Understanding Searches Better Than Ever Before
Google is understanding natural language in searches better than ever before, so well, that it represents “the biggest leap forward in the past five years, and one of the biggest leaps forward in the history of Search …
Particularly for longer, more conversational queries, or searches where prepositions like “for” and “to” matter a lot to the meaning [1 in 10 searches], Search will be able to understand the context of the words in your query. You can search in a way that feels natural for you.”
More Than 90% of Small Businesses Will Increase Advertising Spending in 2019
Is your business part of the 91% of small businesses that plan on increasing their advertising spend in 2019? Not surprising, digital advertising is the channel which is expected to see the greatest increase in advertising spend. Read why small businesses are turning to digital advertising.
Consumers May Be More Trusting of Ads Than Marketers Think
A study surveying 400 participants regarding 20 common tactics used in TV and Digital ads found that 13 of the tactics elicited favorable responses – which surprised even marketers and has top ad agencies focusing on the Authenticity factor.
For anyone concerned with the believability of marketing today, this is a must-read article. Sales Renewal whole-heartedly believes that we all need to focus on ‘proving’ not ‘selling’ brand values.
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Best of Growth Spurts – Our Favorite Posts from February
We regularly update our Growth Spurts blog with actionable marketing & technology advice, news and information. These articles are often hand-picked to address issues and projects we’re working on with our clients, but they are relevant to most business owners involved with any aspect of marketing their business. Here are our 5 favorite posts this month:
On Product Marketing
Psychological Pricing Is Your Golden Ticket to Selling More – You want to make money. That’s why you run a business. Whether you’re selling a product or a service-you’ll have to put a price on what you’re selling at some point. This article introduces the concept of creating an effective pricing strategy by using psychological pricing tactics. Simply put, it’s a strategic way to price your products or services to influence people when making a buying decision. Continue reading…
On Exit Planning
Are You on Track to Hit Your Exit Revenue Goal? How to know if you’re likely to hit your number and how Agile, Integrated Marketing can help – Most business owners have a sales price in mind when they contemplate selling their business. Because businesses are typically valued at a multiple of revenue (or revenue derivatives such as EBITDA) this sales price is directly dependent on the company’s annual revenue at the time of the exit.
If you are considering selling your business in 2 to 7 years and would like to increase the odds that you will achieve your exit revenue goals, read on to learn how better and more cost-effective marketing will propel you to success. Read the article.
On SEO
Google: SEOs Need 4 Months to a Year for SEO Changes & Ranking Improvement – We’ve said it time and again, but it’s worth repeating. SEO is a long-term strategy. Anyone who promises something different is not the right SEO firm for your business. In fact, in the recently released “How to Hire an SEO” video, Google explicitly mentions how long it takes for a site to see improvements due to SEO changes. Read more and watch the video here.
On PPC Advertising
Google AdWords Benchmarks for YOUR Industry – Whether you’re getting in to PPC advertising for the first time or it’s time for an account review, it can be daunting to know whether or not you’re doing a good job. Sure, we all want to create ads that have highest CTRs and the best conversion rates, but what’s a good metric for one industry isn’t necessarily good for another. So what numbers should you be looking to beat in your industry? This post was updated on 3 Jan 2017 and is chock full of useful online advertising benchmarks:
- Average Click-Through Rate (CTR) by industry
- Average Cost per Click (CPC) by industry
- Average Conversion Rate (CVR) by industry
- Average Cost per Action (CPA) by industry
On Website Security
The Benefits of Installing SSL on Your Website – For several years now Google search results have shown more preference to websites that use HTTPS. (HTTPS is the secure version of HTTP, the protocol over which data is sent between your browser and the website that you are connected to.) While Google claims that this is currently a “mild” ranking signal, there are indications that this is becoming increasingly important. So important that Sales Renewal is in the process of rolling this out to all our clients by purchasing and installing an SSL certificate on their websites and forcing HTTPS. Questions? Please contact us here.
Sales Renewal’s insight:
From exit planning to product marketing, SEO to PPC advertising to website security, here’s a digest of our favorite posts from February.
Goodbye, Google Sidebar Ads – What You Need to Know
If you’ve done a Google search on a laptop or desktop in the last few weeks, you’re sure to have noticed a big change. There’s a lot of white space on the right – gone are the sidebar ads and the maps and local listings. Instead, ads, maps and search results are combined in one center column, mirroring the mobile search experience. The removal of the ads follows on the heels of the new local “3 pack” change last August, which reduced local listings from 7 and moved it to the center column.
