December's Digital Marketing Round-Up
- Admin Account
- Jan 8
- 7 min read
Gemini 2.0 is coming. Image Source: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-announces-search-updates-powered-by-gemini-2-0/535103/
It’s time for our monthly roundup, where we discuss all the exciting digital marketing news that happened in December.
If you’ve arrived here from our newsletter, you already have an overview of this month’s key developments.
We like to provide more information in our blog posts, answering some of the questions our clients ask us about each important topic. More specifically, we talk about how these changes affect the work you’re doing in marketing, with some actionable next steps.
Head straight to:
1. Core Update: December’s Core and Spam Updates Completed
Google wrapped up its December 2024 Core Update on December 18th, just a week after the November Core Update finished.
Paired with a Spam Update, these changes brought notable shifts in search rankings.
What was affected by the December updates?
The updates primarily focused on content quality and relevance.
Websites with user-first, valuable, and trustworthy content saw improvements, while sites with keyword stuffing, low-quality material, or excessive ads likely experienced drops.
The Spam Update specifically addressed manipulative tactics and poor user experiences, impacting sites relying on such practices.
How Do I Identify If My Website Was Affected?
If your site saw a ranking or traffic drop, here’s how to evaluate:
Monitor Rankings and Traffic Trends:
Use Google Search Console to check for significant drops in impressions or clicks.
Analyse Ranking Fluctuations:
Tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs can help pinpoint which pages or keywords were affected.
Understand the Update’s Focus:
A core update doesn’t mean your site is flawed—it’s about aligning with Google’s evolving quality standards.
How Can I Ensure My Website Ranks Well?
Adopt these strategies to maintain or improve your rankings:
Focus on Helpful, User-First ContentAnswer real user questions with content that’s valuable and easy to digest.
Optimise Technical SEOPrioritise site speed, mobile-friendliness, and navigation.
Update RegularlyRefresh outdated content to ensure it stays relevant.
Build High-Quality BacklinksEarn links from authoritative, industry-relevant sources.
Learn from CompetitorsAnalyse competitor strategies to discover opportunities for improvement.
To stay ahead of future updates, focus on long-term, sustainable strategies that prioritise quality and user experience.
Consistently produce valuable content and ensure your site is fast, mobile-optimised, and well-structured.
2. AI: Google Prepares to Launch Gemini 2.0 in 2025
With the launch of Gemini 2.0 in early 2025, Google is about to reshape how users search and how brands engage with them.
AI Overviews are already serving over a billion users, excelling at tasks like coding, image analysis, and handling complex queries.
Video source: https://youtu.be/Fs0t6SdODd8
How will Gemini 2.0 impact search behavior and user intent?
Gemini 2.0 will handle more complex, multi-step queries. Instead of quick answers, users will seek in-depth, actionable insights.
Users will increasingly look for nuanced, actionable insights that go beyond surface-level content.
This means your audience will expect content that’s not only accurate but also tailored to their specific needs—detailed, practical, and rich with value.
What do multimodal queries mean for my content strategy?
Multimodal search allows users to combine text, images, and audio in their queries. Picture someone uploading a product photo and asking, “Where can I buy this?” or using a code snippet to troubleshoot an error.
This means you’ll need to go beyond traditional text-based content. High-quality visuals, videos, and even audio will play a bigger role in engaging users.
The richer and more diverse your content formats, the better you’ll perform in this AI-driven search landscape.
How to measure success with AI search?
To stay on top of these changes, track shifts in user behavior using Google Search Console, SEMrush, and Ahrefs.
Tools like GA4 and Hotjar will help refine your strategy based on audience engagement trends.
How can we optimise our content to align with Gemini 2.0-powered Search updates?
To align your content with Gemini 2.0’s capabilities:
Address Complex Queries: Go beyond simple answers—offer detailed insights.
Use Rich Media: Incorporate images, videos, and other formats to meet multimodal search demands.
Optimise Visuals: Tag your media with relevant metadata and alt text for better SEO.
Localise Content: Make sure your content is relevant to diverse audiences.
Stay Updated: Follow Google’s guidelines to align with best practices.
Search is changing with AI tools creating deeper connections between users and information. By focusing on trustworthy, valuable content, you’ll stay ahead and keep engaging your audience.
3. Search: New ‘24 Hours’ Search Console Feature Launched
What is included in the ‘24 hours’ features?
The new ‘24 Hours’ feature in Google Search Console gives real-time insights into your website’s performance, helping you track key metrics like clicks, impressions, CTR, and position.
