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

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

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

Overall Marketing Trends

• Economic Outlook Q4 2024
  • S&P Global Ratings forecasts that U.S. real GDP growth will slow from 2.7% in 2024 to 1.8% in 2025, accompanied by a modest rise in unemployment and lower inflation approaching the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
  • The Federal Reserve is expected to begin a gradual series of interest rate cuts, reducing policy rates to 3.00%-3.25% by the end of 2025
• Consumer Confidence Weakened in September
  • Consumer Confidence Index fell significantly in September to 98.7 from 105.6 in August, marking the largest decline since August 2021, as consumers grew more pessimistic about current business conditions, the labor market, and their financial outlook.
  • The decline was most pronounced among consumers aged 35 to 54 and those earning less than $50,000, with increased concerns about job availability, higher inflation expectations, and a softened assessment of their family’s financial situation, despite a continued decrease in the number expecting higher interest rates.

Paid Search

• Google Phasing Out Video Action Campaigns By Q2 2025
  • Starting next year, Google’s taking another step to consolidate campaign types by moving video action campaigns to Demand Gen campaigns. It’s not been widely tested yet, so we would advise you to start talking with account leads about turning your conversion-focused video campaigns into Demand Gen campaigns.
• Google Experimenting With More Mobile Shopping Ads
  • In another potential move to maximize revenue ahead of Q4, Google looks to be running a test increasing shopping inventory by up to 80% on mobile. This is another step in the direction of moving to a more Amazon-ified SERP. 
  • This would likely be great for most businesses as shopping continues to be the revenue driver for most brands, but also opens it up for more and more competition, leading to a potential increase in CPCs.
• Beware of Malvertising On Your Ads
  • This is not an issue we’ve seen with any of our clients right now, but now, hackers are utilizing brand searches and fake domains to take advantage of customers. As we go into Q4, this could damage brand trust, so all brands should be cognizant and on the lookout.

Amazon

• Prime Big Deal Days Announced: October 8th & 9th 
  • Amazon has announced the dates of their second annual fall Prime Day event, which is set to take place on October 8th & 9th.
• Amazons BF/CM FBA Cutoff: October 19th
  • Sellers must have their inventory in Amazon’s warehouses by October 19, a week earlier than last year’s deadline. This shift emphasizes Amazon’s focus on ensuring a smooth and timely distribution process amid increasing demand and potential supply chain disruptions.
• Amazon Launches A New Generative AI-based Selling Assistant Codenamed Project Amelia
  • Project Amelia can deliver useful answers to sellers’ inquiries and offer quick access to essential business metrics and reports tailored to each seller. As Amelia develops, Amazon assures that it will create a more personalized experience, allowing the AI to not only engage in conversations with sellers but also anticipate their needs, take proactive actions, and resolve issues for them.
• Amazon Announces Plans For AI-generated Video 
  • Amazon Ads has introduced a new beta feature called Video Generator that utilizes generative AI to help advertisers create engaging and relevant video ads quickly and at no extra cost. This tool can produce visually appealing video content in minutes using just one product image. 
• Upcoming BF/CM Deadlines 
  • Don’t forget about your BF/CM deadlines! The last day to submit your deals for BF/CM is October 11th. Also, FBA inventory must be received by October 19th to ensure your products are Prime Eligible for the event.
• Amazon’s New Cross-Sell Feature With Brand Tailored Promotions
  • Amazon has enhanced Brand Tailored Promotions by introducing a new “Complementary Products Remarketing” segment, which allows for cross-selling related products to recent customers.This feature helps brands target specific customer segments by suggesting related products during the shopping experience.
• Amazon’s Change To Handling Time Settings Beginning October 25th
  • Starting October 25, automated handling time will be enabled for sellers whose manually set handling times are two or more days longer than their actual processing times. Once activated, this automated setting cannot be disabled, although sellers can request a manual override for specific types of SKUs. Additionally, if automated handling time is in place, sellers will be protected from negative impacts on their late shipment rate.
• Amazon Announces Prime Big Deal Day Dates
  • Amazon announced that their second annual Prime Big Deal Day event will occur from October 8-9th! Get your deals in!

Paid Social

• Meta Highlights A Few Key Updates For Holiday Season
  • Highlighting promo codes and using ad level site links are two new tools Meta has quietly rolled out this year. Both are going to be important tools for brands to utilize to keep their promotions and key benefits front and center this Holiday season. 
• TikTok Launched Search Ads Campaigns 
  • Earlier this year TikTok allowed advertisers to begin showing in the search results by toggling on the option to appear when relevant. 
  • This new update allows advertisers more control over where and how their ads show up in the search results on TikTok. 
• TikTok Offers Holiday Incentives For TIkTok Shop 
  • The official gift guide experience spotlights brands. To be showcased brands must apply, commit to certain spend levels, and be approved. TikTok is covering up to $2.5k in advertiser credits for Q1 to advertisers who are approved.

SEO

• ​Google: Core Web Vitals Aren’t As Important As Some People Might Think
  • Google’s Martin Splitt downplayed the significance of Core Web Vitals (CWV) as a ranking signal, stating they aren’t as crucial as some may believe.
  • Core Web Vitals are not irrelevant, but website owners should not obsess over them for search performance.
• ​Google Search adds Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine links to about this page
  • Google Search now includes links to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine in its “About This Page” feature.
  • This update allows users to easily access previous versions of web pages directly from search results.
  • Users can find this feature by clicking the three dots next to a search result and selecting “More About This Page.”
• Product Carousels in AI Overviews are back for Commercial Queries
  • Product carousels in AI Overviews for commercial queries are back, showing for product-focused queries with a mix of commercial and informational intent.
  • These carousels trigger product knowledge panels and lead directly to Product Detail Pages (PDPs).
  • Google initially tested this feature but hadn’t widely implemented it—until now.
  • Retailers should optimize PDP content, reviews, images, structured data, and merchant feeds, as AI Overviews will prioritize PDPs over categories/facets.
• ​Google August 2024 Core Update rollout is complete
  • ​The August 2024 Core Update rollout was complete as of September 3, 2024.

Development & Conversion Tracking

• We released a 100% free analytics tracking platform
  • We didn’t like any of the reporting options out there, so we built our own and giving it away to everyone, for free.
• Shopify summer edition updates
  • New analytics experience
  • Split shipping in checkouts
• Shopify sidekick is an AI assistant
  • AI powered media editing
  • Product descriptions written by AI
• ChatGPT support for structured data
  • OpenAI released an update that allows ChatGPT to generate structured data
• OpenAI releases GPT-o1
  • OpenAI has introduced a new series of AI models called OpenAI o1, designed to enhance reasoning capabilities by spending more time thinking through complex problems, excelling in science, coding, and math tasks.
  • The first models, o1-preview and o1-mini, are now available in ChatGPT and via API access, with o1-mini being a faster, more cost-effective option particularly effective at coding; OpenAI has also implemented new safety measures and collaborations with AI safety institutes to ensure responsible deployment.

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