Google Algorithm Archives - Miller Media, Digital Marketing Agency, PPC, Industrial Web Design, WordPress

Use Google to Drive In-Store Sales

Wed, 16 Nov 2022 09:22:59 +0000

According to Google’s Marketing guide, searches for “open now near me” have grown globally by over 400%. People want to shop in stores and experience services in-person. It has never been more important to create a Google Business Profile to drive foot traffic and increase sales. Potential clients use Google to check product and business information online before going into the store. It is free to set up your business profile, so you don’t need a huge marketing budget to get your name on the map. Provide important information to your new and returning customers by adding information like your address, pickup and delivery options, and store hours.

How do I create a Google Business Profile?

You can create your profile through Google Search and Maps. First, sign into your business’s Google Account. Then go to “create a profile”. Next up, you enter the name of your business or select your business from the list of suggested businesses as you type. After that search for your business category. Once that is done, click “Next” and enter whether you have a location customers can visit. Follow that task up with entering the service area of your business, phone number, and website URL. After that you should be finished and all that is left is to choose a verification option. For more details visit Google’s Support Page or contact us, we’d be happy to help in addition to any Google related services.

Bonuses to Have that Help Your Business

Google Business Profile lets you select various attributes to let customers know special details about your business. These attributes also appear on your products in the Shopping tab when you add then to your Merchant Center account. Examples of attributes are women led business, black-owned business, LGBTQ+ friendly, etc.

Performance Max campaigns help bring buyers to your stores by promoting your locations to shoppers when they are browsing on Google Maps, Search, YouTube, and the Google Display Network. This advertising strategy formally known as local campaign can help drive foot traffic by sharing store openings, special in-store promotions, updated business hours, and specific products that are available in nearby stores. Pair this with local inventory ads. Local inventory ads let potential clients know whether the products they’re looking for are available before coming into stores. You can showcase products that are available in your nearby stores on Google Search and highlight your fulfillment options like curbside pickup, pickup today, and pickup later.

Measuring the impact your online ads can be done with Google’s Smart Bidding. This part of measuring in-store visits is vital for meeting your business goals. Use “Smart Bidding for store visits” or “Smart Bidding for store sales” to maximize total sales. Bid the right amount to attract the right customers. It does not matter whether they end up purchasing online or in your store. This is an important tool for helping increase sales and ensure you continue to be a business.

Need help with using Google Business Profile or Google Ads? Call 248.528.3600.

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Insights to Grow Your Online Shop with Google

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 12:43:03 +0000

According to Google, almost 49% of consumers in surveyed countries agree that they have done more shopping online in the past year. An ecommerce business needs to have a multiple channel strategy. Customers expect to be able to shop through your website, app, or within an ad experience on social media. Your goal should be to grow sales through these items. Keep in mind that these items also must be mobile-friendly due to most people using their phone the most to shop around. Google provides a few useful tools that help analyze your existing website and give tips on how to improve in areas that may be hurting your ranking results:

Perfect for a quick website audit, Grow My Store gives a comprehensive report on your website. That report includes competitive benchmarking, recommendations, and tailored insights to help you optimize your customer/user experience. You should also check out Test My Site for developer-friendly tips on boosting site speed. It is important to have a fast-loading website to decrease bounce rate. Any corrections suggested may require you to hire a professional web agency for help.

Do you have an app version of your company’s website? App campaigns help reach mobile shoppers and encourages them to make a purchase, or take action, for example, installing the app itself. Embedding deep links provides better mobile experiences by taking your app users from your ads directly to the corresponding app page of your app. This is key to the customer journey and the path to purchase. It makes it easier for them to complete their desired action, which is essential for good user experience.

Showcase Product Information Across Google

On Google, the Shopping tab helps to showcase your products across many places where customers turn to shop and directly integrates your product within an ad experience. You can increase your exposure at no cost by listing your products on Merchant Center or directly through your e-commerce platform such as WooCommerce for WordPress websites.

