Mackerel Media August 2022 Search & Digital Marketing News Roundup

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As the summer holidays come to an end and the constant stream of OOOs begins to ease, we’re reflecting on the biggest search and digital marketing trends of August 2022. 

Google launches helpful content update

As Google continues to improve the quality and relevance of its search results, the search engine has rolled out its latest helpful content update. This is designed to reward high-quality content which is genuinely helpful for readers, and target lower quality content which is written for search engines first. 

As copywriters and content teams have become wise to the tools and techniques used to increase the success of copy on search engines, it’s becoming easier to create content that ranks well purely because it was designed that way, regardless of the actual quality of the content or value for the reader. 

This challenge is only elevated by the increase in AI-generated writing tools. While cost-effective and time-saving for companies, Google’s John Mueller publicly referred to the AI-generated content as “spam” and advised against its use if good ranking is the goal.  

This update takes steps to combat the issue of high ranking but poor quality content,  prioritising content which is trustworthy and credible, created for a specific audience and successfully meets the wants and/or needs of the customer. A full list of guidance can be found here. 

As part of the announcement, Google was careful to specify that this update does not invalidate SEO best practices. SEO should be used to optimise people-first and high quality content, instead of trying to find loopholes to reach top ranking positions (if you need some help, let us know).

TikTok introduces new shopping features

As TikTok continues to expand its ecommerce capabilities, the fastest growing social media app in the world has introduced three new shopping features. These will be part of a newly-introduced ad suite called Shopping Ads. 

Designed to seamlessly integrate with the platform’s organically generated content, these features include Video Shopping Ads, Catalogue Listing Ads and LIVE Shopping Ads. 

Video Shopping Ads

Integrated within the app’s acclaimed For You Page (FYP), Video Shopping Ads allow brands to advertise their products within in-feed video ads. With in-post call to actions (CTAs), customers will be able to tap straight through to a customised landing page, to browse and purchase products within the TikTok app. 

Catalogue Listing Ads

Launching in the U.S initially, Catalogue Listing Ads allow advertisers to promote their products across the entire app, through product selections called Catalogues. These will be shared with relevant users as “recommended” or “related products”, to expand the reach of the brand’s product offering and reach users which have shown interest in similar items. 

LIVE Shopping Ads

LIVE Shopping Ads are designed to attract users from their FYP to a brand’s live event, where they are able to browse and shop products alongside other shoppers. This feature is designed to be interactive, to allow brands a further avenue to engage and build communities with their audiences. 

Often dismissed as a platform due to its popularity with younger demographics, TikTok is an extremely powerful tool for D2C brands. The success of its shoppable features outshine other platforms and provide plenty of opportunities and incentives to encourage customers through to purchase. Add to that the platform’s growing reach with older demographics and this is not a channel to be forgotten. 

Twitter introduces podcasts to engage new listeners 

As the popularity of podcasts continues to soar, Twitter has introduced audio content to its recently created Spaces Tab. In this personalised hub, users can group together their favourite shows by themes such as News, Music and Sports as well as gaining access to the most popular podcasts from around the world. 

It’s hoped that this new integration will give Twitter users more opportunities to engage with other users and listeners, with the option to thumbs up or thumbs down the shows they like or dislike. 

With more platforms available to listen to podcasts, it will be interesting to see the impact this has on listener figures and, in turn, advertisement costs and formats. We look forward to seeing how this upgrade is received over the coming weeks and months.

Mackerel Media July 2022 Search & Digital Marketing News Roundup

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This July brought strikes, heatwaves and several high profile resignations… but what it also brought was a whole host of new digital marketing updates for webmasters and marketers to sink their teeth into. From partnerships to product launches, explore our digital marketing highlights of July 2022. 

YouTube partners with Shopify to bring new shopping features and tools to the platform

Hot on the heels of competitor video-first platform, TikTok, YouTube has partnered with ecommerce giant Shopify to expand its shopping features. New tools will allow creators to manage how their products appear across their channels and enable users to make purchases without leaving the platform.

