Google Metric Changes & Pinterest's New Tool - TRIBETALK EP 7

Check out this TribeTalk from our Director of Operations, J.P. VanderLinden chatting with two of our team members, Ashley Williams and Chris Grippo.

Say Goodbye to Average Position

Google is doing away with the Average Position metric! It’s said to disappear from Google reports sometime later this year. What will we do without knowing position in the search results anymore? With the change, what metrics should we start to focus on instead? We recommend looking at the 4 new metrics that have been introduced including: Impression (Absolute Top) %, Impression (Top) %, Search absolute top impression share, and Search (Top) IS. Google Ads product manager, Pallavi Naresh, said, “These new metrics give you a much clearer view of your prominence on the page than average position does.” 

We anticipate the update will mostly affect those who want to be first and don’t care about what the data says. We all like to be first but first position does not always necessarily mean more conversions and higher CTR. We actually see that 2nd position does best most often. The update may make it harder to see where on the page is performing the best. 

Our thoughts are this is something Google is doing as another way to push their automated bidding strategies. For clients already using auto-bidding, this won’t have much effect because Google’s algorithm has already determined the best position for the goal that is set. 

So before things change we suggest to run (not walk) to your reporting and check your average position now before it’s gone. 

Pinterest’s “Complete The Look” Tool

Pinterest marketing is coming for your wallet!

To inspire users while searching, Pinterest created the “Complete The Look” Tool. Instead of providing images for the exact word you search, Visual Search populates a visual complement. For example, if you search for a dress, it could populate jewelry and shoes that would “complete the look” of the dress. It’s not just for fashion but also for Home Decor pins as well. 

Why does this remind me of going to Target for one item and coming out with 10? 

The tool seems super helpful for putting together an outfit or decorating a room, but may also entice shoppers to buy more than they intended to. That part may not be good for shoppers, but great for the advertiser (and Pinterest) revenue! 

We see great value for eCommerce clients to expand to this channel. We have been recommending Pinterest to our clients more as we are seeing the growth in maturity of the platform and it evolving to match up with top players in the space. 

From Google pushing users to rely on auto-bidding to automated shopping with Pinterest, the trend that we continue to see is more reliance on automation. How will these changes impact your business or clients? What do you think will be automated next? Post a comment or shoot us an email with your thoughts.