Atomic Media

How to plan a website to maximize SEO success

Tuesday, September 24th, 2024

Many redesigned websites fail to improve SEO, often damaging existing rankings and creating challenges for SEO teams trying to recover lost traffic. This can severely affect business visibility, lead generation and sales.

I have been handed many a brand new website and asked to “SEO it” when untold damage has been done and significant time and effort must be spent just to get traffic levels back where they were before the redesign. 

Many articles help with website SEO and how to retain SEO traffic during a redesign. There are also helpful books and frameworks for website planning.

Yet, seemingly no resource combines a sensible approach to planning a new site with the retention and improvement of SEO. 

This article will outline how to plan a new website effectively to retain existing traffic and create a platform to improve your SEO. 

To make following along easier, you can fill out the steps in the template below:

• Website planning to maximize SEO [Template]

Website planning and SEO 

To ensure your new website retains and improves your SEO, it is helpful to ensure you have a clearly defined SEO strategy and you have articulated this in a simple SEO plan. 

The worst thing in any website design project is when unexpected problems or changes arrive during development. 

A well-developed plan that has input from all stakeholders helps ensure less of this. More importantly, if the customer changes their mind or the scope creeps (the scope always creeps), you have the document to show the original scope and justify the necessary fee increases. 

I wish I had a dollar for every time we were asked to review a new site that was almost finished – only to find that SEO hadn’t been considered, putting its success at risk.

We recently worked on a six-figure project for a business that thrived on organic traffic. The project would essentially destroy all the hard-earned SEO. 

This took several months and probably another six figures in PPC spend (to replace what was free SEO traffic from an SEO vs. PPC perspective), as well as further SEO time and redevelopment. You want to avoid that if at all possible. 

We have also seen other sites that had so comprehensively damaged SEO traffic that the only sensible approach was to roll back to the previous site. 

Suffice it to say that ensuring you retain SEO traffic and set the scene for improvements is not something you can leave to chance. 

The approach laid out here combines a fairly standard approach to website planning, which, done well, will save much time, money and pain, with the kind of jobs needed to retain existing SEO traffic while building a furtive platform for further SEO development. 

The output of this process should be a document that either acts as the foundation of the website brief or is integrated into a traditional brief. 

Note: Where the SEO brief and website brief are separate entities, I always recommend reviewing the final website brief to ensure the SEO brief has been incorporated before the project kicks off. 

There are five key steps to work through to create your SEO-friendly website blueprint:

1. Existing rankings and traffic 

Your must understand your traffic and where it comes from.

To do this, spend some time in Google Analytics and Google Search Console to identify:

• High-ranking keywords.
• High-traffic keywords.
• High-traffic content.
• High-opportunity pages.
• High-opportunity keywords.

Your goal is to clearly document what works currently. These must be included in the new site.

If high-traffic content is removed, not correctly optimized, or lost in the new site’s hierarchy, then you are inviting problems. 

Google Search Console

Google Search Console is a treasure trove of SEO information and will give you the straight dope on your rankings and traffic. 

Here, you’ll see high-opportunity keywords and pages with lots of impressions but not many clicks. 

• Visit Search Console
• Performance > Search Results

The main information you are looking for is in the queries and pages tabs. You can order this by clicks (traffic) and impressions (which is an opportunity). 

Work through this information and document your findings in the template. 

Crawl data

Crawl your website and save a copy of the crawl (Screaming Frog is a cost-effective or free way of doing this under 500 pages).

This will allow you to check links to the page and compare with the new site if (and when) problems arise. 

SEO tools

You can also use any SEO tools for rank tracking. 

Still, I prefer Search Console and Google Analytics for this as they give you real data and insight, not the extrapolated data the typical SEO tools provide, which can often be wildly inaccurate and misleading. 

Dig deeper: Website redesign SEO checklist: Retaining and improving SEO

2. SEO and website goals 

Goals are crucial to any project. Starting with clear goals helps you understand your destination, making it easier to find the right path forward.

Goals provide you with a tool for assessing all decisions throughout the project.

Will doing something help us hit our goals? If not, don’t do it. If so, go for it! 

You may have goals for the website project overall, ideally these will be hierarchical. For instance, we may have one super goal that states the goal of the new website is to generate more leads. 

You may then have sub-goals such as to improve SEO and improve conversion rates that work in service of the master goal. 

Remember to make your SEO goals specific and measurable, so SMART goals are helpful here. 

Overall, you may need a hierarchy of goals here that covers:

• Website Goal: Generate more leads/sales.
• SEO Goal 1: Rank our service pages more highly.
• SEO Goal 2: Rank our upper funnel marketing content highly. 

You may also find it useful to look at things you want to avoid with the new site. Determining what you are aiming at and what you are running away from can be just as helpful, if not more so. 

• Anti-goal: Avoid having a site that is essentially no different from our competitors. 

Document your goals in the website plan template and move on. 

3. Audience and customer segments

Carefully define your target audience(s) along with some considerations regarding your competitors. 

Remember, in marketing, targeting everyone is targeting no one. 

That is not to say you can’t target multiple audiences, but you do need to give some consideration to each audience and factor this into the structure and segmentation of your new site.

We want to carefully consider the goals, problems and jobs of our target audience to ensure our business goals, website goals and the goals of the people we serve are all finely aligned. 

Audience questions

We want to start by simply identifying the different audiences: men, women, students, Gen X, Millennials, etc. 

For each audience:

• Audience name.
• Demographics (age, sex, location).
• What is the problem or goal of the target audience?
• Where do they hang out or find information online?

The information you gather here will help you when it comes to structuring your site to support the individual needs of each audience (which, in turn, makes optimizing for each audience so much easier). 

To explore each customer segment in more depth, you can use the SEO Value Proposition Template and SCAMPER to understand your customers and identify the content you need to hit your goals. 

Remember that Google wants you to focus on creating helpful, people-first content. To do this, you need to understand your people (audience) and ensure you are writing for them. 

This process feeds into your SEO like no other, so spend the time getting into the minds of your audience segments. Your SEO will thank you for it.  

Note all of this down in the website plan template and move on. 

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4. Structure and sitemap

A sitemap provides a simple overview of the new site and can be cross-referenced with the existing goals. 

For instance, the new sitemap should include high-traffic pages on the current site that drive business performance. 

Sitemaps help gather feedback from all stakeholders and facilitate difficult conversations during the planning stages. Addressing these issues early can prevent problems later on with delivery, timelines and budgets.

I am a big fan of the idea that you should really thrash things out at this point and good ideas get strengthened and remain, while bad ideas can die here – rather than in costly development. 

Creating your sitemap

You want to create a simple bullet point sitemap in the first instance.

• Home 
• About Us
• Category A
  • Sub Category A1
    • Detail Page
• Category B
  • Sub Category B1
    • Detail Page
• Resources
  • Article A
  • Article B
• Contact

I recommend writing this all down in a spreadsheet so you have clarity and numbering for all pages (which will be useful in the next steps).

You can use your favorite drawing tool to create your sitemap. Draw.io has a useful set of templates, including various maps, that you can use for site mapping (all of which are saved to Google Docs).

A visual sitemap can be useful for the major categories and sections of the site and can aid in getting feedback from stakeholders.  

The key takeaway here is that we want to create a sitemap that is segmented by our target audiences and serves the overarching marketing objectives. 

If our SEO goals are to retain traffic and create an optimized structure, then we can assess that here. 

Key pieces of content that have been identified should be recreated on the new site within an optimized structure that sets the scene for growth. 

Remember, the hierarchy here will inform you of your site’s folder structure, which helps provide context for each document. 

This, in turn, helps you structure your keywords from high-level broad keywords to more specific categories and longer-tail product/service keywords. The structure is key, so spend time here until you are happy. 

5. Page scoping

The next step of the planning process is to determine what content will be on each page.

Based on the level of detail you want to use here, you can either create columns in your spreadsheet sitemap that you created previously or go into more detail.

