Today in Digital Marketing

Face Coverings: Show Them in Ads or Not?

19 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In your next online video ad, should you reference the pandemic? We have some numbers. Microsoft adds a new support channel for digital marketers. A p...

A thick jungle canopy and a dark body of water.

18 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Google may be changing your campaign without your permission. YouTube may soon place ads on your brand’s videos, also without your permission. You c...

Twitter’s “Fleets” Are Off to a Bad Start

17 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

YouTube wants you to try its new ad placement… consumers want you to pay better attention to how you handle their data…. Google wants you to be sm...

Pocketing a Smurf Monkey for LOLz and Elo

16 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Are your leads disappearing from your inbox before you can get to them? Google wants you to back off being so damned specific with your keywords. How ...

The Doctor is In 🏥

13 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Why are the best-performing ads on TikTok those where the subject’s face is far away? A new Mac operating system is out — what does that mean for ...

Spoiler: That Wasn’t Insurance You Just Bought.

12 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Your next source of product sales could soon come from WhatsApp… Snapchat will certify you on its ads platform for free… a clever marketing campai...

Meet Your Favourite New Marketing Metric

10 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Facebook has found a new way to make digital marketers’ lives miserable. Do you know Bing’s algorithm? Because Bing doesn’t. What effect has COV...

The End of the Single-Day Sale Event?

09 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Has the pandemic killed the single-day sale event? Facebook’s new feature is good news for DTC marketers. Netflix tries its hand at good old-fashion...

Facebook’s Ads Platform is Falling to Pieces

06 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Mass chaos among Facebook advertisers as the platform starts handing out huge numbers of erroneous account bans… How are hundreds of Google My Busin...

How to Jump the TikTok Algorithm Queue

05 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Your brand’s web site is ranking higher in Google — then why is your traffic and click-through rate DOWN? Google’s new holiday guide has some so...

AI Wrote This Podcast Title

04 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Now that the American election day is behind us, did California adopt that bill that would  restrict how digital marketing is done? How can artificia...

Schooner Tuna: The Tuna With a Heart. 🍣

03 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Microsoft adds some fairly customizable ad extensions, LinkedIn’s new company engagement report is out, the clever new way hackers are compromising ...

Facebook Drops Location-Tagging, Because Of Course They Did.

02 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Facebook drops support for location-tagging… Instagram temporarily pulls one of its discovery features and that might spell reduced web visits for y...

SPECIAL: How Spotify is Changing the Podcast Ad Industry

30 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this special extended episode, Brian Barlatta from the Sounds Profitable newsletter discusses how the ad industry is being forced to adapt with Spo...

The Secret Candy Machine, Revealed 🎃

29 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

An inside look at how Google determines if your web content is trustworthy… getting data from Twitter just keeps getting more expensive… Mailchimp...

The Magic Frequency is 5.5. Tell No-one. 🤫

28 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How many ad impressions are TOO many? Will we all need to learn Apple SEO soon? Agorapulse and Google Ads both make some nice tweaks to their platform...

Facebook Ads’ “First Time Impression Ratio” Problem

27 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Why is Facebook showing your ad to the same people over and over again? A huge development for people who sell things online… Pinterest and Instagra...

The Marketing Campaign You Wish You’d Thought Of

26 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when you remove the Facebook Comments from your company’s blog? Less toxicity and less time spent on site. Why a change to Chipotle’s...

The Next Great Ad Placement: Airpods?!

23 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The next big ad placement could be Airpods…. A decision by the Trump administration will have far-reaching effects for local businesses who want to ...

Why Did ROAS Drop During Amazon's Biggest Day?

22 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Facebook adds both features and fees to its e-commerce platform… Yes, Twitter’s ad platform changed a little yesterday… If Amazon’s Prime Day ...

🚨 Facebook is Turning ON Campaigns You’ve Turned OFF

21 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Check your Facebook ad campaigns closely — because it seems Facebook’s bots are messing with them again…. Snapchat may not get the headlines, bu...

The Problem with Facebook’s Email to (Some) Advertisers

20 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Facebook says the price of ads are about to drop…. Some updates from LinkedIn’s new live events platform that marketers will love… Sprout Social...

I Could Talk All Day With You, If You Want To.

19 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hashtags are back, baby, and this time they’re superpowered… does one slow page on your brand’s web site affect the Google ranking on your WHOLE...

The Old Facebook UI is Back! (for Page Admins)

16 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hope you’re keeping your business’s wait times in check, because Google’s about to disclose how fast you serve customers… There appears to be ...

Why Google May Delete Your Web Site in Five Months

15 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Forget mobile-first indexing, it’s mobile-ONLY indexing… and Google may delete your brand’s web site from its index in a matter of months if you...

What a Sex Toy Blogger Can Teach You About Content Marketing

14 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There’s a new Google Analytics out, and if you spend your days thinking about the customer lifecycle, you’re gonna love it… Wendy’s clever Twi...

