Reaction to Google December 2020 Core Update & This Week’s Digital Marketing News [PODCAST]

On this week’s episode of Marketing O’Clock, hosts Greg Finn, Mark Saltarelli, and Christine “Shep” Zirnheld break down the biggest digital marketing news of the week.

Plus, can we come up with a better name for the December 2020 Core Update? Probably, it isn’t that hard.

If you’re unable to listen on Spotify, be sure to catch the video version of the show on the Search Engine Journal YouTube channel.

Google Launches New Core Update

Google confirmed that the latest core algorithm update, called the December 2020 core update, would begin rolling out on December 3, 2020.

Early data shows a lot of activity since the update started rolling out, but the lasting effects won’t be clear until the rollout is completed in a week or so. Many webmasters were disappointed in Google for releasing such a big change during the holiday shopping season.

The December 2020 Core Update is now rolling out live. As is typical with these updates, it will typically take about one to two weeks to fully roll out.

— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) December 3, 2020

Shopify Looks to the Future of Commerce

In a new report published this week, Shopify unpacks the important trends that will impact the state of commerce in 2021 and beyond.

Major predictions include:

• Young consumers will shake up the retail landscape.
• Physical retail will continue to evolve with an emphasis on contactless payment, shopping appointments, and alternate pickup options.
• An increased emphasis on supporting independent brands and retailers.
• Consumers opting for more eco-friendly products.
• A disruption in the banking, finance, and lending industries.

YouTube Premieres 2.0

YouTube announced more options for creators who opt to use the Premieres feature to debut new content.

Potentially the most exciting update is the ability to create trailers for YouTube Premieres so creators can give their audience a taste of what the new content will be like.

A new live redirect option will allow channels to host live pre-shows before their video Premieres. After the pre-show, viewers will be taken to the Premiere video automatically.

Finally, YouTube gave creators more options for Premiere video countdowns and the ability to schedule Premieres from their phones.

Chrome Blocks “Heavy” Ads

Google announced in May that they would block certain “heavy” ads from Google Chrome. This week, the ad-blocking was spotted in action on the New York Times website by Aron Pilhofer.

First time I’ve seen this. pic.twitter.com/nY21Ty3RnK

— Aron Pilhofer (@pilhofer) December 2, 2020

In our take of the week segment, Marie Haynes has Google on her naughty list this holiday season.

This didn't age well. https://t.co/GhFnYhFXWT

— Marie Haynes (@Marie_Haynes) December 3, 2020

Then, ICYMI, Brett Westerman shares some updated Google Ads help documentation that all advertisers need to bookmark.

While I knew that #Google automated smart bidding would negate other bid adjustments … not honoring Location and Day/Hour adjustments feels careless (and self-serving to fulfill off-time inventory that may otherwise be unattractive to advertisers). #ppcchat pic.twitter.com/Ag6zrzolMR

— Brett Westerman (@brettwesterman) December 4, 2020

We’ll answer your burning digital marketing questions during our lightning round segment:

• Who is officially done with Maximize conversions bidding?
• What do you need to know about the new Page Experience indicator in the Google Search results?
• When did Twitter add frequency capping to all campaign types?
• Where can you now run Google Ads lead form extensions? (Hint: not the desktop search results).
• Why shouldn’t you turn to TikTok for financial advice, ever?
• How can Canadians get their online store built for free? (Although we wouldn’t recommend it.)

Check out the Marketing O’Clock site to subscribe to the show and read all the articles featured on today’s show.

Thank you to our sponsor, Upfluence! With Upfluence’s all-in-one platform, marketers can streamline their influencer marketing campaigns and scale their influencer program in no time.

Featured Image Credit: Samantha Hanson, Cypress North