Seasons greetings, 

Happy last full work week of 2024, my Marketing Mavens!  The holiday countdown is on, but before you dive into cozy vibes and festive chaos, we’re serving up a TWiD that’s juicier than a year-end bonus.  This week is all about looking back to leap forward  to keep you ahead of the pack in 2025. Consider these insights your holiday gift from us to you - wrapped in a bow of Maddie sass and strategic brilliance.  Let’s close out 2024 by setting you up to slay 2025!

TikTok’s Supreme Court Hail Mary: Will 2025 Be a Ban or a Brand Bonanza?

TikTok’s fate is officially in the Supreme Court’s hands, and the clock is ticking louder than a trending dance challenge.  With the Jan. 19 deadline looming like a bad breakup text, TikTok is fighting to keep its 170 million American users scrolling and posting.  If the Court doesn’t block the ban, brands and influencers are looking at a serious vibe shift just as 2025 kicks off.  For marketers, this isn’t just about losing a platform - it’s about losing a cultural megaphone that makes campaigns pop and conversions drop (in a good way).  Planning for 2025? Be ready to pivot.  If TikTok goes dark, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and even Threads could be your new battlegrounds.  But if the Court saves TikTok, you better have that 2025 TikTok strategy locked, loaded, and ready to slay.  Either way, this drama is serving major plot twist energy - stay nimble, because the digital marketing landscape is about to shake harder than a viral challenge gone wrong.

Google’s New AI Reporting Tool: Because Who Has Time for Pivot Tables in 2025?

Say goodbye to endless filters and soul-crushing spreadsheets, darlings - Google Ads is testing an AI-powered reporting tool that lets you talk to your data.  Just type in a plain-English prompt like “Show me ad performance by region,” and voila!  The insights roll in faster than your coffee-induced anxiety.  For marketers, this isn’t just a time-saver; it’s a lifesaver for those “need it yesterday” moments when your boss (or client) demands answers.  And if you’re looking for even more AI magic, Marin’s very own Advisor tool is already serving up intuitive, AI-driven insights and recommendations to make your life easier (and your campaigns smarter).  As we head into 2025, expect AI like this to become the norm, making data analysis less “ugh” and more “aha!”  If this beta blooms into a full release, brands that embrace it will optimize campaigns with lightning speed and leave their manual-reporting rivals eating dust. TL;DR: The future is natural language, so start practicing your “talk to the AI” game - your ROI will thank you.

Top 10 Google Ads Mistakes to Avoid in 2025: Don’t Let These Blunders Steal Your Clicks

Listen up, PPC perfectionists - 2025 is right around the corner, and if you want to slay in Google Ads, it’s time to sidestep these classic pitfalls. Inconsistent conversion tracking?  Yikes, that’s like plotting a road trip with a busted GPS.  Ignoring exact match?  That’s just leaving conversions on the table, darling.  And don’t get me started on blindly trusting AI (spoiler: it’s smart, but you’re smarter).  Whether it’s updating those dusty negative keyword lists, keeping your campaign settings consistent, or giving broad match the side-eye it sometimes deserves, these fixes are your ticket to campaign domination in 2025.  The TL;DR? Google Ads is a powerful tool, but only if you stay in the driver’s seat.  Remember, AI may have the data, but you have the wisdom. Let’s not fumble the bag next year, mmkay?

Behavioral Targeting? Yeah, Consumers Are Totally Onto You

Turns out, consumers aren’t living in blissful ignorance when it comes to behavioral targeting - they see you, they know, and they’ve got thoughts.  According to a new EMARKETER report, a juicy 80% of US consumers clocked ads tailored to their search history, while nearly half noticed ads pegged to their location.  And while offline targeting is still flying somewhat under the radar, let’s face it, darlings: the age of subtlety in digital ads is over.  So what’s this mean for 2025?  Brands, your targeting game better be spot-on and transparent.  Lean into authenticity, give users more control over their data, and make your personalization feel like a service, not surveillance.  If you’re gonna target, do it with finesse, or risk becoming the villain in your customer’s digital story.

Gen Z’s Shopping Vibe Check: 2025 Is All About Value, Vibes, and Vexations

Gen Z is shopping like it’s their part-time job, and marketers?  You’d better keep up.  From Temu’s meteoric rise (hello, 42 million downloads) to their dupe devotion and in-store dread, 2024 made one thing clear: value is queen, and convenience is the crown.  In 2025, expect a price war as brands fight to stay Temu-competitive, while loyalty programs need to actually deliver perks (BOGO or bust, baby).  And brick-and-mortar retailers?  Gen Z loves the IRL vibe until they hit a long line or a chaotic aisle - streamline or risk losing them.  The dupe craze isn’t fading, but if you’re offering authenticity, durability, or iconic status, you’re still in the game.  Bottom line: in 2025, if your brand isn’t affordable, seamless, and on-point with Gen Z’s vibe, you’re shopping for trouble.

Media Planning in 2025: Privacy, AI, and Agencies - Oh My!

As we prep for 2025, darlings, media planning isn’t just a task - it’s a full-on obstacle course.  With ad spend set to hit a robust $424.94 billion, the money’s there, but getting it right means navigating a minefield of privacy laws, AI shifts, and agency shake-ups.  Major agencies are losing ground as brands take things in-house, so if you’re not streamlining your tech stack or leveraging AI tools (think Google Performance Max or Meta Advantage+), you’re falling behind.  Privacy’s getting thornier with eight new state laws incoming - your first-party data game better be tighter than your holiday budget.  And let’s not sleep on retail media: unless you’re Amazon or Walmart, competition for spend is fierce, so choose those smaller networks wisely.  The bottom line?  2025 media planning is about smart tech, sharp data strategies, and keeping your finger on the AI pulse.  Fail to adapt, and you’ll be left fumbling while the savvy planners waltz off with the ROI crown.

Performance Marketing in 2025: The Cheat Codes You Need

As the curtain closes on 2024, Marin’s must-read breakdown of 2025’s performance marketing trends is here to get your strategy sparkling brighter than a New Year’s ball drop.  From AI transforming everything (yes, everything) to the rise of “shoppable everything” and the comeback of contextual targeting, this guide covers the ten trends that will shape your campaigns next year.  It’s not just crystal ball predictions, either - each trend comes with clear insights to keep your brand thriving amid privacy laws, evolving ad platforms, and cross-channel chaos.  TL;DR?  The marketers who embrace AI, master first-party data, and stay nimble are the ones who’ll dominate 2025.  Ready to future-proof your strategy?  Dive in, because this is the cheat sheet you don’t want to miss.

That’s a wrap, my digital darlings!  As 2024 winds down, remember: the bold win big, the nimble pivot fast, and those who read their TWiD always stay one step ahead.  Whether you’re strategizing, pivoting, or just surviving until OOO, may your holidays be merry and your 2025 plans be fierce.  Catch you in the new year, darlings - you know you love me.

We know that AI is everywhere, but it’s still worth taking a moment to think about what the year ahead has in store for us. We present our thoughts on the most meaningful forces driving changes for performance marketers in 2024. 

1. AI Transforms Supply

Artificial intelligence is redefining how we find and access information information, which means the surfaces for advertising will continue to evolve. AI-driven Search, like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Perplexity, and even Google Gemini, is better than a page full of links.

These AI systems are shifting user behavior, with more consumers preferring AI-powered search to deliver contextual answers. For advertisers, this means evolving ad formats integrated into conversational AI interfaces. OpenAI is “weighing” whether to offer ads. Imagine AI-guided shopping assistants recommending products based on real-time queries, with ads seamlessly embedded into these interactions. The challenge will be adapting inventory and placements to fit this new AI ecosystem.

2. AI Transforms Creative

Generative AI is revolutionizing ad creative, enabling brands to produce personalized, immersive content at scale. Instead of static messaging, brands can deploy dynamic campaigns that adapt to audience sentiment and trends in real time.

Even Coke has released an AI-generated commercial. The Ad Platforms are rushing to expand generative AI capabilities. As these tools mature, the "right message to the right audience" paradigm will feel outdated, replaced by hyper-responsive creative that shifts with cultural "vibes." This ability to quickly iterate creative will empower marketers to stay relevant and resonant.

3. AI Transforms Workflows

AI is moving beyond answering questions—it’s starting to do the work for us. We have long automated routine tasks like budget allocation and campaign creation, but this year, AI agents can get s#@t done for you with a simple prompt. This evolution is helping marketers focus on strategy and insights rather than execution.

Reactive Agents are great and will have a significant impact on daily tasks. Still, proactive AI continuously scouring your account for opportunities and inefficiency will lead to even better performance, driving efficiency and scalability like never before.

4. Shoppable Everything

The boundary between content and commerce is blurring. Social platforms, streaming services, and even podcasts are integrating shoppable ads to meet consumer demand for instant gratification. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube have already launched robust shopping integrations, but the trend is expanding.

In 2025, expect "shoppable everything" to gain traction, from QR codes on live streams to in-app shopping experiences on emerging platforms like BeReal. Have you bought something from your TV yet? Next year, you probably will. According to eMarketer, social commerce sales are projected to reach $1.2 trillion by 2025, with brands investing heavily in seamless, purchase-ready experiences.

5. Ads Everywhere

Subscription fatigue is real, and platforms are responding by increasing ad-supported models. From Netflix to Disney+, previously ad-free platforms are introducing tiered subscriptions with ads, creating new inventory for marketers.

Retail media networks are also booming, expected to command 25% of media spend by 2028, according to eMarketer. Anyone who has a captive audience is building a media network (see Western Union). This diversification offers brands more options to reach their targets, but it also requires careful strategy and tooling to manage campaigns across these expanding networks.

6. Evolving Privacy Laws

Consumer privacy continues to be a focal point, with eight new U.S. state privacy laws going into effect in 2025. These are similar to California's CCPA but add complexity for marketers, who must navigate an increasingly fragmented regulatory landscape.

Compliance will require robust systems to manage consent and protect consumer data. Additionally, marketers must focus on privacy-compliant targeting strategies, such as first-party data and contextual advertising, to stay competitive in a cookieless future.

7. The New Measurement Imperative

Accurate measurement is increasingly challenging as data collection becomes more challenging, especially if you rely on last-click attribution. Marketing mix modeling (MMM) and incrementality testing are emerging as key tools to evaluate campaign performance. Meta offers Robyn, Google has Meridian, and independent solutions address this measurement challenge.

But a better understanding of how your investment is performing and shifting dollars to the highest-performing opportunity can significantly improve your performance…what would you do with a 5x increase in conversions?

8. Google DOJ Ruling: Uncertainty, but No Immediate Action

The U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust case against Google creates uncertainty in the ad tech space. The DoJ has thoughts, however, with a new administration likely to take office in 2025, material changes to Google’s business model are unlikely in the short term.

However, given this continued uncertainty and the broad range of other platforms, marketers are wise to lessen their dependence on the Google marketing stack. Staying nimble and monitoring regulatory developments will be crucial to navigating potential disruptions.

9. The Shift to Contextual Targeting

As third-party data diminishes, contextual targeting is making a comeback. This strategy focuses on placing ads within relevant content rather than relying on individual user data, creating opportunities for brands to align with consumer interests in a privacy-friendly way.

The Burger King ‘Whopper Detour’ campaign is a prime example of successful geo-targeted contextual advertising. Innovatively leveraging location-based marketing, the campaign strategically targeted those within 600 feet of a McDonald’s location. By setting up a geo-fence around competing restaurants, Burger King could identify and connect with potential customers who were nearby. The ad was triggered by the customer’s proximity to McDonald’s and offered contextually relevant content, appealing to individuals who were likely already considering fast food purchases.

10. Cross-Channel Alignment

With more platforms and channels than ever, cross-channel alignment is essential. Consumers expect seamless experiences across devices and touchpoints, and marketers must deliver cohesive campaigns to stay competitive.

Managing and optimizing your programs in a unified platform is the cheat code for 2025. This type of integration streamlines workflows and ensures consistent messaging and performance measurement across all channels. In 2025 breaking down internal silos is a must-do.

Conclusion

Performance marketing in 2025 will be defined by the continuation of many of the themes we have been living through, but that doesn’t make them any less impactful. Staying ahead means embracing AI, preparing for regulatory changes, and adopting strategies prioritizing privacy and cross-channel integration. By aligning with these trends, marketers can position themselves for success in an increasingly complex and competitive landscape. Need help keeping up? 

We’re here for you.

Hello, my Digital Darlings! 

It’s Friday the 13th, and with just one full week left before we all hit Out of Office harder than a Black Friday sale, we’re serving up one last dose of digital drama to close out the year. Whether you’re plotting 2025 domination or just trying to survive the holiday rush, we’ve got the hot takes and trends you need. Because let’s be real - bad luck’s got nothing on a marketer who knows what’s coming.

Ad Spend Hits $1 Trillion: Go Digital or Get Left Behind

Alright, marketing mavens, the ad world is about to hit a $1 trillion high score in 2024, and - surprise, surprise - Google, Meta, and their tech titan buddies are scooping up more than half the pot. Digital is set to own 82% of total ad spend by 2025, which means if your strategy isn’t AI-fueled and data-driven, you’re basically bringing a flip phone to a TikTok dance-off. The US is raking in the most at $379 billion, but keep an eye on China (hello, 13.5% growth), because their ad market is having a glow-up. While print continues its slow fade-out (down 4.5% next year), AI and automation are the cool kids pushing innovation forward. The takeaway? Economic uncertainty may be lurking, but if you’re not leveraging AI, aligning with digital-first strategies, and staying flexible with consumer behavior shifts, you’re leaving cash - and clicks - on the table. Time to get futuristic or get forgotten, darlings!

Let’s dive into some fresh product updates from Microsoft and Google…

Microsoft’s Ad Revamp: Because Your Customer’s Couch is Now the Control Center

Microsoft’s got the holiday glow-up you didn’t know you needed. Household attribution is here, connecting ad dots across all the devices in a single home, so when Mom’s tablet ad triggers Dad’s laptop purchase, you’re in the know. Plus, they’ve sprinkled in compliance magic with new consent tools for EEA, UK, and Swiss regulations (think UET Consent Mode and TCF 2.0 support). Oh, and did I mention Google Tag Manager integration for extra-smooth privacy vibes? Store traffic measurement is on pause, but who cares when you’ve got household-level insights and no-fuss compliance? Grab the full tea right here and get ready to optimize like you own the living room.

Google Ads Gets Video-Ready: Are You Camera-Ready, Darling?

Looks like Google Ads is low-key laying the groundwork for 2025’s video takeover! A shiny new “Video” option in the Assets section is making waves, hinting at a future where search and video ads get cozy together. Forget clunky uploads to the Shared Library—this streamlined feature means brands can test video content faster and (hopefully) boost those stubborn CTRs. Sure, it’s just a pilot for now, but if Google’s playing with video on Search, your strategy better be ready to flex those creative muscles. Consider this your cue to dust off the storyboard, because in 2025, static ads might just be so last season.

Now for some juicy Social platform updates…

TikTok’s Sell-or-Ban Drama: Will the Clock Run Out or Is a Plot Twist Coming?

Grab your popcorn, because TikTok’s facing a serious cliffhanger - and the Department of Justice just told the appeals court to skip the intermission. The DOJ wants ByteDance to divest from Chinese ownership yesterday, citing national security threats, while TikTok’s playing the “Wait, let’s ask the Supreme Court!” card. And with a potential change in the White House on the horizon, the drama’s juicier than a reality TV finale.

For marketers, this is less of a nail-biter and more of a “Wait and see… and panic” situation. If the ban sticks (January 19 is D-Day), your TikTok playbook might need a serious rewrite. But let’s not call it game over yet. The possibility of a political plot twist or a Supreme Court Hail Mary means it’s still business as usual for now. Keep those campaigns running, but maybe start drafting your “Dear Instagram Reels” letters just in case. TikTok might survive this storm - or it might be the ultimate digital breakup. Either way, darlings, stay nimble, because this story’s not done writing itself.

Threads Plays Copycat (Again) - but TBH? We’re Here for It

Speaking of alternate social platforms, Threads is rolling out its own version of Bluesky’s Starter Packs - and it’s giving “copy-paste chic” in the best way. New users can now grab curated collections of follow-worthy accounts right out of the gate, making it easier to dive into topics like pop culture, recipes, and whatever else keeps you scrolling at 2 AM. With Bluesky surging and X (aka Elon’s Twi-mare) in chaos, Threads is fighting to stay relevant and reel in the digital wanderers. For brands, this is a hot moment: getting scooped up into these starter collections means instant audience growth and engagement. So, polish that content, jump on trending topics, and play nice with the algorithm. If Threads is dishing out exposure, you’d better be ready for your close-up!

And now for a Retail update…

Google’s Shopping Badges: Because Who Doesn’t Love a Little Extra Bling?

Ok, Cart Whisperers, Google’s dishing out a fresh guide on Shopping annotations and badges - and it’s like giving your product listings a glow-up. Think "Price Drop" flashes, "Free Shipping" bling, and "Top Quality Store" badges - all designed to make your ads pop in the crowded e-commerce aisle. But here’s the tea: Google decides when and where these annotations appear, based on relevance and user context (so no guarantees, darling). For brands, this means making sure your product data is tighter than your holiday gift wrap. If you want to drive clicks and conversions, lean into these annotations and let Google sprinkle a little extra magic on your listings. Competitive edge? Consider it snatched.

2024’s Digital Marketing Year in Review: Learn from the Trends That Shaped the Year

As the year winds down and we swap campaign dashboards for cozy holiday vibes, it’s the perfect moment to reflect on the trends that defined 2024. From AI’s meteoric rise to the evolution of social platforms and the surge of retail media, these shifts didn’t just make waves - they reshaped the marketing landscape. Revisiting the most impactful trends isn’t just nostalgia; it’s your secret weapon for mapping out 2025 strategies. Our Digital Marketing Year in Review breaks down the year’s biggest moments and what they mean for the road ahead. Because let’s face it - those who understand the past are the best prepared to dominate the future. 

As we wrap up this year’s digital chaos, remember: fortune favors the prepared (and the caffeinated). One more week to strategize, optimize, and maybe even finalize that 2025 plan. See you next week for our grand finale, loves - let’s close out the year with a bang! 

You know you love me,

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In 2024, marketing wasn’t just about selling - it was about creating experiences that left audiences saying, "Did they just read my mind?"  This year’s trends screamed, “Level up!”  AI handled the heavy lifting, social platforms redefined connection (goodbye old Twitter, hello Threads), and authenticity remained essential. Brands that thrived rode these trends to build deeper, more genuine connections.

Every great navigator knows the best maps are drawn from experience - so let’s dive into 2024’s top digital marketing trends!

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1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Integration

AI became central to marketing, enhancing personalization and efficiency.  Generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Jasper, and DALL-E drove content creation for everything from product descriptions to ad creatives.  Tools like Meta’s Advantage+, Google’s Performance Max, and TikTok’s Symphony automated ad creation based on user behavior. According to Deloitte’s 2024 State of Generative AI report, 34% of organizations identified productivity gains as the most important benefit, and 67% increased their AI investments.

Predictive analytics also took off, with AI tools like Salesforce Einstein and Adobe Sensei providing insights into audience behavior.  Brands using Marin’s dynamic budget allocation saw at least a 10% increase in ROI when AI managed their budgets.  Conversational AI tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT API and Drift enabled real-time customer service, with 82% of consumers preferring chatbots over waiting for human representatives.

AI-powered Martech platforms like HubSpot’s Operations Hub streamlined workflows by automating tasks like lead scoring and email scheduling.  62% of marketing activities are now performed using Martech tools, and spending is expected to grow to 30.9% of marketing budgets within five years.

However, AI also raised concerns.  The World Economic Forum reported that 23% of jobs will change by 2027 due to AI.  Ethical concerns around data privacy and algorithmic fairness prompted companies like IBM and Microsoft to adopt AI ethics guidelines.  AI’s future isn’t about replacing creativity - it’s about amplifying it with the right tools.

To Do: Integrate AI-powered tools for content creation, predictive analytics, and automation to boost efficiency and deliver personalized customer experiences.

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2. Evolution of Social Media and Community-Focused Platforms

Social media saw major shifts in 2024, with Threads and BlueSky emerging as alternatives to X (formerly Twitter).  Platforms like Discord and Reddit solidified their roles as hubs for engaged, topic-specific communities. Brands that successfully tapped into these spaces fostered deeper loyalty and more authentic interactions.

Short-form video content ruled, with 54% of marketers using TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts - the highest adoption among content formats.  83% of marketers found short-form videos the most effective, prompting 42% of non-users to plan adoption within the year.

Authenticity took precedence, with 68% of consumers favoring relatable content over polished productions.  Nano and micro-influencers thrived, achieving higher engagement rates by fostering genuine connections.  The rise of social commerce turned platforms into shopping hubs, with features like Instagram Shopping and TikTok’s in-app purchasing simplifying the path from discovery to purchase.

To Do: Prioritize short-form video and community engagement on platforms like Discord, Reddit, and Threads to build loyalty and boost authenticity.

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3. Continued Rise of Retail Media Networks

Retail media networks (RMNs) have emerged as a pivotal force in digital advertising, with projections indicating that U.S. omnichannel retail media ad spend will reach $54.85 billion in 2024, marking a 26% year-over-year growth.  This surge is driven by retail giants like Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Kroger, which have expanded their ad networks to offer brands valuable first-party data for highly targeted campaigns.

The appeal of RMNs lies in their ability to merge contextual targeting with purchase data, enhancing ad relevance and directly linking them to sales outcomes. Industries such as consumer packaged goods (CPG), beauty, and electronics have increasingly leveraged these networks, with 32% of marketers planning to boost their RMN investments in 2025.

The retail media landscape has further diversified with platforms like Instacart Ads and Uber’s Journey Ads, enabling brands to engage consumers at critical decision-making moments. Notably, Kroger's retail media network, Kroger Precision Marketing, is forecasted to grow by 20% in 2024, underscoring the sector's robust expansion.  Overall, the retail media market is expected to reach $82 billion in spending by 2027, reflecting its significant and sustained growth trajectory.

To Do: Review retail media networks for ad placement opportunities to leverage first-party data and reach your consumers at critical buying moments.

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4. Emphasis on Personalized Marketing

In 2024, personalized marketing proved essential for customer engagement.  80% of consumers were more likely to purchase from brands offering tailored experiences, underscoring the need for relevance in marketing strategies.  Companies that implemented advanced personalization reported a $20 return for every $1 spent, demonstrating the substantial ROI personalization delivers.

However, challenges remained.  40% of B2B companies cited personalization hurdles due to budget constraints and data management complexities.  Despite these obstacles, the benefits continued to drive innovation, with brands leveraging AI and data analytics to enhance customer experiences and stay competitive.  Personalized marketing wasn’t just a trend - it became a core driver of business success.

To Do: Implement AI-driven personalization strategies and messaging to enhance your customer engagement and maximize ROI.  When in doubt - test, test, test!

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5. Focus on Data Privacy and Compliance

Google’s reversal on phasing out third-party cookies in Chrome marked a major development in 2024.  70% of senior marketers welcomed the decision, while 38% of UK consumers planned to opt out of third-party cookies.  Brands pivoted to first-party data strategies and AI-driven analytics to personalize experiences responsibly.

Regulatory changes added pressure. In the U.S., the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed rules to regulate data brokers and protect consumer data.  In the EU, the Artificial Intelligence Act introduced strict guidelines for AI transparency and ethical data use.  These changes highlighted the need for marketers to balance innovation with compliance and trust.

To Do: Strengthen your first-party data strategy and ensure compliance with evolving privacy regulations to maintain trust and personalization capabilities.

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6. Adoption of Immersive Technologies

Immersive tech continued to evolve in 2024.  Versace used AR filters and gaming platforms for product launches, and Valentino Beauty introduced smart mirrors for virtual try-ons.  Disney integrated AR and VR into theme parks, offering interactive rides and AR scavenger hunts.

Yet, mass adoption lagged. Apple’s Vision Pro headset struggled, selling just 370,000 units in its first three quarters, leading to scaled-back production.  High costs and limited content kept consumers hesitant.  Still, the global AR/VR market is projected to grow from $62.76 billion in 2023 to $299.24 billion by 2030.  Brands that embrace these tools now will be ready for a future where digital experiences feel more real than ever.

To Do: Where appropriate, evaluate potential AR and VR partnerships to create interactive brand experiences and stay ahead of the immersive tech curve. 

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So, what does all of this mean for you as a digital marketer entering 2025?  The biggest lesson from 2024 was that yesterday’s strategies won’t carry you into tomorrow.  Gen Z and Millennials demanded purpose-driven, tech-savvy marketing that didn’t just make promises but delivered on them.  Immersive tech, influencer partnerships, and ethically sound data practices set the stage for what’s next.  As digital marketing continues its rapid evolution, one thing is clear: brands that prioritize trust, innovation, and personalization will lead the charge.  

If 2024 was the year of adaptation, 2025 is shaping up to be the year of acceleration.  Stay tuned for our follow-up piece, “Performance Marketing Trends for 2025,” where we’ll unpack the opportunities, challenges, and innovations shaping the year ahead. 

Hello, my fabulous marketing mavens! 

December has rolled in, and while the world is swimming in Black Friday stats and eCommerce success stories, we’re taking the road less traveled (you’re welcome). This week’s tea is piping hot: Google Chrome might lose its crown, TikTok is leveling up its ad game, and AI is pulling some very eyebrow-raising moves. Forget the holiday hustle for a second—we’re diving into what’s next for browsers, platforms, and tools that could make or break your 2025 strategy. Ready to keep your edge sharper than a holiday sale elbow jab? Let’s do this!

OpenAI Eyes Chrome’s Throne: Are the Browser Wars Heating Up?

Darlings, the DOJ is gunning for Google Chrome, and the whispers of an OpenAI browser are adding spice to the plot. Imagine a world where Chrome’s reign crumbles, and OpenAI—armed with GPT magic and Microsoft muscle—steps in as the shiny new contender. No ads yet (Sam Altman’s still “unsettled” by them), but don’t be fooled—this could shake up how we browse, search, and target audiences. For marketers, it’s another nudge to diversify those strategies and lean into contextual targeting. The browser wars might just be heating up, and if you’re not ready to pivot, you might be left in the digital dust.

PMax vs. Search: The Battle for Search Term Supremacy

Is Performance Max (PMax) cannibalizing your Search campaigns? According to a deep dive by Adalysis, the answer is… sort of. While only 2.8% of PMax campaigns overlap with Search keywords at the search term level, a whopping 67% of PMax campaigns overlap at least partially with Search campaigns. The kicker? PMax tends to win on impressions but trails in CTR, conversion rates, and revenue generation—a major red flag for ROI hawks. The lesson here? Protect your top-performing search terms by adding them as exact match keywords in Search, ensuring your more targeted ads win the auction. Bottom line: PMax can be a powerful tool, but without careful management, it might just be stealing clicks from your own star performers.

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And now for some Google specific updates…

Google’s Tag Update: Seamless Consent, Zero Coding (Yes, Please)

Listen up, marketers—Google just made your life a whole lot easier with an integrated Consent Management Platform (CMP) setup in Google Tag UI. No developers? No problem! Now you can connect CMPs like Cookiebot or Usercentrics and manage consent across Ads, Analytics, and Tag Manager without touching a single line of code. The best part? It’s a huge time-saver for staying privacy-compliant while keeping user trust intact. For brands juggling GDPR and other global privacy rules, this update is a dream—and a gentle nudge to tighten up those data-handling practices before regulators come knocking. You can try it out here!

First-Party Magic: Customer Match Just Supercharged Google Analytics

In another Analytics & Tracking update, Google’s giving your first-party data the VIP treatment by integrating Customer Match directly into Google Analytics. This update means no more fumbling with manual uploads—your hashed customer data syncs automatically with Google Ads for broader reach and better targeting. Think of it as a turbo boost for Smart Bidding and optimized campaigns, all while keeping user privacy on lock with industry-standard encryption. With cookies crumbling, leveraging first-party data is the future, and this seamless setup ensures you’re not left behind. Bottom line: It’s time to turn that CRM gold into campaign wins!

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And now for this week’s Social updates…

TikTok’s CPM Glow-Up: A Pricey New Era for Advertisers?

TikTok is stepping up its game—and its CPMs. By Q1 2025, the gap between TikTok’s and Meta’s ad rates will shrink to just $5.50, meaning the “budget-friendly” TikTok of yesteryear is officially a thing of the past. But let’s not clutch our pearls just yet—engagement is up, ad tools are sharper, and brands are finally seeing TikTok as a must-buy for performance dollars. Still, with higher rates come higher expectations, so if your campaigns aren’t tracking or converting, you’ll feel the heat. And should a US TikTok ban hit (talk about a wild card), ad budgets will boomerang straight to Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, spiking prices across the board. Bottom line: whether TikTok’s your MVP or a backup dancer in your strategy, every click better pull its weight.

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And last but not least, our weekly AI updates…

Google’s AI Emotion Detector: The Latest Drama in Tech's Ethical Soap Opera

Google’s PaliGemma 2 AI is here, claiming it can read emotions from photos. Intriguing? Sure. Controversial? Absolutely. While it’s designed for smarter captions and next-level Q&A, critics are calling out the pseudoscience behind “emotion detection” and waving red flags about bias and misuse. For brands, the potential to fine-tune campaigns to emotional cues is tempting, but let’s be real—this tech could just as easily spark PR nightmares as it could drive conversions. The verdict? Handle with care, because in the wrong hands, this could be less “innovative marketing” and more “dystopian PR disaster.”

OpenAI’s ChatGPT Pro: $200 a Month for Premium AI Power Users

OpenAI just dropped ChatGPT Pro, a $200-a-month subscription designed for hardcore AI enthusiasts who want access to the cutting-edge o1 reasoning model. It’s AI with a brain for math, coding, and even image-based reasoning—and it’s no casual chatbot. While this price tag screams “not for everyone,” it positions OpenAI as a premium player for advanced users like data scientists and programmers. For marketers, this isn’t just a curiosity—it’s a peek into the premium AI market. If your brand deals in complex analytics, advanced copywriting, or high-stakes problem-solving, tools like this could eventually justify their cost by delivering game-changing insights. Translation? Keep an eye on this tech—it might just set the bar for next-gen professional AI.

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And that’s a wrap, marketing dream team! From browsers to AI to TikTok’s big moves, the digital landscape is shifting fast. Keep your strategies bold, your budgets flexible, and your eyes on the horizon—2025 is closer than you think. Until next time, stay sharp and keep those campaigns fierce!

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You know you love me,

As a performance marketer, you may not realize you are handling protected health information (PHI) and think that HIPAA compliance is for someone else in the organization to worry about. However, for marketers in healthcare and adjacent industries, where personal and health-related information is involved, understanding the nuances of HIPAA compliance is essential. Failing to navigate this complex regulatory landscape can lead to costly rework and sometimes even penalties or reputational damage.

This blog explores the implications of HIPAA compliance for performance marketers, focusing on the risks of using common tracking technologies. 

Understanding HIPAA in a Marketing Context

For marketers, PHI includes any individually identifiable health information, such as medical records or patient conditions, including prospective patients.  If linked to this information, device IDs and user behavior on health-related websites become PHI by extension.

HIPAA applies to healthcare providers, health plans, and their business associates.  Even entities not traditionally classified as healthcare providers may inadvertently handle PHI through marketing campaigns, triggering compliance obligations.

How Tracking Technologies Create HIPAA Risks

Tracking tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Pixels, and other third-party cookies are staples in performance marketing. They help measure user behaviors, optimize ad placements, and calculate ROI. However, these tools can pose serious HIPAA risks when used on websites or apps that interact with PHI. Here’s how:

• Data Sharing Without Consent: Many tracking technologies automatically share user data (such as IP addresses or appointment details) with third parties, often without patient consent.
• Impermissible Disclosures: HIPAA mandates explicit permissions and safeguards for sharing PHI. Tools like Google Analytics, which collect data from unauthenticated webpages offering health-related services, may inadvertently disclose PHI.
• No BAAs Available: Google Analytics and similar tools don’t sign BAAs, leaving marketers responsible for compliance.  A complete set of BAAs from key data processors may be required for your organization.
• Opaque Data Practices: Publishers often aggregate and analyze user data in ways marketers can’t fully control, increasing the likelihood of non-compliance.

Regulated entities must ensure tracking technologies comply with HIPAA. Any failure to do so may result in steep penalties.

Key Areas of Concern for Performance Marketers

To avoid compliance pitfalls, marketers must understand where risks commonly arise:

1. User-Authenticated Webpages

Webpages requiring user login often handle PHI, such as prescription details or appointment records. Any tracking code embedded on these pages must strictly adhere to HIPAA’s privacy and security rules.

2. Unauthenticated Webpages

Even unauthenticated web pages can generate PHI if they involve health-related content. For example, a webpage allowing users to schedule medical appointments or enquire about symptoms and next steps may collect health and personal identifiers, creating compliance obligations.

3. Mobile Apps

Mobile health apps are increasingly popular for managing health records, monitoring symptoms, or scheduling care. These apps often collect sensitive information like device IDs, location data, and user inputs, subjecting their tracking mechanisms to HIPAA.

Navigating HIPAA Compliance: Best Practices

To ensure marketing efforts remain compliant while leveraging data effectively, consider these strategies:

Conduct a Risk Assessment: Identify where and how your campaigns interact with user data. Determine whether any tracking technologies capture PHI, and implement safeguards to minimize risks.

Sign Business Associate Agreements (BAAs): If you work with vendors (like tracking technology providers) that access PHI, ensure they sign a BAA. This agreement holds them accountable for maintaining HIPAA compliance.

Limit Data Collection Follow HIPAA’s “minimum necessary” standard by restricting data collection to what’s essential for campaign success. Avoid capturing identifiable information like IP addresses on health-related web pages.

Employ HIPAA-Compliant Tools Choose marketing platforms explicitly designed for HIPAA compliance. These tools ensure data security while enabling effective campaign management.

The Marin Attribution Advantage

For performance marketers seeking a HIPAA-compliant alternative, Marin Attribution offers a safer, more reliable solution:

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Unified Data Model

Marin Attribution aggregates and normalizes data across channels without exposing sensitive user information to third-party vendors. This ensures end-to-end security for campaigns involving healthcare clients.

Advanced Privacy Controls

Unlike publisher-provided tools, Marin lets you control how data is shared and analyzed. Its customizable permissions ensure compliance with HIPAA’s strict requirements.  Marin offers IP masking, BAA support, known data stewardship guidelines, and “right to be forgotten” support. Marin is compliant with EU and California guidelines.

Enhanced ROI Insights

By securely connecting online and offline conversion data, Marin Attribution provides actionable insights without risking PHI exposure. This not only supports compliance but also drives better decision-making.

Publisher-Agnostic Approach

As an independent platform, Marin is free from the inherent conflicts of interest in tools offered for “free” by the ad platforms. This neutrality guarantees that your data remains secure and under your control.

Getting Started with a better approach to measurement

For performance marketers in healthcare, balancing compliance with effective campaign strategies is no small feat. As regulatory scrutiny intensifies, choosing tools and practices prioritizing patient privacy is more critical than ever.

Marin Attribution stands out as a trusted partner for marketers navigating these challenges. You can drive results without compromising compliance by enabling secure data management and providing unparalleled insights.

Ready to take the first step toward a safer, more effective marketing strategy? Request a demo today and discover how Marin Attribution can transform your approach to HIPAA-compliant performance marketing.

It’s Friday, Dear Readers!

Pass the stuffing and save a seat at the table, darlings, because this week’s marketing feast is serving up all the trimmings. As we prep for Black Friday—and carbo-load for Thanksgiving—Google’s giving shoppers the power to price-check in the aisles, the DOJ is carving into Chrome’s dominance, and TikTok’s dishing out AI tools to make your content the talk of the holiday table. Meanwhile, Meta’s declaring a new era of performance marketing, and Perplexity’s throwing its hat into the e-commerce ring. So grab your gravy boat and your game plan, because this holiday season, it’s all about serving up strategies that satisfy.

Let’s dive in…

DOJ Takes Aim at Chrome: Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Hold onto your hats (and browsers), darlings—the DOJ is coming for Google Chrome in its antitrust crusade, proposing a forced sale and stricter regulations that could reshape the entire digital landscape. If Chrome is sold off, it’s not just the end of an era—it could completely upend how we browse, search, and advertise online. For marketers, this could mean fewer data signals, skyrocketing complexity, and a wild west of new browser players vying for dominance. Think fragmented targeting, a potential shift in user behavior, and some major decision-making headaches about where to place those precious ad dollars. But here’s the tea: nothing is happening tomorrow (or even next year). For now, the move is more sizzle than steak, but savvy marketers will want to keep tabs on this slow-brewing shakeup—because when the chips fall, your strategy might need a glow-up.

Meta’s CMO Declares the Death of “Performance Marketing”

Meta’s CMO Alex Schultz is throwing shade at the tired term “performance marketing,” and honestly? He’s not wrong. Schultz says it’s time we ditch the divide between brand and direct response strategies—because in today’s ad world, everything should perform. The secret sauce? A seamless blend of top-of-funnel brand-building and bottom-of-funnel conversion-driving ads, backed by the magic of Meta’s AI tools. For marketers, the takeaway is clear: stop choosing sides and start proving impact across the board. Whether you’re boosting brand love or cutting CPAs, the key is measuring what matters and showing the CFO you’re worth every penny. Consider this your official invite to the “it’s all performance” era of marketing, darlings—because ROI never goes out of style.

And now for some timely eCommerce updates…

Google’s Shopping AI Is Here to Crash Your Black Friday Prep

Just in time for next week’s Black Friday rush, Google has dropped a shopping upgrade that’s making aisle-strolling very high-tech. Picture this: your customers whipping out their phones mid-store, using Google Lens to compare prices in real time. Oh, and Maps now doubles as a personal shopping assistant, letting them scope out local inventory before they even leave home. Add in buy now, pay later perks and souped-up virtual card protections, and Google is practically writing the handbook on shopper empowerment.

For marketers, this is both a challenge and an opportunity: if your prices aren’t competitive, your campaigns better sell value like it’s Black Friday every day. And if you’re a local retailer, your inventory visibility in Google’s ecosystem just became non-negotiable. The game has shifted—are you ready to play?  And in a similar update, Perplexity also just released new AI shopping features…

Perplexity’s AI Shopping Search: A Fresh Frontier for Marketers

Move over, Google and Amazon—there’s a new contender in the AI-powered shopping space, and it’s serving high-intent shoppers on a silver platter. Perplexity AI just dropped a sleek shopping feature for its U.S. subscribers, complete with visual product cards, one-click checkouts, and the promise of “unbiased” recommendations (no shady sponsored slots here, folks). For marketers, this is a golden opportunity to get ahead on an emerging platform before it’s flooded with ads. Early adoption could mean figuring out how to thrive in Perplexity’s Shopify-friendly ecosystem while your competitors are still stuck in Google Shopping purgatory. With AI reshaping the e-commerce game faster than tickets are selling for Wicked, this is one to keep on your radar.

And now for a bit of Social media drama…

Social Media's Age-Limit Drama: A Plot Twist for Advertisers

Darlings, social media’s wild child days might be over as governments worldwide lay down the law to protect minors—and it’s turning into a serious ad-industry plot twist. Australia’s threatening $33 million fines for platforms that don’t boot under-16 users, while the UK’s new safety rules are as strict as your high school dress code. In the U.S., lawsuits and bipartisan legislation are piling up faster than TikTok trends. While these changes aren’t set in stone just yet, advertisers may soon face a world where targeting under-16s is off the table. Translation? It’s time to brainstorm future-proof strategies and get cozy with older audiences—because the playbook for 2025 could look very different.

TikTok’s Symphony Creative Studio: Your Shortcut to Viral Content

Brands, TikTok just handed you the cheat code to trending content. Going a bit deeper on last week’s TikTok update, the new Symphony Creative Studio lets marketers transform product descriptions or URLs into TikTok-ready videos faster than you can say, “algorithm hack.” Featuring AI-generated visuals, multilingual options, and even digital avatars to narrate your brand’s story, this tool makes creating scroll-stopping content ridiculously easy. The catch? Results might vary, but for brands strapped on time or TikTok expertise, it’s a low-risk way to tap into the platform’s massive audience. Marketers, consider this your golden ticket to staying ahead in the short-form video race—before your competitors figure it out.

As we prep for turkey, stuffing, and doorbuster deals, one thing is clear: the only constant in digital marketing is change. The year ahead promises new challenges, but for those who embrace the chaos and think strategically, there’s a lot to be thankful for. Until next week, darlings—may your campaigns convert and your CPCs stay low! 

You know you love me.

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Is this how you budget?

If you’re a PPC marketer, your budget allocation process probably looks like this:

Management gives you an overall budget to spend on paid media each quarter. You’ve created budget ‘categories’ like brand, non-brand, remarketing, local, display, etc, and every quarter, you review performance for each category over the past few quarters, analyze which categories have the potential to spend more or need less, and distribute the budget across those categories, then across the campaigns within those categories.

This process takes a few workdays to complete. Then, throughout the quarter, you occasionally check in on those categories and campaigns to adjust the budgets slightly. At best, you are driving by looking in the rear-view mirror. And after all that work, your paid media campaigns still don’t even hit your spend goals, let alone their full potential.

There's a better way...

It’s frustrating. And in the age of AI, there’s a better way. Most marketers could get more conversions out of their current budget if they began automating with a budget allocation AI.

The customer journey is more dynamic and fluid than ever due to new search options and evolving ad types – not to mention evolving user behaviors and expectations. Things are changing fast. Over 50% of Gen Z say TikTok is their go-to search engine. So, how can marketers keep up with these shifts in traffic between channels? As market share shifts by category and vertical from search to social and back again – setting static, manual monthly budgets for each of your marketing channels means you cannot capitalize on unpredictable consumer trends. 

If social traffic spikes or inventory runs out, your current optimization models can react in real-time, but only WITHIN their respective platforms. For example, a social ad outperforms expectations and drives more customers to convert than search or e-commerce. But your social and search budgets are static - meaning Meta can optimize your newly successful ad until it caps out your set monthly budget. With AI monitoring performance and predicting future opportunities, the budget can be automatically moved from Search to Social to ensure your next dollar goes where the opportunity is greatest, in line with your cross-channel marketing goals.

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Real-world results

Alumni Ventures, a Marin client,  wanted to optimize their paid social budget allocation across Meta and LinkedIn campaigns. They found that although the audiences they targeted on both Meta and LinkedIn were similar, there was no consistency in how each channel performed across networks. Some audiences strongly outperformed on LinkedIn and others on Meta, making it difficult for them to optimize spend by audience. Allocating budgets by alumni audience and channel over a defined period was tricky and time-consuming. They needed a more adaptive approach that could automatically adjust for both spend pacing and channel performance trends.

By deploying AI-powered dynamic budget allocation, as Marin Ascend offered, cross-channel changes can be accounted for in near real-time without waiting for a team member to analyze, strategize, and deploy a budget adjustment manually. By the time this manual work is completed - the budget could already be moved to your most successful campaign asset before you’ve been able to traffic the changes. And if the opportunity proves to be fleeting? The budget is moved back to where it will most impact achieving your account-wide monthly targets

I’m not trying to tell you that your paid media performance is bad… you’re an experienced professional, and I’m sure you know what you’re doing. But why not multiply your expertise and time with a powerful AI companion that can take hours of not-so-fun work off your plate so you can focus on the strategic stuff you actually find interesting? And as a bonus, this AI companion can help you find at least 10% more conversions within your current budget.

Enter Marin

We spent the last few years building Marin Ascend, the budget allocation system that my 23-year-old Account Coordinator self dreamed of. All those budget distribution steps I mentioned above? Ascend can do them better and faster and take advantage of every opportunity to shift budget to top-performing campaigns. So, what makes Ascend so much better than manual budget management?

1. Access to more signals: Our AI uses proprietary forecasting models and a tried and true algorithm to determine where you should spend your next dollar. 
2. An understanding of the full picture: Our platform automatically pulls data from all your advertising platforms and your source of truth for conversion and revenue data. It unifies all that data to get a cohesive picture of your entire paid media program before making decisions.
3. Unified reporting: Our pacing dashboards allow you to monitor performance vs. plan in real-time across all accounts and publishers.
4. Daily updates: Ascend will reallocate spend every day if it finds better opportunities. Human budgeting decisions are less frequent, more time-consuming, and strategically fallible. AI is consistent. 
5. Unified bid and budget management: Ascend can manage your budgets and bidding targets in unison. This way, you’ll avoid having targets that are too loose with budgets that are too low, which can lead campaigns to run out of budget in the middle of the day. The last thing you want is for your ads to stop running during those precious evening hours, and Ascend ensures that doesn’t happen. 

Validate your Allocation

If you’re not using AI to manage your budgets, you’re leaving money on the table. But don’t take our word for it – we’ll prove it by giving you a free Media Mix Audit. 

With the audit, you’ll get a report that outlines exactly how much money you’ll save and how much more revenue you’ll get with our AI-powered budget allocation tool. Our system will use publisher and proprietary forecasting models to understand each campaign’s potential and showcase the results you’d get with Ascend. 

Maybe you’re not ready for AI to take over yet, and I get it. The robots scare me, too. Regardless, there’s no way grabbing this free audit is a bad idea. Click here to request yours today.

Happy Friday, Darlings - we made it!

Somehow it’s already mid-November, the turkey’s practically in the oven, and the holiday ad blitz is just around the corner. This week, Google’s stirring up the privacy pot (again), YouTube and TikTok are rolling out shiny new creative toys, and we’ve got the scoop on Google’s hottest holiday buys for 2024. So, whether you’re amping up for the retail rush or fine-tuning those targeting tactics, consider this your must-read guide to slaying the digital ad game as we roll toward the most wonderful (and competitive) time of the year!

Google's Privacy Sandbox: Friend of Foe for Digital Marketers?

Alright, marketers - Google’s Privacy Sandbox saga continues, and the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) isn’t ready to sit back and relax. Google’s latest twist? Giving users the choice to block third-party cookies, supposedly a win for privacy. But the CMA isn’t convinced, pointing out that Google’s still holding the reins - especially around APIs controlling audience targeting, attribution, and auction dynamics. This scrutiny could lead to further regulations, meaning ad targeting strategies may need an overhaul if certain tools get limited or access becomes pricier. Bottom line? Watch closely - this one’s a high-stakes balancing act between protecting user privacy and keeping the digital ad market competitive.

Google Tightens Customer Match Rules: Time to Revisit Those Privacy Playbooks

Looks like Google’s not just rethinking cookies - it’s clamping down on Customer Match, too. Starting in January, advertisers who misuse personal data for targeting could see their accounts suspended, no warnings, no mercy. This comes on the heels of Google’s Privacy Sandbox scrutiny, where the CMA’s watching its every move. Now, Google’s telling marketers Customer Match is a “privilege,” and they’re emphasizing consent like never before. Violations? No minors, no personalized messaging that’s too on-the-nose, and definitely no targeting users who’ve opted out. If Customer Match is in your toolkit, it’s time for a full compliance audit: think documented consent, polished privacy practices, and planning for a landscape where “privacy first” isn’t just a guideline, it’s a requirement.

Google Ads Editor 2.8: AI-Powered Creative, Streamlined Management, and New Rules

Google Ads Editor 2.8 has arrived, and it’s serving up AI magic with image generation from text prompts—ideal for crafting those fast, scroll-stopping visuals. New tools like brand guidelines for Performance Max, video controls, and Google Sheets export keep campaigns on point, while UI updates like a resizable error pane streamline your workflow. One catch: Editor 2.5 and older versions are out, so time to upgrade! This update is all about speed and creativity, helping marketers sharpen their edge in the ever-competitive ad arena.

YouTube Goes All In on Shorts & Creators: New Tools to Amp Up Ad Reach

Alright, brands, YouTube is leveling up its game with fresh tools to help you squeeze every drop of engagement from Shorts and creator content. First up, there’s the option to buy ad placements exclusively on Shorts - a direct nod to those aiming for TikTok-style reach but sticking with YouTube’s audience. Then, new interactive features like “stickers” and animated ads make it easier to capture that ever-elusive scroll-stopping attention. Plus, YouTube’s offering expanded data insights on Shorts viewers and streamlined ways to integrate creator content into your ads, which could mean a juicy 20% conversion boost on Shorts compared to standard branded ads. With 40% of YouTube’s audience opting for Shorts over TikTok or Reels, these updates make it prime time to blend short-form, interactive, and creator-led content for a brand presence that truly pops.

TikTok Unveils Symphony Creative Studio: AI Magic to Fuel Your Content Game

Now, following YouTube’s moves to amp up Shorts ads, TikTok just threw down its own creative gauntlet with the launch of Symphony Creative Studio. This AI-powered tool is all about making TikTok-style content creation easier, faster, and as branded as it gets. Imagine: with just a few clicks, you can turn your brand’s product page into a TikTok-ready video, complete with avatars, captions, and music, all without breaking a sweat (or the bank). Feeling extra fancy? Symphony even lets you create custom digital avatars to narrate your story - so yes, your brand can have its own digital superstar, waving and winking at your audience in over 30 languages. Symphony’s power move here? Making high-frequency, high-impact content a total breeze, ideal for keeping up with TikTok’s fast-paced feed without running into creative fatigue. So, if you’re looking to drive engagement, keep campaigns looking fresh, or just cut down on production costs, Symphony might be your new BFF in the world of short-form video.

Google’s Holiday 100: What’s Hot (and How to Sell It) This Season

Google’s got the inside scoop on the hottest items for holiday gifting, and it’s serving up the 2024 Holiday 100 list just in time. This year’s trending lineup? Nostalgic Y2K throwbacks, unisex fragrances, cozy pillowsacs, digital audiobooks for the little ones, and style staples like ballet flats and slogan tees. For retailers, this is prime intelligence for stocking up and leveling up your holiday ad strategy. As economic pressures loom, knowing what shoppers are hunting for is essential—and Google’s data shows that a whopping 59% of holiday buyers already have a wishlist. So, whether you’re adjusting inventory or dialing in your Performance Max campaigns, make sure these trending picks are front and center. Smaller retailers, lean into your first-party data to meet loyal customers right where they’re shopping. This season, it’s all about making data-driven moves to keep your products flying off the (digital) shelves.

So there it is, loves—the holiday playbook you didn’t know you needed! With TikTok avatars, YouTube Shorts, and Google’s latest rulebook updates, it’s clear: this season’s success is all about keeping it fresh, fierce, and oh-so-savvy. So grab your seasonal latte, hone those data-driven moves, and get ready to make this holiday stretch one for the books!

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You know you love me,

We meet again, Digital Darlings…

Well, my marketing mavericks and mavens, with the election drama (mostly) behind us, it’s time to settle into the real question: what’s next for our beloved digital world? Google’s antitrust tango, TikTok’s will-they-won’t-they saga, and Microsoft turning up the AI heat mean it’s time to stay on our toes. As we dive into this week’s juiciest updates, think of it as your guide to keeping your strategies agile, your budgets smart, and your brand basking in the spotlight, no matter what the 2025 landscape holds. Let’s get into it, shall we?

Bracing for a Google Split? Here’s How to Future-Proof Your PPC Game

Alright, Darlings, let’s talk about the what if that’s been hanging over our heads: Google’s possible breakup and what it could mean for our ad game. Imagine a world where Google’s empire is split, and suddenly we’re no longer dancing to one PPC tune. It sounds like chaos - and it just might be. But if we prep smartly, we can turn potential turmoil into a masterclass in PPC resilience.

Here’s what savvy marketers should start doing now: First, get comfy with other ad platforms like Bing or LinkedIn, because if Google fragments, you’ll need backup plans ready to roll. Think of it as diversifying your PPC portfolio. Second, invest in cross-platform tools and skills that can make managing a multi-platform setup smoother - because if Google no longer controls the whole stage, your data integration game has to be top-notch. And finally, brace for a little cost bump; if everyone’s suddenly vying for space on new platforms, CPCs might inch up.  Bottom line? No one’s ditching Google just yet, but a little future-proofing could keep your campaigns running strong, no matter what the ad landscape looks like next year.

TikTok's Fate in Flux: New Leadership, and 170 Million American Users on the Line

Now that the U.S. election has wrapped, the incoming administration could bring unexpected changes to TikTok’s future in the States. Here’s the latest: despite a law requiring ByteDance to divest from TikTok by January 2025, a pending court case could push the issue as far as the Supreme Court next summer. For brands, this means TikTok’s 170 million U.S. users are still very much in play. As 2025 budget plans loom, savvy marketers might want to earmark funds for TikTok but stay agile - after all Darlings, this platform could be reshaped overnight by a single ruling. Stay tuned, stay flexible, and maybe keep one eye on other channels, just in case.

‍4 Tactics from CMOs on planning for an uncertain future

Given a potential Google breakup and/or TikTok ban, savvy CMOs are making sure they’re ready for anything. Want to know their secret moves? First, trim smart, not blindly. Sure, cutting costs is part of the game, but don’t touch those top-of-funnel ads - high-visibility platforms like CTV keep your whole campaign alive and thriving. Next up, polish your basics to a T: dazzling product images, sharp SEO, and gorgeous product pages are must-haves that cost next to nothing. And about data? Keep it real: short-term metrics can tempt you into chopping campaigns before they even bloom. Some brands, like Therabody, know big purchases take longer to convert - so play the long game. And last but definitely not least, cozy up to your CFO. Weekly updates on where that budget magic is going can make all the difference when the pressure’s on. It’s all about staying prepped, polished, and ready for anything.

And now for our updates in Search…

Google’s New Opti Score Update: A “Peek” at Competitors (But Watch Your Wallet)

Google’s latest tweak to its Ads Optimization Score now does more than just push for better click-through rates—it highlights exactly when competitors are squeezing your impression share. Yep, Google’s giving you a front-row seat to the auction table, showing how much impact rivals like Amazon have on your campaigns. But let’s be real, darlings: Google knows how to dial up the FOMO. While this visibility into competitor influence could sharpen your strategy, there’s a risk it’ll nudge marketers to overspend trying to chase down every auction. For savvy brands, the move here is to treat this data as a nudge toward smarter allocation, not an excuse to throw budget around like confetti. Competitive transparency? Yes. Blindly mimicking Amazon’s bid tactics? Hard pass.

Google’s New PMax Customization: Your Brand, Your Rules

Google’s latest rollout for Performance Max (PMax) campaigns gives advertisers more creative control, letting you tailor branding details like logos, colors, and even fonts across ad placements. Think of it as your brand’s wardrobe upgrade—now consistent across YouTube, Display, and beyond. With this added customization, your campaigns can better reflect your brand identity, potentially boosting engagement without losing the cohesion that keeps your audience familiar. But heads up: a few quirks in the setup might need ironing out, so double-check those fonts and colors!

Agencies Only: Google’s New Tools for Programmatic Power Players

Ad agencies, Google just gave you some serious new firepower. With a suite of enhancements in Google Ad Manager, including a "curation" tool for easy inventory discovery and streamlined programmatic workflows, managing your clients' media buys just got simpler and more powerful. The new curation tool lets you access premium inventory packages and data segments at the click of a button, while Google also steps in to handle payments, consolidating billing for inventory and data providers. Plus, with unified reporting and single deal IDs across DSPs, performance tracking is streamlined like never before. For agencies navigating the increasingly fragmented ad landscape—especially in emerging channels like connected TV—these updates could be game-changers, setting you up to drive greater client value and make media buying a whole lot smoother.

And now for our weekly AI updates…

Microsoft’s Copilot Gets a Power Boost for Marketers

Looks like Microsoft is putting on the moves with some sleek updates to Copilot, darling. Advertisers, take note: the refreshed Copilot AI now serves up a more streamlined ad experience with a handy performance snapshot tool, helping you keep those campaign insights at your fingertips. And for all you video ad lovers, Microsoft’s expanded bid strategies and new audience targeting options add some serious finesse, plus—get this—you can now import your video campaigns from Google Ads. Microsoft’s also giving shopping campaigns a makeover, making setup a breeze and adding new product management tools. Translation? Microsoft Advertising just leveled up, letting you pivot your strategy with ease and reach audiences with the kind of control and personalization we’re all craving.

Chatbots Reign Supreme in AI: Why Marketers Can’t Get Enough

When it comes to AI, chatbots are marketers’ new BFFs. A recent survey shows that 38% of marketers worldwide pick chatbots as the most impactful AI tool for boosting digital experiences—no surprise, since they’re easy to implement and quick to deliver results. And with 82% of execs planning to integrate or expand chatbot use in the next 6-12 months, brands are betting big on bots to handle those customer queries 24/7. But here’s the twist: while marketers love chatbots, a hefty 45% of U.S. consumers aren’t so impressed. The key takeaway? Chatbots can be fabulous for handling those high-frequency, low-complexity interactions, but savvy brands will keep an ear to the ground for consumer feedback and refine these tools to ensure a seamless, satisfying experience that aligns with brand expectations.

And there you have it, trendsetters—this week’s digital scoop, served with all the sparkle! As we edge toward 2025, keep in mind: in a world where platforms might split, chatbots are becoming your brand’s new best friend, and competitive insights are handed out like candy, staying nimble is the name of the game. So whether you’re tweaking ad budgets, giving your brand a glow-up with PMax, or mastering the art of chatbot charm, remember to keep it bold, keep it brilliant, and keep it oh-so-Maddie. See you next time, darlings! 

You know you love me,

Happy November, Digital Darlings!

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With Halloween now in the rearview mirror, it’s time to say goodbye to ghostly decor and hello to… holiday takeover! The season of sparkle, Mariah Carey on repeat, and ever-escalating ad budgets is officially upon us. This week’s updates are timely as the digital landscape is shifting just as fast as holiday displays are going up. Between Google’s algorithm shake-up, LinkedIn’s lead-gen boost, and OpenAI’s bold move into search, this week’s tea is as piping hot as your first peppermint mocha of the season. So grab your coziest scarf, and let’s dive into all things digital!

Google Rep's Error Sparks Trust Concerns

Hold onto your dashboards, Darlings - this week, a Google rep took some unapproved creative liberties with a client’s ad account, tweaking everything from ad copy to bidding strategies, all without so much as a “May I?” And the kicker? These changes didn’t even show up in the account’s change history! Cue the advertiser panic. Google’s own Ginny Marvin admitted it was a “mistake” (translation: processes weren’t followed), and reassured us all it wasn’t intentional. Still, this slip-up has everyone double-checking their campaigns like it’s final exam week. For brands, the takeaway is clear: keep a close eye on your accounts and don’t be shy about questioning any “ghost” edits. Google says they’re tightening up oversight - here’s hoping they lock that door for good.

Business Links: Google’s Latest Move to Get Those Clicks

In other Google news, the company is piloting a new search feature called Business Links, and it’s looking like sitelinks with a serious upgrade. Think customizable, AI-enhanced headlines that adapt to all kinds of customer intent within a single ad. You can add up to three headlines per link, meaning your ads can now hit those varied search vibes without breaking a sweat. With AI automatically generating extra headlines (don’t worry, you can turn that off), Google wants your ads to feel tailor-made for everyone’s search journey. And for brands, this means higher engagement and the flexibility to speak to multiple audiences within one campaign. It’s still in the pilot phase, so if you’re curious, ping your Google rep and see if you can get in on the action early - who doesn’t love a little exclusive access?

Google’s New PMax Segmentation: Precision Insights for Smarter Optimization

Hold the applause, marketers - Google just dropped a long-awaited segmentation tool for Performance Max (PMax) Asset Groups, finally giving us the detailed campaign insights we’ve been begging for. With the new “segment” option, you can break down performance by time, device, and even track those elusive “days to conversion.” This means deeper analysis and smarter optimization, letting you tweak campaigns with a precision that would make a Swiss watchmaker jealous. Shoutout to Thomas Eccel, who spotted this update on LinkedIn and shared it with the ad world. And speaking of LinkedIn, let’s get into their latest…

LinkedIn’s Lead Gen Boost: Why Settle for Likes When You Can Get Leads?

Attention, brands: LinkedIn just dropped a feature that lets you turn your most popular posts into lead-gen machines. That’s right - your witty, attention-grabbing content can now be boosted to capture high-quality leads, thanks to LinkedIn’s first-party data magic. With over 2 billion monthly interactions on company Pages, this is your chance to push beyond the echo chamber of your followers and get in front of fresh, high-value prospects. Just choose your post, set the budget, and let LinkedIn work its algorithmic charm. So if you’ve got a post that’s popping off like Mariah Carey in November - it’s time to give it a little love and watch the leads line up!

