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How To Stop Worrying And Learn To Love (And Leverage) Search

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By Hugo Lesser

In the last quarter of a century, Google has changed the way we live — perhaps more than any other company.

Google set out on a mission to democratize information to a degree we haven’t seen since the advent of the printing press, and by and large, it has succeeded.

It’s hard to recall a time now when searching for information was more complicated than a 10-second interaction with a phone or PC.

There are other search engines, but only one’s name has entered our lexicon as a verb that means “to search online.” This is no accident; in my opinion, it is because Google has outperformed the rest at providing us with the information we want at the top of page one.

Nonetheless, Google has detractors. Some say it has too much power over what we do and don’t see. Others say its algorithms prioritize its own services and those of its advertisers. I’ve also heard claims that it harms small businesses with technical penalties. And others still say its business model involves collecting too much personal information to create and sell detailed targeted-advertising profiles.

But if we balance any qualms with the conveniences and benefits that Google has brought to our lives overall, I believe the net result will almost certainly be positive.

From a marketing and business perspective, meanwhile, the rational course of action is to learn how Google’s search algorithm works and utilize this knowledge to your business’s benefit.

It has been said that there’s no such thing as digital marketing anymore, as all (or certainly much) marketing is digital nowadays, and search marketing, for most businesses, should be the beating heart of a successful marketing strategy.

The details of Google’s ranking algorithm remain shrouded in secrecy. The good news is that, overall, Google says its algorithm seeks to reward content quality, which could help smaller businesses find parity with behemoths. The company does provide guidance, though. Based on its guidance, I recommend prioritizing this acronym from Google as you plan your content: E-A-T, or Expertise, Authority and Trust.

What does this mean and how can you apply this to your business in practice, though?

E-A-T Google

In terms of expertise, does your website — and more importantly, the individual pages on it — demonstrate that you and your business are experts and authorities in your field? You can enhance your expertise by publishing informative articles on topics that people search for and on which you have specialist knowledge. Then optimize the articles for search by including the specific phrases people search for in certain headings and other field locations on the page. There are technical elements to this, so seek advice if you need to.

Google provides a tool, Google Keyword Planner, that allows you to find out what exact phrases people are searching for. This allows you to create web pages that are highly relevant to actual searches. Other third-party tools can show you which phrases your competitors may be benefiting from.

Authority refers to both your business’s authority in your field and your web page’s authority compared to other pages that are vying for the top rankings positions in a search. Lots of factors are known to contribute to this, including references (and links) to your website from other websites.

Trust relates to the user experience on your web pages as it relates to search, including — ever more importantly — mobile user experience. This is important because so many people of all ages browse using their phones rather than on a PC. Again, there are lots of contributing factors that may indicate trustworthiness to Google, including a page’s load speed and page content and readability.

An informational page that is overly sales-focused, perhaps with ads and promotional pop-ups, isn’t wise. And neither is a website that doesn’t have security features, such as an HTTPS certification.

Context

Google is pursuing the idea of contextual search, which essentially means that it shows pages and websites that provide related information as well as those with the exact information that someone searches for. For businesses, this means that it is good practice to include related, peripheral information on your informational pages or to create an ecosystem of interconnected informational pages around a topic or popular search phrase.

Think Location

If your business trades in a particular town, region or other locality, making references to it on your web pages is a great and simple way to increase your site’s relevance in local searches.

Why It Matters

Search in 2022 remains an evolving landscape; however, improving your search marketing strategies, whether you’re starting from scratch or seeking to make marginal improvements, will bear fruit in terms of increased business visibility. While Google’s search algorithm may be complex, your business can reap a real benefit by learning to interpret and operate within its parameters.

Feature Image Credit: getty

By Hugo Lesser

Hugo Lesser is CMO and a Partner and thought leader at Bright!Tax, the award-winning global U.S. tax provider for Americans living abroad.

Sourced from Forbes

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How to get better search results in Google

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By Andy Wolber

Try these refinements to your keyword search to improve the relevance of Google search results.

A keyword search on Google.com can be a great way to learn more about many topics. Enter a few terms and receive results in under a second or so. Typically, the displayed results will either give you the answer you seek or provide a link to a relevant page.

But when you want to explore a topic in depth, you can improve the usefulness of your results with a few simple search techniques. For example, I was helping a non-profit organization identify potential case management software solutions. The basic search of the three keywords returned more than 2 billion results. A few search refinements narrowed the results to just over 76,000.

The following five-step approach will help you refine your search with the use of quotes to group terms, combined with methodical exclusion and inclusion of keywords.

1. Adjust Google search settings

For serious searching, I suggest you modify your default Google search preferences (Figure A). While on Google.com in a desktop-class browser, select Settings (lower right corner) then Search Settings. In most organizational environments, I recommend the following adjustments:

  • Enable SafeSearch to exclude explicit content from the results,
  • Adjust the number of results per page to 50 to display a significant number of results,
  • Select “Do not show popular searches” to reduce the impact of trending topics, and
  • Select the “Open each selected result in a new browser window” so you may explore links without having to repeatedly re-enter your search.

