Google rolls out AdWords promotion extensions, custom intent audiences & ad variations for testing

Google made a couple of declarations for AdWords sponsors in the nick of time, before Black Friday commences the Christmas shopping season in the US one week from now.




About a year prior, Google began testing advancement augmentations in content promotions. That beta stretched out to the new AdWords interface this mid year. Presently, they are taking off all inclusive in all upheld AdWords dialects and monetary forms in the new AdWords interface (otherwise known as the new AdWords encounter). Advancement expansions let promoters show particular offers in their content advertisements without creating new advertisements. They can include a percentage off, a promotion code and offer period

Custom intent audiences 

On the Google Display Network, Google is taking off custom goal crowds to empower promoters to target "individuals who need to purchase the particular items you offer — in light of information from your crusades, site and YouTube channel."

Anthony Chavez, executive of item administration for AdWords, clarified in a telephone talk with yesterday that there are two kinds of custom goal crowds. In one variety, promoters can make their own particular in light of themes and URLs that individuals who are probably going to be keen on their items read about and visit. The second variety is machine-learning based and mechanized. Google will make a crowd of people in view of the crusade and construe qualities of target buyers.

The auto-produced custom purpose group of onlookers records will be surfaced to sponsors in the Audience Center as an auto-made crowd. Google will indicate reach and execution gauges for each of these crowds.

Ad Variations

Another approach to test promotion varieties is likewise taking off in the new AdWords. Google says you would now be able to test this crosswise over a huge number of advertisements in a couple of snaps. Google will demonstrate the aftereffects of the test once they are factually huge.

You'll discover an Ad Variations tab, alongside Campaign Drafts and Campaign Experiments, in the new UI. The case beneath demonstrates a feature test utilizing "Merry Christmas," yet sponsors can likewise utilize advertisement varieties to test show ways and depictions.




Google needs you to be amped up for the new AdWords encounter

On the off chance that you aren't a fan yet of the new AdWords encounter, you will discover it progressively difficult to oppose it as more new highlights are taken off solely in the new interface. As a motivator for giving it a harder attempt, Chavez called attention to that the new interface has brought together gathering of people administration in one place, enhanced the advertisements see understanding and amplified what's appeared in the Opportunities tab — including a MCC see that empowers supervisors to apply proposals crosswise over records.

"We are endeavoring to make it more assistive to enable directors to be more powerful and proficient," said Chavez. One case is that the battle development work process now requests the goal in advance and afterward surfaces most pertinent highlights in set-up work process.

How to Use Press Releases to Boost Local Google Rankings

Local SEO Case Study:
The Power of Press Releases

Until July 2013, public statements were an incredible strategy for building great connects to your site.

What's more, the procedure was basic. Compose a public statement that incorporates connects to your site, pay an official statement circulation benefit like PRWeb, and after that watch your internet searcher rankings enhance as an ever increasing number of honest to goodness sites posted the official statement with connections to your website.

Obviously, that all changed in July 2013 when Google declared the passing of public statements for site improvement (SEO).

Yet, would it say it was truly the finish of public statements as a SEO strategy? No, and for this situation examine I'll demonstrate there is still a great deal of energy in official statements (in the event that you know how to utilize them effectively).



What Changed in July 2013?

In July 2013, Google declared they would now consider interfaces in public statements as "paid connections" and urged dissemination administrations to utilize "nofollow" interfaces in the discharges. This change bodes well since organizations were paying public statement appropriation locales keeping in mind the end goal to get excellent connects to their sites.

In the event that you're not mindful, Google does not tally paid connections or "no take after" connections in their positioning calculation. Those sorts of connections are disregarded by the calculation. That implies the greater part of the connections you get from the public statement would not specifically enhance your web search tool rankings.

Thus, the reverberating cry that official statements were dead for SEO.

While it's actual the connections don't straightforwardly enhance your rankings, there is another effective SEO advantage of official statements.

The Key Benefit is Citations

A reference is a specify of your NAP (business Name, Address, and Phone number) on another site. For instance, if your business is recorded in Yelp, at that point your profile on Yelp is a reference since it records your NAP.

When drafting an official statement, on the off chance that you incorporate your business NAP in the byline of the discharge, at that point when your discharge is distributed over the web, each distributed page is another reference for your business. You can see a case beneath:



That implies you could issue one official statements and inside a day or two have handfuls or even several new references.

That sounds awesome, yet why are references critical?

References Are Critical For Local Rankings

One of the greatest considers positioning high in the neighborhood "outline" is the amount and nature of your references. Of course, you can make accounts on professional references and develop a decent establishment of references, however so can your rivals.

To pick up an upper hand, you can utilize public statements to rank higher in the nearby outcomes. To demonstrate this works, we should take a gander at a contextual analysis...

How Our Client Jumped from #20 to #1

One of our dental specialist customers was stuck around #20 in the neighborhood "delineate."

