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DigitalMarketingNews

  • Reddit Hits $10 Billion Valuation

    Reddit Hits $10 Billion Valuation

    Reddit has secured another round of funding, bringing the social media company’s valuation to $10 billion.

    Reddit has been the darling of the social media industry, posting impressive growth, especially compared to its larger rivals. The company has been moving toward an IPO, hiring Drew Vollero as its first CFO in an effort reach that goal.

    The company has now revealed its latest round of funding, placing the company’s valuation at $10 billion.

    We are optimistic and encouraged that not only are we resourced and capitalized to continue on our growth path, but also that our investors support our vision and want to deepen their stakes in our future. We will raise up to $700 million in Series F funding, led by Fidelity Management and Research Company LLC. and including other existing investors, at a post-money valuation of over $10 billion.

    Reddit reiterated its solid growth, noting its first $100 million advertising revenue quarter, a 192% increase from the previous year.

  • FTC Official Blasts Facebook’s Actions Against Researchers

    FTC Official Blasts Facebook’s Actions Against Researchers

    The FTC’s Acting Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, Samuel Levine, has written an open letter blasting Facebook’s recent actions.

    Facebook banned researchers from New York University that were studying political ad spending and disinformation on the social media platform. The company used its Terms of Service, which prohibit scraping personal data, to justify its actions. As critics have pointed out, however, the only data NYU researchers were collecting was regarding ads that are, by their very nature, public.

    Director Levine has written an open letter to Facebook criticizing the company’s actions, and making it clear the company’s initial claim of ‘protecting privacy’ doesn’t hold water in these circumstances.

    Below is a copy of his letter:

    Dear Mr. Zuckerberg:

    I write concerning Facebook’s recent insinuation that its actions against an academic research project conducted by NYU’s Ad Observatory were required by the company’s consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission. As the company has since acknowledged, this is inaccurate. The FTC is committed to protecting the privacy of people, and efforts to shield targeted advertising practices from scrutiny run counter to that mission.

    While I appreciate that Facebook has now corrected the record, I am disappointed by how your company has conducted itself in this matter. Only last week, Facebook’s General Counsel, Jennifer Newstead, committed the company to “timely, transparent communication to BCP staff about significant developments.” Yet the FTC received no notice that Facebook would be publicly invoking our consent decree to justify terminating academic research earlier this week.

    Had you honored your commitment to contact us in advance, we would have pointed out that the consent decree does not bar Facebook from creating exceptions for good-faith research in the public interest. Indeed, the FTC supports efforts to shed light on opaque business practices, especially around surveillance-based advertising. While it is not our role to resolve individual disputes between Facebook and third parties, we hope that the company is not invoking privacy – much less the FTC consent order – as a pretext to advance other aims.

    Sincerely,

    /s/ Samuel Levine

    Acting Director

    Bureau of Consumer Protection

  • Facebook Bans Researchers Investigating It

    Facebook Bans Researchers Investigating It

    Facebook is taking action, that appears to be retaliatory, against researchers that are investigating it.

    Researchers from New York University have been investigating how political advertising money is spent on the social media platform and shed a light on disinformation. The researchers created a browser plug-in that allowed users to capture ads they saw and post the data to a public database.

    Facebook has since blocked the researchers, claiming they are breaking the company’s Terms of Service by scraping data, saying so in a blog post:

    Today, we disabled the accounts, apps, Pages and platform access associated with NYU’s Ad Observatory Project and its operators after our repeated attempts to bring their research into compliance with our Terms. NYU’s Ad Observatory project studied political ads using unauthorized means to access and collect data from Facebook, in violation of our Terms of Service. We took these actions to stop unauthorized scraping and protect people’s privacy in line with our privacy program under the FTC Order. 

    There’s only one problem with Facebook’s stance: The data NYU’s browser plug-in captures is not from private individuals, but from ad companies whose ads are already publicly available — they wouldn’t be very effective ads if they weren’t.

