Google Set to Launch new “Google Stamp” Platform Soon

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It’s been reported that Google is set to launch their new “Google Stamp” platform in the near future with intentions to compete with Instagram’s stories and Snapchat’s Discover features. Although the exact launch date of the new Google platform is unknown, there has been plenty of speculation about the full capabilities of this tool. This post will explore what is known so far about the Google Stamp and its future marketing implications.

Google Stamp Overview
Back in August, news was released from the Wall Street Journal that Google has been developing their new Google Stamp product as a direct competitor to Snapchat’s Discover feature. The Discover component is one of Snapchat’s most lucrative and popular features, which enables users to view stories of breaking news, sporting events, celebrities, and every other important thing happening in the world. According to an article from Search Engine Watch, the Google Stamp platform is “expected to function in a similar manner to Snapchat Discover. Users will be able to view difference pieces of content with a healthy mix of video, images, and text to keep readers engaged.” Another interesting aspect to point out is the meaning behind the Google Stamp name. Stamp is a combination of the “St” as an abbreviation for stories and the “amp” acronym for accelerated mobile pages.

Advertising Implications
With the implementation of Google Stamp coming in the near future, this raises the questions of advertising implications and what this will mean for brands looking to get involved. The Search Engine Watch article points out that “advertisers should not view this as a traditional media purchase, as there will need to be close collaboration between content creators and content promoters to ensure that ads are contextual.” As for the campaign format, it’s thought to be similar to launching a campaign on Snapchat or Instagram. The article mentions how “the same team who handles AdWords campaigns would have to integrate new skill sets to make the most of this opportunity to effectively advertise on Google Stamp.” Ultimately, it will be interesting to see what advertising options become available on the Google Stamp and how brands choose to utilize them.

Unanswered Questions
All of the information released so far about the Google Stamp leaves plenty of unanswered questions, as a lot is still unknown about the product. The Search Engine Watch article lists numerous questions that will be important to answer once the Google Stamp officially launches. Listed below are some of the critical questions the article mentions.

– “Which types of queries will trigger Stamp results?”
– “How frequently will Google Stamp be featured in search results?”
– “Will users migrate over to Google to use what seems likely to be a very similar product to Snapchat Discover?”
– “What options will be open to advertisers? Will Google introduce innovative new formats to maximize Stamp’s potential?”

Contact Us
For more information regarding digital marketing expertise, visit the Onimod Global Website. We provide weekly news updates on the latest in the world of digital marketing. Enjoy!

Top Qualities of a Successful Digital Marketing Agency

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What separates a successful digital marketing agency from a mediocre one? Numerous agencies claim they provide the best digital services available and will always go out of their way for client needs, but is this really the case? Listed below are some essential qualities that every digital marketing agency should possess in order to be successful in today’s industry.

Flexibility
Is your current agency available for any needs that arise outside of standard office hours (9-5)? From our perspective, digital marketing is a 24/7 operation and any agency that thinks otherwise is not providing the best service possible. Problems arise, campaigns need monitored, and some industries experience their best business outside of the typical Monday-Friday 9-5 hours. Therefore, flexibility is huge when it comes to digital marketing and if your agency isn’t fulfilling your needs then it may be time to make a change.

Experience
Evaluating the previous experience of an agency is a major factor when determining their success. Does the agency have a proven track record? Are their clients legitimate and relevant to your business or industry? Will they address your specific needs? Always be sure to analyze an agency’s portfolio and case studies to determine if their experience matches your needs. View our Case Studies at Onimod Global and take a look at our credible experience in all aspects of digital marketing.

Transparency
When it comes to digital marketing and working with clients, transparency is a huge quality that clients desire and often expect. An agency demonstrating transparency refers to the clarity of billing, accuracy of data, how campaigns are actually performing, and what’s happening in general. Working with a digital marketing agency that is trustworthy will ultimately lead to better results in the long run. Moreover, transparency is a quality that can never be ignored when evaluating an agency. It separates successful digital agencies from the mediocre ones.

