The Stack is a weekly podcast where we share and discuss the latest trends, news, and content from the world of marketing, sales, and tech. In each episode, Sean, Tim, and Ryan sit down to chat about the hard-hitting questions related to sales, marketing, and tech. You can subscribe on iTunes and Soundcloud.
In this episode, we share insight to Facebook’s release of search ads and how marketers are reacting to their scandals. We also mention news about updating WordPress. We would love to hear your thoughts so make sure to comment or tweet us at @Sylvestrer1, @SeanHenri, and @Tendrecroppes or @PepperlandMKTG.
Facebook Search Ads are now Available to Select Businesses in North America
Matt Southern for Search Engine Journal
Facebook is constantly trying to make up for the mistakes they make which if hurting their revenue. The announcement of “search ads” is likely a ploy to regain some of this lost ground.
Facebook has rolled out advertising options for business in the “automotive, retail, and e-commerce industries.” These ads will only appear for those who live in the United States or Canada and may later be expanded to display in more countries after this first round of initial testing.
Key Takeaways:
- These ads will affect Google because users will be transferring some of their ad budgets to see if these Facebook search ads will work.
- When you opt-in for these search results ads you will have to also run news feed ads in order to access the search ads option.
- You won’t be able to pick targeted keywords, these ads will be built around keywords related to your business.
Why Top Marketers won’t quit Facebook after 2018 Scandals
Kerry Flynn for DigiDay
It’s no secret that Facebook had a tough year with the press. It seems like a new scandal was popping up every few weeks. Even with all of these let downs and diminished trust, marketers aren’t giving up on Facebook just yet.
“They’re giving Facebook time to work on solutions and will continue to put their ad dollars toward the platform. Why? Because the priority for most marketers is a return on advertising spend. And despite its privacy problems, Facebook continues to deliver plenty of it.”
Is it worth it though? Is it worth rewarding this company with our ad dollars just because we are getting a return on investment even though they continue to let us down?
Key Takeaways:
- Even though most people have lost trust with Facebook, it’s still a viable source for leads.
- Marketers believe that with time Facebook will rebound and gain back the trust of it’s users.
Should you Update to WordPress 5.0?
Joost de Valk for Yoast
With all the buzz around the new WordPress update, people are asking themselves if they should update. But is now the right time? Joost De Valk says:
“If you have a holiday coming up, or if this is a busy time in your company’s or site’s yearly calendar: postpone updating. Everything in this release will still be there in January. In fact, as multiple patch releases are being planned already, it’s probably going to be more stable in January.”
Key Takeaways:
- Ask yourself if your site is ready to be upgraded.
- Some plugins may not be ready to be upgraded and you should be careful when making the decision to update.
- You don’t need to rush it, if you have holiday plans and are worried you won’t have time to monitor any changes, then just wait.
App Of The Week:
Sanity Check
Sanity check is an app that you can use to get a little more out of Google Search Console, helping you perform a number of functions:
- Run A/B tests to see how your changes improve or impact how your content ranks
- Automate daily PageSpeed tests to make sure the critical pages on your site are running as fast as possible
- Generate reports that you can use to brainstorm content ideas or identify pages to explore. For example, by highlighting queries your site is already ranking for, but which you are not effectively targeting
You can try it for free, and if you decide it’s right for you pricing starts at $10/month
Lighting Round
In this section, we quickly run through some other updates that we didn’t have enough time to deep-dive on, but we still felt were noteworthy.
- Instagram Adds New Ways to Engage With Followers
- Social Media Outpaces print newspaper in the U.S. as a news source
- SlackHQ team nailed the implementation of How To/HowToSection Schema markup
- Go Home Alone Again With Google Assistant – Ya filthy Animal
- 2018 Rewind: A look back at the top stories, moments and research
Listen or watch for new episodes each Friday, or check out the archives to watch past episodes on-demand. Like what you hear? Leave us a review or let us know in the comments!
