Tag Archive for: SEM

Marketers’ Top Google AdWords Mistakes

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Google AdWords is one of the most used digital marketing tools today. Even though its use is widespread, optimization is still difficult for some. Creating a successful AdWords campaign is time-consuming and takes detailed, exhaustive work. It may be demanding, but when carried out properly, these campaigns have the possibility to bring in a mass of sales and business opportunities. Not to mention the inverse can be scary for marketers: spending too much on an underperforming campaign. The average small business spends $9,000 and $10,000 on Google paid search campaigns. With marketers allocating so much budget to AdWords campaigns, it’s essential to know how to effectively use them, and to be aware of the mistakes to avoid. 

5 Most Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them: 

Irrelevant Keywords or Wrong Match Type 

Keywords irrelevant to your ad copy or that have low search volume can cause your ads to have low quality scores. Along with using irrelevant keywords, you might be using too many. While you want to try to show up in as many searches as possible, you want to make sure they’re relevant to your product or service. Bidding on too many or irrelevant keywords will immediately drain your ad spend and could leave you conversion-less, especially if you’re using broad-match type. This match type allows ads to be triggered on a broad range of variations of your keywords, such as synonyms, possible misspellings, plural and singular forms, related searches, etc. 

The match mistake is an easy fix, as you can quickly go into the campaign settings to change it. First you should do your research on which type would be best for your particular campaign and target audience, such as phrase or exact match. Choosing the right keyword set can be a tedious task. It takes a lot of analysis, as well as trial and error. It’s important to choose keywords that are also used on your landing page, as that will increase your quality score. But it’s even more important to be aware of what your customers are actually searching. Users are much more likely to click on ads that include words and phrases that match exactly the query they typed in. Getting your list of keywords as tight and relevant as possible will help to drive conversions at the lowest possible cost. 

Not Utilizing Negative Keywords

Even after you have a solid list of keywords, there’s still a possibility of your ads getting shown for irrelevant or even negative searches. For example, you’re selling Axe deodorant and you’re bidding on the word “axe.” Someone could search “tree axe,” and your ad could fire. So you would want to apply “tree” as a negative keyword to ensure Google doesn’t trigger your ad for any searches involving that word. AdWords automatically gives you a list of suggested negative keywords to get started, but you shouldn’t leave it at that. Consistently watch your search terms report. Consider adding any keywords that come in for irrelevant queries, as well as expensive CPCs. If there’s a keyword that’s costing you high clicks and isn’t converting, you may want to pull it. 

Minimal Use of Ad Extensions 

Most users of Google AdWords are aware of ad extensions, but not of the full plethora or impact they can have. Ad extensions allow you to get more space on the results page, include more valuable information to your ad copy, send users directly where you want, give them the option to call you directly, and more. They can even have a factor in your overall ad rank. Google reported that adding a new ad extension typically increases click-through rates by 10-15%. Finding the right combination of relevant ad extensions can increase click through rates, lower cost per click, and improve positioning. Consider these popular extensions and their benefits: 

  • Callouts: Allow you to include specific attributes about your business, products, and services. This is an area where you can include more keywords and pitch-heavy content.
  • Sitelinks: These can build the content of your ad by offering additional information and links to more specific pages on your site, allowing users to get directly where they need to.
  • Structured Snippets: Allow your ad to highlight specific aspects of your products and services. The layout is a mix between a callout and a sitelink. Each snippet contains a header and list of features you choose to highlight. This extension can hurt your click-through rates if your content isn’t carefully thought out, because the design can be complicated and hard to read.

Not Using Landing Pages

Sending PPC traffic to a homepage is a huge mistake that some marketers are still unaware of. Most people that are performing searches are looking for an immediate solution to a problem. Sending them to your homepage means they will have to spend even more time searching through your site for what they actually want. If they don’t immediately find it, they’ll likely bounce and search elsewhere. If a user already went as far as clicking on your ad, make it easy as possible for them to actually convert. With that being said, you also need to make sure they’re being directed to appropriate landing pages. If you can, try to create a designated landing page for each keyword set that answer the same user intent, and make sure there is a clear call-to-action on each. You can learn more about creating high converting landing pages here. 

Not Testing Ads or AdCopy 

Testing is widely underutilized when it comes to AdWords campaigns. It is often dismissed as time-consuming and unnecessary, but you really don’t know how an ad is performing unless you can compare it to another. Create ads with various headings, keywords, body copy, placements, landing pages, etc. To get the best results from A/B testing remember to:

  • Only change one factor per test.
  • Have a clear hypothesis. 
  • Perform the test long enough to gain accurate results. 

 

Final Thoughts 

Every marketer makes mistakes, but being proactive can help you to avoid the simple ones. All these mistakes are easy to make, but they’re also relatively quick fixes and easy to learn from. Running AdWords campaigns can be tedious, but when carried out correctly the results can be monumental. That’s why it can be beneficial to outsource for your paid search needs. At Onimod Global we are experts in SEM. As a Google Partner, we are a digital marketing company, trusted by Google to excel with their products. We are experts in paid search on major search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo, as well as in social advertising across all platforms. We work as your own in-house digital marketing team. 

