Archive for the ‘seo news’ Category
Wednesday, April 17th, 2024
Some of the world’s most iconic search marketers — including Glenn Gabe, Brad Geddes, Lily Ray, Amy Hebdon, Jessica Bowman, and Bruce Clay — are now confirmed to speak at Search Engine Land’s SMX Advanced, online June 11-12… and you can learn from them, along with the thousands of marketers who have already signed up, for free.
The agenda is coming together beautifully, with tactical AI, SEO, and PPC sessions exploring everything from what you need to know about Google’s Search Generative Experience to a spirited debate about AI and automation in paid search.
Each day kicks off with an exclusive keynote, followed by tactic-rich sessions from search marketing experts…
The entire SMX Advanced program – including keynotes, sessions, Q&As, live demos, and interactive Coffee Talk meetups – will be available live and on-demand starting June 11 so you can train at your own pace.
It’s all free. No plane ticket. No expense report. No kidding.
I hope you’ll join me – and the nearly 200,000 search marketers who have relied on SMX since 2006 – for this once-a-year training experience.
Grab your free SMX Advanced pass now!
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Tuesday, April 16th, 2024
Want to rank highly in 2024 and beyond? Then, you must create what Google calls “helpful, reliable, people-first content.”
In this article, I will outline a process that shows you exactly how to do that and provide a simple template you can fill out to take your content to the next level.
Spambusters
At the time of writing, Google is doing some major spring cleaning to tackle some of the spammy, low-quality content littering the search results.
Unsurprisingly, much content is developed from an SEO perspective. Google’s latest update is designed to help push down some of this SEO-first content and surface people-first content.
Our goal here should be to create well-optimized, people-first content. Any savvy marketer knows you build trust with your prospects by being helpful and sharing.
A people-first content process
Google has a help page that provides several questions you can use to review your existing content to ensure it is helpful, reliable and people-first. Unfortunately (and ironically), this page is not helpful when creating new content.
In addition, I have created a simple process we use at my agency for planning, writing and reviewing new content that is people-first and ticks all of Google’s qualitative boxes.
To simplify following the steps, here’s a simple template you can fill out as you work through the article. Grab a copy of this first.
People-first content: A writing process
What follows is a six-step process for creating SEO-friendly content that is people first.
As a side note, while Google is at war with low-quality generic content, don’t feel like you can’t use AI tools to help. Just ensure you use these generative AI tools as an SEO assistant rather than create the whole article for you.
Step 1: Goals
What is your goal for this content? How does this fit into your overall SEO strategy and SEO planning?
Creating a well-considered goal is essential. The goal is what you are aiming at. If you are off the mark here, you will miss the target despite your efforts.
To strengthen goals, follow a simple process called “The Five Whys.” State your initial goal, then ask “why” up to five times until you have strengthened and clearly articulated your goals.
Example
- Initial goal: Write a blog post about our eco-friendly kitchen products.
- Why? To improve our website’s ranking on Google.
- First analysis: I want to improve our website’s ranking on Google.
- Why? Because a higher ranking will lead to more organic traffic to our site.
- Second analysis: I want more organic traffic.
- Why? Because increased traffic can lead to more customer engagement and brand recognition.
- Third analysis: I want increased customer engagement and brand recognition.
- Why? This engagement will likely lead to higher sales and customer loyalty.
- Fourth analysis: I want higher sales and customer loyalty.
- Why? With increased sales and a loyal customer base, we can further our mission to promote sustainable living and make a larger positive environmental impact.
- Revised goal: Our objective is to create an informative blog post about eco-friendly kitchen products that educate users about kitchen sustainability. This will help us drive organic traffic to the site, increasing engagement and leads.
Action item
Outline your goals and refine them using The Five Whys technique. Incorporate SMART SEO goals to refine and articulate the objectives.
Step 2: Reframing for your audience
You know what you want, but Google does not care about your goals, only the satisfaction of its users. You must align your objectives with helping users while connecting them to your business and marketing mission.