    Facebook’s actions are already drawing criticism, with its actions being seen as a poorly veiled attempt to silence its critics. The result has been calls for increased scrutiny, including from no less that Senator Ron Wyden, well-known for his staunch pro-privacy stance.

  • Facebook Trying to Pervert Homomorphic Encryption

    Facebook Trying to Pervert Homomorphic Encryption

    Facebook is looking to use homomorphic encryption as a way to serve ads in encrypted chat and communications — to the surprise of no one.

    Homomorphic encryption is the next generation of encryption technology. The technology allows calculations to be performed without decrypting data. For example, Party A could encrypt two values, give them to Party B and tell them to add them together. Party B could perform the calculation and pass the encrypted result back to Party A for verification. Throughout the process, Party B would not know any of the values, including the calculated one.

    Many industries see homomorphic encryption as a way to protect data at every step of the way, not just when it’s being stored or in transit. The cloud industry, in particular, sees it as valuable way of securing the industry against cyberattacks.

    Facebook, in contrast, wants to use the technology as a way to serve ads in encrypted WhatsApp messages and other forms of encrypted communication, according to The Information. Fully homomorphic encryption is still a ways off, but the company has been hiring artificial intelligence experts in an effort to crack it. Theoretically, using homomorphic encryption would allow the company to offer its users security and privacy, while not jeopardizing its core advertising business.

    Somehow, it’s not surprising that Facebook — a company with a long-standing history of abusing consumer privacy — is looking to use the next great evolution of encryption to keep monetizing people’s data.

  • Google Sheds Light on Organic Search Drops

    Google Sheds Light on Organic Search Drops

    Google has posted information shedding light on why sites experience drops in their organic search results.

    Google routinely updates their search algorithms, with the most recent being in June and July of 2021. Unfortunately, changes to Google’s algorithms often lead to some sites seeing major drops in traffic. For many, the causes and potential solutions are unclear, making it difficult for sites to regain the traffic they once enjoyed.

    Google is now shedding light on the causes behind a drop in organic traffic: technical issues, security issues, manual actions, algorithmic changes and search interest disruptions.

    Daniel Waisberg, Google Search Advocate, outlines how each of these can impact traffic:

    Technical issues: Errors that can prevent Google from crawling, indexing, or serving your pages to users – for example server availability, robots.txt fetching, page not found, and others. Note that the issues can be site-wide (for example, your website is down) or page-wide (for example, a misplaced noindex tag, which would depend on Google crawling the page, meaning there would be a slower drop in traffic).

    Security issues: If your site is affected by a security threat, Google may alert users before they reach your site with warnings or interstitial pages, which may decrease Search traffic.

    Manual Actions: If your site does not comply with Google’s guidelines, some of your pages or the entire site may be omitted from Google Search results through a Manual Action.

    Algorithmic changes: Google is always improving how it assesses content and updating its algorithm accordingly; core updates and other smaller updates may change how some pages perform in Google Search results. To keep track of future updates, subscribe to our Google Search News YouTube series or follow us on Twitter.

    Search interest disruption: Sometimes changes in user behavior will change the demand for certain queries, either as a result of a new trend, or seasonality throughout the year. This means your traffic may drop simply as a result of external influences.

    Waisberg’s post should be a valuable resource for all webmasters, both those whose sites have experienced a drop and those that want to avoid one.

  • Google Piloting Three-Strikes Policy for Repeat Ad Policy Violators

    Google Piloting Three-Strikes Policy for Repeat Ad Policy Violators

    Google is cracking down on those repeatedly violating the company’s ad policies, piloting a three-strikes program.

    Google has a number of policies aimed at preventing harmful or inappropriate ads. The company prohibits “ads promoting deceptive behavior or products such as the creation of false documents, hacking services, and spyware, as well as tobacco, drugs and weapons, among other types of content.”

    Unfortunately, companies often try to circumvent Google’s policies, leading the company to try a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ approach.

