Category: Digital Marketing

CategoriesDigital Marketing

Search Marketing Trends 2018

Posted on February 8, 2018by Alex Barankevych

Thoughts on the latest organic and paid search innovations for marketing managers to review and act

Success in SEO has always gone to those businesses and their agencies who have the best data-driven processes and people to give attention to the detail needed to compete.

Search engines, and especially recently Google, have gradually improved their insight data sources and tools to help businesses identify new opportunities and fix problems.

Review how your business can improve your data visualization and alerts to identify search threats/problems/opportunities by harnessing data APIs (Application Programme Interface).

Smaller businesses can work with insight sources like Google’s Keyword Planner, Campaign Planner, Analytics and Search Console (GSC) to help identify improvements. These services have improved and I hope to see larger data volumes and longer time intervals than the current 90 days in GSC.

Although some have proclaimed (and Google has advised) that keyword analysis is futile, given Google’s advances in personalization and semantic analysis, SEO still demands you know which keywords you are targeting…

[st_box title=”KEY STRATEGY RECOMMENDATION #1″ type=”success”]CREATE AN INSIGHT-DRIVEN SYSTEM TO ALERT YOU FOR SEO PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES.[/st_box]

Use a keyword ‘gap analysis’ to define opportunity.

You can make the case and review the opportunity to attract more visits by reviewing a defined set of keywords and qualifiers against actual visits to a site.

Ask your team, consultant or agency for their approach to gap analysis or use spread- sheet-based tools like the Smart Insights Gap Analysis to explore your opportunities Gap between page content and user queries is a common problem at site-wide level.

[st_box title=”KEY STRATEGY RECOMMENDATION #1″ type=”success”]ENSURE CONTENT OPTIMIZATION HAPPENS AS PART OF A PLANNED PROGRAM.[/st_box]

Treat your content assets as a portfolio as shown below. Work to improve problematic content and update and surface performing content more prominently in the customer journey. This article3 gives an example of how HubSpot has used ‘Historical optimization’ to more than double the number of monthly leads generated by the old posts they have optimized, they also increased monthly organic search views of old posts, optimized by an average of 106%.

As part of your SEO and AdWords programmes, I recommend prioritising improvements by thinking of your content as a portfolio of pages of different types, which contribute different amounts of value to the business based on their popularity and conversion rates. Content optimization is about making your content work better for you, by reviewing content effectiveness using the type of analysis below and then making improvements for SEO and conversion purposes.

An improvement we have seen in rolling out in 2017 are data visualisation tools such as Google’s Data Studio1, Microsoft’s Power BI and Tableau. These tools enable superior, more professional reports that show the channel and goals deltas (e.g. month-on-month, year-on-year changes) needed to manage performance much more clearly than was practical in Google Analytics.

Another benefit of these tools is that you can use different API data sources to pull in and combine different data. I’ve been suing Data Studio for some of my monthly and weekly trading reports alongside. However, for more detailed analysis, I offer Google Sheets reports at a URL level which access the Google Analytics APIs.

CategoriesDigital Marketing

The Real Time Google Penguin Algorithm is rolling out

Posted on September 23, 2016by Alex Barankevych

Google just confirmed the Rollout of the Real Time Penguin today on the Official Google Webmasters Central Blog.

This is it: Google Penguin 4.0. Now everything will happen in real time.
Google Penguin is officially part of Google’s Core Algorithm.

Important points about the Real Time Penguin

1. The Google Penguin positive or negative signal is now recalculated with every new crawl. Tools like Link Detox Boost is, therefore, the perfect tool also to “test & try” links effects and not only make the disavow work.

2. Google pointed out that Google Penguin will be more granular. That means that it now not only affects the whole site (or not). It has its impact on all levels like domain, folders, pages and probably also keywords and keyword groups. Anything that goes into the organic rankings will now be affected by the Penguin algorithm on a fine level. This will be harder to diagnose “small Penguin penalties” in many cases.

3. An aggressively SEOed part of a website trips the Penguin filter, while other parts are ranking fine.This comes with Google Penguin being granular from now on.

