The CLICKTRUST monthly pick – December 2019

News and articles that allow us to stay on top of our game. You might want to read them too.

General: Data, Privacy & more

The Power of Impression-Based Campaigns to Grow Your Brand

– Search Engine Journal

The title of this article is horrible and cliche in a time when everyone is talking about measurable impact but don’t let that stop you from reading the article. Full of knowledge gems and some nice anecdotes on why creating silo’s between “performance” and “awareness” is just a bad idea. They should be an integrated approach.

“As advertisers, we have the best targeting we have ever had available to us in the history of mankind.
We can literally advertise to our exact persona.
Yet, we insist on trying to drive leads and interest before we ever build awareness. It’s like we all somehow forgot the first part of the funnel.”

Coming Soon: The Demise Of The Brand Vs. Performance Construct

– AdExchanger

“Cliches about marketers on both sides of the divide are unfortunately often true. Brand marketers get excited about brand integrations and seven-figure YouTube masthead buys that grab a lot of attention, while performance marketers are overly obsessed with measuring every dollar.
As we head into 2020, conditions that allowed the brand and performance divide to persist are finally shifting, and marketers can take action. ”

DMP Market Entering Period Of Volatility, According To Advertiser Perceptions

– AdExchanger

“DMPs from Oracle, Salesforce and Adobe have always been the most-used platforms in previous Advertiser Perceptions reports, and they still are in the research firm’s latest report, released Wednesday.
But their favor with marketers is either falling or remaining flat, Advertiser Perceptions found.”

The Perfect Rose Bush Distraction

– Avinash Kaushik

“When data is presented in your org, the spotlight is on the beautiful rose bush in the front yard. How extraordinary the petals are, how perfect the shade of Mother of Pearl on your flowers, how amazing that YOUR WORK ensured that you had the first rose bush with its own Instagram feed. Everyone is looking, everyone is fawning, proud. Meanwhile, little attention directed to the fact that your entire house is going up in flames!

How important is this thing that I’ve been told relative to all other things I need to know?”

Oversold And Overpromised: Marketers Move Away From DMPs

– AdExchanger

“Marketers tell AdExchanger they have struggled to achieve ROI, often hiring consultants or in-house talent to manage their DMPs. Some went through disruptive rip-and-replace processes only to find that their new DMP providers also had poor match rates, bad integrations and weak connections into paid media.”

The 10 Game-Changing Ad Tech Exits Of The Decade

– AdExchanger

“AdExchanger looked at the acquisitions that made the biggest impact in the past decade. Impact can mean many things. Some of these startups flourished under their new owners, showing worth far more than their deal price. Others, purchased during their downfall, reflect the changing winds of ad tech and how companies that were once dominant can swiftly fall from grace.”

 

Google: Organic, Ads & Analytics

Google now showing ‘request quotes’ button above local pack on mobile

– Search Engine Land

“The request quotes functionality is consistent with Google’s broader effort to make GMB an “engagement” and transactions platform.”

Google now shows carousels of reviews on local business profiles

– Search Engine Land

“Google has been spotted displaying reviews in a carousel format, placed more prominently on local business profiles. Review excerpts on Google My Business-powered (GMB) listings are not new; however, this is the first time they are displayed in a scrollable carousel format that may promote viewing more reviews without the user having to click “see all reviews.”

Should Smart Shopping Include More Data? My Rebuttal to The Rebuttal – Part 6: The ZATO Guide to Google Smart Shopping Campaigns

– ZATO Marketing

“I believe Google owes a certain amount of data to the ones paying for the ads. That is, I just want to make sure I have access to the data that I am able to make good decisions by for the good of my clients and business.
But this is the rub, and why we’re having this conversation: We’re all going to disagree on what data is necessary to do our jobs well.”

Pro Tip: Why you should stop using last-click attribution in Google Ads

– Search Engine Land

“Often, people are searching on multiple devices and do extensive browsing and research before making a purchase. Understanding the impact that higher-funnel keywords have on conversions can help better utilize spend, cut out waste and inform other digital marketing channels such as SEO and social media.”
** The article does mix up Google Ads & Google Analytics attribution. It talks about increases in the number of conversions after switching an attribution model which isn’t possible in Google Ads, the total number of conversions would always stay the same inside of Google Ads. For this example, they’re clearly talking about an increase in conversions attributed to Paid Search in Google Analytics. However, the general idea of the article is correct: different attribution models value different stages of the funnel over others.

The big list of 2019 Google search algorithm updates

– Search Engine Land

“2019 saw a number of publically disclosed core and other search algorithm updates. Among the many changes of 2019, Google established a naming convention for core updates and brought natural language understanding to search results.”