    “That’s why we are introducing a new pilot program to test a three-strikes system for repeat ad policy violations,” writes Brett Kline, Product Manager. “Starting September 2021, warnings and strikes will be issued for violations of our Enabling Dishonest Behavior, Unapproved Substances and Dangerous Products or Services policies—this includes ads promoting deceptive behavior or products such as the creation of false documents, hacking services, and spyware, as well as tobacco, drugs and weapons, among other types of content. These types of ads have long been prohibited, but now we are introducing increasing penalties with each strike applied.”

  • Google Has Completed Its July 2021 Core Update

    Google Has Completed Its July 2021 Core Update

    Google has finished rolling out its July 2021 core update, following a June 2021 core update last month.

    Google usually rolls out core updates to its search algorithm every six months. Some of the updates weren’t quite ready for the June rollout, however, necessitating a follow-up rollout in July.

    The rollout began July 1 and is now complete.

    Google has not given much information on what to expect, only that some sites may see their rankings go up or down, or not change at all. According to Search Engine Land, however, some webmasters were seeing significant changes on July 2 and July 9. There’s a possibility some webmasters are seeing an impact today, but it’s probably still too early to be sure.

    Webmasters whose sites have been impacted should check out Google’s page on how core updates work and mitigation efforts that can be taken.

  • 37 States and D.C. Sue Google for Alleged Play Store Antitrust Issues

    37 States and D.C. Sue Google for Alleged Play Store Antitrust Issues

    A coalition of 37 states, plus the District of Columbia, have sued Google over alleged antitrust violations with its Play Store.

    Google is facing numerous lawsuits and investigations, being accused of abusing its dominant search and advertising position. The company is also being sued by Epic, the creator of Fortnite, over alleged antitrust violations.

    Google’s problems appear to be going from bad to worse, with 36 states and D.C. launching an antitrust lawsuit against the company. Colorado later joined the coalition, bringing the number of states to 37, according to Engadget. The case revolves around Google’s plans charge a 30% commission to all developers that use the Play Store, according to Politico.

    The bipartisan group of attorneys general represent:

    South Dakota, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Iowa, New Hampshire, New York, Indiana, Utah, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Idaho, New Jersey, Nevada, New Mexico, Massachusetts, District of Columbia, Montana, Arkansas, Oregon, Vermont, California, Mississippi, Delaware, Missouri, North Dakota, Colorado, Washington, North Carolina, Alaska, Connecticut, Florida, Nebraska, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Arizona.

    Google has responded to the lawsuit, accusing the states of ignoring the choice Android users have to use the Play Store, or download from a rival store.

    We built Android to create more choices in mobile technology. Today, anyone, including our competitors, can customize and build devices with the Android operating system — for free. 

    We also built an app store, Google Play, that helps people download apps on their devices. If you don’t find the app you’re looking for in Google Play, you can choose to download the app from a rival app store or directly from a developer’s website. We don’t impose the same restrictions as other mobile operating systems do.

    So it’s strange that a group of state attorneys general chose to file a lawsuit attacking a system that provides more openness and choice than others. This complaint mimics a similarly meritless lawsuit filed by the large app developer Epic Games, which has benefitted from Android’s openness by distributing its Fortnite app outside of Google Play.

    It does seem strange the states are choosing to sue Google for charging developers for the use of its Play Store when such usage is entirely optional.

  • Third-Party Cookies Get a Stay of Execution as Google Postpones Plans

    Google is pushing back its plans to eliminate support for third-party cookies, buying the advertising industry more time to adapt.

    Third-party cookies are one of the most commonly used methods advertisers use to track individuals as they move across the web. Apple’s Safari, the second-most popular browser behind Google’s Chrome, already blocks third-party cookies by default. This makes it more difficult for advertisers to track users and build a profile about them.

    Google had previously planned on following Apple’s lead by early 2022. Because advertisers have built an entire industry around surreptitiously tracking users as they browse the web, and building detailed profiles on them, the thought of being cut off from one of the primary ways to do so caused much hand-wringing among ad companies.

