Google is encouraging merchants to enable “conversion annotations” – social proof badges that highlight a product’s purchase popularity when displayed in Google Shopping ads. What’s new. Conversion annotations like “best selling” or “1K shopped here recently” provide visual cues about a product’s sales performance directly in the ad unit. Why we care. Conversion annotations incentivize advertisers to share valuable purchase data with Google for visibility boosts. But they’ll have to weigh the benefits against data privacy concerns. The pitch. Google claims conversion annotations can:
Behind the feature. The annotations rely on merchants sharing aggregated conversion data from their sales.
The requirements. To display conversion annotations, merchants need:
via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/sMcw1pb
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Experimentation is an underutilized tool in content strategy for SEO. Traditionally, we create content based on research and theory, wait months to see how it ranks, then iterate if needed – an ongoing cycle. However, the rise of social search platforms presents an opportunity to accelerate this process. Social search allows users to discover content through social interactions rather than just keyword searches. By leveraging real-time data, trends and user-generated content on these platforms, SEOs can test and refine content much faster than waiting for traditional ranking signals. Embracing a “search everywhere” approach powered by social data can help find optimized content solutions sooner. This article explores how integrating social search insights can enable more efficient content testing, optimization and on-site enhancements. Understanding social searchSocial search continues to be a key driving force behind the evolution of search marketing. Within a search everywhere strategy, social platforms offer a unique avenue for users to discover content through social interactions rather than traditional keyword-based searches. Unlike conventional search engines, which primarily rely on algorithms to rank and display results, social search platforms leverage content creators, user-generated content (UGC), brand communities and engagement metrics to surface relevant information, providing a more personalized approach to search that resonates with younger audiences. The significance of social search lies in its ability to reflect real-time user behaviors, trends, interests and preferences. By tapping into the collective wisdom of online communities, these platforms provide invaluable insights into trending topics, user sentiments and emerging discussions. When we partner this with our traditional search efforts, understanding and harnessing the power of social search can unlock new opportunities for content discovery, audience engagement and more efficient content optimization. Social-led search content testingWhere algorithms continuously evolve and user preferences shift, iterative content testing emerges as a crucial strategy for achieving sustained success. The interactive nature of social search platforms lets you engage directly with your audience to understand their preferences and concerns. Social interactions like comments and shares help gauge content effectiveness early on before Google ranks it on a SERP. Polls and surveys
Question-based posts
Analyzing engagement metrics
Dig deeper: How to turn polls and surveys into great content Integrating social search insights into on-site optimizationIn search marketing, engaging users and being relevant are crucial. Include social search insights in on-site optimization, especially if your brand targets younger audiences who use social search in their search process. Social search platforms provide lots of up-to-date data, including UGC, which gives valuable insights into what audiences like and do. Let’s discuss the areas directly affected by this approach to testing and improving content. Content development and keyword targeting
User experience enhancements
Dig deeper: The SEO-UX paradox: Achieving visibility without sacrificing user delight Link building and internal linking strategies
Practical techniques for a more seamless social search integrationUsing social listening tools helps track brand mentions, trends, and audience sentiment on social platforms. This information guides on-site optimization and content creation. Sharing on-site content on social media and vice versa boosts visibility and promotes a holistic search marketing approach. Creating shareable content for social platforms and engaging with communities drives traffic to our site, building authority and trust. Analyzing on-site and social engagement metrics shows how content is performing and guides optimization efforts for ongoing success in a search-focused strategy. How we can maximize the search optimization processSearch marketing is an ongoing process of improvement, adapting to changes in search engines, user behavior and market trends. We must continually refine our strategies to stay ahead and make the most impact. This means regularly adjusting keyword targeting, content, technical setup, and links. By tracking metrics, analyzing data and adjusting tactics, we can improve website visibility, traffic and conversions. The feedback loopSilos must go. This collaborative process between search and social marketers could assist brands in aligning teams. Continuous optimization relies on a feedback loop between social search insights and on-site efforts. This involves collaboration between social and search teams. Social platforms provide valuable data for on-site strategies. SEOs can learn about user preferences by listening to feedback, monitoring trends, and analyzing metrics. This helps inform content, keywords, user experience and links on-site. Integrating social insights into optimization keeps websites relevant and competitive in social-first search marketing. Dig deeper: Search universe analysis: A deep dive Accelerating SEO success with social search insightsIn today’s democratized search landscape, integrating social search insights is vital for maximizing on-site optimization and SEO success. Embracing social search unlocks new avenues for content discovery, engagement and conversions. As we enter the “search everywhere” era, harnessing the power of social data will separate optimization leaders from laggards. Those who effectively leverage these insights will accelerate SEO wins and shape the future of search marketing success. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/SRbotcu Receiving negative reviews from former employees is never fun. Getting this sort of detrimental feedback online can feel like a sucker punch. But get this: Poor online feedback is not the end of the world, regardless of whether it comes from a former employee or a current customer. How you navigate negative reviews reveals a lot about what type of business you are. This article covers the importance of navigating negative reviews from past employees, learning from these reviews and ensuring your company doesn’t take a reputational hit. Indeed, Glassdoor and employer review websitesNegative reviews from customers on Google and Yelp are one thing, but employer reviews are another matter entirely. Before diving into how one can navigate negative employer reviews, it’s important to discuss these reviews and where they circulate. Employer review websites provide a safe space for former or current employees to review their experience at a company. These employees can discuss salaries and wages, company culture, other staff members, the onboarding experience and a whole host of other matters. Glassdoor and Indeed are the most well-known employer websites. Aside from being the most well-known, Glassdoor and Indeed also tend to rank highly in Google’s search results. That means if your company has poor ratings on either website, the results will likely show up early when someone on the job hunt searches for your organization on Google. (The same goes for if you have good reviews.) A higher rating on either of these sites indicates a solid company reputation, whereas a lower rating must be navigated accordingly. Dig deeper: How to repair your Google search results and reclaim your online reputation Dealing with negative reviews as an employerLet’s start with three absolute core tenets to adopt when navigating negative reviews. 1. Addressing concernsEmployees (both past and prospective) like to feel acknowledged by a company. They want to know a company is seriously addressing concerns, showing empathy toward its staff and not just letting the same issues persist. So, take the issue head-on. Mention that you have thoughtfully considered the negative review(s) and that you are doing everything in your power to shore up company culture. Be thoughtful and specific. Get to the root of the issue and devise strategies to fix it. (If, on the other hand, you disagree with employee feedback or feel it is false or fake, you can take steps to remove negative employer reviews. We’ll discuss this process later on.) 2. Rebuilding trustMake tangible changes. Showing prospective and current employees that you’re working toward fixing the issue will lead to a renewed relationship. In turn, you’ll start to rebuild that trust you might’ve feared you were losing. Trust is essential in the workplace. It is not something you should ever take for granted. 3. Maintaining transparencyThroughout this entire process, it’s critical to be open and honest. Inform your employees that you are working toward fixing the negative feedback you’ve received in the past. Better yet, consult them. Your employees (both past and present) are the ones who know your company culture best. They can tell you what must be fixed. Developing a transparent culture will help strengthen your bond with your employees. They will then be more likely to leave you positive reviews on sites like Glassdoor and Indeed. How does negative feedback lead to improvement and growth?Again, negative reviews are not always bad. If you believe employer reviews are genuine and have come from wanting to help, they might represent an opportunity for you to improve company culture. For instance, perhaps a review mentions a lack of communication, how competing companies offer better benefits or how an abundance of digital meetings reduces staff mental well-being. Solve the issue by Implementing sturdier communication pathways, looking at alternative benefit options or cutting down on virtual meetings. No matter the complaint, you can and should use it to your benefit. Perhaps you can even use information from negative employer reviews to poll your current staff and ask them what changes they would like to see Always look at negative employer reviews as a place to learn and grow. Learning from your mistakes can help you foster a healthier, more attractive company culture. The impact of negative employer reviews on recruitingSpeaking of company culture – negative reviews can impact your ability to recruit new employees. People on the job hunt tend to research the companies they interview with. They want to know if they’re stepping into a culture that values their mental health or one that couldn’t care less. Here’s a simple question: If you were on the job hunt, would you want to work at a company with a 3.7-star rating on Glassdoor or one with a 4.7-out-of-5 rating? The answer is easy. You’d choose the latter company. You might even choose them if the salary at the former company is slightly higher. For this reason, dealing with and navigating negative employer reviews is crucial. It will contribute to more fluid and healthy recruiting and interviewing processes. What options do employers have for removing negative, false and/or fake reviews?Not all negative reviews come from an honest place and not all reviews help your company grow. While some former employees want to help, others merely wish to harm their old bosses and bring down the company. It’s unfortunate to say, but some companies end up dealing with the following:
If any of these are the case, knowing how to remove negative reviews is crucial. The first step in such an instance is to contact either Glassdoor or Indeed’s employer help center. They can occasionally help you get to the bottom of the matter and remove the review. But sometimes that simple procedure doesn’t work. In such instances, it might be beneficial to reach out to an online reputation management firm. Online reputation management firms specialize in managing a company or individual’s reputation and ensuring that negative, unfair reviews are permanently removed. They handle the ugly matters, so you don’t have to. Several instances in which these firms can help you remove negative employer reviews. For instance, reviews can be removed if:
Hiring an online reputation firm can be much easier than going about it yourself, as a team of experts will analyze everything for you. Navigating negative reviews from former employeesIt’s never pleasant receiving a negative review from a former employee. But it’s also not the end of the world. Negative reviews can serve as an opportunity to grow and learn. Address the concerns, work toward rebuilding healthy relationships with your workers and maintain transparency throughout the process. If you feel the online feedback is defamatory or untrue, you can always work with an online reputation firm to remove negative employer reviews. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/v0TSp7Y Some Meta advertisers received an alert yesterday when they opened their accounts. A source from Meta confirmed this alert was sent in error. What was announced? The message said setting new detailed targeting exclusions would no longer be possible when creating campaigns after June 28.
However, this alert was an error, Meta confirmed to Search Engine Land. Why we care. Getting alerts about functionalities that advertisers rely on can be destabilizing. If false alerts like these keep showing – how should advertisers trust the alerts we see? Concerns from advertisers. Dario Zannoni, who got this alert, shared the information with his followers:
Search Engine Land contributor Navah Hopkins was also not happy to hear that is was coming:
via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/rZnkOEG The new buzzword in SEO is information gain. And like all new buzzwords, SEOs are throwing it around like we’ve just discovered fire. But there’s a massive problem. Information gain means different things to different people. In this article, you’ll learn about information gain and how to use it to your advantage. The 3 schools of information gain: Humans, machines and search enginesInformation gain can be used in three topics:
Information gain is used to train decision trees in machine learning. And unless you are a computer programmer, we can largely leave that can of worms unopened (for now). When SEOs talk about information gain, they mainly refer to the Google patent. Google was granted a patent in 2022 regarding an information gain score that applied to documents. This patent showed that Google had developed a way to measure the “sameness” of content and either promote or demote it accordingly. This is a great way for Google to deal with content that is essentially unoriginal or simply copied from another source and reworded. But what about information gain in relation to the information foraging theory? Information foraging theory was documented in the book of the same name, written by Peter Pirolli. It applies the models of how animals search for food (optimal foraging theory) to how humans search for information (which we’ll talk about later). As you can see, we have three different meanings for the same term. With regards to SEO, the Google patent is mainly easy to understand – just make your content unique. However, information foraging is more complex, so we need to examine it more thoroughly. Why information foraging matters for SEORecently, Google started discussing information foraging theory in their decoding decisions report (the messy middle). Indeed, information foraging theory seems to be the direction Google is heading, and to quote their report directly: “An explosion in product choice and information has made it harder to feel confident about making the right decision.” Or, to put it another way, there’s just too much information out there. If we have too much information, the time to make a purchase decision is increased, and this isn’t good for anyone. You can see why Google SGE might help things if you think about this. By providing a generative AI response to a search query, a search user immediately grasps the subject without needing to click a website. This initial information should help a user to make their next search decision. Take this result from a search in Perplexity. Within seconds, my knowledge of the best gym shoes for bad knees has increased, and there are many links and suggestions. My next click will be to look at the suggested shoes, not to read another five blog articles. If SGE works similarly, you can see how it will radically change commerce. We’re no longer optimizing for Google. We’re optimizing for AI. Dig deeper: LLM optimization: Can you influence generative AI outputs? From SEO to information gain optimizationGoogle has been involved in AI for a long time, and AI is part of many of its systems. They used BERT to improve their understanding of language, and I’m sure many more systems are in use. The point is that Google is trying to understand content to serve search engine users better. Therefore, Google itself is reading your content. Sure, not like a human does, but they are reading it. So, it makes sense to apply a similar approach to increase Google’s information gain from content, just like humans. In essence, we become information optimizers. Our job as SEOs is to continually increase the rate of information gain. The rate of gain, explainedInformation gain rate, when it comes to information foraging theory, is described as:
You see, while search engines carry a cost for indexing and retrieving documents, so do humans. When we use our brains, we consume calories, and the body is highly efficient at not wasting them. We use heuristics (mental shortcuts) to filter the world and make decisions. Information foraging theory suggests that we seek to do the same. We attempt to gain as much information as possible from a source in as little time as possible. To do this, we go through a five-stage process. Goal
Patch
Forage
Scent
Diet
As we know, that trust leads to purchases or increased clicks (which can lead to advertising/ affiliate revenue). So this means that SEO should include optimizing around information scent. But if you’ve read the above, you can see that Google search works similarly, just a machine version. Information optimization: The new scienceIf we’re going to optimize around information gain, we need to understand that it requires a greater understanding of two factors:
We already know that Google wants original, experience-based information from the best sources. They also want to reduce the cost of extracting that information. Yes, Google wants an easy life. So, how do we do this on a practical level? Simply put, we make extracting information easier for both machines and humans (at the same time), and here’s how. The optimal website maximizes the value gained per interactionContrary to what many think, fast websites might matter, but if the information gain rate from a website is low or has a high perceived cost, then the person will leave. Here’s an example. I’ve asked ChatGPT for some information about a hotel in Paris. It gives me the information the best way it can. It gives a lot of information I can easily extract at a low cognitive cost. But how should a website deal with this? Tripadvisor has a whole page dedicated to the hotel. Look at how they’ve optimized one section for information gain rate. The content – which uses symbols, scorecards and lists room types – is designed for humans (and machines) to gain the most information in the least time/cost. And it’s this that we have to get our heads around to help search users. But we need to destroy some myths around content. Good content is context-basedI read a lot of good content, but most of it’s in my inbox in the form of blogs people have written that are not designed to gain traction from search. Good content for SEO is wildly different. When we search online, we have an emotional need state that requires solving. Kantar and Google did some research a while ago. In this study, the above need states were used by searchers, who came to search engines looking for them to be resolved. Some words that stand out across from each need state are:
It’s these attributes in information that search users look for in content online. Strikingly, we can see how Tripadvisor’s content displays these attributes, and we can also see how applying them to content would increase the information gain rate for humans and machines. But how can we start to take the approach of information optimization to content? Well, here’s a four-part process to get you started. Part 1: Content structureLook at how your page should be structured for search to increase the information gain rate. A good example is the Tui website: They’ve used faceted search “buttons” to help users find what they are looking for. Consider how best to design your page for humans and search engines to increase the information gain. UX matters, as does the information on the page. Part 2: Information architectureConsider how you want your information to be structured for maximum information gain. You might consider giving information early and quickly, for example: “When is the best time to travel to Jamaica?” “March is the best time to travel to Jamaica.” Look at your content and aim to add some, if not all, of the following attributes.
Part 3: Content designThe last impact is the design of the content. Consider how best to add value, such as using unique images to your posts to help explain information or data. Backlinko uses images like the above to convey data in an interesting format. This leads us to the final part. Part 4: Content differenceIf you do all of the above, you should have content that is very different from what already exists. But if you don’t, ensure that you do. There are 1,000 different ways to say the same thing, but it requires creativity and consideration about how best to display your unique angles and viewpoints around this. But here’s a little challenge. Head to a site like Backlinko or HubSpot and look at their content. Find an article and apply the above four-part system, and think about how you would improve it based on your unique views or experience. This could serve as a suitable workshop for agencies and in-house staff to consider the information gain and how best to apply it. Because in the era of generative content, information gain is king. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/OosFUHe As Google Search continues to incorporate AI-generated answers into Search, links will live on, Alphabet/Google CEO Sundar Pichai told Bloomberg in a new interview. Here’s what you need to know from Pichai’s interview. Future of links. Unlike in previous statements, where Pichai indicated that the Search experience would evolve substantively in the next 10 years, in the Bloomberg interview he seemed to indicate that links to websites will continue to be an important part of Google Search results:
Google Search getting worse. Pichai was also asked about search getting worse and “more SEO spam.” Pichai didn’t directly answer it (a typical Pichai non-answer answer), but my interpretation is Pichai acknowledged the issue without confirming it. Here’s what Pichai said, you can decide what it means:
He was later asked how concerned he was about AI-generated content ruining Search. His response:
Google’s business model. Google made more than $192 billion just from search ads in 2023. Pichai was also asked whether a chatbot giving AI-generated answers, rather than links, is “an assault on Google’s business model.”
