Atomic Media

How to make your display campaigns profitable

Written on September 16, 2024 at 5:49 am, by admin

If you use display campaigns correctly, they can be profitable.

The problem is that most people use them wrong, turn them off and then claim that “display campaigns don’t work.”

This guide will show you how to use display campaigns correctly in all stages of the funnel to make them profitable. 

Display campaign: Your targeting options

There are two categories of how you can target people with display ad campaigns. 

Content targeting

This option shows your ads to people that are currently on website content that you specified. 

• Topics: Topics of websites’ content.
• Placements: Hand-picked website placements.
• Keywords: Keywords or content “themes” of websites’ content.

Audience targeting

This option shows ads to people regardless of the website on which they are currently viewing. The ads will follow people around like remarketing ads do, except they aren’t necessarily remarketing audiences.

• Demographics: Based on Google’s data to estimate demographics, not 100% accurate, but may be worth testing.
• Affinity: Based on interests and habits.
• In-market and life events: Users shopping for certain items or life events, such as marriage, graduation, retirement, etc.
• Your data segments: Customer list you uploaded or remarketing to previous website visitors.
• Combined segments: Combining multiple segments as one targeting option. 
• Custom segments: Custom audiences you created based on people’s recent searches, recent website visits or app usage. One of the most profitable options.

Fitting in display campaigns to your overall advertising strategy is easier than you may think. 

Below are the targeting options again, organized by stage of funnel and with detailed explanations and examples for how to use them correctly so you don’t waste money on irrelevant traffic.

Top-of-funnel display ad campaigns

Placement content targeting option

Think of it as buying ad space in a magazine that your target demographic reads or in more modern terms, sponsoring a podcast that your target audience listens to. 

You can directly track clicks, time spent on your site, pages viewed, conversions and micro-conversions such as signing up for a newsletter, viewing the pricing page or watching a key video. 

Top-of-funnel ad campaigns don’t need to stop at just clicks, they can achieve many small or large conversions as well. Sometimes users can quickly go through the entire funnel in a short amount of time, even with one click.

Case study example 

Our agency tested display and search campaigns for a client offering services for attorneys.

Display ads on attorney news websites, used for lead generation and as the first touchpoint, generated more leads at a lower cost than search campaigns.

Targeting websites attorneys already frequent proved to be an easy win.

Other example usage

• Target local news websites for local services, events, restaurants, and home goods.
• Target health and wellness sites with ads for supplements, products, or fitness programs.
• Target gaming websites with ads for games.

The potential of placement targeting for display campaigns becomes clear once explored.

Topic and keyword content targeting option

This is usually at the top of the funnel but sometimes performs well at the middle or bottom of the funnel. 

For the technical setup, auto bidding is recommended since it rotates through many related sites, not a few specific websites like Placement targeting does. 

Once the campaign has been running for a week or two, you can start to see data to block placements that aren’t relevant or not producing results.

Also, we recommend only showing on desktop or blocking all apps. 

Often, Google will show your ads on many apps with this targeting option, which may not produce the best results, depending on the campaign. 

If you keep apps in the targeting option, watch them very closely.

Also, Google doesn’t allow the double layer of topics and keywords or placements and keywords anymore. 

Now it will use or, such as the topics you selected or the keyword you picked, which isn’t as useful. 

Example usage

• Target website topic of Homes and Garden > Home Safety and Security with ads for home security products. 
• Target website topic of Pets and Animals > Animal Products and Service with ads about animal products or services.
• Target website keyword content for “accounting software” with ads about accounting software. 

Affinity audience targeting option

Great usage for top-of-funnel and awareness. These audiences will likely be a first touch point and can be paired with a micro-conversion, like getting an email address.

Example usage

Showing an ad for stock trading software targeting the Affinity Audience of Avid Investors (under Banking and Finance audience). The micro-conversion could be watching a demo video or signing up for the newsletter. 

Also, it’s not unrealistic to expect this top-of-funnel traffic to book a demo or sign up for a free trial. This would not be considered a micro-conversion. 

You don’t always have to build a large funnel. If a first-touch point will buy something immediately, let them. 

Demographics audience targeting option

To get more clarity on where Google gets their demographics data, Google explains in their help article. It is not entirely clear how they get this data. 

In Google’s words: 

“When people are signed in from their Google Account, we may use demographics derived from their preferences or settings, depending on their account status”; “In addition, some sites might provide us with demographic information that people share on certain websites, such as social networking sites”; “We sometimes also estimate people’s demographic information based on their activity from Google properties or the Display Network.”

You may have good results with targeting or blocking Demographics, but keep in mind Google is assuming the user is a “homeowner” or is assuming the user is “18-24.”

It’s not perfect, but may be worth testing. 

Example usage 

You could target Google’s demographic audience of “Parents of Infants” with ads for baby products or “Homeowners” with homeowner’s insurance ads. 

It’s not perfect data, but in the worst-case scenario, you showed a baby product to someone who doesn’t have a baby or an ad for homeowner’s insurance to someone who doesn’t own a home. 

Middle and bottom-of-funnel display ad campaigns

Custom audiences targeting option: The most profitable display targeting option

One great option is to target keywords and related keywords, people recently searched. This is kind of like “broad-broad” match. 

Keep in mind, it doesn’t target people who searched these exact terms, but it provides a general keyword theme to reach potentially interested audiences.

Custom audiences can also target by websites similar to “www.yourcompetitor.com.” Again, it isn’t necessarily targeting people that visited that exact URL, it uses it as a starting point for a theme of websites they visited. 

Tip: Use one custom targeting option at a time, don’t use keywords and URLs and apps all in one audience. The data doesn’t show separately if you put multiple options in the custom audience at once.

The same option is available for creating a custom audience based on the apps they use. 

The secret is to combine this with auto-bidding. Since it follows the user no matter what website they are currently on, auto-bidding works to determine which websites and users turn into conversions for you.