With video increasing popularity, you now can include an interactive product feed directly within the ad unit to turn viewers into customers. Think of the product feed as a way to turn your ad into a digital storefront. Well design ads that display your company’s brand properly will attract new customers and flag down existing customers to your product or service. Create a seamless path to purchase between brand awareness and the call-to-action.

Increase your click-through rates and conversions by adding information about promotions, sales, free and fast shipping options, and return and refund options directly to your product listing. Shoppers are constantly on the hunt for good deals and want to know all relevant information up front, so it is best to have these pieces of information clearly visible.

Engage New Customers

Customers shop across multiple Google surfaces every day. Google avenues are Search, Discover, YouTube, Maps, and the Shopping tab. To grow your online sales, it’s important to know which ad campaigns are right for your target market. Reach the right person and convert them into a loyal customer with Google Ads.

Back in April, Smart Shopping and Local campaigns gained an upgrade to Performance Max campaigns. Performance Max campaigns allow you to promote your products or services across all of Google’s advertising channels and inventory by creating one easy-to-manage campaign. This should be less stressful for small businesses due to fact they now can focus on one area of Google analytics instead of multiple analytics for separate campaigns. With new ways to discover, research, and purchase, customers are engaging across an ever-growing number of channels, and it is important to appear on most of them.

As mentioned earlier videos are big in advertising right now. A Video action campaign is a simple, cost-effective way to drive more conversions on and off your company’s YouTube channel. This campaign helps you drive engagement with your video ads by scaling them across the YouTube Home feed, watch pages, connected TV, and more with a clear call-to-action button. These are perfect for businesses that require demonstration of their product or service.

Inspired to start a Google Ad Campaign? Call 248.528.3600.

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Customers Use Google to Browse, Research, and Buy

Thu, 08 Sep 2022 12:49:42 +0000

The path to purchase has shifted over the years. Knowing when and where to show up digitally is essential for connecting with current and potential customers. Shoppers like to combine in-store and online experiences based on their changing needs, so it is important to have a strategic marketing plan that accounts for both. Let’s start with some insights Google has provided to help us come up with a client-centric plan.

According to Google’s Retail Marketing Guide 48% of consumers in surveyed countries around the world say they get inspiration for purchases when they are online. Shoppers browse across Google and YouTube to discover new brands and products that are relevant to them. Their methods go as follows:

Inspiration forms when watching YouTube Videos.
- 78% of people surveyed in the U.S. say they feel they get the highest-quality info about products when shopping or browsing on YouTube

Browse Google Images

Scroll through Google Discover to catch up on interesting topics

Engage Customers as They Research

Before making a purchase, customers seek information from trusted sources to compare products and narrow down their options. Best in category, prices, and the latest reviews are important factors customers look for. 89% agree that YouTube creators give the best information about products and brands. YouTube reviewers hit all the important factors and more trusted due to the fact the person is visible vs a star review that is faceless and could be interpreted as a bot. Consider YouTube reviewers when coming up with a social media marketing plan.

Consumers also look up information and articles on Google Search. 40% of shoppers go to Google when researching a purchase they plan to make in-store or online. It is important that your SEO strategy is up to date. Check your website’s ranking on Google SERPs. If it not where you want it to be you may need to work with a digital marketing agency on your on-page and off-page SEO techniques. And if your budget allows, invest in Google Ads.

Convert Customers Looking to Purchase

Convincing potential clients is key. Shoppers buy from brands that can provide a seamless experience. 31% of consumers in surveyed countries say they are researching online more before purchasing to avoid out-of-stock situations, inventory blockage, and shipping challenges or delays. They want to be able to buy a product online as soon as they find it or see what a local store has in stock.

Utilize Google Maps, especially for local business traffic. Google Maps searches for “shopping near me” have grown globally by over 100% year over year. Maps also use to be GoogleMyBusiness app. Currently you can set a profile using Maps. Create and maintain your profile so you can be found easily.