Other quotes of note. Pichai was asked about the perception that Google is behind other companies (e.g., OpenAI, Microsoft) in AI, (even though Google became an AI-first company in 2016):
Meanwhile, in what I consider a fairly shocking moment, Pichai – the leader of a company that while not perfect is doing and has done many amazing things – couldn’t articulate a coherent reason when asked a simple question: why anyone we trust Google:
What’s the biggest threat to Google’s future, according to Pichai:
Pichai was also asked whether we’ll look back on this “LLM era” and laugh because it will someday look basic and rudimentary:
Why we care. Just the other day, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said “Google is not about blue links. It’s about organizing the world’s information,” which seemed to echo Pichai’s recent statement about Google evolving toward Search Generative Experience, where links to websites will eventually become less central to Search. AI answers are the present and future of Search – they’re not going away, especially if ChatGPT delivers on its rumored search product. The interview. Google CEO Sundar Pichai and the Future of AI | The Circuit via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/y7f19Xc One of the things I love about SEO is its inherent duality. We get to leverage both sides of our brains:
However, it’s easy to think of SEO as predominantly left-brained. SEO tactics tend to rely heavily on data and numerical figures. We lean into technical know-how and keyword optimization. Logically, we react to what the numbers are telling us and decide the next steps accordingly. It’s a proven approach. But what about the people driving that data? What about their intent? Can we use more creative thinking to pursue better optimization strategies? When it comes to SEO, our goal is not really to gain the coveted top blue link. It’s about reaching the right people and addressing their needs by giving what they want as quickly and as easily as possible. So, how do we reach that goal? Users are always looking to do something, whether it’s finding information, being entertained or purchasing a product. How do we tap into emotional and behavioral data to support them? That’s where design thinking comes in. What is design thinking?Design thinking is exactly what it sounds like: adopting a designer mindset. It’s a human-centered framework for problem-solving the way a designer would – by setting out to solve a problem using creativity rather than data alone. The design thinking process is typically divided into five stages:
With design thinking, the emphasis is not only on the solution but also on the end user. SEO specifically focuses on providing the best solution for a specific audience. It’s about understanding user intent and adding value. A new optimization process1. Empathize: Get to know your audienceEmpathizing in this context is centered around identifying and understanding your audience. The best SEO strategy optimizes for consumer discovery by understanding the people who are searching. This ensures you’re adding value to users and ultimately growing your audience through increased organic visibility. Conduct thorough research to learn about your existing audience and gain insights into search behaviors, motivations and pain points. There are a number of tools available to help research your target audience. Using Google Analytics to understand who is coming to your site is a great place to start. In GA4, you can view audience reports under User > User Attributes to identify location, gender, age, language and even interests when available. You can also leverage Google Trends, Facebook Audience Manager and persona mapping or survey tools to learn more about your potential audience. Gathering this information helps tailor efforts from keyword selection to content creation and off-page efforts. When your SEO strategy is anchored in reaching an audience you fully understand, you can reach them more efficiently. Dig deeper: An SEO guide to audience research and content analysis 2. Define: What problem are we trying to solveThe next step involves analyzing your audience data to define the SEO challenges you aim to address. This is critical to ensure you address the real wants and needs of the audience through SEO efforts rather than working from assumptions like search volume or clicks. Based on the unique audiences you have identified, you can better determine the specific challenges you need to address and how to reach users. Consider:
Clearly defining the problem allows you to focus your efforts on the areas that will impact your SEO performance most. 3. Ideate: How can we best solve that problem?With a clear understanding of the SEO challenge, brainstorm as many potential solutions as possible. It’s easy to fall into the same pattern of optimizing your site based on analytics data and search trends, but with design thinking, we emphasize qualitative data over quantitative data. A few different brainstorming techniques to help transcend your left-brained thinking habits include:
Think outside the box and consider how to create value for your audience through content, website updates, or user experience. In this exercise, quantity is key – use cross-functional thinking to generate ample diverse ideas.
