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New Meta privacy updates for teens

Written on November 22, 2022 at 5:30 am, by admin

Facebook and Instagram parent Meta has just rolled out new privacy updates for everyone under the age of 16, or 18 in some countries.

New privacy defaults. Starting today, teens will default to more private settings when they join Facebook. For teens already on the platform, Meta recommends making these changes manually. The new privacy settings affect:

• Who can see their friends list
• Who can see the people, Pages and lists they follow 
• Who can see posts they’re tagged in on their profile
• Reviewing posts they’re tagged in before the post appears on their profile
• Who is allowed to comment on their public posts

Restricting connections. Meta is testing ways to protect teens from messaging suspicious adults they aren’t connected to, and those adults won’t be shown in teens’ People You May Know recommendations. Meta further clarifies that a “suspicious” account is one that belongs to an adult that may have recently been blocked or reported by a young person, for example. As an added layer of protection, Meta is also testing removing the message button on teens’ Instagram accounts when they’re viewed by suspicious adults altogether. 

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New safety tools. Meta is also developing new tools to report anything that makes them feel uncomfortable. On their blog, Meta says, “we’re prompting teens to report accounts to us after they block someone, and sending them safety notices with information on how to navigate inappropriate messages from adults.  In just one month in 2021, more than 100 million people saw safety notices on Messenger. We’ve also made it easier for people to find our reporting tools and, as a result, we saw more than a 70% increase in reports sent to us by minors in Q1 2022 versus the previous quarter on Messenger and Instagram DMs.”

Stopping the spread of sensitive images. Meta is also working on new tools to help stop the spread of teens’ intimate images online. Meta says:

We’re working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to build a global platform for teens who are worried intimate images they created might be shared on public online platforms without their consent. This platform will be similar to work we have done to prevent the non-consensual sharing of intimate images for adults. It will allow us to help prevent a teen’s intimate images from being posted online and can be used by other companies across the tech industry. We’ve been working closely with NCMEC, experts, academics, parents and victim advocates globally to help develop the platform and ensure it responds to the needs of teens so they can regain control of their content in these horrific situations. We’ll have more to share on this new resource in the coming weeks.

We’re also working with Thorn and their NoFiltr brand to create educational materials that reduce the shame and stigma surrounding intimate images, and empower teens to seek help and take back control if they’ve shared them or are experiencing sextortion.

Dig deeper. Meta says that anyone seeking support and information related to sextortion can visit their education and awareness resources, including the Stop Sextortion hub on the Facebook Safety Center. You can also read this announcement from Meta on their blog.

Why we care. It’s hard to criticize Meta for taking steps to protect and prevent harm to teens. Though teens will default to the new settings once they sign up, they can still opt out if they choose. And teens already on the platform will have to manually select the new options, which many of them may not do.

At least parents of teens can now be aware of the new changes and take the appropriate steps to help protect them.

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Are we officially saying goodbye to Twitter? It depends on who you ask

Written on November 18, 2022 at 5:24 pm, by admin

The last few weeks have been nothing short of dramatic over at Twitter headquarters. But before we get into that, I just want to thank dark-paul gosselaar for our cover image inspiration. 

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that I sympathize with all of the employees who have been let go, by choice or not. Thousands of people losing their jobs isn’t a laughing matter and in no way am I making light of it. 

How we got here

Elon Musk posted eight tweets today, which is surprising for someone who should be busy running a company (into the ground).

But his latest round of changes is an undoing of one of his earliest acts as new CEO, which was to ban Kathy Griffin and others for poking fun at his leadership.

But the week started with Musk sending out an (encrypted?) email to all staffers informing them that they will be fired unless they work at an “extremely hardcore” rate to build “Twitter 2.0”. 

The result?

Shortly after the email went out, Twitter announced that they were locking their doors (some say they’ll reopen on November 21). All remaining employees were informed that their badge access had been revoked.

This was the scene at Twitter HQ last night:

And Musk tweeted:

He does know people love watching a train wreck, right? 

Either way it seems like conversations are flowing, opinions are flying, and engagement is through the roof. 

It’s no wonder that so many people think this is the end for Twitter. Even Musk is joining in on the …er, fun?