Scroll to the bottom of the page and select Save after you make these changes.

Figure A

Screenshot of Google Search Settings page, with SafeSearch on, 50 results per page selected, Do not show popular searches set, and option to Open each selected result in a new browser window checked.

In most organizational settings, I suggest you make a few changes to the default Google Search Settings, such as turning on SafeSearch and setting the number of results per page to 50.

2. Put search keyword phrase(s) in quotes

When you enter your initial search, put quotes around keywords to indicate a specific phrase (Figure B). In my example, results for three keywords with no quotes (i.e., case management software) return more than 6 billion results. Why? Because a page only needs to have any one of those three terms on it to merit inclusion. Results for the three keywords placed in quotes (i.e., “case management software”) requires a page to contain these three specific words in sequence. In this example, the use of quotes narrows the number of results to a little less than 2.3 million.

You may use multiple sets of quotes to return links to pages that contain both phrases (e.g., “quantum computing” “quantum supremacy”).

Review the returned results — all the way to the bottom of the page. If you detect several results that are not what you want, make a note of common keywords in these unwanted results.

Figure B

Screenshot of Google search for "case management software" shown to return about 2,280,000 results.

Put quotes around keywords to search for a specific phrase.

3. Exclude certain results with –

Next, modify your search a bit. After your initial keyword phrase (or phrases) in quotes, add a – followed by a word you noted in the undesirable results. In my example, “case management software” returned many results related to systems used by law firms. So, I extended my search to exclude results with two keywords (e.g., -legal -law). This reduced the number of results to about 240,000 (Figure C) — roughly 10% of the number of pages returned when I used only the three-keyword phrase in quotes.

Again, review the full page of returned results. If you still find many non-desirable pages, repeat the exclusion process again with an additional – followed by a common unwanted keyword.

Figure C

Screenshot of Google search for "case management software" -legal -law shown to return about 240,000 results.

Review the initial set of results, then modify your search to exclude pages with keywords not relevant to the pages you want. Use a – symbol in front of a term to exclude pages with a keyword, as shown (e.g., -legal -law).

4. Require results with +

To refine the results further, add a keyword whose presence increases the likelihood that a page will be relevant. In my example, since I sought software for the non-profit community, I added +non-profit as an additional term in my search (Figure D). Now, every page returned needed to have the keyword “non-profit” on it in some fashion. This changed the number of results from 240,000 in the prior step to slightly more than 76,000.

Again, review the entire initial results page. If needed, add any additional required terms (e.g., place a + in front of the term). Note that you also may place a + in front of keywords contained within a quote (e.g., +”cloud computing”) to require the presence of a phrase.

Figure D

Screenshot of Google search for "case management software" -legal -law +non-profit shown to return about 76,300 results.

Use + before a keyword to specify that results pages must include that term. In this example, pages must include the term non-profit due to the last keyword (i.e., +non-profit).

5. Explore results

After you complete the above sequence, you should have a page of 50 highly relevant results to explore. I typically will open around 10 links, review those pages, then proceed to peruse another set. Often these pages provide additional links to explore and also help me identify keywords for additional searches. I save pages for later review to the Chrome reading list, as a Chrome bookmark or as a link with a note in Google Keep.

What search techniques do you use?

When I want to explore a subject deeply, I also tend to search other sources. Wikipedia serves as a solid starting point for many topics, especially when pages have detailed “see also,” “references” and “further reading” sections with links. Twitter searches help me find people who tweet about topics via “top” and “most recent” searches. For additional resources, I search with DuckDuckGo, Mojeek or Qwant to access different sets of results.

What search techniques do you use when you want to learn more about a topic? What search tips do you advise people in your organization use? Let me know how you find relevant information — either with a comment below or on Twitter (@awolber).

Feature Image Credit: Image: Andy Wolber/TechRepublic (Screenshot: Google.com) 

By Andy Wolber

Sourced from TechRepublic

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Will Google ever lose its throne as king of search? You.com is betting on it

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By Luke Dormehl

You know that a technology’s changed the world when it becomes a verb. It speaks to a level of popularity and ubiquity that goes beyond the wildest dreams of marketeers. “I’ll WhatsApp you.” “I spent the evening YouTubing.” Disrupting any of these aforementioned brand-name products is beyond difficult — it requires a change in the default way that we relate to some standard action.

“To Google” is a verb — and a powerful one. In Google’s own words, its reason for being is no less than to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”

And Richard Socher wants to disrupt it.

Richard Socher standing in front of a whiteboard
Salesforce

Socher (pronounced soh-chur) is the former chief scientist of Salesforce, one of the world’s premier customer relationship management platforms and makers of enormously successful enterprise apps. During his career, he has started and sold the A.I. company MetaMind, and been published broadly in fields ranging from computer vision to machine translation to summarization within natural language processing. His new search engine — You.com — seeks to challenge the single gatekeeper of search that is Google. He’s not about to let a pesky thing like a near-$2 trillion giant stop him, either. Even if it is a gosh-darned verb.

