Are you getting outside more these last few days? Here in NJ, we’re reveling in being able to get outside without coats. Color us happy!

• It was only a matter of time…Clubhouse competition…
  • Twitter and other platforms are making their own versions of Clubhouse.

• Are you ready to Re-Zoom Travel?
  • It’s baaa-aack: supersonic travel. “4 hours to anywhere” is what really got us talking. Here’s the news.

• Instagram slides back to 2019…
  • SocialInsider and Sked Social teamed up to study Instagram’s flat-lining engagement rate year-over-year. Of all the post types, the media type showing the most promising engagement is the carousel post. Learn more about the state of Instagram engagement and how it affects your brand:

• Have you heard the term “zero-click searches?”
  • These are searches ending without clicking to a web property from search results. It’s become more of a topic of conversation because recent analysis of Google searches indicates only a 51% organic click through rate (CTR) from desktop searches and only a 22% organic CTR from mobile searches. Rand Fishkin has more details in his blog post here. But before you panic and revive the “SEO is dead” mantra, DBE has a few thoughts:

• There are many reasons why searches might result in zero clicks including the searcher found their answer in a featured snippet or other information presented on the search engine results page (SERP) or the searcher didn’t immediately see a relevant search result and tried searching on a different keyword phrase variant. These are particularly likely scenarios for mobile searches where the SERP visibility of organic results (vs. ads) is often limited to only a few listings without scrolling.
  • The data analyzed covered ~5.​1 trillion Google searches in 2020. Using the combined desktop/mobile organic CTR of 34%, there were still ~1.​7 trillion organic search clicks from SERPs.
  • The combined desktop/mobile paid CTR from SERPs was less than 2%.
  • So, the vast opportunity for “free” organic search clicks still warrants investment in SEO as part of integrated digital marketing.

• Ready to Quit? You’re Not Alone…
  “59% of U.​S.​ marketers wanted to quit their job at least once in the past year.” That’s one of the findings from a recent SiteCore survey. Read the news release that explains why and includes other data points (including some positive outcomes) as well as corresponding consumer study results.

• For Auto Industry Marketers: New Ad Formats from Microsoft Advertising
  If you work in the automotive sales industry, there is a new ad format you’ll want to be aware of. Microsoft Advertising recently announced an open beta for Automotive Ads in the US and UK. Automotive Ads are feed-based product ads that include attributes of your car inventory including make, model, year, trim, image, URLs, etc. The ads are eligible to serve on Bing.​com search result pages, Bing.​com image result pages, as well as native placements on the Microsoft Audience Network. Automotive Ads provide a richer experience for users inclusive of photos and prices that can help increase CTR and qualified leads.

Do Good Spotlight:  Autism Research Institute (ARI)

This week’s spotlight shines on Autism Research Institute (ARI) for their ongoing work to support the health and well-being of people affected by autism through innovative, impactful research, and education.

Founded in 1967, ARI conducts and fosters scientific research designed to improve the methods of diagnosing, treating, and preventing autism. ARI also disseminates research findings to parents and others worldwide seeking help.

ARI has earned 4 out of 4 stars from Charity Navigator, scoring a 92.92% overall rating and 100% for accountability and transparency. We donated to ARI this week and would like you to learn more about them here so you can consider supporting them too.

Okay, that’s the news we wanted to share this week, and we hope you take a look at ARI to see how you can help them help those coping with autism. Enjoy the rest of the week!