Fried Bids, Digital News - 25 Mar-1 Apr 2024
This is my personal selection of the most interesting articles published from 25th March- 1st April 2024. Let me know what you think in the comments. If you want to receive the 50+ news full newsletter, please reach me through Direct Message.
Meta has introduced new audience insight and targeting options for its Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns. This update allows advertisers to target individuals who have expressed interest in their products or services but have not made a purchase yet. By separating out engaged customers within targeting, advertisers can optimize their ad approach. Meta defines engaged customers as those who are aware of the business or have interacted with its offerings but have not converted. This new setting enables advertisers to create custom audiences of these engaged customers and gain more opportunities to re-engage them. Additionally, advertisers can segment these audiences in their Advantage+ campaign reporting to assess their responsiveness to ads. This enhancement provides valuable insights into different audience segments and enhances campaign optimization.
Google Ads has launched its Vehicle Listing Ads (VLA) in the UK, Germany, and France. Previously available in open beta only in the US, Canada, and Australia, VLAs now provide auto advertisers in these European countries with a powerful tool to showcase their inventory to potential customers actively searching for vehicles on Google. This ad format presents key information, such as images, model, price, mileage, and advertiser's name, directly within search results. Leveraging Google's AI, the ads automatically present the most relevant listings based on user searches. Advertisers need to upload a vehicle data feed to the Merchant Center and set up Performance Max campaigns with vehicle feeds in Google Ads to participate. The expansion of VLAs in the UK, Germany, and France offers auto advertisers in these markets an effective way to connect with interested buyers and generate more qualified leads.
Google has updated its definition of "top ads" in Google Search, as reported by Search Engine Land. The change reflects how ads can appear in search results. Top ads are now defined as ads that appear above organic results and can also appear below them for specific queries. The update follows Google's testing of ads between search results in October. This "definitional change" does not impact performance metrics. It suggests that Google may be moving forward with the idea of inserting ads between organic search results, potentially allowing advertisers to gain more visibility and clicks in areas traditionally reserved for organic content.
A study conducted by Authoritas reveals that Google's AI-powered Search Generative Experience (SGE) has the potential to disrupt brand visibility and organic search traffic. The study found that when an SGE box is expanded, the top organic result drops significantly, reducing visibility. Additionally, 62% of SGE links come from domains outside the top 10 organic results. This new competition may require marketers to adopt new tactics, such as focusing on long-form content, expert insights, and multimedia formats. The study analyzed 2,900 brand and product-related keywords across 15 industry verticals and found that SGE results are displayed for 91.4% of all search queries. Larger, well-established websites are likely to perform better in SGE results than smaller websites and lesser-known brands.
LinkedIn is testing a dedicated video feed within its app, resembling the popular TikTok format. The new feature aims to make it easier for users to discover and engage with short-form videos. LinkedIn recognizes the growing popularity of video content and wants to provide its members with timely and relevant videos to watch. The test includes a vertical, full-screen feed where users can scroll through and interact with videos by liking, commenting, and sharing. The focus is on business-related content, including video clips from LinkedIn influencers. The move aligns with the trend of younger generations communicating through video and is expected to drive engagement and connection on the platform.
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Google is testing new shopping discovery elements, including generative AI, to enhance the product search experience. The features being tested include style recommendations, body shape matching, and generative AI examples. Users can refine their search results by up or downvoting images and swiping right or left on related product images. Google is also allowing users to specify preferred brands for a more customized shopping experience. Additionally, the company is introducing AI image generation to find visual matches for products and a virtual try-on feature to see how clothing items look on different models. These testing initiatives aim to provide personalized recommendations and improve the overall shopping experience.
Microsoft Copilot, formerly known as Bing Chat, has introduced a new feature that allows users to access referrer data in their Google Analytics reports. This development was announced by Himanshu Sharma, who shared a chart demonstrating the appearance of https://copilot.microsoft.com as a referrer in GA4. In order to filter out AI traffic from the reports, a regex pattern can be employed. This enhancement provides users with the ability to track and analyze Copilot data within their GA4 profiles. The update was rolled out in March 2024, offering users greater insights into the referral sources for their website traffic.
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is seeking input from the ad tech industry regarding their concerns about Google's Privacy Sandbox proposals and the deprecation of third-party cookies in Chrome. The CMA wants to assess whether these changes pose competition risks and has the power to delay Google's plans if necessary. The agency is gathering information from industry insiders to better understand the potential issues and make informed evaluations. Ad tech companies are encouraged to test the Privacy Sandbox APIs and report the results and any concerns to the CMA, as their expertise is crucial in shaping the evaluation process. The goal is to ensure that the changes do not create additional advantages for Google and that the ad tech playing field remains level while protecting privacy.
The European Commission has launched five investigations into potential non-compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) by Apple, Google, and Meta (formerly Facebook). The Commission suspects that the proposed solutions put forward by these companies do not fully align with the DMA's requirements. The investigations will focus on various aspects, including anti-steering rules in app stores, self-preferencing of services, browser choice screens, ad targeting models, and fee structures for distributing apps. The Commission aims to ensure open and contestable digital markets in Europe and plans to conclude the investigations within the next 12 months. If non-compliance is found, heavy fines of up to 10% of annual global revenue could be imposed. The companies have defended their approaches and expressed a willingness to engage with the Commission to address concerns.
Amazon has announced an additional investment of $2.75 billion in the artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, bringing its total investment in the company to $4 billion. The strategic collaboration aims to enhance customer experiences through generative AI technology. Amazon's cloud-computing subsidiary, AWS, will serve as the primary cloud provider for Anthropic, utilizing Amazon's custom chips to develop and deploy AI models. The investment reflects the growing interest in AI technology, with major tech companies investing in AI startups.
IAB Europe has unveiled the first-ever mapping of greenhouse gas (GHG) estimation solutions in digital advertising. The mapping aims to provide transparency and understanding of the variety of frameworks and solutions available in Europe to estimate and reduce scope 3 emissions produced by digital advertising. The participating organizations include SRI/Alliance Digitale, GroupM, Dentsu, and more. Data availability is identified as a challenge, and collaboration and transparency within the industry are emphasized to navigate and utilize emissions data effectively. The report calls for a move towards a more sustainable mode of operations and a standardized framework.