July 2018 News You Can Use

The potential impact from some of the digital marketing highlights this month is absolutely huge.

Join us for a look at issues like these:

  • A Supreme Court ruling could change the face of ecommerce
  • Apple is stepping in to prevent Facebook and Google from tracking you
  • Instagram is allowing users to stream long-form video

Get those and other digital marketing updates in this edition of Stukent’s News You Can Use. In the fast-paced internet environment, if you snooze … you lose.

1. GOOGLE ADWORDS IS NOW GOOGLE ADS

Topic: [highlight type=”dark”]PPC | Online Advertising[/highlight]

Key Point: Google Adwords is now Google Ads. This is what Google had to say about the rebranding:
“The new Google Ads brand represents the full range of advertising capabilities we offer today…to help marketers connect with the billions of people finding answers on Search, watching videos on YouTube, exploring new places on Google Maps, discovering apps on Google Play, browsing content across the web, and more.”

Google will also release a new campaign type that will reportedly use machine learning to make it easier for small businesses to get results from their ads. This new campaign type will be announced at Google Marketing Live on July 10th, along with other exciting updates from Google, so be sure to read News You Can Use next month to catch up on everything!

ALSO SEE: Introducing simpler brands and solutions for advertisers and publishers

2. FACEBOOK AND TWITTER  CHANGES TO ANNOUNCE AD TRANSPARENCY

Topic: [highlight type=”dark”]Social Media Marketing | Online Advertising[/highlight]

Key Point: Facebook and Twitter simultaneously announced new rules and procedures aimed at letting users know more about who is behind paid ads.

Twitter’s new Ad Transparency Center will allow you to see a database of all ads run by any Twitter account in the past week.

Facebook’s new “Info and Ads” tab shows you all the ads a Page is running on Facebook. You’ll also have a “Report Ad” option should you consider the ad suspicious.

ALSO SEE: Goodbye, dark posts: How Facebook’s and Twitter’s ad-transparency tools work

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3. INSTAGRAM PUTS THE SQUEEZE ON YOUTUBE

Topic: [highlight type=”dark”]Social Media Advertising | Ecommerce[/highlight]

Key Point: Instagram announced the launch of the new IGTV app for both Android and Apple. It’s rolling out now and will allow users to post and view “long-form, vertical video” that’s “built for how you actually use your phone.”

That announcement also says the Instagram community is now over one billion users strong. Go here to find out how to share an IGTV video.

ALSO SEE: With Instagram looming, YouTube is trying to keep its creators happy

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4. TARGET LINKEDIN USERS WITH BING

Topic: [highlight type=”dark”]Online Advertising | Social Media Marketing[/highlight]

Key Point: Bing says the ability for advertisers to target LinkedIn users will be a reality before this year is ended. That’s the scoop, according to Search Engine Journal.

What’s the big deal? You can’t pitch to LinkedIn users via Google ads right now, and since Microsoft owns LinkedIn, chances are good you won’t be able to anytime soon.

ALSO SEE: Bing Ads Company Page

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5. THE GOOGLE SPAM TEAMS DOUBLE DOWN ON SPAM REDUCTION

Topic: [highlight type=”dark”]SEO | Ecommerce[/highlight]

Key Point: Google’s newest webspam report says fewer than one percent of users on their search engine clicked a link that took them to a spammy site. Not only that, but the number of hacked sites turning up in Google search results dropped by 80 percent.

Other stats from the report say 90,000 reports of spam from users were investigated, 45 million messages went to site admins via Search Console (six million referred to a manual action), and Google’s commitment to getting rid of unnatural links is unflinching.

ALSO SEE: The Search Engine Land take on the report

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6. AN ARGUMENT AGAINST GATED CONTENT

Topics: [highlight type=”dark”]Ecommerce | Email Marketing[/highlight]

Key Point: Whether you call it an “opt-in” offer, and “ethical bribe,” a “lead magnet,” or something else, you’ve certainly seen — and probably used — a gated incentive to grow your email subscriber list.

Not only do the new GDPR regulations have a problem with that, but your website visitors do to. Hardly anyone really likes gated content, but most marketers see it as necessary to list-building.

What’s the solution? Roger Dooley, writing on the Neuromarketing blog, says reciprocity is the key. Give them what they want, and they’re more likely to pay you back.

This is excellent fodder for a lively digital marketing discussion.

ALSO SEE: 11 Tried-and-True Lead Magnet Ideas and Examples

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7. GOOGLE SEO SUCCESS FACTORS RANKED

Topics: [highlight type=”dark”]SEO | Ecommerce[/highlight]

Key Point: Anyone who really knows a hoot about SEO will have to admit there is no magic bullet — not backlinks, not keywords, and not optimized metadata. Google uses thousands of ranking signals to determine where your website ranks on search.

That’s why we like this article from Zyppy. It doesn’t pretend to show you THE way to master SEO. Rather, it breaks factors down into degrees of importance. You can even get a (gated) pdf download of the information.

There’s plenty to learn here. It’s another excellent firestarter for discussion.

ALSO SEE: The Periodic Table of SEO Success Factors

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8. APPLE PUTS THE HURT ON FACEBOOK’S TRACKING STRATEGY

Topic: [highlight type=”dark”]Social Media Marketing | Online Advertising[/highlight]

Key Point: You may be aware that “Liking” something on Facebook tells data collectors all about your preferences. But did you know Facebook can track you via Like button loads whether you click them or not?

AT WWDC (The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference) 2018, Apple announced new anti-tracking features for the Safari browser that are designed to put a stop to much of the tracking activity by advertisers.

The example given at the conference popped up a “Do you want to allow facebook.com to use cookies?” option that can stop Facebook from getting more information about you than they really need.

The technology will be used to fend off Google tracking as well.

ALSO SEE: 14 big announcements from Apple’s annual developer conference

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9. THE INTERNET IS NO LONGER A TAX-FREE ZONE

Topic: [highlight type=”dark”]Ecommerce[/highlight]

Key Point: It could have a huge effect on ecommerce: the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a 1992 decision that allowed online shoppers to buy from out-of-state businesses tax-free.

Estimates say up to $23 billion in extra taxes by state and local governments could result.

The announcement sent many ecommerce company stocks downward, but gave tax-processing software a boost. Local retailers say the decision “clears the way for a fair and level playing field.”

ALSO SEE: The Supreme Court’s Decision on Online Sales Taxes Will Reshape Retail — Again

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See you next month!

We hope you’ve enjoyed the July edition of Stukent’s News You Can Use.

You’re now aware of digital marketing information others have yet to discover.

That gives you an edge.

Use it!

See you next month.

BONUS INFO

Facebook Announces ‘Brand Collabs Manager’ Platform to Connect Influencers with Brands

No DMARC Record Found? These Resources Might Help

Using push notifications for mobile app retention

When you see an article or announcement you think should be covered in News You Can Use, let us know. Be a Stukent field reporter!

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