Weekly Roundup of Breaking Marketing News Brought To You Each Friday
Digital Marketing News 10/21/2024 to 10/25/2024
This week: PMax is no longer the priority over Google Shopping Ads, PMax has a variety of new updates, and there's some new experiments going on.
Let's dive into this week's digital marketing news.
1. Google Brings a Big Change to the Relationship Between Performance Max and Standard Shopping Interact
Struggling with the relationship between your PMax and regular Google Shopping campaigns? Google is doing something about it!
Now, instead of PMax taking priority over Standard Shopping Campaigns, Google says, “normal auction dynamics will now apply and the campaign with the highest Ad Rank will serve.”
So, what does this mean for digital marketers? Well, now you can increase your Standard Shopping Hero products without waiting for the Pmax to run out of budget. According to Google Ads Liaison, “The rollout of this change is now complete. You can adjust ROAS and Budgets for both PMax and Shopping campaigns to guide campaign spend as needed.”
It’ll definitely be interesting to see how this affects brands as we head into BFCM and the big holiday season!
2. Video-Enabled Shopping Ads in Search Results
Google’s experimenting with shopping ads. In their latest test, users can watch a product video right in the SERPs.
Shopping ads are shown with a video “play” button. Then, when a user hovers over the video the icon moves into a watch button. Once clicked on, the user will see the product ad in a loop.
There’s pros and cons here. One pro is that users can view product videos directly, meaning ads could benefit from higher interaction rates. One pro is that it could reduce traffic to your landing page significantly.
These tests are similar to the expanded product ads in carousels last week. Both tests are moving to make the search experience more interactive.
3. Page-Specific Assets for PMax Campaigns
Speaking of PMax, Google Ads is now letting you generate tailored creative content for specific web pages.
How does it work?
Input a list of specific web pages and Google Ads will generate customized video and image assets. They will be automatically optimized to match the specific, unique content on those pages over time.
Why We Care: Advertisers can expect Google to deliver ad creatives that are more aligned with the context of the page, improving control over the creative elements of an ad. Over time these page-specific assets will help improve ad relevance and performance.
4. AI-Asset Testing for PMax
Once more Pmax specific story this week. To improve capabilities, Google will integrate its advanced Imagen 3 AI model into advertising tools in the near future.
These new updates are meant to boost ad performance and simplify workflows for advertisers.
Creative Tools:
- Imagen 3 AI model creates high-quality ad visuals.
- New sharable previews work without Google Ads login.
- AI automatically adapts videos for different formats and lengths.
Testing Capabilities:
- Asset experiments for Performance Max (coming in beta).
- Final URL expansion testing.
- Performance impact measurement tools.
Campaign Management:
- Ad Rank now determines serving priority between Standard Shopping and Performance Max campaigns.
- Improved flexibility in managing multiple campaign types.
These features will launch in beta before the end of the year.
5. Google Ads is Getting an Upgrade for the Holidays
Is it already Christmas? Because this announcement from Google sure feels like it!
The tech giant announced this week that Google Ads is getting an upgrade, including:
- Sharable Ad Previews - simply creative reviews and approvals across the board
- Asset Experiments - test different combinations to see how they impact campaign performance
- Test Final URL expansion - see which landing page will get you better results
Sharable Ad Previews are available to everyone now, while the Asset Experiments and Test Final URL expansion tools will be rolling out later this year.
6. Google Wants You to Focus on Value - Not Numbers
John Mueller, Google’s Search Advocate, recently took to Reddit to let marketers and web developers know that value and quality are still what will get you noticed – not third party metrics.
He described these third-party tools as sometimes pushing quick fixes but that many of these tactics are “smoke & mirrors.” Instead of focusing on these quickly evolving numbers, he tells marketers to focus on the quality of their content.
“If you want to think about the long term, finding ways to add real value that’s unique and wanted by people on the web (together with all the usual SEO best practices as a foundation) is a good target. … It’s hard, it takes a lot of work, and it can take a lot of time. If it were fast and easy, others would be – and probably are already – doing it.”
Will this insight from Google itself change the way you approach content creation and marketing?
7. New Study Shows that Google AI Overviews Still Have Work to Do
According to a new study from The College Investor, Google’s AI Overviews have a lot of work to do, at least in terms of its personal finance searches.
The results of this study showed some interesting statistics after running personal finance search queries. Of the queries tested:
- 57% were accurate
- 43% contained misleading or inaccurate information
- 12% were completely incorrect
- 31% were either misleading or missing crucial details
The results seemed to show that Google AI can handle basic definitions, simple or straightforward questions, and recent trending topics. Topics like complex tax topics, nuanced financial products, time-sensitive or state-specific questions, and investment comparisons fell short.
Looking ahead, we’re sure that Google will continue to adapt and redefine its search results so that its users can count on the presented information. But right now? They aren’t there quite yet.
8. Blocked... Or Not: X is Diluting the Power of Blocking
It’s no secret that X, formerly known as Twitter, has been undergoing some serious reorganization since Elon Musk took over the app.
Since he learned that he’s one of the most blocked people on the app, he has taken up the aspect of blocking in general. According to a post from X Engineering, “If your posts are set to public, accounts you have blocked will be able to view them, but they will not be able to engage (like, reply, repost, etc.).”
Musk says that this change makes sense since, technically, the blocked user could just log in on another account to view the public posts. But some experts say this change could cause problems across this and other social media platforms.
So far, this change hasn’t rolled out yet but we should expect to see it in the very near future.
9. Threads is Joining the Analytics Game
Do you want to check your Threads analytics on mobile? Now you can!
Meta has added new mobile analytics to help users evaluate and understand their performance on the text-based social media platform.
Although desktop analytics were launched back in August, it wasn’t until now that mobile users could see the same data. Now that this is possible, could it push Threads into the conversation of must-have social media platforms for brands and businesses?
Not all users have this function yet but Meta is actively working on rolling out the analytics on both iOS and Android apps this week.
10. Developers Can Watermark AI-Generated Text
According to TechCrunch, Google is making SynthID Text, which will allow developers to add watermarks to any AI-generated text.
“Today, we’re open sourcing our SynthID Text watermarking tool,” the company wrote in a post on X. “Available freely to developers and businesses, it will help them identify their AI-generated content.”
Watermarking AI-generated text could help flag inaccurate and fake information. And Google’s not the only company working on it. Stay tuned to see how widely adopted these watermarks become for AI-generated content.
11. YouTube Adds New Stickers for Polls
Shorts are getting an upgrade.
YouTube has added a new poll sticker option for Shorts. Start driving more engagement as you ask your audience for their opinions.
Previously, you had to create a poll post, or by asking users to comment on your videos. Now, similar to Instagram, you can just add a sticker.
12. Are You Running Meta Ads? Check Your Account!
This week, Meta implemented a new function that allows their system to make “automatic adjustments” to advertising accounts, without explicit advertiser approval.
