[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":54045},["ShallowReactive",2],{"header-articles":3,"blog-posts":1469,"blog-team":53324},[4,327,590,906,1147],{"id":5,"title":6,"author":7,"authors":8,"body":10,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":316,"description":317,"extension":318,"img":319,"imgAlt":6,"meta":320,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":323,"seo":324,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":325,"updated":7,"__hash__":326},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fwhy-you-should-monitor-brand-mentions-in-ai-search-results.md","Why You Should Monitor Brand Mentions in AI Search Results",null,[9],"Kerry Guard",{"type":11,"value":12,"toc":290},"minimark",[13,17,20,23,28,31,34,42,45,68,72,80,88,91,95,98,102,105,110,118,124,128,131,156,160,174,178,181,185,188,192,195,199,202,213,217,220,224,227,231,234,238,244,247,250,254],[14,15,16],"p",{},"Right now, AI search engines are talking about your software company. Whether you track it or not, platforms like ChatGPT Search, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews answer questions every single day about your product capabilities, pricing, and market reputation. B2B software buyers use these tools to build shortlists, compare technical features, and make buying decisions before ever clicking through to a vendor's website.",[14,18,19],{},"If you rely on old brand-monitoring tools, you are running blind. Traditional monitoring platforms track static web pages, social media tags, and news mentions. They cannot show you what a buyer sees inside a conversational AI search box.",[14,21,22],{},"Unlike traditional Google search, where a website's ranking and content stay relatively consistent from day to day, AI-generated responses are dynamic. They synthesize information on the fly from across the web. Without an active monitoring strategy, inaccurate product claims, outdated pricing, or heavy competitor recommendations can quietly slip into AI responses without your knowledge, pulling qualified leads out of your pipeline before you even know they exist.",[24,25,27],"h2",{"id":26},"the-dynamic-reality-of-ai-search-results","The Dynamic Reality of AI Search Results",[14,29,30],{},"To understand why monitoring AI brand mentions requires a new approach, consider how AI search engines differ from traditional search directories.",[14,32,33],{},"In a traditional search model, Google crawls a page, indexes the text, and displays a link. If your page ranks third for a keyword, it generally stays near that spot until an algorithm update or a content change occurs.",[14,35,36,37,41],{},"AI search engines work differently. When a prospective customer prompts an AI tool—asking, for example, ",[38,39,40],"em",{},"\"What are the best enterprise cloud security platforms for healthcare compliance?\"","—the underlying Large Language Model (LLM) retrieves information from dozens of real-time sources, synthesizes the facts, and writes a unique response.",[14,43,44],{},"Because these responses are generated in real time, the way an AI engine describes your brand can shift based on:",[46,47,48,56,62],"ul",{},[49,50,51,55],"li",{},[52,53,54],"strong",{},"New Web Scrapes:"," A fresh review, a Reddit discussion thread, or an updated competitor blog post can instantly alter how the AI summarizes your company.",[49,57,58,61],{},[52,59,60],{},"Prompt Variations:"," Slight changes in how a user words a query can lead the AI to pull from entirely different data sources.",[49,63,64,67],{},[52,65,66],{},"Model Updates:"," As platforms update their underlying LLMs, the sources they trust and cite shift continuously.",[24,69,71],{"id":70},"the-risks-of-unmonitored-ai-brand-mentions","The Risks of Unmonitored AI Brand Mentions",[14,73,74,79],{},[75,76],"img",{"alt":77,"src":78},"","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F378276c5-b933-4eed-8804-a96958aabcdf-why-you-should-monitor-image-1.webp","When you leave your AI presence to chance without monitoring what these engines say, you’re gambling with your brand equity, and small inaccuracies turn into major business risks.",[81,82,84,87],"h3",{"id":83},"_1-hallucinated-features-and-misattributed-limitations",[52,85,86],{},"1. Hallucina","ted Features and Misattributed Limitations",[14,89,90],{},"AI engines occasionally \"hallucinate\": presenting incorrect details with absolute authority. An AI search tool might state that your software lacks a key integration, charges hidden fees, or only supports small businesses when you actually target enterprise accounts. If a buyer reads that hallucinated summary, they may drop your company from their consideration set without ever contacting your sales team.",[81,92,94],{"id":93},"_2-competitor-hijacking","2. Competitor Hijacking",[14,96,97],{},"If your competitors actively optimize their web presence for generative search while your brand stays passive, AI engines will default to recommending your competitors. When buyers ask AI tools to compare your product against a competitor, an unmonitored response might highlight your rival's strengths while summarizing outdated or inaccurate criticisms of your platform.",[81,99,101],{"id":100},"_3-loss-of-narrative-control","3. Loss of Narrative Control",[14,103,104],{},"In B2B tech, your positioning is everything. If an AI search engine pulls its understanding of your brand from outdated PR releases, informal forum threads, or low-authority review sites, your core value proposition gets diluted. You lose control over how your product is framed during the buyer's research phase.",[14,106,107],{},[52,108,109],{},"Expert Insight from MKG Marketing:",[14,111,112,115,116],{},[38,113,114],{},"\"","Designers often say \"This website speaks more to LLMs than human beings.\" To that I say, \"Good. That's step one.\" Step one: be findable by answer engines. Humans will end up there after they search for the problem. Step two: optimize for the human experience once they arrive. Right now most teams are still trying to optimize for both at the same time, which means they optimize for neither.The order matters. Findable first. Usable second.",[38,117,114],{},[14,119,120,121,123],{},"— ",[52,122,9],{},", Founder & CEO at MKG Marketing",[24,125,127],{"id":126},"why-manual-spot-checks-arent-enough","Why Manual Spot-Checks Aren't Enough",[14,129,130],{},"Many marketing teams attempt to solve this problem by occasionally typing their company name into ChatGPT or Perplexity to see what comes up. While spot-checking is a natural first step, it fails as a long-term business strategy for three reasons:",[132,133,134,140,150],"ol",{},[49,135,136,139],{},[52,137,138],{},"Personalized and Location-Based Bias:"," AI search tools tailor responses based on user location, session history, and account settings. What you see on your desktop in an office is rarely identical to what a buyer sees in another region.",[49,141,142,145,146,149],{},[52,143,144],{},"Infinite Query Permutations:"," Buyers don't just type your brand name. They ask complex, long-tail questions like ",[38,147,148],{},"\"How long does it take to implement [Company Name] compared to [Competitor]?\""," Manual checks cannot cover the hundreds of ways prospects ask about your category.",[49,151,152,155],{},[52,153,154],{},"Lack of Historical Tracking:"," Spot-checks give you a single snapshot in time. They don't track trends, measure whether your citation share is growing, or alert you when an inaccurate claim enters the AI's data pool.",[24,157,159],{"id":158},"how-to-build-a-systematic-strategy-the-best-ways-to-monitor-brand-mentions-in-ai-search","How to Build a Systematic Strategy: The Best Ways to Monitor Brand Mentions in AI Search",[14,161,162,165,166,169,170,173],{},[75,163],{"alt":77,"src":164},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F4c47ce7e-784c-46ee-bd33-f4ff8fd72368-why-you-should-monitor-image-2.webp","Protecting your company’s digital footprint requires shifting from manual testing to a structured ",[52,167,168],{},"Search Visibility Optimization (SVO)"," framework. Establishing effective ",[52,171,172],{},"brand monitoring across ai search engines"," involves four operational steps:",[81,175,177],{"id":176},"step-1-identify-high-intent-buyer-prompts","Step 1: Identify High-Intent Buyer Prompts",[14,179,180],{},"Brainstorm the exact questions your ideal prospects ask during their evaluation phase. Move beyond simple brand searches to focus on category comparisons, feature queries, and implementation questions.",[81,182,184],{"id":183},"step-2-map-your-citation-share-across-key-ai-platforms","Step 2: Map Your \"Citation Share\" Across Key AI Platforms",[14,186,187],{},"Track how frequently AI tools cite your site compared to competitors across platforms like ChatGPT Search, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. Note which specific URLs the AI uses as references when it mentions your brand.",[81,189,191],{"id":190},"step-3-correct-the-source-data","Step 3: Correct the Source Data",[14,193,194],{},"When you identify inaccurate AI claims, trace where the model pulled the information. AI engines often pull from third-party review sites, developer documentation, or outdated press releases. Updating those primary sources corrects the data that the AI scrapes and cites.",[81,196,198],{"id":197},"step-4-measure-svo-metrics-alongside-traditional-seo","Step 4: Measure SVO Metrics Alongside Traditional SEO",[14,200,201],{},"Expand your reporting dashboard. Along with measuring traditional website traffic and organic keyword rankings, track your brand's citation growth, AI Overview inclusion rate, and direct-traffic conversions.",[14,203,204,205,212],{},"To see how modern search strategies connect directly to pipeline, explore our comprehensive",[206,207,211],"a",{"href":208,"rel":209},"https:\u002F\u002Fmkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fexpert-digital-marketing-services\u002Fsearch-visibility-optimization\u002F",[210],"nofollow"," Search Visibility Optimization (SVO) services",".",[24,214,216],{"id":215},"supporting-ai-visibility-with-paid-and-analytics-channels","Supporting AI Visibility with Paid and Analytics Channels",[14,218,219],{},"Brand monitoring in AI search provides the insights you need to protect your reputation, but driving consistent revenue requires integrating those insights across your entire marketing stack.",[81,221,223],{"id":222},"reinforcing-visibility-with-targeted-ads","Reinforcing Visibility with Targeted Ads",[14,225,226],{},"When you notice an AI search engine frequently recommending a competitor for a specific high-value query, you can immediately bridge the gap using targeted paid channels. Pairing your organic optimizations with focused digital advertising ensures your software maintains top-of-page visibility while you update and strengthen your organic source content.",[81,228,230],{"id":229},"measuring-real-world-lead-attribution","Measuring Real-World Lead Attribution",[14,232,233],{},"Because buyers often read an AI response and navigate directly to your site later, traditional click-tracking can misattribute those leads as \"Direct\" or \"Organic Brand\" search. Utilizing modern digital analytics allows you to cross-reference offline CRM data, self-reported attribution, and site activity to confirm how AI search visibility influences actual pipeline velocity.",[24,235,237],{"id":236},"summary-protecting-your-brands-digital-reputation","Summary: Protecting Your Brand's Digital Reputation",[14,239,240,243],{},[75,241],{"alt":77,"src":242},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fbfa7aa92-037c-4f2c-8afb-5045bf32ffbc-why-you-should-monitor-image-3.webp","Monitoring your brand in AI search results is no longer optional—it is a critical requirement to protect your reputation, maintain narrative control, and secure your lead pipeline. As conversational engines continue to replace traditional search lists, tech companies that passively ignore their AI mentions risk losing market share to competitors who actively manage their generative presence.",[14,245,246],{},"Establishing a reliable monitoring framework requires dedicated expertise, systematic tracking tools, and continuous iteration.",[14,248,249],{},"At MKG Marketing, we remove the complexity. We provide an experienced, senior-level team that builds and executes your search visibility strategy directly—with no junior handoffs or black-box reporting. We help B2B software and technology companies monitor their digital presence, correct inaccurate AI citations, and convert organic visibility into predictable revenue.",[81,251,253],{"id":252},"protect-and-scale-your-ai-search-visibility","Protect and Scale Your AI Search Visibility",[46,255,256,267,279],{},[49,257,258,261,262,266],{},[52,259,260],{},"Curious how search engines and AI models actually see your brand?"," Our senior-led team breaks down your real-time visibility across AI platforms—no black-box mysteries, just clear data.",[206,263,265],{"href":208,"rel":264},[210]," Explore our Search Visibility Optimization (SVO) Services"," or book an initial search strategy review.",[49,268,269,272,273,278],{},[52,270,271],{},"Noticing a sudden shift in your traffic or search presence?"," We’re always down to talk strategy and help you make sense of the noise. ",[206,274,277],{"href":275,"rel":276},"https:\u002F\u002Fmkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fcontact\u002F",[210],"Contact the MKG Marketing team directly"," to schedule a consultation.",[49,280,281,284,285,212],{},[52,282,283],{},"Want to peek under the hood of machine learning?"," Dive into our guide:",[206,286,289],{"href":287,"rel":288},"https:\u002F\u002Fmkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fai-search-visibility-ranking-factors-2026-how-machines-decide-who-to-quote\u002F",[210]," AI Search Visibility Ranking Factors 2026: How Machines Decide Who to Quote",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":292},2,[293,294,301,302,308,312],{"id":26,"depth":291,"text":27},{"id":70,"depth":291,"text":71,"children":295},[296,299,300],{"id":83,"depth":297,"text":298},3,"1. Hallucinated Features and Misattributed Limitations",{"id":93,"depth":297,"text":94},{"id":100,"depth":297,"text":101},{"id":126,"depth":291,"text":127},{"id":158,"depth":291,"text":159,"children":303},[304,305,306,307],{"id":176,"depth":297,"text":177},{"id":183,"depth":297,"text":184},{"id":190,"depth":297,"text":191},{"id":197,"depth":297,"text":198},{"id":215,"depth":291,"text":216,"children":309},[310,311],{"id":222,"depth":297,"text":223},{"id":229,"depth":297,"text":230},{"id":236,"depth":291,"text":237,"children":313},[314],{"id":252,"depth":297,"text":253},"seo","2026-08-19T16:01:29.475Z","Why track what ChatGPT and Google say about you? Learn why monitoring brand mentions in AI search results is vital to protect your software company's leads.","md","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F3c12c34c-ad32-459d-b38c-32bc49abb722-why-you-should-monitor-hero-image.webp",{},1,true,"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fwhy-you-should-monitor-brand-mentions-in-ai-search-results",{"title":6,"description":317},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fwhy-you-should-monitor-brand-mentions-in-ai-search-results","-Ozc8xN-BQ2k9giEa4PQdczQMGk8Eg63yFUKh-ezjGw",{"id":328,"title":329,"author":7,"authors":330,"body":331,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":581,"description":582,"extension":318,"img":583,"imgAlt":584,"meta":585,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":586,"seo":587,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":588,"updated":7,"__hash__":589},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fai-search-visibility-ranking-factors-2026-how-machines-decide-who-to-quote.md","AI Search Visibility Ranking Factors 2026 - How Machines Decide Who to Quote",[9],{"type":11,"value":332,"toc":566},[333,336,339,342,346,353,379,386,389,393,396,399,410,414,417,420,440,444,447,450,454,461,464,468,471,475,478,482,487,492,497,501,504,509,512,517,520,525,529,532,535,539],[14,334,335],{},"In 2026, the old playbook for getting found online just doesn't hit the same. Modern B2B buyers aren't scrolling through pages of blue links anymore. Instead, they’re going straight to tools like ChatGPT Search, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews to compare software features, stack up vendors, and build their shortlists in seconds.",[14,337,338],{},"Here’s the thing: AI engines don’t read websites the way traditional search crawlers used to. Old-school crawlers were all about keyword density, backlink totals, and meta tags to index pages in a directory. But large language models (LLMs) and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems look at the bigger picture. They care about how your information is structured, verified, and contextualized.",[14,340,341],{},"If your tech brand isn't formatted for machine readability, your website essentially becomes invisible to the very engines your buyers rely on every single day.",[24,343,345],{"id":344},"how-ai-search-engines-select-sources-in-2026","How AI Search Engines Select Sources in 2026",[14,347,348,349,352],{},"To understand how your brand gets quoted or recommended by AI, it helps to look at what happens behind the scenes. When a user enters a complex prompt, such as ",[38,350,351],{},"\"What are the top enterprise cybersecurity platforms for multi-cloud compliance?\",","  an AI search engine processes the request through four specific steps:",[132,354,355,361,367,373],{},[49,356,357,360],{},[52,358,359],{},"Deconstructing the Prompt:"," The system breaks the question down to identify the core subject, key concepts, and what the user is actually trying to accomplish.",[49,362,363,366],{},[52,364,365],{},"Retrieving Relevant Data:"," Rather than pulling up a list of web addresses based on exact keywords, the engine searches its database for content that semantically matches those underlying concepts.",[49,368,369,372],{},[52,370,371],{},"Evaluating Content Structure and Source Authority:"," The system analyzes potential sources. It checks whether the text is clearly formatted, whether the facts match other reliable references, and whether the publishing site demonstrates real-world authority on the subject.",[49,374,375,378],{},[52,376,377],{},"Synthesizing the Answer and Linking Sources:"," The engine extracts direct passages from the top-rated sources, writes a unified response, and attaches clickable links so the user can verify where the information came from.",[24,380,382,385],{"id":381},"the-core-2026-ai-search-visibility-ranking-factors",[75,383],{"alt":77,"src":384},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fee360449-da4d-4dfe-a8b0-4ac440db5ad4-ai-visibility-1.png","The Core 2026 AI Search Visibility Ranking Factors",[14,387,388],{},"Based on industry observations and current AI search visibility benchmarks for 2026, AI search algorithms look at six critical factors when deciding which sources deserve a quote:",[81,390,392],{"id":391},"_1-information-gain-and-uniqueness","1. Information Gain and Uniqueness",[14,394,395],{},"AI engines exist to synthesize what's already out there. If your article just repeats the same generic overview that ten other websites published, an LLM has zero reason to cite your brand. Information Gain measures how much new, non-redundant value a page brings to the table.",[14,397,398],{},"To score high here, your content needs:",[46,400,401,404,407],{},[49,402,403],{},"Proprietary research, benchmark surveys, and original data.",[49,405,406],{},"Direct commentary from verified subject matter experts.",[49,408,409],{},"Real-world implementation metrics and detailed technical breakdowns.",[81,411,413],{"id":412},"_2-machine-readable-content-formatting-semantic-chunking","2. Machine-Readable Content Formatting (Semantic Chunking)",[14,415,416],{},"LLMs process web pages in \"chunks\" rather than reading articles sequentially from start to finish. If your key insights are buried inside massive walls of text with generic subheadings, the retrieval model is going to miss the context entirely.",[14,418,419],{},"Winning sites use explicit, machine-readable formatting:",[46,421,422,428,434],{},[49,423,424,427],{},[52,425,426],{},"Question-and-Answer Headers:"," Use direct H2 and H3 subheadings that mirror natural-language user queries.",[49,429,430,433],{},[52,431,432],{},"Bottom-Line-First Declarations:"," State the direct answer or main takeaway in the very first sentence beneath a heading before diving into the details.",[49,435,436,439],{},[52,437,438],{},"Clean Data Tables and Lists:"," Present technical comparisons, feature breakdowns, and numerical data using structured HTML tables and bulleted lists.",[81,441,443],{"id":442},"_3-entity-consistency-and-schema-markup","3. Entity Consistency and Schema Markup",[14,445,446],{},"AI search engines build vast knowledge graphs of \"entities\" (companies, products, executives, and concepts). For an engine to confidently recommend your SaaS platform, it has to verify that your brand is a recognized, trusted entity in your category.",[14,448,449],{},"Implementing detailed JSON-LD Schema markup, including Organization, SoftwareApplication, Article, and FAQPage schemas, gives search engines clear, explicit data about what you offer. When your on-page Schema matches external mentions across review platforms, news outlets, and industry databases, the LLM’s confidence score goes way up.",[81,451,453],{"id":452},"_4-technical-answer-density","4. Technical Answer Density",[14,455,456,457,460],{},"Answer density is all about the concentration of real, factual value relative to your total word count. Unedited AI fluff—filled with generic intros like ",[38,458,459],{},"\"In today's fast-paced digital world...\"","—completely dilutes your message.",[14,462,463],{},"In 2026, AI retrieval systems favor high-density content that delivers precise technical facts, clear definitions, and actionable steps without any extra noise.",[81,465,467],{"id":466},"_5-multi-source-digital-co-citations","5. Multi-Source Digital Co-Citations",[14,469,470],{},"An LLM rarely relies on a single web page to build an answer, it cross-references multiple sources to verify facts. If your platform is mentioned with positive sentiment across third-party review sites, developer forums, PR releases, and partner docs, generative engines see your site as an authoritative industry reference.",[81,472,474],{"id":473},"_6-demonstrable-e-e-a-t-signals","6. Demonstrable E-E-A-T Signals",[14,476,477],{},"Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) are as foundational as ever. AI engines actively look for proof that a real human with hands-on experience created or reviewed the content. Explicit author bios linked to verified LinkedIn profiles, direct quotes from company leaders, and clear links to primary sources all reinforce your site's trust score.",[14,479,480],{},[52,481,109],{},[14,483,484],{},[38,485,486],{},"\"Understanding these technical AI ranking factors is essential for tech brands today. AI engines don't read content for entertainment—they crawl websites looking for structured facts they can instantly trust and quote. Structuring your site for machine readability isn't just an optimization tactic; it is the only way to protect your digital footprint and ensure your software stays on your buyers' shortlists as traditional search continues to evolve.\"",[14,488,120,489,491],{},[52,490,9],{},", Founder & CEO of MKG Marketing",[14,493,494],{},[75,495],{"alt":77,"src":496},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F76a1ca67-794d-4085-afd3-68d0afbbb963-ai-visibility-2.png",[24,498,500],{"id":499},"combining-technical-ai-formatting-with-a-full-funnel-growth-strategy","Combining Technical AI Formatting with a Full-Funnel Growth Strategy",[14,502,503],{},"Appearing in AI search answers is a critical first step, but visibility alone does not close enterprise software deals. To convert that visibility into actual sales pipeline, tech companies need to connect their organic search efforts with paid channels and accurate tracking.",[14,505,506],{},[52,507,508],{},"Combining Organic and Paid Reach",[14,510,511],{},"When an AI engine routinely quotes your brand as an industry authority, buyers build trust before they ever speak with your sales team. Companies can build on that momentum by pairing organic optimizations with targeted digital advertising. Running paid campaigns aimed at accounts searching for your software category ensures your brand stays visible in both sponsored ads and generated AI responses.",[14,513,514],{},[52,515,516],{},"Tracking Real-World Influence",[14,518,519],{},"Because AI Overviews often answer questions directly on the screen, traditional \"last-click\" measurement tools no longer tell the full story. Using modern digital analytics allows marketing teams to track direct site traffic, self-reported source data, and sales cycle speed. This gives leadership a clear view of how search visibility actually drives revenue.",[14,521,522],{},[75,523],{"alt":77,"src":524},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F221ea7d6-aa63-4d37-a9dd-78f35fdc9bf6-ai-visibility-3.png",[24,526,528],{"id":527},"future-proofing-your-brand-for-ai-search","Future-Proofing Your Brand for AI Search",[14,530,531],{},"Winning visibility in modern AI search comes down to three practical elements: clear site structure, verified real-world expertise, and a consistent presence across the web. As AI tools change how people research software, relying solely on old keyword-stuffing tactics will cause your brand to fall behind.",[14,533,534],{},"At MKG Marketing, we specialize in helping B2B software and cybersecurity organizations navigate these complex search shifts. Our flat, senior-led structure means you work directly with experienced digital strategists, never junior handoffs. We deploy our unified Search Visibility Optimization (SVO) framework to ensure your website is structured for machine readability, citable by leading AI tools, and built to drive qualified sales pipeline.",[81,536,538],{"id":537},"take-control-of-your-ai-search-visibility","Take Control of Your AI Search Visibility",[46,540,541,550,558],{},[49,542,543,544,549],{},"Ready to see how AI search engines view your website? Explore our",[206,545,548],{"href":546,"rel":547},"https:\u002F\u002Fmkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fexpert-digital-marketing-services\u002F",[210]," Search Visibility Optimization (SVO) Services"," or schedule an initial search strategy review with our senior team.",[49,551,552,553,557],{},"Have questions about your site's technical structure or recent traffic changes?",[206,554,556],{"href":275,"rel":555},[210]," Contact MKG Marketing directly"," to speak with a digital search expert.",[49,559,560,561,212],{},"Want to learn more about the shift from traditional SEO to answer engine optimization? Read our guide on",[206,562,565],{"href":563,"rel":564},"https:\u002F\u002Fmkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fai-search-vs-traditional-search-navigating-the-shift-to-search-visibility-optimization-svo\u002F",[210]," AI Search vs Traditional Search: Navigating the Shift to SVO",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":567},[568,569,577,578],{"id":344,"depth":291,"text":345},{"id":381,"depth":291,"text":385,"children":570},[571,572,573,574,575,576],{"id":391,"depth":297,"text":392},{"id":412,"depth":297,"text":413},{"id":442,"depth":297,"text":443},{"id":452,"depth":297,"text":453},{"id":466,"depth":297,"text":467},{"id":473,"depth":297,"text":474},{"id":499,"depth":291,"text":500},{"id":527,"depth":291,"text":528,"children":579},[580],{"id":537,"depth":297,"text":538},"2026-08-11T17:38:25.303Z","How do AI engines choose which websites to quote? Discover the core AI search ranking factors for 2026 and how to get your brand cited.","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Ff37f521d-b3f6-49bb-8b34-f6ddf2fa1770-mkg-blog-ai-search-visibility-ranking-factors.webp","AI Search Visibility Factors 2026",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fai-search-visibility-ranking-factors-2026-how-machines-decide-who-to-quote",{"title":329,"description":582},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fai-search-visibility-ranking-factors-2026-how-machines-decide-who-to-quote","GHGZ8GxZZuusE2EtxJnbEsvoFD1-j4sXRse2vwlYz5U",{"id":591,"title":592,"author":7,"authors":593,"body":594,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":897,"description":898,"extension":318,"img":899,"imgAlt":900,"meta":901,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":902,"seo":903,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":904,"updated":7,"__hash__":905},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fai-search-vs-traditional-search-navigating-the-shift-to-search-visibility-optimization-svo.md","AI Search vs Traditional Search - Navigating the Shift to Search Visibility Optimization (SVO)",[9],{"type":11,"value":595,"toc":877},[596,599,603,606,616,620,623,634,641,645,648,655,662,665,668,671,682,685,690,693,696,701,706,713,716,783,787,790,793,804,808,811,815,818,822,825,829,832,839,842,845,848,852],[14,597,598],{},"For nearly two decades, the digital playbook for B2B software and tech companies was tried and true: pick your keywords, optimize your site, build backlinks, and win the glory of a top ten spot on a page of blue links. Today… not so much. You might notice your organic website traffic dropping even though your keyword rankings haven't changed. The reason isn't that your competitors suddenly bought more backlinks—it is because the fundamental way people look for information has evolved. Users are moving away from traditional engines and turning to conversational models, leaving marketing leaders to navigate the massive operational shift between ai search vs traditional search engines. Fixing this isn't about buying more links; it’s about changing how your website presents information to be indexed by both humans and algorithms.",[24,600,602],{"id":601},"the-core-differences-ten-blue-links-vs-synthesized-answers","The Core Differences: Ten Blue Links vs. Synthesized Answers",[14,604,605],{},"To understand why traditional search engine optimization (SEO) is no longer enough on its own, we have to look at how user behavior and technology have diverged.",[14,607,608,609,612,613,212],{},"When analyzing ai-driven search engines vs traditional search engines differences, the distinction comes down to ",[38,610,611],{},"retrieval"," versus ",[38,614,615],{},"synthesis",[81,617,619],{"id":618},"traditional-search-the-index-and-click-engine","Traditional Search: The Index and Click Engine",[14,621,622],{},"Traditional search engines operate as massive directory indices. A user types a query like \"best enterprise CRM for SaaS,\" and the engine returns pages of indexed links ranked by relevance, domain authority, and technical optimization. The user must then:",[132,624,625,628,631],{},[49,626,627],{},"Click into three to five separate websites.",[49,629,630],{},"Read through intro fluff and sales copy.",[49,632,633],{},"Manually synthesize the data to make a decision.",[14,635,636,637,640],{},"This model relies on driving traffic ",[38,638,639],{},"to"," your website. Your site is the destination where the user finds the answer.",[81,642,644],{"id":643},"ai-search-the-direct-answer-engine","AI Search: The Direct Answer Engine",[14,646,647],{},"AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google AI Overviews bypass the directory model entirely. They do not just fetch links; they read, cross-reference, and summarize content from across the web into a single, cohesive answer right inside the search interface.",[14,649,650,651,654],{},"When comparing traditional vs ai search results rankings, the target moves from ranking #1 on a keyword list to becoming the primary ",[38,652,653],{},"cited source"," inside an LLM's generated summary. If an AI overview answers your prospect's question completely on the search page, they won't click through to your blog—even if you rank at the top of the organic list.",[24,656,658,661],{"id":657},"why-software-companies-are-losing-traffic-the-zero-click-reality",[75,659],{"alt":77,"src":660},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fa22194a2-19e3-4d2b-a42e-4ad5c6d95b69-click.png","Why Software Companies Are Losing Traffic (The Zero-Click Reality)",[14,663,664],{},"This structural shift explains the mysterious drop in website sessions across B2B software and tech sectors. Buyers are getting their answers without ever visiting your domain.",[14,666,667],{},"When considering ai enterprise search vs traditional enterprise search, enterprise software buyers are no longer hunting through lengthy technical documentation manually. They are asking AI engines to summarize product capabilities, compare pricing structures, and aggregate user reviews into single tables.",[14,669,670],{},"If your marketing strategy relies exclusively on legacy SEO tactics, you face three major risks:",[46,672,673,676,679],{},[49,674,675],{},"Zero-Click Erosion: Higher-funnel informational traffic evaporates as AI Overviews satisfy search intent directly on the results page.",[49,677,678],{},"Loss of Brand Mindshare: If LLMs aren't trained on or citing your content, your product simply doesn't exist during the buyer's initial research phase.",[49,680,681],{},"Vanity Metric Misalignment: Your SEO agency may report stable keyword positions, but your inbound lead forms and phone calls tell a very different story.",[81,683,109],{"id":684},"expert-insight-from-mkg-marketing",[14,686,687,689],{},[38,688,114],{},"AI is making the decision on what it's going to show the user. The system decided your content was the most trustworthy, most citable answer to that exact question for that exact person. Writing something good and checking the ‘helpful content’ boxes doesn't get you there. Those are very different bars.",[14,691,692],{},"‘Helpful’ is table stakes. It's what gets you into the building, not into the room where the AI is assembling its answer.",[14,694,695],{},"What gets you cited is specificity: The right category. Website & Page Structure. Consistent messaging across your entire footprint. A point of view that the model can actually extract and reuse with confidence.",[14,697,698,699],{},"So when Google says ‘just be helpful,’ they're not wrong. They're just leaving out about 80% of what actually matters. And the companies that take that advice at face value are going to watch their visibility collapse while their content quality stays perfectly fine.",[38,700,114],{},[14,702,120,703,705],{},[52,704,9],{},", CEO & Founder of MKG Marketing",[24,707,709,712],{"id":708},"the-evolution-moving-from-seo-to-svo-aeo-and-geo",[75,710],{"alt":77,"src":711},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F4dd65826-2a82-444b-9693-b6845e4438c0-meeting.png","The Evolution: Moving from SEO to SVO, AEO, and GEO",[14,714,715],{},"To stay visible and continue generating qualified pipeline, marketing executives must expand their organic framework beyond traditional boundaries. This requires a modern, multi-layered approach:",[717,718,719,735],"table",{},[720,721,722],"thead",{},[723,724,725,729,732],"tr",{},[726,727,728],"th",{},"Framework",[726,730,731],{},"Full Name",[726,733,734],{},"Primary Objective",[736,737,738,750,761,772],"tbody",{},[723,739,740,744,747],{},[741,742,743],"td",{},"SEO",[741,745,746],{},"Search Engine Optimization",[741,748,749],{},"Ranking pages on traditional search engine results pages (SERPs) for targeted keywords.",[723,751,752,755,758],{},[741,753,754],{},"AEO",[741,756,757],{},"Answer Engine Optimization",[741,759,760],{},"Structuring data so voice assistants and snippet engines can pull direct, succinct answers.",[723,762,763,766,769],{},[741,764,765],{},"GEO",[741,767,768],{},"Generative Engine Optimization",[741,770,771],{},"Formatting brand narrative, statistics, and domain expertise so LLMs ingest and cite your brand.",[723,773,774,777,780],{},[741,775,776],{},"SVO",[741,778,779],{},"Search Visibility Optimization",[741,781,782],{},"The Unified Strategy: Maximizing total brand presence across both traditional links and AI answer engines.",[81,784,786],{"id":785},"how-search-visibility-optimization-svo-solves-the-gap","How Search Visibility Optimization (SVO) Solves the Gap",[14,788,789],{},"SVO doesn't discard traditional SEO; it unifies SEO, AEO, and GEO into a single operational framework.",[14,791,792],{},"Rather than chasing raw session counts, SVO focuses on Information Gain and Citations. To win citations in AI-generated answers, your web content must feature:",[132,794,795,798,801],{},[49,796,797],{},"Clear, Schema-Structured Data: Helping bots identify who you are, what your software does, and who you serve without guessing.",[49,799,800],{},"First-Party Expertise (E-E-A-T): Unique data points, proprietary benchmark reports, and expert commentary that LLMs cannot synthesize from generic web text.",[49,802,803],{},"Direct Answer Formatting: Clear, concise definitions at the top of technical pieces that allow answer engines to extract key takeaways cleanly.",[24,805,807],{"id":806},"practical-steps-to-adapt-your-search-strategy-today","Practical Steps to Adapt Your Search Strategy Today",[14,809,810],{},"Shifting your company's digital presence to capture both traditional and AI-driven search doesn't require scrapping your entire content library. It requires restructuring how your information is delivered.",[81,812,814],{"id":813},"_1-optimize-for-high-information-gain","1. Optimize for High Information Gain",[14,816,817],{},"Eliminate generic, top-of-funnel fluff articles that summarize widely available knowledge. AI engines already summarize that data effortlessly. Focus instead on deep, opinionated, original content: teardowns of real customer implementation challenges, original survey data, and niche technical workflows.",[81,819,821],{"id":820},"_2-standardize-entity-and-brand-citations","2. Standardize Entity and Brand Citations",[14,823,824],{},"Ensure your brand's core value proposition, product categories, and technical terminology are consistent across external review sites, Wikipedia entries, PR releases, and your own domain. LLMs establish trust by cross-referencing brand information across multiple authoritative sources.",[81,826,828],{"id":827},"_3-track-pipeline-impact-over-pure-clicks","3. Track Pipeline Impact over Pure Clicks",[14,830,831],{},"Recognize that a drop in informational blog clicks does not automatically mean a drop in revenue. If an AI search tool cites your software as the top recommendation for an enterprise query, the prospect may navigate directly to your pricing or contact page to initiate a call. Measure branded search volume, direct traffic, and pipeline velocity alongside traditional organic metrics.",[24,833,835,838],{"id":834},"summary-adapting-to-how-buyers-search-today",[75,836],{"alt":77,"src":837},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F1a47aa4c-b986-4fd6-b30d-5ff622a02239-brain.png","Summary: Adapting to How Buyers Search Today",[14,840,841],{},"The debate surrounding ai search vs traditional search engines isn't about choosing one platform over the other. Traditional search engines will continue to process billions of queries, but AI-driven answer engines are rapidly capturing high-intent B2B research behavior. If software and tech companies want to keep filling their sales pipelines with new customers, they must adapt to how people search today.",[14,843,844],{},"Succeeding in this new landscape requires a refined strategy, technical precision, and continuous testing across evolving engine algorithms.",[14,846,847],{},"At MKG Marketing, we eliminate the guesswork. We provide a senior-led team of digital experts who handle your search strategy and technical execution directly—with zero handoffs to junior staff. We help growing tech organizations build future-proof organic engines that drive clear visibility, authoritative citations, and real business revenue.",[81,849,851],{"id":850},"ready-to-modernize-your-search-strategy","Ready to Modernize Your Search Strategy?",[46,853,854,862,869],{},[49,855,856,857,861],{},"Organic search is constantly shifting. Let’s figure it out together. We help tech leaders cut through the noise and build search strategies that actually drive growth. Explore our ",[206,858,860],{"href":208,"rel":859},[210],"Search Visibility Optimization (SVO) Services"," or book your initial search strategy review.",[49,863,864,865,278],{},"Skip the generic SEO agency playbook. Our senior team works alongside you to build a tailored search strategy that gets your brand seen. Ready to fix traffic drops or scale what’s already working? ",[206,866,868],{"href":275,"rel":867},[210],"Contact MKG Marketing today",[49,870,871,872,212],{},"Ready to learn more about content quality in the age of artificial intelligence? We got you covered:",[206,873,876],{"href":874,"rel":875},"https:\u002F\u002Fmkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fis-ai-content-bad-for-seo-how-to-scale-traffic-without-sacrificing-rankings\u002F",[210]," Is AI Content Bad for SEO? How to Scale Traffic Without Sacrificing Rankings",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":878},[879,883,886,889,894],{"id":601,"depth":291,"text":602,"children":880},[881,882],{"id":618,"depth":297,"text":619},{"id":643,"depth":297,"text":644},{"id":657,"depth":291,"text":661,"children":884},[885],{"id":684,"depth":297,"text":109},{"id":708,"depth":291,"text":712,"children":887},[888],{"id":785,"depth":297,"text":786},{"id":806,"depth":291,"text":807,"children":890},[891,892,893],{"id":813,"depth":297,"text":814},{"id":820,"depth":297,"text":821},{"id":827,"depth":297,"text":828},{"id":834,"depth":291,"text":838,"children":895},[896],{"id":850,"depth":297,"text":851},"2026-08-05T15:31:00.000Z","Traditional SEO is shifting. Learn how AI search engines are disrupting the ten blue links and how to win brand mentions in LLM responses.","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Ff8233c21-a553-4cdf-b08e-62ba6de46295-mkg-blog-ai-search-vs-traditional-search-hero-image.webp","Stop Chasing Clicks, Capture Direct-Answer AI",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fai-search-vs-traditional-search-navigating-the-shift-to-search-visibility-optimization-svo",{"title":592,"description":898},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fai-search-vs-traditional-search-navigating-the-shift-to-search-visibility-optimization-svo","-gpi5KK10pDxINv9ruMKWl6jS80jXrfnRRxBeMsFrVE",{"id":907,"title":908,"author":7,"authors":7,"body":909,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":1138,"description":1139,"extension":318,"img":1140,"imgAlt":1141,"meta":1142,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":1143,"seo":1144,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":1145,"updated":7,"__hash__":1146},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fsearch-visibility-optimization-svo-monthly-overview-july-2026.md","Search Visibility Optimization (SVO) Monthly Overview - July 2026",{"type":11,"value":910,"toc":1130},[911,917,966,972,1008,1014,1049,1055,1082,1088,1091,1096,1099,1102,1122],[24,912,914],{"id":913},"executive-summary-the-tldr",[52,915,916],{},"Executive Summary (The TL;DR)",[46,918,919,931,942,954],{},[49,920,921,924,925,930],{},[52,922,923],{},"Google Refines Helpful Content Systems:"," The",[206,926,929],{"href":927,"rel":928},"https:\u002F\u002Fadelev8.com\u002Fblog\u002Fgoogle-july-2026-helpful-content-update",[210]," July 2026 Helpful Content Update"," shifts evaluation metrics from blunt site-wide penalties to granular, section-level filtering, strictly penalizing synthetic, low-effort material while rewarding verified practitioner expertise.",[49,932,933,936,937,212],{},[52,934,935],{},"AI Overviews Expansion:"," Google integrated live news carousels and direct image generation inside AI Overviews, which now feature in approximately",[206,938,941],{"href":939,"rel":940},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.artificialintelligence-news.com\u002Fnews\u002Fgoogle-ai-overviews-us-searches\u002F",[210]," 43% of US searches",[49,943,944,947,948,953],{},[52,945,946],{},"Search Console Controls Updates:"," Site owners can now explicitly manage and isolate content inclusion within AI Overviews and AI Mode via",[206,949,952],{"href":950,"rel":951},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.numinix.com\u002Fblog\u002Fjuly-2026-seo-algorithm-news-update\u002F",[210]," updated Search Console controls"," without sacrificing baseline organic rankings.",[49,955,956,959,960,965],{},[52,957,958],{},"AEO and Third Party Integration:"," ChatGPT’s integration of live third-party platform data (such as",[206,961,964],{"href":962,"rel":963},"https:\u002F\u002Fsearchengineland.com\u002Fgoogle-to-update-local-services-ads-policies-in-july-479653",[210]," Yelp reviews, ratings, and photos",") forces B2B and B2C brands to optimize their multi-platform digital footprints beyond owned properties.",[24,967,969],{"id":968},"algorithm-technical-seo-updates",[52,970,971],{},"Algorithm & Technical SEO Updates",[46,973,974,986,997],{},[49,975,976,979,980,985],{},[52,977,978],{},"The July 2026 Helpful Content Update:"," Google deployed a ",[206,981,984],{"href":982,"rel":983},"https:\u002F\u002Fseovendor.co\u002Fgoogle-algorithm-updates-july-2026\u002F",[210],"targeted update"," to its Helpful Content System, tightening synthetic content detection and increasing E-E-A-T weightings. Unlike previous iterations that carried a risk of broad site-wide demotions, this update introduces granular section-level assessments, permitting well-authored pages on otherwise mixed-quality domains to retain visibility.",[49,987,988,991,992,996],{},[52,989,990],{},"Global Spam Countermeasures:"," Running alongside minor core adjustments, ",[206,993,995],{"href":950,"rel":994},[210],"a global spam update"," rolled out to refine SpamBrain heuristics, targeting systemic manipulation patterns rather than isolated link-building tactics.",[49,998,999,1002,1003,1007],{},[52,1000,1001],{},"Search Console Shifts:"," Platform-wide properties and explicit GEO isolation controls ",[206,1004,1006],{"href":950,"rel":1005},[210],"went live",", enabling technical leaders to partition content accessibility for generative experiences without damaging classic organic indexing.",[24,1009,1011],{"id":1010},"geoaeo-updates",[52,1012,1013],{},"GEO\u002FAEO Updates",[46,1015,1016,1026,1037],{},[49,1017,1018,1021,1022,1025],{},[52,1019,1020],{},"AI Overview Saturation & Features:"," Market intelligence indicates AI Overviews now appear in roughly",[206,1023,941],{"href":939,"rel":1024},[210],", fundamentally altering click-through dynamics. July updates added real-time news carousels and native AI-generated image creation directly into query responses, shifting user engagement loops.",[49,1027,1028,1031,1032,1036],{},[52,1029,1030],{},"Cross-Platform Citation Shifts:"," ChatGPT expanded its retrieval architecture by integrating live third-party review and vector data (including",[206,1033,1035],{"href":962,"rel":1034},[210]," Yelp reviews and ratings","), illustrating that LLM engines rely heavily on aggregated ecosystem trust signals rather than just corporate web properties.",[49,1038,1039,1042,1043,1048],{},[52,1040,1041],{},"The \"Ghost Citation\" Phenomenon:"," ",[206,1044,1047],{"href":1045,"rel":1046},"https:\u002F\u002Fsearchengineland.com\u002Fai-halftime-report-h1-2026-483912",[210],"Emerging tracking data"," highlights that AI engines frequently synthesize information from third-party aggregators and forums, leaving primary creators uncredited unless structured entities are explicitly claimed and verified.",[24,1050,1052],{"id":1051},"strategic-implications-for-leaders",[52,1053,1054],{},"Strategic Implications for Leaders",[46,1056,1057,1063],{},[49,1058,1059,1062],{},[52,1060,1061],{},"What to ignore:"," Short-term ranking fluctuations and mass content deletions. High-volume, automated articles no longer hold value under current search filters, making rapid content generation counterproductive.",[49,1064,1065,1068],{},[52,1066,1067],{},"Where to pivot:",[46,1069,1070,1076],{},[49,1071,1072,1075],{},[52,1073,1074],{},"Clean up low-value content:"," Review site pages for thin or AI-generated text. Replace surface-level summaries with original research, customer case studies, and expert data that language models cannot replicate.",[49,1077,1078,1081],{},[52,1079,1080],{},"Standardize off-page brand data:"," Align Schema markup, corporate records, and third-party profiles across major directories and review platforms. Search engines and AI systems rely heavily on external sources to verify company authority.",[24,1083,1085],{"id":1084},"looking-ahead",[52,1086,1087],{},"Looking Ahead",[14,1089,1090],{},"Google historically issues a major core algorithm update in late Q3. Growth teams should focus on deepening coverage within core subject areas rather than publishing broadly across adjacent topics.",[24,1092,1094],{"id":1093},"search-visibility-optimization-svo",[52,1095,168],{},[14,1097,1098],{},"Maintaining search traffic now requires managing three distinct channels: standard web indexing, answer engine citations (AEO), and generative search layouts (GEO).",[14,1100,1101],{},"MKG assists growth-stage technology companies with:",[46,1103,1104,1110,1116],{},[49,1105,1106,1109],{},[52,1107,1108],{},"GEO and AEO Audits:"," Evaluating brand presence and citation rates across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews.",[49,1111,1112,1115],{},[52,1113,1114],{},"Structured Data Infrastructure:"," Aligning Schema markup and technical index controls to safeguard search presence.",[49,1117,1118,1121],{},[52,1119,1120],{},"Pipeline Attribution Modeling:"," Measuring how generative search visibility impacts customer acquisition costs (CAC) and deal velocity.",[14,1123,1124,1125,1129],{},"To review your domain's generative search visibility, ",[206,1126,1128],{"href":275,"rel":1127},[210],"schedule a consultation"," with an MKG search specialist.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":1131},[1132,1133,1134,1135,1136,1137],{"id":913,"depth":291,"text":916},{"id":968,"depth":291,"text":971},{"id":1010,"depth":291,"text":1013},{"id":1051,"depth":291,"text":1054},{"id":1084,"depth":291,"text":1087},{"id":1093,"depth":291,"text":168},"2026-08-04T16:16:55.368Z","Stay updated on the July 2026 search landscape: Google’s granular Helpful Content Update, AI Overviews reaching 43% of US searches, new Search Console controls for AI Mode, and ChatGPT's integration of third-party platform data.","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F9bacf7c4-18eb-47f1-87fb-986cba555a73-Copy of 11766_(1920x1080) (7).png","close-up image of a blue pushpin marking a location on a detailed paper map",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fsearch-visibility-optimization-svo-monthly-overview-july-2026",{"title":908,"description":1139},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fsearch-visibility-optimization-svo-monthly-overview-july-2026","5pxN68DR_qIaFWWZtTFVVhPfAFuFaWVgo_xonw8Dtw0",{"id":1148,"title":1149,"author":7,"authors":7,"body":1150,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":1460,"description":1461,"extension":318,"img":1462,"imgAlt":1463,"meta":1464,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":1465,"seo":1466,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":1467,"updated":7,"__hash__":1468},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fis-ai-content-bad-for-seo-how-to-scale-traffic-without-sacrificing-rankings.md","Is AI Content Bad for SEO? How to Scale Traffic Without Sacrificing Rankings",{"type":11,"value":1151,"toc":1444},[1152,1159,1165,1168,1183,1186,1189,1203,1210,1213,1217,1220,1226,1237,1243,1246,1252,1263,1265,1270,1273,1276,1281,1286,1293,1300,1303,1309,1312,1318,1321,1332,1338,1341,1348,1357,1364,1371,1376,1379,1394,1400,1406,1409,1416,1420],[14,1153,1154,1155,1158],{},"Let’s answer the question on every marketing leader’s mind right away: ",[52,1156,1157],{},"No, AI content is not inherently bad for SEO."," Google does not automatically penalize text simply because an artificial intelligence model generated it. In fact, Google’s official Search guidelines state that the search engine ranks content based on its helpfulness, relevance, and quality—not on who (or what) typed the words.",[14,1160,1161,1162],{},"However, there is a massive caveat that every modern CMO and VP of Marketing must understand: ",[52,1163,1164],{},"publishing unedited, mass-produced AI text is a fast track to losing traffic.",[14,1166,1167],{},"While AI can drastically accelerate your research and drafting phases, relying on raw algorithm outputs to power your organic search strategy will inevitably hurt your brand. The internet is quickly becoming flooded with synthesized, low-effort fluff. Search engines are aggressively updating their algorithms to identify and down-rank generic copy that fails to bring new value to the web.",[14,1169,1170,1171,1174,1175,1178,1179,1182],{},"So, ",[52,1172,1173],{},"does AI-generated content impact SEO?"," Absolutely—for better or for worse depending entirely on ",[38,1176,1177],{},"how"," you use it. To navigate this new era of search, B2B software and tech companies must learn how to safely leverage AI as an efficiency tool while keeping senior human strategy in full control. ",[75,1180],{"alt":77,"src":1181},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fe5fe90d6-da9d-42d8-8ca3-5c601eb33fc8-ai-content-bad-for-seo-1.png","What Google Actually Cites About AI-Generated Content",[14,1184,1185],{},"A widespread myth floating around boardrooms is that Google possesses a universal \"AI detector\" that immediately penalizes any site using machine learning tools. This misconception has led to two extreme behaviors: organizations either banned AI entirely out of fear, or they went all-in, firing editorial teams and pumping out hundreds of unvetted AI articles a month.",[14,1187,1188],{},"Both approaches are flawed. Google’s position on AI content is clear and consistent:",[46,1190,1191,1197],{},[49,1192,1193,1196],{},[52,1194,1195],{},"Intent matters over medium:"," If you use automation, including generative AI, primarily to manipulate search rankings, it is considered a violation of Google's spam policies.",[49,1198,1199,1202],{},[52,1200,1201],{},"Quality is the ultimate benchmark:"," If your content offers original information, insightful analysis, and clear utility to the searcher, Google will reward it—regardless of whether AI helped draft the paragraphs.",[14,1204,1205,1206,1209],{},"This distinction rests on Google’s ",[52,1207,1208],{},"E-E-A-T framework",": Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.",[14,1211,1212],{},"Generative AI models are trained on existing web data; by design, they scrape, synthesize, and regurgitate information that has already been published. They cannot draw from personal background, run proprietary benchmark studies, or conduct interviews with industry veterans. Therefore, raw AI content inherently lacks the \"First-Hand Experience\" and deep \"Expertise\" required to satisfy modern search criteria.",[24,1214,1216],{"id":1215},"why-copy-pasting-ai-copy-destroys-your-organic-traffic","Why Copy-Pasting AI Copy Destroys Your Organic Traffic",[14,1218,1219],{},"If Google doesn't penalize AI text on principle, why are so many tech sites seeing their organic impressions plummet after launching automated content initiatives? The answer lies in the subtle traps of machine-generated prose.",[81,1221,1223],{"id":1222},"_1-the-information-gain-problem",[52,1224,1225],{},"1. The Information Gain Problem",[14,1227,1228,1229,1232,1233,1236],{},"Search engine algorithms are increasingly prioritizing ",[52,1230,1231],{},"Information Gain","—a metric that measures whether a piece of content adds ",[38,1234,1235],{},"new"," facts, perspectives, or data points to a topic compared to existing index results. When an AI tool drafts an article, it simply summarizes what the top ten results on Google are already saying. It offers zero information gain. If your page is merely an average of what is already online, Google has no incentive to rank you above established competitors.",[81,1238,1240],{"id":1239},"_2-hallucinations-and-brand-risk",[52,1241,1242],{},"2. Hallucinations and Brand Risk",[14,1244,1245],{},"Large Language Models (LLMs) are predictive engines, not factual databases. They routinely invent statistics, misquote technical documentation, and present incorrect product capabilities with total confidence. Publishing hallucinated facts erodes consumer trust and signals to search crawlers that your site lacks basic editorial integrity.",[81,1247,1249],{"id":1248},"_3-the-homogenization-of-brand-voice",[52,1250,1251],{},"3. The Homogenization of Brand Voice",[14,1253,1254,1255,1258,1259,1262],{},"B2B tech buyers are sophisticated. They can spot low-effort, synthetic writing instantly. Text bloated with hollow transitions (",[38,1256,1257],{},"\"In today's fast-paced digital landscape...\""," or ",[38,1260,1261],{},"\"It is crucial to leverage...\"",") signals to prospects that your company lacks real point-of-view authority. If your content sounds identical to every competitor using the same prompts, you lose your market positioning.",[24,1264,109],{"id":684},[14,1266,1267,1269],{},[38,1268,114],{},"The AI has no reason to pick yours over theirs. It's looking for something it can confidently reuse, and if your version doesn't add anything new, you're background noise.",[14,1271,1272],{},"So instead of writing more, I'm going page by page through what already exists and asking one question: does this page say something that no other page on the internet says?",[14,1274,1275],{},"Original data. A real client pattern you documented. A first-person account of what actually happened when you tried the thing everyone recommends. ",[14,1277,1278,1279],{},"That's what AI pulls in. The generic stuff is what AI already has forty versions of. It doesn't need yours.",[38,1280,114],{},[14,1282,120,1283,1285],{},[52,1284,9],{},", CEO of MKG Marketing",[24,1287,1289,1292],{"id":1288},"how-to-safely-use-ai-as-a-marketing-assistant-not-a-lead-strategist",[75,1290],{"alt":77,"src":1291},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fc8d0926d-82b9-42f9-85f4-3c433da82d78-ai-content-bad-for-seo-2.png","How to Safely Use AI as a Marketing Assistant (Not a Lead Strategist)",[14,1294,1295,1296,1299],{},"To succeed in search today, modern tech companies don't need to abandon AI; they need to integrate it into a ",[52,1297,1298],{},"human-led editorial workflow",". AI should act as the junior analyst that handles heavy administrative lifting, while senior strategists serve as the editorial director.",[14,1301,1302],{},"Here is how high-growth organizations use AI tools safely without putting their search performance at risk:",[81,1304,1306],{"id":1305},"_1-accelerate-research-and-formatting",[52,1307,1308],{},"1. Accelerate Research and Formatting",[14,1310,1311],{},"Use AI to synthesize lengthy transcripts, cluster search intent, organize raw data, and draft initial structural outlines. Asking an AI tool to suggest five logical structural flows for a technical guide saves hours of brainstorming without diluting your editorial voice.",[81,1313,1315],{"id":1314},"_2-inject-proprietary-data-and-human-storytelling",[52,1316,1317],{},"2. Inject Proprietary Data and Human Storytelling",[14,1319,1320],{},"Once a rough outline or foundational draft exists, a subject matter expert (SME) must step in. Inject real-world elements that an algorithm can never produce:",[46,1322,1323,1326,1329],{},[49,1324,1325],{},"Customer case studies and real implementation metrics.",[49,1327,1328],{},"Direct quotes from internal product architects or sales engineers.",[49,1330,1331],{},"Unique takeaways or counter-intuitive opinions that challenge status-quo industry advice.",[81,1333,1335],{"id":1334},"_3-rigorous-fact-checking-and-editorial-oversight",[52,1336,1337],{},"3. Rigorous Fact-Checking and Editorial Oversight",[14,1339,1340],{},"Every claim, statistic, and technical instruction generated during the drafting phase must be verified by a human editor. Ensure the tone matches your brand guidelines and eliminate boilerplate AI phrasing.",[14,1342,1343,1344,1347],{},"Want to see how your current search strategy measures up against the latest engine updates? Explore our comprehensive",[206,1345,211],{"href":208,"rel":1346},[210]," or book an initial search strategy review with our senior team today.",[24,1349,1351,1354],{"id":1350},"beyond-traditional-seo-preparing-for-search-visibility-optimization-svo",[75,1352],{"alt":77,"src":1353},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F2cd275b2-b56c-4864-b728-e18e54f45370-ai-content-bad-for-seo-3.png",[52,1355,1356],{},"Beyond Traditional SEO: Preparing for Search Visibility Optimization (SVO)",[14,1358,1359,1360,1363],{},"The debate over whether AI-generated content ",[52,1361,1362],{},"is good for seo"," is part of a much larger shift in how users find information. Search is no longer confined to a list of ten blue links on a traditional search results page.",[14,1365,1366,1367,1370],{},"With the rapid adoption of AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity, users are increasingly getting direct answers synthesized and generated right inside search interfaces. This shift means that optimizing purely for keyword clicks is no longer enough. You must optimize for ",[52,1368,1369],{},"total brand visibility"," across AI search models and traditional engines alike.",[14,1372,1373,1374,212],{},"This evolution is what we call ",[52,1375,168],{},[14,1377,1378],{},"To win in an SVO-driven ecosystem, your content must be authoritative enough that AI models choose to cite your brand as the primary source of truth. Generic, auto-generated articles will never be cited by AI search tools because those articles lack original authority. The only way to capture mindshare in both AI answers and traditional search lists is by publishing high-gain, expert-driven content that clearly demonstrates E-E-A-T.",[14,1380,1381,1382,1387,1388,1393],{},"If your organic reach is stalling due to changing algorithms, taking a holistic view of your digital presence is essential. Aligning your organic content strategy with high-intent paid acquisition via",[206,1383,1386],{"href":1384,"rel":1385},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fsearch?q=https:\u002F\u002Fmkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fservices\u002Fdigital-advertising\u002F",[210]," Digital Advertising"," and measuring true user journeys through robust",[206,1389,1392],{"href":1390,"rel":1391},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fsearch?q=https:\u002F\u002Fmkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fservices\u002Fanalytics\u002F",[210]," Digital Analytics"," ensures your marketing engine generates pipeline—not just empty clicks.",[24,1395,1397],{"id":1396},"summary-adapting-your-search-engine-strategy-for-long-term-growth",[52,1398,1399],{},"Summary: Adapting Your Search Engine Strategy for Long-Term Growth",[14,1401,1402,1403,1405],{},"To recap: ",[52,1404,1173],{}," Yes. If you treat AI as a magic shortcut to generate hundreds of unvetted blog posts, your search visibility will eventually collapse; quickly building a house out of AI sticks won’t protect you when the Big Bad Search Engine Wolf comes calling. But if you treat AI as an efficiency engine that supports a human-led, expert-driven content pipeline, you can scale output without sacrificing rankings.",[14,1407,1408],{},"As search engines adapt to the flood of synthetic content, companies must adapt how they communicate with their buyers. The brands that win over the next decade won't be those that avoid AI, nor will they be those that hand their entire marketing strategy over to algorithms. The winners will be the organizations that pair cutting-edge tools with an authentic, human-driven brand voice.",[14,1410,1411,1412,1415],{},"At ",[52,1413,1414],{},"MKG Marketing",", we don't pass your search strategy off to junior account managers or unmonitored software bots. We provide an experienced, senior-led team that handles both the high-level strategy and technical execution directly. We help B2B tech and software companies navigate complex search updates, build a sustainable organic pipeline, and maintain complete operational control over their brand narrative.",[24,1417,1419],{"id":1418},"ready-to-build-a-future-proof-search-strategy","Ready to Build a Future-Proof Search Strategy?",[46,1421,1422,1429,1436],{},[49,1423,1424,1425,212],{},"Learn how our senior-led team can audit and elevate your organic reach.",[206,1426,1428],{"href":208,"rel":1427},[210]," Explore our Search Visibility Optimization (SVO) Services & Strategy Reviews",[49,1430,1431,1432,278],{},"Have immediate questions about your traffic or upcoming search updates?",[206,1433,1435],{"href":275,"rel":1434},[210]," Contact the MKG Marketing Team directly",[49,1437,1438,1439,212],{},"Want to dive deeper into modern search trends? Read our latest guide:",[206,1440,1443],{"href":1441,"rel":1442},"https:\u002F\u002Fmkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fblog\u002F",[210]," Beyond Last-Click: How to Measure Marketing Influence in an AI-First World",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":1445},[1446,1451,1452,1457,1458,1459],{"id":1215,"depth":291,"text":1216,"children":1447},[1448,1449,1450],{"id":1222,"depth":297,"text":1225},{"id":1239,"depth":297,"text":1242},{"id":1248,"depth":297,"text":1251},{"id":684,"depth":291,"text":109},{"id":1288,"depth":291,"text":1292,"children":1453},[1454,1455,1456],{"id":1305,"depth":297,"text":1308},{"id":1314,"depth":297,"text":1317},{"id":1334,"depth":297,"text":1337},{"id":1350,"depth":291,"text":1356},{"id":1396,"depth":291,"text":1399},{"id":1418,"depth":291,"text":1419},"2026-07-31T16:42:23.391Z","Does AI-generated content impact SEO? 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Writing Content at Midnight (and How to Scale Past Yourself)",{"type":11,"value":2416,"toc":2672},[2417,2420,2423,2430,2433,2440,2445,2449,2452,2455,2458,2461,2481,2484,2488,2491,2498,2509,2514,2524,2527,2530,2533,2544,2547,2557,2560,2563,2566,2571,2575,2581,2592,2653,2656,2660,2663,2666,2669],[14,2418,2419],{},"You are sitting at your desk, and it is 12:42 AM. The rest of your house is completely dark. The only illumination comes from the harsh blue glow of your laptop screen, where a half-finished LinkedIn post and a messy content brief are staring back at you. Your eyes are bloodshot, your third cup of coffee from earlier today has long since turned into a hollow pit in your stomach, and you are trying to remember how you ended up here.",[14,2421,2422],{},"You are a Series B founder. You have raised millions of dollars. You have a product that customers love, an engineering team shipping code daily, and a board that expects you to double ARR over the next twelve months. Yet, instead of steering the ship, setting strategic partnerships, or closing enterprise deals, you are spending your midnights editing paragraphs, fixing broken formatting, and playing the role of a junior copywriter.",[14,2424,2425,2426,2429],{},"This is the reality of the ",[52,2427,2428],{},"founder bottleneck",", and it’s a desert where you cannot function.",[14,2431,2432],{},"Every single week, you are losing 15 to 20 hours to pure marketing chaos. You are acting as the human router between a disjointed network of freelancers: a writer who doesn’t understand your technical product, an SEO specialist who just dumps keyword spreadsheets into your inbox, and a graphic designer who takes four days to fix a font color. You are trapped in an exhausting cycle of constant review, micro-management, and point-solution firefighting, all to combat a terrifying trend: your organic traffic is dropping, and your pipeline is flattening out.",[14,2434,2435,2436,2439],{},"You didn't build a high-growth SaaS company to become a stressed-out project manager for outsourced contractors. It’s time to stop committing ",[52,2437,2438],{},"random acts of marketing (RAM)"," at midnight and build a growth engine that runs entirely without you.",[14,2441,2442],{},[75,2443],{"alt":77,"src":2444},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F45d6c10a-63c3-4a08-8b3d-bb83d71944c2-stop-writing-content-at-midnight-image-1.png",[24,2446,2448],{"id":2447},"the-chaos-trap-why-point-solutions-are-killing-your-growth","The Chaos Trap: Why Point-Solutions Are Killing Your Growth",[14,2450,2451],{},"When you first raised your Series B round, the mandate was simple: scale the pipeline. To achieve that, you likely followed the traditional digital marketing playbook. You hired a few niche freelancers, brought on a boutique agency for paid ads, and tasked yourself with overseeing the output.",[14,2453,2454],{},"It seemed efficient on paper. In practice, it created a highly fragmented system that demands your constant attention to survive. Niche agencies and freelancers operate in isolation; your SEO vendor doesn't talk to your content writer, and your content writer has no idea what your paid media team is testing.",[14,2456,2457],{},"Because there is no unified strategy or shared operational framework, the responsibility of connecting the dots falls entirely on your shoulders. You become the central node. Nothing moves unless you review it, approve it, or fix it.",[14,2459,2460],{},"This fragmentation results in three critical failure points for a Series B organization:",[46,2462,2463,2469,2475],{},[49,2464,2465,2468],{},[52,2466,2467],{},"The Velocity Crisis:"," Because you are managing independent contractors, a single piece of content takes three weeks to move from ideation to publication. By the time it goes live, the market window has shifted.",[49,2470,2471,2474],{},[52,2472,2473],{},"Vanity Metric Overload:"," Your point-solution vendors will always defend their specific silo. The SEO agency points to rising impressions, the copywriter points to word count, but neither can tell you how many qualified opportunities entered your CRM this month.",[49,2476,2477,2480],{},[52,2478,2479],{},"Strategic Disconnect:"," Freelancers write for search engine algorithms or generic audiences—they do not write for your buyers. Without deep product context, the content feels shallow, failing to capture the strategic narrative required to win enterprise deals.",[14,2482,2483],{},"This operational drag represents a massive hidden cost. When you spend 20 hours a week acting as a tactical traffic cop, you are not doing the high-leverage work that your board actually measured you on. You are sacrificing strategic growth to keep a broken execution model on life support.",[24,2485,2487],{"id":2486},"moving-beyond-chaos-to-a-systemized-pipeline","Moving Beyond Chaos to a Systemized Pipeline",[14,2489,2490],{},"To break free from this operational quicksand, your organization must transition away from disjointed point-solutions and embrace a unified framework. You do not need more freelancers to manage; you need an integrated execution model that converts your strategic vision into a pipeline without demanding your personal time.",[14,2492,2493,2494,2497],{},"This is where the shift to a ",[52,2495,2496],{},"systemized pipeline"," occurs. Instead of treating marketing as a series of isolated creative projects, it must be run as an integrated product engine.",[14,2499,2500,2501,2504,2505,2508],{},"A systemized growth engine relies on two foundational pillars: ",[52,2502,2503],{},"operational control"," and ",[52,2506,2507],{},"financial predictability",". When these two elements are integrated into your growth strategy, the need for midnight editing vanishes.",[14,2510,2511],{},[75,2512],{"alt":77,"src":2513},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F119a49bb-e39d-4d4f-a6d0-983ddb424358-stop-writing-content-at-midnight-image-2.png",[46,2515,2516],{},[49,2517,2518],{},[81,2519,2521],{"id":2520},"achieving-true-operational-control",[52,2522,2523],{},"Achieving True Operational Control",[14,2525,2526],{},"The primary reason founders get pulled into tactical execution is a lack of visibility. When marketing operates inside a black box of messy email threads, scattered Slack channels, and fragmented Google Docs, you naturally micro-manage because you cannot see what is happening until it is either late or broken.",[14,2528,2529],{},"True operational control means replacing communication chaos with absolute transparency. By consolidating all marketing execution into a single, centralized platform—such as fully optimized Asana sprint boards—you gain immediate clarity.",[14,2531,2532],{},"At any moment, you can look at a single dashboard and see exactly:",[46,2534,2535,2538,2541],{},[49,2536,2537],{},"What strategic initiatives are currently in production.",[49,2539,2540],{},"Who owns the next step of execution (design, copy, technical implementation).",[49,2542,2543],{},"The precise launch date for every campaign, asset, and distribution channel.",[14,2545,2546],{},"When production workflows are systematized, you no longer need to check in on people. You don't have to send \"Is this ready yet?\" Slack messages at 10:00 PM. The system provides the visibility, allowing you to step out of the project manager role and step back into the visionary role.",[46,2548,2549],{},[49,2550,2551],{},[81,2552,2554],{"id":2553},"eliminating-fees-with-transparent-published-pricing",[52,2555,2556],{},"Eliminating Fees With Transparent, Published Pricing",[14,2558,2559],{},"The second major friction point in scaling a marketing engine is financial unpredictability. Traditional agency models are intentionally opaque. They hide behind complex retainers, unpredictable hourly billing, and sudden scope-change fees that require constant negotiation.",[14,2561,2562],{},"Every time you want to pivot strategy, launch a new experiment, or spin up an extra campaign, you are forced to review a new statement of work (SOW) or argue over out-of-scope costs. This introduces massive procurement delays and wastes precious executive energy.",[14,2564,2565],{},"A modern growth engine eliminates this friction through fully transparent, published pricing models. When your execution partner operates on flat, predictable rates with clearly defined monthly deliverables, budgeting becomes simple. You know exactly what you are spending, precisely what you are getting, and you never have to waste time auditing a confusing invoice from an agency partner.",[14,2567,2568],{},[75,2569],{"alt":77,"src":2570},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F4ecef925-47b0-4868-996d-e40f7f3d2f79-stop-writing-content-at-midnight-image-3.png",[24,2572,2574],{"id":2573},"the-execution-playbook-shifting-from-thinker-to-reviewer","The Execution Playbook: Shifting From Thinker to Reviewer",[14,2576,2577,2578,2580],{},"Building a self-running growth engine does not mean you abandon marketing entirely. Your strategic insights as a founder are incredibly valuable; you understand the market, the product, and the customer better than anyone else. The goal is to change ",[38,2579,1177],{}," your insights are extracted and executed.",[14,2582,2583,2584,2587,2588,2591],{},"You must transition from being the ",[52,2585,2586],{},"primary creator"," to the ",[52,2589,2590],{},"strategic reviewer",". Here is how an integrated execution model restructures your workflow to give you your time back:",[717,2593,2594,2607],{},[720,2595,2596],{},[723,2597,2598,2601,2604],{},[726,2599,2600],{},"Workflow Phase",[726,2602,2603],{},"The Legacy Way (Founder as Creator)",[726,2605,2606],{},"The Systemized Way (Founder as Reviewer)",[736,2608,2609,2620,2631,2642],{},[723,2610,2611,2614,2617],{},[741,2612,2613],{},"Ideation & Strategy",[741,2615,2616],{},"Founder spends hours researching keywords and drafting outlines from scratch.",[741,2618,2619],{},"Founder records a 10-minute Loom brief outlining core strategic concepts.",[723,2621,2622,2625,2628],{},[741,2623,2624],{},"Production & Layout",[741,2626,2627],{},"Founder routes drafts between isolated freelance writers and graphic designers.",[741,2629,2630],{},"Integrated partner handles research, writing, design, and technical setup natively.",[723,2632,2633,2636,2639],{},[741,2634,2635],{},"Quality Control",[741,2637,2638],{},"Founder spends midnights rewriting poor copy and fixing formatting errors.",[741,2640,2641],{},"Founder reviews a polished, near-final asset inside an Asana sprint board for approval.",[723,2643,2644,2647,2650],{},[741,2645,2646],{},"Analytics & Reporting",[741,2648,2649],{},"Founder logs into multiple dashboards trying to connect traffic to revenue.",[741,2651,2652],{},"Integrated partner delivers a single dashboard showing direct pipeline velocity impact.",[14,2654,2655],{},"By shifting your input to the very beginning of the loop (sharing your unique domain expertise) and the very end of the loop (final sign-off), you cut your time investment down from 20 hours a week to less than two. The entire middle phase, the heavy lifting of research, drafting, designing, and optimizing, is handled by an integrated execution system designed to scale.",[24,2657,2659],{"id":2658},"reclaiming-your-executive-leverage","Reclaiming Your Executive Leverage",[14,2661,2662],{},"Every hour you spend editing a blog post, tweaking a landing page headline, or tracking down an unresponsive freelancer is an hour stolen from the strategic growth of your company.",[14,2664,2665],{},"At the Series B stage, your board is not evaluating your performance based on how many articles you published or how many keyword metrics went up. They are looking at capital efficiency, scalable customer acquisition, and ARR growth.",[14,2667,2668],{},"When you break the founder bottleneck and replace random acts of marketing with a systematized pipeline, you aren't just cleaning up your marketing operations. You are reclaiming your executive leverage. You are giving yourself the operational freedom to focus on fundraising, culture, enterprise sales, and product innovation, the high-leverage work that actually moves the valuation needle.",[14,2670,2671],{},"Leave the midnight writing sessions behind. Build a systemized growth engine that operationalizes your marketing, gives you absolute visibility, and scales your pipeline predictably month after month.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":2673},[2674,2675,2676,2677],{"id":2447,"depth":291,"text":2448},{"id":2486,"depth":291,"text":2487},{"id":2573,"depth":291,"text":2574},{"id":2658,"depth":291,"text":2659},"2026-07-29T18:07:00.000Z","The Series B playbook for breaking the founder bottleneck, killing random acts of marketing, and scaling the pipeline.","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F4a418cd0-5b4d-4992-a4f9-5d05e6e77d40-mkg-blog-stop-writing-content-at-midnight.webp","Stop Writing content at midnight",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fstop-writing-content-at-midnight-and-how-to-scale-past-yourself",{"title":2414,"description":2679},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fstop-writing-content-at-midnight-and-how-to-scale-past-yourself","7g-7mo0aryoeFEBOjdAfhvHiDveSXiTSxTjt9hFza58",{"id":2688,"title":2689,"author":7,"authors":7,"body":2690,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":2934,"description":2935,"extension":318,"img":2936,"imgAlt":2937,"meta":2938,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":2939,"seo":2940,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":2941,"updated":7,"__hash__":2942},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fbeyond-last-click-the-board-ready-svo-dashboard.md","Beyond Last-Click - The Board-Ready SVO Dashboard",{"type":11,"value":2691,"toc":2921},[2692,2695,2698,2701,2704,2707,2711,2714,2718,2721,2724,2727,2732,2736,2746,2749,2810,2814,2821,2824,2828,2831,2838,2843,2847,2850,2860,2864,2867,2870,2874,2877,2882,2889,2903,2906,2911,2915,2918],[14,2693,2694],{},"Your board meeting is just two weeks away. The calendar invite is glaring back at you, and the agenda leaves no room to hide: defend your post-Series B marketing investment, prove incremental pipeline ROI over the next two quarters, and confirm that your current customer acquisition cost (CAC) trajectory is sustainable.",[14,2696,2697],{},"To get ready, you open your go-to web analytics platform. You expect to see the usual straight line between search rankings, site clicks, and inbound demo requests. Instead, you’re confronted with a disturbing trend.",[14,2699,2700],{},"Your top-of-funnel SEO platform insists you’re winning. Your priority keywords are ranking better than ever. Yet your site’s organic referral traffic is steadily declining week over week. Buyers are searching for the exact problems your SaaS product solves, but they’re getting complete, synthesized answers directly on the search results page. They scan AI-generated summaries, get what they need, and move on, without ever clicking a single link to your site.",[14,2702,2703],{},"You’re stuck in a measurement crisis. The attribution models digital marketers have depended on for more than twenty years, last-click tracking, multi-touch UTM parameters, and cookie-based sessions, are collapsing. When buyers research inside conversational interfaces, they eventually appear in your funnel as “Direct” traffic or self-reported “word of mouth,” often weeks after their true first touch.",[14,2705,2706],{},"Walk into the boardroom armed only with legacy traffic reports, trying to rationalize why stellar rankings coincide with shrinking website visits, and you’ll look like a marketer clinging to vanity metrics. To defend your budget and assert clear strategic authority, you need to adopt a modern measurement framework, one that captures how your brand builds influence without clicks and translates that influence into an airtight financial business case for your Chief Financial Officer (CFO).",[24,2708,2710],{"id":2709},"the-core-deficit-how-generative-engines-break-the-click-based-funnel","The Core Deficit: How Generative Engines Break the Click-Based Funnel",[14,2712,2713],{},"The structural breakdown in marketing measurement is a direct consequence of how search engines have redesigned their user experience. Large language models and AI search applications have introduced a friction-free research layer between your brand’s content and your prospects.",[24,2715,2717],{"id":2716},"the-interception-of-educational-search","The Interception of Educational Search",[14,2719,2720],{},"Under the legacy search model, informational queries served as highly profitable entry points for software platforms. When a buyer searched for a framework, such as \"how to design a B2B sales commission plan\" or \"enterprise API rate-limiting best practices,\" they were directed to an optimized blog post. That visit placed a tracking cookie, fired a retargeting pixel, and kicked off a measurable lead-nurturing journey.",[14,2722,2723],{},"Today, those same queries are resolved instantly within the search environment itself. The user’s intent is fully satisfied by an AI Overview, a Perplexity-style summary, or a ChatGPT conversation. Because they get the insight they need without ever reaching your site, this structural shift has created an Informational Query Collapse.",[14,2725,2726],{},"For modern marketers, the implication is clear: your top-of-funnel content is still training the models and powering the answers, but the traditional web-traffic feedback loop has been cut off.",[14,2728,2729],{},[75,2730],{"alt":77,"src":2731},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fc20aa35e-dadf-47ca-8cbd-3742dfbfbc31-mkg-blog-beyond-last-click-image-1.png",[24,2733,2735],{"id":2734},"the-svo-attribution-matrix-shifting-metrics-from-clicks-to-models","The SVO Attribution Matrix: Shifting Metrics from Clicks to Models",[14,2737,2738,2739,2745],{},"To survive this transition, you must replace click-based attribution with a ",[206,2740,2743],{"href":2741,"rel":2742},"https:\u002F\u002Fmkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fresources\u002Fthe-ultimate-guide-to-search-visibility-optimization-svo\u002F",[210],[52,2744,168],{}," reporting framework. The board does not need to see how many people visited your resource page; they need to see if your brand is the definitive answer recommended by the systems your buyers use to make purchasing decisions.",[14,2747,2748],{},"This requires tracking a completely different set of metrics that measure your active digital footprint across the entire LLM ecosystem. Consider how your reporting must pivot to remain relevant:",[717,2750,2751,2764],{},[720,2752,2753],{},[723,2754,2755,2758,2761],{},[726,2756,2757],{},"Metric Category",[726,2759,2760],{},"Legacy Attribution Model",[726,2762,2763],{},"SVO Attribution Framework",[736,2765,2766,2777,2788,2799],{},[723,2767,2768,2771,2774],{},[741,2769,2770],{},"Primary Traffic KPI",[741,2772,2773],{},"Unique Sessions, Pageviews",[741,2775,2776],{},"Influence Without Clicks (Off-site impressions)",[723,2778,2779,2782,2785],{},[741,2780,2781],{},"Market Share Metric",[741,2783,2784],{},"Organic Keyword Share of Voice (SoV)",[741,2786,2787],{},"Share of Model (SOM) (Citation frequency)",[723,2789,2790,2793,2796],{},[741,2791,2792],{},"Attribution Vector",[741,2794,2795],{},"Last-Click UTM Parameters, First-Click Cookie",[741,2797,2798],{},"CRM-to-Model Pipeline Association",[723,2800,2801,2804,2807],{},[741,2802,2803],{},"Financial Validation",[741,2805,2806],{},"Cost Per Click (CPC), Cost Per Lead (CPL)",[741,2808,2809],{},"Pipeline Velocity, Accelerated Sales Cycles",[81,2811,2813],{"id":2812},"_1-quantifying-share-of-model-som","1. Quantifying Share of Model (SOM)",[14,2815,2816,2817,2820],{},"Just as you historically measured your share of voice on traditional search result pages, you must now measure your ",[52,2818,2819],{},"Share of Model (SOM)",". This KPI tracks how frequently your SaaS platform is cited as a recommended vendor or authoritative source across dominant large language models.",[14,2822,2823],{},"If a prospect asks an LLM to \"Compare the top three enterprise compliance platforms for Series B startups,\" your SOM metric tells you whether your brand was included in that generated recommendation, how prominently it was positioned, and what specific attributes were associated with your software.",[81,2825,2827],{"id":2826},"_2-measuring-influence-without-clicks","2. Measuring Influence Without Clicks",[14,2829,2830],{},"Because search experiences no longer require a click, your reach must be measured through off-site trust footprints. This involves tracking your brand's presence inside curated industry databases, open-source documentation, developer communities, and trusted third-party review platforms that generative models scrape to compile their summaries.",[14,2832,2833,2834,2837],{},"When your brand is consistently integrated into these reference networks, you exert massive ",[52,2835,2836],{},"Influence Without Clicks",". Your buyers absorb your brand authority during their initial AI research phase, bypassing your website entirely until they are ready to book a direct sales call.",[14,2839,2840],{},[75,2841],{"alt":77,"src":2842},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F9329b26b-2033-4565-8e76-8bd7d88cddec-mkg-blog-beyond-last-click-image-2.png",[24,2844,2846],{"id":2845},"building-the-cfo-justification-package","Building the CFO-Justification Package",[14,2848,2849],{},"To defend your marketing budget, you must translate these modern off-site visibility metrics into a language your finance department respects. A CFO is inherently skeptical of abstract marketing concepts like \"brand awareness\" or \"algorithm influence.\" They want to see how these adjustments reduce customer acquisition costs and accelerate the movement of capital through the business.",[14,2851,2852,2853,2856,2857,212],{},"Your ",[52,2854,2855],{},"CFO Justification"," package must connect your SVO strategy directly to the core metric of enterprise growth: ",[52,2858,2859],{},"Pipeline Velocity",[81,2861,2863],{"id":2862},"step-1-mapping-the-offline-crm-signal-loop","Step 1: Mapping the Offline CRM Signal Loop",[14,2865,2866],{},"To prove that your off-site visibility is driving real pipeline, you must establish an automated data loop between your customer relationship management (CRM) system and your marketing data.",[14,2868,2869],{},"When a prospect books a demo and enters your pipeline, you can no longer rely on self-reported attribution forms or simple direct-traffic categorization. You must cross-reference their IP address, company domain, and early-stage engagement timeline with your off-site coverage. By demonstrating that accounts exposed to your high-ranking AI citations move through the funnel faster, you prove the direct pipeline impact of your off-site optimization efforts.",[81,2871,2873],{"id":2872},"step-2-calculating-pipeline-velocity-impact","Step 2: Calculating Pipeline Velocity Impact",[14,2875,2876],{},"Use the standard financial formula for revenue acceleration to show how your SVO efforts directly de-risk the sales cycle:",[14,2878,2879],{},[52,2880,2881],{},"Pipeline Velocity = (Qualified Opportunities × Average Deal Value × Win Rate) \u002F Sales Cycle Length",[14,2883,2884,2885,2888],{},"When you optimize your brand for LLM retrieval and citation, you are educating the buyer ",[38,2886,2887],{},"before"," they ever speak to an account executive. When a prospect enters your funnel after researching solutions through an AI engine, they are already deeply informed about your product’s capabilities and specific differentiators. This pre-educated state dramatically reduces internal sales friction, resulting in:",[46,2890,2891,2897],{},[49,2892,2893,2896],{},[52,2894,2895],{},"Shorter Sales Cycles:"," Buyers make decisions faster because they do not need to sit through basic introductory education.",[49,2898,2899,2902],{},[52,2900,2901],{},"Higher Win Rates:"," Your sales team is engaging with highly qualified prospects who already understand your platform's unique value proposition.",[14,2904,2905],{},"By presenting a clear, data-backed correlation between SVO visibility and a shorter sales cycle, you give your CFO an undeniable business case: your marketing spend is directly accelerating the velocity of capital through the company.",[14,2907,2908],{},[75,2909],{"alt":77,"src":2910},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F2689edb5-819c-489b-bca1-ea162addeb5a-mkg-blog-beyond-last-click-image-3.png",[24,2912,2914],{"id":2913},"summary","Summary",[14,2916,2917],{},"Defending your marketing strategy to a venture-backed board in 2026 requires an immediate departure from legacy, click-reliant reporting models. When search engines transition to closed-answer ecosystems, traditional web traffic metrics decline, while actual brand influence remains highly active. AI Overviews and zero-click search behaviors are systematically intercepting your buyers during the educational research phase, causing a dramatic drop in top-of-funnel website sessions.",[14,2919,2920],{},"To protect your budget and align your team with revenue growth, you must implement a robust Search Visibility Optimization dashboard built for executive scrutiny. This shift requires three core actions: measuring your Share of Model (SOM) to track your brand’s citation frequency across leading AI platforms, quantifying your Influence Without Clicks by auditing your off-site trust footprints, and building a CFO-ready justification package that ties SVO directly to pipeline velocity improvements and reduced sales cycle lengths. Stop defending empty traffic drops. Align your metrics with financial reality, demonstrate how off-site authority drives qualified buyer intent, and transform your marketing team into a highly accountable, capital-efficient pipeline engine.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":2922},[2923,2924,2925,2929,2933],{"id":2709,"depth":291,"text":2710},{"id":2716,"depth":291,"text":2717},{"id":2734,"depth":291,"text":2735,"children":2926},[2927,2928],{"id":2812,"depth":297,"text":2813},{"id":2826,"depth":297,"text":2827},{"id":2845,"depth":291,"text":2846,"children":2930},[2931,2932],{"id":2862,"depth":297,"text":2863},{"id":2872,"depth":297,"text":2873},{"id":2913,"depth":291,"text":2914},"2026-07-15T16:22:26.797Z","When search engines stop sending traffic, your pipeline reporting must evolve to measure true market influence.","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F59ea0764-d440-4526-95b2-ebad4d4b1e78-mkg-blog-beyond-last-click-hero-image.webp","Beyond Last-Click ",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fbeyond-last-click-the-board-ready-svo-dashboard",{"title":2689,"description":2935},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fbeyond-last-click-the-board-ready-svo-dashboard","tfKyHjNz4ZAaocayjkpp7KUTkWlaD0pm7v_8jbdsVzs",{"id":2944,"title":2945,"author":7,"authors":7,"body":2946,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":3170,"description":3171,"extension":318,"img":3172,"imgAlt":3173,"meta":3174,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":3175,"seo":3176,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":3177,"updated":7,"__hash__":3178},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fsearch-visibility-optimization-svo-monthly-overview-june-2026.md","Search Visibility Optimization (SVO) Monthly Overview - June 2026",{"type":11,"value":2947,"toc":3154},[2948,2950,2988,2990,2993,2996,3011,3015,3024,3028,3041,3045,3052,3060,3063,3067,3076,3085,3087,3091,3099,3103,3117,3121,3124,3127,3147],[24,2949,916],{"id":913},[46,2951,2952,2964,2976],{},[49,2953,2954,2957,2958,2963],{},[52,2955,2956],{},"Algorithmic Consolidation:"," Google executed its ",[206,2959,2962],{"href":2960,"rel":2961},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.seopress.org\u002Fnewsroom\u002Fseo-news\u002Fjune-2026\u002F",[210],"June 2026 Spam Update"," immediately after the May 2026 Core Update concluded, heavily targeting automated search manipulation, back-button hijacking, and inauthentic brand mentions.",[49,2965,2966,2969,2970,2975],{},[52,2967,2968],{},"The 1-Billion-User Pivot:"," First-party data confirms Google’s conversational \"AI Mode\" has ",[206,2971,2974],{"href":2972,"rel":2973},"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.google\u002Fproducts-and-platforms\u002Fproducts\u002Fsearch\u002Fai-mode-us-insights\u002F",[210],"surpassed 1 billion monthly active users",". User behavior here is strictly non-linear, creating a closed-loop ecosystem where traditional click-through rates (CTR) collapse.",[49,2977,2978,2981,2982,2987],{},[52,2979,2980],{},"Standardized AI Attribution:"," Google Analytics 4 introduced a native ",[206,2983,2986],{"href":2984,"rel":2985},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.searchenginejournal.com\u002Fgoogle-analytics-adds-ai-assistant-as-default-channel-group\u002F574974\u002F",[210],"AI assistant channel group",", giving growth leaders measurable, unfragmented visibility into referral traffic generated by LLM engines.",[24,2989,971],{"id":968},[14,2991,2992],{},"June was defined by quick, back-to-back updates designed to clear low-quality clutter from search results and crack down on sites that use automated shortcuts to fake their authority.",[81,2994,2962],{"id":2995},"june-2026-spam-update",[14,2997,2998,2999,3004,3005,3010],{},"Google launched and completed its",[206,3000,3003],{"href":3001,"rel":3002},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.searchenginejournal.com\u002Fgoogle-begins-rolling-out-the-june-2026-spam-update\u002F580424\u002F",[210]," June 2026 Spam Update"," between June 24 and June 26. Running for just over 48 hours, this global update leveraged the AI-driven SpamBrain system to suppress artificial citation footprints. According to early technical analyses, the ",[206,3006,3009],{"href":3007,"rel":3008},"https:\u002F\u002Fmomenticmarketing.com\u002Fgoogle-updates\u002Fjune-2026-spam-update",[210],"update"," focused heavily on correcting \"back-button hijacking\" and sites engineering inauthentic digital PR mentions to manipulate authority metrics.",[81,3012,3014],{"id":3013},"may-2026-core-update-conclusion","May 2026 Core Update Conclusion",[14,3016,3017,3018,3023],{},"This rapid spam crackdown followed the",[206,3019,3022],{"href":3020,"rel":3021},"https:\u002F\u002Fstatus.search.google.com\u002Fproducts\u002FrGHU1u87FJnkP6W2GwMi\u002Fhistory?authuser=1",[210]," May 2026 Core Update",", which officially concluded its 12-day rollout on June 2. The consecutive sequence of these updates indicates Google is tightening its data-filtering thresholds. For Series A–C tech companies, this means programmatic or low-utility content footprints are facing accelerated volatility, directly impacting organic traffic stability and Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC).",[24,3025,3027],{"id":3026},"the-geoaeo-frontier","The GEO\u002FAEO Frontier",[14,3029,3030,2504,3035,3040],{},[206,3031,3034],{"href":3032,"rel":3033},"https:\u002F\u002Fmkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fexpert-digital-marketing-services\u002Fgenerative-engine-optimization\u002F",[210],"Generative Experience Optimization (GEO)",[206,3036,3039],{"href":3037,"rel":3038},"https:\u002F\u002Fmkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fexpert-digital-marketing-services\u002Fanswer-engine-optimization\u002F",[210],"Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)"," transitioned from theoretical concepts to practical marketing channels. New data on user behavior now confirms this shift.",[81,3042,3044],{"id":3043},"conversational-ai-scale-behavior","Conversational AI Scale & Behavior",[14,3046,3047,3051],{},[206,3048,3050],{"href":2972,"rel":3049},[210],"Data"," released around Google’s AI Mode highlights a massive shift in user behavior:",[46,3053,3054,3057],{},[49,3055,3056],{},"Queries in AI Mode average three times as long as traditional searches.",[49,3058,3059],{},"Decision-stage questions starting with \"which\" rose 40%, signaling that high-intent commercial evaluation is moving into conversational interfaces.",[14,3061,3062],{},"However, the impact on organic CTR is consequential. Session analyses show that in 88% of AI Mode tasks, users accept the model's shortlist as-is. More starkly, 74% select the top-ranked recommendation, and 64% click no links at all.",[81,3064,3066],{"id":3065},"citation-bias-and-platform-updates","Citation Bias and Platform Updates",[14,3068,3069,3070,3075],{},"A June data study published on ",[206,3071,3074],{"href":3072,"rel":3073},"https:\u002F\u002Fsearchengineland.com\u002Fgoogle-ai-overviews-cite-self-serving-listicles-recommend-competitors-480573",[210],"Search Engine Land"," revealed that while Google's AI Overviews heavily cite listicles and comparison matrices, the engine recommends a brand's direct competitors 69% of the time within those summaries. This highlights a structural bias toward third-party aggregators, earned media, and affiliate domains over a brand’s owned web assets.",[14,3077,3078,3079,3084],{},"Concurrently, alternative engines are upgrading their enterprise analytics. Perplexity rolled out its ",[206,3080,3083],{"href":3081,"rel":3082},"https:\u002F\u002Freleasebot.io\u002Fupdates\u002Fperplexity-ai",[210],"\"Deep Research in Computer\""," infrastructure alongside a new Computer Analytics API, enabling B2B enterprises to pull model query data directly into internal reporting stacks such as Snowflake or Hex.",[24,3086,1054],{"id":1051},[81,3088,3090],{"id":3089},"what-to-ignore","What to Ignore",[46,3092,3093],{},[49,3094,3095,3098],{},[52,3096,3097],{},"Unvalidated \"GEO Hacks\":"," Disregard trending guides advocating for hyper-fragmented content chunking or the forced deployment of llm.txt files to control crawlers. Google’s official generative search optimization documentation explicitly debunked these tactics as low-impact noise. The underlying models prioritize data completeness and human utility, not structural gimmicks.",[81,3100,3102],{"id":3101},"where-to-pivot","Where to Pivot",[46,3104,3105,3111],{},[49,3106,3107,3110],{},[52,3108,3109],{},"Audit Your Shared Real Estate:"," Given that AI Overviews favor competitors 69% of the time across aggregate listicles, marketing leaders must pivot budgets from solo blog production toward aggressive digital PR and dominance in affiliate marketplaces. If your brand is not among the top five in external industry roundups, LLMs will systematically omit you from decision-stage queries.",[49,3112,3113,3116],{},[52,3114,3115],{},"Configure Native AI Attribution:"," Audit your Google Analytics setup to leverage the new default AI assistant channel group. This ensures your marketing operations team can accurately segment and defend LLM-driven ROI to the board, turning historically \"dark\" referral traffic into clean data.",[24,3118,3120],{"id":3119},"optimize-for-the-future","Optimize for the Future",[14,3122,3123],{},"With more and more AI search sessions resulting in zero clicks, traditional SEO is no longer enough to protect your pipeline. To stay visible, you need a Search Visibility Optimization (SVO) strategy that ensures AI models index, cite, and recommend your brand.",[14,3125,3126],{},"MKG helps protect your revenue from sudden search engine changes in three practical ways:",[46,3128,3129,3135,3141],{},[49,3130,3131,3134],{},[52,3132,3133],{},"AI Search Audits:"," We find exactly where AI models are leaving your brand out of product recommendations and shortlists.",[49,3136,3137,3140],{},[52,3138,3139],{},"Technical Site Alignment:"," We update your backend code, so Google and AI engines understand and display your company's facts accurately.",[49,3142,3143,3146],{},[52,3144,3145],{},"Clear Traffic Tracking:"," We organize your analytics so you can actually see and measure the business value coming from AI search engines.",[14,3148,3149,3150,212],{},"To future-proof your digital acquisition engine and lower your CAC,",[206,3151,3153],{"href":275,"rel":3152},[210]," Book a Discovery Call with MKG today",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":3155},[3156,3157,3161,3165,3169],{"id":913,"depth":291,"text":916},{"id":968,"depth":291,"text":971,"children":3158},[3159,3160],{"id":2995,"depth":297,"text":2962},{"id":3013,"depth":297,"text":3014},{"id":3026,"depth":291,"text":3027,"children":3162},[3163,3164],{"id":3043,"depth":297,"text":3044},{"id":3065,"depth":297,"text":3066},{"id":1051,"depth":291,"text":1054,"children":3166},[3167,3168],{"id":3089,"depth":297,"text":3090},{"id":3101,"depth":297,"text":3102},{"id":3119,"depth":291,"text":3120},"2026-07-08T17:14:21.417Z","Stay updated on the June 2026 search landscape: Google’s Spam Update, AI Mode’s 1-billion-user shift, GA4 AI attribution, and the rise of zero-click journeys.","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F0deef299-c7d8-4147-b9ee-16a1e12c7b61-mkg-blog-seo-industry-overview-june-2026.webp","AI search signals organized into revenue growth",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fsearch-visibility-optimization-svo-monthly-overview-june-2026",{"title":2945,"description":3171},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fsearch-visibility-optimization-svo-monthly-overview-june-2026","U14dgrVaytDhRXKTKagbSZ55UDUI_sS0icLiKO8AZ_c",{"id":3180,"title":3181,"author":7,"authors":7,"body":3182,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":3427,"description":3428,"extension":318,"img":3429,"imgAlt":3430,"meta":3431,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":3432,"seo":3433,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":3434,"updated":7,"__hash__":3435},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-great-decoupling-why-saas-seo-is-changing-in-2026.md","The Great Decoupling - Why SaaS SEO Is Changing in 2026",{"type":11,"value":3183,"toc":3414},[3184,3187,3190,3193,3196,3199,3202,3206,3209,3213,3216,3219,3222,3226,3233,3236,3239,3244,3248,3256,3259,3320,3323,3326,3331,3335,3338,3341,3345,3355,3369,3372,3376,3379,3388,3391,3395,3398,3401,3406,3408,3411],[14,3185,3186],{},"Your organic ranking report lands in your inbox and, at first glance, everything looks like a win. Your core informational keywords occupy comfortable spots in the top three positions. Your top-of-funnel blog content is indexing exactly where you planned, and traditional position-tracking tools insist your organic visibility is fully optimized.",[14,3188,3189],{},"But when you open Google Analytics and examine actual website sessions, the graph tells a very different story.",[14,3191,3192],{},"Organic traffic to your highest-performing marketing assets hasn’t just softened, it has fallen off a cliff. Across your long-standing resource center and educational content hub, incoming visits are down anywhere from 34% to 80%. Lead forms are stagnant, qualified product sign-ups have evaporated, and you’re being held personally responsible for a catastrophic traffic drop that, according to conventional optimization metrics, shouldn’t be happening at all.",[14,3194,3195],{},"You’re following the standard playbook to the letter. You’re running comprehensive keyword research, targeting high-volume informational queries, optimizing header tags, and building authoritative backlinks. Yet even while you’re doing everything right, your post-funding SaaS growth engine is burning through capital while becoming effectively invisible to your market.",[14,3197,3198],{},"This is the lived reality of the structural crisis reshaping digital acquisition. The once-direct link between ranking at the top of the SERP and earning human clicks has been fundamentally severed. We’ve entered the era of the great decoupling, where traditional organic search success no longer guarantees actual user discovery.",[14,3200,3201],{},"If you continue to evaluate marketing performance through the volume-obsessed lens of the past, you’ll end up defending hollow metrics to an executive team that cares only about pipeline. To stop the bleed, you have to understand the specific engineering shifts within modern search networks that intercept your buyers long before they ever reach your domain.",[24,3203,3205],{"id":3204},"the-double-whammy-informational-query-collapse-and-zero-click-realities","The Double-Whammy: Informational Query Collapse and Zero-Click Realities",[14,3207,3208],{},"The reason your traffic is vanishing while your positions remain intact comes down to a permanent shift in search engine monetization and layout design. Search platforms have transformed from directory indexes that route traffic outward into closed ecosystems designed to answer questions natively.",[81,3210,3212],{"id":3211},"_1-ai-overviews-and-the-elimination-of-the-organic-click","1. AI Overviews and the Elimination of the Organic Click",[14,3214,3215],{},"The primary driver of this sudden drop in visibility is the rapid rollout of AI Overviews (AIO). In the past, when a B2B buyer needed an educational answer—whether they were comparing software compliance architectures or figuring out how to scale their data infrastructure—they would typically click through to a top-ranking SaaS blog post.",[14,3217,3218],{},"Now, Google intercepts that intent. Organic click-through rates fall sharply on queries where an AI Overview appears. A position-one result that once reliably attracted clicks now captures only a fraction of that traffic, because the generative answer box satisfies the user’s question directly on the results page.",[14,3220,3221],{},"This shift has sparked an unprecedented collapse in informational queries. Large language models are uniquely suited to ingest, synthesize, and surface educational information. If your marketing strategy is built on high-volume, top-of-funnel keywords, you are effectively competing with the search engine’s own interface. The engine extracts your insights, repackages them as a native text block, and leaves your website with little more than a fleeting impression.",[81,3223,3225],{"id":3224},"_2-the-rise-of-the-zero-click-search","2. The Rise of the Zero-Click Search",[14,3227,3228,3229,3232],{},"This monetization behavior has accelerated the prevalence of the ",[52,3230,3231],{},"Zero-Click Search",". Fresh market data show an undeniable trend: the vast majority of standard informational web searches now end without a single click to an external website. Buyers get their answer, end their browsing session, and move on.",[14,3234,3235],{},"Worse yet, the links embedded within generative summaries are largely ignored, with only a tiny fraction of users actually clicking through to the source materials. The old mechanics of content marketing, where you traded free information for web traffic, are obsolete.",[14,3237,3238],{},"When your metrics are tied to traffic volume, an automated summary that satisfies a user query can appear to be an operational failure on your internal dashboards. In reality, the audience is still looking for solutions, but they have migrated to a multi-platform environment that standard index-tracking software cannot track or quantify.",[14,3240,3241],{},[75,3242],{"alt":77,"src":3243},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F5f8436d1-dceb-4e2e-be9a-9a455121bf69-mkg-blog-the-great-decoupling-image-1.png",[24,3245,3247],{"id":3246},"the-fatal-flaw-optimizing-for-keyword-volume-vs-llm-retrieval","The Fatal Flaw: Optimizing for Keyword Volume vs. LLM Retrieval",[14,3249,3250,3251,3255],{},"If your content calendar is driven primarily by search volume metrics pulled from traditional ",[206,3252,743],{"href":3253,"rel":3254},"https:\u002F\u002Fmkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fexpert-digital-marketing-services\u002Fsearch-engine-optimization\u002F",[210]," platforms, you are systematically producing assets that are invisible to modern buyers. Legacy tools calculate volume based on historical click patterns, completely missing the multi-platform journey your prospects take across ecosystems like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google's native AI interfaces.",[14,3257,3258],{},"The framework for evaluating search success must shift from simple traffic accumulation to an active systemic model. Consider the structural difference between legacy keyword acquisition and an optimization framework designed for modern search behavior:",[717,3260,3261,3274],{},[720,3262,3263],{},[723,3264,3265,3268,3271],{},[726,3266,3267],{},"Performance Component",[726,3269,3270],{},"Legacy Keyword Volume Model",[726,3272,3273],{},"Search Visibility Optimization (SVO) Framework",[736,3275,3276,3287,3298,3309],{},[723,3277,3278,3281,3284],{},[741,3279,3280],{},"Primary Metric",[741,3282,3283],{},"Organic Traffic, Pageviews, Keyword Rank",[741,3285,3286],{},"Citation Share, LLM Retrieval Frequency, Pipeline",[723,3288,3289,3292,3295],{},[741,3290,3291],{},"Content Focus",[741,3293,3294],{},"Broad Informational Text, High-Volume Blogs",[741,3296,3297],{},"Self-Contained Passages, Node-Based Architecture",[723,3299,3300,3303,3306],{},[741,3301,3302],{},"Target Infrastructure",[741,3304,3305],{},"Traditional Search Engine Indexes",[741,3307,3308],{},"Large Language Model Vector Databases",[723,3310,3311,3314,3317],{},[741,3312,3313],{},"Discovery Vector",[741,3315,3316],{},"Single-Engine Keyword Matches",[741,3318,3319],{},"Multi-Surface Brand Attribution (GEO, AEO)",[14,3321,3322],{},"When you orient your production toward high-volume informational keywords, you create fluff text that AI scrapers can easily summarize and discard. Large language models do not look for word count or keyword density; they look for explicit entities, clear relationship mappings, and structured data points that can be retrieved and packaged into an immediate user response.",[14,3324,3325],{},"To build an organic acquisition model that survives this transition, you must dismantle the division between traditional content creation, answer optimization, and technical data structure. Your content must be engineered to be retrieved as a direct citation by an answer engine, rather than just waiting for a human click that may never come.",[14,3327,3328],{},[75,3329],{"alt":77,"src":3330},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F82d9e480-5f8e-4102-8c62-784d55c5dcea-mkg-blog-the-great-decoupling-image-2.png",[24,3332,3334],{"id":3333},"systemic-accountability-the-svo-framework-for-modern-retrieval","Systemic Accountability: The SVO Framework for Modern Retrieval",[14,3336,3337],{},"Winning in modern search means going far beyond basic index optimization. You need to approach search visibility as a unified, end-to-end system explicitly designed for large-language-model retrieval. That requires restructuring your entire digital footprint so it can effectively feed into the vector databases that power generative search experiences.",[14,3339,3340],{},"Gaining reliable visibility in an AI-driven search ecosystem requires an immediate operational reset built on three core pillars.",[81,3342,3344],{"id":3343},"pillar-3-implementing-generative-engine-optimization-geo","Pillar 3: Implementing Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)",[14,3346,3347,3348,3354],{},"To ensure your brand is cited in generative answer boxes, your digital assets must be structured in line with the core tenets of ",[206,3349,3351],{"href":3032,"rel":3350},[210],[52,3352,3353],{},"Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)",". LLMs prioritize clear data nodes and explicit entity relationships over lengthy narratives.",[46,3356,3357,3363],{},[49,3358,3359,3362],{},[52,3360,3361],{},"Isolate Information into Extractable Passages:"," Content must be written in highly structured, self-contained blocks. Each section must provide an authoritative, direct answer in the first two sentences so an algorithm can lift the passage cleanly for a summary snippet.",[49,3364,3365,3368],{},[52,3366,3367],{},"Inject Specialized Terminology and Schema:"," Use technical, unambiguous industry terms and hard data points. Back this up with comprehensive schema markup—such as Product, Organization, and FAQPage code blocks—to give retrieval engines clean, machine-readable validation of your expertise.",[14,3370,3371],{},"By formatting content as a series of verified information nodes, you transition your assets from standard pages into high-priority sources that generative models actively select for their citations.",[81,3373,3375],{"id":3374},"pillar-4-capturing-multi-platform-answer-engine-optimization-aeo","Pillar 4: Capturing Multi-Platform Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)",[14,3377,3378],{},"Your buyers are no longer using a single search box to evaluate software vendors. Market data show that conversational tools are capturing a large share of research intent, with platforms experiencing clear adoption spikes among technical enterprise buyers.",[14,3380,3381,3382,3387],{},"You must expand your strategy into a comprehensive ",[206,3383,3385,1042],{"href":3037,"rel":3384},[210],[52,3386,3039],{},"model. This means building a digital footprint that extends beyond your domain. Generative engines do not evaluate your site in a vacuum; they cross-reference your claims against third-party data networks, developer forums, review ecosystems, and professional platforms.",[14,3389,3390],{},"Ensure your brand entity is explicitly mentioned, categorized, and reviewed across these peripheral environments. When an LLM executes a multi-source synthesis query to recommend a vendor, your presence across these verified external networks forces the engine to include your brand in the final response.",[81,3392,3394],{"id":3393},"pillar-5-transitioning-metrics-to-citation-share-and-real-time-tracking","Pillar 5: Transitioning Metrics to Citation Share and Real-Time Tracking",[14,3396,3397],{},"You must stop using organic traffic volume as the primary indicator of search health. Because zero-click behavior is rising, a drop in traffic does not automatically mean your brand has lost market influence. You need a reporting infrastructure that tracks your presence within the answers themselves.",[14,3399,3400],{},"Implement tracking mechanisms that measure your citation frequency, brand mention frequency, and overall share of voice inside AI Overviews and native conversational tools. Break down your referral sources by specific AI platforms to see which retrieval architectures are actively feeding your pipeline. When you align your internal tracking with actual citation delivery, you can easily separate platform-wide search changes from controllable marketing performance issues.",[14,3402,3403],{},[75,3404],{"alt":77,"src":3405},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F70c363a9-e782-49c5-a4c2-f67fcda73d8c-mkg-blog-the-great-decoupling-image-3.png",[24,3407,2914],{"id":2913},[14,3409,3410],{},"Winning in organic search now demands a decisive break from volume-obsessed content playbooks. When your rankings remain strong, but website sessions collapse, the real issue is a structural split between search engine optimization and how users actually click. Generative features like Google’s AI Overviews are soaking up high-volume informational queries, assembling answers directly on the results page, and creating a pervasive zero-click environment that starves legacy blog portfolios of traffic.",[14,3412,3413],{},"To future-proof your digital acquisition engine and safeguard post-funding growth, you need to evolve your content approach into an integrated search visibility framework. That shift hinges on three concrete moves: engineering content for Generative Engine Optimization with self-contained data nodes and clean schema markup; expanding into Answer Engine Optimization to build brand authority across third-party ecosystems; and upgrading your analytics to track citation share instead of vanity pageviews. Stop running an outdated playbook that leaves your SaaS platform invisible. Demand uncompromising clarity from your tracking models, optimize directly for algorithmic retrieval, and turn generative search into a reliable, compounding driver of pipeline.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":3415},[3416,3420,3421,3426],{"id":3204,"depth":291,"text":3205,"children":3417},[3418,3419],{"id":3211,"depth":297,"text":3212},{"id":3224,"depth":297,"text":3225},{"id":3246,"depth":291,"text":3247},{"id":3333,"depth":291,"text":3334,"children":3422},[3423,3424,3425],{"id":3343,"depth":297,"text":3344},{"id":3374,"depth":297,"text":3375},{"id":3393,"depth":297,"text":3394},{"id":2913,"depth":291,"text":2914},"2026-07-08T16:16:30.271Z","Legacy content strategies are triggering massive traffic drops as AI Overviews intercept informational search volume. ","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F91f5449b-4a04-436d-9866-d31810d27c34-mkg-blog-the-great-decoupling-hero-image.webp","web search",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-great-decoupling-why-saas-seo-is-changing-in-2026",{"title":3181,"description":3428},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-great-decoupling-why-saas-seo-is-changing-in-2026","QneTHmdRacAPmfmvc7vUU9hhOUENECO6CkQvEaY6K4c",{"id":3437,"title":3438,"author":7,"authors":7,"body":3439,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":3694,"description":3695,"extension":318,"img":3696,"imgAlt":2859,"meta":3697,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":3698,"seo":3699,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":3700,"updated":7,"__hash__":3701},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fshifting-legacy-paid-playbooks-to-saas-pipeline-velocity.md","Shifting Legacy Paid Playbooks to SaaS Pipeline Velocity",{"type":11,"value":3440,"toc":3678},[3441,3444,3447,3450,3470,3473,3476,3479,3482,3486,3489,3493,3496,3499,3502,3506,3513,3522,3527,3531,3534,3541,3546,3549,3573,3576,3581,3588,3591,3594,3598,3601,3615,3618,3622,3625,3628,3639,3642,3646,3649,3652,3657,3661,3664,3667,3670,3672,3675],[14,3442,3443],{},"You just closed your Series B. The capital is in the bank, the board presentation is locked, and the mandate from your investors is non-negotiable: scale net-new ARR, accelerate market penetration, and do it with predictable efficiency.",[14,3445,3446],{},"To hit these aggressive growth targets, your first instinct is to take the paid media playbooks that successfully carried you through Series A and double down on the spend. You pump more capital into your core digital acquisition channels, expecting a linear, proportional scaling of your backend revenue.",[14,3448,3449],{},"Initially, the dashboard looks spectacular. Your marketing team or agency presents reports filled with green upward arrows:",[46,3451,3452,3458,3464],{},[49,3453,3454,3457],{},[52,3455,3456],{},"Click-Through Rates (CTRs)"," are holding perfectly steady.",[49,3459,3460,3463],{},[52,3461,3462],{},"Total Impressions"," are hitting record, all-time highs.",[49,3465,3466,3469],{},[52,3467,3468],{},"Cost-Per-Click (CPC)"," looks highly optimized and efficient.",[14,3471,3472],{},"On paper, the top of your marketing funnel looks healthier than ever. But when you log into your CRM and look at the executive revenue dashboard, the reality is starkly different.",[14,3474,3475],{},"The net-new sales pipeline has stalled. Your sales development representatives (SDRs) are sorting through a mountain of leads that go completely cold upon outreach. Your account executives are complaining about empty calendars, and your backend pipeline conversion rate has quietly dropped by a devastating 25%. Despite spending more capital than ever post-funding, your cost to acquire a customer (CAC) is soaring, and your capital burn rate is outpacing actual pipeline velocity.",[14,3477,3478],{},"The metrics that look good on marketing slide decks are completely disconnected from cash-flow reality. The traditional B2B demand generation playbooks—heavily reliant on buying generic ad impressions, chasing abstract vanity metrics, and blindly trusting ad network automation- are fundamentally broken.",[14,3480,3481],{},"To protect your capital and restart your revenue engine, you must diagnose the structural flaws in modern ad networks that cause this backend leakage and transition from an impression-chasing model to a pipeline-velocity framework.",[24,3483,3485],{"id":3484},"the-double-whammy-blended-inventory-bleed-and-platform-fatigue","The Double-Whammy: Blended Inventory Bleed and Platform Fatigue",[14,3487,3488],{},"The core reason your backend pipeline is deteriorating while front-end metrics look healthy is a structural shift in how major digital ad networks operate. The software landscape has experienced a massive wave of algorithmic automation. Platforms have quietly removed granular user control in favor of artificial intelligence-driven, multi-placement campaigns.",[81,3490,3492],{"id":3491},"_1-google-demand-gen-campaigns-blended-inventory-bleed","1. Google Demand Gen Campaigns & Blended Inventory Bleed",[14,3494,3495],{},"Originally introduced as a replacement for legacy video discovery formats, these campaigns are built to drive engagement across Google’s vast ecosystem: YouTube, Gmail, Discover, and the Google Display Network. On paper, this level of automation looks highly efficient. In practice, it introduces a structural issue: Blended Inventory Bleed.",[14,3497,3498],{},"When you spin up a standard campaign with these settings, the ad network packages high-intent premium search and video inventory alongside low-intent fringe placements. The underlying algorithms are engineered to chase the lowest-cost clicks and impressions needed to hit your daily spend targets.",[14,3500,3501],{},"As a result, your budget is steadily redirected away from true in-market buyers into automated mobile apps, low-quality YouTube surfaces, and accidental taps on mobile swipe feeds. The platform will proudly show you an optimized, low Cost-Per-MQL, while the reality in your CRM is that you’re funding non-intent traffic that has virtually no chance of becoming a closed-won opportunity.",[81,3503,3505],{"id":3504},"_2-linkedin-ad-fatigue","2. LinkedIn Ad Fatigue",[14,3507,3508,3509,3512],{},"Simultaneously, B2B software companies are hitting an absolute ceiling on professional social channels due to severe ",[52,3510,3511],{},"LinkedIn Ad Fatigue",". As massive amounts of venture capital pour into identical target audiences, decision-makers are being inundated with repetitive, formulaic single-image ads and gated PDF lead-generation forms.",[14,3514,3515,3516,3521],{},"According to data compiled in the ",[206,3517,3520],{"href":3518,"rel":3519},"https:\u002F\u002Fdreamdata.io\u002Fblog\u002Fannouncing-linkedin-ads-benchmarks-report-2026",[210],"2026 LinkedIn Ads Benchmarks Report by Dreamdata",", non-branded search and standard social click-through rates have experienced noticeable industry-wide compression as buyers tune out generic corporate messaging. When your target audience develops ad blindness, automated bidding systems often serve your ads to peripheral, less relevant segments of your audience to hit your volume targets. You end up paying a premium for clicks from users who have the right company name on their profiles but have absolutely zero buying authority or intent.",[14,3523,3524],{},[75,3525],{"alt":77,"src":3526},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F1d59b696-0eb0-4224-8804-ba0618feea53-mkg-blog-why-legacy-paid-playbooks-are-failing-series-image-1.png",[24,3528,3530],{"id":3529},"the-fatal-flaw-pipeline-vs-mqls","The Fatal Flaw: Pipeline vs. MQLs",[14,3532,3533],{},"If your internal marketing performance is tied to Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs), your team is naturally incentivized to run campaigns that feed this algorithmic dilution. An MQL model views every form fill or content download as an equal unit of value.",[14,3535,3536,3537,3540],{},"Optimizing for MQL volume completely ignores the critical business metric: ",[52,3538,3539],{},"pipeline velocity",". Pipeline velocity measures the speed at which a prospect moves through your sales cycle and converts into actual revenue. It is governed by a simple mathematical relationship:",[14,3542,3543],{},[52,3544,3545],{},"Pipeline Velocity = (Number of Opportunities × Deal Value × Win Rate) \u002F Sales Cycle Length",[14,3547,3548],{},"When you allow Blended Inventory Bleed to flood your CRM with low-intent leads, you negatively impact every single variable in this equation:",[46,3550,3551,3561,3567],{},[49,3552,3553,3556,3557,3560],{},[52,3554,3555],{},"Diminished Opportunity Quality:"," Your total number of ",[38,3558,3559],{},"qualified"," opportunities decreases because sales teams waste time calling invalid leads. This creates internal friction, slowing your organizational momentum and frustrating high-performing sales representatives.",[49,3562,3563,3566],{},[52,3564,3565],{},"Depressed Win Rates:"," Your win rate drops significantly because the baseline buying intent from automated placements is non-existent. Leads stay stuck in early discovery pipelines indefinitely, inflating your apparent pipeline without contributing to actual bookings.",[49,3568,3569,3572],{},[52,3570,3571],{},"Expanded Cycle Length:"," Your sales cycle length expands dramatically because SDRs must spend weeks chasing and filtering out accidental clicks, burning through critical sales development resources and delaying market penetration.",[14,3574,3575],{},"To scale predictably post-Series B, you must ruthlessly eliminate the distinction between marketing metrics and sales reality. Every single dollar deployed into paid media must be measured not by the volume of contacts it generates, but by how effectively it accelerates velocity through the active pipeline.",[14,3577,3578],{},[75,3579],{"alt":77,"src":3580},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F98c78d8d-12fc-4480-a7f7-54b74f1dc0e3-mkg-blog-why-legacy-paid-playbooks-are-failing-series-image-2.png",[24,3582,3584,3587],{"id":3583},"systemic-accountability-the-path-to-de-risking-spend",[52,3585,3586],{},"Systemic Accountability: The Pat","h to De-Risking Spend",[14,3589,3590],{},"Stopping this cash burn requires a fundamental shift in how you structure, audit, and hold your paid media channels accountable. You cannot treat paid media as a slot machine where you pull the lever of ad spend and pray that revenue emerges on the other side. You must treat your paid marketing as a highly predictable, mathematically verified system built on absolute truth and accountability.",[14,3592,3593],{},"De-risking your post-funding ad spend requires a rigorous architectural overhaul of your marketing campaigns across three core operational pillars:",[81,3595,3597],{"id":3596},"pillar-1-decoupling-blended-placements-and-enforcing-guardrails","Pillar 1: Decoupling Blended Placements and Enforcing Guardrails",[14,3599,3600],{},"The first immediate operational step to stop the bleeding is to regain control over where your ad creatives actually display. You must move away from default, fully automated campaign settings that give ad networks a blank check to distribute your budget across low-value inventory.",[46,3602,3603,3609],{},[49,3604,3605,3608],{},[52,3606,3607],{},"Isolate Video Inventory:"," Within your Google Demand Gen Campaigns, you must actively decouple your video inventory from standard contextual display feeds. YouTube inventory must be managed and optimized as an independent channel.",[49,3610,3611,3614],{},[52,3612,3613],{},"Enforce Strict Exclusions:"," You must upload comprehensive placement exclusion lists that block your ads from showing on mobile applications, gaming channels, and non-business video content.",[14,3616,3617],{},"By aggressively trimming away peripheral placements, you force the ad platform's algorithm to deploy your capital strictly into premium, high-intent viewing environments where your target B2B buyer is actively consuming professional content.",[81,3619,3621],{"id":3620},"pillar-2-synchronizing-ad-networks-with-offline-crm-signals","Pillar 2: Synchronizing Ad Networks with Offline CRM Signals",[14,3623,3624],{},"Ad network algorithms are incredibly intelligent, but they are entirely blind to your revenue reality unless you feed them the correct data. If you only pass front-end conversion signals (like a whitepaper download or a generic form fill) back to Google and LinkedIn, their machine-learning models will continuously search for more people who exhibit that exact surface-level behavior.",[14,3626,3627],{},"To fix this, you must establish an automated, real-time feedback loop between your CRM (such as HubSpot or Salesforce) and your ad network accounts. By leveraging Conversational API (CAPI) integrations and offline conversion tracking, you must pass deep-funnel milestones directly back to the ad platforms:",[132,3629,3630,3633,3636],{},[49,3631,3632],{},"Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) validation milestones.",[49,3634,3635],{},"Formal discovery meeting completed tracking.",[49,3637,3638],{},"Pipeline opportunity value verification.",[14,3640,3641],{},"When the ad network’s bidding engine realizes that a specific sub-audience or placement is generating genuine pipeline velocity while another is only generating dead-end MQLs, it will automatically shift your budget away from the automated bleed and focus heavily on high-intent conversion pathways.",[81,3643,3645],{"id":3644},"pillar-3-establishing-a-unified-system-of-attribution-tracking","Pillar 3: Establishing a Unified System of Attribution Tracking",[14,3647,3648],{},"You can no longer trust self-reported attribution metrics inside individual ad platforms. LinkedIn will claim a conversion if someone merely saw an ad within 30 days, and Google will do the same for a basic search impression. The result is a heavily distorted performance picture, riddled with double-counting and inflated ROI figures that hide systemic waste.",[14,3650,3651],{},"You need a unified, multi-touch attribution model that captures the full behavior of the B2B buying committee. With modern enterprise deals involving roughly 10 stakeholders across many digital touchpoints, your measurement must focus on account-level engagement, not just isolated individual clicks. Track every paid interaction alongside organic, direct, and content syndication activity to identify exactly which paid motions are compressing your sales cycle and driving clean, consolidated pipeline growth.",[14,3653,3654],{},[75,3655],{"alt":77,"src":3656},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F157d08c3-ac27-4147-832f-e4877df7a9df-mkg-blog-why-legacy-paid-playbooks-are-failing-series-image-3.png",[24,3658,3660],{"id":3659},"protect-your-runway-by-demanding-pipeline-truth","Protect Your Runway by Demanding Pipeline Truth",[14,3662,3663],{},"As a Series B founder, your core obligation to your board, your team, and your runway is ruthless capital allocation. Clinging to legacy, volume-driven paid media tactics in today’s highly automated ad ecosystem is a near-certain path to burning cash.",[14,3665,3666],{},"Stop applauding inflated impression counts and cheap, top-of-funnel leads that evaporate as soon as sales engages. Insist on full visibility into your downstream data. Require your marketing team and agencies to connect every ad dollar directly to qualified opportunities, improved win rates, and faster sales cycles.",[14,3668,3669],{},"By deliberately separating blended network inventory, integrating your ad platforms with real CRM pipeline data, and managing paid media as a fully accountable, measurable system, you can strip out marketing waste, de-risk your growth runway, and build a predictable pipeline engine that positions you to dominate your category.",[24,3671,2914],{"id":2913},[14,3673,3674],{},"Scaling after a Series B round means moving beyond volume-based marketing metrics and focusing on real pipeline velocity. When top-of-funnel indicators (like impressions and CTRs) look strong, but pipeline conversion falls by 25%, the underlying issue is almost always a mix of platform automation and audience fatigue. Google Demand Gen and similar products use blended inventory that quietly redirects your budget away from high-intent prospects toward low-value, accidental placements in mobile games and low-quality YouTube surfaces. At the same time, decision-makers are tuning out generic corporate outreach as systemic LinkedIn Ad Fatigue sets in.",[14,3676,3677],{},"To escape this growth stall and stop wasting capital, B2B SaaS founders must enforce rigorous, systemic accountability across their paid media programs. Practically, that means taking three immediate steps: separating video inventory from broad automated feeds to prevent inventory bleed, implementing offline CRM tracking so that deep-funnel milestones are pushed back into ad platforms, and rolling out multi-touch, account-level attribution to track the full buying committee. Stop optimizing for cheap MQL volume that overwhelms your sales team. Protect your runway by insisting on uncompromising pipeline visibility and tying every paid media dollar directly to revenue acceleration.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":3679},[3680,3684,3685,3691,3692],{"id":3484,"depth":291,"text":3485,"children":3681},[3682,3683],{"id":3491,"depth":297,"text":3492},{"id":3504,"depth":297,"text":3505},{"id":3529,"depth":291,"text":3530},{"id":3583,"depth":291,"text":3686,"children":3687},"Systemic Accountability: The Path to De-Risking Spend",[3688,3689,3690],{"id":3596,"depth":297,"text":3597},{"id":3620,"depth":297,"text":3621},{"id":3644,"depth":297,"text":3645},{"id":3659,"depth":291,"text":3660},{"id":2913,"depth":291,"text":2914},"ppc","2026-07-01T04:00:00.000Z","Facing a 25% drop in pipeline conversion despite great CTRs? Here is how to stop the blended inventory bleed.","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F5b62e834-bdc3-4dbd-ad88-8c2c36cb3362-mkg-blog-why-legacy-paid-playbooks-are-failing-series-hero-image.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fshifting-legacy-paid-playbooks-to-saas-pipeline-velocity",{"title":3438,"description":3695},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fshifting-legacy-paid-playbooks-to-saas-pipeline-velocity","a2XT4nvhtk5U7ofwUEn_aV-9p3Y8Q0IjsFQ2LoxggKQ",{"id":3703,"title":3704,"author":7,"authors":7,"body":3705,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":3914,"description":3915,"extension":318,"img":3916,"imgAlt":3917,"meta":3918,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":3919,"seo":3920,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":3921,"updated":7,"__hash__":3922},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fstop-chasing-citations-why-native-llm-mentions-are-the-new-baseline-for-b2b-tech-visibility.md","Stop Chasing Citations - Why Native LLM Mentions Are the New Baseline for B2B Tech Visibility",{"type":11,"value":3706,"toc":3905},[3707,3710,3713,3716,3723,3728,3732,3735,3738,3747,3750,3754,3757,3760,3763,3770,3775,3779,3786,3794,3814,3820,3824,3827,3830,3833,3838,3842,3845,3853,3873,3876,3880,3883,3890,3893,3895,3898],[14,3708,3709],{},"You’re probably grinding through sixty-hour weeks, drained by the nonstop demands of today’s “answer economy.” Your calendar is a tangle of technical metadata reviews, schema rollouts, and aggressive backlink campaigns. Every working hour feels like a defensive scramble. You’re optimizing your digital presence for one narrow outcome: earning a tiny, hyperlinked citation at the bottom of a conversational engine’s response. That small, numbered source link has become the proxy for the value of your entire content program.",[14,3711,3712],{},"But when you zoom out from local SEO dashboards and examine your actual revenue pipeline, the picture is flat. New customer growth has slowed, and your sales team is flagging a serious lack of high-intent enterprise deals.",[14,3714,3715],{},"The real problem is unfolding where you can’t see it. While you double down on classic search tactics to secure a defensive citation, your top competitors are skipping the citation layer altogether. When an enterprise buyer asks a large language model which software vendor to choose, the platform doesn’t just point to a website. It writes your competitor’s brand directly into the core narrative. The model positions their product as the category standard, endorses their workflow approach, and quietly leaves your company off the short list.",[14,3717,3718,3719,3722],{},"So when your founder or board presses you for an explanation of shrinking organic inbound, your legacy web analytics stack can’t provide a solid, data-backed answer. If you keep defending marketing performance with session counts and traditional indexing metrics, you’ll stay trapped in a loop of overwork and declining impact. To navigate this shift, B2B tech leaders must stop chasing superficial citations and adopt an integrated strategy centered on ",[206,3720,168],{"href":208,"rel":3721},[210]," and persistent, native mentions of their corporate brand.",[14,3724,3725],{},[75,3726],{"alt":77,"src":3727},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fc5f7302e-ce8a-4faf-b0ac-4815664ca413-mkg-blog-stop-chasing-citations-image-1.png",[24,3729,3731],{"id":3730},"the-footnote-mirage-and-the-illusion-of-traffic","The Footnote Mirage and the Illusion of Traffic",[14,3733,3734],{},"The core error most modern B2B marketing teams make is treating conversational engine citations as equivalent to traditional search engine clicks. This structural misunderstanding creates a serious operational trap. Securing a citation link at the bottom of a summarized answer feels like a tactical win. It shows up in your reporting as a visible placement, reinforcing the belief that your digital presence is successfully intercepting contemporary buyer journeys.",[14,3736,3737],{},"In practice, behavioral data shows that these footnotes are effectively invisible to today’s economic buyer. Conversational models are designed to function as final-answer systems, not as link directories. When a buyer is presented with a clean, authoritative, side-by-side comparison of enterprise software options, their information needs are met inside that single interface. They are not clicking through dozens of citations to review original sources; they consume the narrative, trust the model’s primary recommendations, and move directly into procurement evaluation.",[14,3739,3740,3741,3746],{},"This exact shift is confirmed by macro performance data. Comprehensive user behavioral analysis published in ",[206,3742,3745],{"href":3743,"rel":3744},"https:\u002F\u002Fcompany.g2.com\u002Fnews\u002Fg2-research-the-answer-economy",[210],"G2’s 2026 Answer Economy Report"," reveals that 51% of business-to-business software buyers now completely bypass traditional search engine queries in favor of direct, conversational interfaces when building vendor lists.",[14,3748,3749],{},"If your primary growth strategy revolves around capturing the last remnants of click-through traffic from tiny citation footnotes, you’re competing over a rapidly shrinking share of the market. Winning a link is irrelevant if the model’s main narrative is telling buyers to choose your competitor’s product. Achieving real visibility means redirecting your efforts away from shallow indexing metrics and toward a deliberate practice of Mention Engineering.",[24,3751,3753],{"id":3752},"decoding-the-core-engine-parametric-memory-vs-indexing","Decoding the Core Engine: Parametric Memory vs. Indexing",[14,3755,3756],{},"To move beyond defensive, click-driven tactics, you first need to understand how a conversational engine actually forms a recommendation. Traditional search engines behave like directories: they crawl web content, map keywords, index your pages, and route users to your URLs. Conversational engines are fundamentally different. They don’t scour the open web in real time to surface a link for each basic query; instead, they rely on an internal network of weights, pathways, and associations—what we call Parametric Memory Seeding.",[14,3758,3759],{},"When a conversational engine answers a prompt, it taps into this pre-trained parametric structure to generate its response. If your product attributes, brand name, and real customer scenarios are not thoroughly encoded in those underlying weights, the model has no basis to naturally surface your brand story. It may occasionally surface your site as a transient citation via external search plugins, but it will not present your company as an inherent, trusted recommendation.",[14,3761,3762],{},"This underlying structure explains why traditional, stand-alone content production no longer drives meaningful pipeline results. Churning out keyword-loaded blog posts or purchasing low-quality backlinks does nothing to reshape a model’s internal parametric associations; these legacy tactics are effectively treated as background noise.",[14,3764,3765,3766,3769],{},"To fundamentally influence how an enterprise-scale model perceives your product, you need a unified architecture that simultaneously targets both its parametric memory and the live vector spaces underpinning the web’s primary data models. Making this transition means advancing beyond surface-level ",[206,3767,3353],{"href":3032,"rel":3768},[210]," and committing to deep, data-layer positioning.",[14,3771,3772],{},[75,3773],{"alt":77,"src":3774},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F6d0b1599-0f9a-4137-8b80-61959fb7a116-mkg-blog-stop-chasing-citations-image-2.png",[24,3776,3778],{"id":3777},"the-svo-blueprint-engineering-native-mentions","The SVO Blueprint: Engineering Native Mentions",[14,3780,3781,3782,3785],{},"Moving your SaaS platform from a hidden footnote to a primary narrative recommendation requires a strict, engineering-led approach to information distribution. You must treat the web not as a collection of human-readable web pages, but as an expansive training database. Your goal is to maximize ",[52,3783,3784],{},"Entity Co-occurrence","—ensuring that whenever an engine processes data regarding your specific industry vertical, your brand name is consistently tied to the absolute highest-authority reference nodes in that space.",[14,3787,3788,3789,3793],{},"An effective, boardroom-ready ",[206,3790,3792],{"href":208,"rel":3791},[210],"SVO ","framework operates across three distinct data layers:",[46,3795,3796,3802,3808],{},[49,3797,3798,3801],{},[52,3799,3800],{},"Unstructured Community Mapping:"," The models place immense trust in unfiltered, peer-to-peer technical validation. Your engineering documentation, product use cases, and deployment workflows must be deeply embedded into high-authority developer networks, open-source code repositories, and ungated technical forums where models systematically gather real-world consensus.",[49,3803,3804,3807],{},[52,3805,3806],{},"Structured Data Layer Alignment:"," You must ensure that your company's core product attributes, security certifications, and pricing frameworks are formatted with absolute precision using clean, machine-readable schema structures across every public index. Any data fragmentation across external nodes lowers the model's confidence score, which can result in your brand being omitted from the final recommendation text.",[49,3809,3810,3813],{},[52,3811,3812],{},"Referential Authority Network Building:"," Instead of pursuing a massive volume of superficial links, you must focus entirely on securing deep, data-rich analysis from verified industry authorities, research institutions, and independent peer-review registries. When a model discovers your data hardcoded into these highly trusted nodes, it reinforces your position within its parametric memory.",[14,3815,3816,3817,3819],{},"By executing this unified architecture, you stop chasing random algorithm changes. You systematically train the models to recognize your platform as an unassailable industry standard, driving your ",[52,3818,2819],{}," metrics upward and securing your place in the native text.",[24,3821,3823],{"id":3822},"shifting-from-vanity-clicks-to-share-of-model-som","Shifting from Vanity Clicks to Share of Model (SOM)",[14,3825,3826],{},"The biggest barrier to true marketing transformation is an organizational addiction to vanity metrics. Many B2B teams are stuck reporting keyword rankings, impression counts, and total site sessions to leadership. These charts look strong in internal reviews, but they rarely map to real pipeline growth because they track behaviors that are quickly disappearing.",[14,3828,3829],{},"A modern, enterprise-grade dashboard must discard these legacy indicators and adopt Share of Model (SOM) as the core measure of brand visibility. SOM quantifies the exact percentage of instances in which your company is natively recommended as a top-tier vendor across a defined set of commercial-intent procurement prompts.",[14,3831,3832],{},"Presenting SOM to your executive team fundamentally reshapes the budget conversation. Instead of apologizing for declines in surface-level blog traffic, you can show hard, financially meaningful evidence that your brand’s embedded presence inside critical conversational models is growing. You demonstrate that while competitors pour money into capturing accidental, low-intent clicks, your strategy is methodically securing the primary recommendation engines where modern software purchasing decisions are actually made.",[14,3834,3835],{},[75,3836],{"alt":77,"src":3837},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fa1c2b2c7-80fb-4fd6-9bfd-563ec134694d-mkg-blog-stop-chasing-citations-image-3.png",[24,3839,3841],{"id":3840},"operationalizing-svo-inside-stretched-teams","Operationalizing SVO inside Stretched Teams",[14,3843,3844],{},"As a solo marketing leader or a highly compressed growth team, executing a complete optimization pivot can feel operationally overwhelming. You cannot afford to add complex, multi-layered workflows to an already overloaded schedule. The secret to scaling an effective SVO system is not increasing your total working hours; it is ruthlessly automating your data layer management and eliminating legacy content production lines.",[14,3846,3847,3848,3852],{},"Maintaining an unfragmented, board-ready ",[206,3849,3851],{"href":208,"rel":3850},[210],"SVO architecture"," requires establishing three non-negotiable operational habits:",[46,3854,3855,3861,3867],{},[49,3856,3857,3860],{},[52,3858,3859],{},"Automated SOM Monitoring:"," Establish a fixed weekly cadence with automated matrix scripts to audit your brand's placement across target industry prompts and document exactly where your competitors are winning native text placements.",[49,3862,3863,3866],{},[52,3864,3865],{},"Data Schema Governance:"," Run monthly synchronization checks across all public product indices, partner ecosystems, and review nodes to guarantee your technical data, compliance tiers, and feature sets remain perfectly uniform.",[49,3868,3869,3872],{},[52,3870,3871],{},"Community Syndication cadence:"," Convert your existing internal engineering documentation, product update logs, and customer support solutions into clean, open-source text files and distribute them systematically to high-authority developer reference nodes.",[14,3874,3875],{},"When these technical workflows are executed on an unfragmented, fixed schedule, you eliminate the need for surface-level, high-volume content campaigns. You transform your department from a creative production mill into a high-efficiency data operations team, building a permanent competitive moat around your pipeline.",[24,3877,3879],{"id":3878},"leading-the-svo-transformation","Leading the SVO Transformation",[14,3881,3882],{},"The ongoing transition from traditional search directories to synthesized conversational answers is a structural crisis for marketing departments that cling to obsolete multi-channel tracking manuals. However, for growth leaders who prioritize technical transparency, operational data discipline, and structural authority, it represents an unparalleled customer acquisition opportunity. It strips away the advantage from organizations that rely on content inflation and directly rewards companies that build clean, verifiable, and highly structured information networks.",[14,3884,3885,3886,3889],{},"We specialize in designing, engineering, and launching the advanced data layers and go-to-market dashboards that insulate technology brands from tracking gaps and traffic loss. By replacing fragmented, defensive ",[206,3887,743],{"href":3253,"rel":3888},[210]," habits with a unified, closed-loop visibility architecture, we ensure your organization’s true technical capabilities are clear, authoritative, and completely undeniable across the modern discovery landscape.",[14,3891,3892],{},"Do not spend another sixty-hour week chasing invisible footnotes that fail to drive pipeline results. Restructure your executive tracking tools, implement a rigorous Mention Engineering framework, and build an SVO engine that proves its undeniable revenue value on every single boardroom slide.",[24,3894,2914],{"id":2913},[14,3896,3897],{},"As B2B software buying shifts toward conversational interfaces, legacy click-centric search tactics are driving significant pipeline shortfalls. Marketing teams are pouring resources into backlink acquisition just to win marginal, rarely clicked citation footnotes at the bottom of AI-generated summaries. At the same time, those same engines explicitly name and recommend competitors in the core narrative itself.",[14,3899,3900,3901,3904],{},"To counter this, growth organizations must evolve from traditional SEO toward ",[206,3902,168],{"href":208,"rel":3903},[210]," and Mention Engineering. By influencing an engine’s Parametric Memory Seeding and maximizing Entity Co-occurrence across high-authority developer ecosystems, structured indices, and trusted review networks, companies can intentionally grow their Share of Model (SOM)—shifting their SaaS product from a forgotten footnote to a default enterprise recommendation.