For a long time, optimizing webpages to rank for a single targeted keyword was a common SEO tactic. Marketers would carefully select a high-value keyword and optimize content and on-page elements to rank well for that term. However, this hyper-focused keyword approach is now considered outdated in many cases. Today, searcher behavior, query intent and the buyer’s journey are more important than targeting individual keywords. Queries have become more conversational, and users want relevant content that matches their true needs – not just pages stuffed with certain words. Ranking for a single popular keyword is also difficult and may attract the wrong audience. That said, optimizing for specific keywords or niche topics isn’t always outdated. In some situations, concentrating on a focused area and proving topical expertise can still be an effective strategy. Understanding when a narrow vs. broad approach aligns with your goals and audience is key. This article will cover scenarios where single keyword optimization is likely an outdated practice to avoid, as well as cases where a niche keyword focus remains valuable. When is specific keyword optimization considered outdated?When it is literally about a ‘single’ keyword or phraseI occasionally still have conversations with brands and people who are fixated on just one specific keyword or phrase. They see it as the key to success, believing that if they can just rank high for that term, they’ll get lots of relevant website visitors. But sometimes, this focus on one phrase is more about perception than actual results. If you’re a local car dealership in a small town, ranking number one for the generic term “cars” is not very likely to happen for you on a broad scale. Plus, it isn’t very helpful if 99.9999% of the people searching that term (if not more) are not your target audience in your market, who are seeking what you have to sell. If you could get exponentially more ROI by targeting multiple keywords relevant to your core service offering, geolocated to where you are, then you’re going to have more realistic opportunities and results. In some cases, ego played into the reason for the single-term focus. Before I was a “CEO” myself, I used to call these “CEO keywords.” I guess I still do, but then and now, it was never with the intent to offend, just with the understanding that sometimes there’s a brand reason behind it, a highly competitive motivation, or possibly the lack of research and understanding of what it takes to land a top spot for a single phrase. If your goal keyword doesn’t match search intentContext matters. It matters to the search engines trying to determine what subject matter you are relevant to and authoritative on – that’s step 1. However, step 2 is to convince your target audience and those who come through the SERPs to your site that you’re the answer they are looking for. Context is critical to understand if you focus too narrowly on a literal single keyword phrase or one looser term and variations. I had a client who was a high-end continuing care retirement community (CCRC). Like many, this client didn’t want the word “facility” associated with its brand or on its website. The same goes for “nursing home.” However, the data showed that most people searched with those words in their queries. We navigated around that by building a robust strategy that included enough context that even without those words appearing in the page copy or HTML, we were able to rank at the top of Google for them anyway. This is the power of understanding and getting the right context and caring more about it than keywords themselves. Finding the balance between what searchers want, what Google understands and how to be relevant is a big first step. Dig deeper: There are more than 4 types of search intent If you’re leaving qualified traffic on the tableIf you’re focused super narrow, you might not be considering all the ways someone might search for your content. I love the bottom of the funnel traffic (which is converting) as much as anyone. But, with the range of ways that people search (e.g., queries formatted like questions that are popular through voice search) and the variance of behavior ranging from researching to buy now, you could miss out. You might also be losing some brand awareness and the chance to educate and convert earlier in the customer journey – or to gain those early impressions in technical areas and those with longer sales cycles. Considering quality and quantity is key to a long-term and sustainable SEO strategy. If the long-tail terms are highly qualified, convert much better and add up to a decent volume compared to a single high-volume term, you need to consider where you want to invest. We want all the terms and traffic. But, if you care more about quality and conversions than impressions, you likely want to shape your content and investment to a broader set of terms and a more diversified strategy. When you’re expecting to do a limited set of activities for quick resultsI’m not saying that quick wins don’t happen in SEO. I’ve been doing it for nearly two decades and have seen some awesome things happen in short timeframes. On the flip