Wednesday 28 February 2018

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti Discusses Success on Social Media by @martinibuster

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti shares insights on finding success with social media and explains why other businesses dependent on Facebook may lose their footing.

The post BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti Discusses Success on Social Media by @martinibuster appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Google Search Update: Featured Snippets for Multi-Intent Queries by @MattGSouthern

Google is updating search results with a new type of featured snippet designed for queries that have multiple interpretations.

The post Google Search Update: Featured Snippets for Multi-Intent Queries by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

7 Insights You Can Unlock From Every Relevant SERP by @boggles

Learn how to use the elements of industry-relevant SERPs to further grow your online marketing strategies.

The post 7 Insights You Can Unlock From Every Relevant SERP by @boggles appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

10 Tips on How to Compete When CPCs Are Super High by @christijolson

How can you stay competitive when CPCs are ridiculously high? These 10 tips will help you out.

The post 10 Tips on How to Compete When CPCs Are Super High by @christijolson appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

AI in Content Marketing: 3 Frequently Asked Questions

Incorporating AI into the content marketing process is essential. Here's how you can start getting comfortable with AI.

The post AI in Content Marketing: 3 Frequently Asked Questions appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

How to Succeed at B2B Content Marketing with More Credible Content

Creating Credible B2B Content

Creating Credible B2B Content Ask any B2B marketer about their top digital marketing challenges and one of the first answers you’ll likely receive is: Getting in front of the right audience at the right time. In fact, Ytel’s 2018 State of B2B Marketing Communications survey revealed that 55% of respondents agreed that they have a hard time getting their message and content in front of their target audience. Why is that? Well, there’s more content at buyers’ fingertips than ever before, search engines are getting in touch with their human sides, and organic visibility on social media is effectively extinct. But, let’s real talk for a minute, marketers—this is all old news. In today’s digital marketing landscape, creating meaningful connections with your audience on any channel really comes down to trust and credibility. Consumers are increasingly numb to advertising and marketing messages—and they’re actively trying to avoid it all. Last year, PageFair reported that adblocking usage had grown by 30% globally. In addition, Facebook’s recent decision to de-emphasize brand content was in response to users saying that posts from businesses, brands and media were crowding their News Feeds. However, buyers are increasingly looking to those they know and those they think they know for insights, answers and recommendations. Multiple reports have shown that somewhere around 90% of consumers trust influencers or individuals over straight branded content. In addition, according to a recent report from CMI and SmartBrief, 40% of B2B decision-makers say that credibility trumps the source of the information. This means B2B brands and marketers need to double-down on creating quality, credible content to drive marketing objectives and wins. But how? By infusing credible voices, perspectives and insights from influential sources—namely industry experts and thought leaders—into the content marketing game plan. [bctt tweet="#B2B brands & marketers need to double-down on creating quality, #crediblecontent to drive #marketing objectives & wins." username="toprank"] To highlight how creating more credible content with influencers can help your B2B brand get in front of interested buyers, create an engaging experience, and inspire action, take a look at these three examples from the TopRank Marketing playbook of successful client influencer content marketing programs.

Case Study #1 – Introhive: Reaching, engaging and inspiring a niche audience.

Introhive is a leading customer relationship management (CRM) solutions provider. Working across a variety of industries, Introhive aims to help their clients gain and effectively leverage customer intelligence in a way that can grow their business. The Situation: The legal sector is one of Introhive’s focus industries. However, it’s an industry that’s been reluctant to adopt CRM technologies. Why? Oftentimes business development isn’t an established department within law practices, making it hard to justify investments in a “sales” technology. But law firms large and small have growth aspirations—and Introhive wanted to empower them to realize those opportunities. Another challenge with attorneys and other legal professionals is that they often build their careers on evidence and witness testimony. Essentially, this industry is by nature hard to reach without offering credibility, authority and proof. The Solution: With two unique challenges to overcome, our team knew that engaging other legal professionals to share their expertise and insights on business development, we could not only showcase the Introhive brand, but also needed to provide their audience with unique, relevant and trustworthy insights. TopRank Marketing worked with the team at Introhive to develop an integrated influencer content program that began with a survey of legal community members. Conducting the survey helped facilitate building influencer relationships, while also collecting valuable data that could be used to further bolster campaign content. Other pieces of the integrated content marketing mix included an eBook—our anchor asset—blog posts, organic social amplification, paid social, and email. Introhive Credible Content Case Study The Results: For starters, we saw 15% more eBook downloads in the first month than the benchmark asset had in its lifetime. During the same time period, the accompanying blog content garnered over 600% more views compared to benchmarks for average blog content. Finally and without specifics available, the Introhive team reports that the program has delivered “medium to huge” marketing qualified leads (MQLs). Suffice it to say, this program leveraged credible content within influencers and research to generate substantial results.  Read the full Introhive integrated influencer campaign case study.