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":3906},[3907,3908,3909,3910,3911,3912,3913],{"id":3730,"depth":291,"text":3731},{"id":3752,"depth":291,"text":3753},{"id":3777,"depth":291,"text":3778},{"id":3822,"depth":291,"text":3823},{"id":3840,"depth":291,"text":3841},{"id":3878,"depth":291,"text":3879},{"id":2913,"depth":291,"text":2914},"2026-06-24T17:18:05.329Z","Working 60-hour weeks hunting backlinks for AI footnotes while your competitors steal the actual recommendations? Here is how to transition to Mention Engineering.","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F08d5ecca-00a2-434f-beda-688e14f036a8-mkg-blog-stop-chasing-citations-hero-image.webp","Stop Chasing Citations",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fstop-chasing-citations-why-native-llm-mentions-are-the-new-baseline-for-b2b-tech-visibility",{"title":3704,"description":3915},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fstop-chasing-citations-why-native-llm-mentions-are-the-new-baseline-for-b2b-tech-visibility","lMGpanW0QnqIRDqctsde2d2DODzyYJRx3c_X3MLG-Zk",{"id":3924,"title":3925,"author":7,"authors":7,"body":3926,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":4137,"description":4138,"extension":318,"img":4139,"imgAlt":776,"meta":4140,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":4141,"seo":4142,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":4143,"updated":7,"__hash__":4144},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-board-ready-svo-dashboard-how-to-report-pipeline-when-traffic-disappears.md","The Board-Ready SVO Dashboard - How to Report Pipeline When Traffic Disappears",{"type":11,"value":3927,"toc":4128},[3928,3931,3934,3937,3940,3946,3950,3953,3956,3959,3962,3966,3969,3976,3996,3999,4005,4009,4012,4023,4026,4029,4033,4036,4045,4048,4062,4065,4071,4075,4078,4081,4101,4104,4108,4111,4114,4123,4125],[14,3929,3930],{},"As the lone marketing leader in a growing organization, preparing monthly updates for executive leadership can quickly start to feel like a defensive drill. You open your standard analytics dashboard to build the performance report, and the headline charts look alarming. Total organic website sessions have declined sharply over the past two quarters. Click-through rates on your core keyword targets have stalled. To a CEO or board that’s used to gauging marketing health by steadily rising traffic graphs, this data signals an unmistakable operational breakdown. The immediate assumption is that your acquisition engine is stalling and your marketing budget is being squandered.",[14,3932,3933],{},"But when you move beyond surface-level web traffic and examine the actual sales pipeline in your CRM, a very different picture emerges. Sales-qualified opportunities are stable. The total value of your active pipeline is increasing, and customer acquisition timelines are actually accelerating. The core problem isn’t diminishing market demand or poor execution from your team. The real constraint is that your existing reporting models are completely blind to where high-intent pipeline is being created before prospects ever land on your website.",[14,3935,3936],{},"Traditional marketing dashboards are built on a simple, linear multi-channel attribution story: a prospect clicks an organic listing, browses your blog, and submits a form. Today, that critical mid-funnel research phase has shifted almost entirely into conversational search environments.",[14,3938,3939],{},"High-value enterprise buyers are now getting direct vendor comparisons, validating integration requirements, and checking compliance criteria long before they visit a URL or show up in your SEO tools. If you continue trying to justify marketing’s impact with legacy traffic volume, session length, and top-of-funnel MQL counts, you will keep appearing to lose momentum, even as your true revenue influence grows. To withstand serious boardroom scrutiny, you must let go of vanity traffic metrics and adopt an executive reporting framework built squarely around SVO ROI.",[14,3941,3942],{},[75,3943],{"alt":3944,"src":3945},"Pipeline report","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fb0f0d46f-904b-4a50-8853-f82738aeda04-mkg-blog-the-board-ready-svo-dashboard-image-1.png",[24,3947,3949],{"id":3948},"the-blind-spots-of-legacy-attribution","The Blind Spots of Legacy Attribution",[14,3951,3952],{},"To defend your marketing budget and protect your strategy from premature executive meddling, you first need to understand why legacy tracking tools fail to reflect the real high-value buyer journey. Traditional multi-channel attribution models are built on the idea that your corporate website is the primary hub for education and intent capture. As software purchasing moves away from simple click-through behavior, this assumption creates enormous data blind spots.",[14,3954,3955],{},"This measurement failure is at the heart of the Attribution 3.0 crisis. When an enterprise procurement leader turns to a conversational engine to compare your product’s deployment speed and API integrations with a competitor, the system pulls from thousands of distributed data sources to produce a single, authoritative recommendation. The buyer reads the synthesized insight, concludes that your brand is the best fit, and then goes straight to your site to book a demo.",[14,3957,3958],{},"By the time that lead appears in your CRM, legacy analytics tools label it as a direct visit or branded search. The pivotal mid-funnel research stage, the moment your technical optimization actually won the buyer’s attention, is completely invisible in your standard reporting.",[14,3960,3961],{},"If your executive updates continue to lean on top-of-funnel click volume, you are effectively punishing your marketing strategy for generating efficient, zero-click conversions. To reset this story in the boardroom, you must move beyond counting casual web sessions and start measuring Referential Authority. You need to demonstrate to leadership that marketing’s true value lies not in attracting passive visitors but in embedding your platform within the precise data ecosystems where buying decisions are made.",[24,3963,3965],{"id":3964},"building-the-board-ready-svo-metric-suite","Building the Board-Ready SVO Metric Suite",[14,3967,3968],{},"Replacing defensive, traffic-focused explanations with an objective growth framework requires a complete re-engineering of your executive dashboard. A board of directors does not care about individual keyword movements, impressions, or fluctuating organic search charts. They require clear, financial-grade evidence showing that your digital distribution strategy is systematically capturing market share and feeding the revenue engine.",[14,3970,3971,3972,3975],{},"As explicitly illustrated in your active pipeline analytics, looking at revenue value relative to acquisition cost completely re-frames the value of your marketing channels. A sophisticated, ",[52,3973,3974],{},"Board-Ready Metrics"," suite shifts the focus from traffic volumes to actual funnel efficiency by isolating three primary pillars:",[46,3977,3978,3984,3990],{},[49,3979,3980,3983],{},[52,3981,3982],{},"AI Share of Voice:"," This metric tracks your brand's presence across specific procurement prompts relative to your primary competitors. By systematically auditing target commercial queries across major language models, you calculate the exact percentage of time your platform is recommended as a preferred solution.",[49,3985,3986,3989],{},[52,3987,3988],{},"Verified Citation Frequencies:"," Instead of tracking superficial impressions, you document the exact number of times a conversational interface explicitly links to your domain or your authoritative third-party profiles to validate its recommendation. This provides absolute proof that your content infrastructure is acting as a trusted source of truth.",[49,3991,3992,3995],{},[52,3993,3994],{},"MQL to SQL Conversion Velocity:"," Rather than celebrating a high volume of cheap, top-of-funnel clicks, this metric shows that your conversational optimization is driving pre-educated buyers who convert at a significantly higher rate through the sales pipeline.",[14,3997,3998],{},"By centering your dashboard on these pillars, you completely change the dynamic of your executive conversations. You stop talking about the web traffic you lost and start showing the high-value pipeline share you actively control.",[14,4000,4001],{},[75,4002],{"alt":4003,"src":4004},"reports","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F96600b7e-0c88-4723-84a4-6302d54d9c81-mkg-blog-the-board-ready-svo-dashboard-image-2.png",[24,4006,4008],{"id":4007},"analyzing-the-high-yield-channel-mix","Analyzing the High-Yield Channel Mix",[14,4010,4011],{},"A close examination of your performance data makes one thing unmistakably clear: the real business value lies elsewhere than traditional metrics suggest. Organic search may still deliver impressive traffic volume, but once you map each channel against pipeline value and cost per sales-qualified lead (SQL), the underlying structure comes into focus.",[14,4013,4014,4015,4022],{},"Conventional ",[206,4016,4018],{"href":3253,"rel":4017},[210],[4019,4020,4021],"u",{},"organic SEO"," often appears efficient on a cost-per-lead basis, yet it typically produces an oversized pool of low-intent visitors that converts poorly into a true pipeline. In contrast, optimization designed for modern conversational interfaces generates a smaller, highly concentrated stream of pre-qualified buyer intent. Prospects arriving through these paths have already completed their comparison research before they ever encounter your forms.",[14,4024,4025],{},"This behavioral shift is visible in your performance models. A traditional search visitor typically requires extensive nurturing through long, resource-intensive content sequences, whereas an SVO-driven lead advances from MQL to confirmed SQL at a significantly higher rate. In many enterprise environments, this conversion velocity surpasses traditional organic search by double-digit margins.",[14,4027,4028],{},"When you share these metrics with the board, you can show that declining raw web traffic is actually a sign of optimization. You are intentionally filtering out low-value, non-converting visitors while increasing your share of high-intent, high-value buyers. This reframes a traffic drop from an apparent marketing failure into a deliberate, highly efficient pipeline strategy.",[24,4030,4032],{"id":4031},"aligning-the-funnel-for-maximum-capital-efficiency","Aligning the Funnel for Maximum Capital Efficiency",[14,4034,4035],{},"The ultimate business validation of a fully optimized reporting architecture is a dramatic increase in mid-funnel conversion velocity and overall capital efficiency. When your digital footprint is designed specifically to feed modern answer engines, you eliminate a massive amount of friction from the standard buyer journey.",[14,4037,4038,4039,4044],{},"As clearly demonstrated in recent performance datasets, including ",[206,4040,4042],{"href":3743,"rel":4041},[210],[4019,4043,3745],{},", 51% of B2B software buyers now actively bypass traditional search engine queries in favor of direct, conversational interfaces when evaluating options.",[14,4046,4047],{},"Consider the operational divergence between two distinct corporate marketing frameworks:",[46,4049,4050,4056],{},[49,4051,4052,4055],{},[52,4053,4054],{},"The Traffic-Dependent Funnel:"," An organization spends heavily to maintain high-volume web traffic, driving users to gated content hubs and complex multi-page blogs. As user behavior shifts toward conversational search, click volume plummets, stalling lead metrics and forcing the marketing team to continually request more ad budget to sustain the pipeline.",[49,4057,4058,4061],{},[52,4059,4060],{},"The Citation-Optimized Funnel:"," An organization focuses entirely on structuring its data for machine ingestion, deploying clean schema layers, ungated technical specifications, and consistent feature registries across the web. The brand is systematically surfaced at the top of every conversational procurement summary, routing highly educated, pre-validated buyers directly into the sales cycle.",[14,4063,4064],{},"This clear operational contrast explains why modern marketing maturity is no longer defined by how many visitors you drive to your website. It is defined by how effectively you position your company's core insights for synthesis by the platforms where your buyers already spend their time.",[14,4066,4067],{},[75,4068],{"alt":4069,"src":4070},"funnel","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fa1923ed9-0c7c-4ff8-ac6e-03616b440fcd-mkg-blog-the-board-ready-svo-dashboard-image-3.png",[24,4072,4074],{"id":4073},"operationalizing-the-boardroom-presentation","Operationalizing the Boardroom Presentation",[14,4076,4077],{},"Transitioning to a highly structured pipeline framework requires a permanent shift in how your daily marketing operations are structured, tracked, and defended. As a solo marketing leader, you can no longer operate as a creative services hub; you must run your department like a data-driven financial operations center.",[14,4079,4080],{},"Defending your marketing strategy to the board requires anchoring your weekly execution around three concrete operational cadences:",[46,4082,4083,4089,4095],{},[49,4084,4085,4088],{},[52,4086,4087],{},"SVO ROI Alignment:"," Update your revenue dashboards to chart pipeline value directly against cost per SQL across all channels, ensuring high-yield conversational paths are clearly highlighted ahead of legacy traffic channels.",[49,4090,4091,4094],{},[52,4092,4093],{},"Data Layer Governance:"," Implement strict internal protocols to ensure that all public listings of your technical features, security standards, and integration protocols match perfectly across your website, product registries, and press releases.",[49,4096,4097,4100],{},[52,4098,4099],{},"Citation Node Auditing:"," Monitor how frequently major conversational platforms cite your domain or your independent user review profiles relative to your primary competitors in response to category-focused research prompts.",[14,4102,4103],{},"When these tracking metrics run on a fixed, uninterrupted schedule, your organization builds a permanent competitive advantage. You stop chasing unpredictable web traffic algorithms and start managing the foundational data infrastructure that governs modern business decisions.",[24,4105,4107],{"id":4106},"proving-marketing-value-in-the-new-boardroom-reality","Proving Marketing Value in the New Boardroom Reality",[14,4109,4110],{},"A sudden drop in website sessions is only a true crisis for marketers who depend on vanity metrics, inflated content volume, and outdated multi-channel tracking models. For leaders who prioritize technical accuracy, operational rigor, and precise pipeline attribution, this shift in analytics is a powerful competitive advantage. It removes the edge from rivals who chase shallow web clicks and instead rewards organizations focused on delivering deep, verifiable revenue impact.",[14,4112,4113],{},"We design and build the advanced data layers and go-to-market reporting systems that shield growth-focused organizations from tracking blind spots and traffic volatility. By replacing fragmented, traffic-obsessed reports with a unified, boardroom-ready pipeline framework, we make your real marketing impact unmistakable, authoritative, and impossible for leadership to ignore.",[14,4115,4116,4117,4122],{},"Don’t let your organization’s true pipeline value be buried by an obsolete web analytics model. Examine your digital footprint, rebuild your executive dashboards, and implement an ",[206,4118,4120],{"href":208,"rel":4119},[210],[4019,4121,776],{}," reporting engine that wins the argument in every single boardroom presentation.",[24,4124,2914],{"id":2913},[14,4126,4127],{},"As traditional web tracking fails to reflect decentralized buyer research, solo marketing leaders are confronting a misleading reporting crisis: website sessions are declining, yet underlying sales pipeline performance remains strong. This disconnect exists because legacy attribution models cannot capture the critical middle-funnel validation that now occurs in modern conversational search environments. To preserve executive trust and safeguard growth budgets, organizations need a dashboard purpose-built for Attribution 3.0. By moving beyond raw traffic counts and focusing on financial-grade indicators such as AI Share of Voice, Verified Citation Frequency, and MQL-to-SQL Conversion Velocity, marketing leaders can definitively demonstrate SVO ROI and make a compelling case for clear market leadership.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":4129},[4130,4131,4132,4133,4134,4135,4136],{"id":3948,"depth":291,"text":3949},{"id":3964,"depth":291,"text":3965},{"id":4007,"depth":291,"text":4008},{"id":4031,"depth":291,"text":4032},{"id":4073,"depth":291,"text":4074},{"id":4106,"depth":291,"text":4107},{"id":2913,"depth":291,"text":2914},"2026-06-17T17:31:07.350Z","When top-of-funnel web traffic drops, legacy marketing reports make you look like you are failing. Here is how to present high-converting SVO pipeline data that wins over the board.","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F18b8f0c2-c43f-4536-a5c7-ac65d154018a-mkg-blog-the-board-ready-svo-dashboard-hero-image.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-board-ready-svo-dashboard-how-to-report-pipeline-when-traffic-disappears",{"title":3925,"description":4138},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-board-ready-svo-dashboard-how-to-report-pipeline-when-traffic-disappears","V_rPjWI2lruHqbf-Vu2n0Eie6bjnelH_O0ettTrQZZU",{"id":4146,"title":4147,"author":7,"authors":7,"body":4148,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":4342,"description":4343,"extension":318,"img":4344,"imgAlt":4345,"meta":4346,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":4347,"seo":4348,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":4349,"updated":7,"__hash__":4350},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-death-of-the-ten-blue-links-why-svo-is-the-only-survival-strategy-for-2026.md","The Death of the Ten Blue Links - Why SVO is the Only Survival Strategy for 2026",{"type":11,"value":4149,"toc":4333},[4150,4153,4156,4163,4166,4171,4175,4178,4192,4195,4198,4202,4205,4208,4228,4231,4235,4239,4242,4245,4248,4251,4255,4258,4261,4275,4278,4283,4287,4290,4293,4312,4315,4319,4322,4325,4328,4330],[14,4151,4152],{},"You executed the playbook exactly as prescribed. You audited technical site infrastructure, identified high-intent target keywords, built comprehensive topic clusters, and maintained a consistent content production cadence. By conventional organic search indicators, your performance should be exemplary. Yet when you review your year-over-year traffic, unique visitors are down 40 percent. Your high-volume keywords still rank at the top of legacy search engines, but the actual pipeline has evaporated. To leadership, it appears to be a sudden breakdown in marketing execution—an internal failure where your strategies have simply stopped working.",[14,4154,4155],{},"The reality is far more structural and long-lasting. This is not a breakdown of tactics; it is the wholesale collapse of traditional search behavior. The era of the “ten blue links” has ended. For nearly thirty years, digital discovery was built on a straightforward exchange: a user entered a query, a search engine returned a list of destination websites, and the user clicked through to find answers. That journey has now been fully disrupted by conversational interfaces, multimodal engines, and automated answer summaries.",[14,4157,4158,4159,4162],{},"This shift is fundamentally altering the business-to-business procurement landscape. According to data from ",[206,4160,3745],{"href":3743,"rel":4161},[210],", 51% of B2B software buyers now begin their vendor research inside an AI chatbot rather than a traditional search engine. Buyers are completely bypassing the click-and-browse stage of research. Instead of scanning individual vendor blogs to compare capabilities, they issue a single prompt to a large language model (LLM) requesting a definitive recommendation based on explicit parameters such as compliance, integrations, and user sentiment.",[14,4164,4165],{},"When your ideal customer profile (ICP) conducts this kind of research, traditional organic rankings become less relevant. If your brand is not explicitly mentioned in the synthesized response, your company is effectively removed from the evaluation process. To navigate this shift, organizations must move beyond keyword search volume and adopt a deliberate Search Visibility Optimization (BVO \u002F SVO) framework. Survival in 2026 depends on evolving from conventional keyword tracking to actively managing your full brand presence across the entire conversational web.",[14,4167,4168],{},[75,4169],{"alt":77,"src":4170},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F90ef92e5-5d1d-4993-bf61-4daac6415448-mkg-blog-the-death-of-the-ten-blue-links-image-1.png",[24,4172,4174],{"id":4173},"the-structural-reality-of-the-answer-economy","The Structural Reality of the Answer Economy",[14,4176,4177],{},"To build a marketing engine that actually performs in this environment, you must understand how modern discovery systems process information. Legacy search engines optimized for page authority, using backlinks and click signals to decide which URL to surface next. Modern conversational engines function as inference systems. They do not rank pages; they synthesize information from thousands of public and private sources to produce a single, comprehensive response.",[14,4179,4180,4181,2504,4186,4191],{},"This evolution forms the core of ",[206,4182,4184],{"href":3037,"rel":4183},[210],[52,4185,3039],{},[206,4187,4189],{"href":3032,"rel":4188},[210],[52,4190,3353],{},". These frameworks recognize that language models act as automated research assistants for B2B buyers. When an enterprise software buyer asks an engine to find a platform that complies with specific financial regulations and integrates seamlessly with their current software suite, the model scans its training data and real-time web crawlers to construct a customized comparison matrix.",[14,4193,4194],{},"If your corporate content exists only in unstructured formats, sits behind aggressive lead-generation gates, or is buried in vague, fluff-heavy marketing copy, conversational engines cannot reliably interpret your product features. Because these models are designed to minimize the risk of hallucinating information, they will skip over any brand whose product data is unclear, unverified, or internally inconsistent. Instead, they will fulfill the user’s request with competitors whose digital ecosystems are structured, transparent, and corroborated across independent platforms.",[14,4196,4197],{},"This creates a hidden crisis of competitive displacement. You can maintain perfect rankings on legacy search result pages, but if your brand is missing from the conversational shortlists where buyers actually make their decisions, your organic inbound pipeline will continue to erode. Visibility is no longer a traffic acquisition problem; it is a data-structuring and entity-indexing requirement.",[24,4199,4201],{"id":4200},"measuring-the-true-llm-footprint","Measuring the True LLM Footprint",[14,4203,4204],{},"Shifting your marketing organization away from legacy keyword volume demands a systematic, diagnostic approach to measurement. Continuing to evaluate visibility through search impressions or raw website clicks is an operational dead end. Instead, you need to audit your precise LLM Footprint to determine how conversational systems are interpreting and recommending your company.",[14,4206,4207],{},"A comprehensive brand footprint diagnostic focuses on three explicit phases:",[46,4209,4210,4216,4222],{},[49,4211,4212,4215],{},[52,4213,4214],{},"Procurement Prompt Baselining:"," Develop a highly standardized matrix of commercial intent prompts that match your ICP’s exact purchasing criteria. Run these prompts across every major model—including Gemini, ChatGPT, and Perplexity—to document your brand's natural inclusion rate, tracking how often your company is named as a preferred solution compared to your direct competitors.",[49,4217,4218,4221],{},[52,4219,4220],{},"Citation Node Mapping:"," Analyze the specific external links, user review directories, and independent community spaces that conversational engines reference to validate their claims. Mapping these nodes reveals exactly where the models pull their authority data, allowing you to prioritize your brand distribution efforts.",[49,4223,4224,4227],{},[52,4225,4226],{},"Semantic Consensus Auditing:"," Inspect how cleanly and uniformly your core product capabilities, pricing architectures, and compliance certifications are stated across the web. Inconsistent naming conventions or outdated documentation undermine the model’s confidence, leading to your brand being omitted from synthesized comparison tables due to data uncertainty.",[14,4229,4230],{},"By executing this technical audit, you replace defensive marketing explanations with an objective, data-driven roadmap. You reveal the exact structural gaps that keep your brand hidden from automated evaluation systems, allowing you to build an intentional plan for reclamation.",[14,4232,4233],{},[75,4234],{"alt":77,"src":4170},[24,4236,4238],{"id":4237},"securing-dominance-via-citational-authority","Securing Dominance via Citational Authority",[14,4240,4241],{},"The most effective remedy for a deficit in conversational visibility is the deliberate, aggressive cultivation of Citational Authority. For a language model to confidently present your brand as a trusted option, it must detect a clear, consistent pattern of authoritative validation across multiple independent sources. The model does not rely on what you claim about yourself on your homepage; it relies on the broader consensus of the public web.",[14,4243,4244],{},"Building this authority demands unwavering commitment to a consistent content rhythm. This is not about churning out large volumes of generic, AI-generated blog posts to chase superficial keywords. It is about maintaining a highly disciplined, regular cadence of deep technical insights, validated customer case studies, and original subject matter expertise. Your executive and technical leaders must reliably contribute substantive, non-commoditized insights to reputable developer repositories, trusted industry publications, and independent community forums.",[14,4246,4247],{},"When your brand maintains an uninterrupted cadence of high-value, expert data across the web, you continuously feed the exact informational nodes that language models crawl and index. This pattern of cross-platform validation tells the model that your company is an immutable category leader.",[14,4249,4250],{},"A short-term, campaign-driven approach fails completely under this new paradigm. You cannot buy your way into an LLM's next training or inference cycle with a temporary advertising blitz. The models are built to recognize long-term consensus and verified expertise. Maintaining a structured, disciplined distribution rhythm ensures your technical capabilities are permanently embedded in the underlying datasets used to generate vendor shortlists.",[24,4252,4254],{"id":4253},"transitioning-to-a-structured-knowledge-system","Transitioning to a Structured Knowledge System",[14,4256,4257],{},"The core advantage of an optimized brand presence is the velocity at which you can capture modern enterprise intent. When a buyer forces an engine to evaluate the marketplace, the system naturally routes toward the path of least risk and highest data integrity.",[14,4259,4260],{},"Consider the contrasting outcomes between two distinct operational approaches:",[46,4262,4263,4269],{},[49,4264,4265,4268],{},[52,4266,4267],{},"The Creative Brochure Site:"," A company relies on highly stylized, abstract copywriting hidden inside interactive web elements or gated PDF forms. The conversational engine cannot confidently extract technical metrics, deployment speeds, or API compliance standards. Fearing an inaccurate response, the engine excludes the brand from the user's answer.",[49,4270,4271,4274],{},[52,4272,4273],{},"The Machine-Readable Knowledge Base:"," A company deploys advanced semantic layers, using clean schema markup, clear product tables, and consistent platform definitions across all channels. The engine instantly extracts, validates, and incorporates the brand's exact specifications, placing them at the top of the recommended shortlist with explicit trust citations.",[14,4276,4277],{},"This comparison illustrates why deep technical documentation has become a critical driver of middle-funnel conversion. API tables, integration matrices, and security registries are no longer merely passive references for post-sale support; they now serve as high-value entry points for automated vendor discovery. By presenting this information in a clear, structured way to machine web agents, you remove the friction that prevents your brand from being surfaced by automated evaluation systems.",[14,4279,4280],{},[75,4281],{"alt":77,"src":4282},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F23bac03b-041d-4119-842a-86228876c352-mkg-blog-the-death-of-the-ten-blue-links-image-3.png",[24,4284,4286],{"id":4285},"operationalizing-your-response-presence","Operationalizing Your Response Presence",[14,4288,4289],{},"Succeeding in this decentralized landscape requires moving past traditional organic search tactics and installing a repeatable, unified operational system. Marketing departments must stop operating as creative project centers and begin running like data-driven technical operations.",[14,4291,4292],{},"This requires aligning your weekly execution around three concrete operational areas:",[46,4294,4295,4301,4306],{},[49,4296,4297,4300],{},[52,4298,4299],{},"Citation Frequency Tracking:"," Monitor how frequently major conversational engines cite your domain or your trusted independent profiles relative to your primary competitors during category-focused research prompts.",[49,4302,4303,4305],{},[52,4304,3865],{}," Implement strict internal compliance to ensure that every public listing of your features, security standards, and integration protocols matches perfectly across your website, product registries, and press releases.",[49,4307,4308,4311],{},[52,4309,4310],{},"Review Stream Automation:"," Build a continuous customer feedback mechanism that feeds recent, highly detailed textual review data into third-party evaluation directories, keeping the engines supplied with fresh trust signals.",[14,4313,4314],{},"When these operations run on a fixed, uninterrupted schedule, your organization builds a permanent competitive advantage. You stop chasing unpredictable search engine algorithm updates and start managing the foundational data infrastructure that governs all automated business decisions.",[24,4316,4318],{"id":4317},"reclaiming-the-funnel-in-the-era-of-inference","Reclaiming the Funnel in the Era of Inference",[14,4320,4321],{},"The rise of conversational discovery is not an existential threat to marketing leaders who operate with deep expertise, operational rigor, and strong engineering discipline. It is a threat to organizations that depend on high-volume, generic content and unverified marketing assertions. If your digital presence resembles an unindexed corporate brochure, automated models will quietly exclude you from consideration.",[14,4323,4324],{},"We specialize in designing and engineering the modern technical architectures and go-to-market operational systems that keep organizations visible across the entire modern discovery landscape. By combining technical semantic layer engineering with disciplined execution rhythms, we ensure your brand authority is clear, verifiable, and undeniable to both human buyers and machine-learning algorithms.",[14,4326,4327],{},"Do not allow your organization to be quietly displaced from your ideal market segments by an information structure failure. Audit your digital footprint, structure your institutional knowledge, and implement a brand-visibility operating model built to dominate the modern synthesis.",[24,4329,2914],{"id":2913},[14,4331,4332],{},"The B2B buying journey has undergone a fundamental structural shift, with 51% of software buyers now beginning vendor research inside AI chatbots rather than on traditional search engines. This behavioral change creates a significant risk of competitive displacement for brands that do not appear in model outputs or are omitted from automatically generated shortlists. To safeguard your pipeline, enterprises must implement a rigorous Brand Visibility Optimization (BVO) strategy. By conducting systematic prompt diagnostics to assess Search Sentiment, maintaining a consistent cadence of expert content publication, and ensuring all product capabilities are clearly represented in LLM Training Data, organizations can secure automated market discovery and regain narrative control across every AI search interface.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":4334},[4335,4336,4337,4338,4339,4340,4341],{"id":4173,"depth":291,"text":4174},{"id":4200,"depth":291,"text":4201},{"id":4237,"depth":291,"text":4238},{"id":4253,"depth":291,"text":4254},{"id":4285,"depth":291,"text":4286},{"id":4317,"depth":291,"text":4318},{"id":2913,"depth":291,"text":2914},"2026-06-10T16:08:09.873Z","B2B search is shifting fast. Strong visibility now means showing up across Google, AI answers, and the discovery paths buyers actually use.","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Ffc323672-061d-46ab-9bd0-60927e7379e5-mkg-blog-the-death-of-the-ten-blue-links-hero-image.webp","performance review sheet",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-death-of-the-ten-blue-links-why-svo-is-the-only-survival-strategy-for-2026",{"title":4147,"description":4343},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-death-of-the-ten-blue-links-why-svo-is-the-only-survival-strategy-for-2026","1ny96umwFKlaPpVjeTmr-6iACAVkQGTRpIImVORjYn4",{"id":4352,"title":4353,"author":7,"authors":7,"body":4354,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":4548,"description":4549,"extension":318,"img":4550,"imgAlt":4551,"meta":4552,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":4553,"seo":4554,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":4555,"updated":7,"__hash__":4556},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Finvisible-by-default-why-your-growth-plateau-is-actually-an-ai-visibility-debt.md","Invisible by Default - Why Your Growth Plateau is Actually an AI Visibility Debt",{"type":11,"value":4355,"toc":4540},[4356,4359,4362,4365,4372,4379,4384,4388,4391,4394,4397,4400,4404,4407,4410,4430,4433,4438,4442,4451,4454,4474,4477,4482,4486,4489,4492,4512,4515,4519,4522,4525,4528,4530,4533],[14,4357,4358],{},"Scaling an enterprise to $5 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) reflects strong product–market fit, founder resilience, and effective early execution. By this point, your go-to-market motion often feels solidified: you’ve invested heavily in traditional acquisition funnels, built out a sales team, and watched organic search impressions grow. Yet many executive teams encounter an invisible ceiling at exactly this stage. Historical pipeline engines start to lose efficiency, customer acquisition costs rise, and legacy growth strategies begin to stall.",[14,4360,4361],{},"When you turn to your usual marketing dashboards to diagnose the slowdown, the numbers obscure the real structural issue. Website traffic appears steady, ad click-through rates look serviceable, and SEO tools report healthy organic rankings. But the breakdown isn’t occurring on your website or in the channels you’re measuring. The real risk sits where your modern buyers are actually making their decisions.",[14,4363,4364],{},"A major behavioral shift has fundamentally reshaped the B2B buying cycle. Enterprise procurement teams and decision-makers are no longer paging through traditional search results, hopping between blogs, or downloading gated whitepapers to assemble their initial vendor lists. Instead, they’re feeding complex procurement criteria directly into large language models and conversational search tools—and using the synthesized outputs to create their shortlists.",[14,4366,4367,4368,4371],{},"This behavior is a structural reality. Data from ",[206,4369,3745],{"href":3743,"rel":4370},[210]," reveals that 51% of B2B software buyers now prioritize starting their vendor research inside an AI chatbot rather than a traditional search engine. When a decision-maker commands an engine to compare mid-market enterprise platforms based on specific compliance standards, deployment speeds, and past user sentiment, the platform delivers a synthesized, definitive response.",[14,4373,4374,4375,4378],{},"If your brand is entirely absent from that generated output—if the engine cites three of your primary competitors as the market standards while your company is completely omitted—you are invisible by default. This is not a standard search engine ranking issue; it is an accrued ",[52,4376,4377],{},"Visibility Debt"," that actively suppresses your revenue potential. Overcoming this stagnation requires shifting away from legacy traffic metrics and executing a precise diagnostic audit to identify and close the brand-to-bot gap.",[14,4380,4381],{},[75,4382],{"alt":77,"src":4383},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F9d1f342d-2771-4e82-910f-1e49caca001c-mkg-blog-invisible-by-default-image-1.png",[24,4385,4387],{"id":4386},"the-reality-of-the-zero-click-funnel","The Reality of the Zero-Click Funnel",[14,4389,4390],{},"To understand how a company can thrive in legacy channels yet remain invisible to an LLM, you have to examine the data structure of the Zero-Click Reality. Traditional search engines function as directories, sending human users to external websites where information lives. Success in that model is measured by traffic generation. Conversational search engines, by contrast, act as inference engines, synthesizing massive data repositories to deliver a complete, self-contained answer—without ever sending the user elsewhere.",[14,4392,4393],{},"When a model receives a prompt from a prospective buyer, it looks for verified consensus, clear entities, and authoritative proof points across its training data and live web indexes. It effectively acts as an automated procurement officer, evaluating which solutions pose the lowest operational risk based on the buyer’s stated criteria.",[14,4395,4396],{},"Many high-growth companies carry significant visibility debt because their digital footprint was created for human readers, not for machine consumption. They’ve invested in creative copy, design-heavy landing pages, and disconnected campaigns. While these assets may impress a human visitor, the underlying data layers are often unstructured, poorly indexed, or entirely absent from the authoritative repositories that language models rely on to validate brand claims.",[14,4398,4399],{},"This operational gap leads directly to competitive displacement. Your product may be technically superior, your customer success scores may be higher, and your pricing may be more attractive than the alternatives surfaced by the model. But the engine cannot parse or verify that superiority if your institutional knowledge is locked inside a black box of unstructured formats. If the machine cannot confidently confirm your capabilities, it will exclude you from the narrative to avoid hallucinating your value.",[24,4401,4403],{"id":4402},"calculating-the-brand-to-bot-gap","Calculating the Brand-to-Bot Gap",[14,4405,4406],{},"Clearing your visibility debt begins with a structured, technical investigation into how conversational engines perceive your organization. You must audit the digital gap between what your company actually does and what the models say you do. This requires a rigorous diagnostic protocol that treats brand presence as a data-engineering problem rather than a creative messaging exercise.",[14,4408,4409],{},"This diagnostic protocol focuses on three critical assessment areas:",[46,4411,4412,4418,4424],{},[49,4413,4414,4417],{},[52,4415,4416],{},"Inference Share-of-Voice:"," Evaluate a comprehensive matrix of intent-based procurement prompts across all primary conversational models. Document exactly how often your brand is included in generated shortlists, which competitors dominate the recommendations, and what specific attributes the models use to justify their selections.",[49,4419,4420,4423],{},[52,4421,4422],{},"Source Citation Mapping:"," Analyze the underlying domains, review networks, and community spaces that the engines cite when generating responses for your category. Identifying these source nodes reveals exactly where the models pull their authority data, showing you where your digital footprint is lacking.",[49,4425,4426,4429],{},[52,4427,4428],{},"Semantic Entity Integrity:"," Audit how consistently your primary features, target verticals, and compliance standards are stated across the web. Disconnected information, shifting nomenclature, and outdated product registries confuse the pattern-matching algorithms of language models, leading to a complete omission of your brand due to data uncertainty.",[14,4431,4432],{},"Transitioning to this diagnostic approach changes how you evaluate your competitive standing. You stop guessing why your sales pipeline is stalling and begin identifying the explicit technical and data-structure deficiencies that prevent your brand from being recognized as a market leader.",[14,4434,4435],{},[75,4436],{"alt":77,"src":4437},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F0e789da1-7a18-466c-a46a-76c14cdbfb85-mkg-blog-invisible-by-default-image-2.png",[24,4439,4441],{"id":4440},"implementing-generative-engine-optimization","Implementing Generative Engine Optimization",[14,4443,4444,4445,4450],{},"Resolving an AI visibility deficit requires an intentional transition to ",[206,4446,4448],{"href":3032,"rel":4447},[210],[52,4449,3353],{},". This framework is not about manipulating an algorithm or inflating surface-level metrics; it is about structuring your company’s real-world expertise, product specifications, and customer validation into machine-readable data layers that engines can easily ingest and trust.",[14,4452,4453],{},"This structural optimization requires executing three precise operational phases:",[46,4455,4456,4462,4468],{},[49,4457,4458,4461],{},[52,4459,4460],{},"Technical Semantic Architecture:"," Deploy comprehensive schema markups across your entire digital footprint. Ensure your product capabilities, pricing architectures, geographic availability, and security standards are explicitly coded, transforming your corporate website into a clear, structured knowledge graph for web crawlers.",[49,4463,4464,4467],{},[52,4465,4466],{},"Un-gating Institutional Knowledge:"," Redesign your content distribution strategy to prioritize data accessibility. Move critical technical specifications, API documentation, and detailed deployment case studies out of hidden, gated PDF downloads and place them directly onto clean, indexable pages that conversational web agents can completely crawl and process.",[49,4469,4470,4473],{},[52,4471,4472],{},"Decentralized Trust Syndication:"," Build a structured operational cadence to feed independent, authoritative third-party data sources. Language models heavily weight community discussions, technical forums, and third-party review platforms to validate corporate claims. Ensuring your brand has a steady stream of user validation on these independent nodes builds the cross-reference patterns that engines require to verify your authority.",[14,4475,4476],{},"When these three phases are executed systematically, your digital presence shifts from a collection of creative marketing materials to an authoritative node in the web's knowledge graph. You give conversational engines the exact, high-integrity data points they need to confidently feature your platform on every enterprise shortlist.",[14,4478,4479],{},[75,4480],{"alt":77,"src":4481},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F14fbaccb-7940-4e86-9deb-c443cc852444-mkg-blog-invisible-by-default-image-3.png",[24,4483,4485],{"id":4484},"de-risking-your-long-term-growth-narrative","De-risking Your Long-Term Growth Narrative",[14,4487,4488],{},"The primary benefit of clearing your visibility debt is the creation of a predictable, self-sustaining pipeline engine that scales entirely independent of rising advertising costs. When your brand is systematically hardcoded into the training data and inference models of your industry, your company becomes an un-bypassable option whenever a buyer initiates a research prompt.",[14,4490,4491],{},"Consider the operational differences between an enterprise burdened by visibility debt and one optimized for generative discovery:",[46,4493,4494,4500,4506],{},[49,4495,4496,4499],{},[52,4497,4498],{},"Capital Allocation Efficiency:"," While a burdened organization must continually increase its digital ad spend to maintain pipeline visibility, a GEO-optimized brand naturally captures a steady stream of high-intent buyers through automated shortlists.",[49,4501,4502,4505],{},[52,4503,4504],{},"Accelerated Sales Velocity:"," Prospects who discover your solution through a conversational engine arrive at the sales conversation with a clear, pre-validated understanding of your technical alignment, significantly reducing the overall deal cycle time.",[49,4507,4508,4511],{},[52,4509,4510],{},"Sustainable Market Authority:"," By embedding your subject matter expertise into the foundational datasets that power automated search, you build an enduring competitive moat that cannot be washed away by a competitor's short-term advertising blitz.",[14,4513,4514],{},"For an organization aiming to scale past the $5M ARR milestone, true operational maturity means ensuring your visibility is insulated against shifts in buyer behavior. It requires building a growth framework in which your institutional value is completely clear to both the human executive who signs the contract and the machine-learning interface they use to discover you.",[24,4516,4518],{"id":4517},"establishing-the-growth-engine-of-the-future","Establishing the Growth Engine of the Future",[14,4520,4521],{},"The evolution of the B2B buying journey is a powerful opportunity for enterprise leaders who prioritize data integrity, technical transparency, and disciplined execution. It shifts the advantage away from brands that depend on high-volume, shallow content and instead rewards organizations that deliver clear, verifiable, and authoritative information.",[14,4523,4524],{},"We design, build, and operate the modern data architectures and go-to-market systems that eliminate visibility debt. By replacing scattered, ad hoc marketing efforts with a unified, closed-loop growth engine, we ensure your organization’s real capabilities are visible across the full modern discovery landscape.",[14,4526,4527],{},"Don’t let your hard-won market authority stay buried inside an unstructured black box. Audit your brand-to-bot gap, optimize your semantic data infrastructure, and build an enterprise growth engine that wins every synthesis.",[24,4529,2914],{"id":2913},[14,4531,4532],{},"Many high-growth B2B companies that have hit a revenue plateau are actually dealing with an unresolved Visibility Debt driven by major changes in buyer behavior. Today, 51% of software buyers use conversational AI interfaces instead of traditional search engines to create their vendor shortlists. As a result, organizations that still depend on legacy marketing structures are at immediate risk of Competitive Displacement.",[14,4534,4535,4536,4539],{},"Breaking through this plateau means moving beyond superficial vanity traffic and implementing a holistic ",[206,4537,3353],{"href":3032,"rel":4538},[210]," strategy. By running a technical brand-to-bot diagnostic, removing gates around key institutional knowledge, and embedding structured product data into LLM Training Data, enterprise leaders can secure their place in the Zero-Click Reality and build a highly visible, automated growth engine.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":4541},[4542,4543,4544,4545,4546,4547],{"id":4386,"depth":291,"text":4387},{"id":4402,"depth":291,"text":4403},{"id":4440,"depth":291,"text":4441},{"id":4484,"depth":291,"text":4485},{"id":4517,"depth":291,"text":4518},{"id":2913,"depth":291,"text":2914},"2026-06-02T15:24:04.123Z","Explore why strong B2B content may still go unseen in AI search, and how to improve discoverability across answer engines and buyer journeys.","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fe9858bf4-e35a-4936-afec-f847048cb846-mkg-blog-invisible-by-default-hero-image.webp","Invisible by Default ",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Finvisible-by-default-why-your-growth-plateau-is-actually-an-ai-visibility-debt",{"title":4353,"description":4549},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Finvisible-by-default-why-your-growth-plateau-is-actually-an-ai-visibility-debt","OQKExTHVXh1GI0dBjmdnEzGkj2gqNuJxhFDoQdFqKOA",{"id":4558,"title":4559,"author":7,"authors":7,"body":4560,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":4913,"description":4914,"extension":318,"img":4915,"imgAlt":4916,"meta":4917,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":4918,"seo":4919,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":4920,"updated":7,"__hash__":4921},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fmonthly-search-industry-report-may-2026.md","Monthly Search Industry Report - May 2026",{"type":11,"value":4561,"toc":4894},[4562,4566,4611,4615,4621,4633,4646,4651,4681,4685,4691,4704,4715,4721,4724,4755,4761,4773,4777,4781,4795,4799,4828,4834,4845,4851,4854,4857,4863,4883],[24,4563,4564],{"id":913},[52,4565,916],{},[46,4567,4568,4580,4593,4605],{},[49,4569,4570,4573,4574,4579],{},[52,4571,4572],{},"Search Becomes an AI Assistant:"," At Google I\u002FO 2026, ",[206,4575,4578],{"href":4576,"rel":4577},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.searchenginejournal.com\u002Fseo-pulse-google-launches-core-update-amid-i-o-ai-search-overhaul\u002F575676\u002F",[210],"Google officially shifted"," from a traditional link directory to an AI-driven assistant ecosystem. The classic search box is being replaced by a conversational screen that focuses on long, detailed prompts and uploaded files rather than simple keywords.",[49,4581,4582,4585,4586,4592],{},[52,4583,4584],{},"Core Update Waves Shake Up Rankings:"," Google launched its ",[206,4587,4589],{"href":4576,"rel":4588},[210],[52,4590,4591],{},"May 2026 Core Update"," on May 21, right alongside major design changes to its AI Search. This update is hitting sites hard if they rely on quick, superficial tricks to land AI citations.",[49,4594,4595,4598,4599,4604],{},[52,4596,4597],{},"Smarter, More Specific AI Citing:"," A mid-May update changed ",[206,4600,4603],{"href":4601,"rel":4602},"https:\u002F\u002Fnetconnectdigital.com\u002Fblog-google-ai-overviews-update-may-2026\u002F",[210],"how Google links out to sources in AI Overviews",". Links have moved from a generic stack of buttons at the bottom right into the text itself, meaning success now depends on how well the AI can pull out individual, specific sentences from your pages.",[49,4606,4607,4610],{},[52,4608,4609],{},"Brand Authority and Real Authors Matter:"," With new hover previews on desktop and Google's AI Mode hitting 1 billion monthly users, having a recognizable brand and verified expert authors is now a requirement to protect your click-through rates.",[24,4612,4613],{"id":968},[52,4614,971],{},[81,4616,4618],{"id":4617},"the-may-2026-core-update",[52,4619,4620],{},"The May 2026 Core Update",[14,4622,4623,4624,4627,4628,4632],{},"On May 21, 2026, Google rolled out its",[206,4625,1042],{"href":4576,"rel":4626},[210],"May 2026 Core Update, as confirmed on the ",[206,4629,4631],{"href":4576,"rel":4630},[210],"Google Search Status Dashboard",". Coming just six weeks after the March update wrapped up, this fast pace shows Google is aggressively speeding up how it grades content quality.",[14,4634,4635,4636,4640,4641,4645],{},"Data tracked by",[206,4637,1042],{"href":4638,"rel":4639},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.seroundtable.com\u002F",[210],"Search Engine Roundtable points to ",[206,4642,4644],{"href":4638,"rel":4643},[210],"major ranking swings"," during the weekends of May 23 and May 30, with the rollout expected to wrap up in early June.",[14,4647,4648],{},[52,4649,4650],{},"What is changing under the hood:",[46,4652,4653,4665],{},[49,4654,4655,4658,4659,4664],{},[52,4656,4657],{},"Clamping Down on AI Citation Gaming:"," Early data shows this update is ",[206,4660,4663],{"href":4661,"rel":4662},"https:\u002F\u002Fcliquestudios.com\u002Fclique-university\u002Fgoogle-may-2026-core-update-ai-search",[210],"penalizing sites"," trying to force their way into AI Overviews using heavy keyword stuffing in subheadings, thin FAQ schemas, or massive programmatic rewrites.",[49,4666,4667,4670,4671,4675,4676,4680],{},[52,4668,4669],{},"Technical Performance is Non-Negotiable:"," The 2026 search setup places a",[206,4672,1042],{"href":4673,"rel":4674},"https:\u002F\u002Fheydaymarketing.com\u002Fblog\u002Fgoogle-algorithm-updates-2026-key-changes-explained",[210],"much higher premium on ",[206,4677,4679],{"href":4673,"rel":4678},[210],"fast mobile speeds and clean code",". Growth-stage tech companies with heavy JavaScript or clunky mobile rendering are seeing their visibility drop.",[24,4682,4683],{"id":3026},[52,4684,3027],{},[81,4686,4688],{"id":4687},"google-io-2026-the-conversational-search-box",[52,4689,4690],{},"Google I\u002FO 2026: The Conversational Search Box",[14,4692,4693,4694,4699,4700,4703],{},"At Google I\u002FO in mid-May, Google introduced what it calls the ",[206,4695,4698],{"href":4696,"rel":4697},"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.google\u002Fproducts-and-platforms\u002Fproducts\u002Fsearch\u002Fsearch-io-2026\u002F",[210],"biggest change to the search box in 25 years",". The standard box is turning into a dynamic terminal powered by ",[52,4701,4702],{},"Gemini 3.5 Flash",". Users can now type in full business briefs, upload files, and hold back-and-forth conversations that remember past questions.",[14,4705,4706,4707,4710,4711,4714],{},"Google's internal data shows ",[52,4708,4709],{},"AI Mode has passed 1 billion monthly users",". Conversational queries are averaging ",[38,4712,4713],{},"three times longer"," than old-school search terms, and planning-related searches are up 80% quarter-over-quarter.",[81,4716,4718],{"id":4717},"how-ai-overviews-and-links-changed",[52,4719,4720],{},"How AI Overviews and Links Changed",[14,4722,4723],{},"A major mid-month update completely changed how Google gives credit to websites in AI answers, shifting how users click:",[132,4725,4726,4737,4743],{},[49,4727,4728,4731,4732,4736],{},[52,4729,4730],{},"Inline Source Links:"," Links have moved from the bottom of the answer and are now ",[206,4733,4735],{"href":4601,"rel":4734},[210],"placed directly next to the exact sentence or data point"," the AI pulled from your site.",[49,4738,4739,4742],{},[52,4740,4741],{},"Desktop Hover Previews:"," Hovering over an inline link now opens a preview card showing the site name, logo, and page title. Google added this to make users feel more secure about clicking; as a result, strong brand recognition instantly boosts click rates inside AI answers.",[49,4744,4745,4748,4749,4754],{},[52,4746,4747],{},"The \"Expert Advice\" Carousel:"," AI Overviews now feature dedicated rows to highlight ",[206,4750,4753],{"href":4751,"rel":4752},"https:\u002F\u002Fsearchengineland.com\u002F",[210],"first-hand experiences, named experts, and community insights"," (from places like LinkedIn, Reddit, or forums), explicitly skipping standard corporate marketing copy.",[81,4756,4758],{"id":4757},"the-paid-ai-landscape-chatgpt-search-ads",[52,4759,4760],{},"The Paid AI Landscape: ChatGPT Search Ads",[14,4762,4763,4764,4767,4768,4772],{},"At the same time, the broader AI search landscape is expanding.",[206,4765,1042],{"href":4751,"rel":4766},[210],"OpenAI confirmed it will ",[206,4769,4771],{"href":4751,"rel":4770},[210],"launch ad campaigns inside ChatGPT"," on June 5, 2026. For tech brands, this means you need a two-part plan: optimize organically for AI answers while getting ready for paid AI ad spaces.",[24,4774,4775],{"id":1051},[52,4776,1054],{},[81,4778,4779],{"id":3089},[52,4780,3090],{},[46,4782,4783,4789],{},[49,4784,4785,4788],{},[52,4786,4787],{},"Daily Ranking Jumps:"," Don't let your marketing team panic or rewrite content while the May Core Update is still rolling out. Early ranking shifts change quickly and don't reflect where your site will actually land.",[49,4790,4791,4794],{},[52,4792,4793],{},"The \"Block All AI Crawlers\" Trend:"," The debate over using llms.txt to block AI bots isn't practical for B2B or B2C SaaS companies looking to grow. Blocking these bots doesn't protect your brand; it just ensures your product is completely invisible to 1 billion AI Mode users.",[81,4796,4797],{"id":3101},[52,4798,3102],{},[46,4800,4801,4807,4822],{},[49,4802,4803,4806],{},[52,4804,4805],{},"Write Content for Easy AI Extraction:"," Audit your high-intent product and features pages. Make sure your content uses clear, direct definitions, step-by-step guides, and clean data tables. This makes it easy for Gemini and Perplexity to read, digest, and cite your site.",[49,4808,4809,4812,4813,4816,4817,4821],{},[52,4810,4811],{},"Use Real, Verifiable Authors:"," Get rid of generic \"Marketing Team\" bylines. Google's AI search prefers to pull from",[206,4814,1042],{"href":4661,"rel":4815},[210],"content tied to ",[206,4818,4820],{"href":4661,"rel":4819},[210],"real, verifiable people with clear author schema",". Every key piece of content should feature an author bio backed by proper Schema.org code.",[49,4823,4824,4827],{},[52,4825,4826],{},"Turn Content into Visual and File Formats:"," Because the new search box lets users upload files and images, back up your technical text with clear, branded diagrams, charts, and video clips to capture visual spots in AI results.",[81,4829,4831],{"id":4830},"looking-ahead-the-june-watch-item",[52,4832,4833],{},"Looking Ahead: The June Watch Item",[14,4835,4836,4837,4840,4841,4844],{},"Keep an eye on how your traffic settles after the May Core Update, and track the launch of ChatGPT Ads on June 5. Look at your analytics to separate ",[52,4838,4839],{},"traditional search clicks"," from ",[52,4842,4843],{},"AI referral traffic",". Understanding the gap between these two will help you decide how to split your budget between traditional SEO and AI-focused content in the second half of the year.",[24,4846,4848],{"id":4847},"call-to-action-optimize-for-the-future",[52,4849,4850],{},"Call to Action: Optimize for the Future",[14,4852,4853],{},"The updates from May 2026 make one thing clear: scaling a tech company through search isn't about ranking in a list of ten blue links anymore. It means making sure your brand shows up across traditional search, AI answers, and automated assistants.",[14,4855,4856],{},"Old SEO playbooks are losing traffic because they don't account for how AI pulls out sentences, verifies authors, or reads complex prompts. To keep your customer acquisition costs (CAC) low and your pipeline predictable, your team needs a modern Search Visibility Optimization (SVO) strategy.",[81,4858,4860],{"id":4859},"how-mkg-helps-you-win-in-ai-search",[52,4861,4862],{},"How MKG Helps You Win in AI Search:",[46,4864,4865,4871,4877],{},[49,4866,4867,4870],{},[52,4868,4869],{},"GEO\u002FAEO Gap Analysis:"," We analyze how your brand stands up in Gemini, Perplexity, and ChatGPT Search to find where competitors are taking your citations—and we fix your content to win them back.",[49,4872,4873,4876],{},[52,4874,4875],{},"Technical Entity Setup:"," We update your site's backend code with precise Schema.org integrations (for your People, Products, and Organization) so AI assistants can read and trust your data.",[49,4878,4879,4882],{},[52,4880,4881],{},"Full-Funnel Attribution:"," We separate your classic search clicks from new AI referral traffic, giving your executive team clear, fluff-free ROI numbers.",[14,4884,4885,1042,4888,4893],{},[52,4886,4887],{},"Stop guessing how AI is affecting your pipeline.",[206,4889,4892],{"href":4890,"rel":4891},"https:\u002F\u002Fmkgmarketinginc.com\u002F",[210],"Book a Discovery Call"," with the MKG SVO Team today to check your AI search footprint and protect your growth strategy.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":4895},[4896,4897,4900,4905,4910],{"id":913,"depth":291,"text":916},{"id":968,"depth":291,"text":971,"children":4898},[4899],{"id":4617,"depth":297,"text":4620},{"id":3026,"depth":291,"text":3027,"children":4901},[4902,4903,4904],{"id":4687,"depth":297,"text":4690},{"id":4717,"depth":297,"text":4720},{"id":4757,"depth":297,"text":4760},{"id":1051,"depth":291,"text":1054,"children":4906},[4907,4908,4909],{"id":3089,"depth":297,"text":3090},{"id":3101,"depth":297,"text":3102},{"id":4830,"depth":297,"text":4833},{"id":4847,"depth":291,"text":4850,"children":4911},[4912],{"id":4859,"depth":297,"text":4862},"2026-06-02T14:26:32.875Z","Stay updated on the May 2026 search landscape: May Core Update waves, Gemini’s new 1-billion-user conversational terminal, inline source citations, and prepping for ChatGPT Search Ads.","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F5da1685a-a7a2-4395-9652-0fff5237fa43-mkg-blog-seo-industry-overview-may-2026.webp","Search Visibility Optimization (SVO) Monthly Overview",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fmonthly-search-industry-report-may-2026",{"title":4559,"description":4914},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fmonthly-search-industry-report-may-2026","S68nRWXbNCm2mB77VczCF-godQQUTgqZLSAr7oV-qds",{"id":4923,"title":4924,"author":7,"authors":7,"body":4925,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":5102,"description":5103,"extension":318,"img":5104,"imgAlt":5105,"meta":5106,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":5107,"seo":5108,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":5109,"updated":7,"__hash__":5110},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-2026-brand-visibility-audit-is-your-icp-finding-your-competitors-in-the-llm.md","The 2026 Brand Visibility Audit: Is Your ICP Finding Your Competitors in the LLM?",{"type":11,"value":4926,"toc":5093},[4927,4930,4933,4942,4945,4950,4956,4959,4962,4965,4968,4974,4977,4980,4991,4994,4999,5005,5008,5011,5014,5017,5023,5026,5029,5037,5040,5045,5051,5054,5057,5068,5071,5077,5080,5083,5086,5090],[14,4928,4929],{},"For years, B2B marketing operated on a straightforward logic: win the search engine results page, win the pipeline. Teams engineered content to capture specific keywords, mapped backlinks to boost domain authority, and celebrated when landing pages claimed the top spots on Google. If a prospective customer in your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) looked for a solution, your site appeared.",[14,4931,4932],{},"That logic no longer holds. A complete decoupling has occurred between traditional website traffic and the actual vendor shortlisting process. B2B buyers are bypassing the endless lists of blue links entirely. Instead of clicking through five different websites to read corporate marketing copy, they are leveraging large language models (LLMs) to perform the heavy lifting of vendor evaluation.",[14,4934,4935,4936,4941],{},"This behavior is a structural reality. Data from",[206,4937,1042,4939],{"href":3743,"rel":4938},[210],[4019,4940,3745],{}," reveals that 51% of B2B software buyers now begin their vendor research inside an AI chatbot rather than a traditional search engine. Buyers are leaning into a centralized discovery model in which they issue a single, structured prompt to an LLM to compare market options. The model synthesizes data from across the web, evaluates capabilities, and surfaces a definitive recommendation.",[14,4943,4944],{},"The challenge arises when your target accounts run these prompts, and your competitors are consistently cited as the preferred solution while your brand is completely left out of the answer. It is a highly efficient form of Competitive Displacement. If your organization does not appear in the model's synthesized output, you are filtered out before a sales representative is even considered. Reclaiming your place in the funnel requires moving past traditional SEO and mastering Brand Visibility Optimization (BVO).",[14,4946,4947],{},[75,4948],{"alt":77,"src":4949},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F15431b64-54bd-447a-b57e-c64f2f7b9398-mkg-blog-the-2026-brand-visibility-audit-image-1.png",[24,4951,4953],{"id":4952},"the-reality-of-llm-synthetic-vetting",[52,4954,4955],{},"The Reality of LLM Synthetic Vetting",[14,4957,4958],{},"When an LLM builds a B2B vendor shortlist, it doesn’t scan the web like a human. It isn’t impressed by a sleek homepage or polished brand copy. Instead, it treats the digital landscape as a single, connected dataset and assesses vendors based on entity clarity, semantic relevance, and pattern recognition.",[14,4960,4961],{},"If an enterprise software buyer asks an LLM for platforms that meet specific compliance standards, deployment models, and pricing structures, the model goes back to its processed data layers for hard evidence. It searches for alignment across technical documentation, community conversations, and independent sources before producing an answer.",[14,4963,4964],{},"That creates a serious blind spot for teams still operating on legacy marketing assumptions. You might own the top spot on a traditional search engine for a high-intent keyword, but if the model can’t confidently interpret your product architecture or validate your customer satisfaction, you’ll be excluded from its comparison set. Instead, it will surface competitors whose data is clean, structured, and consistently verified across the web.",[14,4966,4967],{},"In this new reality, visibility is less about acquisition and more about indexation and structure. To influence how models evaluate your company, you must deliberately manage the information they ingest. Treat the public web as your LLM training data layer—and consider audited, third-party environments as your core competitive arena.",[24,4969,4971],{"id":4970},"executing-a-diagnostic-brand-visibility-audit",[52,4972,4973],{},"Executing a Diagnostic Brand Visibility Audit",[14,4975,4976],{},"To correct a deficit in AI search visibility, an enterprise cannot rely on guesswork. You need a systematic, repeatable diagnostic protocol to discover exactly where the models are pulling their information, why they favor alternative solutions, and how they perceive your overall Search Sentiment.",[14,4978,4979],{},"This diagnostic process requires three foundational execution phases:",[46,4981,4982,4985,4988],{},[49,4983,4984],{},"Intent-Based Prompt Baselining: Test a standardized matrix of procurement prompts across major models like Gemini, Claude, and ChatGPT. Document the exact terminology used to describe your category, track which competitors populate the shortlists, and analyze the specific source citations generated by the engines to back up their recommendations.",[49,4986,4987],{},"Review Ecosystem Quantification: Assess the volume, recency, and detailed text sentiment of your third-party evaluation profiles. Models rely heavily on independent customer validation to verify brand claims; a stagnation in your review pipeline signals a high risk of model omission.",[49,4989,4990],{},"Entity Verification and Mapping: Inspect how consistently your core capabilities, naming structures, and integrations are stated across public channels. Inconsistent nomenclature across your website, product registries, and press releases dilutes the LLM's pattern-matching capability, causing it to bypass your brand due to data uncertainty.",[14,4992,4993],{},"By treating this audit as a precise engineering diagnostic rather than a creative exercise, you reveal the specific technical gaps that are causing your competitive omission. You shift the conversation from a vague discussion about brand awareness to a concrete roadmap for structural data optimization.",[14,4995,4996],{},[75,4997],{"alt":77,"src":4998},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F7ff92deb-11ff-4c70-acaa-433b513eeac0-mkg-blog-the-2026-brand-visibility-audit-image-2.png",[24,5000,5002],{"id":5001},"establishing-narrative-control-via-consistency",[52,5003,5004],{},"Establishing Narrative Control via Consistency",[14,5006,5007],{},"The definitive solution to an AI visibility deficit is a relentless dedication to operational Consistency. In a marketing landscape that changes every quarter, consistency is the operational framework that turns sporadic actions into a predictable, compounding authority engine. For a language model to confidently output your brand name as a trusted option, it must recognize a steady, unfragmented pattern of authoritative data over time.",[14,5009,5010],{},"This operational rhythm applies directly to how you structure and distribute your subject matter expertise. Language models prioritize information that is backed by verified experts, deep industry use cases, and recurring, high-value concepts. When your technical leaders contribute regular, deep-dive insights to reputable public engineering repositories, trusted community hubs, and authoritative industry spaces, you continuously feed the exact data pools that models crawl.",[14,5012,5013],{},"A short-term, campaign-driven approach fails completely under this model. You cannot run a one-time push to force your way into an LLM's next update cycle. The models are designed to identify long-term consensus and verified domain expertise.",[14,5015,5016],{},"Maintaining a disciplined, predictable cadence of technical data output ensures your company is recognized as an immutable category leader. This approach hardcodes your product capabilities into the data layers that models rely on to construct competitive matrix responses, thereby protecting your pipeline from displacement.",[24,5018,5020],{"id":5019},"why-structured-data-ingestion-wins-the-funnel",[52,5021,5022],{},"Why Structured Data Ingestion Wins the Funnel",[14,5024,5025],{},"The primary advantage of a fully optimized brand footprint is the velocity at which you can capture modern buyer intent. When an AI search engine is tasked with compiling an urgent vendor shortlist, it favors the path of least risk and highest data integrity.",[14,5027,5028],{},"Consider the contrasting outcomes between two distinct structural approaches:",[46,5030,5031,5034],{},[49,5032,5033],{},"The Unstructured Site: A company relies on creative, stylized copywriting buried inside static image layouts or gated PDF forms. The LLM cannot confidently extract technical metrics, security protocols, or API pricing structures. Fearing a hallucination, the model excludes the company from the generated answer.",[49,5035,5036],{},"The Structured Knowledge Base: A company deploys an advanced technical semantic layer that utilizes clean schemas, verified review pipelines, and consistent cross-platform definitions. The model instantly extracts, categorizes, and validates the company's compliance credentials, placing them at the top of the recommended shortlist with explicit trust citations.",[14,5038,5039],{},"This dynamic demonstrates why modern technical documentation is an essential component of a mid-funnel conversion strategy. API tables, security registries, and integration matrices are no longer just assets for post-sale implementation; they are high-value entry points for automated procurement discovery. By making this information perfectly machine-readable, you eliminate the friction that keeps your brand from being detected by automated evaluation systems.",[14,5041,5042],{},[75,5043],{"alt":77,"src":5044},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F80069c1b-7cc2-44cd-abe9-bc52ca56473f-mkg-blog-the-2026-brand-visibility-audit-image-3.png",[24,5046,5048],{"id":5047},"systematized-brand-visibility-optimization",[52,5049,5050],{},"Systematized Brand Visibility Optimization",[14,5052,5053],{},"Succeeding in this decentralized landscape requires moving past ad-hoc optimization tactics and installing a repeatable, unified operational system. Marketing programs must stop acting like creative experimental centers and begin running like structured technical operations.",[14,5055,5056],{},"This requires aligning your cross-functional execution around three operational areas:",[46,5058,5059,5062,5065],{},[49,5060,5061],{},"Citations and Authority Share: Track how frequently major models cite your domain or your trusted third-party profiles relative to your primary competitors during category-focused prompts.",[49,5063,5064],{},"Data Pattern Uniformity: Enforce a strict internal governance model to ensure that every public reference to your product capabilities, pricing architectures, and compliance standards matches perfectly across the web.",[49,5066,5067],{},"Review Ingestion Velocity: Build an automated customer feedback mechanism that continuously streams fresh, high-context review text into independent directories, keeping the models supplied with recent trust signals.",[14,5069,5070],{},"When these operations run on a fixed, uninterrupted schedule, your organization builds an enduring market advantage. You stop chasing shifting search engine algorithms and start managing the foundational data infrastructure that governs all automated business decisions.",[24,5072,5074],{"id":5073},"reclaiming-the-initiative-in-the-era-of-inference",[52,5075,5076],{},"Reclaiming the Initiative in the Era of Inference",[14,5078,5079],{},"The emergence of the AI-driven buyer is not an existential threat to organizations that lead with deep expertise, operational clarity, and strict engineering discipline. It is a threat to organizations that rely on high-volume, generic content inflation and unverified marketing claims. If your digital presence reads like an un-indexed corporate brochure, automated systems will drop you from consideration.",[14,5081,5082],{},"We specialize in designing and implementing the technical architectures and operating cadences that keep organizations highly visible across the entire modern discovery funnel. By combining technical semantic layer engineering with disciplined execution rhythms, we ensure your brand authority is clear, verifiable, and undeniable to both human buyers and machine-learning algorithms.",[14,5084,5085],{},"Do not allow your company to be quietly displaced from your ideal market segments by an information structure failure. Audit your digital footprint, structure your institutional knowledge, and implement a brand-visibility operating model built to dominate the modern synthesis.",[24,5087,5088],{"id":2913},[52,5089,2914],{},[14,5091,5092],{},"The B2B purchasing journey has undergone a dramatic structural shift, with 51% of software buyers now launching vendor research inside AI chatbots rather than traditional search engines. This behavioral change introduces a major risk of Competitive Displacement for brands that are missing from model outputs or excluded from automatic shortlist synthesis. To protect your pipeline, enterprises must deploy a rigorous Brand Visibility Optimization (BVO) strategy. By running systematic prompt diagnostics to audit Search Sentiment, maintaining a regular schedule for publishing expert content, and ensuring that all product capabilities are cleanly embedded in LLM Training Data, organizations can secure automated market discovery and reclaim narrative control across every AI search interface.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":5094},[5095,5096,5097,5098,5099,5100,5101],{"id":4952,"depth":291,"text":4955},{"id":4970,"depth":291,"text":4973},{"id":5001,"depth":291,"text":5004},{"id":5019,"depth":291,"text":5022},{"id":5047,"depth":291,"text":5050},{"id":5073,"depth":291,"text":5076},{"id":2913,"depth":291,"text":2914},"2026-05-27T14:44:51.901Z","When your target accounts use AI search to shortlist vendors, do you exist? Here is how to audit your brand presence and reverse competitive displacement.","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F1ebdbd36-b81a-40c3-b8d6-528986294139-mkg-blog-the-2026-brand-visibility-audit-hero-image.webp","Brand Visibility Audit",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-2026-brand-visibility-audit-is-your-icp-finding-your-competitors-in-the-llm",{"title":4924,"description":5103},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-2026-brand-visibility-audit-is-your-icp-finding-your-competitors-in-the-llm","O9s9ccXrs7xJGaOe3e9haMzjlOlTuQ1hwQ9_0dtBwmw",{"id":5112,"title":5113,"author":7,"authors":7,"body":5114,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":5302,"description":5303,"extension":318,"img":5304,"imgAlt":5305,"meta":5306,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":5307,"seo":5308,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":5309,"updated":7,"__hash__":5310},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fescaping-the-black-box-installing-an-svo-operating-system-that-runs-without-you.md","Escaping the Black Box - Installing an SVO Operating System That Runs Without You",{"type":11,"value":5115,"toc":5294},[5116,5119,5122,5125,5134,5137,5140,5145,5149,5152,5155,5175,5178,5181,5185,5188,5191,5211,5214,5219,5223,5226,5229,5249,5252,5256,5259,5262,5265,5270,5274,5277,5280,5283,5286,5288,5291],[14,5117,5118],{},"Many founders eventually hit a point where marketing feels less like a predictable growth engine and more like an expensive experiment. Budgets get spent, campaigns go live, and specialized agencies share intricate dashboards full of surface-level metrics. But despite all that activity, what's actually happening inside the operation remains unclear. Pipeline swings up and down, and the real drivers stay hidden in a \"black box\" of technical jargon, fragmented reports, and assumptions no one can confidently prove.",[14,5120,5121],{},"When marketing runs this way, the burden shifts back onto leadership. You're pulled into weekly status calls to fix strategy on the fly, interpret conflicting channel data, and manually translate between siloed teams. Instead of guiding the company's growth, you're stuck overseeing execution. You effectively become the project manager of your own growth engine—a role that drains your attention and pulls you away from running the business.",[14,5123,5124],{},"As the digital landscape continues to evolve, this model simply doesn't hold. The old approach, buying traffic and sending it to a static landing page to collect a form fill, is breaking down under new buyer behavior. The customer journey has split into multiple paths, and traditional search alone can no longer capture every qualified prospect who raises their hand.",[14,5126,5127,5128,5133],{},"According to",[206,5129,5132],{"href":5130,"rel":5131},"https:\u002F\u002Flearn.g2.com\u002Fg2-2026-ai-search-insight-report",[210]," G2's 2026 Answer Economy Insight Report",", 51% of B2B software buyers now begin their purchasing research inside an AI chatbot rather than a traditional search engine. These buyers are bypassing search results entirely, using structured prompts to command large language models (LLMs) to synthesize vendor shortlists on their behalf. They are looking for direct, synthesized comparisons rather than an endless list of blue links to open individually.",[14,5135,5136],{},"If your marketing program only works when you're personally involved, it isn't built for a world where machines are increasingly evaluating other machines. When a large language model scans the web to build a vendor shortlist for an enterprise buyer, it's not admiring your branding or clicking on your clever CTAs; it's processing data.",[14,5138,5139],{},"Breaking out of this pattern requires moving away from one-off tactics and toward Systematized Growth. That means putting a true operational structure in place, a Search Visibility Optimization (SVO) framework, designed to automatically capture demand from generative search, so your company can scale without constant founder oversight.",[14,5141,5142],{},[75,5143],{"alt":77,"src":5144},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F01d3c7af-7410-4a50-8d1c-d1ed6728438d-mkg-blog-escaping-the-black-box-image-1.png",[24,5146,5148],{"id":5147},"the-operational-breakdown-of-gated-marketing","The Operational Breakdown of Gated Marketing",[14,5150,5151],{},"When marketing turns into an unmanaged black box, it's often because the company has grown on random acts of marketing. One contractor runs ads, an agency owns organic search, and someone in-house is responsible for content. Each group uses its own tools, cadence, and success metrics—leaving the founder to play interpreter and enforcer, tying everything together by hand.",[14,5153,5154],{},"This manual oversight introduces severe structural vulnerabilities across the organization:",[46,5156,5157,5163,5169],{},[49,5158,5159,5162],{},[52,5160,5161],{},"Fragmented Data Layers:"," The advertising team measures cost per click, while the content team tracks page views. Neither team can tell you how their efforts affect the AI models actively shaping your industry's vendor shortlists, leaving a massive gap in your overall pipeline attribution.",[49,5164,5165,5168],{},[52,5166,5167],{},"Wasted Executive Energy:"," You spend critical leadership hours in meetings that read updates out loud, rather than making strategic adjustments based on data trends. Instead of reviewing outcomes, you are tracking tasks.",[49,5170,5171,5174],{},[52,5172,5173],{},"Invisible Funnel Leaks:"," When a buyer asks an LLM to compare your product to a competitor, and the model misrepresents your pricing or ignores your core security features, your team doesn't catch it. The loss happens in private, untrackable environments before a lead is ever generated.",[14,5176,5177],{},"To remove this friction, marketing needs to run on a repeatable, transparent operating system. Work can't live in someone's inbox or on a personal drive—it has to move through a shared workspace where priorities, blockers, and owners are immediately clear.",[14,5179,5180],{},"With this kind of systemic visibility in place, you can achieve true off-my-plate execution. The founder can quickly check progress at any time, without chasing down updates or pulling the team into extra status meetings.",[24,5182,5184],{"id":5183},"structuring-the-svo-operating-system","Structuring the SVO Operating System",[14,5186,5187],{},"A scalable marketing engine cannot rely on human vigilance; it must rely on a closed-loop infrastructure. We apply a standardized architecture that aligns strategy, processes, and people into a singular operating rhythm. This framework ensures that your technical authority is structured correctly for both the human prospect and the LLM crawler, operating entirely without founder hand-holding.",[14,5189,5190],{},"This structural shift requires executing three distinct operational deployment steps:",[46,5192,5193,5199,5205],{},[49,5194,5195,5198],{},[52,5196,5197],{},"Funnel Bottleneck Diagnosis:"," Strip away channel-specific commentary to analyze exactly where pipeline value is stalling—whether it is an attribution deficit in your digital advertising or a visibility failure inside AI search databases. We locate the single point of failure rather than spreading focus across twenty different minor metrics.",[49,5200,5201,5204],{},[52,5202,5203],{},"Weekly Sprint Cadence:"," Shift execution from monolithic quarterly goals to predictable weekly sprint cycles. Each sprint must assign clear deliverables, explicit ownership, and measurable output criteria to eliminate execution drift and keep the team focused on high-priority tasks.",[49,5206,5207,5210],{},[52,5208,5209],{},"Semantic Layer Integration:"," Map your product specifications, technical case studies, and compliance data into clean, structured schemas that LLMs use to validate brand capabilities, turning your website into an authoritative knowledge base that can be indexed programmatically.",[14,5212,5213],{},"When these components run in harmony, marketing ceases to feel like a series of disconnected bets. It becomes a predictable workflow that converts institutional knowledge into structured data, ensuring your business is automatically indexed wherever buyers are conducting research. The machine does the heavy lifting of discovery, freeing up your team to focus on conversion and retention.",[14,5215,5216],{},[75,5217],{"alt":77,"src":5218},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F0d285696-fa87-49eb-8fb7-497be4070be7-mkg-blog-escaping-the-black-box-image-2.png",[24,5220,5222],{"id":5221},"why-a-systematized-infrastructure-always-wins","Why a Systematized Infrastructure Always Wins",[14,5224,5225],{},"The primary benefit of removing the founder from the daily execution loop is speed and consistency. When your marketing is run through a rigorous operating system, it builds a compounding data advantage that ad-hoc campaigns cannot match. It shifts the organization from a reactive posture to a proactive, predictable model of demand generation.",[14,5227,5228],{},"Consider the operational differences between an ad-hoc marketing structure and a systematized environment:",[46,5230,5231,5237,5243],{},[49,5232,5233,5236],{},[52,5234,5235],{},"Continuous Market Alignment:"," While an unmanaged team waits for a monthly review to pivot strategy, a sprint-based system adjusts execution every seven days based on real-world data signals and performance trends.",[49,5238,5239,5242],{},[52,5240,5241],{},"Automated Authority Building:"," Instead of treating executive thought leadership as a sporadic task dependent on free time, a systematized cadence turns your team's subject-matter expertise into machine-readable assets on a fixed schedule.",[49,5244,5245,5248],{},[52,5246,5247],{},"Predictable Scaling:"," By isolating the exact variables that drive discovery—such as peer review frequency, schema deployment, or technical documentation clarity—you can scale your program based on operational data rather than guesswork or creative intuition.",[14,5250,5251],{},"This infrastructure turns your digital footprint into an automated sales engine. When an AI search engine crawls the web to construct a head-to-head comparison table for a prospective buyer, a systematized site provides unambiguous, verified criteria that force the model to rank your brand as a low-risk option. The competitor relying on creative, un-indexed copywriting is filtered out before a sales call is ever booked, giving your sales pipeline an unfair advantage.",[24,5253,5255],{"id":5254},"shifting-from-babysitting-to-strategic-calibration","Shifting from Babysitting to Strategic Calibration",[14,5257,5258],{},"Stepping out of the marketing black box doesn't mean giving up visibility into your growth metrics. Real operational control doesn't come from micromanaging tasks or personally reviewing every headline; it comes from having a single, reliable source of truth where progress is obvious, data is unfiltered, and accountability is built in.",[14,5260,5261],{},"Your job as an executive is to tune the engine, not to crank the gears yourself. Once you have an operating system that runs on its own, your relationship with marketing changes. Weekly status calls full of personal updates give way to focused working sessions aimed at clearing technical roadblocks, improving conversion performance, and removing friction for your execution team.",[14,5263,5264],{},"That level of clarity also reshapes how you invest in growth. You stop betting on scattered channel experiments and start funding specific data advantages. If your analytics show that buyers are discovering you through technical reviews cited in AI tools, you can allocate budget precisely to strengthening that part of your digital footprint. The guesswork disappears from your spending, and every dollar is tied to a clear, system-driven objective.",[14,5266,5267],{},[75,5268],{"alt":77,"src":5269},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F88f64901-fbdc-41f1-ae77-6a2cee60417f-mkg-blog-escaping-the-black-box-image-3.png",[24,5271,5273],{"id":5272},"building-the-off-my-plate-reality","Building the Off-My-Plate Reality",[14,5275,5276],{},"For a growing company, marketing maturity means moving past a reliance on individual heroics or founder oversight. A business that depends on the founder's daily cognitive energy to execute its visibility strategy cannot scale its pipeline, build predictable equity, or achieve true operational freedom.",[14,5278,5279],{},"Establishing this maturity requires an intentional investment in your company's operational skeleton. It means rejecting vague performance summaries, dismantling uncoordinated team structures, and installing a unified system that operates systematically across every channel, platform, and automated interface.",[14,5281,5282],{},"We design and implement the technical architecture and operating rhythms that allow business leaders to confidently step away from daily campaign execution. By replacing the black box with radical visibility and a closed-loop sprint cycle, we ensure your growth engine compounds value every single week, building one that automatically captures modern demand.",[14,5284,5285],{},"Do not let your company's market visibility remain tethered to your personal schedule or individual oversight. Systematize your expertise, build a structured digital footprint, and install an operating system designed for the future of automated discovery.",[24,5287,2914],{"id":2913},[14,5289,5290],{},"Many B2B founders find themselves stuck babysitting their marketing because teams are fragmented and reporting is hard to trust. That level of dependency poses a serious risk as the market shifts into the Answer Economy, where more than half of software buyers now rely on AI chat tools rather than traditional search engines to build their vendor shortlists.",[14,5292,5293],{},"To get out of this bottleneck, you have to move beyond disconnected tactics and adopt a Systematized Growth model built on a disciplined Search Visibility Optimization (SVO) framework. By putting an operating system in place, one that runs on weekly sprints, full task transparency, and machine-readable technical architecture, lean teams can achieve true \"off-my-plate\" execution, capturing AI-driven demand without constant founder involvement.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":5295},[5296,5297,5298,5299,5300,5301],{"id":5147,"depth":291,"text":5148},{"id":5183,"depth":291,"text":5184},{"id":5221,"depth":291,"text":5222},{"id":5254,"depth":291,"text":5255},{"id":5272,"depth":291,"text":5273},{"id":2913,"depth":291,"text":2914},"2026-05-20T16:17:50.900Z","When marketing feels like a high-priced experiment you have to babysit, it's time to build a system that captures AI demand autonomously.","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F24970ef5-a49e-4a91-b5fd-c8c55d107084-mkg-blog-escaping-the-black-box-hero-image.webp","Thought leadership workspace with AI strategy planning.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fescaping-the-black-box-installing-an-svo-operating-system-that-runs-without-you",{"title":5113,"description":5303},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fescaping-the-black-box-installing-an-svo-operating-system-that-runs-without-you","ez20bIoJPtsZ9CdMHQcPBU5_CqfX7hK_z8Yo-3XrKFo",{"id":5312,"title":5313,"author":7,"authors":7,"body":5314,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":5528,"description":5529,"extension":318,"img":5530,"imgAlt":7,"meta":5531,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":5532,"seo":5533,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":5534,"updated":7,"__hash__":5535},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-synthesized-buyer-mastering-the-2026-brand-visibility-audit-for-llms.md","The Synthesized Buyer - Mastering the 2026 Brand Visibility Audit for LLMs",{"type":11,"value":5315,"toc":5518},[5316,5319,5333,5336,5339,5346,5349,5352,5355,5358,5361,5365,5372,5378,5381,5388,5391,5394,5414,5417,5421,5428,5431,5434,5441,5444,5447,5467,5470,5474,5477,5480,5483,5487,5490,5500,5503,5505],[14,5317,5318],{},"The B2B buying journey isn’t happening on search results pages anymore. For a long time, marketing success basically meant winning on Google: rank in the top organic spots, pick the right keywords, watch the clicks, and call more traffic “more authority.” But in 2026, something else is quietly running the show in procurement: large language models (LLMs).",[14,5320,5321,5322,5328,5329,5332],{},"This isn’t a distant trend; it is the current reality of B2B procurement. New research from",[206,5323,5325,5326],{"href":3743,"rel":5324},[210],"  ",[4019,5327,3745],{}," shows that ",[52,5330,5331],{},"51% of B2B software buyers"," now begin their research in an AI chatbot rather than a traditional search engine. These buyers aren’t paging through search results. They are using single prompts to ask AI tools to compare enterprise platforms based on specific needs. In that moment, the AI synthesizes an answer from the data it has already processed, effectively \"one-shotting\" the shortlist before a vendor is ever contacted. ",[14,5334,5335],{},"If your brand isn’t in that data, if you’re missing from high-authority industry conversations, technical communities, or archives of executive thought leadership, you’re effectively shut out of that synthesis. Buyers don’t see you, long before they even think about visiting your website. That means we need to rethink what brand authority actually looks like and how we measure it.",[14,5337,5338],{},"To stay in the game, traditional SEO alone isn’t enough. You need to focus on Brand Visibility Optimization (BVO). BVO isn’t about gaming an algorithm; it’s about becoming a stable, trustworthy source of information that automated systems consistently recognize and surface. In practice, that means ensuring your brand appears in the internet’s most trusted and widely referenced data sources.",[24,5340,5342,5345],{"id":5341},"the-transition-of-the-procurement-funnel",[75,5343],{"alt":77,"src":5344},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Faccd88f6-f3c6-4b91-bb0e-bb9642914996-mkg-blog-the-synthesized-buyer-image-1.png","The Transition of the Procurement Funnel",[14,5347,5348],{},"For years, traditional marketing treated visibility like a straight line: push out enough content and ads, and sooner or later, buyers would notice you. But that’s not how people actually buy today.",[14,5350,5351],{},"Modern buyers lean on what’s often called \"dark social\"—recommendations, peer reviews, and technical back-and-forth that live in private Slack channels, Discord servers, group DMs, and niche community forums. None of this shows up in your typical analytics, but it heavily shapes who makes the shortlist.",[14,5353,5354],{},"AI models are being trained on this messy, decentralized ecosystem. When they generate a recommendation, they’re effectively scanning for patterns: where is there consensus, and which brands keep getting mentioned in these communities?",[14,5356,5357],{},"That creates a real risk for lean B2B teams: cranking out large volumes of generic content that adds nothing new. If what you publish reads like a generic brochure, the model will treat it as background noise rather than a signal.",[14,5359,5360],{},"To be surfaced and cited by an AI, your brand needs to contribute something specific and useful—unique, field-tested insight that helps the model justify its answer. In other words, you have to publish the kind of information the model relies on to feel confident that it’s right.",[24,5362,5364],{"id":5363},"establishing-the-pattern-the-consistency-cadence","Establishing the Pattern: The Consistency Cadence",[14,5366,5367,5368,5371],{},"At the core of Brand Visibility Optimization is the concept of ",[52,5369,5370],{},"Consistency",". This is the factor that separates a single campaign from a reliable growth system. For a model to recognize your brand as an authority, it needs to see a persistent, high-quality pattern of information over time.",[14,5373,5374,5375,212],{},"Executive thought leadership is a critical technical asset in this process. Models prioritize data linked to verifiable experts and recurring themes. When your leadership team maintains a consistent cadence and regularly contributes technical insights to industry forums and reputable publications, you establish your brand as a primary source in the ",[52,5376,5377],{},"LLM Training Data for Brands",[14,5379,5380],{},"A short-term approach does not work here. You cannot establish authority in a training set with a single project. You must show up regularly and deliver a steady stream of professional insights. This approach ensures that when models are updated, your brand is a core component of the system's understanding of your category.",[24,5382,5384,5387],{"id":5383},"the-brand-visibility-audit-where-do-you-exist",[75,5385],{"alt":77,"src":5386},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F9639ded1-86f0-4500-bb1a-c2ad511e205b-mkg-blog-the-synthesized-buyer-image-2.png","The Brand Visibility Audit: Where Do You Exist?",[14,5389,5390],{},"Mastering BVO begins with a technical audit of your brand's digital footprint. You must ask: if an automated agent were vetting this company, what evidence would it find?",[14,5392,5393],{},"The audit should focus on three primary areas:",[132,5395,5396,5402,5408],{},[49,5397,5398,5401],{},[52,5399,5400],{},"Community Mentions:"," AI models place a heavy weight on community-driven platforms like Reddit and technical forums. Are practitioners discussing your product or solving problems using your documentation? Without community discussion, the model is unlikely to recommend you.",[49,5403,5404,5407],{},[52,5405,5406],{},"Expert Proximity:"," Is your brand associated with recognized experts in your field? When your team is cited in third-party research or technical interviews, it creates a link that models use to determine authority.",[49,5409,5410,5413],{},[52,5411,5412],{},"Technical Transparency:"," Models require structured, accurate data. If your technical specifications, API documentation, and pricing structures are inconsistent or difficult to access, the system cannot build an accurate profile of your business.",[14,5415,5416],{},"Many brands are currently failing this audit because they are invisible in the places where information is synthesized. To fix this, stop treating social media as just a distribution channel and start treating it as a space to establish your brand’s technical authority.",[24,5418,5420],{"id":5419},"navigating-dark-social-attribution","Navigating Dark Social Attribution",[14,5422,5423,5424,5427],{},"A significant challenge of the BVO era is that the most valuable interactions are difficult to track. ",[52,5425,5426],{},"Dark Social Attribution"," is often invisible to those who rely only on dashboards. A lead might appear as a direct search, but the reality is that the buyer spent months seeing your name in private communities and reading summaries of your executive's insights.",[14,5429,5430],{},"Because you cannot track every touchpoint, you must optimize the environment where the buyer spends time. This means providing human, relatable, and technical content that people want to share in private channels.",[14,5432,5433],{},"When your content is shared in a private group, it eventually reaches the public web through summaries and community archives. This is the long-term goal of BVO. You are establishing authority in private spaces that eventually informs the data models used in public searches.",[24,5435,5437,5440],{"id":5436},"systematizing-authority-moving-from-reactive-to-rhythmic",[75,5438],{"alt":77,"src":5439},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Ffdbe942b-e9d7-4a74-8829-9e9587fdd7b6-mkg-blog-the-synthesized-buyer-image-3.png","Systematizing Authority: Moving from Reactive to Rhythmic",[14,5442,5443],{},"The transition to a BVO-focused strategy requires moving from reactive marketing to a systematic operation. A \"launch and leave\" mentality is no longer effective. You need a system that ensures your brand's data is constantly updated and reinforced.",[14,5445,5446],{},"This involves:",[46,5448,5449,5455,5461],{},[49,5450,5451,5454],{},[52,5452,5453],{},"Executive Cadence:"," A strict schedule for your leadership team to contribute to external platforms.",[49,5456,5457,5460],{},[52,5458,5459],{},"Structured Knowledge:"," A website that acts as a hub of structured data that is easy for agents to crawl and understand.",[49,5462,5463,5466],{},[52,5464,5465],{},"Community Engagement:"," Participating in the spaces where your buyers live and providing value without expecting an immediate click.",[14,5468,5469],{},"When these elements are connected, marketing moves from disconnected tactics to a reliable system. You stop spending budget on ads that are ignored and start building brand authority that models are required to cite.",[24,5471,5473],{"id":5472},"the-future-of-b2b-visibility","The Future of B2B Visibility",[14,5475,5476],{},"The rise of the modern buyer is not a threat to brands that prioritize accuracy and consistency. It is a threat to brands that rely on generic, high-volume content. If your content sounds like a brochure, the AI will summarize the basic points and move on. But if your content contains specific tactics and operational honesty, you add value that the system recognizes.",[14,5478,5479],{},"We show personality through accuracy and tone, not through forced branding. In the world of generative search, being clear and authoritative is what gets your brand cited. It is about being professional and direct.",[14,5481,5482],{},"Recalibrating for 2026 is about returning to the fundamentals of building a brand that matters to both people and the systems they use. It is about moving away from short-term shortcuts and focusing on lasting authority.",[24,5484,5486],{"id":5485},"final-thoughts-the-path-to-synthesis","Final Thoughts: The Path to Synthesis",[14,5488,5489],{},"The B2B measurement gap is widening, and the ways we prove marketing value are changing. However, the goal remains the same: to be the most trusted and visible option for the buyer.",[14,5491,5492,5493,5496,5497,5499],{},"In 2026, that buyer is assisted by an LLM. By mastering ",[52,5494,5495],{},"Brand Visibility Optimization",", addressing the ",[52,5498,5426],{}," gap, and maintaining a consistent output of expertise, you ensure that your brand is recognized.",[14,5501,5502],{},"Do not be the brand that is missing from the synthesis. Build the authority that makes your presence clear. The success of your growth depends on this systematic approach.",[24,5504,2914],{"id":2913},[14,5506,5507,5508,5511,5512,5514,5515,5517],{},"The 2026 B2B buyer journey has changed: 35% use AI tools for vendor selection. To remain visible, brands must adopt ",[52,5509,5510],{},"Brand Visibility Optimization (BVO)"," to ensure they are present in ",[52,5513,5377],{},". Success requires navigating ",[52,5516,5426],{},", the private channels where peer consensus is formed. By implementing a consistent cadence for executive thought leadership and treating the digital footprint as a data pattern for AI recognition, B2B teams can overcome inefficiencies and build authority in an AI-driven marketplace.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":5519},[5520,5521,5522,5523,5524,5525,5526,5527],{"id":5341,"depth":291,"text":5345},{"id":5363,"depth":291,"text":5364},{"id":5383,"depth":291,"text":5387},{"id":5419,"depth":291,"text":5420},{"id":5436,"depth":291,"text":5440},{"id":5472,"depth":291,"text":5473},{"id":5485,"depth":291,"text":5486},{"id":2913,"depth":291,"text":2914},"2026-05-06T15:28:34.835Z","If you aren’t in the training data, you aren’t on the shortlist. Here is how to master Brand Visibility Optimization (BVO) for the AI-driven buyer.","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F73b38499-1c0a-46c3-aaaf-a824ff083005-mkg-blog-the-synthesized-buyer-hero-image.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-synthesized-buyer-mastering-the-2026-brand-visibility-audit-for-llms",{"title":5313,"description":5529},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-synthesized-buyer-mastering-the-2026-brand-visibility-audit-for-llms","JAs6_naDyugPo-oSFYQectPrm_mMJcfZDO7wDs-lp5g",{"id":5537,"title":5538,"author":7,"authors":5539,"body":5540,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":5787,"description":5788,"extension":318,"img":5789,"imgAlt":5790,"meta":5791,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":5793,"seo":5794,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":5795,"updated":7,"__hash__":5796},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fmonthly-search-industry-report-april-2026.md","Monthly Search Industry Report - April 2026",[],{"type":11,"value":5541,"toc":5780},[5542,5546,5572,5576,5579,5631,5635,5638,5680,5684,5689,5697,5701,5722,5727,5733,5737,5740,5743,5761,5766,5777],[24,5543,5544],{"id":913},[52,5545,916],{},[46,5547,5548,5554,5560,5566],{},[49,5549,5550,5553],{},[52,5551,5552],{},"March Core Update Completion:"," The major ranking update that began in March finished on April 8. It shifted traffic toward specialist sites and away from general content aggregators.",[49,5555,5556,5559],{},[52,5557,5558],{},"The \"Back Button\" Ban:"," Google officially labeled \"back button hijacking\" as spam. Sites that trap users by blocking their ability to return to search results will face penalties starting June 15.",[49,5561,5562,5565],{},[52,5563,5564],{},"Search as a \"Task Engine\":"," Google is adding agentic features, like AI that can call stores to check inventory or build travel itineraries, shifting the focus from clicks to completed actions.",[49,5567,5568,5571],{},[52,5569,5570],{},"GPT-5.5 Launch:"," OpenAI released its most capable agentic model yet, designed to perform multi-step work independently, further changing how users find professional information.",[24,5573,5574],{"id":968},[52,5575,971],{},[14,5577,5578],{},"The focus this month shifted from ranking keywords to punishing deceptive user experiences and rewarding technical efficiency.",[46,5580,5581,5592,5606,5619],{},[49,5582,5583,5586,5587,5591],{},[52,5584,5585],{},"March Core Update Wraps:"," Google confirmed the March 2026 Core Update ended on April 8. Analysis from ",[206,5588,3074],{"href":5589,"rel":5590},"https:\u002F\u002Fsearchengineland.com\u002Fmarch-2026-google-core-update-what-changed-474397",[210]," indicates that niche, authoritative brands saw the most growth, while broad comparison sites lost ground.",[49,5593,5594,5597,5598,5605],{},[52,5595,5596],{},"Back Button Hijacking Policy:"," On April 13, Google introduced a ",[206,5599,5602],{"href":5600,"rel":5601},"https:\u002F\u002Fdevelopers.google.com\u002Fsearch\u002Fblog\u002F2026\u002F04\u002Fback-button-hijacking?authuser=2",[210],[4019,5603,5604],{},"new spam policy"," targeting sites that interfere with browser navigation. If your site uses scripts to trap users or redirect them when they try to leave, you face automated demotions.",[49,5607,5608,1042,5611,5618],{},[52,5609,5610],{},"The 2MB Fetch Limit:",[206,5612,5615],{"href":5613,"rel":5614},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.searchenginejournal.com\u002Ftechnical-seo-audit-new-layer\u002F571583\u002F",[210],[4019,5616,5617],{},"Search Engine Journal"," highlighted a critical technical threshold: Googlebot generally stops reading a page after the first 2MB. For tech companies with heavy code or long documentation, this makes code efficiency a direct ranking factor.",[49,5620,5621,5624,5625,5630],{},[52,5622,5623],{},"\"Read More\" Optimization:"," There’s now ",[206,5626,5629],{"href":5627,"rel":5628},"https:\u002F\u002Fsearchengineland.com\u002Fgoogle-adds-read-more-links-best-practices-474807",[210],"new guidance"," for content hidden behind \"Read More\" buttons. Google now recommends keeping key information visible on page load to ensure it is indexed for AI answers.",[24,5632,5633],{"id":3026},[52,5634,3027],{},[14,5636,5637],{},"Search Visibility Optimization (SVO) is moving into the \"Agentic Era,\" where AI doesn't just find information, it performs tasks.",[46,5639,5640,5654,5668],{},[49,5641,5642,5645,5646,5653],{},[52,5643,5644],{},"Google's \"Task Assistant\":"," Google launched new features that allow ",[206,5647,5650],{"href":5648,"rel":5649},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.lumar.io\u002Fblog\u002Findustry-news\u002Fseo-ai-search-industry-news-april-2026\u002F",[210],[4019,5651,5652],{},"AI to call stores"," to check product availability and manage complex travel bookings directly in the SERP. This prioritizes structured data (Schema) over traditional blog content.",[49,5655,5656,5659,5660,5667],{},[52,5657,5658],{},"GPT-5.5 Agentic Workflows:"," Released on April 23, ",[206,5661,5664],{"href":5662,"rel":5663},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.artificialintelligence-news.com\u002Fnews\u002Fgpt-5-5-is-openais-most-capable-agentic-ai-model-yet-at-twice-the-api-price\u002F",[210],[4019,5665,5666],{},"GPT-5.5"," is built to handle real work, such as planning and tool coordination. This model is more likely to cite sources that provide clear, executable data rather than long-form prose.",[49,5669,5670,5673,5674,5679],{},[52,5671,5672],{},"Chrome's AI Mode Integration:"," Google is rolling out an ",[206,5675,5678],{"href":5676,"rel":5677},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.seroundtable.com\u002Fgoogle-tests-enter-ai-mode-button-37145.html",[210],"\"Enter AI Mode\""," button in the Chrome address bar. This allows the browser to answer questions by reading the user's open tabs, making on-page context more valuable than ever for brand visibility.",[24,5681,5682],{"id":1051},[52,5683,1054],{},[5685,5686,5687],"h4",{"id":3089},[52,5688,1061],{},[46,5690,5691],{},[49,5692,5693,5696],{},[52,5694,5695],{},"Vanity Link Building:"," With Google's new focus on \"Experience\" and \"Task Completion,\" old-school guest posting for links is yielding diminishing returns. Focus on being the answer-first resource, ** ** the domain AI chooses to complete a user's task.",[5685,5698,5699],{"id":3101},[52,5700,1067],{},[46,5702,5703,5716],{},[49,5704,5705,5708,5709,5715],{},[52,5706,5707],{},"Audit for \"History Hijacking\":"," Ensure your marketing or ad scripts aren't accidentally violating the new ",[206,5710,5712],{"href":5600,"rel":5711},[210],[4019,5713,5714],{},"Back Button policy",". Even vignette ads can sometimes trigger these penalties.",[49,5717,5718,5721],{},[52,5719,5720],{},"Structure for Agents:"," To be hired by a Google or OpenAI agent, your business data (pricing, features, availability) must be in a machine-readable format, such as JSON-LD. If an agent can’t \"read\" your inventory, it will recommend a competitor with better-structured data.",[5685,5723,5724],{"id":1084},[52,5725,5726],{},"Looking Ahead:",[14,5728,5729,5732],{},[52,5730,5731],{},"The \"Side-Panel\" Habit:"," Watch how Google's new side-by-side view in Chrome changes click behavior. Users are now staying on your site while chatting with an AI on the side. In May, we expect to see \"Time on Page\" metrics rise, but \"Internal Clicks\" fall as the AI does the navigating for them.",[24,5734,5735],{"id":4847},[52,5736,4850],{},[14,5738,5739],{},"The April updates signal a shift from a \"web of pages\" to a \"web of actions.\" For B2B and SaaS leaders, being found is no longer enough; your site must be optimized to help AI agents complete their work.",[14,5741,5742],{},"MKG helps VC-backed companies dominate this new landscape via:",[46,5744,5745,5750,5756],{},[49,5746,5747,5749],{},[52,5748,4869],{}," Identifying where AI agents are failing to \"see\" your core product data.",[49,5751,5752,5755],{},[52,5753,5754],{},"SVO Focus:"," Incorporating all areas of search into one, holistic and coherent strategy.",[49,5757,5758,5760],{},[52,5759,4881],{}," Measuring how AI Mode interactions contribute to your bottom line, even without a traditional click.",[14,5762,5763],{},[52,5764,5765],{},"Don't get trapped by the old playbook.",[14,5767,5768,5776],{},[206,5769,5772],{"href":5770,"rel":5771},"https:\u002F\u002Fmkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fbook-a-call\u002F",[210],[52,5773,5774],{},[4019,5775,4892],{}," to secure your visibility in the agentic search era.",[5778,5779],"br",{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":5781},[5782,5783,5784,5785,5786],{"id":913,"depth":291,"text":916},{"id":968,"depth":291,"text":971},{"id":3026,"depth":291,"text":3027},{"id":1051,"depth":291,"text":1054},{"id":4847,"depth":291,"text":4850},"2026-05-05T16:25:00Z","Stay updated with the April 2026 search landscape: core update impacts, back button crackdown, task-driven search, and the rise of agent-powered visibility.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fmkg-blog-search-industry-overview-april.webp","Monthly Search Industry Report",{"_schema":5792},"default","\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fmonthly-search-industry-report-april-2026",{"title":5538,"description":5788},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fmonthly-search-industry-report-april-2026","uMM1XQ0U_ktuJ_mVY4EoudL-jtADlSIOAE_q1vuJrj8",{"id":5798,"title":5799,"author":7,"authors":5800,"body":5801,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":6012,"description":6013,"extension":318,"img":6014,"imgAlt":6015,"meta":6016,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":6017,"seo":6018,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":6019,"updated":7,"__hash__":6020},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fagentic-procurement-is-your-website-machine-readable-or-just-human-centric.md","Agentic Procurement - Is Your Website Machine-Readable or Just Human-Centric?",[],{"type":11,"value":5802,"toc":6002},[5803,5806,5809,5812,5815,5820,5826,5829,5832,5835,5838,5844,5847,5850,5853,5856,5861,5867,5870,5873,5876,5896,5899,5902,5908,5911,5914,5934,5937,5942,5948,5951,5954,5957,5960,5966,5969,5972,5975,5978,5984,5987,5990,5993,5997,6000],[14,5804,5805],{},"B2B procurement is undergoing a fundamental restructuring. For the past twenty years, the B2B buying process has been defined by human-to-human interaction. Marketing teams built websites to persuade, inform, and nurture human prospects. Companies focused on mobile design, conversion paths, and lead forms.",[14,5807,5808],{},"That era of human-centric commerce is ending. By 2026, a massive portion of B2B spend will be mediated by AI agents. This is a shift in the fundamental infrastructure of the global economy.",[14,5810,5811],{},"In this environment, a website is no longer just a digital brochure for a human audience. It is a data source for an automated vetting process. When an AI agent is tasked with finding a vendor that meets specific security, price, and capability criteria, it does not analyze copy in a traditional sense. It does not assess branding or testimonials. It evaluates the site as machine-readable data. If a digital presence cannot be parsed, validated, and structured by an agent, the company does not exist in the procurement funnel.",[14,5813,5814],{},"This transition is the emergence of Agent Readiness Optimization (ARO). The winners in 2026 are the companies that stop treating their websites as destinations for humans and start treating them as dynamic, structured knowledge bases that AI agents can use to provide direct answers and make procurement decisions.",[14,5816,5817],{},[75,5818],{"alt":77,"src":5819},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Ff48096ed-38dd-417b-a905-819c2602bc6e-mkg-blog-agentic-procurement-image-1.jpg",[24,5821,5823],{"id":5822},"the-reality-of-agentic-procurement",[52,5824,5825],{},"The Reality of Agentic Procurement",[14,5827,5828],{},"Agentic procurement is the process of delegating the vendor selection and vetting phase to an AI agent. Instead of a procurement manager spending weeks issuing requests for proposals and scanning websites, they provide an AI agent with a set of constraints and objectives. The agent scans the web, analyzes the technical capabilities of potential vendors, assesses compliance, compares pricing, and shortlists candidates.",[14,5830,5831],{},"This process is objective and data-driven. It removes the friction of subjective marketing claims and replaces them with an audit of the technical layer of a web presence. When an AI agent visits a site, it looks for specific, unambiguous data points to synthesize an answer. It needs to know API capabilities, pricing, uptime guarantees, and security certifications.",[14,5833,5834],{},"If this information is trapped inside an image file, buried in a document, or obscured by marketing copy designed for humans, the agent ignores it. It does not include instructions for inferring meaning from general articles. It needs structured, machine-readable data to provide a direct answer.",[14,5836,5837],{},"Many B2B companies have a disconnect. They have invested in high-end design, video, and storytelling. While these elements have value for human stakeholders, they are often invisible or confusing to an AI agent. The technical architecture of most corporate websites is designed for visual display, not for programmatic extraction. To succeed in the era of AI-mediated spend, companies must implement a strategy that prioritizes machine-readability.",[24,5839,5841],{"id":5840},"moving-beyond-seo-to-agent-readiness-optimization-aro",[52,5842,5843],{},"Moving Beyond SEO to Agent Readiness Optimization (ARO)",[14,5845,5846],{},"For years, SEO was the primary discipline for increasing visibility. Teams focused on keywords, search intent, and ranking in search results. Agent Readiness Optimization (ARO) is a different discipline. ARO is not about ranking for a search term; it is about providing the definitive, structured data that an AI agent requires to vet a vendor and provide a direct answer.",[14,5848,5849],{},"ARO requires a shift in how digital assets are structured. It requires implementing a technical semantic layer. A semantic layer acts as a translator between raw data and the AI agents that need to consume it. It ensures that when an agent asks, \"What are the core technical capabilities of this platform?\", it receives a direct, unambiguous answer, not a marketing description.",[14,5851,5852],{},"This involves several components. First, it requires using standardized schemas, such as Schema.org, to define the entities on a page. By marking up content, a company tells the AI exactly what each piece of information represents. Second, it requires that data be accessible and consistent across the entire web presence.",[14,5854,5855],{},"When a company treats its website as a knowledge graph, it maps the relationships between products, technical specifications, and organizational data. It creates a clear, interconnected structure that an AI agent can navigate to build its response. It moves from unstructured content to structured knowledge. This allows an AI agent to build a profile of a company without needing human intervention.",[14,5857,5858],{},[75,5859],{"alt":77,"src":5860},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fd42946f6-7f69-4eed-853f-c8f845347ce1-mkg-blog-agentic-procurement-image-2.png",[24,5862,5864],{"id":5863},"the-systematic-approach-treating-your-site-as-a-knowledge-graph",[52,5865,5866],{},"The Systematic Approach: Treating Your Site as a Knowledge Graph",[14,5868,5869],{},"The approach to this challenge is to move beyond the page-by-page content strategy and view the website as a comprehensive data system. It is necessary to focus on integrating services and technical architecture to create a resilient knowledge graph.",[14,5871,5872],{},"Superficial fixes are not effective. Instead, a technical audit of a site’s ability to communicate with AI agents is required. A company must analyze its ability to output structured data and ensure that technical documentation, pricing structures, and capability matrices are fully indexable.",[14,5874,5875],{},"This involves specific operational steps:",[46,5877,5878,5884,5890],{},[49,5879,5880,5883],{},[52,5881,5882],{},"Intent-Based Categorization:"," Structure your content based on how an agent classifies information, rather than how a human visitor navigates a menu.",[49,5885,5886,5889],{},[52,5887,5888],{},"Data Prominence:"," Surface your most critical technical and commercial specifications within your structured data to ensure they are instantly discoverable during an automated audit.",[49,5891,5892,5895],{},[52,5893,5894],{},"Machine-Ready Compliance:"," Format your compliance documentation—including security protocols, certifications, and uptime logs—for machine-learning ingestion, so automated systems can verify your credentials without human intervention.",[14,5897,5898],{},"This approach requires collaboration between your technical and marketing teams. The marketing team provides the strategic narrative, while the technical team ensures it is translated into a language agents understand. By combining these perspectives, a brand ensures its authority is reflected in its machine-readable data.",[14,5900,5901],{},"When a company treats its site as a knowledge graph, it prepares the business for the future. It moves from a model in which it hopes marketing materials influence the buyer to one in which it actively supplies the data the agent uses to confirm fitness as a vendor.",[24,5903,5905],{"id":5904},"why-machine-readable-content-wins",[52,5906,5907],{},"Why Machine-Readable Content Wins",[14,5909,5910],{},"The primary advantage of having a machine-readable website is the velocity of the procurement process. An AI agent is not slowed by human schedules or traditional sales bottlenecks. When a site provides the answers a company needs immediately, that site becomes the direct, verifiable option.",[14,5912,5913],{},"Key advantages of machine-readability include:",[46,5915,5916,5922,5928],{},[49,5917,5918,5921],{},[52,5919,5920],{},"Always-On Availability:"," Unlike human sales teams, AI agents operate 24\u002F7. Your site is being vetted for procurement regardless of time zone or office hours.",[49,5923,5924,5927],{},[52,5925,5926],{},"Removal of Friction:"," AI agents do not wait for sales representatives to respond to emails or demo requests. They require immediate, self-service access to technical data to complete their vetting process.",[49,5929,5930,5933],{},[52,5931,5932],{},"Instant Verification:"," By surfacing specs, security protocols, and pricing in a machine-readable format, you allow an agent to confirm requirements in seconds, positioning your company as the most efficient and low-risk choice.",[14,5935,5936],{},"Contrast this with a competitor whose site is visually polished but lacks the technical structure required for indexing. That competitor is filtered out by the agent before a human ever sees their brand. This is an automated process of elimination. A company may not even know it was considered for a procurement mandate, nor why it was passed over.",[14,5938,5939],{},[75,5940],{"alt":77,"src":5941},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F4840c7d2-ba0e-4ce6-a9f7-3eb021a8fb44-mkg-blog-agentic-procurement-image-3.jpg",[24,5943,5945],{"id":5944},"the-competitive-advantage-of-structured-data",[52,5946,5947],{},"The Competitive Advantage of Structured Data",[14,5949,5950],{},"The transition to ARO is a competitive advantage. Companies that understand how to present data in a structured, semantic format will have an advantage in the automated B2B marketplace.",[14,5952,5953],{},"Consider the difference in how two companies present service levels. One company uses an infographic with text that an agent cannot parse. The agent cannot process the information, which creates a high level of risk. The company is filtered out. The second company uses a structured data table that clearly maps service levels to technical specifications, accompanied by schema markup that validates those claims. The agent ingests this data instantly, verifies it against the procurement requirements, and flags the company as a candidate with high confidence.",[14,5955,5956],{},"This second company wins because it made the task easier for the agent. It demonstrated operational maturity. In the era of AI-mediated spend, technical documentation is sales collateral. API references are landing pages. Compliance data is the brand story.",[14,5958,5959],{},"Organizations must build this infrastructure. They must move from a focus on brochures to a data-driven model. A website should act as a sales engineer, providing the data agents need to select a company as their preferred partner.",[24,5961,5963],{"id":5962},"recalibrating-your-digital-strategy",[52,5964,5965],{},"Recalibrating Your Digital Strategy",[14,5967,5968],{},"If a digital strategy is currently too human-centric, now is the time to recalibrate. This is not about sacrificing brand voice or the experience provided to human visitors. It is about adding a layer of technical rigor that makes the site work for both the human buyer and the procurement agent.",[14,5970,5971],{},"A structured approach to ARO involves a technical audit of the existing infrastructure. Companies must analyze where data is hidden, where structures are brittle, and where opportunities are lost because information is not parsable. They then implement a structured data strategy that enables knowledge to flow into the systems that drive the majority of B2B procurement decisions.",[14,5973,5974],{},"This is not a project that can be delegated to a generic agency. It requires a combination of technical capability, strategic oversight, and an understanding of how AI models consume information. It requires the discipline to treat information as a system.",[14,5976,5977],{},"By controlling the technical semantic layer, a company controls its future in the B2B market. It ensures it is not left behind as spend shifts to vendors who have built the infrastructure to support AI-driven answers.",[24,5979,5981],{"id":5980},"final-thoughts-the-new-era-of-visibility",[52,5982,5983],{},"Final Thoughts: The New Era of Visibility",[14,5985,5986],{},"The transition to AI-mediated procurement is a significant shift in the business environment. It requires a change in mindset—from how to persuade the buyer, to how to provide the data the agent needs to select a vendor.",[14,5988,5989],{},"We specialize in the intersection of services and technical architecture. We help clients navigate this shift by building websites that are robust, structured, and intelligent. We provide the technical backbone that allows a business to thrive in a world of automated decision-making.",[14,5991,5992],{},"Do not let a brand fall into the gap between traditional marketing and AI-driven procurement. Organize expertise, structure data, and build a digital presence that's future-ready. The era of the agent is here. Ensure you are ready.",[24,5994,5995],{"id":2913},[52,5996,2914],{},[14,5998,5999],{},"The landscape of B2B procurement is shifting toward agent-mediated models. This transition necessitates a shift from human-centric web design to Agent Readiness Optimization (ARO), which prioritizes machine-readable content and structured semantic layers. By treating a website as a knowledge graph, a company allows AI agents to autonomously vet the business, verify technical capabilities, and provide direct answers for procurement mandates. The competitive advantage now lies in the ability to present pricing, specifications, and compliance data in a way that is easily consumable by the systems that drive the modern B2B economy.",[5778,6001],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":6003},[6004,6005,6006,6007,6008,6009,6010,6011],{"id":5822,"depth":291,"text":5825},{"id":5840,"depth":291,"text":5843},{"id":5863,"depth":291,"text":5866},{"id":5904,"depth":291,"text":5907},{"id":5944,"depth":291,"text":5947},{"id":5962,"depth":291,"text":5965},{"id":5980,"depth":291,"text":5983},{"id":2913,"depth":291,"text":2914},"2026-04-29T17:59:00Z","Procurement is moving to AI agents. If your site isn't optimized for agent readiness, you are invisible to the new buyer.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fmkg-blog-agentic-procurement-hero-image.webp","Agentic Procurement",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fagentic-procurement-is-your-website-machine-readable-or-just-human-centric",{"title":5799,"description":6013},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fagentic-procurement-is-your-website-machine-readable-or-just-human-centric","K_dw6n2YIKgpyoH3N-AFeuyg-cseJUBNH7OcptOB-Ok",{"id":6022,"title":6023,"author":7,"authors":6024,"body":6026,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":6180,"description":6181,"extension":318,"img":6182,"imgAlt":6183,"meta":6184,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":6185,"seo":6186,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":6187,"updated":7,"__hash__":6188},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fgoogle-is-cracking-down-on-back-button-hijacking.md","Google is Cracking Down on Back Button Hijacking",[6025],"Jared Gerling",{"type":11,"value":6027,"toc":6173},[6028,6031,6037,6040,6043,6054,6057,6063,6066,6069,6080,6083,6089,6092,6101,6110,6115,6118,6121,6127,6130,6133,6136,6139,6145,6148,6151,6154,6157,6168,6171],[14,6029,6030],{},"Back button hijacking has always been a frustrating, if obscure, part of the web. Now, Google is making it clear: if your site uses it, your site could take a hit.",[24,6032,6034],{"id":6033},"what-is-back-button-hijacking",[52,6035,6036],{},"What is back button hijacking?",[14,6038,6039],{},"Back button hijacking is when a website interferes with your browser’s back button, preventing you from easily leaving the page.",[14,6041,6042],{},"Instead of returning to the previous page, clicking “back” might:",[46,6044,6045,6048,6051],{},[49,6046,6047],{},"Reload the same page",[49,6049,6050],{},"Send you to a different page on the same site",[49,6052,6053],{},"Redirect you to an ad or pop-up",[14,6055,6056],{},"It’s usually done with scripts that manipulate the browser’s history. But for users, it feels like getting stuck, or worse, being manipulated.",[24,6058,6060],{"id":6059},"why-do-sites-use-it",[52,6061,6062],{},"Why do sites use it",[14,6064,6065],{},"Sites use back button hijacking to force users to stay on their website longer, artificially inflating page views and ad impressions while preventing them from leaving.",[14,6067,6068],{},"The goals are usually:",[46,6070,6071,6074,6077],{},[49,6072,6073],{},"Increase pageviews",[49,6075,6076],{},"Boost time on site",[49,6078,6079],{},"Push users toward ads or conversions",[14,6081,6082],{},"It can make engagement numbers look better on paper. But it does that by forcing behavior, not by improving user experience.",[24,6084,6086],{"id":6085},"googles-new-spam-policy-update",[52,6087,6088],{},"Google’s new spam policy update",[14,6090,6091],{},"All that said, steps to curb back-button hijacking are finally being taken.",[14,6093,6094,6095,6100],{},"Recent ",[206,6096,6099],{"href":6097,"rel":6098},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cnet.com\u002Ftech\u002Fservices-and-software\u002Fgoogle-punish-websites-browser-back-button-hijacking-annoying\u002F",[210],"reporting"," confirms that Google is now treating back button hijacking as a policy violation.",[14,6102,6103,6104,6109],{},"In its official announcement, ",[206,6105,6108],{"href":6106,"rel":6107},"https:\u002F\u002Fdevelopers.google.com\u002Fsearch\u002Fblog\u002F2026\u002F04\u002Fback-button-hijacking",[210],"Google says",":",[14,6111,6112],{},[52,6113,6114],{},"“Back button hijacking is a deceptive practice that interferes with the user’s ability to navigate the web and creates a frustrating experience. Pages that engage in this behavior may be subject to ranking demotions or removal from search results.”",[14,6116,6117],{},"What’s changed is the level of enforcement. Google has addressed shady UX tactics before, but this update clearly ties back button hijacking to search penalties. That means it’s no longer just a bad practice, but rather something that can directly impact visibility.",[14,6119,6120],{},"This also aligns with Google’s broader push to reduce manipulative behaviors in search. As its systems get better at evaluating real user experience, tactics that artificially inflate engagement are becoming easier to identify and penalize at scale.",[24,6122,6124],{"id":6123},"why-this-matters",[52,6125,6126],{},"Why this matters",[14,6128,6129],{},"This update is a clear signal about how Google evaluates site quality.",[14,6131,6132],{},"Back button hijacking works by blocking normal user behavior. When someone clicks “back,” they’ve already decided the page didn’t meet their needs. Preventing that action creates friction and frustration, which is exactly what Google is trying to avoid in its results.",[14,6134,6135],{},"It also undermines the reliability of engagement metrics. If users are being forced to stay on a site, metrics like time on page or pages per session no longer reflect real interest. That makes those signals less trustworthy, and makes sites using these tactics stand out for the wrong reasons.",[14,6137,6138],{},"There’s also a compounding effect. Poor user experience can lead to lower trust, fewer return visits, and weaker brand perception. Combined with potential ranking drops, the downside is much bigger than any short-term gain.",[24,6140,6142],{"id":6141},"the-mkg-pov",[52,6143,6144],{},"The MKG POV",[14,6146,6147],{},"Our view at MKG is simple: don’t use tactics that work against the user.",[14,6149,6150],{},"Back button hijacking tries to force engagement rather than earn it. That approach doesn’t hold up, especially now that Google is actively penalizing it.",[14,6152,6153],{},"If users are leaving a page, that’s useful feedback. It usually points to an issue with content, intent, or usability. Fixing those problems is what improves performance over time.",[14,6155,6156],{},"The safest approach is still the best one:",[46,6158,6159,6162,6165],{},[49,6160,6161],{},"Follow Google’s guidelines",[49,6163,6164],{},"Focus on useful, clear content",[49,6166,6167],{},"Make it easy for users to navigate",[14,6169,6170],{},"Shortcuts like this may offer a temporary lift, but they create long-term risk. Sites that stick to best practices are the ones that keep their rankings and their audience.",[5778,6172],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":6174},[6175,6176,6177,6178,6179],{"id":6033,"depth":291,"text":6036},{"id":6059,"depth":291,"text":6062},{"id":6085,"depth":291,"text":6088},{"id":6123,"depth":291,"text":6126},{"id":6141,"depth":291,"text":6144},"2026-04-28T17:59:00Z","Google is penalizing back button hijacking. Learn what it is, why it hurts SEO, and how to keep your site compliant and user-friendly.\n","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fmkg-blog-back-button-hijacking.webp","back button hijacking",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fgoogle-is-cracking-down-on-back-button-hijacking",{"title":6023,"description":6181},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fgoogle-is-cracking-down-on-back-button-hijacking","eh33Ha_Gk6e-uvQS7lQSrN-FhaBxr2TjWgqxfe-xGSQ",{"id":6190,"title":6191,"author":7,"authors":6192,"body":6193,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":6379,"description":6380,"extension":318,"img":6381,"imgAlt":6382,"meta":6383,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":6384,"seo":6385,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":6386,"updated":7,"__hash__":6387},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Frecalibrating-the-lead-bridging-the-2026-measurement-gap-in-paid-social.md","Recalibrating the Lead - Bridging the 2026 Measurement Gap in Paid Social",[],{"type":11,"value":6194,"toc":6370},[6195,6198,6201,6204,6209,6215,6218,6221,6224,6230,6233,6236,6241,6246,6252,6255,6258,6261,6264,6270,6277,6280,6300,6303,6308,6314,6317,6320,6327,6333,6336,6339,6342,6346,6368],[14,6196,6197],{},"The B2B marketing landscape has outgrown traditional attribution. For years, paid social depended on frequent touchpoints and linear tracking: run an ad, get a click, capture a form fill, and mark a conversion. In 2026, that straight line is gone.",[14,6199,6200],{},"Buyer behavior on social has fundamentally shifted. People are browsing in a more filtered way, often using generative tools to summarize feeds and strip out irrelevant content. As a result, traditional click-through rates look different. Strong engagement metrics no longer guarantee a healthy pipeline. In many cases, lean marketing teams are pouring budget into disconnected tactics that perform well on-platform but fail to produce qualified leads in the CRM.",[14,6202,6203],{},"This is the measurement gap—the distance between what a social platform calls a “conversion” and what your sales team recognizes as a qualified opportunity. When those data points don’t match, your strategy becomes reactive. Closing that gap requires moving beyond surface-level metrics and anchoring your decisions in revenue. Metrics that don’t connect to the pipeline won’t revive a stalled funnel. It’s time to confront the data honestly and recalibrate your approach.",[14,6205,6206],{},[75,6207],{"alt":77,"src":6208},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F2a78ea2f-fa06-497a-ab2e-0d31c8caf9a1-mkg-blog-recalibrating-the-lead-image-1.jpg",[24,6210,6212],{"id":6211},"the-evolution-of-the-b2b-buyer-journey",[52,6213,6214],{},"The Evolution of the B2B Buyer Journey",[14,6216,6217],{},"In 2026, B2B buyers are more self-directed than ever. They complete most of their research before speaking with a brand, gathering information in small, scattered moments across multiple channels. By the time they reach your landing page, they’ve often already formed an opinion—shaped by automated summaries, peer recommendations, and private community conversations.",[14,6219,6220],{},"The problem begins when marketers try to force this non-linear behavior into an outdated measurement model. If you rely solely on last-click attribution, you overlook the most important parts of the journey. You see the final action but miss the steps that actually built trust. As a result, budgets get funneled into the last touchpoint while the early-stage awareness that started the process is undervalued or ignored.",[14,6222,6223],{},"Many teams respond by simply turning up the volume—more ads, more spend, more generic content. But more noise isn’t the fix. What’s needed is a consistent system that connects social engagement to real business outcomes.",[24,6225,6227],{"id":6226},"bridging-the-crm-to-platform-gap-with-accuracy",[52,6228,6229],{},"Bridging the CRM-to-Platform Gap with Accuracy",[14,6231,6232],{},"To bridge the measurement gap, we anchor on the Truth pillar of our operating system. This isn’t about tracking every pixel perfectly—it’s about aligning platform data with CRM reality. The goal is to ensure that leads from your social campaigns are highly likely to convert into revenue.",[14,6234,6235],{},"Most paid social failures in 2026 stem from misalignment between marketing and sales. Marketing optimizes for lead volume; sales is focused on real business opportunities. When those definitions don’t match, the data becomes misleading. The fix is to audit the full journey—from the first ad impression to the moment a deal closes.",[14,6237,6238,6239],{},"Doing this right requires technical reconciliation. CRM data must be sent back into your social platforms so their algorithms can learn what a qualified lead truly looks like, not just what generates the cheapest clicks. If you’re not connecting ad interactions to sales stages, you don’t have a clear view of performance. A senior strategist understands that if the data doesn’t lead to a sales conversation, it isn’t actionable.",[5778,6240],{},[14,6242,6243],{},[75,6244],{"alt":77,"src":6245},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fc69d4315-2cb2-45a2-9789-faec50b5cae7-mkg-blog-recalibrating-the-lead-image-2.jpg",[24,6247,6249],{"id":6248},"beyond-the-click-auditing-zero-party-data",[52,6250,6251],{},"Beyond the Click: Auditing Zero-Party Data",[14,6253,6254],{},"As traditional tracking methods, such as third-party cookies, have lost effectiveness, technical data has become less reliable. To find the truth in 2026, you have to prioritize why a prospect chose to engage with you. That’s where zero-party data becomes critical to your B2B tech stack.",[14,6256,6257],{},"Zero-party data is information a prospect willingly and explicitly shares. In paid social, this often shows up in “How did you hear about us?” fields on demo requests or lead forms. Automated tracking shows you the technical path; zero-party data reveals the professional reason behind the interest.",[14,6259,6260],{},"When we audit this data, we frequently uncover a disconnect. A platform may claim a lead came from a specific retargeting ad, while the prospect explains they’ve been following your team’s technical insights for months. Both views matter—but the prospect’s answer tells you how to actually replicate success.",[14,6262,6263],{},"By capturing this information, you move beyond superficial metrics and start identifying the real triggers that move a buyer from research to decision. It’s a practical approach grounded in the buyer’s lived experience, focused on insights that actually change business outcomes.",[24,6265,6267],{"id":6266},"b2b-revenue-attribution-2026-the-new-standard",[52,6268,6269],{},"B2B Revenue Attribution 2026: The New Standard",[14,6271,6272,6273,6276],{},"The standard for ",[52,6274,6275],{},"B2B Revenue Attribution in 2026"," is a consistent discipline, not just a software tool. It is the practice of combining automated tracking with human observation. Leading with insight means admitting when data is unclear and having a specific plan to fix it.",[14,6278,6279],{},"To achieve marketing and sales alignment, your attribution model must include:",[46,6281,6282,6288,6294],{},[49,6283,6284,6287],{},[52,6285,6286],{},"The Filtered Search Reality:"," Acknowledging that buyers use automated tools to screen content, making your brand’s technical authority as important as your direct ads.",[49,6289,6290,6293],{},[52,6291,6292],{},"Platform-to-CRM Sync:"," Ensuring every dollar spent on social media is tracked to a specific stage in the sales funnel.",[49,6295,6296,6299],{},[52,6297,6298],{},"Self-Reported Data:"," Using zero-party data to verify or challenge what the automated dashboards are reporting.",[14,6301,6302],{},"When these elements are connected, you move from reactive decision-making to a systematic process. You stop asking if an ad worked and start asking if a specific channel is increasing your revenue velocity.",[14,6304,6305],{},[75,6306],{"alt":77,"src":6307},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F5ced796c-d946-47cc-a283-fbe560a416e0-mkg-blog-recalibrating-the-lead-image-3.jpg",[24,6309,6311],{"id":6310},"a-practical-plan-for-recalibration",[52,6312,6313],{},"A Practical Plan for Recalibration",[14,6315,6316],{},"If your Paid Social performance is not improving, it is likely because your measurement model does not match how buyers behave today. You are dealing with technical inefficiencies caused by a disconnected system.",[14,6318,6319],{},"It is time to look at your strategy clearly. Recalibrating for 2026 is not about finding a new tool; it is about creating a reliable process for your data. It requires professional operations and a sharp strategy. We help marketers by providing a direct and practical plan to fix these issues.",[14,6321,6322,6323,6326],{},"The ",[52,6324,6325],{},"Paid Social Measurement Gap"," is a risk only if it is ignored. By connecting your CRM and social platforms and making zero-party data a primary metric, you protect your marketing budget. You ensure your spending is a direct investment in the company's growth.",[24,6328,6330],{"id":6329},"final-thoughts-from-clicks-to-reality",[52,6331,6332],{},"Final Thoughts: From Clicks to Reality",[14,6334,6335],{},"The shift in 2026 has been a significant change for B2B brands. Using social media as just a digital brochure is no longer effective. Alignment between marketing and sales is now a requirement for any successful business.",[14,6337,6338],{},"Our team is focused on providing clear and direct guidance. We are here to help you manage this complexity. We believe that when your systems are functional and your goals are clear, marketing becomes a highly effective part of your business.",[14,6340,6341],{},"Do not let your budget be wasted because of a measurement gap. It is time to move from reactive tactics to a systematic approach. Build a strategy that is verified by your dashboard and reflected in your revenue.",[24,6343,6344],{"id":2913},[52,6345,2914],{},[14,6347,6348,6349,6351,6352,6355,6356,6359,6360,6363,6364,6367],{},"In 2026, B2B brands are facing a ",[52,6350,6325],{}," as buyers change their browsing habits and research journeys. Traditional engagement metrics are no longer sufficient, leading to wasted spend and disconnected tactics. By using the ",[52,6353,6354],{},"mkgOS Truth pillar",", marketing teams can connect CRM data to social platforms and use ",[52,6357,6358],{},"Zero-Party Data"," to understand why leads are engaging. True ",[52,6361,6362],{},"Marketing-Sales Alignment"," requires ",[52,6365,6366],{},"B2B Revenue Attribution"," that combines technical data with direct feedback from prospects. It is time to move toward a systematic approach that drives measurable revenue.",[5778,6369],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":6371},[6372,6373,6374,6375,6376,6377,6378],{"id":6211,"depth":291,"text":6214},{"id":6226,"depth":291,"text":6229},{"id":6248,"depth":291,"text":6251},{"id":6266,"depth":291,"text":6269},{"id":6310,"depth":291,"text":6313},{"id":6329,"depth":291,"text":6332},{"id":2913,"depth":291,"text":2914},"2026-04-15T17:59:00Z","Click-through rates are shifting as buyers change how they browse. Here is how to audit zero-party data and bridge the CRM-to-platform gap.