Clean Digital

A BIG week ahead! The eyes of the nation will be tuned to the Commons as the Autumn Budget is revealed on Wednesday and looks very likely that it will have a knock on impact for businesses. Alongside that, I’ll be looking at tech earnings calls with Google, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon & Apple all hosting their respective Q3 calls this week. Google’s up first tomorrow with a stock price which hasn’t shifted much since the Summer. With the DoJ antitrust suit ongoing it’s a very interesting time for the company who have announced a series of platform updates around Performance Max in result months. Whilst these have come as welcome changes to the industry I honestly think its just a play to sell more ad space for cross-channel campaigns. Meta’s results on Wednesday should be interesting too. In their Q2 call they revealed that ad impressions across their portfolio grew by 10% whilst their price per ad also grew by 10%, both contributing to their 22% increase in revenue. Since that call, their stock price is up around 24%. Good for investors, bad for advertisers due to that 10% increase in base level ad costs. Apple (Thursday) should be interesting too, specifically around any updates involving their own Search Ads which currently remain exclusive to their app store. The speculative long-term play is for Apple to introduce a version of search which shifts the ecosystem away from in browser search to one which is more native and started on device. How that impacts their relationships with Google who they pay around $20billion each year to be the default search engine on Safari, I don’t know but it will be interesting to see if any early updates on indicators on that are included on the call. #paidmeida #earningcalls #q3 #advertising

📣Clean Digital Weekly Insights📣 We’re back with the latest updates in PPC and digital marketing! Here’s what’s new this week: 🚀Navigating Meta's Automatic Adjustments: What Advertisers Need to Know  - Meta has quietly introduced an automatic adjustments feature affecting ad campaigns by making significant changes without explicit advertiser consent. This includes pausing or activating campaigns and adjusting budgets. While it aims to optimise performance, advertisers report unintended disruptions. It's crucial to check if this feature is active and consider opting out if you prefer more control. 🚀Discovering Google's New Video Shopping Ads  - Google is testing video functionality in shopping ads, letting users view product videos directly in search results. This feature enhances engagement, as video ads typically yield higher interaction rates. Advertisers may now focus more on in-ad interactions instead of traditional website visits, potentially affecting traffic to landing pages. 🚀Google's New Travel Feeds in Search Ads  - Now available for hotel advertisers, Google's Travel Feeds in Search Ads display dynamic information such as prices and ratings. This enriches ads with real-time data, potentially increasing click-through rates by up to 20%. This feature improves user experience by providing comprehensive information for planning travel. 🚀Google Ads Introduces Page-Specific Assets for Performance Max Campaigns  - Google Ads now allows page-specific assets in Performance Max campaigns, enabling ads to be more relevant to specific page content. This feature brings precision in ad alignment with site content, aiming for higher engagement and conversion rates by tailoring messaging to individual pages. 🔗Find out more in the link in comments below👇 💡Join us next week for more insights, and share your thoughts in the comments! #ppc #digitalmarketing #ppcinsights #marketinginsights #industryinsights #marketing #meta #googleads  #performancemax #pmax #google #googleshopping

FRIDAY POLL📊🤔

Ever wanted to go on your dream holiday, buy that new computer, or even just supercharge your savings? This could be possible with Clean Digital! Here, every team member benefits from regular profit shares, thanks to our employee-owned status. We believe every voice matters, and our team's success is our success. We have two exciting roles open: ✨PPC Executive ✨PPC Specialist So, whether you’re just starting out your career in digital marketing or you have 2+ years under your belt, we'd love to see what you can bring to our forward-thinking team. Join a team where you benefit from profit sharing, flexible hybrid working, and private healthcare, all within a diverse and inclusive culture. To apply and learn more, check out the link in the comments. We can't wait to meet you! #hiring #ppcexecutive #ppcspecialist #ppcjobs #digitalmarketing #ppc #accountmanager #accountexecutive #digitalmarketingjobs

Focus on your strengths, and try not to dwell on your weaknesses. Yesterday I got the opportunity to attend a fantastic event hosted by Edinburgh Rugby at the beautiful Tattu Restaurants. It was an insightful experience that shed light on the importance of leveraging our unique strengths.💪 Special thanks to Kieran Cooney for the invitation, and to Louise Alburo and her team for their exceptional hospitality, delicious food & mocktails! #edinburghrugby #alwaysedinburgh #networking #edinburgh #edinburghbusiness #rugby

Lets talk about... CSS Dominance. Clean Digital took a look at 50+ retail searches in the UK to understand adoption rates of Comparison Shopping Services (CSS). Across the searches we found: 260 unique advertisers appeared in auctions with 55% were running ads from a CSS. When we looked deeper we found some other really interesting takeaways. Advertisers leveraging a CSS appear more often across every position in results. Across the top 5 positions more than 70% of the time they are occupied for a CSS advertiser, with that only dropping a few points to 67% across all tiles (1-16), indexing much higher compared to that earlier total of 55%. Why is this happening? Using a CSS allows advertisers to save up to 20% on Shopping CPCs compared with going through 'by Google' as default, meaning you afford to bid more and appear more often for effectively the same price. What's also really interesting is that some huge brands AREN'T using a CSS, including Gymshark, Argos, Nespresso UK & ASOS.com. Whilst the savings can be big, using a CSS isn't everything and it won't be the cure for bad campaign management. As I see it... 😎 CSS + Good Setup = Above Average 🙂 CSS + Bad Setup OR Google + Good Setup = Average 😩 Google + Bad Setup = Below Average #ecommerce #retail #googleshopping #ppc #agency

