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Google’s updates subtly remind marketers they need to play by its rules to succeed
It is sometimes easy to be so enticed by the social media channel du jour, email marketing updates, or other changes that we forget how much our success as marketers depends on one company: Google. Though it may sometimes slip our minds, Google certainly isn’t forgetting the important spot it holds in the content marketing universe.
In the last couple of weeks, Google has made a number of updates to remind us that even though we are all playing in the content marketing game, Google makes the rules. This was evidenced by three Google ad-related news items that marketers need to know about. Though no single one of these changes should lead to a dramatic shift to your marketing efforts, failing to keep up on the minor changes will certainly put you at a disadvantage in the content marketing game.
So, what’s new?
New Google Ads interface
Google is in the process of rolling out a new Google Ads interface. As is true with any interface, the changes might take a little getting used to. The new interface carries with it a few advantages and potential disadvantages, including:
Advantage: “Biggest changes” is now included on the overview page. The tool allows users to see where the major changes relative to cost, conversion, clicks, and more are happening.
Disadvantage: The default bid type when setting up bidding is “Conversions.” You can easily unselect, but it can be a minor annoyance.
Advantage: The new ads interface includes some features that are not in the older interface, including promotion extensions, bid adjustments by household income, and responsive ads.
Disadvantage: Ad rotation is set by default to “Optimize: Prefer best performing ads.” If this isn’t the setting you desire, you will need to remember to manually adjust.
AdSense site verification
Site owners who want to start using AdSense advertising on a new site must submit the site to Google for a verification process before being given permission to do so — even if the site owner already has an existing AdSense account that has been used for other sites. When Google approves a new site, it marks it “ready” to allow the site owner to begin using AdSense ads on the site.
Tracking LinkedIn Ads with Google Campaign Manager
One of the key goals for most marketers is to be able to track a customers’ journey, no matter which platform they are using. Google’s partnership with LinkedIn makes that easier for LinkedIn advertisers thanks to the fact that advertisers now may track their ads in Google Campaign Manager. In doing so, they may see the effect of their LinkedIn advertising across multiple devices and multiple platforms.
During their TopRank Marketing Digital Marketing News Roundup Show, hosts Joshua Nite and Tiffani Allen spoke about the update.
“This kind of makes sense,” Nite says in the video. “LinkedIn of course wants to make it easy for you to show just how successful your LinkedIn ads are. But it’s also good for marketers because we need the data and we need the proper attribution.”
An influencer is being sued for not “influencing” enough. Snapchat’s PR firm contracted with actor Luka Sabbat to use Snapchat’s Spectacles in approved ways in a series of Instagram posts. The PR firm alleges Sabbat didn’t live up to his end of the bargain, hence the lawsuit.
Call volume in the holiday shopping season rose more than 375 percent over the last two years, according to a study by call analytics provider CallRail. Experts say the main reasons for the increase in calls include the prominent displaying of business phone numbers in search results and the increased use of smartphones.
Facebook is testing polls inside of video ads. A small group of advertisers has been given the ability to add polls to their videos in an effort to keep users engaged while they watch video ads. It is not known if, or when, the tool will be rolled out to other groups.
Twitter says its update to 280-character tweets has resulted in better grammar and more civility. People are now more likely to say “please” and “thank you” in tweets. Likewise, Twitter has seen an increase in people typing out full words and phrases.
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