Good Afternoon, and welcome to the Friday Digital Roundup.

In this week’s Digital Marketing news, Google altered its search rankings. Also, we have some guidance on what to focus on after a Core Update and Open AI announced some free features for ChatGPT Mobile.

Let’s get into the stories.

Google Prioritises First-Hand Knowledge for Search Rankings

Google recently unveiled several exciting updates to its Search functionality, specifically tailored to provide more personalised results for users in the UK. Moreover, the company has introduced changes in its ranking algorithm.

These alterations aim to simplify the process of finding content that offers personal insights and firsthand knowledge.

Google confidently asserts that these updates will enhance the user experience, making it more customised to align with individual interests and requirements.

In the announcement, Cathy Edwards, Google’s Vice President of Search, eloquently stated:

“Search has always been about connecting human curiosity with the incredible expanse of human wisdom on the web. These improvements will help users find the most helpful information just for them, no matter how specific their question may be.”

Focusing on First-Hand Knowledge

In a strategic move, Google has implemented changes in its ranking system to prioritize first-person perspectives in the search results. This initiative is designed to facilitate easier access to personal experiences, advice, opinions, and other direct sources of knowledge.

As a result, users can expect to encounter fewer repetitive, second-hand sources and more unique, personal insights that directly address their queries.

Edwards further elaborated:

“As part of this work, we’ve also rolled out a series of ranking improvements to show more first-person perspectives in results, so it’s easier to find this content across Search.”

Expanding Personalised Recommendations

Google is not stopping there. In an effort to further customise search results, they are introducing a feature that allows users to follow specific topics directly from their search results. This could range from a beloved sports team to a particular cooking style, enabling Google to present relevant articles, videos, and notifications automatically.

Imagine someone training for a marathon following “marathon training” in their search. They would then receive tailored articles about exercises and tips in their Google Discover feed.

This feature is a continuation of Google’s endeavour to personalise the search experience, incorporating elements like recent searches and activity from Google accounts.

It’s set to launch on mobile browsers and apps in the U.S. in English in the coming weeks, with plans for broader availability by year’s end.

Implications for SEO

These updates naturally raise questions within the SEO community about potential impacts on optimization strategies. The introduction of the following feature, aimed at enhancing personal experiences, suggests that websites producing quality content on popular topics might experience a surge in traffic.

Furthermore, Google’s intention to simplify access to frequently visited sites and present information about content creators poses intriguing possibilities. Metrics like user engagement, time on site, and repeat visits could become crucial in promoting sites.

Additionally, showcasing content creators’ profiles and social handles can provide new optimization opportunities, as it allows Google to better index this information.

While these personalisation features will primarily affect logged-in users, they could also influence general search results. SEO professionals are advised to continue focusing on user experience and producing quality content that appeals to diverse audiences.

However, the ability to reach niche audiences interested in specific topics presents new opportunities for optimization.

In conclusion, Google’s latest updates mark a significant step in evolving search to meet the dynamic needs of users. These algorithmic changes are poised to produce search results that more accurately reflect the complex, human aspects of users’ interests and queries.

The full extent of these changes in search rankings, however, remains to be seen.

What To Focus On After A Core Update

In the world of search engine optimization (SEO), Google’s Search Off The Record podcast team recently shed light on the importance of mastering the basics. Martin Splitt, Gary Illyes, and John Mueller from Google’s Search Relations team highlighted that many sites still struggle with fundamental technical SEO issues like crawlability, indexing, and page rendering.

These are crucial factors that impact a site’s performance in search results and should be addressed first.

Emphasising Technical SEO

Technical SEO is all about optimizing a website’s architecture and infrastructure to enhance search engine crawling and indexing.

This aspect of SEO is solely focused on the site’s behind-the-scenes elements. Illyes, highlighting his focus on technical SEO on social media, noted, “I like to post about technical things… because often big site owners or SEOs miss critical basic things.”

He observed that many get distracted by the ‘next big thing’ at conferences while ignoring the essentials.

Illyes stressed, “Just make sure your content is good first… looking at these websites, they are not helpful or useful to me as a user.” He further pointed out the importance of technical SEO: “If Googlebot can’t reach your site, or rendering fails, or there are no words on the site or a page, then there’s not much Google can do for you.”

Splitt agreed, emphasizing that technical SEO is fundamental. He recommended starting troubleshooting with the homepage, as it’s often seen as the most crucial page by search engines.

Neglecting technical SEO can lead to significant issues like rendering failures or site inaccessibility, drastically affecting search engine rankings.

Quality Over Quantity in Traffic Metrics

The discussion also touched on evaluating content and the misconception that high traffic equals high-quality pages. Mueller warned against relying only on analytics and overlooking user experience. He recalled a site that ranked well for generic keywords but offered little value, noting the irrelevance of lost traffic from low-quality keywords.

Broader Metrics for Success

The hosts urged consideration of metrics beyond traffic, like user engagement and satisfaction, as better indicators of a page’s quality. Mueller advised, “Look at the bigger picture of all the traffic that’s gone, but also remember… a lot of this was useless.” He suggested focusing on relevant queries and tracking lower-level pages for a better understanding of a site’s performance.

Creating High-Quality Content

Simply producing a high volume of content isn’t enough; it needs to be purposeful and valuable. Illyes proposed that quality content creation might be simpler than most think. The key is to focus on content that helps people achieve their goals when visiting the page. “What if quality is about writing the thing that will help people achieve what they need when they come to the page?” he asked.

Key Takeaways

This conversation with Google’s Search Relations team underscores two crucial points. First, mastering technical SEO basics is vital before exploring advanced tactics. Second, content quality and user engagement are more important than just traffic numbers in assessing a site’s success. By focusing on these areas, websites can significantly enhance their SEO performance.

Free Voice Capabilities For ChatGPT Mobile

OpenAI has just announced an exciting development: the ChatGPT app’s voice functionality is now accessible to all free users, while Plus subscriptions and upgrades remain on pause.

This significant update is a game-changer for content and search marketers, offering new possibilities for creating interactive content and honing voice search optimization.

Before this change, interacting with ChatGPT using voice commands was an exclusive feature for premium subscribers.

The latest update, however, has levelled the playing field, allowing every user to engage with the AI through voice commands. All it takes is downloading the app and tapping a headphones icon.

