Google Loses Anti-Trust Lawsuit, Potential Breakup Ahead?
Empire Flippers
The #1 curated marketplace for buying and selling established, profitable websites and online businesses.
Hey, ghouls and gals!
Today’s trend of the week is “Summerween”.
Love Halloween but don’t want to wait until fall to celebrate? Try Summerween!
"Summerween" started on the Disney Channel show “Gravity Falls” and is now a popular trend for Halloween fans who want to bring spooky vibes to summer. The idea is simple: mix Halloween fun with summer activities like pool parties, barbecues, and beach days. Think skeletons in colorful Hawaiian shirts, or carving watermelons into jack-o'-lanterns.
The term “summerween” has blown up on TikTok and Instagram over the last few weeks, and currently has around 19K monthly searches on Google, up 371% in the last quarter.
You can get in on this trend by creating summerween-inspired recipes for your blog or launching summerween decor on your eCommerce store.
Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Today we have for you:
And
Alright, let’s dive in.
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Google’s Monopoly Ruling Could Transform Search and Advertising Markets
A federal judge has ruled that Google has unlawfully monopolized the search and search advertising markets.
Judge Amit Mehta found that Google maintained its monopoly by making deals to be the default search engine on browsers and new smartphones. In 2021, Google spent $26 billion on these agreements, which the judge described as "extremely valuable real estate." These practices have made it hard for competitors like Microsoft’s Bing to compete.
This ruling could change the online search and advertising landscape. The penalties for Google and its parent company, Alphabet, are not yet decided and could take months or even years to finalize. Several remedies are on the table:
The ruling could also influence how antitrust laws are applied to other tech giants like Amazon, Apple, and Meta.
Google plans to appeal, arguing that its success is due to the quality of its search engine, not illegal actions. If Google loses the appeal, it could take the case to the Supreme Court. The final outcome might depend on the political landscape, similar to how Microsoft avoided a breakup in the early 2000s when the incoming Bush administration chose to settle.
This ruling adds to a series of legal challenges faced by Google. In 2019, the European Commission fined Google €1.49 billion for abusive online practices. Recently, Google settled two separate lawsuits over illegal data usage and tracking, with potential settlement values between $5 billion and $8 billion. Another DOJ trial over Google’s ad tech business is set to begin on September 9th.
This ruling could shake up the online search and advertising world. If it stands, we might see more competition and new opportunities in search engines. Digital advertisers and SEOs should be ready to adapt and explore different strategies to stay ahead.
Digital Advertising
Canada’s Ad Market Faces Double Fee Hike from Amazon and Google
Sorry Canada, your ads are about to get more expensive, with a double-blow of new fees.
Starting August 15, 2024, Amazon will add a 3% Regulatory Advertising Fee on ads served in Canada. This fee is part of Amazon’s Digital Services Tax (DST) policy, which already applies in countries like Italy, France, and Spain. While the 3% rate is lower than in places like Austria (5%) and Turkey (7.5%), it still means more expense for advertisers.
Just days before Amazon’s announcement, Google introduced a similar 2.5% surcharge for ads in Canada, starting October 1, 2024. These regulatory fees are part of a growing trend where governments are adding digital taxes to multinational tech companies.
For advertisers, this means additional costs depending on where their ads are served or purchased. For example, a U.S.-based advertiser might pay a 3% fee on a $1 ad click in Canada, totaling $0.03. If an ad is served in a country with its own DST, such as the UK or Turkey, advertisers may see additional fees from both their home country and the country where the ad is served.
Amazon’s Demand-Side Platform (DSP) users will see these fees as a separate line item on their invoices. The fees are calculated from the cost per impression, which includes campaign charges, but not directly from audience and platform fees.
With digital advertising playing a crucial role in today’s economy, the 3% fee could impact budgets and competitiveness, particularly for smaller businesses or those with tight margins.
Amazon’s expansion of DST to Canada may foreshadow further tax implementations in other North American or emerging markets.
As more countries adopt digital taxes, advertisers will need to stay updated on these changes and adjust their strategies and budgets accordingly.
HIDDEN GEM
Listing #75309 - $446,670.00
Avg. Monthly Profit - $17,867.00
digital product | music | 25x
Launched in January 2017, this digital product business creates and sells audio plugins and MIDI packages aimed primarily at music producers. These products work on both Windows and Mac and integrate smoothly with almost any audio editing software.
We’re highlighting this business this week because of its following strengths:
SEO
Google’s New Tool Offers Personalized SEO Tips
Recommended by LinkedIn
Google has introduced a new feature in Search Console that provides tailored SEO recommendations to enhance your site's performance in search results.
The “recommendations” feature will be accessible on the Search Console overview page, highlighting optimization opportunities based on Google’s data from indexing, crawling, and serving systems.
Previously, this information was available but less direct. Now, it aims to make it easier to prioritize SEO tasks like implementing structured data, adding sitemaps, and spotting trending queries and pages.