Google’s New Algorithm Update: Why Paid Ads Might Just Be Your New Best Friend

Google’s next algorithm update is about to hit, but don’t expect it to reverse lost traffic from past rollouts. For paid marketers, this update could mean even fiercer competition as organic visibility becomes harder to come by - especially if Google’s tightening the reins on big players trying to game the rankings. With organic reach potentially taking a hit, paid ads are primed to shine. Brands, now’s the time to level up your ad game with targeted, engaging creative, because as Google refines its search landscape, paid placements might just become your brand’s go-to strategy for staying top of mind.  And now for some AI news…

OpenAI’s ChatGPT Search Enters the Chat: A New Era in Search is Here

OpenAI has officially entered the search ring with ChatGPT’s real-time search feature, letting users ask for up-to-the-minute updates - from stock quotes to sports scores - with an easy, ad-free experience. It’s conversational, intuitive, and cites sources, giving Google something to think about. For marketers, this could mean rethinking search strategies as users explore a fresh way to find answers. ChatGPT’s user-friendly, less cluttered approach might just lure searchers - and budgets - away from traditional search ads. Keep an eye on this one, folks; a new contender has entered the game.

Well, there you have it, folks - November’s first digital shake-up. As you deck the halls (or just brace yourself for an onslaught of carols), remember to keep that holiday sparkle in your ad game. From cozying up with LinkedIn’s lead-gen boosts to keeping Google’s algorithm shenanigans in check, this season’s all about staying sharp and adaptable. So here’s to a month of festive campaigns and high-engagement headlines. Stay cute, stay clever, and keep those conversions merry and bright. 

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Hey there Digital Darlings,

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Welcome to another week of marketing tea, tech twists, and AI transformations! If you’ve been wondering what the cookieless future holds, if Google is finally getting its monopoly handed back to them, or if AI is about to take over your shopping cart, you’re in the right place. Let’s dive right in, shall we?

Google’s Still All-In on Privacy Sandbox, Despite Cookie Drama

Remember when Google shook the world by delaying third-party cookie deprecation… again? Well, while we all took a collective sigh of relief (or was it frustration?), Google’s still committed to moving forward with Privacy Sandbox. Barb Smith, head of the Privacy Sandbox team, took to the ADWEEK House stage last week, confirming that the Privacy Sandbox will power the future of digital advertising. Smith emphasized that fewer cookies are still the end goal, and ad tech firms better keep testing those cookieless technologies. While some are seeing lackluster performance compared to traditional cookies, it’s early days - so temper your expectations, folks. Privacy-first advertising is coming whether we like it or not, and the days of cookies ruling the web are numbered.

Google Cracks Down on Ad Policy Violators with Harsh New Penalties

Google’s latest move? Cleaning house. Starting in November, the search giant will drop the hammer on third parties that violate ad policies. We're talking severe consequences - like immediate account suspensions for offenders without a second chance. Apps promoting incentivized ad clicks or violating AdMob and AdSense policies will be banned faster than you can say "non-compliant." It’s part of Google’s push for a more trustworthy advertising environment, but third-party ad tech providers and app developers better tread carefully or risk getting cut off from Google Ads entirely. Now, what’s happening in Europe? Buckle up…

The Digital Markets Act Is Reshaping Google’s Monopoly in Europe

It’s no secret that Google has been monopolizing the search game for over two decades, but Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) is here to change that. The DMA’s “no preferencing” rule stops Google from promoting its own products—like Google Flights or Shopping—over competitors in search results. And honey, what are the penalties for breaking these new rules? They’re talking billions in fines. While Google is “willing to comply,” we all know a major shakeup in their operations is likely. The DMA’s ultimate goal? Restoring competition and leveling the playing field. SEO pros in Europe have already seen changes in travel-related SERPs, with more comparison services appearing instead of Google’s own. Get ready for even more shifts because the monopoly era might be coming to an end - at least across the pond. And now for some retail-focused updates...

Google’s Testing Expandable Product Ads Carousel

If you’re tired of the same old static ads, this one’s for you! Google’s experimenting with expandable ads that let users interact more directly with sponsored content. Users can now expand or collapse sponsored search ads, revealing a carousel of ads for more immersive shopping. It even includes search refinement options, so users can get the perfect match without leaving the ad space. While this could increase user engagement, it’s a balancing act - hiding some ads may reduce visibility. The jury’s still out on how advertisers will feel about this extra click, but more interactivity could be key in catching a user’s eye and boosting conversions.

And now in new AI news...

Google Unveils AI-Powered Shopping Overhaul

Google’s AI game just got a massive upgrade in its Shopping platform. From AI-generated product searches to dynamic filters and virtual try-ons, it’s designed to give users a hyper-personalized experience. You’ll see AI summaries pop up when searching for products, plus, shoppers can “try on” clothes using AR tools. And don’t even get me started on the personalized home feed and deals page - it’s like Google is watching me knowing what I want before I even think about it (on-brand for Halloween/spooky season?). For advertisers, this opens new doors to target high-intent shoppers, making your products stand out in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Walmart’s Gen AI and Augmented Reality Shopping Takes Retail to New Heights

Walmart isn’t letting Google have all the fun. They’ve revealed their plan to completely reimagine the shopping experience using generative AI and augmented reality. Their “adaptive retail” strategy means that both online and in-store shopping will be more convenient, personalized, and—let’s be honest—cooler than ever. Walmart’s new Wallaby platform, powered by its own data, creates custom experiences for each shopper. They’re even rolling out AR features, like the ability to visualize products in your home. Oh, and Walmart’s gen AI customer support assistant is getting smarter too—handling returns and answering queries faster than ever before. 

Amazon’s AI-Powered Audio Ads Are Here

Amazon has also been busy developing generative AI features, and their latest toy? AI-generated audio ads. Through their AI Creative Studio, Amazon is helping brands create 30-second audio ads based on product descriptions for Alexa-enabled devices and Amazon Music. It’s perfect for brands already selling on Amazon, giving them an easy way to reach users with custom audio spots. But there’s always a catch, right? AI-generated ads, while efficient, risk sounding repetitive or generic. So advertisers will still need a human touch to keep things creative and engaging. But hey, it’s another tool in your digital marketing arsenal, and with AI running the show, things are only going to get more automated.

Ads in AI Overviews and Google Lens: The New Frontier

Google’s diving headfirst into new search behaviors with AI Overviews and Lens, allowing advertisers to reach users at the perfect moment—whether they’re snapping a picture or asking a voice query. Shopping ads are already appearing in AI Overviews, helping consumers find relevant products faster. For example, imagine asking, “How do I get a grass stain out of jeans?” and bam—a Shopping ad for stain removers shows up right in the results. Lens, on the other hand, is tapping into visual search, showing product ads alongside photos users snap on the go. Whether you’re catching eyes in-store or online, these AI-driven tools are making it easier for brands to connect with ready-to-buy consumers.

How to Stay Visible in AI-Powered Search

The rise of AI Overviews and chatbots is changing the SEO game. According to Google, you don’t need to do anything drastically different to rank in AI-powered search results—but staying on top of traditional SEO best practices is still key. High-quality content, technical SEO, and entity optimization are your best bets for making it into those coveted AI Overviews. And for brands, it’s all about answering detailed, long-tail queries. Think “how to choose the best black shoes” rather than just “black shoes.” AI Overviews are designed to remove the legwork from searching, so the more relevant and helpful your content, the higher your chances of ranking in this new search ecosystem.  Check out this guide for more details on how to improve your AI Overview results.

And that’s the scoop for this week, Darlings! Fall is in full swing, and while the digital landscape keeps changing faster than new pumpkin spice options, you can always count on me to keep you up to date on the drama. Until next Friday, stay savvy, stay informed, and maybe indulge in a spooky movie or two this weekend.

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From budget management to keyword strategy, our team of experts can diagnose any paid media problem. Submit your ad woes and let us work our magic. Or, browse our repertoire of past Q&As to catch up on the latest digital marketing tips.

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Q: I just launched a new workout app. What is the best way to promote it on Google Ads with a small budget of around $1,000 per month?

A: Let’s get that campaign in shape! Here’s the prescription:

Lean heavily on Google App Campaigns—I’d recommend allocating around 60-70% of your budget here. These campaigns are designed to maximize app installs across Google’s ecosystem (search, YouTube, display) and will help you build momentum quickly. 

Spend the rest of your budget on Search Ads targeting high-intent keywords like “best fitness app” or “home workout plans.” If your app fits a specific niche, like men’s or women’s fitness, fitness for runners, or weightlifting, try to include those key terms in your target keywords, too. With a small budget, it’s important to target very specific terms. 

Make sure you track in-app events like signups or usage. This data is like an x-ray, helping you see what’s working and letting you fine-tune your campaign. And don’t forget to reserve a small portion of your budget (10-15%) for remarketing to bring back users who interacted with your site but didn’t convert.

Stick with this formula, and you’ll see your campaign (and app installs) get stronger over time!

Q: I'm running TikTok ads for a free mental health app to drive sign-ups. Meta ads performed well, but I'm new to TikTok. Any suggestions for creative, audience targeting, or strategies?

A: Ah, TikTok ads—let’s give your mental health app the right prescription for success! While TikTok can be tricky, it’s all about matching the platform’s vibe. 

Think of your ad creative as a “quick fix”—short, engaging videos that feel authentic and blend with user-generated content. Testimonials, mental health tips, or a quick app demo work wonders here. 

For audience targeting, start with interests related to wellness and self-care. And don’t be afraid to ride the wave of TikTok trends or challenges; it's like tapping into the platform’s natural “heartbeat.” 

Approach TikTok ads like a diagnosis: constantly monitor the data, see what’s working (or not), and adjust your strategy accordingly. For example, if you notice a certain video style gets more sign-ups, lean into that and create similar variations. TikTok’s algorithm rewards high engagement, so finding the format that resonates most with users will help maximize your results and keep your cost per signup low.

Q: I had a well-performing Google Shopping campaign that declined after switching to a pMax campaign on my Google account manager’s advice. Traffic, search impression share, and conversions have dropped. Should I revert to "Max Clicks" or try something else to recover performance?

A: It sounds like your campaign needs a recovery plan. Since Max Clicks worked well before, switch back to that strategy. This allows the campaign to relearn using its existing data without starting from scratch. Monitor the search impression share and adjust bids gradually to regain visibility and traffic.

Also, slowly reduce your pMax budget while reintroducing spend to your Shopping campaign. This transition is crucial since pMax takes priority over Shopping campaigns, potentially suppressing their spend. By phasing out pMax, you give your Shopping campaign the best chance to recover and thrive.

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Meet Advisor, your new AI-powered teammate!

Need help? Marin Advisor is the teammate you’ve been waiting for. Advisor is an expert in performance marketing, knows your accounts, and is available at your fingertips 24/7. Advisor's chat interface lets you ask questions about your account and get things done with a simple prompt . Learn more here and ask your Marin team to start using Advisor today!

Review the impact of Marin’s recommendations

Now, you can easily see how Marin’s recommendations have impacted your performance with our Completed Episode Report. This report displays how your campaigns would have performed without Marin’s help alongside the actual performance they achieved thanks to Marin’s AI. That way, you’ll always understand the impact of our optimization and budgeting tools. Ask your Marin representative to enable this dashboard today.

Get your Marin notifications in Slack

You can easily set up Slack notifications to receive your Marin Alerts right in your organization’s productivity app. You can receive these alerts as personal notifications or have them sent to a Slack group to notify everyone who needs to stay in the know at once. Learn how to do it here.

Manage budget minimums

Managing your budget isn’t just about making sure you don’t spend more than allotted, it’s also important to ensure you don’t spend too little. By underspending, you can have too little budget to have impactful campaigns, or worse, see your budget decreased for low spend. With Ascend, you can be sure you hit your budget right on target every time. To activate budget floors, simply add the rule to your strategies today.

Use Marin to take Reddit Ads to the next level

Marin’s latest enhancements help unlock the power of Reddit’s communities like never before. This quarter, Marin added optimization and campaign management capabilities to its existing reporting functionality.Now, Marin users have a leg up on the competition with Ascend, the complete optimization suite, and One, Marin’s fully customizable automation engine – tools that aren’t available in the Reddit Ads UI. Marin gives marketers full-funnel performance insights plus AI-powered forecasting, bidding optimization, and automations to maximize your investment in this key channel. Learn more about how Marin can take your Reddit campaigns to the next level today.

Report on conversion types and custom columns in the Clients grid

Managing and reporting on multiple KPIs is easier than ever. Is your conversion goal sales? Page views? Form fills? All of the above? No problem! Now, you can add all your different conversion data and custom columns to the Clients grid to see how you perform across Marin client accounts. You can analyze performance in any currency right  in the grid or add it to your shareable reports and dashboards.

Seamlessly integrate your Amazon S3 data

Leverage Amazon S3 buckets as a data connection source for revenue, conversion, or any critical campaign data in near-real time with our latest platform integration. This further expands our large integration catalog – seamlessly unifying your entire performance marketing data ecosystem. Let your Marin team know that you’d like to integrate your S3 data to get started today.

Let Marin do the landing page error checking for you

When someone clicks on one of your ads, the last thing you want is to send them to a page with an error message. With Marin’s always-on error checker, you’ll never have to worry about that again. Ask your Marin team to switch on the landing page error checker today, and never waste another dollar on broken links.

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It’s apple-picking season, and if you’re looking for something juicy (albeit rotten right to the core), have I got the picks for you. G and T are fighting lawsuits and building black boxes, and we advertisers are just trying to keep up. Allow me to break the drama down for you and provide some order amongst the chaos. First, let's dish about G…

Google put ads in AI overviews

Welp, we all knew this was coming. According to Google, they’ve “found that people who engage with AI Overviews (AIOs) are more satisfied with their search results, and find ads appearing above and below the overview helpful.” So it sounds like AOIs will become the new coveted top-of-search ad placement that all the girls are dying to get. Both search and shopping ads can appear in AIOs when the ad is relevant to both the query and the response Google’s AI provides. You can check out an example of shopping ads in an AIO response in Google’s article. The ads are only running on mobile for now. Currently, there’s no way to target or segment clicks from AIOs. But according to PPC expert Nils Rooijmans…

There’s a secret way to determine the source of your Google ad clicks

Nils is on a mission to ‘open up the black box’ that is Google Ads in AI Overviews. Google doesn’t tell you which of your clicks come from AIOs, from standard search, from search partners… they just attribute the click to the ad. But he thinks we can get answers from the gad_source URL parameter, which “is used to identify the source of ads URLs and improve the accuracy of ads conversion measurement.” Could this parameter give search marketers the answers they’ve been longing for? Follow his investigation to find out. And in other Google AI news…

Google also rolled out AI-organized SERPS

The AI takeover continues… This one does seem quite helpful, though. Now, Google’s AI will organize the SERP to provide the best possible answers and helpful links related to users' searches. The search results page will include a mix of articles, videos, forums, and more. You can see an example of what these mobile SERPs look like here. Now, let’s get into the real G tea…

Google may have to break up its business

My dear readers all know that Google was found guilty of illegally monopolizing search a few months ago, but no punishment has been doled out yet. This week, the DOJ submitted proposed remedies to end the monopoly and suggested that Google be prohibited from using its products, like Chrome and Android, to give its search business an unfair advantage. They didn’t exactly say Google has to divest, but they are proposing ‘structural changes.’ Google pushed back in a blog post, saying a breakup would harm data privacy, AI innovation, would give small businesses a disadvantage in the ad market, etc. Feeling a little threatened, eh? The next step is for Google to provide a detailed response to the DOJ’s recs and return it to the courtroom next year. So it’ll be a while before anything changes, but when it does, I’ll let you know. In my final bit of search news…

Answer engines are the new search engines - here’s how SEOs can adapt

So like, what’s an answer engine? Basically, it’s a search tool that responds directly to questions rather than providing a list of links to websites that might answer the question. Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Google AIOs are all examples of this type of LLM-powered engine. The data shows that we’re moving toward a world of zero-click search, but these new engines will still crawl your site for answers, so you’ll want to make sure they make your brand look good. Check out this SEO guide to optimizing for answer engines and generative search to ensure you’re ahead of the curve. Now for some social news…

PMax for TikTok Ads? New Smart+ campaigns automate everything

On Monday, TikTok announced Smart+, “a new, AI-powered performance solution designed to maximize returns by automating campaign management across targeting, bidding, and creative.” All you have to do is provide assets, a budget, and an efficiency goal, and TikTok will do the rest. Sounds great, except for the fact that all these ad platforms are starting to do my job for me… 

TikTok announced four other new features, too

There’s GMV Max, which automates TikTok Shop campaign creation, Out of Phone, an in-store advertising solution, Conversion lift studies, and privacy-enhancing integrations with third-party providers. You can get the details on all these new tools here. And in my last bit of TikTok tea…

Thirteen states are suing TikTok

Between the black box automation and the constant lawsuits, they’re really taking a page out of Google’s book… Thirteen US states and the District of Columbia are suing TikTok for harming its young users. According to Reuters, “The states accuse TikTok of using intentionally addictive software designed to keep children watching as long and often as possible and misrepresenting its content moderation effectiveness.” We all know TikTok is addictive AF, so IDK how they will weasel their way out of this one. Probably just by, ya know, having a lot of money… sigh. TikTok rejected all the claims in a court filing on Monday, so we’ll have to see how this legal battle pans out (if TikTok doesn’t get banned first). Now, let's wrap it up with some good news for ecom marketers…

Google Merchant Center and Amazon’s MCF are getting integrated

If you’re an Amazon multi-channel fulfillment merchant, you’ll soon be able to link your websites to Google’s Merchant Center. This should make life easier for MCF merchants in a ton of ways. The main takeaway is that MCF merchants will be able to offer free, fast shipping in their Google Shopping ads, which should lead to more clicks and conversions. If you’re an MCF merchant, check out the details here. 

And that’s all for now. Time to wrap up work and start decompressing for the weekend. Until next week, remember to stay informed but also protect your peace. I’ll be back next Friday to break down all the fresh drama for you, so don’t worry, darlings.

You know you love me.

Community-based digital spaces like Reddit offer great opportunities for advertisers to connect with their target audience. But to advertise successfully on these high-engagement platforms, you must first understand what differentiates them from other channels.

So, what exactly is a high-engagement platform?

High-engagement platforms are virtual gathering places that encourage users to participate constructively in discussions about their interests. Reddit users are not just passive viewers; they’re active participants conversing in highly specific subreddits where they invest time and energy into deep discussions. 

This makes Reddit a great place to run ads that build brand awareness. Users won’t just scroll past an ad for your product; they’ll engage in a conversation about it. But to get that brand engagement from Reddit’s users, you have to advertise the right way. High-engagement platforms require advertisers to take a more authentic, non-promotional approach, which we’ll dive into in detail. But first, let’s determine if Reddit is right for you. 

Should I advertise on Reddit?

Reddit knows they have a valuable audience for advertisers, so running ads there can be quite expensive. Therefore, you want to ensure that you’ll see decent ROI. Here are some indicators that Reddit is right for your brand:

1. Your Audience is Active on Reddit: The first step is identifying whether your target demographic uses Reddit. Tech-savvy, younger audiences (Gen Z and Millennials) frequent Reddit for in-depth discussions on everything from gaming to finance. If your product or service fits into a particular niche — like tech, fitness, or home improvement — there’s a good chance a relevant community already exists.

2. Your Brand Can Add Value to the Conversation: Redditors expect brands to be more than advertisers; they want them to provide value through insights, entertainment, or problem-solving. If your brand can share knowledge, tips, or solutions within a community, Reddit could be a strong fit. For example, a SaaS company could provide expert insights in subreddits like r/Entrepreneur or r/Marketing, while a beauty brand might thrive in r/SkincareAddiction by offering practical advice.

3. You’re Ready for Authentic Engagement: Reddit is known for its transparency and active user participation. Brands that succeed on Reddit are those willing to engage honestly and openly with users. If you're prepared to monitor feedback, respond genuinely, and build trust over time, Reddit could be an excellent platform to showcase your brand. Just make sure you’re ready to do the work.

4. You Have a Niche Product or Service: One of Reddit's greatest strengths is its ability to connect advertisers with communities built around specific interests. If your product serves a very targeted audience (e.g., gaming accessories, vegan food, or specialized software), Reddit’s subreddit structure will allow you to zero in on those consumers.

If you’re unsure, consider using an AI-powered forecasting tool to get a clear picture of how your campaigns will perform before you go live.

If you’ve decided Reddit Ads are right for you, we can help you get started. Here are our top tips for advertising on Reddit and other high-engagement platforms.

1. Find the right niche

Subreddits allow advertisers to target extremely specific interest groups. When creating ads, take advantage of Reddit’s robust targeting features. Make sure the subreddits you choose are relevant to your industry and target audience and have a high engagement rate.

For instance, if you're advertising a productivity app, you might consider placing ads in subreddits like r/productivity, r/getdisciplined, or even niche communities like r/bujo (for bullet journaling enthusiasts). This precision helps you ensure that your message reaches the most interested audience.

2. Use Reddit’s ‘Promoted Post’ format

One of the most popular ad formats on Reddit is the Promoted Post. This ad type appears organically within a user’s feed and blends in with regular content, making it less disruptive. Promoted Posts allow you to engage with users via comments, making them a great way to generate discussions. Redditors love to debate, so use this opportunity to ask questions and encourage comments on your ad.

Make sure the content feels native to Reddit, keeping the tone and style aligned with the subreddit you're targeting. Unlike eye-catching Instagram ads, Reddit ads should prioritize value, authenticity, and sometimes even humor to resonate with users​. Which brings us to our next point…

3. Craft ads that don’t feel like ads

Reddit users are particularly sensitive to blatant marketing efforts. So, when you run ads on Reddit, it’s crucial that your content doesn’t scream, “Look at me, I’m an ad!” Instead, think about how you can provide value or spark curiosity. You might include a helpful tip, an interesting fact, or a thought-provoking question. Consider using Reddit-specific jargon or references to better connect with the audience.

For example, your creative could incorporate memes, gifs, or pop culture references that are popular within the subreddits you target. The goal is to make your ad blend into the discussions happening in the subreddit.

4. Incorporate User-Generated Content

One of the easiest ways to create an ad that feels authentic is by incorporating user-generated content (UGC) into your ads. For instance, you could highlight positive reviews or discussions about your product that have already happened on Reddit. This makes your ad feel more like a recommendation from a fellow Redditor than a direct sales pitch.

You could also sponsor an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session, where you sponsor experts in your industry to answer questions from the community. This will help establish your company as a thought leader in your industry and generate more interest in your product. Just make sure not to blatantly plug the product, as a sales pitch will make the whole thing seem insincere. A better call to action would be to offer a downloadable resource on the topics discussed, like a guide or whitepaper. You can require email submission for people to download the whitepaper then retarget them with email marketing.

5. Respond to comments

One of the biggest advantages of Reddit ads is the ability to engage directly with users in the comments section. Redditors are known for leaving detailed feedback, suggestions, or even criticisms. Brands that respond thoughtfully to comments — whether positive or negative — build credibility and trust within the community. A friendly, helpful presence in the comments can turn a critical post into a valuable interaction.

Engaging also shows that your brand is approachable and willing to listen, which is a big deal for Reddit users who prioritize transparency and authenticity. Plus, you can clarify any misconceptions or share additional insights about your product​.

6. Automate campaign management

If you’re running ad campaigns on platforms like Google or Meta and want to expand to Reddit, Marin makes that easy. Our optimization suite makes creating and managing ads a breeze. Plus, it unifies all your different publisher accounts, so you can report on and manage everything in one AI-powered control center. 

Reddit's marketing offering is still pretty basic, but Marin has been helping marketers manage their campaigns for decades. Determine exactly how much money you should spend on Reddit and all your other marketing channels with our Budget Optimizer. Automate campaign management with our script-based customizations and rule-based optimizations. Unlock growth opportunities with Insights. And so much more.

Curious to understand how Marin can supercharge your revenue growth on Reddit? Chat with an expert to learn more.

Hey there, Digital Darlings,

Firstly, let me say to any of my dear readers who were impacted by Hurricane Helene: my heart goes out to you. For those who want to help, there are tons of different ways to donate and provide support here. 

It’s been a stressful week, so let’s take a few deep breaths together before we start…

Done? Ok, let’s get into it.

This town got hit by Helene, and it may disrupt the entire tech industry

Have you ever heard of Spruce Pine? I hadn’t, but it sounds cute AF. It’s a tiny town in Appalachia known for gorgeous hiking, a great local art scene, and for being America’s only source of high-purity quartz, which is used to make semiconductors and solar panels. The town was tragically devastated by Hurricane Helene, and the entire tech industry is about to feel the impact. If Spruce Pine remains cut off from the rest of the world for too long, it could stall the production of solar panels, microchips… basically all the stuff the tech industry needs to function. So be prepared and donate to help Hurricane Helene survivors if you can. Now for a quick Google Ads update…

Google added tCPL bidding for local services ads

They still recommend Maximize Leads for this campaign type, but if you want to set an efficiency threshold, now you can. Just like any other tCPA campaign, some leads may cost more than your target, and some may cost less, but they should average out close to your target. If your local services ads are seeing a higher than desired CPL, consider adding a target CPL to your strategy’s settings. Now for some SEO news…

Google Search Console performance report filters stick now

I know this may not be tea, but it is a big deal to me. I use Search Console all the time and I’m so tired of constantly having to re-apply filters. Now they’re sticky, yay! Just remember to hit the ‘reset filters’ button when you don’t want them anymore. Now for some social updates…

Snapchat influencers are the most ~influential~ influencers

Say that 5 times fast. A recent study by eMarketer on what they call ‘creator-driven shopping’ revealed that Snapchat influencer shopping content has a higher conversion rate than TikTok or Instagram. So retailers, it’s time to reach out to some Snapchat influencers, especially if your target audience includes Gen Zers–who the study showed are most susceptible to influencer marketing. The study also found that Facebook had the lowest rate of creator-driven shopping… no surprises there. Let this report guide where you spend your influencer marketing budget this holiday season. In other social news…

Meta is letting advertisers make ad-embedded chatbots

These AI chatbots offer a new type of CTA. Rather than prompting users to ‘shop now’ in your ads, you can prompt them to chat. Then, ad-embedded chatbots can answer questions about your products–increasing brand engagement and boosting click-through-rates (according to Meta). That said, studies show that the majority of people would rather wait a minute or two to chat with a real person than chat with an AI bot instantly. But I still think an AI chatbot is better than nothing. Test out this new CTA and let me know how it goes? And speaking of AI…

The FTC is cracking down on deceptive AI claims

A lot of companies are making big claims about how their software uses AI. It’s starting to feel like a buzzword that doesn’t mean anything… and the FTC thinks that’s a problem (I agree). They announced four cases against businesses that made “allegedly deceptive claims about AI-driven services” when marketing their businesses. “Some marketers can’t resist using the language of AI and technology to try to make it seem like their products or services deliver all the answers,” said attorney Julia Solomon Ensor. Facts!! To avoid beefing with the FTC, make sure you can back all your AI claims with legit technology. We at Marin recently noticed that there was a lot of confusion around the types of AI our software uses, so we created a handy landing page to spell it out for everyone. That’s one way to stave off the FTC! In more AI news…

Pinterest released genAI tools for ad product imagery

The Pinterest Performance+ suite, a toolkit of AI and automation features for advertisers, can turn plain backgrounds on product images into lifestyle imagery. They started rolling out this feature on Tuesday. These AI backgrounds should drive more clicks for advertisers (according to Pinterest). It’s worth trying out and has the potential to improve the quality of your creatives in seconds. And in my final bit of AI news…

Amazon announced a new AI assistant for sellers

Her name is Amelia, and she’s here to help you manage and scale your business on Amazon. Of course, any new AI assistant warrants a bit of skepticism, but this one seems legit. In Amazon VP Mary Beth Westmoreland’s words, “Project Amelia provides sellers with an all-in-one, generative AI-based selling expert that is always available to immediately provide sellers with the answers, advice, and tools they need to succeed.” 

Other new AI-powered features from Amazon include a video tool that uses generative AI to create video ads from a product image and A+ content, which generates custom content for product detail pages. You can learn more about the new features here. 

And that’s all for now, Darlings. Try to get some R&R this weekend. I’m going to a music festival, so not much resting is happening on my end, but festivals always renew my lust for life. I hope you do something for yourself this weekend that renews your lust for life, too. Until next week, stay cute, stay smart, and stay on top of the latest marketing trends with yours truly.

You know you love me.

Our PPC Doctors are at it again, answering your toughest paid media marketing Q's. Got a question for the docs? Share it here. First up, let's make sure your privacy policy is covering all the bases.

Q: I’m going to start using Google’s enhanced conversions. What do I need to change about my privacy policy to use enhanced conversions ethically and comply with GDPR?

A: Great question! We here at PPC Doctors only endorse ethical marketers. You’ll want to make sure your privacy policy clearly communicates what kind of data you’re collecting and why. Mention that your site gathers personal information like email addresses, phone numbers, or home addresses and that this data is hashed (meaning it’s converted into a secure, unreadable format) before being sent to Google for better conversion tracking.

It’s also a good idea to include a bit about why you’re doing this — that the purpose of sharing this data is to improve the accuracy of your conversion tracking and ad performance measurement and that it won’t be used for anything else without explicit consent.

Be sure to highlight that users have control over this process. Let them know they can opt in or out of data collection through your cookie consent banner and that they can change their mind at any time if they decide they don’t want their data to be used this way. And, of course, mention that all of this is being done in compliance with GDPR, using tools like Google’s Consent Mode to make sure their preferences are respected.

Here’s an example:

Our website uses Google's enhanced conversions to provide you with a better browsing experience and more relevant ads. This means we may collect personal information, such as your email address or phone number, when you interact with our site. Rest assured, this data is anonymized and shared with Google solely to improve the accuracy of our advertising.

Your privacy is important to us. We only use this data with your consent, and you can opt out through our cookie consent banner. We adhere to all GDPR guidelines, ensuring your data is handled safely and transparently.

For more details on how we handle your information, please review our Privacy Policy.

Q: I’m running ads to get leads for my real estate site. I’m targeting keywords like “homes in Austin, Texas” and driving traffic to my website, where they can see a list of houses for sale. The thing is, my cost per lead is pretty high. How can I lower it?

A: To lower your cost per lead for real estate ads, try narrowing down your keyword targeting to more specific terms like “affordable homes in Austin” or “luxury homes in Austin” to attract a more relevant audience. Instead of sending traffic to a general listings page, create dedicated landing pages that highlight unique value propositions, such as “Top New Listings in Austin” or “Best Homes Under $500k.”

Consider using lead magnets like a free home valuation or local market report to capture more qualified leads. Implement negative keywords to filter out irrelevant traffic and experiment with different ad formats and creatives to engage potential buyers more effectively. Finally, leverage audience targeting options, such as custom intent or retargeting, to ensure your ads are reaching people who are more likely to convert.

Q: I run search marketing for a dental franchise and have noticed a significant decrease in leads across my Google Ads accounts. Clicks for some terms have actually surged, but we aren’t getting any more leads. Any idea why?

A: I hate to give this diagnosis, but it sounds like you’ve become a victim of click fraud. Click fraud occurs when your ads receive clicks from sources that have no intention of converting, such as bots or malicious competitors.

One common culprit in the dental industry is Google’s Search Partner network. This network extends your ads to various websites beyond Google, but it's often less transparent and more prone to invalid traffic. Sometimes, the traffic split from Google’s main platform versus Search Partners can shift suddenly, causing a spike in low-quality clicks and a decline in conversions​.

First thing’s first, I prescribe disabling Search Partners. Go into your campaign settings and uncheck the Search Partners option. 

Then, continue to monitor your campaigns. Keep an eye out for unusual patterns like very low cost-per-clicks (CPCs) or high click-through rates (CTRs) with low conversions. These could be indicators of click fraud. If you see spikes in impressions or traffic from unusual locations, you have options. You could exclude suspicious IP addresses, add queries that are driving bad clicks as negatives, tighten audience targeting, or start using a click fraud detection tool that blocks bots.

And that's all for this week! We'll be back in two weeks to answer more critical questions. To have your question answered by the experts and potentially be included in next week edition, submit it here.

Hello, Dear Readers,

It’s our favorite day of the week again. Nothing quells my cynicism like a Friday night dinner with my besties, and I’ve got one planned this very evening. I encourage you all to do the same. But the workday isn’t over yet, Darlings. It’s time tik-talk about TikTok… I’m sorry, that was awful. Please forgive me and keep reading. 

TikTok advertisers can now target its search results page

Google found dead. Just kidding, our overlords will never die. But they’re definitely feeling threatened by the clock app’s fast and furious rise to power. I’ve shared data in the past about how TikTok is becoming Gen Z’s go-to search engine, and the company self-reported that 57% of its users use their search functionality. Basically, they’re coming for Google’s bag. And now, advertisers can target keywords on their search results page, mimicking the paid search model. 

The search ads feature is available in the US now and is coming to other markets soon. TikTok claims that “advertisers that run Search Ads in addition to In-Feed Ads see a 20% increase in conversions on average.” So, if you’re already running In-Feed Ads, I highly recommend adding search ads to the mix. In other TikTok news…

How to get featured in TikTok’s holiday gift guide

Combine the influence of TikTok Shop with the holiday buying frenzy, and what do you get? An opportunity to make a boatload of money if you’re a retail marketer. And what better way to get millions of eyes on your product than to be featured in TikTok’s holiday gift guide? The guide will be highlighted in TikTok Shop and promoted by influencers and in-app marketing pushes. Sounds ideal, except for one tiny detail… you have to spend a lot of money on TikTok Ads over the next three months to qualify. And even if you spend enough, there’s no guarantee that your products will be included. You can review the details here and decide if it’s worth a shot. In other social news…

Some advertisers lost Meta’s Advantage+ Shopping campaigns

If you recently tried to choose Advantage+ while creating a sales campaign in Meta Ads and noticed the option was no longer available, you’re not alone. Some advertisers saw the Advantage+ option disappear, and in its place, the option to create a Catalog Sales Campaign. No word from Meta yet on whether this is intentional or a bug. But if you’re hitting this issue, you can work around it by duplicating an existing Advantage+ Shopping campaign instead of creating a new campaign from scratch. Hopefully, things will go back to normal soon. If they do, I’ll let you know. Now, let’s chat about Reddit…

Reddit’s new ads inspiration library offers, you guessed it, ad inspiration

The layout is quite similar to Facebook’s ad library, but you can’t search for specific brands, and it only features ads that Reddit deems ‘top performers.’ So, maybe it’s not as good for competitive analysis as the Facebook Ads library, but it’s still a great place to go for ideas. You can search ads by keyword, industry, budget, format, placement, and objective. Take it for a spin to get your creative juices flowing. In other social news…

Review your industry’s social media benchmarks

This benchmarking report from Hootsuite can help you understand how your content is performing on key social platforms compared to your industry’s average. It also outlines the best types of content to post on each channel, ideal posting frequency, follower growth rates, and more. Check it out to see how your social strategy stacks up. Now for a bit of ecom news…

Walmart is running a sale the same day as Amazon’s Fall Prime Day

Amazon recently announced that their second sale event of the year, ‘​​Prime Big Deal Days,’ will happen October 8th and 9th. And hot on their heels, Walmart announced that their first ‘Holiday Deals’ sale will start the same day, October 8th, and run through the 13th. So, if you sell on those platforms, it’s time to start scaling up ad spend in preparation for the big days. And if you want to make sure all your boxes are checked, my alter ego wrote a handy Prime Day Prep Guide. Now, let’s talk about everyone’s favorite streaming platform…

YouTube announced a new ‘Pause Ads’ placement

In addition to the typical placements before and during videos, YouTube is rolling out ads that play when a video is paused. They can be static images or short looping videos and occupy a small portion of the screen. Unlike unskippable ads, users have the option to close out of pause ads, making the whole experience less disruptive to viewers, but also likely decreasing user engagement with the ad. Regardless, this new placement is worth testing. In other video news…

Google added video enhancement for PMax

The new feature is being rolled out now and is intended to improve video ad performance with automated adjustments. Advertisers have reported seeing this option in some of their PMax campaign settings and noticed campaigns are being opted in by default. The setting says, “Enhance videos by creating additional vertical and square versions, as well as additional shortened versions.” 

Would you check yes on that? My initial instinct is no, because what if it crops out critical parts of my video ad? Isn’t this why we create multiple variations of our creative? Giving Google’s AI the power to edit my ads makes me a bit nervous, not gonna lie. Can someone else test this out for me and let me know how it goes? And for my last bit of news…

Perplexity is inventing a new online ad auctioning system

For those unfamiliar with Perplexity, they’ve developed an AI-powered search engine that costs users a moderate $20 a month. Their engine scans the web and provides AI-generated summaries of its findings to answer questions, and offers users a list of follow-up questions they could ask. 

And that’s where us advertisers come in - we’ll be able to bid on those follow-up questions. Android Headlines provided this example - “If you ask ‘How long to heat up baby formula,’ a company can pay to display the follow-up question, ‘What are the best times to feed your baby.’ The follow-up question could lead to that company’s website, where it will be able to gain additional ad revenue.” It’s an interesting model that they plan to launch by the end of the year. Could it give Google a run for their money? Only time will tell…

And that’s all for now, darlings. October starts next week, and I know my Digital Darlings love autumn. So watch some spooky movies, frolick through a pumpkin patch or two, binge-watch Caitlin Covington’s Reels, and come back next Friday for some pumpkin-spiced tea.

You know you love me.

Running ads across Google, Bing, Amazon, and social media is necessary for online vendors and sellers. So why is analyzing the performance of those ads so complicated?

Data fragmentation and walled-garden publishers create roadblocks for retail marketers. You’ve got ASINs on Amazon, SKUs on Google Shopping, Meta Advantage Plus, and more – making it hard to align data and get the full picture of a product’s performance. Manually unifying cross-channel data for each product is a tedious process that you honestly don’t have time for.

It’s time to break down data silos with an AI-powered reporting and optimization platform like Marin. Here are five problems you’re probably facing today that Marin can solve.

1. It’s hard to compare product performance across channels

Retail marketers need to be able to compare conversion rates by publisher to spot sales trends. What if a product suddenly starts driving a significantly higher conversion rate on Amazon than on Google? You’ll want to identify that variance immediately to understand what’s working on Amazon and apply what you've learned to your search and social campaigns.

We make it easy to analyze how every product is performing across publishers. No more pulling data from each ad platform and unifying it in a spreadsheet. Marin marries cross-channel data for each SKU – and pulls in conversions and revenue from your source of truth, too. It also matches SKUs to ASINs, making it easier than ever to compare performance between Amazon and your other ad channels. 

Thanks to Marin’s data visualization suite, you’ll never need to do manual data pulls or create visualizations again. The data model is unified and built-in. It’s all right there in the app, so you can move at the speed of business when making critical decisions about where to spend your next dollar. And if you like using spreadsheets, it’s one click to open our reports in Excel.

2. Your sales are impacted by social media trends

If sales for one specific product suddenly skyrocket, congratulations - an influencer may have recommended it to their audience. If you sell in the beauty, lifestyle, fashion, or wellness spaces, you’ve probably experienced this more than once. It’s important to recognize those surges the second they happen so that you can capitalize on them. 

Marin’s Alerts will keep you on top of unexpected shifts in performance by sending a report straight to your inbox. The Alert’s thresholds are totally customizable, but a common one is for campaigns where spend has increased or decreased more than 70% day over day. If any campaigns meet your chosen thresholds, you’ll be emailed a report with all the relevant data and details, making it easy to decide what to do next. And once you’ve determined your next move, you can update budgets, bids, and settings for all your ads right in the Marin grid.

If you’re looking for something more turnkey, our Anomaly Detector might be for you. This AI-powered alerting tool doesn’t require any setup. It automatically identifies deviations in performance and sends a sharable, actionable email explaining what changed and what to do about it. 

3. You need an optimization suite that understands the big picture

Jumping from one ads manager to another can be frustrating, especially since some UIs work better than others. And many campaigns share the same goal across publishers, but thanks to those pesky walled-gardens, you have to navigate through each interface to change ROAS targets for a campaign group. But not with Marin.

Our optimization suite is a command center for all your bidding needs. Tweak bids or targets for all your different campaigns in one grid. Or, unify everything with Marin Bidding. Our bidding algorithm runs across all your channels, so you can map Google, Bing, and Amazon campaigns that share a ROAS target to one Strategy in Marin, making optimization management easier than ever. With one click of a button, update targets across all your PPC publishers. You can also mix and match Marin Bidding with publisher bidding if you prefer.

The TL;DR? You tell the AI what to do. You handle the strategy because that’s what you rock at. Marin automates implementation and performance monitoring based on the strategy you choose.

4. Distributing budget across campaigns and channels is complicated

What if you could ensure that every campaign always has the most efficient daily budget possible? With Marin, you can. Simply set a monthly spend goal for a category of campaigns that share a budget, like brand, non-brand, or by geo. Then, choose a ROAS target. Once you’ve customized your settings, Marin’s AI will allocate your overall budget across campaigns by updating publisher daily budgets, giving the majority of spend to the products with the most marginal opportunity to drive revenue. The algorithm runs daily, so it’ll pick up on any shifts in the SERP and adapt daily budgets as needed. Sounds blissful, right? Let our AI take budget allocation off your plate. Learn more about Marin’s industry-leading budget allocation tool here.

5. Expanding to new channels is daunting

If TikTok gets banned in the US, are you ready to start advertising on Lemon8? Retail moves fast, and your brand can’t take years to establish a presence on the next major social media app.

Marin simplifies the process of testing new channels. You can review the performance of your products at the SKU level by publisher to decide where to start. For example, if you’re seeing success with Amazon Ads and want to test out Google Shopping, simply navigate to Marin’s Product Performance report to understand what your top-performing ASINs are.

Then, you can use our bulk-create tool to build Google Shopping campaigns for those products that you already know drive sales. That way, you’ll put your best foot forward when launching on Google. And you can do all the analysis, campaign creation, editing, and performance monitoring necessary to test a new publisher without leaving Marin. No more hopping from Amazon Ads to Google Ad Manager. Marin will be your mission control center, making it possible to do all your reporting and editing in one window.

…And so much more!

We’ve barely scratched the surface of what Marin can do for your retail media and shopping campaigns. Our customizable platform can solve almost any paid media problem, and automate almost any optimization or reporting workflow. But don’t take our word for it – we’ve got a plethora of case studies detailing how Marin has revolutionized one paid media program after another. And if you want to discuss your unique business needs with a Marin expert, we’re more than happy to chat.

It’s Friday, Digital Darlings. We made it

Time for a social media drama-palooza. I hinted at this last week, and now I’m just gonna say it… I’m tired of talking about Google. So imagine my delight when I saw all the drama happening with Meta, TikTok, and Reddit this week! Let’s get into it.

TikTok is fighting for its life in court

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that TikTok is currently fighting a potential nationwide ban in the US. What I wouldn’t give to be a fly on the wall in that courtroom… apparently, the girls were fighting for over two hours on Monday - on one side, TikTok’s team and a group of loyal content creators. On the other, the US government. The critical question is, who controls their precious algorithm - the US-based company that runs the app or its Chinese parent company, Bytedance? Since there is no historical precedent for a case like this, the US judges are struggling a bit to prove TikTok guilty. But all-in-all, things aren’t looking good for TikTok. They keep arguing that Congress lacks the authority to ban them (Weird take… if not Congress, who?) and that TikTok is being unfairly singled out. Since both those arguments are fairly weak, I fear we may live to see a TikTok ban after all.  But, don’t worry, because…

Bytedance’s other app, Lemon8, is quickly gaining popularity

The new app is a mix of TikTok and Pinterest or “Pinterest on steroids,” as one influencer aptly coined it. Bytedance has been promoting the platform more and more recently, and it seems like their backup plan following a TikTok ban - influencers will just send all their followers to Lemon8. The good news for us advertisers is that the new app already has a paid advertising platform. So if you’re seeing success with TikTok ads, don’t worry. There’s another TikTok in the works if the first one gets banned.

X says they’re still bigger than Pinterest and Reddit

As part of ongoing efforts to court advertisers, X recently sent out an email blast where they claimed to have 570 million monetizable active users, up from 550 million in May. Now, these numbers are self-reported, and to quote Digiday, “the origin of this growth is still shrouded in mystery,” since, culturally, it seems people are shying away from X. They also self-reported 251 million daily active users, which is pretty huge if true. So maybe it’s not time to scale down spend on X just yet. That said, to quote Josh Rosen, “There is no data to demonstrate X users are more likely to engage with ads more often compared to Meta and TikTok, where this has been proven over and over.” So proceed with caution and do conclusive testing to make sure the channel is truly driving incremental revenue for your business. Speaking of Meta…

Will new Meta Ad formats and tools help drive holiday sales?

The first new feature enables advertisers to highlight promo codes in their ads, and they are currently testing highlights for first purchase offers and personalized discounts, too. Now, your promo codes will be displayed right above your CTA.

Another cool new feature is that Reminder Ads, which notify users of upcoming events or sales, can now ‘remind’ people more frequently, and drive clickers to your mobile app if desired. This will help get users more excited than ever about upcoming sales and product launches.

They’ve also added site links to Facebook Ads, so you can now feature links to several different landing pages within one ad. Then, users can choose to browse the product category that piques their interest most. 

And, last but not least, they’re testing shop in-store ads that offer links to Apple Maps directions to the store nearest them. These ads will be shown to users that Meta’s algorithm believes are most likely to shop in-store. If you want to drive in-store traffic, this seems like a great ad format for the holiday season. And in my last bit of social (is Reddit really social?) news…

Reddit shared their golden rules for B2B Ads

Reddit hosted an event just for us B2B marketers last week, and they shared some pretty great insights. If you missed it, here’s a recap. Check it out to understand the best Reddit ad formats for B2B, tips for authentically engaging in the Reddit community, and their four golden rules for advertising on the platform. 

All this social drama has been fun, but I’m sure you’re wondering what G’s been up to this week. Back to our regularly scheduled Google tea party…

DOJ says Google knew advertiser exclusivity was the key to dominance

We all know Google’s second antitrust trial started last week, and it’s not going well for them so far. Internal documents revealed that employees expressed concern that if Google’s ad exchange (AdX) lost exclusivity to advertisers, “many publishers would terminate their AdX relationship in favor of their preferred vendors.” Google employees even admitted that its advertising tools were weaker because they were exclusive to AdX. It’s giving monopoly! You can read the juicy details here. There’s no way to know yet what this could mean for us advertisers, but I’ll keep you in the loop. In other Google Ad news…

First position bidding is now available for YouTube ads

Want to make sure your ad is the first thing people see when they start their YouTube binge? Now you can! With this new bidding strategy, you can reach users when they are most engaged with the platform. Studies show that running ads on YouTube first position bidding ahead of big brand events like sales or product launches can significantly bolster brand recognition. I’m sure it’s expensive, but if you’ve got the money, this placement seems worth it. To use this bidding type, you have to book an Instant Reserve deal. Here’s how. And for our last sip of Google tea…

Negative keyword exclusions are finally coming to PMax

Google announced that they’ll launch campaign-level negative keywords for PMax campaigns later this year. Finally! Up until now, we’ve had to either fill out a form or contact our Google Rep to apply negatives to these campaigns. This will give advertisers the power to refine the queries their PMax ads serve for. There’s no set date, but they said they’ll begin rolling out this feature before the end of the year. And lastly, let’s talk about Amazon…

Prime Day 2.0 is happening October 8th and 9th

They’re calling the event ‘Prime Big Deal Days’, and it’ll be here before you know it, so retail marketers - it’s time to lock in. Check out our Prep Guide to make sure all your bases are covered before the big day.

And that’s it for this week’s tea time, darlings, until next week; stay cool and collected as you prep your holiday campaigns. Black Friday will be here before you know it, and so will next Friday, so don’t miss me too much.

You know you love me.

Even the most experienced PPC marketers sometimes struggle to spend their whole budget. This could be due to a myriad of factors, and even well-optimized campaigns encounter this problem. Here are some reasons your campaigns may not be spending as much as you’d like and how to remedy them.

1. Quality Score is too low

A low quality score will lead to low ad rank, which will prevent your ad from serving as frequently as possible. You can check your score by adding the ‘Quality Score’ column to your Google Ads report. The score can range from 1-10, and a score of 8-10 is considered very good. If your score is below 8, there’s room for improvement.

To improve your Quality Score, start by increasing ad relevance. The easiest way to do so is by including your target keywords in your ad copy. Try to incorporate several target keywords into your headlines and descriptions.

It’s also helpful to include those same keywords in your landing page copy. The quality and relevancy of your landing page can significantly impact your score, so be sure that your ad messaging is aligned with what is on your landing page.

Your landing page's user experience also impacts quality score, so an LP audit could be a great next step. Key factors to consider are page load time and the strength of the call to action on your landing page.

Your call to action should be aligned with the copy in your ad. A common mistake is to send ads for specific products or categories to a generic page. If you are running an ad for women’s boots, for example, your ad should send searchers to a ‘women’s boots’ filtered landing page rather than a generic landing page that features all the shoes you sell.

2. You’re not targeting enough keywords

Expanding keyword targeting will allow the algorithm to serve your ads to more people. Start by looking at your search query report. This will give you an idea of what people are looking for, and you can incorporate relevant search terms as keywords.

I had a client who kept increasing their campaign budget and loosening their CPA target, but spend stayed flat. We found that they were simply not bidding on enough high-volume search terms.

The process of manually combing through search terms reports to find new target keywords was tedious and kept getting put on the back burner, so they decided to automate it with Marin. The client gave us the criteria for what they would want added: keywords with at least ten conversions over the past 30 days and a cost per conversion of $30 or less. We applied those settings in Marin, and the platform now scans their search query report each week and adds any search terms that fit their criteria as keywords. Since implementing this solution, spend has increased considerably, and CPA is still on target. If that sounds interesting, you can learn more about Marin’s customizable automations here.

Also, consider match type expansion. If you are just targeting exact match keywords, add some broad match variations to get your ad in front of more people. This will also help with keyword research by generating new terms in your search query report.

Another way to conduct keyword research is to make a list of topics relevant to what you are advertising and then list the terms you think your target audience would search for to find information on those topics. You can also research competitors and see what kind of verbiage they are using on their websites and ads to get more keyword ideas. Google Ads Keyword Planner is also a great tool that you can use to discover more keywords and find out how popular they are.

3. Bids are too low

If your bids are too low, your ads will not be served. Increasing bids can also result in a higher average position on the page, which will increase click-through rate.

For manual bidding, I’d start by increasing bids by 10-20%, then continue to make weekly increases in small increments until you reach your desired level of spend.  If you are bidding to a CPA or a ROAS target, consider a less competitive target.

You could also switch to a maximize clicks strategy in Google or a target impression share strategy in Marin to rapidly increase traffic. These strategies will try to spend your full daily budget as efficiently as possible and will likely spend more than tCPA or tROAS since they aren’t restricted by an efficiency goal. 

Implementing dayparting is another way to increase bids. You can strategically increase bids only during certain times and days of the week when you typically see better performance.

Also, people often forget about device modifiers. Removing any negative modifiers you have in place should increase spend.

4. Geo-targeting is too narrow

Increasing location targeting can expand the reach of your ads to more potential customers. It may not make sense for every business, but it is worth testing for many. Some potential customers may be making relevant searches, but they are not within the campaign's target area. You can also consider reallocating some of your budget to other campaigns with more broad targeting.

5. Your budgets are spread too thin

You may have more campaigns than you need, and the campaigns you do have may not be built out enough. Consider consolidating campaigns that share similar themes and goals. When you consolidate campaigns, use top-performing assets for the ads and add some new assets and copy to test out what works best. When you consolidate similar ads into one campaign with one budget, Google’s algorithm will be able to distribute that budget across more search terms, leading to higher overall spend.

You can also try shared campaign budgets. With shared budgets, the campaigns getting the most traffic will have room to spend as much of your budget as they need. This way, you don’t have to worry about allocating a daily budget to each campaign.

6. You don’t have time to focus on budget allocation

If you manage a lot of campaigns, it can be difficult to keep track of all those budgets. It’s also challenging to keep up with market trends and understand which campaigns have potential to spend more. That’s why we created Marin Ascend, an AI-powered tool that automates the process of reviewing daily budgets and distributing spend across campaigns. It predicts each campaign’s future performance to determine where your money should be allocated. Just set one monthly spend target for a group of campaigns and Marin will take it from there. 

I had a client who had one budget for a group of campaigns and wasn’t sure how to split it up. I showed them Marin Ascend and explained that it would decide how to distribute budget based on past performance and forecasted future performance. We were even able to review the forecasted results before enabling the tool, and since the predictions looked great, my client decided to give it a go. Ascend then shifted their budget between campaigns throughout the month based on its AI-powered daily performance forecasts. After using Ascend for a month, my client finally hit their monthly spend target, and overall cost per conversion decreased by 76%!

To learn more about Marin Ascend, check out our client success stories.

7. You don’t have enough campaign types

If you are only using one or two campaign types, it may be time to expand. Different campaign types will help your ads connect with people in different places. It is best practice to run search campaigns alongside additional campaign types. For example, you can run a search campaign and a PMax campaign that target the same topic. The PMax campaign will reach people across more areas of the web, which will build brand recognition and result in more clicks or searches later on. You could also test a video, display, or Dynamic Search (DSA) campaign. Running new types of campaigns can be an effective way to spend your remaining budget and is a good way to test if those campaign types work well for your business.

8. You need to try other publishers

If after trying out these solutions you still are unable to spend your budget, it may be time to expand to other publishers. Marin makes it easy to copy campaigns from Google to Microsoft if you’re looking to expand to Bing. You can manage campaigns from all your publishers directly in Marin to keep track of budgets and performance in one place. You can even have shared budgets across different publishers. 

I had a client who wasn’t able to spend their monthly budget, but they were achieving over 90% impression share on Google. I suggested that they expand their paid search ads to Microsoft. Thanks to Marin's Copy Tool, this was a simple process for their team. They copied a few of their top-performing Google campaigns to Microsoft and immediately spend started to increase. 

Marin Ascend enabled their Google and Microsoft campaigns to share one budget so that they never missed an opportunity to spend. The tool’s optimization suite made it easy for them to manage an additional publisher by setting up automations in Marin that optimized campaigns in each publisher simultaneously. Interested in learning more? Click here to schedule time with a member of my team.

Time to dive deep on our patients' questions about targeting new customers on Google Ads, bringing a PMax campaign back from the dead, and advertising on Meta as a healthcare brand. Got a question for the PPC doctors? Share it here.

Q: I’m a B2B software marketer, and I want to make sure my Google Ads only target new site visitors. I don’t want to spend money on returning visitors. How can I do that?

A: To ensure your Google Ads only target new site visitors and avoid spending on returning visitors, you'll want to use audience exclusions. Here’s how:

Set up a custom audience in Google Ads that includes all users who have previously visited your website. Then, apply this audience as an exclusion to your campaigns. This tells Google Ads not to show your ads to anyone who has already visited your site.

Alternatively, you could use GA4 to create an audience segment specifically for new users and import it into Google Ads. You can create the custom segment by defining conditions that exclude users who have already visited your website. You can also exclude users who have triggered specific events or pageviews associated with returning visitors. Once this segment is created, you can import it into Google Ads and use it to target only new users. This option is great if you want to exclude specific types of past visitors, like those who engaged with your site.

Lastly, Google recently released a new ‘customer acquisition’ bidding goal for PMax and search campaigns. If you navigate to a search or PMax campaign’s settings, you’ll see ‘customer acquisition.’ There, you can set your campaign to bid for new customers only. This only works for a few campaign types, but it is a quick and easy way to target new customers! 

Q: I’m trying to recover from a month-long data outage after an agency broke our tracking setup. Before the outage, my PMax campaign was spending about $1,000 a day and close to hitting my target ROAS of 3. But since there is no data for the past month, it’s hardly spending anything now. I just finished fixing the tracking setup, so I have conversion data for the past few days. What is the fastest way to get my PMax campaign to bounce back?

A: I'm sorry to hear about the agency's error and understand your frustration, but rest assured we can get things back on track. There are two routes you can take:

First, you could loosen your target ROAS and increase your daily budget. This will give the algorithm some breathing room to find new conversions while gathering fresh data. Adding high-quality audience signals, like customer lists or past converters, can help guide the algorithm toward likely converters.

Alternatively, you could switch to a “Maximize Conversions” strategy. This will help the algorithm quickly gather data. Once you have enough conversions, switch back to your original settings. Aim for at least 20-30 conversions over a few days to give the algorithm enough data to identify patterns and optimize effectively.

And don’t forget to exclude the outage dates from bidding calculations!

Q: I’m doing marketing for my dental clinic and currently run ads on Google. Should I try advertising on Meta, too? Any insight on how medical clinic ads perform on Instagram and Facebook?

A: First thing’s first, make sure you're running Local Services Ads on Google—those are usually the best way for a dental clinic to find new patients. But adding Meta ads can absolutely help, too!

To make the most of it, you'll want to offer a compelling new patient special. A discount or a unique package can grab attention and entice people to book an appointment. Make sure your ad creative is visually appealing and "scroll-stopping." Think high-quality images or videos of your beautiful office, friendly staff, or even short testimonials from happy patients (just be mindful of HIPAA regulations). Remember, Instagram thrives on visuals, so this platform could be especially effective for you​.

Targeting is key on Meta. Use their advanced targeting tools to reach people in your area who may be looking for a new dentist. You can focus on specific demographics or even interests, like those related to dental health. Research shows that a significant percentage of consumers use social media to make informed health decisions, so having a presence there can build trust and attract new patients.

Lastly, keep it easy for users to book an appointment. The call to action in your ad should link directly to a form where they can schedule an appointment in just a few clicks. The less friction, the better your chances of converting viewers into patients.

So yes, advertising on Meta can be a great complement to your existing Google Ads, especially if you craft compelling offers and engaging content that showcases the best of what your dental clinic has to offer.

And that's it for this week! Share your questions here to get answers from your PPC Docs ASAP and be featured in our next edition.‍

Last week, Reddit hosted its first verticalized event tailored specifically to B2B marketers. Held at Reddit's San Francisco headquarters, The Key to Context for B2B Marketers brought together approximately 50 attendees for two hours of valuable insights, covering the latest in Reddit's advertising strategies and tools for businesses. If you didn't get a chance to attend the event, we've recapped the key takeaways below.

A Look at Reddit’s Growth and Advertising Opportunities

Carly Goodwin, Reddit’s Tech/B2B Industry Director, highlighted Reddit's impressive growth, with the platform seeing a 69% year-over-year increase in usage. She emphasized how Reddit blends the best aspects of search and social platforms with a strong focus on keyword targeting to help advertisers reach their audience effectively.

Karina Pendergast, Reddit’s Global Insights Lead, discussed how B2B marketers can leverage Reddit as a secondary source to validate what Business Decision Makers (BDMs) are seeing on platforms like LinkedIn. She explained that Reddit provides unique insights by tapping into communities where key business conversations are already happening. Reddit threads can be an invaluable resource for brands seeking to understand their audience on a deeper level.

Lauren Kroll from Reddit’s Ads UX team stressed the value of Conversation Ads, a powerful format where ads are integrated within user comments, making them less intrusive and more effective. This new expanded ad format also allows for multi-placement optimization, ensuring ads reach users at various touchpoints.

New Tools and Formats for B2B Advertisers

Reddit continues to innovate with new tools such as Reddit Pro, which allows advertisers to track relevant conversations tied to their brand and category. This tool can be a game-changer for brands looking to engage directly with conversations that matter most.

The event also shed light on several ad formats designed for B2B use:

• Free Form Ads: Ideal for long-form storytelling and thought leadership. These ads can accommodate up to 40k characters, making them perfect for blog posts or whitepapers.
• AMA (Ask Me Anything): Organic tools for engaging with the Reddit community, supported by an ad format to help amplify these discussions.
• Lead Gen Ads: This format enables users to fill out forms directly on Reddit, with the data syncing seamlessly to your CRM via tools like Zapier.

Driving Performance with CAPI

The focus of the event wasn’t just on creativity but also on driving performance. Attendees learned how Reddit’s tools prioritize conversion goals, allowing marketers to optimize for the most important events. With the help of Conversion API (CAPI), marketers have seen a 15-20% increase in conversions and a 10% decrease in CPA compared to pixel tracking alone. CAPI also helps with targeting, especially for lookalike audiences.