Now the system can:
- Pause or activate campaigns.
- Adjust budgets up or down.
- Consolidate ad accounts.
- Make changes without notifying advertisers.
- Consolidate audience segmentations and more.
If you don’t like the idea of Meta automatically optimizing your campaign’s performance, you can opt out by clicking the button under “Automated Rules.”
The biggest issue with this update is that it was rolled out silently, which caused a lot of confusion among digital marketers.
Long story short, check your accounts immediately to see if this automatic optimization is working for you or if you should continue to run your campaigns manually.
13. Google and Yahoo Update New Rules for Bulk Email Senders
If you’re sending out bulk emails, you need to check out this update.
Back in February of this year, Google and Yahoo announced new rules for bulk email senders. They wanted to streamline the ability to authenticate outgoing emails, report spam, and make unsubscribing from lists easier.
While this is not news, what is news is that Cox.net users are now being managed by Yahoo, which means Yahoo’s rules will now apply to Cox.net users.
This is a big deal because Cox is one of the largest broad consumer providers in the country. This means that you need to treat all Cox.net emails the same way you treat other Yahoo-managed domains, including aol.com, netscape.com, frontier.net, rogers.com, sky.com, and verizon.net.
If you’ve been noticing some fluctuations in your email marketing metrics, check your subscriber list to see if this could be the reason behind it.
14. Instagram Reels Experiment: Pro Tips
Instagram is ready to help you create better-performing Reels to boost their content performance and reach.
It’s still being tested, but this feature could help you better understand what works best in Reels, highlighting the aspects that drive reach in the app.
These new notes will give you context to the most impactful element for each Reel. If you tap on that prompt, you’ll get an even better breakdown of notes, helping improve engagement.
15. Google Drops Sitelinks Search Box
This is the end of a Google feature launched ten years ago. As of November 21, 2024, the Sitelinks Search box will be retired in all languages and regions.
This little box gave users a quick way to search your site while looking for other information on the SERP. Citing lack of use, Google is now in the process of removing it.
Recently posted on the Google Search Center blog, they said, "over time, we’ve noticed that usage has dropped. [To] help simply the search results, we’ll be removing this visual element starting on November 21, 2024.”
This change will impact users who have added sitelinks search box structured data to their site. However, Google says there’s no need to remove that data, claiming that “unsupported structured data like this won’t cause issues in Search, and won’t trigger errors in Search Console reports.”
Why We Care: While there was a drop in usage, that doesn’t mean all users stopped using it. If you’re one of the few who received a lot of traffic from this feature, you may see a reduction in traffic after its removal.
Weekly Digital Marketing Homework
- Explore the changes between PMax and Google Shopping to see if it will affect your holiday marketing strategy.
- Were you affected by Meta’s new “automatic optimization?” Better check those Meta ads asap!
- If you’ve seen some issues with your email marketing deliverability, could it be due to Cox.net being taken over by Yahoo?
- Check whether your site relies on Google’s Sitelinks Search box. If it does, you’re probably going to lose some organic search traffic when Google takes those little boxes away. Explore other options to boost that traffic so it doesn’t cause a real impact on your conversion rate.
Digital Marketing News 10/14/2024 to 10/18/2024
This week: Search Engine Land gets acquired, more AI-enhancements hit Google, and Instagram launches Profile Cards.
Here's what happened this week in digital marketing:
1. What Will Happen With the Acquisition of Search Engine Land?
Search Engine Land, one of the industry’s leading non-biased news publications, was recently acquired by SEMRush. In fact, SEMRush acquired all of Third Door Media’s brands also including
- SMX - Search Marketing Expo
- Martech.org and the MarTech Conference
- Digital Marketing Depot
Some marketers are skeptical as to whether it will stay an unbiased form of news.
What does this actually mean for you? Search Engine Land’s mission to inform and educate all marketers will remain the same, but it is now combined with the resources, content, and industry insights of SEMRush.
2. Google: Expandable Product Ad Carousel
Google tests expandable sponsored ads and in-ad search refinements.
New ad formats include:
- Expandable Search Ads
- Users can expand or collapse sponsored search ads.
- Expanded view shows a carousel of search ads.
- In-Ad Search Refinements
- Search refinement options appear within the ad box.
- Allows users to narrow their search without leaving the ad space.
Keep in mind the expandable format hides some ads, so users must take action to see more.
This new format could change how users engage with ads forever. It could require even more strategic placement from advertisers, ensuring customers get the right ad at the right time.
3. More AI-Enhancements to Google Shopping
This rollout will begin in the US over the upcoming weeks and include a ton of updates:
- AI-Enhanced Product Searches: AI-generated summary highlighting key product features and top recommendations based on their search query.
- Dynamic Filters and Virtual Try-On: Filter by size, availability, and other preferences, then use AI and AR for virtual try-on experiences
- Personalized Home Feed: See a customized feed of products and videos based on user preference and past shopping behavior
- Dedicated Deals Page: Finds the best prices tailored to specific user shopping habits
All AI-generated briefs will be labeled as “experimental” since they might not always be the most accurate.
Users can access Google Shopping now, through the shopping tab or by going to shopping.google.com
Why We Care: these new updates offer new targeting opportunities and personalization, leading to higher conversions.
4. Will This Update Change Bing Forever?
Even though Bing’s market share is still hovering around 10%, Microsoft isn’t stopping its quest to improve the second-choice search engine. Just this week, the tech giant announced several changes to its Webmaster Tools designed to improve users' experience.
Now users can access Search Performance data going back 16 months. Previously, only six months of back data was available, but user feedback said that wasn’t long enough for a proper analysis.
Bing also replaced “Recommendations” with “Insights.” This rebranded version of the tool will also offer additional performance metrics, real-time data updates, SEO recommendations, and site-specific optimization suggestions.
Additionally, Big has integrated the AI-powered “Copilot” for a select group of testers. This will allow users to access a chat interface and automate the handling of certain tasks. It will also help integrate other Microsoft services into one place to improve workflows.
Will you be exploring Bing’s new tools and options?
5. Google Ads Also Announces Data Retention
Google will implement a date retention policy, starting November 13th, limiting access to historical data to just 11 years.
This change will affect all account data including
- Performance metrics
- Billing information
- Historical reports, potentially impacting long-term trend analysis and reporting for advertisers
6. YouTube's Making Changes Based on User Feedback... Did They Get It Right?
Speaking of listening to user feedback, YouTube recently rolled out several new updates after being inspired by its users. These updates will affect all of YouTube’s platforms, including web, mobile, and TV.
The biggest change is a branded interface across all platforms. Aiming to improve readability and navigation, this change will probably benefit mobile users the most.