Expertise 
Every agency should be an expert when it comes to SEO, SEM, Social Media, Data Analysis, Website Development, and every other critical component of digital marketing. Is the agency a Google Partner? Are the employees certified in Google AdWords and Analytics? These are important questions to consider when evaluating whether an agency is legitimate or not. All successful digital agencies in today’s industry demonstrate many if not all of these capabilities and always be sure to check out previous work/case studies for reassurance.

Contact Us: At Onimod Global we are a proven digital marketing agency and know what it takes to fulfill the needs of every client. Check out Our Work and see what digital solutions we have to offer! We look forward to hearing from you!

Yahoo Sues Mozilla for Replacement of Firefox’s Default Search to Google

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It was announced earlier this week that Yahoo’s parent company (Oath) has decided to sue Mozilla for “breach of contract.” Oath claims that Mozilla “terminated a long term strategic agreement with Yahoo” in November. Mozilla recently launched their upgraded Firefox Quantum browser and has implemented Google as their new default search tool. It was approximately 3 years ago when Yahoo and Mozilla signed an agreement that Yahoo would be the default search engine on Firefox.

According to Greg Sterling in an article from Search Engine Land, the lawsuit “seeks unspecified money damages and interest from Mozilla, but Mozilla claims they have the right to terminate the relationship under the contract.” Mozilla’s Firefox browser lost market share to Chrome during the 3 year period with Yahoo. Mozilla blames this lose in market share largely on Yahoo search. Yahoo/Oath argue that “issues with the browser experience (speed and performance)” were to blame instead. Sterling points out that “the truth probably lies somewhere in between.”

Implications Moving Forward
Mozilla switching from Yahoo to Google as their new default search tool is huge. As if Google’s market share in search engine providers wasn’t large enough, this move will expand their share even more. The article states that “Firefox’s market share is about 13 percent to Chrome’s nearly 59 percent. Yahoo search market share is roughly 12 percent to Google’s 63 percent.” Ultimately, it will be interesting to see where Firefox’s market share goes from here, as the reactions to the upgraded “Firefox Quantum” browser appear to be positive thus far.

Contact Us: For more information regarding digital marketing expertise and news, visit the Onimod Global Website. We look forward to hearing from you!

How To Maximize Your Company Blog To Improve Overall SEO Results

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It’s evident that blogging is important in a digitally dominated space, yet many organizations don’t fully understand the SEO implications that effective blogging can have. It seems every company has implemented a blog to their site at this point. However, many fail to take advantage of blog content to increase overall organic search rankings. Listed below are some ways in which companies can maximize their blog content to enhance overall search engine optimization (SEO) results.

Always Optimize Content
Continually generating new content is usually a good practice, but that doesn’t mean existing blog posts should be ignored. Going back to previous posts and reviewing keyword phrases, media, tags, and other parts of a post to help rank better for desired search queries is an effective method. Paying attention to basic “on page” SEO components is another aspect that can’t be ignored. Header tags, meta descriptions, image titles, alt text, internal link building, and having an SSL certificate are all important when it comes to ranking well.

Define Audiences
Blog content should never be randomly created with no specific audiences in mind. Each post should always be produced with intentions to reach segments of your target audience. This means content should be filled with meaningful keyword phrases related to what your consumer base is searching for. For instance, if you’re in the sports bar industry you want to blog about content related to big upcoming games/events geared toward sports fans to draw in as much traffic as possible. Ultimately, creating content for specific target audiences is a key aspect to blogging and will contribute to increased SEO rankings.

Blog Title
The importance of having a creative and appealing blog title a lot of times gets overlooked. Many organizations use titles like “Blog” or “News” for their company blog, which isn’t the best practice for optimization. Creativity and being descriptive are two solutions to better blog optimization. “What audiences am I trying to reach?” and “What are important keyword phrases related to my industry?” are a couple of critical questions to use as a basis for the title of a blog. Moreover, it seems like a minor detail, but coming up with a good title for your company blog is something that should never be ignored.