\n","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fmkg-blog-recalibrating-the-lead-hero-image.webp","Recalibrating the Lead",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Frecalibrating-the-lead-bridging-the-2026-measurement-gap-in-paid-social",{"title":6191,"description":6380},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Frecalibrating-the-lead-bridging-the-2026-measurement-gap-in-paid-social","7GzNOU3HXhv0laEY7koKJ5OdPjzyvvRgGK85H7olJD8",{"id":6389,"title":6390,"author":7,"authors":6391,"body":6392,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":6549,"description":6550,"extension":318,"img":6551,"imgAlt":6552,"meta":6553,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":6554,"seo":6555,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":6556,"updated":7,"__hash__":6557},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-invisibility-trap-why-page-1-ranking-is-failing-the-ai-agent-test.md","The Invisibility Trap - Why Page 1 Ranking is Failing the AI-Agent Test",[],{"type":11,"value":6393,"toc":6539},[6394,6397,6400,6403,6406,6410,6413,6416,6419,6425,6428,6431,6434,6440,6443,6454,6459,6465,6468,6471,6474,6480,6483,6486,6489,6494,6500,6503,6506,6509,6512,6518,6521,6524,6527,6531,6534,6537],[14,6395,6396],{},"For a decade, Page 1 was the promised land. If you held a top-three spot for your core commercial keywords, the math was simple: high rankings equaled high traffic, which equaled a healthy pipeline. You could take those green arrows in your SEO dashboard to the board and confidently declare victory.",[14,6398,6399],{},"But in 2026, that math is broken. We’ve entered the era of the Invisibility Trap.",[14,6401,6402],{},"Today, B2B marketing teams are reporting a baffling paradox: their keyword rankings are at an all-time high, yet their organic lead flow is flat—or worse, declining. Traditional SEO metrics have become a vanity project. While you’re celebrating a #1 ranking, AI Overviews (SVO) and generative agents are capturing your prospect's intent before they ever have a reason to click your link.",[14,6404,6405],{},"Your audience isn't scrolling past you; they are getting the answer they need from an AI-generated summary that has scraped your expertise and served it up without the referral credit. If your strategy is still built on Keyword Tracking, you are effectively invisible to the agents that now gatekeep the B2B buyer’s journey. At MKG, we speak like a senior strategist who’s been in the mess and knows how to clear the fog. We know that marketing-muddled metrics won't save a stalling pipeline. It’s time to get your brain back.",[24,6407,6409],{"id":6408},"the-death-of-the-click-and-the-rise-of-the-agent","The Death of the Click and the Rise of the Agent",[14,6411,6412],{},"The B2B buyer has changed. They are no longer interested in opening multiple tabs while they hunt through ten different blue links to find a lead-scoring model or a B2B tech stack audit. They are asking LLMs to do the heavy lifting for them. When a prospect asks, \"What are the best lead scoring models for Series B SaaS?\", they aren't looking for a list of blogs; they are looking for a definitive answer.",[14,6414,6415],{},"If an AI Overview provides that answer using your data but fails to cite you—or worse, cites your competitor—you’ve lost. Traditional SEO was about traffic; Search Visibility Optimization (SVO) is about authority.",[14,6417,6418],{},"We see overwhelmed marketers meeting this challenge with more of the same: more keywords, more blogs, more \"B2B brochure\" content. But you don't need another channel; you need a compounding rhythm. You need to shift from being a link to being an entity that the AI recognizes as the primary source of truth. We have our systems dialed, our values straight, and our heads on.",[24,6420,6422],{"id":6421},"shifting-from-keywords-to-entity-visibility",[52,6423,6424],{},"Shifting from Keywords to Entity Visibility",[14,6426,6427],{},"In the mkgOS, we don't talk in trends; we talk in tactics and systems. To escape the Invisibility Trap, we use the Knowledge pillar of our system to move beyond the Keyword Tracking of the past. This isn't just about being strategic, not sterile; it’s about B2B Generative Engine Optimization.",[14,6429,6430],{},"AI agents don't just read keywords; they map entities and relationships. They are looking for the senior strategist voice—the one who has done the reps and knows the acronyms. To win the AI Overview Ranking, your brand must be institutionalized as the definitive source in the LLM’s training data and real-time search index.",[14,6432,6433],{},"This requires a fundamental shift in how you build content. We lead with insight, not ego. Instead of asking \"What keywords should we rank for?\", we ask \"What unique information gain are we providing that an LLM can't hallucinate?\" We skip the fluff.",[24,6435,6437],{"id":6436},"institutionalizing-authority-via-the-mkgos",[52,6438,6439],{},"Institutionalizing Authority via the mkgOS",[14,6441,6442],{},"The mkgOS (Tech + Strategy) approach is built for humans but proven in dashboards. When we tackle SVO, we aren't just \"polishing\" your content; we are re-engineering your digital footprint to be AI-Agent ready. This involves three core tactical shifts:",[46,6444,6445,6448,6451],{},[49,6446,6447],{},"Entity-First Content Architecture: We stop treating pages as isolated islands. We build a web of interconnected entities that define your expertise.",[49,6449,6450],{},"The Accountability of Citations: We ensure your data is so specific and crisp that an AI agent has no choice but to cite you as the primary source.",[49,6452,6453],{},"Operator Energy in Metadata: We speak fluently in ops because we live in operations. From Asana to OKRs, we apply technical rigor to your schema and backend data structures so LLMs can ingest your insights with zero friction.",[14,6455,6456],{},[75,6457],{"alt":77,"src":6458},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fb7c46bb0-1fc4-4b45-9491-a5275664f33f-mkg-blog-the-invisibility-trap-image-2.png",[24,6460,6462],{"id":6461},"why-volume-is-a-random-act-of-marketing",[52,6463,6464],{},"Why Volume is a Random Act of Marketing",[14,6466,6467],{},"Most SEO strategies in 2026 are Random Acts of Marketing dressed up in expensive reporting tools. They focus on volume over value. If you’re experiencing tactical inefficiencies where your traffic is up but your demo requests are down, you are likely a victim of the content inflation crisis.",[14,6469,6470],{},"AI agents are trained to filter out fluff. If your content sounds like a generic B2B brochure, the agent will summarize the basic points and move on. However, if your content provides specific, field-tested tactics and unique operational insights, you add real value that an AI can recognize and prioritize.",[14,6472,6473],{},"We show personality through accuracy and tone, not through forced jokes or loud branding. In the world of generative search, being clear and authoritative is what gets your brand cited.",[24,6475,6477],{"id":6476},"search-visibility-optimization-svo-the-new-metric-of-success",[52,6478,6479],{},"Search Visibility Optimization (SVO): The New Metric of Success",[14,6481,6482],{},"You have to say things that stick. An AI agent is more likely to cite a source that provides a direct, clear, confident, and no-B.S. plan than one that waffles through 2,000 words of jargon. We’re not afraid to say things the way our clients are thinking them. That directness is exactly what an AI looks for when it’s trying to provide a Verified Human answer.",[14,6484,6485],{},"In 2026, we don't just track where you sit on a page; we track your \"Share of Model.\" SVO measures how often your brand is cited in AI Overviews and generative responses across ChatGPT, Claude, and Google Search.",[14,6487,6488],{},"This is the heart of the MKG approach. We care deeply about people—and that means we care about where they are getting their information. If they are getting it from an agent, we make sure the agent speaks your language. AI Overview Ranking is not about luck; it’s about a system. We meet overwhelmed marketers with empathy and a plan.",[14,6490,6491],{},[75,6492],{"alt":77,"src":6493},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Ffb0b7474-f30a-4bfb-b395-c424f67224c3-mkg-blog-the-invisibility-trap-image-3.png",[24,6495,6497],{"id":6496},"getting-your-brain-back-from-the-algorithms",[52,6498,6499],{},"Getting Your Brain Back from the Algorithms",[14,6501,6502],{},"If you feel like you’re treading water with your current SEO agency, it’s probably because they’re still playing a 2022 game. They’re giving you sterile reports when what you actually need are strategic insights.",[14,6504,6505],{},"Let’s get your brain back.",[14,6507,6508],{},"The Invisibility Trap is only a trap if you refuse to see the walls. When you shift your focus to B2B Generative Engine Optimization, you stop chasing the ghosts of clicks past and start building a moat around your brand’s authority. You become the senior strategist the AI agents want to quote.",[14,6510,6511],{},"We don’t need to be zany to be memorable. We just need to be the most reliable, grounded, and sharp source in the room. When an LLM goes looking for an answer to a complex marketing operations question, mkgOS makes sure it finds you.",[24,6513,6515],{"id":6514},"final-thoughts-stop-ranking-start-being-cited",[52,6516,6517],{},"Final Thoughts: Stop Ranking, Start Being Cited",[14,6519,6520],{},"You aren't broken; the system is. The transition from \"Page 1\" to \"AI Citation\" is the most significant shift in the history of search, and it requires more than just \"more content.\" It requires Operator Energy.",[14,6522,6523],{},"It requires a partner who has been in the mess and knows how to clear the fog. At MKG, we are warm, not waffling. We are here to help you navigate the Generative Engine era with a plan that actually works.",[14,6525,6526],{},"Don't let your brand fall into the Invisibility Trap. Let's move from \"reactive mode\" to a \"rhythm that compounds\". We're human. We're here to help.",[24,6528,6529],{"id":2913},[52,6530,2914],{},[14,6532,6533],{},"In 2026, traditional SEO metrics are drifting further away from what actually drives the pipeline. As AI Overviews (SVOs) capture search intent at the very top of the results page, many B2B brands are getting caught in an “Invisibility Trap”—they still rank on Page 1, but lose conversions to the generative summary above them.",[14,6535,6536],{},"With the mkgOS Knowledge pillar, MKG helps brands shift from chasing “keywords” to building true “entity visibility,” so large language models recognize your company and cite it as the authoritative source. It’s time to think beyond the click and start winning in the generative era with B2B Generative Engine Optimization.",[5778,6538],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":6540},[6541,6542,6543,6544,6545,6546,6547,6548],{"id":6408,"depth":291,"text":6409},{"id":6421,"depth":291,"text":6424},{"id":6436,"depth":291,"text":6439},{"id":6461,"depth":291,"text":6464},{"id":6476,"depth":291,"text":6479},{"id":6496,"depth":291,"text":6499},{"id":6514,"depth":291,"text":6517},{"id":2913,"depth":291,"text":2914},"2026-04-08T17:59:00Z","Your SEO metrics are green, but your pipeline is flat. Here is how to stop chasing clicks and start winning the AI Overview.\n","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fmkg-blog-the-invisibility-trap-hero-image.webp","The Invisibility Trap",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-invisibility-trap-why-page-1-ranking-is-failing-the-ai-agent-test",{"title":6390,"description":6550},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-invisibility-trap-why-page-1-ranking-is-failing-the-ai-agent-test","szHgtyGps749jMwAgwBmnnsbXisO6umcP9OfBltGfy4",{"id":6559,"title":6560,"author":7,"authors":6561,"body":6562,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":6812,"description":6813,"extension":318,"img":6814,"imgAlt":5790,"meta":6815,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":6816,"seo":6817,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":6818,"updated":7,"__hash__":6819},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fmonthly-search-industry-report-march-2026.md","Monthly Search Industry Report - March 2026",[],{"type":11,"value":6563,"toc":6801},[6564,6568,6594,6598,6601,6651,6655,6658,6698,6702,6706,6719,6723,6742,6746,6752,6756,6762,6765,6783,6788,6799],[24,6565,6566],{"id":913},[52,6567,916],{},[46,6569,6570,6576,6582,6588],{},[49,6571,6572,6575],{},[52,6573,6574],{},"Google’s \"Double Update\":"," Google released two major ranking changes back-to-back this month, causing significant shifts in who shows up at the top of search results.",[49,6577,6578,6581],{},[52,6579,6580],{},"The Citation Shift:"," Being #1 in organic search no longer guarantees you'll be cited in AI Overviews. Data now shows that most AI sources come from pages ranked outside the top 10.",[49,6583,6584,6587],{},[52,6585,6586],{},"Video is Winning:"," YouTube has become the most-cited domain in Google’s AI results, making video a required part of any search strategy.",[49,6589,6590,6593],{},[52,6591,6592],{},"AI Search Goes Premium:"," Perplexity AI has stopped using ads to focus on a subscription model, while ChatGPT has started adding location-based features to compete with local search.",[24,6595,6596],{"id":968},[52,6597,971],{},[14,6599,6600],{},"March was a high-intensity month for Google's core systems, with updates moving faster than we’ve seen in years.",[46,6602,6603,6624,6637],{},[49,6604,6605,6608,6609,6616,6617,6623],{},[52,6606,6607],{},"Overlapping Updates:"," On March 24, Google launched a ",[206,6610,6613],{"href":6611,"rel":6612},"https:\u002F\u002Fcoalitiontechnologies.com\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-march-2026-google-core-algorithm-update-what-you-need-to-know",[210],[4019,6614,6615],{},"(Global Spam Update)",", followed just three days later by the ",[206,6618,6620],{"href":6611,"rel":6619},[210],[4019,6621,6622],{},"(March 2026 Broad Core Update)",". This \"double-tap\" approach means ranking volatility is currently at an all-time high.",[49,6625,6626,6629,6630,6636],{},[52,6627,6628],{},"Focus on Comparative Value:"," Google is no longer just looking at your page in isolation. It is increasingly ",[206,6631,6633],{"href":6611,"rel":6632},[210],[4019,6634,6635],{},"(ranking content based on how it compares)"," to every other result for that same topic.",[49,6638,6639,6642,6643,6650],{},[52,6640,6641],{},"The End of \"AI Bait\":"," The spam update specifically targeted low-effort content created just to \"trick\" AI models into citing it. Quality signals like E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust) are being ",[206,6644,6647],{"href":6645,"rel":6646},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.quantifimedia.com\u002Fmarch-2026-google-core-update",[210],[4019,6648,6649],{},"(weighted more heavily)"," than ever.",[24,6652,6653],{"id":3026},[52,6654,3027],{},[14,6656,6657],{},"Search Visibility Optimization (SVO) is diverging from traditional SEO. Where you rank and where you are cited are now two different battles.",[46,6659,6660,6674,6686],{},[49,6661,6662,6665,6666,6673],{},[52,6663,6664],{},"The Citation Gap:"," New research shows a massive drop in \"Top 10\" overlap. In 2025, 76% of AI Overview citations came from the top 10 organic results. ",[206,6667,6670],{"href":6668,"rel":6669},"https:\u002F\u002Falmcorp.com\u002Fblog\u002Fgoogle-ai-overview-citations-drop-top-ranking-pages-2026\u002F",[210],[4019,6671,6672],{},"(That number has fallen to 38%)"," as of March 2026.",[49,6675,6676,6679,6680,6685],{},[52,6677,6678],{},"YouTube’s Dominance:"," YouTube is now the ",[206,6681,6684],{"href":6682,"rel":6683},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.searchenginejournal.com\u002Fgoogle-ai-overview-citations-from-top-ranking-pages-drop-sharply\u002F568637\u002F",[210],"(single most-cited domain)"," in Google's AI Overviews. If a query can be answered with a video, Google's AI is increasingly choosing that over a text-based article.",[49,6687,6688,6691,6692,6697],{},[52,6689,6690],{},"ChatGPT Location Tracking:"," OpenAI introduced ",[206,6693,6696],{"href":6694,"rel":6695},"https:\u002F\u002Fhelp.openai.com\u002Fen\u002Farticles\u002F6825453-chatgpt-release-notes",[210],"(optional location sharing)"," this month. This allows ChatGPT to provide local recommendations (like \"best coffee near me\"), putting it in direct competition with Google Maps for local intent.",[24,6699,6700],{"id":1051},[52,6701,1054],{},[81,6703,6704],{"id":3089},[52,6705,1061],{},[46,6707,6708],{},[49,6709,6710,6713,6714,6718],{},[52,6711,6712],{},"Keyword-Only Reporting:"," Stop obsessing over being \"Position 1\" for a specific word. With ",[206,6715,6717],{"href":6668,"rel":6716},[210],"(61% less clicks)"," happening on queries that have AI Overviews, a #1 rank doesn't mean the traffic it used to.",[81,6720,6721],{"id":3101},[52,6722,1067],{},[46,6724,6725,6736],{},[49,6726,6727,6730,6731,6735],{},[52,6728,6729],{},"Put Answers First:"," AI models like ChatGPT and Gemini often pull information from the ",[206,6732,6734],{"href":6682,"rel":6733},[210],"(first third of a page)",". Move your most important insights, data points, and \"bottom line\" conclusions to the top of your content.",[49,6737,6738,6741],{},[52,6739,6740],{},"Build Video Assets:"," If you aren't creating helpful, short-form video content on YouTube, you are effectively invisible to 18% of the AI citation market.",[81,6743,6744],{"id":1084},[52,6745,5726],{},[14,6747,6748,6751],{},[52,6749,6750],{},"Predictive Search:"," As location sharing becomes the norm for AI assistants, expect \"Search\" to become \"Proactive Suggestions.\" The win for brands in April will be that their content appears in the \"Recommendations\" feed before a user even types a query.",[24,6753,6754],{"id":3119},[52,6755,3120],{},[14,6757,6758,6759],{},"The updates this month prove that the old SEO playbook is being rewritten. High rankings are no longer enough; you must be ",[52,6760,6761],{},"citeable.",[14,6763,6764],{},"MKG helps VC-backed companies bridge this gap with:",[46,6766,6767,6772,6778],{},[49,6768,6769,6771],{},[52,6770,4869],{}," We find exactly where AI is ignoring your brand and fix it.",[49,6773,6774,6777],{},[52,6775,6776],{},"Technical Entity Guardrails:"," We structure your site so AI models can read and trust your data instantly.",[49,6779,6780,6782],{},[52,6781,4881],{}," We track the value of AI citations, even when they don't lead to a traditional click.",[14,6784,6785],{},[52,6786,6787],{},"Ensure your brand isn't left out of the answer.",[14,6789,6790,6798],{},[206,6791,6794],{"href":6792,"rel":6793},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fsearch?q=https:\u002F\u002Fmkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fbook-a-call\u002F&authuser=2",[210],[52,6795,6796],{},[4019,6797,4892],{}," with an MKG expert today.",[5778,6800],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":6802},[6803,6804,6805,6806,6811],{"id":913,"depth":291,"text":916},{"id":968,"depth":291,"text":971},{"id":3026,"depth":291,"text":3027},{"id":1051,"depth":291,"text":1054,"children":6807},[6808,6809,6810],{"id":3089,"depth":297,"text":1061},{"id":3101,"depth":297,"text":1067},{"id":1084,"depth":297,"text":5726},{"id":3119,"depth":291,"text":3120},"2026-04-02T16:25:00Z","Stay updated with the March 2026 search landscape: AI Overviews, zero-click trends, algorithm volatility, and key SEO strategies shaping modern search visibility.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fmkg-monthly-search-report-march.webp",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fmonthly-search-industry-report-march-2026",{"title":6560,"description":6813},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fmonthly-search-industry-report-march-2026","zXNNIvQ9s5BsZZ2Pc-TF7bffqDk1Uq2ppoK5KrFQsPU",{"id":6821,"title":6822,"author":7,"authors":6823,"body":6824,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":7056,"description":7057,"extension":318,"img":7058,"imgAlt":7059,"meta":7060,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":7061,"seo":7062,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":7063,"updated":7,"__hash__":7064},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-trust-dividend-why-ai-governance-is-the-new-competitive-advantage.md","The Trust Dividend - Why AI Governance is the New Competitive Advantage",[],{"type":11,"value":6825,"toc":7045},[6826,6829,6832,6835,6838,6843,6849,6852,6855,6866,6869,6875,6878,6881,6884,6895,6901,6904,6907,6910,6925,6930,6936,6939,6942,6953,6956,6962,6965,6968,6975,6981,6984,6995,6998,7004,7010,7013,7016,7019,7025,7028,7031,7034,7038,7041,7043],[14,6827,6828],{},"We’ve reached the tipping point. In 2026, the B2B landscape isn't just crowded; it’s buried under a mountain of synthetic mediocrity. For the last two years, brands have been \"feeding the machine\" with high-volume, low-insight AI content, and the result is a massive trust deficit.",[14,6830,6831],{},"Buyers are exhausted. They are drowning in 2,000-word guides that say absolutely nothing new. When every LinkedIn post and white paper sounds like it was written by the same polite, slightly detached algorithm, the market begins to retreat. They aren't looking for more \"content\"; they are looking for \"Verified Human\" signals.",[14,6833,6834],{},"This is the chaos of the current moment: Your prospects are no longer just skeptical of your product—they are skeptical of your very information. They are looking for the marketing leader they’d actually want to work with: sharp, grounded, a little funny, and always focused on what actually works.",[14,6836,6837],{},"If your strategy is still focused on volume, you aren't building authority; you’re just contributing to the fog. To win in this era, you need to pivot from volume to Information Gain—adding data and perspectives that an AI simply cannot hallucinate. This is where AI Governance for Marketing stops being a legal hurdle and starts being your primary competitive advantage.",[14,6839,6840],{},[75,6841],{"alt":77,"src":6842},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F17c11c60-d099-41f2-afe9-0f80d5413370-mkg-blog-the-trust-dividend-image-1.png",[24,6844,6846],{"id":6845},"the-content-inflation-crisis-and-the-flight-to-quality",[52,6847,6848],{},"The Content Inflation Crisis and the Flight to Quality",[14,6850,6851],{},"We’ve said it before: marketing should not feel like you’re treading water with a laptop, which is what can happen when teams use AI to churn out generic thought leadership articles. When you recite a B2B brochure, you sound dry and detached.",[14,6853,6854],{},"The trust deficit has created a demand for quality, and B2B buyers are now prioritizing:",[46,6856,6857,6860,6863],{},[49,6858,6859],{},"First-Party Data: Real numbers from real campaigns, not \"industry averages\".",[49,6861,6862],{},"Hard-Won Lessons: Experiences that a senior strategist has actually lived through and knows how to navigate.",[49,6864,6865],{},"Contrarian Insights: The willingness to say things the way clients are actually thinking them.",[14,6867,6868],{},"If your AI isn't governed by a human system that prioritizes these B2B trust signals, you are essentially invisible. It’s not you, it’s the lack of a system. At MKG, we lead with insight, not ego.",[24,6870,6872],{"id":6871},"institutionalizing-accountability-the-mkgos-approach",[52,6873,6874],{},"Institutionalizing Accountability: The mkgOS Approach",[14,6876,6877],{},"At MKG, we don’t talk in trends; we talk in tactics and systems. To address the trust deficit, we turn to the Accountability pillar of our operating system. We believe that AI Governance for Marketing isn’t about restriction; it’s about creating a disciplined, thoughtful approach to generative technology.",[14,6879,6880],{},"True governance means having your systems dialed and your values straight. It means moving beyond the \"prompt and post\" mentality and building a rhythmic engine that compounds trust over time.",[14,6882,6883],{},"When we talk about the TRACK (Accountability) pillar, we are talking about:",[132,6885,6886,6889,6892],{},[49,6887,6888],{},"Verification Layers: Every piece of output must be stress-tested by someone who has \"done the reps\".",[49,6890,6891],{},"Information Gain SEO: Shifting the focus from keyword density to unique insight density that AI can't mimic.",[49,6893,6894],{},"Human-in-the-Loop Operations: Ensuring that personality comes through truth and tone, not through forced jokes.",[24,6896,6898],{"id":6897},"information-gain-adding-what-the-machine-cant-hallucinate",[52,6899,6900],{},"Information Gain: Adding What the Machine Can't Hallucinate",[14,6902,6903],{},"The secret to Information Gain SEO in 2026 is simple: speak like a senior strategist who’s been in the mess. AI can summarize the internet, but it cannot tell you how a specific lead-scoring model failed or why a certain OKR structure fell apart in Asana.",[14,6905,6906],{},"This mix of compassion for the overwhelmed marketer and clarity about the plan is our superpower. Governance is the \"hold the line\" part of that equation. It ensures that we never sound like we’re reciting a brochure.",[14,6908,6909],{},"To achieve Information Gain, your governance model must mandate:",[46,6911,6912,6915,6922],{},[49,6913,6914],{},"Proprietary Frameworks: Like the \"Slow is smooth, smooth is fast\" mentality that adds flavor, not fluff.",[49,6916,6917,6918,6921],{},"Negative Constraints: Explicitly stating what ",[38,6919,6920],{},"not"," to do, based on actual failures.",[49,6923,6924],{},"Operator Energy: Speaking fluently in operations because you actually live in them.",[14,6926,6927],{},[75,6928],{"alt":77,"src":6929},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F7111446e-0d38-4f17-a8e0-39872d387d54-mkg-blog-the-trust-dividend-image-2.png",[24,6931,6933],{"id":6932},"operationalizing-trust-the-use-this-not-this-of-ai-governance",[52,6934,6935],{},"Operationalizing Trust: The \"Use This, Not This\" of AI Governance",[14,6937,6938],{},"To institutionalize trust, your team needs to understand the difference between tactical efficiency and strategic impact. We don’t need to be zany to be memorable, but we do say things that stick.",[14,6940,6941],{},"Here’s how AI governance changes your output in practice:",[46,6943,6944,6947,6950],{},[49,6945,6946],{},"Instead of: “Maximize your ROI with smarter marketing systems.”\u2028Use: “Let’s get your brain back.”",[49,6948,6949],{},"Instead of: “Marketing agility requires proactive planning.”\u2028Use: “Still stuck in reactive mode?”",[49,6951,6952],{},"Instead of: “You may be experiencing tactical inefficiencies.”\u2028Use: “You’re not broken. The system is.”",[14,6954,6955],{},"By leading with \"Clear, Confident, and No B.S.\" communication, you skip the fluff. Your words remain tight, thoughtful, and human—not marketing-muddled or loaded with jargon. This directness is what buyers are craving in an era of AI-generated waffling.",[24,6957,6959],{"id":6958},"why-volume-is-the-enemy-of-authority",[52,6960,6961],{},"Why Volume is the Enemy of Authority",[14,6963,6964],{},"In the early days of AI, the goal was efficiency—how many articles can we produce? But that mindset leads to \"random acts of marketing\". When your competitors are flooding the market with 10% variations of the same ChatGPT response, your high-density, experience-backed insight stands out like a lighthouse.",[14,6966,6967],{},"We lead with insight, not ego. The \"Truth Deficit\" occurs when marketing teams prioritize the appearance of authority over its substance. They want \"Personality Without Performance\".",[14,6969,6970,6971,6974],{},"But in a market where everyone is using the same LLMs, your personality ",[38,6972,6973],{},"is"," your performance. We show that personality through \"Kerry-isms\" and direct, no-B.S. communication. We aren't afraid to tell a client, \"You're doing too much\". Let's replace those random acts with something that actually works.",[24,6976,6978],{"id":6977},"the-logistics-of-governance-from-asana-to-okrs",[52,6979,6980],{},"The Logistics of Governance: From Asana to OKRs",[14,6982,6983],{},"AI Governance isn't a PDF that sits on a shared drive; it’s a compounding rhythm. We speak fluently in ops because we live in operations. For governance to work, it must be baked into your project management tools.",[46,6985,6986,6989,6992],{},[49,6987,6988],{},"In Asana, every AI-assisted task includes a “Human Truth Check” subtask, in which a subject-matter expert validates the output against real-world lead-scoring models or OKR results.",[49,6990,6991],{},"In Brand Voice: We use our voice pillars to audit AI output. If it sounds “cutesy,” “waffling,” or “cold,” it goes back to the drawing board.",[49,6993,6994],{},"In SEO: We audit for Information Gain by asking, “Does this article provide information that wasn’t present in the top 10 search results yesterday?”",[14,6996,6997],{},"By implementing this strict framework, you ensure that every touchpoint reinforces your brand as a human entity. You move from \"Still stuck in reactive mode?\" to \"Built for humans. Proven in dashboards\".",[14,6999,7000,7001],{}," ",[75,7002],{"alt":77,"src":7003},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F72e0b775-d69c-4c76-8a28-55d5eeab9c15-mkg-blog-the-trust-dividend-image-3.png",[24,7005,7007],{"id":7006},"the-long-term-play-trust-as-a-moat",[52,7008,7009],{},"The Long-Term Play: Trust as a Moat",[14,7011,7012],{},"The \"Trust Dividend\" is the measurable ROI you gain when your audience stops questioning your motives and starts following your lead. It’s what happens when you are strategic, not sterile.",[14,7014,7015],{},"When your competitors are waffling, you are warm but firm. While they are being \"cutesy\" with AI avatars, you are being experienced, not inflated. This competitive advantage isn't built overnight. It’s a rhythm. It’s about having your systems dialed and staying focused on what actually works.",[14,7017,7018],{},"It’s about recognizing that you don't need to be zany to be memorable—you just need to say things that stick. Whether it's \"Feed the machine\" or \"Slow is smooth, smooth is fast\", these anchors of truth build a bridge over the trust deficit.",[24,7020,7022],{"id":7021},"final-thoughts-get-your-brain-back",[52,7023,7024],{},"Final Thoughts: Get Your Brain Back",[14,7026,7027],{},"If your team is currently \"treading water with a laptop,\" trying to keep up with the AI content arms race, it’s time for a pivot. You aren't broken; the current system is.",[14,7029,7030],{},"Let's get your brain back. By institutionalizing AI Governance through the lens of accountability and information gain, you stop being a producer of noise and start being a source of truth. You move from \"reactive mode\" to true \"Operator Energy\".",[14,7032,7033],{},"In 2026, the most valuable thing you can own is a buyer’s trust. Don't let an ungoverned algorithm cannibalize it. We're human. We're here to help.",[24,7035,7036],{"id":2913},[52,7037,2914],{},[14,7039,7040],{},"The rise of generative AI has created a \"Content Inflation Crisis,\" leading B2B buyers to tune out generic, synthetic marketing. To win in 2026, brands must pivot from high-volume output to a strategy of Information Gain, adding unique insights that AI cannot replicate. By institutionalizing AI Governance through the TRACK (Accountability) pillar of the mkgOS, marketing leaders can clear the fog of AI noise, build genuine B2B Trust Signals, and turn governance into a sustainable competitive advantage.",[5778,7042],{},[5778,7044],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":7046},[7047,7048,7049,7050,7051,7052,7053,7054,7055],{"id":6845,"depth":291,"text":6848},{"id":6871,"depth":291,"text":6874},{"id":6897,"depth":291,"text":6900},{"id":6932,"depth":291,"text":6935},{"id":6958,"depth":291,"text":6961},{"id":6977,"depth":291,"text":6980},{"id":7006,"depth":291,"text":7009},{"id":7021,"depth":291,"text":7024},{"id":2913,"depth":291,"text":2914},"2026-04-01T17:59:00Z","In a world of AI-generated noise, trust is the only currency that still compounds. Here is how to institutionalize human expertise.\n","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fmkg-blog-the-trust-dividend-hero-image.webp","The Trust Dividend",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-trust-dividend-why-ai-governance-is-the-new-competitive-advantage",{"title":6822,"description":7057},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-trust-dividend-why-ai-governance-is-the-new-competitive-advantage","QJS4iy4-NGSEyfh7EK9RWfuuH5v1eWyu2ZvjRz7YO6o",{"id":7066,"title":7067,"author":7,"authors":7068,"body":7069,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":7242,"description":7243,"extension":318,"img":7244,"imgAlt":7245,"meta":7246,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":7247,"seo":7248,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":7249,"updated":7,"__hash__":7250},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-franken-stack-failure-why-your-disconnected-tools-are-cannibalizing-your-series-b-roi.md","The 'Franken-Stack' Failure - Why Your Disconnected Tools are Cannibalizing Your Series-B ROI",[],{"type":11,"value":7070,"toc":7232},[7071,7074,7080,7083,7086,7091,7097,7100,7103,7106,7109,7112,7136,7142,7145,7148,7153,7159,7162,7165,7168,7179,7185,7188,7191,7197,7200,7203,7208,7214,7217,7220,7224,7227,7230],[14,7072,7073],{},"You’ve raised the capital. You’ve hired the \"rockstar\" VPs. You’ve greenlit a tech budget that would make a 2015 startup weep with envy. And yet, if you’re honest, your marketing department feels less like a well-oiled machine and more like a collection of expensive, shouting islands.",[24,7075,7077],{"id":7076},"welcome-to-the-franken-stack",[52,7078,7079],{},"Welcome to the Franken-Stack.",[14,7081,7082],{},"It starts innocently enough. A specialized tool for email, another for intent data, a third for LinkedIn automation, and a \"must-have\" dashboard that promised to unify it all. By the time you hit Series B, growth executives are often drowning in 20+ SaaS subscriptions that don’t share data, don't talk to your CRM, and certainly don't provide a clear picture of ROI.",[14,7084,7085],{},"The result? You aren't executing a strategy; you're performing \"Random Acts of Marketing\". You’re treading water with a laptop, and the CFO is starting to ask why the customer acquisition cost looks like a heart monitor in a horror movie.",[14,7087,7088],{},[75,7089],{"alt":77,"src":7090},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F9f17ff93-4a9d-442b-a53c-398b00c3f978-The-Franken-Stack-Failure-blog-image-1.png",[24,7092,7094],{"id":7093},"the-cost-of-tool-bloat-performance-or-performance-art",[52,7095,7096],{},"The Cost of Tool-Bloat: Performance or Performance Art?",[14,7098,7099],{},"Most B2B companies treat their Marketing Operations like a junk drawer. Whenever a new problem arises—\"We need more leads!\" or \"Our attribution is fuzzy!\"—the reflex is to buy another piece of software.",[14,7101,7102],{},"But here’s the truth: You don't need another channel; you need a rhythm that compounds.",[14,7104,7105],{},"When your tools don't communicate, your team spends half their week playing \"data janitor.\" They are manually exporting CSVs from one platform to upload them into another, trying to figure out if that MQL from last Tuesday actually came from the $10k-a-month ad spend or a stray LinkedIn post. This isn't marketing agility; it's a lack of a system.",[14,7107,7108],{},"At MKG, we’ve been in the mess, and we know how to clear the fog. We know that when the stack becomes a monster, the \"strategy\" becomes whatever the software allows you to do. We’re not afraid to say what you’re thinking: You're doing too much. We skip the fluff and lead with insight, not ego.",[14,7110,7111],{},"The 'Franken-Stack' Is Cannibalizing Your ROI. In the Series B world, efficiency isn't just a buzzword; it’s the difference between a successful exit and a \"restructuring\" conversation. A disconnected stack creates three specific ROI killers:",[132,7113,7114,7122,7130],{},[49,7115,7116,7119,7120],{},[52,7117,7118],{},"The Attribution Mirage:"," If your lead scoring model lives in a vacuum, you’re optimizing for clicks that don't convert. You’re celebrating \"wins\" in a dashboard that doesn't reflect your bank account.",[5778,7121],{},[49,7123,7124,7127,7128],{},[52,7125,7126],{},"The Context Gap:"," Sales doesn't know what Marketing is doing. Marketing doesn't know which leads are actually closing. You’re paying for data you can’t use because it’s trapped in a silo.",[5778,7129],{},[49,7131,7132,7135],{},[52,7133,7134],{},"The \"Slow is Smooth\" Problem:"," As we like to say, \"Slow is smooth, smooth is fast\". A fragmented stack is the opposite of smooth. Every new campaign requires a \"workaround.\" You’re moving slowly because your tools are fighting each other. ",[24,7137,7139],{"id":7138},"why-your-growth-execs-are-drowning-and-how-to-save-them",[52,7140,7141],{},"Why Your Growth Execs are Drowning (And How to Save Them)",[14,7143,7144],{},"Growth leaders at the Series B stage are often forced into a \"performance\" mindset, feeling they must use every shiny new tool to prove they are staying ahead of the curve. But personality and success come through truth and tone, not forced jokes or loud branding.",[14,7146,7147],{},"When you are \"marketing-muddled,\" your message gets lost in the pipes. Instead of sharp, grounded leadership, you get a \"B2B brochure\" sound that says everything and means nothing. We prefer to be crisp without being clipped. We meet overwhelmed marketers with empathy and a plan, holding space for the chaos while holding the line on the strategy.",[14,7149,7150],{},[75,7151],{"alt":77,"src":7152},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F0068a9b3-9f23-4702-9a93-f2f88a49af9b-The-Franken-Stack-Failure-blog-image-2.png",[24,7154,7156],{"id":7155},"a-better-way-forward-introducing-the-mkgos",[52,7157,7158],{},"A Better Way Forward: Introducing the mkgOS",[14,7160,7161],{},"We don't believe in adding more noise to the signal. We believe in a unified layer of Strategy + Services + Tech—what we call the mkgOS.",[14,7163,7164],{},"Think of mkgOS not as another tool to add to the pile, but as the operating system that makes the pile functional. We don't talk in trends; we talk in tactics and systems. We speak fluently in ops because we live in operations—from Asana to OKRs to lead scoring models.",[14,7166,7167],{},"The mkgOS approach replaces tool-bloat with a predictable system by:",[46,7169,7170,7173,7176],{},[49,7171,7172],{},"Auditing for Impact: Cutting the tools that are just \"performance art\" and doubling down on the ones that actually \"feed the machine\".",[49,7174,7175],{},"Connecting the Pipes: Ensuring your data flows from initial touchpoint to final sale without manual intervention.",[49,7177,7178],{},"Operationalizing Strategy: Turning high-level goals into rhythmic execution.",[24,7180,7182],{"id":7181},"the-b2b-tech-stack-audit-clearing-the-fog",[52,7183,7184],{},"The B2B Tech Stack Audit: Clearing the Fog",[14,7186,7187],{},"A proper B2B Tech Stack Audit isn't just about cutting costs; it's about reclaiming your team's mental bandwidth. We want to \"get your brain back\". When we dive into your operations, we look for the \"ghosts in the machine\"—those automated sequences that no longer match your brand voice, or the \"zombie\" subscriptions that everyone forgot were even running.",[14,7189,7190],{},"We lead with a Lean Marketing Strategy. This isn't about being cheap; it's about being strategic, not sterile. It’s about ensuring that every dollar spent on a tool contributes to a clear, confident, no-B.S. bottom line.",[24,7192,7194],{"id":7193},"built-for-humans-proven-in-dashboards",[52,7195,7196],{},"Built for Humans. Proven in Dashboards.",[14,7198,7199],{},"We’ve done the reps. We know that a Lean Marketing Strategy isn't about doing less; it's about doing what actually works. We’re direct without being cold and crisp without being clipped.",[14,7201,7202],{},"If your current marketing setup feels like \"tactical inefficiencies\", it’s time to stop the random acts. You aren't broken. The system is. We meet overwhelmed marketers with empathy and a plan. We’re experienced, but not inflated.",[14,7204,7205],{},[75,7206],{"alt":77,"src":7207},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fc87e1693-0539-4302-b811-2f035a971543-The-Franken-Stack-Failure-blog-image-3.png",[24,7209,7211],{"id":7210},"stop-treading-water",[52,7212,7213],{},"Stop Treading Water",[14,7215,7216],{},"The \"Franken-Stack\" doesn't just cost money; it costs momentum. Every day your team spends fighting their tools is a day they aren't spending on outthinking your competition.",[14,7218,7219],{},"It’s time to move from \"reactive mode\" to a proactive, rhythmic engine. Let’s replace the fluff with something tight, thoughtful, and human. We’re here to help. We’re not afraid to say things the way our clients are thinking them—it's time to kill the Franken-Stack and build something that actually works.",[24,7221,7222],{"id":2913},[52,7223,2914],{},[14,7225,7226],{},"High-growth companies often fall into the \"Franken-Stack\" trap—owning dozens of disconnected tools that create data silos and \"Random Acts of Marketing\". This fragmentation wastes Series B capital and obscures true ROI. By implementing mkgOS, MKG Marketing provides a unified layer of strategy and operations that clears the fog, streamlines Marketing Operations, and replaces expensive tool bloat with a lean, predictable system that actually works.",[14,7228,7229],{},"Would you like me to draft a checklist for your first B2B Tech Stack Audit to see which of your tools are actually \"feeding the machine\"?",[5778,7231],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":7233},[7234,7235,7236,7237,7238,7239,7240,7241],{"id":7076,"depth":291,"text":7079},{"id":7093,"depth":291,"text":7096},{"id":7138,"depth":291,"text":7141},{"id":7155,"depth":291,"text":7158},{"id":7181,"depth":291,"text":7184},{"id":7193,"depth":291,"text":7196},{"id":7210,"depth":291,"text":7213},{"id":2913,"depth":291,"text":2914},"2026-03-25T17:59:00Z","Stop committing random acts of marketing. It’s time to trade tool-bloat for a predictable system that actually compounds.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-franken-stack-failure-hero-image-1.webp","The 'Franken-Stack' Failure",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-franken-stack-failure-why-your-disconnected-tools-are-cannibalizing-your-series-b-roi",{"title":7067,"description":7243},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-franken-stack-failure-why-your-disconnected-tools-are-cannibalizing-your-series-b-roi","EvxtCRBRKJXpuRerzrfXgVMduIdnV1CK41XJNRFv5Ts",{"id":7252,"title":7253,"author":7,"authors":7254,"body":7255,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":7593,"description":7594,"extension":318,"img":7595,"imgAlt":7596,"meta":7597,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":7598,"seo":7599,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":7600,"updated":7,"__hash__":7601},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-rhythmic-engine-why-your-big-launch-mentality-is-stalling-your-growth.md","The Rhythmic Engine - Why Your 'Big Launch' Mentality is Stalling Your Growth",[],{"type":11,"value":7256,"toc":7577},[7257,7260,7263,7266,7269,7272,7275,7278,7281,7284,7289,7295,7298,7301,7304,7321,7327,7330,7333,7336,7339,7342,7348,7355,7358,7361,7368,7382,7385,7388,7390,7395,7401,7404,7407,7410,7416,7419,7425,7428,7431,7437,7440,7446,7449,7452,7458,7461,7464,7470,7473,7490,7493,7499,7502,7516,7519,7525,7528,7531,7536,7542,7545,7548,7563,7566,7569,7572,7575],[14,7258,7259],{},"Big launches are intoxicating.",[14,7261,7262],{},"They come with urgency, deadlines, and a clear finish line. Everyone rallies. The deck gets polished. The campaign goes live. The team feels momentum, because for a moment, everything moves at once.",[14,7264,7265],{},"Then… it fades.",[14,7267,7268],{},"The backlog fills up again. Priorities shift. The team goes quiet while they “catch up.” And the market stops hearing from you until the next big push.",[14,7270,7271],{},"That cycle—burst, silence, burst—has become the default operating mode for many Series A–C teams. It’s understandable. Resources are lean. Everyone wears five hats. The calendar is full. So marketing becomes a series of sprints toward a launch and long stretches of maintenance in between.",[14,7273,7274],{},"But here’s the problem: the market doesn’t reward bursts. It rewards presence. And in 2026, it’s not just humans paying attention. AI systems are constantly learning your category, absorbing patterns, sources, and repeated signals of authority.",[14,7276,7277],{},"When you disappear, you don’t just lose awareness. You lose momentum within the systems that shape recommendations.",[14,7279,7280],{},"This is the quiet cost of “big launch mentality”: you stall your own growth engine.",[14,7282,7283],{},"Because growth isn’t a one-time event. It’s a rhythm.",[14,7285,7286],{},[75,7287],{"alt":77,"src":7288},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F6d4df7af-cd24-460a-ab36-7f054fbbd218-The-Rhythmic-Engine-blog-image-1.png",[24,7290,7292],{"id":7291},"bursts-silence-and-the-new-cost-of-going-quiet",[52,7293,7294],{},"Bursts, Silence, and the New Cost of Going Quiet",[14,7296,7297],{},"The chaos is subtle because bursts can still produce wins. You might see a spike in traffic. A jump in demos. A short-lived lift in the pipeline. The team celebrates. It worked.",[14,7299,7300],{},"But then you go quiet, and the compounding stops.",[14,7302,7303],{},"Here’s what that burst-and-silence pattern creates:",[46,7305,7306,7309,7312,7315,7318],{},[49,7307,7308],{},"Your messaging changes every launch, so the market never learns your true position",[49,7310,7311],{},"Your channels never stabilize long enough to optimize properly",[49,7313,7314],{},"Your reporting resets every quarter instead of building trend clarity",[49,7316,7317],{},"Your content footprint looks inconsistent, even if each piece is good",[49,7319,7320],{},"Your audience hears from you in waves, not in a steady cadence",[14,7322,7323,7324,212],{},"And now there’s a newer problem: ",[52,7325,7326],{},"Share of Model",[14,7328,7329],{},"AI systems learn from repeated, consistent signals across the web. They pick up on brands that appear frequently, say the same thing consistently, and earn citations over time. If your presence is episodic, you’re easier to forget and harder to recommend.",[14,7331,7332],{},"In other words: you’re not just competing for attention. You’re competing for memory.",[14,7334,7335],{},"A launch spike doesn’t build memory. Rhythm does.",[14,7337,7338],{},"That’s why “Random Acts” marketing is so expensive. Not because it never works, but because it can’t compound. It creates isolated moments instead of an engine.",[14,7340,7341],{},"If your team is constantly trying to recreate momentum from scratch, it’s not a creativity problem. It’s an operating problem.",[24,7343,7345],{"id":7344},"rhythm-track-and-the-systemic-always-on-model",[52,7346,7347],{},"Rhythm (TRACK) and the Systemic Always-On Model",[14,7349,7350,7351,7354],{},"At MKG, we anchor the fix to the ",[52,7352,7353],{},"Rhythm"," pillar of TRACK.",[14,7356,7357],{},"Rhythm is what turns marketing from a series of heroic pushes into a predictable engine. It’s the cadence that keeps your message, your channels, and your measurement moving forward—even when no “big launch” is happening.",[14,7359,7360],{},"When Rhythm is present, momentum becomes structural.",[14,7362,7363,7364,7367],{},"That’s what mkgOS is built to do: create a ",[52,7365,7366],{},"Systemic Always-On"," approach where progress is weekly, not occasional. It’s not “always-on” in the sense of running the same campaign forever. It’s always-on in the sense of maintaining a consistent operating heartbeat:",[46,7369,7370,7373,7376,7379],{},[49,7371,7372],{},"Weekly priorities",[49,7374,7375],{},"Weekly shipping",[49,7377,7378],{},"Weekly learning",[49,7380,7381],{},"Weekly refinement",[14,7383,7384],{},"This is how you stay top-of-mind for humans, and stay present in the training data patterns that shape AI recommendations.",[14,7386,7387],{},"And it’s how you stop treating growth like a series of events and start treating it like a system.",[5778,7389],{},[14,7391,7392],{},[75,7393],{"alt":77,"src":7394},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F63e2878c-3d12-44d3-bb65-405da405de1b-The-Rhythmic-Engine-blog-image-2.png",[24,7396,7398],{"id":7397},"why-rhythm-beats-launches-even-when-launches-are-good",[52,7399,7400],{},"Why Rhythm Beats Launches (Even When Launches Are Good)",[14,7402,7403],{},"Launches have a place. But launches are peaks. And peaks only matter if there’s a base underneath them.",[14,7405,7406],{},"Rhythm builds the base.",[14,7408,7409],{},"Here’s what changes when you shift from “big launch” to “rhythmic engine”:",[81,7411,7413],{"id":7412},"_1-your-message-becomes-learnable",[52,7414,7415],{},"1) Your message becomes learnable",[14,7417,7418],{},"A market can’t remember what keeps changing. When you ship consistently, your core story repeats across multiple surfaces. That repetition isn’t boring—it’s what creates clarity. It’s how people (and AI systems) learn what you’re known for.",[81,7420,7422],{"id":7421},"_2-your-channels-become-optimizable",[52,7423,7424],{},"2) Your channels become optimizable",[14,7426,7427],{},"Bursts don’t allow iteration. Rhythm does.",[14,7429,7430],{},"Paid campaigns get smarter because learnings roll forward week after week. Content gets sharper because you’re building depth, not just volume. Landing pages improve because you’re refining based on patterns, not hunches.",[81,7432,7434],{"id":7433},"_3-your-measurement-becomes-trustworthy",[52,7435,7436],{},"3) Your measurement becomes trustworthy",[14,7438,7439],{},"When everything happens in spikes, measurement becomes emotional. A rhythm creates baselines. Baselines create honest decisions. Honest decisions create better outcomes.",[81,7441,7443],{"id":7442},"_4-your-team-stops-restarting",[52,7444,7445],{},"4) Your team stops restarting",[14,7447,7448],{},"This is the hidden benefit. Rhythm reduces reinvention. When you run an operating cadence, you’re not rebuilding a plan every time. You’re adjusting a system that’s already moving.",[14,7450,7451],{},"This is the difference between pushing a stalled car and driving an engine that’s already running.",[24,7453,7455],{"id":7454},"what-systemic-always-on-looks-like-in-practice",[52,7456,7457],{},"What “Systemic Always-On” Looks Like in Practice",[14,7459,7460],{},"Systemic always-on doesn’t mean doing everything, all the time. It means doing the right things consistently.",[14,7462,7463],{},"Here’s the mkgOS-style structure:",[81,7465,7467],{"id":7466},"weekly-ship-something-that-compounds",[52,7468,7469],{},"Weekly: Ship something that compounds",[14,7471,7472],{},"Not “post for posting’s sake.” Something that moves the system:",[46,7474,7475,7478,7481,7484,7487],{},[49,7476,7477],{},"A new insight published in an authoritative lane.",[49,7479,7480],{},"A landing page refinement tied to performance data.",[49,7482,7483],{},"A campaign iteration based on what the market responded to.",[49,7485,7486],{},"A proof asset, case snippet, or use-case expansion.",[49,7488,7489],{},"A distribution push that earns external mentions",[14,7491,7492],{},"The key is that each week builds on the last.",[81,7494,7496],{"id":7495},"monthly-turn-learning-into-next-actions",[52,7497,7498],{},"Monthly: Turn learning into next actions",[14,7500,7501],{},"Monthly shouldn’t be “reporting theater.” It should be:",[46,7503,7504,7507,7510,7513],{},[49,7505,7506],{},"What worked",[49,7508,7509],{},"What didn’t",[49,7511,7512],{},"What we’re changing",[49,7514,7515],{},"What we’re doubling down on",[14,7517,7518],{},"This is how marketing consistency becomes measurable, not just aspirational.",[81,7520,7522],{"id":7521},"quarterly-use-launches-as-accelerators-not-lifeboats",[52,7523,7524],{},"Quarterly: Use launches as accelerators, not lifeboats",[14,7526,7527],{},"Launches become strategic peaks atop a stable base. Instead of “we need a launch to create momentum,” it becomes “the launch amplifies the momentum we already have.”",[14,7529,7530],{},"That’s how launches become powerful again: because they’re not carrying the entire strategy.",[14,7532,7533],{},[75,7534],{"alt":77,"src":7535},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fe69b6e90-0e83-4fb1-8c81-6502374189f5-The-Rhythmic-Engine-blog-image-3.png",[24,7537,7539],{"id":7538},"the-2026-reality-consistency-is-the-growth-strategy",[52,7540,7541],{},"The 2026 reality: Consistency is the growth strategy",[14,7543,7544],{},"In 2026, you don’t just need a strong message. You need a strong cadence.",[14,7546,7547],{},"Markets are noisy. Trust is scarce. AI tools are compressing categories into shortlists based on repeated, consistent signals. If you go quiet, you don’t just lose attention—you lose position.",[14,7549,7550,7551,7554,7555,7558,7559,7562],{},"This is why ",[52,7552,7553],{},"Marketing Consistency"," isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a core lever in any modern ",[52,7556,7557],{},"B2B Growth Strategy"," (and yes, even if you avoid the acronym in your public-facing copy, the operational reality is the same). It’s also why teams focused on ",[52,7560,7561],{},"Scaling Series B Marketing"," hit a wall when they rely on launches: the business outgrows burst mode.",[14,7564,7565],{},"The brands that win aren’t the ones with the biggest moments. They’re the ones with the steadiest engine.",[14,7567,7568],{},"mkgOS exists for this exact shift: from random acts to rhythm, from spikes to systems, from launch mentality to compounding momentum.",[14,7570,7571],{},"Because the real unlock isn’t the next big launch.",[14,7573,7574],{},"It’s the rhythmic engine you build in between.",[5778,7576],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":7578},[7579,7580,7581,7587,7592],{"id":7291,"depth":291,"text":7294},{"id":7344,"depth":291,"text":7347},{"id":7397,"depth":291,"text":7400,"children":7582},[7583,7584,7585,7586],{"id":7412,"depth":297,"text":7415},{"id":7421,"depth":297,"text":7424},{"id":7433,"depth":297,"text":7436},{"id":7442,"depth":297,"text":7445},{"id":7454,"depth":291,"text":7457,"children":7588},[7589,7590,7591],{"id":7466,"depth":297,"text":7469},{"id":7495,"depth":297,"text":7498},{"id":7521,"depth":297,"text":7524},{"id":7538,"depth":291,"text":7541},"2026-03-18T17:59:00Z","Bursts feel productive. Rhythm builds momentum—especially when AI is learning your category every day.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FThe-Rhythmic-Engine-hero-image.webp","The Rhythmic Engine",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-rhythmic-engine-why-your-big-launch-mentality-is-stalling-your-growth",{"title":7253,"description":7594},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-rhythmic-engine-why-your-big-launch-mentality-is-stalling-your-growth","LpLet9DIsbqYBNIvxP71l5oUOuWNvvWpLgA3wI9Ic9c",{"id":7603,"title":7604,"author":7,"authors":7605,"body":7606,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":8043,"description":8044,"extension":318,"img":8045,"imgAlt":8046,"meta":8047,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":8048,"seo":8049,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":8050,"updated":7,"__hash__":8051},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-content-inflation-crisis-how-to-build-brand-authority-in-an-era-of-ai-mediocrity.md","The Content Inflation Crisis - How to Build Brand Authority in an Era of AI Mediocrity",[],{"type":11,"value":7607,"toc":8028},[7608,7611,7614,7621,7624,7631,7634,7640,7643,7646,7651,7657,7660,7663,7666,7683,7689,7696,7702,7710,7722,7729,7732,7745,7748,7753,7767,7770,7777,7797,7804,7807,7827,7834,7840,7846,7849,7855,7858,7865,7879,7882,7899,7902,7908,7911,7928,7933,7939,7942,7945,7951,7954,7957,7962,7968,7971,7974,8001,8008,8011,8014,8017,8020],[14,7609,7610],{},"The internet is drowning in content, and your buyers are getting picky.",[14,7612,7613],{},"Not picky about the \"let’s compare five options\" way. Picky in the I’m not reading any of this way.",[14,7615,7616,7617,7620],{},"That’s the Content Inflation Crisis: the supply of content exploded, the average quality dropped, and trust became a scarce resource. AI accelerated the problem by making it cheap to produce words that look convincing but say nothing. The result is what people are calling ",[38,7618,7619],{},"AI-slop","—generic content that feels polished yet strangely empty.",[14,7622,7623],{},"And the consequences are real.",[14,7625,7626,7627,7630],{},"Gartner has predicted that traditional search engine volume will drop ",[52,7628,7629],{},"25% by 2026",", as people shift from classic search toward AI chatbots and other virtual agents. That isn’t just a traffic forecast. It’s a behavioral forecast: fewer clicks, fewer opportunities to win the visit, and more decisions made within summaries.",[14,7632,7633],{},"So even if your content still ranks, it may not perform. Because buyers are filtering faster, and AI systems are summarizing the web into shortlists.",[14,7635,7636,7637,212],{},"In other words, content isn’t competing for attention anymore. It’s competing for ",[52,7638,7639],{},"trust",[14,7641,7642],{},"If your current strategy is to publish more, 2026 will feel brutal. More content will not solve a trust deficit. It will usually make it worse.",[14,7644,7645],{},"What works now is the opposite: fewer pieces, more substance, and a system built to compound authority over time.",[14,7647,7648],{},[75,7649],{"alt":77,"src":7650},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fdee800c7-74ac-4280-a8d3-166b63509954-mkg-blog-the-content-inflation-crisis-image1.png",[24,7652,7654],{"id":7653},"when-more-content-produces-less-impact",[52,7655,7656],{},"When “More Content” Produces Less Impact",[14,7658,7659],{},"Here’s the chaos: marketing teams are shipping more than ever, and results are getting harder to prove.",[14,7661,7662],{},"Buyers have learned to pattern-match fluff. They can smell a generic article from the first paragraph. They skim, bounce, and move on—or they ask an AI tool to summarize the answer without visiting a site at all.",[14,7664,7665],{},"That creates a nasty double bind:",[46,7667,7668,7671,7674,7677],{},[49,7669,7670],{},"Your team publishes more to keep up.",[49,7672,7673],{},"The market is less trusting as average content quality declines.",[49,7675,7676],{},"AI systems summarize your category using sources that seem more credible than your own.",[49,7678,2852,7679,7682],{},[38,7680,7681],{},"top-of-funnel"," traffic becomes less predictable, even when rankings look fine.",[14,7684,7685,7686,212],{},"This is why traditional content marketing is starting to feel ineffective. It’s not that the content stopped working. It’s that ",[38,7687,7688],{},"mediocre content is no longer tolerated",[14,7690,7691,7692,7695],{},"And if your brand blends into the sea of sameness, you don’t just lose readers. You lose ",[52,7693,7694],{},"Brand Trust","—the real currency now.",[24,7697,7699],{"id":7698},"knowledge-consistency-track-in-a-world-of-ai-mediocrity",[52,7700,7701],{},"Knowledge + Consistency (TRACK) in a World of AI Mediocrity",[14,7703,7704,7705,2504,7708,212],{},"At MKG, we pivot out of this inflation trap by leaning on two pillars that don’t care about trends: ",[52,7706,7707],{},"Knowledge",[52,7709,5370],{},[46,7711,7712,7717],{},[49,7713,7714,7716],{},[52,7715,7707],{}," means your content is led by real expertise—insight the market can’t get from a generic rewrite. It’s opinionated, specific, and grounded in experience.",[49,7718,7719,7721],{},[52,7720,5370],{}," means your expertise shows up predictably over time, across topics, and across formats, so trust compounds rather than resets with every post.",[14,7723,7724,7725,7728],{},"This is where most brands get it wrong. They think authority is a content volume problem. It’s not. Authority is a ",[52,7726,7727],{},"signal quality"," problem.",[14,7730,7731],{},"And in 2026, signal quality faces a new requirement: it must survive AI.",[14,7733,7734,7735,2504,7738,7740,7741,7744],{},"That’s why we connect TRACK to ",[52,7736,7737],{},"SVO (Search Visibility Optimization)",[52,7739,768],{},". The goal isn’t just to be discoverable. It’s to ensure your best ",[38,7742,7743],{},"human"," insights are the ones AI engines actually cite when generating answers.",[14,7746,7747],{},"Because if AI systems become the front door, you want your expertise to be the source material—not someone else’s summary of your category.",[14,7749,7750],{},[75,7751],{"alt":77,"src":7752},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F29db045a-a12d-4fd1-938f-c92d18774e31-mkg-blog-the-content-inflation-crisis-image2.png",[24,7754,7756,1042,7759,1042,7764],{"id":7755},"what-authority-looks-like-when-ai-is-doing-the-summarizing",[52,7757,7758],{},"What",[38,7760,7761],{},[52,7762,7763],{},"Authority",[52,7765,7766],{},"Looks Like When AI Is Doing the Summarizing",[14,7768,7769],{},"If you want to build authority in this era, you need to understand what AI engines tend to reward.",[14,7771,7772,7773,7776],{},"They don’t ",[38,7774,7775],{},"love"," your brand. They love what they can confidently reuse:",[46,7778,7779,7782,7785,7788,7791,7794],{},[49,7780,7781],{},"Clear definitions",[49,7783,7784],{},"Specific frameworks",[49,7786,7787],{},"Distinct points of view with reasoning",[49,7789,7790],{},"Examples, constraints, and lessons learned",[49,7792,7793],{},"Consistent language across your site and footprint",[49,7795,7796],{},"Proof that sounds like reality, not marketing",[14,7798,7799,7800,7803],{},"This is where ",[52,7801,7802],{},"AI Governance in Marketing"," matters. Not as bureaucracy—as discipline. Governance is how you prevent your brand from becoming an inconsistent set of claims across dozens of posts written by different people (or tools). It’s how you enforce a shared voice, shared definitions, and shared standards so the market—and AI—can learn who you are.",[14,7805,7806],{},"Authority is built when your content is:",[132,7808,7809,7815,7821],{},[49,7810,7811,7814],{},[52,7812,7813],{},"Original"," (not a rewrite of what’s already ranking)",[49,7816,7817,7820],{},[52,7818,7819],{},"Structured"," (easy to extract and summarize)",[49,7822,7823,7826],{},[52,7824,7825],{},"Repeated"," (reinforced across multiple angles over time)",[14,7828,7829,7830,7833],{},"That’s the play. Not ",[38,7831,7832],{},"more content",". Better signal.",[24,7835,7837],{"id":7836},"the-svo-playbook-make-your-expertise-citable",[52,7838,7839],{},"The SVO Playbook: Make Your Expertise Citable",[14,7841,7842,7843],{},"SVO is the operating system for modern visibility. It forces one question: ",[38,7844,7845],{},"Will this be trusted, reused, and cited—across surfaces?",[14,7847,7848],{},"Here’s how to execute SVO without turning it into an endless content project.",[81,7850,7852],{"id":7851},"_1-pick-35-authority-lanes",[52,7853,7854],{},"1) Pick 3–5 “authority lanes.”",[14,7856,7857],{},"Most brands publish across too many topics and end up owning none of them. Choose a small set of themes where you can be unmistakably helpful and consistently specific.",[14,7859,7860,7861,7864],{},"This is the foundation of ",[52,7862,7863],{},"Content Strategy 2026",": focus beats frequency.",[81,7866,7868,1042,7871,1042,7876],{"id":7867},"_2-build-answer-shaped-assets-not-generic-posts",[52,7869,7870],{},"2) Build",[38,7872,7873],{},[52,7874,7875],{},"answer-shaped",[52,7877,7878],{},"assets, not generic posts",[14,7880,7881],{},"AI engines tend to cite content that is structured like guidance:",[46,7883,7884,7887,7890,7893,7896],{},[49,7885,7886],{},"“What is X?” definitions with clear boundaries",[49,7888,7889],{},"“X vs Y” comparisons with tradeoffs",[49,7891,7892],{},"“How to choose” decision criteria",[49,7894,7895],{},"Step-by-step frameworks",[49,7897,7898],{},"Common mistakes and how to avoid them",[14,7900,7901],{},"These formats aren’t trendy. They’re extractable.",[81,7903,7905],{"id":7904},"_3-add-proof-that-cant-be-faked",[52,7906,7907],{},"3) Add proof that can’t be faked",[14,7909,7910],{},"Authority doesn’t come from adjectives. It comes from evidence:",[46,7912,7913,7916,7919,7922,7925],{},[49,7914,7915],{},"What you tried",[49,7917,7918],{},"What happened",[49,7920,7921],{},"What you changed",[49,7923,7924],{},"What you learned",[49,7926,7927],{},"What you’d do differently next time",[14,7929,7799,7930,7932],{},[38,7931,7743],{}," content wins. AI can generate generic advice. It can’t generate your lived pattern recognition.",[81,7934,7936],{"id":7935},"_4-standardize-language-across-the-footprint",[52,7937,7938],{},"4) Standardize language across the footprint",[14,7940,7941],{},"If you use five different phrases for the same concept, you dilute your signal. Consistency matters for humans and machines. Define your core terms, naming conventions, and positioning statements—and reuse them across content.",[14,7943,7944],{},"That’s governance again. It’s also how you stop AI from summarizing you inaccurately.",[81,7946,7948],{"id":7947},"_5-publish-less-but-publish-on-purpose",[52,7949,7950],{},"5) Publish less, but publish on purpose",[14,7952,7953],{},"The goal is compounding authority. That only happens when each new piece reinforces a lane, links to the core assets, and adds a new layer of depth.",[14,7955,7956],{},"If your content calendar is a roulette wheel, authority won’t compound. It will reset.",[14,7958,7959],{},[75,7960],{"alt":77,"src":7961},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F2c25e537-e024-40a9-abde-481e425d66b3-mkg-blog-the-content-inflation-crisis-image3.png",[24,7963,7965],{"id":7964},"the-bottom-line-authority-is-the-only-moat-left",[52,7966,7967],{},"The Bottom Line: Authority Is the Only Moat Left",[14,7969,7970],{},"In an era of AI mediocrity, the brands that win won’t be the ones who publish the most. They’ll be the hardest to replace.",[14,7972,7973],{},"That requires a shift:",[46,7975,7976,7979,7982,7985,7995],{},[49,7977,7978],{},"From volume to signal",[49,7980,7981],{},"From generic to expert-led",[49,7983,7984],{},"From one-off posts to consistent authority lanes",[49,7986,7987,7988,7991,7992,7994],{},"From ",[38,7989,7990],{},"ranking"," to ",[52,7993,768],{}," that earns citations",[49,7996,7997,7998,8000],{},"From content output to ",[52,7999,7694],{}," as the metric that matters",[14,8002,8003,8004,8007],{},"If Gartner is right and classic search volume drops meaningfully by 2026, the brands that survive will be the ones whose expertise shows up ",[38,8005,8006],{},"in the answers",", not just on the results page.",[14,8009,8010],{},"The Content Inflation Crisis is real. But it’s also an opportunity.",[14,8012,8013],{},"Because when most content becomes noise, the market becomes desperate for signal. And if you build with Knowledge, enforce Consistency, and run SVO like a system, your brand won’t just be visible.",[14,8015,8016],{},"It’ll be trusted.",[14,8018,8019],{},"Add in a Call to Action section here that guides users to the next logical step (link to SVO Services page, ",[14,8021,8022,8027],{},[206,8023,8026],{"href":8024,"rel":8025},"https:\u002F\u002F1zgok.share.hsforms.com\u002F2cOmJ7URST7aHvXaKILoupg",[210],"Book a Discovery call",", Join our Newsletter.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":8029},[8030,8031,8032,8034,8042],{"id":7653,"depth":291,"text":7656},{"id":7698,"depth":291,"text":7701},{"id":7755,"depth":291,"text":8033},"What Authority Looks Like When AI Is Doing the Summarizing",{"id":7836,"depth":291,"text":7839,"children":8035},[8036,8037,8039,8040,8041],{"id":7851,"depth":297,"text":7854},{"id":7867,"depth":297,"text":8038},"2) Build answer-shaped assets, not generic posts",{"id":7904,"depth":297,"text":7907},{"id":7935,"depth":297,"text":7938},{"id":7947,"depth":297,"text":7950},{"id":7964,"depth":291,"text":7967},"2026-03-11T17:59:00Z","When everyone can publish, most content becomes noise. Here’s how to earn trust—and be cited—in 2026.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fmkg-blog-the-content-inflation-crisis-image.webp","The Content Inflation Crisis",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-content-inflation-crisis-how-to-build-brand-authority-in-an-era-of-ai-mediocrity",{"title":7604,"description":8044},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-content-inflation-crisis-how-to-build-brand-authority-in-an-era-of-ai-mediocrity","TVvFxeb23FBKETOCivq6a7CxCaovVCgX4iN7HPySERg",{"id":8053,"title":8054,"author":7,"authors":8055,"body":8056,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":8432,"description":8433,"extension":318,"img":8434,"imgAlt":8435,"meta":8436,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":8437,"seo":8438,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":8439,"updated":7,"__hash__":8440},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fbeyond-the-attribution-mirage-solving-the-2026-truth-deficit-in-paid-social.md","Beyond the Attribution Mirage - Solving the 2026 'Truth' Deficit in Paid Social",[],{"type":11,"value":8057,"toc":8420},[8058,8061,8064,8067,8070,8073,8076,8081,8087,8090,8093,8096,8113,8116,8119,8122,8128,8137,8147,8150,8161,8209,8212,8218,8225,8231,8234,8237,8243,8246,8257,8264,8270,8273,8276,8290,8293,8299,8302,8305,8319,8322,8328,8335,8338,8355,8358,8363,8369,8372,8392,8395,8398,8401,8404,8408,8418],[14,8059,8060],{},"Paid social has a credibility problem—not because it stopped working, but because platform and CRM stories don’t line up.",[14,8062,8063],{},"You’ve seen it: the platform says, “conversions are up,” sales says, “We can’t find these people.” In-channel, numbers look great. In the CRM, they don’t. That gap doesn’t just confuse—it creates friction.",[14,8065,8066],{},"Marketing thinks they’re delivering. Sales thinks they’re getting ghosts. Leadership thinks they’re paying for an activity no one can defend. That friction is costly: it slows decision-making, erodes trust, and pushes teams to chase easy metrics instead of real revenue.",[14,8068,8069],{},"In 2026, this gets worse. Privacy changes, modeled conversions, partial tracking, cross-device behavior, and AI optimization make platform reporting more aggressive—sometimes “right” in-platform and still wrong where it counts: your revenue system.",[14,8071,8072],{},"That’s the problem: an attribution mirage—what happens when measurement turns into marketing.",[14,8074,8075],{},"The fix isn’t abandoning paid social. It’s rebuilding truth and accountability from click to closed-won.",[14,8077,8078],{},[75,8079],{"alt":77,"src":8080},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fa7822f1e-6f9d-45b2-ac53-8b9b43c20a82-MKG-Blog-beyond-the-attribution-mirage-image-1.png",[24,8082,8084],{"id":8083},"the-chaos-hook-when-conversions-dont-exist-in-the-crm",[52,8085,8086],{},"The Chaos Hook: When “Conversions” Don’t Exist in the CRM",[14,8088,8089],{},"Here’s the chaos: platforms like LinkedIn can report conversions that never show up as real records downstream.",[14,8091,8092],{},"On paper, it looks like success. In the CRM, it doesn’t exist.",[14,8094,8095],{},"This shows up in a few familiar ways:",[46,8097,8098,8101,8104,8107,8110],{},[49,8099,8100],{},"Leads appear in a platform dashboard but don’t exist in your CRM.",[49,8102,8103],{},"Leads exist, but the source is wrong or missing.",[49,8105,8106],{},"Leads exist, but sales can’t contact them, qualify them, or tie them to revenue.",[49,8108,8109],{},"“Conversions” spike after tracking changes, but the pipeline doesn’t move.",[49,8111,8112],{},"Marketing optimizes toward what the platform calls a conversion, while sales judges success by meetings and revenue.",[14,8114,8115],{},"And then comes the predictable meeting dynamic: marketing defends the report, sales rejects the leads, and leadership gets stuck trying to reconcile two realities.",[14,8117,8118],{},"This isn’t a “marketing vs sales” personality problem. It’s a data pipeline problem.",[14,8120,8121],{},"If the pipeline from click → form → database → qualification → opportunity → closed-won is broken anywhere, you’ll get mirage metrics. And the more you spend, the more confidently wrong the story becomes.",[24,8123,8125],{"id":8124},"the-mkg-pivot-truth-accountability-track-from-click-to-closed-won",[52,8126,8127],{},"The MKG Pivot: Truth + Accountability (TRACK) from Click to Closed-Won",[14,8129,8130,8131,2504,8134,212],{},"At MKG, we treat this as a TRACK problem—specifically, the pillars that keep performance honest: ",[52,8132,8133],{},"Truth",[52,8135,8136],{},"Accountability",[14,8138,8139,8141,8142,8144,8146],{},[52,8140,8133],{}," means we don’t accept platform-reported success as reality. We verify it in the systems that carry revenue.",[5778,8143],{},[52,8145,8136],{}," means marketing performance is tied to outcomes that matter—meetings, opportunities, closed-won—not just clicks or in-platform “conversions.”",[14,8148,8149],{},"Here’s the practical version.",[14,8151,8152,8153,8156,8157,8160],{},"LinkedIn reports ",[52,8154,8155],{},"48 conversions"," last month. Sales says they only worked on ",[52,8158,8159],{},"12"," new records. We don’t debate the dashboard—we trace one conversion end-to-end:",[132,8162,8163,8169,8175,8181,8191,8197,8203],{},[49,8164,8165,8168],{},[52,8166,8167],{},"Click"," → UTMs captured",[49,8170,8171,8174],{},[52,8172,8173],{},"Form submit"," → submission event fires",[49,8176,8177,8180],{},[52,8178,8179],{},"Form tool"," → UTMs stored with the record",[49,8182,8183,8186,8187,8190],{},[52,8184,8185],{},"CRM sync"," → lead\u002Fcontact created ",[38,8188,8189],{},"or"," matched",[49,8192,8193,8196],{},[52,8194,8195],{},"Routing"," → owner assigned, no silent rejects",[49,8198,8199,8202],{},[52,8200,8201],{},"Sales disposition"," → qualified or not (with a reason)",[49,8204,8205,8208],{},[52,8206,8207],{},"Progression"," → meeting → opportunity → closed-won (or it stops)",[14,8210,8211],{},"When the numbers don’t match, it’s almost always a breakpoint: duplicate counting, UTMs dropped, CRM rejects\u002Fquarantine rules, or “conversions” that matched existing contacts and never became new pipeline.",[14,8213,8214,8215],{},"That’s the pivot: ",[52,8216,8217],{},"optimize to what the business can prove—not what the platform can claim.",[14,8219,8220,8223],{},[75,8221],{"alt":77,"src":8222},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002Fc4044d36-bcaf-4e33-bb62-a485a6896249-MKG-Blog-beyond-the-attribution-mirage-image-2.png",[5778,8224],{},[24,8226,8228],{"id":8227},"the-truth-audit-how-to-validate-paid-social-performance-end-to-end",[52,8229,8230],{},"The Truth Audit: How to Validate Paid Social Performance End-to-End",[14,8232,8233],{},"If you want to solve the mirage, you need to stop debating dashboards and start tracing the pipeline.",[14,8235,8236],{},"Here’s a practical audit sequence we run.",[81,8238,8240],{"id":8239},"_1-start-with-one-conversion-eventand-follow-it-like-a-detective",[52,8241,8242],{},"1) Start with one conversion event—and follow it like a detective",[14,8244,8245],{},"Pick the primary conversion event you’re optimizing toward (form fill, demo request, contact form, etc.). Then map the actual path:",[46,8247,8248,8251,8254],{},[49,8249,8250],{},"Click captured → landing page loads → form submit → thank-you event → platform conversion recorded",[49,8252,8253],{},"Form data captured → routed to CRM → assigned to owner → disposition recorded",[49,8255,8256],{},"Meeting booked\u002Fheld → opportunity created → outcome logged",[14,8258,8259,8260,8263],{},"You’re not looking for perfection. You’re looking for ",[52,8261,8262],{},"breakpoints","—places where reality disappears.",[81,8265,8267],{"id":8266},"_2-verify-identity-resolution-and-deduplication",[52,8268,8269],{},"2) Verify identity resolution and deduplication",[14,8271,8272],{},"A “conversion” isn’t valuable if it creates duplicates, overwrites existing contacts, or gets routed incorrectly.",[14,8274,8275],{},"Common issues:",[46,8277,8278,8281,8284,8287],{},[49,8279,8280],{},"Duplicate records for the same person across sources.",[49,8282,8283],{},"Auto-enrichment tools overwriting attribution fields.",[49,8285,8286],{},"Form tools passing partial data (missing parameters).",[49,8288,8289],{},"CRM rules that block creation when required fields are missing.",[14,8291,8292],{},"If sales can’t find the record, nothing else matters.",[81,8294,8296],{"id":8295},"_3-validate-attribution-fields-where-decisions-are-made",[52,8297,8298],{},"3) Validate attribution fields where decisions are made",[14,8300,8301],{},"This is where the mirage often lives. The platform sees one story; the CRM sees another.",[14,8303,8304],{},"You need to confirm:",[46,8306,8307,8310,8313,8316],{},[49,8308,8309],{},"UTMs persist through redirects and form tools",[49,8311,8312],{},"First-touch and last-touch logic is consistent",[49,8314,8315],{},"“Source \u002F Medium \u002F Campaign” fields populate reliably",[49,8317,8318],{},"Offline conversion uploads (if used) match the right records",[14,8320,8321],{},"If your CRM attribution is inconsistent, your reporting will become political.",[81,8323,8325],{"id":8324},"_4-build-a-reconciliation-report-that-both-teams-trust",[52,8326,8327],{},"4) Build a reconciliation report that both teams trust",[14,8329,8330,8331,8334],{},"This is the bridge to ",[52,8332,8333],{},"Marketing-Sales Alignment 2026",": one shared scoreboard.",[14,8336,8337],{},"A reconciliation report answers:",[46,8339,8340,8343,8346,8349,8352],{},[49,8341,8342],{},"How many platform conversions became CRM records?",[49,8344,8345],{},"How many became qualified conversations?",[49,8347,8348],{},"How many became opportunities?",[49,8350,8351],{},"What’s the lag time by stage?",[49,8353,8354],{},"Which campaigns produce real downstream movement?",[14,8356,8357],{},"This turns “platform performance” into a business conversation.",[14,8359,8360],{},[75,8361],{"alt":77,"src":8362},"https:\u002F\u002Fassets.mkgmarketinginc.com\u002F27564711-2b1c-4544-be07-4d7ab2b5b2f2-MKG-Blog-beyond-the-attribution-mirage-image-3.png",[24,8364,8366],{"id":8365},"what-changes-when-truth-and-accountability-are-non-negotiable",[52,8367,8368],{},"What Changes When Truth and Accountability Are Non-Negotiable",[14,8370,8371],{},"When you run this audit, three things happen fast:",[132,8373,8374,8380,8386],{},[49,8375,8376,8377,8379],{},"You stop paying for invisible outcomes.",[5778,8378],{},"Campaigns that “look great” but don’t produce real records get exposed.",[49,8381,8382,8383,8385],{},"You regain control of optimization.",[5778,8384],{},"Instead of optimizing for platform-defined conversions, you optimize for verified signals that feed into the pipeline.",[49,8387,8388,8389,8391],{},"You rebuild trust between marketing and sales.",[5778,8390],{},"Because the conversation shifts from “I swear these conversations are real” to “Here’s the chain of evidence from click to closed-won.”",[14,8393,8394],{},"That’s what Truth does. It stops the arguing.",[14,8396,8397],{},"And Accountability makes the next step possible: changing what you optimize for.",[14,8399,8400],{},"In 2026, paid social won’t be won by the teams with the flashiest creative or the biggest budgets. It will be won by the teams who can prove what’s real.",[14,8402,8403],{},"Because when measurement becomes marketing, the only way forward is to audit the truth.",[24,8405,8406],{"id":2913},[52,8407,2914],{},[14,8409,8410,8411,8414,8415,8417],{},"Platforms will keep reporting conversions. The question is whether those conversions survive the journey into your revenue system. If your LinkedIn “wins” don’t appear in the CRM, you’re facing an attribution mirage, and it will keep creating friction until you audit the click-to-closed-won pipeline. Using the Truth and Accountability pillars of TRACK, validate identity, attribution fields, routing rules, and stage progression, so ",[52,8412,8413],{},"Paid Social ROI"," is defensible, and ",[52,8416,8333],{}," becomes a shared reality, not a debate.",[5778,8419],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":8421},[8422,8423,8424,8430,8431],{"id":8083,"depth":291,"text":8086},{"id":8124,"depth":291,"text":8127},{"id":8227,"depth":291,"text":8230,"children":8425},[8426,8427,8428,8429],{"id":8239,"depth":297,"text":8242},{"id":8266,"depth":297,"text":8269},{"id":8295,"depth":297,"text":8298},{"id":8324,"depth":297,"text":8327},{"id":8365,"depth":291,"text":8368},{"id":2913,"depth":291,"text":2914},"2026-03-05T17:59:00Z","If the platform claims conversions your CRM never sees, you don’t have a performance problem; you have a truth problem.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fmkg-blog-beyond-the-attribution-mirage-hero-image.webp","Beyond the Attribution Mirage",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fbeyond-the-attribution-mirage-solving-the-2026-truth-deficit-in-paid-social",{"title":8054,"description":8433},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fbeyond-the-attribution-mirage-solving-the-2026-truth-deficit-in-paid-social","GPwc7p9M9wP0bRtL2AKGi_KiMwsvmkrWCMHjhov_aBw",{"id":8442,"title":8443,"author":7,"authors":8444,"body":8445,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":8772,"description":8773,"extension":318,"img":8774,"imgAlt":5790,"meta":8775,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":8776,"seo":8777,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":8778,"updated":7,"__hash__":8779},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fmonthly-search-industry-report-february-2026.md","Monthly Search Industry Report - February 2026",[],{"type":11,"value":8446,"toc":8755},[8447,8451,8511,8515,8521,8531,8545,8551,8566,8570,8576,8583,8597,8603,8606,8635,8639,8643,8667,8671,8687,8693,8705,8709,8715,8720,8737,8753],[24,8448,8449],{"id":913},[52,8450,916],{},[46,8452,8453,8468,8482,8497],{},[49,8454,8455,8458,8459,8467],{},[52,8456,8457],{},"Google Discover Pivot:"," Google concluded its first-ever ",[206,8460,8463,8464],{"href":8461,"rel":8462},"https:\u002F\u002Fsearchengineland.com\u002Fgoogle-february-2026-discover-core-update-is-now-complete-469450",[210],"(",[4019,8465,8466],{},"Discover-only core update)"," (Feb 5–27), signaling a permanent shift toward hyper-local relevance and \"Brand Journalism\" over traditional SEO-at-scale.",[49,8469,8470,8473,8474,8481],{},[52,8471,8472],{},"GEO Saturation & Volatility:"," New data shows ",[206,8475,8463,8478],{"href":8476,"rel":8477},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.seroundtable.com\u002Frecap-02-27-2026-41007.html",[210],[4019,8479,8480],{},"Gemini 3 has removed 42% of previously cited domains)"," from AI Overviews, raising the threshold for \"Information Gain\" and citation eligibility.",[49,8483,8484,8487,8488,8496],{},[52,8485,8486],{},"The Ad-Free AI Divergence:"," Perplexity officially ",[206,8489,8463,8492,8495],{"href":8490,"rel":8491},"https:\u002F\u002Falmcorp.com\u002Fblog\u002Fperplexity-ai-abandons-advertising-2026-analysis\u002F",[210],[4019,8493,8494],{},"abandoned its advertising model",")"," in February to preserve user trust, while OpenAI aggressively expanded ads into the ChatGPT Free and \"Go\" tiers.",[49,8498,8499,8502,8503,8508,8509,7000],{},[52,8500,8501],{},"Intent Tailoring:"," A new Google patent suggests a move toward ",[206,8504,8507],{"href":8505,"rel":8506},"https:\u002F\u002Fsearchengineland.com\u002Fgoogle-patent-hints-searchers-will-land-on-ai-generated-pages-and-not-web-pages-470499",[210],"(AI-generated landing pages)"," that replace brand URLs in the SERP, potentially disrupting the standard traffic-to-conversion funnel.",[5778,8510],{},[24,8512,8513],{"id":968},[52,8514,971],{},[81,8516,8518],{"id":8517},"_1-the-february-2026-discover-core-update",[52,8519,8520],{},"1. The February 2026 Discover Core Update",[14,8522,8523,8524,8530],{},"While traditionally bundled with search, this update targeted ",[206,8525,8463,8527,8495],{"href":8461,"rel":8526},[210],[4019,8528,8529],{},"Google Discover's surfacing logic","specifically for US English users.",[46,8532,8533,8539],{},[49,8534,8535,8538],{},[52,8536,8537],{},"Impact:"," Visibility shifted toward sites with deep, topic-specific expertise rather than broad domain authority.",[49,8540,8541,8544],{},[52,8542,8543],{},"Key Signal:"," \"Locally relevant\" content (defined as content produced by those physically or operationally rooted in a specific region) received a measurable boost. Broad, national-level content that lacked \"geographic framing\" saw some dips.",[81,8546,8548],{"id":8547},"_2-crawl-budget-resource-management",[52,8549,8550],{},"2. Crawl Budget & Resource Management",[14,8552,8553,8554,8559,8560,8565],{},"Google clarified that its crawler ",[206,8555,8558],{"href":8556,"rel":8557},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.searchenginejournal.com\u002Fgoogle-explains-why-its-crawler-ignores-your-resource-hints\u002F568321\u002F",[210],"(ignores resource hints)"," (like prefetch or preload) for crawling prioritization. Furthermore, John Mueller warned that ",[206,8561,8564],{"href":8562,"rel":8563},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reddit.com\u002Fr\u002FDigitalMarketing\u002Fcomments\u002F1rjp4tx\u002Fseo_digest_february_2026_google_discover_core\u002F",[210],"(sitemaps are not a \"force index\" solution)","; Google is increasingly deprioritizing the indexing of sites that fail to demonstrate consistent \"Information Gain\" or new value.",[24,8567,8568],{"id":3026},[52,8569,3027],{},[81,8571,8573],{"id":8572},"ai-overviews-geo-gemini-3",[52,8574,8575],{},"AI Overviews (GEO) & Gemini 3",[14,8577,8578,8579,8582],{},"The rollout of Gemini 3 has tightened the criteria for AI Overviews (AIO). The \"Atomic Answer\" framework is now the baseline; however, Google is now prioritizing ",[52,8580,8581],{},"\"Citation Velocity\"","—the frequency with which a brand is mentioned across independent, high-authority technical hubs.",[46,8584,8585],{},[49,8586,8587,8590,8591,8596],{},[52,8588,8589],{},"Evidence:"," Early data suggests a ",[206,8592,8595],{"href":8593,"rel":8594},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.seroundtable.com\u002Fgoogle-ai-overviews-gemini-3-globally-40824.html",[210],"(consolidation of sources)",", with fewer domains occupying the top citation slots in AIO.",[81,8598,8600],{"id":8599},"perplexity-vs-chatgpt-aeo",[52,8601,8602],{},"Perplexity vs. ChatGPT (AEO)",[14,8604,8605],{},"A fundamental split in monetization emerged this month:",[46,8607,8608,8621],{},[49,8609,8610,8613,8614,8620],{},[52,8611,8612],{},"Perplexity:"," Pivoted to a ",[206,8615,8463,8617],{"href":8490,"rel":8616},[210],[4019,8618,8619],{},"trust-first, ad-free model)",", emphasizing organic brand visibility through clean structured data and technical entity mapping.",[49,8622,8623,8626,8627,8634],{},[52,8624,8625],{},"ChatGPT:"," Introduced ",[206,8628,8463,8631],{"href":8629,"rel":8630},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jumpfly.com\u002Fblog\u002Fai-in-online-advertising-5-key-trends-from-february-2026\u002F",[210],[4019,8632,8633],{},"sponsored modules)"," for its 200M+ free users. For B2B leaders, this means ChatGPT is becoming a \"Pay-to-Play\" environment, while Perplexity remains a pure \"Optimization-to-Play\" landscape.",[24,8636,8637],{"id":1051},[52,8638,1054],{},[81,8640,8641],{"id":3089},[52,8642,3090],{},[46,8644,8645,8655],{},[49,8646,8647,8650,8651,8654],{},[52,8648,8649],{},"Broad Domain Authority (DA) Obsession:"," The Discover update proves that high DA no longer protects \"thin\" or \"generalized\" content. Stop chasing generic backlinks; start chasing ",[52,8652,8653],{},"entity-specific mentions"," in your niche.",[49,8656,8657,8660,8661,8666],{},[52,8658,8659],{},"SEO Listicles:"," Google is ",[206,8662,8665],{"href":8663,"rel":8664},"https:\u002F\u002Fadsroid.com\u002Fgoogle-new-stance-self-promotional-listicles-seo-ai-visibility\u002F",[210],"(cracking down on self-promotional \"Best of\" lists)",". If your blog's \"Top Tools\" list ranks your own product without objective data, expect a visibility drop.",[81,8668,8669],{"id":3101},[52,8670,3102],{},[46,8672,8673],{},[49,8674,8675,8678,8679,8686],{},[52,8676,8677],{},"Invest in Brand Journalism:"," Shift content budgets from \"SEO writers\" to subject matter experts (SMEs). Content must include ",[206,8680,8463,8683],{"href":8681,"rel":8682},"https:\u002F\u002Fkwsmdigital.com\u002Fblog\u002Fgoogles-february-2026-core-update-why-brand-journalism-is-effective-seo-regardless-of-search-trends\u002F",[210],[4019,8684,8685],{},"first-hand accounts, case studies, and unique data)","to survive the \"Information Gain\" filter.",[81,8688,8690],{"id":8689},"looking-ahead-the-watch-item",[52,8691,8692],{},"Looking Ahead: The \"Watch Item\"",[14,8694,8695,8698,8699,8704],{},[52,8696,8697],{},"Agentic Commerce Optimization:"," Watch for the expansion of ",[206,8700,8703],{"href":8701,"rel":8702},"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.google\u002Fproducts\u002Fads-commerce\u002Fagentic-commerce-ai-tools-protocol-retailers-platforms\u002F",[210],"(Google's Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP))",". As search becomes more \"agentic,\" the ability for AI to complete transactions without a user visiting your site will be the next major hurdle for CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) modeling.",[24,8706,8707],{"id":3119},[52,8708,3120],{},[14,8710,8711,8712,8714],{},"The February shifts confirm that ",[52,8713,168],{}," is no longer an elective—it is a defensive necessity. As Google moves toward tailoring landing pages and consolidates AI citations, \"business as usual\" SEO will lead to a terminal decline in organic reach.",[14,8716,8717],{},[52,8718,8719],{},"How MKG Supports Your Transition:",[46,8721,8722,8727,8732],{},[49,8723,8724,8726],{},[52,8725,4869],{}," We identify why Gemini or Perplexity is citing your competitors over you.",[49,8728,8729,8731],{},[52,8730,6776],{}," We move your brand beyond keywords into a machine-readable entity.",[49,8733,8734,8736],{},[52,8735,4881],{}," We track \"Zero-Click\" influence to ensure your ROI is accurately measured in an AI-first world.",[14,8738,8739,8746],{},[52,8740,8741,8742,8744],{},"Ready to future-proof your visibility? ",[5778,8743],{},[5778,8745],{},[206,8747,8750],{"href":8748,"rel":8749},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fsearch?q=%23&authuser=2",[210],[4019,8751,8752],{},"Book a Discovery Call with the MKG Team.",[5778,8754],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":8756},[8757,8758,8762,8766,8771],{"id":913,"depth":291,"text":916},{"id":968,"depth":291,"text":971,"children":8759},[8760,8761],{"id":8517,"depth":297,"text":8520},{"id":8547,"depth":297,"text":8550},{"id":3026,"depth":291,"text":3027,"children":8763},[8764,8765],{"id":8572,"depth":297,"text":8575},{"id":8599,"depth":297,"text":8602},{"id":1051,"depth":291,"text":1054,"children":8767},[8768,8769,8770],{"id":3089,"depth":297,"text":3090},{"id":3101,"depth":297,"text":3102},{"id":8689,"depth":297,"text":8692},{"id":3119,"depth":291,"text":3120},"2026-03-04T16:25:00Z","February 2026 search trends: Google’s Discover update, Gemini 3 citation volatility, AI search monetization shifts, and why brands must pivot to SVO and entity-driven visibility.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FMKG-monthly-search-report-feb.webp",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fmonthly-search-industry-report-february-2026",{"title":8443,"description":8773},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fmonthly-search-industry-report-february-2026","Bj-5muOQrF7xpfil1aMfCc3vJNXYBpyzgjFsJyf2J94",{"id":8781,"title":8782,"author":7,"authors":8783,"body":8784,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":9121,"description":9122,"extension":318,"img":9123,"imgAlt":9124,"meta":9125,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":9126,"seo":9127,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":9128,"updated":7,"__hash__":9129},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-ghost-in-the-machine-why-your-seo-strategy-is-invisible-to-chatgpt-and-gemini.md","The Ghost in the Machine - Why Your SEO Strategy Is Invisible to ChatGPT and Gemini",[],{"type":11,"value":8785,"toc":9102},[8786,8789,8792,8795,8802,8805,8808,8811,8814,8817,8824,8830,8833,8836,8839,8853,8856,8859,8862,8868,8871,8883,8886,8893,8896,8902,8913,8916,8923,8929,8932,8935,8941,8944,8950,8953,8959,8962,8968,8971,8977,8980,8985,8991,8994,8997,9003,9006,9012,9015,9032,9035,9041,9044,9050,9053,9059,9062,9076,9079,9085,9088,9091,9094,9097,9100],[14,8787,8788],{},"You can be doing everything “right” and still disappear.",[14,8790,8791],{},"The page ranks #1. The traffic chart looks steady. The team feels confident. Then someone asks ChatGPT or Gemini the same question your page answers—and your brand is nowhere to be found. No mention. No citation. No link. Just… silence.",[14,8793,8794],{},"That silence is the new failure mode.",[14,8796,8797,8798,8801],{},"It’s not a ranking drop. It’s not an algorithm penalty you can see in a tool. It’s a ",[52,8799,8800],{},"Visibility Cliff","—a quiet slide into irrelevance happening above the search results, inside the answers people trust most.",[14,8803,8804],{},"Because the behavior has changed. People aren’t just searching. They’re asking. And the answer layer is compressing the web into a shortlist of sources it considers credible enough to reference.",[14,8806,8807],{},"This is why the “ghost in the machine” metaphor fits: your SEO strategy might be working within the old system while remaining invisible in the new one. You appear on the page, but you don’t appear in the answer.",[14,8809,8810],{},"If you’ve felt a weird disconnect—rankings stable, yet fewer high-intent conversations—you’re not imagining it. You may have fallen off the citation map without realizing it.",[14,8812,8813],{},"And the worst part? Most teams won’t notice until the cliff has already done damage. There’s no alert for “you were omitted.”",[14,8815,8816],{},"There’s only the slow realization that being #1 doesn’t automatically mean being trusted anymore.",[14,8818,8819,8821],{},[5778,8820],{},[75,8822],{"alt":77,"src":8823},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fmkg-blog-the-ghost-in-the-machine-image-1.png",[24,8825,8827],{"id":8826},"the-chaos-hook-the-silent-visibility-cliff",[52,8828,8829],{},"The Chaos Hook: The Silent Visibility Cliff",[14,8831,8832],{},"This is the chaos: brands are winning on the traditional scoreboard but losing on the new one.",[14,8834,8835],{},"A top ranking used to be the finish line. Now it’s just table stakes. LLMs don’t reward the same signals that pushed pages up the SERP. They reward trust, consistency, and “quotability” across sources they’ve learned to rely on.",[14,8837,8838],{},"So you get a strange and painful pattern:",[46,8840,8841,8844,8847,8850],{},[49,8842,8843],{},"You rank well, but don’t appear in AI Overviews.",[49,8845,8846],{},"You rank well, but aren’t cited when the answer is generated.",[49,8848,8849],{},"You rank well, but competitor names show up instead.",[49,8851,8852],{},"You rank well, but the click never happens because the decision was made in the answer.",[14,8854,8855],{},"That creates a new kind of internal tension. Teams keep doing SEO “the right way,” leadership keeps asking why the impact feels smaller, and nobody can point to a clean failure in Search Console.",[14,8857,8858],{},"Because the cliff is quiet. It’s happening in a different layer of visibility.",[14,8860,8861],{},"The old model assumed the user would click and choose. The new model assumes the system summarizes and recommends. If you’re not in the recommendations, your ranking becomes a trophy with diminishing returns.",[24,8863,8865],{"id":8864},"the-mkg-pivot-svo-and-the-race-to-trust",[52,8866,8867],{},"The MKG Pivot: SVO and the Race to Trust",[14,8869,8870],{},"This is where the strategy has to evolve.",[14,8872,8873,8874,212],{},"At MKG, we frame the shift as ",[206,8875,8880],{"href":8876,"target":8877,"rel":8878},"\u002Fresources\u002Fthe-ultimate-guide-to-search-visibility-optimization-svo\u002F","_blank",[8879],"noopener",[52,8881,8882],{},"SVO: Search Visibility Optimization",[14,8884,8885],{},"SVO isn’t a new acronym for the sake of it. It’s the recognition that “search visibility” now includes more than blue links. Your visibility is the total footprint of where you appear when people seek answers: classic results, AI Overviews, citations, summaries, and recommendation shortlists.",[14,8887,8888,8889,8892],{},"SVO is how you optimize for ",[52,8890,8891],{},"being referenced",", not just being ranked.",[14,8894,8895],{},"And that requires a unified approach. SEO alone—treated as a channel with a checklist—won’t consistently win the new layer of trust. Neither AEO nor GEO will run as separate initiatives in isolation.",[14,8897,8898,8899,6109],{},"To win the Race to Trust, ",[52,8900,8901],{},"SEO + AI Answer Engine Optimization + GEO vs SEO strategy must be one coordinated play",[46,8903,8904,8907,8910],{},[49,8905,8906],{},"SEO to earn discoverability and crawlable authority",[49,8908,8909],{},"AI Answer Engine Optimization to be quotable, cited, and summarized accurately",[49,8911,8912],{},"GEO to ensure your brand is present where generative answers are shaped, influenced, and sourced",[14,8914,8915],{},"The future isn’t “SEO or GEO.” It’s “SEO plus GEO,” unified under SVO.",[14,8917,8918,8920],{},[5778,8919],{},[75,8921],{"alt":77,"src":8922},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fmkg-blog-the-ghost-in-the-machine-image-2.png",[24,8924,8926],{"id":8925},"why-youre-invisible-to-chatgpt-and-gemini-even-if-you-rank",[52,8927,8928],{},"Why you’re invisible to ChatGPT and Gemini (even if you rank)",[14,8930,8931],{},"If you want a brutal truth: ranking signals and citation signals are not identical.",[14,8933,8934],{},"Here are the most common reasons LLMs skip brands that rank well.",[81,8936,8938],{"id":8937},"_1-your-content-is-optimized-for-scanning-not-extraction",[52,8939,8940],{},"1) Your content is optimized for scanning, not extraction",[14,8942,8943],{},"A lot of SEO content is built to rank: target keyword, headings, internal links, and “helpful” length. But LLMs need content they can extract and restate confidently. Clear definitions. Direct answers. Structured comparisons. Steps. Evidence. If your content reads like a polished brochure, it’s harder to cite.",[81,8945,8947],{"id":8946},"_2-your-claims-arent-anchored-to-proof",[52,8948,8949],{},"2) Your claims aren’t anchored to proof",[14,8951,8952],{},"LLMs prefer sources that include verifiable detail: examples, data, process, constraints, and outcomes. “Best-in-class” doesn’t help. Real specifics do. If your pages lack proof, AI systems are hesitant to cite you.",[81,8954,8956],{"id":8955},"_3-your-authority-is-trapped-on-your-own-site",[52,8957,8958],{},"3) Your authority is trapped on your own site",[14,8960,8961],{},"Citation systems lean heavily on trusted ecosystems: reputable publications, documentation-style pages, deep explainers, widely referenced sources, and community consensus. If your brand footprint is mostly self-published, you may look less “reference-worthy” than a competitor with a broader external presence.",[81,8963,8965],{"id":8964},"_4-you-dont-match-the-prompt-language",[52,8966,8967],{},"4) You don’t match the prompt language",[14,8969,8970],{},"Prompts shape results. If people ask for “AI answer engine optimization” and your site talks about “next-gen visibility,” you may be semantically adjacent but not a match. The system tends to favor sources that use the same language as the user.",[81,8972,8974],{"id":8973},"_5-your-content-doesnt-help-the-system-choose",[52,8975,8976],{},"5) Your content doesn’t help the system choose",[14,8978,8979],{},"LLMs often respond with a shortlist. If your content never draws distinctions—when to use one approach vs another, what to consider, what tradeoffs exist—it won’t be the source that wins trust. It’s not just about information. It’s about judgment.",[14,8981,8982],{},[75,8983],{"alt":77,"src":8984},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fmkg-blog-the-ghost-in-the-machine-image-3.png",[24,8986,8988],{"id":8987},"what-to-do-now-build-svo-like-an-operating-system",[52,8989,8990],{},"What to do now: Build SVO like an operating system",[14,8992,8993],{},"If SVO is the strategy, execution needs a system.",[14,8995,8996],{},"Here’s the practical play:",[81,8998,9000],{"id":8999},"_1-merge-seo-ai-answer-engine-optimization-and-geo-into-one-roadmap",[52,9001,9002],{},"1) Merge SEO, AI Answer Engine Optimization, and GEO into one roadmap",[14,9004,9005],{},"Separate teams create separate outcomes. One unified roadmap creates compounding visibility. That means your content strategy, technical SEO, and “answer readiness” work from the same priority list.",[81,9007,9009],{"id":9008},"_2-rewrite-key-pages-for-answer-shapes",[52,9010,9011],{},"2) Rewrite key pages for “answer shapes.”",[14,9013,9014],{},"You don’t need to rewrite everything. Start with the pages most likely to be summarized:",[46,9016,9017,9020,9023,9026,9029],{},[49,9018,9019],{},"Definitions (“what is…”)",[49,9021,9022],{},"Comparisons (“X vs Y”)",[49,9024,9025],{},"Selection guidance (“how to choose…”)",[49,9027,9028],{},"Frameworks (“step-by-step…”)",[49,9030,9031],{},"Best practices and common mistakes",[14,9033,9034],{},"These shapes are easier to cite, and they tend to become source material for Overviews.",[81,9036,9038],{"id":9037},"_3-add-proof-that-can-be-quoted",[52,9039,9040],{},"3) Add proof that can be quoted",[14,9042,9043],{},"Build a proof library inside your site: examples, outcomes, case snippets, constraints, and lessons learned. Make it easy for a system to reference you without having to invent claims.",[81,9045,9047],{"id":9046},"_4-expand-your-trusted-footprint-beyond-your-domain",[52,9048,9049],{},"4) Expand your trusted footprint beyond your domain",[14,9051,9052],{},"Earn mentions where trust is already established: guest contributions, interviews, partner pages, credible community discussions, and respected publications. This is how you stop being a ghost outside your own site.",[81,9054,9056],{"id":9055},"_5-measure-visibility-across-surfaces",[52,9057,9058],{},"5) Measure visibility across surfaces",[14,9060,9061],{},"Traditional tracking won’t catch the cliff. You need to monitor:",[46,9063,9064,9067,9070,9073],{},[49,9065,9066],{},"Whether you appear in AI Overviews for target topics",[49,9068,9069],{},"Where citations come from",[49,9071,9072],{},"Which prompts trigger competitor mentions",[49,9074,9075],{},"How often is your brand summarized accurately",[14,9077,9078],{},"That’s SVO in practice: optimizing for presence, accuracy, and trust across the new answer layer.",[24,9080,9082],{"id":9081},"the-bottom-line",[52,9083,9084],{},"The bottom line",[14,9086,9087],{},"The web is still being searched. But it’s also being summarized. And summarization creates winners and ghosts.",[14,9089,9090],{},"If you’re ranking #1 and still invisible to ChatGPT and Gemini, you’re not failing at SEO. You’re playing only one part of the new game.",[14,9092,9093],{},"SVO—Search Visibility Optimization—is how you unify SEO, AI Answer Engine Optimization, and GEO vs SEO strategy into one trust-first approach.",[14,9095,9096],{},"Because the real race isn’t to rank.",[14,9098,9099],{},"It’s the Race to Trust.",[5778,9101],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":9103},[9104,9105,9106,9113,9120],{"id":8826,"depth":291,"text":8829},{"id":8864,"depth":291,"text":8867},{"id":8925,"depth":291,"text":8928,"children":9107},[9108,9109,9110,9111,9112],{"id":8937,"depth":297,"text":8940},{"id":8946,"depth":297,"text":8949},{"id":8955,"depth":297,"text":8958},{"id":8964,"depth":297,"text":8967},{"id":8973,"depth":297,"text":8976},{"id":8987,"depth":291,"text":8990,"children":9114},[9115,9116,9117,9118,9119],{"id":8999,"depth":297,"text":9002},{"id":9008,"depth":297,"text":9011},{"id":9037,"depth":297,"text":9040},{"id":9046,"depth":297,"text":9049},{"id":9055,"depth":297,"text":9058},{"id":9081,"depth":291,"text":9084},"2026-02-25T17:59:00Z","Ranking first isn’t the same as being chosen. The new visibility cliff is silent—and it’s already here.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fmkg-blog-the-ghost-in-the-machine-hero-image.webp","The Ghost in the Machine",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-ghost-in-the-machine-why-your-seo-strategy-is-invisible-to-chatgpt-and-gemini",{"title":8782,"description":9122},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-ghost-in-the-machine-why-your-seo-strategy-is-invisible-to-chatgpt-and-gemini","D6RFp_Kz7v5wJvwnNFrfP474MBgQa9lo4kEa-wZGWKQ",{"id":9131,"title":9132,"author":7,"authors":9133,"body":9134,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":9477,"description":9478,"extension":318,"img":9479,"imgAlt":5790,"meta":9480,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":9481,"seo":9482,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":9483,"updated":7,"__hash__":9484},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fmonthly-search-industry-report-january-2026.md","Monthly Search Industry Report - January 2026",[],{"type":11,"value":9135,"toc":9469},[9136,9140,9192,9196,9202,9209,9240,9246,9254,9258,9264,9274,9297,9303,9327,9331,9335,9358,9362,9392,9398,9408,9414,9424,9429,9446,9451,9461],[24,9137,9138],{"id":913},[52,9139,916],{},[46,9141,9142,9153,9168,9183],{},[49,9143,9144,9147,9148,9152],{},[52,9145,9146],{},"The \"Post-Query\" Shift:"," Google is transitioning from reactive search to predictive intent. New research into small multimodal models suggests a future where AI infers user needs before a query is typed (",[206,9149,3074],{"href":9150,"rel":9151},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fsearch?q=https:\u002F\u002Fsearchengineland.com\u002Fgoogle-research-post-query-future-search-intent-468085",[210],").",[49,9154,9155,9158,9159,9162,9163,9152],{},[52,9156,9157],{},"Zero-Click Dominance:"," New data confirms that roughly ",[52,9160,9161],{},"60% of searches"," now yield no clicks, as AI Overviews (AIO) satisfy informational intent directly on the SERP (",[206,9164,9167],{"href":9165,"rel":9166},"https:\u002F\u002Fmedium.com\u002F@Michael38\u002Fwhat-2026-will-look-like-for-seo-and-geo-third-party-signals-ai-overviews-and-the-rise-of-brand-79829270e4a9",[210],"Search Engine Journal\u002FMedium",[49,9169,9170,9173,9174,9177,9178,9152],{},[52,9171,9172],{},"Monetization of AI:"," OpenAI has begun testing ads within ChatGPT (Free and \"Go\" tiers), while Google launched the ",[52,9175,9176],{},"Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP)"," to facilitate AI-agent-led transactions (",[206,9179,9182],{"href":9180,"rel":9181},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.seroundtable.com\u002Frecap-01-19-2026-40784.html",[210],"SE Round Table",[49,9184,9185,9187,9188,9152],{},[52,9186,6664],{}," Local and B2B brands are facing a \"visibility crisis,\" with AI assistants recommending only 1% to 11% of eligible locations despite traditional high rankings (",[206,9189,3074],{"href":9190,"rel":9191},"https:\u002F\u002Fsearchengineland.com\u002Fai-local-visibility-report-2026-468085",[210],[24,9193,9194],{"id":968},[52,9195,971],{},[5685,9197,9199],{"id":9198},"january-2026-volatility-the-quality-recalibration",[52,9200,9201],{},"January 2026 Volatility: The Quality Recalibration",[14,9203,9204,9205,9152],{},"January saw \"super-heated\" ranking volatility as Google refined systems following the massive December 2025 Core Update (",[206,9206,9182],{"href":9207,"rel":9208},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fsearch?q=https:\u002F\u002Fwww.seroundtable.com\u002Fgoogle-ranking-volatility-january-29-30-2026.html",[210],[46,9210,9211,9221],{},[49,9212,9213,9216,9217,9152],{},[52,9214,9215],{},"Entity Clarity & E-E-A-T:"," The focus has moved from keyword matching to \"entity recognition.\" Google is now parsing a brand’s entire digital footprint—including LinkedIn engagement and third-party citations—to determine authority (",[206,9218,5617],{"href":9219,"rel":9220},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.searchenginejournal.com\u002Fa-breakdown-of-microsofts-guide-to-aeo-geo\u002F565651\u002F",[210],[49,9222,9223,9226,9227,9230,9231,9234,9235,9152],{},[52,9224,9225],{},"Technical Thresholds:"," Core Web Vitals remain a \"table stakes\" requirement. Sites with a ",[52,9228,9229],{},"Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)"," over 2.5 seconds saw an average ",[52,9232,9233],{},"23% traffic loss"," during January’s updates (",[206,9236,9239],{"href":9237,"rel":9238},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.numinix.com\u002Fblog\u002Fjanuary-2026-seo-algorithm-news-update\u002F",[210],"Numinix",[5685,9241,9243],{"id":9242},"local-proximity-accuracy",[52,9244,9245],{},"Local & Proximity Accuracy",[14,9247,9248,9249,9152],{},"Google intensified the weighting of \"distance signals\" and \"business detail consistency.\" Listings with steady NAP (Name, Address, Phone) data saw 27% fewer drops during January’s tests compared to inconsistent profiles (",[206,9250,9253],{"href":9251,"rel":9252},"https:\u002F\u002Fseovendor.co\u002Fgoogle-algorithm-updates-january-2026\u002F",[210],"SEO Vendor",[24,9255,9256],{"id":3026},[52,9257,3027],{},[5685,9259,9261],{"id":9260},"ai-overviews-geo-gemini-3-pro",[52,9262,9263],{},"AI Overviews (GEO) & Gemini 3 Pro",[14,9265,9266,9267,9270,9271,9152],{},"Google officially integrated ",[52,9268,9269],{},"Gemini 3 Pro"," into AI Overviews for complex, multi-step queries (",[206,9272,9182],{"href":9180,"rel":9273},[210],[46,9275,9276,9287],{},[49,9277,9278,9281,9282,9152],{},[52,9279,9280],{},"Follow-up Efficiency:"," AIOs now allow users to ask conversational follow-up questions without leaving the results page, further compressing the funnel and reducing referral traffic to deep-link content (",[206,9283,9286],{"href":9284,"rel":9285},"https:\u002F\u002Flocaldominator.co\u002Fseo-news\u002Fseo-news-roundup-january-26-to-february-1-2026\u002F",[210],"Local Dominator",[49,9288,9289,9292,9293,9152],{},[52,9290,9291],{},"Content \"Chunking\":"," For Series A–C tech companies, \"chunking\" content into extractable, factual blocks is no longer optional; it is the primary way to secure a citation in the Gemini 3 Pro reasoning layer (",[206,9294,5617],{"href":9295,"rel":9296},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.searchenginejournal.com\u002Fa-little-clarity-on-seo-geo-and-aeo\u002F565522\u002F",[210],[5685,9298,9300],{"id":9299},"openai-perplexity-aeo",[52,9301,9302],{},"OpenAI & Perplexity (AEO)",[46,9304,9305,9314],{},[49,9306,9307,9310,9311,9152],{},[52,9308,9309],{},"ChatGPT Ads:"," The rollout of ads in ChatGPT responses marks the end of the \"organic-only\" era for Answer Engine Optimization. High-growth brands must now evaluate \"Prompt-aligned\" ad spend (",[206,9312,9182],{"href":9180,"rel":9313},[210],[49,9315,9316,9319,9320,9323,9324,9152],{},[52,9317,9318],{},"Intent Density:"," While AI-referred traffic volume is lower than traditional search, it converts ",[52,9321,9322],{},"4.4x better",", signaling a shift toward optimizing for \"Intent Density\" over raw sessions (",[206,9325,5617],{"href":9165,"rel":9326},[210],[24,9328,9329],{"id":1051},[52,9330,1054],{},[5685,9332,9333],{"id":3089},[52,9334,3090],{},[46,9336,9337,9347],{},[49,9338,9339,9342,9343,9346],{},[52,9340,9341],{},"Traditional CTR Benchmarks:"," With zero-click searches exceeding 60%, the old \"10 blue links\" CTR models are obsolete. Evaluate performance based on ",[52,9344,9345],{},"AI Visibility Scores"," and brand mention frequency.",[49,9348,9349,9352,9353,9152],{},[52,9350,9351],{},"Templated Content Scaling:"," Google is actively devaluing mass-produced AI content that lacks \"lived experience\" or original data. Mass volume without unique insight is now a liability for CAC (",[206,9354,9357],{"href":9355,"rel":9356},"https:\u002F\u002Fdigiday.com\u002Fmedia\u002Fmedia-briefing-googles-latest-core-update-a-reminder-that-pageviews-cant-remain-the-primary-metric\u002F",[210],"Digiday",[5685,9359,9360],{"id":3101},[52,9361,3102],{},[46,9363,9364,9378],{},[49,9365,9366,9369,9370,9373,9374,9152],{},[52,9367,9368],{},"First-Touch Attribution:"," Since AI answers often satisfy the user’s initial need, shift measurement to ",[52,9371,9372],{},"First-Touch Analytics"," to capture the discovery value of SEO\u002FGEO that last-click models miss (",[206,9375,3074],{"href":9376,"rel":9377},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fsearch?q=https:\u002F\u002Fsearchengineland.com\u002Ffirst-touch-analytics-seo-2026-468085",[210],[49,9379,9380,9383,9384,9386,9387,9152],{},[52,9381,9382],{},"Structured Data for Agents:"," Implement the ",[52,9385,9176],{}," and robust Schema markup to ensure your product and service data is readable by the emerging class of \"Agentic\" AI shoppers (",[206,9388,9391],{"href":9389,"rel":9390},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fsearch?q=https:\u002F\u002Ffeedarmy.com\u002Fhow-to-enable-ucp-payments-google-merchant-center\u002F",[210],"FeedArmy",[24,9393,9395],{"id":9394},"looking-ahead-the-agentic-watch-item",[52,9396,9397],{},"Looking Ahead: The \"Agentic\" Watch Item",[14,9399,9400,9403,9404,9152],{},[52,9401,9402],{},"Watch Item: SAGE (Small Agentic General Intelligence)."," Google’s recent SAGE research points toward deep-research AI agents that can perform autonomous tasks like competitor price audits and procurement. For B2B leaders, ensuring your technical documentation is \"agent-ready\" will be the critical differentiator in Q2 2026 (",[206,9405,5617],{"href":9406,"rel":9407},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fsearch?q=https:\u002F\u002Fwww.searchenginejournal.com\u002Fgoogles-sage-agentic-ai-research\u002F",[210],[24,9409,9411],{"id":9410},"optimize-for-svo-the-future-of-search-with-mkg",[52,9412,9413],{},"Optimize for SVO, the Future of Search, with MKG",[14,9415,9416,9417,9420,9421,9423],{},"The search landscape has moved beyond simple rankings into a complex ecosystem of ",[52,9418,9419],{},"AI citations, zero-click answers, and agentic discovery."," As the January 2026 data shows, staying visible requires more than traditional SEO; it requires a sophisticated ",[52,9422,7737],{}," strategy that aligns your brand with how AI engines actually think and recommend.",[14,9425,9426],{},[52,9427,9428],{},"How MKG Marketing Supports Your Growth:",[46,9430,9431,9436,9441],{},[49,9432,9433,9435],{},[52,9434,4869],{}," We audit your content to ensure it’s structured for Gemini 3 Pro and ChatGPT citations.",[49,9437,9438,9440],{},[52,9439,6776],{}," We secure your technical foundation, from Core Web Vitals to UCP compliance.",[49,9442,9443,9445],{},[52,9444,4881],{}," We move beyond \"vanity clicks\" to measure the real impact of AI visibility on your pipeline.",[14,9447,9448],{},[52,9449,9450],{},"Stop chasing keywords and start owning the answer.",[14,9452,9453],{},[206,9454,9456],{"href":8024,"rel":9455},[210],[52,9457,9458],{},[4019,9459,9460],{},"Book a Discovery Call with MKG Marketing",[14,9462,9463,9465,9467],{},[5778,9464],{},[5778,9466],{},[5778,9468],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":9470},[9471,9472,9473,9474,9475,9476],{"id":913,"depth":291,"text":916},{"id":968,"depth":291,"text":971},{"id":3026,"depth":291,"text":3027},{"id":1051,"depth":291,"text":1054},{"id":9394,"depth":291,"text":9397},{"id":9410,"depth":291,"text":9413},"2026-02-24T16:25:00Z","January 2026 search trends reveal the post-query shift, 60% zero-click dominance, AI monetization, and why brands must pivot to Search Visibility Optimization.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fmkg-blog-monthly-search-industrty-report.webp",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fmonthly-search-industry-report-january-2026",{"title":9132,"description":9478},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fmonthly-search-industry-report-january-2026","n8uKj1yMSBL3IibCeGtyf07WgICrBq776tJtIw8P95o",{"id":9486,"title":9487,"author":7,"authors":9488,"body":9489,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":9835,"description":9836,"extension":318,"img":9837,"imgAlt":9838,"meta":9839,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":9840,"seo":9841,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":9842,"updated":7,"__hash__":9843},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-death-of-the-mql-why-2026-demands-a-truth-audit.md","The Death of the MQL - Why 2026 Demands a 'Truth' Audit",[],{"type":11,"value":9490,"toc":9823},[9491,9494,9497,9500,9503,9506,9509,9512,9515,9522,9528,9531,9534,9537,9554,9560,9563,9566,9580,9583,9586,9592,9597,9600,9603,9609,9612,9615,9632,9639,9646,9652,9655,9661,9664,9667,9684,9687,9693,9696,9710,9715,9721,9735,9738,9741,9747,9750,9758,9766,9771,9777,9780,9797,9800,9803,9807,9810,9813,9816],[14,9492,9493],{},"The MQL isn’t dying because marketing stopped working. It’s dying because the definition of “working” got distorted.",[14,9495,9496],{},"Lean leaders are tired of the same loop: marketing celebrates lead volume, sales complains those leads don’t convert, and everyone ends up negotiating reality inside a spreadsheet. The dashboard looks healthy. The pipeline doesn’t. Sales starts distrusting anything that comes from marketing. Marketing starts distrusting sales follow-up. And the business quietly pays for the friction—lost time, missed quarters, and teams pulling in opposite directions.",[14,9498,9499],{},"High-volume, low-intent MQLs are the ultimate Random Act of Marketing. They create motion without momentum. They make reports look good while relationships between teams get worse.",[14,9501,9502],{},"And here’s what makes 2026 different: AI-fueled buying behavior, noisier intent signals, and tighter budgets are exposing every weak spot in the funnel. You can’t afford to optimize for clicks and call it progress. You can’t afford to “hit the number” while missing the truth.",[14,9504,9505],{},"In 2026, the question isn’t, “How many leads did we generate?”",[14,9507,9508],{},"It’s, “How many were real—and how do we prove it?”",[14,9510,9511],{},"That’s why we’re calling it: the death of the MQL. Not the death of demand. The death of a metric that no longer earns trust.",[14,9513,9514],{},"The fix isn’t another scoring tweak. It’s a Truth Audit.",[14,9516,9517,9519],{},[5778,9518],{},[75,9520],{"alt":77,"src":9521},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fmkg-blog-the-death-of-the-mql-image-1.png",[24,9523,9525],{"id":9524},"when-more-leads-makes-everything-worse",[52,9526,9527],{},"When “More Leads” Makes Everything Worse",[14,9529,9530],{},"If you run a lean team, you feel this pain in your bones.",[14,9532,9533],{},"You don’t have the luxury of busywork. You need marketing to drive revenue outcomes, not just activity. But the traditional MQL model often does the opposite. It incentivizes volume, then acts surprised when sales can’t turn that volume into a pipeline.",[14,9535,9536],{},"What happens next is predictable:",[46,9538,9539,9542,9545,9548,9551],{},[49,9540,9541],{},"Marketing tunes campaigns toward form fills because they’re measurable.",[49,9543,9544],{},"Sales rejects the leads because the intent is thin.",[49,9546,9547],{},"Marketing blames follow-up speed.",[49,9549,9550],{},"Sales blames lead quality.",[49,9552,9553],{},"Leadership gets stuck refereeing instead of scaling.",[14,9555,9556,9557,212],{},"This is not a “sales problem” or a “marketing problem.” It’s an ",[52,9558,9559],{},"accountability problem",[14,9561,9562],{},"Because the MQL was never a revenue metric. It was a proxy—useful in a simpler era. But proxies break when the environment changes. And the environment has changed.",[14,9564,9565],{},"In practice, most MQL systems mix two very different things into one bucket:",[132,9567,9568,9574],{},[49,9569,9570,9573],{},[52,9571,9572],{},"Declared intent"," (signals that someone is actively evaluating)",[49,9575,9576,9579],{},[52,9577,9578],{},"Noise"," (signals that someone is curious, researching, or accidentally caught in targeting)",[14,9581,9582],{},"When you treat those as equals, you get chaos. Your pipeline math gets fuzzy, your forecasts get fragile, and your teams lose trust in the funnel.",[14,9584,9585],{},"That’s why the “MQL vs sales” argument never ends. Everyone is arguing about a number that doesn’t describe reality.",[24,9587,9589],{"id":9588},"the-mkg-pivot-the-truth-pillar-and-why-2026-needs-a-truth-audit",[52,9590,9591],{},"The MKG Pivot: The “Truth” Pillar and Why 2026 Needs a Truth Audit",[14,9593,9594,9595,212],{},"At MKG, we anchor this to one of our non-negotiables: ",[52,9596,8133],{},[14,9598,9599],{},"Truth means we don’t hide behind vanity metrics. We don’t optimize for numbers that feel good. We don’t let marketing success be defined by what’s easy to measure. We measure what matters, even when it’s uncomfortable—because that’s how alignment and growth become repeatable.",[14,9601,9602],{},"In 2026, Truth requires a pivot: stop treating the funnel as a single stream and start treating it as two distinct systems.",[14,9604,9605,9606,212],{},"We call this: ",[52,9607,9608],{},"Split the Funnel",[14,9610,9611],{},"It’s an mkgOS-style operating move: create a clear separation between what’s real and what’s noise—using your own CRM data as the source of truth.",[14,9613,9614],{},"Because your CRM already knows what your dashboards don’t:",[46,9616,9617,9620,9623,9626,9629],{},[49,9618,9619],{},"Which “leads” became meetings",[49,9621,9622],{},"Which meetings became opportunities",[49,9624,9625],{},"Which opportunities became revenue",[49,9627,9628],{},"Which sources consistently produce real buyers",[49,9630,9631],{},"Which campaigns generate activity that never converts",[14,9633,9634,9635,9638],{},"A ",[52,9636,9637],{},"Lead Quality Audit"," isn’t a creative project. It’s a truth project. It’s how marketing becomes accountable for outcomes, not just clicks.",[14,9640,9641,9643],{},[5778,9642],{},[75,9644],{"alt":77,"src":9645},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fmkg-blog-the-death-of-the-mql-image-2.png",[24,9647,9649],{"id":9648},"split-the-funnel-a-practical-approach-to-auditing-truth",[52,9650,9651],{},"Split the Funnel: A Practical Approach to Auditing Truth",[14,9653,9654],{},"Here’s how we operationalize the shift, without turning it into a months-long analytics rabbit hole.",[81,9656,9658],{"id":9657},"step-1-define-declared-intent-in-plain-terms",[52,9659,9660],{},"Step 1: Define “declared intent” in plain terms",[14,9662,9663],{},"No buzzwords. No wishful thinking. Define the behaviors that actually correlate with conversion in your world.",[14,9665,9666],{},"Examples might include:",[46,9668,9669,9672,9675,9678,9681],{},[49,9670,9671],{},"Requesting a demo or consultation",[49,9673,9674],{},"Visiting high-intent pages repeatedly within a short time window",[49,9676,9677],{},"Replying to outreach with specific buying questions",[49,9679,9680],{},"Coming in through a comparison or “alternatives” journey",[49,9682,9683],{},"Converting and then taking a second action (follow-up intent)",[14,9685,9686],{},"The point is to define intent based on what you’ve seen turn into revenue—not what feels like intent.",[81,9688,9690],{"id":9689},"step-2-pull-a-crm-truth-sample-not-a-vanity-report",[52,9691,9692],{},"Step 2: Pull a CRM truth sample (not a vanity report)",[14,9694,9695],{},"Pick a time window (e.g., the last 2–4 quarters) and pull the records that show the full journey:",[46,9697,9698,9701,9704,9707],{},[49,9699,9700],{},"Lead → meeting held → opportunity created → revenue (or not)",[49,9702,9703],{},"Source\u002Fmedium\u002Fcampaign",[49,9705,9706],{},"First-touch and last-touch",[49,9708,9709],{},"Sales disposition reasons (where available)",[14,9711,7799,9712,9714],{},[52,9713,6366],{}," becomes practical, not theoretical. You’re not trying to build a perfect model. You’re trying to surface patterns that change decisions.",[81,9716,9718],{"id":9717},"step-3-split-the-funnel-into-two-lanes",[52,9719,9720],{},"Step 3: Split the funnel into two lanes",[14,9722,9723,9724,9727,9728,9730,9731,9734],{},"Lane A: ",[52,9725,9726],{},"Declared Intent"," (signals that map to revenue outcomes)",[5778,9729],{},"Lane B: ",[52,9732,9733],{},"Engagement \u002F Awareness"," (valuable, but not counted as “lead success”)",[14,9736,9737],{},"Both lanes matter. But they are not the same job. And they can’t be measured with the same yardstick.",[14,9739,9740],{},"This one change reduces friction instantly, because marketing and sales stop arguing about mixed data. Sales gets a cleaner lane. Marketing still gets credit for influence—without pretending influence is a pipeline.",[81,9742,9744],{"id":9743},"step-4-rebuild-reporting-around-outcomes-not-volume",[52,9745,9746],{},"Step 4: Rebuild reporting around outcomes, not volume",[14,9748,9749],{},"Once the funnel is split, reporting becomes simple:",[46,9751,9752,9755],{},[49,9753,9754],{},"Lane A is measured by the number of meetings held, opportunities created, conversion rates, and revenue contribution.",[49,9756,9757],{},"Lane B is measured by reach, engagement quality, and progression signals (that can be nurtured into Lane A).",[14,9759,9760,9761,9763,9764],{},"Now marketing has a scoreboard that leadership and sales can trust. That’s how ",[52,9762,8333],{}," stops being a workshop topic and becomes a working reality.",[5778,9765],{},[14,9767,9768],{},[75,9769],{"alt":77,"src":9770},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fmkg-blog-the-death-of-the-mql-image-3.png",[24,9772,9774],{"id":9773},"what-changes-when-you-run-a-truth-audit",[52,9775,9776],{},"What Changes When You Run a Truth Audit",[14,9778,9779],{},"When you stop optimizing for MQL volume and start optimizing for truth, a few powerful things happen:",[46,9781,9782,9785,9788,9791,9794],{},[49,9783,9784],{},"You immediately identify which channels generate revenue and which generate noise.",[49,9786,9787],{},"You stop spending the budget to manufacture “leads” that sales can’t use.",[49,9789,9790],{},"You gain cleaner feedback loops between marketing activity and pipeline outcomes.",[49,9792,9793],{},"You reduce friction with sales because both teams are using the same definition of “real.”",[49,9795,9796],{},"You make forecasting less emotional by grounding the inputs in conversion history.",[14,9798,9799],{},"Most importantly: you stop relying on the MQL as a proxy for progress.",[14,9801,9802],{},"Because proxies are expensive in 2026.",[24,9804,9805],{"id":9081},[52,9806,9084],{},[14,9808,9809],{},"The MQL isn’t dead because demand is dead. It’s dead because trust is dead.",[14,9811,9812],{},"If you want marketing to be treated as a revenue driver—and if you want sales to stop seeing marketing as a lead factory—you need to replace the old scoreboard with something real.",[14,9814,9815],{},"A Truth Audit does that. And the Split the Funnel approach makes it operational: declared intent in one lane, engagement in another, and accountability built around what converts.",[14,9817,9818,9819,9822],{},"If 2026 demands anything, it demands this: ",[52,9820,9821],{},"tell the truth about what’s working."," Then build your system around it.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":9824},[9825,9826,9827,9833,9834],{"id":9524,"depth":291,"text":9527},{"id":9588,"depth":291,"text":9591},{"id":9648,"depth":291,"text":9651,"children":9828},[9829,9830,9831,9832],{"id":9657,"depth":297,"text":9660},{"id":9689,"depth":297,"text":9692},{"id":9717,"depth":297,"text":9720},{"id":9743,"depth":297,"text":9746},{"id":9773,"depth":291,"text":9776},{"id":9081,"depth":291,"text":9084},"2026-02-18T17:57:00Z","If “lead volume” is still the headline metric, you’re paying for noise. 2026 is the year to split the funnel and prove what’s real.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fmkg-blog-the-death-of-the-mql-hero-image-1.webp","The Death of the MQL",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-death-of-the-mql-why-2026-demands-a-truth-audit",{"title":9487,"description":9836},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-death-of-the-mql-why-2026-demands-a-truth-audit","sfQ4It5KiXWPDX-gnBteChvfTHfEhqrhExYog3RKtvw",{"id":9845,"title":9846,"author":7,"authors":9847,"body":9848,"caption":7,"category":10195,"date":10196,"description":10197,"extension":318,"img":10198,"imgAlt":10199,"meta":10200,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":10201,"seo":10202,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":10203,"updated":7,"__hash__":10204},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fsvo\u002Fthe-invisibility-crisis-why-your-brand-is-missing-from-the-ai-shortlist.md","The Invisibility Crisis-Why Your Brand Is Missing from the AI Shortlist",[],{"type":11,"value":9849,"toc":10188},[9850,9853,9856,9859,9862,9865,9868,9871,9877,9880,9883,9900,9903,9906,9909,9916,9922,9925,9928,9933,9936,9941,9944,9949,9952,9955,9960,9963,9966,9971,9974,9977,9984,9990,9993,9996,10001,10004,10021,10024,10029,10032,10055,10058,10063,10066,10080,10083,10088,10091,10111,10114,10119,10122,10125,10139,10144,10149,10155,10158,10161,10164,10167,10170,10173,10176,10179,10183,10186],[14,9851,9852],{},"For years, visibility meant one thing: rankings. Get your page onto page one. Climb into the top spots. Win the click. If you could do that consistently, you had a dependable growth channel.",[14,9854,9855],{},"That world isn't gone—but it's no longer the whole story.",[14,9857,9858],{},"A new layer now sits on top of search: the AI shortlist. It's the small set of names that appear in AI answers, recommendations, summaries, and \"best of\" lists. And if your brand isn't on that list, you can be doing a lot of work and still feel like you're invisible.",[14,9860,9861],{},"Not invisible to people who already know you—but invisible at the moment that matters most: when someone is trying to decide. When they ask an AI tool, \"What should I use?\" \"What's the best way?\" \"Who are the top options?\" The AI doesn't explore your site like a human. It looks for patterns—signals of trust, clarity, consistency, and proof—and then compresses the entire market into a short list.",[14,9863,9864],{},"Here's the uncomfortable truth: the AI shortlist is becoming the new front page.",[14,9866,9867],{},"And many brands aren't even in the conversation.",[14,9869,9870],{},"This is the invisibility crisis. Not a ranking crisis. A relevance crisis.",[24,9872,9874],{"id":9873},"what-the-ai-shortlist-actually-is",[52,9875,9876],{},"What the AI shortlist actually is",[14,9878,9879],{},"AI tools aren't just retrieving links. They're making a judgment call. They're assembling a \"most likely\" set of options based on what they can confidently synthesize.",[14,9881,9882],{},"That shortlist is shaped by a few big inputs:",[46,9884,9885,9888,9891,9894,9897],{},[49,9886,9887],{},"Whether your brand is mentioned consistently across credible sources",[49,9889,9890],{},"Whether your positioning is clear enough to summarize accurately",[49,9892,9893],{},"Whether your content answers questions directly (not just markets features)",[49,9895,9896],{},"Whether there's proof—examples, use cases, outcomes—that can be cited",[49,9898,9899],{},"Whether the market's language matches the language you use",[14,9901,9902],{},"If those signals are missing, you won't necessarily drop in rankings overnight. You'll just stop appearing in the answers that are replacing the click.",[14,9904,9905],{},"And that's why this feels so confusing. You might see \"fine\" performance in traditional dashboards while your inbound pipeline quietly changes shape.",[14,9907,9908],{},"Because the user didn't click. They decided earlier.",[14,9910,9911,9913],{},[5778,9912],{},[75,9914],{"alt":77,"src":9915},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-invisibility-crisis-blog-image-1.png",[24,9917,9919],{"id":9918},"why-youre-missing-the-five-causes-of-ai-invisibility",[52,9920,9921],{},"Why you're missing: the five causes of AI invisibility",[14,9923,9924],{},"If your brand isn't showing up, it's rarely because you're not good. It's because the web doesn't describe you in a way AI can confidently repeat.",[14,9926,9927],{},"Here are the most common reasons.",[14,9929,9930],{},[52,9931,9932],{},"1) Your positioning is too vague to quote",[14,9934,9935],{},"AI needs clarity. It needs to be able to say, \"This is what they do, for this type of buyer, in this situation.\" If your messaging is a fog of broad claims—\"innovative,\" \"leading,\" \"end-to-end\"—there's nothing to anchor to. The AI won't take a risk trying to interpret you. It will choose someone easier to summarize.",[14,9937,9938],{},[52,9939,9940],{},"2) Your content is written for approval, not understanding",[14,9942,9943],{},"Much brand content is designed to offend no one. It's safe, polished, and unmemorable. AI doesn't reward safety. It rewards specifically. If your pages avoid direct answers, avoid comparisons, avoid strong points of view, and avoid concrete use cases, there's very little to extract.",[14,9945,9946],{},[52,9947,9948],{},"3) You have authority on your site, but not across the web",[14,9950,9951],{},"AI systems learn from the broader web, not just your domain. If your brand is only \"present\" inside your own content, you may look invisible externally. Mentions, citations, third-party references, community discussions, podcasts, conference recaps—these build a public footprint AI can see.",[14,9953,9954],{},"If nobody talks about you anywhere but you, you won't look like a default option.",[14,9956,9957],{},[52,9958,9959],{},"4) You don't match the market's language",[14,9961,9962],{},"AI answers are heavily shaped by the wording of prompts. If you call something \"workflow acceleration\" but everyone asks for \"automation,\" you'll miss. If your page titles don't mirror real questions, you'll miss. If your product categories don't align with how people search and ask, you'll miss.",[14,9964,9965],{},"This is less about jargon and more about translation. The market has a vocabulary. AI listens to that vocabulary.",[14,9967,9968],{},[52,9969,9970],{},"5) You lack \"quotable proof.\"",[14,9972,9973],{},"AI loves concrete evidence: outcomes, examples, steps, numbers, and named scenarios. It struggles with claims that sound like marketing. If your proof is buried, vague, or missing, the AI can't justify recommending you.",[14,9975,9976],{},"It won't say it out loud, but the logic is simple: If I can't cite it, I can't trust it.",[14,9978,9979,9981],{},[5778,9980],{},[75,9982],{"alt":77,"src":9983},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-invisibility-crisis-blog-image-2.png",[24,9985,9987],{"id":9986},"what-to-do-about-it-build-ai-visibility-like-a-system",[52,9988,9989],{},"What to do about it: build \"AI visibility\" like a system",[14,9991,9992],{},"The fix isn't to publish more content. It's about publishing the right signals in the right places with the right structure.",[14,9994,9995],{},"Here's how we approach it.",[14,9997,9998],{},[52,9999,10000],{},"1) Make your positioning compressible",[14,10002,10003],{},"Your core story needs to be easy to restate. Not just \"what you do,\" but:",[46,10005,10006,10009,10012,10015,10018],{},[49,10007,10008],{},"What problem do you solve",[49,10010,10011],{},"Who do you solve it for",[49,10013,10014],{},"What makes your approach different",[49,10016,10017],{},"What outcomes do you drive",[49,10019,10020],{},"What situations are you best suited for",[14,10022,10023],{},"If a human can't repeat it after one read, AI won't either.",[14,10025,10026],{},[52,10027,10028],{},"2) Create pages that answer questions directly",[14,10030,10031],{},"AI favors content that reads like clear guidance:",[46,10033,10034,10037,10040,10043,10046,10049,10052],{},[49,10035,10036],{},"\"How to choose X\"",[49,10038,10039],{},"\"X vs Y\" comparisons",[49,10041,10042],{},"\"Best practices\"",[49,10044,10045],{},"\"Common mistakes\"",[49,10047,10048],{},"\"Step-by-step frameworks\"",[49,10050,10051],{},"\"What to look for in a provider\"",[49,10053,10054],{},"\"When this approach works (and when it doesn't).\"",[14,10056,10057],{},"These aren't just content formats. They're \"answer shapes.\" They give AI something structured and quotable.",[14,10059,10060],{},[52,10061,10062],{},"3) Build a proof library, not a testimonial page",[14,10064,10065],{},"Most proof pages are too generic to reuse. Create proof that is specific:",[46,10067,10068,10071,10074,10077],{},[49,10069,10070],{},"Short case stories with constraints, actions, and outcomes",[49,10072,10073],{},"Examples tied to real scenarios",[49,10075,10076],{},"Before\u002Fafter snapshots (what changed and why)",[49,10078,10079],{},"Clear metrics when possible, and clear qualitative wins when not",[14,10081,10082],{},"The goal is to make your proof portable—easy to cite, summarize, and repeat.",[14,10084,10085],{},[52,10086,10087],{},"4) Expand your off-site footprint intentionally",[14,10089,10090],{},"If your brand only exists on your site, you're fragile. Build signals elsewhere:",[46,10092,10093,10096,10099,10102,10105,10108],{},[49,10094,10095],{},"Thoughtful guest posts",[49,10097,10098],{},"Podcast appearances",[49,10100,10101],{},"Partner pages",[49,10103,10104],{},"Community participation",[49,10106,10107],{},"Conference recaps",[49,10109,10110],{},"Contributor quotes in industry articles",[14,10112,10113],{},"This isn't about \"PR for vanity.\" It's about distributed credibility.",[14,10115,10116],{},[52,10117,10118],{},"5) Measure the right thing: presence, not just traffic",[14,10120,10121],{},"Traditional dashboards tell you clicks. The new question is: Are you appearing in answers?",[14,10123,10124],{},"You need to track:",[46,10126,10127,10130,10133,10136],{},[49,10128,10129],{},"Brand mentions in AI answers",[49,10131,10132],{},"Citation sources (where the AI pulls from)",[49,10134,10135],{},"Prompt categories you're winning or missing",[49,10137,10138],{},"Competitors that show up instead of you",[14,10140,10141,10142],{},"Visibility is now multi-surface. Measurement has to be, too.",[5778,10143],{},[14,10145,10146],{},[75,10147],{"alt":77,"src":10148},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-invisibility-crisis-blog-image-3.png",[24,10150,10152],{"id":10151},"the-bigger-takeaway-the-market-is-being-summarized",[52,10153,10154],{},"The bigger takeaway: the market is being summarized",[14,10156,10157],{},"AI is compressing markets. It's taking thousands of pages and turning them into a small set of recommendations. That's convenient for users—and brutal for brands that rely on being \"found\" late in the journey.",[14,10159,10160],{},"If your strategy assumes people will browse, compare, click around, and eventually discover you… You're building on old behavior.",[14,10162,10163],{},"The new behavior is: ask, shortlist, decide.",[14,10165,10166],{},"That's why this feels like an invisibility crisis. Your work might be solid. Your site might be strong. But if your brand isn't clearly described across the web, supported by evidence, and aligned with the market's language, you won't show up where decisions are increasingly made.",[14,10168,10169],{},"The good news: this is fixable.",[14,10171,10172],{},"But it requires a shift in mindset. You're not optimizing for rankings alone anymore. You're optimizing to be recommended. To be repeatable. To be easy to summarize accurately.",[14,10174,10175],{},"Because in the era of AI answers, the brands that win aren't just the ones that rank.",[14,10177,10178],{},"They're the ones that make the shortlist.",[24,10180,10181],{"id":2913},[52,10182,2914],{},[14,10184,10185],{},"AI is compressing the market into a shortlist of brands it can confidently recommend. If your positioning is vague, your content isn't answer-first, your proof isn't quotable, your language doesn't match how people ask questions, or your credibility lives only on your own site, you'll disappear from AI-generated recommendations. The fix is systematic: make your story compressible, build direct-answer content, create portable proof, expand your off-site footprint, and measure presence in AI answers—not just clicks.",[5778,10187],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":10189},[10190,10191,10192,10193,10194],{"id":9873,"depth":291,"text":9876},{"id":9918,"depth":291,"text":9921},{"id":9986,"depth":291,"text":9989},{"id":10151,"depth":291,"text":10154},{"id":2913,"depth":291,"text":2914},"svo","2026-02-10T16:41:00Z","AI is reshaping how people find, compare, and choose brands. In this guide, you'll see why traditional SEO rankings on their own no longer cut it—and what it takes to make sure your brand shows up on AI's short list.