Category: Google
-
Online Ad Campaign Bill would require more disclosures for digital ads
It’s been a long time coming. Television and radio stations have had to live up to often onerous regulations on political advertising. From requiring identification on funding, how large and prominent certain disclosures are, and maintaining online political files showing who bought what, where it ran, and how much they…
-
One of the creators of Google News calls the search site “shameful and irresponsible” in spreading fake news
Google’s already under fire for its role in spreading “Fake News.” Now, one of the engineers who helped create Google News had quite a bit to say about the search site and it wasn’t flattering. Krishna Bharat helped lead the team the creation team, but posted to Facebook that Google…
-
Apple ditches Bing for Google search
In 2014, Apple dropped Google for its search and switched to Bing for iOS and Mac. Now, it’s dumping Bing and going back to Google. The same goes for Siri as well. “Switching to Google as the web search provider for Siri, Search within iOS and Spotlight on Mac will allow these…
-
Dominating Digital Ad Revenue: Google, Facebook, Amazon, and … ?
Amazon has gotten a lot of attention lately for its move into the advertising sales space, but another online retailer is making moves as well. Wal-Mart is now in the advertising business. Both companies have a dizzying array of consumer information in their databases to target consumers. Wal-Mart is positioned…
-
How to check if your website violates new Google Chrome “Annoying Ads” filter
Google recently announced its going to penalize websites that have poor ad experiences in its upcoming update to the Chrome browser. Starting next year, Chrome will block sites with “annoying ads” in search results. If you think because you’re a name brand publisher, you’ll be exempt, think again. Google has…
-
Facebook to punish slow loading websites
Here’s another reason to make sure your website loads quickly. Facebook will give priority placement to sites that load fast. “…we’ll soon take into account the estimated load time of a webpage that someone clicks to from any link in News Feed on the mobile app. Factors such as the…
-
If Programmatic Ad Buying is the future, why are advertisers not buying it?
We’ve heard so much about “Programmatic Ad Buying” in the past two years, it’s almost become a joke around our place. Everybody tells us it’s coming and we’d better be ready. If you’ve ever bought a self-serve Google ad or a Facebook ad, that’s really the kind of thing we…
-
FCC signals rollback on net neutrality rules; Nearly 11 million comments filed
Before the Federal Communications Commission takes action, it puts out proposals and asks for public comments. When it comes to net neutrality rules, the public commented big time. Nearly 11 million comments have been filed. There’s no question the issue is a lightning rod. In 2015, the FCC voted in…
-
Get early access to Google beta projects
Google techs are expected to spend a portion of their time working on special projects outside their job area. Inside the company, they call it “Area 120.” It’s an incubator for experimental projects well before they are ready for release. Prior Area 120 projects included Google Maps, AdSense, and even…
-
For every second it takes your mobile site to load, conversions drop by 20%
Use this free Google test tool to see how your site stacks up Google has updated its tool to test your website load speed to show you how many visitors you lose because it takes so long to load. 46% of people say the worst part of mobile browsing on…
-
Google says no to pop-up and pop-under ads
Google has taken another positive step in trying to help reign in the mess of annoying ads on website. Google will no longer permit placing pop-up or pop-under ads, the company declared in a blog post. They also won’t allow the use of any Google ads on sites that contain…
-
News organizations ask Congress for authority to collectively bargain with Google, Facebook
The New Media Alliance represent almost 2,000 news organizations, primarily newspapers. This week, the organization starting asking Congress for some help in taking on the big internet companies. Call it a pre-emptive strike for collective bargaining with Google and Facebook. It’s no secret that Goo-book dominates digital advertising. In the…
-
Canada’s Supreme Court rules Google must block some search content worldwide
Can one country really tell Google what it can and can’t show in its search results for the rest of the world? Read on. Canada’s Supreme Court made a startling ruling that has broad-reaching impact around the world. In a 7-2 ruling, the court decided to grant an injunction preventing…
-
Gmail will no longer scan your email and target ads
Did you even know that Google was scanning your Gmail messages and then targeted advertising to you based on the contents? They were. Now, Google says they won’t do it anymore. Well, kind of. They’ll still scan and use the info, but just not serve ads.
-
Is the advertiser boycott of YouTube over?
