This curated list includes important updates and insights from March. To stay updated on the latest updates from the digital landscape, read our Digital Marketing Apple page.

Social Media

• Instagram expands shoppable organic posts to 8 countries - the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, Brazil, Canada and Spain. Read More
• Instagram to show more recent posts first after tweaking its algorithm. Read More
• Twitter to expand blue tick verification to more users. 
• Instagram adds Hashtag and Profile links in bio. Read More
• Facebook introduces admin privileges and joinable links to Messenger. Read More
• Pinterest expands Shopping Ads to more businesses. Read More
• Facebook will no longer allow third-party data for targeting ads. 
• Twitter introduces “Timestamps" to make it easier for users to share a key moment from a live video.

Digital Advertising 

This update will better allow you to track which areas customers request all forms of directions from, at various zoom levels (post code, city, country). Direction requests from some post codes may appear as blank due to user privacy consideration but are included at the city level. Read More

• Google launches cost-per-sale shopping actions.
• AdWords now shows ad version history.
• Google asks publishers in Europe to get data use and ad targeting consent under the new GDPR privacy rules.
• Google said it removed over 3.2 billion bad ads in 2017. Read More
• Google rolls out a rebuilt version of Keyword Planner in the new AdWords experience. The new features include - ability to add keywords in bulk and get an overview of forecasts in one place. 
• Google makes changes to directions heatmap. 

Search 

• Google begins to roll out mobile first indexing. Read More
• Google stops showing zero results for time being. 
• Business owners can add business descriptions to Google My Business & local panel. Read More
• Google Images results to include captions for each image. From the Google announcement:
   

  This extra piece of information gives you more context so you can easily find out what the image is about and whether the website would contain more relevant content for your needs. Read More

• Google confirms that they ran a “broad core algorithm update” 
• From the Google announcement on Twitter:
   

  Each day, Google usually releases one or more changes designed to improve our results. Some are focused around specific improvements. Some are broad changes. Last week, we released a broad core algorithm update. We do these routinely several times per year. As with any update, some sites may note drops or gains. There’s nothing wrong with pages that may now perform less well. Instead, it’s that changes to our systems are benefiting pages that were previously under-rewarded. There’s no “fix” for pages that may perform less well other than to remain focused on building great content. Over time, it may be that your content may rise relative to other pages.