Case Study #2 – Cherwell: Increasing brand visibility and thought leadership in a competitive space.

Cherwell Software is a leading IT service management (ITSM) company with a mission to help their customers leverage intuitive technology to enable better, faster and more affordable innovation. The Situation: Since its inception a little over a decade ago, Cherwell has been rapidly gaining traction in the competitive ITSM space—but they’re still one of the newer kids on the block with other new competitors emerging rapidly. To continue their growth and fend off competition, Cherwell wanted to expand its marketing channels, increase brand awareness, engage industry thought leaders and—of course—eventually drive leads. The Solution: Given Cherwell’s position in the competitive ITSM space, the team at TopRank Marketing worked to design an influencer content campaign that was highly-targeted to key the decision-makers they wanted to reach. How? We knew in order to stand out in news feeds and build near-instant credibility with our content, we needed to understand what influences the target audience the most. To uncover the people, publications, and content topics and types that “moved” our audience the most, as well as where they spent time on social media, we designed a new research tool—the RITHM report.  Using insights from the RITHM report to inform the content marketing approach, the resulting campaign included an eBook anchor asset, blog posts, an SEO-driven landing page, paid and organic social media. Cherwell Credible Content Case Study The Results: According to Alison Munn, Social Media and Digital Marketing Lead at Cherwell: “Not only did this program meet the defined goals and objectives, but the results and process exceeded my expectations!” With this campaign responsible for 22% of new revenue for Cherwell in 2017, it was a recent winner of the B2B Marketing Exchange "Killer Content Award". You can learn more about this program in the case study video below: [embed]https://youtu.be/cUf_a7RL9NY[/embed]

Case Study #3 – SAP SuccessFactors: Driving awareness and action by connecting to a specific audience pain point.

SAP SuccessFactors is a leading human capital management (HCM) suite that helps human resources (HR) professionals unleash the full potential of their workforce through transformation and engagement, and ultimately drive results across the business. The Situation: For this niche human resources audience, employee wellness programs are part of the strategy to unleash the potential of their employees. However, the pain point for many organizations is finding a holistic solution in one place that also provides understanding of the true impact their efforts can have on the workplace. SAP wanted to drive awareness around their holistic solution, while also educating and engaging their audience. The Solution: TopRank Marketing partnered with SAP SuccessFactors to craft an multi-pronged, influencer-driven content campaign that would not only raise awareness around their solution, but also provide their audience with credible, relevant, and actionable insights. This campaign was anchored with an influencer eBook that featured insights from 10 top workplace culture, wellness, and technology experts, as well as internal experts from SAP SuccessFactors. In addition, other tactics such as a well-optimized landing page, social media promotion, and customized motion graphics were part of the mix. SAP Credible Content Case Study Example The Results: For downloads, we saw a  272% increase over SAP’s established benchmark. In addition, the accompanying landing page boasted a 68% conversion rate. Lastly, organic social promotion of the content—from the brand and influencers—drove 86% of overall views and 69% of overall conversions. Read the full SAP SuccessFactors influencer-driven content campaign case study.