Max Conversions is usually safe, but it can be risky with high CPC search campaigns. You can later switch to tCPA or tROAS, or keep Max Conversions long-term if it works for you.

Example case study 

We tested this on one of our clients in the home services industry and found that the cost per lead was much lower, and the volume of leads was higher. 

Although the conversion rate was lower, ultimately, it generated more leads at a lower cost per lead than the search campaign.

Also, we verified from the client’s CRM that the display campaign did not have issues with lead quality.

This is a common complaint about using display or Performance Max campaigns for lead gen.

Regardless of the campaign type, always check lead quality in a CRM. 

Other example usage 

• Create custom audience targeting users that went to your competitor’s site (or similar sites). 
• Create a custom audience targeting your top three converting keywords from your search campaigns.

‘Your data segments’ audience targeting option

The most common use of “Your data segments” as a targeting audience is remarketing to previous website visitors or uploading a list of previous customers.

This is typically the bottom of the funnel since the user is nearly ready to make the decision. The most common remarketing audience is website visitors who did not convert within the last 30 days. 

Example usage 

• Target previous customer list with an ad about a new product.
• Target previous website visitors who viewed the Pricing page.
• Target previous website visitors who viewed multiple products but did not purchase.
• Targeting previous website visitors who signed up for a free trial but have not upgraded yet. 

In-market and life events audience targeting option

These can work for any stage of the funnel, depending on the event. 

They will mostly be at the bottom and middle of the funnel because they are currently shopping for something or just went through a major life event. 

In-market can be especially effective because the user is actively researching a specific product, like a car or a house. 

Example usage 

• Target Audience of Life Events > Retiring Soon with an ad for retirement management services.
• Target Audience of Life Events > Recently Purchased a Home with ads for furniture, home security, solar, yard care or home improvement. 
• Target Audience of In-Market > Motor Vehicles > Motor Vehicles by Type > Luxury Vehicles with ads for luxury vehicles.

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Critical settings and optimizations: How to not waste money on display ads

• Target one option per ad group or one per campaign. Don’t stuff them all in one ad group. You won’t be able to clearly see what’s working or not.
• Avoid using “Optimized targeting” or “targeting expansion” in ad group settings, as it broadens your reach beyond your intended audience or content, making ad targeting unclear.
• Typically, you’ll block all apps or even only show your ads on desktops in the device settings. 
• When targeting based on content, Google often shows your ads on many apps, sometimes apps that are not relevant. 
• For example, you targeted retirement content and received 500 clicks on a dating app for people in their 20s. Keep a close eye on the app’s traffic, or consider blocking it entirely.
• Block bad placements frequently, like you would block bad search terms in search campaigns. 
• If needed, you can block YouTube.com or other sites that are taking all of the traffic and not getting results. This is done under Insights and Reports > When and where ads showed > Where ads showed.
• In the example below, most placements received a $30 to $50 cost per conversion, whereas the few highlighted in red were over $100 per conversion, so they should be blocked.

• Exclude irrelevant topics like gossip, tabloid news or games, as they can lead to wasted clicks if your ads don’t fit those websites.
• Use negative keywords in the display campaigns.
• Exclude your remarketing audiences so the new display campaigns don’t also show to the remarketing audiences you are targeting in the remarketing campaigns.

The obvious question: Why not just use Performance Max?

The simple answer is that you don’t have as much control. 

Is your Performance Max campaign appearing on a specific site your audience visits? 

With Performance Max’s limited data transparency, it’s hard to know. Instead, use a display campaign to target that site directly and easily track results. 

I’m not against Performance Max, but marketers should explore other options. Performance Max doesn’t always work, and running separate campaign types can be more profitable.

 You can also test display campaigns first, then use that data to improve your Performance Max campaigns, combining it with top search keywords for better success.

Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing

How to create and optimize Google Ads custom segment audiences

Written on September 16, 2024 at 5:49 am, by admin

Google Ads offers several ways to create audiences, with custom segments being the most flexible and powerful option.

However, most custom segments we see are poorly created. Poorly created audience segments are impossible to refine or optimize since you do not know why the ad is being displayed.

Well-crafted audience segments can be optimized similarly to how you optimize search terms.

In this video, you’ll learn:

• Why you should create small audience segments.
• How to create audience segments that can be optimized.
• Why you should create both interest and search segments.
• The results from an advertiser who went through this optimization process.

Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing

Google updates crawlers and user-triggered fetchers documentation

Written on September 16, 2024 at 5:49 am, by admin

Google has made a series of updates to its crawlers and user-triggered fetchers documentation, mostly breaking out the single-page document into multiple pages and documents. But Google also expanded what product each crawler affects with a new section next to each crawler and added a robots.txt snippet for each crawler to demonstrate how to use the user agent tokens by each crawler.

What Google said. Google posted about these changes saying:

“Reorganized the documentation for Google’s crawlers and user-triggered fetchers. We also added explicit notes about what product each crawler affects, and added a robots.txt snippet for each crawler to demonstrate how to use the user agent tokens. There were no meaningful changes to the content otherwise.”

“The documentation grew very long which limited our ability to extend the content about our crawlers and user-triggered fetchers.”