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Finvisibility-crisis-hero-image.webp","Invisibility Crisis",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fsvo\u002Fthe-invisibility-crisis-why-your-brand-is-missing-from-the-ai-shortlist",{"title":9846,"description":10197},"blog\u002Fsvo\u002Fthe-invisibility-crisis-why-your-brand-is-missing-from-the-ai-shortlist","6sFPpeBscg_Lu-XVHPI9RO4zVMGNQ0cYZUVWomMkJp4",{"id":10206,"title":10207,"author":7,"authors":10208,"body":10209,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":10537,"description":10538,"extension":318,"img":10539,"imgAlt":10540,"meta":10541,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":10542,"seo":10543,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":10544,"updated":7,"__hash__":10545},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fstop-the-random-acts-how-mkgos-makes-every-channel-work-together.md","Stop the Random Acts – How mkgOS™️ Makes Every Channel Work Together",[],{"type":11,"value":10210,"toc":10523},[10211,10214,10217,10220,10223,10226,10229,10235,10238,10241,10244,10264,10267,10278,10284,10287,10293,10299,10316,10319,10322,10328,10335,10338,10344,10347,10350,10353,10359,10362,10365,10368,10374,10377,10380,10391,10397,10400,10403,10406,10412,10415,10418,10421,10427,10430,10462,10465,10471,10477,10480,10497,10500,10503,10509,10512,10515,10518,10521],[14,10212,10213],{},"Most marketing teams aren’t short on effort. They’re short on alignment.",[14,10215,10216],{},"That’s how you end up with “random acts” that look productive on their own, but don’t add up to momentum. A landing page gets rebuilt because it feels stale. Ads get refreshed because performance dipped. A content push occurs when someone sees a competitor's post. Analytics gets reviewed because reporting is due. Everyone is working, but the work isn’t working together.",[14,10218,10219],{},"The problem isn’t creativity. It’s coordination.",[14,10221,10222],{},"When channels operate like separate departments, they create separate realities: separate goals, metrics, priorities, and timelines. And the only thing holding it together is meetings—lots of meetings—where people try to stitch together a story after the fact.",[14,10224,10225],{},"mkgOS™️ exists to stop that cycle.",[14,10227,10228],{},"It’s the operating system underneath the work. Not software—structure. The system that keeps every channel moving in the same direction, using the same plan, the same definitions, and the same cadence. It’s how you turn marketing from a set of disconnected “apps” into a single engine that compounds.",[24,10230,10232],{"id":10231},"what-random-acts-actually-cost-you",[52,10233,10234],{},"What “random acts” actually cost you",[14,10236,10237],{},"Random acts don’t just waste budget. They waste learning.",[14,10239,10240],{},"When work isn’t connected, you can’t trace outcomes to inputs. You don’t know which message is landing, because each channel is testing something different. You don’t know which audiences are the best fit, because tracking is inconsistent across touchpoints. You don’t know what’s actually working, because the “win” might be happening in one channel while another is quietly undermining it.",[14,10242,10243],{},"Here’s how it usually shows up:",[46,10245,10246,10249,10252,10255,10258,10261],{},[49,10247,10248],{},"Paid campaigns drive traffic to pages that weren’t built for that intent.",[49,10250,10251],{},"Content is written without knowing what the ads promise.",[49,10253,10254],{},"SEO and ads compete rather than reinforce each other.",[49,10256,10257],{},"Reporting happens monthly, but decisions are made at random.",[49,10259,10260],{},"Channel owners optimize their lane, not the whole journey.",[49,10262,10263],{},"New ideas get shipped, but nothing gets finished end to end.",[14,10265,10266],{},"The result is busywork. It feels like motion, but it doesn’t compound.",[14,10268,10269,10270,10272,10274],{},"mkgOS fixes this by creating a shared operating rhythm where every channel plugs into the same system: one goal, one plan, one backlog, one set of priorities.",[5778,10271],{},[5778,10273],{},[75,10275],{"alt":10276,"src":10277},"Graphic illustrating the cost of random marketing acts, such as wasted budget and misaligned channels, with icons representing analytics, ads, content, and reporting.","\u002Fimages\u002Fstop-the-random-acts-image-1.png",[24,10279,10281],{"id":10280},"the-job-of-an-operating-system-make-channels-behave-like-a-team",[52,10282,10283],{},"The job of an operating system: make channels behave like a team",[14,10285,10286],{},"The easiest way to understand mkgOS is to think in two layers:",[14,10288,10289,10292],{},[52,10290,10291],{},"The “apps”"," are the channels: paid media, search, content, site, email, analytics, creative, partner campaigns—whatever mix you’re running.",[14,10294,10295,10298],{},[52,10296,10297],{},"The OS"," is what makes those apps cooperate. It defines:",[46,10300,10301,10304,10307,10310,10313],{},[49,10302,10303],{},"Where work lives (so nothing disappears)",[49,10305,10306],{},"How priorities get set (so you stop thrashing)",[49,10308,10309],{},"How decisions get made (so work doesn’t stall)",[49,10311,10312],{},"How execution stays visible (so you don’t chase updates)",[49,10314,10315],{},"How learnings translate into following actions (so you compound)",[14,10317,10318],{},"Without an OS, channels optimize for themselves. With an OS, channels optimize for the outcome.",[14,10320,10321],{},"That’s the difference between marketing that “runs” and marketing that “works.”",[24,10323,10325],{"id":10324},"how-mkgos-makes-every-channel-work-together",[52,10326,10327],{},"How mkgOS makes every channel work together",[14,10329,10330,10331,10334],{},"mkgOS doesn’t force every channel into the same tactic. It forces every channel into the same ",[38,10332,10333],{},"truth",". Same goal. Same language. Same plan. Same cadence.",[14,10336,10337],{},"Here’s what that looks like in practice.",[81,10339,10341],{"id":10340},"_1-one-shared-goal-that-doesnt-change-every-week",[52,10342,10343],{},"1) One shared goal that doesn’t change every week",[14,10345,10346],{},"When a team doesn’t share a goal, it shares opinions. And opinions breed random acts.",[14,10348,10349],{},"mkgOS starts by clarifying what “good” actually means—then locking that into the operating rhythm. Not vague aspirations. Concrete outcomes. Clear definitions. Shared assumptions.",[14,10351,10352],{},"Once the goal is clear, each channel has a role to play. And that’s where alignment actually begins.",[81,10354,10356],{"id":10355},"_2-one-backlog-one-prioritization-method",[52,10357,10358],{},"2) One backlog, one prioritization method",[14,10360,10361],{},"Random acts are usually just unprioritized work.",[14,10363,10364],{},"mkgOS replaces that with a single backlog and a single way to decide what matters most. Every request, idea, improvement, and optimization enters the same system. Then it gets sized, scored, and placed into “now \u002F next \u002F later” based on impact and effort.",[14,10366,10367],{},"That’s how you stop doing “what’s loud” and start doing “what moves.”",[81,10369,10371],{"id":10370},"_3-weekly-sprints-that-force-coordinated-execution",[52,10372,10373],{},"3) Weekly sprints that force coordinated execution",[14,10375,10376],{},"The OS runs on weekly sprints because momentum needs a clock.",[14,10378,10379],{},"Each sprint defines what gets shipped that week, who owns it, what “done” means, and what needs approval. Channels aren’t making independent plans. They’re contributing to one plan.",[14,10381,10382,10383,10385,10387],{},"This is where the magic happens: paid and content stop drifting apart because they’re planned together. Site updates get tied to campaign needs. Analytics gets implemented before launch, not after results disappoint.",[5778,10384],{},[5778,10386],{},[75,10388],{"alt":10389,"src":10390},"Illustration representing weekly sprint planning and collaboration across marketing teams, with arrows and checklist icons showing shared execution.","\u002Fimages\u002Fstop-the-random-acts-image-2.png",[81,10392,10394],{"id":10393},"_4-a-single-source-of-truth-that-eliminates-update-meetings",[52,10395,10396],{},"4) A single source of truth that eliminates update meetings",[14,10398,10399],{},"mkgOS runs on radical transparency. The workflow is visible. Owners are visible. Dependencies are visible. Approvals are visible. Nothing lives in someone’s head.",[14,10401,10402],{},"That’s why the meeting load drops. When the work is visible, the call doesn’t need to be an update. It can be a decision.",[14,10404,10405],{},"And when decisions happen faster, channels stop waiting on each other.",[81,10407,10409],{"id":10408},"_5-a-quality-standard-that-travels-across-channels",[52,10410,10411],{},"5) A quality standard that travels across channels",[14,10413,10414],{},"When work is modular, quality can be inconsistent. One channel looks polished, another looks rushed, another feels off-brand. That inconsistency creates drag because teams start redoing and second-guessing.",[14,10416,10417],{},"The MKG Standard solves that. It’s the shared bar for strategy, execution, QA, and reporting—so the experience stays consistent no matter who's in motion.",[14,10419,10420],{},"This is how you build trust in the system: the output is predictable, even when the inputs change.",[24,10422,10424],{"id":10423},"what-coordination-looks-like-across-real-channels",[52,10425,10426],{},"What coordination looks like across real channels",[14,10428,10429],{},"When mkgOS is running, you stop seeing “channels.” You see a coordinated journey.",[46,10431,10432,10438,10444,10450,10456],{},[49,10433,10434,10437],{},[52,10435,10436],{},"Search and content"," work from the same intent map, so pages answer fundamental questions and match what people are actually looking for.",[49,10439,10440,10443],{},[52,10441,10442],{},"Paid and landing pages"," are built as a pair, so the promise in the ad matches the experience on the page.",[49,10445,10446,10449],{},[52,10447,10448],{},"Analytics and reporting"," are built into the workflow, so tracking isn’t an afterthought.",[49,10451,10452,10455],{},[52,10453,10454],{},"Creative and messaging"," are reused across the system, so each channel reinforces the same story.",[49,10457,10458,10461],{},[52,10459,10460],{},"Optimization"," becomes continuous because learnings from one channel feed improvements in another.",[14,10463,10464],{},"The real win isn’t that each channel performs slightly better. It’s that the whole machine stops leaking value.",[14,10466,10467],{},[75,10468],{"alt":10469,"src":10470},"Graphic showing aligned marketing journey across channels, where each channel supports a unified strategy with shared messaging and goals.","\u002Fimages\u002Fstop-the-random-acts-image-3.png",[24,10472,10474],{"id":10473},"the-compounding-effect-less-chaos-more-leverage",[52,10475,10476],{},"The compounding effect: less chaos, more leverage",[14,10478,10479],{},"Here’s what changes when you stop random acts:",[46,10481,10482,10485,10488,10491,10494],{},[49,10483,10484],{},"You stop restarting every month because the plan is continuous",[49,10486,10487],{},"You stop debating priorities because the system makes tradeoffs explicit",[49,10489,10490],{},"You stop losing momentum to approvals because decision paths are clear",[49,10492,10493],{},"You stop over-meeting because updates live in the workflow",[49,10495,10496],{},"You stop optimizing in silos because channels share the same goal",[14,10498,10499],{},"And the most significant shift: your learnings start stacking. You don’t just run tests—you build institutional knowledge that makes next quarter brighter than last quarter.",[14,10501,10502],{},"That’s what people mean when they say “marketing that compounds.” It’s not a trick. It’s a system.",[24,10504,10506],{"id":10505},"what-mkgos️-really-does",[52,10507,10508],{},"What mkgOS™️ really does",[14,10510,10511],{},"mkgOS doesn’t make marketing easier by making it smaller. It makes marketing easier by coordinating it.",[14,10513,10514],{},"It’s how every channel stops acting like a separate project and starts acting like part of one operating rhythm. It’s how strategy turns into weekly shipping. It’s how reporting turns into decisions. And it’s how teams stop relying on heroics to get results.",[14,10516,10517],{},"If your marketing feels like a pile of tactics instead of an actual engine, you don’t need another brainstorm. You need an operating system.",[14,10519,10520],{},"That’s what mkgOS™️ is built to be.",[5778,10522],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":10524},[10525,10526,10527,10534,10535,10536],{"id":10231,"depth":291,"text":10234},{"id":10280,"depth":291,"text":10283},{"id":10324,"depth":291,"text":10327,"children":10528},[10529,10530,10531,10532,10533],{"id":10340,"depth":297,"text":10343},{"id":10355,"depth":297,"text":10358},{"id":10370,"depth":297,"text":10373},{"id":10393,"depth":297,"text":10396},{"id":10408,"depth":297,"text":10411},{"id":10423,"depth":291,"text":10426},{"id":10473,"depth":291,"text":10476},{"id":10505,"depth":291,"text":10508},"2026-01-21T16:59:00Z","A marketing operating system that turns disconnected efforts into one coordinated engine.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fstop-the-random-acts-hero-image.webp","Illustration showing a marketing system diagram or flow that contrasts random disconnected actions with a coordinated operating system approach",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fstop-the-random-acts-how-mkgos-makes-every-channel-work-together",{"title":10207,"description":10538},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fstop-the-random-acts-how-mkgos-makes-every-channel-work-together","Tqnm0ZI6AK1diQGAVFhRVNe7nw8cjMQjLML1KeJvFbk",{"id":10547,"title":10548,"author":7,"authors":10549,"body":10550,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":10852,"description":10853,"extension":318,"img":10854,"imgAlt":77,"meta":10855,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":10856,"seo":10857,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":10858,"updated":7,"__hash__":10859},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fproactive-by-design-how-mkg-builds-partnerships-that-last.md","Proactive by Design - How MKG Builds Partnerships That Last",[],{"type":11,"value":10551,"toc":10838},[10552,10555,10558,10561,10564,10571,10574,10577,10580,10586,10589,10592,10595,10598,10618,10628,10634,10637,10640,10651,10654,10657,10660,10663,10666,10683,10686,10692,10695,10701,10704,10707,10710,10716,10719,10722,10725,10731,10734,10737,10747,10753,10756,10759,10762,10768,10771,10774,10780,10783,10786,10803,10806,10809,10814,10820,10823,10826,10829,10832],[14,10553,10554],{},"Most partnerships don’t break because people stop caring. They fail because the operating rhythm breaks.",[14,10556,10557],{},"The early days are easy. Everyone’s energized. The goals are clear. The backlog feels manageable. Then the real world shows up: priorities shift, approvals slow down, internal teams get stretched, a key stakeholder changes roles, the quarter gets tight, the “simple” launch gets complicated. Suddenly, the partnership isn’t being measured by the strategy you pitched—it’s being measured by how you show up when things get messy.",[14,10559,10560],{},"That’s where most agencies lose trust.",[14,10562,10563],{},"Not because they’re incompetent, but because they’re reactive. They wait for direction. They wait for the next meeting. They wait for the client to spot the problem and name it. They wait to be asked.",[14,10565,10566,10567,10570],{},"At MKG, we’ve learned something the hard way: ",[52,10568,10569],{},"the strongest partnerships aren’t built on output. They’re built on proactive behavior."," Not as a personality trait, but as a design principle—baked into the way work runs, decisions get made, and progress stays visible.",[14,10572,10573],{},"That’s what “proactive by design” means.",[14,10575,10576],{},"It means we don’t just deliver. We anticipate. We don’t just execute. We connect dots. We don’t just report. We translate insights into subsequent actions. We don’t just attend meetings. We reduce the number of meetings you need to hold.",[14,10578,10579],{},"And over time, that’s what makes a partnership last: the quiet confidence that you’re not carrying the system alone.",[24,10581,10583],{"id":10582},"proactive-isnt-a-vibe-its-a-system",[52,10584,10585],{},"Proactive isn’t a vibe. It’s a system.",[14,10587,10588],{},"Many teams talk about being proactive. What they really mean is that they have good intentions, they’ll respond quickly, and they’ll bring ideas when asked.",[14,10590,10591],{},"That’s not proactivity. That’s responsiveness.",[14,10593,10594],{},"Real proactivity is when progress continues even when nobody is watching, when risks are spotted before they become fire drills. When opportunities surface before the quarterly planning doc is due. When your partner doesn’t need to be managed because the work has a rhythm.",[14,10596,10597],{},"Proactive partnerships don’t happen by accident. They happen when the relationship is built around a shared operating system:",[46,10599,10600,10603,10606,10609,10612,10615],{},[49,10601,10602],{},"Clear owners",[49,10604,10605],{},"Clear priorities",[49,10607,10608],{},"Clear “done” definitions",[49,10610,10611],{},"Clear decision paths",[49,10613,10614],{},"Visibility without chasing",[49,10616,10617],{},"A consistent cadence that doesn’t collapse under pressure",[14,10619,10620,10621,10623,10625],{},"That’s why we obsess over how we work, not just what we deliver. Because marketing gets complicated, the partnership can’t.",[5778,10622],{},[5778,10624],{},[75,10626],{"alt":77,"src":10627},"\u002Fimages\u002Fproactive-by-design-image-2.jpg",[24,10629,10631],{"id":10630},"the-difference-between-vendor-and-partner",[52,10632,10633],{},"The difference between “vendor” and “partner.”",[14,10635,10636],{},"A vendor does tasks. A partner shares outcomes.",[14,10638,10639],{},"Transactions usually define the vendor relationship:",[46,10641,10642,10645,10648],{},[49,10643,10644],{},"“Here’s the request.”",[49,10646,10647],{},"“Here’s the deliverable.”",[49,10649,10650],{},"“Here’s the report.”",[14,10652,10653],{},"It can look smooth on paper and still feel heavy in practice—because the client is doing the integration work: aligning stakeholders, connecting channels, translating goals into priorities, spotting gaps, and pushing things over the finish line.",[14,10655,10656],{},"A true partner reduces that load.",[14,10658,10659],{},"Partnership means you don’t just receive orders—you help shape them. You don’t just ship work—you protect the strategy. You don’t just show what happened—you recommend what to do next. You don’t just operate inside your lane—you notice what’s happening across the whole system.",[14,10661,10662],{},"This is why “partner” hits differently. It’s not a label. It’s a behavior pattern.",[14,10664,10665],{},"And it shows up in the small moments:",[46,10667,10668,10671,10674,10677,10680],{},[49,10669,10670],{},"You bring a fix before the client brings a complaint",[49,10672,10673],{},"You flag a risk before it becomes a missed deadline",[49,10675,10676],{},"You summarize decisions clearly, so nobody leaves confused",[49,10678,10679],{},"You keep work moving between meetings",[49,10681,10682],{},"You say “here’s what I recommend” instead of “what do you want?”",[14,10684,10685],{},"Those moments are what create peace. And peace is what makes partnerships durable.",[24,10687,10689],{"id":10688},"how-mkg-is-proactive-by-design",[52,10690,10691],{},"How MKG is proactive by design",[14,10693,10694],{},"Here’s what we actually do that makes proactivity repeatable.",[81,10696,10698],{"id":10697},"_1-we-run-on-radical-transparency",[52,10699,10700],{},"1) We run on radical transparency",[14,10702,10703],{},"If the work lives in email threads, proactivity dies. People can’t anticipate what they can’t see.",[14,10705,10706],{},"We treat visibility as a feature, not a courtesy. The plan is visible. The backlog is visible. Owners, blockers, and decisions are visible. That means clients aren’t chasing updates, and we’re not waiting for the next call to move work forward.",[14,10708,10709],{},"Transparency turns a relationship from “check-ins” to “check the system.”",[81,10711,10713],{"id":10712},"_2-we-use-a-weekly-operating-rhythm",[52,10714,10715],{},"2) We use a weekly operating rhythm",[14,10717,10718],{},"Partnerships fall apart when execution is sporadic.",[14,10720,10721],{},"A weekly cadence creates predictability: priorities are set, work is shipped, learnings are reviewed, and decisions are made—every week. When the rhythm is steady, the partnership doesn’t depend on heroics. It depends on the process.",[14,10723,10724],{},"This also makes it easier to adapt. When priorities change (and they will), you don’t need to rebuild the entire plan. You rebalance the next sprint.",[81,10726,10728],{"id":10727},"_3-we-translate-insights-into-assignments",[52,10729,10730],{},"3) We translate insights into assignments",[14,10732,10733],{},"A lot of agencies report. Few operationalize.",[14,10735,10736],{},"We treat every meaningful insight as a decision point: do we keep going, change course, or test something new? And if it’s worth discussing, it’s worth assigning.",[14,10738,10739,10740,10742,10744],{},"That’s the difference between “interesting data” and compounding results.",[5778,10741],{},[5778,10743],{},[75,10745],{"alt":77,"src":10746},"\u002Fimages\u002Fproactive-by-design-image-2.png",[24,10748,10750],{"id":10749},"_4-we-lead-with-senior-operators",[52,10751,10752],{},"4) We lead with senior operators",[14,10754,10755],{},"Proactivity requires judgment.",[14,10757,10758],{},"If your day-to-day team is junior, they can execute tasks, but they can’t reliably anticipate. They don’t yet know what to look for, what to question, or when to challenge a plan.",[14,10760,10761],{},"Our model is built around senior strategists who think, lead, and do. That reduces back-and-forth. It reduces rework. And it creates a partnership where you don’t have to translate your needs into perfect instructions to get excellent output.",[81,10763,10765],{"id":10764},"_5-were-built-to-integrate-not-just-produce",[52,10766,10767],{},"5) We’re built to integrate, not just produce",[14,10769,10770],{},"The longest partnerships aren’t the ones that have the most deliverables. They’re the ones that reduce friction over time.",[14,10772,10773],{},"We’re structured to plug into your team like an extension—aligning with stakeholders, collaborating across functions, and keeping work moving even when internal bandwidth gets tight. We don’t win by being loud. We win by being reliable.",[24,10775,10777],{"id":10776},"what-lasting-partnerships-feel-like",[52,10778,10779],{},"What lasting partnerships feel like",[14,10781,10782],{},"When proactivity is real, the client experience changes.",[14,10784,10785],{},"It feels like:",[46,10787,10788,10791,10794,10797,10800],{},[49,10789,10790],{},"Fewer meetings, because visibility replaces status updates",[49,10792,10793],{},"Faster decisions, because issues are surfaced early and clearly",[49,10795,10796],{},"Less rework, because strategy and execution stay aligned",[49,10798,10799],{},"More confidence, because there’s a plan and it’s moving",[49,10801,10802],{},"More calm, because you’re not carrying the system alone",[14,10804,10805],{},"This is the part most people don’t say out loud: the best partnerships sell peace. Not complacency—momentum without chaos.",[14,10807,10808],{},"And that peace compounds. When you’re not exhausted by coordination, you have more energy for strategy. When the system runs smoothly, you can take bigger swings. When you trust the rhythm, you can play the long game.",[14,10810,10811],{},[75,10812],{"alt":77,"src":10813},"\u002Fimages\u002Fproactive-by-design-image-3.jpg",[24,10815,10817],{"id":10816},"proactive-by-design-is-a-choice",[52,10818,10819],{},"Proactive by design is a choice",[14,10821,10822],{},"Most teams don’t need a new agency. They need a partner who makes marketing feel lighter because the operating rhythm is heavier—structured, clear, and consistent.",[14,10824,10825],{},"That’s what MKG builds.",[14,10827,10828],{},"We build partnerships that last by designing proactivity into the work: transparent workflows, weekly momentum, decision-driven reporting, senior ownership, and integration that reduces your load instead of adding to it.",[14,10830,10831],{},"Because the strategy matters. The output matters.",[14,10833,10834,10835],{},"But in the end, partnerships last for one reason: ",[52,10836,10837],{},"you trust what will happen next.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":10839},[10840,10841,10842,10847,10850,10851],{"id":10582,"depth":291,"text":10585},{"id":10630,"depth":291,"text":10633},{"id":10688,"depth":291,"text":10691,"children":10843},[10844,10845,10846],{"id":10697,"depth":297,"text":10700},{"id":10712,"depth":297,"text":10715},{"id":10727,"depth":297,"text":10730},{"id":10749,"depth":291,"text":10752,"children":10848},[10849],{"id":10764,"depth":297,"text":10767},{"id":10776,"depth":291,"text":10779},{"id":10816,"depth":291,"text":10819},"2026-01-13T16:59:00Z","The work matters. The way we work matters more—because it’s what makes results repeatable.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fproactive-by-design-image-hero-image.webp",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fproactive-by-design-how-mkg-builds-partnerships-that-last",{"title":10548,"description":10853},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fproactive-by-design-how-mkg-builds-partnerships-that-last","x7qmhAFfmHElKnULKspNJR5dZcL4Ce9F0KGXXgj4Gvo",{"id":10861,"title":10862,"author":7,"authors":10863,"body":10864,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":11101,"description":11102,"extension":318,"img":11103,"imgAlt":77,"meta":11104,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":11105,"seo":11106,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":11107,"updated":7,"__hash__":11108},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fbuild-a-marketing-operating-system-here-s-what-mkgos-really-means.md","Build a Marketing Operating System (Here is What mkgOS™ Really Means)",[],{"type":11,"value":10865,"toc":11093},[10866,10869,10872,10875,10878,10884,10887,10890,10893,10900,10905,10911,10914,10932,10947,10950,10956,10959,11013,11020,11026,11029,11032,11040,11045,11051,11054,11069,11072,11078,11081,11084,11090],[14,10867,10868],{},"If marketing feels like a never-ending game of whack-a-mole, it’s usually not because your team lacks talent. It’s because the work is being run like a pile of “apps” with no operating system underneath. One person is pushing ads, another is rewriting pages, someone is in analytics, someone else is chasing approvals, and you’re stuck in the middle, stitching it together with meetings and follow-ups.",[14,10870,10871],{},"mkgOS™️ exists to fix that.",[14,10873,10874],{},"It’s not a piece of software. It’s the way marketing runs when you stop treating every initiative like a one-off campaign and start treating growth like a system. It’s how we make multiple specialists, channels, and priorities move in the same direction—without you having to play project manager, traffic cop, and translator.",[14,10876,10877],{},"In plain language: mkgOS is MKG’s operating system for marketing execution. It’s the framework that makes our strategy and our services work together in a choreographed way, so the client experience feels simple—even when the work is complex.",[24,10879,10881],{"id":10880},"why-an-operating-system-at-all",[52,10882,10883],{},"Why an “Operating System” at all?",[14,10885,10886],{},"Most teams already have plenty of tools. The problem is the handoffs between them: between strategy and execution, between paid and organic, between reporting and action, between “we should” and “it shipped.”",[14,10888,10889],{},"An operating system solves for coordination. It gives everyone the same rules of engagement: where work lives, how decisions get made, what “done” means, and how progress gets communicated. That’s why we coined the term. Not for branding. For survival.",[14,10891,10892],{},"Without a system, you get the same symptoms every month: priorities reset every week because nothing is anchored; work gets stuck in approval limbo with no clear path to unblock it; reporting becomes theater (lots of slides, few decisions); specialists operate in lanes even though outcomes happen across lanes; and meetings multiply because updates live in people’s heads instead of in a workflow.",[14,10894,10895,10897],{},[5778,10896],{},[75,10898],{"alt":77,"src":10899},"\u002Fimages\u002Fwhat-mkgos-really-means-image1-1.png",[14,10901,10902],{},[52,10903,10904],{},"mkgOS turns that mess into a repeatable operating rhythm.",[24,10906,10908],{"id":10907},"what-mkgos-isand-what-its-not",[52,10909,10910],{},"What mkgOS is—and what it’s not",[14,10912,10913],{},"Let’s draw a clean boundary.",[14,10915,10916,10917,10919,10920,10922,10923,10925,10926,10928,10929,10931],{},"mkgOS is:",[5778,10918],{},"A repeatable way to run marketing work with clarity and momentum",[5778,10921],{},"A standard operating rhythm (weekly sprints) that turns insight into action",[5778,10924],{},"A shared system for visibility, ownership, and accountability (Asana is the source of truth)",[5778,10927],{},"A communication model designed to reduce meetings, not create them",[5778,10930],{},"A quality standard that travels across service lines, specialists, and partners",[14,10933,10934,10935,10937,10938,10940,10941,10943,10944,10946],{},"mkgOS is not:",[5778,10936],{},"“Just project management”",[5778,10939],{},"A static playbook that ignores context",[5778,10942],{},"A tool stack you have to adopt overnight",[5778,10945],{},"A set of pretty dashboards that don’t change what happens next",[14,10948,10949],{},"Project management is the core engine, but the OS is bigger than tasks. It’s the whole loop: plan, prioritize, execute, measure, adjust—then do it again next week with more clarity than the week before.",[24,10951,10953],{"id":10952},"the-non-negotiables-inside-the-os",[52,10954,10955],{},"The non-negotiables inside the OS",[14,10957,10958],{},"If you strip mkgOS down to the essentials, a few components never move. These are the pieces that make the system feel calm instead of chaotic.",[132,10960,10961,10972,10983,10994,11002],{},[49,10962,10963,10966,10968,10969,10971],{},[52,10964,10965],{},"Radical transparency (no black boxes)",[5778,10967],{},"Work doesn’t “live” in someone’s inbox or brain. It lives in the workflow. In practice, that means Asana is not optional. You can see what’s in motion, what’s blocked, what’s shipping next, who owns what, and what decisions are pending.",[5778,10970],{},"This is how we remove the client’s need to “check in.” You shouldn’t have to ask where things stand. You should be able to see it.",[49,10973,10974,10977,10979,10980,10982],{},[52,10975,10976],{},"Weekly sprints (predictable progress)",[5778,10978],{},"We run in weekly sprints because momentum loves a clock. Each sprint has clear priorities, clear owners, and clear deliverables—plus a plan for what gets done this week (not “sometime”).",[5778,10981],{},"Weekly sprints also prevent the classic drift where goals are clear in week one and forgotten by week three.",[49,10984,10985,10988,10990,10991,10993],{},[52,10986,10987],{},"Outcome-driven meetings (not status meetings)",[5778,10989],{},"We use a Traction EOS L10-style structure because it forces the correct behavior: identify issues, solve them, and assign the following action. Meetings are for decisions and removals of blockers, not for reading updates out loud.",[5778,10992],{},"And because updates live in the workflow, calls can stay sharp.",[49,10995,10996,10999,11001],{},[52,10997,10998],{},"A consistent “MKG Standard.”",[5778,11000],{},"An operating system is valid only if it provides a consistent experience. The MKG Standard is how we maintain high quality even as work flexes across disciplines and contributors. Strategy, execution, QA, reporting—each has a clear bar, and that bar doesn’t change depending on who is working the ticket.",[49,11003,11004,11007,11009,11010,11012],{},[52,11005,11006],{},"Modular “apps” that plug in when needed",[5778,11008],{},"Marketing needs to change. A quarter that starts heavy on messaging might end heavy on optimization. A launch might demand web support. A channel might need a specialist for eight weeks, not eight months.",[5778,11011],{},"mkgOS is built to deploy services like apps: plug them in, run them hard, and rebalance as priorities evolve. That includes MKG services and, when needed, vetted partners. One system. One set of standards. One plan.",[14,11014,11015,11017],{},[5778,11016],{},[75,11018],{"alt":77,"src":11019},"\u002Fimages\u002Fwhat-mkgos-really-means-image2-1.png",[24,11021,11023],{"id":11022},"what-it-feels-like-when-the-os-is-running",[52,11024,11025],{},"What it feels like when the OS is running",[14,11027,11028],{},"The easiest way to understand mkgOS is to compare the “before” and “after.”",[14,11030,11031],{},"Before: You’re managing vendors, chasing updates, and trying to connect dots across teams. Work happens, but it doesn’t compound. You spend more time coordinating than creating.",[14,11033,11034,11035,11037,11038],{},"After: You get a single operating rhythm. Strategy is connected to execution. Reporting turns into decisions. Priorities stop thrashing. You see progress every week, and you can trace it back to the goal it supports.",[5778,11036],{},"People often describe it the same way: less chaos, more clarity. And if we’re being honest, the real product is peace. You shouldn’t need to babysit your marketing to make it move.",[5778,11039],{},[14,11041,11042],{},[75,11043],{"alt":77,"src":11044},"\u002Fimages\u002Fwhat-mkgos-really-means-image3-1.png",[24,11046,11048],{"id":11047},"the-loop-that-makes-the-results-compound",[52,11049,11050],{},"The loop that makes the results compound",[14,11052,11053],{},"mkgOS works because it turns marketing into a closed-loop system—one where learning feeds action, not just commentary.",[14,11055,11056,11057,11059,11060,11062,11063,11065,11066,11068],{},"Align on the goal. Not vanity metrics. The real goal.",[5778,11058],{},"Translate the goal into a weekly plan: clear priorities, owners, and due dates.",[5778,11061],{},"Execute with shared visibility: no hidden work, no mystery timelines.",[5778,11064],{},"Measure what matters. The signals that indicate quality and progress, not noise.",[5778,11067],{},"Turn insights into assignments. If it’s worth noticing, it’s worth acting on.",[14,11070,11071],{},"That last step is where most programs fail. They collect insights like souvenirs. mkgOS treats insights like fuel.",[24,11073,11075],{"id":11074},"what-mkgos️-really-means",[52,11076,11077],{},"What mkgOS™️ really means",[14,11079,11080],{},"mkgOS is our promise that marketing doesn’t have to feel like herding cats. It can feel like a system: steady, visible, and built to adapt without falling apart.",[14,11082,11083],{},"It means you get senior operators who can think, lead, and do—inside a structure that makes progress predictable. It means fewer meetings, fewer dropped handoffs, and fewer “wait, who’s doing that?” moments. It means the work keeps moving even when life happens, priorities shift, or the plan needs to change.",[14,11085,11086,11087,11089],{},"Or said another way:",[5778,11088],{},"We manage the details. You capture the market.",[14,11091,11092],{},"That’s what mkgOS™️ really means.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":11094},[11095,11096,11097,11098,11099,11100],{"id":10880,"depth":291,"text":10883},{"id":10907,"depth":291,"text":10910},{"id":10952,"depth":291,"text":10955},{"id":11022,"depth":291,"text":11025},{"id":11047,"depth":291,"text":11050},{"id":11074,"depth":291,"text":11077},"2026-01-07T18:08:00Z","Stop running marketing like disconnected apps. mkgOS™️ turns strategy, execution, and reporting into one system that compounds.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-mkgos-really-means-heroimage-1.webp",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fbuild-a-marketing-operating-system-here-s-what-mkgos-really-means",{"title":10862,"description":11102},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fbuild-a-marketing-operating-system-here-s-what-mkgos-really-means","sXQMJKSB1fZYVzDG2O3o-llKaXbdPCzMAa1yBg_l0K4",{"id":11110,"title":11111,"author":7,"authors":11112,"body":11113,"caption":7,"category":10195,"date":11524,"description":11525,"extension":318,"img":11526,"imgAlt":77,"meta":11527,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":11528,"seo":11529,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":11530,"updated":7,"__hash__":11531},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fsvo\u002Faeo-meets-ai-preparing-for-the-next-search-evolution.md","AEO Meets AI – Preparing for the Next Search Evolution",[],{"type":11,"value":11114,"toc":11517},[11115,11121,11124,11131,11137,11140,11154,11165,11168,11175,11181,11187,11190,11193,11243,11253,11256,11262,11265,11268,11296,11302,11305,11316,11323,11330,11336,11343,11349,11352,11363,11366,11372,11378,11389,11392,11398,11401,11412,11415,11421,11424,11435,11440,11445,11451,11454,11457,11487,11490,11493,11496,11502,11506,11509,11512,11515],[14,11116,11117,11118,11120],{},"Search is changing faster than most teams can rewrite a headline.",[5778,11119],{},"One month, you're optimizing blue links. The next, your carefully crafted page is distilled into three sentences inside an AI answer — with your brand either featured… or invisible.",[14,11122,11123],{},"That's where AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and AI collide.",[14,11125,11126,11127,11130],{},"We're moving from \"ten blue links\" to \"one synthesized answer\" delivered by models sitting on top of the index: AI overviews, chat-based search, and hybrid engines that blend traditional results with conversational responses. The question isn't ",[38,11128,11129],{},"\"How do we rank?\""," anymore.",[14,11132,11133,11134],{},"It's: ",[52,11135,11136],{},"\"How do we become the source the model trusts enough to quote?\"",[14,11138,11139],{},"AEO is how you stack the deck in your favor. It's the practice of shaping your content, structure, and signals so machines can quickly understand:",[46,11141,11142,11145,11148,11151],{},[49,11143,11144],{},"What question are you answering",[49,11146,11147],{},"Who are you speaking to",[49,11149,11150],{},"Why you're credible",[49,11152,11153],{},"How to package your answer in a way that's easy to lift into a result",[14,11155,11156,11157,11160,11161,11164],{},"Add AI on top — both as the thing ",[38,11158,11159],{},"changing"," search and as the tool ",[38,11162,11163],{},"you"," use to operate smarter — and you've got the next evolution of SEO staring you down.",[14,11166,11167],{},"The good news? You don't need to blow everything up. You just need to rebuild your search strategy around answers, entities, and systems instead of chasing one-off keywords.",[14,11169,11170,11172],{},[5778,11171],{},[75,11173],{"alt":77,"src":11174},"\u002Fimages\u002Faeo-meets-ai-blog-image-1.webp",[24,11176,11178],{"id":11177},"step-1-understand-what-aeo-really-wants-from-you",[52,11179,11180],{},"Step 1: Understand What AEO Really Wants From You",[14,11182,11183,11184,212],{},"Most teams still optimize for pages. AI-driven search optimizes for ",[52,11185,11186],{},"answers",[14,11188,11189],{},"That means the old playbook of \"target keyword → write long article → sprinkle in headings\" isn't enough. Answer engines don't care how long your page is. They care how quickly and clearly you resolve intent.",[14,11191,11192],{},"AEO asks a few blunt questions:",[132,11194,11195,11211,11227],{},[49,11196,11197,11200],{},[52,11198,11199],{},"Is the intent obvious?",[46,11201,11202,11205,11208],{},[49,11203,11204],{},"Clear H1 that matches a core question or outcome",[49,11206,11207],{},"Supporting H2s framed as sub-questions",[49,11209,11210],{},"Short, scannable responses under each section",[49,11212,11213,11216],{},[52,11214,11215],{},"Can a machine pull a clean snippet?",[46,11217,11218,11221,11224],{},[49,11219,11220],{},"Direct, 1–3 sentence answers near the top of the page",[49,11222,11223],{},"Ordered or unordered lists that summarize steps, pros\u002Fcons, or key elements",[49,11225,11226],{},"Tables or structured blocks for comparisons",[49,11228,11229,11232],{},[52,11230,11231],{},"Do your entities line up?",[46,11233,11234,11237,11240],{},[49,11235,11236],{},"Consistent naming for products, solutions, and features",[49,11238,11239],{},"Internal links that reinforce relationships between concepts",[49,11241,11242],{},"Schema markup that confirms what's on the page",[14,11244,11245,11246,11248,11249,11252],{},"Think less \"article\" and more \"well-structured briefing.\"",[5778,11247],{},"AEO is about making it painfully easy for a model to say, \"This section is ",[38,11250,11251],{},"clearly"," the answer.\"",[14,11254,11255],{},"If your content forces a machine (or a human) to go hunting, you're already losing.",[24,11257,11259],{"id":11258},"step-2-recognize-how-ai-is-rewriting-the-results-page",[52,11260,11261],{},"Step 2: Recognize How AI Is Rewriting the Results Page",[14,11263,11264],{},"AI isn't just \"another feature\" on the results page. It's the new front door.",[14,11266,11267],{},"We're seeing three significant shifts:",[132,11269,11270,11276,11290],{},[49,11271,11272,11273,11275],{},"The answer layer sits above traditional results.",[5778,11274],{},"AI summaries appear before links, condensing multiple sources into a single summary. If you're not in that summary, your perfectly ranked page may never get the click.",[49,11277,11278,11279,11281,11282],{},"Attribution is selective.",[5778,11280],{},"AI overviews don't cite every source they touch. They surface a small set of links. That means:\n",[46,11283,11284,11287],{},[49,11285,11286],{},"Authority and trust signals matter even more.",[49,11288,11289],{},"Clear, focused coverage of a topic beats diluted \"catch-all\" pages.",[49,11291,11292,11293,11295],{},"Search journeys are getting compressed.",[5778,11294],{},"Queries that used to take three or four searches (\"what is…\", \"compare…\", \"which is best for…\") can now collapse into one conversational thread. If your content doesn't map to those multi-step journeys, you'll struggle to show up.",[14,11297,11298,11299],{},"In other words, ",[52,11300,11301],{},"AI is doing more of the thinking your visitor used to do.",[14,11303,11304],{},"Your job is to feed that thinking with the right building blocks:",[46,11306,11307,11310,11313],{},[49,11308,11309],{},"Deep, original explanations (not just reworded definitions)",[49,11311,11312],{},"Opinionated takes and POVs that the models can't find everywhere",[49,11314,11315],{},"Clear, structured chunks of information that can be reused across many different question types",[14,11317,11318,11319,11322],{},"If your site reads like it was built to game old-school ranking factors, it's going to feel thin in this new world — to users ",[38,11320,11321],{},"and"," to models.",[14,11324,11325,11327],{},[5778,11326],{},[75,11328],{"alt":77,"src":11329},"\u002Fimages\u002Faeo-meets-ai-blog-image-2.webp",[24,11331,11333],{"id":11332},"step-3-build-content-that-works-for-humans-crawlers-and-models",[52,11334,11335],{},"Step 3: Build Content That Works for Humans, Crawlers, and Models",[14,11337,11338,11339,11342],{},"So what do you actually ",[38,11340,11341],{},"do"," with all this? Here's how to tune your strategy for the AI era without burning your roadmap to the ground.",[5685,11344,11346],{"id":11345},"_1-design-answer-blocks-into-every-key-page",[52,11347,11348],{},"1. Design \"Answer Blocks\" Into Every Key Page",[14,11350,11351],{},"Don't bury the answer in paragraph seven. Bake it into the top:",[46,11353,11354,11357,11360],{},[49,11355,11356],{},"One-sentence definition or takeaway right after the intro",[49,11358,11359],{},"A short list summarizing the \"how\" or \"why it matters.\"",[49,11361,11362],{},"An explicit call-out of who the answer is most relevant for",[14,11364,11365],{},"Think of these as modular blocks that AI can lift as-is, while still being useful for humans who skim.",[5685,11367,11369],{"id":11368},"_2-map-topics-not-just-keywords",[52,11370,11371],{},"2. Map Topics, Not Just Keywords",[14,11373,11374,11375,6109],{},"Keywords still matter, but the real game is ",[52,11376,11377],{},"entity and topic coverage",[46,11379,11380,11383,11386],{},[49,11381,11382],{},"Build clusters around the problems your audience actually wrestles with",[49,11384,11385],{},"Use internal links to show how concepts relate to each other",[49,11387,11388],{},"Ensure each page clearly owns a slice of the topic instead of overlapping with five others",[14,11390,11391],{},"You're essentially creating a knowledge graph for both humans and machines.",[5685,11393,11395],{"id":11394},"_3-upgrade-your-proof-of-expertise",[52,11396,11397],{},"3. Upgrade Your Proof of Expertise",[14,11399,11400],{},"In an AI-driven world, \"we know our stuff\" needs receipts:",[46,11402,11403,11406,11409],{},[49,11404,11405],{},"Case stories with specific numbers and context",[49,11407,11408],{},"Quotes or interviews from subject-matter experts",[49,11410,11411],{},"Transparent methodology — how you got to the result, not just the result itself",[14,11413,11414],{},"Models are trained to recognize patterns of generic content. Give them something with fingerprints.",[5685,11416,11418],{"id":11417},"_4-use-ai-as-an-operator-not-an-author",[52,11419,11420],{},"4. Use AI as an Operator, Not an Author",[14,11422,11423],{},"AI should be your analyst and editor, not your ghostwriter-in-chief. Use it to:",[46,11425,11426,11429,11432],{},[49,11427,11428],{},"Extract the fundamental questions people ask from search data, sales conversations, and support chats",[49,11430,11431],{},"Draft outlines that reflect multi-step search journeys",[49,11433,11434],{},"QA your content for clarity, completeness, and structure",[14,11436,11437,11438],{},"You bring the insight. The model helps you package it into a format that answer engines can use.",[5778,11439],{},[14,11441,11442],{},[75,11443],{"alt":77,"src":11444},"\u002Fimages\u002Faeo-meets-ai-blog-image-3.webp",[24,11446,11448],{"id":11447},"step-4-turn-aeo-into-a-system-not-a-one-off-project",[52,11449,11450],{},"Step 4: Turn AEO Into a System, Not a One-Off Project",[14,11452,11453],{},"The teams that win this next phase of search won't be the ones who \"try AEO once.\" They'll be the ones who quietly turn it into a habit baked into how they plan, brief, and ship content.",[14,11455,11456],{},"That might look like:",[46,11458,11459,11470,11473],{},[49,11460,11461,11462],{},"AEO checks in on every content brief\n",[46,11463,11464,11467],{},[49,11465,11466],{},"What's the primary question we're answering?",[49,11468,11469],{},"Where does the main \"answer block\" live on the page?",[49,11471,11472],{},"Standardized templates that include space for short definitions, lists, and structured data",[49,11474,11475,11476],{},"Quarterly reviews of your most essential pages through an \"AI overview\" lens:\n",[46,11477,11478,11481,11484],{},[49,11479,11480],{},"Is the intent still crystal clear?",[49,11482,11483],{},"Is the answer still the best available one?",[49,11485,11486],{},"Are there newer questions we should address on this topic?",[14,11488,11489],{},"Search is evolving, but the core advantage hasn't changed:",[14,11491,11492],{},"The organizations that understand their audience best — and can articulate those answers clearly and consistently — will keep winning attention, even as the interface changes.",[14,11494,11495],{},"AEO gives you a way to translate that understanding into something AI can actually use.",[14,11497,11498,11499,11501],{},"Do that well, and you don't have to chase every algorithm update.",[5778,11500],{},"You'll be too busy becoming the source the machines trust.",[24,11503,11504],{"id":2913},[52,11505,2914],{},[14,11507,11508],{},"Answer engines and AI are reshaping search around complete, trustworthy answers instead of isolated keywords. AEO helps you respond by making your intent obvious, your answers easy to extract, and your entities consistent.",[14,11510,11511],{},"As AI-generated summaries move to the top of the results page, your visibility depends on whether those systems see your content as reliable fuel for their answers. That means building structured, answer-first pages, proving your expertise with objective evidence, and using AI to support your process rather than replace your perspective.",[14,11513,11514],{},"When you turn AEO into a repeatable system — baked into briefs, templates, and quarterly reviews — you're not just reacting to the latest feature. You're building a durable advantage: becoming the go-to source both people and machines trust when they need a clear, confident answer.",[5778,11516],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":11518},[11519,11520,11521,11522,11523],{"id":11177,"depth":291,"text":11180},{"id":11258,"depth":291,"text":11261},{"id":11332,"depth":291,"text":11335},{"id":11447,"depth":291,"text":11450},{"id":2913,"depth":291,"text":2914},"2025-12-08T18:08:00Z","Learn how answer-first content helps you stand out in AI-powered search results.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Faeo-meets-ai-hero.webp",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fsvo\u002Faeo-meets-ai-preparing-for-the-next-search-evolution",{"title":11111,"description":11525},"blog\u002Fsvo\u002Faeo-meets-ai-preparing-for-the-next-search-evolution","7aSLtcrYq0nGMqneoKlE1CYKKvHQBsbgFsOqL2XmFXg",{"id":11533,"title":11534,"author":7,"authors":11535,"body":11536,"caption":7,"category":10195,"date":11764,"description":11765,"extension":318,"img":11766,"imgAlt":77,"meta":11767,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":11768,"seo":11769,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":11770,"updated":7,"__hash__":11771},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fsvo\u002Ffrom-campaigns-to-systems-why-aeo-and-geo-are-the-future-of-seo.md","From Campaigns to Systems: Why AEO and GEO Are the Future of SEO",[],{"type":11,"value":11537,"toc":11758},[11538,11541,11544,11547,11550,11553,11556,11559,11566,11572,11575,11578,11581,11592,11595,11598,11601,11608,11614,11617,11623,11629,11635,11641,11647,11661,11666,11672,11675,11678,11684,11690,11701,11704,11710,11724,11730,11736,11744,11747,11750,11753,11756],[14,11539,11540],{},"Most marketing teams are still running search like it's 2015: spin up a \"campaign,\" chase a handful of high-volume keywords, ship some content, report on rankings, repeat. It's busy. It's trackable. It kind of works. But it doesn't compound. And it definitely doesn't match how people or machines are searching today.",[14,11542,11543],{},"If your search program feels like a string of one-off pushes instead of a predictable engine, it's not because you're bad at your job. You're just stuck in campaign mode. The future of search belongs to systems, specifically to two mindsets quietly rewriting the rules: Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).",[14,11545,11546],{},"AEO and GEO are about earning trust with machines so you can be more visible to humans. That means less \"How do we rank for this keyword next month?\" and more \"How do we become the obvious, reliable source every time this problem shows up — in any search experience?\"",[14,11548,11549],{},"Classic SEO was built on a simple idea: someone types into a search bar, a list of links appears, and your job is to show up near the top. Today, that linear flow is fractured. People get answers from AI overviews, chat interfaces, voice assistants, app search, marketplaces, and, yes, traditional search results, often in the same buying journey.",[14,11551,11552],{},"Algorithms aren't just matching words anymore; they're parsing context, entities, and relationships. They're deciding, \"Who is probably right about this, and who is just repeating what everyone else already said?\" That's where AEO and GEO come in.",[14,11554,11555],{},"Search Engine Optimization is the practice of structuring your content so that search engines and AI systems can confidently surface your content in featured answers, overviews, snippets, and other \"zero-click\" surfaces. You're not just trying to win a position; you're trying to be the source.",[14,11557,11558],{},"Generative Engine Optimization builds on that by asking, \"How do we show up inside AI-generated responses?\" When someone asks an AI assistant a question your company should own, you want your brand, your language, your frameworks, and your proof to be the material those models pull from.",[14,11560,11561,11563],{},[5778,11562],{},[75,11564],{"alt":77,"src":11565},"\u002Fimages\u002Fcampaign-based.webp",[81,11567,11569],{"id":11568},"why-campaign-thinking-breaks-in-an-aeogeo-world",[52,11570,11571],{},"Why campaign thinking breaks in an AEO\u002FGEO world",[14,11573,11574],{},"Campaigns are sprints. AEO and GEO are infrastructure.",[14,11576,11577],{},"Campaign mode keeps you stuck on short time horizons: this quarter's offer, this month's traffic goal, this week's content drop. That rhythm can drive bursts of visibility, but it rarely builds the kind of deep topical authority that answer engines are looking for.",[14,11579,11580],{},"Answer engines reward consistency, clarity, and coherence:",[46,11582,11583,11586,11589],{},[49,11584,11585],{},"Consistency: You maintain aligned messaging and facts across your site, content hubs, profiles, and third-party mentions.",[49,11587,11588],{},"Clarity: You explain things in a structured, scannable way that machines can parse without guessing.",[49,11590,11591],{},"Coherence: Your content all connects back to a clear set of entities, problems, and solutions you're known for.",[14,11593,11594],{},"You don't get that from a string of disconnected pushes. You get it from a system.",[14,11596,11597],{},"An AEO\u002FGEO-first approach isn't a new \"channel.\" It's the backbone under everything else you publish. Instead of asking, \"What's the next campaign?\" you start asking, \"What's the next brick in the system that will still be paying off a year from now?\"",[14,11599,11600],{},"That shift turns search from a set of tactics into an operating model. The system decides what to build, how to structure it, and how each piece connects. Campaigns become short bursts of attention layered on top of a foundation that already works.",[14,11602,11603,11605],{},[5778,11604],{},[75,11606],{"alt":77,"src":11607},"\u002Fimages\u002Fseo-system-1.webp",[81,11609,11611],{"id":11610},"what-an-aeogeo-system-actually-looks-like",[52,11612,11613],{},"What an AEO\u002FGEO system actually looks like",[14,11615,11616],{},"AEO and GEO can sound abstract, so let's ground them in how they show up in your day-to-day work. A healthy system usually includes:",[14,11618,11619,11620,11622],{},"1. A clear problem graph",[5778,11621],{},"Instead of a static keyword list, you maintain a living map of the problems your ideal customers are trying to solve: symptoms, root causes, adjacent questions, and \"what now?\" moments. Every piece of content has a job inside that graph.",[14,11624,11625,11626,11628],{},"2. Structured, machine-readable answers",[5778,11627],{},"You don't just write blog posts. You create answer blocks: tight, direct explanations backed by schema markup, internal links, and supporting assets. These are your building blocks for featured snippets, AI overviews, FAQ experiences, and more.",[14,11630,11631,11632,11634],{},"3. Durable, modular content hubs",[5778,11633],{},"Your \"hero\" guides, product pages, and resource centers act as stable anchors. Around them, you build smaller, more focused pieces that handle edge cases, niche questions, and emerging language from your audience and sales team.",[14,11636,11637,11638,11640],{},"4. Feedback loops from honest conversations",[5778,11639],{},"AEO and GEO thrive on relevance. That means feeding the system with actual words from discovery calls, support tickets, chat logs, and sales notes. Those inputs update your problem graph, not just your next campaign.",[14,11642,11643,11644,11646],{},"5. Measurement that goes beyond \"rankings.\"",[5778,11645],{},"You still track positions and traffic, but you also care about:",[46,11648,11649,11652,11655,11658],{},[49,11650,11651],{},"Share of voice in AI and rich results",[49,11653,11654],{},"Branded mentions in third-party content and answer surfaces",[49,11656,11657],{},"Engagement quality (time on site, depth of visit, assisted conversions)",[49,11659,11660],{},"How often does your content show up in sales conversations and customer questions?",[14,11662,11663],{},[75,11664],{"alt":77,"src":11665},"\u002Fimages\u002Fseo-process.webp",[81,11667,11669],{"id":11668},"moving-from-random-acts-of-content-to-a-real-system",[52,11670,11671],{},"Moving from random acts of content to a real system",[14,11673,11674],{},"If you're thinking, \"Cool, but my calendar is already full,\" you're not alone. The goal isn't to burn everything down. It's about gradually moving from campaign-first to system-first.",[14,11676,11677],{},"Here's a simple way to start:",[14,11679,11680,11681,11683],{},"Step 1: Pick one problem you should absolutely own",[5778,11682],{},"Choose a high-value problem where you already have some content, customer proof, and expertise. This isn't about volume; it's about importance. Ask: \"If we could be the go-to answer for just one thing, what would it be?\"",[14,11685,11686,11687,11689],{},"Step 2: Audit your footprint around that problem",[5778,11688],{},"List out:",[46,11691,11692,11695,11698],{},[49,11693,11694],{},"Every URL that touches this problem",[49,11696,11697],{},"Every sales or support question related to it",[49,11699,11700],{},"Any talk tracks, decks, or one-pagers your team uses",[14,11702,11703],{},"Look for gaps, contradictions, and outdated language. Ask: \"If an AI system crawled this today, would it walk away with a clear, confident understanding of how we solve this?\"",[14,11705,11706,11707,11709],{},"Step 3: Upgrade your core answer",[5778,11708],{},"Create or refine one primary, definitive resource on that problem. Make it:",[46,11711,11712,11715,11718,11721],{},[49,11713,11714],{},"Ridiculously clear",[49,11716,11717],{},"Structured with headings, FAQs, and concise summaries",[49,11719,11720],{},"Linked to and from your related pages",[49,11722,11723],{},"Marked up with the correct schema wherever it makes sense",[14,11725,11726,11727,11729],{},"Step 4: Spin out supporting answers",[5778,11728],{},"From there, build smaller pieces that tackle variations: use cases, objections, \"versus\" comparisons, implementation questions, and mistakes to avoid. These help answer engines understand the depth of your expertise.",[14,11731,11732,11733,11735],{},"Step 5: Instrument and revisit",[5778,11734],{},"Tag everything connected to that problem. Watch how it performs in organic search, in AI-style result types, and in downstream metrics like demo requests or qualified opportunities. Revisit quarterly to tighten, expand, and restructure.",[81,11737,11739,11741],{"id":11738},"why-this-future-is-actually-good-news",[5778,11740],{},[52,11742,11743],{},"Why this future is actually good news",[14,11745,11746],{},"On the surface, AEO and GEO sound like \"one more thing\" to keep up with. Underneath, they're a forcing function to do what thoughtful marketers have wanted for years: move away from vanity metrics and into durable, compounding visibility.",[14,11748,11749],{},"Instead of chasing every new trend in search, you double down on being deeply, demonstrably helpful on the problems that matter most — and you package that expertise in ways both humans and machines can trust.",[14,11751,11752],{},"You don't need a hundred more campaigns. You need a system that makes it impossible to ignore you whenever your core problems show up in the search bar, the chat box, or the AI overview.",[14,11754,11755],{},"Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast. Build the system once, then let AEO and GEO turn it into the engine that feeds the whole machine.",[5778,11757],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":11759},[11760,11761,11762,11763],{"id":11568,"depth":297,"text":11571},{"id":11610,"depth":297,"text":11613},{"id":11668,"depth":297,"text":11671},{"id":11738,"depth":297,"text":11743},"2025-12-04T15:59:43Z","Turn SEO from one-off campaigns into a predictable system by leaning into AEO and GEO.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Ffrom-campaign-to-system-hero-image.webp",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fsvo\u002Ffrom-campaigns-to-systems-why-aeo-and-geo-are-the-future-of-seo",{"title":11534,"description":11765},"blog\u002Fsvo\u002Ffrom-campaigns-to-systems-why-aeo-and-geo-are-the-future-of-seo","qeyNHRT84NieUEqv87fFl_VATpiPF5sdlH5fRi_8j_U",{"id":11773,"title":11774,"author":7,"authors":11775,"body":11777,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":11967,"description":11968,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":77,"meta":11969,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":11970,"seo":11971,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":11972,"updated":7,"__hash__":11973},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fadapting-to-google-latest-core-update.md","Adapting to Google’s Latest Core Update",[11776],"Austin Ellis",{"type":11,"value":11778,"toc":11961},[11779,11785,11791,11794,11797,11807,11810,11816,11819,11825,11845,11851,11854,11857,11863,11866,11872,11892,11898,11901,11907,11910,11916,11936,11942,11945,11948,11959],[24,11780,11782],{"id":11781},"seo-industry-overview-november-2024",[52,11783,11784],{},"SEO Industry Overview – November 2024",[81,11786,11788],{"id":11787},"navigating-the-latest-changes-for-cybersecurity-companies",[52,11789,11790],{},"Navigating the Latest Changes for Cybersecurity Companies",[14,11792,11793],{},"The SEO landscape experienced significant turbulence in November 2024, driven by Google’s Core Update and a renewed focus on branded searches. These changes underline the need for cybersecurity companies to adopt adaptive and forward-thinking strategies to maintain visibility and relevance in a competitive digital environment.",[14,11795,11796],{},"For cybersecurity leaders, these developments are not just technical updates but indicators of shifting priorities in how search engines value content. Below, we’ll break down the trends, explore their implications, and offer actionable advice to position your brand for success.",[132,11798,11799],{},[49,11800,11801],{},[5685,11802,11804],{"id":11803},"googles-november-core-update-promoting-helpful-content",[52,11805,11806],{},"Google’s November Core Update: Promoting Helpful Content",[14,11808,11809],{},"Google’s November Core Update, which began rolling out on November 11th and concluded today, signals an ongoing commitment to prioritizing helpful, user-centric content. Much like the Helpful Content Update from April, this latest update seeks to reward content that genuinely informs and engages users while demoting material created solely for algorithmic performance.",[5685,11811,11813],{"id":11812},"what-does-this-mean-for-cybersecurity-brands",[52,11814,11815],{},"What Does This Mean for Cybersecurity Brands?",[14,11817,11818],{},"The update highlights the growing importance of authenticity and expertise. Cybersecurity companies that rely on generic or keyword-stuffed content risk losing visibility, while those investing in high-quality, educational material stand to benefit.",[5685,11820,11822],{"id":11821},"actionable-tips-for-cybersecurity-seo",[52,11823,11824],{},"Actionable Tips for Cybersecurity SEO:",[46,11826,11827,11833,11839],{},[49,11828,11829,11832],{},[52,11830,11831],{},"Focus on Expertise:"," Create content that reflects your deep understanding of cybersecurity. Share insights on threat mitigation, compliance, or best practices for securing sensitive data.",[49,11834,11835,11838],{},[52,11836,11837],{},"Engage Your Audience:"," Structure your content to answer specific questions or solve common problems your target audience faces. Tools like FAQ sections or detailed how-to guides can improve engagement and search rankings.",[49,11840,11841,11844],{},[52,11842,11843],{},"Leverage Visual Content:"," Incorporate infographics, videos, and charts to make complex cybersecurity concepts more digestible and appealing to readers.",[5685,11846,11848],{"id":11847},"_2-the-top-heavy-nature-of-branded-searches",[52,11849,11850],{},"2. The Top-Heavy Nature of Branded Searches",[14,11852,11853],{},"Another major conversation this month revolves around the concentration of search activity. Reports suggest that 15% of all Google searches are driven by just 148 queries, reflecting a top-heavy structure. For cybersecurity brands, this statistic underscores the growing importance of branded SEO.",[14,11855,11856],{},"Additionally, the rise of AI-generated overviews and GPT-driven search functionalities has shifted user behaviors, leading to \"no-click\" searches where users find answers directly on the search engine results page (SERP) without visiting a website.",[5685,11858,11860],{"id":11859},"implications-for-cybersecurity-companies",[52,11861,11862],{},"Implications for Cybersecurity Companies:",[14,11864,11865],{},"Branded SEO is becoming critical to search strategies, mainly as AI tools dominate the space. Cybersecurity companies must focus on building and maintaining brand authority to ensure their presence in these top-performing queries.",[5685,11867,11869],{"id":11868},"strategies-to-optimize-for-branded-searches",[52,11870,11871],{},"Strategies to Optimize for Branded Searches:",[46,11873,11874,11880,11886],{},[49,11875,11876,11879],{},[52,11877,11878],{},"Claim and Optimize Your Brand Assets:"," Ensure your website, social profiles, and business listings are consistent and optimized for search.",[49,11881,11882,11885],{},[52,11883,11884],{},"Develop Branded Content:"," Publish thought leadership articles, whitepapers, and case studies that solidify your position as a trusted name in cybersecurity.",[49,11887,11888,11891],{},[52,11889,11890],{},"Monitor Search Trends:"," Use tools like Google Trends and analytics platforms to track branded search activity and identify opportunities to strengthen your online presence.",[5685,11893,11895],{"id":11894},"_3-the-shrinking-seo-opportunity-pie",[52,11896,11897],{},"3. The Shrinking SEO Opportunity Pie",[14,11899,11900],{},"As Rand Fishkin highlights, the SEO opportunity pie is shrinking, partly due to the rise of AI-powered search experiences and a growing emphasis on branded content. This shift calls for a strategic reevaluation of how cybersecurity companies approach SEO.",[5685,11902,11904],{"id":11903},"key-takeaway-diversify-your-strategy",[52,11905,11906],{},"Key Takeaway: Diversify Your Strategy",[14,11908,11909],{},"The days of relying solely on traditional SEO tactics are numbered. Cybersecurity marketers must embrace a holistic approach integrating SEO with paid media, social media, and content marketing.",[5685,11911,11913],{"id":11912},"actionable-steps",[52,11914,11915],{},"Actionable Steps:",[46,11917,11918,11924,11930],{},[49,11919,11920,11923],{},[52,11921,11922],{},"Experiment with Paid Search:"," Complement organic SEO efforts with targeted PPC campaigns to capture high-intent traffic.",[49,11925,11926,11929],{},[52,11927,11928],{},"Leverage AI for SEO:"," Use AI tools to identify content gaps, optimize existing material, and forecast emerging trends in cybersecurity.",[49,11931,11932,11935],{},[52,11933,11934],{},"Collaborate Across Channels:"," Align your SEO strategy with broader marketing efforts to create a cohesive brand narrative.",[5685,11937,11939],{"id":11938},"conclusion-staying-ahead-in-a-rapidly-changing-landscape",[52,11940,11941],{},"Conclusion: Staying Ahead in a Rapidly Changing Landscape",[14,11943,11944],{},"The SEO landscape is evolving rapidly, with Google’s Core Updates, branded search trends, and AI-driven tools reshaping how users discover information. For cybersecurity companies, staying ahead requires creating helpful, expert content and adopting innovative strategies to maintain visibility.",[14,11946,11947],{},"Cybersecurity brands can thrive in this new era of search by prioritizing authenticity, optimizing for branded searches, and embracing a diversified approach.",[14,11949,11950,11951,1042,11954,11958],{},"If you found these insights useful and want to explore how to elevate your cybersecurity company’s SEO strategy, ",[52,11952,11953],{},"reach out and",[206,11955,11957],{"href":11956},"\u002Fcontact\u002F","schedule a discovery call today","!",[5778,11960],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":11962},[11963],{"id":11781,"depth":291,"text":11784,"children":11964},[11965],{"id":11787,"depth":297,"text":11790},"industry","2024-12-12T14:26:00Z","Discover how to adapt to Google’s latest core update and the expansion of branded search in the AI-driven search landscape. ",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fadapting-to-google-latest-core-update",{"title":11774,"description":11968},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fadapting-to-google-latest-core-update","ep5dXLQEdSlAHa0crsnFND92szdnEg1lE9shZmOjX44",{"id":11975,"title":11976,"author":7,"authors":11977,"body":11978,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":12097,"description":12098,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":77,"meta":12099,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":12100,"seo":12101,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":12102,"updated":7,"__hash__":12103},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fadapting-to-ai-driven-search-trends.md","Adapting to AI-Driven Search Trends",[11776,7,7],{"type":11,"value":11979,"toc":12087},[11980,11986,11989,11992,11998,12001,12004,12010,12013,12016,12022,12025,12028,12034,12037,12040,12046,12049,12060,12072,12078,12081],[24,11981,11983],{"id":11982},"seo-industry-overview-october-2024",[52,11984,11985],{},"SEO Industry Overview – October 2024",[14,11987,11988],{},"The SEO landscape has been a storm of volatility and transformation this October, with no signs of stability. Cybersecurity CMOs must remain vigilant as AI-driven changes reshape the search engine ecosystem, introducing new opportunities for visibility and content strategy and challenges adapting to user behaviors and search engine algorithms. October marked a significant turning point in search with the widespread rollout of Google’s AI Overviews, updates to the Search Generative Experience (SGE), and the much-anticipated launch of OpenAI's SearchGPT.",[14,11990,11991],{},"In this article, we’ll explore the practical implications of these changes for cybersecurity companies, focusing on actionable insights and strategies to stay ahead in this dynamic landscape.",[81,11993,11995],{"id":11994},"_1-google-serp-volatility-a-sign-of-big-changes-ahead",[52,11996,11997],{},"1. Google SERP Volatility: A Sign of Big Changes Ahead",[14,11999,12000],{},"Throughout October, Google’s search results pages (SERP) exhibited significant volatility, indicating that we’re in the midst of a major SEO shift. Google’s algorithm is undergoing rapid adaptations, particularly with the expanded reach of AI-driven search capabilities. For cybersecurity firms, this means your digital footprint could fluctuate, as Google adjusts to deliver more AI-powered results globally.",[14,12002,12003],{},"Key Takeaway: Now is the time to review your SEO fundamentals, focusing on technical SEO, website health, and content relevance. Keeping your website optimized for both AI-assisted and traditional search will help you mitigate the impact of Google’s algorithmic updates on your rankings.",[81,12005,12007],{"id":12006},"_2-ai-overviews-in-google-search-a-double-edged-sword-for-cybersecurity-cmos",[52,12008,12009],{},"2. AI Overviews in Google Search: A Double-Edged Sword for Cybersecurity CMOs",[14,12011,12012],{},"One of the most significant changes this month was the expansion of Google’s AI Overviews to over 100 countries, now available to more than a billion users. Initially, Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) faced criticism for producing inconsistent or inaccurate results, prompting the company to scale back AI-generated responses from over 80% of search queries to a modest 12%. This move illustrates that while AI in search has great potential, it remains a developing tool.",[14,12014,12015],{},"Actionable Insight: For cybersecurity companies, this shift in Google’s AI-driven responses highlights an opportunity to create in-depth, authoritative content that aligns with high-intent queries. Your content must address industry pain points comprehensively, as AI algorithms tend to favor articles that satisfy user intent.",[81,12017,12019],{"id":12018},"_3-the-arrival-of-searchgpt-a-new-seo-frontier-for-cybersecurity-marketers",[52,12020,12021],{},"3. The Arrival of SearchGPT: A New SEO Frontier for Cybersecurity Marketers?",[14,12023,12024],{},"OpenAI’s SearchGPT, launched amid significant buzz, has brought Bing back into the SEO conversation. While it’s too early to predict the long-term influence of SearchGPT on user behavior, this development underscores that the search ecosystem is expanding beyond Google. For cybersecurity firms, diversifying your SEO efforts across multiple platforms—especially as AI-driven engines like SearchGPT become more common—may increase visibility among tech-savvy audiences.",[14,12026,12027],{},"Strategy Tip: Evaluate your SEO and content marketing strategies on both Google and Bing. Embrace an omnichannel approach to ensure your brand visibility reaches broader audiences, especially those engaging with AI-enhanced search engines.",[81,12029,12031],{"id":12030},"_4-the-future-of-ai-in-search-what-to-watch-for-in-cybersecurity-seo",[52,12032,12033],{},"4. The Future of AI in Search: What to Watch for in Cybersecurity SEO",[14,12035,12036],{},"AI in search will continue to evolve, influencing SEO in ways that are still unfolding. Cybersecurity marketers must understand that, while the technology is promising, user behavior is unlikely to change overnight. However, the groundwork is being laid for a future where AI will play a central role in shaping search queries and responses, potentially impacting keyword strategy, content depth, and the user journey.",[14,12038,12039],{},"Practical Advice: Position your brand as an early adopter of AI-friendly SEO practices by regularly updating content to align with AI-driven keyword trends and by providing contextually relevant, expert insights on emerging cybersecurity issues. Additionally, tracking AI trends will enable your team to adapt swiftly to new algorithms as they roll out.",[81,12041,12043],{"id":12042},"major-google-system-updates-news",[52,12044,12045],{},"Major Google System Updates & News",[14,12047,12048],{},"To stay competitive, CMOs should keep an eye on key updates and developments, which reveal where Google’s algorithm is heading. In October, significant updates were announced, including:",[46,12050,12051,12054,12057],{},[49,12052,12053],{},"Google Search Ranking Volatility: Sustained volatility underscores the need for resilient SEO strategies.",[49,12055,12056],{},"Google AI Overviews Expansion: With AI-powered responses becoming accessible worldwide, content that anticipates user questions and delivers clear answers is essential.",[49,12058,12059],{},"SearchGPT Launch: Bing’s integration with OpenAI raises the bar for search, reminding marketers that diversification is key.",[14,12061,12062,12063,2504,12067,12071],{},"Pro Tip: Assign a team member to monitor SEO news sources and industry reports like ",[206,12064,5617],{"href":12065,"target":8877,"rel":12066},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.searchenginejournal.com\u002Fchatgpt-search-vs-google-and-bing\u002F531573\u002F",[8879],[206,12068,3074],{"href":12069,"target":8877,"rel":12070},"https:\u002F\u002Fsearchengineland.com\u002Fchatgpt-search-officially-launches-447919",[8879]," to stay updated on algorithm changes and AI developments. Timely awareness will enable you to anticipate adjustments before they impact your cybersecurity brand’s search performance.",[81,12073,12075],{"id":12074},"conclusion-embrace-change-and-stay-agile",[52,12076,12077],{},"Conclusion: Embrace Change and Stay Agile",[14,12079,12080],{},"As SEO continues to be reshaped by AI, staying adaptable and proactive is essential for CMOs in cybersecurity. Your agency must prioritize content relevancy, optimize across search engines, and be prepared to pivot with each new development in AI. AI won’t redefine user behavior overnight, but it’s undoubtedly shifting how content is found and consumed.",[14,12082,12083,12084,11958],{},"If you found these insights helpful and would like to explore tailored strategies to boost your cybersecurity company’s visibility in this evolving SEO landscape, contact us to ",[206,12085,11957],{"href":11956,"target":8877,"rel":12086},[8879],{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":12088},[12089],{"id":11982,"depth":291,"text":11985,"children":12090},[12091,12092,12093,12094,12095,12096],{"id":11994,"depth":297,"text":11997},{"id":12006,"depth":297,"text":12009},{"id":12018,"depth":297,"text":12021},{"id":12030,"depth":297,"text":12033},{"id":12042,"depth":297,"text":12045},{"id":12074,"depth":297,"text":12077},"2024-11-18T16:47:00Z","Discover the top ways to adapt your cybersecurity website for AI-driven search trends as the SEO industry changes and evolves.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fadapting-to-ai-driven-search-trends",{"title":11976,"description":12098},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fadapting-to-ai-driven-search-trends","FgIFH9AwlBRlHtfPVQROklP2bv3Em5cAhRiv5vii6VU",{"id":12105,"title":12106,"author":7,"authors":12107,"body":12111,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":12244,"description":12245,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":77,"meta":12246,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":12247,"seo":12248,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":12249,"updated":7,"__hash__":12250},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fbuilding-a-cohesive-customer-journey.md","Building a Cohesive Customer Journey",[12108,12109,12110],"Nick Bare","Cansu Ozen","Nathan Stenberg",{"type":11,"value":12112,"toc":12238},[12113,12116,12122,12125,12128,12134,12142,12148,12156,12159,12167,12170,12179,12182,12188,12191,12194,12200,12226,12229,12236],[14,12114,12115],{},"We constantly seek ways to optimize your business processes and improve customer acquisition and retention. A key area to focus on is your customer journey strategy. This article explores best practices for building a cohesive customer journey. It contrasts the flywheel model with the traditional funnel, showing how the flywheel can drive growth through customer satisfaction, retention, and advocacy.",[24,12117,12119],{"id":12118},"moving-from-the-funnel-to-the-flywheel",[52,12120,12121],{},"Moving from the Funnel to the Flywheel",[14,12123,12124],{},"The traditional marketing funnel has long been the standard model for customer acquisition. It operates linearly, guiding prospects through awareness, interest, decision, and action stages. However, the funnel's most significant limitation is that it views the customer’s journey as finite, with the relationship ending once a sale is made.",[14,12126,12127],{},"In contrast, the flywheel model places customer experience at the center of your business operations. It emphasizes the continuous nature of customer engagement and highlights how satisfied customers can become promoters, helping drive growth organically. The flywheel approach harnesses momentum by focusing on three main phases: Attract, Engage, and Delight.",[24,12129,12131],{"id":12130},"best-practices-for-building-a-cohesive-customer-journey",[52,12132,12133],{},"Best Practices for Building a Cohesive Customer Journey",[132,12135,12136],{},[49,12137,12138,12141],{},[52,12139,12140],{},"Audience Segmentation"," One of the most critical techniques for building a cohesive customer journey is effective. Understanding who you're targeting is key in a specialized field like cybersecurity. Segmentation helps you reach potential clients through the proper channels and content that resonates with their needs. From CISOs to security analysts, each segment has different pain points, and your journey mapping must cater to these variations.",[14,12143,12144,12147],{},[52,12145,12146],{},"Actionable Tip:"," Regularly refine your audience personas by leveraging data insights. Understanding how different segments engage with your brand helps optimize messaging for each stage of the journey.",[132,12149,12150],{"start":291},[49,12151,12152,12155],{},[52,12153,12154],{},"Comprehensive Journey Tracking"," Tracking the customer journey requires more than basic analytics. It demands a clear understanding of the unique paths your audience segments take. You must ensure that tracking mechanisms are in place to measure every interaction point—from content engagement to sales conversations.",[14,12157,12158],{},"Actionable Tip: Implement a robust marketing operations infrastructure that allows you to monitor every touchpoint in real time. This enables continuous optimization and helps identify friction points in the journey.",[132,12160,12161],{"start":297},[49,12162,12163,12166],{},[52,12164,12165],{},"Fostering Cross-Departmental Collaboration"," For a genuinely cohesive customer journey, internal alignment between marketing, sales, and customer service teams is crucial. When teams operate in silos, the handoff between departments can become disjointed, leading to a poor customer experience. The flywheel model shines here, as it promotes smoother transitions between teams, ensuring that every phase of the customer journey—attraction, engagement, and delight—works in harmony.",[14,12168,12169],{},"Actionable Tip: Create regular touchpoints between teams to share insights on customer interactions and feedback. This helps identify opportunities for continuous improvement across the journey.",[132,12171,12173],{"start":12172},4,[49,12174,12175,12178],{},[52,12176,12177],{},"Consistency in Quality and Core Values"," Maintaining quality and consistency in your offerings is essential, especially as your business scales. Too often, companies compromise on these values when volumes increase, leading to decreased customer satisfaction. For a flywheel to be effective, you must ensure that your product or service quality remains consistent even as demand grows.",[14,12180,12181],{},"Actionable Tip: Establish a quality assurance process to ensure every product iteration or service engagement aligns with your brand's core values. This commitment to consistency can convert satisfied customers into advocates who feed back into the flywheel.",[24,12183,12185],{"id":12184},"the-flywheels-advantage-over-the-funnel",[52,12186,12187],{},"The Flywheel’s Advantage Over the Funnel",[14,12189,12190],{},"While the funnel focuses on a one-time conversion, the flywheel encourages continuous customer engagement. Building a flywheel can transform your approach to growth in a cybersecurity agency where trust and long-term relationships are key. Satisfied clients become your greatest advocates, sharing testimonials and social proof that enhance your brand's credibility. Word-of-mouth marketing can be compelling in a B2B context, and the flywheel allows you to tap into this resource more effectively than the traditional funnel.",[14,12192,12193],{},"By maintaining momentum across each phase of the flywheel—Attract, Engage, and Delight—you're acquiring new clients and retaining them, turning them into promoters who actively contribute to future growth.",[24,12195,12197],{"id":12196},"key-takeaways",[52,12198,12199],{},"Key Takeaways",[46,12201,12202,12207,12212,12218],{},[49,12203,12204,12206],{},[52,12205,12140],{}," ensures you're targeting the right customers with the right message.",[49,12208,12209,12211],{},[52,12210,12154],{}," helps identify opportunities for optimization at each touchpoint.",[49,12213,12214,12217],{},[52,12215,12216],{},"Cross-departmental collaboration"," ensures smooth handoffs between teams, contributing to a holistic customer experience.",[49,12219,12220,12223,12224,7000],{},[52,12221,12222],{},"Quality and Core Values"," must remain consistent as you scale, ensuring customer satisfaction and loyalty.",[5778,12225],{},[14,12227,12228],{},"If your cybersecurity business aims to build a more sustainable, growth-oriented customer journey, the flywheel model provides a more holistic and customer-centric approach than the traditional funnel. By focusing on delighting your customers and turning them into promoters, you can create a cycle of growth that sustains itself over time.",[14,12230,12231,12232,12235],{},"If you found these insights useful, contact us to ",[206,12233,11957],{"href":11956,"target":8877,"rel":12234},[8879],"! Let’s work together to build a customer journey that drives growth and enhances customer satisfaction.",[5778,12237],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":12239},[12240,12241,12242,12243],{"id":12118,"depth":291,"text":12121},{"id":12130,"depth":291,"text":12133},{"id":12184,"depth":291,"text":12187},{"id":12196,"depth":291,"text":12199},"2024-10-24T14:26:00Z","Discover how cybersecurity marketing leaders are pivoting to the flywheel method to develop a customer journey to better reach their target markets.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fbuilding-a-cohesive-customer-journey",{"title":12106,"description":12245},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fbuilding-a-cohesive-customer-journey","m_eV5T-7UW61hZvtNhiVrvtb2XJ-QlPvFEl1rwqeqbQ",{"id":12252,"title":12253,"author":7,"authors":12254,"body":12255,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":12603,"description":12604,"extension":318,"img":12605,"imgAlt":77,"meta":12606,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":12607,"seo":12608,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":12609,"updated":7,"__hash__":12610},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fthe-future-of-ppc-advertising-trends-and-actionable-insights.md","The Future of PPC Advertising",[12108],{"type":11,"value":12256,"toc":12565},[12257,12260,12266,12272,12275,12280,12294,12300,12303,12309,12314,12317,12322,12336,12341,12344,12350,12355,12358,12363,12377,12382,12385,12391,12396,12399,12404,12418,12423,12426,12432,12437,12440,12445,12459,12464,12467,12473,12478,12481,12486,12500,12505,12508,12514,12519,12522,12527,12541,12546,12549,12555,12558],[14,12258,12259],{},"Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising stands out as a critical tool, especially for cybersecurity agencies looking to capture high-value leads. As the digital ecosystem grows more complex, understanding the future trends in PPC can offer a competitive edge. This article delves deep into the emerging PPC trends that CMOs in the cybersecurity sector should keep an eye on while also offering actionable insights to leverage these trends effectively.",[24,12261,12263],{"id":12262},"_1-ai-and-machine-learning-the-game-changers-in-ppc",[52,12264,12265],{},"1. AI and Machine Learning: The Game Changers in PPC",[81,12267,12269],{"id":12268},"trend-overview",[52,12270,12271],{},"Trend Overview:",[14,12273,12274],{},"Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are not just buzzwords; they are transforming how PPC campaigns are managed and optimized. From automating bidding strategies to enhancing ad targeting, AI-driven tools can analyze vast amounts of data in real-time, allowing for smarter, more efficient campaigns.",[81,12276,12278],{"id":12277},"actionable-tip",[52,12279,12146],{},[46,12281,12282,12288],{},[49,12283,12284,12287],{},[52,12285,12286],{},"Leverage Smart Bidding",": Google Ads' Smart Bidding uses machine learning to optimize for conversions or conversion value in every auction. For cybersecurity agencies, adopting this feature can maximize ROI by dynamically adjusting bids based on signals like device, location, and time of day.",[49,12289,12290,12293],{},[52,12291,12292],{},"Use Predictive Analytics",": Use AI-powered tools to predict customer behavior and refine your audience targeting. Platforms like Adalysis and WordStream offer predictive analytics features that can help you anticipate market trends and adapt your ad strategies accordingly.",[81,12295,12297],{"id":12296},"key-takeaway",[52,12298,12299],{},"Key Takeaway:",[14,12301,12302],{},"AI and ML are transforming PPC advertising by enabling real-time optimizations and predictive insights. Leveraging these technologies can significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your PPC campaigns.",[24,12304,12306],{"id":12305},"_2-privacy-first-advertising-and-first-party-data",[52,12307,12308],{},"2. Privacy-First Advertising and First-Party Data",[81,12310,12312],{"id":12311},"trend-overview-1",[52,12313,12271],{},[14,12315,12316],{},"With growing concerns over data privacy and regulations like GDPR and CCPA, the era of third-party cookies is nearing its end. This shift is forcing marketers to rely more on first-party data, leading to a more privacy-focused approach to advertising.",[81,12318,12320],{"id":12319},"actionable-tip-1",[52,12321,12146],{},[46,12323,12324,12330],{},[49,12325,12326,12329],{},[52,12327,12328],{},"Build First-Party Data Strategies",": Utilize your website, email subscriptions, and content offers to gather first-party data. For cybersecurity agencies, offering gated content such as whitepapers or case studies can be an effective way to collect valuable insights about your audience.",[49,12331,12332,12335],{},[52,12333,12334],{},"Contextual Targeting",": As third-party cookies fade out, focus on contextual targeting—placing ads based on the content being consumed rather than user behavior. For example, placing ads on cybersecurity news websites or forums where your target audience frequently visits can yield high-quality leads.",[81,12337,12339],{"id":12338},"key-takeaway-1",[52,12340,12299],{},[14,12342,12343],{},"The move toward privacy-first advertising means CMOs must focus on building robust first-party data strategies and adopt alternative targeting methods like contextual advertising.",[24,12345,12347],{"id":12346},"_3-voice-search-and-conversational-ppc",[52,12348,12349],{},"3. Voice Search and Conversational PPC",[81,12351,12353],{"id":12352},"trend-overview-2",[52,12354,12271],{},[14,12356,12357],{},"With the increasing use of smart speakers and voice assistants, voice search is reshaping the way consumers interact with digital content. According to recent studies, over 50% of searches are now voice-activated. This trend is poised to impact PPC strategies significantly, especially in the cybersecurity sector where search terms can be highly technical.",[81,12359,12361],{"id":12360},"actionable-tip-2",[52,12362,12146],{},[46,12364,12365,12371],{},[49,12366,12367,12370],{},[52,12368,12369],{},"Optimize for Long-Tail Keywords",": Voice searches are typically longer and more conversational. Incorporate long-tail keywords and natural language phrases into your PPC campaigns. For example, instead of \"cybersecurity software,\" consider phrases like \"best cybersecurity software for small businesses.\"",[49,12372,12373,12376],{},[52,12374,12375],{},"Use Conversational Ads",": Implement chatbots and conversational ads to interact with potential leads. For instance, a chatbot integrated with your PPC landing page can engage visitors in real-time, answering questions and collecting lead information.",[81,12378,12380],{"id":12379},"key-takeaway-2",[52,12381,12299],{},[14,12383,12384],{},"Voice search is changing the PPC landscape. By optimizing for long-tail keywords and integrating conversational elements into your ads, you can better capture the attention of your target audience.",[24,12386,12388],{"id":12387},"_4-automation-and-smart-campaigns",[52,12389,12390],{},"4. Automation and Smart Campaigns",[81,12392,12394],{"id":12393},"trend-overview-3",[52,12395,12271],{},[14,12397,12398],{},"Automation in PPC is evolving rapidly. Google's Smart Campaigns and Microsoft's Automated Bidding are examples of how automation is simplifying campaign management while enhancing performance. For cybersecurity agencies, where competition for keywords can be fierce, automation can be a game-changer.",[81,12400,12402],{"id":12401},"actionable-tip-3",[52,12403,12146],{},[46,12405,12406,12412],{},[49,12407,12408,12411],{},[52,12409,12410],{},"Implement Responsive Search Ads (RSAs)",": RSAs allow you to input multiple headlines and descriptions, with Google's algorithms automatically testing combinations to determine the most effective ad variations. This can lead to higher click-through rates (CTR) and improved ad relevance scores.",[49,12413,12414,12417],{},[52,12415,12416],{},"Automate Routine Tasks",": Use tools like Google Ads scripts or third-party automation platforms to handle routine tasks like bid adjustments, ad scheduling, and performance reporting. This allows your team to focus on strategic elements like audience targeting and ad creativity.",[81,12419,12421],{"id":12420},"key-takeaway-3",[52,12422,12299],{},[14,12424,12425],{},"Automation streamlines campaign management and optimizes ad performance. By adopting automated features like RSAs and leveraging tools for routine task automation, you can enhance the effectiveness of your PPC campaigns.",[24,12427,12429],{"id":12428},"_5-visual-and-interactive-ppc-ads",[52,12430,12431],{},"5. Visual and Interactive PPC Ads",[81,12433,12435],{"id":12434},"trend-overview-4",[52,12436,12271],{},[14,12438,12439],{},"Visual and interactive ads are gaining traction as they offer a more engaging experience compared to traditional text ads. Video ads, interactive elements like polls or quizzes, and AR (Augmented Reality) ads are reshaping PPC, making them more dynamic and appealing.",[81,12441,12443],{"id":12442},"actionable-tip-4",[52,12444,12146],{},[46,12446,12447,12453],{},[49,12448,12449,12452],{},[52,12450,12451],{},"Invest in Video Ads",": Platforms like YouTube and LinkedIn are ideal for cybersecurity agencies to showcase expertise through video content. Create short, informative videos that address common pain points or demonstrate the benefits of your cybersecurity solutions.",[49,12454,12455,12458],{},[52,12456,12457],{},"Use Interactive Ad Extensions",": Incorporate interactive ad extensions like click-to-message, click-to-call, or location extensions. These can encourage direct engagement, providing immediate value to prospects and making it easier for them to connect with your business.",[81,12460,12462],{"id":12461},"key-takeaway-4",[52,12463,12299],{},[14,12465,12466],{},"The future of PPC is visual and interactive. By incorporating video ads and interactive elements into your PPC strategy, you can enhance user engagement and create a more memorable brand experience.",[24,12468,12470],{"id":12469},"_6-enhanced-attribution-and-data-driven-insights",[52,12471,12472],{},"6. Enhanced Attribution and Data-Driven Insights",[81,12474,12476],{"id":12475},"trend-overview-5",[52,12477,12271],{},[14,12479,12480],{},"Accurate attribution is crucial for understanding the customer journey and optimizing PPC campaigns. With advancements in analytics, marketers can now leverage multi-touch attribution models and data-driven insights to gain a clearer picture of how PPC contributes to conversions.",[81,12482,12484],{"id":12483},"actionable-tip-5",[52,12485,12146],{},[46,12487,12488,12494],{},[49,12489,12490,12493],{},[52,12491,12492],{},"Utilize GA4 for Advanced Attribution",": Google Analytics 4 (GA4) offers enhanced attribution models, including data-driven attribution, which uses machine learning to analyze how different touchpoints contribute to conversions. Integrate GA4 with your PPC campaigns to gain deeper insights into user behavior and campaign performance.",[49,12495,12496,12499],{},[52,12497,12498],{},"Implement Cross-Channel Attribution",": Use tools like Google Ads Attribution or HubSpot to track the customer journey across multiple channels. This can help you identify which PPC keywords or ad groups are driving the most valuable interactions and allocate your budget more effectively.",[81,12501,12503],{"id":12502},"key-takeaway-5",[52,12504,12299],{},[14,12506,12507],{},"Enhanced attribution and data-driven insights allow for more precise optimization of PPC campaigns. By utilizing advanced analytics tools, you can make informed decisions that drive better results.",[24,12509,12511],{"id":12510},"_7-the-rise-of-social-ppc",[52,12512,12513],{},"7. The Rise of Social PPC",[81,12515,12517],{"id":12516},"trend-overview-6",[52,12518,12271],{},[14,12520,12521],{},"Social media platforms are continually refining their advertising capabilities, making them a prime avenue for PPC. LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook now offer highly targeted PPC options tailored for B2B audiences, making them particularly relevant for cybersecurity agencies.",[81,12523,12525],{"id":12524},"actionable-tip-6",[52,12526,12146],{},[46,12528,12529,12535],{},[49,12530,12531,12534],{},[52,12532,12533],{},"Leverage LinkedIn Ads",": LinkedIn is a goldmine for B2B marketing. Use LinkedIn's targeting options to reach decision-makers like CISOs and IT directors. Sponsored Content, InMail, and Text Ads can help you showcase your cybersecurity solutions to a highly qualified audience.",[49,12536,12537,12540],{},[52,12538,12539],{},"Adopt a Multi-Channel Approach",": Don’t limit your PPC strategy to search engines. Diversify your campaigns by running ads on multiple social platforms. For instance, use Twitter for thought leadership content and Facebook for retargeting.",[81,12542,12544],{"id":12543},"key-takeaway-6",[52,12545,12299],{},[14,12547,12548],{},"Social PPC is becoming increasingly influential in the B2B space. By leveraging platforms like LinkedIn and adopting a multi-channel approach, you can reach and engage your target audience more effectively.",[24,12550,12552],{"id":12551},"conclusion",[52,12553,12554],{},"Conclusion",[14,12556,12557],{},"The future of PPC advertising is shaped by advancements in technology, changes in consumer behavior, and evolving privacy regulations. For CMOs of cybersecurity agencies, staying ahead of these trends is crucial to achieving sustained growth and a competitive edge. By integrating AI and automation, prioritizing privacy-first strategies, optimizing for voice search, and embracing visual and interactive ad formats, you can refine your PPC efforts for better performance and ROI.",[14,12559,12560,12561,12564],{},"If you found these insights useful and are looking to take your PPC strategy to the next level, feel free to reach out to schedule a discovery call with ",[206,12562,1414],{"href":11956,"target":8877,"rel":12563},[8879]," today. Let's explore how we can help you navigate the future of PPC and drive growth for your cybersecurity business.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":12566},[12567,12572,12577,12582,12587,12592,12597,12602],{"id":12262,"depth":291,"text":12265,"children":12568},[12569,12570,12571],{"id":12268,"depth":297,"text":12271},{"id":12277,"depth":297,"text":12146},{"id":12296,"depth":297,"text":12299},{"id":12305,"depth":291,"text":12308,"children":12573},[12574,12575,12576],{"id":12311,"depth":297,"text":12271},{"id":12319,"depth":297,"text":12146},{"id":12338,"depth":297,"text":12299},{"id":12346,"depth":291,"text":12349,"children":12578},[12579,12580,12581],{"id":12352,"depth":297,"text":12271},{"id":12360,"depth":297,"text":12146},{"id":12379,"depth":297,"text":12299},{"id":12387,"depth":291,"text":12390,"children":12583},[12584,12585,12586],{"id":12393,"depth":297,"text":12271},{"id":12401,"depth":297,"text":12146},{"id":12420,"depth":297,"text":12299},{"id":12428,"depth":291,"text":12431,"children":12588},[12589,12590,12591],{"id":12434,"depth":297,"text":12271},{"id":12442,"depth":297,"text":12146},{"id":12461,"depth":297,"text":12299},{"id":12469,"depth":291,"text":12472,"children":12593},[12594,12595,12596],{"id":12475,"depth":297,"text":12271},{"id":12483,"depth":297,"text":12146},{"id":12502,"depth":297,"text":12299},{"id":12510,"depth":291,"text":12513,"children":12598},[12599,12600,12601],{"id":12516,"depth":297,"text":12271},{"id":12524,"depth":297,"text":12146},{"id":12543,"depth":297,"text":12299},{"id":12551,"depth":291,"text":12554},"2024-10-14T17:05:00Z","Discover the future of PPC for cybersecurity CMOs with trends like AI and voice search, plus actionable tips to enhance your campaigns and boost results.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fcategory-ppc.webp",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fthe-future-of-ppc-advertising-trends-and-actionable-insights",{"title":12253,"description":12604},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fthe-future-of-ppc-advertising-trends-and-actionable-insights","z7KX6Y7SUmAMGoU3nxnGEB3qfyrO1v4cw43qWANM1g0",{"id":12612,"title":12613,"author":7,"authors":12614,"body":12615,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":12898,"description":12899,"extension":318,"img":12605,"imgAlt":77,"meta":12900,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":12901,"seo":12902,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":12903,"updated":7,"__hash__":12904},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fadvanced-ppc-strategies.md","Advanced PPC Strategies & Tactics",[12108],{"type":11,"value":12616,"toc":12885},[12617,12620,12626,12632,12638,12643,12649,12654,12659,12664,12670,12675,12680,12685,12691,12696,12701,12706,12712,12717,12722,12727,12733,12738,12743,12748,12754,12759,12764,12769,12775,12780,12785,12790,12796,12801,12806,12811,12815,12871,12875,12878],[14,12618,12619],{},"Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising remains a cornerstone strategy, especially for cybersecurity agencies looking to reach highly targeted audiences. Yet, as the CMO of a cybersecurity agency, you know that basic PPC tactics only scratch the surface. To truly outshine your competitors and maximize ROI, it's time to delve into advanced PPC strategies tailored for the cybersecurity sector.",[24,12621,12623],{"id":12622},"_1-audience-segmentation-and-granular-targeting",[52,12624,12625],{},"1. Audience Segmentation and Granular Targeting",[14,12627,12628,12631],{},[52,12629,12630],{},"Why It Matters:"," In cybersecurity, a one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work. Your audience ranges from CISOs at large enterprises to IT managers at mid-sized companies, each with unique pain points and buying behaviors.",[14,12633,12634,12637],{},[52,12635,12636],{},"Advanced Strategy:"," Use audience segmentation to create tailored ads for each persona. Leverage first-party data (e.g., customer email lists) to create custom audiences, and use LinkedIn's robust targeting features to zero in on specific job titles, industries, and company sizes. Additionally, employ layered targeting on Google Ads by combining demographic, in-market, and custom intent audiences to reach decision-makers actively searching for security solutions.",[14,12639,12640,12642],{},[52,12641,12146],{}," Regularly review and refine your audience segments. Look at campaign performance data to identify high-value segments, and use these insights to tweak your ad copy and landing pages.",[24,12644,12646],{"id":12645},"_2-harness-the-power-of-remarketing",[52,12647,12648],{},"2. Harness the Power of Remarketing",[14,12650,12651,12653],{},[52,12652,12630],{}," In the B2B cybersecurity space, the sales cycle can be long and complex. Prospects may interact with your brand multiple times before converting.",[14,12655,12656,12658],{},[52,12657,12636],{}," Implement multi-stage remarketing campaigns that align with the buyer’s journey. Start by using remarketing lists for search ads (RLSA) to bid more aggressively on users who have previously visited high-intent pages (e.g., pricing or demo request pages). Then, utilize sequential remarketing on display and video networks to guide users through different stages, from awareness to consideration to decision.",[14,12660,12661,12663],{},[52,12662,12146],{}," Use ad sequencing on platforms like YouTube to show a series of ads in a specific order. For example, start with a thought-leadership video, followed by a case study, and end with a direct call to action like a demo request.",[24,12665,12667],{"id":12666},"_3-optimize-for-high-intent-keywords-with-long-tail-strategy",[52,12668,12669],{},"3. Optimize for High-Intent Keywords with Long-Tail Strategy",[14,12671,12672,12674],{},[52,12673,12630],{}," Broad keywords in the cybersecurity space are expensive and often result in low-quality clicks. High-intent, long-tail keywords tend to be less competitive and more aligned with specific buyer needs.",[14,12676,12677,12679],{},[52,12678,12636],{}," Conduct in-depth keyword research to uncover long-tail keywords that signal strong purchase intent. For example, instead of bidding on \"cybersecurity software,\" focus on more specific terms like \"enterprise-level data loss prevention solutions.\" Use phrase match and exact match to tightly control when your ads appear, reducing wasted spend.",[14,12681,12682,12684],{},[52,12683,12146],{}," Regularly analyze search query reports to identify high-performing long-tail keywords that you may not have initially considered. Add these to your campaigns and refine your negative keyword list to further optimize performance.",[24,12686,12688],{"id":12687},"_4-leverage-ad-extensions-and-dynamic-ad-features",[52,12689,12690],{},"4. Leverage Ad Extensions and Dynamic Ad Features",[14,12692,12693,12695],{},[52,12694,12630],{}," Ad extensions enhance visibility and improve click-through rates (CTR) by providing additional information directly in your ads.",[14,12697,12698,12700],{},[52,12699,12636],{}," Use every ad extension available in Google Ads and Bing Ads relevant to your offering, such as site links, callouts, structured snippets, and call extensions. For cybersecurity agencies, structured snippets can highlight services like \"Threat Detection,\" \"Incident Response,\" and \"Compliance Management.\" Additionally, consider using dynamic keyword insertion (DKI) to make your ads more relevant by automatically including the user's search query in the ad copy.",[14,12702,12703,12705],{},[52,12704,12146],{}," Test using promotion extensions to highlight special offers or discounts for limited times, such as \"Free Security Audit for First-Time Clients.\" Ensure these extensions are tailored to each campaign and regularly updated.",[24,12707,12709],{"id":12708},"_5-implement-smart-bidding-strategies-with-ai",[52,12710,12711],{},"5. Implement Smart Bidding Strategies with AI",[14,12713,12714,12716],{},[52,12715,12630],{}," Manual bidding can be time-consuming and often leads to suboptimal results. Smart bidding strategies use machine learning to optimize for conversions or conversion value in every auction.",[14,12718,12719,12721],{},[52,12720,12636],{}," Use Google's automated bidding strategies like Target CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) or Target ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) to maximize your campaign performance. For more control, implement portfolio bid strategies to manage bids across multiple campaigns with shared goals.",[14,12723,12724,12726],{},[52,12725,12146],{}," Start by running a campaign with enhanced CPC (Cost Per Click) to gather data. Once you have enough conversion data (typically at least 30 conversions in the past month), switch to a smart bidding strategy like Target CPA to let Google optimize your bids for each auction.",[24,12728,12730],{"id":12729},"_6-craft-hyper-relevant-ad-copy-and-landing-pages",[52,12731,12732],{},"6. Craft Hyper-Relevant Ad Copy and Landing Pages",[14,12734,12735,12737],{},[52,12736,12630],{}," In cybersecurity, your audience is savvy and expects tailored solutions. Generic ad copy and landing pages will result in high bounce rates and low conversion rates.",[14,12739,12740,12742],{},[52,12741,12636],{}," Create dynamic ad copy using IF functions to tailor your message based on the user's device or audience segment. For instance, offer mobile users an immediate download of a mobile security guide, while desktop users see a call-to-action for a full demo. Additionally, implement dynamic landing pages that adapt content based on the ad clicked, ensuring a seamless user experience.",[14,12744,12745,12747],{},[52,12746,12146],{}," Use tools like Unbounce or Instapage to create and test different landing pages rapidly. Run A\u002FB tests on headlines, forms, and CTA buttons to identify which combinations yield the highest conversion rates.",[24,12749,12751],{"id":12750},"_7-use-cross-platform-ppc-campaigns",[52,12752,12753],{},"7. Use Cross-Platform PPC Campaigns",[14,12755,12756,12758],{},[52,12757,12630],{}," Your target audience engages with multiple platforms. Limiting your PPC strategy to just Google Ads means missing out on potential leads from other channels.",[14,12760,12761,12763],{},[52,12762,12636],{}," Run cross-platform PPC campaigns, incorporating Google Ads, Bing Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and even Twitter Ads. For example, use LinkedIn to target CISOs with sponsored content and InMail, while using Google Ads for intent-based targeting. Use platform-specific strategies, like LinkedIn’s Matched Audiences, to retarget website visitors or nurture LinkedIn Page followers with personalized ad content.",[14,12765,12766,12768],{},[52,12767,12146],{}," Sync your LinkedIn Ads and Google Ads by importing LinkedIn audience segments into Google Ads (via Customer Match) to create a consistent cross-platform message. Monitor performance across platforms to allocate budgets dynamically based on where you're seeing the best results.",[24,12770,12772],{"id":12771},"_8-continuous-data-driven-optimization",[52,12773,12774],{},"8. Continuous Data-Driven Optimization",[14,12776,12777,12779],{},[52,12778,12630],{}," PPC campaigns are not \"set it and forget it.\" The cybersecurity landscape and search behaviors are continually changing.",[14,12781,12782,12784],{},[52,12783,12636],{}," Utilize advanced analytics tools and attribution models to understand the customer journey better. Use tools like Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to set up conversion tracking and analyze user behavior on your site. Implement multi-touch attribution models to understand which channels and touchpoints contribute most to conversions, allowing you to make data-driven decisions on budget allocation.",[14,12786,12787,12789],{},[52,12788,12146],{}," Regularly conduct A\u002FB testing on ad copy, landing pages, and bid strategies. Use scripts or automated rules to monitor campaign performance and make real-time adjustments. For example, create rules to automatically pause underperforming keywords or increase bids on top performers during peak business hours.",[24,12791,12793],{"id":12792},"_9-enhance-security-and-compliance-in-ppc",[52,12794,12795],{},"9. Enhance Security and Compliance in PPC",[14,12797,12798,12800],{},[52,12799,12630],{}," Cybersecurity clients are highly sensitive to privacy and security issues. Your PPC campaigns must reflect your agency’s commitment to these concerns.",[14,12802,12803,12805],{},[52,12804,12636],{}," Implement secure URL tracking parameters using HTTPS and ensure that all landing pages are SSL certified. Use Google's new privacy-focused tracking tools, such as Enhanced Conversions and Consent Mode, to comply with data protection regulations while still gaining valuable insights into campaign performance.",[14,12807,12808,12810],{},[52,12809,12146],{}," Include privacy-focused messaging in your ads. For instance, highlight \"GDPR-Compliant Solutions\" or \"End-to-End Data Encryption\" to address privacy concerns directly in your ad copy.",[24,12812,12813],{"id":12196},[52,12814,12199],{},[46,12816,12817,12823,12829,12835,12841,12847,12853,12859,12865],{},[49,12818,12819,12822],{},[52,12820,12821],{},"Segment Your Audience:"," Create highly targeted campaigns for different buyer personas using custom audiences and layered targeting.",[49,12824,12825,12828],{},[52,12826,12827],{},"Implement Multi-Stage Remarketing:"," Use sequential remarketing to guide prospects through the buyer's journey.",[49,12830,12831,12834],{},[52,12832,12833],{},"Focus on High-Intent Long-Tail Keywords:"," Bid on specific, high-intent keywords to attract qualified leads and reduce wasted spend.",[49,12836,12837,12840],{},[52,12838,12839],{},"Leverage Ad Extensions:"," Use all relevant ad extensions to enhance ad visibility and drive more clicks.",[49,12842,12843,12846],{},[52,12844,12845],{},"Adopt Smart Bidding:"," Use AI-driven bidding strategies to optimize for conversions and ROI.",[49,12848,12849,12852],{},[52,12850,12851],{},"Create Hyper-Relevant Content:"," Craft dynamic ad copy and landing pages tailored to user intent.",[49,12854,12855,12858],{},[52,12856,12857],{},"Run Cross-Platform Campaigns:"," Utilize multiple ad platforms to reach your target audience effectively.",[49,12860,12861,12864],{},[52,12862,12863],{},"Embrace Data-Driven Optimization:"," Test, analyze, and optimize your campaigns using advanced analytics.",[49,12866,12867,12870],{},[52,12868,12869],{},"Ensure Security and Compliance:"," Build trust with your audience by focusing on security and privacy in your campaigns.",[24,12872,12873],{"id":12551},[52,12874,12554],{},[14,12876,12877],{},"Implementing these advanced PPC techniques can significantly elevate the performance of your cybersecurity agency's marketing efforts, driving higher-quality leads and maximizing your ROI. The key is continuous testing, optimization, and a strategic approach tailored to the unique needs of your target audience.",[14,12879,12880,12881,12884],{},"If you found these insights useful and are ready to take your PPC campaigns to the next level, feel free to reach out to schedule a discovery call with ",[206,12882,1414],{"href":11956,"target":8877,"rel":12883},[8879]," today! Let's create a custom strategy that propels your business forward.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":12886},[12887,12888,12889,12890,12891,12892,12893,12894,12895,12896,12897],{"id":12622,"depth":291,"text":12625},{"id":12645,"depth":291,"text":12648},{"id":12666,"depth":291,"text":12669},{"id":12687,"depth":291,"text":12690},{"id":12708,"depth":291,"text":12711},{"id":12729,"depth":291,"text":12732},{"id":12750,"depth":291,"text":12753},{"id":12771,"depth":291,"text":12774},{"id":12792,"depth":291,"text":12795},{"id":12196,"depth":291,"text":12199},{"id":12551,"depth":291,"text":12554},"2024-10-07T17:05:00Z","Discover advanced PPC strategies for cybersecurity vendors, including audience targeting, long-tail keywords, remarketing, and smart bidding to maximize ROI.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fadvanced-ppc-strategies",{"title":12613,"description":12899},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fadvanced-ppc-strategies","O3_urNr2PWoEoZieN1F9Et_63GqI1Vlr7J9q8xXLZX0",{"id":12906,"title":12907,"author":7,"authors":12908,"body":12909,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":13262,"description":13263,"extension":318,"img":12605,"imgAlt":77,"meta":13264,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":13265,"seo":13266,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":13267,"updated":7,"__hash__":13268},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fppc-mistakes.md","Top PPC Mistakes & How to Fix Them",[12108],{"type":11,"value":12910,"toc":13252},[12911,12914,12920,12926,12929,12935,12955,12960,12966,12971,12974,12979,12999,13004,13010,13015,13018,13023,13043,13048,13054,13059,13062,13067,13093,13098,13104,13109,13112,13117,13137,13142,13148,13153,13156,13161,13181,13186,13192,13197,13200,13205,13225,13230,13234,13237],[14,12912,12913],{},"Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is vital to digital marketing, especially for cybersecurity vendors. With the industry becoming increasingly competitive, getting your PPC campaigns right can mean the difference between attracting qualified leads and wasting a valuable marketing budget. However, many cybersecurity firms fall into common traps when setting up and managing their PPC efforts. This article will dive deep into these pitfalls and provide actionable insights to ensure your campaigns are effective, efficient, and profitable.",[81,12915,12917],{"id":12916},"_1-mistake-1-lack-of-clear-goals-and-kpis",[52,12918,12919],{},"1. Mistake #1: Lack of Clear Goals and KPIs",[5685,12921,12923],{"id":12922},"why-its-a-problem",[52,12924,12925],{},"Why It's a Problem",[14,12927,12928],{},"One of the most common mistakes is launching PPC campaigns without clearly defined objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs). Without specific goals, measuring success or identifying improvement areas is challenging. For a cybersecurity agency, goals might include generating high-quality leads, increasing brand awareness, or driving downloads of a security assessment tool.",[5685,12930,12932],{"id":12931},"actionable-tips",[52,12933,12934],{},"Actionable Tips",[46,12936,12937,12943,12949],{},[49,12938,12939,12942],{},[52,12940,12941],{},"Define Clear Objectives:"," Set specific, measurable goals such as \"increase qualified leads by 20% in the next quarter\" or \"reduce the cost per acquisition (CPA) by 15%.\"",[49,12944,12945,12948],{},[52,12946,12947],{},"Identify KPIs:"," Choose relevant KPIs like click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, cost per lead (CPL), and return on ad spend (ROAS) to monitor progress.",[49,12950,12951,12954],{},[52,12952,12953],{},"Use Goal Tracking:"," Utilize tools like Google Analytics and Google Ads conversion tracking to measure these KPIs accurately.",[14,12956,12957,12959],{},[52,12958,12299],{}," Clear goals and KPIs are the foundation of any successful PPC campaign. Without them, you're flying blind.",[81,12961,12963],{"id":12962},"_2-mistake-2-ignoring-audience-targeting",[52,12964,12965],{},"2. Mistake #2: Ignoring Audience Targeting",[5685,12967,12969],{"id":12968},"why-its-a-problem-1",[52,12970,12925],{},[14,12972,12973],{},"Cybersecurity is a niche market with a specific audience. Casting a wide net with your PPC campaigns will not only increase costs but also lead to irrelevant traffic. Ignoring detailed audience targeting means you might attract visitors who are not in the market for your services, wasting your ad spend.",[5685,12975,12977],{"id":12976},"actionable-tips-1",[52,12978,12934],{},[46,12980,12981,12987,12993],{},[49,12982,12983,12986],{},[52,12984,12985],{},"Leverage Detailed Demographics:"," Use the demographic targeting options in platforms like Google Ads and LinkedIn to reach decision-makers, such as CISOs and IT managers, in companies that match your ideal customer profile.",[49,12988,12989,12992],{},[52,12990,12991],{},"Employ Retargeting:"," Implement retargeting campaigns to re-engage users who have previously interacted with your website or ads, keeping your brand top-of-mind.",[49,12994,12995,12998],{},[52,12996,12997],{},"Utilize In-Market Audiences:"," Google Ads provides in-market audiences for cybersecurity services. Use this feature to target users actively researching or considering purchasing cybersecurity solutions.",[14,13000,13001,13003],{},[52,13002,12299],{}," Effective audience targeting ensures your ads are seen by the right people, maximizing the chances of converting visitors into leads.",[81,13005,13007],{"id":13006},"_3-mistake-3-poor-keyword-strategy",[52,13008,13009],{},"3. Mistake #3: Poor Keyword Strategy",[5685,13011,13013],{"id":13012},"why-its-a-problem-2",[52,13014,12925],{},[14,13016,13017],{},"Choosing the wrong keywords or failing to use negative keywords can result in irrelevant clicks, driving up costs and reducing the quality of leads. In the cybersecurity field, where terminology can be highly technical, getting your keyword strategy wrong can mean missing out on qualified traffic.",[5685,13019,13021],{"id":13020},"actionable-tips-2",[52,13022,12934],{},[46,13024,13025,13031,13037],{},[49,13026,13027,13030],{},[52,13028,13029],{},"Conduct Thorough Keyword Research:"," Use tools like Google Keyword Planner and SEMrush to identify high-intent keywords related to cybersecurity, such as \"network security solutions\" or \"data breach prevention.\"",[49,13032,13033,13036],{},[52,13034,13035],{},"Utilize Long-Tail Keywords:"," Focus on long-tail keywords that are more specific and have a higher conversion intent, such as \"managed cybersecurity services for SMEs.\"",[49,13038,13039,13042],{},[52,13040,13041],{},"Implement Negative Keywords:"," Identify and add negative keywords to your campaigns to prevent your ads from showing up for irrelevant searches, like \"free cybersecurity tools\" if you’re selling premium services.",[14,13044,13045,13047],{},[52,13046,12299],{}," A strategic keyword plan is crucial. It allows you to attract high-intent users and avoid wasting budget on irrelevant clicks.",[81,13049,13051],{"id":13050},"_4-mistake-4-ignoring-ad-copy-and-landing-page-relevance",[52,13052,13053],{},"4. Mistake #4: Ignoring Ad Copy and Landing Page Relevance",[5685,13055,13057],{"id":13056},"why-its-a-problem-3",[52,13058,12925],{},[14,13060,13061],{},"Your ad copy and landing page must be closely aligned with the user's search intent. Mismatched messaging can lead to high bounce rates and low-quality scores, driving up your costs and reducing ad visibility.",[5685,13063,13065],{"id":13064},"actionable-tips-3",[52,13066,12934],{},[46,13068,13069,13075,13081,13087],{},[49,13070,13071,13074],{},[52,13072,13073],{},"Craft Compelling Ad Copy:"," Write ad copy that directly addresses the pain points of your target audience. For example, highlight how your cybersecurity services protect against the latest threats.",[49,13076,13077,13080],{},[52,13078,13079],{},"Include Strong CTAs:"," Use clear calls-to-action (CTAs) like \"Get a Free Security Audit\" to guide users on the next steps.",[49,13082,13083,13086],{},[52,13084,13085],{},"Optimize Landing Pages:"," Ensure your landing pages are relevant to the ad copy and provide a seamless experience. Include persuasive content, testimonials, and a straightforward form to capture leads.",[49,13088,13089,13092],{},[52,13090,13091],{},"A\u002FB Test Your Ads:"," Continuously test different versions of your ad copy and landing pages to find the combination that resonates best with your audience.",[14,13094,13095,13097],{},[52,13096,12299],{}," Relevance between ad copy, keywords, and landing pages is key to high-quality scores and better conversion rates.",[81,13099,13101],{"id":13100},"_5-mistake-5-not-using-ad-extensions",[52,13102,13103],{},"5. Mistake #5: Not Using Ad Extensions",[5685,13105,13107],{"id":13106},"why-its-a-problem-4",[52,13108,12925],{},[14,13110,13111],{},"Ad extensions enhance the visibility and functionality of your ads, providing users with more reasons to click. Not using them is a missed opportunity to improve your ad's performance and provide additional information.",[5685,13113,13115],{"id":13114},"actionable-tips-4",[52,13116,12934],{},[46,13118,13119,13125,13131],{},[49,13120,13121,13124],{},[52,13122,13123],{},"Utilize Sitelink Extensions:"," Add links to specific pages on your site, such as \"Case Studies\" or \"Pricing,\" to give users more options.",[49,13126,13127,13130],{},[52,13128,13129],{},"Include Callout Extensions:"," Highlight unique selling points like \"24\u002F7 Support\" or \"Free Consultation\" to entice clicks.",[49,13132,13133,13136],{},[52,13134,13135],{},"Leverage Call Extensions:"," Allow potential clients to call you directly from the ad, particularly effective for B2B services where conversations can drive conversions.",[14,13138,13139,13141],{},[52,13140,12299],{}," Ad extensions can significantly improve your ad's click-through rate and provide more context to potential clients.",[81,13143,13145],{"id":13144},"_6-mistake-6-ignoring-campaign-performance-data",[52,13146,13147],{},"6. Mistake #6: Ignoring Campaign Performance Data",[5685,13149,13151],{"id":13150},"why-its-a-problem-5",[52,13152,12925],{},[14,13154,13155],{},"Failing to analyze your campaign data regularly can result in suboptimal performance and wasted budget. You need to understand what's working and what isn't to make data-driven decisions.",[5685,13157,13159],{"id":13158},"actionable-tips-5",[52,13160,12934],{},[46,13162,13163,13169,13175],{},[49,13164,13165,13168],{},[52,13166,13167],{},"Regularly Monitor KPIs:"," Use platforms like Google Ads and Google Analytics to track metrics such as CTR, conversion rate, and CPL.",[49,13170,13171,13174],{},[52,13172,13173],{},"Optimize Based on Performance:"," Identify underperforming keywords, ads, or demographics, and make adjustments to improve results.",[49,13176,13177,13180],{},[52,13178,13179],{},"Implement Automated Rules:"," Use automated rules in Google Ads to pause underperforming keywords or increase bids on high-performing ones, ensuring efficient use of your budget.",[14,13182,13183,13185],{},[52,13184,12299],{}," Regular analysis and optimization of campaign performance are crucial for maintaining a high-performing PPC strategy.",[81,13187,13189],{"id":13188},"_7-mistake-7-underestimating-the-power-of-remarketing",[52,13190,13191],{},"7. Mistake #7: Underestimating the Power of Remarketing",[5685,13193,13195],{"id":13194},"why-its-a-problem-6",[52,13196,12925],{},[14,13198,13199],{},"Remarketing allows you to re-engage users who have already shown interest in your services. Not leveraging this strategy means missing out on a significant opportunity to convert warm leads into customers.",[5685,13201,13203],{"id":13202},"actionable-tips-6",[52,13204,12934],{},[46,13206,13207,13213,13219],{},[49,13208,13209,13212],{},[52,13210,13211],{},"Set Up Remarketing Lists:"," Create remarketing lists for users who visited key pages, such as your \"Services\" or \"Contact Us\" page.",[49,13214,13215,13218],{},[52,13216,13217],{},"Personalize Remarketing Ads:"," Use tailored messaging in your remarketing ads, like \"Ready to Secure Your Network? Get a Free Quote Today.\"",[49,13220,13221,13224],{},[52,13222,13223],{},"Adjust Bidding Strategies:"," Increase bids for remarketing audiences to prioritize ad visibility for users more likely to convert.",[14,13226,13227,13229],{},[52,13228,12299],{}," Remarketing is a powerful way to nurture leads who have already interacted with your brand, increasing the likelihood of conversion.",[81,13231,13232],{"id":12551},[52,13233,12554],{},[14,13235,13236],{},"Avoiding these common PPC mistakes can significantly impact your cybersecurity agency's ability to attract and convert high-quality leads. By setting clear goals, targeting the right audience, optimizing keywords, aligning ad copy with landing pages, and leveraging ad extensions and remarketing, you can create a PPC strategy that drives tangible results.",[14,13238,13239,1042,13242,13248,13251],{},[52,13240,13241],{},"If you found these insights useful, reach out to schedule a discovery call with my",[206,13243,13245],{"href":11956,"target":8877,"rel":13244},[8879],[52,13246,13247],{},"MKG Marketing ",[52,13249,13250],{},"today!"," Let's work together to elevate your PPC campaigns and help your business thrive in the competitive cybersecurity landscape.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":13253},[13254,13255,13256,13257,13258,13259,13260,13261],{"id":12916,"depth":297,"text":12919},{"id":12962,"depth":297,"text":12965},{"id":13006,"depth":297,"text":13009},{"id":13050,"depth":297,"text":13053},{"id":13100,"depth":297,"text":13103},{"id":13144,"depth":297,"text":13147},{"id":13188,"depth":297,"text":13191},{"id":12551,"depth":297,"text":12554},"2024-10-01T17:05:00Z","Discover common PPC mistakes cybersecurity vendors make & learn how to avoid them. Optimize your campaigns for better targeting & higher conversion rates.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fppc-mistakes",{"title":12907,"description":13263},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fppc-mistakes","xcpgQ5M6E1AQOoKXH_jUbiiJRzEgyfk3CTT6YS_XDBA",{"id":13270,"title":13271,"author":7,"authors":13272,"body":13273,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":13566,"description":13567,"extension":318,"img":12605,"imgAlt":77,"meta":13568,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":13569,"seo":13570,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":13571,"updated":7,"__hash__":13572},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fanalyzing-ppc-campaign-performance.md","Analyzing PPC Campaign Performance",[12108],{"type":11,"value":13274,"toc":13541},[13275,13278,13281,13287,13290,13293,13299,13302,13308,13311,13316,13322,13325,13330,13336,13339,13344,13350,13353,13358,13364,13367,13372,13378,13381,13387,13390,13395,13401,13404,13409,13415,13418,13423,13429,13432,13437,13443,13446,13452,13455,13461,13464,13469,13475,13478,13484,13487,13492,13498,13527,13531,13534],[14,13276,13277],{},"Pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns are a vital part of growing your business. For Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) of cybersecurity agencies, understanding how to measure and optimize PPC campaign performance can be the difference between wasting budget and driving measurable results.",[14,13279,13280],{},"This detailed guide will walk you through the critical elements of PPC performance analysis, ensuring that your investment is being put to good use and driving leads that convert. By the end of this article, you’ll have actionable tips and key takeaways to implement in your PPC strategies, along with benchmarks for evaluating your campaign’s health.",[24,13282,13284],{"id":13283},"the-importance-of-ppc-in-cybersecurity-marketing",[52,13285,13286],{},"The Importance of PPC in Cybersecurity Marketing",[14,13288,13289],{},"Cybersecurity is an industry with a specific audience that has unique pain points. CMOs need to align PPC campaigns to this niche, ensuring ads are seen by IT decision-makers, security officers, or even CEOs concerned with safeguarding their company’s assets. The complexity of the subject matter makes PPC campaigns particularly suited for driving targeted traffic from specific searches (e.g., “cybersecurity managed services” or “data protection software”).",[14,13291,13292],{},"But PPC campaigns require constant monitoring and optimization. Otherwise, you risk wasting money on irrelevant clicks or unqualified leads. That’s why analyzing PPC performance is essential.",[24,13294,13296],{"id":13295},"key-metrics-for-ppc-campaign-performance-analysis",[52,13297,13298],{},"Key Metrics for PPC Campaign Performance Analysis",[14,13300,13301],{},"To assess whether your PPC campaigns are performing effectively, it’s important to measure the right metrics. Here are some core KPIs that every CMO of a cybersecurity agency should track:",[81,13303,13305],{"id":13304},"_1-click-through-rate-ctr",[52,13306,13307],{},"1. Click-Through Rate (CTR)",[14,13309,13310],{},"CTR is the percentage of people who clicked your ad after seeing it. It’s calculated by dividing the number of clicks by the number of impressions. A high CTR indicates that your ad copy is resonating with your audience.",[14,13312,13313,13315],{},[52,13314,12146],{}," Test multiple versions of ad copy to see which headlines and descriptions drive the most clicks. Cybersecurity is complex, so keep your language simple but authoritative.",[81,13317,13319],{"id":13318},"_2-conversion-rate",[52,13320,13321],{},"2. Conversion Rate",[14,13323,13324],{},"This measures how many clicks turn into conversions, such as filling out a contact form, signing up for a newsletter, or requesting a demo. For CMOs in cybersecurity, the quality of leads is often more important than the quantity, so focus on this metric.",[14,13326,13327,13329],{},[52,13328,12146],{}," Use specific landing pages tailored to different PPC campaigns. A landing page focused on enterprise-level security software will convert better than a generic homepage.",[81,13331,13333],{"id":13332},"_3-cost-per-click-cpc",[52,13334,13335],{},"3. Cost Per Click (CPC)",[14,13337,13338],{},"CPC refers to how much you’re paying every time someone clicks on your ad. This is a crucial metric because it determines how far your budget can stretch.",[14,13340,13341,13343],{},[52,13342,12146],{}," Lower your CPC by improving your Quality Score. This is Google’s way of grading your ad relevance, landing page quality, and expected CTR. Ads that perform well get more favorable placement at lower costs.",[81,13345,13347],{"id":13346},"_4-cost-per-acquisition-cpa",[52,13348,13349],{},"4. Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)",[14,13351,13352],{},"CPA measures how much it costs to acquire one paying customer or qualified lead. This is especially important for CMOs focused on maximizing ROI.",[14,13354,13355,13357],{},[52,13356,12146],{}," Use negative keywords to filter out irrelevant traffic. For example, if you’re targeting businesses looking for managed cybersecurity services, you might want to add negative keywords like “free” or “cheap” to avoid unqualified clicks.",[81,13359,13361],{"id":13360},"_5-return-on-ad-spend-roas",[52,13362,13363],{},"5. Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)",[14,13365,13366],{},"ROAS evaluates how much revenue you generate for each dollar spent on PPC campaigns. It’s the ultimate metric for profitability.",[14,13368,13369,13371],{},[52,13370,12146],{}," Review your keyword performance regularly. Shift the budget from underperforming keywords to those with higher conversion rates to maximize ROAS.",[24,13373,13375],{"id":13374},"advanced-techniques-for-analyzing-ppc-performance",[52,13376,13377],{},"Advanced Techniques for Analyzing PPC Performance",[14,13379,13380],{},"Once you’ve got a handle on the basic metrics, it’s time to dive deeper into the data to fine-tune your campaigns.",[81,13382,13384],{"id":13383},"_1-segmentation-by-device-and-geography",[52,13385,13386],{},"1. Segmentation by Device and Geography",[14,13388,13389],{},"Different audiences behave differently based on where they are and what device they’re using. Analyzing the performance of your campaigns across desktop vs. mobile, and in various geographic regions, can help you spot optimization opportunities.",[14,13391,13392,13394],{},[52,13393,12146],{}," For cybersecurity, it’s common to see higher conversion rates on desktop, as decision-makers are likely to research software or services at their desk. Tailor your mobile and desktop bids accordingly.",[81,13396,13398],{"id":13397},"_2-keyword-level-performance-analysis",[52,13399,13400],{},"2. Keyword-Level Performance Analysis",[14,13402,13403],{},"Understanding which keywords are driving your conversions can help you optimize ad spend. Use a tool like Google’s Search Query Report to review search terms that trigger your ads.",[14,13405,13406,13408],{},[52,13407,12146],{}," Look for long-tail keywords with lower competition. For example, instead of bidding on “cybersecurity,” try a more specific query like “cybersecurity risk assessment for small businesses.”",[81,13410,13412],{"id":13411},"_3-ad-copy-and-ab-testing",[52,13413,13414],{},"3. Ad Copy and A\u002FB Testing",[14,13416,13417],{},"A\u002FB testing your ad copy is essential for understanding what resonates with your audience. Test different messaging strategies that speak to common cybersecurity pain points, such as data breaches or regulatory compliance.",[14,13419,13420,13422],{},[52,13421,12146],{}," Experiment with urgency-driven copy, like “Protect Your Data Now” or “Schedule a Free Cybersecurity Consultation Today,” to improve CTR and conversion rates.",[81,13424,13426],{"id":13425},"_4-audience-targeting-remarketing",[52,13427,13428],{},"4. Audience Targeting & Remarketing",[14,13430,13431],{},"For CMOs, it’s essential to continually refine your audience targeting. Google Ads and other platforms allow for demographic targeting, interest-based targeting, and even remarketing.",[14,13433,13434,13436],{},[52,13435,12146],{}," Use remarketing to re-engage visitors who didn’t convert on their first visit. Remarketing can be especially effective in the cybersecurity space, where decision-making processes may take longer and require multiple touchpoints.",[24,13438,13440],{"id":13439},"regular-reporting-and-ppc-audits",[52,13441,13442],{},"Regular Reporting and PPC Audits",[14,13444,13445],{},"To keep your campaigns performing well, it’s important to set up regular reporting and PPC audits. Monthly reports help you stay on top of how campaigns are progressing, while quarterly PPC audits offer deeper insights into areas for improvement.",[81,13447,13449],{"id":13448},"_1-automated-reporting-tools",[52,13450,13451],{},"1. Automated Reporting Tools",[14,13453,13454],{},"Investing in automated reporting tools can save time while offering actionable insights. Tools like Google Analytics or third-party platforms can help track every element of the customer journey, from ad click to conversion.",[81,13456,13458],{"id":13457},"_2-audit-your-campaign-structure",[52,13459,13460],{},"2. Audit Your Campaign Structure",[14,13462,13463],{},"Every few months, audit your campaign structure. Are your ad groups tightly themed? Are you wasting budget on broad-match keywords that don’t convert? Are you missing opportunities for extensions, such as sitelinks or callouts?",[14,13465,13466,13468],{},[52,13467,12146],{}," Use these audits to clean up low-performing ad groups and reallocate your budget to higher-performing campaigns.",[24,13470,13472],{"id":13471},"benchmarking-and-performance-goals",[52,13473,13474],{},"Benchmarking and Performance Goals",[14,13476,13477],{},"Establishing performance benchmarks is critical to understanding how your PPC campaigns are performing relative to industry standards.",[81,13479,13481],{"id":13480},"_1-cybersecurity-industry-benchmarks",[52,13482,13483],{},"1. Cybersecurity Industry Benchmarks",[14,13485,13486],{},"On average, the cybersecurity industry has a CTR of 2-3%, with CPCs ranging from $3 to $12, depending on the competition level. Conversion rates in the sector are often around 5%, though this can vary based on the offer and landing page quality.",[14,13488,13489,13491],{},[52,13490,12146],{}," Measure your campaign against these benchmarks, but remember that your results may vary depending on the specificity of your targeting and the quality of your ads and landing pages.",[24,13493,13495],{"id":13494},"key-takeaways-for-cybersecurity-cmos",[52,13496,13497],{},"Key Takeaways for Cybersecurity CMOs",[46,13499,13500,13506,13515,13521],{},[49,13501,13502,13505],{},[52,13503,13504],{},"Click-Through Rate (CTR), Conversion Rate, CPC, CPA, and ROAS"," are your primary PPC performance metrics. Regularly monitor these to ensure you’re maximizing your ad spend.",[49,13507,13508,2504,13511,13514],{},[52,13509,13510],{},"Ad copy testing",[52,13512,13513],{},"audience segmentation"," are critical to ensuring you’re speaking to the right audience at the right time.",[49,13516,13517,13520],{},[52,13518,13519],{},"Regular PPC audits"," help ensure that your campaign structure is optimized, and automated reporting tools provide valuable data to drive performance.",[49,13522,13523,13526],{},[52,13524,13525],{},"Benchmark your campaigns"," against industry standards but recognize that unique factors like geographic targeting or specific cybersecurity services may impact your results.",[24,13528,13529],{"id":12551},[52,13530,12554],{},[14,13532,13533],{},"Analyzing and optimizing PPC campaigns is a continual process. For CMOs in cybersecurity, ensuring that your ads are driving the right leads while staying within your budget is essential for growth. By focusing on the right metrics, testing continuously, and conducting regular audits, you can significantly improve the efficiency of your campaigns and maximize your return on investment.",[14,13535,13536,13537,13540],{},"If you found these insights useful, reach out to schedule a discovery call with ",[206,13538,1414],{"href":11956,"target":8877,"rel":13539},[8879]," today! Let’s discuss how we can help you refine your PPC strategy to target the right audience, optimize your budget, and grow your business in the ever-competitive cybersecurity industry.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":13542},[13543,13544,13551,13557,13561,13564,13565],{"id":13283,"depth":291,"text":13286},{"id":13295,"depth":291,"text":13298,"children":13545},[13546,13547,13548,13549,13550],{"id":13304,"depth":297,"text":13307},{"id":13318,"depth":297,"text":13321},{"id":13332,"depth":297,"text":13335},{"id":13346,"depth":297,"text":13349},{"id":13360,"depth":297,"text":13363},{"id":13374,"depth":291,"text":13377,"children":13552},[13553,13554,13555,13556],{"id":13383,"depth":297,"text":13386},{"id":13397,"depth":297,"text":13400},{"id":13411,"depth":297,"text":13414},{"id":13425,"depth":297,"text":13428},{"id":13439,"depth":291,"text":13442,"children":13558},[13559,13560],{"id":13448,"depth":297,"text":13451},{"id":13457,"depth":297,"text":13460},{"id":13471,"depth":291,"text":13474,"children":13562},[13563],{"id":13480,"depth":297,"text":13483},{"id":13494,"depth":291,"text":13497},{"id":12551,"depth":291,"text":12554},"2024-09-23T17:05:00Z","Discover key metrics and actionable insights to analyze and optimize your PPC campaigns for better leads and ROI in the competitive cybersecurity landscape.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fanalyzing-ppc-campaign-performance",{"title":13271,"description":13567},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fanalyzing-ppc-campaign-performance","ok_DuIDlNjgbvYHUZr5LGnhBTWXYAPAn0qqpRSSmro4",{"id":13574,"title":13575,"author":7,"authors":13576,"body":13577,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":13884,"description":13885,"extension":318,"img":12605,"imgAlt":77,"meta":13886,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":13887,"seo":13888,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":13889,"updated":7,"__hash__":13890},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fmaximizing-your-ppc-budget-how-to-drive-better-leads-without-overspending.md","Maximizing Your PPC Budget to Drive Better Leads",[12108],{"type":11,"value":13578,"toc":13864},[13579,13582,13589,13592,13603,13606,13612,13619,13622,13625,13645,13650,13657,13660,13663,13683,13688,13695,13698,13701,13721,13726,13733,13736,13739,13750,13755,13762,13765,13768,13773,13780,13783,13786,13806,13811,13818,13821,13824,13829,13833,13850,13854,13857],[14,13580,13581],{},"PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns are a powerful way for cybersecurity agencies to capture qualified leads. But if not handled correctly, PPC can easily become a financial black hole with little to show in return. The key is finding that sweet spot where you’re driving quality leads while staying within a budget that maximizes ROI (return on investment). This article dives deep into PPC optimization tactics, ensuring you get the most out of every dollar.",[81,13583,13585,13586],{"id":13584},"_1-define-clear-objectives-for-your-ppc-campaigns","1. ",[52,13587,13588],{},"Define Clear Objectives for Your PPC Campaigns",[14,13590,13591],{},"The foundation of any successful PPC campaign is knowing what you want to achieve. For a CMO in a cybersecurity agency, your goals likely center around generating high-quality leads, but specifics are crucial here. Start by asking:",[46,13593,13594,13597,13600],{},[49,13595,13596],{},"What is your customer acquisition cost (CAC) goal?",[49,13598,13599],{},"What industries or types of businesses do you want to target (financial services, healthcare, government)?",[49,13601,13602],{},"What’s the ideal size of the companies you’re pursuing?",[14,13604,13605],{},"Once you have clearly defined goals, you can tailor your PPC strategy to align with them. Whether your focus is building brand awareness, driving traffic, or getting conversions, a clear objective informs every decision—from ad copy to bid strategies.",[14,13607,13608,13611],{},[52,13609,13610],{},"Actionable Tip",": Create segmented campaigns based on different objectives (e.g., brand awareness vs. conversions). This segmentation allows you to allocate your budget where it’s most needed without overextending yourself.",[81,13613,13615,13616],{"id":13614},"_2-use-audience-targeting-to-your-advantage","2. ",[52,13617,13618],{},"Use Audience Targeting to Your Advantage",[14,13620,13621],{},"Cybersecurity solutions tend to have a niche audience, and not every click is created equal. Wasteful clicks come from untargeted traffic. To avoid this, leverage audience targeting features available in most PPC platforms. Narrowing down your audience ensures that your ads only show to the people most likely to convert.",[14,13623,13624],{},"Here’s how:",[46,13626,13627,13633,13639],{},[49,13628,13629,13632],{},[52,13630,13631],{},"Demographic targeting",": Focus on decision-makers in specific industries (e.g., CTOs, CIOs, IT Directors).",[49,13634,13635,13638],{},[52,13636,13637],{},"Custom intent audiences",": Google Ads allows you to target users who are actively searching for services related to cybersecurity. This feature zeroes in on those with a high likelihood of conversion.",[49,13640,13641,13644],{},[52,13642,13643],{},"Remarketing",": Re-engage users who previously interacted with your ads or website but did not convert. These individuals already have brand familiarity, making them more likely to convert on subsequent interactions.",[14,13646,13647,13649],{},[52,13648,13610],{},": Implement exclusions to prevent your ads from showing to irrelevant audiences. For example, exclude job seekers if your ad is focused on selling enterprise-level cybersecurity solutions.",[81,13651,13653,13654],{"id":13652},"_3-optimize-your-ad-copy-for-high-ctrs-and-conversions","3. ",[52,13655,13656],{},"Optimize Your Ad Copy for High CTRs and Conversions",[14,13658,13659],{},"Your ad copy is what will ultimately determine whether a prospect clicks on your ad or not. For a cybersecurity audience, trust, expertise, and urgency are key drivers of action. Make sure your copy speaks to the pain points of your target audience—highlight how your services can protect their organization’s data, ensure compliance, and reduce risks.",[14,13661,13662],{},"Key elements to focus on:",[46,13664,13665,13671,13677],{},[49,13666,13667,13670],{},[52,13668,13669],{},"Value propositions",": What sets your cybersecurity services apart from competitors?",[49,13672,13673,13676],{},[52,13674,13675],{},"Call-to-action (CTA)",": A strong, actionable CTA like “Protect Your Business Now” or “Schedule a Free Cybersecurity Audit” encourages users to engage.",[49,13678,13679,13682],{},[52,13680,13681],{},"Ad extensions",": Use sitelink extensions, callouts, and structured snippets to provide more information and increase your ad's visibility.",[14,13684,13685,13687],{},[52,13686,13610],{},": A\u002FB test different versions of your ad copy to identify which messaging resonates best with your audience. Make data-driven decisions to continuously improve your ads’ performance.",[81,13689,13691,13692],{"id":13690},"_4-bid-strategically-to-maximize-your-budget","4. ",[52,13693,13694],{},"Bid Strategically to Maximize Your Budget",[14,13696,13697],{},"Bid management is a balancing act. You don’t want to bid too high and drain your budget too quickly, but bidding too low can prevent your ads from being shown to the right audience. For cybersecurity agencies, where each lead can have a high value, a more aggressive bidding strategy might make sense for highly competitive keywords.",[14,13699,13700],{},"Consider the following bidding strategies:",[46,13702,13703,13709,13715],{},[49,13704,13705,13708],{},[52,13706,13707],{},"Manual CPC (cost-per-click)",": Gives you more control over your bids for each keyword, allowing you to adjust based on performance.",[49,13710,13711,13714],{},[52,13712,13713],{},"Target CPA (cost-per-acquisition)",": Automatically adjusts bids to achieve a desired cost per acquisition. This strategy works well if you know your target CAC and want to control costs.",[49,13716,13717,13720],{},[52,13718,13719],{},"Enhanced CPC",": Lets Google adjust your manual bids based on the likelihood of a conversion, offering a balance between control and automation.",[14,13722,13723,13725],{},[52,13724,13610],{},": Avoid overbidding on generic keywords. Instead, focus your budget on more specific, long-tail keywords like \"enterprise cybersecurity solutions\" or \"compliance-driven data protection.