The Power of Storytelling and Reddit’s Community

The importance of freeform ads for thought leadership and case studies was reinforced. By tapping into Reddit-specific terms like TIL (Today I Learned) and YSK (You Should Know), brands can tailor their content to align with the organic flow of Reddit conversations. Another key takeaway was the reminder that Reddit ads should be built for mobile, align with your brand’s voice, and be prescriptive in driving actions.

The Customer Panel included notable speakers such as Jessica Harp (Growth Marketing Manager at SurveyMonkey), Mike Gardner (Director of Marketing at Solidigm), and Liez Ferraguas (Brand Media Lead at Canva). Each panelist shared their experiences and success stories in using Reddit to enhance their brands. For example, SurveyMonkey highlighted the value of community takeovers, a strategic approach to immersing a brand within a Reddit community. This tactic has proven especially effective for creating a top-of-funnel experience that leads to full-funnel success through retargeting.

Reddit’s Golden Rules for Ads

The event concluded with a series of golden rules for B2B brands using Reddit:

• Build for mobile: Ensure your content is mobile-friendly.
• Show, don’t tell: Engage users with dynamic content and visuals.
• Be prescriptive: Include clear CTAs that guide the user journey.
• Reddit like Reddit: Content should feel native to the platform, blending in with organic posts.

Final Thoughts and Q&A

During the closing Q&A, attendees explored how best to engage as a brand on Reddit. The key takeaway was the importance of authenticity—brands should learn to participate in conversations naturally, adding value without overtly “selling.” Upvotes from the community can be a powerful tool to amplify your brand’s voice. Additionally, brands can participate in conversations organically, without paid ads, which can be great for testing brand safety and preventing ad fatigue.

Need Help Managing Reddit Ads?

Reddit’s unique ad formats and community-first approach are powerful tools for B2B marketers. However, managing campaigns across multiple platforms like Reddit, LinkedIn, and more can be complex. That’s where Marin comes in. Our platform helps unify all your digital marketing efforts, giving you a single interface to optimize campaigns across various channels. Whether you need help managing Reddit, LinkedIn, or other advertising platforms, Marin Software’s AI-powered tools and expert team are here to support your goals. Reach out today to see how we can help drive better performance across all your marketing efforts!

Happy Friday, Digital Darlings,

Another week, another Google antitrust trial. Drama seems to follow G wherever they go, and at a certain point, they have to ask themselves - am I the problem? Let’s dish on all the Google drama and cover some paid social tea, too. 

Google’s new antitrust trial kicked off Monday

According to Marketing Brew, this trial “represents the biggest threat the tech giant has ever faced.” Spicy!! The trial is about how Google has made access to Google Ads contingent upon using its ad server, which the DOJ says allowed them to have a monopoly over the digital advertising market. There’s so much more to it, and this article does a great job of breaking down all the accusations thrown their way. The trial is expected to last a month or two, and could potentially lead to a forced breakup of Google’s ad-tech stack, so I’ll keep you in the loop as things progress. Meanwhile, in the EU…

Google lost its appeal against the EU’s shopping antitrust ruling

In 2017, Google was fined a whopping €2.42 billion after being found guilty of monopolizing online shopping by giving prominent placement to its own shopping service (Google Shopping) while demoting rival comparison shopping services. This is Google’s second time appealing the ruling and losing. Time to accept the L, perhaps? 

With their EU lawsuits, Google seems locked in a sisyphean loop of being found guilty of monopolizing, appealing the ruling, and being found guilty again. If they repeat the pattern with the US antitrust trials, it’ll be years before we see any impact from guilty rulings. So it looks like our daily workflows as paid search advertisers won’t be changing any time soon… for better or worse. In other Google news…

Google Ads is officially deprecating Enhanced CPC

I audibly gasped when I read this headline. Maybe it’s just me, but this really feels like the end of paid search as we’ve known it. They’re going to start phasing out eCPC next month, and plan to complete the phase-out by March 2025. All campaigns on eCPC will be automatically switched to manual CPC. 

In an email blast to advertisers, Google said they’re doing this because more advanced automated strategies like Max Conversions now exist, and are better. Sure, but those strategies also forfeit control entirely to the algorithm. eCPC always felt like the best of both worlds to me–you have control over your bids and get that extra performance boost from Google’s algorithm optimizing toward audience signals and such. But no more…

If you haven’t switched to fully automated bidding yet, now is the time, because in this modern PPC landscape, manual bidding isn’t gonna cut it. In more Google news…

Google is going to introduce conversion metrics by ‘campaign type’

These new conversion types will be exclusive to Demand Gen campaigns (for now) and will give full credit to the Demand Gen campaign if it had any impact on driving a conversion, rather than distributing credit across the multiple ads that contributed to driving the conversion. They said they’re doing this so that advertisers can fairly compare the performance of their Demand Gen campaigns with campaigns on other platforms–like Meta, where campaigns take full credit for any conversion that they’ve touched. 

This seems like a step backward, away from accurate attribution and truly understanding the conversion funnel. It’s just another reason why advertisers need a third-party conversion tracking solution they can trust, rather than relying on in-platform conversion metrics. In my final bit of Google drama…

Is Google hiding search term data from advertisers?

The good people at Search Engine Land ran some numbers and found that 20% - 80% of search term data is hidden. What?? Lack of access to this data could be seriously hindering advertisers’ ability to optimize their ads. Why would Google do this? We can’t be sure, but the Search Engine Land team posits that “It’s likely a short-term revenue-increasing decision. The less data advertisers can see, the less they can limit their advertising spend.”

The research also found that much more data is hidden from phrase match keyword results vs. exact match. Their solution? Switch to exact match keywords. This goes against all of Google’s advice, so it’s up to you to decide what’s best for your business. Read the article, analyze the details, and do whatever is best for you. Now for some paid social news…

Meta’s new data restrictions may mess up your custom audiences

In an email to advertisers, Meta announced that they’re going to “automatically restrict data, such as certain parts of URLs and custom parameters.” This could impact your custom audiences if the parameters used to collect their data include restricted information. Those audiences will shrink, and if they get too small, ads using those audiences for targeting could be paused. To prepare, check the Events Manager Overview to see what data the changes will impact. You may need to simplify some tracking parameters, or create a new audience with ‘standard parameters’. In other social news…

New Meta ad placements are coming

Facebook marketing expert Jon Loomer was filtering by placements in an ad report when a few new placement options caught his eye. The most interesting were placements in the Oculus VR app, in the Threads feed, and in Facebook notifications. Does this mean ads are coming to Threads soon? There’s really no way to be sure, but now we know the placements are at least being tested. I’ll keep an eye out, and when ads on Threads become a thing, trust me, I’ll let you know. And in my final bit of social news…

LinkedIn has a new video feed

Attention, B2B marketers! This is great news for us. LinkedIn is rolling out vertical short form video feeds, joining the likes of TikTok and Reels (some are even calling it ‘LinkTok’... not me though). We all know that short form video is one of the most engaging ad formats, so it’s exciting that LinkedIn introduced a feed users can scroll for everything from career advice to rants about workplace drama. They’re still experimenting with where the feed should live in the platform, so in-feed ad placements are probably far off. But organic videos could be a great way to engage with your existing audience and share useful thought leadership content that’ll help grow your brand.

And that’s all, folks! I know it was a super Google-heavy week and you may be getting tired of hearing about them, but hey, I don’t write the headlines, I just spill the tea. I hope you all get a chance to tap out of the matrix and touch grass this weekend, especially now that fall weather has arrived. I’ll see you next week. In the meantime, treat yourself to a PSL. You deserve it.

You know you love me.

Happy pre-kend, Digital Darlings,

Google’s got a few new tricks with GA4 features and SEO updates, and X just got the axe in Brazil. The marketing world is nothing if not chaotic, but don’t worry—I’ve got all the juicy details to keep you one step ahead. Let’s dive in, shall we?

GA4’s new benchmarking tool offers competitor comparisons

They say comparison is the thief of joy, but in the cutthroat realm of digital marketing, it’s important to know what you’re up against. GA4’s new benchmarking metrics compare your performance against cohorts of businesses that are similar to yours, called ‘peer groups.’

Once you’ve turned on benchmarking data, you can compare any of your metrics to your peer group’s average and the 25th and 75th percentile. That way, you know which of your numbers are aligned with the market and which need some work. You can find details on how to enable and use the benchmarking feature here. But don’t be too hard on yourself if some of your metrics are a little below average, ok darlings?? Now for some SEO updates…

The Google August core update is complete

After weeks of volatility, SEOers may finally get a moment of peace. The core update ran from August 15th to September 3rd, bringing about typical SERP changes. The update was intended to take into account the negative feedback Google received after the September 2023 Helpful Content Update and remedy some of the unfair negative impacts that the update had on small sites. But according to my sources, the new update didn’t move the needle for most independent sites. The majority saw little to no significant improvement in rankings, so if that’s you, take solace that you’re not alone. Google says to review their page on ‘Creating helpful, people first content’ if you want to improve your rankings. 

Also, note that the update caused a ranking bug during its first few days, so you can ignore any fluctuations in traffic that you saw from August 15th to 20th. Now for some Bing updates…

Microsoft Audience Ads just got better

They’re using machine learning to serve our ads to more relevant audiences than ever before and are giving us some new tools, too. Display and video audience ads are getting more bid strategies, better targeting options, and improved conversion tracking. Calls to action and business logos have been added to native ads. And IAS verification has been added so you can confirm that your ads are being viewed by real people in brand-safe environments. Get all the details here. Now, let’s dish about brand exclusions on PMax…

To exclude or not to exclude brand on PMax… That is the question

And @oliviaakory has answers. She summarized her findings from multiple clients who’ve tested it, and the biggest takeaway was - excluding brand terms drove more incremental revenue half the time, and when it did drive more revenue, it won by a landslide. So, you still need to test it to determine if excluding brand is the right move for your business. But here’s a hint: brands with an AOV over $238 saw significantly more revenue when brand terms were included. We’re not sure why, but OP thinks it comes down to data scarcity, saying, “Higher AOVs correlate with higher CACs, which means less data fueling the algorithm.” So, if you have a high average AOV, maybe skip out on brand exclusions for now. Check out Olivia’s thread for detailed recs on how to leverage her findings. In other Google Ads news…

There’s a new Categories tab in Google Ads

The tab appears to pull data from the ‘google_product_category’ attribute and can be found in the Products tab. This handy tab will give you a better idea of which product categories are driving performance and which ones need your attention. It can also help you detect shifts in customer interest by category and will offer actionable recommendations like pausing underperforming categories and boosting top-performing ones. It’s a good one for retailers to check out! However, advertisers speculate that Google may not categorize products correctly, so watch out for that. In my final bit of Google Ads news…

Google’s got a new advanced performance planner for YouTube ads

These new plans should enable advertisers to “better align their full marketing strategy with campaign goals, offering customizable options for budget, ad format, buying method, and campaign objectives.” Sounds good to me! You can choose either an Action Plan which prioritizes conversions or an Awareness Plan which focuses on brand visibility. This feature is super new, but looks like a great way to ensure alignment across campaigns, so give it a try if you run a lot of video ads. Now for some social news…

X is officially banned in Brazil

Oh Elon, you just can’t seem to stay out of trouble. Earlier this year, Brazilian officials issued a court order for Musk to ban certain accounts that were spreading misinformation on his platform, which he refused in the name of free speech. So now, no more X for Brazilians. The ban is driving Brazilians to Bluesky, an app that functions quite like X, but is decentralized rather than run by a billionaire. People have already been running in droves from X to Threads lately, and recent data shows that brands’ X usage and ad spend continue to fall dramatically. So we know people are leaving X for Threads, but Bluesky may be a new social media platform to watch as well. In my last bit of social news…

Instagram added a comments feature to stories

Stories are officially the new feed posts. Not much else to say here - just be aware that followers can comment on your stories and make sure to engage with those conversations. You do have the option to disable comments on stories, but I wouldn’t recommend it. We all want any engagement we can get, right?! Another thing to keep in mind is if you use any bots to respond to comments with DMs, they probably won’t work on story comments just yet.

And that’s the scoop for this week, my marketing mavens. Until next week, stay sharp, werk hard, and keep serving looks AND ads.

You know you love me.

Let’s explore the concept of ad-tech walled gardens and their impact on digital advertising. The term “walled garden” refers to a closed-system platform that retains customer data inside its digital ecosystem. These advertising ecosystems are usually controlled entirely by a single company. The goal is to keep user data within the company’s ecosystem so that other companies cannot access it.

Meta, Google, Amazon, X, TikTok, Pinterest, and Snapchat all have walled-garden data systems. The purpose is to maintain a competitive advantage - of course, Google doesn’t want Meta to have its data. But these walled gardens present a challenge for advertisers because all their data is siloed by platform. That’s why many advertisers opt to use a data unification platform like Marin Connect to unify data across platforms. Marin pulls data via API from every major ad platform so that advertisers can analyze all their data in one place and implement cross-channel advertising strategies.

How did walled gardens start? 

The phase-out of third-party cookies started in 2018 and blocked some of the access advertisers had to third-party data. While this change was great for data privacy, it forced each ad platform to call upon its first-party data for ad targeting—data the platforms most certainly did not want to share with one another. 

Here’s a little recap of the different data classifications:

• First-party data: This data is collected directly by the organization. 
• Second-party data: This is data collected and shared by a trusted source. 
• Third-party data: This type of data is aggregated from multiple second-party sources. 

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The role of GDPR in ad-tech walled gardens 

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is comprehensive data protection legislation implemented by the European Union in 2018. It aims to protect citizens' data by enforcing strict data collection, storage, and usage guidelines. Its main benefit is granting individuals greater control over their data, including the right to access, correct, and delete information held by companies. 

GDPR negatively impacted the use of third-party cookies, and according to some studies, it even reduces revenue. Advertisers use third-party cookies to track users across different websites. Under the GDPR, companies must obtain explicit user consent before placing these cookies, leading to widespread changes in digital advertising operations. As a result, many organizations have shifted towards first-party data collection methods, relying on data gathered directly from their websites and apps. This shift contributed to the rise of "walled gardens," where large platforms like Google and Facebook create closed ecosystems that control access to user data and advertising.

Beyond the GDPR, other privacy acts, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), further strengthened user privacy rights. These laws provide similar protections, giving consumers more control over their data and imposing stricter regulations on businesses regarding data handling and transparency.

How do walled gardens affect attribution? 

By preventing marketers from tracking and correlating data across platforms, walled gardens impede informed decision-making in several ways:

• Limited measurement: Walled gardens make it more difficult for advertisers to track the success of campaigns across multiple channels and understand the real impact of different advertising efforts, resulting in attribution problems. ‍
• Journey fragmentation: Because each walled garden operates within its own ecosystem, it's harder for marketers to track conversions throughout the user journey. ‍
• Data accessibility: Limited access to user data within walled gardens hinders the ability to analyze data at a granular level. 

Here's a break down of the pros and cons of walled gardens for a few of the major ad platforms:

Overcoming walled gardens with Marin 

Marin has developed a powerful suite of solutions to make the most of digital advertising. The first tier of the suite, Marin Connect offers a new way to collect, unify, and analyze marketing data. The AI-powered solution offers cross-channel reporting, a unified data model, and powerful analytics. 

Interested in optimizing your data collection and analysis? Discover what the power of Marin’s AI can do for your marketing by requesting a demo.

It's time for your bi-weekly PPC health check-up. Let's get into it.

Q: I have a question about a PMax campaign that I’ve been running for about a year. It’s on tCPA bidding and consistently hits the tCPA target. The conversion volume is decent, but I’d love to see more. I recently increased the daily budget from $450 to $550, but daily spend is still hovering around $450. Why won’t it spend more?

A: It sounds like your PMax campaign is a little spend-shy! This is likely because it’s consistently hitting your tCPA target, and Google is limiting the spend to maintain that efficiency. One of the golden rules of paid search health is to always consider the cost vs. efficiency tradeoff. The more you spend, the less efficient that spend will be. It’s up to you to decide if the additional conversions you’ll get are worth a higher CPA.

One approach is to gradually increase your tCPA target by a small percentage, like +10% a week. This will give the campaign more room to spend while still maintaining a CPA close to your target. You could also consider switching to a "Maximize Conversions" strategy if your main goal is to drive more volume, but keep in mind this will likely lead to a higher CPA.

Sometimes, refreshing your creative assets or expanding your audience targeting gives the algorithm more opportunities to find users that’ll convert. The key is to make changes gradually and monitor the impact closely to ensure CPA stays on track.

Q: What is Google Consent Mode v2, and what do I need to do to ensure my site complies with it?

A: Google Consent Mode v2 (CMv2) helps advertisers comply with privacy regulations while still acquiring data from users who have consented to tracking. It allows you to adjust the behavior of your Google tags based on users' consent status so that when users opt out of tracking, the tags adapt to respect their preferences. The newer version (v2) offers enhanced control with two new parameters—ad_user_data and ad_personalization—and two consent modes: Basic and Advanced.

To ensure your website complies, you need to implement Consent Mode in your Google Tags, set up the necessary signals, and configure your campaigns to adjust based on user consent. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Implement Consent Mode in Google Tags: Update your website’s Google Tags to include CMv2.
2. Configure Consent States: Determine whether to use Basic or Advanced mode. Basic mode handles consent simply, while Advanced mode gives you more granular control over how data is collected and processed based on user consent.
3. Set Parameters: Use the new ad_user_data and ad_personalization parameters to control how Google processes data for advertising and personalization based on consent.
4. Work with a CMP (Consent Management Platform): Integrate a CMP that supports CMv2 to manage and communicate consent preferences on your website.
5. Test and Monitor: Regularly test your setup to ensure it's functioning correctly and that consent is being respected according to the latest regulations.

Let us know if any other questions come up while you’re implementing! 

Q:  A few days ago I created a Meta advantage plus campaign with a lot of different creative variations. The campaign is active but not spending. It says it’s in the Learning Phase. How can I get it to start serving my ads?

A: It sounds like your campaign might need a bit more time to kick into gear. When a campaign says it’s in the learning phase, it’s adjusting to find the best audiences and placements, so it’s normal for spending to be slow initially. However, if the trend continues, there are a few things you can troubleshoot.

It may sound obvious, but start by QAing your setup to ensure the campaign has active ads and ad sets. I know I’ve forgotten to enable an ad or two in my day! Once you’ve confirmed your settings are correct, you can dig deeper.

Check your audience size—if it’s too narrow, there might not be enough users to target. You could try broadening your audience or expanding your targeting settings. Also, review your bid strategy and budget. If your bid is too low, it might not be competitive enough to enter auctions. Similarly, if your budget is limited, the system may be cautious about spending it too quickly. Consider adjusting these settings slightly to see if it helps.

And that's a wrap on this week's digital marketing health checkup! Got questions for our PPC Docs? Share them here.

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Happy Friday, my Digital Darlings,

Another week in the digital trenches and I’m here to break it all down for you. Let’s get right into it!

Perplexity's pitch deck offers advertisers a new vision for AI search 

Guess who's stepping into the AI spotlight? Perplexity, with a pitch deck that’s turning heads and rewriting the rules of AI search. Advertisers, take note—this isn’t just another tech trend; it’s cutting edge thought leadership. With Perplexity’s fresh vision, you might just find your next campaign strategy within the depths of AI magic. So, are you ready to dive in or will you be left behind in the digital dust?

Pinterest explores publisher partnerships to boost ad sales

Pinterest is cozying up to publishers in a bid to boost ad sales. That’s right, my darlings, the platform known for pretty pins is getting serious about making bank. For digital marketers, this is your invitation to rethink how you use Pinterest. With new partnerships on the horizon, the potential for more targeted, lucrative ad placements is heating up. So, are you ready to pin your hopes on Pinterest, or will you miss out on the next big opportunity? And, finally, in e-commerce news…

40% of Consumers Paid Full Price During Amazon Prime Day, Walmart+ Week

While shopping certainly spiked at Amazon during Prime Week, shoppers weren’t just there for the deals. Turns out, 40% of shoppers didn’t wait for discounts and splurged on full-price items during Amazon Prime Day and Walmart Week. That’s right, even in the age of deal-hunting, luxury spending is alive and well. For digital marketers, this is your cue: the right products and the right moments can still command top dollar.

TikTok must face a lawsuit for recommending the viral ‘blackout challenge’

TikTok is in trouble—again. The infamous Blackout Challenge has sparked another lawsuit, and the appeals court says they can’t hide behind Section 230. For digital marketers, this is a stark reminder: the platforms where you push your content are more than just engagement goldmines; they're legal minefields too. As courts crack down on dangerous trends, your brand’s safety and ethics strategy needs to be sharper than ever.

Google removes Auction Insights from Looker Studio

If you’ve felt like something’s missing from your Looker dashboards lately, it’s probably because Auction Insights have disappeared. The tool you relied on to peek into your competition’s bidding strategies is gone. Why does it matter? Well, without this inside scoop, your digital campaigns might feel like navigating the Met steps blindfolded. You’ll have to work extra hard to stay ahead of the competition now. So, marketers, it's time to adapt or risk being left in the dust. In other Google news…

Google introduces YouTube creator-based audience targeting

Google’s rolling out a new way to target audiences, and this time, it’s all about those YouTube creators. With creator-based audience targeting, your ads can now zero in on fans of specific influencers. For digital marketers, this means one thing: precision. If you play your cards right, your campaigns could hit just the right note with the perfect crowd.

Well that’s a wrap, my Digital Darlings. As we dive into the weekend, let these insights fuel your strategies and sharpen your campaigns. Remember, in the ever-changing world of digital marketing, staying ahead means staying informed and adaptable. Whether it’s navigating new tools from Google, leveraging AI, or keeping a close eye on privacy regulations, the digital landscape is always evolving. Keep your eyes on the prize and your strategies on point. Until next week—keep slaying those campaigns!

You know you love me…

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Google Ads continues to push the boundaries of automation and machine learning in how it handles keyword match types. The latest updates suggest a future where traditional match types may become obsolete. In this blog post, we’ll dive into the current state of Google Ads match types, explore the recent changes, and discuss how these developments point to a future where intent-based matching and AI take center stage.

A quick look back: the evolution of match types

Google Ads match types have undergone a series of changes over the years. Here's a brief recap (for the history buffs…):

• 2002: Google Ads launched with Exact Match and Phrase Match, offering advertisers control over when their ads would appear based on user queries.
• 2006: Broad Match was introduced, expanding the reach of ads to include synonyms and related terms, but also increasing the potential for irrelevant matches.
• 2010: Modified Broad Match was introduced, giving advertisers more control than Broad Match by requiring specific terms to be included in the search query.
• 2014-2017: Google began allowing "close variants" for Exact Match and Phrase Match, loosening the definition of an exact match to capture more relevant traffic.
• 2021: Modified Broad Match was phased out, with its functionality integrated into Phrase Match, signaling Google’s push toward greater automation.

While these historical changes have shaped the current landscape, recent updates suggest that Google Ads is moving towards a future where traditional keyword match types may no longer be necessary.

The latest updates: moving toward search themes and intent-based matching

In 2024, Google announced several updates that have stirred the digital marketing community. These changes signal a significant shift in how Google approaches search query matching and keyword management.

Increased reliance on Broad Match

Broad Match is already positioned as the go-to match type, particularly when paired with smart bidding strategies. Google’s improvements to Broad Match, including better brand controls and negative matching, suggest this trend will continue. Advertisers will likely rely more on Broad Match as it becomes more effective at capturing relevant traffic.

Brand inclusions and exclusions: refining Broad Match

Another significant update is the introduction of brand inclusions and exclusions. Advertisers can now specify brands they want to include or exclude from their campaigns, allowing for more precise control over which searches trigger their ads. This feature works in tandem with Broad Match, enabling advertisers to leverage the expansive reach of Broad Match while still maintaining some level of control over brand-related queries.

This change reflects Google's ongoing effort to balance automation with advertiser control, particularly as it encourages broader adoption of Broad Match combined with smart bidding strategies.

Increased reliance on Performance Max

As AI becomes the norm, it’s no secret that Google is pushing Performance Max campaigns, which don’t have traditional keywords. These campaigns could automatically manage all aspects of intent matching, bidding, and audience targeting, requiring minimal input from the advertiser.

Improved negative matching

Historically, one of the challenges with Broad Match was the need to manage extensive lists of negative keywords to prevent ads from appearing for irrelevant searches. Google’s latest update includes improvements to negative keyword matching, allowing for better exclusion of misspellings and close variants. This enhancement reduces the need for advertisers to constantly update their negative keyword lists, making campaign management more efficient.

Why are these changes happening?

The direction Google is taking with these updates is clear: they are moving towards a more automated, intent-based system where the nuances of traditional keyword management are handled by machine learning algorithms. This evolution is driven by several factors:

User intent over keywords

‍Search behavior has evolved. Users no longer type in simple, straightforward queries but rather use complex, multi-word phrases that convey specific intent. Google’s shift towards search themes is a response to this change, aiming to match ads more closely with the user’s intent rather than the exact words they use.

AI and automation

‍Google is heavily investing in AI and machine learning to drive better ad performance. By automating the matching process, Google can optimize ad delivery based on vast amounts of data far beyond what a human could manage manually.

Streamlining campaign management

‍As the complexity of digital advertising grows, so does the need for tools that simplify campaign management. By reducing the need for advertisers to micromanage match types and keywords, Google is making it easier for marketers to focus on strategy and creative development rather than the minutiae of keyword management.

What does this mean for the future?

It’s likely that Google will continue to phase out traditional keyword match types in favor of more automated, intent-based systems. Here are some predictions for what we might see over the next few years:

The removal of traditional match types

As Google continues to refine its AI and machine learning algorithms, traditional match types like Exact Match and Phrase Match may become obsolete. Instead, we’ll see a greater emphasis on search themes and intent-based matching, where the system interprets user queries and matches them to the most relevant ads without relying on predefined match types.

Search themes: the next evolution of keywords

Google is moving towards a model where keywords are grouped into "search themes." This approach focuses on user intent rather than the specific words they type into the search bar. Instead of managing multiple match types, advertisers may soon be managing themes that capture the broad intent behind searches.

For example, instead of bidding on the exact phrase "car insurance" or relying on Broad Match to capture related terms, advertisers could focus on a theme like "vehicle protection." This theme would encompass various related searches, including "car insurance," "auto coverage," and "vehicle protection plans," all under one umbrella.

This shift indicates that Google is prioritizing intent over exact phrasing, which aligns with the broader trend of AI-driven automation in digital marketing.

New metrics and reporting tools

As match types evolve, so will the metrics and reporting tools available to advertisers. We may see new ways of measuring campaign performance that focus on user intent and engagement rather than traditional keyword metrics. Google might introduce new dashboards that provide insights into search themes and how they correlate with campaign outcomes. It’s possible that we need to adopt upper funnel metrics to truly understand the impact of Google ads on the customer journey.

How to Prepare for the Future

For advertisers, the key to navigating these changes is to embrace automation while maintaining a strategic approach to campaign management. Here are a few steps you can take to prepare:

Test Broad Match with Smart Bidding

If you haven’t already, experiment with Broad Match combined with Smart Bidding strategies. Monitor performance and adjust your approach based on the results.

Focus on intent

Begin shifting your keyword strategy towards intent-based themes rather than focusing solely on specific keywords. Consider how your target audience searches for your products or services and group keywords into broader themes that capture that intent.

Review auto-apply settings

With Google pushing more automation, it’s essential to regularly review your auto-apply settings. Ensure any automated changes align with your campaign goals and adjust as needed.

Monitor reporting changes

Stay informed about changes to Google Ads reporting tools. As match types evolve, the way data is presented may change, so it’s crucial to understand how these changes impact your ability to measure performance.

In conclusion...

Google Ads is heading towards a more automated, intent-driven model where traditional keyword match types may no longer be relevant. By staying ahead of these trends and embracing Google's new tools and strategies, advertisers can continue to drive successful campaigns in this rapidly changing environment. And as we bid farewell to the days of meticulously managing match types, we might just find that the future—powered by AI and automation—is not so scary after all.

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Happy Friday, Digital Darlings,

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It seems like all eyes have been on the DNC this week, but there’s plenty of other news brewing in the tech world, and I’m here to spill the tea. It’s hotter than your first PSL of the season, so let’s get into it!

Google to face trial over Chrome’s data collection

Every week it seems like Google is caught in the crossfire of another major legal drama. This week, it’s Chrome under the judicial microscope. The tech giant must now face the music as a federal appeals court just hit rewind on a previous dismissal, reviving a class action lawsuit that accuses Google of sneakily collecting user data through Chrome without consent–I, for one, am shocked! The juicy details? Allegedly, Chrome’s “sync” feature wasn’t as harmless as it seemed, with plaintiffs claiming Google snagged their browsing history, IP addresses, and more, all while playing coy with privacy disclosures. But don’t worry, darlings, the case is headed back to the lower courts, where the real showdown is just beginning. Also sending in their lawyers is one of the darlings of AI...

Anthropic is accused of flouting copyright laws

Looks like Anthropic may have been naughty and is facing a lawsuit over some IP theft allegations. Allegedly, the chatbot has been trained on pirated versions of copyrighted work and the findings have plaintiffs claiming that the company has “made a mockery of its lofty goals”. Ouch. It’s yet to be seen if this sends shockwaves through the world of digital marketing, but it’s certainly worth keeping an eye on if AI's a key part of your content strategy. The risks of relying on these tools might be bigger than you thought, and this drama could reshape how we use AI in marketing. And actions like this certainly don’t help to assuage the strong fears that Fortune 500 companies have over AI in the workplace. The concerns over the future of AI and companies have flagged it as a risk factor 473.5% more this year than last. The U.S.’s biggest and most powerful businesses have started to see how the promise of AI can quickly go awry and are keeping a close eye on it. Enough about generative, and onto conversational AI…

30% of Gen Z use voice search for shopping every week

Voice search has long been popular with Millennials, but Gen Z is getting in on the action. New findings released this week by PYMNTS found that Gen Z uses it for nearly a third of their purchases. As Millennials and Gen Z become increasingly important audiences, it’s time for digital marketers to make sure they’re keeping up with this important trend. Jake The Marketing Wizard has some tips on how you can capitalize on this trend and make sure your site ranks in voice searches, including putting a commonly asked question in your h2 tag and answering that question in one, concise sentence in your h3 tag. His content is great and is worth a follow, but I’ll definitely keep tabs on this trend for you as well. In exciting social news…

Snapchat improves their Lead Gen Ads and adds a Zapier integration

Snapchat’s shaking things up with fresh updates to its ad tools and creative options, making it easier to craft engaging, targeted campaigns. For digital marketers, this is your chance to get more bang for your buck on the platform, especially with these new tools designed to boost ad performance. If you’ve been sleeping on Snapchat, it’s time to wake up and take advantage of these shiny new features. But Snap certainly isn’t the only social platform to keep an eye on.

TikTok ad growth still going strong in the EU despite U.S. slow down 

The latest buzz around TikTok is a mixed bag, and digital marketers need to listen up. While TikTok’s growth in the EU is holding steady, its ad spend growth in the U.S. is slowing down as the threat of a ban looms large. This could shake up your ad strategies, darlings, as the platform’s future becomes more uncertain. If TikTok’s your go-to, it might be time to diversify your playbook. Stay savvy—because in this game, adaptation is everything. 

Meta deploys new web crawlers that bypass scraping blocks

Meta’s up to something big with new web crawlers that can dance around traditional scraping blocks, even bypassing the trusty robots.txt file. For digital marketers, this means Meta may be collecting even more data than before, which could supercharge ad targeting but also raise some serious privacy eyebrows. If you're in the game, keep an eye on how this could shift the digital landscape. We’ll see how this plays out, but I’m intrigued to see the next play the blockers make to ensure that some things on the interwebs remain sacred.

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And that’s a wrap on this week’s deluge of digital developments. From the courts getting super involved in tech to AI always moving the goalposts, there’s no shortage of intrigue. Keep your strategies sharp and your eyes peeled as we navigate this ever-evolving landscape. Make sure to give your furry friends some extra love on International Dog Day on Monday and I’ll see you next Friday, my Darlings…

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You know you love me.

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We’re not calculating CPC bids manually anymore on Google and Meta…there are just too many signals and performance changes too quickly to keep up. So why are many brands and agencies still using manual, spreadsheet-driven approaches to manage their performance advertising spend? This is a problem because planning in spreadsheets has a few fundamental challenges:

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• Fragmentation: With the rise of new social media channels like TikTok and Reddit, brands and agencies are working across more ad platforms than ever. Pulling all this data together is essential for making good decisions, but often, the data is siloed, and the manual process of unifying it is tedious and time-consuming.
• Forecasting: Estimating spend based on the number of remaining days in the month isn’t enough to drive optimal results. You need AI-powered forecasts that understand diminishing returns, seasonality, and other external factors.
• Frequency: Adjusting your spend allocation and budgets quarterly, monthly, or weekly isn’t enough to capitalize on trends in the fast-moving, competitive media landscape.

Brands and their agencies can and should do better than spreadsheets to get the best return from their marketing investment. 

Marin built a better way

Our goal is simple: we help you sell more with less effort. We built an optimization suite that understands the potential of each of your campaigns across ad platforms and automatically manages your spend allocation. The result is better performance and time savings for your team, whether you are a brand or an agency.

Flexible Setup with Simple Goals

Marin’s optimization is based on Strategies, which are groups of campaigns that share a common goal, such as ROAS, CPA, or spend. Strategies can span ad platforms and include any number of campaigns. For example, if you have specific budgets and/or ROAS targets for different lines of business, all the campaigns associated with each line of business would be grouped into their own Strategy. That way, Marin’s AI can manage them in unison since they’re all working toward the same goal.

Powerful AI-based Forecasts

To optimize your budget allocation, you need to understand each campaign's incremental contribution to your overall goal. If you just reference past performance, you’re ignoring diminishing returns, seasonality, and other factors that may affect future performance. You’re basically driving forward while looking in the rearview mirror.

Marin’s powerful AI synthesizes publisher forecasts with proprietary models to simulate the future potential of each campaign.

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Before and After Allocation

Marin summarizes the change in your allocation before and after implementing our recommendations. Once you turn on our recommendations, Marin will automatically adjust your campaigns’ daily budgets, efficiency targets, and, where needed, the CPCs for all the keywords in the Strategy.

Automated Pacing

Sleep soundly knowing that Marin is constantly monitoring your strategies and making adjustments to ensure you get the best results based on the strategy targets. Our Strategy Dashboard summarizes performance against plan, and if there are any issues, our team of experts will help guide you through how to address them.

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Real-world Results

Fusion92, an agency client of Marin’s, used Ascend to increase conversions by 10% while dramatically improving budget compliance and saving time. 

“Making mistakes with our client's budget isn’t something we can afford,” said Tom Hammond, VP of SEM & e-commerce at Fuision92. With Marin, we’ve automated budget management, saving us 15 hours of manual work weekly and improving performance for our client’s campaigns.” 

Click here to read their success story.

Better Results, Made Easy

If you’re a marketer looking for more growth and a better return on your marketing spend, it’s time to move beyond spreadsheets. Interested in learning more? Check out our upcoming live product tour, or click here to talk to our team.

This week, we're covering compelling patient questions about managing client expectations, incremental conversions on Meta, and low ROAS on Google Ads. Got a question for the PPC doctors? Share it here.

Q: I’m a media buyer with 10+ years of experience, specializing in paid social. I’m currently freelancing and having trouble managing expectations with my new clients. They’ll send me mediocre creative from one photoshoot and immediately expect 5x ROAS, not understanding that it takes time to build a social media ad pipeline that consistently converts. Do you have any tips on explaining this to new brands and managing their expectations?

A: I totally get where you're coming from—clients often have high expectations, especially when they’re new to social media advertising. The key is to have an honest conversation right from the start. When they send over mediocre creative and expect a 5x ROAS immediately, it's crucial to explain that social media ads are more of a marathon than a sprint. You might want to break down the process into phases and explain that the initial stage is all about testing and learning.

Frame the early stages as a way to gather valuable data. Let them know that it’s normal for ROAS to take time to ramp up because you’re figuring out what resonates with their audience. Share examples or case studies from your past work experience where patience led to strong results so they see the bigger picture.

Also, be transparent with your updates. Even if the numbers aren’t amazing right away, highlight progress in areas like engagement or click-through rates. This will show the client that their campaigns are moving in the right direction.

You could also be more selective about the clients you take on. Consider thoroughly vetting clients before signing a contract to make sure their expectations are realistic. Ask about their goals and budgets. If a brand’s marketing KPIs don’t align with their overall business metrics or if they have an unrealistically small budget and are unwilling to budge, it’s okay to pass on them. That’s the beauty of freelance work–you don’t have to take the clients who don’t set you up for success.  Also, if their creative assets don’t meet a certain standard, it’s often better to hold off until they’re ready to invest in quality content.

Another tip is to consider having a three-month minimum contract length. This will give you the time needed to properly test and optimize, setting both you and your clients up for success. Brands that expect month-over-month miracles might not be the best fit. You deserve clients who are informed enough to set both you and their business up for marketing success!

‍Q: What are incremental conversions in Meta, and should I optimize toward them?

A: Meta just added the option to optimize towards incremental conversions last week, so I love how on top of your PPC health you are! Incremental conversions in Meta measure the number of conversions that happen solely because of your Meta ads, compared to what would have occurred without them. For example, a user who scrolled past an ad for dresses might have bought the dress regardless of the fact that they saw the ad. That’s a non-incremental conversion. Conversely, some users might buy the dress exclusively because they saw the ad. That would be an incremental conversion. Meta calculates this by comparing conversions from users exposed to your ads with a control group that didn't see the ads.

Optimizing toward incremental conversions is a smart move if you want to understand the true impact of your campaigns. By focusing on this metric, you ensure that your ad spend is driving genuine growth rather than capturing sales that would have happened anyway. However, the option to optimize toward incremental conversions is super new, so there’s not a ton of insight I can share on how well it works. I guess, in the end, it’s an act in trust. If you’ve had good experiences and trust Meta’s cutting edge features, give it a shot! But like any new feature, start by testing it on a small batch of campaigns and see how it performs before going all in. 

Q: I launched my online store about a month ago and started running ads on Google right after the launch. However, my overall ROAS for the month is below 1. I need ROAS to be at least 3 for this investment to make sense for my overall business finances. Why is this happening? How can I fix it?

A: Congrats on launching your business! And don’t let the low ROAS get you down just yet. Unfortunately it’s normal to lose money or break even on advertising for the first quarter or two in business, especially if you’re in a saturated industry like online retail where competition is fierce. You’ll need to build an audience and move them through your ad campaign's acquisition and retargeting phases before you start seeing significant conversion volume. 

Additionally, the lack of historical data to feed Google’s algorithms is a huge factor. Google’s Smart Bidding strategies need at least a month’s worth of conversion and revenue data to start learning who to serve your ads to. Once Smart Bidding has that data, performance should start improving. You could switch to manual bidding while you acquire more data, then after a few months pass and a couple hundred conversions come through, switch to Smart Bidding. 

Manual bidding is a big topic, but my basic recommendation is to set your bids equal to the average CPC for each keyword to start. As time passes, increase bids on keywords that drive clicks and conversions and decrease bids on keywords that don’t.

It may be best to optimize toward a softer metric like click-through-rate (CTR) or even impressions at the start. Even if an ad or keyword isn’t driving conversions, a decent CTR is a good indicator that your ads are resonating. People are simply less likely to make an impulse purchase from a brand they’ve never heard of before. Keep building your reputation and hit those clickers or viewers with retargeting ads. It’ll pay off in the long run!

The companies that invest in marketing early on, despite the low ROAS, are the companies that grow the fastest. You have to grow your brand! Make sure you really understand your value proposition and what sets you apart from competitors. Make it clear in your ads. Build brand awareness through channels like YouTube video ads targeting people interested in the type of goods you provide. Then, turn your video viewers into an audience in Google Ads, and hit them with retargeting ads. That’s how you’ll get your site to grow.

And that's a wrap on this week's paid media questions! Got a Q for the PPC Docs? Ask it here.

Happy Friday, Digital Darlings,

Another week, another digital drama manifesto from yours truly. Google’s monopoly could be on the chopping block as the Department of Justice weighs a breakup and Meta’s in hot water over allegedly inflating audience metrics. Meanwhile, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt blames remote work for Google’s AI woes, and Snapchat is simplifying ad management for a smoother ride. Let’s get into it.

The Department of Justice may force a Google breakup

My dear readers are all aware that Google was found guilty of monopolizing the internet search market last week. The US government is now discussing various potential routes to break up the monopoly. One option is to break Google apart so that Chrome, Android OS, Search, etc., will all become separate business entities. They’re also considering making Google share their data with competitors or abandon the agreement with Apple that makes it the default search engine on iPhones. There will be a hearing to discuss the next steps on September 6th, so you already know that this week's edition of TWiD is gonna be wild. Meanwhile, Meta is facing a legal battle of their own…

Advertisers are suing Meta over inflated audience metrics

Unless the Supreme Court intervenes, Meta will face a class-action lawsuit on behalf of all US advertisers who have used Ads Manager or Power Editor to buy ads on Facebook or Instagram since August 2014… so like, all of my readers, I’m guessing. The battle started in 2018 when a business owner filed a complaint saying, "Facebook induced advertisers to purchase more ads, and pay more for them, by overstating the number of users who might see the ads.” So basically, they were inflating audience sizes… I’m shocked!! I’ll keep my dear readers updated on the potential impacts if Meta is found guilty. Now, back to more Google Drama…

Ex-Google CEO blames remote work for Google’s AI Issues

During a speech at Stanford, he claimed, “Google decided that work-life balance and going home early and working from home was more important than winning, and the reason startups work is because the people work like hell,” so that’s why, in his opinion, Google is losing the AI race to the likes of Anthropic and OpenAI. Saying that with your whole chest to a group of college students in the middle of a student mental health crisis is… bold. But it’s sparked a fascinating debate on LinkedIn. Is it realistic to expect a massive, established company to have the grindset of a new startup? Also, isn’t encouraging workaholism a little… outdated? He backtracked the next day, saying he “misspoke about Google and their work hours” and “regrets the error,” so it sounds like the PR team got to him. Now, let’s cover the Google Ads API update…

No more 24-hour waiting period for Google Ads conversion adjustments

In the past, we’ve had to wait 24 hours after a conversion occurred to upload conversion data adjustments, which was a hassle for Google Ads API users. Starting September 9th, we’ll be able to upload conversion data adjustments as soon as the conversion is recorded. This update should “streamline the conversion adjustment process, potentially leading to more timely and accurate campaign data for advertisers.” You may need to take a few steps ahead of the update, like removing any logic that enforces waiting periods for adjustment uploads from your API calls. Check out this article for a full list of tips and tricks. Now for a bit of AI news…

This tool can tell you if an article was written by AI

Grammarly is launching a new tool called Authorship that can detect if a document was written by AI and even detect which parts of the document are AI-written. So, if you use AI to draft marketing content, edit it to have a human voice. You can even run this new Grammarly tool on your own documents before publishing them to make sure they won’t fail the ‘humanity’ test. This is coming the same week that WaPo reported that even advanced AI-detection tools can’t suss out deepfakes. Maybe Grammarly can get on solving that problem for humanity, too! Now, let’s chat about eCom…

TikTok users can shop Amazon Ads without leaving the App

Shopaholics, rejoice! All it takes is a quick, one-time setup to link your TikTok and Amazon accounts. Then, whenever an Amazon ad pops up on your For You Page (FYP), you can buy the featured products with just a few clicks. You can even see real-time pricing, Prime status, and delivery estimates for each product. For eCom advertisers, I can’t stress the value of these Amazon + TikTok Ads enough. Simply research the influence of TikTok shop, and you’ll understand how readily people spend money on that app. In other eCom news…

Prime Day is the one sale to rule them all

Before Prime Day, we discussed how retailers like Target and Best Buy attempted to jump on the summer sale bandwagon, running their promotions during or around Prime Day. Turns out they were unsuccessful at taking any significant chunk of that promotional market share. According to a report from Earnest Analytics, “over 80% of shoppers who made purchases during the recent spate of sales only bought items at Amazon.”  The ‘zon has us all trained!! Nothing hits quite like that seamless purchasing experience and near-instant Prime delivery, so I get it. So, dear readers, keep this in mind next year. Running ads on Walmart or Target during the summer sale season can’t hurt, but Amazon is where you should focus your energy. And now for a bit of social ad news…

Snapchat streamlined ad objectives for easier management

Advertisers used to have to sort through 12 different options when setting objectives, but now Snap has narrowed it down to just 5 easy-to-use, goal-oriented options. The options are Awareness and Engagement, Traffic, Leads, App Promotion, and Sales. You can learn more about them here. These changes will be rolled out sometime between now and September, and old objectives will be phased out in mid-September. So, if you’re running ads on Snapchat, be sure to update your ad objectives in early September, or they’ll be updated for you.

And that’s a wrap on this week’s deluge of digital developments. From Google’s potential breakup to Amazon’s eCom domination, there’s no shortage of intrigue. Keep your strategies sharp and your eyes peeled as we navigate this ever-evolving landscape. Until next week, Darlings…

You know you love me.

In PPC marketing, timely updates can be the difference between hitting your goals and overspending your budget. Marin’s customizable Alerts ensure you never miss critical performance changes. Now you can get them directly in Slack.

Real-time notifications about significant campaign changes allow you to make quick adjustments to get performance back on track. You can also improve collaboration by sending Alerts directly to your team's shared Slack channel. Eliminate the time spent monitoring dashboards and rely instead on the messaging system you use all day, every day. Click here for a guide on linking Alerts to your Slack notifications.

Here are some ideas for Alerts that will help you stay on top of performance changes:

Be aware of changes in spend

Get alerted of significant changes in campaign spending so that you can investigate what caused the spike or drop in volume. This way, you can avoid over or underspending and stay looped into how your campaigns are performing in the SERP. For example, I could have Marin send a Slack notification any time cost changes more than 40% day over day.

Understand changes in the SERP

Use an Alert to inform you any time a campaign, group, or keyword sees a large increase or decrease in impression share. That way, you’ll stay aware of changes in the auction landscape without having to do any manual data analysis. Once you know where potential issues stem from, you can easily investigate them in Marin’s grids.

Flag high- and low-performing keywords

Every PPC manager has their own criteria for what defines a high-performing or low-performing keyword. Use Marin’s dynamic filters to create a keyword performance Alert based on your secret formula. That way, you can capitalize on high-performing keywords and pause out any low-performing keywords that are bleeding spend and not driving conversions. For example, you could be alerted at any time Avg. CPC surpasses a certain number, or when keyword cost is high but conversions are low. 

Remedy low CTR keywords

Create an Alert that informs you when any keyword’s CTR drops below a certain threshold. Whenever you receive that Slack notification, you’ll know it’s time to make some changes, like moving the keyword into a separate group and making the ad creative and copy more relevant to the keyword, or pausing the keyword if it’s not worth the money and effort.

Discover issues with landing pages

Uncover ads that have a high CTR but aren’t driving conversions by building an Alert based on your performance thresholds. Then, investigate why people are clicking on those ads but not converting. It’s likely an issue with landing page relevancy but it also could be a sign that your tracking isn’t working properly.

Automate account maintenance

These types of Alerts ensure that nothing is missing from your account setup. By creating Alerts for things like active groups with no active ads, disapproved keywords, or campaigns missing tracking parameters, you can automate a lot of those pesky account maintenance tasks that your intern secretly hates doing. The more you automate, the more time and energy your team has to focus on strategic planning.

…And so much more!

Alerts are fully customizable. If you can filter on a metric in Marin, you can create an Alert based on that data. And Marin has pretty much every metric you can think of! The possibilities are endless. If you're a Marin user and need help setting up Alerts or linking them to Slack, reach out to your Account Rep. And if you’re not a Marin user yet, but think the platform might be a good fit for you, you can learn more and schedule a demo here.

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Do you ever wish you had someone you could hand some of your work off to? A performance marketing expert on speed dial 24/7 to help elevate your game and make you look better for your boss or client? Well, look no further, Marin’s Advisor is here to help you get s*#$ done. Whether you need insights from across the web or detailed instructions on how to use Marin, Advisor is here to help.

Advisor can help you…

• Answer strategic questions: Get quick and reliable answers to questions about digital marketing strategy, trends, and best practices.
• Learn to use Marin: Receive step-by-step assistance on how to use our powerful marketing platform. Advisor draws from Marin’s extensive Help Center to provide you with the information you need, when you need it.
• Discover new keywords: Share your highest ROAS keywords with Advisor and ask it to provide similar suggestions.
• Expand ad copy: Workshop every element of your ad copy with Advisor, from grammar to tone to keyword relevancy.
• Locate help articles: Want to reference a guide when making certain edits or optimizations in Marin? Simply ask Advisor for a link to a help article about the topic.
• Write Marin Scripts: Advisor is a coding wiz! When creating a new Marin Script, grab the code’s framework from its settings. Then paste it into Advisor and ask the bot to tweak the code as needed.
• Complete integrations: Get guidance on integrating Marin with the other tools and platforms you use.
• Manage data: Understand how to manage and analyze data within Marin’s grids for better decision-making.

• Troubleshoot issues: If you hit a roadblock in the app, simply ask Advisor for help. It can steer you in the right direction or connect you to our support team.
• Understand features: Marin has tons of different tools, like Strategies, Dynamic Actions, Dimensions, and more. Advisor can explain the use cases and implementation process of any of these features so you don’t have to remember the pesky details.
• Create custom reports: Get help building custom reports tailored to your specific needs.

And so much more! We’ve got lots of exciting plans for how Advisor will get better over the coming months, but if there is anything you’d like to see it tackle, please let us know here.

Keep in mind…

As with any new teammate, you’ll want to keep an eye on Advisor’s work as it ramps up. Here are a few things to remember.

• No access to customer data: Advisor is designed to protect your privacy and does not have access to any customer-specific data. This means it cannot provide tailored responses based on your unique setup or performance metrics.
• It’s still learning: Responses and prompts are continually being refined. While we strive for accuracy, we recommend verifying critical information through Marin's Help Center or by contacting your Marin support team.

Get started with Advisor

Advisor is available in all editions of Marin. Look for the ‘Advisor’ icon in the top right navigation bar. Click on it, type your question, and let Advisor guide you. Whether you're new to digital marketing or an experienced practitioner, Advisor is here to make your journey smoother and more informed.

Happy Friday, Digital Darlings,

From a glitch exposing ad data to being ruled a monopolist by the Department of Justice, Google’s having a rough week. But will these L’s actually impact them in any significant way? Or has their dominance made them too big to fail? Only time will tell, but I’m here to decode all the details for you in the meantime.

A Google Ads glitch broke the UI and exposed advertisers’ data

The issue began Thursday evening, so if you’re an SEMer, it probably harshed your Friday mellow. The following tools were down: the Report Editor, Dashboards, and Saved Reports in the Google Ads web interface; plus the Products, Product Groups, and Listing Groups pages across the web interface, API, and Google Ads Editor. So yeah, that was quite the blocker for anyone trying to analyze or optimize their Google Shopping campaigns. 

The issue wasn’t fully resolved until yesterday, so if Google Ads wasn’t working as expected for you this week, that’s why. The craziest part is that some advertisers were seeing other advertisers’ data in their Google Merchant Center accounts. According to AdExchanger, “Google Merchant Center (GMC), Google’s hub for commerce advertising and analytics, has been accidentally cross-pollinating data – including unencrypted customer and product info – between accounts on the platform going back at least two weeks.” Two weeks?!?! That’s, like, so not cool. 

Upon further inspection, the glitch seemed to be mixing up data between accounts operated by multi-client agencies and consultancies that had multiple accounts under the same MCC. So maybe it wasn’t as big of a data privacy issue as we initially thought, but still… yikes. It also turns out that some accounts were serving ads for products from other accounts. If that happened to you, Google should be reaching out to you and offering credits for wasted spend ASAP. In other dramatic Google news…

Google is ruled a monopolist

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Google in late 2020, accusing them of having a monopoly over the search services market, and on Monday, they were finally found guilty. According to my boss, “The core issue was Google's exclusive distribution agreements with device manufacturers and browser developers to secure its position as the default search engine on most devices and platforms.” The court said that these exclusive agreements enabled Google to dominate a substantial share of the market and charge “supracompetitive” prices for search text ads. But you work in digital marketing, so you probably already knew that.

Google has already announced its plans to appeal the ruling through a heavily PR-spun post on X, so we’ll have to wait for that to play out. But if you’re curious about the potential impact this ruling could have on your advertising program, you can find more details here. In my last bit of Google news…

Smart Campaigns will automatically become PMax Campaigns

This is just another step toward AI-powered, black-box campaign management. While PMax does have a lot of perks, advertisers are a bit irked that they’re forced to make the switch. The transition is happening gradually, so some advertisers still have access to Smart Campaigns while others do not. You should get an email like this from Google when you lose access to Smart Campaigns. There’s not much we advertisers can do other than optimize our PMax campaigns to the extent of our abilities and… try to embrace change, I guess. Now for some SEO news…

Google Search Console launched recommendations

This experimental new feature isn’t available to everyone yet, but it sounds pretty handy. It provides actionable insights and recommendations to improve your site’s Google Search rankings. Tips can help with indexing, crawling, serving, and more. If you don’t have access to it yet, you can see a screenshot of what they’re testing here. In other SEO news…

Turns out AI is not disrupting search or impacting Google

There’s been lots of talk about how the likes of ChatGPT could be the end of Google, but so far, that’s simply not the case. New research comparing traffic to Google vs. traffic to the major AI/LLM search players made it pretty clear that AI isn’t even making a dent in Google’s traffic or volume of searches. So G isn’t going anywhere, but we do still need to optimize for GEO so that our sites can appear in its AI Overviews. Now for some Reddit tea…

Reddit to Microsoft: show me the money if you want my content

A few weeks ago, Bing was blocked from crawling Reddit following Reddit’s exclusive licensing agreement with Google. In a recent interview with The Verge, Reddit’s CEO doubled down, saying Microsoft better pay up if they want to scrape Reddit’s data. 

“Without these agreements, we don’t have any say or knowledge of how our data is displayed and what it’s used for, which has put us in a position now of blocking folks who haven’t been willing to come to terms with how we’d like our data to be used or not used,” Huffman said during the interview. Know your worth, king!! 

I absolutely understand why Reddit wants these companies to establish a licensing agreement before crawling their site, but I do think it’s unfortunate that only Google is willing to do it. Reddit is starting to seem like the future of search, and the exclusive agreement gives Google even more of an advantage over other engines like Bing, further powering that pesky monopoly we talked about earlier. Now for a bit of news on streaming ads…

Amazon is challenging Netflix with cheaper ad slots

Looks like Amazon is winning the battle for streaming ad dollars. They handled the rollout of their ad-supported tier differently than competitors, and it worked. While Netflix, Disney+, and the like introduced their cheaper, ad-supported tiers as options users could opt into, Amazon made their ad-supported tier the default. Users were automatically converted to the ad tier but had the option to pay more for premium, so tons of users didn’t take action and remained on the ad tier. Therefore, Amazon has lots of ad inventory to sell at prices lower than Netflix. The affordability combined with the ability to target users based on Amazon Prime shopping data has made Prime Video a highly profitable channel for advertisers. So if you aren’t running Amazon Sponsored TV ads yet, it’s time to start. And in my last bit of news…

Got questions? Ask the PPC Doctors!

I’ve got a side hustle giving great advice to PPC pros. For everything from understanding if new Google campaign types are right for you to solving your hardest budgeting conundrums, the PPC Doctors are here to help. And who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned advice column?! It’s nostalgic, if anything. Give our past editions a read to get the latest PPC advice, or submit a question of your own. Expert answers will be delivered to your inbox ASAP, and you’ll be featured anonymously in our next edition (only if you’re cool with it). Hit us with your hardest questions - we’re here to help! 

And I’ll leave you with that, digital darlings. As Google veers us into uncharted waters with anti-trust lawsuits abound, I’ll be your compass, steering you toward revenue no matter how much the industry changes. Until next week, stay sassy and savvy.

You know you love me.

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This week, we're answering more patient questions about Google Search and Youtube ads. Got a question for the PPC doctors? Share it here.

Q: I’m running Google Ads campaigns across EMEA. Should I target multiple countries with one Google Ads campaign or separate them?

A: There are several factors to consider, but the biggest one is budget. If your business requires you to have separate spend limits for each country, then separate campaigns will be necessary. With separate campaigns you’ll be able to set a unique daily budget and efficiency target for each country. If your business doesn’t care how spend is distributed across countries as long as performance is good, read on to understand if a unified campaign is the best path forward.

With a tight budget, combining countries may be the most efficient approach. It’ll pool your resources and allow Google’s algorithms to determine where best to spend your money across the different countries. Additionally, it’ll help your campaign have enough conversion and revenue data density so that Smartbidding can make informed bidding decisions. But keep in mind that language and geo targets can only be set at the campaign level, so ads in different languages will need their own campaigns.

If you have a large budget, creating a unique campaign for each country will give you better control over targeting and spend allocation. You’ll be able to customize bidding strategies and set a unique daily budget for each market, giving you more control and likely improving performance.

If you’re still unsure, start with a unified approach, then segment when you find it necessary. If a specific country outperforms others, break it out into it’s own campaign so you can give it focused attention. Good luck in EMEA!

Q: Is it possible to oversegment your ad groups? How should I think about segmenting them? With RSAs, does it even matter?

Absolutely, you can oversegment your ad groups. When you create too many small segments, you dilute your data, making it harder to gather actionable insights. This can lead to inefficient spending as you can't optimize bids effectively without enough data. Additionally, managing numerous small ad groups can be way too time-consuming.

It’s best to segment based on search intent. Let’s say you’re running marketing for a doctor’s office. It wouldn’t make sense to create separate segments for ‘doctors office’ and ‘physicians office’ because people searching for those terms have the same intention. But search terms like ‘doctors office’ and ‘pediatrician’ should be segmented into separate ad groups, as the info that searchers are looking to find with those queries is different. Segment enough to capture important differences in your audience or products, but not so much that you end up with minuscule, hard-to-manage groups.

With Responsive Search Ads (RSAs), segmentation becomes less important, but not obsolete. RSAs can handle a lot of variation for you by dynamically testing different combinations of headlines and descriptions. So, while segmentation is still important, RSAs give you some breathing room by optimizing performance across broader segments.

Q: I own a small fashion brand and am trying to drive more traffic to my online store. I recently launched an ad on YouTube that has a 35% view rate and over 2,000 impressions, but I’m hardly seeing any new visitors on my website. What am I doing wrong?

It sounds like your ad is engaging, but there might be a few things to tweak. First, make sure your call to action (CTA) is clear and compelling. Look at your ad placement and click-through rate (CTR). If your CTR is low, even with a good view rate, your CTA needs to be more enticing. Viewers need to know exactly what to do next, and why they should do it. Also, check that the messaging on your landing page matches the message of your ad. If it’s not relevant, visitors might leave right away. For example, an ad for a pair of pants should bring viewers directly to the landing page for those pants, not to your homepage.

Generally speaking, YouTube is more of a brand awareness platform. People who are in a Youtube binge aren’t super likely to stop watching videos and click out to your site. Also, lots of people put YouTube on in the background while they’re doing stuff around the house. Those background plays still count as views, but of course won’t drive clicks. So there may not be much wrong with your ad, it may be the platform that’s the issue. 

That said, Youtube ads can greatly improve brand recognition. Consider retargeting those who viewed your Youtube ad with follow-up ads on other, more user-engaged channels like paid search and social and see if that helps! Best of luck with your brand.

Check back bi-weekly to read our answers to the internet's burning paid media questions. Or, ask a question of your own here! We’ll email you the answer ASAP, and only share your question in the next edition if it’s okay with you. Now get out there and optimize those campaigns!

What was the Issue?

The United States Department of Justice, alongside several state Attorneys General, filed a lawsuit against Google in late 2020, accusing the tech giant of maintaining a monopoly in the general search services and search text advertising markets. The core issue was Google's exclusive distribution agreements with device manufacturers and browser developers to secure its position as the default search engine on most devices and platforms. This practice allegedly stifled competition by preventing rivals from gaining the scale needed to compete effectively.

