Digital Digest: April News Roundup

In this edition of our digital marketing newsletter, we'll explore the newest trends and developments in areas such as SEO, Digital PR, Paid Media, Online Marketplaces, and Data. Subscribe to stay informed about the latest updates in the world of digital marketing, as we highlight the most important and ever-evolving trends.

AYKO stands out as a premier agency specialising in E-commerce solutions on Magento and Shopify platforms, providing exceptional marketing strategies to enhance your business.

SEO

Pro Tip: using custom Regex in Google Search Console

Using Google Search Console is great for identifying highly searched for terms to target on both PDPs and PLPs.

There are certain custom regex which allow you to identify:

• FAQs - (?i)^(who|what|where|when|why|how)
• Longer-tailed keywords - (\w*\W){5,}

These are crucial not only for improving keyword relevancy, but also targeting FAQs which can create additional featured snippet opportunities

Canonicalising from WWW to Non-WWW Won't Impact Rankings

According to Google's John Mueller, transitioning from a www to a non-www canonical URL for your website, such as from 'www.domain.com' to 'domain.com' is unlikely to have any significant impact on rankings.?

Mueller mentioned on Reddit, "This change won't affect search visibility, rankings, or indexing: when the canonical URL switches, it simply switches."

Concerns about a traffic decline following a domain canonical change are often coincidental with the March 2024 Core Update.

Pro Tip: using Screaming Frog for internal linking

Advertisers can use Screaming Frog’s "Inlinks" report to quickly identify pages that need more internal links.?

Here are the steps:

1. Perform a crawl of the site with Screaming Frog
2. Once that crawl is complete, go to Internal > HTML to find the pages on your site it crawled
3. Find the "Inlinks" column and then sort by ascending?
4. You'll then be able to see which pages receive very few internal links and identify opportunities for improvement

Internal links are crucial for passing on authority deeper into the site.

Five alternatives to the missing Page Timings report in GA4

Page load speed is a key core web vital that influences Google's organic ranking. Although the PageSpeed Insights tool is available, it only assesses one page at a time.?

The Page Timings report in Universal Analytics identifies the slowest pages on the site, enabling advertisers to prioritise evaluations effectively. The Page Timing report, however, is not included in GA4.

These are five alternative solutions:

1. Google Search Console

• Provides a Core Web Vitals report and separates data by mobile and desktop.
• Groups pages together and shows examples from the group

2. Screaming Frog

• Provides page load times
• Can be connected to the PageSpeed Insights tool

3. Ahrefs

• Tracks page load speed as it indexes a website
• Connects PageSpeed Insights directly to the site audit to see specific core web vitals optimisations that should be made

4. Semrush

• Reviews page load speed and lists the pages with the longest load times

5. Add page speed into GA4 using custom dimensions

• Can use the custom dimension to create an Explorations report and import data into Looker Studio
• Measures actual user data for page load speed by page

3 reasons not to block GPTBot from crawling your site

The next phase of ChatGPT’s evolution is the integration of GPTBot, a move that could bring more benefits than drawbacks if advertisers choose to embrace it. This enhanced version of OpenAI’s technology involves ‘crawling’ web pages to increase the information and responses that ChatGPT can offer.

1. 100 million people use ChatGPT each week

• Missing out on maximising brand visibility
• Ensure you’re brand is factually and positively represented?
• Some brands report getting 5% of leads from ChatGPT
• Another way to leverage Digital PR strategies e.g. brand mentions?

2. Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)

• GEO becoming a sub-practice of SEO, brands may fall behind if they don’t keep ahead of the curve?

3. OpenAI’s Pledge to Minimise Harm

• OpenAI clearly states “minimise harm” as one of the guiding principles of their platform
• Policies to respect copyright and intellectual property and have stated that GPTBot filters out sources violating their policies
• Contributing to the clean and accurate training data OpenAI uses to enhance and improve its information accuracy

Are you interested in exploring a bespoke SEO strategy for your business? Our large Homeware client has seen a 13.5% increase in non-branded impressions, with a total of 1.5m in March as a result of our work - see how we can help your business - Get in touch with our team today!

