1. Google Officially Launches Gallery Ads in Beta
Google’s new gallery ads, first introduced this past May, are now rolling out to advertisers in beta. Gallery ads are a swipeable, image-based ad unit that appear at the top of search results. [Source: Search Engine Journal]
2. Twitter Outlines Personalization Features Built Into Twitter.com Refresh
Last month, Twitter rolled out its new and improved desktop experience to all users. Now, the company has outlined how users can change the font sizing, along with various other personalization choices which are built into the new format. [Source: Social Media Today]
3. Pinterest adds new e-commerce layer with personalized ‘shopping hub’ atop user feed
Pinterest continues to push e-commerce initiatives, introducing a personalized “shopping hub” last week that displays at the top of users’ feeds with product recommendations pulled from retailers’ organic Product Pins and Catalog feeds. [Source: Marketing Land]
4. Google adds playable podcasts directly in the search results
Google announced you can now play podcasts directly in the desktop and mobile search results. The company said this feature will also come to the Google Assistant later this year. [Source: Search Engine Land]
5. Facebook Adds New Slideshow Option to Facebook Stories to Boost Usage
In its latest attempt to get more people using Facebook Stories, Facebook has introduced a new Stories option, which will enable users to add a still image slideshow to their Story. [Source: Social Media Today]
6. Reservations, AR navigation coming to Google Maps
Google Maps users will soon be able to view their flight and hotel reservations directly from the mobile app and use augmented reality to direct them as they travel on foot. These new features are part of Google’s expanded Maps offerings aimed at travelers. [Source: Search Engine Land]
7. Facebook’s updated Ads Manager UI is easier to navigate, but more work still needed, say advertisers
As early as February, there were reports Facebook was updating its Ads Manager interface. In April, the company confirmed the update and said it was beginning to roll out the new version of Ads Manager. Some marketers share their insights on the new interface. [Source: Marketing Land]
8. Google Updates Google Images to Make it Easier to Shop via Search
Google has announced another social-like feature within Google Images. When you select an image, it will appear in a side panel on the page, next to the search results. To help make shopping decisions easier, when you select an image of a product, you’ll now see details such as the brand, price, availability and reviews. [Source: Social Media Today]
9. AI augmentation to create $2.9 trillion business in 2021: Gartner
In 2021, artificial intelligence (AI) augmentation will create $2.9 trillion of business value and 6.2 billion hours of worker productivity globally, according to research firm Gartner, Inc. [Source: Mint]
10. Google Ad Manager, AdMob add support for app-ads.txt, to start blocking unauthorized ad serving for publishers this month
The company announced that beginning August 27, Google Ad Manager and AdMob will block ad serving of unauthorized in-app ad inventory in both platforms when publishers have app-ads.txt files implemented. [Source: MARTECH TODAY]
