INSIGHTS

Digital marketing industry roundup: November 2024

So many updates, so little time. Another core algo update, Perplexity ad experiment, automatic enhanced conversions, Meta’s new search engine and much more. November was another month packed with big updates, we’ve curated the biggest, most impactful ones for you.

SEO

November core algo update. The last update was August 2024; many sites are still recovering from previous updates.

TLDR: Google released the November 2024 core update on 11/11/24 and it took 24 days to roll out. The update is designed to improve the quality of search results by showing more content that people find genuinely useful and less content that feels like it was made just to perform well on Search, according to Google. Initially, the most visible movements of this update occurred among smaller, tech-related niche sites. However, volatility increased on 11/26 with some finance sites seeing lifts for tool/calculator pages, and more users reporting fluctuations, especially in the USA/Europe, according to SEO Roundtable.
Our POV: As with previous Google Core Algorithm Updates, domains implementing SEO-guided, human-first content that follows Google’s EEAT quality guidelines should not be concerned.
Moving forward: NPD will continue to monitor the impacts of this algorithm update on performance, and note any rank changes, positive or negative. We also encourage clients to keep these Google algorithm update/content best practices in mind.

Source: Search Engine Land

Microsoft tips for optimizing for ai search. Searcher intent can boost rankings and connect with audiences.

TLDR: ChatGPT Search now uses Bing’s index, making these optimization strategies vital for websites seeking better visibility in AI-powered searches. While this can help you create more optimized content, Microsoft acknowledges there’s no ”secret sauce” for AI search systems.
Our POV: Focus on user intent and understand the needs of your audience in relation to a specific search query. Your audience might require different information for the same keyword based on where they are in the buyer’s journey.
Moving forward: We recommend using Bing Webmaster Tools to help with keyword research and performance analytics. Content that performs well in Google often differs from what performs well in Bing.

Source: Microsoft

Google adds “products nearby” feature. Feature shows products from nearby stores, allowing users to search directly via Google Maps.

TLDR: Google Maps now displays products from nearby stores when users enter product-related queries. This update allows users to search directly within Google Maps, offering a more localized shopping experience compared to traditional searches.
Our POV: We see this as a positive feature, as it simplifies the process for potential customers to find exactly what they need, saving time and helping them make more informed buying decisions based on proximity and availability.
Moving forward: For clients that sell products, this highlights another benefit of leveraging Google Merchant Center, since this data feeds into this new feature and experience. For clients already using Google Merchant Center, take advantage of optimizing all fields for your product listings and ensure inventory details stay up to date so search results remain as accurate as possible.

Source: Search Engine Land

Reputation abuse penalties. Google’s policy doubles down on domains trying to get around new site reputation abuse policies.

TLDR: Some domains have attempted to circumvent Google’s recent site reputation abuse penalties by relocating deindexed content across different locations within their domain, such as subfolders or subdomains. This practice has prompted prominent figures in the search industry to issue reminders that such tactics have resulted in entire sites being deindexed for attempting to bypass Google’s original reputation abuse policies.
Our POV: If your team is working with any sort of affiliate program and are considering relocating the content or continuing the engagement after seeing negative impact, please note that this will also be met with the same or further punishment than the original.
Moving forward: NPD has already taken proactive steps to assist impacted clients in adjusting their current campaigns. These shifts have opened opportunities previously dominated by low-quality content that exploited site reputation.

Source: Google

Organic Social

TikTok shares tips in a new holiday guide. In a new guide release by TikTok, the app reveals how brands can best stand out this season.

TLDR: TikTok has outlined tips for brands to create compelling video content, emphasizing an early hook, value demonstration, and a clear call-to-action to engage its vast user base, especially younger audiences. It also encourages cautious use of AI tools, advising marketers to compliment human creativity and to assist with high-quality inputs.. With 73% of TikTok users feeling connected to brands on the platform and 67% inspired to shop, these strategies highlight TikTok’s potential for impactful holiday marketing.
Our POV: TikToks have always be perfect for connecting with younger audiences and boosting brand visibility even outside of the holiday season—this guide reinforces further this with additional user data.
Moving forward: Continue to focus on ideating fun, relatable content that hooks viewers fast, and use AI tools to aid with (but not replace) creativity.