The Shopping tab is an underrated tool business often forget about. Almost half (49%) of consumers in surveyed countries expect to be able to buy from any store online. You want your online store to show up in the Shopping tab. Make sure in your website’s CMS your product details like name, price, and description are accurate and visible.

Update your marketing plan based on these tips today! Call 248.528.360

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How to Use Google Autocomplete for SEO

Mon, 22 Aug 2022 13:18:46 +0000

Analyzing Google Autocomplete predictions for SEO can give your business a leg up from your competition. Start by logging out of Google or use incognito mode to make sure your search history doesn’t influence the predictions you get. Then, for businesses with a global market, use a VPN if you are based in a different location than your target audience. For example, if you’re currently in Europe, but you are focusing on people in the United States, use a VPN to make it seem like you’re in the United States. You want to see predictions for the location where your target audience is. Don’t forget to adjust your language settings to the language settings the people in your target audience use.

Keyword Research

Google Autocomplete can be a useful keyword research tool. Type in a keyword that is relevant to your niche or target market and look at the predictions. You will discover valuable long-tail keywords. Then, use an SEO tool like Ahrefs, or Moz Pro to analyze those keywords and identify ones that are worth going after. If you don’t like any of the predictions that you got, type in your keyword, then just go through every letter of the alphabet to see what predictions come up. If you are having a hard time using these SEO tools, hire an agency to assign you a consultant to help you understand your findings and obtain the correct keyword you need.

Google Can Fill in the Blanks

Tom Dupuis from Online Media Masters suggests using the underscore character “_” in a phrase so that Google would complete it. “Instead of having Google complete only the last part, this can show you a better selection of keywords depending on what type of phrase it is,” explains Tom.

For example, type the keyword “web design _ agency” and these first 3 suggestions pop up: “website design agency near me”, “web design and marketing agency”, and “web design and digital marketing agency near me”. Experiment with the underscore’s position to see what new Google Autocomplete predictions show up. You could also try both the singular and plural forms of the same keyword to see if it leads to different Google Autocomplete predictions.

Online Reputation Management

A useful tool for researching results about your branded terms, such as company, executive, or product names. Google Autocomplete can present a serious threat to your public image of your company and brand if an unflattering search term appears in the predictions using your brand terms. You have several options to try to prevent this from happening:

Address the Problem

If the negative prediction refers to something true, fix the problem. Don’t try to hide mistakes, this can hurt trust amongst your customers. The resolution won’t make the autocomplete issue go away immediately, but if the problem is solved, people will eventually forget about it and stop searching for it, feeling that you handled the issue responsibly. As the volume for that search term goes down, it ultimately will drop off the prediction list.

Work on Your Brand Image

If the prediction is about an incident, you can help people forget whatever happened faster by giving them something positive to focus on. First, make sure to reassure existing loyal customers that this incident was a one-time thing, and you are working on preventative plans for the future. Then, you can feature these loyal customers on your website, do a giveaway, or organize an event as a “thank you” for sticking buy your company during tough times. Directly engaging with your customers on various social media platforms can go a long way towards creating a positive brand image as well. It reassures the public that you are not running away from your problem and are still willing to interact with them.

Other Ways to Use Google Autocorrect Research:

Uncover Key Words for Local SEO
Create a User-Friendly E-commerce Website
- Shows which categories are most popular
- Uncover popular brands
- Get ideas for your FAQ page
Content Inspiration:
- Key term for who, what, where, how, why of your business
- Use action verbs
- “Key Term and…”

Use Google Autocomplete in your SEO marketing strategy today. Call 248.528.3600

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Google Search Results & Features You Need to Know

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 13:20:02 +0000

There are multiple search features beyond organic search results including Google Ads, People Also Ask, knowledge panels, top stories, and videos. According to Semrush Sensor, most SERPs have at least one of these features. In the U.S., only 2.34% of desktop SERPs do not have a feature. Translation, 2.34% of SERPs only list the top 10 organic search results on the page without ads, knowledge panels, local packs, etc. Here are the topmost looked at SERP feature seen on Google:

Sitelinks:

Over 66% of SERPs in the U.S. are sitelinks. Sitelinks are links that will allow search users to find specific content beyond the homepage. Google displays a sitelink search box followed by four sitelinks to popular pages.

