The Performance Max Bug That Google Isn't Talking About

Huge Problem With Performance Max Campaigns

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We start today with an exclusive story you're hearing here first: There appears to be a big issue with at least some of Google's Performance Max campaigns.

The issue: Even though you might just be targeting a specific country, Google is showing your ad mostly to other countries.

Read the full story, including an interview with Jyll Saskin Gales who discovered this issue, on our blog at https://todayindigital.com/pmax-bug/ 

And check out Jyll's "Inside Google Ads" program at https://todayindigital.com/googleadstraining  — use the promo code TODAY for an exclusive discount.

Instagram: Don't Reuse Other Work — JK! JK! JK!

Image: Instagram 

Remember roughly 24 hours ago when we reported that Instagram was changing how its algorithm would be ranking your brand's content and reducing distribution for content that isn't original? 

Now, it appears Meta, as usual, can't make up its mind. 

The platform confirmed that it is testing Templates, a feature that lets creators "make a Reel using an existing Template from another Reel," according to Business Insider. 

So a tool that will allow users to easily copy a creator’s formatting for their own videos? Doesn’t sound very “original” to me. 

Amazon VS Walmart

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American consumers are now spending more of their money at Amazon than they are at Walmart.

A new report indicates that Amazon finally surpassed Walmart as the biggest retailer in the United States in 2021. Almost 9.5% of consumers' total retail spending went to Amazon, compared to 8.5% going to Walmart. 

Over the years, Amazon has steadily gained ground on Walmart in the retail sector. Prior to the pandemic, in 2018 the ecommerce giant received almost 6% of consumers' total retail spending. While Walmart has held steady at over 9% since 2014, up until last year.

Amazon dominates Walmart in two segments: 

1. Electronics & appliances spend, and 

2. Sporting goods, hobby, music and book spend

For each of these segments, Amazon captured nearly five times as much U.S. household spending as Walmart in 2021, according to a report. 

Bezos' empire also garnered more than double the clothing and apparel spend than Walmart. 

However, when it comes to groceries, Walmart can't be beat. Consumers spent ten times more on food and drink at Walmart than they did at Amazon.

Data has been provided by PYMNTS “Amazon Versus Walmart Q4 2021” report. 

Images: PYMNTS

Snapchat Adds 13M Users

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TikTok and Instagram get all the headlines, but spare a thought for the dark horse of the social platforms — Snapchat. 

And it's doing just fine, thank you very much. The platform has released its latest performance update, showing it added 13 million daily users in Q1 and has seen a steady increase in revenue. 

That takes the social media platform up to 332 million daily users. 

The data indicates that most of the new users come from the 'Rest of the World' category, while most of the revenue is coming from North America. The company might have a bit of a problem here, as reaching consumers is one thing, but generating revenue is another.

In terms of revenue, Snap Inc. had a 38% year-over-year increase, topping over $1 billion for the quarter.

The company says Dynamic Ads contributed significantly to revenue for the quarter, with the ad format more than tripling in revenue year-over-year. By using Dynamic Ads, advertisers can upload their product catalogs so that Snapchat can match users with the most relevant products and ad formats based on their interests in real-time. Which might be worth considering as part of your ad strategy if you haven’t already. 

The report also suggests your brand might want to consider its own AR lens on the app, with over 250 million Snapchatters engaging with its augmented reality tools every day. 

Images: Snap Inc.

Drupal Vulnerabilities

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Drupal, the content management software system, has announced two vulnerabilities affecting versions 9.2 and 9.3 that could allow an attacker to upload malicious files and take control of a site.

The first vulnerability affects Drupal’s form API. The company says "Drupal core's form API has a vulnerability where certain contributed or custom modules' forms may be vulnerable to improper input validation. This could allow an attacker to inject disallowed values or overwrite data."

The second vulnerability, Access Bypass, enables possible access bypass for users who have access to use revisions of content generally, but who do not have access to individual items of node and media content.

Drupal has released security updates to address the vulnerabilities and is encouraging users to review security advisories and apply the updates. 

Volkswagen Shuts Down Site for Earth Day 

Image: Volkswagen

Have you ever thought about your digital carbon footprint as a marketer?

Brands are taking part in Earth Day initiatives across the industry today, and one company is taking part by switching its web site off.

Rather than completely shutting down its website, Volkswagen has replaced it with a "Carbon-Neutral Net", which includes a simple landing page explaining the move, as well as the brand’s commitment to the environment. So if you're looking to shop for a new Tiguan, today is not the day. 

According to the digital carbon emissions calculator on websitecarbon.com, the page is 99% cleaner than over two million other websites.  

Whereas TodayInDigital.com is cleaner than 75% of web pages tested.