Social Media
Facebook Takes First Steps Towards Building a Dedicated, ‘Trusted’ News Section
According to The Wall Street Journal, Facebook is now offering news outlets “millions of dollars” for the rights to put their content in a dedicated news section, which Facebook is looking to launch before the end of the year. The proposed new News section – essentially Facebook Watch for News – would serve as a means to fill this need, while it would also enable Facebook to maintain some level of control over the content displayed by choosing the partners it works with, and highlights within the stream. That, in itself, could still cause Facebook headaches – just this week, reports suggested that The White House is considering an Executive Order which would task the FCC with developing new regulations that would determine when and how social media companies filter posts, videos or articles on their platforms. If Facebook were to create a whole news section of vetted partners, that could lead to more accusations of bias. Through Facebook Watch, the company is actually already showcasing selected news sources, with Facebook working with several news publishers on Watch-exclusive programming. If more people are looking for news content, and Facebook can find a way to give it to them in a format that they like, Facebook wins through increased engagement and ad exposure.
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Twitter’s Testing a New DM Search Option Among Various Other Tweaks
Twitter is currently testing out a new option which would enable users to search through their DMs. The functionality is not amazing at this stage, you would be able to search via profile name, and likely by Twitter handle. Which is better than nothing, but a lot of the time when you do want to go searching through your DMs, its because you’re looking for something that someone has sent to you, so it would be more helpful to be able to search by message content. That doesn’t appear to be an option in this current phase of testing, though you would imagine its something that Twitter is also looking into, in order to make it a truly valuable addition. Twitter’s also now testing an option which would enable you to subscribe to a tweet discussion in order to get notified of any replies, while it’s also been refining smaller elements within its redesign – including its text sizing options, which have been a key pain point for many. None of these updates, in itself, is a major functional shift – like, say, editing tweets would be – but it’s clear that Twitter’s exploring a range of options aimed at improving the on-platform experience, and boosting engagement.
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Marketing
Google’s Mueller Asked About Increasing E-A-T with Structured Data
In a Google Webmaster Hangout, someone asked Google’s Webmaster Trends Analysis John Mueller about schema structured data and Expertise, Authoritativeness and trustworthiness. Structured data is simply a way to communicate information. It doesn’t communicate signals of quality. Mueller answered that using structured data was up to the publisher and that authorship information was gathered by Google “through a number of ways.” It must be pointed out that putting information in the structured data that does not exist in the web page itself can be viewed as spam and result in a manual action. Structured data is not a piñata filled with candy, waiting for Google to come along. It is just a way to communicate information that is visible to users on the web page itself. John Mueller himself said that Google tries to identify E-A-T “partially through the content directly.”
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Alexa devices maintain 70% market share in U.S. according to survey
Based on its newest survey, Consumer Intelligence Research Partners said “the US installed base of smart speaker devices is 76 million units, up from 70 million units in the March 2019 quarter and 50 million units in the June 2018 quarter.” Amazon has consistently and aggressively discounted its Echo Dot to maintain and grow its share of the smart speaker market – most recently, during Prime Day. Indeed, the company said that Echo Dot was its top-selling device during the sales event. Google has largely matched Amazon’s pricing to keep pace. In the broader virtual assistant market, a recent survey by Microsoft found that consumers were using Siri and Google Assistant equally (36%), followed by Alexa (25%) and then Cortana (19%). Unfortunately, the survey didn’t distinguish carefully between virtual assistant usage on smartphones and smart speakers.The realization of the full potential of virtual assistant powered devices depends on greater adoption of smart displays or the tighter integration of smartphones with smart speakers, which Google is trying to do. The first generation Echo was introduced in 2014. It will probably take another five years for these devices to mature and become viable marketing, commerce or customer service tools – if they ever will.
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Daily Minute Master Series – August 12, 2019
/by Corey PadveenSocial Media
Facebook Takes First Steps Towards Building a Dedicated, ‘Trusted’ News Section
According to The Wall Street Journal, Facebook is now offering news outlets “millions of dollars” for the rights to put their content in a dedicated news section, which Facebook is looking to launch before the end of the year. The proposed new News section – essentially Facebook Watch for News – would serve as a means to fill this need, while it would also enable Facebook to maintain some level of control over the content displayed by choosing the partners it works with, and highlights within the stream. That, in itself, could still cause Facebook headaches – just this week, reports suggested that The White House is considering an Executive Order which would task the FCC with developing new regulations that would determine when and how social media companies filter posts, videos or articles on their platforms. If Facebook were to create a whole news section of vetted partners, that could lead to more accusations of bias. Through Facebook Watch, the company is actually already showcasing selected news sources, with Facebook working with several news publishers on Watch-exclusive programming. If more people are looking for news content, and Facebook can find a way to give it to them in a format that they like, Facebook wins through increased engagement and ad exposure.