Learn more about what we do, or become a client today! 

 

With Mobile Traffic Rapidly Rising, Why Are Desktop Conversions 93% More Valuable?

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A recent study done by AccuraCast has shown that mobile traffic is rising rapidly, however desktops are still preferred for transactions. The study discovered that while 60% of ad clicks in the last 12 months have come from mobile devices, desktops convert 60% more. Consumers use their smartphones for everything, yet they’re still not comfortable converting from them. This phenomenon is starting to raise many questions for marketers and advertisers. Are mobile ads driving the right traffic? Does mobile ad spend even have real value? 

 

Results 

For this study, AccuraCast analyzed 10 million clicks across 100 ad accounts over a 12-month period, comparing click and conversion trends between mobile and desktop. It was discovered that mobile ad clicks have increased by 11% from last year (49% to 60%), and mobile ad impressions rose by 6% (45% to 56%). Mobile conversions also rose 10% this year (39% to 49%). 

Source: AccuraCast

While mobile traffic increased significantly and conversions rose slightly, it was discovered that the overwhelming majority of conversions still come from desktops. Desktops convert 60% more than mobile users, and desktop conversions are worth 93% more than mobile. 

Historically AOV for desktop transactions has been higher than mobile devices. This has been found by multiple other studies and reports. As a generalization, consumers browse on mobile devices, but tend to go back to desktops to make final purchases. 

 

Issues with Mobile Conversions 

AccuraCast believes the reason for higher mobile impressions but lower conversions lies deeper in problems with the mobile user experience. These include issues such as: 

  • Low quality apps and/or sites driving traffic but not conversions. 
  • Low performing landing pages that make transactions difficult. 
  • Ineffective ad placements that lead to worthless clicks. 

 

Takeaway Recommendations 

 

1. As mobile visitors continue to rise, so should the quality of your mobile site and/or app. 

Mobile interfaces continue to improve, and users are expecting them to. Being mobile friendly is important across all industries. This means some companies should consider designing for mobile first, instead of desktop site. If you design mobile first you can leverage the larger screen real estate available on a desktop platform as a second step. It’s important to understand we are not suggesting this because desktop is dead. As the study has shown, it’s not at all, it’s still very important. But it’s far easier to take a mobile UI to the desktop than to take a desktop one to a smartphone.

 

2. Desktop still remains at utmost importance. 

To reiterate, data continues to prove conversions happen on desktops majority of the time, so you must continue to pay attention to your desktop site. Most consumers use more than one device when making a purchase. For example, someone may browse a store on their mobile phone, then go to their desktop to actually make a purchase. Because of this it’s smart to offer users on mobile devices the option to provide contact information, save shopping carts, or implement other functionality that allows them to defer the actual completion of a conversion to a later time. 

The rationale is that users may not want to deal with complicated forms or enter their credit card information on mobile devices. Following up with them later lets them come back on a desktop and convert at a more convenient time for them. If you adopt this strategy, it’s recommended to test it thoroughly to see which system gets the best results. 

 

3. Compare your site’s behavior to industry norms. 

If the average percentage of mobile visitors is 60% and your site is only at 35%, that may indicate an internal issue, such as a slow mobile site. Check how you compare to industry norms. If there’s a large delta, take the time to perform an audit to understand why. 

 

Final Thoughts 

For years now, industry experts have advised businesses to speed up and simplify the mobile user experience. As it’s been heavily forecasted that conversions and revenue from mobile devices will be growing rapidly. The results of this study show there’s still some distance to go. However, the desktop and mobile devices should not be seen as mutually exclusive channels. Most shoppers use multiple devices to make purchasing decisions. 

 

More from Onimod Global 

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The Benefits of Embracing Consumer Privacy for Digital Marketers

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Marketers have been tracking behavior, targeting individuals, and gathering endless data with implicit consent for years now. But after recently learning about privacy breaches across social platforms and search engines, consumers have started taking ownership over their data and privacy rights. As this trend becomes more popular the traditional data tracking strategies will likely no longer be a suitable way to pursue leads and revenue. 

Privacy is something a lot of marketers, and companies as a whole, are starting to take into consideration as making a core principle of the user-first experience. Privacy and transparency have the potential to shift the focus from getting short-term leads to creating long-term trust and consumer relationships. These factors are what have the potential to make your brand stand out among others and why embracing privacy can actually turn into profit. 

 

Here are 5 reasons why marketers should start embracing privacy: 

Gaining customer trust 

Embracing transparency is a way to show you’re an accountable brand and deserve the trust of your customers. When you adapt endless paragraphs of legal privacy jargon to a language regular consumers can understand, it won’t seem that you’re trying to hide something or pull a fast one on them. This allows consumers to let their guard down and begin trusting you so you can then start building loyalty.