“My first thought was, you know, it was a verb ‘to Skype,’” Socher told Digital Trends at the start of a video call to showcase You in action. “And you know what we’re [speaking] on right now? Not Skype.”

A different approach to search

The idea driving You is to be the “not Skype” to Google’s Skype. The contention of Socher and co-founder Bryan McCann is that the world is at an inflection point when it comes to search. The company’s publicity materials drive this claim home: “Today, a single gatekeeper controls nearly 90% of the search market, dictating everything you see. The advertising and SEO biases of current search engines result in a lack of control over what people read, watch, research, eat, and buy. All of this makes people an object of artificial intelligence algorithms designed to monetize them rather than utilizing technology to harness the world’s information in relevant ways that build trust and confidence with every search.”

laptop with google search open

The most noticeable difference between Google and You comes down to aesthetics and operation. Socher points out that, for years, search engines have all looked kind of the same. They assume that information can be — and, more importantly, should be — arranged in a text-based list, neatly sorted from the number one slot (most useful) downwards. But is this really the best way to arrange information? And, even if it once was, is it still? You, by contrast, leans more heavily into widgets, with a design that owes a bit to the tile layout of kanban boards or social media platforms.

The tiled search results on You include the likes of Amazon pages, news stories, Yelp discoveries, Wikipedia pages, Reddit posts, Medium articles, coding snippets, LinkedIn listings, eBay sales, tweets (which can be retweeted and liked inside the search window), and more. Rather than Google’s sequential list of search results, You offers something more akin to a topographical view of the internet that lets people view the different content islands at once before zooming in to explore the ones that seem relevant.

“Can You displace Google? Can anything displace Google? This remains to be seen.”

“It actually took us a lot of iterations and thinking about design constraints and thinking about mobile,” Socher said. “When you think about Instagram and TikTok, people are very used to swiping left, right, and up and down. If you’re on Instagram, you swipe left to see more pictures of that story. Then, if you swipe down, you see the next story. We don’t want to have this massive engagement track of social networks. We want to help you search less and do more. Get things done, save your time, and summarize the web for you. But these are still very convenient ways to interact with content and are very intuitive — especially to younger generations.”

screenshot of you.com
A screenshot of the You.com search results with “the metaverse” used as an example query

These individual tiles can be upvoted and downvoted in something akin to Reddit. Searches consist firstly of preferred sources, followed by neutral sources, and then downvoted sources. Personalized search is nothing new: Google has been doing it since 2004. But You’s degree of transparent manipulation, the same way you can juggle around the apps that appear on your mobile home screen page, is fresh. In an effort to escape the filter bubble effect — whereby users may be shown slanted search results without realizing the slant — You makes it easier to separate the personalized searches from the objective ones. “That is something that no one else does, really,” Socher said. “To give that kind of agency and control to their users on a search engine.”

You also emphasizes privacy in a big way. Again, this isn’t a wholly unique claim to fame. DuckDuckGo has been leaning into private search for years. But You’s combining of this (the company won’t sell private data and promises an impressive incognito mode) with its new reinvented approach to search could be enough to lure in some users.

Taking on the mighty Google

All of this, of course, brings about the trillion-dollar question: Can You displace Google? Can anything displace Google? This remains to be seen. Search engines have certainly fallen before, replaced by faster, sleeker, better offerings. Remember W3Catalog, World Wide Web Wanderer, WebCrawler, Lycos, Jump Station, Magellan, Excite, Infoseek, Inktomi, Northern Light, Dogpile, Ask Jeeves, and AltaVista? All of these launched, rose to semi-prominence and were then crushed underfoot to varying degrees in the decade before Google established itself. Others like Yahoo and, more recently, Bing, have been successful in their own way — but there’s no doubt which search engine trumps rules the roost.

Logic dictates that, at some point, Google will falter. Empires have a habit of doing that, in the corporate world as much as anywhere else. Just 10 percent of the Fortune 500 companies for the year 1955 have remained on the list in the years since — and more than 89 percent have gone bankrupt, merged with or been acquired by others, or fallen off the Fortune 500 companies list at one time or another. When it comes to search, however, Google is a tricky customer to dislodge.

you.com logo with search bar

The search engine business today is bigger and more profitable than it’s ever been. Google generates piles of cash that would have been unfathomable for the companies that preceded it. Furthermore, through deals with the likes of Apple (Google pays Apple billions of dollars per year to remain the default search engine for iOS), many of us use Google even when we don’t explicitly think we’re using Google. This money means that Google can continue to innovate in search, hoovering up the best minds and, when needed, startups to fortify its castle walls.

You has raised a not-impressive $20 million to date. But that’s small potatoes next to the $183 billion that Google parent company Alphabet raked in in revenue in 2020, the overwhelming bulk of which came from advertising.

Socher is under no illusions about the challenge of taking on a Google. However, he also notes that Google’s focus on selling advertising could ultimately hurt its ability to nimbly experiment with new approaches and search layouts. (After all, if someone’s paying to be top of a list, they’re unlikely to be happy if they are suddenly one entry in a much larger grid.) At some point, the need to do pure search conflicts with the moneymaking model of selling ads. “It’s becoming harder and harder to find just naturally relevant content [on Google],” he said.

