Every month, we bring you the latest platform developments that are shaping the digital landscape and influencing marketing strategies. This month’s updates highlight the growing influence of AI across search, advertising, and social media. The top three takeaways include:
- Focus on search intent to optimise for AI Overviews and capitalise on cited sources.
- Leverage AI tools like Operator and Imagen 3 to streamline tasks and enhance ad creativity.
- Experiment with new social features like Instagram’s Community Notes and LinkedIn’s video tools to engage your audience.
Contents
SEO Updates
Each month we report on significant changes in the world of SEO. These developments are reshaping how we approach search engine optimisation and whether you’re a marketer, content creator, or business owner, staying ahead of these trends is crucial for maintaining visibility and competitiveness.
- Google’s Spam Documentation Update
Google has clarified its guidelines around site reputation abuse, specifically addressing the use of first-party vs. third-party content creators. This update aims to reduce confusion and ensure better compliance with quality standards. - AI Overviews and Search Intent
AI Overviews are becoming more prominent, particularly for “how to” queries and low-volume keywords. Interestingly, these overviews can reduce organic click-through rates (CTR) by over 70%, but they also boost CTR for cited sources. - OpenAI’s Operator
OpenAI has introduced Operator, a new AI agent capable of automating repetitive browser tasks like clicking, scrolling, and typing. This tool could revolutionise how marketers handle routine online activities. - Yahoo’s AI Chat Experiment
Yahoo is testing AI chat in its search results, potentially leveraging Microsoft’s Copilot. This move could signal a shift in how users interact with search engines. - AI Search Engines and Traffic
AI search engines are driving ~22% of transactional traffic to homepages, with 80% of this traffic going to ecommerce sites dominated by big brands. - Google’s Prefetching Feature
Google is using the Speculation Rules API to prefetch top search results, improving load times and enhancing user experience. - AI-Generated Images and Traffic Loss
Sites using AI-generated images are reportedly losing significant image traffic, possibly due to Google’s updated image ranking algorithms. - Google News Automation
Google News is now fully automated, meaning any content meeting its requirements is automatically eligible for ranking without manual intervention. - Bing’s Market Share Growth
Bing has seen record growth, now accounting for 28.7% of desktop searches in the U.S. and 11.9% worldwide. - Google’s AI Mode and Circle to Search
Google is testing an “AI mode” for exploratory queries and expanding AI Overviews to its Circle to Search feature, which is particularly popular among younger users.
PPC Updates
Understanding the news and updates around PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising is crucial for maximizing campaign performance.
- Google Ads Responsive Search Ads Update
Google Ads has improved Responsive Search Ads by allowing up to two headlines in the sitelink area when they’re predicted to boost performance. Advertisers can also use the combinations report to track headline performance. - AI-Generated Humans for Ads
Google’s Imagen 3 technology now enables advertisers to generate AI-powered human images for ads. This feature allows customisation of demographics like age, gender, and ethnicity, offering more creative control.
Social Media Updates
After a tsunami wave of social media updates from January and February, in response to the TikTok USA ban. In comparison, not much has happened with the platforms this month, but as always there have been some updates.
TikTok
- Lemon8, ByteDance’s Instagram-like app, is now available in Australia.
- Snapchat has seen a 40% year-over-year increase in creators, likely due to TikTok’s ongoing uncertainty.
- Instagram is testing a “dislike” button for comments, which will influence comment ranking without displaying dislike counts.
- Threads is working on limiting post replies to followers only.
- A new “Community Notes” feature is launching soon to provide context and keep users informed.
- Instagram’s Edits app will serve as a testing ground for new features.
- Reels can now be paused during playback, and profile grids can be rearranged.
- Hashtags are reportedly ineffective on Instagram, according to Adam Mosseri.
YouTube
- TV screens have overtaken mobile as the primary device for YouTube viewing in the U.S.
- Google’s Gemini can now watch YouTube videos for users.
- YouTube citations in AI Overviews have grown by 25%, with healthcare queries seeing a 41% increase.
- Creators can now promote Shorts without a full Google Ads campaign.
- LinkedIn has introduced new video tools, including full-screen video experiences and improved discoverability.
- Video viewership on the platform has increased by 36% year-over-year.
Stay Up To Date With Marketing
Digital marketing is ever-evolving, with new social media channels, new forms of searching for content and updates to algorithms and consumer changes. It’s important to stay up to date with the latest information to ensure your marketing is moving towards hitting your goals and targets.
There’s a lot to keep up with in marketing, which is why we offer a range of online and face to face marketing training courses that cover the latest trends and best practices that your organisation needs in order to succeed
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