Technology News and Industry Knowledge

Google Ads has added recommendations to Discovery campaigns, the company announced Monday. In addition, the ability to automatically apply recommendations has rolled out to manager accounts and the platform is also adding more recommendations for Video campaigns. Why we care. Recommendations may help you troubleshoot your campaigns or identify opportunities for greater efficiency. However, advertisers should exercise caution when opting into auto-applied recommendations — while they might save you some time, it might not be the most effective way to spend your budget. Recommendations for Discovery campaigns. As mentioned above, recommendations are now available for Discovery campaigns. A recommendation for a Discovery campaign in Google Ads. Image: Google. And, Google Ads is also now showing optimization scores for Discovery campaigns as well. Auto-apply recommendations in manager accounts. The ability to automatically apply recommendations has rolled out to manager acco...

A deal with Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment kicks off with a Crackle Plus program featuring custom integrations for The General. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/publicis-media-furthers-dei-bets-with-multiyear-content-pact-focused-on-str/617969/

An interactive virtual space displays towering zodiac sculptures by Humberto Leon in the latest sign the chain is committed to exploring the tech frontier. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/mcdonalds-enlists-fashion-designer-for-lunar-new-year-celebration-in-metav/618013/

The brand teamed with artists to design the shirts while positioning itself as a better-for-you brew to reach younger, more wellness-focused generations. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/michelob-ultra-unveils-streetwear-line-to-reflect-growing-wellness-strategy/618011/

Google has made changes to the way it handles Breadcrumbs and HowTo structured data within Google Search Console’s reporting tools. Google said it “changed the way that it evaluates and reports errors in Breadcrumbs and HowTo structured data.” The impact . This may impact the number of errors, issues and other metrics Google reports on within Google Search Console’s enhancement reports related to Breadcrumbs and HowTo structured data. Reporting change only. This is a reporting change only and this does not impact the visibility of your rich results in Google Search. What to do next. It is recommended that if you have Breadcrumbs and HowTo structured data, you should check the reports in Google Search Console and address the revised errors and issues that Google is now reporting. Google said “you may see changes in the number of Breadcrumbs and HowTo entities and issues reported for your property, as well as a change in severity of some issues from errors to warnings.” Why we car...

Google has released a new API under the Search Console APIs for the URL Inspection Tool, the search company announced this morning. The new URL Inspection API lets you programmatically access the data and reporting you’d get from the URL Inspection Tool but through software, like any API would. API limits. The API has limits, so you can’t just run it on every URL on every site in a single day. The API has a 2,000 queries per day and 600 queries per minute limit. So don’t expect to run it against your whole entire one-million page website today. You will have to queue things up or run it on as needed basis. Use cases. Google provided some use cases for the API, they include: SEO tools and agencies can provide ongoing monitoring for important pages and single page debugging options. For example, checking if there are differences between user-declared and Google-selected canonicals, or debugging structured data issues from a group of pages. CMS and plugin developers can a...

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Utilize zero- and first-party data to leverage audience engagement. source https://www.marketingdive.com/spons/profitable-personalization-boosting-audience-engagement-with-zero-and-fir/617805/

Google has published a new help document for SafeSearch that merges together all of Google’s SafeSearch details into one larger help document. This new document explains how SafeSearch works, adds some troubleshooting but the overall guidance of SafeSearch has not changed. What is SafeSearch. SafeSearch is Google’s adult content filter that aims to filter out explicit content from your results. Explicit results include sexually explicit content like pornography, violence, and gore, according to Google. New document. The new document is now located over here and it explains what SafeSearch is, how how SafeSearch works, how to see if SafeSearch is filtering out your site’s content and how to optimize your site for SafeSearch. It also goes through the metadata you can use with SafeSearch, as well as how to group your explicit content on your site into sections on your site for Google to better understand it. Finally, there is also a troubleshooting section at the bottom of the docum...

Google has replaced its embattled FLoC proposal, complicating the data privacy landscape as the countdown to a cookieless future continues. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/whats-next-for-advertisers-as-google-changes-course-again-on-cookie-altern/617884/

Messy SEO is a column covering the nitty-gritty, unpolished tasks involved in the auditing, planning, and optimization of websites, using MarTech’s new domain as a case study. This installment of “Messy SEO” details my process of working with our marketing, content and development teams to further clean up the search engine results pages for  MarTech . In  Part 5 , we discussed the fallout and improvements of our title changes and site structure issues. RELATED: How to optimize your site for better findability Identifying issues with our content and topics Our MarTech website houses a lot of marketing industry content. In addition to the pieces we’ve published since its launch in May 2021, the domain has all of the content that was previously featured on Marketing Land and MarTech Today. One would think that with so much industry-specific content , Google would have an easy time finding and serving up relevant results for searchers. Unfortunately, it seems like the sear...