Source: Social Media Today

Navigating external links on social platforms. Social platforms have varying policies on external links.

TLDR: Social platforms have varying policies on external links, often limiting their visibility to keep users engaged within the app. Facebook and LinkedIn reduce organic reach for link posts, while Instagram and TikTok provide minimal linking options. X actively deprioritizes link posts, and Snapchat imposes restrictions on certain links. Meanwhile, newer platforms like Bluesky embrace external links, favoring an open web approach.
Our POV: Keeping up with each individual apps policies on external links is a vital part of building content creation best practices. These sentiments are regularly in flux, so staying in the loop is pivotal to maintaining success.
Moving forward: To continue following each apps lead when it comes to their own guidelines. Focus on creating engaging, platform-native content, use stories or bio links where possible, and explore link-friendly platforms like the up-and-coming Bluesky for external traffic goals.

Source: Social Media Today

LinkedIn’s do’s and don’ts for effective posting. How to align your content best practices with LinkedIn’s algorithm for maximum reach.

TLDR: LinkedIn emphasizes professional, insightful content while discouraging negativity, engagement bait, and irrelevant posts. Negative behaviors like dismissiveness, derision, and unconstructiveness are flagged by the algorithm, limiting reach. Overly personal or sales-driven posts also see reduced distribution. Instead, LinkedIn promotes posts sharing expertise and insights, and video content, which has seen significant growth in engagement. These guidelines aim to foster meaningful discussions and align content with the platform’s professional focus, helping users optimize their performance on LinkedIn in 2025.
Our POV: LinkedIn favors brands that focus on professional, thoughtful content while avoiding negativity, spammy, and irrelevant posts,. It’s clear that the platform values meaningful engagement over viral tactics.
Moving forward: Continue to share original insights, steer clear of divisive posts, and lean into interactive, engaging content to maximize reach.

Source: Social Media Today

Digital PR

MuckRack 2024 state of the pr industry. Annual asset reveals updates in LinkedIn growth, AI best practices, and pitching strategies.

TLDR: MuckRack surveyed 1,116 PR professionals to understand their challenges and priorities in 2024. LinkedIn dominates as the most important social platform (50%), with increasing focus expected, while X/Twitter use declines. AI adoption is becoming a higher priority than media relations for success, with 44% emphasizing its importance. Budget limitations and insufficient resources are top challenges, especially for brand PR teams. Media relations remains a core activity, but agency professionals are more likely to pitch multiple days a week. Traditional pitching methods, like email, still dominate, as X’s relevance for pitching diminishes.
Our POV: This survey underscores the shift toward LinkedIn and AI, signaling that staying ahead requires leveraging these tools while addressing resource constraints.
Moving forward: Focus your efforts on LinkedIn for outreach, invest in AI tools for strategic growth, and refine pitching strategies to align with email-first preferences as platforms like X lose relevance.

Source: MuckRack

Content Marketing

Create topic clusters for your content strategy. Topic clusters will allow you to drill down to various topics in all stages of the funnel.

TLDR: Building topic authority can be difficult for brands, but an easy way to tackle it is to utilize topic clusters to help guide the content strategy. Topic clusters are fairly easy to build and you just need to follow some basic steps. The first step, research. Think about topics that are relevant to your core service and your audience, then use Google Trends, SEMRush or Ahrefs, and social media listening tools to help gather information. Next, design your clusters. The hub-and-spoke model is a great option to see the various subtopics and build off them as needed. Segment your content by intent or funnel stage (top, middle, bottom) and then align your content to each intent stage. Depending on the stage, users may want case studies (middle funnel) or how-to guides (top of funnel). Drill down as needed, but make sure you don’t get too in the weeds that you’re no longer providing value to your audience.
Our POV: Topic clusters can be helpful to brands who want to expand their content strategy but aren’t sure where to start. These can be built off the Content Gap Analysis that is done for your site or you can start with a more general topic and go from there.
Moving forward: The team at NPD is always happy to discuss adding a Content Gap Analysis to your scope or helping with topic ideation. We will make recommendations based on topic relevance, opportunity, and alignment with larger campaign goals.

