Granite 5 July Digital Roundup

5 min read

A review of the key headlines from the world of digital in July that are impacting UK and global businesses.

Click on any of the titles in the list below to jump straight to that section of the article.

Google starts rolling out new Link Spam algorithm update

Google has started rolling out their “link spam update” which makes the algorithms more effective at identifying and combating link spam particularly from sponsored, guest and affiliate content. The update started rolling out on the 26th July, and is expected to take at least 2 weeks to start impacting search results.

This update is a reminder to site owners to follow Google best practice when using links by checking the quality of links used within your content and add tags to links where there’s a value exchange, for example for affiliate links and links from sponsored posts (paid links) – mark up with rel=”sponsored”, and links from guest posts – mark up with rel=”nofollow”.

 

Facebook adds new features for the Tokyo Olympics

With the delayed 2020 Olympics now underway, Facebook has launched a range of new tools to help users engage with the event. These include

  • A dedicated Games hub with highlights, team and athlete overviews, and explainers of the events
  • Two new AR effects for Stories which are accessible through the effects tabs on both @olympics and @Tokyo2020 accounts
  • A WhatsApp Olympics chatbot which will provide details on the Games schedule, the latest news, information on broadcasts, medal standings, and quizzes on various Olympic events aimed at boosting fan engagement.

Facebook olympics features

Image source – Social Media Today

 

Twitter tests new image layout and adds automatic captions to voice tweets

Twitter has just revealed they are experimenting with a new timeline layout where tweet content takes up the horizontal space more efficiently which would mean no more margins around your photos. The new layout stretches the whole width of the feed. Stay tuned for the release.

Another great feature that Twitter has recently rolled out is the option for automatic captions to be added to your voice tweets. Voice tweets are a relatively new addition for Twitter launching back in June and are currently only available on iOS devices.

 

Instagram expands insights data to 60 days with new calendar tool

In response to user feedback, Instagram has just announced that as of the 20th July they have doubled the tracking period for users from 30 days to 60 days. This will be very valuable for marketers as you can now analyse the last 2 months of data at once providing for greater performance visibility.

You can access this data with a new calendar tool in Instagram Insights, that allows you to choose a custom date range of up to 60 days for your account metrics.

instagram insights update

Image source – Vishal Shah (VP of Product for Instagram)

 

Google launches free deals listings in search results

Google is rolling out a free new way for ecommerce stores to list deals in search results. As of the 21st July, Google is highlighting deals in the shopping tab by organising and showing product listings in the search results that are competitively priced or discounted. Please note this is currently being tested in the US before being released globally.

As an extension of this, from October, Google will start showcasing the most popular deals for major retail sales like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Retailers also now have the option to customise their promotions in the Merchant centre. This allows you to indicate if a deal is only available to first-time customers.

 

WordPress 5.8 Tatum update released with nearly 300 new features & fixes

A major new version upgrade has been released by WordPress in the form of version 5.8 Tatum which is rolling out now and available to all publishers. This new version is full of nearly 300 fixes and new features offering improved security and functionality.

The most exciting feature to us is native support for WebP images, which is a technique we’ve been using for the last year to improve website speed and performance, in line with Core Web Vitals.

Find out more about the new WordPress 5.8 Tatum major update.

 

Google expands ‘About This Result’ sharing info on ranking factors

From the 22nd July, when viewing an ‘About This Result’ panel, searchers will get more information about the results they are seeing to help make sense of which one is the most useful for them. Please note this is currently being tested in the US before being released globally.

This is very useful information to the searcher as it helps them make a choice on which result to pick, but it’s also incredibly useful for SEO and content professionals as it offers a unique insight into the ranking factors that went into serving up the results for that query.

See below the example from Google when using the search query “how to cook fish in the oven”

Google about this result digital update

Image source – Google blog

 

New custom report builder added to HubSpot Professional platforms

For marketers using HubSpot, they have recently released a custom reports tool with extensive functionality to aid your marketing analytics and strategic choices. The new custom report feature is available to customers with Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise, Sales Hub Professional or Enterprise, Service Hub Professional or Enterprise, Operations Hub Professional or CMS Hub Professional or Enterprise.

The new custom report builder allows you to analyse multiple data sources across your whole HubSpot ecosystem drawing from all areas of the platform, making it a powerful tool.

Find out more about the functionality of the HubSpot custom report builder.

 

If you need support maximising your digital footprint, book a time slot to discuss this with our Head of Delivery and strategic lead.


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