Google+ pages will be shut down April 2nd 2019

/in /by

In December 2018, Google announced their decision to shut down Google+ for consumers in April 2019 due to low usage and challenges involved in maintaining a successful product that meets consumers’ expectations. Google has thanked everyone for being part of Google+ and provided next steps, including how to download your photos and other content.

On April 2nd 2019, your Google+ account and any Google+ pages you created will be shut down and Google will begin deleting content from consumer Google+ accounts. Photos and videos from Google+ in your Album Archive and your Google+ pages will also be deleted. You can download and save your content, just make sure to do so before April. Note that photos and videos backed up in Google Photos will not be deleted.

The process of deleting content from consumer Google+ accounts, Google+ Pages, and Album Archive will take a few months, and content may remain through this time. For example, users may still see parts of their Google+ account via activity log and some consumer Google+ content may remain visible to G Suite users until consumer Google+ is deleted.

As early as February 4th, you will no longer be able to create new Google+ profiles, pages, communities or events.

See the full FAQ for more details and updates leading up to the shutdown.

If you’re a Google+ Community owner or moderator, you may download and save your data for your Google+ Community. Starting early March 2019, additional data will be available for download, including author, body, and photos for every community post in a public community. Learn more

If you sign in to sites and apps using the Google+ Sign-in button, these buttons will stop working in the coming Googleeks but in some cases may be replaced by a Google Sign-in button. You’ll still be able to sign in with your Google Account wherever you see Google Sign-in buttons. Learn more

If you’ve used Google+ for comments on your own or other sites, this feature will be removed from Blogger by February 4th and other sites by March 7th. All your Google+ comments on all sites will be deleted starting April 2, 2019. Learn more

If you’re a G Suite customer, Google+ for your G Suite account should remain active. Contact your G Suite administrator for more details. You can also expect a new look and new features soon. Learn more

If you’re a developer using Google+ APIs or Google+ Sign-in, click here to see how this will impact you.

From all of us on the Google+ team, thank you for making Google+ such a special place. Google are grateful for the talented group of artists, community builders, and thought leaders who made Google+ their home. It would not have been the same without your passion and dedication.

What Happened To Google Nearby?

/in , , , , /by

Google Nearby

Google made an official announcement to shut down Google Nearby December 6, 2018 after many have invested in beacon technology. This means that Google will stop delivering both Eddystone and Physical Web beacon notifications. This is due to the fact that it fell victim to spammers.

This another area of Google that is being closed the same as Inbox, Google+, YouTube Gaming.

So what was Google Nearby, it was a solution to send silent notifications to phones without the need of an APP. And this is was something great on paper, however, with so many marketers trying to use this technology, it became a spam issue for users.

To make it clear on Android and Apple devices you need an APP on a phone to send notifications. So this means to provide marketing messages you need the user to download an APP.

The Google Nearby allowed passive alerts, not showing on the lock screen and not able to trigger a vibration alert for example.

Google’s Eddystone protocol was the key to implementing proximity marketing campaigns without the need for an app. It was a great decision at the time by Google to take on Apple in the beacon battle-space and they released Eddystone in 2016. The Eddystone protocol is an open communication protocol that can broadcast a URL that can be received on Bluetooth-enabled smartphone whether they have an app installed or not. It uses services on the device such as Nearby Notifications, Samsung CloseBy or Physical Web compatible apps scan for and displays these Eddystone URLs after passing them through a proxy. For this to work the Bluetooth Beacons must transmit the Eddystone UID frames, they must transmit the Eddystone URL and they the Eddystone URL must be in HTTPS format.

Once released the Eddystone usage, development and adoption since 2016 has been amazing. According to the Proxbook Q1 2016 report, the gap between Apple’s iBeacon and Eddystone is fast closing with 45% of leading proximity marketing companies supporting Eddystone as of Q1 2016, up from 25% in Q3 2015.

So what does the future have for us in store and will businesses be able to reach out to consumers without spamming them?

Reference and Reasearch

https://developers.google.com/nearby/

Amazon 360 Spin Images

/in , , , , , , /by

As online shopping changes and Amazon goes allows 360 Spin Images and the automotive accessory manufacturer Gold Eagle Company, whose brands include 303 Products and STA-BIL, was one of the early adopters of Amazon 360 Spin Images.

Talking with Forbes it was explained that they decided to roll out spin images on Amazon for our brands 303 Products and STA-BIL to allow consumers the opportunity to “touch and feel” our products virtually,” says Salisia Webber, E-commerce Sales Manager, at Gold Eagle Co.

An unexpected benefit was a reduction in product returns since adding 360 spin images. “We are now able to avoid returns because we are providing consumers with more information beforehand with the 360 images,” says Salisia Webber.

There are companies like Yofla providing 360 product view software and some examples:-

This new technology can also be used for clothing:-

Settling the (Quality) Score – Google Best Practices

/in , , , /by
Settling the (Quality) Score - Google Best Practices

Google AdWords is now Google Ads. Click here to learn more about our new advertising brand:
blog.google/technology/ads/new-advertising-brands/

This Hangout on Air covers what advertisers should know about Quality Score. The quality of your ads is measured to provide both users and advertisers with a good experience. Learn about the important elements of ads quality and how you can improve your Quality Score.

Using negative keywords in AdWords

/in , , , /by
Using negative keywords in AdWords | Google Ads

Google AdWords is now Google Ads. Click here to learn more about our new advertising brand:
blog.google/technology/ads/new-advertising-brands/

Negative keywords help your ads reach the most interested customers, which can lead to reduced costs and an increased return on investment.