We’ve got breaking news on LinkedIn leading off the roll call this month. Anyone who is looking or may soon be looking for a job will love the ramification.
After that, we’ll look at current best practices for SEO and email marketing (with a few surprises along the way), and touch on the latest releases from Facebook and Google.
Don’t miss this update. If you’re interested in digital marketing, we’ve got news you don’t want to miss.
Here we go for this month’s edition of Stukent’s News You Can Use.
1. LINKEDIN ROLLS OUT NEW AD TARGETING CAPABILITIES
Topic: [highlight type=”dark”]Online Advertising[/highlight]
Key Point: LinkedIn cranked up their advertising game a few notches this spring with the addition of Matched Audiences. The new feature includes a set of tools to help advertisers get in front of the right audience.
The trio includes Website Retargeting, Account Targeting, and Contact Targeting. During beta testing with 370 advertisers, the average boost in click-through-rate (CTR) for website retargets was 30 percent, 32 percent for account targets, and 37 percent for contacts.
That should make digital marketers pay attention. Read the announcement to find out more: LinkedIn Matched Audiences.
[line]2. SPEAKING OF LINKEDIN…MEMBERSHIP IS UP TO HALF A BILLION!
Topic: [highlight type=”dark”]Social Media Marketing | Digital Marketing Employment[/highlight]
Key Point: Along with the advertising upgrades mentioned above, LinkedIn announced that membership now includes over 500,000 accounts that connect 200 countries.
According to LinkedIn stats, those members represent over nine million companies, and they publish over 100,000 articles weekly. “A professional community of this size,” says the LinkedIn blog, “has never existed until now.
More stats: every connection you make on LinkedIn provides an average of 400 new potential contacts and 100 new companies. Job seekers should definitely take note of this: the most connected job function on LinkedIn is human resources, and the most connected industry is staffing and recruiting!
[line]3. TRIPLE E-COMMERCE SALE WITH UPDATED SEO BEST PRACTICES
Topic: [highlight type=”dark”]SEO[/highlight]
Key Point: If you could help a business triple their sales, do you think your services would be in demand? This SEMrush blog article makes a huge claim, but the statistics support the value of search results to e-commerce. In order to make sales, a website must first be found online… and recent changes in SEO means many companies are using outdated tactics.
Tips range from providing unique title tags, info on something everyone should know about mobile, and on to the importance of schema markup. There are six up-to-date tips in all. Will implementing them triple sales? That depends on how many of the tactics are presently in use.
One thing for sure: SEO matters. Here’s the link: SEO Tips to Triple Ecommerce Sales.
[line]4. A NEW STUDY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EMAIL OFFERS
Topic: [highlight type=”dark”]Email Marketing[/highlight]
Key Point: In 2016, almost a third of all marketing-based emails led with an offer in the subject line. Retail marketers led the pack, presenting subject line offers in 44 percent of sends. This article, though, says consumers are getting burned out on the practice – that moving the offer to the body of the email is more effective.
Be advised, there’s no discussion of the methods used to collect and evaluate the data, but the claims are well worth consideration. Email marketers will want to test the tactics suggested by including them in their own campaigns. To find out more about no-offer subject lines and other email strategy insights, read more here: Email Offer Effectiveness.
[line]5. GOOGLE OPTIMIZE IS NOW FREE!
Topics: [highlight type=”dark”]Analytics[/highlight]
Key Point: Google just added A/B testing and help with personalization to their arsenal of FREE tools. Starting immediately, Google Optimize is available to everyone who has a Google account… and it won’t cost a dime.
Enterprise-level businesses can step up to Google Optimize 360, but most small or medium-sized companies will find the free version absolutely sufficient. The truth is, 45 percent of them aren’t using A/B testing at all right now!
Getting the testing process started is one of the best things a digital marketer can do for a client.
[line]6. INTRODUCING GOOGLE SMART DISPLAY CAMPAIGNS
Topic: [highlight type=”dark”]Online Advertising[/highlight]
Key Point: The Google Display Network boasts over three million apps and websites ready to help get your marketing message out to prospects. Doing that is considerably easier now, thanks to the new Smart display campaigns feature in AdWords.
So far, advertisers who opt for this new automated bidding capability are getting an average of 20% more conversions at the same cost per acquisition (CPA).
With results like that possible, advertisers are remiss not to test the concept with their own accounts. Check it out, then let us know how your tests panned out.
[line]7. FACEBOOK F8 UNLEASHED NEW PRODUCTS & FEATURES
Topic: [highlight type=”dark”]Social Media Marketing[/highlight]
Key Point: This year’s Facebook F8 conference in San Jose, California, drew over 4,000 attendees. Highlights announced at the show included the new Camera Effects Platform for smartphones (Including Frame Studio and AR Studio), Messenger Platform 2.0, Automated Insights for Facebook Analytics, and more.
“Today,” said Mark Zuckerberg, “we’re putting the power of augmented reality into developers’ hands.
The camera has become a huge part of social. You can watch the CEO’s keynote speech and catch the rest of the show here: Facebook F8 Conference.
[line]8. RATINGS NOW EVEN MORE IMPORTANT FOR LOCAL SEARCH
Topic: [highlight type=”dark”]SEO[/highlight]
Key Point: Many local businesses still don’t realize the importance of getting Google reviews. If you’re working with a client who’s just not getting it, here’s another log to throw on the fire: Speculation is running high that ratings and reviews are being used as a ranking factor.
To see that in action, run a Google search on “best personal injury lawyer” or “best dentist” in any city of size you choose (example: [best dentist Denver]). Then look to the left, just below the Google Local map. Do you see a drop-down arrow for “Rating” there? That’s a recent addition to the feature. It allows searchers to filter and group results according to their Google Reviews reputation.
Here’s a bonus: Click here to get the low-down on optimizing for local search.
[line]