side, though, I have also unfortunately seen a lot of situations with mismatched expectations versus what has played out. If you’re aiming for a quick win by targeting a single term and speeding up the process, it’s not impossible. However, it’s crucial to question whether your strategy and tactics align with your desired results. Simply throwing together a landing page, stuffing it with keywords, directing links to it and hoping for rapid or sustainable ranking can often lead to disappointment. Yes, you can see things work in niche areas and with the right mix of strategy and tactics in short order. However, if you’re taking shortcuts and get to the top of the SERPs, you’re possibly in a longer-term risky position. When does specific keyword optimization work?OK, let’s look at the other side of the argument. Let me be the first to share openly that my agency is a specialist, and last year, we went through the process of narrowing and niching down. So, on the “not outdated” side of this argument, I can attest to ways it can go well if you know what you’re getting into. When it is about a niche or single topic, not just a literal queryThis is on the flip side of what I talked about earlier. If you’re in full agreement and understanding that context matters more than literal words, then you can specialize and focus on a specific “keyword.” I’m loosely talking about a “keyword” and expanding that to a topic. Having specific subject matter, expertise and depth can work really well to beat out broader competitors and those that are more full-service. The more quality content you have, the better you can focus on, show your relevance for the subject matter and attract links and signals to validate authority. Additionally, you have the opportunity to fully map out your content to match search intent at each step of a customer journey and cover a range of ways that someone might find your content, want to engage with it. When you have a broader marketing and SEO viewThere are times to get granular with topics and subject matter. That could include when you want to launch a new product or service and be the expert in it. If you have a comprehensive SEO and marketing strategy and understand the depth of your focus on a specific topic, you’ll grasp how that attention contributes to your overall efforts. Knowing the trade-offs of going super deep and isolating the data and variables can be an awesome place to test, move fast and support a broader strategy overall. When you know your marketIf you’re well-versed in your market, including prospects, competitors and even in SERP features, then you can tailor your laser-focused strategy and have confidence in how it will return for you. You don’t have to test as much and waste sprints and cycles trying to learn as you go. Leveraging your industry knowledge and expertise, you can spin up content, build out a niche platform and optimize it well in ways that more bloated and slower competitors can’t. You can also cut through the waste of trying to answer questions that Google may be directly answering (not sending you traffic) and trying to validate ideas and content. As long as you’re fully in command of the customer journey, funnels, or however you look at the complete picture of how you engage your audience, the length of sales and consideration cycles and are monetizing as much of that journey as you can, you can leverage narrow focus in a way that doesn’t leave potential ROI on the table. When the reward is worth itI normally talk about goals at the top of articles. However, I wanted to dive quickly into this topic. You can definitely see success with a specific keyword or very narrow focus if you have done your research and know that the opportunity is great enough to reward you for the effort. Maybe you just need that one click to convert, which gives you 1,000 times ROI. Or, maybe your ROI is in being ranked number 1 for that key “CEO keyword.” I won’t judge either way. Just know what you’re investing in and why you’re doing it. Have a full view of potential and go after it if it fits your goals. Rethinking single keyword optimization in SEOOptimizing for specific keywords or very narrow topics isn’t always an outdated practice. Concentrating your SEO efforts on niche areas and proving expertise can be a winning strategy in certain situations. The key is understanding when a focused vs. broad keyword approach aligns with your business goals, industry, audience demands and ability to comprehensively meet search intent. Dig deeper: How to target highly competitive organic keywords: An advanced approach via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/zijdXQR
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President Joe Biden today signed a bill into law that forces TikTok to either divest from Chinese parent company ByteDance or face a full ban in the U.S. What it means. ByteDance must sell TikTok in nine months. That deadline can be extended by 90 days if needed to complete a sale.
What TikTok is saying. CEO Chew Shou Zi posted a video response, promising to challenge this ban (which he said is unconstitutional) in court, adding, “We aren’t going anywhere.”
