Twitter receives goodbye as it nears its end

It’s become very often for reports about twitter to go viral. Many workers are making statements that the microblogging site is on the verge of disappearing. This evokes a feeling of bidding goodbye to Twitter among people. This has become the top topic of discussion on social media sites.

For a few weeks, the news was making the rounds that Twitter is firing employees. The microblogging site also received many resignations from its employees. Eventually, the company has become a skeleton organization. The functionalities have also ceased.

People already had a clue that Twitter might go off the table. Moreover, Musk’s impractical work demands bring fresh air to this news. Elon Musk demands its employees work for long hours and spend weekends in the office.

Reports surfaced that there are 75% of employees are choosing to resign. They chose to walk away with a three-month severance check. However, there are no tangible proofs to substantiate these statistics.

Other reports claim that the entire infrastructural team of the microblogging site has resigned. However, these infra-engineering teams are very crucial to the development and basic functioning of the company.

Many people feel that Twitter has come to an end. There are already people on social media sites who have started bidding farewell to Twitter. Even ex-twitter employees are twitting about the company’s departure. They are also, in a way posting goodbye messages to the microblogging site.

Read more: Twitter receives goodbye as it nears its end

Don’t fall for fake ownership requests for your Google Business Profile

Google Business Profiles can be claimed by the owner or business manager in Google Maps or in Google Search. When someone makes a claim for ownership of a Google Business Profile listing and if that business was already claimed by someone, the current owners will get an email asking if they approve or deny the new ownership request.

Increase in fake claims. According to some in the local SEO community, there has been an increase in the number of fraudulent requests to claim and take ownership of business listings. “I am seeing a ton of owner requests come in from hijackers, are you all seeing the same?” asked Ben Fisher.

Indeed, other local SEOs confirmed seeing similar in the forums. Here are just a couple of the responses:

• “I saw quite a few maybe 3 weeks ago (for a couple of weeks), but the requests have dramatically declined for me.”
• “Last week I got 5 scam requests from the same person! I am used to getting maybe 3 a month, but I too have noticed an increase recently.”

Be careful. So beware of such fake claims of ownership and make sure to validate that the person making the claim is a real owner or manager of the business. If you are unsure, it is better to decline the request than to accept it. If the wrong person gains access to your business listing, they can potentially remove your listing or change the website, phone number – or worse.

There is a lot of fraud online, especially with Google Search and Google Maps. So being on top of these scams are important so that you are less likely to become a victim of these scams. Stay on top of your business listings and make sure the information is up-to-date and accurate. And never give access to your Google Business Profile to anyone you do not know and trust.

Read more: Don’t fall for fake ownership requests for your Google Business Profile

YouTube just announced its 2023 class of #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund creators

Earlier this year, YouTube announced a new fund aimed at helping black creators find dedicated partner support, seed funding invested into the development of their channels, and the opportunity to participate in bespoke training, workshops and networking programs. This week they named the first 30 creators for the 2023 class.

Meet the class. One of the creators from the 2023 class is Jasmine Taylor from Baddies & Budgets. Taylor shares the highs and lows of becoming financially free as someone who grew up in poverty and wasn’t taught financial literacy.

Taylor teaches other women how to take control of their personal finances through tools and coaching. About being part of the new class or creators, Taylor said:

“This fund is going to open my business up to many opportunities. Exposure is everything and YouTube is amazing for enabling black creators to grow their platform. This experience will enable to further monetize and grow my business and brand. I’m so excited to get started. A major part of my brand is education and outreach, more channel exposure means that I can reach more women and in turn help more women to take control of their personal finances.”

Read more: YouTube just announced its 2023 class of #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund creators

Google’s formula for navigating economic uncertainty involves “doubling down”

Google’s formula for success requires a balance of doubling down on what’s working, and “placing calculated bets to unlock future growth.” The formula comes directly from Google’s best practices playbook.

1. Directly connect your marketing goals to real business outcomes

To maximize ROI, start with defining the value of different conversions based on what they’re really worth to your business. Setting the right goals helps you point Google Ads to place the right bids so you can get the most out of your campaign budgets.

Revisit your success metrics regularly to identify the most important conversions and drive the best performance possible.

2. Lay the measurement foundation that enables better performance

Google recommends three steps to unlock more accurate, privacy-centric measurements as third-party cookies and other identifiers are phased out:

1. Measure impact while preserving user trust: Set up sitewide tagging with the Google tag, and supplement it with enhanced conversions to collect consented, user-provided data. Rely on conversion modeling to learn from your first-party data and fill in conversion gaps when observable data isn’t available.
2. Understand what’s driving performance: Make better bidding decisions across channels by switching to data-driven attribution so you can assign conversion credit to multiple touchpoints that are the most incremental.
3. Get more actionable insights: Make sure you upgrade to Google Analytics 4.

3. Capture existing demand now and generate new demand for the future

To help fully optimize your Search campaigns, combine broad match keywords with Smart Bidding and responsive search ads. This helps you unlock incremental sources of conversions and ROI. Then, go beyond Search using Performance Max campaigns to multiply conversions across Google’s full range of advertising channels and inventory.

4. Evaluate and expand what’s working

Watch your optimization score and recommendations to identify ways to improve performance, and automatically apply the recommendations that matter most to your bottom line. Finally, check the Insights page frequently to discover performance and consumer trends that are uniquely customized to your business. 

Dig deeper. You can read the entire playbook here.

Read more: Google’s formula for navigating economic uncertainty involves “doubling down”

More news:

Is Google Search getting worse?

Google Analytics just introduced a new suggested audience

TikTok has launched an in-app eCommerce feature

Is Google Search getting worse?

Marissa Mayer, the former CEO of Yahoo, was Google’s 20th employee and the one-time leader of its search team, said Google is concerned about the declining quality of the web.

The comments were made on a recent Freakonomics podcast episode that looked at whether the quality of Google search has declined over the years. The episode also featured comments from former Google executives like Sridhar Ramaswamy, who was the head of its search advertising business and left in 2018, as well as Jeremy Stoppelman, the CEO of Yelp.

Issues with search. Some issues that Google is facing regarding search are about the declining quality of search results and the need to include search terms like “Reddit” in a query to find answers written by humans. Among the issues has been the increase of AI-generated pages, which are able to game Google’s algorithm to appear near the top of search results, even if the pages are of middling quality. Google has tried to combat the problem by updating its search algorithm and filtering out pages it deems “unhelpful.” 

What Google says. Mayer said, “I do think the quality of the Internet has taken a hit.” “When I started at Google, there were about 30 million web pages, so crawling them all and indexing them all was relatively straightforward. It sounds like a lot, but it’s small. Today, I think there was one point where Google had seen more than a trillion URLs.”

