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Instacart IPO: 7 key takeaways for advertisers

Tuesday, August 29th, 2023

Grocery delivery service and advertising platform Instacart filed for its IPO on Friday.

Why we care. Instacart Ads is an emerging platform where CPG (consumer packaged goods) brands can advertise products (via sponsored product ads, display ads, coupons) to 7.7 million “monthly active orderers” as they shop.

1. Instacart’s 2023 ad revenue. Instacart reported $406 million in ad revenue for the six months of 2023, a year-on-year increase of 24%.

• This increase was driven by an increase in advertising volume and increased adoption of new advertising features and products – despite decreases in ad spend by brand partners due to “macroeconomic uncertainty” and changes in “brand partners’ businesses and performance.”
• Ad revenue was $327 million for the same period in 2022.

2. Instacart’s 2022 ad revenue. Instacart’s full-year advertising revenue hit $740 million in 2022, a 29% YoY increase. Advertising was 29% of Instacart’s total revenue.

• Ad revenue was $572 million in 2021, which was 31% of total revenue, and $295 million in 2020.

3. How many brands use Instacart Ads. Intacart had more than 5,500 “active brand partners” using Instacart Ads as of June 30. This number has grown of “over five times” since December 2019.

4. New Instacart Ads offerings coming. Instacart has plans to add new display advertising offerings, specifically mentioning “shoppable products brand pages to serve as destinations for on- and offsite media,” according to the S-1.

5. Instacart plans to expand its ad tech to more retailers. The company plans to invest in and grow the Instacart Enterprise Platform, according to the S-1 filing:

• “In 2021, we launched Carrot Ads, which helps our retail partners capture new monetization opportunities while broadening advertiser reach to millions of new customers via additional relevant placements on retailers’ owned and operated online storefronts.”

6. Instacart is impacted by seasonality. Instacart expects seasonality to cause fluctuations in its quarterly financial results.

• “Our advertising and other revenue has historically been seasonally high in the fourth quarter and seasonally low in the first quarter in a given year as a result of how advertisers deploy their budgets,” according to the filing.

7. Instacart Ads growth strategy. Here’s how Instacart said it plans to increase its advertising revenue:

• “Capture More Ad Spend and Add New Brands on Instacart Ads. We intend to earn a greater portion of brands’ spend across digital marketing as well as other data and customer insights. Growing the number of active brand partners and their spend will depend on our ability to grow the size and engagement of our customer base to create more clicks and impressions and to innovate on our ads offerings to deliver attractive ROI to our brand partners.”
• “Grow Sales for Emerging Brands and Non-Food Categories. We intend to grow sales for emerging brands and non-food categories that have higher advertising budgets, such as household products, pet items, and personal care. As we grow sales for emerging brands and these categories, we expect to experience a mix shift towards GTV with higher advertising and other investment rate.”

What Instacart said. The company’s filing also touted its high ROI and ability to drive purchases:

• “Our grocery expertise has enabled us to build differentiated advertising solutions and tools that allow CPG brands to reach and engage with high-intent customers at the point of purchase and within minutes of delivery and consumption. With our unique customer data and insights, we provide differentiated analytics for brands, allowing them to better optimize their advertising spend and grow their wallet share.”

The filing. Instacart’s Form S-1.

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Google Business Profile robocall scams are increasing

Thursday, August 24th, 2023

Google Business Profile and other types of Google-related phone scams are on the rise in 2023, according to data shared with Search Engine Land by voice security service Hiya.

Why we care. If anyone calls you about your listing – telling you it “needs to be verified,” “has been flagged for review,” or “may be suspended” and promises to help you for a fee, it’s a scam. Google Business Profiles are free, but that hasn’t stopped scammers from trying to profit from them for years.

17,000. More than 2,000 Google Business Profile scams were reported every month this year through July, for a total of more than 17,000, according to Hiya.

Robocall examples. Here are two examples out of more than 100 variations of messages people have received from these fake “Google partners”:

• “Business owners, your Google Business Profile has not been registered with Google. Please press 1 to be transferred to a business listing specialist to assist you in registering your Google Business Profile, or press 2 to be placed on the do not call list.”
• “Hello. We’re calling from Online Listing Group because your Google Business listing needs attention. If your listing is not showing up properly, customers will not be able to contact you or find your location. If you are the business owner, press 1 now to verify or update your business. Press 9 to opt out.”