Why we care. TikTok said it has 170 million U.S. users. Brands and businesses will be impacted because they will be unable to reach those people anymore should this TikTok ban go through in 2025. Any TikTok marketing investments would likely need to be redirected to YouTube or Meta properties. Search and advertising impact. TikTok has increasingly become the starting point for search and discovery among younger users, like Gen Z. TikTok introduced Search Ads in August and added Search Insights in March. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/uytJbgS Prabhakar Raghavan, the head of Google Search, expects his team to move more quickly and in different directions as part of a new “cost” and “operating reality.” That’s according to audio of Raghavan speaking during a Google all-hands meeting, obtained and reported on first by CNBC. A new reality. Google has been cutting costs and staff over the past year. Raghavan painted a fairly bleak outlook of Google – essentially saying that the “good old days” are long gone:
Challenges. Google is under attack on many fronts. Some of those Raghavan highlighted:
Go faster. Raghavan told his team to “meet this moment” and “act with urgency,” adding:
Twitch, or twitchiness, refers to an athlete’s ability to quickly or explosively move their body in different directions during high-intensity or physical sports. Why we care. Google Search has received much criticism in recent years – with a great deal of it coming under Raghavan’s leadership. Many believe we are seeing the inevitable enshittification of Google, where Google puts profit above everything, including its users. Fittingly, Raghavan referred to Google’s advertising business as “the envy of the world.” Velocity and focus. In response to the leaked audio of the all-hands meeting, a Google spokesperson told CNBC:
About Raghavan. He is a senior vice president at Google, responsible for Google Search, Ads and many other Google products. Raghavan was promoted to his position in June 2020. Prior to joining Google, he was at Yahoo from 2005 to 2012, a period during which Google ascended and Yahoo declined rapidly.
via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/Etj0v5g Dynamic Product Ads, the newest addition to the Reddit shopping suite, is being released into public beta. This solution allows you to reach potential customers while they’re actively researching, discussing and deciding what to buy. Why we care. Reddit is already benefiting from additional Google Search visibility, which means Reddit is likely getting more organic traffic than ever, including product searches. Reddit is saying Dynamic Product Ads drove 1.9x greater Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) when compared to conversion objective campaigns, based on the results of testing in Q1. How it works: Dynamic Product Ads combine shopping signals with machine learning and advertiser product catalogs. This combination will then work to serve the most relevant products to convert high user intent into action by connecting people with the products they’re looking for when they’re looking for them, Reddit said. Key features. Here’s what Reddit advertisers can expect:
Available now in public beta: Dynamic Product Ads are available to all Reddit advertisers globally. English, German, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese languages are supported via the Reddit Ads Manager. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/v86YQD7 Are you seeking to broaden your marketing horizons and harness the vast opportunities LinkedIn has to offer? You’re in the right place! This comprehensive guide dives deep into LinkedIn advertising, offering expert insights and strategies to refine your campaigns and unlock exceptional results on this professional networking platform. Why LinkedIn?LinkedIn advertising connects brands with a niche audience of professionals and decision-makers in a business-focused environment. Unlike other social platforms, LinkedIn’s user base is predominantly professionals who engage with business content, making it perfect for B2B marketing. Here’s why LinkedIn advertising could benefit your business: Highly targeted audience
Professional environment
Brand authority and thought leadership
Lead generation opportunities
Enough budget
Understanding LinkedIn advertisingUnlike other marketing platforms, LinkedIn specifically focuses on business, which means it’s the perfect platform for marketing B2B products and services and reaching out to like-minded business professionals. One rather large differentiator of LinkedIn is the detailed information users provide about themselves. This helps marketers target their ads very precisely. For example, you can aim your ads at people in specific industries, with certain job titles, working in companies of particular sizes or at different levels of seniority. This level of detail ensures that your ads are seen by the right people, making your marketing efforts more effective. Getting started: Advertising on LinkedInCreate a LinkedIn company page and ad account
Define your objectives
Audience targeting
Dig deeper: A guide to LinkedIn content marketing Choosing the right ad formatLinkedIn offers a variety of ad types, each tailored to different marketing objectives and audience engagement strategies. Let’s explore these ad types along with examples of industries or marketing campaigns that would benefit from each: Sponsored contentSponsored content appears directly in the LinkedIn feed, blending seamlessly with organic content. It can include text, images, videos and carousel ads.
Sponsored InMail (a.k.a. Messaging)Sponsored InMail lets you send personalized messages directly to your target audience’s LinkedIn inbox. Messages can include text, links and call-to-action buttons.
Text adsText ads are displayed on the side or top of LinkedIn pages and contain a headline, description and optional image. They are a cost-effective option for increasing visibility and driving traffic to your website.