YouTube also added miniplayer and playback speed controls to the mobile app, as well as collaborative playlists to encourage sharing amongst friends. A new sleep timer and a badge system to acknowledge user engagement encourage users to spend more time on the app.
YouTube TV got a special update to make channels more immersive. The goal here is to encourage viewers to discover and engage with more creators on the large-screen version of the website.
Not all of these updates are available to all users yet, but YouTube says they should be by the end of the year.
7. LinkedIn's Latest Ad Offerings
Are you a B2B marketer advertising on Linkedin? You’re gonna want to check out these new ad features! They’re tapping into growing trends in video consumption and providing quicker way to create and optimize campaigns.
- Live Event Ads Updates
- “Thought Leader Ads” to promote members’ posts about company-hosted events.
- 30-second “sneak peek” videos of live broadcasts.
- Enhanced targeting options for event promotions.
- Wire Program Expansion
- In-stream video ads now available to EU brands.
- Previously limited to select U.S. partners.
- Accelerate Automated Campaign Enhancement
- Addition of video and document ad options.
- New campaign objectives including brand awareness and video views.
LinkedIn also reports that brands using the Accelerate campaigns see significant reductions in cost-per-action. Look for more formats and objectives for these ad campaigns soon.
8. Is It a Good Idea to Turn Comments Off Before Publishing Your Facebook Ad?
This week, Meta announced some updated brand safety features, including the ability to deactivate comments on ads before publishing instead of after.
Block lists for brands are also getting an update. Meta will now support third-party-created blocked lists for Meta partners. This is great for avoiding problematic consumers without individually blocking them every time.
These controls are currently only available to select businesses but some experts are saying they shouldn’t be available at all. Meta claims the goal is not to censor people but rather to help brands gain more control over where and how their ads are displayed within the Metaverse.
Do you think turning off comments before even going live is a bad look?
9. Instagram's New Update to Improve Connections
Instagram is attempting to improve connections by introducing its new Profile Cards. Previously, it was only available to select users, but as of this week, this new feature is now available to all users.
These flippable digital cards provide a QR code on one side and all of the user’s information on the other. The goal is to use it to connect to other Instagram users.
While they aren’t limited to creators and brands, this update could help connect the two much easier. On the informational side, creators will be able to add business links and other information, making it super simple for brands to see if this creator is right for their deal or not.
If you’re interested in testing out your Profile Card, just tap on “share profile” on your profile in your Instagram app.
10. Amazon Ads Gets Easier to Use for Advertisers
This new Amazon revolution involves updating Amazon Ads to make the option easier for advertisers. At the recent UnBoxed conference, Amazon announced that they are unveiling an “all-new experience” for their Amazon Demand-side Platform (DSP.)
The platform will now feature an AI-generated creative studio full of tools to help advertisers improve the reach of their ads. Other additions include capabilities to improve full-funnel insights and attract new consumers.
Do you think Amazon’s embrace of AI is going to improve the ads experience or is this just a grasp at straws since Amazon Ad revenue is starting to decrease?
11. Google Cracks Down on Ad Policy Violators
This month, Google will introduce severe punishments for those enabling significant or sustained violations. This new update will target third parties who are violating the policy.
Aimed at combating specific issues with AdMob and AdSense, targets include:
- Invalid ad clicks and impressions
- Apps offering payment for ad clicks, email reading, and web surfing.
- Ads promoting similar activities will also be banned.
Consequences include:
- Losing privileges
- Removal from third-party programs like Google Partner
- Account suspension.
In fact, violators’ Google Ads accounts will immediately be suspended, without warning and permanently banned from the platforms.
If you’re an ad policy violator, this may not be good news, but for the rest of us, we’re welcoming Google’s upcoming update.
Why We Care: This initiative signals another push towards maintaining trust in Google’s advertising ecosystem.
12. Google Ads API Version 18 Offers More Control and Insights
Speaking of Ads, Google Ads API v18 has various new features and improvements:
- Optimized Budget Suggestions: New GenerateRecommendations feature for Performance Max and Search campaigns
- Performance Max Insights: New performance_max_placement_view report for querying placement-specific data
- Flexible Search Settings: Replaced summary_row_setting and return_total_results_count with more customizable search_settings
- Enhanced Segmentation: New segments for hotel and search campaign reports based on specific destinations
- Travel Feed Support: Added new click and asset types for Search Ads
- Partnership Ads: New DataLinkService.CreateDataLink for linking Google Ads accounts to creator videos
- Content Performance Metrics: New content_criterion_view for Display, Demand Gen, and Video campaigns
New API updates help optimize campaigns and focus on improving performance tracking and cross-platform integration.
13. Get Featured in a Google AI Overview YouTube Increases Your Chances
A new study from SEO platform BrightEdge revealed that YouTube is staking its claim in Google’s AI Overviews.
Since August, the addition of YouTube citations has grown 310%. It slowed down a bit in September, but not by much. They still saw a 200% increase in visibility!
There could be two reasons for this increase. First, it was mentioned as a proposed remedy in the Google illegal monopoly lawsuit.
The second reason is that video content is becoming increasingly important for Google’s AIO. This makes sense since Google’s Gemini model crawls both spoken and written copy.
This is super important for marketers to consider as they create holiday season marketing plans. If you want to be featured in Google’s AIO, increase your visual and video content and lean into classic SEO strategies to boost your chances.
The more you’re in the AIO, the more visibility your brand will get.
14. Should You Prioritize SearchGPT?
Speaking of BrightEdge, they released some AI search trends and found that SearchGPT is growing in popularity faster than other generative engines, specifically Perplexity and Claude.
What this Means: SearchGPT is generating more referral traffic for brands.
- SearchGPT’s growth rate is 150%, month-over-month, and sending brands 4x more referrals than Perplexity and Claude.
- Meanwhile, Perplexity and Claude grew 22% in the same month.
Although you might not get as much traffic, it’s essential to start optimizing for generative engines because millions of people rely on AI-driven search engines now.
Digital Marketing News Homework
- As you finalize BFCM marketing plans, make sure you’ve included quality visual and video content and a strong SEO strategy to increase your chances of ending up on Google’s AIO.
- If Instagram is one of your biggest marketing avenues, check out your Instagram Profile Card and decide whether you want to use or lose it.
- Google Shopping’s recent updates will affect holiday shopping habits. Review your Google Shopping listings. If your graphics or copy seem a little lackluster, make it a point to update it before Black Friday hits.
- For brands on Amazon, explore Amazon Ad’s newest AI tools. See if you can benefit from these new additions to improve your ad’s quality and boost your visibility.
Digital Marketing News 10/7/2024 to 10/11/2024
This week: We're seeing lots of new advertising tools in preparation for the holiday season. Mobile will be the biggest contributor to digital sales, there's a new Realtime Pages Report in GA4, and more.
