Archive for the ‘seo news’ Category
Friday, May 24th, 2024
TikTok unveiled a suite of new AI and automation tools for advertisers at its TikTok World event, aiming to make it easier for brands to create effective ads at scale on the viral video platform.
The big picture. TikTok is leaning into AI and automated ad tech as it looks to cement itself as more than just a media platform, but as a key “business partner” driving sales and ROI for brands.
New tools rundown. Four tools to take note of:
- TikTok One – A centralized hub giving advertisers access to creators, creative tools, partners and measurement capabilities.
- TikTok Symphony – An umbrella for TikTok’s AI ad tools, including support for:
- Script writing
- Video production
- Creative asset optimization
- Automated ad optimization. Using AI to optimize ad creative, targeting, budgets and more to hit set campaign goals like purchases or awareness.
- TikTok shop automation. AI tools to optimize ad spend, bidding, creative and other e-commerce costs for TikTok Shop ads.
Why we care. TikTok is a powerful platform for driving sales and ROI. These new AI and automation tools can significantly enhance ad creation and effectiveness.
What they’re saying. Adrienne Lahens, TikTok’s global head of creator marketing solutions, said:
- “We’re building for the future of creative, and we’re inviting brands to come and test and learn with us.”
Early results. An Ohio wellness brand piloting TikTok’s Shop automation tools saw 136% higher sales and 4x higher ROI while saving 10 hours per week, TikTok claims.
U.S. ban. TikTok declined to comment on whether advertising has been impacted by the threat of a potential U.S. ban over data security concerns.
The bottom line. TikTok is making an aggressive push into AI-driven ad automation as it tries to position itself as an essential sales and marketing channel rivaling Google and ad tech players.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Thursday, May 23rd, 2024
Search engines that incorporate AI-generated results have the potential to make it easier for people to discover products and services, according to a new survey from Botify, shared exclusively with Search Engine Land.
Why we care. Search marketers tend to look at search much differently than everyday Google Search users. So it’s interesting to see what consumers know and think about AI-powered search. The data is a good reminder that user behavior is always slow to change, so don’t expect a quick transition from Classic Search to AI Search.
By the numbers. Some interesting findings from Botify’s survey:
- 44% of respondents were familiar with generative search – 58% of Millennials and 58% of Gen Z were most familiar; 74% of Baby Boomers were unfamiliar with it.
- 37% of respondents tried an AI-driven search engine and found the results more satisfying.
- 34% said the way they search on AI Search hasn’t changed; 28% said they make “more detailed” search queries; 9% said they write longer prompts.
- 56% of respondents, when asked to choose between two results pages for the same query, preferred AI-generated results over traditional search results.
Online shopping. Forty-one percent of respondents said the top reason for using AI search was for online shopping. Other top reasons to use it were for keeping up with the latest news (19%) and seeking health-related information (12%).
- Meanwhile, a majority of respondents (55%) said “Yes,” they believe search engines that incorporate AI-generated results have the potential to make it easier for people to discover products and services.
Faster answers. While 36% of respondents haven’t used AI search, 25% of consumers have – and mainly to test out the new technology.
- Meanwhile, 17% said their top reason for using AI-powered search was because the chatbot-style results helped them find answers faster.
About the survey. The data was collected by Dynata, an independent market research company, on behalf of Botify. The survey of 1,000 US respondents, aged 18+, was conducted in February.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Thursday, May 23rd, 2024
You can either have broad or deep subject matter expertise. The choice is yours.
If you’re in the early or middle stage of your career, then this is the perfect time to decide whether you want to go broad or deep.
Here’s how to think about this choice and decide what’s best for your search marketing career.
The T-shaped marketer
I base my approach on the “T-shaped marketer” model: an expert in one area (vertical bar) with broader knowledge across related disciplines (horizontal bar).
This allows for specialization and versatility – a valuable combination in marketing.
There is no wrong choice. Circumstances often dictate the decision.
My starting point for these decisions is the following concept:
I revisit this concept frequently throughout the year, for myself and others.
Remember:
- You have around 40 working years.
- Even if you made a terrible call, there is time to correct it.
- There are far more things outside of your control than in your control.
- Sometimes you are lucky, sometimes you are not.
- Companies can go through explosive growth or go out of business.
