Why Google Analytics is on Europe's Naughty List

SEO: Is It Time to Fire Your SEO Agency? 

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How can you tell if the company you hired for search engine optimization is really growing your business or feeding you vanity metrics? 

A great piece today at Entrepreneur.com reports that if your SEO agency has given you any of these warning signs, you may want to consider moving on:

1. The company does not request access to analytics for your business platform

SEO companies should always request access to all your analytics and advertising platforms, including Google Business Profile, Google Search Console, and Google Analytics. 

Do not trust your agency's data if it does not report on metrics you are familiar with or if it does not use standard industry tools for tracking and reporting.

1.  The agency does not provide content for you

Content on your website is one of the most important ranking factors, and if your SEO agency is not creating new content or optimizing existing content, ask why.

1.  Your SEO company doesn't ask you about your customer profile

If an agency doesn’t know what pain points your customers need solving, how can it meet searcher intent? 

The whole piece has nine things to look out for, not just these three — definitely worth a read if this space interests you. The article is called "It Might Be Time to Fire Your SEO Company".

COOKIEPOCALYPSE: Google Is Now Legally Bound by the CMA

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Google's Privacy Sandbox ad-tracking overhaul has just cleared a major hurdle.

Today, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, announced that it has accepted a revised offer from Google relating to its proposed removal of third-party cookies from the Chrome browser.

While Google's plans are underway, it is still unclear what technologies Privacy Sandbox will use to replace third-party cookies.

The decision today was based on Google’s approach, rather than a specific technology. 

Following the regulators' formal acceptance, Google's commitments become legally binding, and it has stated that it will apply them globally.

The commitments include:

• The CMA will be involved in the development and testing of Privacy Sandbox proposals.

• Google will transparently develop the proposals and publish test results.

• It will not remove third-party cookies until the CMA is satisfied that its competition concerns have been addressed.

• Restrictions on the sharing of data to ensure that it doesn't gain an advantage over competitors when third-party cookies are removed.

REGULATION: Marketers Have One Month To Bid Farewell to Google Analytics

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As Google clears one hurdle, it faces another.

Data transfer by Google Analytics has been deemed unsafe and illegal by France's data privacy regulator — the CNIL.

Concerns about U.S. surveillance of EU citizens could lead to the regulators banning Google Analytics altogether.

CNIL made this decision after receiving several complaints from the European Center for Digital Rights regarding the transfer of data from the EU to the U.S. when using Google Analytics on websites. 

The French data watchdog has ordered website managers to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation and cease using Google Analytics if necessary, or to use tools that do not transfer data outside the EU. 

Site operators have one month to comply.

In spite of extra measures adopted by Google to regulate data transfer, the French watchdog believes this is not enough to protect EU citizens from potential U.S. surveillance.

CAMPAIGNS: Gen Zs Are Gross

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McDonald's new marketing campaign is capitalizing on how gross this next generation of consumers can be. 

The new promotion pays tribute to TikTok, YouTube, and mukbang videos where "a host eats various quantities of food while interacting with the audience," as described on Wikipedia.

The campaign includes four new "menu hacks" that customers can order: 

1. Surf + Turf 

2. Crunchy Double 

3. Hash Brown McMuffin 

4. Land, Air & Sea

In the case of the Surf + Turf, you will receive a filet-o-fish and a double cheeseburger, which you then must assemble yourself to make one disturbing sandwich. 

Along with the “new” menu items, the fast-food giant's campaign strategy includes:

• All four of the hacks are being promoted by viral TikTok influencers. 

• It encourages customers to buy three different meals at full price rather than one.

• Additionally, it provides a new brand experience as consumers are encouraged to take “a picture or it didn’t happen”, or video while eating their McCreation. 

What can brands learn from this marketing campaign? A great piece in MediaPost today breaks it down.

Learn from your consumer:

• Pay attention to how consumers are using your products on social media and reflect that in your marketing. 