We had effectively finished our site tune-up and set up all the important professional resources, yet the rankings would not enhance past #20 for his top need catchphrase, "Savannah dental practitioner." At this point we knew we needed to take it to the following level to surpass the contenders positioning on the principal page of Google.

This is what we did...

Over a 4-month time frame, we issued 4 official statements for our customer. Obviously, in the public statement we included connects to our customer's site, yet as you most likely are aware those connections were "nofollow" so they didn't specifically help for SEO. The power was in the references, or the notices of our customer's business name, address, and telephone number.

As an ever increasing number of sites distributed the public statements, our customer started to hop up in the Google neighborhood rankings. In the end he was #1 on the principal page of Google in the nearby outcomes for his essential watchword.



As should be obvious from the screenshot over, the references helped our customer rank in the neighborhood "outline" on the main page of Google. At the point when Google decides the searcher is searching for a nearby business, at that point frequently Google shows a guide with neighborhood organizations recorded underneath.

To rank high in these nearby indexed lists, you should have references, and that is one reason you ought to consider utilizing official statements as a major aspect of your Local SEO technique.

The 4-Part Framework for Digital Marketing Success

Did you know there are 4 sections, or pieces, that each fruitful advanced showcasing effort must have?

In case you're lost or insufficient in any of these 4 territories, at that point your showcasing will come up short. It's truly that basic.



That leads us to the main key idea here...

Advanced Marketing Is A Lot Like Assembling A Puzzle

As a child, I cherished riddles. Actually, regardless I have a confound hanging in my loft of a Norman Rockwell painting that I finished in grade school. It's not simply astounds however.

I simply cherish the way toward finding how all the individual pieces fit together to make something. That is one reason I in the long run went ahead to think about building in school.

Presently, as a grown-up, despite everything I adore baffles, yet I haven't finished a 1,000 piece jigsaw in a while. Rather, I concentrate the vast majority of my time and vitality nowadays assembling the confuse pieces that make up advanced advertising. Believe it or not, advanced showcasing is only one major bewilder holding up to be gathered one piece at once.

Be that as it may, there's one major distinction...

With showcasing, you don't have the completed picture on the case to demonstrate to you where and how the distinctive pieces will in the long run fit together! That positively makes promoting a great deal harder, isn't that right?

That is the reason in this article will give you that completed picture. I'll stroll through the demonstrated computerized advertising system so you can perceive how the majority of the showcasing choices accessible fit together to make an effective promoting plan.

To start with, The Foundation

Before we jump into the system, I have to highlight how computerized advertising really functions. On the off chance that you separate everything to the individual pieces, at that point advanced promoting takes after an extremely essential recipe:

(Income) = (Website Traffic) x (Conversion Rate) x (Customer Value)

At the end of the day, income from computerized promoting is specifically corresponding to what number of individuals visit your site, what number of those individuals change over into clients, and how much those clients are worth to your business.

Or, on the other hand to put it another route, there are 3 approaches to build your income from advanced showcasing: increment your movement, increment your transformation rate, and additionally increment your client esteem.

Likewise, before we proceed onward it's imperative to recollect that your income will be zero if any of those 3 factors is zero. That is quite recently fundamental math. It doesn't make a difference in the event that you drive a huge number of guests to your site if your transformation rate is zero. Despite everything you'll wind up with zero income!

Since you comprehend this equation, it's a great opportunity to present the structure, which I call the 4 Pillars of Digital Marketing achievement. These are the 4 Pillars each business should persistently attempt to enhance to contend on the web.

1. Site Traffic

The primary Pillar is site activity. Clearly in the event that you don't get any activity to your site, at that point you're not going to be extremely effective with computerized showcasing. In case you're simply beginning, at that point this is the place you have to center.

Consider site activity like fuel.

You require a consistent supply of "fuel" or else you're showcasing will go to a dramatic stop.

2. Site Conversions
As I specified over, all the activity on the planet does nothing for your business unless you can really change over it into leads and deals. For built up organizations that as of now have a constant flow of guests, enhancing site change is likely the greatest use point to expand deals.

Here's a fast case to highlight this point...

Suppose your site gets around 1,000 visits for each month and of those guests around 5 change over into deals. That is a 0.5% transformation rate. What happens on the off chance that you can build your change rate to 1%?

You'll twofold your deals with a similar activity you're as of now getting to your site! That implies you would twofold your deals without any interest in movement strategies like publicizing, SEO, online networking, and so forth.

3. Client Value
Client esteem is frequently the X-calculate computerized promoting, yet numerous organizations overlook it. Once more, I'll utilize a case so you can perceive how your client esteem assumes a part in your showcasing.

Suppose your transformation rate is 0.5% and your normal client esteem is $100. That implies, by and large one guest to your site is worth $0.50.

That additionally implies you can not stand to pay more than $0.50 to drive a guest to your site. In the event that you pay more than 50 pennies, at that point you'll lose cash.

