Tag: PPC

Weekend Digital Media Round-up: Google Ads & Analytics linking guide, Snapchat’s new features, Bing Ads’ action extensions and more..

1. Google Publishes New Guide on Linking Google Ads and Google Analytics

Google has published a new guide which outlines how the pairing of your Google Ads and Google Analytics data can help to address the problem by combining more customer insights. [Source: Social Media Today]

2. Snapchat announces new features geared at creativity, collaboration, partner advertising

Snapchat announced a slate of new features designed to help it keep pace in a digital environment that values efficiency, revenue opportunities, and cutting-edge creativity. [Source: Marketing Land]

3. Bing Ads launches new action extensions to highlight calls-to-action

Bing Ads has taken the wrapper off a brand new ad extension. Action extensions launched globally in all supported languages and are available on desktop and mobile devices. [Source: Search Engine Land]

4. The Adobe Experience Platform Goes Global

Adobe recently announced the global availability of Adobe Experience Platform, proclaimed as the industry’s first platform dedicated for customer experience management. [Source: Logicserve Digital]

5. First-party hygiene: Facebook shows users when a Custom Audience list was uploaded

Facebook added Custom Audience details to the “Why am I seeing this ad?” notification in News Feed ads in February. Now, users can also see when a Custom Audience list is uploaded and if the advertiser worked with marketing partners to run the ad. [Source: Marketing Land]

6. Machine reservations: Google’s Duplex expanding to more Android, iPhone users

Google is rolling out Duplex to more users and locations. Soon more Android and even iPhone owners will be able to use the Google Assistant to book local restaurant reservations in most states in the U.S. [Source: Search Engine Land]

7. Twitter now lets users appeal violations within its app

Twitter announced a new feature that will allow users to appeal directly within the Twitter app a tweet that’s in violation of Twitter’s rules. [Source: Tech Crunch]

8. Adobe’s content-aware video masking is about to make post-production a whole lot more efficient

In a nod to video and audio editors around the world, Adobe announced new Creative Cloud updates focused on delivering a more efficient and intuitive post-production experience for creative professionals. [Source: MARTECH TODAY]

9. WhatsApp launches fact-checking service in India ahead of elections

WhatsApp is launching a new fact-checking service in India ahead of the country’s upcoming elections. Reuters reports that users can now forward messages to the Checkpoint Tipline, where a team lead by local startup Proto will asses and mark them as either “true,” “false,” “misleading,” or “disputed.” [Source: The Verge]

10. Programmatic ad viewability ahead of direct buys for first time – report

Programmatic advertising viewability rates outperformed publisher direct buys across both desktop and mobile web display for the first time in the second half of 2018. [Source: Mobile Marketing]

April 5, 2019
Weekend Digital Media Round-up: Google’s new search menu, LinkedIn’s partnership with Adobe, YouTube’s scaling original content efforts and More…

1. Google testing new search menu with icons for maps, news, shopping and more

Google is testing a new search bar menu with icons next to the names of the search categories. So instead of just showing the search vertical filters for displaying news results or image results, Google is showing icons next to those categories. [Source: Search Engine Land]

2. LinkedIn Announces New Data Partnership with Adobe to Improve Ad Targeting

LinkedIn continues to expand its audience targeting capability, this time through a new partnership with Adobe which will expand LinkedIn’s account-based marketing capabilities to Adobe Experience Cloud users. [Source: Social Media Today]

3. YouTube is Scaling Back its TV-Like Programming Efforts

YouTube is now reportedly looking to scale back its original content efforts, with competition in the sector proving too significant for the platform to gain a foothold with its own TV-like programming. [Source: Social Media Today]

4. Adobe announces two new analytics tools to help marketers fill in the customer picture

Adobe announced some enhancements to its Analytics Suite that are supposed to help marketers understand their customers more deeply, including a new tool to track the entire customer journey, and one to help see the relationship between advertising and marketing success. [Source: Tech Crunch]

5. Google’s Speech to Text Tools are Getting Better – Which Could Have Significant Implications

Google recently outlined a new speech recognition project which has reduced error rates by over 20%, while Google’s new on-device speech recognizer within Gboard recognizes speech faster, presenting output words character-by-character. [Source: Social Media Today]

