Technology News and Industry Knowledge

Google has added four new features to its Performance Planner forecasting tool, including options for previously ineligible campaigns, “suggested changes,” and more, the company announced Tuesday. Previously ineligible campaigns can be forecasted using past performance. Image: Google. Performance Planner’s new features. The updates include: The ability to add previously ineligible campaigns by using past performance or adding manual forecasts to plan across your entire account. The “Suggested changes” column, which displays budget and bid recommendations for a specific campaign. The ability to add secondary metrics to a performance plan, which may help advertisers understand impacts on performance beyond their most important metrics. “For example, if you create a plan to maximize conversions, you can now also add a column that shows the changes to clicks as well,” Dean Chen, product manager at Google Ads, wrote. The ability to select a specific time range for historical co...

Competitive visibility reports in Google Merchant Center are now available in open beta, Google has confirmed to Search Engine Land. The metrics within the reports include relative visibility, page overlap rate and higher position rate. Tip of the hat to Gianpaolo Lorusso for bringing this to our attention. A screenshot of the relative visibility report. Image: Gabriele Benedetti & Giusi Lombardi. Why we care. Competitive visibility metrics can help merchants understand how often their competitors’ offers are shown compared to their offers, how frequently competitors’ offers are shown together with their offer on the same page and how often a competitor’s offer was placed in a higher position than their offer. This data can help merchants get a more detailed view of their reach across Shopping ads and free listings (specifically or combined), who their competitors are and how visible their offers are compared to their competitors, which may help to identify aspects of th...

YouTube Search Insights is an experimental feature that shows creators search data such as the queries that led viewers to their videos or query data across YouTube’s entire audience. It can also identify content gaps (when viewers can’t find the exact content they’re looking for). Search Insights was announced on YouTube’s Creator Insider channel on Thursday, November 25, 2021; the company has not provided a timeline for the rollout. The new features are spread across two tabs within YouTube Insights: “Your viewers’ searches” and “Searches across YouTube.” Why we care. This experimental feature provides brands and creators with keyword data that can be used to hone in on their audience’s interests or gauge interest for any topic across YouTube’s entire user base. It also provides them with data on how important those keywords are to their overall view count. And, if it works well, the content gap feature may streamline workflows even further by simply highlighting content opportun...

Google has confirmed that the November 2021 core update is now finished rolling out. The announcement. “The November 2021 Core Update rollout is now complete,” Google wrote  on the Google Search Central Twitter account. The November 2021 Core Update rollout is now complete. — Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) November 30, 2021 November 2021 core update. As a reminder, the November 2021 core update started to roll out at about 11 a.m. ET on November 17, 2021. This update took 13 days to roll out after it was announced. So this update started on November 17, 2021 and lasted through November 30, 2021. When and what was felt. Based on early data, this update seemed to roll out fast and in a significant manner for many queries the data providers track. We did see some “tremors,” shifts in volatility, after the initial update the day before and the day of Thanksgiving, as well as on November 30th , these are the final sets of volatility you would see from the init...

IndexNow has now been turned on by over 60,000 websites that use Cloudflare in less than two months after IndexNow was announced by Microsoft. IndexNow is an open protocol that any search engine can participate in to enable site owners to have their pages and content instantly indexed by the search engine.  Microsoft and Cloudflare announced today that “more than 60,000 unique websites that have opted-in to Crawler Hints. Those zones have sent Bing about billion Hints for when specific assets on their websites have changed and need to be re-crawled.” I turned it on for the Search Engine Roundtable, my personal search blog, when it was announced. How to turn it on. It literally is controlled by the flip of a switch in Cloudflare under the crawler hints section that you can access under the cache tab, then under the configuration section: Microsoft said once this setting is enabled it, IndexNow “will begin sending hints to search engines about when they should crawl particula...

Opening in 2022 and located in the Caribbean Sea, the getaway is themed around sustainability while mirroring the brew's beach-going ads. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/corona-uncaps-branded-island-experience-that-puts-nature-first/610686/

Through cookie alternatives and lessons learned from past digital marketing efforts, brands can hit reset on privacy in the metaverse. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/why-metaverse-could-be-breakthrough-privacy-compliant-digital-marketing/610661/

“Everyone has annoying tasks in their job that you wish you could hire someone else to do, and at this point, you could automate it,” said Colt Sliva, SEO Engineer at iPullRank, in his presentation at SMX Next . “Additionally, you can be effective even when you’re not available.” Many SEOs, however, lack the programming knowledge to set these systems up themselves, which is why automation tools are on the rise. Choosing one may seem daunting with so many automation resources , including no-code, low-code, and maximum-code options. But, as Sliva points out, there is always a tool available, no matter your technical literacy. Selecting a marketing automation tool is just the first part of this process. Here are some actionable steps Sliva recommends marketers take to automate their SEO tasks. Create a data storage space Every marketer has their tool preferences, but Sliva recommends using Google Sheets and its macro scheduling when setting up SEO task automation. “What it will do is...

