Following an investigation by The Sunday Times, Google has made the decision to remove search ads related to addiction treatment in the United Kingdom.
The report by The Sunday Times revealed an ongoing problem with third-party “middlemen” bidding on relevant search terms and and then referring patients on to treatment centres, and receiving huge kickbacks. The “middlemen” would often present themselves as impartial advice centres or helplines.
Critics of “patient brokering” say the practice is unethical, contributes to the rising prices of healthcare and takes advantage of those who need help with addiction.
Get the scoop on what worked and what didn’t when it came to search and display advertising campaigns around Christmas 2017.
Register now to virtually attend a webinar detailing results of a year-end survey that reveals how marketers adjusted their search strategies in 2017, and also outlines the overall results of the Christmas online shopping season to see if those efforts were fruitful. Bring your notebooks too, as they’ll be discussing how best to approach your 2018 Christmas campaign!
While there’s no official word on it from Google, webmasters have reported seeing erratic changes in their web traffic since late December. Thing’s went back to normal over the Christmas holidays but new reports suggest even further tweaks have been implemented around January 5th and 6th.
One webmaster shared:
After days of dismal traffic and sales conversions, suddenly, like a switch is flipped, site traffic and conversions come back as if it’s 10 years ago. Go figure. I’m quite sure we’ve all seen this type of pattern come, and just as quickly go.
Have seen experienced differences in your web traffic lately? Let us know on Twitter.
Back in March of last year, Google drastically changed it’s ranking algorithm without making a formal announcement. The update, dubbed ‘Fred’, caused a stir among website owners, with many wondering what the hell it actually means.
Shed some light on the illusive update and read this handy guide to Fred and how it has affected your website.
Google has rolled out a brand new Search Console that will simplify the process of optimizing your site for Google search. Initially made available to only a handful of users, Google has now released it to all webmasters.
The Search Console boasts 16 months of analytics data for Search performance, Index Coverage, AMP status, and Job posting reports.
Check out Google’s official announcement for the complete low down on it’s functionality.
Amazon Marketing Services (AMS) are relatively new to the paid advertising game, and while the platform shows some considerable potential, marketers still don’t put it on par with Facebook and Google. The self-serve paid search marketing tool site has a lot of catching up to do with it’s competitors, as users call it “laborious” and it’s reporting capabilities are inefficient.
Amazon don’t deny the obvious shortcomings, but instead affirm that the service is constantly improving. “AMS is a growing business that is extending to both first-party sellers and third-party sellers, and AMS is becoming a competitive search engine to Google,” said Nich Weinheimer, marketing director for Amazon consultancy Buy Box Experts.
“But Amazon doesn’t have the DNA of Google, whose business is built upon search ads. Amazon’s core business is still e-commerce, so it is playing catch-up in advertising to become an equal player to Google and Facebook.”
Google My Business users are now able to upload videos to local listings. After the new capabilities were rolled out to some users last month, Google kept tight -lipped about the update being made available to all users.
Allyson Wright from the Google My Business team officially announced the update on January 12th, saying that, “[business owners can] view videos added by customers and upload videos about their business for customers to view.”
With the rise of virtual assistants like Google Home and Amazon Echo, and voice search capabilities rapidly advancing on smartphones, more and more people are using voice as a means to find sites online.
If your website is not properly optimised for voice search, your business could potentially be losing a big chunk customers. MarketingProfs.com have compiled a guide for site-owners wanting to fine tune their site’s voice optimisation, as well as other vital optimisation tactics.
So you’ve spent a lot of time putting together a Local SEO strategy to improve sales and visits to your business, but you don’t see any improvement. What gives?
There can be a myriad of reasons why your campaign isn’t getting the traction it is striving for – from Google bugs to inaccurate listings. Moz.com runs through the top ten reason why your local SEO campaign may be failing.
Good news is, most of these problems can be easily solves in 10-15 minutes.
In a bid to rid the network of spam and clickbait, or ‘engagement bait’ as it’s called, Facebook are putting their foot down when it comes to asking users to ‘like or share’ a post.
