Over the years, Google has seemingly established a pattern in how it interacts with the web. The search engine provides structured data formats and tools that allow us to supply information to Google. Think: meta tags, schema markup, the disavow tool and more. Google then consumes and learns from this structured data deployed across the web. Once sufficient learnings are extracted, Google then retires or de-emphasizes these structured data formats, making them less impactful or obsolete. This cyclical process of giving structured data capabilities, consuming the information, learning from it and then removing or diminishing those capabilities seems to be a core part of Google’s strategy. It allows the search engine to temporarily empower SEOs and brands as a means to an end – extracting data to improve its algorithms and continually improve its understanding of the web. This article explores this “give and take” pattern through several examples. Google’s pattern of ‘give and take’The pattern can be divided into four stages:
The race is for the search engine to learn from webmasters’ interactions with Google’s suggested structure before they can learn to manipulate it. Google usually wins this race. It doesn’t mean no one can leverage new structural items before Google discards them. It simply means that Google usually discards such items before illegitimate manipulations become widespread. Give and take examples1. MetadataIn the past, meta keywords and meta descriptions played crucial roles within Google’s ranking algorithms. The initial support for meta keywords within search engines actually predates Google’s founding in 1998. Deploying meta keywords was a way for a webpage to tell a search engine the terms for which the page should be findable. However, such a direct and useful bit of code was quickly abused. Many webmasters injected thousands of keywords per page in the interest of getting more search traffic than was fair. It quickly led to the rise of low-quality websites filled with ads that unfairly converted acquired traffic into advertising income. In 2009, Google confirmed what many had suspected for years. Google stated:
Another example is the meta description, a snippet of code that Google supported since its early days. Meta descriptions were used as the snippet text under a link in Google search results. As Google improved, it started ignoring meta descriptions in certain situations. This is because users might discover a webpage through various Google keywords. If a webpage discusses multiple topics and a user searches for a term related to topic 3, showing a snippet with a description of topics 1 or 2 would not be helpful. Therefore, Google began rewriting search snippets based on user search intent, sometimes ignoring a page’s static meta description. In recent times, Google has shortened search snippets and even confirmed that they mostly examine a page’s primary content when generating descriptive snippets. 2. Schema and structured dataGoogle introduced support schema (a form of structured data) in 2009. Initially, it pushed the “microformats” style of schema, where individual elements had to be marked up within the HTML to feed structured or contextual information to Google. In terms of concept, this actually isn’t too far removed from the thinking behind HTML meta tags. Surprisingly, a new coding syntax was adopted instead of just using meta tags more extensively. For example, the idea of schema markup was initially (and largely remains) to supply additional contextual information concerning data or code that is already deployed – which is similar to the definition of metadata:
Both schema and metadata attempt to achieve this same goal. Information that describes other existing information to help the user leverage such information. However, the detail and structural hierarchy of schema (in the end) made it far more scalable and effective. Today, Google still uses schema for contextual awareness and detail concerning various web entities (e.g., webpages, organizations, reviews, videos, products – the list goes on). That said, Google initially allowed schema to alter the visuals of a page’s search listings with a great degree of control. You could easily add star ratings to your pages for Google’s search results, making them stand out (visually) against competing web results. As usual, some began abusing these powers to outperform less SEO-aware competitors. In February 2014, Google started talking about penalties for rich snippet spam. This was when people misused schema to make their search results look better than others, even though the information behind them was wrong. For example, a site without reviews purports a 5-star aggregate review rating (clearly false). Fast-forward to 2024, and while still situationally useful, schema is not as powerful as it once was. Delivery is easier, thanks to Google’s JSON-LD preference. However, schema no longer has the absolute power to control the visuals of a search listing. 3. Rel=Prev / NextRel=”prev” and rel=”next” were two HTML attributes Google suggested in 2011. The idea was to help Google develop more contextual awareness of how certain types of paginated addresses were interrelated: Eight years later, Google announced they no longer supported it. They also said they hadn’t supported this kind of coding for a while, suggesting support ended around 2016, just five years after the suggestions were first made. Many were understandably annoyed because the tags were fiddly to implement, often requiring actual web developers to re-code aspects of website themes. Increasingly, it seemed as if Google would suggest complex code changes in one moment only to ditch them the next. In reality, it is likely that Google had simply learned all it needed from the rel=prev / next experiment. 