In the wake of the ongoing boom in online shopping, brands are looking for new and eye-catching strategies to keep their commercials relevant. Marketers are looking for every potential scenario to feed the consumer frenzy for digital offers. Social media, like TikTok, could be one of their best options.
As of January 2021, TikTok has 689 million active users worldwide. The app is used eight times per day on average. Those viewers spend 52 minutes watching user-generated videos of various human behaviors, challenges, and entertaining acts every day.
TikTok may be an unequaled advertising investment for e-commerce enterprises that are looking for fresh brand exposure and customer acquisition. The platform allows e-commerce firms to stay visible and relevant in today’s always-on consumer culture.
Key takeaways:
TikTok is the most popular and largest platform that covers purchasing power.
Much of TikTok’s potential as an advertising platform is fueled by its uniqueness.
TikTok is unusual because it encourages users to stay on the platform longer, resulting in more eyes on more advertising for a more extended time.
The global think group, Center for Data Innovation, urged governments to support AI deployment while establishing safeguards to prevent harm in a paper released earlier this week. The report says that AI-enabled technologies may aid workforce decisions by assisting organizations in managing existing employees and recruiting and hiring new ones.
They can also help organizations increase productivity by lowering the time to hire new staff, raising retention rates, and improving worker interactions and team dynamics.
Hodan Oomar, a policy analyst at the Center for Data Innovation, focusing on AI policy, proposed eight principles to guide policymakers when making decisions about AI:
Make the government an early adopter of artificial intelligence (AI) for labor choices and share best practices;
Ensure that data protection regulations allow AI to be used for labor decisions;
Ensure that nondiscrimination rules apply to all employees, regardless of whether or not a firm employs AI;
Make regulations to protect employees’ personal information from new privacy threats;
At a national level, address concerns regarding AI systems for employment decisions.
Allow for the unfettered movement of employee data all around the world;
Do not impose any restrictions on AI systems that are used to make workforce decisions; and
Regulations should be focused on employers, not vendors.
Key takeaways:
Policymakers should open the road for widespread AI adoption in the workplace while also safeguards to limit potential damages.
AI-enabled solutions may help firms manage their present employees and recruit and hire new ones.
Employers will need to address potential issues to implement AI for personnel decisions properly.
The FB ad library is a comprehensive and searchable library where you can see all currently running ads and inactive ads across Facebook and Instagram. If you are a content creator or in marketing, the FB Ad library is a great source of insight and inspiration from successful ad campaigns.
Read on to learn more about the FB Ad library and how you can use it for marketing.
Before we go into how you can use the FB ad library, let us first learn more about the FB Ad library and what information you can get from it.
What is the FB ad library
In May 2018, Facebook launched an archive of ads relating to politics. It was their way of providing transparency in response to the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, where its ads were used to interfere with the elections. In March 2019, they launched the FB ad library that provided transparency not only for political and issue ads but also all other ads on FB and its other platforms.
What details can you find in the FB ad library
The FB ad library lets you view the following:
All active and inactive ads up to seven years back across Facebook, Messenger, Audience Network, and Instagram;
Search by product
Ad details
When the ad started running
Icon of the platforms where the ad is running (Facebook, Messenger, Audience Network, and Instagram)
Ad ID
Other details
About Page
Page likes or Page followers
Link to all other ads of the Page
Search by Page
All active and inactive ads (up to 7 years back)
Number of results (total number of ads)
Page likes or followers
Page transparency:
Date of Page creation
Page name changes
Primary location country/region of the Page manager
Additional details for inactive ads:
Ad start and end date
Ad ID
Possible reach
Impressions
Amount spent
To whom the ad is/was shown (gender and age)
Where the ad is/was shown (region)
For social issues, elections, and political ads
All active and inactive ads (up to 7 years back)
Ad details for both active and inactive ads:
Ad start and end date
Ad ID
Funder
Possible reach
Impressions
Amount spent
To whom the ad is/was shown (gender and age)
Where the ad is/was shown (region)
About Page:
Page likes and followers
Total spending of the Page on social, election, and political issue ads
Recent spend on social, election, and political issue ads
Even if you don’t have an account with any of Facebook’s platforms, you can still access the FB ad library. If you have an account, you don’t even need to log in to use the library.
Select the country you want to search. You may also choose “everything” if you do not wish to use the country filter.
Choose the ad category you want to view. You may pick “All Ads” or “Issues, Elections or Politics.”
Finally, enter the keyword (product or service) or advertiser you want to search.
You will then see a display of the active and inactive ads running based on your search details. They are displayed based on the month they are launched. The latest ads are shown first.
This is how the result looks like:
Filters
On the upper right portion of the results page, you will find a button for filter. You can use it to narrow down your results and generate the most useful ads you need. You can filter by language, advertiser, platform, media type, status, and impressions by date.
