not go to the store. Particuarly interesting is the fact that 80% of shoppers worldwide say they are comfortable returning to bricks-and-mortar store locations, but 14% of UK shoppers say their typical shopping behaviours will never return after the pandemic.

These figures illustrate just how important it is for ecommerce web designers to tap into shifting attitudes and offer a range of delivery options for consumers.

Instagram ‘no longer a photo sharing app’

The head of Instagram has declared that Instagram is “no longer a photo sharing app” which has come as a surprise to many. Adam Mosseri said that instead, the platform is moving closer towards entertainment and video – suggesting that it is positioning itself as a rival to TikTok, given the video platform’s popularity during the pandemic. Sharing on his own Instagram, Moserri said Instagram is focusing on Shopping, Messaging, Creators and Video to help users get the most out of their experience.