The category, which includes advertising, has potentially benefited from privacy changes enacted by the iPhone maker that have negatively impacted rivals. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/apples-services-segment-hits-record-195b-as-company-shakes-up-mobile-adv/617933/

Overlaying the 19th century script on richly hued cans balances nostalgia and modernity, a comforting reminder of Coca-Cola's iconic status. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/campaign-trail-how-coke-gives-its-130-year-old-logo-contemporary-flair/617803/

The digital storefronts, which list the products that are in stock at users' most recently shopped store, deepens the e-commerce company's advertising push. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/instacart-rolls-out-shoppable-brand-pages-for-cpgs/617868/

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Twitter is launching three new ad products designed to improve performance for campaigns aimed at driving site traffic, the company announced Tuesday. Site Visit Optimization is a new optimization goal for finding and serving ads to the audiences that are most likely to convert. Aggregated Measurement provides conversion metrics for audiences that have opted out of iOS tracking. And, the Events Manager is where advertisers can manage their Twitter Website Tag and associated web-based conversion events. Why we care. During testing, Site Visit Optimization outperformed existing offerings and saw an average lower cost-per-site-visit of 31%, according to Twitter-funded advertiser tests. Results can vary, so testing it out for yourself can help you determine if it’s right for your brand or clients. Aggregated Measurement may give advertisers a more detailed picture of their campaign results. With Aggregated Measurement, Twitter said it saw a 31% increase in attributable site visit conv...

The drop hits a week before Super Bowl LVI, where the brand is also running a TV spot for the better-for-you Bud Light Next. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/bud-light-brews-up-limited-edition-nfts-to-launch-zero-carb-beer/617858/

A short film comes on the heels of a reorganization of parent company Unilever that arrived amid mounting investor criticism about the marketer's priorities. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/dove-highlights-hair-discrimination-in-latest-purpose-driven-effort/617843/

In comeback mode, the company unveiled logo updates and celebrity marketing campaigns aimed at younger consumers. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/hugo-boss-shifts-gears-with-major-rebranding/617793/

Google Ads will automatically transition existing Smart Shopping campaigns into Performance Max campaigns between July and September 2022, the company announced Thursday. Local campaigns will automatically be transitioned between August and September 2022. The company will also launch a “one-click” self-service tool in Google Ads for advertisers that would like to transition specific Smart Shopping or Local campaigns ahead of the dates mentioned above. Why we care. “Based on early testing, advertisers who upgrade Smart Shopping campaigns to Performance Max see an average increase of 12% in conversion value at the same or better return on ad spend (ROAS),” according to Google. However, results can vary, so it may be worthwhile to test out your transitioned campaigns with the self-service tool once it’s available, ahead of the forced transition deadline. This is a significant change to how Smart Shopping and Local campaigns work. Advertisers that don’t want to transition those campa...

The year ahead offers event marketers a chance to flex the muscle they've built for finding creative solutions to unforeseeable obstacles, writes Media.Monks' Rachel Polin. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/why-2022-shouldnt-be-2020-too-for-the-events-industry/617790/

Account-Based Marketing is essential to any B2B strategy. And advanced practitioners are now looking for the tools to give them an edge to better connect with their audiences. This requires sales and marketing to work together to identify and engage buying groups within their target accounts. Enter Buying Group Marketing. To learn more, register today for “ Market, Engage and Sell to Buying Groups Who Want to Hear From You ,” presented by Influ2. The post Webinar: The next big thing in ABM appeared first on Search Engine Land . Via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/1BDlNnc

Microsoft released its earnings report yesterday for its second quarter. In it, we learned that search and news advertising was up 32 percent year over year. LinkedIn revenue was grew by 37 percent. The company lumps together search and news advertising revenue and subtracts traffic acquisition costs (TAC), which is money Microsoft pays to Bing Ads network publishers and news partners. In Q2, Microsoft reported more than $3 billion in revenue from search and news advertising. This was fueled by higher revenue per search for the holiday quarter, according to the company. On the conference call, CEO Satya Nadella noted the company’s total revenue from advertising, including LinkedIn, has surpassed $10 billion over the past 12 months. Speaking of LinkedIn, it accounted for another $3.5 billion in Q2 revenue for Microsoft. Overall, Microsoft reported record revenue of $51.7 billion for the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2021. Why we care. Microsoft said its Q2 advertising revenue growth was...