What is new. Besides for just moving a lot of content around, to organize the content. Google also added the “affected products” sections and also the “Example robots.txt group” sections. Here is a screenshot of this applied to the Googlebot crawler, but it was added to each individual crawler:

I pulled out each one for you:

• Googlebot: Crawling preferences addressed to the Googlebot user agent affect Google Search (including Discover and all Google Search features), as well as other products such as Google Images, Google Video, Google News, and Discover.
• Googlebot Image: Crawling preferences addressed to the Googlebot-Image user agent affect Google Images, Discover, Google Video, and all features in Google Search where images, logos, and favicons are presented.
• Googlebot Video: Crawling preferences addressed to the Googlebot-Video user agent affect video-related Google Search features and other products dependent on videos.
• Googlebot News: Crawling preferences addressed to the Googlebot-News user agent affect all surfaces of Google News (for example, the News tab in Google Search and the Google News app).
• Google StoreBot: Crawling preferences addressed to the Storebot-Google user agent affect all surfaces of Google Shopping (for example, the Shopping tab in Google Search and Google Shopping).
• Google-InspectionTool: Crawling preferences addressed to the Storebot-Google user agent affect Search testing tools such as the Rich Result Test and URL inspection in Search Console. It has no effect on Google Search or other products.
• GoogleOther: Crawling preferences addressed to the GoogleOther user agent don’t affect any specific product. GoogleOther is the generic crawler that may be used by various product teams for fetching publicly accessible content from sites. For example, it may be used for one-off crawls for internal research and development. It has no effect on Google Search or other products.
• GoogleOther-Image: Crawling preferences addressed to the GoogleOther-Image user agent don’t affect any specific product, similar to GoogleOther. GoogleOther-Image is the version of GoogleOther optimized for fetching publicly accessible image URLs.
• GoogleOther-Video: Crawling preferences addressed to the GoogleOther-Video user agent don’t affect any specific product, similar to GoogleOther. GoogleOther-Video is the version of GoogleOther optimized for fetching publicly accessible video URLs.
• Google-CloudVertexBot: Crawling preferences addressed to the Google-CloudVertexBot user agent affect crawls requested by the site owners’ for building Vertex AI Agents. It has no effect on Google Search or other products.
• Google-Extended: Google-Extended is a standalone product token that web publishers can use to manage whether their sites help improve Gemini Apps and Vertex AI generative APIs, including future generations of models that power those products. Google-Extended does not impact a site’s inclusion or ranking in Google Search.
• APIs-Google: Crawling preferences addressed to the APIs-Google user agent affect the delivery of push notification messages by Google APIs.
• AdsBot Mobile Web: Crawling preferences addressed to the AdsBot-Google-Mobile user agent affect Google Ads’ ability to check web page ad quality.
• AdsBot: Crawling preferences addressed to the AdsBot-Google user agent affect Google Ads’ ability to check web page ad quality.
• AdSense: Crawling preferences addressed to the Mediapartners-Google user agent affect Google AdSense. The AdSense crawler visits participating sites in order to provide them with relevant ads.
• Google-Safety: The Google-Safety user agent handles abuse-specific crawling, such as malware discovery for publicly posted links on Google properties. As such it’s unaffected by crawling preferences.
• Feedfetcher: Feedfetcher is used for crawling RSS or Atom feeds for Google News and PubSubHubbub.
• Google Publisher Center: Google Publisher Center fetches and processes feeds that publishers explicitly supplied for use in Google News landing pages.
• Google Read Aloud: Upon user request, Google Read Aloud fetches and reads out web pages using text-to-speech (TTS).
• Google Site Verifier: Google Site Verifier fetches Search Console verification tokens.

Why we care. Reading through these affected product sections may help you better understand how each crawler affects various aspects of Google. Some don’t impact Google Search at all, while others are fundamental to how Google Search works.

Also the new robots.txt examples may be very useful to you and your development teams.

Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing

CPCs keep increasing – here’s what you can do about it by CallTrackingMetrics

Written on September 16, 2024 at 5:49 am, by admin

Cost-per-click (CPC) rates are rising across industries. In fact, CPCs are up by an average of 10% year over year, according to WordStream.

It’s time to address this challenge.

Lisa Salvatore, Sr. Manager, Lead Acquisition at CallTrackingMetrics, puts it this way: 

“You can give the digital advertising landscape credit for one thing: keeping us on our toes! From AI to CTV to privacy restrictions alone in the past year, it’s made it harder for advertisers to control costs while improving performance. With such a complex and rapidly changing environment, it’s more important than ever for us to work smarter, using the right tools to uncover what drives revenue and increase our understanding of customers. It’s the ability to optimize off these actionable insights that will ultimately allow any advertiser to spend more efficiently.”

Before we dive into solutions, let’s explore what’s behind this upward trend.

What is causing CPCs to rise?

Understanding the root causes of rising CPCs is crucial for developing effective strategies to combat them. Let’s delve deeper into each factor.

A broken funnel

Sometimes, the issue lies within your marketing ecosystem, especially if you don’t regularly evaluate your tactics’ effectiveness. Places to start include examining your ads, website experience or conversion process.

• Ad quality: Low-quality ads that trigger poor Quality Scores can lead to higher CPCs. Google rewards ads that provide a good user experience with lower costs.
• Landing page experience: If your landing pages don’t match user intent or have high bounce rates, again your Quality Score will be impacted. The better the user experience from an ad click to a landing page, the more you will be rewarded with relevant clicks and lower CPCs.
• Conversion rate optimization (CRO): A low conversion rate means you’re paying for clicks that aren’t turning into customers. This inefficiency can drive up your overall cost per acquisition, even if your CPC remains stable.

Google’s direct influence

Google has been transparent about certain changes that affect ad costs. When the platform updates its algorithms or introduces new features, it can directly impact CPCs.

• Algorithm updates: When Google updates its search algorithms to adapt to what people want, this could potentially impact which user queries trigger your ads and at what cost.
• Ad format changes: The introduction of new ad formats and generative AI-assisted creative tools can impact CPCs as advertisers adapt to new best practices.
• Policy changes: Updates to Google’s advertising policies can affect which ads are allowed to run and how they’re displayed, potentially increasing competition for certain keywords.

Smart bidding’s indirect effect

While smart bidding aims to optimize your ad spend, its lack of transparency can lead to increased costs as it tries to reach your “ideal customer.”