    Google is now saying it will not begin making the change until mid-2023, with the process completed approximately three months later in late 2023. The company said the revised timeline would provide advertisers the time they neede to adapt and adopt more privacy-conscious advertising methods.

    This will allow sufficient time for public discussion on the right solutions, continued engagement with regulators, and for publishers and the advertising industry to migrate their services. This is important to avoid jeopardizing the business models of many web publishers which support freely available content. And by providing privacy-preserving technology, we as an industry can help ensure that cookies are not replaced with alternative forms of individual tracking, and discourage the rise of covert approaches like fingerprinting.

  • EU Investigating Google’s Ad Business

    EU Investigating Google’s Ad Business

    On the heels of reports the EU was preparing to investigate Google’s ad business, the EU Commission has opened a formal investigation.

    Google has been facing investigations, antitrust inquiries and lawsuits with increasing frequency. The company recently settled with the French Competition Authority over how it operates its ad platform, and committed to making significant changes.

    The EU is now opening an even broader investigation, aimed at determining whether Google has used its position to favor its own ad tech services over competitors.

    “Online advertising services are at the heart of how Google and publishers monetise their online services,” Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said. “Google collects data to be used for targeted advertising purposes, it sells advertising space and also acts as an online advertising intermediary. So Google is present at almost all levels of the supply chain for online display advertising. We are concerned that Google has made it harder for rival online advertising services to compete in the so-called ad tech stack. A level playing field is of the essence for everyone in the supply chain. Fair competition is important – both for advertisers to reach consumers on publishers’ sites and for publishers to sell their space to advertisers, to generate revenues and funding for content. We will also be looking at Google’s policies on user tracking to make sure they are in line with fair competition.“

    The EU’s investigation could be one of the biggest challenges the company faces, and could have profound repercussions for how it conducts its ad business. The fact that Google recently settled the French investigation, and did not dispute the facts of the case, may make it harder for the company to get ahead of the EU’s investigation.

  • Google Makes it Easier for SMBs to Launch YouTube Ad Campaigns

    Google Makes it Easier for SMBs to Launch YouTube Ad Campaigns

    Google is making it easier for SMBs to launch YouTube ad campaigns in its first-ever YouTube Small Biz Day.

    According to Google, 72% of small businesses in the US rely on YouTube to boost their online presence. Unfortunately, SMBs did have to fully wade into Google’s ad platform to launch a YouTube campaign, something that smaller businesses may not have had the time or experience to tackle. With the new approach, things are greatly simplified.

    We’re also committed to making it easier for small businesses to use video to reach their customers. Last year we introduced Video Builder, a free tool that allows small businesses to quickly set up a video ad using just two images and a logo. Today we’re introducing a faster, easier way to create video ad campaigns on YouTube. Just add the video ad, the audiences you want to reach and your budget to launch a campaign in minutes. And with the new mobile experience, you can now more easily measure campaign performance. Access the new experience today at youtube.com/ads.

    The move should be a big help for SMBs, especially during a time when an online presence is more important than ever.

  • EU Poised to Investigate Google’s Adtech Business

    EU Poised to Investigate Google’s Adtech Business

    Fresh on the heels of a French investigation into Google’s advertising business, the company may be facing an even bigger threat in the form of an EU investigation.

    According to Reuters Google could be about to face its biggest regulatory challenge yet, as the EU is reportedly preparing to investigate the company’s adtech business. The company recently settled with the French Competition Authority, to the tune of $267 million, and vowed to make changes.

    It appears EU antitrust regulators may be looking to go further, however, and scrutinize the company’s business far more than the French regulators did, according to Reuters’ sources. The investigation will reportedly begin before the end of the year.

    The rumors are especially bad news for Google, as advertising is the bread-and-butter of the company’s revenue, far exceeding any other business division.