Carousel adsCarousel ads allow you to showcase multiple images or videos in a single ad unit, each with its own headline, description and link. They are perfect for highlighting various solutions, services or case studies relevant to B2B audiences.
Video adsVideo ads autoplay in the LinkedIn feed and can be up to 30 minutes long. They are highly engaging and effective for storytelling and brand awareness campaigns.
Lead gen formsLead gen forms streamline the lead generation process by allowing users to submit their contact information directly within the ad without leaving LinkedIn. This is ideal for capturing leads and expanding your email list.
By leveraging the appropriate LinkedIn ad types based on your marketing goals and target audience, you can effectively engage with professionals, generate leads and drive business growth in your industry. Top tips for LinkedIn advertising success1. Use campaign hierarchy and ad setsWhen setting up your LinkedIn advertising campaigns, it’s essential to organize your ads effectively using campaign hierarchy and ad sets. This approach lets you structure your campaigns strategically, optimize targeting and maximize efficiency. Campaign hierarchy Start by organizing your campaigns into logical categories or objectives. Each campaign should represent a specific goal or outcome you want to achieve, such as lead generation, brand awareness or website traffic. For example, you might create separate campaigns to promote different product lines, target different audience segments or test different ad formats. Ad sets Create multiple ad sets within each campaign to further refine your targeting and messaging. Ad sets allow you to group together ads that share similar characteristics, such as audience demographics, interests or geographic location. For instance, if you’re running a lead generation campaign targeting healthcare professionals, you could create separate ad sets for doctors, nurses and healthcare administrators, each with tailored messaging and targeting criteria. 2. Maintain clarity and focus in your advertising strategyEfficiently manage and optimize multiple campaigns simultaneously. Test different audience segments and messaging variations to identify what resonates best with your target audience. Effectively allocate budget and resources based on campaign performance and objectives. Ultimately, this approach allows you to make the most of your LinkedIn advertising efforts, ensuring that your messages reach the right audience at the right time, leading to improved engagement and conversions. 3. Craft compelling contentCreate content that resonates with your target audience and compels them to take action. Whether it’s a captivating headline, a visually stunning image or a compelling call-to-action, focus on delivering value and engaging your audience. Example: A software-as-a-service (SaaS) company creates a sponsored content post highlighting the benefits of its project management tool for remote teams. The post features a captivating headline, an eye-catching image of a remote team collaborating seamlessly and a compelling call to action (CTA) prompting users to learn more about the tool’s features. By delivering value and addressing pain points commonly experienced by remote teams, the content resonates with the target audience of project managers and team leaders, compelling them to click through and explore the solution further. Bad ad copy
Good ad copy
4. Test and optimizeContinuously experiment with different ad formats, messaging variations and targeting options to optimize your campaigns for maximum effectiveness. Monitor key metrics such as click-through rates, conversion rates and return on investment (ROI) to identify areas for improvement and refinement. Example: A marketing agency tests messaging variations in a text ad campaign for a client. They create multiple ad sets with different headlines, descriptions and CTAs. By tracking metrics like click-through and conversion rates, they pinpoint resonating variations. Using this data, they optimize ad creative and targeting, reallocating the budget to the most effective ads to drive ROI. 5. Leverage LinkedIn AnalyticsHarness the power of LinkedIn’s analytics tools to track the performance of your ads and gain actionable insights into audience engagement, demographics and behavior. Use data-driven insights to refine your targeting strategy, optimize your ad creative and maximize your advertising ROI. Example: A financial advisory firm running sponsored InMail campaigns for retirement planning services tracks campaign performance using LinkedIn Analytics. Analyzing metrics like open, click-through and conversion rates reveals that InMails to mid-level finance and banking executives yield the highest response rates. With this insight, they adjust targeting to focus on this segment, boosting advertising ROI. Dig deeper: LinkedIn content analytics: What it is and how to use it 6. Be consistentEnsure consistency across your LinkedIn ads, content and brand messaging to build trust and reinforce your brand identity. Establish a cohesive brand voice and visual identity that resonates with your target audience and sets you apart from competitors. Example: A consulting firm ensures brand consistency across its LinkedIn ads, content and messaging to reinforce its identity and build trust. They use consistent elements like logo, colors and messaging in all campaigns and content. They also share thought leadership articles aligned with their expertise. This cohesive approach sets them apart, establishing credibility as industry leaders. Dig deeper: 7 LinkedIn advertising pitfalls: Where your B2B ads setup might stumble The future of LinkedIn: Beyond job huntingAs LinkedIn continues to evolve and expand its features, it is positioning itself as more than just a platform for job seekers and recruiters. It is becoming a dynamic social media hub for professionals to connect, share insights and engage with content.