Let's dive into this week's digital marketing news:
1. Mobile Remains Biggest Contributor to Holiday Season Digital Sales
According to Adobe Analytics, 53% of U.S. holiday season digital sales will come from mobile this year, marking the second consecutive year mobile has accounted for over half of holiday sales.
This aligns with projections that 52.7% of $266.89 billion in U.S. retail ecommerce sales this holiday season will come from mobile, compared to 44.6% for the full year.
Mobile commerce is more prevalent during the holiday season compared to the rest of the year (44.6%).
Why We Care: Marketers should prioritize mobile-focused strategies for the holiday season, leveraging the growing mcommerce trend to maximize sales and engagement. Increased investment in mobile marketing and optimization is crucial for tapping into this growing channel.
2. Meet Product Studio: Google Merchant Center's AI-Generated Video Creation Tool
Google has introduced AI-powered video generation tools within its Product Studio, allowing U.S.-based merchants to quickly create product videos for their campaigns.
“Video generation in Product Studio is currently only available for merchants in the US. We hope to expand to more countries soon” Google says.
Google lets merchants choose the existing product they want to feature, turning it into dynamic videos with just a few clicks, offering customization options like audio, headlines, and branding elements.
Merchants can use these videos across various platforms, including Google Ads and Merchant Center.
Why We Care: If you’re struggling to create videos on your own, this generative AI tool can help you save time, money, and resources.
3. Will These New Meta Announcements Change Advertising on Social Media?
Do you know that users now spend 60% of their time on Facebook and Instagram watching videos? Citing this statistic as their reasoning, Meta announced this week that it would update the advertising side of its platform, including a new video tab to give users one place for all of their Reels, longer videos, and live content.
- Video Expansion: Create more immersive video ads by generative unseen pixels in each frame to expand the video’s dimensions
- Image Animation: Add movement to fixed images through Instagram Reels using generative AI
- Brand Voice and Tone: Improvements through AI-powered creative include a tool with voice prompt capabilities and the option to upload a brand logo for generative AI created assets
- Creator Partnerships: Create more integrated creator campaigns to incorporate content into collection ads, Reels, etc.
- Creator handles appear with advertiser’s
- New centralized Partnership Ads Hub in Ads Manager
These tools aren’t available yet but Meta says to expect them in early 2025.
4. GA4 Introduces New Realtime Pages Report
Google Analytics 4 finally adds a Realtime pages report that shows live page views and active user counts. This report will help you get enhanced insights into your website’s real-time performance.
Summary cards:
- Key Metrics Card: See the total number of views and active users over the past 30 minutes
- Bar Graph Card: The number of active users per minute for the last half hour in real-time
Detailed table breakdown:
- Page paths and screen classes, sorted by views and active users
- Total views for each page or screen in the last 30 minutes
- Number of distinct active users per page or screen within the same timeframe
Why We Care: The new report helps marketers quickly spot which pages are attracting the most attention in real-time, helping them understand immediate impacts of marketing strategies.
Unfortunately, the report is not customizable at this time and comparisons and filters are not yet supported.
5. Will This Microsoft Ads Update Improve PPC Campaign Productivity?
Microsoft Ads is stepping up its ad program! It announced this week that it will make some significant updates, including a simplified user experience.
New Experience for Ads in CoPilot
- Better differentiates organic listings by placing them above featured ads
- Fewer annotations and extensions
- Ads are triggered based on the whole conversation, not just the last prompt
- “Ad Voice” will make the connection between the relevant ad and the Copilot conversation more clear
Diagnostics Tool: Save Advertisers Time on Day-to-Day Campaign Management
- Helps with campaign setup
- Assess overall account health
- Diagnose where to shift attention to
Performance Snapshot
- Summary of key insights
- Account or campaign key insights
- Trends
- Anomalies
6. Want to Increase Your TikTok Advertising? Use These Tools
The always-evolving TikTok rolled out new benefits for advertisers this week. These new solutions aim to help position the short-form video platform as more than an entertainment platform but instead as a big player in the PPC game.
The five new updates include:
- Smart+: an automated tool designed to optimize ads to improve targeting and bidding
- GMV Max: an automated tool to streamline TikTok Shop campaign creation
- Out of Phone: an in-store option for brick-and-mortar stores to advertise on TikTok
- Conversion Lift Studies (CLS): a tool to help improve the measurement of TikTok’s impact beyond last-click attribution
- Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs): a tool to help improve privacy measures for advertisers
TikTok says that these new tools will help you optimize your ad campaigns on the app, improve conversion rates, and increase ROI on ad spend and revenue. As the social media platform continues to grow, it’ll be exciting to see how many brands find success using this new and improved advertising experience.
Will you be exploring these new options?
7. Technical SEO: Google Only Supports 4 Robots.txt Fields
Google clarifies its stance on unsupported robots.txt fields: its crawlers don’t support fields not listed in documentation.
“We sometimes get questions about fields that aren’t explicitly listed as supported, and we want to make it clear that they aren’t.”
Supported fields include:
- user-agent
- allow
- disallow
- sitemap
What this means: Google doesn’t support commonly used directives such as “crawl-delay.” Other search engines might though.
What do you do?
- Stick to supported fields explicitly mentioned in documentation
- Review your existing robots.txt files
8. Will X's Return to Brazil Improve Declining Numbers?
Do you want to target Brazilian X users? Great news! Now that the text-based social media app has complied with the government’s requests, it is now operational in Brazil again.
Initially refusing to comply with the requests, X is back after a month after doing the work requested by Brazilian courts. I’m sure the country’s 20 million users are excited about the news.
It’s no secret that the platform has been facing declining numbers over the past year. Do you think this will help them gain users' trust again?
9. Google Search Store Ratings Expand
The Store Ratings feature is rolling out to more countries worldwide, and they are now available in India, Australia, Canada, and the UK.
Store ratings are a way to help searchers find businesses with high quality customer service. Why do we care? These high ratings immediately start building trust, helping improve the performance of ads, free listings, and drive more qualified customers to landing pages.
Find store ratings in Google shopping search results. They also show general information about the business, including reviews, shipping, return policies, etc.
Action Item: Look into participating in the free Google Customer Review program to generate more reviews.
10. Adding SMS to Your Marketing Strategy? Let Temu Be Your Warning
If you’re adding SMS messaging to your marketing strategy, be sure to get those opt-in boxes checked first! Fast fashion giant, Temu, is in hot water for texting people on the National Do Not Call Registry.
The class action lawsuit was filed in the District of Massachusetts and says that Temu is violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 by contacting people via text without having “prior express written consent.”
This isn’t the first time Temu has faced these allegations. Another suit was filed back in July but was voluntarily dismissed in August.
11. How Will This New Google-Amazon Partnership Change the Merchant Center?
Two giants are teaming up! Google and Amazon are joining forces to improve the search engine company’s shopping platform.