4. Disavow toolIn October 2012, the web buzzed with news of Google’s new Disavow links tool. In April 2012, Google released the Penguin update, which caused the web to be in turmoil. The update targeted spammy off-site activity (link building) heavily, and many websites saw manual action notices appear within the Search Console (then named Webmaster Tools). Using the Disavow tool, you could upload lists of linking pages or domains they would like to exclude from Google’s ranking algorithms. If these uploaded links largely agreed with Google’s own internal assessment of the backlink profile, the active manual penalty may then have been lifted. This would give back a “fair” amount of Google traffic to their site, though obviously, with part of their backlink profile now “disavowed” – post-penalty traffic was usually lower than pre-penalty traffic. As such, the SEO community had a relatively low opinion of the tool. Usually, a complete backlink removal or disavow project was necessary. Having less traffic after the penalty was better than having no traffic at all. Disavow projects haven’t been necessary for years. Google now says that anyone still offering this service is using outdated practices. In recent years, Google’s John Mueller has been extremely critical of those selling “disavow” or “toxic links” work. It seems as if Google no longer wants us to use this tool; certainly, they do not advise us on its usage (and haven’t in many years). Dig deeper. Toxic links and disavows: A comprehensive SEO guide Unraveling Google’s give-and-take relationship with the webGoogle provides tools or code snippets for SEOs to manipulate its search results in minor ways. Once Google gains insights from these deployments, such features are frequently phased out. Google grants us a limited amount of temporary control to facilitate its long-term learning and adaptation. Does this make these small, temporary releases from Google useless? There are two ways of looking at this:
In truth, there is no right or wrong answer. It depends on your ability to adapt to web changes efficiently. If you’re comfortable with quick changes, implement what you can and react fast. If your organization lacks the expertise or resources for quick changes, it’s not worth following trends blindly. I think this ebb and flow of give and take doesn’t necessarily make Google evil or bad. Any business will leverage its unique assets to drive further learning and commercial activity. In this instance, we are one of Google’s assets. Whether you wish for this relationship (between yourself and Google) to continue is up to you. You could choose not to cooperate with Google’s temporary power, long-term learning trade deals. However, this may leave you at a competitive disadvantage. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/uJmg0WS
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Rebranding happens when companies grow or face big PR problems. As a marketer and SEO expert, you’ll deal with it due to acquisitions, executive decisions or investor demands. Regardless of the reason, traffic will drop when things go wrong. But don’t panic. Both branded and non-branded traffic can be recovered. It depends on the cause of the loss and what you do next. Below are common situations in which we’ve helped clients regain traffic post-rebranding, sorted by situation and traffic drop types. I’ve also included non-SEO things to look for so your company can save money, as revenue becomes tight when this happens. A quick warning before we jump inIf you are launching a new site design with the rebrand, you’re in for a longer time to recover, if you recover at all. Changing names only is easier because you can do press releases, have influencers talk about you or send email/SMS blasts to customers and make it known who you are now. When your customers start searching for the new site and visiting the new domain, along with the proper URL migration implementation, you’ll see the flip normally happen within two days to two weeks, depending on the size of the site and your external brand strength. Changing code bases with a new name and URL means search engines must discover the new brand, evaluate it and determine the new user experience. Now, they evaluate how it stacks up to other pages in their indexes. Chances are you’ll lose a bit, even if it is the best because you’re shocking the system too much. Avoid rebranding and launching a new website design simultaneously. Give it at least a few months in between. Where does the traffic drop come from?The first step to fixing a traffic drop is identifying where it’s coming from. Use analytics for this. Go into whatever system you use and check the following with a comparison from the time of the drop in traffic to the same time period before using to determine the actual traffic drops:
These three items help determine the loss of traffic while the other team members are building the new brand and will help give you quick wins to aid recovery. Dig deeper: 3 underutilized Google Search Console reports for diagnosing traffic drops URL migrations and domain changesWhen migrating a URL, you can do everything right and still see traffic drops while Google crawls and indexes your new pages. It is out of your control when Google crawls, indexes and displays your new URLs, but you can be proactive.:
You should be fine if you did your job before the migration, including setting canonical links from the old URL to the new one. Take deep breaths. I’ve been doing this for a long time and still feel the same anxiety you do when we flip the switch and wait. It’s normal. Combining storesUnlike a URL migration, combining stores comes with unique nuances. Three examples are when:
When each exists separately but is connected, follow best practices for interlinking your brands. If the products cross over, make sure you match the product descriptions and selling points to the new audience’s needs so you’re benefiting the customer. When you are customer-first focused, SEO normally comes as a reward. If everything is being combined into one domain, choose the best experience for the combined user base. This includes copy, images, upsells, PR bars, etc. Make sure canonicals from the previous sites point to the new site before you redirect and that the redirects are not conflicting. If some pages were thin and should have been pruned, this may be the right time not to redirect them and let them die. In situations where the domains remain the same, but the branding changes, and you’re interlinking new acquisitions, stay the course with a unique website. Interlinking the brands through the footer and in some of your content is likely safe. You made it clear there are associations between them, and a search engine would likely expect a company to push customers to their other brands. You’ll see this on Amazon, Overstock and Gap. Affiliate promotionsAffiliates are one of the best opportunities for you to speed up a URL migration and rebranding traffic recovery. But only if your affiliates are not intercepting your own traffic. Some affiliates intercept customers already shopping on your website by using browser extensions to offer cash back or coupons, and others show up in SEO and PPC for your brand name + coupons. There are also software partners that you install into your own shopping cart to give customers multiple payment options. These types rely on you to have traffic for them to intercept. They will not be helpful to your traffic recovery because they are not sending you traffic. It is the affiliates who have their own traffic who can help you with recovery. Have your affiliate manager create a promotional event and series that corresponds with the launch of the new brand. They can offer exclusive access and “leaks” with media outlets, influencers and content creators with blogs and YouTube channels. If you give them a budget, they can reserve media space on sites that get crawled frequently and have an active reader base or newsletter list. This generates buzz and helps search engines discover your new site and pages more easily. Earlier in this article, I mentioned not to build backlinks and I stand by that. Affiliate links are not backlinks and they can point to any page on your site. Affiliates see better conversion rates when they promote specific products and landing pages. If they link from their content to your key conversion pages, search engines are more likely to prioritize crawling and indexing those pages. But, for this to succeed, your affiliate program must have these value-adding partners. Social mediaIn October 2019, a representative from Pinterest spoke at the Plaid St. Conference in Arlington, Virginia and discussed using “domain reputation score” in their algorithm. This is:
If you changed domains and Pinterest doesn’t have enough data on this, that could impact your ability to have new and existing pins gain and maintain traction. (Note: The conference no longer exists, so I cannot source it.) This same concept of “brand trust” is believed to be used by other social media algorithms like LinkedIn. If your social media followers don’t know or forget that you switched brands, they might ignore your new posts. And when your new posts don’t get likes, shares, views or comments, reaching and engaging with your audience becomes harder. If the algorithm doesn’t recognize the domain as authoritative or trustworthy, your new content on the platform may not perform well. Some platforms will let you change names and don’t have links to your content, while others don’t. If social traffic is dropping from the new brand, it’s time to build trust and send social signals to social algorithms.
Bouncing back from traffic drops post-rebrandingExpect a dip in website traffic when you rebrand. SEO relies on various channels like PR, which attracts media attention and links to your new site. Affiliates also play a role by updating links and directing search engine bots deeper into your site. Social media is crucial, too, as it signals to search engines that your new domain is trustworthy. There’s only so much you can do from the search side, so follow best practices. Websites are just code; code can be fixed, modified and repaired, and traffic can be recovered. Dig deeper: Why traffic declines despite solid rankings and what to do via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/xdU1Jt7 Winning an industry award can greatly impact how customers, clients, and colleagues regard your brand. Showcase your achievements and celebrate your professional excellence by entering The Search Engine Land Awards — the highest honor in search marketing!