LinkedIn Advertising provides exceptional opportunities for marketers to reach targeted professionals and decision-makers. By implementing the strategies above and staying abreast of LinkedIn’s changes, you can unlock its full potential for business growth. Image credit: All images taken from LinkedIn Marketing Solutions via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/qSep4Q2 Google has postponed the deprecation of third-party cookies in Chrome this year due to multiple challenges and increased scrutiny from the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Why we care. Brands now have extra time to prepare and explore alternatives to third-party cookies. However, this is just another delay. Third-party cookies will eventually go away – just not this year. What Google is saying: Google acknowledged concerns about the feedback and requests they have received from the industry, regulators, developers, and the CMA in a statement they released via Privacy Sandbox News:
New deadline: Despite the delay, Google did not provide a specific timetable. Google expressed hope for completion by 2025. As a reminder, Google first announced plans to phase out cookies in January 2020. Hurdles: Since the first announcement of the shift to eliminate cookies by the end of 2024, there have been three main hurdles that have made this deadline unlikely:
via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/b7szI3L Looking to improve your PPC lead generation efforts? Consider laser-focusing on the customers ready to buy from you right now – your competitor’s unhappiest clients. This article reveals actionable strategies to identify and target three key groups through search campaigns:
By understanding these prospects’ search intent signals, you can precisely reach the hottest leads primed to convert to your product or service at key “action” moments. PPC audience targeting for lead generationImproving lead generation involves targeting specific groups:
To reach these profiles, you can employ a search strategy focusing on transactional keywords relevant to your products or services. However, this method can be competitive and require long-term effort. Alternatively, you can target your competitors’ audience. Most marketers are familiar with brand bidding, which can be a great tool for gaining visibility but also comes with many caveats. Dig deeper: How to benchmark PPC competitors: The definitive guide What is brand bidding (and why I don’t recommend it)Brand bidding in PPC is like putting up a sign right next to your competitor’s store, hoping to attract their customers. You bid on the names of your competitors so that when someone searches for them online, your ad shows up, too. It’s a way to grab attention from people already interested in your competitors and possibly win them over to your brand instead. A simple campaign could look like this: You have your competitor campaign. The competitors are separated into different ad groups and each ad group holds a specific competitor with different keyword options. With this setup, you can target people now looking for your competitor or, depending on the keyword option, your competitor, along with a service or product. It’s an easy way to gain impressions and visibility, but there is no performance guarantee. Additionally, it’s crucial to consider legal obligations. Laws vary by country and advertising jurisdiction, especially concerning the use of competitor names or bidding on their keywords. Avoiding a competitor’s brand in ads is advisable to prevent potential confusion. Consulting a specialized lawyer is wise for clarity on legal matters. Beyond legal considerations, your brand image is another important factor to take into account. Bidding on a competitor’s terms may attract clicks to your ad, leading users to land on your site. While some may genuinely be interested in your company, others may feel misled. This could harm your brand reputation, especially if users become frustrated or annoyed by the perceived deception. Brand bidding can be useful, but its drawbacks should not be underestimated. In most industries, brand bidding can be ineffective. Dig deeper: When to use branded and competitor keywords in PPC Action-based approach to targeting your competitors’ audienceSo, how do you target your competition’s audience without blatant brand bidding? The solution is action-based competitor targeting. Instead of simply going after a brand, you must couple your competitor’s brand with an action. When you target an action or idea, you’re reaching people ready to make a decision. They’re not just browsing; they’re actively seeking something and are more likely to be open to your offer. Having used this strategy successfully for several years, I can distinguish between three categories.