  • How to Stand Out in Multi-Location Local Landing Pages

    How to Stand Out in Multi-Location Local Landing Pages

    During the pandemic, 57% of consumers purchased from a local business for the first time.  A major motivating factor in their decision was the availability of pandemic-friendly services like curbside pickup.  How did customers figure out which of their local businesses had what they needed?  They searched locally on Google. Multi-location local landing pages are more important than ever.

    Google’s Local Pack is key for local businesses to be found online.  Displayed above organic search results, Google’s Local Pack is highly visual in its inclusion of map location, star ratings, and more.  For information about businesses in a local area, Google draws on Google My Business (GMB) listings.  According to MOZ, GMB listing detail is the most important factor in determining local pack rankings.  If a business wants to appear on the top of a search, they need to make sure their GMB profile is top-notch.

    Optimizing Your Business

    Optimizing a business’s GMB listing is simple.  There are 3 easy steps.  The first is to claim a business profile.  Once that has been done, complete every section of the profile thoroughly.  Include the business’s name, address, phone number, website, hours, category and attributes, and more.  The more detail in the profile, the more the search engine has to latch onto.  Finally, keep the listing updated.  Make it clear the business remains open and thriving with weekly posts, responses to reviews, or answers to questions from the public.  

    For a local business with a single location, optimizing the GMB listing and linking it to their website is all that’s necessary for a good search result.  When it comes to multi-location businesses, however, local landing pages (LLPs) should also be utilized.   An LLP is a standalone page on the web created for a specific business location.  Having one allows business owners to link each landing page to a separate listing on GMB for even better search results.  In terms of content, LLPs should include all their important information in the first 2 screenfuls, as that is where customers spend 74% of their time.  Links should be used strategically for a short sales funnel, and trust elements like security seals and company awards ought to be prominently displayed. 

    For an LLP headline, clarity, conciseness, and keyword use is as important here as it is for other websites.  Behind the scenes, geolocation meta tags matching NAP and GMB can confirm the business is where it claims to be.  Other features that improve local search rankings include: hyperlocal content, location photos, and location specific social media profiles.

    Localization is an Asset

    When you’re dealing with multiple locations in different languages, on-demand localization platform is a key asset.

    “Working with Fortune 500 companies, we know that Voice Localization is an essential ingredient for their global growth, and they can’t blend locally without it. Now, we’re even better poised to serve the increasing demand for video and audio localization, with the best technology and the most professional voice-over artists available. We look forward to serving GM Voices’ long-term customers and leading LSPs at the highest industry standard. This acquisition is the first of many that will help us fulfill all of our customers’ localization needs.”
    – Yair Tal, CEO of BLEND.

    Mobile is Key

    For all business websites, mobile features are gaining in importance.  84% of local searches are made on mobile devices.  As a result, a website unfriendly to mobile users is likely to frustrate customers.  Features that would improve a website’s mobile presence include floating call to action buttons, click-to-call phone numbers, and mobile-friendly coupons.  

    Specifically in the pandemic, communicating safety procedures is more important than ever.  On both GMB and LLPs, listings should be updated to include what pandemic-friendly services are available when, with easy communication for customers.

    Anatomy of a Local Landing Page
  • French Competition Authority Fines Google $267 Million

    French Competition Authority Fines Google $267 Million

    The French Competition Authority has fined Google $267 million for favoring its own advertising services and abusing its dominant position.

    Google has been facing increased scrutiny for its behavior, facing lawsuits in multiple jurisdictions for alleged monopolistic and anti-competitive behavior. The French Competition Authority is the latest to hand Google a defeat, claiming the company improperly used its position in the online advertising market.

    The elements in the case show that Google has implemented two distinct practices aimed at ensuring that its ad server DFP favours its platform for selling advertising space (SSP AdX) and, conversely, that its SSP AdX platform favours its ad server DFP.

    One of the incriminating factors was DFP’s limited interoperability with competing ad platforms, helping to ensure a measure of lock-in to Google services.

    Notably, Google did not dispute the facts, according to the Competition Authority. Instead, the company committed to making improvements aimed at improving interoperability and ending its practice of favoring itself.