Let this sink in. Musk started his first day on the job by firing top executives, including the CEO, Parag Agrawal. Soon after, several others followed suit. Let’s look at who’s gone:

• CEO Parag Agrawal
• Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal
• Head of legal policy, trust and safety, Vijaya Gadde
• General Counsel Sean Edgett
• Chief Information Security Officer Rinki Sethi
• Head of Security Peiter Zatko
• Chief customer officer, Sarah Personette
• Chief people and diversity officer, Dalana Brand
• Chief marketing officer, Leslie Berland
• General manager of consumer and revenue product, Jay Sullivan
• General manager for core technologies, Nick Caldwell
• Chief accounting officer, Robert Kaiden
• VP of global client solutions, Jean-Philippe Maheu
• Head of International Communications, Julie Steele
• Head of Trust and Safety, Yoel Roth
• The global head of social and editorial
• The director of ML ethics, transparency, and accountability
• Chief information security officer
• Managing director of Twitter Studio
• Head of location strategy

Those who haven’t been fired are choosing to quit on their own terms. The reasons? Peter Clowes helps explain why some are choosing not to follow Musk:

So is Twitter done?

Maybe? One of its remaining employees has told Newsweek reporter Travis Akers the website “has about a week left before it’s dead.”

Some people aren’t convinced.

It is difficult to believe that Musk would spend $44 billion on the platform just to watch it all burn in a matter of weeks. But I also think he underestimated how much the staff would endure. With all of the conflicting information out there, it’s hard to know what to believe. We’ll try to keep this page updated with the latest information as it’s coming out. Stay tuned!

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Don’t fall for fake ownership requests for your Google Business Profile

Written on November 18, 2022 at 5:24 pm, by admin

Google Business Profiles can be claimed by the owner or business manager in Google Maps or in Google Search. When someone makes a claim for ownership of a Google Business Profile listing and if that business was already claimed by someone, the current owners will get an email asking if they approve or deny the new ownership request.

Increase in fake claims. According to some in the local SEO community, there has been an increase in the number of fraudulent requests to claim and take ownership of business listings. “I am seeing a ton of owner requests come in from hijackers, are you all seeing the same?” asked Ben Fisher.

Indeed, other local SEOs confirmed seeing similar in the forums. Here are just a couple of the responses:

• “I saw quite a few maybe 3 weeks ago (for a couple of weeks), but the requests have dramatically declined for me.”
• “Last week I got 5 scam requests from the same person! I am used to getting maybe 3 a month, but I too have noticed an increase recently.”

Be careful. So beware of such fake claims of ownership and make sure to validate that the person making the claim is a real owner or manager of the business. If you are unsure, it is better to decline the request than to accept it. If the wrong person gains access to your business listing, they can potentially remove your listing or change the website, phone number – or worse.

Why we care. There is a lot of fraud online, especially with Google Search and Google Maps. So being on top of these scams are important so that you are less likely to become a victim of these scams. Stay on top of your business listings and make sure the information is up-to-date and accurate. And never give access to your Google Business Profile to anyone you do not know and trust.

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YouTube just announced its 2023 class of #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund creators

Written on November 18, 2022 at 5:24 pm, by admin

Earlier this year, YouTube announced a new fund aimed at helping black creators find dedicated partner support, seed funding invested into the development of their channels, and the opportunity to participate in bespoke training, workshops and networking programs. This week they named the first 30 creators for the 2023 class.

Meet the class. One of the creators from the 2023 class is Jasmine Taylor from Baddies & Budgets. Taylor shares the highs and lows of becoming financially free as someone who grew up in poverty and wasn’t taught financial literacy.

Taylor teaches other women how to take control of their personal finances through tools and coaching. About being part of the new class or creators, Taylor said:

“This fund is going to open my business up to many opportunities. Exposure is everything and YouTube is amazing for enabling black creators to grow their platform. This experience will enable to further monetize and grow my business and brand. I’m so excited to get started. A major part of my brand is education and outreach, more channel exposure means that I can reach more women and in turn help more women to take control of their personal finances.” 

Other creators included in the new class are:

• Studio Jibby. Jibby is a plant-based fitness trainer and lifestyle content creator who loves sharing health tips with her audience. 
• Smokin’ & Grillin with AB (Aaron Brown). Aaron Brown took to YouTube to share humble cooking videos from his kitchen. The positive and inspirational nature of his videos helped him gain a huge following.
• BeautifulBrwnBabyDol (Dr. Nina Ellis-Hervey). Dr. Nina’s YouTube channel is centered around providing real-world lifestyle solutions that reflect living a mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally balanced life through transparent talks, storytelling, and tutorials dedicated to beauty, fitness, and psychological wellness. 
• iBelongOutdoors (Emmanuel Williams). Williams’ love of being outdoors on the water influenced him to create an energetic, adventurous YouTube channel that produces fun, inspirational content on the water.

