I first discovered the power of incorporating keywords into websites to boost rankings in 1996. By adding a desirable keyword into the META keyword tag and repeating it frequently in the text, I ranked clients’ websites on popular search engines like WebCrawler and Lycos. It wasn’t simple however, as I was optimizing client websites for 14 search engines, which all had differing algorithms. While much has changed since Google introduced PageRank, many of the fundamentals I refined in the 90s still apply.

I originally shared my philosophy on search engine optimization (SEO) a decade ago with The 3 C’s of SEO. In my article, I identified three primary areas of focus for successful SEO: content, code and credibility. While social media has influenced Google’s algorithm, the 3 C’s still apply today. In this article, I will outline the most common (and timeless) mistakes and misconceptions about SEO.

Content
One of the most formidable challenges with SEO is the creation of fresh, unique, relevant and compelling content. Creating copy, photography, infographics, video or other forms of content is both time-consuming and costly. Over the past few years, Google has dedicated substantial time improving the algorithm’s understanding of natural language. With the BERT update in 2019, context came into play, and marketers were presented with another challenge: supporting search intent. As Google’s search algorithm develops and matures, marketers make a few common mistakes when attempting SEO without adult supervision, most of which centers around quality, relevance, and search intent.

For starters, marketers often mistake the value of quantity vs. quality of content. Nowadays, Google has thousands of page graders who manually review individual web pages, and their major criteria includes E-A-T which stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. In short, Google wants to ensure that websites within their search engine provide up-to-date, factual information that users can trust. Google places strict responsibility on pages that offer medical information, financial information, or other highly impactful topics. These pages are aptly referred to as “Your Money or Your Life” pages because the information could significantly affect one’s livelihood, happiness, financial situation, or safety. Ecommerce sites are included within this category as a result of customers imputing credit card information. Thus, marketers should avoid generic, unprofessional or generally low-quality content, which includes outdated information, short blog posts, fact-less articles or poor-quality images and video.

When creating new content for a website, too many marketers fail to keep voice search in mind. While voice search can be performed through voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home, the majority of voice searches are now completed through smartphones using Siri and Google Assistant. Not only are queries more informal and conversational, but they also tend to be phrased in the form of an actual question instead of 3-5 topical keywords. A related oversight by some marketers is the failure to localize content for different countries, languages or business locations. The internet is both global and local and Google rewards brands that understand this fact.

Even if marketers can create truly compelling content, some are still working off outdated strategies. The biggest mistake website content can make is not supporting search intent. If the information on your page does not provide a valuable resource to what a searcher needs, Google will never offer your site to their users. How can we begin to understand search intent? Break down queries and target keywords to construct your content. Does the searcher need an answer to a question? Is the searcher looking to do research or make a purchase? Developing your content to address the answers will help prove that your website will provide the best possible support to searchers which gets rewarded with better rankings.

Technical/Code
Google cares a great deal about the technical makeup and performance of websites which involves site speed, schema markup, and user experience. Content Management Systems (CMS) such as WordPress and Shopify are incredible tools that allow novice website owners to create complex and personalized websites without coding knowledge or experience. Even so, there are a handful of technical strategies to consider, and to forego any could significantly impact a website’s visibility. First and foremost, the code must be clean, fast, and responsive. Second, a website should always utilize some form of schema markup which not only provides a search engine with coded information about elements on a page, but it qualifies your website to show in Google’s Rich Results which means more attention and engagement.

The most common problem with CMS platforms is that users rely on plugins to install advanced functionality onto a website which comes with large amounts of code that slows down site speed. Site speed is not only important from a user-experience perspective, but poor site speed can impact how many pages a search engine can crawl. Google recognizes and rewards exceptional user experiences, which includes designing with mobile users in mind. Also known as responsive design, mobile-friendly websites render a page differently depending on screen size. Luckily, Google provides several testing tools that provide clear opportunities for improving site speed.

With or without a CMS platform, websites should be designed with CSS, minimal JavaScript and optimized image and video files for maximum speed and usability. Far too many websites rely on outdated versions of HTML or other coding platforms, or have been built or rebuilt over the years, making them slower, less reliable and more difficult to index. I still come across prospective clients that do not have a current XML sitemap or robots.txt files to help guide search engines. Marketers may also not realize the impact of a sites’ architecture and structure can impact rankings. Historically, Google has preferred a flatter site hierarchy, which sometimes directly conflicted with a deeper structure that was more challenging to navigate and spider.

Google is constantly changing how information gets displayed and how users can interact with results. This means that marketers have endless opportunities to enhance the appearance of their website which ultimately helps to stand out against competitors. To qualify, websites must utilize structured data on appropriate pages. The most accepted form of structured data is JSON-LD which stands for JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data, and there are hundreds of acceptable schema types that websites can use. Currently, FAQ schema is the popular type; however, the other commonly used types include local business schema, product schema, and video schema.

While I haven’t experienced code trickery like cloaking for years, some marketers are still committed to black and grey hat SEO, meaning they are willing to bend or break rules for short-term gains. Unfortunately, Google always catches up and once penalized, websites may not recover for months, if ever. Along the same lines, many sites are not properly secured with an active SSL certificate which means trustworthiness suffers. While we’re on the topic of trickery, it should be noted that Google does not like duplicate content, whether intended or not.

The final area of oversight relating to code best practices, revolves around a website’s metadata. Believe it or not, despite a proactive focus on SEO, many marketers fail to incorporate keywords where it matters most: Title and header tags. While meta descriptions no longer directly impact rankings, they do serve as the elevator pitch to a webpage which means they do impact click-through-rate (CTR). To Google, a website with a lower CTR means it was a bad match or a poor resource to searchers. Additional keyword-optimization opportunities include ALT tags, anchor text and file names.

User Experience
Search engines want to provide their users with the best possible resources available which does not include a website that is slow, unaccommodating, or malfunctioning. Throughout the content development and technical support, marketers often overlook whether or not their website provides a positive experience.

Recently, Google has announced that the Core Web Vitals scores will be considered as ranking signals come May of 2021. The Core Web Vitals scores measure page experience and focus on three major components: loading (CLS), interactivity (FID), and visual stability (CLS). Google rarely provides warnings on algorithm or ranking signal updates, and it would be a mistake to not take advantage of it. It is also important to note that the Core Web Vitals and technical makeup of web pages go hand in hand, so websites with poor technical components will most likely have poor Core Web Vitals scores.

Another major mistake marketers make with regards to user experience – ignoring or unfamiliarity with ADA Compliance. Websites are now responsible for ensuring that websites are fully accessible to all users, and that can be harder than it sounds. For example, visually impaired users rely on screen readers to navigate throughout a website. A button simply labeled “Click Here” makes it impossible for that user to know where that button will lead to. Other common web features that are not ADA compliant include: flashing graphics, videos that auto play without the control to stop it, and images without any set alt-text.

Credibility
While the need for quality content and clean code has not changed in the last 20 years of search engine marketing, credibility factors have changed dramatically. Since Google came on the scene in 1998, with an innovative algorithm that focused on the hub-and-spoke model of authority, SEO professionals have put a good deal of effort into securing inbound links. Unfortunately, too many marketers have forsaken quality links (from popular and reputable websites) for quantity (typically lower quality websites with questionable domain authority).

We’ve known for years that quality trumps quantity when it comes to inbound links. Some marketers are holding out on that insight and continue to purchase links from high domain authority websites or even create or buy into link farms, which has been out-of-vogue for nearly a decade, but still retains the allure for desperate marketers.

While links continue to be a major focus for SEO professionals, there has been discussion around the weighting of inbound links in Google’s algorithm. Recent research unveiled by Stone Temple Consulting at SEMpdx Engage Conference, indicates that links are still a significant factor in the ranking algorithm. The vote of confidence an inbound link (or citation) provides a website is still a key factor and should be considered heavily in marketing efforts.

One area that marketers continue to debate is the impact of SEO initiatives on graphic design, copywriting and coding. In the early days of Internet marketing, I would get into arguments with my interactive agency counterparts about copy, code and design, in which SEO best practices would appear to conflict with design best practices. That issue has largely resolved itself, as Google has become more sophisticated and focuses more on the user experience and high value content. As a result, sites that are beautifully designed with unique content and artful coding tend to out-rank sites designed solely for SEO and not the user.

Credibility covers a host of elements, many of which are unknown or misunderstood by unwashed marketers. One example is domain history, which includes the age of the domain and when it expires. Google likes old domains that expire many years from now, so stop auto-renewing annually and renew every 5-10 years. Domain authority, which is available via Moz, indicates how likely the site is to rank for unbranded terms. A strong domain authority is over 50 out of 100. Off-site factors including quality and quantity of inbound links weigh heavily in the Open Site Explorer domain authority ranking.

A clear majority of businesses have a formal address. Regardless, every business should claim and optimize its Google My Business local listing. The biggest mistake in this aspect is most marketers believe small, local businesses should have an optimized Google My Business profile. However, all businesses and corporations should have an up-to-date GMB profile which is now the top consideration for local SEO rankings. Far too often, marketers overlook the claiming and optimizing of local listings, including Facebook, Yelp and other third-party feed providers for maps and business directories. Another factor related to local listings is reviews. Business reviews can make or break a business, and to take this a step further, reviews must be addressed, particularly reviews on your GMB. Marketers are particularly bad about ignoring bad reviews and not securing a meaningful number of positive reviews, which directly impact revenue, per recent research. Adding one additional star in the 5-star economy, adds 9 percent to topline revenue.