The introduction of the voice feature is poised to boost user interaction, providing a more natural and intuitive way to interact with AI. It opens up AI technology to a broader audience, including those who prefer voice commands to typing, making AI access more effortless than ever.

This update is particularly advantageous for those in content marketing, presenting an opportunity to create more interactive and personalized campaigns that could significantly enhance customer experience and engagement.

For search marketers, it unlocks new opportunities to delve into voice search optimization. Brands can now explore and refine their search engine strategies using voice commands.

As we await further developments in ChatGPT features and GPT advancements, it’s an intriguing time to observe how these innovations will shape the future of AI interaction and marketing strategies.

Good afternoon, and welcome to today’s Intelligency Digital Roundup.

In today’s roundup, we have some significant updates from the digital world. Google has rolled out its November 2023 core update, marking the second major algorithm change in recent months. Meta has unveiled a suite of new lead-generation tools for Facebook and Instagram, enhancing opportunities for businesses. Additionally, Google has completed its transition to mobile-first indexing, a move that prioritizes mobile versions of websites in search rankings.

Let’s dive into the details of these developments.

Google’s November 2023 Core Update

Google recently announced its November 2023 core update. This marks the second major change to its search algorithm in just two months, and it’s expected to roll out in the coming weeks fully.

These updates are designed to enhance the relevance and quality of search results. Notably, this update improves a different core system than the previous month’s update​.

What Webmasters Need to Know

Most website owners won’t need to make significant adjustments, particularly if they’re already focused on creating user-centric content. However, if changes in traffic or rankings are noticed, Google advises reviewing their core update guidance.

This update is part of Google’s ongoing efforts, with previous ones in March, August, and October. Each update involves multi-week rollouts​​​.

Google also offers a Q&A section addressing common queries about search updates and encourages posting questions in the Google Search Central community forums for those experiencing significant changes in site performance.

However, the general guidance is if you follow the webmaster guidelines, it’s rare to see negative rankings.

Enhancing Lead Generation on Facebook and Instagram

Meta has introduced a suite of new tools for Facebook and Instagram, aimed at bolstering business lead generation. These tools include AI features and CRM partnerships, enhancing campaign performance while saving time and money for marketers. The emphasis is on acquiring quality leads, which are more likely to convert into sales, thereby boosting campaign efficiency and return on investment​​

But what are these new tools?

The list of new tools that business accounts will have access to are as follows:

• Click to WhatsApp Lead Gen: This extends the lead objective to Facebook and Instagram ads that initiate a WhatsApp chat, enabling marketers to foster higher-quality leads through messaging. A Q&A flow will also be available in Ads Manager for select advertisers.
• Instant Form Ad Format: Users can connect with multiple businesses simultaneously, like sharing contact information with several related services after signing up for a trial. This feature not only provides convenience for users but also opens new opportunities for small businesses to be discovered.
• Calling Leads on Facebook: Currently in testing, this feature allows businesses to call potential customers through Facebook, providing reassurance and displaying business details like logos and names.
• Advantage+ for Lead Gen: This involves testing full campaign automation for lead generation, utilizing Meta Advantage. It enables the application of AI across various campaign facets to improve performance and efficiency.
• HubSpot Integration: Meta has teamed up with HubSpot as a new CRM integration partner. This partnership simplifies the setup process and is complemented by streamlined CRM integration with Zapier.

Meta highlights that integrating a CRM with their Conversions API and using specific performance goals can significantly enhance campaign performance, reducing costs per quality lead and increasing conversion rates.

Google Fully Embraces Mobile-First Indexing

After a lengthy transition period, Google has completely switched to mobile-first indexing. This significant change emphasizes the importance of mobile versions of websites in Google’s indexing and crawling processes.

The Evolution of Mobile-First Indexing

Google’s transition to mobile-first indexing began years ago, reflecting a shift in focus towards mobile users. Initially, Google updated its algorithm in 2015 to favour mobile-friendly sites.

By the following year, the company prioritised mobile pages over desktops in its indexing process. This move aligns with the growing dominance of mobile web traffic, where in some regions, people primarily use their phones for internet access​.

Impact and Future Directions

With mobile usage surpassing desktop globally, crawling mobile versions of websites provides a more accurate reflection of user experiences on mobile devices. Websites have adapted by enhancing their mobile pages to be as comprehensive as desktop versions.

However, Google acknowledges that some sites may still not be fully mobile-optimized and will continue crawling desktop versions for these cases. As part of its resource conservation efforts, Google plans to further reduce desktop crawling​​​.

In line with this shift, Google has also removed indexing crawler data from Search Console, its webmaster tool. This data removal signifies the completion of the mobile-first indexing process, underlining mobile devices’ central role in modern internet use​.

Good afternoon, and welcome to the latest Intelligency Digital Roundup.

This week, Meta officially announced more details for its paid subscription, ChatCPT Plus members got access to some new features, and details about how Google ranks recipe content have been revealed.

Let’s get into the news.

Facebook and Instagram ad-free options revealed

Meta is launching no-ads subscriptions for Facebook and Instagram users across Europe. Starting this November, residents of the EU, EEA, and Switzerland can choose between two options: stick with the current ad-based model or pay a fee to enjoy an ad-free experience.

If users decide on the ad-free route, it will set them back €9.99 per month for web access or €12.99 per month on iOS and Android. Importantly, these subscribers won’t see their data used for ad purposes.

Why is this change important?

The uptake of this ad-free subscription can significantly affect the reach and thus the ROI of this fresh European service. However, the cost, especially considering the impending fee hikes next year, might deter potential subscribers.

Regarding subscription costs, here’s a note: users who go ad-free will experience it across all their linked Facebook and Instagram accounts under a single payment. It’s essentially a one-subscription-covers-all deal. Yet, this is poised to change. Starting March 2024, users will face an extra fee – €6 per month on the web and €8 on iOS and Android – for every additional account they have.

Why is Meta offering this option?

This move aligns with European regulations, allowing Meta to cater to its users in the mentioned regions. The CJEU has given the nod to such subscription models as a legitimate way for users to say ‘yes’ to ad-supported services.

Initially, Meta is targeting adults, those 18 years and older. But they’re not stopping there. The tech behemoth is actively seeking avenues to provide teenagers with a balanced and safe ad experience, especially considering the changing regulatory winds in the EU.

What has Meta said about this?