• Feature their hacks, creative mashups, or new ways to use your product.

The weirder, the better:

• Traditionally, food and beverage brands avoided depicting nauseating use cases. Not anymore. 

• For today’s consumers, the more extreme the better.

Product development doesn't have to cost a fortune:

• You might not need to reinvent the wheel with your next marketing campaign. 

• Is it possible to remove or add elements from your already existing product or service?

MEDIA BUYING: Should You Be Investing in Print?

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Should marketers reconsider where they are spending their money?

New research has found that — not surprisingly — marketers are planning to invest more into digital channels this year:

• More than three-quarters of respondents say they intend to spend more on online video.

• 70% said they plan to invest in influencer videos and 70% in social media stories.

The brunt of cutbacks are expected to fall on older media:

• Only one-fifth of marketers plan to spend on TV ads this year, which is a much more modest rate than in 2021.

The study warns marketers against prioritizing digital over all else and cautions that traditional media is being overlooked. 

• For example, print ads are still among the top 10 touch points globally.

The analysis also emphasizes the importance of both paid and non-paid channels. 

• Word of mouth and personal experiences are still powerful touchpoints for brand building. 

• Recommendations from families and friends is the second most influential touchpoint globally, followed by consumers' own product experience. 

Finally, the study measures the cost effectiveness of paid channels by comparing the share of investment made in that channel with the brand strength contribution each channel made. 

• YouTube, point-of-sale, Facebook, and cinema ads top the list as the most cost-effective brand-building media globally, and rank high in every region.

Data has been provided by Kantar’s studies Media Reactions and Power of Connection 3.0.

Images: Kantar

GOOGLE: Lookout For Generic Videos in Performance Max Campaigns

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Attention Google Advertisers, if you have any Performance Max campaigns, you're going to want to upload your own videos, or Google will just do it for you. 

Recent complaints allege that Google Ads creates and picks its own videos for your Performance Max campaigns - these are 19-second videos that are very generic, and you can't delete them.  

Which the company has confirmed is true. 

A Google employee tweeted:

Performance Max creates videos from the text & images you upload to the campaign. If you want more customization, we do recommend uploading your own videos. But we know that’s not always possible & auto-generation offers an easy way to access additional YouTube inventory.

Note, currently, auto-generated videos will stop serving if you upload your own video assets to the Performance Max campaign.

LIVESTREAMING: Instagram’s Event That Will Give Consumers Dating Advice 

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Instagram is taking another step towards live stream shopping with a Valentine's Day event.

The event includes:

• Special guests — Ranging from viral influencers to dating experts. 

• Featured brands — Including jewelry, home and beauty retailers. 

• As well as discount codes users can use while watching the shopping stream.

On top of live-stream shopping, the platform will promote individual product collections from each of its featured influencers on the Shop tab.

LINKEDIN: Connect to Opportunity… Not Politics

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LinkedIn is testing a new way for users to switch off all politics-related posts and updates in their feed. 

It's mildly amusing that LinkedIn has become enough of a political cesspool to offer this option.

• Using keywords and signals from users, as well as input from LinkedIn's editorial team, the feature detects political posts and removes them from your feed. 

• The ability to block posts on certain topics will also soon be available.

Select U.S. users now have the option to turn off political posts — if you have access, it can be found in your settings.

MEDIA BUYING: What a Super Bowl Ad Can Get a Buyer on the Digital Field

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A 30-second spot for a brand at this year's Super Bowl is reportedly costing $6.5 million.

In case you're curious what that would buy in digital media, Digiday did the math:

For $6.5 million, you can instead get:

• 650 million impressions on a Facebook advertisement

• 4.2 million Google search clicks

• 1.7 million clicks on Amazon sponsored display videos

• 843 million impressions on a TikTok ad

Finally, advertisers can buy 30 days of TikTok branded-hashtag challenges for the cost of a Super Bowl spot.