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A set of niche-wise Google Playbooks. New feature launches for app marketers
Wind back a couple of months and you might remember that we shared two awesome playbooks leaked from Google.
These playbooks revealed some of the best practices and case studies for e-commerce and lead generation verticals.
Today, we bring you even more downloadable playbooks for other verticals. Next up, we look at new feature launches announced by Google for app marketers.
5 downloadable playbooks from Google
You remember those playbooks, right? You loved them, we know!
So, here we are bringing you even more playbooks aimed at the travel, finance and news verticals.
These playbooks address key website components for the above verticals and include key areas of improvement. All this, along with some of the best references and examples from the industry.
This includes Homepage optimization, Menu & Navigation, Site search, category/product page optimization, conversion optimization, payment form optimization to name a few.
For our new subscribers and for those who missed the previous playbooks back then, this email includes a complete set of all 5 Google Playbooks.
Here are the downloadable links:
Google Playbook for e-Commerce sites.
Google Playbook for Lead generation sites.
Google Playbook for Travel sites.
Google Playbook for Finance sites.
Google Playbook for News sites.
That’s a goldmine of knowledge right there, so enjoy and make the most of it guys and gals!
PS: There are some basic principles that are applicable to every online business, therefore you might find some overlap of common topics in these playbooks. However, they are also unique to their verticals in the sense that they feature industry-specific case studies and some top examples for different website components.
Hopefully this information can help you to add massive value to your business.
Pre-registration app ads, engagement app campaigns and more
Google has announced some new products and features for all you mobile app developers and marketers out there!
These features allow app marketers to track various phases of the app life-cycle from driving awareness and interest for pre-launch of apps to re-engaging existing users.
Pre-registration Ads
- This ad product can be used to target users for the pre-launch of apps.
- These ads will run across Play Store, YouTube, apps in the Google Display Network and Google.com.
- These ads will feature a “Pre-registration” button and users who opt-in will be notified to sign up early for other new games that Google thinks they might like.
Rewarded Ads in Play console
- Rewarded ads for AdMob were introduced last year.
- Bringing this model to Play Store, it will allow marketers to monetize their apps by giving users the option to watch an ad in exchange for an in-app benefit.
- You won’t need an app SDK or a new Google Ads account set up.
Maximise Conversions bidding
- Maximise conversions bidding is being introduced to App campaigns. Like Search campaigns, this will help you generate maximum conversions within your budget.
- Target Cost-per-Install (tCPI) ad Target Cost-per-Acquisition (tCPA) smart bidding options are also available.
- Factors for driving maximum conversions include remarketing lists, time of day, browser and operating system into bids.
App Campaigns for Engagement
- This new campaign type will allow you to target existing app installers to re-engage with your apps.
- Targeting lapsed user segments who never opened an app they previously installed or haven’t re-engaged lately.
Smart Segmentation
- App marketers monetize their apps using ads and In-app purchases (IAPs). Smart segmentation uses machine learning to find the right balance between using ads and IAPs so you don’t miss out on IAPs by showing ads to users likely to buy.
Except for smart segmentation, all the other features are still in closed beta. So, if you are an app marketer looking to grow your mobile app business, keep an eye on your ad accounts to check if you receive an invite to test these new features.
In the meantime, we’ll make sure to keep you posted on further updates on the rollout of these features.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media strategy template
Do you have a social media strategy for your business? How well documented is it?
If you don’t have a defined and well organized social media plan, the chances are that you’re missing out on some key aspects. You could end up targeting the wrong audience or platform and just end up with no positive results for all your hard work and time.
We came across this Social Media Strategy template shared by Juraj Zamborský that might help you out when putting together a social media plan.
You can use it to develop a social media plan for your clients, or just to streamline your own social media efforts.
This document contains step-by-step guide on developing a social media strategy, including:
- Defining your starting point.
- Specifying the target group.
- Setting up the objectives.
- Picking the right platforms.
- Choosing the best formats.
- Designating the tasks.
- Using the right tools.
- Organizing your content.
- Maximizing your reach.
- Analysis and optimization.
Got questions, need more details or have any feedback? Catch Juraj on the post here.
SPONSORED
Here’s a tracking platform that your affiliates will actually like to use!
How many times have you complained about this old tech that affiliate networks are using? How difficult are integrations? How flexible is reporting? What’s the minimum price to get started? Almost all of the top tracking systems have given up on innovating in any sector, a long time ago.
Well, there’s a new sheriff coming to town and it’s called Emebo. Remember this name. They are coming after the top solution providers in the industry, and it’s going to get messy.
Because this tracker changes the game. A game that should have been changed a long time ago. It’s 2019, it should not be about just tracking clicks and conversions. It should be about smart, intuitive data that helps you make more money.
Emebo is bringing unique data attribution reports, vital for any business that relies on truly understanding performance and whose goal is to make more, in less time, with fewer resources (don’t we all?). You will be able to have a deeper look into how advertising channels work together to bring you results!
Emebo also solves a few frustrations that had been too long forgotten by the elite solution providers:
- Easily integrate with 3rd party processors like ClickBank, BuyGoods or affiliate networks that use Cake and HasOffers, without having to worry about all the annoying tech stuff.
- Design creatives directly from the platform, or have your affiliates submit new ones by doing the same thing. No more annoying creative approval messages.
- Affiliates can upload their own invoices in order to get paid. While optional, this feature allows you to make sure all affiliates have submitted their invoices right inside the platform, before you initiate their payment.
- Build any type of performance or general report, by using Emebo’s dynamic report builder. Whether it’s about performance reports on even the smallest data point, or it’s about simple stuff as how many affiliates from a certain country have sign up daily to your platform, you can do it.
