IR team says, “Two weeks into a YouTube advertising boycott over hateful videos, Google is taking more steps to curb a crisis that escalated further than the company anticipated. Alphabet Inc.’s main division is introducing a new system that lets outside firms verify ad quality standards on its video service, while expanding its definitions of offensive content. A slew of major marketers halted spending on YouTube and Google’s digital ad network after ads were highlighted running alongside videos promoting hate, violence and racism. Google’s initial response, a promise of new controls... [...]

Danny Sullivan says, “The past few months have been bad for Google’s search reputation. Long considered the “gold standard” in search, Google has seen its search results questioned as never before. It’s a body blow to a core service that should be safe as Google tries to grow in new directions. Recovering from that blow isn’t easy. What’s happened to Google search is on par with the Apple Maps fiasco or Samsung’s exploding Galaxy Note7 phones. To this day, people still joke about Apple Maps being bad, even though it’s greatly improved. As for Samsung, the phones might... [...]

Barry Schwartz says, “Google has confirmed to Search Engine Land that they are experimenting with a new feature in the search results. I happened to stumble upon a search results snippet in Google that showed “tags” within the snippet. The unusual part of this was that the “tags” didn’t offer any additional functionality. Google would list “tags” relevant to the page content in the actual search results listing snippets. You were not able to filter by those tags, click on them or anything. It just listed “tags” in the snippets without showing you anything more”. Google... [...]

Nate Dame says, “Last month, Google released a video detailing best practices for hiring an SEO company, and it is positioned to become the go-to guide for hiring an SEO. After all, who better to tell companies what they should look for in an SEO than the operators of the world’s most popular search engine? The advice in the video is useful, but it’s biased and incomplete — like so much of the information the company distributes. For example, Ohye states that valid recommendations from an SEO must be corroborated by official Google statements, but the search giant frequently declines... [...]

Ginny Marvin says, “Google has been ramping its efforts to tie clicks on ads to store traffic. On Wednesday, the search giant said it has now captured over four million store visits after users have clicked on an ad, up from one billion a little less than a year ago, and is set to rapidly expand that number. In September, Google extended the now two-year old store visits measurement program to ads on the Display Network and said it had statistically significant visibility into visits to 200 million stores globally. The company says it is now positioned to make store visits data available... [...]

Ariel Bogle says, “It takes only minutes on YouTube to find ads from major brands next to hateful videos promoting extremism and racism. Though the issue has been longstanding, a global brand boycott of the platform has been gathering steam. It’s now reached Australia, with Telstra and Foxtel swearing off YouTube. At least, for now. As first reported by Fairfax Media, the Australian arms of Vodafone and Nestlé have also joined the boycott. A spokesperson for the cable TV provider Foxtel said the company is “actively engaged with Google” to ensure its ads are not run next... [...]

Megan Hannay says, “Just last October at the Street Fight Summit, many marketers ranked voice search as the most “over-hyped” marketing tactic of the year. I think this is because many of them aren’t seeing the full scope of the technology. We’re putting on our consumer brains and thinking about the current awkwardness of speaking to Siri in public, not of a future inside self-driving cars or those moments when we just don’t want to get up from the couch. Currently, most voice searches happen on mobile phones. But within the next few years, it seems likely that devices with... [...]

Ginny Marvin says, “Google announced updates to AdWords Dynamic Search Ads on Tuesday, including support for expanded text ads. Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs) will transition to expanded text ads through April, bringing them in line with search and display campaigns. Google is introducing a new solution for DSAs called page feeds. Page feeds consist of two columns: Page URL and Custom Label. The feeds enable advertisers to designate exactly which landing pages to include in a DSA campaign. There are several benefits and use cases for page feeds, such as these: If advertisers only want DSAs... [...]

Patrick Kulp says, “Google can’t say for certain that ads placed with its various massive platforms won’t end up near an offensive video or website. At least that’s the opinion of Eric Schmidt, chairman of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, and the most prominent public face of the search giant. Schmidt conceded the point during an interview on Fox Business Network Thursday in response to a growing advertiser boycott against the company. More than 250 brands have pulled ads after reports that they were appearing near YouTube videos from terrorists, Nazis and other... [...]

Megan Hannay says, “Just last October at the Street Fight Summit, many marketers ranked voice search as the most “over-hyped” marketing tactic of the year. I think this is because many of them aren’t seeing the full scope of the technology. We’re putting on our consumer brains and thinking about the current awkwardness of speaking to Siri in public, not of a future inside self-driving cars or those moments when we just don’t want to get up from the couch. Currently, most voice searches happen on mobile phones. But within the next few years, it seems likely that devices with... [...]