A meta spokesperson had the following to say via announcement:

• “Advertisers will be able to continue running personalised advertising campaigns in Europe to reach those who choose to continue to receive a free, ad-supported online service.” 
• “Going forward, we will continue to invest to build new tools that preserve the value that both people and businesses get out of personalised advertising while allowing users to control their ads experience on our platforms.”
• “We believe in an ad-supported internet, which gives people access to personalised products and services regardless of their economic status. It also allows small businesses to reach potential customers, grow their business and create new markets, driving growth in the European economy.”
• “And like other companies, we’ll continue to advocate for an ad-supported internet, even with our new subscription offering in the EU, EEA and Switzerland.  But we respect the spirit and purpose of these evolving European regulations, and are committed to complying with them.”

GPT 4 gets a new all-in-one version

OpenAI is gearing up to introduce a revamped approach to multimodal GPT-4, allowing seamless access to All Tools and enhanced document analysis.

Multiple users on X shared screenshots showcasing robust PDF/document analysis and the game-changing “All Tools” functionality.

But what is “all tools”?

It’s a one-stop-shop, letting users tap into all of GPT-4’s offerings without the hassle of toggling between features.

This enhancement isn’t just another update; it’s a stride in generative AI, surpassing traditional text-only interactions. For instance, users can now feed DALL·E 3 an image and await a crafted response, introducing a fresh dynamic to their operations.

As more people familiarize themselves with this multimodal prowess, there are many ways it could be used, illustrating the combined might of GPT-4 tools. Notably absent, though, is the inclusion of ChatGPT plugins in the All Tools feature. This might be a strategic manoeuvre by OpenAI to refine the user journey, possibly sidelining third-party extensions that previously offered analogous capabilities.

With the newfound capability to dissect PDFs and similar files natively, the dependence on third-party ChatGPT plugins, which bridged this gap earlier, diminishes.

In this ChatGPT evolution, OpenAI showcases its commitment to user feedback, consolidating powerful features in-house, and eliminating the need for external integrations.

Beyond the All Tools buzz, some users have spotted a more up-to-date knowledge cutoff. All eyes are now on OpenAI’s upcoming DevDay conference, where it’s anticipated they’ll deep dive into these novel tools with the developer community.

Open AI hasn’t confirmed when this feature will be available to all Plus users, but as they’re testing it, it could be a surprise release when the DevDay conference is held next week.

How Google ranks recipe content

Google recently delved into its algorithm’s treatment of recipe content, addressing a query on X. The query on X (previously Twitter) questioned Google’s preference for streamlined recipe formats.

Recipe formats sparked debate lately, with some sites allegedly padding content for SEO benefits. The intensified competition in recipes has driven creators to adopt varied strategies. Some creators harness SEO, while others lean towards simpler, more straightforward content.

Google’s position is tricky due to the balance between creators and user preferences. While creators value search traffic, many users want quick, hassle-free recipes.

Google’s perspective

X’s user @IntrovertedGeekUK posed a question to Google’s Danny Sullivan, one of Google’s gurus:

“Help me understand Danny! RE recipe sites: users typically want just the recipe. No extras. But can Google prioritize a simple ingredients/method list?”

Sullivan went on to explain through a series of posts:

“Some people want just a list of ingredients. Some people want recipes from people or places they might recognize. Some people might want a recipe along with some background about the recipe, what it means to the person who is sharing it and so on. All people don’t want the exact same things. Our systems try to show what seems generally helpful.”

He acknowledged that some people pad out content before getting to the meat of it:

“I think that’s something content producers might want to keep in mind. If you want to appeal to that audience, you might want to ensure your recipes are helpful in that way, easy access to the key parts.”

But also explained that you need to respect how a creator wants to present a recipe:

“If someone wants to tell you more about their recipe because they want to, because it’s important to them, because they think that’s useful to them and their readers — that’s up to them. That should be respected.”

What is generally helpful content?

Google employs cutting-edge AI to rank what’s deemed “generally helpful” content. Using algorithms like BERT and MUM, Google harnesses machine learning for nuanced understanding.

These tools grasp semantics, context, intent, and handle linguistic complexities like sarcasm. This ensures users get relevant results, even without specific keyword matches.

Not limited to recipes, Google’s AI deciphers various queries answered by content, from lyrics to coding.

The discussion offers insights into Google’s strategy for recipe content. It highlights the need to prioritize users, avoiding repetitive or generic content, which is an approach that should be used for all types of content. Google remains dedicated to guiding creators on optimal organic search methods.

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Intelligency Digital Roundup.

This week, we are offering some top tips on how to drive B2B traffic to your website through SEO. Organic Search is one of the best channels for B2B companies that are looking to catch relevant non-brand search demand.

But what is B2B SEO?

B2B SEO is a popular marketing tactic that businesses use to improve the visibility of B2B businesses. Many of these companies view organic search as a method to raise brand awareness, drive traffic, and get sales.

As SEO specialists, we at Intelligency agree that B2B SEO can be an incredibly helpful strategy for companies. However, as is also the case with B2C SEO, you need to approach it correctly.

Luckily, we have some tips for you!

But first! What’s the difference between B2B SEO and B2C SEO?

There are some distinct differences between B2B SEO and B2C SEO, which are:

• The keywords you use– B2C SEO tends to use short-tail keywords, which are shorter and less specialised. B2B SEO focuses on long-tail keywords which are more industry-specific and may contain ‘jargon’.
• The sales cycle- The sales cycle of B2B SEO is a longer process and harder to measure than B2C SEO.
• Searcher capture- B2B SEO focuses on a “buying committee” which is a collection of searchers, rather than individual searchers.

Now, with all this in mind, here are some tips to maximise your B2B SEO potential!

Tip #1: Create an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Before you determine which keywords you want to rank for, you need to understand your target audience. One of the best ways to do this is to create an ICP.

An ICP allows you to determine a target audience, the first step is to identify the key traits of your best current B2B customers. Once these key traits have been listed, you can use them to generate a profile which summarises an ideal customer for your business.

Recognising your ideal customer allows for easier keyword research for keywords which align with your search values and intent. Depending on the size and complexity of your business, multiple ICP’s may be involved.

They key traits to look out for are common factors such as annual revenue, number of employees, the industry, any geographical factors, key personas, and a predicted sales cycle.