Good SEOs are often familiar with this approach. The SaaS industry has used the comparison path with competitor comparison landing pages for a while. The idea is pretty much the same and synchronizes perfectly between SEO and PPC. Let’s look deeper into the three categories and visualize them with examples. Let’s imagine you are in a contract-based industry, such as phone, cable or insurance. These types of lead gen businesses are a good example because there is always a movement in the market. Consumers are pretty much always in need of those services, but due to a lot of competition, they are also often open to comparing offers. 1. Targeting people looking for competitor alternatives and comparisonYou can target people searching for competitor alternatives or comparing your brand with various competitors. A possible campaign structure could look like this: An easy structure allows us to target people looking for an alternative to Competitors 1 and 2. Those people have probably searched through the market. They are actively looking for different services or providers or currently in a contract with a competitor and are looking to prepare their exit and switch contracts. Those campaigns can work well if you can supply a competitive offer and your products are similar to compare. Suppose your product is not a substitution for a competitor’s product but rather a similar product. In that case, it might be a little more tricky since those people usually need to be convinced of the changed features or details your service or product offers. To keep it simple: It should work out if your product is close to a 1:1 replacement. Let’s look at a second example. Imagine the streaming industry. Let’s say someone is currently with Netflix and they want to switch because of pricing, or they are not satisfied with the series collection anymore. If they are looking for a competitor, other streaming services like Disney+, Amazon Prime or maybe Apple TV+ could have a decent chance of winning that customer. If that customer were looking specifically for an exclusive series, that wouldn’t work since the customer wouldn’t be searching for an alternative. The comparison approach is quite similar to the “alternative” approach. Usually, consumers compare when they are close to signing up for a service and are highly advanced in the conversion funnel. They are most likely trying to determine major differences and get pricing information. Those consumers can easily be targeted with a comparison approach or by “why” searches. For a direct “competitor 1 vs. your brand” or “competitor 1 vs. competitor 2” setup, the landing page should offer comparison tables and explain why your offer is better. To stick with the streaming example, you could highlight the number of movies and series you offer by showing that you bring in the highest streaming quality for an amazing price, so consumers understand that you are the best provider on the market. The second approach for using “why” questions is also interesting, but it only works when dealing with more well-known brands since the search volume might be too low for newer companies. 2. Targeting people looking to churn from your competitorTargeting consumers ready to churn is my favorite group. They’ve made up their minds to switch. Some already have a new provider in mind, and others don’t. Often, they’re frustrated with their current service, so if you prioritize customer care, it’s easier to win them over. Your campaign structure could be built like this: Again, it really comes down to the specific industry or service, but you can experiment with different approaches. You can use straightforward keywords such as “cancel,” “termination,” and “cancellation,” or you can go more longtail with “how” and “why” questions. Service-based businesses, particularly online ones, often make canceling a hassle. Some even create obstacles, burying support and cancellation options. While it’s seen as churn prevention, it’s usually just frustrating for customers. Legal requirements vary by country, but potential customers can generally grant you power of attorney to handle cancellation and transition to your service. This shows a high level of trust and is often automatable, reducing manual work for you. Taking care of everything from the start leads to happy customers, positive reviews and increased patience in case issues arise early in the contract. 3. Targeting people looking for help or to contact your competitor supportThe last group I’d like to include is the support intent group. Now, I have to say, this is kind of a gamble because it can go in two directions. People are searching for your competitor using keywords like “support,” “hotline,” “service,” “contact” and similar. They might:
The second group is valuable because they’re open to switching providers, even if not right away. You can position your brand to them, letting them know you have an offer if they’re thinking of switching. This is kind of an upper funnel search approach on this competitor topic, but it can lead to much more volume. If you show this group that customer support is your top priority and that you care and are available, you can leave a positive impression on them, potentially gaining new customers. Many other factors also need to be checked like pricing and offer competitiveness, but support is often underestimated. Customer support is often viewed as a cost, but it can actually bring in profit indirectly. Happy clients tend to stay longer, are less likely to leave, and are more likely to refer others to you. It might be hard to measure it directly and short term, but mid- to long-term, customer satisfaction plays a huge role. A possible campaign structure is shown below: Attracting your PPC competition’s customersTargeting competitor audiences based on search intent and action outperforms traditional brand bidding tactics that are too broad and generic. Extending this approach to upper funnel formats enhances its effectiveness. The immediacy of search ads is particularly potent for addressing urgent needs like churn or customer support. Make sure to tailor your strategy to industry-specific behaviors. Embracing action-based targeting opens up possibilities for engaging with audiences at the right moment and driving meaningful outcomes. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/6EVoGtd Google search advertising spend in the U.S. rose by 17% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024. Click growth continued to slow, hitting 4% YoY (compared to 8% in Q4 2023). Cost-per-click continues to increase – up 13% YoY (compared to a 9% year-on-year increase in Q4 2023). CPC increase. This was most affected overall by an increase in Shopping ads CPC (both standard and PMax).