6. Apple extends Search Ads support to 46 more countries

On Tuesday, Apple extended its Search Ads platform to 46 more countries, enabling marketers to boost their app’s visibility in a total of 59 countries as well as manage campaigns spanning multiple regions. [Source: Search Engine Land]

7. Dynamic AMP for Email is rolling out in Gmail now

Remember when Google teased the AMP for Email spec a little more than a year ago? Well, it’s finally here. Email marketers can create dynamic and interactive email experiences more akin to web experiences than static email. [Source: MARTECH TODAY]

8. Editor gets the Google Ads treatment: Google Ads Editor 1.0 out now

After redesigning and renaming AdWords as Google Ads, its now Editor’s turn. The desktop tool for managing and drafting campaign changes has a new look, new layout, new features, new capabilities and a new name. [Source: Search Engine Land]

9. Facebook Expands Ad Archive to All Ads and Pages

Facebook has this week announced that it will now catalog all ads run by all Pages, not just those with political affiliations. [Source: Social Media Today]

10. WhatsApp is finally rolling out Short Link feature for business users on iOS

WhatsApp usually offers new features for iOS users first but the Short Link feature has come in a year late. The new Short Link feature, already available in android, will be accessible for iOS users with beta version 2.19.21.5. [Source: Business Today]

March 29, 2019
Weekend Digital Media Round-up: Google Ads’ Budget Planner, Twitter’s Beta Testing App, Instagram’s ‘Pause all’ option and More…

1. Google Ads rolling out Budget Planner forecasting tool

Google is rolling out a new Budget Planner tool for Google Ads campaigns. The new feature, available under the Tools menu in Google Ads. [Source: Search Engine Land]

2. Twitter Has Launched its New Beta Testing App with the First Round of Users

Twitter has now released its new ‘Twttr’ test app, which includes a completely new layout for tweet replies – and has immediately sparked mixed responses from users. [Source: Social Media Today]

3. Instagram Rolls Out Option to ‘Pause All’ Notifications

The Facebook-owned app is rolling out a ‘Pause all’ option which will enable users to stop any and all notifications from the app for a chosen period of time. [Source: Social Media Today]

4. Google Introduces an Update to Help Travelers Discover Affordable Options for Flights and Hotels Booking

Google Flights and Google Hotels are handy tools that help you find the best travel deals. Google recently announced that it has introduced new features to these tools, to help travelers plan their ideal holiday for the upcoming spring break. [Source: Logicserve Digital]

5. Facebook Partners With T-Series, Zee Music, Yash Raj Films to License Music For Sharing

Facebook announced partnerships with top music labels including T-Series Music, Zee Music Company and Yash Raj Films, licensing their music for use in social experiences such as videos, messages, stories and other creative content on Facebook and Instagram. [Source: News18]

6. Google launching Policy manager in Google Ads

To help advertisers get a clearer picture of whether their accounts are experiencing any policy restrictions, Google will release a new Policy manager in the Google Ads interface in April. [Source: Search Engine Land]

7. YouTube Introduces Fact-Check Information Panels to Combat Fake Information and Hoaxes

When users search for sensitive information, the app displays a “fact check” alert that will provide additional information on the search query. [Source: Logicserve Digital]

8. For app developers, Google unveils pre-registration ads, Engagement App campaigns, more

Google made several product and feature announcements for app developers Wednesday. The features track to the phases of the app life cycle from driving awareness and interest in a yet-to-be-launched app to re-engaging existing installs. [Source: Marketing Land]

9. TwitSnap? Twitter launches new camera feature to demote text

Twitter is rolling out the redesign to its camera feature that’s designed to let you capture photos, videos and live footage and connect them to global conversations. [Source: Tech Crunch]

10. Google released a broad core search algorithm on March 12

Google on Wednesday confirmed that it released a broad core search ranking algorithm update this week. As with any update, some sites may note drops or gains. There’s nothing wrong with pages that may now perform less well. [Source: Search Engine Land]