A key persona overviews the buying committee as well as the end-users of your company’s services or products. Personas should contain pain points as well which they may encounter, but are solved by the products or services you offer.

Pain points are good for keyword research as well as for content ideas to pull in searchers based on their business’ needs.

ICP’s are a technique that originated in account-based marketing, but you can use them to position your SEO tactics to get ahead of competitors. They help to capture search demand, and bring in the best prospects.

Tip #2: Varied content for the entire buying committee

Now you’re familiar with buying committees, it’s important to not fall into the typical content marketing trap. The trap is only targeting senior leaders at the organisations you want to convert. Senior leaders are actually some of the last people in the buying/sales process.

Instead, take a holistic approach and make appealing content for the whole buying committee, from entry-level employees all the way up to these senior leaders. All the members of committee have some level of impact and influence on the buying process; so making appealing content to all the members increase the likelihood of success.

This is because how a CEO searches B2B is different from home an entry-level employee will search. So do the research and find the keywords and content which will appeal to the various members!

Tip #3: Measure your revenue impact

It’s vital that you measure the revenue impact of organic search traffic. This is because it can help to show that SEO developments aren’t an expense, but an investment into the future.

Revenue impact can be measured using the following:

• Closed-won deals steeming from organic leads
• Contributions to the sales pipeline from organic search traffic

The second measurement is especially important to B2B organisations that have sales cycles that are longer than 6 months.

Consistent reviewing and utilisation of attribution modelling needs to be in place to accurately measure the impact on your revenue. Organic search is one of the many potential traffic sources, so a proper attribution model can ensure it gets it’s due credit.

Tip #4: Clear integration and expectations

Lastly, it’s important to ensure that SEO is touching almost every marketing and sales function in your B2B company.

SEO interacts indirectly or directly with:

• Websites
• Content
• Analytics
• CRM
• Marketing automation
• Paid search
• Business development
• Brand teams
• PR

It’s vital to ensure that SEO is integrated, and that stakeholders understand that it’s important to the success of B2B SEO. Without clear expectations and understanding, SEO may be misunderstood, underutilized, or even forgotten.

Having clear key performance indictatiors (KPI’s) and expectations across stakeholder groups will help SEO integration at your company. You could also hold educational SEO meetings with stakeholder groups so that more people; are on board with adding it to workflows and procedures.

In conclusion

For B2B SEO to be successful and reach its maximum potential, you need to capture revenue, SEO success shouldn’t just be measured by keyword rankings, the amount of inbound links, or page speeds.

Measured SEO by how it affects your company’s bottom line as well. Progress your SEO tactics and strategies to be long-term revenue generators! If you’re not doing this, then it’s not reaching maximum potential.

Hopefully this guide helps with your B2B SEO understanding!

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Intelligency Digital Roundup.

This week, X began trialling a paywall to combat bots, YouTube revealed a series of new updates for users, and Google improved the speed of its browser, Chrome.

Let’s get into each story.

X trial paywall in New Zealand and The Philippines

X recently unveiled a fresh initiative named Not A Bot, aimed at curbing the intrusion of bots and spammers on its platform.

Under this program, new users are prompted to opt for a minimal annual subscription of $1, granting them the privilege to post or engage with the existing content. Should they choose not to subscribe, their access will be limited to reading content only.

This approach is primarily designed to trim down the spam and bot activities plaguing the platform. While unveiling this program via a tweet, X emphasized that this fee introduction isn’t directed towards profit generation.

What is the “not a bot” initiative?

The pilot phase of the Not A Bot program is being conducted in two countries—the Philippines and New Zealand, with new users from these regions serving as the initial test subjects. Now, what exactly is Not A Bot? It’s a beta program signifying a trial phase of this new subscription model aimed at new users.

As outlined on a dedicated Help Center page, new entrants from the two designated test countries are required to authenticate their phone numbers. Once verified, the next step involves paying the nominal fee of one dollar to gain the ability to interact with other users on X.

At its core, the Not A Bot initiative is engineered to sift through and eliminate bots, subsequently reducing spam, all in a bid to preserve the platform’s integrity on a scalable level. As a beta program, Not A Bot serves as a public testing phase of this new feature.

While typically a successful beta test transitions into a full-fledged feature, the announcement didn’t specify whether this will be the case with Not A Bot.

The updated Terms and Conditions page elaborates:

“The Not-a-Bot Program is a beta initiative that X is exploring to enhance platform integrity.”

What is included with the paywall?

Delving into the offerings for Not A Bot subscribers, it’s seen that they’ll need to pay for several features that were previously available for free. These include bookmarking posts, liking posts, posting content, responding to posts, and reposting or quoting posts by other accounts.

On the flip side, users who decide against paying the annual fee will have their activities on X confined to following other members, reading tweets, and watching videos.

The Not A Bot Terms and Conditions stipulate that those opting for this program must agree to a clause stating a refund is not in the cards if the program gets shelved.

The new terms dictate:

“All features and functionality of the Program are at the sole discretion of X, and may be altered, paused, or ceased at any moment without a refund.”

Reiterating the official announcement on Twitter:

“Starting today, we’re launching the Not A Bot program in New Zealand and the Philippines as a test. New, unverified accounts are required to subscribe to a $1 annual fee to post & interact with other posts. This test, however, doesn’t affect existing users.

This initiative augments our existing efforts to minimize spam, platform manipulation, and bot activity, with the modest fee ensuring platform accessibility. This is not about profit generation.”

We’ll have to see how this works out for X, whether it will bring in new users, or drive current ones away to alternative platforms like Threads.

YoutTube’s new features

YouTube has revealed over thirty-six new features and design tweaks rolling out globally. Aimed at enriching user interaction, these updates are now accessible worldwide. They modernise the platform’s aesthetics and simplify content discovery.

Numerous features have been introduced to improve viewing.

Let’s learn about the highlights:

Volume Stability

A “stable volume” feature curbs sudden volume changes, offering a steady auditory experience. Initially, it’s available on mobile.

Quick Speed Doubling

By pressing and holding on the player, users can swiftly double the speed to 2x. Releasing reverts it to normal speed. This function is available across the web, tablets, and phones.

Enlarged Previews

Bigger video preview thumbnails appear while scrubbing, aiding in pinpointing desired moments. If unsure about seeking, a simple finger move back and lifting upon feeling a vibration reverts to the original position.