The Big B2B Takeaway for Credible Content

We’re in an era of a distrust and indifference to B2B marketing messages—which means if buyers don’t find your content credible and trustworthy, they’ll move on. From skepticism to standing out in a crowded and more seasoned field, each of the aforementioned brands were living the trends and looking for a way to capture the attention of their audiences. By cleverly leveraging influencers to create more credible and authoritative content and more trusted amplification, these brands were able to deliver their audiences with thoughtful opinions and diverse insights, bolster brand authority and make more meaningful connections with their audiences. But perhaps the most exciting campaign result was that building credibility led to audience activation—or conversions in other words. To put it simply, with the right strategy, insights and influencer infusion, credible content can help brands win over your audience at every stage of the buyer journey. [bctt tweet="With the right strategy, insights & influencer infusion, #crediblecontent can absolutely help brands win over your audience at every stage of the buyer journey. @CaitlinMBurgess" username="toprank"] Want to learn more creating more credible content? Check out our post on building credibility and authority with content marketing.

The post How to Succeed at B2B Content Marketing with More Credible Content appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Why You Shouldn’t Panic About Unofficial Google Updates by @martinibuster

An exploration of ranking changes attributed to updates that are not officially recognized by Google.

The post Why You Shouldn’t Panic About Unofficial Google Updates by @martinibuster appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Tuesday 27 February 2018

Google Mobile Speed Scorecard: Compare Your Speed Against Other Sites by @MattGSouthern

Google has introduced two new tools aimed at helping webmasters make their sites faster— the Speed Scorecard and Impact Calculator.

The post Google Mobile Speed Scorecard: Compare Your Speed Against Other Sites by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Analysis of 50 Retailers Reveals 10 Ways to Beat Big Brands by @martinibuster

Competitive Analysis of 50 of the top retailers reveals 10 ways to beat big brands.

The post Analysis of 50 Retailers Reveals 10 Ways to Beat Big Brands by @martinibuster appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Subdomains vs. Subfolders: Which Is Better for SEO & Why? by @jennyhalasz

Find out which is better for SEO: setting up your site on a subfolder or subdomain, and why?

The post Subdomains vs. Subfolders: Which Is Better for SEO & Why? by @jennyhalasz appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

15 Inspiring YouTube Video Ideas to Build Your Brand by @jonleeclark

Need some inspiration? Here are 15 YouTube video ideas you can use, starting today.

The post 15 Inspiring YouTube Video Ideas to Build Your Brand by @jonleeclark appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Which Is Better: Content Marketing or PPC? The Pros & Cons of Both by @JuliaEMcCoy

Content marketing or PPC? Find out which could be a better investment of your time and marketing investment.

The post Which Is Better: Content Marketing or PPC? The Pros & Cons of Both by @JuliaEMcCoy appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Monday 26 February 2018

Google Confirms “Edge Cases” When Content Theft Can Cause Negative Effects by @martinibuster

Google's John Mueller confirmed that there are "edge cases" in which stolen content may negatively affect a site.

The post Google Confirms “Edge Cases” When Content Theft Can Cause Negative Effects by @martinibuster appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

15 Link Building Tactics to Supercharge Your SEO Efforts by @jeremyknauff

These 15 tactics will help you earn valuable links that most of your competitors are too lazy to pursue.

The post 15 Link Building Tactics to Supercharge Your SEO Efforts by @jeremyknauff appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Nonprofits with Google Ad Grants: Your Accounts Might Get Suspended by @PPCJoeC

Google could suspend accounts with a click-through rate below 5 percent. Here are some steps you can take.

The post Nonprofits with Google Ad Grants: Your Accounts Might Get Suspended by @PPCJoeC appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

How to Choose the Right Link Building Agency by @brentcsutoras

Want to know how to filter the legit link building agencies from the fake ones? Read on and learn how to choose the right agency to work with.

The post How to Choose the Right Link Building Agency by @brentcsutoras appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

50 Social Media Marketing Influencers to Learn From in 2018 #SMMW18

Social Media Marketing Influencers 2018

It’s that time of year again for the conference extravaganza known as Social Media Marketing World.  Each year I pull together a list of influential voices that are engaging on social networks around the topic social media marketing. My goal? To help showcase speakers for people in the industry to learn from and follow.