According to research data done before the partnership, this could improve click through and conversation rates on Google Shopping ads. By adding clear shipping expectations and options of free shipping, it could also help to reduce abandoned cart rates, too.
This collaboration hasn’t rolled out yet but retailers should see the new features on their accounts soon.
Will you be taking advantage of the pairing?
12. New YouTube Features for Short-Form Content
Watch out TikTok! YouTube is on the hunt for more of your short-form video content!
The video giant made some changes to its Shorts program to make it more appealing to users. Upgrades include:
- Templates
- Enhanced remixing
- AI-generated backgrounds
- Trends page
- Comment previews
- Feed customization
Additionally, square and vertical Shorts can now be up to 3 minutes long, which is three times the current limit.
Do these improvements make you want to move more content creation to YouTube?
13. OpenAI Will Integrate SearchGPT into ChatGPT by 2025
OpenAI’s SearchGPT, initially launched as a temporary prototype, will be integrated into ChatGPT by the end of the year.
“We think there’s an opportunity here to drive significant incremental traffic from new audiences. And then we’ll have to see if that is valuable enough to partners to remain opted-in” Varun Shetty, OpenAI’s head of media partnerships said.
Why We Care: This integration aims to drive significant traffic to news publishers by providing direct answers to users rather than just a collection of links.
However, publishers should not expect ad revenue sharing, as the focus will be on generating traffic to publisher’s sites through user clicks.
No one wants to read AI-generated news. But, generative AI can help assist journalists with tasks like translating, creating multimedia, and enhancing audience engagement.
Digital Marketing Weekly Homework:
- Test and refine mobile ads: Use A/B testing to ensure your mobile ads are effective at driving conversions.
- Leverage Google’s AI video tool: Start creating dynamic product videos using the AI-powered tool to save time and resources.
- Monitor real-time traffic: Use the new report to identify which pages are receiving the most engagement and make timely adjustments to your content or campaigns.
- Utilize the new diagnostics tool: Save time on managing PPC campaigns by using the tool to assess account health and campaign setups.
- Ensure legal compliance: Review the legal requirements for SMS marketing and make sure you obtain express written consent from users.
- Join Google’s Customer Review program: Start generating customer reviews to improve your store ratings and build trust with potential customers.
Digital Marketing News 9/30/2024 to 10/4/2024
This week: Google AI Overviews launch ads on mobile, there's a new Core Web Vitals tool, and shopping ads are now on Google Lens.
Here's what happened this week in digital marketing:
1. Snapchat Influencers Are More Likely to Drive Purchase Results
A new report on social shopping behavior shows that Snapchat is the top platform for influencer-driven purchases, with 85.6% of users buying after seeing a product promoted by creators.
This outpaces TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Snapchat’s influence is especially strong with Gen Z, as 82% of users aged 15-26 have made purchases through influencer content.
This makes Snapchat a key platform for brands targeting younger audiences, particularly through partnerships with influencers.
2.Google AI Overviews Launches Ads on Mobile
Google officially launched AI Overview ads and they’re appearing under AI-generated answers on mobile. And they still have a Sponsored label.
Ads are triggered when:
- User’s question has a commercial angle where a product or service may be relevant
- When ads are relevant to both the query and the information provided
The pros? The placement could lead to increased clicks and sales. Luckily for advertisers, these ads require no extra setup! The ads aim to provide relevant products or services directly within search responses. “You can show ads in these experiences with your existing AI-powered Search ads, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns. There’s no additional action required.”
Unfortunately, the lower position of these ads landing underneath organic AI answers may reduce ROI. And Google isn’t offering specific reporting for the ads. “We are currently not offering segmented reporting when ads show above, below or within Search AI Overviews. Advertisers can consult the Search Terms Report, as usual.”
Why We Care: AI Overviews take up highly valuable real estate on Google’s search results, potentially driving clicks, sales, and revenue for businesses. However, since the ads appear below AI-generated answers, unlike the traditional ad placement above organic results, there are concerns about whether this position will yield a lower return on investment for advertisers. This uncertainty is further compounded by Google’s lack of reporting transparency, making it difficult to gauge the effectiveness of these new placements.
3. Could This New Core Web Vitals Tool Reveal Hidden Patterns in Performance Scores?
This week, Google rolled out a new tool called CrUX Vis which is designed to help you find hidden patterns in performance scores and help you figure out what to improve.
Data is collected from real browsers around the world and can be segmented in 3 ways:
- Data = performance scores
- Device = segmented and visualized by mobile, data, and a combined view
- Date Range = allows data visualization by 25 overlapping time periods stretching back 6 months
Additionally there are 5 ways to analyze the data:
- Core web vitals
- Loading performance
- Interactivity
- Visual stability
- All metrics combined
Why We Care: It helps marketers by showing performance patterns over time, helping identify areas for improvement. This is crucial for marketers because CWV impacts user experience, engagement, and SEO performance. It aims to make understanding website performance easier and help marketers have a big picture view on what’s going on on their sites.
4. Got a Niche-Specific Site? You May End Up in a Google AI Overview
Thought Google would overlook your super-specific website? No such luck! According to new data from BrightEdge, Google AI Overviews (AIO) will now be looking to niche-specific content for their AI overviews.
The overlap of URLs cited in AI Overviews with those ranking in the top 100 increased from 37% to 41% post-update. The shift indicates that AI Overviews are prioritizing organic results more than before, pulling from lower-ranked results to create comprehensive responses.
This started after Google’s August 15th Core Update and it seems to be causing a shake up in the SERPs, too. The more Google pulls information from these niche-specific pages, the higher their new spot in the SERP is. This is great news for smaller, independent sites but not great for big brand sites.
5. Are You Using WP Engine? You're Up and Running Again!
Last week, we reported that all WP Engine users had been banned by WordPress. But this week, we have better news!
WordPress has given WP Engine users a brief reprieve and allowed them access to their sites again. This is a rapidly moving situation though and so if you’re running a WP Engine site, it’s best to look into a back-up plan.
6. Is it Time to Incorporate More UGC into Your Site?
Have you seen a decrease in your SERP ranking? It could be due to your lack of user-generated content (UGC).
According to Google Search Liaison Danny Sullivan, Google has already started favoring UGC. He says that it’s due to the fact that “people are trying to get more authentic information. They want to hear from other people with experiences.”
Google aims to provide firsthand perspectives that complement traditional web pages with UGC. UGC is seen and valued online in:
- Niche Forums
- Medical Searches
While the search engine giant admits that their current process isn’t perfect, UGC is here to stay. They will continue to refine their algorithms to address issues and improve the quality of the UGC content they’re pushing out.
7. Does X Feel Like a Ghost Town?
If your X feed has felt a little lonely lately, you’re not alone. New data released shows that X is losing users across the US and UK.
There are several reasons why this is happening but a lot of it probably has to do with Elon Musk’s takeover and his many changes to the once popular social app.
