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2023 Survey: Local search ranking factors

Sunday, March 26th, 2023

The 2023 local search ranking factors survey is now out, it is a survey of what local SEO experts rank the most important ranking factors are for both ranking in the Google local pack and also in the Google organic local results.

More survey details. This survey was conducted by Whitespark and surveyed 44 different local SEO experts. It asked these local SEO experts to rank 149 potential local search ranking factors in order of importance across both the local pack and organic rankings.

Local pack factors. The local pack findings showed that these were ranked the most important ranking factors for Google’s local pack:

Local organic factors. The local organic ranking factors showed these these were ranked the most important ranking factors for Google’s local pack:

Disclaimer. Search ranking factor studies can and have been somewhat controversial over the years. This study asked local SEOs to rate what they think are the most important factors for ranking well in Google’s local results. So keep that all in mind and make sure to read the study in full before just accepting these results as is.

Why we care. While there may be a lot of debate between SEOs and local SEOs as to what are the most important ranking factors, going through a survey like this may help you think about areas that you may not have thought about prior. So give it a read and hope you come up with some new ideas to implement for your clients.

The post 2023 Survey: Local search ranking factors appeared first on Search Engine Land.

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




This day in search marketing history: March 26

Sunday, March 26th, 2023

More sites move to Google mobile-first indexing

In 2018, Google announced it had enabled mobile-first indexing for more websites.

This was the first time Google had confirmed it was moving a large number of sites to this mobile-first indexing process. Google told us in October 2017 that a limited number of sites had been moved over.

Websites that were migrated in this batch were following mobile-first indexing best practices and were notified of the change via a Google Search Console message.

Read all about it in Google begins rolling out mobile-first indexing to more sites.


Also on this day


Now, analyze more accounts in Google Ads Report Editor

2020: Advertisers could run reports for up to 200 accounts in a Manager account.


The new contextual ad targeting works, study says

2020: A new study looks at how contextual relevance of ads to content influences consumers.


EU Android search choice screen’s impact delayed due to COVID-19

2020: Engagement with the search choice screen had been slowed by stifled smartphone supply and decreased demand. 


Small agencies brace for impact, but say remote work isn’t slowing them down

2020: Many expected client budget and project changes would have a negative effect on their businesses.


Businesses should limit, not disable, their sites during temporary closures, Google says

2020: A full takedown could result in losing Search Console data and make it more difficult to ramp back up.


Pinterest rolls out new commerce features for retailers as search volume climbs

2020: Upgrades included the new Verified Merchant Program, new conversion reporting opportunities, and updates to Catalogs and dynamic retargeting.


SEOs show mixed results following Google March 2019 core update

2019: The data was not conclusive on any specific tactic or type of site impacted by the algorithm change.


Google to retire the info: command, adds canonical information to URL Inspection Tool

2019: Google was retiring the info command because it “was relatively underused” and said the new URL inspection tool gave users much of that data now anyway.


Google Ads Keyword Planner gets new (and old) features

2019: Seed your keyword ideas with more terms, add keywords to existing campaigns and more.


Google adds vacation rentals to Hotel Search

2019: Increased competition between hotels and vacation rentals could increase visibility for rental providers and boost Google Hotel Ads revenue.


Europeans again raise the specter of breaking up Google

2018: More of a bargaining position, it was extremely unlikely to actually happen.


Bing begins removing sidebar text ads on desktop

2018: Starting in the US, text ads would show only in the mainline at the top and bottom of search results pages.


Bing ‘intelligent search’ capabilities continue to expand, include facts from multiple sources

2018: Bing also shared more about the platform it built to power intelligent search.


Google Testing Removing Line Separator Between Search Ads & Organic Search Results

2015: Google was testing removing the divider between the ads and free listings in the search results. Would it lead to more searcher confusion?


Google News Ranking Won’t Be Impacted By The New Mobile-Friendly Algorithm

2015: Google News ranking algorithm would not (yet) factor in if a publisher was mobile-friendly.


Google Expands Product Rating Stars In Google Shopping Ads To UK, France, Germany

2015: Star ratings for specific products appeared in product listing ads.


WSJ Report Suggests Intervention In FTC’s Google Investigation By White House

2015: Google lobbying reportedly affected agency’s decision in antitrust case.


Report: Mobile Search Queries 29% Of Total But Growth Modest

2015: Search query percentages didn’t line up with overall usage trends.


Google Says Don’t Delete Your Disavow File Prior To Uploading A New One

2014: He said instead, upload the new one, which will replace the old disavow file.


New AdWords For Video Reporting Now Rolling Out In Google Analytics

2014: Video Campaigns report in Google Analytics gave advertisers more insights into the performance of their YouTube TrueView ads that are managed through AdWords for Video campaigns.


How A Single Guest Post May Have Gotten An Entire Site Penalized By Google

2014: Another case of Google failing to keep its promise to provide more examples relating to penalties.


Bing Ads Launches Product Ads In U.S., Mobile Version Now In Beta

2014: After months of testing.


Microsoft “Research” Discovers The Obvious In Renewed Anti-Trust Attack On Google

2013: Indeed, Google displayed links to its own vertical search results differently. But so did Bing.


Google Gets Trademark Reprieve In Sweden Over Definition Of ‘Ungoogleable’

2013: “Ungoogleable” would not become an official word in Sweden.


CheapAir.com Mobile Voice Search Not Very “Natural”

2013: Its voice search fell quite short of expectations. 


Google Eliminates Another Link Network, BuildMyRank.com – Just One Of Several?

2012: BuildMyRank.com confirmed Google had deindexed an “overwhelming majority” of their network as of March 19, 2012.


In Japan, Google Ordered To Remove Some Autocomplete Suggestions

2012: A man lost his job several years ago and was rejected for new jobs due to the suggestions offered by Google.


Report: 25% Of Paid-Search Clicks Will Come From Mobile By December

2012: Marin also estimated that 23% of Google’s US paid-search spend [by December 2012] would come from mobile campaigns.


Rumor: Apple To Add Baidu To iPhone Search Options

2012: It would have been strange for Apple to exclude China’s most popular search engine from the default options.


Survey: 87% Of iPhone 4S Owners Use Siri Monthly

2012: Roughly one third of iPhone 4S owners used Siri “almost daily.”


UBL And Yext Join Forces To Offer More Complete Local Data Syndication

2012: The combination offered convenience for local marketers who might have been trying to choose between Yext and UBL.


Google Fights “Pogostick Searchers” With New “Get More” Option

2010: “Get More” links appeared when a searcher came back to the search results page.


Does CEO Coffee Summit Equal Détente For Apple, Google?

