Benchmark Magazine - Issue 6 - Autumn 2019 by ClickConsultLtd

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CONTENT MARKETING

Autumn 2019

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SOCIAL MEDIA

SEO & PPC 1

LETâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BEGIN...

A WORD FROM THE CEO Hello and welcome back to Benchmark Search Magazine. Those with a keen eye will notice that this is our largest edition to date with an extra 20 pages of content to help you understand the ever changing digital and search marketing landscape. Indeed extra content seems to be the focus in this issue. We’ve taken on the idea that ‘content is king’ and look at how today’s modern marketer can use words, images, audio and video to bring their performance to life and help them blossom online. We know that strategy is vital if you want to be a success and get ahead of the competition and, as such, the small changes that you make to the information that you produce and share can be the difference between growth and recession. We hope that you enjoy this issue and the features within and as always, thanks for reading. Do make sure you keep a look out for Issue Seven which will be with you in December, featuring the very best from the fifth annual Benchmark Search and Digital Conference, insightful interviews and of course, actionable advice to help you get the most from your website, content and marketing. Until next time…

Matt Bullas, CEO Contributors CONTENT John Warner Scott Rumsey Adam McKinley Chloie Brandrick Jack Adamson Sophie-Leigh Edwards Sarah Macklin Emily Yale

DESIGN Chloe Ridgway

Published By Click Consult Ltd Address: Willow House Oaklands Office Park Hooton Cheshire, CH66 7NZ Phone: 0845 322 5213 Website: www.click.co.uk

VLOG Dan Sarath This magazine represents progressive journalism and is a resource for all those in the industry. Our team of experts work hard to produce the content contained within, but we’d like to hear from you also. If you would like to feature in the next issue of the magazine, feel free to drop an email to: clickmarketing@click.co.uk

CONTENTS

CONTENTS 4 INDUSTRY NEWS A round up of everything search marketing, bringing you the most important updates of the last few months

THIS QUARTER IN SOCIAL

ON.CLICK VLOG

Adam McKinley covers all of the latest social media developments and stories of the last 12 weeks

Dan Sarath discusses how to make your content PR friendly

CREATING THE PERFECT ONLINE SHOPPING PERSONA Senior Content Marketing Executive, Scott Rumsey, explores some of the tactics brands can use to propel their business through PPC

CONTENT MARKETING AND MILLENIALS Before creating a content marketing plan you should consider what the current generation want to know and what they want from you.

HOW BREXIT HAS INSPIRED MARKETING

INFLUENCERS

Jack Adamson shares some good examples of how Brexit has been used for marketing campaigns

101 – THE RISE AND POWER OF SOCIAL

There are many types of social influencers; we look at some of them and how they could help your business

CAMPAIGNS

34 SEO BASICS – SEARCHING WITH THE USER IN MIND Knowing your audience is one of the first things that businesses have to do if they are to become successful online

38 INFOGRAPHIC 10 Steps to PR Glory

CONTENTS

40 CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY – THE NEW RULES Chloie Brandrick looks at the current state of play and how savvy content marketing can still drive high quality traffic to your website

47 THE BIG INTERVIEW John Warner speaks to Richard Wallis one of the most recognisable names in the world of search marketing

50 KEYWORD PERFORMANCE We find out how to create a keyword performance Data Studio report with adjustable date range and filter

58 ON.CLICK PODCAST Recently we spoke to SEO expert and multiple Benchmark Conference speaker, Lukasz Zelezny, about the importance of SEO

59 LOCAL SEARCH AND LOCAL SERVICE ADS – TIME TO PREPARE? Local search is one of the fastest growing areas of digital marketing; we look at how you should prepare

64 WHY USE GOOGLE SMART DISPLAY ADS? Emily Yale, a member of our Paid Media (PPC) Team, recently attended a ‘Display Masters Workshop’ run by Google themselves - here are the tips she picked up

68 WHY YOUR BUSINESS WEBSITE NEEDS A BLOG Here are the reasons your company website should have a blog, and also the kind of content you should be including

72 FROM OUR EXPERTS Three things to do when people are clicking on your Google Ads, but not converting

INDUSTRY NEWS

Keeping up to date with everything that the search marketing world throws up can be difficult, but as you know by now, here at Click Consult we are dedicated to keeping you informed and making the constant updates easily digestible. With that in mind let’s look at what the industry is talking about in this quarter in search…

Bing is asking for feedback on its Webmaster Guidelines Frédéric Dubut, web ranking and quality project manager for Bing, is embarking on a journey to refresh the company’s webmaster guidelines. “SEO friends! I’m kicking off an effort to refresh our @ Bing webmaster guidelines, both the spirit and the letter. Any shady tactics you think are not penalised enough? Any feedback on the document itself?” Dubut tweeted on July 30.

Dubut’s tweet specifically asks for marketers and publishers to call out the “shady tactics” that they think should be more strictly penalised. If Bing receives a strong response regarding a specific topic, it could be included in the updated guidelines and reflected in its ranking algorithm. Dubut also asked for feedback on the Bing Webmaster Guideline document itself. This is an opportunity for SEOs to take part in shaping the rules that govern Bing’s crawling, indexing and ranking by asking the company to publicly address areas of concern and disseminate up-todate best practices.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Google extends same-meaning close variants to phrase match When same-meaning close variants rolled out to exact match keywords last year, the joke was that phrase match was more exact than exact match. As expected, Google is further loosening the reins on close variants, this time extending same-meaning close variants to phrase match and broad match modifier. With the changes, Google is also changing its keyword selection preferences to prevent keywords from competing against each other. According to Search Engine Land:

In 2014, Google began requiring all campaigns to use close variants, which, at that time, included “plurals, misspellings and other variations of exact match and phrase match keywords (clothing instead of clothes, for example). That was the beginning of the end of true “exact match.” With 2017 came the addition of word order and function words to close variants for exact match. Exact match keywords could trigger queries with different word order and function words. Finally, autumn, Google added same-meaning words, including implied words and paraphrases, to exact match close variants. Google matches a query to an exact match keyword if it determines the query has the same intent as the keyword. Google’s reasoning for this stream of changes is that queries evolve and machine learning has advanced to the point where it can fill in those gaps for advertisers. Google says 15% of its daily searches are new — and advertisers will miss out on these new queries if matching is too tightly controlled. Its machine learning systems, the company says, can infer intent and spare advertisers from creating exhaustive keyword lists in order to get their ads to trigger on relevant queries.

Google swaps ‘voice search’ on Android for Google Assistant The search giant is swapping out the familiar blue and red mic in favour of its Assistant on the home screen of Android handsets. The news was first reported by 9to5google. Writing on Search Engine Land, Greg Sterling said: “After seeing the report, I turned on my Pixel XL this morning and there it was. We’ve asked Google for more context but it’s relatively clear that the company is seeking to replace basic speech-to-text voice recognition with the greater capabilities of the Assistant.” Assistant part of Google’s new AI-first approach. At Google’s developer conference in 2017, CEO Sundar Pichai declared the company was shifting its orientation from “mobile-first” to “AI-first.” The difference is the multiplatform emphasis and the expanding capabilities of the Assistant, which is more conversational, and potentially transactional, (e.g. Duplex) than ordinary search.

INDUSTRY NEWS

New features coming to Pixel 4 Google has given fans an early look at the technology behind two new features coming to Pixel 4 that make their phone more helpful and represents the next step in their vision for ambient computing. For the past five years, their Advanced Technology and Projects team (ATAP) has been working on Soli, a motion-sensing radar. The search giant has developed a miniature version located at the top of Pixel 4 that senses small motions around the phone, combining unique software algorithms with the advanced hardware sensor, so it can recognise gestures and detect when you’re nearby. Here’s what Google posted on their blog relating to the two new developments: Face unlock “Unlocking your phone should be easy, fast, and secure. Your device should be able to recognise you—and only you—without any fuss. Face unlock may be a familiar feature for smartphones, but we’re engineering it differently. “Other phones require you to lift the device all the way up, pose in a certain way, wait for it to unlock, and then swipe to get to the home-screen. Pixel 4 does all of that in a much more streamlined way. As you reach for Pixel 4, Soli proactively turns on the face unlock sensors, recognising that you may want to unlock your phone. If the face unlock sensors and algorithms recognise you, the phone will open as you pick it up, all in one motion. Better yet, face unlock works in almost any orientation— even if you’re holding it upside down—and you can use it for secure payments and app authentication too. Keeping your data safe with Pixel “Security and privacy are core principles for Pixel. Face unlock uses facial recognition technology that is processed on your device, so that image data never leaves your phone. The images used for face unlock are never saved or shared with other Google services. To protect your privacy and security, your face data is securely stored in Pixel’s Titan M security chip. Similarly, Soli sensor data is also processed on your phone, and it’s never saved or shared with other Google services.”

Twitter ad revenue up 21% in Q2 Twitter generated $727 million in ad revenue during the second quarter of 2019, a 21% increase year-over-year. The company reports total ad engagements were up 20% year-over-year. The platform’s ad engagement growth rate has been in decline since this time last year when it saw an 81% lift in ad engagement growth. Twitter CFO Ned Segal said the lift in Twitter’s advertising revenue was driven by strength in US revenues, which rose 21% year-over-year to $455 million. “Focusing on our most important ad products and delivering high performing ads will help advertisers launch something new and connect with what’s happening on Twitter,” said Segal. Twitter didn’t specify which products it was referring to, but in April 2018, Twitter reported video ads accounted for more than half of its quarterly revenue.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Facebook’s search ad test is extending to more accounts Facebook has been testing ads in its search results for more than six months, but only with a select few advertisers. Now that test is finally expanding. In December, Facebook gave a small group of automotive and retail advertisers the ability to run ads in the platform’s primary search results and Marketplace search results. At the time, a Facebook Product Manager Zpheb Hajiyani said it was a small test and that the company would be evaluating if the ads were beneficial before expanding the placement option. Several marketers started noticing the search placement option showing up in their accounts this week. When asked by Marketing Land if the Search ads were getting a broader roll-out to more advertisers, Facebook Product Manager Jason Rudin echoed what the company said about the ads when it began testing them at the end of last year: “We continue to test placing ads in Facebook search results and are evaluating whether these ads are beneficial for people and businesses before deciding whether to roll them out more broadly.” Facebook has been testing the option to place ads in News Feed and Marketplace search results since December.

Amazon’s Prime Day fuels other retailers’ online sales According to new data from Adobe Analytics, large retailers have already seen a big jump — a 64% increase — in their US eCommerce sales thanks to Prime Day on Monday, July 15, when compared with an average Monday. Niche retailers, which Adobe classifies as those that bring in less than $5 million in annual sales, saw a 30% increase in online sales on Monday.

INDUSTRY NEWS

GMB glitch?

Google Shopping to incorporate UGC

A number of SEOs have reported having Google My Business (GMB) listings suspended after adding a short name to their profile, according to Search Engine Journal. Short names were introduced in April as a way of allowing businesses to create custom URLs for their GMB listings. Now it has become apparent that adding short names is causing legitimate business listings to get suspended and removed from SERPs:

Google Shopping is bringing customer photos to the product reviews sections of advertisers’ listings. Reviews are accessible from the “View more” option on mobile Shopping ads or by clicking on the star ratings in a listing. A Google spokesperson told Search Engine Land that customer photos are in the first stages of rolling out and that the feature is only available in the US for now.

Joe Youngblood @YoungbloodJoe

Hey @searchliaison people are getting suspended seemingly at random on GMB when they set a short name, is this another bug? 4 16:59 - 3 Jul 2019 Twitter Ads information and privacy See Joe Youngblood’s other Tweets

The program is not related to the new Google Shopping experience that is coming to the US, Google confirmed.