• Audience targeting: Smart bidding may prioritize users it deems more valuable, potentially increasing bids for these high-value clicks.
• Time of day and device adjustments: The algorithm might increase bids during times or on devices where conversions are more likely, which could drive up average CPCs.
• Learning period fluctuations: When you switch to smart bidding, there’s often a learning period where costs may increase before the system optimizes.

Increased competition

As more businesses allocate larger budgets to digital advertising, the auction becomes more competitive, driving up prices.

• Market saturation: In some industries, nearly all businesses are now advertising online, increasing competition for the same keywords. We’re looking at you, the home services industry.
• Seasonal trends: During peak seasons (e.g., holidays, election years), competition intensifies as more advertisers vie for the same audience.
• New entrants: The low barrier to entry for digital advertising means new competitors can quickly enter the market and drive up costs.
• Budget increases: As businesses see success with PPC, they often increase budgets, leading to higher bids across the board.

Economic factors

Broader economic trends can also influence CPC rates.

• Inflation: As the cost of goods and services rises, businesses may increase their ad spend to maintain sales, driving up CPCs.
• Industry growth: Rapidly growing industries often see increased ad competition as more players enter the market.
• Consumer behavior shifts: Changes in how and where consumers shop (e.g., the shift to online shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic) can increase competition for digital ad space.

Platform changes and restrictions

Updates to advertising platforms and increased privacy regulations can impact CPCs.

• Privacy regulations: Laws like GDPR and CCPA have limited data collection, potentially making targeting less efficient and driving up costs.
• Cookie deprecation: The phasing out of third-party cookies is changing how ads are targeted and measured, which could impact CPCs as advertisers adapt. The impact of this situation may be partially mitigated by recent news.
• Platform feature removals: When platforms remove targeting options (like Facebook’s removal of certain detailed targeting options), it can increase competition for the remaining targeting criteria.

Understanding these factors can help you identify which ones are most relevant to your campaigns and develop targeted strategies to address and minimize their effects. 

By addressing the root causes of CPC increases you can work toward more cost-effective advertising in an increasingly competitive digital landscape.

5 ways to fight back against rising Google Ads costs

Despite these challenges, there are ways to achieve your goals – and likely without any extra budget. Here are five approaches to help you succeed:

1. Check your settings

Before pointing fingers at external factors, look inward. There might be optimizations waiting to be discovered within your account:

• Review and update your negative keywords to prevent wasted spend on irrelevant searches.
• Check for keyword overlap that might be causing your ads to compete against each other.
• If you’re using Performance Max campaigns, ensure they’re not cannibalizing traffic from your more targeted campaigns.
• Examine your ad copy and look for opportunities to improve its relevancy to customers (Google’s Ad Strength metric is a good place to start!).

2. Improve and optimize your landing pages

If you’re going to pay more per click, make sure you’re maximizing the value of each visitor:

• Implement clear and compelling calls-to-action (CTAs) that guide users toward conversion.
• Conduct A/B tests to identify the most effective layouts, copy, and offers.
• Ensure your landing page messaging accurately reflects your ad content for a seamless user experience.

3. Focus on CPA vs. CPC

While rising CPCs are concerning, they aren’t the whole story. Shift your focus to cost per acquisition (CPA):

• It may be acceptable to spend more on clicks if you’re generating more revenue from sales. Have you considered a Target CPA smart bidding strategy?
• Optimize your conversion funnel beyond the initial click. Look for opportunities to improve your lead nurturing process, sales follow-ups and customer onboarding.
• Implement better tracking (like call tracking) to accurately measure the true value of each conversion, and optimize those conversions within Google accordingly. Many advertisers still rely on outdated metrics, like call duration, to measure success. Instead, find new ways to track meaningful conversions that directly impact your bottom line – such as conversation intelligence.

4. Expand the marketing mix

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. While Google remains a crucial platform, explore other channels to diversify your advertising efforts:

• Consider increasing your presence on platforms like Bing, Amazon, or industry-specific ad networks.
• If you’re in the B2B space, are you fully leveraging LinkedIn’s targeting capabilities?
• For B2C marketers, evaluate your influencer marketing strategy. Are there untapped opportunities to reach your audience through trusted voices in your industry?
• Implement cross-channel attribution tools, like call tracking, to make data-informed decisions on where to allocate your budget.

5. Listen to your customers

Sometimes, the best insights come directly from your audience:

• Analyze recorded calls or transcriptions to understand the language your customers use, the questions they frequently ask, and the pain points they express. This valuable data can inform your keyword strategy and ad copy, allowing you to create more targeted and resonant marketing messages. By aligning your marketing language with your customers’ natural vocabulary and addressing their specific concerns, you can improve ad performance, increase conversion rates, and ultimately connect more effectively with your target audience.
• Use customer feedback to identify new marketing channels. Are they mentioning specific websites, podcasts or social media platforms where they spend time?
• Look for patterns in how customers found you. This can reveal unexpected marketing opportunities or undervalued channels.

Embracing the challenge

Rising CPCs present a challenge, but they also offer an opportunity to refine your digital marketing strategy. 

By focusing on optimization, diversification and customer insights, you can navigate these cost increases while still achieving – and potentially exceeding – your marketing goals.

Success in digital marketing isn’t just about spending more. It’s about spending smarter. 

As you implement these strategies, monitor your metrics closely and be prepared to pivot as needed. 

The digital landscape is always evolving. Your ability to adapt will be key to your long-term success.

By taking a proactive approach to rising CPCs, you’re positioning your business to thrive in an increasingly competitive digital marketplace.

So, roll up your sleeves, dig into your data and start optimizing. Your future self (and your budget) will thank you.

Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing

YouTube First Position Ads now available across Display & Video 360

Written on September 12, 2024 at 8:44 pm, by admin

First Position has been expanded to include all YouTube content through Display & Video 360, offering it at dynamic CPM rates. Previously, this feature was only available on YouTube Select inventory at fixed rates.

• Now, advertisers can secure prime ad placement at the beginning of a YouTube session across any content, enhancing relevance and impact.