Screen Security

A lock screen feature has been added to avert inadvertent taps on mobile, ensuring uninterrupted viewing.

Advanced Search & Discovery

The newly introduced “You” tab, merging Library and account pages, makes finding content smoother. It’s a hub for your watched videos, playlists, and more.

Voice and melody search features have been added, enabling video discovery by humming, singing, or playing a tune, with an initial launch on Android.

Contemporary, Lively Design

Creators will notice gentle animations on the like and subscribe buttons, offering visual feedback upon viewer interaction.

Top comments will now cycle automatically, showcasing engaging responses. Real-time view and like counters enliven for the initial 24 hours on fresh uploads.

On Smart TVs, a click on the title reveals a menu with video details, making descriptions and comments easily reachable. Similar adjustments are set for web and mobile soon.

New Chrome features from Google

Google has revealed a series of forthcoming updates to Chrome’s address bar, aimed at enabling users to access websites more swiftly. These enhancements are slated for deployment in the coming months across both desktop and mobile platforms.

A Glimpse into the Upgrades

The address bar, a text field atop the Chrome browser, is where users key in web addresses such as “www.google.com.” Google plans to revamp this feature with several new additions including:

• Suggestions for uncharted sites
• Advanced autocomplete suggestions
• Auto-correction for typos
• Bookmark exploration
• A visually refined interface.

In a recent blog post, Google mentioned, “As autumn days grow shorter, you might be on the lookout for ways to make the most of your time. Fortunately, five upgrades are en route to Chrome’s address bar to expedite your browsing experience.”

Discovering New Sites

Chrome is bringing a novel feature to the table to assist users in discovering new websites.

Now, as users type in search queries, Chrome will propose popular and pertinent sites, even those never visited before by the user.

This development offers a silver lining for SEO experts, enabling heightened visibility in Chrome’s address bar suggestions through optimizing their sites for popularity and relevance concerning certain keywords. Even if a user hasn’t visited a site, it might pop up as a suggestion, fostering the exploration of new content based on prevailing popularity and relevance to the user’s search.

Enhanced Autocomplete

An upgraded version of autocomplete is being integrated into Chrome.

Unlike before, where Chrome only suggested previously typed website URLs, it will now autocomplete based on any word, even if the specific URL is unfamiliar to you.

For instance, keying in “flights” might autocomplete to Google Flights if you’ve searched for flights before.

This improved autocomplete accentuates the importance of embedding keywords within your URL structure, catering to users who may increasingly rely on this feature.

Automatic Typo Rectification

Chrome is set to auto-correct typos using your browsing history, eliminating the need to erase and retype erroneous web addresses.

This function will be accessible across desktop, Android, and iOS devices.

Effortless Bookmark Search

Users can now scour through their bookmark folders directly in the Chrome address bar by typing the folder name.

This feature is compatible with both desktop and mobile platforms.

Visual Revamping

The drop-down menu results in Chrome have been aesthetically overhauled to enhance readability and responsiveness upon typing.

According to Google’s announcement:

“With an elevated visual layout, the Chrome desktop address bar is now more legible. Additionally, it’s more responsive, delivering faster results as you commence typing.”

Right now, the autocomplete, typo correction and folder search features are available. The popular site suggestions and visual updates will roll out over the next few months.

Thanks for reading this week’s digital roundup!

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Intelligency Digital Roundup.

This week, learn about the new features Meta plans for Reels. Also, details about a new form of DDOS attacks that could affect thousands of websites, and about Google’s new “SEO made easy” videos.

Let’s get into the stories.

New features for Facebook and Instagram Reels

Meta announced this week that it would update Reel capabilities to improve ad creatives.

The three new features aim to improve campaign optimisation and also boost engagement. The three features are:

• Collection ads
• Multi-destination Reel ads
• Swipe left functionality

It’s good for marketers and businesses that Meta is constantly updating Reels because video creative is becoming more prominent on social media, especially for Facebook and Instagram. So Meta improving Reels allows higher-quality, more engaging Reel ads

What are the new features then?

Collection ads

This type of ad is already available on Instagram, but it is being tested for Facebook. A collection ad allows a business to post one large image or Reel with other, smaller images, with the aim being that users can swipe through them. Generally, the intent of each image is to let users learn more about what you’re advertising.

Collection ads are still being tested for Facebook, so only select accounts will have access to this placement. The plan is to roll this out to all business accounts in the future.

Multi-destination carousel Reel ads

Meta is also rolling out multi-destination CTA features for Reel carousel ads on Facebook and Instagram on both iOS and Android.

This feature allows a brand to send users to different destinations such as multiple product pages, helping users find what they’re looking for easier.

Swipe left functionality

Swipe left functionality allows a user to swipe left on a Reel ad and be taken to a product or landing page. It allows a user to learn more about what you’re advertising, potentially boosting sales.

Other new features

Meta has also rolled out some new tools for Advantage +, including:

• Automation tools
  • Automatic conversion to 9:16 resolution
  • 3D motion and depth
  • Aspect ratio variance
  • Sharpening tools and AI upscaling
• Adding music
• Brand suitability

If you want to read the full announcement, visit Meta’s business blog.

New DDoS attack taking advantage of HTTP/2 vulnerability

A newly identified Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) exploit, known as HTTP/2 Rapid Reset, has emerged as a major threat due to its ability to unleash large-scale attacks with relatively few resources.

The exploit leverages vulnerabilities within HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 network protocols, which facilitate multiple data streams between servers and browsers. This means browsers can request numerous resources from servers simultaneously, rather than sequentially.

The exploit was publicly disclosed by Cloudflare, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google, and poses a significant risk as it affects the vast majority of modern web servers operating on the HTTP/2 network protocol.

Currently, the absence of a software patch makes virtually every server susceptible to this exploit, categorizing it as a zero-day exploit. However, server software companies are actively developing patches to mitigate the HTTP/2 vulnerability.

How the HTTP/2 Rapid Reset Exploit works

HTTP/2 protocol has a server setting that caps the number of requests at any given moment. If requests exceed this limit, they are denied. There’s also a feature allowing a request cancellation, which deducts that data stream from the preset request limit, freeing up the server to process another data stream.

Attackers discovered that by sending millions of requests and cancellations to a server, they could overwhelm it.

