You’ve been tasked to optimize a site that is so massive it makes the Great Wall of China look like a picket fence. And it’s your sole responsibility. You need to make a big SEO impact with fewer resources. What do you do? In this article, I’ll share five approaches you can focus on when you’re optimizing massive websites. By the end, you’ll feel confident knowing that you have a battle plan to conquer that great wall of webpages that lie ahead:
1. Sharpen your weapon, then go to battleIt’s useful to have a certain mindset about your SEO program before you start. That said, two key steps will help you create an SEO game plan:
Let’s look at those in more detail. Site analysisIn the battlefield of the search engine results pages, your website is the weapon. So your first mission: Sharpen that weapon by making the site the best it can be so that you’re not your own worst enemy. A site analysis will uncover the things that are hindering your rankings. You can do this in a couple of ways:
Diagnostic tools The average SEO tool is meant to repair your site, not rank it. In other words, it will not tell you how to rank but what you need to fix based on best practices. Most businesses use diagnostic tools to do a self-audit. While it can uncover some useful information, there are a couple of limitations:
For example, let’s say you’re seeing a drop in organic search traffic. The diagnostic tool will not be able to understand what factors contribute to that – is it due to an algorithm update? Did your site recently migrate? Is your content bad? So, it is the diagnostic tool operator’s job (a.k.a. you) to be able to take the data and apply wisdom to ensure you are focusing on the most impactful things. Some tools you might consider for diagnosing your site include:
SEO audits Nothing beats the strategies you can uncover from a professional-level SEO audit that marries diagnostic tools with expert wisdom from an SEO vendor. In addition to running the best tools, an SEO expert conducting a site audit can:
Competitive analysisOnce you’ve sharpened your tool, it’s time to go to the battlefield in the SERPs, where your second mission is to beat the competition (not the algorithm). Remember, you cannot attempt to beat an infinitely large algorithm. By focusing on what your competition is doing, and trying to do as well as them or better, you set the stage for a more manageable battle. Here again, you will rely on tools to help you uncover your competition’s strategy. You are looking to find things like who your true competitors are, and recommendations on optimizing your webpages based on the top-ranked pages in the SERPs. Some tools you might consider for competitive research include:
By understanding your site and your competition, you can enter the battlefield with a clearly defined plan. This makes managing a large site’s SEO less overwhelming. 2. Focus on global changesWhen you have a massive website, every change needs to count. That means looking at the things that can elevate the entire site or key pages across the site. One of the obvious wins here is improving your website performance (and your content, but more on that later). You can tackle things like:
Website speedWebsite speed can impact many things: The user experience, your website rankings and conversions … so this is something to take seriously. Google conducted some research on speed and its impact on users back in 2017 (highlighted below), and while the data is a bit old, the message still holds. As you look at your site, you may find that some of your pages may load slower than others. If that happens on your most important pages, you want to start there. And you may have groups of pages with the same template where making a few changes can improve speed across all those types of pages. Some things you may need to address are:
Some helpful tools and resources for this include:
(Note that, technically, the old page speed algorithm has been replaced by core web vitals, which I’ll cover next.) Core web vitalsCore web vitals focus on factors that create a good user experience on your website, this includes:
Google says that “if at least 75 percent of page views to a site meet the ‘good’ threshold, the site is classified as having ‘good’ performance for that metric.” This most likely only matters to the top-performing pages on the site, though, not the entire site, as pointed out in this Google SEO office hours: However, Google has noted that some sites may not need to dedicate too many resources to core web vitals, or obsess about the scores: Several tools offer lab and field data that can help you understand core web vitals:
So look at the most critical pages on the site, and run some tests to see what can be improved. Mobile-friendlinessEnsuring your site is mobile-friendly is a no-brainer in today’s mobile-centric world. Of course, there’s also Google’s mobile-first indexing. There is more to consider than you may think in order to have a mobile-friendly site. In general, you will want to think about:
Tools that can help you along the way include:
Code optimizationBecause the code on your website can impact a search engine’s ability to crawl your website, you can consider optimizing that code. Again, you can start with certain page templates or key page types and go from there. Checking out W3.org’s developer tools can be helpful. But a warning for beginners: You can spend a lot of time and resources trying to chase perfect code and the effort doesn’t always match the outcome. So it’s wise to know how to prioritize the recommendations, and you may need expert help from a developer who also understands SEO or vice versa. 3. Improve the top-performing pagesAnother area to laser focus your SEO efforts when you are contending with a large website is the top-performing pages. Typically, a handful of webpages drive the majority of organic traffic to a website. Look at those first. This is consistent with an Ahrefs study which found that out of billions of webpages, only about 4% of them received any meaningful traffic at all. In other words: If you have to choose between optimizing a product page that drives a lot of traffic to your site versus a lesser-known product page featuring a left-handed socket wrench with a light on it, choose the top performer. You can easily track down your top-performing pages using Google Analytics, and you can also use information from Search Console. In terms of how you improve these pages, again, you’ll want to focus on page analysis and competitor analysis. Run some diagnostic tools like those linked earlier to get a sense of where those pages are, then compare that to the top-ranked pages in the SERPs for the queries you are targeting. As part of this, you may need to strengthen the content, so look at your content with a critical eye, too. 4. Focus on pages that target head termsIn my experience, maybe 15% of a website is targeting its “head” terms – the broader, more generic keywords/queries that people use when searching for what you have to offer. Ultimately, you can drive a ton of traffic if you can rank for these more generic terms – and they can be million-dollar keywords. So if I were to focus my efforts on a large site, I would want to optimize the pages that target head terms (the landing pages), and then secondly, optimize all the subpages that support them. This typically means you need solid information architecture – how you organize your content. If you already have well-organized content that supports your head terms, then you’d focus on optimizing those pages using some of the tools and strategies I’ve already mentioned. If you don’t, however, you may need to do some reorganization of the content, links and navigation on your site. This is where SEO siloing comes in handy. SEO siloing is a form of website content organization and internal linking practices. One of the goals of this strategy is to maximize your site’s relevance for head terms. Not only that, but SEO siloing can help by:
Just to give a quick example: Say you own a power tools business that sells cordless power tools, electric power tools and gas-powered tools. You’d start by organizing the website content (and site navigation) into categories supporting the three product lines you sell. Your SEO program aligns with this because these categories will be the head terms you are after, too. Practically, each product line will have its own section on the site with a landing page and supporting pages. The goal is to have well-organized landing pages and supporting pages with helpful, expert content that aligns with how people search and learn about the things you have to offer. Links between the landing pages and their own subpages clarify the relationships for search engine spiders crawling the website. You can apply siloing to all types of sites, including ecommerce, B2B and informational sites. Of course, this is a highly simplified explanation, and the details of how to make SEO siloing work well are vast. Can this be a massive project? Yes. But it depends on the state of the site. For some, they may have to do a larger reorganization of the content to achieve their goals, while others may need less effort with perhaps some new internal linking. How big of a job this is depends on things like:
It can be a challenge but well worth it in most cases – it’s one of the ways we get our clients to rank for highly competitive one-word terms. For our final step in optimizing massive websites, let’s look at how you can elevate the quality of a website from an SEO perspective by focusing on the content. 5. Clean up the contentLast but not least, having excellent content is a priority. And this can be a huge challenge for large sites. When you have massive amounts of content, you will need to divide and conquer. I’ve said previously that website publishers should spend half the time creating new content, and half the time updating old content. (And by the way, if you plan on creating new AI content, see my article on ChatGPT and SEO content.) Large websites need a system for:
Google’s helpful content system looks at the site as a whole, not just at a page level. So if you have some great content, and then a whole bunch of “search engine first” content, it can negatively impact the ability of the site to do well in the search results. As you are evaluating your content, keep some important guidelines in mind from Google:
Then you will go through all the steps of optimizing those pages after the content is of the highest quality. Making SEO for large websites more manageableLarge sites have their own unique issues. As you stand before the towering fortress that is your website, the divide-and-conquer attitude will help you stay sane. While the task may seem daunting, you can remind yourself that SEO is an ongoing job – so play the long game. The post A 5-step approach to optimizing websites with millions of pages appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/rRTvKzc
