Google AdWords has introduced new IF functions to search ads which allow ad text to be customized based on whether or not specific parameters are met.
The post New Google AdWords IF Functions Allow for Greater Ad Customization by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
Facebook is changing the way it ranks stories in the News Feed. The social network is adding a new ranking signal and updating real-time signals.
The post Facebook Is Changing How it Ranks Stories in 2 Ways by @DannyNMIGoodwin appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
AdAge reports that Google has partnered with Cloudflare and TripleLift to deliver instant loading ads on Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMPs). Cloudflare has developed a tool called Firebolt for delivering ads as fast as AMPs can load, while TripleLift is a native ad network which is now adding AMP support. New Firebolt technology will be integrated with AMP for Ads, where ads must be verified by an authorized service before being delivered to users. In addition to being able to load ads three times faster, Cloudflare’s Firebolt is also built with security in mind. According to the CEO at Cloudflare, Matthew […]
The post Google to Improve AMP Ads Through Partnerships with Cloudflare and TripleLift by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
Kick off 2017 right and reach your marketing goals this year with these must-have digital marketing tools that simplify and enhance work life, day in and day out.
The post 9 Digital Marketing Tools You Can’t Live Without by @SEOBrock appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
Even the most starched-shirt professional can use a new look every now and then. Skinny and wide neckties go in and out of fashion. Hemlines trend up and down. You can be fashionable and professional at the same time.
All of which to say, LinkedIn has started to roll out a substantial redesign. Not everyone has it yet, but it’s coming soon for everyone, and it’s definitely a bid to keep up with the cutting edge of web design.
The redesign cleans up the interface substantially, fully committing to the card-based look the site has been flirting with for the past two years. Icons are simplified and are a closer match to the mobile experience. And some features that were hard to find before are now front-and-center.
Let’s take a quick look around to see what’s new.
If you’re still on the old design, your menu bar looks like this:
By contrast, the new design is more compact and more visual. It highlights the sections of the site you’re most likely to visit:
Under that, you’ll see a quick snapshot of your profile – your picture, background, headline, profile and content views.
This sidebar makes it simple to see at-a-glance how much attention your content is getting.
#2: A Notable Notifications Tab
Rejoice! Notifications have finally escaped from their skinny little box. In the new design, notifications is a full-size feed, just like the feed on your home page:
Unread notifications are at the top, tinted a subtle gray until you look at them. You don’t have to click through to respond to a notification anymore—you can interact with them right in the feed.
#3: It’s All About Me
Notice “My Profile” is now just “Me.” The new profile features a round photo up top – you’ll need to make sure your square picture has enough of a border to work in the new format.
Background images have changed slightly, too. The recommended size is 1536×768, a little shorter than the old one.
The new design offers easier access to the tools you need to update your profile and interact with your connections. Here’s what LinkedIn Marketing Solutions’ Alex Rynne had to say about the new layout:
“The redesign features a new ‘Me’ tab where you can control and see everything about you – your privacy and setting, who’s viewed your profile, and who’s commenting on your posts.
The new tab, located on the far right at the top navigation, includes a ‘suggested skills’ tab based on what’s most in demand by recruiters. People with at least five skills listed on their LinkedIn profile receive up to 17x more profile views, so it makes a difference.”
My favorite feature in the Me tab is the Activity feed, where you can see your previous posts, likes and comments. Before, if you wanted to repost an article, or share something so you could look at it later… you basically couldn’t. The new feed makes it simple to browse your history, sorted by articles, posts and activity:
#4: Sharing Is Caring
To my marketer’s eye, the most interesting change in the whole redesign is a subtle one. Here’s what the top of my feed used to look like:
And here’s the new one:
See the difference? There’s no extra click for deciding what type of update you want to publish–it’s designed to encourage you to just start typing. Most intriguingly, “write an article” now has pride of place. It’s clear LinkedIn wants you to publish long-form content on the platform.
#5: Search is Simplified
The last big difference you will see is in the Search dialog. If you’re not a premium user but were enjoying the advanced search options, you won’t love this change.