Learn from the mistakes of others and follow best practices when optimizing your website. I’ve included a few helpful SEO resources below, to ensure you are up-to-speed on the latest SEO strategies, tactics and tools.

The post 22 Common SEO Mistakes To Avoid in 2021 appeared first on SEMpdx.

Most brands have a meaningful presence on social media, yet challenges remain. New and evolving social media platforms continually challenge marketers to stay relevant. Beyond the “Big 6” social platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn), other platforms have gained relevance in recent years, including TikTok, Snapchat, Medium and WhatsApp. To further complicate matters, additional platforms are expected to gain notoriety in 2021: Twitch, Steemit, Reddit, Goodreads and Vero. Brands can feel overwhelmed by the dynamic social media landscape and look to outsource management responsibilities to agencies, which can create significant issues.

The recent Walmart tweet kerfuffle with Senator Hawley is a keen reminder of the impact a single Tweet can have on a brand. While the “mistake” was likely the result of an internal team member’s oversight, it could have just as easily been a third-party social media agency’s error. As valiant an effort as Walmart’s social team made, it did not dethrone the most famous example of outsourced social media ineptitude performed by NMS, Chrysler’s former social media marketing agency. On March 9th, 2011, an employee of NMS, Chrysler’s outsourced social media marketing agency, sent a highly offensive tweet that insulted Detroit drivers. For details, see the AdAge article, “What Lurks Behind Chrysler’s F-bomb? Social-Media Turf War.” Although it was deleted nearly instantly, the effects were lasting: the NMS employee was immediately fired, and shortly thereafter, Chrysler fired the agency. Both organizations received black eyes, which leaves many brands and agencies wondering if they are next. Not me.

As a career digital marketing veteran of 9 agencies, I’ve instilled in our collective corporate cultures the concept of transparency, honesty and integrity. At Anvil Media, client education and training is core to our values and purpose. As such, we’ve built our social media marketing practice around the concept of developing and implementing an overall social media strategy that empowers employees within the brand to manage its presence in social media. This approach addresses and alleviates many of the issues exemplified by the Chrysler and Walmart Twitter incidents.

While a vast majority of brands have developed a meaningful presence across social media platforms, many still struggle to consistently create compelling content and engage followers. In short, the challenge of determining the “who” and the “how” of a truly engaging social presence. While our approach of training and empowering in-house employees to manage social media is transparent, it does require an accepting corporate culture, discipline and a long-term commitment to be successful. For corporate marketers still considering outsourcing social media management, however, I’ve outlined 5 reasons not to outsource social media management.

Authenticity
I don’t think anyone can rightfully disagree that employees are in a much better position to truly represent a brand than an outside party (agency, consultant, etc.). The premise is simple but powerful: it is easier (and more transparent) to train existing employees how to represent a brand than train an agency on the nuances of a brand’s unique offerings, differentiators and culture. Due to relative transparency in social media, outsourced social marketers are often easy to spot, which can risk blow-back from brand enthusiasts.

Vested Interest
Nobody has a greater vested interest in the success of social media programs than employees of the brand itself. Essentially, an employee has one job and is committed to their success within the company. An outside agency, while motivated to please the client, employs account teams that typically have multiple clients. The difference may seem subtle, but if an agency loses a client, the account team may keep their jobs. As such, failure may be an option for some agency employees.

Control
If Chrysler had followed the best practices of other automakers (internal teams reviewing all outgoing messages), the offending tweet would have never gone out. While you could argue it was a process oversight, there is simply no replacement for the control when a brand manages a team in-house. Refer to Authenticity and Vested Interest for additional justification.

Empowerment
Keeping employees engaged and motivated can be challenging, particularly during tough economic conditions. Empowering employees to support social media initiatives can be a powerful alternative to financial challenging increases in benefits and compensation. Rewarding and recognizing socially-savvy employees who create success can also convince other naysayers to become believers.

Professional Development
Whether an employee is responsible for R&D, sales, customer service or marketing, training them to become socially savvy can reap dividends. As the employees build their expertise with social media, the likelihood they can identify opportunities and challenges increases dramatically. Since social media is the world’s largest focus group, where do you think the next big idea is most likely to originate, in house or online?

Getting Started
Regardless of who develops the initial social media strategy, it must incorporate essential elements to maximize success: detailed industry research, strategic planning, process, tools training and measurement. To minimize risk, programs should start small and iterate rapidly based on feedback and success metrics. Based on experience, brands often see tremendous benefit from looking for social media expertise outside the walls (yes, agencies and consultants) to both expedite the learning curve and implementation timeline. I’m biased, of course, in saying that Anvil is an excellent resources for social media training, but please make sure to incorporate internal talent into your long-term social media strategy in 2021 and beyond.

The post 5 Reasons for Brands not to Outsource Social Media Marketing Management appeared first on SEMpdx.

Getting Creative: 2020 Highlights
2020 was such a rough year, I felt obligated to dedicate the masthead image to the “Moldy Whopper” which aptly represents 2020. Burger King launched the Moldy Whopper ad campaign in early 2020 to highlight the lack of preservatives in their burgers, in order to draw a truly unique comparison to their rivals. While the campaign included broadcast and broad media exposure, the ad went viral digitally. It may not have increased Whopper sales, but it did capture tons of free media exposure. In other news, the Superbowl happened as it does every year, involving breaks in between commercials for some football. Check out some of the best ad creative via The Drum’s Superbowl highlights. Shout out to The Drum for being a critical resource for this article. I’m a long-time reader and fan, and they’ve done an exceptional job curating content, including Creative Works: the 10 most viewed ads of 2020. One brand that generated a great deal of buzz from its Superbowl ad was Planters and the killing off of its 104-year-old mascot as outlined in this article: The Mr. Peanut Death Super Bowl Commercial Refuses to Die.

Making Lemonade During The Pandemic
While Asia was rocked by COVID-19 in the Fall of 2019, the US didn’t feel it until March of 2020. Face masks, handwashing, thermometers, quarantine, remote work and Zoom meetings became a part of our daily lives. Marketers had to adjust to the resulting layoffs, hospitalizations, deaths, restrictions and changing behaviors. Smart brands adapted quickly, tweaking logos, messaging, creative and channel strategies to reach those stuck at home. One notable COVID-19 messaging adjustment came from a global fast-food chain: Why KFC isn’t stickin’ with its famous finger lickin’ slogan… for now. For the remaining brands, I outlined a few notable coronavirus communications strategies in the article Ten Marketing Communications Strategies to Navigate the COVID-19 Crisis. I also shared insights into the impact of coronavirus on the mom-and-pop storefronts: How to engage customers and market your retail business during a pandemic. One of the positives to come from pandemic is a renewed focus on authenticity in marketing: Coronavirus is prompting brands and tech players to show the real power of purpose. Regardless of the degree of your marketing or business pivot during 2020, humans have changed for good. I address the impact of the pandemic in the article COVID-19 changed consumer behavior and marketing strategy. In case you were looking for a silver lining in all of this, Facebook (aka Mark Zuckerberg’s) earnings were impacted, earning $3 billion less than pre-pandemic estimates.

Making Social Change
On May 25th, George Floyd was slowly suffocated by police, on a now infamous 8:46 video. While excessive force and deaths are common among minorities in the US, this particularly graphic video became a rally cry to eradicate racial injustice. Protests started Minneapolis and spread quickly across the US and around the globe. Some brands reacted quickly and powerfully, like Ben & Jerry’s, and others followed suit, as covered by The Drum: Brands show solidarity with George Floyd protests, but can they contribute to real change? The ripple effect extended to Facebook and Twitter in the form of advertising boycotts. Despite media attention, this summer’s Facebook ad boycott did not affect the social network’s ad revenues. Many brands elected to reallocate ad budgets back to Facebook moving into 2021, but time will tell whether any meaningful change resulted from the boycott. One lasting impact that snowballed quickly after George Floyd protests was a new cultural awareness filter regarding product names, mascots and packaging that could deemed insensitive. Names changed across the board, ranging from professional sports teams (The Redskins) to household products, as outlined in this article: Eskimo Pie Becomes Edy’s Pie: Here Are All The Brands That Are Changing Racist Names And Packaging. If you’re still unsure what your brand can or should do to honor (or simply minimize blowback) from the racial equality movement, I’ve outlined a few key stopes in this article: How You and Your Brand can make Positive Change in honor of George Floyd.

Maximizing Brand Strategy & Engagement
For the past few years, influencer marketing has been a big buzzword and a growing marketplace. The pandemic further fueled growth, as consumers were relegated to shopping online for most of the year and looked to influencers for ideas. I’ve outlined my perspective in this article: Influencer Marketing Strategy Best Practices, Tips and Trends. The coronavirus ripple effect forced marketers to evaluate new ways to engage consumers and influencers. The best example of opportunistic influencer marketing engagement is outlined in this article: Ocean Spray finally reacts to viral skateboarding TikTok. I’m a big fan of authenticity in influencer marketing, so I felt the Ocean Spray example was a gold standard for what will be a more intentional brand strategy moving into 2021. Another trend I couldn’t help but notice, was a rash of brand collaborations and product licensing deals between CPGs, QSRs (and other brands that lack cool abbreviations). The Drum provided an excellent summary in this article: From Dunkin’ PJs to Doritos’ sweaters: why brands are leaning on licensed products. Last but not least, I have to give a shout out to my idol, both personally and professionally: Yes, Ryan Reynolds Really Writes His Own Stuff, and He’s Got 7 Marketing Lessons for You. Beyond his acting and comedic chops, Reynolds brilliant marketer and a very astute businessman, from whom we can all learn.

