ktama

M Posted 7 years 9 months ago

t 9 min read

Strive to position your site in one of the top three spots on the first page of Google and on average 35% of searchers will be clicking over to your site. Video SEO strategies place you front and center for your target audience. Google is now showing video thumbnails in 26% of search results according to BrightEdge Research. I want to share how adding high-quality videos to relevant pages on your site will engage your viewers and keep them on your site about 50% longer. Google search engine crawlers like that a lot.

Why are videos so popular?

Think about all the reasons you like videos. They’re interactive. You can click on a play button, an offer, or click for more information. Maybe you even replay it. Videos convey human emotion making it easy to connect with the content. Videos increase your click-through rate, which drives 157% increase in organic traffic from SERP (search engine results page). During my research, I found that the experts confirm these results. According to Smallbiztrends by 2019, global consumer Internet video traffic will account for 80% of all consumer Internet traffic. Furthermore, pages with videos are 53 times more likely to rank on Google’s first page. Unbounce tells us that using videos on landing pages can increase conversion by 80%.

Maximizing your efforts using video SEO

Adding a random video here or there won’t do the job. You’ll need to be thoughtful about whether the video is informative and engaging and whether it makes sense on the page. Don’t just link to it, embed it onto your site and make sure the video image is compelling. You should add good SEO text along with valuable content to your page. Don’t forget to share your videos on all your social media platforms. Try to evaluate your videos and content according to a cycle. Your video boosts your ranking. It drives more people to your site. Potential customers click your link. It satisfies their interest because of your awesome videos. They linger longer. Video SEO goes up.

Boost your Google video search rankings

If you have a website, you have a story to tell, so use your video to educate your viewers. What is your product about? What’s the history behind it? What made it so valuable to you that you wanted to offer it to the public? If you’re offering a service, describe it to them. Show them how it works and what they have to gain from it. Add some testimonials to validate your content. Think about the questions that your customers ask most often about your product or service and answer them in your video. If you’re offering a product, making videos is even easier. Think of your website as a how-to book that someone might check out of a library. We’ve become a nation of DIY-ers. Describe your product, and then show your viewers how it works. I like to show the before and after results.

By giving your customers information, you’re empowering them to make a great decision—and that is to invest in your product or service. As you educate your customers, you gain credibility as they deem you an expert in your industry. Posting a how-to video is also a great way to get your video listed in the “suggested clips” results. Show them who you are and what you’re all about. Shoot some video of your office behind the scenes so your audience knows what goes into what you’re offering. Add some music, a touch of humor, or something unexpected. Think about how quickly the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge or the Police Department Lip Sync Challenges went viral. Why? Because they’re fun.

Google likes YouTube videos and privately hosted videos

When deciding your video strategy, you need to think about where the content will live. In recent years, Google only promoted YouTube videos with thumbnails on the SERPs, but recently they are increasing the exposure of domain-hosted videos also. Don’t forget to optimize all the backend information like title, description, tags, number of subscribers after watching, comments, likes, and dislikes. This is an important step because it tells Google how to categorize and prioritize your video.

Making videos takes a lot of effort, so I recommend creating a version for YouTube and one for your site. Consider the YouTube version more of an upper funnel piece designed to get people to your web site and videos on your site mid-funnel designed to get people farther in and to transact there.

Tips for Creating Engaging Video Content:

Be careful not to make your videos too long. You’ll keep your audience’s attention for 1-2 minutes, but not longer than 4 minutes. About half of your visitors will be watching your clip on a mobile device which is another good reason to keep your videos short and visible in that size window. A video on your home page can be effective; people often use corporate or product explainer videos there.

Depending on the content, consider whether to place it on a more relevant page or depth in the site path or journey. Surround your video with relevant content to tie it all together. Include a transcript of your video below the video window and load it with SEO-friendly keywords. Turn your visual graphics into a downloadable infographics or assets to capture even more attention. Remember that search engines like videos because searchers like videos. Leave out the fluff and keep them meaningful. Keep them short and mobile-friendly and let your brand shine through.

enewton@brightedge.com

M Posted 7 years 9 months ago

t 9 min read

Over the last 2 years, BrightEdge covered Amazon organic optimization as part of its vertical search optimization (VSO) series; since then Amazon Advertising has also emerged as the third-largest advertising platform. Here is more information on what that means for your brand strategy.

An estimated 70% of Americans with a minimum of $150,000 or more in income and shop online also have an Amazon Prime membership. The ecommerce giant shipped more than 5 billion items in 2017 through their Prime program around the world. In 2017 they also posted an incredible net sale revenue of $177.97 billion, a 31% growth over 2016.

