Search 🤝 Audience.

Microsoft has a big announcement for advertisers, Google’s Video indexing report just got more data, and more. February 3, 2023 [Read in browser]( [logo] [sponsor]( Happy Friday, you made it. If you need a break today—or just inspiration—[watch Danny MacAskill’s “postcard” video](. That mountain bike may as well be one of Danny’s limbs. Now we know what we’re doing this weekend: riding bikes. Not like Danny, though. That’s out of our league. MICROSOFT Search and Audience are better together [article-image] Not our words. They’re Microsoft’s. The tech giant plans to make its multi-channel marketing strategy—which combines the Search and Audience networks—[available to all advertisers starting February 21](. OK, so, what does that mean? A few things. First, Microsoft says you’ll no longer see the audience ad bid modifiers in your campaigns. Also, you will no longer have to manage campaigns manually. Instead all you’ll need to do is set up your goals, and Microsoft Ads will “optimize your ads across channels.” Certainly would make campaign management easier! Will it work? Microsoft thinks so. According to the company’s own tests, users who see an ad on both the Search and Audience networks visit a site 2.6 times more and convert 6.6 times more. … And accounts that used Microsoft’s multi-channel method had 14% higher conversion rates and 21% lower cost per acquisition (CPA). Strong claims. How to prepare: Microsoft says you don’t need to do anything except provide proper signals. So just continue to optimize your tracking, goals, assets, etc. Why we care: With the combined approach, you might be able to reach more than a billion people, and possibly with more success. Of course, Micorosft is obviously making automation a key feature in its advertising tools and structure. That looks powerful in print, but… will it be widely adopted? And will it work as well as Microsoft claims? Time will tell… SEO Video indexing report gets double feature Want to make an SEO analyst happy? Give them more data to play with. Google’s bringing the smiles by [adding two new updates to the Search Console Video indexing report.]( First, let’s see those impressions: You can now see the number of daily video impressions and keep track of your video performance over time. These impressions are grouped by page, meaning that if the same page appears more times in the results page, it will still count as only one impression. Then, let’s filter the sitemaps: This feature helps you focus on essential video pages, filtering the report to show only video pages present on a selected sitemap. The filter applies to all elements of the indexing report, including the chart, chart totals, issue lists, and exports. Why we care: Seems you just got more data to work with, which should help you better understand your videos’ performance on the results page. And since videos are always near the top, it would be smart to optimize them with care. SPONSORED BY STACKED MARKETER PRO Don’t cut prices, and other surprising findings from our recession guide for marketers [article-image]( With economic uncertainty looming, it’s all too easy for marketers to panic. Don’t let this be you. Instead, check out some of the surprising findings from our latest Stacked Marketer Pro guide on [how to market successfully during a recession](: - Don't cut prices. Customers soon think your lower price is normal, making it very difficult to raise prices later. - Don't cut product or service quality. If consumers believe they are being shortchanged, they won’t think twice about changing brands. - Recession is good for cheaper retailers. Seems obvious enough… - … But higher end brands do well too. If your brand is perceived as being worth paying more for, like Apple, you can thrive during a downturn. So if you want insider knowledge on how consumers behave, how successful marketers and brands approach tough economies, and how you can thrive during a recession… [Join Stacked Marketer Pro for $7 to get the full report.]( MARKETING How to strike the balance between efficiency and volume in PPC [article-image] To be efficient, or to be omnipresent? That’s the great PPC question. For example, maybe you want your campaigns to bring the most bang for your buck, so you’re limiting ad exposure only to the safest of bets. But does that mean you’re missing out on non-measurable, qualified traffic in the process? The good news: it’s not one or the other. In a recent article, Jason Tabeling [shared a couple of tips]( that should help you get the best of both worlds. So let’s be broad, but still be efficient… Determine how your business is operating. Think of metrics that will drive your decisions. Is your business profitable, are there specific seasons that you do better or worse? Let’s say your business is highly profitable. Throwing ad money to go broader could help you acquire new customers and scale, and vice-versa. If you’re seeing huge results during Father’s Day, that’s when you bump volume. Forecast at different levels. Jason recommends accessing Google Ads’ Performance Planner tool under Tools > Settings to see where your potential opportunities are. You can create planners for as many campaigns as you’d like and see predicted growth