Digital Digest: August News Roundup
In our upcoming digital marketing newsletter, we'll explore the newest trends and developments in SEO, Digital PR, Paid Media, Online Marketplaces, and E-commerce. Stay tuned for our monthly newsletter to stay informed about the latest updates in digital marketing, where we'll highlight the importance of digital marketing and its 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
Google August 2024 Core Update
Google has launched the much - anticipated August 2024 core update on the 15th August.
There are some important notes which can impact your Google Organic search traffic:
However, we are only a few weeks into a month long roll out and it is hard to gauge whether sites will continue to improve and what is causing this movement.
Google Testing Verifications Icons on the SERP
Following the successful testing of blue verification icons and labels for ads in the search engine results pages (SERP), Google has now begun experimenting with the implementation of verification icons in organic listings. The blue tick icon utilises 'Google signals' to authenticate the page.
At this stage, the blue tick is exclusively displayed for eCommerce stores and is not a paid feature. Additionally, Google has introduced larger favicons, which may be related to this new verification initiative.
Google Ranking Bug?
Google has confirmed that the ranking bug has now been fixed after it had been affecting page rankings for 4 days.
The issue was confirmed on 15th August and resolved on the 20th August.
The crossover between this issue and the core update may cause delays in recovery. The core update rollout will take about a month to be finished, so rankings may change over the course of the coming weeks.
99.5% of AI Overviews Contain a Top 10 Search Result?
This is a significant shift for AI Overviews (AIO)? as Google often showed sources outside the top 10 organic results resulting in Google showing some less-than-authoritative and trustworthy sources and content in AI Overviews.
Thus, switching to more traditional ranking factors allows more reputable sources to appear in the AIO.?
A deeper dive into the data shows that:
BOTTOM LINE: One of the best ways to get mentioned in an AIO now is to rank highly in Google.
Increase in users searching for ‘Google Alternatives’
Google and Bing hold approximately 95% of the global search market share.?
There has been a 7% increase in users searching for “Google alternatives” - mostly driven by a large spike in May 2024.
Although it’s not a massive increase the spike does correlate with the Google I/O conference and the widespread negative media coverage over misleading and dangerous AI overviews.?
It is uncertain how much the spike was caused by SEO articles about Google alternatives that us AI.
Oasis Original Drummer Search
With Oasis announcing that they’re returning in 2025, it has been a mad rush for people getting tickets.
An online ballot opened but to enter the ballot, you had to answer a question, “who was the original drummer”.
This has now seen over a million searches in the space of 24 hours.
High Search Volume vs Low Search Volume
Optimising pages for organic keywords has traditionally centred around targeting high-volume keywords, such as "black dress" (41,000 searches). However, due to increased competition, it is now more strategic to focus on the "low-hanging fruit"—keywords with lower search volumes.
For instance, "short black dress" (2,000 searches) presents a viable option, but an even better choice would be "short black lace dress" (150 searches).?
The rationale behind this approach is that users searching for these specific terms are often further along in their buying journey and have a clearer idea of what they want, making them more likely to convert when they find the right product.
Google Has Launched Search Console Recommendations
Google has introduced search console recommendations. The new feature offers websites optimisation opportunities and recommends actions to enhance their visibility on Google Search.
These recommendations are derived from various data sources related to Google Search systems, including indexing, crawling, and serving. While this data was previously accessible through Search Console, they are now making it easier to use by providing direct recommendations.
Does your business need a foolproof SEO content strategy? Get in touch with our experts today!
Digital PR
Building Diverse and Healthy Backlinks
Google’s algorithm prioritises backlinks when ranking websites. If you want your website to be visible in search results, you must account for backlinks and your backlink profile.
A healthy backlink profile should include:??
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 Ads Suffered A Major Reporting Glitch
Early in the month Google experienced a major reporting glitch that affected multiple features such as product performance data and reporting tools, Ads API (affecting scripts), and Google Ads Editor.?
Even worse, the glitch has resulted in data breaches, with multiple advertisers seeing data that did not belong to them, such as product IDs, titles and Merchant Center information. This raised serious privacy concerns as business data could have been exposed to competitors.
Google has issued an apology later in the month, however many advertisers have found it to be too opaque and insincere, as it did not provide enough detail into what occurred and how or proper acknowledgement of the impact the glitch has had on performance.
Google Ads Accidentally Displays ‘Internal Tools’ Feature
Earlier this week, many advertisers noticed a new tab appearing on their dashboard. This tab seemingly revealed a hidden, tool called ‘Audience Builder’, which sadly wasn’t accessible when clicked on.?
It’s most likely that the tool is actually the same as the audience editor within the PMax campaigns, however the is no way to 100% verify this (yet).