When asked if URL inflation was responsible for worse search results, Mayer responded:

• “When you see the quality of your search results go down, it’s natural to blame Google and be like, “Why are they worse?” To me, the more interesting and sophisticated thought is if you say, “Wait, but Google’s just a window onto the web. The real question is, why is the web getting worse?”  

Google’s solution. One way Google has tried to fight the overall decline in quality is by supplementing its index of a trillion web pages with some content of its own. If you ask a simple question about cooking or the age of some politician or actor, or even what’s the best podcast, you may see what Mayer calls an “inline result,” or what Google calls a “featured snippet.” It’s a bit of text that answers your question right there on the search results page, with no need to click on a link.

Read more: Is Google Search getting worse?

Walmart’s ad revenue increased 30% in Q3

Walmart released its Q3 earnings this week and things were looking up for the retail giant. Their advertising revenue grew about 30% since Q2.

On the earnings call, President and CEO Doug McMillon attributed the growth to “More items and sellers driving GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) and improving customer satisfaction.” He continued that success with advertising is “mutually reinforcing. If we double-click on advertising with Walmart Connect in the U.S., we see it’s benefiting from growth in e-commerce and from improvements made within the business itself. And we’ve seen strong growth in return on ad spend over last year.”

Walmart Connect. Connect is Walmart’s self-service ad platform that was recently announced. The platform allows retailers to create an account and upload their product SKUs to the Walmart platform, without the need to go through an approved vendor and wait three days for approval.

Read more: Walmart’s ad revenue increased 30% in Q3

New AdSense data protection laws coming to CA, CO, CT, and UT in 2023

New data protection laws, which apply to the collection and processing of personal information, will be coming into effect in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, and Utah in 2023.

According to an email sent to all AdSense admins and legal managers, starting January 1, 2023, we will supplement the existing Google Ads Data Processing Terms, Google Ads Controller-Controller Data Protection Terms, and Google Measurement Controller-Controller Data Protection Terms for these 5 new US State laws. No additional action is required to accept these terms if you’ve already agreed to the online data protection terms.

Ads and analytics only. This update relates to Google’s ads and analytics products. If you also use other Google products, such as Workspace or Cloud Identity, this email does not affect your use of those products.

Dig deeper. You can read more about the new laws here.

Why we care. If you’re an AdSense Manager or Admin living or advertising in California, Colorado, Connecticut, and Utah, be sure your account complies with all laws and regulations.

Read more: New AdSense data protection laws coming to CA, CO, CT, and UT in 2023

Security researchers reveal new Twitter feature

There are multiple changes Twitter might be bringing for users. The recent plan for the addition of a new Twitter feature is on board. Security researcher and reverse engineering blogger Jane Manchun Wong finds evidence for a new Twitter feature.

There are more changes that Wong talks about. She also claims that the details of new features got leaked. The first change that analysts talk about is the removal of the source field.

The Source field is not a very useful feature. It is the section beneath a tweet that gives information about the device used to post the tweet. The feature has no immediate use. However, it is a very small change but worth noting down.

The removal of this twitter feature reduces clutter. Twitter is also introducing a feature of E2EE. E2EE stands for End-to-end Encryption. This is an important feature from the point of view of security. The communication between two people will remain private, and no third party can access that.

This will ensure privacy in the message exchange system. In general, this will ensure more trust of people in the microblogging site. People more often raise this concern about introducing End-to-end encryption in the app.

This feature of End-to-end Encryption is already there in other messaging apps like Whatsapp and Telegram. Hence users will welcome this twitter feature.

The analysts also comment that this End-to-end Encryption will be coming to Twitter’s Direct Messaging service. In the past, Twitter received a lot of requests from users and analysts to bring the feature of End-to-end Encryption.

Although many analysts even raise questions about different concerns. There are concerns about the possibility of abuse. If users have more than one device, then there can be issues in using the updated system.

The third twitter feature is about cyberstalking. The feature also works to reduce cyberstalking and the publication of illegal videos that stalkers upload. This is a very good idea. The feature will help keep the creeps away.

Read more: Security researchers reveal new Twitter feature

More news:

Google Analytics just introduced a new suggested audience

TikTok has launched an in-app eCommerce feature

Google Ads Reach Planner now forecasts Video Action campaigns

Google Analytics just introduced a new suggested audience

The new suggested audience is called “7-day unnotified users.” These are app users who have not been reached via push notification.

GA4 suggested audiences. When you create a property in Analytics, you specify the industry category for your business. Based on those specifications, Analytics displays a number of preconfigured suggested audiences you can use that are based on the recommended events for those categories.

Google says, “Although you see only the suggestions relevant to your category, you can create any of these audiences if you find them appropriate to your business. You need to collect the events and parameters that form the basis of the audiences you want to use. You can modify these suggested audiences as necessary.”

Dig deeper. To see the full list of suggested audiences, you can view the Google Analytics Help Center here.

Why we care. Suggested audiences help advertisers easily add audience segments for the industry categories you use the most. Test different segments and most importantly, start setting up GA4 now before it sunsets in July 2023.

Read more: Google Analytics just introduced a new suggested audience

Google’s Panda algorithm evolved into the Coati algorithm

Did you know that the Google Panda algorithm from 2012 is no longer? Over the years it not only was incorporated into the core ranking algorithm but also at some point evolved into a new algorithm named after a new animal – Coati.

Hyung-Jin Kim, the VP of Google Search, told us this tidbit during our SMX Next keynote this morning. While this is not something actionable or something that necessarily matters today, I don’t believe anyone in the SEO industry ever heard that Panda evolved into Coati.

What is Google Coati? Kim told us that while Panda has been “consumed” into the larger core ranking algorithm, “Panda has been subsequently replaced by Coati.” Coati was a successor to Panda, he said Coati is an update to the Panda algorithm. 

As time evolved, so has Panda, Kim said, and it evolved to Coati. Coati is another black and white animal. 

Coati would not be considered a core update but Panda and Coati are part of the core ranking algorithm, Kim added. 

What is Panda? Google Panda was a major algorithm update that impacted search rankings for 11.8% of queries in the U.S. Google said Panda was designed to reduce the rankings for low-quality sites (“sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful”) and reward better rankings to high-quality sites (“sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on”).

Read more: Google’s Panda algorithm evolved into the Coati algorithm

Microsoft Video Ads Are Now Broadly Available

Following a pilot period that lasted over a year, video ads from Microsoft Advertising are now broadly available.

Video ads on the Microsoft Audience Network are now broadly available to augment existing search and image advertising campaigns.

Microsoft piloted video ads in September 2021 in select countries.

Over a year later, video ads are available to all Microsoft advertisers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand.

Video ads are served across the Microsoft Advertising Network in the countries mentioned above.

Microsoft video ads are targeted using intent data from Bing search, the Microsoft Edge Browser, LinkedIn, and users’ web activity.