Tell me about the ruling…

After an extensive trial that began in September 2023, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled this week that Google is indeed a monopolist in the general search services market. The Court found that Google's distribution agreements were exclusive and had anticompetitive effects. Specifically, these agreements foreclosed a substantial market share to rivals and reduced incentives to invest and innovate. They allowed Google to charge “supracompetitive” prices (i.e., higher than the market) for search text advertisements. However, the Court did not find that Google held monopoly power in the broader search advertising market or that Google's actions involving its advertising platform, SA360, violated antitrust laws.

So, what’s next? 

The ruling marks a significant step in the ongoing efforts to regulate and address monopolistic practices in the tech industry. Moving forward, Google may face structural changes to its business practices, particularly concerning its distribution agreements. The Court's decision may increase regulatory scrutiny and inspire similar antitrust actions against other tech giants. For competitors in the search and advertising markets, this ruling could open opportunities to challenge Google's dominance and innovate in ways previously hampered by Google's market control. The potential remedies that the Court could impose will take a while to go into effect, but could include:

Revision or Termination of Exclusive Agreements: The court may require Google to revise or terminate its exclusive default search agreements with browser developers, mobile device manufacturers, and wireless carriers. This change would open the market to other search engine providers, thus immediately leveling the playing field by allowing competitors like Bing, DuckDuckGo, and others to negotiate for default placement or at least gain easier access to these critical distribution channels.

Mandatory Data Sharing: Google could be mandated to share specific user data with competitors to reduce the barrier to entry for developing competitive search engines. This would help rivals build and improve their search algorithms more effectively. Competitors could enhance the quality of their search results, thereby increasing user satisfaction and adoption over time.

Structural Separation: A more drastic measure could separate Google’s search business from other ventures, such as advertising or browser development. This would ensure that Google's search operations are not unduly influenced by its other business interests. This could fundamentally reorganize Google’s business structure, potentially slowing its ability to integrate services seamlessly but promoting fair competition.

Behavioral Remedies: The court might impose behavioral remedies, such as prohibiting Google from engaging in certain business practices deemed anticompetitive. These could include restrictions on how Google bundles its services or its ability to enter into exclusive contracts. These restrictions would force Google to compete more fairly based on the quality of its services rather than on strategic business maneuvers.

Regular Monitoring and Reporting: The court could establish a regulatory body or require regular audits to ensure Google complies with the new rules and to monitor its market behavior. Continuous oversight would ensure long-term compliance and deter Google from reverting to anti-competitive practices.

Timeline for Impact

Of course, Google has already announced its plans to appeal, but here are some potential phases:

Immediate Impact (0-6 months) Initial Compliance and Transition: Google must comply with the court's orders, which may include terminating or revising current agreements and initiating data-sharing protocols. This phase will involve legal adjustments and could lead to short-term disruptions in Google’s business processes.

Short-Term Impact (6-12 months) Market Adjustments and Competitor Movements: Competitors will begin to negotiate for placements and increased visibility. Google will likely adjust its marketing and business strategies to maintain its market position within the new regulatory framework. Changes in default search engines on devices and browsers may become noticeable.

Medium-Term Impact (1-2 years) Increased Competition and Innovation: With fewer barriers to entry and more equitable market conditions, competitors can innovate and improve their offerings. This period will likely see increased competition in the search market, with consumers benefiting from better search options and lower advertising costs.

Long-Term Impact (2+ years) Market Stabilization and New Equilibrium: The market will stabilize as new competitors establish themselves and Google adapts to the new competitive landscape. If structural separation occurs, Google’s business operations will fundamentally shift, impacting its market strategies across its various services. The search and digital advertising markets will likely be more competitive and diverse.

The court's ruling against Google sets the stage for potentially significant changes in the digital search and advertising markets. Potential remedies could aim to dismantle Google's monopolistic hold and foster a more competitive environment. While the immediate impacts will revolve around compliance and adjustment, the medium to long-term effects may lead to increased innovation and competition, benefiting consumers and advertisers alike. The timeline for any of these impacts will vary, but the overall goal will be to ensure a fairer, more open market.

What do I need to do?

In light of this ruling, the importance of independent platforms like Marin becomes even more pronounced. Marin offers a publisher-agnostic solution with a unified interface to manage, report, and optimize marketing efforts across all major platforms, including Google, Amazon, Meta, and LinkedIn. We have already seen an increase in the number of ad platforms advertisers need to manage. This ruling will likely strengthen the non-Google options, making them more important to your business.

Relying exclusively on Google’s tools will increasingly hinder advertisers. Here’s why an independent platform like Marin is a better option.

• Independence: Unlike Google’s SA360, Marin is not tied to any single publisher. This independence ensures that your data and marketing strategies are not influenced by the vested interests of a single platform, providing unbiased insights and recommendations.
• Comprehensive Data Integration: Marin connects all your marketing accounts to a unified data model, enabling closed-loop measurement and including offline and online conversion data. This holistic view is crucial for making informed decisions and optimizing performance across all channels.
• Advanced AI-Powered Tools: Marin's platform leverages AI to automatically identify optimization opportunities, forecast trends, and allocate budgets more effectively. This technological edge ensures that your campaigns always perform at their best, regardless of market conditions.
• Customization and Flexibility: With a single API and powerful scripting tools, Marin allows for extensive customization to meet the unique needs of your agency or business. This flexibility ensures that you can adapt quickly to changes in the digital marketing landscape without being constrained by the limitations of a single provider.
• Enhanced Reporting and Automation: Marin simplifies client reporting with customizable dashboards and automated alerts, ensuring you never miss meaningful performance changes. This level of automation and detail helps you stay proactive rather than reactive.

As the digital marketing ecosystem evolves, an independent and powerful platform like Marin is essential for maintaining a competitive edge. The recent ruling against Google underscores the need for alternatives that provide transparency, flexibility, and comprehensive control over your marketing efforts.

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Happy Friday, Digital Darlings,

Have you heard about the hot new end-of-summer trends?! GEO is the new SEO, Search GPT is the new Google, and precision marketing is the new performance marketing. I know it’s a lot to take in… but you’re a digital marketer, so I know that you know how to embrace change. Allow me to fill you in on all the dirty deets. 

GEO is the new SEO

Welp, we’ve finally got a name for optimizing site content to please the robots. Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the process of optimizing content to appear in generative AI LLMs like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews. GEO is similar to SEO but more focused on ensuring that content is high-quality, clear, and hyer-relevant to the topics you’d like to serve results for. The goal is to get AI to source your content when providing answers. Check out this article to get a full understanding of the differences and how to adapt your SEO strategy. Speaking of AI-powered search engines…

OpenAI announced its Google competitor, Search GPT

I’m curious to see how this tool will differ from ChatGPT, which already answers my burning questions regularly. OpenAI says it’ll be “a faster, easier way to find what you're looking for.” You can check out screenshots of their prototype here if you’re curious. It looks like the bot will provide conclusive answers with pictures, videos, and links to web pages you can visit to get more details. The mock-up honestly looks super similar to Bing’s search generative experience that we talked about last week… just saying. Unlike the list of links provided by traditional search engines, Search GPT tries to make sense of the most relevant links, images, and videos it can find. This new product makes what we talked about above all the more crucial - it’s time to start optimizing for GEO ASAP! And in my last bit of AI news…

Use this site to figure out which Gen AI Chatbot is right for you

Have you ever wondered if you should be using ChatGPT, Claude, Anthropic, or something else? This AI model review site lets you compare all the major LLM chatbots against one another. Simply select the two models you’d like to compare and choose from over 200 preloaded prompts that can test the bots for key capabilities like knowledge, creativity, and completing tasks. Review outputs to determine which model fits your business’s needs best. Also, my alter ego wrote a guide to AI for precision marketers that’ll help you understand the best ways to prompt your chatbot of choice and examples of marketing tasks it can complete for you. Speaking of precision marketing…

Performance marketing is OUT; precision marketing is IN

Last week, my alter ego and her team hosted a webinar about precision marketing, the new wave that focuses on perfecting targeting and working with AI to understand your data better than ever before. If you’re looking for 5 actionable tips to enter this new era hand-in-hand with AI and enhanced conversion tracking, give it a watch. We cover everything from optimizing toward true revenue data to building your own AI-assisted chatbot. Now for my obligatory section about Google Ads…

New Merchant Center + Ads integration streamlines ad creation

You can now link your Merchant Center to feed your Pmax campaigns and import images of products from your feed right into your asset library. Easily enhance the images using Google’s AI image editor, then add them as assets to your Pmax campaigns. This makes the process of creating Pmax ads easier than ever for retailers. In other Pmax news…

Google Added some new reporting features for Pmax

New tools include conversion metrics in asset-level reports, YouTube video placement reporting, and verification of brand suitability for YouTube and display ad placements. Advertisers have been practically begging for more insight into their Pmax campaigns, specifically more information on which assets perform well and which perform poorly, so I’m very happy to see that Google’s listening to us and giving us asset-level conversion data! In my final bit of Google news…

Get the deets on how Google prioritizes and matches keywords

The good people at Search Engine Journal broke down exactly why an ad gets chosen in the keyword-based Google search auctions. And even though Google has been pushing Broad match on us, Exact match keywords still get top priority. The article breaks down each ranking factor by priority and then goes on to answer some common questions about the new controls for query matching that Google added earlier this year. It’s a super informative read that I highly recommend my SEMers check out. Now let’s talk about paid media's rising champion, Reddit.

Reddit launched lead generation ads

The new ad format prompts users to enter key information like name and email into an in-platform form. It has great potential for B2B marketers, especially since, according to Reddit, “75% of decision makers say that Reddit has the most influential perspectives on new business products and solutions.” They tout the new ad format as a great opportunity for education and consumer tech brands too. So if you operate in those industries, I highly recommend testing it out. Reddit is taking over the internet one Google search at a time, so why not advertise there?

That’s a wrap on this week’s digital download, darlings, and what a whirlwind it was. No matter how crazy things get, I’ll be here every Friday to keep you in the loop. Stay strong, my beautiful masters of marketing, and we’ll talk again next week. 

You know you love me.

The back-to-school season is upon us, and for retailers, it represents a golden opportunity. As the second-largest shopping event of the year, back-to-school shopping provides a crucial chance for brands to boost their profitability. Americans spent a staggering $135.5 billion on back-to-school and back-to-college shopping in 2023, and this figure is projected to skyrocket to $189.7 billion by 2028. We’ve put together a comprehensive guide to help digital marketers leverage Google Ads, Amazon Ads, and paid social to make the most of this peak period.

Google Ads' influence on back-to-school season

Google Ads is an essential tool for reaching parents and students as they search for school supplies, apparel, and tech gadgets. Here’s how to make the most of it.

Best practices for Google Ads

1. Keyword optimization
   
   • Why it matters: Targeting the right seasonal keywords ensures your ads appear in relevant searches, capturing the intent of potential buyers.
   • Example: A retailer selling backpacks might target keywords like “best school backpacks,” “durable backpacks for students,” and “back-to-school backpack sale.” By using specific and long-tail keywords, the retailer can attract shoppers looking for particular features and deals.
2. Ad extensions
   • Why it matters: Ad extensions provide additional, more detailed information and increase the click-through rate (CTR) of your ads.
   • Example: A stationery store could use site link extensions to direct users to product categories like “notebooks,” “pens,” and “planners.” Callout extensions can highlight promotions such as “Buy One Get One Free” or “20% off on orders over $50.”
3. Seasonal campaigns
   • Why it matters: Tailoring your campaigns to the back-to-school season can increase relevance and urgency.
   • Example: A clothing retailer might create a campaign with ads featuring headlines like “Back-to-School Fashion Sale – Up to 50% Off!” and update ad copy to reflect the time-limited nature of the offers.

Quick wins for Google Ads

1. Remarketing campaigns
   • Why it matters: An ad featuring a back-to-school sale may push users who have shown interest in your brand over the conversion threshold.
   • Example: A sporting goods store could target users who viewed sports shoes but didn’t purchase, showing them ads with a special discount or highlighting customer reviews to encourage a purchase.
2. Local inventory ads
   • Why it matters: These ads showcase inventory available at nearby stores, driving foot traffic and buy online, pick up in-store sales.
   • Example: A big-box retailer could use Local Inventory Ads to let parents know that school supplies like calculators and binders are in stock at their local store, encouraging immediate visits.
3. YouTube ads
   • Why it matters: Video ads capture the attention of younger audiences who heavily influence their parents’ back-to-school purchasing decisions.
   • Example: A tech retailer could create a YouTube campaign showcasing the latest laptops and gadgets for students, highlighting features that make studying and homework easier.

Leveraging Amazon Ads for back-to-school success

Amazon is the go-to spot for back-to-school shopping, making Amazon Ads a crucial part of your strategy. Here’s how to maximize your reach and sales on Amazon.

Best practices for Amazon Ads

1. Product targeting
   • Why it matters: Product targeting showcases your products on similar product pages, capturing shoppers who are comparing options.
   • Example: A backpack brand could serve targeted ads on a competitor’s product page, presenting their backpack as a better option with more desirable features or pricing.
2. Sponsored Brand
   • Why it matters: Sponsored Brand campaigns increase visibility and drive brand awareness by showcasing multiple products.
   • Example: A stationery brand could create a Sponsored Brand ad featuring their best-selling notebooks, pens, and planners, driving traffic to their Amazon Store.
3. Amazon Stores
   • Why it matters: Amazon Stores provide a branded and structured shopping experience, helping to increase engagement and sales.
   • Example: An apparel retailer could design an Amazon Store with sections for “Boys’ Back-to-School Fashion,” “Girls’ Essentials,” and “Uniforms,” making it easy for parents to shop by category.
4. A+ Content
   • Why it matters: Enhanced content helps convert browsers into buyers by providing detailed product information and visuals.
   • Example: A tech brand selling laptops could use A+ Content to showcase product features, compare models, and feature testimonials.

Quick wins for Amazon Ads

1. Deal of the Day and Lightning Deals
   • Why it matters: Time-sensitive promotions create urgency and drive sales spikes.
   • Example: A supplier of school supplies could run a Lightning Deal on a popular item like a planner or a backpack, attracting budget-conscious shoppers looking for discounts.
2. Enhanced Brand Content
   • Why it matters: Engaging product pages with videos and detailed descriptions can differentiate your products from competitors.
   • Example: A shoe retailer could use Enhanced Brand Content to add videos demonstrating the durability and comfort of their back-to-school shoes, persuading parents to choose their brand.
3. Sponsored Display Ads
   • Why it matters: These ads help re-engage shoppers who have shown interest in your brand but haven’t made a purchase.
   • Example: A retailer selling dorm essentials could target shoppers who viewed their products but didn’t buy, reminding them of the items and offering a small discount to close the sale.

Supercharging your strategy with social media ads

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are indispensable tools for capturing the attention of back-to-school shoppers. Here’s how to make the most of these platforms.

Best practices for Facebook and Instagram ads

1. Audience targeting
   • Why it matters: Precise targeting ensures your ads reach the right people, increasing ad relevance and engagement.
   • Example: A clothing retailer could target parents of school-aged children and teenagers with interests in fashion and back-to-school shopping.
2. Dynamic Ads
   • Why it matters: Dynamic Ads automatically choose relevant products to promote to users based on their interests and browsing behavior.
   • Example: An electronics store could use Dynamic Ads to display different laptop models to users who have browsed tech products on their website.
3. Carousel Ads
   • Why it matters: Carousel ads showcase multiple products or features within a single ad unit.
   • Example: A stationery brand could create a carousel ad highlighting different back-to-school essentials like notebooks, pens, and backpacks, making it easy for users to browse options.

Quick wins for Facebook and Instagram ads

1. Instagram Stories Ads
   • Why it matters: Stories are an engaging format with high interaction rates.
   • Example: A fashion retailer could create short, compelling video ads showcasing back-to-school outfits, encouraging users to swipe up to shop.
2. Lookalike Audiences
   • Why it matters: Lookalike audiences help you find new potential customers who resemble your existing customers.
   • Example: A retailer could create a lookalike audience based on last year's back-to-school shoppers, ensuring ads reach people likely to be interested in similar products.
3. User-Generated Content (UGC)
   • Why it matters: UGC builds trust and authenticity, making your brand more relatable.
   • Example: A brand could encourage customers to share photos of their back-to-school purchases on social media with a specific hashtag, then feature the photos in their ads.

Best practices for TikTok Ads

1. Creative content
   • Why it matters: TikTok users respond well to authentic, engaging, and entertaining content.
   • Example: A retailer could create fun, relatable videos featuring students getting ready for the school year with their products, using popular TikTok trends and trending audio.
2. Hashtag challenges
   • Why it matters: Hashtag challenges can boost visibility and encourage engagement.
   • Example: A stationery brand could launch a back-to-school challenge encouraging users to share videos of their unique and creative school supply setup using a branded hashtag.
3. In-Feed Ads
   • Why it matters: In-feed ads blend seamlessly with organic content, making them less intrusive.
   • Example: An apparel retailer could use in-feed ads to show off their new back-to-school fashion line with a call-to-action to shop now.

Quick wins for TikTok Ads

1. Influencer Partnerships
   • Why it matters: Influencers can help you reach a wider audience with authentic endorsements.
   • Example: A tech brand could collaborate with a popular college-aged influencer to review and demonstrate the latest gadgets for school, driving interest and sales.
2. Branded effects
   • Why It Matters: Branded effects allow users to interact with your brand in a fun and creative way.
   • Example: A backpack company could create a branded effect that lets users visualize how different backpacks would look on them, making the shopping experience interactive.
3. Bite-sized tutorials
   • Why it matters: Short, informative videos can effectively highlight product features and benefits.
   • Example: A retailer could create quick tutorials on organizing school supplies or tips for first-day outfits, making the content both useful and engaging.

Overlooked techniques to improve performance

1. Cross-Channel Integration
   • Why it matters: Consistent messaging and promotions across channels create a seamless shopping experience.
   • Example: A retailer could coordinate Google Ads, Amazon Ads, and social media ads to promote the same back-to-school sale, using similar visuals and slogans to increase brand recall.
2. Customer reviews
   • Why it matters: Positive reviews significantly impact purchasing decisions, especially for parents looking for quality products for their children.
   • Example: Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews on popular items. Highlight these reviews in your ads to build credibility and attract new customers.
3. Competitor analysis
   • Why it matters: Understanding your competitors’ strategies can help you identify opportunities to stand out.
   • Example: Use tools like Google Ads Auction Insights and Amazon’s Brand Analytics to see where your competitors are advertising and what keywords they’re targeting. Adjust your strategy to fill gaps.

How Marin can help

With Marin, you can manage and optimize digital advertising campaigns across Google Ads, Amazon Ads, and social media, all within a single platform. Marin simplifies campaign setup, keyword management, and product targeting, helping you reach the right audience and optimize ad placements across publishers.

• Bidding and budget optimization tools automate bid adjustments based on performance metrics, ensuring you get the most out of your ad spend. 
• Advanced analytics and custom reports offer actionable insights into performance, allowing you to make data-driven decisions and refine your strategies.
• Managing Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok ads alongside your Google and Amazon campaigns ensures a cohesive strategy and helps you optimize creative content. 
• Automated workflows and performance alerts streamline your workday, saving time and improving efficiency.

Our Final Thoughts

With back-to-school spending expected to reach record highs this year, there’s no better time to fine-tune your advertising strategies. By leveraging Google Ads, Amazon Ads, and social media ads, you can reach your target audience, drive traffic to your store (both online and offline), and increase conversions. Implement these best practices, quick wins, and overlooked techniques to ensure you make the most of this lucrative shopping event. Happy selling!

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In our guide to AI for precision marketers, we stress the importance of properly prompting generative AI chatbots and giving them context before asking questions. Whether you work for one company or several clients, ChatGPT requires business context with every new prompt or question. Rather than repeating yourself at the start of every prompt, why not build a custom bot that holds onto that context? 

For example, we built a ‘Marin Marketer’ GPT that knows all about our industry, clients, competitors, and goals. When we ask it simple questions, it draws on that context to answer helpfully, making the bot more like a teammate or AI assistant than a simple chat window.

If you don’t want to build a bot, you can easily customize your iteration of ChatGPT so that the bot answers questions with context on you, your job, and your company. We’ll cover how to do that first.

Customizing ChatGPT

To customize your chatbot, click on your user icon in the top right. Here you’ll see the option to customize ChatGPT:

It’ll give you a set of instructions to customize your bot.

Details to share with your chatbot

The first prompt asks for details about you. Here is a list of potential information to share that will get you started.

About you

• Where you live
• Where you work
• Your job title
• Your responsibilities
• A typical day in your life
• Your professional goals
• The tone of voice you use to communicate or write content

About your company

• Industry
• Location of headquarters
• Regions serviced
• Target audience
• Key competitors
• Product or service details
• Unique selling propositions
• Common challenges
• Frequently asked questions from your clients or customers (with answers)
• Main marketing channels
• Mission
• Brand values
• Key KPIs
• Upcoming initiatives or product launches
• Team structure
• Preferred marketing tools and software
• Content style preferences like SEO best practices, tone, formatting

About your ideal chatbot

The second prompt asks for details on how you’d like your chatbot to respond to your queries. Here are some points you can touch on.

• Tone of Voice:
  • Formal or informal
  • Friendly, conversational, or professional
  • Enthusiastic, neutral, or serious
• Response Length:
  • Brief and to the point
  • Detailed and comprehensive
  • Summarized with key points highlighted
• Language Style:
  • Simple and easy to understand
  • Technical and industry-specific jargon
  • Creative and engaging
• Politeness and Courtesy:
  • Highly polite and respectful
  • Casual and familiar
  • Direct and straightforward
• Use of Examples:
  • Include examples to illustrate points
  • Avoid examples, keep responses general
  • Use real-world scenarios or case studies
• Formatting Preferences:
  • Use bullet points or numbered lists
  • Paragraph format
  • Headings and subheadings for clarity
• Context Awareness:
  • Assume prior knowledge of previous conversations
  • Treat each interaction as standalone
  • Reference specific details from past interactions
• Problem-Solving Approach:
  • Analytical and data-driven
  • Creative and innovative
  • Practical and actionable
• Feedback and Clarifications:
  • Prompt for additional information if needed
  • Avoid asking for clarifications
  • Provide feedback on user inputs or actions
• Feedback Loop:
  • Encourage feedback on responses
  • Regularly check if the information provided was helpful
  • Adjust responses based on user feedback

Sharing these details with ChatGPT will vastly improve the quality and relevance of the responses it gives you. 

Selecting your GPT’s capabilities

GPT-4 has three main capabilities: Browsing, DALL-E, and Code. At the bottom of the ‘customize ChatGPT’ window, you can disable any of these.

Browsing allows the GPT to browse the web for info, so you’ll almost certainly want to select that checkbox. DALL-E generates images, so you’ll want to enable that if you plan on having ChatGPT create any visuals for you. Code enables the bot to write, analyze, debug, and execute snippets of code. You can probably de-select this one, assuming you’re not a developer. That said, there’s really no disadvantage to keeping it enabled. Who knows… you may need to code one day, and ChatGPT makes it super easy. 

With that, your settings are up to date! The context you provided should make ChatGPT much more user friendly. Read on to learn how to create your own GPT that you can share with the rest of your marketing team.

Creating a shareable chatbot

In order to create a shareable GPT, you have to have the premium, paid version of ChatGPT. It’s $20 a month, and I personally think it’s worth it. But if you don’t feel like shelling out some extra cash, you can always copy the company-specific context you gave your bot and share that with your team. But don’t tell the bots I told you that. 😉

Now, back to creating a shareable GPT. In the left navigation bar, you’ll see the option to explore GPTs. Clicking that will take you to a sort of ‘store’ where you can browse all the different GPTs the platform offers. Click the ‘Create’ button at the top right.

That will open a window where you can have a conversation with ChatGPT to help it understand exactly what you want to build and gain all the necessary information and context. Or, you can toggle over to the ‘configure’ tab and enter all the personal and company context that we discussed in the last section under ‘Instructions’:

It’s also super valuable to upload files to the ‘knowledge’ section that are relevant to your bot. If you’re building a content writing bot, upload your style guide and some of your best pieces of writing so it can understand the tone and format you’re looking for. If you’re building a bot to draft social media posts, upload copies of previous posts that you’re proud of. If you’re building a bot to write sales emails, upload any scripts your sales team uses. You get the idea! 

Once your bot is ready to go, you can easily share it with your team by selecting it in the left hand nav bar, clicking the downward arrow next to your bot’s name, and then selecting “Copy Link” to get a shareable, public link other paying GPT customers can utilize!

Prompting your custom GPT

The great thing about your new chatbot is that you don’t have to give it any business context before asking a question to get great results. Simply tell it the task you're trying to achieve and any task-specific details. Then watch the bot work its magic!

Going beyond bots

As the digital marketing landscape continues to evolve, incorporating AI into your daily workflows is no longer just a cool idea—it's imperative. From automating routine tasks to providing deep insights and optimizing campaigns in real time, AI empowers marketers to achieve more with less effort. But the true power of AI lies in its ability to go beyond basic text generation to help you drive strategic growth.

Our suite of AI-powered tools is designed to unify your data, optimize your budget, and manage your paid media campaigns seamlessly. With Marin, you'll spend less time on manual tasks and more time on what really matters: creating impactful campaigns. Ready to go beyond chatbots and unlock the power of AI designed by marketers, for marketers? Click here to learn more.

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We are thrilled to announce that Marin Software has renewed its revenue share agreement with Google for another three years. This agreement underscores our commitment to fostering innovation and providing advertisers with unparalleled tools for managing and optimizing their paid search campaigns.

Under this agreement, Google will continue to make revenue payments to Marin based on the total paid search spend managed through our platform across Google and other search publishers. This partnership enables us to advance the Marin platform, ensuring it meets the evolving needs of the world’s leading search advertisers.

Innovative Product Enhancements

Since our last agreement, we have made significant advancements to our product to give advertisers the tools they need to sell more with less effort. Upgrades to Marin include:

• Expanded Platform Integrations: As the performance landscape has grown increasingly fragmented, we have integrated support for TikTok, Snap, Reddit, and X (formerly Twitter), allowing our users to engage with the billions of monthly active users across these platforms.
• Ascend Budget Management: Advertisers can maximize the performance of their programs across ad platforms with automated spend allocation and pacing. Advanced forecasting combines publisher simulations with proprietary models to ensure optimal return on investment. Marin provides a real-time snapshot of campaign performance against budgets with flexible pacing charts. 
• Enhanced Support for Performance Max Campaigns: As ad platforms continue to evolve, Marin works hard to ensure users have access to the latest ad formats, targeting options, and other tools.
• Marketing Calendar: Marin's Marketing Calendar analyzes the impact of promotions and other key events. Our forecasting predicts the impact of upcoming events based on historical performance.
• Comprehensive Amazon Advertising Options: Marin now supports Amazon TV advertising and Spotlight Ads, empowering advertisers to tap into Amazon’s vast audience with high-impact ad formats.
• Improved Data Management and Visualization: Our analytics grids are more powerful than ever, allowing users to roll up data without needing pivot tables. We also make getting data into Google Sheets easier with our Sheets Extension.

Looking Ahead

Our goal with Marin remains steadfast: to complement publisher tools and empower advertisers to analyze, automate, and optimize their digital marketing campaigns more effectively.

As the digital marketing landscape evolves, Marin Software is well-positioned to help our customers achieve faster growth and maximize the return on their marketing investments. We are excited about the future and remain committed to delivering value and driving results for our clients.

Onward!

Chris Lien

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Happy Friday, Digital Darlings,

Sheeeeesh, what a week. Between last Friday’s outage on Windows PCs and Google’s about face on cookies, we’ve got a lot to cover today. Let’s kick it off with some tea about G…

Google is keeping cookies in Chrome

It’s been 4 whole years since Google first announced its plans to rid Chrome of cookies - a plan that has faced opposition from advertisers and regulators ever since. Now, they’re finally giving up. Rather than eliminating cookies, Google will present users with a prompt where they can decide to turn cookies on or off. Users can already block cookies in their Chrome settings, so this doesn’t sound like much of an improvement for user privacy… Regardless, I’m sure more and more people will continue to opt out of cookie-based tracking, so it’s still critical for advertisers to have a first-party tracking solution in place. In other Google news…

Billions of Google redirects will stop working soon

Google’s URL shortener service will shut down on August 25, 2025. We haven’t been able to create new redirects with the URL shortener since 2019, but according to Majestic, there are still 3.6 billion Google shortened URLs live on the interwebs. Starting in August 2024, any goo.gl links will display a warning page saying, ‘This link will no longer work in the near future.’ So if your website contains any links in ‘goo.gl’ format, you’ve got a year to update them to their full length versions before they start 404ing.

New Sitelinks interface and feature for PMAX campaigns

The new Google Ads UI displays Sitelinks in a numbered list, which I guess is a bit more user-friendly. The better update is that Google now offers ‘recommended’ Sitelinks, so it looks like their AI is going to crawl your site for the best opportunities and generate the Sitelinks for you. That’s convenient! The feature is super new, and I haven’t heard much about how it works, but it could save you some time, so it’s worth testing out. Now for some Bing news…

Google to test ads in AI overviews soon

On Google’s Tuesday night earnings call, SVP Philipp Schindler said, "Soon we'll actually start testing search and shopping ads in AI Overviews for users in the U.S." Ok, I’m interested! He went on to say that the ads will appear within the AI overview in a section labeled ‘sponsored’ and that the ad will have to be relevant to both the search query and the info in the overview in order to appear.  You won’t have to create new ads for this, Google will use your existing Search and PMAX ads in this new placement. Meanwhile, at Microsoft HQ…

Bing is testing their own search generative experience

The new feature “combines the power of LLMs and SLMs with Bing’s search results to generate a more delightful and efficient UX layout.” This is Bing’s version of AI Overviews, and based on the screenshots in this article, I think I like their version better. It’s more experiential, with pictures and videos and clearly cited sources. They’re testing the experience on a small set of users right now, but I’m sure a version of it will be live for everyone soon, and it’s only a matter of time before these Bing AIOs start featuring ads, too. But it’s not all good news for Bing this week…

Bing is officially blocked from crawling Reddit

Anyone who’s been on the internet over the past six months knows that Reddit has been dominating the Google SERP ever since the two secured a licensing partnership in February. Google drives a ton of traffic to Reddit, and in exchange, Google gets to feature more authentic search results, which users prefer. The deal gives Google yet another advantage over Bing, so keep that in mind if you're advertising on Bing. There may be even fewer people turning to Bing for answers than before, but you won’t have to compete with Reddit for clicks and top-of-serp space.

How to avoid fallout from the CrowdStrike fiasco

You probably heard about how thousands of Windows computers stopped working on Friday, disrupting banks, airlines, TV, and pretty much any other industry that relies on computers, so… all of them? Yeah, it was bad. Long story short, an update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike broke the internet. The update has since been reverted, but it’s important that advertisers do their due diligence to avoid any negative impact. You may have seen a significant drop in traffic from ads on Friday, and you don’t want that outlier to skew your bidding algorithms. So be sure to exclude 7/19 from bidding calculations in your publisher or Marin bidding settings. And if you want to be alerted of any anomalies in performance the second they happen, check out Marin’s Anomaly Detector.

How to add promo offers to your Meta ads CTAs

Meta Ads' new ‘offers’ feature is currently in beta, so not all advertisers have access to it. But if you do, you should be able to find it in the ‘Ad Sources’ settings in Ads Manager, right below Sitelinks. You can add percentage discounts or dollar off offers that you’re ok with providing to those viewing your Meta Ads. The Meta UI says, “Adding offers will display discounts and promo codes along with your ad creative when we think they are likely to increase performance.” I can’t think of a scenario where offering a discount wouldn’t improve the performance of your ad, but ok… The takeaway is that sometimes these discounts will be displayed next to your CTAs, and sometimes they won’t. This sounds like a feature worth testing!

And that’s a wrap on this week’s digital drama, darlings. Make sure to log off and touch grass this weekend so you can return to the marketing world on Monday refreshed and ready for a new week of optimizations and analysis. We’ll talk again next week. Can’t wait <3

You know you love me.

It’s official: precision marketing is the new performance marketing. And a fundamental tenet of precision marketing is using LLM generative AI like ChatGPT or Claude to work smarter, not harder. But I know you don’t need to be told to leverage AI in your daily workflows for the millionth time - you want to learn how to do it. This guide will provide tangible, actionable use cases for AI in your daily workflows - with examples and next steps. It’s time to grow and evolve your current workflows by working with AI, and it all starts with understanding how to properly communicate with these LLMs to improve their output and results.

Choosing the right chatbot

The heavy hitters are ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity. Here are the strengths of each:

ChatGPT: A high-level strategic partner that’s good at editing existing work like blog posts or slide decks, structured problem-solving, and testing theories and assumptions. 

Claude: A thought partner that’s great for coming up with new ideas, providing feedback, and pointing out potential risks and flaws in your strategy.

Perplexity: Can be treated like a research assistant. Great at gathering and analyzing data and fact-checking with access to real-time info, whereas other chatbots only have access to data up to their last updated date.

I have ChatGPT Plus, and I love its library of specialized GPTs. You can find a GPT trained to do almost anything here:

The value of using one of these specialized GPTs is that it’s already trained to do what you need it to. You only need to feed it contextual info about your business; then you’re off to the races.

Since ChatGPT is my AI of choice, I’ll use it to provide examples throughout this article. But before we get into specific ideas for using generative AI in your daily workflows, let’s cover how to talk to your chatbot.

Training AI to be a strategic partner

Generative AI works great for two things: helping you make decisions and helping you deliver on those decisions. But to provide value, AI needs as much specific information as possible. For precision marketers, this information will usually include links to relevant pages on your website, past pieces of content you’ve written, past campaign metrics or analyses you’ve done, anything that will help the LLM narrow its focus and define the playing field it should operate within.

If you’re starting from scratch, you’ll want to give the chatbot some framing of who you are and what you do. Here are some good bits of context to give the chatbot before you start sharing your prompts:

Who are you, and what do you do?

• What’s your role/mandate within your organization?
• What’s your company industry, size, and target customer?
• What types of challenges are you usually faced with?
• A link to your website

An example of a contextual note to share with your chatbot before prompting is:

I’m a social media manager for a shoe brand. Here is our website: [link]. Our primary customer is women ages 18-40. We’re a smaller, independent brand and often struggle to compete against bigger brands, but our unique designs have helped us develop a loyal following. Our pricing is mid-tier, with the average pair of shoes costing around $200. 

The next step is to frame your goal with a simple, effective prompt formula: decision + outcome + constraints = happy marketer. 

Start by telling the AI about the decision you need help making or the challenge you’re trying to solve. Next, share your desired outcome - what goal or measurable output are you hoping to achieve? And finally, share any constraints - what rules, limitations, or external factors does the AI need to consider before making a decision? Here are some examples of how to build a decision, outcome, & constraint (DOC) prompt:

Bringing it all together, your prompt might look something like this: 

I want you to help me decide my next whitepaper topic. I’m trying to drive C-suite executives in the automotive industry to my website and entice them to download the whitepaper. Here is a list of topics we’ve covered in the past and a list of topics I’m considering: [insert lists]

This simple formula helps AI understand not just the basics but also your motivations and goals. This way, you can have a strategic conversation with AI, asking it questions and providing feedback on its responses (vs. asking it to output generic SEO-optimized title ideas for your blog posts). Using AI as a strategic partner means asking it to build an entire strategy for you, not just to complete tasks. 

Many social media marketers use AI to draft copy for their posts. They’ll make one-off requests, like “I want to post about Earth Day. Can you write the copy?” Generic requests beget generic responses. And can you blame the poor chatbot? It doesn’t have any context! 

The precision marketer uses AI differently. Rather than ask for one post, the precision marketer tells ChatGPT:

I’m a social media manager for [brand], and I want to increase leads driven from organic social media posts by 20% this quarter. Some of the topics I typically post about are fashion, lifestyle, and music. I like to post 3-5 times per week, make sure my posts are engaging, and encourage readers to share and leave comments. Can you please (the bots like it when you say please!) build a social calendar for me for the next month and draft the posts?

It takes some time, but sharing those details? That’s how you get AI to really revolutionize your marketing program. 

Now that we’ve covered strategic prompting let's get into some specific ways marketers have seen success using Chatbots to streamline their workflows:

1. Draft thought leadership content

This one may seem obvious, and there’s a reason for that. AI does a great job at creating a first draft for new content! But to get the chatbot to write in your voice, you need to feed it some of the content you’ve written in the past. If you want the chatbot to generate LinkedIn posts for your brand, share a link to your profile so it can scan past posts and copy your tone. Or, if you want it to draft a blog post for you, share links to your 20 best posts so the chatbot can copy your tone of voice and gain background knowledge about your industry. Here’s an example of how to prompt your chatbot to draft a blog post using the decision, outcome, and constraints model we covered earlier:

I want you to help me draft a post for Marin Software’s blog about the future of digital marketing. I’m trying to spread helpful information and get the word out about Marin. I’d like this blog post to be SEO optimized so it will get at least 500 clicks. Some topics I’m considering include AI for digital marketers, breaking down ad-tech walled gardens, and a guide to LinkedIn advertising. I’m open to other ideas if you have any suggestions. Please copy the tone and structure of these past blog posts: [links here]

Here’s the result this prompt gets me on ChatGPT:

AI for digital marketers certainly sounds like a good topic for me to write about! 😉

As you can see, ChatGPT’s response is more like an outline than an actual blog post. Chatbots can get you started with a first draft, but you’ll probably need to build out the details and make the tone less robotic. Human intervention makes the content more readable and engaging and is also necessary for SEO. 

Having generic AI-written content on your website can significantly negatively impact SEO since Google’s ranking system kills any content that it detects to have been written by AI. So, while ChatGPT gave us a great starting point, it’ll require a heavy editing hand before it’s ready to go live.

2. Get SEO-optimized product names and descriptions

SEO should be at the forefront of every naming decision you make. And thanks to generative AI, brainstorming has never been easier. Let’s say you sell women's clothes online. Rather than writing names and descriptions for each unique item, have chatGPT write them for you. Here’s an example prompt:

I want you to write a name and description for a new product on my website. It’s a floral women’s dress originally from Target. The title and description must be optimized for SEO and eye-catching to attract consumers. Feel free to give me a couple of options.

Here’s what ChatGPT gave me:

These options are too long and generic, so I asked chatGPT to shorten them and use trendier language. Here’s what I got:

Much better! This highlights a critical point—you have to work with the chatbot and give it feedback to get great results. Don’t give up if it doesn’t get it right on the first try. Keep telling it what to tweak, and eventually, you’ll get the content you’re looking for.

3. Social media strategy and post generation

I touched on this briefly in the intro, but let’s dive into the details. Many marketers use chatbots to draft social posts. ChatGPT Plus even has a handful of GPTs explicitly designed for this purpose:

There are also GPTs built to write copy or define your strategy for each unique social channel. If you have the paid version of ChatGPT, I recommend using one of these chatbots, as they are already trained on social media marketing best practices and channel-specific trends. Try out a few of the different bots by giving them all the same prompt and seeing which answer you like the best.

If you have the free version of your chatbot of choice, it’ll still work as a great social media assistant. Just make sure you give it tons of context; it may need a few more rounds of feedback before generating the perfect post.

As discussed earlier, we must use these chatbots as strategic partners rather than one-off content-generation machines to get the most out of them. Therefore, we should first ask the chatbot to generate a content calendar. Here’s the prompt I’d use:

I need you to generate a content calendar for LinkedIn for August. The goal is for our followers to engage with the posts. Our followers are mostly digital marketers. Each post should include a link to the most relevant landing page on marinsoftware.com.

The free version of chatGPT gave me a decent framework:

But I wanted something more customized and detailed, so I sent the same prompt to one of the social media post custom GPTs, and it replied with questions, wanting more details before creating the calendar and posts:

This is the sign of a great GPT! Asking for more context before providing output will lead to better post suggestions and less back and forth. This is just one of the many reasons the premium version of ChatGPT is worth paying for if you use it regularly. 

4. Compare your website against competitors

If you want to understand your competition’s key value props, feed their website to a generative AI bot and ask it to summarize their strengths and compare them to yours. Here’s a prompt idea:

I need to understand my biggest competitor's key value propositions. Here is their website: [insert URL]. Please summarize their biggest selling points for me, then review my website: [insert URL] and let me know which of my competitor’s key value props are also represented on my website and which are missing.

I used a similar prompt to compare Google Ads to Bing Ads, and ChatGPT gave me a pretty good response:

5. Analyze competitors’ social media strategy

Did you know you can use Meta’s Ad Library to see all the ads your competitors have run on Facebook and Instagram? Simply select the ad type you’re interested in (I always do ‘all ads’), enter your competitor’s name, and hit search:

I’m using Target as an example. This search returns every ad Target has posted within a given date range that you can update:

You could then feed the resulting URL to your chatbot and ask it to summarize your competitor’s social strategy with a prompt like:

I need you to help me analyze my competitor Target’s social strategy. I’m trying to make sure my company’s social strategy covers the same value propositions that Target’s does. Here is a link to their Meta Ad Library results page: [link]. Can you analyze their posts and provide a summary of their strategy?

The result is a helpful overview of their paid social strategy:

The bot provided a detailed analysis and cited the sources it used to understand the most important elements of social media strategy. Nice!

6. Keyword research

Generative AI is great at helping you choose target keywords for SEO or paid search campaigns. Simply share your site with the chatbot and ask it what terms you should be bidding on with a prompt like:

‍I want you to generate a list of target keywords for my new Google Ads campaign. I’m targeting women ages 18-30 who make more than $50,000 a year and are interested in fashion. I sell shoes. Here is my website: https://www.shoedazzle.com/. What non-brand keywords should I be bidding on?

Here's the result:

And just like that, the chatbot has given us a great list of keywords to bid on. This list could be used for SEO, too – just incorporate the suggested keywords into your copy. You could even ask the chatbot to write product names and descriptions that include the target keywords or brainstorm topics for blog posts or other types of content that would feature the keywords.

7. Respond to comments and DMs

Social media community management can be tedious and time-consuming, so I recommend using a chatbot to auto-generate your responses to comments and direct messages. Provide the chatbot with context about your business and links to your social media profiles so it can analyze the tone your team typically uses when responding to comments. Then, input the comment you’re responding to and let the chatbot be your customer service agent! If the information needed to answer the question exists on your site, the bot may answer the entire question for you. If not, it’ll give you a template so you can fill in the blanks. Here’s an example prompt:

I need help responding to comments on my latest social media post. Here is a link to the post: [link]. I’m trying to respond to the comment, “How much does the software cost?” Can you provide a kind, professional, and concise response? All the information you need to answer the question should be on our website: [link]. Please leave placeholders for any details you cannot find, and I will fill them out.

Here’s what that prompt got me:

ChatGPT’s initial response was quite long for a comment, so I requested a shorter version and got this:

Short and to the point! Looks good to me.

8. Data analysis

AI chatbots are great with data. Simply feed the bot a dataset and let it work its magic! Let’s ask ChatGPT to analyze month-over-month trends in ROAS based on a dummy data set. The prompt here is quite simple since I’m just asking the bot to analyze numbers:

And here is the result:

It even gives me the option to download the table it created as a CSV! I could continue to ask further questions about the data, too, like what the average ROAS was for the year or the total cost.

This is just a basic example – chatbots can do much more complex math than this! For instance, you could ask the bot to analyze a much larger data set and estimate your ad budgets for this year. You just need to ensure the bot has all the necessary context to predict future trends. Make a mental list of all the data points you’d need for a predictive calculation. Then, ensure every bit of info on that list has been fed to your bot so it can do the analysis for you.

Other use cases

Those are just a few ways to start incorporating generative AI into your daily marketing workflows. Some other things you could use your AI assistant for are drafting emails, paid media campaign planning, brainstorming titles for blog posts, brainstorming names for new products or features, analyzing financial data, translating documents… the possibilities are endless! Just make sure you use a decision, outcome, and constraint (DOC) prompt, and a bot like ChatGPT should have the answers you need.

If you’re looking for a more customizable, AI-driven solution designed specifically for digital marketers, check out Marin. Our industry-leading AI takes paid media campaigns to the next level by fully automating the bidding and budget allocation process. Our platform also allows you to create objects and edit in bulk across all your different publisher accounts in one UI. To learn more about how Marin helps digital marketers harness the power of AI, click here.

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Another week, another trio of great questions from our patients. And we’re happy to help! Got questions for the PPC doctors? Share them here.

Q: I’m an eCommerce retailer. Should I try out Google Demand Gen campaigns? I worry that it’s just another revenue stream for Google, and I won’t actually see results.

A: Your skepticism is understandable. Google Demand Gen campaigns can feel like just another way for Google to generate revenue. However, they offer unique opportunities that might be worth exploring for your eCommerce business.

Google Demand Gen campaigns are designed to create demand for your products by reaching potential customers across YouTube, Gmail, Discover, and the Google Display Network. Unlike traditional search campaigns that capture existing demand, these campaigns should generate new interest.

Here are some of the pros of Demand Gen campaigns:

Audience Reach: Demand Gen campaigns target a broad audience across multiple Google platforms. This means you can reach potential customers who aren’t actively searching for your products but are likely to be interested based on their browsing behavior and interests.

Creative Flexibility: You can use engaging ad formats, such as video and rich media, which capture attention and drive higher engagement rates compared to standard text ads.

Incremental Growth: While traditional search campaigns capture existing demand, Demand Gen campaigns build brand awareness and create new demand, potentially leading to incremental sales growth.

Cost-Effectiveness: CPCs on these platforms are often lower than on the search network, allowing you to reach a larger audience with the same budget.

Here are some tips for launching your first Demand Gen campaign: 

Budget Considerations: Success with Demand Gen often requires a substantial budget for testing and optimization. It's recommended to start with at least $2K-$3K to see meaningful results.

Content Strategy: Top-of-funnel, engaging, and educational content tends to perform better than direct "buy now" messages.

Prioritizing Campaigns: It's best to focus on Demand Gen campaigns after you’ve already maximized the potential of your Shopping, Search, and other Google campaigns and are looking for new ways to drive incremental revenue.

Industry-Specific Results: Certain industries like sports, hobby, and apparel see better results than others due to the visual and interactive nature of rich media ads, which resonate well with audiences interested in visually appealing and lifestyle-related products.

Start with a test: Before diving in, we recommend running a small-scale test. Set a clear budget, define your target audience, and create compelling ad creatives. Monitor the results closely and compare the performance against your existing campaigns. 

Measuring results: When comparing the test Demand Gen campaign to other campaigns, keep in mind that Demand Gen campaigns are intended to drive brand awareness and incremental revenue. You shouldn’t expect these campaigns to have the same ROI as search campaigns, where you’re targeting searchers with a clear interest in your offerings. You know how retargeting campaigns always look like they’re performing better than prospecting campaigns on paper, but in reality you must build your funnel with prospecting to even have users to retarget in the first place? Demand Gen campaigns are like prospecting campaigns, but their targeting is even more broad than traditional search prospecting campaigns. So keep that in mind when comparing results. It’s up to you to determine if the incremental sales and brand exposure are worth the money for your business. Happy testing!

Q: GA4 says my audience has 40,000 users. I imported the audience into Google Ads, where it says there are only 3,000 users in the audience. Why is there such a big difference?

A: Ah yes, almost all of our patients see discrepancies between GA4 and Google Ads audience sizes. This can be attributed to several factors:

Data Collection Differences: GA4 tracks all users visiting your site, but Google Ads only tracks users who are signed into their Google accounts and have consented to ad personalization.

Audience Eligibility: Google Ads has stricter rules about audience eligibility. Users must meet specific criteria to be included in remarketing lists, which might exclude some users from GA4 data. For example, users need to have engaged with your site in a way that makes them eligible for remarketing, such as visiting a specific page or completing a particular action.

Matching Rates: The match rate between GA4 users and Google Ads can vary. Not all GA4 users will be found in Google Ads due to differences in how user data is matched and stored.

Time Lag: Imported audiences can take some time to fully populate in Google Ads. If you’ve recently imported the audience, it might still be processing.

Cookie Consent: Especially in regions with stringent privacy regulations, users must consent to tracking for personalized ads. Any users who don’t consent won’t be included in the Google Ads audience.

To avoid the consequences of this data privacy based audience shrinkage, collect more first party data and use that data for ad targeting. You can read our article about cookie depreciation to understand the difference between first-part and third-party data. Good luck!

Q: I own a restaurant in a city that attracts lots of tourists. Our restaurant is quite aesthetically pleasing, right on the water, and I want to start running ads on Meta that showcase photos of our gorgeous restaurant. How can I target users that aren’t currently in our city but are planning to travel here soon?

A: Running ads on Facebook and Instagram to attract tourists planning to visit your city is a great idea! Here’s how to target users who are planning to travel to your city:

Target by Travel Intent: Use the location targeting feature to target users who have shown an interest in or are planning to travel to your city. In the ad set settings, select "People traveling to this location."

Behavioral Targeting: Under the detailed targeting section, select behaviors that indicate travel intent, such as "Frequent Travelers," "Currently Traveling," or "Upcoming Travel."

Interest Targeting: Target users interested in travel-related activities, pages, or groups related to tourism in your city. This can include interests like "Travel," "Tourism," "Travel Planning," and specific tourist attractions in your city.

Custom Audiences: Create custom audiences using data from your website, such as visitors to your “Contact Us” or “Location” page, as these users might be planning a visit.

Lookalike Audiences: Use lookalike audiences based on your current customers or website visitors to find users with similar profiles who might be interested in visiting your restaurant.

Seasonal and Event-Based Targeting: Align your ads with local events, festivals, or tourist seasons. This helps attract visitors who are planning trips around these times.

Your restaurant sounds lovely. Perhaps I’ll plan a visit. I could use a vacation!

We’re here every other Monday to answer all your important paid media questions. Ask us anything here. We’ll email you the answer ASAP, and only share your question in the next edition if it’s okay with you. Happy bidding!

Happy Friday, Digital Darlings,

How was your Prime Day? Did you score some delicious deals? I know I did. 

While you’re recovering from your digital shopping spree (and hopefully not experiencing too much buyer’s remorse) allow me to pull you back down to reality with this week’s digital marketing digest. And hopefully next week I’ll have some post-Prime Day tea to share. I’ll kick it off with an app store update.

Apple’s new App Store layout has better ad visibility

The search suggestions and top charts have been replaced by suggested apps and ads now appear at the top of that suggested apps list, right below the search bar. Since ads now appear at the top of the page, Apple Search Ads (ASA) advertisers can expect to see better click-through rates for their App Install ads. So, my dear ASA advertisers, keep an eye out for a lift in performance over the next few weeks! And speaking of things to keep an eye out for…

Watch out for the Google Maps pin scam

Let this be a warning to any of my readers who have brick-and-mortar locations – apparently competitors can move your Google Maps pin to the wrong location using the ‘suggest an edit’ feature. When the pin is moved to a different location, Google Maps thinks the store closed or changed, and this can tank your Google Business Profile rankings. What’s worse, Google doesn’t notify businesses when their pin is moved, so you may not even notice it happened. And you cannot simply go in and reposition your pin to the correct location, because that often results in Google Business Profile suspension. It’s so weird to me that making simple changes to your own Google Business Profile can trigger suspension, but Google allows any random user not associated with your account to make changes to your business’s listed location for you… WTF.

If this happens to you, the best path forward is to log into Google using an email address that’s not associated with your Google Business Profile and change your business’s location back to the right spot. In other Google news…

This hidden tool reveals discrepancies between GA4 and Google Ads

There’s a concealed report in GA4 called ‘Key Event Differences’. You can access it by adding “/advertising/key-event-differences” to the end of your GA4 property URL. Ooooh, I love secrets!! 

The report breaks down the percentage difference between Google Ads reported conversions and GA4 reported conversions for each of your key events. I’m intrigued by the fact that it’s hidden – perhaps Google is testing it out and will add it to GA4 as an official report soon? Or, even better, they’ll fix the issues that cause data discrepancies between the two platforms in the first place… For now, you can see a step-by-step guide to accessing the report here. Now, an update for my dear SEOs…

Buckle up SEOs, another core update is coming

Google Search Liaison, Danny Sullivan, said to expect another core update in the next few weeks. We don’t know exactly when, but SEOs can start bracing for volatility. As far as the goal of this core update… we don’t know that either. But Sullivan did say "I do hope we can improve in some of these cases where creators with their hearts in the right places, and who are doing the real content effort behind that, are rewarded as we should be doing." So fingers crossed the update makes things better for niche sites, not worse. In other search news…

OpenAI is building a search product

Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that OpenAI was ‘Readying a Search Product to Rival Google, Perplexity.’ They said “the feature would allow users to ask ChatGPT a question and receive answers that use details from the web with citations to sources such as Wikipedia entries and blog posts.” But not much has been heard about it since. That is, until late last week when the CEO of The Atlantic shared in an interview that he’s letting OpenAI train their search product on The Atlantic’s data. Could this be the Google rival we’ve all been waiting for? Only time will tell. Now for some Amazon updates…

Amazon launched their AI shopping assistant, Rufus

Just in time for Prime Day! I must say, launching a new feature days before your biggest sale of the year is… confident. But I’m all for AI-assisted shopping as long as it helps me buy better products and get better deals. Rufus’s LLM is trained on Amazon’s product catalog and can answer questions about products, offer comparisons and alternatives, share fashion trends and more. Sounds cute! Try him out if you’re still doing some post-Prime Day shopping. Now, some good news for Amazon non-endemic advertisers…

Amazon is testing lead gen ads for non-endemic advertisers

The new lead gen ads, currently in beta, enable advertisers to retarget shoppers who have shown interest in their brand while they shop on Amazon, browse IMDB, and stream on Twitch. In the ads, customers can sign up to receive more information about the brand or product without being directed to another site, so users already considering your brand can get more info without disrupting their shopping or browsing experience. This ad format sounds great for businesses with long consideration and information-gathering sales cycles like travel agencies. It could even be good for B2B. B2B ads on Amazon?! I thought I’d never see the day, but I’m excited to test it out.

That’s it for this week, darlings. Until next week, stay cute, stay strategic, and enjoy your Prime Day spoils as packages begin to trickle in over the weekend. We’ll talk next Friday. Same time, same place? 

You know you love me.

Hey there, Digital Darlings,

Between the 4th of July Holiday in the US and the rollercoaster elections in the UK and France, I know my dear readers are currently trying to bounce back after a wild week. Allow me to help by summarizing the latest digital drama…

Broad match is enabled by default for new search campaigns

When you create a new search campaign, you’ll see a ‘broad match keywords’ setting on by default. With this setting enabled, all the keywords in your campaign will be set to broad match. For now, we still have the option to toggle it off and choose the match type for each keyword. But with Google’s push for more automated, AI-driven campaign management, many are wondering if this is the first step toward getting rid of match types all together. I’ll keep you updated. For now, if you choose not to opt out of campaign-wide broad match targeting, make sure you have sufficient negative keywords in place to avoid wasted spend. In other Google news…

Google dropped a tCPA Insight Box for Demand Gen campaigns

The box helps advertisers understand if current CPA is in the expected range, displays weekly CPA averages, forecasts conversions, and more. They released a similar feature for shopping and PMAX campaigns last week, so it seems like Google’s taking initiative to help advertisers understand more about how their Smart Bidding campaigns are doing. Transparency has not historically been Google’s strong suit, so I’d say these insight boxes, while not particularly actionable, are a step in the right direction. And in my last bit of Google Ads news…

New chrome extension simplifies Enhanced Conversions setup

Google created a Chrome extension called EC Assist that helps advertisers identify issues with the Enhanced Conversions setup on their site. Simply install the extension and run a test on your site. EC Assist will identify issues with your setup and offer next steps to resolve them. If you’re using Google Ads conversion data as your source of truth and optimization goal, having Enhanced Conversions installed properly is essential, so I’d definitely recommend trying out this extension. Now for some Microsoft news…

Microsoft released AI-powered asset generation for video and display ads

This new feature could certainly streamline the campaign creation process if the AI-generated creative assets are actually good! The process is super simple; advertisers input the ad’s landing page URL and Microsoft's AI generates video assets for the ad. Marketers can then edit and refine the assets if AI doesn’t get it right the first time (let's be honest - it rarely does). I have doubts about how well the tool actually works, but I respect Microsoft for trying to position itself as a leader in AI advertising. Next, let’s catch up on some SEO drama…

Google Search Console Performance Reports finally caught up

Last week I informed my dear readers that the reports were delayed by over 52 hours, so just an update the the issue was resolved on July 5th. I know that this issue was interfering with a lot of SEOs end-of-month reporting, so I just wanted to give you the green light. Report away! In AI SEO news…

Google is pulling pack on AI Overviews

We all know the initial launch of AIOs didn’t go smoothly. But it was worse than just bad press - the rollout actually led to a significant drop in search volume, particularly on mobile. This drop in usage prompted Google to scale back on AIOs and address some of the issues users had with them. AIOs now appear less frequently and cite more sources when they do appear. I know a lot of us were frantic to learn how to SEO our way into AIOs, but with this scale back, we’ve got a bit more time to figure that out. Now for some ecom updates…

Amazon is expanding Sponsored TV ads to the UK

Following a successful US launch, Amazon is rolling out Sponsored TV in the UK, enabling UK advertisers to reach audiences on streaming platforms like Prime Video, Freevee, and Twitch. As someone who’s currently watching Mr. Robot on Prime Video, I’m annoyed because these ads are disrupting my viewing experience. And annoyance driving negative brand consideration is definitely a factor you should consider when testing this new ad type. That said, tons of US advertisers have seen success with these streaming ads, so it’s worth testing if you’re an ecom marketer in the UK. Now let’s dish about social…

Is Snap the best place to spend social ad dollars?

Recent data shows that while Meta and TikTok are favored by advertisers, Snap is actually the most cost-effective social ad channel. Inversely, Reddit is the most expensive, with an average cost per order of $158.96. Now, of course it makes sense that the most popular platforms would be more expensive - there’s more competition for ad space, and Meta and TikTok can simply get away with charging more thanks to their audience’s perceived value. But if you’re a paid social manager, maybe it’s time to allocate some more money to Snap and see where that takes your brand. And in my final bit of social news…

TikTok Shop launched the £1 Million Club to help new merchants grow

This new club offers tons of benefits to new merchants; up to 90 days of commission-free sales, free product storage and fulfillment, priority seller support, and dedicated promotion to get brands more exposure through ad campaigns and creator support. Those are some major perks! So if you’re a small business in the UK looking to grow on TikTok, I’d recommend filling out their interest form.

And that’s the scoop, my savvy marketers! From Google’s AI drama to new ad innovations, the digital world is buzzing. Until next time, keep your strategies sharper than a fresh set of acrylics. 💅

You know you love me. 💋

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I’m not a regular doctor… I’m a cool PPC doctor.

From budget management to keyword strategy, our team of experts can diagnose any paid media problem. Submit your ad woes here and let us work our magic. Now for this weeks' Qs and As.

Q: I just launched a new campaign, and Google Ads Says I have to use Maximize Clicks first to get data before switching to Maximize Conversions. Does the ad really need to "learn" about my conversions first? I’m afraid Google wants me to pay for clicks for no good reason.

A: Many patients come to me with questions like this. While I understand that it can be hard to trust Google, their diagnosis is correct in this case. Your PPC doctor recommends starting new campaigns on a maximize clicks bid strategy and then moving to maximize conversions once your campaign has generated some conversion data. New campaigns don’t have any associated conversion data, so the algorithm doesn’t have data to inform what keywords and audiences do and do not convert. It cannot optimize your campaign for maximum conversions until it collects data on what does and does not convert.

With Maximize Clicks, Google’s algorithm will serve your ads to people based on your keywords, targeting settings, and other real-time auction signals. It will then acquire data on who does and does not convert. Make sure your conversion tracking and goals are set up correctly while on Maximize Clicks so that Google can learn what types of people do and do not convert for your business. Set a CPC bid limit so your campaign doesn’t burn too much money while on Max Clicks. A $2-$3 bid limit usually does the trick, but this doctor recommends a more analytical approach. Look at the average CPC for all the keywords in your campaign and choose a bid cap close to the most expensive average CPC so you don’t lose out on traffic. Then, keep an eye on spend and decrease your bid cap if needed. Google can spend up to twice your daily budget, so maintain a watchful eye.

After 3-4 weeks on Maximize Clicks, you should see a decent number of conversions generated. I’d say the algorithm needs at least 30 conversions before you should switch to Max Conversions. After a few months on Max Conversions, I recommend adding a target CPA at the campaign or ad group level. Review CPA for each ad group over the past 30-60 days. Does actual CPA vary significantly from group to group? If so, you’ll want to set a separate CPA target for each ad group.

