Welcome to the October edition of our monthly digital marketing updates 📩
October brings significant developments in search and social, with Google Trends reshaping SEO approaches and both X and TikTok preparing brands for the upcoming holiday season. These updates arrive at a crucial time as businesses begin their holiday marketing preparations.
In this edition:
Search Marketing: New Google Trends capabilities and technical SEO guidance on URL parameters
For marketers: Learn how to spot rising search trends and fix common technical SEO issues that might be holding back your rankings
Martech: Squarespace’s platform refresh and Adobe Magento’s latest release
For marketers: Discover new tools to enhance your website’s performance and eCommerce capabilities, regardless of your technical expertise
Social Media Updates: TikTok’s post-Christmas strategies and X’s holiday engagement toolkit
For marketers: Get practical tips for maintaining momentum after the holiday rush and maximising engagement during peak shopping seasons.
PS. Speaking of holiday marketing, we’ve got something special for you. Grab the Free Calendar Notion Template for eCommerce Holiday Marketing Calendar & Campaign Ideas. It includes web push notifications example campaigns already placed in the upcoming holidays.
About Frizbit: Updates from the World Aviation Festival and SWITCH Conference recent events that we attended during October.
Let’s get started with the Digital Marketing Updates ⬇️
Search Marketing Updates
1. Mastering Google Trends for Long-Term SEO Strategy
In an era where real-time data drives marketing decisions, the recent Google Trends update has emerged as a game-changer for SEO strategists.
This update emphasises how real-time data can empower marketers to capture audience attention more effectively, particularly by aligning content with rising interests and evolving user behaviours.
For forward-thinking SEO professionals, Google Trends has become more than just a trend-spotting tool – it’s now an essential component of strategic planning.
Let’s explore how marketers can leverage this powerful resource:
Geographic Insights: The Power of Local
The most significant advantage of Google Trends lies in its ability to provide detailed regional analysis. Marketers can now examine keyword interest across specific regions, offering an invaluable layer of localisation.
This geographical insight has practical implications: if a keyword shows high popularity in Manchester but lower interest in London, businesses can intelligently allocate their budget and tailor content to where demand peaks. This targeted approach ensures marketing resources are invested where they’ll generate the highest return.
Seasonal Campaign Planning: Timing is Everything
With all of the Trends data at their fingertips, marketers can now predict with greater accuracy when their audience will search for specific products or services.
This capability is particularly crucial for businesses in seasonal industries. For instance, travel companies can anticipate booking patterns, while retailers can prepare for peak shopping periods.
The data allows for precise campaign timing, ensuring maximum visibility when audience interest is at its highest.
Emerging Topics: The First-Mover Advantage
Perhaps the most exciting feature is Google’s “rising queries” section – a treasure trove for content strategists. By identifying and creating content around these emerging topics, brands can position themselves as go-to resources for fresh insights.
This proactive approach is particularly valuable in competitive markets where being first to publish can significantly impact visibility and authority.
Expert Tip: Stop treating Google Trends as merely a reporting tool. Work closely with your SEO team to develop a data-informed content calendar that anticipates audience demand rather than reacting to it. In competitive markets, being first to publish quality content on emerging topics can set your brand apart.
2. Google’s Updated SEO Best Practices: URL Parameters and Canonical Tags
As websites grow increasingly complex, managing technical SEO elements becomes more challenging.
Google’s updated guidance on URL parameters and canonical tags couldn’t have come at a better time, especially for large websites where URL structures can significantly impact search performance.
Let’s break down Google’s key recommendations:
URL Simplification: Less is More
Google’s latest advice emphasises the importance of streamlined URLs. Excessive or unnecessary parameters can dilute SEO value by creating duplicate or irrelevant pages.
The goal is simple: create concise, well-structured URLs that search engines can easily interpret and users can understand. This approach not only improves SEO but also enhances user experience.
Canonical Tags: Consistency is Key
One of the most common issues, particularly on large sites, is inconsistent canonical tags. This becomes especially problematic when similar content appears across multiple pages.
Google’s guidance stresses the importance of accurate canonical tags and recommends regular audits to ensure they’re pointing to the correct URLs. A misconfigured canonical tag can result in lower-ranking pages being indexed instead of your preferred versions.
Internal Links: Building Strong Foundations
Google’s emphasis on internal linking strategy remains strong. The recommendation is clear: ensure all internal links direct users to the canonical version of each URL.