The feature is rolling out gradually and is currently labeled as “experimental.” It won’t be available to all sites immediately but will be introduced over the next few months. Even after its full release, recommendations will be given based on their relevance to individual websites and may change or expire over time.
This new tool can help improve your site's search performance by providing clear, actionable SEO advice and highlighting the most important areas to focus on. It also offers insights into Google's ranking preferences, identifies trending topics, and is a great learning resource for beginners in SEO.
eCommerce
What eCommerce Sellers Need to Know About Rising Freight Rates
Shipping volumes have surged to unprecedented levels, surpassing even the height of the COVID era.
In May, global container shipping hit a record 15.94 million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units), exceeding the previous peak of 15.72 million TEUs from May 2021. This surge is largely fueled by China’s massive exports, which reached 6.2 million TEUs and represented 39% of global trade for the month.
However, this growth has led to significant disruptions. Ships are being rerouted around Africa due to Red Sea conflicts, and ports in Asia and Europe are experiencing severe congestion.
These issues, combined with shifts in consumer demand and potential new tariffs on Chinese goods, could impact the upcoming peak shipping season.
Meanwhile, freight rates are soaring. Spot rates from the Far East to the U.S. have recently jumped 36%-41%, with additional charges skyrocketing by 140%.
Air freight rates are also climbing, with spot rates from China to North America increasing by 43% due to the surge in eCommerce demand. These higher shipping costs are likely to lead to increased product prices.
For eCommerce sellers, these shipping challenges mean potential disruptions in inventory and forecasting, longer lead times, and squeezed profit margins. Port congestion at major hubs like Singapore and Chinese ports may worsen as the peak season approaches.
To mitigate these issues, eCommerce sellers should remain flexible. Plan ahead by ordering inventory early, diversifying suppliers and shipping routes, and negotiating contracts with carriers. Consider alternative shipping methods like air freight for urgent shipments and prepare for port congestion by building in extra lead time.
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Google Search
Google Continues to Dominate Search Market Despite AI Rise
It looks like AI won’t kill Google Search anytime soon. New research from Datos and Sonata Insights shows that Google’s search traffic is on the rise, even with the growing popularity of AI search engines.
From May 2023 to May 2024, Google saw a 1.4% increase in desktop visits. AI search platforms like Perplexity still lag behind Google, despite a 42% boost in traffic.
In May 2024, Google had over 290 times more search users compared to Perplexity. Google users conducted about 200 searches per month, whereas Perplexity users averaged only 15. This shows that Google users are significantly more active compared to those on Perplexity.
Rand Fishkin of Sparktoro analyzed the data and determined that, despite the hype around AI search tools, Google hasn’t lost its edge to competitors like Bing. The study shows Google’s market share and user behavior have stayed steady over the past year. The average number of searches per Google desktop user rose by 10.4% to nearly 110, while mobile searches averaged 51.
AI search engines are definitely growing, but they haven’t yet had a big impact on Google’s dominance. For businesses, the advice is to focus on where your customers are already engaged, rather than chasing new, unproven platforms.
For a deeper dive into these insights, check out the full report from Sonata Insights and Datos.
Content creation
Streamline Your Blog Writing with New AI-Powered Tools
Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, has introduced a new AI tool called Write Brief with AI, designed to enhance blog readability and clarity. This tool builds on Automattic's previous AI writing assistant, aiming to make content more concise and engaging.
The tool offers real-time feedback on writing, identifying overly complex sentences and suggesting simpler alternatives. It also highlights instances of hesitant language, such as frequent use of "possibly," and provides a readability score based on complexity, sentence length, and confidence.
Available now in beta through Jetpack, a feature suite for WordPress.com and self-hosted WordPress sites, Write Brief with AI helps users refine their writing with ease. During the beta phase, it's free for WordPress.com users and can be accessed via the Jetpack icon in the editor.
While Automattic's broader AI writing assistant supports multiple languages, Write Brief with AI is currently available only in English.
But Automattic isn’t the only company that has recently launched an AI-powered writing tool.
Wix has launched its new AI tools designed to generate entire blog posts. Available now to English-speaking users, these tools can craft SEO-optimized blog drafts and outlines, complete with suggested images. Wix aims to help users produce high-quality content effortlessly, boosting website traffic.
Sites with blogs receive 86% more organic traffic than those without. Wix's new features are tailored to leverage this by offering topic suggestions, automatic content generation based on existing website data, and SEO keyword integration.
The AI tools also simplify the visual aspect by allowing users to describe the type of images they need, which the AI can then generate. Additionally, users can connect their blogs to Wix’s business solutions for seamless promotional email campaigns and content integration with pricing plans.
These tools could prove to be useful to website owners looking to boost their blog post output.
Meme of the Week
Been somewhere cool or seen a meme that made you chuckle?
Send us a DM on Instagram (@empireflippers) with your favorite meme or nomad shot and we'll include it in the next email!