INSIGHTS

Digital marketing industry roundup: September 2024

So many updates, so little time. SearchGPT disruption, Google spam policy updates, LinkedIn in-feed video carousels, negative keywords for pmax and much more. September was another month packed with big updates, we’ve curated the biggest, most impactful ones for you.

SEO

SearchGPT could disrupt search engine market. SearchGPT has advantages, as of right now its information is limited compared to Google.

TLDR: SearchGPT lets users get answers directly without having to visit other websites and allows them to refine queries with follow-up questions, but for those who have access, it provides limited results and lacks additional elements like maps or videos.
Our POV: Google still holds over 87% of the US search engine market, so while SearchGPT has its advantages, it likely won’t surpass Google anytime soon.
Moving forward: SearchGPT features will likely evolve before fully released. Once released, NPD to monitor how SearchGPT results compare against Google search results and how SearchGPT disrupts search engine market share as it rolls out.

Source: SE Ranking

AI overviews featuring niche-specific sites. Detailed, topic-specific content to benefit from increased AIO and organic exposure.

TLDR: Google’s AI Overviews are showing more niche-specific content and giving less priority to general big brand sites across multiple topics. BrightEdge data shows that AIO is pulling in lower-ranked web pages for more precise answers. A significant characteristic of the last update is that it is showing less of the big brand sites and more of the independent niche sites. BrightEdge data shows that AIO is also ranking websites that are more precisely about a topic.
Our POV: As Google continues to refine where AIO are displayed + which sites are featured in these overviews, E-E-A-T will still be a critical factor moving forward. Like the rollout of Featured Snippets, our focus should be creating “the best page on the internet” for topics relevant to our businesses.
Moving forward: NPD will continue to monitor shifts, trends and changes with AI Overviews and SERPs + keep our clients apprised of any major updates.

Source: Search Engine Journal

Google updates spam policy documentation. When Google updates policy documentation, it may signal future changes or algo updates.

TLDR: Google updated multiple parts of its spam policy documentation by adding a definition of spam to the intro paragraph, updating the definition of link spam, and adding a new section to the site reputation abuse policy, among other changes. These updates are part of the periodic review and update of Google documentation.
Our POV: Recent algorithm updates have all been focused on improving search results and devaluing spammy practices, so it’s no secret that spam is top of mind for Google. When Google updates policy documentation, it tends to signal the potential for penalties, manual actions or algorithm updates.
Moving forward: As always, ensure that your website is following Google best practices and avoid using spammy tactics. Especially if your website is hosting or publishing content from third party providers, continue to be extra careful that you are not committing site reputation abuse.

Source: Google Search Central

Google makes changes to ecommerce results. Google’s ecommerce SERPS resemble Amazon-style category pages.

TLDR: Google has introduced more interactive elements directly within search results, such as scrollable product images, pricing, retailer options, product descriptions, and dimensions—all without users needing to visit a third-party website. This shift creates an experience like Amazon’s, with detailed product pages integrated into the search engine results page (SERP).
Our POV: With this change in SERP results there’s a focus on product pages. Make sure to focus on title tags, H1s, product descriptions, and key features. These are featured in the SERP and will help users convert.
Moving forward: With Google now favoring product pages over traditional category pages, ecommerce businesses must shift their SEO strategies to focus on optimizing individual product pages.

Source: Search Engine Land

Organic Social

LinkedIn launches in-feed video carousels. LinkedIn is pushing video content with in-feed carousels of video clips.

TLDR: LinkedIn’s algorithm matches videos shown based on your in-app activity and noted profile details. By tapping into any of the displayed clips it then takes you through to LinkedIn’s TikTok-like full-screen video feed, presented in vertical format.
Our POV: LinkedIn reported that 1.5 million pieces of content are now being uploaded to the app every minute, with video being its fastest-growing content type and video uploads are also up 34% year-over-year – this is why the platform is now focusing on promoting video content more.
Moving forward: Video engagement is rising, and more users are uploading more videos on LinkedIn – they’re capitalizing on it and so should you!

Source: Social Media Today

Meta shares guide to marketing on reels. Meta published a new, 10-page “Reels Performance Playbook”.

TLDR: Reels, across both Facebook and IG, are Meta’s fastest-growing content type, driving 200 billion+ views a day across the two platforms – making Reels a top priority to implement within your social strategy, especially during the holidays.
Our POV: Short-form video has become the most popular form of content consumption, and if you want to maximize your messaging, you need to be paying attention to Reels trends, and how they’re driving response in each app.
Moving forward: Focus on creating entertaining, digestible and relatable reels. Remember to be creative – this is how you’ll hook more users – explore different editing techniques, hooks, trending audio to incorporate and make sure your brands personality shines through your videos! You can read more in-depth insights on these tips by downloading their guide here.