Don’t miss your opportunity to participate in the only awards program recognized by Search Engine Land, the industry publication of record. Begin your application today! via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/7Sk6xls Ever wondered how to structure an SEO team for unparalleled success? Join us on Tuesday, April 23rd for this webinar where our panel will guide you through the proven strategies to build a dynamic and scalable SEO program. You’ll discover how a well-structured team can overcome and outperform unpredictable algorithm updates and dive into the art of determining the ideal SEO team structure (and where SEO should sit) that aligns with your business goals and ensures optimal collaboration between departments. RSVP today for Beyond the Search Bar: Crafting an Impactful SEO Team Structure and Defining its Place in Your Organization and uncover the secrets to building your dream SEO team. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/XDsV8an Page load speed, among other Core Web Vitals, is a known Google organic ranking factor. While we have the PageSpeed Insights tool, it unfortunately only works on one page at a time. The Page Timings report in Universal Analytics surfaced specific pages on your site that were slowest, allowing you to prioritize which pages to evaluate and optimize. The tool was particularly helpful if you have a large site with thousands of pages to analyze. Armed with the list of problem URLs, you could then prioritize pages for review using the PageSpeed Insights tool. But Google didn’t include the Page Timings report in GA4, so where can you find similar information now? Below are several free and paid tools that can help you pinpoint your problem pages and prioritize their optimization. 1. Google Search Console
Google Search Console (GSC) provides a Core Web Vitals report and even separates the data by mobile versus desktop. However, while GSC provides some examples of URLs affected, it doesn’t provide a full list. Instead, it groups pages together and shows examples from the group. The data is also not easily downloadable to a CSV for monitoring. If your goal is regular monitoring, you’ll need to log in to GSC and review the data within the tool. The GSC API does not support exporting core web vitals report data, so you can’t pull GSC data into Looker Studio or other visualization tools. 2. Screaming Frog
A long-time favorite of SEO professionals, Screaming Frog software has many helpful SEO applications, but the most important thing for this article is that it provides page load times. It can further be connected to the PageSpeed Insights tool using a key from the PageSpeed Insights API to import Core Web Vitals data directly into the PageSpeed report: The only real drawback to Screaming Frog is that because it’s a desktop-based application, the computer you host it on has to be turned on and connected to the web when the report runs. This makes the tool less optimal for dashboarding and highly regular data monitoring. One workaround is to have a desktop computer that is always turned on. I did this in my agency for many years with a dedicated, old desktop computer running Screaming Frog. Because the tool allows for scheduling, the scheduled report can run at the appointed time as long as the computer is on and connected to the internet. Additionally, you can connect Screaming Frog to a Google Drive account and export the report tabs to Google Sheets: If you want to use the upload for dashboarding, choose the Overwrite files in output, which will allow you to just update the same Google Sheet. Once the data is in a Google Sheet, you can import it into other platforms, such as Looker Studio, to create dashboards and visualizations or create thresholds to send email alerts using Apps Script. 3. Ahrefs
Ahrefs has long been an SEO favorite for tracking backlinks, but the tool also has a robust site audit tool that tracks page load speed as it indexes a website. Like Screaming Frog, you can connect PageSpeed Insights directly to the site audit to see specific core web vitals optimizations that should be made: While you can export reports to Google Sheets, it’s a manual process. Site audits can be scheduled for regular intervals. Unfortunately, the Ahrefs API doesn’t appear to have a way to automatically export the results, leaving it a bit of a manual process and less than ideal for dashboarding and near real-time reports. 4. Semrush
Another popular SEO tool is Semrush, and it also has a site audit feature that reviews page load speed and lists the pages with the longest load times: Unlike Ahrefs and Screaming Frog, you aren’t required to enter a personal PageSpeed Insights API key to connect core web vitals optimization information directly to the audit. Again, with this tool, however, the data export for this report is manual. Semrush has an API, though, and it will report on page load speed issues. However, the API is only available for business plans and higher, which start at $499/month. 5. Add page speed into GA4 using custom dimensions
