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Good morning, Marketers and no one likes bugs.

Yesterday morning I found some tiny ants under my shower mat. I freaked out and smushed one with my finger and washed it down the bathroom sink. My daughter has been walking for a while now, so there’s a high chance that she’d find and eat a bug. I felt relieved until my husband told me that the ants released a pheromone upon being smushed that told the other ants where to find its… smushed self. So I, in essence, invited more bugs.

That’s kind of how this week has felt with Google products. If you’re in SEO and PPC, it’s been the week of bugs — one right after the other. We finally got Search Console data back yesterday after a reporting bug meant almost six days of no data for some marketers (more on that below).

Then, Wednesday featured a Google Ads outage bug “which caused some ads to stop serving temporarily. The issue has been resolved and no action is required,” said Ads liaison Ginny Marvin.

While both issues have been resolved, bugs can be a real problem for marketers and the clients and stakeholders they work for. It highlights why clear communication is critical — not just between marketers and stakeholders, but between Google and marketers, as well.

Carolyn Lyden,
Director of Search Content

Phrase and broad match keywords that are identical to a query are now preferred

When Google announced that it was expanding phrase match to include broad match modifier traffic earlier this year, it told advertisers that an exact match keyword that’s identical to a query will always take priority, so long as it’s eligible to match. Moving forward, broad match and phrase match keywords will follow that same behavior, Google announced on Thursday.

In addition, the company has provided new details on how keyword matching works when a search is identical to a given keyword as well as when a search is not identical to any of an advertiser’s keywords (shown above). Google has also revealed that BERT’s language understanding capabilities are now being used to understand the intent of queries and match them to keywords.

Why we care. The natural language processing capabilities BERT brings to keyword matching may mean that your ads get shown for more relevant searches. Knowing how Google matches keywords can help you save time and better configure your campaigns. However, the removal of search terms not deemed “significant” remains a problem for broad match. Google has added more historical data for queries that received impressions but no clicks, which can be helpful, but advertisers may be missing out on important search query data if broad match terms with less “significant” queries drive more traffic.

Google also recommended that advertisers group keywords into thematically consistent ad groups so their ads will serve from the ad group they expect them to: “Let’s say your business offers food delivery, and your most popular search categories are sushi and pizza delivery. In this case, we’d recommend three ad groups so you can tailor your creative and landing page: one for ‘sushi delivery’, another for ‘pizza delivery’, and a third for ‘food delivery.’”

Read more here.

Microsoft Advertising launches Marketing with Purpose Business attributes

New attributes from Microsoft Advertising allow businesses to indicate their dedication to “responsibility, how your brand values align with the values of your customers, and how your brand is being inclusive,” said an announcement from Vi Nguyen, Crystal Zhang, and MJ DePalma.

The attributes advertisers can choose from fall under four main categories: inclusion, environmental, community/social responsibility, and accessibility. Within those categories, there are 32 attributes that a business can choose. “These attributes can be set at the account level and used to decorate text ads and product ads,” said the announcement.

Why we care. “Recognizing that these values drive value for both your brand and your customers builds trust and inclusivity. Understanding and addressing what your customers value is inclusive marketing. Overall, executing Marketing with Purpose in your advertising is an important way for marketers to overcome barriers in the moments that matter, and to connect with people. It’s an approach that brings us together and highlights great aspects of your business, authentically. It establishes trust, increases brand love, and nurtures loyalty,” Nguyen, Zheng and DePalma said.

Read more here.

Google Search Console performance reports are now back to normal

IMG: https://searchengineland.com/figz/wp-content/seloads/2021/09/gsc-performance-report-delay-1536×458.png

Google Search Console’s performance reports now seem to be back to normal and showing recent data after experiencing significant delays over the past several days. Now, if you look at your performance report, you may see data as recent as four hours ago, which is a normal delay for the performance report.

Why we care. We are sure you are all eager to catch up on your reports and pull down the most recent data. This not only impacted the Search Console website interface, but also any APIs and data connections. So pull in your most recent data and check those positions and click-through rates (and let your clients/stakeholders know the data is back).

