Archive for the ‘seo news’ Category
Wednesday, November 22nd, 2023
YouTube has admitted to intentionally creating a suboptimal experience for users employing ad blockers.
Reports of a deliberate five-second delay in loading video pages on Mozilla’s Firefox have emerged on forums like Reddit and Hacker News.
Despite initial speculation about browser specificity, YouTube has clarified that users across all platforms may encounter loading delays. This deliberate delay is part of YouTube’s ongoing campaign to discourage the use of ad blockers.
Why we care. Encouraging users to disable ad blockers on YouTube can benefit advertisers by expanding reach. However, this broader reach might increase advertising costs and result in ads reaching less valuable customers, impacting the effectiveness of the marketing strategy. Achieving a balance between reach and targeting is crucial for optimizing return on investment.
Who is impacted? Not everyone is experiencing the reported five-second delay. Attempts by some individuals to recreate the issue on both Mac and Windows machines, while logged into YouTube or not, using ad-blockers or not, and in incognito mode or not, did not result in any observed delay. However, those that are impacted do have ad blockers installed.
What YouTube is saying. A YouTube spokesperson told Business Insider:
- “In the past week, users using ad blockers may have experienced suboptimal viewing, which included delays in loading, regardless of the browser they are using. Users who have uninstalled their ad blockers may still experience a temporary delay in loading, and should try refreshing their browser.”
- “Ads are a vital lifeline for our creators that helps them run and grow their businesses. That’s why the use of ad blockers violates YouTube’s Terms of Service.”
- “We’ve been urging users for some time to allow ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium for an ad-free experience.”
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Deep dive. Read our report on YouTube’s ad blocker crackdown for more information.
The post YouTube is deliberately ‘suboptimal’ for people using ad blockers appeared first on Search Engine Land.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Wednesday, November 22nd, 2023
Sam Altman is returning as CEO, OpenAI announced.
It is – perhaps (hopefully?) – the final chapter of a chaotic week that saw Altman ousted as CEO, two interim CEOs announced and nearly every OpenAI threaten to quit and go to Microsoft unless the entire board resigned.
The announcement. OpenAI announced the news via an X post on Tuesday night:
- “We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo. We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this.”
Why we care. Now that the drama is over, let’s solve these ChatGPT service interruptions. Some of us are trying to work.
Status quo ante. Despite all the drama, OpenAI seemingly is now returning back to the way things were before all the drama that unfolded started Friday, with the shocking news that Altman had been ousted as CEO and all the chaos that followed.
They’re back. OpenAI’s (former – and once again(?) president) Greg Brockman shared this image via X:
Microsoft’s reaction. Altman posted that this move had the support of Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella:
- “i love openai, and everything i’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together. when i decided to join msft on sun evening, it was clear that was the best path for me and the team. with the new board and w satya’s support, i’m looking forward to returning to openai, and building on our strong partnership with msft.”
Nadella reposted Altman’s message and added:
- “We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board. We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance. Sam, Greg, and I have talked and agreed they have a key role to play along with the OAI leadership team in ensuring OAI continues to thrive and build on its mission. We look forward to building on our strong partnership and delivering the value of this next generation of AI to our customers and partners.”
Dig deeper. See Techmeme for all the coverage.
The post Sam Altman returns to OpenAI as CEO ‘in principle’ appeared first on Search Engine Land.
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Tuesday, November 21st, 2023
Google has addressed the most commonly asked questions it receives about automatically-created assets (ACA) and provided some much-needed answers.
Why we care. As more generative AI tools become available to marketers, choosing the right one can be challenging. The confusion about these tools and their proper usage adds to the complexity. Understanding the capabilities of features like ACA can empower marketers to make informed decisions on whether to incorporate them for optimizing their campaign performance.
Google addresses ACA confusion
Ginny Marvin, Product Liaison at Google, used her X account to answer some of the most commonly asked questions her team receives about ACA:
What’s the point of ACA? “When you enable automatically-created assets at the campaign level, it will create headlines and descriptions for your RSAs. The main goals are to help you save time and provide incremental conversion opportunities with more relevant ads.”
How are ACA used? “RSAs can assemble ad combinations that are predicted to perform best using both the assets you’ve provided and automatically generated assets.”
Where does ACA pull content from? “Automatically created assets are generated from your own content, including your landing pages, existing ads and keywords. Tip: Be sure your website is up-to-date when using this feature!”
Where can I see automatically-created assets? “ACA will be labeled as ‘Automatically created’ in the ‘Asset source’ column in ad- and campaign-level asset reporting. You’ll also see when ACAs are included in Combination reports.”
Can I remove ACA? “Yes, you can review & remove assets you don’t want to serve any more. In addition, any automatically created assets with a ‘low’ performance rating get removed, well, automatically.”
