Now that April 2017 is well and truly over, it’s time to look forward to the warm Summer months (should they bother to arrive) and enjoy sipping on shandies in overpriced beer gardens. This month we’ve over indulged in Easter eggs, felt the crushing disappointment and stress of Theresa May calling a snap General Election, and had a great time watching Chris Pratt in Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2. Oh, and ‘Awesome Mix Vol. 2’ is in fact awesome. With the Digital Marketing, SEO and Social Media world being an ever growing industry April has seen some excellent events and news. So, grab a snack, put your feet up and check out 10 pretty great things that happened in the digital marketing world this month!
1. We Discussed Best Practices for Google AdWords Match Types
Google AdWords offers a plethora of information and jargon when it comes to setting up a PPC campaign. From the complex terminology to understanding match types, we get just how complicated PPC is. This is why our very own Dave wrote a guide to Google AdWords Match Types to help you set up a fool proof AdWords campaign! Get all the knowledge here.
2. Instagram Hit 700 Million Users
This month Instagram announced that their user base had doubled itself in the space of two years. According to the social media platform, this was down to their Stories feature, web sign ups and making their app work with low-end Android phones. Since the launch of Instagram in 2010 it has seen a consistent growth in users, now having double the followers that Twitter has. You can read more about it here.
3. Google Trials ‘Suggested Clip’ in Search Results
According to Search Engine Land, Ryan Rodden spotted a new Google test where an embedded video was shown on page one of the SERPs. The video jumps directly into a specific time when you click the play button, answering the query. This is a great way to answer ‘how to’ queries, and we’re pretty excited to see where ‘Suggested Clip’ goes in the future. You can check it out here.
4. Ricemedia Bossed it at Brighton SEO
Brighton SEO April 2017 was bigger and better than it’s ever been. There were new and exciting speakers sharing a wealth of knowledge, and in-depth coverage hot topics such as voice search, Alexa and Mobile first. What’s great about #BrightonSEO is that it sparks conversation and debate about everything Ricemedia loves – SEO, Social Media and Digital Marketing. Our very own Laura Hogan talked about how your business can use Search Console to find a few SEO quick wins. Don’t worry if you missed it – you can check out the key takeaways and slides here.
5. Google has Made Submitting a URL for Indexing Easier
Search Engine Round Table stated that users are now able to submit a URL for indexing within the search results page, rather than within Google Search Console. Once you’ve submitted the URL, Google responds with “Page submitted to Google Search.” You then submit a new URL. We love anything that makes life easier – thank you very much Google! Find out more here!
6. Google Launches Fact Check in SERPs Worldwide
After Trump winning the election and Google’s search results denying the existence of the Holocaust, they have launched their Fact Check feature in results worldwide. The initial launch of Fact Check happened in October 2016, but now this feature takes the following format:
- What the claim is
- Who is making the claim
- Whether the claim is verified by a reputable source.
This feature is not yet on news sites, and Google has stated that this process is conducted algorithmically – human intervention will only occur when feedback is given. We think that this is a great step for Google, and look forward to seeing where this will go. Check it out here.
7. Facebook Changes How Pages’ Organic Videos are Measured
On April 10th Facebook changed the way Pages’ could measure the success of organic videos. According to Marketing Land the aggregate 10-second view count was removed and replaced with more minutes-viewed metrics, and the period based measurements were adjusted. They’ve also changed the way you can source specific bits of data which will take some practice – but we’re intrigued to see whether there is a increase or decrease in viewing figures… Find out about these changes here.
8. Kissmetrics Discussed Netflix’s Low Churn Rate & Customer Engagement Secrets
8. Kissmetrics Discussed Netflix’s Low Churn Rate & Customer Engagement SecretsTrying to keep users engaged and interacting with online content is just as challenging as curating and creating fresh content and great user experience. Netflix has over 90 million users who watch a combined 125 million hours of TV and film everyday, and with a relatively low churn rate of 9%, it’s safe to say that they’re smashing user experience. Find out their secrets here.
9. Facebook Rights Manager Gave Copyright Owners Ways to Deal with Copyright Violations
Video Creators and Page Owners are now able to make money on copyrighted videos that are being re-posted by other Facebook users. This is a great way for video owners to handle copyright violations, as they can now dip into the pockets of the offending user and claim some of the ad revenue generated by the offending video. Find out the options content owners now have here.
10. Google Assist Beats Cortana and Alexa in Accuracy
At the beginning of 2017, Stone Temple Consulting undertook a virtual assistant consumer survey that showed the majority of respondents wanted the assistants to provide “answers” rather than conventional search results. This month, the firm published a follow-up study measuring the relative accuracy of the four major assistants, Cortana, Siri, Google Home and Alexa. The results had shown that Google Assist was able to answer more questions correctly than its rivals. We’re interested to see how the main four will develop and grow over the next few months – will Google ever fall from its top space? Check it out here.
