Guru’s Guide January

ChatGPT for SEO and E-E-A-T – Jazmin Green

For Google there is no such thing as a slow start to the year. So far in 2023 we’ve already seen technical SEO be all the buzz, and major updates for on-page SEO content and off-page SEO links from December 2022.

Bing integrates with ChatGPT

Microsoft just invested around $10 billion to integrate ChatGPT into Bing with an estimated rollout by March 2023. However, Google has directly addressed content written by bots, stating that it has not changed its stance on what constitutes good content – which is that the content should be written for the user not the search engine and should meet guidelines in order to be rewarded (we talk about this further below).

With Google leaving author requirements open to interpretation, it is possible that AI generated content could have a place in some industries, however with content fingerprinting on the horizon, it’s a risky strategy to take and not one we would recommend delving into just yet!

E-A-T became E-E-A-T

Google is recognising that there are some situations where what you value most is content produced by someone who has first-hand, life experience on the topic at hand; and some situations where what you want is advice from a qualified professional.

So they’ve added “Experience” as a pillar of good content. This brings us to 4 criteria Google looks at when deciding if content should be rewarded in the SERPs – Experience, Expertise, Authority & Trust (E-E-A-T). 

An interesting month, a lot to consider, and some in depth insights coming to the OMG blog very soon on all of the above. Watch this space!

Automations and Performance Max – Ed Jones

One thing we have already seen in 2023 is the importance of automation in paid digital marketing – which is moving faster than expected. This has been illustrated with an average 7% increase in conversion rates in Performance Max (PMax) when comparing last year’s shopping campaigns. Dynamic search ads are also driving higher conversion rates than last year as well.

The adoption rate of PMax has been huge, especially with the 1 click update being mandatory in Australia for a majority of accounts since September:

The key to PMax is through setting up your targeting in the right way to facilitate all the changes Google has integrated for it to be successful.

Apple’s iOS 14.5 Latest Updates – Boris Leshinsky

Ever since the Apple iOS 14.5 update, there has been endless doom and gloom about the value driven by Facebook Ads falling off a cliff with targeting becoming more difficult, while costs (if CPM is your metric of choice) has skyrocketed. Let’s take a deeper look at what’s really going on ‘under the hood’. 

There is a surprising countertrend that confirms there is no reason to panic and Facebook remains king. Ecommerce advertisers saw on average a 10% increase in Facebook return on ad spend this month, compared to January 2022, despite those CPMs sitting at almost double year on year for the last few months. And in a surprise update, Meta has brought back all the reporting features it shed post iOS 14.5, including breakdowns for conversions by age, gender, region, placement and platform. 

Is video really queen?

Video content has been on the rise for some time now and is a must have for any eCommerce Social Media advertising strategy on just about every platform. Think short-form, vertical and user-generated content. Facebook actually beats TikTok when it comes to short-form video consumption, second only to YouTube. And Instagram is 4th, with a big push for video and the Reels format last year. That push appears to have gone a bit too far. Last week Instagram admitted it over-focused on video in 2022 and is quietly working on restoring balance and bringing photos back. So don’t go all in on video just yet!

TikTok major moves spark curiosity

No Social Media round-up can omit a TikTok update and the platform delivered plenty to write about in 2022, signalling this year will continue the rise and rise of the 6th most popular social platform. In 2022 we saw the release of Photo Mode (Carousels clone), TikTok Stories (IG Stories clone), Search Ads (Google Search ads clone), TikTok music (Spotify competitor) and 10 minute video (YouTube competitor), as well as Shopify and WooCommerce partnerships. Testing, however, shows the platform is still far from ready for most eCommerce advertisers to gain traction. TikTok social ecommerce domination is still to come. Expect major moves in that direction this year and in the meantime – keep testing!

Website Loading Speeds – Jesse Ryles

We often get told in the web world that the speed that our web page loads is critical to the success of our website. But for the average person who knows nothing about writing code or optimising web pages, we are often left wondering what page speed is and why it’s so critical!

The speed your web page loads is important for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to: user experience and search engine rankings.

People expect websites to load quickly and will quickly become frustrated if a page takes too long to load. This can lead to increased bounce rates (users leaving the site before it’s fully loaded), and decreased conversions – where users are less likely to make a purchase or complete a desired action on your website. 

Another reason why page speed is important is that it can affect search engine rankings. Google and other search engines have stated that page speed is a ranking factor in their algorithms. This means that a faster loading website is more likely to rank higher in search results, which can lead to increased traffic and visibility.