Digital news to watch: Google integrates Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine into search results
John Readman ??♂? ????
?? AI Reporting and Forecasting for Ecommerce, B2B & Marketing - Agencies, Brands & Retailers
In this weeks digital news to watch, Google have integrated links to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine in their search results. This allows users to access previous versions of webpages directly from Google again. Google expands video structured data with new ‘ineligibleRegion’ property to let sites specify where videos shouldn’t appear in search results. The new Labour government is set to ban pre-watershed junk food TV ads from October 2025 in a landmark move designed to improve the nation’s health.
Meta is introducing new data restrictions in its Business Tools. Which may affect how businesses target ads and measure performance. PPC expert Navah Hopkins noted that this reflects Meta’s serious approach to privacy. Impacting the ability to report and target based on ad views and clicks. Advertisers have been experiencing issues with Google Ads’ GCLID offline conversion uploads. The Google Ads team is aware of the issue and is investigating urgently.
Google Integrates Wayback Machine Links Into Search Results
Google have integrated links to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine in their search results via the “About this page” link. This allows users to access previous versions of webpages directly from Google again after they removed their cache feature earlier this year. Whilst it seems unlikely standard users would use this feature, it’s positive for researchers to be able to see how pages have been updated over time. Websites can opt out of this to stop previous versions from being able to show.
Google Expands Video Structured Data Options With New Property
Google expands video structured data with new ‘ineligible Region’ property to let sites specify where videos shouldn’t appear in search results. This complements the existing ‘regionsAllowed’ property by allowing site owners to be very granular and have more control over regional video visibility and the places that videos shouldn’t show, instead of assuming Google will abide by the allowed ones. This is beneficial for adhering to local regulations or tailoring to specific local markets. If neither the ‘ineligibleRegion’ or ‘regionsAllowed’ properties are populated, Google will assume the video is fine to be shared globally.
Google Ads bug hits GCLID conversion tracking
Since 12 September, advertisers have been experiencing issues with Google Ads’ GCLID (Google Click Identifier) offline conversion uploads. These uploads are marked as successful, the associated conversion actions are showing zero results. This is significant because conversion data is crucial for measuring campaign effectiveness; without accurate tracking, assessing ROI, optimising bids, and making informed ad spend decisions become impossible.
Advertisers like Benjamin Wenner and Josiah Daves have reported missing conversion data across multiple accounts. With Daves noting that over 250 accounts have been affected since 2 p.m. EST on 12 September. The Google Ads team is aware of the issue and is investigating urgently, as confirmed by Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin. The problem appears to be specific to GCLID-based offline conversions, while standard conversion tags are unaffected.
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Advertisers are awaiting further updates from Google, hoping it’s merely a visual reporting error rather than actual data loss. For the latest information on the resolution of this issue, they are advised to follow the Google Ads Status Dashboard.
Meta to restrict data in Business Tools, impacting ad targeting
Meta is introducing new data restrictions in its Business Tools. Which may affect how businesses target ads and measure performance. The changes include automatic restriction of certain URL parts and custom parameters, potential pausing of ads using highly targeted UTMs, and altered monitoring in Events Manager. This could necessitate adjustments to custom audiences, result in some ad sets being paused, and reduce visibility in Events Manager. PPC expert Navah Hopkins noted that this reflects Meta’s serious approach to privacy. Impacting the ability to report and target based on ad views and clicks. Some experts advise that the effects may be less severe than they appear.
Generative AI still offers undiscovered opportunities to online advertisers
Marketers don’t usually agree on much, but lately they seem to agree on one thing. There has been a surge in shoddy online content that we’ve all been rolling our eyes at. And more recently this has been exacerbated by the use of generative AI. There have been notorious blunders spotlighting how gen-AI can produce some wacky, and often off-the-wall content. Yet, this belief that AI is single-“handlessly” responsible for the decline in quality media doesn’t quite sit right.
Labour to ban junk food ads, breaking years of Tory inertia
The new Labour government is set to ban pre-watershed junk food TV ads from October 2025 in a landmark move designed to improve the nation’s health. The move will also see a complete ban on all online advertising for foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS), putting an end to years of toing and froing under the previous government. Confirmed by public health minister Andrew Gwynne in the House of Commons on the 12 September, both measures will come into effect on 1 October 2025.