May 2021 – SEO and Marketing News

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May 21, 2021 / by
May 2021 – SEO and Marketing News

Summer is a month away and while many sectors have faced new challenges in the last 12 months, certain aspects of the past year have actually accelerated some digital business models.

Therefore, it could almost be considered a boom time for SEO and marketing. Still, we find the usual suspects filling in the column inches yet again this month. So, without further ado.

Google Analytics to track data without cookies using machine learning

Google has announced several updates that will help provide site owners and advertisers with relevant data when cookies aren’t available.

The new privacy-safe tracking methods, which don’t involve Google’s controversial FLoC technology, rely on consented first-party data and machine learning.

These new solutions are designed to help marketers succeed in a world with fewer third party cookies and identifiers by introducing ways to measure conversions and unlock helpful insights while respecting user consent.

Google Analytics will soon utilise machine learning to enhance marketers’ understanding of the customer journey with or without cookies.

This is an extension of the machine learning capabilities added to Google Analytics last year that allow it to surface relevant marketing insights, such as the likelihood of customers making a purchase.

Google’s advanced machine learning models will be extended to behavioural reporting in Analytics. These models will fill gaps in data left by cookies not being available.

With this data, marketers will have a more complete view of the customer journey, and be able to use those insights to improve campaigns.

Microsoft Advertising to treat phrase match the same way Google Ads does

Microsoft Advertising will expand phrase match to include broad match modifier traffic, the company announced Tuesday.

The change, which will start in mid-May, is to “simplify keywords and improve your relevancy when reaching customers,” the announcement reads.

This new treatment for phrase match will bring the platform in line with Google Ads’ updated phrase match, which rolled out in February.

The updated phrase match treatment means your ads will be shown for searches that include the meaning of your keyword.

Microsoft’s example is matching the query “winter vacation in Miami” to the keyword “Miami vacation.”

Word order will be respected, “When it’s important—for example, it won’t match ‘milk chocolate to the keyword ‘chocolate milk.’”

Facebook launches “Neighbourhoods,” a tool that helps locals connect

Facebook is rolling out Neighbourhoods, a new feature within the main app that offers many capabilities similar to the successful Nextdoor app.

Available first in Canada, and coming soon to the US, Neighbourhoods is an app within an app that gives Facebook users a space to connect outside of the news feed.

Users can create a Neighbourhoods profile that is separate from their main profile. They can then join discussion areas with other users who live within the same part of the city.

Neighbourhoods is an extension of what users already do on Facebook, such as connecting with people they know in person, supporting local businesses, and sharing recommendations.

What it adds to the experience is the ability for users to engage with a wider group of locals to whom they’re not directly connected.

Google announces spam-fighting AI

Google has announced the introduction of new artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help fight against a range of spam. Internal estimate calculates that the AI can block 99% of spam.

Google specially focused its spam-fighting algorithms on sensitive searches that were important to users like those related to important topics like finding medical testing sites.

According to Google themselves: “By combining our deep knowledge of spam with AI, last year we were able to build our very own spam-fighting AI that is incredibly effective at catching both known and new spam trends.

For example, we have reduced sites with auto-generated and scraped content by more than 80% compared to a couple of years ago.”

Twitter acquires Scroll and plans to launch subscription offering

Twitter furthers its plans toward developing subscription offerings with the acquisition of Scroll, a service that removes ads from news sites for a monthly fee.

Scroll will be integrated into a subscription service Twitter intends to launch in the future. Until then, Scroll is going into private beta. Existing subscribers can continue using Scroll, but it’s no longer accepting new signups.

Twitter explained, “Twitter exists to serve the public conversation. Journalism is the mitochondria of that conversation.

“It initiates, energises and informs. It converts and confounds perspectives. At its best, it helps us stand in one another’s shoes and understand each other’s common humanity.”

New Wix tool improves website accessibility in mere minutes

One billion people around the world utilise accessibility features to navigate the internet.

Yet, when it comes to making our websites accessible, many of us are left scratching our heads.

How do you begin to analyse your site to ensure it can be enjoyed by absolutely everybody? With the launch of the Accessibility Wizard from Wix, companies can regularly scan their websites for issues and resolve them in mere minutes.

Historically, Wix has created guides and resources to help users understand and resolve accessibility issues and automate as much as possible.

The Accessibility Wizard is its latest attempt at making the entire process as simple as possible for its users. The tool is manually triggered to scan the entire site and is accessed from the backend of any live or drafted page.

The wizard identifies any issues and prompts the user to fix flagged problems with an easy-to-follow description within the wizard, usually by clicking a button, adjusting a slider, or adding alt text.

Once the check is complete, the tool scans the site again to ensure nothing was broken or no additional issues were created before prompting the user to publish their changes.