Interesting Reads
Yandex ‘leak’ reveals 1,922 search ranking factors
Parts of the Yandex codebase leaked online last month. No, Yandex is not Google…but for SEO wonks, this is still about as close as it gets to being handed keys to the bank vault.
Spoiler alert: modern search engines are a lot more complex than just PageRank.
If SEO is your thing and you're interested in an exhaustive analysis of what the code reveals, here it is.
The emerging marketing economist
When it comes to attribution, the prevailing wisdom has settled into some variant of 'everything broke when Apple introduced App Tracking Transparency'.
But while that's not wrong, it's also not really the complete picture. What we're actually seeing is the need for a paradigm shift in measurement. It's a shift that has been overdue for a while, and Apple kicking off the IDFA Apocalypse was just the change that finally made it unignorable.
Many of us have been talking about this evolution for a while, but Eric's description of 'the marketing economist' in this piece is more eloquent than anything I've seen so far.
Meaningful metrics: How data sharpened the focus of product teams
The Duolingo teams describes how they used segmentation and statistical forecasting to fix a stagnating DAU metric.
Industry Buzz
The Privacy Sandbox Beta is coming to Android
Privacy Sandbox for Android is now ready for pubic beta (yes, this was expected, and is happening pretty much on time).
I'm still quite bullish on Privacy Sandbox. The status quo on Android isn't sustainable, and this is certainly preferable to the 'my way or the highway' changes we saw on iOS. But clearly not everyone agrees — for an example of a contradictory (and in my opinion, catastrophically bad) take on this, we need look no further than Ars Technica.
Walled Gardens
Web Push for Web Apps on iOS and iPadOS
The WebKit team has been holding out on adding support for web push notifications to iOS for years. WWDC last year teased that this would change, and it's finally here!
Whether or not you believe the conspiracy theories about why Apple waited so long, the reality is still that native apps will outperform mobile websites in almost all cases. But it's nice to see one of the thumbs being removed from the scale.
Also, in similar news: it appears that major iOS browsers not named Safari have begun preparing for a future in which it's possible to run alternative rendering engines on iOS.
UX
Why are bad ads killing mobile advertising?
If you've been following along for the last few years, you'll likely have noticed an awkward alliance between three fairly distinct groups:
- Those who genuinely want to enhance user privacy protections in a way that also preserves the viability of mobile business models.
- Privacy zealots who are philosophically opposed to 'tracking' in any form whatsoever.
- Users who just hate ads and want to see the entire advertising industry burn.
This article helps explain why the third group exists, and unfortunately it's looking like an own-goal for the ad networks.
Data
iOS 16 adoption rate higher than iOS 15, but iPadOS 16 lags
Apple released official adoption metrics for iOS 16. As usual, they have done a great job getting the majority of users onto the latest version.
The Encore
Privacy on iPhone | A Day in the Life of an Average Person’s Data
A quip from a friend, after watching this skit:
"They should mention that the guy in the blue shirt is your iPhone, and he gets to see everything"
Podcast
How to Leverage Disruptive Marketing Trends
Growth Marketing Team Lead at Zalando: Mariana Kuiken
Mariana is currently the Growth Marketing Lead at Zalando, where she works on developing new marketing opportunities through machine learning advertisements, user-automated content and augmented reality. Before that, she held various marketing roles at companies like Delivery Hero and LightInTheBox.
Events
Mobile Growth Online: Women in Mobile
When: Wednesday, March 15, 2023, 12 PM PST.
Where: Online.
Panelists: Autodesk, PBS Kids, Priceline, The Weather Company.
Who’s Hiring?
- ARC’TERYX | Project Manager, Omni-Channel (E-Commerce) — North Vancouver, BC
- Microsoft | Director, Xbox Relationship Management & Loyalty — Multiple Locations, United States
- Incline Gaming | Director of User Acquisition — Remote, United States
- Incline Gaming | Senior User Acquisition Manager — Remote, United States
- Incline Gaming | Senior User Acquisition Analyst — Remote, United States
- Incline Gaming | Conversion Optimization Manager — Remote, United States
Do you have a mobile growth role you’d like to share with the community?
Just fill out this form — it’s free!
Earlier this week, the Spotify Engineering team published the story of their multi-year effort to repair deep linking and attribution.
I love this, and not just because it contains the words 'deep linking' in the title. What we have here is a literal case study in how to rally momentum around a major initiative that doesn't fall neatly into any single team's mandate.
If only every brand took its user experience as seriously as Spotify does…mobile apps would be a delightful place. But we're getting there!
Alex Bauer