Marketing Google

So you want to win in local search this year? Yep, so do millions of small- and medium-sized businesses. And so do all those huge national chains with thousands of locations scattered across the country. Competition in local search is incredibly fierce.Fortunately, about three dozen of the world’s smartest local SEOs have come together again to share their wisdom in the 2017 Local Search Rankings Survey, which was published earlier this week. It’s an in-depth look at what the experts believe is driving local SEO wins across all kinds of different industries — a must-read for everyone who cares about local search.On this week’s episode of Marketing Land Live, we take a high-level look at the survey with its organizer, Darren Shaw. We talk about the changing role of links and citations, plus the increased importance of reviews to local SEO success. We also discuss the different ranking factors in play between the “local packs” and regular, local organic search results, as well as the ch…

Keywords are one of the most critical and important parts of SEO. We have already discussed this in detail here.The basic foundation of SEO is keyword research.Afterwards, other factors like on-page optimization, quality of content, a good site UI, and some other factors come into the picture.Many companies invest thousands of dollars to pay for keyword research to get such targeted content.But you don’t need to do that. Just follow this guide…The keywords you choose to focus on for your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts are critical to the success of your website’s rank.Choosing the right keywords isn’t always easy or intuitive and you need a lot of data to know whether a given keyword will work for you.If you are completely new to keyword research tools and the process of keyword research, here are some guides from the past which will help you understand the basics:Importance of Keywords in SEOKeyword Research for Beginner’s Using the Google Keyword Planner ToolSo now you kno…

Super Deluxe has used its own tech to make Facebook Live streams, like “Punch-A-Nazi!,” more interactive for live viewers. Posting comments to melt a block of ice should not epitomize interactive Facebook Live programming, even if it seems apt. Instead, the proper paragon may involve punching a Nazi.In February, Turner’s digital entertainment arm, Super Deluxe, produced a Facebook Live broadcast that opened with an arcade-style image of Adolf Hitler and asked viewers, “Is it okay to punch a Nazi?” Then it gave them the option to punch a Nazi. And for four hours on a weekday evening, hundreds of people did, punching at the air with their phones and having the action mimicked in the live stream.Super Deluxe’s “Punch-A-Nazi!” broadcast typifies how the comedic publisher appears to have cracked the code on getting people to tune into a Facebook Live broadcast while the broadcast is actually live. With or without Nazi-punching. Super Deluxe’s recipe combines hours-long broadcasts, a program…

Affiliate marketing is built on fostering relationships between brands and publishers — and providing something of value to the consumer such as a coupon, a special offer, cash back or product advice. The channel affords advertisers some of the best opportunities to reach consumers in a unique environment, but understanding the boundaries within which affiliate marketing operates is critical.With evolving laws and policies from the Federal Trade Commission, networks need to ensure that their programs are aligned with federal requirements.To provide more insight into how affiliate marketing is monitored by the FTC and ways that marketers can keep their programs compliant, I interviewed my colleague, Jennifer Moor, who leads Rakuten Affiliate Network’s Brand Quality and Regulatory Compliance service.Before we start, Moor wants to remind readers that she is not an attorney, and thus this interview should not be considered legal advice. She recommends consulting your own legal counsel to …

While most consumer survey data argue that poor mobile site experiences mean lost business, Vistaprint Digital discovered something different. The company’s recent online consumer survey found that a bad mobile site experience was less of an issue than missing or incorrect name-address-phone (NAP) data.Vistaprint Digital surveyed 1,818 US adults in March of this year. The company asked consumers a range of basic questions specifically about small business website experiences and expectations.Among factors that left a bad impression, “outdated contact information” and “no address, directions or business hours” were the top responses. Missing product information was next, followed by “unprofessional design.” Bad mobile experience was next-to-last on the list.Leave a bad impression of small business websitesIt’s extremely surprising that fewer than 20 percent of respondents said a “bad mobile experience” would leave them with a negative impression. This seems to directly contradict every…

Sprinklr had “a coming-out party” this week.That’s the characterization by founder and CEO Ragy Thomas. He told me that the company, known for its social media management platform, is announcing this week at its Digital Transformation Summit in Nashville its emergence as a customer experience management platform.Not to toot my own horn more than is allowed by law, but a week ago I basically predicted this kind of emergence.I pointed to the recent buying spree by social media management platform Hootsuite — preceded by Sprinklr’s bigger one from 2014 to 2016 — and ventured that these shopping trips might just be a warmup for an evolution of social media management platforms into “the next big generation of relationship platforms.”This would be, I wrote, similar to how email tools later evolved into marketing automation clouds.Thomas told me that this predicted evolution was “spot on,” except that there’s a new model going beyond marketing automation.That emergence is represented by a v…

Here’s our recap of what happened in online marketing today, as reported on Marketing Land and other places across the web.From Marketing Land:The complete guide to optimizing content for SEO (with checklist)
Apr 13, 2017 by Nate Dame
Google has stated that “content” is among its top three ranking factors, but what makes content “good” from an SEO perspective? Columnist Nate Dame outlines what makes high-quality SEO content.How to implement an optimization framework for long-term attribution success
Apr 13, 2017 by Alison Lohse
Columnist Alison Lohse offers a framework around which to structure your attribution program and stay aligned to organizational goals by strategically balancing efficiency, scale and testing.What the GDPR means for your business
Apr 13, 2017 by Josh Manion
With the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) clock winding down, companies are scrambling to decipher what it means for their business and how to become compliant. Columnist Josh Manion explains.4 mist…