Today in Digital Marketing

Ghost in the Machine

Oct 30, 2024 | Newsletter Issues

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Today in Digital Marketing

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A Google Rep Changed an Advertiser’s Campaign

A haunted house, but it’s your Google ad account mysteriously getting taken over by an ad rep without your consent.

Ginny Marvin, Google Ads Liaison, confirmed yesterday that a Google ad rep recently made unauthorized changes to a client’s account without approval.

Ghost ad edits

The issue was first flagged by Andy Youngs, Co-Founder of The PPC People, who posted about noticing changes to their ad accounts on LinkedIn.

Following an investigation, Marvin responded to the post, saying “We did not properly follow our processes for ensuring approvals.”

She said the issue was a mistake and that Google is taking steps to prevent similar breaches.

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Google Ads Gets a 10% Revenue Boost

From ad mishaps to strong earnings, Google published its third-quarter earnings report yesterday, beating revenue expectations.

  • Ad revenue climbed 10% year over year to nearly $66 billion.

  • Search and other, the company's largest segment, was up 12% year over year to nearly $50 billion, driven by demand from financial services and retail marketers.

  • YouTube saw a 12% increase during the period, bringing in nearly $9 billion in revenue.

Challenges ahead

Despite its success, Google faces a turbulent landscape, with recent regulatory scrutiny looming over its operations.

  • In August, a landmark ruling determined that Google maintains an illegal monopoly on search, jeopardizing its primary revenue stream. The company plans to appeal this decision, which could let competitors gain ground in the search market.

  • Google is also facing a separate antitrust challenge from the Department of Justice concerning its ad-tech network, which recently wrapped up a three-week trial.

During discussions with investors, executives refrained from addressing ongoing litigation but reinforced their argument that Google's dominance stems from a superior product.

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Reddit Rises as Q3 Earnings Exceed Expectations

Google's ad business isn't the only player thriving in Q3, Reddit also posted its third-quarter results yesterday, surpassing expectations.

  • The platform raked in nearly $350 million in total revenue for the quarter, up almost 70% year-over-year.

  • Of this, $315 million came from ad revenue, which saw a 55% increase from the previous year.

Demand drives performance

In terms of demand, performance revenue from mid- and lower-funnel campaigns made up 60% of Reddit’s Q3 ad revenue and fueled more than half of its revenue growth, according to the company.

Spend from mid-market and small and medium-sized business advertisers grew 80% year over year, while the number of ad-driven clicks also doubled this quarter.

Record-breaking user growth

On the user growth front, Reddit’s average daily unique user count reached 97 million in the quarter, up nearly 50% year over year, with strong gains in both U.S. and international markets.

The platform also surpassed 100 million daily unique users several times during this period.

Snap’s Ad Growth Shines, User Growth Dulls

Snap's Q3 report card is also in, showing mixed performance results. While its ad business is steadily improving, there are signs of stagnation in user growth.

Revenue growth

  • The platform generated $1.37 billion in revenue in the third quarter, a 15% increase year-over-year.

  • Advertising revenue reached $1.25 billion, a 10% rise from the previous year, largely fueled by a 15% increase in Direct Response advertising revenue.

User growth

  • Snapchat added 11 million users in Q3, bringing its total to 443 million daily active users.

  • However, its North American daily active users remained flat at 100 million, a number that hasn't changed in more than two years.

Usage trends

On the usage front, Snap reported a 25% year-over-year increase in total time spent watching content within the app. While “Spotlight,” its TikTok-like short-form video feed, has more than 500 million monthly active users in Q3.

LinkedIn’s New AI Wingman for Recruiters

LinkedIn has a new bot designed to take on the role of job recruiter.

The platform's new Hiring Assistant tool will let HR managers automatically generate a list of LinkedIn users who are well-suited for advertised positions.

How it works

According to LinkedIn, it will build a pipeline of qualified candidates tailored to your hiring goals.

  • It identifies top applicants, drafts outreach messages, and responds to basic questions about job roles.

  • It can also schedule interviews, take notes, and manage follow-up.

LinkedIn says that it’s currently testing the tool with a select group of customers, with plans for a broader roll out expected next year.

Location-Tracking Car Stickers: The Next Ad Placement?

Stic, a new player in the adtech industry, is revving up on advertising by turning cars into ad placements.

How it works

Through its app, car owners can sign up to receive removable ads from participating brands, which they can apply to their cars.

  • Brands can target the areas where they want to advertise, and drivers are free to go about their daily lives while earning up to 14 cents per mile driven.

  • The stickers track the driver's whereabouts and also calculate ad impressions based on how many people see them.

  • Stic can also target ads based on the location of the car and the time of day.

The service is currently available in California, with plans to expand to Las Vegas and New York.

Google Gets Fined $20 Decillion

A Russian court has fined Google $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 for blocking content from Russian media stations, and the fines could get bigger.

For context, the World Bank pegs global GDP at about $100 trillion.

So Google would need more money than exists on Earth to cover the fine, which it fell a little short of yesterday, reporting $88 billion in quarterly revenue.

Should we start a GoFundMe?

STUDY OF THE DAY

Freelancer vs. Full-Time: What’s Best for Managing Meta Ads?
Should your business should hire a freelancer or a full-time employee to handle Meta ads? This article reveals the pros and cons of each option.

Read full study

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About the Podcast

Every weekday, Tod Maffin brings you a fast-paced 8-minute rundown of what you missed in the world of digital marketing and social media. Thousands of senior marketers listen each day.

About the Host

Tod Maffin is a veteran tech-business journalist. He spent a decade as the National Technology Reporter for Canada’s public broadcaster, and has written for major publications like the New York Times, Globe and Mail, and more.

Besides hosting the podcast, Tod is president of engageQ digital, a social media engagement and moderation agency, and is author of several books, and spent 20+ years as a professional conference keynote speaker.

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