Insta boss says follower counts aren’t a great metric

Instagram chief Adam Mosseri says followers can be considered a vanity metric. In a Threads post, Mosseri said “view and like counts” matter more, though he recognises how the prominence of follower numbers can confuse people. He urged marketers to look at likes per post and views per reel as the yardstick for how relevant an account is. 

March 2024 core update rolls on

Google’s March 2024 core update continues to rumble on; it’s now been a month since the major algorithm refresh went live. Google’s SEO experts Danny Sullivan and John Mueller confirmed on Tuesday (2 April) that it hadn’t yet reached the finish line. Most tracking tools are still registering heightened levels of volatility. Semrush, for example, logged steady spikes throughout March and into early April.

Eager for clarity on search rankings? Mueller advised webmasters to distract themselves by focusing on improvements to content. He noted: “The idea is not to make changes just for search engines, right? Your users will be happy if you can make things better even if search engines haven't updated their view of your site yet.”

X dishes out complimentary blue ticks

Verified checkmarks have been paywalled on X, formerly Twitter, for the last 18 months. That changed this week when it started handing out blue ticks to all accounts with 2,500+ verified subscribers. Some users weren’t happy and mockingly requested for it to be removed. Social media consultant Matt Navarra added that blue ticks are now viewed as a “badge of dishonour” by many in the X community. 

Microsoft – ‘Bing is more important than SEOs realise’

Bing’s global market share remains steady at around 17%, but it’s more important than people realise, according to Microsoft’s product chief Fabrice Canel. He believes usage “extends beyond” typical SEO parameters. Canel pointed to “notable trends” in the search space during the last five years. In particular, the value derived from traffic and clicks.

He added: “Additionally, it’s important to remember that Bing powers several other search engines, including DuckDuckGo, Yahoo, Ask, Ecosia, Swisscows and more surfaces as Windows, Copilot and more. If you sum up all, the impact is even more significant.” 

Google considers AI paywall options for search 

Google’s AI push continues to gather pace. The Financial Times reported this week that the tech giant is considering adding more AI-generated content to its suite of services as a paid-for, premium feature. The move would require users to pay a fee to access a search engine with generative AI. Google refuted the claims, informing the BBC that it has nothing to announce “right now”.

Charging extra for AI wouldn’t be a huge surprise, though; Google already has an “AI Premium” service powered by its family of large language models, Gemini, which can be accessed in Gmail and Docs. Still, Google’s core search product has always been free, so it would be a notable departure in that sense. Google says it will focus on building new premium capabilities for its subscription services for now.

Meta’s new tools enhance audience targeting

Meta launched an “engaged customers audience segment” feature within Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns this week. The new reporting option in Ads Manager will provide an in-depth breakdown of new, engaged and existing customers. Meta says this will make it easier to target high-value customers, and increase conversions. A spokesperson for Meta added that it provides much-needed “clarity” on sales performance.