Ad link
If you want to view an ad directly on the platform it appears, you can click on the three-dot menu on the upper right portion of the specific ad result. Then, click “Copy the Ad Link” and paste the link on your browser to view the actual ad.
The FB ad library can help your business create effective ads using any or all of Facebook’s platforms.
1. Inspire
You can use both running and inactive campaigns as your inspiration for creating successful ads. You can study your competitors’ layout, choice of words, images used, and how all their advertising elements come together. You can also explore the demographic information of the ads in your industry to target your ads to the right audience effectively.
2. Monitor
Studying competitors’ strategies is one way to get ahead in your industry. You can use the FB ad library to monitor your competitors’ marketing activities. You can ask the following questions:
What promotions are my competitors offering?
What new products/services are they introducing?
Who are they specifically targeting?
What FB platforms are they using?
How often are they advertising?
How much are they spending on their ads?
How many users have they reached?
Monitoring competitor ads will also allow you to study new trends, as well as techniques that are most likely shunned by your target audience.
In simple terms, the Fb ad library can help your business create successful ads by giving you inspiration and insight from competitor ads. This way, you can get ahead of the industry competition.
Search Console Insights is a service that makes Google Search Console (GSC) and Google Analytics (GA) data available to content creators and website owners. Following last month’s announcement, Google received many positive comments and inquiries concerning the data. Google responded to some of the questions and clarified several things in their blog post.
Key takeaways:
If you properly connect GA to Search Console, you’ll gain access to more data that can help you better understand your content’s performance.
You’ll only be able to use the Google Search card if you don’t make an association.
It’s helpful to understand the differences between GA and GSC data.
President Joseph Biden has issued a broad executive order (EO) directing federal agencies to establish several programs to mitigate the types of recent cybersecurity breaches. The terms of Biden’s “Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity” will have a particularly negative impact on the information technology industry. This includes companies directly or indirectly involved in delivering IT goods and services to the federal government.
The EO outlined several objectives for increasing cybersecurity across the federal government, including raising standards and improving detection. The directive also calls for creating a Cybersecurity Safety Review Board, modeled after the National Transportation Safety Board, to improve cyber information sharing between the government and industries.
Key takeaways:
The IT and business groups backed Biden’s approach, but only in the context of the EO being a first step that would require significant private sector participation.
The initiative required releasing a document detailing the “basic elements” of a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM)
The government claimed in the Executive Order that such disclosures are severely lacking in the federal IT purchase process, and there is an “urgent urgency” to address the problem.
LinkedIn has released the newest edition of its annual survey of B2B technology buyers. The annual survey examines significant industry trends and offering recommendations to assist tech marketers in improving their performance and reach.
While the report is regionally focused and connected with tech purchases, nearly all marketers have some critical takeaways. This includes topics regarding branding, decision-making, and the pandemic’s broader effects.
Key takeaways:
The research emphasizes the importance of branding and the use of social media platforms to help establish that connection and build a reputation that extends beyond direct response to your efforts.
Brands and communities are now playing an increasingly vital role in maximizing purchasing potential and maintain a longer-term relationship with clients.
While paid advertisements can help raise awareness, they’re not the best way to develop trust.
John Mueller of Google answered a question about the distinction in SEO between an informational search query and a local search query. He responds to the question and then describes what a business needs to do to rank for local search inquiries, emphasizing the relevance of Google My Business (GMB).
Key takeaways:
Local Search Query is a search query entered into Google when someone seeks a service or a store in their local region.
An informational search query is when the searcher is looking for specific information, such as the cast of a movie or a product review.
According to John Mueller, the same SEO principles applied regardless of whether the page was for a local service or an instructional page.
Google revealed that it would develop its smartphone processor, dubbed Google Tensor, to power the new Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro smartphones. The move is in line with Apple’s decision to use its processor in its future computers rather than Intel chips. Google, like Apple, uses an arm-based architecture. Arm processors are low-power and widely utilized in mobile devices, including phones, tablets, and laptops.
Google created Tensor to accommodate how people use their phones now and in the future. It’s not just about providing more computer capabilities as more and more features are powered by AI and machine learning. It’s also about using that ML to unlock customized experiences for Pixel consumers.
Key takeaways:
Google Tensor will be used to power new flagship phones that will be released in October.
Google Tensor is a play on its Tensor Processing Unit, which it employs for cloud computing.
Qualcomm stated that it would continue to collaborate closely with Google on existing and future Snapdragon-based products.
Getting your products in front of buyers seeking similar things is crucial for running an e-commerce business. Online merchants can list their products for free on Google to reach the hundreds of millions of people who use Google to buy every day.