To do this, you can employ “reframing.” Based on Ann Handley’s book “Everybody Writes,” it’s a tool for shifting perspectives and better serving our audience in marketing.
First, you should be clear on who your audience is. Google spells this out:
“Do you have an existing or intended audience for your business or site that would find the content useful if they came directly to you?”
Take your initial goal and look at this from your audience’s perspective. Ask, “So what?” and answer with “Because…” Do this exercise up to five times.
Example
Your goal: Our objective is to create an informative blog post about eco-friendly kitchen products to help generate leads for our sustainable kitchen products.
- So what? We all need to learn how to be sustainable in all areas of our lives to help prevent global warming and ensure the planet’s safety for future generations.
- So what? Learning about sustainability in the kitchen can help you reduce your environmental footprint, lead to healthier living and save money – good for you and good for your children.
Final goal: The article will provide a detailed look at how choosing eco-friendly kitchen products leads to a healthier lifestyle, cost savings and benefits for the planet. It encourages readers to make sustainable choices in their daily lives and shows them how to do that with our products.
Action item
Define your audience, query your goal, reframe it from the customer’s perspective and explain how it helps them. Fill it out in the supplied template. Ensure you can succinctly answer how this helps the reader.
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Step 3: Demonstrate experience and expertise
The content you create should establish the author’s experience and expertise in a verifiable way. Google spells this out for us with the E-E-A-T and, more specifically, the requirement for “helpful, reliable, people-first content.”
What makes something reliable? Experience, expertise and credibility are good starting points.
Below are key points to remember based on Google’s documentation:
Experience
Your content should demonstrate first-hand experience and expertise. You should show a depth of knowledge by using a product or service or visiting a place. From a business perspective, you should clearly illustrate that you have experience.
Expertise
The content should demonstrate expertise or link to a page that does. For instance, if your business has accreditations, ensure they are visible on the site. If the author has specific expertise, ensure this is detailed on an author page.
Get your facts straight
Using data to illustrate your expertise is helpful, but ensure that any facts you use are 100% correct, referenced and do not contain unsubstantiated claims.
‘About us’ and author pages
Your site should feature “About us” and author pages that expand upon the credibility of the business and the individual authors. Link to these from your content. Google mentions these pages specifically, so give it what it wants.
Action item
In the people-first content template, fill out the four expertise boxes covering experience, expertise, fact-checking and about us and author pages.
Step 4: Aim high
You should aim to create unique content that is different or better than elsewhere. Your overall SEO strategy is important here, as you want a reason to stand out from the crowd, and that should flow through your content marketing.
Google provides us with 12 points to review content quality. However, we can summarize these into six points that you can use to guide your content creation.
Data and examples
Identify data and examples that support your article. Include these, and be sure to cite them correctly. Remember, people love stats and having something makes your content linkable (which is still crucially important).
Add something to the discussion
Look for areas where you can add something new to the discussion, such as new research, reporting or analysis. This does not have to be complicated. Run a short survey, but add something new to the discussion to add value to your article. In a nutshell, don’t just say the same thing as everyone else!
Use clear titles
Create clear, descriptive, accurate and non-sensational titles summarizing the content. You can still optimize but do so sensibly. Always prioritize people over SEO.
State your sources and add commentary
When referencing other sources, add value. Avoid just rewriting or restating; try to add a unique spin to what is already there. Use your experience and expertise to do so. You are an expert on this topic; your opinion and experience here matter.
Focus on quality and make it easy to share
Ensure the content is well produced. Use AI tools here to help if you wish. Don’t take every recommendation. Keep your voice in the piece. Aim for something of the same quality you expect in a newspaper or other printed media.
Action item
Fill out page four of the template. Don’t worry about finding something for each of these but try to ensure you bring something new.
Dig deeper: Mastering content quality: The ultimate guide
Step 5: Write
In some respects, this is the easy bit. Once you have completed the research steps above, you will know the angle from which you are coming. I recommend copying your overall goal at the top of your document so you can use that as your North Star!