You also have all the usual features like real-time tracking, unlimited custom tracking domains or granular user permissions.
Also, there’s no monthly plan. Neither setup fees or hidden fees and there is no minimum period contract. It’s all pay as you go. That’s because Emebo’s goal is to provide the best solution in the industry and this is their way of saying: “If we are not able to do that, you should not stick with us. Period.”
Emebo is launching in private beta on April 10th and they plan to onboard 50 users into it. We’re certainly curious to see it in action!
Whether an affiliate, a network or an advertiser, we strongly encourage you to test out this software that brings performance tracking for affiliates, advertisers and affiliate networks to 2019 standards!
Sign up here and be one of the first to experience this next-gen platform.
New, more interactive Stories Ads
In a recent post, we talked about how more and more advertisers are shifting to Stories Ads. The CPMs are very low, yet the CTRs aren’t skyrocketing.
If you are among the marketers betting big on Stories Ads, this new update from Instagram might come as good news to you: Brands can now add Instagram’s poll sticker to Instagram Stories Ads.
Until now, the poll feature was available only for organic posts. However, with this new update you can now make your ads more interactive by engaging with your users over polls.
How do you add polls to Stories Ads, you ask?
You just need to select Instagram Stories as your only placement. Then, in the creative section, simply check the box to “Add an interactive poll”.
Zoom In
These kinds of ads seem to be very effective for building awareness and brand promotions. However, it’s still uncertain whether they work well for direct response ads. Basically, we want to know if they have a high conversion rate.
Either way, the higher engagement on polls might result in lower CPMs, so they could be worth a shot.
As always, testing is the key!
E-COMMERCE
MailChimp won’t leave the e-commerce space
By now, the break up between MailChimp and Shopify is mainstream news. However, we’ve brought you some new insight on MailChimp.
The company, before breaking up with Shopify, had already stuck its foot in the door of the e-commerce industry.
In February, the email service provider bought a smaller Shopify competitor, LemonStand. However, the company said that this acquisition isn’t related to the Shopify break up.
The reason behind, apparently, is to help their e-commerce customers market their products more effectively with MailChimp and to provide more functionality to their users.
According to them, they are not looking to compete with Shopify. Their aim is to provide a better experience for their customers. Well, let’s see if they’ll stick to this story or just end up going head-to-head with Shopify.
MOBILE MARKETING
How to boost your bot
Most people use emojis, GIFs and stickers to communicate. Is your bot doing the same?
It might seem a stupid question, but it isn’t. Given that people regularly utilize these forms of communication, your bot really should be using them to encourage more engagement with users.
Let’s see how you can take advantage of these twenty-first century communication symbols.
- Manage user expectations: Be clear about what your bot can and can’t do. If you are unable to provide support for gifs, images, the best thing is to let your users know that your bot doesn’t understand these.
Add responses like: “I’m sorry, I don’t know how to interpret images, gifs and stickers.” or “My creators didn’t give me the capability to understand gifs and images.”
- Train by example: If you use GIFs, emojis and stickers in your responses, they are more likely to send them back to your bot. Be sure and provide support for bi-directional conversation based on the components your bot uses in conversation.
- Understand sentiment: If possible, try to understand the sentiment behind the emoji that your bot is responding to. There are tools like Emojinet that you can leverage for emojis.
- Provide meaningful output: For the most common emojis, you can code responses even if you can’t integrate sentiment analysis. It is important to try and respond to the most common emojis and from users with meaningful outputs.
For instance, the thumb up is one of the most commonly used emojis. You should definitely consider experimenting with this emoji. For example, you could reply with a thumbs up emoji if one of your users says “ok” or “thanks” to your bot.
- Be cautious about mismatches in the bot response with the user sentiment: Don’t respond to a negative emoji, sticker, etc. with a positive response. It won’t feel like a natural conversation and the users might feel like they aren’t being heard. This can create negative feedback and credibility loss.
In addition, if you want your bot to use emojis and GIFs, here are some development tips and tricks to do that.
Developing a bot that handles GIFs, emojis and stickers can be a difficult process, but it has a big positive impact on the overall user experience. Using emojis can result in more engaging and natural conversations, and that can only be a good thing!
POOLSIDE CHAT
Cool tech, (funny) business, lifestyle and all the other things affiliates like to chat about while sipping cocktails by the pool.
“You drain, I gain” – A giant ad fraud
You might be aware of how some websites and apps use your devices’ processing power, data network, and batteries to mine cryptocurrencies.
Now, it looks like someone has figured out a similar type of scam using video ads!
They seem to have come up with these lucrative looking, power-hungry video ads that hide behind traditional banner ads in Android apps.
It’s important to remember that it’s not the app developers or ad networks at fault here. These fraudsters are buying up cheap banner spots and then filling them with hidden auto-playing video ads.
No human actually sees it, but it registers as having been served and viewed. This way, fraudsters earn many times the amount that they pay for the banner ads by stuffing far more lucrative video ads behind the banner itself.
In the end, it’s the brands whose video ads were shown that are affected.
BuzzFeed traced the ads to a company called OutStream Media, a subsidiary of Aniview. Aniview says it runs a self-service platform and is not to blame, but BuzzFeed paints a damning picture of Aniview as a potentially sketchy organization.
This technique is a form of ad-stuffing and can be used on non-video ads as well. It’s one of the ways ad fraudsters are syphoning money out of the global digital advertising industry, which will see more than $20 billion stolen this year.
According to some ad fraud companies, they see “tens of millions’ worth of these bad ads every month.
Next time, you find your phone draining too much battery way too quickly or eating up more data than it should, you know where to look.