Typically, for each page, we should include:

• Goal of the page.
• Functionality / Features (e.g., forms).
• Content (images, text, video etc).
• SEO (Notes, Page Title, Meta Description).
• Notes.

The SEO aspect here is fairly obvious, and if we have a high-performing page currently, we want to ensure the main content is recreated. 

There is little point in adding a page and changing things radically – minimize the variables wherever possible. 

We want to examine the page’s goal and ensure that its functionality and content support it. 

Some example goals for pages are:

• Generate exposure from SEO (to feed remarketing).
• Generate leads.
• Funnel users to product pages. 

Work through each page detailing the goal for that page and then outline the content that supports that and update the website plan template. 

6. SEO specifics

The planning is important, but we must document a few SEO specifics to ensure this build aspect will be handled correctly.

• Keep the old site live on a temporary URL if possible.
• Create a list of redirections from the old pages to the new ones.
• Migrate content, page titles and meta descriptions for high-performing pages.
• Update external backlinks where possible.
• Monitor performance after launch (rankings, traffic, impressions).

Factoring in these five areas will ensure the main SEO points are covered.

6. Your website plan 

At this point, you should have a comprehensive but concise plan outlining what is needed on your new site. 

The plan should cover:

• Existing rankings and traffic.
• Goals for the project.
• Customer segments.
• Website structure and sitemap.
• Page scoping.
• SEO specifics (redirects, etc.).

Most people don’t do this. They create a super skinny brief and leave it to the web developers. 

But the web developers don’t know your business, so you have to put in the work to ensure the new site retains and improves your SEO (while also hitting the likely myriad of other goals that trickle down from management to marketing). 

While it may seem like an additional step, planning will save you time, money and pain while improving your overall results – a win-win. 

In a nutshell, you will get better results by doing the research and planning work. 

Launch and beyond

The final aspects to consider are the monitoring of the launch and what your marketing and SEO KPIs are to measure results. 

We always expect some turbulence, but keeping a close eye on the Search Console and your KPIs will help you spot issues and squash them quickly. 

SEO-friendly website planning to retain and improve traffic

Most websites could be better planned.

If you follow the simple steps here, you will have done more pre-design planning than 99% of other website projects, which can help you join the 1% of companies that get all the results.

Ensure you understand what works currently and where you want to go. Weave that into the planning for your new site and prepare to fly high.

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

Google Ads adds Video Enhancement for Performance Max

Tuesday, September 24th, 2024

Google Ads is rolling out a new Video Enhancement feature for Performance Max (PMax) campaigns. This feature aims to improve video ad performance through automated adjustments.

Why we care. The feature is designed to optimize video creatives, but you may not want to give Google this level of control. So, depending on many caveats, it may be worth testing. 

What’s happening. Advertisers reported seeing this feature in some campaigns, with the option being automatically opted-in by default.

Reactions. Some advertisers are wary of Google’s use of terms like “enhance” and “optimize,” suggesting a cautious approach to automated adjustments that could affect campaign outcomes.

• Odi Caspi, Founder at EffectiveMarketing.uk responded to this update – “Any time Google use terms like ‘Enhance’ or ‘Optimise’ I get nervous”

First seen. This update was first brought to our attention by Natasha Kaura on X:

Bottom line. As Google continues to introduce AI-driven enhancements to its ad tools, advertisers should monitor how these changes impact campaign performance, and adjust settings as needed to maintain control over their creative assets.

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

Google Search Ads 360 (SA360) starter guide

Tuesday, September 24th, 2024

Since its rebranding in 2018, Google Search Ads 360 has continued to be a powerful tool for PPC advertisers. However, many marketers still struggle to understand its full potential.

This confusion often leads businesses, agencies and corporations to miss the benefits of integrating it into their marketing strategies.

This article will address some of the most common questions about Google Search Ads 360 and help clarify how it can enhance your marketing efforts.

What is Google Search Ads 360?

Search Ads 360, or SA360, is a tool created by Google to manage multiple paid ads accounts and platforms in one interface. 

Search Ads 360 has a direct API connection with several search engines, allowing you to view all your campaign data in one place. This streamlined access helps you make informed strategic decisions without consulting multiple sources, saving you time and money.

Once you link Search Ads 360 to a search engine, you can create and manage your search marketing campaigns within the platform. Any changes you make can be automatically copied back to the engines. 

You can also make adjustments directly in the search engine’s ad platform and easily import those changes back into Search Ads 360.

Currently, SA360 supports the following platforms:

• Google Ads.
• Microsoft Advertising.
• Yahoo Japan sponsored products. 
• Baidu.
• Other third-party search engines.

You might remember SA360’s predecessor, DoubleClick or DoubleClick’s main product line, known as DART (Dynamic Advertising, Reporting and Targeting). 

Google acquired DoubleClick in 2007 and integrated it into its offerings as DoubleClick Campaign Manager (DCM). The tool was renamed Search Ads 360 in 2018 – the same year Google AdWords became Google Ads. 

How does Google Search Ads 360 help marketing efforts? 

And what does Google Search Ads 360 have that regular ol’ Google Ads doesn’t? 

Multi-platform campaign management with add-on cross-channel integration

Search Ads 360 allows you to manage and optimize search ads across multiple platforms, such as Google and Microsoft Ads, all from a single interface. 

On its own, SA360 streamlines your advertising efforts and saves you time. 

When integrated with other tools in the Google Marketing Platform, like Display & Video 360 and Campaign Manager 360, it allows you to develop cross-channel strategies that seamlessly combine search, display and video advertising for a more unified and consistent marketing approach.

Advanced audience targeting

With Search Ads 360, you can use advanced audience targeting features to reach specific segments across platforms. 

Since it integrates with multiple search engines, you can consistently create and target audience segments across platforms like Google, Bing and Yahoo. 

This ensures your message is relevant and reaches the right people no matter which search engine they’re using, thus improving engagement and ROI.

Time-saving automation

Beyond bidding, Search Ads 360 offers automation for many campaign management tasks, such as real-time budget pacing, scheduling and reporting. 

Again, since it integrates with multiple search engines, you’ll have the ability to set up and manage automated rules across all your accounts and platforms. 

This helps you and your marketing team to focus on strategy and analysis rather than repetitive tasks.

Dig deeper: Search Ads 360: 3 best practices for advanced PPC marketers

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Why would you want to use Google Search Ads 360 instead of Google Ads?

At the time of publication, many features that used to be exclusive to Google Search Ads 360 have been integrated into the Google Ads platform. 

Automated bidding, advanced reporting and ad copy testing all used to be unique to the Google Search Ads 360 platform. 

While Search Ads 360 still boasts additional desirable features and flexibility, such as direct integrations with third parties and real-time reporting, the most widely-used features have also been migrated over to Google Ads.  

Today, the biggest reason to use Google Search Ads 360 instead of Google Ads is the size of your marketing efforts. 

If you’re a marketing agency managing hundreds of search campaigns across several accounts in Google and Bing, a centralized base of operations probably sounds pretty appealing. 

SA360 makes it easier and faster for strategists to make changes across multiple campaigns on multiple platforms. 

I liken it to comparing Google Ads Editor to the Google Ads UI via browser. The former simply makes my job easier and enables me to finish optimizations faster without needing to waste time navigating to the page I need. 

Another reason to use SA360 over Google Ads is its integration with other Google tools. 

SA360 is designed to interact with Display & Video 360 (DV360) and Campaign Manager 360 (CM360). 

This trifecta of SA360, DV360 and CM360 gives you a streamlined approach to search, video and display across the web, apps, YouTube and even connected TV and offline data sources. 

If you’re sorely lacking visibility in how your ad dollars translate to sales or leads and you’re ready to invest in your marketing analytics for a complete user journey, SA360 and its partner products could be the right choice. 

Dig deeper: Google SA360 now supports Microsoft automated bidding

Why would you not want to use Google Search Ads 360 instead of Google Ads?

Cost 

If you’re working with a limited marketing budget, you are likely not a good candidate for SA360. 

