In this final installation of Obility’s Digital Trends before making way into the new year, we’ll explore the latest from Google, AdWords, and Facebook as some final points of consideration for your 2018 campaign planning. Make your lists, and check them twice!
Summary: Breaking News! Google officially increased meta description length in search results. Snippets can now be as long as 320 characters, up from 160 – 230 characters on average. A google spokesperson commented recently on the change stating that it was implemented to provide more description. This will allow people to better understand how pages are relevant to their searches.
Action: Obility will be increasing our recommended meta description length in our Action Items Report from 150 characters to 320 characters. We will be communicating this change to all clients beginning in December. We will also be testing the impact of this change in the search results pages.
Summary: Facebook recently unveiled a new plan to disclose ads. Very similar to the plan Twitter also revealed, Facebook will now tell users what groups and companies pay for ads on its platform. Anyone can now view any ads running on Facebook. No more so-called “dark posts”!
Action: Obility will not be taking any immediate actions due to the roll out being slated for 2018. However, early next year if you are a client who runs ads on Facebook we will be doing a competitive analysis for your top 3 competitors using this new insight.
AdWords
Universal App Campaigns Transition
Summary: Existing Search, Display and YouTube app promo campaigns stopped running on November 15th. You should be in the process of upgrading to UAC as soon a possible.
Action: Create a separate UAC for each type of user that you’d like to acquire, whether that’s someone who will install your app or someone who will perform an in-app action after they’ve installed. Track all important conversion events in your app to learn how users engage with it. The pick an in-app action that’s valuable to your business and is completed by at least 10 different people every day. This will give UAC enough data to find more users who will most likely complete the same in-app action. You must supply a healthy mix of creative assets.
And finally, everyone at Obility would like to wish you a happy holiday season. May it be filled with love, delicious food, and B2B digital marketing cheer!