Filtering by first and last name, title, location and keyword have all been streamlined away. There are a few filters left: location, industry, company, language, schools, and level of connection. But the meaty advanced search features—and the ability to save searches—are reserved for Premium and Sales Navigator accounts.
A Professional Facelift
LinkedIn’s new design is definitely easier on the eyes than the previous incarnation. But it’s more than just a pretty new face. Each new tab and feature seems designed to express how LinkedIn hopes you will use the platform. There’s an emphasis on number of profile views and interactions with your content. It’s easier to pick up old comment threads and keep track of your activity. And posts published on LinkedIn are front and center.
While a few of your favorite features may be altered beyond recognition, on the whole the new LinkedIn should make it easier to make connections, track your content performance, and optimize your profile.
Do you have the new design yet? What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
Disclosure: LinkedIn is a TopRank Marketing client.
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.
© Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®, 2017. | The New Face of LinkedIn: What You Need to Know about the Redesign | http://www.toprankblog.com
The post The New Face of LinkedIn: What You Need to Know about the Redesign appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.
Get caught up on everything you should / shouldn't be doing in your online content this year, via Julia McCoy's up-to-date guide on the good vs. bad tactics in SEO.
The post An Up-to-Date Guide on Good SEO Content vs. Bad SEO Content by @JuliaEMcCoy appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
Join SEJ ThinkTank for a 45-minute webinar and Q&A session to learn about link building strategies for those less-than-exciting industries.
The post Link Building for “Boring” Industries [Webinar] by @rinadianewrites appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
A big SEO trend in 2017 could include condensed content for better search rankings.
The post How “Condensed Content” Helps Your Mobile SEO Game by @SEOBrock appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
Big or small, B2B or B2C there are a core set of challenges that all marketers face. The extremity of these challenges will vary from brand to brand and person to person but undoubtedly exist within every organization.
Within the last few years alone, it now takes 52% more touches to close a deal than it did in the years prior. Yikes! Those aren’t the best odds, and now that marketing is becoming even more responsible for sales (not that that’s a bad thing), the modern marketer is stressed out.
But don’t fret, you’re not alone. The first step to overcoming your obstacles is identifying what they are. Once you know what’s in front of you, it’s much easier to tackle them one piece at a time.
Below are 5 common challenges that every marketer faces (at one point or another) as well as some sage advice for how to approach them head on.
Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day, but some days feel like they’re made of mere minutes, not hours. You might start a day with five things on your list and end it with ten. And let me tell you from experience, that’s no way to live!
Helpful Tip: Time can be a big challenge, but there are some simple ways to manage time more effectively. First of all, get your big rocks out of the way first thing in the morning. If you don’t, they will loom over you like a dark cloud all day long and can actually hinder productivity.
A pain that we are all familiar with is that when budgets need to be cut, marketing is often the first to go. Despite its effectiveness, marketing is still seen as a cost center, not a means of profit for an organization. But don’t fret, lack of (or reduced) budget does not determine the success of your marketing program.
Helpful Tip: Creativity doesn’t cost a thing. When budgets are cut you have two options: 1) wallow and worry about how you’ll get everything accomplished 2) find creative ways to push boundaries and show success.
Ok, I know…“resources” is such an all encompassing topic. A lack of resources can refer to internal staff, external staff or funds. However, the problem is the same; you don’t have enough manpower to do the job that needs to be done.
Helpful Tip: If you’re experiencing a lack in resources you can repurpose marketing content to get more bang for your buck, incorporate influencers to add credibility (and create more content) or hire an agency to help you reach your marketing goals.
It can be incredibly frustrating to see other marketers around you coming up with excellent ideas while you’re stuck in a marketing rut. But instead of spending time worrying about what everyone else is doing, take time to find your own inspiration.
Helpful Tip: The first step to innovation is thinking outside the norm. Spend time researching, put all ideas (even bad ones) down on paper and don’t limit yourself. Some of the best ideas are may seem crazy at first, but after developing further have a glimmer of brilliance.
