A Small Test Shows That The Keyword Used In Local Reviews Does Not Affect The Google Ranking

A new study by Sterling Sky shows that the keywords used in local reviews for business listing do not affect the Google ranking and don't play any role in improving the local listing rankings. This is such a shocking fact because writers do their best to make their reviews rank at the top of Google searches but now the study has proved otherwise.

To make the concept of this keyword study clear, Sterling Sky showed an example. In the example, two types of keywords were typed in. One keyword used was "fresh-cut Christmas trees" and the other was "Christmas Trees". However, the search result shown for both these keywords were almost the same. There was no improvement in their ranking after the reviews were added to one of these articles. This means that keyword rich reviews do not always play an important part in the ranking of the articles. So there's no reason to add them excessively. Who knows, after some time adding proper keywords in the reviews will help with Google rankings but for now, whatever you add in the review isn't going to help you.

The results were just getting worse on some added keywords. For the first keyword, the ranking gets worse and worse. In the second keyword, the rankings were almost the same, no change in them occurred. But from what we can conclude from this is that this keyword mishap is only for review-based articles. For affiliates and other types of articles, it is important to have proper use of keywords. You can still write your business listings with proper words, but do not expect Google to rank them with only some reviews.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

China has witnessed an all-time low in mobile game sales following the latest restrictions

At the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, a global lockdown was imposed all over the world. With everything shifting online, mobile games and other similar applications were in high demand. China alone saw the highest number of mobile phone game purchases. However, things have started to change. As everything is on its way back to normal, the sales have started to drop as well.

China saw a 19% drop in sales during the third quarter of the current year, amounting to only $8.23 billion in sales between July and September.

In comparison to the 2nd quarter of 2022, the third one was even more surprising for the gaming companies, reports SCMP. From April to June, the sales were already down by 12.6%, with a total of $9.4 billion made by the companies.

As per the famous video gaming intelligence company, CNG, recent restrictions imposed by the Chinese government may also have a lot to do with this condition. Following these imposed restrictions and the current economic crisis, almost eighty-nine percent of the games were taken down, in contrast to previous months. The famous Chinese multinational holding firm, Tencent Holdings, despite having some of its products on the list of terminated games, still holds the position it took as the company is parent to several trending games.

Lately, China has been taking some strict initiatives to control the time spent by users under eighteen on such applications. In 2021, the government enforced restrictions for the weekend by allowing only one hour for gamers under 18 to practice their games. As a result, the number of users fell by 3.7%, leaving nearly 700 million gamers. Based on the statistics, the figure might reach 730 million users in the next 4 years.

It is considered that if such companies invest in foreign countries, they can easily earn more. The market may soon cross $14.9 billion worth of sales. Despite local restrictions, countries such as the United States or other European countries could offer a nice ground for a company willing to expand its boundaries.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Meta Quietly Rolls Out A Feature That Enables Users To Check If It Has Their Contact Details

Meta has recently rolled out a much needed feature that allows users to see if the Facebook app has its contact details.

While it may have been done silently, the company is most likely to have all sorts of contact details belonging to users like phone numbers, email IDs, and the option to either delete or block.

This tool has been up for grabs since May of this year and reports from Insider claim the option was set up without Facebook or Meta going public about the news despite it being a major deal.

Insider seen pointing out the tool and it’s certainly well hidden from the likes of others. And thankfully, we’re getting more details about what to expect and when.

While the text that has been linked provides no such major details, one thing is for sure. It simply goes on to read things like, click here if there are any questions regarding rights that you’ll have.

We bet you’re just as curious as us in terms of wondering about this new contact-blocking feature because as the name goes, that’s what it really is. It’s really a cut-to-the-chase type of offering.

No matter which type of service Meta users have signed up for, they’re definitely going to be providing contact details that are stored for obvious reasons.

