Andy Betts

M Posted 9 years 5 months ago

t 9 min read

Recognized by Forbes and Inc.com as a must-attend conference – next week on October 24^th -26^th - Share16 plays host to a unique mixture of leading brands, search and content marketing practitioners and digital marketing influencers. Featuring over 70+ speakers from leading brands and technology titans, such as Google, YouTube, Microsoft, Facebook, Oracle, Salesforce, and Adobe…

Share16 will be the ONLY place to be in San Francisco. This year, my 5^th year as the Content and Speaker Chair, Share16 is also bringing together the highest concentration of brand marketers, thought-leaders, and technology executives in this industry and is the only event in the industry that focuses 100 percent on peer-to-peer learning and collaboration.

At Share16 we are delighted to host leading brand speakers from; REI, Marriott, Wiley, GroupOn, PennWell, Citrix, Centrify, VMWare, TimeInc, The Food Network, Forrester, OpenTable, Comcast, HP, Hallmark, Staples, The Denver Post and many, many more!

Sharing Share Insights – Speaker Snippets

Share’s program content is developed in conjunction with our partners, client brands, and industry thought-leaders. The focus is not only delivering inspiring content, but also ensuring that every session is jam-packed with information, case studies, best practice guidance, and actionable takeaways for peers. This year Share16 will have the following tracks:

• Search Advancement – The latest from the top performers in the industry, including some advanced sessions for those who are ready to go deep.
• Content Optimization and Digital Integration – How experienced marketers from learning companies are creating, optimizing, marketing, measuring, scaling, and collaborating across their organizations.
• Business and Career Elevation – An exciting new track that focuses on how to grow digital marketing and its impact across your company and how you can use that to advance your career.

Below are just a few ‘content snippets’ from some of the speakers coming your way at Share16. Note: final session titles subject to change at the discretion of the speaker

Industry Keynotes

Oracle, Joyce Boland, VP, Global Applications Marketing Oracle, Kelvin Gee, Senior Director, Global Marketing Transformation How Oracle has transformed from product-centric to customer-centric org Facebook, Rachna Sethi, North America Performance Marketing Lead How Facebook is making the world more open and connected 97^th Floor, Chris Bennett, CEO and Founder Search Intent, Content and Micro-Moments Google, Thao Tran, Global Product Partnerships Lead The future of the mobile web – AMP and the Progressive Web

Search Advancement Track

1. Algorithmic change and response: SERP positioning and SEM alignment Exclusive, Nik Rajpal, VP of Marketing Sciences 15 Ways to Lose Your SEO Rankings Wellbiz Brands, Danielle Yuthas, Sr. Digital Media & Marketing Specialist The changing SERP - Making the most of 2016 and preparing for 2017 Performics, Ryan Sullivan, SVP, Performance Services The Future of  Optimization, Voice and Machine Learning  Learn more about this session here    
2. Advanced Mobile Optimization: Accelerated Mobile Performance Google, Maile Ohye, Developer Programs Tech Lead Google and Mobile SEO - How things are changing Time Inc, Binti Pawa, Head of SEO, Director Food, Lifestyle & Luxury (FLL) Accelerated Mobile Pages – Are you AMPlified? Food Network, Jason Stevens, SEO Director Cooking with AMP Learn more about this session here
3. Data Sources and Data Sets: Mastering Analytics and Integrations Google, Adam Singer, Analytics Advocate Taking Your Analytics Practice to The Next Level – What’s new with GA Marriott Digital, Freddie Blicher, Senior Manager, Corporate SEO How to Think Like an Analyst, Measuring Page Performance Majestic, Dixon Jones, Marketing Director How to Evaluate the Whole Web – A View from Space Learn more about this session here
4. Technical Site Configuration: SEO Friendly Design, Build & Infrastructure Wiley, Austin Kane, Sr. Manager of Search Marketing Don’t Underestimate the Power of Technical SEO The Pampered Chef, Jacqueline Urick, Head of SEO (SEO Manager) How to Win Devs and Influence Sprints SEORadar, Mark Munroe, Founder and CEO Protecting your SEO from Technical Mishaps Learn more about this session here
5. Global, Local and Mobile Search: SEO, PPC and Social Synergy Forrester Research, Collin Colburn, Researcher Marketing in the Post-Digital World Noble Studios, Chad Hallert, Director of Digital Strategy The Power of an Integrated Search Strategy Learn more about this session here
6. Insights from In-house experts: Technical Tactics, Conversion Strategies Salesforce, Alex Bullo, Digital Marketing Mgr. SEO Audience & Acquisition Comcast, Sean Kainec, Director of SEO Adobe, Kirill Kronrod, Manager, Global SEO & Search Analytics Learn more about this session here
7. Competitive Benchmarking and Building Your Ultimate CMO Dashboard Overdrive Interactive, Harry Gold, CEO BrightEdge, Brian Moore, Director, Client Services Learn more about this session here

Content Optimization and Digital Integration Track

1. Intelligent Content for the Customer Journey: Engagement & Experiences Microsoft, Alex Volk, Director of Traffic and Content Strategy Leveraging External Signals to Drive Content and SEO Effectiveness YouTube, Jonathan Schmucler, Global Expert, Branded Content Strategy Creating for Impact on YouTube Learn more about this session here.
2. The Content Management Cycle: Optimizing Content for Scale & Efficiency BFO, Steve Krull, CEO Sustainable Content Marketing Cycles Consumer Reports, Steven Saltzman, Managing Editor Building Content with a Plan: Content with a Purpose Groupon, David Langrock, Sr. Director, Marketing Services How Content & Ecommerce Work Together Learn more about this session here.
3. Content Metrics That Matter: Traffic, Engagement, Conversion & Revenue PennWell, Eric Baudais, SEO Campaign Analyst Gaining Insights, Building Metrics from Combined Data Citrix Systems, Jaimee Stauffer, SEO and Content Marketing Strategist From Insight to Action: Using data to drive results Resolution Media, Dan Toplitt, Associate Director, SEO Cross-Channel Content Metrics that Matter Learn more about this session here.
4. The Search, Social and Content Marketing Trifecta: Digital Branding & PR Search Laboratory, Chris Attewell, SVP Americas From SEO to Online PR – how we evolved our organization Croud, Clark Boyd, VP, Strategy Form and Factor - The Path to Meaningful Content Measurement Centrify, Rachel Freeman, Director of Integrated Marketing, Digital The Influence of PR on SEO: An In-house perspective Learn more about this session here.
5. Managing Multiple Digital Channels: Finding the Perfect Mix Emarsys, Allen Nance, CMO Machine Learning + AI Scaling Digital with True Personalization VMware, Cindy Phan, Sr. Manager, Digital Demand Strategy Building and Integrated Digital Frameworks Performics, Paul Williams, VP Director Understanding Intent for Cross-Channel Experience Creation Learn more about this session here.

Business and Career Elevation Track

1. The Digital Marketing Maturity Model: People, Process & Technology Kelly Rivard, SEO Strategist, Hallmark Cards 100 Years of History, 1 Year of SEO: Hallmark in the digital space HPE, Vicque Chan, Senior Digital Marketing Manager Build and Maturing Process to Effectively Drive Overall Performance Learn more about this session here.
2. Creative Storytelling & Evangelizing Success: Selling Ideas, Building Cases Staples, Michel Kant, SEO Manager, Staples Europe Scaling In-House SEO by Integrating in the Org One Small Step at a Time HP, Amy Shipman, Global Digital Go-to-Market Strategist Problems, Solutions and Influence The Denver Post, Dan Petty, Senior Editor Evangelizing and Publishing Success Learn more about this session here.
3. Digital Career Success Stories: Practitioner to Organizational Leader Open Table, Scott Lavelle, Director, Global SEO Marketing Career Development – How to break through internal and external barriers Mylan, Jolene Pierangeli, Associate Director, Digital Marketing Zero to Hero: How the Vivarin Site was Revived – A personal story Red Hat, Jairus Mitchell, Program Manager, Search Engine Optimization Corralling Chaos, The Open-Source Way    Learn more about this session here.
4. The Digital Marketing Mind: The Psychology of Self Development Adobe, Dave Lloyd, Principal Consultant, Optimization and Personalization The 4 Areas of Self-Directed Career Growth Mel Carson, US Brand Ambassador, Majestic, Delightful Communications 7 Practical Tips on Personal Branding Success Merkle, Adam Audette, SVP of SEO How to Develop Hybrid Digital Marketing Skills Learn more about this session here.
5. Organizational Design: Building Digital Centers of Excellence Garrett Mehrguth, CEO, Directive Consulting Managing and Organizing Marketing Teams by Their Inputs REI, Eric Hess, Senior Program Manager, Content and SEO REI, Ryan Ricketts, Senior Program Manager, SEO & UGC Learnings from REI on a Split SEO Program Learn more about this session here.
6. Panel Discussion on Building an Extended Team: Working with Agencies and Contractors EXCLUSIVE, Nik Rajpal, VP of Marketing Sciences Performics, Ryan Sullivan, SVP, Performance Services 97th Floor, Wayne Sleight, COO Noble Studios, Michael Thomas, Chief Marketing Officer and Partner Learn more about this session here  Thats a lot of content !! We look forward to sharing more insights and hosting you all at Share16. Click here to Register for Share16  Venue Details October 24 to 26, 2016 Westin St. Francis, Union Square, San Francisco.

maspillera

M Posted 9 years 6 months ago

t 9 min read

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% of the clicks made on images will turn into site traffic. There are tens of millions 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. Image optimization needs to be done so they can be displayed prominently in these types of searches can help direct relevant traffic towards your website.

Value of the image search

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. 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.

Image optimization 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 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 images

Google Webmaster Tools will provide you with some useful monitoring systems that you can use to start tracking your progress with image 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 do image optimization. The web is becoming more visual with each passing year. For brands to keep up, they need to make sure that the image optimization was done properly. This is essential 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. 

maspillera

M Posted 9 years 7 months ago

t 9 min read

An SEO checker, a tool that helps you analyze your website to see how well you are optimizing your content and remaining compliant with the best practices for the major search engines, is a valuable instrument in your digital strategy. It is important to note, however, that a checker alone is not enough to maximize your prevalence in the search engines.  

The importance of the digital world in commerce continues to grow. Ecommerce grew by nearly 15% in 2015. In the B2B world, 94% of people say that they perform research online before they make a purchase.

Given that more than half of the traffic to your website originates with organic traffic, there is no doubt that your SEO efforts and your visibility on the SERPs will directly impact the bottom line for your organization.

The better you understand how to maximize your usage of the SEO checker and how to leverage a platform that will take your SEO efforts further, the more return you will begin to see from your optimization efforts.  

Get A Concise SEO Evaluation of Your Site

What does an SEO checker do?

Running an SEO check will help you take a closer look at how your site is currently performing. Most SEO checkers will look at factors such as:

• The usability of your site
• Your site speed
• Metadata
• Your alt tags
• Your social media interactions
• Internal and external links

An SEO optimizing platform will help you evaluate how well your site adheres to SEO best practices. It will alert you to potential problems before they become an issue with your rankings and impact your site traffic.

Although this information is helpful, it does fall short in its ability to help you build a strong site that will maximize your appearance in search.

An SEO checker needs to be paired with suggestions

While it can be useful to have the insight about the shortcomings of your website, the information from an SEO check can only help you so much with maximizing the optimization of your brand. You need guidelines that will also help you improve your site.

Not only do you want to know where you have made errors, but also where you may be overlooking opportunities to take your website results further. For example, the BrightEdge platform can offer insight and suggestions about backlinks.

Rather than just reporting on the sites that link to your page, you can also access recommendations that will offer suggestions about websites that might suitable for pursuing additional backlinks.  

Similarly, you can analyze the pages that rank for particular keywords and receive insight that will let you see where you have the ability to outrank competitors. You will receive not only the SEO check, but also the suggestions about where keywords should be used while also looking at the top-ranking pages for that topic, which will help you understand what the search engines and users want to see.

You need to know what your competitors are doing

The BrightEdge platform will also help you look at your site next to competitors so that you can see keywords that they are ranking for that you are not, where they are having the most success, and where you need to improve.

It is important to remember that in the world of SEO, you are not only trying to rank well within the search engines, you are also trying outrank all of these competitors. That is how you can attract the attention your site needs.

When you have a full analytical platform, you will be able to gain valuable insights into the factors that are helping your competitors achieve their success, allowing you to find holes that will help you outrank them and improve your own reach and ROI. With BrightEdge you will be able to see:

• Keyword gaps where competitors are ranking for particular terms that you are lacking
• The high-ranking keywords and longtail keywords competing domains use
• Their content performance in universal results and specialized results such as Quick Answers and the Local 3-Pack
• Their content performance over time next to yours

BrightEdge Site Comparison will help you find gaps and opportunities.

This insight into what your competitors are doing and what helps them succeed can help you adjust your own strategies and better capture a larger portion of the share of voice.

You need to know how your SEO efforts impact the bottom line

While gains in SEO can be wonderful to see on your charts, in the end, the value of using an SEO optimizer is revenue. You want to build your site so that more people are attracted to your brand and thus convert.

Ranking highly on the SERPs will only help you if you attract the right audience. Looking at your site only through the eyes of a checker will tell you if you are optimizing your site, but not how well those optimization efforts attract people who are interested in your business.

Working with a more complete platform, like BrightEdge, will allow you to analyze the impact your optimization process has directly on your revenue. You can group pages or keywords together and gauge their impact on conversions.  

Page Reporting on BrightEdge helps you gauge your impact on conversions and revenue.

You can also track different types of conversions over time to see the impact of various campaigns on the success of your website. You can even see the impact that your SEO has on different devices by comparing your progress in mobile SEO versus desktop. This can help you pinpoint the needs of your different audiences so that you are better able to tap into the growth of mobile internet use. 

BrightEdge StoryBuilder makes it easy to see progress by device.

An SEO checker can help you build a successful website, but it can only take you so far. For you to maximize the potential of your site, you need to combine a checker with a complete platform that will provide you with the insights you need to help your site stand out against the competition.