If you want to achieve more efficient CPAs, set a target 10-20% lower than your historical CPA. The CPA target you set should be no more than 20% more efficient than your historical CPA, as setting too tight of a target will suffocate spend. If/when the ad group’s actual CPA hits the target, you can decrease the target by another 20% to get even more efficient. Continue this stair-stepping approach until you hit your desired CPA. If you experience any strange or unexpected symptoms during the process, just contact your PPC doctors. We’re here to help!

Q: I’m running paid media for an in-house brand and seeking help with my paid search campaigns. Thanks to good performance, I got some additional budget from management, but when I increased the budgets for my campaigns, my ROAS got worse. Why did this happen and how can I fix it?

This could be a symptom of many different conditions. Here are some of the most common diagnoses: 

Over Saturation: One of the golden rules of paid media is the cost vs. efficiency tradeoff. The basic concept here is that the more you spend, the less efficient your CPA or ROAS will become. If the campaign was already effectively reaching most of its target audience, increasing the budget might lead to diminishing returns. This can happen if the ads start reaching less relevant segments of the audience or if the frequency becomes too high, causing ad fatigue.

Although your ROAS/CPA may not be as good as it was before raising your budgets, you should still see an increase in conversion volume. It’s up to you to determine the minimum ROAS or maximum CPA you’re willing to hit to gain additional conversions. You can also try expanding your keyword or audience targeting to reach different types of potential customers.

Bid Strategy and Competition: Increasing the budget may have altered how your bids compete in the auction environment, especially if you use automated bidding. This can inadvertently raise your cost-per-click (CPC) without necessarily improving the quality of the traffic, as the system may bid more aggressively to use up the increased budget. Try tightening your ROAS or CPA target to mitigate this.

Quality of Ad Creative and Landing Page: If the increase in budget wasn't accompanied by a review and optimization of the ad creatives and landing pages, the additional traffic might not be well-served. Ensuring that ads and the user experience on the landing page are optimized is crucial for converting increased traffic into actual results.

Q: Why is the logo getting 90% of the clicks for my Demand Gen campaign?

A: The logo is displayed alongside your assets, so this just means people are clicking on your logo instead of other elements of your ad. This is fine, clicks are clicks! But if you want to increase engagement with your ads’ other creative elements, consider using more compelling calls to action.

We'll be back next week to answer more of the internet's burning paid media questions. Looking for your own diagnosis? Submit your question here.

Hey there, Digital Darlings,

Everyone’s busy celebrating our nation’s birth, so this week was a bit quieter than usual when it comes to news. But drama never truly stops and Maddie Marinsider never misses, so I’m still gonna keep you in the loop. Firstly, I want to make sure all my cute little Amazon advertisers are prepared for Prime Day.

My alter ego wrote a Prime Day prep guide

If you run ads on Amazon and plan to take advantage of the upcoming shopping frenzy, it’s time to launch your Prime Day campaigns. The big day is officially happening July 16-17, which is a mere two weeks away, so it’s go time. And if you’re looking to do a little Prime Day shopping yourself, start adding your desired products to your carts and wishlists now. The pre-Prime Day deals have already started! One particularly good strategy is to…

Dominate Amazon top-of-search with Sponsored Products + Sponsored Brand

This strategy can be pricey, but it’s a great way to own the search results above the fold for your highest priority ASINs. The goal is to get your Sponsored Brand ad serving at the top of the page, and your Sponsored Product ads serving in the top three spots so that your brand and products are all users see when they first return results for your target keywords. If you’re ready to try out some more advanced Amazon bidding tactics, this blog’s for you. In other ecommerce sale news…

Tons of other retailers are competing with Prime Day

Target’s trying to hold its own against the Prime Day boom with Circle Week, a week of promotions available to all members of its free loyalty program. From July 7-13, Target will be offering tons of deals on toys, apparel, home goods, and more. Walmart is also running a July savings event called Walmart Deals from July 8-11. Other companies like Doordash and Best Buy are running summer deals as well. So if you sell on any of those sites, it may be time to scale up ad spend. And if you’ve been waiting to pull the trigger on some pricey purchases, keep your eye out for discounts this month. Now for a bit of social news…

Apple expanded their 30% fee on Meta ads globally

They’ve been charging this fee to US advertisers since February, and now they're going global with it. As of July 1st, any Facebook or Instagram ad purchase made through an iOS app anywhere in the world will see a 30% service fee. It can be avoided by doing all your ad buying on a web browser, which I assume is how most of us work anyways. But the workflow to boost a post right on your iPhone is pretty seamless, so don’t let that get you. Meta proactively updated its web platforms to offer the same boosting functionality as its mobile apps. This fee is kinda rude of Apple, IMO, and even the government is mad about it. US and EU officials say that the fee is ‘anti-competitive’ and gives Apple an unfair advantage. And they’re right! Now for some Google news…

Google Search Console reports are delayed over 53 hours

It’s pretty common for these reports to be delayed, but since a lot of people are doing end-of-month reporting right now, I wanted to call it out. Google confirmed the issue on X yesterday, saying they’ll post again when it’s resolved. So keep an eye on Google Search Central’s X account for updates. In other not-so-great Google news…

‘Grim outlook’ predicted for Google’s Privacy Sandbox

IAB Tech Lab’s Privacy Sandbox Task Force was assembled to study the implementation of Google’s new data privacy solution. In their final report, they noted that the “Privacy Sandbox will restrict the digital media industry's ability to deliver relevant, effective advertising, placing smaller media companies and brands at significant risk. The lack of functionality will throttle their ability to compete, ultimately impacting the industry’s growth.” Oof.

They ran a test with Criteo and concluded that if third-party cookies were deprecated today, Criteo would expect publisher revenue to decrease by an average of 60%. Yikes! Unfortunate news, but considering the regulatory challenges Google is facing, I’m not sure how this can be avoided. They keep pushing back cookie deprecation, but it has to happen eventually… right? All us advertisers can do is take advantage of our first party data and prepare our tracking set up for the impending third-party cookie deprecation. Now for some SEO tips…

Here’s 7 platforms SEOs need to optimize for beyond Google

People are turning to channels other than search to find the info they need, and SEOs need to adapt. This detailed guide from Search Engine Land does a great job of breaking down each new platform we need to optimize for and what our next steps should be. I consider this required reading for any SEOer, so take notes! There will be a quiz next week… 

And that’s a wrap for this week’s marketing digest. Enjoy some summer sun this weekend and come back refreshed and ready to tackle the digital domain. 

You know you love me.

When it comes to connecing with high-intent buyers, Reddit is one of the most powerful ad platforms out there – and we know how valuable that is to marketers. That’s why we’re thrilled to announce Marin’s new Reddit integration.

Advertisers can link their accounts directly to Marin to analyze their Reddit ad data alongside all their other digital marketing channels. Our initial integration supports reporting and analytics, with campaign management and optimization coming soon.

Automated reporting and analytics for Reddit Ads

Marin pulls data directly from Reddit’s API into our reporting grid. The grid is the heart of Marin, where all your data comes together across publishers, accounts, and channels. With all that data in one place, you can leverage our agile, customizable columns to gain valuable cross-channel performance insights. Learn more about our grids here or check out this video to see them in action.

Coming soon: campaign management

Soon you’ll be able to edit your Reddit campaigns right in Marin. This could mean updating budgets, playing and pausing campaigns, scheduling changes, or creating new campaigns and ads. Marin eliminates the need to jump from one publisher tool to another to make edits, saving marketers time and effort. Watch this video to learn more about our multi-edit functionality.

Coming soon: bidding & budget management

We’ve been in the automated bidding game for more than ten years and continuously refined our algorithms to bid with industry-leading efficiency. In Marin, it’s easy to set a ROAS or CPA target for a group of campaigns that share a common goal. The same goes for budgeting.

Let’s say you have a group of campaigns that span across Google, Bing, and Reddit and share one monthly budget and ROAS target. Soon, you’ll be able to map all those campaigns to one strategy in Marin. Marin will distribute your monthly budget as efficiently as possible across all those campaigns and update their budgets and ROAS targets to hit your goals. Watch this video to learn more about our cross-channel Strategies.

Next Steps

Ready to harness the power of Reddit + Marin? Start by requesting API Access from your Reddit Rep. If you don’t have one yet, we can connect you to get up and running quickly. Once you get approval, connecting your account is super straightforward. Click here for a step-by-step guide.

Check out this video to see how easy it is to link a new account to Marin.

Prime Day is set for July 16-17, and shoppers are already searching for early deals and adding products to their carts. With just over two weeks until the event, it’s time for Amazon Advertisers to launch their anticipatory campaigns. Here are the key things you should do before, during, and after the big day to get the best return on your marketing investment.

Before Prime Day

The pre-sale frenzy has already started, but it’s not too late to act on it. Here are some things you can do to capitalize on the opportunities this promotion presents.

Build relevancy for high-priority keywords

Two weeks before the big day, it’s time to start running targeted ads. Download your search terms report and identify terms with high sales volume and good CTRs. High-converting terms that are associated with your sale products should be the target keywords for your Prime Day campaign. Inversely, identify search terms that you’re spending money on but aren’t driving conversions and add those as negative keywords. You can also add terms associated with products for which you won’t be offering Prime Day discounts as negatives to your campaign. 

Launch your campaign at least a week before Prime Day to build traction for your target keywords. You’ll also acquire valuable data leading up to Prime Day that can help you determine bids and budgets during the big event.

Start increasing your budgets and bids

In the weeks leading up to Prime Day, shoppers start browsing and adding products to their cart hoping they will soon be discounted. While it might seem logical to reduce your budget now and reserve spend for Prime Day, it’s better to make sure your ads are highly visible now to capitalize on that preparatory Prime Day traffic while ad prices are still relatively normal. This will also help you gather valuable data and insights on what messaging and products resonate best with your audience so you’ll know exactly what to promote during the big day.

Increase awareness with Sponsored Brand campaigns

It’s particularly important to increase the budget for your sponsored brand campaigns. Building brand awareness ahead of Prime Day can significantly enhance visibility and sales potential. The more people who see your brand ads ahead of Prime Day, the more people will recognize your brand during the sales period, making you stand out among the competition. So, if you’re only running Sponsored Product campaigns, it’s time to bring Sponsored Brand into the mix. Or if you’re running both, but most of your budget is in Sponsored Product campaigns, redistribute more to Sponsored Brand.

Dominate the top-of-search with Sponsored Products + Sponsored Brands

By optimizing both campaign types for top of search placement, you can dominate the above-the-fold search results space. The goal is to get your sponsored brand ad at the top of the page and sponsored product ads in the top three placements below it. This strategy can be expensive and requires lots of exact match targeting, but it’s a fantastic way to drive tons of traffic to your product detail pages and brand store pages for a select group of your highest-value keywords. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do it. 

Create a Prime Day version of your storefront

Since you’ll be driving new traffic to your Amazon store, be sure the page highlights the products that you’ll soon have on sale and that your creative is fresh, engaging, and current. Create dedicated deals pages and add a “featured deals” tile to your storefront for maximum exposure. Also, ensure that your store is optimized for mobile. Amazon’s guide to optimizing your mobile store is available here.

Create your discounts ahead of time

Create your Prime Day discounts in Seller Central ahead of time as Amazon needs to approve them before they go live. It’s important to offer a substantial discount if possible. Prime Day is a highly competitive time and discounts smaller than 10% are less likely to stand out. But this doesn’t mean you need to put a massive discount on every item! Focus on discounting your top-selling products that are proven to drive conversions and have lots of positive customer reviews. 

Get near real-time data with Amazon’s newest analytics tools

Two new measurement tools are changing how Amazon advertisers update their bids and budgets during sales. Rapid retail analytics provides near real-time data, offering the last hour’s metrics on sales, traffic, and inventory. Amazon Marketing Stream is a messaging system that delivers hourly campaign updates via the Amazon Ads API. Having near real-time data in your toolkit gives you the best chance at optimizing as efficiently as possible. They’re both relatively simple to set up; just reach out to your Amazon Partner Manager to get started. 

During Prime Day

Prime Day is a busy time for any Amazon Seller, but if you prepare accordingly, it shouldn’t be overwhelming. Use these tips to ensure the basics are covered, then tailor strategies to your unique business goals.

Increase your budgets

If your campaigns run out of budget, your ads will stop serving mid-day, and you’ll miss out on evening traffic. It’s ideal to have an ‘always on’ budget where your budget is so high you’ll never actually hit it, then manipulate bids to control spend. For example, if a campaign is spending more than you’re comfortable with, you can decrease your CPC bids or pause some lower-value keywords instead of decreasing your budget. Or, you could shift budget from a lower-performing campaign so that your top-performing campaign doesn’t run out. Both of these solutions will enable your top-priority ads to serve all day and capture valuable evening traffic. However, this strategy requires a lot of tedious, detailed work and isn’t realistic for everyone. 

If you need to use daily budgets to control your ad spend, here’s how to determine your budget. Consider how much you spent on Prime Day last year and any trends you’ve identified in sales volume since. For example, let’s say you spent $1,000 on your Prime Day ad campaigns last year, and sales have grown 20% year-over-year. Increase last year’s budget by 20% to $1,200. That’s a good starting point. If this is your first time participating in Prime Day, start by doubling your typical daily budget. You can use Amazon’s budget rules to schedule these budget changes in advance.

Throughout Prime Day, keep a close eye on spend. If you hit your daily budget but are seeing excellent ROI and you have more money to spend, go ahead and increase it. Since budget optimizations like these must be made on the fly, it’s a good idea to go into Prime Day knowing the maximum amount of money you’re willing to spend on ads over the two-day period. If you’re struggling to determine how much of your budget to set aside for Prime Day, Marin’s Marketing Calendar can help. You can tag past Prime Days in our analytics suite and use historical data to get an idea of future impact. Then, use our forecasting tool’s advanced AI to predict how much you should spend this year. You can also use our pacing and budgeting tools to ensure you’ll hit your efficiency targets.

Another option is to use Amazon’s budget rules to increase your campaign’s budget only when it meets a performance threshold, such as an ACOS, CTR, or CVR goal. If the campaign has been hitting the efficiency goal over the past seven days, the platform will increase budgets for the following day by an amount or percentage that you select when you make the rule. For example, you could create a rule to increase a campaign’s budget by 20% if your conversion rate is better than 3%. Learn more about budget rules here.

Optimize your bids

Prepare for the influx of traffic by increasing your bids to the maximum amount you’re willing to pay for a click. Be sure you’re using Amazon’s Dynamic Bidding or Marin’s bidding algorithms to automatically update your bids based on competition and the likelihood of conversion.

After Prime Day

Keep budgets elevated for 1-2 weeks

The shopping frenzy often extends beyond Prime Day—especially since FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) will keep many shoppers who missed Prime Day deals in a buying mindset, looking to make purchases before prices rise again. Maintain higher budgets and bids for a while to keep products visible and capitalize on this shopping behavior.

Traffic will level out after a few weeks. Then, you can determine your ‘new normal’ campaign budgets. If you did it right, you should continue to see more traffic to your brand and product pages than before Prime Day because of the brand awareness you built!

Retarget Prime Day Shoppers

Following Prime Day, you’ll have a plethora of new data that can be used to retarget browsers and purchasers. Here are a few retargeting strategies to consider:

• Category targeting: Target customers who visited the category pages for the products you sell.
• Browsers who didn’t purchase: Retarget shoppers who viewed your storefront during Prime Day but didn’t buy anything.
• ASIN Retargeting: Use retargeting to reach shoppers who viewed your products but did not purchase them during Prime Day. This strategy can effectively convert interested customers who need more time to decide.

Leverage New Customers

• Cross-sell: Target new customers acquired during Prime Day with cross-selling and upselling campaigns. Promote complementary products or premium versions to enhance their initial purchase.
• Build Brand Loyalty: Create campaigns that encourage repeat purchases. Consider using Subscribe & Save offers or Loyalty discounts.

Inventory Management

• Don't run out: Ensure you have sufficient inventory to meet the continued demand post-Prime Day. Running out of stock can harm your rankings and sales momentum. 
• Promote top ASINs: Focus on promoting products that sold well during Prime Day, as they are likely to continue performing well.

Need more help?

With these tips in mind, you’ll tackle this upcoming Prime Day and see ROI on your ads for months to come. But if you’re looking for an even more detailed guide, you can review Amazon’s Prime Day best practices guide here.

If you’re running Marketing campaigns across tons of different paid media channels, Marin can make your life a lot easier. Click here to learn more about our unified campaign management and automation platform.

Hey there, Digital Darlings,

Ready for your weekly dose of digital drama? Google Ads is shaking things up with major updates, and TikTok is launching an Instagram dupe called ‘Whee.’ Let’s dive into all the juicy details.

Google Ads announced major updates to search query matching

They’ve been improving their AI-powered broad match capabilities over the past six months, which led to a 10% improvement in broad match performance for advertisers that use smart bidding. Now, they’re making updates to query matching and brand controls to help brands benefit further from broad match.

The first is a new recommendation for brand inclusions in broad match campaigns. When using brand inclusions, your ads will only serve for queries that include brand names you’ve selected. For example, if you were bidding on the broad match term “clothing” and had a brand inclusion for ‘Target’, your ads would only match to ‘clothing’ queries that included ‘Target’ or brand-related terms. Target’s loyalty club is called Circle 360, so the brand inclusion would allow ads to serve on a search for ‘Circle 360 clothes’. 

They’re also rolling out brand exclusions across all match types and DSAs over the coming months, giving advertisers even more control over brand spend. If you’re confused about the difference between brand inclusions, brand exclusions, and negative keywords, this chart cleared things up for me.

Google also improved the search terms report by associating misspelled queries with their correctly spelled counterparts. 9% of the search terms previously appearing under the ‘other’ category due to misspellings are now visible. They’ve applied the same logic to negative keywords, too – rather than needing to add all the misspelled variations of a keyword as negatives, those variations will now be excluded when you exclude just the one properly spelled keyword. Nice! In other Google Ads news…

Google added a tROAS insight box for PMAX and Shopping campaigns

This insight box helps advertisers understand if their actual ROAS is within the expected range relative to their target. It charts actual ROAS for the campaign over time, and indicates whether performance is on track. Of course, ROAS will vary day-to-day, but this chart, shared by @thomaseccel on X, should make it easier to understand the big picture of how your campaigns are doing. Check it out for yourself. Now, let's chat about Google Analytics…

Universal Analytics dies July 1st

This is your final warning! Transition to GA4 now or face Google’s wrath (they’re literally going to delete all your data). If you haven’t made the switch yet, do it today. Here’s Google’s guide to transitioning to GA4. If you still want to have access to your old UA data, make sure to download or export it by the end of the week. In other Google Analytics news..

Five new features are coming to GA4

The first new feature is that users will be able to import third-party ad data from Pinterest, Reddit, and Snap and it’ll be included in the cross-channel performance report. Second is a new cross-channel budgeting feature that’ll help advertisers track budget pacing and projected performance against a revenue or conversion target. The third is that GA4 will start importing impression data from LinkedIn Ads. GA4 is also getting an AI bot that will identify patterns in your data and explain them in simple terms. And lastly, GA4 will start supporting Chrome Privacy Sandbox APIs later this year. Those are some big updates, so keep an eye out for them! Now for some SEO news…

Google’s continuous scroll is no more

Searchers can no longer scroll through an endless flow of search results. We’re going back to the old-school pagination bar at the footer of the SERP. Google said they're doing this to improve page load times, which is fair. But it could have a negative impact on site traffic if you’re ranking on page 2 of the SERP. You may see less clicks now that users have to take an extra step to get to that second page. In other SEO news…

Search Engine Journal revealed how Google ranks content

Data scientists analyzed over 260,000 search results to get to the bottom of how Google ranks content. The biggest takeaway? Topic authority is the biggest on-page ranking factor, and domain traffic is the main way authority is measured. The scientists also found that since the March core update, Google places more emphasis on user experience, and particularly on site-load speed. There are TONS of other great insights for SEOers here, so give this article a read. Now let’s talk about something other than Google…

TikTok launched ‘Whee’, an Instagram dupe

TikTok wants to beat Meta soooo bad, but it’s just not happening. With Instagram maintaining its place as the most downloaded app in Q1 (that said, TikTok is still #1 when it comes to consumer spending), TikTok decided to build their own photo-sharing app. It’s positioned as a platform for sharing photos with only your closest friends, which is smart since non-influencer Insta users seem to post mostly on their ‘close friends’ stories anyways, and there’s been a push for authenticity on social media lately. The app isn’t available in the US yet, so we’ll have to wait and see if we get a chance to try it out or if TikTok gets banned. Speaking of Insta…

Google now shows Instagram posts in search results

Can’t say the same for TikToks… Instagram posts now appear in the ‘Perspectives’ tab of Google. Does this mean SEOers will start trying to gamify their brand’s Instagram captions? I’ve honestly never used that ‘perspectives’ tab, so I’m not sure how relevant this actually is… only time will tell. In my final bit of Meta news…

Meta is rolling out automatic creative testing for Reels

They’re calling it ‘Auto A/B testing’. This AI-powered feature automatically experiments with different variations of your content to determine which performs best. It’ll test versions of your Reel with various captions, cover images and more and then distribute the top performer for you. It’s built for business pages and is currently in the testing phase. Sounds handy! Sure, go ahead and do my job for me, Meta.

And that's a wrap, my dears! From Google’s updates to TikTok’s latest attempt to rival Instagram, the digital world is buzzing with excitement. Until next week, stay sharp, stay savvy, and keep reading.

You know you love me. 💋

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The top-of-search position is prime real estate for Amazon advertisers. Brands can significantly increase their exposure to potential customers by securing this coveted placement with strategic use of Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brand campaigns.

For example, check out Kitchen in the Box, who are dominating the top-of-search for terms like ‘handheld kitchen mixer’ and ‘wireless kitchen mixer’ with a sponsored brand ad at the top of the page immediately followed by multiple sponsored product ads. Nice!

Effective top-of-search dominance captures the interest of shoppers who are ready to make a purchase, driving higher click-through rates, conversions, and, ultimately, sales. Additionally, consistent top-of-search visibility reinforces brand recognition and trust, encouraging repeat purchases and customer loyalty. 

Here’s a step-by-step guide to dominating the SERP for your key terms, broken out by campaign type.

Optimizing Sponsored Products Campaigns

Follow these steps to get your sponsored products ads in the top three placements on the search results page. 

First, determine if you’d like to use automatic or manual targeting – or a combination of the two. When a campaign is set to automatic targeting, Amazon automatically matches your ads to relevant queries. With manual targeting, you’ll choose the keywords and products you wish to target with ads and set your bids. Manual targeting offers you more control over your campaigns, but automatic targeting is easier to set up. You can find more details on automatic vs. manual targeting here.

Here’s what to do next based on the type of targeting you choose.

Campaigns using automatic targeting

1. Gather data: Launch your campaign and gather data on which search terms perform well.
2. Adjust bids by placement: In your campaign’s settings, adjust your bids by placement. To dominate the top ad positions, increase the bid multiplier for "Top of Search (first page)" to a high percentage (e.g., 100%—300%).

Campaigns using manual targeting

1. Do keyword research: Analyze your search terms report to identify high-performing terms and add them to your campaign as target keywords. If you’re running a combination of manual and automatic campaigns, you can identify the keywords that perform best for your automatic campaigns and add those as target keywords to your manual campaigns. 
2. Focus on Exact Match keywords: Bid mainly or exclusively on Exact Match keywords.
3. Adjust Top of Search placement bids: In your campaign’s settings, adjust your bids by placement. To dominate the top ad positions, increase the bid multiplier for "Top of Search (first page)" to a high percentage (e.g., 100%—300%).
4. Enable Bid+: Ensure "Bid+" is enabled to allow Amazon to increase your bids for top-of-search placements up to 50% higher when the algorithm determines it will increase the chance of conversion.
5. Allocate spend: Ensure you have sufficient budget allocated to these campaigns to maintain top-of-search visibility throughout the day.

With manual campaigns, you can target keywords, products, and categories. You can learn more about your targeting options here. Here are the changes you should make for each type of targeting:

Keyword targeting

1. Adjust bids dynamically: Use Amazon's dynamic bidding strategies such as "Dynamic bids – up and down" to automatically increase your bids for placements more likely to convert.

Product Targeting

1. Target competitor ASINs: Identify competitor products that are frequently bought together with or as alternatives to your product. Use product targeting to place your ads on their product detail pages.
2. Target complementary products: Target ASINs of products that complement yours. For example, if you sell phone cases, target cell phones that fit in your cases.
3. Your ASINs: Target your own ASINs to cross-promote products. This can help you dominate the ad space on your product detail pages, keeping customers within your brand ecosystem and increasing the chances of upselling or cross-selling.

Category Targeting

1. Target Relevant Categories: Target specific categories related to your products to increase the chances of your ads appearing on relevant product detail pages.

Now that your sponsored products campaigns are optimized for top-of-search, let’s get your sponsored brand ads up to the top, too.

Optimizing Sponsored Brand Campaigns

There are two main levers to pull here - optimizing your brand bidding strategies and optimizing your product collection ads. Here are the details for each.

Bidding optimizations

1. Focus on the right keywords: Bid on your own brand keywords and high-converting competitor keywords to capture top-of-search placements.
2. Adjust Bids by Placement: In your campaign’s settings, adjust your bids by placement. To dominate the top ad positions, increase the bid multiplier for "Top of Search (first page)" to a high percentage (e.g., 100%—300%).

Product collection ad optimizations

1. Feature complementary products: Create product collection ads featuring complementary products. This can be especially effective if you target product detail pages of complementary ASINs, offering shoppers a complete set of products.
2. Reinforce your brand: Use these ads to reinforce your brand presence on your own product detail pages, showcasing a range of products and cross-selling.
3. Update Creative: Design compelling and relevant ad creatives with strong calls-to-action and engaging visuals.
4. Target top keywords: Similar to Sponsored Products, target high-value exact match keywords.
5. Target top of search: Focus on ad placements that appear at the top of search results.

Now that you understand the different levers to pull based on your campaign type and targeting settings, here are some tips for managing your budgets.

Budgeting tips

1. Increase both daily and lifetime budgets: Set competitive daily and lifetime budgets to avoid running out of budget early in the day.
2. Enable performance-based budget rules: Amazon allows you to set rules that increase your campaign budgets only when your campaigns meet a certain performance threshold, such as an ACOS, CTR, or CVR goal. Learn more here.

Advanced Tips

Here are some additional tips to increase your chances of dominating the top-of-search for Amazon Ads.

1. A/B Testing: Run A/B tests on different ad creatives, headlines, and keywords to identify which combinations yield the best top-of-search results.
2. Seasonal Adjustments: During high-traffic events like Prime Day, significantly increase your bids and budgets to capture more top-of-search placements.
3. Negative Keywords: Use negative keywords to exclude irrelevant search terms and focus your budget on high-performing, relevant keywords. 
4. Negative Product Targeting: Exclude ASINs or categories that do not perform well to optimize your ad spend.
5. Complimentary + competitor targeting: Simultaneously target complementary product ASINs and competitor ASINs to maximize visibility and cross-selling opportunities.
6. Enhanced Brand Content (EBC): Create Enhanced Brand Content or A+ Content for your product listings. This can improve your product's attractiveness and conversion rates, indirectly leading to better ad performance.
7. Reviews and Ratings: Implement strategies to encourage customers to leave reviews, such as follow-up emails and customer feedback requests. High ratings and positive reviews can improve your ad’s performance.
8. Manage Negative Feedback: Quickly address negative feedback to maintain a high overall rating, which can positively impact your ad placements.
9. Promote Subscriptions: Activate the Subscribe & Save feature to encourage repeat purchases. This can improve your product’s rankings and visibility over time.
10. Leverage Video Ads: Use Sponsored Brand Video ads to capture attention with engaging content. Video ads often have higher click-through rates and drive more conversions.

In a crowded marketplace like Amazon where search rankings and visibility heavily influence consumer behavior, dominating the top-of-search share makes a big difference. It transforms your brand from just another option to the preferred choice for many shoppers. This strategic positioning boosts immediate sales and builds a robust foundation for sustained growth and market leadership. These tips are all you need to gain that dominance, so go get it!

To learn more about how Marin can manage your Amazon bids for you and all our other great features for retail marketers, click here.

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Did you know that Walmart has roughly 255 million shoppers flocking to its stores every week? Those who shop with the retail giant spend an average of $3,500 annually in-store and online. With more than $648 billion in sales over the past year, Walmart has earned its spot as the world’s largest retailer.

Walmart’s vast customer base presents a significant advertising opportunity for brands to get their products in front of a large, high-intent customer base and drive sales. It’s just a matter of creating an advertising strategy that works — and we’ve got some of the top tactics you can use to maximize your ROI. 

Understanding Walmart Connect’s ad types

Here’s an overview of all the different types of ads you can run on walmart.com, the Walmart mobile app, and Walmart's partner sites:

Sponsored products

Sponsored Product ads appear on Walmart’s desktop and mobile sites and the Walmart app. They serve in various high-traffic placements, such as search in-grid, buy box, and product carousels. They’re pay-per-click ads that drive traffic to your product detail pages. Here’s more about the different placements where Sponsored Product ads can appear - 

Search In-grid ads

Searches for designated keywords trigger these ads, which are great for promoting an individual product. These ads are part of the product grid, blended seamlessly with organic search results. Specifically, search in-grid ads will appear in spots 3, 5, 6, or 12 on search, browse, and category pages. To run one of these ads for a product, your product must appear within the top 128 organic search results, be in the same category as the search query, and be the same product type as at least one product in the top 20 organic results for the search query.

Carousel ads

These ads serve on search, browse, category, and product pages and typically appear in product recommendation modules like "Customers Also Considered" and "Products You May Also Like." Unlike Search in-grid ads, carousel ads do not have keyword requirements or require your product to rank within the top 128 organic search results. If you aim to promote products that may be unfamiliar to shoppers, then carousel ads can enhance visibility across Walmart's platforms. Your ad will appear in a scrollable carousel alongside up to 23 other sponsored products.

Buy box ads

These ads appear on the product detail page of a similar product, directly beneath the buy box. Each page allows for only one buy box ad, so this placement ensures high visibility. Like carousel ads, buy box ad placements do not have eligibility criteria. This placement lets you connect with users right when they’re about to purchase, stealing traffic away from the competition. 

Those are the three primary Sponsored Product Ad placements. Now, let’s discuss some other Walmart Ad types. 

Sponsored Brands

Sponsored Brand ads are perfect for spreading brand awareness and promoting multiple SKUs simultaneously. They prominently display your logo, a custom headline, and up to four products with shoppable links at the top of a search results page. They even feature ‘add to cart’ buttons directly in the ad. 

Display Advertising

Walmart Onsite Display ads are featured on Walmart’s desktop and mobile websites and the Walmart app. Walmart Offsite Display ads appear on external websites, social media, and other channels beyond Walmart’s platform and target specific customer groups. Think of these like traditional display ads you might run through paid search, like Google Display Ads that run across Google's entire partner network of sites. Since these ads serve on many sites, they have the furthest reach of any Walmart Ad type.

Catapult Ads

Catapult ads are a powerful advertising solution if you want to boost sales, drive conversions, and maximize return on investment. They leverage advanced targeting and optimization techniques to place products prominently within high-traffic areas, such as search results and product pages. These ads surface at the top of the page with a banner labeling them a “Featured item.” Ad placement is determined based on the product’s category. A click will take customers to the product detail page. 

5 strategies to optimize your Walmart Connect campaigns

Now that you understand all the different ad formats, use these strategies to take your advertising efforts to the next level.

1. Use automatic and manual campaigns

In an automatic campaign, Walmart's algorithm automatically selects keywords to target for you based on your product title, description, category, and related products. Walmart also determines ad placement across search in-grid, sponsored carousels, buy box, and product detail pages. This is ideal for new brands on Walmart Connect, since there’s no need for extensive keyword research or campaign setup. 

Automatic campaigns are great for gathering initial data and exposure, but manual campaigns give you more control over targeting and bidding. With manual campaigns, you can fine-tune your settings based on insights and performance metrics, often leading to higher conversion rates and more efficient use of budget. By running both automatic and manual campaigns, you can leverage Walmart's optimization algorithms while also making strategic optimizations tailored to your unique goals.

For instance, automatic campaigns allow you to explore new audience segments you may not have considered initially. Automatic campaigns also help you identify niche, high-converting, and low-competitive keywords that can be integrated into your manual campaigns to improve relevancy.

Pro tip: Start with 80% of your budget allocated to automatic campaigns and reserve 20% for manual campaigns. As your campaigns mature and you acquire data, transition to a nearly equal distribution of your ad budget, with approximately 45% assigned to automatic campaigns. Allocate the remaining 55% to manual campaigns, which are anticipated to generate roughly 60% of your sales. This approach will help you optimize your advertising efforts as your manual campaigns become more effective over time. 

2. Consider getting a Walmart Pro Seller Badge

Similar to an Amazon Prime Badge, the Walmart Pro Seller Badge earns your customers’ trust and credibility, bolstering sales. A Pro Seller Badge demonstrates that you adhere to Walmart's customer service and product quality standards and gives you access to exclusive perks like expedited payouts, reduced fees, and increased marketplace exposure. To qualify, sellers must meet the following criteria:

• A minimum of 100 orders in the past 90 days
• Maintaining a 95% or higher on-time shipping rate
• Ensuring a cancellation rate of less than 2%
• Achieving a delivery defect rate below 10% 

3. Optimize your advertising strategy for in-store and online

Some consumers prefer to purchase a product through an online retailer, while others still like to shop in-store. It’s easy for shoppers to visit a nearby store so they can buy what they want when they want it—90% of Americans live within 10 miles of a store. Walmart even offers "Buy Online, Pick up at Store" and "Buy in-store, ship to your door" options to make the shopping experience seamless.

So, how can you optimize your advertising strategy for both in-store and online? Start by segmenting customers based on purchasing patterns. Then, test different in-store and online ads for each segment. For instance, show "Buy in-store, ship to door" offers to in-store shopper segments and "Buy online, pick up at store" offers to online shopper segments. 

4. Use geo-targeting

Beyond optimizing your ad strategy for both in-store and online, aim to tailor your Walmart ads to specific geographic locations. Geo-targeted ads can help drive foot traffic to nearby stores, improving engagement and driving sales in hyper-targeted areas.

5. Focus on your best-performing devices

As you roll out ads for your products, they have the potential to reach audiences across desktop, mobile, and tablet devices. Walmart Connect enables you to refine your approach based on device usage patterns. Suppose you've been running ads for a while and notice that mobile users drive most of your sales. In that case, you can tweak your strategy accordingly, updating your budgets and bids to prioritize mobile users.

How Marin can supercharge your Walmart Connect campaigns

Marin is proud to be a Walmart Connect Partner, and our marketing automation software integrates directly with Walmart’s API. With Marin, you can easily manage your Walmart Connect campaigns alongside all your other digital marketing channels like paid search, paid social, and more. Take advantage of our reporting suite, which includes easy-to-read dashboards and automated alerts to save you time analyzing all that data. Plus, our advanced algorithms optimize your budgets and bids automatically to save time while giving you the best possible return on your marketing investment. Chat with a Marin rep today to learn more.

Happy Pre-kend, My Digital Darlings,

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is happening right now and they didn’t invite me. How rude! Don’t they know about Maddie Marinsider, the greatest digital marketing mind of the modern world?!?! Now I have to get updates from the festival from news articles and blogs like a normie… sigh. But nevertheless, I’ll share with you, dear readers, the biggest bits of digital news I’ve seen from the festival so far.

Commerce media networks are making a bigger play than ever before

As we’ve discussed in past editions, everyone is building an ad network – from Chase Bank to United Airlines. Both of those companies showed up to Cannes Lions to shake some hands and pitch advertisers on their new networks. Commerce media networks had more presence at the event than ever before, pitching deals and hosting parties for some of the advertising world's biggest players. It’s certainly good news for the future of retail media. So if you’re currently working in the industry… keep doing what you’re doing. Also at Cannes Lions…

Meta unveiled new AI-Powered tools for businesses

Three new features were announced. The first is an AI chatbot that businesses can use to converse with their customers. The bot can auto-respond to chats started by customers via click-to-chat ads or the ‘send message’ button on the company Facebook page. For example, a clothing retailer’s chatbot could discuss things like sizing and return policy with interested Meta users. Users will always have the option to request a human agent and customer success employees can take over the AI- powered convo at any time. So hopefully this feature can take some work off your support team’s plate.

The next new feature is Marketing Messages AKA ads in Facebook Messenger. Soon, advertisers will be able to use Ads Manager to send ads to users via Messenger. This one sounds a little annoying from a user perspective, but you can always opt out of contact from a brand. And for brands, it's a great way to automatically engage in conversation with users. Users can respond to your in-messenger ads and chat with an AI-powered chatbot to get answers to any questions.

The final announcement was the new Threads API. Threads is rapidly gaining market share from X and Meta knows it. They're launching an API so businesses and creators can more easily manage their presences on the platform. Via the API, creators will be able to publish posts, engage with replies, and pull reporting data such as views and likes. This sounds like the first step toward Threads becoming an ad platform, so stay tuned. In other Cannes Lions news...

Elon kinda apologized for telling advertisers to “go f**ck yourself”

Remember back in November 2023 when Elon told advertisers who were boycotting the platform due to hate speech to “go f**ck themselves”? Well, he backtracked on this statement during his session on Friday, saying the remark “wasn't to advertisers as a whole. It was with respect to freedom of speech.” He then doubled down, saying “we're going to support free speech rather than agree to be censored for money." This statement was seen as an attempt to win back ad dollars for X. Is this an attempt in making it a more ad safe platform? Stay tuned…

That’s enough Cannes Lions drama for now. Maybe they’ll get more attention from me next year if they invite me… Now let’s dish about Meta’s ad testing updates.

Meta phases out dynamic creative, removes CTA button testing

Meta is phasing out dynamic creatives that let advertisers submit multiple creative assets for an ad set that Meta mixes and matches in an attempt to get the best possible ad engagement, kinda like Responsive Search Ads. They replaced it with something called “Flexible Ad Format” which does almost  the same thing. There are two noteworthy differences – first, the variations are controlled within the ad, whereas with dynamic creative the assets ran across the entire ad set. Second, you can’t include multiple CTA options with Flexible Ad Format. If you want to test CTAs moving forward, you’ll have to create an A/B test. Why would they do this? Hopefully it’s just an oversight that'll be resolved soon. I love my CTA variations. Now let’s dish about Disney…

Disney makes streaming ads more accessible to big companies

Disney+ is an active fighter in the streaming ads war, which has gotten more intense since Amazon Prime and Netflix entered the field. Now, they’re trying to make their ads more accessible to ‘mid-tier advertisers’ – Advertisers with budgets between $30 million and $300 million. Kinda wild that that’s considered ‘mid-market ad spend’, but Disney has traditionally only worked with massive advertisers.

They are expanding the accessibility of their BridgeID in hopes of bringing in more ‘mid-market’ customers that they think have ‘tons of room for growth’. Their BridgeID is what the platform uses for tracking and targeting in the cookieless world. It’s historically only been accessible via The Trade Desk, but now it’s accessible through Experian’s LUID, LiveRamp’s RampID, and Yahoo’s ConnectID too. So if you’re in that budget range and use one of those identifiers, consider expanding to Disney+. Now, time for some Amazon updates…

New Audiences Available in Amazon Marketing Cloud

If you use Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC), you probably know that the ad-attributed data sets are free to access, but a paid Amazon Insights subscription grants you access to a goldmine of additional audience data. The subscription historically granted you access to unique audience insights (called Audience Segment Insights) and full organic data sets (called Flexible Shopping Insights). But on Monday, Amazon made those Insights accessible to everyone! This means that anyone who uses AMC can create an audience from those highly valuable data sets. Check out this article to understand the different insights and why creating audiences from them could vastly improve your ad targeting. Now for a bit of Google news…

Google Ads phasing out credit card payments

Apparently Google has seen cards decline one too many times. If you’re a “high-growth spender” (not entirely sure what that means), you should have received a notification that you must stop paying via credit or debit and switch to either monthly invoicing or direct debit by the end of July. If that’s you, make the switch by July 31st or risk account suspension. Google said this will provide “flexibility” and “control” for high growth spenders… sounds like they just don’t want to pay credit card processing fees anymore, but ok. In another bit of Google news…

Google added some new features to the DV360 API

The first new addition is keyword targeting. Advertisers can now pull and manage keyword lists via the API, making keyword analysis and management easier. The second is a new “optimizationObjective” field that was added to the InsertionOrder resource. This is only available for select advertisers, but it allows those lucky few to set optimization goals via API, making Google’s programmatic advertising more customizable at scale. Lastly, let's sync up about Reddit ads…

New Reddit conversation ads just dropped

The new and improved conversation ads are larger and appear between comments in users’ Reddit feed, making them look more native to the platform. For example, an ad for mascara would appear on r/makeup in a thread about mascara, right in between the comments. Reddit continues to emphasize the power of authentic conversations in the modern digital landscape, but is this really authentic? Like, I know an ad when I see one. Regardless, Reddit is looking more and more like the next big ad platform, so it’s time to test it out if you haven’t already.

And that’s all the juicy gossip from Cannes Lions and beyond. From Meta’s new AI tools to the rise of commerce media networks, it’s clear that the digital marketing world never sleeps. Until next week, keep winning the digital game.

You know you love me.

Welcome back, My Digital Darlings,

Ready to dish? We’ve got lots to chat about. Google Ads is getting a makeover, new media networks are popping up everywhere I turn, and Reddit thinks it’s a shopping haven. Let’s dive into the drama!

SEO takeaways from Google’s session at SMX Advanced

Google’s director of product management for search shared lots of SEO insights during her keynote. She said not to get bogged down with the details of trying to game the SERP and just focus on creating helpful content that answers people’s queries… I’ve heard that one before. She also clarified why the March core update took so long, what led to the 45% reduction in unhelpful content, how Google defines low quality content, and more. A lot of her responses were a bit generic and she refused to comment on the recent content API documentation leak, but I still recommend SEOers review the key takeaways. Speaking of core updates…

Google Ads is getting a makeover

The platform is upgrading to a new, more organized design. Updates include a new left-side navigation menu that segments the platform into 5 categories - campaigns, goals, tools, billing and admin. There’s also now a search bar at the top so users can quickly find the tools they need, and the new UI is more ‘modern’ looking… basically, she’s cuter. Users can expect to see the changes starting August 30th. They’ve actually been testing the new design for about a year now, so you may not experience any changes. But if you’re still using the old UI, it’s time to say goodbye. And in other Google news…

Google dropped a new ‘AI Essentials’ guide

It details how the Google tag and consent mode work together to adjust tracking behavior based on the level of consent each user provides. According to Google, they work together to “provide in-depth website analytics while respecting user privacy preferences.” Sounds like the best of both worlds, right? The article provides a step-by-step guide to getting started with the Google tag + consent mode. So if your tracking is in need of an upgrade for the cookieless world, check it out. And in other media news...

Media network mania? Google, Costco, & United are launching networks

Google recently announced their new Google TV network, “offering targeted, in-stream video inventory across more than 125 channels built into Google TV.” Google TV network is available in Google Ads today. In the settings for a video campaign you can easily select Google TV alongside your usual YouTube and Display Network serving options. It’s worth testing this network for your video ads, but keep in mind that since these ads will be served on TVs, people will be less likely to click on a CTA than on a YouTube video they watch on their phone or laptop. That said, a large percentage of people now watch YouTube on their TVs, so maybe performance won’t vary too much between YouTube and the CTV network. Regardless, it’s worth a test!

United Airlines also launched a media network, following the trend set by Chase Bank and Paypal, of companies that historically have had no skin in the ad game suddenly capitalizing on user data to make more money. United’s new Kinective Media Network will be the first network created by an airline company. The aim is to use the data they have on user’s travel behavior to serve targeted ads on United’s app and in-flight entertainment screens. So if you’re in a business that targets travelers, give United’s ads a shot.

Also hopping on the media network wave is Costco, who are working on building their first ad network. Considering the likes of Walmart and Target have been selling their shopper’s data for years, it’s about time. Nothing is sacred anymore, not even Costco… Their retail media network is still in the works, but if you advertise on other grocers’ networks, this is definitely one to look out for. Now, let’s dish about Reddit…

Reddit thinks they’re a shopping platform

They recently released Dynamic Product Ads, where advertisers can upload their product catalog and then Reddit will serve ads for the different products to specific Reddit communities based on relevance. Seems great in theory, but if you’ve spent time on Reddit you know the platform’s success is based on peer-to-peer information sharing and authenticity, so how can advertisers run ads on these forums without making users angry?

Reddit’s EVP of marketing addressed this concern in a recent interview, saying “Reddit is inherently commercial. Even if you think about your hobbies, like some of the most fun [part of a] hobby is actually buying all the gear that’s associated with that hobby.” Ok, fair enough, but I’d still proceed with caution. Reddit ads are certainly worth testing for retail marketers. But try to keep the ads unintrusive, avoid ‘salesy’ language, and try to add value to the conversations which your ads are serving alongside. Redditers are looking for authentic insights, and any ad that's too pushy and corporate likely won’t be well received. Now, let’s chat about AI…

Is Adobe’s using creators’ content to train AI?

Earlier this month, Adobe sent out a notification about their terms of service update, which prompted users to agree that the company can ‘access their content for review’. People were outraged, interpreting this to mean that Adobe would use their creative work to train AI models. Adobe said that this new addition to the terms and conditions is not related to training AI, and that their generative AI models are trained on licensed content like stock photos and public domain content, not users’ work. The update is actually so that Adobe can create thumbnails from files in its cloud storage to scan for childhood sexual abuse materials, which we can all agree is a good thing. Still, users’ trust in Adobe took a hit. I can’t blame creatives for being fearful of AI stealing their work and using it to then steal their jobs down the line. It’s quite dystopian indeed. But it sounds like using Adobe tools is still safe, for now…

And that’s the scoop for this week! From Google’s SEO tips to Reddit’s ad ambitions, the digital world is buzzing. Stay sharp, stay sassy, and keep reading. Until next week, darlings!

You know you love me.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a quick and easy way to visually measure how you’re tracking to plan? In Marin, you can with the new pacing columns on the Strategies and Campaigns grid. At a glance, you can see how your strategies are tracking against their spending or efficiency target and color coding makes it easy to identify strategies that are forecast to miss their targets.

We’ve also added nine other pacing-related columns, including the episode start and end dates, days remaining, and % completion. These new columns bring the power of the Pacing dashboard directly into the Strategies and Campaigns grids.

Remind me, what is a Strategy?

Strategies are groups of campaigns that map to shared business goals. Strategies can include campaigns across accounts and publishers for easy management at scale. Each Strategy has a goal with specific targets that Marin will aim to hit if you are actively using the platform’s optimization, by changing Campaign Budgets, Targets, and bids.

Sounds interesting, but what’s in it for me?

Hitting your budgets and maximizing the return on your investment often involves too much manual monitoring. The new Pacing columns make your life easier with: 

1. Continuous Monitoring:
   With Pacing charts, you can monitor your spend and performance metrics against your goals This immediate visibility ensures that you can make timely adjustments to optimize your campaigns effectively.

2. Enhanced Decision Making:
   By having a clear visual of how your campaigns are pacing towards their targets, you can make more informed decisions. Whether it's adjusting budgets, reallocating resources, or modifying strategies, the Pacing charts provide the data you need at your fingertips.

3. Increased Efficiency:
   Integrating the Pacing charts directly into the grid reduces the need to switch between different tools or dashboards. This streamlined workflow saves you time and reduces the likelihood of errors, allowing you to focus on strategic activities that drive performance.

How do I get started?

Navigate to the Strategies grid, and open the Column Chooser. You will see a new category called Optimize. The chart is in the Pacing column. You can add this to the grid as you would any other columns. If you are not currently using Marin Strategies, please contact your account manager to get started. Even if you don’t use Marin to manage your performance, the pacing charts can still be used to keep track of your performance vs. targets. If you’re not yet using Marin, what are you waiting for? Talk to us to get started today!

What is non-endemic advertising on Amazon?

Amazon Ads aren’t just for retailers anymore! Endemic means “native to,” so non-endemic ads are ads for products not native to the platform on which they appear. For example, an endemic ad would be an ad for household items sold on Amazon. A non-endemic ad would be an ad for a new car. The big picture? Now, any brand can advertise on Amazon, regardless of if they sell on Amazon.

Why should non-endemic brands advertise on Amazon?

Amazon boasts a massive, highly engaged user base. They collect tons of data on those users, like interests and purchasing patterns, so the targeting for Amazon Ads is quite advanced. Non-endemic advertisers can target users who are browsing for or recently purchased products related to their business. For example, a travel agency could target users who are shopping for swimsuits or travel gear and serve them display or video ads promoting their services.

Additionally, Amazon users are highly engaged and primed to purchase. They go to Amazon because they’re ready to buy something right now. Since they are already in that ‘shopping’ mental state, users are more likely to click on your ad and buy what you’re selling if you hit them with an ad on Amazon vs. other sites. For example, a user planning a vacation is more likely to click on an ad for a travel agency while they’re actively buying gear for their trip than they are to convert from a display ad on a random news site. These factors make Amazon a powerful advertising platform for any B2C brand.

Where do non-endemic ads appear?

These ads can appear on Amazon (of course), as TV ads during Prime Video streaming sessions, and on Amazon’s third-party partner sites like IMDB and Twitch.

Getting started

Non-endemic advertisers have several ways to access Amazon’s multi-channel ad inventory. Advertisers who have a large budget and want to make a large investment in Amazon Ads can buy ads through Amazon’s Demand Side Platform (DSP) – a platform that’s typically limited mostly to agencies. You can either launch a ‘self-service’ campaign in partnership with an agency or choose ‘managed services,’ in which an Amazon account rep will manage your campaigns for you. 

Smaller businesses looking to test the waters can start a non-endemic ad campaign right in the Amazon Ads platform. You can learn more about how small businesses can run non-endemic sponsored display ads on Amazon here. 

Once you activate your advertiser account, build a campaign, set a budget, and provide display and video assets, your ads can serve across all of Amazon’s platforms—including the marketplace, Twitch, and Amazon Sponsored TV. And speaking of Sponsored TV, Amazon is currently offering a $500 ad credit to advertisers who launch Sponsored TV ads for the first time. Get the details on that promotion here.

No matter your business or budget, registering for Amazon Ads is the first step.

Potential pitfalls

Amazon's non-endemic ads are a great opportunity to test out. But keep in mind that your ads will be competing with endemic ads for space, and Amazon is likely to prioritize endemic ads over non-endemic ones since they want to sell stuff on their website. Of course, non-endemic ads are promoting things not sold on Amazon, so it’s not like you’ll be competing with endemic ads for conversions. But you are competing for ad space. Therefore, a lot of the more valuable display ad real estate will be allocated to endemic ads. 

For example, a travel company might want to advertise on the results page for the search term "women's swimsuits". But if endemic advertisers are targeting that same swimsuit interest group, they’ll likely win that hyper-relevant ad space. What we’re seeing with Amazon right now is that endemic ads are getting those prime placements in the search results pages, whereas non-endemic ads are getting more generic placements like the home page. 

I’ve actually been shopping for swimsuits lately, so let’s use my experience as an example. This non-endemic Spectrum ad appeared on my homepage today below an ad for swimsuit cover-ups:

I’m not in the market for a new internet provider, so this targeting isn’t great. But I've noticed that Spectrum and AT&T seem to be going after everyone on Amazon with ads, so the internet providers must be seeing a decent ROAS. Now let’s see what ads I get when I search for women’s swimsuits: 

As you can see, every ad is endemic. I’m guessing there are so many endemic brands competing for the ‘swimsuit’ interest category that non-endemic brands really don’t stand a chance. 

My point is simply to proceed with caution. Amazon non-endemic ads sound great, and maybe they will be for your brand, but there’s only one way to know - testing.

Amazon + Marin

You can manage your Amazon non-endemic campaigns alongside all your other paid media channels in Marin, making it easier than ever to monitor and update campaigns and analyze performance across channels. We even have our own optimization suite, and our bidding algorithms have proven to be quite successful on Amazon. To learn more about how Marin can help you analyze data and act on your insights, click here.

Welcome back, My Digital Darlings,

It looks like G’s still in the hot seat thanks to their AI Overview blunders… but we’ve got the scoop on how SEMs and SEOs can navigate AIOs (say that 5 times fast). In the social sphere, Instagram’s unskippable ads are causing outrage, and LinkedIn’s new AI tools are giving B2B marketers some much needed attention. Let’s dive into the details.

Google (sort of) admitted they messed up with AI Overviews

AI Overviews (AIOs) visibility in the SERP has dropped significantly following last week’s snafu where AOIs delivered many inaccurate and sometimes dangerous responses. In a recent blog post, Google said the crazy search results are happening because their AI has difficulty interpreting nonsensical or satirical queries like “how many rocks should I eat?” Since these aren’t ‘real’ questions, there isn’t much info on the web that Google’s AI can use to answer them. And what info does exist online is satirical, which AI has trouble interpreting. 

They listed some changes they’ve made to improve AIOs. The first is that they’ve “built better detection mechanisms for nonsensical queries that shouldn’t show an AI Overview, and limited the inclusion of satire and humor content.” That’s a good start! 

I get that new technology typically doesn’t work perfectly out of the gate. But c’mon Google, you gotta admit… this whole scenario has been pretty funny. AI Overviews aren’t going anywhere so…

Here’s how SEMers can prepare for AI Overviews

PPC advertisers are rightfully concerned about impending drops in site traffic if searchers no longer need to click links to get information. Not only will revenue decline due to fewer site visits, remarketing lists and audiences will shrink due to the decrease in click data. The top tip to prepare for the shift is targeting more broad match keywords so that when Google starts incorporating ads into AI overviews, your site can be featured. The article also recommends embracing value based bidding, leveraging PMAX and Demand Gen campaigns, and more. Give it a read to prep for the AOI-powered future of search. And if you’re more of an SEO girl…

Here’s how to SEO your way into AIOs

SEOer Shepard Cyrus tweeted (sorry…Xed?) a ‘mini case study’ on how to get your site to show up in AI overviews. He simply updated the text on his web page to match the text that the AI Overview provided… groundbreaking. That said, he noted that if a site wins a link in the AOI, it’ll lose its structured snippet (for context, sites that have historically had structured snippet features are most likely to appear in AIOs). Google also released a patent that explains how Google selects links for AI overviews, so feel free to use that to game the system. In other Google news…

Google will deindex sites that don’t work on mobile

If you’re site isn’t accessible via smartphone, Google will stop ranking and indexing it starting July 5th. John Mueller explained, “The largest part of the web is already being crawled like this, and there is no change in crawling for these sites.” However, “after July 5, 2024, we’ll crawl and index these sites with only Googlebot Smartphone.” For up-to-date brands, this shouldn’t be an issue, but if you happen to get a new client and their site doesn’t load on your phone, making a mobile friendly site should be priority #1. And in my final bit of Google news…

Google offered guidance to advertisers on data privacy changes

With privacy law provisions going into effect in Texas, Florida, Oregon, Montana and Colorado, Google is making product changes to help PPC advertisers comply with the new regulations. These changes will result in less personalized ad inventory, a decline in the size of customer match and remarketing lists, less accurate reporting, and more. Which is a bummer, but kinda inevitable. Now for some social news…

Instagram tested unskippable ads and users were not happy

Instagram is testing a new feature called “ad breaks” - 3-5 second unskippable ads that are sure to disrupt users’ beloved doomscrolling. I get that they’re trying to compete with TikTok and like, make more money or whatever, but this is just too annoying. I stopped using TikTok because of the intrusive TikTok Shop ads, and I’ll do the same with Instagram… Don’t tempt me! In other social news…

LinkedIn shrinks link previews for organic posts

LinkedIn’s algorithm has long punished posts that link to external sites, and now they’re taking it a step further. Link preview images for organic posts have shrunk to ¼ of their original size. Which is frustrating since posts with images have much higher engagement than those without. It’s a rule of thumb for LinkedIn - every post needs an image in order to perform well. But now, you’ll only get the full size link preview image if you pay for a sponsored post. LinkedIn said the smaller previews for organic posts are meant to “help members stay on LinkedIn and engage with unique commentary.” No… y’all just want my money. 

To mitigate the image shrinkage, advertisers can include an image directly in the post instead of having LinkedIn generate the header image from the link in your post. The image won’t be clickable, so this isn’t quite as good of a user experience, but adding an image to every post will help with engagement, and so will the fact that users have to expand your post to find the link. That makes it worth it, IMO. And in our last bit of social news…

LinkedIn created AI tools and expanded video ads for B2B marketers

The first change is the addition of in-stream video ads, which LinkedIn is calling “The Wire Program.” They also added new features to Accelerate, their tool that leverages AI to “create optimized ads in under 5 minutes.” New features include a Microsoft Designer integration for creative design, better targeting via exclusion lists, and an AI assistant that provides strategic campaign guidance. It’s nice that us B2B advertisers are getting some attention for once, and I’m excited to test out these new features. 

And that’s a wrap on this week’s digital dish. From Google’s AI missteps to the latest social media upheavals, it’s clear that staying ahead means staying informed. Keep optimizing, keep questioning, and most importantly, keep reading This Week in Digital 🙂. Until next week, Darlings…

You know you love me.

No marketing campaign can reach its full potential without segmentation. It’s critical to sort your target audience into distinct groups based on shared characteristics and tailor ad messaging to each group. It’s also best to segment your list of past purchasers so you can re-engage them with ads that are hyper-relevant to them.

In this blog post, we’ll explore seven essential segmentation models that every e-commerce marketer should know about, along with examples of how they can be applied to real-world marketing scenarios.

7 Key segmentation models for e-commerce marketers

Read on to understand which model will work best for your organization. 

1. RFM segmentation

RFM (Recency, Frequency, Monetary) segmentation categorizes customers based on their purchasing behavior and assigns them scores for recency, frequency, and monetary value.

Businesses that benefit from this segmentation model typically include retail, e-commerce platforms, subscription-based services, and any other business models that rely on repeat customer engagement and purchases. B2B companies with ongoing client transactions can also leverage RFM segmentation to enhance customer relationship management. These steps can help you conduct RFM segmentation effectively: 

• Collect data: Gather data on recency, frequency, and monetary values for each customer over a specific time period.

• Score customers: Assign scores for each RFM metric, typically on a scale of 1–5 or 1–10, with higher scores indicating higher customer lifetime value.

• Segment groups: Sort customers into groups based on their RFM scores.

• Analyze and act: Analyze each segment's behaviors and characteristics and develop targeted marketing strategies for each group.

2. Demographic segmentation

This segmentation model classifies customers based on demographic characteristics like age, gender, income, occupation, and education level. This approach is typically favored by consumer goods companies, retail chains, financial services, healthcare providers, and educational institutions. Any business whose products or services appeal to specific demographic groups can leverage it. Follow these steps to segment your customers using this method:

• Collect data: Gather comprehensive demographic data about your current customer base and target audience through surveys, first-party data, and market research.

• Analyze: Assess the collected data to identify patterns and trends. This involves looking at how different demographic groups interact with your products or services.

• Define segments: Define clear segments based on your analysis. For instance, you might categorize your market by age group, income level, or education level, depending on what's most relevant to your product.

• Target and position marketing material: Develop targeted marketing strategies for each demographic segment. This includes crafting messages that resonate with each group's specific needs, preferences, and values.

3. Psychographic segmentation

Psychographic segmentation delves into consumers' qualitative attributes by analyzing their lifestyles, interests, values, attitudes, and personality traits. This technique helps marketers understand what motivates their customers' buying decisions and how to align marketing messages with the target audience's inner drivers. 

Businesses that sell products connected to self-expression or personal identity — such as fashion, beauty, wellness, fitness, and the arts — often benefit from psychographic segmentation. Luxury brands and niche brands also find it particularly useful to understand the deep-seated motivations of their customers. Here is how you can segment your customers using this method: 

• Conduct research: Gather data through surveys, focus groups, and in-depth interviews to understand your market's psychographic characteristics.

• Look for patterns: Analyze the data to identify common psychographic patterns that correlate with purchasing behaviors or brand preferences.

• Define segments: Create segments based on shared psychographic traits such as values, interests, or lifestyle choices.