The steps you take now will vary depending on your own writing style, but the key here is that planning sets up success.
My approach is something like this:
- Decide on the format (blog post, list, stats, etc.).
- Outline bullet points of the sections.
- Work on a very rough first draft (just write – don’t stop to edit).
- Walk away for a few hours, at least.
- Write the second draft.
- Walk away and sleep on it.
- Review using Google’s question list.
- Write the third draft.
- Editor review.
- Tweak and publish.
I often think the most important aspect here is to sleep on it. If you can and if, like me, you are fitting in writing around running your business, then it can make sense to do the big steps over different days.
- Day 1: Plan and bullet points
- Day 2: Rough first draft
- Day 3: Second draft
- Day 4: Third draft, edits and publish
A key element for me is the sleeping on it factor. When you are writing like this, you are often trying to solve a problem and your planning and first drafts get you so far.
But then, when you sleep on it, your subconscious starts to work through all those little bits that are not quite there yet.
Then, when you work on your second and third drafts, you will strengthen the article so much more (and it is much easier).
Dig deeper: 25 tips to optimize your content for people and search engines
Step 6: Review
At this stage, if you want to be absolutely certain you have nailed this, you can revisit Google’s Helpful Content help page to self-assess your content.
Having conducted the planning process, this should be orders of magnitude easier. Starting your content creation with planning and ending with a qualitative review will strengthen your approach and improve your results.
Page experience and SEO
One last point of importance: the content should be housed on a site that provides a solid page experience.
- Your web design and SEO should be dialed in.
- You should have green lights on your Core Web Vitals.
- Your site should run over HTTPS.
- You should not show too many ads (if any, should you be a business selling services).
These are the basics, but Google does have a help page if you wish to dive in further.
Crafting people-first content: A blueprint for SEO success
While there is a lot of change and doomsaying at the moment, content marketing with SEO is still a viable tactic for authentic experts who can help the target audience.
Google has articulated what they are looking for. By carefully reviewing the help pages on E-E-A-T and creating helpful content, we can build a process that ensures we are aiming at exactly what Google is aiming at (that is, real SEO that stands the test of time).
This dogged focus on the end user is truly what marketing is all about and why Google is such a big company. Getting into this mindset and making it the heart of your SEO philosophy will only improve your results.
Be sure to determine some simple SEO KPIs to measure your success and keep focused on creating content that helps you while helping your audience.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Tuesday, April 16th, 2024
Brand mentions are crucial in shaping brand presence and perception across the search universe. This article explores the growing relationship between brand mentions and their significance in developing share of search and boosting brand search.
We will also:
- Dive into the nuances of brand mentions.
- Examine how brand mentions impact search marketing, both on traditional and social search platforms.
- Discuss strategies for integrating brand mentions into a cohesive search marketing approach.
Understanding brand mentions
From publications to social channels, right through to search platforms, conversations about brands are happening across an increasing number of touchpoints.
Broadly speaking, brand mentions are any reference to a brand within digital content, encompassing a wide array of online interactions.
These mentions can be categorized into:
- Direct mentions.
- Indirect mentions.
Direct mentions
- These are clear references where the brand name is explicitly mentioned.
- Direct mentions are straightforward to track and measure, providing clear insights into brand visibility and audience engagement.
- Social Sentiment tools, such as Brand24 or Brandwatch, can be leveraged to monitor them.
Indirect mentions
- These may involve product names, services or content closely associated with the brand without explicitly naming it.
- These mentions require more sophisticated tracking methods but offer valuable insights into the broader brand landscape and still impact share-of-search.
Understanding the types of mentions is imperative to understanding their impact on brand search and share of search.
Developments in search volumes, as well as trends around brand terms and products, are signals we can turn to when reporting on the impact of direct/indirect mentions across channels.