Sorry, Kentucky. The four U.S. states that get the most Google scam calls, per person:

• Kentucky
• Rhode Island
• Hawaii
• Wyoming

Past action. Google filed a lawsuit against the company G Verifier in November for allegedly charging business owners money for free Google Business Profiles, selling fake reviews and promising first-page rankings.

Google is aware of these robocalls and has a help document, Help protect against fraudulent calls, which reads:

“Unfortunately, there are many unscrupulous individuals and companies who make fraudulent and misleading calls. Sometimes, callers or pre-recorded robocalls falsely claim to be working “with Google” or “for Google” in an attempt to sell different schemes and online marketing services to unsuspecting individuals and companies.

Many of these types of calls are not allowed under U.S. law (unless you have given permission to receive them), and Google is never behind them.”

Dig deeper. The anatomy of an SEO robocall scheme

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Meta rolls out new search tool to track branded content campaigns

Thursday, August 24th, 2023

Meta has launched a new search tool that tracks branded content campaigns.

The feature, titled “Search Branded Content”, is located in the Ads Library and gives users the option to filter the database by platform, date range (currently, only the previous seven days is available) and username.

From here, you’ll get deeper insights into competitor strategies, including details on their approach, creator-business relationships and campaign frequency.

Why we care. Gaining insights into the influencers your competitors collaborate with and staying informed about rival campaigns can serve as valuable inspiration. This information can influence your brand’s decisions regarding partnership choices.

How it works. Social media expert, Lindsey Gamble, shared a screenshot of what the new search tool looks like on X (formerly known as Twitter):

Within the post, Gamble shared a video demonstration illustrating the new feature’s navigation. The video showcases how users can use the tool to gain insights into campaigns involving specific influencers and brands.

When applying the influencer filter, the tool presents an overview of their ongoing campaigns and brand collaborations. Conversely, users can also opt to filter results by brand, revealing the influencers associated with their current campaigns.

Why now? Meta’s decision to improve transparency around branded content campaigns comes as the European Union brings the Digital Services Act into force on Friday – a regulation that puts more onus on large platforms with more than 45 million regional users to create safer digital spaces.

What has Meta said? Commenting on the new Branded Content search feature, Meta said:

• “Ads are just one way for businesses to promote a product or service on Facebook and Instagram. They can also work together with a content creator to promote something in a post, story, video or reel. Meta provides transparency about this type of content by showing a paid partnership label on it and by including it in the Ad Library.”
• “Use the branded content search to find posts, stories, videos and reels on Facebook and Insatgramt that involved a Paid Partnership. You can filter by app and date.”
• “[This tool] is for anyone who wants to see content from a creator who has worked together with a business.”

Deep dive: Check out Meta’s new Branded Content search tool in the Ads Library to see how it works.

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Threads is widely rolling out on the web

Thursday, August 24th, 2023

Meta is widely rolling out its web version of Threads.

This move is aligned with the company’s goal of introducing fresh features to tackle its retention challenges.

Why we care. The expansion to the web could potentially enhance Threads’ active user count and provide a solution to its retention issue. While Threads currently doesn’t display ads, brands utilizing its paid promotion options might experience substantial growth in reach and potentially higher conversions.

How it works. The web version of Threads, threads.net, works in a similar way to the app. Upon visiting the website, users are asked to provide:

• A username, phone number or email address
• A password

The log-in details are the same that you use to log into Instagram.

Upon accessing the web app, the homepage layout closely mirrors that of the mobile version, showcasing an app bar with identical tabs. Notably, the Threads web homepage includes a dropdown menu allowing users to toggle between light and dark themes, report issues, access the about page, or log out.

Usability. Web users are currently able to post a thread, scroll through their feed and interact with others in the same way that they are on mobile. However, there are certain mobile-specific functionalities that are yet to be introduced to the web version. For instance, profile editing is currently unavailable.

Meta is currently addressing these issues and expects a fix to be implemented in the coming weeks.

What has Threads said? Mark Zuckerberg announced on Thread that the web version would be rolling out “over the next few days”.

Deep dive. Read our Threads FAQ for more information on the platform.

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Google is upgrading Vehicle Ads to Performance Max

Thursday, August 24th, 2023

Google will automatically upgrade vehicle ad campaigns to Performance Max (PMax) from September.

PMax with vehicle feeds uses Google AI to help marketers “reach their conversion goals, including qualified leads and dealership visits.”