In addition to being charged a platform fee plus a percentage based on your spend to access SA360, most advertisers and even agencies are simply not spending enough to justify upgrading. 

Single-platform vs. multi-platform

One of the biggest benefits of SA360 is seeing all your data and performance across multiple channels and platforms.

If you’re only using Google Ads for one account, another interface to combine multiple data sources simply isn’t necessary. 

Complexity 

SA360 has several advanced features that can overwhelm even the savviest of PPC strategists and are likely unnecessary for most advertisers. 

The traditional Google Ads platform makes using campaigns with a straightforward purpose and aim simple.

At the same time, SA360 offers a highly sophisticated set of tools to help marketers manage complex campaigns with varying strategies and goals. 

Google Search Ads 360: Your key to multi-platform advertising success

Google Search Ads 360 is a powerful tool for big businesses and agencies managing complex, large-scale or multi-platform search campaigns. 

It offers advanced features like cross-channel integration with other Google Marketing Platform tools, cross-platform audience targeting and enhanced time-saving automation. 

These attributes make it ideal for marketers with big budgets who need a comprehensive solution. 

However, for small and medium-sized businesses or those operating within a single platform, the complexity and additional cost of SA360 almost certainly outweigh its benefits. 

Understanding when and why to use SA360 can help you decide if it’s the right fit for your marketing strategy. This will ensure that you maximize efficiency and ROI for your business or your clients. 

Dig deeper: Google Search Ads 360 gains retail media capabilities

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

New data: Google AI Overviews show more often to signed-in users

Thursday, September 19th, 2024

Google AI Overviews are triggered 10-20% less for signed-out users. While this percentage varies by industry, it is particularly noteworthy right now for ecommerce queries, which trigger AI Overviews 90% less often for signed-out users.

Why we care. We’ve been closely watching the evolution of Google’s AI Overviews because it has the potential to disrupt the amount of organic traffic you receive. Different industries will be uniquely impacted, so it’s important to understand how AI Overviews are rolling out to your industry.

By the numbers. While ecommerce had the largest difference, Google AI Overviews appear 10-20% less often to signed-out users in other industries, according to the latest analysis from enterprise SEO platform BrightEdge:

• Education: 21% less.
• B2B tech: 17% less.
• Healthcare: 16% less.

More Google AIO ecommerce findings. BrightEdge also found that:

• In August, product carousels for apparel-related queries increased by 172%.
• The use of unordered lists across industries rose by 42%.

Google AIO citations findings. Google is leaning away from consumer-focused media and blogs and more heavily toward specialized, expert, authoritative and trustworthy domains. For its healthcare citations:

• General health sites like verywellhealth.com saw a decline in citations.
• Domains like arthritis.org saw substantial increases in citations.

SearchGPT vs. Perplexity. In other AI search developments, BrightEdge told me that their customers (particularly large and Fortune 100 brands) are getting more referral traffic from SearchGPT than Perplexity. This is super interesting because OpenAI just introduced SearchGPT on July 25 and it is in a limited data. BrightEdge didn’t have data to share as of publication, but hopefully will soon.

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

Amazon Ads launches AI-powered video

Thursday, September 19th, 2024

Amazon Ads today unveiled new generative AI features aimed at helping advertisers create more engaging video and image content.

• The tools include Video generator and live image capabilities, both currently in beta for select U.S. advertisers.

Why we care. Time and cost are big challenges when it comes to creating good quality video content for campaigns. These AI-powered tools address these key challenges. 

By the numbers.

• 89% of consumers want to see more videos from brands in 2024, according to a Wyzowl study.
• Businesses cite lack of time and cost as the top barriers to video marketing.

How it works.

• Video generator creates custom video content in minutes using a single product image.
• Live image allows brands to produce short, animated campaign images quickly.

What they’re saying. “Video generator is another meaningful innovation that leverages generative AI to inspire creativity and deliver more value for both advertisers and shoppers,” said Jay Richman, VP of product and technology for Amazon Ads.

Between the lines. These tools are part of Amazon’s growing suite of generative AI solutions similar to how all other tech giants continue to lean into more AI solutions. 

What’s next. Amazon plans to refine these features based on beta advertiser feedback before a wider release.

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

How to implement generative engine optimization (GEO) strategies

Thursday, September 19th, 2024

Generative AI is transforming how consumers discover and engage with content, making it essential for brands to rethink and adapt traditional SEO strategies.

Leading this shift is generative engine optimization (GEO) – an evolution of SEO that leverages AI-driven insights to optimize content for visibility and authority across platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google’s AI Overviews.

This article will dive into the five key strategies to help you implement GEO effectively:

• Generative AI research and analysis.
• Optimizing content for generative AI.
• Technical optimization for AI accessibility.
• Content distribution and engagement.
• Building brand authority and credibility.

Let’s explore these strategies so you can boost engagement, increase visibility and achieve lasting success, positioning your brand as a leader in AI-driven search.

1. Generative AI research and analysis

Generative AI research is the foundation of your GEO strategy, focused on gathering insights to optimize your content and enhance visibility. 

By knowing what your audience is looking for and how your brand matches up with AI algorithms focusing on relevance and authority, you can ensure your content meets their needs.

Let’s break down GEO research into these core components:

• GEO keyword research.
• AI Overview response analysis.
• Competitor research and analysis.
• Brand perception intelligence.

GEO keyword research

GEO keyword research identifies the keywords, queries and conversational phrases that AI-driven search engines prioritize.

AI algorithms favor content that mirrors natural language and comprehensively addresses user intent, so creating contextually rich, conversational content has become more essential than ever.

With over a billion voice searches occurring every month and 8.4 billion voice assistants expected to be in use by the end of the year, optimizing for natural language is no longer optional – it’s crucial.

By effectively leveraging GEO keyword research, you can ensure your content gives users what they’re looking for and aligns with AI preferences, enhancing user engagement and creating stronger connections with your audience.

Actionable tips:

• Understand your target audience:
  • Start by gaining a deep understanding of what drives your audience’s searches – are they looking for information, products or solutions? 
  • Focus on the words, phrases and questions they use to craft content that effectively meets their needs.
• Identify relevant keywords, phrases and entities:
  • Find keywords and phrases that resonate with your audience while aligning with AI’s focus on natural language processing:
    • Long-tail keywords and conversational queries: Longer, more specific phrases that capture user intent and reflect natural, conversational search behavior.
    • Semantic keywords: Related terms, synonyms or variations that add context and depth to your main keyword, making your content more meaningful and relevant.
    • Entities: Recognizable people, places, things or specific concepts that enable AI to accurately categorize and reference your content.
    • Contextually relevant phrases: Phrases that naturally occur within discussions around a topic and reinforce your content’s overall theme, helping AI understand the overall context of your content.
  • Incorporating these elements into your content will help meet user needs while making it easier for AI to interpret and categorize effectively.
    • Example: “best wireless headphones”
      • Long-tail keywords: best wireless headphones under $200, best wireless headphones for working out, wireless headphones with long battery life
      • Conversational queries: what are the best wireless headphones in 2024, which wireless headphones are best for noise cancellation?
      • Semantic keywords: Bluetooth headphones, wireless earbuds, over-ear wireless headphones
      • Entities: Apple, Bluetooth, Bose, Sony
      • Contextually relevant phrases: crystal-clear sound quality, long-lasting battery, comfortable fit for all-day wear
    • Example: “digital marketing strategies”
      • Long-tail keyword: best digital marketing strategies in 2024, digital marketing strategies for small businesses
      • Conversational query: what are the most effective digital marketing strategies, what type of marketing is best for small businesses
      • Semantic keywords: digital marketing channels, digital marketing tips, online advertising strategies, inbound marketing strategies
      • Entities: search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, email marketing
      • Contextually relevant phrases:  grow your business, increase brand awareness, drive qualified traffic, reach your target audience
• Explore SERP features and use AI tools:
  • Explore SERP features: Use tools like Google’s “People Also Ask” and Autocomplete to find long-tail queries and related search terms. Tools like AlsoAsked can extract additional insights from this data.
  • Leverage AI tools for topic research: Use platforms like ChatGPT to generate relevant concepts, phrases and queries. This will deepen your content’s relevance and align with AI’s understanding of the topic.
  • Prompt example
    • “Generate a list of long-tail keywords, conversational queries and contextually relevant phrases related to ‘[KEYWORD]’ that address different types of user intent (informational, navigational, commercial, transactional). Include common user queries, semantically related terms and key entities that should be emphasized to create comprehensive, user-focused content. Also, highlight areas where users often seek deeper insights, specific pain points or actionable solutions.”

