After 30% uplift in subscriptions, publishers roll out ‘Subscribe with Google’
About a year ago, Google announced ‘Subscribe with Google’—a simple way to subscribe to news publications and maintain access everywhere: websites, apps, even search results. ‘Subscribe with Google’, according to… (more)
Publishers can “create richer, better content for their audience” with Question Hub, says Google
15% of Google searches done by users on a daily basis have never been seen before. Consequently, the world’s leading search engine doesn’t have answers to many of the questions… (more)
Facebook is launching a News tab, and offers publishers “millions of dollars”
Facebook is launching a dedicated News tab later this year, and is offering publishers millions of dollars for the rights to feature their content, reports The Wall Street Journal. The… (more)
Google updates algorithm to reward freshness, with 20 questions for publishers to “self-assess” quality
Google has launched an update to their search algorithms, focused on surfacing “fresh, helpful information through featured snippets.” This new update helps the company show search results that are not… (more)
“Is Google literally trying to kill off the fourth estate?”: Publishers react as 33% of news paywalls come crashing down
When it became evident that Google was going ahead and effectively demolishing 33% of publisher paywalls, the community reacted with dismay. Although Google gave barely 2-weeks’ notice before going ahead… (more)
Google unlocks 33% of publisher paywalls on July 30. This is what happens next.
“The only real law of history is the law of unintended consequences,” says finance and economics historian Niall Ferguson. On July 30, Google Chrome will “remedy a loophole” that allows… (more)
DuckDuckGo delivers 49% more visits, as organic search traffic from Google falls further
“DuckDuckGo has become one of the feistiest adversaries of Google,” The New York Times reported a few days ago. Merkle’s latest digital marketing report shows exactly why the privacy-focused search… (more)
Death of the metered paywall: Google makes it official
A month ago, almost to the day, we reported that Chrome would make it easier to bypass paywalls. Google has now made it official, confirming that with the release of… (more)
Clash of the News tabs: Apple, Google and Facebook square off
When it comes to Apple, Facebook and Google, the publishing industry hasn’t exactly been a fan. The tech giants have been repeatedly accused of driving away eyeballs and ad revenue,… (more)
Google is building a social network (again)
Shrugging off its monumental failure with Google+, the search giant is again dipping its toes into the social networking waters. It’s latest initiative is Shoelace, a mobile app that, according… (more)
Google Chrome’s built-in ad blocker rolls out globally (and there’s a new one in the works)
Chrome has begun filtering ads on sites globally that repeatedly violate industry standards and continue to show intrusive, annoying ads to people that visit their websites. This is being done… (more)
Firefox is building an “ad-free internet,” and plans to pay publishers directly
“The online advertising ecosystem is broken,” announced Mozilla—developers of the Firefox browser—earlier this year. “The majority of digital advertising revenue is going to a small handful of companies, leaving other… (more)
This July, Google Chrome will make it easier to bypass paywalls
The ad blocking controversy is still fresh, and now publishers have to contend with yet another salvo from Google Chrome. The next version of the browser, Chrome 76—scheduled for a… (more)
“It took us about 5 seconds”: A blank newspaper wins the Publishing Grand Prix at Cannes
A blank piece of paper, albeit one that sparked an international conversation, was awarded the Grand Prix in Print and Publishing at the Cannes Lions Festival, on Monday. Lebanon's oldest… (more)
Snapchat is a significant revenue driver for 65% of publishers, study finds
67% of publishers consider Google (AMP) to be significant in driving revenue for their companies, according to a recent survey of 124 publisher executives by Digiday. Surprisingly, it’s followed closely… (more)
Over 70% of publishers consider Facebook the #1 platform for traffic and awareness, study finds
When it comes to generating referral traffic or building brand awareness for publishers, Facebook is way ahead of the other major social platforms, Digiday found in a recent survey of… (more)
YouTube offers the “most meaningful” long-term revenue opportunities for publishers, study finds
30% of publishers believe YouTube offers the most meaningful long-term revenue opportunities for publishers—ahead of Facebook and Google AMP—according to a survey of 122 publisher executives by Digiday this May.… (more)
70% of publishers say Facebook delivers the best reach for content: “There aren’t any real alternatives”
7 out of 10 publishers contend that Facebook still provides the greatest reach for content compared to other social platforms, according to a survey of 124 publisher executives conducted by… (more)
Guardian turns a profit for the first time in 20 years, aided by record online traffic
“The Guardian has been consistently loss-making,” read the Wikipedia entry on the publication, till yesterday. It was quickly edited after the British daily announced that The Guardian and the Observer… (more)
Twitter shows healthy growth signs, and ad payments to publishers are up 60%
While Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey doesn’t seem very excited about the platform at the moment, and is planning to execute “a huge fundamental shift” in how the social network works,… (more)