It’s officially the most wonderful time of the year™, and it only gets better when you consider the huge news sweeping the digital marketing landscape. We saw a lot of big Google news this past month, including a core algorithm update that dropped before the big ecommerce “holidays,” and several updates to some of the company’s most useful tools.
We’ll unwrap those stories and a lot more in our November 2021 digital roundup.
SEO stories
Google rolls out core algorithm update
Google rolled out a core algorithm update in mid-November that, like other updates of its kind, will take a few weeks to fully shake out. However, it’s looking like we have some clear winners and losers based on Amsive Digital’s article.
On the winning side, you’ll find reference materials sites, some news publishing platforms, and ecommerce sites. However, many news publishers saw a decline, and the same goes for some health and government sites. Of course, it’s still too early to make a final call, but we’ll provide an update next month if more data is available.
Google updates PageSpeed Insights
Google’s PageSpeed Insights got an upgrade this past month, and it’s now much more intuitive and user-friendly than before. As noted by Google Engineering Manager Addy Osmani on Twitter, the goal was to make the tool easier to use so marketers can not only measure performance but improve on it thanks to “real-world and lab data.” You can learn more at Search Engine Land.
Paid media stories
Google announces four new Insights features for Ads
Cyber Monday and Black Friday may be behind us, but the holiday shopping season isn’t over yet. And to help Google Ads users get the most out of their campaigns, the company announced four new Insights features currently in beta form:
- Demand forecasts: Predicts emerging search interest for next 6 months.
- Consumer interest insights: Aggregates top-performing search themes related to your campaign performance.
- Audience insights: Displays your customers’ interests, including any creative that inspires them.
- Change history insights and auction insights: Displays impact on performance based on shifts in auction competition or changes you made.
Want to learn more about these new features? Head to the Ads & Commerce Blog.
Google Keyword Planner Tool gains new data
Google’s busy November also included some new data additions to its Keyword Planner Tool. Apparently, it’s all part of an ongoing experiment, per a statement to Search Engine Land, but the new data columns are intriguing indeed. SEL reported that the new columns include data related to year-over-year changes, three-month changes, and three-month trending type. We’ll certainly provide an update next month if these updates to the tool stick around.
Digital analytics stories
Microsoft Power BI vs Google Data Studio
Microsoft Power BI and Google Data Studio are both powerful digital analytics tools that provide a visual representation of raw, complex data. But which one is better? It’s a good question, and one posited by author Tamal Das. He put together a thorough comparison of the two tools at MakeUseOf that can help you figure out which is right for your needs based on seven different features and services.
Industry feedback on a “Cookieless Future”
You may recall that Google pushed back its plans to phase out third-party cookies this past earlier this year. The delay to 2023 gives marketers more time to prepare for the so-called “cookieless future.” It also inspired the team at Criteo to survey industry experts about their concerns, and the results are actually looking positive. As reported by AiThority, 83 percent of marketers are hopeful for the future, while 77 percent are already testing alternatives. Plus, 79 percent report that the growing first-party customer data is crucial.
Ayima news
We wanted to take a moment to remind you about the launch of Ayima Insights Club. You can learn more about Insights Club and sign up today to get free, personalised news and tools tailored to your specific interests.
The new Ayima Pulse
We want to give another shout out to the new version of Ayima Pulse, our free SEO trends and market research tool. It’s now more powerful than ever, as it allows you to view data from further back, group by host/domain, and sort by winners and losers. Check it out for free at the Ayima Pulse page.
Upcoming speaking engagements
We want to again highlight some upcoming speaking engagements for our Ayima colleagues, so you can know where to catch them in 2022.
- Lucy Whittaker (Head of Paid) will speak at PPC Hero’s Hero Conf in Austin, Texas, in February 2022.
- Paola Didonè (Senior SEO Consultant) and Rich Ingilby (Client Growth Manager) will both speak at brightonSEO in April 2022.
Ayima Insights articles
Here’s what we published in November 2021.
- Introducing our Page Speed Analytics Dashboard: Data Analyst Ken Lee provides a thorough explanation of our page speed monitoring dashboard.