Why we care. The upgrade will enable car advertisers to reach customers across more touchpoints in their research and shopping journey, such as YouTube, Display, Gmail and Discover.

How it works. Your campaign settings, structure, audience signals, vehicle feeds, and assets will automatically be transferred over to this new campaign to maintain consistent performance. Afterwards, you will no longer be able to create additional campaigns for vehicle ads through Smart Shopping campaigns.

For advertisers not already using vehicle ads, PMax with vehicle feeds will be available in open beta in the US and Canada, and closed beta in Australia.

Why now? Vehicle Ads, which are only available in open betas in the US and Canada, and a closed beta in Australia, are currently running on Smart Shopping campaigns. Since they were upgraded to PMax last year, Google has said it is “following suit” for this format.

What has Google said? A spokesperson for the search engine said:

• “Automotive advertisers are turning to Performance Max to unlock new Google Ads channels, reach more customers, and drive more qualified leads and visits.”
• “Performance Max unlocks new Google Ads channels and inventory for your campaign, including Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, and Gmail.”
• “Through Performance Max, you can now optimize for both online conversions (leads) and offline conversions (store visits) within a single campaign, enabling strong omnichannel bidding optimization.”
• “With the Insights page for Performance Max, you will now have access to new insights that can help inform your business and marketing strategy. These include insights about your audience and current search trends that relate to your business.”

Deep dive. Read Google’s Vehicle Ads announcement in full for more information.

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How generative AI will change SEO as a profession

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023

Generative AI is going to revolutionize the SEO industry, but perhaps not in the way you think.

Yes, your day-to-day job as an SEO is most likely going to look different in a few years’ time. But are bots going to replace you?

“Absolutely not,” said Britney Muller, Marketing & SEO Consultant at Data Science 101, and Dave Davies, Amplification Team Lead at Weights and Biases. But there’s no denying the industry is evolving.

So how will generative AI change SEO as a profession and what can you do to stay ahead of the curve? Muller and Davies shared their thoughts on generative AI and the future of SEO at SMX Advanced.

AI is not replacing SEO

Muller was adamant that AI would not be coming for SEO jobs. However, she did note that the industry would have to adapt depending on how Google incorporates AI into search results:

• “AI is not the be-all and end-all. In fact, I think the shine will start to wear off as we continue to see the limitations of large language models (LLMs) and how much additional work is required to do things well.”
• “LLMs have so many issues that the researchers building this technology have yet to figure out. They are based on a probability distribution and are consistently not factual.”
• “Google has done information retrieval very well within search and I think LLMs could be a nice addition to really better define the questions that people have and surface additional information.”

Technical SEOs will have an advantage

Davies added that technical SEOs may be better positioned to handle the change that generative AI brings than those specializing in content SEO:

• “John Mueller from Google said that as long as machines read websites, technical SEO will remain as important as it is. I think that summarizes exactly what sort of world we’re heading into now.”
• “I think technical SEOs are going to have a bit of an advantage – but content SEO will eventually follow. It just just has to change. The structure that they’ll be optimizing for I think will change.”

Links may evolve

Both Davies and Muller agreed that links may change form and not be such a significant ranking factor in the future. Things like mentions or references to a site may become more valuable signals than traditional links. As Davies explained:

• “I’m not saying link building is dead, but I think its value is about to be significantly adjusted. It will evolve and might not look like the traditional links that we know and use today – but some version of that instead.”
• “Think about the way LLMs are constructed in this linguistic space. They use tokens and they use relationships to make connections. Those things are still very important.”
• “The whole mission of neural networks is to establish understanding between different things and so I believe that will still carry weight – but it might not look as specific as links and link building. Perhaps it could be mentions instead? Perhaps it could take the form of something else and just evolve.”

Prompt customization is key

SEOs will need to master prompt customization for AI to deliver the best results, according to Muller. Fine-tuning based on goals and data is crucial vs. a one-size-fits-all approach.

• “You really need to customize prompts, learn about prompt engineering and implement those things strategically. I know Andrew Ng just came out with a really great quick and easy course, partnered with Open AI, on that very topic and does a beautiful job explaining those key concepts. So I would definitely check that out,” Muller said.
• “ChatGPT actually has an API that you can use to customize prompts. It makes things a bit easier for the people that I work with, for my teams, for my clients, and it kind of puts the power in their hands as far as here’s how we need to approach this with an iterative process.”