Source: Social Media Today

Linkedin adds ‘edit’ feature for scheduled posts. You can now edit scheduled posts via LinkedIn’s native scheduling tool.

TLDR: LinkedIn has rolled out a new feature that allows users to edit scheduled posts, a significant improvement social media managers on the platform will love (and will be thankful for).
Our POV: Some key features of the update include: Edit Functionality: Users can now modify scheduled posts without deleting and recreating them. Time Adjustment: The update allows for changes to the scheduled posting time.
Error Correction: Typos and other mistakes can be fixed before the post goes live.
Moving forward: No need to delete then reschedule posts when you find a typo or want to do quick edits to your social posts. You can now save time by using this new feature! The feature is currently rolling out, so if you don’t have access to edit, don’t worry, it’s coming soon! However, LinkedIn has not provided a specific timeline for when all users will have access to this feature.

Source: LinkedIn

Digital PR

Cision releases new guide on effective pitching. Media monitoring tool, Cision, releases a new deep dive on connecting with Journalists.

TLDR: According to Cision’s Global State of the Media Report, 73% of journalists deem only a quarter of the pitches they receive to be relevant. In reaction to this statistic, Cision reached out to journalists to discover the best practices for PR professional’s when it comes to building valuable long-lasting relationships.
Our POV: Connecting with the right journalist can push content to the forefront of a targeted audience. The challenge is to find the right fit for both the journalist and the created content, while then producing a compelling enough pitch that is can cut through the overwhelming number of pitches they receive daily. This report investigates what journalists are looking for, what content they favor, and what will instantly get your pitch sent to their junk mail. Current trends show that 74% of journalists are looking for press releases, 52% would like to be set up to interview thought leaders, and 61% of journalists are gravitating toward original data.
Moving forward: Along with applying the insights covered in this asset, it’s important to continue to keep journalistic preferences on top of mind. The standards of a successful pitch evolve just as quickly as our current news cycle.

Source: Cision

Content Marketing

Use caution with AI content checkers. Utilizing an AI content checker may seem like a good idea, but it has limitations.

TLDR: Written by NP Digital’s VP of Content, this piece discusses how AI checkers may seem like an invaluable tool for organizations, but in many cases, they can raise false red flags about human-generated copy. We had our own experience with this, when a publisher flagged one of our pieces for AI writing, when it was written by a human. Rather than panicking, we worked with the publisher to discuss our process, as well as showed them a score on a different tool that concluded our piece was written by a human. This highlights how some AI tools are more accurate than others, and they should not be the only rubric for establishing if copy was written by AI. Using AI checkers can also raise serious ethical and creative dangers, including perpetuating biases, skewing content strategies, and even lead to legal issues. Steps to take to ensure content quality include using human writers and reviewers, using reliable tools, and focusing on value.
Our POV: AI checkers may seem like a silver bullet for proofing content and weeding out AI-written copy, but they often raise false positives. Ultimately, just like AI, these tools also have limitations. When ensuring content quality, you’ll want to utilize other tools, reviewers, and steps in the process. And remember to not panic if a tool does flag a piece as having AI-written copy—it may be a false positive.
Moving forward: The Content Team at NPD has processes in place to ensure that AI is used in an ethical, transparent way, and we have several checkpoints for all of our work, from start to publication. This helps us ensure we are creating valuable, quality content for our clients.

Source: Search Engine Land

Content strategy research beyond competitors. Content strategy for search everywhere optimization should expand beyond competitors.

TLDR: Content decay can lead to drops, but the solution isn’t to just create new pieces, ignoring your older pieces. Instead, complete a content audit to see what pieces could use a refresh to serve your content strategy well. Updating content doesn’t have to be a complicated or in-depth process, but it can help you save your site from content decay and save yourself from constantly writing new pieces. Repurposing pieces into videos or podcasts is an option, as is completely removing irrelevant posts. The key is to regularly review your content and your content strategy, to ensure you’re not just producing new content for the sake of producing new content.
Our POV: Periodically reviewing the content on your site is an important part of any content strategy. Older pieces can have a lot of value. We offer a 6Rs audit, which will evaluate which pieces are best to remain as-is, repurpose, reformat, refresh, retire, and redirect. From there, we can help determine if they need just a few tweaks or if they are a larger refresh piece.
Moving forward: We’ll continue to recommend and perform our 6Rs Content Audit for clients with robust content libraries to ensure content stays fresh and valuable while driving consistent traffic over time.

Source: Search Engine Journal

Paid Search

Emotions get clicks. Get in touch with your consumer’s feelings – tap into emotionally derived search queries.