Google Search. CPCs are up 40-50% for retailers in the past five years.
PMax. Performance Max campaigns improve from quarter to quarter.
PMax continues to play a prominent role in advertising on Google:
Why we care: CPCs are increasing while clicks are decreasing. This is bad news all around for advertisers. Especially since Google reportedly had been increasing ad prices to meet targets. Report methodology. The Tinuiti Digital Ads Benchmark Report utilizes anonymized performance data from advertising programs managed by Tinuiti. The data is based on active programs with consistent strategies. All figures represent same-client growth and are not meant to officially reflect any specific advertising platform’s performance or the experiences of every advertiser. About Tinuiti. Tinuiti is a large independent performance marketing firm with over 1,000 employees that manages $4 billion in digital media. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/iW7094r Best of the SearchBot showcases Search Engine Land’s SearchBot’s responses to prompts submitted by readers. The language model is based on content from Search Engine Land layered on top of ChatGPT. The editors of Search Engine Land selected this response for its usefulness and have supplemented it with additional relevant content. I am the first generative AI chatbot for search marketers. I am trained with Search Engine Land content. Here’s something somebody asked me! After that, how you can improve prompts to get even better answers from me. Prompt:What suggestion do you give me if my website has been removed from google search after core update 2024 (March)? Answer:If your website has been removed from Google search after a core update, there are several steps you can take to improve your site’s visibility: 1. Assess the impact: Determine the extent of the decline in your website’s visibility and rankings. Identify the specific keywords and pages that have been affected. 2. Review Google’s guidelines: Familiarize yourself with Google’s Webmaster Guidelines to ensure your website meets their quality standards. Pay particular attention to the sections on content quality, user experience, and technical aspects. 3. Evaluate your content: Review your website’s content to ensure it provides original, valuable, and comprehensive information. Make sure it is well-written, free from factual errors, and offers insights beyond what is readily available elsewhere. Consider updating and enhancing your content to make it more valuable to users. 4. Improve user experience: Enhance the overall user experience of your website. Ensure it is mobile-friendly, loads quickly, and is easy to navigate. Optimize your website’s design, layout, and functionality to provide a seamless and engaging user experience. 5. Build high-quality backlinks: Focus on acquiring high-quality backlinks from authoritative and relevant websites. Implement a strategic link-building campaign that emphasizes quality over quantity. Seek opportunities for guest posting, influencer collaborations, and partnerships with reputable websites in your industry. 6. Monitor and analyze: Continuously monitor your website’s performance using analytics tools. Track changes in rankings, organic traffic, and user engagement metrics. Analyze the data to identify patterns and make data-driven optimizations to your SEO strategy. 7. Be patient and persistent: Recovering from a decline in rankings may take time. Stay committed to improving your website’s quality, relevance, and user experience. Continue to create valuable content, build high-quality backlinks, and adhere to best SEO practices. Remember, core updates can impact websites differently, and there is no guaranteed fix. However, by following these suggestions and maintaining a strong focus on providing value to users, you can increase your chances of recovering and improving your website’s visibility in Google search. How this prompt could be improved:You are an experienced SEO consultant with a proven history of creating successful SEO strategies. You have helped many businesses boost their rankings within Google SERPs by following best practice guidelines and staying on top of the latest developments in Search. Following Google’s March 2024 core update, one of the websites you oversee the SEO for has disappeared from Google SERPs. The client who owns the website has no understanding of what has happened. They want you to investigate why Google has penalized their website, what rules have changed, whether their website recover, and if so, how. Create a plan to help your client’s website recover from the Google March 2024 core update. Explain what tools and resources you would use to investigate what has happened and what impact it has had on your client’s website performance. Explain to your client how much this could cost them in monetary value. After you identify