The Data Driven Newsletter
​Harnessing Data to Drive Growth
​Volume 11.11.2
November 10, 2023

Reading time: 5 minutes

​

Hey Reader,

Here's what’s happening around the marketing industry this week, including SEO, PPC, and new features for advertisers.

📌 Google Shares Five New Features to Safeguard Your Brand

If you’re looking for better control over your ad placements and quantify the impact on reach and performance, Google now gives you a way to do that.

These new features include simplified theme exclusions, estimated impact data, advanced AI, industry vetting, and expanded YouTube inventory types meant to provide advertisers with more transparency and precision.

These help marketers reduce risks, build trust, maximize value from ad investments, and above all, protect their brand reputation across platforms.

1. Streamlined Exclusions: Google Ads now offers a simplified process for excluding undesirable content, ensuring brand safety with minimal fuss.
2. Informed Performance Metrics: Access to data on how safety settings impact ad reach and cost is now at your fingertips, allowing for a balance between performance and brand protection.
3. AI-Enhanced Delivery: Google's AI technology is at the forefront, ensuring ads are displayed alongside appropriate content, enhancing trust in the ad ecosystem.
4. Industry Validation: Google's methods have been vetted and accredited by the Media Rating Council, ensuring adherence to brand safety standards.
5. Customizable Ad Placements: With new controls, advertisers can tailor ad placements across YouTube's inventory, aligning with brand suitability preferences.

The takeaway for marketers is clear:

Google is providing more tools and transparency to safeguard your brand, which is crucial in maintaining consumer trust and maximizing ad effectiveness.

​Read more​

🎙️ Business Unfiltered Podcast EP #27: Reinvesting In Your Business

In the latest episode, Mercer and I distinguish between “investing” and “reinvesting” in your business. Reinvesting means fueling growth by putting profits back into your business.

We talk about entrepreneurs' common struggles from lack of reinvestment, including pitfalls like over-investing in human resources over financial reserves.

The bottom line? Thoughtfully reinvesting in the right areas accelerates your business velocity. Here are some key takeaways:

• Reinvest for growth by putting profits back into your business
• Balance human resources and financial reserves
• Prioritize investing in stars and question marks for sustained growth
• Leverage technology and shared experiences for optimal outcomes

​Listen here​

🚫 [PPC] Meta's Targeted Ads Hit a Wall in Europe

Meta's targeted advertising via personal data on Facebook and Instagram is facing a ban across the European Economic Area. This follows a directive from the European Data Protection Board to Ireland's Data Protection Commission, impacting all EU states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.

The move comes after a €1.2 billion fine for GDPR non-compliance, pushing Meta towards a subscription model to mitigate privacy concerns. This major shift signals a need for marketers to adapt to a new, privacy-focused landscape in Europe.

​Learn more​

📄 [SEO] Google's Grip Stays Firm in AI-Enhanced Search as Marketers Eye the Gen Z Horizon

Google is poised to maintain its lead in the search engine market with the help of Generative AI, even as it cedes some ground to Microsoft Bing in 2024, Forrester Research reports. This is a key takeaway for digital marketers, as Google's trustworthiness remains strong among users.

The industry is expected to see a focus on established media channels and a pivot towards engaging Gen Z through platforms like gaming, TikTok, and Instagram. This is a welcome insight as many marketers wonder about the future of Google Search with the rollout of AI chat search.

​Read article​

💡 Blog Post: Everything You Need to Know About Unique Visitors In Google Analytics

Have you ever lost yourself in the thicket of unique visitors, new users, page views, and sessions in Google Analytics?

The first thing to understand is what exactly is a “unique” visitor as how Google Analytics would see it. Unique visitors, or new users, describe the number of unduplicated visitors to your website over a certain period of time.

Google uses a unique identifier (usually based on a first-party cookie) to keep track of users and identify returning visitors vs unique visitors.

In this article, we’re going to discuss what these numbers mean and how you can analyze them to make better decisions.

​Read article​

🎥 YouTube: Understanding Unique Visitors In GA4

If you'd prefer to watch instead of read, here's a video explaining all the ways that GA4 uses to identify unique visitors:

​Watch video​

If you log into an account, GA4 knows it's you visiting, even on different devices or browsers. Your user ID tells it you're the same. If not logged in though, GA4 checks for Google Signals. This tells GA4 you consented to share info from your Google account.

Next, GA4 checks for your client ID - like an ID number for your device. This normally stays the same in your browser. Finally, GA4 uses modeling to fill any gaps and make sure data looks natural.

So GA4 works hard to not double count you as a unique user just because you switched shirts - I mean browsers or devices!

Playing with audiences helps grasp how GA4 identifies individuals. Check it out!​

See you next week!