Read more here.

Search Shorts: Creative best practices for Google Ads, hot takes on keyword matching, and #SEOChat on strategy

Magic in the making: The 4 pillars of great creative. Google Ads just released its new creative best practices guide. Check it out here.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I present the least accurate Tweet ever.” That’s Greg Finn’s opinion on Google telling PPCers that “Keyword matching is now more predictable.” If you like that, check out Julie Bacchini’s epic post about the topic.

Crystal Carter, SMX speaker and SEO expert, hosted an #SEOChat yesterday all about SEO strategy. Get the community’s take on how to prioritize and communicate strategy.

What We’re Reading: Snap Scan shines new light on the company’s local discovery ambitions

We tell local businesses all the time that they need to be on social media. Not only is it another citation, but it’s a place for happy customers to leave their positive reviews. Facebook is generally the best place, but Instagram could serve as a search engine too for those small businesses that focus on images to drive traffic and customers (think photographers and restaurants). 

Not one to miss the party, Snap is sneaking into the local market with its new Scan feature — it’s a “visual search tool that makes the world searchable and shoppable,” wrote Mike Boland for StreetFight. This version of artificial reality (AR) “applies machine learning and computer vision magic to identify items you point your phone at.” Then it directs you to the best option for buying that product.

So where does local come in? This new shopping experience comes along with a bunch of other location-focused lens features “like Geofilters, Snap Map, Local Place Promote, and Local Lenses,” said Boland. The AR option means that buyers can potentially find their next fashion option at your store nearby. Is AR and visual search the future of local SEO? Probably not anytime soon, but there’s a chance it could help drive business for retail companies.

The post Data, data, data, data rockin’ everywhere; Friday’s daily brief appeared first on Search Engine Land.

Search marketing has a diversity problem. Older data from the American Marketing Association shows that most marketing leadership is still majority white, hetero, and male. Meanwhile, the audiences we’re marketing to are more diverse and inclusive than ever. It’s a topic we’ve covered multiple times at Search Engine Land:

• The onus of diversity should not fall to Black marketers
• What does commitment to diversity look like in an organization?
• How inclusion can lead to diversity in marketing and communications
• The business imperative behind inclusion and diversity

But it’s not one and done. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are ongoing efforts and something we need to commit to every day. This is why we’re excited to announce the second annual Search Engine Land Award for Advancing Diversity and Inclusion in Search Marketing to celebrate those individuals or organizations who are affecting real change.

We’re elated to announce that this year’s awards will include a guest judge, last year’s winner Areej AbuAli, a pillar in the SEO community and the founder of Women in Tech SEO.

You may nominate as many organizations or individuals as you feel deserve the recognition. We ask that you highlight specific initiatives conducted by the nominee and that in the nomination form you include the contact of someone who can “second” that nomination.

Nominate a person or organization now.

The post Second annual Search Engine Land Award for Advancing Diversity and Inclusion in Search Marketing: Nominations open appeared first on Search Engine Land.

A new wave of caution for in-person gatherings is sweeping over marketers as the COVID-19 Delta variant is causing cases to spike, especially in areas with lower vaccination rates.

Marketing professionals we surveyed this summer give it a 5 out of 10 chance, on average, that they will attend an in-person event through the end of 2021. The results showed a slight decrease in optimism compared to April, when respondents gave a 6 out of 10 chance, on average, that they would attend an in-person event in the fourth quarter of 2021.

About 30% of the nearly 170 marketers we surveyed in our latest Events Participation Index, said it was extremely unlikely (1 out of 10) that they would attend an in-person event this year. On the other hand, 20% said they were extremely likely (10 out of 10) to attend an in-person event this year.

This comes as several trade shows, conferences, and smaller regional shows are being planned for the remainder of 2021. It also follows an announcement by the New York Auto Show that it will not hold its 2021 event, despite optimism earlier this year that it could host tens of thousands of attendees in person.