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Venturing into the realm of link building often brings forth the enticing prospect of purchasing backlinks. However, it’s natural to question the wisdom of such a decision and whether to embrace this approach or proceed with caution. The power of backlinks: Why are they essential?Let’s kick things off with the basics! Backlinks are one of the three most influential ranking factors. According to research conducted by Ahrefs, a strong correlation exists between the number of referring domains to a webpage and its search engine ranking position. But hold up, it’s not just about the quantity of links you’ve got. In fact, ten super-strong and influential links can outshine a thousand links you snagged through paid guest posts or link farms. So, choose wisely and make those backlinks count! What’s the deal with link buying?Link building is an ongoing adventure in the digital realm, with two main types of links: organic and paid. Organic linksOrganic links are the golden nuggets you stumble upon naturally. They hold significant value for search engines. If you’re considering investing in backlinks, it’s safer to collaborate with an agency that has strong connections across various niches and specializes in acquiring organic links that search engines favor. Remember: The greater the challenge of acquiring a link from a specific site, the more valuable it becomes. However, when choosing an agency, it is critical to do so carefully, focusing on specialists who:
Paid linksPaid links provide an opportunity to acquire links through investments. There are many sites offering links for sale. Website owners have discovered the profitability of selling links, making it harder to obtain them without payment. Nevertheless, it’s crucial to consider several “BUTs.” First, Google explicitly labels purchased links that pass PageRank as a link scheme, directly violating its Webmaster Guidelines. If Google detects paid links to your website, you can expect one of two outcomes:
Wrap your head around the intricate concept of PageRank, and you’ll quickly realize that most bought links have the potential to pass this ranking signal. As a result, your paid backlinks might have zero impact on your search rankings, rendering your investment utterly worthless. To check if a website is selling links, there is an excellent tool called Linkdetective.pro. Here’s how it works: However, it is essential to consider the potential risks associated with such a strategy. Exploring the link-building marketplaceLet’s take a stroll through the bustling realm of link-building services on Fiverr. A quick glance reveals a plethora of enticing offers boasting high-quality links at affordable rates. However, let’s pause for a moment before diving headfirst into these seemingly golden opportunities. As the saying goes, “You get what you pay for.” When you come across an outsourced link-building provider promising you tens of links for a mere $100, it’s important to exercise caution. Usually, these providers refer to links obtained from platforms on where anyone can slap a link on. Facebook hosts numerous groups that facilitate the creation of fake reviews on this platform. The very fact of the need for artificially boosting positive reviews indicates that they are lacking in reality. Therefore, purchasing backlinks for a few pennies on such websites is a poor idea. But there are other options as well! Ahrefs experimented, reaching out to numerous website representatives to determine the average cost of acquiring different types of links. These are the totals they calculated:
If we talk about cooperating with agencies that can get you links from sites that don’t sell them, the prices for their services will be different. Let’s go back to the Editorial.Link agency mentioned above. With their industry connections, the highly experienced team at Editorial Link implements effective strategies and acquires top-quality editorial links. Moreover, they do not require prepayment, provide domains for approval, and offer customers indexable links free from “sponsored” or “nofollow” tags. And most importantly, they get links from the sites of real businesses that do not offer them for sale (such backlinks are the most powerful). The cost of a link built by such a top agency starts at $350. So, you probably have to be guided by these figures. How to buy backlinks?Navigating the world of paid and unpaid links can be challenging, as there isn’t a clear-cut answer. It all comes down to the methods and strategies you employ when purchasing backlinks and of course, the quality and relevance of those links. Let’s explore some different approaches, from the not-so-great to the more promising:
Remember, quality should always be a priority over quantity when it comes to backlinks. ConclusionPurchasing links from unknown sources at extremely low prices can carry significant risks. On the other hand, working with reputable agencies can help mitigate those risks. The post Buy backlinks that work for SEO in 2023 appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/eHWibz0 While AI can assist in drafting marketing materials and offering prompt responses to customer inquiries, its capabilities extend far beyond these basic functions. Join this webinar as experts as they explore how GPT empowers marketers with powerful tools to act upon real-time insights and deliver personalized experiences on a large scale. Register and attend “Reshape Your Marketing with GPT,” presented by Salesforce. Click here to view more Search Engine Land webinars. The post Reshape your marketing with GPT appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/SkDo5BG Google has rolled out AMP support in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) for all publishers. If you’re still using AMP you will now be able to continue measuring your performance in the same way as Universal Analytics (UA) when the forced GA4 migration deadline arrives on Saturday. Why we care. Bringing this integration to GA4 allows for parity with Universal Analytics, helping publishers to make a seamless transition when UA is permanently retired this weekend. What has Google said? Google announced that it had rolled out AMP support in GA4 wide to publishers with less than four days to go until the sunset of Universal Analytics. It said in a statement:
Why now? Failure to do so would have caused huge problems for publishers using AMP, as they would no longer have been able to track their performance when GA4 permanently replaces UA this weekend. Deep dive: For more information about making the switch to GA4, read Google's How to migrate to Google Analytics 4 guide. You can also read Google's Measurement of Accelerated Mobile Pages guide for more detailed instructions on how to implement AMP integration on GA4. The post GA4 launches AMP support appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/doQW9fX Google is officially sunsetting Universal Analytics (UA) this Saturday, July 1. And if you haven’t yet switched to Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Google will do it for you. GA4 is a powerful analytics platform – but is it the right solution you – even if it is free? Fundamentally different from UA, GA4 requires you to learn a new way of tracking data and new interfaces. So, even if you’ve been using Google Analytics for years, GA4 is an entirely new system you need to learn. Now is the perfect moment to be sure this new analytics system is the right one. Here is a guide to determining that for yourself. GA4 weak spots“There are definitely reasons to look elsewhere, depending on your budgets, depending on the type of tracking that you need,” says Sharon Mostyn, CEO of Mostyn Marketing Group. “The one that I’m seeing with a lot of healthcare clients is that Google has said blatantly we are not HIPAA compliant. So that’s a good reason to consider alternatives.” GA4 is a fundamentally different platform from Universal Analytics. It uses event-based tracking, which means that it tracks user interactions with your website or app as individual events. This is in contrast to Universal Analytics, which tracked user sessions as a series of hits. The event-based tracking model in GA4 has several advantages. It:
But there are disadvantages to consider with GA4. In addition to privacy issues, controlling your data is one of many things to be concerned about. No support“There’s a thresholding that occurs depending on whether you’ve got Google Signals on,” Mostyn said. “So if you’re looking for all of your data there can be a bit of a black box with GA4.” Another issue: GA4’s lack of dedicated support or onboarding. This means a lot of work for large businesses with complex websites and data that must install and customize it. Businesses of all sizes need to keep in mind that there is now a cost for long-term data storage. While GA4 comes with a free connection to BigQuery, Google’s data warehouse, there can be fees for accessing and processing your data. Questions to considerHere are a few other questions to consider when deciding on a web analytics platform:
By considering these factors, you can choose a web analytics platform that meets your specific needs and helps you achieve your business goals. The post Is Google Analytics 4 right for you? What you need to consider appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/MTLNvY2 Steal this 3-step content optimization blueprint that drove a 121.9% traffic increase in one year6/27/2023 The only constant in SEO is change. Take the classic case: Your page ranks top three, netting you 10x the traffic and leads and customers than competitors from positions six to ten. So you publish publish publish to build on past success. But two things happen:
Any SEO professional worth their salt has seen this happen. Past content that used to perform so well slowly erodes over time. It no longer lines up with search intent. New stuff has supplanted it. As the world evolves, so should our content. No need to despair, though. This is actually a pretty easy problem to fix. All you need is this simple three-step content optimization blueprint that we’ve used to resurrect prior winners from the dead consistently. Why the best SEO quick wins come from optimizing and republishing contentWe helped a large publisher in the finance space increase its traffic per page by an average of 121.9% in about a year. Around 30 different URLs were flagged as “optimization opportunities” – nerdy shorthand for “stuff that used to rank well but now kinda sucks.” These are easy to find once you know where to look. And fairly easy to jumpstart, too. For example, one article was republished on Jan. 1, 2021, and instantly doubled in traffic. And this one, republished just a few days before on Dec. 15, 2020, resulted in a new steady stream of visits for the remainder of the next year. And another one. This time, republished days later on Jan. 19, 2021, took off like Elon’s rockets. Convinced yet? Keep in mind this is a large site, originally founded waaaaaaaay back in 1999. So it’s had some success, a high DR, and topical authority for years. It’s got a head start in that sense. But that doesn’t change the main point:
Now, let’s cut the chit-chat and run through the exact steps you can use to replicate these results. Step 1: Identify which existing URLs are ripe for republishingYou know what they say: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Are your URLs in the top 3-5 positions already? Refresh lightly but don’t rock the boat. But, the stuff below the top five? Now we’re talkin’. This is the stuff that’s got some decent traction or maybe recently slipped. It’s seeing some traffic, which is important. However, not enough traffic ‘cause it’s stuck in no man’s land outside ~80% of SERP clicks. So pull up your favorite SEO tool, and let’s run a quick list. First, pull up all the organic keywords that your site is currently ranking for, like so: Next, define your parameters. This could be positions 8 to 20 or 5 to 10. Doesn’t really matter. The point is the point: stuff that’s seeing a little traffic but not nearly enough as it should. I also like setting a floor for volume to make sure we’re not worrying about tiny keywords or pages while at the same time setting a difficulty cap to make sure we’re focusing on low-hanging fruit (and not biting off more than we can chew). The latter point is especially important. If you pick super difficult keywords, optimizing and republishing content on its own might not be good enough. You’ll probably still need high-quality links and more to crack into the top five sooner rather than later. These exact floor or cap numbers are somewhat arbitrary based on your space’s competitiveness and your site’s strength. Larger/older sites should go higher on both, while smaller/newer sites should go lower. But let’s go with the example of “100” for minimum volume and “30” for max keyword difficulty (KD). Now we’re getting someplace. About ~90 seconds worth of work just generated a list of your low-hanging SEO fruit. So let’s now separate the wheat from the chaff. (I had to look that one up, too.) We want to identify good republishing candidates from bad ones. We’re going to measure twice and cut once in the next section. Step 2: Prioritize the 20% of your existing content will provide an 80% lift ASAPGood news and bad news. That simple previous step might generate hundreds (or more) URLs on larger sites. So you’ll need to do a little manual work, ignoring or cutting or disregarding the irrelevant posts or pages. Generally speaking, it makes sense to prioritize based on:
Your actual mileage might vary, because a publisher should prioritize different posts/page types from a B2B SaaS brand vs. B2C ecomm vs. local service business. What you’re looking for at this stage is a simple Pareto Principle. What are the 20% of URLs that will give you the fastest 80% return? For instance, drilling into this article on subheadings quickly shows us that there are many more keyword variations we’re picking up. Lots actually! With great volumes and low-is KDs! So let’s flag this one as a priority now, too! Step 3: Determine what, specifically, about the content needs updatingIt’s important to keep in mind that we’re not just updating content for updating’s sake here. This is not about simply refreshing the “Updated on…” date string in WordPress to fool the SEO gods and calling it a day. Instead, this step is about figuring out how we’re actually going to make the content much better. We want it to rank higher and move the needle for business KPIs. So once you have a few URLs to prioritize, it’s time to do a little heavy lifting. Unfortunately, content tools still suck at SEO, while SEO tools still suck at content. I’m including AI in here, too, which is still years away from making a true dent. That means you gotta roll up your sleeves a little bit. Start by actually clicking on each URL and reading through it. Then, pull up some of the SERPs it’s currently ranking for, look at the results, and actually read through those, too. Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Wait wait wait. Nobody said anything about using their brains and experience here. No AI fancy prompts or anything? Gasp!” This is super easy, though. Here’s what you’re looking for:
Let’s walk through how to do this last example, first. Some specialized content optimization software here helps cut down the workload. Enter your MarketMuse’s, Clearscope’s Frase’s, et al. Pull up the article in question, drop in the query you’re analyzing, and let them automatically scan the top-performing pages for you. The output in Frase, for instance, will look something like this initially. Start with obvious areas like word counts, headers, and number of images, which can quickly give you a simple gauge of whether your content structure meets or exceeds the average SERP benchmark. Next, look for semantic keyword coverage. Essentially, when people search for X, what are the tangentially related Y and Z they also want to read about? Again, everything is relative here. So you shouldn’t be focusing so much on a “100%” score per se. This isn’t high school. Instead, you want to comfortable meet or exceed the competition at a bare minimum. These specialized tools will help you easily compare semantic or related topic coverage against the competition, too, so you can quickly identify where you’re doing well… ...but more importantly, where you have gaps! In the example above, notice “mini headlines” is missing across the board. Perfect. Now we know what to add or update to our existing content. Obviously, this is a very simple, straightforward example. But the process is the same.
The last one is key to future-proofing as much of your work as possible. For example, we noticed that adding a video to one of these optimized articles dropped the bounce rate -11.94% almost overnight. This last point is to hammer home that you're not just republishing content to bring it to par with your competitors. It’s to surge ahead of them, throw down a competitive moat around yourself, and solidify your upcoming ranking gains for as long as possible. Optimizing your content for the long termPublishing brand-new content is what grows your site, traffic, and overall SEO presence for the long term. But that’s the key word here: long term. Anything you publish this year probably won’t move the needle until next year at the earliest. Unless, of course, you’re upgrading and improving your existing content. It’s almost always the single-highest leverage activity to generate short-term SEO results. The good news is that it’s pretty easy, too.
