People are searching with their mobile devices more now than ever before, so having a good user experience is essential. However, with increased mobile usage (and growing mobile e-commerce) comes an increased expectation for speed and agility, as data has shown that 40% of people will abandon a site after just three seconds if the page they are looking at doesn’t load quickly enough. While a slow load speed is bad enough for the user, it is also bad for the content creator, as it means their content isn’t actually being seen. Google AMP can help. There has been a lot of talk recently about Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) and what it means for search and content marketing. Google first announced AMP back in October 2015, saying that AMP content loaded around four times faster, using ten times less data than non-AMP content. So, what is Google AMP and how will it affect content?

High-speed content

AMP is an accessible framework that creates fast-loading mobile webpages. AMP is designed to easily improve the speed of content displayed on mobile and subsequently enhance user experience. Currently, Google, Twitter, and some other companies have rolled out AMP, and it comes not long after Facebook launched Instant Articles and Apple launched its News service. It basically works by using a new version of HTML, a streamlined version of CSS, and a JavaScript framework for mobile pages – thereby ensuring fast loading times and smooth readability.

AMP HTML

A new stripped-down version of HTML, AMP HTML has a new set of properties and limits existing styles and tags. If you are familiar with HTML, then you will have no problem understanding and adapting your pages to AMP HTML. It’s a good idea to have a look at all the required markup your AMP content will need.

AMP .JS

Third party JavaScript is out when it comes to AMP, but it does offer a JavaScript framework specifically for mobile pages. AMP .JS makes the loading of external resources asynchronous, stopping any external scripts from blocking page rendering.

AMP CDN

This optional content delivery network will cache your AMP-enabled pages and optimize them where necessary, making them instantaneously accessible on a mobile phone. Images only load as they scroll into view and will use the amp-img element, and Google will cache and host your content so it no longer needs to be fetched from your server. Currently, only available to publishers, Google AMP will be available for all content marketers before long, so it’s best to get up to speed on how you can prepare your site and your content for the change.

Examples

Examples of AMP pages live in Google’s search results can be seen when searching for any topical search query on a mobile that is likely to return results from publishers. One such example is a search for ‘Sharapova’, after the tennis star was recently embroiled in a doping scandal. The grey lightning symbol indicates an AMP result, and clicking on one of these instantly opens up the result within the browser. The blue bar at the top then gives the user the opportunity to swipe between related articles, all structured around the AMP framework.    

How to use Google AMP for your website

The first thing you need to do is build alternative AMP pages for your site that adhere to all the new specifications. There are quite a few different elements that AMP does not allow, including lead forms and on-page comments, so you may need to completely re-write your site template to accommodate these new restrictions.

Code Implementation

The BBC has been quick to adopt Google AMP across all their news content and are a great example to follow if we want to learn how a page should be structured. The content in the above example is available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35751916 as well as http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/35751916 - one for desktop search and one for AMP search. The important element is the <link> tag in the source code of each page that indicates to Google about its respective equivalent. On http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35751916, we find: And on http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/35751916, we see: This allows Google to serve the correct URL dependent upon the query and device, without seeing the two as duplicate content.

And further down, we find this: This is the JavaScript code that makes everything work – loading all custom AMP elements and managing resource loading and prioritization (such as image lazy-loading). In terms of structure, this tag must be the last element before the closing </head> tag.

Schema

In order to get your content to appear for relevant keyword queries, you must include the correct schema markup. This gives further information to search engines about the content and helps them display it correctly in AMP search. On the BBC article, the following schema is applied using the JSON-LD implementation method: There’s a lot of information being presented here, but it all has a purpose. For more information about schema and its implementation, read the official documentation: http://schema.org/. In terms of multimedia, there is a whole separate range of AMP tags that can be employed, including amp-video, amp-carousel and amp-image-lightbox. Extended components can also be used for GIFs (amp-anim) and YouTube (amp-youtube). The main social media networks also have their own extended components.

Plugins

Luckily for WordPress users, there is already an official Google AMP plugin. All you need to do is download it and voilà: all your future posts will be AMPlified. It’s important to remember though that the plugin does not support ‘pages’ or any archived posts. Here are Google’s guidelines to getting your AMP pages to properly display in Google Search:

• Design: Create webpages in line with the AMP HTML specifications.
• Discovery: Make your AMP pages discoverable by linking to them from other indexed pages and listing them in your sitemap.
• Validation: Check your AMP pages are valid so that they work properly for both Google and the user.
• Structured Data: Your content will be presented more prominently if you have the correct structured data markup.
• Status: Check the AMP status report to find a list of successfully indexed Google AMP pages on your website and any errors that may have been found.

