The world of digital marketing is abuzz with updates and news every second, and we started the year in the same light. In this article, you will get all the latest January 2024 updates from Google AI allegations, the new ChatGPT Team, and the cancellation of Google Business Profile websites.
1. Google debunks AI allegations
- Google debunks allegations that they are boosting AI content to rank highly on the search engine.
- Google states that news-related content can be sorted based on recency rather than relevance.
- They also affirm in their Twitter statement that their priority is the quality of their content and production.
Source – Twitter
2. John Mueller addresses complete re-indexing
- Google’s John Mueller answers stakeholders stating that it is currently impossible to recrawl and reprocess a website simultaneously
- He assures them that search engines will, however, automatically update significant changes made to a website over time
Source – Seach Engine Journal
3. ChatGPT Team is now available
- OpenAI launches ChatGPT Team, a new subscription plan that offers features such as collaborative features, advanced GPT models, and a secured workplace for teams.
- It costs $25 per team member and aims at amplifying productivity in the workplace.
Source – Open AI
4. Google shuts down Business Profile Websites
- Google announces that from March 1, 2024, their Business Profiles will be discontinued and customers have to transition to other platforms (such as WordPress or Wix) to maintain their online presence.
- Google advises companies that have custom domains that direct traffic to their Google Business Profile websites to redirect them to their alternative websites.
Souce – Google
5. Google cancels contract with Appen
- Appen, a provider of data for AI and machine learning, announces the termination of their contract with Google, effective March 19, 2024.
- This decision results from their measures to cut costs and has caused the number of search quality raters to drop drastically.
Source – Rest of World
6. Meta seeks to protect brands’ IP
- Meta launched an updated version of Brand Rights Protection and a new Intellectual Property Reporting Center to help businesses reduce the impact of intellectual property infringements.
- Brand Rights Protection features new updates such as saved searches, cross-surface searching, and an expanded reference library to help businesses monitor the misuse of their brands.
- The new Intellectual Property Reporting Center enables them to report violations by saving relevant account information and keeping report history.
Source – Meta
7. LinkedIn discontinues lookalike audiences feature
- LinkedIn reveals to advertisers that new lookalike audiences cannot be created and old ones cannot be edited starting February 29, 2024.
- They recommend using predictive audiences, or Audience Expansion to enable active campaigns to continue building dynamic audiences.
- After 30 days, inactive campaigns will be archived, and after expiration, they will be deleted.
Source – LinkedIn
8. Meta plans to give EU users more control
- Meta discloses plans to give Facebook and Instagram users in the EU, EEA, and Switzerland more choices in compliance with the Digital Marketers Act.
- Users who have connected their Facebook and Instagram accounts will be asked if they want to continue connecting their accounts or not so that their information will not be shared across platforms.
Source – Meta
9. Facebook launches Link History
- Facebook has launched a new feature called Link History, which documents websites users visit on the platform to enhance targeted advertising.
- This feature, which users can choose to turn off, is in a bid to protect the privacy of users and ditch cookies.
Source – The Times of India
10. Google Ads launches Gemini
- Google Ads launches Gemini, their largest AI model, to streamline campaign creations and enhance the effectiveness of ads.
- It includes a conversational experience, which would help advertisers build better search campaigns via a chat-based feature.
- Beta access is now available to English-language advertisers in the US and UK.
Source – Google
11. Meta removes more targeting options for ads
- Meta advertisers are to note that the platform will be removing some of its detailed ad options for campaigns for reasons such as being too granular, not widely used, or based on topics that may be sensitive to people.
- These options are likely to relate to topics on race, health, and ethnicity.
Source – Social Media Today
12. LinkedIn’s promoted article feature
- LinkedIn now allows companies to promote articles posted on their pages and reach a wider audience
- The option to promote it will include a call to action such as “Unlock Article” which requires users to sign up before reading the full article.
Source – Search Engine Land
13. Google makes important snippet update
- Google announces that snippets are automatically created from the content of the page but will sometimes use the meta description if it is more relevant than the on-page content.
- You can stop Google from showing snippets or prevent specific parts of your page from showing on search results.
Source – DMNews
14. Google removes FAQ and How-to sections again
- Google has removed the FAQ and How-to snippets again after running tests to provide a cleaner and more consistent search experience.
- This comes after they reported last year that these features reduce the CTR for some web pages.
Source – Twitter
15. Instagram tests new public “Collections” feature
- Instagram has started a test for an extension of the Collections feature to enable users to share curated collections of their posts
- The purpose of this extension is to provide insights into a person’s interests and help users interact with pages with similar interests.
- Although there is no launch date yet, this is also aimed at businesses using the feature to promote their products.
Source – Social Media Today
16. GroupM launches Ad Innovation Accelerator program
- GroupM has partnered with industry giants like YouTube, Disney, and NBCUniversal to provide a new ad format for viewers who prefer ad-free experiences.
- This collaboration aims to help advertisers provide interactive ads on supported streaming platforms.
Source – GroupM
What is there to take away?
As business owners running digital ads, it can be a challenge to keep up with the constant changes in digital marketing. But not when you follow Primeclick media. Follow Primeclick Media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn so you will never miss a thing!