 

The opportunity to turn a one-way conversation into a two-way conversation 

Obviously you can’t just stop asking for customer data completely, but sending and receiving data from customers is no longer a unidirectional relationship. You don’t want to keep asking for as much data as possible, only the data that really matters. This means you have to rethink how you want to communicate, instead of just continuing to communicate with the data you already have. Once you’re better aware of what the customer really cares about, you can start building a real relationship and starting a two-way conversation. Showing that you actually care about what’s happening in customer’s life is what makes the difference between brands people love and those that get looked over. 

 

The chance to expand business and increase revenue 

It’s been found in a privacy study that people are willing to invest more money into brands that are known to respect and protect privacy. The research showed that users are even willing to pay more monthly for services that delete their data immediately. Not only is investing in privacy-oriented marketing an economic win, but the data you do receive is much more meaningful. It will help you to provide offers to customers at the right place, at the right time. You could take that data even further to develop more custom-tailored products or services, generating more revenue and creating more value for your customers and your brand. 

 

Contributing to brand experience 

Most companies are trying to comply with privacy regulations, so to stand out you have to be creative. Finding innovative ways to communicate with customers will help build and improve brand experience. The main reason customer data should be used is to improve the experience they have with your company. Which is why it’s important to remember to not ask for too much data, just what’s important and can help contribute back to the customers some how. Brands need to start thinking about creating ideas and experiences that consistently add new value to people’s lives. 

 

Gain better ROI 

When you start focusing on privacy-oriented marketing, you’ll also be able to start focusing more on personalized, efficient marketing. You’ll reduce the time spent on non engaged customers, which allows for more time and effort for those who are already involved or open to your brand. You will be able to further understand the customers that do allow you to use their data, enabling you to tailor messages more perfectly for them. 

 

Final Thoughts 

Embracing privacy isn’t some new marketing secret weapon, as it’s something that every company should comply with. But when it becomes a core value and naturally integrates with the rest of your customer experience, it can start to set you apart from other brands. Privacy will continue to become more important as users continue to get more savvy. Going beyond the bare minimum will not only allow your company to be ahead of the curve, but will help you to be seen as accountable, secure, and trusted to current and potential customers.

 

More From Onimod Global 

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Facebook’s New Lead Generation Messenger Feature and What it Means for Advertisers

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On August 29th Facebook started their global roll out of their new lead generation feature in Messenger to all advertisers. This feature allows businesses to create an automated question and answer experience within their Messenger app that launches via click-to-Messenger ads on Facebook News Feed. This is just one of the many new tools Facebook has introduced in the past year with the intentions of streamlining the advertising and communication processes from brands to users. 

 

How it works:

The automated lead generation feature is designed to be used in conjunction with click-to-Messenger ads, which triggers conversation between businesses and Facebook users. If you’re unfamiliar with click-to-Messenger ads, they were one of three new ad additions Facebook released back in February. These ads appear in user’s regular News Feed and will open a Messenger chat with the brand if the ad is clicked. With the new feature, businesses can now set up an automated question experience. The ad opens Messenger and kicks off a set of questions that can be answered through pre-filed or free form text. The system is also designed to send follow-up reminders if users do not complete the questions. 

Businesses can integrate Messenger with their CRM provider to capture the information provided by customers and identify qualified leads. Then, Pages can manually continue the conversation through Pages Inbox, Pages Manager App, or a third party-live chat provider. 

 

What it means for advertisers: 

According to a recent survey, 42% of those polled said they expect a response via an online chatbot within five seconds of sending a message. By integrating an automated lead generation feature that directly connects a CRM platform to its click-to-Messenger ads, brands are not only able to respond more quickly to customer inquiries, but also streamline all communication with their customers on the platform.

 Facebook says that “businesses engaging with potential leads in their preferred channels are seeing results, and finding it easy to continue the conversation and seamlessly nurture leads in Messenger.” They reported that RIFT Tax, a financial services company, used the new feature to increase its customer base of Armed Forces members and increased their qualified leads by 42%. They were able to respond to users in less than 10 minutes, which increased their lead resolve rate by 18%. 

Along with Facebook ads targeting, this feature allows advertisers to further drive interested people into conversation with your business. You can start to take action on leads in Messenger when it’s convenient for both you and your customers. You can easily send reminders to users that haven’t completed the questions, and nurture leads where they spend their time. Finally, with an integrated CRM, your sales team can start immediately taking action. 

 

To try out the lead generation feature:

  1. Visit Ads Manager.
  2. Select “Messenger Objective” and set “click to Messenger” as your message destination. The lead generation template is under the Ad Level in “Message Setup” section. 
  3. Select the option “Generate Leads” and click “+ Create Chat.” 
  4. Add a welcome message, a question, a thank you, a disqualifying message, a completion reminder, and your privacy policy. 
  5. Finalize the setup and submit for approval. 

 

Final Thoughts 

Currently, there are around 300,000 developers building on Messenger, and people and businesses exchanging over 20 billion messages on the platform each month. This option helps to improve the bots and conversation process overall. The more options business have to utilize them, the more popular they will become, and as utility increases, you can also expect consumers to become more attuned to bot usage, further boosting their appeal. 