Why it matters. With YouTube being the largest streaming video website in the world (boasting 1 billion hours of video being watched a day) there is a lot of opportunity if you use video assets in your campaigns. With First Position, you can now ensure your ad is the first one viewers see when watching YouTube content, maximizing visibility during critical moments and potentially driving higher engagement and brand recall.

Details. First Position guarantees that an ad will be the first in-stream spot when users begin watching YouTube, making it ideal for key campaigns like product launches or cultural events.

Case studies. As usual, Google cited well-known household brands like Booking.com and IHG Hotels & Resorts as already seeing success with First Position, so you shouldn’t necessarily expect to replicate such results if you don’t have similar resources. Booking.com drove a 21% lift in ad recall, while IHG combined it with YouTube Sponsorships to achieve double the brand awareness benchmark.

What’s next. Advertisers can now leverage First Position for any campaign across YouTube’s entire content library. For more details, visit the Help Center for Instant Reserve in Display & Video 360 or Reservations in Google Ads.

Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing

Use DAM and AI to keep up with content demands by Edna Chavira

Written on September 12, 2024 at 8:44 pm, by admin

Are you overwhelmed by the constant demand for new content? AI and Digital Asset Management (DAM) can be your secret weapons for keeping up with content demands and delivering exceptional digital experiences.

Join us for Acquia’s upcoming webinar, Driving Brand Growth: Using DAM and AI to Keep Up With Content Demands. Our expert panel will discuss:

• DAM’s role in branding and digital experience management
• Best practices for seamless migration and strategic tech consolidation
• How to effectively integrate tech stacks, content, and teams

Don’t miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights and stay ahead of the curve. Register now to secure your spot!

Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing

SearchGPT: What you need to know about OpenAI’s search engine

Written on September 12, 2024 at 8:44 pm, by admin

With its characteristic cheerfulness, ChatGPT will tell you that the digital media landscape is “rapidly evolving.” 

Google is regularly updating its algorithm, AI is getting smarter by the day and new tools are entering the market faster than fashion trends, which go in and out of style. That can mean opportunities and challenges for us.

One of the most talked-about evolutions to the search landscape is OpenAI’s SearchGPT, a product that could rival Google’s dominance soon. 

At my agency, we recently gained early access to SearchGPT. Below are our takeaways about this new tool and its implications for digital marketing.

What is SearchGPT and how does it work?

SearchGPT is an AI-powered search engine that combines the strengths of traditional search engines with the advanced conversational abilities of large language models. It delivers answers to user queries using real-time information from across the web. 

Rather than returning a list of links for users to sift through like traditional search engines, SearchGPT provides direct answers, summaries and insights based on an understanding of context and the user’s intent.

OpenAI doesn’t clearly state the exact details of how SearchGPT works, however, we can surmise that it uses something akin to retrieval augmented generation (RAG) which is a popular approach used by other AI search engines including, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews.

RAG is designed to reduce the likelihood of hallucinations in responses by integrating information from a database into the LLM response to enhance accuracy.

The model converts the search query into numerical embeddings that capture its meaning and searches a vector database containing trusted information sources. In this case, the web index is most likely provided by Bing based on OpenAI’s partnership with Microsoft.

By retrieving the most relevant content, SearchGPT can generate precise responses while linking back to the original web content, ensuring transparency and reliability.

The retrieved sources serve as additional context for the language model to accurately answer the user’s query.

Key features of SearchGPT include:

• Conversational interface: Users can interact with SearchGPT in a more natural, dialogue-like manner.
• Direct answers: Instead of a list of links, SearchGPT provides concise, relevant answers to queries.
• Citations panel: A sidebar displays the sources used to generate the response, with links to the original content.
• Follow-up questions: Users can ask additional questions to explore topics further, creating a more interactive search experience.

How does SearchGPT compare to Google AI Overviews?  

My initial impression of SearchGPT is positive; it certainly outperforms Google’s AI Overviews (AIO). 

While SearchGPT may result in fewer clicks for informational terms – and mostly for low-intent searches – in my opinion, this shift broadens the search ecosystem and opens new doors to connect with customers beyond traditional Google SERPs. 

Google’s AIO still primarily relies on traditional search, with the addition of an LLM-generated response at the top of the page, which feels more like an enhancement of rich snippet results than a full transformation. Non-tech-savvy users may not notice a significant difference. 

However, for marketers, two key distinctions stand out:

• Citations.
• Conversational search.

Google’s AIO uses an icon for references, offering less transparent citations, while SearchGPT mostly links directly from the publication’s name, which could impact click-through rates. 

Additionally, Google’s AIO is far less conversational. In contrast, SearchGPT allows users to build on the initial response by expanding queries using the original web content, creating a more interactive experience similar to ChatGPT’s conversational thread UI. 

This means marketers might find opportunities with SearchGPT to develop content strategies that cater to a much wider range of conversational queries, encouraging users to explore content in more detail.

5 key implications for digital marketers 

1. Search is about to become more conversational 

SearchGPT’s natural language processing capabilities allow for more nuanced, dialogue-like interactions. It can understand the context and meaning behind words, which means keyword research is likely to change dramatically. 

Due to its conversational nature, users are expected to ask a broader range of questions, which presents marketers with opportunities to create highly targeted content. 

Instead of focusing solely on translating queries into keywords, marketers will need to understand the key topics and questions users are exploring and develop content that directly addresses these needs. 

Content should be engaging, written naturally and designed to meet user intent rather than merely optimizing for algorithms. This transition emphasizes the importance of creating content that resonates with users on a deeper level.

2. Incorporate rich media into your strategies 

A multimedia strategy has been crucial in marketing for years and its importance is set to grow even further. SearchGPT has the capability to reference and describe various types of media beyond just text. 

Integrating videos, infographics and interactive elements into your content will enhance its value for SearchGPT. 