For a number of years, the company has used users to sign up for various apps and also to share details like phone contacts or the goal of assisting them to look for their long-lost pals and more. But it comes at a cost. Meta has a combination of applications that boast nearly users in the figure of 3 billion.

For years, dozens of information have come around and it’s been saving details since then of all these users from all of these apps. So what this tool does allow is non-users are getting the chance to mitigate damages and while it's targeting all sorts of people who haven’t signed up, it’s bound to be super useful to everyone out there as it gives insight to those that have issues with the matter.

The feature first asks if you’d like to scan for phone numbers, email IDs, or simply a landline number. This could be put up by a friend using the main apps of Meta. Once you ask them, and they confirm, you can request a way to stop it from getting uploading to the database again. The whole idea is to stop it from being kept as a copy on the block list.

In just a few seconds, you’ll be good to go and before you know it, the data is scanned and Meta even goes the extra mile to see if users would like those details to be blocked or not. How useful and convenient we believe.

Read next: Facebook Decides To Remove Its 360 Cover Photos Feature Soon
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Web Data Budgets Increase for 90% of Companies

Web data has been a growing concern for most companies, so it is understandable that a majority of them are looking to increase their budgets for acquiring this data with all things having been considered and taken into account. A new study that was published by Bright Data revealed some insights into the state of web data and how urgently companies need it, and it turns out that 87% of companies have reported requiring a higher amount of web data than ever before.

Conducted in September of this year of 2022, the survey in question involved around 500 professionals across numerous sectors including finance, travel and retail. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that 90% of the companies who were involved in this survey stated that they are increasing their budgets for web data so that they can get their hands on more of it.

The manner in which these companies might collect their data is quite diverse, with 55% considering partnering up with third parties who specialize in gathering data that is useful for these companies. That represents a 25% increase year over year, and it suggests that companies are more willing to find collaborators who can help them acquire the necessary data.

In spite of the fact that this is the case, 48% are still focused on collecting the data themselves at least partially, and 32% would like to be able to purchase prepackaged datasets that are essentially off the shelf. Diversity is definitely the name of the game right now, since 97% of companies are trying to use as many data sets as possible.

Social media platforms and search engines are just two of the many resources that companies are using to acquire web data. If these trends hold, we might be able to tell which methodology ends up working out best. The companies that work with third parties might have an edge, but it is possible that those collecting their own data will be able to harvest higher quality data sets and it will be interesting to see what happens.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Google Search Is Helping Users Get The Best Black Friday Deals With Its Upcoming Tools

It’s the shopping event that many people have been anticipating for a while now. And in case you’re still wondering what we’re talking about, it’s Black Friday.

This is all about making big purchases at the best price points and what if we told you Google Search wants you to get the best bargains with its own new tools?

It’s perfectly aligned with the holiday season and we feel no better time than now for the tech giant to introduce the tools than in times of economic uncertainty like right now.

We’re expecting to see a mega 43% of shoppers across the US search for the best bargains when compared to the likes of previous records. To help with this offer, well, there’s a new tag called ‘Special Offer’ that would appear on thumbnails of products users wish to purchase. Moreover, such tags are designed to help make promotions up and running in a more visually appealing manner. They come with attachable coupons that are found when browsing.

Searching for the item would end up giving you coupon codes that you add at the checkout counter so that when you purchase, you can avail of it easily. As Google recently mentioned, it has a lot of plans in store to incorporate such clipping features for coupons. It’s like the chance to copy and paste codes without the likes of adding words like ‘special offer’ that are said to roll out in the next few weeks. But for now, there is no confirmation as far as dates are concerned.

Other than that, there is some news about price insights that Google wants to add from its Shopping tab to the main Search page. This would be for both mobile devices and also for desktops.

Hence, users will be given the chance to check prices arising at various places and stores and how it alters with time. So this way, buyers know exactly when they would like to make purchases.

While the change is small, it can be super useful in that it means users don’t have to go back and forth from one tab to the next. Everything is right there in the center view and would be launched by the end of this month.