Maybe traditional SEO tactics will help solve your particular challenge. But oftentimes, by integrating cross-channel tactics, you can better tackle SEO challenges and add value for users. Dig deeper: SEO planning: Your one-page SEO plan 4. Prototype: Build the thingBefore implementing any SEO strategy or tactics at scale, create “prototypes” to visualize and test your ideas. Visualization is crucial in understanding how a strategy may address the problem or challenge. However, your prototype does not have to be a high-fidelity visual asset. This could involve:
In many cases, fancy tools and a team of engineers aren’t necessary. You can use lo-fi tools like Figma or Google Sheets to build basic prototypes that clearly convey the solution. Whatever shape a prototype takes, keeping the unique problem or challenge in mind and relating it back to the audience is essential. When considering the effectiveness of your prototype, use role-playing to put yourself in the shoes of the target audience. Dig deeper: Conveying keyword insights to non-SEOs: A visual approach 5. Test and evaluate: Does this solution work?Design thinking makes so much sense for SEO because, much like SEO, it is an iterative process. The final step is to gather feedback on “prototypes” and/or tactics to refine solutions and strategies. Intentionally test your tactics and continuously monitor performance. Leverage a modern framework for running SEO tests. Embrace a culture of experimentation to evolve your approach and better understand pain points.
Changes in user behavior are more directly and immediately measurable than traditional SEO KPIs. By testing with real users, you can gather feedback early in the process and make necessary adjustments along the way. Creative problem-solving for SEORemember, it all starts with redefining the problems we are trying to solve. Reframing SEO challenges around the target audiences’ needs and challenges allows us to better give people what they want. When your SEO efforts are focused on the right audience, it’s easier to reach them. Traffic increases, which leads to more conversions. Use design thinking to balance the analytical and creative sides of SEO. It can help you better understand when to use data, ignore trends and take risks, ultimately letting you create more user-centric and impactful SEO campaigns. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/4v2Njni Your online reputation is what users can learn about your brand within a few seconds. But today, it’s not only about what users might think. We also need to care about AI. In this article, you will learn:
1. Who will give the answers? Generative AI mightGenerative AI has become a significant topic for brands worldwide. The growing number of users researching AI-powered platforms gives us an idea about just how big the issue may become. Even non-marketers use chatbots linked to platforms such as OpenAI to ask everyday questions. This is made much easier by chatbot platforms like Botpress or Messagebird. The search landscape is changing heavily. As a result, online reputation management (ORM) will never be the same. In the past months, numerous tests showed critical shortcomings, such as:
A sustainable strategy to protect your brand from generative AI issues is to control the input. Language models are very likely to use various sources on the web to feed their algorithms to get text samples and understand the facts. A brand (business or personal) that triggers a knowledge panel on Google is very likely to be in a good place when it comes to the semantic part of ORM. Generative AI will use more of its internal knowledge management systems to produce more accurate answers, considering real and understood facts. To proactively control the narrative, it’s critical to work on connecting your brand to appropriate semantic fields to make it easier for language models to comprehend:
In practical terms, this might mean tying the brand’s context to descriptive terminology around the skill level, price point or specific targeting:
As so often, input = output. The more you control the narrative on your website and other sites about your brand, the higher the chances that language models pick up the right information and reproduce it in the right contexts in generative answers. 2. Ambiguous semanticsSemantics aren’t always clear: It often takes multiple semantic entities to be presented in the right context to allow NLP engines to actually comprehend what the text is about. The free Kalicube Copywriting Analyzer Tool allows everybody to ask Google’s NLP engine through their API about its understanding of a sample text. Look at these examples and Google’s understanding in parentheses:
These examples illustrate how hard it can be for neurolinguistic processing engines to grasp what a text is about. Context is king when it comes to getting an NLP engine to comprehend what your page is about. Make sure your content is tied to enough context to be unambiguous while paying attention to different spellings, synonyms, uppercase and lowercase versions, etc. Just because there is text on a page that a human can fully understand doesn’t mean a machine can take away the same information. 