What happens in the event that one of your rivals has a similar change rate, yet a marginally higher client estimation of $150? Indeed, this contender can bear to pay $0.75 and will unavoidably have the capacity to purchase more movement than you. Despite the fact that the contender may have a similar offer, a comparative site, and a similar change rate, they'll command the market because of their higher client esteem.

4. Following

The last Pillar is following. Without appropriate following set up, at that point you'll be flying visually impaired with almost no plan to enhance the other 3 Pillars.

Consider following like the dashboard of your auto. Would you be able to envision driving in the event that you didn't have a speedometer or a fuel gage? That would be truly distressing in light of the fact that you wouldn't know whether you expected to back off or accelerate. In addition, you would likely come up short on fuel with no notice signs.

Legitimate attaching will manage your showcasing choices by letting you know precisely where you have to center.

Why Local SEO Might Be the Best Investment You Ever Make

Remember the days that you had to Google a place for lunch before you left the house earlier that day? Or, take it even further back and think about a time that you opened up the phone book to find the closest hardware store.

The growth of mobile technology has made it possible for us to search for nearby businesses literally at the exact moment we need them. If you decide you have a craving for ice cream while walking around downtown, you can take out your phone and simply type in “ice cream shops near me” and be given a list of local spots to indulge in your favorite sundae.

These local search results are an amazing opportunity for businesses to generate traffic and prospective clients in the geographic area they serve, making them ideal prospects. That’s why local SEO is such an important part of any small business’ digital marketing strategy.

Moz recently released their 2017 Local Search Ranking Factors Report that details the elements that affect local SEO. With the updates to this report and the growing importance of local SEO, I figured it would be a good idea to get our SEO analysts to weigh in on ways to improve local SEO. Read on below to find out their top 6 tips for improving your rankings in search results. 

1. Verify and Optimize Your Google My Business Profile Page

It’s important to ensure your Google My Business Profile is set up correctly and maintained for accuracy. Local search results feature the most relevant results for each search. If your business information is complete and accurate, then it’s much easier and more likely that Google will match you to the right searches.

Make sure that you have entered all of the correctly business information into Google My Business. You should select the profile category that most accurately describes your business and verify your location(s). Make sure that when someone looks at your profile they know what you do, where you are, and when they can visit you. List your updated hours, phone number, and any other relevant contact information in your profile.

And it’s important to keep this information up to date. For example, if you’re closed for a holiday, you should make sure that’s in your profile so it says you are closed at that time. Or, if your phone number or location changes, this needs to be updated as well.

2. Get Your "NAP" in Order

If you want your business to rank at the top of the local maps results, it's critical that you keep your "NAP" consistent. NAP refers to your business Name, Address, and Phone number.

You'll want to keep your NAP consistent anywhere you can, including:

• Your website - make sure to include your NAP on the footer of your website so it's on every page
  
  
• Business profiles and directory listings - you can use MozLocal to check for any errors

And if you've ever changed business names or addresses or phone numbers, then you'll want to search for instances of old/outdated info and get it updated.

3. Get LOTS of Citations

"Citations" are mentions of your NAP across different websites and listings. Here are the steps we recommend for getting lots of citations.

1. Submit to the major data aggregators. You can do this via several companies including MozLocal or YEXT or BrightLocal or AdviceLocal. The best deal we've found is BrightLocal which is $55/year.
   
   
2. Get listed in lots of directories. Focus on local, national and industry-specific directories.
   
   
3. Publish press releases. By including your NAP in the byline of your release, you can get dozens or even hundreds of citations when your press release is republished online. You can read about this approach in this case study here.

4. Get Reviews and Respond to Them

Whether customers are finding your business on social media or simply searching in Google, one of the first things they see is your business reviews. This can instantly put a good or bad taste in their mouth, depending on what those reviews say.

From eating at a new restaurant to buying new clothes or choosing a doctor, people are reading reviews. Positive reviews on social media and Google My Business can show your potential customers that your past clients trust you and believe in the product and services you have to offer. By asking your past customers for reviews, you will not only be helping your local SEO, but you will also be helping attract more people to your business.

You can add another layer to this by making sure to respond to reviews. If someone leaves you a positive review, thank them. If for some reason someone leaves a negative review, make sure to promptly provide a response that is nice, professional, and explains why you feel that’s not correct. By connecting with your customers, it shows that you care about their opinions.

5. Optimize Your Website for Service + Geographic Keywords

One way to improve the likelihood of ranking in Local Search Results is to make sure that the pages on your site are optimized.

One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is having one “Services” page on their website that lists all of the different products or services you have available.

It is much more SEO-friendly to have separate service area pages for each of the services your business offers. That way, when people are looking for a specific service of yours, that specific page can rank in Google. In addition, if you operate in multiple towns, then you may want to add "service area" pages focused on each of the 5-10 primary towns within your service area.

It’s also extremely important that the title tags and meta descriptions on your site are optimized.

