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SURVEY
Did you answer our survey yet? We have something for you if you do!
We’re pretty sure your business has been affected by this whole COVID-19 outbreak. This could be in measurable forms, or it could just be that your mind is preoccupied with the situation… It’s pretty hard to avoid.
There’s no getting away from the fact it’s an unpredictable period, but we want to shed as much like on the situation as we can for us marketers.
And we’ll have a reward for you too. Everyone who answers the survey and sends us a reply with a screenshot of their submission, we’ll invite to our STACKED MARKETER Insiders group!
So go ahead and answer this anonymous survey.
No matter how much you spend on ads, each answer is extremely helpful! Our goal is that, in less than two weeks, we can analyze the data and identify the most important trends:
- What’s at risk (based on traffic source, vertical and product type).
- What’s booming (based on the same elements).
- What’s unaffected.
- What you can do in each scenario to improve.
This will be posted for free. Whether you are a subscriber or not, you will be able to read the full report and share it with anyone who needs it. We will not lock the report behind any opt-in form.
So, fill in the survey here, share it with others who could answer, and in two weeks time we’ll publish the most comprehensive state of the industry report we can.
Making your ad copies stand out in Search Ads
The Crew came across a hack which allows you to force bold text to display in your Search ads.
To do this, simply enter your text into AdTools.org and paste the output into your ads section. Note that each bold letter will now occupy 4-character spaces of traditional text.
Forced bold ads capture more attention than regular text ads when serving outside of the absolute top position, especially when you do not qualify for some of the engaging extensions.
One simple reason this works might be that on Desktop, Google already bolds text in the SERP that is particularly relevant to your query.
As per some A/B tests run by SEJ, identical copies and landing pages were tested with regular text in one and bold text in another. They set ad rotation to distribute them evenly with manual bidding without any Enhanced bidding.
The results?
- An 11.3% overall increase in CTR but not much measurable impact on overall conversions.
- When this forced bold was tested to highlight key value propositions in the description line, the CTR impact was more noticeable at around 19.4%.
- CPCs with forced bold text might be a bit higher (15-20%), however the CPCs normalize after a week or so.
How does it impact Quality Score? There is uncertainty around how forced bold impacts the quality score, so we are not yet sure how Google interprets the forced bold text. But expect a lower quality score for force bolded text ads.
PS: It is not an officially supported feature, so use at your own risk.
PPS: This tool also works for FB and Instagram ads, but not on Bing.
E-COMMERCE
Let them try before they buy, on Shopify
Google recently announced 3D products in SERPs and, taking a leaf outta their book, Shopify has now followed suit.
You can now upload a 3D model or video directly to your product pages, without the need for any custom coding or third-party apps.
Shopify released Shopify AR back in 2018, allowing store owners to create 3D models for augmented reality (AR) experiences using the Shopify Experts marketplace. These 3D models in AR are already proven to increase conversions by up to 250% on product pages.
Some other observations from businesses already using 3D models are:
- Users who interacted with a 3D model were 44% more likely to add a product to their cart.
- They are also 27% more likely to place an order than users who don’t interact with these 3D models.
- When users viewed a product in AR, their likelihood of making a purchase rose by 65%.
These 3D models can be used to generate photorealistic images, color variations, lifestyle shots, AR and virtual reality experiences, animations and much more.
If you visit the back end of your Shopify store, you’ll see that the “Images” section of the product page editor is renamed as “Media” to allow for this new functionality of uploading videos and 3D models. Once uploaded, they’ll appear in the carousel of your product pages.
You can use these videos directly on Shopify to add explainer videos, teasers, reviews, testimonials, product demonstrations and anything else you might think of.
However, before you can do that, you do need to make a small modification to your theme.. You can either follow this guide or hire a Shopify Expert for help.
CORONAVIRUS
Businesses that are thriving: +204% revenue. FB Ads approval time delayed
Facebook Ads getting disapproved for no reasons?
The company has a couple of updates for us regarding the outbreak.
Ads: Since the company is trying to send all contractors that review content home, you could experience the following over the next few weeks/months:
- Delayed review for ads and commerce listings .
- An increase in ads being incorrectly disapproved.
- Delayed or reduced appeals.
- More limited availability of Facebook in-stream ads and lower delivery.
The same goes for monetized content. There’s a chance that not all content will go through the approval process due to this limited workforce. For all other updates related to the coronavirus though, you can save this page.
Coronavirus Information Center: This is a panel Facebook launched to provide people with the latest updates about the outbreak. It will be featured at the top of the Newsfeed.