Source: Search Engine Land

Holistic marketing helps expand campaigns. Benefits and applications to grow a brand’s marketing and enhance their customer experience.

TLDR: Holistic marketing looks at marketing and a company as a whole, focusing on providing a seamless customer experience from start to finish. Holistic marketing offers several benefits, including better customer experience, increased revenue, and improved internal team effectiveness. Starting a holistic marketing journey is not too difficult. Start with your goals and what you want to accomplish, and what you think you’ll need to do so. Align your internal teams with information on holistic marketing and its importance. Then, focus on the messaging, channels, and tone and voice guidelines to develop the details around your approach. From there, monitor metrics and adjust your strategy as needed. Focus on having a unified goal and communicate with your internal teams throughout the process.
Our POV: We understand the importance of a holistic strategy for both customers and brands. This is a focus we have already taken with our customers and their brands with an emphasis on Search Everywhere optimization. We recognize that users are looking for unified experiences and have already adapted our scopes and line of work to encompass a more holistic method.
Moving forward: We’ll continue to make content recommendations with your audience in mind and bring up holistic opportunities as we see them. We monitor channels beyond SEO, like AI and organic social, to ensure you’re staying top of mind – and page – for your audience at all touchpoints of their journey.

Source: Hubspot

Media Strategy & Planning

SEO + paid search integration. A game-changer for CAC reduction.

TLDR: Integrating SEO and paid search is essential for reducing Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) while driving sustainable growth. SEO builds long-term ROI, and paid search delivers instant visibility, making them an unstoppable duo.
Our POV: SEO and paid search aren’t silos—they’re a synchronized team. Combining these strategies dominates SERPs, creates seamless customer journeys, and shares insights for smarter targeting. With SEO accounting for more traffic, CAC can drop by as much as 60%, transforming cost-heavy channels into efficient ones.
Moving forward: Focus on long-tail keywords for high-intent, cost-effective targeting. Use paid search data to inform SEO strategy and vice versa. Optimize content for both traditional and AI-driven search engines to future-proof your campaigns.

Source: PPC Hero

Perplexity ad experiment. A new frontier for monetizing AI-driven search.

TLDR: Perplexity AI is testing ads as “sponsored follow-up questions” within search results, combining monetization with a focus on maintaining trust and relevance.
POV: If executed thoughtfully, this format benefits both parties: Perplexity secures revenue while brands tap into a tech-savvy audience. Success hinges on balancing ad relevance with user trust to maintain engagement.
Moving Forward: Test early to evaluate ad performance on Perplexity, ensure ad content adds value without intruding, and prioritize transparency to align with Perplexity’s user-first approach. This format could unlock unique engagement opportunities with a focused audience.

Source: Techcrunch

Paid Search

Automatic enhanced conversions. Centralized conversion management starting May 2025.

TLDR: Google Ads will automatically upgrade accounts to use enhanced conversions at the account level by May 2025. This change aims to streamline conversion tracking unless advertisers opt out beforehand.
Our POV: The automatic upgrade will simplify conversion management by centralizing enhanced settings, but it could disrupt advertisers unprepared for the shift. It’s essential to review your tagging and conversion setup to ensure accuracy and compatibility.
Moving forward: Audit your current tagging setup to anticipate changes, verify existing enhanced conversions for accuracy, and decide whether to opt out or embrace the centralized settings. Proactively manage new conversion actions to avoid surprises post-upgrade.