Having spent 6 years at Clean Digital, I can genuinely say it's an excellent place to work... Becoming an employee-owned company last year has been a real game changer. It has meant that every team member, regardless of their position, now has a say in the running of the company, and we ALL now regularly get a share of the profits (my trip to LA earlier this year would NOT have been possible without this 🤩). We currently have not one, but two exciting opportunities: we're hiring both a PPC Executive and a PPC Specialist! So, whether you're just starting your career in digital marketing or have 2+ years of PPC experience, there's a place for you in our employee-owned company. Enjoy being part of a forward-thinking, diverse, and dynamic team, with perks like profit sharing, hybrid working, and private healthcare! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about these roles, and please do share with your networks! Check out the details via the link in the comments! #hiring #ppcexecutive #ppcspecialist #ppcjobs #digitalmarketing #ppc

Join our employee-owned company as an experienced PPC Specialist! At Clean Digital, you’ll benefit from regular profit sharing, have a say in company decisions, and enjoy hybrid working with private health care...plus many more benefits & perks! We're looking for someone with 2+ years of hands-on PPC experience, a passion for digital advertising, and the enthusiasm to thrive in a dynamic environment. APPLY NOW via the link in the comments!👇 📩 Got questions? Don't hesitate to reach out on here or email hello@cleandigital.co.uk #hiring #ppcspecialist #ppcaccountmanager #digitalmarketing #marketing #jobposting #edinburghjobs #ppc #paidadvertising #advertising #ppcjobs #ppcroles #ppcexperts

📣Clean Digital Weekly Insights📣 We’re back with the latest updates in PPC and digital marketing! Here’s what’s new this week: 🚀Understanding Google Ads' Recent Changes to Ad Auctions for Holiday Shopping - With the holiday shopping season approaching, Google has revised the competition dynamics between Performance Max and Standard Shopping campaigns in ad auctions, effective from October. This change, which places Ad Rank as the key determinant in ad selection for overlapping campaigns, requires advertisers to adapt strategies for optimal performance during this critical sales period. Google anticipates these updates will have a "neutral or positive impact" on overall performance. 🚀Exploring Google's AI-Powered Shopping Overhaul - Google introduces a revamped Shopping experience in the United States, harnessing AI to personalise the shopping journey. This upgrade includes AI-enhanced product searches, dynamic filters, virtual try-ons, personalised home feeds, and a dedicated deals page. These innovations promise a tailored shopping experience, enhanced targeting, and improved engagement and conversion rates, offering brands new ways to showcase products. 🚀LinkedIn's New Updates: A Closer Look at Event Ads and AI Campaign Options - LinkedIn has unveiled updates focusing on event ads and AI-powered campaign tools. The improved event ads display essential details directly in the ad, enhancing engagement by reducing friction. Additionally, AI enhancements dynamically adjust bids and targeting, enabling advertisers to optimise reach without manual oversight, promising a more customised advertising experience for both advertisers and audiences. 🚀Exploring Google's New Expandable Product Ads Carousel - Google is testing new search ad formats, introducing expandable sponsored ads and in-ad search refinements. These features allow users to expand ads to access a carousel and refine searches within ads, fostering a more interactive and controlled ad browsing experience. These innovations highlight the shift towards engaging users more deeply and the importance of strategic ad placement. 🔗Find out more in the link in comments below👇 💡Join us next week for more insights, and share your thoughts in the comments! #ppc #digitalmarketing #ppcinsights #marketinginsights #industryinsights #marketing #googleshopping #shoppingads #linkedinads #ai #googlemerchantcentre

Quite the update out of Google in the last 24 hours. Performance Max campaigns are losing their super priority over Standard Shopping campaigns when in the same account promoting the same product just in time for the Q4 retail rush. One of the biggest bugbears of PMax is that the campaign type is multi-placement, resulting in products appearing on Shopping, Search, Display, Search Partners etc. without any control of the percentage of impressions going to each placement. For numerous different reasons, different placements are likely to have different levels of return. By removing that god tier campaign prioritisation, Google brings PMax bidding in line with other campaign types with ad rank being the primary factor to what campaign wins the right to be in the auction, which they maybe should of just done this from the get go. It's going to be interesting to see how this play out in real-time auctions. Industry data continues to show more and more PMax adoption as time goes on with much more frequent updates for PMax particularly involving AI, but more adoption that's not necessarily a good thing. When executed well, PMax can be really powerful. When executed poorly, it can wreck accounts extremely quickly. I think this move removes another blocker for why some advertisers are hesitant to use the campaign type. The update comes at the same time that Google also announces an 'AI Reshuffling' (link for that in comments) and several months after posting lower than expected earnings for Q2. What's a good way to sell more ads and increase revenue? Get as many of your advertisers using a campaign type which sells ads across every bit of inventory you have. #google #pmax #ppc #shopping #retail