E-commerce industry: Who’s going up and who’s going down
Yesterday, Nick Shackelford shared a useful website which is monitoring the effect of the coronavirus on the e-commerce industry.
It includes graphs measuring revenue and conversion rate for different industries and e-commerce.
As per March 17, for example, revenue for fashion brands fell by 61% compared to pre-coronavirus averages. Meanwhile, subscription and at-home convenience stored saw a 204% increase in revenue.
Seems like something you might want to check out. That being said, take care – they don’t say how this data was gathered, nor how much data was analyzed to build these graphs.
How the Google media team is reacting to the pandemic
Google shared the five principles that are guiding its media team during this time where COVID-19 is grabbing all the attention. Micheal Pacheco, who shared the post first, provided a small summary of what’s inside:
Be dynamic: Every day, ask yourself “Is this creative or this placement right for this moment and in this context?”. If the answer is no, pivot.
Creatives: All kinds of creative elements need scrutiny right now. “Are your creatives’ tone, copy and visuals appropriate and relevant in this new social landscape?” For example, an ad showing two persons shaking hands or hugging probably needs a reevaluation.
Other updates
- Conferences: AWSummit, scheduled for June, has now postponed its event. It has now released the new dates: 25 to 28th of August 2020.
- WhatsApp: To fight the spread of misinformation, WhatsApp created a COVID-19 info hub where users will be able to access accurate info.
- Twitter: The social network is banning every tweet that could result in further virus spread. For example, “Run to the grocery store ASAP and buy everything”…
FROM THE CREW
How have we been doing from this new domain?
You’re one of the 1200 people who receive our daily newsletter from [email protected] instead of [email protected] (our old domain and name.)
To help build that reputation, we want to ask for your help. It’ll only take about 30s and we’ll be forever grateful! Plus, it ensures that you get this newsletter on the dot!
For Gmail users – Move us to your Primary Inbox:
- For mobile: In the top right corner of the app, hit those 3 dots, tap “Move to” and then “Primary”
- For desktop: Go back, then drag and drop this email into the “Primary” tab. It should be the first tab on the left.
Oh, and Gmail also likes link clicks. So if you want to send a virtual thumbs-up to Big G, plus look at the cutest Internet kittens you’ve ever seen, click here.
For you Apple mail users – Tap on our email address at the top of this email and then select “Add to VIPs”.
After you do that, you can give Gmail another boost by replying to this email. We’ll be sure to turn this transition into a case study for you all when we’re done too!
FUN WITH THE CREW
Have you ever found yourself lost in a funnel?
The Crew recently started a series of animated shorts about our industry, and our latest instalments are all about endless funnels. They’re ready for your viewing pleasure now, so check them out and have a laugh:
Also, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to be the first to see the next episodes!
ROUNDING UP THE STACK
- FACEBOOK: The blue giant announces a new multi-mil program to support fact-checkers and local newsrooms in an attempt to combat the spread of misinformation and false reports.
- GOOGLE: Google launches real time transcription in eight languages on Android OS. Support for iOS will be added in the days to follow.
- CONTENT: Check out these actionable tips on staying ahead of the curve when it comes to your clients’ content strategy.
- PPC: This post walks you through the phases of optimizing your Amazon campaigns for seasonality success.
BRAIN TEASER
George, Helen, and Steve are drinking coffee. Bert, Karen, and Dave are drinking soda. Using logic, is Elizabeth drinking coffee or soda?
You can find the solution by clicking here.
POOLSIDE CHAT
Cool tech, (funny) business, lifestyle and all the other things affiliates like to chat about while sipping cocktails by the pool.
Get a partner: Starting at $4.99 with Prime delivery
You’re probably thinking “What the heck?”
Totally understandable. We thought exactly the same when we discovered this Amazon parody of a dating website.
The site was launched in early February, and we’re just sitting here wondering how we managed to miss this until now!
This is exactly how online dating would look like if Jeff Bezos invented it.
Reviews, same day delivery, easy checkout process and stuff.
There’s a partner for every taste: blonde, brunettes, ripped dudes, fishermen, whatever. You can even decide the height and choose whether you’re interested in quality time, physical touch or other options.
And, for every “product”, you’ll even find other customer feedback. For example:
“I use this as a both a sensual as well as ache-relieving massager. Incredibly easy to clean, perfect size, quiet, and the texture is almost perfect.”
Or
“I’ve found that this device understands me maybe 10% of the time.”
Well, we’re sure plenty of people can sympathize with that last review…