In testing, Microsoft says adding video to search campaigns increased conversions by 50% compared to running a search campaign only.

Microsoft video ads can range from six seconds to two minutes, though the company advises that videos shorter than 30 seconds drive the most engagement.

The video aspect ratio can range from 16:9 (widescreen) to 9:16 (vertical).

Microsoft offers the following bidding options for video ads:

• Optimize for impressions: Bid per 1000 viewable impressions. An impression is counted when a viewer watches two seconds of continuous play.
• Optimize for views: Bid on a single video view. A view is counted when a person watches at least 15 seconds of video or clicks on the ad.
• Optimize for clicks: Bid per click on the video. A click is counted when the viewer lands on your website.

Read more: Microsoft Video Ads Are Now Broadly Available

Google Updates Review Snippet Structured Data

Google updated the review snippet structured data to recommend one form of writing numbers over another way that is popular worldwide.

Google updated the review snippet structured data to standardize how numbers are written within the structured data code for reviews.

The change has the effect of standardizing one version of writing numbers of decimals instead of another one that is fairly common in other countries.

Review Snippet Structured Data
The review snippet structured data is important for sites that feature product reviews because valid markup and reviews can result in a rich snippet result or a Knowledge Panel that can include stars and a snippet of the review.

Google’s documentation explains what a review snippet is:

“A review snippet is a short excerpt of a review or a rating from a review website, usually an average of the combined rating scores from many reviewers.

When Google finds valid reviews or ratings markup, we may show a rich snippet that includes stars and other summary info from reviews or ratings.

In addition to the text of the review, a rating is an evaluation described on a numeric scale (such as 1 to 5).”

Change to How Numbers Can Be Expressed
Google’s change to structured data affects how decimals are written.

In some countries, the currency may be expressed with commas to separate the main part of the number from the decimal or cents part.

For example, one hundred euros and twenty-five cents can be expressed in two ways.

Comma version: €100,25
Dot version: €100.25

Google is standardizing how decimals numbers are expressed within the structured data.

The change does not affect how it is written on the visible web page itself.

The review snippet structured data documentation itself remains nearly exactly the same.

There is a trivial change in one paragraph that doesn’t affect the meaning (removal of quotation marks).

Read more: Google Updates Review Snippet Structured Data

More news:

TikTok has launched an in-app eCommerce feature

Google Ads Reach Planner now forecasts Video Action campaigns

Apple could be building an ad network for live TV

TikTok has launched an in-app eCommerce feature

In addition to its most recent shopping features, TikTok has just launched TikTok Shop, where users can now make purchases directly through the app.

Availability. TikTok officially began testing in the U.S. this week. It was previously only available in the UK and seven countries in Southeast Asia.

Invite only. TikTok is currently inviting select U.S. businesses to participate in the initiative. That means live streamers from places where the feature is not live will need to continue directing shoppers to third-party websites.

What TikTok says. “We’ve seen the positive impact of TikTok Shop, and we’re excited to continue experimenting with this new commerce opportunity to support businesses of all sizes.” 

In other TikTok news. TikTok has released several new features and products this year, including:

• A look inside TikTok’s new automated Smart Performance Campaigns
• 3 TikTok LIVE features, updates, and policies
• TikTok has a new Focused View campaign objective
• TikTok releases Photo Mode and 7 new editing tools
• YouTube has introduced a TikTok and Twitch co-streaming feature

Why we care. The new feature is invite-only, but if the Shop feature becomes available to advertisers and brands globally, you should start testing it as an alternative way to promote your products.

Read more: TikTok has launched an in-app eCommerce feature

Senior Twitter Execs Resign – Bankruptcy Reportedly Isn’t Out Of The Question

Senior executives who are core to Twitter’s functioning resign. Musk reportedly says bankruptcy isn’t out of the question.

According to a tweet by a journalist for Platformer (@platformer), multiple senior level executives in charge of security, privacy and safety & integrity have all resigned from Twitter. Because their roles are core to Twitter’s functioning, the departures may raise questions of Twitter’s viability.

The senior executives are:

• Chief compliance officer Marianne Fogarty
• Chief information security officer Lea Kissner
• Global Head of Safety & Integrity Yoel Roth
• Chief privacy officer Damien Kieran

Yoel Roth – Global Head of Safety & Integrity

Yoel Roth, the now-former Global Head of Safety & Integrity led a team of data analysts, policy makers and threat investigators that was responsible for making Twitter safe from platform manipulation, artificial amplification of tweets, fake accounts, protecting election integrity, fighting spam and other threats to users and the platform.

An example of the important work carried out by his team was Twitter’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Within four days of the invasion, Twitter added labels to tweets that were promoting information from Russian media. They also took action to reduce the views of such accounts.

Chief Compliance Officer Marianne Fogarty

Marianne Fogarty was in charge of regulatory compliance.

The Federal Trade Commission recently fined Twitter $150 million dollars for asking users for private information to help keep accounts secure and then using that information to serve targeted advertising.

Chief Information Security Officer Lea Kissner

A chief information security officer is primarily in charge of website and company cyber security.

How Long Can Twitter Survive?

The departure of so many senior-level employees that are key to the successful day-to-day operation of Twitter may raise concerns in some about how long Twitter can continue as a functioning company.

The departure of so many key executives may cause some to conclude that Twitter is not heading in the right direction.

Read more: Senior Twitter Execs Resign – Bankruptcy Reportedly Isn’t Out Of The Question

New Netflix Ads Tier Comes With An Unpredictable Price

Netflix rolls out an ads tier subscription that’s over 50% lower than its standard subscription, though there are a few hidden price tags.

The opinions expressed within this story are solely the author’s and do not reflect the views and beliefs of Search Engine Journal or its affiliates.

With the looming economic challenges, consumers are scrounging everywhere to save money.

After receiving consumer pushback from raising its subscription prices, Netflix rolled out its newest tier: Basic with Ads, in November 2022.

The ads tier subscription is $6.99 per month – almost 55% lower per month than its Standard subscription.

While the monthly cost is lower for consumers, the newest tier comes with hidden price tags.

Unpredictable Ad Timing

In the new Netflix Basic with Ads tier, users can expect around 4-5 minutes of ads per hour.

How is this comparable to other Connected TV subscriptions?

While the amount of ad time per hour for Netflix is comparable to other streaming services, the lingering issue is when an ad will show. Ad timings are unpredictable, which interrupts the user experience.

The video content for ads is about what you expect compared to other streaming services. But the same issue is at hand – when will this show up in a user’s watching experience on Netflix?

Specific Titles Come With A Premium Price

The second nuance with Netflix Basic with Ads tier comes from what shows and movies are offered at this level.

Similar to the unpredictable ad experience, the available titles on the Basic tier seems extremely scattered without a rhyme or reason.

