WDA Digital Marketing Round-Up: 1st – 7th Feb

Main Image of WDA Digital Marketing Round-Up: 1st – 7th Feb

Missed the important digital marketing news and updates from last week? We’ve got you covered with the WDA Digital Marketing Round-Up. This week, news includes Search Console Discover Report getting updated, Instagram Reels and Facebook Watch test, Vertical Instagram Stories feed, Merchant Centre clamping down on pricing inaccuracies and much more.

Let’s delve into it…

Google

Search Console’s Discover Report Updated: The Discover report, available within Google Search Console under the “Performance” section, has been updated to include data from the Chrome browser. Before the update, the report would just show data from the mobile Google app. This is likely to appear gradually within the report over the coming months.

Search Results Page to Show More Domain Info: Google is starting to show more details about domains in search results to help searchers better understand where information is coming from without having to search again. It’s been added as a three-dot icon at the top right of snippet results.

Inaccurate Pricing Being Clamped Down On: Not having the correct pricing in your Merchant feed is being clamped down on. In a couple of months, it could see your business get a warning, following which you’ll get 28 days to resolve or your account will get suspended.

Google said… “Consistent and accurate pricing is one of the most important factors shoppers take into considerations when making a purchase. If the product’s price at checkout is higher than the price shown in an ad, free product listing, or on a product landing page, shoppers are more likely to abandon the purchase.”

This increased enforcement will come into effect on the 6th of April.

YouTube Data No Longer Collected in Google Analytics: Google has stated that new data from YouTube channels will no longer be collected within Goole Analytics. I guess this only makes sense with YouTube’s comprehensive Analytics built-in. This came into effect on the 1st of Feb but historical data will remain accessible.

Modified Broad Match in Google AdWords Getting Phased Out: Modified broad match has been a mainstay within Google Ads for a long time now but with phrase match taking over, it’s going to be phased out. The change will roll out in a couple of weeks and instead, phrase match will now cover any queries that would have triggered ads with broad match modified terms. Google notes it will “continue to respect word order when it’s important to meaning.”

Facebook/Instagram

Instagram “Recently Deleted” Folder: Instagram has added a “Recently Deleted” folder for removed content on the app. Users can access the content, review and restore it if they would like to or permanently delete it – almost acting like the Windows Recycle Bin! What’s important to note though is that items in this folder which can include feed posts, stories, reels and direct messages will be removed after 30 days and any stories will automatically be removed from the folder after 24 hours from being first published.

Instagram Reels Could Soon Be Shareable to Facebook Watch: Back in December last year, the social media giant started testing a new feature – enabling creators of Reels on Instagram to share them to their Facebook feed and Watch – massively increasing reach. They look to be advancing this further with their latest test which lets Facebook recommend your Reels in the News Feed and Watch to help grow your audience.

Instagram TikTok Style Story Feed: Several platforms have already looked at adding TikTok-style social media feeds of short video clips, including Snapchat with Spotlight. Instagram has recently confirmed that they’re internally testing “Vertical Stories”, offering similar functionality to TikTok – allowing users to browse Stories on the app by swiping up or down.

WDA’s Highlight of the Week

Our highlight from this week’s WDA Marketing Round-Up is the latest Instagram Reels test. As we discussed in our recent digital marketing trends article, short-form video content and content on the go is only going to continue to increase in popularity. Brands should be taking advantage of this on platforms like TikTok and Reels and anything that can have a positive impact on reach and brand exposure is a big plus.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the WDA Digital Marketing Round-Up podcast to get this in audio form. It’s available on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts and more. Also, be sure to follow us on Social Media to stay on-trend and stay ahead of the competition.

Did you enjoy this article?

Get our news insights delivered directly to your inbox every month. No SPAM, we promise.

    Leave a reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Ready to propel your business to a higher level?

    The exploration to propelling your business to a higher level starts by calling us on 01332 372 728 or by completing your details on our contact form.