Social Media Engagement
Sharing blog content on multiple social media platforms is a simple method to increase overall visibility. Utilizing channels like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Plus, and Google My Business to share content should always be one of the final steps in the process. Be sure to include keyword rich descriptions with social posts as well that way your content has a better chance of ranking. Additional benefits to sharing blog content on social media include the ability to reach new audiences, keeping social media platforms relevant, and the chance of increasing referral traffic.

Contact Us: At Onimod Global we specialize in SEO, content creation, and every other aspect of digital marketing. Check out Our Work to see what digital marketing solutions we have to offer!

Benefits of Pursuing a Digital Marketing Career

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It’s no surprise that career opportunities within the digital marketing industry continue to grow, especially in the larger U.S. cities. With digital marketing being the heaviest advertising route used by most organizations today, these career opportunities are flourishing. Many individuals from previous generations are unfamiliar with concepts like SEO, SEM, Social Media Marketing, Email Marketing, Website Development, and other important aspects of the digital industry. Listed below are some benefits as to why pursuing a career in digital marketing is a good move.

Variety of Career Options
As mentioned previously the digital marketing industry is comprised of many areas, in which there are plenty of career options available. Many marketing organizations not only consist of SEO/SEM strategists, they include graphic designers, business development executives, content writers, social media specialists, and other opportunities. Deciding on which route to enter can come down to multiple factors, yet it should ultimately depend on what what your top interests and skill sets are. In the end, digital marketing is a versatile industry and that means there’s opportunities for numerous career choices.

In Demand Profession
The demand for digital marketing professionals is increasing at a rapid rate. According to the Digital Marketing Institute, “It is anticipated that there would be around 150,000 digital marketing jobs at the end of 2020 and not enough professionals to fulfill them. there will also be a rise in demand for digital marketing professionals by about 38% this year.” Because of this increasing demand for digital marketing careers, entering the digital industry will provide job seekers with a huge competitive advantage in the job hunt.

Salaries Rising
It’s evident that the demand for digital marketing experts currently exceeds the supply, so how does this affect salaries? Entering a growing industry with a shortage of skills makes digital marketing professionals a commodity. This gives leverage for better salary negotiations and higher starting wages than most first jobs right out of college. According to a study from Prosperity in 2014, “digital salaries are rising faster than in the previous five years, and the pace of growth is set to fasten in the future.” Moreover, as salaries continue to climb within the industry, this presents a clear benefit to becoming an expert in the digital marketing field.

Advancement Opportunities
In addition to the great job outlook for digital marketing careers, the opportunity for advancement in the field is also promising. Entry level positions out of college typically consist of SEO/SEM strategists, social media specialists, content developers, etc. If you’re able to catch on quick and continually learn more about the digital marketing world then advancement to an upper level position is very reachable. Digital marketing managers, director of digital, or a VP of marketing for example are all respectable and reachable advancement opportunities.

Contact Us: For more information regarding digital marketing, visit the Onimod Global Website. We provide weekly news updates on the latest in the world of digital marketing. Enjoy!

4 Digital Marketing Trends to Pay Attention to in 2018

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The scope of the digital marketing industry is constantly changing, so being able to adapt to these changing trends is a must. So far in 2017 we have seen new technologies like the IPhone X, Google Home, and other innovative products that continue to change the dynamic of marketing. Listed below are some digital marketing trends that organizations need to watch out for as we approach 2018.

1. Voice Optimization
With technologies like Siri, Google Home, and the Amazon Echo becoming popular, marketers must understand the importance of optimizing content for voice search queries. According to Google, “in 2016 more than 20 percent of online searches were conducted through voice search. And by 2020 that number is expected to increase to 50 percent.” Therefore, with an increasing number of voice searches, optimizing for longer keyword phrases and “conversational language” is an SEO strategy that should be implemented moving forward.