Digital PR

Chat GPT is now accessible in Excel and Google Sheets

Chat GPT is now accessible to use in Excel and Google Sheets. This includes features such as: creating prompts, formulating, and categorising data.

Here’s how advertisers can take advantage of it:

? Open Excel and click on Insert → Get Add-Ins

? Search Numerous and Add Numerous Add-In

? Open a spreadsheet and write your prompt using =AI(Write your prompt here, cell reference) formula.

Pro Tip: Strategies to discover missing Google links

As of recently, Google has not been pulling in as many brand client mentions as well as not flagging, showing coverage even when the headline of the article is being searched for.

However, with the newly completed Google Core Update, this should be resolved.

In the meantime, experts have recommended using Bing and DuckDuckGo which are better at finding MSN-based syndication.

Pro Tip: Getting extra backlinks through partnerships

Conduct a partnership assessment by compiling a list of all the business partnerships that your business has established.

This may include security providers, office renovation contractors, or even office cleaning services.

By engaging with these partners, you may have the opportunity to acquire backlinks through case studies or official reviews featured on their websites, showcasing your experience as a user of their services.

Pro Tip: How to find any email address

Have you ever struggled to find a contact? Below are 9 simple ways to find any email address:

1. Check their author page on any publication they write on
2. Search on Google for “name” and “email”
3. Check their Twitter/X profile bio
4. Search Twitter/X with their “handle” and “email”
5. Use Hunter.io as a free Chrome extension
6. Use RocketReach.co and search on their platform
7. If you can find an email address from someone else from the same publication you can make a pretty good guess. A common pattern is [firstname].[lastname]@publication.com
8. If you do guess try to use https://tools.emailhippo.com/ to verify the email
9. If they use Google you can try searching for the person’s email to start a chat with via Gmail. If you see a profile photo it will show despite not being a contact.

Curious how our PR team can collaborate with your brand or business to secure links in national publications? Reach out to us today, and let’s explore the potential opportunities and how we can help your business reach millions of readers through targeted and impactful stories. Connect with our PR team today!

Paid Search

Google appears to be testing ‘People Also Consider’ and ‘Related to your search’ banners on branded ads

Both of these banners are displayed in grey and are not clickable, positioned below the company name, logo, and URL. The purpose of these banners is currently unclear, especially since they appear on ads triggered by the advertiser's own branded terms.?

Speculation suggests that Google may compel brands to participate in their competitors' ad auctions, potentially allowing competitors to sidestep the typical challenges of running campaigns targeting rival brands. Google has not provided any official statement on this matter."

‘Ad Strength’ is not considered in Ad Rank according to Google

There have recently been speculations that Google will intentionally start restricting ads from entering auctions if their ad strength isn’t high enough.?

In a post on X, Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin confirmed that this will not be the case, as Ad Strength isn’t a factor in Ad Rank.

She wrote: “Ad Strength is a distinct diagnostic tool. And to reiterate, it’s not a factor in the auction. It simply helps indicate the diversity and relevancy of the assets available to maximise the number of ad combinations that may show for a query”.

Google, however, still insists that having high Ad Strength is very important, as it allows for a broader range of assets to be used across all available networks and placements. Whilst they assert that this is the main reason why it’s important, features that allow for granular control are continuously being sunset or hidden within the platform.

Are you concerned about your account's Ad Rank? Reach our team today to see how we can elevate your Google Ads performance!

Google Ads Interface Updates

Google is planning to revamp the current Google ads interface and is now actively prompting users to explore the new design.

This is to allow advertisers to gain familiarity with the interface before the complete switchover occurs.

New Trust Signals in Ads

Advertisers have been seeing 'business identity verified' tags showing up in the ad space most commonly allocated to description lines.

Recently, Google has been seen heavily experimenting with various badges and trust signals appearing within ads. According to Google, there will be no adverse consequences for not opting into this, however, one of the main concerns they're trying to address with this update is improving user trust and ad engagement.

This one is more subtle than some of the other badges they've been testing recently but is there to let users know that a site is to be trusted.

Google's launch of "Ad Intents" - A new format for Auto ads

Ad Intents is a format driven by user intent, seamlessly integrating links and anchors into your site's existing text and pages that align with your content.