This impressive growth has been driven by the 310 million active customers that use the Amazon platform, and the more than 353 million products currently listed on the site, including their marketplace sellers. Not only does the platform offer an incredible number of products and customers, but advantages such as the two-day shipping on many products for Prime customers and the trust that it has built with consumers has fueled its incredible growth.

Now it has a new statistic to add to its repertoire. Not only has it come to dominate almost half of the US ecommerce market, but its role as an advertiser has also begun to attract attention. According to eMarketer, the Amazon ad platform will now be the third largest, behind only the powerhouses of Facebook and Google. This means that it will overtake Verizon’s Oath and Microsoft by the end of this year.

As a marketer, here is what this new designation means for you and how you can take advantage of this opportunity in your own marketing strategy.

Amazon Advertising ad growth

Advertisers in the US will spend an estimated $4.61 billion on the Amazon Advertising platform this year, which will come to an estimated 4.1% of all the digital spend in the country. Of course, this does comprise a relatively small percentage of the more than $230 billion in revenue the site will likely post this year, but it does represent an intriguing level of growth. This growth clearly indicates that how brands and customers perceive the Amazon Advertising platform has continue to mature.

This expansion will also continue rapidly over the next few years, as eMarketer projects that the Amazon Advertising platform will continue to grow by more than 50% per year through about 2020.

Why brands have taken such an interest in Amazon Advertising

The large number of users and subscribers have led to a solid audience for those in the ecommerce and retail sectors. Nearly half of all product searchers--49 percent--will start on directly on Amazon when they begin to look for a new product to purchase. This is significantly higher than the 36% that will start on the search engines or the 15 percent that start on brand websites. Brands, therefore, understand that Amazon will offer them a strong, consistent platform for finding potential customers.

This evolution remains strongly indicative of the popularity of vertical search. Vertical search allows users to find more precisely what they seek. Rather than using the horizontal search of the average search engine, people have begun turning to platforms, such as Amazon Advertising for ecommerce, Kayak for flights or hotels, or Yelp for finding local businesses.

Additionally, 40% of shoppers report never scrolling past the first page on their Amazon results. To gain the attention of these customers, therefore, an ad provides brands the opportunity to get in front of their prospective customers and ensure that they have visibility.

Amazon’s growth and stability also provides brand with a high level of trust, they feel confident that their listings and ads will be seen and that customers will continue to return.

How to succeed with Amazon Advertising

Success with Amazon Advertising requires consideration for the entire brand presence on the platform. The ads can be a good way to drive customers to the listing, but with the high number of products and choices for customers, competition is fierce. You not only want people to click on the listing, you want them to make a purchase. Succeeding with Amazon Advertising, therefore, requires careful thought regarding your listings and other organic Amazon efforts.

The content on the listing should be optimized for the users. This includes listing all the possible relevant information such as the:

• Product titles
• Detailed, well-written descriptions
• Answers to questions that have been asked
• Bullets describing key features and important information
• Number of reviews
• Average rating score
• Number of images
• Characters and keywords in title

Not only does this information help the customer, it also helps Amazon with indexing. When people type queries into the search functions, the Amazon algorithm will match people with the products that fit the need most closely. For example, if someone specifies a color or size of a product, then they will focus on the products that match those specifications. If you do not list the color or size of your product, then your listing will likely be overlooked.

Therefore, as you continue to build your listing content, you also want to pay attention to the vocabulary that your prospective customers use. Align the content on the page with the search terms people likely use, which will help increase the number of queries your ad and listing can appear for.

To really engage people after they have clicked on your ad, you also need to pay attention to your branding and pricing. Research to see what other competitors offer on the same or similar products, such as pricing and shipping cost information.

You also want to brand and message your page. Make it clear when someone clicks on your page what differentiates you from your competitors. The messaging should accentuate your value and what sets you apart from the crowd. It should be clear that buying your product means doing business with your authentic organization, not just a third-party seller, and that you place a heavy value on the experience of your customers.

According to eMarketer, the Amazon Advertising platform has taken its place as the third largest advertising platform. Although the gulf between Amazon and Google and Facebook remains large, this position represents the power and growing influence of the ecommerce giant on consumers.

Brands know that customers trust and appreciate Amazon, and thus they have been investing in advertising budget here with increasing regularity. As brands decide to move forward, they should pay close attention to whether or not the Amazon Advertising platform will also benefit their own strategy and how to build an ad campaign.

enewton@brightedge.com

M Posted 7 years 9 months ago

t 9 min read

Although standard search engines report billions of searches globally every day, we have also been watching the rise of vertical search. These types of searches deliver a more precise experience, helping users zero in on what interests them specifically.