Are you still loving X or is it losing its spot in your social media tech stack?
8. Are Privacy Laws Hindering Your Ability to Personalize Your Advertising
According to a new study, 88% of respondents believe that privacy laws will have a “moderate to significant impact on the ability to deliver personalized advertising.”
Without the third-party data so many advertisers relied on, digital marketers across the globe are having to adjust their targeting strategies and find other ways to customize their user experience. In fact, 47% of respondents in that same study said that they have already adjusted the number of data partners they work with.
Another thing that is making this more difficult for marketers is that it isn’t a blanket law across the entire country. With each state making their own regulations, it can be hard to find a strategy that fits every geographical audience.
This is probably only going to get more complicated as more states roll out new privacy regulations so if you haven’t started to shift your strategy, now is the time.
9. Noarchive Meta Tag is Gone
Google is constantly evolving and this week, the noarchive meta tag was on the chopping block.
According to recently released documentation from Google, the noarchive rule is now history. “The noarchive rule is no longer used by Google Search to control whether a cached link is shown in search results, as the cached link feature no longer exists.”
That doesn’t mean you have to remove it from your website completely. Just because Google is no longer using it, it doesn’t mean other search engines have phased it out, too.
10. Google Adds Shopping Ads to Google Lens
Google is adding Shopping Ads to Google Lens visual search results! A user can tap the Lens icon in the Google search bar and then take or upload a photo to learn more.
Why We Care: These ads will appear above or alongside Lens results, offering a new way for advertisers to reach shoppers.
- Lens currently handles 20 billion searches a month, with 4 billion related to shopping.
- Google’s updated Shopping Graph includes over 45 billion products, offering detailed information like reviews, price comparisons, and where to buy.
This update enhances shopping experiences for users on iOS and Android.
11. Will Users Love Bing's Expanded AI-Powered Search for Complex Queries
Although they still hold less market share than Google, Microsoft’s Bing is still trying to improve their search engine.
This week, they announced a big expansion of Bing’s generative search capabilities. While these capabilities are still in the beta phase, Bing is hopeful that it will help make them more competitive in the market.
After activating the “Deep Search” button on Bing, a variety of AI results, along with the citations and links to original sources, will populate your screen.
Weekly Digital Marketing News
- If you’re interested in improving your user experience, be sure to poke around the new Google Core Web Vitals Tool, CrUX Vis.
- Do you want to increase your SERP ranking? UCG could be your ticket! Explore ways to add this valuable content to your existing site.
- If you’re still relying on third-party targeting data, it’s time to tweak your strategy. Look into first-party options to see how you can continue to personalize your targeted ads.
- Play around with the Google AI Image Editing tool to see if you want to use it in the future for your Google Ads.
- Explore Bing’s new AI improvements and see how you can grab a piece of that organic web traffic.
Digital Marketing News 9/23/2024 to 9/27/2024
This week: TikTok goes head to head with Google, a new study reveals which Google Ads strategy might be the best, and new advancements for Meta AI, VR and AR are coming.
Here's what you missed this week in the digital marketing news.
1. Have You Tried TikTok's New Ad Feature?
TikTok launched Search Ads Campaigns in the US, meaning advertisers can now target app users through their search results page.
57% of users rely on the app’s search function, according to internal data. So, this new feature helps advertisers and brands tailor their ads to align with search behaviors, capturing this traffic.
TikTok’s testing shows that combining Search Ads and In-Feed Ads can help boost conversions by 20%. This helps them take advantage of users who don’t typically engage with ads.
This tailored approach to running ads on TikTok could skyrocket the use of the app even further, making it competitive with Google.
2. New Study Reveals Which Google Ad Strategy Might Be the Best
This analysis was completed by Optmyzer, reviewing 14,000+ accounts that each spend between $1500 and $5 million a month.
They found that success comes with thoughtful execution, accurate conversion data, and continuous testing.
Key findings:
- Advertisers using Manual CPC tend to see weaker CPA, CTR and conversion rates, despite its decent ROAS.
- Max Conversion Value consistently delivers better ROAS and CPA than other ad strategies.
- 48% of advertisers use multiple bidding strategies within the same account.
- Accounts with 50+ conversions in 30 days show the best performance across all strategies.
- There’s no universal bidding strategy that’s better than others (Smart, Auto, or Manual); success depends on execution and the access since they aren’t reliant on conversions, helping advertisers understand auction prices.
- Smart bidding and conversion threshold: Smart bidding can be effective once an account has reached at least 50 conversions in a 30-day period, regardless of budget. Higher budgets don’t guarantee better performance—low-budget accounts sometimes outperform high-budget ones.
- Conversion data matters: Accounts with more conversions (50+) perform better, even when using Manual bidding, in terms of CPA, ROAS, CPC and CTR. For lower-conversion accounts, using micro-conversions can help in Smart bidding, but advertisers must assign accurate values to each action for better budget allocation.
- Budget and bidding strategy: Manual bidding correlates linearly with budget size, while other strategies face performance issues with drastic budget changes. Budget adjustments in Smart bidding require 2-3 weeks for performance stabilization.
- Bid caps, floors and targets: Setting goals like bid caps and floors can either help or hurt performance, often due to human error. Keeping bid caps within 10% of the daily budget helps ensure enough clicks per day and prevents underserving or misallocating the budget.
3. Do You Agree With These 6 Tech/Media Predictions from eMarketer?
I love looking forward to the future so when I saw these 6 “very specific but maybe unlikely” predictions from emarketer, I knew I had to bring it here.
- A company will publicly reject generative AI
- Google will test its new consent workflow to opt in or out of data tracking
- Tubi will become a bigger streaming service. It is a free ad-supported service, but it is not preloaded on smart TVs like competitors
- ByteDance will sell TikTok to a US company due to the deadline from US regulators
- A children’s safety law will pass in 2025 to protect kids online
- Struggling tech companies, Dish and DirecTV, will merge.
What do you think about these predictions? If any come true, which will affect your workflow the most?
4. Google Ads Now Has Video Enhancement for PMax
Google Ads is adding a new Video Enhancement feature to improve ad performance through automated adjustments.
This new feature creates additional vertical and square versions of your videos, and additional shorter versions.
It was designed to optimize video creatives. As Google continues to add AI enhancements to its ad tools, it’s essential for advertisers to monitor campaign performance.
Initial reactions from marketers suggest that they are cautious about automated adjustments that might affect ad outcomes.
5. Are You Having Issues with WP Engine?
The WordPress/WP Engine feud is heating up and some WP Engine users are finding themselves in the crosshairs.
This week, WordPress banned thousands of WP Engine customers from being able to add or update plugins and themes. If your WP Engine site has been giving you issues, this could be why!
Check out how this could be affecting your site now and make a plan to protect yourself in the future.
