Daily Buzz: Google to Shift Search-Ranking Metrics

If your site has a low-quality surfing experience, it could soon get docked by Google in the search rankings.

The company announced on May 28 that it would start ranking sites based on three new ranking metrics it calls “Core Web Vitals  (opens in a new tab)”: the speed at which a site loads; the speed at which a user can first interact with a site; and a site’s visual stability when loading.

“We believe user engagement will improve as experiences on the web get better—and that by incorporating these new signals into Search, we’ll help make the web better for everyone,” said Sowmya Subramanian, the company’s director of engineering for search ecosystem, in a blog post  (opens in a new tab).

One piece of positive news about this is that the change will not be immediate. The company plans to implement it sometime in 2021, in part due to concerns about COVID-19. But when the world gets back to normal, it’s something you should be ready to fix.

Effective A/B Testing

How do you know your messaging is going to resonate with your membership? You test it first! A/B testing isn’t as daunting as it’s made out to be. Here’s how to do it right!https://t.co/yUWVqWiTGZ  (opens in a new tab)#marketing  (opens in a new tab) #assnchat  (opens in a new tab) #assnexec  (opens in a new tab) #socialmedia  (opens in a new tab) #advertising  (opens in a new tab) pic.twitter.com/1n2U7EqXFK  (opens in a new tab)

— wessovis (@wessovis) May 29, 2020  (opens in a new tab)

Testing is the ideal way to figure out if a messaging strategy is doing its job, but too often, marketing pros may push it to the side because of the potential that it could prove too difficult.

At the Michigan Society of Association Executives blog  (opens in a new tab), Wes Sovis of the Q+M Agency makes the case that such testing isn’t as hard as it looks. He suggests starting with your email newsletter as a way to dip your toes in before trying other tactics.

“Testing how different topics in your subject line changes open and click-through rates, for example, can help you craft subject lines that are more engaging to your members,” he says. “You can also test things like time of day the newsletter is sent, day of the week it’s sent, and plenty of other variables that will help you improve your metrics.”

Other Links of Note

Having trouble cutting the costs of your cloud implementation? CMSWire has some strategies  (opens in a new tab) that could help you make things less painful on the pocketbook.

Speaking of cutting costs, CIO has tips on strategies IT departments can take to trim the fat from their budget  (opens in a new tab).

Eventually, people will transition out of roles. At his Idea Architects site, Jeffrey Cufaude makes the case that the role should be resilient  (opens in a new tab) even if the person leaves.

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