👀 Top Products.

TikTok drops a useful new feature, Google search experts clear up important SEO concerns, and more. February 22, 2023 [Read in browser]( [logo] [sponsor]( Happy middle-of-the-week day. Fun fact: if it weren’t for Shakespeare, we wouldn’t have the word “marketable.” He literally made it up. He also invented a [gust of other words, like](: - Besmirch. - Elbow. - Moonbeam. By the way, he invented the word “gust,” too. We dare you to send an email to a coworker that uses all five of these words. TIKTOK New way to get inspiration and spy on competition just dropped [article-image] Sure, pranks and skits are cool, but have you ever scrolled real-time product data? TikTok added a [phenomenal new feature]( to Creative Studio that shows you [Top Products]( being promoted on the app, plus a truckload of other useful stuff. What’s inside: Each product has a Details section that reveals performance insights like average click-through rate, conversion-rate, cost-per-acquisition, and other useful metrics. You can also filter Top Products based on: - Region. - Product category. - Time period. Oh, and Audience insights tells you about which demographics are interested in the product, plus similar interests. Whoa. Where to find it: You should see a [new tab in the menu]( alongside the already existing Inspiration, Trends, Creative Tools, and Audio Library tabs. Why we care: If you market products on TikTok, this feature should help you learn more about how your niche performs, what you can expect from your ad campaigns, what’s trending, and so much more. It can also point you towards what’s working and what’s not so you don’t waste time testing assets that are doomed to underperform. Sounds like a pretty handy feature to us! SEO Google experts open up about redirects and exact match domains Grab paper and a pencil – Google peeps are answering SEO questions on social media again. Top search experts Gary Ilyes and John Mueller were recently active on Mastodon, pointing out things you should—or should not—pay attention to during your SEO work. To follow or not to follow: Google is likely to [ignore the “nofollow” and “noindex” directives from redirected URLs]( if they are in the HTTP header, according to Gary. Also, he says you shouldn’t forward the redirects unless you can be “exceptionally certain” that the target wants the noindex or nofollow. Exact match? No problem: Meanwhile, John says no, [an exact match domain (EMD) doesn’t cause your rankings to drop](. When one concerned user saw his keyword-match domain drop more than 100 positions, John said the drastic ranking change could be “due to other reasons.” In other words: algorithm changes that neutralize spammy links, the Helpful content update, or the various other core updates that rolled out during the tail end of last year. Why we care: When you have doubts, it’s always helpful to be confirmed or refuted by the experts at Google. In this case, you should definitely pay attention to your redirects and nofollow and noindex tags, not to mention content updates. And as for EMDs… isn’t it nice to have one less ranking factor to worry about? SPONSORED BY SUPERSIDE You won’t want to go back to the old ways of outsourcing design work after this [article-image]( Did you know there's a new way to get creatives called Creative-as-a-Service (CaaS)? Yep. It’s ideal for when internal teams are stretched thin and the typical outsourcing solutions aren't able to deliver creative work at the scale, speed, and consistency you need. Because as you probably know, creative quality is more important than ever. Superside's Creative-as-a-Service combines [the top 1% of creative talent from around the world](, enabling you to produce creative assets twice as fast at half the cost. It’s like having a virtual creative team, complete with brand consistency and the expertise of an entire marketing department without the overhead. You get on-demand access to designers, developers, search engine experts, and marketing gurus. And they can start your projects in under 30 minutes and at any time. No more chasing deadlines or designers. [Start getting high-quality creative assets… fast!]( E-COMMERCE When to “cannibalize” your own product [article-image] Product cannibalization has mostly negative connotations. Why would you let your product “eat” another successful product and cut into its market share? That’s a fair question. But Kevin Indig wants to shift your perspective. He points out that [product cannibalization is often good and even necessary]( for your company to grow. For example, technology improves. New products replace old ones. Fashion brands replace last year’s season with fresh collections. But cannibalization exists in other ways, too. In partial cannibalization, you acquire or copy what works, and add it on top of your regular product or service. For instance, Instagram copied Snapchat with Stories, which cannibalized regular posts. But Stories got engagement and opened up revenue opportunities. Occasionally, full cannibalization is risky but necessary. Kevin points out that Google adding AI chatbot to a search engine demonstrates product cannibalization in a big way. But other companies have done full cannibalization before and found success. Netflix went from being a DVD company to being the leader in the streaming industry. A bold, brave