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 Will.
1. What do users think about brands on Twitter?
Understanding what you should be posting on Twitter and the best way to connect with your audience can be a tough task for brands. Ultimately, there is no right or wrong answer and the best option will vary from brand to brand. However, while there is no definitive answer, Twitter’s latest research spoke to 2,000 users to find more information on what they do and don’t like from brands on the platform.
Twitter highlights the importance of the research by stating:
“Now more than ever, it’s important for brands to understand how and when people want them to show up in the public conversation. That’s why the brand strategy experts at Twitter Next conducted first-of-its-kind research about people’s attitudes on Twitter – analyzing thousands of Tweets from the world’s most iconic brands and conducting tests and surveys in eight countries – and what that means for the evolution of brand behavior.”
For a full breakdown be sure to check out the report in all its glory, and for the key points, the below infographics have everything you need to know.
2. Do Google Impressions = Search Volume?
In a recent Tweet, Google’s Search Advocate John Mueller answered the question of whether impression data from Google Search Console can be used as an estimate for search volume.
https://twitter.com/JohnMu/status/1487502695434969094
Understandably, this raised a few eyebrows. Naturally, you may assume that if your site ranks in position one for a specific keyword then impressions could be used as a way to understand search volume. You’re position one, so surely everyone searching for that keyword should see your page, right? Wrong, as John Mueller further explains:
https://twitter.com/JohnMu/status/1487515936131371012
Google SERPs have developed massively and they aren’t the same for all users, therefore, you can’t guarantee that your site will be displayed for all searches. Things such as Google Shopping and Google Ads results could mean that the top-ranking page is pushed further down the results, meaning it may not be displayed to searchers. Additionally, there is a level of personalisation in search results, meaning the order in which pages are displayed varies. This is a result of a number of things including information Google has on location, interests and previous search history.
In short, don’t simply assume that if you are top of the rankings for a certain search term, your page is being displayed to all searchers. Impressions can be used as a barometer for search volume but it isn’t quite so black and white.
3. YouTube in 2022
In a blog post that was published earlier this week, YouTube’s Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan shared insights into the new tools and features we can expect to see this year. For a full rundown of the features, check out the original post from YouTube, but these are the ones that stood out most to me:
- Improved shopping capabilities that will expand the overall shopping experience on YouTube with shoppable videos, Live Shopping and broad updates to how users shop across the YouTube app.
- Further development into YouTube’s Shorts features with new effects, editing options and the ability to reply to comments with another short. This is clearly in an attempt to keep up with the non-stop rise of TikTok
- YouTube is also expanding its monetisation options for Short with new tests expected to be rolled out including BrandConnect for Shorts creators, integrated Super Chat feature which allows viewers to purchase visually distinct chat messages, and the option to shop directly from a Short.
- Additional insights for creators in YouTube Studio. It is unclear exactly what these features will be but they are expected to help “generate concrete content ideas for upcoming videos” according to Neal Mohan.
These are just some of the features that we can expect to be rolled out in 2022, so it sounds like it could be a busy year for YouTube. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for when these new features are released.
4. Time to take Core Web Vitals seriously
We’ve known that Core Web Vitals are important for a long time, but they need to be taken a lot more seriously now as the desktop rollout is underway. Core Web Vitals (CWVs) have already been a ranking factor for mobile sites, however, the desktop rollout has begun and is expected to be complete next month. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to any search marketer, these updates have been on the horizon for a while and page experience is nothing new, however, you should start to take your scores a lot more seriously.
Therefore, you need to take greater care when updating your site from now on as even minor changes could cause a sudden drop in these scores. However, if you do see a drop, or if your scores aren’t the greatest at the moment, all is not lost. There are lots of simple steps you can take to improve your CWV scores.
For more information on the importance of CWVs and how you can improve your site’s scores, be sure to read Joe’s post on why you should care about page experience.
5. Time to shred the slopes
I’ll be honest, I haven’t caught much of the Winter Olympics, as unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to get as much promotion in the UK as the Summer Games. However, I did come across one of my favourite snowboarding videos on my Twitter travels this week.
Is there a gold medal for most adorable video on the Internet? "I’m a stuck-asaurus." ? (?: IG/TT/chasing.sage) pic.twitter.com/XNa4TqQeFZ
— E! News (@enews) February 9, 2022
I’ve only ever been skiing twice but both times I was always amazed, and a little embarrassed, at how natural it comes to the kids who have grown up on the slopes. There’s me slowly snow ploughing my way down the most gradual incline, while four year olds go flying past with the technique and bravery I will never have!
Who knows, maybe we’ll see this little boarder at the Winter Olympics in a few years time?