2010: Did this meeting signal that both men (and both sides) were interested in some sort of “healing” or rapprochement?


Facebook Nabs Google’s David Fischer & Google Nabs Oracle’s Amit Singh

2010: Fischer would be the VP of Advertising and Global Operations at Facebook.


Google Pushing Hard(er) To Get Webmaster Products Adopted

2009: The Google Webmaster Tools Access Provider Program was renamed Google Services for Websites and expanded to include AdSense, Custom Search and Site Search.


Google To Cut 200 Sales & Marketing Staffers

2009: The affected employees would be given time to find new positions at Google and/or help in locating a job elsewhere.


Ask.com Shows Display Ads On Home Page

2009: Ask.com was the only “search engine” to have display ads on their search home page at the time.


Long Time Yahoo Search Scientist Jan Pedersen Joins Microsoft

2009: He was the latest in a string of ex-Yahoos to start working for Microsoft.


Yahoo Not Focused On MSFT Sale, Rather On Mobile & 141 Home Page Variations

2009: Yahoo had “tested 141 different versions of the homepage in search of one that will get users to stick around for longer.”


Yahoo – But Not Yahoo Search – Headed To TV

2009: Yahoo was making a move onto television screens with the Yahoo Widget Engine (YWE), but its first iteration wouldn’t include a Yahoo search box.


What Israeli SEMs Want

2009: To see Yahoo and Microsoft set up offices in Israel and for Yahoo to fix its search marketing platform.


Google AdWords Video Ads Now Live & In the Wild

2008: Announced in February, BlackBerry and AT&T were testing the ads.


Google Founders Take $1 Salaries Again; Tell Investors To Say No On Anti-Censorship Proposal

2008: Google’s founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, along with CEO Eric Schmidt, renewed their contracts again at a $1 per year salary.


Report: Microsoft To Up Bid For Yahoo To $34 Per Share

2008: It might have pleased Yahoo’s shareholders and put more pressure on Yahoo management to negotiate in earnest with Microsoft.


Google Continues Testing Navigational Link Placement

2007: More sightings of Google experimenting with additional navigational link placement ideas.


Google Gives Seminar On Google for Politics

2007: Google showed off how to use Alerts, AdWords, Analytics and AdSense. They also discussed YouTube and how that can impact an election.


Logo Bomb: Google Maps Returns Anti-Microsoft Logo For Microsoft Listing

2007: Here’s how it happened.


Yahoo Removes Directory Links From Individual Search Results

2007: Yahoo removed the links from the individual search listings to the Yahoo Directory because they caused “clutter.”


Yahoo Releases Greatly Simplified “SiteBuilder” Tool

2007: Yahoo created a “starter” tool that was extremely simple to use (template driven) and offered enough design choices to make it viable and interesting.


Travelocity: Non-Branded Terms Convert Nearly 25% But “Assists” Might Be Less Than Assumed

2007: Travelocity clarified that 20% of its bookings came from non-branded terms. When Travelocity bought a branded term, 4% of those got an “assist” or a click that converted after someone made an earlier visit via a non-branded term.


Rebranded Canadian Local Search Site ZipLocal Launches

2007: ZipLocal was a consolidated “Web 2.0” local search destination growing out of a number of earlier local search sites including Zip411.net and redToronto.com.


Live.com Link Command Currently Offline

2007: It had been offline for over 24 hours.


Yell.com Launches PPC On UK Directory Site

2007: UK yellow pages publisher and local search purveyor, Yell.com announced that it launched PPC ads on its site as well as targeted banner inventory.


No SEO Bull: Calacanis Challenge Sees Traffic Rise 21%

2007: Using “white hat” recommendation, Neil Patel increased Jason Calacanis’s search traffic by 21%.


From Search Marketing Expo (SMX)


Past contributions from Search Engine Land’s Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)

These columns are a snapshot in time and have not been updated since publishing, unless noted. Opinions expressed in these articles are those of the author and not necessarily Search Engine Land.


< March 25 | Search Marketing History | March 27 >

The post This day in search marketing history: March 26 appeared first on Search Engine Land.

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




This day in search marketing history: March 25

Saturday, March 25th, 2023

Google Panda patent granted

In 2014, a patent (Ranking search results) written by Google’s Navneet Panda and Vladimir Ofitserov – possibly describing the Google Panda algorithm update, or parts of it – was granted.

However, the fact that Google was granted this patent didn’t necessarily mean it was being used by Google at the time, or that it hadn’t been modified since the application was filed. 

Read all about it in Google Granted Patent For Panda Algorithm and dive deeper into Bill Slawski’s Google’s Panda Granted a Patent on Ranking Search Results and Is Ranking Search Results the Panda Patent? on SEO by the Sea. And here’s the patent.

In short, it was about looking at inbound links and how many search queries were made about a particular page/resource, and it modified the “initial scores” for the pages/resources being ranked.

Slawski explained the patent had many parts that worked together:


Also on this day


Google Search rolls out a more visual search interface on mobile with grid format

2022: Were both top results position one or did Google count the one on the right as position two?


Google Search Console users experience crawl stats report data issue

2021: Between March 10 and 23 there was a data issue with the crawl stats report, no Google Search performance issues were associated with this data bug.


Google adds practice problems and math solver structured data and Search Console reports

2021: Google came up with new structured data and Search Console reporting to help educational websites understand which pages had these content types.


Microsoft proposes method to automatically submit URLs from WordPress to search engines

2021: Microsoft wanted to build into the core of WordPress the ability to automatically push new and updated URLs to Bing and other search engines.


Microsoft Advertising introduces more automation via ad suggestions with auto-apply

2021: Ad suggestions marked as auto-apply would start serving after 14 days if no action was taken.


Google Podcasts gets a redesign and iOS rollout

2020: The new design featured an Explore tab with recommendations based on the listener’s interests.


Google turns on ‘mark a business temporarily closed’ for business owners on GMB

2020: The tool was under ‘Close this business on Google.’


SEOs talk pivoting and planning for a future after COVID-19

2020: What veteran SEOs were doing to help clients adapt to business during and after the pandemic.


COVID-Consumers: Pessimistic, but spending more online

2020: A large majority of consumers expected a recession next year but were spending up to 30% more online, according to a survey.


Social platforms cut streaming quality as ‘social distancing’ wages on

2020: The push to downgrade streaming quality was primarily focused in Europe with regulatory mandates to reduce network strain.


Video: Hamlet Batista on scaling and automating SEO with code

2020: And a bit about using Python.


Google webspam report: Hacked sites, user-generated spam, bad linking topped 2018 priorities

2019: Google released its annual webspam report last week to highlight advances against content that seeks to manipulate ranking algorithms and harm users.