This is part of YouTube’s wider effort to expand its ecommerce integrations, and comes alongside new features in its Studio Shopping tab. Eligible creators will now have full access to live shopping features, such as the ability to tag products within a live stream from YouTube’s ‘Live Control Room’. 

 

 

Launching initially in the US, India and Brazil, the integration will also allow creators to link their Shopify account directly to their YouTube dashboard. Shopify will monitor inventory in real time to ensure stock levels are always up to date. 

With 40% of global shoppers reporting they have purchased products after discovering them on YouTube, these additional monetisation features are likely to be a game changer for the world’s largest video platform, capitalising on consumer interest in its peak and strengthening the ever-growing creator economy.  We’ll be watching the space on this one!

Google launches Ad Creative Studio 

After a year of testing in Beta, Google has launched its much-anticipated Ad Creative Studio. 

Blending “creativity and strategy”, the platform will make it easier for advertising teams to collaborate on video and display ads, and personalise content for a variety of audiences. 

 

Responding to growing demand for highly personalised ads, Creative Studio enables teams to create hundreds of versions of a single display or video ad. By setting certain parts of the ad (such as text or image) to ‘swappable’, the tool enables teams to customise creative for different audiences, locations, languages and contexts – at a fraction of the time it would take other platforms. 

The platform is already live for video content, and will be live for display creative soon. We look forward to delving into this tool and seeing just how much time can be saved. We’re also keen to hear from any creative agencies out there who have already welcomed Creative Studio into their workflows. 

Instagram puts local businesses on the map 

When travelling to a new city or browsing new haunts in our hometown, many of us are partial to a quick Instagram search. In an aesthetically pleasing, visual-first format, we can browse official business accounts, view tagged photos and assess popularity from content quality, follower count and reviews. 

In fact, 40% of 16-24 year olds are surpassing Google entirely, turning to visual platforms such as Instagram and TikTok to discover new businesses. 

Recognising this growing demand, Meta has introduced a searchable Instagram map, helping users to search, browse and discover popular local businesses in one location.

 Announced by Mark Zuckerberg on Instagram Stories just last week, the feature will allow users to filter by categories (such as hotels or restaurants), view distance from their location, compare opening times and browse content under accompanying hashtags. 

With more and more consumers turning to Instagram and TikTok to find new businesses, Zuckerberg has tapped into a golden opportunity for discovery tools. It will be fascinating to see how Instagram ads will be incorporated into this feature, including hyper-local targeting based on location and behaviour within the map. 

Google delays plans to phase out cookies by 2023 

In 2019, Google announced its Privacy Sandbox initiative with the aim of providing digital businesses the tools and insights they need to thrive online, without compromising the privacy of users. Part of this initiative involved pledging to phase out third party cookies by July 2023 to reduce cross-site and cross-app tracking. 

Just this week, Google shared plans to delay this phasing activity until Q3 of 2024. This is to ensure the “privacy-preserving” alternatives offered by Privacy Sandbox are fully functional and effective before the switch is made. 

While this isn’t great news for the privacy-conscious users among us, it does give marketers and analysts a little more time to prepare for the shift. But, as more and more consumers choose to ‘opt out’ of online cookies and become more savvy to tracking tricks, it’s likely that Google’s latest initiative will provide a welcome alternative for both parties. 

Google releases latest product reviews update 

In our final snippet of Google news, online product reviews are in for an upgrade as the search giant announces its fourth product reviews update.  

To combat the sea of templated and standardised review content online, the updated algorithm will favour higher-quality content based on original research and insightful analysis, written by subject matter experts (SMEs).

To accompany the announcement, Google laid out comprehensive advice on how to achieve this higher quality content, such as including key decision making factors, demonstrating supporting evidence and adding links to multiple sellers. 

If your website includes product reviews, it’s worth keeping tabs on these pages over the coming 2-3 weeks to monitor ranking. To futureproof your pages for the update, or set new guidance for your content team, explore the full list of official advice here. 