You’re #1! (Well, you’re actually #6.)

13 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

YouTube is quietly asking top creators to help it build a product catalog for future direct sales… some good news about your job prospects as a digi...

It’s Thanksgiving Weekend! (No, it really is.)

09 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Microsoft plans to point people AWAY from your product pages. Or maybe route people TO them. It all depends on your product’s pricing. Plus, Instagr...

The End of the Retweet?

08 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Is Twitter getting rid of retweets?… Facebook says about the removal of the 28-day attribution window: “Naw, bro, we were just kidding!”... Micr...

Hootsuite Has Lost Its Soul

07 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hootsuite fires an employee who spoke out about its contract with a controversial U.S. government agency, big news for big brands who use big data, wh...

🎶 I’m a Can of Soup

06 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Google introduces call display for your Google My Business calls… a U.S. Supreme Court case could dramatically shift the ownership structures of TV ...

A Spreadsheet Is Not a Database

05 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Is that cookie disclosure banner on your web site pulling you down in Google rankings? Instagram gets closer to e-commerce integration in its TikTok c...

When Image Cropping Goes Horribly Wrong

02 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

One big advertiser is driving up the prices of ads on Facebook. And I promise — you will not guess which company that is. Also, Google adds some nic...

Idiot Sandwich

01 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

YouTube’s new AI bots may break your brand’s web site… Are you optimizing for PAA SEO? The surprising places social media influencers are showin...

How a Lawsuit About a Video Game May Affect Your UGC Strategy

30 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Has your digital agency run afoul of a new Trump administration order? How a lawsuit over a video game might affect your social media strategy. Google...

The Facebook Feature Nobody Asked For

29 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Microsoft’s ads platform will keep your ads off from bad web sites… More details on the looming elimination of Facebook’s 28-day attribution win...

Oh god. Not the coffee machines.

28 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Facebook’s latest change could mean you won’t be able to see conversion data on your campaigns… Apple’s latest acquisition is all about those ...

The Custom Audience You Should Be Using

25 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

They tried to compete with Buzzfeed, and they lost… Facebook adds content plugins to Ads Manager… the custom audience you’re NOT using but proba...

Zuckerberg... You Still With Me, Bro?

24 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the alternate universe we’re all living in now, one marketer has found that using an insane amount of text in Facebook ads actually drives better...

Why Cinema Ads May Be In Your Next Media Spend

23 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The places you’re buying ads are NOT the places where consumers want you to be... Google confirms that reviews mean everything to local SEO… Amazo...

OMG THEY’RE ACTUALLY DOING IT

22 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Three small announcements you WANTED to hear from Facebook, and one big one you didn’t... TikTok and Oracle give a masterclass in how to screw up a ...

🎵 Do You Remember... How the Stars Stole the Night Away?

21 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Does hosting your brand’s web site on a shared server negatively affect your Google position? Facebook adds new intellectual property protection for...

Will Your Web Pages Break on October 24th?

18 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

34 days and counting before millions of web pages are due to break — all because of a change being made by Facebook… Google will now let publisher...

#Mel_Is_Having_A_Very_Bad_Day

17 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We’re starting to understand just how many keywords are being dropped from Google Ads reports… Facebook launches a whole new platform for managing...

🎂 = 1

16 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A new feature on Facebook could get more brands into doing Live broadcasts… both Amazon and Apple announce BIG bets they’ve placed on podcasting…...

Split-Test Your ORGANIC Posts (!)

15 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The one marketing tactic that consumers say will bring them BACK to your bricks-and-mortar store… Instagram is thinking about letting links in capti...

The Greatest Bait-and-Switch in Business History?

14 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Did TikTok just pull the greatest bait and switch in business history? YouTube has an exciting new metric (god, what has my life become). And Facebook...

When Lawyers Try to Write Marketing Emails

11 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Podcasts borrow inspiration from programmatic ad technology... Yes, that was a scary email you got from YouTube. No, you don’t have to worry about i...

🎵 The Whole World’s a Blur When You Waste Time With Me

10 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

And you thought the GDPR was bad. Wait until you hear what Europe just told Facebook to do. The most downloaded social media app last month was the mo...

Facebook to Restrict How Many Ads You Can Run

09 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Spotify is burning up the podcast charts, in all the wrong ways… Facebook’s putting ads on sites that never asked for ads… How Pinterest’s alg...

The One File That Can De-List Your Site from Google

08 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Microsoft’s new tool could help keep you from making the one change that can completely screw up your brand’s web site… a big security warning f...

Everybody Hates Google

04 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

More details on the change to Google Ads that many digital marketers are saying will have a staggeringly negative effect on their campaigns… Meanwhi...