The start of a journey

It’s still the start of a long journey for You. The search engine has just entered a public beta, opening it up for critique and usage by the general public. There are also obvious ways that You could improve its offering — most notably in making it a touch-friendly interface for mobile.

“The interface is made to go on mobile, and we will very soon make more progress [in that area],” Socher said. “But the experience right now is much, much better on the desktop. We haven’t really put enough … we’re just a small startup. We just haven’t had the time and resources to make it work on different kinds of platforms. [But over] the next couple of weeks and months, we’ll continue to improve the mobile experience.”

One thing’s for certain, though: As tough a challenge as You has ahead of it, it’s got a whole lot of promise. Search is only going to become more important, and its requirements will continue to shift as the internet evolves. You has a smart team behind it, and some big-name investors, including Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. Now it just remains to be seen if it can deliver.

Taking on the mighty Google is an incredibly tall order. But then so was challenging Yahoo when Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin set out to build a page-ranking search algorithm for their Ph.D. thesis. And that turned out pretty darn well for them.

 

 

By Luke Dormehl

Sourced from digitaltrends

 

 

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Tips to Adapt to the Latest Local SEO Changes Made by Google

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By Peter Roesler

Local search is changing. Here’s what marketers need to know

Google is constantly changing, evolving, adapting, and updating. This is a fact I have seen first-hand after several decades in the marketing realm.

Unfortunately, all these changes and updates have caught many businesses unaware, leaving them facing the consequences of being uninformed.

One of the biggest changes that have occurred in the last few years is local search and SEO in Google. Keep reading to learn about some of the biggest changes and updates that have occurred so you will know what to do to ensure your website is still being found.

Improving Local Review Quality

Today, reviews are grouped together by topic. This update was mentioned on a timeline, and you can see there is a badge in place for the reviews.

Google is also starting to reorganize the way third-party reviews are presented.

Third-party reviews are still as important as the ones displayed in the knowledge panel. They are showing up in organic searches, which means you need to figure out where you stand.

Google is also starting to reorganize the way third-party reviews are presented.

Third-party reviews are still as important as the ones displayed in the knowledge panel. They are showing up in organic searches, which means you need to figure out where you stand.

It’s estimated that 45% of the updates were related to local SERPs. The changes show how important it is to have recent reviews, third-party reviews, and reviews featuring relevant comments.

The reviews’ relevancy, recency, sources, and topics all play a role in how the local SEO algorithm ranks them. As a marketer, you must understand where your clients stand for each of these factors and ensure quality reviews are created.

Edit Knowledge Panels Using Off- and On-Site Sources

Google has been working on revamping the local knowledge panel in big ways. It is starting to develop into a unique entity, including third-party data. This means that it shows more of the client’s information and may be filled with information sources you can’t access.

Even if these things seem uncontrollable, you may be able to influence what Google uses. Some areas to check in your panel to ensure no incorrect content is included are:

Google Business profile completion

  • Schema
  • Robot directives
  • Site content
  • Industry sites
  • Google reviews
  • Third-party reviews

 

Be sure to correct your data sources and test your knowledge panel appearances when you can. Even if the corrections you are making seem insignificant, Google will find the new info and change things based on them.

Improving Local SEO Efforts

You can only make sure that your website is adhering to the new local search requirements by knowing how things are changing. The information here provides you with a general overview of what to expect. Be sure to keep this in mind, and if needed, work with the professionals to help ensure you have someone ensuring that the local SEO efforts are meeting the latest upgrades and requirements that are in place. Being informed will help you with these marketing efforts.

Feature Image Credit: Getty Images

By Peter Roesler

Sourced from Inc.

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Google worked with Facebook to undermine Apple’s attempts to offer its users greater privacy protections, complaint alleges

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By Francis Agustin

  • Facebook and Google worked together to circumvent Apple’s privacy measures, 12 state attorneys general argued in an updated legal complaint from 2020.
  • Apple’s privacy tools have made it harder for other tech companies to pinpoint users for their ad auction model.
  • Regulators and other tech companies have targeted each other in a larger antitrust battle over user privacy, ad technology, and market dominance.

Google worked with Facebook to undermine Apple’s attempts to offer its users great privacy protections, 12 state attorneys general alleged in an update to an antitrust lawsuit against the search engine.

“The companies have been working together to improve Facebook’s ability to recognize users using browsers with blocked cookies, on Apple devices, and on Apple’s Safari Browser,” the amended complaint states. “Thereby circumventing one Big Tech company’s efforts to compete by offering users better privacy.”

The lawsuit was first filed by the attorneys general in December 2020, accusing Google of engaging in market collusion, and focused on claims that Facebook and Google had agreed to cooperate if their pact ever came under regulatory scrutiny.

The attorneys general also accused Facebook and Google of engaging in an illegal advertising deal, with the latter leveraging monopoly power over its adtech business by helping Facebook make better bids in ad auctions, which would make it easier for Facebook content to appear in more Google Ads.