Evolving Channels & Platforms
While I kicked off my digital marketing career in the mid 90’s as a search engine marketer, I’ve always preached the virtues of a multi-channel approach. In this article, Omnichannel marketing in the new digital age, I outlined the importance of integrated messaging and tracking across media. The pandemic forced many lagging businesses and marketers to make a digital transformation to deliver products and services online. One of the channels that benefitted from quarantine, was podcasting. While I first co-hosted a podcast over a decade ago, podcasts were relegated to a nerdy subset of the consumer spectrum. Not anymore, as Forbes outlined in its article, Podcasting Is Going Mainstream. I provided an outline for brands looking to join the fray in this Business Journal article: Podcasting strategies for quarantine life and beyond. Finally, virtual meetings and events became the new standard form of communication, as well as marketing. In a two-part series, the Anvil team outlined a game plan for slow adopters looking to ramp up event marketing in 2021: The Power of Virtual Events, Part 1.

For many, 2020 was a year to try to forget. For smart marketers, however, it will be a year to remember. Brands and marketers demonstrated an ability to pivot, be more authentic and create content with a greater sense of purpose. Look for that trend to continue. When it comes to digital marketing strategies and trends in 2021, we have you covered as well. For more insights into the year ahead, check out Anvil’s 2021 Digital Marketing Predictions.

The post 2020 Digital Marketing Highlights: A Year in Review appeared first on SEMpdx.

At Anvil we continue to be optimistic about the future, especially 2021. Each year since 2004, we’ve developed digital marketing predictions based on trends we see or believe will emerge in the following year. For reference, we advise you not to spend too much time reviewing our 2020 digital marketing trends especially since we evaluated the accuracy of our 2020 predictions in our annual year-end assessment on Anvil’s blog. We’re excited about the prospects 2021 holds, probably because it’s not 2020.

In case you’re not familiar with our predictions, we try to take a bold stance, and stay away from obvious or unavoidable trends. For example, digital advertising is rebounding from the pandemic and should have a strong year in 2021. Consumer behavior changes have also altered the advertising media mix and will continue to evolve in the following areas: audio (podcasting), (virtual) events, marketplaces outside of Amazon and esports, as well as app and gaming sponsorships. Pretty straight forward, right? That’s why it didn’t make the list below. So, let’s get started…

Post-pandemic behavior changes will take root and change marketing permanently
The pandemic’s impact has been significant and, likely, enduring. Consumer behavior has changed and reset, to a degree, permanently. We predict smart marketers will make short and long-term changes to messaging as well as products and services. Specifically, successful brands will focus on value-based pricing and messaging. We’ve shared our thoughts on the topic of consumer behavior change, both personally and professionally in these articles:
How the Pandemic Has Changed My Behavior
COVID-19 changed consumer behavior and marketing strategy
We’ve also outlined how brands can and should adjust marketing to address the impact COVID has had on consumers, from what they buy to how they shop:
Ten Marketing Communications Strategies to Navigate the COVID-19 Crisis
How to engage customers and market your retail business during a pandemic
While research from established firms like Ipsos and McKinsey provide valuable insights, we predict brands will conduct extensive research to better understand how the pandemic has impacted its employees, customers and industry. Smart marketers and brands will utilize those insights to inform both 2021 marketing strategies as well as long-term shifts in media and messaging.

Digital Transformation will evolve from catchphrase to reality
The pandemic has forced brands to adopt digital channels for product and service delivery as well as marketing. “Digital transformation” has become a popular buzzword since March 2020, and companies of all sizes are investing significant dollars in the migration to digital platforms, including ecommerce, chatbots, email, apps, artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, omnichannel marketing, and augmented and virtual reality. Brands that embrace evolving technologies to create a more seamless customer experience will be in a leadership position post-pandemic. Related articles:
Omnichannel marketing in the new digital age
Podcasting strategies for quarantine life and beyond

Brands will turn to Conversational Marketing in a big way
2020 was a year of desired connection – any connection, including that of consumer and business, as many companies moved to digital communication and abided by health restrictions to limit in-person communication. With that desire came demand for a new kind of marketing: Conversational Marketing. Brands such as Dominos and Sephora have seen success in 2020 using this method, noting their consumers’ desire for direct, and easily accessible, answers to their questions. Conversational marketing is a personalized approach that moves buyers through marketing and sales funnels through real-time conversations. Some examples include, but aren’t limited to: AI, chat bots, email marketing, and voice search. In 2020, these methods saw increases in user engagement for all of these, especially voice search which recorded just under 50% of all adults in the US who use voice assistants via smartphones and other devices. It is expected by 2021 that 80% of businesses will have some form of chat bot automation instilled into their company marketing strategy. We predict that conversational marketing will rise to that 80% in 2021.

Social, environmental and ethically responsible brands will flourish
We’ve long championed authenticity and transparency in marketing with our clients. We also walk our own talk, with Anvil’s Charity of Choice and other community-centered initiatives. Racial inequality protests in 2020 inspired us to change our own behaviors and advise our clients on content strategy. We predict brands will make significant efforts to clean up business practices and adjust messaging to appeal to enlightened consumers that care deeply about a company’s purpose and commitment to social and environmental sustainability. Research has shown that ethical businesses will be more successful in the long-term, so we expect to see many businesses to join in the movement in 2021. We’ve provided a few relevant articles below, for context.
How You and Your Brand can make Positive Change in honor of George Floyd
How to Create a Content Marketing Strategy: Pure Purpose
6 Secrets to Marketing to Ethical Consumers

Targeted advertising will become more regulated, creating challenges for advertisers and forcing them to get creative or expand their audiences/targeting
Data privacy has been a big topic throughout 2020 as the government has been cracking down on advertising platforms like Google, Facebook, and Twitter. Users are being tracked more now than ever on websites, apps, and even their location. At what point does it become a data privacy issue? With the release of the documentary The Social Dilemma, many people are finally understanding how these algorithms work and the way they target users in a very specific way. Many platforms like Instagram have made changes where users are now able to opt out of these targeting measures. Instagram has added a new setting which will enable users to choose whether they can be targeted with more personalized ads in the app via the usage of supplementary data sourced from third-party platforms and providers. As we move into 2021, we predict that these opt-out settings will become more popular and many targeting features will become more restricted as data privacy becomes a more well-known topic for all.

Amazon will experience unprecedented competition from online marketplaces
2020 saw the launch of multiple ecommerce marketplaces by American retail giants Target and Walmart. Both companies took a gamble in launching their ecommerce marketplaces to directly compete with Amazon and are offering incentives for vendors to enroll in their platforms by undercutting Amazon’s fulfillment and listing fees. While neither Walmart Marketplace or Target Plus currently offer the same one-stop ecommerce shopping solution for virtually every product imaginable, they have a head start on where Amazon initially began with a strong foundation of logistics, inventory management, and ecommerce experience. Both Walmart and Target also can leverage their brick and mortar locations with services like “buy online and pickup in store.” Expect the eCommerce marketplace wars to heat up considerably in 2021 as these 3 giants compete for market share and attract new vendors.

Google’s “Passage” structured data will gain wide acceptance
When Google First announced “Passage Indexing” there was some confusion from the SEO community on how the process would work. Would a whole webpage be indexed or just a passage, leaving the rest of my content to be disregarded? Google recently clarified “Passage Indexing is not the indexation of passages independent of the host page. Rather The entire pages will be indexed and passages from pages may be used as an additional ranking factor. The Anvil SEO team sees this change in the ranking process as an opportunity for a new type of structured data to take shape. We are theorizing that a new structured data and corresponding rich result will be released in 2021. This new markup will be aimed at selecting the specific passage which a webmaster feels best encapsulates the keyword or key phrase of the page. The new markup would be very similar in format to the existing FAQ markup, which may serve as a base which evolves into a Passage Indexing/Ranking markup.

2021 is (finally) the Year of Voice Search, seriously
SEO experts have been saying “this is the year of voice search” for years now…But we swear THIS is the year of voice search, 2021. Our team blogged about the Google updates that were announced during the Search On 2020 Live Stream. The Anvil SEO team believes that by expanding the BERT algorithm to 100% of English language searches Google will be able to gain and use the insights gained from these searches to further improve the context and understanding of voice searches. Just within English language there are different dialects, accents, and context of words. If BERT can master these intricacies in traditional typed searches Google has a much clearer roadmap to improving voice recognition algorithms to recognize them in voice searches. Additionally, the improved spelling algorithm may be useful in recognizing true search intent when our devices do not perfectly pick up our voices or use an incorrect homonym for the intended word. While the October updates should vastly improve all searches, the Anvil SEO team believes Google has taken massive steps toward making voice search a staple of search in 2021 and beyond.

