[Ep100] - Google Announces End Date For Universal Analytics. Now Is the Time To Start Using GA-4
In 14 minutes, get up to speed on the must-know Digital Marketing updates from the week of 14th March 2022.
1. Sharing Pinterest Idea Pins On Other Platforms - If you want to improve your Pinterest presence, this could be a useful update. Pinterest has made it possible to download your Idea Pins for sharing to other apps, replete with a Pinterest watermark, as of this week. You can easily share your Idea Pins to other social apps by selecting the "FBStories" or "IG Stories" option in the sharing menu, which will start a download tailored to each app, and then open either with the video ready to go in the upload flow, or you may download the clip and upload to TikTok. The issue, in my opinion, is that Instagram already penalizes Reels uploads with a TikTok watermark in order to prevent users from simply copying and pasting TikTok content. So should you leverage this feature? Listen to the podcast and find my viewpoint.
2. Assigning Moderator During IG Live Streams - With a new live-stream moderator option, IG creators will be able to assign a moderator within a Livestream. Instagram is adding greater ability to control your live broadcasts in the app. The feature will give users another way to manage the flow of material inside a stream, as well as address concerns about inappropriate behavior during IG Live sessions. It's also worth mentioning that TikTok debuted a similar feature in July of last year.
The menu icon on the comment area allows creators to add a moderator. Within here, you can either search for a specific individual or choose from a list of Instagram's recommended users.
3. Performance Lab Plugin - The WordPress Official Plugin That Speeds Up Website - WordPress has announced the availability of the Performance Lab plugin. It was created by the WordPress performance team to aid in the speeding up of WordPress sites. The plugin allows website owners to make use of new features before they are integrated into the core of WordPress.
The Performance Lab plugin gives website owners access to WordPress enhancements that are aimed to help them speed up their sites and address issues that may be holding them down. The plugin is modular in design, allowing website owners to pick and choose the enhancements they want to make.
The new Performance Lab plugin has four modules.
- WebP Uploads - Converts newly uploaded JPEG files to the faster WebP format. The functionality is dependent on server support for WebP.
- WebP Support - This is a site health module that checks to see if the server supports WebP and shows a warning if WebP is not supported.
- Persistent Object Cache Health Check - A site health check module that may suggest the use of object caching. Object caching is a way to speed up the amount of time it takes for the site to respond, helps reduce the database load, and speeds up the website for site visitors.
- Audit Enqueued Assets (experimental) Provides an audit of CSS and JavaScript files enqueued on the home page. This helps to identify unnecessary CSS and JavaScript files that might slow down a website. The developers chose to label it as experimental because the module itself will be improved.
Source: https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/03/07/the-performance-lab-plugin-has-been-released/
4. Free Web Application Firewall For Websites From Cloudflare - Cloudflare has announced the availability of a free Web Application Firewall (WAF). The Cloudflare WAF is a website application firewall that analyzes incoming web traffic from the Internet and automatically blocks any content it deems harmful.
4. Free Web Application Firewall For Websites From Cloudflare - Cloudflare has announced the availability of a free Web Application Firewall (WAF). The Cloudflare WAF is a website application firewall that analyzes incoming web traffic from the Internet and automatically blocks any content it deems harmful.
To identify malicious traffic and filter it out, the firewall uses a ruleset, which is a set of patterns and signals that it searches for.
The free managed ruleset has been tested against the Cloudflare network and allows free users to immediately activate their firewall and start reaping the benefits of a firewall.
Free users will benefit from updates that will defend their sites from new wide-ranging security risks because the ruleset is a managed ruleset.
5. Google’s Free Hotel Listing Now Shows Results On Google Map - Free hotel booking links will now appear on the Search Results Page and Google Maps, allowing hotels to reach a wider audience and providing travelers with additional options. Travelers can finalize their booking directly on the hotel's website after clicking on these links.
Hotels of all sizes, from small boutique hotels to huge online travel agencies, have reaped the benefits of greater user interaction since the introduction of free booking links. For example, during the summer of 2021, the booking engine myhotelshop employed free booking links to drive 30 percent more bookings for their hotel clients.
In addition, Hotel Center's new click reporting reveals hotels how many individuals clicked on their free booking links.
Google plans to expand the report to include other insights, such as free booking link impressions and booking value, in the coming weeks.
Source: https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/new-tools-hotels-reconnect-travelers/
6. Snap Launches AR Certification to Snap Focus Educational Portal - Snap has published its first Snap AR certification on Snap Focus: Augmented Reality Strategies for Advertisers, as the pioneer in Augmented Reality (AR). This five-part learning route provides hands-on training and real-world examples to help you better grasp how AR may help you achieve your business and marketing goals. To get certified, visit :
6. Snap Launches AR Certification to Snap Focus Educational Portal - Snap has published its first Snap AR certification on Snap Focus: Augmented Reality Strategies for Advertisers, as the pioneer in Augmented Reality (AR). This five-part learning route provides hands-on training and real-world examples to help you better grasp how AR may help you achieve your business and marketing goals. To get certified, visit :
Source: https://forbusiness.snapchat.com/blog/introducing-our-first-snap-focus-ar-certification
7. Google Announces End Date For Universal Analytics. Now Is the Time To Start Using GA-4 - Universal Analytics will be phased down by Google next year, the company stated on Wednesday. On July 1, 2023, Universal Analytics properties will stop processing new hits. After the deprecation dates stated above, previously processed data in Universal Analytics will be kept for at least six months.
7. Google Announces End Date For Universal Analytics. Now Is the Time To Start Using GA-4 - Universal Analytics will be phased down by Google next year, the company stated on Wednesday. On July 1, 2023, Universal Analytics properties will stop processing new hits. After the deprecation dates stated above, previously processed data in Universal Analytics will be kept for at least six months.
“Universal Analytics was built for a generation of online measurement that was anchored in the desktop web, independent sessions and more easily observable data from cookies,” Russell Ketchum, director, product management at Google, said in the announcement. “This measurement methodology is quickly becoming obsolete.”
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is different from its predecessor in that it works across platforms, doesn't require cookies, and measures data using an event-based data model. It also does not keep IP addresses, which can assist brands in complying with privacy laws.
When it comes to GA4, organizations have been dragging their feet. That will be no longer be an option in just over 15 months.
We are also publishing a blog on this topic, this Tuesday (3/22/22).