6. Reddit Launches AI-Powered Tools for Ad Creation
Reddit’s newest tools will help small businesses create more effective ads to resonate with the online community.
So what new AI-powered ad tools are there?
- Ads Inspiration Library - a filterable collection of top-performing Reddit ads with AI-identified creative best practices
- Copywriter - Generates Reddit specific ad copy based on advertiser inputs and best practices
- Image Auto-Cropper - Automatically adjust imported images to the recommended display size
These tools are part of the broader strategy to make it easier for businesses to advertise on the platform.
7. Google's Spam Policy Updates
Google announced this week that they have updated their spam policy to make it easier for users to understand.
These changes include:
- More Information About Site Reputation Abuse
- New Details About Manual Action Consequences
- Changed Concept Of Thin Affiliate To Thin Affiliation
- More Appropriate Introductory Sentence
- Consolidation Of Words: Practices & Spam Practices
- Added The Concept Of Spam Abuse
- Improved Conciseness In General
- Improved Topic: Machine-Generated Traffic
If you are concerned about being swept up in Google’s spam takedown, you’re going to want to read this.
8. Google's Adding New priceType Property in Merchant Center
It’s now easier to specify sale pricing using structured data in the Merchant Center documentation.
Google notes, “it is easier for merchants to specify sale pricing through structured data and bring parity with price features in Merchant Center.”
“The following example shows a product with a sale price. The current, offer price automatically becomes a sale price when you provide a second price with the original, list price and mark it with a priceType property of value https://schema.org/ListPrice. Don’t mark the current, offer price with a priceType property.”
Here is a screenshot of the code:
9. Are You Advertising on Threads?
Regardless of how you felt about Threads before, there’s no denying that it continues to gain momentum. In August alone, 28 million people downloaded the app.
If you’ve been on X, it could be time to consider adding Threads to your social media marketing strategy, too.
While X still has more actual users, if Threads continues to trend the way it has, it could unseat X as the preferred word-content social app. Some experts even think that Threads is on track to have over 300 million active users before the end of the year. Could any of those millions of users be your target audience?
If you haven’t already, download Threads and start exploring the platform today!
10. Virtual AI Influencers: Love Them or Leave Them?
Brands like Dior, Calvin Klein, and BMW are all using virtual influencers, or a fictional avatar, but does that mean you should, too?
This recent story from MarketingDive explores why some companies are using virtual influencers over real ones and how that might affect human influencers who are using their brands to build big companies.
Some positives: AI influencers are not limited by working hours, unionization, and other legal or physical restraints.
They're better for demonstrating simple products, but not complex ones like sports equipment.
Unfortunately, they are subject to copyright issues, bias, deepfakes, and customer manipulation.
With retailers and brands looking for ways to cut costs, is a virtual influencer the answer?
11. Google's Crawler Overview Page
Google announced this week that they’ve revamped their entire crawler documentation, including the overview page. While there is now a higher level of information, some experts are saying it may be too much for the typical marketer.
There are now three pages: common crawlers, special-case crawlers, and user-triggered fetchers. This is great news if you’re interested in really detailed information about what crawler is hitting your page but it may be too much if you’re just looking for a brief overview.
Have you checked out the new pages yet? What do you think of it?
12. Have You Seen the Meta AI, VR, and AR Advancements?
Meta Connect 2024 was this week and the social media giant revealed some exciting advancements involving AI, VR, and AR.
Here's what's new:
- Orion AR glasses with wrist control
- New functionality for Meta’s Ray Ban glasses
- Quest VR headset with two different models
- Celebrity voices for Meta AI
- Meta AI Image context
- AI translations for Reels
- “Imagine AI” technology
Meta is also improving their AI chatbots for businesses, making it easier to connect with your audience.
Weekly Digital Marketing News Homework
- Research TikTok's new Search Ads Campaigns feature. Analyze how it could fit into your current marketing strategy.
- Review your Google Ads accounts and evaluate which bidding strategy you're using. Track results over 30 days to see if performance improves, particularly focusing on conversion rates and ROAS.
- Enable the Video Enhancement feature on one of your current Performance Max campaigns. Analyze how the auto-generated vertical and square videos perform compared to your original creatives.
- Check your WP Engine-hosted sites for any plugin or theme update issues.
- Review your website and ensure it complies with Google’s updated spam policies.
Digital Marketing News 9/16/2024 to 9/20/2024
This week: Performance Max gets a facelift and there seems to be a never-ending amount of AI tools and features being released.
Let's dive into it:
1. 4 New PMax Updates for Insights and Reporting
Earlier this week, Google announced it’s giving Performance Max an update, bringing users new tools for optimizing creative assets and ways to dive deeper into insights.
Here’s the latest updates:
- Creative reporting updates: You will soon be able to track conversion metrics for individual image, video, and copy and receive detailed suggestions (e.g., adding new headlines or images) to enhance performance.
- Streamlined performance insights: Google is integrating insights, explanations and recommendations into a single dashboard, eliminating the need to dig through multiple reports to understand campaign fluctuations.
- Target pacing insights: Advertisers can now track whether campaigns are meeting CPA and ROAS targets and pinpoint the factors behind underperformance, from market changes to budget constraints.
- Impression share reporting: This new addition to Performance Max allows advertisers to see how their text and Shopping ads are performing in search results, offering a clearer view of the competitive landscape. It’s available for both text ads and free product listings.
Why We Care: These new features will give advertisers a clear view of what’s driving performance and it will give them specific recommendations to improve.
By fine-tune campaigns, advertisers can drive even better performance and maximize their ad potential in competitive markets.
Asset reporting will be available by the end of September, and the rest are out now. Check your Google ads platform.
2. Negative Keyword Exclusions Have Finally Reached PMax
Another PMax update! Google will launch campaign-level negative keywords in Performance Max campaigns later this year. Advertisers will be excited about this one because they can fine tune their ad targeting on Search.
What’s coming:
- Negative keywords in PMax. The power to refine ad targeting by excluding specific search queries on campaign levels will be in your hands. This will start rolling out before the end of 2024.
- Omnichannel bidding in Demand Gen campaigns. This will let you optimize for both online and in-store conversions. This will exit beta soon.
- Demand Gen campaigns will be supported in Display & Video 360. This will add increased flexibility for media buying workflows. This is coming in October.
Why We Care: Advertisers finally control their own negative keyword exclusions and how their ads appear. This will create better alignment with brand and audience preferences.
3. How Did the August 2024 Core Update Actually Affect Websites?
The August 2024 Core Update took 19 days to roll out, but there weren't a ton of positive impacts. In fact, data providers are saying it was highly volatile.
This update caused significant fluctuations in search rankings, impacting various industries.The first four days of the update saw a big search ranking bug, causing rankings to fluctuate. Google advises you not to take into account movement you saw during the time it took to fix it. Instead, compare rankings and traffic from this week.