Further monetisation for YouTube stars YouTube is introducing new monetisation capabilities for creators, including Super Stickers and new tiered Channel Membership levels, as well as adding more merchandising partners. The announcements came during VidCon in Anaheim. YouTube Super Stickers, to be launched in the “coming months”, are animated graphics that feature a variety of designs across different languages and categories, including gaming, fashion, sports, music, and food. These build on the existing With Super Chats, during which fans can purchase messages that stick and are more likely to attract the attention of creators during live streams or Premieres. According to YouTube today, 90,000 channels have received Super Chats. It is the top source of revenue for 20,000 channels, with some streams making more than $400 per minute. Channel Memberships mean fans can support personalities by paying $4.99 per month for unique badges, new emojis, and special perks. YouTube is now introducing membership levels, a highly-requested feature. Creators can set up to five different price tiers for access to exclusive live streams, extra videos, or shoutouts. 10

Neal Mohan, YouTube’s Chief Product Officer, said: “We’ve been testing levels with creators like the Fine Brothers Entertainment on their REACT channel, who have seen their memberships revenue increase by 6 times after introducing two higher-priced tiers.”

INDUSTRY NEWS

Bing showing a streamlined recipe carousel in search results

Ad customisers are now available in all Microsoft Advertising accounts

Bing appears to be testing or introducing a new way to show rich results on desktop. For queries that may relate to recipes, Bing is displaying a carousel that features just three recipes initially. It allows users to filter results by total time and other nutrition criteria, but does not immediately show the option to compare recipes.

Ad customisers have been around in Google Ads for several years, and now advertisers can use them in their Microsoft Advertising campaigns, too. Microsoft Advertising (formerly Bing Ads) announced Wednesday that ad customisers are now available to all advertisers globally.

Google News rolling out card layout on desktop search results

According to Search Engine Land:

Google is now rolling out a new design for the Google News search results while the user is on desktop. The new design removes the news clusters of stories and brings you a single featured story in a card-like result. This is a big development, especially in terms of user experience (UX) and one weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be keeping an eye on as it rolls out fully.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;With ad customisers, you can dynamically tailor your ad copy based on attributes defined in a feed. Can deliver ads that are more relevant to the query without having to build out hundreds or thousands of variations. For example, you could show different offers to users based on their target location, promotion and more. Unlike Google, Microsoft Advertising allows you to apply ad customisers by audience, in addition to keyword, ad group, campaign or ad group. 11

INDUSTRY NEWS

Bullish forecast predicts 31 million Americans will ‘shop’ on their smart speakers in 2019

Facebook makes a play for creators with new tools and features for monetising content

There’s contradictory evidence surrounding consumer adoption of smart speakers for search and commerce. Multiple surveys indicate growth but other data suggest smart speakers have not emerged as a commerce platform. However, eMarketer’s new smart speaker shopping forecast paints a very bullish picture of the future of “voice shopping.”

At VidCon, Facebook announced a new slate of updates designed to provide creators with more opportunities to make money — and attract them to the platform, which is competing for creators’ attention with YouTube.

The firm says that 31 million Americans “will shop via a smart speaker this year, up 31.6% from 2018.” The company defines “shopping” expansively as “browsing, researching products and adding things to a shopping cart.” In two years, eMarketer says the number will climb to 38 million voice shoppers, as smart speaker owners do more product research on the virtual assistant devices. eMarketer also says that 21 million people in the U.S. will make a purchase this year using a smart speaker. The important caveat is that these will almost entirely be digital goods: movies and music.

Facebook shows users more details about data used to target ads Facebook is introducing new details to its “Why I’m seeing this ad” feature for users. It now shows the interests and categories used to target the ad and how the ad targeting information was collected — meaning, the website or Facebook Page a user may have visited. The tool links to options to hide ads from an advertiser or remove ad targeting data from their profiles. Facebook Ad Preferences (a page within User Settings) also has been updated to include two sections: One displaying the advertisers who have uploaded a list with the user’s information, and another that lists businesses that have uploaded and shared lists with the user’s information. “In this section, you’ll see the business that initially uploaded a list, along with any advertiser who used that list to serve you an ad within the last 90 days,” writes Facebook Product Manager Sreethu Thulasi. Ad Preference pages will list an advertiser’s phone number or email address as well.

“We’re committed to supporting our diverse community of creators on Facebook who share original, engaging content that people love and seek out,” Facebook announced Tuesday. “We’ve introduced a range of tools to help them engage their fans, manage their presence, and build a business.” The new updates aim to support creators’ efforts to turn a profit and grow audiences. Facebook will take a slice of creators’ revenue. The updates include: - New placement options and regions for video ads - Driving revenue with Brand Collaborations - Subscription-generated revenue options - Enhancements to the Creator Studio

INDUSTRY NEWS

Google announces changes to targeting settings

Microsoft Advertising says it’s keeping average position reporting

In a really interesting piece Marketing Land has reported that Google has announced changes to environment, position targeting settings in DV360 (Display & Video 360) which could have an effect on advertisers and service providers.

Microsoft Advertising (formerly Bing Ads) has added the position-based impression share metrics that Google introduced last fall. But, unlike Google, it said average position reporting will be sticking around.

In an effort to provide advertisers with more accurate and granular ad targeting options in Display & Video 360, Google will be launching a revamped experience for environment and position targeting settings on August 26, 2019. The changes will include updated targeting settings when creating or editing items individually or in bulk, updated dimensions in Reporting and a new version of Structured Data Files (SDF) to support the targeting overhaul. The main changes and updates are: Updated environment targeting will be focused on webor app-serving environments. The device- and positionrelated options will be relocated from environment targeting to a different targeting control panel. A new position targeting setting will group together all controls related to an ad’s position on a screen or in content in a new position targeting control. The positionrelated settings that will be moved to position targeting include Viewability, Video, and Audio targeting. Even with the new grouping, all of the targeting options will still function the same as before. Reporting changes to values in the Environment dimension will reflect the new environment targeting setting. All existing values will be re-routed to the new values, including historical data. For advertisers running scheduled reports, the reports will not change in terms of delivery and will also reflect the new values for the Environment dimension. However, scheduled reports will no longer include the new Position in Content dimension. A new version (V5) of Structured Data Files will launch in tandem with the August 26 update and will include fields to enable advertisers to retrieve and set the new targeting options. Once the new SDF goes live, older versions will not work if updating fields for environmentor position-related targeting options, but will still function as normal for all other fields.

Now called prominence metrics, rather than share of voice, in Microsoft Advertising, the set of six new stats are available at the campaign, ad group and keyword levels. • Top impression share • Top impression share lost to rank • Top impression share lost to budget • Absolute top impression share • Absolute top impression share lost to rank • Absolute top impression share lost to budget “One key metric that will remain in your reporting is average position, as we’ve heard continuous feedback that shows this information is still very valuable to you,” said Nahva Tecklu, a Microsoft Advertising program manager, in the blog post.

Google extends Chrome ad blocking to global markets tomorrow Google Chrome has a roughly 64% global browser market share and as such publishers must conform to Better Ads Standards or see ads on their sites blocked by Chrome. In February 2018, Google implemented ad filtering for “annoying” and intrusive ads in Chrome in North America and Europe. This had been pre-announced in 2017 and was intended to compel publishers to adopt advertising standards established by the Coalition for Better Ads. Chrome has 64% of global browser market. The industry group was created in response to the rise of consumer ad-blocking. Now Chrome’s bad-ads filtering is going global, with a rollout to markets beyond North America and Europe on July 8. The vast majority of North American and European publisher sites pass the Better Ad Standards test, so the impact on users and publisher ad revenues has been minimal. That’s less certain in other markets, including Asia where consumer ad blocking is currently highest in the world.

THIS QUARTER IN SOCIAL

THIS QUARTER IN SOCIAL - ADAM MCKINLEY SENIOR CAMPAIGNS AND SOCIAL EXECUTIVE

Twitter update makes following back easier Twitter continues to update its user experience, wanting people to grow their user base and boost engagement throughout the social channel. One way they have tackled this is to introduce a new ‘follow’ card appearing right in the notification feed, when you see people have interacted with your content. Making it easier for users to follow back pages, as opposed to clicking through to their page and following from there has reportedly already been successful with profile growth rising. Pretty handy right? Give it a go…

Instagram removes its “likes” numbers Possibly the biggest thing to come out of social media for July was Instagram’s decision to remove post like counts, starting with six countries – Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan and New Zealand. The main focus of this was to take away the “vanity” element of post likes, getting people to focus more on people expressing themselves. It is currently at a testing stage but expect to see this rolled out to all countries as soon as feedback has been given.

Pinterest’s new video features Being a platform with a main focus of inspiring others through the likes of tutorials and how-to-videos in a variety of specialities, it has introduced a variety of new features to help businesses and creators reach their audiences easier and effectively. With this in mind, they have introduced an improved video uploader, a new video tab, new lifetime video analytics and the Pin Scheduler tool. What does this mean for creators? Well, business profiles can now feature all their videos in one place for people to discover. It also means accounts can now upload videos directly to the platform to engage with audiences and access new metrics. That’s not all, you can now schedule video content in advance without the need for a third-party tool.

THIS QUARTER IN SOCIAL

Instagram using AI to crack down on offensive comments Instagram has announced a new AI feature which is cutting down on bullying through the app. This new feature will automatically flag offensive comments and for those who are commenting, it will ask them if they intended to post the comment and gives an opportunity to reconsider. That’s not all though, it is now a possibility to “shadow ban” individual users, those who are commenting in an offensive or spammy way for example. The new feature will hide the public comments from everyone but their author, so they will never know that you have banned them, as they stay visible to the author. This is a big step in the right direction to cut down on social media bullying.

Introducing Google’s new social networking app, ‘Shoelace’ Earlier this year, Google shut down its social network, Google+ due to low user engagement, but already has thoughts on its next venture. This month they announced their decision to launch a brand new social network, and have called it Shoelace. Shoelace’s main focus is to bring people together in real life, through common activities and interests, giving users the choice to fill in your interests and find like-minded people interested in the same thing. This also includes any real-life events you may be taking part in a certain area. The app also introduces you to new events you might enjoy. Keep an eye out for this one.

Info removals for Facebook Page owners If you’re a Page owner on Facebook, whether for a client, your own business or a hobby/community, it is important to keep up to date with page optimisation, making sure the page and your business is looking as professional as possible. Recently, owners will have seen a notification from the company announcing the removal of a number of fields in the info section. On August 1st, the ‘Company Overview’, ‘Biography’, ‘Affiliation’ and ‘Personal Interests’ sections were no more, with users being prompted to add this information to the Page’s description instead. This is important for any SMEs and public figures whose primary online existence is through Facebook Pages. 16

THIS QUARTER IN SOCIAL

Pinterest’s “Complete the Look” search tool Fashion and home interiors communities play a massive part on Pinterest, with many people in this industry heading to the site for inspiration and new thoughts. Pinterest is broadening its eCommerce capabilities in these areas with a new ‘Complete the Look’ tool, allowing users to discover new items more easily. The way this works is the new visual search feature will recommend fashion and home decor products based on the context of an image. For example, if a user searches for a music festival outfit scene Pin, it will recommend products found in similar images, such as wellies, sunglasses and outfits. This is great news for brands to gain more exposure on Pinterest, with more Pins surfacing via visual search.

LinkedIn is helping candidates prepare for interviews A recent survey conducted by LinkedIn found that 54% of those looking for jobs feel the interview stage is “moderately to extremely challenging” due to uncertainty and lack of confidence. With this in mind, it has updated its site, along with the app, and introduced new tools to help with the interview stage. So what does this involve? The new tools are currently in the process of being rolled out and will advise users for preparation by identifying commonly asked interview questions, giving an overview on why it will be asked, a sample answer, the best way to approach the question and tips to go alongside this. These will come in the form of short videos, with certain aspects being available for Premium users only. Expect to see this in English speaking countries very soon, within the job tab.

