Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly digital marketing news roundups, where our expert team brings you the latest exciting developments in the world of digital marketing. This week, we explore how consumer confidence has reached a two-year high after a “surprise” boost, and much more
Let’s dive into some of the latest and exciting updates and news from the marketing world…
Table of Contents
Consumer confidence reaches two-year high after ‘surprise’ boost
Consumer confidence is inching up, with optimism slowly returning despite concerns over the cost of living, interest rates and the general economy raging on. All five measures that make up GfK’s monthly Consumer Confidence Barometer increased in January, with the overall index score increasing by three points. While still in negative territory at -19, it is the highest score since January 2022. Notably, people’s view of their personal finances over the coming year came out of minus figures for the first time in 24 consecutive months, increasing two points to zero. Read more here:
Google Ads launches Gemini-powered campaign creation tool
Google is expanding access to Gemini-powered search ads to more advertisers. Gemini is Google’s automated ad placement system. This move is part of Google’s efforts to make its search ad features more widely available. The article emphasises that the expansion of Gemini-powered search ads aims to enhance automation and targeting capabilities for advertisers, providing them with a more efficient and effective advertising solution on the Google platform. Read more here:
Google’s SEO starter guide updates: Branding in, keywords out
Google is working on updating their SEO starter guide to remove outdated advice, simplify and debunk common SEO myths to better serve beginners just starting out in their SEO careers. This includes meta keywords potentially being removed from the guide altogether, but if not being deemed minimally influential, as well as more up-to-date advice to optimise domain names for branding as opposed to keyword optimisation. Read more here:
Why Google SGE is stuck in Google Labs and what’s next
Google’s SGE has remained only available in Google Labs as an experiment for a limited number of countries, despite being set to expire at the end of 2023 to roll out. The experiment was quietly extended which seems to keep up to Google’s history of preferring to integrate AI in the background. Google have seemingly chosen to do this due to several issues with LLMs being unable to stay up to date as new data is continuously added, which affects the accuracy of what they could serve in purely AI generated search results. Whilst AI is proving effective as a back-end tool, Google’s decision to keep SGE in Google Labs suggests it is not ready to serve in the foreground of a search engine, as is supported by Microsoft’s experience of launching their AI search engine which failed to cause users to abandon Google for Bing. Read more here:
Reddit’s March IPO could buoy its ads business – but ‘it’s a tightrope walk,’ experts say
There has been much discussion around Reddit’s imminent IPO scheduled for March and its potential influence on the platform’s advertising sector. Analysts posit that the IPO might enhance Reddit’s advertising domain, but it also poses challenges. Reddit must find a harmonious equilibrium between revenue initiatives and preserving the genuineness and involvement of its user community. The focus is on the pivotal role of Reddit’s advertising approach in successfully managing this delicate balancing act, leveraging the IPO’s momentum while safeguarding the platform’s distinct community-oriented essence. Read more here:
Marketing playbook: Breaking down industry trends to follow in 2024
Even as ad spending trends in a positive direction and setbacks spurred by the pandemic recede into the rear-view, marketers will face several challenges in 2024 while being buoyed by a raft of opportunities to engage with beleaguered consumers. Brands seeking to make emotional appeals after focusing on performance marketing for years will have to navigate an increasingly fraught socio-political landscape that is likely to intensify as the 2024 presidential election gets closer. With Google’s plan to enact the death of the cookie in effect and the hype around generative artificial intelligence showing no signs of slowing down, areas of growing marketing investment — including retail media networks, connected TV and the creator economy — could be impacted. Read more here:
If you’re looking for some expert advice on how to keep your digital marketing strategies up to date and follow the trends in a rapidly moving market – get in touch with us. Our team of experts will be more than willing to discuss your requirements and offer their knowledge – just fire over an email to team@modo25.com and we’ll get back to you.