March 15, 2019
Weekend Digital Media Round-up: Google Ad Manager’s first price auctions, Twitter’s “Timing Is Everything”, Instagram’s “branded content ad” and More…

1. Google Ad Manager adopting first price auctions for programmatic display, video

With the aim of simplifying programmatic buying, Google Ad Manager will start transitioning publisher inventory to a first price auction format. As the market leader in programmatic, Google Ad Manager’s (formerly DoubleClick) move will have broad implications for the industry, which has been pushing toward first price auctions. [Source: MARTECH TODAY]

2. Twitter’s new tool gives video creators insights to boost engagement

Twitter has launched a publisher insights tool called “Timing Is Everything” that uses historical data to highlight when users are most often watching and engaging with video on the platform. [Source: Marketing Land]

3. Instagram is Working on a New Ad Unit for Sponsored Posts

Instagram is set to roll out a new ad format for sponsored posts published by influencers. AdAge reports the new format is called a “branded content ad,” and is part of a larger strategy to build formal partnerships between brands and creators. [Source: Search Engine Journal]

4. Google Opens up Access to Google Merchant Center Results for Non-AdWords Retailers in the US

Google Merchant Center has extended this facility only to online retailers in the US. However, it’s expected that Google will roll out this change in other countries in the next few months. [Source: Logicserve Digital]

5. Maximize Clicks in Bing Ads now available globally

Bing Ads has rolled out Maximize Clicks to all accounts globally. It first introduced the automated bidding strategy in 2017. [Source: Search Engine Land]

6. Google Announces New Shopping Ads on Google Images

With Pinterest reportedly considering an IPO for later in the year, Google has this week taken a shot at the platform’s core offering by announcing a new product discovery option which will enable brands to reach consumers who are searching via Google Images. [Source: Social Media Today]

7. Pinterest Adds More Ways for Businesses to Share and Promote their Products

Pinterest is ramping up its eCommerce tools, this time through the addition of new product catalogs and personalized shopping recommendations, in order to maximize business potential. [Source: Social Media Today]

8. Google introduces educational app Bolo to improve children’s literacy in India

Google is expanding its suite of apps designed for the Indian market with the launch of a new language-learning app aimed at children, called Bolo. [Source: Tech Crunch]

9. Google Adds New ‘Offers’ Section to Google Business Profiles

Google continues to add more ways for brands to control how their businesses appear in search results, including curated product detail listings, business posts, and now, a new section for special offers, right within your Google listing. [Source: Social Media Today]

10. Google Ads API now out of beta, v0 will sunset April 30

The production-ready v1 of the Google Ads API is now available and ready for use. The beta version of the Google Ads API will no longer be accessible as of April 30, 2019. [Source: Search Engine Land]