When users engage with these links or anchors, a dialogue is triggered, presenting them with relevant organic search results and ads, potentially enhancing your revenue. This feature showcases highly pertinent ads that do not depend on third-party cookies.

Google adds new parameters to GMC product data

Last month, Google has added new parameters to product data with immediate effect. These are:

• Google requires advertisers to disclose content created with generative AI. [structured_title] and [structured_description] will need to be used in these instances.
• [loyalty_program] - currently only available in US and Japan - lets advertisers add loyalty point information to their prices.
• [auto_pricing_min_price] let’s advertisers set the minimum advertised price (MAP) of a product.
• [installment] attribute allows to specify payment instalments. This will only be considered as an offer when the product can be purchased in full. Additional sub-attributes allow to specify the type of credit available.
• [free_shipping_threshold] - allows to specify the minimum order value for free shipping.
• Guidance around using the [shipping] attribute has also been updated. This would need to exclude all government costs (import duties, recycling fees, etc.

Paid Social

TikTok to be banned in The US?

There has been some ongoing speculation on the potential ban of TikTok in the US with concerns surrounding privacy and national security. Recently the US has approved legislation that could restrict TikTok in the country, President Biden has also signed a new bill giving ByteDance - the parent company owning TikTok - 9 months to divest the app or else it will be banned.

TikTok however says it will challenge in court an "Unconstitutional" law that could result in it being sold or banned.

Read more about this on our blog!

Advertisers believe media spend is up and sales are down due to Meta's Algorithm

Many brands have been reporting a big drop in sales and ROAS on Meta, whilst CPCs and CPMs appear to have tripled in the last several months.?

Meta has acknowledged that there have been issues with their algorithm in the past, however, they were adamant that these issues have been resolved. Advertisers are not convinced.

Are you concerned about your ad spend and strategy across Meta? Reach out to our team today and see how we can help your business!

Data

Google delays Third-Party cookie deprecation deadline

Google has postponed third-party cookie deprecation to 2025. This has been pushed back (forward?) several times already however the latest delay is predominantly due to scrutiny from the UK’s competition and markets authority.

Brands now have extra time to prepare and explore alternatives to third-party cookies. However, this is just another delay and not a cancellation of the plan. Third-party cookies will eventually go away – just not this year.

A comment from Google stated, “We recognise that there are ongoing challenges related to reconciling divergent feedback from the industry, regulators and developers, and will continue to engage closely with the entire ecosystem”.

Concerned about how to navigate the challenges of delays in third-party cookie deprecation? Stay ahead of the curve and ensure your digital marketing strategies remain effective - Contact us today

Marketplaces

New 'Quantity Discounts' programme: savings for buyers, full price for sellers

Amazon has launched a new pilot program called the "Quantity Discounts" program. This program provides savings to customers who buy multiple units of an FBA product in one order. Amazon subsidises the discounts, and the program lasts for four weeks.?

Qualified sellers are automatically enrolled in the program, and Amazon selects the products that receive the discount. Sellers can opt out of the program at the account level by contacting Selling Partner Support.

'Brand-Tailored Promotions' launched on Amazon

Amazon has globally launched a new feature known as "Brand-Tailored Coupons", which aims to help sellers acquire new customers and build brand loyalty through personalised shopping experiences for customers worldwide.

This functionality enables sellers to offer customised discounts to targeted customer segments, including percentage or flat-rate discounts on chosen products.

Are you interested in exploring how online marketplaces can help grow your eCommerce business? Get in touch today and see what we can do for your business!

As we conclude this edition of our newsletter, we hope you've found valuable insights and inspiration for your digital marketing efforts. If you have any queries about any information you have learnt here today please don’t hesitate to get in touch with a member of the team. We welcome your feedback and questions. Don't hesitate to reach out to our team for any assistance or to share your success stories with us. Contact: [email protected]

About AYKO

AYKO is an Adobe Gold Partner & certified Adobe Commerce Specialist. Forged from the merger of two other Magento-certified agencies and one digital marketing agency in 2019, AYKO was formed to create one of the largest full-service digital, Magento eCommerce, and Shopify Plus agencies in the UK. Currently, with a team of 56 industry specialists, they specialise in design and development alongside performance marketing to accelerate your website and customer experiences.