FROM OUR EXPERTS

Creating the perfect online shopping persona 18

FROM OUR EXPERTS

When it comes to selling online, there are many things that businesses will want to do. Of course, the maximum number of sales at the best possible cost-per-acquisition (CPA) is top of the list, but so is the skill of understanding their audience If a business can get a handle on who visits their site, and who converts when they are there, then they are in a far better position to build online shopping buyer personas and this could be the difference between repeat business or not. Succeed in your profiling and you can generate further sales and even increase the possibility of higher spend. Unpicking the psychology of why people buy online is something that we have covered previously, as is understanding your audience. The reason we cover it in detail is that it is a proven method in terms of boosting digital sales.

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Types of persona Google has split the personas for those looking to conduct online shopping into four distinctive groups. Their behaviour was assessed and it was determined that the following traits were reflected in nearly every user. Online customers, wherever they are in the world, are said to be competitive, methodical, spontaneous or humanistic. If we are to fully understand these groups we have to look at the ‘checkboxes’ that a user follows in terms of the way they search. The first group is the competitive buyer. Shoppers in this category are usually looking for a logical and fast-paced experience. They want to be able to get to the buying stage quickly and that they are able to see the buying call to actions (CTAs) quickly and clearly. Competitive buyers want to understand things fast and are best marketed to with facts. They tend to scans headers, bullet lists, icons, and read only a few words. They are the ultimate speed buyer and the risk of losing a customer with this buyer trait increases if they get frustrated by bugs or lack of clarity on your site. The methodical buyer, on the other hand, is almost the polar opposite. They like to take their time with things and prefer for the process to be logical and slow-paced. These buyers want to make an informed choice, using research as their primary tool. When conducting research on what makes someone a methodical buyer it is common to see someone who scrolls through the whole page. They aren’t fazed by long paragraphs in small font sizes and are happy to evaluate and compare. One of the primary facets of their research is that they like authority, reputation and trust – something we have looked at a lot thanks to the Google EAT update – methodical buyers trusts experts, reviews, and articles and won’t be rushed on a decision, so be careful using countdowns and contests on your site if these users form the core of your audience. The spontaneous buyer is a curious persona for those in marketing to work out. These individuals are unpredictable and businesses can have great difficulty assessing if they buy the first time that they

see something or if they have seen something advertised many times and then just go ahead with the impulsive purchase. Spontaneous online shoppers are emotionally invested in products and need them quickly for fulfilment. They operate in a fast paced environment, tend to convert on mobile devices and decisions are usually influenced by feelings. One of the best things about these types of customer is that they tend to follows brands and trends to create a lifestyle, meaning that not only are they loyal (they like being retargeted too) but they are also willing recipients of promotions. Some of the key traits of spontaneous buyers are: - They prefer images to small text or long paragraphs - They respond well to persuasion techniques. Eg. countdowns and influencers They’re happy to use shortcuts to understand the world. Eg. high price equals high quality One thing to be wary of however, is that when you market to people in this group you must take into account that they can be Impatient and easily distracted during the purchase process, slow loading speed and popups can put a purchase at risk. The last type of persona is the humanistic buyer. These individuals tend to be more emotionally involved in making their purchases and do so at a slower pace. In order to get the most from their buyer’s journey, those who adhere to the humanistic way of shopping online tend to be influenced by creativity, storytelling and social belonging – they want to be part of a club and if targeted correctly will show endless loyalty. These buyers also trust the opinions of friends and user reviews and are influential in building a community. If there is a product that relates to a cause such as a charity or environmental issue for example they are more likely to convert, the same can be said if you use emotive images, especially if they show people’s emotions. Inbound marketing also tends to be popular with this group as they are loyal to sales people and brand interactions they like.

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So what’s the best outcome? Well, having a customer base that fits into one of these groups is like owning a unicorn… it’ll never happen. Brands need to focus on drilling down on the types of visitor that they have and adjust the weighting of their marketing strategy accordingly. In the same vein, marketer’s need to think how they can work with businesses to make sure that they can really develop the perfect audience mix and boost their online performance.

Adjusting your strategy If your mix consists of competitive buyers you will want to include a search function so they can go straight to what they’re looking for. Clear navigation is a must and the need to signpost your top categories and key benefits is critical, especially as they won’t spend much time reading through your site. Google suggest that for these buyers there is a need to add your value proposition (eg. “free shipping & express delivery”) to the top of each page in the funnel to constantly remind users why they should buy from you. If you seem to attract more methodical buyers then it is business critical to add lots of facts and figures, and maybe clear and well-laid out comparison tables so that they can see the value of buying from you and not your competitors. Another thing to make sure you include is ‘read more’ links and ‘expert guides’. Finally you could include a FAQs page where shoppers can delve into the detail of your site. This will no doubt boost user experience (UX). A business which finds itself with a large number of spontaneous buyers will do well to make sure that the site has plenty of lifestyle-focused imagery. Another way of leading the buyer to the conversion is to add a ‘most popular’ section, as they won’t have the patience to read lots of reviews and make comparisons. Experts at Google have also indicated in their research that some influencer-related content included on a site with an audience heavily weighted towards spontaneous buyers will resonate with their lifestyle goals. Humanistic buyers are very similar to the spontaneous buyers and in truth a business which has a blend of these buyers often find it easier to adapt their strategy. Users in this demographic will be drawn to aspirational lifestyle imagery and influencer-style content. Customer quotes are also a powerful tool here, especially where past users talk passionately about their experience, rather than just scoring it out of ten.

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The Ris Of Social Influencers

It seems that, everywhere you look online, there are people sharing posts and commenting on a wide range of issues – and, after all, that’s the point. Platforms like Twitter seem to breed debate, Instagram allows for thought provoking imagery and quotes, Facebook connects friends in groups and by common interests, while LinkedIn offers a more B2B centred form of networking. Of course there is a crossover, and these platforms are all useful as social tools. Their purpose is to allow users to entertain, socialise, share knowledge and, increasingly, to influence. Social influencers are on the rise and the impact that they can have on a business, if correctly targeted, is huge. There are many types of social influencers and the post will look at some of them and how they could help your business:

101 22

Micro influencers – A micro influencer is generally considered to be someone with around 3000 (although this can, and will, rise as they become more popular) followers on their Instagram, Facebook or Twitter channel, and whose audience usually revolves around a particular hobby, topic or niche. There are a large number of benefits to working with a micro influencer. First of all they tend to be authentic and have a core following that are engaged in a particular niche, they are also relatively cheap in terms of cost and best of all they have a really high engagement rate. People who fall into this category tend to have a greater ability to influence the purchase decision of a user.

Nano influencers – According to the latest report by cmswire the social media influencer market is set to be worth more than $10 billion by 2020 and the marketplace is taking shape. That shape can be split into four categories; mega influencers, macro influencers, micro influencers and nano influencers — and, while it seems that the distinction between these four categories is merely the size of their following, the differences are really far more nuanced. They were particularly keen to emphasise the smallest of these groups the nano influencer. According to the digital news site: “Nano influencers are a relatively new breed of influencer. They tend to have a smaller number of followers in comparison to micro-influencers, less than 1,000 followers.

101

se And Power “They are someone who has influence within their community. This would be someone who has influence in the local community like a member of the local police force. “The aim is to get ‘regular everyday people’ to influence a brand’s product or service to their friends and family – most of the time this can be achieved through user-generated content.”

Bloggers & Vloggers –

Video is on the rise in both search marketing and on social media. This is a really nice way to get a message out and we are seeing an increasing number of people using this medium to good effect. Those who add video into their strategy can find themselves ahead of the competition in no time thanks to high engagement rates and the increased shareability.

Authority figures –

This is an influencer that is often overlooked yet they can have the greatest impact on your business. An authority figure could be a local MP, a medical expert or a top chef; these people are experts or widely celebrated voices on certain issues and add gravitas to what they are saying. Making your work, services or products appear as though they are signed off by an expert or authoritative voice on a subject plays a huge part in brand reputation. Authority figures or influencers are those who gained the trust of their followers based on their extensive and in-depth experience with a topic and their opinion matters.

Celebrities –

These are the original influencers – they were the faces plastered on billboards and in magazines that people aspired to be like. People look to celebrities to see what the latest trends are and the fact that they are famous in their own right tend to mean they have a large following. Compared to niche or micro-influencers, celebrity influencers tend to have a much lower engagement rate and can cost a huge amount to collaborate with. Another consideration is that they tend to be global in terms of their audience which means that a large proportion of those that follow may not speak the same language, be in a country that you trade with or form part of your target market.

The difference between endorsing and advocating

One of the things that crops up most often when discussing social influencers is the battle over whether they are being paid or sponsored to endorse a product or if they are

simply mentioning it as an advocate. Brand ambassadors are handy to have, and paying a big name or influential individual to promote your brand online can see both your audience and reputation grow. The key thing here however is that consumers are far more likely to believe a recommendation that appears to be organic rather than paid for. Having brand advocates who are real and who really like your products and services can boost your returns at a better conversion rate, meaning that although a larger audience offers better visibility and more impression it doesn’t always convert into a monetary return.

So, how can you encourage influence?

People used to think that by offering a predetermined fee to an influencer you could secure your mention and then the sales would roll in. In truth, this probably does happen still but it is very difficult to attribute a sale to an exact post (unless you have tracking in place). All of this means that you have to take a more targeted approach to making connections. The following steps could be the key to obtaining endorsements: 1. Analyse your existing audience and see what resonates with them. Create filters based on your audiences interests and find out as much as you can about them. 2. Analyse the competition, who are they following and who are they engaging with. If they are operating in the same area of the market (and they should be) then you can leverage this to your needs. 3. Conduct searches on social media using tools such as hashtags to see where the conversation lies outside your current audience. 4. Offer something other than cash. If you have more to offer such as space on your blog then offer this to the influencers who are most likely to engage. 5. Filter your audience at every opportunity. If an influencer is quiet on social media or they are no longer relevant then make sure you reduce or stop your efforts with these individuals. 6. Protect your brand by only using influencers with a good reputation. If your remit is to always act professional (note some accounts and businesses like to add humour) then ensure anyone you approach for collaboration is free from scandal or controversy.

- SCOTT RUMSEY SENIOR MARKETING AND CONTENT EXECUTIVE 23

Journalists are always looking for a great story. From The Daily Mirror to Cosmopolitan, from Good Housekeeping to Business Insider, publications are actively seeking content that will engage their audience. They are hungry for stories that are shareable, will spark debate and, most of all, will drive people to their respective publications. Brands should see this as an opportunity. By providing journalists with newsworthy, PR-friendly content, businesses can gain promotion from websites that have thousands of visitors every day, establishing themselves as authorities in their industry. Having content published on these sites can give you a platform, furthermore, to reach thousands of new potential customers. 24

In this on.click VLOG, Senior Digital PR Executive, Dan Sarath looks at how to make your content Pr friendly, and what makes a piece more likely to be picked up nationally. About Dan - Dan has been instrumental in developing Clickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Digital PR proposition further in line with Google best practice and has seen his work being recognised in a number of high profile online publications.

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BACK CATALOGUE

INTRODUCING - DATA SERIES Data, without question, is the most powerful tool that businesses have at their disposal. The sheer volume of information that we are presented and are able to harvest, allows brands to form future strategies and to tweak existing ones. If you want to get ahead, and stay ahead of the competition, then it is vital that you look at everything you are presented with and that you are able to plan accordingly based on the behaviour of your audience.

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We are forever telling our clients and indeed our blog readers, that a data-driven search strategy is the best route to success. With that in mind we have launched our â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Data Seriesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; which will highlight the benefits of getting behind the numbers and widening your approach to hard data. The series includes: Chapter 1 - Metrics Chapter 2 - Audience Profiling Chapter 3 - Audience Behaviour - Coming soon...