The exploit is extraordinarily dangerous as servers currently lack defenses against it. Cloudflare reported blocking a DDoS attack 300% larger than any previous attack, with the largest one reaching 201 million requests per second (RPS). Google reported an even larger attack exceeding 398 million RPS.

Remarkably, this exploit requires a minimal number of infected computers – as few as 20,000 to launch attacks three times larger than the largest recorded DDoS attacks, significantly lowering the bar for hackers to conduct devastating DDoS attacks.

How to protect against HTTP/2 Rapid Reset

While patches are underway, Cloudflare has already safeguarded its customers against this exploit. In extreme cases, if a server is under attack and defenseless, server administrators can revert the HTTP network protocol to HTTP/1.1 to halt the attack, though at the cost of slowed server performance.

This measure, albeit a temporary fix, is better than facing a complete server shutdown.

This video from Phoenix Security explains the exploit quite well:

Google launch SEO tutorial videos on YouTube

Google has kicked off a new YouTube series, “SEO Made Easy”, with its first video aimed at helping people enhance their website’s performance in search results.

In the opening episode, Martin Splitt from Google’s Search Relations team dives into how websites can tailor their brand name display on Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs).

Splitt, in a brief introduction, mentions the series will serve both beginners and seasoned website owners.

“We have tips for beginners and experienced website owners. We will cover tips, such as using Google Search Console to find low-hanging fruit or using lazy loading for a better page experience.”

Structured data

The premiere episode underscores the significance of structured data for website optimization in the segment titled “Modifying Site Names”.

Splitt starts off by elaborating on a fundamental SEO aspect – employing structured data to personalize site names.

He points out that if Google Search finds it hard to auto-detect your website’s preferred name, structured data can be the key to shaping its display.

Practical tips for structured data integration

For those finding structured data integration challenging, Splitt shares a workaround – maintaining a consistent site name in the title across all pages.

He mentions that some content management systems provide an option to set a site-wide name, while others may necessitate manual addition of the site name to page titles. Yet, he warns that this tactic applies only to subdomains or top-level domains, not on a per-directory level.

Accelerating update recognition by google

After making these alterations, it’s essential to give Google some time to catch up with the updates. To hasten this process, use Search Console and request re-indexing of the homepage.

Future episodes and educational value

The “SEO Made Easy” series showcases Google’s ongoing effort to provide educational YouTube content for webmasters and digital marketers.

This episode lays the groundwork for an extensive journey into SEO strategies, aimed at brightening your website’s presence in Google Search, with more enlightening episodes on the horizon.

As always, thanks for reading this week’s Digital Roundup!

Good afternoon, and welcome to another edition of the Digital Roundup.

This week, Google started rolling out an update targeting spam. Also, Meta released its first generative AI tools, and TikTok is set to start trialling an ad-free subscription.

Let’s learn some more about each story.

New spam update from Google

This week, Google began rolling out its October spam update. The update improves Google’s coverage in languages to target different spam types.

Google stated that the October Spam Update “aims to clean up spam in Turkish, Vietnamese, Hindi, Chinese, and other languages”.

As well as this, Google is also reducing the visible spam in search results, such as cloaked, hacked, auto-generated, and scraped spam.

Previous updates and rollout times

Previous spam updates from Google have always taken a few weeks to roll out, and as long as your website isn’t hosting malicious content, rankings should be fine.

The last update that targeted spam was released this time in October last year, and there was also a link spam update in December 2022.

Meta’s new generative AI-powered tools

On Meta Ads Manager, users can now begin to find its first generative AI-powered tools designed to help campaigns perform effectively.

The three new tools are:

• Background generation
• Image expansion
• Text variation

The tools are rolling out now, aiming to finish by the start of next year.

Let’s learn some more about each tool

Background generation

This tool allows a user to create multiple backgrounds complimenting product images. The aim of this tool is for a user to be able to tailor assets to different audiences.

Image expansion

Users using this tool will be able to adjust creative to fit different aspect ratios across different channels, such as Reels or home feeds.

Text variation

Text variation is what it says on the tin. You can give it the original copy you were going to use on the ad, and it can make multiple variations for you. This stops you from having to come up with multiple variations on your own. You can use different copy for different audiences.

What has Meta said?

A Meta spokesperson has this to say about the new AI tools:

“Today’s generative-AI powered ad features are just a start. We plan to offer advertisers more ways to generate ad copy to highlight product selling points or generate background images in minutes with tailored themes, like outdoor images for an athleisure brand.”

“As we shared at Connect, businesses will soon be able to use AI for business messaging on Messenger and WhastApp to engage with customers – helping with commerce, engagement and support, unlocking instant conversational responses. We’re testing with a small number of businesses in Alpha and plan to scale it further next year.”

“With millions of businesses advertising on our platform, we will continue to take a collaborative approach in developing these features and experiences so that they provide value to businesses and people.”

–Meta announcement

TikTok to trial ad-free subscription

In our final story this week, TikTok may begin piloting an ad-free subscription on the app.

The code for the social media platform has suggested that users may be able to pay $4.99 a month in order to access content with no ad breaks.

There are also screenshots of TikTok asking users if they want to upgrade to an ad-free subscription:

Why this is important

This potential change is important for advertisers on the platform. If this proves to be popular, then it could have an impact on the reach of adverts on TikTok. This would lower the product’s value.

In terms of excluded ads, influencer marketing one-offs or campaigns would still appear on the premium version.

TikTok generates almost all of its profits from ad revenue, which came to a staggering $9.4 billion in 2022. Even more surprisingly, this figure is predicted to quadruple by 2026. It’s no surprise that executives are looking at diversifying revenue streams in order to mitigate financial risk, with a paid model being one of them.

As always, thanks for reading this weeks digital roundup.

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Intelligency Digital Roundup.

This week, TikTok began trialling a Google integration, Courts ruled that Facebook can be sued, and ChatGPT now offers new prompt methods.

Let’s get into the stories.

TikTok trial displaying Google Search result links

This week, an X user and app researcher, Radu Oncescu noticed that TikTok is testing displaying links to Google Search Results from its own search feature.

Here’s a screenshot of how it looks:

As you can see in the screenshot, TikTok has added a small link with a Google logo to its search results page. TikTok is also using a disclaimer for the links “TikTok does not endorse or take responsibility for search results from Google”.