Can I test ACA in Campaign Experiments? “Yep! Draft and Experiments are compatible with ACA. You will see automatically created assets on both the test and control arm, however the control side will serve 0 ACA impressions.”
Should I just rely on ACA? “ACA should augment, not replace, your existing assets. Keep the assets you’ve already created and continue to provide as many as you can (up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions). Note that ACA don’t count toward these asset limits.”
Marketers give their verdict
Thomas Eccel, SMX Next speaker and Senior Performance Marketing Manager at Jung von Matt IMPACT, advised that while ACA can be a great source of inspiration, this feature needs to be closely monitored. He told Search Engine Land:
- “RSAs can work in my opinion to get inspiration of which Headlines and Description Google think could be potentially driving conversions for my account.”
- “I would not blindly active them on all accounts: do not activate them for accounts with high brand-control or for accounts where only some specific texts and wordings are allowed.”
- “If activated I would advise to closely monitor the asset creation and the sense of texts to not find surprises.”
Sarah Stemen, MBA, paid search expert and board member of the Paid Search Association, also shared her findings regarding ACA after experimenting with them in beta:
- Risk awareness: “I got client permission before we tested this (whenever you are testing something like this NEVER test this without making the risks very clear to ALL stakeholders, everyone MUST be on the same page).”
- Monitor daily: “These are indeed pulled from the website which means if you are running a sale on the website a headline will be pulled! If this is a short term sale you risk this headline or description running until the asset is removed by Google so YOU need to monitor this.””
- Headline issue: The platform will generate headlines longer than the rules (I see this as an advantage).”
- ACA can be boring: “I know, I know we complain that the automatically created anything is ‘bad’ but during the time we tested this in our account +95% of the assets were harmless. Mostly the assets were boring.”
- Human created assets win: “None of the automatically created assets performed better than the human created assets (note when I say perform I mean ‘had more impressions’ because RSA assets don’t perform the ad unit performs).”
- Watch for case inconsistencies: “All title case human written assets vs sentence style assets – but again you can remove.”
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Language expansion. ACA for responsive search ads was rolled out in September for general availability in eight languages:
- Dutch
- English
- French
- German
- Italian
- Japanese
- Portuguese
- Spanish
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Deep dive. Watch Google’s quick video tutorial on automatically created assets for more information or read Google’s responsive search ad guide for best practices on creating responsive search ads.
The post Google shares automatically-created assets FAQ and marketers give their verdict appeared first on Search Engine Land.
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Tuesday, November 21st, 2023
Google Ads has stopped supporting Store Sales Direct (SSD) as a standalone product.
The update means that SSD conversion upload requests to the Google Ads API are also no longer supported.
Why we care. If you relied on SSD, Google said to review the Store Sales onboarding guide to understand your eligibility for ongoing store sales measurement. Work with your Google Ads account team to update the feature.
Improving shop sales reports. The update aims to simplify Google Ads’ Store Sales product, providing improved shop sales measurement and reporting data. It impacts businesses falling into:
- Automotive OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) or Automotive Regional Dealer – Beta.
- Restaurant.
- Retailer.
Error message. Users previously allowlisted for this feature will now receive a NOT_ON_ALLOWLIST_FOR_STORE_SALES_DIRECT error when attempting to upload SSD conversions. However, existing SSD conversions will continue to be available in reports.
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Tuesday, November 21st, 2023
Google Ads has confirmed that it is going to update the Location asset requirements in December.
The update will clarify the types of location assets that are not permitted on Google Ads.
Locations that will not be allowed as Location assets include:
- Locations that are closed
- Locations that are not recognized by Google
- Locations that do not match the business running the ad.
- Assets with products or services that do not match the specified location.
Why we care. Using location assets in ads lets you display important business information, like the address and phone number, boosting conversion potential. Not following these requirements may mean leaving out crucial details, potentially harming your return on investment.
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Deep dive. Read Google’s Location asset requirements article for more information.
The post Google Ads is updating Location asset requirements appeared first on Search Engine Land.
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Tuesday, November 21st, 2023
Google is updating the language in some child and teen ads policies next month, including:
- Ads & made for kids content.
- Ad-serving protections for children.
- Ad-serving protection for teens.
The search engine explained that while there are no enforcement changes, it is tweaking policy language to provide more clarity and transparency for brands and advertisers.
Why we care. Enhancing clarity in advertising policies is crucial for brands to avoid inadvertent violations of rules and regulations. This is particularly important, as breaching these regulations can lead to substantial financial penalties. By clearly understanding and adhering to advertising guidelines, brands can protect themselves from potential legal and financial consequences.
Ads & made for kids content. Google is reorganizing and clarifying the language in the restricted categories and prohibited content section to align with its Ad-serving protections for children policy.