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FROM OUR EXPERTS

Content Marketing and Millennials - SOPHIE-LEIGH EDWARDS HEAD OF CAMPAIGN OUTREACH

Millennials or Generation Y are titles given to those born between 1980 and 2000, and are said to make up 31.5% of the global population, according to Bloomberg. This generation is different to those that came before, especially when it comes to buyer behaviour, with the Gen Yâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ers wanting to build meaningful relationships with brands rather than being shown sales pitches. Content marketing is the perfect technique to develop your brand and build consumer relationships. Before creating a content marketing plan you should consider what this generation want to know and what they want from you. Here is a brief overview of the qualities of a Generation Yâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;er. 26

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They Are Tech Savvy and Fact Checkers

A Social Generation

This generation has grown with mobile and digital technology, with many of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s industry leaders being from the Gen Y era themselves. Their knowledge of technology means they can be more savvy when it comes to decision making, allowing them to research claims made in marketing material quickly and access this information more easily than any other generation before them.

At the forefront of social media, this generation are a social bunch, consulting one another on almost every decision, not necessarily looking for approval but for reassurance that the brand is of good quality and is trustworthy.

It has been said that because of their connection with technology and access to information they are distrusting of initial adverts and sales pitches, and so are more likely to interact with a brand because of its character and values.

Like to Treat Themselves

Aside from social media, they also turn to review websites and forums to inform their decisions.

Although social when it comes to premium brands, this generation donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t purchase based on peer pressure but generally to treat themselves. These purchases will tend to be impulsive based on evidence of high-quality and brand recognition. 27

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They Value Experiences According to research by Eventbrite, Gen Y prefer to spend their money on experiences rather than possessions. There are several reasons as to why they look to gain these experiences such as wanting to live for the moment or to use the well-known acronym YOLO! There’s also the idea that, as they tend to live their lives through social media, it is the experiences that will make the grid look good. With this in mind, we can start to understand the personality traits of Gen Y. Now we just need to put these lessons into practice. As we know, Gen Y’ers want to feel connected to brands that share their values, getting to know the brand’s identity before purchasing the products. What better way to show or build your brand’s identity than through some strategic content marketing. Let’s take a look at how we can put their values into content marketing material.

Presenting your Products As we know, sales pitches aren’t perceived as valuable information to millennials, so one way to provide product details without seeming too salesy is to present it in a factual and informative way. For example, if you are selling an item of clothing, rather than create content that heavily discusses the bag itself, you could create a visual piece that shows the many ways the item can be styled. Combine this with some strategically created content around style tips and product qualities and call it ‘2019 summer style trends’. Including visual aids will make the information easy to consume and attractive to share on social media. This type of content should be placed on a blog or news section of a website. This could then be reached from the product page and should link to the product page.

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Create A Personality The content you create should provide a personality to build on your brand’s identity. This means creating a strategy that is in line with your consumer’s values, even if this means creating content that isn’t always about your product or services. It’s about putting engaging thoughts, opinions and information out there that appears to be useful. Brands looking to appeal to millennials need to put them first, rather than relying on the product offering.

Answer Questions & Provide Information Whereas the previous section looks at providing sales details in a discrete way, this section can be placed simply under FAQs. Alternatively, a visual piece could be created such as an infographic to answer questions that are either hard to explain or that are more frequently asked. In some cases the opportunity may arise to provide details on social media. This can help your brand appear helpful as you look to guide your customers in the right direction, rather than tell them this is what they want or need.

Be Consumer Focused A consumer-focused brand will be actively speaking to consumers and now, thanks to social media, it is easier than ever to do this. Speaking to customers will not just allow you to tap into their interest but will also provide you with the opportunity to create a persona, a tone of voice and character that sets you apart from your competitors. Speaking to consumers will give you insights that will inform your content so it is important to listen and react. This is just a brief overview of how to use content marketing to work with millennials and get them to notice your brand. There are several research papers available with plenty of insights to inform your next content marketing strategy.

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HOW BREXIT HAS INSPIRED MARKETING CAMPAIGNS

- JACK ADAMSON CAMPAIGN AND SOCIAL EXECUTIVE

With negotiations between government and the EU still underway, I thought I’d share some good examples of how Brexit has been utilised for marketing campaigns

Back in June 2016, the biggest referendum in UK political history was held, to decide whether or not as a nation, we would remain or leave the European Union (EU). For months prior to the vote, political parties travelled around the country proposing their for and against arguments, with business, border security and financial matters being at the forefront of each parties campaign. With a majority vote of 51.9%, it was declared that the UK would leave the EU and trigger a two year process in which the Government would open talks to negotiate the best possible way to leave the EU and secure the best trade deals for our country. Two years on from the vote and, for many of us, it still feels like we’re no clearer on how or when we’re going to leave the EU. With the original date being the 29th March (the new date is October 31st), the proposed date has now passed and for the majority of the population, the process doesn’t seem as direct as it should be. There is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the economic future of the country and how secure the business industry will be, with no deal being agreed as of yet.

Although it’s still not clear how Brexit will affect UK businesses once we leave the EU, some big name brands and organisations have utilised the decision to promote their marketing campaigns. For many, Brexit can be a delicate subject to be associated with, and some have been frowned upon for sharing their political views; but if done tastefully, it can be a huge success for any brand and its marketing campaign.

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Here is a selection of Brexit inspired marketing campaigns which I feel have been successful for a number of reasons. Big names such as HSBC, Paddy Power and Virgin Atlantic have also created powerful campaigns in relation to Brexit and shown their competitors how to deliver a successful, politically inspired campaign.

Take back the remote control Channel 4 One of the main talking points post referendum was the infamous big red bus, stating the UK could send £350 million to the NHS instead of the EU. For many people this was a sore subject as it seemed this wouldn’t be as simple as the advertisement on the bus displayed. With so much attention and press surrounding the pro Brexit bus, Channel 4 created their own version ahead of their program “Brexit: The Uncivil War”: by displaying the message “Take back the remote control; watch the gripping new TV drama”.

The message was replicated just like the pro Brexit bus and travelled around the UK to promote the channels Brexit related drama. With research showing 180 million tweets were made globally since the referendum, it’s no wonder why Channel 4 wanted to create a strong campaign for their new show.

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Dividing the nation since 1902 Marmite In a world where most campaigns are promoted on digital platforms, consisting of video, interactive games and sound; Marmite went against the grain and went for a more simplistic campaign, which shows how simplicity can go a long way. Marmite are known for their simplistic designs and for their most recent campaign, they played on the phrases we’re all familiar with, “Hard Brexit, Soft Brexit or No Brexit”, relating to how we’re going to leave the EU.

To replicate this in their marketing campaign, Marmite created their own Brexit related phrase “Hard Breakfast, Soft Breakfast, No Breakfast”, in relation to their famous slogan “Love it or Hate it”. Alongside this, Marmite also created the tagline “Dividing the nation since 1902”, playfully mocking the political situation the nation is currently in. Marmite’s simple but effective campaign is an example of how brands can strip back from modern day marketing techniques and go back to basics. This advert was not only seen online but it was also printed into national newspapers and shows how to successfully execute a Brexit inspired campaign.

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Love Immigration Jigsaw One of the main talking points prior to the referendum was immigration in the UK and the values of free movement around the EU. For some people, this was one of the major reasons which decided their vote, whilst many couldn’t disagree more. Clothing brand Jigsaw took inspiration from this subject and created a proimmigration campaign, titled “Love Immigration”.

During an interview regarding the campaign, Peter Ruis, CEO of Jigsaw said the following:

The brand believed that some of the countries wellknown values had been lost prior and post referendum and wanted to create a bold marketing campaign which outlines who we are as a nation. Along with powerful images of models from different countries wearing the brands clothes, Jigsaw created a bold manifesto which was displayed on their website, in tabloids and in London’s Oxford Circus tube station; creating a positive talking point around the brands mission to support immigration and how there’s no such thing as being “100% British”.

This message really was reflected in the brands “Love Immigration” campaign and it sets a powerful statement to not only the UK as a nation, but also to its competitors. It was reported that more consumers were interested in the powerful manifesto Jigsaw created, over their actual products; which shows how successful this campaign was.

“Be it people, cloth, the stone floors in our shops, the film to shoot our campaigns. We are all part of a vibrant, tolerant, global Britain. These are things we believe in as a brand”.

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SEO

BASICS - SCOTT RUMSEY SENIOR MARKETING & CONTENT EXECUTIVE 34

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Knowing your audience is one of the first things that businesses have to do if they are to become successful online. You need to know how to act and how to represent the needs of your users, and potential new users When it comes to identifying how you are performing online analytics will paint some of the picture but today’s marketer needs to be able to put themselves in their client’s shoes. In terms of SEO, it is essential that you dedicate a portion of your time testing your offering and making sure that you are being found in the right places and for the right keywords. If you aren’t then performance will dip or could be none existent. The division of a marketing budget can be tricky and with so many brands, agencies, products and services all competing for your spend it pays to know what will work best. Here at Click Consult we are huge advocates of traditional search marketing and know that if you get the basics right and build campaigns that are bespoke to you and your audience you are more likely to see a growing client base and better returns.

Customers and users tend to be looking for one of the following things: - an accurate answer - an item - a specific set of details - a date - an image - an address - a service - a definition In an official definition, there are three broad categories that cover most web search queries: informational, navigational, and transactional. These are also called “do, know, go.”

Before we get to the actual implementation of an SEO strategy, as highlighted in a number of our resources and eBooks, we wanted to emphasise the importance of searching for your brand as someone who doesn’t know you exist!

The three areas are:

The first thing that all businesses should do is assess their current positioning in the market and look at how their competitors are performing. In fact at the first stage you may not even know who you are competing against so this is a good way to find out a little more about who is operating in your targeted marketing space.

Navigational queries – Queries that seek a single website or web page of a single entity (eg YouTube or Facebook).

Users today want to get the answers to their queries quickly and easily. They also want to make sure that the results that are returned are relevant and that they are from a trusted or apparently trusted source, (this latter point is important as it goes without saying that customers want a trusted service, the problem is that if you are new to the space then you have to appear as professional, relevant and authentic as possible).

Informational queries – Queries that cover a broad topic (eg Liverpool or New Cars) for which there may be thousands of relevant results.

Transactional queries – Queries that reflect the intent of the user to perform a particular action, like purchasing a car or downloading a screen saver. It is worth noting that search engines often support a fourth type of query that is used far less frequently and is much more advanced. These are connectivity queries – queries that report on the connectivity of the indexed web graph (eg ‘which links point to this URL?’, and ‘how many pages are indexed from this domain name?’).

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With all of this in mind, the first thing to do is to run a search query on Google using what you consider to be your best keywords and the most common questions your audience would ask. Look at the results and make notes on which competitors rank for these terms. You can use this information as part of your competitor analysis later down the line. It is crucial in these early discovery phases that you are listening to how your customers speak, then in turn speaking their language. Brands need to understand what your prospects and customers are looking for, then reflect this knowledge to your website content. We have previously identified the following four steps for keyword research: Think like a customer – pick long short and long tail keywords likely to be searched by your buyer personas. Look for gaps – in a crowded marketplace it can be difficult for newcomers to compete against established companies. So don’t compete, find where they aren’t present. Rank for priority – it is counterproductive to spread yourself too thin, so choose your targets wisely and look for the golden ration of high volume, low competition. Consolidate gains – if you begin to rank for certain terms, don’t rest on your laurels but continue to target these keywords as you expand your target list. Once you have assembled lists of key terms and questions, use online tools (such as Google’s Keyword Planner) to quantify density and, therefore, which of these should be the focus of your efforts. Ideally you’re looking for the golden ration of low competition and high volume. Also, use Analytics to monitor in-site searches – those customers are searching while on your page – as well as popular landing pages and seek to consolidate these terms externally.