Google AMP, mobile-friendly testing tools support code editing

2019: Google announced that its AMP and mobile-friendly test tools supported the ability to edit code and rerun the test, live.


Bing Ads bad account takedowns doubled in 2018

2019: Third-party tech support scams, cryptocurrency and weapons ad content topped the areas of attention.


TravelTime maps API lets users search by time rather than distance

2019: Users could search by time and make travel or transportation decisions accordingly.


AdWords now applies recommended bids to new DSA categories automatically

2016: The feature was designed to help managers set up a lot of dynamic search ad categories quickly.


Contradicting other data, Compete says search traffic growing on the desktop

2016: Firm argued number of searchers and searches per user have grown significantly on the PC since last year.


Search in Pics: Google hammocks, “Star Wars” wall stickers & Matt Cutts playing with pandas

2016: The latest images showing what people eat at the search engine companies, how they play, who they meet, where they speak, what toys they have and more.


Google Adds Subdomain Support To Change Of Address Tool In Google Webmaster Tools

2015: You could now communicate subdomain moves in Google Webmaster Tools Change of Address tool.


Google Clarifies “Mobile Friendly Update” Will Roll Out Over A Week, Be Yes/No Response & More

2015: There were no degrees of mobile-friendliness in this algorithm.


Google Launches Major Push To Get Local Businesses Online, Improve Data

2015: New site offered tools, content and solicited business owners to update information.


Google Misattributing Content From Major News Publishers

2014: It was unclear if the issue was with Google or with the publishers.


Five Days Later, It Looks Like Google Has Penalized Web Design Library For Selling Links

2014: A website that was using Twitter to renew paid links appeared to have earned a Google penalty.


BrandVerity Offers Feedback From Google, Bing On Paid Search Trademark Complaints

2014: BrandVerity added a process to its paid search ad monitoring system to give clients direct feedback from Google and the Yahoo Bing Network on trademark violation complaints.


Apple Broadening App-Store Search With Related Keywords

2014: While this wasn’t entirely helpful it did offer some discovery potential.


Google Finally Discontinues The Blocked Sites Feature

2013: After over a year of the blocked sites feature not working (and two months after Google promised it would return) Google officially declared they were discontinuing the feature.


Google Streamlines AdWords Rules On Using Trademark Keywords

2013: Google announced an update to its AdWords trademark policy that streamlined the rules on using third-party trademark keywords in campaigns.


Google Adds Publisher Opt-Out Tool For Shopping, Flights, Hotels & Local Search

2013: Google’s tool was a result of an agreement with the US Federal Trade Commission over antitust charges.


Bing Offers Recommendations for SEO-Friendly AJAX: Suggests HTML5 pushState

2013: Bing announced support for HTML5 pushState as a way to implement AJAX on a site in a way that helped Bing crawl and index the URLs and content.


Facebook Graph Search Now Passing Keyword Data To Webmasters

2013: The keyword data was passed from Facebook with a query string [q={keyword}] appended to the end of the referring URL. 


LinkedIn Is Getting Smarter With Enhanced Search Features & Improved Query Results

2013: LinkedIn launched a new unified search feature and a smarter query intent algorithm that continuously served up more relevant results.


Apple Buys Indoor Location Company, What’s It Up To?

2013: Did Apple see indoor location as a future part of the iOS platform?


Was Android Tablet OS (Honeycomb) Rushed to Market?

2011: “To make our schedule to ship the tablet, we made some design tradeoffs,” said Andy Rubin, vice-president for engineering at Google and head of its Android group.


Updated: Is “FaceSense” Forthcoming?

2011: Facebook was testing new ad targeting options that displayed creative beside content that was contextually relevant, similarly to Google’s AdSense.


Zuckerberg In Zion: Speaks To Senator Hatch, Students At BYU

2011: He spent a fair amount of time talking about the “misconception” that advertisers can access your personal information, but rather, that Facebook does the targeting based on advertiser selection.


Search In Pics: Yahoo Purple Door, Bus Stop & Google Honeycomb

2011: The latest images showing what people eat at the search engine companies, how they play, who they meet, where they speak, what toys they have, and more.


Google Bug & Slow PR Leads To Chinese Hack Rumors

2010: Google executives page was showing up in Chinese language.


Google Now Offering “Remarketing” To All AdWords Advertisers

2010: Google had initiated a trial of remarketing for display and text ads throughout its content network in March 2009.


Google China: Congressional Praise; Microsoft Supports Tyranny & Google Eats Poo Cartoon

2010: The reactions to Google’s partial withdrawal from China continued. 


Microsoft Announces Raft Of New Bing Features: Improved UI, More “Answers” And Of Course Foursquare

2010: Many of the improvements were focused on the UI, richer vertical experiences, maps and real-time information.


The State Of Search Engine Marketing 2010

2010: The North American search engine marketing industry was expected to grow 14% from $14.6 billion in 2009 to $16.6 billion by the end of 2010.


The Things That Facebook Causes, According To Google, Yahoo & Bing

2010: Divorce, depression, jealousy, cancer and more.


SES New York 2010 Day 3 Live Coverage


Google Voice Search & My Location Now On Blackberry

2009: The My Location feature let you search without needing to input a city name or some other geographic modifier.


Yahoo Closes The Cabin Door On FareChase

2009: An alert on the FareChase website indicated it was the service’s final day and encouraged users to instead use Yahoo Travel.


Google’s Search Box Grows As Needed: Yahoo & Live Search Don’t

2008: Google would increase the width of the search box if a query was long enough to warrant a wider search box.


White Spaces: Google’s Second Bite At The Wireless Apple

2008: Google did not win any of the 700MHz bandwidth, although it secured the right of open access for third-party devices and software on the C Block.


Is Yahoo Hoping For Justice Department Intervention To Stop MicroHoo Merger?

2008: Was government intervention the secret hope of Yahoo management?


OpenSocial Becomes More Open, Facebook Says No; AOL Flamed By Mag; Court Rules Against Clicking Minors

2008: Google, Yahoo, and News Corp.’s MySpace joined forces to announce that OpenSocial, the social networking platform alternative to Facebook’s platform, was going to become a non-profit foundation.


From Search Marketing Expo (SMX)


Past contributions from Search Engine Land’s Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)

These columns are a snapshot in time and have not been updated since publishing, unless noted. Opinions expressed in these articles are those of the author and not necessarily Search Engine Land.


< March 24 | Search Marketing History | March 26 >

The post This day in search marketing history: March 25 appeared first on Search Engine Land.