Where brand mentions occur
Brand mentions can occur across numerous channels, each holding a unique audience and interaction style.
Social media
- Instagram, X, TikTok, Pinterest and Facebook are hotbeds for brand mentions, with users frequently discussing brands in posts, comments and stories.
- Brands that can manufacture these mentions through strategic activations around UGC campaigns, influencer marketing and owned content can effectively develop their share of search.
Blogs, news and articles
- Written content on blogs and news sites often includes brand mentions, either as the primary focus or within broader topics.
- Digital PR remains a fantastic way to achieve coverage within these online publications.
- Previously, the elusive “follow” link was the goal. Moving forward, brand mentions will become the desired goal.
Forums and discussion boards
- As Reddit and Quora gain prominence in search engine results, brands can leverage them for in-depth discussions on specific topics.
- Brand mentions on these platforms offer valuable insights, enhancing perception and awareness.
Online reviews and feedback platforms
- Sites like Yelp, Google Reviews and TripAdvisor feature direct customer feedback, making them invaluable for assessing brand sentiment.
- Such reviews can then be leveraged within our website content to showcase “trustworthiness.”
Understanding brand mentions across various touchpoints is crucial. It’s the initial step in using them within a comprehensive search strategy.
Monitoring and engaging with these mentions offer valuable insights into public perception and user needs.
Dig deeper: Why brand mentions are the future of backlinks
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Brand mentions for SEO
The influence of brand mentions extends beyond name-dropping. They offer a crucial way for brands to shape their presence in SERP results across the search universe on both traditional and social search platforms.
Let’s look at the impact of brand mentions on search marketing.
Traditional search
For traditional search, the benefits of attaining and leveraging brand mentions are significant, albeit indirect.
I remember Carrie Rose from Rise at Seven discussing how brands can use mentions to expand their presence on SERPs in a 2023 conference talk. This remains relevant today.
Brands can leverage brand mentions across the channels we have discussed to begin dominating SERPs, ensuring their brand owns SERP real estate.
By associating brand names with relevant search terms and striving to generate mentions alongside these terms, it’s possible to:
- Increase visibility on social search platforms.
- Get featured in press articles often appearing at the top of search results.
- Gain exposure on forums that are becoming more prominent in search results.
This method ensures that brands are front and center for vital terms in the non-brand space – a huge SEO win.
Social search / search universe
When we shift our focus to the emerging search universe and social search platforms, brand mentions begin to take on a different form.
Brand mentions on social search platforms aim to boost brand awareness and fame, ultimately driving conversions, often through traditional SEO platforms.
Traditional search relies on us searching to show us relevant content. On social platforms, these handcuffs are removed.
Social algorithms look to provide relevant content to users upon their feed, typically related to previously engaged content.
In this case, social platforms could deliver the content featuring our brand mentions without a search, making social platforms an enticing prospect for brands.
Each platform has individual nuances that need to be considered. Ultimately, social search allows brands to blur the lines between demand generation content and demand capitalization content, something traditional search simply cannot replicate.
In the process, we can facilitate brand search and improve share of search – a win-win!
Dig deeper: Search, social and retail: The future of digital brand experiences
Brand mentions on traditional and social search platforms
Let’s explore some of the benefits of traditional and social search brand mentions.
Expanding reach
- Every mention serves as a digital beacon, a brand bat signal if you like, potentially reaching new audiences across these diverse platforms.
- These audiences may not have encountered the brand otherwise, broadening its reach beyond its existing community.
Building trust and authority
- In the eyes of consumers, frequent mentions by reputable sources can elevate a brand’s status, lending it credibility and authority. This perceived authority makes the brand more visible and attractive to potential customers.
- In traditional SEO, this arises from coverage in press and publications. For social search, it is more likely to arise from user-generated content (UGC) or a community’s favorite content creators.
Driving engagement and conversations
- Brand mentions can spark discussions and engagement, increasing visibility in public forums, social media or comment sections.
