The Top Three

🏆 THE INDUSTRY’S MOST IMPORTANT STORIES TODAY

🥇 HOW TO GET REDDIT TO IGNORE NO-FOLLOW LINKS

📈 No-follow, no problem: Reddit is dominating Google search results lately, even though its links are typically marked as no-follow. Joy Hawkins from Sterling Sky tested whether these no-follow links could still impact rankings.

To test this, Hawkins posted on Reddit, linking to her site with anchor text. The post was relevant, added value to the discussion, and included a targeted keyword in the anchor text. more

• Two weeks later, the targeted keyword went from position 25 to position 10 — All from a single no-follow link.

• Why did this work? Hawkins says the key factor was the context:

  • The Reddit thread itself ranked well on Google and received organic traffic.

  • Using anchor text also helped.

• If you try this, Hawkins suggests making sure the Reddit thread isn’t spammy or low-traffic, as it likely won’t give you the same results.

🥈 ADS RUNNING ON SITES WITH CSAM CONNECTIONS

🗣️ What do we want? Exact URLs! When do we want it? Now!: Ad buyers are pointing the finger at Google, Amazon, and brand safety firms like Integral Ad Science and DoubleVerify after ads for major brands such as Sony, Pepsi, and the NFL reportedly showed up on image hosting sites sometimes flagged for hosting child sexual abuse material. more

• Two U.S. Senators criticized Google and Amazon for failing to provide clear ad placement data, saying that without access to exact URLs, advertisers can’t ensure their ads aren’t appearing next to illegal or policy-violating content.

  • Advertisers typically only receive domain-level reports, not exact URLs, leaving them in the dark about where their ads show up.

• Amazon declined to say if URL-level reporting is available, while Google said it may be, depending on the campaign. Both companies have since blocked the flagged sites.

🥉 META TRADES PRIVACY FOR SPEED

Meta is scaling back the influence of privacy teams on product launches to speed up product releases. After years of privacy guardrails following major breaches, the company is now shifting gears and lowering those guardrails to release products faster. more

• Privacy teams will have less authority to delay product launches, with product teams now having the final say on acceptable privacy risks and whether a product should be released.

• The company is also automating more of the product review process, cutting down the time allowed for privacy reviews, and will reassess past privacy decisions to make sure they’re still relevant.

• Former employees warn that with an average of 1,400 reviews monthly, faster reviews could overlook some risks to users’ privacy.

Today’s Other News

📰 EVERYTHING ELSE THAT MATTERS

Advertising 📣

• Display & Video 360 (DV360) has launched updates for YouTube ads:

  • YouTube Pause Ads are now available for Instant Deals customers, enabling ads during video pauses on Connected TVs.

  • Enhanced content control now lets advertisers exclude ads from appearing alongside sensitive themes like religious, political, and health-related content.

  • Improved frequency management now lets advertisers set monthly impression goals. more

• 📧 Expect more emails: Starting in April, AdSense is merging the "Customized help and performance suggestions" and "Periodic newsletters with tips and best practices" email lists into one. more

• Campaign Manager 360 has several new integrations. more

  • Adobe GenStudio: You can now send creative assets directly to Campaign Manager 360.

  • Typeface: The partnership with the AI platform enables custom content for campaigns.

  • The Trade Desk: More tracking options will be available for ad performance.

  • Netflix Ads: Working with the company to expand ad placement options.

  • Cross-Media Reach insights: This will give a full view of your campaign’s reach across all media, including TV.

• Social platforms in Canada are being flooded with scam ads posing as real news while restricting legitimate news (Meta blocked news links in 2023 due to a law requiring platforms to pay publishers). more

  • Meta is aware of scams and says they are against its policies. That said, even when the ads are taken down, they reappear on other pages.

Search 🔍

• Google is testing a new ‘share list’ button for local pack place results, letting users share local listings directly from the search results. more 

Social Media 📱

• The 'anti-masculine energy' platform?: BuzzFeed is considering building its own social platform to rival major players and offer an alternative to the rightward, masculine shift in American public culture. CEO Jonah Peretti said the company wants to avoid relying on tech giants for its content distribution. more

• Facebook now lets you pitch to gain subscribers. You can add an elevator pitch to your sign-up page, showcasing the benefits of your subscription to attract more users. more

• 🐁 Meta’s new guinea pig: Instagram plans to test new features in its upcoming CapCut-style Edits app, set to launch next month. IG Head Adam Mosseri said that since IG and Edits share the same codebase, new features will likely be trialled in Edits first and integrated into Instagram if successful. more

• With Valentine’s Day just 4 days away, Snapchat has shared some marketing tips. Data shows that Snapchatters begin shopping in mid-January, with peak sales occurring closer to February 14th. Friends and family heavily influence purchase decisions, with 95% saying they’re swayed by their loved ones. more

Commerce 🛒 

• Amazon’s Q4 saw strong growth, with ad revenue up 18% to $17.3 billion. more

  • Online store sales grew 7% YoY to $75.5 billion, while physical stores rose 8.3% to $5.6 billion.

  • Third-party seller services rose 9% and subscriptions increased 9.7%.

  • Overall net sales grew 10% to $188 billion.

The “That’s Sus” Files 🤨

• 🤔 That's suspicious: Google Calendar has removed events like Pride Month and Black History Month because it wasn’t ‘sustainable.' Users are calling out the change, with one saying the platform is being used to “capitulate to fascism.” Google said that manually adding a wide range of cultural observances became unsustainable and now only displays public holidays and national observances from timeanddate.com. more

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