Technology News and Industry Knowledge

In just 48 hours we received around 400 responses to our poll question about Google Analytics 4. With the standard version of Universal Analytics sunsetting tomorrow (July 1), we asked you: What level of readiness are you (and/or your team) at when it comes to switching to GA4 from Universal Analytics? Despite  plenty of frustration : Almost a quarter of respondents said they have fully implemented and already are using GA4. Just over half said they had implemented it but were still learning how to use it. Almost 16% have it set up but have not started using it. The takeaway from those statistics: more than 90% of our joint readership is aboard the GA4 train, for better or worse. Only 2.6% of respondents said they had no plans to use GA4. 4.6% have just not set it up yet. Why we care.  At first glance, this looks like a vote of confidence in Google’s analytics strategy. After all, there are plenty of  alternatives to GA4 . But it’s not that simple. Right...

YouTube is disabling videos for people using ad blockers as part of a new trial. The social media platform is asking users to either turn ad blockers off or pay £11.99 a month for YouTube Premium if they want access to its extensive video library. Why we care. If this trial is expanded to the general population, all YouTube users, who want to continue watching videos for free, will be forced into allowing ads to play. This is great news for marketers as it will increase reach for campaigns, which ultimately, could result in more conversions. How it works. Right now, the trial is being tested on a small group of people around the world that have ad blockers enabled. When they sign in to watch content, all videos will be blocked unless they either change their settings to disallow ad blocker or they sign up for YouTube Premium. Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on. “> Processing…Please wait. SUBSCRIBE See terms. What has YouTube said?...

I’ll be blunt. Google Analytics 4 has caused agencies and businesses plenty of headaches in the past year. The only guarantee over the next few weeks is that it will get worse before it gets better.  The sunsetting of Universal Analytics is tomorrow, July 1 (and may have already passed by the time you are reading this).  Many businesses are in for a shock when they start looking at their GA4 reports as their source of truth if they haven’t already. Spoiler: most haven’t yet! There’s no doubt that GA4 offers many new reports and insights that UA struggled with (user funnel reporting) or flat out couldn’t provide (hello, data-driven attribution and predictive analytics!). But those accustomed to using UA reporting for several years must adapt very quickly. Where did my reports go? Although you can go deeper into Google Ads campaign metrics once you become comfortable, more custom reporting is required than exploring similar data in UA.  In UA, there is a Google Ads ...

PPC advertising can be a game-changing tool for small businesses looking to kickstart sales or increase brand awareness. Unfortunately, it’s also extremely easy to overspend if you aren’t careful.  When your budget is tight, it’s crucial that you set yourself up for success when creating a PPC account. Just a couple of bad months of PPC spending can be the difference between growing or shutting your doors forever.  So, before you start throwing money at Google Ads or Microsoft Advertising, read these five essential tips for PPC bidding on a budget. 1. Set clear goals and base the account around them One of the best things about PPC advertising is that there are ways to meet any business’s goals. You can choose from many different campaign types and bidding options, and there’s numerous Google platforms you can advertise on.  When your budget limits you, it’s paramount that you figure out what your primary objective is and create campaigns that help you achieve tha...

I have spent most of my life feeling driven by the idea that I am not enough. Whether I’m applying for an award or talking about my career with someone over drinks, I don’t really feel comfortable listing my accomplishments. Even writing this article, I don’t feel my voice is particularly useful or cogent. Of course, I don’t just let these feelings win. I sit with them, challenge them, and try to write or say the words my feelings deny. And I know I’m not alone.  These emotions are the classic markings of “imposter syndrome,” a term bandied about corporate offices almost as often as words like “synergy” or “optimization.” And at this point, everyone in the digital marketing industry has heard of imposter syndrome. I surveyed over 150 digital marketers online, and 90% of the responses were positive: “Yes, I have experienced imposter syndrome in my digital marketing career.” I'm writing an article for @sengineland about the infamous imposter syndrome. Have you ever experi...

