Study: Rich Media In Search Drives Increased Click-Through
Is ranking in the number one position a guaranteed way to earn the lion's share of clicks from search? Columnist Nathan Safran's research suggests rich snippets may factor in, too.
Nathan Safran is the CEO and founder of Blue Nile Research, a market research/thought leadership firm. Nathan helps firms of all sizes create industry leading research studies and thought leadership.
The Shifts In Consumer Behavior Driving Google’s Maturation
Columnist Nathan Safran takes a look at where Google is heading -- and what challenges it faces -- in the age of mobile.
Research Reveals The Distinct Ways Users Search
Columnist Nathan Safran shares data and insights from a recent study conducted by Blue Nile Research that may change the way you think about keyword research.
To Grow Your Career, See The Whole Customer Experience
It's important for SEO professionals to be well-versed in search, but columnist Nathan Safran reminds us that true leaders understand the bigger picture as well.
It’s Time For Marketers To Attend To The Branding Benefits Of Search
Google recently released a study that concluded, “Search Ads Lift Brand Awareness.” The study tested brand recall for searchers who had seen the target brand in paid search ads against a control group who had not been exposed to the brand. The study concluded that brand-exposed searchers had a 6.6% increase (80% lift) over the […]
Competitive Analysis: The Most Valuable SEO Tactic You Ignore [Data]
When it comes to getting ahead in search, experts agree that competitive analysis is critical. International search engine optimization (SEO) consultant Aleyda Solis observes: One of the most important activities for any SEO process is the initial competitive analysis. In a nod to how important she thinks it is, she created a sophisticated workflow to […]
4 Intangible Benefits Of Content You Shouldn’t Overlook
The benefits of the ever-increasing intersection of digital marketing and technology are clear: we can measure the impact of our online efforts like never before. But, along with tracking valuable content metrics like traffic, downloads and bounce rate, we should remember that content has intangible benefits that should be part of any ROI discussion. The […]
Why It’s Good To Compete With Google
If you talk to a room full of veteran digital marketers, a topic that eventually comes up is competition — specifically, the fact that our competition in search is often not immediately obvious. You can miss out on understanding your online competition for a few different reasons. For example, marketers sometimes erroneously assume that brick-and-mortar […]
4 Revealing Facts About How Consumers Search And Buy Online
A recently released study by retail engagement firm Parago examined how consumers research and buy across several product categories. The research is chock full of insight about how people buy, with broad implications for digital marketers. I want to focus on one aspect of the research: insight into consumer behavior when the buyer is in […]
If Online Ad Targeting Works, Does More Targeting Work Better?
A former colleague at Forrester Research recently published a study that described his view of the future of online marketing. The study is available to Forrester clients only, but the crux of the argument is laid out in a blog post: Why Google – Not Facebook – Will Build The Database Of Affinity. The author, […]
Authority Is The New Links: Reading Between The Lines Of Matt Cutts’ Guest Post Critique
The SEO industry has been all aflutter over the last few weeks, ever since Matt Cutts stated that guest blogging is dead. In The decay and fall of guest blogging for SEO — a headline that is a particularly strong statement from Google’s Head of Webspam — Cutts essentially said that if you are link building by […]
The Bing Dilemma: What To Do With The Little Search Engine That Can’t
The challenge that Microsoft faces in the online search landscape could be a business school case study: how to capture market share from a competitor whose very brand (“Google”) has become synonymous with the act of searching online. Imagine that you are the person at Microsoft responsible for Bing’s success and are tasked with moving […]
4 Recent Changes To SEO That Are Vital To Holiday Retail Strategy
It’s the holiday season again, and while certain sectors may be winding down for a relaxing month of festivities, online sellers are revving up their retail strategy. It’s a crucial, make-or-break time of year for retailers to excel in customer service, gift-wrapping services, and, of course, search. A lot has happened in digital marketing in […]
3 Ways Competitive Analysis Can Help You Boost Rankings & Get Great Content Ideas
I’ve noticed that many digital marketers tend to keep their heads down, laser-focused on their own site’s position in the SERPs. Some do so more by necessity than by choice, because budgets and headcount are limited, and there is more than enough to do in moving their own websites up the search rankings. Others do […]
Google Seeks Searcher Satisfaction: How Marketers Can Keep Up
In late September, Google announced it had been gradually rolling out Hummingbird, a completely new search algorithm. The algorithm emphasizes semantic search and focuses on understanding the meaning behind the user query rather than simply trying to match instances of words in its Web index. Take a look at Danny Sullivan’s great FAQ for more […]
The End Of One-Size-Fits-All SEO Reporting
If your organization is like most, the process of establishing KPIs to track natural search probably looks something like this: “Put together high-level KPIs such as X and Y, and run it by a few key stakeholders.” At first glance, that process likely seems to have worked pretty well — after all, few stakeholders make […]
Online Marketers: Make Sure You Surface The Right Content To Your Audience
When it comes to online marketing, the conventional wisdom has been that the overarching goal is to have content — any content, so long as it links back to my website — appear in front of the user. Put another way, the thinking for many has long been that the singularly-focused goal is to appear […]
“Big Data” Is Not “Big Data” Unless It Gives You Actionable Insight
Occasionally, marketers want something because the media attention around it demands it. There was a time, not too long ago, when CMOs sent urgent, late-night emails to their teams asking about their “link-shortening strategy.” In some ways, “big data” technology falls into that category. Mainstream tech media and even traditional media outlets write about it […]
Content Creation & Organizational Empowerment Key To Search Success
The SEO industry has undergone significant changes in the last 12+ months. Search has gained greater legitimacy as a marketing channel as budget holders increase head count and invest in advanced technology. And, the SERPs themselves have undergone changes that have had many implications, including adjustments to the underlying algorithms that surface content. Here at […]
How to Counter Your Ignorant Boss’ Misconceptions About SEO
Any in-house SEO professional (or consultant) who has been in the industry for even a short time has likely had to dispel misconceptions and inaccuracies about SEO to a senior manager, budget holder or client. These misconceptions can often be so embedded that they result in an underfunded, under-resourced and under “mind-shared” SEO program. To […]