This practice not only reduces confusion for search engines but also helps strengthen the SEO value of your target pages while ensuring a seamless user experience.
Expert Tip: Make technical SEO audits a regular part of your digital strategy. A structured review of URL parameters, canonical tags, and internal links can uncover common SEO errors that often go unnoticed but significantly impact performance. Consider working with a technical SEO specialist to build a stronger foundation for sustained search visibility.
Martech Updates
1. Squarespace October 2024 Refresh: Enterprise Tools for Growing Businesses
Squarespace Refresh, their most recent release brings professional-grade website tools to entrepreneurs and SMEs.
This October update focuses on enhancing brand presence and eCommerce capabilities, with a clear goal: making professional-quality digital experiences accessible regardless of technical expertise.
Design & customisation: creating brand experiences
The refresh introduces a robust suite of design tools that enable users to craft distinctive, brand-centric websites.
Small businesses can now leverage professional templates, sophisticated colour schemes, and advanced typography settings to establish a professional online presence that resonates with their audience — all without needing extensive design expertise.
Ecommerce Evolution: scaling made simple
Perhaps the most impactful changes come in the eCommerce functionalities. Squarespace has significantly upgraded its online shopping tools, introducing:
- More flexible product display options for better merchandising
- Enhanced payment processing capabilities
- Streamlined inventory management systems
These improvements give entrepreneurs the functionality needed to scale their businesses without requiring developer support — a game-changer for small businesses looking to grow their online presence.
Analytics & Performance: Data-driven decision making The refresh provides in-depth analytics that help business owners understand visitor behaviour in unprecedented detail. From tracking conversion rates to identifying popular pages, these insights empower brands to optimise their sites for better engagement and increased sales.
Expert Tip: Before diving into the new features, establish your baseline metrics and plan a phased implementation. Start with revenue-driving eCommerce features on your highest-traffic pages, then gradually roll out design changes whilst monitoring user response. Use the new analytics to inform your strategy and the enhanced product display options to create strategic cross-selling opportunities that boost average order value.
2. Adobe Magento 2.4.7: Meeting modern eCommerce demands
The latest release of Adobe Magento Open Source 2.4.7 arrives at a crucial time when online retail faces growing demands for security, scalability, and seamless integration. As more brands shift their focus online, the need for robust performance and stringent data protection has never been more critical.
Highlighted improvements:
Security: Protecting Customer Trust With cyber threats on the rise, Magento has significantly strengthened its platform security. The update includes:
- Enhanced user authentication protocols
- Advanced data encryption methods
- Improved security features especially crucial for businesses handling sensitive customer data
- Comprehensive protection particularly valuable in compliance-heavy sectors
Scalability: Supporting Growth The update brings impressive improvements in handling larger product catalogues, delivering faster page load times, and maintaining improved server response rates. This makes it particularly suitable for brands experiencing rapid growth, ensuring their site remains responsive and user-friendly even during peak traffic periods.
Adobe Ecosystem Integration: Streamlining Operations The seamless integration with Adobe’s suite of tools enables:
- More efficient data management across platforms
- Cross-platform analytics for better insights
- Optimised content delivery
- Streamlined workflows for marketing, sales, and customer service teams
Expert Tip: Prioritise security and performance in your implementation strategy. Begin with a thorough security audit and performance benchmark, then create a detailed rollout plan that accounts for your peak trading periods. When integrating with Adobe’s ecosystem, focus on tools that directly align with your business goals and ensure your team is trained to leverage the cross-platform analytics effectively. Regular monitoring and adjustments based on performance data will help maximise your ROI.
Social Media Updates
1. TikTok’s Post-Christmas Marketing Guide: Maintaining Momentum Beyond the Festive Rush
As marketers gear up for the holiday season, TikTok has released a timely guide addressing a common challenge: maintaining engagement after the Christmas peak.
The platform’s insights focus on how brands can sustain momentum during what’s typically considered the “quiet season”, when consumer engagement often dips following peak spending periods.
As explained by TikTok:
“Q5, the period right after the holiday season, is a prime opportunity for brands to capture consumer attention. Audiences on TikTok are actively seeking new deals, trends, and products to kickstart their new year. Drive post-holiday sales during this hidden gem of a shopping moment.”