The restriction shouldn’t come as a surprise to users, as Netflix announced this back in July.

Titles that aren’t available for Basic users will show a red padlock, indicating that it is restricted.

The red padlock seems to be a passive “Call to Action” because users can click on the padlocked title, which takes them to an upgrade screen.

How Can Advertisers Forecast Connected TV Engagement?

Connected TV ads aren’t new to consumers. Brands spent over $400 million in ads on Hulu alone in 2021.

In economic uncertainty, consumers may be willing to sacrifice their viewing experience to include ads while trying to save money. But if the viewing experience dwindles, consumers may be less inclined to engage with Connected TV ads.

While it’s too early to tell about Netflix Basic with Ads, a common gripe from consumers on other streaming services is the lack of variety in ads.

Read more: New Netflix Ads Tier Comes With An Unpredictable Price

Rank drop might not be a consequence of mobile usability glitch

It seems that mobile usability is a big factor when it comes to the ranking of websites. The question arises when people notice a drop in the ranking of a medical website after a glitch in mobile usability.

In an SEO discussion on Reddit, Google’s John Mueller talks about a console warning about mobile usability. Following this, the medical website saw a fall in the rank of the website.

The analysts are taking the console warning of a ranking drop very seriously. This is because of the timing of the two events, which is concluding very apparent.

Read more: Rank drop might not be a consequence of mobile usability glitch

More news:

Google Ads Reach Planner now forecasts Video Action campaigns

Apple could be building an ad network for live TV

Meta earns MRC accreditation for content-level brand safety on Facebook

Google Ads Reach Planner now forecasts Video Action campaigns

Advertisers will now have the option to select “Action – Online Conversions” as a goal when setting up their plans in Reach Planner and can also add Video Action Campaigns to existing plans.

What is the Reach Planner? The Google Ads Reach Planner makes it easier for advertisers to plan for Conversions, Views, Reach, and Impressions-based metrics. It provides a forecast for how your media plan might perform, based on your desired audience, budget, and other settings such as geographic location and ad formats.

How it works. Google says that forecasts are modeled on trends in the ad market and the historical performance of similar campaigns run in the past.

Why we care. Advertisers using video will now be able to predict campaign performance using the new tool. This could be helpful for budgeting during the holiday season.

Read more: Google Ads Reach Planner now forecasts Video Action campaigns

YouTube has expanded its comment translations and smart replies

YouTube has just announced an expansion of its comment translation tools, as well as broader access to Smart Replies, its streamlined, template response option which allows fast replies on videos.

Comment translations. Last year YouTube announced the availability to comment translations within the app via a Google Translate integration.

YouTube said the feature became so popular that it has now added comment translations to Studio Mobile as well.

Smart Replies. The experiment, which provides comment suggestions and templated responses, is also being expanded.

Smart Replies have been available to some users for a while, but now, YouTube is making them available to all creators in the main app, while it’s also launching a new experiment of Smart Replies on Studio Mobile.

Why we care. The translation feature could make video interaction and engagement easier and more robust for viewers in different countries, and those who speak different languages. If you’re a creator, interacting with your viewers and receiving feedback is a great way to help grow your community.

Read more: YouTube has expanded its comment translations and smart replies

YouTube has launched a global Target frequency feature

YouTube now has a global Target frequency goal option for video campaigns. The new goal allows advertisers to select a frequency goal (up to four per week), which YouTube will optimize towards.

What YouTube says. “Now advertisers can select the frequency target and our systems will optimize towards maximum unique reach at the frequency goal. With our built-in capping, campaigns deliver within a tight distribution range so viewers don’t see the ads too many times. In fact, over 95% of Target frequency campaigns on YouTube successfully achieved their frequency goals when set up following recommended best practices. Not only do the campaigns deliver on their target frequency, but they drive brand impact as well.”

Early testing. YouTube tested this new goal with Triscuit, whose goal was to ensure that its brand stays top of mind with consumers.

According to YouTube, the brand set up a Video experiment to determine the incremental ad recall that a weekly frequency of two could deliver. The Target frequency campaign achieved a 93% higher absolute ad recall lift compared to the non-frequency optimized campaign, at a 40% cheaper cost per lifted user.

Also available in Ads Editor. Google also announced today that the new Target frequency goal was going to be supported in the new Ads Editor v2.2.

Dig deeper. Learn more about the new Frequency goal on the Google Ads & Commerce Blog.

Read more: YouTube has launched a global Target frequency feature

Most Of You Aren’t Leaving Twitter, Poll Results Show

As SEOs and marketers discuss leaving Twitter for other platforms, we asked what your plans are. You told us you’re not leaving.

CEO Elon Musk’s ongoing changes have many reconsidering their decision to use Twitter, with reports indicating the site may have lost over a million accounts since Musk took over.

We asked Search Engine Journal readers whether they’re joining the #LeaveTwitter movement. And, if so, where are they going?

Here’s what you told us.

Are You Leaving Twitter? – The Results

With 1,500 combined responses across LinkedIn and Twitter, a majority of you told us you’re not leaving Twitter.

On LinkedIn, 41% of poll respondents said they’re staying on Twitter.

A total of 34% of respondents have either left already or are planning to leave, while 25% aren’t sure whether they’re leaving.

Reader Comments

The responses in the comments section are split, to say the least.

A few of you are leaving Twitter to join Mastodon, which has reportedly seen a surge of new users since Musk took over.

Some of you are enthusiastic about staying on Twitter, while others are cautiously waiting to see how the situation unfolds.

Within the responses, we also learned several readers had just joined Twitter, and some left years ago.

Read more: Most Of You Aren’t Leaving Twitter, Poll Results Show

GA4 reports updated to allow customized metrics

Google Analytics 4 provided pre-determined dimensions for reports. It was a limited set, and companies had no choice in it. But each brand will measure its performance based on different metrics. These may be outside the generic group. So, Google has added more customization to GA4 reports.

This feature was only accessible through Universal Analytics. But now, you can add new variables when creating a report. It helps you find your business’s performance and which parts need improvements. For example, suppose you are a cosmetics company. You may want to know about YouTube influencers. You can analyze how many YouTube results are on the Google search page for your products. The GA4 update allows you to view this information.

The GA4 changelogs also state that they simplified the Metrics pickers. You can find it in Reports Builder with ease. It said that doing this enables faster and more efficient GA4 reports. For example, you can consider the word count of articles. It will help you know what length of articles your customers prefer. Thus, you can shift your marketing tactics.

Read more: GA4 reports updated to allow customized metrics

More news:

Apple could be building an ad network for live TV

Meta earns MRC accreditation for content-level brand safety on Facebook

Google Ads Performance Max New Features & Best Practices

Apple could be building an ad network for live TV

Apple is currently holding discussions with advertising partners and MLS sponsors with the plan to launch next February.