Money talks. Most of the advertisers boycotting YouTube are back in the advertising tent, according to Digiday. MediaRadar said General Motors, Johnson & Johnson, AT&T, Verizon, and Walmart have ads running on YouTube right now. Major brands pulled their ads from YouTube after worries about brand security and where their…
-
Instagram growth is exploding
ICYMI, Instagram growth has exploded. It’s now exceeded 700 million active users monthly. The growth rate itself is incredible, adding more than 100 million users already this year. The growth has come at the expense of SnapChat, which has seen growth slow down some 82% since Instagram launched Stories –…
-
Despite a year warning, publishers and ad creators aren’t ready for Flash ad end dates
The Interactive Advertising Bureau advocated for an end to Flash video ads by July 2017. Instead, it wants advertisers to use HTML5. Google jumped into the fray by stopping accepting Flash ads as of April and announcing an end to grandfathered Flash ads this July. So, with two months to…
-
Game Changer: Google confirms built-in ad blocker coming to its Chrome browser
It’s been rumored for a while, but now Google confirms it will update its Chrome browser to include an ad blocker. If your site has what Google terms “unacceptable ads,” it’s going to block all the advertisements on your site. The list of what is unacceptable will include pop-ups, videos…
-
Website video might hurt, but won’t help Google ranking
Adding videos to your website may be a great idea, but it won’t help your site rank better on Google. “Having a video on your page will absolutely not help you rank better in web search,” said Google’s Gary Illyes in response to a Twitter discussion. Having a video…
-
It’s over: Mobile has won
We passed the tipping point in 2014. Since then, the use of mobile has exploded. If you’re still focusing on your desktop website first, you’re way behind. 71% of web traffic in the United States is mobile, according to ComScore. Mobile usage is larger than desktop in almost every country.…
-
The AdWords Illusion: Forget the sales funnel
I’ve written before about the problem with using “last-click attribution” as a key metric for deciding where and how to place your advertising. Who gets credit for driving customers? The last thing they visited. Many marketers are just counting the click and forgetting about all the other marketing it took…
-
Ranking in Local Search: Location is the top factor
What’s that saying about real estate? Location, location, location. It appears the same can be said about what it takes to be listed in the local listings on Google. With the big shift to mobile occurring over the past year, it’s no surprise that the biggest signal Google looks for…
-
Self-serve Snap Ads coming to Snapchat
Snapchat is about to launch a self-service ad platform. Digiday reports the interface will allow you to do Snap ads. Snap ads are full-screen videos (vertical) that show up between stories. Previously, you had to buy these through a Snapchat ad partner that would manage the process. That left a…
-
Is Google getting ready to launch its own ad blocker?
The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is readying its own ad-blocker as part of its Chrome browser. Chrome is the undisputed most used browser in the world with a market share north of 41%. The ad blocker would be added to both mobile and desktop versions, per the report,…
-
Facebook adds a rocket to its lineup
You may have noticed a little rocket icon pop up on your mobile version of Facebook. Tap it and it will take you to alternative news feed. No, not “alternative facts,” but an algorithmic design feed of content similar to what you interact with on your regular feed, but…
-
Social Media sites under increasing pressure to police themselves – or risk huge fines and prosecution
It’s not just advertisers putting increasing pressure on social networks and platforms that share user-generated content. In Germany, the government is considered legislation that would fine Facebook, Twitter and the like fines of tens of millions of dollars for failing to remove hate speech quickly enough. In the UK,…
-
Website hacking on the rise – check out the new things hackers are doing
Google reports an increase in the number of hacked sites. They estimate that there were roughly 32% more hacked sites in 2016 compared to 2015. “We don’t expect this trend to slow down,” Google said in a recent post. “As hackers get more aggressive and more sites become outdated,…
-
Should Google & Facebook be regulated, pay license fees for news content?
The British government has officially opened an inquiry into “fake news.” Damian Collins MP, Chair of the Committee investigating, summed it up: “The growing phenomenon of fake news is a threat to democracy and undermines confidence in the media in general.” Now British publishers have responded. The newspaper group News Media…
-
Google ad changes hurt organic search
When Google announced expanding text ads in April allowing publishers more characters to use in text ads, it claimed it could lead to up to a 20% increase in CTR (click-through-rates) for advertisers. So how did it do?
-
Are voice-enabled devices a threat to Google’s ad revenue?
Voice-enabled apps and devices seem to be the next big thing. It was the clear star-of-the-show at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in December. But using voice to do searches may reveal a vulnerability for Alphabet (aka Google). While its Google Home device may compete in the market, it —…
-
At what point does new technology become mainstream?
Commercial mobile telephones were actually invented in 1949 by AT&T, but it wasn’t until the early 70’s that phones were truly mobile – not tethered to vehicles. I remember when neighbor kids would want to ride in my car so they could call Mom at home and tell her where…
-
Can one country tell the world what it can and can’t see online?
That’s what’s being examined by Canada’s Supreme Court as it looks at a court decision that ordered the censorship of content on Google even outside the country’s borders. Google appealed, as you can expect, and the SupCo is hearing the case now. It stems from a Canadian company (Equustek) that…
-
Google Maps renames “Trump Tower” in NYC as “Dump Tower”
If you googled “Trump Tower” for a while this weekend, you’d find this… Instead of this… Yup, somebody re-named Trump Tower as Dump Tower on Google Maps.
-
YouTube struggling to get paid subscribers
You really have to wonder about that whole “give it away for free and then later we’ll charge for it” model. Here’s yet another example: YouTube is the world’s largest video streaming service and streams more music than anyone else. It’s been free from inception, but YouTube has been touting…
-
Google News adds Fact Checking to top stories
In the world of social media and online aggregation, the one thing that is most rare is truth. Every day I come across stories and posts that stretch the truth or obliterate it completely. I believe it’s a big part of why the trust in media in general has plummeted…
-
Vast majority of search is mobile
How are people searching for your content or business? These days, it’s all about mobile. Hitwise says that about 58% of all search is done on mobile devices. They came to that conclusion by analyzing 100s of millions of online searches during April and May, 2016. For news and sports…
-
Google unveils new “mobile stress test:” how does your mobile site stack up?
By now, I’m sure you know that most traffic to websites is happening on mobile. Months ago, Google started “punishing” websites that weren’t optimized for mobile by pushing them down in the rankings and search results. Those that met the standard were rewarded, including better placement on mobile searches and…
-
Google is tracking you on 70% of all websites: How you can opt-out of tracking cookies
I thought it was creepy enough when I noticed Google had pulled information from my email (via Gmail) and displayed it when I searched on Google. Like when I bought airline tickets and got the confirmation through Gmail… and then noticed when I searched Google, it displayed the flight information…
Paul Dughi.com 