\" These tend to have lower competition and higher intent.",[81,13727,13729,13730],{"id":13728},"_5-leverage-negative-keywords-to-avoid-wasting-ad-spend","5. ",[52,13731,13732],{},"Leverage Negative Keywords to Avoid Wasting Ad Spend",[14,13734,13735],{},"Negative keywords are essential to avoiding irrelevant traffic and wasted clicks. For instance, if your agency specializes in enterprise cybersecurity, you wouldn’t want to attract searchers looking for personal antivirus solutions. Adding keywords like \"free,\" \"cheap,\" or \"personal\" to your negative keyword list will filter out these low-intent searches.",[14,13737,13738],{},"To build a strong negative keyword list:",[46,13740,13741,13744,13747],{},[49,13742,13743],{},"Analyze your search terms report to identify irrelevant queries.",[49,13745,13746],{},"Regularly update your list as new search terms arise.",[49,13748,13749],{},"Consider both broad and exact match types to ensure you cover all bases.",[14,13751,13752,13754],{},[52,13753,13610],{},": Use Google’s keyword planner or tools like SEMrush to discover terms that might be draining your budget without delivering results.",[81,13756,13758,13759],{"id":13757},"_6-implement-conversion-tracking-and-analytics","6. ",[52,13760,13761],{},"Implement Conversion Tracking and Analytics",[14,13763,13764],{},"You can’t optimize what you don’t measure. Conversion tracking ensures you know which campaigns are driving results and which are falling flat. Set up tracking for actions that align with your goals, such as form submissions, phone calls, or downloads of gated content.",[14,13766,13767],{},"Additionally, use tools like Google Analytics, HubSpot, or Salesforce to monitor the customer journey post-click. Are users bouncing from your landing page, or are they moving through the funnel? Understanding user behavior helps you fine-tune not only your PPC ads but also your landing pages.",[14,13769,13770,13772],{},[52,13771,13610],{},": Assign different tracking codes to each campaign, allowing you to determine which source delivers the highest quality leads. Integrate this data into your CRM for a holistic view of campaign performance.",[81,13774,13776,13777],{"id":13775},"_7-optimize-your-landing-pages-for-conversions","7. ",[52,13778,13779],{},"Optimize Your Landing Pages for Conversions",[14,13781,13782],{},"Your PPC campaign is only as effective as the landing page it leads to. If your ad copy promises “best-in-class cybersecurity solutions” but your landing page fails to deliver a compelling case for why your service is superior, visitors will bounce—and your ad spend will be wasted.",[14,13784,13785],{},"Here’s how to optimize your landing page:",[46,13787,13788,13794,13800],{},[49,13789,13790,13793],{},[52,13791,13792],{},"Match the messaging",": Ensure your landing page reflects the promises made in your ad copy. If your ad highlights a “Free Consultation,” make sure visitors can easily sign up for it.",[49,13795,13796,13799],{},[52,13797,13798],{},"Streamline the user experience",": Reduce friction by minimizing form fields and removing unnecessary steps in the conversion process.",[49,13801,13802,13805],{},[52,13803,13804],{},"Mobile optimization",": With more traffic coming from mobile devices, your landing page must be fully responsive.",[14,13807,13808,13810],{},[52,13809,13610],{},": Use heatmaps and session recordings (e.g., Hotjar) to understand how users interact with your landing page. Based on these insights, make data-driven optimizations to improve conversion rates.",[81,13812,13814,13815],{"id":13813},"_8-monitor-test-and-adapt-continuously","8. ",[52,13816,13817],{},"Monitor, Test, and Adapt Continuously",[14,13819,13820],{},"PPC isn’t a “set it and forget it” strategy. It requires constant monitoring and adaptation. Regularly reviewing campaign performance ensures your budget is being used effectively. If you notice a campaign or keyword isn’t delivering results, don’t hesitate to pause it or shift your budget toward higher-performing areas.",[14,13822,13823],{},"Additionally, keep experimenting with new ideas. Whether it’s tweaking your ad copy, testing a different landing page layout, or adjusting your bidding strategy, the goal is to continually refine your campaigns for optimal performance.",[14,13825,13826,13828],{},[52,13827,13610],{},": Schedule weekly or bi-weekly reviews of your PPC campaigns. Identify top performers and underperformers, then adjust your budget accordingly.",[81,13830,13831],{"id":12196},[52,13832,12199],{},[46,13834,13835,13838,13841,13844,13847],{},[49,13836,13837],{},"Defining clear objectives is essential for a focused PPC strategy.",[49,13839,13840],{},"Audience targeting and the use of negative keywords prevent wasted ad spend.",[49,13842,13843],{},"Regular testing and optimization of ad copy, landing pages, and bids ensure sustained performance.",[49,13845,13846],{},"Conversion tracking provides critical insights for measuring success.",[49,13848,13849],{},"Continuous monitoring allows for real-time adjustments and optimizations.",[81,13851,13852],{"id":12551},[52,13853,12554],{},[14,13855,13856],{},"Effective PPC management isn’t about spending more—it’s about spending smart. By following the strategies outlined above, CMOs of cybersecurity agencies can maximize their budget, capture high-quality leads, and see a greater return on investment. PPC campaigns can be a goldmine when handled correctly, so take these insights and start optimizing today.",[14,13858,13859,13860,13863],{},"If you found these insights useful, reach out to schedule a discovery call with            ",[206,13861,1414],{"href":11956,"target":8877,"rel":13862},[8879],"! Let's work together to unlock the full potential of your PPC campaigns.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":13865},[13866,13868,13870,13872,13874,13876,13878,13880,13882,13883],{"id":13584,"depth":297,"text":13867},"1. Define Clear Objectives for Your PPC Campaigns",{"id":13614,"depth":297,"text":13869},"2. Use Audience Targeting to Your Advantage",{"id":13652,"depth":297,"text":13871},"3. Optimize Your Ad Copy for High CTRs and Conversions",{"id":13690,"depth":297,"text":13873},"4. Bid Strategically to Maximize Your Budget",{"id":13728,"depth":297,"text":13875},"5. Leverage Negative Keywords to Avoid Wasting Ad Spend",{"id":13757,"depth":297,"text":13877},"6. Implement Conversion Tracking and Analytics",{"id":13775,"depth":297,"text":13879},"7. Optimize Your Landing Pages for Conversions",{"id":13813,"depth":297,"text":13881},"8. Monitor, Test, and Adapt Continuously",{"id":12196,"depth":297,"text":12199},{"id":12551,"depth":297,"text":12554},"2024-09-16T17:05:00Z","Discover how to maximize your PPC budget and drive better leads without overspending. Uncover strategies that ensure every dollar counts! ",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fmaximizing-your-ppc-budget-how-to-drive-better-leads-without-overspending",{"title":13575,"description":13885},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fmaximizing-your-ppc-budget-how-to-drive-better-leads-without-overspending","Re49rIRY-YnLxX0NC8-pxmkMfh7cvSdFn0LvEoGDpvY",{"id":13892,"title":13893,"author":7,"authors":13894,"body":13896,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":14001,"description":14002,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":77,"meta":14003,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":14004,"seo":14005,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":14006,"updated":7,"__hash__":14007},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Frelationship-based-sales-marketing-strategies.md","Relationship-Based Sales & Marketing Strategies",[13895,12109,12110],"Alanna Moman-Rawden",{"type":11,"value":13897,"toc":13996},[13898,13901,13907,13939,13945,13971,13977,13988,13994],[14,13899,13900],{},"Building strong, long-term client relationships is crucial for sustained success in cybersecurity. Many companies fall into the trap of focusing on one-time transactions instead of nurturing relationships that drive continuous value. Both your sales and marketing teams need to work together to create a customer-first approach that goes beyond selling products and focuses on solving real problems.",[24,13902,13904],{"id":13903},"sales-strategies-for-relationship-building",[52,13905,13906],{},"Sales Strategies for Relationship Building",[132,13908,13909,13915,13921,13927,13933],{},[49,13910,13911,13914],{},[52,13912,13913],{},"Understand Customer Needs",": Invest time in learning about your client’s business, their challenges, and the industry. This shows that your solution is tailored, not just off-the-shelf.",[49,13916,13917,13920],{},[52,13918,13919],{},"Build Trust Through Consistency",": Deliver on promises and be transparent. Transparency in pricing, processes, and expectations goes a long way in building credibility.",[49,13922,13923,13926],{},[52,13924,13925],{},"Listen and Show Empathy",": Actively listen to your client’s concerns. Empathy shows that you're not just trying to sell a product but genuinely care about its success.",[49,13928,13929,13932],{},[52,13930,13931],{},"Focus on Long-Term Value",": Shift your focus from pushing products to discussing the outcomes your solution will deliver, ensuring the client feels your product is essential to their long-term success.",[49,13934,13935,13938],{},[52,13936,13937],{},"Build Relationships at Multiple Levels:"," In complex B2B sales, it’s important to engage with multiple stakeholders to ensure comprehensive buy-in. Build relationships with decision-makers, influencers, and end-users. Each plays a role in the customer’s experience and overall satisfaction with your solution.",[24,13940,13942],{"id":13941},"marketing-strategies-to-address-pain-points",[52,13943,13944],{},"Marketing Strategies to Address Pain Points",[132,13946,13947,13953,13959,13965],{},[49,13948,13949,13952],{},[52,13950,13951],{},"Conduct Targeted Research",": Understand the specific pain points of your target audience through market research and tailor your messaging to reflect their challenges.",[49,13954,13955,13958],{},[52,13956,13957],{},"Map Features to Benefits",": Communicate how your solution’s features translate into benefits that address your prospects’ pain points. Focus on how your solution solves their problems.",[49,13960,13961,13964],{},[52,13962,13963],{},"Demonstrate Value Early",": Offer trials, demos, or compelling content that immediately shows the value of your solution. The quicker your prospects see the results, the better.",[49,13966,13967,13970],{},[52,13968,13969],{},"Use Storytelling",": Share case studies or testimonials from other clients who have faced similar challenges. This not only builds credibility but also helps prospects relate to your solution.",[24,13972,13974],{"id":13973},"key-takeaways-and-actionable-tips",[52,13975,13976],{},"Key Takeaways and Actionable Tips",[46,13978,13979,13982,13985],{},[49,13980,13981],{},"Build trust by understanding your client’s needs and being transparent in your approach.",[49,13983,13984],{},"Personalize your solution and communication to address the unique pain points of each prospect.",[49,13986,13987],{},"You can use storytelling to connect emotionally and always focus on the long-term value your solution provides.",[14,13989,13990,13991,13993],{},"If you find this information valuable, feel free to reach out to ",[206,13992,1414],{"href":11956},", and let us help you build meaningful relationships that drive long-term growth in the cybersecurity space.",[5778,13995],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":13997},[13998,13999,14000],{"id":13903,"depth":291,"text":13906},{"id":13941,"depth":291,"text":13944},{"id":13973,"depth":291,"text":13976},"2024-09-10T14:26:00Z","Discover how cybersecurity marketing leaders approach relationship-based sales and marketing strategies to address potential clients' pain points effectively.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Frelationship-based-sales-marketing-strategies",{"title":13893,"description":14002},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Frelationship-based-sales-marketing-strategies","zymem8lOE4CtznYEMppQsNUWY8zYOzW_aJPSoATztmY",{"id":14009,"title":14010,"author":7,"authors":14011,"body":14012,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":14325,"description":14326,"extension":318,"img":12605,"imgAlt":77,"meta":14327,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":14328,"seo":14329,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":14330,"updated":7,"__hash__":14331},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Foptimizing-ppc-landing-pages-for-better-performance.md","Optimizing PPC Landing Pages for Better Performance",[12108],{"type":11,"value":14013,"toc":14302},[14014,14017,14020,14026,14029,14034,14039,14044,14049,14055,14058,14062,14067,14071,14076,14082,14085,14089,14094,14098,14103,14109,14112,14116,14121,14125,14130,14136,14139,14143,14148,14152,14157,14163,14166,14170,14175,14179,14184,14190,14193,14197,14202,14206,14211,14217,14220,14224,14229,14233,14238,14245,14248,14252,14257,14261,14266,14273,14276,14280,14285,14289,14294,14296,14299],[14,14015,14016],{},"Every click on your PPC ads represents a potential client seeking to protect their organization from digital threats. But that click could be a missed opportunity if your landing page isn’t optimized. The challenge is clear: not only do you need to attract the right prospects, but you must also deliver a seamless landing page experience that converts visitors into leads or customers.",[14,14018,14019],{},"This article provides an in-depth guide to optimizing your PPC landing pages for cybersecurity services. We’ll explore actionable tips and best practices to help you drive better performance and higher conversion rates.",[81,14021,13585,14023],{"id":14022},"_1-understand-the-users-intent",[52,14024,14025],{},"Understand the User's Intent",[14,14027,14028],{},"In cybersecurity, intent matters. The person clicking on your ad is likely facing a critical security issue or searching for ways to improve their company’s defenses. Your landing page must address this intent directly.",[14,14030,14031],{},[52,14032,14033],{},"Key takeaway:",[46,14035,14036],{},[49,14037,14038],{},"Tailor the message to address the problem they are facing—whether it's about endpoint security, phishing prevention, or compliance with data regulations.",[14,14040,14041],{},[52,14042,14043],{},"Actionable tip:",[46,14045,14046],{},[49,14047,14048],{},"Analyze your keyword data and ad copy to ensure that the messaging on your landing page aligns perfectly with the search intent. For example, if your PPC ad mentions “Managed Threat Detection Services,” your landing page should expand on the specific benefits and solutions offered.",[81,14050,13615,14052],{"id":14051},"_2-create-a-clear-and-compelling-headline",[52,14053,14054],{},"Create a Clear and Compelling Headline",[14,14056,14057],{},"The headline is the first thing your visitor will see, and it needs to instantly grab their attention. Given that cybersecurity is a high-stakes industry, the headline should convey trust, urgency, and value.",[14,14059,14060],{},[52,14061,14033],{},[46,14063,14064],{},[49,14065,14066],{},"Your headline should make it crystal clear that the user has landed in the right place to solve their problem. Don’t be vague—get straight to the point.",[14,14068,14069],{},[52,14070,14043],{},[46,14072,14073],{},[49,14074,14075],{},"A\u002FB test different headlines to see which resonates better with your audience. Use phrases like “Protect Your Business from Data Breaches” or “Comprehensive Cybersecurity Solutions for Enterprise-Level Threats” to create a sense of relevance and urgency.",[81,14077,13653,14079],{"id":14078},"_3-optimize-for-mobile-responsiveness",[52,14080,14081],{},"Optimize for Mobile Responsiveness",[14,14083,14084],{},"Most of your traffic is likely coming from mobile devices, and if your landing page doesn’t load quickly or display well on mobile, you’re losing leads. Google penalizes slow mobile experiences, which can drive up your cost-per-click and lower your ad rankings.",[14,14086,14087],{},[52,14088,14033],{},[46,14090,14091],{},[49,14092,14093],{},"A fast, responsive landing page design is essential for providing a smooth experience across all devices, particularly mobile.",[14,14095,14096],{},[52,14097,14043],{},[46,14099,14100],{},[49,14101,14102],{},"Use Google's PageSpeed Insights to analyze load times and mobile responsiveness. Implement AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) if necessary, and minimize large images or complex scripts that slow down page loading times.",[81,14104,13691,14106],{"id":14105},"_4-craft-a-strong-call-to-action-cta",[52,14107,14108],{},"Craft a Strong Call-to-Action (CTA)",[14,14110,14111],{},"Your CTA is where conversions happen—or don’t. In the cybersecurity space, your prospects may be looking for demos, consultations, or downloadable resources. The CTA must be action-oriented and aligned with what your visitor wants.",[14,14113,14114],{},[52,14115,14033],{},[46,14117,14118],{},[49,14119,14120],{},"The CTA should be clear, concise, and value-driven. Instead of “Submit,” try something more specific like “Schedule a Free Cybersecurity Audit” or “Get a Personalized Threat Assessment.”",[14,14122,14123],{},[52,14124,14043],{},[46,14126,14127],{},[49,14128,14129],{},"Test different CTA placements and wording to see which drives the best results. You can experiment with urgency-based CTAs like “Secure Your Network Today” or benefit-driven options like “Get Expert Insights into Your Vulnerabilities.”",[81,14131,13729,14133],{"id":14132},"_5-streamline-the-form-fields",[52,14134,14135],{},"Streamline the Form Fields",[14,14137,14138],{},"Nobody likes filling out long forms, especially when they’re in a rush or concerned about their cybersecurity. Long or complex forms often lead to high bounce rates, so it’s essential to ask for only the information you need.",[14,14140,14141],{},[52,14142,14033],{},[46,14144,14145],{},[49,14146,14147],{},"Keep form fields to a minimum, especially for first-time visitors. The goal is to gather enough information to follow up without overwhelming the visitor.",[14,14149,14150],{},[52,14151,14043],{},[46,14153,14154],{},[49,14155,14156],{},"Stick to the basics for your initial form: name, email, and perhaps a single qualifying question like “What’s your biggest cybersecurity challenge right now?” You can collect more details during your follow-up process.",[81,14158,13758,14160],{"id":14159},"_6-use-social-proof-and-trust-signals",[52,14161,14162],{},"Use Social Proof and Trust Signals",[14,14164,14165],{},"In cybersecurity, trust is everything. Your visitors need to know they are dealing with an experienced, reliable provider. Incorporate trust signals to reassure prospects that they’re making the right decision.",[14,14167,14168],{},[52,14169,14033],{},[46,14171,14172],{},[49,14173,14174],{},"Testimonials, case studies, logos of clients, and industry certifications can significantly improve credibility on your landing page.",[14,14176,14177],{},[52,14178,14043],{},[46,14180,14181],{},[49,14182,14183],{},"Add a “Trusted by Industry Leaders” section featuring recognizable logos and testimonials from satisfied clients. Include any relevant certifications such as ISO compliance, PCI DSS, or GDPR expertise.",[81,14185,13776,14187],{"id":14186},"_7-leverage-engaging-visuals-and-videos",[52,14188,14189],{},"Leverage Engaging Visuals and Videos",[14,14191,14192],{},"Cybersecurity is often a complex topic. Visuals and explainer videos can simplify the message and make it easier for potential clients to understand how your solution works.",[14,14194,14195],{},[52,14196,14033],{},[46,14198,14199],{},[49,14200,14201],{},"Use videos and infographics to quickly convey the benefits and key features of your cybersecurity offerings. Videos also help to keep users engaged, lowering bounce rates and increasing conversion opportunities.",[14,14203,14204],{},[52,14205,14043],{},[46,14207,14208],{},[49,14209,14210],{},"Create a short, 1-2 minute explainer video that introduces your services and walks the user through how your solution addresses their specific security concerns. Keep it professional and concise.",[81,14212,13814,14214],{"id":14213},"_8-implement-exit-intent-popups",[52,14215,14216],{},"Implement Exit-Intent Popups",[14,14218,14219],{},"Sometimes, visitors leave your landing page without converting—but that doesn’t mean they’re a lost opportunity. Exit-intent popups can capture these potential leads before they leave.",[14,14221,14222],{},[52,14223,14033],{},[46,14225,14226],{},[49,14227,14228],{},"An exit-intent popup can offer one last chance to engage a visitor, whether by offering a free resource or discount on services.",[14,14230,14231],{},[52,14232,14043],{},[46,14234,14235],{},[49,14236,14237],{},"Trigger an exit-intent popup offering a free eBook like “10 Steps to Strengthen Your Enterprise’s Cybersecurity” or “The Ultimate Guide to Ransomware Prevention.” This can help you capture emails from prospects who might not be ready to commit yet.",[81,14239,14241,14242],{"id":14240},"_9-test-analyze-and-iterate","9. ",[52,14243,14244],{},"Test, Analyze, and Iterate",[14,14246,14247],{},"Optimization isn’t a one-time task—it’s an ongoing process. Use data from your PPC campaigns to continuously refine your landing pages. Pay attention to which landing pages are performing well and where there’s room for improvement.",[14,14249,14250],{},[52,14251,14033],{},[46,14253,14254],{},[49,14255,14256],{},"Continuous testing (A\u002FB testing, multivariate testing) is essential for improving conversion rates. Analyze your data and make informed decisions based on what works best for your target audience.",[14,14258,14259],{},[52,14260,14043],{},[46,14262,14263],{},[49,14264,14265],{},"Implement heat maps and session recordings to see where visitors are clicking, where they stop scrolling, and where they drop off. Use this data to refine your layout and messaging further.",[81,14267,14269,14270],{"id":14268},"_10-ensure-data-privacy-compliance","10. ",[52,14271,14272],{},"Ensure Data Privacy Compliance",[14,14274,14275],{},"Since you’re in the cybersecurity industry, it’s imperative to demonstrate that you take data privacy seriously. Your landing page should clearly state your commitment to data protection.",[14,14277,14278],{},[52,14279,14033],{},[46,14281,14282],{},[49,14283,14284],{},"Include clear messaging about how you collect, use, and store data in compliance with GDPR, CCPA, or other relevant regulations.",[14,14286,14287],{},[52,14288,14043],{},[46,14290,14291],{},[49,14292,14293],{},"Add a brief but visible privacy policy link near your form, and reassure users that their data will be handled securely. A message like, “We respect your privacy and will never share your information” can help build trust.",[81,14295,12554],{"id":12551},[14,14297,14298],{},"Optimizing your PPC landing pages for better performance is essential to the success of your cybersecurity agency. By aligning your messaging with user intent, simplifying form submissions, and providing clear CTAs, you’ll improve your conversion rates and drive business growth. Additionally, by continuously testing and refining your landing pages, you’ll stay ahead in the ever-competitive PPC landscape.",[14,14300,14301],{},"If you found these insights useful, reach out to schedule a discovery call with my marketing agency today! Let’s discuss how we can help your cybersecurity business generate more leads and improve your overall marketing performance.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":14303},[14304,14306,14308,14310,14312,14314,14316,14318,14320,14322,14324],{"id":14022,"depth":297,"text":14305},"1. Understand the User's Intent",{"id":14051,"depth":297,"text":14307},"2. Create a Clear and Compelling Headline",{"id":14078,"depth":297,"text":14309},"3. Optimize for Mobile Responsiveness",{"id":14105,"depth":297,"text":14311},"4. Craft a Strong Call-to-Action (CTA)",{"id":14132,"depth":297,"text":14313},"5. Streamline the Form Fields",{"id":14159,"depth":297,"text":14315},"6. Use Social Proof and Trust Signals",{"id":14186,"depth":297,"text":14317},"7. Leverage Engaging Visuals and Videos",{"id":14213,"depth":297,"text":14319},"8. Implement Exit-Intent Popups",{"id":14240,"depth":297,"text":14321},"9. Test, Analyze, and Iterate",{"id":14268,"depth":297,"text":14323},"10. Ensure Data Privacy Compliance",{"id":12551,"depth":297,"text":12554},"2024-09-09T17:05:00Z","Discover how to optimize your PPC landing pages. Learn actionable tips to improve user experience, align messaging, and increase conversions.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Foptimizing-ppc-landing-pages-for-better-performance",{"title":14010,"description":14326},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Foptimizing-ppc-landing-pages-for-better-performance","cK6WdlD0LkXzJzDh1CcRNos-TJUaMiuAbQJC1IlvtvU",{"id":14333,"title":14334,"author":7,"authors":14335,"body":14336,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":14580,"description":14581,"extension":318,"img":12605,"imgAlt":77,"meta":14582,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":14583,"seo":14584,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":14585,"updated":7,"__hash__":14586},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Foptimizing-your-ppc-ads-for-better-performance.md","Optimizing Your PPC Ads for Better Performance",[12108],{"type":11,"value":14337,"toc":14570},[14338,14341,14345,14348,14353,14373,14377,14380,14385,14405,14409,14412,14416,14436,14440,14443,14447,14467,14471,14474,14478,14498,14502,14505,14509,14529,14533,14536,14540,14560,14564,14567],[14,14339,14340],{},"As a CMO of a cybersecurity agency, you're no stranger to the fast-paced, ever-evolving world of digital marketing. With the rising competition in the cybersecurity space, optimizing your Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaigns is critical to staying ahead. In this article, we will dive deep into strategies and best practices that can help you achieve higher ROI, better engagement, and more qualified leads through your PPC efforts.",[81,14342,14344],{"id":14343},"understanding-the-cybersecurity-audience","Understanding the Cybersecurity Audience",[14,14346,14347],{},"Before we get into the nitty-gritty of PPC optimization, it’s crucial to understand the unique characteristics of your target audience in the cybersecurity industry. The audience here is highly technical, often consisting of IT professionals, C-level executives, and decision-makers who are skeptical of generic marketing tactics.",[14,14349,14350],{},[52,14351,14352],{},"Key Takeaways:",[46,14354,14355,14361,14367],{},[49,14356,14357,14360],{},[52,14358,14359],{},"Know Your Buyer Personas:"," Develop detailed buyer personas, focusing on their pain points, decision-making processes, and content preferences.",[49,14362,14363,14366],{},[52,14364,14365],{},"Targeting Based on Job Role and Industry:"," Utilize LinkedIn and Google Ads to target specific job roles within the cybersecurity industry.",[49,14368,14369,14372],{},[52,14370,14371],{},"Tailored Messaging:"," Customize your ad copy to address industry-specific challenges and offer solutions that resonate with their needs.",[81,14374,14376],{"id":14375},"conducting-thorough-keyword-research","Conducting Thorough Keyword Research",[14,14378,14379],{},"Keyword research is the backbone of any successful PPC campaign. In the cybersecurity sector, it’s essential to go beyond generic terms like “cybersecurity solutions” and dig into long-tail keywords that reflect the specific services your company offers.",[14,14381,14382],{},[52,14383,14384],{},"Actionable Tips:",[46,14386,14387,14393,14399],{},[49,14388,14389,14392],{},[52,14390,14391],{},"Use Industry-Specific Tools:"," Platforms like SEMrush and Ahrefs offer insights into industry-specific keywords that your competitors might be targeting.",[49,14394,14395,14398],{},[52,14396,14397],{},"Focus on Intent:"," Identify keywords that align with the buyer’s intent, such as “cybersecurity risk assessment services” or “managed detection and response.”",[49,14400,14401,14404],{},[52,14402,14403],{},"Negative Keywords:"," Implement a robust list of negative keywords to filter out irrelevant traffic, ensuring your ads are only shown to qualified leads.",[81,14406,14408],{"id":14407},"crafting-high-impact-ad-copy","Crafting High-Impact Ad Copy",[14,14410,14411],{},"Ad copy can make or break your PPC campaigns. Given the competitive nature of the cybersecurity industry, your ad copy needs to be both compelling and concise, emphasizing value propositions that set your agency apart.",[14,14413,14414],{},[52,14415,14352],{},[46,14417,14418,14424,14430],{},[49,14419,14420,14423],{},[52,14421,14422],{},"Highlight Unique Selling Points (USPs):"," Clearly state what differentiates your services from competitors—be it a patented technology, 24\u002F7 support, or a team of industry veterans.",[49,14425,14426,14429],{},[52,14427,14428],{},"Use Action-Oriented Language:"," Encourage clicks by using strong CTAs like “Schedule a Free Demo” or “Get Your Security Audit Today.”",[49,14431,14432,14435],{},[52,14433,14434],{},"Ad Extensions:"," Utilize ad extensions like site links, callouts, and structured snippets to provide additional information and increase your ad’s visibility.",[81,14437,14439],{"id":14438},"leveraging-advanced-targeting-options","Leveraging Advanced Targeting Options",[14,14441,14442],{},"Targeting the right audience is crucial in PPC, especially in a niche like cybersecurity. Using advanced targeting options can ensure your ads reach the right people at the right time.",[14,14444,14445],{},[52,14446,14384],{},[46,14448,14449,14455,14461],{},[49,14450,14451,14454],{},[52,14452,14453],{},"Remarketing:"," Implement remarketing campaigns to re-engage visitors who have interacted with your site but didn’t convert.",[49,14456,14457,14460],{},[52,14458,14459],{},"Geotargeting:"," Focus your campaigns on regions or countries where your services are most relevant or where you have a competitive advantage.",[49,14462,14463,14466],{},[52,14464,14465],{},"Device Targeting:"," Customize your ads for different devices, ensuring a seamless experience whether users are on desktop or mobile.",[81,14468,14470],{"id":14469},"optimizing-landing-pages-for-conversions","Optimizing Landing Pages for Conversions",[14,14472,14473],{},"A well-optimized landing page is vital for converting clicks into leads. Your PPC ads should lead to landing pages that are specifically designed to convert visitors into qualified leads.",[14,14475,14476],{},[52,14477,14352],{},[46,14479,14480,14486,14492],{},[49,14481,14482,14485],{},[52,14483,14484],{},"Consistency Between Ads and Landing Pages:"," Ensure that the messaging in your ads aligns with the content on your landing pages, providing a cohesive experience.",[49,14487,14488,14491],{},[52,14489,14490],{},"Clear and Concise CTAs:"," Use prominent, action-oriented CTAs like “Request a Quote” or “Download the Whitepaper” to guide users toward conversion.",[49,14493,14494,14497],{},[52,14495,14496],{},"A\u002FB Testing:"," Continuously test different landing page elements such as headlines, images, and forms to identify what drives the most conversions.",[81,14499,14501],{"id":14500},"utilizing-data-and-analytics","Utilizing Data and Analytics",[14,14503,14504],{},"Data-driven decision-making is the cornerstone of optimizing PPC campaigns. By leveraging analytics, you can refine your strategies and make informed adjustments that lead to better performance.",[14,14506,14507],{},[52,14508,14384],{},[46,14510,14511,14517,14523],{},[49,14512,14513,14516],{},[52,14514,14515],{},"Conversion Tracking:"," Set up conversion tracking to measure the effectiveness of your PPC campaigns accurately. Tools like Google Analytics can provide insights into user behavior and conversion paths.",[49,14518,14519,14522],{},[52,14520,14521],{},"Regular Performance Reviews:"," Conduct weekly or bi-weekly reviews of your PPC campaigns to assess KPIs like click-through rate (CTR), cost-per-click (CPC), and return on ad spend (ROAS).",[49,14524,14525,14528],{},[52,14526,14527],{},"Adjusting Bids and Budgets:"," Use data to make informed decisions on bid adjustments and budget allocation, focusing on high-performing keywords and ad groups.",[81,14530,14532],{"id":14531},"enhancing-your-campaigns-with-ai-and-automation","Enhancing Your Campaigns with AI and Automation",[14,14534,14535],{},"Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation are transforming the way PPC campaigns are managed. For cybersecurity marketers, these technologies can provide a competitive edge by optimizing bids, targeting, and even ad creation.",[14,14537,14538],{},[52,14539,14352],{},[46,14541,14542,14548,14554],{},[49,14543,14544,14547],{},[52,14545,14546],{},"Smart Bidding Strategies:"," Utilize Google’s smart bidding options, such as Target CPA or Target ROAS, to automatically adjust bids based on the likelihood of conversions.",[49,14549,14550,14553],{},[52,14551,14552],{},"Dynamic Search Ads:"," Leverage Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs) to automatically generate ads based on the content of your website, ensuring relevancy.",[49,14555,14556,14559],{},[52,14557,14558],{},"Automation Scripts:"," Implement automation scripts to manage tasks like pausing low-performing ads, adjusting budgets, and generating reports.",[81,14561,14563],{"id":14562},"conclusion-elevate-your-ppc-performance","Conclusion: Elevate Your PPC Performance",[14,14565,14566],{},"In the ever-competitive world of cybersecurity, optimizing your PPC campaigns is not just about getting clicks—it’s about attracting the right kind of attention and converting that into tangible business outcomes. By understanding your audience, conducting thorough keyword research, crafting compelling ad copy, and leveraging advanced targeting options, you can significantly improve your PPC performance.",[14,14568,14569],{},"If you found these insights useful, reach out to schedule a discovery call with my marketing agency today! Together, we can create PPC strategies that not only elevate your brand but also drive measurable results.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":14571},[14572,14573,14574,14575,14576,14577,14578,14579],{"id":14343,"depth":297,"text":14344},{"id":14375,"depth":297,"text":14376},{"id":14407,"depth":297,"text":14408},{"id":14438,"depth":297,"text":14439},{"id":14469,"depth":297,"text":14470},{"id":14500,"depth":297,"text":14501},{"id":14531,"depth":297,"text":14532},{"id":14562,"depth":297,"text":14563},"2024-09-03T17:05:00Z","Discover how to enhance your PPC ads for cybersecurity. Learn strategies to target the right audience, create effective ad copy, and maximize ROI.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Foptimizing-your-ppc-ads-for-better-performance",{"title":14334,"description":14581},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Foptimizing-your-ppc-ads-for-better-performance","Un0XvFG7fLtlGMcXqcVLchd9kFJH5Q7tV_bN2tO5f_c",{"id":14588,"title":14589,"author":7,"authors":14590,"body":14591,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":14827,"description":14828,"extension":318,"img":12605,"imgAlt":77,"meta":14829,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":14830,"seo":14831,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":14832,"updated":7,"__hash__":14833},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fchoosing-the-right-ppc-keywords-for-your-cybersecurity-campaign-a-comprehensive-guide.md","Choosing the Right PPC Keywords for Your Campaign",[12108],{"type":11,"value":14592,"toc":14817},[14593,14596,14600,14603,14609,14620,14624,14627,14669,14673,14676,14730,14734,14737,14778,14780,14806,14808,14811,14814],[14,14594,14595],{},"Attracting high-quality leads through pay-per-click (PPC) advertising hinges on choosing the right keywords for your campaigns. A well-planned keyword strategy can significantly impact the effectiveness of your campaigns, ensuring you reach the right audience and achieve optimal results. This guide explores how to select the best PPC keywords for cybersecurity companies, offering insights and strategies that can elevate your digital marketing efforts.",[24,14597,14599],{"id":14598},"understanding-your-audience-the-foundation-of-keyword-selection","Understanding Your Audience: The Foundation of Keyword Selection",[14,14601,14602],{},"Before diving into keyword research, it’s essential to have a deep understanding of your target audience. The cybersecurity industry is vast, encompassing everything from small businesses looking for basic antivirus solutions to large enterprises needing comprehensive threat intelligence platforms. Knowing who you’re targeting will help you select keywords that align with their needs and pain points.",[81,14604,14606],{"id":14605},"key-questions-to-consider",[52,14607,14608],{},"Key Questions to Consider:",[46,14610,14611,14614,14617],{},[49,14612,14613],{},"Who is your ideal customer? Are they SMBs, large enterprises, or specific industries like finance or healthcare?",[49,14615,14616],{},"What problems are they trying to solve? Are they concerned about compliance, data breaches, insider threats, or something else?",[49,14618,14619],{},"What language do they use? Understanding the terminology and jargon specific to your target audience can help you select keywords that resonate with them.",[81,14621,14623],{"id":14622},"types-of-keywords-broad-exact-and-long-tail","Types of Keywords: Broad, Exact, and Long-Tail",[14,14625,14626],{},"When it comes to PPC, not all keywords are created equal. Different types of keywords serve different purposes, and understanding these distinctions is crucial for building an effective campaign.",[132,14628,14629,14643,14656],{},[49,14630,14631,14634,14636,14637,14639,14642],{},[52,14632,14633],{},"Broad Keywords",[5778,14635],{},"Broad keywords are general terms that cast a wide net. For example, “cybersecurity solutions” or “network security.” While these keywords have high search volume, they can also attract clicks from users who aren’t a good fit for your services.",[5778,14638],{},[52,14640,14641],{},"Best Practice:"," Use broad keywords sparingly and in conjunction with negative keywords to filter out irrelevant traffic.",[49,14644,14645,14648,14650,14651,14653,14655],{},[52,14646,14647],{},"Exact Match Keywords",[5778,14649],{},"Exact match keywords are highly specific and only trigger ads when the search query matches the keyword exactly. These are ideal for targeting users with a clear intent to purchase or engage.",[5778,14652],{},[52,14654,14641],{}," Use exact match keywords for high-intent searches, such as “buy endpoint protection software” or “cybersecurity consulting services.”",[49,14657,14658,14661,14663,14664,14666,14668],{},[52,14659,14660],{},"Long-Tail Keywords",[5778,14662],{},"Long-tail keywords are longer phrases that are more specific and often have lower search volume. However, they typically attract more qualified leads. An example might be “best cybersecurity solutions for small businesses.”",[5778,14665],{},[52,14667,14641],{}," Focus on long-tail keywords that align with the specific needs and pain points of your target audience. These keywords are less competitive and often result in higher conversion rates.",[81,14670,14672],{"id":14671},"advanced-keyword-strategies-for-cybersecurity-campaigns","Advanced Keyword Strategies for Cybersecurity Campaigns",[14,14674,14675],{},"With a basic understanding of keyword types, it’s time to explore more advanced strategies that can elevate your PPC campaigns.",[132,14677,14678,14691,14704,14717],{},[49,14679,14680,14683,14685,14686,14688,14690],{},[52,14681,14682],{},"Competitor Keyword Analysis",[5778,14684],{},"One of the most effective ways to find high-performing keywords is by analyzing what your competitors are doing. Tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, and SpyFu allow you to see which keywords your competitors are bidding on, how much they’re spending, and which ones are driving traffic to their sites.",[5778,14687],{},[52,14689,12146],{}," Identify gaps in your competitors’ keyword strategies where you can position your brand more effectively.",[49,14692,14693,14696,14698,14699,14701,14703],{},[52,14694,14695],{},"Leveraging Negative Keywords",[5778,14697],{},"Negative keywords prevent your ads from appearing for certain search queries that are irrelevant to your business. For example, if you offer high-end cybersecurity solutions, you might want to exclude terms like “free” or “cheap” to avoid attracting users who aren’t willing to pay for premium services.",[5778,14700],{},[52,14702,12146],{}," Regularly review your search term reports to identify and add negative keywords that can save you from wasting ad spend.",[49,14705,14706,14709,14711,14712,14714,14716],{},[52,14707,14708],{},"Geo-Targeted Keywords",[5778,14710],{},"If your cybersecurity services are tailored to specific regions or countries, geo-targeted keywords can help you attract more relevant traffic. For example, “cybersecurity services in New York” or “EU GDPR compliance consulting.”",[5778,14713],{},[52,14715,12146],{}," Combine geo-targeted keywords with local ad extensions to improve your ad visibility in specific regions.",[49,14718,14719,14722,14724,14725,14727,14729],{},[52,14720,14721],{},"Seasonal and Event-Based Keywords",[5778,14723],{},"Cybersecurity needs can be influenced by seasonal trends or industry events. For instance, during tax season, there might be a surge in demand for cybersecurity services related to financial data protection. Similarly, major cybersecurity conferences or data breaches can create opportunities to target event-specific keywords.",[5778,14726],{},[52,14728,12146],{}," Monitor industry trends and events to capitalize on seasonal or event-driven keywords that can give your campaigns a timely boost.",[81,14731,14733],{"id":14732},"measuring-and-optimizing-your-keyword-performance","Measuring and Optimizing Your Keyword Performance",[14,14735,14736],{},"Keyword selection is not a one-and-done process. To ensure your PPC campaigns continue to perform well, you need to regularly measure and optimize your keyword strategy.",[132,14738,14739,14752,14765],{},[49,14740,14741,14744,14746,14747,14749,14751],{},[52,14742,14743],{},"Use A\u002FB Testing",[5778,14745],{},"A\u002FB testing allows you to compare the performance of different keywords, ad copy, and landing pages to see what resonates best with your audience.",[5778,14748],{},[52,14750,12146],{}," Start with broad tests, then narrow down to more specific variables as you gather data.",[49,14753,14754,14757,14759,14760,14762,14764],{},[52,14755,14756],{},"Monitor Quality Score",[5778,14758],{},"Google Ads assigns a Quality Score to your keywords based on their relevance, the quality of your landing page, and the expected click-through rate. A high-Quality Score can reduce your cost-per-click and improve your ad position.",[5778,14761],{},[52,14763,12146],{}," Regularly review and improve your Quality Score by refining your ad copy and ensuring that your landing pages are relevant and user-friendly.",[49,14766,14767,14770,14772,14773,14775,14777],{},[52,14768,14769],{},"Track Conversions, Not Just Clicks",[5778,14771],{},"Clicks are important, but conversions are what ultimately matter. Make sure you’re tracking the actions that users take after clicking on your ad, whether it’s filling out a contact form, downloading a whitepaper, or signing up for a webinar.",[5778,14774],{},[52,14776,12146],{}," Use Google Analytics and conversion tracking to measure the ROI of your keywords and adjust your strategy accordingly.",[81,14779,12199],{"id":12196},[46,14781,14782,14788,14794,14800],{},[49,14783,14784,14787],{},[52,14785,14786],{},"Understand Your Audience:"," Tailor your keywords to your target customers' specific needs and language.",[49,14789,14790,14793],{},[52,14791,14792],{},"Leverage Different Keyword Types:"," Use a mix of broad, exact, and long-tail keywords to capture broad interest and high-intent searches.",[49,14795,14796,14799],{},[52,14797,14798],{},"Use Advanced Strategies:"," Incorporate competitor analysis, negative keywords, geo-targeting, and seasonal keywords to optimize your campaigns.",[49,14801,14802,14805],{},[52,14803,14804],{},"Regularly Measure and Optimize:"," Continuously track your keyword performance and make data-driven adjustments to improve ROI.",[81,14807,12554],{"id":12551},[14,14809,14810],{},"Choosing the right PPC keywords for your cybersecurity campaign is both an art and a science. By understanding your audience, leveraging advanced keyword strategies, and continuously optimizing your campaigns, you can ensure that your PPC efforts drive the results your business needs.",[14,14812,14813],{},"If you found these insights useful and would like to explore how to implement them in your campaigns, please reach out to schedule a discovery call with my marketing agency today! We specialize in helping cybersecurity companies like yours achieve their marketing goals through targeted and effective PPC strategies.",[14815,14816],"hr",{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":14818},[14819],{"id":14598,"depth":291,"text":14599,"children":14820},[14821,14822,14823,14824,14825,14826],{"id":14605,"depth":297,"text":14608},{"id":14622,"depth":297,"text":14623},{"id":14671,"depth":297,"text":14672},{"id":14732,"depth":297,"text":14733},{"id":12196,"depth":297,"text":12199},{"id":12551,"depth":297,"text":12554},"2024-08-26T15:59:52Z","Discover how to choose effective PPC keywords for your cybersecurity campaign. Learn audience insights, keyword types, and strategies to optimize results.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fchoosing-the-right-ppc-keywords-for-your-cybersecurity-campaign-a-comprehensive-guide",{"title":14589,"description":14828},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fchoosing-the-right-ppc-keywords-for-your-cybersecurity-campaign-a-comprehensive-guide","KPIqGs4Ci85Mj_8pJlwgq7g6zJuHscgZP9ugjYKH4q0",{"id":14835,"title":14836,"author":7,"authors":14837,"body":14838,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":15080,"description":15081,"extension":318,"img":12605,"imgAlt":77,"meta":15082,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":15083,"seo":15084,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":15085,"updated":7,"__hash__":15086},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fthe-ultimate-guide-to-setting-up-a-successful-ppc-campaign-for-cybersecurity-agencies.md","The Ultimate Guide to Setting Up a Successful PPC Campaign",[12108],{"type":11,"value":14839,"toc":15071},[14840,14843,14847,14851,14854,14858,14861,14865,14871,14896,14902,14920,14926,14952,14958,14978,14984,15004,15010,15029,15031,15063,15065,15068],[14,14841,14842],{},"Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can be a powerful tool for cybersecurity agencies looking to attract qualified leads. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the best practices for setting up a PPC campaign, specifically tailored for cybersecurity firms. Whether you're a seasoned marketer or new to PPC, these tips and tricks will help you optimize your campaigns, maximize ROI, and stay ahead of the competition.",[24,14844,14846],{"id":14845},"understanding-the-basics-of-ppc-for-cybersecurity","Understanding the Basics of PPC for Cybersecurity",[81,14848,14850],{"id":14849},"what-is-ppc","What is PPC?",[14,14852,14853],{},"PPC, or pay-per-click, is an online advertising model where advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. It’s essentially a way of buying visits to your site rather than attempting to “earn” those visits organically.",[81,14855,14857],{"id":14856},"why-ppc-for-cybersecurity","Why PPC for Cybersecurity?",[14,14859,14860],{},"Cybersecurity services are often complex, high-value offerings that require a targeted marketing approach. PPC allows you to directly target specific audiences based on keywords, demographics, interests, and more. This precision is vital for reaching decision-makers like CTOs, CISOs, and other IT professionals who are actively seeking cybersecurity solutions.",[81,14862,14864],{"id":14863},"key-components-of-a-successful-ppc-campaign","Key Components of a Successful PPC Campaign",[5685,14866,13585,14868],{"id":14867},"_1-keyword-research-and-selection",[52,14869,14870],{},"Keyword Research and Selection",[46,14872,14873,14879,14885,14891],{},[49,14874,14875,14878],{},[52,14876,14877],{},"Identify Your Niche:"," Start by identifying the specific cybersecurity services you offer, such as penetration testing, threat intelligence, or incident response.",[49,14880,14881,14884],{},[52,14882,14883],{},"Use Keyword Tools:"," Utilize tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to find keywords with the right balance of search volume and competition.",[49,14886,14887,14890],{},[52,14888,14889],{},"Long-Tail Keywords:"," Target long-tail keywords like \"best penetration testing services for SMBs\" to attract more qualified leads with specific needs.",[49,14892,14893,14895],{},[52,14894,14403],{}," Use negative keywords to filter out irrelevant traffic, ensuring your ads are only shown to potential customers.",[5685,14897,13615,14899],{"id":14898},"_2-compelling-ad-copy",[52,14900,14901],{},"Compelling Ad Copy",[46,14903,14904,14909,14915],{},[49,14905,14906,14908],{},[52,14907,14422],{}," Clearly state what sets your cybersecurity services apart from the competition. This could be a unique technology, industry expertise, or client success stories.",[49,14910,14911,14914],{},[52,14912,14913],{},"Include a Strong Call-to-Action (CTA):"," Use action-oriented language like \"Protect Your Data Today,\" \"Get a Free Security Audit,\" or \"Schedule a Consultation Now.\"",[49,14916,14917,14919],{},[52,14918,14434],{}," Leverage ad extensions to provide additional information and increase ad visibility. Use sitelinks, callouts, and structured snippets to highlight key aspects of your services.",[5685,14921,13653,14923],{"id":14922},"_3-landing-page-optimization",[52,14924,14925],{},"Landing Page Optimization",[46,14927,14928,14934,14940,14946],{},[49,14929,14930,14933],{},[52,14931,14932],{},"Consistency is Key:"," Ensure that your landing page aligns with the ad copy and keywords. The messaging should be consistent and directly address the user's intent.",[49,14935,14936,14939],{},[52,14937,14938],{},"Clear and Concise:"," Keep the landing page content clear, concise, and focused on a single objective, such as downloading a whitepaper or scheduling a demo.",[49,14941,14942,14945],{},[52,14943,14944],{},"Fast Load Times:"," A slow landing page can lead to high bounce rates. Optimize for speed to keep visitors engaged.",[49,14947,14948,14951],{},[52,14949,14950],{},"Trust Signals:"," Include client logos, testimonials, certifications, and case studies to build trust and credibility.",[5685,14953,13691,14955],{"id":14954},"_4-bid-strategy-and-budget-management",[52,14956,14957],{},"Bid Strategy and Budget Management",[46,14959,14960,14966,14972],{},[49,14961,14962,14965],{},[52,14963,14964],{},"Set a Realistic Budget:"," Determine your budget based on the average cost-per-click (CPC) for your chosen keywords and the expected conversion rate.",[49,14967,14968,14971],{},[52,14969,14970],{},"Choose the Right Bidding Strategy:"," Depending on your goals, you can opt for strategies like manual CPC, automated bidding, or target CPA (cost per acquisition).",[49,14973,14974,14977],{},[52,14975,14976],{},"Monitor and Adjust:"," PPC is not a set-it-and-forget-it strategy. Regularly monitor your campaign performance and adjust bids to optimize for the best results.",[5685,14979,13729,14981],{"id":14980},"_5-targeting-and-retargeting",[52,14982,14983],{},"Targeting and Retargeting",[46,14985,14986,14992,14998],{},[49,14987,14988,14991],{},[52,14989,14990],{},"Demographic and Geographic Targeting:"," Use demographic and geographic targeting to reach specific segments, such as enterprises in particular regions.",[49,14993,14994,14997],{},[52,14995,14996],{},"Behavioral Targeting:"," Leverage data on user behavior to refine your targeting. This includes interests, previous interactions with your site, and more.",[49,14999,15000,15003],{},[52,15001,15002],{},"Retargeting:"," Implement retargeting campaigns to re-engage visitors who have previously interacted with your site but did not convert.",[5685,15005,13758,15007],{"id":15006},"_6-analytics-and-reporting",[52,15008,15009],{},"Analytics and Reporting",[46,15011,15012,15018,15024],{},[49,15013,15014,15017],{},[52,15015,15016],{},"Track Key Metrics:"," Keep an eye on metrics such as click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, cost per conversion, and return on ad spend (ROAS).",[49,15019,15020,15023],{},[52,15021,15022],{},"Use Conversion Tracking:"," Set up conversion tracking in Google Ads or other PPC platforms to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns.",[49,15025,15026,15028],{},[52,15027,14496],{}," Regularly conduct A\u002FB tests on ad copy, landing pages, and targeting options to continuously improve performance.",[81,15030,13976],{"id":13973},[132,15032,15033,15039,15045,15051,15057],{},[49,15034,15035,15038],{},[52,15036,15037],{},"Prioritize Quality Over Quantity:"," Focus on highly relevant keywords and targeted ads to attract quality leads rather than casting a wide net.",[49,15040,15041,15044],{},[52,15042,15043],{},"Be Specific in Your Messaging:"," Tailor your ad copy and landing pages to address the specific pain points and needs of your target audience.",[49,15046,15047,15050],{},[52,15048,15049],{},"Optimize for Mobile:"," Ensure that your ads and landing pages are mobile-friendly, as many decision-makers access information on their mobile devices.",[49,15052,15053,15056],{},[52,15054,15055],{},"Regularly Review and Adjust Campaigns:"," The digital landscape is constantly evolving. Stay proactive by regularly reviewing your campaigns and making necessary adjustments.",[49,15058,15059,15062],{},[52,15060,15061],{},"Leverage Automation:"," Use automated tools and scripts to manage bids, track performance, and optimize campaigns efficiently.",[81,15064,12554],{"id":12551},[14,15066,15067],{},"Setting up a successful PPC campaign for a cybersecurity agency requires a strategic approach, attention to detail, and ongoing optimization. By following these best practices and focusing on the unique needs of your target audience, you can drive qualified leads and grow your business.",[14,15069,15070],{},"If you found these insights useful, reach out to schedule a discovery call with our marketing agency today! Our experts are here to help you craft a tailored PPC strategy that aligns with your business goals and maximizes your ROI. Let's secure your digital future together!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":15072},[15073],{"id":14845,"depth":291,"text":14846,"children":15074},[15075,15076,15077,15078,15079],{"id":14849,"depth":297,"text":14850},{"id":14856,"depth":297,"text":14857},{"id":14863,"depth":297,"text":14864},{"id":13973,"depth":297,"text":13976},{"id":12551,"depth":297,"text":12554},"2024-08-19T16:41:38Z","Discover how to set up successful PPC campaigns for cybersecurity agencies. Target decision-makers and optimize for maximum ROI.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fthe-ultimate-guide-to-setting-up-a-successful-ppc-campaign-for-cybersecurity-agencies",{"title":14836,"description":15081},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fthe-ultimate-guide-to-setting-up-a-successful-ppc-campaign-for-cybersecurity-agencies","VOY-_y0keEks0_IeNmxebPepf0L5llpzQXa9idRidpo",{"id":15088,"title":15089,"author":7,"authors":15090,"body":15091,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":15188,"description":15189,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":77,"meta":15190,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":15191,"seo":15192,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":15193,"updated":7,"__hash__":15194},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fmastering-marketing-attribution.md","Mastering Marketing Attribution",[12108,12109,12110],{"type":11,"value":15092,"toc":15180},[15093,15096,15102,15105,15108,15114,15117,15120,15126,15129,15132,15138,15141,15144,15147,15151,15168,15172,15175,15178],[14,15094,15095],{},"For Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs), the challenge for identifying purchasing decisions lies in accurately attributing value to the myriad touchpoints that guide potential customers along their journey from awareness to purchase. A sophisticated approach to marketing attribution can significantly improve campaign effectiveness, optimize budget allocation, and ultimately drive higher returns on investment (ROI).",[24,15097,15099],{"id":15098},"the-importance-of-comprehensive-marketing-attribution",[52,15100,15101],{},"The Importance of Comprehensive Marketing Attribution",[14,15103,15104],{},"Marketing attribution isn’t just about determining which campaign or channel delivered the final click before purchase. Instead, it’s about gaining a holistic view of the customer journey. The modern cybersecurity buyer’s journey is anything but linear; it’s a dynamic process that involves multiple touchpoints across various channels. If marketing teams focus solely on first-click or last-click attribution, they risk missing out on key insights that could reveal the true value of their marketing efforts.",[14,15106,15107],{},"A well-rounded attribution model considers every interaction a potential buyer has with your brand. This means recognizing the importance of touchpoints like awareness campaigns, educational content, social media interactions, and even offline events. Each of these interactions plays a critical role in nurturing leads and guiding them down the funnel. By giving credit where it’s due, marketing teams can more accurately measure the effectiveness of their campaigns and make informed decisions about where to invest their resources.",[24,15109,15111],{"id":15110},"trustworthy-unified-data-the-foundation-of-effective-attribution",[52,15112,15113],{},"Trustworthy, Unified Data: The Foundation of Effective Attribution",[14,15115,15116],{},"To manage attribution successfully, marketing teams must start with a solid foundation: trustworthy, unified data. In the cybersecurity industry, where the stakes are high and the sales cycles are often long, having a clear understanding of which channels are driving ROI is essential. This requires integrating data from all marketing channels—online and offline—into a single, unified system.",[14,15118,15119],{},"Accurate data collection across all touchpoints ensures that marketing teams can perform the necessary analysis to understand the impact of each interaction on the buyer’s journey. When data is fragmented or inconsistent, it becomes impossible to draw reliable conclusions. Therefore, investing in the right technology and processes to ensure data accuracy and unity is a critical first step.",[24,15121,15123],{"id":15122},"the-value-of-multi-touch-attribution",[52,15124,15125],{},"The Value of Multi-Touch Attribution",[14,15127,15128],{},"Why is it important to consider multiple layers of touchpoints when measuring buyer intent? The answer lies in the complexity of the customer journey. In cybersecurity, buyers often engage with a brand through various channels, both consciously and subconsciously, before making a purchase decision. By taking all touchpoints into account, marketers can better understand the buyer’s intent and meet them with the right content at the right time.",[14,15130,15131],{},"For example, a potential buyer might first learn about your brand through a thought leadership article, then engage with an educational webinar, and finally interact with a sales representative. Each of these touchpoints contributes to building trust and guiding the buyer toward a decision. Ignoring any of these interactions could lead to a skewed understanding of what drives conversions, resulting in missed opportunities and wasted resources.",[24,15133,15135],{"id":15134},"strategies-for-engaging-key-decision-makers",[52,15136,15137],{},"Strategies for Engaging Key Decision-Makers",[14,15139,15140],{},"In the cybersecurity space, the decision-making process often involves multiple stakeholders, including those who hold the purse strings. To effectively influence these key decision-makers, it’s crucial to communicate the goals and outcomes of your marketing efforts.",[14,15142,15143],{},"One effective strategy is to leverage data-driven insights to demonstrate the value of your campaigns. For instance, by showing how an awareness campaign contributed to long-term brand recognition and influenced subsequent interactions, you can justify the investment in such initiatives, even if they don’t immediately generate leads.",[14,15145,15146],{},"Additionally, identifying and leaning on the key point of contact within the organization can help bridge the gap between marketing efforts and decision-makers. This individual can act as a champion for your brand, advocating for your solutions within their company and influencing those with buying power.",[24,15148,15149],{"id":13973},[52,15150,13976],{},[132,15152,15153,15156,15159,15162,15165],{},[49,15154,15155],{},"Embrace Multi-Touch Attribution: Move beyond first-click or last-click models and adopt a multi-touch attribution approach that accounts for the entire buyer’s journey.",[49,15157,15158],{},"Invest in Data Integration: Ensure that your data from all marketing channels is unified and trustworthy to enable accurate attribution analysis.",[49,15160,15161],{},"Understand the Buyer’s Journey: Recognize that the cybersecurity buyer’s journey is non-linear and involves multiple touchpoints. Tailor your marketing strategies to engage potential buyers at each stage of their journey.",[49,15163,15164],{},"Communicate Value to Decision-Makers: Use data-driven insights to demonstrate the effectiveness of your campaigns and influence key stakeholders.",[49,15166,15167],{},"Optimize Continuously: Attribution is not a one-time task. Continuously analyze and refine your attribution model to improve the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.",[24,15169,15170],{"id":12551},[52,15171,12554],{},[14,15173,15174],{},"In the ever-evolving world of cybersecurity, mastering marketing attribution is essential for understanding and optimizing the buyer’s journey. By taking a comprehensive approach to attribution, unifying your data, and strategically engaging key decision-makers, you can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and drive better results for your organization.",[14,15176,15177],{},"If you found these insights useful and are interested in exploring how our marketing agency can help you achieve your goals, reach out to schedule a discovery call with us today! Let’s work together to turn your marketing data into actionable strategies that drive growth and success.",[5778,15179],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":15181},[15182,15183,15184,15185,15186,15187],{"id":15098,"depth":291,"text":15101},{"id":15110,"depth":291,"text":15113},{"id":15122,"depth":291,"text":15125},{"id":15134,"depth":291,"text":15137},{"id":13973,"depth":291,"text":13976},{"id":12551,"depth":291,"text":12554},"2024-08-15T16:08:18Z","Discover how cybersecurity marketing leaders approach comprehensive attribution and engagement with key decision-makers. Read more about MKG thought leadership.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fmastering-marketing-attribution",{"title":15089,"description":15189},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fmastering-marketing-attribution","ubhSxB5jLF5t1JonC9CV3lf9T2m80BvDeGZ9TsvubH0",{"id":15196,"title":15197,"author":7,"authors":15198,"body":15199,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":15459,"description":15460,"extension":318,"img":12605,"imgAlt":77,"meta":15461,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":15462,"seo":15463,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":15464,"updated":7,"__hash__":15465},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fb2b-digital-advertising-for-cybersecurity-agencies-a-comprehensive-guide.md","B2B Digital Advertising: A Comprehensive Guide",[12108],{"type":11,"value":15200,"toc":15452},[15201,15204,15210,15213,15233,15239,15242,15248,15251,15256,15276,15282,15285,15289,15309,15315,15318,15322,15342,15348,15351,15355,15375,15381,15412,15416,15442,15446,15449],[14,15202,15203],{},"For CMOs of cybersecurity agencies, crafting a robust digital advertising strategy is crucial to gaining visibility, driving engagement, and ultimately, securing new business. This guide delves into the intricacies of B2B digital advertising specifically tailored to the cybersecurity industry, offering actionable insights and best practices.",[24,15205,15207],{"id":15206},"understanding-the-cybersecurity-market-landscape",[52,15208,15209],{},"Understanding the Cybersecurity Market Landscape",[14,15211,15212],{},"Before diving into strategies, it’s essential to grasp the unique dynamics of the cybersecurity market:",[132,15214,15215,15221,15227],{},[49,15216,15217,15220],{},[52,15218,15219],{},"High-Value, Low-Volume Audience",": Cybersecurity products and services often target a niche market, including IT decision-makers, CISOs, and security architects. The buying process is typically complex and involves multiple stakeholders.",[49,15222,15223,15226],{},[52,15224,15225],{},"Trust and Credibility",": Given the nature of the industry, potential clients prioritize trust and credibility. They seek proven expertise and reliable solutions to safeguard their digital assets.",[49,15228,15229,15232],{},[52,15230,15231],{},"Complex Buying Journeys",": The decision-making process can be lengthy, with extensive research, comparison, and internal deliberations.",[24,15234,15236],{"id":15235},"key-b2b-digital-advertising-channels",[52,15237,15238],{},"Key B2B Digital Advertising Channels",[14,15240,15241],{},"To effectively reach and engage with your target audience, a multi-channel approach is essential. Here are the primary digital advertising channels to consider:",[5685,15243,15245],{"id":15244},"_1-pay-per-click-ppc-advertising",[52,15246,15247],{},"1. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising",[14,15249,15250],{},"PPC is a cornerstone of B2B digital marketing, providing immediate visibility on search engines. For cybersecurity agencies, PPC can be particularly effective when targeting high-intent keywords.",[14,15252,15253],{},[52,15254,15255],{},"Best Practices:",[46,15257,15258,15264,15270],{},[49,15259,15260,15263],{},[52,15261,15262],{},"Target Long-Tail Keywords",": Focus on specific, less competitive keywords that indicate strong intent, such as \"enterprise firewall solutions\" or \"managed security services for banks.\"",[49,15265,15266,15269],{},[52,15267,15268],{},"Use Negative Keywords",": Exclude irrelevant searches to maximize ad spend efficiency. For instance, filter out terms like \"free\" or \"cheap\" if your services are premium.",[49,15271,15272,15275],{},[52,15273,15274],{},"Leverage Ad Extensions",": Utilize site link, callout, and structured snippet extensions to provide additional information and enhance click-through rates.",[5685,15277,15279],{"id":15278},"_2-linkedin-advertising",[52,15280,15281],{},"2. LinkedIn Advertising",[14,15283,15284],{},"LinkedIn is a powerful platform for B2B marketing, particularly in reaching decision-makers in the cybersecurity field.",[14,15286,15287],{},[52,15288,15255],{},[46,15290,15291,15297,15303],{},[49,15292,15293,15296],{},[52,15294,15295],{},"Sponsored Content and InMail",": Use sponsored content to promote thought leadership articles or whitepapers. InMail can be effective for personalized outreach.",[49,15298,15299,15302],{},[52,15300,15301],{},"Account-Based Marketing (ABM)",": Target specific companies and roles with customized messages and ads, aligning your content with their unique pain points.",[49,15304,15305,15308],{},[52,15306,15307],{},"Utilize LinkedIn Insight Tag",": This tag helps you track website visitors and create retargeting campaigns, nurturing prospects through the sales funnel.",[5685,15310,15312],{"id":15311},"_3-display-advertising-and-retargeting",[52,15313,15314],{},"3. Display Advertising and Retargeting",[14,15316,15317],{},"Display ads can help build brand awareness, while retargeting keeps your brand top-of-mind for visitors who have shown interest.",[14,15319,15320],{},[52,15321,15255],{},[46,15323,15324,15330,15336],{},[49,15325,15326,15329],{},[52,15327,15328],{},"Custom Audiences",": Create custom audiences based on website visitors, email lists, or CRM data to tailor your ads.",[49,15331,15332,15335],{},[52,15333,15334],{},"Engaging Visuals and Messaging",": Use visuals and messages that resonate with your target audience’s concerns, like data breaches or compliance issues.",[49,15337,15338,15341],{},[52,15339,15340],{},"Frequency Cap",": Set a frequency cap to avoid ad fatigue, ensuring that your audience isn’t overwhelmed with too many ads.",[5685,15343,15345],{"id":15344},"_4-content-marketing-and-native-advertising",[52,15346,15347],{},"4. Content Marketing and Native Advertising",[14,15349,15350],{},"High-quality content is crucial in cybersecurity, where educating potential clients can significantly influence their decision-making.",[14,15352,15353],{},[52,15354,15255],{},[46,15356,15357,15363,15369],{},[49,15358,15359,15362],{},[52,15360,15361],{},"Whitepapers and Case Studies",": Develop in-depth resources that demonstrate your expertise and showcase successful client outcomes.",[49,15364,15365,15368],{},[52,15366,15367],{},"Native Ads",": Place ads that blend seamlessly with the content on platforms your audience frequents, enhancing credibility.",[49,15370,15371,15374],{},[52,15372,15373],{},"SEO Integration",": Optimize content for search engines to attract organic traffic, supporting your paid efforts.",[24,15376,15378],{"id":15377},"actionable-tips-for-successful-campaigns",[52,15379,15380],{},"Actionable Tips for Successful Campaigns",[132,15382,15383,15389,15394,15400,15406],{},[49,15384,15385,15388],{},[52,15386,15387],{},"Ad Copy and Creative",": Use clear, concise, and compelling ad copy. Highlight pain points and solutions, focusing on benefits over features.",[49,15390,15391,15393],{},[52,15392,14925],{},": Ensure that landing pages are fast, mobile-friendly, and aligned with ad messaging. Include strong calls-to-action (CTAs) and trust signals like client testimonials and certifications.",[49,15395,15396,15399],{},[52,15397,15398],{},"Data-Driven Decisions",": Regularly analyze campaign performance using tools like Google Analytics and LinkedIn Insights. Adjust bids, refine targeting, and experiment with new ad formats based on data insights.",[49,15401,15402,15405],{},[52,15403,15404],{},"A\u002FB Testing",": Continuously test ad creatives, headlines, and landing pages to determine what resonates best with your audience.",[49,15407,15408,15411],{},[52,15409,15410],{},"Lead Nurturing",": Implement a lead nurturing strategy with email campaigns and remarketing to guide prospects through the buying journey.",[24,15413,15414],{"id":12196},[52,15415,12199],{},[46,15417,15418,15424,15430,15436],{},[49,15419,15420,15423],{},[52,15421,15422],{},"Precision Targeting",": Utilize platforms and tactics that allow for precise targeting of decision-makers in the cybersecurity space.",[49,15425,15426,15429],{},[52,15427,15428],{},"Content is King",": Invest in high-quality content that educates and builds trust with your audience.",[49,15431,15432,15435],{},[52,15433,15434],{},"Optimize Continuously",": Digital advertising is not a set-it-and-forget-it strategy. Regular optimization and testing are crucial for sustained success.",[49,15437,15438,15441],{},[52,15439,15440],{},"Measure and Adapt",": Use data analytics to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns and adapt strategies accordingly.",[24,15443,15444],{"id":12551},[52,15445,12554],{},[14,15447,15448],{},"B2B digital advertising for cybersecurity agencies requires a strategic approach, focusing on targeting, content quality, and continuous optimization. By leveraging the right channels and adhering to best practices, you can effectively reach and engage with decision-makers, ultimately driving business growth.",[14,15450,15451],{},"If you found these insights useful and want to explore how tailored digital advertising strategies can benefit your cybersecurity agency, reach out to schedule a discovery call with our marketing agency today! Together, we can craft a strategy that positions your brand as a leader in the cybersecurity market.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":15453},[15454,15455,15456,15457,15458],{"id":15206,"depth":291,"text":15209},{"id":15235,"depth":291,"text":15238},{"id":15377,"depth":291,"text":15380},{"id":12196,"depth":291,"text":12199},{"id":12551,"depth":291,"text":12554},"2024-08-12T17:10:46Z","Unlock B2B PPC strategies for cybersecurity agencies. Discover how to target decision-makers and optimize campaigns for growth.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fb2b-digital-advertising-for-cybersecurity-agencies-a-comprehensive-guide",{"title":15197,"description":15460},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fb2b-digital-advertising-for-cybersecurity-agencies-a-comprehensive-guide","Bcfl6KC8W-W2ZokaS7MC4kctuOBT3xCRc180C2hCYv0",{"id":15467,"title":15468,"author":7,"authors":15469,"body":15471,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":15559,"description":15560,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":77,"meta":15561,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":15562,"seo":15563,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":15564,"updated":7,"__hash__":15565},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fnavigating-international-teams-content-syndication.md","Navigating International Teams & Content Syndication",[13895,15470,12108],"Sam Ellsworth",{"type":11,"value":15472,"toc":15554},[15473,15476,15482,15505,15511,15525,15529,15546,15549,15552],[14,15474,15475],{},"Managing international teams and maximizing the impact of content syndication are key to achieving global success. This article explores effective strategies for leading international teams asynchronously and using content syndication to engage potential customers deeply.",[81,15477,15479],{"id":15478},"asynchrony-in-international-teams-building-a-cohesive-culture",[52,15480,15481],{},"Asynchrony in International Teams: Building a Cohesive Culture",[132,15483,15484,15487,15490,15493,15496,15499,15502],{},[49,15485,15486],{},"Respecting Time Differences A crucial aspect of managing international teams is acknowledging and respecting time differences. This involves scheduling overlap hours that suit all time zones and creating flexible work policies to ensure everyone feels valued and included.",[49,15488,15489],{},"Establishing Clear Communication Guidelines Solid communication is foundational for effective asynchronous collaboration. Setting clear protocols for using communication tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Loom ensures that information flows smoothly and everyone remains in sync.",[49,15491,15492],{},"Regular Check-ins and Documentation Holding regular meetings at times that suit all team members, with recordings for those who can't join live, helps maintain unity. Documenting key decisions and project updates is critical to keep everyone aligned and informed.",[49,15494,15495],{},"Cultural Sensitivity and Inclusivity Embracing cultural diversity, including recognizing holidays and customs, enriches team dynamics. Promoting an understanding of different cultural backgrounds strengthens relationships and boosts morale.",[49,15497,15498],{},"Leadership and Feedback Effective leadership is essential in disseminating core values and maintaining alignment across different regions. Continuous feedback mechanisms are vital for fostering improvement and ensuring everyone is engaged with the company's goals.",[49,15500,15501],{},"Celebrating Achievements and Team Building Despite geographical distances, it’s important to celebrate team achievements and engage in virtual team-building activities. These initiatives help reinforce connections and show appreciation for each team member's contributions.",[49,15503,15504],{},"Flexibility and Empathy Adapting to personal circumstances and allowing for schedule flexibility supports a healthy work environment. Empathy towards team members' personal needs fosters a supportive and understanding workplace.",[81,15506,15508],{"id":15507},"content-syndication-connecting-with-potential-customers",[52,15509,15510],{},"Content Syndication: Connecting with Potential Customers",[132,15512,15513,15516,15519,15522],{},[49,15514,15515],{},"Customer-Centric Messaging Effective content syndication starts with a focus on the customer’s challenges rather than the product alone. By understanding and addressing these pain points, your content becomes more engaging and relevant.",[49,15517,15518],{},"Humanizing Content Amid AI Dominance While AI enhances efficiency, maintaining a human element in content creation is crucial. Authentic, relatable content resonates more deeply with consumers, establishing trust and a genuine connection.",[49,15520,15521],{},"Utilizing Content Syndication for Deeper Connections Syndicating content across various platforms requires tailored messaging that meets the specific needs and contexts of each audience. This approach goes beyond mere content reproduction, aiming for meaningful engagement.",[49,15523,15524],{},"Creating Complex, Transformational Content at Scale This involves a strategic mix of AI and human input. Use AI for analytical tasks and trend spotting while relying on human creativity for content creation. Encourage collaboration across teams to integrate diverse perspectives and ensure quality control in content production.",[81,15526,15527],{"id":12196},[52,15528,12199],{},[46,15530,15531,15534,15537,15540,15543],{},[49,15532,15533],{},"Respect and Flexibility: Honor the diversity within your team by accommodating time differences and flexible schedules.",[49,15535,15536],{},"Clear Communication: Implement effective communication practices and maintain consistency through regular updates and documentation.",[49,15538,15539],{},"Cultural Sensitivity: Enhance team cohesion by embracing and celebrating cultural differences.",[49,15541,15542],{},"Customer-Centric Content: Shift focus towards solving customer issues with content that connects on a human level.",[49,15544,15545],{},"Strategic Content Syndication: Customize your content for different platforms to maximize impact and ensure quality.",[14,15547,15548],{},"By adopting these strategies, CMOs in the cybersecurity sector can effectively lead international teams and elevate their content marketing efforts, driving enhanced engagement and business growth.",[14,15550,15551],{},"If these strategies resonate with you, consider reaching out for a discovery call with our marketing agency. Let’s collaborate to advance your international team management and content syndication efforts, propelling your business to new heights.",[5778,15553],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":15555},[15556,15557,15558],{"id":15478,"depth":297,"text":15481},{"id":15507,"depth":297,"text":15510},{"id":12196,"depth":297,"text":12199},"2024-07-10T16:47:47Z","Discover how different cybersecurity marketing leaders navigate asynchrony in managing international teams and content syndication.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fnavigating-international-teams-content-syndication",{"title":15468,"description":15560},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fnavigating-international-teams-content-syndication","NddG1fsJcvnrUklYR12gHTx55sY4MTiIyTEP6rp-esw",{"id":15567,"title":15568,"author":7,"authors":15569,"body":15570,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":15704,"description":15705,"extension":318,"img":15706,"imgAlt":77,"meta":15707,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":15708,"seo":15709,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":15710,"updated":7,"__hash__":15711},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-seo-in-cybersecurity-content-readability.md","Optimizing SEO in Cybersecurity: Content Readability",[11776,7],{"type":11,"value":15571,"toc":15688},[15572,15578,15581,15587,15590,15596,15607,15613,15616,15622,15630,15636,15639,15645,15653,15659,15662,15668,15676,15680,15683,15686],[24,15573,15575],{"id":15574},"introduction",[52,15576,15577],{},"Introduction",[14,15579,15580],{},"When you run a cybersecurity website, ensuring your content is easy to understand is good for your readers and helps your SEO. This article will show you how to create readable and SEO-friendly content.",[24,15582,15584],{"id":15583},"make-content-easy-to-read",[52,15585,15586],{},"Make Content Easy to Read",[14,15588,15589],{},"Good content should be easy to follow and engaging. This helps readers grasp your message quickly and encourages them to read more.",[81,15591,15593],{"id":15592},"tips-for-readable-content",[52,15594,15595],{},"Tips for Readable Content:",[46,15597,15598,15601,15604],{},[49,15599,15600],{},"Use Simple Words: Avoid complex jargon unless necessary, and explain terms clearly.",[49,15602,15603],{},"Organize Well: Use headings and lists to structure your content. This helps readers skim and find what they need faster.",[49,15605,15606],{},"Add Images: Pictures, diagrams, and infographics can explain complex ideas more easily than text alone.",[24,15608,15610],{"id":15609},"better-user-experience",[52,15611,15612],{},"Better User Experience",[14,15614,15615],{},"How enjoyable your site is to use—its user experience—affects how long people stay and how much they interact with your content.",[81,15617,15619],{"id":15618},"why-user-experience-matters",[52,15620,15621],{},"Why User Experience Matters:",[46,15623,15624,15627],{},[49,15625,15626],{},"Keep Readers Engaged: Well-formatted content with visual aids keeps people interested.",[49,15628,15629],{},"Make It Easy to Navigate: Clear headings and logical organization help users find information quickly.",[24,15631,15633],{"id":15632},"keep-visitors-on-your-site-longer",[52,15634,15635],{},"Keep Visitors on Your Site Longer",[14,15637,15638],{},"The easier your content is to read, the longer people stay on your site. This means they find your content valuable and help improve your SEO.",[81,15640,15642],{"id":15641},"how-readability-affects-seo",[52,15643,15644],{},"How Readability Affects SEO:",[46,15646,15647,15650],{},[49,15648,15649],{},"Increase Dwell Time: If your site is enjoyable to read, visitors will stay longer, which search engines like Google take as a sign of good quality.",[49,15651,15652],{},"Reduce Bounce Rates: If people find your content immediately useful, they're less likely to leave quickly.",[24,15654,15656],{"id":15655},"more-shares-and-links",[52,15657,15658],{},"More Shares and Links",[14,15660,15661],{},"Readable content is more likely to be shared by readers, spreading your reach and improving your site’s credibility and SEO.",[81,15663,15665],{"id":15664},"how-sharing-helps-seo",[52,15666,15667],{},"How Sharing Helps SEO:",[46,15669,15670,15673],{},[49,15671,15672],{},"Boosts Traffic: Shares on social media can drive more people to your site.",[49,15674,15675],{},"Builds Links: When people share your content, it can lead to other sites linking back to yours, which is great for SEO.",[24,15677,15678],{"id":12551},[52,15679,12554],{},[14,15681,15682],{},"Creating content that’s easy to read is crucial for engaging your audience and boosting your SEO. By focusing on clarity, and structure, and adding helpful visuals, your cybersecurity site can attract more visitors and encourage them to stay longer.",[14,15684,15685],{},"If these tips could help improve your content and you want to discuss more strategies, contact us. We’re here to help you enhance your website’s performance.",[5778,15687],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":15689},[15690,15691,15694,15697,15700,15703],{"id":15574,"depth":291,"text":15577},{"id":15583,"depth":291,"text":15586,"children":15692},[15693],{"id":15592,"depth":297,"text":15595},{"id":15609,"depth":291,"text":15612,"children":15695},[15696],{"id":15618,"depth":297,"text":15621},{"id":15632,"depth":291,"text":15635,"children":15698},[15699],{"id":15641,"depth":297,"text":15644},{"id":15655,"depth":291,"text":15658,"children":15701},[15702],{"id":15664,"depth":297,"text":15667},{"id":12551,"depth":291,"text":12554},"2024-07-01T18:23:16Z","Discover why readability is crucial for educating users and improving accessibility. Read more of MKG’s series on SEO best practices.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fcategory-seo.webp",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-seo-in-cybersecurity-content-readability",{"title":15568,"description":15705},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-seo-in-cybersecurity-content-readability","8FgYW4tjy2M1Zhsa7rfT5hZ6yWB1ssHZo_4SyEk80eM",{"id":15713,"title":15714,"author":7,"authors":15715,"body":15716,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":15850,"description":15851,"extension":318,"img":15852,"imgAlt":77,"meta":15853,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":15854,"seo":15855,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":15856,"updated":7,"__hash__":15857},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-seo-in-cybersecurity-relevant-image-use.md","Optimizing SEO in Cybersecurity: Relevant  Image Use",[7,11776],{"type":11,"value":15717,"toc":15834},[15718,15722,15725,15731,15734,15740,15748,15754,15757,15763,15771,15777,15780,15786,15797,15803,15806,15812,15820,15826,15829,15832],[24,15719,15720],{"id":15574},[52,15721,15577],{},[14,15723,15724],{},"Images are more than just a way to make your site look good. They can also help your cybersecurity website rank better in search results and make your content more engaging. This article will show you how to use images effectively to boost your SEO.",[24,15726,15728],{"id":15727},"choose-the-right-images",[52,15729,15730],{},"Choose the Right Images",[14,15732,15733],{},"It’s important to use images that are related to your content. This helps explain your topics better and allows you to use keywords in your image descriptions, which is great for SEO.",[81,15735,15737],{"id":15736},"why-relevant-images-matter",[52,15738,15739],{},"Why Relevant Images Matter:",[46,15741,15742,15745],{},[49,15743,15744],{},"Make Content Attractive: Good images draw readers in and keep them interested.",[49,15746,15747],{},"Explain Complex Ideas: Pictures can help clarify tricky cybersecurity topics, making them easier for your audience to understand.",[24,15749,15751],{"id":15750},"make-your-site-easier-to-use-with-images",[52,15752,15753],{},"Make Your Site Easier to Use with Images",[14,15755,15756],{},"Images can make your content easier to read and more enjoyable, which makes visitors more likely to stick around.",[81,15758,15760],{"id":15759},"tips-for-better-user-experience",[52,15761,15762],{},"Tips for Better User Experience:",[46,15764,15765,15768],{},[49,15766,15767],{},"Break Up Text: Images can give readers a break from reading, which can keep them on your page longer.",[49,15769,15770],{},"Support Your Points: Use pictures to help illustrate and strengthen the points you make in your text.",[24,15772,15774],{"id":15773},"get-more-visitors-from-image-searches",[52,15775,15776],{},"Get More Visitors from Image Searches",[14,15778,15779],{},"By optimizing your images, you can attract more visitors not just from regular search results but also from image searches.",[81,15781,15783],{"id":15782},"how-to-optimize-images",[52,15784,15785],{},"How to Optimize Images:",[46,15787,15788,15791,15794],{},[49,15789,15790],{},"Use Descriptive Names: Name your images with clear, relevant terms.",[49,15792,15793],{},"Add ALT Text: Include keywords in your ALT text to help search engines understand what the image is about.",[49,15795,15796],{},"Fill Out Metadata: Adding extra details like captions and descriptions helps search engines index your images better.",[24,15798,15800],{"id":15799},"boost-your-websites-authority-with-quality-images",[52,15801,15802],{},"Boost Your Website’s Authority with Quality Images",[14,15804,15805],{},"Using high-quality images can make your website look more credible and authoritative, which helps with SEO.",[81,15807,15809],{"id":15808},"enhancing-your-sites-authority",[52,15810,15811],{},"Enhancing Your Site’s Authority:",[46,15813,15814,15817],{},[49,15815,15816],{},"Use Professional Images: High-resolution, professional images can make your content look more trustworthy.",[49,15818,15819],{},"Pair with Strong Content: Combine great images with detailed, informative text to improve your chances of ranking well in searches.",[24,15821,15822,15824],{"id":12551},[5778,15823],{},[52,15825,12554],{},[14,15827,15828],{},"Adding images to your cybersecurity content isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s a strategic move that can improve how engaging, understandable, and visible your content is. Properly chosen and optimized images can lead to better user engagement, improved search rankings, and more traffic to your site.",[14,15830,15831],{},"If you find these tips useful and want to upgrade your website’s SEO, consider contacting us for more personalized advice. We specialize in helping cybersecurity businesses enhance their online presence.",[5778,15833],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":15835},[15836,15837,15840,15843,15846,15849],{"id":15574,"depth":291,"text":15577},{"id":15727,"depth":291,"text":15730,"children":15838},[15839],{"id":15736,"depth":297,"text":15739},{"id":15750,"depth":291,"text":15753,"children":15841},[15842],{"id":15759,"depth":297,"text":15762},{"id":15773,"depth":291,"text":15776,"children":15844},[15845],{"id":15782,"depth":297,"text":15785},{"id":15799,"depth":291,"text":15802,"children":15847},[15848],{"id":15808,"depth":297,"text":15811},{"id":12551,"depth":291,"text":12554},"2024-06-25T14:12:14Z","Discover why relevant, strategic images can make your site easier to use and attractive to users. Read more of MKG’s series on SEO best practices.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fseo-predictions.webp",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-seo-in-cybersecurity-relevant-image-use",{"title":15714,"description":15851},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-seo-in-cybersecurity-relevant-image-use","sAYq9uhNj8quzrGhG9BscLCzfTyYRlm93ySYX86GbMI",{"id":15859,"title":15860,"author":7,"authors":15861,"body":15862,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":15991,"description":15992,"extension":318,"img":15706,"imgAlt":77,"meta":15993,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":15994,"seo":15995,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":15996,"updated":7,"__hash__":15997},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-seo-in-cybersecurity-strategic-internal-linking.md","Optimizing SEO in Cybersecurity: Strategic Internal Linking",[11776,7],{"type":11,"value":15863,"toc":15975},[15864,15868,15871,15877,15880,15886,15894,15900,15903,15909,15917,15923,15926,15932,15940,15946,15949,15955,15963,15967,15970,15973],[24,15865,15866],{"id":15574},[52,15867,15577],{},[14,15869,15870],{},"Internal linking—connecting your site’s pages to each other—is a simple yet powerful tool for improving your cybersecurity website’s SEO. It helps users navigate your site and strengthens your site’s standing in search results. This article explains how to use internal links effectively.",[24,15872,15874],{"id":15873},"why-internal-links-matter",[52,15875,15876],{},"Why Internal Links Matter",[14,15878,15879],{},"Internal links are crucial because they help share authority across your site and guide visitors to more of your content.",[81,15881,15883],{"id":15882},"benefits-of-internal-links",[52,15884,15885],{},"Benefits of Internal Links",[46,15887,15888,15891],{},[49,15889,15890],{},"Connect Content: Link-related articles or pages to keep readers on your site longer.",[49,15892,15893],{},"Share Authority: Links from your popular pages can help newer or less visible pages get noticed by search engines.",[24,15895,15897],{"id":15896},"better-navigation-with-internal-links",[52,15898,15899],{},"Better Navigation with Internal Links",[14,15901,15902],{},"Good internal linking makes your website easier to use, which keeps visitors happy and engaged.",[81,15904,15906],{"id":15905},"improving-site-navigation",[52,15907,15908],{},"Improving Site Navigation:",[46,15910,15911,15914],{},[49,15912,15913],{},"Easy Access: Help visitors find information quickly by linking to it from related pages.",[49,15915,15916],{},"Keep Visitors Longer: When people find more interesting content through links, they’re more likely to stick around.",[24,15918,15920],{"id":15919},"spread-ranking-power",[52,15921,15922],{},"Spread Ranking Power",[14,15924,15925],{},"By linking your pages to each other, you can help improve how they rank in search engines.",[81,15927,15929],{"id":15928},"how-to-spread-ranking-power",[52,15930,15931],{},"How to Spread Ranking Power:",[46,15933,15934,15937],{},[49,15935,15936],{},"Link High to Low: Use links from your stronger pages to boost your newer or weaker pages.",[49,15938,15939],{},"Faster Indexing: Internal links help search engines find and list your pages quicker, improving your site’s visibility.",[24,15941,15943],{"id":15942},"strengthen-keywords-and-relevance",[52,15944,15945],{},"Strengthen Keywords and Relevance",[14,15947,15948],{},"Internal links are also great for highlighting your key topics and associated keywords.",[81,15950,15952],{"id":15951},"tips-for-using-keywords-in-links",[52,15953,15954],{},"Tips for Using Keywords in Links:",[46,15956,15957,15960],{},[49,15958,15959],{},"Use Descriptive Text: When you link, use words that describe the linked page’s content, especially your target keywords.",[49,15961,15962],{},"Build Topic Authority: Linking pages on similar topics tells search engines that you have a lot of good content on those topics, which can help your rankings.",[24,15964,15965],{"id":12551},[52,15966,12554],{},[14,15968,15969],{},"Using internal links wisely can transform how visitors and search engines see your cybersecurity website. It’s a straightforward technique that can lead to big improvements in how users interact with your site and how it performs in search results.",[14,15971,15972],{},"If these tips have been useful and you're thinking about enhancing your website’s SEO, reach out to discuss more strategies. We're here to help you get the best results from your digital marketing efforts.",[5778,15974],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":15976},[15977,15978,15981,15984,15987,15990],{"id":15574,"depth":291,"text":15577},{"id":15873,"depth":291,"text":15876,"children":15979},[15980],{"id":15882,"depth":297,"text":15885},{"id":15896,"depth":291,"text":15899,"children":15982},[15983],{"id":15905,"depth":297,"text":15908},{"id":15919,"depth":291,"text":15922,"children":15985},[15986],{"id":15928,"depth":297,"text":15931},{"id":15942,"depth":291,"text":15945,"children":15988},[15989],{"id":15951,"depth":297,"text":15954},{"id":12551,"depth":291,"text":12554},"2024-06-18T15:25:12Z","Discover how incorporating strategic internal linking can build site authority and improve user navigation. Read more of MKG’s series on SEO best practices.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-seo-in-cybersecurity-strategic-internal-linking",{"title":15860,"description":15992},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-seo-in-cybersecurity-strategic-internal-linking","jiW6k7TuhWzlkCgbx20SdeC5OeeL6yaTqMb1McOtFps",{"id":15999,"title":16000,"author":7,"authors":16001,"body":16002,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":16080,"description":16081,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":77,"meta":16082,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":16083,"seo":16084,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":16085,"updated":7,"__hash__":16086},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Ftailored-mofu-messaging-in-cybersecurity.md","Tailored MOFU Messaging in Cybersecurity",[12108,12109,7],{"type":11,"value":16003,"toc":16071},[16004,16007,16011,16014,16018,16021,16025,16028,16032,16035,16039,16042,16044,16061,16063,16066,16069],[14,16005,16006],{},"In the dynamic arena of cybersecurity, the effectiveness of your communication can be the deciding factor in your marketing strategy's success. Understanding how to articulate the value of your products is essential for any marketing leader in the cybersecurity field. Here’s our take on refining your messaging to make a substantial impact.",[81,16008,16010],{"id":16009},"understanding-the-pain-points","Understanding the Pain Points",[14,16012,16013],{},"A fundamental aspect of crafting effective messages is directly addressing the specific challenges your potential customers face. By identifying these challenges and explicitly tailoring your messages to address them, you position your product as the ideal solution. This strategy not only grabs attention but also builds trust, illustrating that you understand their issues and are prepared to provide the necessary solutions.",[81,16015,16017],{"id":16016},"adapting-to-stakeholders","Adapting to Stakeholders",[14,16019,16020],{},"Every stakeholder group has distinct concerns and priorities. It's crucial to tailor your messaging to align with each group's needs. For instance, technical decision-makers may prioritize the specifics of your solution's features and capabilities, whereas C-suite executives might focus more on strategic benefits and ROI. Adjusting your tone, style, and content to suit each segment—considering factors like emotional appeal, formality, and cultural context—ensures your message resonates well across the board.",[81,16022,16024],{"id":16023},"creating-a-personalized-emotional-hook","Creating a Personalized, Emotional Hook",[14,16026,16027],{},"Engaging your audience on a deeper, more personal level involves creating a connection that goes beyond mere facts. Utilizing empathy, actively listening to their needs, and sharing relatable success stories can significantly enhance this connection. This approach not only shows that you genuinely understand and care about their challenges but also helps build a credible and emotionally resonant narrative.",[81,16029,16031],{"id":16030},"selling-the-outcome","Selling the Outcome",[14,16033,16034],{},"It’s important to focus on the results and benefits that your product delivers. Effective messaging should highlight tangible outcomes, backed by clear value propositions and evidence of success. Including real-world examples, specific metrics, and testimonials can substantiate your claims, while ROI calculators and tailored use cases demonstrate the practical benefits and financial advantages of your solutions.",[81,16036,16038],{"id":16037},"addressing-the-challenges-of-11-abm","Addressing the Challenges of 1:1 ABM",[14,16040,16041],{},"Although 1:1 Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is a powerful approach, it presents specific challenges, particularly concerning costs. Overcoming these involves a strategic allocation of resources and ongoing optimization of your strategies, focusing on high-value accounts and utilizing analytics to refine and measure campaign effectiveness.",[81,16043,12199],{"id":12196},[46,16045,16046,16049,16052,16055,16058],{},[49,16047,16048],{},"Identify and Address Pain Points: Directly engage with the issues your audience faces.",[49,16050,16051],{},"Tailor Messaging for Stakeholders: Customize your approach to meet the needs of different audience segments.",[49,16053,16054],{},"Create Emotional Hooks: Forge deeper connections through empathy and shared experiences.",[49,16056,16057],{},"Sell the Outcome: Emphasize the real-world benefits and successes of your solutions.",[49,16059,16060],{},"Optimize 1:1 ABM: Allocate resources wisely and continuously adapt your strategies based on performance data.",[81,16062,12554],{"id":12551},[14,16064,16065],{},"Creating messages that resonate with your target audience is a pivotal element of a successful marketing strategy in cybersecurity. By addressing pain points, adapting messaging for various stakeholders, crafting personalized emotional hooks, and focusing on desired outcomes, you can significantly boost the effectiveness of your communications.",[14,16067,16068],{},"If these insights resonate with you, we invite you to schedule a discovery call with our team. Let’s collaborate to advance your cybersecurity marketing strategy and achieve greater success.",[5778,16070],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":16072},[16073,16074,16075,16076,16077,16078,16079],{"id":16009,"depth":297,"text":16010},{"id":16016,"depth":297,"text":16017},{"id":16023,"depth":297,"text":16024},{"id":16030,"depth":297,"text":16031},{"id":16037,"depth":297,"text":16038},{"id":12196,"depth":297,"text":12199},{"id":12551,"depth":297,"text":12554},"2024-06-12T13:38:23Z","Discover how different cybersecurity marketing leaders have crafted ‘why’ messaging for their middle of the funnel audiences.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Ftailored-mofu-messaging-in-cybersecurity",{"title":16000,"description":16081},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Ftailored-mofu-messaging-in-cybersecurity","JRWQ2H9fS3ikWMZCqG-WIZqufPUJ6qgClR2DkUXIuiE",{"id":16088,"title":16089,"author":7,"authors":16090,"body":16091,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":16223,"description":16224,"extension":318,"img":15706,"imgAlt":77,"meta":16225,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":16226,"seo":16227,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":16228,"updated":7,"__hash__":16229},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-seo-in-cybersecurity-captivating-introductions.md","Optimizing SEO in Cybersecurity: Captivating Introductions",[11776,7],{"type":11,"value":16092,"toc":16207},[16093,16097,16100,16106,16109,16114,16122,16128,16131,16137,16145,16151,16154,16158,16166,16172,16175,16181,16189,16193,16196,16199],[24,16094,16095],{"id":15574},[52,16096,15577],{},[14,16098,16099],{},"If you run a cybersecurity website, the first paragraph of your articles is crucial. It needs to grab attention and contain the right keywords to help your SEO. This guide will explain how to craft introductions that are not only engaging but also boost your site’s visibility on search engines.",[24,16101,16103],{"id":16102},"crafting-engaging-introductions",[52,16104,16105],{},"Crafting Engaging Introductions",[14,16107,16108],{},"Your introduction should quickly summarize the content and include important keywords. This helps search engines understand what your page is about and shows readers they’ve found what they’re looking for.",[81,16110,16111],{"id":6123},[52,16112,16113],{},"Why This Matters:",[46,16115,16116,16119],{},[49,16117,16118],{},"Boost SEO: Using keywords early helps search engines see your page as relevant.",[49,16120,16121],{},"Grab Attention: A strong start makes readers want to keep reading.",[24,16123,16125],{"id":16124},"enhancing-visibility",[52,16126,16127],{},"Enhancing Visibility",[14,16129,16130],{},"A good introduction makes it clear your page is relevant to the search query, which can help it show up higher in search results.",[81,16132,16134],{"id":16133},"how-to-do-it",[52,16135,16136],{},"How to Do It:",[46,16138,16139,16142],{},[49,16140,16141],{},"Use Keywords Wisely: Place your main keyword in the first few sentences.",[49,16143,16144],{},"Outline the Content: Give readers a quick preview of what they’ll learn, matching what they're searching for.",[24,16146,16148],{"id":16147},"improving-user-experience",[52,16149,16150],{},"Improving User Experience",[14,16152,16153],{},"The clearer your introduction, the easier it is for readers to understand what your page is about. This keeps them on your site longer.",[81,16155,16156],{"id":15759},[52,16157,15762],{},[46,16159,16160,16163],{},[49,16161,16162],{},"Set Clear Expectations: Tell readers exactly what the article covers.",[49,16164,16165],{},"Engage Quickly: Start with interesting facts or questions to keep readers interested.",[24,16167,16169],{"id":16168},"establishing-your-sites-credibility",[52,16170,16171],{},"Establishing Your Site’s Credibility",[14,16173,16174],{},"Regularly appearing in search results with well-written content builds trust and shows you’re a reliable source of information.",[81,16176,16178],{"id":16177},"building-trust",[52,16179,16180],{},"Building Trust:",[46,16182,16183,16186],{},[49,16184,16185],{},"Demonstrate Expertise: Use the introduction to show your knowledge.",[49,16187,16188],{},"Consistent Quality: Being consistently good in your articles helps people trust your site more.",[24,16190,16191],{"id":12551},[52,16192,12554],{},[14,16194,16195],{},"Great introductions are key to getting both readers and search engines to love your cybersecurity website. They help with SEO and make sure people stick around to read more.",[14,16197,16198],{},"If these tips have been helpful and you want to boost your website even more, consider getting in touch with us. We specialize in SEO strategies for cybersecurity companies and would love to help you succeed.",[14,16200,16201,16203,16205],{},[5778,16202],{},[5778,16204],{},[5778,16206],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":16208},[16209,16210,16213,16216,16219,16222],{"id":15574,"depth":291,"text":15577},{"id":16102,"depth":291,"text":16105,"children":16211},[16212],{"id":6123,"depth":297,"text":16113},{"id":16124,"depth":291,"text":16127,"children":16214},[16215],{"id":16133,"depth":297,"text":16136},{"id":16147,"depth":291,"text":16150,"children":16217},[16218],{"id":15759,"depth":297,"text":15762},{"id":16168,"depth":291,"text":16171,"children":16220},[16221],{"id":16177,"depth":297,"text":16180},{"id":12551,"depth":291,"text":12554},"2024-06-11T14:51:02Z","Discover how to build trust and improve user experience through captivating introduction paragraphs. Read more of MKG’s series on SEO best practices.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-seo-in-cybersecurity-captivating-introductions",{"title":16089,"description":16224},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-seo-in-cybersecurity-captivating-introductions","fdKIaseyXinMf4takpD_aFMHzxAMpJnHFv8WveZWf0c",{"id":16231,"title":16232,"author":7,"authors":16233,"body":16234,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":16369,"description":16370,"extension":318,"img":15852,"imgAlt":77,"meta":16371,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":16372,"seo":16373,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":16374,"updated":7,"__hash__":16375},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-seo-in-cybersecurity-smart-headers.md","Optimizing SEO in Cybersecurity: Smart Headers",[11776,7],{"type":11,"value":16235,"toc":16353},[16236,16240,16243,16249,16252,16258,16266,16272,16275,16281,16292,16298,16301,16307,16315,16321,16324,16330,16341,16345,16348,16351],[24,16237,16238],{"id":15574},[52,16239,15577],{},[14,16241,16242],{},"Effective headers on your website can make a big difference in how both people and search engines view your pages. This guide will show you how to use headers to make your content easier to read and better ranked in search engines.",[24,16244,16246],{"id":16245},"why-headers-matter",[52,16247,16248],{},"Why Headers Matter",[14,16250,16251],{},"Headers help organize your content and get the attention of search engines by using keywords effectively.",[81,16253,16255],{"id":16254},"tips-for-using-headers",[52,16256,16257],{},"Tips for Using Headers:",[46,16259,16260,16263],{},[49,16261,16262],{},"Use Main Keywords: Include your most important keywords in headers to improve search rankings.",[49,16264,16265],{},"Organize Your Content: Headers (like H1, H2, H3) help break your content into sections that are easy to navigate.",[24,16267,16269],{"id":16268},"make-your-site-easier-to-read",[52,16270,16271],{},"Make Your Site Easier to Read",[14,16273,16274],{},"Clear headers can make your website easier to scan and understand.",[81,16276,16278],{"id":16277},"benefits-of-clear-headers",[52,16279,16280],{},"Benefits of Clear Headers:",[46,16282,16283,16286,16289],{},[49,16284,16285],{},"Quick Scanning: Visitors can find what they need faster.",[49,16287,16288],{},"Keep Visitors Longer: Well-organized content helps reduce the number of people leaving your site quickly.",[49,16290,16291],{},"Happy Visitors: Easy-to-find information leads to happier visitors and possibly more customers.",[24,16293,16295],{"id":16294},"boost-seo-with-keywords-in-headers",[52,16296,16297],{},"Boost SEO with Keywords in Headers",[14,16299,16300],{},"Putting keywords in your headers is key to showing search engines what your content is about.",[81,16302,16304],{"id":16303},"how-keywords-help",[52,16305,16306],{},"How Keywords Help:",[46,16308,16309,16312],{},[49,16310,16311],{},"Better Rankings: Keywords in headers help match your content with what people are searching for.",[49,16313,16314],{},"Get Featured in Search Results: Good headers can help your content show up in special search results like snippets, which are more noticeable.",[24,16316,16318],{"id":16317},"how-to-use-headers-for-better-visibility",[52,16319,16320],{},"How to Use Headers for Better Visibility",[14,16322,16323],{},"Search engines use headers to pick content for snippets, which appear at the top of search results.",[81,16325,16327],{"id":16326},"getting-into-snippets",[52,16328,16329],{},"Getting Into Snippets:",[46,16331,16332,16335,16338],{},[49,16333,16334],{},"Be Informative: Make sure your headers clearly describe what follows.",[49,16336,16337],{},"Ask Questions: Use headers to pose common questions that your audience might search for.",[49,16339,16340],{},"Give Straight Answers: Provide clear answers right after your headers to increase your chances of being featured in search results.",[24,16342,16343],{"id":12551},[52,16344,12554],{},[14,16346,16347],{},"Using headers wisely can greatly improve your cybersecurity website’s readability and search rankings. It’s an easy step that can bring big benefits.",[14,16349,16350],{},"If you think these tips could help you and you’re interested in more strategies, contact us to talk more about your needs. We’re here to help you get the most out of your digital marketing efforts.",[5778,16352],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":16354},[16355,16356,16359,16362,16365,16368],{"id":15574,"depth":291,"text":15577},{"id":16245,"depth":291,"text":16248,"children":16357},[16358],{"id":16254,"depth":297,"text":16257},{"id":16268,"depth":291,"text":16271,"children":16360},[16361],{"id":16277,"depth":297,"text":16280},{"id":16294,"depth":291,"text":16297,"children":16363},[16364],{"id":16303,"depth":297,"text":16306},{"id":16317,"depth":291,"text":16320,"children":16366},[16367],{"id":16326,"depth":297,"text":16329},{"id":12551,"depth":291,"text":12554},"2024-06-03T16:52:12Z","Discover how writing smart headers helps users and search engines consume your helpful content.  Read more of MKG’s series on SEO best practices.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-seo-in-cybersecurity-smart-headers",{"title":16232,"description":16370},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-seo-in-cybersecurity-smart-headers","Ou8MbUsd5g4tZP__Xap_QmrGUGHlONyqh-fNyR8LQD0",{"id":16377,"title":16378,"author":7,"authors":16379,"body":16380,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":16511,"description":16512,"extension":318,"img":15706,"imgAlt":77,"meta":16513,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":16514,"seo":16515,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":16516,"updated":7,"__hash__":16517},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-seo-in-cybersecurity-powerful-meta-descriptions.md","Optimizing SEO in Cybersecurity: Powerful Meta Descriptions",[11776,7],{"type":11,"value":16381,"toc":16495},[16382,16386,16389,16395,16398,16404,16412,16418,16421,16427,16435,16441,16444,16450,16458,16464,16467,16473,16483,16487,16490,16493],[24,16383,16384],{"id":15574},[52,16385,15577],{},[14,16387,16388],{},"Meta descriptions are a key tool for any cybersecurity business looking to stand out online. These summaries appear under your webpage title in search results and can make a big difference in whether someone clicks on your link. This article explains creating meta descriptions that grab attention and get clicks.",[24,16390,16392],{"id":16391},"create-meta-descriptions-that-inspire-action",[52,16393,16394],{},"Create Meta Descriptions That Inspire Action",[14,16396,16397],{},"A good meta description makes someone want to read more. It's your chance to show what's special about your content right from the search results.",[81,16399,16401],{"id":16400},"tips-for-writing-meta-descriptions",[52,16402,16403],{},"Tips for Writing Meta Descriptions:",[46,16405,16406,16409],{},[49,16407,16408],{},"Use Action Words: Phrases like \"Learn more,\" \"Discover,\" or \"Get started\" invite people to click.",[49,16410,16411],{},"Highlight Benefits: Quickly tell what someone will gain by visiting your page, whether it's helpful tips, important insights, or an exclusive offer.",[24,16413,16415],{"id":16414},"boost-your-click-through-rates-ctr",[52,16416,16417],{},"Boost Your Click-Through Rates (CTR)",[14,16419,16420],{},"Meta descriptions help improve how often people decide to click on your site instead of others in the search results.",[81,16422,16424],{"id":16423},"how-to-get-more-clicks",[52,16425,16426],{},"How to Get More Clicks:",[46,16428,16429,16432],{},[49,16430,16431],{},"Summarize Your Page: Give a clear, attractive preview of what's on your page.",[49,16433,16434],{},"Meet User Needs: Write descriptions that answer the questions or solve the problems that led someone to search in the first place.",[24,16436,16438],{"id":16437},"increase-user-engagement",[52,16439,16440],{},"Increase User Engagement",[14,16442,16443],{},"Well-written meta descriptions do more than just improve clicks; they also prepare visitors for what to expect on your site, which can make them more likely to stick around.",[81,16445,16447],{"id":16446},"tips-for-better-engagement",[52,16448,16449],{},"Tips for Better Engagement:",[46,16451,16452,16455],{},[49,16453,16454],{},"Be Honest: Make sure your meta description accurately reflects the content of the page.",[49,16456,16457],{},"Draw Them In: Use lively, interesting language that makes people want to learn more.",[24,16459,16461],{"id":16460},"strengthen-your-brand",[52,16462,16463],{},"Strengthen Your Brand",[14,16465,16466],{},"Consistent use of your brand’s voice and key messages in your meta descriptions can help people recognize and trust your brand.",[81,16468,16470],{"id":16469},"building-your-brand-with-meta-descriptions",[52,16471,16472],{},"Building Your Brand with Meta Descriptions:",[46,16474,16475,16478],{},[49,16476,16477],{},"Keep It Consistent: Use a similar tone and style in all your meta descriptions to help people recognize your brand.",[49,16479,16480,16481,7000],{},"Promote What Makes You Unique: Clearly state what sets your cybersecurity solutions apart from others.",[5778,16482],{},[24,16484,16485],{"id":12551},[52,16486,12554],{},[14,16488,16489],{},"Crafting effective meta descriptions is a powerful way to improve your cybersecurity firm’s online presence. By focusing on creating engaging, informative summaries, you can increase clicks, attract more visitors, and enhance brand recognition.",[14,16491,16492],{},"If you’re looking to enhance your digital strategy and want expert advice, feel free to reach out. We’re here to help you get the most out of your online efforts.",[5778,16494],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":16496},[16497,16498,16501,16504,16507,16510],{"id":15574,"depth":291,"text":15577},{"id":16391,"depth":291,"text":16394,"children":16499},[16500],{"id":16400,"depth":297,"text":16403},{"id":16414,"depth":291,"text":16417,"children":16502},[16503],{"id":16423,"depth":297,"text":16426},{"id":16437,"depth":291,"text":16440,"children":16505},[16506],{"id":16446,"depth":297,"text":16449},{"id":16460,"depth":291,"text":16463,"children":16508},[16509],{"id":16469,"depth":297,"text":16472},{"id":12551,"depth":291,"text":12554},"2024-05-29T14:36:09Z","Discover how to enhance your cybersecurity SEO through attention-grabbing meta descriptions.  Read more of MKG’s series on SEO best practices.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-seo-in-cybersecurity-powerful-meta-descriptions",{"title":16378,"description":16512},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-seo-in-cybersecurity-powerful-meta-descriptions","lMVtCKgLBoDRqVXXXFjnGE37usO5RqGxWJeM9zfU9lI",{"id":16519,"title":16520,"author":7,"authors":16521,"body":16525,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":16594,"description":16595,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":77,"meta":16596,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":16597,"seo":16598,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":16599,"updated":7,"__hash__":16600},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fchanging-funnels-in-cybersecurity-marketing.md","Changing Funnels in Cybersecurity Marketing",[16522,16523,16524],"Nick Bare "," Cansu Ozen","Leigh Snyder ",{"type":11,"value":16526,"toc":16587},[16527,16530,16536,16539,16542,16548,16551,16557,16560,16564,16578,16582,16585],[14,16528,16529],{},"In the ever-evolving realm of marketing, traditional models such as the sales funnel are continually being questioned and reassessed. This is particularly true in sectors like cybersecurity, where the rapid pace of technological and market changes demands an adaptive approach. Based on insights from three marketing professionals, this article delves into the relevance of traditional marketing funnels, the challenges of internal communication within large organizations, and the impacts on relationships with third-party vendors and partnering agencies.",[81,16531,16533],{"id":16532},"the-changing-dynamics-of-the-marketing-funnel",[52,16534,16535],{},"The Changing Dynamics of the Marketing Funnel",[14,16537,16538],{},"The traditional sales funnel model, characterized by a linear progression from awareness to purchase, is no longer a standalone strategy in today's complex digital landscape. Instead, the journey has become less predictable and more circular, resembling a flywheel where customers can enter various stages and remain engaged in a continuous loop of interaction, influence, and decision-making. The funnel seems elongated due to the vast availability of similar services and products, prompting customers to engage in extensive research and price comparisons.",[14,16540,16541],{},"For cybersecurity firms, where trust and reliability are paramount, understanding where and how potential clients engage with your content is crucial. Leveraging tools that track and attribute client interactions across this journey can provide invaluable insights, helping marketers refine strategies and better align with customer behaviors.",[81,16543,16545],{"id":16544},"enhancing-internal-communication-within-large-organizations",[52,16546,16547],{},"Enhancing Internal Communication within Large Organizations",[14,16549,16550],{},"Effective communication within large, geographically dispersed teams remains a challenge, yet it is crucial for operational efficiency and project success. Tools like Asana play a pivotal role by centralizing project details, collaboration, and communication. However, the human element—embodied by roles like account managers and project managers—cannot be understated. These professionals act as essential conduits between different teams and departments, ensuring that specialized groups can focus on their expertise while staying aligned with broader company goals.",[81,16552,16554],{"id":16553},"impact-on-external-relationships",[52,16555,16556],{},"Impact on External Relationships",[14,16558,16559],{},"The breakdown in internal communication can significantly affect a company's relationships with external partners, such as third-party vendors and marketing agencies. Inadequate communication can lead to misunderstandings, delayed projects, and a general decrease in the effectiveness of collaborative efforts. Companies must invest in robust communication systems and technologies, ensuring that all parties are consistently aligned and informed.",[81,16561,16562],{"id":13973},[52,16563,13976],{},[132,16565,16566,16569,16572,16575],{},[49,16567,16568],{},"Adopt a Hybrid Marketing Model: Integrate the flywheel approach with traditional funnel elements to create a more dynamic and responsive marketing strategy.",[49,16570,16571],{},"Invest in Technology: Utilize comprehensive project management and communication tools to keep internal teams and external partners in sync.",[49,16573,16574],{},"Empower Your Intermediaries: Strengthen the roles of account and project managers to facilitate better communication and project coherence across departments.",[49,16576,16577],{},"Focus on Attribution: Implement advanced analytics to understand customer interactions and refine marketing strategies accordingly.",[81,16579,16580],{"id":12551},[52,16581,12554],{},[14,16583,16584],{},"In the complex and fast-paced world of cybersecurity marketing, understanding the shift from traditional funnels to more dynamic models is crucial. By embracing new methodologies and enhancing internal communication, cybersecurity firms can not only stay ahead in a competitive market but also build lasting relationships with clients and partners. Suppose these insights resonate with you and you want to explore how our digital marketing agency can help enhance your cybersecurity firm's marketing strategies. In that case, we invite you to reach out for a discovery call today. Let's navigate these challenges together and establish your firm as a thought leader in the cybersecurity space.",[5778,16586],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":16588},[16589,16590,16591,16592,16593],{"id":16532,"depth":297,"text":16535},{"id":16544,"depth":297,"text":16547},{"id":16553,"depth":297,"text":16556},{"id":13973,"depth":297,"text":13976},{"id":12551,"depth":297,"text":12554},"2024-05-02T19:36:30Z","Discover how different tech marketing leaders, who are a part of the MKG VIP community, are changing the traditional funnels in cybersecurity. ",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fchanging-funnels-in-cybersecurity-marketing",{"title":16520,"description":16595},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fchanging-funnels-in-cybersecurity-marketing","8DLq90la4lza4Aipxl7QV823XE3y3kPNPMPVUZVB12M",{"id":16602,"title":16603,"author":7,"authors":16604,"body":16605,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":16729,"description":16730,"extension":318,"img":15706,"imgAlt":77,"meta":16731,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":16732,"seo":16733,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":16734,"updated":7,"__hash__":16735},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-seo-in-cybersecurity-effective-title-tags.md","Optimizing SEO in Cybersecurity -  Effective Title Tags",[11776,7],{"type":11,"value":16606,"toc":16716},[16607,16611,16614,16620,16623,16629,16637,16643,16646,16652,16660,16666,16669,16675,16683,16689,16692,16698,16706,16710,16713],[24,16608,16609],{"id":15574},[52,16610,15577],{},[14,16612,16613],{},"Creating effective title tags is essential for any digital marketing strategy, especially in cybersecurity. A good title tag helps search engines understand your content and draws in potential clients. Here’s a straightforward guide on how to make your title tags work harder for your business.",[81,16615,16617],{"id":16616},"why-focused-title-tags-matter",[52,16618,16619],{},"Why Focused Title Tags Matter",[14,16621,16622],{},"A focused title tag is like a quick introduction. It should be closely related to the content on your page and include the main keywords you want to rank for. This helps your page show up in the right search results.",[81,16624,16626],{"id":16625},"key-points",[52,16627,16628],{},"Key Points:",[46,16630,16631,16634],{},[49,16632,16633],{},"Stay Relevant: Your title tag should match the content on the page.",[49,16635,16636],{},"Use Keywords: Include important keywords to improve how visible your page is in searches.",[81,16638,16640],{"id":16639},"best-practices-for-seo-effective-title-tags",[52,16641,16642],{},"Best Practices for SEO-Effective Title Tags",[14,16644,16645],{},"Title tags are important for search engine optimization (SEO). They tell search engines what your page is about and help your page show up in search results.",[81,16647,16649],{"id":16648},"easy-tips",[52,16650,16651],{},"Easy Tips:",[46,16653,16654,16657],{},[49,16655,16656],{},"Find the Right Keywords: Look for keywords that match what your content is about and what people are searching for.",[49,16658,16659],{},"Keep it Clear and Short: Write clear, descriptive title tags that tell what the page is about. Keep them under 60 characters so they don’t get cut off in search results.",[81,16661,16663],{"id":16662},"make-title-tags-better-for-users",[52,16664,16665],{},"Make Title Tags Better for Users",[14,16667,16668],{},"Your title tag is the first thing people see in search results, so make it count. It should encourage people to click and read more.",[81,16670,16672],{"id":16671},"how-to-draw-readers",[52,16673,16674],{},"How to Draw Readers:",[46,16676,16677,16680],{},[49,16678,16679],{},"Be Direct and Interesting: Use strong words and make it exciting to get more clicks.",[49,16681,16682],{},"Show What’s Special: Tell readers right away what they’ll get from reading your page.",[81,16684,16686],{"id":16685},"increase-brand-awareness-with-title-tags",[52,16687,16688],{},"Increase Brand Awareness with Title Tags",[14,16690,16691],{},"Using your brand name in title tags can help people easily recognize your business. It also helps you look consistent across different online platforms.",[81,16693,16695],{"id":16694},"branding-tips",[52,16696,16697],{},"Branding Tips:",[46,16699,16700,16703],{},[49,16701,16702],{},"Add Your Brand Name: Put your brand at the end of the title tag so people start to recognize it.",[49,16704,16705],{},"Stay Consistent: Use the same style in your title tags to make your brand feel familiar and reliable.",[81,16707,16708],{"id":12551},[52,16709,12554],{},[14,16711,16712],{},"For CMOs in cybersecurity, understanding how to craft effective title tags is crucial. Good title tags improve your SEO and make a strong first impression. With these tips, you can attract more visitors and turn them into customers.",[14,16714,16715],{},"If these tips helped you and you’re looking for more ways to boost your online presence, contact us to schedule a discovery call today. We’re experts in making SEO work for cybersecurity businesses.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":16717},[16718],{"id":15574,"depth":291,"text":15577,"children":16719},[16720,16721,16722,16723,16724,16725,16726,16727,16728],{"id":16616,"depth":297,"text":16619},{"id":16625,"depth":297,"text":16628},{"id":16639,"depth":297,"text":16642},{"id":16648,"depth":297,"text":16651},{"id":16662,"depth":297,"text":16665},{"id":16671,"depth":297,"text":16674},{"id":16685,"depth":297,"text":16688},{"id":16694,"depth":297,"text":16697},{"id":12551,"depth":297,"text":12554},"2024-04-29T16:40:00Z","Discover how effectively optimizing title tags will boost organic performance and entice users. Read more of MKG’s series on SEO best practices.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-seo-in-cybersecurity-effective-title-tags",{"title":16603,"description":16730},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-seo-in-cybersecurity-effective-title-tags","FdjsIF04BnVZWaIvIy1CWKIpKIhzwK6rCnJKnox1tEs",{"id":16737,"title":16738,"author":7,"authors":16739,"body":16740,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":17163,"description":17164,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":77,"meta":17165,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":17166,"seo":17167,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":17168,"updated":7,"__hash__":17169},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fcontent-connections-conversions-the-b2b-marketer-s-powerhouse-trio.md","The B2B Marketer's Powerhouse Trio",[9],{"type":11,"value":16741,"toc":17157},[16742,16748,16751,16757,16765,16771,16777,16783,16793,16801,16804,16807,16810,16813,16816,16819,16822,16825,16828,16831,16834,16837,16840,16843,16846,16849,16852,16855,16858,16861,16864,16867,16870,16873,16876,16879,16882,16885,16888,16891,16894,16897,16900,16903,16906,16909,16912,16915,16918,16921,16924,16927,16930,16933,16936,16939,16942,16945,16948,16951,16954,16957,16960,16963,16966,16969,16972,16975,16978,16981,16984,16987,16990,16993,16996,16999,17002,17005,17008,17011,17014,17017,17020,17023,17026,17029,17032,17035,17038,17041,17044,17047,17050,17053,17056,17059,17062,17065,17068,17071,17074,17077,17080,17083,17086,17089,17092,17095,17098,17101,17104,17107,17110,17113,17116,17119,17122,17125,17128,17131,17134,17137,17140,17143,17146,17149,17152,17155],[24,16743,16745],{"id":16744},"overview",[52,16746,16747],{},"Overview:",[14,16749,16750],{},"Kerry Guard, CEO of MKG Marketing, joined Ranmay Rath on the \"eCoffee with Experts\" podcast to discuss her career shift from media planning to digital marketing and her leadership at MKG Marketing. She shared insights on MKG’s focus on SEO and digital advertising for B2B tech sectors, particularly cybersecurity and SaaS. Kerry emphasized the importance of authentic engagement and data-driven strategies over traditional cold calling. She also touched on the challenges of running a niche marketing agency and offered financial advice for new entrepreneurs. The podcast highlighted Kerry's approach to leveraging her podcast for business growth and concluded with personal reflections and a light-hearted rapid-fire round.",[24,16752,16754],{"id":16753},"key-moments",[52,16755,16756],{},"Key Moments:",[14,16758,16759,16764],{},[52,16760,16761,16763],{},[5778,16762],{},"MKG Marketing's Genesis and Focus:"," Kerry Guard shared her journey from traditional media planning to digital marketing, leading to the founding of MKG Marketing with her partner, Mike Krass. They focused on creating a digital advertising firm that delivers measurable business outcomes, particularly specializing in SEO and digital advertising for cybersecurity and SaaS sectors.",[14,16766,16767,16770],{},[52,16768,16769],{},"Value of Podcasting in Marketing:"," Kerry emphasized the importance of her podcast in building relationships, staying informed on industry trends, and generating content. She noted that effective podcasting requires a good host, significant upfront production work, and consistent engagement to harness its full marketing potential.",[14,16772,16773,16776],{},[52,16774,16775],{},"Entrepreneurial Insights and Challenges:"," Reflecting on the challenges of agency leadership, Kerry highlighted the importance of understanding financial fundamentals to ensure sustainable growth. She shared personal anecdotes on balancing work and life, illustrating her hands-on approach to both business and personal life management.",[24,16778,16780],{"id":16779},"take-a-listen",[52,16781,16782],{},"Take a listen:",[16784,16785],"iframe",{"width":16786,"height":16787,"src":16788,"title":16789,"frameBorder":16790,"allow":16791,"referrerPolicy":16792,"allowFullScreen":322},560,315,"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FV0l5Zr6Ms6Y?si=vIv-9RWx_m-t-a07","YouTube video player","0","accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share","strict-origin-when-cross-origin",[24,16794,16796,16798],{"id":16795},"transcript",[5778,16797],{},[52,16799,16800],{},"Transcript:",[14,16802,16803],{},"Ranmay Rath [00:00:15]:",[14,16805,16806],{},"Hey. Hi, everyone. Welcome to your show, e coffee with experts. This is your host, Ran Meha. And today we have Kerry Gaud, who is the CEO of MKG Marketing with us. Hey, Kerry.",[14,16808,16809],{},"Kerry Guard [00:00:25]:",[14,16811,16812],{},"Hi, Ranmay. How's it going?",[14,16814,16815],{},"Ranmay Rath [00:00:27]:",[14,16817,16818],{},"All good? Yeah. It's been your week so far?",[14,16820,16821],{},"Kerry Guard [00:00:29]:",[14,16823,16824],{},"It's been good. It's been good. The sun was out a few days here in the UK, so I was soaking it in.",[14,16826,16827],{},"Ranmay Rath [00:00:35]:",[14,16829,16830],{},"Lovely. Okay, before we move any forward, why don't you talk us through your journey? Let's get to know the human behind the mic and talk us through your journey. Let us know what MKG marketing is all about. What do you guys specialize in? And we take it from there.",[14,16832,16833],{},"Kerry Guard [00:00:51]:",[14,16835,16836],{},"Yeah, I'll try and make it short because it's twofold. There's my journey. Yeah, because there's my journey. So I started as a digital. Nope. I started as a media planner in New York City at Universal McCann on the traditional side, so grps with tv and placements in print right before the 2008 crash when everything switched to digital, which is then when I also switched to digital and worked at publicist modem on the general Mills account as an assistant media planner planning the Yoplait for General Mills and $10 million account. And I worked long at typical New York grind. I worked crazy hours, but I learned a heck of a lot before then.",[14,16838,16839],{},"Kerry Guard [00:01:35]:",[14,16841,16842],{},"Before I met my now husband and moved to Seattle where I picked up a job at MEC, which was a digital agency in Seattle where they worked on the Microsoft account. So I got to break in the b two B. And it was an interesting account because Microsoft has their own website, Microsoft.com. And what they would do is they would run their own products and brands across that website. And so we would manage all of that and do all the data. And that's where I really found my love of spreadsheets and data and haven't really looked back since. From there, I went to a smaller boutique agency in Seattle called Wong duty. I'm not making that up.",[14,16844,16845],{},"Kerry Guard [00:02:18]:",[14,16847,16848],{},"That was the name of the agency. Needless to say, they were more of a creative shop that happened to have a media department of two, which was me and my now business partner, Mike Krass. Mike and I would stew in the back office after hours and cook up like if we started an agency, what would this feel like? Because this is it. And we're a side note, and we're working with companies that want to know how much money we made them. But everything we were doing is awareness. We cant actually drive business outcomes and we had a company show up to Wang duty for a travel company for hotels. So you book hotels through their website and were like oh my gosh. We could actually measure revenue.",[14,16850,16851],{},"Kerry Guard [00:03:01]:",[14,16853,16854],{},"This is amazing. And the agency turned it down because it was small peanuts to them. And Mike and I were like not small peanuts to us, lets go. And we asked if we could pitch it. They said yes and we were basically off and running. We didnt end up winning that business, but we had to get everything up and we had an idea of what we wanted to do, which was really work with companies where we could run media from digital advertising and actually measure if we made the money. That is still true today. We've pivoted a whole bunch from the traditional digital media planning of rfping direct websites or working with dsps.",[14,16856,16857],{},"Kerry Guard [00:03:36]:",[14,16859,16860],{},"And now we're more into the down the funnel PPC side as well as the SEO, and using those two to really make sure that we reach the right audience. And what's interesting about what our journey is, we ended up landing right out of the gate, the box.com account, and it really broke us into that tech b two b space and we just haven't looked back. And then even. It's always an evolution this right as an agency. Start high level anything for money. Mkg's had three lives. The first live is anything for money. And then as we started making wonderful relationships with our clients and they started moving around, it became clear that we ended up specializing naturally in certain areas, and those two areas ended up being cybersecurity and SaaS.",[14,16862,16863],{},"Kerry Guard [00:04:25]:",[14,16865,16866],{},"And it's been really interesting because this isn't your typical b, two b clients, because they're marketing to really tough audiences in the practitioner side or CIsO side, where they don't want anything to really do marketing and sales is a necessary evil in their eyes. And so it's like how do you build that trust in the marketing and sales to really bring those people in to say, we actually want to help you do your job better, and we're not here to use fear, uncertainty and doubt. We really want to make sure that we're the right product for you or not. And using that messaging and showing up where they are and being there when they're ready to talk rather than cold calling and bothering them essentially. So it's this really wonderful audience and it's a really wonderful group who have this. They really want to make a difference in the world. So it's really nice to work on products that are trying to make a change and to support them and to feel that fire. So that's where we are, that's what we do.",[14,16868,16869],{},"Kerry Guard [00:05:24]:",[14,16871,16872],{},"And it's been a wild ride. I love it.",[14,16874,16875],{},"Ranmay Rath [00:05:26]:",[14,16877,16878],{},"Lovely. Quite a journey. Great. Do you feel cold calling in the b two B space has really died. What is your take on it?",[14,16880,16881],{},"Kerry Guard [00:05:35]:",[14,16883,16884],{},"From a cold outreach standpoint? For emails and phone? I believe that it is dying off, if not already dead. The audience has been really clear in my eyes. If you listen to people who've done the research, like Danny Wolf or you listen to sales practitioners and their numbers, it's not there. And on top of that, you're working with an audience that isn't any endless. So you're burning bridges. It's not a numbers game anymore. You can't just call as many people as you want as humanly possible and hope that you get to that 1%. It's not that big of an audience, especially when you're talking about an industry like cyber.",[14,16886,16887],{},"Kerry Guard [00:06:14]:",[14,16889,16890],{},"So you have to be really intentional with your outreach. Marketing has to pull their weights in surrounding the audience, getting them the information they need, nurturing them through the funnel, and letting the audience make the decision of when they're ready to talk to sales. And I think that's a better use of sales as time they get to cultivate relationships with people who are more interested in really learning about the product and it being helpful. I think it's better for from a human connection standpoint, from a number standpoint, and from an ultimate revenue, bottom of the funnel standpoint.",[14,16892,16893],{},"Ranmay Rath [00:06:48]:",[14,16895,16896],{},"Yeah. Yeah. That is what I feel as well. Your sales should not be introducing your product or service or your company to your prospect. They should be knowing about it beforehand, informed about why the meeting is being scheduled and why are you guys meeting. Right, so before you do that versus sales guy walking in, doing the presentation, making the company understand what they do and all that stuff. Quite a valid point there, talking about agency ownership. Kerry, you have been in the spot for quite some time now.",[14,16898,16899],{},"Ranmay Rath [00:07:19]:",[14,16901,16902],{},"Right? So give us the challenges of running your own agency. How difficult was it initially when you started out? Right. And to keep the lights on as an agency, we take all sort of businesses initially. Talk us through your journey as an agency owner, how difficult it has been. I would not say how difficult or easy because I know it is not easy. How difficult it has been so far?",[14,16904,16905],{},"Kerry Guard [00:07:43]:",[14,16907,16908],{},"I don't think it's been. I think there's been moments of difficulty, but overall I relish the challenge. It has definitely been a challenge. Or in the early days when it was just Mike and I it wasn't. The hardest part of being a business owner is knowing when to stop. I still know that I've learned that lesson, even to this day. But it's ultimately like that work life balance of not checking your emails at 10:00 at night before bed and really making sure that you put work down for a minute and walk away. So I think that was, like, for us initially, when we got up and running, it was not being on the clock all the time.",[14,16910,16911],{},"Kerry Guard [00:08:24]:",[14,16913,16914],{},"I think for us, in retrospect, comparatively, as you get bigger, you just develop different problems. So the early days feel like, oh, they were a walk in the park. I'm sure it was really hard in the moment. I remember my business partner making 40 some cold calls to. And this was back in 20, 11, 40 some cold calls to VMware alone just to try and get a meeting. Which he did. Which he did. He made it happen.",[14,16916,16917],{},"Kerry Guard [00:08:52]:",[14,16919,16920],{},"We did win the client, and we did work with VMware for quite a while. And the clients that left there and then brought us along to their other companies, that was a huge moment for us. But I remember him just getting up in the morning and just dialing just to get somebody on the phone. So those initial new business lands was definitely hard.",[14,16922,16923],{},"Ranmay Rath [00:09:14]:",[14,16925,16926],{},"Yeah.",[14,16928,16929],{},"Kerry Guard [00:09:14]:",[14,16931,16932],{},"Then it was. I don't want to say it was easy, but then it was coming to us. Right, like I said. So we landed VMware, and then those clients left. They went other places, and then they brought us along, and that was. There was stint there where you could actually tie all of our clients. We had eight clients, and you could tie them all back to VMware. It was wild.",[14,16934,16935],{},"Kerry Guard [00:09:30]:",[14,16937,16938],{},"Like, six years later, all back to VMware. It's the referral, right. That's how all agencies generally grow out of the gate is the referral piece, and we're still there. It's still very referral based for us. We are breaking out of that. I would say that's our current hurdle is, okay. You can't rely on referrals forever. And so where does that new business come from outside of referrals? Which is another really tough leap to make, because it has to be done again.",[14,16940,16941],{},"Kerry Guard [00:09:58]:",[14,16943,16944],{},"Coming back to that notion of cold outreach not really being effective anymore. It has to come back to building relationships and finding the right folks to build those relationships with, and not expecting everything to be a sales call. So even with my podcast, I have so many times where people show up after my show or days later or even a month later, and be like, I still don't know what you do, I'm like, that's cool. I'm happy to tell you now, but I just wanted to, I'd rather have that authentic conversation of them being curious rather than coming in and being like, this is who we are. Just want to make sure you know it. It's really tough when you're trying to build that initial relationship to immediately launch into that. I've been really intentional and it's taken. I've been doing the podcast for four years, and at the end of the day, a lot of the people I've had on my show, we've had a couple pieces of new business come out of it, which has been wonderful, great people to work with.",[14,16946,16947],{},"Kerry Guard [00:10:47]:",[14,16949,16950],{},"But at the end of the day, it's been a referral piece for us. So we have wonderful people on. We build these wonderful relationships, and then they're on the show, they share it, and they go out and they talk about the great experience they had. And so that's been a really interesting piece that I wasn't. That was lovely and unexpected. But that's really where, like, that intentional marketing needs to come in to get away from that referral, which is where we've lived for so long. So I'd say as an agency owner, that's really been the hardest part. It was hard to get that first few pieces of business, and then we rode the referral for a while, and now it's making that new leap.",[14,16952,16953],{},"Ranmay Rath [00:11:24]:",[14,16955,16956],{},"Lovely, lovely. I was coming to that. How do you see podcast as a sales or marketing engine for any brand? What is your take on it, since you have been doing it for four years now and you would have had your successes like you spoke about, what do you feel in general about podcasts as a sales machinery or a marketing strategy?",[14,16958,16959],{},"Kerry Guard [00:11:44]:",[14,16961,16962],{},"I think it's phenomenal. You do need some stars to align. I don't know that it's for every company and every person necessarily. You do need a couple things. One is you need to have an audience that even wants to be on a podcast. You need a person who can be a really great host, who's a bit outgoing, who can be curious, who can ask questions. It actually took me a while to learn that. I knew podcasting was going to be a great vehicle, but I didn't know how to be a host.",[14,16964,16965],{},"Kerry Guard [00:12:16]:",[14,16967,16968],{},"And it was like, I would say the first year was a lot of sitting in an uncomfortable place of just making sure I had enough I could get comfortable in the moment of asking the right questions. Like, that was really hard. Now I can just, I don't do a whole lot of prep for my shows. I just get on and have fun. But there was a learning curve there. So having a great host who can really cultivate that and lean into it is something else that's really necessary to have a good show. And then there's a whole production piece that you don't even see come in. You're like, I'm going to start a podcast and it's going to be great.",[14,16970,16971],{},"Kerry Guard [00:12:52]:",[14,16973,16974],{},"And then you realize you have to download it and edit it and then work on it and add the intro and outro and all of the things and you really need. It's a heavy upfront lift, but the magic of it is few things. One is you get to build amazing relationships with your ultimate audience and you get to know what's on their minds. Like, I feel like I'm on the cutting edge. I feel very comfortable in saying things like cold outreach is dying or dead because I've listened to enough shows, had enough people on who are experiencing this firsthand. So it's been wonderful in keeping me on the cutting edge from a digital marketing standpoint, knowing what's important to my audience, knowing what they're leaning into. ABM is another one. I was talking about ABM years before it really took off.",[14,16976,16977],{},"Kerry Guard [00:13:44]:",[14,16979,16980],{},"I had latin incontinent on my show in 2019 where she was like, ungate everything. And I was like, this is blasphemy, Latin. What are you doing to me? But now it's becoming a normal thing to do thanks to the technology. But I was on the cutting edge of being able to have some of those tough conversations. And the third thing it does is it's just endless content. Especially now with the technology that's available. You can create clips, you can have a transcript, you can have. Now you're having your show on eight different platforms.",[14,16982,16983],{},"Kerry Guard [00:14:16]:",[14,16985,16986],{},"That's all feeding back into your website. It's social media content for days. We have so much content now that we're actually able to group shows together and put them through AI to come up with an idea on what the trends are and what people are saying in relation to a certain topic. And so it's when you can really like, stick with it, it just has endless possibilities. But standing it up, it's a lift. Sticking with it is a commitment.",[14,16988,16989],{},"Ranmay Rath [00:14:50]:",[14,16991,16992],{},"Absolutely. Absolutely. Great. Because this is a burning question in terms of how podcasts can benefit out of it, and I see a lot of business owners trying to do that. Right? But like you mentioned, you got to understand your niche, the space that you are in what sort of guests you want to invite on your show, so that it kind of, end of the day, it provides value to the space audiences that you're catering to, and then you can think of the next steps. Right. So it makes a lot of sense there. Great job.",[14,16994,16995],{},"Ranmay Rath [00:15:22]:",[14,16997,16998],{},"Given the competitive nature of space that you are in the tech space. Right. How do you approach developing the strategy that kind of works and is successful? Because I would like to believe, I know that for them, as a matter of fact, that the space that you are in, you got a lot of competition, a lot of agencies who are really good at what they do. So they would have their clients fighting for the top charts there. So how do you fight off that competition to ensure your clients are staying ahead of the curve?",[14,17000,17001],{},"Kerry Guard [00:15:54]:",[14,17003,17004],{},"For us, that's then the beauty of being niche. Right. So there isn't a lot of competition in the cybersecurity space. There's a lot of agencies that do cybersecurity, but they also do a lot of other things. So they do finance and a bunch of other. Even though we can put CPG again in line of the industries that they serve, and CPG versus cybersecurity to very different approaches that you need there. So again, I think it comes back to really knowing the industry, knowing the audience. I keep coming back to the audience because it's so key in understanding of how to build that value.",[14,17006,17007],{},"Kerry Guard [00:16:28]:",[14,17009,17010],{},"At the end of the day, SEO is really about the value that you're bringing to your end user of what they're searching for, what questions they have, how you can show up and answer those questions reliably, how you can let Google know that you're a master in the space and building that foundation through the technical aspect of it, so that you're helping your whole website rise to the top and then showing up for those very particular keywords. And at the end of the day, the click through rate is what matters. You can show up from an impression standpoint all day long, but if it's not the value that they're looking for, it's not answering the question that they have, then what is it all for? So I think for us, it's really coming down to knowing what the end user is after and really meeting them where they are.",[14,17012,17013],{},"Ranmay Rath [00:17:17]:",[14,17015,17016],{},"Lovely. And you migrated from working with Microsoft, managing social campaigns, right, to leading your own agency. So what sparked that entrepreneur leap? And did you feel that any lessons learned at Microsoft helped in your journey as an agency owner? I'm sure it did.",[14,17018,17019],{},"Kerry Guard [00:17:39]:",[14,17021,17022],{},"Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. So at Microsoft, I was managing digital ads campaigns across Microsoft.com dot. So I wasn't managing any social that a whole different beast that I had not yet dabbled with. And even now I would consider myself a dabbler in social. It's not a core competency of mine. I've gotten to know LinkedIn pretty well, but I'm still figuring. But the big thing that I learned at Microsoft and that I really took with me is the data aspect.",[14,17024,17025],{},"Kerry Guard [00:18:06]:",[14,17027,17028],{},"I would be exporting these monster outputs from Atlas, dating myself there. Atlas was Microsoft product for ad management and we would have just reams of data. And this was before you had a data warehouse, right. So it would end up in these giant Excel sheets. And I had to figure out how to get, how to create dashboards to read the data in a time where it was raw. Right. We didn't have a looker studio. We didn't have fancy platforms like improvado where you could connect everything from the backend and then just use looker studio to make it pretty and then read the data.",[14,17030,17031],{},"Kerry Guard [00:18:45]:",[14,17033,17034],{},"Right. I had to create that from scratch. And really living in the data created a love for me of knowing that was the magic. Right. Like it's all, well, I'm going to run ads. What did it do? I still have that today. I've actually been sitting with my team unpacking a current client and I'm exporting, they're like, Kerry, there's a dashboard over here. I'm like, I know, but I need to, like, I need the raw data, I need to pivot it and I need to work with it and I need to go down the rabbit holes and I need like full control over it that I just can't get in a fancy, fancy dashboard.",[14,17036,17037],{},"Kerry Guard [00:19:20]:",[14,17039,17040],{},"And so I really think that having that core competency and building NKG from a place of business outcomes and measurable media, that was our tagline for the longest time. Measurable media is what set us apart for a very long time. And even to this day, I think leaning in as an agency owner, as a business owner, being able to speak to my clients in that capacity of knowing that they have leadership that they have to answer to in how much revenue that they're driving. I understand that to my core, not both as an agency owner, as a business owner, and having lived in data for most of my career. Yeah, that I would say that's how that bridge happened.",[14,17042,17043],{},"Ranmay Rath [00:20:07]:",[14,17045,17046],{},"Lovely, lovely, great, Kerry. But yeah, I would like you to give us top three tips or some advices to our listeners today. You know who are trying to make a mark in the digital marketing space or let's say, you know, trying to start their entrepreneurial journey or trying to start their own agency. So, yeah, since you have been there, you migrated from a typical corporate setup. You're starting your own agency, doing really good nowadays. So, you know, watch as an advice would mean a lot. So give us those tips that you might have been, that might have been.",[14,17048,17049],{},"Kerry Guard [00:20:41]:",[14,17051,17052],{},"Helpful for you as an agency owner. Understand, or as early, as soon as humanly possible, what finances, okay, from revenue to your expenses to your profit margin, and then pay close attention to that profit margin, because at the end of the day, you can be making all the money and all of the land. But if your expenses are outpacing your revenue, then you're growing broke, and this is not an upside down world you want to live. I may be speaking from experience, understand how finance works, and figure out how. How to keep your expenses in line with your revenue. So you get, like, a 18% to 25% profit margin that's on the high end. That's, like, really good. So if you're hitting those numbers, hats off to y'all.",[14,17054,17055],{},"Kerry Guard [00:21:40]:",[14,17057,17058],{},"That's like the sweet spot. So if you can do that early on and then stick with it, you're going to be in good shape and know what cash flow is, know how to work your contract so that you're getting paid in a way that you can pay your people and not get caught off with having to burn cash to do that. So I would say I wish I had understood finance sooner, and those would be the things that I wish I had known. I know now.",[14,17060,17061],{},"Ranmay Rath [00:22:12]:",[14,17063,17064],{},"Great. Lovely. Let's play a quick rapid fire then. Now.",[14,17066,17067],{},"Kerry Guard [00:22:16]:",[14,17069,17070],{},"Oh, gosh. Okay.",[14,17072,17073],{},"Ranmay Rath [00:22:18]:",[14,17075,17076],{},"All right. Your last Google search.",[14,17078,17079],{},"Kerry Guard [00:22:20]:",[14,17081,17082],{},"My last Google search. Oh, does Google Drive count? No, I'm just kidding. I use search for everything. I use it in email, I use it in drive. My last Google search, I feel like I should look it up. Oh, I know what it was. It was the. I heard that Ryan Gosling did a Kenanuff performance at the Oscars, and I just had to see it.",[14,17084,17085],{},"Kerry Guard [00:22:41]:",[14,17087,17088],{},"So that was the last thing I googled.",[14,17090,17091],{},"Ranmay Rath [00:22:44]:",[14,17093,17094],{},"All right.",[14,17096,17097],{},"Kerry Guard [00:22:44]:",[14,17099,17100],{},"It's excellent.",[14,17102,17103],{},"Ranmay Rath [00:22:45]:",[14,17105,17106],{},"Lovely. You're a celebrity crush, Ryan Gosling, of course.",[14,17108,17109],{},"Kerry Guard [00:22:50]:",[14,17111,17112],{},"So I had to go watch the Kennet video.",[14,17114,17115],{},"Ranmay Rath [00:22:52]:",[14,17117,17118],{},"All right, where do we find you on Friday evenings?",[14,17120,17121],{},"Kerry Guard [00:22:55]:",[14,17123,17124],{},"Friday evenings recently, on my sofa with a glass of wine, watching something terrible. Probably a blast from the past, like a Gilmore girls or an episode of Friends or decompression time.",[14,17126,17127],{},"Ranmay Rath [00:23:08]:",[14,17129,17130],{},"Right.",[14,17132,17133],{},"Kerry Guard [00:23:09]:",[14,17135,17136],{},"Kids are in bed, work is done.",[14,17138,17139],{},"Ranmay Rath [00:23:14]:",[14,17141,17142],{},"Lovely. Great. Yeah, I'm not really any further. Thank you so much for taking your time and doing this with us. Really appreciate it.",[14,17144,17145],{},"Kerry Guard [00:23:22]:",[14,17147,17148],{},"Thank you. Good to meet you, Renmay. Thank you for having me.",[14,17150,17151],{},"Ranmay Rath [00:23:25]:",[14,17153,17154],{},"Great. Thank you.",[5778,17156],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":17158},[17159,17160,17161,17162],{"id":16744,"depth":291,"text":16747},{"id":16753,"depth":291,"text":16756},{"id":16779,"depth":291,"text":16782},{"id":16795,"depth":291,"text":16800},"2024-04-23T16:47:48Z","Kerry Guard, CEO of MKG Marketing, shares her transition from media planning to leading a digital marketing agency focused on B2B tech sectors.