- They keep the brand at the forefront of relevant discussions, enhancing its presence online. This can be manufactured to move people to a landing page as part of this discussion or conversation.
How to integrate brand mentions into a strategy
Brand mentions will likely occur naturally, but relying on this is insufficient. Instead, you can manufacture your search strategies with “achieving brand mentions” as a key consideration. This involves consistent monitoring and analysis of your brand mentions.
Adopt processes and tools to monitor such mentions across platforms so you can assess their impact on visibility, brand search trends and share of search. This should be the foundational piece of your puzzle.
From here, actively engage with your brand mentions, especially on social search platforms. Respond to reviews, participate in conversations and contribute to discussions, as these will amplify the impacts and effects of your activations.
Crafting a content strategy to boost brand search and enhance share of search is crucial, especially if you’re seeing a shift toward social search destinations among your audiences.
To drive better brand mentions and long-term value, consider:
- Using outreach and digital PR.
- Creating shareable content.
- Activating creator-led content.
- Leveraging UGC.
- Participating in emerging trends.
This strategic approach to leveraging brand mentions enhances organic visibility, enabling you to secure a prominent place in the search universe.
Driving brand mentions across the search universe
By strategically fostering brand mentions, you can command a considerable share of search, marking your territory in the evolving search universe.
Integrating brand mentions into a cohesive search marketing strategy requires a proactive and creative approach – monitoring, engaging with and cultivating organic mentions are foundational steps.
To truly capitalize on brand mentions, you must also craft resonant content, collaborate with influential voices and participate in digital trends that elevate your presence beyond traditional search.
By embracing a search-everywhere approach, you can harness the full spectrum of opportunities brand mentions offer.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Friday, April 12th, 2024
JPMorgan Chase launched Chase Media Solutions, a new digital media business. It’s the first bank-led media platform, allowing advertisers to send relevant promotions to some 80 million financial customers.
Chase acquired transaction-based digital advertising platform Figg in 2022 — a key component in Chase’s two-sided commerce platform. Chase Media Solutions was announced April 3.
Why we care. Over the last several years, many retailers have grown new revenue streams by setting up retail media networks (RMNs) for advertisers. RMNs are attractive to advertisers because they can send targeted ads based on the retailers’ deep knowledge of their customers, especially loyalty customers.
Data. Chase’s advantage is transactional first-party data, which allows brands and agencies to target based on purchase history. RMNs have that data too, but only within their specific stores and owned channels. Chase customers have purchase histories across retailers and other businesses they buy from.
Non-retail media platform. “Our deep understanding of consumer spending across categories has driven us to reimagine what retail media networks can offer,” said Rich Muhlstock, President of Chase Media Solutions, in a release.
- “Like retailers, we have first-party data and a dedicated audience. But what sets us apart is the unrivaled scale and insights from our customers – having long-served as a trusted guide for their financial decisions. Chase reaches across brands, merchants and shopping verticals, providing a comprehensive view of purchase behavior; this strengthens the degree of personalization, helping brands deliver offers that stoke consumer interests,” Muhlstock said.
Dig deeper: 2024 Predictions: Retail media networks
Early adopters. Pilot partners include Air Canada, Solo Stove, Blue Bottle and Whataburger, all of which ran 30-day campaigns through Chase Media Solutions.
- “The Chase team succeeded in creating a thoughtful, targeted offer that exceeded our expectations,” said Scott O’Leary, vice president of loyalty and product for Air Canada, in a release. “Two distinct offer constructs drove incremental revenue and awareness for Air Canada amongst Chase’s cardmember base. These tests clearly demonstrated the potential of the Chase Media Solutions channel, and we look forward to working together more in the future.”
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Friday, April 12th, 2024
TikTok is reportedly developing AI-powered virtual influencers that will be able to compete against human creators for lucrative advertising contracts.
The new AI avatars can allegeldy read scripts for video ads created from prompts submitted by brands and TikTok Shop sellers. However, this feature is still in its testing phase so everything is subject to change, reports The Information.