Read more about Real Time Google Penguin roll out here.

CategoriesDigital Marketing

Seven things to consider while planning out your content marketing strategy

Posted on April 12, 2016by Alex Barankevych

There’s a lot of noise about content marketing today. Everyone’s talking about it. Businesses today need content marketing. It’s a critical aspect of being visible in today’s digital busy world, so why? There’s an abundance of information out there on the Internet for your customers.

There’s a ton of information out there, and it’s extremely difficult for you as a marketer to get heard through all of that noise.

We also live in a multidevice world. Your customers move seamlessly through their laptops to their phones to their tablet. They can carry information around with them in their pocket and access it any minute at any time in a 24/7 world.

We live in a multichannel world as well, so not only are your customers accessing information on multiple devices, but they’re also accessing information across channels. What do I mean by that? Your customers are on social media, they’re on search, they’re on your website, they’re on review sites like Yelp and Google. There’s really a ton of different channels today that your customers live. As a marketer, it’s important to be present and be relevant on all those channels.

What does all of this mean, all this information, these multidevices, multichannels? What that means is that your customers’ attention is really divided amongst all of these different areas, and therefore, the attention that they actually have for you and your messaging is scarce. But content marketing helps you actually break through that noise because you’re providing thought leadership and you’re differentiating your brand from all the other brands out there.

By creating valuable, relevant, and educational content, you can be seen in front of your customers on those different channels, on those different devices, and really become that trusted resource through all of that information. There are a few things content marketing does that makes it so relevant these days. And those are the things you should keep in mind while planning out your content marketing strategy.

  1. Content marketing engages individuals on their own terms. This means being available and being relevant where your audience lives, so that’s that concept of multichannel, multidevice.
  2. Content marketing is based oninteractions with your buyers, so you should be creating content that is relevant to what your buyers want to hear and what they’re searching for.
  3. Content marketing should tell a story.Your content should tell not only your business story but also the story of your customers. It really does have to be a story. It has to be a narrative that’s interesting and engaging.
  4. Content marketingis the right fit for your channels. You need to create different types of content for different channels. One type of content that’s great for your social media channel might not be right for email marketing or a paid program that you’re doing. Make sure that the content that you’re creating is you think about being channel-specific.
  5. Content has a clear purpose.This means that all content that you create should have a goal, should have a purpose in mind. You’re creating content for thought leadership, brand awareness, lead generation, all of these things. Make sure it has a purpose.
  6. Content marketing has pre-defined metrics.You should be creating content with end goals in mind, whether that’s x amount of new customers, maybe it’s new followers on your social networks. Whatever your pre-defined metrics should be, make sure you determine those before you go in and actually create that content.
  7. Content marketing is almost always evergreen.When possible, create the content that will last months, or better yet, years.
CategoriesDigital Marketing

Google+ Strategy: Tips to Help Marketers Get Ready for Brand Pages

Posted on July 24, 2011by Alex Barankevych

With 10 million confirmed users of Google+, and comScore reporting there were 20 million visitors to Google’s new social platform during its first 21 weeks of existence, it’s safe to say from a pure numbers perspective that Google+ is off to a hot start. Brands, after seeing the potential on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, are ready to jump into the Google+ pool, but there’s a problem: the lifeguards at Google aren’t ready for them – and neither is the platform.

Despite a slew of stories across the web that reported Google+ business pages would be coming later (though a few hundred brands would be allowed as part of a pilot Google+ program, including Ford), some brands jumped on the platform anyway, and, as promised, Google began shutting down many of these accounts Friday.

Naturally, this being the Internet, a flood of whining and grandstanding followed. Google is now promising to “roll out rudimentary business accounts by late fall,” according to ClickZ.

While brand marketers may feel anxious being barred from the network, they can take this time actually strategize about how to best use Google+ once it opens the doors to brands. A one-strategy-fits-all solution for social marketing doesn’t work in a day where users are flocking to different social networks for different experiences.

Brands need a concrete strategy for Google+. Though it’s early, it’s not too early to start mapping out a Google+ marketing roadmap.