Why are these people influential? That’s a great question. I would answer with, “Why is anyone influential?”. Because they have specific expertise that they share publicly, consistently and in a way that improves the knowledge, skills and perspectives of those who follow them.

Influence is not only popularity. Influence is the ability to affect action.

When I started out in my digital marketing career, it was thanks to connecting with some generous people that had a lot more experience than me that I was able to overcome introversion and reluctance to write and become an international keynote speaker, author and blogger with over 1.4 million words written so far. What I have learned about influence is that it is not self-assigned.

Influence is earned by being helpful, effective and relevant as well as having reach. Influence is also earned by mentoring those who are coming up in the industry. While working with influencers transfers influence by association, helping others become influential is when earned influence really skyrockets.

In this year’s list of Social Media Marketing Influencers there are many people who demonstrate this kind of helpfulness and I am encouraging those influencers as well as our community of readers to nominate up and coming social media marketing leaders. You can find more details on that at the end of the post.

About the Methodology for this List:

Specific Scope: Rather than scan the entire social web, the starting data set for this list is having been named as a speaker for the SMMW18 conference. Mike Stelzner and Phil Mershon of Social Media Examiner do an amazing job of hand picking speakers for this conference and this list is an extension of their research and expertise into finding, qualifying and recruiting over 180 social media marketing speakers.

IRM Platform Assisted: Ranking of the people in this list leverages data and algorithms from Traackr, an influencer relationship marketing platform. Unlike the vast majority of lists like this that are published online, this list considers many more data sources than just Twitter. To provide a better sample across the web, Traackr ranking can include citations and links from data sources such as blogs, publications, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google+.

Ranking data sources and scoring: For the ranking, this list leverages a combination of data points including:

  • Relevance – A score that indicates how influential a person is to a specific topic based on the keywords you provide. Signals for relevance include keyword mentions, keyword diversity, content production rate, freshness of content and other contextual measures. In this case, it was “social media marketing” as well as 10+ derivative phrases.
  • Resonance – A score of how impactful the influencer is with their audience. Resonance measures engagement activity that occurs as a result of publishing (mostly social) content.
  • Reach – A score derived by the reach algorithm that takes into account followers, fans, subscribers, visitors and other audience metrics. Remember, this is more than just Twitter.
  • Audience – Overall social audience size

Each of these signal sources are factored into the algorithmic ranking for identified influencers with a focus on topical relevance, resonance of message with the audience and then audience reach. The result is a combination of broad based influencers as well as individuals with a very specific focus and very high resonance and relevance scores. What I like about pulling this list together is seeing a number of new faces as well as as a variety of disciplines and specialties represented.

This list of 50 industry experts speaking at Social Media Marketing World is worth checking out as you plan which presentations to see, who to follow online and who to meet.

Kim Garst @kimgarst
Live Streaming Strategist, Social Selling Pro, Keynote Speaker at Boom! Social
Presenting: How to Make Money With Live Video

Donna Moritz @sociallysorted
Digital Content Strategist, International Speaker, Visual Content Strategist at Socially Sorted
Presenting: Tips and Tools for Visual Storytelling on Instagram

Brian Fanzo @isocialfanz
Founder and CEO at iSocialFanz
Presenting: Facebook Strategy in Light of the Facebook Apocalypse

Koka Sexton @kokasexton
Advisor, SenderGen
Presenting: How to Turn LinkedIn Into a Funnel for New Leads

Madalyn Sklar @madalynsklar
Social Media and Digital Marketing Strategist, Blogger, Podcaster
Presenting: How to Up Your Twitter Game With Smart Tools

Dan Gingiss @dgingiss
Vice President, Strategic Group at Persado
Presenting: Why Social Media is Key to the Customer Experience

Ian Anderson Gray @iagdotme
Co-founder at Select Performers Internet Solutions
Presenting: How to Create Your Killer Live Video Show: Tools and Tips

Jeff Sieh @jeffsieh
Pinterest Manager at Social Media Examiner
Presenting: Visual Marketing for Non-Designers: Tips, Tricks, and Hacks