Another option to restore page load speed in Google Analytics is to create a custom dimension. You can use that custom dimension to create an Explorations report, import data into Looker Studio or export data using the GA4 API or various tools that incorporate the API. Measure School has an excellent tutorial on how to track page load speed using Google Tag Manager and custom dimensions in GA4. Multiple free and paid tools can export your list of slow pages using the custom dimension to Google Sheets, including the free Google Sheets extension GA4 Reports Builder for Google Sheets. Unlike its predecessor in Universal Analytics, this extension does not have scheduling capability. I personally use Supermetrics, which is a paid tool but provides me access to multiple APIs, including GA4, and allows me to schedule reports. Connecting with the PageSpeed Insights APIOnce you have your list of the site’s slowest pages, though, you’re not completely finished! Screaming Frog, Ahrefs and Semrush pull Core Web Vitals optimizations into their platforms using the PageSpeed Insights API. If you’re not using one of those tools, you’ll either need to interrogate each URL in the PageSpeed Insights tool manually, one by one, or you can also use the PageSpeed Insights API to make those queries for you. If you’re not a web developer or skilled with coding, there are fortunately tools that you can use to tap into APIs, including the PageSpeed Insights API, to get the specific core web vitals details you need for optimization. My personal favorite is Zapier, which has a webhook zap allowing even non-developers a simplified way to connect your list of slow URLs to the PageSpeed Insights and pull in whichever data points are most important: Optimizing images can often be a quick way to improve page load speed. In the zap example above, I only pull in image details for each URL for a site with over 10,000 pages. This allows me a fast way to find:
The benefit of this approach is that it truly can provide near-real-time reporting and dashboarding, whereas the other solutions still have drawbacks that make them less than ideal for dashboard reports. However, you continue to measure page load speed for organic search optimization, each solution requires some set-up and work. So, if you haven’t already started on a solution, get started immediately so that you can quickly mine quick wins for SEO and improve your problem pages. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/LfPUekH While Google’s responsive search ads (RSAs) have come a long way from the simple text ads of the past, there are still plenty of opportunities to optimize and take your PPC performance to new heights. Let’s dive into seven proven strategies that can help you elevate your Google responsive search ads game. 1. Less is sometimes moreWe’re starting with a concept rather than a feature here, but just because you can add 15 headlines and four descriptions doesn’t mean you should also populate all of those slots. A few reasons why:
2. Keyword insertionThis is a really useful way of making your ads more relevant and improving your quality score. When applied, Google will populate the RSA with whatever keyword your search term triggered the ad for. You can also add copy before and after the keyword insertion to tailor the message. For example:
If the keyword triggered pushes the character limit over, Google will use the fallback copy you included, “Nike running shoes” in the above example. It should not be used in every circumstance, as it can get messy when overused. And you are in danger of the ad not reading right. This is especially true in consolidated ad groups with more keywords. Less control with more keywords eligible to appear in the keyword insertion. Extra word of caution: Never use this for competitor keyword campaigns. 3. Countdown insertionThis is a really cool feature and an absolute essential for your sale or event ads. Including a countdown timer is such an effective way to add urgency to your RSAs. You can customize how many days in advance you’d like the timer to begin. As with the keyword insertion feature, you can include copy before and after insertion. For example:
Even when there is less than a day before the end of the countdown, Google tells you to the second how long you have left. Very eye-catching for users. 4. Ad pinningNot happy with giving Google the control to put your copy in any order that suits them? Well, then pinning is the answer. This allows you to tell Google what title and description you want to remain constant in your ad and in which position. You can also pin multiple headlines and descriptions in the same position, which Google will alternate. Your ad strength will suffer using pins, as Google doesn’t like not being in control. But advertisers sometimes just need the ability to decide what order the copy goes in. For example, putting your product in the first two titles (long name) and including the price as the final title is not ideal if Google decides to mix that order, even if the algorithm thinks it has a better CTR. I’d recommend testing two RSAs at once for ad groups with high volume. Use the same copy, but one with pins and one without. Test yourself against the algorithm. Remember, Google often prioritizes RSA variations based on CTR, but if the objective of the ads is conversion-based, then you should judge the results toward conversion rate, CPA or ROAS instead. 