The outlook improves slightly for 2022. Respondents on average gave it a 6 out of 10 likelihood that they would attend an in-person event in the first half of 2022. That jumped to 7 out of 10 for the second half of 2022.

All of this suggests that the kind of attendance seen in conferences, trade shows and more before the pandemic will not return in the near future.

Looking to 2022

Despite lingering concerns over safety, both attendees and exhibitors are budgeting to attend in-person events in 2022. But they plan to attend far fewer than before the pandemic.

About 78% of respondents said they are budgeted to attend a small number of in-person events in 2022, while only 12% said they were budgeted to attend many. We saw the same trend with exhibitors, which make up a smaller proportion of our respondents. Nearly 19% said they were budgeted to exhibit at a small number of in-person events next year, compared to 5% who expect to exhibit at many.

2022 attendance might also be limited by geography. While 56% of marketers said they would attend regional events that they could access through ground transportation or by driving, only 40% said they would fly long distances to attend.

Of course, willingness to attend an in-person conference depends on how safe attendees feel, so it is not surprising that 70% told us organizers should only allow vaccinated adults to attend.

This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, which could lead to more vaccine mandates across the US. New York City has already mandated proof of vaccination for visiting restaurants or gyms, and several major employers are also requiring staff to be vaccinated. The Consumer Technology Association’s upcoming CES 2022 event in January will also require proof of vaccination to attend.

Still, 30% of our respondents disagree with mandating vaccination, suggesting that organizers should expect mandates to be another limiting factor on attendance.

What hybrid means to attendees

Offering a digital component to a live event is not new. Conferences like SXSW, TechCrunch Disrupt and more had incorporated digital live streams into their events before the pandemic. But with the lockdown proving the value of virtual events, organizers are betting that hybrid events that pair in-person and digital experiences is the future. However, what attendees want from hybrid events is not so clear-cut.

About 32% of the marketers we surveyed said they would prefer a hybrid event where the in-person experience is smaller and more intimate paired with a large virtual experience. On the other hand, 25% said they would prefer a larger in-person event paired with a scaled-down virtual offering.

About 26% said the in-person and digital components of a hybrid event should be identical in scope while 17% said they saw no value in hybrid event experiences.

The virtue of hybrid during pandemic times is it gives organizers a chance to engage a larger audience that includes both in-person and virtual attendees. About 40% of the marketers we surveyed said they would attend an event in-person and access virtual components. About 22% said they would attend in-person only while 38% said they would attend the virtual components only.

Virtual to stay

Many of our respondents commented on how the past 18 months have changed their views on professional training and networking. For many of them, virtual events expanded their access to actionable information.

“It’s wonderful getting the benefit of top-notch presentations from the safety of my office. Going virtual has allowed vastly more people to ‘attend’ events and learn from the best,” wrote one respondent.

“While I love in-person events, I feel like I’ve attended more virtual events and training than I would have otherwise. It’s probably a combination of a reduced overall time commitment, and not having to pay for travel. I also feel like the level of training I’ve received hasn’t diminished from not being in-person,” wrote another.

But when it comes to networking, digital experiences miss the mark for many professionals, which is surprising in the age of social networking.

“I have not found virtual networking to be useful. It’s impossible to genuinely connect when there are so many participants, and the camaraderie that comes from being at a conference in person is totally gone. I don’t know what the magic ingredient is (mutual bonding over bad coffee and lack of sleep?) but online, networking interactions feel much more forced,” one marketer said.

Maybe this response sums it up perfectly.

“Virtual training is possible. Virtual networking … not so much.”

Events Participation Index timeline

• April 2021: Most marketers expect to attend in-person conferences by early 2022
• February 2021: Marketers say COVID vaccines create hope for quick return of in-person events
• September 2020: Marketers hopeful for late 2021 in-person conferences
• July 2020: No in-person events until 2nd half of 2021, marketers say
• June 2020: Prospect for in-person conferences fades for 2020
• May 2020: Many marketers unlikely to attend in-person conferences until COVID-19 vaccine

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