Think of the title tags and meta descriptions on your site as key real estate to promote and describe your business. Title tags can have geographical keywords in them to promote your site to the areas you want to rank in. Meta descriptions can be a little longer and have more descriptive keywords to relay the message your title tags are already saying.

Ultimately, both title tags and meta descriptions can serve as perfect billboards in search results that illustrate your business’ services and improve your SEO presence.

6. Avoid Keyword Stuffing

There has been a long standing belief (mainly through black-hat SEOs) that adding multiple cities or ZIP code keywords into the footer of your website helps boost the ranking of a website for different location-based search queries. At one time this actually worked.

However, Google is smarter than that. They have since released algorithm updates which have penalized sites who try to manipulate the search engine with this frowned-upon technique. Therefore, if you stuff keywords into your site it can actually hurt your rankings rather than help them.

The 6 Most Important Google Analytics Reports for Your Small Business

As a small business owner, you probably know that you need to use Google Analytics to figure out if your website is succeeding at attracting and engaging visitors. You’ve heard about Google Analytics at conferences, networking meetings, and marketing workshops for businesses like yours.

You probably signed up for Google Analytics and embedded its code into your website. For most business owners, it’s difficult to know what to look for in all of that data. So, you’re then left with the question: Now what?

That’s why, I’ve compiled a list of what Google Analytics reports you need to look at, how to access them, and what to do with the information once you review them. 

Traffic Acquisition Report

Ideally, the traffic to your website will grow over time. You can track this by using the default Google Analytics graph when you log in to see how many visitors your website received today, this week, or last month.

As important as this is, it’s more important to know where your traffic comes from so you can optimize that traffic. If a traffic source is underperforming, you can spend time fixing it. If most of your traffic comes from one place, is there a way to generate even more traffic from this source? How can you diversify?

You can find out where your website traffic comes from by going to Acquisition > Overview. For a more detailed look into what external sites bring traffic to your site, go to Acquisition > Overview > All Traffic > Referrals.

Source/Medium Report

If you’re investing your marketing dollars by paying for advertisements or SEO services, then you want to know what’s working. This way, you can stop paying for services that don’t work and spend more on those that do.

The Source/Medium report will give you the information you need to determine what’s working for your business, and what needs to be adjusted. This report details the "source" of your traffic (think search engines or Facebook or a Referring website) and what medium, or type of traffic, such as organic search, paid search, or referral from another website. To find this report, go to Acquisition > All Traffic > Source/Medium.

Use this report to determine which sources of traffic are generating leads and sales so you can make an informed decision about how to best adjust your marketing budget.

Mobile Performance Report

In August of 2016 Google reported that over 60% of searches were conducted on mobile. Google processes roughly 3.5 billion searches per day, that’s a lot of mobile searching and it means that you need to make sure that your mobile website is optimized for users.

Go to Audience > Mobile > Overview to see how much traffic you're getting from mobile devices, how long that traffic is staying on the site, how many pages that traffic is visiting, and how that traffic is converting into leads and sales.

SEO Reports

The Search Engine Optimization reports give you information about how people are reaching your site through Google’s search results. There are three types of SEO reports- Queries Reports, Landing Pages Reports, and Geographical Summaries reports.

• Queries reports show which Google searches resulted in the most impressions for your website. You can also see how many of those impressions resulted in clicks, which will tell you your organic search click-through rate.
  
  
• Landing Pages reports show which pages of your site are showing up in Google’s search results. This helps you to identify which webpages are ranked well and which pages need a little more work.
  
  
• Geographical Summaries reports provide general SEO metrics from different countries. This is helpful to see if your SEO traffic is coming from relevant locations.

Keep in mind that these reports only include information about SEO so they won’t tell you anything about your paid advertising campaigns, social media, or information from other search engines like Yahoo and Bing. To generate your SEO traffic reports, go to Acquisition > Search Engine Optimization > Queries and select an appropriate date range. It’s important to note that these reports can only pull data from the past 90 days. Then click the Landing pages report or the Geographical report links.

Google AdWords Traffic Reports

If you’re not advertising in Google AdWords, then you don’t need this report.

For everyone else, I recommend checking your Google AdWords Traffic reports in addition to the reports provided within AdWords. That’s because the reports in Analytics have extra information that provide insight into your visitors’ behavior on your website after clicking on your ads.

The default setting in Google Analytics for your AdWords report shows both your ad clicks and your bounce rate (how often people leave your site after viewing just one page). This information can be used to evaluate different ad copy to see which ads are driving more engaged visitors.

To generate an AdWords Traffic report, go to Acquisition > AdWords > Campaigns and select the appropriate date range.

Social Media Reports

Social Media offers a great opportunity to generate traffic to your website and therefore leads for your business. However, keeping up a strong social media campaign can be very time consuming. Thankfully, Google Analytics provides several reports that can help you track and optimize your social media marketing efforts.