5. Ad experimentsAs Google will often prioritize the best CTR performance in ads, if you are testing two RSAs in the same ad group, then they will quickly favor one and show it more often. Experiments are what you want if you want a fairer, less biased testing framework. The experiment feature can effectively test different keywords, landing pages, bid strategies, etc. Testing ads is another feather in its cap. You can set up experiments to show each ad evenly at 50/50 over a selected time period (currently maxed out at 64 days). During setup, Google will duplicate your campaign into a test version. You make whatever changes to the RSA you need to, then just schedule a start date. Once the test begins, you can access a testing dashboard within the experiment tab that compares control and test campaigns. When setting up the experiment, you will tell Google your two performance priorities, so the dashboard will focus its reporting on those metrics. 6. Campaign-level headline and description assetsThis is the newest feature in the list and, as of this writing, is still in beta. It’s a great addition designed for use during a specific period (e.g., a sale or an event). At the campaign level, you can schedule up to three headlines and two descriptions to appear in all of the campaign’s RSAs rather than updating all of your ads individually. If messaging is a priority, you can also pin these extra assets and schedule a start and end date. They are ideal for large Search accounts with a high volume of RSAs that require frequent copy changes to highlight promotional periods. What could’ve taken hours to regularly update, schedule and revert back to the original copy now takes only a few minutes. Preparing for Black Friday might not seem as daunting this year. 7. Ad variationsThis is probably the most underutilized feature for RSA ads. Experiments are the most common A/B testing framework. Still, if you want to test specific titles or descriptions against other variants (as opposed to RSA vs. RSA), this is the ideal solution. This is very cool for creating tests at a forensic level. If you have a legacy USP scattered across multiple RSAs (e.g., “Free Shipping Available”) but are thinking of replacing it with a similar but refreshed take (e.g., “Free shipping when you spend over $50”), then you simply select the “Find & Replace” variation type, input the original copy and replace with the new. Just like setting up experiments, you select the start and end date, how much the experiment split is (which for me is always 50%) and then create. There are other types of ad variations that can update whole headlines and descriptions, as well as URLs, but I would use find and replace more commonly. What about AI content?I couldn’t go through the whole article without mentioning the hottest industry topic: AI. So, I thought it deserved its own bonus section. Now, the truth is that the practical application of AI for RSAs lies outside of the advertising platform (Performance Max asset group copy is a different story with the new generative AI feature). One of the first PPC use cases of ChatGPT, when it came on the scene, was generating additional and alternative creative for RSAs based on expanding the existing copy. The danger is being too reliant on AI for content. Yes, ChatGPT, Gemini and the rest are great tools for carrying the creative burden. However, using AI to create the majority of the copy can lead to generic output or even a separation away from the brand identity if your prompt engineering isn’t up to scratch. To strive toward compelling ad copy, simplicity is often the best method, so try not to overcomplicate the process. I’ve found the best use is identifying the best-performing titles and descriptions (hopefully, most of the ad asset report data isn’t pending, so you can see these insights) and using AI to expand and enhance the poor performers with alternative variations. Lean on AI and use it to generate fresh ideas, but don’t rely on it. Remember, you will know the brand and the USPs better than AI. Humans still have a use, after all. via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/5qmNjY3 Have you ever been in a situation where not everyone was on the same page? It happens often in the workplace and usually is caused by different expectations among stakeholders. Here are some ways to set and manage expectations for PPC clients and agency teams. Outline expectations during the sales processSetting expectations at the beginning of a client engagement or project is crucial for success. For advertising agencies, the time to set expectations is before the advertiser even becomes a client – during the sales process. Giving the client an idea of how your team operates will help you both decide if the relationship is a good fit. For example, does your agency have an account or media lead who oversees the client relationship, or do individual practice leads handle the relationship? Or is it a hybrid? Who is the main point of contact? Be clear about how your team operates generally while you’re still negotiating. Dig deeper: How to build and maintain client trust in your agency Agree on parameters in the statement of workIt’s critical to lay out the engagement parameters in the statement of work. The clearer you can be about the parameters of the relationship and how it will operate, the better you can manage expectations once you’re actually doing the work. Agree on what work will be performedWhat services will you be providing to the client? Here are some common agency services:
This is only a partial list! Agencies can offer a wide variety of advertising and marketing services. Some agencies provide strategy and execution of the services listed above and some only provide consulting, with the client responsible for implementation. Spell out what work you intend to perform. If you’re not clear in the statement of work about what work you’re performing, clients will ask you to do work that you’re not staffed for. Make it obvious what’s in scope and what isn’t. Be detailed. It’s impossible to list every possible scenario in a statement of work – and that’s why it’s crucial to be clear about the services the agency will handle. Tell the client what work is in scope and be clear that anything else is out of scope. For example, how many search engines will you manage for paid or organic search? How many social engines will you advertise on? Which ones? Are analytics services included? If not, who handles that troubleshooting? What about CRM? For B2B advertisers, closing the loop between the initial website lead and down-funnel CRM actions is an important piece of the puzzle. Are you prepared to provide these services, or will the client be responsible for this work? The same thing goes for landing page optimization and development. Not being able to create optimized landing pages can be a performance blocker that can ultimately doom your relationship with the client. Be clear about who owns this responsibility. By outlining who is responsible for CRO and landing page optimization, you can help stave off disappointment down the road. Meeting and reporting cadencesAnother aspect of client service to deal with during the sales process is deliverables and cadences. How often will you meet with the client? Will the meetings be held online, or in person? Who from the agency will attend? Meetings can become a giant time suck, yet they’re also necessary. Be thoughtful about how to make them efficient for both the agency and the client. Reporting is another deliverable to address in the statement of work. What types of reporting will be provided and on what cadence? Will you use Looker dashboards, PowerPoint reports, QBRs, or all three? How will you handle ad-hoc reporting? Dig deeper: 3 steps for effective PPC reporting and analysis Response times and client communicationsYou’ll also want to agree on client communications. How will day-to-day communication be handled? Will you use email, instant messaging (IM) platforms like Slack or Teams, project management boards like Asana or Trello, or a combination of all of these? What response times should be expected? One pitfall of using IM for client communications is that everyone starts to expect instant replies. That’s neither feasible nor productive for anyone. Agree with your clients that regular communications will be responded to within 24 hours. For urgent messages, perhaps a 6-hour response time is reasonable. Agree to this ahead of time – that way, no one is disappointed. Think too about how easy it will be to search for relevant communications later. I find it much more difficult to find messages and topics in Slack than email, although Slack is easier to organize into channels. Each has pros and cons! Think this through before you engage with the client. Account staffingEvery statement of work should include a staffing plan. You don’t need to name names, but list the roles and percentage of time each role will be allocated to the engagement. For example, staffing on a large paid search account might look like this:
Being clear about roles and percentage allocation helps clients understand who their key contacts are and how much time they will spend working on the account. Dig deeper: Client onboarding and offboarding: The PPC agency’s guide Dealing with unexpected issuesUnforeseen challenges can arise on an account. Perhaps the client’s conversion tracking breaks, or they need help spinning up a landing page when that’s normally something they would handle themselves. Outline in the SOW how you’ll handle issues that would normally be out of scope. Will you charge an hourly rate? Will a change order or new SOW be required? Good agencies will often pitch in and help without compensation. That’s part of being a good business partner. Still, it’s important to set expectations on out-of-scope work to ensure the engagement remains profitable. Managing expectations during the engagementOnce the contract is signed, the work begins! Now is the time to manage expectations. It’s important on kickoff calls or meetings to establish your rules of engagement. Reinforce how you will communicate, meeting cadences, turnaround times and other key service-level agreements (SLAs). Getting agreement from the client and buy-in on both sides is critical. An effective way to get everyone’s buy-in is to whiteboard the rules during the kickoff, either virtually or in person. Then, take time to discuss the rules and hear all perspectives. Be willing to add items you may not have thought of initially, or to adjust to meet everyone’s needs. Just make sure you can still deliver in the time frame you agree