What’s the 411 on the 3 Dots?
In Google’s quest to fulfill their EAT principles, the powers that be are testing out an alternative way for searchers to quickly discern whether a website is trustworthy – without having to deep dive on the web. They rolled this additional feature out in Beta at the beginning of February for users in the US only, on desktop, mobile web and the Google App on Android.
This new feature appears as a three-dot clickable menu on the right top corner of the search result snippet. The “about this result” feature brings up information about the website in true “searchless” searching fashion – much like what we are seeing in Google Discover.
What Information Does It Provide?
Once the searcher clicks on the dots, they receive the following information:
- Where the information is coming from (the full URL)
- When the site was first indexed by the company’s search engine
- If the site is secure (whether the site uses HTTPS)
- Provides a link/excerpt of its Wikipedia page (provided the site has one)
- If the site does not have a Wikipedia entry, Google is showing “additional context that may be available”
- Links to provide Google with feedback
- A link to open the privacy settings
- A link that explains “how search works”
- If the search listing is an ad/ sponsored content
What Does this Mean for Your Business?
Google does not expect Small-to-Medium Sized Businesses (SMB’s) to have a Wikipedia page. Even big-name brand’s find this to be a bit complicated because it has to come from an outside source and that outside source cannot be linked back to the company. However, there are ways to strengthen the validity of your website and provide Google with valuable “additional context.”
1. HTTPS & SSL – Essential Acronyms for All Websites
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: If you haven’t migrated your website to HTTPS and obtained a secure socket layer certificate (SSL), you need to do it now. Google is giving people a snapshot of your company’s credentials before they click on your site. You won’t stand a chance if you haven’t made the move from HTTP to HTTPS.
2. Location
Real estate on the web can be even more valuable than beachfront property. Your business won’t stand a chance of reaching local customers if you don’t have Google My Business set up.
According to Hubspot’s 2020 statistics, there was a 900%+ growth in mobile searches for “near me today/tonight”, over a two year period. With every website we build and every SEO strategy we create, we make sure our clients have this simple base covered.
3. Content
Without content, you essentially have no street cred on the web. In today’s competitive market, if you are not consistently giving potential clients solutions to their problems – in the form of quality content – not traditional ads, they will find the answer somewhere else. A winning content marketing strategy will combine the use of blogs and engaging videos that serve as conduits of useful information that your clients are craving.
Everything Google does leads back to providing people with expertise, authority and trust. How is your website proving that to them?
If you are looking to increase your street cred on the web, give us a call.
