Author Archives: The Web Guys
Google Search and the BERT Algorithm
Google’s primary focus is to understand better what it is that searchers are actually searching for, and in the process, it’s rolled out the BERT algorithm. When Google describes BERT as “one of the biggest leaps forward in the history of Search,” they say they are making a significant claim. The underlying goal is to bolster Search’s ability to organically discern which information a user is seeking and to parlay that into results that make sense from the user’s perspective Google shares that, with the implementation of BERT, about 1 in 10 Google Searches will reap greater user rewards based on its capabilities, which can help you enhance your brand right out of the gate. While this currently applies only to those searches made in English in the United States, more countries and languages will be included over time. BERT: What’s It All About? BERT stands for Bidirectional Encoder Representations … Continued
Google Ads: 2 Fresh Ways to Target Users
Google Ads, the goliath of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, recently launched two new offerings to help you reach your target audience in Google Search, and it’s pretty big news. The rollouts include Affinity Audiences and Seasonal Event Segments for In-Market Audiences – just in time for the holidays. Read further to discover more about these targeting options and to find out what they might have to offer you. What’s It All About? When potential customers – and there are likely far more than you realize – are in search mode, they are exploring their personal interests, searching for inspiration, and digging around for things that matter to them. If you can provide these potential customers with what they want (even if they’re not aware of what it is they want in the moment) when they want it, you’re golden. Google Ads’ latest additions are focused on helping you make your advertising … Continued
Creating a Holiday Content Strategy
The holidays are nearly upon us, and while you may be most excited for holiday celebrations with friends and family, your business’s content calendar may not be on track. With Halloween kicking off Thanksgiving – and Thanksgiving leading directly to Black Friday, Chanukah, Christmas, and New Year’s – online traffic surges. If your holiday content isn’t keeping up, you could be missing out on significant business. With a bit of planning, you can help your business reap the rewards of this most fruitful season, and you may even find time to pencil in a few holiday festivities of your own.
Should I Utilize My Google Beacon?
By now you’ve probably magically received a Google beacon for your business. Google is proactively sending these beacons (along with instructions on how to register them) out to businesses that use their advertising services and are likely to benefit from it.
The New Google Ads Experience
Google is constantly improving upon their practices across their many platforms. Recently at their Google Marketing Live event, they announced a whole slew of changes impacting advertising, analytics, and more. One of the major changes? Google AdWords is now Google Ads. What are some major updates coming to Google Ads? Responsive Search AdsResponsive search ads will allow you to create 15 headlines (at 30 characters) and 4 descriptions (at 90 characters). Google will then mix and match these headlines and descriptions to create the optimal ad. Not only will this allow you to have more high performing ads, in theory. But, the ads will be much larger in size, thus taking up more real estate on the page, and standing out from competitors. New Expanded Text AdsThe new expanded text ads allow for you to take up more space. They feature 3 headlines (at 30 characters) and 2 descriptions (at … Continued
Indy Do Day
Think back to a time where you felt a sense of accomplishment, involvement, helpfulness, and community. What were you doing? Were you volunteering your time and services to a cause bigger than you? Volunteering is a great way to give back to your local community and achieve those feelings. Sometimes it can be difficult to find projects that need volunteers or volunteers to help with your project. Indy Do Day bridges that gap. What Is Indy Do Day? Indy Do Day is held from September 27-29, and it empowers community members to take pride and ownership of their community all while building relationships. It allows local volunteers and organizations to come together by providing a platform for organizations to post volunteer opportunities and for volunteers to sign up. It is Indy Do Day’s hope to invoke a sense of change towards a more civically-engaged community in Central Indiana. Why Participate … Continued
Your Helpful Guide: Yelp’s New Review Solicitation Policy
Yelp recently announced that it will be more aggressively enforcing its “Don’t Ask” policy, penalizing companies that show signs of “organized review solicitation.” Specifically, companies that Yelp believes to be actively soliciting reviews are now at risk of having their pages demoted in the platform’s search results as well as having a “Consumer Alert” warning placed on their Yelp business page. A Yelp spokesperson explained the company’s reasoning for its “Don’t Ask” policy stating, “A business is more likely to ask their satisfied customers to write reviews, and when businesses heavily solicit or offer freebies or discounts in exchange for reviews, that puts other businesses that play by the rules at a disadvantage.” Whether or not Yelp’s policy is a sound business decision is yet to be seen. In the meantime, business owners need to figure out their next move. If you’re working on your own to collect more reviews … Continued
User Reviews are The King
Did you know that positive online reviews produce an 18% average uplift in sales? Or that consumers are likely to spend 31% more with businesses that have excellent reviews? How about that 59% of consumers say that review sites have the most influence on their booking decisions when traveling? Online reviews have become an important part of how consumers make decisions, whether it’s what to eat, watch, buy, or sell. See below for even more industry-specific information and statistics. The facts and impact of online reviews are real. What are some effective strategies you’ve used to garner positive online reviews for your business? Image Credit: Website Builder
What Happens When You Quit Blogging?
Blogging isn’t something that is reserved for only the famous and super elite brands — it’s something that even small businesses should keep up with. But why should blogging be important for a website that’s main goal is to convert users? What if you just cast blogging aside for awhile? Well, I’m glad you asked. Here are the hard-hitting stats about companies who blog: Brands that create 15 blog posts per month average 1,200 new leads per month. Blogs give websites 434% more indexed pages and 97% more indexed links. Blogs on company sites result in 55% more visitors. So what happens when a business decides to quit blogging? WordPress developer Robert Ryan took this question to the test by abstaining from publishing new content to his blog for 251 days — and his results were alarming… Organic Traffic Takes a Huge Nosedive When Ryan quit blogging, his overall traffic … Continued
Where Should I Spend My Marketing Dollars?
Investing in online marketing is an important decision for your business, but where is it the most crucial to spend your budget? Take advantage of all that we at The Web Guys can do for you. As digital marketers, we can guide you how to get the most for your budget by selecting the right platform with the best ROI. Google AdWords Learn More Facebook Advertising Learn More Search Engine Optimization Learn More Google AdWords If you want to reach new customers online, then advertising with Google Adwords is without-a-doubt the platform to start. Google AdWords is a robust advertising service that display ads on Google search result pages, Google local pack and its advertising networks. With these amazing features below, it’s easy to see why AdWords is the most used pay-per-click platform in the world: Target Prospective Customers:Google processes more than 1.2 trillion web searches every single year, so … Continued
