April – SEO and marketing news

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May 11, 2018 / by
April – SEO and marketing news

Google wants to make audio content searchable

Google is now aiming to make audio as easily searchable as text or images. In an interview with Pacific Content, Google Podcast Teams lead Zack Reneau-Wedeen said:

“The way that we’re approaching the problem fits really nicely with Google’s mission to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Podcasters are creating so much useful content. We can help make it more accessible by helping people find it when they need it or when they want it, and working to integrate it seamlessly as you live your life.”

In order to make podcasts (and their subjects) searchable, it’s necessary to catalogue a podcast’s metadata into search results. This means when you search for a podcast or audio snippet that you get results based on what is said during the segment, not just the title. This could move podcast listening from dedicated apps onto a much broader field. However, the technology is still in an experimental stage. Podcast business models vary, with many having to raise money through a ‘donate’ button or using crowdfunding platforms like Patreon.

Google is aiming to have a ‘Subscribe with Google’ button next to the donate button (if present). The rollout date for the cataloguing of audio is unknown, but it could pave the way for new forms of spoken news articles, or even spoken-word marketing.

Kochava Introduces Intelligent Consent Management Technology To Streamline GDPR Compliance For Marketers

GDPR newsOver in America, Kochava has created a new tool to assist their clients in gaining data usage consent from customers. Known as a ‘Consent Management Tool’, the app gathers consent from users by acting as an in-app triggering feature, making users aware when the use of their data has changed, or that it will be shared. Their decline/acceptance is sent to the marketer and can be processed quickly.

“The Intelligent Consent Management tool will help allay many of the concerns marketers might have about how to comply with the new regulations,” said Charles Manning, CEO at Kochava. “As evidenced with GDPR, the marketing world is moving toward a user-consent-driven paradigm that we, as a company, respect and adhere to. Our customers depend on us to develop tools that provide actionable insights and achieve targeted marketing success.”

Kochava conducts marketing analytics and processes a great deal of personal user data for EU clients. After the GDPR, however, that data will no longer be accessible to clients. Currently the Consent Management Tool is only available to Kochava clients, but we may see an increase of more readily available data tools in the future.

Verve will exit EU markets as GDPR deadline looms

The startup ad tech company Verve will be closing its European offices to focus on the US market due concerns about the GDPR. They will focus on the United States market, thanks to the lax privacy laws prevalent there. Verve is a mobile marketing platform that relies on location data harvested from smartphones. As such, they will be unable to comply with the new EU requirement that companies must have customers’ explicit, opt-in consent before using their data.

Verve CMO Julie Bernard said:

“[Although a] variety of factors playing into our decision, we have decided that the regulatory environment is not favourable to our particular business model. We are focusing efforts on the strength of our US business at this time.”

Although mobile marketers are facing difficulties in the EU, fleeing to the US may not prevent changes to their business. US citizens are becoming increasingly wary of how their data is being used, particularly in light of possible election tampering in 2016.

Verve’s biggest problem, they feel, is being able to have customers understand that hitting ‘ok’ when downloading an app is a form of consent for third party entities to collect their data. In the past Verve has gone through a number of hardships, including various shifts in executives and an ever-changing environment for mobile advertising due to Facebook’s errors.

Facebook says users must accept targeted ads even under new EU law

Speaking of Facebook’s errors, everyone’s favorite social media company stated that it will still require people to accept targeted ads in spite of EU privacy laws. Facebook Deputy Chief Privacy Officer Rob Sherman has said that the company will be seeking Europe’s permission for a variety of ways they will use their data, but opting out of targeted marketing will not be possible. Users will be able to limit the amount of data that is collected through permission screens, but will be unable to stop targeted content completely due to how reliant Facebook is on advertisers. There will be no ‘decline’ option, just a ‘continue’ or ‘change setting’ button. With several countries, privacy organizations, investors and regulators waiting for the social media giant to comply with EU laws due to recent scandals, it’s unclear if this strategy will work or just bring more mishaps to a company already struggling with them.

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