eCommerce Express Digest - September 2024

The countdown to Black Friday is on! Only two months to go, so hopefully you have your marketing strategy planned and ready to go. If not, it’s about time you do so! Contact us to learn how to increase your website visibility for more sales this Black Friday and holiday season.

Google August 2024 Core Update

The Google August 2024 Core Update, which completed rollout on September 3, focused on improving the quality of search results by prioritising high-value content and demoting low-value, SEO-driven content. This update emphasised showing more helpful and useful content, with a shift towards favouring independent websites and smaller publishers over large, SEO-optimised content.

Some websites reported partial recoveries post-update, while others faced even more ranking drops. Overall, the update sparked mixed reactions within the SEO community as the impact varied by industry and the nature of their content.

Google’s Merchant Center Next

Google introduced “Merchant Center Next,” a revamped version of the Merchant Center platform. This update simplifies the process for merchants to manage and display product information across Google surfaces. It also provides clearer insights into performance, making it easier for smaller businesses to monitor their product visibility and reach. 

Google Search Console Recommendations

Google Search Console is rolling out a new experimental feature: recommendations. They will provide insights and recommendations to improve your site’s performance on Google Search.

“The data was already available to you on Search Console, but now we’re helping to make it more accessible by providing direct recommendations.” Google says.

Not all sites will have access to recommendations yet. If you do, don’t see them as the be-all-end-all. You don’t need to resolve them all.

Google Analytics 4 Benchmarking

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) now includes benchmarking features, allowing businesses to compare their website’s performance against average industry data. These benchmarks help users gain insights into how their site is performing relative to others in their sector, covering metrics like engagement, session duration, and traffic sources. This update provides a more data-driven approach for marketers to make informed decisions and optimise their digital strategies.​

Head to Admin > Account Settings and enable “Modelling contributions & business insights” to access the benchmarking data.

TikTok and Amazon Partnership

TikTok recently announced a partnership with Amazon to introduce in-app shopping features, expanding its eCommerce capabilities. This integration allows users to discover and purchase Amazon products directly through TikTok’s platform, aligning with the app’s focus on blending entertainment with shopping. It highlights a growing trend of social commerce.

X (Twitter) is banned in Brazil

“X, formerly Twitter, has been banned in Brazil after failing to meet a deadline set by a Supreme Court judge to name a new legal representative in the country,” reports BBC. X was one of the most popular social media platforms in Brazil, with a large influence on politics and news sharing.

What does this mean? We might see other countries following suit, like the USA with the looming TikTok ban.

So much to cover this month! If you have any questions or think we’ve missed something big, contact the Megantic team today and let us know!