If your content is well optimised and keyword rich you are halfway there. Marketing expert, author, and speaker, Ann Handley said: “Businesses should use different content types to answer client questions and understand their obstacles whilst providing solutions. “Be sure you know the purpose or mission or objective of every piece of content that you write. What are you trying to achieve? What information, exactly, are you trying to communicate? And why should your audience care?” Provide answers. Be helpful. Solve their problems. Make your content relevant and rich. And when possible provide narrowed, niche content. Ensure your content has sharing value and gives your highest quality visitors what they’re asking for.” In addition, good keyword research will reveal gaps – areas your competitors are not competing in, or competing only marginally. If your brand is new to a marketplace, the chances are that competitors will be well established for trophy keywords, whereas there may be appropriate, industry specific long tail gaps that can be exploited for early gains. This is a good time to start thinking about your buyer personas, what are they looking for, what will they want to know and at what stage in the buying cycle will they want to know it? Think about how you search on a phone as opposed to on a laptop. Are there differences in your own search types from one device to another? What are your intentions across devices? You should also use the research that you have conducted on keywords and competitors to populate things such as your page titles, URLs, image tags (alttags), and meta descriptions as these on-page SEO factors will affect your individual page rank in search results. If you can fit these points into your strategy, and learn to behave like a potential visitor to your site then it is fair to assume that you will be more relevant, trustworthy and best of all, found online.

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10 STEPS TO DIG 1

Go against the curve

When you are creating a PR campaign, it is tempting to come up with ideas which support a popular point of view or reinforce a current trend. However, when people zig, a brand can have a great deal of success by zagging. This gives journalists a unique way to cover a topic they might have already written about extensively. Of course, don't be too provocative though.

Supplement it with an asset

Creating a supporting asset to go alongside your campaign is essential. Whether it's an interactive page, an embeddable quiz or simply an interactive, this gives your campaign something sharable that readers can send to their friends or colleagues. You can also include the asset on your website to encourage journalists to link.

Create a media list

Creating a media list is not just about organising which publications to send your campaign to; it's about finding the right publications for your campaign as well. It is important to research each website's style and tone of voice, and understand what types of topics they tend to cover.

Pitch the right journalist

You will find that most major publications will have something between half a dozen and one-hundred journalists writing for them. Each journalist there will be assigned to different topics. There may be some who specialise in entertainment and pop culture, for instance, while others are concerned with science and technology.

Give them the story, not the data

Journalists don't care about data; they care about stories. If your PR campaign is led by research, it is important to package it as a clear, entertaining narrative when you approach journalists. Tell them why they should care about the campaign, not just what the campaign is.

GITAL PR GLORY 6

The subject line is key

A freelancer for The Guardian once told us that she receives around 100 emails every single day from PRs. As such, journalists like her simply don't have time to read everything they receive. You need to grab their attention immediately with a punchy subject line that encapsulates the key information in one short sentence.

Personalise your email

Tell journalists why they should be covering your story instead of the many, many others they have been pitched that day. Explain why their audience will want to read it, for instance, or why it will fit in perfectly with over stories they have written recently.

Don't be afraid to follow up

Journalists are busy. With deadlines to meet and copy to file, they may not have spotted your email the first time around. Some experts say otherwise, but nothing in my experience has ever suggested that PRs should not follow up. A short, polite email asking if they'd had a chance to see your pitch is harmless. At worst, they will ignore it. At best, it will remind them of a great story they had initially missed.

Monitor your coverage

Free tools like TalkWalker and Google Alerts can immediately alert you when your campaign is shared by blogs, social media, news sources or any other publication. This allows you to easily keep track of coverage for reporting purposes and monitor what consumers might be saying about your brand.

Turn non-linking coverage into an SEO win

Journalists will not always link to a brand's website as credit. You shouldn't immediately chalk this up as a loss, however. You can reach out to the author and ask them to amend the article. If this fails, it may be worth contacting their editor. Alternatively, most major news sites have a corrections email which might be worth reaching out to.

KNOWLEDGE BASE

CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY – THE NEW RULES - CHLOIE BRANDRICK SENIOR MARKETING & CONTENT EXECUTIVE

Content marketing wasn’t new when the phrased was coined in the 1990s; from collectable cigarette cards, to Michelin guides, and even to Proctor & Gamble’s invention of the soap opera, brands have long seen the value in giving away information they know that their audience will find useful and entertaining. But it wasn’t until the 2000s, when social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube came onto the scene (followed by the evolution of influencer marketing), that online content became accessible, shareable and on-demand. This blog post isn’t about the past of content marketing, it’s about the current state of play and how savvy content marketing can still drive high quality traffic to your website, increase conversions and keep customers coming back for more

KNOWLEDGE BASE

Content distribution is just as important as content creation You can spend months and thousands of pounds creating the perfect video/infographic/webinar, but if you don’t invest as much – and arguably, more – effort on making sure it gets in front of the right people, that time and money is wasted. Your content is irrelevant without an audience. How much content do you find yourself bombarded with at any given point in the day? On your phone, on your desktop, in your inbox, your social media feeds… But more choice isn’t necessarily good. People don’t want unlimited choices. They want convenience and relevance. As psychologist Barry Schwartz says in his book The Paradox of Choice – Why More Is Less; “… as the number of choices keeps growing, negative aspects of having a multitude of options begin to appear. As the number of choices grows further, the negatives escalate until we become overloaded. At this point, choice no longer liberates, but debilitates. It might even be said to tyrannize.” Digital Marketing Consultant, a speaker several times at our Benchmark Search & Digital Marketing Conference, Bas van den Beld, talks about the phenomenon of ‘choice anxiety‘ in content marketing: For me, the number one error is the sheer number of content pieces out there. Content marketers still seem to believe more is better. Which it is not. Actually, by creating more content all the time, they are making it harder for not just their competitors, but themselves as well, to have any impact. They don’t realise that the more content they create, the less chance there is of people making the right choice. And that right choice could just be their product… 41

KNOWLEDGE BASE

Google itself has addressed this issue by providing the information being searched for in an answer box, rather than a resource to an answer, whenever possible, eclipsing the thousands of organic results and reducing choice anxiety, for example:

Authenticity and transparency are not just buzzwords Without these, you’ll lose trust and credibility in the eyes of the audience you’re trying to impress. People got wise to brand advertising tactics that spoke at them or down to them and started to doubt the impartiality (or even honesty) of traditional journalism and news outlets, instead turning to what was originally called ‘citizen journalism’ and which has since evolved to encompass bloggers and online influencers, social media commentators. Of course, not every source (online or offline) can be trusted and every brand – and every influencer has an ultimate agenda. As Click’s blogger John Warner has said: “Unfortunately you can’t buy authenticity – but that’s okay, you already have it.” Authentic and honest storytelling – not being afraid to admit failures, showing actual data about your business, showing the people and the personalities behind your brand failures is what will differentiate your brand and make your messages memorable – sincerity is a powerful quality that creates trust. So what does it mean? If old school marketing is about carefully stage-managing an audience’s perception of your brand, think of content marketing as giving customers a peek of what’s happening backstage. Open, honest and willing to share the tricks of your trade. This ties in with the rising trend for audiences demanding ‘humancentric’ experiences in all areas they consume and which brands are increasingly incorporating into all areas of marketing. Remember that content doesn’t need to be overtly branded or feel like advertising. The aim is to strike a balance between showcasing your brand and offering engaging, helpful content that encourages people to take action; this is what fosters consumer engagement, loyalty and brand advocacy.

A theory exists that says content marketing is about 20% creation, 80% distribution. I’m not sure I entirely agree as successful content should be asset-driven, but it highlights how importance it is to plan how to reach the right recipients, through the right channels, be they social media, email marketing, paid placements, influencer networks, etc. There’s lots of choice nowadays. Just as when you’re planning content creation, you need to consider your audience, your goals, the format of your content and your call-to-action (CTA). 42

The human brain is less rational than we might like to think when it comes to our reactions to marketing, with 20% of buying decisions based on logic and 80% on emotion. This means connecting with customers on an emotional level is a powerful way to drive engagement and motivate people to take action. Some brands, though, struggle to understand this fundamental difference between content marketing and advertising. Yes, you need your content to be relevant to your brand and what it sells but, ultimately the audience comes first. And today’s digital audience doesn’t just respect authenticity, they demand it.

KNOWLEDGE BASE

What’s the point of your content marketing strategy? Content marketing (even before the phrase itself was coined) has always been about providing value to your audience in some way – be it educating them, entertaining them, or otherwise – not about out-ofcontext self-promotion or fakery such as humblebragging. On social platforms, especially LinkedIn and web news discussion forum Reddit, this misjudgement, whether by brands or individuals is regularly called out (Shopify’s Braveen Kumar describes Reddit as a place which “thrives on anonymity, but it’s kept in check by transparency”).

Aayush Jain

@aayushjain_ . See this @CrapOnLinkedIn Seems like there’s a restaurant on downside of his house but he will wait for delivery boy to bring food because it’s hot and @Zomato got discounts 6 10:27 - 18 Jun 2019 Twitter Ads information and privacy

To be successful, you need to consistently creating content that your customers actively wants to read and share, build an audience and grow trust in your brand. The selling comes later. I read a blog post from the Content Marketing Institute (CMI) recently that summed this up this really well:

Successful marketers prioritise the audience’s needs over promotional messaging… If your content isn’t created for the audience you are trying to reach, engage, and convert, it will have a negligible shelf life. Stop creating content to sell - Michael Brenner, CEO of Marketing Insider Group If you’re not helping your target audience to solve a problem or better accomplish their goals (and you have to identify what these are first), your content is not adding value. And if you’re not adding value, you’re not a real content marketer. Another good point to remember is that timing is key to relevancy. You need a content plan in place, of course, but you also need to be flexible enough to respond to, and reschedule around, real-life events and breaking news that could eclipse your story. Our Head of Campaign Outreach, Sophie Edwards, told me she remembered talking to a blogger who launched a campaign on oil consumption on the same day Donald Trump was elected President; needless to say, she didn’t get the results she was hoping for. What not to do – there are some examples of a big brands getting it very wrong. The tweet below from BrewDog marked the release of ‘Pink IPA’ to support their flagship beer ‘Punk IPA’. The aim of the campaign was to use sexism ironically to promote equality. However, the campaign created a backlash, damaging their brand.

Relevancy: also not just industry jargon, it’s common sense. 78% of consumers say that personally-relevant content is a determining factor in their purchasing decision and, if you can create something interactive, that users can engage with on an individual level, even better.

KNOWLEDGE BASE

Learn from failures In many areas of life, not just in content marketing, setbacks have the power to push people to immense success, BBC Capital’s Ian Leslie has reported. A study of Olympic medalists by UVA economist Adam Leive found that those who nearly missed the gold led longer, more successful lives than the top finishers. Another study, of scientists, found that those who suffered early on ultimately published research of greater impact than their more fortunate peers. While certainly not all who initially struggle thrive later on, those who do manage to transform pain into motivation. So content that fails to hit the mark isn’t wasted. With so many options in terms of content type, distribution channels, audience targeting, etc, finding out what doesn’t work allows you to narrow down your options. Just like the blogger who saw her carefully crafted oil consumption campaign squashed by President Trump, chalk it up as successful learning exercise.

Influencer outreach is getting very niche – but size isn’t everything Instead of fighting with other content marketers over the same audience, a lot of brands are finding themselves shifting towards niche content. There’s been a noticeable shift in strategy in recent times, with brands targeting micro-influencers and moving towards smaller, but more powerful, spheres of influence where trust and communities matter more than ever. Micro-influencers (those with between 1,000 to 10,000 followers on their blog or social media account, depending on who’s definition you’re going by, and whose audience usually revolves around a particular hobby, topic or other passion) appeal to content marketers because of their closer and more meaningful interaction with their followers and higher levels of engagement. The Influencer Marketing 2020 report suggests brands are increasingly looking for bespoke and nuanced content, with some respondents complaining they have paid large amounts to top-tier influencers in return for generic content that misses the mark. This makes micro influencers attractive as they can be relatively cheap in terms of cost and tend to have a greater ability to influence the purchase decision of a user. A report by CMS Wire claims the social media influencer outreach market is set to be worth more than $10 billion by 2020 and is keen to emphasise the smallest of these groups, with less that 1,000 followers: the nano influencer. 44

According to the digital news site: Nano influencers are a relatively new breed of influencer. This would be someone who has influence in the local community like a member of the local police force. The aim is to get ‘regular everyday people’ to influence a brand’s product or service to their friends and family – most of the time this can be achieved through usergenerated content When identifying influencers to work with, it’s important to take into account that these follower numbers should not be taken as absolute measure of ‘fit’ for your brand. For example, an influencer with 10,000 followers in the UK has a much better overall reach than a US influencer with the same audience count – if you’re targeting by geography. While, in general though, the larger the audience, the less focused it is likely to be, everything depends on: your industry; the frequency and type of interaction; the brand message and your objectives.

