SEO
Is anyone using Web Stories?
Web Stories have been slowly creeping up on the internet over the past six months or so, and Google’s just released their first major update for the plugin.
In a blog post published late last week, Google outlined a few big changes they’re making to the WordPress plugin. Here are the highlights:
- There are plenty of new text sets. Google’s introducing some new text sets, specifically designed for editorial purposes, that should make it easier to get the right look for your site.
- Go crazy with GIFs. If you’ve ever used them, you’ll know that slapping GIFs into your content is playing with fire. But, if you do it correctly, you can form a better connection with readers – and you’ll now be able to use GIFs in your Web Stories.
- Make it accessible. It’s now easy to add captions to your Web Stories, which can make them more accessible to all users.
It’s pretty easy to forget that Web Stories actually exist, as they’re pretty rare to find in the SERP jungle. But, Google definitely wants you to use them – and if you think it might be able to provide some value to users, they might be worth a shot.
Turkey has a problem with Google
It has been a wild year for big tech – so it’s only fitting that, as we approach the end of 2020, Google gets hit with a $25M fine and a demand to change their advertising strategy within the next 6 months.
Now, there’s a caveat: If the US or the EU were laying down these kinds of demands, this would be front-page news. But, it’s Turkey that’s got a problem with Google. So, although it’s not immediately relevant for most advertisers worldwide, there are still some potential far-reaching implications.
Here’s what Turkey is saying:
- Google has a monopoly. The Turkish government believes that Google effectively has a monopoly over search advertising. This isn’t a wild claim, either – the United States’ Justice Department sued Google for a similar issue last month, and Google’s been fined billions by the EU for the same thing.
- Search ads are a breach of antitrust law. Now, Turkey might want to double-check its argument on this one. The government is saying that by placing ads in organic search, certain businesses are being pushed out of the results. This isn’t entirely true, though, even if an abundance of search ads has been a hot topic lately.
- Google needs to change their strategy, fast. Turkey’s competition authority is giving Google six months to fix what they view as an unfair ads strategy.
If you want to learn a little more about the situation, check out this article.
The Crew’s take: While it’s possible that Google could be forced out of Turkey by the summer, it’s unlikely that things end up there. Still, it’s an ominous sign for the tech giant. And Turkey’s not the only country raising questions about Google’s operations.
SPONSORED BY SOFARM
Don’t let the Zuck-hammer ruin your Q4
Nonsense random ad accounts bans. It has been the main talk of the last months.
Whole Facebook groups and Twitter threads have been filled with complaints about accounts banned.
And with the holiday season in full swing, getting an account banned is the worst nightmare a Facebook media buyer can have.
But you can have unlimited Facebook ad accounts using SoFarm. They have spent seven figures testing and perfecting a solid infrastructure to create unlimited ad accounts. And they can help you if:
- You are an affiliate network or offer owner where your affiliates have issues with ad accounts.
- You host masterminds and students ask you for solutions against the Zuck hammer.
- You are an agency with a long list of clients that need backup accounts.
In one of these cases, SoFarm gives you a solution:
Unlimited white label ad accounts – You will use SoFarm’s infrastructure ad accounts that you can either use yourself or provide to your affiliates, students and others as needed.
Facebook’s known to be an unstable platform but one that can generate sales. So this Q4, don’t get caught unprepared and make sure your business partners aren’t unprepared either.
Get unlimited ad accounts with SoFarm. Or reach out on Skype: live:martin.work.ch
ADVERTISING
Ogilvy’s most relevant quote
David Ogilvy was an advertising legend.
Maybe the advertising legend. He was as close to a real-life Don Draper – creatively speaking – as there was, and he even gets a mention in the Mad Men series.
There are enough golden Ogilvy quotes to last us a year’s worth of newsletters. But, there’s one quote in particular that speaks to the nature of advertising, and it’s a great reminder for those of you who like to sell stuff:
“It’s not the whiskey they choose. It’s the image.”
Now, we hate bad whiskey just as much as the next – but here are some of our favorite brands that are selling the image just as much as they are the whiskey.
Liquid Death
The product: Canned water. Just regular, plain water.
The cost: About $2, or more than a cheap beer and less than an IPA.
Depending on how masculine the algorithm thinks you are, you may have stumbled across an ad from Liquid Death on YouTube or elsewhere.
It’s got the branding of a death-metal band and its ads have the creative genius of, well, someone who’s good at selling canned water to people. This is the quintessential example of selling the brand, not the whiskey – who’s paying $2 a can for plain water?
Liquid Death water is sourced from Austria, though…Got a discount for The Crew?
YETI
The product: Coolers, but they’ve since expanded to other products.
The cost: $300 and up.
Arguably the most famous cooler brand out there, YETI made a name for themselves with coolers that could keep stuff frozen for days. The company has played it smart, and is now a staple name-brand in the outdoors industry creating other products, and some incredibly cool short films.
YETI’s not the only player in the game anymore, though. RTIC Coolers is a main competitor that offers virtually the same product for half the price. But remember, it’s not the whiskey, it’s the image.
Apple MacBooks
The product: Do they need an intro?
The cost: Expensive.
No matter which way you slice it, Apple’s MacBooks aren’t the fastest computers on the market. They’re not gaming PCs with ridiculous graphic cards and they’re not customized with more RAM than you could possibly need, but they sell like crazy.
In part, it’s probably the buttery-smooth operating system – but don’t try to tell us that the brand aesthetic isn’t playing a major role.
Got any of your own image-over-whiskey brands you follow? Reply to this email and let us know!
ROUNDING UP THE STACK
FACEBOOK: In an effort to draw some more attention towards their Watch Together feature, Facebook’s announced a new show with Post Malone.
ADVERTISING: Cameron Farthing on Twitter dropped some useful knowledge if you’re looking to maximize your ad spend going into BFCM.
GOOGLE: It’s being reported that hacked Google My Business accounts are a growing problem – Google’s aware of it and is working on solutions.
FACEBOOK: Some users are reporting that Facebook is promoting their Rooms feature to be used for a ‘virtual Thanksgiving’ with friends and family this year.
ADVERTISING: Looking for a laugh? Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman have put together another ad, this time for Sam’s Club in an effort to raise money for charity. It’s worth checking out once or thrice.
BRAIN TEASER
It’s that time of the week. Which of our subject lines last week got the highest open rate?
🍷 Elon wants your money.
🛏️ Take it easy.
😧 6 months.
🚀 Ready the arsenal.
You can vote on our Twitter poll here. We’ll be back on Wednesday with the answer!
POOLSIDE CHAT
Cool tech, (funny) business, lifestyle and all the other things marketers like to chat about while sipping cocktails by the pool.
Is privacy included in the price? Or just the shipping?
Your coffee machine is studying your every move.
Unless you’re still using one of those drip-drip-drip coffee machines from the early 2000s, in which case your rowing machine is probably watching you brew a cup of joe from across the room.
We’re not trying to sound like alarmists, but Mozilla just published a privacy-first product guide and it’s got us covering cameras and double-checking our smart products like tin-foil hat-wearing conspiracy theorists.
Put simply, Mozilla’s product guide serves to help you out with your shopping decisions this Black Friday and holiday season. There’s a “privacy not included” tab, which lets you filter by products with questionable privacy standards.
Think your favorite product might be on the list?
Take a look for yourself here.
PS: Don’t start tossing out your smart products left and right – some of these pose minimal risks or allow you to opt-out of the data sharing and capture features!