If you’re a regular Facebook user, you’ve probably seen posts calling for people to ‘like’ a post if they relate to it. “Like this post if you want this puppy” or “Like this post if you need this food blender”. Well now, Facebook is tackling this type of spam by tweaking it’s algorithm so that these posts are pushed down the newsfeed. Not only that, but any page that posts this content will also lose significant audience reach on all of their posts.
The algorithm comes into effect on Monday, 15th January.
Snapchat unleashed a major interface update that has left users literally begging for it to be changed back. In a bid to separate the “social from the media”, Snapchat has removed the ever-popular “Stories” page (where users can post images and videos for 24 hours), and replaced it with the “Friends” page. It’s here that you see a mix of both you and your friends updates.
The “Discover” page has also changed, featuring a mix of news and trending stories.
Facebook, which owns WhatsApp and Instagram, have announced plans to integrate the two platforms by allowing users to cross-post Instagram Stories onto their WhatsApp.
The update will allow users to post their ‘Stories’ – time sensitive slideshows of videos and photos updates – directly to the WhatsApp status.
It’s no surprise the company has brought WhatsApp into the mix, considering it had already extended Instagram Stories to Facebook back in October. Speaking about the update, a Facebook spokesperson said, “We are always testing ways to improve the experience on Instagram and make it easier to share any moment with the people who matter to you.”
The update is expected to be available to all Instagram users later this year.
Did you know that for quite some time, Twitter has had a feature that helps the visually impaired? Users have the option of including a text description of the image that that will be read by the VoiceOver on their phone or desktop computer.
The little publicised feature was brought to the attention of millions of Tweeters after one visually impaired man posted a tutorial of how to use it.
To produce an effective content marketing strategy, you have to know your audience. Your content has to be developed specifically for a niche audience, and have a clear purpose.
Huffington Post contributor Scott McFarland, outlines some must-use techniques to create content that will resonate with an audience and ultimately, build brand loyalty.
Content needs to be more visual than ever to grab attention on newsfeeds – so there’s no surprise that formats like animations and bespoke photography will be more prevalent in 2018.
There is a lot to consider when plotting out your content strategy – who is the audience? What’s the purpose of the content? What platform will they be published on? Check out some fresh content formats that may inspire you.
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has vowed to “fix” Facebook in 2018.
Writing to his personal Facebook page, Zuckerberg said that his company had made mistakes in the past when it came to enforcing certain policies, specifically referencing “interference from nation states”. He wants to dedicate 2018 to rectifying these mistakes, and making user’s time spent on Facebook “time well spent”.
He wrote, “We won’t prevent all mistakes or abuse, but we currently make too many errors enforcing our policies and preventing misuse of our tools.”
With many of us using the likes of Instagram and Facebook on a daily basis, many forget the likes of MySpace that dominated the social scene a decade ago. Well, after all these years, MySpace is still alive and kicking! Albeit, it looks a little different to how it did back in 2003.
See what the platform looks like now, as well as four other ghost networks from years past.
Start the year off right by auditing your existing social media accounts before implementing your new social strategy.
Keeping track of the likes of follower growth and post engagement rate will give you a better understanding into what type of content, tone of copy and choice of visuals.
Find out which metrics you should be focusing on when auditing your site.
The Business Reporter will host a once off breakfast briefing for lender organisations, exploring how they can embrace digital technology, and make the most of the opportunities it offers while avoiding the pitfalls. Tickets are free, but limited.
Date: April 19th, 2018
Location: The Westbury Hotel, Dublin – See on map
Fancy a trip to London? From 19-22 of March, #AWEurope will host some of the continents top marketing and tech pros in venues all over London, who will discuss key business trends, issues, and conversations that help to shape today’s global industry.
Over the three days, the event will feature workshops, seminars, tech demonstrations and key networking opportunities.
Date: March 19th – 22nd, 2018
Location: The Westbury Hotel, Dublin – See on map