ClickZ Digital Ad Platform News | Amazon Sales Influenced by TikTok? Halo Shows the Real Numbers

Plus: Ad Age’s round-up of 12 standout campaigns

Author

Rafe Houston
July 31, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

ClickZ Digital Ad Platform News

This week we’re tracking how platform shifts, benchmark resets, and automation advances are rewriting the rules of digital advertising.

  • TikTok fuels 42% of Amazon conversions—Fospha’s Halo reveals what standard tools miss.

  • Shopify sets 20% CTR as the new gold standard for branded Google Ads—time to rethink reporting splits.

  • AppsFlyer names X Ads a Self-Reporting Network—deterministic postbacks now in play.

  • Reddit expands auto-bidding to awareness campaigns—creative and audience choices just got riskier.

  • Google’s AI review summaries in Chrome make brand reputation a make-or-break SERP asset.

⏱️THE MINUTE READ

Retail growth is no longer confined to brand .com websites. Fospha’s newest report shows customers are shopping across a fragmented mix of web, Amazon, and TikTok Shop, and the data proves it.

In their analysis of $176M in ad spend, Fospha’s research found that:


  • Web/.com now accounts for just 43% of total sales

  • Amazon contributes 22%

  • TikTok Shop is already driving 35% of total sales (for brands actively spending in the channel)

But the report’s biggest finding? 42% of Amazon sales are influenced by ads on TikTok, Meta, Google, and Snap. Traditional tools miss this impact completely.

To solve this, Fospha built Halo. The report demonstrates how Halo’s daily, full-funnel measurement unifies .com and marketplace performance into a single view, capturing the true cross-channel impact of marketing with Unified ROAS [(Web + Amazon Revenue) / Channel Spend].

👉 Download Fospha’s Halo Report: Measure and Grow .com and Beyond to explore the full data and insights.

📌WEEKLY MUST-KNOWS

BENCHMARKS
Shopify Drops 2025 CTR Benchmarks For Google Ads
Shopify pegged a 20% CTR as the new bar for branded search while unbranded averages hover near 3%. The updated numbers reset performance expectations for search managers and reinforce the need to isolate brand and non-brand budgets when reporting to leadership.

Shopify

ATTRIBUTION
X Ads Appsflyer SRN Launch
AppsFlyer has designated X Ads as a Self-Reporting Network, giving advertisers deterministic postbacks on installs and in-app events despite ATT constraints. The partnership tightens X’s performance narrative and could redirect mobile budgets from networks still reliant on probabilistic matching.

AD AUTOMATION
Reddit Brings Automated Bidding To Brand Awareness And Reach Campaigns
Reddit has extended its algorithmic bidding option beyond performance objectives, letting advertisers auto-optimize CPMs for upper-funnel reach and awareness. The move mirrors Meta Advantage+ and Google Max campaigns, signaling that every scaled social platform now views hands-off bidding as table stakes. Brand teams gain simplicity, but also surrender manual control—making creative and audience selection even more decisive.

⚡QUICK READS

Creative Trends: Ad Age’s round-up of 12 standout campaigns shows humor-first, culture-hacking creative outperforming hard-sell spots—signals to loosen brand guidelines ahead of Q4 tests.(More)

How To Create An Effective SEO Strategy In 2025: Backlinko’s new playbook stresses orchestrating visibility across Google SERPs, YouTube Shorts and AI answer engines—pushing paid search teams to model demand capture beyond classic keyword funnels.(More)

Most Creator-Made Ads Don’t Follow “Best Practices.” Is That A Bad Thing?: CreativeX analysis shows 74% of creator-led ads violate standard checklists yet post higher attention scores, challenging rigid creative scoring frameworks in UGC-heavy campaigns.(More)

🧠OPTIMIZATION HUB

RETAIL INNOVATION
Google Introduces AI-Powered Business Review Summaries in Chrome for Enhanced Shopping
Google's new feature in Chrome displays AI-generated summaries of online store reviews, accessible by tapping an info icon next to the URL. This tool, listing star ratings and summaries, offers consumers a straightforward view of retailer reputations. It's vital for brands to ensure positive Google reviews to influence purchase decisions, as this feature prominently highlights customer feedback during site visits.

DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGIES
Marketing Tips for Uncertain Times
In times of economic uncertainty, maintaining marketing efforts on Pinterest is crucial for long-term success, as the platform reaches a broad, actively shopping audience. By leveraging awareness campaigns, performance marketing solutions, and AI-driven tools, marketers can optimize engagement with high-intent shoppers while emphasizing value-based messaging to align with changing consumer budgets.

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