Saving time on content creation

Numerous SEOs are exploring generative AI for content creation, including headlines, product descriptions and articles. There are current concerns with the quality of responses, however, these issues could potentially be resolved over time, as Davies pointed out:

• “Generative AI can write quite well. Is it right all the time? No. It’s just a little hack right now. But moving forward, this will speed things up – like with tasks that I was previously doing manually such as looking at what entities were on a page.”
• “I still need to use my brain and go OK, [generative AI] missed this and that. I then also need to fact-check. But this saves me probably half an hour per piece of research.”

Search may expand beyond webpages

In the future, search may move beyond webpages into new environments that don’t yet exist on the web today.

• “In the next five years, I think we’re just going to see a move into two different sorts of landscapes. I think search will diminish a little bit and move into, I don’t want to say Metaverse, but into different environments that don’t exist right now,” Davies said.

Simplifying code

Muller already uses ChatGPT extensively as a code assistant, highlighting that it’s particularly adept at tasks like generating Python scripts:

• “I think it’s important to make note that code in its nature is supposed to be unambiguous, unlike human language, and so generative AI is a lot better, in my opinion, at generating accurate code outputs for things I’m trying to accomplish, whether it be a Python script for a program or just pandas to clean up data. It’s phenomenal at those tasks.”

Judicious use is required

Although generative AI will transform SEO as a profession, careful application is still essential due to the potential for incorrect uses – and this is the reason Muller doesn’t believe that this technology represents the end of SEO as a career. At least not yet.

• “Remember, generative AI is a prediction model based on a probability distribution. So if you imagine that it only read let’s say 100 books that were in the realm of sci-fi, and you ask it a medical question, it’s not going to do so well. But it might do really well with generating a new sci-fi character,” Muller said.
• “Given that context, generative AI is only as good as the text and information it’s trained on, which is inherently problematic because ChatGPT and LLMs are essentially trained on all of the Internet, which isn’t the best place to grab completely factual information or have representation across marginalized groups of people and topics.”
• “These models don’t have emotions. They aren’t reasoning. They don’t have common logic like humans do. And so you have to be really, really, really careful about how you use them, because it’s very easy when you enter a prompt to automate the bias that you already have by the sheer nature of how you ask a question, it’s going to follow that train of thought.”

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[September 1 deadline] Are you an “award-winning” marketer?

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023

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Reddit launches first-party measurement tools

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023

Reddit has launched two first-party measurement tools, Reddit Brand Lift and Reddit Conversion Lift. These are meant to help Reddit advertisers more efficiently monitor campaign performance.

Why we care. Advertisers can now access improved campaign performance data, empowering them to validate investments, optimize strategies more efficiently, and enhance their attribution models. Ultimately, this could lead to maximizing impact and achieving higher returns on ad spend (ROAS).

Reddit Brand Lift. This tool gauges the added effect of Reddit Ads on brand perception using a randomized controlled survey overseen by Reddit’s in-house Marketing Science team. The survey examines campaign particulars, including:

• Ad format, creative
• Audience targeting
• Ad Placement
• Engagement prompts
• Audience calls to action

It also analyses campaign objectives, such as:

• Awareness
• Favorability
• Recall
• Consideration

The study looks at all of the above to understand overall brand perception after people see a campaign on Reddit.

Reddit Conversion Lift. This tool analyzes the next steps taken by users after viewing a campaign on Reddit, using the Reddit Pixel, Conversions API and/or Mobile Measurement Partner (MMP) integration. It analyzes campaign conversion metrics such as:

• App install
• Page visits
• Leads
• Add-to-carts
• Purchases

How it works. The new features work in conjunction with Reddit’s existing third-party measurement tools to give advertisers a more detailed insight into the performance of their campaign.

Reddit Brand Lift and Reddit Conversion lift are available to all Reddit managed advertisers based in the following countries:

• Australia
• Canada
• Germany
• UK
• US

Reddit Conversion Lift is only compatible with the Reddit Pixel, Conversions API, or Mobile Measurement Partners.

What Reddit said. Understanding impact beyond traditional signals like clicks has become increasingly important to understanding campaign effectiveness, said Jim Squires, Reddit EVP of Business Marketing and Growth:

• “Through Reddit Brand Lift and Reddit Conversion Lift, we’re proving what we’ve long known to be true: that advertising on Reddit is highly measurable and highly effective, and when paired with our comprehensive suite of third-party measurement tools, our advertisers have access to holistic insights that support their investment on Reddit.”

