Hey there, ECF readers!

BERT’s the word in e-commerce this week. Learn how the Google algorithm update will impact one in 10 of all online queries.

Shopify rolls out new email marketing functionality on the heels of a nasty breakup with Mailchimp.

Facebook and Google both extended the reach of their ads to search results and beyond—just in time for the holiday shopping season.  And in the surprise acquisition of the year Seller Labs scooped up X-Cart.

But no News Cart is complete without a pinch of Amazon news: In today’s cart, the company added thousands of package pickup hubs and made grocery delivery free for Prime members.

Enjoy!

– Andrew

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In the News

Google’s BERT Update Improves Search Results, Impacts 10% of Rankings

  • Uses contextual pre-training to better understand the intentions behind search inquiries
  • Open-sourced last year, BERT analyzes words before and after search terms to pinpoint meaning
  • Google says it can now offer more relevant results for about one in 10 searches in the U.S. in English;
  • Being rolled-out globally, in all languages, in featured snippets

Shopify Announces “Shopify Email”

  • Basic to intermediate email marketing tools from within your existing Shopify dashboard for an additional fee
  • Shopify catalog integration and drag-and-drop email builder
  • Currently in beta / invite-only.  Comes on the heels of messy Shopify/Mailchimp break-up

Seller Labs Acquires X-Cart

  • A leading software and service provider for Amazon sellers says the combined company won’t be discontinuing any products or services, and they’re not downsizing the team
  • Seller Labs says its acquisition of the open-source shopping cart software company gives it more global coverage and capability

Amazon Adds New Pickup Locations and Makes Grocery Delivery Free With Prime

  • Amazon expanded its Counter program to include thousands of new pickup hubs at GNC, Health Mart and Stage Stores
  • Amazon Fresh, previously $14.99 per month, is now free with Prime membership in more than 2,000 cities and towns

Google Extends Shopping Ads to More YouTube Inventory

  • Shopping ads will now show up on YouTube’s home page and search results
  • Google is also letting advertisers deep link on TrueView for action ad units
  • Move comes after eMarketer published research last month predicting that Amazon’s search ads will cut into Google’s market share

Facebook Ads in Search Results Roll Out to More Advertisers

  • All new ad campaigns using Automatic Placements will automatically include the Facebook Search Results placement, according to Facebook
  • Search results ads look similar to News Feed ads and include a “Sponsored” label for transparency

Cool Stuff My Friends Are Doing

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Andrew Youderian
Post by Andrew Youderian
Andrew is the founder of eCommerceFuel and has been building eCommerce businesses ever since gleefully leaving the corporate world in 2008.  Join him and 1,000+ vetted 7- and 8-figure store owners inside the eCommerceFuel Community.

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