“Facebook has long supported fair and transparent advertising auctions in which all bidders compete simultaneously, and the highest bidder wins,” a Facebook spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “Facebook’s non-exclusive bidding agreement with Google and the similar agreements we have with other bidding platforms, have helped to increase competition for ad placements.”

According to a discussion between Facebook employees in 2019, the complaint says, the company was having trouble matching users on Apple’s Safari browser. Google said Facebook’s user match rates were the same as other ad auction parties, but Facebook employees noted that the search company was willing to use Javascript to help Facebook better recognize those users.

The attorneys general claimed Facebook essentially baited Google into the deal, but Google denies the lawsuit’s claims.

A Google spokesperson told Insider: “Just because Attorney General Paxton asserts something doesn’t make it true. This lawsuit is riddled with inaccuracies. In reality, our advertising technologies help websites and apps fund their content, and enable small businesses to reach customers around the world. There is vigorous competition in online advertising, which has reduced ad tech fees, and expanded options for publishers and advertisers. We will strongly defend ourselves from his baseless claims in court.”

Apple in recent years has ramped up its user privacy efforts. In 2018, Apple installed privacy protection measures into its products, like Safari, which required websites to request tracking privileges from users and discard cookies if a site had not been visited in 30 days.

This summer, Apple rolled out its App Tracking Transparency tool, which prompts users to opt in or out of tracking on different applications — which largely impacted companies like Facebook. A Safari privacy report also detailed how websites track users.

The three companies have been at the center of several antitrust discussions, facing action from government regulators and each other. The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Facebook claiming the company had monopolized power in the social networking market, but the suit was dismissed by a federal judge in June. Facebook was also reportedly preparing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple in regards to its App Store rules, saying Apple was stifling third-party app developers.

Congress also introduced five tech regulation bills in June, specifically directed at the “Big Four” — Facebook, Google, Apple, and Amazon. The bills would equip regulators with more methods to check tech firms from holding too much market power.

(This story has been updated to reflect in the third paragraph that it was Facebook and Google who reportedly agreed to cooperate, not Apple).

Feature Image Credit: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Apple CEO Tim Cook. Daniel Leal Olivas/WPA/AP, Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, & Karl Mondon/Digital First Media/The Mercury News/Getty Images

By Francis Agustin

Sourced from Insider

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Apple is killing Google in one key area

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By Jack Wallen

After a disastrous Pixel 6 pre-order experience, Jack Wallen shares his thoughts on what Google can learn from Apple.

The Pixel 6. The mere mention of the name gives me equal parts excitement and frustration. I haven’t been so excited for the release of a phone in a very long time, while simultaneously feeling as though I might forever shake my head at how a release went down. Google absolutely failed the release of its latest flagship phone, the Pixel 6, which should go down as a historic shame (at least within the realm of the tech sector), but will barely register as a blip on the radar of consumers around the world.

Let me explain.

The day of the Pixel 6 release was upon me. I watched the Google event because I had to report on the details of the new phone. During the event, I shifted between the Google speakers and the Play Store, hoping I could be one of the lucky ones to pre-order the exact Pixel 6 I wanted.

I don’t remember at which point it happened, but Google unlocked the metaphorical doors and allowed people to start pre-ordering the Pixel 6.

In theory.

What unfolded was an absolute disaster for Google.

I attempted to place the phone in my shopping cart, only to receive a 500 error. At first, I thought it was that Google hadn’t actually made the pre-orders officially available and I just needed to double down on my patience. But the error persisted.

And then morphed.

And then returned.

Eventually, the error vanished, only to reveal most of the devices had already sold out. I was able to finally place a 128Gb unlocked device (not the phone I was hoping for) in my shopping cart, only to receive yet another error.

I kept at it. No luck. I did some quick searching to discover the problem was global.

This was an embarrassment.

The company that is supposed to be the heart of everyone’s internet experience couldn’t deliver on a simple e-commerce solution on what should have been one of its biggest releases to date.

At some point, the wife and I had to run some errands. I asked her to drive, so I could continue trying to get Google to take my money (this time on my Pixel 5) yet the company persisted in failing to do so.

It wasn’t until I got home and tried again (some three hours after the event was over) that I was able to get the phone into the shopping cart and make the purchase.

Once this event was over, it gave me time to reflect on my experience and similar experiences with previous Pixel releases. A conclusion was drawn.

Apple absolutely kills Google on hardware releases. In fact, there’s absolutely no reason to compare the two.

Apple succeeds.

Google fails.

The “meh” approach

Apple spends the money necessary for proper marketing and is capable of getting consumers seriously hyped about a new product. It’s what Apple does best. And in this case, it’s astonishing how large the gap is.

During the lead-up to the Pixel 6 release, I think I saw maybe two commercials for the device, and those commercials were less than exciting (to say the least). Prior to the latest iPhone release, I couldn’t escape the advertising. It was everywhere. So prevalent was Apple’s iPhone hype, it had me wondering, “It’s been years since I had an iPhone. Is it time I try one again?”

On the contrary, Google’s Pixel 6 hype had me like, “Meh. Whatever. I’ll get one.”

That always seems to be Google’s approach to marketing hardware. “Meh, it’ll work.”