You can see how visitors from all social channels interact with your website, or you can focus on trends and statistics from specific channels such as Facebook or Twitter. These reports will also show you conversions from social media.

To generate the Network Referrals social media report, go to Acquisition > Social > Network Referrals. This report will quickly show you which social networks are bringing people to your site. You can also see which of your pages are being shared most often on social media sites.

Conclusion

Setting up Google Analytics for your business’s website is an important step forward. However, it’s only half the battle. By running the reports listed above, you’ll get valuable insight into what’s working on your website and what needs improvement.

SEO Predictions for 2017

As we already into the new year, business owners and digital marketers might be wondering if search engine optimization is officially a thing of the past.

The short answer: "No."

And the slightly longer answer: "Heck no!"

Sure, certain SEO practices are obsolete thanks to Google's ever-changing search algorithms. In many ways, though, this is a good thing. Stuffing blogs and websites with keywords, links and junk content never truly helped customers or merchants. On the other hand, today's best SEO practices - and the SEO practices of tomorrow - are based on making search results and websites more relevant to people's needs. The end result is a win for everyone.

Not only is SEO not dying, but this crucial form of online marketing is as alive and well as ever. Social media marketing might seem easier and more accessible, but there's far too much opportunity through search engine marketing to turn your back on SEO.

Don't buy into the hype that SEO has run its course. Instead, keep on reading and learn about SEO trends that are likely to pay off big-time in 2017.

 

Accelerated Mobile Pages

Have you seen that carousel of content that appears above the organic results? These are Accelerated Mobile Pages, also known as AMP. Webpages coded with AMP HTML tags load in mobile Web browsers with simplified formatting, making pages load up to eight times faster than normal.

Simplifying these pages doesn't make them static, though; AMP pages can still be coded with audio, video, social buttons and more. Between the high search engine results page placements, the fast load times and the rich content possibilities, webpages coded with AMP tags can be great for engaging Web users.

However, the AMP concept is still being worked out. Currently, webpages displayed with AMP coding can't display Web forms, rendering them useless for generating leads or email signups. Also, this technology is only really relevant to webpages with long-form articles and blog posts. AMP pages shared on social media might not help your domain authority, either.

That said, Google's message is clear: User experience comes first. Look for Google to expand on AMP coding and similar technologies in 2017.

Social Signals and SEO

Google officials have repeatedly stated that likes, shares and other social media signals don't directly impact search engine rankings - but will they?

That's a big question heading into 2017, with social media marketing continuing to rise in importance. History indicates that Google will eventually find ways to work social signals into its algorithms. Think about it - Google is obsessed with using the most relevant digital cues to determine which websites are the most relevant and credible. How people interact with websites and content on social media is an important measure of trust and value.

Regardless of what Google officials say, it's hard to ignore the popularity of Facebook. Chances are your target prospects are using Facebook regularly so social media is certainly an opportunity to reach them. Plus, researchers have found clear correlations between social media signals and SERP rankings.

The bottom line is that social media is here to stay, and favorable social signals already correlate with stronger SEO. This symbiotic relationship will only grow stronger through the upcoming year and beyond.

Mobile SEO

What makes people more excited nowadays - a new laptop computer or a latest-generation smartphone? The answer illustrates why the shift from desktop to mobile SEO is so critical in digital marketing.

Most people you see on the street are carrying powerful, portable computers in their pockets, and these folks surf the Web from anywhere and everywhere. People who use search engines via their smartphones have completely different behaviors than those who are seated at their desktops. SEO practices changed to accommodate those new behaviors.

Going into 2017, marketers should continue investing in mobile SEO. Especially with Google's announcement that they will soon be using a "mobile-first" index.

That means making sure your website resolves properly when viewed through the Android, Apple and Windows mobile operating systems. It means creating hyper-local content that might rank well in searches from people who are walking, dining, shopping or working nearby. It means using long-tailed, conversational keywords that people are likely to speak into their phones.

Smartphones aren't going anywhere, and neither is mobile SEO. This must be a top priority if you hope to be competitive in SEO.

Machine Learning

What if Google's algorithm could evaluate how people react with search rankings in real-time and adjust itself accordingly? That's the ultimate, big-picture implication of machine learning, a technology in which machines effectively learn based on a wide range of signals and parameters.

Google doesn't use machine learning in its live algorithm, and officials within the company say they don't plan on starting. However, Google definitely uses machine learning to test out changes to its algorithms. That's a big deal considering that Google has voiced concerns about transferring such responsibilities from human programmers to computers.

Going into 2017, SEO experts need to always be thinking about raising the quality of their websites - not for Google's algorithm, but for actual human visitors. Machine learning has significantly enhanced Google's abilities to craft an algorithm that scores sites from a more human perspective. Finding new ways to engage your visitors is the best way to prepare for algorithm changes inspired by machine learning.