Personalization will become an impactful ranking factor
Creating quality content and providing value takes time and effort, and as Google’s ability to understand language and conversation expands, it will be impossible to stand out from your competition unless your content aligns with how your customers talk. And doing so will ultimately help your website rank for voice searches. Research suggests that over 70 percent of searches will be voice-activated in 2021, and Amazon recently announced improvements in the works to provide better experience and more accurate results. Furthermore, reputation and representation are crucial components to SEO – particularly local SEO, so regularly updating your website, GMB, and social media platforms with personalized content will contribute to success. As we saw in the 2020 Local Search Ranking Factors which highlighted which variables have the biggest impact on rankings, personalization had about a 6% weight. However, COVID forced platforms, like Google, to expand the information included within the listing to provide consumers every answer they need about your business. Because of these additions, a complete and regularly updated GMB listing that is personalized to your company will have more impact in rankings compared to a weaker profile.

The Pandemic will create a permanent reliance on influencer marketing
Brands use social media influencers to present authentic unbiased advertising to a more loyal following group. As more people are using social media and for longer periods of time compared to before the pandemic there is an opportunity for brands to utilize social media influencers more now than ever. With the rise of the platform Tik Tok with the Gen Z and Millennial population and the continued popularity of Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube brands should be looking at ways to use social media influencers on those platforms to advertise in a creative way. A recent study found that 40% of people reported that they purchased a product online after seeing it used by an influencer on YouTube, Instagram, or Twitter. Influencers can speak on a more personal level and give their honest opinion that resonates more with their followers compared to normal brand advertising. We expect influencers to gain even more popularity and followers and businesses to use influencers more in 2021 than ever before. If you are new to social media influencer marketing read our recent blog post and reach out if you have any questions.

We believe that 2021 will be full of optimism, with a focus on performance across channels, empowered by improved tracking. We’re also looking across the spectrum for expanded testing of platforms, creative and an evolution of search. Let us know what you think of our 2021 digital marketing trends in the comments section or add your own predictions. Here’s to a healthier and brighter 2021!

The post 2021 Digital Marketing Predictions (via Anvil) appeared first on SEMpdx.

Advertising: Amazon Will Eat Google and Facebook’s Lunch
You may be aware that many product searches start on Amazon. Amazon, smart agencies and brands are already well-aware (that includes Anvil of course). What we see changing most in 2020 is Amazon’s ability to improve its advertising options for brands and sellers alike, especially in the voice search realm (we’ve been wrong about this in the past, but we really feel it this year!). Amazon Advertising is one of the few high growth areas of its business lines and will make greater strides in 2020, taking more market share from Google and even Facebook. Make sure you have an Amazon marketing strategy for your product business in 2020 or get left in the dust.

Display Ads: Animated GIFs, Video and Interactivity will Replace Image Ads
Static image ads on social platforms will start to fall away and videos, animated GIFs and interactive ads will supplant the 25-year-old ad format on popular platforms like Google and Facebook. This trend is already starting to occur, with video becoming increasingly prevalent. The reason is obvious: interactive and motion-oriented ad formats are more engaging, memorable and tend to convert better. While static imagery is still a majority of ad format inventory, that will change by the end of 2020. Brands and agencies designing ads in animated, interactive and video formats will take a leadership role and stand out in a crowded marketplace.

SEO: Structured Data Strategy will be More Important than Ever Before
In 2019, “0” or ‘no-click’ searches surpassed regular clicks on organic and paid links in search results. As a result, brands will need to become intimate with structured data, most commonly powered by schema markup. As more searches move to mobile devices, users are not scrolling down the page, as they expect the first result they see to answer their query. Similarly, with voice search, users expect the first search result to be the best answer to their query. Marking up content with multiple types of structured data to secure the featured snippet real estate will be more important than ever. Sites who do not take advantage of structured data will see their site slip down the results page and will ultimately lose traffic to competitors with strong structured markup strategies. Google wants to be able to provide an answer to a user query as fast as possible, and with structured data on a page Google can more easily understand and compartmentalize the information on you site. With that better understanding, Google will be able and more likely to serve your content as a result when it is applicable to a query. Routinely making sure the structured data implemented on your site is error-free and up-to-date should be a required part of every ongoing SEO strategy.

SEO: Google Will Mandate That All Websites Be Voice Search Compliant
Anticipating the continued proliferation of smart speakers and digital voice assistants through 2020, Google will proactively mandate that all websites be voice search compliant by the end of 2020. Currently, over 40 percent of searches are voice-activated and that will continue to increase, likely becoming most searches by 2021. Website copy and content will have to be voice search friendly to rank well in Google searches. Brands will need to utilize structured data (aka schema markup or rich snippets) to power the ‘best answer’ on smart speakers or position 0 on screens. Site structure and content will also need to be altered to better answer questions commonly asked via voice assistants and smart speakers. Websites that lack structured data will be penalized by Google. This prediction expands on the previous structured data trend.

SEO: Augmented Reality Will Play a Bigger Role
Imagine virtually trying out clothes from your favorite brands without leaving your home. Augmented Reality (AR) can make this a reality. AR provides brands an opportunity to overlay information in video, text, or image format onto everyday surroundings, objects and real-world locations. Nearly 80 percent of the information the brain takes in is visual. By providing information in a visual medium, that also has the spatial nature of augmented reality, brands are giving the brain a very intuitive way of accessing and understanding information. ECommerce will benefit the most from AR implementation, as will destinations, automotive and other complex sales. Brands like adidas and Converse have already implemented AR, earning higher conversion rates with fewer product returns.

Email Marketing: The Flywheel Will Displace the Traditional Sales Funnel
More companies will be moving away from the traditional sales/marketing ‘funnel’ to the Flywheel model in 2020 in order to focus on creating experiences that engage and empower customers. Originally created in 1898, the AIDA (Awareness/Interest/Desire/Action) funnel model is a linear approach that focuses on attracting new customers and engaging them in a business or service to turn them into a quantifiable lead. The flywheel approach takes an innovative view of the buyer journey and uses all client-facing roles such as customer service, marketing, and sales to interact with customers at every stage. Attracting, engaging, and delighting customers even past the point of purchase – so companies continue to interact with customers instead of treating them as one-time-only prospects. The customer is the lynchpin, with the flywheel itself divided into three equal segments, each representing stages along the customer journey: attract, engage, and delight. Each area creates energy and passes it along to the next, with the delight phase feeding back into attract. Note: Anvil was not paid by HubSpot to endorse its model, we just agree with the methodology and hope for greater awareness and adoption.

Email Marketing: Push Notifications Will Replace Email
Email is going the way of the dinosaur, maybe not next year, but in the coming years. Starting in 2020, however, there will be a notable shift to push notifications and chatbots as viable replacements, especially for brands targeting Gen Y/Z, consumers and retail environments. Push notifications are alert style messages that can be sent to a user via desktop or mobile web, depending on context. At least twice as many people today sign up for web push notifications, compared to newsletter registrations. Only the top 10 percent of the email marketers can achieve a newsletter sign-up rate that matches the performance of push notifications. The average time that passes before the recipient opens a newsletter is 6.4 hours. With push notifications, the recipient will see the message immediately. The updates to the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) and stricter filters have dented the potency of email marketing, which will be further compromised by the CCPA legislation. As alluded to earlier, younger, digital-native audiences favor fewer touchpoints and other methods of communication than email, when engaging brands.

Social Media: Performance Metrics Will Replace ‘Likes’
Those following social media closely are likely familiar with Instagram’s recent decision to hide “Likes” from followers. With the proposed change, only account owners and select third-party platforms will have access to that data. While influencers and marketers alike have voiced concerns about the change, it does provide an opportunity for everyone to be smarter about social media strategies, especially evaluating influencer marketing programs. For example, influencers will need to up their game to become more professional about how they represent their potential impact, focusing on reach and engagement rates over Likes. This trend will also push brands to adopt performance models based on transactional goals. The social platforms, especially Instagram and Pinterest, are making buying product easier than ever, so the timing is ripe for change.

Social Media: Consumers will Drive Alignment and Transparency in Influencer Marketing
Moving forward, look for brands and influencers to create better alignment and transparency. According to research, 84 percent of consumers believe authenticity is important when choosing influencers to follow. More compelling: only 11 percent of influencers are CMA and FTC-compliant when disclosing relationships with sponsoring brands. Millennials are increasingly skeptical of businesses’ motives and impact on society, according to Deloitte. As a result, brands looking to target Gens X, Y and Z will need to be more intentional about how they select and engage influencers based on core values and fit vs reach. Another trend that will go together with transparency and alignment is a shift to “always-on” instead of project-based influencer campaigns. The writing is on the wall for brands and agencies, especially for brands targeting younger consumers, to plan accordingly.

Social Media: TikTok Will Lose Momentum – Relegating It to a Snapchat Knockoff
While we’ve seen a good deal of hype and momentum built around TikTok this year, marketers are still trying to figure out how they can use it to their advantage. It is true that TikTok saw incredible growth this year (over 500 million active users in Fall 2019), which earned it the title “social platform of 2019.” But’s also true that signups are coming to a near grinding halt. As a result, parallels can be made with Snapchat’s adoption history – incredible growth, everyone joins, signups slow, users leave/become less engaged. We believe TikTok will figure out how to utilize ads more effectively in 2020, but we don’t think user engagement will sustain and the platform will end up in the same purgatory as Snapchat. It will become an afterthought as brands evaluate platforms on which to target and invest. The one exception to this prediction, is if you’re looking to reach a very, very broad audience within a certain *cough* young demographic (and China as a growth marketplace).