Source: Google

Microsoft’s smarter pmax. Smarter tracking, targeting, and conversions on the horizon.

TLDR: Microsoft Advertising is enhancing its Performance Max campaigns with AI-powered tools for better tracking, audience targeting, and bidding strategies. The goal is to streamline campaign setup and improve conversion rates.
Our POV: These updates bring smarter audience targeting, predictive insights, and AI-generated creative, making Performance Max more competitive. Flexible bidding strategies like Target ROAS also cater to performance-focused advertisers. It’s a big step for advertisers looking to maximize ROI across Microsoft’s network.
Moving Forward: Test new features like advanced audience signals and customizable asset groups to see how they improve conversions. Take advantage of Microsoft’s free optimization consultations to fine-tune campaigns and get the most out of these AI-driven upgrades.

Source: Microsoft

AI ad integration. A new frontier in mobile search blending paid placements with organic content.

TLDR: Google is embedding ads into AI Overviews on U.S. mobile search results, marking a new advertising frontier.
Our POV: This seamless ad integration within AI content offers exciting engagement opportunities but sparks concerns about transparency and the balance with organic insights.
Moving Forward: Test this format early, refine ad messaging for AI contexts, and monitor user behavior to adapt. It’s a unique opportunity to lead in a fresh advertising space—don’t wait.

Source: Search Engine Roundtable

Match game. Preparing for the January 2025 Customer Match Policy Update.

TLDR: Starting January 13, 2025, Google will enforce stricter Customer Match policies to enhance user experience. Violations—like harm to users or misleading ads—risk account suspension, with at least 7 days’ notice for non-compliance.
Our POV: This update emphasizes user consent, relevance, and targeting accuracy. It’s a critical step for brands to align their data practices with evolving privacy standards while safeguarding account access.
Moving Forward: Audit data collection methods for proper consent, refine targeting to avoid under-18 users, and educate teams on compliance. Staying ahead of these changes ensures continued access to Customer Match and improves ad engagement quality.

Source: Search Engine Roundtable

Paid Social

Meta is developing a search engine. The company’s web crawlers have been active for months.

TLDR: Meta is developing its own AI-powered search engine to reduce reliance on Google and Microsoft, with plans to integrate AI-generated search summaries into its chatbot on Instagram and Facebook. Meta has been building a database and has recently partnered with Reuters for content. This comes amid competition from OpenAI’s SearchGPT and legal challenges facing other AI search engines.
Our POV: Meta’s move to build an AI search engine marks a significant step in reducing reliance on Google and Microsoft. This shift could reshape how users interact with Meta’s platforms and how news is curated and consumed, enhancing its competitive edge in the AI and search space.
Moving forward: As Meta builds its search capabilities, advertisers should monitor how this affects content discovery and targeting within Meta’s ecosystem. The evolving AI search landscape, including developments from OpenAI and legal challenges for competitors, could influence future ad strategies and opportunities.

Source: Meta

TikTok adds new ai video tools. Generate video clips at scale with Symphony Creative Studio.

TLDR: TikTok’s Symphony Creative Studio has introduced several new features to enhance creative production, including “Your Daily Video Generations,” which provides auto-generated video options tailored to your brand. New tools like “Generate TikTok Scripts” and “Refresh Videos” will allow advertisers to easily update and refresh existing content. These innovations help streamline video production and improve efficiency in ad campaigns.
Our POV: Symphony Creative Studio’s new features, like “Your Daily Video Generations” and “Generate TikTok Scripts,” offer advertisers faster, AI-powered tools to create fresh, high-performing content. These updates make it easier to scale and optimize creative efforts on TikTok.
Moving forward: These enhancements allow for quicker iteration and localization of content, ensuring advertisers stay agile and maintain strong campaign performance. We recommend that you continue leveraging these tools to drive engagement and stay ahead of the competition.

Source: TikTok Newsroom

LinkedIn shares data-backed ad tips. Based on internal research from the best performing LinkedIn campaigns this year.