KNOWLEDGE BASE

Think long-term rewards over short-term gains The term ‘link-building” has become a bit of a dirty word in the digital marketing world. Despite this, building links is still an important aspect of SEO. But it’s not the be-alland-end-all of content marketing strategy. Good content marketing helps to establish your brand identity, is a differentiator and marks you out as a thought leader in your industry. If you’re producing unique and useful content, if you have a solid outreach strategy, if you’re active on social media, if you engage your audience, people will link back to your site naturally. Marketers need to concentrate their attention on customers rather than links. The more useful, in-depth and engaging your content is, the more people will want to link back to that content in the long-term. Producing assets takes a lot of time and work, so you shouldn’t regard any campaign as a one-off transaction. Keep interest in your content going by repurposing to tell the story in different ways, appeal to different audiences/ niches, and help to reinforce your message. It allows you to maximise the value of an original piece of content, and all of the research that went into it, by making it accessible to different user preferences among your target audience (long-form, short-form, bite-sized, visual, etc) and adapting it into separate pieces that can serve each step of the buyer journey. An example in practice could be to produce an in-depth eBook, then: focus on the key points over a series of blog posts pull out interesting stats and present as an infographic distil the top-level messages into a SlideShare presentation adapt parts of it into a vlog or podcast

POWERING THE NEXT GENERATION OF SEARCH & DIGITAL MARKETING

Whether you are sitting at your desk reading this online, on the daily commute reading on a smartphone or tablet, or even with the physical copy in your hand, you will notice that this issue of the magazine is larger than normal. We have decided that for the sixth issue we would add this additional supplement to go along with our Benchmark Search Conference. This section of the magazine includes interviews and features by some of the speakers presenting at the fifth running of the conference and we hope that you find their pieces insightful.

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As always we have a dedication towards providing useful content that will enrich strategies and that gives an unbiased view of the changes that are occuring in the industry. As is tradition with the Benchmark Search and Digital conference we always follow the event with indepth analysis and all of the videos and presentation decks from the day. This year is no different and as you read this we are already busy producing, collating and publishing this content on click.co.uk. Feel free to check out all the presentations from the day and remember to keep tabs on the conference website https://benchmarkconference.click.co.uk - for details of the 2020 conference and the application process. 46

THE BIG

INTERVIEW

Thanks to his involvement in Click Consultâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s upcoming sixth annual Benchmark Search Conference, we were delighted to be able to ask him a few questions to help highlight both his personal contribution and the contribution of structured data to the modern web.

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While Richard Wallis is one of the most recognisable names in the world to those working in the field of linked data and the semantic web, your average SEO agent could be forgiven for not recognising the name without a quick Google. Nevertheless, with more than 20 years under his belt working in and advising on information architecture, Wallis is a leading voice in what is one of the most important web developments to have emerged in the last decade.

BIG INTERVIEW

A little context on structured data and Schema.org: Rather than being a subset or variety of data, when we refer to ‘structured data’ we are talking about an organisational construct of data. While prose may convey information, it tends to do so in an organic way - conveying information in a looser, more conversational manner. However, if you were to study the prose, and distill its meaning into, for example, a table – this would represent ‘structured’ data - essentially the same information in an easier-to-digest format. Where search engines are concerned, it is easier for an algorithm to parse information if it is offered within a scaffold or framework of structural information. This tends to be done using HTML, microdata and JSONLD cues that provide the search engine with additional pointers that it can use to determine the nature of the data it is processing. Schema.org is an open-source project established by Google, Microsoft and Yahoo that aimed to establish a uniform vocabulary for this structured data – essentially creating a schema for data anywhere on the web.

Firstly, Richard, how did you become involved in Schema.org and what is Schema.org? My involvement with Schema.org is the result of a natural progression and following a combination of interests, passions, and business needs. Having been involved in computing for longer than I’d like to admit, with a focus on data, metadata, and discovery coming from the world of libraries; the emergence of Semantic Web, followed by its more practical offspring, Linked Data, created opportunities for practical solutions to age old problems. Linked Data held the promise of globally open, understandable and consumable data – a promise that, unfortunately, has only been fulfilled for those willing and able to immerse themselves in that environment and the multiple vocabularies it uses. #BENCHMARKCONF2019

By 2011, we were in the frustrating position of having proven established (web-based) techniques and technologies that, in individual cases, delivered significant benefit for openly describing and discovering

things, but with each implementation operating in its own fairly closed world, with its own selection of vocabulary terms (ontologies). To me, it felt analogous to humans inventing speech but then creating a multiplicity of languages, whereas computers much prefer, at least at the core, a single vocabulary. 2011 was the year when Google, Bing, and Yahoo! launched Schema.org and brought hope that those frustrations would dissipate, and these technologies would become beneficial for all, backed by that powerful driver of the potential for commercial advantage. With some simple, yet widely supported, steps of an agreed shared general purpose vocabulary, an easy route to sharing data by embedding it in HTML, backed by a good reason to use them (the potential of rich results) Google and the other search engines provided a de facto route towards a Semantic (enabled) Web. Realising the potential, yet being aware of the initial limitations of a general purpose vocabulary for sufficient capability for describing things in sufficient detail for useful discovery, I took advantage of the open participative nature of Schema.org development, to form, and chair a W3C Community Group to create proposals for improving Schema.org for the benefit of bibliographic data (my then commercial focus). Since that time, with my broadening scope across all sectors as an independent consultant, and participation with and chairing of several other W3C Community Groups, I have played a significant part in the evolution of the vocabulary from the initial few hundred terms to the now approaching two thousand terms, and have gained much implementation experience along the way. In support of this, I have combined my consultancy in, and evangelism for, Schema.org with active involvement with Google (one of my consultancy clients) and others in the development of the Schema.org site, supporting documentation, and active engagement in the supporting communities. So, to answer the first part of the question, how did I become involved? It made sense as to the trends around the future direction and development of the web, while also chiming well with my personal and commercial interests.

BIG INTERVIEW

How important do you feel the Schema.org project is to search?

Finally, how do you see schema developing in the future?

The first 20 years or so of the web taught us that the only way to find things was to search for them - a message emphasised by the capabilities and business models of the search engine organisations. Humans, however, use a combination of search and discovery (of relationships between things) to find them. For example, how often does a library or bookshop user, having searched for the right location/shelf for the book they were looking for, come away with a different but related item that they discovered?

There are two aspects to this. Firstly, by building on the participative open community model that has elevated Schema.org to where it is today, proposals will continue to be put forward and often adopted to address areas of limited capability. For example, currently under discussion is a proposal to introduce terms to describe product return processes. The result hopefully will be a community agreed set of enhancements released in one of the regular (currently monthly) update releases of the vocabulary’s definition.

Search engines have always strived to achieve this, but until the broad acceptance and implementation of Schema.org structured data on a large number of sites, they did not have sufficient reliable and connected data to produce reliable useful features. As they amass more and more of this structured data we are seeing the capabilities it is powering – Knowledge Panels, position zero results, answer boxes, and various other rich results. More and more, Knowledge Graph-powered features are being announced at regular intervals. One of these features is Dataset Search – which probably would not exist without Knowledge Graph and the structured data (Schema. org) which feeds it.

Does this mean that it’s the end of traditional search? Far from it. Search is a key component for humans and our supporting technologies’ ability to find things. However, of equal importance are the Knowledge Graphs the search engines are building as they evolve from simple Search engines towards Discovery and Answer tools and services. This move is nowhere more apparent than with voice-enabled devices.

Many in those sectors do not have a background in structured, linked or semantic data and, therefore, see Schema.org as either “for rich snippets only” or “keywords on steroids” or often both. This produces what looks like valid Schema.org code, validated by search engine test tools, but they are often of little or no use to the search engine trying to place your article, product, organisation, in context with the millions of others they are aware of, in a way that might lead them to direct their users to your page/site. Schema.org is nearly eight years old. In many eyes, though, it’s still a very recent arrival. Over time it will become just another thing that web developers will naturally take account of, becoming a bedfellow with JavaScript, CSS, and the rest. What new adopters need to be aware of is that it is not rocket science, but like most technologies, you can “just do it” or you “can do it right to get the most benefit”.

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In very simple terms, if you want your article, product, corporate identity, or anything else, really, to be relevant in this new world, you also need to be in the Knowledge Graphs. To get into those Knowledge Graphs you can do no better than to be sharing structured data (using Schema.org) embedded in your websites for crawling by the search engines.

Secondly, through the efforts of people such as myself, selftaught enthusiastic developers, and continued expansion of documentation released by Schema.org, Google & others, the general structured data skill levels will increase and improve across all sectors, and especially in SEO associated industries.

KNOWLEDGE BASE

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KNOWLEDGE BASE

How to create a keyword performance Data Studio report with adjustable date range and filter - JOHN WARNER SENIOR MARKETING & CONTENT EXECUTIVE

Like many agencies, we’re still shifting the way we report to clients as Data Studio adds further features, we’re able to move more and more of our manual reporting to the platform.

To begin with, if you’re new to Data Studio, we have a few bits and pieces that might be of assistance to start. - A beginner’s guide to Data Studio (eBook) - Google’s Data Studio Certification - Some tips from industruy expert Ant Valente

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What is a keyword performance report? This is a visualisation or tabular recording of historical keyword performance – while it can be taken from any number of tools, this article will deal specifically with data from Google Search Console (meaning position data will be an average over a month rather than a last tracked position) and aims to present the details of keyword positions, clicks and impressions over a set time.

Connecting Google Search Console to Data Studio The connector for Google Search Console is located in the same place as that of GA, to access it, select ‘Manage added data sources’ from your resource tab (in edit view).

Why you need a keyword performance report While there are a substantial number of reasons to track keyword performance, the main two are essentially: To monitor the success of your SEO efforts or the impact of Google updates To identify keywords with the potential to improve their performance In this regard, monitoring your keywords offers some great insight into historic performance and future potential.

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Then scroll to the bottom of your current data sources and select ‘add a data source’.

Then select GSC from the list of sources (one scroll down – for me at least). You’ll then need to choose the site you want to connect to – for which there’s a search function if you are managing multiple sites.

Then you’ll need to choose between the two options – site impression or URL impression. For this report, we’ll be using site impression as it holds average position data while URL impression doesn’t (though it has landing page data instead), after which you can click the connect button. You can then add the data source to the report (changing any of the dimensions and metrics to the measurement you prefer).

You can then confirm the process and add it to the source.

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Setting up filters for the report For this report, I wanted to be able to narrow down the raw data by date range, zero in on a specific keyword and ranges of keywords, so I’ve set up a search function, a ‘query’ select and a date range control.

Date range select While none of these filters are especially difficult to implement, the date range selector is the easiest of them. You simply click on the calendar icon and that will drop a box in to the sheet.

You can then style this box (or not) as you choose. In ‘view’ mode, this box will set the default date for any tables or charts that have their date set to ‘automatic’.

Query select filters The other two boxes here are selected from the same place, but with slightly different set ups. Both begin by selecting the filter box from the top menu.

This should auto populate a box – similar to the date select, but this time showing the default dimension ‘Google Property’. #BENCHMARKCONF2019

In the data management tab of this box, you can define the dimension for the box – in this case ‘query’ (the metric isn’t necessary for this filter).

