Marketing Day: Content audits, Facebook’s shoppable Collection ads & Google Posts

Here’s our recap of what happened in online marketing today, as reported on MarTech and other places across the web.

From Marketing Land:

• Are technical and content audits still relevant?
  Mar 23, 2017 by David Freeman
  SEO audits are very useful in identifying website issues and areas for improvement, but columnist David Freeman believes the way we approach these audits is outdated.
• Google site search is on the way out. Now what?
  Mar 23, 2017 by Paul Shapiro
  With Google sunsetting its site search product, many companies are wondering where to turn for this functionality; columnist Paul Shapiro provides some alternatives.
• Content Attribution: Identifying content that converts
  Mar 23, 2017 by Digital Marketing Depot
  Content may be a critical part of your marketing toolkit, but do you know how it performs against your business goals. Join our digital marketing and data science experts from Cardinal Path and Intel as they demonstrate how to use content attribution – both practically and strategically.
• 3 steps to overcoming site issues that impact performance
  Mar 23, 2017 by Jim Yu
  Consumers and search engines alike have high expectations for websites, so unchecked problems and errors can have a big impact on SEO and content performance. Columnist Jim Yu discusses how to find and address these issues.
• Facebook’s shoppable ‘Collection’ ad is its latest iAd-like format
  Mar 23, 2017 by Tim Peterson
  Facebook’s Collection ads combine brand and direct-response elements, like video and product catalogs, and coincide with a new measurement category.
• People are starting to see Facebook’s disputed content alerts
  Mar 23, 2017 by Greg Sterling
  Fake news labeling comes after user flagging and third-party fact-checking.
• BKON Connect unveils an expanded platform for browsing the real world
  Mar 23, 2017 by Barry Levine
  It offers an SDK that allows any app to browse web content from real-world touch points via Eddystone beacons, QR codes or NFC tags.
• It’s true: Smiling at an ad means sales will go up
  Mar 23, 2017 by Barry Levine
  A large-scale study from emotion tracker Realeyes and candymaker Mars found a correlation between emotional reactions to ads and sales lifts.
• 6 tips to get subscribers to open marketing emails
  Mar 23, 2017 by Scott Heimes
  With ever-crowded in-boxes, how do you get your emails to stand out from the competition? From double opt-ins to savvy subject lines, columnist Scott Heimes discusses ways to increase your open and delivery rates.
• Google Posts now gives museums, movies, musicians & sports groups dedicated space in search
  Mar 23, 2017 by Danny Sullivan
  Program opens in US and Brazil. Expansion is a sign Google no longer sees it as just an experiment.
• Major US brands now pulling ads from YouTube & Google over extremist content
  Mar 22, 2017 by Ginny Marvin
  Frustrated over ongoing issues with ads appearing next to extremist content, firms are pulling their ad spend from Google.

Online Marketing News From Around The Web:

Analytics

• Three Winning Plays for Marketing Measurement Madness, AdAge

Blogs & Blogging

• 5 Lesser-Known Tips That Professional Bloggers Won’t Tell, The Blog Herald
• Ahrefs Review: How to Use Ahrefs to Analyze Your Blog, Razor Social

Business Issues

• Amazon delays its entry into Southeast Asia, TechCrunch
• Amazon to acquire Souq, a Middle East clone once valued at $1B, for $650M, TechCrunch
• Apple to Start Making iPhones in India Over Next Two Months, Wall Street Journal
• Howard University opens a new campus at the Googleplex , The Official Google Blog

Content Marketing

• A Modern Guide to Social Media Content Marketing, Adweek
• Ask a Content Strategist: How Many Stories Should I Publish Per Month?, Contently
• How Brands Repurpose Influencer Content, eMarketer
• Why Brands Should Learn to Tell Better Stories, CMS Wire

Conversion Optimization

• 3 Easy Ways to Optimize Landing Pages With Low Traffic, PPC Hero
• Brand Advertising Drives More Conversions Than You Think, Search Engine Journal

Copywriting, Design & Usability

• Find Out How You Stack Up to New Industry Benchmarks for Mobile Page Speed, Think with Google
• The Road To Resilient Web Design, Smashing Magazine
• Top Tools for Image Customization, CopyPressed

Domaining

• New TLDs aren’t dead, but some business models won’t work, Domain Name Wire

Ecommerce

• 30 eBay Alternatives Beckon at These Online Auction Sites, Small Biz Trends
• Facebook’s New Video Ad Format Aims to Make Ecommerce Easier, Adweek
• How to Set Up Your Instagram Profile for Ecommerce, Shopify Plus
• Lowdown: See Ecommerce Trends in Beauty, Personal Care, AdAge
• Security Leaks: How To Protect Your Ecommerce Business, Multichannel Merchant

Email Marketing

• Announcing the Subject Line Slam Dunk contest, VerticalResponse
• What is a Mobile-Responsive Email Template? (And Why You Need One), Constant Contact

General Internet Marketing

• Facebook’s Head of Advertising Says Purpose-Driven Marketing Won’t Slow Down, Adweek
• Report: Just 7% of Marketers Deliver Real-Time Data-Driven Engagements, KoMarketing
• Sentiment analysis: How consumers feel depends on who you ask, Econsultancy
• The Advantages of Marketing Mix Models, eMarketer

Internet Marketing Industry

• AdColony and NinthDecimal Enter Strategic Partnership that Marries Industry-Leading Mobile Video and Location Intelligence, Market Wired
• TripleLift Delivers Advanced Programmatic Real-Time Advertising with VoltDB, PR Newswire

MarTech

• Getting Started with Machine Learning: 3 Things Marketers Need to Know, CMS Wire
• Will Artificial Intelligence Replace Manual Content Creation?, Content Marketing Institute

Mobile/Local Marketing

• A Content Monetizing Strategy for an Ad-Averse, Mobile-First World, MarketingProfs
• How to Prepare for Mobile Advertising’s Fast-Approaching New Frontier, Adweek
• Reactions and Mentions Come to Facebook Messenger, Adweek

Social Media

• 10 things you can learn from a terrible Twitter account, The Verge
• Aligning Social With Your Business Customer’s Buying Journey, Pushing Social
• Don’t just survive: A three-step publisher strategy to beat Facebook at its own game, Digiday
• Facebook’s lead gen ads: why to test them now, 3Q Digital
• Fostering a Safer, Kinder Community, Instagram Blog
• How Brands Can Tap Micro-Data in Social Campaigns, AdAge
• How Many People Use Instagram?, MediaKix
• How Often Should I Post to Instagram? Our Study Says Every Day, Tailwind Blog
• How to Reach Millenials, Boomers and Gen X with Social Marketing (Stereotype-Free), Social Media Explorer
• How to Use Facebook Ads to Drive Sustainable Traffic & Boost Sales, Duct Tape Marketing
• Millennial, Gen X, and Boomer Social Media Preferences & Behavior, MarketingProfs
• Twitter is being unbundled before our eyes, The Verge
• Twitter starts using IBM’s Watson technology to help identify bullies who tweet, GeekWire

Video

• CNN: Billions of Online Video Views Means it’s More Than Just a Cable News Network, Tubular Insights
• How to Choose the Best Live Video Platform, Social Media Examiner
• Online Video Metrics Need To Go Retro, AdExchanger
• The 10 Best Celebrities On YouTube Creating Epic Content, MediaKix
• Visualizing Sound Effects, YouTube Engineering and Developers Blog