We hope to get good grades when we review our 2020 digital marketing predictions at the end of the year. Let us know what you think of our 2020 digital marketing trends in the comments section or add your own predictions. May your 2020 be full of fulfilled predictions!

The post 2020 Digital Marketing Predictions from Anvil Media appeared first on SEMpdx.

Advanced Facebook & Instagram Advertising in 2019 & Beyond
Taught by Tim Halloran of Aimclear fame, this all-day masterclass workshop provided a deep dive into the Facebook/Instagram adverting platform. Out of respect for those paying extra for these deep-dive workshops, I’m only going to share a few select nuggets. The first is to remember that audiences are discreetly different, but often overlap. To reduce duplication of efforts, consider merging audiences if the overlap is greater than 35%. Not being a Facebook advertising expert like my teammates at Anvil, I found this session to be very technical, but beneficial to those managing campaigns daily.

The Power of Purpose
Mike Dupree from Twitter talked about the needs and benefits of brand purpose in terms of connecting with customers. Social activism is on the rise, especially amongst younger generations. Another opportunity Dupree outlined is for brands to be an “island of safety” during turbulent times. Fun fact: 75 percent of consumers expect brands to take a stance on political or social issues and 30 percent are buying or boycotting based on that stance. He then outlined key steps for leveraging purpose: 1) brand permission (do we have a right to be here?) 2) take a stand without taking sides 3) demonstration > communication 4) organizational decision. He cited a few brands demonstrating purpose through advertising (Nike’s Just Do It), REI closing the stores for Black Friday with the #optoutside campaign, HBO with the Rock The Vote campaign and the Countrytime Lemonade Legal Ade campaign.

B2B Account-Based Marketing: Align Your Digital Marketing for Sales Success
Bob Tripathi talked about account-based marketing (ABM) best practices. He discussed the B2B Lifecycle, emphasizing the need for alignment across the organization (agreed). This is particularly important due to the complexity of the technology and need for integration across teams within the organization. Through a host of visuals, Tripathi outlined key steps in the planning process when building an ABM program. He emphasized the importance of partnership between sales and marketing, knowing that can be challenging. In his example, Tripathi illustrates a sales funnel with a 10% conversion rate from initial awareness of target account to closed deal. This is a very reasonable estimate, based on our experience, if implemented properly. Tip: ensure decision-makers, approvers and influencers are included in the contact database or target marketing efforts. Tripathi outlined key responsibilities by department. Marketing owns content, nurturing emails, lead capture and scoring. Sales owns meetings with marketing and/or sales qualified leads (MQL/SQL), building relationships and closing deals. Tripathi then went through the steps of building an ABM campaign in detail, starting with developing a target account list and contact database. This step requires close collaboration with the sales team, who should know exactly who they want to target. He recommends starting small, with 2 verticals and a handful of target accounts as proof of concept. With each target account having an average of 5 contacts, the database grows quickly. Get buy-in from senior management with early wins to provide more support for a broader rollout. The next step is mapping out content type by objective (product or service) and persona. Each persona should have a unique and relevant experience based on role and pain points. Once the content is mapped to each prospect journey, the next step is creating the content assets. Tripathi reminded the audience that print direct mail works. In terms of outreach via advertising, he mentioned Facebook Business, Twitter Business as well as standard players like Google and LinkedIn more commonly associated with B2B targeting. He gave a shout out to LinkedIn InMail at $.30 per send. Ensure your platform tracks all forms of activity and touchpoints along the journey. Lead scoring should be thought out carefully, to minimize false positives while generating a meaningful number of leads. Lastly, Tripathi recommends forecasting your lead funnel for planning purposes.

Three Keys to Mastering B2B Email Like a Jazz Musician
Cliff Seal from Salesforce compared famous jazz musicians with smart email marketing. He cited research, including one study where emails generated 5x higher unique open when personalizing subject line vs. just the first name. Cliff suggested running one statistically significant test every month, focusing more in generating data more than looking for a clear winner. He also cited a stat: 89 percent of B2B buyers expect companies to understand their business needs and expectations, which is very unrealistic, especially when lacking enough data. The workaround is by starting with available data, then segment, tailor and repeat. Cliff reminded the audience to customize emails in real-time based on behavior to maximize performance.

Website Migration: What to Do Pre, During and Post
Samantha Kermode discussed effective migration strategies. She opened with a pre-site migration audit, looking at tags, site speed, images and content freshness. Samantha highly recommends adding the current features, including schema markup, Twitter cards, Facebook Open Graph, Hreflang, plugins and Google AMP. I would add next gen image formats to that list. She also reminded the audience NOT to forget to use “noindex” in your robots.txt properly (hiding the new site before it’s live and removing the restriction when it is live. I’ve personally seen many larger brands lose rankings when failing to remove the “noindex” tag. Make sure to test the site (ScreamingFrog is good) to identify broken links, particularly 404s. Samantha also recommends capturing the inbound links with 301 redirects to maintain domain authority. She recommends the tool httpstatus. Additionally, a new XML site map will tell Google what pages matter and where to go to index them. During Launch mode, Samantha recommends monitoring XML sitemap, robots.txt, 301 redirects and rankings. With Post launch, continue with the previously mentioned activity, with additional efforts around reclaiming backlinks (especially with high domain authority) and optimizing conversion rates.

Extend Your Reach through Content & Influence Marketing
Juanika Cuthbertson of Ladypreneur Academy outlined best practices for content and influencer marketing. Juanika opened with the idea of creating consistency and intentionality around your brand. Specifically, she wanted the audience to think about brand voice, as that provides an essential foundation for content and influencer marketing. Juanika shared examples of brand voice in social and advertising, including Wendy’s, Pampers and jetBlue. She outlined which types of content work best for each stage of the customer journey, from awareness to purchase decision. Think about which platforms, media format and content types resonate for each stage and get it out there.

How to Become a Thought Leader on LinkedIn
Ty Heath from LinkedIn talked about my favorite topic: thought leadership. As a top B2B digital marketing influencer (according to BuzzSumo, not my Mother) with over 17,000 LinkedIn connections, I have a personal interest in this session. Ty talked about the importance of thought leadership across the spectrum, beyond traditional sales and marketing: employee and customer engagement as well as general inspiration. I disagree with Ty that sharing (other source) content on social is not thought leadership: I believe there is value in being a filter for others that don’t have the time to read every article and blog post on the Internet relating to your area of expertise. In a world of declining trust in corporations, thought leadership provides a unique opportunity to build trust with prospects and customers. According to recent research, social engagement by C-level executives increases reach and engagement by 5X. Ty outlined four steps for thought leadership on LinkedIn. 1. Create compelling content 2. Define your approach 3. Engage and nurture your audience 4. Measure and optimize. She briefly outlined a methodology LinkedIn uses for its own thought leadership: SCORE. S: Structure (content should follow a traditional story arc, yet maintain simplicity for better engagement and recall); C: Contrarian (makes it interesting and allows you to stand out); O: Ownable (make it distinctive and relevant to your brand); R: Replication (makes it valuable, like blockbuster model Disney utilizes); E: Expertise (making it profitable – as it appeals across the broadest spectrum of decision makers and influencers). Most of the session validated my thoughts on leveraging LinkedIn, outlined in this article: How to Ramp up Revenue in One Week or Less.

Digital Summit Charlotte was packed with insightful nuggets provided by expert speakers. I recommend attending a future event in a city near you. If you’re interested in learning more about podcasting, which was my topic, you can read my article on the topic: How to Extend Your Brand by Building a Podcast Strategy.

The post Charlotte Digital Summit 2019 Event Recap appeared first on SEMpdx.

Why Online Reviews Matter
According to research by Harvard Business School, a single star increase in the Yelp five-star rating system can increase revenue between five and nine percent. Brands can increase customer advocacy by up to 25 percent by replying to a review or decrease advocacy by up to 50 percent by not replying. As reported in an Invesp study, consumers are likely to spend 31 percent more on a business with “excellent” reviews, while a single negative review can cost a business roughly 30 customers. Additional study highlights include:
• 92 percent of consumers say they will use a local business if it has at least a five-star rating
• 90 percent of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business
• 88 percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations
• 72 percent say that positive reviews make them trust a business more
• 72 percent of consumers will take an action, only after reading a positive review

While the motivation to monitor and manage online reviews is clear, many brands still struggle to develop an effective online review management program. The following article outlines best practices across industries in terms of generating positive reviews and responding to negative reviews. For starters, make sure your company values its customers and employees and owns any problems as they may arise, as there is no better hedge against negative reviews than being the best business you can be. Secondarily, it’s important to ensure your company has a solid marketing foundation on which to build an online review management program.