As most small business owners know, having your products and services displayed on Google can be considered a breakthrough. When anyone can sell items online, it can seem impossible for small businesses to compete against big companies’ more known brands.
There is some pay-to-play element when it comes to promoting your items on platforms like Google or Facebook. Still, there are also free alternatives to advertise your business and its products.
Key takeaways:
Millions of people use Google Merchant Center to find, explore, and buy products.
You can add your products for free and get in front of shoppers across the Shopping Tab, Google Search, Images, etc.
Merchant Center lets you manage how your products appear on Google.
Microsoft Office is a productivity suite that individuals, teams, and businesses can use. It offers a range of applications for different purposes. If you want to try other suites similar to Microsoft Office, you have come to the right place.
In this post, we will be sharing with you what Microsoft Office is and the productivity tools included in their bundles. Then we will list down some of the best alternatives to Microsoft Office, both paid and free, that you might be interested in.
Microsoft Office is a suite of productivity tool for business or home use. Its packages come with a combination of applications that are meant to serve different users. Microsoft Office first premiered in 1989 with its Mac version and in 1990 with Office for Windows version. The suite during that time included the earliest versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The Mac version additionally had Microsoft Mail in its bundle. Over the years, Microsoft Office has added and discontinued some components to fit the productivity needs of its users.
What can you do with Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office aims to increase personal and business productivity with its array of applications. The following are some of the things you can do with Microsoft Office depending on the bundle you choose:
1. Create and edit documents with Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word is a word processing tool that allows you to create and edit word documents. You can customize fonts, format paragraphs, create headings, do spell-check, insert tables and images, and do other document-related tasks with Microsoft Word.
2. Manage your data with Microsoft Excel
Excel is a spreadsheet tool that allows you to manage your data. You can filter and sort your data; perform automatic calculations; and do other organization, calculation, and formatting tasks. You can also create tables, graphs, and charts with Microsoft Excel.
3. Make presentations with Microsoft PowerPoint
PowerPoint is a program by Microsoft that allows you to create and share presentations using slides. You can get creative with PowerPoint as you design your slides using themes and animate them. PowerPoint also features built-in notes visible only to you to help you with your discussion.
4. Create professional documents with Microsoft Publisher
Publisher is Microsoft’s desktop publishing program. This tool helps you professionally create newsletters, brochures, invitations, flyers, and other professional documents with built-in templates.
5. Create and share notes with Microsoft OneNote
Microsoft OneNote is a free-form, digital note-taking program. Aside from your notes, you can save drawings, audio remarks, screenshots, and other images. You may also share your notes with other OneNote users online.
6. Manage your emails with Microsoft Outlook
Outlook is an email program by Microsoft. It is a great productivity tool that allows you to schedule your emails, create appointments, share your calendar, organize your incoming messages, and manage your contacts, among many others.
7. Microsoft SharePoint
Microsoft SharePoint is a password-protected document storage and management system. It is a collaborative program that helps you save, manage, and share information, such as documents, lists, libraries, calendars, and more, using different platforms within your team.
Microsoft Office also offers other programs for your different needs, including Microsoft Access, Skype for Business, and Microsoft InfoPath.
You may have different reasons why you are looking for a different suite. Whether it’s the price, the tools, the service, or just out of curiosity, there are many free and paid alternatives to Microsoft Office you can look into.
Free alternative to Microsoft Office
1. Microsoft 365 Online
If you like Microsoft Office but find it a bit costly, your can try Microsoft 365 Online. Microsoft 365 is the cloud-based version of Microsoft Office that comes in both free and paid versions. You may also use the mobile version of your subscription with your Android, Windows, or IOS phone.
With the Office 365 free version, you can already use Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other free downloadable apps on the market. If you want added features for home or business use, you may opt for any of its paid versions.
2. OfficeSuite
OfficeSuite is a free office software that can be a good Microsoft Office alternative. It offers five of the most important office tools you will need, including Documents, Sheets, Slides, PDF, and Mail. OfficeSuite is also compatible with Microsoft Office file formats. It works with most computer systems, including Windows and Mac OS. You may also download the app on your Android or IOS phone, which allows you to access and work on your files anytime, anywhere.
While you can use OfficeSuite for free forever, you may subscribe to their paid version with a free 30-day trial to enjoy more features,
If you want an alternative to Office that’s reliable, and best of all, free, we also recommend Libre Office. It is an open-source office suite that continuously improves and develops its features with the help of its active user community.
Libre Office offers word processing, data, and presentation tools, which are also compatible with Microsoft Office file formats. This software works with Linux, Windows, and Mac computers with a mobile version for Android gadgets.