the cause of the problem, put together a strategy to help your client’s website start to recover from this update, stating how soon you should start work on the recovery and prioritize each task in a list. Detail what resources you will need, what tools may help, how much budget is necessary and what access to staff will be required. Set expectations by explaining how long it could take to recover from this core update. Detail how you will monitor the website’s recovery progress, what metrics you will measure and what tools you will use to do this. Mention how many Google core updates are rolled out every year, when the next one is likely to happen and how you can avoid being penalized in the future. Your client does not have a strong understanding of SEO, so explain the plan in an easy-to-follow format using headers and bullet points where necessary. Explain any terms they may not be familiar with. Provide recommendations to links and additional resources that may help them better understand why their site was affected so significantly by the core update. (Context) You are an experienced SEO consultant with a proven history of creating successful SEO strategies. You have helped many businesses boost their rankings within Google SERPs by following best practice guidelines and staying on top of the latest developments in Search. Following Google’s March 2024 core update, one of the websites you oversee the SEO for has disappeared from Google SERPs. The client who owns the website has no understanding of what has happened. They want you to investigate why Google has penalized their website, what rules have changed, whether their website recover, and if so, how. (Task) Create a plan to help your client’s website recover from the Google March 2024 core update. Explain what tools and resources you would use to investigate what has happened and what impact it has had on your client’s website performance. Explain to your client how much this could cost them in monetary value. After you identify the cause of the problem, put together a strategy to help your client’s website start to recover from this update, stating how soon you should start work on the recovery and prioritize each task in a list. Detail what resources you will need, what tools may help, how much budget is necessary and what access to staff will be required. Set expectations by explaining how long it could take to recover from this core update. Detail how you will monitor the website’s recovery progress, what metrics you will measure and what tools you will use to do this. Mention how many Google core updates are rolled out every year, when the next one is likely to happen and how you can avoid being penalized in the future. (Format) Your client does not have a strong understanding of SEO, so explain the plan in an easy-to-follow format using headers and bullet points where necessary. (Tone) Explain any terms they may not be familiar with. Provide recommendations to links and additional resources that may help them better understand why their site was affected so significantly by the core update. Answer:Recovering from the Google March 2024 Core Update: 1. Investigating the Issue:
2. Identify the cause:
3. Developing a Recovery Strategy:
4. Timeline and Resource Allocation:
5. Recovery Timeframe:
6. Monitoring Progress:
7. Future Prevention:
8. Additional Resources:
via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/4KRY8FV Google allegedly prevented Yahoo Japan from accessing crucial technology required to generate targeted ad revenue from mobile searches from 2015 to 2022, according to Japan’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC). Google only changed its behavior after the FTC flagged the issues. Google then committed to giving Yahoo Japan access to keyword-tied targeted advertising technology, Bloomberg reported. Why we care. Any practices that would impact an advertiser’s choice or limit access to targeting technologies can lead to increased advertising costs. Precedent. This is the FTC’s first-ever administrative action against Alphabet, albeit without imposing any penalty. What next? The Japanese watchdog will closely monitor the situation and retains the right to reopen its investigation into Google. They are also investigating Alphabet’s potential influence on local smartphone makers to prioritize its search services on their devices, further intensifying scrutiny of the tech behemoth’s practices. Similar accusations. Meanwhile, in the U.S., we’re still waiting to hear the verdict of the U.S. vs. Google antitrust trial. Part of the trial focused on whether Google used its search ad tools to put its competitors at an unfair advantage. Dig deeper in U.S. vs. Google antitrust trial: Everything you need to know. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/YqXliF9 |
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