For the full article click here
Twitter’s Testing a New DM Search Option Among Various Other Tweaks
Twitter is currently testing out a new option which would enable users to search through their DMs. The functionality is not amazing at this stage, you would be able to search via profile name, and likely by Twitter handle. Which is better than nothing, but a lot of the time when you do want to go searching through your DMs, its because you’re looking for something that someone has sent to you, so it would be more helpful to be able to search by message content. That doesn’t appear to be an option in this current phase of testing, though you would imagine its something that Twitter is also looking into, in order to make it a truly valuable addition. Twitter’s also now testing an option which would enable you to subscribe to a tweet discussion in order to get notified of any replies, while it’s also been refining smaller elements within its redesign – including its text sizing options, which have been a key pain point for many. None of these updates, in itself, is a major functional shift – like, say, editing tweets would be – but it’s clear that Twitter’s exploring a range of options aimed at improving the on-platform experience, and boosting engagement.
For the full article click here
Marketing
Google’s Mueller Asked About Increasing E-A-T with Structured Data
In a Google Webmaster Hangout, someone asked Google’s Webmaster Trends Analysis John Mueller about schema structured data and Expertise, Authoritativeness and trustworthiness. Structured data is simply a way to communicate information. It doesn’t communicate signals of quality. Mueller answered that using structured data was up to the publisher and that authorship information was gathered by Google “through a number of ways.” It must be pointed out that putting information in the structured data that does not exist in the web page itself can be viewed as spam and result in a manual action. Structured data is not a piñata filled with candy, waiting for Google to come along. It is just a way to communicate information that is visible to users on the web page itself. John Mueller himself said that Google tries to identify E-A-T “partially through the content directly.”
For the full article click here
Alexa devices maintain 70% market share in U.S. according to survey
Based on its newest survey, Consumer Intelligence Research Partners said “the US installed base of smart speaker devices is 76 million units, up from 70 million units in the March 2019 quarter and 50 million units in the June 2018 quarter.” Amazon has consistently and aggressively discounted its Echo Dot to maintain and grow its share of the smart speaker market – most recently, during Prime Day. Indeed, the company said that Echo Dot was its top-selling device during the sales event. Google has largely matched Amazon’s pricing to keep pace. In the broader virtual assistant market, a recent survey by Microsoft found that consumers were using Siri and Google Assistant equally (36%), followed by Alexa (25%) and then Cortana (19%). Unfortunately, the survey didn’t distinguish carefully between virtual assistant usage on smartphones and smart speakers.The realization of the full potential of virtual assistant powered devices depends on greater adoption of smart displays or the tighter integration of smartphones with smart speakers, which Google is trying to do. The first generation Echo was introduced in 2014. It will probably take another five years for these devices to mature and become viable marketing, commerce or customer service tools – if they ever will.
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Daily Minute Master Series – August 9, 2019
/by Corey PadveenSocial Media
Twitter Begins Test of Optional Notifications for Replies to Any Tweet
Twitter’s testing out a new option that would enable users to receive notifications about replies to another account’s tweet. Users will be able to select any tweet, from any profile, and be notified as the discussion evolves. The option to subscribe to tweet replies was first spotted in testing by reverse engineering expert Jane Manchun Wong back in March. Twitter’s launching the test on both iOS and Android with a limited subset of users. The functionality of the option is fairly limited in scope, but it has been a commonly requested feature, and it could help more users stay in touch with trending conversations and topics. Brands could also look to use the option for competitor monitoring – if there’s a discussion thread between a competing business and a customer which you’re interested in, you’d be able to stay across it with less effort.
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Twitter Announces Removal of Third-Party Data Sources from Ad Targeting Options
Twitter has confirmed that it will remove third-party data options from its ad targeting process, following Facebook’s lead in distancing itself from outside data sets, and the methods in which such may have been collected. Twitter currently partners with a range of data providers, which can help advertisers create more effective audiences by offering additional insight into certain trends and behaviors. But that also puts the creation and sourcing of those insights out of Twitter’s hands, which, as cases like the Cambridge Analytica case have shown, can be problematic. According to Twitter, most advertisers on the platform already use their own data to buy ads instead of purchasing the third-party insights available through its system, so the impact, in that sense, should be minimal. But it will put more onus on advertisers to ensure that their data is being sourced in a legitimate, legal way – while reducing the same for Twitter.