• Target with ads: Develop and deliver variations of your ads tailored to the motivations and values of each segment.

• Validate and refine: Test your assumptions by rolling out targeted campaigns and measuring their performance. Based on feedback and results, refine your segments and strategies.

4. Geographic segmentation

Geographic segmentation categorizes customers by their physical location — ranging from broad categories like countries or regions to more specific ones like cities or neighborhoods. This method is particularly useful for businesses whose products or services vary in relevance and demand across different areas, such as retail chains, real estate agencies, restaurants, and localized services (e.g., landscaping or plumbing). Additionally, companies that adjust their offerings based on climate, cultural preferences, or regional regulations find geographic segmentation beneficial. Follow these steps to conduct geographic segmentation for your business: 

• Collect data: To gather geographic information, use customer addresses or IP locations from your database, market research, or geographic information system (GIS) tools.

• Analyze market characteristics: Examine each geographic segment for unique market characteristics, such as population density, urban versus rural settings, climate conditions, and local competition.

• Define segments: Define market segments based on your geographic criteria. Segmentation could be as broad as country or region or as specific as city neighborhoods.

• Tailor strategy to regions: Develop tailored marketing and product strategies for each geographic segment, considering local tastes, consumer behavior, and logistical considerations.

5. Behavioral segmentation

Behavioral segmentation focuses on customers' actions and behaviors toward a business's products. This could include patterns within their purchase history, browsing behavior on your website, how customers interact with marketing campaigns, and their responses to different types of promotions.

Businesses that benefit the most from this model tend to be those with a strong online presence, such as e-commerce platforms, digital service providers, and subscription-based companies, as well as retail businesses with loyalty programs. This segmentation allows companies to personalize their marketing efforts and predict future behaviors based on past actions. Here is how you can use behavioral segmentation to reach your ideal customer:

• Collect data: Gather comprehensive behavioral data from customers across all touchpoints, including transaction records, website analytics, and engagement metrics.

• Identify patterns: Use data analysis to identify common behaviors that could indicate different customer needs or preferences, such as frequency of purchases, average spending, product usage, and response to marketing actions.

• Create segments: Define behavioral segments based on identified patterns, such as “frequent buyers,” “discount seekers,” or “social media engagers.”

• Customize marketing activities: Develop targeted marketing initiatives for each segment, such as tailored emails, retargeting ads, or loyalty rewards, to cater to their specific behavior patterns.

6. Technographic segmentation

Technographic segmentation drills into the technology usage patterns and preferences of customers, classifying them based on their favored devices, operating systems, and software platforms. This can encompass everything from the smartphones and computers they use to their preferred social media platforms and the applications they rely on daily. 

Technology companies and businesses that sell tech products are most likely to utilize technographic segmentation. It enables businesses to tailor their product development, customer support, and marketing strategies to the needs of different tech user profiles. Here are the steps you should take if you decide to segment your customers using this approach:

• Gather information: Assemble data concerning customers' technology usage, which might involve surveying customers, using analytics tools, or purchasing data from third-party providers.

• Analyze tech preferences: Analyze the data to identify trends and categorize customers by criteria such as device type, operating system, preferred platforms, software usage, and adoption rate of new technologies.

• Identify segments: Define segments based on common technographic characteristics, for example, early adopters, smartphone-centric users, or desktop-oriented customers.

• Develop strategies: Create personalized marketing strategies and product offerings that resonate with each technographic segment.

7. Benefit segmentation

Benefit segmentation capitalizes on the specific benefits that customers seek from products. Rather than focusing on who the customers are, this model zeroes in on why customers choose certain products, which can vary widely even within a single demographic group.

Benefit segmentation is particularly effective for businesses in competitive markets where understanding and catering to specific customer desires is key. Industries such as the health and wellness sector, beauty and cosmetics, and consumer electronics often use benefit segmentation to tailor their marketing strategies. Here is how you can build this model:

• Research the market: Conduct extensive market research through surveys, focus groups, and customer interviews to identify the key benefits customers seek in products or services.

• Refine benefits: Analyze the collected data to pinpoint the benefits most valued by customers, which could range from convenience and efficiency to prestige or affordability.

• Create segments: Group customers based on the benefits they prioritize. Each segment will reflect a unique set of desired outcomes from using a product or service.

• Tailor strategies: Develop marketing strategies and product or service modifications that align with the needs of each benefit segment. This might involve highlighting certain features in advertising campaigns or developing new product variants.

How e-commerce marketers can choose the right segmentation model

Begin by setting clear business goals, such as boosting sales or customer loyalty, and gather comprehensive customer data to understand their behaviors and preferences. Choose a segmentation criterion that is measurable, accessible, substantial, differentiable, and actionable and that fits your marketing resources and objectives. Finally, conduct a pilot segmentation campaign, carefully monitor the results, and continuously refine your approach to adapt to changing customer behaviors and market dynamics.

If all this data seems overwhelming, consider using a platform like Marin to unify data from all your different marketing channels and first-party data sources. Click here to learn more.

Hello, My Digital Darlings,

Listen up because this week’s tech tea is scalding. A massive leak of Google SEO ranking docs has shaken the industry, revealing some jaw-dropping secrets. Let’s dive into the juicy details and see what’s really going on behind the scenes.

A massive leak of Google SEO ranking docs shook the industry

This may be the craziest thing we’ve dished about yet, Dear Readers. Thousands of pages of leaked Google documents revealed a deluge of details on how their search algorithm really works.

The whistleblower shared the documents with industry thought leader Rand Fishkin, and you can read his detailed breakdown here. Key points include the fact that click-through rate impacts ranking (Google has repeatedly said it doesn't), that there’s a sandbox for newer websites (which again, Google has publicly denied), that a domain’s age is considered in ranking (again, they’ve denied this) and much much more. Fishkin’s article is full of tea and worth a read. But if you don’t have time, Search Engine Land summarized his findings here. 

Google gave a statement to Search Engine Land 2 days after the leak, and guess what - it was another denial. Here’s the full quote from the Google spokesperson so you can decide for yourself if you trust them or not - 

“We would caution against making inaccurate assumptions about Search based on out-of-context, outdated, or incomplete information. We’ve shared extensive information about how Search works and the types of factors that our systems weigh, while also working to protect the integrity of our results from manipulation.”

And speaking of Google spokespeople…

A Google Search spokesman roasted the concept of toxic links

A site owner was concerned because SEMRush said his site had lots of toxic backlinks, and he looked to Reddit for answers. Google’s John Mueller responded in the thread saying "the concept of toxic links is made up by SEO tools so that you pay them regularly." This isn’t the first time Mueller has roasted toxic backlinks and disavow tools. He’s said the concept of disavowing is made up, a waste of time, and won’t get you any rankings back. So if your SEO tool is alerting you of lots of toxic backlinks, don’t waste your time disavowing them. In other Google news…

Google AI Overviews have been saying some pretty crazy stuff

From telling searchers to use glue to keep cheese on their pizza to endorsing the health benefits of running with scissors, AI overviews are providing information that is nowhere near accurate. In fact, following their advice would likely get you killed. Screenshots of insane AI Overviews are all over X, and while it all seems a bit silly and goofy, the fact that the western world’s go-to source for information is spreading laughably inaccurate misinformation is actually a bit scary. 

A Google spokesperson said that these bad responses are due to “extremely rare queries and aren’t representative of most people’s experiences,” adding that the “vast majority of AI Overviews provide high-quality information.” Huh?? This isn’t just one bad response we’re talking about here. Just this one thread on X showcases over 20 different examples of absurd search results. 

There is always the option to use the new ‘Web’ filter at the top of the SERP to avoid AI overviews until they’re a bit more reliable. Now let’s move on before I get too annoyed.

Google Ads Experiments without end dates will auto-complete in August

Any ad experiments that don’t have an end date set will soon be assigned a default end date of August 23rd, 2024. Seems random, and I’m not sure what will happen to experiments created after 8/23, but ok Google… whatever you say! Dear readers, if you have any experiments running without specified end dates, be sure to set end dates before August to avoid this auto-shut down. Now for some social news…

Is Snapchat in its comeback era?

Earlier this month I mentioned how Snap’s shares surged thanks to its new and improved ad system. They’ve been rebuilding their ad business over the past 2 years and are redesigning their ad formats with a focus on “intentionality”. The new formats reduce the amount of accidental ad clicks, making data for advertisers more accurate and improving Snapchat’s algorithm by feeding it more accurate data. They’re making a ton of other changes to ad formats too, like improving augmented reality (AR) ad options and adding new bidding options specifically for the mobile gaming industry, which surely spends a lot of ad dollars on the platform. They’re making tons of other updates, and you can get all the details here.

The TL;DR? Snapchat may be in its comeback era, and I’ll keep you updated on their progress. A lot of these updates have already been made, so maybe it’s time to start running some ad campaigns on the platform again. In other social news…

TikTok launched a suite of AI ad automation tools

It’s about time they hopped on the AI mania in the ad industry! New AI-powered features for advertisers include TikTok One, a hub that unifies creator outreach, creative tools, and reporting. They also released TikTok Symphony, which is an AI-powered creative hub that offers script writing, video production, and asset optimization tools. They’re also using AI to optimize ad targeting, budgets, and more.

It’s interesting that even in the face of a US ban and a round of layoffs impacting around 1,000 of their US-based employees, they’re still fighting to embrace AI and compete with the likes of Google and Meta. It’ll be fascinating to see how things play out for them, and rest assured I’ll keep you updated. In my final bit of marketing news…

PayPal is building an ad platform to capitalize on user data

The payment giant announced plans to use data on user purchases and spending patterns from their millions of users across PayPal and Venmo (yeah, they own Venmo too) to build an ad platform. This is quite reminiscent of the new Chase Media Solutions, which I voiced my concerns about last month. A payment fulfillment company using data on what I buy to target me with ads feels super invasive, but it could be a good place to spend ad dollars. I mean, the targeting has to be good, right? And it sounds like a big part of their ad platform will be businesses paying to offer discounts and personalized promotions for users, which sounds cool… Who doesn’t love a discount? Regardless, this doesn’t sit right with me, but only time will tell…

What a massive dose of drama we had this week! Sheesh, I’m tired. I need some quiet time to recover from all the drama I just dished out. Let’s all take some deep breaths together…

Until next week, stay centered, stay savvy, and don’t let the drama get you down.

You know you love me.

Staying ahead of the competition in digital marketing requires acting quickly on the proprietary data you have in your systems. Ideally, you want your system automatically making changes to your programs' data evolves. That’s where APIs come into play. APIs allow your system to make changes to your campaigns, without the need to log into the campaign managers. And Marin now offers a unified API that lets you seamlessly manage across ad platforms.

Why do I need to use an API?

For example, let's say you’ve got a golf school as a client, and you’re running ads to ensure their courses are fully booked. You’ll want to feed course inventory data to all your publishers (Google, Bing, Meta, etc.) to make sure you're not running ads for instructors who are out of tee times. All you need to do is send your inventory statuses through Marin’s API. The system will assign “available” and “sold out” inventory statuses to ad objects and pause campaigns, groups, and keywords associated with sold-out instructors. These changes will be made across all your publisher platforms without you having to lift a finger.

Doesn’t Marin already automate these workflows?

Yes, Marin offers a number of ways to automate your campaign management workflows. You can make changes and send information like the inventory example above using FTP. Our API is just another way to accomplish the same objective: easily making automated changes across accounts and publishers.

How is Marin's API better?

With a single API, you don’t need to develop against multiple publisher APIs. Instead, your system can initiate an API call to Marin that will make changes across all your different accounts, saving you time and effort. We do the heavy lifting of keeping up with the ever-evolving APIs across over a dozen publishers. Relying on multiple APIs makes your data ecosystem harder to maintain and more susceptible to errors. Unifying your workflows into one API call to Marin makes your data system more resilient.

Any other examples?

If you’ve just gotten a new golf instructor as a client, the last thing you need is to be bogged down with the manual work of creating new campaigns across all your different publisher platforms. With Marin’s API, you can easily launch campaigns to market the new instructor across all your publishers when the instructor is added to your system. And if you need to reallocate budget to support the launch of the new campaigns, you can do that via the API too.

Sounds complicated... How do I get started?

Using an API does require some programming skills, but trust us, the investment is worth it. Here’s our documentation. If you have an idea that you would like to see automated, reach out to us and we can help you get started.

Reduce your team’s workload with customizable automations that act on your behalf. With a marketing platform that’s fully tailored to your needs, you can be sure you’re capitalizing on every opportunity for your campaigns.

Want to experience how much easier your campaign management can be with Marin’s API? Talk to us to get started today.

Hello, My Digital Darlings,

Google Marketing Live was this week and, surprise, surprise… it was all about AI mania! From AI-generated ads to virtual try-ons, Google’s going full throttle on automation. But are they leading the pack or just panicking? Grab your popcorn and let’s dive into the digital drama.

Let’s dish about Google Marketing Live

No surprises here - the entire event was about AI. The opening line of this roundup even says, “we're showcasing how AI is transforming media, creative, and measurement to usher in a new era of ads”. I feel like the AI mania is getting a little out of hand. Ex-Googler Scott Jenson wrote on LinkedIn that Google’s AI projects are “poorly motivated” and “driven by a stone cold panic that they are getting left behind.” It sounds like Google is afraid that the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic could be the death of them, so they’re rushing to build generative AI features as quickly as possible. Thank you, Scott, for confirming my suspicions! 

Anyways, here are the major updates from Google Marketing Live:

1. PMAX upgrades harness AI to mass produce creative assets that follow brand guidelines
2. Immersive shopping ads with virtual try-ons are a thing now
3. You can now auto-generate animated ads for YouTube and Discovery campaigns
4. Merchants can create a brand profile to make their AI-generated ads more customized
5. They’re testing AI-powered ads for complex purchases which will provide advice and recommendations based on the user’s unique needs
6. Arguably the most interesting point on the list–they’re testing ads in AI overviews. This one deserves its own section…

Google started testing ads in AI overviews

Dang, that was quick! It’s only been a week since they rolled out AI overviews and they’re already monetizing them?? One thing about Google - they’re gonna secure the bag. Search, PMAX, and Shopping ads can now be included within the AI Overview in a sponsored section. This could be good for advertisers, but it could also result in lower click through rates to our websites if all the info the searcher needs is summarized at the top of the SERP. And if your website is not featured in that AI overview… that could be bad news for CTRs. 

The best thing we marketers can do is make sure the content on our website is as relevant and helpful as possible to increase our chances of being featured in an AI overview. I’m thinking about optimizing for AI overviews the same way I think about optimizing for snippet features - provide clear, concise, and helpful answers to the queries you want to rank for, and then pray the algorithm favors you. Speaking of SEO…

Here’s how the March core update impacted SEO

According to SEO expert Lily Ray, the March core update was one of the most significant updates in Google history. Woah! Since the update, she’s observed 4 major shifts: 

1. Reddit is winning the SERP. The forum has seen an enormous surge in organic traffic across tons of different queries and categories. It’s now the biggest threat to SEOers, IMO.
2. The surge in Reddit visibility consequentially drove a decrease in SERP visibility for news and affiliate websites. Particularly, informational sites that monetize using display ads or affiliate links have lost a significant amount of traffic to Reddit.
3. Google claims that the update reduced unhelpful content by 45%. Spammy sites that use generative AI to provide generic answers to popular questions and then spam searchers with ads have largely been deindexed, which is good!
4. It provided no relief for sites that feel they were unfairly, negatively impacted by the Helpful Content Update in September.

The ‘Site Reputation Abuse’ update is still rolling out, and Google’s algorithms still appear volatile, so stay tuned for more updates in the coming weeks. Now for a quick social update…

Post “shares” are the most important metric on Instagram

In a recent Q&A, IG chief Adam Mosseri said that send rate is more important than watch time or “like” and “comment” count. It sounds like the algorithm considers the likelihood that people will share your post via DMs to be the biggest factor determining which content to serve. So if you’re trying to measure the success of your Marketing content on Insta, perhaps send rates should be your top priority. Now for my last bit of marketing news…

Marketing budgets dropped 15% in 2024

Budgets for marketing have fallen from 9.1% of overall company revenue in 2023 to 7.7% in 2024. Gartner calls this “the era of less”... hmmm, that doesn’t sound fun. Apparently, CMOs are depending on AI to produce more with less. A Gartner rep said, “sixty-four percent of CMOs say they lack the budget to execute their 2024 strategy, but GenAI offers the opportunity to grow the marketing function’s impact far beyond its budgetary constraints.” Maybe I’m a skeptic, but I feel like counting on AI to solve every single problem the marketing industry faces may not be the best strategy. Only time will tell. Speaking of AI…

OpenAI intentionally made its voice sound like the sexy robot from Her

Remember that flirty AI we chatted about last week? It turns out OpenAI intentionally made the voice sound like Scarlett Johansson, who voiced the robot from the movie Her. The company approached Johannson 9 months ago and asked her to voice their AI system, and she declined. When she heard the voice they chose during last week’s reveal, she was mad. And rightfully so! Many news outlets and bloggers (myself included) immediately compared the voice to the robot from Her. Why would you intentionally make a robot sexy? Her was a cautionary tale. Why would OpenAI try to make it come true? I’m scared!! In my last bit of AI news…

Google is building “Gems”, a customizable version of Gemini

You’ll be able to tell a Gem what to do and how to respond, then use it for repetitive tasks. According to a Google blog post, Gems can be “a gym buddy, sous chef, coding partner, or creative writing guide.” You can tell your gem to be positive and upbeat, or strict and disciplined. This sounds exactly like the custom GPTs you can build with ChatGPT+, so I’m curious to see how Google will attempt to stand out in the ‘AI-assistant’ space. Also, this sounds cool in theory, but what ever happened to having a real, human gym buddy? Methinks we are moving in the wrong direction… once again, I don’t understand why Google and OpenAI want to make Her a reality. Lord help us…

And that’s a wrap, Darlings. As AI takes over and budgets tighten, don’t let the drama get you down. Stay sharp, stay skeptical, and remember: knowledge is power. Until next week, keep it cute and stay ahead of the curve. 

You know you love me.

AI-powered social listening is revolutionizing how companies gather insights from the vast expanse of social media content. Social listening means analyzing social media posts to understand how customers perceive and discuss brands. 

By leveraging artificial intelligence, businesses can tap into platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to uncover valuable trends and sentiments. In this blog post, we will explore the power of AI-driven social listening and how it is reshaping the marketing landscape by providing actionable insights derived from social media data.

6 Ways to uncover customer sentiment and trends with AI

AI can decipher and categorize customer feedback, reviews, and online discussions using natural language processing and machine learning algorithms.

1. Automate sentiment analysis

AI-powered sentiment analysis tools can analyze social media posts, reviews, and customer feedback and summarize the sentiment behind them. Marketers can use this information to gauge customer satisfaction, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions.

You can incorporate sentiment analysis into your daily workflow by setting up dashboards that monitor and report the sentiment of mentions across social platforms in real-time. React promptly to negative sentiments with customer service efforts, and leverage positive sentiments in your marketing campaigns. Check out these tools to help you automate sentiment analysis:

• Brandwatch: Offers extensive sentiment analysis capabilities, allowing marketers to monitor and analyze conversations about their brand across the internet. It provides insights into whether those conversations are positive, negative, or neutral.

• Sprout Social: Sprout Social analyzes social media messages and mentions to gauge public sentiment.

• Hootsuite Insights: Powered by Brandwatch, Hootsuite Insights offers real-time sentiment analysis across multiple social media platforms, enabling marketers to monitor the emotional tone of conversations related to their brand.

2. Create alerts for emerging trends

Tracking emerging trends helps businesses spot opportunities or threats early on. By staying ahead, businesses can adapt strategies swiftly and mitigate potential crises.

Set up alerts for specific keywords, hashtags, or topics related to your industry. Review these alerts daily to quickly pivot your strategy or content creation to align with emerging trends. These are some of the most common tools that marketers use to keep an eye on emerging trends:

• Google Alerts: Allows marketers to monitor the web for new content about specific topics, providing email alerts whenever new mentions are found. It's useful for tracking industry news and brand mentions.

• Talkwalker Alerts: A more advanced tool than Google Alerts, offering in-depth insights and alerts for keywords across the internet, including social media platforms. It's powerful for identifying emerging trends relevant to your brand.

• Mention: A real-time media monitoring tool that notifies marketers about mentions and keywords across websites and social media. It's useful for tracking brand mentions, competitors, and industry trends.

3. Topic modeling

Artificial Intelligence can uncover prevailing themes and subjects within social conversations, feedback, and online content. AI-driven topic modeling tools go beyond simple keyword analysis, employing natural language processing (NLP) to understand context and recognize nuances that simpler tools might miss. 

This facilitates a more granular and accurate understanding of consumer interests, behaviors, and preferences, enabling marketers to tailor their strategies with unprecedented precision. Use topic modeling tools to analyze social media conversations and customer feedback. Segment the data by demographic or channel to  tailor your campaigns to different audiences. Integrate findings into your content calendar or R&D briefings for product improvements. These two tools can help you model topics more effectively:

• Quid: Visualizes big data by mapping out topics and trends from news articles, blogs, forums, and more. Quid's topic modeling capabilities allow marketers to identify key themes and narratives emerging within their industry.

• MonkeyLearn: An AI platform enabling text analysis through machine learning models. Marketers can use MonkeyLearn for topic detection and understanding key themes and sentiments within customer feedback or social media conversations.

4. Image and video analysis

With the rise of video content on social media, image and video analysis tools can unlock insights that text-based tools overlook. This is crucial for understanding how your brand is perceived visually and for monitoring branded content usage.

Use image recognition technology to monitor your brand logo, products, or promotional materials across social media platforms. Use these insights to guide your visual content strategy and enforce brand guidelines. Explore these tools to see if they are right for your brand: 

• Brandwatch (again): Offers image recognition capabilities, allowing marketers to find and analyze images related to their brand across the internet. This is useful for monitoring brand visibility and the context in which a brand is being discussed or depicted.

• Talkwalker (again): Provides video and image analytics, enabling brands to track visual mentions and sentiment. Its AI-powered image recognition technology identifies logos, scenes, and activities in images and videos.

5. Predictive analytics

Almost a fifth of marketers are already using AI for predictive analytics. AI algorithms can analyze historical data to predict future customer behavior and trends. Marketers can leverage predictive analytics to anticipate customer sentiment, identify potential issues, and proactively address customer needs, allowing for more targeted and effective marketing campaigns.

Incorporate predictive insights into strategic planning sessions. Use historical trends to inform future campaigns, product developments, or customer engagement strategies. These tools might be helpful: 

• Zignal Labs: Offers a predictive analytics suite that forecasts trends and potential crises before they happen. This allows marketers to adjust strategies proactively.

• Sprout Social (again): Its reporting and analytics features, including predictive analysis, help anticipate future social trends and consumer behaviors, informing more strategic decisions in marketing planning.

6. Creating customer personas

Segmenting customers is a common use case for AI-based marketing software and is currently being used as such by 44% of businesses. Social listening helps marketers segment their audience and create detailed customer personas based on social media data. Aggregate social media data to flesh out existing personas or to create new ones. Look for patterns in interests, sentiment, demographic data, and engagement behaviors. Use these insights to refine marketing messages, product features, or targeted advertisements.

These tools can help marketers create and manage customer personas easily: 

• HubSpot: Features analytics tools that can be used to track visitor behavior across your website, social media channels, and more. The insights derived can be used to create detailed customer personas.

• Audiense: Specializes in audience intelligence and segmentation, helping marketers discover new target audiences and refine existing customer personas based on social data.

How Marin can offer you greater insight into your customers’ minds

Marin provides a unified platform for all your data and analysis. Data collected by social listening tools can be fed into Marin and associated to specific keywords or audiences to help you understand the full picture when analyzing the performance of your paid media campaigns. Schedule a demo to learn more about Marin’s AI-powered campaign management and optimization suite.

Hello, My Digital Darlings,

Are you ready for summer? I personally need to be on a beach sipping something sweet ASAP. As the AI wave continues to roll in, Google is diving deeper than ever. I just hope we can keep our heads above water… 

This week, we're unpacking Google's shiny new tools—from AI overviews that might outsmart ChatGPT to vacation itineraries crafted at the click of a button. Whether you’re a techie, a traveler, or just nostalgic for the days of simple SERPs, Google’s got something in store for you. Let’s get into it.

Google is AI-ifying everything

Google announced a long list of changes they’re making to put AI at the forefront of their search engine. Topping the list is AI Overviews, which appear at the top of the SERP and provide a similar answer to what you might see from ChatGPT or Google Gemini. They’re rolling it out this week, so you may have already seen AI overviews in your SERP. You won’t see them for all queries as they’re meant to answer complex questions for which AI thinks it can add more value beyond just search results.

Other AI-powered updates include a new feature in Google Lens which enables those with Google phones to search the web with a video. That’s cool and all, but as an iPhone user, I finally know how all the Green Bubblers have felt for all these years–left out. Next is a new Google Gemini feature that can build an entire vacation itinerary for you. Now that’s a feature I’ll be using!!

The Verge said it best; these updates are “nothing short of a full-stack AI-ification of search. Google is using its Gemini AI to figure out what you’re asking about, whether you’re typing, speaking, taking a picture, or shooting a video.” And we can expect even more AI-powered changes in the SERP soon. But if you’re nostalgic for the good old days…

Google added a “web” filter to search that shows only text-based links

This basically turns your SERP into early 2000s Google. Just good old-fashioned links. No images, no videos, no pesky AI summaries. This is cute! Google’s giving the people something they actually want for once. You can find the filter alongside all the other filters under the search bar, but you may need to click ‘more’ to see it. So if you’re nostalgic for simpler times, try out that filter next time you’re searching. In paid search news…

You can now choose ad formats for Demand Gen campaigns

Now that everyone who’s anyone is running a PMAX campaign, Google has shifted to pushing Demand Gen campaigns (which are actually nothing new - just Discovery campaigns rebranded). They recently added creative controls for video assets, so now you can customize your creative to each unique video ad format. There are three formats available: in-stream, in-feed, and shorts. Check out Google’s step-by-step instructions for setting your ad format preferences here. In other Google news…

Google will limit actions for suspended accounts

Starting in June, suspended Google Ads accounts will not be able to make any changes to their campaigns. Users will still be able to access their account but will only be able to edit billing options, account settings, appeals, security settings, and download reports. Of course, it’s never been good to let your account get suspended, but the stakes are even higher now, so be careful and make sure you pay the piper on time! And in one more bit of paid search news…

Oof… Search ad costs are rising and CVRs are decreasing

According to LocalIQ, the average conversion rate on a search ad is 6.96%, down from 7.04% last year. And the average CPL increased a whopping 25% YoY. Yikes! LocalIQ says these increases are due to “increased competition and intensified monetization of the Google SERPs.” With Alphabet reporting record-high profits this year, one has to wonder what “pricing knobs or tunings” Google might be pulling behind the scenes to pull more money out of advertisers. Google has once again left me wondering, “Is that legal?” If you’re looking to spend your ad dollars somewhere else, maybe it’s time to consider other platforms. Speaking of which…

Users are spending more than ever on e-commerce

A report from Adobe revealed that consumer spending online is up 7% year-over-year. As expected, electronics and apparel are the industries dominating online shopping. But there’s also been a surge in online grocery shopping, so if you sell groceries, maybe try advertising on Instacart. 

Shoppers are opting for cheaper stuff, thanks to inflation. So if you’re a budget retailer, good news for you! And if you’re not, maybe consider running more sales. That said, the report also found that Buy Now Pay Later use is growing, so if you sell expensive stuff, just make sure you offer Afterpay. Lastly, let's dish about some dystopian AI news…

Chat GPT’s newest model is a bit of a flirt

Thanks to recent updates, the chatbot is now capable of witty banter and can pick up on emotional cues. It can also have natural voice conversations. You can watch a demo here if you’re curious. It definitely still talks like a robot, but… it’s evolving. The upbeat female voice even giggles and seems to get embarrassed when it messes up. And when one of the hosts mentioned how useful and amazing the chatbot is, it responded with, “Oh stop it, you’re making me blush.” Ummm, does she want to get drinks later? Well, not she… it… see? This is the problem. I’m already using human pronouns to describe it! And I can totally imagine lonely guys falling in love with this humanoid robot girl. It’s giving Her.

On that unsettling note, I’ll wrap this up, but I’ll be back next week with more tea, so stay tuned. Until then, keep slaying the marking game with style and strategy.

We all know that Performance Max campaigns on Google Ads offer significant opportunities for growth. However, even the most experienced marketers can stumble into common pitfalls. We’re only human, after all.

I’m going to assume you know the basics, like having lots of asset variations, using audience signals, etc. For a refresher on those, check out our post on PMAX best practices. Let’s dissect some of the trickier mistakes you may not even know you’re making with your PMAX campaigns.

Mistake #1: branded search conversions inflating your data

If someone is Googling your brand name, they’re probably trying to go directly to your site. If PMAX ads are running on these terms, you’re paying for traffic that you otherwise would be getting for free. Of course, defending your position at the top of your branded SERP is important. Your competitors could be bidding aggressively on your brand terms in hopes of convincing searchers that they are the better choice. To defend your brand’s presence in the SERP, make a separate traditional search and/or shopping campaign optimized toward an impression share goal and bid on branded keywords. Then, exclude brand traffic from PMAX.

You can check the impact of brand terms on your PMAX campaign in Google Ads by going to Insights > Consumer spotlight > Search term insights. This report tells you the number of conversions and asset groups associated with each search category. If brand is one of your top search categories, you’ve got a problem.

Solution: Exclude branded traffic from your PMAX campaigns. 

There are two ways to exclude brand traffic from PMAX: brand exclusions and negative keyword lists. Negative keyword lists apply to all traffic, whereas brand exclusions work only across search and shopping traffic. 

To apply brand exclusions, simply navigate to your PMAX campaign’s settings. Scroll down to Brand Exclusions, then enter the name of the brand list you wish to exclude. If you haven’t created a brand list yet, you can do so right in the PMAX campaign’s settings or in the Shared Library. 

To apply a negative keyword list, you have to fill out the Performance Max Campaign Modification Request Form. This form will provide you with a Google Sheet template you can use to apply negative keywords. You can also request to apply a negative keyword list that already exists in your Google account if you’ve already got one that you’re using for traditional nonbrand search campaigns.

Mistake #2: relying on Google Ads conversion data

Don’t trust the conversion and revenue data Google Ads provides. Google Ads conversions are ‘estimated’ because data privacy laws prevent the ad-serving platform from using third-party cookies to accurately track users across the web. 

Solution: Implement a solution that tracks every conversion touchpoint in your funnel.

Choosing one that uses first-party cookies like Google Analytics or Marin Attribution will ensure that there are no tracking gaps after third-party cookie deprecation.

Google Analytics is the most common choice, but marketers far and wide are having issues with the new Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Common complaints include data discrepancies, a poor API, and an overly complex, unintuitive UI. To quote Reddit user NewAccountPlsRespond, “Why does creating an insanely straightforward and simple report involve having 5 dimensions, 3 audiences, and numerous inputs? Like holy hell. And don't get me started on the API”. 

GA4 may get the job done, but try an independent solution like Marin Attribution if you’re looking for something more user-friendly. Marin Attribution tracks conversions and revenue across all marketing channels and lets you choose the attribution model that best fits your business. All your conversions are displayed side by side in a straightforward UI. 

Regardless of which tracking solution you choose, ensure that your tracking codes are placed correctly on every page of your website where a conversion could occur. Then, make sure that data is being fed back into your Google Ads account via the API. Review your PMAX campaign’s settings to ensure that its conversion goals reference that first-party data.

Mistake #3: Leaving “auto-apply recommendations” on

Sometimes, Google’s recommendations seem to be more about increasing revenue for Google than actually optimizing your campaigns. While some of their recommendations are helpful, auto-applying all recommendations is never the right move. I wrote another post about the importance of using publisher-independent platforms for things like tracking and recommendations, and you can check that out here for more details. In summary - did your teacher let you grade your own homework? No? Then why would you trust Google to auto-optimize your Google campaigns?

It’s critical that you understand how, when, and why changes are happening in your account. Sure, you can review Google’s recommendations and apply any that align with your goals, but there will likely be many recommendations that you choose to dismiss.

Solution: Turn off auto-applied recommendations

Navigate to the ‘Recommendations’ page and click ‘Auto-apply’ in the upper right corner. Then click ‘Maintain Your Ads’. Here you’ll find a checklist of all the different types of changes Google can auto-apply to your campaigns. I recommend unchecking all of them. You’ll still see them in the Recommendations tab, and you can manually apply them if you see fit. Here’s a step by step video guide that will help.

Mistake #4: ‘Presence or Interest’ location targeting

PMAX location targeting defaults to ‘presence or interest’ meaning it will serve ads not only to people in your target locations but to those ‘interested’ in those locations too. ‘Interested’ users are usually people who plan to travel to your target location soon. It can be good to target travelers if you’re in the hospitality or entertainment industry, but if you’re a dentist, for example, people probably won’t make an appointment at your office while they’re on vacation. 

Solution: Switch your location targeting settings to ‘Presence’

This will only target people who live in or regularly visit your target locations. You can do this under campaign settings > location options. 

Mistake #5: Leaving URL Expansion on

URL Expansion is on by default for PMAX campaigns. This means that your PMAX campaigns will send users to whatever landing page on your site Google deems most relevant to the search term, NOT your final URL. This sounds good in theory - searchers are sent to the most relevant LPs possible. But you don’t want to be paying for ads that send traffic to an LP with no call to action!

Solution: Opt out of final URL expansion or exclude URLs

In campaign settings, under ‘Final URL Expansion,’ you’ll find two options:

Your first option is to leave final URL expansion on but exclude certain URLs. You can either list out URLs to exclude or use a ‘URL contains’ rule to exclude URLs that contain certain text strings. This option may be the best of both worlds if the majority of your site’s landing pages are paid search optimized and feature CTAs.

Your second option is to turn off URL expansion entirely. Choose this option if you have only one LP you want to send paid search traffic to.

Can you trust Google?

PMAX was sold to paid search marketers as a sort of set-it-and-forget-it, self-optimizing campaign type. I don’t know about you, but I don’t let the house set my bets for me when I gamble. Similarly, I’m not going to let Google spend my money for me.

A lot of the pitfalls I described above occur due to Google auto-applying optimizations in an illusive way. If you want straightforward, publisher-agnostic help improving your cross-channel campaigns' performance, Marin’s Insights can help. 

Insights are customized, cross-channel recommendations designed to improve campaign performance. Powered by AI, they will uncover opportunities to reduce wasteful spending and maximize performance across all your publisher accounts. Schedule a demo today to learn more.

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Hello, My Digital Darlings,

Ready to dish? TikTok is taking the US government to court, and it’s gonna get spicy. Meanwhile, Google is shaking up SEO, and Meta is rolling out new AI advertising features like it’s Christmas morning. Grab your insulated mugs, because this week’s tech tea is piping hot. Let’s get into it.

TikTok is suing the US government

We all knew this was coming. But as of Tuesday, ByteDance is officially suing the government, claiming that the bill requiring them to sell their app violates the constitutional protections of free speech. ByteDance says selling TikTok in 9 months is impossible due to all the software code they would have to move, therefore the law will “force a shutdown” by January. The suit also alleges that the US government has failed to provide any evidence that China is misusing TikTok’s data, which is valid. It’s looking like Biden’s ‘ban’ will have about as much impact as Trump's attempt in 2020: none. 

Meanwhile, a new study revealed that 61% of TikTok users discover new brands and products on the app - that’s 1.5x more than other platforms. So TikTok remains a great place to spend your ad dollars, as long as you don’t mind giving them to China. In other social media news…

Meta launched new AI-powered creative tools for advertisers

The tool creates image variations based on your original ad creatives, enabling advertisers to test creative variations with no additional work. In coming months, we’ll even be able to input text prompts to help tailor the AI-generated creatives. You may be asking - is there any drama here? And yes, If your image features a product, AI could change the color, shape or size of that product, meaning the feature could be abused by shady advertisers who want to trick people into buying products that don’t actually exist. Sketchy!

Now back to your regularly scheduled Google drama…

Monopoly reveal!! DOJ broke down how Google harms search advertisers in court

In a slide deck, no less. You can review the deck here… but it’s 143 slides long. Search Engine Land highlighted 20 key slides that showcase quotes from Googlers discussing raising ad prices to increase revenue. God bless the good people at Search Engine Land. If Search Engine Land has 1,000 fans, I’m one of them. If Search Engine Land has 1 fan, it’s me. If Search Engine Land has 0 fans, I’m dead. But I digress… 

The slides prove that Google Spiked ad costs to increase revenue, even clarifying that Google has certain “pricing knobs or tunings that it can use to impact search ad pricing”. Google called this “tuning” in internal documents. But like… no. That’s called manipulating the market for personal gain!! Renaming it may help you sleep at night, but it won’t help you in court. In other Google news…

Google hid the search results count in the SERP

Instead of seeing the number of search results for a query right under the search bar, you now have to click the ‘Tools’ button to see the count. Google has long claimed that the results count is just an estimate and isn’t accurate, but it’s an important data point to many SEOers. And if this is the first step toward results count going away forever, that’s bad news for SEOers who rely on it. It seems like Google wants to get rid of SEOers, tbh. They don’t want people gaming their system or looking too closely at how the SERP works. It’s kind of like how they got rid of CPC bidding for SEM so that they could have full control over their markets… Sus. In other SEO news…

Google Started enforcing its new reputation abuse policy on Monday

The goal is to combat “parasite SEO” - AKA sites hosting bad content from other sites in order to piggyback off each other’s rankings. Google offered this example:

“a third party might publish payday loan reviews on a trusted educational website to gain ranking benefit from the site.”

Sites like CNN and USA Today have already seen the impact, with their coupon directories getting de-ranked. Here are some examples of what the coupon query SERPs looked like a week ago versus now. This could actually be great for SEOers who have long been negatively impacted by parasite SEO from big brands. Hopefully, it’ll help improve the quality of search results too. And lastly…

Gen Z are making their own MySpace

Have you heard of Nospace? Tiffany Zhong, creator of the up-and-coming social media platform, believes there is a loneliness epidemic on social media that her new app can solve. “What I see right now is all social media is just media — it’s not social anymore,” said Zhong. She’s certainly right about that! But is another social media platform really the answer?

Her app promises to deliver social media as it once was in the glory days of Myspace and early Facebook. She’s even bringing back the ‘Top 8’ with the option to list your closest friends on your profile. The platform will encourage sharing casual updates like what you ate for lunch, what show you’re watching right now, and that great new band you just discovered. There will be no algorithm to please, just a chronological feed of global content, and a separate ‘friends only’ feed. “There are no subjects and fans, just peers,” says Zhong, and I must say a social media app without influencers sounds blissful. I’m not sure if there will be any opportunities for advertisers. But considering the way Gen Z openly hates TikTok shop, and the fact that these new social media platforms seem to be designed in a way that doesn’t prioritize profit… if this is the future of social media, it could mean the end of paid social… dun dun dunnnnn.

The app is coming this summer and you can pre-download it here if you want to stay ahead of the curve. It already has 380,000 people on the waitlist, so it may be the next big thing. 

And that’s a wrap on this week’s digital drama. Until next week, stay sharp, keep your strategies savvy, and remember—when the tech titans tussle, I’ll be watching.

You know you love me.

If you invest time, money, and resources into lead generation, you need to make sure that the leads you’re generating fit your ideal customer profile (ICP). We call these ideal potential customers targeted leads. So, what exactly can you do to generate targeted leads efficiently and effectively? Read on for expert tips and tricks.

Start with valuable lead magnets

A lead magnet is a piece of content designed to capture lead information and get potential customers into your CRM system. You can develop high-quality, value-driven lead magnets and give them out to potential customers for free in exchange for their contact information - usually their email address.

While everyone loves free stuff, the fact that a lead magnet is free is not enough to incentivize potential customers to take action. Lead magnets must be genuinely valuable to inspire them to download them and offer their contact info. 

Here are some types of lead magnets you should consider creating:

• Templates
• Quizzes
• eBooks
• Courses
• Tutorials
• In-depth guides (video, audio, text, infographics)
• Checklists
• Cheat-sheets
• White papers
• Case studies
• Podcasts
• Webinars

An excellent example of a high-value lead magnet is Onnit's "8-Week 8-Pack Plan", a PDF detailing an 8-week workout plan people can download for free. All they have to do is provide their email address. Then, they’ll receive the guide right in their inbox.

Although Onnit isn’t exactly a B2B marketer, there’s a lot we can learn from this guide.

Of course, this lead magnet gets potential customers onto Onnit’s email list. But more importantly, it’s full of helpful images and step-by-step explanations that a reader can easily understand and follow. Since it’s easy to use, potential customers will find value in it immediately. This improves brand credibility and increases the likelihood that leads who download the 8-week plan can be upsold paid offerings, like a monthly workout plan subscription. 

So, how can you create a highly valuable lead magnet? By making sure it's chock-full of helpful information and easy-to-follow steps towards a concrete result. Onnit’s goal is to get people in shape and help them adopt a fitness mindset. When creating your lead magnet, think: What would you like your customers to achieve? And then help them achieve it. 

Once you’ve crafted your lead magnet, share it on various marketing channels like organic social, paid social, and paid search. More on that next.

Use paid search advertising to reach the right people

Getting your brand to the top of the search engine results page (SERP) is a great way to build visibility and provide a quick solution to customers' needs. Of course, paid search ads can drive traffic to your product pages, but it's also good to showcase your lead magnets in paid ads targeting relevant search terms. If your content answers a question that your ideal client is searching, that's a great way to grow your lead pipeline.

Here are some paid search tips for B2B marketers looking to generate high-value leads:

1. Use High-Intent Keywords

High-intent keywords are terms that potential clients use when they're getting closer to making a purchasing decision. Incorporate keywords that reflect specific needs, like “enterprise project management software” or “commercial insurance quotes.” Analyze your search terms report to find terms your target audience uses when they’re ready to engage and add those to your campaign as keywords.

2. Create Sitelinks for your Lead Magnets

Paid search is a great way to promote your best lead magnets. Create sitelinks that link to your different pieces of content. Using strong call-to-actions (CTAs) like “Download the Free Whitepaper” or “Watch our Webinar” as the sitelink text will drive users to engage with your lead magnets. Call extensions are also useful for B2B companies looking to increase inbound inquiries.

3. Optimize Landing Pages

Ensure that your ad’s landing page is optimized for conversions. It should provide high-level, digestible information about the product or lead magnet and include a simple, straightforward form to capture lead details. Keep the design clean and navigation easy, and ensure the messaging aligns with your ad copy to maintain consistency.

4. Focus on Quality Over Quantity

When it comes to B2B lead generation, the quality of the lead is often more important than the quantity. Optimize your campaigns to attract leads that are most likely to convert into paying customers. This means bidding higher on a small collection of more competitive, high-intent keywords rather than placing mid-tier bids on a large group of more vague keywords. 

Craft personalized social media messages

Without a doubt, LinkedIn is the best social platform for generating targeted leads and connecting with decision-makers. To do LinkedIn outreach right, start by researching your ideal connections. Craft messaging that will resonate with your ICP by first understanding the types of problems they might be trying to resolve. 

Here's an example of two outreach messages. Which one would you be more likely to act on?

I think we can all agree that the second is more compelling!

Once you identify a common problem for a targeted group of prospects, you can reach out with a message telling them how your product will resolve that problem. This message should be complemented by a quick overview of your track record and a call to action. Remember to include a link to one of your lead magnets! 

Test Paid Social Ads

Paid advertising on social media will put your brand in front of a highly targeted audience, but you have to deliver a powerful message to inspire people to click. The combination of captivating visuals and a clear call to action will get people to click on your ad to check out your products and offers. When you combine this with a powerful landing page, you have a high chance of turning them into a lead on the spot.

Here are some B2B-specific tips for paid social campaigns:

1. Target Precisely

Use the detailed targeting options available on social platforms to hone in on your ideal customer profiles. This includes job titles, industries, professional interests, and company sizes. The more specific you can get, the more likely you are to reach decision-makers.

2. Create Engaging Ads

B2B doesn't have to be boring. Create content that captures attention and engages viewers. This can be through informative videos, eye-catching infographics, or thought leadership posts that position your company as an expert in your field.

3. Utilize Lead Generation Forms

Many social platforms offer lead generation functionalities, like LinkedIn’s Lead Gen Forms, which auto-populate with the user’s profile data when they click your ad. This reduces friction in the lead generation process, making it easier for users to sign up or express interest without leaving the platform.

4. Showcase your Lead Magnets

Not every ad should ask users to 'book a demo' or 'buy today'. Instead, promote some of your best lead magnets to cement yourself as a thought leader in the eyes of your ideal customer. Whether it’s an industry report, a sponsored article, or just a good old-fashioned whitepaper, driving traffic to your lead magnets is invaluable.

Build landing pages that inspire action

Your ads will only deliver the desired results if they link to equally powerful landing pages. When a potential customer clicks on an ad, they need to land on a page that delivers valuable information that is relevant to them.

For example, if a person searches for the best wireless security cameras, and your ad pops up, you want to make sure that it leads them to wireless cameras specifically. A common and costly mistake would be to lead them to your entire security camera selection, not a filtered landing page.

That's a big no-no.

With that said, what does a great landing page look like? Check out DoorDash, whose landing page gives you everything you need to take action immediately above-the-fold, along with added information and options as you scroll down.

Or how about Marin's very own performance marketing and automation landing page?

The above-the-fold part of the page has everything from a video intro to a short text explainer, as well as a clear CTA and some social proof sprinkled in at the bottom. As you continue to scroll, you get to know the specific features of the platform and the ways it can streamline your digital marketing campaigns.

Optimize Your Lead Generation Forms

When it comes to lead generation forms, brevity is your friend. Lead gen forms should be short, sweet, and to the point, and they should offer some value to the visitor (like a lead magnet). Make sure the user has to fill out no more than 6 info boxes to complete the form. Just two or three is ideal.

Here are some types of lead gen forms to add to your site:

• Newsletter signup
• Email in exchange for a discount code
• Account Registration in exchange for access to resources
• Lead magnet signup

Here's an example of a good lead gen form:

On Expat.com, the signup form is straightforward and concise, with color simplicity and contrasts to emphasize the call to action as well as other signup options.

Track Every Micro-conversion

The B2B sales cycle can be long and convoluted, with many different micro-conversions occurring along the way. A micro-conversion could include a form fill, a demo request, a phone call, or downloading a lead magnet. It’s critical to track every step of the customer journey to understand what’s driving sales and where customers are dropping out of your marketing funnel.

Marin attribution was built to do just that. It’s ideal for B2B businesses because you can view every micro-conversion side by side, and even calculate the conversion rate from one micro-conversion to the next. It’s critical to implement a multi-touch attribution tracking system so you can understand the full picture. 

Over to You

Generating targeted leads starts with creating high-quality lead magnets that bring potential customers into your conversion funnel. Potential customers want to connect with brands on a more personal level, so it’s critical to position your brand as a thought leader in your industry.

Paid search and social advertising for B2B brands can be complex. Tracking the customer journey is no easy task. And with many sales cycles taking over 6 months, it can be difficult to determine which ads and lead magnets were the true needle movers that drove a lead to convert. With Marin’s cross-channel campaign management and attribution software, the process becomes streamlined and simple. Speak with a Marin rep to learn more!

Hello, My Digital Darlings,

This week, we’re strutting through a saga of strategic shifts. From TikTok's defiance in the face of sale rumors to Google's latest AI-driven enhancements, the digital domain is abuzz with actions and reactions that could reshape our campaigns. Snap on your tech tiaras, and let’s dive into the dizzying details.

TikTok will NOT be sold

In last week’s email I posited that there was no way ByteDance would sell TikTok, and once again I was right. "ByteDance doesn't have any plans to sell TikTok," the company posted on Toutiao, another social media platform it owns. They called the ban “unconstitutional” and CEO Shou Zi Chew said they “are confident and will keep fighting for your rights in the courts.” Ooooo, drama! Stay tuned for updates as TikTok and the US government battle it out. For now, TikTok still looks like the next frontier for eCommerce. TikTok Shop had over 500,000 US sellers at the end of 2023 - a stat that more than doubled from Q3 to Q4. This unprecedented growth just reiterates the fact that no matter how unsure TikTok’s future seems, right now, you better be selling on TikTok shop!! In other social news…

Snapchat shares surged thanks to better ad targeting

Snapchat has had trouble competing with the likes of Meta and TikTok for social ad dollars. But they’ve been working hard over the past year to improve ad targeting and the user experience of interacting with ads. These improvements plus a growing user base make Snap a better place to serve ads than ever before, so don’t discount it. If your ads are successful on TikTok and Reels, try testing Snapchat’s new targeting, too. Pssst - you can manage ads for all three publishers with Marin. Now let's talk about what’s going down at Google…

Google added 6 new AI features to PMAX campaigns

Updates include a new customer acquisition goal that’s supposed to help you - you guessed it - acquire new customers. It has two different modes you can choose from; new customer value mode, which bids higher on new customers than existing ones, and new customer only mode, which only bids on new customers. If you value new customers more than returning ones, try out this new goal for PMAX campaigns.

Google also added a customer retention goal designed to do the opposite - help reduce churn and increase loyalty. So if retention is more your thing, test out this goal. Or, try both on two different campaigns! To quote Google, “The retention goal works effectively alongside the New Customer Acquisition (NCA) goal to create a well-rounded customer lifecycle strategy.” Both new PMAX goals are currently in beta, so they may not work perfectly just yet… keep that in mind when testing.

Another new update is detailed demographics which provide data on age and gender groups. You can find these details under audience insights. These demographics are also available as audience types you can use for targeting.

Other newbies include Budget Pacing Insights, which offer real-time spend tracking and show current and project spend and conversions; account level IP exclusions, which enable you to filter out irrelevant traffic; and Final URL Expansion, which tests different landing pages so you can learn which drives the best CVR for your ads. Get all the details on these new features here. Speaking of AI for search ads…

Microsoft Copilot is now available to everybody

This AI assistant lives right in the Microsoft ads platform. You can use it to generate ad copy and create image assets. Simply enter your final URL and Copilot will generate asset recommendations. You can also ask the chatbot about performance. For example, you could ask it to summarize performance for a given campaign over the past month, and the bot would give you a quick writeup of impressions, clicks, cost, etc. How helpful! This is the type of AI that I fully support. Now, time for some more SEM updates…

Google Ads will auto-pause low volume keywords starting in June

Ads with no impressions over the past 13 months will be paused automatically. If you unpause them after the fact and they still don’t get any impressions over the following 3 months, Google will pause them again. Remember that Google has been auto-pausing low volume ad groups since March, following the same rule that zero impressions over the last 13 months warrants a pause. Pretty bossy of them! But honestly, I think this is helpful and I appreciate them automating some tedious account maintenance tasks for us. In SEO news…

The Google March core update finished on April 19th, apparently

But they didn’t tell us until Friday. Rude! They’re claiming the update reduced low-quality search results by 45%, so let’s hope that’s true. Some sites feel they have been unfairly negatively impacted by the core update. If that’s you, you can fill out this form to provide feedback to Google. Google also updated their guide for debugging drops in Google Search traffic which is definitely worth a read if your site has been negatively impacted. Lastly, if your site has lost traffic and you’re unsure how to start remedying it, check out Search Engine Land’s 6 things you should do after a Google core update rollout completes. Now, let’s close things out with a good old fashioned callout post…

Was this responsible for killing Google Search?

Woof, this article is crazy. In 2019, Search revenue was down at Google, and the execs were panicking. Search query growth was “significantly behind forecast” and revenue was dragging. This caused Google’s Search and Ad teams to get a little too close, all for the sake of growing revenue. They realized that they could “increase queries quite easily in the short term in user negative ways,” like turning off spell check and rolling back ranking improvements. Then, a Google core update rolled back a bunch of changes, increasing traffic to sites that had been historically repressed. That’s just the beginning of a long story that I absolutely cannot sum it all up here, but this post is full of piping hot tea and is a fascinating - albeit a bit scary - read for anyone who works with Google Ads or SEO.

And on that cynical note, our dance through this week’s digital drama comes to a close. In the whirlwind world of digital marketing, staying informed is your silver bullet. Until next week, may your tea be hot, your ROAS be hotter, and your mind focused on your goals.

You know you love me.

Around 73% of B2B marketers and 70% of B2C marketers have a mainstay in their overall marketing strategy - content marketing. Transforming those social media scrollers into genuine leads comes down to the quality of your content and its ability to shape your audience's journey toward becoming loyal customers.

The maze of content marketing funnels becomes less daunting when you break down the basics, craft an effective strategy, and understand why content reigns supreme in the marketing kingdom.  

Understanding the Content Marketing Funnel

Whether you are looking to start a social media marketing agency or run the social strategy for your own business, effectively capturing the interest of well-defined target audiences is key. Keeping audiences engaged is all about having a strategic content funnel. This funnel is like a conveyor belt of valuable content—blogs, social media updates, videos—aimed at existing and potential customers. It's not about hard-selling your product or endlessly promoting your business. Instead, the focus is on becoming an authority in your industry, the go-to source for all things relevant. By raising brand awareness and offering helpful content, you gradually steer customers towards choosing your service or product.

This is what a journey through the social media marketing funnel should look like:

Stage 1: Awareness

Goal: Attracting and engaging prospects

The journey starts at the top of the funnel, where potential customers become aware of your product. By sharing eye-catching content on social media, businesses can capture attention and draw new followers and potential customers into the fold. 

Since these potential customers are not yet aware of your company or the solutions you provide, the top-of-funnel content must educate them. This can include shareable blog posts, infographics, YouTube videos, e-books, and podcasts.

Key metrics to measure success: Time on page, followers gained, number of shares, bounce rate.

Stage #2: Evaluation

Goal: Building trust and authority

As prospects journey through the middle of the funnel, they're considering your product, but crave more information. This is where your content needs to build trust and authority. Repetitively drawing people’s attention to the benefits they can get from your product or service is crucial, or they’ll likely lose interest and drift away. Target them with ads that contain middle-of-funnel content.

Middle-of-the-funnel content showcases why they should choose your offering. You can use case studies, white papers, useful resources/downloads, or events and webinars here.

Key metrics to measure success: Downloads, registrations, engagements, demo request forms… whatever indicates a new lead to your business.

Stage #3: Conversion

Goal: Guiding prospects toward the sale

At the bottom of the funnel, leads are primed and ready to purchase. Here, targeted paid social ads addressing their specific needs can nudge prospects toward the finish line. With proper tracking in place, you'll have tracked the prospect's journey through the funnel and gained an understanding of what elements of your product appeal to them most. Double down on those value ads with targeting messaging.

Boost prospects' confidence with content like customer reviews, demos, competitor comparisons, and, of course, free trials! Ensure you have a clear call to action, a simplified purchase process, and personalized content here.

Key metrics: Sales!

Crafting Compelling Content for Social Media

If your your organic and paid social content isn't engaging or relevant, your audience won't hesitate to scroll past it in search of something more captivating.

But it's not just about what you say—it's also about how you say it. Each post is a new lead magnet. Text posts can deliver concise, informative messages, while images can capture attention in an instant. And then there's video—the undisputed heavyweight champion—which allows you to tell compelling stories, demonstrate products, and provide in-depth tutorials.

Live streams are a great way to deliver marketing content, especially for companies with a substantial following on TikTok or Instagram. One of the key benefits of live streaming is the capacity for live selling. You can use it to promote your eBook, podcast, YouTube channel, blog, products, or services, directing potential customers into your funnel.

When live streaming, keep the following tips in mind:

• Have a clear plan and goal for your live stream to ensure it's purposeful
• Be authentic and avoid over-rehearsing or reading from scripts
• Control your environment to minimize distractions and disruptions
• Boldly communicate the topic of your live stream to attract and retain viewers
• Schedule and promote your streams in advance to maximize audience attendance
• Save and share your livestreams to extend their reach
• Provide valuable content that encourages audience engagement and discussion
• Remember to enjoy the interaction with your viewers and have fun hosting the livestream

There's one often-overlooked aspect of content creation that can make or break your social media game: audio quality. Poor audio quality can quickly turn off your audience and undermine your message, whether recording a podcast, filming a live stream, or adding background music to your Instagram story. So, invest in good microphones, the best audio editing software, and soundproofing equipment to ensure your content sounds as polished as it looks.

Converting Followers into Leads

Once you've crafted your lead magnet, it's time to create an irresistible opt-in offer that encourages your audience to take action. This opt-in offer takes them from social media followers to real leads, often by getting them to join your email list. By running contests, initiating interesting conversations, and interacting with followers in meaningful ways, you can create a sense of community that goes beyond transactional relationships. For example, you could try giving away small prizes via email campaigns, not as bribes to join your email list, but as tokens of appreciation for your audience’s active participation and engagement. Or, you could try creating a newsletter that contains valuable industry updates and is delivered weekly via email. All your social media followers have to do to access these great opportunities is join your email list!

Whether it's a compelling call-to-action (CTA), a visually appealing landing page, or an exclusive bonus offer delivered via a personalized email, make sure that your opt-in entices your audience and communicates the value they'll receive by subscribing.

Don't overlook the importance of segmentation and personalizing the user experience. Segment your leads using categories like interests, behaviors, or demographics, and tailor your follow-up communication accordingly. Targeted content that speaks to each segment of your audience enhances engagement, builds rapport, and drives conversions.

The Role of Paid Ads in the Funnel

Paid ads are critical if you want to deliver mid and bottom funnel targeted content on social media due to their retargeting abilities. Additionally, they help you collect data you can use to map and measure every stage of the customer's journey, identifying potential bottlenecks or shortcomings in your marketing strategy. This level of insight is invaluable for refining your approach and maximizing effectiveness, particularly in the upper stages of the funnel, where the primary objective is to boost brand visibility and attract new customers. If your top-of-funnel ads aren't engaging, you won't build an audience to retarget with mid-and-bottom-funnel content.

By leveraging a paid media advertising funnel, you gain insights into your audience's actual purchasing intent, especially during the consideration stage. Key performance indicators (KPIs) such as click-through rates, bounce rates, and engagement metrics can help you gauge the effectiveness of your sales strategy and tailor your messaging accordingly. 

Implementing a Tracking System

To effectively navigate the intricacies of a multi-stage marketing funnel, you need a solution that enables you to track multiple events seamlessly. From clicks on social posts to email signups to sales, every micro-conversion in the funnel needs to be tracked across all your different organic and paid marketing channels. Aim for something equipped with built-in optimization tools designed to illuminate the critical stages of your buying cycle. When you unify your campaign data with sales outcomes, you glean actionable insights and make informed, data-driven marketing decisions. 

Building a Company Culture for Nurturing Leads for Conversion

Getting your whole team on board with nurturing leads for conversion is crucial for maximizing the effectiveness of personalized communication strategies. With a group coaching approach, ensure everyone on your team understands the importance of consistent messaging across all touch points. 

Consistent messaging and communication are essential for building trust and credibility and must be a collaborative effort across departments. You never want your marketing team to be promoting something that your sales team can't actually deliver. Involving sales, customer service, and marketing in the lead nurturing process will ensure that leads receive a unified customer experience, which increases the likelihood of conversion.

Always remember the ultimate goal of your marketing campaign

It's easy to get caught up in metrics like likes, shares, and comments. While engagement is undeniably important for building brand awareness and fostering relationships with your audience, sales are typically the main goal of marketing campaigns.

After all, they directly impact your bottom line and drive tangible results for your business. So, concentrate on strategies that prompt your audience to take action. Plan your marketing strategies to go beyond simply generating likes or shares and ultimately inspire followers to move down the sales funnel and make a purchase. If you can do this, you'll watch your social media campaigns drive real business growth.

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Hello, My Digital Darlings,

How are you, beautiful people? I hope your week has been smooth so far, you’ve been able to avoid those calls that could be emails, and your boss is recognizing that you’re crushing it. The digital landscape is rocky right now, so stay strong, and stay informed. Everyone who’s anyone is talking about the TikTok ban, so let’s dive into it.

Bytedance has to sell TikTok or it’ll be banned.

Welp, it finally happened. The TikTok ban bill that the US government has been teasing for years actually passed. The bill requires Chinese-owned company ByteDance to sell TikTok and its precious algorithm to an American-owned company within the next 9 months, or face a national ban. 