The push for more ad space. Apple has been pushing aggressively lately to generate more demand and ad space for advertisers.

• Four new Apple Search Ad placement options
• New Apple ad spots are coming by the end of the year
• Apple’s ad business may reach $6 billion by 2025

A deal with the MLS. Apple recently closed a 10-year deal to air MLS games in a new subscription service and Apple TV+ streaming platform. They will also stream a portion of games for free to users of the Apple TV app. They’ll offer three different tiers: the dedicated package, paid TV+ subscriptions, and the free TV app. 

The contract has been estimated to cost $250 million per season or $2.5 billion over the next decade. 

Why do we care? New ad space is a good thing for advertisers who may be struggling to find their place in a crowded ad landscape. Stay tuned for more information when Apple makes an official announcement.

Read more: Apple could be building an ad network for live TV

YouTube has introduced a TikTok and Twitch co-streaming feature

Creators can now co-stream live videos with their friends on Twitch and TikTok. The new YouTube feature is called Go Live Together, and it’s rolling out over the next couple of weeks.

Not new. The new feature is compared to TikTok’s multi-guest and Twitch’s Guest Stars. YouTube’s newest addition Go Live Together can only be accessed through the YouTube app, which all parties must have installed.

What’s included? Hosts who want to co-host with their friends must have at least 50 subs and a verified channel. Additionally, guests must have a channel with no strikes on it.

On Twitch and TikTok, co-hosting supports up to five guests, but with Go Live Together, only one guest can join.

Ads are allowed. YouTube’s co-hosted streams are allowed to run advertisements, but guests won’t see any of the revenue. The ads will head to the host, and the tandem stream won’t even show up on the guest’s channel. In the Creator Insider video, a YouTube rep admitted that visibility on guest channels is “so important to creators,” so that perk could arrive soon on Go Live Together.

Read more: YouTube has introduced a TikTok and Twitch co-streaming feature

YouTube Updates: More Search Insights, New Channel Page Layout

Recent YouTube updates for creators include an updated design for channel pages and access to search insights in more languages.

YouTube rolled out several updates this week, including expanding search insights to more languages and a new layout for channel pages.

YouTube Search Insight In More Languages
Introduced in November 2021, YouTube’s search insights surface information about popular queries, which can help creators make more content people are looking for.

Search insights let creators research what their audience is searching for and what viewers are searching for across YouTube.

Until now, search insights were only available in English with the ability to surface searches from viewers in the US, India, Canada, and the UK.

Now, YouTube is experimenting with making Search Insights on desktop available in more languages, including Japanese, Korean, and Hindi, with more languages coming in the future.

First, the navigation bar now sits below the channel information section.

YouTube Updates: More Search Insights, New Channel Page LayoutScreenshot from YouTube.com/CreatorInsider, November 2022.
Channel information will remain at the top as users click through different tabs.

In addition to making this information more convenient for users to access, this change makes the ‘Join’ and ‘Store’ buttons more visible, potentially boosting creator revenue.

Read more: YouTube Updates: More Search Insights, New Channel Page Layout

Substack Sets Its Sights On Twitter With New Chat Feature

The newsletter platform seeks to directly compete with Twitter following Musk acquisition.

Substack has launched Substack Chat, a discussion feature allowing authors to communicate with their audiences directly via a mobile app.

This move positions Substack as a direct competitor to Twitter, which is experiencing turmoil in the wake of Elon Musk’s acquisition and subsequent firing of top executives.

The release of Substack Chat comes just days after the company began openly targeting Twitter users.

Twitter has been a popular social media platform for content creators since its inception, but its recent takeover by Musk has many users uncertain about its future.

The company is allegedly undergoing internal strife as employees brace themselves for widespread layoffs. Additionally, employees claim to have been under additional pressure as Musk pushes the company toward a paid subscription model.

According to an article in The Verge, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO wants to raise the price of Twitter Blue from $4.99 per month to $19.99 per month.

In addition to giving users early access to features, the increased price will also include verification. According to reports, anyone who does not opt into the new subscription version will be stripped of their blue checkmark.

Twitter users and advertisers seem to be taking a wait-and-see approach to the platform, particularly regarding content moderation. This follows a 500% increase in tweets using racial slurs following Musk’s first weekend as the social media site’s owner.

Read more: Substack Sets Its Sights On Twitter With New Chat Feature

Strength of backlinks is going to fall, says Google

With time, the potential of backlinks is going to decrease, as per experts of Google. This prediction is for the future of backlinks from John Mueller, Google Search Advocate.

Google is concerned about unnatural link-building and discourages this from happening. The weight of backlinks will drop with the content starting to fit within the entire web’s context.

When it comes to link schemes, working on the backlinks might be a gray area often. So, in a podcast show, people wanted to know the major criteria of Google to penalize backlinks.

John Mueller’s answer was a bit different from the actual question. It is because the representatives of Google are careful about answering questions. It happens more when the matter is about penalty and ranking criteria. Answering too many questions about penalties may encourage “grey hat” behavior.

You must not worry about the penalties, as backlinks will not be valuable in the future. Google is becoming more adept at how the content aligns with the remaining web. Thus, the algorithm of Google will not need to depend on the inbound links.

Read more: Strength of backlinks is going to fall, says Google

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Meta earns MRC accreditation for content-level brand safety on Facebook

Google Ads Performance Max New Features & Best Practices

Google Ads podcast placement is now available

Meta earns MRC accreditation for content-level brand safety on Facebook

The Media Rating Council (MRC), has just given Facebook’s parent company Meta accreditation for their brand-safety efforts on Facebook In-Stream Video and Instant Articles in desktop, mobile web, and mobile in-app. 

This accreditation is of Meta’s Partner Monetization Policies, Content Monetization Policies, and associated content-level brand safety and suitability controls for the placements mentioned above.

What is the MRC? Meta says “The MRC is a nonprofit industry organization whose goal is to ensure metrics and measurement across the media industry are valid, reliable, and effective. The MRC also works with the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) in developing MRC’s industry standards around brand safety and suitability, which aim to ensure harmful content is not monetized.”

MRC requirements. Meta says they conducted in-depth preparation prior to the external audit, during which they provided data and evidence for the auditors to test their systems and conduct their assessment. Meta says that through the external audit, they demonstrated to the MRC that their processes and systems meet its rigorous requirements across several areas, including:

• Enforcement of Content and Partner Monetization Policies through machine learning and human review
• Quality assurance of business partners and performance measurement
• The controls made available to advertisers on the platforms
• Brand safety reporting and disclosures

Testing further brand suitability. Meta also announced in March that they were testing a content-based inventory filter for Facebook Feed and Instagram Feed. “We will continue to iterate on the brand safety and suitability solutions we make available to businesses and plan to extend the MRC audit to the content-based inventory filter controls for Feed once they are generally available,” Meta says.