Conclusion

SEO isn't dead. However, finding SEO success in 2017 will require a different approach than the blunt-force tactics of yesteryear.

The name of the game in 2017 is to make your approach to SEO as human as possible. Do that, and good things will happen. It's the start of a new era in search engine optimization.

How Google AdWords Is Like Santa Claus

In a lot of ways Google AdWords is like Santa Claus...

 

And since today is Christmas, it's only fitting that we take a closer look at the similarities.

 

 

To children, Santa represents presents.  On Christmas he travels around the world, shimmies down chimneys, and brings gifts for all the good little boys and girls.

 

To businesses, Google AdWords can also represent presents, but not in the form of a traditional wrapped gift.  AdWords can travel the world and instead of bringing toys, it brings gifts to the "good" businesses in the form of shiny new customers.

 

If you've ever woken up after running a successful AdWords campaign and found new customers, then you know that feels just like it did as a kid waking up to find all those gifts under the Christmas tree. :)

 

But as the story goes, Santa doesn't bring presents to everyone.  For the naughty boys and girls, he just leaves a dirty lump of coal...

Does AdWords Think You're Naughty Or Nice?

From the popular holiday song, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, we know that Santa makes a list and checks it twice in order to find out "Who's naughty or nice."

 

Well, AdWords uses a similar system...

 

It's call the AdWords Quality Score.  And if your campaigns are naughty (aka have a low Quality Score), then you're more likely to find a lump of coal than new customers each morning when you check your account performance.

 

To find your Quality Scores and see if AdWords thinks your campaigns are naughty or nice, you need to click on the Keywords tab within your account. Then in the Status column click the white speech bubble icon to the right of any keyword to view the Quality Score.

 

AdWords will give you a score from 1-10 where 1-5 essentially means you're naughty and 6-10 means you're nice.  If you find some naughty keywords in your campaign, then don't worry.  There's still a chance you can turn them around...

 

How to Make a Naughty Keyword Nice

There are many factors that AdWords uses to calculate your Quality Score, but they all boil down into 3 core areas:

1. Click-Through Rate - This is by far the most important factor and it requires you to write compelling ads with strong offers.  Remember, Google only makes money when people click on the ads so it's in everyone's best interest to show the ads that get the highest click-through rate.
   
   
2. Ad Relevance - To make your ads more relevant make sure to incorporate your target keywords into the ad copy.
   
   
3. Landing Page Experience - After prospects click on your ads, then make sure they can easily find what you promised in your ad.  And with more and more people turning to tablets and mobile devices, your website needs to function properly on all devices.

When you're reviewing your Quality Scores, AdWords will highlight which of those 3 areas need the most work.  Focus on making incremental improvements to turn those pesky, naughty keywords around.

 

Local SEO Case Study: The Power of Press Releases

Until July 2013, press releases were a great tactic for building high quality links to your website.

And the process was simple.  Write a press release that includes links to your website, pay a press release distribution service like PRWeb, and then watch your search engine rankings improve as more and more legitimate websites posted the press release with links to your site.

Of course, that all changed in July 2013 when Google announced the death of press releases for search engine optimization (SEO).

But was it really the end of press releases as an SEO tactic?  No, and in this case study I'll prove there is still a lot of power in press releases (if you know how to use them correctly).

What Changed in July 2013?

In July 2013, Google announced they would now consider links in press releases as "paid links" and encouraged distribution services to use "nofollow" links in the releases.  This change makes sense since businesses were paying press release distribution sites in order to get high quality links to their websites.

In case you're not aware, Google does not count paid links or "no follow" links in their ranking algorithm.  Those types of links are ignored by the algorithm.  That means all of the links you get from the press release would not directly improve your search engine rankings.

Hence, the resounding cry that press releases were dead for SEO.

While it's true the links do not directly improve your rankings, there is another powerful SEO benefit of press releases.

The Key Benefit is Citations

A citation is a mention of your NAP (business Name, Address, and Phone number) on another website.  For example, if your business is listed in Yelp, then your profile on Yelp is a citation because it lists your NAP.

When drafting a press release, if you include your business NAP in the byline of the release, then when your release is published across the internet, each published page is a new citation for your business. You can see an example below: 

That means you could issue one press releases and within a day or two have dozens or even hundreds of new citations.

That sounds great, but why are citations important?

Citations Are Critical For Local Rankings

One of the biggest factors in ranking high in the local "map" results is the quantity and quality of your citations.  Sure, you can create accounts on business directories and build up a nice foundation of citations, but so can your competitors.

To gain a competitive advantage, you can use press releases to rank higher in the local results.  To prove this works, let's look at a case study...

How Our Client Jumped from #20 to #2

One of our dentist clients was stuck around #20 in the local "map" results.

We had already completed our website tune-up and set up all the relevant business directories, but the rankings would not improve beyond #20 for his top priority keywords, "Savannah dentist," "dentist Savannah," and "dentist in Savannah."  At this point we knew we had to take it to the next level to overtake the competitors ranking on the first page of Google.

