In a nutshell

Vimeo has added structured data to all public videos, providing Google with additional context to increase the chances of content appearing on search result pages.

What does this mean?

In a recent blog post the company said it’s working with Google to adopt the best practices for video players. “Vimeo’s latest tune-up will enable more detailed video results on Google Search, and potentially drive better traffic to your website, social pages, or wherever your videos live.” So, as a Vimeo publisher, how do you benefit from these changes? The good news is, there’s nothing more you need to do, apart from making videos public. Want to further increase your videos’ discoverability? Vimeo suggests adding chapters, researching keywords and using them on video titles to optimise your content for SEO.

In a nutshell

Google has released a new 10-shade skin tone scale to improve representation in photo search results. The scale was created in partnership with Harvard professor Dr Ellis Monk – who has been studying how skin tone and colourism affect people’s lives for more than 10 years – and is designed to be more inclusive of the skin tones we see in society. The aim? To improve skin tone representation across Google products and the industry.

Ways you’ll see this incorporated into Google products:

• To evaluate and improve the models that detect faces in images

• Improving skin tone representation in Search

• Improving skin tone representation in Google Photos

What does this mean?

“Creating a more representative Search experience isn’t something we can do alone. How content is labelled online is a key factor in how our systems surface relevant results,” writes Tulsee Doshi in the Google blog post.

“Creators, brands and publishers will be able to use this new inclusive schema to label their content with attributes like skin tone, hair colour and hair texture. This will make it possible for content creators or online businesses to label their imagery in a way that search engines and other platforms can easily understand.”

According to Daniel Jellyman, iCrossing UK’s senior SEO analyst, “It’s important that image content is labelled correctly using this schema to provide Google with as much clarity as possible, contributing to a more equal search experience for all. As well as helping searchers more easily find images that reflect their specific needs, correct use of the schema should see a positive impact on a site’s visibility and traffic. As Google only stated the release on 11th May, monitor any significant movements to your site’s traffic and rankings in the coming weeks.”

In a nutshell

Google is planning to improve responsive display ads (RDAs) in the second half of 2022, following a mobile-first approach. The new layouts will welcome portrait images and videos, as well as auto-generated videos, giving advertisers more options.

What does this mean?

Ad users will now be able to speed up the RDA design and iteration process, thanks to machine learning, so they’ll be able to deliver engaging display ads and reach their audiences quicker. “Simply upload a few images, videos and headlines, and we’ll automatically create and test visually striking ad combinations that fit millions of possible ad placements and, most importantly, deliver results,” says Jerry Dischler, vice president and general manager of Ads. “Our testing shows that advertisers see 2X more conversions, on average, when adding a responsive display ad to an ad group with a static display ad.”

In a nutshell

The number of wealthy individuals is growing, but how are they spending that wealth? iCrossing UK’s ‘Evolution of the luxury consumer: post pandemic’ report examines how the pandemic impacted the luxury market, and how brands can adapt.

What does this mean?

According to the report, the pandemic has simply accelerated trends, bringing the future closer – meaning that brands won’t be able to survive unless they evolve.

“The changing concept of luxury will be a challenge for many brands, with the idea of exclusivity, excess, and in some cases even heritage, being challenged by new consumers. The definition of the term ‘luxury’ is no longer controlled by brands themselves. New audiences, new preferred sales channels and empowered consumers have a shared responsibility in this, if not democratising it entirely…”