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




Countdown to GA4: 100 days to make the switch

Thursday, March 23rd, 2023

As the sun begins to set on Google Analytics Universal Analytics (UA), businesses are (or should be) gearing up for the transition to Google Analytics 4 (GA4).

With just 100 days left until UA is officially retired, it’s crucial for organizations of all sizes to understand the benefits and challenges of migrating to GA4, as well as the essential steps to ensure a smooth transition.

A Q&A from Steve Ganem, Director of Product for Google Analytics, helps us gain invaluable insights into the key features, challenges, and advantages of adopting GA4.

What are the biggest misconceptions about GA4?

“It’s a new product that is not mature enough to use.”  

Despite announcing the migration a little over a year ago, GA4 has been in use by advertisers since 2020, while the idea of web and app analytics has been around since 2019.

With GA4, businesses can access valuable insights to help them make informed and strategic decisions for their operations.

“It’s overly complex and doesn’t provide the same reporting as Universal Analytics” 

GA4 has a learning curve, but it’s essential to move beyond the traditional session-based mindset. To address the complexity of the current digital landscape, we developed GA4, incorporating features like a novel event structure and redesigned user journeys.

Although these concepts might not be immediately clear or easy to grasp, businesses that overcome the learning curve will discover that GA4 is designed to efficiently navigate this evolving digital world and anticipate future changes.

“It’s not designed for small businesses.” 

GA4 was developed to cater to businesses of all sizes, not just small or large enterprises. The aim was to establish a platform that offers comprehensive reporting capabilities and extensive customization options smoothly.

This seamless experience is evident in features such as the personalized homepage, which presents the most pertinent reports to customers, and predictive audiences, which help identify users with a higher likelihood of making a purchase. GA4 effectively takes on much of the analytical workload, delivering crucial insights directly to businesses.

Should I wait for Jumpstart?

The short answer is no. 

For a more detailed response, manual migration remains the suggested method for all businesses. This approach allows for creating a customized property and ensures that everything aligns with your preferred configuration.

This is particularly crucial for advertisers, as their conversion bidding might be linked to Universal Analytics, and it is essential to guarantee a proper transfer to GA4.

While Jumpstart serves as a helpful tool for businesses with limited resources, it only establishes a basic property, making manual migration the preferred option. Furthermore, Jumpstart is being introduced progressively, and the earlier businesses transition, the sooner they can accumulate historical data for year-over-year comparisons.

What are the challenges to migrating and how is Google addressing those?

GA4 was developed for a new era of measurement, which entails new product features and a different measurement approach compared to Universal Analytics. While this doesn’t make it inherently harder, Google recognizes that change can be challenging, and the property’s distinct appearance and functionality compared to Universal Analytics may pose difficulties during migration.

The Setup Assistant. Each tool within the Setup Assistant has been purposefully designed to tackle specific challenges in the migration process, such as property creation, tagging, goal migration, conversion swapping, and more. During preliminary user testing, these aspects were identified by Google as potential challenges and areas where businesses might face difficulties while setting up a GA4 property for the first time.

Search Engine Land posted a guide late last year to give an in-depth look at the Setup Guide. Check it out here.

Additionally, this tutorial has been helpful for many businesses making the transition.  

What are the key features in GA4 that businesses should know?

“One of the reasons we’re so excited about GA4 is all of the new features that not only allow for durability in this evolving privacy landscape, but also that bring to life a new way of measurement that has evolved with how the web and app experiences are evolving,” Ganem said.

That said, here are a few that are worth highlighting: 

  1. Built with Google’s AI at its core: Google’s advanced machine learning helps businesses predict future consumer behavior, allowing marketers to get insights about future consumer behavior and activate on those insights. Additionally, marketers can tap into behavioral modeling, conversion modeling and data-driven attribution to get a complete and accurate view of their campaign performance, even as cookies go away. 
  2. Privacy by default GA4 was designed for now and the future, where privacy is paramount. People’s expectations for privacy have changed and, as a result, so has the way we measure. Built with solutions like modeling, consent mode and data driven attribution baked in, it’s automatically set up to help businesses measure in a privacy-centric way, while still getting the insights they need. 
  3. Web + app: By design, GA4 was built for both web and app – something that previous versions of Google Analytics dealt with separately. People move between web and apps seamlessly and measurement should reflect that. 
  4. Customizable reporting: GA4 enables many different levels of reporting, both detailed and at the overview level – giving businesses either a quick look at a particular topic, while also giving them the opportunity to drill down into additional data. With Customized Overview Reports, you can quickly get a summary of your most important reports. Universal Analytics had a large reporting collection that many businesses found overwhelming – mainly because it was trying to be everything for everyone. That is why in GA4 we prioritized a smaller, curated baseline set of reports and a robust custom reporting tool, allowing businesses to create reports relevant for their business exclusively.
  5. Advertiser workspace: There are currently four advertising reports to provide a quick snapshot and enable you to drill down into performance metrics, attribution models and conversion paths to understand the impact of your advertising campaigns on the business.
  6. Robust API: GA4 supports a large number of APIs, enabling an even more customized measurement foundation. In GA4 we aim to keep the API up to speed with the features of the product so developers can always take advantage of the latest in GA4 – a notable difference from Universal Analytics, where the API often lacked functionality.

Why advertisers will lose out if they don’t move 

Bottom line: for advertisers, ROI is on the line. 

Once Universal Analytics property stops processing data on July 1st, 2023, conversions and audiences will stop flowing new data from that property into Google Ads. This could significantly affect the performance of their ad campaigns. It’s critical that advertisers make the switch to GA4, so that they are in a much more stable and durable position.

What happens to Universal Analytics properties after July 1st?

Universal Analytics properties will stop reporting new data July 1st. 

To be a bit more specific, they will stop processing data, meaning your standard UA property will no longer operate the way it does today. That said, businesses shouldn’t be surprised when they can still log into their accounts after July 1st – it will take time to completely sunset the product for all businesses. 

Historical data will be available for six months to aid with period-over-period comparisons, giving businesses a chance to export their historical data even after the sunset. 

Why is it so important to make the move now?

Now is the time. 

By making the move you will: 

  1. Get comfortable with GA4. GA4 is a new platform and has new tools and capabilities. They will take time to adjust to and the earlier businesses get their properties setup, the sooner they’ll get accustomed to the new platform. 
  2. Build historical data. Building historical, comparative data is important to a successful analytics property – of any kind. 
  3. Side by side. Being able to use a GA4 property in parallel to an existing UA property will give businesses the ability to see what’s different, what’s the same and what they have in UA that they need to have in GA4. This side by side time is essential, especially for businesses who have put a lot of time and effort into their existing UA properties to date.