Mackerel Media is a full-service digital marketing agency based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Providing a diverse range of digital marketing services, from organic SEO and consultancy to paid social and PPC, we can build targeted short and long term campaigns to take your business to the next level. Explore our success stories here.

Mackerel Media June 2022 Search & Digital Marketing News Round Up

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The end of another month means another host of digital marketing updates and features to recap. This month’s round-up touches on everything from new reporting tools and insights to social media updates – there’s even a mention of the Metaverse in there.

Happy reading!

Google Search Console improves search visibility with updates to item classification 

Starting this month, Google is changing the way it classifies pages, items and issues in Search Console reports. This will not only help webmasters to better identify critical issues affecting visibility in search, but vastly improve the tracking and reporting of key goals and metrics. 

 

 

While Google will continue to test and roll out this feature over the remainder of the year, its broad aim is to group top-level items (such as rich level reports and page URLs) into a ‘valid’ or ‘invalid’ category, simplifying the process of identifying and fixing page errors for users of all levels.

Read more → 

Meta introduces monetisation tools for creators 

As the creator economy continues to take off, Meta is launching additional tools and features to further encourage monetisation on its platforms. 

Within a Facebook thread on 21st June, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed the updates will ‘help creators build for the metaverse’, in his bid to encourage widespread adoption of Meta’s digital-first universe. 

 

 

These updates will include: 

Facebook Stars

Similar to TikTok’s gifting feature, Facebook Stars will allow eligible creators to earn additional income through Reels and Instagram Lives. Users purchase the stars for a set fee, which they can then award to creators to show appreciation for the content they have created. 

 

 

Monetising Reels

Supporting creators to make the most of their content, Meta will extend the reach of its Reels Bonus Play program, allowing more creators to be paid directly through the platform while easily sharing their content from Instagram Reels to Facebook. 

Creator Marketplace

Following TikTok’s lead once again, Meta is also working on developing a new area of the Instagram platform where brands can discover new creators, pay them for their content, and share new partnership opportunities. 

We look forward to seeing how these features are received and adopted by both brands and creators. While it’s clear that almost every other platform out there is after a slice of TikTok’s booming success, it does beg the question whether there’s any merit in setting yourself apart from the rest… 

Read more → 

LinkedIn provides the laughs 

While we are talking all things social media, no June 2022 round-up would be complete without a mention of LinkedIn’s newly-launched ‘laugh’ reaction. As Linkedin’s most highly-requested feature, the reaction graced users’ feeds on 17th June, as a way to “express humour and fun on LinkedIn”.

 

 

As LinkedIn continues to evolve into a platform which offers entertainment value to its users – where personal achievements are shared just as widely as professional ones – the new feature definitely holds a place alongside existing reactions, Like, Celebrate, Support, Love, Insightful and Curious. 

Suffice to say, the new reaction was nothing short of well-received.  

Mackerel Media is a full-service digital marketing agency, helping global clients to build their brands through an integrated mix of SEO, PPC, paid social, display ads, content optimisation and robust analytics. Contact us to find out more about how we can help you grow your brand in 2022.

May 2022 Search & Digital Marketing News Round Up

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May 2022 was a busy month for Google. From algorithm changes to new ad features, we’ve pulled together all of the latest updates so that you don’t have to. 

Google rolls out May 2022 broad core update

In big SEO news this month, Google announced the release of its latest broad core update. The first release since November last year, this update will bring enhancements to overall ranking processes, making the relevance of search results as accurate as possible. 

Source: Twitter

While the full effects of the changes are yet to be determined, some sites may experience drops or gains in their page rankings as a result. Google commented: 

Core updates are changes we make to improve Search overall and keep pace with the changing nature of the web. While nothing in a core update is specific to any particular site, these updates may produce some noticeable changes to how sites perform, which we’ve noted in previous guidance on what site owners should know about core updates.

