What’s New This Week?
Google’s Big Announcement
Google’s launching a new product, but coverage has been a mess of marketing gobbledygook. Here’s my nonprofit-friendly translation. If you track what traffic sources (Facebook ads, Google searches etc.) are leading to donations and other actions on your website, you probably do so with “last click attribution.” That means, you attribute credit for the donation to the most recent way the user entered your site. Google Analytics currently has tools to address this, but they are confusing and not too useful. But more is coming! It’s called Google Attribution. (But for now, it really only works with Google AdWords and DoubleClick campaigns. So get ready to better understand your Google AdWords grant use.)
Creepy Advertising Story of the Week
I’m starting to think that this can be a weekly feature in Bee Update. We’ve covered the perils of overly-personal ads before, but I have to share any piece entitled “Hey Instagram, Don’t Tell Me When to Freeze My Eggs.” Go ahead and bemoan the state of targeted advertising with Wired.
Topping Your Local Search Results
Trying to improve your search ranking in your local area? Here’s a read for you. SEO experts weigh in on what’s most important. The top three factors are quality and quantity of inbound links, on-page content (got your keywords?) and the rate of click-throughs on your search listing. Read some more in Search Engine Land.
Aren’t Computers Dumb?
We hear a lot about how artificial intelligence is taking over the world. Now, you can feel smugly superior to our future machine overlords. Check out these dumb colors that a computer developed after being programmed with Sherwin Williams paint catalogue.
And in Other Links…
FiveThirtyEight analyzed all 33(!) seasons of Bachelor and Bachelorette. They discovered that picking a front runner is tough. (As hard as picking the winner of the presidential election, huh, Nate Silver? Kidding, not kidding). | Finally, forget pie charts! These people are using food to visualize data.
Advice of the Week
Remarketing 101
Change the word “customers” to donors or supporters, and this article has great advice for nonprofits looking to target their existing base on Facebook. Nice step-by-step instructions too.
Cool Visualization of the Week
Putting Today is Its Place
Want to feel like your life is small and unimportant? If so, click over to Here is Today, a very cool interactive visualization by White Vinyl Design. If you are having a bad day (or month, or year), this puts it into perspective.