Social Media

Facebook Acquires Indian eCommerce Marketplace Meesho to Increase Operations in Indian Market

The Social Network has this week announced that it has acquired Indian social commerce market Meesho in order to further expand its presence in the rising Indian market. The acquisition will enable Facebook to better connect with eCommerce opportunities in the region – which could become increasingly important as Facebook also seeks to roll out its GlobalCoin cryptocurrency – initially focused on funds transfers in the Indian market – in the coming months. If Facebook’s on-platform payment process works, the company could quickly build its own, on-platform marketplace, and become an essential utility for connecting Indian users with quick and easy payments in varying forms. If Facebook can make it a key element within the Indian marketplace, that will be a huge win, and will provide a huge boost for the currency and Facebook’s on-platform network moving forward. 

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Marketing

Google launches new search menu with icons

After a few months of testing it now appears Google has started rolling out the new search bar with icons. Instead of just using text to show the various search categories or verticals for news, video, images, maps, shopping and so on – Google is showing icons that represent those categories as well. Google has confirmed with Search Engine Land that this is now rolling out to searchers today. Throughout the day we have seen numerous reports from readers that they are seeing the new Google search bar. Now we are able to see this consistently on all browsers we are testing it on. Any change to the user interface of one of the most used web sites in the world will be noticed. Will it impact search marketers or SEOs? As we said before, this change will probably not impact us much but it does give a new fresh look to the Google search results page.

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Google tests showing weekly site visits in automated ad extension

Google has several types of automated extensions that can display in search ads — seller ratings, call extensions, dynamic sitelinks, etc. It’s currently testing a new version that highlights a site’s popularity. Spotted by Kristie TC Liu, digital marketing strategist at KoMarketing in Boston, the automated extension on a WeWork ad says, “10K+ visits this week” and is preceded by a people icon. “We’re always testing new ways to improve our experience for our advertisers and users, but don’t have anything specific to announce right now,” a Google spokesperson told Search Engine Land. Google is always running tests. If this one proves successful — presumably the success metric here is click-through rate — and rolls out, it could mean a boost for more popular sites.

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Google Maps displaying redirect notice alerts when users click on business website URLs

For approximately five days now, if a searcher tries to click your website URL within your Google Maps listing, they will receive a “redirect notice” from Google. The notice reads: “The previous page is sending you to [the URL you clicked on],” and then adds, “If you do not want to visit that page, you can return to the previous page.” This is likely causing a drop in traffic from Google Maps and may be impacting local businesses in terms of foot traffic and website traffic. Is this a feature or a bug? Did Google intentionally make this change or was this change made by mistake? Since Google has not responded yet, we don’t know how long it will take for the issue to be resolved. If people are getting these notices when trying to click over to your website, it might surprise them, concern them, or possibly scare them not to click through to your website. This may result in less traffic to your web site, potentially less visits from customers to your physical location, and ultimately less revenue for your company.

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Social Media

Twitter is Now Testing its ‘Hide Replies’ Option Among Users in Canada

Back in March, Twitter confirmed that it was testing a new option which would enable users to hide selected replies from their tweets, offering a new way for people to control their on-platform experience. Canadian users can now try out the functionality, which some will see as a means to remove dissenting opinions from the stream, and others will see as a welcome update to maintain a level of civility on the platform. Being able to hide selected tweet replies will enable users to have more control over their Twitter experience. There are risks of misuse, which is why Twitter is testing it on a relatively small scale to begin with, but it could end up being a valuable, helpful option, removing trend-jackers and spammers, and facilitating a more engaging tweet stream.

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Facebook launches new market research app after pulling similar app in January

Facebook has rolled out a new Study from Facebook marketing research program that involves users downloading an app to collect data from their phone. The company said the the information it collects will go toward product development initiatives. Facebook is promoting the program by running ads asking people to participate. If someone clicks on an ad, they’ll will be asked to register — and if they qualify — will be asked to download the Study with Facebook app from the Google Play Store. Facebook is compensating users for participating in the market research program, but did not give details on how much money users would earn. (Facebook’s previous research program paid users $20 a month to have the app installed on their phone.) Facebook said it is not collecting user IDs, passwords or any content like photos, videos or messaging. Facebook’s mismanagement of user data has been a thorny issue for marketers. Advertisers have reaped the benefits of the company’s ad targeting capabilities, but marketers want safe platforms — and channels — where their messaging can be heard without the risk of people’s data being misused, or worse, stolen.

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Marketing

Google June 2019 core update finished rolling out on June 8

Danny Sullivan from Google confirmed that the June 2019 core update that began rolling out on June 3rd finished rolling out on June 8th. It takes time for these updates to roll out because Google has many servers and data centers around the world, and it takes time for them all to get this update. We saw some early data around this, while it was still rolling out. Heck, even large publications like the Daily Mail and now CCN, among others are publicly saying how badly this update hit them. Google has not given us data on how large of an impact these updates are, like it used to with some Panda and Penguin updates, but did say it announces these core updates because they are “noticeable.” When Google releases larger updates, knowing when the update began and ended is useful for tracking traffic increases and decreases in our analytics. The timestamps help us understand if a site got hit by a specific algorithm update, technical issue, or other issue that might be unrelated.

