August Invelity news

Change is life. August brought several changes to the online world, and they are certainly changes for the better. At least when it comes to scheduling posts on Instagram, practical "prompters" on Heureka or a clear map of accounts in Google Ads. Read more in our regular post.

1) Google

Dynamic ads in Gmail discontinued

From the end of September advertisers will no longer be able to run dynamic ads through Gmail campaigns in Google Ads. The dynamic feed will be removed automatically from currently active campaigns. Should advertisers want to use responsive ads with feed products in Gmail, it will be possible only through a responsive display ad or a smart display ad.

The end of the "average position" metric at Google

At the start of September Google removed every marketer's beloved metric, average position, from the ad system. Following the change it recommends using metrics such as impression rate at the top (Top position) or impression rate at the absolute top (Absolute Top). Although many PPC hands worked with the average position metric routinely and it was often part of monthly reporting, it was not an entirely precise measure. Since it was derived from the ordering of paid ads, there was no way of knowing whether position 1 meant the top or the bottom block. The new metrics replacing it should be far more precise.

A new account overview in Google Ads

For better, more effective management of several accounts, Google has introduced a new, clear account map through which you can quickly and easily visualise the account structure and view the performance of individual sub-accounts, or move to those sub-accounts. This addition from Google will also help you identify which accounts share labels, attribution models, managers or configured conversions.

2) SEO

More than 50% of searches end without a click on a result

The latest study showed that more than 50% of searches end without a click on a result. That covers paid and unpaid results alike. One of the main reasons is the way Google displays results. If someone has a question, Google tries to answer it as well as it can. Even at the cost of "lifting" other sites' content. Often, once you type a question into the search box, an immediate answer appears. So you have no need to look further. Sites should therefore keep strengthening their positions, or give more room to social media, through which they can "raise" their own audience.

Google adds the option of playing a podcast directly in the search results

This is good news above all for producers of audio content. Google has "honed" the technology for capturing sound as well as possible, telling content apart and indexing spoken words. It is evidence of Google's growing support for voice search.

Google introduces a new algorithm to track data freshness better

This change mainly concerns sites carrying current content — news, information about this year's public holidays, laws, food information and so on. The search engine wants to provide the most current and most accurate information in real time. Sites with older content have their chance too. Some subjects and articles can be updated every year. An old article written a year ago can be put to use and updated. A guide to doing so is in our article.

3) Social

Instagram posts can now be scheduled in advance

Facebook Creator Studio — the tool for managing social media content — finally lets you manage the content of your Instagram accounts as well as Facebook. And schedule it in advance! You can choose an ordinary feed post or IGTV, and the whole post can be shared on Facebook too. The app also adds standard statistics and reports to help you keep an overview of every post.

Lead generation in Messenger

You can make it easier for customers to contact your company with ads carrying a "Send message" CTA. Clicking it opens a conversation between the client and the page directly in Messenger. The company can then answer questions immediately or set up automatic replies to the most frequently asked ones. Lead generation in Messenger lets companies and customers chat at the time, place and in the manner they prefer.

4) Heureka

A prompter for the ad price

Heureka has finally added a new "prompter" feature that advises what CPC (cost per click) you need to set to reach the position you want. It still holds that ads are "ranked" into positions by the ad price set. Now, when another brand overtakes you in bidding (setting product positions), you will know exactly how much the price has to be raised to reach a higher position.

A keyword prompter

To make setting up an ad simpler, Heureka has prepared another "prompter": a list of frequently searched phrases. These now appear when creating or editing an ad. Besides that, when targeting, Heureka will warn you about keywords that do not lead to search results but redirect to a category.