Hello and welcome to our first round-up of all things digital marketing of 2019! January was a busy month as the temperatures plummeted leaving much of the UK, Europe and USA facing snow and ice. In world news, Amazon overtook Microsoft to become the world’s most valuable company, China germinated their first cotton seed on the moon, Naomi Osaka became the first Japanese tennis player to win the Australian Open and Bohemian Rhapsody took home big prizes at the Golden Globes. While it may have been cold, the world of SEO, PPC and Social Media kept us warm with some interesting new developments. Did you miss anything? Take a seat and let us catch you up!
1. Facebook record $16.6 billion in ad revenue
Facebook has been hit with criticism over its poor management of user data and privacy concerns, however, it did not hit their ad profits. Advertising revenue for the final quarter of 2018 hit $16.6 billion. This was despite the average price of ads falling by 2%, however, ad impressions were up 34%. A big part of this growth in impressions was down to Instagram stories. No matter what hits Facebook, advertisers are still happy to find their customers on the social giant’s platforms.
Giphy.com
2. New research shows 81% of people think less of an outdated website
Having a website that is fresh and updated is key to the success of any business in the 21st century. The mistrust in a website that isn’t updated is high if this survey is to be believed. 81% of 18-60-year-olds think less of a brand that doesn’t keep its website fresh. 39% also think twice about using a product or service on a site that isn’t current. Interestingly, 40% are put off by a lack of a search box. These are all hints we can take when building our own websites.
3. We took a closer look at Google Panda and Google Penguin
January saw a double-header as our series of blogs about Google Algorithms continued. Elliot cast his expert eye over Google Panda and Google Penguin. With Panda focusing on the quality of content on site and Penguin looking at sites it deems to be spammy and using Black Hat tactics. In both blogs, you’ll find out exactly what each one does and how you can recover from any penalty from the algorithms.
4. Featured Snippets from PDF files are now a thing
Featured Snippets are gold dust for all content marketers so it is great to see that Google has been spotted pulling content from PDF files for them. This makes it vital that all PDF files should be well optimised just like all web content.
5. Google testing 14 ads appearing on mobile SERPs
PPC ads dominate the top and bottom of all search results. If new testing is to be believed, it could take that even further. Recently, Google has been spotted testing 14 ads in a single mobile search result. This is almost double what is seen in regular search results. Could Google get away with this without a considerable backlash? It remains to be seen.
6. SEO and Digital Marketing Events you MUST attend this year!
Every year the biggest names in SEO and Digital Marketing share their infinite wisdom to industry audiences. 2019 is no different with a host of big events on the horizon. With the likes of BrightonSEO, UnGagged and SearchLove all taking place, these are events that cannot be missed! Check out our list of SEO and Digital Marketing Events to Attend in 2019!
7. Search Console now alerts users about site hacks and malware
Google Search Console continues to evolve as new features continue to be revealed. The latest of these is a new ‘Security Issues’ tab which will report on harmful activities – including hacking and malware. Search Console will also provide information on how to fix these issues – which is incredibly helpful!
Giphy.com
8. People are more receptive to ads while watching TV before bed
You know the drill, you get into bed with the telly on and you check your phone before sleeping. It turns out during this, we are more receptive to mobile ads during this period even if we are using multiple devices. In fact, 59% of respondents in the survey said they pay more attention while watching the big screen. This is important as advertisers need to understand the moment’s users are likely to pay attention to their ads. By doing so, this will drive further revenue streams.
9. We explored LSI and why it is important for SEO
Latent Semantic Indexing is a key tactic of the SEO marketer. After all, LSI is the process in which search engines identify keywords to match users with the appropriate content. But why is this important? Our very own Emma explored What Is Latent Semantic Indexing and How It Will Help [Your] SEO Strategy.
Giphy.com
10. Google remains king of search engines (Obviously!)
Everybody knows that Google is king of search but how much exactly? In the US alone, 96% of all mobile organic search came from Google in the last quarter of 2018. Overall, Google produced 93% of all US organic search in Q4 2018 which is up from 92% in 2017. In the UK, current statistics show that Google continues to have a market share with 89.1%.
Giphy.com
