In the latest WDA Marketing Pit Stop, we take a look at the most important digital marketing news and updates from the last two weeks, 2nd – 15th November, including the announcement of when Google’s Page Experience Update will go ahead, Spotify’s major acquisition, Instagram and Facebook tests, Twitter Ad carousels and more.

Let’s take a pit stop and get into it.

Google’s Page Experience Update News

Google’s Page Experience Update will go ahead next May. It will mean expected user experience for web pages will be taken into consideration for the rankings and will also see results that offer a great experience highlighted.

Google explained the update further… “Today we’re announcing that the page experience signals in ranking will roll out in May 2021. The new page experience signals combine Core Web Vitals with our existing search signals including mobile-friendliness, safe-browsing, HTTPS-security, and intrusive interstitial guidelines.”

Instagram Testing Story Reactions

Instagram has been testing a new way for users on the platform to react to stories – allowing them to react directly within the story frame itself instead of having to send the creator a direct message. Hopefully, this is rolled out.

Spotify Acquire Megaphone and Look to Expand Podcast Advertising Options

Spotify has recently acquired the leading podcast advertising and publishing platform, Megaphone. It’s a great acquisition that comes as Spotify aims to expand its podcast advertising options – stating themselves that it “represents the next step in Spotify’s expanding the possibilities of this intimate and screenless medium.”

WhatsApp and Messenger Disappearing Messages

Disappearing message functionality has been added to both WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger over the last 2 weeks. Initially, WhatsApp added a feature that can be toggled on or off to remove all messages after 7 days. This was then, more recently followed by “Vanish Mode” being launched for Messenger, which can be entered by simply swiping up in a chat thread and turned off by swiping up again.

Snapchat Profile Followers Now Displayable

Snapchat has given users the option to publicly display their followers for the first time ever and can be switched on or off depending on preference. Automotive influencers likely stand to gain the most here if they choose to display followers as it is likely to lead to additional advertising opportunities from marketers and brands.

Facebook Image Tests

Facebook has been testing new layout styles and visual motion effects such as slide and flash. This is something to keep an eye on as it could boost engagement rates on static posts. Stay tuned for more details on this.

LinkedIn Company Engagement Report

Automotive B2B marketers making use of LinkedIn will be pleased to find out that further insights into engagement on company pages can now be gained with the new Company Engagement Report. Some of the metrics that the report covers include total engagement level, organic engagement, web visits and more.

Google Webmasters Central Becomes Google Search Central

Google Webmasters Central is becoming Google Search Central with some of the former properties such as the blog and guidelines to be redirected to the new location.

Googlebot Crawl Update

Before now, Googlebot has crawled over HTTP/1.1 but Google announced that it would start crawling over HTTP/2 in November. This is now in effect and Google’s Developers Support Page has been updated to explain this.

WhatsApp eCommerce Improved

WhatsApp has further improved eCommerce potential on the app with the addition of a shopping button. The button is accessible from business chats and is designed to help users easily discover something they’d like to buy from businesses they’re communicating with. A great update for automotive eCommerce brands.

Instagram Reels and Shop Added to Home Screen

Instagram has updated the layout of its home screen by adding Reels and Shop tabs. This comes following early user complaints about Reels being difficult to access on the app. However, we feel this update is a little too forceful and takes away from the user experience.

Twitter Carousel Ads

Carousel ads are now available on Twitter – enabling automotive advertisers on the platform to add up to six images or videos in a single ad. While Twitter has taken a while to adopt the extremely popular ad format, they ran extensive tests and research to ensure it’d work well on the platform before rolling it out.

That wraps up the latest Marketing Pit Stop. Subscribe to our blog and follow us on social media so you don’t miss the next one!

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