I was thrilled to see the joint GroupM and Nielsen research published recently on the UK Search Marketing Landscape. If you missed it, Danny Goodwin’s blog post, “Organic vs. Paid Search Results: Organic Wins 94% of Time” is a great summary. With this study, marketers and search marketers have, for the first time, vendor-neutral data containing evidence of organic search clickthrough rates (CTRs).
As a quick recap, the research concludes that 94% of searchers click through on organic search results, and that the top three positions in Google earn 61% of the clicks. These numbers are not far off the numbers I’ve used for years when describing the importance of SEO in a marketing budget as well as ranking on Page One for the keywords prospects are searching on to find your organization. The GroupM and Nielsen numbers simply (and strongly) validate the importance of an on-going SEO strategy.
A significant disconnect, however, continues to exist between the impact that SEO can have on impressions, clickthroughs and lead generation compared to PPC and the representation each receives in a typical marketing budget. Take Forrester’s U.S. Interactive Marketing Forecast, for the years 2011 to 2016. Marketers are spending and will continue to spend,... Read more
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Investing in SEO: Marketers Do More SEO than They Think
Tags: content marketing, content strategy, online marketing, optimized content marketing strategy, public relations, Search, seo, Social Media, Strategy, Video, web presence optimization
Posted in Search, Social Media, Web Analytics | 7 Comments »
It’s Time to Be Real.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” (Charles Darwin)
It’s about time that digital marketers learn how to be more real. Well, more real-time. Just like Darwin said, it’s not about being the biggest, or the smartest, it’s about responding fast.
Digital marketers are clamoring to leverage social media data and real-time marketing technologies to understand consumer attitudes and interests, but listening and responding on a traditional media cycle is too slow. A four-week reaction time is too late to leverage anything that happens. Listening and media buying need to happen together, in real time.
How many times have you noticed the same exact video or funny picture (most likely of a cat or wedding proposal) being shared by a few of your friends on Facebook? Then at dinner when you wanted to share this funny piece of content, alas, you realize that everyone around the table already saw it? That’s how fast content moves around the web, Pinterest “pins” are being shared on Facebook, Tumblr posts are being retweeted on Twitter and many pieces of content get their 15 minutes of fame. Internet fame is temporary; people flock... Read more
Tags: advertising, branding, buyer experience, campaigns, Data, Digital Marketing, facebook marketing, Facebook strategy, google, marketing, online advertising, online marketing, Search, social marketing, Social Media, social media strategy, Targeting, trends, twitter
Posted in Media Planning & Buying, Social Media, Targeting | 1 Comment »
Top 4 Reasons Your Business Needs A Mobile Site
Everywhere you look someone is texting, tweeting, emailing, looking up a product or Googling on their phone. In fact, 91 percent of all US citizens have a mobile device within reach 24/7. This is why many companies are contemplating launching a mobile site, if they haven’t already.
Surprisingly it seems even more business owners debate the value of having a second site when their traditional site can open up on a smartphone browser “just fine” and may be reluctant to spend the extra money on something they don't deem as "broken." Well, with over 100 million smartphone users in the US alone and half of all search being performed on a mobile device, the value and necessity for a mobile web site is higher than ever.
Simply put: Search, social and mobile all go hand-in-hand (pun, intended).
Below are The Top Four Reasons You Need to Launch a Mobile Site:
1. Content Prioritization
- Mobile browsing is all about an easy, accessible experience. In comparison to desktop web sites (which usually contain a wide range of content and information) mobile sites include only the most crucial time- and location-specific functions and features. Traditional websites are too content-heavy, complicated and usually not relevant... Read more
Tags: Amy Kauffman, mobile, mobile optimization, mobile sites, Search, search rank, seo, social
Posted in Creative Best Practices, Emerging Platforms, Opinions, Search, Social Media, Websites | 6 Comments »
To Tame Digital Chaos, Chart Your Digital Ecosystem
Now, more than ever, brand storytelling is driven by digital media.
But the digital landscape is chaotic. It’s a highly fragmented universe that includes online video, display, search, mobile apps, social commerce, interactive TV, gaming and more. These new channels have disrupted the traditional path to purchase… but they’ve also created new opportunities to connect. Consumers today are always connected via mobile devices — at home, on-the-go, and in shopping environments.
But with so many moving pieces, how do you keep your brand’s digital mix straight in your head? Has your boss ever asked what your brand was doing in digital? Imagine the horror of having to explain such complexity!
To simplify that explanation, create a digital ecosystem.
What is a digital ecosystem?
Simply stated, an ecosystem is a set of relationships. A digital ecosystem visually clarifies how your mix of digital channels works together relative to your consumer’s journey.
A digital ecosystem is categorized by drivers, hubs and outcomes. It connects all the content experiences that your brand delivers and shows how your consumer gets from one place to another. Most importantly, a digital ecosystem highlights an end game for each digital investment.
Download the Digital Ecosystem Planning Template
Start with business goals, KPIs and... Read more
Tags: channel selection, collaboration, digital ecosystem, Digital Marketing, media planning, mobile, planning, Search, social
Posted in Opinions | No Comments »
8 SEO Benefits of Pinterest in your Web Presence
Just when you thought you had your social media strategy and web presence under control, yet another social networking site is becoming mainstream. Six months ago it was Google+, now it’s Pinterest and it is gaining momentum in popularity as well as relevance in organic search.
Pinterest is a social photo sharing website that has also been described as an online pin board. Its more than 10 million registered users, over 2 million of whom log in every day, “pin” photos, graphics, and videos into categories they create based on their own personal interests. Pinterest users also share their pins on Facebook and Tweet them.
“Their own interests” may indeed include images that represent your brand. Pinning images is how your visitors, prospects, clients and fans want to visually socialize your organization.
The likes of GE and IBM are using Pinterest, proving that it is relevant to both B2C and B2B.
Here are eight SEO reasons to add Pinterest to your web presence and how to get started.
1. Google
Pinterest content is being crawled and indexed by Google, therefore it will impact your SEO rankings. Think of it as an opportunity to outrank a competitor for a keyword. If you are pinning on behalf of... Read more
Tags: content marketing, content strategy, Digital Marketing, online marketing, pinterest, Search, seo, social media marketing, social media strategy, web presence optimization
Posted in Search, Social Media | 10 Comments »
