Learn about the latest changes, updates, and industry trends in eCommerce marketing
Welcome to our October Digital Marketing News Round-Up! Each month, the Omnitail team discusses some of the top eCommerce and digital marketing news. We highlight upcoming changes, industry trends, and more.
This October (the start of the last quarter of the year—spooky!), we dive into current industry news that caught our attention, like X (formerly Twitter) partnering with Google Display Network, plans to roll out Merchant Center Next globally, changes to HowTo and FAQ rich results in Google, and more. Here’s our breakdown:
GOOGLE NEWS
X (Twitter) partners with Google Ad Manager
After ad revenue plummeted over 59% since Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, X decided to make some moves by partnering with Google Display Network (GDN) to make their ad inventory accessible to Google to hopefully make up for some of that lost profit.
If this deal with Google goes through, the change will allow businesses to reach X’s vast audience of over 200 million daily users and potentially connect dots of the buyer’s journey unlike anything we’ve seen before. But it’s important to note that X doesn’t have the same advertising guidelines and practices in place around ad placement, meaning that campaigns could appear alongside offensive or unrestrictive content.
Why is this important? Connecting X and GDN may, in fact, create a new “super marketing database,” which will be interesting to watch unfold in the months and years to come. This partnership may also breathe new life into X, and impact marketing and advertising strategies that have already written off this platform. Read more about the partnership here.
Merchant Center Next to roll out globally in 2024
Google’s Merchant Center Next is set to roll out on a global scale in 2024. While some users have already been upgraded, any accounts still in classic Merchant Center will start to see their accounts migrated to Merchant Center Next in the coming months.
Why is this important? Merchant Center Next provides retailers the ability to control how their products appear on Google, without having to manually upload product feeds. Advertisers also get insight into top-selling products and brands, and recommendations on how to improve performance. Learn more about Merchant Center Next here.
Google quietly increases ad prices to meet targets
Google is on trial for allegedly using dishonest tactics to ensure it stays on top as the leading search engine worldwide. During the trial, Google admitted to increasing ad prices to meet their targets.
Google often changes its search ad auctions, which can increase the cost of ads by as much as 5-10% for some advertisers. Historically, Google has tended to not tell advertisers about pricing changes.
What does this mean? This is the first time in recorded Google history they have admitted to increasing ad prices, and the case may have significant implications for the paid search industry. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more. Discover more about the case and what marketers are saying here.
Google launches new report that flags checkout issues on eCommerce sites
The new Checkout Journey report in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) helps pinpoint any issues in the checkout process on eCommerce sites. The report shows the count and percentage of users that complete each step in the process.
If you don’t currently see this report, make sure your GA4 property has the following prerequisite eCommerce events: begin_checkout, add_shipping_info, add_payment_info, purchase.
Why is this important? This new report is a valuable way to see where bottlenecks are occuring in your checkout process; this is also a great tool to use in conjunction with a conversion rate optimization program. Learn more about the report here.
Google Demand Gen campaigns Beta opens, will soon replace Discovery ads
Announced back in May, Google Discovery ads are indeed coming to a close for all advertisers this month. Discovery ads are getting replaced by the new Demand Gen campaigns, which combine image and video ads to help drive conversions, website visits, and actions like signups and add-to-cart across YouTube, Discover, and Gmail.
The good news is that all the historical data from your Discovery campaigns will carry over when you switch over to Demand Gen. Additionally, you’ll be able to explore new features like Lookalike segments, Maximize Clicks bidding, ad previews, and more. While still in beta, all Discovery ads campaigns should be migrated to Demand Gen campaigns by early 2024.
Why is this important? If you’re currently running any Discovery ads, start learning about Demand Gen campaigns and what you need to do to begin the migration process. Learn more about Google Demand Gen campaigns here.
Changes to HowTo and FAQ rich results
Google announced changes to how FAQ rich results are displayed on mobile devices, and removed HowTo rich search results from both desktop and mobile. The changes were released as a way to create a “more consistent and cleaner search experience.” Well-known authoritative government and healthcare websites are the only verticals exempt from this change.
What does this mean? While this update won’t impact your organic search rankings, you may experience a decrease in traffic if your brand previously received hits from FAQ and HowTo rich results. It’s important that you experiment with new structured data types to make up for the potential decrease in traffic. Learn more about the change here.
