Daily Edition · Page 10

THE DAILY INDEX

Technology, AI, software, security, crypto and business

NEWS & TRENDS

TLDR Marketing

75% OF TOP BRANDS FALL VICTIM TO FRAUD IN GOOGLE SEARCH ADS

75% of top brands in the US and UK are targets of identity theft through Google Search Ads. The issue results in significant financial losses and creates considerable threats to customers. Common fraud practices include impersonating brands on Google Ads to steal customer data and hijacking affiliate programs to earn a referral bonus. Google said it is increasing efforts in safeguarding brands' reputations and shielding online shoppers, but bad actors are also constantly evolving their techniques.

HOW TO WIN HEARTS WITH 'SURPRISE-DRIVEN' MARKETING

A study found that people were more likely to appreciate “40% off” when the discount is revealed at checkout rather than upfront. The wrong approach makes users feel like information is being held hostage, like LinkedIn hiding profile viewers or Bumble pixelating faces until you pay. The right approach is to embed the element of surprise into your product while giving users some control and providing essential information to counterbalance any potential anxiety. Tactics include using a shuffle or random function, implementing secret features that users reveal, and randomizing user experiences.

GREAT VS TERRIBLE USES FOR A/B TESTING

A/B tests allow you to measure more accurately at the cost of making projects take longer. A/B testing is a great idea when there is a material amount of risk in making the change or an important change that is tough to detect without testing. It’s a bad idea when you are implementing a clear best practice, fixing something that is broken or unclear, or adding new features that you have clear evidence that users want. To run an effective A/B testing program, you'll need a testing tool, correctly configured analytics, sufficient knowledge of statistics, and the ability to explain results.

FREE N-GRAMS TEXT ANALYZER APP FOR SEO

An n-gram is a contiguous sequence of ‘n’ items from a given sample of text or speech. Instead of focusing on single keywords, n-grams allow search engines to consider the context in which words are used. The N-Grams Text Analyzer App is free text analyzer app that shows unique and common n-grams between two bodies of text. It’s useful for analyzing why one page ranks better than another, optimizing your text for better n-grams usage, and featured snippet optimization. This post includes a link to the tool.

SURVEY TOOLS

Tally is good for collecting feedback, market research, and even selling something. It can incorporate video, images, or descriptions. Typeform presents questions one by one, making it less overwhelming for survey respondents than traditional survey tools. Airtable lets you create forms with responses that flow directly into tables, making it easier to sort, filter, and share results efficiently. OpinionX is good for stack rankings. Coda works well for forms and documents and is more flexible than Survey Monkey or Microsoft Forms.

THE FAN-DRIVEN MARKETING FLYWHEEL

Marketing teams often focus so much energy on acquiring new customers that they miss out on harnessing the power of existing fans. Create content that truly resonates emotionally with your target audience in order to start building a fanbase. Identify and interact with vocal fans. Look for organic opportunities to showcase your most engaged fans to your whole audience. Whenever a customer reaches out with thoughtful feedback, make sure to respond personally and respectfully.

NIGHTSHADE, THE TOOL THAT ‘POISONS’ DATA, GIVES ARTISTS A FIGHTING CHANCE AGAINST AI

Nightshade, a project from the University of Chicago, aims to empower artists in the battle against unauthorized AI training by distorting image data, rendering it unusable for model training. It takes fewer than 100 poisoned images to start corrupting AI models. The idea is to protect creators from unauthorized use and force companies to pay to get consent before using their content to train the models. Glaze, another tool developed by the same team, prevents AI from being able to steal artists' styles.

WHY THE ORGANIZATION BEHIND ‘GOT MILK?’ IS CREATING A MARATHON FOR WOMEN

The Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP) is organizing the Every Woman’s Marathon to connect with female runners and boost the profile of dairy milk against non-dairy alternatives. With input from an advisory board of prominent women runners, the event aims to create a holistic wellness experience beyond traditional marathons. MilkPEP believes that by creating disruptive and culturally relevant events, it will further its central mission of making milk more relevant in “modern wellness conversations”.

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