1. Do Your Community Research

If you have a list of key brand influencers, check to see if they’re already active on Google+. You don’t want to spend time and money focusing on a platform if your key influencers aren’t there. That’s like walking into a crowd and screaming your message, hoping some of the people you want to hear it are there.

2. Use it Yourself

You’d be surprised by the number of marketing professionals who spend time around conference tables pontificating and strategizing about “social ROI,” “engagement strategy,” and “social sharing” who don’t actually participate in social media. Don’t be one of those people. Immerse yourself in the Google+ community and learn the nuances that make it different than other networks.

3. Create Your Community Strategy

Before you begin marketing to Google+ users, you need to put a solid community strategy in place. Build a plan that answers the following questions before reaching out to them on the platform:

 

What are the potential ways to communicate in this channel? (Posts, promotions, paid ads, contests, updates, and other content)

How is this channel different than our other social media channels, such as Facebook and Twitter?

What are target audiences looking for from this channel? Are they like Facebook users, of do they come to Google+ to interact about different topics than they do on Facebook?

4. Decide on Success Metrics

Figure out what you can measure on Google+ to determine success for your marketing or brand engagement goals. Make a list of all the metrics you can measure (e.g., number of fans, clicks, comments, shares).

No one knows whether Google+ will offer a paid ad program, but chances are they will, and those ads will come with their own measurement metrics. But for now, figure out what you can measure from the get-go.

5. Develop a Rollout Plan

When the gates open and brands are allowed on Google+, there will undoubtedly be a flood of content hitting users who will have just gotten used to using the new network for their personal relationships. Create a phased content rollout plan to ensure you don’t bombard your targets with unwanted messages. Start slowly, and tweak content based on reactions.

Don’t forget to use your existing social media platforms to tell your communities about your new Google+ presence. Try something like: “Are you using Google+? We just joined! Come connect with us there for (add distinct information that will be shared on the channel).”

Summary

No one knows where Google+ will land on the social network success matrix, but one thing is for sure: Google will throw its weight behind the success of this endeavor. How, when, and why people decide to use Google+ will impact every marketer in the coming months. By taking a proactive approach, you can stay ahead of the curve and jump in when the water’s warm.

CategoriesDigital Marketing

Own a small business in Canada? Make sure your business is listed in these local business directories

Posted on June 21, 2011by Alex Barankevych

Experienced Local SEO’s no doubt already understand the tremendous importance of citations for ranking well in Local Search.  Below are my recommendations for where to acquire citations for Canadian businesses after a qualitative (though fairly extensive) review of Maps.Google.ca results across a number of industries, provinces, and city sizes.  Additional valuable guides have been published by Jim Rudnick and Dev Basu.

Continue reading “Own a small business in Canada? Make sure your business is listed in these local business directories”
CategoriesDigital Marketing

Insanely useful tips on searching Twitter

Posted on May 11, 2011by Alex Barankevych

As a marketing tool Twitter gets much more interesting and useful when you can filter out 99 percent of the junk that doesn’t apply to your objectives and focus on the stuff that matters.

The basic search.twitter.com functionality is fine for finding out what’s being said about your search terms. The advanced search function offers more ways to slice and dice the stream, but still leaves some room for improvement as it only searches what’s being said and where. From a communication standpoint, who is saying it might be more useful.

Now that the search engines offer real time search, you can create some powerful searches and alerts combining Google and Twitter.

1) Target by occupation

Let’s say you have a business that sells an awesome service to attorneys. A simple search on Twitter will turn up thousands of mentions of the word attorney, but many of them will be from people talking about this or that attorney or the need to hire or not hire one. That’s probably not very helpful.

However, if you cruise over to Google and use a handful of operators from the Google shortcut library you can create a search that plows through Twitter and gives you a list of all the users that have the word “attorney” in their title (username and/or real name). Click on this search phrase—intitle:”attorney * on twitter” site:twitter.com—and what you’ll find is a handy list of attorneys of one sort or another on Twitter.

