A monthly update on overall marketing trends, PPC search and social, SEO, and development trends.

September is here, and we have another Digital Marketing Industry Insights for you all! We ship these newsletters to our team and clients on the first of every month.

With the digital marketing landscape moving so quickly, we truly believe that keeping everyone one step ahead is crucial, and we’re committed to getting new and helpful information circulating within our circle. And so, without further ado!

Overall Marketing Trends

• US Consumer Confidence Ticked Up in August
  • In August, consumer confidence increased slightly While consumers were more positive about current and future business conditions, concerns about the labor market persisted, reflecting a cautious outlook on job availability and future income prospects.
• State of the Economy – August 2024
  • Job creation in July fell short of expectations, with unemployment rising from 4.1% to 4.3%. 
  • Inflation continued to cool, as the annual headline rate decreased from 3.0% to 2.9%.
  • GDP growth accelerated to 2.8% in Q2, largely due to robust consumer spending.
• The Most Downloaded Apps in the World
  • In July, Instagram remained the most downloaded app globally with 61 million downloads, followed by TikTok with 51 million, though both saw stable or slightly reduced figures compared to June. Temu experienced a significant 30% increase in downloads, driven by its expansion in Brazil, making it the app’s best month yet with 38 million downloads. Overall, the top 10 apps saw a slight decline in total downloads, reflecting a broader trend of slowing app download growth.

Paid Search

• YouTube Now Allows Creator Channel & Video Remarketing
  • Youtube is now making it possible for you to run ads remarketing to people who have watched certain videos or creators. This doesn’t mean you’re able to show specifically on those videos or creators, rather, you’re able to remarket people who have watched those videos or creators.
  • While this is new, this tactic is an advancement (and maybe a step back in terms of control) to a strategy we used to employ where we could place ads specifically on certain videos or channels for conversion-focused video campaigns. Now we’re able to at least go back to that tactic!
• Google Ads Accidentally Shared Shopping Product Data
  • The biggest misstep Google has made in a while (besides AI Overviews) has happened. Recently, for a period of around 24 hours, Google shared product data in reports between competitors, allowing them to see how some businesses’ products performed compared to theirs. That said, it was a time period that correlated with more people being at home, so we don’t think this has a major impact.
  • For those that were affected, we’ve reached out to our reps to find out if anyone downloaded product data – but Google will not share that. If you were affected, they will be crediting your account for that.
• Federal Judge Ruled That Google Violated Antitrust Laws
  • In a first of many potentially seismic rulings coming down the pipeline, a federal judge ruled that Google has violated antitrust laws, specifically in regards to Google’s exclusivity deals with Apple and Android.
  • We expect no immediate impact in this case as there will be appeals and a legal battle is likely, but if the same sentiment continues, we can expect within a couple of years for all major tech giants to undergo massive changes to their structure and a much more crowded ad tech market.
• Google Ads Charging Canadian Advertisers a 2.5% Surcharge
  • Starting October 1st, Canadian advertisers can expect to see a 2.5% surcharge added onto every statement or invoice. This is to cover regulatory costs of operating in Canada and in the future, could affect other countries as Google faces these costs.
  • In essence, Google is trying to pass on the costs of this tax to the advertisers instead of covering it themselves. We can expect this to continue for other countries, provinces, states that pass these taxes onto Google.

Amazon

• Amazon Announces Updated Reimbursement Policy
  • Starting October 23rd, eligibility windows for manual reimbursement claims will be updated, along with the FBA inventory reimbursement policy.
  • Starting November 1st, automated reimbursements will take effect. Amazon will issue the reimbursement as soon as an item is reported as lost by the fulfillment center.
• New Buy with Prime Homepage Section
  • Amazon is now giving Buy with Prime (BWP) brands their own section on their site. This is a potentially huge win for brands looking to boost their direct-to-consumer efforts.
• Amazon Announces Holiday Inventory Deadline
  • Amazon has moved up their Black Friday/Cyber Monday inventory deadline. They announced that holiday inventory should be in fulfillment centers between August and September. To be Prime-badge ready, Black Friday inventory should be received by October 19, 2024.
  • November capacity limits will also be available starting August 2023.
• Shop & Purchase Amazon Products Directly Within The TikTok App
  • TikTok has introduced a new feature allowing users to seamlessly discover and purchase Amazon products directly within the TikTok app. This shopping experience is powered by Amazon through shoppable ads on TikTok’s “For You” feed, enabling users to complete purchases without leaving the app.
• Amazon Cancels Overage Fees For Holiday Sales
  • Holiday peak fulfillment fees will apply from October 15, 2024 to January 14, 2025. But the most important—and probably the best—thing to know is that there’ll be no overage fee this holiday season! 
  • Peak season is tricky as some inventory will sell out quicker than others. Removing the overage fee will help sellers keep their bestsellers in stock in time for the holiday rush.
• Amazon’s Increased Fulfillment Fees During Holiday Peak
  • Amazon will implement a holiday peak fulfillment fee increase for FBA starting October 15, 2024, running through January 14, 2025. While the fee structure remains consistent with last year, a new charge will apply to products priced under $10. 
  • This fee hike, aligned with Amazon’s approach to managing increased operational costs during the busy holiday season, could impact profit margins for sellers. 
• Amazon’s AI Overhaul Starting August 15th
  • Amazon is introducing AI-generated product listing updates, aiming to standardize and improve product bullet points across its platform starting August 15, 2024. 
  • While this move aligns with Amazon’s broader push into artificial intelligence, many sellers are concerned about the accuracy and impact of these changes. 
• Amazon Updates Image Selection For PDP’s
  • Amazon is expanding its policy of displaying images from multiple sellers on product detail pages to include softlines and consumables, aiming to provide more comprehensive product information. 
  • Each PDP must include at least three images:
    • Product on a white background
    • Product in an environment 
    • Product information (e.g. dimensions or nutritional facts)
• New Bullet Point Guidelines Effective August 15, 2024
  • Starting August 15, 2024, Amazon will implement updated product bullet point requirements to enhance the clarity and effectiveness of product detail pages. The key updates include:
    • Restrictions on special characters, emojis, and certain phrases (e.g., refund guarantees).
    • Guidance on crafting clear and concise bullet points to improve product comparison.
  • These changes aim to help customers quickly assess product features and benefits, leading to more informed purchasing decisions. Additionally, Amazon will leverage AI to remove non-compliant content and generate high-quality bullet points, which will be shared for review before publication.
• New Update to On-Time Delivery Policy (OTDR)
  • Effective September 25, 2024, FBM sellers must maintain a minimum 90% OTDR without promise extensions to list seller-fulfilled products.