March 8, 2019
Weekend Digital Media Round-up: Google Search Console’s new features, YouTube’s updated ‘strikes system’, Adobe Target’s new updates and more…
1. New Features Possibly Coming to Google Search Console
A number of new features are likely on the way to Google Search Console, according to code discovered in the interface. These include Page speed report, AMP articles, Google Discover performance, Child-direct content report and many more. [Source: Search Engine Journal]
1. YouTube updates ‘strikes system’ to warn creators first when their content breaks the rules
YouTube is updating the penalty system for creators who break content policies. Starting February 25, creators who violate content rules will first receive a warning — before receiving a strike — and the offending content will be removed, with no other penalty on the channel. [Source: Marketing Land]
1. Adobe Target testing tool gets improved personalization capabilities, reports
Adobe Target is getting a number of new updates. The company announced that the platform now includes an AI-powered “weighted relevance” algorithm for improved personalized recommendations, enhanced reporting tools and a new version of its “Personalization Maturity Model” solution. [Source: MARTECH TODAY]
1. Facebook’s Experimenting with Third-party Ad Display Integrations to Watch
Facebook is pilot testing delivering ads on Watch using third-party technologies already used by digital media publishers. [Source: Logicserve Digital]
1. Google Opens Up .Dev Domain Name Registry to Everyone
For the first time, Google is letting anyone register a domain using its .dev extension. Google has owned the .dev generic top-level domain name (gTLD) since 2015. When Google acquired the .dev gTLD it was intended to be private and reserved for Google’s use only. [Source: Search Engine Journal]
1. Marketers can now view Shopping Campaigns in Bing Ads search terms reporting
Bing Ads announced that it will now include shopping campaigns in its search terms reporting grid. Bing has offered product-focused Shopping campaign ads since 2015. [Source: Search Engine Land]
1. Using Excel’s Facebook Ads Manager to Transform Your Ad Reporting
With the Facebook Ads Manager add-in on Excel, you can create a single report showing the performance of your ads, ad sets and campaigns. You can dig further and breakdown by demographics, and actions taken on the ads. [Source: Social Media Today]
1. Coveted featured snippet space is more exclusive than you think, study shows
A new and very interesting study from RankRanger shows that when a site gains a featured snippet, you can rest assured that, on average, you will only share that featured snippet with one other competitor. [Source: Search Engine Land]
1. Advertisers can now view Google mobile speed scores for more landing pages
Advertisers can now see the loading speeds of more mobile landing pages, due to an algorithm update announced Tuesday by Google Ads. The mobile speed score update enables the tool to generate a score on the advertising console without as many ad clicks having occurred as were previously required. [Source: Search Engine Land]
1. Google Search Console sending alerts for big ranking, traffic drops
Google is now sending alerts and notifications from Google Search Console when it detects a “substantial drop” in clicks to your website from the Google search results compared to previous weeks data. [Source: Search Engine Land]
February 22, 2019
Weekend Digital Media Round-up: Google’s new Inspect URL tool, Facebook’s multi-language Dynamic Ads, LinkedIn’s new company page functions and more…
1. Google Search Console Makes ‘Inspect URL’ Tool More Useful
Google Search Console has updated the Inspect URL tool with information about HTTP response codes, JavaScript logs, and rendered screenshots. [Source: Search Engine Journal]
1. Facebook Adds New Option to Create Dynamic Ads in Multiple Languages
Facebook’s adding the capacity to create Dynamic Ads which can automatically translate to different languages, relative to the viewing users’ preferences and region. [Source: Social Media Today]
1. LinkedIn Unveils New Additions to Company Pages, Including Employee Insights
LinkedIn has announced the addition of several new company page functions, adding to the tools it released back in November. [Source: Social Media Today]
1. Google Rolls Out New Feature to Help You Recover Your Past Searches & Revisit Previous Search Results
Google recently announced that the search engine is introducing a new feature, Activity Cards that makes it easier for users to do in-depth research on any topic. [Source: Logicserve Digital]
1. Amazon enables dynamic bidding, bid adjustments for Sponsored Products ads
Amazon has added more bid management features for Sponsored Products ads in its advertising interface. The updates take a page from the Google Ads interface, so paid search marketers will be familiar with both the automated bidding option and the page placement report Amazon has rolled out. [Source: Marketing Land]
1. Schedule Videos to Your Business Profiles with this New Feature from Instagram
Instagram finally launches one of the most anticipated features by business Instagram account managers and social media influencers. The popular photo-sharing social media network updated the Instagram Graph API to facilitate video posts scheduling. [Source: Logicserve Digital]
1. Adobe adds a Progressive Web Apps builder to Magento
Adobe announced new marketing capabilities at the National Retail Federation conference on Tuesday, most notably its first Progressive Web Application (PWA) Studio. [Source: MARTECH TODAY]
1. Google AdWords Express is Now Part of Google Ads
Google is notifying advertisers that AdWords Express has joined the Google Ads platform. AdWords Express campaigns are now available in Google Ads as ‘Smart’ campaigns. [Source: Search Engine Journal]
1. Facebook Offers More Cross-Posting Options to Better Connect Instagram and Facebook
Facebook is slowly adding in more ways to cross-post your content between Facebook and Instagram, which provides additional content and engagement opportunities across both platforms. [Source: Social Media Today]
1. Google shares tips for success in Google News search results
Danny Sullivan, public liaison for Google Search, posted on the Google Webmaster blog some tips on how to succeed in Google News in 2019. [Source: Search Engine Land]
January 18, 2019
Weekend Digital Media Round-up: Google’s SEO strategy, Twitter’s new analytics tools, Instagram’s new multiple accounts management feature and more…

