👀 Google updates.

How to write effective About Us pages, why you should avoid SEO agencies, and more. March 23, 2022 [Read in browser]( [logo] [sponsor]( Hey, happy Wednesday. If editing emails has taught us anything, it’s that you should dot i’s, cross t’s, and double check cc’s. You’ll understand what we mean when you get to the Poolside Chat section. META News from the metaverse [article-image] Lots happening at Meta lately. You don’t need a headset to tune in, either: - [Instagram expands product tagging.]( First it was just for creators. Now [anyone in the US can tag products]( in their feed posts. And seeing as [1.6M people]( were already doing that every week, product tagging could explode. Definitely a huge opportunity for brands to build awareness… hopefully the good kind. - [Meta consolidates ad automation products under a new name:]( “Meta Advantage.” Right now the name change [doesn’t do much]( other than place the word “Advantage” in front of Lookalikes, Detailed Targeting, App Campaigns, and so on. But Meta hopes the change will clarify what each option provides, making it easier for marketers to use and benefit from them. And speaking of lots happening… GOOGLE 4 major marketing updates from Google The search giant continues pumping out updates. Here are the latest: - [Merchant Center links up with Google Analytics 4 (GA4).]( It’s official. Now you can track conversions on free product listings, making it easier to measure real impact. It’s only available to GA4 users, though. Universal Analytics (UA) is retiring, remember? - [More diversity for Display & Video 360.](Last year Google made it easier to support Black-owned businesses. Now they’re expanding this feature to other minority groups like Women- and Latino-owned publishers. - [Big updates to Google Ads Editor.]( Google just released Ads Editor 2.0, including support for Performance Max campaigns, shared audiences, custom triggers, and more. You’ll also find custom actions that make it easier to complete repeat tasks. Always a plus. - [Gambling in Canada, eh?]( If you’re in Ontario, you can run ads for sports betting, online casinos, and daily fantasy sports. But you have to be legit. Google won’t accept just anybody. Our biggest takeaway: Google is wasting no time implementing and integrating GA4. You probably shouldn’t wait to start using it, either. SPONSORED BY ZEYDOO This CPA network gives you the tools to earn 20-30% more from your first days of campaigns [article-image]( Zeydoo likes to be the network of opportunities for its affiliates, always testing new things that could bring you additional revenue. Things like a strong push notification integration where you can get your own subscribers but also [send them to Zeydoo and get paid per subscriber](. At the same time! There’s more. You can use the back traffic feature and potentially earn revenue from visitors who did not want to subscribe for push notifications. You get a chance to monetize visitors who don’t opt-in to your push subscription. And there’s one more thing… You can set up another layer of monetization in your campaigns with the [Smartlink from Zeydoo](. It can be used as back traffic or redirect that opens in a new tab, so it doesn’t reduce the conversion rate on your main offer. “[Ooo, tell me more about Zeydoo.](” E-COMMERCE Is your About Us page snoozing on this opportunity? [article-image] Did you know your About Us page offers your customer another opportunity to buy? Most of the time, brands create this page because they feel like they have to. What you may not realize is that, when done properly, the About Us page can be an effective sales page. [Shopify recently published a guide]( to writing a compelling About Us page—and it’s worth looking at. The “how-to” part: There are many different elements you can include in your About Us page, but here are a few of the main ones. The story about your brand. Visitors want to know your story. So tell them how the founder found a solution to their problem, and how the business is helping their community. Your business model. Maybe it’s your innovative processes that help customers save, or the impact you have on the environment. Introduction to your team. Show the faces behind your business. This helps humanize the brand. A few examples of awesome About Us pages: Magic Spoon starts their About Us page with a question that pulls on the emotions of their audience: “Remember the carefree days of childhood, when you didn’t feel guilty about eating mountains of cereal with questionable nutrition?” All Birds made their About Us page memorable by combining background videos and quippy phrases. Iya Foods starts their About Us page by explaining clearly what they do: “We re-imagine everyday foods made with better ingredients.” So… is your About Us page working as hard as it should be? If not, maybe spend some time browsing [Shopify’s guide and the inspiring examples they collected.]