Dig deeper. Meet the rest of the 2023 class on the YouTube Blog. Check out videos from the class here.

Why we care. The new fund will help black creators gain more visibility on the platform, increasing the subscribers to their channels, expanding their communities, and making more money through donations, and sponsorships.

If you’re interested in participating in an upcoming class, stay tuned for more information on how to apply. In the meantime, congrats to all of the creators in the class of 2023. If you want to support the creators, subscribe to their YouTube channels and show support by donating using the Super Thanks button.

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5 best practices for tracking offline conversions in Google Ads

Written on November 18, 2022 at 5:24 pm, by admin

Risk-taking is part of any marketer’s job. No strategy is guaranteed to work.

I like to think of myself as a calculated risk-taker. Because I have TSA PreCheck and monitor my flight status from home, I arrive at the airport just an hour before my flight. I try new restaurants in town, but don’t get in the car until I’ve scoured review sites and scanned the menu. 

My approach to taking risks at work is similar. Testing the latest bidding strategies excites me, but my moves are deliberate to avoid disturbing performance.

Major changes to a Google Ads account send the algorithms into a learning phase and create volatility as it re-learns.

Like many marketers who want results yesterday, my patience can be short. But to keep clients happy, balancing future-forward strategies with the risk of upsetting KPIs is imperative.

By now, we know that offline conversion tracking (OCT) is a must-have in any account. 

When setting it up for the first time, swapping out web-based campaign optimization goals for CRM-based goals can be tricky. Here are five best practices to mitigate the risk. 

1. Add values to your conversions

Maximizing the potential of OCT requires assigning each action a value.

If you can’t use actual and dynamic values from your CRM, Google has a calculator that can help with estimations.

The values don’t have to be precise for the algorithms to benefit from this provided direction.

The assigned values tell machine learning how much each conversion is worth. Therefore, the system can bid accordingly with value-based bidding strategies. 

Even if you’re not ready for target return on ad spend (tROAS) or Maximize conversion value, setting these values from the get-go allows for an easy launch when you’re ready.

2. Optimize for all funnel stages

Once all stages of your marketing funnel feed into Google Ads with their respective values, begin optimizing campaigns for all funnel stages. 

This tactic will generate more conversion data for your campaigns and speed up the learning phase.

A risk-taker might change the optimization across the account all at once. Go ahead and rip the bandage off: 

• If you can stomach performance fluctuations.
• If the account is brand new.
• Or if conversion volume is already dismal.

I prefer to set up an experiment for any major bidding changes to cut down the volatility in the account. 

Experiments should run for at least two weeks before determining a winner, but this can take longer if your budgets are small or the conversion lag is long. 

A lift in backend conversions should be measured as the key success metric of this experiment.

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3. Optimize for the lowest conversion point possible

Once the full-funnel approach is successful, you can begin optimizing for one conversion event at a time. Treat each campaign uniquely and adjust the campaigns ready to move down the funnel. 

To ease performance fluctuations, set up an experiment that optimizes to the lowest point in the funnel possible, given Google’s need to have at least 15 conversions in the past 30 days.

Creating custom columns in the Google Ads interface allows you to sort and visualize your data easily. Analyze each campaign independently. 

In this example, the top two campaigns have enough MQL volume to optimize for MQLs exclusively rather than the entire funnel.

Consider that not all keywords are created equal. Top-of-funnel keywords will generate pipeline slower than your high-intent non-brand or brand terms. 

Individual campaigns’ optimization goals and bidding strategies should align with the funnel stage, and what’s working best.

The UI doesn’t allow OCT goals to be set as single conversion events but rather as the conversion category as a whole. Therefore, custom goals should be created when optimizing toward a single point in the funnel. 

For example, if your OCT conversion is “sales,” you should create a custom goal for “sales.”

Google says “[...] using custom goals in campaigns might make your bid strategy work less efficiently,” but if your account is well-established with sufficient data, custom goals should work to your benefit.

4. Continue to drive lower-funnel results

As time goes on and data collects, you can continue to push the limits and optimize for lower points in the funnel. 

Any bidding strategy can be tested alongside this tactic, but it’s critical that the experiment you create only changes one variable at a time. 