1.Google’s internal SEO strategy: Make small changes, embrace change, consolidate

SeanO’Keefe, a data scientist at Google, shared how Google thinks about their own internal SEO efforts for the 7,000 websites they manage. He said Google makes on average over 200 changes to these sites on a daily basis and managing the SEO for those changes can be complex. [Source: Search Engine Land]

2.Twitter’s Working on New Event and Audience Analytics Tools, Updated Desktop Layout

Twitter is working on some new analytics tools which would help brands better understand trending conversations, and how they can best connect with their audiences. [Source: Social Media Today]

3.Instagram lets marketers share posts across multiple accounts

Instagram rolled out a new feature that gives iOS users managing multiple accounts the option to share a post across two or more of the accounts under their management. [Source: Marketing Land]

4.Google is Pulling the Plug on the Not-So-Popular Small Business Community Message Board

Last year, Google announced that it was shutting down Google Plus, the social network from the search engine giant by the end of August this year. Following this announcement, Google recently shared another closure message. [Source: Logicserve Digital]

5.Google Chrome’s filtering of ‘annoying’ ads will apply to sites worldwide starting in July

Nearly a year ago, Google’s Chrome web browser began to roll out the ability to block, or filter, ads on publisher websites in North America and Europe that don’t meet the Better Ads Standards. That capability will soon apply globally. [Source: Marketing Land]

6.Google Ad Impressions on Connected TVs Up by Over 80%

Google’s efforts to expand advertising to TV screens led to an 80% increase in impressions in 2018. To build on this momentum, Google has announced a number of initiatives planned for 2019 to further the convergence of TV and digital advertising. [Source: Search Engine Journal]

7.Google Assistant’s new interpreter mode can translate conversations — but it’s not magic

Google Assistant will soon be able to act as your real-life translator in 27 different languages. Google announced today that the voice assistant is getting a new “interpreter mode” that can translate in real time so you can hold conversations with someone who doesn’t share the same tongue. [Source: The Verge]

8.Google’s Rich Results testing tool now supports code editing

Google has updated its Rich Results Test tool to let webmasters edit the code and see how those edits impact their results results. Google announced this as part of the Chrome Developer Summit. [Source: Search Engine Land]

9.Google Adds New Ways for Businesses to Provide Product Information Within Search

Google’s rolling out a new option which will enable businesses to add in their own, custom product information within relevant search results, as controlled by Google Manufacturer Center. [Source: Social Media Today]

10.Google working to disable knowledge graph hack that shows misleading search results

An old knowledge graph trick reported in 2017 is getting a lot of attention now after more recent reports about how it can be used to manipulate, confuse and trick searchers. In short, it is possible to show any site for any query in the knowledge panel area. [Source: Search Engine Land]

January 11, 2019
Weekend Digital Media Round-up: Google’s new interface for shows, Facebook’s Click-to-WhatsApp ads, Instagram’s Tap-Through feed test and more…

1.Google search tests new interface for movie, TV show streaming options

Google is testing a change in the search results for movie and TV show streaming options. Google first launched this feature in the knowledge panel back in 2017. The test adds more streaming providers and options. [Source: Search Engine Land]

2.Facebook adds new reporting for Click-to-WhatsApp ads

Facebook has added traffic, conversions and page post engagement objectives for its Click-to-WhatsApp ads — ads that launch a WhatsApp chat via the Facebook News Feed. [Source: Marketing Land]

3.Instagram’s Tap-Through Feed Test is Likely Not Done With Yet

Users were shocked, surprised and ultimately – going by the related Twitter discussion – angered by the potential loss of the familiar scroll functionality, which, according to various reports, is what triggered Instagram’s quick reversal of what they called a ‘bug’, though that’s not exactly how it played out. [Source: Social Media Today]

4.New Auto Spam Detection Feature from Google Keeps Your Mobile Text Inbox Spam-free

