Google Ads: Image extensions will be available on desktop
Images make our ads pop. Unfortunately, we’ve been unable to show image extensions on the desktop when running Google Search Ads.
Fortunately, Google has just announced they’ll be changing this. Yup, you’ll be able to show image extensions on desktop devices. This change will roll out over the next few weeks.
What you’ll need to do: Nothing. If you’re using image extensions for mobile devices, they’ll appear on desktop devices automatically as the update rolls out.
Some inspiration: Google announced that you’ll be able to choose from a set of stock images when you’re asked to choose an image for your image extensions. Nothing like showing a cheerful handyman stock photo for your plumbing ad.
Google will also make dynamic image extensions available in all languages (previously they were available only for English).
Instagram Stories links get an upgrade
Let’s face it, if you’ve spent more than 10 minutes on Instagram in the last month, you’ve seen at least one link sticker. Instagram announced this feature at the end of October and businesses were (too) quick to take advantage of it.
The social network has now improved the Link sticker by allowing you to change the text and colour of the link. Just like a website link.
What this means: Say you have a 15-second Instagram Story video and you want to send viewers to the full YouTube video. Previously, you couldn’t change the text of the link sticker, so it would always appear as “youtu.be” With this update, you can include a CTA such as “watch video” or “watch on YouTube.” Sounds more enticing to click on, no?
You can also change the colour of the link to something that contrasts with your video to make it more visible. Simple, but very effective if done right.
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E-COMMERCE
How to properly track calls on your website from Google Business Profile
Tracking the calls you get through your Google My Business (GMB) listing allows you to analyze your lead generation efforts.
And Yan Gilbert here showed the steps to properly set up your tracking system.
Let’s go.
Basic setup:
The basic setup is to go to your Google Business Profile dashboard and find the phone number field in the Info tab.
Move your original number in the additional number field and add the tracking number as the primary one.
The problem with this setup: The tracking number added to the GMB Profile fields is an offsite number.
This means that when someone clicks from the GMB listing to the website, the website still shows the original number everywhere.
The consequence: If someone discovers your business through the GMB listing, continues through to your website, and then calls you, the call will not be tracked properly.
The solution? Set up an onsite number. This is a number that changes on your website depending on where the visitor came from. This means that when someone lands on your website through your GMB profile, the number will update and the call will be tracked.
How do you do that?
1) Purchase a new tracking number and designate it as an onsite number. You have to install a tracking code on your website, but that’s a standard procudere for every tracking software.
2) Add the new number as a primary one in your Google Business Profile, and move the original number in the additional field.
3) Set up your UTM tracking parameters in your Google Business Profile and appointment fields.
4) Update the Condition section in your call tracking software with the UTMs you added in your GBP. This way, when someone lands on your website from the GBP listing, the phone number will change on the website to match the number you have added to your GBP field.
It looks complicated, but the original article will help you.
Yan Gilbert showed the process using CallTrackingMetrics, but it’s more or less the same for every call tracking software.
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Last chance to make a positive impact for 400+ marketers members of the AAMA
On December 31, the Giving Campaign by the African American Marketing Association will come to a close.
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THE CREW’S INSIGHTS
You might be killing your conversions
Mobile shopping is 74% of the e-commerce market. Yeah: Most people buying from you are doing it from their phones.
But multi-million dollar companies are still missing out on conversion by serving subpar mobile experiences. As of this writing, we’ve conducted deep dives into the marketing of five e-commerce brands.
Two of those brands, Peel and SIMULATE, had poor experiences on mobile:
- SIMULATE’S old NUGGS website cropped out valuable information on mobile and was difficult to navigate.
- The Peel website had awkward text-image overlap that made the browsing process a confusing one.
These are both large, successful companies. And in recent months, SIMULATE has phased out their NUGGS website and transitioned to a newer site with a better experience.
But we’re writing this as a reminder: If you don’t want to miss out on sales, take a closer look at your mobile experience. By the numbers, it’s objectively more important than your desktop experience.
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PINTEREST: Emotional escape rooms. Night moves. “Fake it ‘til you make it.” These are some of the trends to watch for 2022, according to Pinterest data.
FACEBOOK: If you sell on Facebook Marketplace, Facebook has just released a guide to help you optimise your listings for the upcoming holiday season.
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BRAIN TEASER
What weighs more? A pound of feathers or a pound of stones?
You can find the solution here.
POOLSIDE CHAT
Cool tech, (funny) business, lifestyle and all the other things marketers like to chat about while sipping cocktails by the pool.
Mark Cuban just bought a city. What will he do with it?
“I don’t know what if anything I will do with it,” according to Cuban.
Billionaire problems, we guess.
According to The Dallas Morning News, Mark Cuban just purchased an entire town south of Dallas.
It’s a small city though. The town has 77 acres of land and currently has two properties. A trailer park and a strip club. We’re not joking.
At the very least, this tiny town could do nicely as a billboard for the Dallas Mavericks.