Dig deeper. Read the announcement from Meta here.

Why we care. Normally Meta wouldn’t be at the top of my mind when I think of brand safety. But I think it deserves a little credit. In addition to the numerous safety measures implemented, they also reinstated their political ad restrictions for the week leading up to the general election, just like they did in 2020.

Meta seems to be working hard to regain its reputation. This is more than I can say for some other brands in the news this week. Meta may not be the most popular ad platform for advertisers anymore, but it’s climbing the ranks again as far as giving marketers more control over their brand safety options. 

Read more: Meta earns MRC accreditation for content-level brand safety on Facebook

Google adds a Google Lens button to the home page search box

Google has added the Google Lens button to the Google home page, by the search box. Google Lens allows you to search by uploading a photo to Google Search and then Google matches visually similar search results for you.

What it looks like. Here is a screenshot of the Google Lens button on the Google home page for desktop:

Mobile. Well, Google had the Google Lens button on mobile for a while but has now added it to the desktop Google.com home page.

Announcement. Google’s VP of Engineering, Rajan Patel, posted about this on Twitter. He wrote “The Google homepage doesn’t change often, but today it did. We’re always working to expand the kinds of questions you can ask and improve how we answer them. Now you can ask visual questions easily from your desktop.”

Read more: Google adds Google Lens button to home page search box

Tech-Giant Google explained alt text for buttons and logos

The alt text for buttons and logos has different execution compared to other types of pictures. Google has discussed the perfect way of doing it.

For button and logo alt text, there is no SEO value. The perfect alt text for buttons and logos may have long-run benefits for the website owners. It is also applicable to the users.

Images possess a functional need on web pages. There is no SEO reason to add the alt texts to the buttons. But the alt text for such images is there for accessibility purposes for the most part.

The best way of using the alt text on the images, such as logos, depends on some factors. It depends on if the image is a link or not a link. If the logo image serves as a link, you can label the image with the function it possesses. A logo functioning as a homepage link must have alt texts. It must tell the screen reader that the logo is a homepage page.

Read more: Tech-Giant Google explained alt text for buttons and logos

Elon Musk, at last, buys Twitter

Elon Musk recently completed his purchase of Twitter. The purchase came after a long struggle between Twitter officials and Elon Musk. The drama reached a point where the court had to involve itself. But, finally, Twitter got its new owner. He immediately fired the CEO, the CFO, and other executives.

The CEO of Twitter was Parag Agrawal. Ned Segal was the CFO of Twitter. Vijaya Gadde wathe the general counsel’s head of legal, policy, and trust. Vijaya Gadde was also entirely instrumental in making Twitter a safe place for everyone. However, she was one of the people who helped ban Donald Trump.

Elon Musk’s first few tweets after the deal are significant. He cleared that no major layoffs are coming. He also said something vital about advertising. Musk tweeted about the future of advertising to advertisers. He described his ideals about advertising that he likes. He even said that highly relevant ads could be a part of good content.

Elon Musk clarified his purchase by saying we need an open, free space. He said that humanity needs a platform to talk and debate openly. The platform can also complement Musk’s goal of making human interplanetary species. He said that social media is in grave danger because of political ideologies.

Elon Musk has a style of making fast, aggressive decisions. He came to the Twitter headquarters and fired the top executives. Many people say that this is the real Musk style. The general counsel also got fired. He was in charge of controlling free speech. Many people hailed this move, while some got scared.

Read more: Elon Musk, at last, buys Twitter

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Google Ads Performance Max New Features & Best Practices

Google Ads podcast placement is now available

Microsoft FY23 Q1: LinkedIn up 17%, search and news revenue up 11%

Google Ads Performance Max New Features & Best Practices

Google is upgrading Performance Max campaigns with a series of new features and offering best practices specific to promoting holiday sales.

Google is rolling out new features for Performance Max campaigns and sharing best practices to help marketers promote holiday sales more efficiently.

New Features For Google Ads Performance Max Campaigns

Compatibility With Performance Planner

Advertisers can now forecast the results of Performance Max campaigns with the Google Ads Performance Planner tool.

Performance Planner was previously available for Search, Shopping, Display, App, Video, and Local campaigns. Now it’s compatible with Performance Max.

Google states in an announcement:

“YOU CAN FORECAST HOW YOUR CAMPAIGN MAY PERFORM IN THE FUTURE AND SIMULATE WHAT COULD HAPPEN WHEN YOU ADJUST ELEMENTS LIKE YOUR CAMPAIGN BUDGET AND ROAS OR CPA TARGETS. ASSESS HOW CHANGES TO CAMPAIGNS COULD AFFECT KEY METRICS LIKE CONVERSION VALUE. PERFORMANCE PLANNER’S FORECASTS ARE ALSO ADJUSTED FOR SEASONAL EVENTS SO YOU CAN EXPLORE YOUR POTENTIAL HOLIDAY OPPORTUNITIES IN THE UPCOMING WEEKS.”

Asset Group Scheduling

Asset groups in Performance Max can now have automated rules. This allows you to schedule your campaign to utilize asset groups when needed.

With automated rules, you can set ads to run at specific times of the day. You can also schedule asset groups, such as preparing a set of holiday-themed assets ahead of a special sale.

More Headlines

Google is increasing the number of test headlines you can upload to Performance Max asset groups from five to 15.

Adding more headlines enables Google to test more combinations and find the ones that perform best.

Explanations For Online Sales Campaigns

Google is adding new explanations specific to Performance Max campaigns for online sales with a product feed.

When running a Performance Max campaign for an online sale, you may see explanations that offer an analysis of your product status and top sellers.

With this data, retailers can understand better which products had the most significant sales spike during the holiday shopping season.

First-Party Audience Insights

Advertisers can add data segments as audience signals in Performance Max campaigns, which helps Google find more customers who are likely to convert.

Data segments will be added to audience insights on the Insights page in the coming weeks. This allows you to learn more from the data you’re collecting firsthand and see which of your customer lists are converting best.

Read more: Google Ads Performance Max New Features & Best Practices

Google Pushes Universal Analytics 360 Sunset To 2024

Google is giving enterprise marketers more time to switch to GA4 by moving the sunset date of Universal Analytics 360 to 2024.

Google is pushing the sunset date of Universal Analytics 360 to 2024, giving enterprise users more time to transition to Google Analytics 4 (GA4).

The last day to switch from Universal Analytics 360 to GA4 is changing from October 1, 2023, to July 1, 2024.

For clarity, this refers to the enterprise version of Universal Analytics.

As announced earlier this year, Google is still planning to sunset standard Universal Analytics properties on July 1, 2023.

