Marketing is undoubtedly a faced-paced industry. Hence, marketing professionals and enthusiasts alike should be always on top of things to keep up with this ever-changing yet incredibly exciting world.
Here’s what happened this week in digital marketing.
1. Google: You’d be Lucky if Rankings Stayed the Same After Changing URLs
Google has always recommended against SEOs changing URLs for the purpose of adding keywords to them. According to Google’s John Mueller, you’d be lucky to end up in the same place after changing URLs as tweaking slugs on their own results in temporary drops, and technical nightmares.
This means that if you do everything right and Google does everything right, which is rare to have both align, then you’d be lucky to have the new URL rank in the same position as the old URL in Google Search.
2. Elon Musk Says $8 Monthly Fee for For the Twitter Verified Badge
Before Twitter verification was reserved for public figures and key influencers but Elon Musk has hinted that Twitter will charge $8 (£7) monthly to any Twitter user who wants a blue tick by their name indicating a verified account. Mr Musk said it was “essential to defeat spam/scam”.
“Power to the people! Blue for $8/month,” the billionaire said on Twitter, criticizing the old method of blue tick verification as a “lords and peasants system”. Musk also said people who fork over the $8 will get additional bonuses: Priority in replies, mentions, and search Ability to post long video and audio Half as many ads Paywall bypass for publishers willing to work with Twitter
The main downside is that somebody could spend $8 per month to get the blue check and then change his name to Elon Musk! And who would know it’s not really Elon Musk? In order to battle that issue, Musk proposed a “public figure” tag as well.
3. Apple Offers New Ad Placements in App Store
Earlier last month, Apple hinted towards new, coveted placements in the Apple app store in an email invitation to developers. The rumors are true – Apple officially announced two new advertising placements: the Today tab and the product page ad placements.
The Today tab is basically the front page of the app store and in the past, it highlighted apps selected by the store’s editors. But now you can pay to have your app appear there. Note that you can also promote your app on another app’s product page under the “You Might Also Like” section.
As Apple wants to triple its ad revenue these two new ad placements will help the company reach its revenue goal.
4. Amazon and Walmart are Adopting Different Methods to Expand Their Subscriber Bases
Now the full Amazon Music catalog of 100 million songs is available to Prime members for no additional charge, per a company announcement.
Walmart cut the price of its annual Walmart+ membership in half for a limited time, per a press release, in an attempt to boost sign-ups ahead of its Black Friday Deals for Days shopping event.
Jamil Ghani, vice president of Amazon Prime, told The Wall Street Journal that the service continues to see strong growth, especially with students. While Amazon has long courted college students with a special half-price promotion, its expanded music offering could act as an incentive to convince Gen Z consumers to sign up.
Walmart’s motto, “Everyday low prices,” emphasizes cost savings as it looks for ways to build its service into a viable Prime competitor. Walmart also allows members to shop its weekly Black Friday sales seven hours before everyone else. Doubling down on value may give Walmart an opportunity to entice value-conscious consumers away from Amazon.
