Five things worth sharing from the last week (or so), brought to you by a different member of the Browser Media team every Friday.
This week’s My Five is by Alex.
1. Google plays QI
Just as Google declared last month that they were removing Authorship from search results, they have this week announced the introduction of Structured Snippets. This new feature means that search queries will have up to four facts about them displayed within search results. The new Google algorithm extracts information to display from the landing page which it deems to be ‘relevant and interesting’, such as top specifications on electronic products. Personally, I’ll be interested to see how this pans out, given their ‘success’ with knowledge graph… Watch this space!
2. Promoted Pins
Way back in 2013, Pinterest announced that they were going to start experimenting with promoting certain pins from a select group of businesses. It seems the reception was positive, as of May the company rolled out a paid test, with the help of some well known US brands. The latest update is that they are now looking to make promoted pins as relevant as they can to individual users. This means collecting user data on clicks, engagement and conversions from the brands that are promoting pins.
But how do users feel about this? Updates to Pinterest’s Privacy Policy set out their plans, with those in opposition being able to change their account settings.
What do you think; is this a good development for Pinterest, or a slippery slope to to user negativity and mistrust (Facebook update, anyone?)?
3. All bent out of shape
Skinny jeans vs iPhone 6 – let the battle commence!
(Source: Digg.com)
4. ‘Now provided’!
For Authority Labs users, there’s a treasure of a feature being rolled out as part of the Google Analytics integration they’ve been working on recently; the ‘Now Provided’ report. Whilst not an exact solution to the majority of keywords being ‘not provided’ by Google, this should give digital marketers invaluable insight into which keywords are driving traffic to which page. Hurrah!
5. Purrfect Focus
It’s true – looking at pictures of cute baby animals is good for you, and as this shows, probably good news for your employer too.
So, before you go on to your next work task, here’s something to help your productivity.
You’re welcome.
