Skip to main content

News and articles from the CLICKTRUST blog and from around the web that allow us to stay on top of our game. You might want to read them too.

CLICKTRUST Brainfood:

The top 5 mistakes we see brands make with their paid media budgets.

– Fabian Van de Wiele

“Over the last weeks, we’ve been doing a lot of paid media audits. The goal is simple:  cut away the unnecessary fat and ensure the media budget is invested properly with maximum return. We’ve listed 5 common issues we’ve come across in these audits. Interestingly enough, the larger budgets all had the most waste.”

Smart bidding for Google ads: Complete guide 2020 – Part 1 : Introduction to Smart Bidding

– Yannick Timmermans & Julien Delbauve

“We started writing an article about Smart Bidding and before we knew it we had more than 10 pages. So we decided to split our full article in 3 parts starting with an introduction to Smart Bidding. Next we will tackle the question: How to choose the right Smart Bidding strategy? Ending this series with how to optimize campaigns that run on Smart Bidding.”

 

 

General: Data, Privacy & more

Google Experiments Hint At Cookie-Free Future

– AdExchanger

“Google’s experiments are so important. They represent a tangible Phase 2 in the rapidly moving rollout of the post-cookie web. And the specific proposals in question point the way toward what that web may actually look like in 2022, when the last holdout – Google’s Chrome browser – finally empties the cookie jar.”

A Decade Of Marketing Inefficiency Is Being Laid Bare

– AdExchanger

“Over the past 10 to 12 years, many marketing organizations have cobbled together best-of-breed ad tech and mar tech solutions across functions. Adapting to changing consumer media consumption habits from display to mobile, social and now connected TV have also resulted in technology and solution fragmentation and unnecessary inefficiencies that can’t be tolerated in the post-COVID-19 economic landscape.”

Why Do People Visit Websites Today?

– Search Engine Journal

“As an SEO why does this matter? We tend to think in terms of keyword research, promoting content, and optimizing for better rankings. We want to make sites faster and inclusive. It’s good to take a step back from that and really consider the ins and outs of why people visit websites.”

Bing brings visual search to product ads

– Search Engine Land

“Bing has added new visual search features to its sponsored Shopping results, the company announced Thursday. Users can click on the visual search icon in the Shopping search bar or in a product result to search for visually similar items. This feature has launched for clothing and shoes, with an expansion into home decor planned for the near future.”

The need for (mobile) speed: Small improvements have a big conversion impact

– Search Engine Land

“Marketers need to make culture and operational changes to further prioritize mobile experiences and site speed. As Deloitte points out in its report, “the competitive gap will widen between brands who provide great mobile experience and those who don’t.” The firm also argues that it’s not enough to be the fastest in your vertical or category, brands and retailers are now competing “with the best digital experience a consumer has ever had.”

 

 

Google: Organic, Ads & Analytics

 

4 things we learned about automated bidding during the pandemic

 

– Search Engine Land

“Automated bidding continues to get better and has earned recent kudos from search marketers. When the ‘new normal’ becomes the status quo, we’ll be able to look back on the lessons learned in 2020. And as we learn how automated bidding fits into the bigger picture of what we are trying to achieve as search marketers, it’s clear there is a lot of value from having a human expert who remembers the lessons and uses those to guide advertisers to PPC success.”

No – Safari 14 Does Not Block Google Analytics

– Simo Ahava

“But for now, Google Analytics users don’t need to worry about Safari. Google Analytics does not require cross-site tracking capabilities, and Safari does not block its use. Naturally, it does limit how effective it is, but that’s another story.”

How to Get More from Your Google My Business Listing

– Search Engine Journal

“Google My Business can be a powerful tool for certain types of companies to get in front of more customers, but most people aren’t tapping into its true potential. When most people create a profile, they just fill out the basic contact info and leave it at that. That’s a good start, but there are a number of other details you can optimize to improve where your listing ranks.”

Why You Should Be Using Google Discovery Campaigns

– Search Engine Journal

“In the quest to grab its share of top of funnel ad dollars, Google Ads introduced Discovery ads in 2019 and recently made them available worldwide. With top of funnel costs rising steadily on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, is the Discovery placement a worthy contender for budget? We spoke with three experts who say it definitely is.”

Google faces $5 billion lawsuit for tracking users in Incognito mode

– VentureBeat

“Google was sued on Tuesday in a proposed class action accusing the internet search company of illegally invading the privacy of millions of users by pervasively tracking their internet use through browsers set in a “private” mode.”

Google tests feeds for App install campaigns, expands deep linking and reporting

– Search Engine Land

“Mobile usage has accelerated during COVID-19 restrictions, says Google. On Wednesday it announced a test that connects feeds to App campaigns and will expand deep linking to more ad formats, expand deep linking and provide more App campaign performance reporting.
These updates are aimed at improving app install outcomes by improving user experience with the ads. Conversion rates are higher when users are in-app than on the web. “It’s really important that if the app is installed on the user’s phone that they go to the app” instead of the advertiser’s website, said Mitby in discussing the inisghts of the ad destination reporting and expansion of deep linking to more ad formats.”

Youtube brings products to YouTube for action ads

– Search Engine Land

“YouTube says the number of advertisers using TrueView for action, the ads designed for performance advertisers with calls-to-action, increased by more than 260% last year. Now it’s bringing product selection to these ads.”

Google Combining Search Console & Analytics Data Into One Report

– Search Engine Journal

“Google is working on a way to combine data from Search Console and Analytics together in one report that is accessible from either service.”

 

 

Social: Facebook, Instagram & others

 

LinkedIn Adds Engagement Remarketing for Video and Lead Ads

 

– Search Engine Journal

“This new functionality allows advertisers to create retargeting audiences of users who have Video Ads or interacted with Lead Gen Forms. It will be rolling out into accounts over the next month.”

New Instagram Advertisers No Longer Need a Facebook Page

– Search Engine Journal

“Facebook has announced this week that moving forward, new advertisers in the U.S. and Turkey who want to promote an Instagram post will no longer need to have a Facebook page.”

 

 

 

Get our ramblings right in your inbox

We deepdive into hot topics across digital marketing and love to share.