Although for AI, descriptive text may become less necessary for multimedia content because it can understand imagery, it’s still important for your media to be well-labeled and contextually enriched. 

This is to ensure your content remains inclusive and accessible to all end users, as well as being accessible and relevant to AI models, improving its effectiveness in AI-driven searches.

Dig deeper: Visual optimization must-haves for AI-powered search

3. Earned media will remain important 

SearchGPT is likely to prioritize high-authority publications, meaning digital PR and thought leadership may become even more important. 

What’s more, at least right now, SearchGPT seems to link out to content creators more than Google does, which may offer brands increased opportunities to boost awareness and traffic. 

OpenAI’s recent partnerships with Conde Nast, The Associated Press and Vox highlight the value of content creators and underscores their role in the success of AI-powered search. 

Marketers should consider targeting high-visibility content sources used by SearchGPT to enhance brand inclusion in its responses. 

Developing relationships with authoritative publications and focusing on earned media can improve your chances of being featured in valuable AI-generated content.

4. High-quality content still rules them all

SearchGPT places a premium on relevant, up-to-date information, making consistent content optimization essential. 

High-quality content is critical for maintaining audience engagement and increasing the likelihood of being referenced by SearchGPT. This focus on quality can drive more traffic and enhance engagement, providing a competitive edge for your brand. 

Regular updates and accuracy are key to retaining relevance in the AI-driven search landscape. That means more traffic and engagement on your site and ultimately, a competitive edge as a brand.

Dig deeper: 6 guiding principles to leverage AI for SEO content production

5. Adapt your analytics and metrics

Marketers should consider tracking visibility through prompts and brand mentions within LLM responses – tracking a collection of prompts you believe your potential customers will be using rather than traditional rankings. 

Traditional metrics like click-through rates (CTR) and page rankings will also become less relevant with AI-driven search. 

Marketers should focus on new metrics like the accuracy of AI-generated answers that reference their content, user engagement levels and the impact of AI on brand visibility.

Metrics like these will provide better insights into how effectively your content is performing in the age of SearchGPT.

SearchGPT: The next evolution in AI-powered search

SearchGPT is new but it’s already clear that the future of digital marketing is going to be much more conversational and will move away from the traditional 10 blue links from Google. We’re still advising our clients that standard SEO best practices remain relevant. 

However, brands that are not invested in earning high-quality media coverage and links through digital PR should consider adding this to their 2025 budget.

OpenAI will likely prioritize authoritative publisher content to answer AI search queries over a brand’s own website – and you don’t want to miss out on this “fast-paced evolution.”

This article was co-authored by Steve Walker.

Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing

How to drive SEO growth with structure, skimmability and search intent

Written on September 12, 2024 at 8:44 pm, by admin

B2B content contains a Catch-22:

• You need to write for search to justify the expense to produce an evergreen asset that will grow long-term ROI, but…
• You also need to write for a sophisticated audience to build credibility to ever eventually see said ROI.

Most brands skew too far in one direction or the other. 

Write primarily for search and you get derivative, regurgitated, copycat content that immediately erodes trust with discerning prospects. 

Write only for prospects, however, and your content is ephemeral – forever relying on short-term bumps in referral traffic that get forgotten within a week.

Semrush has somehow managed to bridge this divide for over a decade. Their year-over-year revenue was up 21% in Q1 of 2024, while growth in large customers paying $10,000 annually is also up 32% YoY.

In this article, Semrush’s Managing Editor, Alex Lindley, shares how his three S approach – structure, skimmability and search intent – can fuel SEO growth, plus helpful examples and takeaways. 

1. Structure: Answer search intent without delaying the ‘time to value’

Writing for search and readers is a delicate balancing act.

On the one hand, you need to entice readers by setting up the problem and illustrating symptoms before providing alternative solutions.

On the other hand, you need to clearly answer search intent and structure articles similar to what’s already ranking so you can have a shot at evergreen traffic.

Nowhere is this conundrum more obvious than during the editing stage. An editor might think the paragraph and phrasing is the issue, while the underlying root cause is actually a poor article structure to begin with.

You can think of this “structure” problem as twofold:

• You spend too much time talking (or writing) about stuff that doesn’t matter, while also
• Not spending nearly enough time on the stuff that does.

Lindley starts with classic journalism advice, structuring articles in an inverted pyramid to help increase the “time to value” readers will receive. 

• “For content the writer is creating for SEO purposes, I always point to the inverted pyramid and/or the bottom line up front (BLUF) framework.”
• “The reason is simple: The single biggest mistake I see writers make is delaying the time to value by adding too much exposition before getting to the point. Delaying the time to value essentially negates any attempt you make later to address search intent because a huge number of readers won’t stick with you long enough to see if you ever do get to the information they’re looking for.”
• “I realize, however, that this approach can alienate some readers – and, importantly, writers I’m working with – who prefer a bit of narrative or simply love language and writing for writing’s sake. Balancing strong structure and search intent with narrative and the “delight” factor is tricky, but when there’s any doubt, I always recommend leaning on BLUF first and everything else second. It’s the best possible approach when you’re not entirely sure of the best approach.”

This advice is especially relevant for long-form B2B content. 

The decades-old Problem, Agitate, Solution (PAS) copywriting framework helps set context. You want to provide some background commentary so the reader immediately understands and resonates with the point you’re making, so that the ultimate payoff (or “solution”) hits that much harder.

The problem is that you might take too long to get there.

The trick, then, is to get in and get out – ASAP! Concision is the name of the game.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the only “structure” issue that causes concern.

Delaying the “time to value” is increasingly common because that’s how more and more “search”-driven content is being structured.

Look at the two side-by-side Investopedia examples below. Both are glossary or definition-based content, so notice the similarity in the heading structures used across each:

Another way most search content falls flat is by spending too long on the initial sections of an article (the “what is” or “why it’s important” sections) while not spending enough time answering the primary query behind the article.

