Twitter Links Are No Longer “Nofollow”
Topic: Social Media Marketing
Key Point: Given the move by Elon Musk to take control of Twitter, maybe this isn’t as strange as it sounds, but it’s certainly a mind-boggling thought: Twitter removed the nofollow link attribute from tweets. But wait, there’s more — Search Engine Land’s Barry Schwartz, a respected member of the marketing community, had this to say in a recent SEL post:
“I suspect Twitter will soon add the nofollow link attribute back to external links as soon as they hear about this publicly. So this may be short-lived. We have reached out to Twitter for a statement […] I really don’t think Twitter intentionally removed the nofollow but we will see.”
Debates about Twitter’s behind-the-scenes capabilities aside, what will happen if the move wasn’t a mistake and Twitter links remain dofollow? Schwartz goes on to project that the move could “hurt the usefulness of Twitter and potentially the value of links in general on Twitter.”
DISCUSSION IDEAS: How do you check to see whether Twitter links are now dofollow? What possible reasons are there for the change? Could Twitter really make that big of a mistake and not know until marketers tell them?
Bing Launched a Retail Marketplace
Topic: E-commerce
Key Point: Bing’s new Buy Direct platform launched to selected sellers in the United States. And those sellers, by the way, “are not sourced through Microsoft Advertising / Shopping Campaigns,” according to a company spokesperson.
One source suggests the following:
Bing claims it is better than Google Shopping at helping people discover products they might be interested in, because Bing lets people set their shopping preferences to show relevant products. For example, someone can choose to see fitness products or electronics. Google Shopping, on the other hand, ranks products with its algorithm that uses factors like what terms people search for and what they’ve looked at in the past.
Did Bing’s recent purchase of AT&T’s ad tech platform, Xandr, foreshadow a move that could see Bing recover users lost to Google? It certainly appears Bing isn’t ready to roll over and play dead.
Ad Spent Went Down
Topic: Online Advertising
Key Point: Some say the glass is half empty. Some say it’s half full. Such is the case with global ad spend projections for 2022. Earlier estimates called for a 12% increase in ad spend during 2022. A new Magna study, though, says growth is likely to come in closer to 9%.
Why the drop? Economic insecurity has much to do with it. And privacy concerns leading to a drop in ad-targeting capabilities are fueling the sentiment.
It’s also important to note that U.S. ad spend growth is still expected to reach 11%. Marketing Dive includes a rather ominous side note to their coverage of the story: “A sharper cooldown could be in the mix for 2023.”
While many marketers are cheering the news that U.S. ad spend remains strong, others are certain the sky is falling. Which is correct?
Word Docs Infested with Malware
Topic: Online Security
Key Point: If you’re still clicking to open Microsoft Word documents attached to email messages, it may be time to rethink that practice. Security researchers say a new strain of malware, SVCReady, is spreading rapidly via email phishing. Not only that, but the malware is undergoing updates to make it even more sinister. The aim is to collect information you thought was secure.
How to avoid infection? Don’t open Word attachments sent via email without extreme caution. Better yet, ask people who legitimately send Word docs to upload to Google Drive or another platform and send you a link. Be careful out there. One wrong click can create more misery than you really want to deal with.
World’s Best Ad of All Time
Topic: Online Advertising
Key Point: Okay, all “best ever” stories are purely subjective. For this one, though, readers were asked to nominate their favorite ads — so at least the results aren’t just one person’s opinion.
- Claiming the #100 spot is “Smash Martians”
- Spot #50 goes to “Secret Tournament”
- #25 is claimed by “Launderette”
- Holding down the 10th position is “Mr Wind”
Wondering which ad took first place in the vote?
Check it out here: The 100 Best Ads of All Time.
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