Paid alternative to Microsoft Office
4. Google Workspace
If you are running a business, a great paid alternative to Microsoft Office is Google Workspace. Formerly called G-suite, it offers online collaboration for its tools like Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Forms, Gmail, Google Meet, Google Chat, and Google Drive. Being an online suite, you don’t need to download files to work on them. You can create, share, edit, and collaborate documents and files online.
Google Workspace can work with most computers as long you have a modern web browser. It can work on Mac, Windows, and Linux computers, as well as Android, iOS, and Chrome devices.
For the rates, you can use Google Workspace for free with a personal account. You only need to pay when you upgrade your storage space for Google Drive. For business accounts, rates start at $4.20 per user per month.
5. Zoho Office Suite
Another Microsoft Office alternative you might want to consider is Zoho Office Suite. It has word-processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and note-taking tools, which are also compatible with Microsoft Office files. You can collaborate Zoho Files with your team or your clients online. On the other hand, you may also want to consider Zoho Workplace, which already comes with Zoho Office and other tools like video-conferencing, calendar, CRM (customer relationship management), and project management tools.
Zoho Office is free for personal accounts. For team and business use, you may avail of the Zoho Workplace, which starts at $3 per user per month with a free trial.
6. WPS Office
WPS Office is another alternative to Microsoft Office suite. Like Microsoft Office, it has a document, spreadsheet, and presentation tools that are easy to use. It even has a customizable interface that allows you to personalize your menu style. WPS works with Windows, Mac, and Linux computers, as well as iOS and Android devices.
You can use WPS for free, but it is supported by advertisements. If ads bother you and you like this office suite, you can pay for it starting at $29.99 per year.
Conclusion
Microsoft Office is one of the best and most popular productivity suites for personal and business use. The rate depends on the bundle you choose. The good news is that there are alternatives to Microsoft Office, both paid and free, that can offer similar applications. It is only a matter of identifying your needs and assessing your resources to pick the best suite for your use.
Facebook has introduced a new Campaign Ideas Generator mini-site. The new feature can assist businesses in coming up with fresh promotional ideas by providing insights, templates, and recommendations tailored to specific seasonal events and business types.
Key takeaways:
The Campaign Ideas Generator generates campaign ideas, pre-made assets, and resources tailored to the needs of your small business.
It can also help reduce obstacles and help you develop content that you can quickly put into action.
The Campaign Ideas Generator also has a DIY option, which gives users a simple approach and creative tools to help them develop their material.
“The Campaign Ideas Generator provides campaign ideas, pre-made assets, and resources that are specific to your small business needs.”
Q&A, picture-in-picture, the ability to schedule streaming in advance, and more are among the new features TikTok brings to its livestreams.
The number of people broadcasting and watching livestreams on TikTok has doubled in the last year. The popularity of live content among users has prompted them to invest in new tools for streamers to help them discover, create, and consume live streams.
John Mueller answered whether it’s OK to use a hyphenated domain name in a Google SEO office hours hangout. He stated that choosing such a domain is entirely acceptable. However, he also believes that keywords in domain names are overrated.
There is a notion that including keywords in the domain name will improve a site’s ranking. In the early days of SEO, the usage of keywords in domains had some value. Parked domains (keyword-rich domains with no content and solely advertisements) were permitted to appear in search results until Google change that in 2011.
Key takeaways:
A hyphenated domain name is an old-school strategy that fell out of popularity years ago due to the lack of ranking effect.
Hyphens make a domain name look tacky and spammy.
Google’s algorithm does not consider the presence or absence of a hyphen in a domain name.
Snapchat has acquired AR firm Vertebrae, which assists businesses in creating digital 3D copies of their products. It also announced a collaboration with luxury eCommerce site Verishop to bring a Snapchat-exclusive edition of Verishop’s fashion and cosmetics catalog. Its products can then be virtually tried on and purchased directly from the platform via augmented reality.
In the United States, augmented reality shopping is still in its infancy. According to an April 2021 study conducted by Bizrate Insights for eMarketer, only 10% of US individuals have used AR or VR to shop, while another 35% are at least moderately intrigued.
However, for those who shop using AR, it can be highly effective. According to Shopify data provided by The Harvard Business Review, interacting with products via AR resulted in a 94 percent greater conversion rate than products without AR.
Key takeaways:
Snapchat has had augmented reality since the launch of its Lenses in 2016.
Snapchat’s push into augmented reality ecommerce is something to keep an eye on during the company’s Q2 2021.
According to Google’s John Mueller, dedicated web hosting has no SEO advantage over shared hosting. This is stated in the most recent part of the YouTube series Ask Googlebot. The video answers a query from a small business owner who wants to save money by hosting their site on a shared server.
Key takeaways:
Shared hosting is when several websites are hosted on the same server or the same IP address.