Users employ vertical searches when they use platforms such as TripAdvisor, Zillow, Consumer Reports, Amazon, Reddit, SlideShare, and any other of the number of different platforms that cater to a specific need or asset type. In the standard form of search--the horizontal format--users would see results from a search that explored their topic from several different angles. The goal of a vertical search is to find a specific type of information.

These searches provide users with a better, more intent-driven user experience. It becomes easier for them to find what they seek. Google has taken notice of these trends, particularly as it ties into their theme of micro-moments.

Say, for example, you want to purchase a pair of snow boots. A horizontal search might include information about finding the right pair of snow boots, ads for boots, or information about the different types. A vertical search understands that most people searching for "snow boots" will want to purchase them. In its efforts to cater to vertical search, Google lays out the current SERP for this query to include ads at the top, listings consisting of sites to buy boots, and the local search results for places to go and buy the boots at a brick-and-mortar location.

We have seen evidence of Google’s investment in creating a vertical search on the SERP from a few different directions.

The rise of the vertical search on Google and new ad formats

Google’s attention to user intent has led to a rise in the use of universal elements to create vertical SERP layouts. The SERPs people see, including the number of ads and their formats, the number of images, videos, news items, Quick Answers, and text results all depend upon what Google perceives as their user intent.

Google’s algorithm analyzes what the user most likely will want to see. It can then arrange the search results according to the likely intent, placing a greater emphasis on the specific types of content most likely to help the user rather than returning a broad list of content types.

Over the past nine months, we at BrightEdge have also detected a large increase in the number of videos that appear on the SERP--they appear 47% more often than 1 year prior. This increase leads to more individualized SERPs tailored more precisely to the needs of the user.

Google has also supported vertical search marketing through the release of two new ad formats. These new ad formats will allow brands to create ads that fit more precisely into these user needs and create vertical searches that will help customers find what they seek faster.

Google's new ad formats and their role in vertical search

Google has now released two new ad formats that will further help to differentiate their vertical searches.

New ad formats to showcase video ads

Google rolled out their showcase ads last year in a multi-image shopping ad format. When users on the SERP clicked on the ad, they were brought to a Google-hosted landing page that included promotions, descriptions, and a few of the products that the advertiser included on their product feed. Google displays these ads in response to broad queries.

rands do not have to pay unless a user clicks through from the expanded Google landing page to the business' website or spends more than 10 seconds looking at the expanded ad page.

Google announced that these ads have been successful. The search engine claims that they drive 3.6 times higher CTR than other types of ads and receive 20% more conversion credit in a first-click attribution model. The design of the ads targets top-of-the-funnel prospects. Consider some of the broad product queries that people might make, such as “boots” or “backpacks.” Through the showcase ads, brands can upload multiple images that fit into a particular query. When the prospect clicks on one of the images, they will then be able to see the other applicable images that the brand offers, guiding them along the decision-making process.

Now, Google has released new ad formats, allowing videos in showcase ads. These will follow a similar format but allow videos to be displayed in the featured image position. When a user clicks on one of these ads, they will similarly be brought to a Google-hosted landing page. On this page, the user will be able to view a few products from the advertiser.

New ad formats for image ads

The image ads will be a pilot program that Google has just announced. The search engine reports that 1/3 of holiday shoppers generally look at images of products before shopping in a store. These ads will allow brands to target these shoppers by creating promotions that specifically target people looking for particular types of images on publisher sites.

For example, people visiting a popular fashion blog, such as This Time Tomorrow, will be able to see ads that promote visually similar products. Over the next year, Google plans to continue to roll out new ways to use the new image searches, including new ad formats that will be displayed directly within Google Image Search.

The new ad formats will appear largely on the screen and products will include labels with the prices as well as tags that announce their status as a ‘sponsored’ image. When the user clicks on the tag icon on this image, they will be able to see several product ads.

How brands should take advantage of these new ad formats

The ability to use video in your ads will allow you to capitalize on the popularity of this content format online. According to Google, nearly 66% of shoppers say that online video helps them come up with ideas for their next purchases. Ninety percent of online users also say that videos on YouTube have given them ideas for new products and services that they might find interesting.

People appreciate the videos because of the visual components and the ability to provide a more personalized appearance-- you feel as though someone is speaking to you.