What we know

Business Insider wrote more about the Google and TikTok partnership as they had an opportunity to speak to a TikTok spokesperson. They stated that the feature is not an ad unit, and is being trialled globally. The spokesperson also confirmed that TikTok is experimenting with other third-party integrations.

However, Google’s spokesperson declined to offer any comment on whether there’s a financial agreement between the two companies.

This partnership could be due to the fact that Google is concerned about losing its market share to TikTok, and this is a method to drive traffic back to Google.

Once we know more about this, you’ll be sure to read about it in the roundup.

Facebook open to suing over biased ad algorithm

A recent ruling by the California State Court of Appeals has determined that Facebook can be taken to court over allegations that its ad algorithm is discriminatory. This overrules a 2020 decision that had previously shielded Facebook from such legal actions based on Section 230.

Brands that use Facebook’s advertising tools might unknowingly participate in discriminatory ad practices if the platform’s algorithm is found to be biased.

Lawsuit background

In 2020, Facebook was taken to court after claims that it violated civil rights laws. The issue? The platform was said to have excluded women and older individuals from seeing insurance ads.

This issue came to light when Samantha Liapes, a 48-year-old user, tried to find an insurance provider on Facebook but found she wasn’t presented with any relevant ads. She believes her age and gender played a role in this.

Initially, the court dismissed the case. They deemed Facebook’s tools to be “neutral” and determined that the platform was protected by the Communications Decency Act, 47 U.S.C. 230. Yet, Liapes didn’t give up and appealed the decision.

So what’s changed?

On 21 September 2023, the appellate court reversed the earlier decision. They believed the case convincingly argued that Facebook was aware insurance advertisers were specifically tailoring their ads based on user age and gender, contravening the Civil Rights Act.

The court emphasised that Facebook isn’t just a content distributor but actively “creates, shapes, or develops content” using its tools.

ChatGPT adds voice and image prompts

OpenAI has introduced new voice and image functionalities for ChatGPT. Users can now interact with the chatbot through voice or share images for richer conversations. Initially, these features will be available for paying subscribers, with a wider release to free users anticipated soon.

While these enhancements pave the way for vast creative interactions, they also bring potential risks, like impersonation and fraud. OpenAI highlights the possible challenges these updates might pose, especially for advertisers.

How to speak with ChatGPT

To speak to ChatGPT, you’ll need to:

• Go to “Settings“.
• Under the mobile app, select “New Features“.
• Activate voice conversations.
• Click the headphone icon at the top-right of the home screen.
• Choose from one of five available voices.

How does it work?

• After pressing the button, ask your question.
• ChatGPT converts the spoken query into text and consults its language model.
• The response is transformed back into speech and delivered audibly.
• It promises an experience akin to interacting with Alexa.
• Users can select from five distinct ChatGPT voices, though OpenAI sees potential for even more variety in the future.

How to use images as a prompt

To use images, you’ll need to do the following:

• Press the photo button to take or select an image.
• For iOS or Android users, click the plus button initially.
• Discuss multiple images or employ the drawing tool for more precise queries.

How it works?

• It mirrors the functionality of Google Lens.
• Capture and upload a photo; ChatGPT will decipher your query and reply.
• The app’s drawing tool, as well as spoken or typed questions, can help refine queries associated with an image.
• Unsatisfactory answers from ChatGPT can be corrected in real time, echoing Google’s multimodal search approach.

What have OpenAI said about the new prompts?

A spokesperson from OpenAI stated the following:

“Voice and image give you more ways to use ChatGPT in your life. Snap a picture of a landmark while traveling and have a live conversation about what’s interesting about it. When you’re home, snap pictures of your fridge and pantry to figure out what’s for dinner (and ask follow up questions for a step by step recipe).”

“After dinner, help your child with a math problem by taking a photo, circling the problem set, and having it share hints with both of you.”

“We’re rolling out voice and images in ChatGPT to Plus and Enterprise users over the next two weeks. Voice is coming on iOS and Android (opt-in in your settings) and images will be available on all platforms.”

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Intelligency Digital Roundup.

This week, Elon Musk announced that X may become a paid service. Also, Google began rolling out the September 2023 helpful content update, and TikTok rolled out a new label for AI content.

X could become a paid service

In this week’s top story, Elon Musk announced that he plans to make X a paid platform for all users.

This is an attempt to tackle “rampant bot activity”. Musk revealed scarce details about the fee when chatting to Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister.

Unfortunately, Musk didn’t share how much the service would cost, or what features would be included to sweeten the deal.

However, Musk did claim that X’s 550 million users post 100 to 200 million times a day. Which is an impressive statistic. However, it wasn’t clarified how many of these are bot posts compared to real posts.

The above stats mark a 140% increase on the “average monetizable daily active usage” of 229 million reported by Twitter in May 2022, which is before Musk took over.

A significant change

This would be a significant change for users because the platform has always been free. It’s a change that’s so significant, that it could drive them away from a once-beloved platform in their eyes.

On the other hand, it could be good for advertisers, because it may mean they can tap into a higher-quality audience and have fewer issues with bots.

So what’s X said?

Musk told the Prime Minister the following:

“The single most important reason that we’re moving to having a small monthly payment for use of the X system is that it’s the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots.” “Because a bot costs a fraction of a penny, or a tenth of a penny, but if somebody even has to pay a few dollars or something, some minor amount, the effective cost of bots is very high, and then you also have to get a new payment method every time you have a new bot.” “We’re actually going to come out with lower tier pricing. We want it to be just a small amount of money [and] in my view, this is actually the only defense against vast armies of bots.”

Once we know more about the subscription or one-time fee, we’ll be posting about it for the weekly roundup!

Google roll out September 2023 helpful content update

After releasing a core update not too long ago, Google has now pushed out an update to its helpful content system. It began rolling out last week and should be fully rolled out by the end of next week.

The last helpful content update was the December 2022 helpful content update.

So what’s changing with the update?

With the new update, Google has promised an improved classifier.

The specific details are as follows:

• New guidance for hosting third-party content, as well as what to do after a helpful content system update.
• More points about either removing content or changing the dates on current, published content.
• The words “helpful content written by people” have been changed to reflect the current AI generative content landscape. It now reads “helpful content created for people in search results”.

Google’s dev blog, Search Central, explains more about the update.

What to do if you’re affected by the update

If you’ve been negatively affected by the helpful content update, Google has a list of questions you can run through to analyse the quality of the content on the site. The company stresses that content needs to be helpful or informative, and not just primarily created for ranking well on SERPS.