AI Overview response analysis

AI Overview response analysis involves:

• Identifying the queries that trigger AI-generated overviews in Google.
• Understanding the prioritized topics and structures.
• Ensuring your brand is well-represented. 

As these overviews grow in popularity and become the go-to choice for users seeking personalized, quick and concise answers, they are becoming critical touchpoints with the power to significantly influence your content’s visibility and credibility. 

• Expanded visibility: AI Overviews are visible to all U.S. users, including those in incognito mode, offering broader visibility and new opportunities for content discovery. Google also expanded AI Overview availability to six new countries, increasing its global reach and potential impact on content visibility.
• Semrush AI Overview tracking enhancement: Semrush has enhanced its tracking for AI Overviews, simplifying large-scale analysis. While not all keyword data is fully integrated, the Organic Research report can help track the performance of queries triggering AI Overviews.

Actionable tips:

• Track your key queries triggering AI Overviews:
  • Pinpoint the queries that trigger AI Overviews using a combination of tools to assess content performance and prioritize topics in your GEO strategy.
    • Keyword rank tracking tools: Use tools like Semrush, BrightEdge and others to track keywords, keeping in mind that visibility may still be limited for less frequent triggers.
    • Google Search Console: While it lacks direct AI Overview tracking, GSC provides valuable insights when used alongside other tools.
    • Google Chrome extensions
      • Google AI Overview Impact Analysis: This free extension tracks AI Overviews and cited sources across multiple keywords. You can export data, identify trends and refine your strategy.
      • Google AI Overview Citation Analysis: Use this free extension to compare links cited in AI Overviews with traditional SERPs, allowing for side-by-side comparisons, competitor tracking and trend identification.
• Analyze your brand’s placement in AI Overviews:
  • Ensure your content appears in AI Overviews for key queries, especially if it ranks well organically. AI doesn’t always pull from top-ranking SERP content, so being featured in overviews is essential for maintaining visibility.
  • A recent seoClarity analysis by Mark Traphagen revealed that 99.5% of AI Overview citations now match one or more of the top 10 Google search results. However, the correlation can vary, making it essential to monitor regularly.
  • Tip: Use a regex pattern with ChatGPT to filter top queries from a ranking export likely to trigger AI Overviews. As seen below, run these keywords through the AI Overview Impact Analysis extension to identify which queries generate overviews and the sources cited.

• By combining the downloaded report with your ranking data using VLOOKUP, you can effectively analyze AI Overviews in relation to your organic performance.

• With conditional formatting, you can easily track your brand’s placement and monitor the sources being cited.

• Analyze AI Overview response structures and content elements to:
  • Optimize your content for AI Overviews, it’s essential to understand how AI structures its responses to your key queries. 
  • Identify the common formats – whether lists, tables or videos – and tailor your content to incorporate elements like data points, topics, multimedia and key phrases that AI deems relevant.
  • Examples:
    • “What is SEO” AI Overview: Begins with a concise paragraph, followed by headings and lists that cover the reasons SEO is important and ways to improve a website’s SEO performance. To increase chances of being featured, content should comprehensively address these core aspects.
    • “Best digital marketing strategies for small businesses” AI Overview: Combines text, images and a bulleted list that covers specific digital marketing channels, strategies and actionable tips. If you aim to target this AI Overview, adjust your content to mention similar topics and actionable tips.

Competitor research and analysis

GEO competitor research helps you identify how competitors perform in AI-driven search results. By analyzing their successes, you can uncover effective strategies, spot content gaps and refine your approach to improve visibility and stay competitive.

This research is an opportunity to learn from those excelling in AI-driven search. Analyze how competitors are referenced, then adapt their strategies to improve your own content.

Focus on areas where you can offer more insights or add value while always showcasing your brand’s unique perspective.

Actionable tips:

• Track competitors cited by AI:
  • Start by identifying competitors frequently appearing in AI-generated overviews for your target keywords.
    • Use monitoring tools: Use the free tools mentioned above, like the AI Overview Impact Analysis and Citation Analysis Chrome extensions, to track competitors.
    • Leverage Advanced AI Tools: Integrate tools like the ChatGPT API with Google Sheets to build custom solutions that allow you to efficiently track and analyze your brand’s visibility in AI-driven responses.
• Monitor trends and shifts in sources cited over time:
  • Stay updated on AI’s evolving content preferences, such as shifts toward newer publications or specialized sources and adjust your strategy to maintain relevance and competitiveness.
• Analyze competitors’ source content and adapt successful strategies:
  • Analyze competitors’ content to uncover gaps and opportunities where you can offer more value. 
  • Look at both the structure and depth of their content and adapt successful strategies to improve your own.
    • Evaluate structure and format: Identify the content formats competitors consistently use (e.g., lists, tables or multimedia) that AI may favor.
    • Assess the depth of coverage: Determine if competitors provide comprehensive coverage of key topics or if there are gaps you can fill by expanding on neglected areas.
    • Incorporate multimedia: If competitors frequently use visuals like infographics or videos, enhance your content by including similar elements to engage both AI algorithms and users.
    • Adopt effective formats: Pay attention to how competitors use structures like bullet points, QandA sections or visual elements that improve AI-driven content discoverability.
    • Enhance with your unique perspective: While adopting successful strategies, maintain your brand’s voice and insights to stand out from competitors.
    • Example:
      • For the keyword “benefits of content marketing,” if AI often references competitor content with numbered lists and visuals, consider using similar elements while incorporating your unique perspective to increase your chances of being featured.

Dig deeper: Entity-based competitor analysis: An SEO’s guide

Brand perception intelligence

Brand perception intelligence involves gathering insights from AI platforms on how both AI systems and users perceive your brand. 

In an AI-driven world, brand perception and customer sentiment heavily influence search visibility. AI systems favor brands viewed as authoritative, credible and trustworthy, improving visibility and building customer trust.

Actionable tips:

• Conduct research about your brand on AI platforms:
  • Regularly assess how AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity portray your brand. 
  • Analyze AI-generated summaries, user queries and brand representation in user-generated content (UGC) to identify gaps and areas for improvement.
• Use UGC insights:
  • Analyze how AI platforms use UGC to gauge customer sentiment and overall brand perception. 
  • Automate UGC collection and analysis with AI tools to refine your brand strategy.
  • Tip: Use tailored prompts and custom-built GPT solutions to automate the collection and analysis of brand perception data.
    • Example research output: Showcases a comprehensive sentiment analysis report, including key elements like general sentiment, specific aspects of product/service perception, comparisons with competitors, emotional connection and communication effectiveness.
    • Why this is useful: Helps quickly assess where your brand excels and where it needs improvement. By leveraging these insights, you can make data-driven improvements to your brand’s strategy, both in terms of product/service offerings and customer communication.

• Adapt to customer sentiment:
  • Monitor AI-generated queries and responses to understand customer sentiment. Adjust your content and communication strategies to maintain a positive brand image across digital platforms.
• Monitor brand perception on AI platforms over time:
  • As AI systems evolve, so will the perception of your brand. Continuously track how AI platforms represent your brand and adjust strategies to maintain a consistent and positive narrative as AI systems evolve.
• Integrate insights into your brand strategy:
  • Use AI-driven insights to inform your overall content and brand strategy. Ensure consistency across all channels to enhance your brand’s perception, visibility and credibility.
  • Example: If AI frequently mentions your brand in connection with specific keywords or topics, analyze these mentions to ensure they align with your desired brand image. Adjust your content strategy as needed to emphasize key aspects of your brand.