Artists recognized range from David Bowie to Rosalía in a bid to represent fan bases of different cultural backgrounds and generations.  source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/mms-celebrates-iconic-albums-in-packaging-play-following-controversial-re/617751/

M&M's, Anheuser-Busch and Coca-Cola refreshes serve as a reminder that marketers can connect purpose to brand identity — if it's authentic. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/what-a-raft-of-cpg-rebrands-portend-for-marketer-priorities-in-2022/617679/

Google Ads scripts now supports asset-based video ads, the company announced via its developer blog on Monday. This functionality replaces the previous media-based video ads. This announcement follows the same change in v9 of the Google Ads API, announced in November 2021. Why we care Advertisers that have scripts to create new video ads must migrate their code by February 28, 2022. After that date, media-based video ads will no longer be supported and their scripts will start failing with errors. The post Google Ads scripts rolls out support for asset-based video ads appeared first on Search Engine Land . Via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/1BDlNnc

It goes without saying that the past year has been a time of momentous change for marketers. In previous articles, I addressed how CMOs and leaders have had to navigate an array of emerging trends, from new digital demands and customer preferences to growing workforce dispersion and diversity . These shifts have undoubtedly reshaped the marketing landscape as we know it and led leaders to seek new operating models and digital solutions to keep pace. Now, as ongoing global disruption ushers in a new digital and hybrid era, it’s time for leaders to embrace that there’s no turning back. According to McKinsey , the future of work is hybrid, and Forrester dubbed 2022 the “year to be bold” as demands only grow stronger. Strategic marketing leaders must reshape their agenda in line with these new realities to find success this year. So, where should leaders focus as they reenvision their organizations for the road ahead? Let’s look at the top four areas leaders must prioritize to gain ...

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The Molson Coors beer will dish out prizes and exclusively air its big game ad via a virtual bar in Decentraland. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/miller-lite-skirts-super-bowl-ad-block-with-metaverse-bar/617653/

If you’ve followed along with the news recently, Google has confirmed that Target CPA (tCPA) is not planned to sunset in 2022 . You may be asking, “Why is this even news?” Well, the recent Google Ads video “ Expert Series: Welcome to 2022 ” had many folks (myself included) confused as to the future of non-value bidding strategies with unflattering and cryptic mentions about the popular bid type. One thing that we’ve seen time and again with Google Ads is that smoke usually leads to fire. In this case, you may want to take steps today to get your value bidding plan in order. Google’s tCPA & Max Conversions comments and guidance. At the beginning of the “Welcome to 2022” webinar, Google Rep Neha Shaikh made the statement : “…it [tCPA] is something that we’d like to leave behind in 2021, because we believe that every conversion should get a value…” Later in the webinar, when talking about enhanced conversions, Rogier Kentie, digital marketing strategist at Google, went on to say ...

While firmly in a boom time — U.S. spending on retail media doubled between 2020-21 — the category contends with saturation and bumpy transitions. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/retail-media-reshape-digital-marketing-repeat-industry-mistakes/617633/

Google will replace Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC) with a new interest-based targeting proposal called Topics, the company announced Tuesday. The Topics API will select topics of interest (based on the user’s browsing history), without involving external servers, and share those topics with participating sites. Google plans to launch a developer trial of Topics in Chrome, including user controls (more on that below), soon. The final iteration of the user controls, as well as other technical aspects of how Topics works, will be determined based on the trial and feedback, Google said. How Topics will work. “With Topics, your browser determines a handful of topics, like ‘Fitness’ or ‘Travel,’ that represent your top interests for that week based on your browsing history,” Google said in the announcement. When a user visits a participating site, Topics selects three topics to share (one from each of the previous three weeks) with the site and its advertising partners. Up to five...

You’ve worked hard to turn the engagement from your recent marketing campaign into leads. Once your suspects have become prospects who’ve finally reached the scoring threshold, you toss the leads over the proverbial wall for sales to work. Later, you learn that after an initial push, your warm marketing leads have gone cold. This is because sales prioritized their list over the leads you sent to them. Moreover, sales doesn’t want you to do any marketing to their prioritized list because you lack the context of the relationships they are actively cultivating. This results in them not sharing data with you. Misaligned goals. Poor execution due to a lack of communication. A dearth of shared, reliable data. All of it culminates in low trust between the two teams. It’s an illustration of the kind of scenario that can cause a deep divide between sales and marketing. And it impacts revenue. So what do you do? Let’s take a look at how to fix the funnel. Use a Buying Group Marketing strateg...