These steps, on top of good content planning and production processes, allow you to out-publish, outflank, and outrank competitors before they even realize what’s happened. The post Steal this 3-step content optimization blueprint that drove a 121.9% traffic increase in one year appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/08pDfKI Google Ads is investigating reports that marketers can’t access their campaigns’ latest data. The issue first started to affect advertisers on June 23 at 4:26 a.m. ET, according to Google. In response, Google Ads said in a statement today at 7:13 am ET that it is looking into the matter to try and find a solution, with an update expected shortly. Why we care. Marketers impacted by the problem can still sign into their Google Ads account, however, they can’t retrieve their campaign’s latest data, meaning they can’t accurately monitor performance or produce up-to-date reports. The issue. Ads are running but no performance data is showing within the Google Ads interface. This issue also is affecting GA4 reporting, according to tweets in this Twitter thread. What has Google said? Google confirmed, via the Google Ads Status Dashboard, that it is investigating reports of an issue:
Google Ads Liaison tweeted a similar message. The post Google Ads investigating reports of missing data appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/TYesW5D Automation in digital advertising has become a lifeline. If you’re thinking of the latter without the former, you’re falling behind competitors. While the idea of robots stealing marketing jobs plagues worriers and late-embracers, automation frees up time for advertising teams to focus more on branding, strategy, data and, in turn, creative. PPC advertisers must embrace machine learning and feed it the right data to improve performance. You vs. AI is a fight you won’t win. AI is at the heart of all of Google’s decisions, and creative is driving automation. Google’s new ad type announcements at Google Marketing Live (i.e., video views and demand gen campaigns) and products like the Ads Creative Studio have made it clear that strong creative must become a priority. Here’s why and how advertisers can hone in on PPC ad creative to drive better results in Google Ads. PPC ad creative front and centerThe explosion of TikTok has inspired other platforms to create similar products and changed the format and frequency in which content is consumed. Vertical videos with a real-life look and feel and trendy audio is the direction that ads must follow to stay relevant and keep users engaged. This means less text, more visuals and more motion. Consumers are exposed to thousands of ads per day. Advertisers are battling with their competitors for attention and going against all other advertisers for digital ad space. When Google is deciding when to show your display ad, it is taking into account the following:
After all, Google makes money off of clicks. The importance of relevant, eye-catching ads means there is a need for more assets than ever before. The more asset options that machine learning is fed, the better. The algorithms decide which to show your audience based on asset strength ratings. Creative should be tailored to the personas you’re trying to reach, be consistent with brand messaging and contain an enticing offer for increased engagement. Streamlining creative productionUnsurprisingly, Google would make it easy for advertisers to produce creative content to support this push.
Google’s Bumper Machine is also an easy way to turn your video or image assets into a 6-second video asset for YouTube Bumper Ads. While these tools make it easy for teams to create and collaborate, the end product will only be as good as what you feed it. The Ads Creative Studio nor Performance Max’s use of generative AI should not replace a creative team as unique, high-quality creative generates a better user experience that is more on-brand and relevant to users. Varying creative ad types and formats unlock more placements for your brand to make an impact. While generating copious amounts of visuals can be overwhelming, scalable creative doesn’t have to break the bank. Some simple ideas for leveling up your creative offerings include:
Brands are often scared by the high price tag of video production. However, depending on budget one production can create 50 to 100 different assets or more, ultimately saving money and staying ahead of creative refresh needs. Video-first mindsetThe two new video campaign types announced at Google Marketing Live are video views and demand gen. Video view campaigns are intended to drive down the cost of video views by combining skippable in-stream, in-feed, and YouTube Shorts ads. Demand gen campaigns will also show across YouTube, Discover, and Gmail to drive conversions using lookalike audiences. As Google rolls out more video-first campaign types, advertisers must keep up. In addition to the increase in video content consumption, there are numerous upsides to leveraging video, including:
Always tailor your creative to your audience. The more relevant and useful content is, the more engagement it will receive. Consider where a user is in the buyer journey and decide what messaging fits their needs. Use a strong call to action at each stage of the funnel and test sequenced messaging. Video ad sequencing allows you to tell your brand story with multiple ads shown in a specific order to get a message across or achieve a conversion goal. Measuring successTesting is critical when it comes to feeding AI new creative. Gaining insights from creative variations helps advertisers strengthen optimizations and machine learning. Determining creative success isn’t always as simple as looking at conversion metrics, even if conversions are your ultimate goal. KPIs like CTR, CPC, views, CPV, video completion rates, YouTube earned actions and more can tell a complete story about how creative is performing before the user gets to your landing page or form. Keep in mind that bid strategies can influence performance. For example, if you’re on a conversion-optimized strategy, you might see fewer impressions and clicks. Setting up an experiment is an easy way for Google to do the work for you. There are several experiment options available in-platform. Performance Max test uplift can help you understand the impact of running PMax alongside your existing campaigns. Video experiments identify which of your video ads drives the strongest performance. Lastly, custom experiments can test any variable you’d like. The custom experiment duplicates your existing campaign and allows you to change the campaign without adjusting the original. You must only test one variable at a time (i.e., creative color) so the experiment remains a true A/B test without any other factors influencing the results. All experiments run for a set time and measure success outcomes to determine a winner. From there, you can decide how to proceed with the account. Advertisers should never become complacent with the number of assets they run and the messaging they drive. A never-stop-learning attitude makes a successful marketer and helps AI drive the strongest results. Always test the latest tools and features to see what works for your brand and learn to embrace the changes in the ad industry. It’s just the beginning! The post Why strong Google Ads creative is THE priority for advertisers appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/yl1J5vr If you looked over the agenda at SMX Advanced, held June 13-14, you probably spotted this trend: “AI” appears in the titles of 11 sessions, including “How generative AI will change SEO as a profession.” And this doesn’t include the titles of four other sessions on related topics like “Revolutionize your PPC game with GPT.” Hey, I get it. Marketers and executives attended their industry’s most important events to:
In short, attending leading conferences and trade shows keeps you informed and competitive. And there’s no question that generative AI will change SEO as a profession and revolutionize your PPC game. But whether you attended SMX Advanced or not, it is time to ask yourself a different question: “Do your SEO and PPC teams need upskilling or reskilling?” Upskilling and reskilling, definedAccording to LinkedIn Learning:
Why do 80% of PPC specialists need upskilling?Based on my experience, about 80% of the PPC specialists at brands or agencies will probably need upskilling this summer and around 20% will need reskilling. Why? When Google announced it was “Supercharging Search with generative AI,” Elizabeth Reid, the Vice President and GM of Search, said, “In this new generative experience, Search ads will continue to appear in dedicated ad slots throughout the page.” And Google’s primary source of revenue is advertising, which makes up around 80% of the company’s total revenue. So, approximately 80% of PPC specialists will need some upskilling to take advantage of the advent of Google’s search generative experience (SGE). Suppose brands and agencies want to stay two steps ahead of competitors. In that case, they should also provide their PPC specialists with some upskilling workshops or courses to seize the opportunities offered by the migration to Google Analytics 4 (GA4). For example, if you link your GA4 property to Google Ads, Display & Video 360, or Search Ads 360, then you can re-engage GA4’s predictive audiences – like “Likely 7-day purchasers” and “Predicted 28-day top spenders” – with a remarketing campaign. These additional skills enhance a worker’s performance in their current role. So, why will roughly 20% of your PPC team need reskilling?Well, you already know that AI can scale asset production to serve the most relevant version of an ad across channels via Performance Max, App, and Video action campaigns. But AI-powered solutions will soon play a pivotal role in creative development – from campaign planning to creative testing to media planning. And that will involve learning new skills outside of a PPC manager’s existing skillset. Why do 80% of SEO specialists need reskilling?Based on my experience, about 20% of the SEO specialists at brands or agencies will probably need upskilling this summer, but around 80% will need reskilling. And it’s probably time for a reorg, too. Yes, I realize Reid said, “As we bring generative AI into Search, we’re committed to continue sending valuable traffic to sites across the web.” So, SEO is still alive. And it has survived several major Google algorithm updates since the Panda update back in 2011. So, it should survive the advent of SGE in 2023. But SEO should become part of a Venn diagram that includes the closely adjacent disciplines of content marketing and social media marketing to maintain or improve search rankings, drive website traffic, and generate conversions. Why? Because Google’s continued existence in this new era of Search doesn’t depend on the success or even the survival of SEO. So, many SEOs will need to learn new skills outside of their existing skillset. In a post entitled, “Learn from others’ experiences with more perspectives on Search,” Lauren Clark, the Product Manager at Google Search, said:
Fortunately, GA4 has some new default channels that enable SEOs to monitor the performance of organic social, organic video, and organic shopping as well as organic search. And the referral channel still lets you see which users arrive at your site via non-ad links on other sites/apps (e.g., blogs, news sites). Plus, new research by Rand Fishkin of SparkToro found, “A substantial portion of social referral traffic comes without proper, accurate referral data, and is misclassified as ‘direct.’” Fishkin adds, “For those investing in pro-active social media marketing, we recommend using unique URLs to track activity to social promotions.” And many brands and agencies should consider adopting new organizational structures. For example, the SEO, content marketing, and social media marketing teams need to be integrated to survive or even thrive when long- and short-form videos, images, and written posts start to appear in the Perspectives filter. Plus, creating at least a dotted line reporting structure with the digital PR team makes sense. In June 2023, Think with Google published “Does your marketing have the essentials to succeed with AI?” which included this line:
It also quotes Alex Clemente, managing director of Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, who explained:
Hey, this reorg is long overdue. Google has blended video, news, images, maps and webpages since they announced universal search in 2007. Brands and agencies have had 16 years to get around to putting everyone involved in creating content on the same team. So, if it takes the advent of generative AI to finally get marketers and executives to restructure their teams, then it’s about time. As Benjamin Franklin said at the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, "We must all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately". What should marketers and executives do next?So, what should you do next? Well, after you learn as much as you can about generative AI and other related topics, you should also set aside some time to think about the difference between upskilling and reskilling your employees. Figure out if most of your PPC specialists need the former while many of your SEO specialists need the latter. Now, brands and agencies may want to encourage their existing employees to check out the free online courses that are available in the Google Digital Garage. Some courses are provided by Google, and others from their partner universities or institutions. Marketers and executives may also want to reimburse their employees for getting certification from a reputable institution. The post Do your SEO and PPC teams need upskilling or reskilling? appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/xuG9KCH Advertisers were shown how to improve their YouTube marketing strategies with cost-efficient, high-impact, tried and tested methodologies at SMX Advanced. The secret to creating high-reach, low-cost environments and making campaigns more effective lies within four specific variables, according to digital advertising expert Corey Henke. Unlocking high-impact, low-cost campaignsThe four variables marketers need to look into as a top priority are:
Henke added:
Ad types – how to get the best bang for your buckResearchers have studied the effectiveness of various ad types. The most scalable solutions:
YouTube has recently prioritized these ad formats, while longer forced content has been deprioritized. They also have the most inventory, according to Henke, meaning:
Bid types – getting TV-level results from YouTubeChoosing the right bid type can help marketers achieve TV-level volume success within YouTube. However, the bid type that is best for your campaign will depend on your brand's goals and objectives. The two bid types Henke put forward for comparison were:
The big difference between the two options lie within the CPM (cost per mile), view rate and conversion rate – but not the CPC (cost per click). Henked added:
Creative variation for optimal impactMarketers have multiple ad types to choose from and users consume these various formats in different ways. Henke discussed the advantages of feed ads, skippables, non-skippables, stories, reels and live TV. He noted that skippable and non-skippable ads are great options because of the attention they attain – but skippable is his favorite go-to because of the unlimited link feature.
To determine whether this is the right option for your campaign, Henke encouraged advertisers to test the different video ad options. Henke noted that 2 minutes 24 ads have more people completing the ads than other options.
Targeting and retargeting are 'huge opportunities'Thorough research to identify user intent will give marketers an important advantage when it comes to understanding consumers who are relevant to your product or service. Retargeting is another necessary and big opportunity for brands wanting to expand their reach. Reflecting on his own approach to targeting and retargeting, Henke revealed his favorite targeting tool is the detailed demographic combination report, which focuses on age, gender, parental status and household income. Looking at demographics, in combination with the creative, will help drive maximum success, he said:
Success with in-feedsIn-feeds are a new ad product launched by Google Ads and one of the biggest changes to the system since bumpers rolled out five years ago. In-feed ads appear on YouTube's personalized feed and allow users to click the ad thumbnail, while the video is simultaneously autoplaying. Some key benefits to in-feed ads as opposed to shorts include:
YouTube attribution tipsIt's important to be able to identify the causes of wins and losses in your campaign in order to make informed decisions and necessary adjustments. Think about the Halo Effect. Henke offered some implementation strategies here:
Getting startedReady to get started with Henke's high-reach low-cost approach to YouTube Ads? Here's what he suggested:
The post YouTube Ads: Unlocking high impact at minimal cost appeared first on Search Engine Land. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/s96PF45 |
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