Dig deeper: How to become a recommended solution provider on Google entity lists

2. Optimizing content for generative AI

Once your research is complete, the next step is putting those insights into action by optimizing your content and applying insights to ensure your content is relevant, structured and accessible for AI systems.

Today, high-quality content alone isn’t enough. Your content must be optimized for AI algorithms to maintain visibility and authority. 

Content quality and relevance

Crafting credible, contextually rich and engaging content that meets user needs is essential. By aligning your content with AI systems, you ensure it remains relevant and trusted by both AI platforms and users.

Actionable tips:

• Expand contextual relevance:
  • Incorporate relevant keywords: Use long-tail, conversational and semantic keywords identified during research to optimize your content. Integrate these keywords naturally to match how users search and interact with AI-driven platforms.
  • Expand related concepts: Apply insights from research to deepen your content, making it more comprehensive and valuable to users. Align with AI’s preference for in-depth content by filling market gaps and offering unique value.
  • Integrate key entities and phrases: Use key entities, phrases and concepts identified during research to build a narrative that resonates with AI’s contextual algorithms, ensuring relevance and authority.
• Establish authority and credibility:
  • Citations: Reference credible, up-to-date sources to validate your claims and connect your content with established research.
  • Quotations: Incorporate authoritative quotes from industry experts to add depth and authority.
  • Statistics: Include relevant and timely data points presented in impactful formats like graphs or charts.
  • Align with E-E-A-T principles: Build websites demonstrating experience, expertise, authority and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T).
• Craft comprehensive and engaging content:
  • Provide thorough, engaging and varied content that fully addresses user queries and aligns with AI preferences for diverse content types.
  • Provide comprehensive responses: Offer thorough answers that fully address user queries, as AI favors in-depth content.
  • Make content informative and engaging: Focus on creating content that is informative, easy to understand and provides clear, actionable insights.
  • Use varied multi-modal formats: Incorporate a mix of formats – blog posts, guides, videos and interactive content – to keep your audience engaged and align with AI’s preference for diverse content.
• Maintain content freshness:
  • Regularly update your content to signal to search engines that the information is current and relevant. Fresh content aligns with current trends and user interests, improving your content’s relevance.
    • Example: Update a blog post on “2023 Digital Marketing Trends” to reflect the latest trends in 2024, ensuring it remains relevant, timely and more likely to be prioritized in results.

Content structure and clarity

A well-organized, clear structure is essential for engaging users and ensuring alignment with AI.

Simplifying language, maintaining logical flow and integrating visuals make your content more accessible to both AI systems and users.

Actionable tips:

• Improve content clarity and readability:
  • Simplify language: Use clear, straightforward language, avoiding jargon and complex sentences.
  • Break down complex information: Use bullet points, lists and short paragraphs to make ideas more scannable and understandable.
  • Highlight key information: Emphasize important points with bold text, callout boxes or summaries to ensure they stand out.
  • Incorporate visuals and multimedia: Use high-quality images, infographics and other visuals to break up text and illustrate key concepts, enhancing engagement and readability.
  • Consistent formatting: Maintain uniform font sizes, styles and colors across all content elements to enhance readability.
• Enable quick comprehension of your content:
  • Optimize your content to make key details easily accessible, ensuring that AI and users quickly grasp the most important points.
  • State what to expect: Clearly articulate the main purpose or topic at the beginning of the content.
  • Summarize key points: Include brief summaries or lists of key takeaways at the top of your content and throughout relevant sections.
  • Incorporate FAQ sections: Add FAQs to longer content to address common questions, increasing the likelihood of AI using it to answer specific queries.
  • Deliver quick answers: Provide direct answers to queries within the first few sentences, making it easier for AI and users to find the information they need quickly.
    • Example: For the query “What is Generative Engine Optimization?” AI tends to pull responses from content that provides clear, immediate answers, like those in the examples shown below. These examples use structured summaries and concise, digestible points throughout each piece, helping both AI systems and users digest the most relevant information.

• Optimize content structure and fluidity:
  • Prioritize content fluidity: Create a smooth, logical progression throughout your content. Use clear transitions and well-structured paragraphs to enhance readability and engagement.
  • Use clear and descriptive headings: Organize your content with headings that logically guide readers and AI through the material.
  • Design effective navigation: Create a clear hierarchical structure using H1 to H5 headings and distinct sections like FAQs or step-by-step guides to enhance usability and relevance.
• Leverage key insights from research:
  • Use insights from your GEO research to enhance content structure and clarity around your key queries.
  • Refine content structure and format: Adapt your content to align with trends observed in AI-generated responses and cited sources, incorporating elements like lists, tables and other effective formats.
  • Emphasize key information: Incorporate common data points, topics and details that AI frequently emphasizes, filling gaps in your content.
  • Integrate multimedia: Include videos, infographics or other visual elements if AI tends to favor these in its responses.
  • Leverage competitor strategies: Implement content structures and formats used by top competitors frequently cited by AI for your key queries.

Dig deeper: What is content readability and how to make your content easier to read

3. Technical optimization for AI accessibility

Now that your content is well-structured and engaging, it’s crucial to ensure AI systems can easily access, interpret and prioritize it in AI-driven search. 

As the digital landscape evolves, traditional SEO must adapt to meet the sophisticated needs of AI, ensuring your content is not only visible but also understood and valued by search algorithms.

Structured data for AI understanding

Think of structured data as a roadmap that helps AI navigate your content, highlighting what’s most important and ensuring it’s interpreted accurately.

By using the right schema markup, you’re not just organizing your content – you’re making it easier for AI to recognize, categorize and present it in relevant searches. 

Whether optimizing for voice search, product listings or user-generated content, the appropriate schema ensures AI delivers your message to the right audience.

Actionable tips:

• Organize and structure content: Use schemas like Article, Organization and Breadcrumb to help AI understand your content’s structure and context, boosting visibility in relevant searches.
• Support natural language queries: Implement FAQ and QandA schemas to optimize for voice search and generative AI, helping AI find direct answers and increasing your content’s chances of appearing in AI-generated results and featured snippets.
• Highlight important elements: Apply schema markup to key content like products, reviews and FAQs to ensure AI recognizes and prioritizes these elements in enhanced search results.
• Boost visual content visibility: Use ImageObject and VideoObject schemas to enhance the visibility of your visual and video content. Proper markup helps AI identify and prioritize this content in search results.
• Showcase user-generated content: Implement Review, AggregateRating and Testimonial schemas to highlight user feedback, increasing your content’s credibility and visibility in AI-driven searches.
• Broaden schema application: Consider using additional schema types to help AI better understand and prioritize your content in specific contexts.

Technical SEO enhancements

Structured data is just one piece of the puzzle. A strong SEO foundation that focuses on various technical aspects is essential to ensure your site is accessible and efficient, giving AI the best possible framework to work with.

Actionable tips:

• Optimize for speed and accessibility: Ensure fast loading times, mobile-friendliness and clean code. These factors help search engines crawl and index your site efficiently, giving AI systems the data they need for generating relevant responses.
• Enhance performance: Improve server response times, optimize images and fix crawl errors or broken links. A well-performing site is more likely to be accurately indexed, which leads to better search visibility.
• Secure your site: Implement HTTPS and maintain strong security practices. AI systems prioritize secure sites, so ensuring your site is safe boosts credibility and trustworthiness.
• Streamline site architecture: Clear content hierarchy and effective internal linking help AI understand relationships between different pieces of content, improving relevance in search results.
• Prioritize mobile optimization: As mobile search dominates, ensure your content is mobile-friendly. AI favors content optimized for mobile, directly impacting your visibility.

By integrating structured data and improving your technical SEO, you create a solid foundation that allows search engines to accurately index your site. This enables AI to access, understand and prioritize your content based on the data collected.