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fcontent-connections-conversions-the-b2b-marketer-s-powerhouse-trio",{"title":16738,"description":17164},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fcontent-connections-conversions-the-b2b-marketer-s-powerhouse-trio","4k6EhgNWb-akutFi2niltVebwMO2BMeR90P0U8tsARE",{"id":17171,"title":17172,"author":7,"authors":17173,"body":17175,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":19758,"description":19759,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":77,"meta":19760,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":19761,"seo":19762,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":19763,"updated":7,"__hash__":19764},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fbuilding-trust-and-respect-crucial-convos-for-a-profitable-partnership.md","Building Trust & Respect Through Partnership",[9,17174],"Mike Krass",{"type":11,"value":17176,"toc":19751},[17177,17181,17184,17188,17202,17208,17213,17217,17220,17223,17226,17229,17232,17235,17238,17241,17244,17247,17250,17253,17256,17259,17262,17265,17268,17271,17274,17277,17280,17283,17286,17289,17292,17295,17298,17301,17304,17307,17310,17313,17316,17319,17322,17325,17328,17331,17334,17337,17340,17343,17346,17349,17352,17355,17358,17361,17364,17367,17370,17373,17376,17379,17382,17385,17388,17391,17394,17397,17400,17403,17406,17409,17412,17415,17418,17421,17424,17427,17430,17433,17436,17439,17442,17445,17448,17451,17454,17457,17460,17463,17466,17469,17472,17475,17478,17481,17484,17487,17490,17492,17495,17498,17501,17504,17507,17510,17513,17516,17519,17522,17525,17528,17531,17534,17537,17540,17543,17546,17549,17552,17555,17558,17561,17564,17567,17570,17573,17576,17579,17582,17585,17588,17591,17594,17597,17600,17603,17606,17609,17612,17615,17618,17621,17624,17627,17630,17633,17636,17639,17642,17645,17648,17651,17654,17657,17660,17663,17666,17669,17672,17675,17678,17680,17683,17686,17689,17692,17695,17698,17701,17704,17707,17710,17713,17716,17719,17722,17725,17728,17731,17734,17737,17740,17743,17746,17748,17750,17753,17756,17759,17762,17765,17768,17771,17774,17777,17780,17783,17786,17789,17792,17795,17798,17801,17804,17807,17810,17813,17816,17819,17822,17825,17828,17831,17834,17837,17840,17843,17846,17849,17852,17855,17858,17861,17864,17867,17870,17873,17876,17879,17882,17885,17888,17891,17894,17897,17900,17903,17906,17909,17912,17915,17918,17921,17924,17927,17930,17933,17936,17939,17942,17945,17948,17951,17954,17957,17960,17963,17966,17969,17972,17975,17978,17981,17984,17987,17990,17993,17996,17999,18002,18005,18008,18011,18014,18017,18020,18023,18026,18029,18032,18035,18038,18041,18044,18047,18049,18052,18055,18058,18061,18064,18067,18070,18073,18076,18079,18082,18085,18088,18091,18094,18097,18100,18103,18106,18109,18112,18115,18118,18121,18124,18127,18130,18133,18136,18139,18142,18145,18148,18151,18154,18157,18160,18163,18166,18169,18172,18175,18178,18181,18184,18187,18190,18192,18195,18198,18201,18204,18207,18210,18213,18216,18219,18222,18225,18228,18231,18234,18237,18240,18243,18246,18249,18252,18255,18258,18261,18264,18267,18270,18273,18276,18279,18282,18285,18288,18291,18294,18297,18300,18303,18306,18309,18312,18315,18318,18321,18324,18327,18330,18333,18336,18339,18342,18345,18348,18351,18353,18356,18358,18361,18364,18367,18369,18372,18375,18378,18381,18384,18387,18390,18393,18396,18399,18402,18405,18408,18411,18414,18417,18420,18423,18426,18429,18432,18435,18438,18441,18444,18447,18450,18453,18456,18459,18462,18465,18468,18471,18474,18477,18480,18483,18486,18489,18492,18495,18498,18501,18504,18507,18510,18513,18516,18519,18522,18525,18528,18531,18534,18537,18540,18543,18546,18549,18552,18555,18558,18561,18564,18567,18570,18573,18576,18579,18582,18585,18588,18591,18594,18597,18600,18603,18606,18609,18612,18615,18618,18621,18624,18627,18630,18633,18636,18639,18642,18645,18648,18651,18654,18657,18660,18663,18666,18669,18672,18675,18678,18681,18684,18686,18689,18692,18695,18698,18701,18704,18707,18710,18713,18716,18719,18722,18725,18728,18731,18734,18737,18740,18743,18746,18749,18752,18755,18758,18761,18764,18767,18770,18773,18776,18779,18782,18785,18788,18791,18794,18796,18798,18801,18804,18807,18810,18813,18816,18819,18822,18825,18828,18831,18834,18837,18840,18843,18846,18849,18852,18855,18858,18861,18864,18867,18870,18873,18876,18879,18882,18885,18888,18891,18894,18897,18900,18903,18906,18909,18912,18915,18918,18921,18924,18927,18930,18933,18936,18939,18942,18945,18948,18951,18954,18957,18960,18963,18966,18969,18972,18975,18978,18981,18984,18987,18990,18993,18996,18999,19002,19005,19008,19011,19014,19017,19020,19023,19026,19029,19032,19035,19038,19041,19044,19047,19050,19053,19056,19059,19062,19065,19068,19071,19074,19077,19080,19083,19086,19088,19091,19094,19097,19100,19103,19106,19109,19112,19115,19118,19121,19124,19127,19130,19133,19136,19139,19142,19145,19148,19151,19154,19157,19160,19163,19166,19169,19172,19175,19178,19181,19183,19186,19189,19192,19195,19198,19201,19204,19206,19209,19212,19215,19218,19221,19224,19227,19230,19233,19236,19239,19242,19245,19248,19251,19254,19257,19260,19263,19266,19269,19272,19275,19278,19280,19283,19286,19289,19292,19295,19298,19301,19304,19307,19310,19313,19316,19319,19322,19325,19328,19331,19334,19337,19340,19343,19346,19349,19352,19355,19358,19361,19364,19367,19370,19373,19376,19379,19382,19385,19388,19391,19394,19397,19400,19403,19406,19409,19412,19415,19418,19421,19424,19427,19430,19433,19436,19439,19442,19445,19448,19451,19454,19457,19460,19463,19466,19469,19472,19475,19478,19481,19484,19487,19490,19493,19496,19499,19502,19505,19508,19511,19514,19517,19520,19523,19526,19529,19532,19535,19538,19541,19544,19546,19549,19552,19555,19557,19560,19563,19566,19569,19572,19575,19578,19581,19584,19587,19590,19593,19596,19599,19602,19605,19608,19611,19614,19617,19620,19623,19626,19629,19632,19635,19638,19641,19644,19647,19650,1965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Guard and Mike Krass, founders of MKG Marketing, joined Staci Gray on her podcast to discuss their journey. They explored the significance of visionary and integrator roles, their personal paths to entrepreneurship influenced by family and early career experiences, and the evolution of their partnership over time. The discussion also covered strategies for scaling the business, work-life balance, and fostering a supportive workplace. They highlighted the importance of structured communication and mutual respect in maintaining a healthy business relationship. Kerry and Mike concluded by sharing their vision for MKG's future, focusing on specialized marketing services for the software and cybersecurity sectors.",[24,17185,17186],{"id":16753},[52,17187,16756],{},[46,17189,17190,17193,17196,17199],{},[49,17191,17192],{},"Roles and Dynamics: Mike and Kerry discussed their evolving roles within MKG Marketing, focusing on the distinction between visionary and integrator roles and how they manage the continuous flow of new ideas and strategies for the company.",[49,17194,17195],{},"Entrepreneurial Backgrounds: Both speakers shared their paths to entrepreneurship, influenced by their early careers and personal connections, highlighting how their experiences shaped their approach to business and partnership.",[49,17197,17198],{},"Partnership and Company Growth: They detailed the formation of MKG Marketing, emphasizing the importance of mutual respect, clear communication, and aligned values in overcoming challenges and successfully scaling the business.",[49,17200,17201],{},"Future Directions: Mike outlined his vision for transforming MKG into a more specialized agency with a focus on specific sectors like software and cybersecurity, aiming for a diversified service model that adds value to their niche market.",[24,17203,17204,17206],{"id":16779},[5778,17205],{},[52,17207,16782],{},[24,17209,17210],{"id":77},[16784,17211],{"width":16786,"height":16787,"src":17212,"title":16789,"frameBorder":16790,"allow":16791,"referrerPolicy":16792,"allowFullScreen":322},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002F4bS6uNuqeh0?si=HDigp3ozFv2bm2Ge",[24,17214,17215],{"id":16795},[52,17216,16800],{},[14,17218,17219],{},"Mike Krass [00:00:00]:",[14,17221,17222],{},"But it's created a different space for me to act in a visionary role, which doesn't necessarily have a beginning. In the end, it's kind of like a big ball of yarn that just continues forever. Like, I'm gonna set 2 hours on Tuesday morning, and then the vision will be done. Like, the vision changes every single time I speak to somebody. It changes just a little bit.",[14,17224,17225],{},"Kerry Guard [00:00:17]:",[14,17227,17228],{},"I don't need to integrate every single idea he has all the time. Sometimes he just has ideas and he needs to say them, and I need to give him space to say them. Love my subconscious, hang out with them. And then there's gonna be one or two that I say, okay, I see it. I got to see. I call them lily pads, right? So, like, I don't want to not say no to an idea. I just can't quite see the lily pads yet. So the minute I can see the lily pads, it's a minute.",[14,17230,17231],{},"Kerry Guard [00:00:37]:",[14,17233,17234],{},"I'm like, okay, let's dig into this and figure out what this means and how this might impact the company in a bigger way.",[14,17236,17237],{},"Staci Gray [00:00:50]:",[14,17239,17240],{},"Okay.",[14,17242,17243],{},"Staci Gray [00:00:51]:",[14,17245,17246],{},"So today we have Mike and Carrie. I have met them through the entrepreneurs organization. And something I love about EO is that it really helps you scale, trust, and in the visionary and integrator dynamic, that's critical. So I'm eager to have a conversation with these two about how they forge their visionary integrator relationship and what that journey looked like. And at the tail end of this, we'll talk about what they do and how you can connect with them. But I'd love to kick it off and start with you both clearly have business. So at what point in your either childhood work situation did you realize that you were meant to be an entrepreneur or to create something out of nothing? What did that journey look like for you, individually and collectively?",[14,17248,17249],{},"Kerry Guard [00:01:41]:",[14,17251,17252],{},"I went to school for photography, and as a photographer, you generally need to strike out on your own, start your own business. And when I was working, I was interning the summer of freshman year for.",[14,17254,17255],{},"Kerry Guard [00:01:54]:",[14,17257,17258],{},"A fashion photographer in Philadelphia.",[14,17260,17261],{},"Kerry Guard [00:01:57]:",[14,17263,17264],{},"And so I paid close attention to the fact that he was running a business. And I didn't really realize it at the time. It didn't really, like, dawn on me that it's like an entrepreneurial thing.",[14,17266,17267],{},"Kerry Guard [00:02:07]:",[14,17269,17270],{},"I just felt like, photographer, run a business. That's what you do.",[14,17272,17273],{},"Kerry Guard [00:02:11]:",[14,17275,17276],{},"But then I really wanted to live in New York. It was the dream. And so to do that, I had to get a grown up job. And so my uncle got me into media planning for Universal McCann in New York City.",[14,17278,17279],{},"Kerry Guard [00:02:24]:",[14,17281,17282],{},"And so that's when I joined the.",[14,17284,17285],{},"Kerry Guard [00:02:25]:",[14,17287,17288],{},"Bigger organization and realized, I don't have.",[14,17290,17291],{},"Staci Gray [00:02:28]:",[14,17293,17294],{},"To run a business. This is glorious.",[14,17296,17297],{},"Kerry Guard [00:02:30]:",[14,17299,17300],{},"It wasn't until having been in, you know, done the media planning for a.",[14,17302,17303],{},"Kerry Guard [00:02:36]:",[14,17305,17306],{},"Couple years, I went from New York to Seattle.",[14,17308,17309],{},"Kerry Guard [00:02:38]:",[14,17311,17312],{},"It's where I met Mike. And once I got married, my husband.",[14,17314,17315],{},"Kerry Guard [00:02:43]:",[14,17317,17318],{},"Was an engineer, and he was doing really well.",[14,17320,17321],{},"Kerry Guard [00:02:46]:",[14,17323,17324],{},"And there was this opportunity for me.",[14,17326,17327],{},"Kerry Guard [00:02:49]:",[14,17329,17330],{},"To strike out on my own with Mike and start this company. And I don't know that I would have made the leap had it not been for. For my husband, who had started companies in the past himself. So he had a good entrepreneurial mind about himself. And then he also was sort of.",[14,17332,17333],{},"Kerry Guard [00:03:06]:",[14,17335,17336],{},"That fallback of like, if anything goes.",[14,17338,17339],{},"Kerry Guard [00:03:08]:",[14,17341,17342],{},"Wrong, I'm going to be okay. It was just some comfort in that. I didn't have that. When I was starting thinking about starting a photography business, I was like, I have student loans to pay. I would have an apartment, I would have all these bills.",[14,17344,17345],{},"Staci Gray [00:03:19]:",[14,17347,17348],{},"This is.",[14,17350,17351],{},"Kerry Guard [00:03:20]:",[14,17353,17354],{},"I need a job. I need to be a grownup.",[14,17356,17357],{},"Staci Gray [00:03:23]:",[14,17359,17360],{},"I think this is so important because not all entrepreneurs are created equally like we think. They say that, saying that entrepreneurs are the people who will jump out of a plane and build their parachute on the way down. But not all of us are wired like that. Some of us do need to have a fallback plan to have the calmness within ourselves to be able to excel when we do start it. So your self awareness along that journey seems to have evolved as well, in.",[14,17362,17363],{},"Kerry Guard [00:03:51]:",[14,17365,17366],{},"Addition to the business side of it. How about for you, Mike?",[14,17368,17369],{},"Mike Krass [00:03:57]:",[14,17371,17372],{},"Yeah, I, growing up, had, you know, the lemonade stand on the corner and, you know, I'd wash cars and get yelled at by guys because I wasn't using the shammy, right.",[14,17374,17375],{},"Mike Krass [00:04:09]:",[14,17377,17378],{},"I'm not sure that I would call that being entrepreneurial.",[14,17380,17381],{},"Mike Krass [00:04:13]:",[14,17383,17384],{},"I think I was just more like.",[14,17386,17387],{},"Mike Krass [00:04:15]:",[14,17389,17390],{},"Making a little bit of money to.",[14,17392,17393],{},"Mike Krass [00:04:16]:",[14,17395,17396],{},"Go to the movies. But growing up, you know, what comes.",[14,17398,17399],{},"Mike Krass [00:04:19]:",[14,17401,17402],{},"To mind is I didn't quite realize.",[14,17404,17405],{},"Mike Krass [00:04:23]:",[14,17407,17408],{},"It, but I was surrounded by many entrepreneurs. So, for example, my best friend who lived around the corner, his dad started and sold two marketing agencies, one to Sir Martin Sorrell, who's like a famous guy in the ad world over globally. But, you know, he does most of his work over in England. It was just like, that was just Mister Hammerquist. That was just a guy who went to work. And they always had Mac, like the.",[14,17410,17411],{},"Mike Krass [00:04:47]:",[14,17413,17414],{},"Big Mac, you know, the ones with.",[14,17416,17417],{},"Mike Krass [00:04:49]:",[14,17419,17420],{},"The colors on the back before anybody else did. So I didn't know what they did.",[14,17422,17423],{},"Mike Krass [00:04:53]:",[14,17425,17426],{},"But I was like, they have, like, the cool computer and our family still.",[14,17428,17429],{},"Mike Krass [00:04:57]:",[14,17431,17432],{},"Putting, like, the tablecloth over the computer at the end of the day, you know, like, you don't look at that ugly monitor. So I had those examples in my life, and I didn't even realize what was happening.",[14,17434,17435],{},"Mike Krass [00:05:06]:",[14,17437,17438],{},"Like, my uncle, you know, in Minneapolis, ran a law firm, right?",[14,17440,17441],{},"Mike Krass [00:05:10]:",[14,17443,17444],{},"No idea. My other uncle, also in Minneapolis, is a trial attorney. Ran his own trial attorney practice. To me, it was just like, this is just what they do. And I share these stories because when it came time for us to start.",[14,17446,17447],{},"Mike Krass [00:05:24]:",[14,17449,17450],{},"MKG marketing, I don't know that I.",[14,17452,17453],{},"Mike Krass [00:05:28]:",[14,17455,17456],{},"Would have launched into it if I hadn't had some of those examples around me. Even though I didn't have quite the awareness of what was happening there, I was still like, that's Uncle Paul. That's Uncle Rod. Like, that's Mister Hammerquist in my life that I. I see them doing these type of entrepreneurial things, even though I.",[14,17458,17459],{},"Mike Krass [00:05:46]:",[14,17461,17462],{},"Can'T quite name it because I just didn't even.",[14,17464,17465],{},"Mike Krass [00:05:48]:",[14,17467,17468],{},"I didn't have the language at that point.",[14,17470,17471],{},"Mike Krass [00:05:49]:",[14,17473,17474],{},"It was just like, that's just what they do.",[14,17476,17477],{},"Mike Krass [00:05:51]:",[14,17479,17480],{},"Like, Uncle Rod goes to court. Like, that's where work is. Like, he goes to trial. Like, I have no concept what happens around that, but I know that that's.",[14,17482,17483],{},"Mike Krass [00:05:58]:",[14,17485,17486],{},"Where work happened for Uncle Rod.",[14,17488,17489],{},"Kerry Guard [00:06:00]:",[14,17491,16926],{},[14,17493,17494],{},"Staci Gray [00:06:01]:",[14,17496,17497],{},"And when you saw them doing that, was it something that you admired or was it just a known.",[14,17499,17500],{},"Mike Krass [00:06:11]:",[14,17502,17503],{},"I don't think I admired much. Except for, again, they had the cool Macs at my friend's house around the corner. And we didn't have those cool ones at my house. I think I didn't even realize it. It was just like, these are people around me.",[14,17505,17506],{},"Mike Krass [00:06:26]:",[14,17508,17509],{},"I didn't have some awareness of that.",[14,17511,17512],{},"Mike Krass [00:06:28]:",[14,17514,17515],{},"Until probably Carrie and I really started getting serious about starting MKG marketing. And then about eight years ago, I was volunteering as an entrepreneur in residence at a group called the idea Village here in New Orleans. And somebody came in and they actually said they were pitching to be an accelerator company.",[14,17517,17518],{},"Mike Krass [00:06:44]:",[14,17520,17521],{},"And they said, people that come from my background and that look like me.",[14,17523,17524],{},"Mike Krass [00:06:50]:",[14,17526,17527],{},"I don't know any of us who start companies. And I had this moment hearing that.",[14,17529,17530],{},"Mike Krass [00:06:55]:",[14,17532,17533],{},"Where I was just like, huh? Like, I've known people that look like.",[14,17535,17536],{},"Mike Krass [00:07:00]:",[14,17538,17539],{},"Me and don't look like me that have started companies, but I'm surrounded. Like, that's part of my life. And this woman who is incredibly, the idea was terrible, but she was great. We almost actually brought her in the accelerator because we're like, she's awesome and she can make anything work. But the idea was very bad. It needed a lot of love, and she just wasn't ready for an accelerator yet. But having that experience, it was just kind of known. Using your language states like, it was just like, this is kind of around me, even though I can't quite put my finger on it until later in life when I could actually, like, label it and understand what it was.",[14,17541,17542],{},"Staci Gray [00:07:32]:",[14,17544,17545],{},"Yeah, I have a similar story because my grandfather built a company to take public and my other grandfather had a successful insurance company and my father had a successful business. And so I watched entrepreneurship around me and my journey was organic. I didn't really think I wanted to do it. I fell into it. And so I feel like so many entrepreneurs, they pursue it differently, and then it's like, I've got something here. This idea is taking shape and then scaling. It's like, okay, now all the customers are coming. I've got all of the operational chaos.",[14,17547,17548],{},"Staci Gray [00:08:04]:",[14,17550,17551],{},"I've got structure and systems and hiring and how do I do this all and not lose my sanity? In my experience, it's finding that visionary integrator relationship that is just magical. And so I want to see, how did you guys meet? How did you know? You trusted yourself enough, each other enough and yourself enough, really to forge a partnership? Because partnerships can go south, too.",[14,17553,17554],{},"Kerry Guard [00:08:30]:",[14,17556,17557],{},"So how did that evolve?",[14,17559,17560],{},"Kerry Guard [00:08:34]:",[14,17562,17563],{},"This is a retrospective right here. I don't know that we've ever, I.",[14,17565,17566],{},"Staci Gray [00:08:37]:",[14,17568,17569],{},"Mean, I don't know that I've ever.",[14,17571,17572],{},"Kerry Guard [00:08:38]:",[14,17574,17575],{},"Thought about it this way. So we met at our previous agency many moons ago.",[14,17577,17578],{},"Kerry Guard [00:08:44]:",[14,17580,17581],{},"20, 2010, 2011.",[14,17583,17584],{},"Kerry Guard [00:08:48]:",[14,17586,17587],{},"The name, I'm not making this up.",[14,17589,17590],{},"Kerry Guard [00:08:50]:",[14,17592,17593],{},"Was called Wong duty. I blush even just saying it out loud.",[14,17595,17596],{},"Kerry Guard [00:08:55]:",[14,17598,17599],{},"Probably at their attention.",[14,17601,17602],{},"Kerry Guard [00:08:57]:",[14,17604,17605],{},"It's very memorable.",[14,17607,17608],{},"Staci Gray [00:08:58]:",[14,17610,17611],{},"Good on them.",[14,17613,17614],{},"Kerry Guard [00:08:59]:",[14,17616,17617],{},"But they were a creative agency who.",[14,17619,17620],{},"Kerry Guard [00:09:02]:",[14,17622,17623],{},"Happened to have media planners in house for me and Mike.",[14,17625,17626],{},"Kerry Guard [00:09:07]:",[14,17628,17629],{},"So because it was just the two.",[14,17631,17632],{},"Kerry Guard [00:09:08]:",[14,17634,17635],{},"Of us, I think we just formed a bond very quickly on how to approach each client. I mean, everything, every campaign was a dual effort.",[14,17637,17638],{},"Kerry Guard [00:09:21]:",[14,17640,17641],{},"We were working on everything side by side.",[14,17643,17644],{},"Kerry Guard [00:09:24]:",[14,17646,17647],{},"I remember even when we interviewed, we.",[14,17649,17650],{},"Kerry Guard [00:09:28]:",[14,17652,17653],{},"Just got along, was like, yeah, this is going to be a really good working relationship. I can see this. This is going to be awesome. He was one of the reasons why I actually left. I was at MEC working on the Microsoft account and they had a recruiter headhunt me to come to long duty, and I was really on the fence.",[14,17655,17656],{},"Kerry Guard [00:09:42]:",[14,17658,17659],{},"About it because I was, was living the life.",[14,17661,17662],{},"Kerry Guard [00:09:45]:",[14,17664,17665],{},"It's been a pretty cushy job.",[14,17667,17668],{},"Kerry Guard [00:09:47]:",[14,17670,17671],{},"Didn't want to rock the boat, but.",[14,17673,17674],{},"Kerry Guard [00:09:49]:",[14,17676,17677],{},"Between Mike and then somebody else at the company, a good friend of ours now, Steve Kesselman. I was like, these are really great smart people who are going to push.",[14,17679,16941],{},[14,17681,17682],{},"Me and elevate me, and I'm ready for that. So, yeah, so I think right out.",[14,17684,17685],{},"Kerry Guard [00:10:04]:",[14,17687,17688],{},"Of the gate, when I met Mike, I was like, this is going to be good.",[14,17690,17691],{},"Kerry Guard [00:10:07]:",[14,17693,17694],{},"And then we just formed a partnership.",[14,17696,17697],{},"Kerry Guard [00:10:09]:",[14,17699,17700],{},"Both in, like, building ideas together and also being like, this is so frustrating. And it was out of that frustration, I believed that, you know, mKG really.",[14,17702,17703],{},"Kerry Guard [00:10:18]:",[14,17705,17706],{},"Was born and we'd, you know, go.",[14,17708,17709],{},"Kerry Guard [00:10:21]:",[14,17711,17712],{},"On these really lovely walks together to go get lunch. And we would just like, sort of scheme. So I think it was just through the ideation of it that we were like, yeah, this feels good. We could go do this thing. I'm curious to hear Mike's side of the story. For me, it was definitely more of a gut feeling.",[14,17714,17715],{},"Kerry Guard [00:10:38]:",[14,17717,17718],{},"Like, no, I can see this.",[14,17720,17721],{},"Kerry Guard [00:10:41]:",[14,17723,17724],{},"I can feel this being, like, a.",[14,17726,17727],{},"Kerry Guard [00:10:42]:",[14,17729,17730],{},"Good partnership and, yeah, let's do this thing.",[14,17732,17733],{},"Staci Gray [00:10:47]:",[14,17735,17736],{},"I am curious about Mike's perspective. And then I've got questions.",[14,17738,17739],{},"Mike Krass [00:10:53]:",[14,17741,17742],{},"I know, I know. I feel like you're separating us and deposing us in different rooms. Don't let the two parties hear one another speak.",[14,17744,17745],{},"Mike Krass [00:11:00]:",[14,17747,16926],{},[14,17749,17745],{},[14,17751,17752],{},"So how did we get together? Like Kerry mentioned, she was headhunted to come over to Wong duty, which is two people's names, by the way, to get that context. Tracy Wong and Pat duty, both are men.",[14,17754,17755],{},"Mike Krass [00:11:11]:",[14,17757,17758],{},"I bring that up because we had.",[14,17760,17761],{},"Mike Krass [00:11:13]:",[14,17763,17764],{},"A lot of people interview there and they're like, what's Tracy like? Is she nice? I'm like, well, she's kind of a guy, so you probably should figure that out before you interview with her or with him. Yeah, you know, I. I remember Carrie coming in, and I think Carrie will remember this, too. We'll see.",[14,17766,17767],{},"Mike Krass [00:11:28]:",[14,17769,17770],{},"I was just, like, cooked.",[14,17772,17773],{},"Mike Krass [00:11:30]:",[14,17775,17776],{},"Like, I, you know, we didn't have anybody in charge of that department. Seattle, where we were working, is a very kind of laid back place. But I was in, like, I was wearing a lot of sweatpants to work. And, like, nobody was saying anything because they're like, if he just keeps coming.",[14,17778,17779],{},"Mike Krass [00:11:42]:",[14,17781,17782],{},"To work, just don't worry about, like, his appearance. But, you know, you can start to.",[14,17784,17785],{},"Mike Krass [00:11:48]:",[14,17787,17788],{},"Tell outwardly, like, how is somebody, what is their body language? Like, how do they dress? You know, how are they showing up to certain things? And I was showing up as, as my friend Chris likes to say, as the horse you remember from Animal Farm, right?",[14,17790,17791],{},"Mike Krass [00:12:00]:",[14,17793,17794],{},"Like, you know, this, this thing happens. Don't worry.",[14,17796,17797],{},"Mike Krass [00:12:03]:",[14,17799,17800],{},"You know, boxer the horse will work harder, right? This thing happened, no big deal. Boxer the horse will work harder until boxer gets sold to the glue factory and boxer becomes no more. And so I was on a path of boxer the horse of just like, whatever. Like, I'll just. I'll just keep working hard. Hard. You know, I can do more. Like, I can do more.",[14,17802,17803],{},"Mike Krass [00:12:23]:",[14,17805,17806],{},"And Carrie came in and really helped.",[14,17808,17809],{},"Mike Krass [00:12:25]:",[14,17811,17812],{},"To, not just for the department, but for me.",[14,17814,17815],{},"Mike Krass [00:12:28]:",[14,17817,17818],{},"Like, kind of take a step back and understand, like, you're on an interesting.",[14,17820,17821],{},"Mike Krass [00:12:31]:",[14,17823,17824],{},"Path here and I won't stop you.",[14,17826,17827],{},"Mike Krass [00:12:33]:",[14,17829,17830],{},"If you really want to go down.",[14,17832,17833],{},"Mike Krass [00:12:34]:",[14,17835,17836],{},"It, but this is kind of like.",[14,17838,17839],{},"Mike Krass [00:12:36]:",[14,17841,17842],{},"Just objectively, like a fresh set of eyes. Like, this is kind of where you're headed to. So just bringing some awareness to that fact. And, you know, I wish that we.",[14,17844,17845],{},"Mike Krass [00:12:47]:",[14,17847,17848],{},"Had, like, this, you know, like a.",[14,17850,17851],{},"Mike Krass [00:12:49]:",[14,17853,17854],{},"Hewlett Packard style story of, like, we were in the garage tinkering, but like.",[14,17856,17857],{},"Mike Krass [00:12:53]:",[14,17859,17860],{},"Kerry said, you know, we, we really.",[14,17862,17863],{},"Mike Krass [00:12:55]:",[14,17865,17866],{},"Just kept talking as we were working through different client accounts. We were like, this is how I wish we really were doing this. But we weren't in a position to change that at that agency. It wasn't a bad thing. It just, it was our reality in that environment. And so for us, you know, we got to that point of like, well.",[14,17868,17869],{},"Mike Krass [00:13:11]:",[14,17871,17872],{},"What if we did do our own thing? And I remember I put up, it.",[14,17874,17875],{},"Mike Krass [00:13:16]:",[14,17877,17878],{},"Was like on a Friday evening or Saturday morning, like, I put up a.",[14,17880,17881],{},"Mike Krass [00:13:19]:",[14,17883,17884],{},"Little two page WordPress website which our boss immediately found.",[14,17886,17887],{},"Mike Krass [00:13:23]:",[14,17889,17890],{},"I'm not sure how he immediately found. And was like, hey, man, like, we need to talk about this.",[14,17892,17893],{},"Mike Krass [00:13:28]:",[14,17895,17896],{},"Probably because it surprised the heck out.",[14,17898,17899],{},"Mike Krass [00:13:29]:",[14,17901,17902],{},"Of him because he thought that we both worked for long duty at the moment. And he was like, what's going on here?",[14,17904,17905],{},"Staci Gray [00:13:34]:",[14,17907,17908],{},"Well, and it's not ready to take off. So he's like, wait a minute, get my horse back.",[14,17910,17911],{},"Mike Krass [00:13:39]:",[14,17913,17914],{},"Yeah, yeah. He's like, box has got to come back. And that's really, like, where we started. And as I finish my recollection of.",[14,17916,17917],{},"Mike Krass [00:13:47]:",[14,17919,17920],{},"The story, we time boxed it.",[14,17922,17923],{},"Mike Krass [00:13:49]:",[14,17925,17926],{},"We just said, let's try this. For six months. I worked nights and weekends. Kerry went full time immediately into MKG marketing. And we just said, let's try it for six months. If we can't get a client engagement.",[14,17928,17929],{},"Mike Krass [00:14:01]:",[14,17931,17932],{},"At that point, no harm, no foul.",[14,17934,17935],{},"Mike Krass [00:14:03]:",[14,17937,17938],{},"No blood, no foul.",[14,17940,17941],{},"Mike Krass [00:14:06]:",[14,17943,17944],{},"It was a great try.",[14,17946,17947],{},"Mike Krass [00:14:07]:",[14,17949,17950],{},"That's how we framed it.",[14,17952,17953],{},"Mike Krass [00:14:10]:",[14,17955,17956],{},"We're going to time boxes.",[14,17958,17959],{},"Mike Krass [00:14:11]:",[14,17961,17962],{},"We're going to have some structure. We're going to have a clear measure.",[14,17964,17965],{},"Mike Krass [00:14:14]:",[14,17967,17968],{},"Of success, which means one paying client.",[14,17970,17971],{},"Mike Krass [00:14:17]:",[14,17973,17974],{},"There wasn't notice, there wasn't an amount of money being paid. It was just somebody has to pay us. That shows that we have established a little bit of a corner in the world and somebody will pay us to continue working.",[14,17976,17977],{},"Kerry Guard [00:14:31]:",[14,17979,17980],{},"I think the other thing we did.",[14,17982,17983],{},"Kerry Guard [00:14:33]:",[14,17985,17986],{},"Which is interesting in the early days.",[14,17988,17989],{},"Kerry Guard [00:14:35]:",[14,17991,17992],{},"Is the very first thing we did.",[14,17994,17995],{},"Kerry Guard [00:14:37]:",[14,17997,17998],{},"Actually was, I remember it was in my Bellevue apartment. Mike came over and we sat down and did a, what was it called? It was like where you, it was.",[14,18000,18001],{},"Kerry Guard [00:14:45]:",[14,18003,18004],{},"Like a formation agreement.",[14,18006,18007],{},"Kerry Guard [00:14:47]:",[14,18009,18010],{},"And we like really sat down and said like, okay, if we're going to.",[14,18012,18013],{},"Kerry Guard [00:14:49]:",[14,18015,18016],{},"Do this thing, like, what does this.",[14,18018,18019],{},"Kerry Guard [00:14:50]:",[14,18021,18022],{},"Mean to us and what do we want out of it and like, what's important? And we laid it all out there. I think that was so key. Like, I was like, I want a family.",[14,18024,18025],{},"Kerry Guard [00:14:57]:",[14,18027,18028],{},"I want to have kids someday.",[14,18030,18031],{},"Kerry Guard [00:14:59]:",[14,18033,18034],{},"I want to make sure I have time for them. That's really important to me. And Mike laid out what was important to him and we respect each other for that. I think that was a really key.",[14,18036,18037],{},"Kerry Guard [00:15:07]:",[14,18039,18040],{},"Piece to us feeling like we're all.",[14,18042,18043],{},"Kerry Guard [00:15:11]:",[14,18045,18046],{},"In at that point.",[14,18048,18043],{},[14,18050,18051],{},"Like, yeah, we're good here.",[14,18053,18054],{},"Staci Gray [00:15:15]:",[14,18056,18057],{},"I want to go in so many different directions right now. So I'm going to just box a couple. Since the audience is going to be people who are a little bit deeper in their journey in scaling their organizations, I'm going to box the part about testing before you launch full steam into entrepreneurship. And I feel like you guys captured that so well because that's what I did. That's what a lot of entrepreneurs do. If you don't have a paying customer, you don't have a business. So get your one paying customer and get that going. I think where scaling becomes really challenging.",[14,18059,18060],{},"Kerry Guard [00:15:45]:",[14,18062,18063],{},"Is, Carrie, what you just did is.",[14,18065,18066],{},"Staci Gray [00:15:49]:",[14,18068,18069],{},"What is the vision upfront like and what are we willing to trade or sacrifice to get it? And what are we not willing to trade or sacrifice to get it? And then also the mutual respect, I am hearing so much mutual respect between you two of knowing your individual strengths and also knowing the individual maybe struggles or challenges, but the compassion for each other that, hey, it's okay if your nose to the grinds down, head down, and you don't see the forest for the trees. I got you there and vice versa.",[14,18071,18072],{},"Kerry Guard [00:16:21]:",[14,18074,18075],{},"So how do you guys, you're kind.",[14,18077,18078],{},"Staci Gray [00:16:25]:",[14,18080,18081],{},"Of operating like co visionary, co integrator. How do you delineate your lanes and own them so you don't step on each other's toes or get into kind of below the line conversations? Blame game. All that stuff that can, can happen in visionary integrated relationships.",[14,18083,18084],{},"Staci Gray [00:16:43]:",[14,18086,18087],{},"So I'm.",[14,18089,18090],{},"Staci Gray [00:16:45]:",[14,18092,18093],{},"Carrie's smirking. So I feel like I'm either hitting.",[14,18095,18096],{},"Kerry Guard [00:16:47]:",[14,18098,18099],{},"Something hard here, or I feel like you read our story somewhere or this is written down, or you were a fly on the wall through the last twelve years, we had all those things. We were definitely sharing the seat.",[14,18101,18102],{},"Kerry Guard [00:16:59]:",[14,18104,18105],{},"We were sharing the integrator seat for a long time.",[14,18107,18108],{},"Kerry Guard [00:17:02]:",[14,18110,18111],{},"We didn't know it.",[14,18113,18114],{},"Kerry Guard [00:17:03]:",[14,18116,18117],{},"So what happened was we were both doing everything.",[14,18119,18120],{},"Kerry Guard [00:17:08]:",[14,18122,18123],{},"That's just what you do, right, when you first start off, you're both doing everything. We were showing up to client pitches together, we were putting presentations together, we were working on all the accounts together. We brought in as we were hiring, we were still account managing them and the analytics piece, and we were still very much working in the business together on everything. And so when it came time to.",[14,18125,18126],{},"Kerry Guard [00:17:30]:",[14,18128,18129],{},"Like, figure out finance stuff or figure.",[14,18131,18132],{},"Kerry Guard [00:17:32]:",[14,18134,18135],{},"Out marketing or figure out, you know, the it side of things, we were still doing it all together. And then I decided to go have children.",[14,18137,18138],{},"Kerry Guard [00:17:41]:",[14,18140,18141],{},"And when I came back, it was.",[14,18143,18144],{},"Kerry Guard [00:17:44]:",[14,18146,18147],{},"You know, Mike held up the fort for two and a half months or so while I had twins. And I came back and we had.",[14,18149,18150],{},"Kerry Guard [00:17:52]:",[14,18152,18153],{},"A super tough conversation and a strong heart to heart of, like, one person.",[14,18155,18156],{},"Kerry Guard [00:17:59]:",[14,18158,18159],{},"Cannot all do this, and we've been doing everything.",[14,18161,18162],{},"Kerry Guard [00:18:01]:",[14,18164,18165],{},"And so, like, where are we going from here?",[14,18167,18168],{},"Kerry Guard [00:18:04]:",[14,18170,18171],{},"It was at that point that we split the roles and responsibilities based off of just our own capability of, like, to your point, like you said, Stacey, of like, where our strengths were. And so Mike's strengths was 100% sales. I came back, it was like the best problem to have coming off of maternity leave. We had way too much business, not enough people. Great problem to have. Oh, we were swimming in it. So I was like, Mike, you guys got the sales path, you're crushing it. And I said, I need to take the operations side and the people side, because now I got to go figure out, like, where people are going to come from to go staff.",[14,18173,18174],{},"Kerry Guard [00:18:36]:",[14,18176,18177],{},"And then you take sales and I'll take marketing and then the finance piece as well.",[14,18179,18180],{},"Staci Gray [00:18:40]:",[14,18182,18183],{},"We sort of just like split the.",[14,18185,18186],{},"Kerry Guard [00:18:42]:",[14,18188,18189],{},"House, divided it down the center.",[14,18191,17031],{},[14,18193,18194],{},"And that worked for a while.",[14,18196,18197],{},"Kerry Guard [00:18:46]:",[14,18199,18200],{},"It worked from 2015 to 2021.",[14,18202,18203],{},"Staci Gray [00:18:50]:",[14,18205,18206],{},"21 ish.",[14,18208,18209],{},"Kerry Guard [00:18:53]:",[14,18211,18212],{},"Yeah, 21 ish.",[14,18214,18215],{},"Kerry Guard [00:18:54]:",[14,18217,18218],{},"And then we had a new heart to heart.",[14,18220,18221],{},"Kerry Guard [00:18:57]:",[14,18223,18224],{},"And I'm gonna let Mike take it.",[14,18226,18227],{},"Kerry Guard [00:18:58]:",[14,18229,18230],{},"From here because he sort of sparked the switch chains and the winds.",[14,18232,18233],{},"Mike Krass [00:19:06]:",[14,18235,18236],{},"Yeah. Yeah. Stacey, you definitely are noticing some of the co ness of the role within integrator and visionary amongst Carrie and I. And, you know, where, where we were in about 2021 is, I was actually talking to an EOS coach or an implementer, whatever they call them, EOS implementation coach. And he was just asking some questions, and we hadn't even hired him yet.",[14,18238,18239],{},"Mike Krass [00:19:29]:",[14,18241,18242],{},"And he said, the more you tell.",[14,18244,18245],{},"Mike Krass [00:19:32]:",[14,18247,18248],{},"Me, the more I realize you're actually both sharing these seats on your accountability chart. Like, I'm not sure if you're aware.",[14,18250,18251],{},"Mike Krass [00:19:36]:",[14,18253,18254],{},"Of that, but you are.",[14,18256,18257],{},"Mike Krass [00:19:38]:",[14,18259,18260],{},"And it was kind of an aha moment for me where I was like.",[14,18262,18263],{},"Mike Krass [00:19:41]:",[14,18265,18266],{},"Oh, well, yeah, I mean, I guess.",[14,18268,18269],{},"Mike Krass [00:19:44]:",[14,18271,18272],{},"Like, I have been managing finance, but also big relationships and vision and those, like, I'm fine doing finance, but it's not like a, it's not a life giving activity for me. Like, I do it because I need to, because it's my responsibility as a business owner to understand what's happening here, but it's not like what I really enjoy with, you know, big relationships and vision and, and that kind of work.",[14,18274,18275],{},"Mike Krass [00:20:09]:",[14,18277,18278],{},"And so that conversation with Matt brought.",[14,18280,18281],{},"Mike Krass [00:20:12]:",[14,18283,18284],{},"About our conversation where I said, hey, I think we need to have another.",[14,18286,18287],{},"Mike Krass [00:20:15]:",[14,18289,18290],{},"Understanding of, like, we really were just.",[14,18292,18293],{},"Mike Krass [00:20:17]:",[14,18295,18296],{},"Picking up things based on who had time. Like, oh, well, Stacy's got an extra 2 hours in her week, so she can just do, like, the finance stuff because it takes about 2 hours a week. Perfect. But it's not actually what Stacy should be doing, or Mike or Carrie in this case.",[14,18298,18299],{},"Mike Krass [00:20:29]:",[14,18301,18302],{},"And so in 2020, when we had that conversation, we split and we really.",[14,18304,18305],{},"Mike Krass [00:20:33]:",[14,18307,18308],{},"Focused on integrator, visionary, who does what. There's still a little bit of crossover because as integrator. And Kerry also carries the CEO title, which is not always common for an integrator to have that title. And so, like, she is involved with some big relationships because she has to be, right? As CEO, she has to understand, like, where certain things are. But it's created a different space for me to act in a visionary role, which, as you probably know, Stacy doesn't necessarily have a beginning and the end. It's kind of like a big ball of yarn that just continues forever.",[14,18310,18311],{},"Mike Krass [00:21:04]:",[14,18313,18314],{},"You know, it's not like I'm gonna.",[14,18316,18317],{},"Mike Krass [00:21:05]:",[14,18319,18320],{},"Set 2 hours on Tuesday morning, and then the vision will be done. Like, the vision changes every single time I speak to somebody. It changes just a little bit.",[14,18322,18323],{},"Staci Gray [00:21:13]:",[14,18325,18326],{},"I joke, I have built several multi million dollar businesses as integrator, and then I did it as visionary in making the change from integrator to visionary was so hard for exactly what you just said, mike, because as an integrator, you win in checkboxes. Like, you're results oriented. It's logistics and all of that. You go to visionary role, and it's like you got one checkbox and it's just an unraveling yarn. And you keep thinking about it. It keeps evolving, and it's harder to contain. So it's a. Just because you have time on your calendar doesn't mean you have mental capacity.",[14,18328,18329],{},"Staci Gray [00:21:49]:",[14,18331,18332],{},"And that has been such a growth journey for me. The thing that you guys have done, even just explaining this, is the courage to have what I call pink elephant conversations. It's the uncomfortable conversation that everyone knows there's a pink elephant in the room, but everyone is just tiptoeing around it. And it's really hard to build and scale organizations without having those, because you forfeit trust every time you brush that thing under the rug. It fragments the relationship. So how did you guys inside of your organization create a culture of having crucial conversations?",[14,18334,18335],{},"Kerry Guard [00:22:29]:",[14,18337,18338],{},"I think it comes back to our values, right? So it's such a critical part of any business.",[14,18340,18341],{},"Kerry Guard [00:22:34]:",[14,18343,18344],{},"I know that all the people listening probably do have values, and I hope.",[14,18346,18347],{},"Kerry Guard [00:22:38]:",[14,18349,18350],{},"That the values are more than just.",[14,18352,17085],{},[14,18354,18355],{},"Pretty pictures on the wall. Don't get me wrong, I love walking.",[14,18357,17097],{},[14,18359,18360],{},"Into an office building and see some awesome lettering with your values tattooed all over.",[14,18362,18363],{},"Kerry Guard [00:22:48]:",[14,18365,18366],{},"It is super cool, but you also.",[14,18368,17109],{},[14,18370,18371],{},"Gotta live up to them. And I was never really part of an agency or company that did that.",[14,18373,18374],{},"Kerry Guard [00:22:56]:",[14,18376,18377],{},"Long duty, did have values, and they did say what they were, but I.",[14,18379,18380],{},"Kerry Guard [00:23:00]:",[14,18382,18383],{},"Didn'T feel them through the organization. And so I think when Mike and I started MKG, it was really important.",[14,18385,18386],{},"Kerry Guard [00:23:05]:",[14,18388,18389],{},"That when we created values, we really came back to living them.",[14,18391,18392],{},"Kerry Guard [00:23:11]:",[14,18394,18395],{},"Every decision we make comes back to, is this people first?",[14,18397,18398],{},"Kerry Guard [00:23:15]:",[14,18400,18401],{},"Is this transparent?",[14,18403,18404],{},"Kerry Guard [00:23:17]:",[14,18406,18407],{},"Is this laddering up to the bigger picture? And is this upholding our standards that we've worked so hard to create thus far?",[14,18409,18410],{},"Kerry Guard [00:23:26]:",[14,18412,18413],{},"And so transparency is one of our values. And crucial conversations happen in that place of honesty, of, like, let's sit with.",[14,18415,18416],{},"Kerry Guard [00:23:36]:",[14,18418,18419],{},"The ugly truths of where we are and what's happening and then have a discussion around. I think ids really helped with that.",[14,18421,18422],{},"Kerry Guard [00:23:42]:",[14,18424,18425],{},"You know, what's the issue?",[14,18427,18428],{},"Kerry Guard [00:23:44]:",[14,18430,18431],{},"Let's discuss it to really make sure we know it and understand it and we've defined it, because what you think the issue is is probably not what.",[14,18433,18434],{},"Kerry Guard [00:23:52]:",[14,18436,18437],{},"The actual issue is, and then let's solve it.",[14,18439,18440],{},"Kerry Guard [00:23:56]:",[14,18442,18443],{},"And so I think in really being able to embed ids into our organization really helped us have those pink elephant conversations a lot easier. It was not pretty in the early days. It was very much ripping off a band aid. It was very much saying hurtful things because we didn't know what else. We didn't know how to just start the conversation. And I think now that we use.",[14,18445,18446],{},"Kerry Guard [00:24:20]:",[14,18448,18449],{},"The ids framework, it's really helped being.",[14,18451,18452],{},"Kerry Guard [00:24:22]:",[14,18454,18455],{},"Able to have those conversations faster.",[14,18457,18458],{},"Staci Gray [00:24:25]:",[14,18460,18461],{},"And for folks who maybe don't know, ids is issue, discuss, solve, and it's part of a weekly leadership meeting or every other week leadership meeting from eos.",[14,18463,18464],{},"Mike Krass [00:24:37]:",[14,18466,18467],{},"One thing I'd say that, you know.",[14,18469,18470],{},"Mike Krass [00:24:38]:",[14,18472,18473],{},"Kerry, you just mentioned is, and these.",[14,18475,18476],{},"Mike Krass [00:24:41]:",[14,18478,18479],{},"Are my words, but what you just mentioned brought this to the forefront of my mind is we didn't know how to have these conversations. So for the listeners, it's not like we just showed up. And on our first day of partnership.",[14,18481,18482],{},"Mike Krass [00:24:53]:",[14,18484,18485],{},"At being in a partnership in the business, we just knew how to have them.",[14,18487,18488],{},"Mike Krass [00:24:57]:",[14,18490,18491],{},"And I remember when Carrie came back from having the twins and I was still in flight training. Every Friday morning I'd go to San Carlos airport. It's just like 5 miles south of SFO in San Francisco. And we'd have our weekly meeting after I do a flight lesson with an instructor.",[14,18493,18494],{},"Mike Krass [00:25:14]:",[14,18496,18497],{},"And I remember distinctly and in a.",[14,18499,18500],{},"Mike Krass [00:25:18]:",[14,18502,18503],{},"Horrible way because I didn't have the language or any of the tools, essentially.",[14,18505,18506],{},"Mike Krass [00:25:22]:",[14,18508,18509],{},"Saying, like, I'm doing a whole lot.",[14,18511,18512],{},"Mike Krass [00:25:24]:",[14,18514,18515],{},"Around here and I don't know what the heck is going on with you, but, like, I need help. And Harry having two twins, you know, very young children, for any listeners who have had young children, you know, like, that first year and the first couple months is hard. And what you don't probably need someone to say is, hey, man, like, what's going on with you? And so I just said it in the most horrible way. It was a conversation that needed to happen, but it was from my side, just, like, delivered terribly.",[14,18517,18518],{},"Mike Krass [00:25:55]:",[14,18520,18521],{},"And now you fast forward.",[14,18523,18524],{},"Mike Krass [00:25:56]:",[14,18526,18527],{},"That's in 2015. It's now 2024. So almost a decade later. And we have tools that have been given to us like ids from the attraction or EOS framework. We've got, you know, a business coach who talks to us about having crucial conversations and how to start conversations. So it's almost like training, right? Almost like a sport, right?",[14,18529,18530],{},"Mike Krass [00:26:14]:",[14,18532,18533],{},"Like nobody, nobody just gave Roger Federer a tennis racket, and they were like.",[14,18535,18536],{},"Mike Krass [00:26:18]:",[14,18538,18539],{},"Hey, man, go win. Like, a pile of grand slams, right? It required, like, training and coaching and practice and some terrible, terrible matches, both in our business and in his tennis career to understand, like, what's going on here, like, what's happening. And so it's that phrase of, like, the only way out is through. Like, you cannot go around this. Like, that's avoiding the conversation. Like, the way forward is through, and it's going to be messy, and you're probably going to make some mistakes. And insight is 2020, but ultimately, it's having these tools to be able to have, in your words, crucial conversations.",[14,18541,18542],{},"Staci Gray [00:26:52]:",[14,18544,18545],{},"That's also a book called Crucial Conversations, which is incredible if you guys haven't read it. The thing that you also have done for each other is extend a lot of grace and also show a commitment. You know, sometimes when we reach those really hard moments in partnerships and a visionary integrator relationship can very much be like a marriage because you're committed to this person, you're working through everything with them.",[14,18547,18548],{},"Staci Gray [00:27:20]:",[14,18550,18551],{},"It's. You're.",[14,18553,18554],{},"Staci Gray [00:27:21]:",[14,18556,18557],{},"You're triggering each other.",[14,18559,18560],{},"Kerry Guard [00:27:23]:",[14,18562,18563],{},"And so we have a process we.",[14,18565,18566],{},"Staci Gray [00:27:24]:",[14,18568,18569],{},"Call find your truth in the trigger. Because what you're sharing is your narrative. It's your story. It's what you're telling yourself about the facts. But the root of it is something deeper. Like, I'm feeling like this is inequitable, or I am feeling like I am doing things I don't enjoy, and you get to do all the things you do enjoy, and being able to share it from a place of, you know, we both want win win, which it sounds like you guys have very much gone on that journey. The other part of the dynamic that I'm really curious about, and, Carrie, you alluded it to it in the beginning, which was, it was really just like a gut instinct. Like, you knew it was your intuition.",[14,18571,18572],{},"Staci Gray [00:28:07]:",[14,18574,18575],{},"And women, I think, tend to have these visceral reactions. I think men do, too, but women tend to be okay talking about it. And I know, Carrie, you're big Brene Brown. Fran, as I am, too. And I'm sure you brought that into the culture and the leadership and dynamic. But has there been any wrestling with that? Because I know I've had that where I've told my integrator, hey, this doesn't feel right. And unless it feels right and passionate and aligned, I don't think I can move in this direction. But someone who's integrator, like, who's more logical and systematic and if then.",[14,18577,18578],{},"Staci Gray [00:28:43]:",[14,18580,18581],{},"And engineer thinking, it's like, this makes no sense. It's obvious we should do this. So how do you guys reconcile some of that, if that happens in your relationship at all?",[14,18583,18584],{},"Kerry Guard [00:28:53]:",[14,18586,18587],{},"I go off of hunches and gut feelings based off of facts and data from previous. So I am very much that logical thinker.",[14,18589,18590],{},"Kerry Guard [00:29:03]:",[14,18592,18593],{},"I'm not.",[14,18595,18596],{},"Staci Gray [00:29:04]:",[14,18598,18599],{},"That's why?",[14,18601,18602],{},"Kerry Guard [00:29:05]:",[14,18604,18605],{},"Like, I'm not the visionary. I can't really think ten steps ahead. I'm thinking about right now and how.",[14,18607,18608],{},"Kerry Guard [00:29:12]:",[14,18610,18611],{},"To make right now great.",[14,18613,18614],{},"Kerry Guard [00:29:14]:",[14,18616,18617],{},"And with, you know, really looking at.",[14,18619,18620],{},"Kerry Guard [00:29:17]:",[14,18622,18623],{},"That year to three year plan, like.",[14,18625,18626],{},"Kerry Guard [00:29:19]:",[14,18628,18629],{},"That'S about as far ahead as I can think. And so my gut reactions, my hunches.",[14,18631,18632],{},"Kerry Guard [00:29:25]:",[14,18634,18635],{},"Are all based off of the information I'm gathering through my subconscious. And so I think when I met Mike, it was twofold. One, I saw me and him. I was that horse in New York. I I was owning the Yoplay account.",[14,18637,18638],{},"Kerry Guard [00:29:48]:",[14,18640,18641],{},"For $10 million, and it was me.",[14,18643,18644],{},"Kerry Guard [00:29:51]:",[14,18646,18647],{},"And I reported to a VP, and it burned me.",[14,18649,18650],{},"Kerry Guard [00:29:55]:",[14,18652,18653],{},"So when I showed up and saw Mike, I was like, I feel you so hard.",[14,18655,18656],{},"Kerry Guard [00:29:59]:",[14,18658,18659],{},"Can't even tell you. And what was magical about it.",[14,18661,18662],{},"Kerry Guard [00:30:05]:",[14,18664,18665],{},"And you don't run into many of these people, especially in New York City. Gosh, you do not run into these.",[14,18667,18668],{},"Kerry Guard [00:30:08]:",[14,18670,18671],{},"People in New York City. Is that people who can take feedback and run with it and lean into.",[14,18673,18674],{},"Kerry Guard [00:30:14]:",[14,18676,18677],{},"It and are like, tell me you're giving me great suggestions on what I could be doing better. Like, let's go.",[14,18679,18680],{},"Kerry Guard [00:30:20]:",[14,18682,18683],{},"Right?",[14,18685,18680],{},[14,18687,18688],{},"And he was one of those people.",[14,18690,18691],{},"Kerry Guard [00:30:21]:",[14,18693,18694],{},"Where I was like, we could grow together.",[14,18696,18697],{},"Kerry Guard [00:30:24]:",[14,18699,18700],{},"Like, we hear from each other, we build off of each other. It's rare that you find people to do that with where you don't get.",[14,18702,18703],{},"Kerry Guard [00:30:31]:",[14,18705,18706],{},"It's more of a yes and versus a no. But. And so I think when we're.",[14,18708,18709],{},"Kerry Guard [00:30:39]:",[14,18711,18712],{},"For me, it was very much like I was going on that gut feeling based off of all these past relationships that I had throughout New York. So when I. When I met Mike, I just. That's how I knew it was based.",[14,18714,18715],{},"Kerry Guard [00:30:52]:",[14,18717,18718],{},"Off of all that information. And so I think for us moving.",[14,18720,18721],{},"Kerry Guard [00:30:56]:",[14,18723,18724],{},"Forward, it is very much where Mike.",[14,18726,18727],{},"Kerry Guard [00:30:58]:",[14,18729,18730],{},"Can think a bit higher level.",[14,18732,18733],{},"Kerry Guard [00:31:00]:",[14,18735,18736],{},"He can keep his pulse on the bigger picture.",[14,18738,18739],{},"Kerry Guard [00:31:02]:",[14,18741,18742],{},"He can pull me up to say, I hear, like, you know, I know.",[14,18744,18745],{},"Kerry Guard [00:31:07]:",[14,18747,18748],{},"That this decision is really hard. I know that it might go against our values of what that feels like right now, but at the end of.",[14,18750,18751],{},"Kerry Guard [00:31:12]:",[14,18753,18754],{},"The day, this is what needs to.",[14,18756,18757],{},"Kerry Guard [00:31:14]:",[14,18759,18760],{},"Be accomplished, and we need to. We need to find our way through in what that decision is going to.",[14,18762,18763],{},"Staci Gray [00:31:18]:",[14,18765,18766],{},"Be to get there.",[14,18768,18769],{},"Kerry Guard [00:31:19]:",[14,18771,18772],{},"And so I think we work really.",[14,18774,18775],{},"Kerry Guard [00:31:23]:",[14,18777,18778],{},"Well that way of him being able to see big picture and me being.",[14,18780,18781],{},"Kerry Guard [00:31:26]:",[14,18783,18784],{},"Like, the right now problems of right now.",[14,18786,18787],{},"Staci Gray [00:31:30]:",[14,18789,18790],{},"Mm hmm.",[14,18792,18793],{},"Mike Krass [00:31:32]:",[14,18795,16926],{},[14,18797,18793],{},[14,18799,18800],{},"I I would talk about, you know.",[14,18802,18803],{},"Mike Krass [00:31:35]:",[14,18805,18806],{},"To the listeners, the having a framework.",[14,18808,18809],{},"Mike Krass [00:31:38]:",[14,18811,18812],{},"And understanding what conversation we're having. So, like, a piece of language that.",[14,18814,18815],{},"Mike Krass [00:31:43]:",[14,18817,18818],{},"I have that I've had to change.",[14,18820,18821],{},"Mike Krass [00:31:45]:",[14,18823,18824],{},"Because my wife doesn't like this anymore.",[14,18826,18827],{},"Mike Krass [00:31:47]:",[14,18829,18830],{},"And doesn't respond in a way that she likes to. It is, are we talking?",[14,18832,18833],{},"Mike Krass [00:31:54]:",[14,18835,18836],{},"Am I listening or are we solving something here? Anything about, like a systems thinker, like an integrator can often be.",[14,18838,18839],{},"Mike Krass [00:32:02]:",[14,18841,18842],{},"And it's like the moment I say.",[14,18844,18845],{},"Mike Krass [00:32:04]:",[14,18847,18848],{},"Something as a visionary and integrator will be like, well, let's see, like, how could we operationalize this?",[14,18850,18851],{},"Mike Krass [00:32:09]:",[14,18853,18854],{},"We can do this, that. And so framing it in a way.",[14,18856,18857],{},"Mike Krass [00:32:12]:",[14,18859,18860],{},"Of like, hey, I just want to carry's going to laugh at this because I think my latest version is like, I just want to plant a seed, which I didn't realize I said that so often. And she actually reflected it back to me earlier this year. She's like, you plant a lot of seeds of thought, an idea. And I'm like, I guess I do. I never thought about that. But that's basically saying because the language I used to use was, I'm going to tell you something, but I don't want to talk about it right now, which is, like, very frustrating to somebody who wants to operationalize something. And I think I said it last week, so I still say it on occasion, but it's like going to plant the seed of this idea. And I also, I do my best to offer an outlet.",[14,18862,18863],{},"Mike Krass [00:32:50]:",[14,18865,18866],{},"So, like, every Thursday morning we have a non IDS meeting, just Kerry and I, not our leadership team. It's just the two of us for 50 minutes.",[14,18868,18869],{},"Mike Krass [00:32:58]:",[14,18871,18872],{},"And so I often will plant seeds.",[14,18874,18875],{},"Mike Krass [00:33:01]:",[14,18877,18878],{},"At the beginning of the week so Carrie can think about them and then we can have time to talk about them and we might just jump straight into operationalizing it. That non ids block of time turns.",[14,18880,18881],{},"Mike Krass [00:33:10]:",[14,18883,18884],{},"Into ids real quick sometimes, but it's.",[14,18886,18887],{},"Mike Krass [00:33:13]:",[14,18889,18890],{},"Framing it of, like, here's how I'm.",[14,18892,18893],{},"Mike Krass [00:33:15]:",[14,18895,18896],{},"Bringing this to you.",[14,18898,18899],{},"Mike Krass [00:33:16]:",[14,18901,18902],{},"And for me, like, how I felt like, like, right in here sometimes is I'd like, bring this idea to Carrie.",[14,18904,18905],{},"Mike Krass [00:33:22]:",[14,18907,18908],{},"And then she start operationalizing it and.",[14,18910,18911],{},"Mike Krass [00:33:25]:",[14,18913,18914],{},"I'd be like, I don't know, like, I don't think we're even ready for that or whatever. And so it's kind of like, you know, you put the car in drive and then you, like, put it back in park. And so everyone's just like, what are we doing here, guys? Like, what the heck?",[14,18916,18917],{},"Mike Krass [00:33:36]:",[14,18919,18920],{},"But it's not everyone. It's two people.",[14,18922,18923],{},"Staci Gray [00:33:38]:",[14,18925,18926],{},"Yes.",[14,18928,18929],{},"Mike Krass [00:33:38]:",[14,18931,18932],{},"Being like, what the heck is happening around here?",[14,18934,18935],{},"Mike Krass [00:33:41]:",[14,18937,18938],{},"So I've tried to find that, like, that language and that framing of here.",[14,18940,18941],{},"Mike Krass [00:33:45]:",[14,18943,18944],{},"I'm just gonna, like, share some ideas.",[14,18946,18947],{},"Mike Krass [00:33:47]:",[14,18949,18950],{},"And I'm not sure that I'm ready.",[14,18952,18953],{},"Mike Krass [00:33:49]:",[14,18955,18956],{},"That can also be another piece of language of, like, I'm not sure I'm ready. Like, I'm here to listen if you.",[14,18958,18959],{},"Mike Krass [00:33:53]:",[14,18961,18962],{},"Want to talk about it, but I'm not really ready to go further right now. I can listen, but I don't know.",[14,18964,18965],{},"Mike Krass [00:33:59]:",[14,18967,18968],{},"That I can contribute as a speaker right now.",[14,18970,18971],{},"Staci Gray [00:34:03]:",[14,18973,18974],{},"One of the things I learned so much about the visionary integrator dynamic, which you guys are modeling here is the need for thought partnership, and with it not necessarily being actionable, because I know my integrator comes to me and says, what do you think about all of this? And I'm like, that's so in the weeds. Like, I can't go there right now. But at the same time, they're coming because they're like, I want to make sure that the vision is fully represented operationally, and I want to just double check and make sure we're aligned. And then when I'm in the visionary role, I'm like, hey, could we actually operationalize this? Would this actually resonate with our customers? I need, like, boots on the ground insight into this and that thought partnership. I didn't realize until more recently how critical that was for visionary integrator relationships to be successful. So framing it instead of chasing multiple rabbits is so critical. Yet sometimes we don't self regulate in that fashion. Especially, I'll say, more in the visionary seat than the integrator.",[14,18976,18977],{},"Staci Gray [00:35:12]:",[14,18979,18980],{},"The integrators tends to be more like three to five years right in front of you. More disciplined with our thinking visionaries in the seat.",[14,18982,18983],{},"Kerry Guard [00:35:21]:",[14,18985,18986],{},"That seat.",[14,18988,18989],{},"Staci Gray [00:35:21]:",[14,18991,18992],{},"We didn't get lost in the clouds and sometimes lose. Lose sense of reality or practicality at times. And the integrator can feel like they're poking holes in it. So, Carrie, do you have tactics that you use to support Mike in thought partnership without him feeling like his ideas.",[14,18994,18995],{},"Staci Gray [00:35:41]:",[14,18997,18998],{},"Are being dismissed or pooh poohed?",[14,19000,19001],{},"Kerry Guard [00:35:46]:",[14,19003,19004],{},"It took me a really long time.",[14,19006,19007],{},"Kerry Guard [00:35:49]:",[14,19009,19010],{},"To give space, to give space to.",[14,19012,19013],{},"Kerry Guard [00:35:53]:",[14,19015,19016],{},"An idea and let my subconscious hang out. So it's the.",[14,19018,19019],{},"Kerry Guard [00:35:56]:",[14,19021,19022],{},"It's giving space.",[14,19024,19025],{},"Staci Gray [00:35:58]:",[14,19027,19028],{},"Giving space for your subconscious to marinate on an idea. And I feel like that put it in a box really well, because sometimes we take an idea in the integrator seat, especially take the idea and run with it.",[14,19030,19031],{},"Kerry Guard [00:36:13]:",[14,19033,19034],{},"Don't need to. I don't need to integrate every single idea he has all the time. Sometimes he just has ideas and he needs to say them, and I need to give him space to say them. Love my subconscious. Hang out with them, and then there's gonna be one or two that I say, okay, I see it. I gotta see. I call them lily pads, right?",[14,19036,19037],{},"Kerry Guard [00:36:30]:",[14,19039,19040],{},"So, like, I don't want to not.",[14,19042,19043],{},"Kerry Guard [00:36:32]:",[14,19045,19046],{},"Say no to an idea. I just can't quite see the lily pads yet. So I'm just gonna hang out with it. And then the minute I can see the lily pads, it's like. And then I'm like, okay, let's dig into this and figure out what this means and how this might impact the company in a bigger way. So it's those two things.",[14,19048,19049],{},"Kerry Guard [00:36:45]:",[14,19051,19052],{},"Between the giving of the space and.",[14,19054,19055],{},"Kerry Guard [00:36:48]:",[14,19057,19058],{},"Acknowledging to myself that I don't need.",[14,19060,19061],{},"Kerry Guard [00:36:51]:",[14,19063,19064],{},"To integrate every idea, he's going to.",[14,19066,19067],{},"Kerry Guard [00:36:53]:",[14,19069,19070],{},"Have a million ideas.",[14,19072,19073],{},"Kerry Guard [00:36:54]:",[14,19075,19076],{},"That's his job.",[14,19078,19079],{},"Kerry Guard [00:36:56]:",[14,19081,19082],{},"It's my job to figure out which ideas are the ones we can use right now.",[14,19084,19085],{},"Staci Gray [00:37:00]:",[14,19087,18926],{},[14,19089,19090],{},"Staci Gray [00:37:02]:",[14,19092,19093],{},"One of the integrators I know will ask the visionary. Okay, of the five ideas you just told me about, which one of these are you going to change your mind about tomorrow? And then they just start going down their fingers and I'm like, that's brilliant. I need to use that. So what are you guys most excited about? Now that your versionary integrator relationship is just stormed and formed and you're really getting each other? That's where magic happens. So what's the future?",[14,19095,19096],{},"Staci Gray [00:37:31]:",[14,19098,19099],{},"Hold on.",[14,19101,19102],{},"Kerry Guard [00:37:33]:",[14,19104,19105],{},"I think it took us a minute to get acclimated.",[14,19107,19108],{},"Kerry Guard [00:37:37]:",[14,19110,19111],{},"So a couple things happened, right? So I took over CEO. The importance of me taking the CEO seat and really sitting an integrator as one person versus splitting is that now one person can see all the different pillars of the organization and how they fit together. Before, Mike was sales and finance, and he saw that and I was like, cool, I'm just going to go ask for money whenever I need it from a marketing and operations standpoint.",[14,19113,19114],{},"Kerry Guard [00:38:04]:",[14,19116,19117],{},"But we weren't, because we weren't working together.",[14,19119,19120],{},"Kerry Guard [00:38:06]:",[14,19122,19123],{},"There wasn't one person who could see the through line on that. Then we got out of balance. And so it really took me probably the last two years to really be able to see the full organization and how all these pillars work. Look at the historical data and. And think about how the market has changed and then what we're going to do from here based off of that information.",[14,19125,19126],{},"Kerry Guard [00:38:27]:",[14,19128,19129],{},"And I finally feel like I get it.",[14,19131,19132],{},"Kerry Guard [00:38:32]:",[14,19134,19135],{},"It's ever changing. And I'm, you know, but I feel caught up. And so I think it took us.",[14,19137,19138],{},"Kerry Guard [00:38:39]:",[14,19140,19141],{},"The last two years. We also, I mean, I think a.",[14,19143,19144],{},"Kerry Guard [00:38:42]:",[14,19146,19147],{},"Lot of agencies are feeling this up and down in terms of how the market's operating and it's been a tough two years. So we've been in a bit of fight or flight, but we're coming out the other side. 2024 has, you know, set us up for success in terms of where we are in trajectory of our finances. And so I think we're in a really good spot now to like give Mike those wings and that breath, to.",[14,19149,19150],{},"Kerry Guard [00:39:02]:",[14,19152,19153],{},"Like, go really live in that visionary role.",[14,19155,19156],{},"Kerry Guard [00:39:05]:",[14,19158,19159],{},"We haven't really had a chance to give him that and he's starting to find his feet in it.",[14,19161,19162],{},"Staci Gray [00:39:10]:",[14,19164,19165],{},"And it's, it's exciting to think about.",[14,19167,19168],{},"Kerry Guard [00:39:14]:",[14,19170,19171],{},"Now that we have the space to think about it.",[14,19173,19174],{},"Kerry Guard [00:39:16]:",[14,19176,19177],{},"He has a space to think about it.",[14,19179,19180],{},"Mike Krass [00:39:19]:",[14,19182,16926],{},[14,19184,19185],{},"Mike Krass [00:39:20]:",[14,19187,19188],{},"And where we're going from a visionary.",[14,19190,19191],{},"Mike Krass [00:39:22]:",[14,19193,19194],{},"Standpoint, somebody wise told me, when you.",[14,19196,19197],{},"Mike Krass [00:39:26]:",[14,19199,19200],{},"Want to be going somewhere, you have to know where you're starting from.",[14,19202,19203],{},"Staci Gray [00:39:28]:",[14,19205,18683],{},[14,19207,19208],{},"Mike Krass [00:39:28]:",[14,19210,19211],{},"Like, there always has to be like us. You are here, button on your map. And I think where we are today, where we have been is focused on primarily running a traditional agency model. There's nothing wrong with it being traditional in the agency model. It's been great for us over the past twelve years.",[14,19213,19214],{},"Mike Krass [00:39:47]:",[14,19216,19217],{},"And where I see us going is.",[14,19219,19220],{},"Mike Krass [00:39:50]:",[14,19222,19223],{},"Behaving differently than a traditional agency. So like a traditional agency, you know, you do some marketing and selling and then you get a client and then you sign them and then they pay you and then you do the work. And on occasion you turn a few and you bring a few more in and it's fine. Right? There's nothing wrong with that. But where I am thinking from a.",[14,19225,19226],{},"Mike Krass [00:40:08]:",[14,19228,19229],{},"Vision standpoint is we need some sort.",[14,19231,19232],{},"Mike Krass [00:40:10]:",[14,19234,19235],{},"Of compounding, compounding effect to make the business compound. So it's not just linear, it's not just one and one is two. It's one and one can become 50.",[14,19237,19238],{},"Mike Krass [00:40:21]:",[14,19240,19241],{},"And that's where I see us going.",[14,19243,19244],{},"Mike Krass [00:40:24]:",[14,19246,19247],{},"Is behaving a little bit less an advertising or a marketing agency and more.",[14,19249,19250],{},"Mike Krass [00:40:29]:",[14,19252,19253],{},"Like a group of specialists. So, like a great example that I.",[14,19255,19256],{},"Mike Krass [00:40:33]:",[14,19258,19259],{},"Gave to Kerry the other day is like, if we're a building, like in a condo building, we have as an agency. And I know we'll tell your listeners at the end kind of what we.",[14,19261,19262],{},"Mike Krass [00:40:42]:",[14,19264,19265],{},"Do and who we work with.",[14,19267,19268],{},"Mike Krass [00:40:43]:",[14,19270,19271],{},"We have a specific focus in terms of services and the type of customer we want to work with.",[14,19273,19274],{},"Mike Krass [00:40:48]:",[14,19276,19277],{},"And that's great.",[14,19279,19274],{},[14,19281,19282],{},"It's really solid positioning.",[14,19284,19285],{},"Mike Krass [00:40:50]:",[14,19287,19288],{},"It helps people.",[14,19290,19291],{},"Mike Krass [00:40:52]:",[14,19293,19294],{},"It's magnetic, it draws certain people in and it repels others. But there are certain things we don't do. There are other capabilities we'd love to have. I see for our vision this condo building of individual condo units of specialties. And what gets lost a lot, I was just talking to somebody two weeks ago who's selling his marketing agency and what gets lost a lot in an.",[14,19296,19297],{},"Mike Krass [00:41:13]:",[14,19299,19300],{},"Acquisition, as one example, is you get.",[14,19302,19303],{},"Mike Krass [00:41:16]:",[14,19305,19306],{},"Folded into the mothership and the thing that made you special, that made you valuable, that people acquired you for, that.",[14,19308,19309],{},"Mike Krass [00:41:22]:",[14,19311,19312],{},"People wanted to work at and people wanted to hire, kind of becomes like.",[14,19314,19315],{},"Mike Krass [00:41:27]:",[14,19317,19318],{},"Glazed over into like one big mothership. And so like our vision that I see and it's taken a long time.",[14,19320,19321],{},"Mike Krass [00:41:34]:",[14,19323,19324],{},"To get to this vision is the.",[14,19326,19327],{},"Mike Krass [00:41:36]:",[14,19329,19330],{},"Condo building with these individual condo units of specialization. Because that's where we really think, that's where the compounding benefits will come is.",[14,19332,19333],{},"Mike Krass [00:41:45]:",[14,19335,19336],{},"A diverse set of capabilities but not.",[14,19338,19339],{},"Mike Krass [00:41:47]:",[14,19341,19342],{},"Mushed together into one mothership. And they're all specialized and they're all focused on our audience of software and cybersecurity marketers. And so that's, that's where I see us going and it's been really exciting to get there.",[14,19344,19345],{},"Mike Krass [00:41:59]:",[14,19347,19348],{},"And it's actually good timing to record.",[14,19350,19351],{},"Mike Krass [00:42:00]:",[14,19353,19354],{},"This because we literally just got there in the past few weeks. Like this is very new to us.",[14,19356,19357],{},"Staci Gray [00:42:05]:",[14,19359,19360],{},"Yeah, I think that's like having an umbrella organization with silos that are specialized is so helpful, especially in service based businesses because it's so nuanced per customer that you're working with. And then you can have underneath all of your software tech platforms, your tech stack that you either have in house or affiliates and then that becomes such a great model with your services being very boutique and custom and tailored and the software is the part that scales it for you. So I love that structure.",[14,19362,19363],{},"Kerry Guard [00:42:42]:",[14,19365,19366],{},"How would you guys define success?",[14,19368,19369],{},"Staci Gray [00:42:46]:",[14,19371,19372],{},"Not business, but individually? I know you guys did your, yeah, I think I would call it an MoU, but Kerry, you called it some formation agreement. This is what we're doing. What does that look like for you.",[14,19374,19375],{},"Kerry Guard [00:42:59]:",[14,19377,19378],{},"When this is all said and done.",[14,19380,19381],{},"Mike Krass [00:43:01]:",[14,19383,19384],{},"What a success looks like to me?",[14,19386,19387],{},"Mike Krass [00:43:04]:",[14,19389,19390],{},"So first of all, I don't see.",[14,19392,19393],{},"Mike Krass [00:43:08]:",[14,19395,19396],{},"Mkg as something that will be done. I see it as something that probably I will perish. My vision is I will perish before the organization does in whatever format the organization is at that time. So it's just this constant state of evolution.",[14,19398,19399],{},"Mike Krass [00:43:26]:",[14,19401,19402],{},"And I haven't done it this year.",[14,19404,19405],{},"Mike Krass [00:43:28]:",[14,19407,19408],{},"But actually this time last year I.",[14,19410,19411],{},"Mike Krass [00:43:30]:",[14,19413,19414],{},"Wrote myself an email of what does MKG do for me?",[14,19416,19417],{},"Mike Krass [00:43:34]:",[14,19419,19420],{},"And it really was some of the things that you just asked about, what does success look like?",[14,19422,19423],{},"Mike Krass [00:43:38]:",[14,19425,19426],{},"So success to me looks like flexibility.",[14,19428,19429],{},"Mike Krass [00:43:41]:",[14,19431,19432],{},"In work, location, and time, success looks like being able to travel for work, but not having to travel for work.",[14,19434,19435],{},"Mike Krass [00:43:48]:",[14,19437,19438],{},"Success looks like being able to volunteer.",[14,19440,19441],{},"Mike Krass [00:43:51]:",[14,19443,19444],{},"Which I'm trying to get back into. And it's kind of been slow going since COVID you know, everything kind of shut down in person. I really enjoy, like, in person volunteering.",[14,19446,19447],{},"Mike Krass [00:43:58]:",[14,19449,19450],{},"And success, to me, also looks like.",[14,19452,19453],{},"Mike Krass [00:44:03]:",[14,19455,19456],{},"I'll tell you what it doesn't look like. There isn't a number that I have. You know, a lot of entrepreneurs have a number. Like, if you're a 4% rural person, you're like, I just need to make $10 million, and then I can live on my brokerage account for the rest of my life and not have to do anything, which is all well and.",[14,19458,19459],{},"Mike Krass [00:44:15]:",[14,19461,19462],{},"Good until you meet somebody who's made.",[14,19464,19465],{},"Mike Krass [00:44:17]:",[14,19467,19468],{},"$10 million and they are living a 4% life, and they're like, dude, I'm so bored. I am like, I'm literally, like, punching holes in the wall so I have something to do during the day so I can, like, do drywall work. Like, I'm floating drywall just because I've got nothing else to do around here. So what it doesn't look like is.",[14,19470,19471],{},"Mike Krass [00:44:35]:",[14,19473,19474],{},"For me, it's not a number for me, it doesn't really have an end.",[14,19476,19477],{},"Mike Krass [00:44:38]:",[14,19479,19480],{},"And I think coming back to, you know, talking about the holding company and the condo building and the units within it, it's this evolution of what the offering is here at MKg. Like, MKG could be the overarching condo building. That's what's on the building of the sign. There's all these little condo units within it.",[14,19482,19483],{},"Mike Krass [00:44:56]:",[14,19485,19486],{},"And that evolution will have to be.",[14,19488,19489],{},"Mike Krass [00:45:00]:",[14,19491,19492],{},"Flexible because we don't even know what we're gonna. What we're gonna need in ten years, right? I don't even know what condo units are gonna be in that building at that point. It could be the same. It could be different. It could be a mix.",[14,19494,19495],{},"Mike Krass [00:45:11]:",[14,19497,19498],{},"So, like, for me, I look at.",[14,19500,19501],{},"Mike Krass [00:45:13]:",[14,19503,19504],{},"It as maximum flexibility.",[14,19506,19507],{},"Mike Krass [00:45:15]:",[14,19509,19510],{},"It's not about a number. It's more about a lifestyle without it.",[14,19512,19513],{},"Mike Krass [00:45:19]:",[14,19515,19516],{},"Being a lifestyle business, if that makes sense.",[14,19518,19519],{},"Staci Gray [00:45:23]:",[14,19521,19522],{},"What I'm hearing, and I think I've heard it almost throughout this whole conversation, is just.",[14,19524,19525],{},"Kerry Guard [00:45:29]:",[14,19527,19528],{},"It's almost a value of joy.",[14,19530,19531],{},"Staci Gray [00:45:31]:",[14,19533,19534],{},"Like, enjoying the process, enjoying the discovery, enjoying envisioning, enjoying the evolution, enjoying learning how to have crucial conversations.",[14,19536,19537],{},"Kerry Guard [00:45:43]:",[14,19539,19540],{},"It's the process that's such a beautiful way to approach it.",[14,19542,19543],{},"Staci Gray [00:45:48]:",[14,19545,16926],{},[14,19547,19548],{},"Mike Krass [00:45:49]:",[14,19550,19551],{},"Very John Wooden esque. When you frame it that way of, like, it's not about what's the scoreboard. It's about how you tie your shoes but how you run about like. It's about the process.",[14,19553,19554],{},"Staci Gray [00:45:58]:",[14,19556,16926],{},[14,19558,19559],{},"Staci Gray [00:45:59]:",[14,19561,19562],{},"How about for you, Carrie?",[14,19564,19565],{},"Kerry Guard [00:46:01]:",[14,19567,19568],{},"I'm with Mike.",[14,19570,19571],{},"Kerry Guard [00:46:02]:",[14,19573,19574],{},"We read the book by Simon Sneck of let's start with why it was the infinite game.",[14,19576,19577],{},"Kerry Guard [00:46:08]:",[14,19579,19580],{},"The infinite game.",[14,19582,19583],{},"Kerry Guard [00:46:09]:",[14,19585,19586],{},"And so in reading that book, that's where it came for me of like, this is a painting that's never going to be done and I am going.",[14,19588,19589],{},"Staci Gray [00:46:15]:",[14,19591,19592],{},"To sit and accept that and be.",[14,19594,19595],{},"Kerry Guard [00:46:17]:",[14,19597,19598],{},"Excited about what this could mean for.",[14,19600,19601],{},"Kerry Guard [00:46:20]:",[14,19603,19604],{},"The next generation of who will take this thing over and keep it going. That's super exciting for me. I think that's what success looks like. The idea of it continuing without micro writing and sort of our legacy. I called it a legacy the other.",[14,19606,19607],{},"Kerry Guard [00:46:33]:",[14,19609,19610],{},"Day and my husband was like, legacy? I've been doing this for twelve years.",[14,19612,19613],{},"Kerry Guard [00:46:38]:",[14,19615,19616],{},"Like, I don't see myself really doing anything else. So yeah, my kids are going to remember my career as MPG and the legacy I leave behind for the next generation to take it over. And so, yeah, I think for me it's right now in terms of success, I'm looking for that stability and sustainability.",[14,19618,19619],{},"Kerry Guard [00:46:56]:",[14,19621,19622],{},"Piece for it to grow into that legacy. That's beautiful.",[14,19624,19625],{},"Staci Gray [00:47:01]:",[14,19627,19628],{},"You guys are finding your eyes closed reasons for doing eyes open things that.",[14,19630,19631],{},"Kerry Guard [00:47:06]:",[14,19633,19634],{},"Are beyond your time on earth, which is beautiful. I love it.",[14,19636,19637],{},"Staci Gray [00:47:11]:",[14,19639,19640],{},"So if folks want to learn more.",[14,19642,19643],{},"Kerry Guard [00:47:13]:",[14,19645,19646],{},"About what you do, maybe can you.",[14,19648,19649],{},"Staci Gray [00:47:16]:",[14,19651,19652],{},"All share a little bit about that and then where people can connect with you?",[14,19654,19655],{},"Mike Krass [00:47:21]:",[14,19657,19658],{},"Certainly.",[14,19660,19661],{},"Mike Krass [00:47:22]:",[14,19663,19664],{},"So we're easy to find online. The company is called MKG Marketing. Mike Kilo Golf Marketing. And you can go to MkG Marketing. Just type that into your browser and it'll take you straight to our website. Kerry and I are also both power LinkedIn ers. So I think probably in the show notes we can hook Stacy up with our LinkedIn profiles. We would love for anybody to connect.",[14,19666,19667],{},"Mike Krass [00:47:45]:",[14,19669,19670],{},"With us who heard the episode wants.",[14,19672,19673],{},"Mike Krass [00:47:48]:",[14,19675,19676],{},"To talk about anything we discussed or anything we left out. That's really the easiest way to get ahold of us is hit the website.",[14,19678,19679],{},"Mike Krass [00:47:54]:",[14,19681,19682],{},"Hit us on LinkedIn. And if you are a software or.",[14,19684,19685],{},"Mike Krass [00:47:58]:",[14,19687,19688],{},"A cybersecurity marketer listening to this, that's our niche, that's where MKG works. So we would absolutely love to meet you. If there's an opportunity to work together, great. More importantly, just to expand our network and our world. Carrie, anything that I left out there?",[14,19690,19691],{},"Staci Gray [00:48:10]:",[14,19693,19694],{},"If you are looking for marketing tips.",[14,19696,19697],{},"Kerry Guard [00:48:12]:",[14,19699,19700],{},"And tricks, we do have a podcast, tea time with tech marketing leaders that I host. So many great demand gen marketers on there who are building businesses and have great ideas on how to help you do it. So definitely check that out and if you're a marketer in b two B.",[14,19702,19703],{},"Kerry Guard [00:48:28]:",[14,19705,19706],{},"In the tech space and SaaS or cyber and you want to be on the show, let me know.",[14,19708,19709],{},"Staci Gray [00:48:31]:",[14,19711,19712],{},"Love to have you.",[14,19714,19715],{},"Staci Gray [00:48:33]:",[14,19717,19718],{},"Love that you I don't know why anyone would not want to connect with you both because you are soulful leaders and I feel like the world is really needing a lot more soulful leaders and bringing bringing more joy into the.",[14,19720,19721],{},"Staci Gray [00:48:45]:",[14,19723,19724],{},"Workplace while you get things done because like Mike you said the guy who retired 4% you get bored. People want to do things because that makes them feel significant and valued that create more beautiful things in the world. So I just appreciate both of you and admire the visionary integrated relationship with.",[14,19726,19727],{},"Staci Gray [00:49:08]:",[14,19729,19730],{},"Thank you so much for joining the conversation today.",[14,19732,19733],{},"Kerry Guard [00:49:11]:",[14,19735,19736],{},"Thank you Stacey. Thanks for having us.",[14,19738,19739],{},"Staci Gray [00:49:14]:",[14,19741,19742],{},"Yes. Yeah.",[14,19744,19745],{},"Mike Krass [00:49:15]:",[14,19747,19748],{},"Thank you.",[5778,19750],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":19752},[19753,19754,19755,19756,19757],{"id":16744,"depth":291,"text":16747},{"id":16753,"depth":291,"text":16756},{"id":16779,"depth":291,"text":16782},{"id":77,"depth":291,"text":77},{"id":16795,"depth":291,"text":16800},"2024-04-19T20:18:05Z","Kerry Guard & Mike Krass discuss their entrepreneurial journey and partnership at MKG Marketing, highlighting their roles, challenges, and shared vision.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fbuilding-trust-and-respect-crucial-convos-for-a-profitable-partnership",{"title":17172,"description":19759},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fbuilding-trust-and-respect-crucial-convos-for-a-profitable-partnership","tZ4UJou83KljN88POksUvYmMivDpbJ5PkB0JkUWfYJQ",{"id":19766,"title":19767,"author":7,"authors":19768,"body":19769,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":19907,"description":19908,"extension":318,"img":15706,"imgAlt":77,"meta":19909,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":19910,"seo":19911,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":19912,"updated":7,"__hash__":19913},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-semantic-keyword-variation.md","Optimizing SEO in Cybersecurity: Semantic Keyword Variation",[7,11776],{"type":11,"value":19770,"toc":19893},[19771,19775,19778,19784,19787,19793,19801,19807,19810,19816,19824,19830,19836,19844,19850,19858,19864,19867,19873,19881,19885,19888,19891],[24,19772,19773],{"id":15574},[52,19774,15577],{},[14,19776,19777],{},"If you’re leading marketing at a cybersecurity firm, you know how crucial it is to be visible online. This guide will show you how to use keywords smarter to boost your search rankings and get noticed by more potential clients.",[81,19779,19781],{"id":19780},"understand-semantic-keywords",[52,19782,19783],{},"Understand Semantic Keywords",[14,19785,19786],{},"Semantic keywords help search engines understand what your content is about. This is especially important in cybersecurity, where terms can be complex.",[81,19788,19790],{"id":19789},"why-use-semantic-keywords",[52,19791,19792],{},"Why Use Semantic Keywords?",[46,19794,19795,19798],{},[49,19796,19797],{},"Better Understanding: They help Google and other search engines get the context of your content, which means better matching with search queries.",[49,19799,19800],{},"Direct Answers: Your content answers specific questions people are asking, making it more useful and relevant.",[81,19802,19804],{"id":19803},"using-keyword-variations",[52,19805,19806],{},"Using Keyword Variations",[14,19808,19809],{},"By using different forms and synonyms of your main keywords, your website can show up in more search results, reaching a wider audience.",[81,19811,19813],{"id":19812},"tips-for-using-keyword-variations",[52,19814,19815],{},"Tips for Using Keyword Variations:",[46,19817,19818,19821],{},[49,19819,19820],{},"Include Synonyms: Use different words that mean the same thing to capture more searches.",[49,19822,19823],{},"Add Related Terms: Use technical terms and related words that cybersecurity experts might be searching for.",[81,19825,19827],{"id":19826},"improve-your-search-rankings-and-user-experience",[52,19828,19829],{},"Improve Your Search Rankings and User Experience",[81,19831,19833],{"id":19832},"how-to-use-keywords-to-rank-higher",[52,19834,19835],{},"How to Use Keywords to Rank Higher:",[46,19837,19838,19841],{},[49,19839,19840],{},"Speak Like Your Audience: Use words and phrases your audience uses to improve the relevance of your content.",[49,19842,19843],{},"Add Semantic Variants: These are variations that help search engines connect your content to related searches, improving how often your site shows up.",[81,19845,19847],{"id":19846},"enhance-user-experience",[52,19848,19849],{},"Enhance User Experience:",[46,19851,19852,19855],{},[49,19853,19854],{},"Target-Specific Queries: Attract visitors who are looking for exactly what you offer.",[49,19856,19857],{},"Reach a Wider Audience: Broad keywords help pull in more visitors, increasing your site's traffic and potential conversions.",[81,19859,19861],{"id":19860},"drive-more-traffic-and-increase-conversions",[52,19862,19863],{},"Drive More Traffic and Increase Conversions",[14,19865,19866],{},"Using keywords well not only helps with SEO but also attracts more people to your site who are likely to become customers.",[81,19868,19870],{"id":19869},"benefits-of-more-traffic",[52,19871,19872],{},"Benefits of More Traffic:",[46,19874,19875,19878],{},[49,19876,19877],{},"More Exposure: More visitors mean more people know about your cybersecurity firm.",[49,19879,19880],{},"More Sales: With more relevant visitors, you're likely to see more inquiries and sales.",[81,19882,19883],{"id":12551},[52,19884,12554],{},[14,19886,19887],{},"Using keywords effectively is key to online marketing for cybersecurity firms. It helps people find you when they need you, and it makes your site more engaging.",[14,19889,19890],{},"If you want to discuss how to apply these strategies to your business, reach out to schedule a talk with our agency today. We’re here to help you get the results you want.",[5778,19892],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":19894},[19895],{"id":15574,"depth":291,"text":15577,"children":19896},[19897,19898,19899,19900,19901,19902,19903,19904,19905,19906],{"id":19780,"depth":297,"text":19783},{"id":19789,"depth":297,"text":19792},{"id":19803,"depth":297,"text":19806},{"id":19812,"depth":297,"text":19815},{"id":19826,"depth":297,"text":19829},{"id":19832,"depth":297,"text":19835},{"id":19846,"depth":297,"text":19849},{"id":19860,"depth":297,"text":19863},{"id":19869,"depth":297,"text":19872},{"id":12551,"depth":297,"text":12554},"2024-04-19T17:26:34Z","Discover how mastering keyword variation and clustering boosts your cybersecurity marketing efforts. Read more of MKG’s series on SEO best practices.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-semantic-keyword-variation",{"title":19767,"description":19908},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Foptimizing-semantic-keyword-variation","EEyX76R-FAOwA7oFnqXXO6s13hb0TfxCZ7VAJWk7NSM",{"id":19915,"title":19916,"author":7,"authors":19917,"body":19918,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":20021,"description":20022,"extension":318,"img":15852,"imgAlt":77,"meta":20023,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":20024,"seo":20025,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":20026,"updated":7,"__hash__":20027},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fcomprehensive-content.md","Optimizing SEO in Cybersecurity: Comprehensive Content",[7,11776],{"type":11,"value":19919,"toc":20012},[19920,19924,19927,19933,19936,19942,19945,19956,19960,19963,19977,19983,19986,20000,20004,20007,20010],[24,19921,19922],{"id":15574},[52,19923,15577],{},[14,19925,19926],{},"In the realm of digital marketing for cybersecurity, the strategy surrounding content creation is pivotal. Recent shifts in SEO practices have highlighted a clear trend: longer content often translates to better performance. Understanding why and how to effectively implement this can significantly impact your agency's online visibility and authority.",[81,19928,19930],{"id":19929},"the-significance-of-long-form-content-in-seo",[52,19931,19932],{},"The Significance of Long-Form Content in SEO",[14,19934,19935],{},"Long-form content is increasingly recognized for its ability to enhance search engine performance. This is not merely due to the length but due to the depth and breadth of information it covers, which aligns closely with Google’s algorithms favoring comprehensive resources.",[81,19937,19939],{"id":19938},"comprehensive-coverage-boosts-seo",[52,19940,19941],{},"Comprehensive Coverage Boosts SEO",[14,19943,19944],{},"Long articles provide the perfect platform for a natural integration of a broad spectrum of relevant keywords and phrases. This does several things:",[46,19946,19947,19950,19953],{},[49,19948,19949],{},"Enhances relevance: By covering topics thoroughly, the content aligns more closely with various search queries.",[49,19951,19952],{},"Demonstrates authority: Detailed discussions of topics showcase your knowledge and position your site as an authoritative source.",[49,19954,19955],{},"Improves keyword optimization: The space to discuss numerous related points allows for effective targeting of both short-tail and long-tail keywords.",[81,19957,19959],{"id":19958},"benefits-of-enhanced-relevance-and-keyword-optimization","Benefits of Enhanced Relevance and Keyword Optimization",[14,19961,19962],{},"Expanding on detailed content not only supports SEO through improved keyword density but also by engaging readers:",[46,19964,19965,19968,19971,19974],{},[49,19966,19967],{},"Increases dwell time: Longer, engaging content keeps visitors on your page longer.",[49,19969,19970],{},"Signals content effectiveness: It shows search engines that your content is likely fulfilling user intent, a key metric for ranking.",[49,19972,19973],{},"Lowers bounce rates: By providing valuable insights, users are less likely to return to search results quickly.",[49,19975,19976],{},"Encourages backlinks and social sharing: Quality, informative content is more likely to be referenced by other sites and shared across social platforms, further enhancing its SEO impact.",[81,19978,19980],{"id":19979},"establishing-authority-and-expertise",[52,19981,19982],{},"Establishing Authority and Expertise",[14,19984,19985],{},"The depth of long-form content allows you to showcase your expertise extensively:",[46,19987,19988,19991,19994,19997],{},[49,19989,19990],{},"Showcases expertise: Detailed explanations and advanced topic exploration establish your knowledge.",[49,19992,19993],{},"Builds trust: As readers perceive your content as thorough and informative, trust grows.",[49,19995,19996],{},"Enhances visibility: In-depth content tends to rank higher, making your site more visible to potential clients.",[49,19998,19999],{},"Attracts quality backlinks: Authoritative content earns links from reputable sites, which strengthens your site’s SEO profile.",[81,20001,20002],{"id":12551},[52,20003,12554],{},[14,20005,20006],{},"For CMOs in the cybersecurity sector, leveraging the power of long-form content can transform your SEO strategy from good to great. By focusing on creating detailed, informative content, your agency not only improves its search engine rankings but also establishes a reputation as a trustworthy authority in cybersecurity.",[14,20008,20009],{},"If you've found these insights helpful and are looking to boost your digital strategy, consider reaching out to schedule a discovery call with our marketing agency today.",[5778,20011],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":20013},[20014],{"id":15574,"depth":291,"text":15577,"children":20015},[20016,20017,20018,20019,20020],{"id":19929,"depth":297,"text":19932},{"id":19938,"depth":297,"text":19941},{"id":19958,"depth":297,"text":19959},{"id":19979,"depth":297,"text":19982},{"id":12551,"depth":297,"text":12554},"2024-04-19T15:26:50Z","Discover how writing comprehensive content is crucial for bolstering your cybersecurity marketing efforts. Read more of MKG’s series on SEO best practices.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fcomprehensive-content",{"title":19916,"description":20022},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fcomprehensive-content","dLX6gelHeQQXK57zYWaanazbLUqc2lJwt7ql_K1pa7s",{"id":20029,"title":20030,"author":7,"authors":20031,"body":20032,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":20107,"description":20108,"extension":318,"img":15706,"imgAlt":77,"meta":20109,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":20110,"seo":20111,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":20112,"updated":7,"__hash__":20113},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fcreating-helpful-content.md","Optimizing SEO in Cybersecurity–Creating Helpful Content",[7,11776],{"type":11,"value":20033,"toc":20097},[20034,20036,20039,20043,20046,20050,20053,20057,20065,20069,20077,20081,20092,20094],[24,20035,15577],{"id":15574},[14,20037,20038],{},"As the digital world evolves, Google’s 2023 Helpful Content Update has ushered in a new era where the focus is squarely on providing users with thoughtful, in-depth responses. For cybersecurity firms looking to enhance their online presence, this means redefining SEO strategies to prioritize content that not only answers queries but also adds significant value.",[81,20040,20042],{"id":20041},"the-imperative-for-deep-engaging-content","The Imperative for Deep, Engaging Content",[14,20044,20045],{},"The update from Google prioritizes content that meticulously addresses user queries with expertise and insight. For a digital marketing agency specializing in cybersecurity, creating content that effectively informs and resolves specific security issues is paramount. Such content should offer clear, actionable solutions that go beyond mere information dissemination.",[81,20047,20049],{"id":20048},"the-role-of-e-e-a-t-in-seo-success","The Role of E-E-A-T in SEO Success",[14,20051,20052],{},"Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) are critical in defining what Google considers 'helpful content.' This emphasizes the need for articles that not only cover topics extensively but are also crafted by knowledgeable authors.",[81,20054,20056],{"id":20055},"enhancing-content-quality","Enhancing Content Quality:",[46,20058,20059,20062],{},[49,20060,20061],{},"Content Length and Quality: Successful SEO content often contains 1,000 to 2,000+ words, allowing for a comprehensive discussion of topics. The depth provided in longer articles facilitates a higher rank, with top-performing content averaging about 2,416 words.",[49,20063,20064],{},"Impact of Comprehensive Articles: In-depth content is more likely to attract backlinks and social shares, which are essential for increasing referral traffic, enhancing brand awareness, and improving off-site SEO factors.",[81,20066,20068],{"id":20067},"building-authority-through-expert-content","Building Authority Through Expert Content",[46,20070,20071,20074],{},[49,20072,20073],{},"Showcasing Expertise: Your content should reflect a deep understanding of cybersecurity, demonstrating both your direct experience and specialized knowledge.",[49,20075,20076],{},"Establishing Trust: Detailed explorations of topics help affirm your agency’s authority, fostering trust and encouraging readers to engage more deeply with your material, ultimately boosting your brand’s credibility.",[81,20078,20080],{"id":20079},"actionable-tips-for-cmos-in-cybersecurity","Actionable Tips for CMOs in Cybersecurity",[46,20082,20083,20086,20089],{},[49,20084,20085],{},"Focus on Depth: Aim to produce content that delves deeply into subjects, providing substantial information that meets and exceeds user expectations.",[49,20087,20088],{},"Utilize Case Studies: Incorporate real-world scenarios and case studies to illustrate key points, which can help validate your expertise and the effectiveness of your approaches.",[49,20090,20091],{},"Engage Industry Experts: Partner with thought leaders to bring additional credibility and varied perspectives to your content, enhancing its value and authority.",[81,20093,12554],{"id":12551},[14,20095,20096],{},"Leveraging these SEO best practices will not only boost your website's visibility but also position your firm as a reliable resource in the cybersecurity industry. If you’ve found these insights valuable and are considering stepping up your digital strategy, don’t hesitate to reach out and schedule a discovery call with our marketing agency today.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":20098},[20099],{"id":15574,"depth":291,"text":15577,"children":20100},[20101,20102,20103,20104,20105,20106],{"id":20041,"depth":297,"text":20042},{"id":20048,"depth":297,"text":20049},{"id":20055,"depth":297,"text":20056},{"id":20067,"depth":297,"text":20068},{"id":20079,"depth":297,"text":20080},{"id":12551,"depth":297,"text":12554},"2024-04-18T20:06:59Z","Discover how creating helpful content can boost your cybersecurity SEO efforts. This is the first in MKG’s series on SEO best practices. Read more today!",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fcreating-helpful-content",{"title":20030,"description":20108},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fcreating-helpful-content","B4GuZ5qkV_NRjBgFJYBOFtrPONauEVhqZ_rmp13Uwv0",{"id":20115,"title":20116,"author":7,"authors":20117,"body":20118,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":20206,"description":20207,"extension":318,"img":20208,"imgAlt":77,"meta":20209,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":20210,"seo":20211,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":20212,"updated":7,"__hash__":20213},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fmkg-vip-advanced-marketing-strategies-for-cybersecurity.md","MKG VIP: Advanced Marketing Strategies for Cybersecurity",[12109,12108],{"type":11,"value":20119,"toc":20196},[20120,20126,20129,20135,20138,20144,20147,20153,20156,20162,20165,20176,20182,20185,20191,20194],[24,20121,20123],{"id":20122},"mkg-vip-community-building-influence-and-trust-in-a-competitive-landscape",[52,20124,20125],{},"MKG VIP Community: Building Influence and Trust in a Competitive Landscape",[14,20127,20128],{},"In the ever-evolving digital realm, cybersecurity firms face both significant challenges and exciting opportunities as they strive to market their innovative solutions. This article is designed as a strategic resource for Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) and marketing leaders within the cybersecurity sector. Our aim is to offer actionable advice and showcase our thought leadership, helping you navigate the intricacies of modern marketing.",[81,20130,20132],{"id":20131},"crafting-content-that-addresses-user-needs",[52,20133,20134],{},"Crafting Content that Addresses User Needs",[14,20136,20137],{},"Successful marketing begins by developing content that directly confronts the challenges your potential clients encounter. In the cybersecurity field, where threats are constantly evolving, content must do more than inform—it needs to provide solutions. We recommend focusing on clarifying the benefits and unique aspects of your products, steering clear of technical jargon, and overblown claims. Incorporating real-world testimonials and evidence-based results can greatly enhance credibility and trust.",[81,20139,20141],{"id":20140},"enhancing-content-with-sme-contributions",[52,20142,20143],{},"Enhancing Content with SME Contributions",[14,20145,20146],{},"Our team's deep insights are crucial when complex solutions or advanced technologies are involved. By weaving expert knowledge into content, we transform standard articles into engaging, informative, and educational pieces that resonate with a tech-savvy audience. It's important to balance the depth of these contributions to ensure they enrich the content without dominating the core message.",[81,20148,20150],{"id":20149},"diversifying-content-throughout-the-customer-journey",[52,20151,20152],{},"Diversifying Content Throughout the Customer Journey",[14,20154,20155],{},"The customer journey in purchasing cybersecurity solutions is often long and involves numerous stakeholders. To effectively navigate this journey, various content formats should be utilized. From educational articles and in-depth technical guides to engaging videos and insightful case studies, each format should uphold a consistent brand voice and aesthetic, reinforcing brand identity and ensuring recognition in a competitive space.",[81,20157,20159],{"id":20158},"preserving-core-marketing-principles",[52,20160,20161],{},"Preserving Core Marketing Principles",[14,20163,20164],{},"Several foundational marketing principles remain indispensable throughout the years and algorithmic updates:",[46,20166,20167,20170,20173],{},[49,20168,20169],{},"Understanding User Behavior: At the heart of any strategy is a profound understanding of what motivates your customers. Tailoring content to meet these needs is crucial for ensuring relevance and impact.",[49,20171,20172],{},"Targeted Audience Reach: Identifying and engaging the audience with decision-making power is essential, ensuring that your marketing efforts reach those most likely to respond.",[49,20174,20175],{},"Compelling Storytelling: In a dynamic field like cybersecurity, storytelling can vividly illustrate the real-world impact of security solutions, captivating and persuading more effectively than traditional product pitches.",[81,20177,20179],{"id":20178},"implementing-user-friendly-interfaces",[52,20180,20181],{},"Implementing User-Friendly Interfaces",[14,20183,20184],{},"Just as user-friendliness is vital in software design, simplicity in accessing and interacting with marketing content can significantly boost user engagement. Features such as interactive elements, easy navigation, and clear calls-to-action can enhance the user experience, fostering deeper engagement and a stronger connection with your brand.",[81,20186,20188],{"id":20187},"conclusion-your-next-step-towards-marketing-excellence",[52,20189,20190],{},"Conclusion: Your Next Step Towards Marketing Excellence",[14,20192,20193],{},"As your cybersecurity firm seeks to distinguish itself in a crowded market, embracing these advanced marketing strategies will not only establish you as a thought leader but also build the essential trust needed in this industry. If these insights strike a chord with you and you're eager to tailor these strategies to your business needs, we invite you to reach out and schedule a discovery call with our agency. Together, we can craft effective marketing campaigns that deliver tangible results.",[5778,20195],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":20197},[20198],{"id":20122,"depth":291,"text":20125,"children":20199},[20200,20201,20202,20203,20204,20205],{"id":20131,"depth":297,"text":20134},{"id":20140,"depth":297,"text":20143},{"id":20149,"depth":297,"text":20152},{"id":20158,"depth":297,"text":20161},{"id":20178,"depth":297,"text":20181},{"id":20187,"depth":297,"text":20190},"2024-04-15T15:50:53Z","Discover how tech marketers build influence and trust in a saturated landscape through helpful content and user-friendly interfaces.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fadvanced-marketing-strategies-for-cybersecurity.png",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fmkg-vip-advanced-marketing-strategies-for-cybersecurity",{"title":20116,"description":20207},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fmkg-vip-advanced-marketing-strategies-for-cybersecurity","-PMIwHvTJxibHqLiEzgu8nbmJRL2W3H0ijsEXXxwqpk",{"id":20215,"title":20216,"author":7,"authors":20217,"body":20218,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":20379,"description":20380,"extension":318,"img":20381,"imgAlt":77,"meta":20382,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":20383,"seo":20384,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":20385,"updated":7,"__hash__":20386},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fkey-challenges-solutions-in-cybersecurity-marketing.md","Key Challenges & Solutions in Cybersecurity Marketing",[9],{"type":11,"value":20219,"toc":20369},[20220,20226,20229,20235,20238,20240,20248,20256,20259,20261,20269,20275,20278,20280,20288,20294,20297,20299,20307,20313,20316,20318,20326,20330,20333,20340,20343],[24,20221,20223],{"id":20222},"navigating-the-maze-key-challenges-and-solutions-in-cybersecurity-marketing",[52,20224,20225],{},"Navigating the Maze: Key Challenges and Solutions in Cybersecurity Marketing",[14,20227,20228],{},"In the fast-paced world of cybersecurity, marketing leaders face unique challenges that require innovative solutions. As the landscape of threats evolves, so too must the strategies used to communicate and sell cybersecurity solutions. Drawing from insightful conversations with industry professionals, this article delves into the main challenges in cybersecurity marketing and offers actionable tips to overcome them.",[81,20230,20232],{"id":20231},"_1-understanding-the-complexity-of-cybersecurity-products",[52,20233,20234],{},"1. Understanding the Complexity of Cybersecurity Products",[14,20236,20237],{},"Cybersecurity products and services are inherently complex and technical. The challenge lies in translating this complexity into clear, understandable messages that resonate with a diverse audience.",[14,20239,14384],{},[46,20241,20242,20245],{},[49,20243,20244],{},"Simplify Your Message: Break down complex jargon into simple terms. Use analogies or stories that relate to everyday experiences to make technical aspects more relatable.",[49,20246,20247],{},"Educational Content: Invest in educational content that helps your audience understand the risks and solutions in a straightforward manner. Webinars, white papers, and blogs are excellent formats for such content.",[81,20249,20251,20253],{"id":20250},"_2-aligning-with-customer-pain-points",[5778,20252],{},[52,20254,20255],{},"2. Aligning with Customer Pain Points",[14,20257,20258],{},"A common pitfall in cybersecurity marketing is the failure to align with the actual needs and concerns of potential customers. Understanding and addressing these pain points is crucial.",[14,20260,14384],{},[46,20262,20263,20266],{},[49,20264,20265],{},"Customer Feedback: Regularly collect and analyze feedback from your current customers to better understand the challenges they face.",[49,20267,20268],{},"Persona Development: Develop detailed buyer personas that include pain points, challenges, and information consumption preferences to tailor your marketing strategies effectively.",[81,20270,20272],{"id":20271},"_3-differentiating-in-a-saturated-market",[52,20273,20274],{},"3. Differentiating in a Saturated Market",[14,20276,20277],{},"The cybersecurity market is crowded, with numerous companies offering seemingly similar solutions. Differentiation becomes key to standing out.",[14,20279,14384],{},[46,20281,20282,20285],{},[49,20283,20284],{},"Unique Selling Proposition (USP): Clearly define and communicate what makes your solution different and better. Focus on unique features, superior service, or specific expertise.",[49,20286,20287],{},"Case Studies and Testimonials: Leverage the power of storytelling through case studies and testimonials that highlight your successes and differentiate your offerings.",[81,20289,20291],{"id":20290},"_4-navigating-fear-based-marketing",[52,20292,20293],{},"4. Navigating Fear-Based Marketing",[14,20295,20296],{},"While it's tempting to use fear-based tactics given the nature of cybersecurity, this approach can backfire by creating distrust or decision-paralysis among potential customers.",[14,20298,14384],{},[46,20300,20301,20304],{},[49,20302,20303],{},"Positive Messaging: Focus on the benefits and positive outcomes of using your products, such as peace of mind, compliance, and business enablement.",[49,20305,20306],{},"Educate, Don't Intimidate: Use your marketing to educate about risks in a way that is informative and empowering, not fear-inducing.",[81,20308,20310],{"id":20309},"_5-the-challenge-of-measurement-and-attribution",[52,20311,20312],{},"5. The Challenge of Measurement and Attribution",[14,20314,20315],{},"Measuring the effectiveness of marketing activities and attributing sales to specific campaigns can be particularly challenging in the B2B cybersecurity space.",[14,20317,14384],{},[46,20319,20320,20323],{},[49,20321,20322],{},"Advanced Analytics Tools: Implement and utilize advanced analytics tools to track customer journeys and attribution more accurately.",[49,20324,20325],{},"Continuous Improvement: Regularly review and adjust your measurement strategies to find what works best for your specific market and products.",[81,20327,20328],{"id":12551},[52,20329,12554],{},[14,20331,20332],{},"Navigating the challenges of cybersecurity marketing demands a deep understanding of the technical landscape, a clear communication strategy, and a commitment to educating and empowering potential customers. By simplifying complex information, aligning with customer pain points, differentiating your products in the market, avoiding fear-based tactics, and improving measurement and attribution, you can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.",[14,20334,20335,20336,20338],{},"If you found these insights useful and are seeking to refine your cybersecurity marketing strategy further, we invite you to reach out and schedule a discovery call with our marketing agency today. Together, we can explore tailored solutions that drive results and growth for your business.",[5778,20337],{},[5778,20339],{},[14,20341,20342],{},"Listen to these full episodes of Tea Time with Tech Marketing Leaders today!",[132,20344,20345,20351,20357,20363],{},[49,20346,20347],{},[206,20348,20350],{"href":20349},"\u002Fpodcasts\u002Fmarketing-leaders\u002Fcybersecurity-marketers-stop-using-fud\u002F","Aileen Casmano",[49,20352,20353],{},[206,20354,20356],{"href":20355},"\u002Fpodcasts\u002Fmarketing-leaders\u002Fmaking-a-marketing-career\u002F","John Steinhert",[49,20358,20359],{},[206,20360,20362],{"href":20361},"\u002Fpodcasts\u002Fmarketing-leaders\u002Fpitfalls-of-fast-funding\u002F","Jim Mitchell",[49,20364,20365],{},[206,20366,20368],{"href":20367},"\u002Fpodcasts\u002Fmarketing-leaders\u002Fmark-schaefer-marketing-rebellion\u002F","Mark Schaefer",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":20370},[20371],{"id":20222,"depth":291,"text":20225,"children":20372},[20373,20374,20375,20376,20377,20378],{"id":20231,"depth":297,"text":20234},{"id":20250,"depth":297,"text":20255},{"id":20271,"depth":297,"text":20274},{"id":20290,"depth":297,"text":20293},{"id":20309,"depth":297,"text":20312},{"id":12551,"depth":297,"text":12554},"2024-04-15T14:20:23Z","Discover how different tech marketing leaders have navigated challenges in cybersecurity marketing such as complexity and differentiation.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fkey-challenges-solutions-in-cybersecurity-marketing.png",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fkey-challenges-solutions-in-cybersecurity-marketing",{"title":20216,"description":20380},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fkey-challenges-solutions-in-cybersecurity-marketing","71Ltoo9XzFy6GVusQ2NA6rDSaZjQ-nVdeu1RNhxTrfY",{"id":20388,"title":20389,"author":7,"authors":20390,"body":20391,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":20546,"description":20547,"extension":318,"img":20548,"imgAlt":77,"meta":20549,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":20550,"seo":20551,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":20552,"updated":7,"__hash__":20553},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fstrategic-development-execution-in-cybersecurity-marketing.md","Strategic Development & Execution in Cybersecurity Marketing",[9],{"type":11,"value":20392,"toc":20539},[20393,20396,20402,20405,20411,20414,20420,20423,20429,20432,20438,20445,20448,20455,20458,20465,20468,20475,20478,20485,20488,20495,20498,20505,20508,20511,20513],[14,20394,20395],{},"As the realm of cybersecurity continues to expand and evolve at accelerating speeds, the role of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) becomes increasingly complex and pivotal. To navigate this dynamic industry, a robust strategy underpinned by insightful execution is non-negotiable. Drawing upon the wisdom of digital marketing leaders from the podcast 'Tea Time with Tech Marketing Leaders,' this article delves into the intricate weave of strategic development and offers practical tips to aid CMOs in refining their business practices.",[24,20397,20399],{"id":20398},"understanding-the-landscape",[52,20400,20401],{},"Understanding the Landscape",[14,20403,20404],{},"The foundational step in strategic development is deep industry understanding. Cybersecurity is not just about selling products; it's about becoming part of a community that emphasizes knowledge-sharing and problem-solving. As Chris Spellman from Offensive Security reveals, transitioning from a lead gen to a demand gen mindset is essential, spurred by the collaborative spirit of the cybersecurity realm. This shift must be predicated on a genuine connection to the community, aligning marketing missions with educational tactics that resonate with audiences.",[24,20406,20408],{"id":20407},"the-evolution-of-demand-generation",[52,20409,20410],{},"The Evolution of Demand Generation",[14,20412,20413],{},"Dani Wolf and Alyssa Maker shed light on the evolution of demand generation, emphasizing a holistic strategy that encompasses both short-term and long-term growth. It’s no longer about gating content or waiting for form fills; it’s about proactively engaging with the audience through value-driven interactions. Authentic conversations, meticulous listening to customer needs, and tailoring messaging to specific personas emerge as the nucleus of successful demand generation.",[24,20415,20417],{"id":20416},"integrating-marketing-channels",[52,20418,20419],{},"Integrating Marketing Channels",[14,20421,20422],{},"Integration across various marketing channels is paramount. Matt Dinan’s experience at Jellyfish IO exemplifies the need for seamless messaging and a comprehensive approach that unites all facets of digital marketing. Whether it's through email marketing, social media, or podcasts, consistency in brand messaging is key to building trust and driving efficient resource allocation.",[24,20424,20426],{"id":20425},"leveraging-data-and-technology",[52,20427,20428],{},"Leveraging Data and Technology",[14,20430,20431],{},"The adoption of data and technology, such as the utilization of intent data and marketing automation tools, augments strategic execution. Understanding intent and backing up every pitch with data-driven insights can significantly enhance the customer journey. Tools like Gong for sales call insights and HubSpot for marketing automation can streamline efforts and offer a competitive edge.",[24,20433,20435],{"id":20434},"actionable-tips-for-strategic-execution",[52,20436,20437],{},"Actionable Tips for Strategic Execution:",[132,20439,20440],{},[49,20441,20442,6109],{},[38,20443,20444],{},"The transition from Lead Gen to Demand Gen",[14,20446,20447],{},"Take cues from industry leaders and focus on demand generation for a more holistic and community-driven marketing approach.",[132,20449,20450],{},[49,20451,20452,6109],{},[38,20453,20454],{},"Embrace Community Engagement",[14,20456,20457],{},"Consider non-direct response paid social tactics and leverage podcasts or videos to foster community connection.",[132,20459,20460],{},[49,20461,20462,6109],{},[38,20463,20464],{},"Consistency Across Channels",[14,20466,20467],{},"Align all departments with a unified message to avoid a disjointed marketing approach. Experiment with the frequency and content across different channels for optimal reach.",[132,20469,20470],{},[49,20471,20472,6109],{},[38,20473,20474],{},"Customer-centric Messaging",[14,20476,20477],{},"Use real conversations and engagement on platforms like LinkedIn or customer calls to inform messaging that truly resonates with the audience.",[132,20479,20480],{},[49,20481,20482,6109],{},[38,20483,20484],{},"Proactive Engagement",[14,20486,20487],{},"Utilize intent data and tools to engage with leads effectively without relying on traditional gated approaches.",[132,20489,20490],{},[49,20491,20492,6109],{},[38,20493,20494],{},"Agility in Strategy",[14,20496,20497],{},"Be ready to adapt your strategies to cope with changing landscapes, such as shifts experienced during the COVID pandemic.",[132,20499,20500],{},[49,20501,20502,6109],{},[38,20503,20504],{},"Harness Technology",[14,20506,20507],{},"Invest in technology for better insights into customer pain points and to automate repetitive marketing tasks for efficiency.",[14,20509,20510],{},"The cybersecurity marketing space is as challenging as it is rewarding. Those able to distill these insights into their strategic development and execution model will find themselves ahead of the curve, with their organizations benefiting vastly from their foresight and adaptability. For a deeper conversation on how these principles can be tailored to your organization, and to explore a partnership that could further your company's growth, don't hesitate to reach out for a discovery call with my marketing agency today.",[14,20512,20342],{},[46,20514,20515,20521,20527,20533],{},[49,20516,20517],{},[206,20518,20520],{"href":20519},"\u002Fpodcasts\u002Fmarketing-leaders\u002Fbuilding-a-category\u002F","Matt Dynam",[49,20522,20523],{},[206,20524,20526],{"href":20525},"\u002Fpodcasts\u002Fmarketing-leaders\u002Fdefining-demand-gen\u002F","Alyssa Maker",[49,20528,20529],{},[206,20530,20532],{"href":20531},"\u002Fpodcasts\u002Fmarketing-leaders\u002Fknow-thy-audience\u002F","Dani Woolf",[49,20534,20535],{},[206,20536,20538],{"href":20537},"\u002Fpodcasts\u002Fmarketing-leaders\u002Fman-on-a-cyber-security-mission\u002F","Chris Spellman",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":20540},[20541,20542,20543,20544,20545],{"id":20398,"depth":291,"text":20401},{"id":20407,"depth":291,"text":20410},{"id":20416,"depth":291,"text":20419},{"id":20425,"depth":291,"text":20428},{"id":20434,"depth":291,"text":20437},"2024-04-10T14:26:00Z","Discover how different tech marketing leaders have leveraged data and pivoted to demand generation across cybersecurity brands.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fstrategic-development.png",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fstrategic-development-execution-in-cybersecurity-marketing",{"title":20389,"description":20547},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fstrategic-development-execution-in-cybersecurity-marketing","2Ei_cSnPu9I6SpmTYvyRpNq-SMSetc-bWOwkRH5Fxhc",{"id":20555,"title":20556,"author":7,"authors":20557,"body":20558,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":20703,"description":20704,"extension":318,"img":20705,"imgAlt":20706,"meta":20707,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":20708,"seo":20709,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":20710,"updated":7,"__hash__":20711},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fcrafting-cybersecurity-brand-strategy-mkg-marketing.md","Crafting Cybersecurity Brand Strategy",[9],{"type":11,"value":20559,"toc":20692},[20560,20566,20569,20575,20578,20581,20587,20590,20596,20599,20605,20608,20614,20617,20621,20641,20647,20650,20653],[24,20561,20563],{"id":20562},"key-considerations-for-cybersecurity-cmos",[52,20564,20565],{},"Key Considerations for Cybersecurity CMOs",[14,20567,20568],{},"Brand strategy lies at the core of any successful marketing endeavor. The blueprint guides businesses in communicating their identity value proposition and differentiates them in the competitive cybersecurity landscape. For CMOs, developing a proficient brand strategy requires a comprehensive understanding of the market, the business’s unique selling points, and customer personas.",[81,20570,20572],{"id":20571},"understanding-the-cybersecurity-market-customer-personas",[52,20573,20574],{},"Understanding the Cybersecurity Market & Customer Personas",[14,20576,20577],{},"The cybersecurity market is highly specialized and rapidly evolving. Thus, CMOS must maintain a pulse on global events and trends, as tech marketers underscored the return of in-person conferences, the necessity of digital engagement, and the delicate balance between brand conversations and lead generation. By deeply understanding the market dynamics and segmentation, CMOs can finely tune their brand messaging to appeal to the right audience.",[14,20579,20580],{},"Another recurring theme highlighted in discussions with marketing leaders like Revital Librand, Dave Corlett, and Rachel Jordan is the importance of genuinely grasping target customers' needs and day-to-day realities. Whether B2B or B2C, knowing who the product is for—and equally who it is not for—is pivotal. Cybersecurity brand strategies should aim to connect with customer realities, focusing on the issues that concern them directly, such as the increasing need for cyber education and parental guidance in the online world.",[81,20582,20584],{"id":20583},"positioning-your-brand-in-a-crowded-market",[52,20585,20586],{},"Positioning Your Brand in a Crowded Market",[14,20588,20589],{},"In positioning in a saturated market like cybersecurity, uniqueness is key. Marguerite Yeo advises that startups must be clear about the type of marketer they hire—corporate marketers, product marketers, or demand gen specialists—to ensure the branding will cut through the noise. Differentiation, whether through tailored content, strategic use of color in visual branding, or unique campaign initiatives like 'Lady Hacker Diary', can set a brand apart.",[81,20591,20593],{"id":20592},"the-visual-element-in-branding-marketing",[52,20594,20595],{},"The Visual Element in Branding & Marketing",[14,20597,20598],{},"Visual storytelling takes precedence in a digital landscape where attention is a finite resource. As discussed by tech marketing experts such as Dave Corlett, even the choice of mediums can make a significant difference. Moving away from static PDFs to more dynamic, visually engaging carousels on platforms like LinkedIn has become a norm. Continuous innovation in content representation is a must for brand strategy in cybersecurity.",[81,20600,20602],{"id":20601},"resource-prioritization-strategic-investment",[52,20603,20604],{},"Resource Prioritization & Strategic Investment",[14,20606,20607],{},"A prevalent concern among marketing leaders is the strategic use of limited resources. As Revital Libfrand and Elizabeth Hague indicated, prioritizing tasks and aligning with larger company strategies—short-term revenue or long-term brand equity—is crucial. CMOs need to be acutely aware of how brand awareness, demand generation, and sales enablement interplay and drive toward holistic business objectives with a creative yet disciplined investment of resources.",[81,20609,20611],{"id":20610},"implementing-communicating-your-brand-strategy",[52,20612,20613],{},"Implementing & Communicating Your Brand Strategy",[14,20615,20616],{},"Articulating and internalizing brand strategy across all levels is another fundamental aspect. Everyone from the CEO to sales must embrace and convey the unified brand messaging. Rachel Jordan's insights stress the importance of engaging in substantive conversations internally to ensure a cohesive and resonant brand strategy that aligns with the company’s mission and values.",[81,20618,20619],{"id":13973},[52,20620,13976],{},[46,20622,20623,20626,20629,20632,20635,20638],{},[49,20624,20625],{},"Deep Dive into Customer Personas: Go beyond demographics and understand your target audience's real pain points and aspirations.",[49,20627,20628],{},"Craft Unique Brand Positioning: Leverage your brand's unique story and create differentiation through innovative content and visuals.",[49,20630,20631],{},"Be Agile with Resources: Flexibly allocate budgets and prioritize tactics to navigate the fast-changing landscape while remaining consistent in your messaging.",[49,20633,20634],{},"Ensure Cohesiveness Across Teams: A successful brand strategy is reflected not just in marketing materials but in all team members' everyday actions and communications.",[49,20636,20637],{},"Stay Informed and Connected: Keep abreast of global trends and market changes that can affect customer perceptions and open up new branding opportunities.",[49,20639,20640],{},"Make Bold Visual Statements: Embrace dynamic and vibrant visual content to make an impact and ensure your brand stands out.",[81,20642,20644],{"id":20643},"reaching-out-for-expertise",[52,20645,20646],{},"Reaching Out for Expertise",[14,20648,20649],{},"If the above insights resonate and you are looking for ways to amplify your cybersecurity brand, it may be time to collaborate with experts who can guide you through crafting and executing a comprehensive brand strategy. Reach out to schedule a discovery call with our marketing agency today, where we specialize in elevating brands within the cybersecurity space, ensuring your brand is not just seen but remembered.",[14,20651,20652],{},"Listen to these episodes of Tea Time with Tech Marketing Leaders today!",[46,20654,20655,20662,20669,20676,20683],{},[49,20656,20657],{},[206,20658,20661],{"href":20659,"target":8877,"rel":20660},"\u002Fpodcasts\u002Fmarketing-leaders\u002Ffrom-rebranding-to-team-building-elizabeth-hague-s-tech-marketing-strategies-unveiled\u002F",[8879],"Elizabeth Hague",[49,20663,20664],{},[206,20665,20668],{"href":20666,"target":8877,"rel":20667},"\u002Fpodcasts\u002Fmarketing-leaders\u002Fimpactful-branding-to-create-value-beyond-the-brand\u002F",[8879],"Revital Libfrand",[49,20670,20671],{},[206,20672,20675],{"href":20673,"target":8877,"rel":20674},"\u002Fpodcasts\u002Fmarketing-leaders\u002Fthe-challenges-of-differentiation-in-branding-visual-storytelling\u002F",[8879],"Dave Corlett",[49,20677,20678],{},[206,20679,20682],{"href":20680,"target":8877,"rel":20681},"\u002Fpodcasts\u002Fmarketing-leaders\u002Fbrand-strategy-your-business-growth-lynchpin\u002F",[8879],"Rachel Jordan",[49,20684,20685,20690],{},[206,20686,20689],{"href":20687,"target":8877,"rel":20688},"\u002Fpodcasts\u002Fmarketing-leaders\u002Fcorporate-vs-product-marketing\u002F",[8879],"Marguerite Yeo",[5778,20691],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":20693},[20694],{"id":20562,"depth":291,"text":20565,"children":20695},[20696,20697,20698,20699,20700,20701,20702],{"id":20571,"depth":297,"text":20574},{"id":20583,"depth":297,"text":20586},{"id":20592,"depth":297,"text":20595},{"id":20601,"depth":297,"text":20604},{"id":20610,"depth":297,"text":20613},{"id":13973,"depth":297,"text":13976},{"id":20643,"depth":297,"text":20646},"2024-03-18T17:02:55Z","Discover how different marketers deal with various branding challenges in cybersecurity companies and how CMOs can adjust in an ever-changing industry. ","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fcybersecurity.png","Cybersecurity Branding Across Multiple Platforms and Outlets",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fcrafting-cybersecurity-brand-strategy-mkg-marketing",{"title":20556,"description":20704},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fcrafting-cybersecurity-brand-strategy-mkg-marketing","UqthkKRoMsR81CpiBFtWUR1cbGCGnkhyIAX2pLAmFjk",{"id":20713,"title":20714,"author":7,"authors":20715,"body":20717,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":20813,"description":20814,"extension":318,"img":15852,"imgAlt":77,"meta":20815,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":20816,"seo":20817,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":20818,"updated":7,"__hash__":20819},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fb2b-cybersecurity-sales-marketing-alignment-mkg-marketing.md","B2B Cybersecurity Sales & Marketing Alignment",[12108,20716,12109],"Leigh Snyder",{"type":11,"value":20718,"toc":20808},[20719,20722,20728,20734,20740,20743,20781,20787,20790,20793,20802],[14,20720,20721],{},"In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing and sales, businesses are consistently seeking strategies that not only keep pace with market dynamics but also place them a step ahead. The question of whether the predictable revenue model—once the cornerstone of sales and marketing strategies—is still viable in today's digital age is a poignant one. Through a synthesis of industry insights and forward-thinking approaches, this article aims to provide a cohesive perspective on aligning sales and marketing efforts more effectively, especially when buying behaviors are becoming ever more complex. Account Based Experience (ABX) looks to capture high-intent contacts first with marketing campaigns and foster them through the funnel seamlessly. ",[24,20723,20725],{"id":20724},"rethinking-predictable-revenue",[52,20726,20727],{},"Rethinking Predictable Revenue",[14,20729,20730,20731],{},"The concept of predictable revenue, with its emphasis on scalability and repeatability in sales processes, has faced scrutiny in light of rising advertising costs and changing consumer behaviors. The digital age has ushered in a level of information accessibility that leaves traditional sales and marketing approaches struggling to capture the attention of their intended audiences. The saturation of content and the ease with which potential clients can find information necessitate a more nuanced approach to engaging with them. As advertising costs climb, the efficiency of generating clicks and converting leads into sales becomes paramount. Thus, while the principles of predictable revenue are not obsolete, their application requires a more tailored approach, particularly in sectors as specialized as cybersecurity. ",[38,20732,20733],{},"No longer can BDs solely rely on volume and should place more emphasis on high intent contacts who have been primed and sorted by marketing efforts.",[24,20735,20737],{"id":20736},"aligning-sales-and-marketing-to-b2b-buying-behavior",[52,20738,20739],{},"Aligning Sales and Marketing to B2B Buying Behavior",[14,20741,20742],{},"Understanding and adapting to B2B buying behavior is critical in the cybersecurity domain, where decisions are often complex and involve multiple stakeholders. The alignment between sales and marketing teams is not just beneficial but essential in crafting strategies that resonate with such a sophisticated audience. Here are some actionable tips drawn from industry professionals to enhance this alignment:",[46,20744,20745,20751,20757,20763,20769,20775],{},[49,20746,20747,20750],{},[52,20748,20749],{},"Establish Shared Goals:"," Begin with a clear set of objectives that both sales and marketing can rally behind. These should be broad enough to encompass the overall business strategy but also include flexible micro-goals that can adapt to market changes.",[49,20752,20753,20756],{},[52,20754,20755],{},"Identify and Track KPIs:"," Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) should reflect both the quantity and quality of leads. By tracking these metrics, teams can gain insights into the effectiveness of their strategies and adjust accordingly.",[49,20758,20759,20762],{},[52,20760,20761],{},"Align Strategies and Messaging:"," Ensure that the messaging across all platforms and stages of the sales funnel is consistent and aligned with the overall strategy. This coherence will help in building a stronger brand narrative that speaks directly to the target audience.",[49,20764,20765,20768],{},[52,20766,20767],{},"Streamline Internal Processes:"," Efficient internal communication and processes are the backbone of effective marketing and sales alignment. Utilize tools and platforms that facilitate seamless collaboration and data sharing between teams.",[49,20770,20771,20774],{},[52,20772,20773],{},"Adopt a Dual Approach to Campaigns:"," Implementing both broad-reaching campaigns to generate a high volume of leads and targeted campaigns aimed at attracting highly qualified leads is crucial. This dual approach balances the need for quantity and quality, addressing the full spectrum of the sales funnel.",[49,20776,20777,20780],{},[52,20778,20779],{},"Visualize Performance:"," Use data visualization tools to present marketing and sales performance clearly. These visualizations can help in identifying trends, opportunities for optimization, and areas requiring improvement.",[24,20782,20784],{"id":20783},"aligning-for-impact-a-thought-leadership-perspective",[52,20785,20786],{},"Aligning for Impact: A Thought Leadership Perspective",[14,20788,20789],{},"The shift in B2B buying behavior, coupled with the dynamic nature of the cybersecurity market, demands a nuanced approach to sales and marketing alignment. By embracing a model that values adaptability, clear communication, and strategic alignment, businesses can navigate the complexities of the modern digital landscape more effectively.",[14,20791,20792],{},"The insights shared here reflect a commitment to thought leadership in the digital marketing space, particularly within cybersecurity companies. If these perspectives resonate with your current challenges and aspirations as a CMO looking to elevate your business, we invite you to reach out. Scheduling a discovery call with our marketing agency can be the first step towards transforming your sales and marketing strategies to achieve sustainable growth in this competitive sector.",[14,20794,20795,20796,20801],{},"Want to be a part of the VIPs? Join Tea Time as a ",[206,20797,20800],{"href":20798,"target":8877,"rel":20799},"\u002Fresources\u002Fmkg-podcast-guest\u002F",[8879],"Podcast Guest"," today!",[14,20803,20804,1042,20806],{},[5778,20805],{},[5778,20807],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":20809},[20810,20811,20812],{"id":20724,"depth":291,"text":20727},{"id":20736,"depth":291,"text":20739},{"id":20783,"depth":291,"text":20786},"2024-03-08T16:52:01Z","Discover how different marketers deal with challenges surrounding the misalignment of B2B sales teams and marketing teams  in cybersecurity companies.