The extra time to switch from Universal Analytics 360 allows enterprise customers to transition smoothly. It also allows Google more time to develop GA4 into a product built for enterprises.

In an announcement, Google states:

“We’re focusing our efforts and investments on Google Analytics 4 to deliver a solution built to adapt to a changing ecosystem. Because of this, throughout 2023 we’ll be shifting support away from Universal Analytics 360 and will move our full focus to Google Analytics 4 in 2024.”

Read more: Google Pushes Universal Analytics 360 Sunset To 2024

The WordPress Community Isn’t Ready to Leave Twitter

Elon Musk bought Twitter a $44B deal that closed this week, tweeting “Let the good times roll,” on Friday after taking the helm. Musk fired top executives at the company and tweeted an appeal to Twitter’s advertisers to share his motivation in acquiring what is arguably the world’s most important social network:

“The reason I acquired Twitter is that it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence,” Musk said. “There is currently great danger that social media will splinter into far right-wing and far left-wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society.”

Musk also hinted at the importance of content moderation, saying “Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!” The company is forming a council to discuss content moderation, but nobody knows what that will mean for the future of Twitter.

While the WordPress community has many online gathering places – various Slack workspaces, P2 blogs, and Facebook groups – it has always been Twitter that served as the place for both casual interactions and breaking news. It is the de facto social network for those working in tech. There are many who only use the platform for keeping up with WordPress news and the community.

“There’s nowhere else to really go!” WordPress product designer Mike McAlister said. “WordPress people are pretty much exclusively on Twitter it seems.”

Read more: The WordPress Community Isn’t Ready to Leave Twitter

Google: Human Written Content Doesn’t Necessarily Make The Content Useful Or Helpful

Google’s John Mueller said on Twitter that just because a piece of content is written by a human, it does not make that content necessarily helpful and good content. Having a human write content won’t guarantee the content ranks well in Google Search.

John said, “Just because something is human-written doesn’t make it helpful & good content.” Instead, John suggested that you “focus on making things awesome, unique, compelling, that people recommend to friends – not just something that’s technically ok.”

“Google spam update is punishing a lot of human written content, I am sure this update must be very helpful for consumers out there, but for sure the update needs a lot of correction.”

“sounds to me that the update doesn’t care about ‘human-written’ or ‘AI-written’ as long as it’s awesome, unique, and compelling. There’s hope for AI yet.”

Read more: Google: Human Written Content Doesn’t Necessarily Make The Content Useful Or Helpful

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Google Ads podcast placement is now available

Microsoft FY23 Q1: LinkedIn up 17%, search and news revenue up 11%

Google October 2022 spam update done rolling out in less than 48 hours

Google Ads podcast placement is now available

Google advertisers can now advertise on podcasts.

Yep, announced today, “advertisers can now align their ads with podcast content globally. Simply create an audio or video campaign and select “Podcast” as a placement.”

Last month we reported on three new audio, shopping, and streaming features available to YouTube advertisers. Today advertisers can officially select “podcast” as their preferred placement.

Read more: Google Ads podcast placement is now available

Licensed healthcare providers eligible to apply for new YouTube product features

YouTube has just announced that licensed healthcare providers can now apply to make their channels eligible for new health product features – a suite of information resources released last year.

What this means. The health product features previously launched include health source information panels to help viewers identify videos from authoritative sources and health content shelves that highlight videos from these sources when you search for health topics, so people can more easily navigate and evaluate health information online.

Previously, those features have only been available to educational institutions, public health departments, hospitals, and government entities. The new guidelines will make the features available to a wider group of healthcare providers.

How to apply. Eligible healthcare providers can apply starting today using the guidelines below, taken directly from the YouTube blog announcement.

Applicants must have proof of their license, follow best practices for health information sharing as set out by the Council of Medical Specialty Societies, the National Academy of Medicine, and the World Health Organization, and have a channel in good standing on YouTube. Full details on eligibility requirements are here.

All channels that apply will be reviewed against these guidelines, and the license of the applying healthcare professional will be verified. In the coming months, eligible channels that have applied through this process will be given a health source information panel that identifies them as a licensed healthcare professional and their videos will appear in relevant search results on health content shelves. Health creators in the US can apply to start October 27th at health.youtube, and we’ll continue to expand availability to other markets and additional medical specialties in the future.

YouTube is trying to help people become more informed, engaged, and empowered about their health by attempting to create a space where they can find reliable, factual, and informative content from legitimate healthcare providers.

Read more: Licensed healthcare providers eligible to apply for new YouTube product features

Reddit is building an Ads API, first 4 partners announced

Reddit is working on a new Ads API and has just announced its first four alpha partners. The partners will be integrated into the API and are helping build solutions that will inevitably help advertisers build, scale, and optimize campaigns.

Who are the partners? The four partners involved in Reddit’s new venture are:

• Vidmob
• Sprinklr
• adMixt
• PMG

Who will benefit? Reddit’s API will benefit advertisers spending at scale, as well as self-serve advertisers who are using Reddit ads for the first time.

Release date. The API is still in development and there is no release date published at this time. Reddit says they are looking to “bring more strategic developers on board in the coming months.” 

What Reddit says. “We have long had the aspiration to build an ecosystem of partners via our API that enables more effective and efficient campaign management on our platform. The Reddit Ads API will allow a global, diverse set of partners and clients to access all the capabilities we have built and continue to develop to drive performance,” said Reddit COO, Jen Wong. “These foundational alpha partners represent some of the best and brightest across the industry in terms of innovation, creativity, and adtech. Having them join our developer ecosystem is tremendously exciting.”

Read more: Reddit is building an Ads API, first 4 partners announced

Meta’s Metaverse Division Loses $3.7 Billion In Q3

Meta continues to lose billions of dollars on its metaverse projects, posting a loss of $3.7 billion in Q3.

Meta’s Reality Labs division, overseeing augmented and virtual reality operations, lost $3.7 billion in Q3. Here are all the details from the latest earnings report.

The loss is due to the significant expenses Meta is racking up to bring CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse vision to life,

Meta’s year-to-date spending is double last year’s amount, and there’s still another quarter in 2022.

Several billion of that spending went toward Meta’s Reality Labs division, which only brought in $285 million in revenue.

Meta’s third quarter loss of $3.7 billion on Reality Labs is greater than its second-quarter loss of $2.8 billion.

However, the losses won’t end here, as Meta expects even more significant operating losses in 2023.

Meta’s investors have called on the company to reduce spending on metaverse projects, though Zuckerberg says it would be a “mistake” not to continue:

“A lot of people might disagree with this investment. But from what I can tell, I think that this is going to be a very important thing, and I think it would be a mistake for us to not focus on any of these areas, which I think are going to be fundamentally important to the future.”