Viveka Von Rosen @linkedinexpert
LinkedIn and Personal Branding Expert, Co-founder and Chief Visibility Officer at Vengreso
Presenting: How to Best Use LinkedIn Native Video in Your Marketing

Neal Schaffer @NealSchaffer
CEO at Maximize Your Social
Presenting: How Brands are Breaking Through to Generate Results on LinkedIn

Josh Elledge @joshelledge
Founder at upendPR
Presenting: How to Get Traditional Media Exposure Using Social Media

Robert Rose @robert_rose
Founder at The Content Advisory & Chief Strategy Advisor at Content Marketing Institute
Presenting: Becoming an Audience First Company: How to Understand and Measure the Most Valuable Asset in Your Business

Gini Dietrich @ginidietrich
Chief Executive Officer at Arment Dietrich
Presenting: Crisis Communications: Tips From the Trenches

Carlos Gil @CarlosGil83
Founder, Gil Media Co.
Presenting: Snapchat Ads: How-to Use Snapchat’s Full Service Ad Platform

Darren Rowse @problogger
Founder and Keynote Speaker at ProBlogger
Presenting: 10 Things I Wish I’d Known about Blogging That Will Shortcut the Growth of Your Blog

Mark Schaefer @markwschaefer
Executive Director at Schaefer Marketing Solutions
Presenting: 10 Mind-Bending New Ideas for Our Social Media Marketing Future

Tamara McCleary @tamaramccleary
CEO at Thulium.co
Presenting: Innovating Your Way to Strong Social Media ROI

Mark Mason @masonworld
Quality Manager, Interface Products at Texas Instruments
Presenting: How to Make Your Podcast Stand Out: Tips from the Trenches

Rebekah Radice @rebekahradice
Founder at RadiantLA
Presenting: How to Make Visual Content Your Social Media Secret Weapon

Brooke B. Sellas @madsmscientist
Founder & Chief Executive Officer at B Squared Media
Presenting: Organizing for Social Success: Insource? Outsource? No Source?

Tyler Anderson @tylerjanderson
CEO / Founder at Casual Fridays
Presenting: Winning With Influencer Marketing: What Top Brands are Doing Now

Samantha Kelly @tweetinggoddess
Owner of Women’s Inspire Network
Presenting: How to Convert Twitter Conversations Into Customers

Ian Cleary @iancleary
Founder at RazorSocial
Presenting: 9 Content Marketing Tools to Drive More Traffic to Your Website

Mari Smith @marismith
Keynote Speaker, Brand Evangelist, Bestselling Author
Presenting: The Future of Facebook: What Marketers Need to Know for 2018 and Beyond

Mike Stelzner @mike_stelzner
CEO and Founder at Social Media Examiner
Presenting: Social Media Marketing in 2018: What the Newest Research Reveals

social media marketing speaker network connections

Andy Crestodina @crestodina
Strategic Director at Orbit Media Studios
Presenting: Building Better Mousetraps: A Content-Driven Approach to Conversion Optimization

Bernie Borges @bernieborges
Advisory Board Member at OneMob
Presenting: The Secrets to Getting Employees to Engage on Behalf of Your Brand

Alex Khan @1alexkhan
CEO at Attractive Media GmbH
Presenting: Mass Seduction: Proven Techniques to Engage and Build Your Audience

Peg Fitzpatrick @PegFitzpatrick
Director of Social Media + Marketing at Kreussler
Presenting: How to Use Pinterest to Drive Long Term Traffic

Chris Penn @cspenn
Vice President of Marketing Technology at SHIFT Communications
Presenting: Seeing Into the Future: Predictive Analytics for Social Marketers

Michael O’Neal @inmikeswords
Host of The Solopreneur Hour Podcast
Presenting: Becoming an Interview Master and How it Can Massively Grow Your Podcast or Livestream

Brian Solis @briansolis
Principal Analyst at Altimeter Group
Presenting: The Past, Present and Future of Social Media

Park Howell @parkhowell
Founder and President at Park&Co
Presenting: How to Invest in Brand Storytelling to Earn the Greatest Return