The new ad formats are designed to help brands take advantage of the lifestyle trends on shopping habits. Today’s buyers tend to be strongly persuaded by online influencers and similar personalities. By creating ads that fit well with some of these blogs and other publishers, everyone can work together to create a seamless experience for the prospective customer.

People today have begun to turn increasingly towards vertical searches as the ability for channels to serve up increasingly personalized results continues to improve. Google continues to look for ways to serve their users interested in these precise results. Their introduction of these two new ad formats will help to create an improved shopping vertical for those interested in finding new products to purchase, just in time for the holiday season.

Likewise, using a comprehensive SEO platform will keep you on top of the changes and evolutions in organic search.

stefaniesisto

M Posted 7 years 9 months ago

t 9 min read

Get ready! We are only two weeks away from the return of the Share San Francisco on October 9-10 at the beautiful Westin St. Francis in the heart of the city. BrightEdge is delighted to host some of the industry’s most iconic brands and thought leaders on the final stop of this year’s Global Insights Tour. Following on from the success of Share New York and Share London, search and content marketers are all set to convene to share insights to help elevate SEO performance.

Search, Content, and the Customer Experience

The search landscape is constantly evolving, and staying on top of all the changes is vital for marketers who seek a competitive edge. This year’s theme is Search, Content, and the Customer Experience. The BrightEdge team has been hard at work shaping an agenda that explores the importance of understanding customer intent, utilizing AI insights, and harnessing the potential of machine learning automation. At BrightEdge, our mission is to inspire and deliver the best performance for our customers by becoming an integral part of the digital experience. The Share Global Insights Tour focuses on just that by giving you actionable insights that help power your personal and professional performance. The Share San Francisco agenda features speakers from Google, Microsoft, Cisco, NBC, BlackRock, Amway, Kenneth Cole, and Move.com.

What You Will Learn

Inspirational Keynotes

Powering the Customer Experience Through Search In his keynote, BrightEdge CEO Jim Yu will discuss the unprecedented opportunity for marketers in an AI-first world to connect data and deep learning with content and campaigns to power the customer experience. Sport is a Business, Business is a Sport Olympian Derek Redmond will discuss his journey after a serious mid-race injury. Lauded as NBC’s third top-Olympic-moment ever and mentioned in a public speech by Barack Obama, Derek Redmond is a top motivational speaker whose content is certain to inspire you.

Innovative Industry Panels

Elevating the Role of SEO to the C-Suite You will walk out of this session with specific examples and practical, how-to advice for communicating the value of search to the C-suite. The Search Frontier In this star-studded panel of industry panelists, experts will cut through the hype surrounding future trends and explore AI, Content Performance, and Paid Search and provide real, practical advice on how attendees can continue becoming high-performing marketers ready for emerging opportunities.

Imaginative Breakout Tracks

Technical SEO for and by Technical SEOs Stay ahead of the constantly changing search landscape with the BrightEdge platform. In this session, speakers will go deep into how to apply the latest innovations to the current challenges facing advanced SEO. Building the Roadmap for SEO Success In this session, speakers will walk attendees through a tried-and-true Marketing Performance Framework methodology. Marketers will learn how to conduct the initial site assessment, identify technical and content gaps, and structure reporting. Elevating the Role of SEO You will come away from this session with actionable strategies to gain buy-in and investment on the critical role that SEO plays across the entire marketing technology stack. Small Teams, Big Impact Hear success stories about how search data can be used to increase discoverability and improve the performance of other digital marketing channels. This session will demonstrate how to replicate these successes.

BrightEdge Training and Certification at Share SF!

In addition to the main content lineup, attendees can join the half-day BrightEdge Training Program on Tuesday, October 9. The schedule includes a welcome lunch, platform training, and a cocktail reception afterwards. BrightEdge training and certification will show you how to utilize the power of the BrightEdge platform to uncover new opportunities, optimize content, and measure the results. This year we are offering two courses: Introductory and Intermediate . This is an excellent opportunity for BrightEdge customers to build new skill sets that help elevate success in their organization. Book your seat here!

Don’t miss the BrightEdge “Edgie” Awards

The finale of Share San Francisco will include our ever-inspiring Edgie Awards. Marketers from top-tier companies across industries have already delivered remarkable achievements in 2018, and these awards will recognize their results and business acumen. Past award winners include IBM and L’Oréal. Attendees will have the opportunity to network with all nominees, finalists, and winners during an exclusive networking and cocktail session.

Seats are Going Fast!

As we enter the final countdown to Share San Francisco we would encourage you (if you have not already) to register now as capacity is limited. We look forward to seeing you at Share!