3. User-generated content and RedditOnline reputation management needs to focus on what gets the attention online. Very often, user-generated content (UGC) accounts for a major share of that. Users generate content in different formats, such as YouTube videos, podcasts, images and posts. Given Google’s partnership with Reddit, the widespread community network has become a critical priority for ORM. Many branded and product-related searches will trigger one or more Reddit threads. In addition, Google’s Gemini could leverage Reddit’s content as training data for its language models. Actively monitor Reddit and maintain a few official users representing your brand. Look into creating new threads and start participating in existing discussions around your brand and contextually related topics. To control the narrative (and the training data for a potential SGE roll-out), maintain a positive and helpful attitude and try to lead users with negative experiences off Reddit and into your email support desk where you provide real help, compensation or other benefits to minimize the damage. Dig deeper: How to repair your Google search results and reclaim your online reputation 4. Lack of proper monitoringThe more popular brand, the more mentions there are on the web. Tools like Google Alerts can enable an easy and free entry point for monitoring mentions of a brand (add different spellings) and its products or services. However, Google Alerts is limited to indexed pages only. It will alert you by email about what is coming up in Google Search, while leaving you in the dark about most social media posts, threads and comments sections. Effective brand mentions monitoring requires using (usually paid) third-party tools that search through a variety of platforms and consolidate all mentions in a user-friendly report, ideally with an indication of the sentiment of the different mentions. But here is why monitoring mentions is even more complex than that: How should a brand possibly know what kind of information is being presented through generative AI on Google and all the other major platforms out there? Brands can hope Google might provide some kind of tracking through Google Search Console, but at the moment, it only seems that Google SGE heavily impacts many brand and product searches. If a brand wants to know how it is being portrayed across the different platforms, the simplest way is to query them manually (or set up an integration using third-party tools or Google Sheets plugins, etc.) to help with that. It’s not perfect, but it might give you hints on what to do next. There is no excuse for not configuring a series of the most important Google Alerts to monitor your brand name, your main products’ names and their most essential spelling variations. If your brand is frequently mentioned on social media platforms, you should sign up for a paid tool to cover content that Google might not index. Besides, it wouldn’t hurt to assign a team member to frequently query the most important AI tools with defined transactional queries about your brand and products to understand the topics and applications associated with the brand. Then, react accordingly to their output by finding the likely source of unwanted information and aim to balance it out. 5. Google reviewsOne of the most common requests an ORM agency gets is to remove a negative Google review. Negative reviews directly impact the experience of search users as they see the review stars on Google Business Profiles. Google and other engines might also use review data to train their language models, so dealing with positive and negative reviews is crucial. Happy customers don’t leave reviews until someone asks for them. Make sure you have a process in place to proactively build up positive and context-rich Google reviews from real, happy customers. Somebody from your brand should respond to every review. Ideally, you can provide even more contextual information to enrich the review semantics and balance negative sentiments. Dealing with negative reviews promptly and constructively and offering assistance via email could prevent an unhappy customer from venting their frustration on other platforms like Reddit. 6. Competitors and affiliatesImagine a potential customer searches for your brand name, flagship product or founder’s name. At the top of the SERPs, they will likely find the brand website, about page or product page. However, when you don’t pay attention to your online reputation, potential clients will often see competing domains and affiliate sites near the top of the SERPs. Imagine spending thousands of dollars on ads to raise brand awareness. But instead, you might be driving clients directly to their competitors. While your brand’s ad spend will go through the roof, the competitor’s SEO consultant might get a bigger retainer for their strategic thinking. You can achieve the most effortless conversion through branded searches. Somebody already searching for Nike shoes is very likely to buy them. Affiliates have been leveraging this for years by first trying to rank for the brand or product they are running affiliate marketing for. Your brand must dominate the top of the SERPs for your brand name. This includes brand websites, product websites and social media networks. 7. Competing ads showing for your brand nameAnother sneaky way for competitors to get a brand’s attention is through running ads on a brand’s name. Amazon has been doing this for years. For example, searches for “Adidas shoes” will likely trigger Amazon ads. This even happens at a smaller scale, where regional or national classified car portals might try to run ads on local car dealerships’ names. Tests show that an important percentage of users searching for a brand will not click through to the brand’s website but elsewhere on page 1. If a competitor has a compelling ad on top, a significant portion of the clicks might go there. Running ads for your brand name, product names and founders’ names should be the best practice in every firm, especially in industries where competitors are likely to run ads using a brand name. This allows you to also appear there as the official site behind the brand and, based on the usually higher quality score, get a larger portion of the clicks for lower costs. 8. Abandoned social media platformsPotential customers will likely search for a brand name before buying. They might often find and visit a social media profile to gather more information and what they find there might be critical to the purchase decision. More and more brands show up with almost abandoned social media profiles, focusing efforts on the platforms that seem to be trendy but forgetting that the others are still around and need to be maintained by:
Although you might get more engagement on Instagram or TikTok, it doesn’t mean the old Facebook profile or LinkedIn page still ranking wouldn’t be seen and considered before a purchase decision. What does it say about a brand if one of the main social media platforms isn’t constantly updated? To properly defend your brand’s reputation, creating and maintaining profiles across the leading platforms is critical. Not every platform requires the same dedication and resources. However, visiting a platform should not lead users to think negatively about the brand’s image, its dedication to customer service or the product quality. 9. Balance pages’ sentimentUnhappy users, clients and employees are likely to vent on sites like TrustPilot, Glassdoor or Google Reviews. AI platforms might consider these and similar resources when training their language models and analyzing their content, specifically their sentiment. A reviews page with three negative reviews is very different from one with three negative, two positive and one neutral review. It is similar to talking to three unhappy clients vs. talking to three people, only one of whom was unhappy and the other two giving neutral or positive feedback. Regularly monitor your websites and social networks for brand and product mentions. Establish processes to balance out negative impressions and highlight positive ones. 10. Responsibility and the lack of defined processesIn online reputation management, a lot goes back to putting in place the right processes to prevent issues in the first place and manage reputational issues or a reputation crisis appropriately. Hand in hand with the processes goes the question of responsibility. Who is responsible for monitoring mentions and reacting to them? To establish a process, answering the following questions can be helpful:
Online reputation management today requires an overall strategic approach. Assigning clear roles, tailoring processes for different platforms and using generative AI to handle present and future threats can protect your brand and simplify defending against potential problems. Dig deeper: A quick guide to managing your online reputation via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/MXA42eP TikTok is positioning itself as a prime destination for search discovery, touting its community-driven approach as a key differentiator from traditional search engines. New insights. TikTok released new insights emphasizing the platform’s role in driving discovery across the marketing funnel:
Why we care: As TikTok evolves into a lifestyle platform blending entertainment, community and commerce, its ability to facilitate discovery throughout the consumer journey makes it an increasingly effective touchpoint for digital marketing strategies that would leave a massive gap if TikTok were banned. Between the lines. TikTok is spotlighting three core “discovery modes” that power its search ecosystem:
TikTok claims its visual, community-driven approach delivers more entertaining (41%), authentic (28%) and concise (25%) search results than traditional engines. Why now. TikTok is not happy with the US government. TikTok and parent company ByteDance have filed a lawsuit challenging a new U.S. law that would ban the popular video-sharing app unless sold to an approved American buyer, arguing the law unfairly singles out TikTok and is an unconstitutional attack on free speech. The lawsuit asserts that the law vaguely portrays TikTok’s Chinese ownership as a national security threat without evidence and that requiring a complete sale and separation from ByteDance is technologically impossible. TikTok claims the law leaves no choice but a U.S. shutdown by January 2024 since it can’t operate independently from the global platform. The big picture. As the fight to keep its current structure ensues, TikTok is vying for a central role in product discovery by showcasing how its community-powered recommendations can effectively inspire audiences and drive conversions across the entire funnel. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/wSboCtu Reddit is exploring monetizing its search results pages, teasing a significant untapped opportunity for the popular online forum. Logical next step. With over 1 billion monthly searches on the platform, Reddit sees advertising against user searches as a logical next step to improve monetization after enhancing the core search experience.
Why we care. Reddit venturing into search ads could present a lucrative opportunity to target users with high intent. Advertisers will get the diversity in available platforms they crave as signs of decreasing Google trust levels prevail. What they’re saying. Steve Huffman, CEO of Reddit, said on the company’s latest earnings call:
State of play. Reddit is first focused on upgrading its search functionality with improved back-end performance, autocomplete, and a revamped user interface slated for this year.
What’s next? While no firm timeline was provided, Reddit appears committed to extracting more value from its massive search volume by opening up ad inventory once its revamped search product takes shape. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/K2PtV6X |
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