Ad-serving protections for children. Google is incorporating a new article into the Google Ads help center to make it easier to find and understand its existing protections for children when displaying ads.
Ad-serving protection for teens. Google is revising the language for clarity and for better consistency with its other policies.
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Why now? Following an Adalytics study in August accusing Google of improperly tracking children for targeted advertising, the search engine is taking steps to offer more clarity on its child and teen ads policies. The research suggested that brands using the PMax product may have unintentionally violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Despite the allegations, Google denied any wrongdoing, attributing the concerns to “confusion about brand safety controls and reporting supported in PMax” – an issues it appears to now be addressing.
Deep dive. Read our report on concerns around PMax ads inadvertently violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act for more information.
The post Google announces update to child and teen ad policy language appeared first on Search Engine Land.
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Friday, November 17th, 2023
Meta has previewed two new generative AI tools for video asset creation and picture editing.
The projects will eventually be rolled out to Facebook and Instagram, enabling content creators to generate videos and edit in-stream images within seconds using text prompts.
Why we care. Instantly generating various video assets and image edits reduces the back-and-forth time between creative and media teams, freeing up resources for strategic tasks like audience analysis. Quick access to diverse creatives can also serve as inspiration for marketers.
Emu Video. Meta’s latest generative AI tool for video creation, named Emu Video, is built upon the technology from the company’s “Emu” AI research project. This tool enables creators to generate short video clips using text prompts. Emu Video can produce high-quality video content from simple text or still image inputs. The same model can also animate user-provided images based on a text prompt, surpassing previous work by a significant margin and setting a new state-of-the-art standard.
Emu Edit. Meta’s new picture editing tool, Emu Edit, enables flexible editing through detailed instructions, handling tasks such as local and global edits, background removal and addition, color and geometry transformations, detection, segmentation, and more. Emu Edit accurately follows instructions, ensuring that pixels unrelated to the specified tasks in the input image remain unchanged.
What Meta is saying. A spokesperson for Meta said in a statement:
- “Although this work is purely fundamental research right now, the potential use cases are clearly evident. Imagine generating your own animated stickers or clever GIFs on the fly to send in the group chat rather than having to search for the perfect media for your reply.”
- “While certainly no replacement for professional artists and animators, Emu Video, Emu Edit, and new technologies like them could help people express themselves in new ways — from an art director ideating on a new concept or a creator livening up their latest reel to a best friend sharing a unique birthday greeting. And we think that’s something worth celebrating.”
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Deep dive. Read Meta’s Emu Video and Emu Edit announcement in full for more information.
The post Meta unveils new AI tools for video asset creation and picture editing appeared first on Search Engine Land.
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Friday, November 17th, 2023
Sam Altman is no longer CEO of OpenAI. Mira Murati, OpenAI’s chief technology officer, has been named interim CEO, the company announced.
Why was Altman ousted? Altman was not consistently candid in his communications with the OpenAI’s board of directors, “hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities. The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI,” according to OpenAI’s statement.
What’s next? OpenAI will begin its search for its next permanent CEO, the company said.
Why we care. Search marketers were shocked to learn of Altman being forced out of OpenAI, the company behind the extremely popular generative AI tool ChatGPT, which launched less than a year ago on Nov. 30, 2022. It has changed the way we work and the direction of search. This will be a story to watch over the next few weeks.
State of ChatGPT. It has 100 million active users – including about 90% of Fortune 500 companies. ChatGPT Plus sign-ups were paused Nov. 14 due to surge in demand, according to Altman. That followed a series of ChatGPT outages due to DDoS attacks.
Reaction. Here are some of the early reactions from the industry:
What OpenAI is saying. Here’s the full statement:
The board of directors of OpenAI, Inc, the 501(c)(3) that acts as the overall governing body for all OpenAI activities, today announced that Sam Altman will depart as CEO and leave the board of directors. Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer, will serve as interim CEO, effective immediately.
A member of OpenAI’s leadership team for five years, Mira has played a critical role in OpenAI’s evolution into a global AI leader. She brings a unique skill set, understanding of the company’s values, operations, and business, and already leads the company’s research, product, and safety functions. Given her long tenure and close engagement with all aspects of the company, including her experience in AI governance and policy, the board believes she is uniquely qualified for the role and anticipates a seamless transition while it conducts a formal search for a permanent CEO.
Mr. Altman’s departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities. The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.
In a statement, the board of directors said: “OpenAI was deliberately structured to advance our mission: to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all humanity. The board remains fully committed to serving this mission. We are grateful for Sam’s many contributions to the founding and growth of OpenAI. At the same time, we believe new leadership is necessary as we move forward. As the leader of the company’s research, product, and safety functions, Mira is exceptionally qualified to step into the role of interim CEO. We have the utmost confidence in her ability to lead OpenAI during this transition period.”