Thing is, the Pixel 6 looks to be one of the best phones on the market (once they start arriving in the hands of the users). So why the company approaches marketing with such a blasé attitude is beyond me.

Consider this: The Pixelbook Go is one of the finest Chromebooks on the market. Do you remember their marketing efforts? Neither do I. When the original Pixel Chromebook was released it was a work of technological art. It redefined mobile screens, keyboards and trackpads. Hype? Nada. Android 12 might well be the finest iteration of Google’s mobile platform ever released. PR? Scant.

If you’ve ever wondered why Android market share lags far behind iOS in the United States, it’s because of this very thing. You cannot turn your TV on without seeing iPhone ads or placement. They are everywhere. When was the last time you saw an Android phone in a television show?

I know it might seem silly, but product placement works … very well. People see celebrities using a product and they’ll feel inclined to want that product. You just don’t see celebs sporting Android. It’s all iOS all the time.

Apple knows this and uses it to its advantage. And when a new iPhone release is upon us, Apple inundates the media with incredibly effective advertisements that actually work to build hype around their product. Apple is the true master of marketing.

And until Google can bridge this gap, Android will continue to fall behind in the U.S. and Japanese markets (both markets where image is important). Google needs to markedly refine its lead-up to releases, shore up its e-commerce solution, and then hire a marketing team that understands precisely why Apple constantly succeeds (even when its product might be inferior to what Google has to offer).

If Google doesn’t fix this problem, it’ll have to accept that the Pixel market consists of previous Pixel owners and mobile device users who have grown tired of the iOS way of things. If that’s the company’s marketing plan, then all I have to say is, “Meh.”

Feature Image Credit: Google Pixel 6, Image: Google

By Jack Wallen

Sourced from TechRepublic

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What to Avoid When Choosing a Google Ads Agency

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By Cillian Bracken Conway

If used correctly, Google AdWords can be an extremely profitable online advertising channel for your business. However, PPC advertising on the Google platform is quite technical; specialised knowledge and experience are required to generate consistent ROI.

You likely don’t have the time to learn nor run a Google advertising strategy. This is where a Google Ads agency comes into play.

Like any agency, a Google Ads agency will save you time and effort and potentially make you money. Outsourcing is crucial for any business; you can’t do everything yourself.

Finding the right agency for your organisation will require careful consideration. Below, we’ve listed six major red flags you must watch for when choosing a Google Ads agency.

  1. They “rent” the account to you because the bid strategies are their IP.

There are agencies out there that insist on ownership over bid strategies. When looking for a Google Ads agency, this is a scenario you’d want to avoid. Bid strategies shouldn’t be considered proprietary; look for an agency that’s transparent with your organisation.

2. They don’t provide you with full access or ownership of the account, or worse, they say that they “own” it.

You must have full access and ownership to your Google AdWords account. Agencies have an ethical obligation to give clients complete control. Some don’t, using it as a way to lock clients into their contracts.

Having full access to a Google AdWords account is essential for several reasons. Firstly, you’re able to see if the reported figures the agency gives you is accurate. Secondly, you can remove their access if you decide to terminate the contract.

It’s also important to mention that Google AdWords accounts with longer tenure are preferred. Your account history influences your performance and, ultimately, the ROI you generate from paid search. 

Because an existing account has more data than a new one, Google rewards better quality scores. All that data is also a guide for what hasn’t worked; you’ll be less likely to make the same mistakes.

It’s preferable to maintain control of a Google AdWords account because you don’t want to create new ones. You don’t have the time and effort to continually build a new account every time you change PPC agencies.

Be cautious when signing a contract with an agency; there could be terms and conditions regarding ownership. If you don’t have a Google AdWords account and the agency wants to make you one, ensure it’s done through their Google Ads manager account.

3. They won’t provide a detailed breakdown of how they optimised the account in a given time frame.

One of the most significant red flags to look out for regarding PPC agencies is if things are too stagnant. Successful, well-managed agencies will regularly implement changes and tweaks to optimise ad campaigns. 

This could be several things, for example.

  • Bid changes
  • New or refreshed ad copy
  • Bid adjustments

If an agency tends to run things on autopilot, they’re likely not utilising the ad spend effectively. More specifically, keyword bidding is probably done automatically, which leads to overbidding, resulting in wasted budget and inactive ads.   

4. They won’t provide a detailed breakdown of where your money was spent.

It’s concerning if an agency doesn’t provide a frequent report that tells you how your ad budget is being spent. Many businesses take a hands-off approach when it comes to their Google advertising strategy. They outsource the work to an agency and assume everything is good.

What these organisations don’t realise is that agencies often charge high management fees. It can be as high as 30-40% in some cases. This means less of the ad budget is being used for ads.

To avoid this, agencies should be able to present, at any moment, a budget breakdown to a client. It should become a frequent habit, one that’s expected every week, fortnight, or month. Transparency is the focus here.

5. They don’t focus on important metrics like, you know, conversions and return on investment.

You can only know if your Google Ads benefit your organisation by looking at the data. Metrics like conversions, clicks and return on investment give us insight into the effectiveness of campaigns on the Google Ads platform.