Here's what we did...

Over a 4-month period, we issued 4 press releases for our client.  Of course, in the press release we included links to our client's website, but as you know those links were "nofollow" so they did not directly help for SEO.  The power was in the citations, or the mentions of our client's business name, address, and phone number.

As more and more websites published the press releases, our client began to jump up in the Google local rankings.  Eventually he was #2 on the first page of Google in the local results for his primary keywords.

As you can see from the screenshots above, the citations helped our client rank in the local "map" results on the first page of Google.  When Google determines the searcher is looking for a local business, then often Google displays a map with local businesses listed below.

To rank high in these local search results, you must have citations, and that's one of the reasons you should consider using press releases as part of your Local SEO strategy.

[Local SEO Tip] Spoonfeed Google Your Business Info

Local SEO Tip: How to Spoonfeed Google

Your Correct Business Information 

The simple days of static Google Places business pages are long gone.  They have been replaced by dynamic, social, and ever changing Google+ Local business pages.  Not only did Google overhaul the look and feel of their business pages, but they also changed the administrator dashboard and the algorithm that ranks all the pages.  In other words, just about everything has changed since the original Local SEO Formula!

With that said, the fundamentals have remained the same.  You must have accurate, consistent data across the internet if you want to rank high in the local results.

 

Why is Accurate & Consistent Data Important?

One of the most important ranking factors in local SEO is accurate and consistent data.  More specifically, I’m talking about business information like your name, address, and phone number.  This is often referred to as your NAP for short (Name, Address, Phone).

If you think about this from Google’s perspective, then it makes perfect sense. Google’s mission is to provide the best possible results for any given search.  In the case of local results, that means showing searchers reliable local business information.  If Google’s results were full of inaccurate business names, addresses, and phone numbers, then that’s a big problem.  Searchers would eventually lose faith in Google and turn to Yahoo, Bing, or another business directory like Yelp.  Ultimately, that would mean lost revenue for Google.

To mitigate that risk, Google scours the internet to confirm business information is accurate.  If they find your business name, address, and phone listed consistently across many websites, then there’s a pretty good chance that info is correct.  On the other hand, if Google finds inconsistent information, then they are less likely to display your business high in the results.

Makes sense right?

How to Spoonfeed Your Data to Google

Up until recently Google was on their own to find your accurate business name, address, and phone number on your website.  There are some obvious places to look like your contact page, but in some cases (like businesses with multiple offices) it’s not always easy for Google to determine the most authoritative Name, Address and Phone number for your business.

Plus, who wants to leave it up to a 3rd party? Shouldn’t the business provide this information first hand?

Well you’ll be happy to know you can do just that… Now you can spoonfeed Google this information.

Introducing Schema.org.  Before you click that link and get lost in a world of tech jargon, I’ll give you another handy tool called the Schema Creator.  Click that link and simply complete the form to generate the code your webmaster should add to your website.  It’s basically just HTML code that tells Google exactly what you want to use for your name and address.  Unfortunately that tool doesn’t include your phone number so you need to do a little hacking.

Feel free to copy our code below and then replace the information with your own.  Or ask your webmaster to view the source code on our Contact Page and she’ll be able to easily copy the code.

<div itemscope itemtype=”http://schema.org/Organization”> 
<a itemprop=”url” href=”http://www.mainstreetroi.com”> 
<div itemprop=”name”>Main Street ROI</div> </a> 
<div itemprop=”address” itemscope itemtype=”http://schema.org/PostalAddress”> 
<span itemprop=”streetAddress”>116 West 23rd Street, Suite #500</span> 
<span itemprop=”addressLocality”>New York</span>, 
<span itemprop=”addressRegion”>NY</span> <span itemprop=”postalCode”>10011</span> 
Phone: <span itemprop=”telephone”>(646) 470-3753</span> 
<span itemprop=”addressCountry”>United States</span></div>

Once the code is added to your website, then you’ll want to verify it’s set up properly using Google’s Data Verification Tool.  Simply copy/paste your website into that tool and Google will tell you if they have the correct information or if there are any errors.

9 Ways to Measure Digital Marketing Success

A positive return on investment is the goal of every digital marketing campaign.

 
However, while the endgame of digital marketing is to increase profits, not every campaign directly leads to dollars and cents. Some campaigns raise awareness of your brand, while others might bring visitors to your blog – both help increase profits in the long run, but short-term results can’t be quantified with monetary values.
 
This begs an important question – how do you know whether your digital marketing efforts are successful?
 
Here we’ll review nine ways to measure the success of your digital marketing campaigns. And to add further clarity to the question above, we’ve split these methods into two categories: conversions and website behavior.

 

     

Conversions

Conversions occur when visitors or customers take specific actions as a result of your digital marketing. Unlike website behavior, conversions are more directly linked to sales and revenues. Since your ultimate goal is increasing profits, making sure your digital marketing converts is absolutely essential.
 