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Marketing
Reservations, AR navigation coming to Google Maps
Google Maps users will soon be able to view their flight and hotel reservations directly from the mobile app and use augmented reality to direct them as they travel on foot. These new features are part of Google’s expanded Maps offerings aimed at travelers. Viewable from the Your Places section of the Maps sidebar, the Reservations tab will display a user’s upcoming trips. Selecting a trip will display the associated reservations. Maps was once mainly a navigation application. Google has been adding more features to make it a hub where users can leave reviews, message local businesses, order food, view the places they have visited and, now, view the destinations they will visit, receive recommendations based on past searches or location history and save locations to reference later. For local businesses, Maps’ expanded functionality makes their GMB listings — for better or worse — a crucial part of their online presence.
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Google Will Now Highlight Individual Podcast Links Within Search Results
Google has announced that it will now highlight links to individual podcast episodes within relevant search queries, adding more potential brand-building value to the rising practice. Relevant podcasts will be highlighted, as Google notes, based on what’s being talked about within each episode, which it’s system can ascertain from the title and description. But Google can also, at least to some degree, understand the audio content of each program also. That could have significant benefits for podcast discovery – how accurate and valuable its recognition processes are at this stage is not 100% clear, but as Google improves its systems, this will make more podcasts even more valuable in an SEO sense. Google also notes that it’ll be looking to help podcasters further build their audiences by adding an option for publishers to specify where people can listen to their podcasts within search results. That’ll provide the capacity for publishers and brands to highlight podcasts which may be exclusively available by purchase or subscription.
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Daily Minute Master Series – August 8, 2019
/by Corey PadveenSocial Media
Pinterest adds new e-commerce layer with personalized ‘shopping hub’ atop user feed
Pinterest continues to push e-commerce initiatives, introducing a personalized “shopping hub” last week that displays at the top of users’ feeds with product recommendations pulled from retailers’ organic Product Pins and Catalog feeds. Pinterest also rolled out an updated shopping section that will display below Product Pins, highlighting Catalog content from the respective brand. “Making it easy to browse into the catalogs of brands of all sizes, like Target, Birdies Slippers, Joybird, The Tie Bar and Parachute,” Pinterest wrote on its business blog. Pinterest is continuing to build out e-commerce features for its discovery platform to connect users to more branded product recommendations. This personalized “shopping hub” gives retailers the opportunity to expand their reach on the platform outside of ad campaigns.
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Facebook Adds New Slideshow Option to Facebook Stories to Boost Usage
In it’s latest attempt to get more people using Facebook Stories, Facebook has introduced a new Stories option, which will enable users to add a still image slideshow to their Story. The new option, provides a simplified way to add a stream of images, which will play out through your Story frames. That could be particularly relevant among older users and/or those less familiar with the Stories format, both of which are key audience groups that Facebook ‘s keen to get onto the Stories train. But it also again raises the question, with Facebook pushing yet another Stories option as it seeks to boost engagement: Is Facebook Stories really going to supersede the News Feed as the primary social sharing option on The Social Network? The data does support the Stories shift, growth momentum which Facebook says will see Stories overtake feed sharing this year.
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Marketing
Google testing tools now support evergreen Googlebot
Google announced that many of the testing tools available within Google Search Console or the Google developer portal are now using the new evergreen Googlebot for crawling. Three months ago, Google launched what is being called evergreen Googlebot. In short, it means that Googlebot, Google’s web crawler, will crawl the web using the latest version of Chromium – basically what you and I see when we launch Chrome and browse the web. Googlebot and Chrome will be using the same rendering engine. Now, three months after this launch, the tools Google have now support and will continue to support the latest version of Chrome. That means what you see in Chrome, what Googlebot sees and what Google shows you in its testing tools should all match. These tools are: Search Console’s URL inspection tool, Mobile-friendly test, Rich results test and AMP tes. With this update, the testing tools will now show us what Googlebot sees today. For the past three months, the testing tools were using the old version of Googlebot and what those tools were showing you were actually not exactly what the new Googlebot was seeing. So now you can depend more on these tools for your SEO tests and validations.
