eCommerce Express Digest - September 2023

Just when you think you’re got through one update (Google confirmed that the August Core rollout is complete), the Search Engine announced that a new ‘helpful content system update was taking place. This commenced in mid-September and was complete by the 28th of September.

The last one of these was in December 2022 – for the full index of updates click here.

Helpful Content System Update

Unlike other updates, we do have a bit more of a clue about what this was specifically targeting because they actually provided details via X (formally Twitter). There has been content updates in their content helpful guide mainly around:

• The wording around ‘content written by people, for people’ to ‘created for people’. Some say this confirms Google’s stance on AI generated content 
• Third-party hosted content
• Some new points on how to change/ update and change the dates on content that has been posted

How this will shape the SEO landscape from here is interesting but Google are clearly trying to stay agile and proactive with the introduction of AI generated content on the web. Whilst the messaging has changed, the underlying principle is and has always been to produce good quality, user focused content.

AI

On to the other stories for the month of September! The on-going theme is AI.

Google announced some updates to their AI software BARD. These enhancements include several new functionalities, such as the capability to verify responses through Google Search. Additionally, Google has integrated Bard extensions into Gmail, Docs, Drive, Maps, YouTube, and Google Flights and Hotels. The company also announced an expansion of Bard’s Lens integration in 40 additional languages and an upgrade to its PaLM2 model for increased capabilities.

ChatGPT will also be rolling out some new features, including voice and image prompts. Read more in their statement here. 

TikTok introduced a label for AI-generated content, enhancing transparency and helping users identify such content on the platform.

Paid Ads

Google Ads unveiled valuable creative guidance to boost the effectiveness of your YouTube advertising campaigns. In a recent update, Google introduced new insights and recommendations to help advertisers refine their video ad strategies. These guidelines cover various aspects, including audience engagement, content quality, and ad format. 

More on Paid Ads, Google is taking a significant step toward enhancing e-commerce performance with the integration of Merchant Center data into Google Search Console. This new feature promises to provide online retailers with invaluable insights into their website’s product listings, rich results, and search performance. 

Shopify

Some big news for Shopify Plus users – one-page checkout is now available! Increase conversion rates and sales by cutting down your steps-to-sale. It’s only applicable for Shopify Plus customers but for those on Basic or Advanced, you can do the math on an increased conversion rate and see if it would cover the cost of upgrading to Plus. 

There you have it folks! If you would like to learn more about any of the updates (or think we’ve missed something important!) please get in touch on (03) 9001 9997.