The default style for this is sufficient for the query drop down, but for the search function you’ll need another couple of adjustments.

Once you’ve created these three filters, the remaining work is fairly simple. To keep it simple, I’ve created a table showing keyword performance in a table, and then broken it down to keyword performance over time in two key metrics – average position and impressions (where people see it and how often they see it).

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KNOWLEDGE BASE

Performance charts We covered setting a table in previous Data Studio blogs, but as a quick overview – select table from the ‘add chart’ menu:

Then choose your dimension and metrics:

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KNOWLEDGE BASE

The main thing to remember here is to ensure you choose ‘Auto’ as the default date range – this will link it to the date range selector in the ‘view’ mode of the report. In addition, I tend to add ‘previous period’ to the comparison range – as this ensures you’re comparing apples with apples when the range changes.

The secondary performance charts are simple smoothed line charts (I find it easier to compare date ranges with smoothed lines, but the choice is yours).

Using these charts

The charts mentioned here are, of course, just the surface level of what can be achieved with such filters and charts – so don’t hold back, and experiment a little to see what insight you can draw from the enormous amounts of data at your fingertips. 57

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Again, we’ve covered the set up elsewhere, but for a line chart, you’re looking at creating a time dimension with one or more metrics. For average position, I also tend to reverse the direction of the y axis – so that the lower number is at the top of the chart. The same is true of these charts as for the table, in that selecting auto as your date range connects it to your date box and the ‘previous period’ is the easiest way to ensure good comparison.

While these charts look pretty good even without styling (which I’m terrible at), they’re also useful, as mentioned earlier, for researching the performance of your site. Using the query box, you can select important brand (or non-brand but important for conversion) keywords and track them over the course of a particular link building campaign or throughout on-site SEO work, but you can also change the dimension to ‘Average position’ and look for keywords in the 11-20 average positions in order to generate ideas for content for your site – or pages which, with a little work, might be bumped up to page one, thereby improving your visibility.

Recently we spoke to SEO expert and multiple Benchmark conference speaker, Lukasz Zelezny, about the importance of building a rapport with agencies, the ways in which SEO has developed and the role technology plays in search marketing. In the past Lukasz has covered a variety of topics including: · · · · ·

Link Building Technical SEO Content Gap Analysis Analytics and Data Content Optimisation

LISTEN NOW 58

About Lukasz Lukasz is a hands-on speaker, he spends a lot of his time keeping up to date with the changes in the technology of online marketing and tools. Lukasz started working in SEO industry in 2000 while living in Poland where Social Media became his area of expertise. Lukasz speaks at many conferences including the Benchmark Search and Digital Conference. Additionally he organises workshops where he is sharing tips around SEO, Social Media and Analytics. Since moving to London in 2007 he has been responsible for the organic performance of a number of companies including HomeAway, Thomson Reuters, The Digital Property Group and USwitch.

LOCAL SEARCH AND LOCAL SERVICE ADS

TIME TO PREPARE? - SCOTT RUMSEY SENIOR MARKETING & CONTENT EXECUTIVE

Local search is one of the fastest growing areas of digital marketing, with businesses spending huge amounts in order to get visitors to their site and, ultimately, a conversion

FROM OUR EXPERTS

We have covered this in great detail and, in truth, the model is a pretty simple one for big eCommerce sites. But what if the needs are different and we look at smaller, local businesses?

Currently if you conduct a search for ‘barber shop’ and you have opted into the location options in Google, then you will be greeted with a list of search results similar to the one to the the right.

Imagine for a minute that you are looking for a red dress; you type into Google the search term ‘red dress’ and are greeted with a results page such as the one below.

This image shows the location of places to get a haircut, from a barber shop, in and around you area. Again, the search has worked perfectly and the user is given the answers or the options they require.

It is clear to see that your search has come up trumps and that you are indeed shown a selection of ads for red dresses. The five that are visible with images are from a variety of brands bidding on the search term ‘red dress’ and their position on the carousel will be determined by some of the filters ads rely on and the calculation between the bid price and the quality score of the business in question. Below the carousel you can see the first of the text ads, this one from Next, based on the above and the optimisation in the text. All of these things suit the customer’s needs; they’ll probably be happy with the results, click on one of the ads and make a purchase (the conversion). The item will be posted out, the buyers chosen address and therein ends the perfect buyer’s journey. But what about a haircut, this is not a product that can be bought based on an image, doesn’t get delivered and requires far more from a search. This is where local search comes into play.

FROM OUR EXPERTS If we look at the first result, Prestige Barbers, we can see that there are a number of CTAs listed. As well as the basic information such as name, address and phone number there are three icons, Schedule, Website and Directions. The latter pair are common and do exactly what they suggest, take you to the website of the barber shop and give you directions in Google Maps. You can often see a Call button, allowing you to phone and make an enquiry. What we are interested in however is the Schedule icon. Clicking this opens up the following screen. As you can see, you not only have access to the map but you also have a list of services available from the vendor.

At the top of the box on the left there are also two dropdown menus, the first for the type of service that you require and the second for the person offering the service. These can be seen in the following two images.

We know that these options are hugely popular as they epitomise the very idea that personalisation, authority, trust etc, are at the front of mind for Google. After choosing the service and the service provider the next stage of the process is that you then choose the time and date. This is something that is key to the feature as it keeps the prospective buyer moving along the purchase journey.

FROM OUR EXPERTS This all culminates with the opportunity to finalise the booking cycle with the payment option. By confirming and paying for a service the user has reached the final point of the online sales journey, all they need to do now is actually attend the appointment.

Local Service Ads Something for businesses here in the UK to think about at the moment however, is the paid aspect of local search. Currently rolled out in the US and Canada, this is another Google product that could soon head over here (and why wouldn’t it, such are the benefits). With that in mind we thought we’d get ahead of the game and look at the setup, it’s also useful for those who currently trade in the US and Canada. What are local service ads? Local Services ads allow for brands to advertise their business on Google and receive leads directly from potential customers. These leads come in as phone calls and messages sent through the Local Services ad. The business running the ad can reply to messages, track bookings and manage all of their leads at any time online and through the app which is Android & iOS compatible. What are the benefits?

This is a really neat addition to Google Search and will no doubt have an impact on the bottom line of businesses. As such now if the perfect time to make sure you are prepared for this should the roll out to the UK come in the next few months. As and when Google pushes this out we’ll run through a comprehensive set up here and in the form of a resource so look out for that.

There are many benefits from being listed in local search through Local Service ads

Get seen at the top of Google

Connect with potential customers who are searching for services that you provide and are most likely to book

Make use of simple tools to help you get started and create a personalised profile

Use the mobile app to communicate with customers at any time

Build trust with the Google Guarantee

Pay only for leads related to your business and the services that you offer

Customers choose you: You only hear from customers who have specifically selected your profile out of all the rest

How do they work? The Local Services unit is shown at the top of Google Search results when people search for the services that you offer in your area. Potential customers can click or tap on your ad to either call you or send you a message request. When they do, you’ll get an email and notification from the Local Services ads app. From this point on, the lead is yours to turn into a customer.

FROM OUR EXPERTS To ensure that you continue to receive messages, respond to as many of them as you can (even if you decline to provide the requested service). If you regularly fail to answer calls or respond to messages, your ad ranking may be affected. At this time, Local Services ads are available only for certain service categories and areas such as: cleaning services electricians estate services financial planning services plumbers pest control locksmiths Benefits of Local Service ads There are many benefits of Local Service ads and they include: Increased exposure The ability to connect with customers at the moment they’re looking for services you provide, ultimately leading to higher conversion rates Access to an easy-to-use management platform Receiving the Google Guaranteed badge – a signal of trust, and along with Google reviews a great way to build authority Limit wasted time, as customers come directly to you

Respond immediately to your messages and phone calls (failing to do so may lower your ad ranking)

Put a focus on your Google My Business listing The cost of ads The cost of ads depends on a number of factors and the main selling point of these ads is that you only pay for leads related to your business and the services you offer. The actual costs change depending on the type of lead, your location, and the type of job needed. You only pay if you receive a message or phone call through the platform. You can set a weekly budget based on the number of leads you want to receive, and you can always track your progress in the app by viewing your payment and charge history. You can also set up a monthly payment plan which should mean you never exceed maximum budget. If for whatever reason you get leads that exceed your monthly budget, they will be credited back to you. One other thing to note is that trust and reputation is a two-way thing with Google. If you get a number of ‘spammy’ leads that don’t appear legitimate, you can dispute it with Google. Final thoughts We often see that businesses and brands are missing out on conversions and this is largely due to the fact that their targeting across all areas of search is too stretched. Drilling down on the exact terms that you audience is searching for and serving up ads to people in the local area who can actually book and use your services is a must.

Increased chance of turning more leads into customers Optimising the performance of your ads As we have written in the past, there are no definitive answers when it comes to how the Google algorithm works. With over 300 signals, all with differing levels of importance, brands must be doing everything possible to get their ads to show and their site to rank for their chosen keywords. As always with your search marketing you should:

Focus on the quality of your offering, making sure you are showing relevant pages and ranking or relevant keywords

Invest time on rating and reviews

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Why Use

Google Smart Display Ads? - EMILY YALE PAID SEARCH EXECUTIVE Google Ads released a new campaign type in spring 2017: Smart Display campaigns are a new option that allow automated bidding, targeting and creatives with the aim of automatically optimising display campaigns to maximise performance and conversions. Google claims that Smart Display campaigns see 20% more conversions than other display campaigns (at the same cost per acquisition). Emily Yale, a member of our Paid Media (PPC) Team, recently attended a ‘Display Masters Workshop’ run by Google themselves so we asked her what she learnt and whether she thought it was worth it… Smart Display uses machine learning to examine your brand’s history and uses data signals on previous user behaviour to find the perfect match between interest and relevance to drive conversions. According to Google, the main benefits of a Smart campaign are that “they offer a much simpler campaign construction flow, a friendlier interface to manage your ads and a new, streamlined way of tracking your progress”.

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What content can you include in Smart Responsive Display ads? You should supply as many as you can, as Google says responsive display ads (RDA) with multiple headlines, descriptions and images get 10% more conversions, while those that used RDAs alongside standard image ads get 50% more. Best practice is to repurpose image assets and copy from existing high performance ads. Here are the general guidelines: Video of up to 30 seconds – this a brand new option introduced in March (2019) - Business name - Logo - Long headline (1 Up To 90 characters) - Short headlines (5 Up To 30 characters) - Descriptions (5 Up To 90 characters) - URL - Images (5-15) There are 12 standard display image sizes. Responsive display ads will use the 2000 different sizes available on the Google Display Network (GDN) and can show in less common positions and less competitive times of the day making for cheaper ads

You can scan your images from social media platforms (LinkedIn/Facebook/Twitter/ Instagram), or scan from your website directly – this is great as it’s way more efficient! 65

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What would you say is the main benefit of using Smart Display advertising? The time you can save. The campaigns are easy to set up: you provide your creative assets, target CPA (cost per acquisition) and daily budget, and Google automatically does all of the work in optimising your ads. As the campaigns are responsive, Google selects the best combination of assets, which gives you important data on which of your headlines, descriptions, images and logos perform best. Google told us that 80% of digital marketers’ time is spent on manual tasks, only 20% is spent on strategy. However, 75% of advertising impact is determined by creative quality, so being able to shift your time from tasks like bidding to concentrate on the important stuff – the things that actually influence user behaviour – is a massive benefit. Plus, the performance data means you don’t have to waste time creating and testing creatives that aren’t going to work.

Which feature stands out the most for you? I really like the fact that Google gives you real-time feedback, along with a scorecard that rates your as Good, Poor or Excellent and tells you how you can improve your ad. The quality and range of assets you upload to your ad has a big influence on this.