Building A Foundation for Successful Online Review Management
The primary objective of online review management programs is to create a positive brand perception, as many review sites ranking highly for brand-name searches. It is important to understand, however, that many (unfavorable) review sites can be pushed down in the search results, by a robust digital marketing program. Below are just a few of the strategies, tactics and channels to consider when building a strong foundation for your online review management efforts:

• Search engine optimization (SEO): Optimize your website, blog and social media profiles to rank for branded search terms including company and product or service names. Beyond on-site optimization of content and code, build credibility by seeking links and directory listings from high-ranking local business and industry vertical sites. For example, lawyers and law firms should have a properly optimized profile on the State Bar Association, Avvo and Justia.
• Paid-per-click advertising (PPC): Augment your organic listings with branded ad campaigns, especially for terms related to any sensitive issues like lawsuits, disputes or stories in the media. The ads should direct to a relevant landing page, allowing you to control the narrative.
• Social media: Create and optimize compelling social media profiles and organic content on popular platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn to maximize rankings for your brand. These highly-trusted websites rank well for branded searches with minimal effort and while you don’t own the profile, you have control over the content and thus visibility.
• Public Relations (PR): Seek out media coverage opportunities, including expert interviews (via Cision’s HARO), speaking engagements, syndicated articles and awards. Third party validation is a powerful perception-shaping tool and known media websites also have high credibility with Google, not just customers.
• Influencer Marketing: When implemented authentically, connecting with and engaging industry influencers can create high-ranking content with viral potential that can mitigate negative results and help change perceptions. It can also backfire if done poorly, so be warned this is the most controversial method of generating awareness and reviews.

With a robust marketing program in place, the next step is to build out an online review management program. A robust online review management strategic plan should include the following elements, which are outlined in much greater detail in the article, How to Grow Revenue via Online Reviews.
• Team training. The customer journey always starts and ends with your employees. It is essential to train employees to provide a compelling experience which increases the likelihood customers will write positive reviews. Also provide a framework and incentive for employees to identify happy customers and provide the tools that will help them solicit reviews from those customers. Training must also include addressing negative reviews, even if only a select few employees have permission to respond.
• Rules for engagement. For employees trained and certified to respond to reviews, ensure they have a roadmap or methodology to respond to any reviews in a timely manner, especially negative reviews. Employees best qualified (in order of preference) to respond to negative reviews include: customer service, public relations/marketing, product development, HR, sales and legal. The larger the company, the more likely legal and HR departments are to be involved, at least in the planning process.
• Review monitoring. To maximize the positive impact of existing content and discussions, invest time in monitoring social media, review sites and branded search results to identify unhappy customers and respond in a timely manner. A good place to start is free or low-cost brand monitoring tools like Google Alerts, SocialMention and Mention.com. More robust review monitoring platforms include Chatmeter, NiceJob, Trustpilot, ReviewPush and Yext. Platforms have also been developed for specific industries, including the legal profession, with platforms like JustLegal.

Responding to Customer Online Reviews and Comments
With foundational marketing in place, a trained team and brand monitoring tools, it’s time to address the elephant in the room: negative reviews. While we will focus on addressing negative reviews, there are a few quick notes worth consideration:
• Never delete reviews. It’s never a good look for a brand to delete reviews, as it implies there is something to hide. The only exception to this rule is any content that violates legal, ethical or security standards.
• Never incentivize reviews. Compensating customers for positive reviews is a violation of terms of service for many review sites, especially Yelp! While most sites frown upon back-end rewards for positive reviews, it’s doesn’t technically influence the action or sentiment (unless everyone knows, in which case it could be considered a violation).
• Always respond to reviews, both good and bad. It’s a best practice to respond to all reviews, as it demonstrates a level of care and commitment to customers that competitors may not share. Responding also provides an opportunity to emphasize company core values, even when responding to bad reviews.
• There are a few exceptions to the above “always respond” rule. In some cases, responding to a negative review can be counter-productive. Specific examples include: 1) reviews so obviously fake, off-color or otherwise clearly violate the terms of service that they can be quickly flagged and removed 2) questionable reviews where customers, fans or others have responded and adequately addressed the issue 3) responding before you have all the facts or 4) if you’re too worked-up to provide a thoughtful, level-headed response.
• Take the right tone. Don’t be defensive, demeaning or curt. Be courteous, honest and thorough. Take the high road. Provide facts, not feelings. Wait until you have all the facts and are in the proper mindset to provide an informed, level-headed response.

One common challenge companies face is determining which reviews are fake and which are real (positive or negative). When evaluating reviews to qualify them as “legit” take the following steps:
• Verify they are real customers/clients based on your internal database
• Review profile history and other reviews for authenticity (timing, location, language or other odd/inorganic patterns)
• Look for trends that may indicate they were paid to review by a competitor or other “hater”
• A profile with very little history is suspect, as is a profile with very little information about the individual and little consistency in types of businesses review or too much consistency

Owning The Issue and Turning that Frown Upside Down
According to research, a customer that has a bad experience tells 5 people. If the brand rectifies the issue and satisfies the customer, they will tell 10 friends. That statistic is amplified via social media. As such, there is significant motivation to turn bad customer experiences around. Once you’ve determined a negative review is legit, there are steps you can take to maximize the opportunity to turn them from a hater to an evangelist or to at least neutralize the review. Here are my five recommended strategies for addressing negative reviews:
1. Acknowledge the complaint/issue and apologize. Sometimes, unhappy customers just want to be heard. At the very least, you look good to those reading the response.
2. Provide contact information to get the conversation offline as quickly as possible. Whether the conversation goes well or sideways, you don’t want customers or competitors seeing the back-and-forth if possible. You may provide a high-level recap publicly, once an issue has been resolved. Since most customers do not update their negative reviews after resolution, it’s helpful to outline the steps you’ve taken to address the issue.
3. Fix the issue and communicate how you’ve ensured it won’t happen again. Sometimes, customers are more interested in protecting others and are less concerned about their own well-being. Either way, it’s smart business.
4. Ask what you can do to make it better/make them happy. Always better to ask what would make them happy, as it may not be as expensive a fix as you might expect.
5. Once you feel you’ve adequately addressed the issue/s, circle back to request an updated review/rating. While I’ve personally updated negative reviews proactively, once a company has addressed any concerns, don’t assume consumers will do it without you asking.

In the end, delighting customers and turning them into brand evangelists is a highly effective strategy to grow your revenue and protect your brand online. For more information on this topic, read this previous post: Online reputation management: going beyond search results.

The post How to Respond to Online Reviews: Best Practices appeared first on SEMpdx.

2018 Digital Marketing Prediction: How Did We Do?

Voice Search will make massive strides in 2018
In 2018, digital assistants will dramatically affect the way consumers search. The 2017 holiday season will prime the pump with consumers purchasing large quantities of voice-assisted devices, including Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple iPhones with Siri and Microsoft Cortana devices. The Android, Windows and Apple device users will speak directly to their devices to conduct searches as well as manage their lives. How consumers verbally communicate significantly varies from how individuals type out search queries. Because of this variation in behavior, you will begin to see more long-tail keyword queries; this will allow brands to create much more accurate and intelligent keyword search optimization strategies, since more granular data will be available around consumer behavior. Voice search is also driving the need for brands to optimize for Position 0 on Google. Position 0 is a sentence, list, or table “answer” to common questions asked by Google users that appear above the organic search results. This coveted position will become increasingly competitive, even as Google heavily moderates results. Lastly, brands will increasingly invest in custom voice “skills” for Amazon, which is now estimated at 25,000, to better connect and engage consumers.
GRADE: B

Voice Search will fully embrace Paid Media
As we predicted in 2017, it’s only a matter of time before Google and Amazon figure out how to monetize voice assistants. As more phones and smart speakers flood the markets and consumers acclimate to utilizing these devices daily, Google, Amazon, Bing and Apple will increasingly explore ways to integrate paid media into their voice-based services. This process has already begun: as we outlined in March, Local Service Ads are in beta and will be rolling out to Google’s Home and Pixel devices soon. Select home service companies have been invited to participate in this paid, Adwords-based experience. More is sure to come. By Q4 2018, consumers everywhere will be asking their voice assistants for shopping help and that paid ads will be at the center of the interaction. You can bet on it.
GRADE: D

Amazon Search will continue to gain ground on Google
According to a Kenshoo study, 56 percent of consumers start product searches on Amazon. That means a minority of consumers are starting product searches on Google. While this behavior shift that has been in the works for the past decade, it will reach a tipping point in 2018.
With Amazon advertisers expected to increase investment by 63 percent in 2018, Google may find itself in a defensive position. In short, Amazon is the new Google in many respects, so brands will adjust marketing strategies appropriately in 2018. Those that take a more aggressive stance and invest bigger and smarter in Amazon organic and paid programs will outperform competitors that fail to do so, in 2018 and beyond.
GRADE: B+

eBay makes an Ad Play
As Amazon reaps massive financial success from its Sponsored Products promotion platform, expect other players to step up. One big online reseller that will be making a play in 2018: eBay Promoted Listings. Once known as the place to auction off that (hopefully valuable) junk from your attic, eBay has quietly started allowing “Buy Now” listings to become more pervasive, representing an opportunity for re-sellers to sell direct using the platform. eBay also allows a minimum bid for auction items to be considered “sold”, for those selling rarer and more valuable items they believe will fetch a premium. Along with new listing options, eBay is increasing ways to get more traffic to customer listings via its Promotions tool, expanding the program to new categories and sellers in 2017. Unlike Amazon and other promoted listings platforms that charge only for a click, eBay only charges for the promotion when an ad is clicked and the item is sold to the clicker within 30 days. This allows them to charge a premium for promotions, but the charge is always attached to an actual sale. Experts predict eBay Promoted Listings will represent a $1B+ market with over 70% margin, prompting a rise in eBay stock valuation in Q4 of 2017. Early adopters of this technology might see a blue ocean of opportunity in 2018.
GRADE: D