Dig deeper. Still confused? Check out more resources:

Why we care. Plain and simple, UA is going away. But according to ChatGPT, here is why GA4 could be better for advertisers.

  1. Improved insights: GA4 offers better data analysis and insights, allowing advertisers to make more informed decisions and optimize their campaigns effectively.
  2. Unified measurement: GA4 combines data from websites and mobile apps, enabling advertisers to track user behavior across multiple platforms and devices, providing a more comprehensive understanding of their audience.
  3. Enhanced audience targeting: With advanced audience segmentation tools, GA4 allows advertisers to create more personalized and targeted campaigns, leading to improved ad performance and higher ROI.
  4. Machine learning integration: GA4 leverages machine learning algorithms to provide automated insights, recommendations, and predictions, helping advertisers to identify trends and opportunities more efficiently.
  5. Future-proofing: GA4 is designed to adapt to future changes in user behavior, technology, and privacy regulations, ensuring that advertisers stay ahead of the curve and maintain a competitive edge.
  6. Privacy compliance: GA4 is built with a strong focus on user privacy and compliance with data protection regulations such as GDPR and CCPA, which is essential for responsible advertising practices.
  7. Better integration with Google Ads: GA4’s tighter integration with Google Ads simplifies the data import/export process between the platforms, allowing for better analysis and optimization of campaigns.

The post Countdown to GA4: 100 days to make the switch appeared first on Search Engine Land.

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




TikTok CEO faces congress over security concerns

Thursday, March 23rd, 2023

In a wildly dramatic and painful-to-watch session, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before Congress in a hearing that will determine the future of the social media app.

Just as US user adoption hit 150 million, the CEO faced tough questions from out-of-touch congresspeople about safety, privacy, selling data, and security concerns. Here’s what happened:

“Mr. Chew, you are here because the American people need the truth about the threat TikTok poses to our national and personal security,” Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican, said in her opening statement. “TikTok has repeatedly chosen a path for more control, more surveillance and more manipulation.”

Privacy and security. Let’s remember there is no evidence that TikTok has shared U.S. user data with the Chinese government, but policymakers fear that the Chinese government could compel the company to do so. Chew says legacy U.S. data in Virginia and Singapore servers are being deleted. “We expect that to be complete this year. When that is done, all protected U.S. data will be under the protection of U.S. law.”

Chew says the company has created “what amounts to a firewall that seals off protected U.S. user data from unauthorized foreign access.” “American data stored on American soil by an American company overseen by American personnel.”

Chew made 4 commitments to U.S. lawmakers:

  1. Prioritizing safety for young users
  2. Firewall protection for U.S. user data
  3. The app will remain a place for free expression & ‘will not be manipulated by any government’
  4. Transparency

Surveillance concerns. When asked about surveillance, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)”Can you say with 100% percent certainty that neither ByteDance nor TikTok employees can target…Americans with…surveillance techniques?” Chew said, “I disagree with the characterization of surveillance.”

While Chew does not deny employees at TikTok’s parent company in China have access to Americans’ sensitive user data, so does every other social media platform. Chew says he believes that TikTok doesn’t collect any more data than any other social media platform.

Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) asks TikTok CEO Shou Chew: “Does TikTok access the home WiFi network?”

After a five-minute rant from Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL), Chew asked to respond to questions and comments but was told, “No. We’re going to move on.”

Save our children. Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) showed a compilation of TikTok videos encouraging suicide and death and told Chew, “Your technology is literally leading to death.” After the video, Chew asked to say a word about the death but was promptly cut off mid-sentence in what seemed more like a show than an effort to extract any meaningful information.

Rep. Castor (R-FL) blamed the CEO for people’s algorithms causing them to commit suicide. She also reminded us that Facebook and Instagram sat in the same seats and told congress they knew of the issues and did nothing to prevent kids from self-harm.

Here’s what Twitter thought. An overwhelming majority of people watching and live Tweeting the hearing are noticing that congress isn’t letting Chew respond to questions and accusations.

I just want Shou Zi Chew ( TikTok CEO ) to say to out of touch congress “what’s killed more people – TikTok, or guns?” #TikTokTrial

— HM (@HMTV92) March 23, 2023

Got a hold of the script for the TikTok hearing.

Politicians: <Insert Rant here try to avoid citing your sources>. "Yes or no?"

Don't let him answer any questions.

Politicians: Stop being evasive!

All theater, folks.

— Danny Goodwin (@MrDannyGoodwin) March 23, 2023

They're blaming the TikTok CEO for body dissatisfaction, anxiety and depression, like our country doesn't give us a mass shooting every other day, economic uncertainty, elected officials taking us back to Jim Crow and trash-ass "food" on our shelves! The hypocrisy is INFURIATING!

— Marlissa Collier | iThink ???? iSpeak ???? (@iDrankPolitics) March 23, 2023

Watching the TikTok CEO testify before congress is wild. They're just allowed to accuse and say what they want and then not let him respond and move on to the next person. What's the point?

— Hallie M. (@pockkets_) March 23, 2023

Tiktok CEO is being put through a kangaroo court. I'll be one to admit that the app is addictive and social media in general is harmful, but being constantly interrupted because the answer to these geriatric cuck's questions is more complicated than "yes" or "no" is embarassing

— Mr. Shazboto (@MrShazboto) March 23, 2023

Congress isn't even giving the TikTok CEO a chance to speak. They make a point at him and when he tries to respond they don't like his answer and cut him off. They have an agenda and just are holding this hearing as a formality and to say they tried when they really havent

— hunty ?????? (@huntys_pov) March 23, 2023

Dig deeper. Watch it live. If you have the patience.

Why we care. A TikTok ban could have a significant impact on the future of the popular social media app, and therefore their advertising strategy. If TikTok is banned or faces severe restrictions, it could affect the app’s user base and potentially make it less attractive to advertisers.

Additionally, if the hearing reveals serious security or privacy concerns with the app, it could lead to a loss of trust among users and advertisers alike. On the other hand, if the hearing goes well and TikTok is allowed to continue operating with minimal restrictions, it could present a valuable opportunity for advertisers to continue reaching a large and engaged audience on the platform.

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Make sense of your marketing with the 101 Guide to Marketing Attribution by Digital Marketing Depot

Thursday, March 23rd, 2023

Every marketer measures the impact of their activity but do they truly know the effectiveness of their activity and advertising spend? For the majority of marketers, the overwhelming answer is no. On average, marketers estimate they waste over one quarter of their budget (26%) on ineffective channels and strategies, according to a study by Rakuten.

