Good morning, Search Marketer, today is National Superhero Day and that's enough of a segue for me. It's really not about the "super" part. This "holiday" made me think of the many kindnesses that I rely on daily to perform my job, which boils down to serving the search community. Every time I tweet a request for perspectives on breaking news or reach out to my network to see if anyone knows of a person that works in a specific vertical, I usually get what I need, thanks to the professionals that I am fortunate enough to write for — thank you very, very much. That's my specific experience, and I've discussed with others why they do (or don't) engage with potential colleagues on Twitter or LinkedIn. There's just so much knowledge and experience and networking that you can tap into, and you can be that bridge for someone else that may really need guidance. So, if you see a post by someone and you're in a position to help them along their journey, I hope you'll choose to do so. It's just good karma. Keep on reading for all the news and data you need to know today, as well as a music video that is sure to knock your socks off. George Nguyen,
Editor | | | | | Indicators | | | | | Reassess your ROI for better reporting and strategic insights | | | | When it comes to measuring content marketing performance, almost half (46%) of B2B marketers consider determining ROI to be a top challenge, according to data from Ascend2 and KoMarketing. So, what are some factors that can enable you to effectively measure your B2B content marketing campaigns? The greatest proportion of respondents, 61%, said it was "establishing a reliable process/strategy," followed by having a "high-functioning staff/resources" (40%) and "defining organizational goals" (38%). Why we care. Estimating your ROI can come down to a range of factors, which makes it even more important to get as precise as you can. What you're telling stakeholders is going to affect the budget you're given. So, if you're not confident in your ROI estimates, take some time to pinpoint where the noise is coming from and isolate it so that you can also gain a better understanding of how your content performs, which can also tell you how to iterate on it or if it's time to shift strategies. | | | | | | PPC | | | | | Will Apple's App Tracking Transparency change the game for advertisers? | | | | It's been about ten months since Apple first announced that apps will have to seek explicit consent from users if they want to track their activity across other apps and websites, but App Tracking Transparency has finally launched as part of iOS 14.5. You may recall that Facebook decried the new feature, even going as far as to take out ads in The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal stating that it was taking a stand against Apple on behalf of "small businesses everywhere." It's easy to see that Facebook is downplaying how Apple's change affects its own business, but many small businesses do rely on personalized ads to reach audiences. iPhones accounted for 62% of all domestic ad impressions on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and the Audience Network in March (up from 56% compared to the year prior), according to Tinuiti's Q1 2021 Facebook Ads Benchmark Report. Android, on the other hand, accounted for 29%, which is actually a slight decrease from what it was in March 2020. Why we care. This discrepancy highlights the potential impact that App Tracking Transparency may have. "With Apple devices accounting for such a large share of ad impressions, it will be crucial for advertisers to quickly adapt to the new state of campaign optimization and management to succeed moving forward," a representative for Tinuiti commented. | | | | | | | Learn about the benefits of using an SEO tool and compare leading vendors | | Organic search continues to evolve rapidly, as Google updates and refines its search algorithms to better understand user intent and to favor mobile, local and fast-loading sites. Technical considerations like those addressed by Google's Core Web Vitals are also growing in importance as mobile phones continue to be the devices where most searches take place. Tools integrating these metrics and providing suggestions on how to improve them, can provide significant value. There are many choices for search marketers seeking a technology partner to manage SEO. This guide from MarTech Today explains the benefits using an SEO tool and profiles 14 leading vendors. Download now » | | | | | | E-commerce | | | | | Tracking down fake e-commerce listings | | One in five fake e-commerce listings came from just 3% of repeat offenders, a new study from brand protection company Incopro found. Eliminating this cohort of illicit sellers couldn't prevent up to $78 billion in annual losses for brands. The study resulted from a statistical analysis of 1.5 million IP enforcements across over 750 brands. Incopro looked at 34 platforms, including popular marketplaces and social sites, and determined that a strictly enforced "three strikes" policy on offending fake posters would protect brands and consumers alike. Incopro makes two baseline recommendations for e-commerce marketplaces: - All seller identities should be verified; and
- All sellers should be removed from the marketplace or social site if identified as selling illicit goods and services on more than three occasions ("three strikes").
Currently, 68% of the selling platforms Incopro surveyed have some policy in place to root out repeat offenders. Only three of the platforms (Alibaba, Aliexpress and Taobao) go as far as banning the illicit sellers. Why we care. Why wouldn't e-commerce marketplaces and social platforms want to build trust between sellers and consumers? As big brands focus more of their strategies on social commerce, they have to be assured that the environment is safe for their brand and not wasteful to their bottom line. | | | | | | Shorts | | | | | Do you even love digital marketing if you haven't recorded a song and filmed a music video about it? | | Catch Barry and Mordy's chat on Clubhouse today. Our own Barry Schwartz will be joining Mordy Oberstein to discuss what's new, what's old and what you should know about SEO these days on today's edition of Open Mic SEO. Listening to these two is equal parts enlightening and entertaining; if you've got the time, it starts at 10am ET on Clubhouse. Pointers for marketing on Reddit. Marketer Chantelle Marcelle tweeted a thread of notes she took during an AMA with Will Cady, Reddit's head of brand strategy. It's a great list of tips for those looking to leverage Reddit for branding or community marketing — my favorite tip is: "Don't confuse critics for trolls. People who are taking the time to criticize usually are the people who care about what you're doing the most. Even if you don't have a good answer to share at that time, just acknowledging that you hear them can be hugely helpful." The SEO Rapper. This time, it's not Mike King (although I'm not sure Mike raps specifically about SEO). Check out this music video by Charles Lewis, simply titled "Digital Marketing" — the chorus is pretty catchy: "First build a site, next drive traffic, then get leads, see it's not magic…" | | | | | | What We're Reading | | | | | At first it was "disruption," but at this point, it's just table stakes | You've likely heard it before: years of digital transformation crammed into a 12-month span. Some of these changes have been more obvious than others; for example, numerous companies have instituted a permanent WFH policy. While the pandemic prompted many of these shifts, it was only one component of what we experienced in 2020. Employees, as well as the general public, now have increased expectations for companies to take up social and environmental causes. And, privacy and the fair treatment of workers in the gig economy continue to be important considerations for informed customers. In days long gone, these issues were most commonly championed by tech companies, but in Time Magazine's piece "Every Company is a Tech Company Now. The Disruption is Just Beginning," Edward Felsenthal, the magazine's editor-in-chief and CEO, argues that these issues, along with the ability to rapidly evolve your business, have become table stakes for any large company. These entities wield an amount of influence unlike anything we've ever seen — I think most marketers would agree that the businesses they represent could go boom or bust depending on the changes that the Googles, Facebooks, Amazons and Apples of the world decide to implement. The main takeaway for me was that these companies could use their influence for good or bad, and sometimes both at the same time. Weighing out those decisions is something that every marketer should be doing: take Apple's App Tracking Transparency for example. Will you be framing this to your clients in a way that villainizes Apple, or in a way that emphasizes why user consent is important? I believe that if we take part in this change, by engaging in discussions amongst our colleagues in the industry as well as with decision-makers at these multinational corporations, we'll at least have done our part to nudge progress in the right direction. | | | | |