    The Competition Authority’s decision is also unique in the complexity of factors that were considered in reaching it.

    “The decision sanctioning Google has a very special meaning because it is the first decision in the world to look into complex algorithmic auctions processes through which online display advertising works,” Isabelle de Silva, President of the Autorité de la concurrence stated. “The particularly rapid investigation revealed processes by which Google, building on its considerable dominance in ad servers for websites and applications, outperformed its competitors on both ad servers and SSP platforms. These very serious practices penalised competition in the emerging online advertising market, and allowed Google not only to maintain but also to increase its dominant position. This sanction and these commitments will make it possible to re-establish a level playing field for all players, and the ability for publishers to make the most of their advertising space.”

    The decision will likely serve as a precedent for other cases the company is facing.

  • Target CEO Says Digital Performance Up 50%

    Target CEO Says Digital Performance Up 50%

    “Our digital performance was up 50 percent,” says Target CEO Brian Cornell. “As we gain greater clarity around the consumer, the economy, the state of the vaccine, we feel that the consumer continues to respond to our in-store experience and the ease and convenience of shopping with some of our same-day services like pickup, drive-up, and ship. Same-day fulfillment services now represent over half of our digital channel.”

    Brian Cornell, CEO of Target, discusses their massive Q1 results in an interview on CNBC:

    Digital Performance Up 50 Percent

    We’ve had a string of really solid results going back to 2017 but this quarter may be one of the highlights. Our team executed throughout the quarter. We had a great performance from our store teams with a store comp of 18%. Our digital performance was up 50%. It was really a team effort. We had great supply chain support with our merchants and marketers all coming together to support the results which speak for themselves.

    We are benefitting from investments we’ve been making for years now. Our investment in our store experience, our curated Home Brand and national brand mix, and then the fulfillment services that we offer. That combined with the investment in our team, I think we are seeing continued strength. We feel really good sitting here right now about our outlook, not just for the second quarter but for the full year.

    We’ve Connected With The Consumer

    As we gain greater clarity around the consumer, the economy, the state of the vaccine, we feel that the consumer continues to respond to our in-store experience and the ease and convenience of shopping with some of our same-day services like pickup, drive-up, and ship. They really connect with our curation of Great Home Brand, national brands, and the service our team provides each and every day.

    We are feeling very confident about our position today. I look at the proof point from Q1, we picked up another billion dollars in market share on top of the $9 billion of share last year. That’s just a sign that we’ve connected with the consumer, we’re building relevance, and we’re providing what they need and what they want throughout the year.

    Newness Is A Huge Trend In Our Business

    When you see the combination of stores comping up at 18%, which to me is just a highlight number, and categories like apparel growing again by over 60%, that combination of store traffic and category mix really benefited us throughout the quarter. We are seeing a resilient consumer. They’re clearly shopping our stores and when they’re there they are attracted to anything that’s new.

    Newness has certainly been a trend throughout our business in the first quarter and I think that’s going to continue. That great combination of store traffic and store comps and the continued movement of same-day fulfillment services which now represent over half of our digital channel. We really like that transaction. It looks and feels more like a store transaction which from a profitability standpoint certainly is beneficial for us.

    Target CEO Brian Cornell Says Digital Performance Up 50%
  • Verizon May Sell Yahoo and AOL Assets

    Verizon May Sell Yahoo and AOL Assets

    Verizon is looking to sell Yahoo and AOL assets, as it pivots away from the digital media business it spent billions to enter.

    Verizon bought Yahoo and AOL for a combined $9 billion, in an effort to diversify beyond its core business. The company saw its phone subscribers as a way to drive growth to digital media properties, and ultimately challenge the likes of Facebook and Google for digital media and advertising.

    The company’s plans have been far from successful, and it is now looking to sell off its digital media assets, including both Yahoo and AOL, according to The Wall Street Journal. The decision follows a $4.5 billion write down of its digital media business in 2018, the sale of Tumblr in 2019 and the sale of HuffPost to BuzzFeed in November of last year.