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Google discontinues Trips mobile app
After three years, Google has phased out the Trips mobile app and integrated its “Things to do in a destination,” “Trip reservations” and “Saved places” features into Search and Maps. This follows the launch of Google’s browser-based travel planning tool announced at the company’s Marketing Live event in May. Did you even remember Trips existed? The impact of shutting it down will be minimal, but moving the users it did have from the Trips mobile app to Search and Maps for their travel planning may yield more opportunities to show ads to potential customers that have expressed interest in businesses like yours or have already booked travel to the area you service. Google.com/travel’s browser-based interface offers the same trip planning features on desktop and mobile, which may allow advertisers to target travelers that are logged in as they plan their itineraries at home and when they’ve arrived at their travel destinations.
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Daily Minute Master Series – August 7, 2019
/by Corey PadveenSocial Media
Facebook Launches First Legal Action Against ‘Click Injection Fraud’
Over the past several months, Facebook has launched legal action against several companies for operating fake Like and engagement services. And now, Facebook’s taking aim at another type of misrepresentation, in the form of ‘click injection’ scams. ‘Click injection’ is essentially building a system which simulates ad clicks, and presents them as actual engagement. The two developers identified in this case are Hong Kong-based LionMobi, and Singapore-based JediMobi, both of which have now been banned and had their accounts disabled. The two companies were able to earn money from the scheme by driving fake clicks to Facebook Audience Network ads which appeared within their apps, then earning payouts from Facebook for that engagement. The case may provide Facebook with a legal precedent for future action, while it also, again, highlights the expanded lengths the company is going to in order to secure its systems. But it may also only be the start – there could be more cases to come of businesses which are cheating Facebook’s system, and lessening the value of Facebook ads by ‘injecting’ false clicks.
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Marketing
Google Updates Google Images to Make it Easier to Shop via Search
Google has announced another social-like feature within Google Images, this one seemingly taking direct aim at Pinterest, which is rising as a product search threat. The option will help users better locate similar image matches by providing a direct comparison alongside, as opposed to having an expanded result that stays pinned as you continue to scroll. But more than just that core comparative functionality, the new option is also specifically focused on facilitating shopping. Now, you’ll be able to search for ‘blue+basketball shoes+Nike’ and get a full listing of related items, each with an expandable, pinned side-panel for matching, and price and quality measures built into the listing. The option will make online reviews even more important, as well as price and completed product information listings. We’ll have to wait and see just how many searchers revert to the new process, but it could quickly become a key SEO consideration for eCommerce brands.
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Google Top Places List Out of Beta – Uses Machine Learning
Google’s Top Places List feature is officially out of beta. Google updated the Top Places developer page with new information indicating that the Top Places List feature is now automated by a machine learning algorithm. The Top Places List is a Google feature that displays related information about a specific place. If a restaurant is mentioned in several top ten type lists, Google will display that information so that users can learn more about that business. Google’s developer page for the Top Places List feature was updated on August 5, 2019. The Top Places List developers page now indicates the use of machine learning to select the top places lists.
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Advertising
Google Ad Manager, AdMob add support for app-ads.txt, to start blocking unauthorized ad serving for publishers this month
Google Ad Manager and AdMob, Google’s mobile ad network, now support app-ads.txt, the anti-ad fraud protocol for app publishers. The company announcedTuesday that beginning August 27, Google Ad Manager and AdMob will block ad serving of unauthorized in-app ad inventory in both platforms when publishers have app-ads.txt files implemented. Google said in April that its DSP Display & Video 360 would stop buying unauthorized in-app inventory starting in August. Given its market leadership position, Google’s support for app-ads.txt from both the buy and sell sides will help propel adoption of the standard by app publishers. Publishers who do not implement an app-ads.txt file will see no changes to their ad serving, but they will not benefit from these added spoofing protections.
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Daily Minute Master Series – August 6, 2019
/by Corey PadveenSocial Media
TikTok Adds GIF Integration with Giphy to Add More Creative Capacity
As reported by TechCrunch, TikTok has announced a new integration with Giphy which will enable TikTok users to add animated GIFs, including GIF stickers, into their clips. That provides a whole new level of creative capacity. Giphy, it’s worth noting, also has similar integrations with Snapchat and Instagram, so it’s not entirely original. But given the popularity of TikTok, and the added potential of GIFs, it’ll no doubt see a lot of usage, and help to further boost TikTok’s trending cred. TikTok hasn’t released any official updates on its US user numbers, but third-party data shows that the app’s usage is on a significant rise, with no signs of slowing as yet. From a marketing perspective, TikTok has also, as noted, already launched a range of ad options, which may be worth considering, particularly if you’re looking to reach younger audience segments.