step. Similarly, Apple moved from the iPod to iPhone, cutting into iPod’s shares. A technological step forward would’ve “killed” the iPod, so Apple adapted. And in all three cases, you’re not only competing in a new market, but also with established players in the market. So in conclusion, full cannibalization needs two things to succeed: The product needs to be built on technological advancement, and customers need to be incentivized to use it. And of course, there are cannibalization implications for marketers as well: - You need to change your positioning. Google will now have to move from being a search engine to an answer engine first and foremost. - Your competitors will change. With the iPhone, Apple had to compete with Nokia and Samsung. Google will have to compete with OpenAI and other innovative browsers. - Pricing changes. Bigger products are more expensive and can bring more revenue, but will also have to provide more value. - Brand perception changes. Sometimes, not for the better. Keep that in mind. So if you’re looking to launch a product on top of a product, keep all this in mind. It’s possible, sometimes even necessary to pivot, but only when the opportunity is right. SPONSORED BY RETENTION.COM How’d you like to reclaim 5–10x your abandonment revenue? [article-image]( [Retention.com]( converts your browse, cart, and product abandonment into thousands of new customers. Many of them complete multiple transactions! How? By identifying anonymous sessions and triggering personalized flows to high intent prospects. Like Inspire Uplift, which grew its entire mailable list by 25% within 2.5 months of using [Retention.com](, along with a 10% increase in top-line revenue. [Book a free demo today.]( THE CREW’S INSIGHTS The dangers of taking marketing advice too seriously [article-image] Ever received a cold email intro line that goes something like, “Hey Lily, I loved your LinkedIn post about marketing. It had some valuable insights for me. Super helpful!” … And then jumps straight into a sales pitch? Yeah. Nobody likes these cold emails. They’re the result of one flaw that leads to lots of bad marketing: taking frameworks too seriously. People read an article or post that teaches “cold email 101,” learn that they should open their email with a personal connection—such as a reference to that person’s content—and blindly execute on it even if they’ve got nothing to add to the conversation. This error is repeated across paid media, content, SEO… The list goes on. And it leads to ineffective marketing, poor results, and high costs in terms of time and sometimes spend. The Crew’s insight: Don’t ever take frameworks, formulas, and advice at face value. When someone presents you with a framework that sounds useful, apply it to your own situation by figuring out which pieces you need, and which pieces you don’t. Then evaluate the results you get from the advice. Everyone’s brand and circumstances are different. Keep that in mind when you listen to advice! ROUNDING UP THE STACK [UNLIMITED EDITING:]( No matter who or what (looking at you ChatGPT) writes your content, high quality editing transforms any type of content from, “meh” to “wow, that’s amazing!” Get Panda Copy - All human editors for one flat rate. [See pricing plans.](* [AI MARKETING:]( Bing AI’s ask-me-anything sessions are about to get longer. Microsoft says it’s increasing chat sessions per turn from five to six, and the total number of chats to 60 per day, with plans to increase the daily cap to 100 “soon.” Wow. [GOOGLE:]( Running horse racing ads? Your potential audience just got a little bigger. Google updated its gambling ads policy to allow horse racing ads in four more states – Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia. Of course, you must apply for certification first. [AI MARKETING:]( Uh-oh… we’ve got our first AI-generated phishing attempt. Cybersecurity professionals discovered a LinkedIn ad that was completely AI generated. The whitepaper it promoted? Nonexistent. AI ads are getting good really quickly, for better or worse. *This is a sponsored post BRAIN TEASER I am a word of six. My first three letters refer to an automobile. My last three letters refer to a household animal. My first four letters is a fish. My whole is found in your room. You can find [the answer here.]( [poolside-logo] POOLSIDE CHAT Frog on a plane… almost [article-image] Security officers at a Pennsylvania airport have seen many unusual items pass throughout their careers. [… But even they were surprised when a “stowaway” frog triggered the security alarms.]( Was the frog trying to go on vacation? Or visit foreign ponds? Or prove to a friend that frogs can indeed fly? Either way, it was caught green-handed before it had a chance. Next time, little guy. SHARING IS CARING “Too much info in such a small space.”—a reader who unsubscribed Well, not everyone can handle staying up to date with marketing. It’s a busy industry! But smart marketers do. And there’s a chance you know a few of them. Would you take a few seconds to share our newsletter with someone who values getting the latest marketing news and insights in 7-minute segments? In return, we’ll send you rewards when they subscribe. Share your referral link below to start unlocking exclusive content, merch, and more! 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