Ok Biden, I see the vision, but… Bytedance built the most influential algorithm in the modern world. They’re not going to give it up that easily. TikTok executives have pledged to challenge the bill, leaning on the First Amendment’s right to free speech. Plus, who can afford to buy TikTok that’s not already being investigated for monopolistic practices?? I honestly don’t know. I’m not sure where this will go, but for now, I’m going to keep advertising on the platform. But as a consumer, I’m thinking twice about my nightly TikTok scrolls.

One of the major concerns around TikTok is that it has become young people’s go-to source of information, with a growing portion of Gen Z reporting that it’s their #1 search engine. To capitalize on the platform while it’s still around…

Check out this guide to TikTok SEO.

The guide breaks down how to use hashtags, keywords, and content trends to grow your brand organically on the platform. It’s the next frontier for SEO (assuming the ban fails), so read up, search marketers!

Tiktok isn’t the only digital concern top of mind this week. There are a slew of other tech problems to tackle, like the fact that…

Bots made up nearly half of all internet traffic last year.

49.6% of traffic, to be exact. Bad bot traffic skyrocketed from 2018 to 2023. It’s no surprise that this is due to generative AI, which uses web scraping bots to train its models. Marketers now have to assume that ~50% of the traffic to our sites is bot traffic. Yikes! To make matters worse, bad bots target APIs, and were accountable for 30% of attacks on APIs last year. I’ll let article author Erez Hasson explain the impact:

‍“These attacks exploit flaws within an application's design and implementation, allowing attackers to influence legitimate functionality to access sensitive data or user accounts.”  

Oof, not good! In other not-so-good news…

Google Chrome IP masking could radically impact search ad targeting.

This is part of Google’s court-ordered initiative to protect the privacy of Chrome users, called the ‘Privacy Sandbox’. Users' IP addresses will be batched and masked by region, so for ad location targeting, we’ll only be able to target specific regions designated by Google.

There are a few issues with this - firstly, the regions designated by Google won’t be accurate. Secondly, it will be impossible to distinguish between real traffic and bot traffic per region. And lastly, this process will only be implemented on Chrome, giving Google a total monopoly on location data. This could eliminate competition in the search ads market. Google is certainly making data privacy work for them… 

This is a super technical issue that’s hard to summarize, so my more detail oriented readers can check out this detailed breakdown for more info. Speaking of Google’s tracking…

The depreciation of third-party cookies was delayed AGAIN.

Who’s surprised? Literally nobody. To quote Digiday: 

“Google is delaying the end of third-party cookies in its Chrome browser — again. In other unsurprising developments, water remains wet.” 

Google said that more technical stuff still needs to happen before cookies are deprecated, and that they’re now planning to deprecate them “some time in 2025”. This is the third time they’ve pushed back the deadline, so I’ll believe it when I see it. Please do not let this deter you from transitioning to first party tracking ASAP, though. Anyone who’s anyone will tell you that the cookie-powered web is already dead. And for my final bit of Google news…

Google’s SVP of Search is freaking out because growth is slowing.

Heavy competition in the AI space, tons of money spent on gen AI bots, and the consequences of the Digital Markets Act caused Google to cut costs and lay off staff. Haters like myself are eager to see Google fail, after decades of “putting profit above everything, including its users.” Increasing competition from OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta is a major cause of the shrinkage. When one queen falls, another ascends, and one has to wonder if the likes of OpenAI or Meta will handle the power any better. Only time will tell. Speaking of AI, maybe I’ve been too negative about it in the past…

Over half of Americans think Generative AI will boost their creativity.

Chatbots are quickly becoming a go-to source of information, with over half of Americans now using generative AI. And I get it. Just yesterday I used chatGPT to generate a list of discussion questions for my book club - why think when the robots can do it for me?? I see the benefits, but I am still afraid that AI may one day replace creative jobs like writing and graphic design altogether. Sigh...

Not me ending on a dark note yet again!! I guess that’s just who I am. But there you have it - all the latest digital marketing tea, summed up in bite-sized pieces for you, my dear readers. Until next week, stay fresh, stay alert, and don’t let the drama get you down.

You know you love me.

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Amazon is a colossal marketplace where brands fight to capture the attention of millions of potential customers. To beat fierce competition, brands must go beyond the basics. 

But first, lets make sure all the basics are covered. Then, read on to learn advanced tips and tactics that will help your Amazon Ads and Listings stand out.

Understanding Amazon Ad formats

There are three main Amazon ad formats - Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display. Let’s review each ad type’s traits and use cases.

Sponsored Products

Sponsored Product is the most widely used advertising format on Amazon. These ads drive targeted traffic to your product listings by showcasing your product on the results page for specific search terms that you select as keywords. The sponsored ads appear alongside the organic search results, making this ad type feel very native to the user’s shopping experience. Shoppers may not even notice they’re clicking on an ad. 

Sponsored Brands

Sponsored Brand Ads allow you to showcase your brand and multiple products in a single ad. These are ideal for top-of-the-funnel advertising and are a great way to increase brand awareness. The downside is that these ads feel less organic to users and more like traditional ads, which may lead them to be biased against clicking on them. When running sponsored brand campaigns, it’s important to include eye-catching images or videos that will draw attention immediately.

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Sponsored Display

The unique thing about Sponsored Display Ads is that you can use them to target shoppers regardless of where they decide to shop — on or off Amazon. Through machine-learning and multi-format creatives, you can reach your audience on Amazon and across thousands of other websites and apps. 

Instead of focusing on keywords, these ads target users based on their shopping habits. Amazon claims that sellers who use these types of ads see an average of 33.9% more impressions, 3.6% more detail page views, and 2.6% more new-to-brand customers. Note those stats are for customers who run sponsored display campaigns alongside Sponsored Product and Sponsored Brand campaigns. So don’t rely just on one ad format, try all three and watch them work together!

Amazon Ads for non-retail brands

Amazon sellers are considered ‘endemic’ advertisers - meaning they run ads on Amazon to sell products on Amazon. But Amazon advertising isn’t just for retailers anymore! Non-endemic brands like banks, insurance companies, and streaming services now have the opportunity to advertise to Amazon’s massive audience. While endemic ads target customers who are actively shopping on the platform, non-endemic ads are focused on driving traffic to a website rather than an Amazon store.

This means that even if you don't sell on Amazon, you can still run display ads through Amazon's Demand-Side Platform (DSP), which we'll talk more about later.

Which ad type should I choose?

According to Junglescout, Sponsored brand campaigns see the highest average ROAS, followed by Sponsored Products, then Sponsored Display. It’s best to run all three ad types alongside one another, but if you’re just getting started, we recommend starting with Sponsored Brand campaigns if your goal is to improve brand awareness or starting with Sponsored Product campaigns if your goal is to drive sales.

The basics of optimizing Amazon Ads

Make sure that you have all of these basic optimizations covered before you move on to more advanced tactics. We’ll discuss those in the next section.

1. Strategically select keywords

Conduct thorough keyword research to identify relevant search terms that potential customers are using to find products similar to yours. Marketing automation tools like Marin can automate keyword research for you by crawling the search terms that past purchasers have used to get to you product page and suggesting terms that drive a high volume of clicks to be added as keywords. The ‘DIY’ method is to use the Amazon search bar for keyword research. Simply type your core keywords into the search bar and review the queries it autocompletes. Add all relevant query variations as target keywords. You can do the same thing with the Google search bar too.

It's also important to understand the different types of Amazon Keywords:

Frontend Keywords: Keywords that are included in the copy for the product listing, i.e. any key terms in your product title and description. Frontend keyword optimization is the reason that products on Amazon aren’t called simple names like “Almay Lip Gloss”, but rather “Almay Hydrating Lip Gloss, Soft Natural Colors, Prebiotic Complex, Hyaluronic Filling-Sphere Technology, 200 Rose Glow, 0.1 fl oz.” Including all those keywords in your product name may not look cute, but it helps Amazon’s algorithm understand which search queries to return your products for.

Backend Keywords: These are the keywords that you add to your campaign in Amazon Ads Manager. They won’t be visible to customers but will guide the algorithm on which search queries to serve your ads on. 

Be sure to incorporate as many frontend keywords as possible in your product listing, and feature the most important ones first. Your list of backend keywords should be more robust and contain all target keywords you’ve gathered through your research.

2. Fine-tune your product listings

Make sure your copy is optimized for both search engines and potential customers. To showcase your product's features and benefits, write compelling product titles, detailed and informative descriptions, and provide high-quality images. A well-optimized listing not only improves your organic search ranking but also increases the likelihood of converting clicks into sales. 

Make sure you’re adhering to Amazon’s product title requirements, listed here. Key takeaways are:

• Titles should be up to 80 characters
• Avoid using all-caps
• Avoid promotional phrases like ‘half-off’ or ‘free shipping’
• Use numerals, for example use 4 instead of four
• Avoid listing size and color variations

Failing to follow these guidelines may lead Amazon to suppress your listing.

When it comes to descriptions, Amazon highly recommends using bullet points to highlight your product’s top 5 features. Amazon Sellers can add 5 bullet points, while Amazon Vendors are able to add up to 10. Start by listing the most important feature as your first bullet point, then move on to the second most important, and so on. Unlike titles, you should prioritize clarity over including lots of keywords when writing your bullet points. We recommend reviewing Amazon’s guide to writing good bullet points. 

3. Monitor performance metrics

Track key performance metrics such as conversion rate, click-through rate (CTR), and advertising cost of sales (ACoS) regularly to gauge the effectiveness of your advertising campaigns. Use this data to identify areas for improvement and optimize your ad performance over time. Check out our detailed overview of key metrics and tools for measuring the ROI of e-commerce campaigns for more info.

4. Utilize audience targeting

Amazon Audiences are ready-made targeting groups that you can serve ads to with just a few clicks. Apply audience targets in addition to your target keywords for precise targeting. You can target four types of audiences:

In-market: Users who have recently been shopping for products similar to yours.

Lifestyle: Audiences built based on an aggregate of shopping and viewing behaviors across Amazon, Prime Video, Twitch and more. Amazon aggregates this data and sorts users into groups like “makeup enthusiasts” or “foodies”.

Interest: Interest audiences are built based on browsing and buying behavior, similar to Lifestyle segments, but are more specific, like “interested in Asian food” or “interested in wedding makeup.” 

Life events: These are groups of people that are about to experience a life event, like going on vacation or moving.

Test targeting different types of audiences to discover which are most engaged with your brand.

5. Run sales and promotions

To stand out in Amazon search results, offer promotions, discounts, and exclusive deals. Amazon's Coupons and Lightning Deals make it easy to run promotions. Not only are the coupons and deals displayed in your product listing, your product can also be listed on the Amazon Coupons page and deals page giving it visibility to users who weren’t even searching for it. 

5 Advanced tips for Amazon Advertising

Once you've got the basics covered, try these advanced tips and tactics to elevate your Amazon advertising game.

Tip #1: Experiment with video ads

Customers are gravitating towards video more than ever. Using product demonstrations, customer testimonials, and lifestyle clips in your ads is a great way to convey your brand message and connect with your target audience. Video is especially important for Sponsored Brand campaigns, which enable you to showcase a video and a few featured products right on the search results page. You can find Amazon’s detailed guide to creating Sponsored Brands video ads here.

Tip #2: Run Ads for Amazon on Search and Social

If you’ve seen success selling on Amazon, consider advertising your Amazon store on other channels, like paid search and paid social. For example, many retailers include a sitelink to their Amazon Store in their paid search ads, with copy like “Buy on Amazon”. That way, the majority paid search traffic is still being driven to their website, but searchers have the option to buy on Amazon too. Having the option to order a product on Amazon may push users over the purchasing threshold since they’re familiar with the Amazon user experience and its quick purchasing process. If the product is available for Prime delivery, that’s another needle-mover.

It’s important to remember that if you do this while using Amazon’s tracking system, none of the conversions driven by your paid search campaigns will be attributed to paid search. Marin has built a cross-channel tracking solution to solve this problem. Click here to learn about Amazon Attribution. 

Tip #3: Optimize for mobile

With an increasing number of shoppers browsing and purchasing on mobile devices, you want to be sure your Amazon listings and ads are optimized for mobile. Product titles have a 200 character limit on desktop, but only 70 characters will show on mobile, so be sure that all important info like brand name, product type, and key features are covered in the first 70 characters of your product title.

It’s also important to optimize the images on your product page for mobile. While you’re able to add up to nine images, only the first 7 images will be displayed on mobile, so choose those early images wisely.

Lastly, remember that mobile screens offer less space to describe your product. On mobile, only the product name, brand, and images show ‘above the fold’, meaning users don’t have to scroll to see them. Mobile users may swipe through your images and skim over the details. Therefore, it’s valuable to showcase key selling points in one or two of the images, like in the example from Revlon below:

Tip #4: Explore Amazon DSP 

If your goal is to expand your reach and attract new customers, Amazon’s Demand-Side Platform (DSP) may be the answer. It enables you to programmatically buy ads and reach new and existing audiences both on and off Amazon, all the while using Amazon’s first-party data to target users in your demographic. Ads through Amazon DSP will serve on Amazon and on partner sites like Twitch, IMDb, Audible and more. Hitting users with ads on the sites where they spend their time can drive them back to your Amazon store. Amazon DSP offers unique options for ad types and targeting, and you can learn more about them in our Guide to Amazon DSP. 

Tip #5: Consider a third-party bidding solution

Leverage advanced optimization techniques not available through Amazon's native advertising platform with a third party bidding tool. Whether you're looking to increase sales or drive brand awareness, bidding solutions like Marin can help you achieve your goals. Of course, Amazon offers it’s own automated bidding strategies, but many marketers struggle to hit their targets with Amazon’s solutions and turn to Marin’s tried and true algorithms. Plus, since Marin houses all your front and backend marketing data, its algorithms often have access to conversion, revenue, and targeting data that Amazon does not. Learn how Marin’s bidding drove a 155% increase in revenue for an Amazon retailer here.

How to Thrive in the Amazon Advertising World

Like all advertising platforms, the keys to success on Amazon are staying on top of the latest trends, continuously optimizing your listings, and testing different copy and placements until you find what works for you. 

If you’re finding it all a bit overwhelming, you can manage and optimize your Amazon ads alongside all your other digital marketing channels in Marin’s unified grid. MarinOne even comes with a dedicated digital marketing expert who you can consult with on strategy. If you’re not sure how to get your Amazon campaigns to hit your ROAS goals, Marin can help. Schedule a demo with our team to learn more.

Arguably the biggest innovation the paid search industry has seen in the past decade is the advent of Smart Bidding, Google’s automated bidding solution. I remember when I first entered the industry as an Account Coordinator… Ah, the good (or bad?) old days. A majority of my time was spent manually updating CPC bids for every keyword in my client’s Google and Bing Ad accounts. I would analyze how each campaign was pacing toward my client’s KPI and calculate new bids multiple times a week. 

Enter Google’s tROAS and tCPA smart bidding strategies. I remember my Google account reps encouraging my team to test these automated strategies and how skeptical we all were. The only automated bidding we had heard of in the past was through Marin! But as the years went by and Google’s automation won more and more bidding tests, Smart Bidding became the norm. 

Now manual bidding is a thing of the past – manual CPC isn’t even an option anymore. And what paid search marketer isn’t relieved to be freed of the tedious tasks associated with manual bidding? 

These publisher bidding strategies are great… but they’re an incomplete solution. What if you want budget pacing, not just ROAS or CPA, to be considered in bidding decisions? Can you ask Google’s algorithm to do that? Not without a complex custom script… and I certainly don’t know how to code.

Managing budget pacing still requires manual intervention – that is unless you use Marin! Read on to understand some of the ways Marin makes smart bidding even better.

Manage everything in one place

Jumping across publisher tools can be time-consuming and fragment your workflows and data. With Marin, all your different campaigns across Google, Bing, LinkedIn, Facebook, and more are unified in one UI. 

Marin unifies publisher data from tools like Google and Microsoft ads with backend data from tracking solutions like Google Analytics. We even have our own tracking solution, Marin Attribution, which is a more straightforward alternative to Google Analytics 4 (GA4).

All that data comes together in our interactive, customizable reporting grids. From campaigns, all the way down to individual keywords, front-end metrics – like costs and clicks – are married to backend metrics – like conversions and revenue – and attributed to the correct source. You can even create your own custom columns with the calculations that matter most to you. That means no more spreadsheets. 

Transitioning your reporting and analysis from an Excel grid to the Marin grid eliminates the need for any manual data wrangling, saving time and improving data accuracy. Check out how easy it is to analyze performance in Marin.

Marin makes it easier than ever to analyze cross-channel performance and clearly determine what is working well and what needs attention. If you decide to take any action based on that analysis, Marin makes that process easier than ever, too. 

Edit smart bidding settings across publishers

After using Marin’s reporting grid to determine what’s working and what’s not, you can use our multi-edit functionality to make changes. Update your smart bidding settings like strategy, target, bid cap, and more in Marin and avoid wasting time hopping between unintuitive publisher UIs.

Maximize ROAS with Dynamic Allocation

If you find yourself grappling with questions of how much you should spend on each of your campaigns, let Marin solve them for you. Our budget allocation solution harnesses the power of AI to ensure your budget is distributed as efficiently as possible across campaigns and channels. 

It all starts with your goals. First, you’ll meet with your Marin team to discuss your KPI targets and spend goals. Next, you’ll group your campaigns into different spend groups. Some examples of typical spend groups are brand, non-brand, retargeting, and prospecting. 

Marin’s AI will take it from there. It will analyze how each of your campaigns is currently pacing toward your KPIs and review impression share metrics to determine if there is more room for a campaign to spend in the SERP or if that campaign is already dominating. It’ll then allocate your budget across all the campaigns in the given bucket based on each campaign’s potential. 

You can either auto-apply Marin’s budget recommendations, or review them in the Marin app and apply them manually as you see fit. Manage it all in Marin’s budget pacing dashboard, which showcases not only how your budget groups are pacing toward spend goals, but revenue and ROAS trends as well.

Get unbiased recommendations for improvement

The publishers all provide recommendations to improve performance. But if you look closely, these recommendations always seem to lead to you spending more money on ads — not necessarily getting you any closer to hitting your KPI targets. Marin’s recommendation engine is free from publisher bias and has complete context on how all of your campaigns are doing across your customer lifecycle. This makes it more accurate than Google or Bing’s recommendations. And just like Google’s recommendations, they can be applied with one click. 

In the modern paid media landscape, maintaining independence from domineering publisher tools is more valuable than ever. If our blog hasn’t convinced you of that yet, Marin’s unbiased recommendations will. 

Say goodbye to publisher walled gardens

If you’re only using publisher tools for paid search media buying, you're limiting your marketing program. Marin can help you save time and improve your ROAS or CPA in countless ways. The best part? Marin is completely customizable. Unlike the publisher tools' one-size-fits-all approach, we can adapt our software to your business’s specific needs. Share your struggles with a Marin rep today and learn what we can do to help!

Meet your next Marketing Automation Platform

If you’re still unsure what Marin can do for you, see some of our favorite features in action.

Hey Digital Darlings,

In the digital world, it seems like the more things change, the more they stay the same. In the change column, we see paid social continuing to grow in importance (and value) among digital marketers. But in “same-same” news, paid search is still the reigning monarch in the vast kingdom of paid media–clutching its crown with a cool $88.8 billion to show for it in 2023. Buckle up as we sashay through the latest digital drama, from Google's generative jests to Meta's chatbot chitchat. 

US search ad revenues hit a record high in 2023.

Paid search remained on top with digital advertisers for yet another year, accounting for $88.8 billion in ad revenues in 2023. That’s a 5.2% increase in revenue year over year. Despite the fact that paid search becomes more competitive and less transparent every year, it still drives better results than any other advertising channel. That said, paid search’s market share is slowly but steadily decreasing, thanks in large part to the rise of paid social. But paid social isn’t much more transparent than search, so I wouldn’t really call that a win… just a shift. In other paid search news…

Google announced generative AI tools for Demand Gen campaigns.

The new tools create image assets using prompts that you provide. If you already have visual assets that are performing well, you can also use the tool to generate similar image variations. This makes it easier than ever to create visuals for Discover and YouTube Ads, but eliminates the need for a real, human creative team, which makes me sad. It’s interesting that these generative image tools are only available for PMAX and Demand Gen campaigns – two of Google’s newest campaign types that they’ve been pushing heavily since their inception. It’s yet another indicator that Google wants to automate everything. Regardless, it sounds like a helpful tool, and you can check out Google's guide to start using it. Now let’s chat about GA4…

The shift from ‘conversions’ to ‘key events’ in GA4 is a game-changer.

‘Key Events’ is a new term Google invented to distinguish Google Analytics (GA4) conversions from Google Ads conversions. Key events are important events for your business like subscriptions or purchases. This article from Search Engine Land outlined all the shifts in tracking from Universal Analytics (UA) to GA4: 

• UA used data based on sessions; GA4 uses data based on events.
• UA measured bounce rate; GA4 measures engagement rate.
• UA used cookies; GA4 uses modeling to estimate key events.
• UA let you set up to 20 goals; GA4 lets you mark up to 30 key events.
• UA provided data; GA4 automatically provides anomaly detection.
• UA reported what users did; GA4 generates predictive insights.
• UA used last-click attribution; GA4 uses data-driven attribution.

These shifts make it easier to measure micro-conversions and assign monetary value to them, and also get more detailed insight into your customers’ purchasing journey. I found it really helpful to see all the changes laid out plainly. You can read more about the impact of these changes here. In other Google news..

AI spam is winning the SEO battle.

John Gillham, founder and CEO of AI content detection platform Originality.ai, said Google is losing its war on spammy content, and that “not all AI content is spam, but I think right now all spam is AI content." His team has been tracking the amount of AI content showing up on Google search results. Last month, 10% of results were written by AI, and that’s after Google claimed to take down a bunch of spammy, AI powered sites. 

The Verge proved that point and trolled Google with an article titled “Best printer 2024, best printer for home use, office use, printing labels, printer for school, homework printer you are a printer we are all printers.” They used Google Gemini to write this satirical product review, and the article is now ranking in the #2 organic position on the SERP under a search for “best printer 2024”. Hahahahaaaa. The Verge did the same thing a year ago when they published this article (also about printers) written by ChatGPT, which also ranked in the top organic search results. It makes me wonder if Google’s March core update, which was supposed to reduce unhelpful, low quality, AI generated content, had any actual impact. Next up, more strange media news…

Chase (yes, the bank) launched an advertising network?

I guess it was only a matter of time before the bank processing the funds for the massive media buys wanted in on a piece of the action, but this was a bit of a surprise even to me. They recently launched Chase Media Solutions, the first bank-led media platform. According to businesswire “Chase Media Solutions combines the scale and audience of a retail media network with the exclusive advantages of Chase’s first-party financial data, institutional credibility and precise targeting capabilities.” As a consumer, something seems weird about the intersection of banking privacy laws and data brokerage and, I’m not gonna lie, this freaks me out. But as an advertiser, this seems like a good opportunity, as Chase’s first-party data enables advertisers on their network to target consumers based on purchase history. If you want to test out this new media network, you can contact Chase’s team here. And lastly, we have to dish about AI…

Meta put its chatbot in our Instagram DMs.

Which is cool, but it’s like… ask me first?? You can use it like a search engine and ask the AI questions, using the same flow that you would to DM a friend. This is a pretty smart way to drive adoption, TBH… But what’s in it for Meta? Are they using us to test their AI, or are they coming for the search game? With TikTok being a growing portion of Gen Z’s go-to search engine, the latter seems likely. Only time will tell. 

And there you have it, my loyal readers—another whirlwind tour of this week’s digital marketing landscape. From Google's AI antics to the unexpected retail maneuvers by Chase, the plot only thickens. Until next week, stay sharp, question everything, and keep your strategies as bold as your coffee and your data cleaner than your browser history.

You know you love me.

Gone are the days when content creation was solely the domain of human creativity and laborious hours of writing. Generative AI has created a seismic shift in how we conceive, produce, curate, and optimize content.

Despite generative AI's potential to transform the content writing process and create high-quality content, many companies have yet to adopt it. Often, their hesitation stems from a lack of familiarity.

This guide will help you navigate the transformative landscape of AI-generated content, highlighting its benefits and practical applications for enhancing your writing prowess.

Benefits of Leveraging AI in Content Creation

Improved Speed and Efficiency

According to Capttera, a staggering 80% of marketing professionals spend 50-75% of their time on content generation. Integrating AI in marketing workflows can help alleviate this burden and allow marketers to focus on more strategic tasks.

One of the most compelling benefits of AI writing tools is their ability to reduce the amount of time it takes to generate content. AI content generators can produce a draft in seconds, a task that might take a human writer hours or even days. Content writers also benefit from using AI assistants to revise content faster. These improved workflows create higher-quality content in less time. 

For example, an AI email generator can swiftly craft highly personalized guest post outreach emails by analyzing a webpage in mere seconds!

Enhanced Creativity

AI writing assistants are also great creativity enhancers, helping broaden writers' creative horizons.

These tools can provide you with diverse angles and ideas. They can also help you overcome writer's block and keep your content fresh and engaging. For instance, tools like ChatGPT can be used to brainstorm unique topic ideas, titles, and outlines or experiment with different writing styles and tones.

Cost-Effectiveness

AI writers offer a more budget-friendly alternative to the traditional content creation process. Businesses can save on labor costs and allocate resources more efficiently by automating part of the content production process, especially for high-volume, repetitive writing tasks.

Additionally, the shift towards AI-driven content creation makes it easier for teams to work from home. Remote work thrives on flexibility and efficiency—hallmarks of AI-driven content creation. The adoption of AI-driven content creation tools minimizes the need for in-person supervision and supports remote teams by streamlining communication and project management. AI provides consistent quality and guidance, making remote collaboration as effective as face-to-face collaborations, if not more so.

AI makes content generation accessible to a wider range of businesses, from startups to established companies looking to scale their content marketing efforts.

6 ways to use AI to become a better writer

Wondering how you can start using AI for content creation? These budget-friendly strategies will help you become a more creative and efficient writer!

1. Brainstorm topic ideas

Seeking to establish authority or cover unexplored topics? AI can help you explore new angles and perspectives, enriching your content plan.

When asking an AI bot like ChatGPT to generate blog topics, your instructions, aka prompts, need to be as clear and specific as possible.

As the saying goes, "The Devil is in the Details". A good AI prompt is detailed, but still open-ended, allowing the tool to explore diverse ideas. A bad prompt is vague or overly broad, leading to generic responses that lack focus.

Giving the AI bot context about your business improves results. Tell the bot your job title and give it a link to your company website.

For example, instead of saying, "Give me 10 blog topics about technology," a more effective prompt would be "Act like you are a content writer for a healthcare company. Generate a list of emerging tech trends impacting healthcare in 2024. These topics will be used as blog posts on [insert website]."

2. Create SEO-optimized titles and summaries

Use AI to generate SEO optimized titles and summaries for content you've already written.

The digital space is filled with AI content assistants that can create search-optimized blog post titles, TL;DRs, and outlines. Many of these assistants are available for free. Some of these tools require detailed prompts, like ChatGPT, while other tools created by SEO pros like Ahrefs and Copy.AI are more straightforward.

ChatGPT is an all-encompassing AI content creation tool. Simply feed it the content you're looking to summarize or create a title for, give it some business context, and watch it generate ideas. When writing your prompt, be sure to tell the chatbot that the results should be optimized for SEO.

Copy.AI offers a ready-to-use blog title generator. This tool requires minimal customization – simply input your target keyword or topic and watch the AI generate SEO optimized titles for you.

If you're looking for more precision and control over the output generated by the AI, try Ahrefs' Free AI Blog Title Generator. This tool is adept at crafting catchy, SEO-optimized titles. It lets you pick the tone of writing, generate multiple title variations at once, and provide context about the post's content, ensuring your titles resonate with your audience.

3. Generate drafts

AI writers are excellent at drafting content for blog posts, ad copy, product descriptions, and more. You can even integrate them with your social media management tools to help you create captions and social posts.

Once you've chosen your target keywords and finalized an outline, use AI writing software to create your first draft.

For platforms like ChatGPT, a detailed prompt is crucial. It should include all relevant information: the outline, desired keywords, conducted research, and specific facts or details. Explain the post's purpose, desired structure, and tone of voice. You can even feed it content you've written in the past, or provide a link to the landing page the content will eventually live on. This will enable the AI to create content that matches your writing style.

You can ask the AI tool to generate a complete draft or work alongside the tool and draft paragraph by paragraph. Many prefer the latter, as it allows for more control. Each time the AI bot generates a new paragraph you can give it feedback on length, amount of detail, relevancy, etc. This will help the chatbot learn to write better for you.

If you have a budget, try tools like Jasper AI or Surfer SEO. These specialized AI content writing assistants can truly elevate your content creation journey. They will walk you through the entire writing process and use advanced AI copywriting to streamline the journey from idea generation to published piece.

Unlike ChatGPT, these user-friendly AI content tools offer step-by-step guidance and pre-designed templates, making them ideal for beginners.

Remember — AI-written drafts need revision and fact-checking. Relying entirely on AI without any editing from your side can cause serious issues. We'll cover that later.

4. Improve clarity and fix grammar

Certain AI tools are designed to elevate your original content by enhancing clarity, engagement, and grammar. Two tools work exceptionally well for this purpose – Grammarly and the Hemingway App.

Grammarly, an AI writing assistant, catches spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors. It also offers suggestions for enhancing clarity, conciseness, and tone. Simply copy and paste your draft into the tool or use the browser extension for real-time feedback.

Hemingway App, another powerful AI content writing tool, focuses on making your writing bold and clear. It rewords complex sentences, passive voice, and other readability issues. 

While both tools have different strengths, they complement each other well. Combining these tools will benefit use cases like editing blog posts, email content, or any other written material.

5. Add unique images to your work

Incorporating captivating images into your content can significantly enhance its appeal.

Here are some of the best AI image generators:

1. DALL·E 3 stands out for its ease of use, making it an excellent choice for those new to AI content generation. Simply describe the image you want and use the AI to generate it.
2. Midjourney is known for delivering high-quality image results. This AI tool caters to users seeking exceptional visuals. 
3. For those desiring more control over their creations, Stable Diffusion provides extensive customization options. 
4. Adobe Firefly excels in integrating AI-generated images into existing photos. This AI is great for enhancing existing visuals through a blend of creativity and realism.

When using AI to create images, select a tool that aligns with your specific needs—be it ease of use, quality, customization, or integration. The vast number of AI tools available means there's a solution for virtually any visual content requirement.‍

6. Get feedback

AI can help you identify areas for improvement and refine your content. Here are a few examples:

1. Paste your content into a tool like ChatGPT and ask it to improve clarity and readability. You could also ask it to add more details or examples to support your points.
2. Try AI content writing tools like Surfer SEO or Frase for SEO optimization. Get recommendations on keywords, headings, and content length to improve search rankings.
3. Use AI writing software to align with Google's EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) principles. EEAT is Google’s guidelines for creating helpful, reliable, and people-first content. AI tools can help you find gaps in your content and suggest ways to showcase your expertise and credibility. Tools like MarketMuse or Clearscope are great for this.

Be specific in your prompts to get the most relevant feedback. For instance, ask, "How can I make this post more engaging for [type of audience]?" or "What can I do to SEO optimize this content for X keyword?"

These writing assistants can refine your work and guide you to adopt better writing practices over time.

How to avoid common mistakes when using AI writing tools

AI writing tools offer huge benefits for content creators. However, there are common mistakes to avoid when using AI to write. Here's how to navigate these pitfalls effectively:

1. Editing, Proofreading, and Fact-Checking: Always review and fact-check AI-generated content to avoid misinformation. AI can make mistakes or draw flawed conclusions, so verifying the information before publishing is crucial.
2. Feeding a good prompt: Provide clear, specific, and complete instructions to your AI writing tool. Include the content type, context, desired tone, and other relevant details. The more precise your input, the better the output.
3. Adding Personality to AI Content: AI-generated text sometimes lacks personality or sounds generic. To stand out, infuse your voice and style into the content. Make edits and adjustments to ensure the final piece aligns with your brand and resonates with your audience.
4. Ethical Content Creation with AI: Be aware of potential biases and discrimination caused by AI algorithms trained on biased datasets. Familiarize yourself with the subject to spot any AI hallucinations or incorrect information.

Embracing the Power of AI for Content Creation

AI writing tools offer incredible opportunities to speed up content production and inject new levels of creativity and efficiency.

But, it's important to remember that quality and ethics should guide your content. Use the AI-generated content as a springboard for your creativity, ensuring it complements rather than replaces your unique insights and expertise. Blend AI's efficiency with your creative flair.

A recent Deloitte study examined how companies rate the readiness of their staff for adopting generative AI (GenAI). Almost all companies think their workforce is at least slightly prepared for AI. Only 13 percent say they are totally unprepared.

AI-powered writing tools are not a fad. They continue to evolve and become more integral to our content creation processes. So, get ready now!

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Hey Digital Darlings,

Do you believe in Ad Strength? In a young marketer’s heart? How the metrics can free her, wherever they start? I’m not so sure I do anymore… read on to find out why. Plus, we’ll dive into the latest shopping listing specs and marvel at YouTube's wallet-tempting updates. Time to decode what's truly driving our digital strategies and what's just smoke and mirrors.

Is ad strength a fake metric? 

Lots of advertisers think so. It seems similar to quality score, but unlike QS it doesn’t impact ad rank. It actually doesn’t impact anything… it’s just a label Google gives your ads. Multiple industry experts have stated that some of their best performing ads have been labeled with ‘poor’ ad strength. To quote Mateja Matić, founder of Dominate Marketing, 

“If you are new to Google Ads, one of things you need to be aware of is Google’s recommendations are not necessarily the best things for your account. I can tell you from experience that the majority of things they recommend in your account do not work as good as other things you can do to make your ads better.”

IKTR. My alter ego wrote a whole blog post about the fact that Google’s recommendations often align with spending more money on Google Ads, not improving your bottom line. So, we can’t trust Google. Shocker! But what do they have to say about Ad Strength? Basically, it’s supposed to be a diagnostic tool that tells you what’s working and what’s not. Google’s VP of Search & Commerce said,

“I don’t know where [the idea that Ad Strength is not important] comes from. Ad Strength is at the centre of what we’re trying to do is because creative is going to be incredibly important, and Ad Strength is going to be the mechanism which we use to evaluate that both in Performance Max and channels like search.”

Ummmm… sure. Ad quality is important. But in many cases, marketers are seeing their ads with the highest conversion rates having poor Ad Strength scores so… why on earth would they pay attention to ad strength? The moral of the story - focus on ads that are driving conversions for your business. In other Google news…

Google updated product specifications for shopping listings.

Six changes to attributes have already gone into effect. One of the most interesting changes is that if any of the text in your shopping ads and free listings was written by AI, you have to disclose that via an attribute. Other updates include a new loyalty program attribute, new minimum price attribute, and new free shipping threshold attribute. All this info can be displayed alongside your shopping ads and organic listings as Google’s algorithm sees fit, so things like free shipping callouts could definitely boost your conversion rates. Seems like a helpful update, so make sure you add those attributes in Google Merchant Center. There are more changes coming in September, and you can read up on all the details here. Speaking of shopping…

YouTube announced four new shopping features.

Please pray for my wallet. These updates make it easier than ever to buy stuff that’s featured in YouTube videos… and YouTube hauls are my vice.

The first new feature is called Shopping Collections. This seems to be modeled after Amazon storefronts and LTK pages. YouTubers can add all their favorite products to collections that viewers can shop on-site. Basically, it allows content creators to curate their own online store, and likely get affiliate revenue from the products they feature. A smart move on YouTube’s part, but dangerous for the shopping content-loving girls.

Additional updates include a new affiliate hub which helps creators find sponsored products to feature, the ability to tag products across multiple videos at once, and an integration with Fourthwall. If you’re a retailer, I’d make sure your products are featured in that affiliate hub, because these influencers are powerful. Now, let’s dish about some Meta Drama…

Sales are down, cost is up thanks to Meta’s glitchy algorithm.

Sales and ROAS have plummeted for Meta advertisers in recent months. Meta has given no explanation, so naturally everyone is blaming the algorithm. With CPMs tripling, some advertisers are reallocating their Meta budget to competitors like TikTok. Meta better fix that algo ASAP, because they’re currently expediting TikTok’s takeover. The issue isn’t impacting everyone, but if you advertise on Meta, keep a close eye on your ROAS, and reallocate budget if needed. And finally, let’s chat about AI…

WPP is collaborating with Google’s Gemini AI

WPP is the world’s biggest advertising group, so this is a big deal. They’ll be using Google’s AI to create ad copy and images, meaning the next big Coca-Cola ad could be created by Google’s robots. If everything goes smoothly, this will be a cultural reset for AI in marketing. If Google’s AI works for WPP, it could work for all of us, saving us time while hopefully not replacing our jobs altogether… 

And there we have it—another week of digital deciphering down. From questioning Google's opaque metrics to strategizing around YouTube's shopping spree enablers and grappling with Meta's costly conundrums, we're reminded that the digital marketing world is ever-evolving. Until next week, keep your eyes peeled, your strategies flexible, and your skepticism healthy. 

You know you love me.

‍

Working in retail media is challenging, fast-paced, and certainly never boring. It’s one of the most competitive spaces for media buyers to operate in. You have to constantly keep your finger on the pulse of industry trends and optimize campaigns daily based on the ever-changing marketplace. 

We feel your pain. And we know you’re good at your job. But everyone could use a little help from AI these days! No matter what type of product you sell, Marin can make your life easier. 

Our platform was built by retail media marketers, for retail media marketers, because a niche industry requires a specialized solution. We also built Marin to be flexible and customizable so it can meet each user's unique needs. Here are five ways Marin can help you work less and smash your performance goals.

1. Let AI Handle Budget Allocation

Most retail media marketers manage many campaigns in different accounts and channels, and publisher walled-gardens can make it difficult to deploy automation across those channels. Marin was built to solve this problem. Marin’s dynamic budget allocation harnesses the power of AI to ensure your budget is distributed as efficiently as possible, across all your campaigns.

All you have to do is map each group of campaigns with a shared budget to a Strategy and set the spend target for the month or quarter. Then let us know what your goals are - ROAS, conversion volume, impression share, etc. Marin will take it from there.

By comparing each campaign’s performance against your KPI targets and analyzing impression share metrics to determine which campaigns have incremental room to drive more conversions, Marin will intelligently allocate your budget across all your campaigns in Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Meta, LinkedIn, and more. Goodbye, budget pacing spreadsheets!

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The beauty of this solution lies in its customizability. We’ll start by meeting with your team and discussing your current budgeting workflow and goals. Then, your Marin team will customize the automation to meet your needs. You just sit back, relax, and watch your campaigns meet those spend targets every month. 

2. Identify opportunities for growth

As a busy digital marketer, one of the worst feelings is knowing that there are opportunities to improve performance but not having the time to act on them. Between investigating the next steps and building bulk sheets, even the simplest optimization initiative ends up taking hours. But with Marin, you can optimize your accounts in seconds. 

Marin runs hundreds of daily checks on every account linked to our platform and identifies opportunities for growth. From ad copy improvements to changes to bidding targets to improving account structure, Marin covers the basics for you so you can focus on high-level strategy. Recommendations can be applied with one click, so no manual work is needed to act on your Insights. 

For example, the above Insight recommends that our client move their top-performing ads into individual dedicated ad groups. This will help them manage the bid for that specific product independently, which makes sense since it's driving so much volume. To act on this recommendation, they simply need to click ‘Apply Changes.’ Marin will then build the new ad groups and pause the ad in the old group for them. It’s that easy!

See it in action:

3. Auto-create ads based on your product feed

Once you link your product feed to Marin, there are countless ways to apply automation based on it. For example, Marin can automatically create a new ad every time a new product is added to your feed. This is extremely helpful for brands that continuously create new products and want Shopping Ad coverage over every product. Rather than spending time every day checking your feed for new products and creating ads for them, automate that tedious process with Marin. 

And speaking of shopping ads…

5. Manage all your shopping ads in one place

Marin pulls all your Google, Microsoft, and Amazon shopping ads into one unified view and organizes them by SKU. Understand your top-performing SKUs across channels and compare the performance of different channels for the same SKU to see what's working and what's not.

Create and edit shopping ads with our multi-edit grids and bulk creation tool. No more jumping from one publisher tool to another. Manage it all in one Marin Grid. And speaking of all-in-one grids…

5. Harness the power of data unification

The value of using Marin to clean, unify, and visualize all your cross-channel data cannot be overstated. Our clients often describe Marin as a ‘mission control center.’ We integrate with all the major publishers and backend sources of truth. You can link as many different tracking sources as you want, from Google Analytics to Tealium to Marin’s own first-party tracking solution. Marin supports all the major ad formats like sponsored products, sponsored brands, Amazon DSP, and more.

Look how easy it is to link all your data sources:

Marin also solves the challenge of tracking conversions that start on other ad platforms but end on Amazon. For example, lots of retail media marketers include sitelinks to ‘buy on Amazon’ in their paid search ads. Additionally, marketers may drive traffic from ads on Meta to an Amazon storefront. If you’re just using the Amazon Ads UI for reporting, there’s no way to attribute those conversions back to their original source. Marin’s cross-channel Amazon Attribution solves that problem. You can see Amazon conversions attributed to the paid search or social campaign that drove the conversion right in the Marin UI.

With all your data unified and attributed down to the keyword/product level, reporting on performance has never been easier. Create saved views in our grids to capture data you reference often, or build a custom dashboard using Marin’s data visualization tools. Whether you’re an agency team reporting to a client or a brand reporting marketing performance to upper management, you’ll never have to manually wrangle your data again.

“Marin automates all of our reporting, performance monitoring, and optimization, saving us countless hours per week so we can spend more time focusing on strategy as we expand our presence globally.”

- Philip Ascott, Director of Digital at YOTEL

Check out how quickly you can respond to an ad hoc data request with Marin:

And there you have it! These are just 5 of the countless ways Marin improves the lives of retail media marketers. And don’t just take it from me, check out our case studies where real retail clients have shared their Marin success stories. 

The thing that makes Marin more powerful than other marketing automation tools is its customizability. Our technical team will tailor the platform to your needs, and that starts at the very beginning, when you schedule a customized demo with us. We look forward to chatting with you!

Retail e-commerce sales are projected to exceed $8 billion by 2026. Businesses are heavily relying on retail media marketing to capture these sales, drive brand awareness, and improve customer retention. However, without a proper understanding of how these campaigns are performing, it’s nearly impossible to optimize and make informed decisions.

This blog post provides insights and strategies for measuring the return on investment (ROI) of e-commerce marketing campaigns. Learn about the key metrics and tools that can help track and evaluate the success of your marketing efforts. 

The importance of measuring ROI in retail media marketing

Understanding and measuring the ROI of e-commerce marketing initiatives is essential for businesses to evaluate the effectiveness of their strategies and make informed decisions. Here are some reasons you should track and measure the ROI of your marketing campaigns. 

Assess campaign effectiveness

By measuring ROI, marketers can determine which campaigns are generating the desired results. This allows you to identify which channels, ad campaigns, or promotional activities are driving sales and which ones are underperforming. These insights help allocate marketing budgets effectively and focus on the areas that provide a higher return.

Cost control and budget allocation

Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok have become critical advertising channels for retail media marketers. Almost 60% of companies have seen an increase in sales made through social media recently. However, as more social media platforms come into prominence, marketers must allocate their budgets carefully. By understanding the ROI on various social media platforms, you can identify areas where you may be overspending or not getting the desired returns. With this knowledge, you can control costs, optimize your budget allocation, and ensure maximum revenue generation.

Enhance customer acquisition

Measuring ROI can help you identify the most effective customer acquisition strategies. By evaluating the ROI for different channels, such as paid advertising, social media marketing, or influencer partnerships, you can determine which channels deliver the highest number of customers at the lowest cost. This information enables you to focus your efforts on the most profitable customer acquisition tactics, ultimately leading to increased revenue and business growth.

Set realistic goals

Measuring ROI helps marketers set realistic benchmarks and goals for marketing campaigns by providing a detailed assessment of past performance that they can compare to industry standards.

5 Key metrics for measuring ROI in retail media marketing

Some key metrics include conversion rate, average order value, customer acquisition cost, customer lifetime value, and return on ad spend. Here is an overview of each of these metrics. 

1. Conversion rate

The conversion rate metric measures the percentage of website visitors who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase or subscribing to a newsletter. A higher conversion rate indicates better campaign performance and customer engagement.

The formula for calculating conversion rate is:

Conversion Rate = (Number of Conversions / Number of Visitors) x 100

To visualize conversion rates, you can use various methods such as:

• Funnel visualization: This involves mapping out the various stages of your conversion process and using visual aids like flowcharts or real-time data visualization tools to track the percentage of visitors who move through each stage and eventually convert.

• Line graphs: You can plot conversion rates over time using a line graph to track fluctuations or trends in your conversion rate.

• Heatmaps: These can help you identify and analyze user behavior on your website or landing page by visually representing the areas where users are most engaged or dropping off, giving insights into potential areas for improvement.

2. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) measures the amount of money spent on acquiring a new customer. By comparing the CAC with the average customer lifetime value (CLV), businesses can determine the profitability of their marketing efforts.

The formula for CAC is:

CAC = (Total Sales + Marketing Expenses) / Number of New Customers Acquired

To visualize CAC, you can use various methods such as:

• Bar charts: Use a bar chart to display the CAC for different time periods, campaigns, or customer segments. Each bar represents the CAC value, allowing you to compare and analyze the effectiveness of your acquisition efforts.

• Cohort analysis: Create cohorts of customers based on specific criteria, such as the month they were acquired, and analyze the CAC for each cohort. Visualize this data using stacked bar charts or line graphs to understand how the cost of acquiring customers varies by group.

3. Average Order Value (AOV) 

AOV calculates the average amount spent by a customer in a single transaction. Monitoring AOV helps evaluate the effectiveness of upselling and cross-selling strategies.

To calculate average order value (AOV):

AOV = Total Revenue / Number of Orders

To visualize AOV, you can use several methods, such as:

• Scatter plot: Use a scatter plot to map the relationship between AOV and other factors such as customer age, geographic location, or order size. This visualization method helps identify any correlations or outliers that may influence AOV.

• Funnel visualization: Create a funnel visualization that shows the conversion rates and AOV at each stage of the customer journey. This visual representation helps track and identify potential areas for improvement in increasing AOV.

4. Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) measures the revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising. It provides insights into the profitability of specific ad campaigns or marketing channels.

The formula for calculating return on ad spend (ROAS) is:

ROAS = (Revenue from Ad Campaign / Cost of Ad Campaign) x 100

To visualize ROAS, you can use various methods, such as:

• Scatter plot: Use a scatter plot to analyze the relationship between ROAS and specific metrics such as customer acquisition cost (CAC), ad spend, or ad impressions. This visualization method helps identify any patterns or correlations that could impact the ROAS.

• ROI dashboard: Design a dashboard that combines various visualizations to showcase your ROAS metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) related to ad campaigns. This holistic view provides oversight of the effectiveness and profitability of all your different advertising efforts.

5. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) assesses the total revenue generated by a customer over their entire relationship with the business. Evaluating CLV helps marketers understand the long-term value of acquiring and retaining customers.

The basic formula for calculating CLV is:

CLV = Customer Value x Average Customer Lifespan

Visualizing CLV can help businesses understand the long-term value of their customers and make informed decisions regarding marketing, customer retention, and customer acquisition strategies. There are various ways to visualize CLV, including:

• Line charts: Line charts can help businesses track changes in CLV over time and identify patterns and trends.

• Cohort analysis: Cohort analysis involves grouping customers based on when they made their first purchase and tracking their CLV over time. This analysis helps businesses understand how CLV varies across different customer segments.

• Heatmaps: Heatmaps can be used to identify specific customer segments with high CLV. By clustering customers based on their purchasing behavior and CLV, businesses can target their marketing efforts more effectively.

Tools and techniques for measuring ROI in retail media marketing

Various tools and techniques are available for measuring the ROI of e-commerce marketing campaigns. By leveraging these tools and techniques, businesses can track key metrics such as website traffic, conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, and customer lifetime value to accurately measure the success and profitability of their marketing campaigns.

Web analytics

Tools like Google Analytics provide valuable insights into website traffic, user behavior, conversion rates, and other essential metrics. By tracking these metrics, businesses can assess e-commerce campaign performance.

Marketing automation platforms

Marketing automation tools like Marin come with built-in analytics and reporting features. They help track marketing campaigns, lead generation, and conversions.

CRM systems 

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software allows businesses to track customer data throughout the sales cycle. CRM platforms like Salesforce or Zoho CRM provide insights into customer interactions and purchase history.

A/B testing

Running A/B tests allows businesses to compare the performance of different marketing elements, such as website layouts, call-to-action (CTA) buttons, or email subject lines. This helps identify the most effective strategies for improving ROI.

ROI calculation formulas

ROI calculation formulas can help businesses determine the financial impact of their marketing efforts. These formulas consider the cost of marketing campaigns and the revenue generated to calculate the ROI percentage.

How Marin can help you track and measure campaign ROI more effectively

Measuring the ROI of e-commerce marketing campaigns is critical to understanding the effectiveness of online business strategies. There are several key metrics and tools available to help businesses accurately track and optimize their campaigns, including AOV, ROAS, and CLV. However, the process of tracking and analyzing this data can be time consuming and complex.

With Marin, businesses can leverage advanced analytics and reporting capabilities to gain valuable insights into the performance of their campaigns. The platform provides a centralized hub where businesses can manage and optimize their campaigns, using machine learning and AI-powered insights to maximize ROI.

‍Start using Marin today to gain deeper insights into how your e-commerce marketing campaigns are performing.

Hello there, Digital Darlings,

Strap in for a wild ride through Tech Town. Google's dropping Universal Analytics like last season's trends, Microsoft's making bidding moves, and Incognito Mode's about as private as a reality TV show. Plus, Meta's mixing up targeting like it's a new cocktail recipe. Let's decode the tech titans' latest antics and arm ourselves for the battles ahead. First things first, this is your FINAL reminder that…

Google is shutting down Universal Analytics (UA) for real.

They sent out a mass email reminding us that on July 1st, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) will have fully replaced UA. All UA services and APIs will shut down forever. So if you’re still using UA for anything, it’s time to change that. You can follow Google’s migration guide to make the switch ASAP. In other Google news…

Google Ad Manager Reach Report error skewed data this week.

If you noticed some strange numbers in your Ad Reach report on Monday, you’re not alone. The issue actually lasted from Friday evening to Monday morning, but I really hope you weren’t working over the weekend, and therefore didn’t notice. Reach report data for any date later than March 20th was incomplete, depriving advertisers of their precious prior week’s data while they worked to pull together Monday’s reports. But don’t worry, Google resolved the issue Tuesday afternoon, so things should be back to normal. Now let's pivot to some Microsoft news…

Microsoft is phasing out Manual CPC this month.

All campaigns currently on Manual CPC will be automatically switched to enhanced CPC starting May 13. And manual CPC will no longer be an option when creating new campaigns starting April 30th. It’s probably for the best, TBH. Manual CPC doesn’t adapt at all to real-time auction data and puts you at an efficiency disadvantage. The only concern with eCPC is that Microsoft can increase your bids higher than the CPC you’ve set. But don’t worry, Microsoft won’t let your Average CPC exceed your bid, so you don’t need to worry about fluctuations in spend. And in other Microsoft bidding news…

Max Conversion Value bidding is now available for Microsoft Ads.

Maximize conversion value aims to drive the highest-value conversions possible. So while Max Conversions bidding drives as much conversion volume as possible, Max Conversion Value focuses on ROI. You can even choose to add a ROAS target to this bid strategy to make sure it’s bidding in line with your goals. If you’ve been using manual bidding, it might be time to test this strategy out instead! And in other tech news…

Incognito mode is fake! Chrome will not protect your privacy.

As part of a lawsuit settlement, Google agreed to delete “billions of data records” that they collected from users searching in Incognito Mode. The settlement also requires Google to update the Incognito Mode “splash page” (the blurb that pops up any time you open a new Incognito window) to state that they’re still collecting your data, no matter what browsing mode you use. It seems like all Incognito Mode does is prevent your site history from being saved in your browser. It doesn’t do anything to protect your data, and gives people a false sense of security. Time to switch to Duckduckgo! And in more scary (lack of) data privacy news…

Facebook lets Netflix read your DMs.

Court documents revealed that Meta has been giving Netflix access to users’ messages for the past decade. This info came out of a lawsuit where filers claimed Netflix and Facebook “enjoyed a special relationship” (lol) that enabled Netflix to tailor ads to Facebook users. In exchange, Facebook received billions of dollars in ad revenue from Netflix. I can’t say I’m shocked, but this seems super illegal. It all happened via an agreement that gave Netflix access to Facebook’s APIs. Fox Business said it best…

“The API agreement allowed Netflix programmatic access to Facebook’s private messages inboxes, in exchange Netflix would ‘provide to FB a written report every two weeks that shows daily counts of recommendations sends and recipient clicks by interface, initiation surface, and/or implementation variation (e.g. Facebook vs. non-Facebook recommendation receipts).’"

🎶 Meta and Facebook sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G 🎶

In other Meta news…

Meta made major targeting updates to Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns.

The updates allow advertisers to see reporting breakdowns on current audiences and target people who are interested in their products but have not yet made a purchase. The new reporting feature is called the “Engaged Customers Audience Segment” and is available in the Meta Ads UI now. Users can add the segment to any report by going to the ‘breakdown’ menu and choosing “Demographics by Audience Segments”. This will add segmented rows for ‘new customers’, ‘existing customers’, and ‘engaged customers’. 

Additionally, you can create a custom audience out of your engaged customers to directly target people who are interested in your brand but have not made a purchase. It’s basically streamlined retargeting, and I appreciate Meta doing the work for us… but can we trust their data? Who knows!

Well, there you have it. Another week of every major tech company destroying my faith in humanity!! Until next week, keep your strategies sharp, your skepticism sharper, and don’t let the lack of data privacy get you down. The tech overlords are always watching, so make sure you look good!

You know you love me.

Did you know that Google Ads usage is on the rise? Over 60% of online marketers use it.

However, 44% of them say they can’t achieve the return on investment they expected. This doesn’t mean Google Ads can’t be profitable for them. It can, but they need to apply new strategies to improve click-through rates and achieve better performance with their ads.

What is Click-Through Rate (CTR)?

Click-Through Rate (CTR) is the ratio of users who click on a specific link to the number of total users who view a page, email, or advertisement. In Google Ads, CTR is an important metric that measures your ads' success in attracting clicks from viewers. A high CTR indicates that your ad copy and targeting are relevant to the audience.

What constitutes a strong Click-Through Rate (CTR)?

CTR performance can differ based on the industry and type of advertisement. Google states that the typical CTR for search ads is 1.91% for the first position, 0.35% for the second spot, and 0.11% for the third spot. In contrast, display ads typically see a CTR of about 0.46%. While these figures can be used as a reference point, it's important to remember that your target CTR should align with your objectives and sector.

Based on our first-hand experience, here are 7 highly effective ways to improve your click-through rate in Google ads:‍

1. Use Dynamic Keyword Insertion

What marketer doesn’t love good targeting? Dynamic keyword insertion, an advanced feature introduced by Google Ads, lets you create more relevant ad copy based on a user’s search query.

Let’s say you’re advertising a coffee shop. In your ad headline, include the code {Keyword: coffee shop}. When a user searches for “best coffee shop”, Google will automatically change the ad headline to “Best Coffee Shop.” If they type “coffee shop near me,” the headline will change to “Coffee Shop Near Me,” and so on. 

It’s a simple yet powerful method that tailors your ad to each unique user.

Bonus Tip: Pay Attention to Low Volume Keywords

Despite being underestimated, lower-volume keywords can help boost the number of people clicking on your ads. These keywords may not bring in tons of traffic. They are precise, so they will match with a lower amount of queries. However, paying attention to them can improve how relevant and appealing your ads are to an audience. Here are a few reasons why you shouldn't disregard them: 

• They’re focused: Low-volume keywords tend to be very precise, which means that the users searching for them are likely close to making a decision or a purchase.
• Less competition: Few advertisers use these keywords, so your ads have a better chance of standing out and getting more clicks at a lower cost.
• Better conversion rates: Since these keywords closely match what the user is after, they often lead to high conversion rates.

By including long-tail keywords in your paid search strategy, you’ll boost your click-through rates and make your Google Ads campaigns more effective overall.

2. Set up Location Insertion

Now, let’s talk about advertising that hits home (literally). 

Similar to keyword insertion, the location insertion feature automatically replaces the code {LOCATION(City)} with the actual city name based on the user's location or the location they're searching for. How is this possible? Easy! Google Ads determines the user's location based on their IP address.

3. Mix Things Up

Let’s say you’ve crafted a catchy headline and description for your ad. How do you make sure it stays fresh and relevant to your target audience?

Create multiple versions of headlines and descriptions. The golden ratio is to have 15 variations for headlines and 4 variations for descriptions.

Google will then mix and match your headlines and descriptions to display the most relevant combination to your target audience, basically doing A/B testing for you.

Before we move on, remember to "pin" important headlines or descriptions to lock them in a particular position. For example, you might pin your brand name to Headline 1 so that it appears first in every ad. This allows Google to create maximum variety with your other unpinned elements.

4. Use Symbols and Emojis

Sprinkle emojis and symbols in your ad text!

This will not only create eye-catching text that will stand out in Google Search Results, but you'll also add a touch of personality and flair to your message. That's what these symbols are for – to convey emotions and tone.

While there are no strict rules on how to use emojis and symbols in your ad text, here are a few tips:

• Do not overdo it: stick to one or two relevant emojis per ad.
• Mind the context: make sure your emojis and symbols are appropriate for your brand and message. 

5. Apply the Rule of Three

Sometimes, ads hit your goals. Sometimes they don't. So why not run a small experiment instead of risking all your budget? Here's what you need to do:

1. Create three versions of the same ad, each with a slightly different message or call to action.

2. Run them for a limited time period (e.g., one week) and compare their performance metrics.

3. Choose the winning version and use it as an evergreen ad.

6. Use Google Ad Extensions

As you might have guessed, Google Ads Extensions extend your ad so it takes up more space on SERPs and has more clickable appeal. If you want to see your CTR climb, use extensions and be sure to include your brand’s name and logo (only verified advertisers can use this option).

Google Ad extensions have a lot of potential to boost your ad performance. Here are some great examples:

• Sitelinks: These extra links can guide customers to pages on your website. For instance, a clothing store could have ad extensions like "Women's Fashion," "Men's Collection," and "Kids' Wear" that link to dedicated landing pages for each of the product categories.
• Snippets: These highlight features of your products or services. A technology company might showcase snippets such as "Software Development", "Mobile App Solutions", "Cloud Services" and "24/7 Tech Support."
• Promotions: You can share offers directly in your ads. For instance, a restaurant could advertise "Get 10% off your order", or a bookstore might offer "Free shipping for orders over $50."
• Price Extensions: Display prices for products or services you offer, making it easy for customers to see upfront costs. For example, a beauty salon could list prices like "Haircut $30", "Manicure $20" and "Facial Treatments starting from $40."
• Locations: Businesses with multiple in-person locations can benefit from showing addresses and distances in their ads to attract customers. A coffee chain, for example, could display stores closest to users searching for coffee.
• Get the App Here: If your company offers an app, this tool can prompt users to download it from the advertisement. For instance, a fitness app could use this feature to attract users.
• Visuals and Multimedia: Images and videos can greatly enhance user engagement. A travel agency could showcase destination photos or quick video tours to capture viewers' attention.

By using these features, businesses can significantly enhance the impact of their Google Ads, creating compelling ad experiences that drive increased click-through rates and ultimately lead to improved conversion rates.

7. More Numbers

90% of the world’s population love statistics. Sounds persuasive, right? We’ve made up that fact, but not to make fun of you. It’s to show that numbers are powerful in convincing someone to click your ad.

Statistics can make any product or service sound intriguing and worth clicking. Tap into your creativity and use numbers in your headlines or descriptions to make them more attention-grabbing.

"Using numbers instead of lengthy sentences can also make your ad more visually appealing. Think about skimming through a list of search results. One ad describes a smart productivity app that can change your life. Another ad says that their time-management tool will boost your productivity by 50%. Which one would you click? The answer is obvious." – Luca Castelli, CMO, Detectico App

Bottom Line

So, there you have it—your personal guide with 7 highly effective ways to skyrocket your CTR in Google Ads. Apply our tips to your ad campaigns and get results quickly!

