October 2018 Digital Marketing Updates

So, the silly season begins. With Christmas fast approaching, retailers are bracing for the busiest time of the year. Read on for the latest industry updates and make the most of your Christmas sales period with our insider e-commerce tips.

1. Facebook Attribution was Launched

Measure and optimise your ads with the new Facebook Attribution tool. This free measurement tool gives a holistic view of your customer journey. You can now measure the impact of your ads on and off Facebook with:

• The Data Driven Attribution Model

You can now see how your ads on Facebook, Instagram, Audience Network and Messenger are contributing to your business results. Easily discover which channels are driving the most conversions and website visits.

Image from Facebook Business.

• Cross-Device Reporting

This feature is very similar to Google Signals. It allows you to see what device your customers were on when they engaged with your ads and which device they then converted on.

Image from Facebook Business.

2. SEM Rush Awards

Last month we attended the SEM Rush awards at The Sydney Opera House and were nominated for the ‘Best Use of Data in a Search Campaign’. We had a wonderful night networking alongside innovative digital marketers from the country and would like to congratulate all award winners and nominees!

3. Launched Alpha Digital Training Course

In October we launched our free, online digital marketing course. In a fast-paced industry that is built on knowledge sharing, we decided that it is important for us to give back. The digital marketing learning website gives you the opportunity to learn insider SEO and search advertising strategies straight from our team. It’s perfect for anyone looking to break into the industry or raise their online visibility.

4.  The New Search Console Graduated from Beta:

The new Search Console has been available in its beta version since the beginning of the year. After rounds of feedback and refinement, Search Console has officially graduated with plenty of insightful, user-friendly reports. If you’re not already monitoring your website’s performance with Search Console, we highly recommend getting started!
Here are the new data driven reports you can take advantage of:

• Performance Report

Stay on top of traffic changes, search queries that bring up your website, your average position in the search results, click through rates, and more! We love to use Search Console insights to track which of our keywords are driving results and find new landing page opportunities.

• Links Report

With total backlinks remaining a dominant SEO ranking factor, it’s important to find out how many links you have to your site, who is giving them, and your top linked pages.

• Index Coverage Report

Find out which of your pages are being indexed correctly, as well as how to fix pages with errors. Regularly check this report to ensure that your website is being displayed in the search results. You can also use the URL Inspection Tool to retrieve crawling, indexing, and serving information for any URL directly from the Google index.

5. The Christmas Sales Season Begins:

It’s no secret that the retail world heats up from November to December. At the peak of the e-commerce calendar, it’s a great time to shoot to the top of the search results and dominate your socials with targeted Christmas ads campaigns.

Over the next few months be sure to:

• Boost revenue with flash sales
• Communicate express shipping options clearly
• Create urgency with Christmas countdown timers
• Tell customers the last day of shipping before Christmas
• Gather insights for next Christmas!

Here are some key dates to plan for in your Christmas sales and marketing calendar:

• Click Frenzy – 13th November
• Black Friday – 23rd November
• Cyber Monday – 26th November

Ready to conquer your Christmas campaigns? Get in touch with one of our digital marketing experts today!