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On the 3rd of December, Google announced that a new core update is rolling out. This December 2020 core update is the third one this year, the first one was the January 2020 core update and the second one was May 2020 core update. The roll-out Google said “the December 2020 Core Update is now rolling outlive. As is typical with these updates, it will typically take about one to two weeks to fully roll out.” This was a global update, like all core updates, and was not unique to any area, language, or web site category. It’s a classic “broad-core update” that Google releases every few months or so. In this case, it was the longest stretch since the confirmed large core update, which took just under seven months, as compared to the usual three-month period. This December 2020 update On December 16, Google finished rolling out the Google December 2020 Core Update. As previously mentioned, it began on December 3rd at around 1 pm ET and took 13 days to roll out entirely, which is just about the two-week timeline that Google gave us for the core update rollouts. Here’s the announcement from Google that it’s rolled out: It was an atypical core update and it seems to be a big and substantial one. We have monitored a huge spike in volatility on a number of sites on December 4th, the day after the update began rolling out. Then another set of fluctuations on the 10th of December,…
What are Google’s Core Web Vitals? In May 2021, Google announced that they are going to roll out the official ranking factor change – Core Web Vitals. Typically, when Google publishes an update that affects search rankings, it’s all about content. In this case, the update is about a better user experience on your site in terms of speed of loading, reliability, and responsiveness. Today, we’re going to interpret the specifics of Core Web Vitals and help you understand how your search rankings will be affected. The Metrics Explained Core Web Vitals are a set of particular factors that Google deems important in a webpage’s user experience and the metrics will progress over time. So far, Google has defined three main criteria, which publishers and developers need to focus on to improve page experience rankings: largest contentful paint, first input delay, and cumulative layout shift. Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): This represents the time it takes to load the main content of a website in seconds. Focus on making your LCP score of 2.5 seconds or faster. First Input Delay (FID): The emphasis here is on assessing the time it takes for a web page to become interactive. Focus on bringing the FID score down to less than 100 ms. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): This explains the impact of unexpected layout changes for visual page content. Focus on bringing the CLS score down to less than 0.1. In summary, Core Web Vitals are a group of variables that will be an…
Since the very first ad was placed on a website in 1994, the advertising industry has used a specific Ad Technology to enable the monetisation of websites – the Ad Server. According to Datanyze, Google Ad Manager is the dominant ad server used by websites with a global market share of 33%. In 2018, Google merged DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) and Google Ad Exchange to create Google Ad Manager. Which brings us nicely onto Google Publisher Tags. This article will explain not only what GPT are but also how they work, how to generate them and the benefits they bring. What are Google Publisher Tags Google Publisher Tag (GPT) is an ad tagging library used for Google Ad Manager (GAM). Google Publisher Tags enable publishers to dynamically build the ad request and display the ad on web pages. With GPT, you can define inventory, initiate and bundle ad requests, and then render the matching demand. How do Google Publisher Tags Work? GPT is used to define your available ad slots. Placing GPT on a page creates a link between the ad server and a user’s browser. When a user visits a page containing GPT, the following happens: A request is made from the user’s browser to the ad server for gpt.js, the tag code built in JavaScript. The JavaScript builds and sends one or more requests to the ad server for ads tagged on the page. The ad server matches the ad units and any key-values contained within the request….
It is vital for websites to understand how they want their users to interact with their content. User Experience (UX), is all about making the way users interact with you as easy and enjoyable as possible. Traditionally websites are presented as pages and each page belongs to a section or category, users click and read pages of content they are interested in, this is known as Pagination. In this instance, all content and ads load when the page is loaded. More recently opportunities to enable users to discover new or related content without leaving the page they are on have become especially prevalent with users consuming content that is image-heavy or viewed on mobile devices. Here we discuss the two main UX techniques websites can use to keep users on the site and enable the discovery of new content while not loading all content at the initial page visit; Infinite Scroll and Load More.
Google Chrome is the dominant web browser in the world with a 65% market share against the next best Apple Safari at 16%. Google‘s idea was to build a web browser that was fast and responsive with the best user experience possible. So it is with this in mind along with the Better Ads Standards, that Google has added a default setting live from late August to block ‘Heavy Ads’.
Walled Gardens are everywhere. Inspired analogically by the gardens of Ancient Persia, we wander around inside, safe in the knowledge, and steeped in the privilege of being allowed in. The internet was born from computer engineers and researchers’ dreams of being connected and freely sharing ideas, this has evolved into a land grab for user data, eyeballs, and clicks. The Open Web and Walled Gardens dilemma is something many online companies struggle with. Either because one may restrict and cause negative feelings while the other reduces the capability to drive revenue, both can offer scale in different ways.
Ever since GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) revolutionized the conversations of everyone with digital advertising interests in the EU, companies in the US have had to make a decision. Withdraw from the EU, make preparations to be compliant, or follow suit and apply a similar standard in the US. CCPA is California’s approach to privacy and consumer data. With the industry evolving at its rapid rate and the introduction to new systems and processes, there is a need in the industry for regulations that enforce best practices. Privacy and how consumer data is currently being processed within different parties has become one of the biggest concerns, especially since the Cambridge Analytica scandal. In this article, you will learn more about what CCPA is, how it works, who it applies to, and what you may need to do in order to be compliant.
“Ad quality is in my top three concerns as a publisher.” How many times do we hear this? Almost always? This has always been a topic of interest. But especially in the current situation, it has been accentuated since there is a gap between supply and demand for inventory. Advertiser buying and spending patterns have changed leading to publishers taking some drastic measures to earn a sustainable revenue. It’s a vicious cycle, dropping floor prices or increasing the available inventory opens the door to another larger problem – Bad ads/ Ad Quality. This should be a concern as it can have serious implications on the business model as a whole. So here is why maintaining top tier ad quality is always a good idea.
What is it? According to Google, a confirmed click is aimed to address a genuine problem everyday people face as they use the internet and their mobile devices. The noble aim is to reduce the effects of ‘unintentional’, ‘accidental’, or even ‘fraudulent’ clicks. After reviewing a publisher site, Google may determine that some aspect of the publisher’s ad strategy is causing accidental clicks on ads and therefore ensure that advertisers do not have to pay for unintentional clicks.