In this presentation, Jon Hibbitt (Technical Analyst) and Scott Colenutt (Product Manager) recap the major changes in digital marketing in 2016, plus the top 10 hot topics that you should be thinking about in your 2017 marketing strategies. Read more about the topics mentioned in the presentation on our blog here http://wp.me/p8cL40-4f7a

2. 1. A recap of major changes in digital in
2016
2. 10 hot topics for 2017
Our contact details are at the end of this
video if you want to ask questions 

3. FEBRUARY
Google removes
right column ads
from SERPs
MARCH
Google launches
360 Suite
MAY
Google refreshes
mobile-friendly
update
AUGUST
Google makes
Keyword Planner
changes
SEPTEMBER
Penguin 4.0 rollout
Google launches Analytics
Assistant/Automated
Insights

4. 2017 Game Changers
1. Interstitial Penalties (Scott)
• First launched ad interstitial penalty
in November ‘15
• Interstitials are intrusive pop-ups
that are not considered mobile-
friendly
• We know Google are now focused
on a mobile first world
• Announced in August they will crack
down on interstitials from
January 10th 2017
Key takeaway: Review your app interstitials before
Christmas.

5. 2017 Game Changers
2. Google Data Studio (Jon)
• Free easy to use data
visualisation tool (beta) creates
beautiful dashboards
• Released May 2016
• Integrates with GA, AdWords,
BigQuery, Attribution 360, Google
Docs, YouTube Analytics and any
Google Sheet data.
• 5 fully customizable free reports
(each with unlimited pages). Easily
sharable like Google Sheets.
• Live data connections which update
when you change date ranges.
Key takeaway: Sign up now!

6. 2017 Game Changers
3. Google Home and Amazon Echo (Scott)
• Both are smart home devices
• Amazon Echo has been available
for 2 years in the U.S, launched
in the U.K in September
• 5 million units of Echo have been
sold
• Google Home launched in US in
November 2016
• Adds a new way to search,
interact, organise and buy
Key takeaway: Just go buy one.

7. 2017 Game Changers
4. JavaScript Rendering
• It’s known that Google can crawl
and index JavaScript
• Moving to a JavaScript framework
website requires due diligence to
prevent an SEO disaster
• Use Google Search Consoles
‘Fetch as Google’ Tool to see how
Google sees your JavaScript
• Crawl your JavaScript site with a
JavaScript enabled web crawler
such as Screaming Frog
Key takeaway: Proceed with caution.

8. 2017 Game Changers
5. Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
• Announced in October 2015 and
launched in February 2016
• A resource-light way to render web
pages on mobile
• Relies on AMP HTML, a new open
source framework
• Launched outside of just news items in
September ‘16
• There is an AMP testing tool, official
WordPress plugin and lots of dev
resources
Key takeaway: Start the conversation with your developers.

9. 2017 Game Changers
6. Messenger Bots
• A huge volume of communication
takes place in chat apps such as
Facebook Messenger (1 billion
users)
• Millennials are heavy users
• Facebook have opened up
Messenger for developers to create
custom ‘bots’
• Bots can ‘learn’ from language
using FBs Wit.ai Bot Engine
• Check out Starbuck’s Pumpkin
Spice Latte Messenger Bot
m.me/TheRealPSLKey takeaway: Explore how bots could connect you to FBM

10. 2017 Game Changers
7. Mobile-first Index
• In November, Google announced
they are testing a mobile-first index
• Up until now, Google has used
desktop versions of webpages as a
signal for mobile results
• This is going to change – Google will
use mobile pages first for ranking
• Huge change for sites that have
different mobile and desktop
experiences
• AMP pages will still get priority
• No date on when this is going
officially roll-out
Key takeaway: Do an audit of your mobile site.

11. 2017 Game Changers
8. Google Optimize
• Free website experimentation
tool. Beta released September
2016
• Integrates seamlessly with
Google Analytics / Google Tag
Manager
• Allows you to run Redirect, A/B
and MVT tests to increase
conversion rates
• Integrates directly to your Google
Analytics Goals
Key takeaway: Sign up for free now

12. 2017 Game Changers
9. VR/AR
• Pokémon Go was one of the most popular
games of 2016 (Over 100,000,000
downloads!)
• Currently associated most with video
games and entertainment, though is likely
to expand into other industries, fast
• Google Daydream provides a more
accessible VR experience for Android users
• Only a couple of Daydream compatible
phones right now (including the Pixel)
• Use social listening, keyword research and
customer surveys to start understanding
potential VR solutions
Key takeaway: Start the research process.

13. 2017 Game Changers
10. HTTP2
• HTTP2 promises faster page
delivery and works on modern
browsers.
• 11% of websites using HTTP2
• Move to HTTPS before evaluating
if HTTP2 is worth it
• Current page optimisation
techniques may be detrimental to
HTTP2
• HTTP2 requires a complete
technical rethink of site build by
your developers
Key takeaway: Start planning your move to HTTPS.