Here are five types of conversions that can indicate successful campaigns:
 

#1. Online sales

Online sales from your website is perhaps the simplest conversion for gauging success. Tracking your online sales is easy if you use Google Analytics or another Web analytics platform.
 
After installing a small snippet of code on your website, you’ll be able to see which of your campaigns are driving the most online sales. This is the most important conversion for strictly e-commerce business owners.
 

#2: Online-to-store sales

Not everyone who finds your business online will buy from your website. Local customers are likely to visit your store and make in-person purchases. How do you measure these conversions?
 
Don’t worry, there are ways to gauge online-to-store sales.
 
For example, you can collect information from prospective customers on your website, such as email addresses, that can later be compared with data collected at the cash register.  Or, you can offer a special discount code on your website so when customers redeem the discount you’ll be able to easily match it back to the marketing campaign.
 
Or, you can be really low tech and just ask customers whether they found your business online. Clarify how they found you – such as via a PPC ad, Facebook or a Google search — and record their answers in a spreadsheet. Then you can see which campaigns drive more in-store conversions.
 

#3: Leads from Web forms

Most websites have forms that customers can use to request services, schedule appointments or get more information. If you’re using Google Analytics, you’ll be able to see which campaigns result in the most use of your various Web forms.
 
Any visitor who completes a Web form to request a quote could later convert into a customer. Therefore, marketing campaign success can be measured by the number of leads (Web form submissions) generated.
 

#4: Leads and sales from phone calls

Tracking leads and sales from phone calls is also important for businesses that drive sales via the phone.
 
To track calls, you’ll need to set up dynamic number insertion (DNI), which shows visitors different phone numbers depending on how they arrived at your website. You can then view your phone logs to see which campaigns result in the most calls.
 

#5: Leads from live chats

Does your website offer live chat for visitors? If not, then you might consider adding it as another way to engage your visitors.
 
Once you have chat installed on your website, then you need to track which marketing campaigns are driving the most chats.  This can be done using the built in tracking in your chat program or by integrating Google Analytics into your chat tool.  In both cases, you’ll be able to see which campaigns are driving more leads for your business via live chat.
 
Now that we’ve covered 5 ways to measure conversions from digital marketing, it’s time to move on to tracking how visitors behave on your website.  Just because a visitor doesn’t convert right away, doesn’t mean she’s never going to.  For that reason, it’s not enough to only look at conversions.  We must also review website behavior metrics to measure digital marketing success…
 

Website Behavior

Here are four ways to determine digital marketing success based on website behavior:
 

#1: Website visits

This one is simple – which of your digital marketing campaigns are putting the most eyes on your website? Although this is a rather shallow metric compared to e-commerce and Web form conversions, it’s still important to measure visits per marketing channel.
 
This is especially helpful when you view the traffic trends over time.  For example, you’ll want to measure traffic from Organic Search (SEO traffic) over time so you know if your SEO efforts are working. 
 
Plus, you’ll be able to spot potential problems early on if you see a sudden drop in SEO traffic.
 

#2: Page Views per visit

Website visits are important, but they don’t really indicate whether people are engaged by your business. What if nobody who visits your sites clicks around to your various products and pages?
 
Fortunately, Google Analytics can show you how visitors click through your site while also providing average numbers of page views per visit.
 
Pay close attention to which webpages your customers are visiting most. You might find that online customers are more attracted to certain aspects of your business or specific products in your inventory. If you’re promoting your blog, you can also get ideas about the topics your visitors find most interesting.
 

#3: Time spent on the website

How much time are people spending on your blog or website, and which of your digital marketing campaigns is bringing in the most engaged visitors?
 
Analytics can track this, too. Again, time spent on your website doesn’t directly lead to sales, but folks who spend more time browsing are more likely to later buy.
 

#4: Bounce rates

In the world of digital marketing, bouncing is bad for several reason.
 
If any of your campaigns have high bounce rates – meaning people hit their “back” buttons as soon as they land on your website – then there’s probably a serious disconnect between your marketing strategy and your landing page. Just as bad, though, Google might interpret websites with high bounce rates as low-quality or spam, resulting in an SEO penalty.
 
Use Google Analytics to measure your bounce rates over time to spot trends in each of your marketing campaigns.
 

Conclusion

Knowing how to measure the success of your digital marketing campaigns will save you a lot of stress down the road. You won’t need to guess whether you’re wasting your time with various campaigns. You can adjust or turn off campaigns that aren’t working, or you can sharpen campaigns to really hone in on your goals.
 
And one more thing – always know how you’ll measure a campaign’s success before you launch it. Yes, this requires a more carefully constructed game plan for your marketing efforts, but you should never launch a digital marketing campaign that doesn’t have a specific goal.
 
Plan ahead, aim at your target, and you’re more likely to get good news when measuring the success of campaigns.