Though marketing attribution may seem like a difficult task, in a world where ROI is king, accurate marketing attribution needs to be at the forefront of every marketer’s mind to maximize the efficiency of their activity in 2023.

This guide deep dives into how marketers are successfully moving the needle and implementing true multi-touch algorithmic attribution to measure and optimize their activity.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to make sense of your marketing attribution and get to value quickly with our easy-to-follow guide. Visit Digital Marketing Depot to download the 101 Guide to Marketing Attribution from Snowplow.

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Is ChatGPT your secret weapon for SEO content editing?

Thursday, March 23rd, 2023

Most of the talk surrounding generative AI and SEO centers on content creation. But tools like ChatGPT can help with other specific functions beyond cranking out whole blog posts at scale.

Editing and refreshing content is a vital part of the SEO content lifecycle. This article determines various ways ChatGPT can aid with content editing for SEO.

Editing content with ChatGPT

Before anything else, here are a few caveats to consider when using ChatGPT to edit content:

All that said, let’s dive into what ChatGPT can do despite these limitations.

Rewriting for search intent

Let’s imagine our site is focused on the travel industry. A writer just finished a new article on flight costs, and we want it to rank well for the query “Why are flights so expensive?”

We could ask ChatGPT to rewrite the blog post with more of a focus on searcher intent:

Rewriting for search intent

Here is the before and after of what the first paragraph looks like:

Rewriting for search intent - Before and After

If we wanted to dial in the intent a bit more, we could do some things to give ChatGPT more context, like:

Remember, if you feed this much information to ChatGPT, the platform can only remember 3,000 words from a conversation. You may have to limit how much information you give in one go.

One option would be to try each of these in their own chats and then compare the results to see which version you feel is the best result.

Applying best practices to your intros

Another thing we can do with ChatGPT goes a step beyond searcher intent. Let’s use the article introduction as an example. 

Let’s use Jamie I.F.’s framework for writing introductions:

THIS is how we write intros for our $1.5M-value blog portfolio

You're missing out on conversions if you don't use the SPEAR Framework (with examples)????????

S – Search (User) Intent
P – Pain Points
E – Expertise
A – Audience
R – Rapport

— Jamie I.F. (@Jamie_IF) November 22, 2022

Let’s try getting ChatGPT to rewrite our newly search-intent-focused blog intro using the S.P.E.A.R. method:

Applying best practices to your intros

Uh-oh! ChatGPT seemed to grasp the basic idea of the framework out of the gate, but then it went off the rails and mentioned the framework.

My experience is that when ChatGPT gives something this far off, you probably overloaded it with information or made your prompt too complex. (Think of it almost like an overtired or overwhelmed employee!)

Aim to simplify and break your prompts down. 

This is also a great reminder to always always always carefully review and edit your ChatGPT output!

Optimizing for featured snippets

I can also share some best practices for optimizing content to get featured snippets with ChatGPT and ask it to rewrite my content:

Optimizing for featured snippets

Let’s take a look at the output here:

Optimizing for featured snippets - output

Again not exactly something I can grab and run with, but this may give me an idea for how to structure a paragraph here.

Adding formatting

A common issue with blog content is that you may receive an article that’s not broken up into subsections and doesn’t use skimmable formatting.

This can lower your content’s engagement and cost you opportunities to optimize for additional keywords. 

ChatGPT can help here:

Adding formatting

Here is the body of the updated article, which had previously been a few walls of text:

Adding formatting - output

Ideas for additional topics to cover

You can also get ideas from ChatGPT on what your article may be missing. (Of course, ChatGPT isn’t an SEO tool, so these ideas won’t be driven by search suggestions. As long as the subsections are relevant for your readers, they may be helpful.)

Ideas for additional topics to cover

You can also find topics or questions specific to your audience.

Look at how different the outputs I get are when I ask for questions someone who doesn’t know anything about the airline industry would ask:

Ideas for additional topics to cover - audience-specific

Versus someone who is a frequent traveler:

Ideas for additional topics to cover - audience-specific 1

Adding new subsections to the article

Assuming you’re prepared to review and edit the content, you can also use ChatGPT to create short subsections of content.

Let’s say we wanted to add a subsection to our article about whether airline prices are expected to go down since people are asking and searching for that.

We actually wouldn’t likely want to leave this one with ChatGPT completely since it’s using outdated information, but we could “give it the answer” and ask it to write something for us:

Adding new subsections to the article

Adding FAQs and FAQ schema

If the author of your blog post hasn’t created an FAQ section already, you can add some FAQs in editing:

Adding FAQs and FAQ schema.jpeg

You can also ask ChatGPT to answer these questions for you (always be sure to fact-check):

And finally, you can ask the tool to generate the FAQ schema for you:

Generate FAQ schema

This can help add relevant search-friendly content to your article while giving you extra SERP real estate with FAQ search features.

Beefing up E-E-A-T

Short of training ChatGPT on the quality rater guidelines, you can still get some ideas for making your article more credible:

Beefing up E-E-A-T

These aren’t the most innovative E-E-A-T ideas, but they may be good reminders of different options. What if I have ChatGPT just edit the article to add some E-E-A-T for me:

Beefing up E-E-A-T - prompt

So ChatGPT punted on the first E in E-E-A-T altogether but then told the reader about all my experience in the travel industry.

Except I never told ChatGPT I worked in the travel industry, and it was never mentioned in the original article!

The rest of the article is pretty similar to the original one, so it doesn’t look like ChatGPT is much of an E-E-A-T editor.

(Of course, the update from E-A-T to E-E-A-T happened after the training period for GPT-3, so ChatGPT won’t be aware of that outside of the context I gave it).

Updating outdated information

Since ChatGPT’s training data is from before 2021, updating outdated information won’t suit the platform.

But there are some specific instances where you could use the tool for this purpose, such as:

Annual reports

Rewriting for style

Finding the right tone or sentiment may help a piece of content get shared, have better engagement metrics, or convert better. 

If I want to make my content more sensational, I could ask ChatGPT to turn up the outrage:

Rewriting for style - outrageous

Or, disturbingly, I can point ChatGPT’s outrage at whomever I’d like:

Rewriting for style - outrageous toned down

You could also pivot the article to have a specific perspective and a more sympathetic sentiment to try to relate to visitors:

Rewriting for style - heartfelt and considerate

Convert post to HTML and add internal links

Converting posts from a Google Doc or Word Doc is often part of the editorial workflow. ChatGPT can often accomplish this task very quickly:

Convert post to HTML and add internal links

From there, you can get ChatGPT’s help with another common SEO editing task – adding internal links to an article:

Add internal links

If you have a longer form article and know the URLs and associated anchor text you want to focus on, this can help create those links quickly. 

