July – SEO and marketing news

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Aug 24, 2018 / by
July – SEO and marketing news

EU Fines Google Record 4.3 Billion Euros Over Android

Following the GDPR ruling, the EU has fined Google a record breaking €4.3 billion in antitrust fines related to the commercial practices of its Android operating system. The EU has ordered Google to change how search and browsing applications are placed on Android devices by default. This fine has apparently been looming over the company since 2016 when the EU asked the first time.

“Google has used Android as a vehicle to cement the dominance of its search engine,” EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement. “These practices have denied rivals the chance to innovate and compete on the merits.”

The commision states that Google breaks competition laws by barring phone makers from selling Android phones if they also sell custom versions of the software. Google counters by saying that their rules ensure Android remains a cohesive platform, where changes would lead to difficulties for developers. Google is planning on appealing the fine, but must still adhere by its terms.

Marketing industry signs open letter to PM over Brexit

Marketing industry representatives, including the AA, IPA and MRS have signed an open letter to the Prime Minister detailing the outcomes businesses need in a potential Brexit deal. The letter, signed by 40 individuals from multiple organizations, details the conditions that should be met to guarantee successful business outcomes following the departure from the EU.

“It is essential that we can continue to serve our clients and support the wider economy after the UK leaves the EU,” the letter read.

The conditions as stated are as follow:

  • Mutual recognition of professional qualifications, products and operating licences.
  • Mutual recognition of regulatory frameworks and regulators, including data protection, audiovisual media policy laws and statutory audits.
  • The ability of service providers to fly-in fly-out in order to provide advice across the EU27 and trade across Europe.
  • Mutual recognition of judgments so deals across EU27 countries can proceed with legal certainty.
  • Continued co-operation in areas that facilitate trade – such as data sharing.
  • The ability to educate and recruit talent from overseas, from the EU and beyond.
  • Reduced uncertainty through any transition period.

“Failing to negotiate these elements would impair our ability to provide our services with the same range, depth and speed our clients around the world experience today, damaging their businesses,” it read. A response has yet to be reported.

Influencer Marketing Fraud Revealed In Study Of 700,000 Instagram Posts

instagram iconA new study of markets has shown that 12% of influencers and marketers bought fake Instagram accounts in the first six months of the year. Benchmarking and measuring firm CampaignDeus analysed 700,000 posts and noticed influencers using bot followers by looking at sudden boosts in audience numbers, but with low engagement rates. This is in an effort to boost engagement, but the study finds those with 100k followers tend to get equal if not more engagement than those with 100k+. This comes as an important find since £75,000 is usually spent on posts by ‘macro’ influencers (often with false followers) than ‘micro’, yet research is showing organic reach is more effective.

CampaignDeus CEO Muhsen Syed said, “Marketers need to be aware that those larger influencers are likely to deliver almost 50% less engagement than you might expect by looking at their past organic content.”

Google: Rel=Canonical isn’t a Guarantee

In a rare peek behind the curtain at the inner workings of Google, Webmaster Trend Analyst John Mueller has advised that rel=canonical does not guarantee Google will recognize a page as the canonical version. This was discovered through a Twitter reply to a user why Google was indexing the wrong page.

In response, Mueller said, “We use multiple factors when determining the canonical for a page, a rel=canonical isn’t a guarantee, so ultimately that can happen. Also, rel=canonical to the first page + rel next/prev are a bit conflicting, either it’s the same as the first page, or they’re paginated series.”

What can be determined from this is that Google will use multiple factors in determining canonical pages. However, this is not guaranteed.

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