What impact will this have on local marketing, SEO and search advertising? While the changes are so new the verdict is still out, we’ve gathered insights from a number of experts in order to get an early read.
The Key Changes
Here’s what has changed in this worldwide rollout that happened in mid-February:
- There are no text ads on the right sideof the search results on desktop.
- The total number of text ads that will appear on a page shrinks from 11 to a maximum of 7:
- 4 text ads (up from 3) are in the main area above the organic listings.
- 3 text ads will show at the bottom of the SERPs.
Here’s what’s not changed:
“PLAs demonstrate strong user interaction when they’re on the right side, so they’re staying put.” – Search Engine Land
What This Means for PPC Advertising
“With the new layout, the top four ads will dominate the above the fold section of almost all searches… Click through rates for these ads should significantly rise, which is great news for conversion focused advertisers who have an appetite for more volume. If, of course, you are in the top few ad slots.” – Ad News
“It seems intuitive that having fewer ads on each SERP is going to make ad positions more competitive. The effect on click prices is yet to be seen.” – Marketing Land
It’s important to enable any extensions possible. “Top ads are eligible to show more extensions, and those same extensions can also show at the bottom of the page. Now that text ads on the right rail are gone, each opportunity you get to display an ad is an opportunity to show a helpful ad extension. Investigate all of them and add any that you might be missing.” – Search Engine Land
What This Means for Search Results
“[The addition of the 4th top ad] combined with the range of different ad extensions available, will push down the organic search results even further. Every extra extension pushes the results down by one line… [In spite of this], it’s actually looking like this change will show an increase in organic traffic for websites that are ranked in the top positions.” – Ad News
Early testing shows that the longer the query, the less likely the SERPs will include either ads or the “local pack.” According to Erin Everhart, Lead Manager, Digital Marketing, SEO at The Home Depot, “The value of long-tail keywords just increased, since those keywords are naturally appearing higher above the fold. Yes, they are searched for less often, but they’re now even more likely to provide higher CTRs in addition to the higher conversion rates they’ve historically come with. The longer the query, the closer a person is to purchase.”
Sales Renewal’s insight:
If you’ve done a Google search on a laptop or desktop in the last few weeks, you’re sure to have noticed a big change. There’s a lot of white space on the right – gone are the sidebar ads and the maps and local listings. Instead, ads, maps and search results are combined in one center column, mirroring the mobile search experience. The removal of the ads follows on the heels of the new local “3 pack” change last August, which reduced local listings from 7 and moved it to the center column.
What impact will this have on local marketing, SEO and search advertising? While the changes are so new the verdict is still out, we’ve gathered insights from a number of experts in order to get an early read.
60 Facebook Advertising Mistakes that Make You Look like a Rookie
Protect your advertising ROI – here are 60 Facebook ad mistakes to avoid.
Sales Renewal’s insight:
Facebook advertising can be deceptively simple and straightforward. This article provides concrete examples of what not to do. Some takeaways:
- You need to have a compelling offer in order to stand out from the crowd;
- Take advantage of the targeting features and make sure your ad copy speaks to your target;
- Your image should match your ad;
- Choose clarity over cleverness in your headlines – you have limited characters to get your point across; and
- WIFM – have a clear value proposition (“what’s in it for me?”)
Read the full article before you set up your next campaign.
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Google’s Natural Language Search Gets Smarter
Google is now smarter at understanding queries that include superlatives and times, as well as more complicated questions.
Sales Renewal’s insight:
If natural search traffic is important to you and you have not yet reevaluated your SEO strategy, this story makes it abundantly clear that now is the time to do so!
Why? Because you are shooting yourself in the foot if you’re still focusing on traditional keywords instead of semantics.
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Seven Ways to Use Print Marketing to Win More Business
Don’t overlook printed materials when you plan your marketing budgets. Printed media can reach customers in a way that online media can’t.
Sales Renewal’s insight:
Print, tradeshows, live events – all traditional marketing activities that are still highly relevant today.
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John Wanamaker Would Die for This: We Now Know Which Half is Which!
There is a popular saying which goes “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” Over the years, I have heard many a CEO/CFO substitute the word “marketing” for “advertising” as they lament about all the money they are spending on brand awareness and demand creation with little demonstrable return on investment. But those days are over.”
Sales Renewal’s insight:
Thanks to analytics, trackable phone numbers, trackable emails and marketing automation software you can now know which half of your marketing budget is working and which half is not … and adjust your marketing activities and budget accordingly. The author provides a few interesting examples of the old and new ways of marketing.
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