For example, the control campaign is on target cost-per-action (tCPA) and optimized for MQLs. The test campaign should remain on tCPA but optimize for the next stage in the funnel (Meeting Scheduled). After a winner is determined, test another variable by conducting a separate experiment.

Depending on the size of the account, nailing down the perfect combination of optimization goals and bidding strategies can take several months. Seeing little to no performance improvement after the initial two weeks can be worrisome, but running experiments for three full cycles is recommended to determine a winner. 

This means if it takes an average of two weeks for an MQL to become a “Meeting Scheduled,” you should run the experiment for at least six weeks before calling it quits. Check out Google’s path metrics report to view how many days each conversion takes. 

5. Test value-based bidding

Once you are comfortable optimizing for lower-funnel conversion points, step up your game with Maximize conversion value or tROAS bidding strategies. 

These smart bidding strategies adjust bids automatically to predict the value of a potential conversion when a user searches for keywords you’re bidding on. 

These bidding strategies can and should be tested in an experiment, especially if you’re terrified of breaking the algorithm.

Despite the risks associated with performance fluctuations, the benefits should outweigh the volatility. 

With some patience and breathing exercises, one of my clients saw a 74% improvement in cost per MQL since optimizing for backend conversions with OCT. 

When their brand campaign had more than 15 MQLs in a month, we switched to optimizing for MQLs only, resulting in a 4x boost in conversion value on that campaign.

So, get out there and take calculated risks. Be smart, bold and eager to set up experiments when you’re feeling apprehensive.

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Webinar: It’s time to modernize your online experience by Cynthia Ramsaran

Written on November 17, 2022 at 1:21 pm, by admin

Businesses know they need an engaging, scalable way to connect with leads and customers. That’s why they’ve invested big bucks in marketing automation tools, chatbots and other technologies to automate outreach and handle high volumes of contacts.

Unfortunately, many of these once-innovative solutions are falling short as needs evolve and customer expectations mature. What you need is a paradigm shift—a strategic step-change that gives your team the power to engage all your leads and customers in natural, human-like conversations not only while they’re on your site but after they close the window, too. The scripted bot is dead; welcome to the AI-powered revolution.

Join Conversica in a webinar that examines old and new models of automating conversations with customers to drive revenue.

Register today for “The Chatbot Is Dead: It’s Time to Modernize Your Online Experience,” presented by Conversica.

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Webinar: It’s time to modernize your online experience by Cynthia Ramsaran

Written on November 17, 2022 at 1:21 pm, by admin

Businesses know they need an engaging, scalable way to connect with leads and customers. That’s why they’ve invested big bucks in marketing automation tools, chatbots and other technologies to automate outreach and handle high volumes of contacts.

Unfortunately, many of these once-innovative solutions are falling short as needs evolve and customer expectations mature. What you need is a paradigm shift—a strategic step-change that gives your team the power to engage all your leads and customers in natural, human-like conversations not only while they’re on your site but after they close the window, too. The scripted bot is dead; welcome to the AI-powered revolution.

Join Conversica in a webinar that examines old and new models of automating conversations with customers to drive revenue.

Register today for “The Chatbot Is Dead: It’s Time to Modernize Your Online Experience,” presented by Conversica.

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Click here to view more Search Engine Land webinars.

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Walmart’s ad revenue increased 30% in Q3

Written on November 17, 2022 at 1:21 pm, by admin

Walmart released its Q3 earnings this week and things were looking up for the retail giant. Their advertising revenue grew about 30% since Q2.

On the earnings call, President and CEO Doug McMillon attributed the growth to “More items and sellers driving GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) and improving customer satisfaction.” He continued that success with advertising is “mutually reinforcing. If we double-click on advertising with Walmart Connect in the U.S., we see it’s benefiting from growth in e-commerce and from improvements made within the business itself. And we’ve seen strong growth in return on ad spend over last year.”

Walmart Connect. Connect is Walmart’s self-service ad platform that was recently announced. The platform allows retailers to create an account and upload their product SKUs to the Walmart platform, without the need to go through an approved vendor and wait three days for approval.

As with advertising, growing our marketplace business also unlocks fulfillment services opportunities through both fulfillment centers and last-mile delivery. We’re scaling these businesses in the U.S., and we’re starting to ramp up in Mexico and Canada. The team in Mexico increased the number of sellers on our marketplace by 20% during the quarter. In the U.S., the marketplace on Walmart.com now offers about 370 million SKUs.

