X banned in Brazil, GA4's new benchmarking tool, Google’s core update is over, and more

Happy pre-kend, Digital Darlings,

Google's got a few new tricks with GA4 features and SEO updates, and X just got the axe in Brazil. The marketing world is nothing if not chaotic, but don't worry-I've got all the juicy details to keep you one step ahead. Let's dive in, shall we?

They say comparison is the thief of joy, but in the cutthroat realm of digital marketing, it's important to know what you're up against. GA4's new benchmarking metrics compare your performance against cohorts of businesses that are similar to yours, called 'peer groups.'

Once you've turned on benchmarking data, you can compare any of your metrics to your peer group's average and the 25th and 75th percentile. That way, you know which of your numbers are aligned with the market and which need some work. You can find details on how to enable and use the benchmarking feature here. But don't be too hard on yourself if some of your metrics are a little below average, ok darlings?? Now for some SEO updates…

After weeks of volatility, SEOers may finally get a moment of peace. The core update ran from August 15th to September 3rd, bringing about typical SERP changes. The update was intended to take into account the negative feedback Google received after the September 2023 Helpful Content Update and remedy some of the unfair negative impacts that the update had on small sites. But according to my sources, the new update didn't move the needle for most independent sites. The majority saw little to no significant improvement in rankings, so if that's you, take solace that you're not alone. Google says to review their page on 'Creating helpful, people first content' if you want to improve your rankings.

Also, note that the update caused a ranking bug during its first few days, so you can ignore any fluctuations in traffic that you saw from August 15th to 20th. Now for some Bing updates…

They're using machine learning to serve our ads to more relevant audiences than ever before and are giving us some new tools, too. Display and video audience ads are getting more bid strategies, better targeting options, and improved conversion tracking. Calls to action and business logos have been added to native ads. And IAS verification has been added so you can confirm that your ads are being viewed by real people in brand-safe environments. Get all the details here. Now, let's dish about brand exclusions on PMax…

And @oliviaakory has answers. She summarized her findings from multiple clients who've tested it, and the biggest takeaway was - excluding brand terms drove more incremental revenue half the time, and when it did drive more revenue, it won by a landslide. So, you still need to test it to determine if excluding brand is the right move for your business. But here's a hint: brands with an AOV over $238 saw significantly more revenue when brand terms were included. We're not sure why, but OP thinks it comes down to data scarcity, saying, "Higher AOVs correlate with higher CACs, which means less data fueling the algorithm." So, if you have a high average AOV, maybe skip out on brand exclusions for now. Check out Olivia's thread for detailed recs on how to leverage her findings. In other Google Ads news…

The tab appears to pull data from the 'google_product_category' attribute and can be found in the Products tab. This handy tab will give you a better idea of which product categories are driving performance and which ones need your attention. It can also help you detect shifts in customer interest by category and will offer actionable recommendations like pausing underperforming categories and boosting top-performing ones. It's a good one for retailers to check out! However, advertisers speculate that Google may not categorize products correctly, so watch out for that. In my final bit of Google Ads news…

These new plans should enable advertisers to "better align their full marketing strategy with campaign goals, offering customizable options for budget, ad format, buying method, and campaign objectives." Sounds good to me! You can choose either an Action Plan which prioritizes conversions or an Awareness Plan which focuses on brand visibility. This feature is super new, but looks like a great way to ensure alignment across campaigns, so give it a try if you run a lot of video ads. Now for some social news…

Oh Elon, you just can't seem to stay out of trouble. Earlier this year, Brazilian officials issued a court order for Musk to ban certain accounts that were spreading misinformation on his platform, which he refused in the name of free speech. So now, no more X for Brazilians. The ban is driving Brazilians to Bluesky, an app that functions quite like X, but is decentralized rather than run by a billionaire. People have already been running in droves from X to Threads lately, and recent data shows that brands' X usage and ad spend continue to fall dramatically. So we know people are leaving X for Threads, but Bluesky may be a new social media platform to watch as well. In my last bit of social news…

Stories are officially the new feed posts. Not much else to say here - just be aware that followers can comment on your stories and make sure to engage with those conversations. You do have the option to disable comments on stories, but I wouldn't recommend it. We all want any engagement we can get, right?! Another thing to keep in mind is if you use any bots to respond to comments with DMs, they probably won't work on story comments just yet.

And that's the scoop for this week, my marketing mavens. Until next week, stay sharp, werk hard, and keep serving looks AND ads.

You know you love me.

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