    Verizon has already involved Apollo Global Management, Inc. in the deal, one that some believe could be worth as much as $5 billion. Given the challenges Verizon faces moving forward with its 5G rollout, and the vast sum of money it recently spent to acquire more spectrum, $5 billion could be far more helpful in its core business.

  • GroupM: Stimulus Money Will Help US Ad Industry Grow 15% in 2021

    GroupM: Stimulus Money Will Help US Ad Industry Grow 15% in 2021

    GroupM has revised its outlook on the US ad industry, expecting it to grow 15% in 2021, thanks in large part to stimulus spending.

    2020 was a difficult year for advertisers, as the global pandemic impacted all sectors of the economy. GroupM had previously predicted a 12% growth in the industry in 2021.

    The company is now predicting a 15% increase, thanks to increased spending as a result of the latest stimulus package. Even more significantly, this represents a 6% increase over 2019 levels, indicating the industry will fully rebound from the pandemic in 2021.

    Our upgrade of expectations is primarily a reflection of the healthier-than-expected recovery of the economy from the depths of the pandemic paired with the significant impact of fiscal stimulus the federal government is providing to consumers. Digital advertising is the primary beneficiary of trends impacting the economy, both because new small businesses are forming at a record pace (even if collectively they may be losing share of activity within the economy) and because large businesses are increasingly focused on e-commerce, with spending shifts to digital media generally aligning with this trend.

    GroupM originally factored the vaccine rollout into its projections, but the Georgia Senate races made the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 a reality, adding to the recovery.

    GroupM’s report is welcome news for the advertising industry, and the economy at large.

  • Microsoft Blocks 300,000 Advertising Accounts In 2020

    Microsoft Blocks 300,000 Advertising Accounts In 2020

    Microsoft Advertising has released its 2020 year-in-review report, giving a glimpse of the state of online advertising.

    The company blocked some 300,000 accounts from its advertising platform, a 30% increase from 2019. Microsoft also removed 1.6 billion bad ads, as well as 270,000 sites from its system.

    Given the year that was 2020, it’s not surprising what Microsoft’s five key areas of focus were: the pandemic, political advertising, third-party government services, tech support scams and advertiser safety.

    Microsoft emphasized its approach to advertising, one that uses a combination of artificial intelligence and manual reviewers.

    Advertising fraud is fast-moving, and we continue to see new patterns surface globally. We take an all-hands-on-deck approach to ensure we continue to deliver the highest quality content possible. We constantly update and refine our policies to ensure we meet evolving needs. Our fraud detection technology makes use of a wide variety of signals and uses the latest machine-learning algorithms to find fraud patterns which can otherwise be difficult to detect. We also have a geographically distributed team of experts working round the clock to help us conduct detailed investigations on any new patterns we’re seeing, by making use of smart and scalable tools. Detecting fraud before it has a chance to reach customers is one piece of our approach.

    We also address escalations and complaints from customers to quickly remove low-quality ads. In 2020, we received a total of ~50,000 complaints related to ads not being compliant per our advertising policies. We investigated each complaint and found ~ 65% of the reported ads to be in violation of Microsoft Advertising policies. Most of the complaints were related to trademark infringements. As we continue to roll out new products and make it easier for brands to engage with audiences, we made additional investments to protect and respond to advertisers’ concerns around trademark use and were able to reduce the trademark related complaints by ~ 25% year over year. We also received a few complaints related to unlicensed gambling sites, phishing, unauthorized government service provider websites, and other user safety concerns. We have a highly responsive operations team working 24/7 to promptly address concerns relating to our ads. In response to complaints, our operations team took down nearly 400,000 violating ads from our network.

    Microsoft’s 2020 report shows the challenges the advertising industry faces, as well as provides insights into how to manage those challenges.