That’s an increase of more than 50% from Q2. Many of these sellers want to leverage our fulfillment network. They also want to use our advertising capabilities to drive demand, and we’re making that easier for them. We recently shared that all new marketplace sellers in the U.S.

will be automatically onboarded onto our self-service ad platform. We believe this seamless integration will help both businesses scale even faster. What you see in our results is that we can run compelling stores and clubs, scale of first- and third-party e-commerce business, and connect them together in an omnichannel fashion that saves customers and members money and time. Our strategy unlocks growth opportunities for us and a thread that runs from digital retail to fulfillment and advertising, and opens up even more opportunities with health and wellness and financial services.

Doug McMillon

Roku, TikTok, and Snap partnerships. Walmart also expanded its own ecommerce platform by powering ads on TikTok, Roku, and Snap. Walmart will also have the capability to measure any sales that come from those ads.

Dig deeper. You can review the earnings announcement here.

Why we care. If you’re an ecommerce retailer or brand, Walmart might be a great platform to test if you’re looking to expand your reach and connect with new buyers.

The post Walmart’s ad revenue increased 30% in Q3 appeared first on Search Engine Land.

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Walmart’s ad revenue increased 30% in Q3

Written on November 17, 2022 at 1:21 pm, by admin

Walmart released its Q3 earnings this week and things were looking up for the retail giant. Their advertising revenue grew about 30% since Q2.

On the earnings call, President and CEO Doug McMillon attributed the growth to “More items and sellers driving GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) and improving customer satisfaction.” He continued that success with advertising is “mutually reinforcing. If we double-click on advertising with Walmart Connect in the U.S., we see it’s benefiting from growth in e-commerce and from improvements made within the business itself. And we’ve seen strong growth in return on ad spend over last year.”

Walmart Connect. Connect is Walmart’s self-service ad platform that was recently announced. The platform allows retailers to create an account and upload their product SKUs to the Walmart platform, without the need to go through an approved vendor and wait three days for approval.

As with advertising, growing our marketplace business also unlocks fulfillment services opportunities through both fulfillment centers and last-mile delivery. We’re scaling these businesses in the U.S., and we’re starting to ramp up in Mexico and Canada. The team in Mexico increased the number of sellers on our marketplace by 20% during the quarter. In the U.S., the marketplace on Walmart.com now offers about 370 million SKUs.

That’s an increase of more than 50% from Q2. Many of these sellers want to leverage our fulfillment network. They also want to use our advertising capabilities to drive demand, and we’re making that easier for them. We recently shared that all new marketplace sellers in the U.S.

will be automatically onboarded onto our self-service ad platform. We believe this seamless integration will help both businesses scale even faster. What you see in our results is that we can run compelling stores and clubs, scale of first- and third-party e-commerce business, and connect them together in an omnichannel fashion that saves customers and members money and time. Our strategy unlocks growth opportunities for us and a thread that runs from digital retail to fulfillment and advertising, and opens up even more opportunities with health and wellness and financial services.

Doug McMillon

Roku, TikTok, and Snap partnerships. Walmart also expanded its own ecommerce platform by powering ads on TikTok, Roku, and Snap. Walmart will also have the capability to measure any sales that come from those ads.

Dig deeper. You can review the earnings announcement here.

Why we care. If you’re an ecommerce retailer or brand, Walmart might be a great platform to test if you’re looking to expand your reach and connect with new buyers.

The post Walmart’s ad revenue increased 30% in Q3 appeared first on Search Engine Land.

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New AdSense data protection laws coming to CA, CO, CT, and UT in 2023

Written on November 17, 2022 at 1:21 pm, by admin

New data protection laws, which apply to the collection and processing of personal information, will be coming into effect in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia and Utah in 2023.

According to an email sent to all AdSense admins and legal managers, starting January 1, 2023, we will supplement the existing Google Ads Data Processing Terms, Google Ads Controller-Controller Data Protection Terms, and Google Measurement Controller-Controller Data Protection Terms for these 5 new US State laws. No additional action is required to accept these terms if you’ve already agreed to the online data protection terms.

Ads and analytics only. This update relates to Google’s ads and analytics products. If you also use other Google products, such as Workspace or Cloud Identity, this email does not affect your use of those products.

Dig deeper. You can read more about the new laws here.

Why we care. If you’re an AdSense Manager or Admin living or advertising in California, Colorado, Connecticut, and Utah, be sure your account complies with all laws and regulations.

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