YouTube is testing a Cost-Per-Hour (CPH) Masthead ad option that allows brands to own its top ad space by the hour, giving advertisers 100% share of voice across all devices during key moments. This model enhances visibility for major launches and complements the existing CPM model. Advertisers can purchase specific hours for complete ownership of impressions, reflecting YouTube's recognition of the need for precise timing control in advertising.
Semrush, a leading SaaS platform, has acquired Third Door Media, including its brands Search Engine Land, SMX, MarTech, and Digital Marketing Depot. The acquisition aims to enhance resources, content, and industry insights for marketers. Search Engine Land will continue its mission to provide news and insights on search marketing. The integration promises greater access to tools and education for marketers, enriching their strategies and business outcomes.
A Google Ads bug is causing Demand Gen campaigns to be mislabeled as Display Network in reports, confusing advertisers and potentially leading to inaccurate performance analysis and campaign management. Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin confirmed this is a bug, not a feature change, starting from the week of July 8, 2024. Advertisers should be cautious and await further updates from Google before making significant campaign adjustments.
Reddit updated its robots.txt file on July 1, 2024, blocking Bing and many other search engines from crawling its site. This move does not affect Google, with which Reddit has a licensing deal. Microsoft confirmed that Bing respects the robots.txt standard and has stopped crawling Reddit. Reddit stated that the decision is unrelated to its partnership with Google but stems from failed agreements with other search engines regarding content use.
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A new scam on Google Maps and Google Business Profile lets competitors move business map pins, harming rankings. This is done via the "Suggest an edit" feature, and Google doesn't notify owners. To fix it, use an email not linked to any profile, search for the business, suggest an edit, and correct the map location. Regularly check your profile for unauthorized changes.
Google is ending its continuous scroll feature in search results, reverting to the classic pagination bar. Continuous scroll, introduced on mobile in October 2021 and on desktop in December 2022, will be phased out starting with desktop searches today, followed by mobile searches soon. Google aims to serve search results faster and found that continuous scroll did not significantly improve user satisfaction. This change may affect website clicks and Search Console data.
Google is consolidating its content suitability levers for advertisers across YouTube and the Display Network starting in September. Several content label exclusions will be removed for YouTube ads but remain for Display. Certain exclusions will only be available account-wide, not per YouTube campaign. These updates aim to simplify brand suitability controls while preserving flexibility for advertisers, impacting both existing and new campaigns.
Google is requiring high-spending advertisers to switch from credit or debit card payments to bank-based options by July 31, or face suspension. This aims to promote automated payment methods for scalability. Affected advertisers must use Monthly Invoicing or Direct Debit. While Google claims benefits like flexibility and control, critics argue it could cause cashflow issues and negative press. Notifications will be sent throughout 2024.
Google’s AI Overviews now appear in less than 15% of searches, down from 84% when it was known as Search Generative Experience in Labs. This decline started in mid-April. The launch saw incorrect and dangerous AI-generated answers. AI Overviews are more likely with featured snippets and question-based queries but less with sitelinks and local queries. Despite the reduction, AI in search is expected to improve and become more useful over time.
