SEO News You Can Use: The Feds Are After Google For a Giant Probe And SMS Tech Seems Relevant Again

The Department of Justice has escalated its probe into Google with a focus on the search giant’s ad tools. While the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is working on antitrust probes of Amazon and Facebook, the Department of Justice has honed in on Google (and is allegedly investigating Facebook and Apple, too). The FTC is concerned with suing companies involved in anti-competitive behavior, taking the perpetrators to court, or finding fair settlements with a steep financial implication. The Justice Department, however, will prosecute antitrust violations in the criminal court.

In line with its mandate, the Department of Justice’s antitrust enforcers have attempted contact with ad tech firms, advertising agencies and online publishers to discuss Google’s online ad tools. The questions posed focus on Google’s integration of its ad server and its insistence that advertisers use its own tools when buying advertising space on YouTube. These two strategic moves by Google generated some $15 billion in revenue in 2019. The probe into Google has become tricky to conclude as this investigation places agencies in a difficult position, as too many of them depend on Google’s tools to succeed.

The overarching concern is whether Google has the monopoly over the monetization of all forms of digital content and the degree to which Google dominates the online advertising space.

More SEO News You Can Use

SMS Chatbots Are The Future: The SMS chatbot is considered a must-have if you hope for any kind of success in your customer engagement strategies. Hillary Black, Head of Marketing and Strategy at Mav, makes the case for how an SMS chatbot opens up a world of marketing opportunity. She shares six best practices to implementing a conversational experience with your customers via an SMS chatbot.

Backlinko Launches Something Better Than ‘Just Another eBook’: Backlinko is often releasing downloadable resources but this time it’s produced an entire library called “The Content Marketing Hub.” This free library is made up of more than 30 resources that tackle all things content marketing. You’re sure to find what you need among the 600 screenshots and approximately 100 illustrations, charts, graphs, visuals and templates.

It’s February Already, How’s Your SEO Strategy For 2020 Working Out For You?: Check out this latest Whiteboard Friday session from Moz’s Brittany Muller. She’s got all the tips and tricks you need to execute an SEO strategy that future proofs your brand and keeps you competitive.

LinkedIn Has Been Working On its ‘Cool’ Factor in Advertising Circles: LinkedIn has upped the ante by rebooting its advertising functionality, now offering more targeting options and audience filters. It’s considered the social platform to harness in 2020 if you’re looking for high-quality engagement with “all the professionals.” Don’t wait any longer, here’s a guide on how to dive right into advertising on LinkedIn in 2020.

Google Is Letting Apple Diehards Search With Siri: Google has made it possible for iPhone users to use voice search technology via Siri (Apple’s voice assistant). This is a new update using Apple’s Shortcuts app. All new iPhones have Shortcuts already installed and users can begin creating their unique commands to Siri that then triggers other apps to complete the specific tasks necessary.

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.