A Google ads agency should provide data-rich reports that detail whether or not ads are profitable. Unfortunately, some don’t; this is a major red flag. Consider bringing up the topic of metrics when you’re interviewing potential candidates.

A Google Analytics account that you can access should be linked to your Google AdWords account. Conversion tracking and event snippets are also a must.

6. They never asked for detailed information on your business, your USP and your industry.

An ad performing well and providing a positive Return on Ad Spend is dependent on more than just the amount that you bid. The context, relevance, and a solid quality score can determine how much you pay for that click. Even the performance of your post-click landing page affects your ad and the cost.

The agency that you hire must understand your business and its unique selling proposition. They must also have verifiable experience within your industry; Google ads is particular and contextual. What works for one field isn’t going to work for another.

When screening and interviewing potential candidates, question them on their industry knowledge. Ask if they have any tangible examples of success with prior clients similar to your organisation.

Conclusion

An effective Google ads strategy is one of the best ways to increase the revenue of your business. It is, unfortunately, something that requires time, effort, and expertise — things that you may not have right now. 

A Google ads agency is a fantastic solution to these concerns.

In this article, we outlined six different red flags that you must consider when choosing an agency. Hopefully, the information detailed provides some value to you and your organisation. 

Are you looking for an agency that can help you grow your business with Google AdWords? Please contact our PPC advertising team today to learn how Vine Digital can help you get more from your advertising spend. 

Glossary

Pay-Per-Click (PPC)

Pay-per-click (PPC) is an advertising model where advertisers pay a publisher every time their ad is clicked. A publisher could be a search engine, like Google, a website owner, or a network of websites. The publisher hosts the advertiser’s ad to an audience.

Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

A unique selling proposition (USP) is a marketing strategy that informs potential customers how a brand’s product or service is superior to competitors. USPs are used as a tactic to differentiate a brand from the rest of the marketplace. 

Conversion

A conversion is a desired action taken by an individual who has seen an ad or marketing material. It’s a nonspecific umbrella term for any intended goal that a business is hoping to achieve. Conversions can be measured and tracked with analytics and reporting features.

This could be signing up for an email list via a landing page or purchasing a product or service. Other examples include clicking on an ad, visiting a webpage, or watching a video.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Return on investment (ROI) is a financial metric that evaluates the efficiency of an asset, such as an advertising budget. It determines whether something is profitable for a business.

Bid

A bid is the amount of money you’ve committed to an auction for a specific ad space opportunity. In the context of Google ads, every keyword/search term provides an opportunity for you to advertise your business.

Bid Strategy

A bid strategy is a uniquely tailored campaign offered via the Google AdWords platform. Each of these campaigns has a specific goal in mind, such as clicks, impressions, conversions, or views. Businesses will choose the bid strategy that best aligns with their current ad goals.

Negative Keyword

A negative keyword is a keyword that stops your ad from being activated by a specific word or phrase. Negative keywords prevent your ads from being shown to users searching for that particular phrase.

Conversion Tags

Conversion Tags are snippets of code that help with conversion tracking on a website.

By Cillian Bracken Conway

Cillian Bracken Conway is Managing Director at Vine Digital with 15 years of experience working in SEO & PPC. https://www.vinedigital.ie/

 

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Android Phone Sending To Many Ads? How To Get Rid Of Ads On Any Android Device

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Sourced from News18

One of the many reasons why some smartphone users prefer iOS over Android is the clutter-free experience that Apple offers. Android users have often complained about being bombarded with unwarranted ads while using the phone. These ads at times pop on the lock screen of the device even it’s not being used – most common in Android-based skin from manufacturers like Samsung, Xiaomi, Realme, Oppo, and the likes. While some smartphone manufacturers promote ads from their end, this problem is prevalent even in brands like Samsung where the company does not send out ads from their end. If you are an Android user and have faced similar issues with your device, this could probably be caused by the downloaded apps on your phone.

How to remove ads from the lock screen?

Uninstall app sending out lock screen ads- If you have recently started using lock screens on your phones, chances are that the unwarranted ads are being sent by an app on your device. You can easily check the recently downloaded apps on your device and uninstall them to remove the problem.

– Open the Google Play Store on your smartphone

– Tap on ‘Menu’ and then on ‘My apps & Games’

– Tap on ‘Installed’

– Sort the list on basis of the last used app

– Among the most recently used apps, select the app that has been sending unwarranted ads on your device, and uninstall it.

Additionally, you can the following things in mind to get rid of unwarranted ads

– Always download apps from reputable sources based on the ratings and reviews.

– Make sure that you never give administrator’s right to any app especially.

– Update your device regularly with Android security patches. Keeping tracking for new updates

– Do not download apps that you don’t trust or are published by unknown publishers

As per the Google Play policy, apps listed on Google Play Store must not send any fraudulent ads to the device. Further, ads can only be sent when that particular application is being used. Ads appearing on the apps are considered part of the app and hence they have to adhere to the Google play Policy.