The is a help document that describes ‘Audience Builder’ as a tool that “allows you to easily and effectively create reusable audiences with focused segments, demographic targeting, and exclusions”.
Google Ads New AI-powered Tools to GMC, Profit Goals in GAds (Beta)
Google has announced adding in new insights into Merchant Center Next ahead of the ‘holiday season’.
Users globally will be shown shopping search trends, organised by topic/product.
Another new feature is the AI-generated insights into product performance with AI-generated reports relating to those, as well as the ability to generate reports using AI prompts. The latter appears to only be tested in US at this time, however.
Optimising towards Profit Goals is also currently in Beta. This requires passing cart data through the conversion tag and configuring the [cost_of_goods_sold] attribute within GMC.
Google Is Testing “For Your Consideration” Ad Formats
Google is again testing new Search Ad formats. This time "For your consideration" Search Ads.?
It looks like Google Ads is experimenting this new Search Ad type that displays ads on carousel format.?
Every Search Ad leads to a different Brand Homepage by using Business Name and Business Logo Assets to generate this ad.
Netflix Inventory Available Through Google Marketing Platform
It’s now possible to buy Netflix inventory through Google’ demand side platform (DSP) Display and Video 360 (DV360). You can now gain direct access to Netflix inventory through private marketplaces. You’ll soon also be able to leverage Netflix ads through programmatic guaranteed.
This will initially only be available in the US, Canada, Brazil and Mexico. You will be able to overlay with third party brand safety, and keyword targeting.
Microsoft Launches Impression Based Remarketing Lists
Microsoft ads has launched impression based remarketing lists. You can target potential customers who have previously viewed your ads with impression-based remarketing.
Impression-based remarketing is an audience list made up of people who have seen your ads on the Microsoft Advertising Network.?
You can choose any eligible campaign or ad group in your account and Microsoft will use it to automatically generate your audience list.?
You can simply create them inside Tools->Audiences and select Type "Impression-based"
Are you worried about the effectiveness of your PPC campaigns? Get in touch with our PPC experts today and see how we can help!
Paid Social
Meta ads reporting shows a new "Threads Feed" placement option
As per the latest reports, Meta is preparing to introduce feed ads on the platform. The discovery was made by several marketing experts who have witnessed the new ‘Threads feed’ option on the placement section of Ads Manager.
In the initial stages, they just plan to place ads in the feeds alone. The advertised posts may have a ‘Sponsored’ mark just below the username. Soon Threads ads may get expanded to other sections like Explore, Stories, etc.
Advertisers can place ads in Threads through Meta Ad Manager itself. The platform may use user data to target users based on demographic interests. Due to the text-based nature of the platform, brands are more likely to experiment with longer-form conversational ads.
New Threads Features for Creators and Businesses
Threads have announced new web features including insights, multiple drafts and scheduling functions to make it easier to plan content and connect with new and existing audiences.?
Audiences - insights to help you track your followers and post performance with metrics like views, replies, reposts, and quotes. You can also monitor follower growth and demographics, including age, gender, and location.
Drafts -? you now have the ability to write and save multiple drafts of your Threads posts before sharing them with your followers. Currently, you can save up to 100 of your best ideas for as long as you want.
Scheduling - Thread’s new scheduling feature will allow you to create Threads posts and schedule them to publish at a later date and time. You can schedule multiple posts a day, multiple days in advance.
Want to make the most out of your Paid Social activity? Speak with our team today!
Marketplaces
TikTok partners with Amazon for in-app shopping
TikTok is now integrating Amazon shopping directly into its platform, allowing users to make purchases without leaving the app. This replicates the move from Amazon to integrate with Instagram back in November 2023.
How it works:
Prime Big Deals Day Returns in October
Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days will return this October, offering exclusive early holiday deals for Prime members across 19 countries. Prime membership includes fast delivery, significant savings on a wide selection of products, and additional benefits such as streaming services, grocery delivery, and prescription savings.
This event highlights the value of Prime membership, providing members with a range of benefits to enhance their shopping experience.
2023 Dates: 10th & 11th October.
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!
Data
Google Ads to Disable Remarketing/Conversion Tracking Where Consent Mode Isn’t Setup
Google has begun notifying advertisers who have not yet implemented consent mode that they may soon suspend remarketing lists and disable conversion tracking.
These actions will significantly impact several key areas, including the ability to reach potential customers, the measurement of campaign effectiveness, the optimisation of performance, and the understanding of return on investment.
National News Publications Charging Users To Reject Consent
Several major news publications including the sun and the express are now changing users who chose not to accept cookies and give their consent to marketing.?
This is a major shift in how news publications handle consent.
If you have questions about disabling remarketing or conversion tracking in Google Ads due to the lack of consent mode setup, our team is here to help! Reach out to us for expert guidance and support tailored to your needs.
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.