Let’s explore TikTok’s strategic recommendations:
Riding the New Year wave:
The platform emphasises aligning content with New Year’s resolutions and fresh starts. This isn’t just about jumping on the resolution bandwagon – it’s about connecting meaningfully with users’ aspirational mindset.
Whether it’s fitness goals, wellness journeys, or organisation ambitions, brands have an opportunity to position themselves as enablers of positive change.
Gift Card Strategy: The post-holiday opportunity
TikTok highlights an often-overlooked opportunity: the post-Christmas gift card surge. Many users receive gift cards during the holidays and are eager to spend them in January.
Smart brands can tap into this through:
- Targeted promotions for gift card holders
- Special “New Year” offerings
- Extended holiday deals
- Exclusive gift card holder perks
Trend Surfing: leveraging TikTok’s algorithm
The platform’s rapid trend cycle offers unique opportunities for visibility. By staying alert to emerging trends and quickly adapting content strategies, brands can leverage TikTok’s algorithm for greater organic reach, even during traditionally slower periods.
Expert Tip: Rather than treating January as a recovery period, view it as a strategic opportunity. Focus on creating content that bridges holiday gift cards with New Year aspirations. Monitor TikTok’s trend predictions closely and prepare content templates that can be quickly adapted to emerging trends, ensuring your brand stays relevant through the traditional quiet period.
2. X’s Holiday Marketing Guide: Maximising Festive Season Engagement
X (formerly Twitter) has shared comprehensive holiday marketing guide strategies aimed at helping brands cut through the noise during the busiest shopping period.
Their guidance focuses on leveraging platform-specific features to capture attention in an increasingly competitive space.
Let’s break down X’s key recommendations:
Strategic Hashtag Implementation The platform emphasises the power of holiday-specific hashtags, but with a twist. Instead of just using generic seasonal tags, X recommends:
- Creating campaign-specific hashtags
- Joining trending holiday conversations
- Participating in platform-wide shopping events
- Using analytics to track hashtag performance
Real-Time Engagement: The Power of Now X positions itself as the perfect platform for real-time holiday engagement. The guidance stresses the importance of:
- Quick response times to customer queries
- Live updates on stock availability
- Immediate engagement with festive conversations
- Real-time problem resolution
Action-Driven Promoted Content When it comes to promoted content, X advocates for clarity and urgency:
- Clear calls-to-action in promotional tweets
- Time-sensitive offers
- Exclusive platform-specific deals
- Direct links to product pages
Expert Tip: Success on X during the holiday season requires a balance between planned content and real-time engagement. Develop a content calendar for your promotional tweets, but keep resources available for live interaction. Consider creating a response protocol for common customer queries to ensure quick, consistent engagement while maintaining the personal touch that X users expect.
About Frizbit
1. Frizbit is back at world aviation festival 2024
We returned to the World Aviation Festival for our second year, where our CEO Ata Gür presented “How to Recover Lost Bookings on Auto-Pilot“. The session showed how automation helps airlines boost their booking recovery rates.
What We Shared Our presentation demonstrated how airlines use our platform to:
- Recover abandoned bookings through timely push notifications
- Keep customers engaged throughout their booking journey
- Build loyalty with personalised messaging
We also shared our latest case study showing real results from our airline clients. The numbers speak for themselves – automation works.
Resources for Aviation Companies Want to learn more about booking recovery? Check out:
- Full video recording of our World Aviation Festival presentation
- [GUIDE] How to recover lost bookings on autopilot through hyper-personalised engagement
- Case Study: How Azerbaijan Airlines reached 62.9x ROI with web push notifications
2. Frizbit attends the SWITCH Conference in Singapore
The Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH) brings together global leaders, entrepreneurs, creators, accelerators and investors to shape the future of innovation. With over 15,000 attendees in 2023, including C-Suite executives and founders from the US, Japan, and Germany, SWITCH has become a key platform for global-Asia collaboration.
Thanks to the Eureka’s Investment Readiness Programme, our CEO & Co-Founder Ata represented Frizbit alongside innovative companies from 18 countries. At SWITCH, we:
- Connected with fellow innovators in customer engagement
- Explored AI-powered solutions for eCommerce
- Gained insights into Asia-Pacific market trends
- Met potential partners from across the region
As we continue developing our AI-powered customer engagement solutions, these global connections and insights will help us push the boundaries of what’s possible in eCommerce.
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