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Marketing
Microsoft acquires e-commerce advertising vendor PromoteIQ
Microsoft has acquired vendor marketing platform PromoteIQ. PromoteIQ is an automated product marketing platform that enables brand manufacturers to run sponsored ads on participating retailers’ e-commerce sites to generate visibility and revenue from those sites. The company offers analytics dashboards both retailers and advertisers to track campaign performance. Google experimented with running its product listing ads on retailer sites through a program called AdSense for Shopping. Microsoft is looking to pair its AI and machine learning technologies with PromoteIQ’s targeted ad placement capabilities and expects the integrations to be completed later this year. Additionally, it can help Microsoft Advertising address consistent calls from advertisers for more reach. Microsoft Advertising offers product ads on Bing.com, but its limited reach put its reach behind Google and Amazon. PromoteIQ’s portfolio of clients includes thousands of global brands and retailers.
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Google advice on improving your site’s ranking for future core ranking update
Google has posted advice on core updates, Google’s core search ranking algorithmic updates. Google does updates to its core search ranking algorithm every few months or so, the last one was the June core update. Google said what has changed is how its systems assess content overall. Google’s latest advice is similar to the advice it gave in 2011 around its Panda algorithm: “We suggest focusing on ensuring you’re offering the best content you can. That’s what our algorithms seek to reward.” Like many SEOs have said over the past couple of years, you should read the search quality raters guidelines, which has moved locations and focus on the EAT sections. EAT stand for Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. “Reading the guidelines may help you assess how your content is doing from an E-A-T perspective and improvements to consider, “Google said.
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Review counts matter more to local business revenue than star ratings, according to study
Small business SaaS provider Womply has released a large-scale study showing a strong connection between reputation management and revenue across multiple industries. In performing its analysis, Womply looked at reviews and transactions data “for more than 200,000 U.S. small businesses in every state and across dozens of industries, including restaurants, salons, auto shops, medical and dental offices, retailers, and more.” Womply was able to connect review and presence management best practices with revenue outcomes. Claiming listings on key sites like Google My Business enables consumers to find and engage with businesses more readily. Another “no-surprise” finding is that consumers appear more inclined to buy from businesses that respond to online reviews. This may be because they assume those responding to reviews offer better service. But the company found that businesses in the 3.5 to 4.5 star range had more average revenue than those below or above, including businesses with 5-star ratings. Businesses that already “get it” are going to outperform those that don’t, in part because they’re probably better run. And these businesses are more likely to pursue and execute local SEO tactics effectively: claim and populate your profile on key sites (e.g., GMB, Yelp), respond to reviews, and have a program in place that generates a steady stream of reviews in an ethical way.
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Daily Minute Master Series – August 5, 2019
/by Corey PadveenSocial Media
Pinterest Reaches 300 Million Users, Posts Better Than Expected Profit in Q2
Pinterest has provided an update on its performance, giving investors a look at how it’s tracking towards its broader growth goals. And the company is tracking pretty well – first off, on users, Pinterest is now up to 300 million monthly actives, a 30% increase on a year ago. Pinterest continues to boost its usage numbers, which is something that all brands should be taking note of – because, for one, you obviously want to reach as many people as possible, and Pinterest can increasingly help facilitate that. But the real strength of Pinterest is in driving purchase intent – according to research, some 90% of weekly Pinners use Pinterest to make purchase decisions, higher than any other social platform. Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann noted that it will be looking to bring more videos into Pinterest feeds to boost engagement, along with its evolving business tools. As we’ve noted in the past, Pinterest gets less recognition than other platforms, but as you can see, the numbers are comparable, if not better than some of the more hyped platforms.
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Facebook Adds Instagram Scheduling to Creator Studio
Instagram scheduling has long been a headache for social managers, leading to a range of alternative posting options, each of which has its own value and capacity. The new Instagram scheduling option has been rolling out to users over the past month, though it looks to have been expanded more broadly this week. This new option, provides increased capacity, in that you can better see exactly what your Insta posts will look like, which is similar to posting to a Facebook Page natively, as opposed to through a scheduling app. The option will no doubt make a lot of social media managers very happy, with full Instagram post and scheduling functionality built into an official app. That could make Instagram management much easier – though some have also questioned whether posts which come through this process will see less engagement, as has long been the concern with various third-party scheduling tools.