Facebook has updated its resource explaining how it ranks content across its website, including Feed, Stories and Reels. Meta has also announced new tools and features for improved transparency on the social network, which will better assist marketers. Why we care. Marketers and advertisers need a strong understanding of how Facebook ranks content in order for them to make informed decisions about their campaigns to achieve maximum visibility and engagement. What’s new? Meta published a number of new features designed to provide greater clarity on its ranking factors via its digital newsroom : System Cards:  Facebook has created 14 system cards to help marketers understand how Facebook uses AI to rank content and create feeds that are tailored to individuals. The cards also explain how individuals can control what they see. ‘Why Am I Seeing This?’: Meta is expanding this feature to Facebook Reels in the coming weeks. It enables people to understand how their previous activ...

Buy on Google for Search and Shopping will shut down Sept. 26, the company announced today via an email sent to participating retailers. Why we care. Google says it is dropping Buy on Google in favor of creating a new “streamlined buying journey for shoppers” on Google and YouTube. What Google is saying. A Google spokesperson told Search Engine Land: “Our goal is to support an open ecosystem by connecting shoppers directly with merchants, and this is a big priority for us. We developed a new streamlined checkout process that allows shoppers to go directly from Google to the checkout flow on a merchant’s website when they’re ready to buy. We’ve received great feedback from merchants and users. Buy on Google was a small feature that a very limited number of merchants used, so we’re investing in this new buying experience instead.”   New pilot. Google has created a new form if you’re interested in the new checkout pilot. The email. Here’s the email Google is sending t...

Microsoft has announced new AI-powered shopping tools powered by Bing and Bing Chat. These include new price match monitors, AI-generated buying guides, and review summaries, all aimed to “help you shop and save with confidence,” Microsoft said . Price match monitors. These new price match monitors show you a product’s price after you purchase that product. This is so you can request a pricing match from the store you bought it from if that price changes after you ordered it. Microsoft said they have “partnered with top US retailers with existing price match policies and will be adding more over time.” This is launching in the US search results soon, Microsoft told us. Here is a video of how Bing’s sidebar shows you the price history over time and also alerts you after the price drops: Buying guides. Bing now uses AI to generate buying guides based on the product or category of products that you are researching. The AI-generated buying guides will also provide you with product s...

Starting July 1, Universal Analytics will no longer collect data. B2B companies looking to track their web or app performance must use Google Analytics 4 (GA4). GA4 provides extensive capabilities for visualizing and analyzing data.  To avoid being overwhelmed by the abundance of data, it is crucial to fully understand the tool and determine key metrics for your business. This ensures effective measurement of web traffic in GA4. This guide explores how to set up and track events and conversions for B2B companies. How to measure web traffic through GA4? To properly analyze website traffic in GA4, the first thing to understand is GA4’s acquisition reports, which are divided into two main groups with different purposes: User acquisition report : This report provides insights into how users were acquired and captured for the first time on the website. Traffic acquisition report: This report operates at the session level and helps identify the campaign from which each session c...

Whether you’re opening retail locations in a new state or selling your software in a new country, entering a new geographic location requires a well-thought-out marketing strategy.  Paid media can be a foundational tool for cost-efficient sales generation from prospective customers in the new market.  This article provides several suggestions for tailoring your PPC efforts toward a region new to your brand. 1. Estimate search volume Looking at projected search volume in advance will help you: Determine realistic budgets. Consider how wide a set of keywords you can include in your initial campaigns if you have strict budget limitations.  Google’s and Microsoft’s respective Keyword Planner tools offer free solutions to estimate volume for each platform.  Note that any data is approximate based on historical searches and can be particularly inaccurate for more niche queries.  Ultimately, you can use data after launching the campaigns to get an idea of a...

Leading and scaling a fast-growing agency has been an incredible journey, especially since building a business was not even on my radar when I began consulting independently six years ago.  Over the past six years building Eyeful Media, I’ve leaned into my network and colleagues, specifically those with agency experience, to navigate our growth successfully. I have learned invaluable lessons at every turn. While we learned some lessons early, many have come as we’ve matured. We divided our journey into stages based on the Adizes organizational lifecycle model :  Infancy. Go-Go growth. Adolescence. Prime.  We realized the need to adjust and improve our approach at each stage.  Many of the most critical growth opportunities that we were able to capitalize on were gathered from the feedback of our clients and employees.  Those important lessons learned at each stage of our journey have continued evolving as we matured as an organization. Setting themes ...