Another improvement I like is that Smart Display campaigns include a Pay for Conversions billing option (which, as the name suggests, means you only pay after receiving conversions), which now has low eligibility requirement (currently in beta) – just five conversions across the account over the past 30 days, much lower than the previous Bid Strategies requirement of 50-100 conversions. 80% of digital marketers’ time is spent on manual tasks, with only 20% spent on strategy. However, 75% of advertising impact is determined by creative quality, so being able to shift your time from tasks like bidding to concentrate on the important stuff – the things that actually influence user behaviour – is a massive benefit

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Who would you recommend Smart Display advertising for? I think a good choice for you if you want to reach customers beyond your manually targeted campaigns, or if you’ve been concentrating on remarketing and are looking to reach customers earlier in the buying funnel. Having said that, if you’re an advertiser who’s got highly segmented RLSA lists, it’s better to continue with your existing campaigns while trying out Smart display campaigns. It could also be a good call for those who are new to advertising on the GDN as it can take the fuss out of setting up and optimising campaigns.

What’s the reporting feature like? Once live you have visibility of asset level reporting, which are rated Best/Good/Low based on audience engagement rates. Google suggests making no/few changes in the first two to four weeks of a new campaign to allow for significant testing. Plus, you should wait four weeks before assessing performance. Google plans to introduce more metrics in the future but there is no official timeframe for this yet.

Smart responsive display ads also give you a Top Combination Report that helps you to understand perform the best together, based on engagement rates. Give us some Smart Display campaign ‘must-dos’ Google’s done this for us with this handy snapshot:

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Why Your Business Website Needs a Blog - SARAH MACKLIN USER FOCUS CONTENT STRATEGIST

You might think that having a good website for your business is enough. You’ve got all your product pages, an ‘About Us’ page, and ways for people to contact you. However, your website is missing the ultimate marketing tool; a blog. A lot of companies don’t have a blog on their site because they don’t know how to manage it, or can’t take the time setting it up and writing the posts. Mostly, they just don’t see the value that a blog can have. You wouldn’t set up a company without creating social channels, and I believe a blog is a necessity for your website to reach its full potential. Here are the reasons your company website should have a blog, and also the kind of content you should be including.

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Reasons to Have a Blog There are numerous reasons why a blog can be beneficial for your business. Below, I’ve discussed the most important ones, and the ones that will bring the most value to your business. Greater chance of being ‘seen’ online The more ways people can find your website, the better. Whether they’ve found you by searching for your products in Google, or by searching for a help term. Someone who searches for ‘How to paint wooden furniture’ is most likely looking to buy the paint for the job. If you’ve written a blog post on this subject, they’ll be directed to your site via a search engine who deems your post helpful. This potential customer will read your post and hopefully take a look at your products too, thereby making a sale. Stand out from your competitors You should be doing everything you can to stand out from your competitors. Why should customers pick you over another company selling a similar product? The answer might lie in your blog. A blog that showcases helpful, accurate and useful information will pose your company as trustworthy and a leader in your industry. A buyer might, therefore, be more willing to purchase your products. Give your brand a voice Each company has its own personality and its own unique traits that make it different from any other. This should come across in your marketing techniques.

Finally, HubSpot revealed in a survey that 60% of businesses who blog acquire more customers. They also found that companies that published 11+ blog posts a month had 3 times more traffic than those that published upto 4 posts a month. If nothing else has convinced you so far, these statistics should. What the blog should include Now that I’ve clarified why you should put a blog on your site, I want to also include the type of content you should be sharing. A blog isn’t another way for you to promote and sell products; your eCommerce website should be doing that for you. A blog should instead demonstrate your knowledge and expertise within your industry, and should be helpful for your readers. Say your business sells clothes. You might want to write about trends for 2019, what we can expect to see in Autumn/Winter, relevant industry news such as a catwalk show review, or a post all about London Fashion Week. You can write about topics that are relevant to your site without necessarily pushing your products. This would mean that if a person were to search ‘clothing trends for Autumn’ on a search engine, they would likely find your article. You should try to balance your blog with an 80/20 split. 80% should be engaging, interesting content that’s not directly related to your brand. 20% could be selfpromotion, such as posts about events you have going on, or any upcoming sales.

The best way to showcase your company’s personality is through the blog. Your blog will give your business a voice, and a way to demonstrate how knowledgeable you are. Have a think about writing in a particular style. You might choose to be sarcastic and funny, or more serious and professional. It all depends on your brand and how you want to be perceived by your customers.

The majority of your content should be industry news, how-to guides, or general advice posts.

Boost your SEO Blogging is a wonderful way of naturally giving your website an SEO boost. Search engines love fresh content. They are more likely to show recent results, not something that was written three years ago. By always adding new and unique information, you’re showing search engines that your site is up to date.

You should include a call-to-action in your article to encourage your readers to go to another page on your website. The call-to-action could be an internal link to another relevant post, a link to a particular product on your site, or a banner at the bottom that shows your readers ‘Related Posts’ that they might be interested in. This will hopefully keep them clicking through, and they’ll stay on your site for longer.

Blogging is also an additional way to rank for keywords and be found by more people, therefore driving more traffic to your site.

Including a call-to-action Once a person does land on your blog, you don’t want them to read one article and leave. This will only result in a high bounce rate and isn’t beneficial to you.

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What makes a ‘good’ blog? In the final section of this article, I wanted to explore what it is that makes a ‘good’ blog. Holiday parks company, Darwin Escapes, have an excellent blog, and here’s why it works so well.

They keep their posts relevant and they don’t feel like adverts. For example, they wrote a post about the York Dungeon, what you can do there, and even how much the tickets cost. Then they’ve included a small section at the bottom which describes where their nearest park is, and the link you can click to book it. It’s subtle, which is exactly what you should be aiming for.

They include some links to their social channels at the bottom of their posts, which would encourage your readers to keep in touch with you by following your social channels. It also has a clear menu, giving you the options to Leave a Comment, or go back to the blog.

They post regularly, around three times a week, and the blog has a clean, clear layout with good quality pictures. It’s easy to navigate and has a search button if you’re looking for something specific. The posts are a good length (not too short) and the writing is of a really high standard.

It’s a really effective blog and one that you should use as a starting point when you come to set up your own blog. Having a blog on your business website has so many benefits. I hope I’ve outlined the benefits enough for you to seriously consider adding one to your site.

FROM OUR EXPERTS

3 things to do when people are clicking on your Google Ads, but not converting - CHLOIE BRANDRICK SENIOR MARKETING & CONTENT EXECUTIVE

People are clicking on your paid search (PPC) ads, but not converting when they land on your site. They’re biting, but they’re not staying on the hook. They’re not buying, downloading your app, filling in a form – whatever you want them to do – but you’re still paying for those clicks. Here’s how to make sure you’re getting the best ROI from your budget… Successful PPC isn’t all about getting people to click on your ad – if you want a respectable conversion rate, you also need to put careful thought into what they see when they arrive on your landing page; if it doesn’t match the expectations you set in your ad, it’s unlikely they’ll convert. However, one of the biggest advantages of paid search is the ability to track the progress and success of your campaigns. By tracking these conversions, you’ll know which ads, keywords and campaigns are the most successful. This will help you invest more wisely in the best ones and ultimately, boost your ROI.

FROM OUR EXPERTS

1. Make sure you’re monitoring conversions accurately Make sure your campaigns have conversion tracking properly set up, otherwise you are effectively spending money in the dark. This is fundamental to measuring any campaign performance – without this you are effectively spending money in the dark. With further understanding on the value each conversion has and CPA targets, you can optimise the account to improve conversion rate and overall ROI. Google Tag Manager is a free tool that allows marketers to easily add and remove tracking code to websites whenever they want. It only requires developer input once, after its set up you can avoid the bottleneck of relying on other teams or agencies. Use Google Ads Conversion Import Collect the “GCLID” from leads driven via Google Ads, this can come through as a hidden field in an enquiry form and be easily imported into many CRMs. When your leads are given a grade or value, they can then easily be imported to Google Ads to determine the keywords and ads that are driving your best leads and worst leads. Are those generic keywords used by people who are going to buy? Are some ads just generating customer service enquiries? Track offline conversion rates You may not have the technology to track each offline conversion back to its original source. However top line data about leads to conversion is still better than nothing. If your offline conversion rate and lead time is normally consistent, share it with your campaign managers and it may be possible to map improvements or reductions back to changes on campaigns. This can be done with very little investment and, if you have Google Tag Manager, it can also be set up without technical assistance.

Track phone calls This can be done for free with Google Ads Call Conversions which limits you to phone calls received from Google Ads traffic. For a relatively low investment phone calls can be tracked at session level across all sources through other call tracking software. This shows you how much you currently spend on display advertising or SEO without knowing how many, and what type of phone calls the traffic generates? Feedback on the quality of calls or leads Many businesses can be put off by the large amount of admin and process involved in tracking enquiries through to conversion and beyond. While this is the ideal, it’s much easier to provide basic feedback that can improve your campaigns today. For example, basic feedback such as a grading system or potential leads value can be valuable data. Check your Google Ads account linked to the correct Google Analytics property Linking a Google Analytics property to your Google Ads account can help you analyse customer activity on your website. This information can shed light on how much of your website traffic or sales comes from Google Ads, and help you improve your ads and website. After linking Google Analytics and Google Ads, you can do the following: - Import Google Analytics goals and transactions into Google Ads as conversions. - View Google Analytics site engagement data in Google Ads. - Create remarketing lists in Analytics to use in Google Ads for targeting specific audiences. - Automatically view your Google Ads click and cost data alongside your Analytics site engagement data.

FROM OUR EXPERTS

2. Landing pages Make sure that the most appropriate ad group, and keyword relevant destination URL is being used. Having a highly relevant landing page will not only improve your conversion rate but will have a positive effect on Quality Score. Use your landing page Quality Score factor to identify poor quality landing pages which need improvement, or to be changed to a pre-existing more relevant landing page. Create multiple landing pages with content tailored for different levels of intent The content of each landing page should follow logically from the ad that triggers it, giving users a consistent message. The type of landing page you create will depend on the goal of your ad campaign, as well as match the intent level of the search you wish your ad to show for. Generating leads – your ads appear when people are actively searching for the products and services your business offers. You need to ensure you send searchers to a landing page containing content that is specific to their search and includes a clear call-to-action such as a callback request form, email subscription form, and/or a downloadable brochure. Generating revenue and profit – your ads appear when people are looking for a product or service you sell, or searching for a need or solution that one of your products could fulfil. Here, it’s important that your landing page includes relevant products – remember to emphasise the benefits they offer, rather than simply listing features.

Brand exposure and awareness – your ads promote your brand to a highly relevant audience, with the potential to increase traffic to your site. It’s vital here that your ads are creative enough to engage people with your brand – the content on your landing page should reinforce this message and encourage people to interact further.

FROM OUR EXPERTS

3. Ad copy A PPC ad is the search marketing equivalent of an ‘elevator pitch’, it has to have punch, convince and convert in a tiny space. Here are some tips on writing effective ad copy, but you can also explore specific PPC techniques to help you reach the right audience – those with intent to convert (there’s no point in having a high volume of clicks that aren’t converting). Don’t rely too heavily on dynamic keyword insertion It’s better to ensure that ads are naturally keyword dense after splitting out ad groups into tighter themes. This means you can write more compelling ads without the need to relying on the keyword being pulled in. Try using expanded text ads These give you more room to convey your message to customers, with ad length of up to 300 characters, three headlines and two descriptions. If you’re not implementing this feature across your account, you could be losing ground to competitors who will be taking advantage of the increased CTR and improved Quality Scores seen from the new format. Here’s an example of an expanded text ad, taking advantage of the optional third headline and second description:

Try adding responsive search ads (RSAs) into the account These allow you to enter up to 15 headlines, and four descriptions for each ad; a maximum of three headlines and two descriptions will show. Google will test and run all combinations, then select the best combination using machine learnings. Not using RSAs means you could be missing out on more relevant searches, and additional ad testing.

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