After six months of working on the feature, Google has started rolling out the spam protection feature for Messages for its Android users. [Source: Logicserve Digital]

5.LinkedIn Improves Help Listings by Adding Contextual Prompts

LinkedIn has updated its Help Center tools to make them more contextually relevant, enabling users to connect with the right assistance faster and without having to go into a separate section of the platform. [Source: Social Media Today]

6.Google featured snippets can now jump to section of content it is sourcing

Google can now link to some content it is showing in their search results in a new way. Instead of just linking to the page, Google can anchor you to the exact spot of the answer you are looking for and highlight the block of text that is most relevant to your query. [Source: Search Engine Land]

7.WhatsApp to introduce a controversial feature to monetise platform soon

WhatsApp is all set to introduce advertisements for the million of its users across the world. The controversial move to monetise the platform is in contradiction with the promise its original founders had made in 2012 when they assured its users to never use ads. [Source: Business Today]

8.Google emphasizes ‘Message this business’ in new local search test

Google is testing a bigger push for the messaging option within the local panel. Google launched messaging within Google My Business in July 2017. Google is now testing a way to promote messaging more to searchers in the local panel by using a larger message button. [Source: Search Engine Land]

9.Facebook is reportedly bringing in local IT firms to moderate fake news in India

Facebook is reportedly bringing in firms like HCL Technologies, Wipro and Tech Mahindra to help moderate content on the social networking platform. [Source: Business Insider]

10.PPC 2018 in Review: How These Top 5 Trends will Impact Paid Advertisers in 2019

2018 was a huge year for PPC marketing. We take a look at how the trends and changes of 2018, shape the way paid search marketers will work in 2019 and beyond. [Source: Logicserve Digital]

January 4, 2019
PPC 2018 in Review: How These Top 5 Trends will Impact Paid Advertisers in 2019

2018 was a huge year for PPC marketing. There were several massive changes in the paid search landscape – the launch of new campaigns, enhanced features, better targeting capabilities, new tools and more.

How do these big changes and trends impact PPC advertisers in 2019? That’s one of the big questions in everyone’s mind. Here, in this article, we take a look at how the trends and changes of 2018, shape the way paid search marketers will work in 2019 and beyond.

1. Google Ads Gets a New Name and a New UI

Google announced the name change of Adwords to Google Ads, in June 2018. This name change reflects the platform’s move away from keywords. Going forward keywords will play a lesser role in paid search marketing and will be more focused on audiences. Additionally, the name change of the platform indicates Google’s growth beyond text ads to ads of different formats and across a variety of sites and apps.

The new Google Ads UI is more of a command centre than the previous dashboard style. There’s a new YouTube reach planner, the ability to make changes right from the Overview section, notes and several other new features.

Experts predict that this new UI will be the most significant change in PPC for 2019. There are several new ways to segment data, and finally, marketers will make the shift from keywords and text ads, to new categories of ads.

2. Enter the Era of Amazon’s Advertising

2018 was the year when Google, Bing, and Facebook recognised the role of the e-commerce giants when it came to PPC marketing. According to reports by eMarketer, Amazon is currently the third-largest digital ad marketplace in the US. Though it’s far behind Google and Facebook, Amazon’s ad revenue is expected to skyrocket in the coming years.

What does this mean for paid advertisers? Experts predict that paid advertisers will lean towards Amazon, both in terms of budget allocations and campaign management.

With the ad format in Amazon, different from Google and Bing, advertisers will have to develop distinct practices specifically for the platform. Though Amazon’s ad management and reporting capabilities are nowhere near Google, right now, experts expect to see significant progress this year and in the coming years.

3. AI-Powered Insights

While AI in marketing has been around for some time now, both Google and Bing allocated significant resources for AI-research in 2018. This helps in improving AI-driven recommendations in both the search engines.

The Competition tab from Bing offers performance insights and other location-based recommendations, powered by machine learning networks. Google also offered better data visualisations, which help advertisers track the performance of their campaigns, effectively.

How do these impact the advertiser? With quicker insights powered by AI, advertisers will spend lesser time on analysing spreadsheets and instead focus on developing their marketing strategy and creative tactics.