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4. Content distribution and engagement

Your content is only as powerful as the audience it reaches.

To maximize its impact, you need to strategically distribute it across multiple platforms, ensuring it resonates with different audience segments and meets the evolving demands of AI-driven systems.

The more places your content appears, the more opportunities AI has to recognize, elevate and share it, expanding your reach and influence.

Actionable tips:

• Focus on the right platforms:
  • What to do:  Identify 3-5 platforms where your audience is active (e.g., social media, Reddit, Quora) and tailor your content to fit each platform’s style while maintaining a consistent posting schedule.
  • Why: Spreading your content across these platforms signals to AI that it’s credible and worth prioritizing. More visibility across multiple channels increases the chances of AI recognizing and elevating your content.
• Incorporate UGC:
  • What to do: Encourage your audience to share their experiences with campaigns like hashtag challenges or reviews and feature the best UGC on your platforms.
  • Why: User-generated content enhances your brand’s credibility by reflecting authentic user interactions, which AI systems prioritize. This authenticity boosts engagement and makes your content more appealing to both users and AI.
• Engage proactively on social media:
  • What to do: Dedicate time daily to interact with your audience on social media by responding to comments, answering questions and joining conversations.
  • Why: Regular engagement shows AI that your content is relevant and valued, increasing its visibility and helping you reach a wider audience. 
• Create shareable content:
  • What to do: Create shareable content like infographics, tips and visually appealing posts. Use clear calls to action and social sharing buttons to encourage sharing.
  • Why: Shared content gains more visibility, signaling its importance to AI, which can lead to broader reach and greater influence.
• Keep content fresh and relevant:
  • What to do: Regularly update top-performing content with new keywords, relevant links and fresh visuals. Repurpose and re-share it across platforms to keep it current.
  • Why:  AI favors content that is consistently updated and aligned with trends, keeping it relevant and visible.

By distributing content strategically and engaging with your audience actively, you significantly increase your visibility across platforms.

This ensures that both AI systems and a wider audience recognize, prioritize and interact with your content.

5. Building brand authority and credibility

In an AI-driven world, building your brand as a trusted authority means more than just creating great content. It requires a strategic approach that combines credibility, consistency and ethical practices across everything your brand does. 

To truly stand out, your brand must deliver accurate, valuable information while building trust through collaborations, clear communication and a consistent brand identity.

Actionable tips:

• Build backlinks from authoritative sites: Secure backlinks from credible websites to signal trustworthiness to AI systems.
  • Guest blogging: Contribute to reputable industry sites.
  • Partnerships: Collaborate with trusted brands.
  • Shareable content: Create content that naturally attracts high-quality backlinks.
• Use ethical content practices: AI favors content that aligns with user intent and delivers genuine value.
  • Transparency: Be clear and honest, avoiding clickbait.
  • User-centered approach: Create content that truly meets your audience’s needs.
  • Fact-checking and accuracy: Always fact-check your content to ensure accuracy. 
  • Accessibility: Ensure accessibility for all users, including those with disabilities.
• Demonstrate your expertise: Consistently showcase your knowledge and insights to reinforce your authority.
  • Original research: Publish unique, data-driven insights.
  • Case studies: Highlight successful strategies and innovations.
  • Expert opinions: Include industry experts in your content.
• Implement consistent branding: Maintain a recognizable and trustworthy identity across all platforms.
  • Unified messaging: Keep your brand messaging consistent.
  • Visual identity: Ensure cohesive use of logos, colors and design elements.
• Foster relationships with influencers and thought leaders: Collaborations with recognized influencers and thought leaders can significantly amplify your brand’s authority. Focus on:
  • Content collaboration: Co-create content with industry influencers.
  • Endorsements: Seek testimonials from respected figures.
  • Guest appearances: Participate in industry podcasts and panels.

By focusing on credibility, ethical practices and consistent expertise, you can build lasting authority and trust. Aligning your brand with AI systems and maintaining a strong, cohesive identity will pave the way for long-term success.

Key takeaways for mastering GEO strategies

Adapting to AI-driven search isn’t just beneficial. It’s essential to your brand’s long-term success.

Here’s a quick recap of the actionable strategies you need to lead in this evolving landscape:

• Embrace GEO as the future of SEO: Traditional SEO is evolving. GEO ensures your brand remains visible and competitive in AI-powered search.
• Leverage AI research: Success starts with understanding how AI interprets content. Dive into semantic analysis, user intent, competitor strategies, AI-generated responses and brand perception insights to align your content with AI algorithms and position your brand as authoritative.
• Optimize content for AI prioritization: High-quality content is just the start. Structure it for AI by making it clear, relevant and designed to be prioritized in AI-driven results.
• Master technical SEO: Keep your site technically sound with structured data, fast load times and mobile optimization to ensure AI can easily access and rank your content.
• Strategically distribute and engage: Amplify your content across platforms and engage with your audience regularly. The more visible and active your content, the higher AI will prioritize it – so stay consistent and share often.
• Build and maintain brand authority: Trust is everything. Focus on securing high-quality backlinks, consistent branding and ethical, value-driven content to build credibility with both AI and users.

Take the next step

The future of search is AI-driven. By embracing GEO now, you position your brand to lead in this evolving landscape.

The strategies you implement today will ensure your success tomorrow. Get started now and future-proof your brand’s online presence.

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

How to develop a paid search strategy

Thursday, September 19th, 2024

A successful Google Ads PPC strategy involves more than just picking a few keywords. It requires a structured plan that aligns with your business goals, optimizes your budget and uses data to boost performance.

Whether your audience is solution-aware or problem-aware, understanding the nuances of each stage in the sales funnel and selecting the right Google Ads campaign types is essential. 

In this article, “solution-aware” refers to people who know a solution exists, while “problem-aware” describes those encountering innovative solutions that are new to the market.

Let’s dive in and get those ads working smarter, not harder.

Define your end goal: Revenue

Every successful PPC strategy starts with clearly understanding your end goal: revenue.

Not all revenue is the same. The path to earning it varies between ecommerce and lead generation, so your strategy should reflect those differences.

For ecommerce businesses, the objective is to generate sales directly through purchase checkouts.

This means your PPC campaigns should focus on attracting high-intent buyers ready to whip out their credit cards. 

Think of high-conversion keywords and dynamic product ads that directly showcase your offerings and promotions in the search results.

You want to make the sale as efficiently as possible.

Lead generation businesses focus on gathering potential customers’ information – through forms, calls or other interactions – so you can later turn these leads into sales.

Here, success isn’t just about the volume of leads but their quality. 

Your PPC campaigns should engage potential customers with compelling offers, informative content or demonstrations encouraging them to share their contact details. It’s about starting a conversation that successfully leads to a sale.

Google Ads strategies can maximize ecommerce and lead generation outcomes by tailoring campaigns to align with the specific stages of the sales funnel. 

Dig deeper: Lead gen vs. ecommerce: How to tailor your PPC strategies for success

Evaluate first-party data

Before you launch any campaigns, look hard at the first-party data available. This is your goldmine for creating a targeted and effective strategy.

Zero data

• If you’re starting from scratch, your focus should be on branded and high-intent campaigns to gather initial performance insights. 
• This will help refine audience targeting and identify high-performing segments.
• Think about micro-conversion actions such as button clicks or add-to-carts to propel you faster.

Conversion data

• Use past conversion data to optimize campaigns, honing in on keywords, audiences and ad strategies that have historically delivered.
• Google’s bidding algorithms have a strong relationship with your conversion data. You want to preserve it to the best of your ability.

Customer match lists

• If you have them, use customer match lists to create targeted remarketing campaigns and expand your reach through high-quality audience signals.
• These lists are like a secret weapon – the higher the list quality the better your results will be.

First-party data is the backbone of your strategy, enabling you to make informed decisions and refine your approach over time. The more you know, the better your campaigns will perform.

Map out the sales funnel and develop strategies

Understanding the sales funnel is crucial to creating a PPC strategy that guides your audience from awareness to conversion.