AMP Pages Will Blow Up & Become a Ranking Factor
As Google continues to roll out Mobile-First Indexing, more emphasis will be put on sites utilizing AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) to improve mobile user experience. AMP pages load 4x faster than normal website pages on average, which can significantly improve user experience, CTR and site engagement. Currently, AMP pages do not have the widespread adoption that Google was hoping for. Only 900,000 of the 1.2 billion websites on the internet have implemented the AMP framework thus far. With Google’s continued focus on mobile, it is likely that they will soon factor the use of AMP pages into organic rankings to further increase adoption. Businesses that have yet to implement the AMP framework should consider creating AMP pages for their top performing content, especially if Google intends to make AMP a ranking factor.
GRADE: C-

Link Building will play a much more prominent role
We’ve already discussed the importance of ranking for Position 0 and owning voice search results, but it is worth mentioning that the old-school strategy of securing high quality inbound links to boost domain authority is not only important, it is more critical than ever. To achieve Position 0, ensure that other websites linking back to your website are the most “authoritative” around the query that the visitor is searching. 70 percent of voice search results are Featured Snippets, so capturing Position 0 in SERPs translates to you owning the voice result if someone talks to Siri, Bixby, Cortana, Alexa or another digital assistant.
GRADE: B-

Brands will focus on Fan-Generated Content
When it comes to showing products in natural settings, there are several brands who rely on celebrity photoshoots and repurposing paid influencer content. The influencer scene has become so overblown, that many influencers are pricing themselves out of the market.
Based on this trend, we think the bubble is about to burst, and many brands will switch to sharing user- generated content from fans instead of high-priced influencers. Vans Girls is already sharing fan-generated content for many of its Instagram posts. This works in Vans’ favor by allowing them to save money, while providing incentive to its fans. Fans are already posting great content on their meticulously-curated accounts and tag posts with Vans in the hope of being featured on one of their favorite brand’s social pages. The collaboration strengthens brand affinity with consumers and helps solve a common challenge among brands: content creation.
GRADE: B+

Micro-Influencers are going to become more useful to Consumer Brands Than Big Influencers
In the past few years, Influencer Marketing has become a proven tactic for driving awareness and leads. Seventy one percent of consumers are more likely to make a purchase based on a social media reference. People follow influencers they like and respect on social media, but an influencer doesn’t have to be a celebrity or have at least 100,000 followers to help your brand.
While brands have been pining after mega-influencers, micro-influencers have demonstrated significant value by making an impact with as few as 1,000 followers. They tend to be more authentic and trustworthy brand ambassadors. The smaller price tag, high engagement rates and steady results will raise eyebrows of previous skeptics. Look for 2018 to be the year of the micro-influencer.
GRADE: A+

Chatbots Will take Over Social Media Messaging
According to a study done by Facebook, 56 percent of consumers prefer to handle a customer service issue over chat vs. over the phone. As this trend continues to grow, the need for timely responses on social channels will grow with it. Every visitor to a website or Facebook business page presents an opportunity to enter a brand’s funnel and chatbots help secure that potential lead. Don’t wait and see for yourself: jump on the trend by creating a simple Chatbots that can answer questions and redirect social media visitors to your Customer Service department and/or Sales team. The secret behind chatbot’s is the ability to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to broaden its knowledge and ability to provide sales and service support in a seamless manner. As a result, look for greater chatbot adoption in 2018 than any previous year.
GRADE: A-

Augmented Reality Marketing will finally Take Off
Pokémon Go might have come and gone, but it’s effects on marketing might not be so ephemeral. The first attempts at augmented reality marketing seemed to be a bust. In 2009, a hidden feature named Monacle made Yelp the iPhone’s premiere AR application. Sadly, it never took off. In 2010, the MIT Technology Review even wrote an article detailing the failures of AR campaigns to draw in consumers. Pokémon Go, the fad of 2016, may have breathed new life into AR by introducing it to a mainstream audience and re-inspiring marketers. Ad Age claims that AR is “marketing’s trillion dollar opportunity.” In the Fall of 2017, Apple released the ARKit, which gives developers tools to create their own Augmented Reality iOS applications. An example of an app already created with ARKit is Ikea Place, which lets you visualize how Ikea furniture and décor will look in your home or office. AR marketing use varies from the real-estate and interior decorating spaces to virtual banners and Google My Business information for brick-and-mortar establishments. Apple CEO Tim Cook pronounced, “We are high on AR for the long run, we think there’s great things for customers and a great commercial opportunity.”
With tech giants behind AR and the “Pokémon Go generation” (millennials) starting to buy homes, advance in their careers, and spend more on entertainment, it seems AR marketing might finally go mainstream. Maybe Yelp will even put out Monocle 2.0.
GRADE: B-

SkyNet may become a Reality, thanks to the rapid evolution of AI
We don’t typically wear our tin foil hats in public, but there are already signs that AI has the potential to go very, very wrong. From the “highly aggressive” DeepMind AI to some of the worlds brightest minds warning us about the dangers ahead, 2018 has the potential to bring a Terminator-like problem front and center. It may not be as obvious as this guy running amok through the city streets with his army of buddies, but it will be very real. We are turning more aspects of our lives over to technology at an alarmingly fast rate. Self-driving cars, bank accounts, smart refrigerators and even medical procedures are being managed by AI, with little to no control or regulation. The rate at which machines can learn already far exceeds our ability as human beings – setting the stage for a potential showdown in the future. We predict there will be at least one major event in 2018 that will clearly demonstrate the threat.
GRADE: A-

2019 Digital Marketing Predictions

Without further ado, here are Anvil’s digital marketing predictions for 2019.

Brands Will Make Major Strides with In-Game and eSport Sponsorships and Related Advertising Opportunities
While online gaming, especially multiplayer, has been around since Doom in the early 90s, recent explosive growth, thanks in part to games like Fortnite, have changed the game for brands looking to target GenZ in particular. Online gaming enthusiasts range in age from 10 to 65, yet a whopping 73 percent of 14- to 21-year-olds in the US identify as a competitive gamer (including 56 percent of females in that same age group), according to a WaPo study. Anvil believes game makers will not be able to resist lucrative partnerships, sponsorships and advertising opportunities. Recent examples include Wreck-It Ralph Breaks the Internet and Fortnite including a brief cameo in the movie and an Easter Egg embedded in the popular game. Look for more cross-over partnerships in the future. There is another large audience relating to gaming and that is spectators and fans. Electronic sports (esports) are increasingly a spectator sport, drawing millions to global competitions (physically and virtually). While most gamers play for social reasons, 35 percent play to win prizes or acclaim. Look for brands to increase sponsorship budgets to get in front of gamers by associating brands with high profile players.

With Search Growing More Prevalent, Google Will Introduce Campaigns Specifically for Voice-Assisted Devices
With voice search becoming more prevalent, we believe the trend will affect Google search with a new campaign type. This campaign type would specifically be for voice search and would allow targeting with bid adjustments by the type of voice search device including mobile phone voice search as well as the specific voice-assisted devices such as Amazon Echo and Google Home.

AEO and REO Will Replace the Outdated SEO Model
Search Engine Optimization will fall by the wayside in favor of Answer Engine and Research Engine optimization. SEO is becoming a broad term that is beginning to encapsulate digital marketing as search engines are more and more able to anticipate user intent. At the same time, SEO is becoming more siloed as websites are beginning to focus more on their own specialty. As a website’s optimization aligns more and more with where users are in their specific journey, websites will have to think about how to optimize to answer questions, allow for research, or convert from search engine results pages directly.

Voice Assistants Enter More Home–sand Businesses–Than Ever Before
Use of voice search will continue to increase. Facebook, Google, and Amazon have all doubled down on in-home voice assistants and Amazon have just stated that their biggest Cyber Monday saw the most sales of their Amazon Echo and Echo Dot. Voice search isn’t going anywhere, and these massive companies are attempting to make it easier and easier for users to utilize voice in their everyday lives. Not only that, but voice assistants are moving into the business sphere more and more.

Blockchain Is Going to Lie Low
After the crypto gains in 2017, many companies engaged in the marketing ploy of launching blockchain products, trying to ride the media coattails surrounding the emerging technology and buzzwords associated with it that most people don’t truly understand. A year later and crypto markets are in the middle of a tailspin. As mainstream attention cares only about the dollar signs associated with crypto, companies will keep quiet about their blockchain products until the next bear market. As for crypto, many projects will lose funding; the deadwood will burn. But the community is thriving as ever. Keep your ear to the ground for projects looking to go to market and take advantage of the opportunity to get into this industry on the ground-level by keeping your prices low and goals reasonable.

