It’s not a secret that Facebook has had issues with its role as a news aggregator. In May there was the Trending Topics problem, where it was alleged Facebook was filtering out news stories of importance to conservatives. That led to recognition to the filter bubble issue, which, critics contend, keeps people in a news bubble since they’re pushed news aligned with their view of their world. The most recent issue is fake news, and allegations that its carriage on Facebook might have helped Donald Trump become the president-elect. In the days after the election Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg rebuffed such claims. Yet on Nov. 19 the issue had risen to such heights that Zuckerberg outlined ways Facebook will be weeding out fake news.
Google and other online news pushers have taken note. The search giant Nov. 17 updated its news reading app, Google Play Newsstand. This 4.0 version lets you know why Google has chosen a story for you. It also allows you to adjust the news feed to your taste, Google says. In addition, Google says the news feed it pushes to you should improve the more you use it. In other words, it learns your preferences better. There are a host of other goodies, such as full-bleed images, videos and podcast controls. Launching on the Web for the first time, Newsstand may be charged with having a news bubble issue, though.
Perhaps Google’s short explanations of why it has chosen a story for you will make the wall between Google and users less opaque. For the moment, however, neither Google nor any other social media powerhouse has explained exactly how it determines news story recommendations, search results or ad placements. The latter two, search and ads, as well as optimizing site content were among the topics discussed during PR News’ Boot Camp: Google for Communicators last week in NY. As such we asked several PR pros about navigating the frosted-glass barriers surrounding Google searches and AdWords, its online advertising service.
Sidebar:
How Google Analytics Helped One Love’s Campaign
One Love Foundation’s AdWords campaigns evolved because they played off of one another, its social media manager Serena Sidawi says. “When we started looking [in Google Analytics]...to see why people were coming to our site and what people were searching for...we noticed that there were lots of searches being done for information about abuse.” For example, how to help a friend, what is a healthy vs. an unhealthy relationship, what are signs of abuse, etc. “Our site did not have all of this content on it at the time.” First Love revisited its SEO strategy and decided to launch a blog that would house this information. “Now our blog has all of this information...and we’ve added AdWords campaigns to reflect those searches and drive more traffic to the blog post that correlates to what the user is seeking…that’s why it’s so important to iterate on your campaigns and understand how SEO and AdWords can be used together.”
Test Twice, Cut Once
It sounds obvious, but it was a point made repeatedly: It is critical that communicators test and re-test their brand’s sites and campaigns to see what will be successful in the AdWords regime.
“When creating ads, it’s important to test different copy and calls to action (CTA) to see what generates the most clicks” and ultimately conversions, says Serena Sidawi, manager of digital and communications at One Love Foundation, a nonprofit that raises awareness with youth around the early signs of abuse. “If you create only one set of copy and put that into AdWords, then you are merely guessing that…it is the best possible option.” One of the great things about AdWords, Sidawi says, “is that it enables you to create multiple ads that can drive users to the same destination, and the ad that performs better will get served up more by search engines.”
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Good news on the testing front is that the newest Google tool, Optimize 360, is designed to allow everyday users, as opposed to developers, test and iterate easily, Jocelyn Whittenburg, product-marketing manager at Google says. Whittenburg used Optimize 360 and another new Google tool, Data Studio 360, which helps data visualization, to examine the Google Analytics website, which was redesigned in 2015. She chose KPIs that would help Google determine whether or not the redesigned site helped. The KPIs looked at the frequency that users signed-up for free products and paid product interest forms. Based on the metrics, Whittenburg and her team modified the site. “This is why you measure,” she says, “to help you make better decisions…you then turn those insights into action.”
Data Studio presented data from various areas in Google Analytics. After the data was updated in 1 location, Data Studio updated it in all locations. Data Studio also allowed the data to be shared, similar to a Google Docs concept. Whittenburg used Google Analytics to look at the redesigned site’s audience (who are they?), acquisition (where did they come from?), behavior (what did they do on the site?) and conversion (how did they convert?)
She also mentioned using Optimize to test the effect of colors on the site (does using a lot of orange, for example, result in a higher conversion rate?). Note that both Optimize 360 and Data Studio 360 have free and paid versions.
Says Sidawi, “You won’t know which tactic is working to attract the most consumers until you test them all. Plus, because Google AdWords has your back in that it automatically will serve the more successful ad more often than the less successful ad, there is no drawback to A/B testing your ads.”
Write for People, Not Machines:A related point we heard repeatedly during the boot camp is that creating content expressly for search engine optimization (SEO) or search engine marketing (SEM) purposes is not recommended.
“You can’t have a successful AdWords campaign without the content on your site to back it up,” Sidawi says. “The content on your site should reflect what the user initially searched for...and... should give him/her the information in a digestible, user-friendly way.” For example, if you advertise “information about emotional abuse,” but your site fails to cover this topic, “not only will search engines recognize this and give you a lower quality score, but users will leave your site and this will increase your drop-off/bounce rates,” she says. [Please see sidebar above]
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