In this week’s digital news, Google Discover is coming to desktop search. Google Search Console’s new Merchant Opportunities Report lets retailers manage payment methods, ratings, and shipping policies.
Google’s PMax updates include retention goals for lapsed customers, acquisition cost reporting, and automated image enhancements. A new partnership with Uber enables CPG brands to extend campaigns across both platforms and reach millions of high-intent grocery shoppers in the U.S.
AI may be the buzzword of the moment but, the path to adoption remains anything but straightforward. 78% of small businesses have no formal crisis communications plan.
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Google confirms Discover coming to desktop search
Google have announced plans to bring Discover to desktop search at their recent Google Search Central Live event. Google Discover is a feed that shows content to users based on their search history and interests, which reflects Google’s current shift from just answering queries to actively suggesting content. Despite the exact rollout date being unknown, publishers should start preparing for this change to mitigate traffic changes from the roll out.
Whilst you don’t need any special markup to appear in Discover, you should ensure you’re following good best practices:
- Creating quality content that matches user interests
- Using good quality, large images (at least 1200px wide)
- Writing honest titles that accurately describe content
- No using misleading previews to trick people into clicking
- Focusing on timely, unique content that tells stories well
Read more here.
Google Search Console gets new Merchant Opportunities Report
Google have enhanced their Search Console Shopping Report and renamed this to the Merchant Opportunities Report, to reflect the added features. The updated report has new features that allow you to manage payment methods, store ratings and shipping/return policies to improve your visibility and appearance in Google Shopping. The feature updates take different amounts of times to pull through, with shipping details being automatically approved, return policies requiring a manual review which can take 10-13 days and store ratings needing at least 100 reviews before they’ll show in ads.
Read more here.
Google Performance Max gets new customer goals, image controls
Google Ads introduced customer lifecycle features in Performance Max, which will let you bid more aggressively for lapsed customers and track acquisition costs more precisely. PMax is also getting new image tools to boost creative flexibility.
Read more here.
Uber Advertising partners with Instacart to expand CPG reach
Uber Advertising will integrate Instacart’s Carrot Ads solution to extend the reach of Uber Eats’ Sponsored Items to more Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) advertisers in the U.S. market. Starting this month, CPG advertisers can create campaigns through Instacart Ads Manager that will automatically extend across both Instacart’s ecosystem and the Uber Eats marketplace, reaching millions of high-intent grocery shoppers.
Read more here.
The biggest concerns holding back marketers’ adoption of AI
AI may be the buzzword of the moment but, for many of the world’s major marketers, the path to adoption remains anything but straightforward. Legal roadblocks are the number one kind of challenge to scaling AI right now. Advertising agencies have been aggressively building their AI offerings to convince clients that they can take all of this stress away from them and allow them to merely enjoy the ‘faster, better, cheaper’ benefits the tools will supposedly bring.
Read more here.
78% Of small businesses lack crisis PR plan
78% of small businesses have no formal crisis communications plan. Only 14% said they have a comprehensive crisis plan with regular updates and team training. And 8% said they have a formal crisis communication plan written, but not regularly updated. It’s always advised, no matter the size of the business, to have some sort of PR plan in place. A crisis plan remains a bedrock of any business plan, and that the benefits far outweigh the costs.
Read more here.
For more information on any of these stories, or for support with your digital marketing. Get in touch with our team of digital specialists. If you’re looking for an improved results with your PMax campaigns using PPC or for long term SEO strategies. Send us an email to team@modo25.com