Nicky Kriel @nickykriel
Social Media Consultant & Social Media Strategist at Nicky Kriel Social Media
Presenting: How to Use Twitter Data to Improve Your Content Marketing

Melanie Deziel @mdeziel
Brand Strategy Consultant and Speaker at Mdeziel Media
Presenting: 5 Branded Content Best Practices From the World of Journalism

Andrea Vahl @andreavahl
Social Media Consultant at Andrea Vahl
Presenting: Facebook Ads Strategy for Small Businesses

Jay Baer @jaybaer
Founder at Convince & Convert
Presenting: How to Prove Social Media Works to Skeptical Managers

Steve Dotto @dottotech
President at Galileo Consulting and Producer of Dotto Tech
Presenting: YouMake YouFortune on YouTube: Making Money on YouTube

Ann Handley @marketingprofs
Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs
Presenting: Creating Better Content in Less Time: 5 Real-World Writer Secrets

Lee Odden @leeodden
CEO at TopRank Marketing
Presenting: How Content Plus Influence Equals Results: The Confluence Equation

Guy Kawasaki @GuyKawasaki
Chief Evangelist at Canva
Presenting: Achieving Social Media Success by Defying Conventional Wisdom

Shaun McBride @Shonduras
Owner Esports/Shonduras Inc
Presenting: How to Influence Influencers: The Creative Process

John Jantsch @ducttape
President at Duct Tape Marketing
Presenting: How to Grow a Highly Profitable Consulting Practice Without Adding Overhead

Jessika Phillips @jessikaphillips
Relationship Marketing Evangelist, President at NOW Marketing Group
Presenting: Relationship ROI: How to Grow Your Business by Focusing on Repeat and Referral Relationships

John Lee Dumas @johnleedumas
Host of the EOFire Podcast
Presenting: How to Grow Your Podcast Audience and Fuel Your Business

Roberto Blake @robertoblake
Owner at Create Awesome Media
Presenting: Mastering and Measuring YouTube Analytics for Video Marketing

Shep Hyken @Hyken
Chief Amazement Officer and Owner, Customer Service Speaker and Expert at Shepard Presentations
Presenting: How to Turn Social Customer Service Into a Marketing Strategy

Jasmine Star @jasminestar
Owner at Jasmine Star Photography
Presenting: How to Create 30 Days of Instagram Content in a Single Day

Bryan Kramer @bryankramer
Keynote Speaker, Emcee and Event Host at PureMatter
Presenting: How to Humanize Your Social Brand for Better Conversions

Brian Peters @brian_g_peters
Digital Marketing Manager at Buffer
Presenting: How to Build and Maintain an Authentic Community on Instagram

If you want to follow all 50 of these fine folks, then check out the speaker list on the SMMW18 conference schedule page.

What about non-digital influence? 

I think this is a great question because not everyone that is influential (especially in the B2B world) spends as much time tweeting, blogging and posting Instagram photos as many of the influencers listed above do. And yet they are highly influential.

For example, here are several more speakers that are pretty influential to me, even though they are not on the list above: Amisha Gandhi (client), Beverly Jackson, Brian Clark, Chris Brogan, Konnie Alex (client), LaSandra Brill, Shannon Paul, Tim Washer, and Ursula Ringham to name a few.

Suffice it to say, I think when you are deciding on which influencers to work with, it’s important to get out of the digital bubble and consider offline-specific influencers as well – especially in B2B.

Big Questions About Influencer Lists & Influencer Marketing:

  • How do you find the right influencers?
  • What do you collaborate with them on?
  • How do you measure influencer marketing performance?
  • Are there processes and formulas for success?

These are some of the most common topics that come up through my agency’s influencer content marketing consulting with brands like Dell, SAP, LinkedIn, 3M and even mid-market companies like DivvyHQ or Cherwell Software.  I’ll be tackling these questions and more in my presentation at Social Media Marketing World 2018. Here are the details:

How Content Plus Influence Equals Results: The Confluence Equation
Thursday, March 1st at 4:10pm Room: 32AB
Content marketing and influencer marketing are hot topics for marketers all over the world as two of the most promising strategies for attracting, engaging and converting ideal customers. But how do you find the right influencers? What kind of content should you collaborate on? How do you best measure influencer and content success? Join Lee Odden to learn from his experience working with brands big and small to develop efficient and effective formulas for influencer content success.

