Technology News and Industry Knowledge

Google rolled out a significant update to Google Analytics 4 (GA4), allowing users to compare their performance with other businesses in their industry. Why we care: This new feature will provide valuable context for advertisers trying to understand their performance relative to their peers, potentially informing strategic decisions and goal-setting. How it works . Users can access benchmarking data if their property has the “Modeling contributions & business insights” setting enabled in Admin > Account Settings . Benchmarks are refreshed every 24 hours. The summary displays: Your trendline. Median in your peer group. Range in your peer group (25th to 75th percentile). Key features . Customizable peer groups: Users can select from various categories to find the most relevant comparison group. Data privacy: Google assures that benchmarking data is encrypted, protected and aggregated to maintain privacy. Wide range of metrics: Covers acquisition, engagement...

Google Search finally supports the AVIF file format in Google Search, Google Images and all locations Google Search shows images such as Google Discover, Google News and so forth. “We’re happy to announce that AVIF is now a  supported file type  in Google Search, for Google Images as well as any place that uses images in Google Search,” John Mueller, Google Search Advocate, wrote . What is AVIF. AV1 Image File Format is an open, royalty-free image file format specification for storing images or image sequences compressed with AV1 in the HEIF container format. It competes with HEIC, which uses the same container format built upon ISOBMFF, but HEVC for compression. Google said it is one of the mostly widely used image formats today. “AVIF is an open image file format based on the AV1 video compression standard,” Google added. What this means for SEO. Technically nothing. Google said, if you are using AVIF formats, you don’t need to do anything, Google will now process them...

We all love to take a little time away from the grind during the slow season (which for many of us is right now), but smart PPC marketers are also using the time to get in the prime position when the tide is higher.  In retail, that will fire up in October (probably earlier than ever this year).  In B2B, that means prepping for the end-of-year push that comes from needing to hit quotas and engaging brands about to be flush with new yearly budgets. No matter your vertical or the particular timing, there are five tests I like to run during the slower season to help clients get learnings to leverage when the tide is high. Those are: Channel diversification . Landing page optimization . Seasonal creative and offer testing . Incrementality testing . Default settings testing (TL;DR: find them and turn them off). 1. Channel diversification tests When choosing a new channel to test, the first things to consider are: How effectively it can help you reach valuable user...

Welcome to the first installment of our article series on artificial intelligence (AI) for marketing beginners. This aims to demystify AI, providing foundational knowledge and practical insights on how AI can help your marketing efforts.  This introductory article explores AI and why it’s significant and highlights key milestones. I’ll also share actionable steps you can take to start integrating AI into your marketing strategy. What is AI? Artificial intelligence or AI, refers to the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, particularly computer systems.  These processes include: Learning (the acquisition of information and rules for using the information). Reasoning (using rules to reach approximate or definite conclusions). Self-correction.  In the context of marketing, AI involves using data and algorithms to predict, analyze and enhance marketing strategies and decisions. Why is AI significant in marketing? AI is incredibly important in ma...

Google Ads added a new Categories tab under the Products section. It appears to pull from the google_product_category attribute. Why we care: These ecommerce insights may give you a clearer view of performance metrics, demand trends and actionable recommendations to drive more clicks and sales. How it works: Performance insights: Understand what’s driving success in your campaigns and where improvements can be made. Demand trends: Stay ahead by spotting shifts in consumer interest at the category level. Actionable recommendations: Get tailored suggestions for boosting your return on ad spend (ROAS), including tips on pausing underperforming categories and optimizing top-performing ones. What to watch out for. Some advertisers wonder whether Google will correctly categorize products. First seen. This update was first brought to our attention by Aleksejus Podpruginas on LinkedIn : Bottom line: These insights could help you fine-tune your strategies and possibly outpa...

A new chapter in Google’s antitrust troubles opened yesterday with Yelp filing a lawsuit alleging that Google’s monopoly in search has allowed it to illegally dominate the local search and local search advertising markets. Yelp will argue that Google harms consumers by promoting its own inferior local search product over other local search providers, stifling competition and increasing costs for its rivals. Yelp is claiming damages in an amount to be calculated, the damages to be treble under the 1914 Clayton Act. The full complaint  is here . Why we care.  Having just been hit over the head with a major loss in the DoJ’s antitrust case alleging an illegal monopoly in search and text advertising, it seems Google may now be the target of further claims from individual corporations that can show harm. We’ll leave it to the lawyers to adjudicate whether the DoJ’s success will put wind in the sails of claims like Yelp’s. But Google would surely rather be doing things other th...

