Welcome to ‘What Happened in Search’.
Packed full of the week’s digital search news each Friday, this issue features mobile friendliness, Airbnb’s ‘Never a Stranger’ campaign and a new digital ad spend record.
RISE IN MOBILE FRIENDLINESS
Google announced that there has been a “4.7% uptick in the proportion of sites that are mobile friendly” in the two months since the search company announced its Mobile Friendly Update.
Google has said that now that the new algorithm is rolling out, it hopes to see more sites going mobile friendly in the near future.
FAST TRACK
After releasing one-year performance metrics for “Google Preferred” last month, Google has new audience data for its advertising program, which lets marketers buy ads in advance on YouTube’s top performing channels.
According to its study, Google Preferred desktop audiences are 29% more likely to visit a brand’s website immediately compared to general YouTube viewers, and 46% more likely to search YouTube for a brand they are in the market for.
NO APP REQUIRED
One advantage of apps for both publishers and their readers is the ability to send notifications, alerts about important stories or events. Chrome has now launched a way for publishers to send notifications without an app.
“Chrome Notifications”, which currently works for Chrome on desktop and Android devices allows publishers to send notifications to those who use Chrome, Google’s own web browser, with no need for visitors to download an app.
NEW DIGITAL SPEND RECORD
According to the latest figures from the Internet Ad Bureau, digital advertising spend set a new record in 2014, rising to $49.5 billion in the United States.
The greatest segments of growth were in mobile and social, though search remained the biggest overall ad spend segment.
The IAB said that mobile advertising grew 76% year-over-year from 2013 to 2014, which was followed by social media advertising at 57% growth.
AIRBNB LAUNCHES ‘NEVER A STRANGER’
Airbnb is one of the first brands to adopt Instagram’s new carousel format, as part of its multi-channel ‘Never a Stranger’ campaign.
The new format allows brands to attach multiple photos onto a single post, with a “learn more” button, which directs users to the brand’s site.
Instagram’s new offering went live in the US last month, as the tool seeks to extend its marketing catalogue.