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fb2b-cybersecurity-sales-marketing-alignment-mkg-marketing",{"title":20714,"description":20814},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fb2b-cybersecurity-sales-marketing-alignment-mkg-marketing","YzBZORnsC1Kbd8x9nvd_HKitcB2FpdFHZvaIQwlzfNc",{"id":20821,"title":20822,"author":7,"authors":20823,"body":20825,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":21105,"description":21106,"extension":318,"img":21107,"imgAlt":21108,"meta":21109,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":21110,"seo":21111,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":21112,"updated":7,"__hash__":21113},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-mkg-vantage-ai-in-the-serps-mkg-marketing.md","The MKG Vantage: AI in the SERPs",[12110,20824,11776],"Anna Powers",{"type":11,"value":20826,"toc":21103},[20827,20832,20837,20843,20848,20851,20854,20857,20868,20873,20876,20879,20882,20885,20892,20895,20900,20903,20909,20912,20918,20921,20927,20932,20939,20946,20949,20954,20957,20962,20970,20977,20982,20985,20988,20993,20996,21001,21006,21016,21021,21024,21029,21032,21037,21040,21045,21050,21055,21058,21063,21068,21071,21074,21077],[14,20828,20829,20831],{},[5778,20830],{},"We challenged MKG’s three SEOs to get opinionated on how AI in the SERPs will impact organic search. How do they see search results and user behavior changing? And how will this change SEO as a discipline and a service? ",[14,20833,20834],{},[52,20835,20836],{},"We Asked: Currently, if you are opted in, how do you feel generative AI impacts search engine results? ",[14,20838,20839,20842],{},[52,20840,20841],{},"MKG Verdict:"," The current AI-powered search experience is decent, but its helpfulness also depends on what stage of the funnel the searcher is at. ",[14,20844,20845],{},[52,20846,20847],{},"Nathan Stenberg, MKG Strategist and SEO Expert: ",[14,20849,20850],{},"The current experience (in Google) is fairly reasonable. In most cases, it tries to provide an answer for you but in some cases, it actually just asks if you would like a response generated.",[14,20852,20853],{},"When an answer is provided, it usually contains links to supporting documentation about the initial search query and it will also provide a few additional prompts to dive deeper into the topic. ",[14,20855,20856],{},"Example: If you search for “Avalanche Energy” it will return a response about the energy startup, Avalanche Energy. It also provides three links to specific web pages as well as a prompt to “Ask a Follow Up” which allows you to enter a new custom query and 3 topic specific prompts:",[132,20858,20859,20862,20865],{},[49,20860,20861],{},"Who are the competitors of Avalanche Energy?",[49,20863,20864],{},"Who is the CEO of Avalanche Energy?",[49,20866,20867],{},"Avalanche Energy stock",[14,20869,20870],{},[52,20871,20872],{},"Anna Powers, MKG SEO Team Lead: ",[14,20874,20875],{},"I would agree with Nathan that the current Google AI-powered experience is decent, especially for TOFU queries like the branded search example he shared above. But my opinion gets more complicated as we go down the funnel.",[14,20877,20878],{},"A middle-of-the-funnel search for “email security features” gives me an AI-generated list of possible features to look for, which is pretty good! A thought starter for me as I scroll through the blue links below. In this use case, the AI-generated results are helpful but not necessary. ",[14,20880,20881],{},"A bottom-of-the-funnel search for “email security tools pricing” generates prices in the AI results, without attributing them to a source. Hmmm. This I do not trust, so I scroll right past to the links underneath so I can get pricing directly from websites selling email security tools. In this use case, the blue links capture the click. ",[14,20883,20884],{},"For searches that matter (YMYL, cough cough), the SGE results are just not there yet, and they might never be. Google knows this, which is why YMYL searches are, for the most part, not showing AI-generated results. ",[14,20886,20887,20889],{},[5778,20888],{},[52,20890,20891],{},"Austin Ellis, MKG SEO Manager: ",[14,20893,20894],{},"I have yet to opt in to the Search Generative Experience, particularly because it’s still in early stages of beta testing after being announced at Google I\u002FO in May. From what I’ve read, it seems as though the AI tends to get even basic facts incorrect in its presentation. ",[14,20896,20897],{},[52,20898,20899],{},"What We Asked: In the moment, as well as in the future, how will generative AI affect traditional SEO practices and strategies?",[14,20901,20902],{},"**MKG Verdict: **We will need to adapt, but we don’t know to what. For now, stay the SEO course with helpful content and sticking to E-E-A-T best practices.",[14,20904,20905,20908],{},[52,20906,20907],{},"Nathan:"," In this current moment, the impact is minimal and SEOs just need to stay focused on what has worked, getting great content produced that is topically relevant to the keywords that you are trying to rank for. In my opinion, this will always be the case in some capacity as brands need to build trust and authority around the topics that they want to own even if the search engine experience shifts.",[14,20910,20911],{},"However, in the big picture, I feel that the focus will need to be on making each section of content more impactful as the response in the generative AI experience tends to be about the size of a large website module (100 words or 500 - 700 characters). There is a strong possibility that this will require a shift in the approach to content development to make the content more conversational as well as comprehensive and thoroughly detailed.",[14,20913,20914,20917],{},[52,20915,20916],{},"Anna:"," In the current moment, we should continue to focus on making our content as helpful as possible and following E-E-A-T best practices. But in the long term, I am not going to hedge: SEO will need to adapt. We just don’t know what that's going to look like yet. ",[14,20919,20920],{},"Easy, top of funnel traffic might very well dry up, and those awful long recipe blog posts that are padded for word count will disappear (thank goodness). The most helpful content, in the human and SEO sense of the word, will still get visibility and clicks even with AI content taking up much of the real estate at the top of the page. ",[14,20922,20923,20926],{},[52,20924,20925],{},"Austin:"," It’s entirely possible that Google will uphold its promise and its stance that creating helpful content and topical authority will rise to the top of the SERP. However, those who work with smaller niches and markets will potentially have to fight with larger unrelated sites based on what the AI understands, which could be limited. ",[14,20928,20929],{},[52,20930,20931],{},"We Asked: Of the search engines that have implemented generative AI in their SERPs, which is your favorite and why?",[14,20933,20934,20936,20938],{},[5778,20935],{},[52,20937,20841],{}," Split decision here, but it’s clear that Bing’s integration of AI has finally made it a player in the search space. ",[14,20940,20941,20943,20945],{},[5778,20942],{},[52,20944,20907],{}," Personally, I am partial to the Google user experience as Google is a far superior search engine and it was a hassle to try and get set up for Bing. ",[14,20947,20948],{},"However, seeing as Bing is using OpenAI, which really broke the use of AI into the general market, I do feel that Bing has increased its competitiveness with Google making it more of a viable search engine for users who have Bing installed by default on their home or work computers.",[14,20950,20951,20953],{},[52,20952,20916],{}," Bing is the best in terms of accuracy and trustworthiness, in my opinion. I surprised myself with this answer, but Bing runs on OpenAI’s GPT4 and delivers a list of links that looks like the current SERPs. Bing’s AI-generated summary is off to the side and easy to ignore, unlike Google’s, which is the first thing on the page and takes up a huge amount of space above the fold. ",[14,20955,20956],{},"Google’s SGE summary also has the unpleasant tendency to scrape content (without attribution!) from other sites, which feels like a content grab and frankly, disrespectful to content creators. This would need to be fixed before I take the SGE at its word for serious research.   ",[14,20958,20959,20961],{},[52,20960,20925],{}," I’ve heard that Bing’s incorporation of ChatAI has been more accurate than Google’s Bard. I don’t know if that’s due to the quality of the training materials or because OpenAI absolutely exploded a few months back, with more users and more queries to understand searchers.",[14,20963,20964,1042,20967],{},[52,20965,20966],{},"We Asked:",[52,20968,20969],{},"How will generative AI impact user behavior and search intent?",[14,20971,20972,20974,20976],{},[5778,20973],{},[52,20975,20841],{}," Search behavior will change, but intent might not.",[14,20978,20979,20981],{},[52,20980,20907],{}," Generative AI will initially change the way users research topics and in time, will impact the way users shop as well. ",[14,20983,20984],{},"From the research lens, this supports the idea that the content a website provides will need to be detailed and thorough as well as try to anticipate the next question the user is going to ask so it can be the “source of truth.” This doesn’t really change much as this is the type of content websites should be providing to their visitors.",[14,20986,20987],{},"From the shopping lens, I can see the need for reviews coming heavily into play. It would make a lot of sense to provide a recommendation for the “best hotel in Cancun” or the “best 8k USB-C to HDMI adapter for Mac” by scraping the product reviews from different sites and then combine that with reviews of the company offering the product or service to generate a recommendation.",[14,20989,20990,20992],{},[52,20991,20916],{}," I think Google’s new Perspectives filter, introduced to complement AI results, will be big.  Perspectives pulls in top results from platforms like YouTube, Reddit, Instagram, and blogs, presumably based on content helpfulness, likes \u002F shares, and overall quality. ",[14,20994,20995],{},"You could use Google proper for a search like “best hotel in Cancun” (to use Nathan’s example), comb through the SERPs for a minute after reading the AI-generated results, then pop over to the Perspectives results for a different, well, perspective. The user intent doesn’t change–the user still wants a hotel recommendation–but the user experience and behavior certainly does.",[14,20997,20998,21000],{},[52,20999,20925],{}," While much of this is speculative, user behavior may be altered more subtly at first, shortening the attention spans or tolerance for poor website experiences. Meta titles have been and will perhaps be more direct, straight to the point. ",[14,21002,21003],{},[52,21004,21005],{},"We Asked: What are the potential implications of generative AI on website rankings and organic search traffic?",[14,21007,21008,21010,21011,21015],{},[52,21009,20841],{}," Generative AI might create more opportunities to compete for a spot at the top of the SERPs ",[38,21012,21013],{},[52,21014,8189],{}," tank organic traffic. TOFU, e-commerce, and B2C searches might be the most impacted, but it’s hard to tell. ",[14,21017,21018,21020],{},[52,21019,20907],{}," It will depend on the type of search that is being performed but for now the generative AI is like a very robust Featured Snippet so while it may provide some solid detail in the actual search page, a user may still continue through to the website to really dig in. ",[14,21022,21023],{},"However, in the big picture, we could easily see Organic Traffic decrease significantly so SEOs and digital marketing agencies will need to look to other metrics to show that their efforts are still needed and are driving success.",[14,21025,21026,21028],{},[52,21027,20916],{}," Agreed. I think that AI-generated results–particularly those that appear at the very top of the SERPs–will have a huge impact on top-of-the-funnel, informational searches, your garden variety “what is” queries. Try it: turn on the SGE and search for “what is a prime number.” Do you need to go any further? Sorry Wikipedia, but I predict your traffic is going to suffer. ",[14,21030,21031],{},"To Nathan’s point, I’m waiting to see how Google will measure and report on appearances in AI-generated results. Clients are going to be very interested in this as well, since there might be more of a chance to compete for a spot in the AI-generated carousel at the top of the SERPs. ",[14,21033,21034,21036],{},[52,21035,20925],{}," The potential implications are many, depending on how far Google is willing to push it. It seems as though this new layout has been geared towards expediting and enhancing B2C searches and the shopping experience. ",[14,21038,21039],{},"This brings potential conflicts if certain sites (Amazon) have a monopoly on the AI generated search spots due to Domain Authority. Google already has control of the SERPs and it seems as though SGE is a further step in the same direction. ",[14,21041,21042],{},[52,21043,21044],{},"We Asked: Are there any best practices or guidelines for optimizing websites for generative AI-powered search results?",[14,21046,21047,21049],{},[52,21048,20841],{}," Not yet. Stay the course with solid content, good site architecture and technical SEO, and on-page optimizations that are enhanced with structured data.  ",[14,21051,21052,21054],{},[52,21053,20907],{}," All of the research I did around this returned pretty much the current SEO optimization tactics so stay the course for the time being. ",[14,21056,21057],{},"Personally, beyond the “standard” optimization approaches, I would focus on providing as much context to the search engines by putting extra emphasis on marking up the content with a clear, easily-navigated HTML structure and, when applicable, comprehensive Structured Data.",[14,21059,21060,21062],{},[52,21061,20916],{}," The content carousels included in the SGE’s AI-generated results are probably going to operate a lot like featured snippets and other rich results, which Nathan also mentioned up above. Earning your website a spot in the carousel will require high-quality, helpful content that is proven to get a high CTR in the SERPs. We might even get AI-specific structured data to mark up our content at some point. ",[14,21064,21065,21067],{},[52,21066,20925],{}," We will have to see once SGE is available on a wider scale but, it seems that the foundational SEO approaches should hold up and remain just as important. The best SEO practices hopefully will continue to be: creating helpful content and structuring sites in a logical manner. Google has already made its negative stance on AI-generated content clear. ",[14,21069,21070],{},"—",[14,21072,21073],{},"So this is the MKG Vantage on AI in the SERPs, based on our expert opinion and the information we have so far. Google has made a big deal in recent days about SEO fundamentals, how first principles like “make content for people, not search engines” haven’t changed in the past 20 years since we’ve been practicing SEO. While this is probably an effort to reassure nervous SEOs about AI in the SERPs, it’s probably also true. ",[14,21075,21076],{},"What we know for sure is that Google and Bing’s best interests are served by integrating AI in a way that 1) still allows them to make major money off ad revenue, and 2) still encourages people and organizations to create good content so that the search engines have something to index. Just how that happens is going to be a wild ride.  ",[14,21078,21079,21081,21084,21086,21087,21091,21092,21096,21097,21102],{},[5778,21080],{},[52,21082,21083],{},"What now?",[5778,21085],{},"If you could use a hand with your ",[206,21088,21090],{"href":21089},"\u002Fexpert-digital-marketing-services\u002Fmarketing-strategy\u002F","content strategy"," and ensuring your ",[206,21093,21095],{"href":21094},"\u002Fexpert-digital-marketing-services\u002Fsearch-engine-optimization\u002F","website is optimized"," to still perform in the SERP results, reach out and ",[206,21098,21101],{"href":21099,"rel":21100},"https:\u002F\u002F1zgok.share.hsforms.com\u002F2cOmJ7URST7aHvXaKILoupg?uuid=11a19469-5397-4111-90ab-08d517b6bddc?month=2023-08",[210],"book an appointment"," with our sales team today!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":21104},[],"2023-08-07T10:36:00Z","MKG Marketing’s SEO squad weighs in on the impact of AI in the SERPs. Discover how they feel this will impact the search experience moving forward.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fsearch-back-to-school-2-width-1200-format-webp.webp","AI-powered Search experience",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-mkg-vantage-ai-in-the-serps-mkg-marketing",{"title":20822,"description":21106},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-mkg-vantage-ai-in-the-serps-mkg-marketing","RknRoolY81BsSsSFkE3gsZy0vYlxIfdHjj36EsvR3IE",{"id":21115,"title":21116,"author":7,"authors":21117,"body":21118,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":21309,"description":21310,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":77,"meta":21311,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":21312,"seo":21313,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":21314,"updated":7,"__hash__":21315},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fhow-to-map-keywords.md","How to Conduct Keyword Mapping for SEO | MKG Marketing",[20824],{"type":11,"value":21119,"toc":21303},[21120,21123,21126,21140,21144,21147,21150,21154,21157,21160,21171,21174,21177,21180,21185,21188,21192,21195,21198,21201,21204,21208,21211,21291,21294],[14,21121,21122],{},"Keyword mapping just sounds like a Herculean task. The idea of mapping anything sounds overwhelming, as if you need to understand the entire topography of the landscape before you can get started. But fear not! While choosing the right keywords to map to a website’s pages might seem like a heavy lift, this post will show you how the MKG Approach can simplify and streamline this foundational SEO task.",[14,21124,21125],{},"You’ll learn: ",[46,21127,21128,21131,21134,21137],{},[49,21129,21130],{},"The definition of keyword mapping",[49,21132,21133],{},"Why keyword cannibalization is bad for websites and other living things",[49,21135,21136],{},"What search intent is and why it matters",[49,21138,21139],{},"How to perform keyword mapping the MKG way",[81,21141,21143],{"id":21142},"what-is-keyword-mapping","What Is Keyword Mapping?",[14,21145,21146],{},"Keyword mapping is the process of selecting the most applicable, unique, and commercially relevant keyword for optimizing a page. Once a keyword has been mapped to a page, that keyword should be incorporated into the page’s metadata and on-page content, and its performance tracked to understand the page’s progression through the SERPs. ",[14,21148,21149],{},"Keyword mapping involves understanding your users’ search intent–which is essentially why users are searching for a given query, which we’ll talk more about in a minute–and matching your content to their needs in the given moment.",[81,21151,21153],{"id":21152},"why-does-keyword-mapping-matter","Why Does Keyword Mapping Matter?",[14,21155,21156],{},"Without keyword mapping, multiple pages of content from the same website often compete against each other for the same keyword phrase, a phenomenon known as cannibalization. In the simplest terms, cannibalization means your website’s own pages are gobbling up clicks and traffic from the other pages on your site. Instead of sending organic traffic to many internal pages on your site, keyword cannibalization concentrates your traffic, sending it to just a few lucky pages instead of throughout the site. Unless each one of these pages is the mega-best-top-only-guide-you’ll-ever-need on a given subject, there’s probably a more relevant page on your site for many searchers. ",[14,21158,21159],{},"Since the practice of eating others–either pages or humans–is unfortunate for all involved, we don’t recommend it. Cannibalization can happen when: ",[46,21161,21162,21165,21168],{},[49,21163,21164],{},"SEOs are lazy",[49,21166,21167],{},"Sites are huge and unattended to, SEO-wise",[49,21169,21170],{},"Multiple teams are creating content without understanding the overall content strategy.",[14,21172,21173],{},"The fix is simple: a site keyword audit with a tool like SEMrush can help you identify if cannibalization is an issue for your site. ",[14,21175,21176],{},"Keyword mapping also allows you to create topically related keyword clusters, which can build massive amounts of topical authority for a given subject and provide a logical structure for internal linking on your website. If you search for “keyword cluster example,” you’ll see lots of e-commerce and lifestyle content examples, but not necessarily examples from B2B tech & cybersecurity websites. ",[14,21178,21179],{},"Well, that’s what we’re here for. Keyword clusters might look something like this, if you’re trying to achieve SEO dominance for the topic of “data security”:",[75,21181],{"width":21182,"height":21183,"src":21184},1746,1082,"\u002Fimages\u002Fdata-security-kw-map.jpeg",[14,21186,21187],{},"In other words, without keyword mapping, the keyword strategy on your website will be a free-for-all. Keyword mapping brings strategy and intentionality to your SEO efforts, ensuring your website shows up as the right answer to your users’ queries at the right moment in their search journeys.",[81,21189,21191],{"id":21190},"a-word-about-search-intent","A Word About Search Intent",[14,21193,21194],{},"To fully understand how to perform keyword mapping, we must fully understand the concept of “search intent.” Search intent refers to the why behind the search and what search result the user is hoping to find. ",[14,21196,21197],{},"Generally speaking, we can group search intent into four categories: informational, commercial, transactional, and navigational. Informational searches are for learning more about a topic (TOFU), commercial searches are for researching products or services (MOFU), transactional purchases are for buying something (BOFU), and navigational searches are for going to a specific website (anywhere in the funnel). ",[14,21199,21200],{},"SEMrush, the tool we use for our keyword research, categorizes keyword phrases by intent, which makes the process easier. But it’s also possible to determine the intent of a search phrase by stepping into the mind of the searcher. Phrases like “what is” or “why does” or “how to” indicate an informational search, while phrases with “best,” “top,” “reviews” or “vs” in them indicate a commercial search. ",[14,21202,21203],{},"Matching keywords to intent ensures that you meet your users where they are at in their buyers’ journey, capturing the click in the SERPs and delivering the most relevant content to move them to conversion.",[81,21205,21207],{"id":21206},"how-should-i-perform-keyword-mapping","How Should I Perform Keyword Mapping?",[14,21209,21210],{},"The basic process looks like this:",[46,21212,21213,21227,21241,21255,21269,21280],{},[49,21214,21215,21216],{},"Establish the landscape for your topic by exporting a list of every indexed page on your website and the keywords each page is ranking for\n",[46,21217,21218,21221,21224],{},[49,21219,21220],{},"Since SEMrush is our primary in-house SEO tool, we would use its Organic Research report to gather this information",[49,21222,21223],{},"If SEMrush’s Position Tracker is set up, you can also consult its Cannibalization Report to jumpstart your research",[49,21225,21226],{},"Google Search Console is a free source for this data, although any downloads from this platform will require more cleanup and analysis",[49,21228,21229,21230],{},"Decide which keywords are high-value for your business \n",[46,21231,21232,21235,21238],{},[49,21233,21234],{},"These may or may not be keywords that your site is already ranking for",[49,21236,21237],{},"You’ll want to consider all stages of the marketing funnel here: a TOFU blog post answering queries like “why is secure email important” or “how to set up a honeypot for network security” might be a trust builder that results in newsletter signups or repeat website visits, seeding the opportunity for these visitors to turn into leads later on",[49,21239,21240],{},"After considering user intent, you also want to take into consideration the number of monthly searches and keyword difficulty - a rough guideline here is to look for the phrase with the highest search volume and low to medium keyword difficulty, which measures how competitive the current SERP is and how challenging it will be to rank",[49,21242,21243,21244],{},"Decide which pages on your site best match the searchers’ intent for these keywords\n",[46,21245,21246,21249,21252],{},[49,21247,21248],{},"First look at what keywords the pages are already ranking for, which will give you a good idea of what is possible",[49,21250,21251],{},"TOFU searches are usually informational: at this stage of B2B buying, searchers know they have a problem that needs solving but are using more generic, broad terms - blog posts or internal pages are good destinations for these",[49,21253,21254],{},"MOFU users are often comparing two solutions, so “X tool vs Y tool” or “tool reviews” appears in their searches - more sales & conversion-focused pages that share features & benefits, user reviews, or pricing are candidates for capturing this traffic",[49,21256,21257,21258],{},"Add these keyword phrases to a spreadsheet or your SEO tracking software so that you don’t accidentally use a keyword phrase twice \n",[46,21259,21260,21263,21266],{},[49,21261,21262],{},"Each page gets its own unique phrase ",[49,21264,21265],{},"Beyond that, popular pages tend to rank for a whole cluster of related keywords, so you don’t want to optimize several pages for similar keywords (back to that keyword cannibalization thing again)",[49,21267,21268],{},"To benchmark current performance, note how many impressions and clicks the page is currently getting from non-brand keywords",[49,21270,21271,21272],{},"Work your new keyword phrase into the metadata and page copy\n",[46,21273,21274,21277],{},[49,21275,21276],{},"Use in the title tag, meta description, and H1",[49,21278,21279],{},"Use at least once in the body copy, but consider semantic edits that align your page with other related keywords that help Google and the user understand your topic - SEMrush’s Content Template helps us automate the process of semantic keyword research",[49,21281,21282,21283],{},"Monitor your results and iterate\n",[46,21284,21285,21288],{},[49,21286,21287],{},"Recently we’ve seen pages crawled and re-indexed within 24 hours of republishing, so real-world feedback from the SERPs in terms of impressions and clicks should start flowing into GSC soon ",[49,21289,21290],{},"If you’re not seeing the results you expect, it’s likely that your chosen keyword phrase was too competitive, the content on your page doesn’t match user intent, or there aren’t enough monthly searches for the phrase to get good data",[14,21292,21293],{},"There you have it: the MKG SEO team’s approach to keyword mapping. There are few SEO activities as satisfying as producing a spreadsheet of carefully researched keywords and bringing them to life in the SERPs with your site. ",[14,21295,21296,21297,21302],{},"What level of organic visibility–and what caliber of leads–can MKG achieve for your enterprise cybersecurity organization’s website? ",[206,21298,21301],{"href":21299,"rel":21300},"https:\u002F\u002F1zgok.share.hsforms.com\u002F2cOmJ7URST7aHvXaKILoupg?uuid=11a19469-5397-4111-90ab-08d517b6bddc",[210],"Click here to Book a Discovery Call"," and get started today!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":21304},[21305,21306,21307,21308],{"id":21142,"depth":297,"text":21143},{"id":21152,"depth":297,"text":21153},{"id":21190,"depth":297,"text":21191},{"id":21206,"depth":297,"text":21207},"2023-06-21T21:51:39Z","Discover  the definition of keyword mapping, how to execute it,  and how to our experts align these carefully curated phrases with existing website content. ",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fhow-to-map-keywords",{"title":21116,"description":21310},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fhow-to-map-keywords","l5LTkQZe-PvbSAMOzmlQvyDdhlECmyOErS_-am2IQ9w",{"id":21317,"title":21318,"author":7,"authors":21319,"body":21320,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":21520,"description":21521,"extension":318,"img":77,"imgAlt":77,"meta":21522,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":21523,"seo":21524,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":21525,"updated":7,"__hash__":21526},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-site-audit-no-longer-the-way-to-start-your-seo-engagement.md","The Site Audit: No Longer the Way to Start Your SEO Engagement",[12110],{"type":11,"value":21321,"toc":21501},[21322,21325,21329,21332,21336,21339,21342,21346,21349,21366,21369,21373,21376,21380,21383,21387,21390,21394,21397,21401,21404,21408,21411,21415,21418,21422,21425,21442,21446,21449,21466,21470,21473,21477,21480,21484,21487,21489,21492,21495],[14,21323,21324],{},"When it comes to starting an SEO engagement, the site audit used to be the go-to method for many agencies and consultants. However, with changes in the search landscape and the evolution of SEO practices and tools, the site audit is not necessarily the best way to start an SEO engagement. In this article, we'll explore why the site audit is no longer effective and what you should do instead to start your SEO engagement.",[24,21326,21328],{"id":21327},"the-site-audit-what-it-is-the-business-impact","The Site Audit: What It is & the Business Impact",[14,21330,21331],{},"Before we dive into the nuts and bolts of the article, a quick, high-level reminder of what a site audit is and the impact it can have on a business.",[81,21333,21335],{"id":21334},"what-is-a-site-audit","What is a Site Audit?",[14,21337,21338],{},"A Technical Site Audit is a process of examining a website's technical infrastructure to identify and address any issues that may affect its performance, usability, and search engine optimization (SEO). The audit involves analyzing various elements of a website such as its server, coding, and content to ensure that they are optimized for both users and search engines.",[14,21340,21341],{},"During a technical site audit, a website is evaluated based on various factors including page speed, mobile responsiveness, URL structure, meta tags, internal linking, broken links, duplicate content, XML sitemaps, and robots.txt files. The audit is usually conducted by SEO experts and web developers who have the knowledge and expertise to identify and fix technical issues that may be hindering a website's performance.",[81,21343,21345],{"id":21344},"what-impact-can-a-site-audit-deliver-for-a-business","What Impact can a Site Audit Deliver for a Business?",[14,21347,21348],{},"A site audit can have a significant impact on a business in several ways:",[132,21350,21351,21354,21357,21360,21363],{},[49,21352,21353],{},"Improved Website Performance: A site audit can identify technical issues that may be hindering the performance of a website, such as slow loading times, broken links, or poor mobile responsiveness. By fixing these issues, the website's overall performance can improve, resulting in better user engagement, increased conversions, and ultimately, more revenue for the business.",[49,21355,21356],{},"Better User Experience: A site audit can also identify user experience (UX) issues that may be causing frustration or confusion for website visitors. By improving the UX of a website, businesses can increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, leading to higher retention rates and repeat business.",[49,21358,21359],{},"Increased Search Engine Visibility: A site audit can help a business to identify SEO issues that may be impacting their website's visibility in search engines. By optimizing the website's content, structure, and technical elements, businesses can increase their search engine rankings and attract more organic traffic to their website.",[49,21361,21362],{},"Improved Website Security: A site audit can also identify security vulnerabilities on a website, such as outdated software or weak passwords. By addressing these issues, businesses can prevent data breaches and other security incidents that could damage their reputation and lead to financial losses.",[49,21364,21365],{},"Competitive Advantage: Finally, a site audit can give a business a competitive advantage by identifying areas for improvement that their competitors may be overlooking. By addressing these issues, businesses can differentiate themselves from their competitors and attract more customers.",[14,21367,21368],{},"As you can see, the Site Audit is a key piece of the optimization and improvement of a website. However, we’re here to talk about why this is not necessarily the best place to kick-off a new SEO engagement, so let’s dive in!",[24,21370,21372],{"id":21371},"the-limitations-of-the-site-audit","The Limitations of the Site Audit",[14,21374,21375],{},"While site audits can provide valuable insights into a website's technical SEO health, they have several limitations. For one, site audits are often focused solely on technical issues, neglecting other important aspects of SEO such as content and off-page factors. Additionally, site audits can be time-consuming and expensive, taking weeks or even months to complete and costing thousands of dollars.",[24,21377,21379],{"id":21378},"the-shift-towards-holistic-strategic-seo","The Shift Towards Holistic & Strategic SEO",[14,21381,21382],{},"Another reason why site audits are no longer the best way to start an SEO engagement is the shift towards holistic SEO. Holistic SEO takes into account all aspects of SEO, from technical issues to content, user experience, and off-page factors. By taking a holistic approach to SEO, you can better understand the needs of your target audience and create a comprehensive SEO strategy that drives long-term results.",[24,21384,21386],{"id":21385},"the-importance-of-data-analysis","The Importance of Data Analysis",[14,21388,21389],{},"Data analysis has become increasingly important in SEO, and the site audit is not the best way to gather the data you need to make informed decisions. Instead, you should use a combination of tools and techniques to gather data about your website, your competitors, and your target audience. By analyzing this data, you can gain a deeper understanding of your website's strengths and weaknesses and develop a data-driven SEO strategy that drives results.",[24,21391,21393],{"id":21392},"the-need-for-flexibility","The Need for Flexibility",[14,21395,21396],{},"Finally, the site audit is no longer effective because SEO is an ever-changing landscape. As search algorithms evolve and user behavior changes, your SEO strategy needs to be flexible and adaptable. By focusing too much on the site audit, you may miss out on opportunities to improve your website's performance and stay ahead of the competition.",[24,21398,21400],{"id":21399},"the-new-approach-to-starting-your-seo-engagement","The New Approach to Starting Your SEO Engagement",[14,21402,21403],{},"So, what should you do instead of starting with a site audit? Here are some steps to take:",[81,21405,21407],{"id":21406},"define-your-goals-and-objectives","Define your goals and objectives",[14,21409,21410],{},"Before you start any SEO engagement, it's essential to define your goals and objectives. What do you want to achieve with your SEO strategy? Who is your target audience? What are their needs and pain points?",[81,21412,21414],{"id":21413},"analyze-your-websites-data","Analyze your website's data",[14,21416,21417],{},"Use a combination of tools and techniques to gather data about your website, your competitors, and your target audience. This data will help you understand your website's strengths and weaknesses and identify areas for improvement.",[5685,21419,21421],{"id":21420},"examples-of-website-analysis-tools","Examples of Website Analysis Tools",[14,21423,21424],{},"Here are some examples of tools that can be used to analyze a website's data:",[46,21426,21427,21430,21433,21436,21439],{},[49,21428,21429],{},"Google Analytics: This is a free tool offered by Google that provides valuable information about a website's traffic, including how many visitors it receives, where they are coming from, and what pages they are visiting.",[49,21431,21432],{},"SEMrush: This is a comprehensive SEO tool that can be used to analyze a website's traffic, as well as its search engine rankings, backlinks, and more. It also provides recommendations for improving a website's overall SEO performance.",[49,21434,21435],{},"Moz Pro: This is another SEO tool that can be used to analyze a website's traffic and search engine rankings, as well as identify and fix technical SEO issues.",[49,21437,21438],{},"Ahrefs: This is a powerful SEO tool that can be used to analyze a website's backlink profile, as well as identify new link-building opportunities.",[49,21440,21441],{},"Hotjar: This is a user behavior analysis tool that can be used to track how visitors interact with a website, including how they navigate through pages, where they click, and how long they spend on each page.",[5685,21443,21445],{"id":21444},"examples-of-website-analysis-techniques","Examples of Website Analysis Techniques",[14,21447,21448],{},"There are many different techniques that can be used to analyze a website's data, including:",[46,21450,21451,21454,21457,21460,21463],{},[49,21452,21453],{},"Traffic analysis: This involves examining a website's traffic data to determine how many visitors it receives, where they are coming from, and what pages they are visiting.",[49,21455,21456],{},"Search engine optimization (SEO) analysis: This involves examining a website's search engine rankings, backlinks, and other SEO factors to determine how well it is optimized for search engines.",[49,21458,21459],{},"User behavior analysis: This involves tracking how visitors interact with a website, including how they navigate through pages, where they click, and how long they spend on each page.",[49,21461,21462],{},"Conversion rate optimization (CRO) analysis: This involves examining a website's conversion rate (i.e., the percentage of visitors who take a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form) and identifying ways to improve it.",[49,21464,21465],{},"Heat mapping: This involves using software to create a visual representation of where users are clicking on a website, which can help identify areas of the site that are most engaging and where users may be encountering usability issues.",[81,21467,21469],{"id":21468},"conduct-a-content-audit","Conduct a content audit",[14,21471,21472],{},"Content is a critical aspect of SEO, and a content audit can help you identify gaps in your content strategy and opportunities to improve your website's content.",[81,21474,21476],{"id":21475},"develop-a-comprehensive-seo-strategy","Develop a comprehensive SEO strategy",[14,21478,21479],{},"Based on your goals, objectives, and data analysis, develop a comprehensive SEO strategy that takes into account all aspects of SEO, from technical issues to content, user experience, and off-page factors.",[81,21481,21483],{"id":21482},"monitor-and-adapt","Monitor and adapt",[14,21485,21486],{},"As with any SEO strategy, it's essential to monitor your website's performance and adapt your strategy as needed. Use data analysis to track your progress and identify opportunities for improvement.",[24,21488,2914],{"id":2913},[14,21490,21491],{},"While the site audit used to be the go-to method for starting an SEO engagement, it's no longer the best approach. Instead, take a holistic approach to SEO, gather data about your website, your competitors, and your target audience, conduct a content audit, and develop a comprehensive SEO strategy that takes into account all aspects of SEO. By doing so, you can drive long-term results and success for your business.",[24,21493,21083],{"id":21494},"what-now",[14,21496,21497,21498,21302],{},"Are you ready to take a holistic and strategic approach to the optimization of your website? If so, we’d be happy to help. Click here to ",[206,21499,4892],{"href":21299,"rel":21500},[210],{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":21502},[21503,21507,21508,21509,21510,21511,21518,21519],{"id":21327,"depth":291,"text":21328,"children":21504},[21505,21506],{"id":21334,"depth":297,"text":21335},{"id":21344,"depth":297,"text":21345},{"id":21371,"depth":291,"text":21372},{"id":21378,"depth":291,"text":21379},{"id":21385,"depth":291,"text":21386},{"id":21392,"depth":291,"text":21393},{"id":21399,"depth":291,"text":21400,"children":21512},[21513,21514,21515,21516,21517],{"id":21406,"depth":297,"text":21407},{"id":21413,"depth":297,"text":21414},{"id":21468,"depth":297,"text":21469},{"id":21475,"depth":297,"text":21476},{"id":21482,"depth":297,"text":21483},{"id":2913,"depth":291,"text":2914},{"id":21494,"depth":291,"text":21083},"2023-04-11T07:00:39.000+00:00","Take a deep dive into the classic Site Audit and learn why our experts don’t always start off a new SEO engagement by recommending a technical site audit.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-site-audit-no-longer-the-way-to-start-your-seo-engagement",{"title":21318,"description":21521},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-site-audit-no-longer-the-way-to-start-your-seo-engagement","L6_6xidUmWeJE6OzJXcHiHBK285_tLOCX3O6KMBC5RU",{"id":21528,"title":21529,"author":7,"authors":21530,"body":21532,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":21950,"description":21951,"extension":318,"img":77,"imgAlt":77,"meta":21952,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":21953,"seo":21954,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":21955,"updated":7,"__hash__":21956},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fwhat-is-digital-advertising-mkg-marketing.md","What is Digital Advertising?",[21531,12110],"Jessyca Sulfsted",{"type":11,"value":21533,"toc":21941},[21534,21537,21540,21543,21547,21551,21554,21557,21561,21564,21567,21571,21574,21577,21582,21585,21589,21592,21595,21599,21609,21612,21616,21621,21624,21627,21633,21637,21643,21647,21653,21656,21660,21665,21671,21675,21680,21683,21687,21690,21694,21697,21701,21706,21714,21718,21725,21729,21732,21735,21738,21741,21758,21762,21765,21770,21775,21778,21783,21791,21795,21798,21803,21835,21839,21842,21845,21848,21851,21854,21857,21864,21868,21920,21924,21932],[81,21535,21529],{"id":21536},"what-is-digital-advertising",[14,21538,21539],{},"From the MKG Marketing expert lens, digital advertising is an ecosystem of paid marketing channels that marketers can use to support their overall digital marketing strategies.",[14,21541,21542],{},"However, as you begin to explore the digital advertising ecosystem you find that it is a magnificent, complicated, complex, and ever-evolving set of interconnected yet unique levers that can be pulled to reach target audiences where they are at, on the journey you want them to take, to get the desired result or conversion point for your marketing effort.",[81,21544,21546],{"id":21545},"what-are-the-advantages-of-digital-advertising","What are the Advantages of Digital Advertising?",[5685,21548,21550],{"id":21549},"targeting","Targeting",[14,21552,21553],{},"One of the primary advantages that digital advertising provides when compared to more traditional analog advertising is the ability to granularly target audiences across a myriad of platforms and devices.",[14,21555,21556],{},"“[digital advertising]...it's come a long way in terms of the targeting capabilities, which are now also starting to become a little less available because of third party cookies and privacy concerns and things like that.” ~ Jess Sulfstead, MKG Digital Marketing Expert",[5685,21558,21560],{"id":21559},"targeting-in-digital-marketing-defined","Targeting in Digital Marketing: Defined",[14,21562,21563],{},"Targeting, or audience targeting, is a method that identifies a specific demographic, psychographic and\u002For geographic audience and then is used to serve very intentional and unique content in an effort to drive the audience to become aware, consider, and complete a transaction of some form such as purchasing a pair of shoes or signing up for a newsletter.",[14,21565,21566],{},"“So essentially, if you're using those [targets] correctly, you should be able to reach the people that you really want to reach and not have a lot of waste [ad spend].” - Jess Sulfstead, MKG Digital Marketing Expert",[5685,21568,21570],{"id":21569},"real-time-data","Real-time Data",[14,21572,21573],{},"Having access to the results of your digital advertising campaigns is key to being able to identify areas to iterate and improve as well as highlight success and inform opportunities to scale your efforts.",[14,21575,21576],{},"“having data in real time]...allows for pretty quick optimizations and adjustments [to campaigns]” - Jess Sulfstead, MKG Digital Marketing Expert",[14,21578,21579],{},[52,21580,21581],{},"Real-Time Data in Digital Marketing: Defined",[14,21583,21584],{},"Real-time data is data that's instantly available and gives marketers the opportunity to identify trends and make immediate adjustments to dynamic creatives and campaigns as well as enabling brands to be proactive in their customer retention and experience.",[81,21586,21588],{"id":21587},"digital-advertising-channels-a-peek-behind-the-curtain","Digital Advertising Channels: A Peek Behind the Curtain",[14,21590,21591],{},"As we stated above digital advertising is an ecosystem and this ecosystem is made up of different channels to leverage depending on who your audience is, what content they consume, and where they consistently go to consume the content.",[14,21593,21594],{},"Let’s take a look at some of the different digital advertising channels that are available to digital marketers today.",[5685,21596,21598],{"id":21597},"search-engine-marketing-sem","Search Engine Marketing (SEM)",[14,21600,21601,21604,21605,21608],{},[75,21602],{"alt":77,"src":21603},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgoogle-ppc-ads.png","\nAccording to Wikipedia, “Search engine marketing is a form of Internet marketing that involves the promotion of websites by increasing their visibility in search engine results pages primarily through paid advertising.”\nSometimes ",[206,21606,21607],{"href":21094},"search engine optimization (SEO)"," can be wrapped into this topic, but as stated in the definition, it is predominantly used in reference to paid advertising.",[14,21610,21611],{},"A common example of SEM advertising are the ads that appear at the top of the search results page in Google above the natural, organic results.",[5685,21613,21615],{"id":21614},"paid-social-advertising","Paid Social Advertising",[14,21617,21618],{},[75,21619],{"alt":77,"src":21620},"\u002Fimages\u002Flinkedin-image.png",[14,21622,21623],{},"According to Gartner, “Paid social is the practice of displaying sponsored advertising content on third-party social networking platforms with the goal of targeting specific customers.”",[14,21625,21626],{},"These are the non-organic efforts that a brand makes on the social platform where their target audience is most likely to exist in an effort to drive awareness and ultimately, conversion.",[14,21628,21629,21632],{},[52,21630,21631],{},"PROTIP",": Ads on social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok can, and should, appear to be very similar to actual posts in an effort to provide a positive user experience for your target audience.",[5685,21634,21636],{"id":21635},"display-advertising-aka-banner-ads","Display Advertising (aka Banner Ads)",[14,21638,21639,21642],{},[75,21640],{"alt":77,"src":21641},"\u002Fimages\u002Fdisplay-1.png","\nDisplay or banner advertising is a type of digital advertising that leverages a creative, rectangular ad and are normally shown along the top, side, or bottom of a website with the goal of driving traffic to the advertiser’s website as well as generate awareness and overall brand consideration.",[5685,21644,21646],{"id":21645},"native-advertising","Native Advertising",[14,21648,21649,21652],{},[75,21650],{"alt":77,"src":21651},"\u002Fimages\u002Fnative.png","\nWhile similar to display advertising, native ads can sometimes take the form of text advertisements and are always created to match the design, typeface, and look of the website they are presented on.",[14,21654,21655],{},"They commonly show up on publisher websites such as Forbes or CNN as In-Feed, Sponsored\u002FRecommended Content, Search & Promoted Listings, Promoted Stories, and more.",[5685,21657,21659],{"id":21658},"digital-out-of-home-dooh-advertising","Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) Advertising",[14,21661,21662],{},[75,21663],{"alt":77,"src":21664},"\u002Fimages\u002Fooh-ad.png",[14,21666,21667,21670],{},[75,21668],{"alt":77,"src":21669},"\u002Fimages\u002Fdooh-ad.png","\nDigital Out-of-Home Advertising reaches users in a digital format in public spaces or in other ways when a user is outside of their home. Some examples of DOOH advertising include, but are not limited to: billboards, bus stops, posters, and movie theaters.",[5685,21672,21674],{"id":21673},"over-the-top-ott-advertising","Over-the-Top (OTT) Advertising",[14,21676,21677],{},[75,21678],{"alt":77,"src":21679},"\u002Fimages\u002Fott.png",[14,21681,21682],{},"OTT ads (aka streaming TV ads) are the advertisements delivered to viewers within Over-the-Top or streaming video content. OTT ads offer an exceptional opportunity for advertisers to reach new audiences at scale as more and more users are leveraging streaming video platforms such as Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, and more.",[81,21684,21686],{"id":21685},"digital-advertising-platforms-what-are-they","Digital Advertising Platforms: What Are They?",[14,21688,21689],{},"Digital advertising platforms are the different tools that are used to place ads into the different digital channels that we just discussed above. Some platforms are native such as Google Ads is used to place the search ads in Google’s search results while others are able to place ads into different channels depending what the campaign calls for.",[5685,21691,21693],{"id":21692},"digital-ad-platforms-for-sem","Digital Ad Platforms for SEM",[14,21695,21696],{},"With the two major search engines being Google and Bing, there are two primary ad platforms used to serve ads:",[5685,21698,21700],{"id":21699},"google-ads","Google Ads",[14,21702,21703],{},[75,21704],{"alt":77,"src":21705},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgoogle-dashboard.png",[14,21707,21708,21709,8495],{},"Google Ads is an online advertising platform developed by Google, where advertisers bid to display brief advertisements, service offerings, product listings, or videos to web users. (",[206,21710,21713],{"href":21711,"rel":21712},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FGoogle_Ads",[210],"Wikipedia",[5685,21715,21717],{"id":21716},"microsoft-ads","Microsoft Ads",[14,21719,21720,21721,8495],{},"Microsoft Advertising is a service that provides pay per click advertising on the Bing, Yahoo!, and DuckDuckGo search engines. (",[206,21722,21713],{"href":21723,"rel":21724},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FMicrosoft_Advertising",[210],[5685,21726,21728],{"id":21727},"digital-ad-platforms-for-social-media","Digital Ad Platforms for Social Media",[14,21730,21731],{},"Most social media platforms have their own advertising platform built-in and in some cases, they overlap.",[14,21733,21734],{},"For example, digital advertising on Facebook & Instagram are managed through the Facebook Ads Manager as Facebook owns both platforms.",[14,21736,21737],{},"Similarly, YouTube, which is another social media platform as well as a search engine in its own right, has ads placed via the Google Ads platform as Google owns YouTube so they use their ad platform to serve the ads.",[14,21739,21740],{},"Below is a quick list of social media platforms with their own native ad offerings:",[132,21742,21743,21746,21749,21752,21755],{},[49,21744,21745],{},"LinkedIn",[49,21747,21748],{},"Twitter",[49,21750,21751],{},"Snapchat",[49,21753,21754],{},"TikTok",[49,21756,21757],{},"Pinterest",[5685,21759,21761],{"id":21760},"digital-ad-platforms-for-dooh-advertising","Digital Ad Platforms for DOOH Advertising",[14,21763,21764],{},"With this being a “newer” space for digital ads, there are not an extensive amount of platforms out there that currently serve DOOH ads, but they are becoming more prevalent.",[14,21766,21767],{},[52,21768,21769],{},"Check out these examples of DOOH platforms:",[14,21771,21772],{},[52,21773,21774],{},"Place Exchange",[14,21776,21777],{},"Place Exchange unifies execution, reporting, and attribution for OOH with other programmatic channels for the first time. (Visit website)",[14,21779,21780],{},[52,21781,21782],{},"Vistar Media",[14,21784,21785,21786,8495],{},"Vistar powers today’s out-of-home industry with technology that dramatically enhances the buying, selling and management of digital signage media. (",[206,21787,21790],{"href":21788,"rel":21789},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.placeexchange.com\u002F",[210],"Visit website",[5685,21792,21794],{"id":21793},"digital-ad-platforms-for-ott-advertising","Digital Ad Platforms for OTT Advertising",[14,21796,21797],{},"With millions of users consuming content via connected smart devices and streaming platforms, the ability to reach them in very impactful micro-moments becomes a huge opportunity for advertisers. Connect TV (CTV) ads display on TVs connected to the Internet, also called smart TVs. On the other hand, OTT ads display on any device, including smartphones, tablets, computers, and smart TVs.",[14,21799,21800],{},[52,21801,21802],{},"Checkout three of the OTT digital advertising platforms that are available to digital marketers today!",[132,21804,21805,21815,21825],{},[49,21806,21807,21808,21810,21811,8495],{},"PubMatic",[5778,21809],{},"This popular advertising platform boasts over 400 billion impressions and almost 1.5 trillion bids a day, easily making PubMatic one of the largest and best OTT ad exchanges. (",[206,21812,21790],{"href":21813,"rel":21814},"https:\u002F\u002Fpubmatic.com\u002F",[210],[49,21816,21817,21818,21820,21821,8495],{},"Google ADX",[5778,21819],{},"Google is the owner of one of the largest ad exchanges on the internet known as Google ADX, a programmatic ad platform that offers the highest CPMs, only trades in the most premium inventory, and utilizes real-time bidding auctions to trade inventory. (",[206,21822,21790],{"href":21823,"rel":21824},"https:\u002F\u002Fadmanager.google.com\u002F",[210],[49,21826,21827,21828,21830,21831,8495],{},"Brid.TV Marketplace",[5778,21829],{},"Brid.TV Marketplace is a video ad network that allows OTT publishers to monetize content through an array of video ad formats. It leverages top-tier programmatic advertising tech and is compatible with all kinds of OTT devices. (",[206,21832,21790],{"href":21833,"rel":21834},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.brid.tv\u002Fads-marketplace\u002F",[210],[81,21836,21838],{"id":21837},"digital-advertising-strategy-should-you-have-a-gameplan","Digital Advertising Strategy: Should you have a gameplan?",[14,21840,21841],{},"The short answer is: Yes, you should.",[14,21843,21844],{},"It is not wise to invest resources regardless of whether it is time or money to create a campaign if you don’t know what you are hoping to achieve with the marketing efforts.",[14,21846,21847],{},"We would also recommend being as precise as possible in an effort to be able to measure, iterate, and test.",[14,21849,21850],{},"For example, if you are doing a brand awareness campaign, your goal should not be to increase impressions. Your goal should be to increase impressions by a set number or a percentage so there is a fixed target you are aiming for.",[14,21852,21853],{},"Additionally, you want to make sure that your digital advertising efforts are not being executed in a vacuum.",[14,21855,21856],{},"“...you have to have a strategy, but you have to have an overall marketing strategy that aligns with the overall business goals and then you figure out how the digital advertising fits into that overall marketing strategy.” - Jess Sulfstead, MKG Digital Marketing Expert",[14,21858,21859,21860,21863],{},"Digital advertising has the potential to deliver far more impact if its efforts are integrated with the efforts of other digital marketing channels in a cohesive and complete ",[206,21861,21862],{"href":21089},"marketing strategy"," focused on achieving the core business objectives.",[81,21865,21867],{"id":21866},"digital-advertising-protips-three-things-to-review-when-optimizing-a-ppc-campaign","Digital Advertising Protips: Three things to review when optimizing a PPC campaign",[132,21869,21870,21888,21904],{},[49,21871,21872,21873,21875,21878,21879,21881,21882,21884,21887],{},"Wasted Spend",[5778,21874],{},[52,21876,21877],{},"What to look for:"," Keywords with clicks but no conversions",[5778,21880],{},"“...a click costs you money and if it's not generating anything for you, get that cleaned up [to save ad spend]” - Jess Sulfstead, MKG Digital Marketing Expert",[5778,21883],{},[52,21885,21886],{},"Recommendation:"," Remove the terms and consider adding these terms to a negative keywords list.",[49,21889,21890,21891,21893,21895,21896,21898,21899,21901,21903],{},"Click Through Rate (CTR)",[5778,21892],{},[52,21894,21877],{}," Ads with high impressions but low clicks",[5778,21897],{},"“...[CTR] is an indication that the keywords and text in your ads are compelling and relevant for people to want to click through…” - Jess Sulfstead, MKG Digital Marketing Expert",[5778,21900],{},[52,21902,21886],{}," Tweak existing ad copy or write new ad copy",[49,21905,21906,21907,21909,21911,21912,21914,21915,21917,21919],{},"Conversion Rate",[5778,21908],{},[52,21910,21877],{}," Ads with good CTR but a low conversion rate",[5778,21913],{},"“...ads that have a really high click through rate, but then a low conversion rate indicate that your landing page isn't great.” - Jess Sulfstead, MKG Digital Marketing Expert",[5778,21916],{},[52,21918,21886],{}," Review the landing page experience and optimize the page for conversion",[81,21921,21923],{"id":21922},"ready-to-get-started-with-digital-advertising","Ready to get started with Digital Advertising?",[14,21925,21926,21927,21931],{},"If you would like to learn more about the Digital Advertising services and team that MKG Marketing provides, feel free to visit the ",[206,21928,21930],{"href":21929},"\u002Fexpert-digital-marketing-services\u002Fdigital-advertising\u002F","Digital Advertising Services"," page.",[14,21933,21934,21935,21940],{},"However, if you’d like to get your digital advertising efforts started today, reach out and ",[206,21936,21939],{"href":21937,"rel":21938},"https:\u002F\u002F1zgok.share.hsforms.com\u002F2cOmJ7URST7aHvXaKILoupg?uuid=11a19469-5397-4111-90ab-08d517b6bddc?month=2023-01",[210],"book a chemistry call"," with our business development team.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":21942},[21943,21944,21945,21946,21947,21948,21949],{"id":21536,"depth":297,"text":21529},{"id":21545,"depth":297,"text":21546},{"id":21587,"depth":297,"text":21588},{"id":21685,"depth":297,"text":21686},{"id":21837,"depth":297,"text":21838},{"id":21866,"depth":297,"text":21867},{"id":21922,"depth":297,"text":21923},"2023-01-24T02:43:34.000+00:00","What is digital advertising? Our MKG experts offer their perspective on the advantages of utilizing real-time data and a cohesive search engine marketing, paid, DOOH, and OOT  strategy.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fwhat-is-digital-advertising-mkg-marketing",{"title":21529,"description":21951},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fwhat-is-digital-advertising-mkg-marketing","4oqXtFwlXZ1jyUIWG_jThNVNSdZtssgbznXPd9Pr7q0",{"id":21958,"title":21959,"author":7,"authors":21960,"body":21962,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":22013,"description":22014,"extension":318,"img":22015,"imgAlt":22016,"meta":22017,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":22018,"seo":22019,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":22020,"updated":7,"__hash__":22021},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002F5-marketing-analytics-trends-for-2023.md","5 Marketing Analytics Trends for 2023",[21961],"Larry G",{"type":11,"value":21963,"toc":22005},[21964,21967,21971,21974,21977,21981,21984,21988,21991,21995,21998,22002],[14,21965,21966],{},"What developments in the area of digital marketing analytics should businesses be aware of, and what technologies are on the horizon?",[24,21968,21970],{"id":21969},"_1-geodata-real-time-data","1. Geodata & Real-Time Data",[14,21972,21973],{},"The potential of this technology is limited by consumer and brand disagreements over how customer location data is handled. Advertising agencies and businesses are aggressively experimenting with location data, but they are typically disappointed with the results. Data suppliers exaggerate their true worth, and investments are not lucrative. Today, geo-targeting customers who have already visited brand outlets is the most successful approach to leveraging location data. This helps you to boost customer loyalty and the number of repeat transactions.",[14,21975,21976],{},"Another approach is to leverage geodata on rivals' consumers. The brand identifies who buys from rivals and promotes its service to this demographic. The corporation may also learn about consumers' behaviors, such as if they visit a competitor's shop in the evening. Then it's important to display your advertising during lunch so you may \"intercept\" the user. Companies will increasingly rely on real-time data to adapt promptly to shifting market conditions. Real-time analytics may be used to monitor campaign performance, follow consumer activity, and evaluate website traffic in real time. Companies will be able to make fast changes to their marketing plans and methods in order to optimize outcomes. Real-time data may also be used to spot abnormalities, such as a sudden decline in website traffic, assisting businesses in identifying and addressing possible issues before they become a problem.",[24,21978,21980],{"id":21979},"_2-multi-touch-attribution-predictive-analytics","2. Multi Touch Attribution & Predictive Analytics",[14,21982,21983],{},"Multi touch attribution identifies which advertising channels and campaigns were used to acquire customers and had the most influence on the purchase decision. In most cases, a client's journey from brand awareness to purchase comprises numerous phases. For example, suppose a person views an ad on Google and visits the site, but then becomes sidetracked and forgets about the goods. Then he checks Instagram to see how his favorite blogger promotes the goods. After a time, he gets an email with a promotional coupon and purchases the product he is interested in. If you do not monitor the complete chain of user engagement with the brand, you may incorrectly believe that the mailing list is the sole successful channel - it brought the buyer. Indeed, both Google Advertisements and the blogger's ads assisted in \"warming up\" the customer and leading him to buy the goods. They employ multi-channel analytics and attribution models to monitor all user interactions with traffic channels, from brand awareness to purchase. Predictive analytics will become increasingly common, helping businesses to forecast future trends and make better decisions. Predictive analytics forecasts future events like customer churn, lifetime value, and purchase likelihood using statistical algorithms and models. Companies may make data-driven decisions to optimize marketing efforts, target the proper customers, and estimate future results by employing predictive analytics. Predictive analytics may also be used to detect patterns and trends in consumer behavior, such as which goods they are likely to buy next, and to generate tailored suggestions.",[24,21985,21987],{"id":21986},"_3-customer-experience-measurement","3. Customer Experience Measurement",[14,21989,21990],{},"The user's path from necessity to purchase is referred to as the customer journey. This technology is at the pinnacle of overblown expectations in 2023. Customer journey analysis may assist you in figuring out what phases a user goes through on their path to making a purchase. This enables you to control communication channels and find flaws. To depict the customer journey, the Customer Journey Map (CJM) is most typically employed. It is gathered by the use of surveys, in-depth interviews, and research into the behavior of the target population. They link services for monitoring user behaviors on the site, in particular. For example, a corporation may see a decrease in internet sales. Using \"Webvisor\" and other technologies, for example, you may observe what stage of contact with site visitors has problems. There are several reasons why a user does not reach the cart: the description language does not address the \"pains\" of the target audience, consumers do not understand how to finish the transaction, and so on. Companies will place a greater emphasis on understanding and improving the customer experience, employing analytics to acquire insights into customer behavior and preferences. This will entail gathering and evaluating data on client interactions across various channels such as social media, email, and chat. Companies will also use feedback data, surveys, and other types of consumer input to obtain a better knowledge of their customers' demands, pain spots, and levels of satisfaction. Furthermore, businesses will employ analytics to track customer journeys and touchpoints, allowing them to discover parts of the customer experience that may be improved.",[24,21992,21994],{"id":21993},"_4-mobile-marketing-analytics","4. Mobile Marketing Analytics",[14,21996,21997],{},"Mobile marketing analytics tracks how people interact with apps and mobile versions of websites. The information gathered may be used to enhance the efficiency of website versions for smartphones and tablets, as well as the functioning of apps and advertising on smartphones. Companies will increasingly employ mobile analytics to better understand and target customers on mobile platforms as mobile devices become more widespread. On mobile apps and websites, mobile analytics will be used to measure customer behavior, engagement, and conversion rates. Companies will be able to optimize their mobile marketing strategies and improve the mobile user experience as a result of this. Mobile analytics will also be utilized to better understand mobile consumer behavior and preferences, as well as to provide tailored content and offers to mobile customers. Mobile analytics may also be used to monitor the success of mobile advertisements and determine which ads are generating the most conversions and money. Special software, such as Google Firebase, is utilized for mobile marketing analytics.",[24,21999,22001],{"id":22000},"_5-social-media-analytics-increased-use-of-artificial-intelligence-and-machine-learning","5. Social Media Analytics & Increased Use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning",[14,22003,22004],{},"Social analytics provides insight into how consumers view a brand: what is being said about it on social media, what items are most appealing, and how the intended impression of the brand varies from the actual perception. Tracking and evaluating this data helps in the development of a successful marketing plan. These quantitative social network metrics - reach, impressions, and engagement - may be tracked in the social networks themselves - in Facebook, Instagram Insights, Twitter Analytics, or Google Analytics. Social media monitoring services track brand references. Audience surveys may be used to assess qualitative characteristics such as customer satisfaction, response time, and feedback quality. AI and ML technologies are becoming more advanced and accessible, allowing businesses of all sizes to use them for marketing analytics. This will allow businesses to automate repetitive operations like data cleansing and processing, as well as identify hidden insights and patterns in data that human analysts may overlook. Companies will be able to discover patterns, trends, and client groups with the aid of AI and ML, allowing them to tailor their marketing efforts and boost their ROI. Furthermore, AI and ML may be utilized for activities such as natural language processing, picture and voice recognition, and sentiment analysis, which can provide businesses with a more in-depth understanding of client interactions and preferences.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":22006},[22007,22008,22009,22010,22011],{"id":21969,"depth":291,"text":21970},{"id":21979,"depth":291,"text":21980},{"id":21986,"depth":291,"text":21987},{"id":21993,"depth":291,"text":21994},{"id":22000,"depth":291,"text":22001},"marketing-analytics","2023-01-23T04:58:34.000+00:00","What are the top trends for marketing analytics in 2023? Our MKG expert breaks down the pervasive trends that will influence your analytics and impact your business.","\u002Fimages\u002Fga4-five-features.webp","An abstract illustration showing some analytics imagery and icons.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002F5-marketing-analytics-trends-for-2023",{"title":21959,"description":22014},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002F5-marketing-analytics-trends-for-2023","64zk5EUt1maEWS5iram5SVM3yGyd776WTtkT-QZ4Jxc",{"id":22023,"title":22024,"author":7,"authors":22025,"body":22026,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":22271,"description":22272,"extension":318,"img":77,"imgAlt":77,"meta":22273,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":22274,"seo":22275,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":22276,"updated":7,"__hash__":22277},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fgeneral-data-protection-regulation-and-google-analytics-4.md","General Data Protection Regulation and Google Analytics 4 | Blog | MKG Marketing",[21961],{"type":11,"value":22027,"toc":22261},[22028,22032,22037,22042,22046,22052,22056,22095,22099,22119,22123,22130,22136,22139,22145,22150,22155,22161,22164,22169,22174,22179,22186,22189,22193,22198,22205,22208,22213,22218,22222,22231,22235,22238,22249,22253],[81,22029,22031],{"id":22030},"disclaimer","Disclaimer",[14,22033,22034],{},[38,22035,22036],{},"General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR EU) is a complex and comprehensive component of EU privacy law and of human rights law. This document is a summary of as official as possible sources for the guidance of companies looking at Google Analytics 4 and how it complies with GDPR.",[14,22038,22039],{},[38,22040,22041],{},"This point of view is updated to the best of our knowledge, but should not be treated as legally binding or official.",[81,22043,22045],{"id":22044},"is-google-analytics-4-gdpr-compliant","Is Google Analytics 4 GDPR Compliant?",[14,22047,22048,22049,22051],{},"No. Google Analytics 4 is ",[52,22050,6920],{}," fully compliant with GDPR. There are more safeguards in place and ways to control data\u002Fanonymize data in GA4 than any other version of Google Analytics, but Google has never declared GA4 GDPR compliant.",[81,22053,22055],{"id":22054},"what-is-googles-official-stance","What is Google’s Official Stance?",[14,22057,22058,22059,22064,22069,22074,22079,22084,22089,22094],{},"As of October 2022, no official statement has been made. Links to several articles hosted and written by Google can be accessed below. This helps give insight into the wording and phrasing from Google on their progress on safeguarding data and giving their users tools to help comply with GDPR and other regulations like it.\n",[206,22060,22063],{"href":22061,"rel":22062},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.google.com\u002Fgoogle-ads\u002Fanswer\u002F9028179?hl=en",[210],"Helping advertisers comply with the GDPR & AADC",[206,22065,22068],{"href":22066,"rel":22067},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.google.com\u002Fanalytics\u002Fanswer\u002F9019185#zippy=%2Cin-this-article",[210],"Privacy controls in Google Analytics",[206,22070,22073],{"href":22071,"rel":22072},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.google.com\u002Fanalytics\u002Fanswer\u002F6004245#zippy=%2Cgoogle-analytics-under-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr",[210],"Safeguarding your data",[206,22075,22078],{"href":22076,"rel":22077},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.google.com\u002Fanalytics\u002Fanswer\u002F3379636?hl=en",[210],"Data Processing Terms",[206,22080,22083],{"href":22081,"rel":22082},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.google.com\u002Fanalytics\u002Fanswer\u002F7667196?hl=en&ref_topic=2919631",[210],"Data retention",[206,22085,22088],{"href":22086,"rel":22087},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.google.com\u002Fanalytics\u002Fanswer\u002F12002752?hl=en&utm_id=ad",[210],"[GA4] Collect granular location and device data",[206,22090,22093],{"href":22091,"rel":22092},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.google.com\u002Fanalytics\u002Fanswer\u002F2763052?hl=en&ref_topic=2919631",[210],"IP Anonymization (or IP masking) in Universal Analytics"," (Defined: In Google Analytics 4, IP anonymization is not necessary since IP addresses are not logged or stored)",[81,22096,22098],{"id":22097},"what-web-analytics-platforms-are-compliant-with-gdpr","What Web Analytics Platforms are Compliant with GDPR?",[14,22100,22101,22102,22105,22109,22114],{},"Because of this lack of clear transparency, companies have created Web analytics tools that declare compliance with GDPR. A list of those tools and platforms are below.\n",[206,22103,22104],{"href":77},"Matomo",[206,22106],{"href":22107,"rel":22108},"https:\u002F\u002Fmatomo.org\u002F",[210],[206,22110,22113],{"href":22111,"rel":22112},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.hotjar.com\u002F",[210],"Hotjar",[206,22115,22118],{"href":22116,"rel":22117},"https:\u002F\u002Fcytrio.com\u002F",[210],"CYTRIO",[81,22120,22122],{"id":22121},"what-settings-can-be-updated-in-google-analytics-4-to-more-closely-comply-with-gdpr-guidelines","What Settings Can Be Updated in Google Analytics 4 to More Closely Comply with GDPR Guidelines?",[14,22124,22125,22126,22129],{},"The article ",[206,22127,22068],{"href":22066,"rel":22128},[210]," has a more comprehensive list that covers both Web and apps, but the most important for the Web:",[14,22131,22132],{},[206,22133,22135],{"href":22081,"rel":22134},[210],"Data Retention   ",[14,22137,22138],{},"For Google Analytics 4 properties (non-Analytics 360 version), retention of user-level data, including conversions, can be set to a maximum of 14 months. For all other event data, you can choose the length of retention of either 2 months or 14 months",[14,22140,22141,22144],{},[38,22142,22143],{},"Where is this setting found?"," Admin → Data Settings → Data Retention",[14,22146,22147],{},[52,22148,22149],{},"Recommendation: Set to 2 months",[14,22151,22152],{},[52,22153,22154],{},"This will have a significant impact on historical reporting. For example, in the ‘Explore’ section of Google Analytics 4, custom reports will only be able to go back 2 months. This will severely hamper the ability to make data-informed decisions as they come up over time.",[14,22156,22157],{},[206,22158,22160],{"href":22086,"rel":22159},[210],"Collect Granular Location and Device Data",[14,22162,22163],{},"You have the option to enable\u002Fdisable the collection of granular location and device data on a per-region basis.",[14,22165,22166,22168],{},[38,22167,22143],{}," Admin → Data Settings → Data Collection",[14,22170,22171],{},[52,22172,22173],{},"Recommendation: Disable for specific countries that GDPR protects.",[14,22175,22176],{},[52,22177,22178],{},"This does affect overall reporting, and will cause numbers to appear lower than their actuality. Data is still aggregated, but reporting that uses location and device data will not include data from specified locations.",[14,22180,22181],{},[206,22182,22185],{"href":22183,"rel":22184},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.google.com\u002Fanalytics\u002Fanswer\u002F7532985?hl=en#zippy=%2Cin-this-article",[210],"Google signals for Google Analytics 4 properties",[14,22187,22188],{},"Google Signals enables cross-device tracking. The data is aggregated and no data for individual users is ever exposed.",[14,22190,22191,22168],{},[38,22192,22143],{},[14,22194,22195],{},[52,22196,22197],{},"Recommendation: To be 100% safe, disable, unless a comprehensive cookie management solution is in place.",[14,22199,22200],{},[206,22201,22204],{"href":22202,"rel":22203},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.google.com\u002Fanalytics\u002Fanswer\u002F9940393?hl=en&ref_topic=2919631",[210],"Data Deletion Requests",[14,22206,22207],{},"If you need to delete data from the Analytics servers for any reason, then you can use a data-deletion request to issue a request for its removal.",[14,22209,22210,22212],{},[38,22211,22143],{}," Admin → Data Deletion Requests",[14,22214,22215],{},[52,22216,22217],{},"Recommendation: To be used on an ad-hoc basis",[81,22219,22221],{"id":22220},"whats-the-status-and-outlook-surrounding-gdpr-compliance-for-google-analytics-4","What’s the Status and Outlook Surrounding GDPR Compliance for Google Analytics 4?",[14,22223,22224,22225,22230],{},"Google continues to make strides in terms of protecting data and giving analytics owners the ability to update rules relating to location of those who have their data collected, the duration of how long that data is stored, and aggregation and anonymization. There is not one toggle or one way to be fully compliant with GDPR, however.\nGoogle has announced a feature called ",[206,22226,22229],{"href":22227,"rel":22228},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.google.com\u002Fanalytics\u002Fanswer\u002F9976101?hl=en#cmp1",[210],"Consent Mode on websites and mobile apps",", which allows for full integration with Consent Management Platforms (CMP) or custom implementation for obtaining visitor consent, such as a cookie consent banner.",[81,22232,22234],{"id":22233},"best-practices","Best Practices",[14,22236,22237],{},"Regardless of using Google Analytics 4 or not, some common-sense best practices include:",[46,22239,22240,22243,22246],{},[49,22241,22242],{},"Migrate to Google Analytics 4 as soon as possible in order to make updates to settings that are recommended to better comply with data privacy and protection regulations.",[49,22244,22245],{},"Ensure your privacy policy is up to date on the settings and rules you have enabled in Google Analytics regarding the collection and use of website visitor behavior. If countries with GDPR regulation in place are not an essential part of the company’s business, consider blocking or excluding the collection of data from visitors from any particular country.",[49,22247,22248],{},"Use a cookie management tool to give website visitors the option to decline or accept cookies. If cookie-tracking is declined by a visitor, then data will seem smaller than what it actually is - but more regulation is requiring the management of this aspect of data collection over time.",[81,22250,22252],{"id":22251},"change-history","Change History",[46,22254,22255,22258],{},[49,22256,22257],{},"10\u002F24\u002F22 - Clarification added to some recommendations",[49,22259,22260],{},"10\u002F19\u002F22 - Creation of this document",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":22262},[22263,22264,22265,22266,22267,22268,22269,22270],{"id":22030,"depth":297,"text":22031},{"id":22044,"depth":297,"text":22045},{"id":22054,"depth":297,"text":22055},{"id":22097,"depth":297,"text":22098},{"id":22121,"depth":297,"text":22122},{"id":22220,"depth":297,"text":22221},{"id":22233,"depth":297,"text":22234},{"id":22251,"depth":297,"text":22252},"2023-01-23T03:02:41.000+00:00","Is GA4 compliant with General Data Protection Regulation? Our MKG analytics expert breaks down the changes, platform compatibilities, and best practices.  Read more here.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fgeneral-data-protection-regulation-and-google-analytics-4",{"title":22024,"description":22272},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fgeneral-data-protection-regulation-and-google-analytics-4","Bzk2RJ27F9-gzeLll8O67PZxTMndnlqZ_pHJr4wJDmk",{"id":22279,"title":22280,"author":7,"authors":22281,"body":22282,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":22387,"description":22388,"extension":318,"img":22389,"imgAlt":77,"meta":22390,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":22391,"seo":22392,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":22393,"updated":7,"__hash__":22394},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002F5-google-analytics-features-for-high-quality-analytics.md","5 Google Analytics Features for High-Quality Analytics",[21961],{"type":11,"value":22283,"toc":22379},[22284,22287,22290,22293,22296,22300,22303,22306,22310,22313,22316,22319,22322,22326,22329,22332,22335,22341,22345,22348,22354,22358,22361,22367,22369,22372],[14,22285,22286],{},"In the digital world, there are two barriers: consumers who desire privacy and do not want their actions in programs tracked; and developers who want to make money (collecting cookies). On the other hand, marketers want to know all they can about their target demographic, including which channel affected the purchase decision.",[14,22288,22289],{},"Users surf the site on many devices and browsers for too long before making a purchase decision. These acts are captured by Universal Analytics as though various persons performed them. Assume you have invested in a target and that requests come from a direct call. Because the numbers are wrong, there is no clear sense of where the conversion fell from.",[14,22291,22292],{},"We are aware of this distinction and recognize the importance of paying attention to tools with new functionality. This attention to new functionalities helps determine which advertising channels are efficient and which are not, saving clients money.",[14,22294,22295],{},"Let's look at how Google Analytics 4 (GA4) can help you acquire high-quality data. Let us explain why it is important to consider employing this technology now.",[81,22297,22299],{"id":22298},"ga4-uses-internal-ids-rather-than-cookies","GA4 uses internal IDs rather than cookies.",[14,22301,22302],{},"GA4 employs a single tag that transmits information to all of Google's marketing and analytics platforms. No additional settings are required because GA4 utilizes Cookies in this situation. This allows us to obtain analytics without making extra motions.",[14,22304,22305],{},"We anticipate that Google will abandon User ID and exclusively utilize internal device and browser IDs in the near future.\nGoogle Analytics 4 enables IP anonymization by default and does not allow you to alter this parameter.",[81,22307,22309],{"id":22308},"the-google-analytics-4-paradigm-focuses-on-events-rather-than-sessions","The Google Analytics 4 paradigm focuses on events rather than sessions.",[14,22311,22312],{},"GA4's significant figures are the user and events (event-based and user-based architecture). All user activities are considered events in this context. They assist us in determining where and under what conditions a specific event occurred.",[14,22314,22315],{},"You may switch event tracking on and off separately in the settings.\nA conversion on a website or application can be any user activity, such as submitting an application, subscribing to a newsletter, or purchasing a product. You may specify the precise conversion for yourself in the options.\nA significant advantage of GA4 is that the report will contain as many conversions as target actions accomplished in a single session.",[14,22317,22318],{},"Your typical client, for example, arrives at the site via contextual advertising. He first selects and orders a chandelier, and then he recalls that he needs to get another table light. If a user submits two orders in the same session, the GA4 report will display two conversions, and Universal Analytics will show 1.",[14,22320,22321],{},"When calculating web statistics, special considerations are given to page views. The parameter contributes to the calculation of bounces, session length, page view duration, and other metrics.",[81,22323,22325],{"id":22324},"ga4-records-the-users-whole-route","GA4 records the user's whole route.",[14,22327,22328],{},"Cross-platform user identification works well, implying that the system connects user sessions from different devices and browsers at different times.",[14,22330,22331],{},"For example, if you went to the site today from a mobile device, then a few days later from a desktop, and then a few days later from the application, GA4 will recognize all of these sessions.",[14,22333,22334],{},"You might also have a landing page and numerous pages linked together. If one user makes a purchase on them, these activities will be associated with that person.",[14,22336,22337,22338],{},"All of this increases data quality and results in a single report for the complete customer experience.",[75,22339],{"alt":77,"src":22340},"\u002Fimages\u002F1-ga.png",[81,22342,22344],{"id":22343},"ga4-will-estimate-the-likelihood-of-conversions-and-outflows-detect-abnormalities-in-reports-and-more","GA4 will estimate the likelihood of conversions and outflows, detect abnormalities in reports, and more.",[14,22346,22347],{},"Machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) features are two of Google Analytics 4's primary advantages. Google intends to expand its predictive direction and offer more predictive indications.",[14,22349,22350,22351],{},"You can split users into audience groups based on their likelihood of doing a user action within a specific time frame (make a purchase, leave the site, etc.).",[75,22352],{"alt":77,"src":22353},"\u002Fimages\u002F2-ga.png",[81,22355,22357],{"id":22356},"you-may-build-custom-reports-using-the-ga4-analysis-center","You may build custom reports using the GA4 Analysis Center.",[14,22359,22360],{},"The resource gives access to analytics on the required metrics, segment comparative features, and other indications. You may also generate customized reports or, if necessary, utilize pre-made templates.",[14,22362,22363,22364],{},"You may customize adaptable reports for specialized needs in the report library. Tables, graphs, and other graphics are accessible.",[75,22365],{"alt":77,"src":22366},"\u002Fimages\u002F3jcnkjas.png",[81,22368,2914],{"id":2913},[14,22370,22371],{},"In terms of analytics collection, GA4 is a reasonable and expected move. Right now, it is worthwhile to consider the vast technological potential. GA4 will be a fantastic and valuable addition to Universal Analytics.",[14,22373,22374,22375,20801],{},"Need help leveraging the new features in GA4? Our expert Analytics team is here to help! ",[206,22376,22378],{"href":21299,"rel":22377},[210],"Schedule a discovery call",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":22380},[22381,22382,22383,22384,22385,22386],{"id":22298,"depth":297,"text":22299},{"id":22308,"depth":297,"text":22309},{"id":22324,"depth":297,"text":22325},{"id":22343,"depth":297,"text":22344},{"id":22356,"depth":297,"text":22357},{"id":2913,"depth":297,"text":2914},"2022-12-13T03:33:16+00:00","Being aware of changes in tools with new functionalities helps determine which advertising channels are efficient and which are not. Let's look at how Google Analytics 4 (GA4) can help you acquire high-quality data, and why it's important to consider employing this technology now.","\u002Fimages\u002Fgoogle-helpful-content-update.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002F5-google-analytics-features-for-high-quality-analytics",{"title":22280,"description":22388},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002F5-google-analytics-features-for-high-quality-analytics","51MTcNe0qxesHmq0p7zBFYKqNmD-DdseFEDztauIdzQ",{"id":22396,"title":22397,"author":7,"authors":22398,"body":22399,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":22602,"description":22603,"extension":318,"img":22604,"imgAlt":22605,"meta":22606,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":22607,"seo":22608,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":22609,"updated":7,"__hash__":22610},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002F5-ga4-tips-to-get-quality-analytics.md","5 GA4 Tips to Get Quality Analytics",[21961],{"type":11,"value":22400,"toc":22593},[22401,22404,22408,22411,22428,22431,22435,22438,22441,22449,22452,22484,22488,22491,22494,22508,22511,22514,22518,22521,22524,22527,22530,22544,22548,22551,22554,22562,22566,22569,22583,22587,22590],[14,22402,22403],{},"Google Analytics 4 is a Google analytics solution that allows you to collect information on both websites and applications at the same time. The critical distinction between GA4 and GA is a different approach to data collecting. The emphasis in GA is on user sessions (page views), whereas in GA4 it is on events (visitor actions). To learn more about GA4 and how to set it up, read the “What is GA4” blog post.",[81,22405,22407],{"id":22406},"tip-1-how-to-implement-google-analytics-4-using-google-tag-manager","Tip 1: How to Implement Google Analytics 4 Using Google Tag Manager",[14,22409,22410],{},"Only after configuring the data stream and adding a tag to the site’s pages will GA4 be able to gather data.",[46,22412,22413,22416,22419,22422,22425],{},[49,22414,22415],{},"In GTM, navigate to your desired account and container and select \"Add a new tag\" to begin configuring your GA4 tag.",[49,22417,22418],{},"Now, inside \"Tag Configuration,\" click to view the possibilities for different sorts of tags. “Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration” should be selected.",[49,22420,22421],{},"You will see a place where you may input your Measurement ID. Locate and copy your Measurement ID from your account.",[49,22423,22424],{},"In the \"Triggering\" box, select where you want the tag to appear on your site. Most of the time you'll want GA4 to fire on all pages.",[49,22426,22427],{},"To make your tag live, save it and publish your GTM container. GA4 should now be firing on your site. Check the Realtime section of Google Analytics to ensure that you are monitoring sessions. Soon after visiting the site, you should see your visit reflected here.",[14,22429,22430],{},"After you've installed the basic gtag.js tag, you may proceed to add further customization, such as events.",[81,22432,22434],{"id":22433},"tip-2-how-to-exclude-ip-addresses-in-google-analytics-4","Tip 2: How to Exclude IP Addresses in Google Analytics 4",[14,22436,22437],{},"Create a rule that identifies the IP address or range of IP addresses that indicate internal traffic to filter it out.",[14,22439,22440],{},"Do the following to filter out internal traffic:",[46,22442,22443,22446],{},[49,22444,22445],{},"Determine internal web traffic in your data stream.",[49,22447,22448],{},"Use a data filter at the property level to exclude internal traffic.",[14,22450,22451],{},"Make a definition:",[46,22453,22454,22457,22460,22463,22466,22469,22472,22475,22478,22481],{},[49,22455,22456],{},"In Admin, in the Property column, click Data Streams.",[49,22458,22459],{},"Click Web, followed by Web Data Stream.",[49,22461,22462],{},"Click Configure Tag Settings in the online stream information (at the bottom).",[49,22464,22465],{},"Click the Define Internal Traffic button.",[49,22467,22468],{},"Click the Create button.",[49,22470,22471],{},"Give the rule a name.",[49,22473,22474],{},"The only event parameter for which you may specify a value is traffic type.    Internal is the default value, but you may change it (for example, EMEA headquarters) to indicate a place where internal traffic originates.",[49,22476,22477],{},"Select one of the operators under IP address",[49,22479,22480],{},"Click Match type (e.g., IP address equals).",[49,22482,22483],{},"Enter an address or set of addresses that identify traffic from the place you determined in Step 8 under the IP address. IPv4 and IPv6 addresses can be entered.",[81,22485,22487],{"id":22486},"tip-3-how-to-segment-traffic-by-channel-in-ga4","Tip 3: How to Segment Traffic by Channel in GA4",[14,22489,22490],{},"A segment is a subset of the data in your Analytics account. For example, one portion of your total user base may be people from a specific country or city. Another group may be customers that buy a specific product line, visit a specific section of your website, or trigger certain events in your app.",[14,22492,22493],{},"To access the segment builder, follow these steps:",[46,22495,22496,22499,22502,22505],{},[49,22497,22498],{},"Connect to Google Analytics.",[49,22500,22501],{},"Choose Explore from the menu on the left.  The Workspace Explorations emerge.",[49,22503,22504],{},"Choose an existing adventure or start a new one.",[49,22506,22507],{},"Click the plus symbol in the Segments section of Tab Settings on the left.",[14,22509,22510],{},"You have three options when it comes to establishing a new segment:",[14,22512,22513],{},"Make your own section by defining all of the parameters.\nBegin with one of the suggested segments. These are based on typical use cases and may be modified and adapted to meet your individual requirements.\nCreate a segment from the selection.",[81,22515,22517],{"id":22516},"tip-4-how-to-identify-your-audience-in-ga4","Tip 4: How to Identify Your Audience in GA4",[14,22519,22520],{},"Audiences are user groups that may be customized to evaluate visitor behavior based on specific qualities that might be changeable or static. In GA4, you can use pre-made audience templates to get started, but if you want to get serious about audience data analysis, you must customize your audiences.",[14,22522,22523],{},"Audiences allow you to categorize your consumers in ways that are essential to your company. You may include virtually any subset of people by segmenting by dimensions, metrics, and events.",[14,22525,22526],{},"As new data about users become available, their audience memberships are reevaluated to ensure they still fulfill the audience criterion. They are removed from those audiences if the most recent data show that they no longer satisfy the criterion.",[14,22528,22529],{},"To build an audience:",[46,22531,22532,22535,22538,22541],{},[49,22533,22534],{},"Click Configure",[49,22536,22537],{},"Click Audiences",[49,22539,22540],{},"Click New Audience on the left.",[49,22542,22543],{},"You have three choices for building an audience:\n- Create your own audience by setting all of the criteria.\n- Use a template and change the current settings.\n- Choose a suggested audience. You can use it as is or alter it to meet your specific requirements.",[81,22545,22547],{"id":22546},"tip-5-how-to-set-up-goals-in-ga4","Tip 5: How to Set Up Goals in GA4",[14,22549,22550],{},"Conversions are measured in Universal Analytics by creating goals and e-commerce transactions. There is no distinction between goals and e-commerce in Google Analytics 4; all conversions are measured using GA4 events. When people engage with your website or app, GA4 events are triggered. You mark any events that contribute to the success of your company as conversions using the user interface. When any of these highlighted events occur, a conversion is recorded in your GA4 property.",[14,22552,22553],{},"In GA4, we can establish goals in two ways:",[46,22555,22556,22559],{},[49,22557,22558],{},"In the GA4 dashboard",[49,22560,22561],{},"Using Google Tag Manager",[81,22563,22565],{"id":22564},"bonus-tip-how-to-create-an-event-in-ga4","BONUS TIP: How to Create an Event in GA4",[14,22567,22568],{},"GA4 already records a variety of events, including scrolling, page visits, outbound clicks, and searches. To track other specific events, you must build custom events with parameters in GA4 and set them in the Google Analytics dashboard. Here's a step-by-step tutorial on using Google Tag Manager:",[46,22570,22571,22574,22577,22580],{},[49,22572,22573],{},"Confirm that you have a GA4 Module in Google Tag Manager.",[49,22575,22576],{},"Develop a Trigger Rule to determine when your new event will be fired.",[49,22578,22579],{},"Create a unique GA4 event.",[49,22581,22582],{},"Configure custom parameters in GA4.",[24,22584,22586],{"id":22585},"lets-recap","Let’s Recap",[14,22588,22589],{},"In terms of analytics collection, GA4 is a reasonable and expected move. Right now, it is worthwhile to consider the vast technological potential. GA4 will be a fantastic and useful addition to Universal Analytics.\nAre you still finding the GA4 migration tough to grasp?",[14,22591,22592],{},"MKG Marketing’s digital marketing analytics experts can assist you with migrating to GA4, setting up the tracking and new reports, as well as get you comfortable with monitoring your data on the GA4 project dashboard. Schedule a discovery call today!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":22594},[22595,22596,22597,22598,22599,22600,22601],{"id":22406,"depth":297,"text":22407},{"id":22433,"depth":297,"text":22434},{"id":22486,"depth":297,"text":22487},{"id":22516,"depth":297,"text":22517},{"id":22546,"depth":297,"text":22547},{"id":22564,"depth":297,"text":22565},{"id":22585,"depth":291,"text":22586},"2022-11-21T03:26:47+00:00","Google Analytics 4 is an entirely new analytics platform. Its approach to data collecting, tools, reporting, and interface changes from the previous edition.  In this article we discover how to begin working with Google Analytics 4, as well as the interface and functionality available.","\u002Fimages\u002Fgoogle-analytics-four-quality-analytics.webp","An abstract graphic showing various colored icons against a grey arrow trending upward.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002F5-ga4-tips-to-get-quality-analytics",{"title":22397,"description":22603},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002F5-ga4-tips-to-get-quality-analytics","sqdxPeLw5vGby-Q3Md2R_Clfh8pttkQMne3150mM-So",{"id":22612,"title":22613,"author":7,"authors":22614,"body":22615,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":23087,"description":23088,"extension":318,"img":23089,"imgAlt":23090,"meta":23091,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":23092,"seo":23093,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":23094,"updated":7,"__hash__":23095},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fwhat-is-google-analytics-4-a-user-s-guide-to-the-new-analytics-system.md","What is Google Analytics 4: A User's Guide to the New Analytics System",[21961],{"type":11,"value":22616,"toc":23073},[22617,22620,22631,22635,22643,22646,22650,22653,22685,22689,22696,22707,22710,22713,22716,22720,22723,22757,22761,22768,22788,22791,22795,22798,22806,22810,22813,22829,22833,22861,22865,22868,22871,22914,22917,22921,22924,22928,22939,23060,23064,23067],[14,22618,22619],{},"For the past 10 years, Universal Analytics was used as the default for all websites using Google Analytics to track goals, events, and overall traffic. However, as of October 2020, the new GA4 was made available as an option - soon to be the only choice as of July 1, 2023. This guide will explain:",[46,22621,22622,22625,22628],{},[49,22623,22624],{},"how GA4 differs from the UA version",[49,22626,22627],{},"how to switch your existing accounts to it",[49,22629,22630],{},"how to use it in your organization",[24,22632,22634],{"id":22633},"what-distinguishes-google-analytics-4-from-earlier-versions","What Distinguishes Google Analytics 4 From Earlier Versions",[14,22636,22637,22642],{},[206,22638,22641],{"href":22639,"rel":22640},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.google.com\u002Fanalytics\u002Fanswer\u002F10089681?hl=en",[210],"Google Analytics 4"," is positioned as a new, smarter version of Google's current analytics solution.",[14,22644,22645],{},"The primary distinction between Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics is a different data collecting method. Data in Universal Analytics is gathered based on page visits, but data in Google Analytics 4 is collected based on events using an event-driven data model.",[24,22647,22649],{"id":22648},"advantages-of-google-analytics-4","Advantages of Google Analytics 4",[14,22651,22652],{},"Switching your analytics system can seem daunting, but there are distinct advantages to using GA4, including:",[46,22654,22655,22661,22667,22673,22679],{},[49,22656,22657,22660],{},[52,22658,22659],{},"Tracking across several platforms"," - Google Analytics 4 gathers and aggregates data from websites and mobile apps into a single report. As a result, you no longer need to use separate analytics systems for websites and apps.",[49,22662,22663,22666],{},[52,22664,22665],{},"Improved stats"," - Unlike Universal Analytics, which only gathered data on page visits, Google Analytics 4 displays scroll depth, outbound clicks, site searches, video interactions, and other metrics.",[49,22668,22669,22672],{},[52,22670,22671],{},"Effective analytics tools"," - As a center for analysis, Google Analytics 4 enables you to create your own reports and analyze them using any measure, including visualizing user journeys and cohorts, comparing groups, creating your own conversion funnels, and more. Such changes were previously accessible exclusively to Google Analytics 360 members, but they are now open to everyone.",[49,22674,22675,22678],{},[52,22676,22677],{},"In-depth examination of user activity"," - In Google Analytics 4, there is no such thing as a \"bounce rate.\" Instead, GA4 takes a different approach to tracking user activity, enabling you to discover, for example, which items people most often purchase, what content is consumed by visitors of all ages, and which country’s users are more likely to view videos.",[49,22680,22681,22684],{},[52,22682,22683],{},"Predictive purchasing"," - Based on user behavior data, individuals are divided into those who are likely to make a purchase within 7 days and those who are likely to depart with nothing.",[24,22686,22688],{"id":22687},"universal-analytics-vs-google-analytics-4","Universal Analytics vs. Google Analytics 4",[14,22690,22691,22695],{},[206,22692,22641],{"href":22693,"rel":22694},"https:\u002F\u002Fdevelopers.google.com\u002Fanalytics\u002Fdevguides\u002Fcollection\u002Fga4",[210]," differs significantly from Universal Analytics in terms of both interface and capabilities. We can see the following improvements:",[46,22697,22698,22701,22704],{},[49,22699,22700],{},"More options for making your own reports",[49,22702,22703],{},"Focus is on user behavior rather than sessions",[49,22705,22706],{},"Effective audience research tools",[14,22708,22709],{},"For those transitioning from Universal Analytics, you’ll need to navigate the challenges of transferring reports, understanding new metrics, and making sense of the new data-gathering infrastructure.",[14,22711,22712],{},"GA4 has received several upgrades, the most notable of which enables you to efficiently evaluate cross-platform interactions. For example, you will be able to follow a user who visited your site today and viewed items, then installed an app on their mobile phone the next day and completed a purchase.",[14,22714,22715],{},"In addition, data from different site analytics platforms can now be mixed in GA4. Previously, Firebase Analytics was utilized for apps, whilst Google Analytics was largely used for websites. This meant you had to manually examine data from several sources, which took a significant amount of time and effort.",[24,22717,22719],{"id":22718},"what-else-does-google-analytics-4-offer","What Else Does Google Analytics 4 Offer?",[14,22721,22722],{},"Let's look at some of the best aspects of GA4 that you can absolutely put to use:",[132,22724,22725,22732,22751,22754],{},[49,22726,22727,22728,22731],{},"Center for Analysis\nYou may utilize the ",[52,22729,22730],{},"Analysis Center"," to produce reports and analyze data from metrics that interest you, such as studying the behavior of certain users. The service also includes pre-made templates (free form, funnel exploration, cohort exploration, path exploration, segment overlap, user explore, etc) that will make your life much easier, in addition to a customizable event accounting system.",[49,22733,22734,22735,22738,22739,22742,22743,22746,22747,22750],{},"Google BigQuery Data Management\nGA4 users will be able to access raw data in order to integrate it with other sources or execute SQL queries. You can ",[52,22736,22737],{},"store"," data and\u002For send it to your warehouse, ",[52,22740,22741],{},"enrich"," your data with CRM\u002Fmarketing\u002Fcontextual data, ",[52,22744,22745],{},"visualize"," data with other tools and perform advanced ",[52,22748,22749],{},"analytics"," on it including the ability to use it as an input for machine learning models.",[49,22752,22753],{},"New Engagement Indicators \u002F Improved Metrics\nIf you track the behavior of visitors who explore and engage with your site or app, you'll want to know which sections are read the most, which videos are watched, which files are actively downloaded, etc. To do this, GA4 employs an upgraded method of tracking user interaction. Page hits, event hits, e-commerce hits, and social interaction hits are all Universal Analytics hit kinds. Google Analytics 4 data, on the other hand, is event-based, with the notion that any interaction may be logged as an event. As a result, Universal Analytics property hit types correspond to Google Analytics 4 property events, but with a wider view of intent, and therefore more meaningful data sets.",[49,22755,22756],{},"Purchase Propensity\nThe tool enables you to create user groups based on their chance of placing an order or leaving the site or app within the following seven days. GA4 does this by analyzing its network activity and making predictions.",[24,22758,22760],{"id":22759},"migration-challenges-presented-by-ga4","Migration Challenges Presented by GA4",[14,22762,22763,22764,22767],{},"When migrating to GA4, you may bump into some unexpected challenges as a result of the new ",[52,22765,22766],{},"Event + Parameter"," paradigm and service redesign, namely:",[46,22769,22770,22773,22776,22779,22782,22785],{},[49,22771,22772],{},"Some regular reports that marketers use are altered or absent from the service.",[49,22774,22775],{},"The process of adding tags has evolved dramatically.",[49,22777,22778],{},"Some well-known measures, such as bounce rate, have been eliminated.",[49,22780,22781],{},"There are new metrics to consider.",[49,22783,22784],{},"Report migration takes extra time.",[49,22786,22787],{},"There is no automated data transfer from UA to GA4.",[14,22789,22790],{},"Nonetheless, this is not an excuse to pass on a fantastic new product that will provide several advantages to your business in the future.",[24,22792,22794],{"id":22793},"how-to-make-the-switch-to-google-analytics-4","How to Make the Switch to Google Analytics 4",[14,22796,22797],{},"As you transition, what you consider depends on whether you have an existing UA instance set up, or you are starting from scratch:",[46,22799,22800,22803],{},[49,22801,22802],{},"For new users, only Google Analytics 4 is accessible. You do not have the option to install Universal Analytics on your site.",[49,22804,22805],{},"Existing users are not automatically updated from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4, so they must make the switch",[24,22807,22809],{"id":22808},"methods-for-migrating-to-google-analytics-4","Methods for Migrating to Google Analytics 4",[14,22811,22812],{},"To get started, you may not know the right place to even begin, so here are your first steps:",[46,22814,22815,22823],{},[49,22816,22817,22820,22822],{},[52,22818,22819],{},"Make a brand-new property.",[5778,22821],{},"When you create a new property, the key settings from Universal Analytics are duplicated and migrated to GA4. You may alter your parameters–conversions, audiences, events, and linkages to other products (Google Ads Links, Ad manager Links, BigQuery Links, etc)–as necessary.",[49,22824,22825,22828],{},[52,22826,22827],{},"Connect the existing Universal Analytics property to the new Google Analytics 4."," Only property administrators have access to this procedure. The bottom line is to connect the old and new properties before migrating the Google Analytics setups.",[24,22830,22832],{"id":22831},"ga4-upgrade-what-to-do-next","GA4 Upgrade: What to do next",[132,22834,22835,22838,22841],{},[49,22836,22837],{},"Navigate to the \"Admin\" area of your Universal Analytics account:",[49,22839,22840],{},"Select the \"Upgrade to GA4\" item from the \"Property\" column:",[49,22842,22843,22844],{},"You will see two options: build a new property or connect an existing property to a new one.\n",[46,22845,22846,22849,22852],{},[49,22847,22848],{},"To create a new property, click the \"Get Started\" button next to the item \"I need to make a new Google Analytics 4 property.\"",[49,22850,22851],{},"Following these steps, the link between the old UA property and the new GA4 property will be established. Click the \"View GA4 property\" button to go to a different property.",[49,22853,22854,22855,22857],{},"After moving to Google Analytics 4, a new identification will emerge, which is a nine-digit numerical number after the UA qualifier. In contrast, the Universal Analytics ID (UA) is identified simply with nine digits.",[5778,22856],{},[75,22858],{"alt":22859,"src":22860},"A screenshot of the Google Analytics configuration page","\u002Fimages\u002Fer-d.jpg",[24,22862,22864],{"id":22863},"configuring-a-property-in-ga4","Configuring a property in GA4",[14,22866,22867],{},"If you followed the steps above, a new Google Analytics 4 property has now been created. However, your property will require some fine-tuning to function properly. Let's quickly go through the essential steps.",[14,22869,22870],{},"In the \"Admin\" area, click \"Create a property\" to create a property. Then take these additional steps for configuring Google Analytics 4, which are divided into five categories:",[132,22872,22873,22879,22885,22891,22908],{},[49,22874,22875,22878],{},[52,22876,22877],{},"Establishing a property"," - Give the account a name, choose the time zone, and specify the currency.",[49,22880,22881,22884],{},[52,22882,22883],{},"Adding details about the organization we’re tracking"," - Choose the industry type, the size of the organization, and the reason for employing Universal Analytics.",[49,22886,22887,22890],{},[52,22888,22889],{},"Setting up the data flow"," - Choose a data source for the property from the list: online stream, Android app, or iOS app. Each stream is set up independently if multiple threads are needed. To create a web stream, provide the site URL and the stream name. Set up your mobile app stream through Firebase. Google Analytics requires the Firebase SDK which unlocks most Firebase features and includes Analytics for iOS and Android apps.",[49,22892,22893,22896,22897],{},[52,22894,22895],{},"Tagging the website"," - There are two options: create a new tag or utilize an existing one. Using an existing tag enables flow labeling without modifying the page's code. However, the page must already have the gtag.js tag for this to work.\n",[46,22898,22899,22902,22905],{},[49,22900,22901],{},"Copy the global tag to add a new tag to the page. The global tag must be included within the head tag of each page of the site that needs to be monitored.",[49,22903,22904],{},"You can also use Google Tag Manager to add the global tag.",[49,22906,22907],{},"After you've added the tag to the site, you may add additional data streams.",[49,22909,22910,22913],{},[52,22911,22912],{},"Creating a link between Google Analytics 4 and Google Ads"," - Select \"Link with Google Ads\" in the \"Link with other goods\" section:. Select the relevant Google Ads account and customize the parameters in the link settings (by default, personalized advertising and the auto-tagging function are enabled).",[14,22915,22916],{},"The majority of the work on establishing the property has been finished. Following that, audiences are set up (an audience is chosen for further segmentation, and remarketing is established), and conversion monitoring and access control are put in place.",[24,22918,22920],{"id":22919},"using-the-google-analytics-4-interface","Using the Google Analytics 4 Interface",[14,22922,22923],{},"Dashboards are used to show information in Google Analytics 4. The main page displays summary information about users on your site and apps, such as site traffic, the number of new visitors for a specific period, average time spent on the site, nationality, and so on.",[24,22925,22927],{"id":22926},"google-analytics-4-menu-walkthrough","Google Analytics 4 Menu Walkthrough",[14,22929,22930,22931,22934,22935,22938],{},"The menu structure has changed significantly from the menu in Universal Analytics. The UA menu was separated into two sections: ",[52,22932,22933],{},"Special Reports"," (reports that may be customized individually) and ",[52,22936,22937],{},"Reports"," (standard system reports). The menu in Google Analytics 4 is tailored to user analytics; sections are described below.",[132,22940,22941,22944,22981,23041,23057],{},[49,22942,22943],{},"The Life Cycle - Displays information regarding visitor activity on the site\u002Fapplication. The amount of new users, user acquisition methods, engagement, and monetization are all shown here.",[49,22945,22946,22947,2504,22950,212,22953,6322,22955,22957,22958,22975,6322,22977,22980],{},"The User - There are two reports available here: ",[52,22948,22949],{},"Demographic Data",[52,22951,22952],{},"Technical Data",[5778,22954],{},[52,22956,22949],{}," report enables you to identify generally and geographically:",[46,22959,22960,22963,22966,22969,22972],{},[49,22961,22962],{},"Overall user count",[49,22964,22965],{},"Sessions per user",[49,22967,22968],{},"Average amount of time spent interacting with a property",[49,22970,22971],{},"Total number of conversions",[49,22973,22974],{},"Total earnings",[5778,22976],{},[52,22978,22979],{},"Technological Dat","a report will tell you what device, operating system, and browser the visitor used, as well as how they interacted with the channel.",[49,22982,22983,22984,22986,22987,22989,22990,23001,23003,23004,23021,23023,23024],{},"Occurrences - Offers information about all key events and conversions on the site\u002Fapp.",[5778,22985],{},"Event data is not accessible immediately after the property is created. Tags must be set up before data can be shown. Following that, conversion event reports will be available within 24 hours.",[5778,22988],{},"Google Analytics 4 automatically records events, which are the most common user behaviors on your website or app. Here are some instances of events that are automatically registered right out of the box:",[46,22991,22992,22995,22998],{},[49,22993,22994],{},"ad_click - click on an ad within the app",[49,22996,22997],{},"ad_impression - ad impression within the app",[49,22999,23000],{},"page_view - loading a page on the website",[5778,23002],{},"By default, the system gathers five parameters for all events (both automated and manually created):",[46,23005,23006,23009,23012,23015,23018],{},[49,23007,23008],{},"language - user's browser language",[49,23010,23011],{},"page_location - URL of the  page",[49,23013,23014],{},"page_referrer - URL of the previous page the user visited",[49,23016,23017],{},"page_title - title of the page",[49,23019,23020],{},"screen_resolution - resolution of the screen being used",[5778,23022],{},"You may construct an event-based conversion in Google Analytics 4. These are the events most significant to your business. Built-in conversion events include the following:",[46,23025,23026,23029,23032,23035,23038],{},[49,23027,23028],{},"first_open - the first launch of the application after installation",[49,23030,23031],{},"in_app_purchase - in-app purchase or subscription",[49,23033,23034],{},"app_store_subscription_convert - registration of a paid subscription after the trial period",[49,23036,23037],{},"app_store_subscription_renew - renewal of a paid subscription",[49,23039,23040],{},"purchase - purchase of a product or service\nThe rest of the conversion events need to be set up manually.",[49,23042,23043,23044,23046,23047,23049,23050,23052,23053,23056],{},"General Overview - This section provides a collection of audience research tools.",[5778,23045],{},"You must go to the ",[52,23048,22730],{}," to examine the audience. You may do your own analysis and research there.",[5778,23051],{},"There are ready-made reports in the ",[52,23054,23055],{},"Template Gallery",", such as free form, funnel exploration, cohort exploration, path exploration, segment overlap, user explore, etc",[49,23058,23059],{},"Personalize - You may add a new audience, define user and audience traits for them, and manage access privileges in this area.",[24,23061,23063],{"id":23062},"now-its-your-turn","Now it’s your turn",[14,23065,23066],{},"This concludes our initial walkthrough. Are you still finding the GA4 migration tough to grasp?",[14,23068,23069,23070,20801],{},"MKG Marketing’s digital marketing analytics experts can assist you with migrating to GA4, setting up the tracking and new reports as well as get you comfortable with monitoring your data on the GA4 project dashboard. Schedule a ",[206,23071,23072],{"href":11956},"discovery call",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":23074},[23075,23076,23077,23078,23079,23080,23081,23082,23083,23084,23085,23086],{"id":22633,"depth":291,"text":22634},{"id":22648,"depth":291,"text":22649},{"id":22687,"depth":291,"text":22688},{"id":22718,"depth":291,"text":22719},{"id":22759,"depth":291,"text":22760},{"id":22793,"depth":291,"text":22794},{"id":22808,"depth":291,"text":22809},{"id":22831,"depth":291,"text":22832},{"id":22863,"depth":291,"text":22864},{"id":22919,"depth":291,"text":22920},{"id":22926,"depth":291,"text":22927},{"id":23062,"depth":291,"text":23063},"2022-09-15T01:58:02.000+00:00","Take a deep dive into what Google Analytics 4 is, the differences between GA 4 and previous versions, the new advantages of GA, and more. Check it out!","\u002Fimages\u002Fga-four-1.webp","Account, Property, and View administration in Google Analytics",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fwhat-is-google-analytics-4-a-user-s-guide-to-the-new-analytics-system",{"title":22613,"description":23088},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fwhat-is-google-analytics-4-a-user-s-guide-to-the-new-analytics-system","zCfEKP4-wWBb71ogn96F_ezf10-iKpqJsVGmrtafipE",{"id":23097,"title":23098,"author":77,"authors":23099,"body":23101,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":23252,"description":23253,"extension":318,"img":23254,"imgAlt":23255,"meta":23256,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":23257,"seo":23258,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":23259,"updated":7,"__hash__":23260},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-mkg-vantage-google-s-helpful-content-update.md","The MKG Vantage: Google’s “Helpful Content” Update",[23100,12110,20824],"Alicia Hardy",{"type":11,"value":23102,"toc":23237},[23103,23106,23109,23116,23120,23124,23133,23136,23140,23143,23146,23160,23164,23168,23171,23174,23178,23181,23192,23195,23202,23205,23209,23213,23216,23219,23223,23226,23229,23231],[14,23104,23105],{},"The world of SEO is ever-evolving, often cloaked in secrecy. However, the goal of every update is to yield better results for the person behind the search.",[14,23107,23108],{},"The most recent update is the first major attempt since Panda to improve the quality of content ranking in Google Search. Our experts are excited by the impact and opportunities this holds for our clients, and all Googlers!",[14,23110,23111,23112,23115],{},"Discover what our former and current SEO Experts–Alicia Hardy, ",[206,23113,12110],{"href":23114},"\u002Fabout\u002Fteam\u002Fnathan-stenberg\u002F",", and Anna Powers–thoughts are on the update and the potential impact it brings…",[24,23117,23119],{"id":23118},"alicia-hardy-digital-strategist-seo-expert","ALICIA HARDY: Digital Strategist & SEO Expert",[81,23121,23123],{"id":23122},"people-first-seo-for-the-win","People-First SEO for the Win!",[14,23125,23126,23127,23132],{},"Google’s ",[206,23128,23131],{"href":23129,"rel":23130},"https:\u002F\u002Fdevelopers.google.com\u002Fsearch\u002Fblog\u002F2022\u002F08\u002Fhelpful-content-update",[210],"new Helpful Content Update"," targets “content that seems to have been primarily created for ranking well in search engines rather than to help or inform people.”",[14,23134,23135],{},"Our SEO services are rooted first in understanding buyers' challenges and aspirations, as well as our client's business goals. Then we recommend a content strategy that anticipates the searchers' needs based on where they are in their buyer journey . I'm excited about this update because it attempts to solve a massive problem with search results–content for the sake of content, instead of content that answers the searchers' intent.",[81,23137,23139],{"id":23138},"how-will-googles-helpful-content-update-impact-cybersecurity-seo","How Will Google’s Helpful Content Update Impact Cybersecurity SEO?",[14,23141,23142],{},"Our cybersecurity clients tend to have content written by highly-skilled experts in their niche. This is the content that Google wants to rank well.",[14,23144,23145],{},"My advice is to:",[132,23147,23148,23151,23154,23157],{},[49,23149,23150],{},"Double down on expert-led content that is topically connected to your products and services. This isn't the time to cut corners on content creation.",[49,23152,23153],{},"Take steps to improve E-A-T signals.",[49,23155,23156],{},"If your site is due for a content audit, don't push that to low priority. Check your website for low-quality content and unpublish or rewrite as needed.",[49,23158,23159],{},"Don't panic. This update is aimed at spam. If some pages do lose visibility, the issues are likely fixable.",[24,23161,23163],{"id":23162},"nathan-stenberg-digital-strategist-seo-expert","NATHAN STENBERG: Digital Strategist & SEO Expert",[81,23165,23167],{"id":23166},"what-are-you-surprised-content-is-king","What? Are You Surprised? Content Is King!",[14,23169,23170],{},"At an initial glance, this update looks like it might shake up the SEO world pretty drastically. And it might, if you, as an SEO, or the SEO agency you engage with haven’t had the production of high-quality content as a core focus of your SEO game plan.",[14,23172,23173],{},"But for me, as well as the team here at MKG, building authoritative content is always central to my SEO strategies due to the simple fact that this is exactly the kind of content that Google and other search engines want to return to their customers in the search results.",[81,23175,23177],{"id":23176},"how-do-you-produce-helpful-content","How Do You Produce “Helpful Content”?",[14,23179,23180],{},"My approach to producing high-quality, SEO-focused content has been to use a Define, Educate, and Inspire content model which effectively creates a natural funnel, whether it is a module or an entire blog post, that:",[132,23182,23183,23186,23189],{},[49,23184,23185],{},"Sets the stage for the user",[49,23187,23188],{},"Provides them with a deeper understanding of the topic",[49,23190,23191],{},"Inspires them to take the next action.",[14,23193,23194],{},"When you combine thorough, well-written content produced inside of this framework along with fundamental SEO best practices for on-page and technical optimization, you end up with an authoritative piece of content that should move users to the next step of their journey, setting the stage for A\u002FB testing and CRO (conversion rate optimization) which will help you maximize the effectiveness of the content over time.",[14,23196,23197,23198,23201],{},"So, as long as producing ",[52,23199,23200],{},"helpful content"," has been a key focus for a business or entity, then I don’t foresee a major impact on their site performance.",[14,23203,23204],{},"However, if they have been cutting corners and not producing authentic, high-quality content there could be some very real repercussions that may take significant resources and time to recover from.",[24,23206,23208],{"id":23207},"anna-powers-digital-marketing-seo-expert","ANNA POWERS: Digital Marketing & SEO Expert",[81,23210,23212],{"id":23211},"a-google-update-over-ten-years-in-the-making","A Google Update Over Ten Years in the Making",[14,23214,23215],{},"My teammates offered some solid advice above, so here’s a reflection on where we’ve been and where we might go.",[14,23217,23218],{},"The Helpful Content update is, to my mind, the logical progression of what the Panda update began back in 2011: Google’s deliberate redirection of the internet to be a more useful space. Back then, I was working in content production as a website editor, and I remember thinking, “We [meaning everyone on the internet] are going to need SO much more content. And that content will actually need to be good.” Also: hooray! Panda was great for content creators since it started to push the most well-researched, well-sourced, authoritative content to page one, encouraging the rise of content marketing as a discipline and E-A-T as a practice (even if we didn’t call it that yet).",[81,23220,23222],{"id":23221},"why-helpful-content-matters","Why Helpful Content Matters",[14,23224,23225],{},"Post-Panda, there was a real feeling that the best stuff would rise to the top of the SERPs. Over ten years later I still (mostly) believe that, although some of the wild, wonderful content that you found deeper in the search results—I see you, LiveJournal—has been displaced by carefully optimized long-form content promising the ultimate\u002Fdefinitive\u002Fonly guide you’ll ever need to whatever subject it is that you’re learning about.",[14,23227,23228],{},"I’m not knocking content optimization, since it will continue to be foundational to our work as SEOs. What I am calling out is exactly the kind of content that this Google update is supposed to address: content that is devoid of personality or that isn’t empathetic to the needs of other people (otherwise known as search intent). Alicia calls this “content for the sake of content,” and she’s absolutely right. B2C and B2B content should always be, to use Nathan’s description, high-quality and authentic. I would add that content should always be humane in the sense that it is considerate of other humans, their desires, and needs. If Google’s Helpful Content update moves the internet closer to those goals, then it will benefit all of us.",[24,23230,21083],{"id":21494},[14,23232,23233,23234,11958],{},"Now that you have a sense of what to expect with this new update, it’s time to capitalize on the opportunity. If you could use a hand with your content strategy and ensuring SEO stays top of mind, ",[206,23235,23236],{"href":11956},"reach out",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":23238},[23239,23243,23247,23251],{"id":23118,"depth":291,"text":23119,"children":23240},[23241,23242],{"id":23122,"depth":297,"text":23123},{"id":23138,"depth":297,"text":23139},{"id":23162,"depth":291,"text":23163,"children":23244},[23245,23246],{"id":23166,"depth":297,"text":23167},{"id":23176,"depth":297,"text":23177},{"id":23207,"depth":291,"text":23208,"children":23248},[23249,23250],{"id":23211,"depth":297,"text":23212},{"id":23221,"depth":297,"text":23222},{"id":21494,"depth":291,"text":21083},"2022-08-31T05:30:00.000+00:00","Discover what our SEO Experts’–Alicia, Nathan, and Anna–thoughts are on Google’s Helpful Content Update and the potential impact it brings…","\u002Fimages\u002Fuseful-content-update-r1.webp","Person looking at their phone while holding a coffee",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-mkg-vantage-google-s-helpful-content-update",{"title":23098,"description":23253},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-mkg-vantage-google-s-helpful-content-update","fsSyDk3R5prywJQYHGDKH7tifKb7kI2AfKhgavKb4m8",{"id":23262,"title":23263,"author":7,"authors":23264,"body":23266,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":23398,"description":23399,"extension":318,"img":23400,"imgAlt":7,"meta":23401,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":23402,"seo":23403,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":23404,"updated":7,"__hash__":23405},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fcookieless-future.md","Cookieless Future",[23265],"Eddie Castillo",{"type":11,"value":23267,"toc":23390},[23268,23272,23275,23289,23294,23297,23301,23310,23313,23316,23320,23323,23338,23341,23346,23349,23353,23356,23359,23363,23366,23371,23374,23379,23382,23387],[24,23269,23271],{"id":23270},"prepared-for-a-third-party-cookieless-future","Prepared for a Third-party Cookieless Future?",[14,23273,23274],{},"Are Third-party cookies going away?",[14,23276,23277,23278,2504,23283,23288],{},"Yes, Third-party cookies are going away, and have been on the decline for years. Governments around the world as well as consumer demand have been pushing for this change to accelerate. Consumer protection is on the rise with laws like ",[206,23279,23282],{"href":23280,"rel":23281},"https:\u002F\u002Fgdpr-info.eu\u002Fchapter-1\u002F",[210],"GDPR",[206,23284,23287],{"href":23285,"rel":23286},"https:\u002F\u002Foag.ca.gov\u002Fprivacy\u002Fccpa",[210],"CCPA"," that have stiff penalties for non-compliance.",[14,23290,23291],{},[75,23292],{"alt":77,"src":23293},"\u002Fimages\u002Fcookies2.gif",[14,23295,23296],{},"It’s not all bad news though, First-party cookies aren't going anywhere any time soon and are still usable for online advertising moving forward. First-party cookies are used for on-site user experience enhancements and analytics.",[81,23298,23300],{"id":23299},"what-is-a-third-party-cookie","What Is a Third-party Cookie?",[14,23302,23303,23304,23309],{},"At a basic level, a ",[206,23305,23308],{"href":23306,"rel":23307},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FHTTP_cookie#Third-party_cookie",[210],"third-party cookie"," is a piece of code in a web page that saves to your computer browser, much like a First-party cookie. A Third-party cookie is used by a website domain to track or advertise to you on another website domain, a third party.",[14,23311,23312],{},"For example, your investment company wants to track your visits to other sites to personalize ads to you while on the investment company site. The association of your data or behavior between two separate sites is what the third-party cookie delivers.",[14,23314,23315],{},"Another example, you visit a t-shirt website and find a great t-shirt that says “Boss” on it. You leave the site going about your day and see that same tee starring you down on another site with a come back soon call to action and maybe even an offer to save.",[81,23317,23319],{"id":23318},"enter-the-third-party-cookieless-world","Enter the Third-party Cookieless World",[14,23321,23322],{},"The digital marketing practices that leverage third-party cookies will be diminished, become obsolete, or will evolve. Third-party cookies are used to support programmatic, retargeting, as well as enabling frequency capping, view-through conversions, and other marketing programs and tactics.",[14,23324,23325,23326,23331,23332,23337],{},"Some web browsers already block third-party cookies by default, Safari and ",[206,23327,23330],{"href":23328,"rel":23329},"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.mozilla.org\u002Fblog\u002F2019\u002F09\u002F03\u002Ftodays-firefox-blocks-third-party-tracking-cookies-and-cryptomining-by-default\u002F",[210],"Firefox"," for example, and ",[206,23333,23336],{"href":23334,"rel":23335},"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.chromium.org\u002F2020\u002F01\u002Fbuilding-more-private-web-path-towards.html",[210],"chrome browsers by 2022",". Google Chrome accounts for an estimated global market share of +62% of web browsing.",[14,23339,23340],{},"And with the latest IOS update, Apple stepped up consumer protection by allowing users to block third-party tracking altogether for their app use or specific apps. This made a big impact on Facebook advertising by reducing Facebook's ability to learn about your behavior on other sites, thereby reducing cookie pools and increasing costs for marketers.",[14,23342,23343],{},[75,23344],{"alt":77,"src":23345},"\u002Fimages\u002Fdead2.gif",[14,23347,23348],{},"The overall trend is to store more information at the web browser level, thereby keeping individual user data more secure.",[81,23350,23352],{"id":23351},"targeting-and-measuring-without-third-party-cookies","Targeting and Measuring Without Third Party Cookies",[14,23354,23355],{},"Long term, marketers and advertisers will need to pivot. They’ll need to move more towards leveraging first-party cookie data collection, walled gardens, and machine learning. And direct relationships will increase for sharing First party cookie user data with trusted partners, under a Second-party data scenario.",[14,23357,23358],{},"Without third-party cookies, marketers may not be able to follow individuals around the web with a personalized ad moving forward. But rest assured there will be ad tech solutions for delivering ads to cohorts of people.",[81,23360,23362],{"id":23361},"next-steps","Next Steps",[14,23364,23365],{},"Run.",[14,23367,23368],{},[75,23369],{"alt":77,"src":23370},"\u002Fimages\u002Frun.gif",[14,23372,23373],{},"No, start making a game plan.",[14,23375,23376],{},[75,23377],{"alt":77,"src":23378},"\u002Fimages\u002Fcat.gif",[14,23380,23381],{},"It’s time to identify which of your marketing programs rely on third-party cookies. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, and often a simple approach is best for getting started. Download this free marketing program cookie Kanban and start jotting down today what you know, and identifying what you don’t. The point of this Kanban is to move programs out of third-party and into either Second-party, First-party, or kill altogether.",[14,23383,23384],{},[75,23385],{"alt":77,"src":23386},"\u002Fimages\u002Fkanban2.png",[14,23388,23389],{},"And hey, don’t feel like you’re alone. Lots of companies are figuring out how to navigate these changes and what it means for their marketing programs. If you feel like you need help, reach out to us at MKG and we can partner with you to get through this and succeed on the other side.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":23391},[23392],{"id":23270,"depth":291,"text":23271,"children":23393},[23394,23395,23396,23397],{"id":23299,"depth":297,"text":23300},{"id":23318,"depth":297,"text":23319},{"id":23351,"depth":297,"text":23352},{"id":23361,"depth":297,"text":23362},"2021-12-08T16:00:00.000+00:00","Third-party cookies fuel a lot of the digital advertising ecosystem, and is one of the ways to measure success of the digital campaigns. But are Third-party cookies going away? Here’s why and how to handle them as marketers and advertisers.","\u002Fimages\u002F1.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fcookieless-future",{"title":23263,"description":23399},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fcookieless-future","4Ct56A5yRyRL4A3kDIg81xJtFG7885rfcYRJNYyjEKU",{"id":23407,"title":23408,"author":7,"authors":23409,"body":23410,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":23481,"description":23482,"extension":318,"img":23483,"imgAlt":7,"meta":23484,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":23485,"seo":23486,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":23487,"updated":7,"__hash__":23488},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fexpanded-text-ads-going-away.md","Expanded Text Ads Going Away",[23265],{"type":11,"value":23411,"toc":23476},[23412,23415,23418,23423,23426,23431,23435,23444,23447,23451,23454,23457,23460,23463,23467,23470],[14,23413,23414],{},"You may or may have not noticed that you can’t create expanded text ads in the adwords web interface. You may not have noticed if you primarily build ads in Google Ads Editor. It’s been disappearing for accounts over the past year.",[14,23416,23417],{},"As you can see below, expanded text ads are still available in Google Ads Editor.",[14,23419,23420],{},[75,23421],{"alt":77,"src":23422},"\u002Fimages\u002Feta1.png",[14,23424,23425],{},"In the web interface though, there is no longer the option to create expanded text ads.",[14,23427,23428],{},[75,23429],{"alt":77,"src":23430},"\u002Fimages\u002Feta2.png",[81,23432,23434],{"id":23433},"expanded-text-ads-sunset","Expanded Text Ads Sunset",[14,23436,23437,23438,23443],{},"You may have missed that in August Google announced that indeed expanded text ads are going away. It’s understandable considering the title of the announcement was ",[206,23439,23442],{"href":23440,"rel":23441},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.google.com\u002Fgoogle-ads\u002Fanswer\u002F11031467",[210],"Making it easier to show the right message on Search",". We all now have a timetable of June 2022 to prepare for the change.",[14,23445,23446],{},"Once Google officially sunsets ETAs, you’ll still be able to run existing expanded text ads as they’ll continue to serve for now, as well as pause and start them. But, you will not be able to create new ones. So if you are a control freak about ads, you’re going to have to learn to adapt to the variability of responsive search ads.",[81,23448,23450],{"id":23449},"enter-the-age-of-machine-learning","Enter the Age of Machine Learning",[14,23452,23453],{},"Whether you like it or not, whether you’ve noticed or not, Google has been pushing automation and machine learning hard. There have been subtle and not subtle tweaks to google ads to start steering you towards fully embracing automation, and letting Google test through your copy & creative.",[14,23455,23456],{},"Responsive search ads and responsive display ads are the way of the future, now. This may complicate your account management, but it’s crucial to start preparing now, especially if you have ads that have stringent copy requirements.",[14,23458,23459],{},"First steps are to look at adapting your existing extended text ads into responsive search ads. You’ll want to at least have one responsive search ad per ad group. And it may be easier than you thought once you get going. Google ads will offer up suggested additional headlines and descriptions based on your landing pages. But make sure these suggestions make sense for your strategy and check with parties needed on the copy.",[14,23461,23462],{},"Next you’ll want to take a fresh look at your landing pages and draft bigger, better responsive search ads(more headlines and descriptions). A good place to start looking for ideas is your search terms report to identify search trends your current ads may not be addressing. And pin headlines and descriptions to better align with your preferred flow of messaging.",[81,23464,23466],{"id":23465},"final-thoughts","Final Thoughts",[14,23468,23469],{},"In conclusion, be prepared, because come June 30 2022 you can count expanded text ads gone from your toolbox of ad formats you can create. And eventually they may disappear altogether from Google Ads and be nothing more than a memory, like standard text ads.",[14,23471,23472,23473,23475],{},"If you need help, ",[206,23474,23236],{"href":11956}," to see how MKG Marketing Inc can help you make the transition.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":23477},[23478,23479,23480],{"id":23433,"depth":297,"text":23434},{"id":23449,"depth":297,"text":23450},{"id":23465,"depth":297,"text":23466},"2021-12-07T16:00:00.000+00:00","With Google’s announcement about Expanded Text Ads going away, adapting to responsive search ads may be the way. Read on to know all about this transition and how MKG Marketing can help.","\u002Fimages\u002Fgoogle-expanded-text-ads-going-away-after-june-2022.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fexpanded-text-ads-going-away",{"title":23408,"description":23482},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fexpanded-text-ads-going-away","04L7IsiWBSCgQ6MF-YqRw_SzAtSlBQZLT-8F8Wf-aQE",{"id":23490,"title":23491,"author":7,"authors":23492,"body":23493,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":23563,"description":23564,"extension":318,"img":23565,"imgAlt":7,"meta":23566,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":23567,"seo":23568,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":23569,"updated":7,"__hash__":23570},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002F2021-october-view-from-here.md","2021 October View from Here",[9],{"type":11,"value":23494,"toc":23557},[23495,23498,23502,23519,23523,23534,23537,23541,23552,23555],[14,23496,23497],{},"Q4 is here! Can you believe it? I can’t. The beginning of any quarter is always so busy for everyone, especially you. So I’m going to keep this short and sweet, focusing on what’s new here at MKG Marketing so you can catch a glimpse then get back to it.",[24,23499,23501],{"id":23500},"meet-katie-morton","Meet Katie Morton",[14,23503,23504,23505,2504,23508,23512,23513,23518],{},"Katie Morton is our newest Account Director, joining ",[206,23506,13895],{"href":23507},"\u002Fabout\u002Fteam\u002Falanna-moman-rawden\u002F",[206,23509,23511],{"href":23510},"\u002Fabout\u002Fteam\u002Fsam-ellsworth\u002F","Samantha Ellsworth",". These three are an amazing trio and I can’t wait to see the work they do together in supporting their circles\u002Fpods, ultimately impacting our clients and their key priorities. We’re so lucky to have Katie. Be sure to learn more and check out her ",[206,23514,23517],{"href":23515,"rel":23516},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fmortonk\u002F",[210],"LinkedIn profile",". We’ll be adding her to our website shortly so keep your eyes peeled for her profile.",[24,23520,23522],{"id":23521},"tea-time-with-tech-marketing-celebrates-two-years","Tea Time With Tech Marketing celebrates two years!",[14,23524,23525,23526,23530,23531,23533],{},"We have launched our ",[206,23527,23529],{"href":23528},"\u002Fpodcasts\u002Fmarketing-leaders\u002F","9th season of TTWTML ","and what a beautiful season it is with some amazing, thoughtful guests. We kick off with one of our nearest and dearest clients, ",[206,23532,20689],{"href":20687},". Marguerite and I discuss corporate vs product marketing and how she loves being close to the product, driving demand with clear KPIs that can be tied to pipeline. I’m with you Marguerite. I love being able to clearly see our impact.",[14,23535,23536],{},"That’s one conversation of eight and they are all available for you to binge, so hop over and check it out.",[24,23538,23540],{"id":23539},"were-hiring","We’re hiring!",[14,23542,23543,23544,23548,23549,23551],{},"We are looking for an ",[206,23545,23547],{"href":23546},"\u002Fabout\u002Fjobs\u002Fseo-expert\u002F","SEO Expert"," to join Katie’s circle alongside Priscilla Victorin and Jess Sulfsted. They’ll also join our current SEO experts, Alicia Hardy and ",[206,23550,12110],{"href":23114},". They need to be currently sitting in an SEO role with at least 8 years of experience. Someone strategic who can see the big picture of all the moving pieces as it relates to complex websites and multiple channel outreach. Know someone? Send them to our job description and have them apply!",[14,23553,23554],{},"Thanks for checking in. Until next time.",[14,23556,9],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":23558},[23559,23560,23561],{"id":23500,"depth":291,"text":23501},{"id":23521,"depth":291,"text":23522},{"id":23539,"depth":291,"text":23540},"news","2021-11-05T00:00:00Z","A snap shot of what’s new here at MKG Marketing.