Dedicated hosting refers to the use of a server or IP address solely to host a single website.
For SEO purposes, there is no need to upgrade to dedicated hosting or a dedicated IP address.
Facebook Pay is a payment mechanism that allows users to make purchases within Facebook’s apps. In addition, it’s used to transmit money, shop, and donate, among other things. Starting in August, all Shopify sites in the United States will accept Facebook Pay as a payment method.
Key takeaways:
Customers can connect with their Facebook credentials and payment forms to be pre-populated with information from their account.
Payment information is encrypted and securely kept, according to Facebook, removing the need for businesses to manage such information on their own.
Facebook Pay will not be used to serve personalized ads.
When videos are published on a creator’s website rather than YouTube, Google has a new approach to optimize them for search results. Publishers may now code their videos for the ‘key moments’ rich snippet, allowing users to jump straight to specific video chunks.
SeektoAction, as it is known, was first revealed at Google I/O earlier this year and was tested for months. Google is now bringing it out of beta and making it available to any website that posts videos.
Key takeaways:
SeekToAction markup can be used on videos like any other schema.org structured data.
Other third-party platforms do not support this markup.
Site owners that prefer to manually identify key moments in a video rather than depend on Google can utilize the Clip markup.
Google introduces a feature that reveals how full a transit line is to 10,000 cities in 100 countries. But it’s also experimenting with something even more granular: the ability to see which cars on a specific train are the most congested. This will be tested on New York’s Long Island Rail Road and Sydney’s transit lines.
These predictions are made possible by Google’s AI technology, contributions from Google Maps users, and historical location trends that anticipate future crowdedness levels for transport routes throughout the world. All of these forecasts were made with privacy in mind.
Key takeaways:
These features may help commuters concerned about being crammed in with a large number of other commuters.
More cities will be able to adopt the open seat feature in the future.
Facebook has released a new video explaining how its News Feed algorithm works. While the video doesn’t offer any new insights or tips, it does provide an excellent general overview of Facebook’s content ranking process.
The video explains the feed ranking process, including the four key elements that Facebook considers when deciding what material to show each user. Those four elements are:
Inventory. With all of the posts from the original sample set that you could be shown each day. These are based on the pages and people you follow, groups you’re a part of, as well as the ad content you’re qualified to see on any given day.
Signals. The system then uses a variety of signals to determine the relevance of each post to you. This is determined by your connection with the person/page that shared the update as well as how you’ve interacted with them previously.
Predictions. The algorithm then makes predictions about your likely engagement with each new post based on these considerations to emphasize the most personally relevant content found on these factors.
Score. The algorithm will score each post in your content pool and rank them based on all of these variables. The greater the relevancy score, the more likely that post will be displayed first in your Facebook feed.
Key takeaways:
The more people who engage with your updates and find your content personally relevant, the more likely your posts will appear higher in each individual’s feed.
Users can also select the relevant options in the three dots menu to signal that specific posts are not relevant to them.
Content that violates Facebook’s policies is frequently removed before any user sees it.
“Our goal is to make sure you see the posts that are most valuable to you at the top of your Feed every time you open the Facebook app.”
Marketers continued to experiment with new tracking methods, targeting and acquiring data from consumers in the first half of 2021, as Google and Apple were set to implement long-promised policy changes, tightening rules around data privacy that national and international regulations had already impacted.
Marketers are faced with a new timeline to examine and maybe rebuild their plans for using data to better understand and advertise to consumers. Despite this, several experts have cautioned the advertising industry not to become complacent. While Google’s postponement gives more time, the clock is still ticking, and the ad industry’s plans in H1 will continue to influence their plans in H2 and beyond.
Key takeaways:
Google original plan to end third-party cookies on 2022 has been postponed until 2023.
Apple said that it would make its Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) an opt-in feature, with additional privacy-focused enhancements to follow.
Experts advised brands, agencies, publishers, and tech companies to reamin focused on finding a long-term solution.
“We are transitioning away from opaque consumer data collection and usage and toward a choice-driven, transparent, and privacy-friendly future.”
For job listings, Google is adding a new structured data markup property that allows applicants to fill directly on the employer’s website. In addition, Google is enforcing a new editorial content standard. This is to make it easier for people to understand the content of job listings and apply for them directly or through alternative channels.
Key takeaways:
Employers can now use the new directApply property to indicate whether or not prospective employees can apply for jobs directly on their website.
This markup isn’t applicable if the job posting requests applicants to upload a resume and then type all of the same material into an application form. (In case, you need to create your resume, try this resume maker online.)
This markup can be used right away by site owners.
Google Now Detects Soft 404 Errors Based on Device Type
John Mueller, a Google Search Relations Advocate, confirmed that Google has modified how it handles soft 404 detection and classifications. The search engine now analyzes each page based on the device it is being viewed on. As a result, it may be possible to assign different soft 404 categories to the same URL on mobile and desktop.
