📦 - Oh Meta... 🤦

DTC 522 - SEO Edition: Search Generative Experience, Parasite SEO, and CRO Tuesday, March 26, 2024 “So…to clarify…” Good morning, It’s been a bumpy ride on Meta. After another overspending incident last week, advertisers are frustrated and rightfully so. 😮 💨 The Pilothouse Meta team explains the outage last Thursday coincided with Instagram’s sign-out issues: Generally (acknowledging some variance case-by-case for brands) the team saw: - CPMs doubled along with CPC and ad spend around 4pm PT - Delivery anomalies began to settle back in around 6pm PT before resolving around 8pm PT While the issue now seems to be resolved, make sure to still contact your Meta rep to get your refund if your ad account was impacted. Here’s what you should share: 1️⃣ Date and time when overspending occurred 2️⃣ Your ad account ID and affected campaign IDs 3️⃣ A short description of how much your account overspent Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC: - How Google’s Search Generative Experience could potentially impact your site ranking in SERPs. - We explain what Parasite SEO is and why you need to master video content. - And…why it’s so important to keep an eye on CRO as you scale. You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Chef Bobo, Suit Society, and Red Bull. 👋 SUPPORT 🦷 How Snow Teeth-Whitening Operates a $100M+ Business With Only 10 Customer-Service Agents How much are you spending on support agents? [Richpanel can confidently guess the answer is, “too much.”]( Snow, the well-known teeth-whitening brand, scaled to $100M+ in revenue with only 10 support agents and a little bit of AI magic. 👀 Snow discovered that a majority of their customer inquiries fell into 8-10 categories. Using Richpanel, Snow was able to use their inquiry categories to create self-service flows, significantly reducing the volume of tickets reaching the support team. Plus, leveraging Richpanel's AI assistants enabled Snow to [effectively double their team's productivity](. Think you’re overspending and under optimizing your customer support process? [See How Much You Can Save With Richpanel]( *Sponsored SEO RANKINGS 🔍 How Will GSE Affect Google Search Results? Google Search and its ranking system have always made steady updates throughout the years but now they plan to roll out a new AI product called Search Generative Experience (SGE) that will transform how search looks and operates, and potentially impact visibility for SMBs. Why? 🤔 Because search habits are changing. While Google is still the heavy favorite when it comes to search, competing search engines like Pinterest and [TikTok have emerged as alternatives]( and are increasingly favored by younger audiences like Gen Z. Google hopes SGE will create an even better search experience by integrating AI so they maintain control of the search landscape. But what exactly is Search Generative Experience? Google is planning on rolling out this new way to search later this year. SGE will use AI to find relevant content and place generative AI content above organic search results at the top of the fold. Here is what the latest update to Search will look like: [[Google shares snapshot of SGE update](] Why does this matter? This means that business owners who are trying to rank well in Google now face increased competition. Ranking highly in Google’s SERPs could become more difficult. And ranking matters. High rankings aren’t just for boasting rights. The higher you appear, the more clicks you can get to your site. This article shows [the click distribution for top rankings.]( The number one spot in Google search has an average CTR of 27.6%. The potential impact on SMBs? SGE may negatively impact your organic search traffic especially if AI is generating answers to queries and publishing them directly on a search results page. It is [predicted that Google SGE could cause traffic to drop and publishers to lose about $2 billion in ad revenue](. What you can do to prepare: - Invest more in your video SEO: Google will prioritize video content at the top of the fold so if you have a YouTube channel it's time to optimize so you can show up higher in search. 📹 - Humanize your brand: Differentiate your content by telling authentic and engaging stories from unique perspectives AI can't easily replicate. 🫶 For more SGE tips make sure to check out our podcast episode below for more insights on how SMBs can prepare for the AI search shake up. SHIPPING 🚚 A Reliable Shipping Solution is ESSENTIAL for Online Stores. Do You Have Faith In Yours? As your business grows, you need more tools. Tools to manage orders, sales channels, customer comms, everything. How do you manage? 🤔 Your first step should be increasing your efficiency WHILE saving money in the long run with [ShipStation](. They’ve spent the last 10+ years setting 130,000+ brands up for success by [streamlining order fulfillment](. As the leading web-based shipping software, ShipStation can get you discounted rates on USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL. All while integrating with 150+ selling channels. 😏 Wherever you sell and however you ship, ShipStation has you covered. [Try Today With a FREE 60-Day Extended Trial]( *Sponsored PODCAST 🎧 Unlocking SEO Success in 2024 In this episode of the pod, we chat with Ismail, [Pilothouse’s]( SEO Lead about the current state of SERPs (search engine results page) and the concept of Parasite SEO. He touches on the importance of SEO for ecommerce brands and the need for a strong SEO strategy. Ismail explains: “Google is now de-indexing websites if they don’t provide value. Low-quality and unoriginal content will be downranked or deindexed. If your content isn’t unique and helpful you won’t show up in search.” In this podcast, we cover: - The concept of Parasite SEO and why Google is prioritizing Reddit and Quora searches - Importance of valuable content, brand building and the power of video in SEO to increase time spent on page - The future of search and the Search Generative Experience - Building a more community-focused SERPs 👉 You can listen to the full episode with Ismail [here](. 🌐 IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE As you scale you don’t want your customer acquisition costs to skyrocket so optimization is key! Do continuous CRO testing on your website so you don’t experience any growing pains. Can't view the image? [Click here]( ⚡ QUICK HITS 🍪 Is your marketing strategy ready for a post-cookie world? Get the scoop on identity resolution using first-party data and how to shape your marketing strategy with it.[Download the Identity Playbook for free here](. * 💸 Product photoshoots can cost thousands, but product photos don’t have to… Snappr's AI image generator is a cost-effective solution developed specifically for ecommerce companies. [Request a free trial.]( * 🥲 All marketers can agree: creating good copy is tough and time-consuming. Here’s a helpful tool you can use to find inspiration for email & SMS marketing from top DTC brands. [Check it out](! * 📰 NEWS - Apple is in talks with Google [about using Gemini to power the next iPhone’s AI features.]( - TikTok [adds new formats like Carousel and Product Tiles]( to their Video Shopping Ads. - LinkedIn wants users to [spend more time on the platform by adding games](. SPONSOR DTC 📥 Got a B2B Biz? Join dozens of B2B companies finding demand-gen success through our niche community of 160k brand leaders and founders this year. [Talk to our team to learn more](. Have you heard our latest podcasts? - 💰 Rick Cadotte on [Four Sigmatic’s TOFU strategy after Meta challenges]( - 🍪 [AKNF 387](: How to extend the life of your cookies - 🪑 Dayne Rusch on [Vyper Industrial’s Eight Figure Shop Chair Journey]( - 📹 [AKNF 385:]( Why 3-5 second ads are crushing it on Meta - 💪 Dan Crosby on [BioSteel and Revitalizing a Hydration Empire]( - ✍️ [AKNF 383:]( Meta State of The Union 2024 Don’t forget to [rate the DTC Podcast]( on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) DTC Newsletter is written by [Rebecca Knight]( and [Frances Du](. Edited by [Eric Dyck](. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. Please note that items in this newsletter marked with * contain sponsored content. [Direct To Consumer]( Pilothouse, 1011 Government St., Victoria, BC V8W 1X6, Canada [Advertise with DTC]( | [Work With Pilothouse]( [Unsubscribe](