The case to be a deep subject matter expert
- Deep expertise: Having an in-depth understanding of the subject matter has advantages. Knowing how to navigate strategically and technically can unlock unique opportunities that you’d be qualified for, but others would struggle with. This includes grasping the intricacies of algorithms, platform changes, staying updated with constant changes, and developing highly effective strategies.
- Demand: Generalists are more common, so demand often drives specialization. You could be an expert in a subject, vertical, or specific problem (e.g., technical SEO for Shopify sporting goods). When that problem arises, you’re well-positioned to solve it. Demand can also vary by market or company. For instance, an agency winning paid search work may spur opportunities in that area.
- Thought Leadership: Deep expertise provides a unique market perspective, enabling thought leadership. You can anticipate client needs and future trends. Specialists often become recognized authorities, writing for publications or speaking at conferences.
The case to be broad
- Versatility: Broad skills allow you to participate in diverse conversations and connect dots across disciplines. Many tactics share similarities, like keyword research for SEO and PPC, or campaign structures for paid social and search. These commonalities make your skillset more adaptable as clients’ and brands’ needs evolve.
- Big picture thinking: Hyper-specialization can make it hard to see the bigger picture. Having broader knowledge helps maintain a higher-level view. This facilitates solving complex problems like budget allocation, creative strategies or optimizing the customer journey.
- Communication and collaboration: Generalists excel at communicating across teams and departments, ensuring cohesive marketing. They can understand various tasks and requirements, helping bring projects together and resolve cross-discipline issues quickly.
5 tips to help you make your decision
Assess your strengths and passions
Consider what you genuinely enjoy and excel at.
Do you prefer diving deep into technical details, or do you thrive on variety and collaboration?
Find something you love. Your interests greatly impact job satisfaction.
2. Consider the market
Research the demand and salary trends for specialists and generalists in your area and industry.
These fluctuate as the industry changes and evolves.
Look at companies’ roles (e.g., VP of SEO or VP of Marketing) to gauge the value of specialization or generalization as you advance.
3. Think long term
Many worry that specialization could limit relevance or career growth, with generalist roles seeming more valued.
However, both paths offer opportunities as you advance – and require continuous skill improvement.
Getting paid as a senior specialist (e.g., paid search) may be harder than a generalist, but true expertise commands a premium.
Focus on what you can control and excel at. It creates opportunities over time, though patience is key. Expertise and skill are eventually recognized and rewarded, even if it’s challenging initially.
4. Talk to people in the field
Network with professionals who have taken different paths.
Ask about their experiences, challenges faced, and rewards reaped.
Their insights can be invaluable when weighing your options.
5. Experiment and explore
Still unsure?
Try different roles or projects to experience specialization and generalization.
This can help you discover what truly resonates.
What’s the right path for you?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer about whether you should develop broad or deep subject matter expertise.
The best path is the one that aligns with your individual strengths, interests and long-term goals.
Carefully considering these factors can help you make an informed decision that sets you up for a fulfilling and successful marketing career.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Thursday, May 23rd, 2024
Starting at around 1:30am ET, Bing Search and the sites Microsoft Bing powers, have been experiencing global and widespread outages. This leads to many Bing Searches failing, and then third-party services that rely on Bing Search, such as Copilot for web and mobile, Copilot in Windows, ChatGPT internet search, DuckDuckGo and Ecosia, also failing.
Downdetector. According to Downdector.com Bing has been having issues since around 1:30am ET:
What Bing’s outage looks like. Here are some screenshots of Bing.com searches failing and of partner sites failing:
Microsoft Advertising services down. Also, Microsoft Ad platform server status page shows outages as well:
Why we care. If you rely on getting traffic from Bing or those third parties, you may see a dip in that traffic today. In addition, if you rely on using these services for your job, you may have to switch gears and work on something else until they are restored.
It’s back. Around 6:15am ET, it seems the services are now back up and running – at least for me at this moment. Although, many users are still telling me it is not working for them.
Microsoft update. Microsoft posted an update at around 7:30am ET:
While we isolate the root cause, we're transitioning requests to alternate service components to expedite service recovery. More information can be found in the admin center under CP795190.
— Microsoft 365 Status (@MSFT365Status) May 23, 2024
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Thursday, May 23rd, 2024
In today’s digital landscape, inclusivity and accessibility are no longer optional; they are essential for engaging with diverse audiences and fostering meaningful connections. Neglecting digital accessibility can alienate potential customers and limit your brand’s reach.