It’s a new and exclusive side-by-side viewing order to avail the best or budget-friendly deals. So instead of you having things at full prices, you’ll be seeing things at sale prices. But Google plans to make it super organized for quick views and will be placed in the Deals area for fast browsing.

All of these features would be made available for the likes of US users for now as confirmed by the firm’s representative. But it won’t be long before we see them pop up for others around the globe.

Hence, we’ll keep an eye out for when that exactly happens so stay tuned!

Read next: Google Plans On Bidding Farewell To Its Street View App As Early As Next Year
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Google Plans On Bidding Farewell To Its Street View App As Early As Next Year

It appears that Google has turned off the switch for its Street View app which could be gone by next year.

The company is known for pulling the plug on so many of its projects recently and this might be the next one. Moreover, they’re taking place so frequently that it wouldn’t be wrong to say that there is a whole webpage that is dedicated to the likes of doing just that.

The latest happening has to be this, thanks to a recent deep drive that glanced over a software update which could mean it’s correct.

As explained to sources at 9to5Google, this data was reportedly seen in the app’s most recent updates for Street View and that can be found across the Google Play Store too.

It’s a warning that shows how the app would no longer be in existence from March 21, 2023. And hence, all computers are requested to put out 360-degree videos in the future in advance.

But another similar warning was also generated for Photo Paths. This offering was seen putting out images of places that were not traveled as much. But for now, no replacement for such an offering is available as of yet.

In case you don’t recognize the app or feel it’s not too famous, well, we’ve got news for you in terms of what it is and what it does.

It’s strictly for those who wish to go down deep into various locations around the globe. Moreover, you’ll find people clicking and posting their own versions of 360-degree images and video content from various places around the globe.

But in case you are worried about the whole concept of Street Views being deleted from the likes of Google Maps, well, there's no reason to break a sweat there. It’s only applicable to the dedicated app itself.

All of these offerings were uncovered by pulling apart a new update on the platform so matters may change too. But in case the news is true, it’s definitely going to be awfully sad to see such a good app come to an end for users around the world.

The news comes as Google was seen celebrating 15 years linked to Street View. We also saw how the feature went live on some Google Maps around the world. And now, more and more tools are being used for the offering and for capturing different places.

In case you are interested, you can download this application right now and give it a go before it gets deleted forever.

Read next: The New Google Docs Update Is For The People Who Make Spelling Mistakes While Writing A Document
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

67 Percent of Workers Say They Receive Too Many Emails

Email is the preferred mode of communication for about 82% of workers, but in spite of the fact that this is the case many workers are reporting feeling burned out due to the massive quantity of emails that they receive each day. A new report from Gated showed that 62% felt like they could not focus on their work due to the distractions posed by a constant inflow of emails to their inbox, with around half strongly agreeing with this sentiment.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that 82% of workers who responded to this survey also said that they ended up missing a few important emails because their inboxes were cluttered. That is unsurprising considering that the average worker receives 87 emails on a daily basis in their work accounts. By comparison, they will likely only receive around 42 emails in their personal inbox which might make managing their work emails harder than might have been the case otherwise.

Workers are not entirely against having active email inboxes, with 77% claiming that cold emails have helped them learn new things in the past. However, 73% also said that they are receiving a few too many emails, and that might overwhelm them and lead to something known as email bankruptcy in which workers might delete their entire inboxes without going through them first. 30% of workers have already reported avoiding their inboxes or just not checking them every day like they used to, and if this trend grows the benefits of cold emails and the necessary oversight of work emails might not come to fruition.

74% of workers in this survey said that they feel guilty if they do not respond to emails, but considering that 37% of the emails they receive are not all that valuable. Around 50% of these workers spend one to two hours a day just checking their inbox, and that can eat away at their productivity by leaving fewer hours for actual work. An email filter might benefit workers who are suffering from email bankruptcy.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World