Improving the impact of marketing programs is top of mind for all marketers (no exceptions). Customers are distracted and overwhelmed which means that it’s that much harder to get their attention.
Helpful Tip: Take an inventory of all the marketing “activities” that you have planned and commit to focusing only on those that are likely to have the biggest impact on your end goal.
You’re not alone in experiencing the common challenges above. However, what separates good marketers from great marketers is their ability to view these challenges as an opportunity, not a setback.
What is your best advice for marketers to crush the challenges above?
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.
© Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®, 2017. | 5 Common Challenges All Digital Marketers Face & How to Own Them | http://www.toprankblog.com
The post 5 Common Challenges All Digital Marketers Face & How to Own Them appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.
Bing's dynamic search ads can help any e-commerce or small business improve their traffic and target relevant followers. Learn more here!
The post Bing’s Dynamic Search Ads: Better Features than Google? by @ADiSilvestro appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
In recent years, search engines have been optimized around the needs of online users and their experience. Google has evolved to reward content valuable and relevant to readers.
The post User Intent: It’s the Future of SEO by @CJGiarratana appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
Content is king, and SEO is this king's best servant. Because even the best content needs to be optimized for search. Learn how with these 7 content optimization tweaks.
The post 7 SEO Tweaks to Improve Your Content Before You Hit Publish by @grybniak appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
Attention, marketers: if you want your brand's videos to appear in the News Feed of Facebook users, then you better have high video completion rates.
The post Facebook Has a New Way to Rank Videos in the News Feed by @DannyNMIGoodwin appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
Spending hours a day sifting through digital clutter is the most annoying and time sucking part of a marketer's day. Unwanted email subscriptions, notifications, and old accounts can add up. Discover tools, apps, and tips to clear the clutter, your mind, and keep it that way.
The post 8 Awesome Ways to Declutter Your Digital Marketing Life by @lisabuyer appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
Influence 2.0 – The Future of Influencer Marketing Research Report 2017 TopRank Marketing and Traackr, in partnership with Altimeter, released a brand new report this week. The goal of this report was to clarify the definition and meaning of influencer marketing and provide solid future direction to influencer marketing programs through research. For example, 71% of marketers said their influencer marketing programs are strategic or highly strategic, but account for less than 10% of total marketing budget. As Lee said in his blog post: "Clearly, enterprise companies need to put their money where their strategy is." Online Marketing Blog. Facebook Overhauls Trending and Will Now Show the Same Topics to Everyone Facebook announced on Wednesday that it won't be personalizing their list of trending topics going forward, meaning that everybody will see the same stories in Facebook's Trending section without consideration given to location. This is done in an effort to help users avoid missing important news. Entrepreneur Snapchat Offers to Bill Brands for Ads Based on TV-Style Ratings From Nielsen Ad Age reports: "On Tuesday, [Snapchat] confirmed it would let brands plan and pay for ad campaigns using Nielsen's digital ratings. It's a small tweak to the ad offering, but comes as Snapchat looks to show that its ads are on par with its digital rivals and traditional television." Ad Age Google Developing Robust Mobile Analytics for YouTube Google is developing a cloud-based measurement solution for YouTube, emphasizing more detailed, cross-device analytics. This means advertisers will now have more detailed insights across devices. Additionally, YouTube will be able to use Google account activity data to influence which users see which ads, and will be enabling YouTube customer match. SocialTimes 
Instagram Confirms Live-Streaming Coming to All Users This Week On Tuesday, Instagram confirmed that their new live-streaming option will roll out this week. According to Instagram, they're "excited to share that live video on Instagram Stories — a new way to connect with your friends and followers right now — will be rolling out to our entire global community over the next week." Social Media Today Who Searches on Bing, and Why They're Important for Marketers [Infographic] Bing has grown a great deal since their debut in 2009 -- the Bing Network powers searches on Yahoo, Amazon and others. But who is using the Bing network, and why should Marketers care? This infographic gives more details. MarketingProfs Publishers Made Only 14 Percent of Revenue from Distributed Content A new report from Digital Content Next, the premium publishers’ trade group, shows that publishers are only making 14 percent of their revenue from distributing their content on third party platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, Google AMP and more. Digiday Google’s 2016 Bad Ads Report: 1.7 Billion Ads Removed, Including Fake News Ads Search Engine Land reports: "In its annual Bad Ads report, Google says it took down more than double the number of ads in 2016 that it did in 2015 by removing 1.7 billion ads, compared to the 780 million removed in 2015." Search Engine Land What were your top online marketing news stories this week? We'll be back next week with more marketing news. If you have something to share, please do so in the comments or Tweet to @toprank.