This feature is especially valuable if you are a content creator or want to stay on top of performance shifts and make quick, informed decisions.
How will this feature impact my decision-making?
With real-time data, you can quickly identify shifts in performance. If your traffic drops or impressions rise, you can instantly adjust your content or strategy.
It’s like having a live dashboard for faster, smarter decisions.
Which content will benefit most from this feature?
Content that experiences traffic fluctuations — like product launches, news articles, timely blog posts, or seasonal content — gets the most out of this feature.
If you’re running a campaign or promoting something, this view lets you track performance as it happens.
The quicker you spot trends or issues, the faster you can adjust to stay ahead.
How can I monitor traffic spikes or drops using hourly breakdowns?
The hourly breakdown lets you see exactly when traffic spikes or drops, so you can investigate why it happened.
Was it triggered by a social media mention or news event? If traffic dips, you can analyse the content or keywords to figure out what's going wrong.
By tracking hourly performance, you can quickly fix issues or take advantage of successes, keeping your content optimised and ahead of the competition.
4. Social Media: Reddit Introduces an AI-Powered Search 'Reddit Answers'
Reddit is testing a new AI-powered search feature called "Reddit Answers” in the US, which provides AI-generated summaries of relevant community discussions.
This feature could change how users discover content on Reddit, and potentially reduce reliance on Google for search.
Image source: https://redditinc.com/blog/introducing-reddit-answers
How will Reddit Answers change user search behavior?
Reddit Answers will make searching on the platform much more efficient.
Instead of scrolling through threads, users will now get AI summaries of the most relevant discussions.
If your content is optimised for these AI-driven answers, it could increase visibility within the Reddit community.
Will Reddit Answers affect how search engines index Reddit content?
Yes, Reddit Answers could boost the chances of your content being found through AI-generated summaries rather than just the traditional Reddit search.
If your content answers common or popular questions and is well-structured, it could get featured more often.
How can I optimise content for Reddit Answers?
To get featured in Reddit Answers, focus on addressing common questions clearly and concisely.
Use relevant keywords, and structure your content so it’s easy for AI to generate summaries.
Essentially, you’ll need to treat this as a new way of optimising for Reddit search—helpful, direct content is key.
Keep an eye on how this evolves and adjust your strategy to stay ahead of the curve.
5. PPC: New Updates to Performance Max Campaigns
Starting January 20, 2025, Google Ads will roll out updates to Performance Max (PMax) campaigns, including brand guidelines at the campaign level and enhanced audience signals.
What’s new with audience signals in PMax?
Audience signals now let you use first-party data—like website visitors, app users, or customer lists—to optimise campaigns.
This lets the campaign become more targeted, showing ads to users who are more likely to convert based on their actions.
The more precise your audience signals, the more relevant your ads will be, boosting campaign performance.
How does the audience signal customisation work with demographic targeting?
Audience signal customisation lets you dig deeper into targeting, focusing on specific groups based on demographics like age, gender, location, or even life events.
Combining these signals with custom audience data allows you to target users based on their interests, habits, or online behaviour.
This refined targeting means you’re hitting the right people at the right time—making your ads more likely to engage the people who matter most to your brand.
How will brand guidelines affect campaign setup?
You’ll now need to upload your business name and logo at the campaign level, rather than the asset group level.
This might mean a small change in how you set up your PMax campaigns, but it also streamlines the process.
You’ll have your brand assets all in one place, ensuring consistency across your automated ads and formats.
What do brand guidelines mean for my PMax campaigns?
Brand guidelines are a new feature in Google Ads that give you control over how your brand’s visual identity shows up in your PMax campaigns.
The result? A more cohesive and professional look that helps improve brand recognition and builds trust with your audience.
Consistent branding boosts recognition and builds trust with your audience, which can improve engagement and conversions.
Will the brand guidelines affect the performance of my ads?
While the brand guidelines won’t directly impact performance, they do improve your brand’s consistency.
When your ads consistently represent your brand identity, it creates a more familiar and trusted experience for users, which could lead to better engagement and conversions over time.
Should I add custom audience segments to my PMax campaigns?
Yes! Custom audience segments are a great way to target users beyond Google’s default audiences.
By focusing on behaviors, interests, or search intent, you can reach more niche audiences who are more likely to engage.
Combining this with demographic targeting ensures you’re reaching the right users at the right time.
These updates bring exciting changes to how we engage with users and optimise campaigns.
By adapting your strategies to these new features and AI-driven tools, you can stay ahead of the curve and continue delivering value to your audience.
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