Marketing Letter - 👀 Google’s E-Commerce Transformation

GM dorks,

Welcome back to the newsletter that’s got some bad news and some good news:

Bleak, but here’s the good news: a fraction of those hours are spent reading this newsletter.

Here’s what’s good this week:

→ Google’s E-Commerce Transformation 👀
→ Boosting Meta Conversions 20%+ w/ GA4 📈
→ Goldman Sachs Calls BS on Generative AI🤖
→ 5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Bounce Rate ✅
→ more, obviously 💬

But first…

​This Week's Video 🗣️🎙️​

In the Building in Public Day 240 video, I got to share my experience with Ser clicks and Sur Empire, two popular CTR software options. I also discussed the impact of CTR campaigns on search engine rankings and whether or not they should be run indefinitely. So, if you're interested in improving your SEO and driving more traffic to your website, Tune in.

​YouTube​​

What’s Going Down @ Google 📊

→ With all the frenzy around AI Overviews and various updates, it’d be understandable if you kinda missed the Google Search engine becoming a marketplace for shopping queries. But, according to this analysis:

- “product listings appear more often in position 1 in June compared to February 2024”
- “SERP features like Discussions & Forums gained visibility and opened a new playground for marketers”
- Google also added product filters to search result pages and implemented direct checkout.

For more data-driven analysis on this theme, click through.

→ ICYMI: if you use Google Ads, you should know that broad match is now the default setting for new Search campaigns. Previously, broad match was turned off by default. On one hand, this is the kind of AI-driven campaign management shift that makes things easier for rookies. But it can also end up adding unwanted expenses to experienced marketers who just don’t happen to notice the change. Get your negative keywords in line and don’t be a victim of broad targeted amateur hour.

→ Here’s a good summary of how Google tried to explain the logic behind Redditors outranking experts. Spoiler alert: not inspiring.

Social Media Round-up 📲

→ Meta really wants marketers to link their GA4 data. What’s in it for you? Apparently:

- a 22% conversion boost
​- a better understanding of how Meta ads influence website traffic and user behavior
- cross-platform user journeys
- more accuracy re: conversion attribution.

Click through for details on a streamlined integration process, and more.

→ The five main KPIs in Social Media, according to Media Update: Engagement, Loyalty, Growth, Conversions, and Reach. Click through for an infographic with the best metrics for measuring each.

→ TikTok’s new “£1 Million Club” initiative wants to get UK retailers to £1 million ($US1.28m) in revenue by providing the following benefits:

“- Up to 90 days 0% Commission Free Sales
- Free Fulfillment By TikTok Shop
- Seller Experience & Support
- Seller Training
- Marketing”

For more on what any of these mean and how they might look, you know the drill.

Just another example of TikTok re-doubling its e-commerce efforts.

→ Because of fears around the potential ban, ad spend is actually slowing down on TikTok, dipping in April and May from the 19% year-over-year growth seen in March. On the other hand, CTR increased 27% in April compared to March.

→ LinkedIn heads are already all over this, but ICYMI: LinkedIn is rolling out Sponsored Newsletters, designed to bring content closer to your target audience and improve the time to market your content. Some other new elements are also being added to the platform’s newsletter experience. Worth noting, esp. since “a 47% increase in engagement with newsletters in the app over the past year.”

→ A YouTube Shorts “Add Yours” button is being tested— the aim is to give creators a new tool for starting trends via direct viewer responses.

This Week’s SEO Tips

→ Improving Your Bounce Rate: This piece looking at reasons why your website can have a high bounce rate includes some actionable suggestions re: how to improve that rate. Here are a few:

1. Never stop fixing your Site Speed
2. Focus specifically on Time Spent on Page and Average Session Duration metrics
3. Rework / improve accuracy of title tags and meta descriptions
4. Minimize non-essential elements (pop-up ads, in-line promotions, etc.)
5. Consider having “a web or UX designer review the site and let you know if anything pops out to them as problematic

→ Ahrefs Content Changes Feature: if you still use Ahrefs, it’s worth getting familiar with "Content Changes," a new feature that automatically detects page changes and allows you to evaluate how each shift has impacted organic traffic.

AI Insight 🤖

→ A list of new OpenAI trademarks just dropped and it includes GPT-7, GPT-V, OpenAI Feather, OpeNAI Codex, and various logos.

→ After a flurry of antitrust criticism, Microsoft and Apple have bowed out from having seats on the OpenAI board.

→ If you feel like reading a smart person dunk on AI, here’s a really interesting analysis that unpacks and considers the implications of a 30+ Goldman Sachs report titled “Gen AI: Too Much Spend, Too Little Benefit?” that, according to this commentator, contains “includes some of the most damning literature on generative AI I've ever seen.” The TLDR is “Goldman Sachs has called BS on Generative AI.”

Jacky Chou​
Founder of Indexsy
hello@indexsy.com
Let's Connect on Twitter👇

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