 

More From Onimod Global 

To catch up on the latest digital marketing news and trends, click here. To find out more about who we are and what we do, click here!

 

 

Generation Z Marketing Strategies

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Gen Z now makes up 26% of the population and comprises 48% of the total media audience. Their spending power is estimated to be between $29 and $143 billion, without taking into account their influence on household spending. They are a formidable consumer demographic, but the generation gap leaves some marketers struggling to successfully reach them. 

It is true that conventional digital marketing strategies rarely work and there has yet to be a complete consensus of which methods are most effective. But experts are starting to come together to compile their best recommendations and guidelines for successfully marketing to Generation Z. 

 

Highlight Social Awareness 

This generation has a heightened awareness of issues plaguing our society and the rest of the world. They know that what’s occurring now has the ability to strongly impact their futures. Which is why if they discover that a company is engaging in objectionable practices, they will avoid doing business with them at all costs, while making it widely known. Conversely, brands that are positively contributing to society or the environment have the opportunity to be strongly supported by Gen Z. As individuals they have varying beliefs, but they share a number of ideals such as inclusivity, multiculturalism, social justice, environmental awareness, and anti-capitalism.

A great example of a company that has done this is TOMS Shoes. For every pair of shoes purchased, they donate another pair of shoes to a child in need. These are the kinds of campaigns and practices that this generation looks for before fully getting behind a brand. 

 

Focus on Mobile Platforms 

75% of Generation Z selected a mobile phone or smartphone as the device they use most. This means strategies aimed at desktop users are no longer effective, especially when it comes to eCommerce web designs. A study performed by Google revealed that Gen Z mostly uses smartphones to make online purchases, and highly prefer online shopping in general. This means all web designs must be mobile-friendly, the checkout process needs to be simple, and content must be created with mobile devices in mind. Voice search is something else to keep in mind, as its use is on the rise with Gen Z. So it’s important to produce website content which conforms to patterns from everyday speech.

 

Be Personal and Relatable 

Generation Z was raised on the internet, they’ve seen everything there is to see. Which means using traditional sales ad and blatant customer manipulation attempts will fail miserably. Aggressive ad copy should be replaced with relatable and relaxed language. They will only pay attention to ads that are directly related to personal needs and desires. They expect retailers to offer a more personalized experience based on the customer’s shopping habits and preferences. This can be accomplished by creating targeted landing pages, publishing content aimed at the right buyer personas, and giving personal replies to messages on social media.

 

Use Each Social Media Platform Differently 

Social media has been a part of Generation Z’s entire lives. They’re highly aware of what each platform is best for and use each reflectively. Which means you can’t advertise to them in the same way on every platform. Response Media’s study reveals that Gen Z: 

  • Showcase their aspirational selves on Instagram
  • Share real-life moments on Snapchat
  • Get the news on Twitter
  • Glean information from Facebook

Instagram is also most used for brand discovery, with 45% of teens using it to find new products. And YouTube is used most for shopping recommendations, followed by Instagram, then Facebook. These are all things that should be closely kept in mind when conducting social media campaigns, sharing content, etc. 

 

Create Quick, Effective, and Visual Content 

It’s a common misconception that Gen Z has an outrageously short attention span, 8 seconds to be exact. In reality, they actually possess a sophisticated filter that comes from growing up surrounded by a deluge of information. So yes, you have very little time to convince them that your content is worth their time, but if it is, they can focus (or binge) long enough to complete in-depth research on any topic. 

Additionally, 71 percent of 13 to 17 year olds spend more than three hours a day watching online videos. But that doesn’t mean you can throw any video advertisement in front of them and they’ll pay attention. On average, Generation Z clicks “Skip” on skippable video ads after only 9.5 seconds. It all stems back to growing up in an information overload environment. This means you need to start focusing on only giving them the most necessary and important material. 

 

Final Thoughts 

When it comes to marketing to Generation Z, the most important thing is to forget all the misconceptions. They are not a generation of unintelligent, short attention spanned, detached kids that are dooming digital marketing for the rest of the generations. Every new generation of consumers means shifting marketing tactics and best practices in order to continue driving revenue and growing as a brand. When you execute your digital marketing strategy correctly, Gen Z can bring in major revenue, their own as well as revenue from their parents. They care about social responsibility, authenticity, and personable customer experiences. Brands have the opportunity to start engaging with socially active, highly motivated young people. They want to connect with companies, lead a following, or even become loyal brand ambassadors. Generation Z presents a new challenge that may just not seem worth it to some, but they offer the opportunity for huge payoffs with a little bit of work and understanding. 

 

More From Onimod Global

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5 Steps to Creating a High Converting Landing Page

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Customers arrive on a landing page through social media posts, paid advertisements, and various other content. If your landing page is ineffective, all the ad dollars and resources put towards getting these customers there was essentially a waste.

A quality landing page has the potential to increase leads, sales, and gain valuable information on potential customers. Creating highly effective landing pages can seem like a difficult task, as there’s no one-size-fits-all template, but there are a variety of landing page best practices. These combined with understanding your target audience and dedicated effort, building a high converting landing page will be much easier. 