Benefits of Google AMP

There are several different benefits to using AMP on your website:

• User experience
• Speed
• Increased engagement
• Publisher control

1. User Experience. Speed is a crucial element of user experience when it comes to browsing the web on a mobile device. People can quickly lose interest if a page doesn’t load fast enough and studies have shown that pages that are just one second faster experience a 27% increase in conversion rate.

2. Speed. The speed in which a page loads could also have an effect in terms of SEO. Page speed is one of the many ranking factors Google uses, so if your page loads too slowly, there is a chance it will have a decreased level of visibility.

3. Increased Engagement. Faster web pages mean higher levels of readership and, therefore, better engagement. Users can quickly search for a blog topic, click on an AMP search result and instantly see a responsive piece of content that is easy to read and share.

4. Publisher Control. AMP gives publishers more autonomy over their content, increases the reach of content produced, and makes content distribution easier. It also allows for effective advertising across the mobile web by supporting a range of ad formats, networks and technologies.

Does Google AMP Affect Rankings?

In short, no. John Mueller at Google said only recently that AMP is not a ranking signal – yet: “At the moment, it is not a ranking signal. It is obviously one way to make mobile-friendly pages, so that might be an option where you do that. I’ve already seen some websites where they’ve moved the whole website to the AMP format. Obviously, that is mobile-friendly setup, so it kind of picks up the mobile- friendly thing. But just AMP itself is not something that we have a ranking signal at the moment.” Considering the amount of investment that Google is putting into AMP, it would not be a surprise to see this happen in the future, and the words “at the moment” definitely suggest this may be the case. Google is obviously promoting AMP articles within its search interface due to the prominence of the news carousel. The majority of content available in this section of the search results is now AMP, so despite it not being a direct ranking signal, you can achieve greater SERP prominence by adopting the new framework. In the future, AMP could become part of the existing mobile-friendliness algorithm, or it could simply become a ranking factor in its own right.

Conclusion

With mobile search levels continually on the rise, the introduction of Google AMP will give publishers and content creators a flexible platform on which to promote their articles. AMP officially launched at the end of February and is currently being displayed at the top of Google’s search results in a carousel of top stories, but it could move into other areas too. Dave Besbris, Vice President of Engineering at Google, said at SMX West that “everywhere we use content, we want to embrace AMP.” At the moment, only news and editorial content will appear as Google AMP results in the carousel, but the type of content displayed could vary from query to query (and day to day). For brands that want to increase their organic visibility and stay at the front of the ever-changing competitor landscape, AMP is a no-brainer. There is no point in creating amazing content if it takes five times longer than your competitors’ content to load on mobile. Pages that load faster will provide a better user experience and may also have a positive effect on SEO down the line, so Google AMP is definitely something to keep an eye on. Anna Francis is a Content Manager at the BrightEdge agency partner Search Laboratory, based in Leeds, UK.  

YouTube marketing is a great strategy. YouTube is a solid resource for reaching broad audiences and introducing the brand. The platform has an estimated one billion users from around the world. A well-maintained video channel can help brands promote their story and increase their reputation as thought leaders and innovators in the industry. You can see the BrightEdge YouTube channel. For many brands, however, the chief frustration with YouTube comes from taking the engagement that occurs on the platform and translating it directly into measurable results. Countless people browse YouTube videos, stop to watch particular ones that they find interesting and then click away to look at other, related videos. The brand is left wondering the about the amount of influence that video had on the person and their interest in the company. On top of that, video is probably the most demanding content to produce. With a little bit of technical prowess, companies can actually create a clickable overlay for their YouTube videos that will provide easy access for interested visitors to visit the brand website and learn more about the company. Best of all, this process is completely free.

