Here at Wordtracker, the well being of our community is of paramount importance. The situation around coronavirus is developing fast and many of you will be feeling its impact. We also know that many of you are contining to work in these difficult times.
This blog post is designed to keep you up-to-date with business and SEO-related developments which you may find useful.
4 April: How to highlight your COVID-19 announcements in Google search
Google announces Special Announcement structured data for Covid-related notifications to be highlighted on search.
1 April: Google says don't disable site, but pause, if impacted by COVID-19
Google advises against disabling your site in case of temporary closure. Limiting functionality has fewer negative effects and makes it easier to ramp up again in future. Marking a business temporarily closed will not impact rankings or visibility. Google help with structured data for COVID-19 announcements (in beta, but prepare now). See our Wordtracker roundup for details.
31 March: Google launches technical support group for health websites
Best practice for health organisations for search visibility, plus a technical support group for health authority websites.
27 March: $340 million in Google Ads Credits for SMBs
The Google Ads credits will be available to all small and medium sized businesses with active accounts over the past year. Google says credit notifications will appear in Google Ads accounts and can be used at any point until the end of 2020. It is part of an $800m package from Google to support small business and crisis response.
27 March: Yelp issues Coronavirus economic impact report
The economic impact of COVID-19 in the US, with state variations; which categories are up, which down. For example, there been a shift between dining in and dining out by more than a hundredfold in a few weeks.
26 March (report from 19th): Impact of COVID-19 on Google organic search visibility
Lily Ray's analysis of significant changes in online search behavior, as well as the type of content search engines display as a result.
26 March (dated 17th): Mailchimp offers free accouns to eligible public service organizations
Mailchimp is offering free free standard accounts to eligible groups sending critical public health information about COVID-19 up to the end of June.
20/24 March: Yelp partners with GoFundMe, sets up fund to support local businesses impacted
Yelp is parterning with GoFundMe to enable US businesses to start fundraisers and accept donations through their Yelp pages. Yelp and GoFundMe pledged to match up to $1 million in donations, with a $500 matching grant to eligible businesses that raise at least $500 on their GoFundMe.
Yelp previously announced a $25 million relief package for small businesses (primarily but not exclusively for restaurants and bars) impacted by COVID-19. It takes the form of waived advertising fees, free advertising and upgrades, and more.
24 March: Google showing latest travel advisories and airline policies
Google will show COVID-19 related travel advisories or restrictions on the search results page, at the top of google.com/travel, and in Google Maps when you search for hotels.
https://blog.google/products/flights-hotels/travel-advisories-and-airline-policies/
19 March: COVID-19 checklist for businesses
Manage your online presence and keep customers updated in a time of crisis
https://searchengineland.com/update-your-online-presence-for-covid-19-330968
15 March: Google Search and Maps will display "temporarily closed"
Places like local businesses or schools can mark themselves as “temporarily closed” using Google My Business. You can also create pages showing useful information like product supply. For instructions how to do this, go to https://support.google.com/business/answer/9790266?hl=en-GB
15 March: Productivity for remote users
Google makes premium features of Meet conferencing app available to all G Suite customers at no cost until July 1, 2020.
12 March: How to manage remote working
Here at Wordtracker we've been largely remote working for some time. Here are our top tools and tips for what works and what doesn't.
If you have any useful information or tips please add in the comments below.