to. Once you’ve aligned on the rules, distribute them to all stakeholders. One agency I worked at printed and laminated the rules of engagement for each client. They shared a copy with everyone working on the account, both internally and client-side. While this may sound quaint in 2024, it’s effective – a physical reminder stakeholders can keep at their desk and easily review at any time. The rules of engagement could also be in an online document that’s pinned to a Slack or Teams channel. It’s important to reiterate that getting everyone’s buy-in is key here. One of Dale Carnegie’s principles in “How to Win Friends and Influence People” is to “Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.” It’s important to remember this principle when establishing the rules of engagement with clients. If clients have a hand in developing the rules, they’ll be more likely to follow them. Dig deeper: How to retain clients in PPC How to deal with issues during the engagementInevitably, issues will crop up during the engagement that require a review of the SOW. The client might ask for more meetings than you’ve contracted for. Or they start to expect faster turn times on the work you’re delivering. It’s tricky because, on the one hand, you want to do everything you can to keep your client happy. On the other hand, your agency needs to be profitable. Think carefully about whether you should accommodate the client’s request or push back. There are pros and cons to each approach. If you’ve established ground rules and SLAs in the contract process, it’s not wrong to gently remind the client of what you agreed to. In this case, I’ll usually say something like, “We understand how important this launch is for your business. Our contract stipulates a 5-day lead time for new campaign launches. Given the urgent timing of this campaign, we can aim to deliver it in 2 days. We’ll have to reprioritize some of your other work to accommodate this and we’re happy to do so to help you meet your goals.” A statement like that does several things.
Making exceptions for clients is part of being a good partner. But if the exceptions start to become a regular thing, you’ll want to give a more forceful reminder of the rules of engagement and you may want push back. Renegotiating the contract is another option. For example, you could add staff to the account that would enable faster turn times – at an additional cost. Or you could charge the client the hourly rates you provided for in the contract. If you’ve set expectations clearly in the beginning, you have a good chance of avoiding a big mismatch between your reality and the client’s. Clear expectations make for profitable relationships for everyone! Dig deeper: 6 tips to build PPC client relationships via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/FnKfw90 Studies show that loyal customers are responsible for as much as 65% of all brand purchases. In turbulent economic times, when consumers become warier with every penny they spend and brands are increasingly desperate to keep the income flowing, loyalty programs play a pivotal role in fostering retention and increased spending. But creating a loyalty program that works is not easy – and it’s certainly challenging in 2024 when customers’ priorities are constantly shifting. To find out what they are right now, join Comarch’s upcoming webinar, “Top Loyalty Trends: Industry-Specific Ideas 2024.” It’s your chance to engage in a discussion with loyalty experts and discover:
The webinar will be based on the expertise and experience of Aurelie Balaes (Account Director, LinkedIn Marketing Solutions), Hadie Perkas (CEO and Founder, The Gift Club, The BIG Handshake, The European Loyalty Association), Joanna Witsch (Head of Loyalty Product & Operations, Alshaya Group) and Wojciech Kempny (Consulting Director, Comarch). Combining their respective knowledge, the speakers will analyze the current state of the loyalty industry and share their ideas on how to make your loyalty program ready for Society 5.0. Want to learn what they are? Sign up for HERE to join the conversation on May 7th, 2024, at 4:00 PM (CEST). via Search Engine Land https://ift.tt/rNxtOIP The drawback of freelancing is that you’re trading your time for money, so you have to raise your prices or... The post 10 Profitable Solopreneur Business Ideas Anyone Can Start appeared first on Copyblogger. via Copyblogger https://ift.tt/9gs26eK Advertisers might be able to purchase ads on Meta’s Threads platform as early as the second half of this year. That’s according to a Digiday (subscription required) report citing multiple sources. Why we care: Brands and marketers will soon have another way to reach their target audiences. Although Threads isn’t at the level of Facebook or Instagram (2 billion monthly active users), Threads gained 50 million followers in its first 24 hours of launch last year and now has about 85 million monthly active users. Timing. Meta’s discussions have reportedly focused on the rollout timeline rather than specific logistics about how or where ads will be integrated.
Where Threads Ads may appear. Threads ads will likely be integrated into Meta’s ad platform, Advantage+, alongside existing options for Facebook and Instagram.
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