Impact on sales. During testing, TikTok researchers discovered that AI avatars haven’t generated as many e-commerce sales as human influencers. This is reportedly why the new feature hasn’t been made available to marketers yet. The platform suggests that this feature should complement existing human creators rather than replace them.
Concerns. Some advertisers worry that AI influencers could be used for manipulative marketing tactics. Additionally, the rise of virtual creators could steal business from real influencers, possibly leading some users to leave the platform.
Why we care. Even though using AI influencers for promoting products might seem cheaper and quicker for your campaigns, considering the lower sales and ethical concerns involved, it might not be the best choice for brands as things currently stand.
What TikTok is saying. TikTok did not immediately reply to Search Engine Land’s request for comment.
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Deep dive. Read How Advertisers Can Leverage AI and Automation at Scale for more information on how to implement AI into your ad strategy.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Thursday, April 11th, 2024
Google Search will continue to evolve in the direction of Search Generative Experience. That’s according to Alphabet/Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who recently spoke about AI, Search and more at the 2024 Business, Government & Society Forum at Stanford University.
The future of information and answers. AI has been transforming Google Search for years. Google hasn’t been “10 blue links” for a long time, Pichai said, adding:
- “When mobile came, we knew Google Search had to evolve a lot. We call it featured snippets, but for almost 10 years now you go to Google for many questions we kind of use AI to answer them. We call it web answers internally. … We’ve always answered questions where we can. But we always felt when people come and look for information. People, in certain cases, want answers but they also want the richness and the diversity of what’s out there in the world and it’s a good balance to be had and we’ve always I think struck that balance pretty well.
- “To me all that is different is now the technology by which you can answer is progressing. We will continue doing that. But this evolution has been underway in search for a long, long time.
- “We’ve done all this in Google Search for a long time and people like it, people engage with it, people trust it. I view it as a natural continuation. With LLMs and AI, I think you have a more powerful tool to do that, which is what we are putting in Search with Search Generative Experience and so we’ll continue evolving it in that direction, too.”
Answers vs. search. Google’s mission has been to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Google historically has done its best to reflect what’s on the web and provide trustworthy, high-quality information.
Pichai mentioned the search rater guidelines are one way Google represents the viewpoint of its user base. And we know from Pandu Nayak’s testimony in the antitrust trial that Information Satisfaction (IS) scores from raters are a key metric for assessing search quality.
But the arrival of Google SGE and AI-generated answers has had many brands, SEOs and content creators concerned that searchers would no longer click on websites – because they got the answer directly from SGE. Since introducing various types of web answers, Google has tried to strike a balance, Pichai said.
- “There are certain times you give an answer – “what’s the population of the United States” – yes it’s an answerable question. There are times you want to surface the breadth of opinions out there on the web, which is what search does and does it well. Just because you’re saying we are summarizing it on top doesn’t mean we veer from those principles. The summary can still point you to the range of opinions out there,” Pichai said
AI improving Search. Pichai has long said AI is more profound than fire or electricity. What excites Pichai about AI is how it can help improve Search.
- “I feel the weight that people come to search at very vulnerable moments. … Trust is hard-earned, easy to lose. We have to re-earn it all the time …
- “It’s difficult to do this consistently well across the entirety of what humanity is looking for, which is what excites me about search and providing information and knowledge and is what I see as the opportunity. AI is an exciting technology which will allow us to do it better than before. But it’s a technology we have to carefully deploy in a way that we are responsible while doing so.”
Why we care. AI has radically reshaped Google Search and SEO over the past year – and we’re expecting more big changes in the coming months. It’s always good to understand where Google Search is heading, as opposed to where it is or was. Also, it can’t be left unsaid that Pichai’s interview rings a bit hollow, especially in light of the many valid criticisms of the quality of Search results and SGE answers we’re seeing at this point in time.
Dig deeper.
