Ep 179: Google's Top Factor in 🔍 Search Indexing!

#TWIMshow - This Week in Marketing

Episode 179 contains the important Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of Sep 18-22, 2023.

1. YouTube's New AI-Powered Tools! - YouTube is stepping up its game with a slew of innovative creator tools, including groundbreaking generative AI features. Unveiled at the "Made On" showcase event, the platform introduced the "Dream Screen" generative AI tool, allowing creators to integrate AI-generated video and image backgrounds into their YouTube Shorts. This tool aligns YouTube with the latest creative trends, matching efforts by platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram.

Additionally, YouTube is launching "YouTube Create," a free video editing app reminiscent of TikTok's CapCut. This app offers a suite of editing tools, including audio cleanup, auto captions in multiple languages, filters, transitions, and direct publishing options. Initially tested in India and Singapore, it's now expanding to more regions and is currently available for Android users.

To further fuel creativity, YouTube is introducing an AI ideas generator. By inputting a topic, creators receive content suggestions and even a downloadable content outline. While this tool offers inspiration, it's essential to use it as a guide rather than a strict blueprint to maintain originality.

Other notable features include an automatic dubbing tool for content translation and an assistive search in creator music. These tools aim to simplify the content creation process, allowing creators to focus on their unique vision.

2. Google's New Report To Spot Checkout Issues on 🛒 E-commerce Sites! - Google has introduced the "Checkout Journey Report" to assist brands in pinpointing checkout challenges on their e-commerce platforms. This report showcases the number and percentage of users who initiate and progress through the checkout stages. It adopts a closed funnel method, focusing on users who start at the 'begin checkout' phase. The report is instrumental in identifying and resolving bottlenecks, enhancing the shopping experience, and potentially boosting sales. To access this report, brands need to integrate specific e-commerce events into their platforms. Google emphasizes the value of this tool, stating it offers a "clear picture of the number and percentage of users" progressing through the checkout funnel. By identifying drop-offs, brands can address issues like high shipping costs or mandatory logins that may deter customers.


3. Google's GA4 Transition Shocker: What Advertisers Need to Know! - Google's recent automated transition from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) has taken many advertisers by surprise. Intended to simplify the shift to GA4, these automatic changes have instead led to confusion. Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin explained on X (formerly Twitter): “Some advertisers have noticed our system making changes to GA4 conversion actions in their Google Ads accounts. This is the conversion swapping piece of the Setup Assistant migration process with the turndown of Universal Analytics. With the turndown process taking some time, we understand that some advertisers may be caught off guard with these changes being made now and apologize for the confusion.” She explained that the changes aim to “map UA conversion to GA4 conversion settings for bidding & avoid duplicate measurement.”

According to a Google help page, not all Universal Analytics settings have a clear GA4 counterpart. Hence, the automated migration process might not consistently deliver the same choices that users would make. That’s why Google advises manually migrating your Universal Analytics settings to GA4 to maintain control over your configurations. Google reaffirmed that a new GA4 property will automatically be created if users do nothing, and Universal Analytics configurations will be copied to this new GA4 property.

If you didn’t opt out in time and don’t want your automatically configured GA4 property, then simply follow these steps:

1. Click on ‘Admin’ in your account.
2. Select your Universal Analytics property.
3. In the “Property” column, click GA4 Setup Assistant.
4. Click on “Disconnect” next to your “Connected property”.

You can check for any changes made to your GA4 property by going to the “Change History” section. Automatic migration changes will be marked as “System (Migration)” in the “Changed by” column.

4. Microsoft Advertising Announces Generative AI Tools For Advertisers - Microsoft Advertising has announced a range of new generative AI tools aimed at revolutionizing search and advertising. They are:

1. Compare and Decide Ads: A new ad format for Bing chat, allowing users to compare products based on their preferences. The new format will allow online shoppers to compare different products using criteria they find most valuable. Compare and Decide Ads will run across all verticals that have relevant feed data, including retail, travel and auto. Microsoft is planning to launch Compare and Decide Ads in close beta in early 2024.
2. Ads for Chat API: Partnerships with Snapchat and Axel Springer to integrate sponsored links and connect with millions of users. Snapchat’s My AI chatbot, which has been used by more than 150 million people worldwide, leverages the tech to serve Sponsored Links in relevant content and experiences that “feel natural to the content flow”. Microsoft has said it will continue evolving its API offering based on the feedback of its advertisers and partners. Looking to the future, the tech giant is planning to welcome more partners and support their chat experience needs.

Copilot for Microsoft Ads: Specifically designed for advertisers and agencies, Copilot is a new tool that leverages AI to generate recommendations for product images, headlines, and descriptions. To use it, simply describe the content you need, like an image, and Copilot will generate suggestions based on your description. Microsoft is currently testing the new tool on a handful of advertisers but plans to bring it to open beta in the next few months.

5. Microsoft Gives Websites More Control Over Content in Bing Chat - Microsoft has introduced new options for publishers to have more control over their content usage in Bing's AI-powered chatbot feature. This move comes after publishers expressed concerns about their content being used without permission in Bing Chat. To address these concerns, Microsoft now allows webmasters to use meta tags like "nocache" and "noarchive" to limit or block content in Bing Chat. However, it's important to note that content blocked from Bing Chat will still be visible in regular Bing search results. Fabrice Canel, Principal Program Manager at Microsoft, emphasized that the company is committed to maintaining open communication with publishers and ensuring that they have control over their content.

6. Wix Integrates with IndexNow for Lightning-Fast Updates! - IndexNow offers a method for website owners to promptly inform search engines about content modifications. IndexNow was covered in Episode#90 after it was released by Microsoft to make it easier for a WordPress site to automate the submission of URLs from WordPress sites to the multiple search engines without the need to register and verify your site with them.

Now Wix, a widely-used website publishing platform, has integrated IndexNow, a Microsoft-backed indexing initiative. This significant update means that over 60 million Wix websites can now swiftly update their content changes in search engine results. Users don't need to take any action as this feature i...