People Also Ask:

This feature can appear anywhere on a SERP. It typically displays 5 of the top questions asked about a search query. When someone clicks on a question under the “People Also Ask” section, it will display the answer to the question, along with a link to the source for the answer. It will also automatically generate additional questions related to the one the user just clicked.

Reviews:

You see in the ratings in the local pack for local business reviews. The stars you see in shopping ads. Google may also display star ratings and review counts within organic search results.

Images:

When Google anticipates that a search query would best be answered visually, they use the images feature. This feature can appear anywhere throughout the SERP. When clicked upon, the link goes to Google image search results for the query with additional details about the image clicked.

Videos:

Like the image feature, the video feature of SERPs can appear anywhere throughout the page. Google displays a section of videos from YouTube after four ads, a featured snippet, People Also Ask, and five organic search results.

Knowledge Panels:

Knowledge panels are automatically generated boxes of useful information, compiled from various sources around the internet by the Knowledge Graph. They generally appear on the right side of search results.

Local Packs:

When there are local results that match your search query, you may see them appear in a local pack. Listings in a local pack typically appear with reviews, an address, and hours of operation. According to the Local Pack-O-Meter, 35.7% of approximately 60 million search queries in the U.S. contained a local pack in March of 2022. Over the past year, it has fluctuated from 33% to 33.9%. If you have a local business this feature is extremely important to you.

Featured Snippets:

Featured snippets generally appear at the top of SERPs, offering a portion of content from one of the top organic search results for a particular query. For example, a search for [how to update my WordPress website] may generate a featured snippet with a video from YouTube that answers the query. Other formats of featured snippets include numbered or bulleted lists. Featured snippets sometimes fall below Google Ads for certain search queries and can also come in table format.

Google Ads:

Sponsored results from advertisers using Google Ads may appear at the top and bottom of SERPs. After organic listings, a People Also Ask section, and top stories, Google displays an additional three ads, followed by related searches.

Shopping Ads:

In addition to standard text ads, Google also offers retailers the ability to create shopping ads for their products. Shopping ads often display the name of the product, price, retailer, and product rating.

Carousels:

Carousels generally appear at the top of SERPs, offering fast answers to the search query.

For example, a search for [computers] results in a carousel of images with the most popular computer brands that other Google users search for.

Instant Answers:

Instant Answers is a search feature Google uses to display answers to a search user’s query at the top of the SERP. Google may also provide instant answers at the top of SERPs for the following types of queries:

Weather.
Movie locations.
Calculator.
Translating a word or phrase.
Calculating the number of days until a specific date or upcoming holiday.
Finding out the score of a recent sports game.
Determining the age of someone based on their birthdate.
Getting the dates to popular events, like conventions and festivals.
Seeing the current share price and market summary for popular stocks.

Top Stories:

If a search query has related news stories, Google may display a section of top stories from media outlets. In this SERP for MacBook, Google displays the top stories after shopping ads, organic results, People Also Ask, and more shopping results.

Tweets:

A small percentage of SERPs will feature tweets relevant to the search query. After the first organic search result and a people also ask section, the latest tweets from your official Twitter account appear.

Apps;

Google search users on mobile devices may see features that are only available on mobile. Google displays apps from the Apple store after three ads and a list of apps from sources across the web.

Product Comparisons:

Google can take product information and display it in search results for users looking to compare products. You can see a side-by-side list of the product images, reviews, price, and additional details. When search users click on the detailed comparison link, Google displays additional details about the products compared, along with the option to add additional products for comparison when relevant.