I hope to see you there!

NOMINATE YOUR PEERS!

I know some folks are feeling left out and others would have added other social media marketing speakers to this list. Lists are exclusive by nature, but I think it would be amazing for the experts on this list as well as our readers would nominate up and coming industry social media marketing pros that are consistently providing useful expertise, leadership and engaging with their communities.

Please leave full name, title, company and Twitter handle (or other social profile) of your nominee in the comments. I will follow this list up with a People’s Choice style list of Rising Social Media Stars after the conference.


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© Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®, 2018. | 50 Social Media Marketing Influencers to Learn From in 2018 #SMMW18 | http://www.toprankblog.com

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Google Introduces Breadcrumb SERPs by @martinibuster

Google introduces search results featuring breadcrumb navigation. Google may be transitioning to a mobile first SERP display.

The post Google Introduces Breadcrumb SERPs by @martinibuster appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Sunday 25 February 2018

Friday 23 February 2018

YouTube Analytics Demographics Report to Contain Less Data by @MattGSouthern

YouTube content creators will soon notice that their YouTube Analytics demographics report contains less data.

The post YouTube Analytics Demographics Report to Contain Less Data by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Google Assistant Updated With Routines and Location-based Reminders by @MattGSouthern

Google has announced plans update Google Assistant with two new features, more languages, and deeper integrations with third-party devices.

The post Google Assistant Updated With Routines and Location-based Reminders by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Google: Structured Data Should Be Unique to Each Page by @MattGSouthern

Google’s John Mueller says to avoid copying the same structured data onto multiple pages of a website.

The post Google: Structured Data Should Be Unique to Each Page by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Facebook Video Tips: 12 Ideas for More Engagement by @natalieannhoben

Want to create truly engaging Facebook videos? Then you must actually BE engaging. Here are 12 tried-and-true ideas.

The post Facebook Video Tips: 12 Ideas for More Engagement by @natalieannhoben appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

How Search Engines Use Machine Learning: 9 Things We Know for Sure by @_kevinrowe

Here are nine ways search engines use machine learning and how it relates to SEO and digital marketing.

The post How Search Engines Use Machine Learning: 9 Things We Know for Sure by @_kevinrowe appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Top Marketing News: Facebook Tests ‘Downvotes,’ Internet Rages at Google, Pandora Takes Aim

