Facebook's Right Hand Ads; Less Search Data

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Right-Hand Revamp

Facebook is giving its right-hand column ads a facelift by making images larger, and reducing the overall number of ads displayed at a given time. Hypothetically this gives advertisers incentive to use the right-hand side again, after news feed ads stole the show. Facebook also reported that advertisers can now use the same image for both news feed and right-hand ads, making the creation process faster. Read more. Will yield increase in the right rail for FB?

A Little Less Data

In a post on the Google Ads Developer blog, Google AdWords exec Paul Feng announces that Google will “keep search secure by removing the query from the referer on [search] ad clicks originating from SSL searches on Google.com.” Read more. Search Engine Land’s Ginny Marvin provides a bit of analysis. Read that one. Paid search retargeting through display ad exchanges is now a little less exact as audience segments (pixels) have a little less info.

Measuring Mobile

During the 2014 IAB Mobile Marketplace, one Magna Global executive alluded to the difficulty of tracking mobile ads throughout the entire consumer path to purchase. Measuring mobile’s impact was a core topic at IAB, with discussion centering on methods such as click-to-call. However, the challenge for mobile may be bridging real-world and digital data, in addition to re-evaluating consumer perspectives when it comes to mobile-first initiatives. Read more via Mobile Commerce Daily.

Cross-Device Ad Targeting

On Wednesday, mobile solutions firm Somo announced a partnership with cross-device ad company Drawbridge. Somo will adopt Drawbridge’s self-service Cross-Device Advertising Platform to run targeted mobile ad campaigns in real time. Drawbridge’s technology uses an algorithm that works to match desktop cookies to mobile devices, and the platform also acts as a transparent ad exchange. Read the press release.

Sealing The Deal

In his latest column, seller guru Doug Weaver is ready to close: “Closing isn’t a cliché, nor is it just a general attitude or posture on a sales call. It’s a very specific event within the discussion; a direct question that either does or doesn’t get asked.” Weaver devises a simple set of questions to determine if your sales teams have problems closing. Read more. “Oooh dream Weaver…”

Google’s Hotel Price Ads

Signing a licensing deal with hotel-booking software startup Room 77, Google’s latest “hotel-price ads” could be a game changer. Google is adding more photos and reviews to its hotel listings, in addition to promoting it’s “hotel-price ads” that work similarly to travel search sites. This inadvertently puts Google in competition with some of its biggest advertisers, such as Priceline Group, Expedia and TripAdvisor. The WSJ has the story (subscription).

Content Marketing Wildfire

Shafqat Islam, co-founder and CEO of content marketing platform NewsCred, references a coming consolidation in his very own space in a guest post for VentureBeat. More than $100 million in “VC-backed deals have flooded the space,” he writes. NewsCred is one of them. The company raised $25 million in Q4. But, herein the problem lies. “There are simply too many companies fighting for different parts of the content marketing stack,” he adds. Could the bottom fall out? Read more.

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