The post Online Marketing News: Influence 2.0, Facebook Trending Overhaul and Snapchat TV Style appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.
Google AdWords is difficult. I show you why so many marketers come up short with AdWords so you can be more successful with SEM.
The post Why Google AdWords Isn’t Working for You by @Visiture_search appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
Google has released an update for the Maps app on Android with the unique ability to display information about parking difficulty.
The post Google Maps on Android Now Shows How Difficult it is to Find Parking by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
Google Maps has updated its iOS app with a real-time look at busy a location right now.
The post Google Maps for iOS Shows How Busy a Location is in Real-Time by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
Amazon and e-commerce expert Robyn Johnson joins Kelsey Jones to share the latest insights and best practices for Amazon SEO.
The post How to Kick Ass at Amazon SEO With Robyn Johnson [PODCAST] appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
What does “influencer marketing” mean to you? Are you thinking of celebrities posting product photos to Instagram? Or having a famous YouTuber run a contest for a meet and greet at an event? Why not send products to bloggers in the hopes that they’ll review and say nice things? Surely that’s not all enterprise marketers think of when it comes to the possible outcomes with influencer relationships. The promise of brands collaborating or outright paying influential individuals to create content that lifts the brand’s credibility and reach to sell more products is something that companies of all sizes have been hot on - especially in the past 12 months. With a groundswell of interest, there are many divergent interpretations of what influencer marketing really means. With so many different opinions, best practices and even definitions, we set out with influencer marketing platform Traackr to bring clarity and future direction by conducting research into the practice for large, enterprise organizations. We also engaged my pal and respected futurist, author and analyst, Brian Solis of Altimeter Group to conduct an analysis of that research and write a report outlining what is working, what isn’t and future trends. 
The result is something I am very proud to be a part of. Influence 2.0: The Future of Influencer Marketing. In this elegantly designed report, Brian outlines an argument for evolving influencer marketing to influencer relations, or Influence 2.0. Brands need to evolve their view of influencer marketing from short term transactional engagements to a more strategic and holistic view that emphasizes long term influencer relationships. He also discusses the digital transformation of marketing, the importance for brands to humanize their marketing and the role of influence with customer experience. Of course he covers the role content within influencer marketing and makes predictions for the future too. While this report is geared towards senior enterprise level marketers, it also includes 10 steps for setting the foundation of an Influence 2.0 approach that I think practitioners at companies of all sizes will find valuable. The icing on the cake to this report are the quotes and case studies from marketing influencers, many of which are clients of our agency, that I respect greatly including: Ted Rubin, Amanda Duncan (Microsoft), Dr. Konstanze Brown (Dell), Amisha Gandhi (SAP), Ann Handley (MarketingProfs), Jon Miller (Engagio), Jason Miller (LinkedIn) and more. Working on this project with the teams at Traackr and Altimeter has been an incredibly satisfying journey as we surveyed over 100 enterprise level marketers and brand strategists from companies including Microsoft, American Express and 3M. What we found is compelling and cause for even more optimism around influencer marketing - especially for those brands that approach the practice strategically, holistically and with the right resources. Here are 7 of the key trends in the report that will help point marketers in the right direction for realizing true ROI and business impact in 2017 and over the next 3 years.
The post Influence 2.0 – The Future of Influencer Marketing Research Report 2017 appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.
Google is facing scrutiny for its decision to combine multiple sources of data to deliver more personalized ads.
The post Google Under Fire for Using “Super Profiles” to Serve Targeted Ads by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