TLDR: A new study shows that positive emotions during online searches lead to higher click-through rates on paid search ads. Advertisers can boost ad engagement by targeting emotion-based keywords.
Our POV: Understanding how emotions shape search behavior offers a fresh opportunity to improve campaign performance. Targeting positive emotion keywords can enhance engagement, especially for hedonic products.
Moving forward: Test incorporating positive emotion keywords in ad campaigns, particularly during periods like holidays and weekends when consumers are in better moods.

Source: Eurek Alert

Negative keywords for pmax. Google has heard the desire for more PMAX control and are giving more tools to advertisers.

TLDR: Google is rolling out campaign-level negative keyword exclusions for Performance Max (PMax), giving advertisers more control over ad targeting.
Our POV: This change gives us more precise control over PMax campaigns, helping avoid irrelevant searches and improving campaign efficiency. The introduction of omnichannel bidding expands opportunities to drive both online and offline conversions, a huge benefit for retail clients.
Moving forward: Prepare for PMax Updates: Start reviewing negative keywords that could enhance your campaigns. Test Omnichannel Bidding: Integrate omnichannel strategies for clients with both online and physical stores. Stay Updated: Keep an eye on the new Demand Gen features in Display & Video 360 and how they fit into broader media strategies.

Source: Search Engine Land

Zip codes: the roi game-changer. Granular is better, replace your DMAs with zips for a more accurate bidding signal.

TLDR: ZIP code targeting can enhance advertising ROI measurement by providing more precision than DMAs, while addressing privacy concerns. It’s a scalable solution to better measure ad effectiveness.
Our POV: ZIP code targeting is a key strategy our agency is proposing for UTI 2025. It aligns with our push for more privacy-friendly, precise targeting in paid media. This approach helps ensure clients get accurate ROI measurement without compromising user data.
Moving forward: Test ZIP Targeting: Work with platforms to test ZIP code-based campaigns. Advocate for Standards: Encourage platforms to offer to support ZIP code targeting. Inform Clients: Present the benefits and potential impact of this approach to clients such as was done in UTI 2025.

Source: AdExchanger

Paid Social

Meta connect 2024 recap. Revealing the future of AI, VR and AR on Facebook and Instagram.

TLDR: Meta is expanding its AI capabilities with AI-generated content in Facebook and Instagram feeds and enhancing its Llama model to process visuals. New Reels features will include automatic dubbing and lip-syncing in multiple languages, while Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses will offer “Reminders” and scanning capabilities. CEO Mark Zuckerberg hinted at future integrations with wrist-based wearables.
Our POV: Meta’s comprehensive AI integration across platforms signals a strategic pivot to maintain market dominance and shape the future of digital interaction. While this approach promises enhanced user experiences and advertising efficiency, it also raises critical questions about content authenticity, data privacy, and the increasing AI-mediation of social connections.
Moving forward: Meta’s trajectory points towards a future where AI seamlessly blends digital and physical realities, with wearable tech likely playing a pivotal role. As they push the boundaries of ambient computing and AR, we anticipate groundbreaking innovations in real-time translation, contextual AI assistance, and immersive social experiences, potentially revolutionizing how we interact with technology and each other.

Source: Meta

Meta: New tools for the holidays. Drive holiday sales and reach customers with diversified creative.

TLDR: Meta is introducing new ad tools and formats to help advertisers maximize their reach during the holiday season. These include prominently featured promo codes, personalized discounts, enhanced reminder ads, site links for multiple landing pages, and location-based targeting for both in-store and tourist shoppers.
Our POV: Meta’s latest ad innovations represent a significant leap towards creating a truly integrated, omnichannel marketing ecosystem. By seamlessly blending online engagement with offline conversions, these tools not only empower advertisers with unprecedented targeting precision but also promise to elevate the consumer experience through hyper-personalized, context-aware shopping journeys.
Moving forward: We can expect Meta to continue refining these tools, likely incorporating more AI-driven personalization and omnichannel capabilities. As these features evolve, advertisers will need to adapt their strategies to fully leverage the platform’s potential, potentially leading to more sophisticated, targeted holiday campaigns across Meta’s suite of apps.

Source: Meta

TikTok search ads campaigns. Supercharge brand discovery through search.

TLDR: TikTok launches Search Ads Campaign, enabling advertisers to target high-intent audiences through keyword-based ads on the platform’s search results page. This new campaign type offers control, customization, and targeting capabilities, driving impactful engagement and conversions.
Our POV: Leveraging TikTok’s Search Ads Campaign allows you to connect with users at key decision moments, tapping into their search intent and driving conversions. With comprehensive planning tools and keyword targeting, you can effectively align your content with users’ varied search behaviors.
Moving forward: Expect further innovations in TikTok’s Search Ads Campaign, including expanded targeting capabilities and enhanced measurement tools. Future updates will likely focus on streamlining campaign optimization and improving ad relevance. As the platform continues to evolve, advertisers can anticipate even more opportunities to connect with high-intent audiences.