for whatever results you input. Then, you can adjust your budget. Choose bidding models. You can switch from efficiency to volume and vice-versa, depending on your targets for different automated bidding models. For example: - With target CPA, the optimization will prioritize the CPA goal – going for efficiency. - If you choose to maximize conversions, the volume will be the primary metric. You can shift between these models depending on your current goals. And that’s the golden middle. Just make sure you understand your business objectives, and it will be easier to juggle between efficiency and volume. And yes, you can totally do both. FROM THE CREW Subscribe to the ultimate newsletter bundle and enter the chance to win a $1,000 Amazon gift card [article-image]( You know how you like our newsletter because of all the useful news and advice with its no-fuss approach? Well, we wanted to do something a little extra for you… So we got to thinking and came up with an idea: What if we recommended our favorite free newsletters to our readers? This is your opportunity to subscribe to [five amazing and informative newsletters](, plus the opportunity to win an Amazon gift card. [Go on, sign-up today!]( THE CREW’S INSIGHTS Why de-risking your messaging can make you more sales [article-image] Most of The Crew here at Stacked Marketer receive plenty of cold sales pitches. And, hey, we’re marketers—we get it. Cold outreach can work. But it works a lot better when you de-risk your messaging. Take this example of a cold email: “Hey, Joe, I built an AI tool that helps copywriters brainstorm faster. Any interest in jumping on a call so I can show you the product? I think you'd find it useful.” Joe’s not going to reply to that message. There’s no context, and it hasn’t been de-risked—Joe likely worries he’ll be pressured into making a purchase on the call. So let’s de-risk this email, shall we? Here’s the revised version: “Hey, Joe, I built an AI tool that helps copywriters brainstorm faster. I see you write copy, and I’m looking to get feedback on my product from other writers. Would you be open to hopping on a 10-minute call so I can demo the product and get your thoughts? There’s no pressure to make a purchase. I won’t even hit you with a sales pitch. Just looking for feedback.” This time, Joe knows he’s not accepting an invite for an aggressive sales call. And it may sound counter-intuitive, but Joe’s more likely to make a purchase when he doesn’t feel like he’s being pressured into it. The Crew’s insight: Things are more attractive when we truly want them, not when we feel pressured to want them. See if you can reflect that sentiment in your marketing. We think you’ll be happy with the results. ROUNDING UP THE STACK [FINANCE:]( Much of the news falls on deaf ears. But The Daily Upside gives you the best finance and investing insights from the greatest financial writers. You’ll finish every issue in just five minutes, feeling a little smarter than you were yesterday. [Read it now for free.](* [TWITTER:]( Bye, bye, free API. Starting February 9, Twitter is cutting access to both v.1.1 and v2 of the Twitter API and replacing them with a basic paid tier. Could be the end of many smaller third-party apps… [E-COMMERCE:]( Hold the phone. Over 40% of all digital consumer spend in Q4 occurred on mobile devices, and mobile spend (26%) surpassed desktop devices spend (14%) year-on-year growth during the same period. Oh, and the entire e-commerce spend exceeded $1T in 2022 – a 21% year-over-year growth. Whoa. [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:]( 100M users in January. 13M unique visitors a day. Yep, we’re talking about ChatGPT numbers. The adoption of AI technology seems to be compounding and could make any new future tool even more popular. Buckle up. [META:]( Quarterly earnings aren’t everything. Despite [disappointing reports](, there are still promising signs for Meta – most notably the performance of Reels. Are you using them yet? *This is a sponsored post BRAIN TEASER Four years ago, Meg put a nail on a tree in order to mark her height. If the tree grows 10 inches per year, and currently the nail is five inches lower than Meg, how much has Meg grown over these four years? You can find [the answer here](. [poolside-logo] POOLSIDE CHAT “Heading” out [article-image] Think you’re dedicated to your work? Check this out. Six pediatricians put their digestive systems to the ultimate test… [by swallowing Lego heads](. The goal? To see how long it would take for the little yellow pieces to exit, and to publish the findings in a science journal. So these six committed professionals, each scattered across the globe, all ingested the unlucky heads, and waited, and waited, and waited… So, what were the results? Well, most doctors recovered their Lego head in their first or second “attempt.” One doctor never recovered his, though. Wonder where that went… SHARING IS CARING “I want only email marketing, not all marketing on planet earth.”—a reader who unsubscribed Ouch. Well, our newsletter isn’t for everyone. But it’s definitely for smart marketers who manage multiple growth channels. ... And we have a feeling you know a few of them. 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