 

1. Focus on Responsive, Mobile-Friendly Designs 

In 2018, 52.2 percent of all website traffic worldwide was generated through mobile phones. No matter the industry, it’s smart to make mobile design a priority. This means using: optimized images, shorter sentences, bullet points, headings, and subheadings. Mobile-optimized landing pages include a lot of white space and can be easy to read at a quick glance. Performance is also important, as conversions won’t be likely if page speed is low or chew up data. 

Mobile-optimization also forces conciseness and high design focus. Screen space can’t be wasted on extra unimportant content or fluff. The message should be focused on the action you want the customer to take. The less-is-more design approach results in a more concise and engaging final project. 

 

2. Have One Clear Call-To-Action 

The call-to-action is the number one, most important element that should be included on every landing page, as it’s what turns visitors into real customers. 

What should be focused on first is the text. Powerful, direct, and urgent language is key. What makes you unique and would create an emotional drive in customers? If possible try to communicate one or more of the following: they are getting something for free, they are getting something exclusive, you are solving their problem, or they have limited time to act. 

Some other elements that increase the effectiveness of call-to-actions are contrasting colors, buttons instead of links, and ensuring its visibility. Most companies and sites have a set color scheme, which is great, but you don’t want your CTA to blend in. Make it stand out by using contrasting, yet visually appealing colors. It also doesn’t need to be at the bottom of the page. It should be placed where the user’s eye naturally goes. This is something that may require A/B testing. 

 

3. Use Visuals 

The brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text. Meaning that visitors are immediately affected by the images on the landing page. As pictures are selected and placed, remember that they should be relevant to products and services, and high quality. 

If you’re selling a physical product, a high quality image should be displayed on the landing page. If you’re selling a service, the primary purpose of the image is to grab users’ attention and demonstrate relevance to them. 

And since the images are the first thing the user processes, you want that impression to be a good one. It has the potential to shape the visitor’s impression of your brand before they even make it to the ad copy. Which is why this isn’t a great place to use stock photos or quick photoshop jobs. Marketers have the opportunity to give potential customers a visual understanding of what they stand to gain with their product or service, and set themselves apart from the competition.

 

4. Have User and Search Engine Friendly Formatting 

Along with a mobile-friendly design and quality content, the page also needs to be formatted well, starting with a solid headline. It should compelling, something that will keep visitors reading. Touch on a main point that’s relevant to readers and hints that you have a solution to their problem. It’s also beneficial to use emotional power words. The most effective emotions to appeal to are anger, greed, and fear. “Stop getting ripped off!” “Free exclusive gift!” “Only 24 hours left!” are all possible headers appealing to these emotions. 

After you’ve established a heading that meets all the criteria, break the rest of the content of the landing page into segments. Each segment should have a subheading of its own that makes sense. This way if a reader is skimming the page they can skip to the section they’re looking for or read what is most relevant for them. Not only are headings and subheadings helpful for visitors, it helps search engines as well. Landing pages can be more easily indexed by Google and other search engines when they’re logically structured. 

 

5. Show You’re Reliable 

High converting landing pages always contain an element of trust. Include various pieces of evidence that show you can be trusted and are a reliable company, since you’re most likely asking visitors to give up some kind of sensitive information. There are five types of evidence best used to show trustworthiness.

The first is high quality landing page copy. There should be absolutely no spelling or grammatical errors. This makes visitors wary because it seems unprofessional, gives the sense that the website was thrown together, and thus unreliable. There are many tools that can help with spelling, grammar, and guides for clear landing page copy.

Proof of expertise and experience is also essential for reliability. Things such as: established in 1995, over 50,000 satisfied customers, licensed in 50 states, officially certified, member of the local Chamber of Commerce, etc, all communicate an important message. It reassures potential customers that your company is experienced, qualified, and have taken the prerequisites to earn and deserve your trust. 

Social proof, direct and indirect, is great evidence. Indirect includes social media follows, number of subscribers, likes, and shares. The more social engagement you have, the more trust you can earn. Indirect social proof can also be things like reported revenue, employee size, and other factors that bring your business clout. Direct social includes positive reviews, testimonials, and positive quotes from customers or influencers in your niche. It’s one person telling others “I had a good experience,” The simple truth is, trust begets trust.

Personal connection is next. Earn visitors trust by letting them get to know you and your business. This could be things such as a personal story, video, company bio, history, photos, etc. It helps when customers can put a name and face with who they’re doing business with. 

Lastly, evidence of security is very important. Most IT and security software vendors will give badges to their customers. You should place those on landing pages to indicate to customers that you have taken steps to ensure they’re information is protected, especially when it comes to personal or financial data. 

 

Contact Onimod Global 

Struggling to make your landing page convert or just need some digital marketing advice? Contact us! We are experts in all things digital marketing including SEM, Web Dev, Automation, Analytics, and much more. Learn more about what we do here, or keep up to date with all things digital marketing on our news page. 