The update will take around 1-2 weeks to roll out fully, during which time we’ll be keeping a close eye on Analytics, Search Console and our other tools for any notable site changes.

Google Marketing Live event reveals wealth of new ad features 

On Tuesday 24th May, Google hosted its annual Marketing Live event, sharing the latest Google Ads and Commerce features to help businesses evolve how they advertise on the platform. 

Source: Google

The event revealed a whole host of new features, enhancing performance tracking for advertisers while providing a much more interactive experience for users. This year’s biggest updates included:

  • Additions to the Insights page – improving the personalisation of trend data to produce a clearer picture of consumer demand. Features included the introduction of Attribution, Budget and Audience insight reports. 

Source: Google

  • Introduction of video ads in Discover – creating more engaging and compelling ad experiences with branded video assets in Google feeds.

Source: Google

  • Mobile-first layouts for responsive display ads – enabling users to scroll through ads in a vertical format, magnifying ad salience for brands.

Source: Google

  • Updates to the Shopping Ad Format – bringing a swipe-able shopping experience to mobile for the first time.

Source: Google

With a greater focus on video content and vertical, swipe-able shopping experiences, we suspect Google is taking steps to simulate the immensely successful shoppable ad formats on TikTok and Instagram. It will be interesting to see how the ad features compare to these mobile-first giants – who hasn’t fallen victim to an Instagram purchase or two!

Google experiments with favicon display label

Looking ahead, Google has also been experimenting with a new Google Ads label display, introducing the brand’s site favicon alongside the ad domain and display URL and testing the words ‘advertisement’, ‘ad’, and ‘sponsored’. 

Source: Brodie Clark

Google has confirmed this is to test whether users can more easily identify the brand and will therefore be more engaged with the ad as a result – interesting for a search engine that has spent the best part of the last decade finding ways to embed ads into the SERP as subtly as possible! If rolled out widely, this could mean changes to click-through rates (CTR) on paid ads, and subsequent changes to organic listings too. Watch this space. 

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SEO Predictions for 2022

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It is interesting reading clickbait articles written by my fellow SEOs predicting the changes and trends that they expect to see over the coming year. It can be more interesting going back and reading their predictions from the previous year to see how accurate they turned out to be.

Can we do any better? Let’s find out.

Our Predictions

We can start with an easy one. SEO will be declared “dead” at least once a week. Most of these proclamations will be an attempt at clickbait, an odd one polemical, with perhaps one or two genuinely believing it.

Am I worried that I will be out of a job?

Short answer, no. Longer answer, not at all.

Google is going to continue squeezing the amount of space it gives to the organic results on its results pages. The so-called ten blue lines will appear increasingly lost among the clutter and more eye-catching results as Google looks to maximise revenue from search.

The importance of being on an increasingly competitive first page will make SEO and working with the right agency more important than ever. If you want to earn the click, then you have to ensure you are as high up the first page as possible.

The pandemic has forced many businesses to reevaluate their online strategies. Companies who are new to, or had previously chosen not to focus on online, have had to catch up very quickly. As these companies catch up, the organic results are becoming even more competitive.

Far from being dead, SEO is possibly more competitive than ever.

Apart from this increased competitiveness, how do we expect organic search to evolve in 2022?

How will Google evolve in 2022

For a considerable time now, Google has been moving in one direction, and we don’t expect to see that change this year. A results page is essentially Google saying here are ten high quality sites that we believe best answer your query. These sites should be fast, free of spam and work on your device. With the Page Experience update, often referred to as Core Web Vitals, they added the user’s experience of the page to their algorithm. They want to provide their users with the best pages possible.

If you combine this with their prioritisation of sites that demonstrate expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness, or E-A-T, as spelled out in their Search Quality Rater guidelines you can see clearly how Google is evolving.

SEO is no longer about quick shortcuts or tricks (if it ever was). It is wholly about creating high quality sites developed for users and not algorithms. This will mean working with developers, designers, UX specialists and content creators and utilising the strength of the team.