For two years, my team ran 54 Google Ads experiments in one lead gen (non-ecommerce) account, testing various features, including: Bidding techniques . Keyword match types . Campaign setting adjustments. Ad copy changes.  This article delves into those tests, explaining the rationale behind them, the outcomes achieved and the implications for your own Google Ads accounts. TL;DR We ran 54 experiments over two years covering a range of features for a lead generation business. Key tests covered bid strategies, match types and ad copy. Exact match keywords almost always perform better than phrase match keywords. Maximize conversion strategy tended to underperform other bid strategies. Target CPA bidding helped us hone in on an optimal CPA level for us.  What are Google Ads experiments? Google Ads experiments allow advertisers to test changes within their campaigns before fully implementing them.  These experiments, conducted at the campaign level, provide ...

AI is transforming how businesses approach their digital marketing budgeting and forecasting processes. Companies can develop robust forecasting and budgeting models that focus on data-driven decisions. This approach enables customized strategies that align with specific business goals and can be adjusted based on organizational needs and channels. AI is a key driver for transformation. Up to 86% of organizations implementing generative AI report seeing revenue growth of 6% or more in their total annual company revenue, per a Google Cloud report .  This article covers how to leverage AI with the right data to come up with forecasting and budgeting prioritization, specifically for digital marketing efforts. Below are the six steps to craft a model that aligns with your unique business needs.  Step 1: Define business goals, objectives and KPIs This step is divided into two parts: setting goals and identifying key performance indicators (KPIs). Clearly articulate ...

Google is rolling out two new features to help you navigate the evolving digital privacy landscape and strengthen first-party data strategies. Why we care. Despite Google deciding to roll back on its plans to remove third-party cookies , with privacy regulations still in place, first-party data has become crucial. These tools is intended to help you simplify data collection and management while respecting user privacy. Driving the news . Google announced Tag Diagnostics and a new consent management setup, both designed to streamline first-party data collection and utilization. Details . The new offerings include: Tag Diagnostics : Provides at-a-glance view of account health. Alerts users to potential measurement issues. Offers guidance on fixing problemsAvailable in Google Tag Manager, Google Ads, and Google Analytics . Integrated Consent Management Platform (CMP) setup : Streamlines consent banner creation and consent mode implementation. Works within Google Ads, Analy...

Google’s legal troubles appeared to worsen yesterday as the judge of the adtech antitrust trial delivered sharp criticism of the tech giant, signaling possible consequences for its business practices. What happened: During the pre-trial motion hearings, Judge Leonie Brinkema sharply criticized Google for its handling of privileged information, labeling the company’s actions as “absolutely inappropriate and not proper.”  The court singled out the so-called ‘Walker Memo,’ containing what she referred to as “incredible smoking guns,” as evidence of potential wrongdoing. The judge also condemned Google’s practice of auto-deleting chats, mockingly referred to by employees as “Vegas mode,” implying that the company may have intentionally destroyed evidence. Why we care. If Google is found to have engaged in anticompetitive practices, it could lead to significant changes in the digital advertising landscape. That could include changes in pricing and bidding models, and possibly inc...

Black Friday, Christmas, Valentine’s Day – these aren’t just dates on a calendar; they’re golden opportunities for savvy marketers. A well-planned pay-per-click ( PPC ) strategy can mean the difference between riding the wave of seasonal demand and getting lost in the holiday noise. Seasonal PPC isn’t about simply increasing your ad spend when the leaves start to fall. It’s a specified approach that aligns your Google Ads campaigns with the rhythms of consumer behavior throughout the year and your inventory strengths and seasonalities. This article will show you the key components of an effective seasonal PPC strategy, including: Identifying seasonal trends in your industry. Adjusting budgets and bids to profit from peak periods. Crafting strong ad copy that resonates with seasonal intent. Leveraging advanced features in Google Ads for seasonal success. Understanding seasonality in PPC Seasonality is not just about Santa hats in December or beach balls in July. In PPC, it’...