Paid Social

• TikTok Releases Their Latest Shopping Trend Report
  • Here TikTok breaks down shopping trend singles into three categories: Emotions, Communities, and Relationships.
    • Consumers were more likely to feel a connection with brands on TikTok. 
    • Communities focused on value and quality, using TikTok as a companion for higher-end purchase decisions. 
    • Consumers are open and honest with reviews on TikTok and many brands are taking this feedback to heart and quickly adapting. 
• TikTok Provides Holiday Marketing Guide
  • It highlights key dates, creative best practices, and tips for engaging the TikTok community during the holiday season. The playbook emphasizes the importance of vertical video, authentic content, and leveraging TikTok trends to create impactful, holiday-themed campaigns that resonate with the platform’s diverse audience.
• Threads Released Capabilities For Analytics and Post Scheduling 
  • The update to Threads will improve Organic efforts on Threads and show Meta still see’s a future to invest in the platform. Analytics and Post Scheduling are only available on Desktop for now, but will come to mobile soon. Ads on threads have yet to be released on Threads but the latest update is a step in that direction. 
• Meta Sees Clicks & Leads Increasing While Costs Decline 
  • A review of 2024 data found that as a whole Meta was driving more leads and clicks at a lower price year-over-year. This is credited primarily to changes with Advantage+ Audiences. This audience type offers lower CPMs with higher CTR making it a cheaper option than standard targeting. 
• Meta Offers Up Big Changes For Campaign Optimization
  • Meta will soon begin offering new options for bidding based on profit or predicted LTV. 
  • Later this year Meta will roll out the ability report on incremental conversions, or conversions their models believe wouldn’t have happened without the ad impression. 
  • The ability to connect with 3rd party tracking tools is finally coming to fruition. Starting with Google Analytics and Northbeam. This could be huge! 
  • Utilizing analytics tools will result in increasing CPMs but should ultimately net higher conversion rates.

SEO

• August 2024 Core Algorithm Update is Live
  • The Google August 2024 core update has begun, with initial signs showing some positive changes in visibility for sites impacted by previous updates, though no full recoveries have been reported yet. The update is ongoing, with a ranking bug complicating early observations, making it difficult to predict long-term effects.
• Google Testing Removal of Breadcrumbs from Desktop Snippets
  • We can’t imagine that this is something that’ll stay considering the breadcrumbs provide helpful context to a page before clicking, but Google has made stranger decisions in the past.
• Reddit is Now the Third Most Visible Site in US Search Results
  • This is next to Wikipedia and Amazon.This surge is attributed to Google’s emphasis on authenticity and user intent in search results, though concerns have been raised about the potential for misinformation on Reddit and the influence of Google’s partnership with the platform.
• Recommendations in Google Search Console
  • Google Search Console has introduced a new feature offering tailored site recommendations to help improve visibility on Google Search. These suggestions will gradually roll out and can be found in the ‘Summary’ section of GSC once available.

Development & Conversion Tracking

• Salesforce & Box AI Partnership
  • Box and Slack have expanded their partnership by launching Box AI in Slack, allowing users to access AI-powered file management and collaboration directly within Slack, enhancing productivity and data security​.
• HubSpot’s AI Discovery Tool
  • HubSpot has introduced the first free tool for AI discovery called LMO, designed to help marketers and businesses easily discover AI solutions tailored to their specific needs​.
• Google’s Merchant Center Update
  • Google has expanded conversion tracking capabilities for its Merchant Center, enabling more detailed tracking of customer actions and enhancing the ability to measure the effectiveness of ad campaigns.

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That wraps up our Digital Marketing Industry Insights for this month! Keep an eye out for these updates every month, and if you have any questions, email us at info@digitalposition.com.