The value of YouTube marketing and free video overlay

When thinking about YouTube advertising or marketing, this system of creating the overlay through Google Adwords now gives you even more insight into your viewers’ behavior while they are on YouTube. Since video watches will be tracked as a part of the campaign, you can see valuable information such as how many people are watching the video all the way through and how many impressions your ad had. This insight will help you understand how well your YouTube marketing strategy is and how your videos are reaching your intended audience on the platform. You will be able to better target your optimization efforts as well as gauge the scripts and actors for your videos to see how well they engage the audience. By creating a clickable overlay for your videos, you will also have the opportunity to further interact with your audience and learn more about them after they finish the video. With the ability to track traffic coming from your videos, you will have a much better picture of which videos are not only engaging customers, but motivating them to learn more about the brand. There is a difference between a video that people find entertaining but then results in little future engagement with the company and one that inspires people to investigate the organization to see if this is the business that can solve their problem. When you bring YouTube viewers to your website, you will be able to track their movements and invite them to convert into leads. This will empower you to collect data about what your video audience is most interested in learning and see how well you are addressing their needs. You can compare the performance of different videos and monitor the behavior of users who arrive from the various links. This will all offer you greater insight into how to improve your YouTube channel and make yourself more relevant to your intended audience.

Video Overlay Directions

Creating a free overlay for your YouTube videos requires a Google Adwords account in addition to your YouTube account. Here is what you will need to do:

Make sure your Google Adwords account is linked to your YouTube account. This is an important step for YouTube marketing. You can do this by logging into your Adwords and looking under the Shared Library section. There will be a Linked YouTube Accounts button you can click.

Create a New Video Campaign through your YouTube account. At the bottom of your YouTube page, there is a link that says, ‘Advertise’. Begin a new campaign to get started.

You will need to mock-set up the ad campaign. Since this is not going to be run like a traditional campaign, it does not really matter what settings you select. Set the bid to the lowest amount.

Link this new video campaign to the YouTube video that you want to use to display the banner. You will need the URL from this video. After you make your pretend bid, click through until you see the button for a new video ad. Click on this, and where it says ‘select a video’, you can put in the URL.

On the next page, you want to select ‘Let me choose’. This will enable you to select YouTube Videos and In-display. Everything else on this page is not needed. You can fill in the rest of the ad attributes with anything you desire. Once this step is completed, save your progress so far.

Pause this campaign by going to the campaign dashboard.

Finally, add your overlay by going to the Videos tab. This will allow you to select ‘add call-to-action overlay’. Here is where you design the ad that you actually want to have appear on your video, so pay attention to your text.

Monitor your campaign to see how well your overlay and your videos are performing.

And as always, you should do proper video on-page efforts: keywords in the title, metatags, and a detailed description to help the video appear in YouTube and search engine SERPs. You can also add a link to your site in the description, but it is a NoFollow. This process of creating a YouTube video overlay is a fantastic way for brands to not only better monitor how their videos are performing and the engagement levels of their audience, but to also see how well those videos are translating into interested customers. By following these simple steps, you can empower your ad campaign and gain the insight you need to reach your YouTube marketing goals.

When people arrive on your site, they will be forming their first impression within 50 milliseconds, which is why image SEO is so important. They will then be deciding whether or not to stay on the site within 8 seconds or less. This amount of time makes it hard to pull in new visitors with text or great offers alone. Research has shown that an estimated 94 percent of first impressions are based upon the design of the website. Customers are drawn or repelled by your web page based upon impression and appearance. 

The importance of image SEO as a part of SEO marketing strategy and other visual content in website success has become even more apparent in recent years. Brands that already use custom visual content see conversion rates that are about 7 times higher than other sites. This makes sense when one considers that for most people, 83 percent of their learning is visual.

By using visual content, brands are able to communicate more effectively with their visitors while also creating a more appealing site that encourages engagement. Visual content will be increasing in the coming years. Those interested in getting onboard with the image seo trend should focus on understanding why images are so important and how they can be included in a successful online strategy.

The Role of Images and Image SEO

The popularity of videos and images is increasing rapidly. By 2019 some analysts predict that videos will comprise 80 percent of all Internet traffic. Customers will be engaging with videos for a number of different purposes. Videos will become an integral part of communicating with customers and inviting them to learn more about the brand. Branded videos can be used to engage and provide value for viewers, urging them closer towards conversion.

Images and videos will become an important part of the storytelling process. They are a means of communicating quickly and efficiently with customers. The average attention span in 2015 was only a little over 8 seconds, and visual content allows brands to distribute valuable information in a format that can be understood within this timeframe. According the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the human brain can process images in as little as 13 milliseconds.

Images, infographics, gifs and similar images are particularly valuable for letting visitors know the basics of what the content is discussing. People who do not want to read an entire article but are still interested in the material can glance at these images and absorb some of the value of the content without losing time. This helps brands engage with visitors who might have otherwise passed by them.

Videos and images can be used throughout a marketing campaign. The incredible popularity of video platforms, including YouTube-- which is the second-most-popular search engine, behind only Google-- means that branded videos can be used to attract video users on social platforms. They can also be used to boost social media campaigns, improve content on the website and they have a home in email campaigns. If your products or services are particularly complex visuals can be used to show a demonstration of how these products are used.

Videos can also be used to introduce the visitor to past customers, members of the company or how the products are created. This type of personal interaction invites the visitor into the company and establishes the personal connection between the brand and the customer. This helps to boost the relationship and draw the customer closer to conversion. Videos can take a lot of effort to produce, so make the most of them by making the video thumbnails appealing and engaging on your site. Here are some recent BrightEdge video testimonials that generate a lot of engagement. Clear and well-lit face images have been shown to perform well for engagement and conversion.

The Use of Images

In response to the increasingly important role of images, companies and their budgets have been responding accordingly. From 2014-2015 the average budget for visual content grew by 3 to 5 percent and it is expected to increase by a similar amount by 2016.

Businesses who have begun to use this type of content have found that certain types of content are more successful than others at engaging customers. For example, professional and commissioned photography, as well as original graphic designs, have been the most effective for many brands. Using custom photography ensures that the images posted are unique to the brand and completely fit with what the content is trying to communicate. Stock photography, on the other hand, comprises of generic images that customers might even be seeing other sites. This removes the personal element and does not tell the customer as much about the company and why they are unique.

Despite the inroads that have been made in the successful usage of images, many businesses are still struggling. The biggest challenge cited by brands has been the lack of time and staff resources to make it happen. More than half, 65.4 percent, say that this is their largest obstacle.

Our own research at BrightEdge has also found that companies are not capitalizing on image seo as much as they could. We measured click-through rates of classic text-based content against visual content on SERPs. We found that for sites that landed in position 1 and 2 on the results pages had higher click-through rates for classic content. Results in position 3-10, however, had higher click-through rates for visual content.

We theorized based on this research that it is likely that images are not doing as good of a job answering queries. We recommend that brands incorporating visual content focus on optimizing their image to ensure that search engines and users can see how it answers their question. Make sure the image has the following criteria:

• it is high-quality
• the description incorporates the image value
• semantic markup is used to maximize the understanding of search engines
• the image sitemap makes it clear how the image fits with the content

At BrightEdge we have increased the focus on visual content and image seo and have seen excellent results in terms of site performance and search rank. Here are our popular infographics.

The Knowledge-Based Trust infographics ranks first in Google images and helps drive traffic to the blog post.

Psychology of imagery

Understanding why images are so successful can be an enormous asset for brands interested in incorporating visual content in the coming year. Once you understand what visitors are getting out of the images, it can help you capitalize on their preferences and maximize the use of visuals.

You want to use images and videos that make people stop and look. The more exciting and engaging the visual content is, the more interested people generally are in sharing the content. People want to share content that makes them look good. Content that helps them to increase their own reputation in the eyes of their connections is particularly valuable and increases the odds of the content being shared.

When on social media, the power of images to create shareable content is easy to see. For example, tweets with images are responded to and retweeted 2x as much as those without. Images make the post more appealing, easy to digest and therefore a more ideal post to share with others.

This field of logos BrightEdge Share15 attendees captures attention and communicates powerfully.

Images also allow brands to demonstrate their value on a far deeper level. Most customers do not like to buy something that they have never seen. They would also prefer to have the opportunity to touch, feel and otherwise experience the product. Although this is impossible to do online, images and videos create the closest experience to an optimum scenario. Videos allow customers to see the product being demonstrated and watch it perform. They can see images of other people using the product or service and can read their faces for signs of enjoyment and appreciation.

Customers also like to buy based upon emotion. Although customers like to believe that their purchases are based upon factual, objective decisions, the role of emotions has proven time and again. Images can be used to help convey the desired feelings. You can use images to show happiness, comfort, friendship and other positive attributes that help to entice people to learn more.

These images also communicate evidence that others are using your product. People like to know that the products they are considering purchasing have been used successfully by others. The bandwagon effect-- the propensity of people to be interested in products that others in their social circle have used-- can easily be propagated by images showing past customers enjoying a product.

Using images to give users a ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at your company can also be immensely valuable. By letting people see the brand leaders, hear salespeople speak and even receive a tour of your office or factory, you can help people feel connected to the brand. Rather than doing business with a faceless business, visitors will see you as an individual with whom they can connect. This also helps to create the feeling of transparency for the brand, which makes it easier for customers to trust your company.

The BrightEdge platform is the only one that reports on universal or blended and classic results, and that helps you optimize and compete for those prominent positions. 

You will rarely find a marketing professional who neglects the power of images-- but there are many who will fail to recognize the full potential of these visual aids. Pictures are usually relegated to boosting text content. They are used to build engagement with readers or to attract more clicks on social media. Image-oriented searches on Google, however, can open an entirely new door for marketers when it comes to attracting more traffic and potential customers. Research has indicated that 63 percent of the clicks made on images will turn into site traffic. There are a number of searches made every day that are geared towards finding visual results, such as those that focus on housing design or clothing. When you type “House Design” into Google, right below the sponsored ads will be a series of image results that immediately draw the eye and address the question for most people.

Thinking more strategically about image SEO and optimizing your images so they can be displayed prominently in these types of searches can help direct relevant traffic towards your website.

Value of image SEO

There is some debate surrounding the value of an image search. Many people making image queries are interested in ideas or the pictures themselves, they are not necessarily driven to make a purchase. For your images to show up in such search you need to do image SEO. There are numerous industries, however, that are built around images, such as stock photo companies or those who design site templates. Others will use images to display their skills or expertise, such as designers or photographers.

It is also important to recognize that even industries that are not directly related to images can still find value in ranking well for visuals. Increasing the traffic that goes towards your website will help to boost brand awareness and recognition. The value of this might not be immediately recognizable, but can play an important role when it comes time for people to purchase services later.

Providing users with quality, engaging images on your site can also increase the interested traffic to your site-- traffic with people who will stop, interact with your page and explore a little. When you increase your rates of engaged traffic, you can raise the ranking of your site. This will then help you rank higher for queries more directly related to your products and services.

Optimizing images for image search

To take advantage of the value offered by high-ranking images, it is important to follow a few rules for optimization.

• Make sure the aesthetic value does not change, but that the image SEO is in place and the image loads as quickly as possible. Google wants to see high-quality images, but they know that visuals that take a long time to load will not please customers.
• Use unique, relevant images. Google does not want multiple copies of the same picture, so using stock images will not result in image rankings. Use images that are clearly related to the text so that Google will be able to link it to a particular context.
• Take advantage of all the ways available to label the image. This means using the alt attributes, title tags and image names. This will make it as easy as possible for Google to understand which queries the image answers.
• Use schema markups to emphasize images. Schema ensures that the search engines recognize the image and that they will display it when opportunities for rich snippets present themselves.

Measuring the impact of image SEO

Google Webmaster Tools will provide you with some useful monitoring systems that you can use to start tracking your progress with image SEO optimization. Once you log into the webmaster tools, you will want to click on Search Analytics under Search Traffic.  

Then, on the screen that appears, go over to search type. Instead of selecting Web, click on Image. This will then give you insight into the types of queries and the number of clicks you are getting specifically for image-related searches. You can also adjust your data to look at the number of impressions or the positions of your website. Use these insights to monitor your progress as you implement the best practices for images.

The web is becoming more visual with each passing year. For brands to keep up, they need think more about image SEO and make sure that the images they post on their websites have been optimized to attract audiences searching for pictures. Following these guidelines, while tracking progress through Google, can help you see the value the images are adding to your website and the traffic they are attracting.

5 Ways to Utilize Image SEO to Convert Customers at Various Stages of the Buying Cycle

Once you understand how important images are to the success of your marketing campaigns and SEO management efforts, you will then want to find ways to incorporate them into your own efforts.

1. Use welcoming images on the website to entice visitors to explore the site and introduce them to your brand. This will encourage the early foundation of the relationship with personal faces and a sense of transparency in the company.
2. Encourage customers to post images on social media and include some of their own shots to show the product in action to your brand followers. This will help you tap into the bandwagon effect.
3. Post videos on YouTube and SlideShare and other popular third-party platforms to spread the brand message. Remember that on these third party platforms, the focus will need to be on providing value-- product videos or videos that require background information about the brand will struggle to find an audience.
4. Use images and videos in email newsletters to keep people engaged and provide them with easy-to-digest information that they can view quickly.
5. Create product page images and videos to explain what sets you apart and walk people through the buying process. Imagine your videos are the opportunity to give your visitors a personal product demonstration.

Visual content is quickly beginning to dominate the digital ecosystem. Brands need to understand the role these images and videos should play in their online marketing efforts and why they are effective. This can help you maximize your efforts in 2016.