JB’s Digital Update 6th June 2023

Based on new research, businesses fail to fully grasp the marketing benefits of YouTube as an effective platform for expansion and brand recognition. Without investing the time and effort into creating engaging video content, uploading optimised material, and building a community to boost interest, you risk ending up with a “brand video graveyard” — a channel that’s inactive and ignored.

Nonetheless, if you prioritise YouTube and dedicate yourself to a community-driven approach, creating engaging video content, optimising uploads, and understanding your audience, you’ll see numerous benefits, including a strong brand presence and increased customer influence. By investing resources in YouTube production, you could reap big rewards.

For businesses looking to revamp a dormant YouTube channel, an overall audit may help you identify areas of improvement. Engaging with your community, conducting keyword research to optimise content, and collaborating with like-minded YouTubers can also help revitalise interest and attract new viewers. By taking these steps, you can convert a boring YouTube channel into an active, thriving platform, turning it into a key driver for business growth and success.

Google released the Google Search Generative Experience tool last Thursday to much muttering on the Twitters.

Danny Sullivan, who is Google’s Search Liaison, addressed some complaints and criticism from the public. Alongside him, John Mueller of Google also answered questions, including attribution issues and privacy concerns as well as access requests through Search Console. Of course, some users expressed frustration over the timing and location of the tool’s availability. The topic sparked animated discussions on various forums and Twitter, as can be expected. Talk to me about SEO :-)

Instagram recently updated its Ranking Explained resource, providing insight into how ranking functions across different aspects of its app, including Stories, Reels, Explore, and Feed. 

It’s crucial to comprehend how the Instagram ranking system operates to optimise visibility and engagement on the social media platform. Multiple classifiers, algorithms, and processes are employed by Instagram to decide what content users can view. Depending on user, post, and creator signals, the algorithm ranks content differently in different app sections. 

The Feed consists of an amalgam of recommended content, ads, and material from accounts followed by the user. Creator signals for Stories depend on past interactions, post creator information, and if the content conforms with the Instagram Content Lowered in Feed Guidelines. Explore recommendations are based on user activity, post data, and creator information. Reels rankings take into account popularity, user engagement, creator information, and reel information but may be less visible for specific content types. The Instagram search algorithm is based on user activity, popularity, and query signals such as clicks, shares, follows, and likes. For “SEO” Instagram suggests optimising visibility by utilising relevant keywords and locations in bios and captions and by having up to five links on bios.

So, Meta is flexing its news muscles again. Facebook and Instagram won’t grant access to news outlets once Bill C-18 gets approved in Canada. They’ll run a few randomised tests to restrict news content access for some weeks. Any news outlet, whether within Canada or abroad, that primarily reports on public interest events or current issues, may be impacted by these tests. News outlets will still be able to log in and post links/content, but some content won’t show up in Canada. News outlets will still be able to access Meta Business Suite and advertising tools (lucky them!). Enrolled individuals can prompt a review process if they feel they aren’t part of the law’s intended scope. Meta says product testing is a critical part of complying with the Online News Act and an industry-wide practice. Meta strongly feels The Online News Act disregards the platforms’ value to news publishers and people’s preferences, and if implemented Facebook seeks to forever discontinue news content availability in Canada once the legislation passes. Eeek.

This is a good guide from Moz on how a good social media approach mapping out a company’s online aims and tactics, when combined with SEO, can powerfully enhance overall marketing. In a nutshell, social media relates is based on user interests, while SEO employs strategies to push up web page rankings on keyword-driven search results. Greater brand awareness through social media correlates with amplified “branded” organic search volume and clicks, but while things like no-follow social media links may not immediately impact SEO, a balanced backlink profile including both no-follow and followed links enhances search engine results. 

Five promising ways social media can benefit SEO comprise disseminating website content via social channels, distributing engaging infographics, building customer relationships, optimising social media accounts while targeting conversion-inclined users. A strong working partnership between social media and SEO “departments” is quite critical for sharing info and driving desired digital marketing outcomes.