Top Products:

Unlike shopping ads, the top products feature showcases unadvertised products related to a search query. When you click on a product, additional details about the product appear. Google displays reviews from third-party sites, prices from multiple retailers, top insights from media outlets, and reviews from multiple retailers.

Jobs:

Google helps job seekers by aggregating jobs from various sources across the web and displaying them within SERPs for queries like [jobs near me].

Wondering how these features can help your business? Call 248.528.360.

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How to Affect the Outcome of Google Core Algorithm Updates

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 12:56:28 +0000

Since August 2018, Google has crack down on websites that are categorized as medical, health, financial, news fields, and any sites considers impacting one’s livelihood to help prevent the spread of false information. Having an EAT (expertise, authority, trustworthiness) strategy is now a necessity with Google’s rigorous standards and updates. Human quality raters use Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines to evaluate websites and SERPs. General technical issues are a high priority website fix, considering Google’s Crawl Bots automatedly view glitch sites as untrustworthy. Use Google Search Console’s indexation report and Deep Crawl, there are no shortage of technical fixes to rectify for any type of website. Otherwise, if your website declines after a core update, but works fine here is list to help start the recovery process in other ways:

Cite your sources & ensure accuracy of claims
Remove, redirect, or refresh short content
Remove duplicate content
Include author bylines, bios, & author pages (List specific credentials & awards)
Maintain off-page reputation by updating your GoogleMyBusiness page, Wikipedia page, & other informational sources
Include testimonials & reviews on-site
Ensure accuracy & sufficient information on social media pages
Improve & expand upon brand informational pages (About us, Contact us, Mission statement)
Remove overly aggressive or invasive advertising
Offer clear & specific customer service information

Update your website today. Call 248.528.3600.

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How to Analyze Google Core Algorithm Updates

Tue, 17 May 2022 13:22:03 +0000

Although it is hard to predict when an algorithm will happen, Google has been transparent about when the roll out period lasts: 1 to 2 weeks. After these 2 weeks it is the time for deeper analysis, not just checking trend lines. Based on STAT’s Competitive Landscape we can understand SERP volatility and gain insights into the content of a Core Algorithm Update:

Visibility within the general space of keyword set
Changes in visibility to your website
Changes in visibility to Google

A helpful tool is to use Search Analytics for Sheets, which is a Google Sheets add-on that allows you to request and backup data from Webmaster Tools. This acts as an enhanced Google Search Console. Segment multiple data points (date, query, page, etc.) to get a much higher level of granularity than can be achieved on Search Console’s standard web frontend. With this tool you can discover if:

Have you been positively or negatively impacted by the core update?
Average daily clicks appear to be at a higher or lower level
Average daily impressions appear to be at a higher or lower level
Average ranking positions appear to have improved or not

While there are other factors such as other Google updates, day of the week, website migrations, technical website changes, etc., the above will be is a great place to start for website owners to discover if their website affected.

Still have trouble analyzing the data? We can help you by consultation and help you determine the next steps to take. Call 248.528.3600.

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6 Essential Google Ads Strategies

Fri, 13 May 2022 12:30:32 +0000

Increase your search engine visibility and conversions with paid media campaigns. 64% of users click on Google Ads when they shop online. Creating tailored ads and selecting the correct keywords for your target audience drives more traffic to your website, which in turn increases sales. Google ads guarantee short-term results leading to a perfectly balanced overall SEO strategy that usually has long-term slow solutions. Here are 6 strategies to consider when starting your Google Ad campaign:

Define your Goal & Market

What type of results do you want? For example, you want more attention to your content. Enter the keywords related to what users would search for to find your information. Or, if you need an increase in sales conversions, enter keywords that revolve around the moment of purchase.

2. Choose the Right Keywords for Your Ads

Use a Keyword Planner to determine relevant keywords for your products or services. Research the frequency or significant volume certain keywords are searched and how they change over time. Include links for users to go to that direct them directly to relevant information. Price Per Click (Pay Per Click) can help boost your campaign, but before you implement this action, calculate your advertising budget and estimate what you will need for each keyword.