A soft 404 occurs when a page returns an HTTP status code of 200, indicating that everything is fine. However, the page does not really load content or cannot be located and should most likely produce a 404 error. When this happens, Google will mark those pages as soft 404s, and the URL will be treated as a real 404, with the page not being indexed.
Key takeaways:
When a page returns an HTTP status code of 200, it is referred to as a soft 404.
Google detects the soft 404 status on a URL-by-URL basis, as well as by device type.
The Google team is aiming to improve the categorization of soft 404 pages.
Microsoft unveiled Windows 365, a new way for businesses to provide employees with virtual cloud-based PCs running the Windows operating system. Users can use this service to access a virtual PC with work apps from their home PC or a non-Windows device such as an Apple Mac, iPad, or Android tablet.
Key takeaways:
Windows 365, which runs on Azure Virtual Desktop, was created to simplify things.
Microsoft is working toward enhancing Windows 365 with offline access.
Using the service to set up and manage several virtual desktops can be difficult, and expenses aren’t always predictable.
The claim that Google “organizes the world’s knowledge and makes it universally accessible and valuable” has given it an aura of objectivity. Because of its search dominance and the loss of most competitors, its link listings appear even more canonical.
Search Atlas makes it easy to observe how different versions of Google’s search engine in other parts of the world respond to the same query differently. In addition, it shows how Google’s services might reflect or amplify cultural differences or government preferences.
Key takeaways:
As seen by the different results, the idea of search engines being neutral is a myth.
Search Atlas is unable to explain why different Google versions show the world in different ways.
The idea could serve as a means of explaining the true nature of search engines to a larger audience.
“Any attempt to quantify relevance necessarily encodes moral and political priorities.”
With its first announcement in 2010, Google has long used page speed as a ranking factor. Since then, Google has settled on three metrics for page speed that are now regarded as the most important: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). These metrics, collectively known as Core Web Vitals, are intended to measure the perceived page speed rather than the factual page speed.
Largest Contentful Paint
The time it takes for the viewport’s largest element to fully load is measured in Largest Contentful Paint. Because the largest element is often an image, image optimization is the most critical factor in this measure.
First Input Delay
The delay between when an interactive element is being painted and when it becomes functional is known as the First Input Delay. It can be made more efficient by splitting the code and using less JavaScript.
Cumulative Layout Shift
When a page loads, Cumulative Layout Shift determines whether the elements on the page move around. CLS depends on properly defined size attributes and resources loading in a specific order, from top to bottom.
Ways to Improve Your Website’s Page Speed
1. Set image dimensions
It may take some time for the browser to properly size your images and videos if you don’t include image dimensions in your code. This means that your page’s content will jump around, affecting your CLS score. To avoid this problem and effectively improve your page speed, make sure your photos have their set width and height properties.
2. Serve images in next-gen formats
Image formats aren’t all created equal. Compared to AVIF, JPEG 2000, JPEG XR, and WebP, JPEG and PNG currently have significantly low compression and quality characteristics. WebP is perhaps the most significant of the formats listed. It allows for transparency and animation, as well as lossy and lossless compression. Suppose your website isn’t built on a CMS platform, or you don’t want to install a lot of plugins. In that case, you can use online converters or graphics editors to convert your images.
3. Compress images
Whether you use next-generation image formats or not, compressing your photos is still a viable technique to reduce the overall page size. Suppose you don’t want to install too many plugins and risk slowing down your website. In that case, you can alternatively use online compressors. You can also use graphics editors to compress your images before uploading them to your website as a last option.
4. Defer offscreen images
Offscreen images display below the fold or aren’t visible until the user scrolls past the first screen. Everything below the fold should be delayed until above-the-fold items are fully loaded. The above-the-fold area is where Google measures your page speed. It is, therefore, where you should focus the majority of your optimization efforts.
5. Convert gifs to video
Because gifs are typically larger than videos, converting a huge gif to a video can result in a size reduction of up to 500% or more. You can use any online converter or download a tool to convert gifs to videos. WebM and mp4 are the two video formats that Google recommends. WebM is similar to WebP in that it is lighter, although not all browsers support it yet.
6. Defer unused CSS
CSS that isn’t used can cause a browser’s render tree to take longer to build. The more CSS that is not used, the longer it will take a browser to calculate the styles for each node. Identify any CSS that’s not in use or isn’t critical, and either remove it or adjust the order in which it loads.
7. Minify JS and CSS
Unnecessary comments, spaces, line breaks, and code fragments are frequently seen in JS and CSS files. Although the average minification is much smaller, removing them can make your files up to 50% lighter.