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Google Trends gets integrated into Data Studio via free third-party app

UK-based marketing firm StrategiQ has released a Google Trends connector for Data Studio. Initially developed for its own clients in July 2018, the now-free tool allows users to extract search trend information directly into their Data Studio reports. Google Trends data has long been a resource for gauging keyword traffic, content planning and assessing daily as well as long term search trends. This solution helps to consolidate that valuable information onto Data Studio, where you can create custom reports to share with clients and colleagues. Google has yet to release an official integration for Trends and Data Studio. Since this is a free, third-party offering, StrategiQ does not provide a service-level agreement or guarantee a minimum uptime.

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Social Media

Snapchat’s Working on a New ‘Join Group Chat’ Sticker – Just Like Instagram

Reverse engineering specialist Jane Manchun Wong discovered a new, in-development tool on Snapchat which would enable users to add a ‘Group Chat Sticker’ to their Snaps, which viewers would be able to tap on to quickly join a private group discussion via Chat. Incidentally, Wong also discovered the exact same functionality in development at Instagram last month. It makes sense, of course – neither app wants to lose ground by failing to keep up with audience demand for features, and if one of these new additions catches on, and other app doesn’t have it, it could put it at a disadvantage. If it’s relatively easy to implement, and they’re able to do so, it’s logical for each platform to follow through. But it does make each platform feel more ‘same-y’, with the layouts and formats becoming increasingly similar across apps.

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Marketing

Google to buy unified data platform Looker for $2.6 billion to strengthen Cloud analytics

Google announced plans to acquire unified data and analytics platform Looker for $2.6 billion in an all-cash transaction. Once the deal is complete later this year, Looker will join Google Cloud. Looker is a unified data platform that integrates data into the daily workflow of users and enables organizations to extract value from the data. The combination of Google Cloud and Looker will enable customers to harness data in new ways to drive their digital transformation,” said Thomas Kurian, chief executive officer of Google Cloud. As martech investments continue to grow and digital transformation catches on, the need for data and analytics is highlighted more than ever. The addition of Looker to the Google Cloud ecosystem could afford users the ability to strengthen their analytics, which in turn should lead to better decision-making and improve digital execution.

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Time spent with mobile now exceeds TV

Americans will spend more time on their smartphones (and tablets) than watching traditional TV, which is broadly defined to include video downloaded from the internet, according to a new forecast from eMarketer. While time with traditional TV is declining, audiences are still consuming a lot of video content across devices, OTT in particular. However, when it comes to video, TV still dominates. Mobile beats TV is a sensational headline, but that doesn’t really tell the full story, which is one of a fragmenting video audience and changing medium. The big screen in the living room, family room or bedroom is still the top video consumption device, but increasingly it’s just another digital screen. Indeed, “TV” is rapidly becoming another digital channel, with the same targeting and attribution capabilities as online video or display. So while mass-audience reach on TV may be declining, better targeting and personalization are increasingly being enabled by the changing video consumption landscape and the digitization of TV.

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Advertising

Campaign-level conversion actions now live for Google search, display campaigns

Google said Thursday that campaign-level conversion action settings are available for search and display campaigns. They’ll be supported for video campaigns later this year. Until now, conversion action settings applied to an entire account. Sure, you could segment by conversion type at the campaign level, but all counted conversions were totaled up in the “Conversions” column. You can now choose which conversion actions to include in the “Conversions” column at the campaign level. This will allow you to analyze performance and optimize campaigns based on the most relevant conversion action types. Google says, “This feature should be used when your campaigns are aiming to capture different conversion types.

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Social Media

Facebook Tests Another Layout to Promote the Various Facebook Stories Options

Facebook seems very convinced that more people would use Facebook Stories more often if they understood the various creative options available, and could more easily find them in their posting process. Last month, reverse engineering expert Jane Manchun Wong revealed that Facebook was working on a new iteration of the Stories composer screen, which placed more Stories options up front and within tappable reach. If Facebook is indeed concerned that people aren’t using such because they’re not sure they exist, or how they can add them, this would solve that. By better highlighting the creative options available, Facebook may well get more people using them, and boost engagement with Facebook Stories – which, Facebook says, is well on track to becoming the primary platform sharing option, and to overtake the News Feed by the end of the year.

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YouTube Takes Tougher Stand on ‘Hateful and Supremacist Content’

YouTube has announced that it will now take a stronger, more definitive stance against ‘hateful and supremacist’ content on its platform, by banning all videos which promote discrimination or exclusion against any specific group. That is a major ruling, which will impact thousands of YouTube channels. It’ll also see various channels caught in the crossfire, unleashing a flood of challenges and appeals, which could take some time for YouTube’s team to work through. The announcement addresses various concerns which have been raised with YouTube in recent times. Back in January, YouTube announced changes to its recommendation algorithm after reports found that its system was promoting conspiracy theories and fake news content, amplifying such misinformation. These are major areas of concern, and a significant part of the problem in each case is YouTube’s algorithm, which shows users more of what they like. YouTube could look to lessen the impacts of its algorithm, or even remove its algorithm recommendations entirely, leaving it up to users to decide what they watch, but that would also likely reduce the time users spend on platform. So if that’s not an option, what’s the next approach?