4. Increase in Cross-Channel Advertising

Today, the digital marketing space is so varied, and there are plenty of channels and platforms, all offering different benefits to the advertiser. In the coming years, you can expect advertisers focusing on cross-channel and cross-device attribution.

However, while it’s easy to build and co-ordinate multi-channel campaigns, reporting silos is still a major challenge for paid advertisers. Advertisers can expect new tools that make it easy to monitor and track performances for cross-channel advertising campaigns.

5. Video will Continue to Play a Significant Role

Though video marketing has been around for a long time, the trend doesn’t seem to die away, anytime soon. PPC marketers should plan on including video into their strategies to gain coveted placements on SERPs.

Even if you don’t want to increase spends on video marketing, you can still leverage YouTube audiences as part of your PPC search campaigns. And, experts predict that more platforms will adopt Google’s recent introduction of vertical video ads.

Looking Ahead for 2019

2018 was a significant year for PPC. With the arrival of Amazon, depreciation of keywords and the increasing role of machine learning and AI, 2019 presents several new challenges and opportunities for paid advertisers. And, PPC advertisers have to embrace these new trends, to stay ahead of the pack and create successful campaigns.

January 4, 2019
Weekend Digital Media Round-up: Google’s search trends game, Facebook’s Boomerang support for messenger, Instagram’s new engagement features and more…

1.Google Launches First-Ever Game Based on Google Search Trends

Test your knowledge of Google Search in 2018 by taking the new ‘Game of the Year’ quiz. Every year Google releases a roundup of top search trends, but this is the first time the company has developed a game based on search data. [Source: Search Engine Journal]

2.Facebook introduces Boomerang support and selfie mode for Messenger

Facebook announced a host of new camera features for its Messenger app. As well as native support for looping Boomerang videos, there’s also a Selfie mode that automatically blurs out the background, and an augmented reality feature that lets you place Messenger’s stickers in your photos and videos. [Source: The Verge]

3.Instagram Adds New Ways to Engage With Followers

Instagram has rolled out a series of new features designed to form stronger connections with followers. These new features can be used with Instagram’s fastest-growing channels – stories and live videos. [Source: Search Engine Journal]

4.Google Now Pays For Conversions Bidding In Display Campaigns

Google manages to take people off-guard with some update or another. The latest one in the line being, conversion-based bidding called “Pay-For-Conversions” available for display campaigns. [Source: Logicserve Digital]

5.3 prospecting features for Google Display campaigns

Google discussed three features aimed at helping advertisers reach new customers with Display campaigns in a blog post on Tuesday. These include Dynamic prospecting with product feeds, Fine-tuned audience expansion and Auto-generated custom intent segments. [Source: Search Engine Land]

6.Twitter Rolls Out New Button to Easily Switch Between Chronological and Algorithmic Timeline

Twitter is now bringing it’s new ‘Sparkle’ button to all users, which will enable everyone to easily opt out of the algorithm-defined feed and see the most recent tweets from those they follow first. [Source: Social Media Today]

7.Google’s mobile-first indexing now powers over half of Google’s search results

Google announced that over half of the pages shown in search results globally are from Google indexing that content using mobile-first indexing procedure. That means that it is more likely that the pages you visit from a Google search are based on how Google crawled and indexed that content based on the mobile version of that page. [Source: Search Engine Land]

8.Google Assistant will proactively tell you if it thinks your flight will be delayed

Google is planning to roll out a new feature for Google Assistant that will give users a better idea of whether their flight might be delayed, which is a nice thing to know during the holidays. [Source: The Verge]

9.YouTube ad campaigns target ‘TV screens’ by default, coming to AdWords API in Jan

The AdWords API capabilities for TV targeting will be available as of January 8.With the API, “Connected TV” will appear as a new platform name along with desktop, tablet and mobile with an ID of 30004. [Source: Search Engine Land]

10.Google Outlines the Evolution of Google Lens, and the Future of Visual Search

Google has this week published a blog post which details the development of its Lens image search option, outlining the range of additions and innovations they’ve made to make it a more effective, accurate tool. [Source: Social Media Today]

December 21, 2018

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