Daily Minute Master Series – May 21, 2019

Social Media

Instagram Re-Vamps IGTV to Better Align with Rising Consumption Trends

Instagram has this week given the format of IGTV a refresh, which, as noted by TechCrunch, is more aligned with Snapchat and rising short-video tool TikTok. Instagram has done away with the categories and the lower screen, horizontal feed of videos, opting for a singular feed of algorithmically-defined content that plays through, one-by-one, while it’s also added larger video tiles, which you scroll through vertically. The larger tiles are a lot like Snapchat’s Discover, while the singular feed – as opposed to showcasing categories – takes cues from TikTok. The idea is, fairly obviously, to tap into content trends which have proven popular in other apps (the same as Instagram has done with Stories), but whether that will make IGTV more appealing is hard to say. It remains to be seen whether IGTV can become a more significant part of the Instagram experience, and these changes don’t really align enough with evolving consumption trends to suggest it will become a more compelling option.

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SEMrush expands to Amazon with Sellerly for product page testing

The company, recently infused with $40 million in funding to expand beyond Google, Bing and Yahoo insights, has launched a new product called Sellerly specifically for Amazon sellers. “By introducing Sellerly as a seller’s buddy in Amazon marketing, we hope to improve hundreds of existing Amazon sellers’ strategies,” said SEMrush Chief Strategy Officer Eugene Levin in a statement. Sellerly is currently free to use. Amazon sellers connect their Amazon accounts to the tool in order to manage their product pages. Sellers can make changes to product detail pages to test against the controls. Sellerly collects data in real time and sellers can then choose winners based on views and conversions. Optimized product detail pages on Amazon is a critical aspect of success on the platform. As Amazon continues to generate an increasing share of e-commerce sales for merchants big and small, and competition only increases, product page optimization becomes even more critical.

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Google updates Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines

Google updated its Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines for the first time since July 2018. The refreshed guidelines add more detailed directions regarding interstitial pages and content creator expertise, and buckets “E-A-T” (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) within “Page Quality” in certain sections. The Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines are what human quality raters use to evaluate websites and SERPs. They don’t directly affect rankings but their judgments are used to improve Google’s search algorithm. The inclusion of “E-A-T” within “Page Quality” may reflect how Google wants its quality raters to approach evaluating content. The increased emphasis on interstitial pages within the Distracting Ads/SC section may also mean that webmasters and advertisers who use those techniques in an intrusive manner may see lower ratings. And, the more detailed guidance regarding content creator expertise may put questionable or lower-quality content under more scrutiny.

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Google Ads Introduces Three New Bidding Strategies

Google has introduced three new bidding strategies for Google Ads advertisers that offer more flexibility than Smart Bidding. 1- Campaign-level conversion settings: advertisers will be able to set conversion goals at the campaign level. Google notes that this will be especially useful for accounts that have clearly differentiated campaign goals. 2- Seasonality adjustments: advertisers have been asking for more control with regards to seasonality beyond what is offered by smart bidding. One way seasonality adjustments could be used is to schedule an adjustment for periods of time when conversion rates are expected to spike. 3- Maximize conversion value: maximize conversion value is a new bidding strategy that allows advertisers to optimize for the most conversion value within a specified budget. 4- Value rules: lastly, in the coming months, Google Ads will be rolling out value rules which let advertisers differentiate conversion values based on characteristics like location, device, and audience. With value rules, advertisers can customize conversion values so they align more closely with business goals.

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