TLDR: A creative revolution is underway in B2B marketing, with 90% of CMOs advocating for bolder campaigns. Key takeaways include the importance of context, distinctiveness, emotional appeal, and unified brand messaging. Testing and data-driven strategies are crucial for optimizing LinkedIn ads. Notably, vertical ads drive 31% higher engagement, while humor increases engagement by 65%.
Our POV: B2B marketing is transforming with a focus on creativity. Brands need to go beyond “different” to be truly distinctive with only 19% of campaigns drive both attention and brand recall. Leveraging emotional triggers, consistent brand expression, and clear value exchanges will make ads more memorable and impactful.
Moving forward: Focus on creating impactful, contextually relevant, and emotionally engaging ads to stand out. Test creative strategies first in organic content, then scale what works. Emphasize humor (which boosts engagement by 65%) and experiment with video formats; vertical ads yield 31% higher engagement than horizontal ones. Consistency across touchpoints and unifying your brand DNA will ensure long-term success.

Source: LinkedIn

Marketplaces

Amazon cyber 5 performance. Another year of growth (20%+) and even with rising CPCs.

TLDR: Cyber 5 2024 demonstrated strong performance, driven by early Black Friday deals and badging, strategic bidding at the top of search, and increased CPCs. Neil Patel Digital’s data shows CPCs rose YoY across Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, while our partner Pacvue/Helium 10 data highlights a +29.5% YoY rise in Black Friday ad spend and +23.3% YoY for Cyber Monday, with brands combining badges and Sponsored Brand Videos achieving standout results.
Our POV: Across Neil Patel Digital client data, we observed: Thanksgiving: Strong ROAS ($6.86 TROAS) despite rising CPCs ($2.54), with early deals boosting performance. Cyber Monday: The highest TROAS ($9.62) with CPCs increasing to $2.35, demonstrating the importance of high-value placements like Sponsored Brands Videos with badging. From Pacvue/Helium 10 data, Cyber Monday CPCs rose +15.8% YoY, reaching $2.74. Black Friday CPCs rose +9.9% YoY, and ad spend increased by +29.5% YoY, reflecting higher competition but stronger conversion opportunities, especially for categories like Health & Household (+59.9%) and Beauty & Personal Care (+56.8%). A new trend emerged with Amazon highlighting product durability through “customers keep/return this product” badges, giving an edge to brands with reliable, high-quality products.
Moving Forward: Early Strategy: Launch deals and badging early to capitalize on the extended lead-in period before Cyber Bid Adjustment: Focus on Top of Search placements, leveraging Amazon’s improved tools to optimize performance even with rising CPCs. Leverage Insights: Combine Sponsored Brand Videos with Black Friday or Cyber Monday badges for unique placements. Product Trust: Brands must prioritize product quality and retention signals to align with consumer trust metrics and stand out.

Source: Internal data + Pacvue

Amazon ads within Rufus. Ads are now unlocking the future of conversational commerce on amazon.

TLDR: Amazon’s AI-powered shopping assistant, Rufus, which became widely available in July 2024, is now being integrated with Sponsored Ads. This integration opens a new ad placement opportunity for advertisers, embedding ads directly into AI-driven conversations. The announcement highlights Amazon’s push to innovate its ad ecosystem, but challenges around reporting transparency remain a concern.
Our POV: The integration of Rufus into Amazon’s ad ecosystem is a game-changer, allowing Sponsored Ads to reach shoppers during highly personalized, AI-driven interactions. Announced in November 2024, this placement capitalizes on conversational commerce trends, making ads more contextually relevant. However, the lack of reporting for Rufus-specific metrics creates a challenge for advertisers seeking to measure impact and ROI. Despite this, Rufus enhances Amazon’s strategy to diversify placements and improve shopper engagement..
Moving Forward: Advertisers should experiment with Rufus placements while monitoring overall campaign performance for indirect benefits. At the same time, they must push Amazon for clearer reporting to optimize ad spend. By integrating Rufus into broader strategies and refining creatives for conversational contexts, brands can tap into this innovative channel to drive discovery and conversions effectively.