The volatility was among the highest seen in recent core updates, with major ranking shifts occurring in a short time. Some websites saw dramatic gains, while others experienced notable declines in visibility.
Experts suggest that Google's algorithm changes likely focused on content relevance, quality, and user experience. As with all core updates, businesses and SEO professionals are closely monitoring the changes to adjust their strategies accordingly.
4. YouTube Reviews 8,000 Top Ads for Key Trends
YouTube recently analyzed over 8,000 of the top ads highlighting key trends that contribute to successful video advertising.
The study reveals that ads under 30 seconds perform best, particularly those with engaging storytelling and a clear brand message. Brands that capture attention within the first few seconds and maintain emotional resonance throughout the ad tend to see higher success rates.
Other key findings:
- Increased representation: Brands are featuring more diverse characters and perspectives.
- Celebration of self-expression: Ads are focused on individuality and unique styles.
- Community-focused storytelling: Brands are emphasizing connection and social gatherings.
- Embracing magic and fantasy: Ads are using imaginative elements to spark interest.
- Partnering with creators: Brands are collaborating with creators to build trust and fan bases.
The research also emphasizes the importance of relatable content that fosters a connection with viewers. Additionally, ads with a strong call to action (CTA) show increased engagement. YouTube's analysis serves as a guide for marketers to optimize video ad performance and improve ROI.
5. AI-Powered Tools to Drive Holiday Sales from Meta
Meta has rolled out new advertising tools in anticipation of the 2024 holiday season, aimed at helping businesses enhance their ad performance during the busy shopping period.
These tools integrated with Meta’s AI-powered Advantage+ shopping campaigns can help businesses focus on improving campaign creation and optimization, making it easier for advertisers to reach their target audiences. Features include more personalized ad experiences and better performance tracking through Meta's platform.
Tools:
- Promo features: Meta is testing new ad formats that spotlight promotions, first-time purchase offers, and personalized discounts across Facebook and Instagram Reels, simplifying the application of promo codes to boost conversions.
- Reminder ads: Advertisers can now use reminder ads to nudge shoppers about sales and events, and drive in-app purchases with more frequent notifications.
- New ad capabilities: You can now add multiple landing pages to a single image or video ad via site links, making it easier for customers to find relevant products.
- Additionally, Meta is testing ads that target in-store shoppers and tourists based on location interest, offering businesses a chance to optimize for both in-store and online holiday traffic.
6. GCLID Conversion Tracking Issues
Advertisers have been reporting issues with Google Ad’s GCLID offline conversion tracking since September 12.
Even though the uploads have been marked as successful the associate conversion returns are showing zero results.
Why we care: Conversion data is the backbone of measuring campaign effectiveness. Without accurate tracking, it’s impossible to assess ROI, optimize bids, or make informed decisions on ad spend.
The response: The Google Ads team is aware of the issue and is investigating with urgency, The bug seems to be specific to GCLID-based offline conversions, with standard conversion tags unaffected.
7. Meet HubSpot's New AI-Powered Marketing Tools
HubSpot announced “Breeze” at its annual inbound marketing conference. Breeze is an AI layer integrated across the company’s marketing, sales, and customer service software.
- Breeze has three main components:
- Breeze copilot: AI-assistant that provides personalized recommendations beasong on data in the CRM
- Breeze agents: A set of four agents that can automate entire workflows like content generation, social media campaigns, prospecting, and customer support without human input.
- Breeze intelligence: Combines HubSpot customer data with third-party sources to build richer profiles.
Other new updates:
- Content Remix to repurpose videos into clips, audio, blogs, and more.
- AI video creation via integration with HeyGen
- YouTube and Instagram Reels publishing
- Improved marketing analytics and attribution
The announcements signal HubSpot’s AI-driven vision for unifying customer data
8. AI-Powered Ad Image Editing Comes to Search & Display
Google’s making a push towards creative. AI-powered image editing is expanding across Google platforms to Search, Display, App, and Demand Gen campaigns.
This will help marketers automate ad production and streamline processes since it all happens within Google Add.
Google’s “Automated Image Editing” can automatically enhance, edit, and generate responsive ad images based on machine learning and prompts or keywords provided by the advertiser.
AI can carry out the following tasks:
- Automating image resizing for different ad placements
- Removing unwanted backgrounds from product images
- Applying brand colors, fonts, and logos
- Creating video thumbnails and social media assets
- Generating entirely new images from textual descriptions
Why We Care: The move is part of Google's broader efforts to integrate AI more deeply into its advertising ecosystem, helping advertisers save time and enhance creativity while improving campaign performance.
9. Instagram Private Profiles for Anyone Under 18
Instagram has implemented new restrictions for ALL teen users, shifting them into a more advanced protection mode. It limits what they see, how much time they spend on the app and who can contact them.
The app has 6 new restrictions for teens:
- Private accounts – All teen users will be opted into private accounts, while those aged under 16 will need a parent’s permission to opt out of private mode. Private accounts limit who can connect with you, who can see your content, and who can DM your profile in the app.
- Messaging restrictions – Teens users will also now have the strictest messaging settings implemented by default, ensuring that they can only be messaged by people they follow or are already connected to.
- Sensitive content restrictions – Teen users will automatically be placed into the most restrictive settings via IG’s Sensitive Content Controls.
- Limited interactions – Teen users can only be tagged or mentioned by people they follow, while Hidden Words will also be implemented by default, filtering out offensive words and phrases.
- Time limit reminders - Teens will now get notifications telling them to leave the app after 60 minutes each day.
- Sleep mode enabled – This is a big one: sleep mode will be automatically activated between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., which will mute notifications overnight and send auto-replies to DMs.
Teens will have access to a new feature that allows them to select topics that want to see more of on their Explore page.
Why We Care: This is the first big move towards protection for young people against the dangers of social media. It also requires marketers to think outside of the box to create unique content as reliance on the algorithm will disappear.
Digital Marketing News Homework
- Update your Google Ads platform and monitor the new asset reporting features for individual conversion metrics. Review the insights and adjust creative assets based on Google's recommendations to optimize campaign performance.
- Prepare for the roll-out of negative keyword exclusions in Performance Max campaigns by creating a list of terms to exclude. Once available, implement campaign-level exclusions to fine-tune targeting.
- Leverage Meta’s AI-powered tools, such as personalized ad experiences and reminder ads, to enhance holiday campaign performance. Experiment with new promo features and site links to optimize for both in-store and online conversions.
- Review your current video ad strategy to incorporate shorter, engaging ads under 30 seconds. Emphasize storytelling, representation, community-focused content, and strong CTAs to align with top-performing trends.
- Utilize Google’s AI-powered image editing features to streamline ad creation by automating resizing, removing backgrounds, and applying brand elements. Incorporate these edits into Search, Display, and Demand Gen campaigns to enhance creativity.
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