Without getting too technical, this search basically asks Google to look in the title of profile pages on Twitter. The * tells Google to find the words “attorney on Twitter” without regard to order or other words. And “on Twitter” appears in the title of every profile page, so we need that term to make sure we search profile pages only.

2) Target by bio
In some cases, searching through the optional biographical information can be more helpful than combing the username or real name fields. Maybe you’re looking for a specific term or some of the folks you are targeting only reference their profession in their bio.

Google search to the rescue again. This time add the intext attribute, the word bio and our key phrase to search bios. For example, a search for Web designers would look like this: intext:”bio * web designer” site:twitter.com. When you look at this list, you might notice that none of the people on the list would have been found by searching in their title, as in the first tip, for Web designer. Try it both ways to test for best results.

3) Target by location

Location search by itself is simple using the Twitter advanced search tool. If you want a list of people in Austin you would use this: near: “Austin, TX” within:25mi and Twitter would use the location field to show you Austin tweeters.

But if you wanted to target salons in Austin or all of Texas, it’s back to Google to mix and match: intitle:”salon * on twitter” OR intext:”bio * salon” intext:”location * TX” site:twitter.com. We search the title, bio and location to get a targeted list of salons in Texas on Twitter. Note the OR function for multiple queries.

4) New signups

Another handy thing about using any of the searches above is that you can also use them to create Google Alerts. By going to Google and putting in your search string as described above you’ll get everything they have now, but by setting up an alert you’ll get an e-mail or RSS alert when a new attorney (or whatever you’re targeting) joins Twitter.

5) Keep up on your industry

Some of the best information shared on Twitter comes in the form of shared links. I love to use a filtered Twitter search to further wade through research on entire industries, but reduce the noise by only following tweets that have links in them and eliminating retweets that are essentially duplicates—“small business” OR entrepreneur OR “start up” filter:links—this gets that job done and produces an RSS feed if I want to send it to Google Reader. Don’t forget to put quotation marks around phrases of two or more words, or you will get every mention of small and business.

6) Competitive eavesdropping

Lots of people set up basic searches to listen to what their competitors are saying and what others are saying about the competition. I suggest you create a search that includes the conversations they are having and not just what people are saying about them. For example, if you’re competitor is Comcast, you’d search from:comcastcares OR to:comcastcares.

7) Trending photos

If you want to find an image related to a hot trend, or anything for that matter, simply put the search phase you have in mind followed by one of the better-known Twitter image uploading services such as TwitPic, and you’ll get nothing but images. So, your search on Twitter might be olympics twitpic OR ow.ly. (You can add more photo sharing sites to expand the search.)

Twitter just got way more interesting didn’t it?

This article originally appeared on American Express OPEN Forum.

CategoriesDigital Marketinge-Media

RIM and its problem

Posted on April 28, 2011by Alex Barankevych

Research In Motion’s PlayBook hit stores April 19 and is the first tablet computer targeted at business users. And yet, surprisingly, RIM shares fell by 10 per cent or so several weeks earlier following the combined announcement of a 32-per-cent increase in profits and the PlayBook availability. Why is this?

Somehow I am not surprised.

RIM Playbook in for success?

At its heart, marketing is all about matching products to markets. If you can’t articulate your value or define your target audience, no matter how much you spend, any success you have is going to be an accident.

Defining your value and target market is one of the most challenging aspects of bringing new products to market. And even when firms take the time to do this research, you can see them “losing the plot” during the launch. This usually takes the form of companies getting so mesmerized by a competitive product that they end up positioning against the competition instead of positioning to their target market.

This is clearly happening with the launch of RIM’s new PlayBook tablet.

RIM plans on selling 70 per cent of its PlayBooks to enterprise customers, and yet its launch has fallen into the trap of focusing on how it stacks up against a competitor, rather than on the value it brings to the target market.

As a businessperson, the first question I have about any system is what it runs. Can I run my existing applications on it, or will I have to change my whole application suite? And I’m not getting those answers from RIM at the moment.

Instead, its early positioning focuses on browser speed, Adobe Flash support and HTML5 performance, which are only marginally relevant to the main value proposition of “enterprise-readiness.”