The digital marketing world moves fast. And keeping your finger on the pulse can be tricky.
After all, there’s only so many hours in the day. But if you fall behind on the latest digital happenings, you’ll likely fall behind the competition too.
That’s why every month, we package up the very latest in all things digital marketing - along with expert opinions and advice - into one bite-size blog, making sure that you’re always one step ahead.
In this month’s instalment of Enjoy’s digital marketing news, we look into changes to TikTok video descriptions, the September core update by Google and the streamlining of its ad creation process.
TikTok Increases Length Of Video Descriptions
TikTok is expanding the length of video descriptions from 300 characters to 2,200 characters. This update will add value for both creators and users of the social platform.
Brands can now increase the reach of their content, including additional keywords relating to the content to optimise it for searchability. In turn, users can find what they’re looking for with greater ease, and TikTok will also be able to serve more relevant content (and advertising)!
This update is a clear bid by TikTok to become more competitive in the web search and discovery space. Google’s Senior Vice President, Prabhakar Raghavan, certainly sees this as a threat, sharing that “In our studies, something like almost 40% of young people, when they’re looking for a place for lunch, they don’t go to Google Maps or Search. They go to TikTok or Instagram.”
"It will be really interesting to see how creators take advantage of TikTok’s expanded content descriptions. Will they stuff them with keywords, like in the early days of SEO? Will they use them to make their content more accessible? Either way, brands definitely need to consider their approach to future content creation on this channel."
Jess Hodgson
PR & Social Executive
Google rolls-out September core update
Every day, Google launches a number of updates designed to improve search results. Most aren't noticeable, but each update helps to incrementally improve search results for Google Search users.
Several times a year, Google makes significant, broad changes to its search algorithms and systems, designed to ensure that it delivers on its mission to present relevant and useful content to searchers. These are referred to as "core updates”, the latest of which has just been rolled-out (September 26th 2022).
"After each core update is launched, you’ll see a notable impact to your search performance. Yet brands that focus on creating authentic content that offers genuine value to their audiences will always be best positioned to benefit."
Ant Kenny
Head of Digital Performance
Google streamlines ad extensions UI
Google is also introducing updates to its search ads, designed to streamline the process of creating ads with multiple extensions. Ad extensions - or ‘assets’ as they have recently been rebranded - provide users with quick access to the information they’re looking for.
Previously, managing assets such as image extensions and sitelinks was done in separate steps of the campaign process. Now, you’ll find them in one workflow, along with unified reporting in the "Assets" page, making it easier to monitor asset performance.
"Adding assets such as sitelinks can really accelerate the performance of your ads; Google notes that on average, advertisers see a 20% increase in clickthrough rate when 4 sitelinks show within their Search ads."
David Taylor
Head of Paid Media