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Have you ever found yourself in the room with an executive — whether your client or your boss or even your client’s boss — recommending a strategy that you genuinely believe to be the best marketing decision for the company, only to be hit with unexpected resistance? Or perhaps you came seeking additional budget for a channel that is already crushing goals, thinking it would be an easy and obvious sell, but are now facing a barrage of questions.  The “what can we expect from this?” discussion can be intimidating, no matter when or where it comes.  At SMX Advanced and SMX Next last year, I shared two resources to equip digital marketers for those kinds of challenging conversations: Forecasting Tool with Uncertainty Variables Forecasting Tool for New Channels and Organic Growth You can download a copy of each tool here . Reliable forecasting is essential but difficult The great and terrible thing is that forecasting is all about people . If behavioral economics has ...

The deal follows the ad tech firm's acquisition of Ryan Reynold's Maximum Effort Marketing agency last summer. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/mntn-acquires-quickframe-in-hopes-of-streamlining-ctv-ad-production/617490/

We’re less than a month into the year, and one clear trend is emerging for Google: the search giant is in for a lot of legal and legislative challenges in 2022. The latest: Karl Racine, Washington, D.C., attorney general, is suing Google today for the “deceptive and unfair practices” the company uses to obtain consumer location data. The lawsuit is also expected to be filed in three other states (Texas, Washington, and Indiana), according to The Washington Post . Like the surveillance advertising legislation from last week, this seems to be another move meant to rein in Google. Why we care. Location data is incredibly important for Google – and it helps provide valuable context in two ways that impact marketers: organic local search results and Google Ads targeting. If someone is searching for a business, and that business is located within the proximity of that searcher, appearing in the local search results is essential for turning searches into real world action (e.g., store v...

Brand partners will be able to pilot new ad experiences while the network will host livestreams with a creator from the app. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/nbcuniversal-deepens-tiktok-ties-around-uncertain-winter-olympics/617570/

Using cinematic-style ads, Comcast brings together its NBC Sports and Universal Pictures divisions for an effort around a tentpole event. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/olympic-athletes-encounter-dinosaurs-in-crossover-spots-for-jurassic-world/617576/

BlockBar.com users who purchase the NFT from Patrón can either sell it or redeem it for a bottle of Chairman’s Reserve, which is limited to 150 bottles. source https://www.marketingdive.com/news/patron-brands-nft-tequila-dtc/617528/

According to Forrester, 80% of marketing automation users see a 77% increase in conversions [1]. As a B2B marketer, you work with vast amounts of data to execute campaigns across multiple channels. You create personalized communications with helpful information to turn prospects into qualified leads that are more likely to convert for sales.   So, you probably know the pain of having to hack together different systems to get all this done. You need one system to find and target your audience, one to run your campaign, one to analyze the results, one to pass the leads to sales, and maybe even a few more. Marketing automation can help, though.   With it, you can use one system for all your marketing tasks. Marketing automation also streamlines your processes to reduce costs, improve productivity, and boost efficiency. Invesp found that marketing automation drives a 14.2% rise in sales productivity and a 12.2% reduction in marketing overhead [2]. Read this guide for a th...

A look at 4 emerging B2B marketing data and attribution trends that will be essential in 2022. source https://www.marketingdive.com/spons/b2b-marketing-success-in-2022-relies-on-4-elements/617252/

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Every week, we feature fresh job listings for search marketers, so make sure to bookmark this page and check back every Monday. If you’re looking to hire, please submit your listing here — please note that we will not post listings without a salary range. January 24 SEO Director @ Simple Search Marketing (U.S. remote) Salary: $90-100k/yr The SEO Director is responsible for conceptualizing and managing successful organic search strategies for and relationships with clients, as well as leading and growing an SEO team. Perform keyword research in coordination with client business objectives to optimize existing content and uncover new opportunities. Paid Social Media Manager @ d50 Media (U.S. remote) Salary: $75-99k/yr Day-to-day campaign management, including setup, quality assurance, testing, measurement/reporting and optimization across social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, TikTok, etc). Quick and thoughtful execution of Facebook Ads ...