In case you spot any app with inappropriate ads violating the policies, you can report it to the Google Play store

– Go to the Google Play Store on your device

– Go to the Install page of the app

– Tap on ‘More Option’ (three vertical dots) on the top right corner of the screen

– Tap on Flash as inappropriate to report any fraudulent ads sent out by the app

Sourced from News18

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Google’s browser cookies plan anti-competitive, advertisers tell EU

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Sourced from TIMESNOWNEWS.COM

Brussels: Google’s plan to block a popular web tracking tool called “cookies” is anti-competitive, a group of advertisers, publishers and tech companies said in a complaint to EU antitrust regulators.

The grievance could boost the European Commission’s investigation opened in June into Alphabet unit Google’s Privacy Sandbox which the company said could allow businesses to target clusters of consumers without identifying individuals.

Google said a year ago that it would ban some cookies in its Chrome browser to increase user privacy and offer the Privacy Sandbox as an alternative.

The Movement for an Open Web (MOW) said the proposal would give Google the power to decide what data can be shared on the web and with whom.

“Google says they’re strengthening ‘privacy’ for end users but they’re not, what they’re really proposing is a creepy data mining party,” MOW lawyer Tim Cowen said in a statement.

The Commission confirmed receipt of the complaint, saying it would assess it under the standard procedures. In June, it kicked off an investigation into Google’s online display advertising technology services.

Google has offered to settle the case in a bid to avoid a possible fine and a disruptive prolonged probe, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters last week.

Google declined to comment on the MOW complaint and referred to its previous statement released when it offered concessions to the UK competition watchdog, which described the Privacy Sandbox as an open initiative to provide strong privacy for users while also supporting publishers.

The US Justice Department is also examining the issue, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters.

The group’s complaint to the UK regulator prompted its investigation which subsequently led Google to offer concessions.

Sourced from TIMESNOWNEWS.COM

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After Getting Banned From Google and Facebook, I Learned Why Every Ecommerce Store Should Focus on SEO

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Good SEO and content strategy can help ecommerce store owners be less reliant on paid traffic.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has become a buzz word over the last few years. Many areas of online business have been implementing solid SEO strategies for a while, but ecommerce is still slow to join the rest. Ecommerce stores have been trained to use paid methods, like Google Shopping Ads, Facebook Ads and other social media ads to get people to click through to their store. However, with the ever-increasing cost it takes to acquire new customers, ecommerce store owners should get on board with SEO and develop a solid content strategy for long-term growth and reduce their cost to acquire new potential customers.

The one-legged stool

As I mentioned earlier, the cost of bringing new customers to your ecommerce store is going to keep increasing. If your store is solely reliant on paid traffic, let’s say from Google Shopping, and Google decides you violated one of the many advertising policies, all your traffic dries up and you’re out of business. No traffic means no sales and no sales means you’re out of business by the end of the month.

Relying solely on paid traffic channels is like having a one-legged stool. It’s a lot more secure for the health and longevity of your business to have more legs under the stool, in case one leg gets taken away from you. SEO is one of those legs you need to apply. Not only is it free traffic, but as long as you provide valuable information for the readers, there’s no risk of being removed in the same way paid channels can shut you out.

The results of a well-executed SEO and content strategy take time. Often, an ecommerce store won’t see significant organic traffic for 6 to 12 months after publishing those first pieces of content. But if you keep implementing and producing solid, helpful content, the effects compound over time.

I got banned from Google and Facebook

I share all this from my own experience as an ecommerce store owner. I relied solely on Google and Facebook ads to get traffic and for some unknown reason back in early 2019 both platforms decided I had violated a policy. After that point, I couldn’t get back in their good books.

I went down the SEO rabbit hole out of desperation to get some traffic and started producing content that shoppers in the research phase would find helpful. I put out other content about the best products by category to help customers choose wisely, and when those pieces of content started ranking, I was getting more traffic than ever. To give you an idea of the timeline, I started publishing content in February 2019, and by June I was already getting traffic and sales. Over time, the traffic kept growing and I kept producing helpful content. In 2020, I generated over $2 million in sales from that organic strategy from only one ecommerce store.

If I hadn’t gotten started with SEO I’d be out of business today.

Get started before you need to

Don’t do what I did and wait for the wheels to fall off after one or more paid channels drop the ban hammer. Start by writing a couple of pieces of content to get started. You don’t need a five-year content strategy on day one.

For ideas on what to write, you can write a guide to your niche and what to look out for when choosing the right product. You can answer the most frequently asked questions you receive. When people type that question into the search engine and your post helps them out, you will be recognized over time as the go-to place for research and answers. Then people will grow to trust your store and will prefer to purchase from you.

There are literally thousands of blog topics that you can produce to get more traffic, but the important thing is to get started. Over time, you will learn some more advanced content strategies that you can apply to create a better ranking chance. If you can implement some semblance of a content plan into your ecommerce store and stick to it, you’ll look back in a year and wonder why you paid so much for visitors in the first place.

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John Murphy is the founder of Survivalist, a seven-figure ecommerce business that’s growing fast.

Sourced from Entrepreneur Europe

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