Learn about the latest changes, updates, and industry trends in e-commerce
Welcome to our first Digital Marketing Round-Up of 2023! Each month, the Omnitail team discusses some of the top e-commerce and digital marketing news. We highlight upcoming changes, industry trends, and more.
This month, we dive into current industry news and trends that caught our attention, including things like the latest with Google Performance Max, some recent changes in online buyer behavior, and the business value of website experimentation. Here’s a breakdown below:
GOOGLE NEWS —
Buy on Google Program to shut down September 26
Buy on Google, Google’s checkout experience, is shutting down on September 26. This change isn’t an extreme cause for concern because the proposed replacement creates a more streamlined checkout process that sends shoppers directly from Google to the advertiser’s site when they’re ready to purchase.
Why is this important? Any enhancement to the buying process that removes friction is an improvement that can make e-commerce brands money. A new checkout experience eliminates the multi-step buying journey and makes it easier for shoppers to complete a purchase. Learn more about Google’s new checkout pilot here.
Google Performance Max adds Store Sales reporting and bidding
Boosting offline sales may have just gotten a little easier with Google’s latest upgraded Store Sales reporting and bidding capabilities. With the new changes, retailers can measure their brand’s total online AND offline sales to optimize bids for in-store revenue.
What does this mean? Retailers can upload their in-store transaction data to Store Sales. Doing this gives advertisers insight into how their ads translate to offline sales. Learn more about the upgraded capabilities here.
Google Ads announced the winner of the new Ads design
Google Ads is getting an upgrade, and pages are being reorganized in your account. The main change involves placing the primary menu on the left side of the screen, with pages organized into five different categories.
Will this change impact accounts moving forward? Yes and no. While the new interface is being rolled out to all Ads accounts by the end of the year (if you haven’t seen yours change already), you can still switch to the old interface during the holiday season so you feel confident in working within Ads like you have been. This UI update is designed to make it easier for both new and experienced advertisers. Learn more about the change here.
MICROSOFT NEWS —
The Microsoft Audience Network rolls out predictive targeting to all advertisers
The predictive targeting option is now available for all campaigns in the Microsoft Audience Network.
Why is this an improvement? Predictive targeting opens up the possibility to target audiences that have previously been untapped.
This feature uses Microsoft bots to examine ads and landing pages so the right message can be delivered to relevant audiences at the right time. While you’ll have to go in and set up predictive targeting for your campaigns, there are a few different ways to do so. Learn more about this option and how to set it up here.
BUYER BEHAVIOR SHIFTS —
The 4 biggest consumer behavior shifts of 2023
Buyer behavior is shifting once again, and there are four significant changes that e-commerce brands should be paying attention to. Boomers and Gen Xers are starting to purchase more often through social media, an increased number of people are buying from small businesses, and shoppers are drawn to purchase an item or items when a business supports a cause they care about.
The main takeaway? Shoppers are adapting and staying true to the times, and as a retailer, you should, too. Learn more about these four behavior shifts and how to use them to your advantage by checking out the HubSpot article for yourself.
WEBSITE OPTIMIZATION —
What is the business value of experimentation?
Do website experiments ALWAYS drive value? According to growth marketing expert Ryan Lucht they do. There’s a huge disadvantage when professionals only look for the “wins” from their website testing. If you’re only looking at wins and not at what the data is actually telling you, you may be putting yourself into a box where you’re unwilling to take risks that may result in great success for your brand.
Why is it essential to consider what all your tests are telling you? Only taking into consideration the win rate can be unsustainable for many e-commerce businesses. Regardless of the outcome, whether “bad,” “good,” or “neutral,” a website test drives value and can give your business a strategic advantage. How? Learn more about Ryan Lucht’s take in this article.
Stay tuned next month for more updates and digital marketing industry news. In the meantime, do you want more information on how Omnitail can help continuously grow your e-commerce business through our unique profit-driven growth marketing strategies? Contact our team today for a free account audit.