The interview. You can watch it here.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Thursday, April 11th, 2024
Google has updated its structured data carousels (beta) help documentation to clarify where your markup should go within summary pages that link out to other detail pages. Google also added the feature availability of this new structured data carousels (beta).
The Google structured data carousels (beta) is several weeks old, it was introduced when Google began releasing DMA changes in the European Economic Area (EEA) countries.
Summary pages. Google said “the markup must be on the summary page, and you don’t need to add markup to the detail pages in order to be eligible for this feature.” Google added this new section:
Pick a single summary page that contains some information about every entity in the list. For example, a category page that lists the “Top hotels in Paris”, with links out to specific detail pages on your site for more information about each hotel. You can mix and match different types of entities (for example, hotels, restaurants), if needed for your scenario. For example, if you have a “Things to do in Switzerland” article that lists both local events and local businesses.
Add the required properties. Based on the format you’re using, learn where to insert structured data on the page.
Add the required properties to that summary page. You don’t need to add markup to the detail pages in order to be eligible for this beta feature. Based on the format you’re using, learn where to insert structured data on the page.
Google also clarified this summary page markup throughout the document.
Feature availability. Since this is available currently only within the European Economic Area (EEA) countries, Google clarified this within the document. Google wrote, “This feature is currently only available in European Economic Area (EEA) countries, on both desktop and mobile devices. It’s available for travel, local, and shopping queries. For shopping queries, it’s being tested first in Germany, France, Czechia, and the UK.”
Google also wrote, “This feature is in beta and you may see changes in requirements or guidelines, as we develop this feature. If your business is based in EEA, or serves users in EEA, and you would like to learn more and express interest in these new experiences, you can start by filling out the applicable form (for flights queries, use the interest form for flights queries).”
Why we care. If you are based in European regions, these are changes you should be aware of. You may want to implement these new beta carousel features, where appropriate and then submit the interest forms to Google to be opted into the program.
These carousels may lead to more clicks from Google Search to your site.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Thursday, April 11th, 2024
Google is trialing a new People Also Consider badge on ads served within branded search results.
The label appears as a grey box positioned underneath the company name, logo and URL as demonstrated in the screenshot below:
The feature is not clickable, and so the purpose of it is causing confusion amongst PPC marketers.
First spotted. The new ad badge was first spotted by Anthony Higman, CEO of online advertising agency Adsquire. He shared his thoughts on X:
- “Google Ads is getting weird AF. ‘People Also Consider’ badge on a search for our brand.”
- “What else is there for people to also consider on a search for my brand? Or is this a sign of things to come?”
- “Is this what they have been doing by matching all branded terms to keywords? Are they really about to throw all of us into our competitors’ ad auctions unsolicited and then just toss a ‘People Also Consider’ badge on those ads and call it a day?”
- “I’m thinking it’s why they have been matching brands to keywords for the last two years. If they are really about to do what I think they are going to do with these, it is NOT clever or innovative, its desperate and grimy.”
What Google is saying. Google did not immediately respond to Search Engine Land’s request for comment.
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Why now? The new badge comes just a week after Shalom Goodman spotted Google testing a “Related to your search” badge on search ads. This label also appeared as a grey box positioned underneath the company name, logo and URL as demonstrated in the screenshot below:
Google is yet to offer any insight or further explanation around this feature.
Why we care. If Google starts forcing companies into their competitors’ ad auctions, it could be bad for business. Customers might see competitors’ ads when searching for your brand resulting in you losing a potential sale. Additionally, paying for ads on competitor brand searches are unlikely to reach high-value customers as they are looking for a specific brand, not just a service – which ultimately creates a poorer user experience.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Thursday, April 11th, 2024
TikTok introduced two new controls to give advertisers more choice regarding where their content appears:
- Category Exclusion.
- Vertical Sensitivity controls.
Additionally, the social media platform is merging account-level controls for all brand safety and suitability solutions within TikTok Ads Manager (TTAM) to make using these new tools even easier.