• “The No. 1 biggest red flag I see with article structure is a compulsion to do the “who, what, where, why” in massive sections before getting to the meat of the article,” confirms Lindley. 
• “For example, you have an article titled ‘Top SEO Tools for 2024.’ Then the structure looks like this:
  • H1: Top SEO Tools for 2024
    • H2: What Are SEO Tools?
    • H2: Why SEO Tools Are Important
      • H3: Reach a Broad Audience
      • H3: Save on Advertising Costs
      • H3: Make Data-Driven Decisions
    • H2: How to Choose an SEO Tool
      • H3: Consider Your Budget
      • H3: Compare ‘Must-Have’ Features
      • H3: Test Them
    • H2: 11 Best SEO Tools
      • H3: Tool 1
      • Etc.
• “We get 1,500 words or more in before we’ve even gotten to the point of the article. How many readers will sit through that or even scroll that many times before they get to the part they came for? Very few.”
• “Unfortunately, this kind of structure is really common online. It’s a search intent and time to value problem. And it often comes from either believing that search engines ‘want’ to see that kind of thing or feeling the need to reach a particular word count.”
• “But we simply don’t need to do that. In fact, we really shouldn’t if we aim to keep readers engaged. If the title promises something, give that thing to the reader right away. Don’t delay; don’t clear your throat. Just put it front and center. And if you need to cover the tangential whys and hows, do that later on.”

One way to mitigate this is to structure content in briefs and outlines with predetermined word count max ranges. 

That way, you might still want to include the “what is” section to define a topic for search intent, but then remind writers to quickly move down to spending more time (or word count) on the sections that matter most.

A final tip on article structure and the subheading organization underneath is parallelism. Here’s how Lindley thinks of it:

• “Headers – the building blocks of article structure – should always be parallel. Listicles make an easy example. Here’s the ‘bad’ way to approach it, compared with the ‘good’ one right after.”
• H1: 3 Content Writing Tips
  • H2: 1) Use Short Sentences and Paragraphs
  • H2: 2) Read It Out Loud Before You Publish It
  • H2: 3) Nailing the Search Intent (bad example)
    
• H1: 3 Content Writing Tips
  • H2: 1) Use Short Sentences and Paragraphs
  • H2: 2) Read It Out Loud Before You Publish It
  • H2: 3) Nail the Search Intent (good example)

This last point seems small and nuanced on the surface. But as you’ll see in the next section below, it actually has a huge bearing on how “skimmable” the content is overall and whether you’re keeping the reader engaged to the end of the content.

---

2. Skimmability: Provide contextually relevant examples without interrupting the reading flow

AI content can tell you what “advanced excel formulas” are, as evidenced by this sample below:

However, it’ll never:

• Show you advanced Excel formulas. 
• Explain why they matter for who they help.
• Illustrate how to create advanced Excel formulas. 
• Put them into a usable format like a free template or tool.

You future-proof SEO by avoiding head-on competition with what AI can do well. And instead you do what AI can’t do.

Backing up points being made in an article helps the reader visualize what you’re describing and increases the credibility in your claims. 

It also arms your content with differentiation that other publishers can’t match.

• “The context part is often lacking in web content,” explains Lindley. 
• “Many web publishers will throw a faintly relevant image at the top or bottom of a section and call it done – almost as if they’re working from some kind of checklist. But we need to aim for a higher level of helpfulness.”

The trouble is that knowing how to incorporate good examples always throws writers and editors for a loop. Thankfully, Lindley has a good framework to keep in mind:

• “Concept > Context (for the image or example) > Image or Example.”
• “In other words, start with the concept you’re introducing. State it plainly. Then, provide context for the example or image you’re about to introduce. Then include the example or image.”

The second major skimmability issue can actually be spotted well in advance, prior to ever reading a single line of the content itself.

Go back to the overall structure again!

• “One skimmability problem that is easy to illustrate with examples (and highly applicable to many web writers) is when you’re unable to understand what a section or article is about from just the header title(s). That’s why I always look at the table of contents or stacked headers on the left side of the Google Doc before I start editing an article.” 

In other words, start by familiarizing yourself with what is being proposed, the nested information under each section, and how these sections build on top of one another to get a general sense of the problems, challenges or examples that will ultimately be most appropriate later on.

Lindley continues this example with another one:

• “For example, if I see the H2 ‘Content Marketing’ in an article titled ‘Types of Digital Marketing,’ I am pretty sure that section will describe how content marketing is a type of digital marketing. But if I see the H2 ‘Fire Up Your Keyboard’ in that same article, I’m confused, and I know there’s a problem.”

How do you know whether you (or your writers) are on the right track? 

Again, back out of the actual paragraphs to take in the proposed article as a whole. 

The table of contents or header structure can help, as can literally minimizing the text sizing in your browser to zoom out and consider all of the content together, like so:

Last but not least, here are three additional “don’ts” Lindley recommends following to help avoid interrupting the reading flow or risk losing the reader:

• Don’t make the reader squint to look for details in images that help them understand what they’re looking at. 
• Don’t make them scroll back up to the paragraph text to look for help understanding what they’re looking at. 
• Don’t make them read your explanation below the image or example and then go back up to the image or example to finally understand it. 

3. Search intent: Focus editing on reader clarity, less on phrasing or semantic keywords

Over the last decade of working across hundreds of brands, I’ve noticed that good writers often make bad editors and terrible content managers.

The reason comes down to a skill set mismatch, where good writers excel at ingenuity and saying the same things in different ways, while good editors instead laser-focus on consistency and clarity.

For example, take a look at the following “edits”:

As you can tell, these are done by a good “writer,” perhaps, but as an editor, it’s often missing the point.

The best editors are often akin to a coach. Their job is to sit at the intersection of the brand, the reader and search intent, then make sure to erect “bumpers” on each side to keep writers clear on the primary direction of travel.