Source: Amazon

User Experience

Conversion-focused feature updates. Crazy Egg adds statistical significance calculator.

TLDR: Crazy Egg has been actively working to enhance it’s A/B Testing functionality, with the most recent feature update focused on adding Statistical Significance to its CRO reports.
Our POV: Knowing if you’re A/B test has reached “stat sig” as early as possible enables markers to better decide when to fully implement a new test variant design. For example, if the A/B test is scheduled to run for two weeks, but the test variant reaches statistical significance five days early, then marketers can end the test early and implement the redesigned variant with reasonable confidence.
Moving forward: NPD clients can benefit from a discount for Crazy Egg. Ask how our UX team can help you better understand the value of your web pages by testing an optimized design against lifetime value!

Source: CrazyEgg

UX guidelines plugin. Baymard Institute adds resource library to your Figma library.

TLDR: Baymard Institute, an industry thought-leader on user experience best practices, released a plugin for Figma that incorporates evidence-backed research directly into your Figma files. Baymard’s library includes over 650 guidelines across dozens of sectors and industries, UX teams to reference alongside their page mockups and workflows.
Our POV: This plugin makes it easier to communicate and support design choices to business stakeholders, allowing for a more streamlined approval process and time to development.
Moving forward: Want to modernize your website with the latest user experience best practices? Ask how NPD’s team of UX experts can help you stay one step ahead of your competitors by implementing the latest trends in Web Design.

Source: Baymard

CRO

E-commerce conversion insights. Sector trends and strategies to reduce cart abandonment.

TLDR: E-commerce conversion rates vary significantly by sector, with beauty and makeup leading at 2.3% and luxury handbags trailing at 0.3%. While mobile shopping is on the rise, desktop and tablet users still convert at higher rates. High cart abandonment (over 70%) underscores the importance of addressing extra costs and streamlining the checkout process.
Our POV: Improving conversion rates requires sector-specific strategies. For high-performing sectors like beauty, focus on enhancing product presentation and user experience. For lower-performing sectors like luxury goods, reducing friction at checkout and highlighting value propositions can help close the gap.
Moving forward: We should focus on optimizing our ecommerce clients’ checkout processes, especially for sectors prone to cart abandonment. Prioritize strategies to reduce unexpected costs at checkout and target mobile users with simplified purchase flows to drive higher conversion rates across devices.

Source: Statista

Enhanced testing with new stats engine. Advanced tools to drive faster, more reliable experimentation.

TLDR: VWO’s new Stats Engine introduces advanced features for better A/B testing, including tunable statistical parameters, practical equivalence testing, and guardrail metrics to protect business KPIs. These updates empower marketers to run more reliable, faster experiments with actionable insights.
Our POV: The enhanced VWO features simplify decision-making for CRO experiments, allowing agencies to test more confidently. The ability to define guardrail metrics ensures campaigns don’t unintentionally harm critical KPIs, providing clients with added security.
Moving forward: Agencies should integrate VWO’s new features into their CRO strategies to optimize testing efficiency. Focus on using guardrail metrics to safeguard client results and experiment with tunable parameters to better tailor campaigns to individual needs.

Source: VWO

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Organic Social

Digital PR

Content Marketing

Media Strategy & Planning

Paid Search

Paid Social

Marketplaces

User Experience

CRO

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The 2024 Paid Media Playbook

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COMPANY

RESOURCES

LEGAL

Social

Partners

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Digital marketing industry roundup: November 2024

SEO

Organic Social

Digital PR

Content Marketing

Media Strategy & Planning

Paid Search

Paid Social

Marketplaces

User Experience

CRO

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Need help executing your strategy? Let’s talk!

GLOBAL

COMPANY

RESOURCES

LEGAL

Social

Partners

MINORITY OWNED