During this webinar, our expert panel will delve into the evolving consumer behaviors and preferences, highlighting the importance of creating content that resonates across various audiences and platforms. They will also discuss the critical role of website accessibility in organizations, aligning with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to ensure broader reach and avoid potential legal pitfalls.
Attendees will gain valuable insights on how to craft digital experiences that are elegant, engaging, and inclusive, fostering a brand presence that makes everyone feel welcome. Register now to save your spot!
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Wednesday, May 22nd, 2024
Unsurprisingly, AI took center stage during the various announcements made today at Google Marketing Live 2024.
Updates also focused on creatives, data and giving the consumer what they want straight from the Search results. Now is the time to start paying closer attention to your impression levels.
Here’s a recap of everything you need to know from Google Marketing Live, with links to our full coverage of each major announcement.
You can now produce high-quality creative assets rapidly and at scale for Performance max campaigns.
With Generative AI, will be able to create ads a lot faster, have brand customized ads, advanced image editing and automatic showcasing of product feeds in AI-generated creatives
New reporting functionalities have also been rolled out for Youtube and creative assets.
Video and virtual ad types come for Shopping Ads advertisers.
Retailers can integrate short-form product videos into ads, virtual try on allows shoppers to see how tops fit different body types, and 3D show spins.
Allowing consumers to engage with your creative and products (virtually) before landing on your page.
You can now target your potential customers with vertical videos, stickers, and automatically generated animated image ads.
These video ads are now available across the 3 billion users across YouTube, Discover and Gmail through Demand Gen campaigns.
More variety for your Demand Gen campaigns.
Your relevant Search and Shopping ads will appear in “sponsored” sections within AI-generated overview boxes on the SERP.
No need for you to do anything – existing Search, PMax and Shopping campaigns will be eligible.
How to make it not eligible – that is unknown as of now.
Centralize and activate your first-party data for more effective AI-powered campaigns with Google’s Data Manager Tool now available to everyone.
Use it for data integration (consolidates disparate first-party data sources into a unified analytics hub) and audience insights and targeting.
New tools have been released to better showcase your brands and create visual content.
You can create a brand profile to highlight key merchant information on Search, featuring brand imagery, videos, customer reviews, deals, and more.
Product Studio now includes brand alignment features that let you use uploaded images to inspire your AI-generated ad and the ability to create videos from a single product photo.
Google is testing giving consumers an interactive experience upon getting their search results.
AI will be used to provide tailored advice and recommendations based on user needs and context.
The aim is to improve user experience on the SERP and provide a ready to convert consumer when they reach the brand landing page.
But what will this do to search traffic to brand sites? Time will tell.
Why we care. A lot of updates this year focused on less effort for a consumer to click through the site. So it will be interesting to see what that leads to for driving traffic. Still, there are several functionalities that have been introduced that have been long awaited (like reporting) and allow brands to better showcase their creativity.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Wednesday, May 22nd, 2024
WordPress version 6.5 now supports including the lastmod element within sitemaps files, which can help search engines understand which pieces of content are new or updated. This can help improve crawl efficiency for search engine crawlers and reduce server load on your website.
Lastmod. Lastmod is an element that you can add to your sitemap file that should represent the last time that URL was modified. Search engines do look at that date when processing your sitemap files for crawling purposes. In fact, Bing said last year it would rely more on the lastmod date for crawling purposes.
Gary Illyes from Google posted this news on LinkedIn saying, “The lastmod element in sitemaps is a signal that can help crawlers figure out how often to crawl your pages.”
He added:
“If you’re on WordPress, since version 6.5, you have this field natively populated for you thanks to Pascal Birchler and the WordPress developer community. If you’re holding back on upgrading your WordPress installation, please bite the bullet and just do it (maybe once there are no plugin conflicts). Don’t be like Gary and still run a version 2*. If you’re not on WordPress, try to populate it with the last significant modification date, where “significant” loosely means a change that might matter to your users and, by proxy, to your site.”
Fabrice Canel from Bing commented on that post, saying:
“A big shoutout to Pascal Birchler, Gary Illyes, Google, and the WordPress developer community for their fantastic contribution to WordPress version 6.5. The integration of the lastmod signal within sitemaps is a game-changer, offering for millions of web sites, great data insight about when their content is changing allowing to optimize crawling activities and ensuring content freshness in search engines.