(not provided)

02 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Google hates you and to prove it, they’ve taken away one of the single most helpful parts of their ads dashboard…. Meanwhile, LinkedIn adds some n...

Why My Zoom Background is of Iceland

01 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

While TikTok is poised to announce its buyer, it also announces a significant expansion into direct e-commerce… Wordpress fixes the bug that broke m...

Here’s Your CTA: [LISTEN NOW]

31 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Here come the world’s first voice coupons. Also: California takes a hardline on marketers who run afoul of its new privacy legislation… Yes, Googl...

The Facebook Engineering Comedy Hour

28 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The busy back-to-school marketing season isn’t so busy this year, and that could spell savings in your ad budgets… digital marketers are NOT aband...

“Lindsey, Come Here and Listen to This!”

27 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Apple wants YOUR ad dollars… Google’s new Cost per Lead bid option changes the local services game… Traditional radio and TV are NOT doing well…...

Is the End Near for Facebook’s Audience Network?

26 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Apple’s new iPhone OS is going to kill Facebook’s Audience Network placement. TikTok finally reveals exactly how many people watch its videos. Som...

Aug 24 — I BEG YOU. STOP USING THIS MUSIC. (Ep 221)

24 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Here are the three reasons a Google engineer says your brand’s web site lost ranking. TikTok is set to move firmly into the e-commerce space. Facebo...

Aug 21 — Fake Skyscrapers and Your Facebook Page (Ep 220)

21 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What does a fake skyscraper have to do with YOUR brand’s presence on Facebook? Why are hundreds of video game streamers mad at Burger King this morn...

Aug 20 — Donald Trump is Destroying Your ROAS (Ep 219)

20 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Yes, your CPMs are up. And you can blame Donald Trump for that. Snapchat cozies up to local bricks and mortar marketers. Some of Twitter’s newest fe...

Aug 19 — Ryan Reynolds is Having a Very Bad Day (Ep 218)

19 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The QR code is back, baby. Google gives real estate agents some very bad news. Why is Facebook not letting you see your brand’s reviews? And the lat...

Aug 18 — All Your Beer Memes Are Belong to Us (Ep 217)

19 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Consumers are more willing today to give you some of their personal information, if you know what to ask for. Plus: Google is poised to show the publi...

Aug 17 — Podcast Speed: FAST (Ep 216)

17 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Consumers are more willing today to give you some of their personal information, if you know what to ask for. Plus: Google is poised to show the publi...

Aug 14 — SPECIAL: The Digital Marketing Ombudsman (Ep 215)

14 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Facebook opens a new revenue channel for your brand, and throws Apple under the bus at the same time… Bing’s product search gets smarter with loca...

Aug 13 — British Grannies Who Like Chuck Norris (Ep 214)

13 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Facebook removes more than a thousand ad targeting categories because something something efficiency? Plus: CPMs are on the rise again… Your web sit...

Aug 12 — Two words: Blockbuster Video (Ep 213)

12 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A huge update for Wordpress that could improve your brand’s Google ranking… Pinterest adds to its AR marketing platform, announces a big video par...

Aug 11 — The Facebook Announcement We Didn’t Want (Ep 212)

11 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Facebook is doubling down in the use of AI to make content decisions... Twitter tweet restrictions are now available, people who market news content a...

Aug 10 — How to Run Ads in Facebook Groups (Ep 211)

10 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Twitter partially changes its mind on the inability to Edit Tweets… You can now run ad campaigns inside Facebook Groups…. Google’s popular SEO c...

Aug 7 — Why Does Facebook Hate Its Advertisers? (Ep 210)

07 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

An easier way to advertise on podcasts… Has Google changed its mind on what makes you rank higher? Some bad news for people in the affiliate marketi...

Aug 6 — “Boosting” or Ads Manager: Which Is Better? (Ep 209)

06 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

You COULD boost that post. Or you could manually set it up in Ads Manager. Will there be much of a difference in the results? There sure will. Also: B...

Aug 5 — Instagram Reels: A Digital Marketer’s Guide (Ep 208)

05 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It’s here — Facebook’s answer to TikTok. Will Instagram Reels make it into the hearts and minds of young consumers? Also: Google changes its min...

Aug 4: How a Microsoft-Owned TikTok Would Change Digital Marketing (Ep 207)

04 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Google Ads partners with Zapier to keep your target lists updated… how a Microsoft-owned TikTok will affect YOUR future ad campaigns… Facebook’s...

206: Is Your Brand’s Dormant Instagram Account Perma-dead?

31 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s show: • Another reason to take Google Reviews even MORE seriously • BuzzFeed becomes an e-commerce platform • And is there an algor...

205: 🍰 The Cake Is a Lie

30 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s show: • How much effect do review sites have on YOUR brand’s Google position? • Shopify wants your e-commerce store to be faster •...

204: Because GeoCities.