OpenAI’s board of directors consists of OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, independent directors Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, technology entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, and Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology’s Helen Toner.
As a part of this transition, Greg Brockman will be stepping down as chairman of the board and will remain in his role at the company, reporting to the CEO.
OpenAI was founded as a non-profit in 2015 with the core mission of ensuring that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. In 2019, OpenAI restructured to ensure that the company could raise capital in pursuit of this mission, while preserving the nonprofit’s mission, governance, and oversight. The majority of the board is independent, and the independent directors do not hold equity in OpenAI. While the company has experienced dramatic growth, it remains the fundamental governance responsibility of the board to advance OpenAI’s mission and preserve the principles of its Charter.
The post Shocker – Sam Altman out at OpenAI in huge CEO change appeared first on Search Engine Land.
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Friday, November 17th, 2023
Apple is reportedly pulling all of its adverts from X after Elon Musk endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
The tech giant has allegedly also been concerned about its products being promoted alongside far-right content, according to Axios.
Why we care. As one of X’s longstanding major advertisers, Apple’s move to halt all ads is a powerful signal to other brands regarding the effectiveness of X as an advertising platform. Since Musk took over the social networking site last year, ad revenue has plummeted by 59%. Apple’s choice to withdraw its ads will undoubtedly be another huge blow for X’s ad revenue.
Far-right concerns. Apple, IBM, Amazon and Oracle were named as organizations whose ads appeared next to far-right posts on X, according to a report published by the left-leaning nonprofit Media Matters for America. IBM pulled all ads in response, with Apple becoming the latest major company to follow suit.
Antisemitic fears. More than 160 Jewish rabbis and activists have been calling on Apple, Google, Amazon and Disney to stop advertising on X after Musk endorsed an antisemitic post earlier this week. In response, X CEO Linda Yaccarino wrote in a post on the platform:
- “We have been extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination. There’s no place for it anywhere in the world — it’s ugly and wrong. Full stop.”
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Deep dive. Read our report on X’s partnership with Google Ad Manager for more information on how the social platform is trying to salvage its advertising revenue.
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Friday, November 17th, 2023
TikTok is rolling out a new measurement tool called Engaged View-through Attribution (EVTA) to provide creators with more insights into conversions.
When a viewer watches a video ad for over six seconds, it counts as an engaged view. EVTA tracks conversions that occur after a user watches an ad for at least six seconds but doesn’t click, and then converts within a seven-day attribution window.
This helps advertisers gauge the impact of these engaged views on conversions.
Why we care. Helping advertisers to make better sense of their data gives them the power to make data-led decisions for maximum campaign performance, leading to less inefficient spend and better returns on investment.
Key benefits. TikTok claims that the new measurement tool provides several key benefits, including:
- Better understanding of ad impact beyond clicks: Tracking conversions on TikTok goes beyond a simple click-and-convert scenario. By measuring conversions influenced by views lasting six seconds or more, you’ll get a more comprehensive understanding of TikTok’s impact on your business.
- Fuelling campaign performance with more signals: TikTok Ads Manager will receive more high-quality signals to optimize and enhance the performance of your campaigns over time by showing your ads to users who are more likely to take action.
- Balanced measurement across different channels: Aligning attribution methods with other platforms allows for a more accurate comparison of performance, ensuring fair measurement of results across different platforms.
Combined measurement approach. TikTok states that combining EVTA with its recently launched Self-Attributing Network (SAN) can provide you with a more complete picture of how users are converting on TikTok. With this enhanced attribution methodology in place, the total conversions reported on TikTok Ads Manager include the following:
- Click-through (CTA) and view-through (VTA) conversions driven by last click and view that are currently validated and reported by MMPs.
- Engaged view conversions as measured by our new EVTA touch-point. These conversions are currently reported as Click-through (CTA) conversions on MMP reporting.
- Additional click-through (CTA) conversions driven by clicks on TikTok ads that are not currently reported in MMP’s last-click attribution model.
What TikTok is saying. A spokesperson for TikTok said in a statement:
- “The mobile advertising landscape has evolved. Today’s users encounter a wide variety of ad types across multiple different platforms, each with its own format, flow and level of interactivity.”
- “Understanding the impact that different touchpoints and marketing channels have on driving user actions, such as app installs or purchases, remains a constant challenge for app advertisers.”
- “To see the true impact of your TikTok ads, we recommend you turn on VTA, EVTA and CTA with the maximum attribution window and ensure that the attribution windows on TikTok Ads Manager are the same as your MMP setting. Advertisers can customize CTA (1-day or 7-day), VTA (off or 1-day), EVTA (1-day or 7-day) directly on TikTok Ads Manager.”
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Deep dive. Read TikTok’s mobile measurement framework announcement in full for more information.
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