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Marketing
Google to offer mandated ‘search choice’ to EU Android users in 2020
Google is introducing a new search engine “choice screen” in Europe for Android users. It’s reminiscent of what Microsoft was compelled to do roughly a decade ago, to offer “browser choice” on the desktop in Europe. Starting in 2020, when Android users set up their devices they’ll be able to choose a search provider. Google says providers will potentially vary by country. The criteria for consideration include: being a general (and not vertical) search provider, support for the local language, and free availability in Google Play. Search providers will need to apply to Google by September 13. And by October 31, the list of search engines for each country will be confirmed. Beyond the application, Google will conduct an auction to determine which engines are included on the choice screen. Successful bidders will be presented at random and “pay each time a user selects them from the choice screen in the given country.” The European Commission may step in and prevent Google from charging rivals to participate in the search choice screen but that remains to be seen. Although Google is silent on this, it will appear as a choice in every country and is presumably not going to compete in the auction. Because of its brand strength and existing usage, Google is likely to “win” in most cases unless rival search engines aggressively market some differentiating feature (e.g, privacy). Thus it’s unlikely that Google’s mobile search reach or ad revenue will be impacted much, if at all, by this process.
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Advertising
Google tests carousel local pack with ads included
Google has been testing a new design for the “local pack,” the local results box in the search results. This new design shows the local results in a scrollable carousel format and now also includes an ad spot at the top. The local pack in this new carousel format is a lot more interactive and by default only highlights one-and-a-half local results on first glance. To see more results, you need to scroll through the listing and then when you click on a listing, you get other options.
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Daily Minute Master Series – August 2, 2019
/by Corey PadveenSocial Media
Snapchat Launches New, Streamlined Ad Creation Process
Snapchat is looking to lure more advertisers by launching a simplified ad creation process, which will enable brands to build and launch their Snap ads in three steps. Part of the problem in getting advertisers over to Snap has been the pressure of creating high-quality Snap ads, with Snapchat users, traditionally, not being highly welcoming of ads within their streams. Instant Create aims to address this by not only simplifying the targeting process, but also by providing templates based on the top Snap ad formats. With the launch of a major new promotional campaign, and improved performance on the back of its Android update, Snap is keen to capitalize on its momentum, and boost its ad revenue.
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Instagram Outlines Load Time Improvements on Instagram.com
This week, the social app has outlined its latest speed improvements to its web app (instagram.com), which will expand its opportunities to connect with more users in different regions across the world. Instagram says that its improvements – largely based on load optimization and pre-fetching – have reduced the time taken to load photos on instagram.com by 25%, while it’s also seen a 56% reduction in the amount of time users spend waiting at the end of their feed for the next page to show up. Those are significant improvements – and they could have a major impact on the app’s future expansion, with the improved capacity opening up more opportunities in markets where connectivity and access options aren’t as advanced. With a billion users and rising, Instagram is now looking to the next level of expansion, and improvements like this will definitely broaden its usage potential. And as Instagram also looks to shift into eCommerce, that could open up a range of new opportunities.
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Marketing
Google launches new algorithm to better understand useful & timely information
Google’s Vice President of Search, Pandu Nayak, announced the company has launched an update to their search algorithms that keep featured snippets timely, fresh and relevant when the query demands it. This new update aims at making sure that the answers Google gives you for some questions are not just accurate but also timely. Google confirmed that this algorithm update aims at better understanding useful and timely information. The featured snippets and Google’s overall search results are always changing. Google is always looking to make improvements because Google hasn’t always provided the best results and still doesn’t always provide the best results. We should aim to provide the best content for the query and hopefully Google’s algorithms will recognize your content and showcase it at the top of its search results.
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Google Search Console doesn’t show data for featured snippets read by Google Assistant
In the second episode of #AskGoogleWebmasters, Webmaster Trends Analyst John Mueller explained that voice searches conducted through Google Assistant and answered verbally do not show as an impression in Google Search Console. A user viewing a featured snippet on their mobile or desktop browser will result in an impression within the publisher’s Search Console. On the other hand, snippets read aloud by Google Assistant are not counted as impressions. Although a URL is sent to a user’s mobile device when they search via Assistant, the user may not be inclined to click through because the answer they were looking for was already provided. This may mean that you miss queries, query volume and visibility into the terms that potential customers and clients are using to find your content. If voice becomes a more common way to conduct searches, this may impact more site owners.
