Are Bookmarks a Google Search Ranking Factor?

FRIDAY QUIZ: Are Bookmarks a Google Ranking Factor?

Google has a lot of information on all of us. And on all our web sites.

Put Google Analytics onto your site? Boom. They've got some data on it. 

This is also why Chrome exists — Google wasn't being a benevolent leader in the web-improvement space; they get massive amounts of data back about what sites people visit, their browsing behaviours, and more.

One of the many signals that Chrome provides Google is bookmarks — when you bookmark a page, that sends a signal back to the mothership.

But... what does Google do with that bookmark data?

Does Google use bookmarks as a ranking factor? 

In other words, will your web page appear higher in Google's search results if a lot of people have bookmarked it on their own Chrome browser?

The answer, later in today's issue.

INFLUENCER MARKETING: Regulator Warns of Fines

The American trade regulator has sent a rather threatening letter to more than 700 business — including Facebook and Amazon — to warn them they'll get hefty fines if they don't crack down on fake reviews and deceptive endorsements.

But the move is a little weird:

1. First, even though the letter said it wasn't singling any one company out, the FCC went out of its way to publish a full list of all 700 businesses that got that letter.

2. Second, even though they say being on the list doesn't necessarily mean that company's done anything wrong, the letter was titled Notice of Penalty Offenses. Yikes.

How big are the potential fines? Apparently up to $43,792 per violation. (No, I have no idea why it's that weird precise number either.)

Apparently the letter is the first salvo American trade regulations require before the FCC can actually start levying fines. 

Specifically, here's what's on the naughty list:

• Falsely claiming an endorsement by a third party

• Misrepresenting whether an endorser is an actual, current, or recent user

• Using an endorsement to make deceptive performance claims

• Failing to disclose an unexpected material connection with an endorser

• Misrepresenting that the experience of endorsers represents consumers’ typical or ordinary experience.

Industry analysis seems to think this is aimed more at requiring brands to be more insistent with their influencers on disclosing that they've been compensated.

To that end, that list of 700 or so companies could be quite valuable, as it seems to be a list of brands that use influencers.

I spotted some surprising brands on that list, including:

• AstraZenica

• 3M

• Berkshire Hathaway

• And Kia Motors

That last one got my attention because about six months ago, I saw some guy do a TikTok about the new Kia Carnival, which had a layout my wife and I were looking for. A couple of months later, we bought one.  Was that an ad? 

We'll certainly watch to see if the FCC follows through on those fines. 

• FCC’s sponsorship guidelines

Image: Pexels.com

AD PLATFORMS: Lowe's Goes It Alone

The home improvement brand Lowe’s is the latest brand to go it alone and build its own ad network.

It's called the One Roof Media Network and sells banner and search ads on the Lowe’s app and website. It’s also selling sponsored content on its website and, interestingly, on its social channels too.

Quoting Marketing Brew:

Lowe's joins other big brands such as Kroger, Target, CVS, and Walmart — all of which have launched their own ad marketplace.

Image: Lowes.com

Q4 PLANNING: Another Q4 Holiday Planning Guide

The holiday buying season is edging ever closer which means one thing — more white papers about holiday marketing planning.

Most of these are pretty generic and locked behind a leadform, but a new one from Listrak is neither of those. 

Their report is called “Is Your Marketing Ready to Meet the Demands of Holiday 2021 and Beyond?” It's a PDF you can download without having to give up your information.

It’s got five strategies for optimizing your plans, including:

• Preparing for a cookie-less holiday

• Prioritizing acquisition, identity, and list growth

• Fostering engagement to turn browsers into buyers

Listrak is an enterprise-level digital marketing platform and a link to their guide is in today's Premium Newsletter.

Image: Pexels.com

B2B: LinkedIn Will Leave China

Some bad news for B2B marketers trying to reach Chinese markets — LinkedIn this week announced it would be pulling out of the country, as the government there makes it increasingly difficult for social platforms to abide by regulations.

Instead, it will open up a small regional job board app.

LinkedIn first launched a Chinese version of the site in 2014. It was a kind of custom-built site which tried to keep in line with local laws. LinkedIn had to invest millions in moderating the comments to make sure the government watchers were happy.

Quoting the company:

Earlier this year, the government sanctioned the platform for “failing to control political content on its platform.”

There are currently 54 million users of the service there, and the New York Times says LinkedIn had been the sole major American social network allowed to operate in China.

Image: Unsplash

Q4 Quick Wins Guide for Advertisers

Andrew Foxwell's team has a great new resource out for digital marketers — it's called the Q4 Quick Wins Guide for Advertisers.

It's got ideas specific to the holiday buying season in 2021, and covers:

• changing consumer buying patterns this year

• the impact of tracking data loss

• their recommendation on how your bid strategy needs to change in light of increased competition

• a retargeting approach

• ideas around creative and user-generated content

• and other items

It's a quick read, packed with lots of good nuggets, and if you plan to do be doing any selling over the next 2.5 months, this is a must-have guide.

You can download it at b.link/q4guide. It's $10 bucks, and you'll be supporting this podcast too as we'll get a small cut of that.

Also worth checking into:

• Foxwell Founders' membership

• Ad buyers' bundle

• Agency pack

• Surviving and Scaling Post-iOS14

QUIZ ANSWER

Back to the Friday quiz — Does Google increase a page's search results ranking if that page is bookmarked a lot in Chrome.

Google did get a patent for this in 2006 called "Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation”. 

However, that patent is now listed as Abandoned and, although Google hasn't said officially one way or the other, the general industry consensus is it does not use that data for ranking.

Quoting SearchEngineJournal.com:

Not to mention, bookmarking a site to boost your rank would be pretty easy to game.

So no, your site does not get any algorithmic boost in the rankings from bookmarks.

And finally…

Does anyone know of a site which aggregates all the licence-free photo sites (pexels, reshot, unsplash, pixabay, etc.) and lets you search them ALL at the same time? Please reply to this newsletter or tweet me (@todmaffin) if you know of one!

We say goodbye today to our production coordinator Sarah Guild who was seconded to the podcast from our agency. She returns to the client files Monday, and that's when our new Podcast Associate Producer joins us to help us gear up for what we hope to be a big year ahead... you'll meet her next week.

Today in Digital Marketing is produced by engageQ digital on the traditional territories of the Snuneymuxw first nation on beautiful Vancouver Island. Production support and fact checking by Sarah Guild. Theme composer Mark Blevis knows the difference between Hamilton and Kingston. Podcast music licensing by Source Audio.