Read more: Meta’s Metaverse Division Loses $3.7 Billion In Q3

Google’s bumper ad tool is now available

After some years of testing, Google is launching a bumper ad tool for creation for every advertiser. This tool also cuts off long videos to 6-second bumper ads. At present, it is available in a wide range.

This tool is called Bumper Machine. It also enables advertisers to make bumper ads for video-reach campaigns. However, it is now called the trim video tool. This ad-making tool helps advertisers in making the latest bumper ads. Trim Video makes use of Google Machine Learning to simplify the bumper ad creation process. It identifies the most crucial frames in long ads. It turns them into 6-second videos. Also, it possesses editing features allowing advertisers to modify the ultimate output.

The latest version of the ad tool came with improvements. It also includes an ML model that can facilitate an intuitive interface and select clips.

The ad tool is easy to operate. And it is for everyone, irrespective of your video editing experience. You need to paste a link to a YouTube video or get one from Google Ads Library. The tool is also going to make 4 different 6-seconds ads.

You can compare every auto-generated video. You can save the ones that you like. Also, you can edit them by choosing multiple clicks.

You can use the trim video tool via the asset library in the Google Ads Account. You can make use of a video from the Google Ads Library as well. But you need to choose a video between 7 to 140 seconds. It will not take more than a few seconds to generate a clip. After you have satisfied yourself, you can upload the videos with ease.

Read more: Google’s bumper ad tool is now available

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Microsoft FY23 Q1: LinkedIn up 17%, search and news revenue up 11%

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Microsoft FY23 Q1: LinkedIn up 17%, search and news revenue up 11%

Exceeding analyst expectations, LinkedIn revenue grew 17%, and search and news advertising revenues grew 16%. LinkedIn’s growth is thanks to strength in the talent solutions side of the business. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says there are now more than 150 million subscriptions to newsletters on LinkedIn.

Gaining an Edge. The search and advertising bump was “driven by higher search volume and Xandr.” Nadella says Microsoft has “expanded the geographies we serve by nearly 4x over the past year.” Microsoft Edge may also be helping out with Bing search and advertising revenues. “Edge is the fastest growing browser on Windows and continues to gain share as people use built-in coupon and price comparison features to save money,” says Nadella.

LinkedIn Marketing Solution continues to provide leading innovation and ROI in B2B digital advertising. More broadly, with Microsoft Advertising, we offer a trusted platform for any marketeer or advertiser looking to innovate. We’ve expanded the geographies we serve by nearly 4x over the past year. We are seeing record daily usage of Edge, Start, and Bing driven by Windows. Edge is the fastest-growing browser on Windows and continues to gain share as people use built-in coupon price comparison features to save money, Nadella said.

Not so fast – growth. Microsoft CFO Amy Hood told analysts during the earnings call that “reductions in customer advertising spend, which also weakened later in the quarter, impacted search in advertising and LinkedIn marketing solutions.”

Post-pandemic gaming. Xbox content services fell by 3% as Microsoft cites the lack of engagement hours and monetization from 1st party content, all of which was offset by the growth of Xbox Game Pass. It’s possible that post-pandemic, people are no longer sitting at home playing video games, but instead traveling and vacationing.

Overall revenue. Microsoft’s overall revenue came in at $50.1 billion, an increase of 11% YoY.

What’s next? Next month Netflix begins rolling out its paid ad tier with technology and sales supported by Microsoft.

Read more: Microsoft FY23 Q1: LinkedIn up 17%, search and news revenue up 11%

Google FY22 Q3 earnings: YouTube earnings down, ad revenue up, advertisers pulling back?

Google’s Q3 earnings were released today and for search, YouTube, and ads, it was a big “meh” across the board. Let’s take a look.

YouTube. YouTube earnings were down about 2% to $7.07 billion from $7.21 billion. To put that into perspective, analysts were expecting an increase of at least 3%. This is the first-ever decrease since Google began reporting

Missing the ad mark. Search ad sales grew 4% to $39.5 billion. Analysts had expected revenue of $41 billion. Google CFO Ruth Porat said that the modest growth was because of difficult comparisons to an unusually strong quarter a year earlier, a trend she said would continue in the fourth quarter.

Google also saw advertising pullbacks in the mortgage, loan, and crypto categories, says Philipp Schindler, CBO, Google.

New products and developments in Q3. In Google’s Search On event, a number of new products and features were unveiled including:

• Multisearch expansion. Multisearch lets you use your camera’s phone to search by an image, powered by Google Lens, and then add an additional text query on top of the image search. Google will then use both the image and the text query to show you visual search results.
• Search refinements. Google will present tappable words to build your query on the fly. This is a form of a query builder, by simply just tapping on words.
• Expanded visual information. Google will show you visual stories, short videos, tips, things to do and more, depending on the query. 
• Search with the word Shop. In the US, when you search for the word “shop” followed by the item you’re looking for, you’ll access the visual feed of products, tools, and inventory for that product.
• Shop in 3D. To give merchants and advertisers better access to 3D visuals, Google also launched a new automated 360-degree spin feature that can be accessed by using a “handful” of static photos. 
• Complex purchase buying guide. A new buying guide will share helpful insights about a category from a wide range of trusted resources.
• Personalized results. When you’re shopping on Google you can make your selections on preferred stores and brands to see more of those in the future. 

View the entire list of new shopping features announced at this year’s Search On event here.

Read more: Google FY22 Q3 earnings: YouTube earnings down, ad revenue up, advertisers pulling back?

Google Adds Music Genres As Placement Option For Video Ads

Google is updating video ad campaigns on YouTube with the ability to target people listening to a specific type of music.

Google is rolling out a new placement option for video ads that allow advertisers to target specific types of music on YouTube.

The new “Music Mood Lineups” placement is designed to help advertisers reach users when they’re in a positive mood, as a significant amount of people report music makes them happy.

In an announcement, Google states:

“Music is a deeply personal medium and often reflects the listeners’ state of mind. In fact, a new Ipsos survey commissioned by Google shows that 48% of people in the US say that they consume music to lift their mood and 84% say that music makes them very happy.”

Read more: Google Adds Music Genres As Placement Option For Video Ads

WordPress Accessibility Day 2022 Publishes Speaker Lineup

WordPress Accessibility Day is just one week away on November 2-3, and registration is still open. Co-lead organizer Amber Hinds published an impressive speaker lineup with 40 speakers from 14 countries. She also noted that 40% of the event’s sessions have at least one speaker who identifies as living with a disability.

WordPress professionals who want to learn more about creating accessible websites will want to attend, as the schedule is loaded with a wealth of educational presentations from well-known accessibility experts. Co-lead organizer Joe Dolson will start with opening remarks, followed by the keynote session from Nicolas Steenhout, an accessibility consultant and host of the A11y Rules Podcast.

Read more: WordPress Accessibility Day 2022 Publishes Speaker Lineup

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