For anyone reluctant to update their WordPress installation, consider this feature a prime motivator. The more websites implement lastmod in their sitemaps, the search engines — whether AI-driven or rules-based — will increasingly capitalize on this signal.
Complimentary, please adopt https://www.indexnow.org/ to take control of crawl and your SEO game with real-time indexing. The right setup is IndexNow (for real-time update) and sitemaps with lastmod (daily – catchup mode) to ensure comprehensive and fresh coverage.
Having better online visibility isn’t just about having a website. It’s about your latest content being found.”
Upgrade. Currently, about 21% of WordPress installs are using version 6.5, so it might make sense to double check to see if you are on that version if you want to improve crawl efficiency.
If you are not on WordPress, you can ask your developers how to get accurate lastmod dates in your sitemap files.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Wednesday, May 22nd, 2024
Winning an industry award can greatly impact how customers, clients, and colleagues regard your brand.
Showcase your achievements and celebrate your professional excellence by entering the Search Engine Land Awards — the highest honor in search marketing!
Since its 2015 inception, the Search Engine Land Awards have honored some of the best in the search industry — including leading in-house teams at Wiley Education Services, T-Mobile, Penn Foster, Sprint, and HomeToGo – and exceptional agencies representing Samsung, Lands’ End, Stanley Steemer, and beyond.
This year, it’s your turn. And now is the best time to apply: Super Early Bird rates expire at 11:59pm ET this Friday, May 24… submit your completed application before then to save $300 off final rates (per entry!).
Want to learn more? Check out our FAQ page, explore the 2024 categories, and review advice from the judges.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Wednesday, May 22nd, 2024
Google is experimenting with a new ad experience on Search that aims to guide consumers through complicated buying decisions using AI assistance.
The big picture. The test explores how Google’s AI capabilities could enhance ads to provide more tailored advice and recommendations based on a user’s specific needs and context.
Why we care. With this update advertisers will be getting a higher converting clicka to their site. Although brands should look out for traffic volumes most likely decreasing as experience on the SERP increases.
How it works. If a user searches for something like “short-term storage” and clicks on an ad from a storage facility, they may be shown an AI-guided experience to determine their storage requirements.
- Users could share details like photos of items they need to store and their budget.
- Google’s AI would then analyze that information to recommend an appropriately sized storage unit and suggest packing materials.
- The experience would link back to the advertiser’s website to complete the purchase.
What’s next. The storage unit ads are currently just an initial test case. Broader rollouts to other verticals like travel, financial services and health care could follow if the AI proves helpful for guiding high-consideration purchases.
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Tuesday, May 21st, 2024
The rise of generative AI and ChatGPT is unprecedented. Google’s March core update has major content implications. SGE is shaking up the SERPs as we know them.
Turn these daunting challenges into market-winning opportunities: Attend SMX Advanced for free, online June 11-12, to learn elite, actionable search marketing tactics that can help you keep a competitive edge and drive measurable success.
Check out the just-launched agenda, featuring exclusive keynotes with Google’s Director of Product Management and former Tinuiti VP Aaron Levy…
…plus 40+ tactic-rich sessions, Overtime live Q&As, Coffee Talk meetups, product demos, and more. Keep reading for 10 undeniable reasons why you should join us online next month:
- You’ll unlock unbiased, trustworthy content from the experts at Search Engine Land, the industry publication of record.
- Attend from anywhere: office, home, cafe, couch, etc. No travel headaches, no time out of the office, no carbon emissions.
- Can’t justify registration fees? No problem. SMX Advanced is 100% free to attend.
- You’ll only learn safe, reputable, reliable training — no get-rich-quick schemes or dodgy tactics.
- Hours of live Q&A means you’ll get expert answers to your toughest questions.
- Can’t attend live? On-demand access is included with your free pass, so you can train at your own pace.
- Hear what the best in the biz are up to… and validate your own initiatives and instincts.
- Discuss common challenges and forge game-changing connections during Coffee Talk meetups.
- Unite your departments with a shared training experience – invaluable to on-site and remote teams alike.
- Earn a personalized certificate of attendance to demonstrate your commitment to continued training and furthering your career.
Ready to register? Secure your FREE All Access pass now.
Psst… Yes, you’re an advanced marketer… but are you “award-winning”? Enter the 2024 Search Engine Land Awards for your chance to take home the highest honor in search. Super Early Bird expire at the end of next week! Learn more here: searchengineland.com/awards
Courtesy of Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
