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.
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 | Oct 9, 2015 at 10:02 am ETColumnist Nathan Safran takes a look at where Google is heading -- and what challenges it faces -- in the age of mobile.
Nathan Safran | Aug 14, 2015 at 10:00 am ETColumnist 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.
Nathan Safran | May 22, 2015 at 9:29 am ETIt'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.
Nathan Safran | Apr 27, 2015 at 11:10 am ETGoogle 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 […]
Nathan Safran | Jul 24, 2014 at 10:30 am ETWhen 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 […]
Nathan Safran | Jun 26, 2014 at 10:10 am ETThe 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 […]
Nathan Safran | May 29, 2014 at 9:25 am ETIf 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 […]
Nathan Safran | May 1, 2014 at 9:00 am ETA 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 […]
Nathan Safran | Apr 3, 2014 at 10:15 am ETA 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, […]
Nathan Safran | Mar 6, 2014 at 9:20 am ETThe 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 […]
Nathan Safran | Feb 6, 2014 at 9:07 am ETThe 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 […]
Nathan Safran | Jan 9, 2014 at 9:00 am ETIt’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 […]
Nathan Safran | Dec 12, 2013 at 10:00 am ETI’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 […]
Nathan Safran | Nov 14, 2013 at 9:00 am ETIn 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 […]
Nathan Safran | Oct 17, 2013 at 9:00 am ETIf 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 […]
Nathan Safran | Sep 19, 2013 at 9:00 am ETWhen 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 […]
Nathan Safran | Aug 22, 2013 at 9:05 am ETOccasionally, 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 […]
Nathan Safran | Jul 25, 2013 at 9:26 am ETThe 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 […]
Nathan Safran | Jun 27, 2013 at 9:30 am ETAny 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 […]
Nathan Safran | May 30, 2013 at 9:23 am ET