Online Marketing News: Google Has Changed, B2C Content Marketing and Video Ad Metrics

google-search-is-changing-in-2016

google-search-is-changing-in-2016

How Google Search Has Changed in 2016 [Infographic]
As we all know, Google is no stranger to change. Keeping track of those changes and their connotations is an actual full time job. For example, MarketingProfs reports “Google’s search engine is displaying fewer organic results on it first page this year than it was last year, and it’s increasingly presenting different experiences for desktop and smartphone users.” MarketingProfs

[New Research] B2C Marketers Need to Give Content Marketing Time
Following their successful release of their B2B content marketing benchmarks report, Content Marketing Institute has shifted their research focus to B2C. What did they find? 60% of B2C marketers consider their organization’s approach to content marketing to be much more or somewhat more successful than it was just a year ago. Content Marketing Institute

What Marketers Need to Know About How Today’s Top Social Platforms Measure Video
Recently Facebook revealed that the reported amount of time users spent watching a video could be inflated by up to 80%. This has cracked open a conversation about standards of industry measurement among video advertising platforms. Since these metrics vary by platform, it’s important that advertisers understand just how they’ll be charged. Read on for a full breakdown. AdWeek

Google Panda demotes or adjusts your rankings down — it does not devalue
Gary Illyes from Google explained that unlike Penguin 4.0, Google Panda actually adjusts the rankings down of ‘spammy’ sites. He told Search Engine Land: “… it is an adjustment. Basically, we figured that site is trying to game our systems, and unfortunately, successfully. So we will adjust the rank. We will push the site back just to make sure that it’s not working anymore.” Search Engine Land

60-percent-of-marketers-are-using-ab-testing

Google Focuses On Mobile-First Indexing, Adds News Fact-Check Tag
Google is finding yet another way to differentiate quality content for users. MediaPost reports: ” Google said it will add a Fact Check tag to articles it indexes that points readers toward articles validating or discrediting claims. The engine already flags content with tags such as In-Depth, Highly Cited, Local Source, and Opinion.” MediaPost

Pinterest Is Working on a New ‘Explore’ Section for Publishers, Brands
Pinterest is rumored to be testing what’s essentially a sponsored page for brands that allows for multi-media content, even video, to be published and promoted. Pinterest has been criticised in the past for a lack of innovation in their advertising platform, so this may be a first step toward becoming competitive with other ad platforms, like those of Snapchat and Instagram. Advertising Age

Fueled by the Audience Network, Facebook advertisers saw higher Q3 spends & returns
Marketing Land reports: “A new report from social ad automation company Nanigans shows substantial growth in both YoY Facebook ad spend and on the overall Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). In Q3 2016, the average increase in ad spend was +249 percent YoY, while the average ROAS was also up 26 percent from 2015.” Marketing Land

SEO & SEM Ranks 9th on LinkedIn’s Top Skills List
LinkedIn (client) has released new data that reveals the top skills of 2016, with SEO and SEM ranking at number nine. While that’s a bit of a drop from their 2015 positions, those skills are still among the top ten. And while LinkedIn data shows that demand for marketing skills is decreasing due to more applicants with marketing skills being available, the data shows that marketing-related skills are very much in demand, but perhaps the face of marketing is changing. Search Engine Journal

What were your top online marketing news stories this week?

I’ll be back next week with more online marketing news! Have something to share? Tweet it to @toprank or leave me a note in the comments.

The post Online Marketing News: Google Has Changed, B2C Content Marketing and Video Ad Metrics appeared first on Online Marketing Blog – TopRank®.

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Online Marketing News: Infographics in SEO Strategy, Google Pixel & The Value of UX

infographics-in-your-seo-strategy

infographics-in-your-seo-strategy

Why Infographics Should Be Part of Your SEO Strategy [Infographic]
It isn’t just readers who appreciate the value of a good infographic — search engines do, too. Infographics drive more engagement and social shares, signaling bots that content is relevant to the searcher and is a good answer for what they’re looking for. But how do you create a great infographic? Read on for 6 simple steps to make your own. HubSpot

Google Pixel marketing push is worth $3.2M in ads and much more
Google released Google Pixel, their new smartphone offering, to the market and has made quite a splash. Google has reportedly spent $3.2 million in their initial advertising push for TV ads, and experts in the field believe that’s just the metaphorical tip of the iceberg in terms of spending. Their Pixel product is rumored to be poised to connect with the iPhone, which begs the question, how will this affect marketing and design for mobile devices? TECHMalak

The Business Value of User Experience Design [Infographic]
A good user experience on mobile is key to ecommerce success – users are more likely to stay on site and convert when a site is optimized for mobile. MarketingProfs reports on a recent PointSource study: “67% of customers are more likely to purchase on mobile-friendly sites. Mobile users are 5X more likely to abandon a task if the site is not optimized for mobile.” MarketingProfs

Best Times to Post on Social Media [+ 75 Industry Breakdowns]
TrackMaven evaluated the best times to post on social media based interactions per post per 1,000 followers during each hour of the day and day of the week. They found that Thursday evenings on Facebook and Twitter are good times to post, Wednesday mornings are best for LinkedIn, Friday evenings are best for Instagram, and Pinterest posts tend to do best in the wee hours of Friday morning. TrackMaven

It Pays to Provide Customer Service via Twitter (Report)
“Customers who receive responses when they tweet businesses are willing to spend 3 percent to 20 percent more on average-priced items from those businesses in the future,” reports SocialTimes. Not only are those customers more likely to spend more, they’re more likely to advocate for a brand socially that provides customer service via Twitter. SocialTimes

80-of-marketing-leaders-have-a-social-program-in-place

Report: on average day, nearly 40 percent of searchers use only smartphones
Google recently released new “cross device” research that tells us a substantial amount of web users are searching via mobile. According to MarketingLand: “Users spend 170 minutes on their smartphones daily vs. 120 minutes on PCs and roughly 75 minutes on tablets (for those who own tablets).” MarketingLand

New IAB Standards Promise Major Ad Shakeup
“The Interactive Advertising Bureau’s new formats and standards for ad units will have a major, positive impact on user experience — helping to stem the tide of ad blocking” reports MediaPost. These standards were released on September 26th and will be available for public comment until the end of November. MediaPost

Snapchat courts Hollywood producers for new programming
Snapchat is actively recruiting hollywood producers to create shows for its Discover platform. This, following last week’s break from the title of ‘social media’ shows a change in the way media platforms are thinking about the content they create. Digiday

What were your top online marketing news stories this week?

I’ll be back next week with more digital marketing news. If you just can’t wait for more, follow @toprank on Twitter for your daily dose of industry happenings.

The post Online Marketing News: Infographics in SEO Strategy, Google Pixel & The Value of UX appeared first on Online Marketing Blog – TopRank®.

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