Eric Schmidt predicted that sales of smartphones would surpass PCs more than six years ago, as the then-Google CEO prepared the world for the “mobile-first” culture at the Mobile World Congress in 2010. Fast forward to today, and we’re witnessing the birth of a new mobile era where consumers interact and convert in what Google describes as mobile micro-moments — the key points of time when a user is interacting with their mobile device because they want to know something, go somewhere, do something or buy something. As marketers, measuring mobile moments that matter — by understanding and optimizing mobile traffic, mobile engagement, mobile conversion and mobile revenue — is critical to developing a successful mobile-first strategy that improves performance. Consider the four statistics below; By 2019, mobile ad spending is expected to increase to $195.55 billion, and mobile ads will account for 70.1 percent of all digital advertising, Source: … [Read more...] about Google’s shift to mobile-first: mobile moments that matter
Jim yu
Seizing opportunity, evangelizing success, achieving overarching growth
As we begin 2017, the fusion of the search and content marketing disciplines has become increasingly more evident. A full 89 percent of B2B marketers (PDF) say that they use content marketing, as do 86 percent of B2C marketers, according to the Content Marketing Institute. Additionally, over 70 percent of marketers in both groups plan on producing more content in the new year than they did in 2016. However, content only has real value if it is found and optimized, and if it converts with effective search marketing. Search is the key driver that opens up opportunity in 2017 Research from BrightEdge (my company) found that 51 percent of traffic to websites comes from organic search. Additionally, another 10 percent comes from paid. This means that over 60 percent of the traffic on your site arrives from the search engine results pages (SERPs) alone. While organic search is the primary driver of website traffic, the role of ads cannot be overlooked. Google has recently been taking … [Read more...] about Seizing opportunity, evangelizing success, achieving overarching growth
Happy New Year’s, Santa tracker & Google’s new recipe results
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. A year in review: Search Engine Land’s top 10 columns of 2016Dec 30, 2016 by Jessica Thompson Which topics drew the most attention within the search industry this year? From infographics to quizzes to advice, our top 10 columns of the year covered all the bases. 4 steps to make your organic listings more effectiveDec 30, 2016 by Jason Decker How can you improve your organic search results? Columnist Jason Decker outlines four basic steps to make your listings more compelling to searchers and prospects. Google’s New Year’s eve day logo for 2016Dec 30, 2016 by Barry Schwartz Here is the New Year’s eve Doodle from Google all decked out in jumpy balloons. Paradigm shift: Has Google suspended defamation removals?Dec 30, 2016 by Chris Silver Smith Columnist Chris Silver Smith takes a look at what could be a recent policy shift in Google’s … [Read more...] about Happy New Year’s, Santa tracker & Google’s new recipe results
HTTPS websites account for 30% of all Google search results
As of late June, 32.5% of page one Google results now use the HTTPS protocol, according to a new study from Moz. The esteemed Dr Pete published a blog post this week on the data they’ve been tracking in the two year period since Google announced HTTPS was to be a light ranking signal in August 2014. The results are definitely enough to give SEOs pause for thought when it comes to considering whether to switch their sites to a secure protocol. What is HTTPS? In case you need a refresher, here is Jim Yu’s explanation of the difference between http and HTTPS: HTTP is the standard form used when accessing websites. HTTPS adds an additional layer of security by encrypting in SSL and sharing a key with the destination server that is difficult to hack. And here is Google’s 2014 announcement: “We’re starting to use HTTPS as a ranking signal. For now, it’s only a very lightweight signal, affecting fewer than 1% of global queries, and carrying less weight than … [Read more...] about HTTPS websites account for 30% of all Google search results
Six lessons advertisers can learn from local SEO
Last month, ClickZ Intelligence published its report into ‘The State of Mobile Advertising’, in partnership with Search Optics. Among the report’s findings was the revelation that mobile advertisers are missing out on hyperlocal opportunities in a big way. As our Editor in Chief Graham Charlton observed in the article linked, “With the near ubiquity of smartphones, and their growing use to access digital content, the opportunity to target based on location has never been greater.” And yet, advertisers aren’t taking advantage of these opportunities to employ hyperlocal tactics in their advertising. When asked which of the hyperlocal tactics listed they used to target consumers with ads – including tactics like customer match, retargeting and basic radius based on GPS data – less than half of respondents said they were using any of the given strategies. One survey respondent said, “Armed with their mobile devices, consumers are … [Read more...] about Six lessons advertisers can learn from local SEO