Source: TikTok

LinkedIn revenue attribution. A report that measures the influence your LinkedIn marketing has on revenue.

TLDR: LinkedIn’s Revenue Attribution Report (RAR) helps marketers measure the impact of their LinkedIn marketing efforts on revenue, pipeline, and ROAS. By syncing CRM data, RAR provides a comprehensive view of the customer journey, enabling data-driven decisions and justification of marketing investments.
Our POV: LinkedIn’s report highlights 5 major benefits, with a focus on “visibility beyond the last touch”, which emphasizes that “unlike traditional methods that focus solely on the last touchpoint, the Revenue Attribution Report provides a comprehensive view of how every interaction influences the buyer’s journey.” We recommend advertisers analyze these advanced metrics to gain a clearer picture of how their LinkedIn marketing efforts contribute to sales success and business outcomes.
Moving forward: The future of B2B marketing is clear: attribution-driven and ROI-focused campaigns. With LinkedIn emerging as the “new” social platform, we expect to see more brands take risks in their creative testing by incorporating UGC inspired ads.

Source: LinkedIn

User Experience

GA4 integration for a/b testing. Integration between Crazy Egg A/B Testing and GA4.

TLDR: On September 4th, Crazy Egg announced a powerful new feature that takes A/B testing to the next level by introducing the seamless integration between A/B Testing and Google Analytics 4 (GA4).
Our POV: With this integration, users can now combine Crazy Egg’s detailed A/B testing results with GA4’s advanced analytics to understand how variations impact user behavior and conversion rates. Optimize tests and page design using the combined data to make more informed decisions and drive better results from your experiments.
Moving forward: NPD’s UX team can help you synchronize testing data with GA4 to have all your key metrics and insights in one place.

Source: CrazyEgg

AI GPT wireframe generation. WireGen uses chat GPT AI to generate wireframe designs quickly and easily.

TLDR: A powerful new Figma plugin allows designers to customize the generated wireframes to fit specific project needs by adjusting the layout and design to individual elements.
Our POV: The ability to expedite the initial ideation process is the holy grail of AI potential for UX Designers. Designers can now better focus on taking detailed notes during conversations with project stakeholders, rather than simultaneously thinking of the initial blocking out phase of the design workflow.
Moving forward: Figma is NPD’s web design software of choice due its user-friendly interface and dev-friendly capabilities, now with AI capabilities for a fast and efficient design-to-development process.

Source: WireGenAI

CRO

Maximize conversions with CRO strategies. Boost conversion rates by up to 30% with A/B testing, personalization, and faster load times.

TLDR: Conversion rate optimization (CRO) continues to demonstrate its critical role in boosting ecommerce performance. Statistics show that small improvements—like faster load times and A/B testing—can yield significant conversion gains, with some tactics increasing conversions by up to 30%.
Our POV: For performance agencies, these statistics reinforce the importance of iterative testing and site optimization. Personalization, faster load speeds, and simplified checkout processes can help clients see immediate improvements in conversion rates, which will justify continued investments in CRO strategies.
Moving forward: Prioritize enhancing client websites through personalized content, A/B testing, and mobile optimization. Regularly testing new landing page variations and improving page speed are key steps to maximizing conversions, particularly for ecommerce clients.

Source: Shopify

Zocket’s ai studio boosts ad performance. AI-powered ad creation and targeting tools enhance CRO for agencies and brands.

TLDR: Zocket’s AI Studio, recently launched in the U.S., optimizes ad creation and targeting, enabling marketers to streamline workflows, enhance audience engagement, and improve conversion rates.
Our POV: Zocket’s AI Studio can be a game-changer for CRO-focused agencies, allowing them to rapidly test and optimize ad creatives and targeting, driving higher conversion rates with minimal manual effort.
Moving forward: Consider incorporating AI tools into your CRO strategy to automate and optimize ad campaigns, focusing on improving conversion rates through precision targeting and creative enhancements.

Source: News File Corp

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Paid Social

User Experience

CRO

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Retail Reveal: Trends and Fears of Retailers in 2024

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COMPANY

RESOURCES

LEGAL

Social

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Digital marketing industry roundup: September 2024

SEO

Organic Social

Digital PR

Content Marketing

Paid Search

Paid Social

User Experience

CRO

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Need help executing your strategy? Let’s talk!

GLOBAL

COMPANY

RESOURCES

LEGAL

Social

Partners

MINORITY OWNED