It’s 2015, and we still don’t have flying cars, but if July is any indication, the technological innovation could come at any time. Google introduced 360 degree video ads, which are sure to bring some mind-blowing campaigns, and robots are now writing content. Google began rolling out Panda 4.2, and we’re excited, but patient, to see its full effects. We posted new episodes of our Digital Shoptalk podcast, including some special guests with some fresh insight on the future of the Internet.
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SEARCH?
Home Service Ads testing in Google
It seems Google is always testing new ways to get the most relevant information to users. A new iteration of ad types spotted in the wild, and limited beta targeting plumbers and locksmiths, allows users to discover and connect with service professionals in their area.
The formula for serving up better ad experiences with geo-modified queries gets more refined with this test, as searchers have an easy way to request services directly from the ads and are given all the necessary pieces of information you’d need to choose a provider.
Now that we have some live examples on how Google will deliver ads for this type of local search, it will be very interesting to see how the page landscape evolves and how advertisers adjust their strategies.
Concerns remain ranging from how organic local results will be impacted, will Google be able to handle, pass and manage lead information efficiently, and allowing advertisers to work with small budgets in a crowded, high-traffic environment.
Collective Betterment of Traffic Quality
Industry leaders have announced a pilot blacklist aiming to detect traffic originating from data centers. By sharing this information, traffic masquerading as human activity can be detected across all ad platforms, leading to the elimination of fraudulent and malicious activity.
It is great to see this collaborative spirit among competing entities in the space, as accuracy and trustworthiness of the data are regarded highly amongst the advertisers they service.
The Future is Here: 360 Degree Video Ads
In a large leap to continually increase engagement with users online, Google has introduced 360 degree video ads, which allow users to explore and experience the videos from all angles. We expect to see some really creative campaigns utilizing this technology in the near future.
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN DISPLAY?
Firefox and Chrome Block Flash
Firefox made an update this month and is now blocking any flash content, with Chrome following suit on Sept. 1. While flash creative has been slowing because they do not function properly on mobile devices, this change will have a larger impact on all efforts. For those advertisers who still use flash creative, there are a few options:
Adwords and DoubleClick have tools that will automatically convert your flash creative to HTML5.
Rebuild flash units in HTML5.
Run static or animated GIF creative.
No Charge for Fat-Finger Clicks
Photo credit: Baymard Institute
Google has implemented some additional accidental click blockers. On mobile devices, the “fat finger” click is a concern for many advertisers, so Google has implemented some additional measures to only charge for clicks from truly interested parties.
The latest addition to these measures includes only charging for clicks that happen on the central part of the ad. Any click near the edge of ads will not be charged. For more details, check out the full article here.
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN CONTENT?
Content Robots?
Robot paranoia has reached the world of content marketing, and it’s not completely unfounded. Robots are already being used by the Associated Press, among others, to write articles. The good news for content marketers, who pride themselves on translating the human experience into 400-word blog posts and 4-second GIFs, is most of these robot articles are strictly informational. That means there is still room for an overanalyzing content professional to make a living. Jayson DeMers of AudienceBloom takes a deeper look into the future of robot-produced content here.
Headline Tools
As any of our Location3 blog team members can attest to, writing a good headline is difficult. But it’s also one of the most important pieces of a post. Aaron Taube of Contently provided a great list of tools available for writing amazing headlines. Our favorite is CoSchedule’s headline analyzer, and it’s not just because it’s free (OK, maybe a little because it’s free). Simply type in a headline, and the analyzer gives a score, grade and breakdown of word usage and sentiment.
WHATS HAPPENING IN LOCAL?
Google+ Product Under Deconstruction with Three Major Updates
Google+ Photos Shutting Down
Google will be retiring G+ Photos and encouraging users to utilize Google Photos as its replacement. This will not affect photos already in G+, but with the ongoing deconstruction of G+, it would be a good idea to review any assets in G+ and make sure you have them saved elsewhere.
Google+ Unmanaged Pages Being Removed
In an effort to clean up Google+, Google will be removing unmanaged G+ pages starting July 28th. To be clear, this does not mean Google My Business listings, rather the Google+ page, that may be associated with it – I know, it gets confusing. This latest tactic appears to be focused on streamlining and minimizing the G+ product.
Google+ Brand Posts Removed From Knowledge Graph
Brand posts on Google+ will no longer be displayed in the brand’s Knowledge Graph card, as Google reports they are trying to provide more consistency. With G+ slowly fading away, this update is likely to be followed by other sunsets related to the G+ product.
Bing Previews New Maps Features
Bing has made several search improvements to the Bings Maps including the function to search for waypoints along a route and search auto-suggest. In addition to the expected “better search results” updates, Bing has started to add polish to its interface, which is great for users looking for something besides Google.
Nokia Sells HERE Maps for $2.7B to BMW, Mercedes, Audi Group
The German consortium of car manufacturers purchased HERE Maps as a strategic asset to have for the future of self-driving cars. They will continue to operate HERE as an open platform, but the local search community will be waiting a while to see if they will maintain HERE as a an open mapping system long-term.
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SEO?
Google Panda 4.2 is Here
Google confirmed the rollout of Panda 4.2, an update that will take place over 10 months. The update will allow sites the chance to recover, albeit at a slower pace than previous Panda updates.
Google is shutting down their Autocomplete API on Aug. 10th
Google announced they will be closing their Autocomplete API because it doesn’t “provide a meaningful user benefit.” The change could affect some of the SEM and keyword tools you use.
Yahoo Tests Google-Powered Search Results
Yahoo and Google confirmed they’re testing an arrangement that would supply Yahoo with Google search results and ads. This continues a trend of Yahoo, perhaps, distancing itself from Microsoft.
Millennials Continue Love Affair with Mobile
PC sales are shrinking while mobile media time is increasing, especially with younger users. Sixty-one percent of total digital media time is spent with smartphones and tablets.
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SOCIAL?
Photo credit: Bidness ETC
Facebook has been busy making updates to its video offerings. A few new features this month include a text overlay and “floating” videos. The text overlay is very similar to a feature seen on YouTube. They will be offering this placement in their suggested videos section. The “floating” video feature allows you to continue watching a video while scrolling through your newsfeed. This feature is truly a result of our shortened attention spans, in an effort to get more completed views for marketers.
For more details on these features check out these full articles:
Facebook Introduces Ads in Suggested Videos
Facebook Lets You Float Videos
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN VIDEO?
Accenture and Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. recently completed a study that looks at the device viewing preferences for video content (TV shows, Movies, Sports), and they are continuing to see a decrease in the number of viewers who prefer larger TV screens. TV screens still capture 52% of the overall audience preference, but among 14-17 year old viewers, only 29% prefer TV screens. Not surprisingly, their preference falls with mobile devices. Sports programming is the main exception. For all audiences TV screens are the preferred screens for sports viewing.
Mobile TV Preferences Register Uptick, TV Set Preferences Drop For Teens
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN CREATIVE?
What is Google Material Design Lite?
In early July, Google announced a new resource for implementing their design framework (Material Design) called Material Design Lite.
What is it? Similar to Twitter’s Bootstrap, MDL is a framework of UI components such as menus, buttons and layouts that developers can work into their projects.
So could I just copy this and launch a website? Not per se. MDL is primary a collection of components, but there are several templates that assemble them and can be downloaded as a code base. You’d need working knowledge of HTML/CSS/JavaScript to implement.
What does it mean? Google has not only taken a strong design stance with Material Design, but now they’re very actively supporting it. I think you’ll continue to see this style influence web and app design very heavily over the next few years.