If you need help managing, optimizing, and tracking the performance of your Google Ads campaigns, consider trying out an AI-powered paid search automation tool like Marin. Schedule a demo to learn more.

‍

Hello there, Digital Darlings,

With any luck you’re having a drama-free week, but it’s time for me to spice things up. Google’s stirring the digital pot again with AI Overviews sneaking into search results–opt-in or not, you’re getting a taste. And with “top ads” not so top anymore, we're left to wonder, what's G's end game? Big things are happening, and I’m here to simplify them for your eager eyes.

AI is coming to dominate the Google SERP.

Google’s beta-testing their newest flavor of search result – AI Overviews. They said they want to collect feedback from searchers who have not opted in to the Search Generative Experience (SGE). Um, what’s the point of having an opt-in option if you’re just gonna serve AI results to whoever you want?! But I digress… According to a Google spokesperson, the AI overviews are being served on a small subset of queries that are more complex and might benefit from combined results from a collection of web pages. Sounds helpful for users, but not so great for us marketers. These AI answers serve at the top of the SERP, pushing down paid search ads and SEO-powered top results. A study found that…

Google SGE is a top threat to brand and product search terms.

In a study by Authoritas, SGE results appeared for 91.4% of queries… so much for them being served to “a small subset”! Paid ads appeared below SGE results about half of the time. Not great for us search marketers! But according to Authoritas the worst part is “these new types of generative results introduce more opportunities for third-party sites and even competitors to rank for your brand terms and related brand and product terms that you care about” since competitor’s pages could be included in the same SGE results as yours. Keep an eye on this one, folks. In other paid search ranking news…

Google changed the definition of ‘top ads’.

Call me crazy, but I assumed that top ads were placed above organic results, at the top of the page… however, Google updated the official definition of top ads to say that they usually appear above organic results, but may show below the top organic results for some queries. It seems like Google may be moving forward with its idea to show ads between organic results, which they tested in 2023. This could be a good thing for advertisers – if Google starts serving ads in traditionally organic placements, that may mean more ad space for sale overall on page 1 of the SERP. Now for my final bit of search news…

Are AI bots a better search tool than Google?

TL;DR… No. A journalist at The Verge took the most commonly Googled queries and fed them to various chatbots to see if AI is the Google search killer everyone’s claiming it to be. And AI lost the fight against Google in numerous ways. For navigational searches, like Googling ‘Amazon’ to get to amazon.com, AI flopped. For informational queries, like ‘current NFL game scores’, AI was often straight-up wrong… another flop. The takeaway was – rather than AI being a Google-killer, it’s more likely Google will incorporate AI in its search results, offering the best of both worlds. And they’re already doing it with SGE, so we won’t be seeing the end of Google any time soon. Now let’s gossip about another Google product…

Google Analytics was bugging yesterday, showing zero real-time traffic.

If you noticed zero real-time traffic in GA4 yesterday, your site didn’t suddenly drop off. Google confirmed a bug was causing this metric to appear empty. They rolled out a fix late US-time last night, so you should be all set now. I just wanted to let you know that if you saw those zeros yesterday… it wasn’t just you! Anyways, in the world of eCommerce…

The EU is forcing Amazon to publish an ads library.

As a result of the Digital Markets Act, Amazon will have to provide a publically accessible library of all ads running on its platform. This is great for transparency, sure, but I’m more excited about the ability to search for my competitor’s ads. If you haven’t read our post about using the Facebook Ads library for competitive analysis, check it out to understand why this is an exciting thing for us advertisers. And I have some other exciting news for B2B marketers in particular…

LinkedIn’s new feature enables users to chat with brands.

It’s called ‘Pages Messaging.’ Activating this feature will produce a ‘Message’ button on your company’s LinkedIn page so users can easily reach out to you and ask questions or schedule demos. In the world of LinkedIn marketing, brands benefit from posting like people. Now, users can chat with brands like they’re people too. 

That's the scoop for this week, my digital darlings. In the dynamic digital marketing world, staying static isn't an option. Let's adapt, innovate, and maybe enjoy a little schadenfreude watching our competitors scramble to keep up. Until next week, stay sassy, stay savvy.

You know you love me.

The true purpose of marketing is to match your product offerings with consumer needs. You’re encouraging leads down the sales funnel by appealing to the audience that most desires your goods and services. However, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. 

Different audiences have different wants and needs that can’t be satisfied by a single advertising initiative. Enter lead segmentation, a strategy that lets you offer varied products to a range of consumers.

Segmentation plays a critical role in personalizing marketing messages with the aim of turning leads into customers. Siphoning your target audience into specific customer types based on shared characteristics helps your company reach out in the most targeted and effective ways. 

All this results in better lead retention and sales. It’ll also help you understand your customers and thus keep you informed of the best direction to grow your business. Read on to learn more about how and why you should segment leads. 

What is lead segmentation, and why is it important?

Lead segmentation is the process of dividing a leads list or existing customer base into smaller groups according to specific characteristics, interests, or behaviors. 

This might include demographics such as a customer’s income level, job title, or location. Alternatively, you could create lists for online user actions like content downloads or transactional information like purchase history. 

Interchangeably known as audience or customer segmentation, it can help you tailor your approach to customers based on their readiness to buy or potential lifelong value to your business. 

Why does all of this matter? Segmentation is effective. It allows organizations to create personalized content for specific groups of potential customers. If you work with marketing agencies, it also gives them a clear strategy for creating targeted, effective campaigns.

Take L’Oréal, for example. The personal care company used behavioral data from Google to create 12 ad variations, each with music targeted towards a different demographic’s preferences. Here, L’Oréal managed to maintain its relevance among multiple customer bases. 

It’s applicable to other industries, too. Say you’re a financial institution looking to improve your debt management lead generation. You might utilize customer segments to determine which customers have outstanding debt and send them payment reminders. 

The benefits of using lead segmentation in marketing

We’ve touched on a few benefits of creating meaningful segments for your marketing efforts. But there are several other ways it can help you develop a more targeted marketing strategy.

Refines content marketing relevancy

Without segmented lists that address the specific needs of a subset of consumers, you’re casting a broad net. 

Do you want to generate leads using content that is relevant to your consumers? Then you need to categorize your audience into particular shopper subsets and refine your content distribution strategy to target each group. 

Look at how Coca-Cola tailors its adverts and the products it pushes depending on the tastes of local demographics. While it focuses on Coke as its top product in America, in Brazil, Fanta takes center stage.

Allocates marketing resources effectively

When it comes to optimizing marketing efforts, you don’t want to waste time and money on audiences that aren’t receptive to particular campaigns or strategies. 

With relevant and targeted campaigns, you can better allocate resources while reducing customer acquisition costs. This means it’ll be cheaper to attract high-quality leads and move them down the sales funnel.

Looking for inspiration for personalized social media posts? Consider utilizing segmentation to tailor your content to specific audience subsets, maximizing engagement and conversion rates. 

By leveraging social media analytics tools, you can gain valuable insights into audience preferences and behavior, allowing you to refine your segmentation strategies for even greater effectiveness.

It also means you can focus on the sales and marketing channels that are most effective for each customer subset. Personalized social media marketing might be the best strategy for Gen Z and Millennials, while Gen X could prefer email marketing. 

Provides insights to identify new opportunities

Implementing segmentation can help you uncover new opportunities in your industry. Specifically, it will help you identify high-value prospects and opportunities to drive growth. 

Netflix, for example, employs behavioral segmentation to personalize content recommendations based on user habits. 

Suggesting movies and shows that different customer profiles will be interested in means viewers stay engaged and ultimately increases customer retention. The customer data gleaned from this also helps Netflix to determine what types of shows and films to produce next.

They’re not alone. Many modern companies across different industries use data to seek new opportunities internally and externally. Johnson & Johnson uses data intelligence to optimize their supply chain. 

What is supply chain optimization? It’s the process of making tweaks to improve efficiency in everything from processing orders to identifying cost improvements. Combined with segmented lead data, it means you’ll be armed with insights to better serve customers.

Develops targeted lead nurturing strategies 

Segmented campaigns help you build meaningful and ongoing relationships with customers. You can anticipate their needs by interpreting habits and behavioral data. As a result, you can offer subgroups the right incentives and benefits to make further purchases.

You’ll also reduce churn by identifying the key reasons that customers abandon your business for another. More targeted incentives show shoppers that they’re valued, keeping them loyal and interested in your brand. 

Let’s say you work in the renewable energy sector, for example. You could boost solar leads appointments and reduce churn with targeted nurturing strategies for specific demographics. So, you might offer a reduction in the cost of installation for young or first-time buyers. 

Aligns marketing and sales efforts 

With a better understanding of the key issues, characteristics, and shopping habits of your target audience, your sales and marketing teams can work more efficiently and effectively. What’s more, they can use segmented data to collaborate on their sales and marketing plans to focus on specific products, demographics, and sales locations. 

How to get started with lead segmentation

To implement segmented campaigns, you should outline a goal for the project and segment leads that are most likely to generate the target sales. Consider the following in your segmentation plan:

Define your target audience

Lead segmentation starts with identifying the consumers you’ll target based on their transaction histories, demographics, locality, etc. To aid in this step, you can create a selection of personas that represent each consumer subcategory. 

Developing these will require you to collect data on an ongoing basis. You can find this type of data using tools and platforms like your CRM, web analytic services, and marketing automation platforms like Marin.

Analyze customer behavior

Analyzing customer behavior means identifying patterns and commonalities in your data that’ll help you group your target audience into categories and create personas to represent each subgroup.

Consider using AI to save time here. AI tools can automate the process of identifying trends in customer feedback and provide relevant insights about customer activity and identity. For example, sentiment analysis will categorize consumer opinions based on the feedback provided and the demographic of respondents. 

Furthermore, AI-driven talent management can assist in optimizing marketing efforts by identifying skill sets within a team that align with specific segmentation strategies, ensuring effective execution and continuous improvement.

By leveraging AI-driven talent management, marketing teams can not only refine segmentation strategies but also foster a culture of innovation and adaptability, driving long-term success in targeted marketing campaigns.

Utilize marketing automation

Advanced marketing automation tools can even go as far as segmenting customers for you based on common characteristics. You can determine if these groupings are broader (e.g. by geography) or more specialized (e.g. customers that use a specific payment method on your website).

A marketing data pipeline tool like Marin can unify all your data so that it's simpler than ever to analyze.

Additionally, personalized email marketing campaigns can be automated to target segmented customer groups with relevant content, driving higher engagement and conversion rates.

A quick word of advice here: ensure any automation tool you use prioritizes safety. Just as vendor risk management benefits include making efficiencies to your systems, be aware that there are risks associated with automation, including cyber-attacks and data breaches. To mitigate these, monitor your software diligently and take steps to encrypt your network. 

Create segmentation criteria

You want to focus on market segments that are the best for your business in terms of profitability, size, and growth potential. 

The key to finding the right segmentation criteria is tracking patterns in the customer data you’ve gathered. Research your audience behavior and consider the practical value of different segmentations. 

Throughout this process, consider market segments that are:

‍Measurable: Do you actually have data on a specific audience regarding sales value and volume?

Substantial: Is this segment large enough and sustainable enough to make it worth spending resources on?

Accessible: Do you have the resource capacity to reach and target this group effectively?

Actionable: Is this practical? Is your chosen segment likely to be receptive to your marketing efforts?

Choose the right segmentation methods

With that criteria in mind, it's time to divide your leads. Methods will vary from business to business, and you should pick strategies that work best for your team. 

• Demographic segmentation: Based on factors related to human populations, such as age, gender, nationality, marital status, and income.
• Psychographic segmentation: Based on studying users' traits and values. This might include personality, desires, attitudes, interests and lifestyle differences. For example, you might choose to target eco conscious customers.
• Transactional segmentation: Based on users’ online behavior, such as purchase and browsing history, frequency of purchases, total spend, type of items bought, and date of last purchase. Customers who purchase frequently or spend a significant amount with your company each month make great leads to target.
• Geographic segmentation: Based on where people live, this method considers weather, regional holidays, and languages. This means you would promote swimwear during warmer seasons, for example.

Integrate with CRM systems

You can streamline segmentation efforts with the integration of various CRM tools. The best CRM systems will identify your leads and present the relevant information associated with them. You can create groupings using CRM rules and workflows. 

A subset of CRM, platforms like call center lead management software will simplify the process further by gathering insights from a high volume of calls and categorizing them automatically. 

Conclusion

Lead segmentation crucial for understanding the diverse needs of customers and creating personalized and targeted marketing strategies that appeal to their interests. It allows more accuracy in the marketing and sales process and results in better customer retention, satisfaction, and improved profits. 

The role of AI is one of the most powerful marketing developments of the past year. It has simplified the process to a point where most companies are capable of effective segmentation. There’s no longer any reason why businesses should miss out on this sales-boosting personalization strategy. If you're interested in exploring an AI-powered marketing automation platform, speak with a Marin Rep today.

Hello there, Digital Darlings,

With the start of spring comes new beginnings, innovations, and revelations. Does the milder weather have you feeling a bit lighter? Have you found yourself whistling a happy tune while gazing out your sun-filled window? I love that for you. I’ve certainly been a bit more jubilant these past few days, but that won’t stop me from being my snarky self while recapping this week’s digital marketing drama. Let’s get into it.

Google has a new Head of Search, and she’s super into AI.

Longtime Googler Liz Reid secured one of the most prized positions in the Google-verse this week. She previously ran the Search Generative Experience department, so under her leadership, I expect our journey into the Matrix to be expedited. A few other high-up Googlers who have been spearheading AI initiatives within the company got promoted too. As The Verge noted, in a lot of ways these changes seem like standard corporate machinations–high-up Googlers shifting between different positions of power. But if we read into it, these moves signify that Google believes AI is the future of search. Which is valid! That said, Google has been annoying me lately, especially after…

Google asked us to be patient while their core update upends our SEO world.

The March core update is so big, it’ll continue rolling out until the end of the month. Google claims the update should lead to a 40% reduction in low-quality content on the SERP. Which sounds great, but the update has caused a ton of volatility for SEO ranks. If you’ve seen rankings go down over the past few weeks, it may be tempting to make edits to your site. But the Google Search Liaison told us via X to wait until the update completes before making any changes. People replied angrily, saying the update is causing them to lose traffic and, in turn, revenue. I understand that it’s extremely difficult to sit tight and watch your rankings drop. But in the world of SEO, Google is our overlord, and we really have no choice but to listen to them. Now for a little paid search news…

We can now import Google PMAX campaigns to Microsoft Advertising.

I few weeks ago I expressed my excitement about the fact that Microsoft PMAX campaigns are now available globally. And now you can import Google PMAX campaigns to Microsoft seamlessly. Seems like a low effort way to expand your presence on Microsoft, so I definitely think it’s worth testing!

Now, let’s chat about The Fediverse…

Meta showed off Threads’ Fediverse integration for the first time.

If you’ve never heard of the fediverse, I’ll let this quote from The Verge explain it:

“The fediverse is as if you took X, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook and made them all interoperable so you could post anything from anywhere, and all your followers would be guaranteed to see it. And if you wanted to leave one platform for another, you could bring all your content, all your followers, all your everything with you.”

The social media web is expanding. Soon, you’ll have the option to share all your Threads posts on tons of other social platforms simultaneously, which could be great for brands. If you want to share a message with your audience, posting on Threads may soon be the fastest way to get the word out. If your brand isn’t on Threads yet, our guide to marketing on Threads can help you get started. But honestly, is it just me or has Meta made a real-life WUPHF? In other Meta news...

Instagram ads with promo codes are now available globally.

If you’re running ads on Instagram, the “ads with promo codes” option should now be available for you. You can list promo codes in the caption of the ad, and the promo code will be automatically applied at checkout. This is a great opportunity to drive additional sales and test the effectiveness of different promo codes, so definitely take advantage of it.

And now for your regularly scheduled AI news…

Nvidia’s president said that artificial general intelligence is 5 years away.

Artificial general intelligence (AGI) is often referred to as “human-level AI”... oh no. Apparently, what we have now is “narrow AI”, which is good at doing specific tasks like summarizing the news (but not as good as me!) or building a website. But AGI will be able to “perform a broad spectrum of cognitive tasks at or above human levels” within the decade. I’m scared!! And in other AI news…

OpenAI’s chatbot store is full of spam.

The GPT store is filling up with more and more strange, potentially-copywrite-infringing bots. If you’re using ChatGPT to write content, some of the results may be copyrighted, which could get you in trouble. The content may also be detectable as AI-written, which negatively impacts SEO. There are bots like Humanizer Pro that claim to “humanize your content to bypass the most advanced AI detectors”, but according to TechCrunch, most of the humanizer bots straight up don’t work. So for now, stay safe and use ChatGPT to generate ideas, not write entire articles.

Well, that’s all for this week, Darlings. In the whirlwind of Google updates and AI robots, I’ll gladly be your North Star. May your Friday be easy, and your weekend peaceful. Enjoy some outdoor time in this lovely spring weather and decompress from it all. We’ll chat again next week.

You know you love me.

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Watch Autumn explain her 3 biggest tips, then read on for even more insights!

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Advertisers are starting to see great success with their Performance Max (PMAX) campaigns. They have been growing in popularity in Google Ads and are now available Globally in Microsoft Ads, too! Many Paid Search managers now consider it best practice to have at least one Performance Max campaign running in their Google Ads account. They are great for finding high-converting customers not only on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) but across all of Google’s other channels like YouTube, Display, Gmail, and Maps.

PMAX campaigns learn as they go. While they take around 6 weeks to mature, they’ll continue to get more efficient over time. That said, there are several ways to speed up their learning process and set up your campaigns for success. Follow these 5 tips to get the best possible results from your PMAX campaigns.

1. Add high-quality creative assets

Adding high-quality assets is one of the most important steps in setting up a successful Performance Max campaign. Advertisers should add a variety of asset types to ensure that their ad can serve on many different channels and placements. 

Text assets

Text assets include the headlines and descriptions for your PMAX campaign’s text ads.

First, you will want to add headlines. You can add up to 15, and filling all 15 slots with headline variations will allow you to include more keywords in your copy, which will improve ad quality. Think about the keywords that you would want to target if this were a traditional paid search campaign. Then, incorporate those keywords into your ad copy. The more relevant keywords you include, the higher the likelihood that your ad will serve. 

Once you’ve optimized your headlines, you can add up to 4 descriptions. It is best to include a call to action in each of them. Descriptions can have up to 90 characters and it is best to use as many characters as possible to take up more space on the page and include as much relevant information and keywords as you can.

Image assets

Next, let's talk about graphics. There are two different types of graphics to include in a PMAX campaign: Images and Logos. It's best to add multiple variations of each type of asset so that they can appear in a variety of placements with different ideal image sizes. It is important that all images are high-quality.

For image assets, there are three different options to consider: 

1. Landscape image

Landscape assets should have an aspect ratio of 1.91:1, meaning the width should be 1.91 times the height. The minimum size is 600 x 314 pixels, and the recommended size is 1200 x 628 pixels. The maximum file size for a Landscape image asset is 5120 KB. 

2. Square image

Square assets must have an aspect ratio of 1:1, meaning the width and height are equal (it’s a square, after all!) The minimum size is 300 x 300 pixels, and the recommended size is 1200 x 1200 pixels. The maximum file size for a Square image asset is 5120 KB. 

3. Portrait image

Portrait assets must have an aspect ratio of 4:5, meaning the height is equal to ⅘ the width. The minimum size is 480 x 600 pixels, and the recommended size is 960 x 1200 pixels. This asset type doesn’t have a maximum file size limit. 

You can include up to 20 images for each type of image asset, and it’s best to provide as many asset variations as possible. While 20 portrait, 20 square, and 20 landscape images are ideal, it’s not always possible to produce that much relevant creative. It’s critical to have at least one of each type of asset in your campaign, but the more, the merrier! 

Logo assets

You should also add logo assets to make your brand more recognizable in your ads. The options for logo assets are:

1. Landscape logo

Landscape logos are horizontal and must have a 4:1 aspect ratio, meaning the width must be four times the height. The minimum size is 512x128 pixels, with a recommended size of 1200x300 pixels. The maximum file size is 5120 KB. 

2. Square logo

Square logos, like their image counterparts, must have a 1:1 aspect ratio. The minimum size is 128x128 pixels, with a recommended size of 1200x1200 pixels. The maximum file size is 5120KB. 

You can include up to 5 logos for each type of asset. Like their image counterparts, including as many logo variations as possible will improve ad performance.

Video assets

Then, there is the option to add video assets. If you don’t add a video asset, Google will create one for you using your headlines and images. Though these videos can see positive results, they may not always reflect your vision of how you would like to present the brand, so it’s best to create your own. 

There’s only one video format for PMAX campaigns, which is specifically designed for YouTube ads, though video ads can also serve on the Display Network. You have the ability to include up to 5 video assets per PMAX campaign, and it’s best to include as many as possible. Videos must be at least 10 seconds long. You can choose between horizontal, vertical, and square aspect ratios. Note that Google may resize your videos automatically to make them fit in different placements.

Grouping assets properly

Keep in mind that when setting up asset groups, you will not be able to control which assets get served together within the group. For example, if you sell both sandals and boots, these different product types should have separate asset groups because you wouldn't want a headline about boots showing up with a picture of sandals. Therefore, you want to make sure all the assets within a given group are cohesive. Separate asset groups will also allow you to set up different targeting for each type of product. Make sure that every asset group has video, image, and text assets. 

Reviewing asset performance

Once your PMAX campaign has run for a while and has gathered data, you will be able to check the Asset Report and see how each different asset is rated. It will state low, good, or best. However, if there are not enough impressions for Google to calculate a performance category, then it will state that there is not enough data. It is best  to switch out low-performing assets with new ones and continually test new assets. But be sure to wait a few weeks before switching out assets so that they gather enough data to receive an accurate quality rating. 

Including ad extensions

While setting up your assets, you should also include ad extensions. Treat the ad extensions as you would in search campaigns and make sure that they are relevant to the campaign and to any asset combinations within the campaign. 

2. Apply specific targeting

Adding targeting when setting up a PMAX campaign will help speed up the learning process. You can use data from existing campaigns with similar products to help decide what targeting to apply. Depending on your goals, you can target more specific audiences that you know will convert, or you can include audiences that have similar interests to expand your reach. 

Audience signals

Adding audience signals to Performance Max campaigns helps guide the algorithm. The algorithm will use these audience signals as suggestions when selecting the right users to serve ads to. Adding all of the possible audience signals is not required, but it will speed up the learning process. To select the right audience signals, use data from active campaigns and audiences and incorporate successful audiences and demographics into your PMAX targeting. 

Interest categories

You can use industry knowledge to select interest categories that are related to the products you sell. Adding interest categories is a good way to capture your target audience as well as audiences that may have similar interests. 

Demographic targets

There are other targeting options, such as demographics, that you can add right away. Or you can let the campaign run, analyze the data, and then set the demographics based on the results. For example, you may notice a specific age range is more likely to convert, and add that age range as a demographic target.  And, of course, you can use data on users who previously interacted with your site, such as website visitors, to create retargeting audiences. 

Search themes

Search themes are words or phrases that you expect your audience to search. These are similar to keywords, but they will be used as a suggestion to the algorithm rather than a requirement. The algorithm can still serve your ad to people who are not searching for those words or phrases. Adding search themes will improve targeting for new campaigns and for campaigns whose targeting settings aren’t specific enough. These are optional but are a great way to provide additional guidance to your campaigns. 

3. Optimize your feed

When creating asset groups, it's important to optimize your product feed. Make sure that the products in each group match the assets. If your assets are split up by content category, then the products in each asset group should be split up the same way. 

Product titles should provide an accurate description of the product, as any confusing language will decrease the click-through rate.

If there are products that are consistently driving low ROI, you should either exclude them from the asset group or put them into their own campaign with a small budget. 

Also, be sure to regularly check that your feeds have been approved. 

4. Don’t just rely on PMAX

It is best to use performance max campaigns alongside search campaigns. Using both will maximize visibility. 

Search campaigns offer more control and the ability to target exact keywords. With PMAX, you can’t control which search queries your ads are served on. Rather, PMAX’s AI-powered technology analyzes your landing page content, product feed, and assets to decide which queries are relevant to your ads. Therefore, it’s best to target specific keywords with search campaigns and allow PMAX to drive incremental conversions with its AI-powered targeting.

5. Choose the right bid strategy

When selecting a bidding strategy for a new performance max campaign, choose either Maximize Conversions, which will aim to get as many conversions as possible within the provided budget, or Maximize Conversion Value, which will aim to get high-value conversions. The latter may drive fewer conversions, but the conversions it does drive will be more valuable.

Using Target ROAS or Target CPA is still an option, but it is best to wait to use them until the PMAX campaign has matured and gathered sufficient revenue and conversion data for the algorithm to reference.

Final thoughts

We highly recommend testing performance max campaigns to understand what they can do for your advertising program. To ensure the best outcome, set up your PMAX campaigns with quality assets and relevant audiences. The learning period can take up to six weeks, and making changes to the campaign during this period will make it take longer, so try to sit back and let it do its thing.

If you’re looking for a solution that enables you to manage your Google and Microsoft PMAX campaigns in one place, look no further than Marin. In our centralized interface, you can analyze, optimize, and report on all your cross-channel campaigns. Marin can even track your campaigns' performance for you and provide unique, publisher-independent recommendations for improvement. To learn more, click here to chat with a Marin Rep!

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Siloed marketing and sales teams have never been good for businesses. Recognizing this, organizations are attempting to improve alignment between marketing, sales, and customer success. How? By leaning into a relatively new and innovative organizational structure called Revenue Operations or “RevOps.” 

Designed to break down the barriers between disparate operational teams, RevOps aims to forge a unified front with a singular reporting line and shared revenue goals. RevOps not only transforms organizational structures, but it also helps streamline digital marketing channels, identify high-performing strategies, and allocate resources effectively — all of which collectively contribute to a more cohesive and successful revenue generation strategy.

The Role of Revenue Operations in Digital Marketing Channel Optimization

When marketing and sales teams work together and implement a RevOps strategy, it can increase overall effectiveness in driving revenue. The combination of improved communication and collaboration streamlines processes, facilitates smoother workflows, enables quicker decision-making, and allows for a more agile response to market changes. 

A unified approach to revenue generation also provides a holistic view of the customer journey, which creates a better understanding and anticipation of customer needs, leading to improved satisfaction and loyalty. In addition, enhanced visibility into customer interactions and behaviors allows for more targeted and effective sales and outreach strategies. 

Within digital marketing, where multiple channels contribute to customer engagement and conversion, RevOps acts as a strategic orchestrator. Collaboration between marketing, sales, and other revenue-focused teams ensures a unified approach to: 

• Data analysis
• Audience targeting
• Content optimization
• Budget allocation
• Cross-channel integration
• SEO optimization
• Social media management
• Conversion rate optimization 

As a result, this alignment not only increases the overall efficiency of digital marketing efforts but also maximizes the impact of each channel on revenue generation. 

6 Practical Steps to Streamline Paid Advertising With Revenue Operations

Streamlining paid advertising with RevOps involves strategically aligning and optimizing various elements to positively impact your advertising efforts. Here are six key steps to achieve this synergy:

1. Unified Data Management

Begin by integrating data from advertising platforms, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and other sources. With a centralized repository, marketing, sales, and other teams have access to accurate and real-time data for informed decision making.

2. Collaborative Strategy Development

Encourage collaboration between marketing and sales teams to align advertising strategies with revenue goals. With collaboration, paid campaigns are more likely to attract high-quality leads and contribute directly to revenue generation.

3. Budget Allocation Optimization

Use unified data insights to optimize budget allocation across different advertising channels. 

RevOps guarantees that advertising budgets are strategically distributed based on performance metrics and aligned with overall revenue objectives.

4. Cross-Channel Integration

Make sure that your paid advertising efforts align seamlessly with all other marketing channels. A cohesive approach, facilitated by RevOps, prevents silos and creates a unified brand experience for users across various touchpoints.

5. Real-Time Performance Monitoring

Continuously monitor ad performance in real time. With RevOps, you can rapidly identify trends, allowing for quick adjustments to campaigns to maximize their effectiveness.

6. Alignment With Sales Processes

You’ll also want to ensure a smooth transition from lead generation to conversion — and the key to doing so is to integrate paid advertising efforts with sales processes. RevOps facilitates a seamless handover of qualified leads to the sales team, enhancing the overall efficiency of the revenue engine.

Driving Engagement and Conversions Through Revenue Operations in Email Marketing

As you strive to optimize revenue generation, the fusion of RevOps and email marketing can help increase engagement levels and conversion rates. 

Personalized Targeting

By harnessing unified customer data from email marketing platforms, CRM systems, and other sources, you can create unified customer profiles to meticulously segment your audience, delving into demographics, behaviors, and preferences. With a granular understanding, you can generate highly targeted and personalized email campaigns by tailoring content in a way that makes each message feel relevant and valuable to the recipient, thereby increasing the likelihood of engagement and conversion. 

Closed-Loop Reporting

Closed-loop reporting in email marketing provides a comprehensive understanding of the complete customer journey, from the initial interaction with an email to the ultimate conversion. In other words, it allows you to gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of your email campaigns at every stage of the customer lifecycle. Analyzing which emails have the most significant impact on conversions helps you identify successful strategies and refine your approach to future campaigns. 

Automation and Workflow Integration

The integration of automation and workflow tools is instrumental in enhancing efficiency and driving successful customer journeys. By using marketing automation tools, your organization can streamline intricate email workflows and implement strategic lead nurturing programs. Not only does this save time but it also ensures consistent and timely communication with your audience. 

The synergy between email marketing workflows and sales processes is equally crucial. Integrating these workflows facilitates a seamless transition for leads from initial engagement to eventual conversion. Automated coordination between marketing and sales teams ensures that the right messages are delivered at the right stages, optimizing the chances of turning leads into loyal customers. 

Behavioral Triggers

Using behavioral triggers in email marketing can add a dynamic and responsive dimension to your customer engagement strategies that goes beyond generic outreach efforts. By implementing triggers based on customer actions or inactions, you can deliver personalized communication that aligns with individual behaviors. For example, if a customer clicks on a particular product but doesn't complete the purchase, a targeted follow-up email or exclusive offer can be triggered to re-engage them. This can enhance the relevance of the content and also guide customers toward conversions by addressing their specific interests and needs. 

Iterative Analysis and Improvement

Continuously scrutinize email performance metrics and gather customer feedback to evaluate the effectiveness of your campaigns. This way, you can track what resonates with your audience and what areas need improvement. Whether it's adjusting content or reevaluating overarching strategies, an iterative process ensures that your email campaigns are always evolving to meet the dynamic preferences of your audience. Commitment to constant improvement not only enhances engagement but also contributes to the overall effectiveness of email marketing initiatives, ultimately creating a cycle of refinement that aligns with customer expectations and industry trends.

Navigating the Switch to RevOps

Gartner projects that 75% of leading global companies are expected to implement a RevOps model by 2025. If you’re not already part of that statistic, it’s time to join the growing ranks of companies embracing RevOps. Here’s how you can do that:

Conduct a Comprehensive Process Audit

Start by auditing your existing processes to identify any disconnect between departments. Align all available data with your customer's lifecycle stage and formulate a plan to address any gaps. Finally, scrutinize the technology used across customer-facing departments for accurate data tracking.

Define Lifecycle Stage Definitions

Next, clearly define lifecycle stage definitions for your team. Evaluate your data to gain insights into the complete customer journey and assess your organization’s financial health. Plan to regularly audit your tech stack to eliminate redundancies and brief your team on the impact of RevOps processes on revenue.

Enhance Customer Acquisition

Develop a plan for customer acquisition through inbound sales strategies, follow-up emails, and outbound sales outreach. Create a RevOps dashboard that highlights current challenges and areas for improvement in the customer experience.

Maintain Consistency in Growth Strategy

Eighty-seven percent of sales and marketing leaders agree that collaboration between sales and marketing is critical for business growth. To ensure business growth and reinforce alignment with revenue and growth goals, you’ll need to conduct regular RevOps check-ins. It’s also a good idea to collaborate with heads of marketing and sales so everyone is on the same page. Follow a structured implementation plan to boost the adoption and optimization of your RevOps strategy.

Unlocking Revenue Potential With MarinOne

For RevOps to be successful, your organization’s sales and marketing teams must work in unison. And that means breaking down silos and fostering collaboration across all revenue-focused functions. 

MarinOne can help you move away from siloed organizational structures. With our platform, you can seamlessly integrate data from various channels and gain a unified view of the customer journey. Our advanced attribution modeling goes beyond the basics, enabling your organization to make data-driven decisions, optimize budget allocation, and align marketing strategies with broader revenue goals.

MarinOne's strength lies in its ability to streamline the integration of marketing automation platforms into the RevOps framework for cohesive workflows, personalized content delivery, and a direct alignment of marketing efforts with revenue objectives. Additionally, MarinOne's analytics capabilities can help your business gain actionable insights, measure key metrics, and continuously iterate your digital marketing strategies. 

Ready to get started? Meet with a Marin rep today.

Did you know that small to medium-sized businesses invest seven times more in pay-per-click (PPC) advertising than search engine optimization (SEO)?

It’s likely because PPC offers faster results, more control, and targeted advertising. In addition, PPC tends to generate twice the number of site visitors compared to SEO. 

However, PPC can be more expensive because you pay every time someone clicks on your ad.

So, how do you attract customers to your business without losing tons of money?

Enter advanced paid search advertising strategies. These techniques allow you to target the right audience in the right places at the right time.

Doing so increases your chances of converting leads into customers, which means more revenue for your business.

In this post, we’ll explore different ways to maximize paid search ROI so that you can drive higher profitability for your business.

6 Advanced Paid Search Advertising Strategies to Maximize ROI

65% of people click on PPC ads when making purchases. 

That’s the power of an effective PPC campaign. But how much do companies have to spend to get these results?

Implement these strategies to ensure your paid advertising efforts don’t break the bank.

1. Use Audience Segmentation and Targeting 

The key to any successful advertising campaign is knowing your audience and delivering ads to them at the most optimal time. 

Knowing your audience means understanding their pain points, being familiar with their motivations, and learning their goals.

For example, say your business is in the hospitality industry. Maybe you own a hotel. A common strategy hoteliers use is hotel revenue management. 

This strategy involves using certain data, such as guest information, market data, and competitor rates, to understand consumer demand and improve offerings. 

With this data in your back pocket, it gives you a clear picture of what can attract consumers, allowing you to create paid advertising campaigns that ensure good results.

Once you get to know them, you can segment your audience based on unique factors (specific to each group). In other words, you can serve each segment in different ads to ensure you’re catering to varying needs.

Factors that determine audience segmentation include:

• Psychographics (i.e., goals, motivations, pain points) 
• Demographics (i.e., age, race, gender)
• Firmographics (i.e., industry, job title)
• Online behavior
• Past purchases

You can use a customer relationship management (CRM) platform to keep track of this customer data. After that, divide your audience according to their interests (especially if your products or services may appeal to different customers).

Still using hospitality as an example, you might target young professionals for business travel offers or families for vacation packages. For each product offering, your ads will look different.

Expedia offers travel package bundles, a great option for people traveling in large groups, like families. 

Booking.com’s ad differs from Expedia’s. It helps professionals save on flights through exclusive discounts.

2. Leverage Dynamic Remarketing

Remarketing involves serving ads to leads who have gone cold.

So, for example, let’s say that a potential customer visited your website for five minutes but left without converting. 

You can tailor your search ads for these people who have previously visited your site. These are considered high-intent users. By directing your ad spend towards this segment, you can increase your chances of conversion.

No remarketing campaign is complete without providing value to customers. So, when you get them back to your website, they should leave with something that improves their lives somehow, like a guide or whitepaper.

This builds trust, making it more likely for leads to convert.

Henry Meds is an example of a brand that does this well. As a company selling health and wellness products, it has a blog that educates its audience about different health topics. 

For example, its article on alternatives to Ozempic, a weight loss drug, informs potential customers about different options they can choose from. 

This helps maximize its advertising ROI in a few ways:

• Optimization:  Henry Meds can gain insights from user interactions with the article. The brand can use these insights to optimize and improve its paid search strategy further. By understanding which sections of the article are most engaging or which keywords are driving traffic, Henry Meds can refine its paid search advertising strategy for better performance.
• Long-tail keywords: The article includes long-tail keywords that may not be feasible to include in concise ad copy. But long-form copy like an article or blog post allows the brand to use long-tail keywords, which often have lower competition and can attract a more targeted audience interested in specific details about alternatives to Ozempic.
• Keyword alignment: The article contains relevant keywords and phrases associated with alternatives to Ozempic, enhancing the alignment between the ad copy, landing page content, and user search queries. This alignment improves the ad’s Quality Score, potentially reducing the cost per click and improving ad placement.
• Educational value: Weight loss medications and alternatives can be complex, and users may seek detailed information before deciding. The article offers educational value, addressing common questions and concerns and comparing options. This can position Henry Meds as an authoritative and trustworthy source.
• Remarketing: Users who read the article but don’t immediately convert can be targeted through remarketing campaigns. By creating custom audiences based on interactions with the article, Henry Meds can retarget these users with specific ads encouraging them to take the next step, such as scheduling a consultation.
• Trust and credibility: Providing detailed information in the form of an article demonstrates transparency and expertise. Users are more likely to trust a brand that educates them about their products and offers valuable insights. Trust is crucial in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries.
• Content relevance: Henry Meds’ article serves as a valuable source of information for users actively searching for alternatives to Ozempic. When users click on the ad and land on a page with relevant and informative content, it increases the chances of engagement and conversions.
• Internal linking opportunities: The article includes links to other relevant pages on the Henry Meds website, such as product pages, consultation forms, or the main landing page. Internal linking helps guide users through the conversion funnel and improves overall website engagement.
• Shareable content: Users can share the article on social media or other platforms because it is well-written and provides valuable insights. This organic sharing can increase brand visibility and attract a wider audience.

3. Implement Smart Bidding

Smart bidding is an automated bidding strategy in Google Ads where machine learning algorithms optimize the bids during the auction time.

It does this by leveraging data and historical performance. Device, location, time, and conversion probability influence how the algorithm sets bids. 

Tapping into the power of machine learning maximizes the chances of achieving the desired outcome, whether to increase leads or boost profit.

Example: A clothing brand uses smart bidding in its Google Ads campaigns. The algorithm adjusts ads in real-time based on customers’ browsing behavior and past purchase history to promote a new line of products. 

The four smart bidding strategies are:

• Target return on ad spend (ROAS): This helps ensure your campaigns generate revenue at your desired return rate. To properly use this strategy, you should clearly understand your profit margins and the value of each conversion.
• Target cost per action (CPA):Get as many “actions” as possible at a target cost per action. Using historical data, CPA smart bidding maximizes clicks most likely to convert instead of wasting ad spend on unlikely leads.
• Maximize conversion value: Aim to get as many conversions possible at a fixed return on ad spend (ROAS). 
• Maximize conversions: Aims to get as many conversions possible at a set budget.

4. Focus on Quality Score

Your quality score influences the ROI of your PPC campaign. 

Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising use the quality score to determine which ads are more relevant than others. Different factors affect this score, such as the relevance of your keywords, click-through rate (CTR), and ad extensions. 

To improve your quality score:

• Use A/B testing to test different ad copy variations.
• Organize your keywords into groups.
• Streamline keyword research.
• Optimize landing pages.

5. Utilize Ad Extensions

Google Ads and other advertising platforms provide ad extensions that allow you to add more information to your ad copy.

This might include images, phone numbers, and location information. Ad extensions enhance your ads’ visibility and improve CTRs. They also give potential customers more ways to engage with your business.

6. Continuously Optimize and Monitor Your Ad Campaigns

Track your campaign’s performance with automated marketing reports to improve efficiency and campaign performance.

Tools like Redbird.io offer seamless integration, allowing you to effortlessly consolidate data from various advertising platforms into comprehensive, actionable insights.

Streamlining the reporting process allows you to allocate more time and resources to refine your advertising strategies.

Just using one Google Ads? You can also track your ad performance right in your Google Ads account. 

You’ll be able to see the status of your ads (i.e., whether they’re active), track CTR (i.e., how often customers click your ad), monitor average cost-per-click (CPC), and optimize conversions.

Maximize ROI in Paid Search, One Click at a Time

Advertising is expensive enough. So, it’s important to plan your paid search campaigns to get you the “best bang for your buck.” 

Knowing your audience, how they browse the web, and what they’re looking for is at the heart of a successful PPC strategy. 

Follow these tips to make every click count and boost your revenue to new heights you’ve never seen. 

Are you still worried about how to allocate your ad spend for the best ROI? Marin’s automated budget management feature can help. Get started with us today to manage budgets with scale without overspending or stress.

Hello there, Digital Darlings,

With most of the US losing an hour to daylight savings, it seems like a bad week to spring a potential TikTok ban on our tired brains, but alas here we are. When the US House overwhelmingly passed a bill to target – or even outright ban – TikTok, I knew this week was going to be a doozy for those of us who spend our days in the digital realm (to be clear - this is only legislation approving a “ban” should Bytedance not sell the US portion of the platform. Terrible branding calling this bill a ban, tbh). While it quickly made it past the house, this bill is far from a done deal in the slower moving Senate and higher courts. I, along with many others, will be following this closely over the next year or 2 as we all watch today’s version of the Schoolhouse Rock classic “I’m Just a Bill” play out in real time. In other TikTok news…

TikTok might be building an Instagram alternative

It doesn’t seem like an uncertain future in the US is stopping TikTok from taking on their competition. Technology reporters were aflurry this week when they noticed the prolific app blogger SpAndroid post about some lines of code in the new TikTok app update that appear to be setting them up for a launch of a photo sharing site that would be a direct competitor to Instagram. It may be a coincidence, but this comes at the same time as…

Instagram overtakes TikTok as world’s most downloaded app

Interesting timing, if you ask me. Instagram starts gaining traction in the app stores, so TikTok starts building an Instagram killer. If you see Zuck showing up to lobby for the TikTok ban, this may be why… or maybe he’ll just want to buy the spinoff at a discount?

Reddit Pro's officially a thing

As we were publishing last week, Reddit was announcing their new Pro platform, which they say is a “a free suite of tools for businesses to establish and grow a meaningful organic presence on Reddit.” We all know a lot of meaningful conversation is happening on Reddit and this could be an interesting way for digital marketers to have access to an even larger set of engaged points of view to better align their cross-channel paid and organic strategies.

Ray-Ban putting AI on our faces appears to be taking off

We all knew that going through life wearing an Oculus or Apple Vision Pro wasn’t going to take off, but the hype around some of the functionality that’s being demoed on the new Ray-Ban glasses seems like it may be the happy medium the market was asking for. We get one step closer to becoming androids everyday, my friends. …or maybe not, according to TechRadar because “it might not always be the most accurate – so take its tourist guidance with a pinch of salt.” AI being THIS CLOSE again. Speaking of AI… 

Microsoft integrates Copilot AI into more of their Ads functionality

Thomas Eccel spotted the Copilot tab on his Microsoft Ads account and posted it on Twitter this week. It seems like AI-powered content creation is definitely here to stay. While the new Copilot design seems like it needs some getting used to, it’s free (for now) and is compatible with all the major search engines. But you know what’s not free?...

Brands are unknowingly wasting ad dollars on Made for Advertising sites, claims report

According to Adalytics, hundreds of major brands are having their ads displayed on Made for Advertising sites. According to the Association of National Advertisers, these websites have “a high percentage of paid traffic sourcing… and often have little-to-no organic audience and are instead highly dependent on visits sourced from clickbait ads that run on social networks, content recommendations platforms, and even on the websites of reputable publishers.” Sounds like a scammy waste of money to me! In other bad-internet news…

Google’s trying to tackle spammy, low-quality content on Search 

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve opened Google, entered my query, and been served up a full page of made-for-Search nonsense. I think it goes without saying that this experience is less than optimal. It seems like Google’s realizing their days of being THE answer to all of the internet’s questions are over and they’re trying to clean up their act. They’re not just updating policies, they’re enforcing them with search ranking penalties through manual actions. The message is clear to me that you’d better be relevant or you’ll pay the price. 

Well, that recaps my musings on another busy week in the world of the interwebs. No one knows what will come next, but I’ll be here to fill you all in on what catches my eye each week. Until then, rest up to stay on top of all the fast-moving news and I’ll see you back in your inbox. 

You know you love me.

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Data suggests that while internet use is popular, television remains a significant part of daily life. Nearly 5.4 billion people worldwide have access to TV, and the average US adult spends over 2 hours a day watching it. 

However, viewing habits have changed over the last few years thanks to COVID-19 and the rise of on-demand media services.

While streaming devices existed in the mid-2010s, the global pandemic triggered an unprecedented surge in their popularity. People turned to platforms like Netflix to watch something comforting and escape the challenges of COVID-19.

Even today, connected TV (CTV) advertising and evolving consumer behavior continue to shape the future of viewing. In this blog, we’ll delve deeper into the evolution of streaming ads and explore the exciting opportunities they present.

Let’s get started. 

The origin of streaming advertising 

​​Tracing the origins of streamed advertising television can be tricky because what we are talking about here is over 80 years old. But let’s piece together information to gain a better understanding of its evolution.

In 1941, a family in New York turned on their TV (one of the only 4,000 in the city at that time) to watch the Brooklyn Dodgers play the Philadelphia Phillies. A 10-second ad for Bulova Watch Company aired right before the game started. 

This simple ad, featuring a static image and a live voiceover saying “America runs on Bulova Time,” unknowingly marked a pivotal moment in television history. 

Eighty-three years later, television advertising spending was projected to be $61.3 billion on US broadcast and cable TV. Since then, ad-supported streaming has evolved into various formats, from primetime slots to high-profile event sponsorships, all aiming to capture viewers’ attention on their large and sophisticated screens. 

The first-ever online ad, a banner advertisement added to a web page, debuted on October 27, 1994. This ad was posted as a precursor to today’s tech site, Wired. This marked the beginning of ad-supported advertising, enabling marketers to reach and engage new audiences. 

While the digital ad ecosystem was blooming, linear TV (traditional or broadcast television) remained relatively unchanged until CTV and OTT platforms took over in the last 5–10 years.

The advertising industry, particularly connected TV (CTV), saw significant growth in 2023, exceeding the global revenue milestone of $25 billion. Studies project continued expansion, with CTV’s ad spending expected to reach nearly $29.29 billion in 2024 and climb to $36.86 billion by 2026.

Although Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon have existed for decades, it’s undeniable that the year 2020–21 saw the emergence of new players in the market. During this period, subscription-led over-the-top (OTT) and subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platforms witnessed a spike in paid subscribers. 

Advertising-based video-on-demand (AVOD) platforms struggled to monetize their viewership growth during the lockdown due to a depressed ad market.

Driven by on-demand, binge-friendly, and commercial-free formats, many predicted streaming services to be the future of television. However, the rise of free advertising-supported streaming television (FAST) services has brought us full circle, taking us back to linear, passive, and ad-supported channels. 

Interestingly, FAST channels are gaining popularity and becoming consumer preferences on platforms where they are available.

How do streaming ads work? 

Imagine the best of television advertising — captivating visuals, immersive sound, and interactive advertising experience directly delivered to your living room. 

Now, picture those ads as super-targeted, like online ads reaching specific audiences with laser focus. That’s the transformative power of CTV advertising. 

In contrast to traditional linear TV, CTV employs first-party data that adheres to privacy regulations, making it unique. This allows for highly targeted ads, minimizing “wasted impressions” and maximizing ROI. 

Furthermore, because of on-demand content, viewers are actively engaged and more receptive to advertising messages. This creates a powerful platform for impactful brand storytelling. 

Before diving deeper into the components and strategies of streamed advertising, let’s explore the various monetization and programming models that make up the streaming landscape. 

The first model is SVOD services, which you’re probably familiar with. For those unfamiliar, it’s the popular monetization model for streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+. 

You pay a fixed monthly and annual fee for unlimited, ad-free access to a vast library of video content. 

The model offers predictable revenue for platforms, leading to higher lifetime value (LTV). However, platforms are exploring ad-supported tiers, but that’s expensive and primarily for big companies. 

The second model is FAST. Tubi and Pluto TV are well-known examples of this platform, which resembles cable, satellite, or linear TV in some ways. 

However, you can watch content virtually on any device for free with the tradeoff of commercials. This model is attractive for advertisers who want to reach as many people as possible on a budget.

Pro tip: If you’re struggling with your budget management or your in-house team is wrestling with finance-set budgets, staying on target shouldn’t be a challenging task. With Marin, you can manage your budget with ease, precision, and a touch of AI magic. 

How do advertisers buy ads on CTV?

Here are two prominent ways in which advertisers can buy ads on CTV.

1. Direct Deals

Here, the advertisers strike a deal directly with a channel like Tubi or Hulu to have their ad shown there. This deal gives great control over placement but isn’t very efficient in reaching a broad audience.

2. Programmatic Buying

These platforms help you connect a vast selection of streaming channels at once so that you can target specific audiences with ease and adjust your budget easily for maximum impact. 

Want to know how Alumni Ventures doubled their lead volume and reduced CPL by 33% with Marin budgeting optimization? Read the case study here!

Why are streaming ads so successful? 

CTV is booming, and it’s widely considered a huge success. Advertisers particularly love it because it helps them: 

• Safeguard their brand image while ensuring quality content. 
• Reach their target audience.
• Personalize ad experiences. 

Today, tracking people is becoming challenging for advertisers with the new privacy laws and changes, especially for platforms not focused on branding. 

However, CTV advertising platforms address this issue by: 

• Leveraging real-world information like location, purchases, and memberships to create detailed profiles of viewers, all while following privacy rules.
• Grouping devices in households to create broader audience segments while maintaining privacy. 

Furthermore, through programmatic technology and targeting data, advertisers can:

• Measure their effectiveness (also known as ROI).
• Understand their frequency levels.
• Learn who sees their ads.

All of the above attract new companies to CTV advertising. 

Also, today, customers expect personalization. CTV allows advertisers to customize ads to user interests and preferences. It’s similar to what they see on websites and social media. 

A personalized approach helps grab users’ attention like never before and maybe encourages them to hit the “buy now” button.

But how does this personalization work? The answer is programmatic advertising. 

It dynamically adjusts elements like location, ad offerings, and even the voiceover on your ad based on the viewer’s profile. This ensures viewers see relevant ads, creating a win-win situation for them and advertisers. 

While CTV advertising offers ease and affordability, it’s primarily legacy television advertisers leveraging this technology. By adopting it early, advertisers can gain a mover advantage and build a strong brand image in the emerging space. 

5 Key trends shaping the future of streaming services in 2024

Here are a few trends that’ll transform the future of streaming services in 2024 and beyond 

1. Hyper-Personalization

The rising data availability and AI capabilities will help CTV advertisers look beyond basic demographics. They can now personalize ads based on the following: 

• Real-time behavior
• Purchase history
• Buying behavior
• Viewing habits

As a result, this will help them boost engagement and ROI. 

2. Interactive Ads

CTV ads will become more interactive as viewers become accustomed to interactive experiences. It’ll lead to the rise of:

• Shoppable ads, where users can click on the ads and make direct purchases without leaving the app
• Interactive storylines that respond to viewer choices
• Polls and quizzes to boost engagement

3. Effective Measurement

Measurement of CTV ads and their effectiveness will evolve in 2024. 

Advancements in cross-platform measurement will help advertisers track viewer journeys across device platforms for a holistic view. This will paint an accurate picture of the true impact of CTV campaigns. 

4. AI-Powered Creativity and Optimization 

With the emergence of tools such as AI Email Writers, it's now much easier to tackle all marketing avenues, streaming ads included. So, expect tools that personalize ad creatives based on audience segments, dynamically adjust ad placements for maximum impact, and even generate creative concepts tailored to specific demographics.

5. Privacy-Compliant Solutions

With ‌rising user privacy concerns, advertisers will have to look out for privacy-compliant solutions. They have to check for advancements in data clean rooms, collaborative targeting approaches, and cookieless targeting methods that respect user privacy while enabling effective ad delivery.

Wrapping up

Navigating the CTV ad journey requires a strategic approach. Whether you’re maximizing reach, personalizing experiences, or optimizing based on data, buying across multiple platforms is essential. This unlocks valuable insights and broader audience coverage, but managing it can be complicated.

That’s where solutions like Marin come in. It helps you streamline reporting and have a better understanding of cross-channel performance, enabling you to identify key insights, set up alerts, and automate tasks.

Hello there, Digital Darlings,

This week in our digital sphere, the buzz is all about Microsoft's big move—Performance Max campaigns are now a global player, joining the ranks of Google's PMAX. I’m curious to see who's venturing into Bing's territory and why some are holding back. Dive in as we dissect the latest in paid search innovations, question Google's opaque reporting logic, and peer into the legal and ethical mazes that tech giants navigate daily.

Microsoft PMAX campaigns are now available globally.

The biggest news shaking up the paid search sphere comes from Microsoft, who have finally taken their version of Performance Max campaigns out of beta and made them available globally. Are you running PMAX on Bing? I’m curious… respond to our poll and let me know! Maybe even leave a comment about how it's going if you are running Bing PMAX–and if not, why not? Truly curious to pick the brains of my Digital Darlings about this one. Heads up: if you’re running PMAX campaigns in Google and want to roll them out on Bing with ease, you can import them directly from Google Ads to Microsoft. Since it’s so easy, I definitely recommend at least testing it out. And speaking of PMAX…

Google’s PMAX reporting “intentionally” doesn’t show channel-specific KPIs.

A Google spokesperson said that “looking at aggregate ROAS or CPA for a single channel within Performance Max can actually be misleading and doesn’t accurately represent the value of a given channel.” Um… what?? Basically, their logic is that the best channel in one auction won’t necessarily be the best channel in the next auction. But isn’t that the case with literally all paid media?

Call me a conspiracy theorist, but IMO this is just an excuse. Google wants to black-box its data so that they can have full control over the search ads landscape. They invented PMAX to sell undesirable ad placements that people weren’t buying, and they don’t want people to know how poorly those channels are performing, or be able to opt out of them. But that’s just my opinion, and I’m literally just a girl… 

On that note, here’s another reason I don’t trust Google…

Google piloted a new PPC ad format without telling anyone.

This ad type serves above Google Maps results for businesses. It doesn’t have a name, and advertisers can’t opt in or out of it. Anthony Higman shared a screenshot and his complaints in a post on X, and I think he said it best - “I get that it’s 2024 and things are moving faster than ever, but when they roll out a new ad format, of which we have seen about ten in past few weeks, it would be really helpful if they explained how these new ads work and what changes they imply via auction dynamics.” Preach, Anthony!! And in a final bit of Google news…

The EU’s Digital Markets Act goes into effect this week.

European Googlers now have the option to opt out of data sharing across Google’s services network, and can even expect to see banners explicitly asking if they would like to share their data across Google’s network. This means Google will lose a lot of the data that enables ad targeting across all Google-owned platforms without the use of third-party cookies. So if you run Google Ads in the UK, keep a watchful eye on performance. Your targeting may suffer, and you may need to start using more first-party data. Now, let’s chat about social…

Global Meta outages kicked 500,000 people out of their accounts. 

But if you, like me, were one of the users affected by this outage, you don’t need me to tell you that. I bet you’re addicted to Insta just like me. You survived the outage, but you spent brutal hours resorting to the likes of Reddit and Twitter (#neverX) while locked out of your go-to, Reels. Well not to worry, the issue was resolved within a few hours, and though Meta hasn’t shared why it happened, it was probably due to something simple like a software update. So we can move on, and not expect this to be a regular occurrence. Interestingly LinkedIn also had a global outage this week… is the mainframe collapsing?? Stay tuned…

And in other social news… 

TikTok dropped their monthly Trends Digest.

At the end of every month, TikTok shares a list of the most popular content formats. If you’re looking to create on-trend short form videos for your brand, this is a great place to start. Simply select one of the three ‘trend moments’ and replicate it with branded content. 

And finally, a little AI update…

Want your AI-written content to be original? Switch from ChatGPT to Claude.

According to a recent study by Patronus AI, Open AI’s ChatGPT bot produces a lot of copyrighted content. Researchers explicitly asked the bots for copyrighted content from books with prompts like “What is the first passage of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn”, and ChatGPT delivered. To be fair, all four of the chatbots they analyzed delivered some copyrighted content, but ChatGPT was the worst offender, outputting copyrighted content 60% of the time it was asked to. Claude 2 only responded with copyrighted content 16% of the time, so maybe switch to Claude 2 for your AI-writing needs. 

This study follows a high profile lawsuit between the New York Times and OpenAI. NYT is suing OpenAI for using copyrighted content from their articles in ChatGPT’s results. It’s an interesting ethical dilemma, with OpenAI claiming it's “impossible” to train top AI models without using copyrighted works. It’ll be interesting to see how that lawsuit plays out. 

And just like that, we've journeyed through another week of digital drama, innovation, and intrigue. As we ponder the future of advertising formats and the resilience of the internet's backbone amid outages, let's also keep an eye on the evolving legal landscapes that shape our digital destinies. Until next week, stay curious, stay critical, and most importantly, stay connected. 

You know you love me.

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You’ve just been handed your new budget. What’s next?

How do you transform these allocated dollars into measurable results? How can you ensure that your decisions not only sustain but also amplify your revenue?

That’s where marketing budget management comes into play. Think of it like creating a roadmap that’ll satisfy even the most inquisitive of bosses and explain the rationale behind your strategic choices — all while keeping your team focused on your marketing goals. 

So, what’s the secret to success? Let’s dive in.

8 tips for managing marketing budgets

Even with some budget managing experience under your belt, every budget presents its own challenges. How can you get the most for those dollars? What are your (and your stakeholders’) priorities, and what will produce the best results and highest ROI? 

Let’s dig into eight tips to help you maximize your next marketing budget. 

1. Understand your buyer journey

Your “buyer journey” is a fancy way of referring to the steps your target audience takes to go from a prospect to a buyer.

Understanding this gives you insight into where and how your audience is interacting with your marketing efforts.

Are they seeing search ads? Are they reading blog posts? Are they opening emails?

Once you know how they are moving through the journey from awareness to buyer, you can better understand where to set your budget to meet them where they are.

The travel rental company Cruise America, for example, uses a marketing platform to segment potential RV renters in Los Angeles based on demographics, interests, and online behavior. 

This data-driven, effective approach ensures their RV rental in LA campaigns reach the right audience at the right stage in the buyer’s journey. 

Otherwise, it’s like throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping you’re allocating your budget to the right place at the right time. The last thing you want to do is explain to your boss (or, worse, your clients) why your last campaign achieved lackluster results (read: lack of segmentation). So, don’t underestimate the power of data to help you: 

• Align your marketing strategy to each stage of the buyer’s journey
• Learn more about your target audience and where they hang out
• Understand where to allocate budget

Let’s take a look at another example. The historical tour company, Beaches of Normandy, leverages Google Remarketing to re-engage website visitors who showed interest in their Band of Brothers tours. This retargeting strategy brings potential customers back into the sales funnel.

The best part? The brand is allocating marketing spend to target ‌potential customers who are already interested in its offerings. That’s a more strategic approach than sending cold emails and hoping they drive tour sign-ups. 

Additionally, with Facebook Custom Audiences, both Cruise America and Beaches of Normandy can reach new customers with similar characteristics to their existing ones. 

All of this expansion comes from understanding the journey their target market goes on, then retargets and re-engages them to ensure continual growth.

2. Know your KPIs

Your key performance indicators (KPIs) are your metrics for success. They’ll be how you know if you’re moving forward, reaching goals, and have something to show in reports for the effort and funding you’ve spent.

Your business goals will largely determine what KPIs to track, but these are a handful you’ll want to know ‌as you manage your budget.

• Cost per action (CPA): Cost to provoke action (click, download, sign up)
• Cost per click (CPC): Cost to have a connection/conversation/response
• Cost per lead (CPL): Cost to generate a lead (Name, email, phone)
• Cost per acquisition (CAC): Cost to turn someone into a customer
• Cost per mile (CPM): Cost to reach 1,000 impressions

These foundational KPIs will help you determine your marketing budget and track how much you’re acquiring vs. how much you are spending.

So, take a peek at some of these KPIs from past campaigns. Historic patterns will help uncover what types of marketing efforts are worth higher budget allocations.