 

 

The Best Post-Cookies Digital Marketing Strategies

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Marketers have been predicting the death of cookies since 2017, and yet it’s still holding on. Safari and Firefox already block third-party cookies by default, and Google Chrome is soon getting the controls to follow. This has been regarded as the “nail in the coffin” for cookies, meaning the end is finally in sight. 

What exactly does this mean for digital marketers that have been relying heavily on cookies for so long? If that includes you, there’s no need to worry. Marketing as we know it will survive. There are a number of more effective data sources being developed, as well as plenty of tactics to break and replace the cookies habit. 

 

People-Based Marketing 

People-based marketing combines real-time behavioral data with first party brand data to create a cohesive marketing system, centered around the individual consumer. This behavioral marketing method does not rely on third-party cookies. Instead it allows brands to use a proactive approach, creating a marketing strategy that’s ready to meet the user wherever they choose to engage. 

A successful strategy includes three key elements: Identification, Data, and Automation. 

Identification: This is the process of identifying and connecting consumers and their devices, with the ultimate goal of ensuring persistent, cross-device recognition for a single view of the customer. This is necessary because most consumers do not spend time online on a single device. A typical consumer navigates through various devices – desktop computers, smartphones, and tablets, while looking at the same products. If the full customer journey is not tracked well, it could lead to incorrect assumptions about their behavior. These assumptions can cause inaccurate data, ultimately resulting in poorly designed marketing campaigns. 

Data: Brands have an abundance of data on each customer, from purchase data to email engagement to device information. Until recently it was impossible to actually put this data to use, due to limitation certain channels have put on it. With the identification-first approach, we can now tap into the dunes of dark data since it all ties back to the first identifying point – the email address. Now, brands can organize all their data the “people-based way,” attributing every piece of data to the single individual in question. And it’s not just historical data, brands can refer to real-time behavioral data like their device, their interaction with your website, their carts, as well as the products and categories they visited while browsing. Linking together these data points allows brands to get a singular view of the customer.

Automation: Instead of relying on cookie-based data, people-based marketing automation relies on first party-based targeting. Brands unlock a singular view of consumers, one that anchors all of the data discussed above to a single email address. As a result, brands can automate their marketing approach across all devices and all channels under a single cohesive marketing strategy. The power of people-based marketing stems from the fact that it looks at the business’ lowest common denominator, the consumer, as opposed to a specific channel or device.

 

Contextual Advertising 

In the simplest terms, contextual advertising is advertising on a website that is relevant to the page’s content. In traditional contextual advertising, automated systems display ads related to the content of your site based on keyword targeting. This is not a new strategy, but keyword contextual based advertising is one of the best options to cookies-based behavioral targeting. The downfall to behavioral targeting is that you may be getting shown ads for things you would never really buy as an everyday consumer. With contextual advertising you’re only shown ads based on the content you’re looking at, not your overall behavior profile. 

Google AdSense is the ideal platform for this type of advertising, giving you the ability to place, images, videos, or text ads on pages of participating sites. You can put dynamic content in front of people that weren’t necessarily searching for you, but were already interested in your field of industry. YouTube advertising, which is a part of the Google Ads System, is another contextual advertising opportunity. For example, you could show a brief video game ad right before a video game tutorial YouTube video. 

The move to contextual targeting will also mean a move back to focusing on producing and distributing relevant content. Extremely specific ads need to be created for equally specific keyword groups and site pages. User relevancy should be maximized, which in turn maximizes clicks, conversions, and ultimately ROI. 

 

Final Thoughts 

The disappearance of third-party tracking may be unsettling at first, but most marketers are starting to believe tracking cookies are no longer needed. Apple’s Safari and the GDPR made the method increasingly unattractive and the expectancy of stricter privacy regulations is why Google is planning on joining the “cookies ban” bandwagon. Moving forward it’s going to be all about exploring new technologies, innovation, and striking a balance between profit and privacy choices to avoid another wave of consumer backlash. Utilizing first-party data that you can get when people intentionally engage with your brand is the first step toward accomplishing this.

 

More From Onimod Global

While there’s no avoiding the changes to come, you don’t have to face these challenges alone. Onimod Global is here to help, with expertise in every area of digital marketing, including SEM, SEO, Social, Web Dev, Graphic Design, and more. Receive the highest-quality customer service, 24/7, at an affordable rate. Learn more about what we do, and start your project today. 

LinkedIn Adds New Features to Campaign Manager

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LinkedIn announced late last week that it will be adding three new features to their advertising platform. These features include brand awareness campaigns, website conversion tracking capabilities, and job applications. This new version will also have an optimized click pricing option. 

LinkedIn has recently been putting a lot of emphasis on improving the platform’s advertising capabilities and proving the product should be considered more in the paid social space. From updating ad targeting capabilities to new integrations, such as moat analytics integration for video marketing. The newest update is focusing on campaign objectives, ensuring it’s easier to achieve the right results that better align with them. The updated Campaign Manager has been in public beta since October, but LikedIn reports that it’s working, as customer satisfaction has lifted 67%. 