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Daily Minute Master Series – August 1, 2019
/by Corey PadveenSocial Media
Facebook’s Working on a New, TV-Connected Streaming and Video Call Device
According to a new report from The Information, Facebook has approached Netflix, Disney and other media companies in regards to porting their streaming services onto a new, TV-connected Facebook device. Facebook released its Portal video calling device last year, but thus far, response has been fairly lukewarm. Privacy concerns appear to be playing at least some role in this, which is an element Facebook will have to contend with over time – but as the company has also shown in the past, people are less concerned about privacy when the device/app/tool offers a higher level of utility. It’s no surprise to see Facebook once again looking to connect to your TV set. The question is whether it will be worth it – how can Facebook incentivize users to buy a new connected TV device, in addition to those apps and tools they may already have, and make it the go-to provider for such content?
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Marketing
Google introduces App + Web for unified reporting in Google Analytics
Google has historically had two separate tools for web and app analytics: Google Analytics and Google Analytics for Firebase, for mobile apps. Now the company is combining their capabilities in a new property that seeks to provide a more unified view of customer data: App + Web for Google Analytics. Director of Product Management for Google Analytics, Jesse Savage, said that he hopes the new offering will help marketers and brands improve the customer experience by giving them “a single, consistent set of metrics for more integrated reporting and a more comprehensive view of the customer journey” (on Google properties). It’s critical for brands and marketers to gain as complete an understanding of their customers’ behavior as possible. Of course, Google isn’t the only platform consumers use in making buying decisions. For marketers entirely focused on their apps, or for those who don’t have an app, the new capabilities won’t be particularly meaningful. But for those focused on both mobile apps and the web, the new App + Web capability offers much greater visibility and insight than Google Analytics and Google Analytics for Firebase each could on their own.
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Advertising
Google App campaigns expand to Discover feeds, AdMob testing ads on app loading screens
Google has been focused on advertising opportunities for mobile games specifically and apps generally for several years. The company is announcing new inventory and features for app publishers and advertisers at Think Games at ChinaJoy, a giant conference for game developers in Shanghai this week. App campaigns (formerly Universal App Campaigns) ads are now eligible to show in Discover, the feed that appears on the Google home page on mobile and Chrome. App campaigns are also gaining access to YouTube search results on mobile devices. On the publisher side, new announcements for developers using AdMob to serve Google ads in their apps include new ad placement test, smart segmentation expansion and more metrics. App advertisers don’t have control over where their ads appear. If you’re running App campaigns, keep an eye on your performance metrics as this new inventory comes into play — you’ll likely see impressions (and hopefully conversion actions) rise.
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Google extends same-meaning close variants to phrase match, broad match modifiers
Google is further loosening the reins on close variants, this time extending same-meaning close variants to phrase match and broad match modifier. With the changes, Google is also changing its keyword selection preferences to prevent keywords from competing against each other. Phrase match and broad match modifier will match to same meaning queries and keyword selection preferences are also changing. The change will roll out “in the coming weeks. Google said it expects advertisers using phrase and broad match modifier to see 3-4% more clicks and conversions on those keywords, with 85% of those clicks, on average, coming from queries not currently covered by your existing keywords. The days of zero-keyword search campaigns have long been predicted as machine learning has taken over and audiences have come into play.
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Daily Minute Master Series – July 31, 2019
/by Corey PadveenSocial Media
Pinterest Adds New Personalized Recommendations, New Related Product Listings on Pins
Pinterest continues its shift away from social media, and towards eCommerce, with the addition of two new product showcase tools which aim to prompt user purchases based on their on-platform behaviors. The first is a new ‘Picked for You’ Pin collection which will appear at the top of your home feed. The prompt will serve as a reminder of the products which have drawn your interest on the platform, which may then inspire more purchases. It’s similar to Amazon’s recommendations based on your past actions. Pinterest is also adding an updated shopping section below Pins from certain businesses, which will showcase expanded brand catalogs based on the items you’ve shown an interest in. The new, expanded listings will provide new opportunities for brands to showcase more of their products to interested Pinners. It’s clear that there’s a lot of potential for retailers in Pins, and these new tools will further add to that capacity.