29 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s show: • Your brand might now be eligible to be endorsed by Google • An update on a new Wordpress plugin — spoiler: it’s bad news ...

203: Does Facebook Even WANT Our Money?! 😡

28 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Digital agencies are pivoting because of the pandemic and they’re pivoting to video… Facebook has a nice upgrade for brands that are thinking of d...

202: Your Next Ad Campaign: Masks or No Masks? 😷

27 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Should you show people wearing masks in your next online campaign? A new study has some surprising findings. Plus: Why is brand loyalty dropping like ...

201: When Zuck Gets Drunk on the Cheap Gin

24 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Today: Why your audience may be talking to your ads in the very near future, an optimistic forecast for marketers who buy digital TV ads, all the data...

200: The End of Likes on Facebook Brand Pages?

23 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Great news for e-commerce marketers who sell on Google Shopping… Facebook is testing removing the ability to Like a Brand Page… TikTok adds a new ...

199: Short or Long? How Much Copy Converts Better?

22 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Today: Google gives webmasters a brief reprieve from a dangerously looming deadline... good news for brands that invested into Snapchat marketing… n...

198: Immoral, Obscene, and Vulgar.

21 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Today: The Facebook ad boycott is bigger than we thought… how to get your brand’s web site content in the search engine the second it goes live…...

197: Google Maps Has a Terrible Spam Problem

20 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Today: We go deep into one of Google’s biggest spam problems — one that is directly affecting the results of digital marketers in the services ind...

196: What The Hell Is With the Donut?! 🍩

17 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A new entrant in the livestreaming game could mean a fully branded experience for your viewers… the surprising effect one very common web page desig...

195: Protecting Your Brand from the Next Twitpocalypse

16 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

One day after the Twipocaplyse — what we know about how the global hack happened AND how you can protect YOUR brand’s account. Also: Instagram is ...

194: 🚨BREAKING: The Biggest Hack in Twitter’s History?

15 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Details on one of the biggest widespread Twitter hacks in history. Also: One web site wants to give you millions of free brand impressions —and you’...

193: Cinq Pamplemousses, S’il Vous Plaît 🇫🇷

14 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A huge crash at Facebook is causing headaches for social media managers around the world… How much does adding Services to your Google My Business p...

192: Google Can Predict Your Sales (Also: 💋 the 🐟)

13 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Google can predict your future sales — or so it says. Is the Facebook ads boycott working? YouTube gives a big boost to brands who do livestreams. A...

191: WARNING 🚨 You Will Be Rickrolled In This Episode

10 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How many consumers will turn off ads now that Instagram’s letting them… A small bug yesterday at TikTok turned into a huge deal to the tin-hat cro...

190: Dude. You Forgot the Organics.

09 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Some new Google Ad features coming to the platform YOU use soon… how a grocery store chain plans to broadcast customized audio ads in its stores… ...

189: You’ll Love This Episode, [𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿] Person in Their [𝗔𝗴𝗲]s!

08 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Today — Different people? Different creative. Makes sense. But now, one company has figured out how to apply that to ORGANIC content… We should ha...

188: SPECIAL: How the CCPA Affects Your Brand

07 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A special edition today: Everything you need to know about the California Consumer Privacy Act. Simon Poulton (@SPoulton) from WPromote joins Tod for ...

187: All Your Source Code Are Belong To Us

06 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Facebook finally adds custom metrics directly in the Ads Manager dashboard… YouTube explains why your brand’s most popular videos get the lowest e...

186: Plenty of Room at the Hotel California

03 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

So you checked your Facebook ad manager and, wait a minute… why are the metrics from an entire state just missing? You’re not alone. Thousands of ...

185: Meet John Smith, Serial Cart Abandoner

02 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Today: Who is John Smith and why is he messing up your web site analytics? If your brand’s web site is jumpy, Google plans to penalize you… Facebo...

184: Oh Canada! 🇨🇦

30 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Christmas comes early to e-commerce brands, and you can thank Covid-19 for that… how a change to Facebook’s algorithm might affect your company’...

183: Are Stock Photos Bringing Your Google Rank Down?

29 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

T-minus two days before the big Facebook ad boycott. Is YOUR brand ready? Plus: What LinkedIn thinks should be your company’s next blog post… Goog...

182: How Will The Facebook Ad Boycott Affect Your Brand?

26 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Facebook is scrambling to contain the damage being done by a planned July boycott of all Facebook and Instagram advertising. Now, one of the planet’...

181: Google Shuts Down Two Digital Marketing Services

25 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Instagram gets closer to building a TikTok clone in its main mobile app… YouTube makes creating videos a bit easier… Facebook will gladly host you...

180: Twitter Has Good News and Bad News For Marketers

24 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

More ad inventory on Twitter SHOULD mean better days ahead for brands that advertise there…. Google’s loss of ad revenue appears to be Facebook’...