Why we care. Ads appearing alongside content that doesn’t align with your brand identity isn’t ideal. Not only does it conflict with their company’s message, but it also likely makes it harder to reach and engage with high-value consumers.
Category Exclusion. This new feature allows advertises to control whether their ad is served next to four non-standard categories:
- Gambling and lotteries.
- Violent video games.
- Combat sports.
- Youth content.
By managing association with these content categories, brands can ensure consistency in messaging. Category Exclusion only applies to content that doesn’t breach TikTok’s Community Guidelines – for example, although the platform does now allow the promotion of gambling services, content featuring gambling in entertainment, such as movies, is allowed.
Vertical Sensitivity. Advertisers can utilize this feature to choose their industry vertical and avoid content related to that vertical that they deem incompatible with their brand positioning, providing an extra layer of brand protection. For instance, a travel brand that typically focuses on nature-themed content may opt out of appearing alongside content about volcanoes or floods.
TikTok now offers 11 verticals to choose from:
- Pets.
- Beauty.
- Food.
- Fashion/Retail.
- Travel.
- Financial Services.
- Technology.
- Automotive.
- Gaming.
- Professional Services.
- Entertainment.
Verified third-party results. TikTok also expanded its partnerships with DoubleVerify (DV), Integral Ad Science (IAS), and Zefr to include post-campaign measurement of these new controls
Unified TikTok Ads Manager hub. Additionally, the platform has introduced the Brand Safety Hub in TikTok Ads Manager to simplify brand safety measures and provide consistency for advertisers. This hub offers advertisers a smoother process, enabling them to set brand safety and suitability preferences at the account level, which then become default settings for future campaigns. It’s designed for advertisers who have clear preferences and want them applied automatically with minimal effort.
What TikTok is saying. TikTok said in a statement:
- “Beyond brand safety, we respect that brands know their values best. As such, they may have preferences as to where they show up, especially when it comes to the content next to their ads.”
- “That’s why we’re committed to continuously innovating beyond traditional suitability standards—to build solutions that empower advertisers with even more control.”
- “The new controls go above and beyond common industry standards and guidance for protections, including the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) Brand Suitability Framework.”
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Deep dive. Read TikTok’s announcement in full for more information.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Wednesday, April 10th, 2024
Meta advertisers claim the cost of running campaigns across it platforms has surged due to ongoing issues with its algorithm.
Brands report that sales and return-on-ad-spend have both plummeted, while cost-per-click and cost per 1,000 impressions are up by a factor of three in recent months – with no explanation from Meta as to why.
Why we care. If the reported ongoing algorithm issues continue to impact ad performance, marketers will need to take action to reduce costs by exploring rival platforms like Google and TikTok.
Details. Meta is a global leader in digital advertising with its platforms accounting for approximately 22% of the market, according to Emarketer. Small businesses in particular have traditionally been reliant on Meta to reach their target audience thanks to the efficiency of its AI-powered targeting technology. However, many advertisers claim that the social media giant’s dependable advertising system is currently experiencing significant issues, prompting some to reallocate their budgets to rival platforms.
Impact. The potential impact of this reported system issue on ad revenue is expected to become apparent by the end of the month when Meta releases its first-quarter earnings. Experts are forecasting Meta to report $36.1 billion in ad revenue.
Reaction. Cody Plofker, chief marketing officer at brand Jones Road Beauty, said on the “Operators” podcast:
- “It’s brutal out there. There is something just terribly broken about Meta right now.”
What Meta is saying. Meta admitted that there have been some technical issues impacting ads but denied that the problems were widespread. A spokesperson told Bloomberg:
- “Our ads system is working as expected for the vast majority of advertisers.”
- “We recently fixed a few technical issues and are researching a small amount of additional reports from advertisers to ensure the best possible results for businesses using our apps.”
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Deep dive. Read our coverage of the $7 billion class-action lawsuit Facebook and Instagram advertisers filed against Meta for more insights.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