2. Instagram’s Value Increasing
The continued growth of Instagram is a trend that all marketers should be paying attention to. This year Instagram announced that “about 800 million users are active on the platform each month.” They also noted that their updated story feature is now “more popular than Snapchat.” Because of their focus on images/videos and appeal to younger generations, it’s no surprise that this platform continues to gain popularity. Some marketers like Deep Patel even believe that Instagram is “poised to become the go-to channel for brands interested in social media marketing.”

3. Twitter on the Decline
Contrary to Instagram’s continued growth, Twitter is a social media platform that has seen a decline in activity so far in 2017. It appears as if Twitter has put little effort towards their advertising platform compared to their wants of acquiring more users. Moreover, advertisers have allocated more time and money to other social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat as a result. In the end, this trend of decline is expected to continue for Twitter and according to Patel, Twitter is “dying a quiet death.”

4. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Messaging
Although artificial intelligence (AI) exists today, it’s future implications on digital marketing can’t be ignored. According to the Entrepreneur article, Deep Patel mentions how “artificial intelligence is taking over website messaging.” More and more businesses are now utilizing AI live chat programs to communicate with their consumers. Essentially, as artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve with messaging platforms, marketers must be able to adapt and learn how to most effectively communicate with consumers online.

Contact Us
For more information regarding digital marketing expertise and news, visit the Onimod Global Website. We look forward to hearing from you!

Google My Business Posting Update: How This Impacts Search Results

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Google has recently announced that there is a “posts function” now available to businesses registered with their Google My Business program. There appears to be plenty of benefits with the addition of this function, especially for local businesses who frequently compete for higher search rankings. Essentially, this post will explain the importance of Google My Business for local businesses and how this new posting update can impact organic search results.

Google My Business Overview
Google My Business from a general standpoint is a program that gives businesses the capability to be found by visitors on the Google Maps system. In more technical terms, Google describes their Google My Business program as a “free and easy-to-use tool for businesses and organizations to manage their online presence across Google, including Search and Maps. By verifying business information, you can both help customers find you and tell them the story of your business.” Some major benefits of utilizing this tool include interaction with customers, expanding presence, information management, and mobile responsiveness. Therefore, Google My Business clearly helps local businesses increase their online visibility and is ultimately a small investment that can lead to high rewards.

Posts Function Information
With the implementation of this new posts update in Google My Business, there are multiple ways businesses can take advantage of this tool. According to an article from Search Engine Land, this update will give businesses the ability to “share daily specials, promote events happening, showcase top products, and provide more options to connect with customers directly.” Users also have the capability to add images and call to action buttons to help increase post engagement. It should also be noted that posts have the potential to show up in both the Google search and map results.

Impact on Search Results
One of the more important aspects of this Google My Business update is it’s correlation with better search results. According to a case study analysis from a Search Engine Land article, “Posting on Google My Business was found to have a mild impact on rankings and do help improve local SEO for small businesses.” It was also found that since it’s launch, posting on Google My Business has been “surprisingly underutilized by businesses and agencies,” but that pattern is expected to change soon. In the end, using this new posting feature on Google My Business appears to be a “no brainier” for any local business out there. And at Onimod Global we have been implementing this practice with some of our clients, as their organic search rankings have started to increase over time because of this feature.

Contact Us: For more information regarding digital marketing expertise, visit the Onimod Global Website. We provide weekly news updates on the latest in the world of digital marketing. Enjoy!

Optimizing Ecommerce Shopping Carts for Search and the Google Merchant Center

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Many organizations with Ecommerce websites are concerned with how well their products are ranking organically on Google, Bing and Yahoo. That is, without any assistance from paid advertising networks. There is no doubt that these rankings are incredibly important to the organization and their product’s success, but it is not the only factor to consider.