Whether your audience is solution-aware or problem-aware, your approach should vary, using different campaign types and targeting methods to achieve optimal results.

Bottom of funnel (BOFU): Converting prospects to customers

The bottom of the funnel is where the magic happens. Your focus here is on converting high-intent prospects into customers. 

This stage is crucial for increasing Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) and ensuring efficiency, so you should maximize your budget here first.

• Branded search campaigns: Capture users searching specifically for your brand. It’s all about staying top-of-mind and ensuring you’re there when they’re ready to take action.
• Non-branded search campaigns: Target high-intent, non-branded keywords that signal a readiness to purchase. Highlight your unique selling propositions (USPs) and competitive advantages to address the needs people are searching for.
• Performance Max campaigns: These are your full-funnel champions, leveraging Google’s machine learning to optimize ad delivery and reach the right audience at the right time.
• Remarketing campaigns: Reengage users who have interacted with your website but haven’t converted yet. Use messaging that emphasizes urgency – like limited-time offers or discounts – to nudge these users toward a purchase.

Focus on high-intent keywords and use clear, action-oriented messaging highlighting product benefits and competitive pricing. 

Differentiate your product from competitors with comparisons, testimonials and guarantees. Show them why you’re the best choice, no contest.

Middle of funnel (MOFU): Nurturing prospects

Once you’ve nailed it at the bottom of the funnel, it’s time to move to the middle. 

In the middle of the funnel, you nurture interested prospects who aren’t quite ready to commit. This is your opportunity to engage users in the research phase.

• Non-branded search and dynamic search ads campaigns: Target broader keywords related to your product or service. These users are still browsing but are starting to get serious. Test different keywords and measure what works based on your average click costs and conversion rates.
• Video campaigns: Use informative or educational videos to build trust and give more insight into your product. Storytelling helps create a connection and build credibility. Target custom segments and in-market audiences specific to your product or service. 
• Remarketing campaigns: Keep the conversation with users who have shown initial interest but need further nurturing before converting. Address their objections and provide additional information to guide them toward a decision.

For solution-aware audiences, provide content that emphasizes the effectiveness of your product or service, like case studies or detailed demonstrations. 

For problem-aware audiences, focus on educating them about the problem and how your product can provide a solution. You’re not just selling a product; you’re solving a problem.

Top of funnel (TOFU): Building awareness

The top of the funnel is all about casting a wide net. Your goal here is to build brand awareness and attract a healthy, engaged audience.

• Video campaigns (YouTube ads): Use video content to introduce your brand and its products to potential customers. Create engaging, informative content that captures interest and establishes your brand’s identity. Think of this as your brand’s first handshake.
• Demand Gen campaigns: Target broader audience segments and lookalikes to engage users who haven’t visited your website before. Use soft calls to action, like “Learn More,” to encourage exploration.

For solution-aware audiences, use educational and entertaining content to pique curiosity and demonstrate the unique value proposition. 

For problem-aware audiences, provide valuable insights or resources to help them understand their problem and consider your product a potential solution. You’re planting seeds that, with the right nurturing, will grow into loyal customers.

Dig deeper: How to implement a full-funnel PPC marketing strategy

Allocate budget strategically for maximum ROAS

If you have a limited budget, start at the bottom of the funnel and work your way up. 

By focusing on high-intent, lower-funnel campaigns first, you maximize ROAS and ensure that your ad spend drives immediate and measurable results. 

Once you’ve solidified that foundation, you can move up the funnel, allocating the remaining budget to nurture leads in the middle and build awareness at the top. 

This approach ensures that you efficiently spend your budget on the highest-return activities first while still investing in future growth.

Why starting with the top of the funnel is a smart approach

When you have the budget to support it, starting with top-of-funnel (TOFU) strategies can be one of the smartest moves you make in your PPC campaigns. Here’s why:

Build brand awareness and trust early

Focusing on TOFU activities allows you to introduce your brand to potential customers who may not yet know they need your product or service. 

By engaging them with educational content, videos and awareness campaigns, you establish trust and build a strong foundation for future conversions. 

Trust and recognition are cultivated through consistent, valuable interactions, making your brand the go-to choice when they’re ready to buy.

Capture attention and influence decisions

Engaging customers early in their journey means you’re shaping their perception before they even consider your competitors. 

The sooner you can capture their attention, the more you can influence their decision-making process, guiding them down the funnel towards conversion.

Prime your audience for conversion

A top-of-funnel strategy doesn’t just generate awareness – it primes your audience for conversion. 

By nurturing these prospects with valuable content and building a relationship from the start, you’re setting the stage for higher conversion rates as they move through the funnel. 

When they’re ready to make a purchase, they already know and trust your brand.

Starting at the top of the funnel isn’t just about casting a wide net; it’s about building a strong, loyal customer base that drives long-term success. 

If your budget allows, don’t hesitate to invest in TOFU strategies. This forward-thinking approach pays dividends down the road.

Dig deeper: How to manage a paid media budget: Allocation, risk and scaling

Crafting a comprehensive PPC strategy for long-term success

By creating a comprehensive PPC strategy that encompasses every stage of the sales funnel, from awareness to conversion, you set your business up for immediate wins and sustainable growth. 

With a thoughtful approach that considers both short-term and long-term goals, your Google Ads campaigns can drive meaningful results and build a loyal customer base.

Focus on building a strategy that is data-driven, customer-centric and adaptable to the changing landscape of digital advertising.

This way, you’ll achieve your revenue goals and cultivate a robust and loyal customer base that will sustain your business for years to come.

Gear up, plan smart and let your Google Ads campaigns work hard for you. Every click has the potential to build something great.

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

Google wins $1.7B EU antitrust fine appeal

Wednesday, September 18th, 2024

Google successfully challenged a €1.49 billion ($1.66 billion) antitrust fine imposed by the European Union in 2019.

• The EU’s General Court annulled the fine, citing the European Commission’s failure to consider all relevant circumstances.

Why we care. This ruling marks a significant victory for Google in its ongoing legal battles with EU regulators and highlights the challenges faced by antitrust enforcers in their efforts to rein in Big Tech. This could also create a favorable precedent that helps Google in the ongoing case with the Department of Justice in the U.S.

The big picture. The case is part of a broader crackdown on tech giants by EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager, who has had mixed success in defending her decisions in court.

• Last week, Vestager secured major wins against Google in a separate case and against Apple’s tax deal with Ireland.

Details. The fine was related to Google’s AdSense platform and alleged anticompetitive practices from 2006 to 2016.

• The court agreed with many of the Commission’s assessments but found that it failed to prove the harm to innovation, competition and consumers.
• Google had already made changes to its contracts in 2016 to remove the relevant provisions.

Between the lines. This case focused on a narrow subset of text-only search ads on certain publishers’ websites, which Google emphasized in its response to the ruling.

What’s next. The European Commission can appeal the Google ruling to the European Court of Justice on points of law.

• The Commission said it would study the judgment and consider possible next steps.

Bottom line. This ruling underscores the ongoing legal challenges faced by both tech giants and regulators in the complex landscape of digital competition.

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

Google Ads ad copy: what works and what doesn’t in 2024

Tuesday, September 17th, 2024

Great ad copy is crucial for Google Ads success, but the rules of engagement can be elusive. Optmyzr analyzed over 1 million ads, providing fresh insights into what drives performance.

Why we care. Having a solid ad copy strategy as a PPC expert is crucial. However experts of many years are still struggling to assess the best approach to ad copy. It doesn’t help that the goal post of good ad copy keeps changing, thanks to the platforms. Lately the conversation has been on the importance of Ad strength. This research could help to shine a light on what path you should take.

By the numbers:

• Over 22,000 accounts analyzed, with a monthly spend of at least $1,500.
• Over one million ads, across Responsive Search Ads (RSAs), Expanded Text Ads (ETAs), and Demand Gen, were reviewed.
• Key metrics like cost per acquisition (CPA), click-through rates (CTR), and ROAS were studied.