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Snapchat Launches Major New Ad Campaign Around the Theme of Connecting Friends
While Facebook has focused on global domination, and connecting as many people as possible through its family of apps, Snapchat has always maintained its focus on close relationships, which has long been its differentiating factor. And now, Snap is using that ethos as the key focus for its first global, paid media campaign, which will see Snap billboards and ads placed in across cinema, broadcast, print and digital platforms. Snap’s ‘Real Friends’ promotion will highlight the stories of Snap users who have been able to connect through the app, building their relationship through closer connection, as opposed to some of the negative aspects connected to public sharing. Snap’s defined focus on friendships, and connecting people around smaller, more meaningful moments, has helped it build an engaged, dedicated audience, which could see a significant increase with this new push.
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Instagram Purges Meme Accounts, Shutting Down Pages With Millions of Followers
Instagram is cracking down on accounts that primarily post memes, deleting popular pages that have amassed millions of followers. Dozens of accounts with over 30 million followers combined were deleted without warning. The removal is permanent, meaning there’s no hope for the users to get their accounts restored. Earlier this month, Instagram updated its account removal policies. It can now remove accounts that have a certain number of violations within a window of time. In any case, this whole situation illustrates the danger of building a business solely on social media. Those who were once thriving on Instagram are now having a rough go of it.
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Marketing
Google’s John Mueller: No Benefit to Marking All Outbound Links as Nofollow
Google’s John Mueller cleared up a misconception about whether there’s a ranking benefit to marking all outbound links as nofollow. In fact, using a nofollow attribute on all outgoing links may even cause problems over time because it’s an unnatural way of linking to web pages. Mueller recognizes that some sites do use the nofollow attribute on all outgoing links. They do this, he says, to stay on the safe side. The publications may not know which links to vouch for, so they nofollow everything. Mueller says that’s problematic because publishers should be able to stand behind what they’re writing about.
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Daily Minute Master Series – July 30, 2019
/by Corey PadveenSocial Media
LinkedIn Provides New Tips on Choosing Ad Campaign Objectives
Late last year, LinkedIn began initial testing of its objective-based advertising approach, which has been gradually rolling out to all businesses over the last few months. The update aims to make it easier for advertisers to select the right targeting options to maximize their on-platform ad campaigns. To help brands make best use of the new process, LinkedIn has this week published a new explainer on how to choose the right objective from the three top-level categories. LinkedIn has also published a video on setting up your target audience, completing the essential elements to the ad targeting process. If you’re looking to make best use of LinkedIn for your ad campaigns, the tips and notes provided here will no doubt help guide your approach, and improve your targeting strategy.
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TikTok’s Parent Company is Developing its Own Smartphone, Flagging Broader Ambitions
Tik Tok, which was introduced into western markets in August 2018, is owned by Chinese company ByteDance – which, before launching TikTok, had already been operating the same app in China for the preceding two years. Now seeing more than 450 million users worldwide, and rising, TikTok is able to roll out ad tools in western markets that it’s already tested in China. According to new reports, ByteDance is also developing its own smartphone, taking on the work of phone maker Smartisan, which it acquired recently. Smartisan has become known for trying out new ideas in Smartphone tech, like the Inifinite Screen. The company has, reportedly, experienced operating difficulties of late, but the partnership with ByteDance could provide both companies with new opportunities, and could help boost ByteDance’s ambitions even further, solidifying its presence. That could make TikTok a better bet for social media marketing, and reaching out via influencers, and even on-platform ads. There’s still a way to go, of course, TikTok hasn’t yet established its place as the next big social app. But its approach, as noted, is not the same, which may well position it to maximize its opportunities.
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Advertising
Google Keyword Planner Updated to Show the Most Relevant Keyword Ideas
Google has updated its Keyword Planner tool with the ability to show the most relevant keyword ideas based on the seed keyword. This update is designed to help users prioritize which keywords to add to their Google Ads account. Along with this update, two other features have been added to Keyword Planner: website filtering and brand exclusions. All of these changes are rolling out in English first, with coming to other languages later this year.
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Google Ads Editor Updated With 4 New Features
Google Ads Editor version 1.1 has been released, which contains updates to improve on design and usability. Here are the new features in the latest version of Google Ads Editor: Image Picker: Browse and select from previously used images, in addition to selecting images from your desktop. Dark Mode: Activate dark mode by clicking the moon icon in the bottom right-hand corner. IP Exclusions: Add and update IP exclusions, ensuring that your IP exclusion settings are consistent when copying and pasting campaigns. And, Accounts Manager: Managing multiple accounts is now easier with checkboxes in the accounts manager that allow users to select and open multiple accounts.These updates are available now by downloading the latest version of Google Ads Editor.
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