Keep 💩 off the fan during vacation

This week’s most important Marketing News

GOOGLE UPDATED THEIR QUALITY RATER GUIDELINES

There were many updates to the guide, most notably adding another item to the E-A-T concept. In addition to Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, Google added Experience, to update the acronym to E-E-A-T. (For some reason changing the clean “eat” for “eeat” is driving me crazy.) There were also many other updates to the guidelines, which you can check out in the article linked above or by reading the guide itself.

Context: Google asks special “quality raters” to evaluate if the content Google serves is meeting people’s needs. The Quality Rater Guidelines we’re talking about here is the “manual” Google gives to those reviewers. So E-E-A-T is not an algorithm formula, but it’s what these reviewers are told to use when rating and evaluating content.

GOOGLE RELEASED A LINK SPAM UPDATE

The update began Dec 14 and should roll out over two weeks. Google’s SpamBrain, an “AI-based spam-prevention system,” will be combing the web to find sketchy links, as in purchased links or links that aren’t tagged correctly. Your site would be affected by this update if it isn’t following Google’s link spam guidelines.

NEW INSTAGRAM FEATURES TO INCREASE ENGAGEMENT

The big updates are the Notes and Candid Stories features. The Notes feature lets you post short text updates, and Candid Stories is their BeReal copycat.

Source

NOW YOU HAVE A LANDING PAGE REPORT IN GA4

You can find this guy in Google Analytics 4 in the Engagement section. A lot of us find this report useful for checking on which content is doing the most work (like generating conversions or bringing in new traffic) for our businesses.

USEFUL LINKS

VISUAL ELEMENTS OF GOOGLE SEARCH

Google just published this gallery to help people identify the visual elements that most commonly pop up in their search results.

THE WRITER’S JOB NEWSLETTER

If you’re looking for writing jobs that actually pay, then check this guy out. It sends freelance writing jobs to you every Sunday.

ONELOOK REVERSE DICTIONARY

A thesaurus can tell you that “jammed” is a synonym for “stuck.” But what about when your brain breaks and you can’t remember the term for “when something won’t open”? THAT’S when I use OneLook. This particular example is really simple, but I somehow find myself using this site all the time.

📱 Why Lockdown mode from Apple is one of the coolest security ideas ever — Ars Technica

😃

HOW TO TAKE A BREAK AND KEEP THINGS RUNNING SMOOTHLY WHILE YOU DO

I’m getting ready to take a week off, and I’m hoping some of you are too. Here are some OOO tips for ya.

Set up Facebook ad automation rules

Using these rules, you can enable and turn off ads, pause ads that aren’t performing well, increase budget if you meet your target ROAS, and more. Here’s a guide to setting up these rules.

Set up Google ad automated rules

Like FB’s rules, Google’s rules will let you pause low-performing ads, turn off ads, enable ads, pause if you go over budget, and more. Here’s how to set them up.

Schedule Instagram posts

Here’s how to use Instagram’s new scheduling feature if you don’t have a social management tool to do it. And remember it’s not the time for controversial content or posts that you need to moderate well.

Consider planning out content/setting up ad automation for a few days longer than the vacation you have planned

If something goes wrong, like a canceled flight or something, then you won’t have to panic.

Don’t be afraid to let some things go while you’re on vacation, and tell your audience why

Not everything can be scheduled and planned ahead of time. But many people like proof that normal folks run the businesses they use. So it’s ok to say, “We won’t be doing our weekly live Q&A next week because our team will be enjoying the holiday season.”

Create a written guide for people to reference as they manage things when you’re gone

The guide could include:

What to do in a crisis. What if the automation you set up for ads or social stops working? What if the brand is pulled into some seriously bad PR? What if a landing page breaks?
At what point, if any, should they bother you on your time off? What’s the best way to do that?
How and when to respond to comments and DMs on social.

Remove temptations to get sucked into your work accidentally

Say you’re like me, and your brand’s Instagram is just a double tap away when you open your personal Instagram account. This could be distracting when you’re trying to really take a break. (Honestly, it’s distracting to me in my normal life.) These are tips to avoid those distractions.

Delete work apps from your phone. Delete the Gmail app for a week (ooh the thrill).
Sign out of accounts on apps that host your personal account and a brand or work account.
Use your iPhone settings to “schedule time away from your screen,” “set communication limits,” and more.
Use your Android Digital Wellbeing settings to keep you from spending two hours in your email (and other stuff).