Key questions analyzed:

1. Is there a link between Ad Strength and performance?
2. How does pinning assets impact outcomes?
3. Title case vs. sentence case: which format performs better?
4. Does creative length influence results?

Ad Strength: A misleading metric?

Google’s Ad Strength metric is often considered a helpful guide, but does it actually lead to better performance? Optmyzr’s data indicates no clear correlation between Ad Strength and the key metrics that matter.

• Findings: RSAs with an “average” Ad Strength had better CPA, conversion rates, and ROAS than those with “excellent” Ad Strength.
• Takeaway: Don’t obsess over Ad Strength. Instead, focus on creating ads that resonate with your audience and prioritize results.

To pin or not to pin?

Pinning assets to specific positions within ads is a hotly debated tactic. Some marketers swear by it to enforce creative control, while others prefer to let Google’s automation handle asset placement.

• Findings: Ads with “some pinning” perform well on cost-based metrics like CPA and ROAS. However, fully pinned ads show higher CTRs, though the differences are minor.
• Takeaway: Pin strategically, but don’t overdo it. Trust Google’s AI to handle asset placement where appropriate.

Title case vs. sentence case: Which is better?

This debate has persisted for years. Optmyzr’s data revealed that sentence case, surprisingly, outperformed title case in most key metrics.

• Findings: Sentence case ads had higher ROAS and lower CPAs, particularly for RSAs and Demand Gen ads.
• Takeaway: Test sentence case in your ads—especially if your current ads aren’t performing well.

Creative length: Does bigger mean better?

Advertisers often believe that longer ads, which take up more screen real estate, perform better. However, Optmyzr’s research debunks that theory.

• Findings: Shorter headlines consistently outperformed longer ones, while longer descriptions seemed to have a slight edge, though not by much.
• Takeaway: Focus on clear, compelling messaging over character count. Quality trumps quantity in today’s Google Ads environment.

Bottom line. Optmyzr’s data-driven analysis offers actionable insights for marketers. Don’t get bogged down by Google’s Ad Strength or old creative habits like title case and longer ads. Instead, prioritize creating impactful, concise messaging and trust the data to guide your decisions.

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

Why is this ranking on Google?

Tuesday, September 17th, 2024

As SEOs, we often come across the weirdest things ranking in the SERPs:

Why is Reddit ranking for a purely commercial keyword that usually returns ecommerce URLs? 

Why is The Verge ranking high with a spammy, sarcastic and seemingly AI-generated article stuffed with keywords like “best printer 2024”?

The Verge article was doing well when it was first published in April 2024 but started dropping in rank by mid-May. It’s still a high ranking that boggles me , but at least now we know it’s not worthy of a top 10 spot (or do we?).

People often have outdated ideas about how Google ranks pages. We stick to old methods because they’re familiar, even though we don’t fully understand how Google’s current system works.

For instance, we still emphasize keywords as a key factor for ranking. But do they really matter as much as we think? And if they don’t, what should we focus on instead?

‘Best printer 2024’: What’s ranking?

The content types of the top 10 results for “best printer 2024” are interesting. There are three UGC URLs in the top 10:

Then, the other type of result is publishers ranking with listicles. No ecommerce stores in the result, including big names like Amazon.

Why is this ranking on Google?

If you’re surprised that Google ranks a URL you think shouldn’t be on Page 1, it might be because your understanding of ranking is outdated.

Here are some reasons, or call them ranking signals if you’d like, that I believe are important today.

1. Authority

Google favors established brands. Whether we like it or not, well-known brands have a better chance of ranking higher in search results than lesser-known websites.

Here are things that are often associated with authoritative well-branded websites in SERPs:

• Brands people know because this means users are more likely to click and trust their URLs when they see them in SERPs. Better branding simply means better CTR.
• Naturally cited/linked to websites from other websites in relevant contexts. Yes, backlinks still matter.
• Websites with social media presence. 
• Websites that have been recognized as entities in SERPs and have their own knowledge panel.
• Secure websites with clear purpose and transparent editorial policies, shipping and return policies, good legal and privacy pages and information about their team and who wrote/reviewed the content. Remember that E-E-A-T importance varies depending on the niche, but applying best practices is always good.

Takeaway

Brand matters, and SEO is no longer a standalone marketing channel. As SEOs, we need to work with other marketing functions to find opportunities to build a strong brand in SERPs.

Dig deeper: Top 10 SEO benefits of building a brand that people trust

2. User behavior

Some in the SEO community resist focusing on user behavior because there aren’t clear tactics for improving it. 

It often feels easier to stick with familiar tactics, even if they no longer work, rather than explore new, uncertain approaches.

We now know that Google uses “user interaction” data in their rankings, as stated in this Google document from the antitrust trial: “This dialogue is the source of magic.”

We also know from the Google Data Warehouse API leaks that Google collects data about “goodClicks,” “badClicks,” “lastLongestClicks,” etc. 

The DOJ testimony also revealed NavBoost and Glue, which are core ranking signals related to user behavior in search results. 

We also know from the leaks that Google appears to use Chrome browser clickstream data in ranking. 

Takeaway

All these point to the same conclusion: user behavior matters. A lot. 

As SEOs, we should analyze user behavior on a page using tools like Hotjar and Lucky Orange. These tools help us understand how users interact with the page. 

These insights allow us to test ideas to improve user experience and boost rankings. Additionally, testing click-through rates (CTR) is also crucial for SEO.

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3. Machine learning

The best way to explain this is using a 2013 Facebook study.

“A study by Cambridge University in collaboration with Microsoft found that by using the Like data, which is available publicly by default, they could make accurate predictions about personal attributes – the most surprising being an apparent link between Liking “Curly Fries” and having a high IQ”

– “Liking curly fries on Facebook reveals your high IQ,” WIRED

How does that make any sense? It does not. This is a pattern that the machine identified. 

For some reason, people with higher IQs have liked photos of “curly fries” on Facebook, and a machine learning algorithm picked that pattern.

In search, machine learning has undoubtedly identified some patterns that may not make sense to us but do make sense from a machine standpoint. 

For example, if a page has blue buttons, users might like the page more. (This is just an example to explain the idea; it is not based on actual research.)

Takeaway

There’s little we can do in this “man against the machine” war, but it’s worth analyzing, looking at pages and trying to find patterns.

While I don’t see a lot of practical tips for us here as SEOs, I see an explanation for why some things rank.

4. User intent

User intent is arguably the most important ranking signal, at least when it comes to signals we can control. 

Recently, I’ve noticed that Reddit and blogs often appear in the SERPs. They rank for what we thought to be a purely commercial/transactional keyword.

Here’s an example of a New York Times article ranking in Position 5 for the keyword “school bags”:

Takeaway

Analyze search intent and make sure your pages cover different intents. 

If there are blogs in the SERPs you’re targeting, your content should include more information, even if it’s a product category page. 

You can create a supporting blog without the fear of cannibalization because that’s what users are looking for. 

If there is user-generated content (UGC) in the results, you may want to have reviews on your pages or enable comments for blogs, for example. There’s no one established way to go about this. 

My advice? Keep testing.

Dig deeper: How to optimize for search intent: 19 practical tips

5. Bugs and tests

Many factors come into play when something ranks on Google. Sometimes, it’s just a bug from their side, and they will fix it. 

For example, Google confirmed a search ranking bug on Aug. 16 that went unresolved until Aug. 20.

The Verge article ranked high at first, but its position dropped after less than two months.

This shows that a high ranking doesn’t always mean it’s permanent; Google is likely testing the URL and gathering user data.

Takeaway

We should not jump to conclusions when we see movement. We should be patient and monitor before reaching a verdict or a ranking theory.

Decoding Google’s unexpected search results

There’s more to SEO than meets the eye.

SEO today is much more than keywords and traditional tactics.  

We need to be open to more creative approaches.

Times in search have changed. We need to do the same.

Let’s embrace an era of “new SEO.”

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