Week #41 Roundup – Updated First-Party Cookies In Google AdSense, Newly Named Data Studio and Novel Features in Social Media
9 min read
This Week’s Roundup dives into information-packed news regarding SEO, PPC, analytics, social media, and technology.
Let’s get to the news that are:
Google aims to make it easier for consumers and businesses to find each other in the traveling scene.
In 2021, Google made the ticket purchase links visible in Search. Now the links leading to buying tickets are also visible on Google Maps.
The reservation links to certain attractions are now visible in Search and later also in Maps. Google also intends to add booking links to tour operators' search and map information.
Organizers of attractions, tours and activities can work with an approved connection partner to provide travelers with the latest pricing information through feed integration. In the case of sights (soon also for tour operators), the price information in Search and Maps can be edited directly in the Business Profile.
The new advertising format for to-do searches published last year is now available in more countries and languages, and it can now also appear in mobile searches in connection with sightseeing listings. Ads display information such as prices, images and reviews.
Source: Ads & Commerce Blog
Google aims to inform product review publishers and merchants about the principles of high-quality product reviews through product review best practices documentation. Pages that contain quality product reviews are likely to get better visibility on Google.
Examples of product review types and more precisely expressed instructions were added to the product review documentation. Some instruction lines were also removed from the documentation.
Three examples of product review publisher types have been added to the documentation, which Google says are:
Therefore, Google clarifies that product review best practices are specifically intended for companies publishing product reviews or, for example, news communities, and therefore not for consumers
Other additions include talking about review pages instead of just reviews. The word "reviews" was removed and the word "product review pages" is used instead.
Source: Google Search Central
Microsoft announced on its Twitter account that there’s a new interactive feature available in Microsoft Search. Microsoft has added opinion polls to certain knowledge cards that appear in the search.
In general, the use of polls is a great way to increase engagement of users and attendees in a variety of settings, such as webinars, online courses, websites and Instagram stories.
Source: Tweet of Microsoft Bing
With the updated first-party cookies in Google AdSense, personalization is now also possible.
First-party cookies for personalization allow users to see personalized ads when third-party cookies are not available.
However, the advertiser can use first-party cookies that support personalization only if the "Allow first-party cookies" setting is turned on.
Cookies will start supporting personalization from November 10, 2022.
For example, Google Chrome has stated that it will disable all third-party cookies by 2024, which emphasizes the importance of shifting away from third-party data towards first-party data.
Source: Google AdSense Help
In order to harmonize its business intelligence tools, Google's Data Studio is now Looker Studio.
To bring Looker and Data Studio together, Google will move Data Studio under the Looker Brand, with the aim of better integrating Looker, Data Studio, AI and machine learning. As part of this merger, Data Studio is now called Looker Studio. With the new change, the user will get more information to facilitate decision-making.
Source: Google Cloud
Youtube announced that a new way to find and tag channels is coming to the platform, namely handles. Each channel has its own handle, i.e. @username. Handles can be used both on channel pages and in Shorts.
Thus, it becomes easier to tag other content producers in, for example, video descriptions or comments. Youtube, therefore, makes use of the way that other social platforms have found to be beneficial by introducing handles.
The new identification method will be available in the next month, and YouTube has said that it will notify the creators of the videos when the new feature is available. When a creator can enable handles depends on several channel-specific factors, such as overall YouTube visibility, subscriber count, and channel activity.
Source: Youtube Official Blog
Halloween is already around the corner, and it will not be missed by social media platforms. In honor of Halloween, Snapchat makes it possible to try on various theme-appropriate outfits in the app. This, of course, is done with the help of the current hot topic, AR.
In addition to trying on the outfits, the user also has the opportunity to buy the outfit by clicking on the online store. The implementation has been done in cooperation with Disguise Costumes.
Trying on and buying outfits through Snapchat opened to users on October 11. The outfits are related to favorite TV series and movies, such as Squid Game and Stranger Things.
This is certainly one of the ways to increase engagement and, of course, e-commerce purchases, which has the potential to become more common in the near future.
Source: Tech Crunch
Monday, October 10, was World Mental Health Day. To support openness and increase the mental health conversation, TikTok announced new ways to support mental health, as well as a new study with market research company YouGov.
The study looks at people's opinions on mental health problems and what kind of support is available for them. Almost half of the respondents are open and willing to listen to others talk about mental well-being.
TikTok announced the new "Mental Well-Being Comes First" campaign, which aims to raise awareness of the importance of mental well-being and remove the stigma around mental health.
The campaign includes in-app interaction methods and features such as LIVEs, Effects, Stickers and Hashtags, such as: #MentalHealth, #SelfCare, #StressRelief and others.
Remember to take care of your mental well-being. 💙
Source: TikTok Newsroom
It's now possible to share still images on TikTok with its Photo Mode, a carousel format made just for static images. It is also possible for creators to include music in their posts in addition to still photos.
Using Photo Mode in the app is similar to using regular video mode. Using the same functionality as Instagram displays how the two social media giants continuously compete for users.
Source: TikTok News
With Twitter's new "Link Spotlight" feature, professional users of the app, such as businesses, will be able to add a button to their own profiles that will take the user to a URL. This helps, for example, to direct users to websites and therefore increases the possibility of conversions.
You can choose one of the following texts for the button: "Listen now," "See live," "Watch now," "Stream live," "Read now," "View menu," "Book an appointment" or "Make a reservation."
The new link tool is currently available for professional users in the US. We'll see if the feature spreads to other countries as well.
Source: Twitter
Meta’s metaverse-focused online event "Meta Connect" is now held and it’s time to take a closer look at the novel announcements.
Meta Quest Pro - a new set of advanced headsets with virtual reality and mixed reality features. The headphones have integrated sensors that can record facial expressions, which are transferred directly to the user's avatar.
The headset series is intended for collaboration, creativity and getting things done. It's not a cheap product, as a pair of headphones costs $1,499
Collaboration between Meta and Microsoft - Tech Giants are working together to take workplace tools into VR. Windows apps, Teams integration and Xbox Cloud Gaming will be available on Quest. In Quest, you can also use progressive web application versions of work tools such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook.
Meta Horizon Worlds development - Meta is developing the Meta Horizon Worlds network into a more social place. The goal is that the user can visit loved ones virtually. Meta Horizon World also works with the YouTube VR team. Meta Horizon Home will soon be a place to watch Youtube videos together.
Source: Meta News
In Microsoft Bing, in a couple of weeks you will be able to convert text into an image, as the AI image generator will be introduced in the search engine.
The image tool in question is based on DALL-E 2 technology, developed by OpenAI Microsoft announces that Image Creator can help search engine users when the desired image cannot be found - you can create the image yourself with the help of artificial intelligence in no time.
Only description text is written into the tool, based on which the artificial intelligence turns the text into an image. Image Creator will be introduced gradually, i.e. it will be displayed on a limited scale.
Anyone can try DALL-E 2 for free here . The image results may cause laughter and confusion, but the tool can really create amazingly beautiful and unique images.
Source: Microsoft Blog
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