Shopify Audiences 2.0 is RIPPING!

Lower CPA, higher ROAS, higher conversion rate

Author

Kyle Tully
August 16, 2023

Welcome to Morning Commerce!

As we start to edge closer to the holiday season now is the time to get your campaigns and promotions nailed down and ready to roll.

We’ve got an acquisition-heavy issue this week, including:

  • Private feedback group open

  • Shopify Audiences 2.0 is RIPPING!

  • Amazon cuts dozens of in-house brands

  • 8 TikTok products with over 4000 orders

  • Agency heads say Pinterest ads are back

  • Google Ads to sunset Enhanced CPC on Shopping campaigns

— Kyle Tully

ACQUISITION

Amazon cuts dozens of in-house brands

In what could be a great opportunity for Shopify store owners looking to expand into Amazon, WSJ reported Amazon is dropping dozens of in-house brands as they attempt to dodge antitrust scrutiny and back out of categories with disappointing sales.

The cuts include 27/30 of its clothing brands, and both of its private-label furniture brands. Amazon Basics will remain the focus of its in-house efforts.

In total, tens of thousands of products once sold directly by Amazon will be removed from shelves, opening the door for savvy Shopify brands looking to expand with one less (rather large) competitor to worry about.

Editors Note: Worried about brand dilution or otherwise losing control of your brand by selling on Amazon? Why not rebrand and repackage your products under a new label and duplicate your business customised for Amazon shoppers?

8 TikTok products with over 4000 orders

If you’re not sure that any of your products would work on TikTok… or how to approach marketing the products you think might work… then these videos should help point you in the right direction.

From Pickle Jar Sweatshirts to Reinforcement Door Locks and Anti-Clog Drain Funnels, there’s plenty in here to get your creative juices flowing.

Agency heads say Pinterest ads are back

Pinterest ads, once the hot new darling in town, have hardly got mentioned in recent memory. In fact, I don’t remember the last client who brought them up.

However, all that might be changing as advertisers seek out new growth opportunities and lower CPMs, especially during the competitive holiday season.

New updates on the platform — including opening themselves up to 3rd party ad partners including Amazon — have helped garner some attention and bring new interest.

Though as Modern Retail reports, most budget allocations to Pinterest are still on the lower side, with as little as 5% of marketing spend having its sights set on the platform.

Pinterest has traditionally performed best with older women so if you sell to that market you might consider taking another look at what they have to offer.

Shopify Audiences 2.0 is RIPPING!

Google Ads to sunset Enhanced CPC on Shopping campaigns

As Google continues its march towards full automation, another long-time favourite strategy is being turned off. eCPC campaigns will behave as though they are using Manual CPC later this year.

Google says that they’re now using more advanced tech and the 10+ year-old eCPC campaigns have been superseded by things such as target ROAS and Performance Max.

They’re not wrong, but it’s sure annoying having to change.

If you are using eCPC, Google recommends:

  • Try the one-click Target ROAS experiments for Shopping.

  • Trial Performance Max campaigns.

If you decide not to take any action by October, your campaign will simply continue operating as it is using Manual CPC bidding.

SEO

Over 67% of domains using hreflang have issues

In the largest such study ever conducted, Ahrefs found over 67% of domains using hreflang have at least one issue.

If you’re not a super SEO nerd you might not be familiar with hreflang or why it matters for your Shopify store.

Quick refresher:

Hreflang is an HTML tag that indicates the language and regional focus of a webpage. When you have the same page content in various languages, the hreflang attribute informs search engines such as Google about these alternatives. This ensures that users get the appropriate version.

Google’s own John Mueller says “hreflang is one of the most complex aspects of SEO (if not the most complex one). Feels as easy as a meta-tag, but it gets really hard quickly.“

Might be a good idea to run your site through your favourite SEO tool and see how you fare.

SHOPIFY NEWS

Private feedback group open

Did you know Shopify has a private group of Shopify staff dedicated to providing merchants with feedback on their stores?

It’s true, and as of the time of publishing, access is open.

Entrepreneur energy cereal

File this one under “the sugar high you didn’t know you needed“.

One new Shopify update

  • Shopify Credit - For US merchants, a pay in full business credit card that extends a credit line to eligible merchants. It has no fees, interest or credit checks, and gives you cashback rewards on key spending categories.

INSPO OF THE WEEK

Arber might not win any awards for site speed, but the flawless product packaging is expertly displayed throughout the site. First in a captivating full-view-height unboxing video. And then reinforced further with classy product photography stylised and staged to perfection. Their cart is also super slick.

How we can help…

🔥 Looking for an experienced Shopify Partner to work with? 
Smart ecommerce brands rely on us for innovative design, development, optimisation, and growth strategies to create highly profitable Shopify websites. Work with our consultancy.

🎯 Want to reach our audience? Hit reply to discuss advertising.