Just what is structured data? And how will it help your business appear more creative and memorable in search results?

Rich snippets have been around for some time now, as has Google’s knowledge graph, which was added to search engine result pages (SERPs) in 2012. Over the last year, we’ve also now started to see structured data, which is used to implement these different displays of information, become an even greater influence on SERPs, especially Google’s. On May 17th 2016, Google rolled out a number of changes to how their search engine handles structured data, with the most important changes being the introduction of rich cards. These are a complete restructure of Google’s documentation about structured data, alongside a new report function in Google Search Console for data relating to rich cards. Before we delve into the technical stuff,…

How has Facebook performed compared to Instagram during the Olympic Games in Rio?

With Facebook reigning supreme since overtaking Myspace as the most popular social media in 2009, they have looked unbeatable. Huge audiences, combined with innovative features has meant Facebook have been sitting pretty at the top of the charts. However, a new report from ComScore MMX has showcased the power of Instagram, when it comes to engagement. The report indicated that before the games, Facebook was the preferred platform to share news and content about the games, however, since then Instagram has overtaken as the "Social Media Star" for the Olympic Games 2016. The chart above highlights the disparity between the audience of both Facebook and Instagram, with the Blue giant achieving around 87.73% of the audience share, compared to the relatively measly 12.27% Instagram achieves. However, the…

Creating great assests should be the cornerstone of your SEO strategy. Here's how to make them without going mad.

Is it getting difficult to come up with a new topics for your blog posts? Do you struggle to write even 500 words a day? Or maybe writing too much has taken a toll on you. Yet you carry on, trudging through word after word because you want backlinks, to get backlinks, you need content. What if I told you that it’s possible to create outstanding content without any writing? As I’ll show you below, there are tons of linkable assets you can create without ever stringing together more than a paragraph.

What are Linkable Assets?

First, let’s answer a simple question: what exactly are “linkable assets”? Linkable assets are essentially high quality content pieces you can use in your outreach to get links, or to attract links naturally. Think of them as parts of your website that…

When writing content for your website, blog, or newsletter, should you aim for brevity or go in-depth?

I’d dump Q and maybe J. Because if attention spans continue shrinking, we’ll need to cut down the alphabet to make words shorter (shrtr). Given the online ADD epidemic, it surely makes sense to go short if you’re producing articles for a newsletter, blog or website? Not necessarily. If short was always the way, this blog would be dead. We just assume people won’t read long articles. The ADD problem has been hammered home so often that we hardly pause to think anymore. But it’s not that simple. Like everything online, the “ideal” content length depends on context: the ideal length is the one that says everything you need to say to get the right response. Not short. Not long. But what suits your needs and the audience you’re targeting. The…

What are senior B2B marketers using currently? According to the research by Regalix B2B marketers are still mostly using basic analytics tools including web analysis (91%) and spreadsheets (80%), but more advanced tools this year have found to be of more interest. [caption id="attachment_77084" align="alignnone" width="550"] These are the Marketing Analytics Tools Senior B2B Marketers Want to Pay More Attention to This Year[/caption] Which technologies are expected to get the most attention in 2016?  Whilst web analysis which is a pretty basic method will get a lot of attention (50%), Predictive Analytics are expected to be most looked into by B2B marketers this year. Predictive analytics can help predict behaviour and in turn, reduce financial risk. Business intelligence, mobile analytics and attribution tools are also expected to be popular. According to the study by Regalix, B2B marketers expect to have extra cash for…

How classical PR tries to define its new role in an era of increasing digitalization and consumer-driven media outlets

In an era of increasing digitalization, traditional PR has been called “dead” for quite some time now. As a result, companies are looking for an alternative technique to raise awareness for their brands. Recently the term “Content-Seeding” has been mentioned more and more frequently, in this context. However, if you look closely, there are distinctive differences between the two practices, which agencies and companies alike should be aware of. This article will illustrate those differences, offering a basis for digital marketers to choose the most effective strategy for their business based on industry standards, individual goals and resources.

The PR-Dilemma

First things first. What exactly is the problem classical PR is currently facing? After all, the decreasing demand for print media (from the daily newspaper to magazines being replaced by E-versions) isn’t news. However, the…

SEO 101 states; the more* links pointing to your page, the better. But just how long does it take to influence the SERPs?

*by more, I mean more quality links and not spammy links obtained by blackhat techniques. Kristina Kledzik, recently published an article on Moz about her findings after experimenting with some of her old posts. She started by using some of her less-popular posts on Distilled (where she works) and set about picking out 76 links pointing to pages which are all similar to each other in content, and they didn't change that content (significantly) for 6 months. She focused on rankings for target keywords with a 25–35% Keyword Difficulty Rating (A Moz metric if you're interested) and she looked at two versions of their target keywords, so she could have a bit more data. …

Luke Bilton, Director of Digital at UBM, interviews Claire Hazle of Marie Curie

Claire Hazle, Head of Digital for Marie Curie, is taking the charity through a period of transformation… just don’t call it ‘digital’. “Digital transformation is business transformation. A business strategy with digital at the heart of it.” Claire Hazle, Head of Digital at Marie Curie Speaking at a Digital Transformation conference earlier this month, Claire explained the transformation journey that the team have been through. In 2012, Marie Curie commissioned a review of their digital capabilities and found they were 3 to 5 years behind charities of a similar size, with talent dispersed across the group with no strategic digital direction to bind them. The independent report highlighted the charity would face significant limitations to future income if they did not improve the digital channels to make it easy to recruit and…

5 tactics for more engaging email in 2016

Email is the most misunderstood tactic in marketing. We’ve all heard the oft-referenced statistic that email’s ROI can be as much as $130 per dollar spent. That idea gave rise to the perception that email is a cheap, easy way to generate high returns. And that’s why so many brands treat email as a money button: Press send, get cash. Of course, that attitude doesn’t leave much room for creativity. Email does present enormous earning potential, but that potential often remains untapped because so many marketers are stuck in 1999. They see email as merely a workhorse moneymaker instead of a source of inspiration and brand engagement. Email strategies can do more than serve marketers. When done well, they can also serve their recipients. For example, after I bought a Karma Go, I started using the hotspot device like crazy. After a number of…

The 12 key areas you need to get right for a successful digital transformation project.

Transforming digitally is a complex process for companies to accomplish. They must look at how the digital age is impacting their business process and will have to make difficult decisions. The longer a company has been in operation the harder it can be to make the changes required. Newer companies can find the process of digital transformation a less daunting task as they have been created in a digital environment. They can be more attuned to the various factors that are affecting the modern business landscape. Many companies will be somewhere in the middle between these two outlying examples and have various parts of their business already digital but other parts that need more work. If you’re currently considering embarking on the digital transformation process, or if the process is already underway in your company, consider these 12…