The New Campaign Objectives

Brand Awareness: Introduced as the first top of funnel ad objective to the Campaign Manager, designed to help advertisers increase “share-of-voice” on the platform rather than generating traffic. These campaigns are charged by impressions (CPM or cost per thousand), rather than clicks. 

Website Conversion Capabilities: Because “conversion” has such a broad range of meanings, LinkedIn has tightened the integration of its conversion tracking tool. Campaigns can now be created that are optimized for specific actions, such as purchases, downloads, or registrations. 

Job Applications: LinkedIn is a large recruiting tool for companies looking for new applicants. Now any LinkedIn Talent Solutions customer can create ads using Campaign Manager, driving applications to LinkedIn or back to the company website. 

Optimized Click Pricing 

Going along with the new Campaign Manager, LinkedIn has optimized their click pricing to better align with advertisers’ objectives as well. Meaning that you only pay for what’s valuable to you. For example, if website visits are selected as the campaign objective, the only clicks that are charged are those that made it to the landing page. For social engagement campaigns, pricing is optimized to include all social actions such as likes, comments, shares, etc. LinkedIn has been previously known as an expensive paid advertising platform. This new payment model is supposed to better align with larger objectives, and hopefully provide better ROI for advertisers. 

Final Thoughts 

LinkedIn is starting to become a much more marketing-friendly platform and a stronger competitor in the paid social space. When it comes to digital campaigns, it can be extremely beneficial when the machine learning systems have a better understanding of your objectives. Providing more variety in campaign goals, as well as different pricing models to match each type, will help advertisers get the results they need, while avoiding paying for the actions that they don’t. 

Putting these Features to Use 

At Onimod Global we’re experts in SEM and Social Media. We handle paid advertising on Google, Bing, and across all social platforms, including LinkedIn. We’ve recently been rolling out brand new LinkedIn campaigns for a few of our clients, and have started producing a few results. We understand that LinkedIn is not an appropriate advertising platform for all brands or all campaigns. Having the correct brand positioning is essential, and with our expertise we know exactly where you and your ads need to be. 

Learn more about what we do here, or if you’re ready to become a client, contact us here.

 

Instagram Advertising: Is It Right For You?

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Instagram has recently announced that they are going to start displaying ads in its Explore tab. The Explore section allows users to browse new content while discovering new accounts based on their interests. The platform says they will be introducing ads “slowly and thoughtfully” in the coming months. They want Explore to be the best place for people to discover something new and for businesses to connect with people who may become meaningful customers. 

Instagram is becoming an increasingly popular marketing platform, as it has been reported they’re experiencing more user engagement growth than its parent company, Facebook. This new update gives advertisers even greater opportunities to reach users beyond just their feeds. While the benefits to advertising on Instagram are rapidly growing, the cons are still there. So, how can you be sure that Instagram is the right platform for you? 

How Instagram Advertising Works

As most other social platforms, Instagram advertising is utilized to grow brand exposure, website traffic, generate new leads, and hopefully get leads closer to converting. As the platform is visually based, text ads are not a thing here. Marketers must use images, a set of images, or videos, which can be accompanied with text, to reach users. 

The Pros 

Ultra Specific Targeting Capabilities 

Instagram falls under Facebook, meaning marketers have access to the same demographic targeting mechanisms on both platforms. Companies can target users based on interests, location, behavior, etc. Instagram offers a variety of campaign goal options, ensuring marketers are optimizing ad spend. 

Unique Visual Ad Formating 

Instagram ads allow marketers to maximize the extent of visual content. Companies can captivate users and create brand awareness by using high quality photos or videos. These photos and videos can be displayed as traditional posts, or there is the option to show them as stories as well. Companies have also started to reach out to influencers on the platform. Influencers are users that have a large and established following, whom companies have started paying to promote their products on their account. 

Higher Engagement Rates 

Instagram is a personal, conversational, and engaging platform. Engagement rates are 10 times higher than Facebook, 54 times higher than Pinterest, and 84 times higher than Twitter. Their formatting makes it possible for users to gain access to sales pages in just one click. Marketers can include call-to-actions to begin the checkout process, encouraging purchases straight from the app. This design eliminates the usual obstacles involved with online sales, allowing for instant gratification. 

The Cons 

Limited Audience 

While the platform offers a monthly user base of over 800 million, 90% of their users are under 35 years of age. Instagram is perfect for brands looking to engage with a younger audience, but those with an older target audience may find themselves struggling. While there are older users, very few are active. It’s also not the best platform to reach men. While they are on Instagram, it’s not as heavily as on other apps. Those brands exclusively targeting older ages or men may find it better for ROI to turn to other advertising platforms. 

Time-Intensive 

Staying fresh and relevant is crucial on a platform with large numbers of younger users. Authenticity is especially important here compared to search platforms, such as AdWords. Users begin to notice if brands are constantly regurgitating the same content just to increase posts. Brands have to be consistent with responding to comments, posting new content, and incorporating as many visual elements as possible to encourage interaction.