The list of questions is:

• Do you have an existing or intended audience for your business or site that would find the content useful if they came directly to you?
• Does your content clearly demonstrate first-hand expertise and a depth of knowledge (for example, expertise that comes from having actually used a product or service, or visiting a place)?
• Does your site have a primary purpose or focus?
• After reading your content, will someone leave feeling they’ve learned enough about a topic to help achieve their goal?
• Will someone reading your content leave feeling like they’ve had a satisfying experience?
• Are you keeping in mind our guidance for core updates and for product reviews?

And when it comes to avoiding search-engine first content:

• Is the content primarily to attract people from search engines, rather than made for humans?
• Are you producing lots of content on different topics in hopes that some of it might perform well in search results?
• Are you using extensive automation to produce content on many topics?
• Are you mainly summarizing what others have to say without adding much value?
• Are you writing about things simply because they seem trending and not because you’d write about them otherwise for your existing audience?
• Does your content leave readers feeling like they need to search again to get better information from other sources?
• Are you writing to a particular word count because you’ve heard or read that Google has a preferred word count? (No, we don’t).
• Did you decide to enter some niche topic area without any real expertise, but instead mainly because you thought you’d get search traffic?
• Does your content promise to answer a question that actually has no answer, such as suggesting there’s a release date for a product, movie, or TV show when one isn’t confirmed?

Final comments

It’s important to note that even if you put content fixes or technical fixes in place, it can still take several months of time to recover. Google described the update as an “ongoing effort to reduce low-quality content and make it easier to find content that feels authentic and useful in search.”

TikTok now labelling AI content

Our final story for this week concerns TikTok. If you’re a user on the platform, you may have noticed there’s been an increase in the amount of AI edited content. Whether that’s generated photos using MidJourney, cool stuff you can do with prompts on ChatGPT, or deepfakes of a celebrity.

Well, creators on the platform have been advised to use this new label on any content that’s been fully or heavily edited with AI. The label is similar to the branded content label.

For creators, it’s important that they keep up with the latest community guidelines which TikTok put in place. If you don’t follow them, you can be penalised, especially if you’re making money from the platform.

Clearly labelling AI content helps fight disinformation and deceit from malicious sources, and helps to build audience and creator relationships.

Why the change?

The label is a consequence of the synthetic media policy which comes under the community guidelines. TikTok urge that the labels should be used whenever there’s content that includes likelike images, video, or audio.

The company plans to release a series of educational videos to show creators how to effectively use the label.

“We hope that with time, people will start using these labels just like they do verified account badges and branded content labels, making them another useful tool for creators and viewers to share and make sense of content.”

-A TikTok Spokesperson

As well as the label, TikTok will be renaming all TikTok effects to be TikTok AI effects. Also, it plans to test an automatic “AI-generated” label.

TikTok Newsroom has the full announcement.

Good Afternoon, and welcome to the latest edition of the Intelligency Digital Roundup.

This week, Google’s latest Core Update finished rolling out. Also, we look into how influencer ad spending has grown, and how TikTok is still growing as an alternate search engine.

Let’s learn more about each story.

Google Core Update finishes rolling out

We wrote about Google starting to roll out a couple of weeks ago. This week, Google Search Central announced the rollout has finished.

Google stated on its Search Status Dashboard that the full rollout took 16 days and three hours.

Core updates

The purpose of a core update is to update Google’s search algorithms in order to provide users with helpful and reliable results.

The last update was in March 2023, however, Google updated its product review systems in February and April.

Google has confirmed that as well as the core update, it is beginning to index CSV files.

So what comes next?

Google always stresses that if you’ve been negatively affected by the core update, you need to take time and address the quality of the content of your website, rather than look for quick technical fixes.

Improving technical aspects right away may not lead to improved rankings, so it’s important to focus on the site as a whole rather than just certain aspects.

Influencer ad spend growing faster than traditional ad investment

This week, Insider Intelligency published results from some influencer marketing research, which may surprise you. It was discovered that businesses were investing more into influencer ads than traditional methods.

Brands have been advised to consider changing ad campaign strategies to match the rising popularity of influencers.

Influencer marketing

More and more businesses are embracing influencer marketing daily, and the way audiences consume ads is changing. This isn’t to say that traditional ads don’t work anymore, but it’s important to stay notified of trends and changes so that you can get the most out of ad investments.

Influencer income

The report also included a report on how influencers generate income on their respective platforms. The breakdown can be seen below:

Insider Intelligence had this to say about the report:

“The time to act is now. Influencer marketing spending will rise roughly 3.5 times faster in 2023 than social ad spending will. That’s a testament to the resilience of creators, even amid economic concerns and major competition.”

If you’ve not considered using influencers to market your products or services, now may be the time!

51% of Gen Z women prefer TikTok to Google

According to a survey conducted by Her Campus Media in August, TikTok is the platform of choice for more than half of Gen Z women for searching. Also, it helps influence purchase decisions more than any other platform.

While Google still dominates most of the world (83.5%), the company does acknowledge TikTok as a threat. Recently, TikTok has even launched search ads. Although it’s important to remember that TikTok isn’t a web search engine, you need to be visible whenever users search for relevant topics.

So what does the study show?

Her Campus Media’s survey shows that overall, 74% of Gen Z use TikTok Search. Also, 51% of the survey takers chose TikTok over Google as a search engine. The three biggest reasons for this are as follows:

• The video format of the results (69%) 
• More relatable answers (65%) 
• Personalised answers (47%) 

There’s also currently a trend which reflects some of the findings of this survey. #tiktokmademebuyit reported that videos with this hashtag received 12.4 billion views overall. Nearly 3 out of 4 users from Gen Z have bought something after seeing it on TikTok.

TikTok has influenced purchases for 62% of Gen Z, which is more than any other platform. This figure has increased by 15% compared to a 2022 survey.

Also:

• 70.34% look to influencers.
• 62.31% look to brands.
• 61.17% “somone I trust.”

Also, compared to Instagram 76% of users prefer to watch TikToks over Reels.

The survey used a sample size of 1,821 Gen Z’ers. 97% of the takers identified as female.

If your business isn’t on TikTok and you want to target audiences from Gen Z, now’s the time to start looking into a TikTok strategy.