SEO News You Can Use: 8 Updates for Google Ad Manager

Google recently announced eight new updates for Ad manager, along with another four updates on the way! Take a look at some of the changes mentioned in Google’s release notes below:

• PPID TTL extension: Publisher provided identifier (PPID) time-to-live (TTL) is extended to 180 days (previously  90 days).
• Optimize pricing: Auction floor prices will protect and reflect your inventory’s value more precisely. This setting is enabled by default but can be disabled.
• Facebook rebrand: ‘Facebook’ has been rebranded as ‘Meta’ in Ad Manager references. This has no bearing on publishers who currently include Facebook in their bids or yield groups.
• Block non-instream video ads: The opt-in control “Allow video ads” has been successfully migrated.
• MCM publishers troubleshoot transparency files: Google is marking the SupplyChain Object complete. The update should take place at the end of June.
• Google Analytics 4 GA4 integration: Integration for web data is currently in open beta.
• Bid rejection reason updates: Additional specificity is being given to the “Bid rejection reason” in reporting and data transfer.
• WebView API for Ads: The WebView API for Ads is now available to assist app developers in monetizing their WebView content.

And here’s what users should look out for in subsequent updates:

• Active View measurement: Active View will migrate from a proprietary viewability assessment technique to the Open Measurement (OM) SDK for mobile app display inventory.
• App-ads.txt enforcement for Connected TV (CTV) inventory: Buyers will start enforcing the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) standard for inventory transparency, app-ads.txt.
• Report type query migration for Ad Exchange Historical: New saved queries in the Historical report type that duplicate the data retrieved from the Ad Exchange Historical report type (deprecated) will be developed to assist publishers in migrating from the Ad Exchange Historical report type (deprecated).

More SEO News You Can Use

Google Search Console Gets Classification Updates: According to Google Search Central, Console has updated the way it displays faults in some Search Console reports to only show valid or invalid classifications. The changes affect the ‘warning’ label for URLs and items, so instead of showing errors, the coverage report now only shows invalid or valid data. However, individual concerns are still classed as error, warning or good, using color and icon instead of a text label. This also applies to Google’s URL inspection tool, Core Web Vitals, mobile usability, AMP reports and rich result reports. As a result, this update should simplify Search Console reports and make it easier to decide which items to prioritize. Please note that this is merely a reporting modification; it does not impact how Google crawls, indexes or ranks your content.

Google Explores New Featured Snippet Layout Options: Search Engine Land recently reported that Google has been trying new featured snippet formats, layouts and interfaces. For the most part, Google only presents one featured snippet. Although, since 2018, it has shown highlighted snippets in a card format for select queries, at times showing up to four different highlighted snippets. So how could this affect your site? When two or more sources are displayed in the featured snippet position – also known as “position zero” – it changes the position’s value for website owners and SEOs. Moreover, it can impact the position’s click through rate and, ultimately, your traffic and conversions from Google Search.

Google Search Console Message Panel Revamp: In a recent post by Search Engine Land, it was announced that as of August 1, 2022, Google Search Console’s legacy version would no longer be available. This follows the recent migration of messages from the old to the new Search Console message panel earlier this year in February. All messages can now conveniently be found in one location, giving you an overview of all your messages from Google Search Console.

Facebook Plans To Prioritize Video Content in Main Feed: A leaked memo received by Search Engine Journal reveals that Facebook, now known as Meta, has been working on a plan to restructure its main feed based on video content since April 2002. The memo, published in its entirety by The Verve, reportedly suggests that it aims to transform its main feed into a ‘search engine,’ make content more discoverable and turn Facebook into a space where users have more options to recommend content they enjoy. To achieve this, Facebook plans to integrate short-form video content, such as Reels or stories, more often. In addition, Facebook is working on a responsive recommendation system that identifies trending content and plans to allow more options for sharing content via messaging apps. 

Nofollow Attribute Removed From Links in Tweets: Twitter no longer uses the nofollow link attribute, rel=”nofollow, for Twitter profiles, posts, tweets and other pages. It’s unknown whether Twitter removed it on design or not and whether or not search engines like Google value Twitter links. Barry Schwartz of Search Engine Land suggests that this could lead to link spam and potentially affect the value of Twitter links; however, it is not certain if this change will stick for long.

Editor’s Note: “SEO News You Can Use” is a weekly blog post posted every Monday morning only on SEOblog.com, rounding up all the top SEO news from around the world. Our goal is to make SEOblog.com a one-stop-shop for everyone looking for SEO news, education and for hiring an SEO expert with our comprehensive SEO agency directory.