Required to Work Through Mobile Devices 

While you can access the platform through a web browser, abilities are extremely limited. Users are required to post through apps on mobile devices. Once the ads are initially posted they can be shared easily throughout multiple campaigns, but you must be able to access the account on a mobile device. Brands that aren’t so mobile-friendly may run into frequent obstacles. 

Conclusion: Is it right for your business? 

The biggest factor that goes into the answer to this question is target demographic. If your target audience is exclusively those 50 and up, Instagram is probably not the ideal advertising platform. That doesn’t mean you should immediately dismiss the possibility of Instagram ads. Similar to what happened to their parent company, Facebook, the number of older users will increase as the platform continues to grow. The decision is ultimately up to what you believe is right for your brand. 

At Onimod Global we are experts in SEM and social media. We know which platforms are best for brands, and create visibility for brands where customers are searching, interating, and ultimately converting. Find out more about we do here, or contact us today here.

Branded vs Non-Branded Keywords: Which Should You Be Using?

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When it comes to branded versus non-branded search, it isn’t an either/or decision, both are critical for successful rankings. Businesses must have a strong understanding of the customer journey, to know when users are more likely to search for branded versus non-branded keywords. If you’re aware of what searches your potential customers are making, and are bidding on the right phrases, you can increase your chances of ranking in moments of the highest intent. 

 

Branded Keywords 

Branded keywords are exactly what they sound like, search words or phrases that include your brand name or a variation of it. Branded keywords are usually used by searchers that have heard of your business through marketing efforts or are a past customer. Some businesses feel that bidding on your own branded keywords is a waste, but this isn’t necessarily true. To help all users in their search journey it can still be beneficial to bid on branded keywords. Here are some reasons to think about. 

Controlling Your Message 

Organic listings are cheap but they don’t give you the chance to really tell users what you’re about. Paid advertising gives you the opportunity to get creative with your message to grab the user’s attention. Additionally, organic results may not take users to their ideal landing pages. With paid advertisements you have complete control of your message and where the user is linked to, increasing your chances of conversions. 

Competitor Bids 

Competitors may be invading your space. Many businesses across all industries bid on their competitors’ keywords with the intention of stealing business and traffic. Bidding on your own keywords reduces competitors’ opportunities to outrank your own results. 

Capture High-Quality Leads. 

People searching for your own brand are already familiar with your company. They’ve either heard good things from a friend or are a returning customer. Either way, they know you have what they’re searching for and are further along in the buying cycle than someone just doing broad searches. Chances are they’re very close to making a purchase. Being one of the top results ensures that they find what they’re looking for, and can follow through with that purchase, creating new or repeat business for you. 

Dominating Your Own Search Engine Results Page

They always say that two is better than one. Appearing both organically and by paid ads can show users that you’re a prominent player in that space. It works similarly to having multiple links in an email, increasing click-through rates, giving the users more opportunities to land on your page. 

 

Non-Branded Keywords 

Non-branded keywords are any search queries that do not specify any specific brands or business names. These include generic searches such as “happy hours in my area,” or “local car repair services.” These are often made by people that are either brand-agnostic, or new prospects not yet familiar with your brand. While ranking for branded terms is still important, strategizing how to rank for non-branded keywords should be a top priority. This is likely to be more expensive than branded keyword bidding, but it’s the best way to gain more visibility, traffic, and conversions. Non-branded searches are made at a much higher volume than branded terms, which is why it’s important to identify those that are most relevant to you. Here are some strategies to optimize non-branded search. 

Optimize for what Users are Searching 

It’s important to begin by putting yourself in the user’s perspective. What exactly would they be searching for to end up at your business? What products or services might they need? What entities are fundamental to your business? For example, if you do work on cars, customers are probably doing searches beyond just “car repair.” They may be looking for – oil changes, new brakes, new tires, etc. It’s important to not only have a clear understanding of what your customers are looking for, but how to optimize your non-branded searches to fit their needs. 

Manage Business Listings 

Make sure your business is listed accurately, everywhere. This way new customers making local searches find you in moments of high intent. Everything from address, hours, business category, etc. need to be correct and consistent. This is necessary for not only your own website, but for third party sites as well, such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, etc. To rank for non-branded searches, search engines must be able to identify that your business is near the user’s geolocation and your hours of operation. 

It’s important to emphasize both of these aspects because if search engines can’t find this information then neither will users. Overall, both types of searches work together. By optimizing online listings and your website for the products, locations, services, and other entities that you offer, you’re giving search engines the information they need to deliver structured, verified answers to specific questions customers are asking about your brand. 

Getting business today means you have to understand that customers have grown and know how to search for exactly what they want. Which is why it’s important to utilize and optimize your opportunities in all search areas. 

 

How We Can Help 

At Onimod Global we are experts in all areas of SEM. We are experienced in paid advertising across all platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Google, and Bing. Our strategy is using cross-channel digital marketing campaigns driven by machine learning analytics and human intelligence. Together ensuring your brand meets the consumer when and where they need them. Read more about what we do here, or contact us today here.