By scanning QR codes on the retailer's ubiquitous boxes, users can take a virtual drive and unlock three months of Amazon Music Unlimited. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/volkswagen-embeds-ar-driving-experience-on-amazon-boxes/610651/

Navigating Google updates, algorithm changes, and diagnosing specific causes of traffic loss can be challenging.  Throughout the past year, Google has been more aggressive , rolling out changes to their search algorithm, launching three Core Updates along with a variety of more narrowly focused improvements during the year.  Complicating things further, many of these updates overlapped or occurred within the same date range, making it more difficult to understand which update(s) may have caused traffic & ranking loss for webmasters. If your SEO traffic is on the decline, let’s take a look at three potential reasons why and discuss how to reverse the trend heading in 2022. 1. Page Experience, Site Speed, and Core Web Vitals The first phase of Google’s Page Experience Update had a three-month rollout this past summer, concluding in early September.  This update rewards secure & fast-loading pages on mobile devices which pass Core Web Vitals requirements as des...

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Marketers spend billions of dollars in paid search deployed across tens of thousands of local campaigns. The challenge is dealing with all the complexity that creeps in while managing those campaigns across multiple locations alongside multiple affiliates, media partners, and agencies. In this webinar, join Adthena and learn how to drive performance from your campaigns while reducing waste through ineffective local campaigns. And as a bonus, do it in less time with more confidence. You’ll hear about the challenges that Adthena customers have faced and the steps they took to forge ahead. Register today for “ 2 Lights to Guide Your Google Paid Search Path to Success in 2022 ,” presented by Adthena. The post Find your Google paid search path to success in 2022 appeared first on Search Engine Land . Via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/1BDlNnc

Online consumer spend in the U.S. came in at $5.1 billion on Thanksgiving Day, showing flat YoY growth, and Black Friday generated $8.9 billion, which is slightly less than the $9 billion it generated in 2020, according to Adobe. Thanksgiving weekend sales also failed to outperform last year’s figures, although consumer spend is expected to achieve 10% YoY growth for the overall shopping season. Adobe’s data comes from analyzing direct consumer transactions online. Projections are based on an analysis of over one trillion visits to U.S. retail sites, 100 million SKUs and 18 product categoriess. Why we care. Cyber Week sales are struggling to meet last year’s levels, but that might be okay because, “With 21 days in November driving over $3 billion in spend, what we know as Cyber Week is starting to look more like Cyber Month,” said Taylor Schreiner, director at Adobe Digital Insights. For reference, last November, only 8 days topped $3 billion by November 28, 2020. Supply chain issu...

Already adept at communicating their clients' sustainability measures, some agencies are starting to adapt a more internal focus as well. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/agencies-explore-how-they-can-contribute-to-the-climate-fight/610620/

It is the first brand partner on a new platform launching with 20 publishers, including La Opinión and El Diario owner Impremedia. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/espolon-tequila-toasts-mindshares-private-marketplace-supporting-latinx-h/610538/

The move is expected to strengthen services around content production and extended reality, the latter of which may be a critical factor in the metaverse. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/deloitte-acquires-madras-global-as-clients-navigate-tsunami-of-content/610625/

The deal follows a slew of recent efforts by the vodka brand to tie itself more closely to themes of style, music and culture. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/grey-goose-ties-with-grammys-as-official-spirit-partner-in-multiyear-pact/610577/

Vaccinations have made in-store shopping possible and even fun, but this holiday season remains complicated. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/winners-and-losers-of-black-friday-2021/610627/

Google has updated its reviews help document page in the Google Business Profile support area to say that Google values all reviews, not just positive. Now Google says it is “more trustworthy” to see a mix of both positive and negative reviews on the business profile. What is new. Google has added a bullet point to the document that reads “Value all reviews: Reviews are useful for potential customers when they’re honest and objective. Customers find a mix of positive and negative reviews more trustworthy. You can always respond to a review to show the customers that you care and provide additional context. If the review doesn’t follow  our posting guidelines , you can  request to remove it .” Here is a screenshot: Ranking impact? This will probably not impact rankings in any way but it might be a sign that if a business has 99% all positive reviews, maybe – just maybe – Google will flag that business and manually audit the reviews of that business. It is simply not...