3. Select a Type of Campaign

Search Campaign: Ideal for your potential customers to know your products or services. Goals include direct traffic to your website, increase sales or generate sales opportunities. You will only pay when there is an interaction (PPC – Pay per click).
Shopping Campaign: Showcase your products in the biggest online marketplace. You will only pay when buyers click to go to your website or when they see local inventory.
Display Campaign: Advertise on the Google Display Network or Google My Business. Promote your business on Google news pages, blogs, and websites like Gmail or YouTube.
Video Campaign: YouTube is also a search engine. You will only pay when someone sees one of your ads for at least 30 seconds, sees it in its entirety, or interacts with it.
Mobile Campaign: This ad helps you to connect with potential customers on mobile devices through text, image, video, and HTML5 ads.

4. Make a Difference

Generate and attract interest. Think about what your client values and be respectful of their time. Find in their searches and associate them with the solutions you offer with your brand: to invite them to buy, fill out a form or the objective that you have previously set for yourself. Make sure to strategically plan out the frequency they will appear and avoid too many appearance; this could overwhelm the potential client.

5. Link Google Search Console

Google Search Console allows you to have access to the data. This will help you understand the relationship between organic searches and your Google Ads campaign. You will have an insight into how users are being reached through search. This will help in determining which type of ads best suites your target market for future marketing campaigns.

6. Analyze & Optimize Your Campaigns

Analyze your results. Determine which group of ads have a high conversion rate. What type of ad was most effective? Make adjustments to improve your campaign. Control the investment of your budgets, evaluate better performing keywords, and fine-tune your ROI. If need be, use Google’s Performance Planner. It forecasts your campaigns, identify new opportunities by period, and manages budgets for different accounts and campaigns.

Start your Google Ad Campaign today! Call 248.528.3600.

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How to identify keyword opportunities to boost site rankings

Mon, 09 May 2022 13:11:43 +0000

From an IBM’s SEO Strategist, a tip to help with site ranking is to use Semrush.com to find keywords that are easy to rank high for, but still bring good results. Identifying these keywords will also help you prioritize, maximize resources, and make a significant impact in satisfying stakeholders. One of their extremely effective tools is the Organic Research Tool.

Here is how it works provided by IBM:

Enter your site into the search bar within the tool. Then go to the Positions tab and enter how much monthly volume you or stakeholders would consider “impactful”. Large enterprises usually enter approximately 1,000 – 5,000 as a minimum, while small business enter 100 – 500 searches. Remember not to set your minimum too high, the goal is to find easy-to-rank keywords. Moving on to the next step, filter keywords to only show terms sitting in positions 11-20 that nearly rank on Page 1.

This is an opportunity to use keywords early before other companies by polishing your content you already have instead hopping on the bandwagon behind someone else. You could also write a new piece of content around the keyword or add logical internal links or backlinks to existing pages to improve your site’s architecture. Most importantly, this process gives you insight into how to align your content to better match the intent of a search query.

Once you have a list together, export it, sort through it, and create a roadmap of keywords to focus on for content creation. Depending on the difficulty of your niche, it might take some time to see improvement in your search engine results page rankings. Keyword evaluation and the content optimization process will help you prioritize what to work on first.

Try it now in Organic Research → or Call 248.528.3600 and have an SEO expert will do it for you.

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My Site’s Ranking on Google Tanked. What Happened?

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 19:47:51 +0000

Based on the happenings over the past few weeks we have been flooded with calls from new companies (coincidentally none of which are our existing clients) whose rank on Google has dropped dramatically over the past month. Websites affected by this recent change in Google’s algorithm might not be easily recognizable as spamming without deep analysis or expertise. The common thread is that these sites are doing much more than white hat SEO; we believe they are engaging in web spam tactics to manipulate search engine rankings. Bottom line is that Google wants people doing white hat search engine optimization (or even no search engine optimization at all) to be focus on creating user friendly, compelling web sites with quality content.

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