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Snapchat Is Releasing Special Landmarkers From LGBTQ Lens Creators for Pride Month

Snapchat is bringing a taste of Pride into its Landmarkers Lenses. The messaging application introduced Landmarkers in April as a way for Snapchatters to bring global landmarks to life, debuting the feature with Buckingham Palace in London. In order to mark Pride Month in June, several official Lens Creators who identify as LGBTQ designed Pride-themed Landmarkers to transform the Capitol Building, the Flatiron Building and the Chinese Theater into icons of Pride. Starting Thursday, Snapchatters who visit one of those three sites can open the app’s rear-facing camera, tap on the background to access Lenses, swipe over to the Landmarker Lens and watch the landmark transform in real-time. Also, throughout the month of June, Snapchat’s Discover page will feature Our Stories that celebrate Pride and dig deeper into LGBTQ identity and culture.

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Marketing

Amazon Replicates Pinterest Lens with ‘StyleSnap’ Feature

This week, at Amazon’s re:MARS 2019 conference, the company has announced a new in-app tool called ‘StyleSnap’, which will enable users to take a photo or upload a screenshot of any item of clothing and the system will find similar product matches, based on image recognition. Sounds, and looks, a lot like Pinterest’s Lens tool, right? Yeah, it’s pretty much the same thing. The fact is, everything is open for replication by your competition online, with the only real battles being fought, and won, on scale. The fact that Amazon has such an option, along with one-click shopping, on a platform most consumers already trust, could give them a leg up on Pinterest, which hasn’t yet established the same, seamless purchase flow and process. It’ll be some time before we see if Amazon’s new option takes any attention away from Pinterest, but it is another signal of potential concern for the Pin platform, which could limit its growth potential.

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Social Media

Twitter Adds New Account Switching Option on its Web Version, Reveals New Mac App

Twitter has released a new, simplified account switching option on its web version, and within Twitter Lite. The process will make it easier for users working on multiple accounts to more easily move between them. In a separate announcement, Apple, at its WWDC event, outlined plans for a new version of Twitter for Mac, after Twitter removed support for its previous Mac app last February. According to Twitter, the new Mac app will be “fully native, with all the native features of a Mac app”. That would include multiple window support, window resizing, drag and drop and dark mode. Both are helpful additions for users on different systems, which will further expand the utility of Twitter’s apps. And while they may not seem like major updates, if you know the pain of regularly signing in and out of different accounts, and/or using Twitter via Safari, these will be very welcome changes for your process.

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Marketing

PayPal is Rolling Out its E-commerce Solution to All Businesses

PayPal’s e-commerce platform, used by Instagram Shopping and Facebook Marketplace, is now available to businesses of all sizes. The ‘PayPal Commerce Platform’ is designed to give any business access to a customizable payment solution. Starting today, the PayPal Commerce Platform is available in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The platform will expand to more than 40 markets by the end of the year.

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Apple Is Adding More Privacy Features for Location Tracking, Login and Email Signups

Apple announced a number of new privacy features to give users an alternative to data-driven advertising companies like Facebook, Google and hundreds of ad-tech providers. The updates—which will be in iOS13 this fall—will give people another way to log in to apps and websites through an Apple ID rather than through a Facebook or Google account. The feature, aptly called “Sign In With Apple,” could prevent users’ data from being collected for advertising while also acting as an added layer of protection from data breaches or misuse by third parties. Apple also plans to add additional restrictions on how third parties can track a user’s location on iPhone and iPad devices. For example, a person can provide one-time access. Or, if they want to allow an app to have longer access, Apple says it will provide them with a report that details exactly when the app collected their data and how it was used. Apple is also closing the door on some other methods developers have used to get around existing location-tracking protections. While some apps have used Bluetooth and Wi-Fi canning, Apple plans to start “shutting the door on that abuse as well.”

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Advertising

Local Inventory ads rolling out of beta in Microsoft Advertising

Local Inventory ads (LIAs) will be coming out of beta in Microsoft Advertising accounts early this month. The ads have been in testing for about a year. Microsoft’s Local Inventory ads function just as they do with Google Ads. When a user searches for a product, nearby retailers will be eligible to show ads for relevant inventory in stock in their nearby locations. LIAs feature an “in-store” label. When a user clicks on the ad, they may be taken to the advertiser’s website or a Bing hosted storefront page that includes product and store information. Advertisers that are already running Local Inventory ads in Google Ads can now fairly easily extend those to their Microsoft Advertising efforts. Local searches account for a growing number of queries, particularly on mobile. LIAs can help retailers with physical locations use Microsoft Shopping campaigns to help drive traffic to their stores.

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