  • Postscript Raises $4.5 Million to Turbocharge Shopify SMS Marketing

    Postscript Raises $4.5 Million to Turbocharge Shopify SMS Marketing

    Postscript announced it has raised $4.5 million in seed funding to help bring turbocharged SMS marketing to Shopify and e-commerce stores.

    Postscript specializes in SMS marketing for e-commerce. The company’s goal is to help bring SMS marketing mainstream, while at the same time doing it in a way that respects users’ inboxes.

    The company has now raised $4.5 million to help it reach that goal. The investors include Y Combinator, Accomplice, 1984vc, and Ali Capital. Postscript also has the backing of some of the biggest entrepreneurial names in the e-commerce industry.

    “At Postscript, we obsess about supporting independent brands & e-commerce merchants and will always put their needs first,” said CEO Adam Turner. “Our approach to text messaging emphasizes brands build meaningful relationships with their customers by respecting the SMS inbox and encouraging two way communication. So far our competitive advantage has been our people and our product, and this funding will help us continue along that path. By operating remotely, we’re able to hire in any region, resulting in an extremely talented team dedicated to delivering a top-tier product and customer experience.”

    Postscript already claims Native, Brooklinen, StackCommerce, Frey, Oars + Alps and Olivers among its clients. The company also boasts 26x ROI with clickthrough rates ranging between 7.5% and 40%. Somewhat unique to the industry, Postscript guarantees a 4x ROI or they will refund a client’s investment — something they have not yet had to do.

    “The Postscript team has taken a product-first approach to a gigantic, fast-growing market, and the growth speaks for itself,” said angel investor Paul English, founder of Kayak. “They have outstanding founder/product/market fit, and I believe what they’re building will be an essential part of any e-commerce company’s marketing stack. I’m proud to support them in this round.”

  • US Bill Would Allow Small News Publishers to Band Together Against Social Media

    US Bill Would Allow Small News Publishers to Band Together Against Social Media

    A new bill would pave the way for small news publishers to work together to negotiate better deals with tech companies.

    Under current US law, companies are severely limited in their ability to organize for the purpose of price negotiation. Any such attempt is a violation of antitrust laws, and falls under price fixing. Companies like Google and Facebook have been able to use that to their advantage, forcing smaller news publishers to accept terms they’re not happy with.

    A new bipartisan bill seeks to address this issue, by waving price fixing restrictions for small news publishers. This would give them the ability to legally band together and present a united front in negotiations.

    Representative Ken Buck, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel, told Reuters the first such bill will be unveiled within weeks.

    “The biggest threat to the free market economy is big tech and it (potential legislation) should be fairly tightly focused on that,” Buck said.

    Facebook is currently in a scuffle with the Australian news media over a proposed law that would force the company to pay for news it links to. In response, Facebook has blocked Australian consumers and news organizations from posting any news, a move that has been widely condemned.

    The US and other countries are clearly concerned with avoiding a similar outcome.

  • Vimeo Will Be Spun Off As Independent Company

    Vimeo Will Be Spun Off As Independent Company

    IAC has announced it will spin Vimeo off as a fully independent, publicly traded company.

    Vimeo is a video hosting platform that serves as a major competitor to YouTube, with some 200 million users. Like many streaming platforms, Vimeo has experienced major growth as a result of the pandemic.

    IAC is now planning on capitalizing on that success, spinning off Vimeo as an independent company.

    “The combination of Vimeo’s remarkable growth, solid leadership position, and enormous market opportunity have made clear its future,” said Joey Levin, CEO, IAC. “It’s time for Vimeo to spread its wings and become a great independent public company.”

    “We have long believed in the power of video to advance human expression and transform businesses,” said Anjali Sud, CEO of Vimeo. “Today we have a rare opportunity to help every team and organization in the world integrate video throughout their operations, across all the ways they communicate and collaborate. Our all-in-one solution radically lowers the barriers of time, cost, and complexity that previously made professional-quality video unattainable. We’re ready for this next chapter and focused on making video far easier and more effective than ever before.”

    IAC expects the spinoff to be completed in the second quarter of 2021.