Obviously, this isn’t a substitute for both knowing which pages you want to link to from your new article or for identifying the best pages to have link to your new content (or the piece you’re updating).

Translations

Are you translating content from one language to another to capture more traffic from search in different languages? ChatGPT can help.

Translations

As always, it’s a good idea to have someone who knows the language you’re publishing to your site QA the output here before you push it live.

Bonus: Video and podcast transcriptions

This isn’t something ChatGPT can help with strictly speaking, but Open AI did recently announce that both ChatGPT and Whisper now have APIs

Whisper is an automatic speech recognition system that can take transcriptions from audio in multiple languages.

You can use the Whisper API to add a transcription of your video or podcast to generate crawlable text from your audio content:

Downloading YouTube videos and transcribing their text with AI?

Whisper can do it and it's free!

✅ Download YT videos
✅ Transcribe their text
✅ Study them!

[Free #Python code included]

Basic coding will get you far…

— Marco Giordano (@GiordMarco96) March 9, 2023

When to use ChatGPT for SEO editing tasks

While some of these functions may be things that ChatGPT can do, it doesn’t mean it will be the best option for that specific task for your piece of content or your workflow. 

There are a few factors that help determine how “qualified” ChatGPT will be for a job:

If you find the tool useful in some areas but not others, I’d also encourage you to keep a running “wish list” of tasks where it’s close but not good enough. 

Open AI quickly releases new versions of the underlying GPT technology and various Open AI APIs. Simultaneously, they also make rapid platform updates.

Its limitations (i.e., character limits through the API or web interface, how much ChatGPT can remember in a conversation, data freshness, and the number of tasks it can perform through a complicated prompt) will likely improve.

Keep an eye on what’s changing in future updates and how that may impact your not-quite-there-yet task.

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6 steps to a winning enterprise SEO strategy

Wednesday, March 22nd, 2023

I had a financial accounting professor back in college who refused to give an “A” on an exam, even if you got all the answers right if the way you got to the answer did not align with her methodology. 

For her, it was less about right and wrong. It was more about how you came to the answers. 

The same rule applies to your enterprise SEO strategy. 

Most C-level executives find sitting through an enterprise SEO strategy presentation comparable to being on hold with an automated system. Read: boring and irritating. 

That’s because too many “SEO gurus” are spewing out SEO terminology like “CWVs” or “E-E-A-T” in the form of broems during their enterprise SEO strategy meetings instead of showcasing how they arrived at their answers. 

This isn’t an enterprise SEO strategy. 

This is you enjoying hearing the sound of your own voice. 

As an SEO director, within my first 90 days at a job, I shared my SEO findings with key stakeholders, including the C-suite, as I uncovered them through a weekly email.

Once I finish my audits, my list of “key stakeholders” grows exponentially within those 90 days, with people wanting to know more and forwarding my emails to relevant team members. 

They didn’t just like the data I was sharing. These people become invested in your SEO. 

As more people in the company understand what exactly SEO is and how it impacts their work, it illustrates how SEO and other channels can partner. It establishes trust, authority, and buy-in across departments before pitching to your C-suite. 

As you take off on your own, consider incorporating these steps into your next pitch for a successful enterprise SEO strategy. 

1. Use data and research to sell your strategy 

The first step in creating an enterprise SEO strategy is to compile the data based on your research. 

You don’t want to walk into a room of millionaires pitching your enterprise SEO strategy based on assumptions and experience. 

Have you seen what happens on “Shark Tank” when people don’t know their data? Cringe-worthy. 

Protect yourself with data. Pretend you’re a German Shepherd sniffing out drugs at an airport. 

Here’s what you should have before developing your enterprise SEO strategy: 

As Glinda, the Good Witch, said to Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz”:

Use your research combined with your SEO budget to tell your plan’s story.

2. Make magic with your metrics 

Unfortunately, the SEO community is filled with “SEO gurus” who have forced business leaders to call BS on SEO professionals pretending to have all the answers. 

People can smell when something is fishy – except for the folks kneeling in more ways than one to the “guru” Yogi Bhajan. 

Businesses need a data-driven approach. If you make a bold statement, you better be able to back it up. 

But your job as an enterprise SEO professional is to make magic with your data and research. 

If a data wizard and a creative wanna-be artist had a baby, it would be an SEO professional. 

Think of your strategy as a short story. Our brains think in stories

Uri Hasson, professor of psychology at Princeton, explained the impacts of storytelling in a TED Talk

“When the woman spoke English, the volunteers understood her story, and their brains synchronized. When she had activity in her insula, an emotional brain region, the listeners did too. When her frontal cortex lit up, so did theirs. By simply telling a story, the woman could plant ideas, thoughts and emotions into the listeners’ brains.”

I start my SEO strategy presentation with revenue numbers to grab my audience’s attention immediately. 

Enterprise SEO - stats slide

I follow this slide by sharing what pages are driving the most revenue. 

Enterprise SEO - top pages slide

After this, dive into your high-level benchmarks. 

Enterprise SEO - benchmarks slide

Finally, bring the wow factor by identifying key components your competitors are missing. 

Enterprise SEO - competitive opportunity slide

Turn your enterprise SEO strategy into a story to help your boss make better business decisions. 

3. Incorporate your findings into recommendations

Making recommendations for an enterprise website with millions of webpages is not as easy as asking Alexa. 

At an enterprise company, one of the first things SEO professionals must do is engrain SEO into the culture by educating people on what SEO truly means. 

Here is an example of how I explain SEO. 

Enterprise SEO - 3 pillars of SEO success

I build my strategy following these three pillars, understanding that all of them will overlap in execution. 

My deck will dedicate three sections for: 

What you uncover in your audits will determine how many recommendations you share and if you even have time to dedicate to link building. 


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4. Goals give your strategy meaning

Get page speed score to 80+.

Increase organic traffic sessions by 20%. 

Watch the last 25 hours of Letter Kenny by Saturday night.

Break down my monthly budget to see how much money I spend on breakfast burritos. 

Hey, goals are goals.

C-suite executives love talking about goals, forecasting, and OKRs. Give them what they want. 

Here is an example of my 12-month goals. 

Enterprise SEO - 12-month goals

5. Walk through your roadmap 

Your SEO roadmap is a guide to the success of your enterprise SEO strategy. It showcases accountability to your vision and acts as a plan for execution. 

I use Asana for our SEO roadmaps broken down by months and quarters to roll up to a full-year roadmap. 

This is often a big win when presenting to executives. Remember to keep it short and sweet by clustering topics into themes. 

