At Aumcore, we like to stay in the know – and we want you to be right there with us. In case you haven’t heard, here is a recap of the biggest industry updates from July, 2016 in the world of digital marketing. Learn how some of the world’s biggest players are innovating their business marketing strategies and stay on top of industry trends and technology.

Let’s take a look at what’s dominating the digital landscape, shall we?

#1. Verizon to Acquire Yahoo’s Operating Business

If you’ve been keeping up with our blog, you already know this is one of the biggest wave-making updates of the season. Verizon confirmed on July 25, 2016 that they will acquire Yahoo’s operating business for approximately $4.83 billion in cash, subject to customary closing adjustments.

According to the press release “The sale does not include Yahoo’s cash, its shares in Alibaba Group Holdings, its shares in Yahoo Japan, Yahoo’s convertible notes, certain minority investments, and Yahoo’s non-core patents (called the Excalibur portfolio). These assets will continue to be held by Yahoo, which will change its name at closing and become a registered, publicly traded investment company. Yahoo will provide additional information about the investment company at a future date.” You can learn more about the detail’s on Verizon’s News page, or discover Yahoo’s journey from birth to acquisition on the Aumcore blog.

#2. Google Bans Payday and Other High-interest Loan Ads

At least someone care’s about the ridiculous financial situation going on in the world – and they’re doing something to stop it. On May 11, 2016 Google announced in the public policy blog, that ads promoting payday loans that require repayment within 60 days and loans with interest rates above 35% would no longer be accepted or displayed starting July 13. And now, after a week’s delay, the ban is officially rolled out. Goodbye early Payday, hello financial freedom (at least on the horizon for some). Interested? Read more on the story at Search Engine Land. Looks like the high-interest loan industry is going to need to look for a different avenue of advertisement.

#3. Google Introduces Price Extensions for Mobile Text Ads

On July 18, Google introduced price extensions for mobile text ads which will help advertisers to showcase their services, products and prices, with a new extension for AdWords text ads. Now, the new text ad extension shows additional information about your services and range of products, as well as how much they cost (shown in below snapshot).

Google Introduces Price Extensions for Mobile Text Ads
Image Source: adwords.googleblog.com

Want to learn more about getting your product details published for mobile text ads? You can refer to Google’s article for more information. Interested in running a targeted mobile text ad? Let us help you with an SEM strategy that delivers results.

#4. Google Introduces New Hotel Search Filters, Deal Labels and Airline Price Tracking

It’s not too late for that summer vacation… in fact there’s never been a better time! Google introduced a range of new mobile hotel and flight search tools that will help you save an extra dollar and go an extra mile.

Google now allows mobile users filter hotel search results by price or rating. In addition, Google says that hotel search will respond to more precise queries such as, “Pet-friendly hotels in San Francisco under $200.” Google will also offer airfare price tracking. Users can track fare changes on specific routes, airlines and dates. These changes will roll out first in the US and later across international markets.

This will drastically increase the needs for hotels and airlines to advertise in order to be competitive with the price range and specifics shown in filtered results.

Google Introduces New Hotel Search Filters, Deal Labels and Airline Price Tracking
Image Source: searchengineland.com

#5. Google Initiates Responsive Text Ads with Device Bidding

In the Performance Summit in May, Google announced a completely new ad platform built from the ground up to help consumers and marketers succeed in this mobile-first world by initiating expanded text and responsive ads, bringing to life the canvas you use to connect with consumers, while device bid adjustments provide more control and flexibility so you can optimize with greater precision. The update has officially launched on July 26th.

#6. No PageRank Dilution when Using 301, 302, or 30X Redirects

For all you techies out there, this is a big deal. For everyone else, just understand that the world of SEO and search results is ever-changing, and this is another way which Google has evolved.

Google webmaster trends analyst, Gary Illyes, confirmed in a tweet on the 26th of July that that using a 30x redirect won’t lose PageRank anymore. This means that there is no PageRank dilution (penalty) when a website’s coding uses 301, 302 or 30X redirects. Dilution-free redirects will likely interpret to some sites ranking higher in search results.

#7. Google Says “Goodbye” to Converted Clicks

Converted Clicks was introduced by AdWords in 2001, and is officially being replaced with “Conversions.” Google announced on Monday that support for Converted Clicks will end after September 2016. In the blog post, Google mentioned the “Conversions” column family now offers the full picture of how many conversions AdWords drives for your business. To simplify things, Conversions will soon be the default method to measure valuable actions for your business.

#8. Google Launches Imported Call Conversions

Call me maybe? Google has announced imported call conversions, a new feature that allows advertisers to import call data so that they can attribute detailed conversion data (such as revenue generated info), back to the calls generated by their AdWords campaigns. The initiative will help those who leverage call marketing to gain a greater understanding of their success.

#9. Instagram Steals “Stories” from Snapchat

And getting more scandalous, there’s been a big incident of theft in the social media world… or is it theft with it’s so readily admitted? Instagram has launched their own version of social giant Snapchat’s stories – an almost exact replica to be precise. Instagram’s CEO pleaded guilty saying, that “they (Snapchat) deserve all the credit.”

The upcoming weeks will be telling to see if Snapchat looses some of its user base, or if instead the producers of such brief social video sharing will only increase with the addition of Instagram’s own cult followers on the trend.

Instagram Steals “Stories” from Snapchat
Image Source: blog.instagram.com

That’s it for now! Continue to check back for more trending topics in the world of Digital Marketing and innovation in action on the Aumcore blog.

See some areas that your business could benefit from? We’ve been soaking up these updates like a sponge, and would love to develop a strategy for you leveraging the latest trends and navigating the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing. Check out some of our services and ask our team of industry professionals how we can help you succeed.