Adam Dorfman says, “Paying to have your location data directly managed on tier-two directories is like buying Twitter followers: you might think you’re buying more visibility, but ultimately you’ll waste your money and effort. The recent experience of a healthcare provider illustrates this point vividly. Not all directories deserve your attention A directory becomes “tier-two” when it lacks visibility in search engine results pages. Tier-two directories might have once been favored by Google’s search algorithm for local queries but aren’t anymore. They remain part of the local... [...]

Sophia Bernazzani says, “I moved five times in the last year. And every single time I moved, I forgot to sign up to have my mail forwarded to my new address. Mail forwarding is an important step in any moving process, as it ensures you don’t lose any valuable information that’s sent to you. And the same can be said for your website: If you’re moving a website from one URL to another, you need to take the necessary steps to ensure your visitors get sent to the right place. In the world of tech, this is called a 301 redirect. A 301 redirect is key to maintaining a website’s... [...]

Evan Dunn says, “Data-driven marketing is super popular right now. Topics that stem from it – like personalization, performance optimization and customer experience – dominate blogs and research. 81% of marketers are looking to increase budgets for data-driven marketing, while 83% of marketers believe it’s important to be able to make data-guided decisions. That’s nearly every marketer. Over half expect to see revenue growth as a result of data-driven marketing investments (only 7% expect a decrease), and 39% plan to increase spend on data-driven marketing initiatives. Despite... [...]

Matt McGee says, “Facebook’s efforts to make News Feed more accessible to all users regardless of the speed or reliability of their internet connections has led to a change in how stories are ranked. For brands, publishers and marketers using Facebook, it means that speed is more important than ever. To understand the change, it helps to first know how News Feed stories used to be ranked. In the past, when a user visited Facebook, the ranking for all possible News Feed stories was calculated on Facebook’s servers and sent to the user in the exact order that Facebook’s algorithm decided... [...]

Tracey Wallace says, “The holidays signal a change in consumer behavior. Buying increases near parallel with a little R&R and family time. This means more people are watching –– just like Santa does all year –– to see which ads strike their festive chord. Holiday marketing campaigns run by brands aren’t kept on any psychic naughty-or-nice list, but consumer memory might as well be just that. Get your holiday campaign just right, and consumers will begin to associate your brand with the start of the season. Others have done it –– both brands expected, with large marketing... [...]

Laura Patterson says, “You know that developing a customer journey map is vital in today’s customer-centric world, but let’s revisit what a customer journey map really means for your business. It means that you understand your customers’ interactions with your business. It means you know their preferred touchpoints and channels across the entire experience, from first contact through usage to potential repurchase or a new purchase. It means that you can clearly depict, from a customer-centric perspective, the steps your customers take when engaging with your company. Clearly,... [...]

Sherry Bonelli says, “Getting a local business to rank high on Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs) used to be as easy as having a website, getting listed on some online business directories/citation sites and claiming your Google My Business page. Once you did those few simple things, you had an incredible shot at ranking high on Google for local keywords like “plumbers in Austin.” But those days are long gone. Local SEO is much more competitive These days local SEO is more and more competitive. Why? Part of the reason is that many local businesses have finally realized the... [...]

Jeff Charles says, “You’ve heard it a million times. Entrepreneurs and solopreneurs need to use social media to grow their audience and interact with prospects and clients. It’s true. Social media is one of the most effective ways to get in front of the people you want to serve. But so many entrepreneurs are doing it wrong. If you’re not succeeding at social media, chances are… You’re not using the right social media platforms. You’re not effectively using each social media platforms. You’re using social media just to deliver annoying sales pitches. Of course, there could... [...]

Gregory Gazagne says, “It seems that barely a week goes by without fresh evidence of the unstoppable rise of the smartphone. Just last month, two new reports highlighted just how much of a focal point our phones have become in all our lives. Deloitte’s Mobile Consumer Survey found that UK citizens look at their smartphones over a billion times a day, declaring that “no other personal device has had the same commercial and societal impact as the smartphone, and no other device seems likely to.” Around the same time in late September the IAB released its ‘Mobile Commerce: A Global Perspective’... [...]

Sarah Silkowitz says, “Changes in consumer behavior and technology are driving seismic shifts in media buying. Marketers are feeling this acutely as they reach out to media agency partners for strategic support and solutions. At the same time, media agencies are struggling to carve out ways to differentiate — broadening capabilities and moving into new marketing realms. The result: a crowded market where it’s difficult to identify which agency partners can strategically engage customers through paid media. In our Vendor Landscape: Media Buying Agencies (subscription required), we surveyed... [...]