8. Extract critical CSS
CSS is a render-blocking resource by default. The browser will not render your page until it has acquired and parsed CSS files, which can take a long time. To fix this, take only the styles required for your page’s above-the-fold region and put them to your HTML content. The rest of your CSS files can be loaded asynchronously. This will increase your LCP scores dramatically and make your sites appear faster to users.
9. Improve server response time
The most irritating aspect of server response delays is that various reasons can cause them. This includes slow routing, slow application logic, and resource CPU starvation, etc. Switching to better hosting, which in many cases involves moving from shared to managed hosting, is a simple non-dev solution to these difficulties. Managed hosting typically includes CDN networks and other content delivery techniques that improve page speed.
10. Defer/async third-party JS
Third-party resources, such as social sharing buttons and video player embeds, are typically heavy on resource consumption. Suppose any of your third-party resources aren’t necessary for the appearance or functionality of the above-the-fold. In that case, you should remove them from the vital rendering route.
11. Preconnect to third-party resources
It takes a long time to establish connections, especially secure ones. DNS lookups, SSL handshakes, secret key exchange, and certain roundtrips to the final server handling the user’s request are all required. You can save time by pre-connecting to the required origins ahead of time.
12. Split long tasks
Your page may appear unresponsive to the user if a chunk of JavaScript takes longer than 50ms to execute. To fix this problem, look for long tasks, divide them into smaller segments, and load them asynchronously. Short responsiveness windows will be built into your website loading process this way.
13. Preload key resources
Browsers choose which resources should be loaded first. They frequently try to load the essential resources first, such as CSS, before scripts and graphics. You can adjust the priority of content load in modern browsers by preloading resources and letting them know what you’ll need later.
14. Enable browser caching
Without browser cache, every time you visit the same page, it is completely reloaded. Some page elements are cached in the browser memory, requiring only a portion of the page to be loaded from the server. On subsequent visits, the page loads substantially faster, and your total page speed scores improve.
15. Reduce DOM size
Speed, runtime, and memory performance can all be affected by a vast DOM tree with complicated style constraints. A DOM tree with less than 1500 nodes total, a maximum depth of 32 nodes, and no parent node with more than 60 child nodes is the best practice.
16. Avoid too many redirects
One of the most important things you can do to improve the speed of your site is to remove all unwanted redirects. Every additional redirect slows page rendering and increases the number of HTTP request-response roundtrips.
You can now start your very own software agency with White Label Studio. It combines four tried and tested agency software applications with White Label and resell rights. You can use these apps for yourself or provide businesses with high-end video and banner services. You can also sell the applications separately or as part of a package to your clients. The four apps included are My Virtual Tour, Video Matic, Videoz Agency, and Easy Banners Pro.
White Label Studio Features
Instant Sales – You don’t have to waste time or money on product development or research. You’ll have access to ready-to-sell apps that will give you a massive head start.
Multiply Your Income – You can resell the platform for a monthly fee.
Automated Work – All you have to do is click a few buttons on one powerful dashboard to customize done-for-you.
Agency Domination – With you having everything from the start, you can name for yourself. With these software applications, you can control the full video and banner ad space.
Unconditional Support – The purchase includes training, support, updates, and tutorials.
Uncut Profit – No monthly fee, success tax, or subscription amount.
Limitless Flexibility – With a platform created to help you easily profit, enjoy the flexibility of juggling from different apps or creating videos & banners.
Absolute Power & Joy – You don’t need to be an expert to be successful; you can easily reach your target sales & profit with the four applications.
The July 2021 core update began rolling out on July 1, roughly one month after the June 2021 core update. While the core update in June 2021 took longer to roll out and be felt, the core update in July 2021 was felt almost immediately and in a huge way.
On July 1, 2021, Google began rolling out the July 2021 core update at noon. As of July 7, 2021, this upgrade has not yet been finished and is currently being sent out. This, like all other core updates, was a global update and was not specific to any regions, languages, and website categories. It’s a standard Google “broad core update” that comes out every few months or so. The latest core update, before the back-to-back June and July core update combo, took happened on December 3.
Opinions of the upgrade from multiple data companies that follow Google’s search results showed that everyone agrees that this update was felt relatively immediately. In addition, most data providers believe the June update was more significant than the July core update.
Key takeaways:
As of July 7, 2021, the core update is still rolling out and is expected to be completed within the week.
The community discussion and feedback on the July 2021 core update occurred within 12-24 hours of its release.
If affected by a core update, it is recommended that you take a step back and review your entire website to see what improvements you can make.
“It is often hard to isolate what you need to do to reverse any algorithmic hit your site may have seen. When it comes to Google core updates, it is even harder to do so.”