( SPONSORED BY CAMPAIGN MONITOR Looking to grow your business with email automation? Read this first [article-image]( Email automation sounds amazing, and it is… but it’s easy to waste time and money on the wrong tools and tactics for your business. So [Campaign Monitor put together a free guide]( to show you: - Why using automations can be so powerful—[and how to get started.]( - 7 different stages of a customer’s journey, plus the basics of setting up automated workflows to cover them. And more. This guide is perfect for marketers who need [a 101 course in email automation.]( [“Fantastic. Show me how to grow my business with email automations.”]( THE CREW'S INSIGHTS The world’s most successful people worked less than you do [article-image] Many of us believe a strange lie that more hours worked means more success (and more money). While it’s easy to believe this, it’s simply not true. Don’t believe us? All you have to do is look to the daily routines of the world’s most creative, and successful, people. Let’s examine a few: - Hemingway: He’d get up early in the morning and write until lunch. After lunch, he’d enjoy his day. Writing was, for the most part, a morning affair. - Darwin: He intertwined short, intense bursts of deep work in between long walks, meals with his wife, and reading. - Beethoven: He woke up early, worked until noon (or a bit later), and spent the rest of his days enjoying life. This trend continues in most lists of creative and successful people. Most of them didn’t work for more than 5, 6, or 7 hours in a day. Those 12-hour work days you hear about on Twitter? They’re not used by many of the world’s most productive people. What this means: We’re not telling you to be lazy. Those ad campaigns won’t get moving without your help. But, we’re saying that most people––you included, probably––aren’t wired to work a 9-to-5. [As Sahil Bloom puts it](, you should work like a lion: “Sprint when inspired, rest, repeat.” As a final note, this work style is especially possible in marketing. That’s because marketing is intense knowledge work. Instead of running a marathon from 9 to 5, try sprinting and resting. We think you’ll like it. ROUNDING UP THE STACK [DIGITAL MARKETING:]( Whether you’re trying to decide which marketing channels to focus on, produce content that gets more organic clicks, X-ray your competition, or go viral… Semrush simplifies online marketing and gives you the easy solutions you need. [Try it for free.](* [META:]( The numbers don’t lie. Users are spending less time on the platform. It’s a continuing theme… maybe because Meta has reached peak saturation. There are only so many people in the world after all. [BUSINESS:]( 60% of customers won’t talk to you… if they can solve their problems online, that is. More and more consumers prefer digital customer service to live phone calls. If you don’t use live text support, now might be the time. [MICROSOFT:]( Taking shortcuts. Microsoft Advertising just released a newly updated dashboard. They say it helps you get reports 60% faster. Sounds like it could make those quarterly and year-end reports less stressful. [ADVERTISING:]( A slap on the wrist… for now. The UK Advertising Standards Authority put 50 crypto companies on notice for running “misleading ads.” They’re threatening sanctions if the problem persists after May 2. *This is a sponsored post. BRAIN TEASER The person who makes it, sells it. The person who buys it, doesn’t use it. The person who uses it, doesn’t know he is using it. What is it? You can find the [answer here](. [poolside-logo] POOLSIDE CHAT Awkward: Man gets cc’d on rejection email [article-image] Know what’s worse than never hearing back from a company you applied to? [Getting cc’d on the “let’s reject him” email](. Ouch. A young man named Alexander applied to a coffee company and got the most casual rejection letter we’ve ever seen. Our takeaway? It’s a good idea to edit your emails… or you could end up being the subject of a TikTok video that gets 4M views! SHARING IS CARING Everyone has that one friend who’s incredibly well-read. And when they forward you great stuff to read, you feel… smarter. You can be that friend. Share today’s newsletter with a few marketers or coworkers who should know about the recent Google updates, or who have rewritten their About Us page 20 times. And just for spreading the knowledge, we’ll send you some awesome merch for free. Comfy T-shirts, cozy hoodies, spacious laptop backpack. But hurry… we’re relaunching our referral program and the current prizes are going away April 1. [article-image]( [CLICK TO SHARE]( Or copy your referral link: [ [SUBSCRIBE]( | [INSIGHTS]( | [ADVERTISE]( You are receiving this email because you want to know what is going on in digital marketing. If you aren't thrilled about our emails, reply and let us know why. Or you can unsubscribe from all daily updates by clicking [here.]( Our postal address: Spectrum IT Solutions GmbH, Canettistrasse 1/Top 0107, 1100 Wien, Austria