Last Week in Digital Marketing: Ever Expanding Options for Advertisers

As time goes on, there are always more and more options for advertisers. Google continues to add new ways for businesses to advertise, while Bing has added more options in its expanded text ads. YouTube is combining multiple ads to improve the viewer experience and Instagram is trying to limit inauthentic activity by using machine learning.

An Update to Bing’s Expanded Text Ads

Advertisers using expanded text ads on Bing are now able to include an additional headline, making three in total. This update also allows advertisers to include a second description and it expands the number of characters from 80 to 90. However, it’s important to note that that the third headline and the second description are not guaranteed to show up.

Takeaway: While these new features are optional, you should take advantage of these new options to fully optimize your Bing ads. As an added bonus, adding more text will allow you take up more room in the search results.

Google Ads Merges Merchant Promotions with Shopping Actions

Retailers who use Google Ads will now have access to Merchant Promotions through Shopping Actions. In other words, advertisers can add their own promotions to their Shopping Actions inventory. The promotions will show up anywhere the discounted products appear on Google Express.

Takeaway: Utilizing this new feature will help to create a stronger incentive for consumers to purchase your product.

More Ways to Promote Your Offers and Reviews on Google

Google recently launched a new set of ‘social post styles’ for its marketing materials hub, Small Thanks. These new types of posts allow advertisers to highlight certain services or products in addition to customer reviews. Google has also added display cards that feature your business’ distinctive or unique attributes.

Takeaway: These new posts are eye-catching and a great way to grab the attention of potential customers. Try them out!

Instagram will be Removing Followers, Comments, and Likes by Third-Party Apps

According to Instagram, they will be removing what they deem to be fake followers, comments, and likes generated by third-party apps. The social media platform is doing so in an attempt to reduce inauthentic and misleading activity. Users whose accounts are identified as having used third-party apps for such activities will receive a message informing them that the activity has been removed.

Takeaway: This is another step in Instagram’s move towards authenticity and transparency. Expect more changes to come in the future.

Twice as Many ‘Pre-Roll’ Ads on YouTube

YouTube is beginning to show two ads instead of one before the selected video plays. They are implementing this change to reduce the number of times a video is interrupted. By including two ads every break, they can show four ads with only two breaks as opposed to four separate breaks.

Takeaway: Users prefer to be interrupted while watching a video as few times as possible, so this change could be a good thing. While the feature is being tested out, we’ll have to wait and see if it is successful and here to stay.

Michael Childs is an Web Content Specialist on the the LeadBuilder® inbound marketing team. His interests include music, art, sports, and movies. He also loves animals. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

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