• “The best editors maintain a radical focus on the reader. They’ll even break well-established writing rules to serve that focus,” affirms Lindley.
• “Getting into more specific areas of focus, editors should put structure, skimmability and search intent at the center of nearly everything they do.” 
• “The other stuff – images, line edits, spelling, grammar, etc. – is important. But you can have all that extra stuff completely perfect and still have a bad article because you’ve neglected structure, skimmability or search intent.”
• “That’s not to say editors shouldn’t care about other concerns. They should, but if I only had 30 minutes to spend editing an article, I wouldn’t change a single word before I addressed those three Ss.”

Lindley is also a proponent of role specialization, where “strategists focus more on keywords, distribution, and the like,” while the writer can “focus on the sentence-level stuff.”

The editor might review all of these details prior to publishing, but none of them outweigh structure, skimmability and search intent.

How do you help enforce (or reinforce) these principles in practice? Especially at scale or higher volumes across a broad team?

The best way I’ve found is to make editors track time against every article, writer, and content type. Then, set established benchmark thresholds for each.

For example, after publishing thousands of articles each year over the past few years, we’ve noticed that if editors continuously spend over an hour editing certain articles, it actually indicates:

• A process problem (identify underlying gaps in briefs/templates).
• An internal documentation problem (ICP/product positioning communicated + re-trained).
• A role/expectations problem (editors wanna rewrite vs. edit).
• A delegation problem (editors/content managers ‘need to do it themselves’ vs. building a systematic workflow with the first three above).

And often not a “writer” or “editor” problem.

Here’s how to set up this internal feedback loop to make sure everyone is focused on the highest and best use of their respective times (and skills):

• You should have estimated editing time ranges, including caps, to edit each content type, format, or length.
• Add time tracking per article and per writer (even more true if editors are fixed cost / in-house / full-time).
• Use this baseline data to identify trends, patterns and bad habits (rewriting vs. editing).
• Force editors to flag underlying issues or gaps – not just fix surface-level issues – that should have been better spelled out, structured or illustrated for writers in preceding steps.
• Review these issues weekly to create new supporting resources to continually re-train your editorial team.

This feedback loop has two benefits:

• Editors’ editing-per-piece effort will drop like a rock, resulting in a better experience for them.
• It also allows editors to edit more content in the same amount of time, which is a better ROI for you.

The end result is that more editing comments should follow Lindley’s recommended three S approach, providing broad, strategic recommendations like the comment below early on – as opposed to the individual rewording of sentences at the start of this section.

A balanced content strategy delivers evergreen results and boosts revenue

There’s a constant tension when writing for search and readers. Lean too far in either direction and the final outcome can often sacrifice one at the expense of the other.

The trick, as with most things in life, is to lean into the gray area filled with nuance. While also avoiding knee-jerk reactions that try too hard to oversimplify.

If you want readers to consume, engage, save, and share search-driven content, the answer isn’t to start cutting important context like your introductions. Instead, you should be writing introductions that deserve to be read.

Building your publishing process (and editing) around the three S approach are a perfect start to walking this fine line. 

Because structure, skimmability, and search intent aren’t just simple, practical guardrails for editorial teams. 

But also the foundation behind writing marketing content that also gets evergreen results at the same time.

Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing

Google tests more noticeable ad labels in search results

Written on September 11, 2024 at 5:43 pm, by admin

Google is experimenting with a new way to make ads more distinguishable in its search results.

The update introduces a taller gray background for ads, accompanied by a “Sponsored” label and subtitles like “Promoted products” or “Promoted results.”

This is a shift from Google’s current more subtle labelling approach.

What it looks like. Here’s a screenshot, shared by Gagan Ghotra on X:

Additionally, after the ads, Google now labels the following section as “All results,” clearly distinguishing the organic, non-sponsored listings from paid content.

Why we care: This test signals a possible shift in how Google balances ad visibility and user experience. Advertisers should keep a close eye on metrics like CTR and conversion rates as these experiments evolve.

Bottom line. This move, should it become permanent, could make ads more noticeable, potentially influencing user behavior and click rates, as Google continues to fine-tune its ad presentation for clarity and transparency.

Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing

Google adtech antitrust trial: Everything you need to know

Written on September 11, 2024 at 5:43 pm, by admin

Google is on trial for allegedly abusing its dominance of the $200 billion digital advertising industry.

The U.S. Department of Justice claimed that through acquisitions and anticompetitive conduct, Google seized sustained control of the full advertising technology (“adtech”) stack: the tools advertisers and publishers use to buy and sell ads, and the exchange that connects them.

In response, Google denied the claims stating several ad companies compete in the space, a mixture of tools are used so they don’t get the full fees, their fees are lower than industry average and small businesses will suffer the most if they lose this case.

The outcome of the landmark case could bring significant changes to Google and publishers. However, experts argue that could seriously hurt advertisers as well.

It’s equally possible the trial will result in no changes and Google will be free to continue operating as it wants.

Day 1: Accusations and badgering of witnesses (Sept. 9)

DOJ laid out their accusations as follows:

• Google controls the advertiser ad network.
• Google dominates the publisher ad server.
• Google runs the ad exchange connecting the two.

Google’s defense:

• Disputed the definition of open-web display ads.
• Argued the DOJ’s market definition is “gerrymandered” – the DOJ are manipulating the boundaries of their definition to make Google out to be the bad guy.
• Presented a chart showing competitors like Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and TikTok.

Bottom line. This trial could determine whether Google’s control over digital advertising constitutes an illegal monopoly, potentially affecting how information is disseminated online.

What’s next. The trial is expected to last several weeks. If the DOJ wins, Google could face up to $100 billion in advertiser lawsuits, according to Bernstein analysts.

Deep dive. Read our Google antitrust trial guide for a breakdown of everything you need to know from the first trial last year.

This article will be regularly updated with the latest developments from this landmark trial.

Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing