Even though it feels like we’ve all experienced several lifetimes these past six months, we’re now at least halfway through the tumultuous year that is 2020. And in these difficult times, we’re staying on top of the biggest news from the digital marketing landscape. The industry has remained incredibly interesting as it adapts to the ongoing pandemic, among other major issues, and we’ve got some big stories from Google, Facebook, and elsewhere. Let’s get into it!
SEO stories
Has voice search usage plateaued?
It may be based on a small-ish sample size, but research suggests that voice search usage seems to have plateaued. In fact, it may even be starting to decline as most users still prefer to use mobile browsing. That’s according to data from Perficient (via Search Engine Land), who have surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults for four years now about their mobile search preferences. It’s an interesting bit of data overall, and one worth exploring if you’re interested in where voice search may be going in the near future.
Google removes AMP requirement for News inclusion
In late May, Google made a number of announcements related to page experience, with the biggest being that publishers will no longer need to meet AMP standards to appear in Google News. The change is set to take place in 2021, and it could very well change the Google News landscape, especially as new publishers jump into this space. If you’d like to know more about what some industry experts are saying about this change, head over to Search Engine Land.
Paid media stories
Brands join together to boycott Facebook ads
As part of the Stop Hate For Profit campaign, more than 1,000 brands including Starbucks, Coca-Cola, and Verizon have vowed to “pause advertising on Facebook and Instagram in order to force Mark Zuckerberg to address the effect that Facebook has had on our society.” You can read more about the movement at their FAQ page, but the goal is to force the social network to “take common-sense steps to address the rampant racism, disinformation and hate on its platform.”
Zuckerberg responded to the boycott with a lengthy statement, during which he stressed that the company will take steps to fight voter suppression and create “a higher standard for hateful content in ads.” We’ll be sure to follow this story as it continues to develop.
Google offers free shopping listings in Search
Following an April update that provided free listings to retailers, Google announced that free shopping listings will appear in the SERPs as well. The rollout starts with mobile search implementation this summer, and the listings will appear on desktop search at a later date. If you want to learn how to list your (or your client’s) products, read this help center article.
Digital analytics stories
7 factors that will influence ecommerce throughout rest of 2020
To say it’s been an interesting year so far for ecommerce would be an understatement. COVID-19 had a major impact on the greater industry, with some areas struggling and others thriving. And to stay on top of the game for the rest of the year, industry expert Dan Barker put together a list of seven key factors that he believes will shape the world of ecommerce in the remainder of 2020. You can read the full rundown at Econsultancy, where he provides tips for competing with Amazon and important areas of data and AI to focus on.
Guide to optimising customer journey
Over at the iperceptions blog, Chief Innovation Officer Lane Cochrane put together a guide to optimising the customer journey. And in doing so, he stresses that the most important part is hearing directly from those who take the journey (aka, the actual customer). In the guide, which you can read at iperceptions, Lane details a three-step process that he says will help you better understand not just the customer journey, but the customer as well.
Ayima news
It was another busy month on the Ayima blog. This past June, our team of experts provided rich insights into a variety of topics, including SEO strategy recommendations and a full guide to using Python for SEO.
Blog posts and contributions
- Using Data Science to understand Content Relevance: Campaign Director Richard Ingilby explains the importance of content relevance, and how we can use data science to better understand it
- SEO Strategies during COVID-19: SEO Consultant Karthikeyan Senthil Murali outlines how to use key data to inform digital strategy in these ever-changing times
- Why Google Shopping is more important than ever: Richard Ingilby reveals why Google Shopping has become a crucial element of call and response marketing
- Analysing URL parameters with Python for SEO: Senior SEO Consultant Benjamin Goerler provides a how-to guide for using Python to extract any URL parameter from a CSV file for further analysis