Video Trends Will Increase in Marketing, Messaging and Media
Live video content (streaming) encourages high-engagement and will be an even more valuable tool for brands in 2019. This type of video content will be more search friendly with more prevalent use of closed captioning and the power of artificial intelligence. AI can transcribe audio to make video more searchable. Video previews (silent) will auto-play on most platforms. With the ease of video production essentially being in everyone’s phone, video will also take on more of a 1:1 approach. Personalized video messages will start replacing chat, email, and phone calls as ways brands communicate with customers. Videos will be created to thank a customer, delivers support, or follow-up on customer questions.

Virtual Reality (VR) Will Finally Go Mainstream
2019 will see Virtual Reality move from a niche-gaming system or novelty experience to a much more accessible platform with higher use than we’ve ever seen before. While it won’t even come close to the usage of mobile, computers or television, the technology, cost and ease of use has taken many giant steps over the past year – which see a payoff this year. Look no further than the new Oculus Go. No longer is a high-powered computer needed to run VR. The Oculus Go is making VR more accessible due to its simple setup and relatively low cost. Facebook, the owner of Oculus is already betting heavily on the success of the Oculus Go by launching an entire multi-platform campaign that spans from social to television. Online radio advertising will see increased impressions and decreased performance as Virtual Reality hangouts become more popularized. The Oculus Go also allows users to play online radio stations while in hangout rooms and will increase the available ad space for online radio such as Pandora and Spotify. However, as these placements aren’t clickable, advertisers attempting to drive site traffic will see decreased performance.

Local SEO Will Get Sexier
Yes, voice search is trendy, but should optimization focus on voice search alone? No: rather voice search should be an integrated part of a larger focus. According to a 2018 BrightLocal study, smart speaker owners usually use their devices to perform local business-related search on a weekly basis. Over half of smart speaker owners perform this type of voice query every day! Voice search optimization shouldn’t live in a vacuum. It should be part of a holistic on-Page or on-SERP optimization plan or Local Search strategy. With an increasing amount of no-click searches and Google-owned content eating up more space (and often all above-the-fold real estate) for local SEO SERPs, on-SERP and voice search optimization is and will continue to become more paramount to Local SEO in 2019.

GenZ Will Call For Increased Brand Transparency & Purpose
Brand transparency and purpose will go beyond affecting ad targeting and be a critical component to developing successful marketing strategies & campaigns. As Generation Z ages and their buying power grows, it will be important for brands to think about their story and how to connect with this new consumer group. To effectively connect with GenZ, brands will not only have to authentically convey their values & purpose but actively live it and prove their commitment.

Amazon Will Create Its Own SEO Position 0
As Amazon gains a larger share of not only online shopping but consumer purchases in general, it will become more and more like its own search engine. We expect increased importance on SEO for product pages, and possibly even position 0 and “featured snippets” in the form of a promoted product that matches one’s search query.

So, there you have it. Feel free to leave comments regarding your 2019 predictions or provide feedback on our 2018 review and 2019 digital marketing predictions. Happy Holidays!

The post 2019 Digital Marketing Predictions (+ 2018 Year-in-Review) appeared first on SEMpdx.

In their quest for the most useful search result, Google’s algorithm has placed increasing weight on social media signals including citations, likes, comments, and shares. Brands that have hesitated to enter the social media fracas have paid a price in terms of organic search rankings. Conversely, brands who embraced social early have benefitted from the additional boost in visibility. The integration of social media tactics into search engine optimization (SEO) efforts can maximize the impact of those efforts on brand visibility, credibility, and sales. The following seven steps will ensure an optimal organic search engine presence.

Step 1: Claim & Optimize Social Profiles
The first and most important step in improving your organic search visibility via social media is to ensure you’ve created profiles on the top platforms. It only takes a few minutes to claim a profile on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+, Instagram, and Pinterest. Be sure to secure your brand name as your handle, as it typically becomes the URL and is your best performing keyword in search results. Make sure to incorporate relevant industry keywords into your biography and status updates to boost non-branded search visibility. If you only have time to claim one profile, make sure it is Google+, as there is no such thing as SEO on Google without a Google+ company profile.

Step 2: Listen, Learn & Apply
In case you haven’t yet figured it out, social media is the world’s largest focus group. Every day, millions of people publish their thoughts, opinions, and insights about your company, competitors, and industry. Analyzing keywords and phrases posted on social media provides insights into future content opportunities for SEO. When you have insights into current trends, you can create unique, timely, and compelling content for your website, blog, and social profiles. Utilize Google, social platform search, and related tools (like FollowerWonk) to identify industry influencers and leverage your content to engage target constituents. The goal: seek the Share, which is the most powerful vote of confidence regarding the quality of your content and credibility of your website.

Step 3: Integrate with Website
In order to maximize the value of your investment in social media, it is important to close the loop between your social profiles and website. The first step is to embed links to your primary social media profiles into your website (ideally at the header or footer of your template, so that they appear on every page for optimal visibility). This will tell Google and site visitors that you have a social media presence worth visiting. The second step is to embed social sharing buttons (again, ideally on every page) so that visitors can easily share your content via their social media profiles without having to navigate away and lose their browsing momentum. I mentioned leveraging the power of the share, and this is the easiest way to facilitate that sharing. The third step is to integrate feeds from your social profiles into your website (ideally the home page). This is a great way to keep your website content fresh and interesting to users and search engines. Utilizing tools like Postano will aid in content syndication, curation, and measurement of engagement. Last but not least, consider syndicating customer reviews from third-party websites on your own website. Review sites are often highly visible and respected, and offer critical third-party validation. Martin Hospitality on the Oregon Coast incorporates reviews from TripAdvisor and other platforms into their websites to boost credibility.

Step 4: Develop Winning Content
Content has always been King. There is no such thing as a social media or SEO strategy without content. Leverage the research performed in Step 2 to create shareable content. Google loves multimedia, so think about a multi-dimensional media content strategy. The most efficient approach to content creation is to start with HD video, as one 60-second recording can be repurposed to YouTube, Vimeo, and Facebook, and edited down for Instagram (15 seconds) and Vine (6 seconds). That same HD video also provides more than 1 million still images (for Pinterest and Instagram), and 60 seconds of audio (for iTunes), and can also be transcribed into text for a blog post or an article. Post and syndicate the content on your website and across your social media profiles for maximum reach and engagement.

Step 5: Go Local, Mobile & Social with Search
According to Search Engine Watch, 50 percent of mobile searches have local intent and 61 percent of those mobile searches result in a purchase. As such, mobile search and social cannot be ignored, especially by retail brands. The first step in creating a meaningful local presence is to claim and optimize your local listings on search engines, directories, and review sites. Google and Yelp are two of the most important platforms in this arena. Once claimed and populated with content, it is essential to monitor and update the listings regularly, as freshness is important. Be sure to optimize your website for local search as well, utilizing Schema.org Local Business markup and Google Maps for driving directions.

Step 6: Monitor Social Mentions & Citations
Among the primary signals influencing search rankings are mentions of your brand in social media. Even if all mentions of your brand are positive (which is unlikely), it is essential to monitor social conversations. Quickly address negative reviews and be sure to celebrate and syndicate positive reviews. Engage constituents in conversation to build rapport and trust. Ask and answer questions about your brand or industry and encourage offline-to-online engagement where possible, including encouraging happy customers to post reviews based on their recent experience. This content will all be factored into your rankings. For bonus points, incorporate positive reviews into your paid advertising and offline marketing.

Step 7: Measure & Optimize
What gets measured gets managed, as my old boss used to say. In order to get the most out of your search and social marketing efforts, it is essential to continuously measure and optimize. While there are limitless ways to measure the impact of social media on your search visibility, there are a few primary metrics on which to focus. The first set of metrics relates to the impact of your presence in social media, and includes shares, comments, and brand or website mentions (aka citations). The higher the numbers, the more credible your social presence and the greater the likelihood that they will positively impact search rankings. The second set of metrics, which are further down the funnel, relate to the impact of social media on your website. These metrics include level of visibility in targeted search rankings, the associated traffic to your website, and any resulting leads or sales (which require conversion tracking in your analytics to properly measure). Last but not least, it is worthwhile to measure overall sentiment and related qualitative metrics, which are likely to impact site traffic, rankings and sales. Regularly tweak your content based on insights from analytics to maximize your rankings.

Due to recent changes in consumer behavior, social media will continue to impact search engine rankings and SEO strategy. By integrating social media with your search marketing efforts, you will see a measurable and positive impact on your rankings, traffic and ultimately, sales. Follow the seven steps outlined above and see a return on your marketing investment in the coming year, before your competitors figure it out.

The post 7 Steps to Leverage Social Media to Increase Search Engine Visibility appeared first on SEMpdx.

With a decade or more of related experience, I fit the bill and we scheduled a visit to Anvil Media, Inc. Anna and her cameraman spent an hour or two with the Anvil team, asking questions and getting a better idea of what goes into the online reputation management process.

They also interviewed one of our clients, FlightStats, who has utilized proactive online reputation management techniques to bolster its brand, rather than repair it after the fact. One of the SEMpdx board members informed me that my face appeared in a promotional segment for the feature, which is scheduled to appear 6 p.m. evening news broadcast on April 24th.

Should it actually air as planned, and not come out too unflattering, look for an update and link to the archived online reputation management segment. SEMpdx continues to put search on the map in Portland through it’s member marketing efforts…we’re just part of the machine.

The post Online Reputation Management Featured on KATU Evening News appeared first on SEMpdx.