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Reddit doubles interest targeting categories for ads

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023

Reddit is significantly expanding its interest targeting categories for advertisers.

The platform is increasing its current offering from 66 to 152, with additional topics and subjects also set to be rolled out in the coming weeks.

Why we care. The expansion will create more opportunities for brands to serve ads to relevant audiences, which could improve reach and campaign performance. With the holiday season on the horizon, now may be the ideal time to start experimenting and see which interest categories are most effective for your ads.

What is interest targeting? Reddit interest targeting shows your ads to people based on what they are interested in. Instead of you having to figure out what Reddit communities or subreddits are relevant to your ads, the platform does that work for you.

Simply pick interests from Reddit’s list that match what your ad is about, and the platform will automatically serve your campaign to relevant audiences based on that data.

When is the expansion happening? Reddit has not given a specific timeframe but has confirmed that the update is being rolled out to advertisers over the next few weeks. When granted access, you should see the update in new and existing ad groups.

What has Reddit said? A spokesperson for Reddit explained:

• “Interest targeting is our most popular form of targeting. That’s why we’re providing you with more control and transparency of your ad targeting and expanding the number of interests available to target.”
• “We have made interests more granular, and broke many interests into multiple new interests. These new interests shouldn’t have any significant effect on your targeting, but if you want to revisit your targeting, you can edit your ad groups.
• “For additional reach, consider enabling expansion, increasing bids, or pairing with additional relevant interest groups or communities.”

Deep dive. Read Reddit’s announcement in full for more information.

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Google on ranking updates: Focus on big picture, not individual signals

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2023

The key to your SEO success is publishing authentic content and thinking about ranking in terms of concepts, rather than individual signals.

That’s according to Googlers Martin Splitt, John Mueller and Danny Sullivan in the latest Search Off the Record episode. The group discussed ranking updates and systems, content, the importance of user-centricity and more.

Why we care. Google’s algorithm is a recipe and we want to know all the ingredients (signals) that will help us rank better and drive more traffic and conversions, no matter what Google says we should do. However, in the chase for SEO success, it remains critical to always provide quality content for your target audience (your users, customers, clients or readers) and make sure you satisfy them first.

The big picture. Many SEOs get obsessed with knowing all the individual search ranking factors. While SEOs try picking everything apart, Mueller said there is a better way:

• “For a lot of the guidance that we have, it’s a lot more now about the bigger picture, because it feels like from a technical point of view, things are often pretty reasonable. And now you really need to get that bigger picture into the right shape, so that when users come, they’re like, ‘Oh, this is actually a helpful site,’” Mueller said.

Because Google’s algorithm is made up of multiple systems, Sullivan advised continuing to focus on the big picture:

• “Know that we’ll just try to share more information, so that you can understand more about the systems that are out there and, you know, hopefully be successful with them.”

Authentic content. The term “authentic” came up a few times during the discussion, with Mueller specifically noting how authentic content can be a differentiator when competing against AI content:

• “But I think now more than ever, having that authentic content that you created because you have
  an actual audience in mind that you know would come to it directly, that is your way forward as you try to navigate this world of how ranking systems are evolving with Google,” Mueller said.
• “And I think also generally, as we go into this world of AI content and so on, that it will have places
  and it’d be useful, but I think the bedrock will be to continue to point people towards authentic information. There’s a big craving for that, and that’s going to be your key to success,” Mueller said.

User-centricity. You should “put yourself in the shoes of someone who arrives at that content and what they’re going to be thinking about,” Sullivan said, adding some helpful context from a personal travel experience:

• “It’s like, I just wanted to know, like, where do I park? How do I get to the place? How long do I need to be there? And that you’ve actually been there,” Sullivan said.
• “… I think more of just sitting back and thinking, ‘If I were a person coming into this, would I actually be satisfied?’ ‘Did I really write this for an actual person, that I’m thinking about my audience?’
• “And if you’re doing that, you really feel like the way you do it works and you’re getting the feedback from your audience that it’s all great. Do it. Just do it. Keep going that way, right?”

The point of SEO is not to dress up pages in the hope it will rank in the first position of Google, Splitt added:

• “… are you trying to make something for your users and make it better, so that even a search engine, which is hopefully a less intelligent being than the people using the website can actually understand the goodness of the page?”

Listen to the episode. Search Off the Record: Let’s talk ranking updates

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