September – SEO and marketing news

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Oct 19, 2018 / by
September – SEO and marketing news

Global martech spend is estimated at $100bn (£76bn), according to WARC

Agency spending on marketing technologies has risen to nearly $100bn ($76bn), according to a new survey by marketing intelligence firm Warc. In the UK and North America, brands have increased their social media and email marketing budgets by 44% over the past year, representing a quarter of global marketing budgets. Spending on traditional media has dropped.

“Our research finds that this budget is coming from media spend and will have a resounding impact on the value of media-centric agencies,” said Damian Ryan, a partner at accountancy firm and research partner Moore Stephens.

In North America and the UK, 75% use marketing tech for analytics, insight, and measurements. “There has been no discernible sign that the rate of growth within the martech space is slackening,” commented Amy Rodgers, research editor at WARC.

“With data volumes continuously increasing, this research shows that data, analytics and automation are key focuses for martech investment globally as marketers look for help with metrics and measurement.”

Google is Updating Image Search on September 27, Here’s What to Expect

Google updates rolled out on the 27th of September, bringing a slew of new features for mobile and desktops. The first update discussed was for Google Image, bringing a Stories feature similar to Instagram or Snapchat. The feature is working heavily off AMP Stories which Google will also be working into mobile alongside it. AMP stories will be created by publishers, but there is scope for AI to begin posting to the platform. Stories can be linked from anywhere on the web – unlike Instagram or Snapchat where content is viewed within their own app – and hosted on creators’ websites.

Google searchThe second big feature is the implementation of Google Lens to image search, which is already in use with Google Photos. Users will be able to search using images taken with their phones. This has the potential to revolutionise retail marketing, as customers will be able to take a picture of a product they want and initiate a search using this image.

The final announcement was for a more accurate Google Video, called Featured Videos, as the AI will be better able to understand the content within the video and give more accurate results for searches. Essentially, if you search for a video of something, Google will not only give you the search result, but related subtopics. This will allow for for a more diverse search.

Mozilla co-founder’s Brave files adtech complaint against Google

Privacy-centric web browser Brave, created by famous Silicon Valley engineer Brendan Eich, has filed a privacy complaint in Britain and Ireland that may become a ‘test case’ against Google and other digital advertising firms.

“There is a massive and systematic data breach at the heart of the behavioral advertising industry. Despite the two-year lead-in period before the GDPR, adtech companies have failed to comply,” Brave’s chief policy officer Johnny Ryan said.

The complaint argues that when someone visits a website, despite GDPR rules, personal data is still harvested and sold to third parties. Google has stated that they have already implemented strong privacy features and protections, meeting GDPR requirements.

Ravi Naik, a partner at ITN Solicitors in London who is representing the plaintiffs, said this case addressed a long-standing data-protection concern that “is likely to have far reaching and dramatic consequences, which may change our fundamental relationship with the Internet.”

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