Weekly SEO News – New Data Privacy Rules for California, Acxiom Sells Its Marketing Solutions Division, and More

RankZ

Jul 2018

California Lawmakers Approve New GDPR-Style Data Privacy Rules

On June 28, legislators put California on track to give its residents the highest level of data privacy protection in the country. This happened with the passing of a bill related to the California Consumer Privacy Act. The wide-sweeping legislation bears many similarities to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which became effective in May. California’s new law, which carries hefty penalties for non-compliant companies, becomes effective January 1, 2020. It is expected to influence the passage of similar laws in other states.

Facebook Puts New Review Process in Place for Apps

The Facebook newsroom announced updates to its app developer platform. The updates will impose new API restrictions “to better protect people’s information.” Apps will now be subjected to new app review processes before they can access Facebook’s Marketing API tool. Other APIs Facebook is applying a review process to include its Lead Ads Retrieval and Live Video APIs used by developers.

Google Data Studio Now Accesses 16 Months of Search Analytics Data

In a reply to a Twitter Tweet on July 2, John Mueller, Senior Webmaster Trends Analyst at Google, confirmed that Google Data Studio now give users access to 16 months of Search Analytics data. That’s a big jump from the previous limit of 90 days. Both the Google Search Analytics API and the new beta Search Console’s Search Performance report also access 16 months of Search Analytics data.

Acxiom Sells Marketing Solutions (AMS) Division, LiveRamp Could Be Next

Advertising firm Interpublic Group (IPG) is set to acquire the Marketing Solutions (AMS) division of database marketing company Acxiom. The $2.3 billion deal was revealed in a June 2 press release from IPG.  Following the acquisition, the Acxiom brand name becomes part of IPG’s portfolio and 2,100 Acxiom associates with data and analytics skills will join IPG’s global workforce of 50,000. Acxiom had previously announced its intention to sell both AMS and LiveRamp, its data onboarding and identity resolution provider. This sale to IPG does not include LiveRamp.

Upcoming Events

Join the “UnCrowd” at the UnGagged SEO and Digital Marketing Conference

Between November 4 and 7, attendees at UnGagged Las Vegas can look forward to three conference days devoted to “actionable methods and strategies covering all aspects of online marketing.” Organizers have slated the fourth and final day for masterclasses in which attendees get “personalized advice and guidance from the top authorities in the industry.” The event embraces “No censorship” and “No recording,” allowing presenters to freely share their knowledge and industry insights with the audience.

Second Instalment of BrightonSEO 2018 takes place in September

Scheduled for September 27 and 28, BrightonSEO features a day filled with a series of SEO training courses followed by a one-day search marketing conference. Held in Brighton, UK, the event offers attendees “Practical in-depth talks from genuine experts” plus “practical, hands-on and in-depth Analytics, PPC, SEO training courses and workshops.” BrightonSEO takes place in April and September each year. Dates for BrightonSEO 2019 and 2020 have already been set.