For example, I bucket all content topics for the month into one section and tags. This way, if I want to display all the content work for the year, it’s a quick filter. 

Be open and honest about any hesitations on your delivery to avoid disappointments at the end of the year. 

6. Close with the next steps and Q&A

Always leave at least 15 minutes at the end of your presentation to discuss action items for everyone on the call and open the floor for questions. 

Make your enterprise SEO strategy legendary 

There are many paths to becoming a legend at your company. 

Some people summit Everest. 

Others become brown nosers of the right people. 

And some lead by example, like you will if you follow these steps when creating an enterprise SEO strategy. 

Luckily, showing your work costs you nothing but time. 

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New Microsoft Ad solution targets shoppers based on categories, uses keywords as “boosters”

Wednesday, March 22nd, 2023

Microsoft has just announced a non-targeting solution to help brands to leverage keywords without the constraints of traditional keyword targeting. The approach aims to maximize reach and performance for advertisers while simultaneously increasing advertising revenue for retailers.

The limitations of traditional keyword targeting. Keyword targeting has long been the go-to approach for search advertising in retail media. However, exclusively focusing on keywords can limit a campaign’s performance and spend-through, thereby constraining the revenue potential for retailers. This is because shoppers on retail websites often browse through categories rather than searching for specific products, which renders keyword targeting less effective.

The potential of category-based targeting with keywords. In response to the challenges posed by traditional keyword targeting, Microsoft PromoteIQ developed a solution to target shoppers based on the categories they browse while using keywords as a booster for campaign bids. This hybrid approach allows advertisers to tap into both audience behaviors, resulting in improved performance for both retailers and advertisers.

The benefits. Advertisers can utilize this new solution to boost bids with keywords for shoppers searching for specific products, increasing the likelihood of converting purchase intent into a sale.

Retailers, on the other hand, can optimize their site experience by using product taxonomies and categorization, making it easier for shoppers to find what they want. By integrating category-based targeting with keyword boosting, Microsoft’s AI-driven algorithms can deliver more relevant ads, enhancing the overall shopping experience.

Efficiency in Campaign Management. Unlike traditional keyword targeting, which necessitates extensive research and the creation of a comprehensive keyword list for each campaign, the new solution only requires advertisers to test and retain a few high-performing keywords. This streamlined process should ideally result in greater demand for retailers, as they no longer have to deal with exhaustive keyword lists.

Early testing. “Tests have shown that applying this unique solution has delivered impressive results. Campaigns that boost bids by keyword while targeting by category exhibit 320% higher click-through-rate (CTR) than the campaigns without boosting bids by keyword,” Microsoft says.

Dig deeper. Read the announcement from Microsoft here.

Why we care. This latest development in category-based targeting with keyword leveraging is supposed to maximize revenue and sales for both retailers and advertisers, while also delivering an exceptional experience for shoppers. Interested advertisers should test the new

To learn more about this cutting-edge solution, visit the Microsoft PromoteIQ website or inquire about their services.

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How to keep up with macro trends that impact PPC performance

Wednesday, March 22nd, 2023

Understanding macro trends is crucial for making informed decisions within your PPC account. This is why businesses must create a holistic monitoring plan that takes all relevant data points into account. 

3 ways to stay on top of PPC performance covered how to monitor your paid search performance comprehensively.

This article will demonstrate how to set up monitoring and analysis processes for macro-level events that impact your overall PPC performance and business. 

Contextualize your PPC performance with macro-trend monitoring

Various external factors may impact your paid search efforts. Thus, your PPC monitoring plan should help you surface emerging trends in your industry so you can adapt your advertising strategies accordingly. 

Tracking news cycles, PR, and competitor activity can provide valuable insights into your industry and how your advertising performance compares.

Here are some benefits of macro-trend monitoring for PPC:

This can result in significant cost savings and help companies to achieve a better return on investment (ROI) for their advertising efforts.

Tools for monitoring macro trends

These monitoring tools are useful for staying on top of PPC macro trends.


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Anticipate potential trends and fluctuations with projections

Year-over-year (YoY) projections based on historical data can set realistic expectations for your campaign result. 

YoY projections improve forecasting accuracy, enable you to make data-driven decisions, facilitate long-term strategic planning, and improve accountability.

Tools to build performance projections

A few free resources can help you build projections based on your historical PPC performance. 

Microsoft Advertising, Google Ads and Google Sheets

Download your historical performance data directly from the ad platforms (Google and Microsoft) to create month-to-month projections for the upcoming year. 

You will want to adjust your forecasts by excluding data impacted by specific strategies or changes in your PPC accounts. 

For example, your company may have run a one-time sale over the summer, which boosted sales. But this is not an annual sale, so it should not be built into your projections model. 

Google Performance Planner

Performance Planner is a free tool offered by Google Ads that helps advertisers create and forecast the performance of their Google Ads campaigns.

You need to input essential information about your campaign, such as your target location, ad format, bidding strategy, and budget. 

You’ll also need to list keywords you plan to target in your campaign. Once you’ve entered this information, the Performance Planner will analyze historical performance data from your Google Ads account and use machine learning algorithms to project how your campaigns will perform in the future.

Paid tools

If you want to develop a more robust projections program, you could check out the following tools:

Competitor monitoring informs your macro-level analysis 

Regularly checking your competitors’ advertising activity can give you a better understanding of what’s working for them and what isn’t. 

Tools to help with competition monitoring 

Discover competitive insights with the core PPC platforms. Google and Microsoft provide tools that offer insights into competitor activity.

Google Ads Auction Insights

Google Ads Auction Insights is a free tool that compares your performance to other advertisers in the same auction. 

You can use it to see how often your ads are shown alongside your competitors’ ads and identify areas where you may fall behind.

Microsoft Advertising Competition Tab

The Competition Tab provides valuable competitive insights for your campaigns. Their Auction Insights reports can give an overview of your competitors’ performance metrics and how they compare to yours.

Google Alerts 

You can use Google Alerts to monitor your company, but it’s also an excellent strategy to set up alerts for your main competitors. They may make significant announcements that would be insightful for your campaigns. 

Earnings reports

If you have critical competitors in your industry, you should also consider attending their earnings! You can gain valuable insights from these calls. Companies provide earnings reports, strategic initiatives, and more. 

Paid tools

Some helpful paid subscription tools can help inform your competitive monitoring practices. Check out the tools listed below if you need more than the free tools.

Stay on top of macro trends

Numerous external factors can impact your PPC performance. Therefore, you should prioritize campaign performance and optimize based on that data. 

Understanding your competitive landscape and monitoring trends and competitors will help provide you with a slight edge. 

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