It is all too common to get swept up in organic search rankings and ignore other ecommerce-related platforms like the Google or Bing Merchant Center. The Google and Bing Merchant Centers help organizations by uploading their products and immediately transforming them into Shopping ads. All of these add up to generate more and more exposure for your products. These efforts also combine to create better rankings through Google, which can definitely lead to big results on your sales.

 

Data Feeds

The only way to have your products listed in Google and/or Bing Shopping is to create an XML data feed file. As defined by Google, a feed is, “a file made up of a list of products which use groupings of attributes that define each one of your products in a unique way.” Basically, it is a single file that organizes all of your product listings in a way that allows you to the display your products in the Google Shopping network through the Adwords platform.

 

Creating A Feed

Creation of a data feed is very technical. First, you want to make sure that you are using a feed format that is supported by Google or Bing, such as text (.txt) and XML (.xml). Once you have chosen your preferred format, you will then use the Merchant Center add-on and provided feed template to build out your product listings.

It is still critical to pay close attention to the attributes chosen to describe your products. All of the best guidelines are provided by Google via the Product data specification. These specifications will direct you in finding the most relevant ways to describe your products.

 

Supplemental Data Feeds

There are also supplemental feeds that may be added at this point in the data feed creation process. Supplemental feeds help to provide additional data that can be combined with existing data in the primary feed.

The supplemental feed reinforces the primary feed, and works to ensure that your product listings are displaying all of the most relevant information possible to users searching for products like yours. The more relevant your listing, the more positive attention it will receive from Google.

 

Conclusion

Good organic rankings on Google are important to every business. Ecommerce companies can better their product listings in more than just this one way. It is important to remember that the Google Merchant Center also has an impact on the ranking of Shopping ads and even organic listings.

The more that any organization can integrate themselves and their products and services with Google, the better. By creating and implementing a data feed through the Google or Bing Merchant Center, Ecommerce vendors can give themselves a leg-up on the competition, and help themselves to achieve better rankings and sales through the major search engines.

5 Important Questions to Ask Your Website Development Agency

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There are numerous questions that an organization may have when outsourcing a website development project to an agency. Investing in a new website is no small expense for a business owner, so addressing any questions that arise is a must. With our previous website development work at Onimod Global, there have been many questions we have received from clients over the years. Listed below are just a few critical questions that every business should ask their agency when it comes to a new website development project.

1. What does the previous work look like with other clients? 
Knowing what an agency is capable of when it comes to their website development expertise is extremely important. Request case studies from agencies to see what an agency has to offer in terms of website development, and what benefits can be provided for your organization. Click Here to view our previous website development work and case studies at Onimod Global. Ultimately, conduct research on multiple agencies to ensure the one you select is legitimate and will produce the final product you are looking for.

2. Is Google Analytics being utilized to track data and set up goals? 
Ensuring that a Google Analytics tracking code is installed to a new website is crucial and it’s amazing as to how underused this tool is by many businesses today. One major benefit that Analytics provides is where website traffic comes from and what adjustments can be made. Setting up goals in Analytics to track certain conversions like form completions and downloads is another critical aspect that Analytics provides. Essentially, being able to monitor general website traffic information is huge and implementing Google Analytics should always be a step in the website development process.

3. Will the website be optimized to increase online visibility? 
Regardless of the objectives an organization desires for their website, online visibility and being able to drive traffic should always be a priority. Therefore, if a site is not optimized for search engines how will it drive traffic? Ensuring that a website is highly optimized will require a lot of SEO knowledge and time. There are many components of SEO that involve “on page” optimization like paying attention to title tags, content, meta descriptions, keywords, and internal link building. There are also “off page” optimization tactics like blogging and utilizing local directory sites. In the end, having a highly optimized website is a must and be certain that the agency developing your website is familiar with these practices.

4. Is the Google Tag Manager being used?
Application of a tag management system like the Google Tag Manager to a website is extremely beneficial for any organization. In technical terms according to Google, the Tag Manager “replaces hard-coded tags on a website with dynamic tags that are easier to implement and update.” Tag management systems like Google’s provide multiple benefits such as adding AdWords, Analytics, and even third party tags instead of having to manually edit the site code. Therefore, this reduces errors and allows the simple deployment of tags on a website, so be sure to address this area of concern with your agency.

5. What does the timeline look like until the site officially launches? 
It’s important to be on the same page with your agency about the development of a timeline and what the expectations are. Depending on the complexity of the site a website development project can take anywhere from months to years. It’s essential to stay in contact with your agency throughout the entire process as new requests may arise and an agency should always be adaptable to client changes. An experienced team like ours at Onimod Global has worked together on multiple web dev projects and understand how important client timelines are.

Contact Us: If you’re a business seeking an upgrade in website development, feel free to reach out to our expertise at Onimod Global and check out Our Work. We look forward to hearing from you!

4 Common SEO Myths That Marketers Should Reject

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When it comes to the best search engine optimization (SEO) practices, it can be difficult to know what methods are currently working and what is not. Search engine algorithms on Google, Bing, Yahoo, and others are frequently changing and this factor makes it challenging for marketers to adapt. There are numerous myths floating around about what a “good” SEO strategy consists of. Listed below are four common SEO myths that all marketers should be aware of.

1. Stuffing keywords is the way to go
The method of stuffing keywords is both outdated and falls into the “black hat” side of SEO practices. Search engines these days (Google especially) are more focused on rewarding legitimate organizations trying to drive real traffic to their sites. Don’t confuse implementing rich keywords in good content development compared to “stuffing.” An article from Entrepreneur describes keyword stuffing as “having too many keywords stuffed into your domain, this will be viewed as a spammy tactic that Google can pick up on.” Ultimately, the practice of keyword stuffing not only destroys credibility, but can ban sites from being shown on search engines at all.

2. The security of a site doesn’t affect rankings 
Regardless of the other benefits a secure site offers, many marketers and organizations either don’t believe or realize how important having an SSL certificate is for optimization purposes. According to an article in 2014 from Google’s Security Blog, “security is a top priority at Google, so we’re starting to use HTTPS as a ranking signal.” Other search engines like Bing and Yahoo have adapted this practice as well. In general, secure sites (SSL installed) are starting to become the norm online and do have important implications when it comes to optimization and higher organic rankings on search engines.

3. Blogging isn’t that important for SEO
This is one myth that appears to be going away soon, but is still present among organizations who aren’t in touch with today’s digital environment. Maintaining a well kept blog in general will only increase online visibility and fuel your SEO. Google and Bing’s algorithms reward valuable and fresh content for specific search queries. The major SEO factors of blogging consist of relevant content production, attracting internal/external linking, expanding of keywords, and many more. Regardless of the industry, maintaining a well written blog is one way to increase your organization’s SEO presence and appear ahead of competitors in the search engine results.

4. “Having a contact at Google will get me on the first page”
Some organizations actually believe having a contact at Google will help their site rank better for relevant searches. Although knowing a Google representative is very beneficial in regards to the Google Partners Program and latest information, Google doesn’t staff employees to help businesses with their SEO. According to the Entrepreneur article, “this is the fascinating component about Google; you have to follow the latest trends to make sure your SEO strategy aligns with Google’s constant algorithm updates.” Moreover, if an agency or marketing professional claims to have a contact at Google relating to SEO and first page rankings, they are lying.

Contact Us: At Onimod Global we know that organic search engine optimization or SEO, is absolutely vital to achieve long term search engine visibility for your website. Years of experience in SEO is the core of our strategies. We develop organic search engine optimization campaigns that deliver increases in organic traffic and natural rankings on major search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo. Check out Our Work to see what SEO solutions Onimod Global has to offer!