Google released a new podcast episode in which John Mueller, Gary Illyes, Martin Splitt, and a member of the Google search quality team, Duy Nguyen, discussed how Google tackles search result spam and ranks search results.
When asked how Google ranks search results, they shared that Google first comes up with a shortlist of around a thousand results. That list is produced depending on whether the query and the page’s material are relevant and topical. Following the list’s creation, Google applies several of its ranking signals and criteria to the shortened list. That’s where “the magic” happens, according to Gary Illyes.
He further explains that these documents are assigned scores or numbers, and Google assigns a number. They then calculate that number using the signals that they collected during indexing plus the other signals. And then essentially, what you see in the results is a reverse order based on those numbers they’ve assigned.
On how Google prevents spam, Duy Nguyen shared that Google uses machine learning models to deal with obvious spam. This machine learning model has years of data to improve its spam prevention method and search. It also allows the Google search team to focus on more critical work. For example, it could include hacked spam, online scams, and other issues that the machine does not pick up.
Key takeaways:
Listening to Google representatives about search may give clues into what matters with rankings.
SEOs should focus on making better functionality, quality content, and an overall better user experience.
Because Google has hundreds of ranking signals, focusing on just one or two is unlikely to help you rank well in Google Search.
The majority of branding discussions center on color schemes, logos, name rights, and unique designs. But every customer touchpoint, on the other hand, is a brand experience. Every interaction you have with a potential customer has an impact on how they perceive your brand. Here are three companies that made incorporated customer experience into their branding:
Daytana Lagoon
Daytona Lagoon is an amusement park that shifted its focus to a different customer persona and created a mascot. Its team released a teaser video on social media to unveil the mascot and asked people to guess what kind of creature it was. A press release accompanied the teaser video. Following the teaser video, they posted a series of five riddles on social media for customers to solve to figure out who the mascot was. This mascot reveal campaign helped the amusement park increase its attendance by 49%.
Temple University
Each year, Temple University offers over 100 non-credit and continuing education programs to over 43,000 students. Non-credit education was controlled independently by each division and faculty, resulting in significant duplication of effort, inconsistent customer experiences, and ineffective program decision-making. Each of its programs had its website, and many of them did not allow students to register or pay for classes online. As a result, students had to comb through dozens of different websites to select a non-credit program that caught their interest. Essentially, a single brand has various customer experiences.
The team then centralized the management of all no-credit programs into a single office. They invested in a learner engagement platform that’ll manage all registrations and programming from a single location. This helped people shift their focus from administrative work to program development, marketing, and curriculum. After centralizing its programs to create a consistent brand experience, Temple University generated $ 9.6 million in revenues.
L’Oréal
Another example was with L’Oréal in 2019. L’Oréal felt it was necessary to improve one of its most popular makeup products, the L’Oréal Paris Alliance Perfect foundation. Multiple ingredients have come on the market, along with competitor goods manufactured from those ingredients. Hence, both the recipe and the product communication were outdated.
Consumers were overwhelmed by the new ingredients and products. Moreover, following the implementation of new formulas, competitive firms would promote their substances as the most excellent in the market, promising near-magical effects.
The marketing team decided to use a combination of social media listening and traditional questionnaires for their study. To construct a “consumer glossary,” the team collaborated with a social media listening tool vendor. This is to determine the most popular, in-demand ingredients discussed online and determine the most regularly used words and phrases. Questionnaires were used to confirm all of the hypotheses and insights discovered from social media monitoring. With the help of a dedicated team, this section was finished in-house. They devised custom questionnaires with the goal of condensing all of the information into a maximum of three options that might serve as the foundation for the entire product line.
It was found out that customers liked foundation attributes, including not clogging pores, having a light texture, and not spreading. Meanwhile, hyaluronic acid was the most talked about and acclaimed cosmetics ingredient. These exact phrases were eventually used for marketing communication after being discovered through social media monitoring.
Google has begun rolling out its long-awaited Page Experience update. According to Google, sites should not expect significant changes due to this update. According to Google, sites should not expect substantial changes due to this update. The continuous rollout procedure should reduce any unexpected drops or spikes.
Since its announcement back in November, much information has come out regarding what will be included in the update. However, Google hasn’t thrown in any surprises in the way of new features that weren’t previously announced, which may be excellent news for site owners.
The update to Google’s page experience algorithm is now being rolled out. It will be completed by the end of August 2021.
Key takeaways:
Sites should not expect to see drastic changes as a result of this update.
Google assigns a website’s overall “page experience” score by evaluating each of the signals.
The desktop launch is likely to happen in the later future.
“You can think of it as if you’re adding a flavoring to a food you’re preparing. Rather than add the flavor all at once into the mix, we’ll be slowly adding it all over this time period.”