Just as Google is becoming better at identifying high quality sites, so are users. Users are able to look at a page of search results and determine from the titles and meta descriptions what they can expect from a site if they click on a link. When they see a poorly written, keyword-stuffed title, they are able to make an assessment of the quality of that site and behave accordingly.

Will Google incorporate bounce rates into their algorithm?

All of this you think would make it desirable for Google to start incorporating bounce rates, conversion rates, time on page and exit rates as ranking factors. With the ubiquity of Google Analytics, they have access to this data for the majority of sites.

So why not use it? Well for starters, these metrics are all easily manipulable. Bots could be used to inflate the bounce rate on a competitor site. They already have enough data to be able to determine what is a high-quality site.

With Time-on-Page, a short session could indicate the user was able to easily find the information they were after, or they could have decided after seeing the page to try another site. Analytics is not yet sophisticated enough to determine why the user exited a page, and given the many reasons someone might have, there might not ever be a way to know for certain without them actually telling you….which is unlikely to happen.

The rise of the machines….learning

Google has been experimenting with applying machine learning to the organic results. We do not know how close they are to making this work, or if they have made it work how close they are to rolling it out.

If they manage,  instead of a team of search engineers determining what is or is not a ranking factor, an algorithm will constantly evolve determining what sites should rank. Will the factors they use match those that were chosen by the search engineers? Will there be visibility on how it ranks websites? Will the ranking factors chosen by an algorithm be better than those chosen by a team of humans? Would this make a change to how we optimise websites?

This is very likely several years away, at the earliest. It is part of an increasing trend of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, sharing knowledge between the different companies.

Will 2022 be the year of voice search?

The last word is saved for voice search. Will 2022 be the year of voice search? As people have been predicting for the past three years….

It is fairly safe to say that next year we will be asking if 2023 is going to be the year of voice search, as people have been predicting for the past four years. It is going to continue to grow at a steady rate, but it is nowhere close to becoming the dominant method of how people search.

This year search will continue to mature along the same path. Google will continue refining their algorithms in order to ensure they provide the best answers to your search queries. The SERP or results page will become more competitive than ever, making SEO more important.

The November 2021 Search & Digital Marketing News Round Up

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November was a busy month for Google, and for the many webmasters and SEO professionals who follow every move they make. 

Google started the month with a spam update at the start of the month, stating their intention is to better deal with content that doesn’t meet their guidelines.

Some eagle-eyed observers suggested that the ‘Automatically generated content’ guidelines were updated on the same day, so if you’re looking for a clue on what changed and what you should stop if – horror – you are bending the rules.

Later in the month Google commenced the roll-out of the November 2021 Core Search Algorithm update, which completed on the 30th of November. Although a major update, we have not seen a high degree of fluctuation in the organic rankings that we have come to expect with core updates.

Desktop Page Experience will be a ranking factor

Google also announced that from February 2022  page experience on desktop sites – Core Web Vitals –  will become a ranking factor, meaning the only factor that doesn’t apply to both Mobile and Desktop ranking is (somewhat obviously) mobile friendliness.

Three SEO Heads are (much) better than one

Three of Google’s most high profile members of their Search Relations team John Mueller, Gary Illyes and Martin Splitt got together to discuss the future of SEO, and it’s well worth a listen below if you have 45 minutes to spare, or a read if that’s more your thing. There’s a very interesting section on making browser-based applications accessible to search engines, and the technical design decisions that might entail during development.

Facebook Targeting Sensitive Targeting

November also saw some updates from Facebook who are making changes to detailed targeting options for advertising. From January 2022 through to March 2022 Facebook will remove Detailed Targeting options that relate to topics people may perceive as sensitive including options referencing causes, organisations or public figures that relate to health, race or ethnicity, political affiliation, religion or sexual orientation. Clearly this will make advertising targeting harder for some brands, but if you place faith in the Facebook targeting algorithms, there’s a good chance the right creative will find its way to the right people…