This week: YouTube rolls out some new goodies, Google wants you to take another look at Broad Match, and Facebook gives you a new way to make money from thieves.
Here’s what happened this week in digital marketing.
YouTube Analytics Now Includes Traffic Sources
YouTube Analytics is getting a new report that shows you where viewer traffic is coming from.
You can find the report in the Analytics tab in YouTube Studio. Look in the section titled “How viewers found this video.”
In the report, you’ll see the percentage of traffic that came from sources like notifications, subscribers, YouTube recommendations, and more.
Additionally, YouTube is rolling out an audio library that offers thousands of royalty-free songs and sound effects you can use in your own videos.
Twitter Introduces Fleets: Temporary Tweets
Twitter is taking a page out of Snapchat’s playbook and giving users the opportunity to post tweets that disappear after 24 hours.
The new tweet format, called a fleet, is designed to encourage people to join conversations that won’t last forever on the Internet.
The company says it received feedback from users who complained that they didn’t feel comfortable expressing opinions on the platform. They’re concerned that one day their tweets might come back to bite them.
Those folks should feel more comfortable with tweets that aren’t permanent.
Fleets also have additional styling options not available to normal tweets.
Twitter has already tested fleets in Brazil, India, South Korea, and Italy with positive feedback.
Look for fleets to roll out over the next several days.
Image Courtesy: Twitter
YouTube Rolls out Audio Ads for Podcast and Music Audiences
YouTube is launching an audio-based ad unit for people who use the platform to listen to podcasts and music.
Why? Because, believe it or not, people use YouTube to consume audio content.
Keep in mind, though: the ads aren’t only audio. Marketers can run ads that include a narration over a still image on the screen.
During its testing phase, YouTube says it saw a lift of 75% in brand-name awareness with audio ad campaigns.
The new ad format is in beta right now. It’s available in Google Ads.
Image Courtesy: Search Engine Journal
Google Moves Disavow Tool to Search Console
Good news if you need to use the disavow tool to keep your distance from spammy links: Google moved the tool to Search Console.
Additionally, Google updated the support page. The additional instructions state that the max file upload size stands at 100,000 lines and 2 Mb.
The Big G also boasted about three new improvements to the tool:
- A better user interface
- The ability to download the disavow file as a text file
- Error reports for uploaded files no longer limited to 10 errors
In response to the news, SEOs reminded Google that the company still needs to bring back the URL inspection tool.
Google Web Stories WordPress Plugin Gets an Update
You might already know about Google’s Web Stories WordPress plugin. But did you know that the company just released an update to the software?
Image Courtesy: Google
Here’s what you can expect in v1.1:
- Support for GIFs – Google added Tenor to its plugin so now you can add GIFs with a drag-and-drop UI. As a bonus, Google says that the plugin uses high-performance video instead of GIF technology to load the image quickly.
- More typography options – Google also partnered with iA to offer high-quality text options for your Web Stories.
- Video captions – The tool now allows you to upload captions directly to the editor. They’ll need to comply with the VTT spec, though.
The new version of the plugin is available now.
Google Ads Wants You to Take Another Look at Broad Match
If you run search ads, you might think of Broad Match as the ugly, red-headed stepchild of all the match options. But Google has a different take.
In a blog post on Monday, Google said that it’s going to start showing recommendations for Broad Match.
“If you’re using Smart Bidding, we’ll identify existing keywords that are likely to improve performance if you switch them to broad match,” Google said in the post.
As an example, Google said that the “women’s hats” keyword could match for “winter headwear for women” or “women’s accessories” if you’re using Broad Match.
Further, the company pointed out that if you use Smart Bidding with Broad Match, you can set the right bid for each of the different keywords via auction-time signals.
Google highlighted the success of two companies that recently switched to Broad Match: iProspect and Japan Experience.
In the case of iProspect, that company saw a 20% increase in conversions. It should be noted, though, that iProspect used Broad Match with predictive signals as a safety net.
Travel company Japan Experience said it saw a third of its revenue growth stem from Broad Match keywords.
YouTube Will Insert Ads Into Non-Monetized Content
Confirmed: commercials will ruin YouTube the same way they ruined broadcast television.
In a recent update to its terms of service, YouTube added a provision that enables the company to run ads on content that’s not part of the YouTube Partner Program.
That’s bad news for businesses that use YouTube videos to promote their own brands as opposed to monetizing content. Lots of people won’t want to watch what is essentially one commercial on top of another commercial.
Additionally, the new YouTube terms of service also include a provision that bans the harvesting of facial recognition data from content.
The changes went into effect this week.
Facebook Adds Duplicate Content Monetization Option
If you post original content on Facebook but worry that others will steal your creative work and use it for their own purposes, then you’ll love this news.
Facebook is making it easier for you to detect duplicate content. You’ll see that with new rules inside the Rights Manager.
However, the really good news is that you can monetize the duplicate content.
Image Courtesy: Facebook
In other words, Facebook is giving you the option to essentially say, “Yeah, I know this person copied my creative work, so I’ll just let him keep the copy and make some money off of it.”
YouTube already does that.
LinkedIn Finds Error That Could Have Cost 400,000 Advertisers Some Money
Uh oh.
This past week, LinkedIn reported a bug in its ad reporting. As a result, hundreds of thousands of advertisers were overcharged for their campaigns.
“In August, our engineering team discovered and then subsequently fixed two measurement issues in our ads products that may have overreported some Sponsored Content campaign metrics for impression and video views,” LinkedIn said in a statement.
Apparently, the problem occurred when iOS users rotated their phones as they watched LinkedIn video ads. Every rotation counted as an extra view.
The defect affects as many as 448,000 advertisers, according to LinkedIn.
Homework
It’s not time to slack up just because we’re getting close to the holiday season. Here are a few action items you can add to your list from this week’s news:
- If you advertised with videos on LinkedIn, make sure you get any refund you’re owed.
- If you post creative work on Facebook, take advantage of the option to monetize your stolen content.
- Yes, you probably should take a look at Broad Match if you’re into Google Ads. You might find some surprisingly profitable results.
- If you use the Google Web Stories WordPress plugin, be sure to get the latest release.
- Consider running audio ads on podcasts or YouTube Music. You might reach people that you wouldn’t reach anywhere else.
- Browse through YouTube analytics to check your traffic sources. You might find some opportunities for additional organic reach or advertising.
