This Week in Search: Google’s GMB Partners Program is Launching, and More!

In a recent announcement on taking action against scammers, Google said they’re launching the Google My Business Partners program. This program will give business owners a directory of trusted Google Partners to choose from when they need help managing GMB listings.

There was no mention of exactly how an agency would be approved to go on this list, but trusted partners around the world will be eligible for early access to the program. To further support agencies and platform partners, partners will also be eligible for a partner manager, and have the potential to be featured on the GMB website.

Google Requires Parallel Tracking for All AdWords Accounts

Parallel tracking helps improve mobile site speed for advertisers using click measurement systems. Web browsers do this by processing click measurement requests in the background to help people reach a site several seconds faster.

Google announced that by October 30, 2018, parallel tracking will be required for all Google AdWords accounts. Learn more about parallel tracking and whether or not your click measurement system is compatible.

Once you’ve confirmed that your click measurement system is compatible, opt in for parallel tracking from the “Settings” page on your account, and go to the “Tracking” section.

Google Trends Gets an Update!

Google Trends has been updated with new features, simpler navigation, and more ways to explore data and stories.

Here are some of the new Google Trends features:

• A revamped Trending searches section.
• A newly-designed section where you can see Google Trends data stories curated by the News Lab team .
• Easy access to Year in Search data going back to 2001.
• New infographic types such as an intensity map to compare different topics in more meaningful ways.

Read the full update announcement here.

GDPR Goes into Effect on the 25th of May

The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a new set of European Union data privacy laws that is going into effect on the 25^th of May 2018, affecting many New Zealand businesses. The laws govern how companies collect, store and use personal information.

We go into more detail on GDPR and the steps New Zealand businesses need to take to comply to the new law. Read the GDPR NZ blog post!

Get More NZ Digital Marketing Insights!

Pure SEO recently released the 2018 Digital Marketing Report. Here, we explore internet search trends and insights specifically for New Zealand. Download your free copy below!