Google Merchant Center is now automatically showing retailers when their products are eligible for badges, a Google spokesperson has confirmed to Search Engine Land. Available badges include, but are not limited to, the “sale price,” “price drop,” “amount off,” “percent off,” and “buy quantity, get percent off” badges.   Tip of the hat to Kirk Williams, who first posted about this new feature. Image: Kirk Williams. Why we care Badging isn’t new. However, the column showing which badge your products are appearing with is new and it can help merchants understand how potential customers are seeing their ads, without needing to manually figure it out for themselves. This can help retailers identify the types of promotions that are (or aren’t) working out for their business. The latest shopping search news Google introduces new ‘Deals’ features for the Shopping tab and Merchant Center Google to enforce unique product identifiers on free merchant listings Microsoft Bin...

Since the pandemic started we’ve been tracking how COVID-19 has affected the way marketers attend conferences and other business events through our Event Participation Index . And, as you’d expect, overall comfort with attending in-person events has grown since vaccines became available and activities like dining and movie-going have resumed. But with the Delta variant wave having caused major spikes across the country, and the new Omicron variant sparking fresh concern, we thought it would be a good time to check in again about your attitudes toward in-person events. The data we gather helps organizers to better make plans and accommodations. So, please answer this quick, 3-minute survey and tell us how you are feeling about attending conferences in the coming year. We will publish the results here in the next few weeks. Click here to answer our survey. The post Tell us if you are planning to attend in-person events in 2022 appeared first on Search Engine Land . Via Search Engi...

Building links isn’t easy and navigating the link-building landscape nowadays is complicated. Many agencies and platforms out there claim to do incredible work, but it’s hard to know who to trust. Some services use white hat link-building tactics that search engines love, and others build low-quality links using unnatural tactics. What is link building, and why is it important? Link building is the process of actively seeking out backlinks from another website back to yours.  Having high-quality links to your site is one of Google’s most important ranking factors . It’s a key trust signal for search engines and an indication that people like your content and your brand. A number of ethical, white-hat link-building strategies can be used to accomplish this, including broken link building, guest posting, and outreach campaigns to show people your incredible content. What is a link-building service? A link-building service is a company or platform that will help you to accel...

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PPC Strategist @ Portent (U.S. remote) Salary: $60-85k/yr Support the PPC Team Lead and other PPC team practitioners to help execute for clients on Google Ads, Bing Ads, and other major paid advertising platforms. Monitor and optimize client accounts, seeking out growth opportunities, assessing performance, and partnering with other Strategists and Senior Strategists to drive strategy and meet the client’s marketing goals. Sr. SEO Specialist @ G2 (U.S. remote) Salary: $70-90k/yr Drive the keyword strategy and content optimization on learn.g2.com. Support the SEO team in developing and executing big bets for G2’s marketplace . Head of PPC @ Evoluted (UK remote) Salary: £40-50k/yr Develop and/or oversee client strategy development with paid media strategists and specialists. Lead, manage and inspire the paid media team to deliver exceptional work for Evoluted’s clients. Senior SEO Specialist @ American Addiction Centers (San Diego, CA; remote option available) ...

Google’s mobile-first indexing deadline is no longer a deadline and it decided to leave the “timeline open for the last steps of mobile-first indexing,” John Mueller of Google said on the company blog . Previously, Google postponed the deadline from September 2020 to March 2021, and that deadline came and past. No timeline. Now, Google said there is no specific timeline, instead Google said the search company “decided to leave the timeline open for the last steps of mobile-first indexing.” Google added currently Google does not “have a specific final date for the move to mobile-first indexing.” Why no deadline. Google said the deadline has been removed because after “analyzing the sites that are not yet indexed mobile-first” the company “determined that some of these sites are still not ready to be shifted over due to various, unexpected challenges that they’re facing.” Google added that these “sites were facing unexpectedly difficult challenges and we wanted to accommodate their...

“COVID itself has changed the way that people interact with businesses online,” said Amanda Jordan, director of local search at LOCOMOTIVE Agency, in her session at SMX Next , “which means that search engines, businesses and marketers had to pivot to meet those demands and needs.” The events of 2020 have changed how local businesses operate as well as Google’s search results. And, while these shifts are designed to make search easier for consumers, many businesses have been caught unawares, losing visibility on Google. Image: Amanda Jordan. Local marketers are at the forefront of these SERP updates, helping clients adapt to changes in features such as their Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) and Google Maps. But, the differences in these updates are not lost on local marketing professionals. “Google, as always, is changing the layout and testing new things, so that’s not surprising,” said Jordan. “The thing that I found most interesting were the changes to r...

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A safe-for-work video riffs on the subscription-based platform's association with explicit material, but the burger chain may have miscalculated user interest. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/white-castle-signs-up-for-onlyfans-to-share-spicy-thanksgiving-content/610570/