Survey your market and come out on top
If you’ve got a product or service to sell then your marketing and advertising has to be on top form.
Thankfully, being the best has only one simple requirement: be better than what else is out there. This means that a successful marketing strategy must include detailed research of what else is being offered in your market – it takes time, effort and attention, but you want to be the best, right?
The condensed process boils down to identifying your competition, recognising their strengths and weaknesses and harnessing that knowledge to come out on top.
This process is not about the theft ideas from your competitors, though it’s great for inspiration! The key is to spot untapped areas (the weaknesses of your competition) of the market and push them as USPs. A thorough knowledge of your competition’s marketing technique will allow you to improve your strategy…
8 Things You Need To Know About Search Engine Optimization to Stay Relevant in 2016
SEO is rapidly evolving. The same techniques you used last year are rapidly falling out of favor for more advanced and efficient models of search engine optimization. Google often modifies the techniques it uses to prevent people from exploiting the algorithm. While that’s great for preventing dishonesty and spam, it also means you’ll have to re-learn SEO concepts to adapt with the ever-changing model.
The Importance of Investment Return
Expertly selecting keywords that will help you jump in the rankings is wonderful, but a jump in your page rank doesn’t necessarily mean you’re maximizing your revenue. KISSMetrics, RJMetrics, or similar tools will allow you to track the movement of your customers and determine which search queries are ultimately leading to your financial success. Using this route to maximize the effectiveness of your keywords, rather than where you score…
New mobile ranking factors report from Searchmetrics shows the key differences
The summer of 2015 is when Google searches on Mobile Devices exceeded that of personal computers world-wide for the very first time. A landmark in the world of Search, and something not only Google are looking to capitalize on, but something all business owners and marketer should (at the very least) be aware of. “So what does this mean for me?” I hear you cry.
Looking at it from the perspective of a Webmaster, Business Owner, SEOs and content marketers, it raises the question of strategy.
Do we follow a ‘One size fits all’ strategy addressing both Desktop and Mobile under one roof, or do we begin to use a separate strategy to tackle mobile search as a separate entity?
In short, I think it’s time we look to use two strategies which we'll discuss. Using the ranking factors below, should certainly aid…
Bear these site migration tips in mind to maintain rankings of your e-commerce store during a domain change or site restructure
Moving is hard. I would know – I started my life in the Northeast, moved across the country to Texas, and then to Chicago. It’s difficult to get settled into a new place, making new friends, finding a place with decent pizza
in your neighborhood.
It’s even more difficult when we’re talking about websites – there’s the potential for big wins, and big losses. Everyone wants a new, modern website – but few consider the work that needs to be done to ensure that website produces the results you desire. It gets even more complex when you add E-commerce to the mix – payment gateways, shopping carts, affiliate sites, coupons and more! It turns into a big project, fast.
In my role as an SEO Account Manager, I not only deal with the…
A guide to Mastering SEO when there is no Google
Operating in a world where Google and many other familiar channels don’t exist is something that many search marketers in the west might feel unsure of. The fact is, many of the fundamental rules are the same, but the context in which you’re operating becomes dramatically different.
For search marketers that successfully venture into the Chinese market, the 'size of the prize' is huge. With over 640 million internet users, you’ve got the potential to reach an audience that’s more than twice the size of the US. Yes, twice the size!
For any business looking to grow an audience in China, gaining visibility and coverage on the nation’s biggest search engine Baidu should form a key part of any strategy. With SERPs that may look familiar on the surface, Baidu has a lot of features that actually differ from what we’re used to,…
A new tool from Gmail lets you see what Gmail and its users think of your email based on a reputation score and spam reporting levels. Follow Tim Watson's tutorial for how to use it.
It’s no secret to email marketers that the major ISPs create reputation scores for email senders and that a good reputation is fundamental to getting delivered to the inbox.
Until now you had no way of knowing your Gmail reputation score. Getting to the inbox has felt like ten pin bowling with a curtain in front of the pins.
But over the summer Gmail made available a free tool for senders to obtain data on their own reputation. Finally you can know what Gmail users think of your email.
I’ll cover in a minute how to sign up to see your own stats, but first a quick summary of why you’ll want to do this.
Access gives you reports for…
Comparing the 2014 and 2015 ranking factors research
Searchmetrics, technology provider for enterprise SEO and content marketing analysis, has carved out a global business which answers the key questions asked by SEO professionals and digital marketers.
Following on from their 2014 Search Ranking Factors report, Searchmetrics have released their 2015 ranking factors, highlighting the key considerations to impact a brands search and content marketing strategies. Click here for your copy.
Last year I completed an analysis of the 2014 Searchmetrics findings – assessing some of the key insights and opportunities for brands use as part of their search strategy as well as overall digital vision. Here I will compare changes with 2015. Of course, Moz, also have their own definitive ranking factor review - Dave Chaffey has analysis of their 2015 ranking factors report.
Searchmetrics 2014 summary
From the 2014 Searchmetrics report, there were a number of metrics that supported the opportunity for…
Plain text has proven impressively durable despite marketers preference for HTML
When it comes to email marketing, there’s only a few Email metrics that all marketers focus on: open rates and clickthroughs (although they should consider more, like the value generated). Without positive levels of KPIs, marketers often feel like they have wasted time and effort creating an email that no one has seen or interacted with, and that’s a hard pill to swallow.
This is why marketers are constantly trying to find ways to improve on their email marketing campaigns in the hope that something – be it a subject line, content piece, image choice or header wording – will make a difference.
But something that marketers generally don’t seem to change is the format of their email. Comfortable in the flashy world of HTML email design, marketers may be…
App Store Optimization is a new field but highly important for anyone looking for App users
App store optimization is the emerging and dynamic practice of creating mobile app listings in the Google Play and Apple app stores for indexation, app visibility and conversion.
Because neither app store provides visibility to either their indexing or ranking algorithms, or store search data like daily volume, or volume by keyword/phrase - publishers, marketers and agencies have had to experiment and draw on experiences of others.
App store optimization is often compared to search engine optimization mostly because that’s what marketers know and it is a familiar reference.
But there are significant differences that we will explore that all lead to the same conclusions: app store search is different than web search.
If a mobile app publisher, marketer or agency is building an app listing targeting keywords and phrases that are reported to be relevant and high…
A tutorial example of using Facebook Ads for Event Promotion
Promoting live events might be the most challenging form of digital marketing campaign you will ever work on. Or so it’s been my experience over the past few years with our monthly MnSearch events and one-off events like LocalU Twin Cities.
Not only do you have to try to market an event based on features, benefits and price points, but you also have to try and convince someone that it’s worth taking time out of their work day or personal life, and drive across town to attend. And all for 'One Night Only!'.
This is the exact opposite from most Paid Search campaigns that can be built to be relatively 'Evergreen'.
Because attendance can fluctuate greatly, and breaking even is often the priority goal, we are continually looking for very cost effective means of…