Six Essential Email Marketing Tips [Infographic] Looking for email marketing success? This six tips can help you — and your emails — reach the right target. MarketingProfs Google Brings the Popular Stories Format to AMP: Is It Worth Using? Google announced a new story format for AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) this week. Google describes the new shiny thing as "a visual driven format for evolving news consumption on mobile." Econsultancy Internet Rages After Google Removes 'View Image' Button, Bowing to Getty Google removed the "view image" button this week in response to a recent lawsuit from Getty. This move has enraged the internet, but was done with hopes to encourage clicks through to the image's hosting website. Ars Technica 45% Of Marketers Cite Content & Experience Management As Top Priority In 2018 Econsultancy's Digital Trends 2018 report found that 45% of professionals surveyed cite content and experience management as their top priorities for this year, followed by the 32% that cited analytics. Econsultancy Top Digital Advertising Trends MediaPost compiled a research brief to show top digital advertising trends, including evidence that Google and Facebook owned 63% US digital market in 2017. Microsoft made strides, but remains a distant third place with just 4%. MediaPost Google Announces Two Major Changes to Image Search Google has announced two major changes to image search — including the previously reported removal of the "view image" button and the removal of the "search by image" button. Publishers are happy about these changes, Google search users aren't so thrilled. Search Engine Journal Pandora Takes Aim At Spotify And IHeartRadio With Programmatic Audio Ads AdAge reports: "Pandora said Tuesday that it will now offer its audio inventory programmatically through popular demand-side platforms such as MediaMath, The Trade Desk and AdsWizz." AdAge Snapchat Gives Creators Access to Audience Analytics Some select content creators on Snapchat are being given access to analytics and data about their audience, such as story views, engagement and demographics. This is only available to those who are part of Snapchat's Official Stories program. Search Engine Journal B2B Demand Generation: Marketers' Favorite Tactics Recent research from Demand Gen Report shows that email remains a top demand generation channel for both top and bottom funnel prospects. MarketingProfs Facebook Is Testing A 'Downvote' Button CNBC Reports: "Facebook is testing a 'downvote' button that lets users flag and hide comments they deem inappropriate. The social network clarified that it is not a 'dislike' button and the test is running for a small set of people in the U.S. only." CNBC Google To Move More Sites To Mobile-First Index In Coming Weeks Google plans on rolling more sites into the mobile-first index in the next several weeks. It's time to make sure your site is optimized for mobile if you haven't already — the time has finally come. Search Engine Land On the Lighter Side Red Stripe Says That, Whatever the Cost, It Will Buy a New Bobsled for Jamaica - AdWeek TopRank Marketing (And Clients) In the News: Steve Slater - Your M-Commerce Deep Dive: Data, Trends and What’s Next in the Mobile Retail Revenue World - Big Commerce Lee Odden - Better Than Bonuses: 4 Motivators That Matter More Than Money - Workfront We'll be back next week with more top digital marketing news! If you need more in the meantime, follow @toprank on Twitter or subscribe to our YouTube channel.

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Thursday 22 February 2018

John Mueller Offers Surprising News Why Google Crawls Non-Existent Pages by @martinibuster

Google's John Mueller offers good news for web publishers concerned about why Google crawls 404 and 410 pages.

The post John Mueller Offers Surprising News Why Google Crawls Non-Existent Pages by @martinibuster appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Google Chrome Will Automatically Clean Up Messy URLs by @MattGSouthern

Google’s latest version of Chrome deals with the problem of messy URLs by cleaning them up before they’re shared.

The post Google Chrome Will Automatically Clean Up Messy URLs by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

11 Tools That Will Skyrocket Your Content Promotion by @alextachalova

These content promotion tools will help you boost your posts' performance, reach a broader audience, and save tons of time.

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Ephemeral Content: Everything Marketers Need to Know by @malleeblue

Here's how you can create compelling ephemeral content for your brand.

The post Ephemeral Content: Everything Marketers Need to Know by @malleeblue appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

6 Growth Marketing Best Practices for Higher SEM Profitability by @john_a_lee

Follow these best practices to maximize the reach, impact, and value of your paid search campaigns with bottom-line results.

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Wednesday 21 February 2018

Facebook Messenger Lets Users Add People to In-Progress Calls by @MattGSouthern

A new feature added to Facebook Messenger will allow users to invite other people to calls already in progress.

The post Facebook Messenger Lets Users Add People to In-Progress Calls by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Twitter Cracks Down on Automation and Use of Multiple Accounts by @MattGSouthern

Twitter has new rules in place to prevent applications and services from utilizing automation for the purposes of posting spam.

The post Twitter Cracks Down on Automation and Use of Multiple Accounts by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Google to Move Many More Sites to Mobile-First Index Very Soon by @MattGSouthern

Google has confirmed that a significant number of sites will be migrated to the mobile-first index within weeks.

The post Google to Move Many More Sites to Mobile-First Index Very Soon by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Introducing BOSS: The Best of SEJ Summit by @MrDannyGoodwin

Get the latest tips and trends from incredible speakers at Best of SEJ Summit (BOSS), our new series of webinars.

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How to Avoid SEO Disaster During a Website Redesign by @coreydmorris

Take these steps when redesigning your website to mitigate risk and avoid SEO disaster.

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How to Get Your SEO Keyword Strategy Right: Basic & Advanced Tips by @TaylorDanRW

Here are four things you need to know when creating your keyword strategy for SEO.

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