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fkatie-morton.jpg",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002F2021-october-view-from-here",{"title":23491,"description":23564},"blog\u002Fnews\u002F2021-october-view-from-here","ThS3kI1KZnKwgvNVrUvXVlnauDtEi0MojIXwZSFwBrM",{"id":23572,"title":23573,"author":7,"authors":23574,"body":23575,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":23740,"description":23741,"extension":318,"img":23742,"imgAlt":7,"meta":23743,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":23744,"seo":23745,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":23746,"updated":7,"__hash__":23747},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002F2021-september-view-from-here-to-gather.md","2021 September View From Here — To Gather",[9],{"type":11,"value":23576,"toc":23738},[23577,23580,23583,23586,23600,23609,23614,23689,23694,23714,23719,23727,23730,23733,23736],[14,23578,23579],{},"Fall has officially arrived! But before we said goodbye to our days in the sun, we whisked off to Boston for our Annual Summit, reunited and in most cases united for the first time since 2019.",[14,23581,23582],{},"Usually for summits I lock us (figuratively and in one case literally!) into a boardroom for two days and we knock out team building and presentations and guest speakers with only time outside for food and updated team photos.",[14,23584,23585],{},"This year we did the opposite. We were outside 90% of the time, for two reasons:",[132,23587,23588,23591],{},[49,23589,23590],{},"Comfort levels: Given COVID some of the team, including myself weren't comfortable indoors, especially without everyone wearing masks.",[49,23592,23593,23594,23599],{},"Theme: I listen to ",[206,23595,23598],{"href":23596,"rel":23597},"https:\u002F\u002Fbrenebrown.com\u002Fpodcast\u002Fbrene-with-priya-parker-on-how-we-return-and-why-it-matters-part-1-of-2\u002F",[210],"Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead Podcast and in one of here episodes she talks to an expert about gatherings and how to gather",", especially now as we emerge from being isolated for so long. Priya Parker leads with identifying the WHY your gathering… What's the theme? For us this year, it was just that… To Gather. To be together without a tight agenda. Time to get to know one another beyond the Zoom screen.",[14,23601,23602,23603,23608],{},"We recently started doing more ",[206,23604,23607],{"href":23605,"rel":23606},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.scrum.org\u002Fresources\u002Fwhat-is-a-sprint-retrospective",[210],"Retrospectives",", reflecting on projects and how they went. I really love the format our Managing Director, Jenna uses, so I'm going to follow it here:",[14,23610,23611],{},[52,23612,23613],{},"Loved - what I enjoyed and would do again",[46,23615,23616,23625,23633,23665,23674,23683,23686],{},[49,23617,23618,23619,23624],{},"Walking and talking. We did SO much walking. I will not plan to do that much again, but I do want to make more space for the opportunity. People do their best talking and opening up when we're not staring at one another. ",[206,23620,23623],{"href":23621,"rel":23622},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.psychologytoday.com\u002Fus\u002Fblog\u002Fparenting-across-the-gap\u002F201602\u002Fkids-in-the-car-talking-teens",[210],"This article"," actually says the best time to talk to our kids is in the car because we're shoulder to shoulder and it's less threatening. I think walking has the same effect.",[49,23626,23627,23628,11958],{},"Being near a park. Instead of the boardroom bring our gathering place it was the Boston Commons. We even caught a glimpse into them filming ",[206,23629,23632],{"href":23630,"rel":23631},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.imdb.com\u002Ftitle\u002Ftt13782428\u002F",[210],"Julia",[49,23634,23635,23636,23641,23642,23647,23648,23653,23654,23658,23659,23664],{},"I planned a scavenger hunt. I merged the ",[206,23637,23640],{"href":23638,"rel":23639},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.thefreedomtrail.org\u002F",[210],"Freedom Trail"," with ",[206,23643,23646],{"href":23644,"rel":23645},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.maah.org\u002Fboston_heritage_trail",[210],"The Black Heritage Trail",". I listed all the locations in an ",[206,23649,23652],{"href":23650,"rel":23651},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.asana.com",[210],"Asana"," board. Each location had the address and description. I then duplicated the board into four teams and broke the company down into 4 groups of 3, putting people together who don't normally get to work together. They then had to pick 5 locations and tie them to one of our ",[206,23655,23657],{"href":23656},"\u002Fabout\u002Fvalues\u002F","values",", take a picture and explain why it was that value and post it to Asana. It went off mostly without a hitch. ",[206,23660,23663],{"href":23661,"rel":23662},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fkurtklynen\u002F",[210],"Kurt Klynen"," would be proud.",[49,23666,23667,23668,23673],{},"For dinner we were outside on an open air patio at this amazing restaurant ",[206,23669,23672],{"href":23670,"rel":23671},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.porto-boston.com\u002F",[210],"Porto"," (See hero image). The energy and atmosphere was just awesome. And to have such great weather. I'm so grateful.",[49,23675,23676,23677,23682],{},"This was the first year I hired a professional photographer and relinquished control in taking the photos myself (last year doesn't count, because I couldn't be in 10 different cities). ",[206,23678,23681],{"href":23679,"rel":23680},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.mattgphoto.com\u002F",[210],"Matt"," was awesome! He made us laugh. He caught some great moments. And I'm so thankful I didn't have to lug gear across the Atlantic.",[49,23684,23685],{},"Swag bag: In knowing we were traveling by planes, trains, and automobiles coming as far as Portland and as close as New England, we sent everyone an MKG Branded fanny pack, chock full of hand sanitizers, sanitize wipes, KN95 masks, and MKG branded masks. I loved that we could do everything possible to ensure the team’s safety as best we could. Everyone also had buttons - green (no masks or social distancing), yellow (mask, but no need to distance), red (masks and distancing at all times). Really helpful in letting people know comfort levels.",[49,23687,23688],{},"Ghost tour! We did an open air trolley ghost tour on the last night and it was everything I hoped for! Ghosts and Gravestones. Ask for Dottie Mayhem.",[14,23690,23691],{},[52,23692,23693],{},"Loathed",[46,23695,23696,23705],{},[49,23697,23698,23699,23704],{},"The first day I tried to plan lunch for us to eat together and it was a disaster. We walked way too far for sub par food. The next day we broke into groups based on what food people wanted and it was way better. Lunch will be this for now on. Helps that everyone has ",[206,23700,23703],{"href":23701,"rel":23702},"https:\u002F\u002Fbentoforbusiness.com\u002F",[210],"Bento for Business"," cards and expenses are super easy to keep track of. It also allowed for small groups and great conversation.",[49,23706,23707,23708,23713],{},"Jet lag. I came from the UK and it was an adventure. ",[206,23709,23712],{"href":23710,"rel":23711},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fposts\u002Fkerryguard_wearemkg-2021mkgsummit-remoteteams-activity-6843495343028609024-PLMA",[210],"You can follow my adventure on LinkedIn. I documented it",". I was awake for 24 hours that first day of travel and it took me 5 days to feel normal... They say it takes one day for every hour to feel normal.",[14,23715,23716],{},[52,23717,23718],{},"Wished",[46,23720,23721,23724],{},[49,23722,23723],{},"I gave everyone candy after the scavenger hunt. I thought I bought enough for all four teams but only had enough for 3. Spencer, AnDrae’ and Katie I’ll make it up to you! Your pictures were so thoughtful.",[49,23725,23726],{},"Everyone could have been there. Two of our teammates couldn’t make it given COVID, and we all wished often they were both there.",[14,23728,23729],{},"Thank you to our clients and partners for giving us this important time together and forming tighter bonds allowing us to deliver even better results.",[14,23731,23732],{},"I'm so excited for next year! Mike and I are already scheming 😁 I learned a lot this trip and hope to incorporate the parts I loved into a slightly more formalized agenda. Here’s to 2022 when we all can be together again.",[14,23734,23735],{},"Until next time,",[14,23737,9],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":23739},[],"2021-10-05","Gather means to bring together which is what we did. We gathered in Boston for our first summit in what feels like forever. Here’s my retrospective.","\u002Fimages\u002Fporto.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002F2021-september-view-from-here-to-gather",{"title":23573,"description":23741},"blog\u002Fnews\u002F2021-september-view-from-here-to-gather","a7PVVc94bDY_OKeBYZKxLs7sS8C3WYtI8-TWb9C63K4",{"id":23749,"title":23750,"author":7,"authors":23751,"body":23752,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":23831,"description":23832,"extension":318,"img":23833,"imgAlt":7,"meta":23834,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":23835,"seo":23836,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":23837,"stem":23838,"updated":7,"__hash__":23839},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002F2021-august-view-from-here.md","2021 August View From Here",[17174],{"type":11,"value":23753,"toc":23829},[23754,23757,23760,23763,23766,23769,23772,23775,23778,23795,23798,23805,23808,23811,23814,23817,23823],[14,23755,23756],{},"We've got some exciting news to share: My role is changing here at MKG.",[14,23758,23759],{},"Over the past 10 years as CEO, my responsibilities and obligations spanned across sales, business strategy, finance and overall business operations (to name a few of the many I can recall 🙂).",[14,23761,23762],{},"And like any business owner, getting this agency off the ground required me to wear many hats.",[14,23764,23765],{},"What I didn't realize until earlier this year is that some of those hats are energy vampires to me.",[14,23767,23768],{},"Have I become proficient at leading the financial operations of this business? Absolutely!",[14,23770,23771],{},"But that kind of work absolutely drains all my mojo. All my mental momentum goes \"adios\" after a day buried in financial analysis and planning.",[14,23773,23774],{},"Like many business owners I have read and am a fan of the Jim Collin's concept of 'seats on the bus'. It took us 10 years in business to realize that I have been sitting in the wrong seat. Better late than never, amirite?",[14,23776,23777],{},"What I need to be doing is focusing on where the digital marketing industry is going in order to build an agency that will support our clients needs as well as the future needs of our employees. That takes the form of activities like:",[46,23779,23780,23783,23786,23789,23792],{},[49,23781,23782],{},"Analyze industry research and trends",[49,23784,23785],{},"Speak with clients, partners and other industry leaders in order to provide value directly back to their professional interests (give, give and give some more!)",[49,23787,23788],{},"Develop product or service offerings that meet client needs",[49,23790,23791],{},"Think through M&A opportunities as they come up",[49,23793,23794],{},"Develop and nurture huge external relationships",[14,23796,23797],{},"...to name a few things 🙂",[14,23799,23800,23801,23804],{},"Now, I'm able to focus my energy on those activities. Because ",[206,23802,9],{"href":23803},"\u002Fabout\u002Fteam\u002Fkerry-guard\u002F"," is stepping into the role of CEO here at MKG Marketing.",[14,23806,23807],{},"Kerry gets charged up when acting as a strategic thinker. She enjoys building and optimizing  systems around Operations, Sales, Marketing and Finance. This is the seat Kerry should have been in for quite some time now.",[14,23809,23810],{},"We will slowly roll out this transition. It may take a month or a year to fully pass the CEO hat from myself to Kerry. And that's ok! This will take as long as it needs to take for us, our awesome MKG-units, and our clients to be confident to take on these new seats.",[14,23812,23813],{},"The only effect our clients might feel is a streamlined agency\u002Fclient working experience as Kerry has the bandwidth and authority to improve on the systems across Marketing, Sales, Finance, and Operations. You will still have the full support of your same service line experts and Account Director with Jenna, our Managing Director, supporting the entire group. In the event you'd like to escalate something past Jenna, you will now escalate to Kerry instead of Mike.",[14,23815,23816],{},"With that news being shared, I'd like to end this update on a note of gratitude:",[14,23818,23819,23822],{},[52,23820,23821],{},"Mike:"," I am blessed to have a business partner with the unique superpowers of deduction, empathy and systems building to help build a people first palace here at MKG Marketing (say that 3 times fast). And she's doing it from a quarter of the way around the world! I am grateful that she has the expertise and energy - she's got rocket fuel in her veins - to take on this challenge to allow me to fly higher doing what I do best. Onward!",[14,23824,23825,23828],{},[52,23826,23827],{},"Kerry:"," I'm grateful for the opportunity to take what Mike has built in Sales and Finance these last 10 years, pull that together with Marketing and HR then streamline it for our existing team members and clients to give them an even better experience. It's an honor to fill Mike's very big CEO shoes and I can't wait to take his new ideas and integrate them, propelling our clients and their brands forward.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":23830},[],"2021-09-01","Kerry Guard and Mike Krass have learned a lot about themselves these last 10 years especially when it comes to MKG Marketing and how they're looking to lead this digital marketing agency in the roaring twenties. Mike Krass explains.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fmike-krass-kerry-guard-2019.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002F2021-august-view-from-here",{"title":23750,"description":23832},"Digital Agency Leadership - Stepping Up","blog\u002Fnews\u002F2021-august-view-from-here","-chc7mHnDSK5sxy2ZaO3eQj9iaANhbnpx3vsgarBNu0",{"id":23841,"title":23842,"author":7,"authors":23843,"body":23844,"caption":7,"category":23886,"date":23887,"description":23888,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":23889,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":23890,"seo":23891,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":23842,"stem":23892,"updated":7,"__hash__":23893},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002F2021-july-view-from-here.md","Our View From Here — July 2021",[9],{"type":11,"value":23845,"toc":23883},[23846,23849,23852,23855,23858,23861,23868,23871,23875],[14,23847,23848],{},"July was crazy. So many amazing things happened that I'm going to fill this month's view from here chock full of all our amazing updates!",[14,23850,23851],{},"#1 Welcome Katie Morton!",[14,23853,23854],{},"Katie Morton joined us as our next Account Director. She's located in my hometown - Philadelphia, and we're so excited to have brought on someone who has hit the ground running, building rapport withe our clients and team. We love her energy and are honored to have her. Welcome Katie!",[14,23856,23857],{},"#2 New Website",[14,23859,23860],{},"We have launched a brand new website complete with new logo, images, and copy. We did some serious soul searching with the help of copy writers to really understand who we are and how we help marketing leaders. It comes down to building tailored marketing plans that is hyper focused on what challenges our marketers are facing. Every single person in a marketing team has a different goal that lends it's self to the big overarching company bottom line. It's our job to connect and get to know our clients and what their challenges are then build a plan that meets their unique, individual needs. Feel free to stay awhile and check it out!",[14,23862,23863,23864],{},"#3 Season 8 of the ",[206,23865,23867],{"href":23866},"\u002Fpodcasts\u002Fmark-schaefer-marketing-rebellion\u002F","Tea Time With Tech Marketing Podcast",[14,23869,23870],{},"This season was probably the most important collection of conversations I've had to date. As marketers we've been facing constant shifts from buyers - Mark Schaefer calls these rebellions. We've had three Marketing Rebellions over the last 50 years or so. The first one was the end of Lies, then came the end of secrets, and now we're in the throws of pivoting towards ensuring we're always treating our customers and potential customers like humans and meeting them where they are. Season 8 kicks off with Mark walking us through these Rebellions and how we can move towards and through this third one to come out ahead and on top. The amazing thing, is that I ended up having seven other conversations that either backup what Mark wrote about or are examples of people who are already leading as a human first company. What an honor to have so many amazing marketers to dig in and discuss such an important topic.",[24,23872,23874],{"id":23873},"whats-next","What's next?",[14,23876,23877,23878,23882],{},"Stay tuned for ",[206,23879,23881],{"href":23880},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002F2021-august-view-from-here\u002F","August's"," update. We have big changes coming and we can't wait to share them with you!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":23884},[23885],{"id":23873,"depth":291,"text":23874},"News","2021-07-01","Update on MKG Marketing from the front - New employee, website, and podcast season!",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002F2021-july-view-from-here",{"title":23842,"description":23888},"blog\u002Fnews\u002F2021-july-view-from-here","cKe5AZiDTjhdQTMDA0pnSkxLDOnItjg7z3suxG0KRcA",{"id":23895,"title":23896,"author":7,"authors":23897,"body":23898,"caption":7,"category":23886,"date":23887,"description":23950,"extension":318,"img":23951,"imgAlt":7,"meta":23952,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":23953,"seo":23954,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":23955,"stem":23956,"updated":7,"__hash__":23957},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-june-2021.md","The View From Here — June 2021",[9],{"type":11,"value":23899,"toc":23947},[23900,23903,23906,23909,23912,23915,23918,23921,23924,23927,23931,23942,23945],[14,23901,23902],{},"Can you believe it?! It’s July! I can’t. Time flies when you’re having fun and what fun we’ve been having here at MKG Marketing! A ton and I can’t wait to share with you all of our company updates.",[14,23904,23905],{},"Before we get to our company updates, we wanted to take a moment and reflect on the month of June which was Pride Month.* We need to be celebrating the LGBTQ+ community every day, not just in the designated month. That doesn’t mean these aren’t great reflection points to take a step back, look at how far  we’ve come, and see the work that still needs to be done to support all of our LGBTQ+ friends, family, colleagues, and acquaintances. It’s all well and good to change our logos to rainbow colors and post on social media that we stand with the Queer Community, but the actions we take behind the scenes that people aren’t seeing every day are the actions that matter.",[14,23907,23908],{},"The LGBTQ+ community has always struggled, and continues to do so. Their history is rooted in violence.",[14,23910,23911],{},"The first Pride was a riot against years of police brutality. Pride Marches (a.k.a. Pride Parades) and Pride month are celebrated because on June 28th, 1969 a police raid at The Stonewall Inn in New York City triggered a riot and a series of demonstrations for days afterward, led by lesbians and trans women of color.",[14,23913,23914],{},"Those events sparked the beginning of the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. Unfortunately, the fight for civil rights for all LGBTQ+ people continues. There are high rates of violence against transgender people, especially transgender women of color. 2021 is already a record year for anti-transgender legislation, with 33 US states introducing 144 bills (and counting) restricting and denying basic rights to transgender people, with many bills targeting transgender youth—from restricting access to healthcare, to requiring genital inspections in school sports, and denying trans people the right to use public restrooms.",[14,23916,23917],{},"Knowing where we come from as a country and community, without sugar coating it, ensures we work to do better every day. As a business owner, I can ensure we have policies in place to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination in the workplace. I can ensure our benefits speak and work for everyone. For instance, in our website update, we looked at the language we used to make sure things like, \"Paternity\u002FMaternity leave\", are inclusive so we changed it to \"Family Leave\". If you have a child join your family, you are given 3 months of paid leave.",[14,23919,23920],{},"Small, cumulative steps like these fuel the momentum towards ensuring all LGBTQ+ folks have the same basic rights as cisgender folks. Individuals influence communities, and communities influence institutions. It is up to us to drive progress.",[14,23922,23923],{},"Our work never ends. Our leadership team is sitting down in the coming weeks to brainstorm what more we can do to support the LGBTQ+ and Black communities. Given we’re all white and cisgender, we’ll be pulling in our employees that these changes would affect most and have them mentor us through implementation. I hope to share more with you in the coming months as we roll this out.",[14,23925,23926],{},"*Written in collaboration with our beloved member of the MKG family & Queer community.",[24,23928,23930],{"id":23929},"company-update-time","Company update time!",[46,23932,23933,23936,23939],{},[49,23934,23935],{},"Congratulations to John Ballard! He is moving from being an SEO Expert to a Digital Marketing Expert. At MKG Marketing, Digital Marketing Experts are T-Shaped Marketers. They know one area, like SEO, really well then they have a solid foundational understanding about the other service lines to support other team members as work fluctuates around the organization. We’re so excited for him!",[49,23937,23938],{},"Working on a complete website redesign: This was supposed to be a simple copy refresh, but like all simple intentions it turned into a full refresh and I can’t wait to launch it and share it with y’all! We’re SO CLOSE!",[49,23940,23941],{},"Season 8 is just days away! This is our best season yet as we were able to pull all eight episodes together around a theme which really tells the story of where the marketing and advertising industry are headed and how our guests are already moving in that direction. Be sure to subscribe so you’re ready to binge when all eight drop on July 5th.",[14,23943,23944],{},"See you next month,",[14,23946,9],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":23948},[23949],{"id":23929,"depth":291,"text":23930},"At MKG Marketing diversity, equity, and inclusion work is important to us. June was an important month for the LGBTQ+ community and here's what we're doing about it.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fjune-2021-pride-month.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-june-2021",{"title":23896,"description":23950},"Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Work Never Ends","blog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-june-2021","IXaY7LNCjqEnVuF1wl0-s0nOF3jWlpvUK_MOczJ1RjE",{"id":23959,"title":23960,"author":7,"authors":23961,"body":23962,"caption":24203,"category":23886,"date":24204,"description":24205,"extension":318,"img":24206,"imgAlt":7,"meta":24207,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":24208,"seo":24209,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":24210,"stem":24211,"updated":7,"__hash__":24212},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-may-2021.md","The View From Here — May 2021",[9],{"type":11,"value":23963,"toc":24185},[23964,23972,23976,23980,23983,23986,23990,23998,24001,24012,24021,24024,24030,24034,24037,24040,24044,24047,24061,24064,24068,24071,24074,24094,24098,24101,24105,24108,24115,24119,24122,24136,24140,24143,24147,24154,24158,24161,24164,24168,24171,24174,24181,24183],[14,23965,23966,23967,23971],{},"In the ",[206,23968,23970],{"href":23969},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-april\u002F","April View From Here",", we mentioned that in May we were to going to share our updated Vision with the team. Which, we did and now I’d like to share it with you.",[24,23973,23975],{"id":23974},"the-mkg-marketing-mission","The MKG Marketing Mission",[81,23977,23979],{"id":23978},"measurable","Measurable",[14,23981,23982],{},"When Mike and I started MKG Marketing in 2011, our tag line was “measurable media”. We wanted to start an agency where we could measure how our marketing efforts impacted a brand’s bottom line. Which is why we started working primarily with technology companies and still do to this day.",[14,23984,23985],{},"When it came to developing a holistic mission almost 10 years later, we came back to that tag line. It’s still a core part of who we are. It’s also timeless. Marketing leaders will always want to know how their marketing efforts are impacting their bottom line.",[81,23987,23989],{"id":23988},"transparent","Transparent",[14,23991,23992,23993,23997],{},"Another element we discovered is that building lasting relationships with our marketing leaders is important to us and part of our DNA. We know this because we have ",[206,23994,23996],{"href":23995},"\u002Fcase-studies\u002F","several brands"," and marketers right now that we’ve been working with for 4-6 years.",[14,23999,24000],{},"We’ve been able to achieve this through clear, transparent communication (and results obviously!). Of course we talk about what’s going well. But, we also pull back the curtain;",[46,24002,24003,24006,24009],{},[49,24004,24005],{},"What challenges are we facing?",[49,24007,24008],{},"What ideas did we try and did they pan out like we hoped?",[49,24010,24011],{},"Why are a report’s numbers down, how did we contribute and what we’re going to do about it?",[14,24013,24014,24015,24020],{},"Here’s the other thing about transparency as it relates to Digital Marketing... Advertising is not transparent. Buyers don’t want it because it’s intrusive and at times creepy. Advertising is fighting an uphill battle against ad blockers and subscription models to stay alive. Why? Because ",[206,24016,24019],{"href":24017,"rel":24018},"https:\u002F\u002Fbusinessesgrow.com\u002Frebellion\u002F",[210],"buyers always win",". Listening to our customers is important now more than ever. If advertising is going to survive it has to adapt. A big part of adapting is being transparent.",[14,24022,24023],{},"Transparency at MKG has to transcend beyond our client relations to our client’s customers which is why it’s officially part of our mission:",[24025,24026,24027],"blockquote",{},[14,24028,24029],{},"We help complex B2B brands get found via transparent, measurable digital marketing.",[24,24031,24033],{"id":24032},"our-core-vales","Our Core Vales",[14,24035,24036],{},"We’ve had core values since at least 2013. There were three, Honesty, Integrity, People (HIP). Then they evolved in 2015 to People First, Exceeding Expectations, Selfless Pride, Big Picture, and Fearless.",[14,24038,24039],{},"Mike, myself, and our Managing Director (Jenna Hasenkampf), completed an exercise out of the Traction Framework. We each took 3-5 employees and wrote down characteristics about them. Then we found themes of that tied us all together.",[81,24041,24043],{"id":24042},"people-first","People First",[14,24045,24046],{},"This value has withstood the test of time. It was part of our original HIP values in 2013. It has evolved. It was originally a reminder that Mike and I need to always take care of our people to ensure they have work\u002Flife balance, a paycheck, benefits, and a place of belonging. In 2015, it was still very much this. If we stay focused on taking care of our people our people will take care of our clients. In the last few years this has evolved to be about everyone in the organization taking care of each other through:",[46,24048,24049,24055],{},[49,24050,24051,24054],{},[52,24052,24053],{},"MRI"," — most respectable interpretation... don’t jump to negative conclusions or take things personally. Think about where the other person is coming from and have empathy.",[49,24056,24057,24060],{},[52,24058,24059],{},"Team Pride"," — NO PERSON IS AN ISLAND! It’s easy to feel this way, especially as a remote first company, but remembering we’re all people who sometimes need help makes us feel connected",[14,24062,24063],{},"Given 2020 and the pandemic, this as expanded beyond our team to our clients. Our clients are people too who are more than marketers with families and lives. How can we, as MKG, support our clients so they feel heard, seen, and not like an island?",[81,24065,24067],{"id":24066},"transparency","Transparency",[14,24069,24070],{},"Remember in 2013, honesty and integrity? Well guess what? That’s encompassed by one word... Transparency. Fast forward to 2021 and thanks to the Traction exercise, we’re bringing it back! It’s still fundamentally part of who we are. Also, it’s in our mission. It felt appropriate to double down given both of these reasons.",[14,24072,24073],{},"To us transparency means:",[46,24075,24076,24082,24088],{},[49,24077,24078,24081],{},[52,24079,24080],{},"Be Reliable"," — Set clear expectations and follow-through with team members and clients to build trust and accountability",[49,24083,24084,24087],{},[52,24085,24086],{},"Be Honest & lead with integrity"," — We own up to mistakes and bring ideas for solutions, we value the long-term partnership over the short-term discomfort",[49,24089,24090,24093],{},[52,24091,24092],{},"Build trusting, long lasting relationships"," — Through consistency, accountability, and result-driven work we form connections that last",[81,24095,24097],{"id":24096},"big-picture","Big Picture",[14,24099,24100],{},"We have had this value since 2014 and it hasn’t changed too much by design. It’s simple. In order to achieve measurable results, we need to remember what they are and look up, out and forward towards them at all time.",[81,24102,24104],{"id":24103},"uphold-the-mkg-standard","Uphold The MKG Standard",[14,24106,24107],{},"This came out of the traction exercise. Our team takes great pride in their work. Client’s see that and have come to expect it. As we grow, we need to ensure new employees look to the people who’ve been here and build upon their great work.",[14,24109,24110,24111,24114],{},"Head over to our ",[206,24112,24113],{"href":23656},"values page"," to read the full descriptions.",[24,24116,24118],{"id":24117},"our-three-year-vision","Our Three-Year Vision",[14,24120,24121],{},"As part of the full vision we also shared how we plan to grow in the next three years. What new roles do we need? How do we organize into teams so we can scale?",[14,24123,24124,24125,24127,24128,2504,24131,24135],{},"While we don’t have plans of expanding our services outside of ",[206,24126,743],{"href":21094},", ",[206,24129,24130],{"href":21929},"Digital Advertising",[206,24132,24134],{"href":24133},"\u002Fexpert-digital-marketing-services\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002F","Analytics",". We do plan to add supporting roles to make these services even stronger.",[81,24137,24139],{"id":24138},"virtual-assistant","Virtual Assistant",[14,24141,24142],{},"The integrity of being a mostly flat organization still stands. It’s important to us that our clients work directly with the experts building the plan and pulling the levers. However, there are everyday, repetitive tasks that our people get bogged down in that keeps them from staying focused on the Big Picture, which is why we’ve brought in help! This also allows us to pass those repetitive tasks back to you, our clients, at a lower cost per hour. WIN WIN!",[81,24144,24146],{"id":24145},"strategy","Strategy",[14,24148,24149,24150,24153],{},"Someone to ",[38,24151,24152],{},"REALLY"," see the big picture across our service lines and into what other channels our clients are running. How does SEO, Digital Advertising, and Analytics impact and enhance what our clients are already doing across social, PR, email, and more?",[81,24155,24157],{"id":24156},"group-director","Group Director",[14,24159,24160],{},"This is a full on supporting role. Someone behind the scenes that makes sure their teams have what they need to be successful, from Goal Trackers (see April View From Here), to periodic 1:1 check-ins, to stepping in when an Account Director is out for an extended period of time and more!",[14,24162,24163],{},"We’re pretty excited about all these new roles and opportunities for our team and clients!",[24,24165,24167],{"id":24166},"to-infinity-and-beyond","To Infinity, and Beyond!",[14,24169,24170],{},"There are several other elements to the Vision Tracker we presented like our 10 year goal, marketing plan, and rocks (also known as goals). We hope to share the full vision with you someday. For now, these are the key elements that are changing and we wanted you to be in the know.",[14,24172,24173],{},"Thanks for joining us on the journey and we look forward to the next three years in growing with you.",[14,24175,24176,24177,24180],{},"In the meantime, check out the latest season of our podcast, ",[206,24178,24179],{"href":23528},"Tea Time With Tech Marketing Leaders",". Be sure to subscribe and get Season 8 as soon as it’s available!",[14,24182,23944],{},[14,24184,9],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":24186},[24187,24191,24197,24202],{"id":23974,"depth":291,"text":23975,"children":24188},[24189,24190],{"id":23978,"depth":297,"text":23979},{"id":23988,"depth":297,"text":23989},{"id":24032,"depth":291,"text":24033,"children":24192},[24193,24194,24195,24196],{"id":24042,"depth":297,"text":24043},{"id":24066,"depth":297,"text":24067},{"id":24096,"depth":297,"text":24097},{"id":24103,"depth":297,"text":24104},{"id":24117,"depth":291,"text":24118,"children":24198},[24199,24200,24201],{"id":24138,"depth":297,"text":24139},{"id":24145,"depth":297,"text":24146},{"id":24156,"depth":297,"text":24157},{"id":24166,"depth":291,"text":24167},"\u003Ca href=\"\u002Fabout\u002Fteam\u002Fmike-krass\u002F\">Mike Krass\u003C\u002Fa> and \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fabout\u002Fteam\u002Fkerry-guard\u002F\">Kerry Guard\u003C\u002Fa> in Mountain View, 2012 — we thought we were so cool!","2021-06-01","At MKG Marketing our mission and values have always been at the core of who we are. As we continue to grow and change our values have adapted with us.","\u002Fimages\u002Fhero\u002Fkerry-mike.jpg",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-may-2021",{"title":23960,"description":24205},"The MKG Marketing Vision","blog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-may-2021","psw8utpYi0bgaOG08OBulS22s0qR4NFVy7UXr2a33Hg",{"id":24214,"title":24215,"author":7,"authors":24216,"body":24217,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":24333,"description":24334,"extension":318,"img":24335,"imgAlt":7,"meta":24336,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":24337,"seo":24338,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":24339,"updated":7,"__hash__":24340},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-april.md","View From Here - April 2021",[9],{"type":11,"value":24218,"toc":24327},[24219,24223,24226,24229,24232,24235,24243,24246,24250,24269,24272,24275,24278,24281,24284,24288,24291,24299,24302,24310,24314,24317,24320],[24,24220,24222],{"id":24221},"new-dawn","New Dawn",[14,24224,24225],{},"It took us time to get there, but we now have a system that allows our team to set clear goals based on personal growth and peer feedback. Each week they track how they feel they did in terms of those goals.",[14,24227,24228],{},"It's been amazing. The team has really leaned in and thought about their future here at MKG and where they want to go. They're asking really powerful questions and pushing leadership to develop answers. Which we’re looking forward to sharing mid May.",[14,24230,24231],{},"The other thing about our new goal process is it allows leadership and employees to really look at organizational fit. It has pushed both sides to evaluate it and in some cases we've had to let people go and in others, people decided to take new opportunities elsewhere.",[14,24233,24234],{},"As we like to say here at MKG, it’s a two way street.",[14,24236,24237,24238,24242],{},"As much as we promise work\u002Flife balance, flexibility, remote work, and other standard and ",[206,24239,24241],{"href":24240},"\u002Fabout\u002Fjobs\u002F","above par benefits",", in return we need accountability. How are you meeting and exceeding our mission and values consistently?",[14,24244,24245],{},"On the flip side, are we meeting your individual needs of growth, acknowledgement of your hard work, and ensuring you feel like you belong?",[24,24247,24249],{"id":24248},"new-day","New Day",[14,24251,24252,24253,24258,24259,2504,24264,212],{},"Two of our longest tenured MKG-units, as ",[206,24254,24257],{"href":24255,"rel":24256},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fandrae-jones-939220a0\u002F",[210],"AnDrae'"," likes to call us, left the agency earlier this year. Wow. To be at an agency for 5+ years. That's almost unheard of! And what an honor to have worked with ",[206,24260,24263],{"href":24261,"rel":24262},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fjessicareckerward\u002F",[210],"Jessica Ward",[206,24265,24268],{"href":24266,"rel":24267},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fadamsbullock\u002F",[210],"Adam Bullock",[14,24270,24271],{},"Jessica has an engineer's brain. She really pushed for systems and processes when she first joined and through the years. She looked to increase efficiency and find ways to make sure we didn't drop the ball for clients. We have her to thank for moving us from Basecamp to Asana and uncovering all the fancy nuances and shortcuts to wire things up, so we can measure everyone’s workload (with the help and support of the other Account Directors as no one is an island here at MKG!). I enjoyed working with Jessica and I really miss her love and energy for our company and culture. She's now at NRCAAU as a Digital Strategist and I truly wish her all the best.",[14,24273,24274],{},"Adam Bullock. Oh that guy. Adam was actually our second employee. We asked Christian Bullock if we could clone him (in jest) and he said, “as a matter of fact……”",[14,24276,24277],{},"Adam was not a clone of Christian. Well, maybe they shared some of the same genes, but he had a completely different skill set and way of looking at things that made the Christian and Adam dynamic explosive when it came to fearless ideas. A great example of this was our vCloud Air work where they found the vMUG community and helped propel the new product off the ground.",[14,24279,24280],{},"We’ve been working with ExtraHop now for almost 6 years and I believe Adam is a big reason for the longevity. As a PPC Specialist he really understood their business and customers and was able to get their lead machine up and humming. As their Account Director, he created a constant stream of communication so our clients at ExtraHop knew exactly where all the moving pieces of their business stood.",[14,24282,24283],{},"Adam is now over at Weaveworks as a Marketing Manager and we can't wait to see how he helps them grow to their full potential. It's going to be awesome. Treat him well, Sonja!",[24,24285,24287],{"id":24286},"new-life","New Life",[14,24289,24290],{},"When doors close, new ones open.",[14,24292,24293,24294,24298],{},"Last week ",[206,24295,13895],{"href":24296,"rel":24297},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Falanna-moman-rawden\u002F",[210]," started and we are thrilled to have her partner with Sam and the West Coast team of experts. She has 10+ years of account director experience in the digital marketing space. She is ready to hit the ground running!",[14,24300,24301],{},"We also have brought on a virtual assistant, Aimee Ebarle. She comes from a business analyst and project management background at large consulting firms like Accenture, which is precisely why we asked her to join us! She has become our tasking QUEEN! Ensuring experts get new tasks so the Account Directors can easily plan client deliverables for the weeks to come. She is also partnering with our analytics team in helping them automate data aggregation across systems on a weekly basis. We’re thrilled to have her and look forward to seeing our Account Directors and Experts propel client relationships forward as they get out of the weeds and look up, out, and forward towards our client’s business outcomes even more effectively.",[14,24303,24304,24305,24309],{},"We are looking for one more Account Director to join our team. Are you an experienced AD with 8+ years of experience? Maybe you know someone? Check out our ",[206,24306,24308],{"href":24307},"\u002Fabout\u002Fjobs\u002Faccount-director\u002F","job description"," and be sure to apply or share. We look forward to hearing from you!",[24,24311,24313],{"id":24312},"and-im-feeling-good","And I’m Feeling Good",[14,24315,24316],{},"The new process of tracking people’s goals has been a game changer. The team has set some lofty individual, intentional goals and I’m so excited to watch each person thrive. One of our values is “Big Picture”. Part of seeing the big picture is to see your own. Then have the growth mindset to get after it. As an organization we have a growth mindset, always looking to improve. This system is a great new element that helps us do just that.",[14,24318,24319],{},"Until next time…",[14,24321,24322,24323,24326],{},"Looking for other ideas for your own growth? ",[206,24324,24325],{"href":23528},"Check out season 7 of Tea Time With Tech Marketing Leaders",", where Larry Long, Michael Sherlock, and Max Borges talk about new ways to find your values, potential, and a career you love.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":24328},[24329,24330,24331,24332],{"id":24221,"depth":291,"text":24222},{"id":24248,"depth":291,"text":24249},{"id":24286,"depth":291,"text":24287},{"id":24312,"depth":291,"text":24313},"2021-05-01","It’s A New Dawn. A New Day. A New Life. And I’m Feeling Good","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fview-from-here-april.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-april",{"title":24215,"description":24334},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-april","k9gJGvoWyjN2GHxRV-mJUXdhAm2KTzbJgNaDEGBLz34",{"id":24342,"title":24343,"author":7,"authors":24344,"body":24345,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":25096,"description":25097,"extension":318,"img":25098,"imgAlt":7,"meta":25099,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":25100,"seo":25101,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":25102,"updated":7,"__hash__":25103},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fhtml-5-and-seo.md","HTML5 and SEO",[12110],{"type":11,"value":24346,"toc":25081},[24347,24350,24354,24368,24371,24377,24383,24389,24395,24401,24413,24416,24427,24685,24691,24951,24958,24973,24980,24983,24992,24995,24998,25001,25005,25008,25012,25015,25023,25032,25035,25043,25047,25053,25056,25059,25063,25070,25077],[14,24348,24349],{},"When HTML5 was released back in 2014, it delivered a bunch of new semantic elements intentionally designed to help web pages to be structured more clearly and, while this benefited the web development community, it helped the SEO community by providing a much clearer page structures that are easier for the search engines to crawl and “understand.”",[24,24351,24353],{"id":24352},"what-is-html5","What is HTML5",[14,24355,24356,24357,24127,24361,24127,24364,24367],{},"HTML5 is the current industry-standard of the web programming language and it provides new semantic HTML elements that clearly define and indicate the different areas of a web page (",[24358,24359,24360],"code",{},"\u003Cheader>",[24358,24362,24363],{},"\u003Cfooter>",[24358,24365,24366],{},"\u003Cnav>",", etc.).",[14,24369,24370],{},"There is one specific element that can be specifically leveraged to mark up the page that support the recent algorithm updates focused on sub-category and passage ranking as well as can provide targeted keyword optimization opportunities from a SEO perspective.",[14,24372,24373,24374,212],{},"This element is the ",[24358,24375,24376],{},"\u003Csection>",[24,24378,6322,24380,24382],{"id":24379},"the-section-element",[24358,24381,24376],{}," element",[81,24384,24386,24387,24382],{"id":24385},"what-is-the-section-element","What is the ",[24358,24388,24376],{},[14,24390,24391,24392,24394],{},"The HTML ",[24358,24393,24376],{}," element defines a section or “module” of a HTML document, which doesn't have a more specific semantic element to represent it.",[14,24396,24397,24398,24400],{},"Another way to look at this, is that the ",[24358,24399,24376],{}," element turns a complete web page into a bunch of smaller pages which, when combined together, make the complete page. This actually makes a lot of sense from a web design perspective as most websites leverage a modular design layout.",[14,24402,24403,24404,24409,24410,24412],{},"With the recent ",[206,24405,24408],{"href":24406,"rel":24407},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.searchenginejournal.com\u002Fgoogle-passage-ranking-martin-splitt\u002F388206\u002F",[210],"algorithm update"," that can now deliver “passages” of websites in the search results, leveraging the ",[24358,24411,24376],{}," element intentionally can help the search engines better understand and consume the content on a page as well as focus the keyword and content optimization of a web page to a module by module approach that can result in passages of web page content being ranked more effectively.",[14,24414,24415],{},"Another SEO opportunity with this element is you can restart HTML heading structures so you can actually end up with multiple H1 elements on a page which provides a higher weighted value to the keywords it contains.",[14,24417,24418,24419,24422,24423,24426],{},"What we traditionally find is a document structure that opens with a ",[24358,24420,24421],{},"\u003Ch1>"," wrapping the Page Title and then in the first module it opens with a ",[24358,24424,24425],{},"\u003Ch2>"," .",[24428,24429,24433],"pre",{"className":24430,"code":24431,"language":24432,"meta":77,"style":77},"language-html shiki shiki-themes github-light github-dark","\u003Chtml>\n  \u003Chead>\n    \u003Ctitle>Insert Target Keyword Here\u003C\u002Ftitle>\n  \u003C\u002Fhead>\n  \u003Cbody>\n    \u003Cheader>\n      \u003Cnav>\u003C\u002Fnav>\n    \u003C\u002Fheader>\n    \u003Cmain>\n      \u003Ch1>Page Title\u003C\u002Fh1>\n\n      \u003Ch2>Module 1 Title - Insert Target Keyword Here\u003C\u002Fh2>\n      Module 1 Body Copy\n      \u003Ch3>Module 1 SubTitle - Insert Target Keyword Here\u003C\u002Fh3>\n      Module 1 Body Copy\n\n      \u003Ch2>Module 2 Title - Insert Target Keyword Here\u003C\u002Fh2>\n      Module 2 Body Copy\n      \u003Ch3>Module 2 SubTitle - Insert Target Keyword Here\u003C\u002Fh3>\n      Module 2 Body Copy\n    \u003C\u002Fmain>\n    \u003Cfooter>\u003C\u002Ffooter>\n  \u003C\u002Fbody>\n\u003C\u002Fhtml>\n","html",[24358,24434,24435,24449,24459,24474,24483,24493,24503,24519,24529,24539,24554,24560,24574,24580,24594,24599,24604,24618,24624,24638,24643,24652,24666,24675],{"__ignoreMap":77},[24436,24437,24439,24443,24446],"span",{"class":24438,"line":321},"line",[24436,24440,24442],{"class":24441},"sVt8B","\u003C",[24436,24444,24432],{"class":24445},"s9eBZ",[24436,24447,24448],{"class":24441},">\n",[24436,24450,24451,24454,24457],{"class":24438,"line":291},[24436,24452,24453],{"class":24441},"  \u003C",[24436,24455,24456],{"class":24445},"head",[24436,24458,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24460,24461,24464,24467,24470,24472],{"class":24438,"line":297},[24436,24462,24463],{"class":24441},"    \u003C",[24436,24465,24466],{"class":24445},"title",[24436,24468,24469],{"class":24441},">Insert Target Keyword Here\u003C\u002F",[24436,24471,24466],{"class":24445},[24436,24473,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24475,24476,24479,24481],{"class":24438,"line":12172},[24436,24477,24478],{"class":24441},"  \u003C\u002F",[24436,24480,24456],{"class":24445},[24436,24482,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24484,24486,24488,24491],{"class":24438,"line":24485},5,[24436,24487,24453],{"class":24441},[24436,24489,24490],{"class":24445},"body",[24436,24492,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24494,24496,24498,24501],{"class":24438,"line":24495},6,[24436,24497,24463],{"class":24441},[24436,24499,24500],{"class":24445},"header",[24436,24502,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24504,24506,24509,24512,24515,24517],{"class":24438,"line":24505},7,[24436,24507,24508],{"class":24441},"      \u003C",[24436,24510,24511],{"class":24445},"nav",[24436,24513,24514],{"class":24441},">\u003C\u002F",[24436,24516,24511],{"class":24445},[24436,24518,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24520,24522,24525,24527],{"class":24438,"line":24521},8,[24436,24523,24524],{"class":24441},"    \u003C\u002F",[24436,24526,24500],{"class":24445},[24436,24528,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24530,24532,24534,24537],{"class":24438,"line":24531},9,[24436,24533,24463],{"class":24441},[24436,24535,24536],{"class":24445},"main",[24436,24538,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24540,24542,24544,24547,24550,24552],{"class":24438,"line":24541},10,[24436,24543,24508],{"class":24441},[24436,24545,24546],{"class":24445},"h1",[24436,24548,24549],{"class":24441},">Page Title\u003C\u002F",[24436,24551,24546],{"class":24445},[24436,24553,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24555,24557],{"class":24438,"line":24556},11,[24436,24558,24559],{"emptyLinePlaceholder":322},"\n",[24436,24561,24563,24565,24567,24570,24572],{"class":24438,"line":24562},12,[24436,24564,24508],{"class":24441},[24436,24566,24],{"class":24445},[24436,24568,24569],{"class":24441},">Module 1 Title - Insert Target Keyword Here\u003C\u002F",[24436,24571,24],{"class":24445},[24436,24573,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24575,24577],{"class":24438,"line":24576},13,[24436,24578,24579],{"class":24441},"      Module 1 Body Copy\n",[24436,24581,24583,24585,24587,24590,24592],{"class":24438,"line":24582},14,[24436,24584,24508],{"class":24441},[24436,24586,81],{"class":24445},[24436,24588,24589],{"class":24441},">Module 1 SubTitle - Insert Target Keyword Here\u003C\u002F",[24436,24591,81],{"class":24445},[24436,24593,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24595,24597],{"class":24438,"line":24596},15,[24436,24598,24579],{"class":24441},[24436,24600,24602],{"class":24438,"line":24601},16,[24436,24603,24559],{"emptyLinePlaceholder":322},[24436,24605,24607,24609,24611,24614,24616],{"class":24438,"line":24606},17,[24436,24608,24508],{"class":24441},[24436,24610,24],{"class":24445},[24436,24612,24613],{"class":24441},">Module 2 Title - Insert Target Keyword Here\u003C\u002F",[24436,24615,24],{"class":24445},[24436,24617,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24619,24621],{"class":24438,"line":24620},18,[24436,24622,24623],{"class":24441},"      Module 2 Body Copy\n",[24436,24625,24627,24629,24631,24634,24636],{"class":24438,"line":24626},19,[24436,24628,24508],{"class":24441},[24436,24630,81],{"class":24445},[24436,24632,24633],{"class":24441},">Module 2 SubTitle - Insert Target Keyword Here\u003C\u002F",[24436,24635,81],{"class":24445},[24436,24637,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24639,24641],{"class":24438,"line":24640},20,[24436,24642,24623],{"class":24441},[24436,24644,24646,24648,24650],{"class":24438,"line":24645},21,[24436,24647,24524],{"class":24441},[24436,24649,24536],{"class":24445},[24436,24651,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24653,24655,24657,24660,24662,24664],{"class":24438,"line":24654},22,[24436,24656,24463],{"class":24441},[24436,24658,24659],{"class":24445},"footer",[24436,24661,24514],{"class":24441},[24436,24663,24659],{"class":24445},[24436,24665,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24667,24669,24671,24673],{"class":24438,"line":24668},23,[24436,24670,24478],{"class":24441},[24436,24672,24490],{"class":24445},[24436,24674,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24676,24678,24681,24683],{"class":24438,"line":24677},24,[24436,24679,24680],{"class":24441},"\u003C\u002F",[24436,24682,24432],{"class":24445},[24436,24684,24448],{"class":24441},[14,24686,24687,24688,24690],{},"However, a very simplified example of what this could look like using the ",[24358,24689,24376],{}," element is:",[24428,24692,24694],{"className":24430,"code":24693,"language":24432,"meta":77,"style":77},"\u003Chtml>\n  \u003Chead>\n    \u003Ctitle>Insert Target Keyword Here\u003C\u002Ftitle>\n  \u003C\u002Fhead>\n  \u003Cbody>\n    \u003Cheader>\n      \u003Cnav>\u003C\u002Fnav>\n    \u003C\u002Fheader>\n    \u003Cmain>\n      \u003Csection>\n        \u003Ch1>_Page Title - Insert Target Keyword Here_\u003C\u002Fh1>\n      \u003C\u002Fsection>\n      \u003Csection>\n        \u003Ch1>_Module 1 Title - Insert Target Keyword Here_\u003C\u002Fh1>\n        Module 1 Body Copy\n        \u003Ch2>_Module 1 Subtitle - Insert Target Keyword Here_\u003C\u002Fh2>\n        Module 1 Subtitle Body Copy\n      \u003C\u002Fsection>\n      \u003Csection>\n        \u003Ch1>Module 2 Title - Insert Target Keyword Here\u003C\u002Fh1>\n        Module 2 Body Copy\n        \u003Ch2>Module 2 Subtitle - Insert Target Keyword Here\u003C\u002Fh2>\n        Module 2 Subtitle Body Copy\n      \u003C\u002Fsection>\n    \u003C\u002Fmain>\n    \u003Cfooter>\u003C\u002Ffooter>\n  \u003C\u002Fbody>\n\u003C\u002Fhtml>\n",[24358,24695,24696,24704,24712,24724,24732,24740,24748,24760,24768,24776,24785,24799,24808,24816,24829,24834,24847,24852,24860,24868,24880,24885,24898,24903,24911,24920,24933,24942],{"__ignoreMap":77},[24436,24697,24698,24700,24702],{"class":24438,"line":321},[24436,24699,24442],{"class":24441},[24436,24701,24432],{"class":24445},[24436,24703,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24705,24706,24708,24710],{"class":24438,"line":291},[24436,24707,24453],{"class":24441},[24436,24709,24456],{"class":24445},[24436,24711,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24713,24714,24716,24718,24720,24722],{"class":24438,"line":297},[24436,24715,24463],{"class":24441},[24436,24717,24466],{"class":24445},[24436,24719,24469],{"class":24441},[24436,24721,24466],{"class":24445},[24436,24723,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24725,24726,24728,24730],{"class":24438,"line":12172},[24436,24727,24478],{"class":24441},[24436,24729,24456],{"class":24445},[24436,24731,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24733,24734,24736,24738],{"class":24438,"line":24485},[24436,24735,24453],{"class":24441},[24436,24737,24490],{"class":24445},[24436,24739,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24741,24742,24744,24746],{"class":24438,"line":24495},[24436,24743,24463],{"class":24441},[24436,24745,24500],{"class":24445},[24436,24747,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24749,24750,24752,24754,24756,24758],{"class":24438,"line":24505},[24436,24751,24508],{"class":24441},[24436,24753,24511],{"class":24445},[24436,24755,24514],{"class":24441},[24436,24757,24511],{"class":24445},[24436,24759,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24761,24762,24764,24766],{"class":24438,"line":24521},[24436,24763,24524],{"class":24441},[24436,24765,24500],{"class":24445},[24436,24767,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24769,24770,24772,24774],{"class":24438,"line":24531},[24436,24771,24463],{"class":24441},[24436,24773,24536],{"class":24445},[24436,24775,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24777,24778,24780,24783],{"class":24438,"line":24541},[24436,24779,24508],{"class":24441},[24436,24781,24782],{"class":24445},"section",[24436,24784,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24786,24787,24790,24792,24795,24797],{"class":24438,"line":24556},[24436,24788,24789],{"class":24441},"        \u003C",[24436,24791,24546],{"class":24445},[24436,24793,24794],{"class":24441},">_Page Title - Insert Target Keyword Here_\u003C\u002F",[24436,24796,24546],{"class":24445},[24436,24798,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24800,24801,24804,24806],{"class":24438,"line":24562},[24436,24802,24803],{"class":24441},"      \u003C\u002F",[24436,24805,24782],{"class":24445},[24436,24807,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24809,24810,24812,24814],{"class":24438,"line":24576},[24436,24811,24508],{"class":24441},[24436,24813,24782],{"class":24445},[24436,24815,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24817,24818,24820,24822,24825,24827],{"class":24438,"line":24582},[24436,24819,24789],{"class":24441},[24436,24821,24546],{"class":24445},[24436,24823,24824],{"class":24441},">_Module 1 Title - Insert Target Keyword Here_\u003C\u002F",[24436,24826,24546],{"class":24445},[24436,24828,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24830,24831],{"class":24438,"line":24596},[24436,24832,24833],{"class":24441},"        Module 1 Body Copy\n",[24436,24835,24836,24838,24840,24843,24845],{"class":24438,"line":24601},[24436,24837,24789],{"class":24441},[24436,24839,24],{"class":24445},[24436,24841,24842],{"class":24441},">_Module 1 Subtitle - Insert Target Keyword Here_\u003C\u002F",[24436,24844,24],{"class":24445},[24436,24846,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24848,24849],{"class":24438,"line":24606},[24436,24850,24851],{"class":24441},"        Module 1 Subtitle Body Copy\n",[24436,24853,24854,24856,24858],{"class":24438,"line":24620},[24436,24855,24803],{"class":24441},[24436,24857,24782],{"class":24445},[24436,24859,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24861,24862,24864,24866],{"class":24438,"line":24626},[24436,24863,24508],{"class":24441},[24436,24865,24782],{"class":24445},[24436,24867,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24869,24870,24872,24874,24876,24878],{"class":24438,"line":24640},[24436,24871,24789],{"class":24441},[24436,24873,24546],{"class":24445},[24436,24875,24613],{"class":24441},[24436,24877,24546],{"class":24445},[24436,24879,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24881,24882],{"class":24438,"line":24645},[24436,24883,24884],{"class":24441},"        Module 2 Body Copy\n",[24436,24886,24887,24889,24891,24894,24896],{"class":24438,"line":24654},[24436,24888,24789],{"class":24441},[24436,24890,24],{"class":24445},[24436,24892,24893],{"class":24441},">Module 2 Subtitle - Insert Target Keyword Here\u003C\u002F",[24436,24895,24],{"class":24445},[24436,24897,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24899,24900],{"class":24438,"line":24668},[24436,24901,24902],{"class":24441},"        Module 2 Subtitle Body Copy\n",[24436,24904,24905,24907,24909],{"class":24438,"line":24677},[24436,24906,24803],{"class":24441},[24436,24908,24782],{"class":24445},[24436,24910,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24912,24914,24916,24918],{"class":24438,"line":24913},25,[24436,24915,24524],{"class":24441},[24436,24917,24536],{"class":24445},[24436,24919,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24921,24923,24925,24927,24929,24931],{"class":24438,"line":24922},26,[24436,24924,24463],{"class":24441},[24436,24926,24659],{"class":24445},[24436,24928,24514],{"class":24441},[24436,24930,24659],{"class":24445},[24436,24932,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24934,24936,24938,24940],{"class":24438,"line":24935},27,[24436,24937,24478],{"class":24441},[24436,24939,24490],{"class":24445},[24436,24941,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,24943,24945,24947,24949],{"class":24438,"line":24944},28,[24436,24946,24680],{"class":24441},[24436,24948,24432],{"class":24445},[24436,24950,24448],{"class":24441},[14,24952,24953,24954,2504,24956,24426],{},"By inserting target keywords and semantic variations into the Heading elements gives them more weight than if they are just added to the body copy of a page so you can see, in the example above, that there are multiple opportunities to get keywords into Heading elements but not just Heading elements, the top 2 Heading elements, ",[24358,24955,24421],{},[24358,24957,24425],{},[14,24959,24960,24961,24963,24964,24967,24968,24963,24970,24972],{},"To be clear, the first example is a “correct” structure that still works and was definitely the standard of document layout for a long time but it can definitely leave some optimization opportunities on the table such as putting the target keywords in ",[24358,24962,24425],{},"’s and ",[24358,24965,24966],{},"\u003Ch3>","’s vs ",[24358,24969,24421],{},[24358,24971,24425],{},"’s.",[81,24974,24976,24977,24979],{"id":24975},"so-why-isnt-everyone-using-the-section-element-for-seo","So why isn’t everyone using the ",[24358,24978,24376],{}," element for SEO?",[14,24981,24982],{},"It seems pretty simple to layout a document like the example listed above, yet not a lot of websites are leveraging this structure or even all of the applicable HTML5 elements in their website so you might wonder: What’s the roadblock?",[14,24984,24985,24986,24991],{},"Since there are over a billion websites online (",[206,24987,24990],{"href":24988,"rel":24989},"https:\u002F\u002Fsiteefy.com\u002Fhow-many-websites-are-there\u002F",[210],"see for yourself","), the reasons for a complete adoption of HTML5 can vary.",[14,24993,24994],{},"In some cases, shifting an entire website from HTML4 to HTML5 completely would be a cost-prohibitive process and could cause complications that a company is not willing to chance.",[14,24996,24997],{},"In other cases, developers want to leverage global styles that are applied to certain HTML elements for templating purposes to maximize time and efficiency VS having to write unique CSS at a module by module level.",[14,24999,25000],{},"And still in other situations, a user may be constrained by the template limitations of the CMS platform that is being used to create the website.",[24,25002,25004],{"id":25003},"our-seo-experts-point-of-view","Our SEO Experts Point of View",[14,25006,25007],{},"In light of the opportunities that HTML5 elements provide to enhance the optimization of the content of a website, our SEO experts would recommend:",[81,25009,25011],{"id":25010},"complete-adoption-of-the-html5-standard","Complete adoption of the HTML5 standard",[14,25013,25014],{},"Companies should make the move to completely adopt the current industry standard of HTML as it improves the ability for search engines to consume the web page content which results in the maximization of the search engines crawl budget and delivers a more complete and comprehensive indexing of a website.",[14,25016,25017,25018,2504,25020,25022],{},"Additionally, leveraging the HTML5 semantic elements such as ",[24358,25019,24376],{},[24358,25021,24366],{}," can drive improved visibility and user experience in the search engine results.",[14,25024,25025,25026,25028,25029,25031],{},"Below is a screenshot of the search result for the Google Passage Ranking article we linked to above and as you can see there are three “sitelinks” below the result. These sitelinks are part of a Table of Contents contained above the article content that contained in a ",[24358,25027,24366],{}," element which is wrapped in a ",[24358,25030,24376],{}," element.",[75,25033],{"src":25034},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fblog-post-seo-google-passage.webp",[14,25036,25037,25038,1258,25040,25042],{},"While Google can return results such as the ones above without the use of the ",[24358,25039,24366],{},[24358,25041,24376],{}," elements, intentionally indicating to the search engines can “tell” them what should be displayed in these areas.",[81,25044,25046],{"id":25045},"take-a-modular-optimization-approach","Take a Modular Optimization Approach",[14,25048,25049,25050,25052],{},"If the HTML5 ",[24358,25051,24376],{}," element is being used, take the opportunity to leverage the HTML heading structure to target a core topic keyword for each module and thoroughly develop the content contained in each module.",[14,25054,25055],{},"This is essentially the same approach that SEO’s have been taking with complete pages so from a process standpoint it is merely adding another layer of granularity to the optimization process.",[14,25057,25058],{},"Additionally, from a content strategy standpoint, this is a great time to look at the content of each page and truly identify the ideal user journey for each module and create ideal customer journey paths through the content of the website that ultimately lead a visitor to the point of conversion.",[24,25060,25062],{"id":25061},"looking-for-expert-seo-services","Looking for Expert SEO Services?",[14,25064,25065,25066,25069],{},"Thanks for reading the article and making it this far, we appreciate you taking the time. If you are in need of ",[206,25067,25068],{"href":21094},"seo services",", our team of SEO experts is ready and willing to take your SEO strategy and website optimization to the next level.",[14,25071,25072,25073],{},"Click here to ",[206,25074,25076],{"href":21299,"rel":25075},[210],"Schedule a Discovery Call",[25078,25079,25080],"style",{},"html pre.shiki code .sVt8B, html code.shiki .sVt8B{--shiki-default:#24292E;--shiki-dark:#E1E4E8}html pre.shiki code .s9eBZ, html code.shiki .s9eBZ{--shiki-default:#22863A;--shiki-dark:#85E89D}html .default .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-default);background: var(--shiki-default-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-default-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-default-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-default-text-decoration);}html .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-default);background: var(--shiki-default-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-default-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-default-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-default-text-decoration);}html .dark .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-dark);background: var(--shiki-dark-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-dark-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-dark-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-dark-text-decoration);}html.dark .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-dark);background: var(--shiki-dark-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-dark-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-dark-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-dark-text-decoration);}",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":25082},[25083,25084,25091,25095],{"id":24352,"depth":291,"text":24353},{"id":24379,"depth":291,"text":25085,"children":25086},"The \u003Csection> element",[25087,25089],{"id":24385,"depth":297,"text":25088},"What is the \u003Csection> element",{"id":24975,"depth":297,"text":25090},"So why isn’t everyone using the \u003Csection> element for SEO?",{"id":25003,"depth":291,"text":25004,"children":25092},[25093,25094],{"id":25010,"depth":297,"text":25011},{"id":25045,"depth":297,"text":25046},{"id":25061,"depth":291,"text":25062},"2021-04-09","Discover our SEO Experts POV on HTML5 and creative ways to leverage the HTML5 code structure to impact keyword and passage rankings.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fpexels-danny-meneses-943096.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fhtml-5-and-seo",{"title":24343,"description":25097},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fhtml-5-and-seo","MuhQWYhmqMsbXueWJxNm5e_xdSCDJkYzjqD7fpNYvRM",{"id":25105,"title":25106,"author":7,"authors":25107,"body":25108,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":25186,"description":25187,"extension":318,"img":25188,"imgAlt":7,"meta":25189,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":25190,"seo":25191,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":25192,"stem":25193,"updated":7,"__hash__":25194},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-march-2021.md","Our View From Here - March 2021",[9],{"type":11,"value":25109,"toc":25184},[25110,25119,25122,25125,25128,25131,25139,25142,25145,25148,25171,25174,25177],[14,25111,25112,25113,25118],{},"At the beginning of the quarter we set company wide Rocks (a fancy ",[206,25114,25117],{"href":25115,"rel":25116},"https:\u002F\u002Ftractioninc.com\u002Fwhat-is-eos\u002F",[210],"Traction"," terminology for Goals). These rocks need to be SMART - Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.\nAs we near the end of Q1 here in 2021, just after a full year of the world going into lock down, I thought it important to reflect on our Q1 Rock. While completing the goal is certainly important, the journey is what matters and what a journey it was!",[14,25120,25121],{},"Last year, with COViD, everything changed. Luckily we have been a remote digital marketing agency for the last 9+ years, working from home may not have have change, but our individual environments did. Some of us had partners now working from home too, children at home, or complete isolation for those who live alone. Our clients were thrown into these scenarios too which effected how we mentally shifted in supporting them. 2020 became the year of empathy and triage... be there for one another and power through. Which we did and we're stronger for it.",[14,25123,25124],{},"However, power through can mean put your head down and get it done. Don't question how it gets done, don't try and change too much, because there's enough change in the world we don't need change at work either.",[14,25126,25127],{},"At the end of 2020 people learned to live in the new normal - not necessarily easily, but found ways to create bubbles, send kids to daycare safely, or, like me, move entirely. Things feel settled, which mad Q1 a great time to reflect and look at what have we been doing and what can we do better.",[14,25129,25130],{},"For Q1, the leadership team, made it a priority to sit down with every single team member, ourselves included, and ask two fundamental, yet tough questions:",[132,25132,25133,25136],{},[49,25134,25135],{},"What are your time vampires? What are you doing day in and out that is not a good return on your time?",[49,25137,25138],{},"If you were given time in your day back, what would you want to be doing?",[14,25140,25141],{},"15 people. 15 hours. 35+ items that need to be \"bulldozed\". Hours upon hours we can optimize.",[14,25143,25144],{},"We called these Bulldozer meetings. What can we bulldoze out of your way, off your plate, so you can do what you want and love to be doing in the best interest of our clients and your career?",[14,25146,25147],{},"Here are a few things we learned:",[46,25149,25150,25158,25165],{},[49,25151,25152,25153,25157],{},"Our Strategic, thoughtful ",[206,25154,25156],{"href":25155},"\u002Fabout\u002Fteam\u002F","Account Directors"," have been spending 50% or more of their time just making tasks in Asana. If they had that time back they would want to create a central location of where SEO and PPC projects live so both sides can collaborate better. They would want to be more strategic when thinking about a client's business and help the team think of new and exciting ways to solve those problems. Be more proactive.",[49,25159,25160,25161,25164],{},"Our Expert ",[206,25162,25163],{"href":24133},"Analysts"," spend 2+ hours a week moving data from CRM systems into our reporting platform. If they had that time back they'd spend it looking and analyzing the data to find the story and provide trends to the SEO and PPC experts who can then make faster, strategic decisions.",[49,25166,25167,25168,25170],{},"Our ",[206,25169,743],{"href":21094}," Team logs into multiple tools everyday to see data for each client. If we could aggregate that date into one place, and overlay it to form a story they could also make faster strategic decisions on behalf of our clients.",[14,25172,25173],{},"As the leadership team we are so excited (NERD ALERT!) to dig into all 35+ time vampires, and systematize with process and resources to automate as much as we can. Our team deserves to love their job and love what they're doing and in return our clients deserve the best part of our experts in everything they do.",[14,25175,25176],{},"As an Agile organization, it's important to always be learning to grow and do better as individuals and a company which is why this Rock was so important. We never want to accept status quo or \"it is what it is\". How can we all work together and always do better?",[14,25178,25179,25180,25183],{},"It's exciting to think about how we plan to level up in the coming months... get ready clients! It's important to celebrate our wins too. Which we have many! Check our ",[206,25181,25182],{"href":23995},"case studies"," and see what we've accomplished in digital marketing with so many great Tech and Healthcare clients.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":25185},[],"2021-04-01","Each month, we take time to reflect on the last month. As a people first companyit's important to recognize our wins and our failures and most importantly what we learned through the process.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fblog-post-bulldozer.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-march-2021",{"title":25106,"description":25187},"MKG Marketing View From Here | March 2021","blog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-march-2021","ivyoyu4dNy8zWf9Iz-n0-nuXh6IUq8zvB77T-5cS3JE",{"id":25196,"title":25197,"author":7,"authors":25198,"body":25200,"caption":7,"category":25277,"date":25278,"description":25279,"extension":318,"img":25280,"imgAlt":7,"meta":25281,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":25282,"seo":25283,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":25284,"stem":25285,"updated":7,"__hash__":25286},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fgoogle-disables-broad-match-modifier.md","Bye Bye Bye Broad Match Modifier",[25199],"Priscilla Victorin",{"type":11,"value":25201,"toc":25275},[25202,25205,25208,25211,25237,25240,25243,25248,25251,25254,25257,25260,25269,25272],[14,25203,25204],{},"Google made life harder, for Digital Advertising Experts, by disabling Broad Match Modifier. Phrase Match will be a Paid Search Marketers new best friend, if it isn’t already.",[14,25206,25207],{},"For those not in the digital advertising weeds day in and out, here are the types of keyword targeting. This includes Broad Match Modifier so you know the differences.",[14,25209,25210],{},"Four keyword match types:",[46,25212,25213,25219,25225,25231],{},[49,25214,25215,25218],{},[52,25216,25217],{},"Broad"," — This means if someone searches a specific keyword your ad will show up no matter what else is in the search. Hence the term, broad.",[49,25220,25221,25224],{},[52,25222,25223],{},"Broad Match Modifier"," — This gives you a little more control. It allows you to add more keywords to provide more context. So instead of “shoes”, you could do +red +shoes and as long as “red” and “shoes” are in the search query your ad will show up.",[49,25226,25227,25230],{},[52,25228,25229],{},"Phrase"," — This gets even more specific. By using quotes around a phrase, like “red shoe”, your ad will show for anything containing those keywords in that exact order. It can have other keywords around it, but “red shoes” must be in it. Like if someone types Nike red shoes, then your ad will show up.",[49,25232,25233,25236],{},[52,25234,25235],{},"Exact"," — This uses brackets. Any term between brackets has to show up in Google exactly, with nothing else. If your exact match is [ red shoes ] and someone searches Nike red shoes, your ad will not show because Nike is not in the brackets.",[14,25238,25239],{},"So what’s the big deal about Broad Match Modifier leaving the Google Adwords premise?",[14,25241,25242],{},"It makes it hard to cast a wide net. When you launch a new campaign, Broad Match Modifier is a great way to say,",[24025,25244,25245],{},[14,25246,25247],{},"I know all these keywords are important, but I don’t know how people are using them. Let’s go for all the words, in any order, and I don’t care if one keyword shows up many.",[14,25249,25250],{},"As people search, click, visit your site, and convert, you can move the best performers from Broad Match Modifier to Phrase Match. Now you know what keywords are going together and in what order. It also allows you to build a killer negative keyword list without breaking the bank.",[14,25252,25253],{},"Phrase Match and Exact Match are generally less expensive. The longer and more exact the phrase the less competition. But, without Broad Match Modifier, these keyword targets could get costly. It’s going to take more expertise and due diligence to ensure your campaigns launch with their best foot forward.",[14,25255,25256],{},"The good news is, generally, Phrase Match drives a better cost per conversion. Especially once you optimize your negative keyword list and phrases.",[14,25258,25259],{},"Speaking of negative keywords… with Phrase Match it is extra important that you dial in that list. We have to be more diligent about checking campaigns to build that negative keyword list. This allows us to work towards the best audience possible.",[14,25261,25262,25263,25268],{},"For those who already have campaigns in swing, losing Broad Match Modifier isn’t the end of the world. Chances are you already have a great negative keyword list in place. If you don’t, then head over to a tool like ",[206,25264,25267],{"href":25265,"rel":25266},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.semrush.com",[210],"SEMRush"," and spend time building that list upfront.",[14,25270,25271],{},"The biggest hurdle with any new Google Updates is change. You get a system honed in to deliver the best results for brands and then Google switches it up. Change is hard. As of right now we’re not seeing any major impact on our campaigns. That could be because we already have a strong negative keyword list. It could be because our experts are being extra diligent on checking on campaigns more often. Only time will tell.",[14,25273,25274],{},"We’ll provide an update in June and let you know of anything new we learned and what outcomes we’re experiencing.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":25276},[],"PPC","2021-03-16","With Google no longer supporting Broad Match Modifier, Digital Advertising experts need to up their game to ensure strong paid search results.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fbye-bye-bye-broad-match-modifier.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fgoogle-disables-broad-match-modifier",{"title":25197,"description":25279},"Google Disables Broad Match Modifier","blog\u002Fppc\u002Fgoogle-disables-broad-match-modifier","N3Kwz_lqeS1A9IAjMmJQhEbRSo443vwUrXyn1QW1iC4",{"id":25288,"title":25289,"author":7,"authors":25290,"body":25291,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":25412,"description":25413,"extension":318,"img":25414,"imgAlt":7,"meta":25415,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":25416,"seo":25417,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":25418,"stem":25419,"updated":7,"__hash__":25420},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-2021-february-dei.md","View From Here - February 2021",[9],{"type":11,"value":25292,"toc":25407},[25293,25308,25311,25314,25318,25321,25324,25327,25330,25334,25348,25351,25354,25365,25368,25371,25374,25377,25380,25404],[14,25294,25295,25296,25301,25302,25307],{},"I recently listened to a podcast on ",[206,25297,25300],{"href":25298,"rel":25299},"https:\u002F\u002Fopen.spotify.com\u002Fepisode\u002F7K47gQF5Ruc7MAXxENq6jI?si=2fe46fdf2cdb4ed0",[210],"Dare to Lead with Brené Brown and Aniko Bethea",". Aniko wrote an ",[206,25303,25306],{"href":25304,"rel":25305},"https:\u002F\u002Faikobethea.medium.com\u002Fan-open-letter-to-corporate-america-philanthropy-academia-etc-what-now-8b2d3a310f22",[210],"open letter on Medium"," to the corporate America the day after George Floyd's death in May of 2020. The episode works to pull the letter apart and dig in and what more we need to do as organizations. It's a coaching session. It's brilliant and inspiring.\nIn the episode they talk greatly about Accountability. It's all well and good to show up and say you're an ally. What are you going to do about it?",[14,25309,25310],{},"With Black History Month having come to an end days ago, our view from here at MKG, is that the work doesn't stop. We have to keep going.",[14,25312,25313],{},"Last year, after the death of George Floyd, Mike and I came together and said, what next? Here's what we did:",[24,25315,25317],{"id":25316},"first","First",[14,25319,25320],{},"We held a meeting with clear guidelines and expectations.",[14,25322,25323],{},"In our playbook we talk about how there is no place for politics at our organization as it's polarizing and drives people apart rather than bringing them together. However, I was clear that this was not about politics. This was about human rights and we need to come together as an organization and recognize that. Politics were still kept off the table and everyone who spoke, spoke in \"I feel\" statements. Also, this was not a \"town hall\" like in Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist. I called each black member of our organization to ask how they were and to see how they felt about having this meeting. Then an email went outlining what the meeting was for, how people were expected to show up, and the agenda.",[14,25325,25326],{},"Everyone showed up. All 14 employees. Not everyone spoke, but everyone was present and was actively listening. Those who did speak all came from a very vulnerable open place with lots of different feelings: anger, hurt, guilt, shame, sadness, and most importantly (IMHO) hope. One of our black employees was even brave to share their perspective which everyone gave them the floor to do with courtesy and grace.",[14,25328,25329],{},"It was the most important meeting our organization has had. As Aniko said in the podcast, don't just have a town hall to have an open floor and no agenda. We had a very clear agenda and very clear guidelines on how people needed to show up. At the end of the meeting I laid out action items of what we were to do next. The first step was training on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.",[24,25331,25333],{"id":25332},"training","Training",[14,25335,25336,25337,25341,25342,25347],{},"In ",[206,25338,25340],{"href":25339},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-september-2020\u002F","September",", we had Kristina, from ",[206,25343,25346],{"href":25344,"rel":25345},"https:\u002F\u002Funpacking.co\u002F",[210],"Unpacking.co"," give us a 4 hour training in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as it relates to black people in organizations.",[14,25349,25350],{},"The training was important and helpful. It gave us vocabulary on how to have tough conversations. It was group activity and discussion based. The first was a game to give us vocabulary. Then we did 4 exercises in small groups: Identify what white privilege looks like. Trending For the Future. Then Dream Boards of what having a more black and diverse organization looks like. Scenarios of how to handle tough situations around racism. Finally we talked through OKRs - Things we could do as an organization to be more diverse and inclusive.",[14,25352,25353],{},"Here were some of the ideas on how we can contribute to change.",[46,25355,25356,25359,25362],{},[49,25357,25358],{},"Partner with HBCs & Universities to find a paid assistant who we train right out of college.",[49,25360,25361],{},"Community outreach projects\u002Fevents with a Mentor\u002Fmentee program (different race)",[49,25363,25364],{},"Dedicate a percentage of budget to things like scholarships and training programs",[14,25366,25367],{},"Every team member showed up and every team member contributed and participated.",[24,25369,25370],{"id":23873},"What's Next",[14,25372,25373],{},"Just because Black History Month is over, and George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and Trayvon Martin (and so many more) died over 6 months ago doesn't mean the work ends. As Aniko and Brené said... you spell love, T.I.M.E. We're not going to solve racism over night, but we need to keep the work going and not let up.",[14,25375,25376],{},"The most important element from Aniko and Brené's talk was about accountability. I like to say at MKG that with freedom comes accountability. This is an important word that keeps our organization in check on both sides - employee and employer.",[14,25378,25379],{},"So in taking this word to heart, I felt that coming out of Black History Month it was important to let our team mates, clients, partners, and readers know how we plan to continue our work.",[132,25381,25382,25385,25393,25396],{},[49,25383,25384],{},"Each quarter at all our All Hands we plan to carve out time to dig into one of the team's ideas and brainstorm how to make it happen, then go do it.",[49,25386,25387,25388,25392],{},"We also have been working to grow our team's diversity by finding sites like blackmarketers.org and ",[206,25389,25390],{"href":25390,"rel":25391},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.hiretechladies.com\u002F",[210],". When recruiting we look at cities with high density of diversity like Austin, Atlanta, Boston, and more. 13% of our FTEs are from the black community. We need to continue to diversify as we continue to grow.",[49,25394,25395],{},"I'm working with Kristina and her team to set up Part 2 of training for this year.",[49,25397,25398,25399,25403],{},"Continue to diversify our ",[206,25400,25402],{"href":25401},"\u002Fpodcasts\u002F","podcast",". 12% of our guests are people from the black community. I have work to do.",[14,25405,25406],{},"This is just the list we have right now. That doesn't mean once we \"check these boxes\" we stop. It means we dig in and find more and keep learning and keep going. There is work to be done.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":25408},[25409,25410,25411],{"id":25316,"depth":291,"text":25317},{"id":25332,"depth":291,"text":25333},{"id":23873,"depth":291,"text":25370},"2021-03-01","Now that Black History Month is over, it's time to reflect on what we have done thus far as an organization, and most importantly, what work we still have yet to do.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fdtl-aikobethea-websitebanner-1920x500-1.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-2021-february-dei",{"title":25289,"description":25413},"There Is Work Still To Be Done | MKG Marketing","blog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-2021-february-dei","_EIKLU9SjzHY65U_umG2fGO69NsQ2sEu89nU0ACwAmE",{"id":25422,"title":25423,"author":7,"authors":25424,"body":25425,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":25631,"description":25632,"extension":318,"img":25633,"imgAlt":7,"meta":25634,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":25635,"seo":25636,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":25637,"updated":7,"__hash__":25638},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-january-2021-1.md","View from Here: January 2021 part 2",[17174],{"type":11,"value":25426,"toc":25624},[25427,25430,25433,25436,25439,25444,25447,25450,25453,25456,25459,25462,25466,25469,25472,25475,25478,25481,25484,25487,25490,25493,25496,25499,25502,25505,25508,25512,25515,25520,25523,25526,25529,25535,25538,25550,25554,25557,25560,25563,25570,25574,25577,25580,25583,25586,25588,25590,25592,25594,25597,25601,25604,25607,25610,25618,25621],[14,25428,25429],{},"The day was January 20, 2021.\nMy friend who lives\u002Fworks in South Africa said this to me as we hopped on a Zoom call with a small group of people.",[14,25431,25432],{},"\"Congratulations my friend.\"",[14,25434,25435],{},"To be frank, I was taken back by his comment because it was out of context.",[14,25437,25438],{},"Congratulations? For what?",[24025,25440,25441],{},[14,25442,25443],{},"In all seriousness - and without advocating for one candidate over the other - I want to take a moment to congratulate my American colleagues for completing the process of electing a new leader of your country. Regardless of how you got there, you eventually elected someone. Elections are an event stamped in history that should be celebrated.",[14,25445,25446],{},"When I remembered my manners, I thanked my friend.",[14,25448,25449],{},"And then I started to marinate on the fact that we as a country have elected 46 leaders in the history of our nation.",[14,25451,25452],{},"Six in my lifetime.",[14,25454,25455],{},"If you asked me to name which President led to the best quality of life for my family, I'm not sure that I could tell you with 100% certainty.",[14,25457,25458],{},"I remember certain things being better under one leader versus another.",[14,25460,25461],{},"But I don't have an overwhelming 'a-ha!' answer where I can say that life became 10x better based on who sat in the Oval Office.",[24,25463,25465],{"id":25464},"the-only-person-you-are-destined-to-become-is-the-person-you-decide-to-be","\"The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.\"",[14,25467,25468],{},"Ralph Waldo Emerson penned the sentence above.",[14,25470,25471],{},"I fully acknowledge that barriers exist in this world.",[14,25473,25474],{},"Gender.",[14,25476,25477],{},"Nationality.",[14,25479,25480],{},"Sexual orientation.",[14,25482,25483],{},"Religious beliefs.",[14,25485,25486],{},"...just to name a few.",[14,25488,25489],{},"And I recognize my privilege in this world. There is a lot of it!",[14,25491,25492],{},"Raised middle class.",[14,25494,25495],{},"Male.",[14,25497,25498],{},"American born.",[14,25500,25501],{},"Cisgender.",[14,25503,25504],{},"That being said: I believe that Emerson's words can apply to everybody.",[14,25506,25507],{},"Ultimately, the human being you become will be influenced directly by the person you decide to be.",[24,25509,25511],{"id":25510},"to-me-its-about-living-with-intention","To me, it's about Living with Intention",[14,25513,25514],{},"During our q4 all hands company meeting, I shared my mindset with the team looking to the new year.",[24025,25516,25517],{},[14,25518,25519],{},"I want to thrive - not just survive - in 2021.",[14,25521,25522],{},"As David C Baker pointed out earlier this week, a new leader will occupy in the highest office in the land every 4 to 8 years.",[14,25524,25525],{},"Their policies will affect me personally.",[14,25527,25528],{},"But as a private citizen with a $0 lobbying budget at my disposal I can only control so much of the policy they implement beyond visiting the voting booth every 4 years.",[14,25530,25531,25532],{},"Ultimately it's up to me to ",[52,25533,25534],{},"decide who I want to become.",[14,25536,25537],{},"At the same time as I was marinating on all of the above, an amazing person and entrepreneur friend who I recently got to know better (talking about you, Madonna!) shared two questions she asks herself every single morning when she wakes up.",[24025,25539,25540,25543],{},[14,25541,25542],{},"Why am I alive today?",[14,25544,25545,25546,25549],{},"What makes today great for ",[38,25547,25548],{},"me","?",[24,25551,25553],{"id":25552},"okay-mike-this-view-from-here-is-really-taking-an-unusual-turn","Okay Mike. This view from here is really taking an unusual turn.",[14,25555,25556],{},"You are correct.",[14,25558,25559],{},"I don't normally focus so intensely on mindset, purpose and intention in this column.",[14,25561,25562],{},"Frankly, it's been a topic that was long overdue.",[14,25564,25565,25566,25569],{},"Because my own ",[38,25567,25568],{},"View from Here"," right here and right now is that it's time to move forward as a Country so that we can ALL take a swing at thriving to the best of our ability in 2021.",[24,25571,25573],{"id":25572},"regardless-of-which-candidate-you-supported","Regardless of which candidate you supported...",[14,25575,25576],{},"No matter who you voted for: congratulations on participating in the process.",[14,25578,25579],{},"As Americans, we have certain rights, privileges and abilities that others do not have on this Earth.",[14,25581,25582],{},"So take a moment to say congratulations to yourself.",[14,25584,25585],{},"I'll wait.",[14,25587,212],{},[14,25589,212],{},[14,25591,212],{},[14,25593,212],{},[14,25595,25596],{},"Great! Now that you have patted yourself on the back, let's move forward together.",[24,25598,25600],{"id":25599},"how-are-you-going-to-thrive-in-2021","How are you going to thrive in 2021?",[14,25602,25603],{},"I work hard to develop and practice an abundant mindset.",[14,25605,25606],{},"You've probably noticed a lot of statements in the plural throughout this update.",[14,25608,25609],{},"\"Let's\" or \"We\" instead of \"I\"",[24025,25611,25612],{},[14,25613,25614,25615,25617],{},"So tell me: how are ",[52,25616,11163],{}," going to thrive in 2021?",[14,25619,25620],{},"I've got a LinkedIn post collecting answers.",[14,25622,25623],{},"Let me know yours by logging on LinkedIn to get a shot of inspiration from folks in my professional network.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":25625},[25626,25627,25628,25629,25630],{"id":25464,"depth":291,"text":25465},{"id":25510,"depth":291,"text":25511},{"id":25552,"depth":291,"text":25553},{"id":25572,"depth":291,"text":25573},{"id":25599,"depth":291,"text":25600},"2021-02-02","This Month's View from Here focuses on Living with Intention. How do you plan to thrive in 2021?","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthrive-2021-mkg-marketing.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-january-2021-1",{"title":25423,"description":25632},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-january-2021-1","65nzN5EnkDHc_tcl_o2CKMVVur4Dc0ahncSE2KNNkBU",{"id":25640,"title":25641,"author":7,"authors":25642,"body":25643,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":25693,"description":25694,"extension":318,"img":25695,"imgAlt":7,"meta":25696,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":25697,"seo":25698,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":25641,"stem":25699,"updated":7,"__hash__":25700},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fhow-to-build-a-company-around-your-values.md","How To Build A Company Around Your Values",[9],{"type":11,"value":25644,"toc":25687},[25645,25649,25655,25657,25660,25663,25666,25670,25673,25677,25680],[24,25646,25648],{"id":25647},"within-us","\"Within Us\"",[14,25650,25651,25652,25654],{},"The theme for this season of Dr Jankovic's podcast is 'consciously creating your unique contribution and the life you love'.",[5778,25653],{},"\nThis season is all about the 'how-to' of starting your new venture, crafting your new offer, and consciously leveling up your life, wellbeing, and business. She interviews extraordinary female entrepreneurs who have successfully created community and\u002For can guide you with the support and inspiration that you need to turn your professional expertise and passion into a successful and profitable program, course, or business.",[24,25656,24043],{"id":24042},[14,25658,25659],{},"When people know they are valued and cared for, they go the extra mile. Without enthusiastic and dedicated people, your business goals will remain unachievable.",[14,25661,25662],{},"From large ad agencies in New York and Seattle, Kerry's experienced some harsh realities of the industry- long hours, huge budget campaigns, and more times than not, a limited scope of results. These large ad agencies weren't measuring the return on investment in the digital space. Kerry, who used to work in a crazy culture where she’s burnt out and felt replaceable, realized that the place she was in was not the life she wanted. MKG's first hire, Christian, had a family before joining; this made CEO Mike Krass and Kerry reconsider the preconception that agencies must chain their employees to their desks for 12-14 hours a day. The result of these long hours is consistent, quick burnout, turnover where employees would last a maximum of two years at any one agency.",[14,25664,25665],{},"As a 100% remote firm, MKG was founded on the idea of \"people first\" - no commutes, weekends off, 20 vacation days, unlimited sick days, and flexibility, especially in regards to families. In addition, limiting client contact to normal business hours so that they don't set a dangerous precedent and take advantage of you.",[24,25667,25669],{"id":25668},"no-one-is-an-island","No-one Is An Island",[14,25671,25672],{},"One of the most important mantras we have at MKG is \"no-one is an island\". By having constant contact via Zoom chat rooms, we're able to stay in touch with anyone at MKG and rely on their expertise when stuck. Not only does it create a support network, but it also helps maintain accountability. Kerry insists that planned breaks help divide up the potential monotony or insane crunch; \"do some things just for you throughout the day, whether taking walks or listening to podcasts.\" Leading with empathy has allowed MKG to propel forward and bring in new perspectives.",[24,25674,25676],{"id":25675},"stay-true-to-your-roots","Stay True to Your Roots",[14,25678,25679],{},"Kerry discussed how staying in one industry, specifically generating demand for B2B technology companies, has allowed them to build experience and strengthen the MKG brand. While they've adjusted the specific aims (the results they seek) during the first years, Kerry and Mike have maintained the core reason for why they started the company; this is crucial to scaling the firm beyond the infant stages. It's necessary to seek resources to learn from other entrepreneurs, their success and failures, and how to build a firm from the ground up. Utilizing a network goes beyond just the beginning, YEC and other associations create connections and stay inspired.",[14,25681,25682],{},[206,25683,25686],{"href":25684,"rel":25685},"https:\u002F\u002Fanchor.fm\u002Fwithinus\u002Fepisodes\u002FEP-61-How-To-Build-A-Company-Around-Your-Values-with-Kerry-Guard-eotemt",[210],"Listen to the full episode here",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":25688},[25689,25690,25691,25692],{"id":25647,"depth":291,"text":25648},{"id":24042,"depth":291,"text":24043},{"id":25668,"depth":291,"text":25669},{"id":25675,"depth":291,"text":25676},"2021-01-29","Our COO Kerry joined Dr. Jankovic on her podcast, \"Within Us\", to discuss building a values-driven company. They also talk about why you should always put your people first!","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002F4f5803dd-c64d-4093-b5a8-a80e7e4599a4.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fhow-to-build-a-company-around-your-values",{"title":25641,"description":25694},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fhow-to-build-a-company-around-your-values","kQHGjPQIol3kMt4xlVf6cps-UzSSCvvs6ixUCjZvqM8",{"id":25702,"title":25703,"author":7,"authors":25704,"body":25705,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":25818,"description":25819,"extension":318,"img":25714,"imgAlt":7,"meta":25820,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":25821,"seo":25822,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":25823,"updated":7,"__hash__":25824},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-january-2021.md","View from Here - January 2021",[17174],{"type":11,"value":25706,"toc":25816},[25707,25710,25715,25722,25725,25728,25745,25748,25759,25764,25770,25773,25808,25813],[14,25708,25709],{},"The clock has struck (and passed!) midnight on the 2020 calendar year.\nAside from the flood of \"goodbye 2020\" posts I saw on blogs, Instagram, etc I know it's officially 2021 when I have to change out the cat calendar in my office.",[14,25711,25712],{},[75,25713],{"alt":77,"src":25714},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fcat-calendar-2021.webp",[14,25716,25717,25718,25721],{},"Because the Internet is filled with Petabytes of commentary on last year, along with the fact that I like to look where I'm trying to go (forward) more than in the review mirror, I'm going to choose ",[52,25719,25720],{},"NOT"," to publish an in-depth analysis of 2020 in this monthly View From Here post.",[14,25723,25724],{},"That being said, I will use an event from December to get this View from Here post moving.",[14,25726,25727],{},"At the conclusion of last year we held our Q4 quarterly all hands meeting. We follow a quarterly meeting rhythm to ensure we get together every 90 days or so in order to talk through things such as:",[46,25729,25730,25733,25736,25739,25742],{},[49,25731,25732],{},"Quarterly company rocks and the progress to reaching them",[49,25734,25735],{},"Setting upcoming quarterly rocks",[49,25737,25738],{},"Discussing the financial health of the business",[49,25740,25741],{},"Introducing new team members, inclusive of asking them an ice breaker question to get to know them better",[49,25743,25744],{},"and more!",[14,25746,25747],{},"Last but not least: the meeting always ends with a Q&A session between the team and the Founders.",[14,25749,25750,25751,25754,25755,25758],{},"And in one of my answers during that session I mentioned that in 2021 I want to not ",[38,25752,25753],{},"just"," survive the global pandemic, economic downturn and other negative world events. I want to ",[38,25756,25757],{},"thrive"," in 2021.",[24025,25760,25761],{},[14,25762,25763],{},"I want to thrive in 2021. In whatever form that takes.",[14,25765,25766,25767],{},"On the heels of that comment, I invited anyone else who wanted to thrive to join me. Again, ",[38,25768,25769],{},"in whatever form that takes.",[14,25771,25772],{},"What I didn't do a great job of mentioning during the All Hands meeting was how this might manifest itself for myself here in 2021. Thriving, to me, looks like:",[132,25774,25775,25778,25787,25794,25797,25805],{},[49,25776,25777],{},"As if it wasn't already, the rationale of \"...well that is the way it's always been done\" is dead to me now. I need to act accordingly. Especially when that involves questioning my own reasons for doing things.",[49,25779,25780,25781,25786],{},"Be impeccable with my word. Don Miguel Ruiz said this in his book ",[206,25782,25785],{"href":25783,"rel":25784},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.goodreads.com\u002Fquotes\u002F71463-1-be-impeccable-with-your-word-speak-with-integrity-say",[210],"The Four Agreements",". This is especially important to me here in 2021.",[49,25788,25789,25790,25793],{},"Read ",[38,25791,25792],{},"even more"," from a diverse set of authors, topics. In particular, I want to read things from people\u002Fpositions that I do not particularly agree with all (or any!) of the time in order to seek to understand where their opinions, experiences or actions may be coming from.",[49,25795,25796],{},"Own my attitude. I can't control exactly what is happening around\u002Fto me, but I can control my reaction to that which happens around me. My attitude is the one thing that I 100% own at my core. I will own it in 2021.",[49,25798,25799,25800,212],{},"Focus my energy on things that are both meaningful and urgent. I'd like to wire my brain to evaluate decisions using the ",[206,25801,25804],{"href":25802,"rel":25803},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fsearch?q=eisenhower+decision+matrix",[210],"Eisenhower Matrix created by Dwight D Eisenhower, President of the United States",[49,25806,25807],{},"Set higher standards for myself. Thriving to me means getting better every single day. That begins with setting higher standards for my own work, behavior, actions and presence in the community. I'd like to invite others to 'raise their game' as well at work, personal, community in order to act as informal accountability partners.",[14,25809,25810],{},[52,25811,25812],{},"Do you want to thrive in 2021?",[14,25814,25815],{},"If so, drop us a note on social media letting us know so we can be accountability buddies together!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":25817},[],"2021-01-05","Sprinting into 2021 with the First View From Here Post from CEO Mike Krass",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-january-2021",{"title":25703,"description":25819},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-january-2021","PHw2MZl5GWAhBYd5U-gMGEHzIkt_XQhaYv2phn50e4s",{"id":25826,"title":25827,"author":7,"authors":25828,"body":25829,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":25885,"description":25886,"extension":318,"img":25887,"imgAlt":7,"meta":25888,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":25889,"seo":25890,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":25827,"stem":25891,"updated":7,"__hash__":25892},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-december-2020.md","View from Here - December 2020",[17174],{"type":11,"value":25830,"toc":25883},[25831,25839,25842,25845,25848,25851,25854,25871,25874,25877,25880],[14,25832,25833,25834,25838],{},"Like the ",[206,25835,25837],{"href":25836},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-november-2020\u002F","previous monthly view from here post",", we wanted to take a moment to focus in on one individual team member: Christian.",[14,25840,25841],{},"Christian was the first MKG-unit (AnDrae's word!) to join the team outside of Kerry and I over 8 years ago.",[14,25843,25844],{},"Initially on a part time basis and then, over time, transitioning to a full time position here at MKG.",[14,25846,25847],{},"So it's with great sadness (and excitement) to share that last month Christian parted ways with MKG to embark on a new professional venture.",[14,25849,25850],{},"During the past decade or so, we made so many memories working with Christian. This made me reflect on some of those stories that we shared parts in during that time.",[14,25852,25853],{},"A few that came to mind were when...",[132,25855,25856,25859,25862,25865,25868],{},[49,25857,25858],{},"Day trip to Las Vegas, where we pitched MKG's digital marketing services in the top floor of a historic Vegas hotel",[49,25860,25861],{},"Taking calls with clients in creative places such as airports, on Caltrain as well as tucked away in kids bedrooms",[49,25863,25864],{},"Having hour-long stand up meetings back when it was just 3 of us and we could get away with spending that much time on a stand up :)",[49,25866,25867],{},"Bringing great people to MKG such as Adam (twice!) and Jessica in the early days of the agency",[49,25869,25870],{},"Scouring each city we travelled to for work trips for their top-rated, cheapest Indian food buffets",[14,25872,25873],{},"These are just a few (of many) stories that come to mind as Christian winds his time down here at MKG.",[14,25875,25876],{},"I'll be forever grateful for all the memories, projects, customers and friends we have made together over the past 8 years.",[14,25878,25879],{},"And I'm looking forward to seeing Christian do great things in his new role.",[14,25881,25882],{},"Please join us in wishing Christian an amazing new start to the next professional venture in his life!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":25884},[],"2020-12-02","Christian Bullock, Our First Employee, Departs MKG for a New Professional Venture.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fyvr-mkg.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-december-2020",{"title":25827,"description":25886},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-december-2020","uAmRJBZVPqNQmoQ8-zSTZ7C8D-iQJGGOOAWdfU8jtOE",{"id":25894,"title":25895,"author":7,"authors":25896,"body":25897,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":25910,"description":25911,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":25912,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":25913,"seo":25914,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":25915,"updated":7,"__hash__":25916},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-november-2020.md","View from Here - November 2020",[17174],{"type":11,"value":25898,"toc":25908},[25899],[16784,25900],{"src":25901,"width":25902,"height":25903,"style":25904,"scrolling":25905,"frameBorder":16790,"allowTransparency":25906,"allow":25907,"allowFullScreen":25906},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002Fplugins\u002Fvideo.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fmkgmarketinginc%2Fvideos%2F366923424727592%2F&show_text=1",640,480,"border:none;overflow:hidden","no","true","encrypted-media",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":25909},[],"2020-11-04","One really big, exciting piece of news to share!",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-november-2020",{"title":25895,"description":25911},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-november-2020","Tw4nbS8lZheub7mLEEVN2mfPabGaMZVuZzY35HD2EBY",{"id":25918,"title":25919,"author":7,"authors":25920,"body":25921,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":26261,"description":26262,"extension":318,"img":26263,"imgAlt":7,"meta":26264,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":26265,"seo":26266,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":26267,"updated":7,"__hash__":26268},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-september-2020.md","View From Here - September 2020",[9],{"type":11,"value":25922,"toc":26249},[25923,25928,25931,25934,25938,25942,25951,25957,25962,25965,25968,25971,25990,25993,25999,26016,26022,26039,26043,26057,26072,26075,26078,26098,26102,26105,26108,26117,26120,26143,26146,26163,26167,26170,26181,26184,26191,26194,26197,26214,26217,26228,26232,26235,26238,26244],[24025,25924,25925],{},[14,25926,25927],{},"Vulnerability is not winning or losing. It's having the courage to show up when you can't control the outcome.\n~ Brené Brown",[14,25929,25930],{},"Hi there. I’m Kerry Guard, COO of MKG and I have commandeered this month’s View From Here, because my view is pretty sweet (see hero image)… and also because I’m head of HR. September was an HR focused month from our Annual Summit, which focused on our People First Value, to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training.",[14,25932,25933],{},"First, let's break down our Annual Summit and how we grew closer as a team as we further understood our People First value and more importantly... each other.",[24,25935,25937],{"id":25936},"_2020-virtual-summit","2020 Virtual Summit",[81,25939,25941],{"id":25940},"day-1-mri-icebreaker","Day 1: MRI Icebreaker",[14,25943,25944,25945,25950],{},"We always open up our event with a team bonding icebreaker. This year, we partnered with ",[206,25946,25949],{"href":25947,"rel":25948},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.joyofprofessionallearning.org\u002F",[210],"Joy of Professional Learning"," (Joy of PL) where we took a deep dive on MRI - Most Respectful Interpretation.",[14,25952,25953,25956],{},[206,25954,23663],{"href":23661,"rel":25955},[210]," from Joy of PL opened up the event with a photo walk. We sent each person a Funk Pop figure from their favorite movie. Each team member used the figure to show the space they're working in.",[14,25958,25959],{},[75,25960],{"alt":77,"src":25961},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002F72d40531-8bd1-46c5-9a4b-0da81f17b079.webp",[14,25963,25964],{},"Because we don't physically work together this breaks down the walls and gives a glimpse into our lives and spaces.",[14,25966,25967],{},"We then did a gallery walk where as individuals we walked through the photos and answered What do you see? What do we think? What do we wonder? about each image. We then did a speed dating round where we had to guess which images belonged to each person and talk about what we saw, thought, and wondered about learning more about each other on a personal level.",[14,25969,25970],{},"Throughout Kurt showed us three videos that demonstrated MRI and how we have more in common with each other than we could know.",[132,25972,25973,25980,25987],{},[49,25974,25975],{},[206,25976,25979],{"href":25977,"rel":25978},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=UarM4sJDDp0&feature=youtu.be",[210],"Fact Check: Disproving Your Assumptions",[49,25981,25982],{},[206,25983,25986],{"href":25984,"rel":25985},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=8WlY5TXv9Ng",[210],"All That We Share (FR)",[49,25988,25989],{},"All That We Share - Connected",[14,25991,25992],{},"After two hours we ended with a final small group exercise around what we thought about MRI before the icebreaker and what we think now.",[14,25994,25995,25996,25998],{},"What people thought about People First ",[52,25997,2887],{}," joining MKG:",[46,26000,26001,26004,26007,26010,26013],{},[49,26002,26003],{},"People first was too general of a label",[49,26005,26006],{},"Skills were more important than values",[49,26008,26009],{},"I had to do things perfectly",[49,26011,26012],{},"People First\u002FMKG values were performative",[49,26014,26015],{},"Company values were something on paper but that didn’t really mean a ton",[14,26017,26018,26019,6109],{},"What they thought ",[52,26020,26021],{},"after",[46,26023,26024,26027,26030,26033,26036],{},[49,26025,26026],{},"People first brings out better work",[49,26028,26029],{},"Values are more important than skills",[49,26031,26032],{},"A company can have core ethical values and still meet bottom lines",[49,26034,26035],{},"We really do care about each other as people\u002Fcoworkers\u002FHUMANS",[49,26037,26038],{},"Everyone is always learning & that is encouraged. Everyone is always respected.",[81,26040,26042],{"id":26041},"day-2-people-first-in-action","Day 2: People First In Action",[14,26044,26045,26050,26051,26056],{},[206,26046,26049],{"href":26047,"rel":26048},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fmaurinaventurelli\u002F",[210],"Maurina Venturelli"," joined me on Tea Time With Tech Marketing Leaders. She brought along her leadership coach ",[206,26052,26055],{"href":26053,"rel":26054},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fkate-morse-gigax-5442771\u002F",[210],"Kate Gigax"," and shared Maurina's journey to leading her team members by treating them as individuals and leading the whole person, which is why I had her join for Day 2. It was important to show our company how other teams' run with similar values.",[14,26058,26059,26060,26065,26066,26071],{},"Maurina Venturelli and her co-worker ",[206,26061,26064],{"href":26062,"rel":26063},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fshannon-miller-2818b13\u002F",[210],"Shannon Miller"," from the Demand Gen team at ",[206,26067,26070],{"href":26068,"rel":26069},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sumologic.com\u002F",[210],"SumoLogic"," discussed how they run their team with empathy. We had a lovely conversation around what empathy is and how it's practiced at SumoLogic and how we incorporate it here at MKG. It was important to demonstrate how People First works outside MKG and how other companies are leading their teams with this mentality and even better, how it's leading to real results.",[14,26073,26074],{},"By leading with empathy, Maurina and her team have built such trust of one another that they can complete the work of 3 teams, have work\u002Flife balance, and crush their KPIs every quarter.",[14,26076,26077],{},"At the end of the conversation I asked the team to write a headline for the conversation we just had. Here were a few examples of what people came up with:",[46,26079,26080,26083,26086,26089,26092,26095],{},[49,26081,26082],{},"Lead With Empathy",[49,26084,26085],{},"Lead the whole person",[49,26087,26088],{},"Empower Through Empathy",[49,26090,26091],{},"\"Be the you'est of you's\"",[49,26093,26094],{},"There's Crying in Business",[49,26096,26097],{},"If you're offered a ride on a rocket ship...Just get on, don't ask what seat",[81,26099,26101],{"id":26100},"day-3-presentations-retro","Day 3: Presentations & Retro",[14,26103,26104],{},"Day three was ACTION packed! So hang on to your hats.",[14,26106,26107],{},"First we had each person present a three minute presentation. They pitched what they would do if they were CEO for a day. There were amazing ideas, from new roles they'd create, to how they'd improve the process, to the structure of the organization, to pro-bono ideas, even buying an island and building a village just for the team! We certainly are looking at how to make a few of these ideas come to life.",[14,26109,26110,26111,26116],{},"Next we went through an exercise where we broke into small groups and reflected on the last three days. First, each person reviewed their ",[206,26112,26115],{"href":26113,"rel":26114},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.crystalknows.com\u002F",[210],"Crystal Profiles"," as well as the people they were meeting with. This gave everyone a chance to level set with who they were meeting with. Then they walked through \"What themes did you see?\" \"What do you think about those theme?\" and \"What do you wonder?\" when it comes to the last three days.",[14,26118,26119],{},"Here are some of the themes the team identified:",[46,26121,26122,26125,26128,26131,26134,26137,26140],{},[49,26123,26124],{},"Individuality being a strength",[49,26126,26127],{},"Consider the \"whole person\" - not just their work life",[49,26129,26130],{},"Don't make assumptions",[49,26132,26133],{},"How does peoplefirst work with our clients?",[49,26135,26136],{},"Work life balance",[49,26138,26139],{},"Greater good",[49,26141,26142],{},"Collaborate more",[14,26144,26145],{},"To close out our retrospective, we each made a commitment. Something we took away from the events that we would bring back with us and use often, if not everyday. Here were a few commitments:",[46,26147,26148,26151,26154,26157,26160],{},[49,26149,26150],{},"MRI and not assuming things about work\u002Fother but trying to think about what's going on with someone",[49,26152,26153],{},"Check-in with my fellow MKG-ers more often",[49,26155,26156],{},"Think about other people's circumstances. Communicate to and with them.",[49,26158,26159],{},"Seek to understand, not to be right.",[49,26161,26162],{},"Make sure we implement. Execute, execute, execute on all these good things!",[81,26164,26166],{"id":26165},"recap-and-next-steps","Recap and Next Steps",[14,26168,26169],{},"My commitment to the team was to unravel all their amazing work in these few days and create a punch list of next steps ensuring we take action on all our ideas. Here's a short list:",[46,26171,26172,26175,26178],{},[49,26173,26174],{},"Add the Annual Summit Resources section of Knowledge Base",[49,26176,26177],{},"Update website with new team headshots and group images \u003C Oh yeah, we hired photographers in each location... wait until you see these gems!",[49,26179,26180],{},"Look at the Keys to the Castle ideas and see which one or two we could implement in 2021",[24,26182,25346],{"id":26183},"unpackingco",[14,26185,26186,26187,26190],{},"Also in September we had a company called ",[206,26188,25346],{"href":25344,"rel":26189},[210]," spend four hours with us to start our journey towards taking action towards diversity, equity and inclusion as an organization.",[14,26192,26193],{},"First Kristina played a game of vocabulary. Using a \"Jackbox Games\" type platform she asked multiple choice to see what words we understood and which ones we didn't. This was great in terms of giving us the right words when talking about this subject.",[14,26195,26196],{},"Next, we went through 4-5 different small group exercises. We completed each in a breakout room, then came back together and had a spokesperson talk about what was discussed.",[132,26198,26199,26202,26205,26208,26211],{},[49,26200,26201],{},"Identified white privilege - what resonated with us, what changed vs what hasn't and what might change in the future.",[49,26203,26204],{},"We discussed trends that will grow over time, collapse, constrain and transform.",[49,26206,26207],{},"We created boards to showcase our ideal future of diversity and inclusion.",[49,26209,26210],{},"Walked through a scenario where we're faced with racism and how we'd handle it",[49,26212,26213],{},"Finally, before the event we had to fill in a board - Curiosities, Questions, Healings, and Tensions. In the final exercise in small groups we picked on comment and unpacked it stating the measurable goal and what actions we could take to bring the thought to life.",[81,26215,26216],{"id":23361},"Next steps",[46,26218,26219,26222,26225],{},[49,26220,26221],{},"Potentially complete the next round of training with unpacking.co",[49,26223,26224],{},"Identify holes in the training and find outside resources to support further education around diversity and inclusion",[49,26226,26227],{},"Continue to unpack the teams questions creating OKRs and Actions on a regular basis.",[24,26229,26231],{"id":26230},"looking-forward","Looking Forward",[14,26233,26234],{},"2021 is going to be busy in starting to implement these amazing ideas.",[14,26236,26237],{},"There's still a whole quarter left in 2020 and we're not going to just wait around. We'll certainly start laying groundwork for these action items. We'll be sure to give you an update for our October View From Here. Stay tuned!",[14,26239,26240,26241,26243],{},"In the meantime, season 5 of ",[206,26242,24179],{"href":23528}," dropped. Be sure to check it out!",[16784,26245],{"width":26246,"height":26247,"src":26248,"frameBorder":16790,"allowFullScreen":322},"100%","auto","https:\u002F\u002Fanchor.fm\u002Fmkg-marketing\u002Fembed\u002Fepisodes\u002F34-Anna-Hrach---Debunking-Content-Myths-ekrcm0",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":26250},[26251,26257,26260],{"id":25936,"depth":291,"text":25937,"children":26252},[26253,26254,26255,26256],{"id":25940,"depth":297,"text":25941},{"id":26041,"depth":297,"text":26042},{"id":26100,"depth":297,"text":26101},{"id":26165,"depth":297,"text":26166},{"id":26183,"depth":291,"text":25346,"children":26258},[26259],{"id":23361,"depth":297,"text":26216},{"id":26230,"depth":291,"text":26231},"2020-10-16","Last month we had our annual summit. While we were sad it was virtual, we stillshowed up, participated, and learned about our PeopleFirst value and each other.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fview-from-here-september-2020-herojpg.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-september-2020",{"title":25919,"description":26262},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-september-2020","2a0yfpcSA9OJYOJyl-u5W1Ow8SD-fcsjPfwW-WqbaT4",{"id":26270,"title":26271,"author":7,"authors":26272,"body":26273,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":26447,"description":77,"extension":318,"img":26448,"imgAlt":7,"meta":26449,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":26450,"seo":26451,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":26271,"stem":26452,"updated":7,"__hash__":26453},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-august-2020.md","View from Here - August 2020",[17174],{"type":11,"value":26274,"toc":26440},[26275,26281,26286,26293,26296,26303,26308,26311,26314,26317,26321,26324,26327,26334,26337,26340,26343,26346,26352,26355,26359,26362,26365,26370,26377,26386,26390,26393,26399,26407,26410,26413,26418,26422,26425,26432,26435],[24025,26276,26277],{},[24,26278,26280],{"id":26279},"the-way-to-get-started-is-to-quit-talking-and-begin-doing-walt-disney","\"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing\" - Walt Disney",[24025,26282,26283],{},[14,26284,26285],{},"Throughout the course of these monthly updates, my view has a habit of changing.",[14,26287,26288,26289,26292],{},"Sometime it's more a figure of speech. This is the ",[38,26290,26291],{},"mental"," view from here.",[14,26294,26295],{},"Other times it's a literal change of what I'm seeing or experiencing.",[14,26297,26298,26299,26302],{},"This update is a little more ",[38,26300,26301],{},"on the nose."," It's pretty literal. I changed my view.",[14,26304,26305],{},[75,26306],{"alt":77,"src":26307},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fview-from-here-sunset-cruise.webp",[14,26309,26310],{},"Last month I changed my view from warm, humid New Orleans - where I've been spending nearly every day since Covid-19 came to America - to this view from a lake cabin that's been in my family for years.",[14,26312,26313],{},"For eight days I had the pleasure of recharging my exhausted brain.",[14,26315,26316],{},"While I kept putting this off (\"I just took time off 3 months ago. Why go again?\") the more brainpower I put behind it the more I realized I needed to take Walt Disney's advice.",[24,26318,26320],{"id":26319},"the-way-to-get-started-is-to-quit-talking-and-begin-doing","\"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing\"",[14,26322,26323],{},"During that time I forgot that Coronavirus existed. There's no need for a mask when you are the only person around!",[14,26325,26326],{},"I remember building the shed in the backyard at the cabin with my Uncle Don. \"Building\", in air quotes, because I mainly passed him tools and watched as he took the shed from nothing to a functional shed to house boat motors, lawn mowers, rafts, and more.",[14,26328,26329,26330,26333],{},"I twirled my wedding band on my ring finger while staring out at the lake. the wedding band that I wear belonged to my grandfather who is my namesake and who brought this family cabin into our family. It very much felt like a homecoming for that band as the cabin was his ",[38,26331,26332],{},"favorite"," place on earth.",[14,26335,26336],{},"And as I reflected more, I realized how special this view was at this exact moment in time because it represented a big 'off' button.",[14,26338,26339],{},"I wasn't checking my phone or email all day. Nor was anyone else (nobody was there!)",[14,26341,26342],{},"Because no one else was checking their devices in front of me, I didn't feel like I was splitting mental time with whatever was on their screen.",[14,26344,26345],{},"This gave me 8 days of mental calm.",[14,26347,26348,26349],{},"So for those reading this who think you can't possibly take a day off from life, work or anything else right now: ",[38,26350,26351],{},"know that you can. And your brain will thank you for it.",[14,26353,26354],{},"As I transition from this glorious lake view, there are two specific announcements that I'm thrilled to be making in this update.",[24,26356,26358],{"id":26357},"same-face-new-role","Same Face \u002F New Role!",[14,26360,26361],{},"We are proud to announce that Jenna is advancing into the role of Managing Director here at the agency.",[14,26363,26364],{},"Wewt!",[14,26366,26367],{},[75,26368],{"alt":77,"src":26369},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fjenna-managing-director.webp",[14,26371,26372,26373,26376],{},"Jenna has ",[38,26374,26375],{},"earned"," this opportunity through all her hard and thoughtful work here at MKG. Speaking for myself, I'm really excited to see her step into this role.",[14,26378,26379,26380,26385],{},"Please take a moment to ",[206,26381,26384],{"href":26382,"rel":26383},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Ffeed\u002Fupdate\u002Furn:li:activity:6696066765643898880\u002F",[210],"congratulate her on LinkedIn."," As digital marketers we are well aware that social media usage is up during these Covid times so give her a digital 'hell ya!' since you are already on LinkedIn anyways :)",[24,26387,26389],{"id":26388},"new-faces-jessyca-and-sam","New Faces: Jessyca and Sam",[14,26391,26392],{},"Along with Jenna's exciting news, we have two new faces who joined the team in the past 90 days.",[14,26394,26395,26398],{},[206,26396,26397],{"href":23510},"Samantha Ellsworth, or Sam"," as she goes by, joins us from the great state of Vermont as one of our Account Directors. Outside of work...",[46,26400,26401,26404],{},[49,26402,26403],{},"Sam spends her time with her husband, 4-year-old daughter and chocolate lab exploring Vermont and all it has to offer",[49,26405,26406],{},"This includes hiking, skiing and enjoying all the local food to growing their backyard garden",[14,26408,26409],{},"Jessyca Sulfsted arrived at MKG by way of another agency. A native New Orleanian who still calls New Orleans home, Jessyca brings years of experience to the table across PPC, SEO and Analytics. In her free time she enjoys the food, music, and culture that New Orleans constantly provides; Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, and Saints games just to name a few.",[14,26411,26412],{},"Please join me in giving both Sam and Jessyca an internet high five for joining MKG :)",[14,26414,26415],{},[75,26416],{"alt":77,"src":26417},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Finternet-high-five.webp",[24,26419,26421],{"id":26420},"thats-a-wrap-for-august","That's a wrap for August!",[14,26423,26424],{},"Between updates, make sure to check out the latest podcast episodes that Kerry is putting out.",[14,26426,26427,26428],{},"You can find those here: ",[206,26429,26430],{"href":26430,"rel":26431},"https:\u002F\u002Fanchor.fm\u002Fmkg-marketing",[210],[14,26433,26434],{},"Pro tip: the new episode where Klyn Elsbury talks about Neurology & Unconscious Motivators is pretty awesome! You can actually play it by mashing the 'play' button below.",[16784,26436],{"src":26437,"height":26438,"width":26439,"frameBorder":16790,"scrolling":25905},"https:\u002F\u002Fanchor.fm\u002Fmkg-marketing\u002Fembed\u002Fepisodes\u002F32-Klyn-Elsbury---Digital-Marketing-Meets-Neurology--Unconscious-Motivators-eifu4r\u002Fa-a30nvua","102px","400px",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":26441},[26442,26443,26444,26445,26446],{"id":26279,"depth":291,"text":26280},{"id":26319,"depth":291,"text":26320},{"id":26357,"depth":291,"text":26358},{"id":26388,"depth":291,"text":26389},{"id":26420,"depth":291,"text":26421},"2020-09-01","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fview-from-here-august-2020.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-august-2020",{"title":26271,"description":77},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-august-2020","OrxwbEbmP42BTHSgCCuthrAB76y0nRbSReYDi5yPkVI",{"id":26455,"title":26456,"author":7,"authors":26457,"body":26459,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":26589,"description":26590,"extension":318,"img":26591,"imgAlt":7,"meta":26592,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":26593,"seo":26594,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":26595,"stem":26596,"updated":7,"__hash__":26597},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Ftop-trends-tips-takeaways-digital-summit-at-home-mozcon.md","Top Trends, Tips, & Takeaways - Digital Summit At Home & MozCon",[26458],"Jenna Hasenkampf",{"type":11,"value":26460,"toc":26570},[26461,26474,26478,26486,26489,26493,26496,26499,26503,26506,26514,26517,26524,26528,26531,26535,26538,26542,26545,26549,26553,26556,26560,26563,26567],[14,26462,26463,26464,2504,26469,212],{},"Attending conferences has gotten much more accessible due to going digital during Covid-19, so the MKG team has signed on for quite a few to promote innovation, inspiration, and professional development. After each conference, the attendee comes to the team weekly retrospective to share their top takeaways and we’ll be sharing them on our blog as well. Most recently we had Jenna Hasenkampf, Nathan Stenberg, and Jessyca Sulfsted attend ",[206,26465,26468],{"href":26466,"rel":26467},"https:\u002F\u002Fmoz.com\u002Fmozcon",[210],"MozCon",[206,26470,26473],{"href":26471,"rel":26472},"https:\u002F\u002Fathome2.digitalsummit.com\u002F",[210],"Digital Summit at Home",[24,26475,26477],{"id":26476},"jenna-hasenkampfs-top-three-digital-summit-takeaways","Jenna Hasenkampf’s Top Three Digital Summit Takeaways",[81,26479,13585,26481],{"id":26480},"_1-headline-analyzer",[206,26482,26485],{"href":26483,"rel":26484},"https:\u002F\u002Fcoschedule.com\u002Fheadline-analyzer",[210],"Headline Analyzer",[14,26487,26488],{},"A nifty free tool for headlines (and paid search) that provides an analysis of how effective a headline is written based on word use. I thought this was a really easy way to gut-check some of your most important real estate for pretty much anything you’re writing. I also really like that they include a snapshot of what your headline looks like a google search result, that’s something I’ve had a lot of our clients ask about because it’s not always something people are used to envisioning.",[81,26490,26492],{"id":26491},"_2-culture-needs-to-be-intentional-and-not-left-to-chance-including-projections-that-provide-a-guide-and-accountability","2. Culture needs to be intentional and not left to chance, including projections that provide a guide and accountability.",[14,26494,26495],{},"Cherise Bernard from Spotify presented a session on “Winning at Culture: Practical Strategies for Employee Advocacy in the Workplace” and it was really informative and inspiring. There was a lot of really actionable advice and direction she gave and she also took the time to answer specific attendee questions which took actionability one step further for us. Marketing agencies talk about culture A LOT and in the last few years there’s been some great conversations challenging culture in marketing agencies and the fact that it tends to be such a white space. I thought Cherise’s point about culture needing to be intentional and planned out makes a lot of sense. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say “would you want to have a beer with them” around hiring\u002Finterviewing and there’s very little that translates to value on your team from that kind of thinking. That’s a nice factor of working for a remote agency, we’re much more concerned about your skills and gif game vs your “have a beer” rating.",[14,26497,26498],{},"I also really liked her recommendation around projections for team and agency culture. Projections are a regular part of our every day in marketing, but I hadn’t heard of anyone using them the way that Cherise is, with putting goals and projections into HR\u002FCulture areas and the importance of being able to have a plan and set expectations. She’s definitely a speaker I would love to see again.",[81,26500,26502],{"id":26501},"_3-seth-godin-my-new-marketing-hero","3. Seth Godin = My New Marketing Hero",[14,26504,26505],{},"I was completely unaware of Seth Godin before coming to the conference and now I have a new marketing hero. There’s so much that I could share that struck a chord with me from his Q&A session, but I’m going to stick to just one take away and that was his overview of the difference between B2B and B2C as clients:",[46,26507,26508,26511],{},[49,26509,26510],{},"B2C = Consumers are spending their own money, the only person they need to answer to is themself",[49,26512,26513],{},"B2B = Most likely, your client has leadership to answer to and they need to be able to tell their managers or c-suite why they’re spending the money. For us this means they need a strong story and if they tell you they need you to decrease your proposal, it means you haven't given them a strong enough story.",[14,26515,26516],{},"We focus on delivering results through data for our clients, but it’s also so important to make their job easier by also providing a clear story of what, why, and how.",[24,26518,26520,26523],{"id":26519},"nathan-stenbergs-top-three-mozcon-takeaways",[206,26521,26522],{"href":23114},"Nathan Stenberg’s"," Top Three Mozcon Takeaways",[81,26525,26527],{"id":26526},"_1-the-industry-is-heading-towards-ai-and-machine-learning-to-make-seo-research-more-efficient","1. The Industry Is Heading Towards AI and Machine Learning to Make SEO Research More Efficient",[14,26529,26530],{},"Where things are heading for SEO and tools is that we’ll be able to pull data from multiple sources to get the big picture of what we’re trying to achieve. Using API from multiple tools so it’s a more effective process pulling data in from all of these different sources and make things much more efficient and full picture based on machine learning. So much power in this and think this is where the expert SEO’r is going to need to be.",[81,26532,26534],{"id":26533},"_2-content-promotion-a-fancy-approach-to-backlinks","2. Content Promotion - A Fancy Approach To Backlinks",[14,26536,26537],{},"Brian Dean from “Backlinko”, the master of backlinks presented on this and it’s about the rebranding of backlinks. Through framing backlinks through “content promotion” it becomes not just about the backlink, but about how to get your content out there. Backlinks are fundamental to the SEO game and this is about getting the client onboard and helping them understand that SEO success is not just specifically driven about creating great content and optimizing the website, but how you’re going to promote the content. We have to think about how to get your content out there and then if it’s good quality content, sharable content, the backlinks will come.",[81,26539,26541],{"id":26540},"_3-seos-are-scrambling-to-get-the-best-job-done-with-limited-time-izzi-smith","3. \"SEO's are scrambling to get the best job done with limited time\" - Izzi Smith",[14,26543,26544],{},"As marketing budgets get cut and people try to streamline their internal teams as positions get eliminated, MKG has experienced team growth in the last couple of quarters so this is a point of differentiation for MKG as a company. We’ve got expert level time to be able to invest for clients rather than trying to squeeze in more work with fewer people.",[24,26546,26548],{"id":26547},"jessyca-sulfsteds-top-three-mozcon-takeaways","Jessyca Sulfsted’s Top Three Mozcon Takeaways",[81,26550,26552],{"id":26551},"_1-customer-experience-is-key","1. Customer Experience is Key",[14,26554,26555],{},"It’s a term that’s overused, and as an agency we know to put our “client hat” on, but sometimes we need to do a better job of putting our “customer hat” on and even may need to remind clients this as well. This means for us, looking at the environment that our deliverables are going to live in. What does that ad look like live and what’s around it? It can be really crowded in search results now, so is our paid ad compelling enough to cut through this noise? Taking it further to also use Google’s search intent, such as local results or “people also ask”. What people are really looking for and the language that they’re using for. An important component for this is also the landing page experience that we’re bringing people to. It’s not something that MKG owns, but ultimately it can make or break a successful campaign. So asking ourselves how to work with clients to impact this or help them understand that once we drive people to their page, the page has to be able to deliver against the goals of the customer. Instagram is a great example too, it’s a mobile-only app so if you’re running ads on it your landing page HAS to be strong for mobile and a lot of clients are still adjusting to the idea of “mobile-first” website design.",[81,26557,26559],{"id":26558},"_2-know-how-to-speak-cmoc-suite","2. Know How To Speak CMO\u002FC-Suite",[14,26561,26562],{},"When budgets are being cut, CMOs are frequently one of the first to go which means as an agency we lose that contact that speaks our language so it’s imperative that we know how to speak to their CEO\u002FC-Suite. These CEO\u002FC-Suite roles are often more focused on budget and performance relating to revenue rather than awareness or higher up funnel efforts or even the marketing funnel period. If we’re doing all three of our services (PPC\u002FSEO\u002FAnalytics), how can we support the different efforts together to highlight efficiencies and make our efforts work harder together?",[81,26564,26566],{"id":26565},"_3-marry-intent-results","3. Marry Intent & Results",[14,26568,26569],{},"Customer service for paid ads can also mean finding the clues that Google has spent so much time curating and applying them to paid ads and SEO. I did this exercise at a previous agency because a client was concerned about PPC terms not showing up, a fence company, and I showed them that if you search for “fence” vs “fence type” vs “fence installation” you’re going to get 3 different types of result because Google understands a person in the ‘discovery phase’ vs ‘I’m ready to buy now’ so sometimes ads aren’t even showing up for certain search terms because of the query. It’s essential to always make sure we’re looking at the full picture.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":26571},[26572,26578,26584],{"id":26476,"depth":291,"text":26477,"children":26573},[26574,26576,26577],{"id":26480,"depth":297,"text":26575},"1. Headline Analyzer",{"id":26491,"depth":297,"text":26492},{"id":26501,"depth":297,"text":26502},{"id":26519,"depth":291,"text":26579,"children":26580},"Nathan Stenberg’s Top Three Mozcon Takeaways",[26581,26582,26583],{"id":26526,"depth":297,"text":26527},{"id":26533,"depth":297,"text":26534},{"id":26540,"depth":297,"text":26541},{"id":26547,"depth":291,"text":26548,"children":26585},[26586,26587,26588],{"id":26551,"depth":297,"text":26552},{"id":26558,"depth":297,"text":26559},{"id":26565,"depth":297,"text":26566},"2020-08-11","With our team attending more conferences in 2020 than ever, we wanted to sharekey takeaways from this year’s Digital Summit and MozCon. Read on.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fmozcon.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Ftop-trends-tips-takeaways-digital-summit-at-home-mozcon",{"title":26456,"description":26590},"Digital Summit At Home & MozCon","blog\u002Fnews\u002Ftop-trends-tips-takeaways-digital-summit-at-home-mozcon","TvYMd3M_ifMx62tDjsKbzuPhqL0tFd5cN5HkMvdAXV8",{"id":26599,"title":26600,"author":7,"authors":26601,"body":26602,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":26860,"description":26861,"extension":318,"img":26862,"imgAlt":7,"meta":26863,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":26864,"seo":26865,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":26600,"stem":26866,"updated":7,"__hash__":26867},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-july-2020.md","View from Here -  July 2020",[17174],{"type":11,"value":26603,"toc":26852},[26604,26607,26621,26624,26627,26638,26645,26648,26653,26656,26659,26666,26669,26681,26687,26694,26699,26702,26705,26708,26711,26714,26717,26724,26728,26733,26736,26739,26750,26753,26759,26762,26769,26774,26778,26787,26793,26796,26799,26803,26808,26811,26831,26834,26838,26841,26844,26847],[14,26605,26606],{},"As a kid I grew up with more heroes who I idolized than I could honestly count (or even remember!)\nThere were my favorite athletes such as...",[46,26608,26609,26612,26615,26618],{},[49,26610,26611],{},"Gary Payton (\"the Glove\")",[49,26613,26614],{},"Michael Jordan",[49,26616,26617],{},"Ivan \"Pudge\" Rodriguez",[49,26619,26620],{},"Emmitt Smith",[14,26622,26623],{},"...to name a few.",[14,26625,26626],{},"And like many growing boys I idolized friends and family members who I interacted with. People like:",[46,26628,26629,26632,26635],{},[49,26630,26631],{},"My older cousin Aaron, who taught me how to find the best fishing holes on Lake Francis, play cards (Lo and Hi Chicago!) and spending time with your family in the outdoors",[49,26633,26634],{},"The older neighbor across the street, Hoodean, who taught me many lessons around the the dangers of group think as well as how fortunate I was to grow up in America (he was from the middle east and was a first generation Iranian American)",[49,26636,26637],{},"Mogen and Paul, my friend's fathers who threw us into their sports cars and drove way too fast with all the windows down to hear their engines scream just as loud as we screamed in the backseat",[14,26639,26640,26641,26644],{},"Last month, I had a very special and meaningful ",[38,26642,26643],{},"view from here"," experience.",[14,26646,26647],{},"I (virtually) met one of my childhood heroes: Emmitt Smith.",[14,26649,26650],{},[75,26651],{"alt":77,"src":26652},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Femmitt-smith-speaks-mike-krass.webp",[14,26654,26655],{},"While I grew up in the Seattle area, our family spent good portions of each Summer visiting family in Dallas, Texas.",[14,26657,26658],{},"My uncle would take me to Texas Rangers games. Only on $1 hot dog nights, of course. Between the two of us we would take down a half dozen delicious ballpark dogs, a few bags of peanuts and some cracker jacks for desert. And I'd go to watch Pudge Rodriguez - one of my favorite big league ball players - do his thing.",[14,26660,26661,26662,26665],{},"While I never had the opportunity to go to a Dallas Cowboys game with my uncle, we still talked about the Cowboys ",[38,26663,26664],{},"all the time",". And if we were talking Dallas Cowboys football, we were talking about Emmitt Smith.",[14,26667,26668],{},"Fast forward a few decades: I actually got the chance to meet him in a group event set up by EO, the professional organization of which I've been a member for three years.",[24025,26670,26671],{},[14,26672,26673,26674,26677,26678],{},"I learned so much hearing his ",[52,26675,26676],{},"experience"," both on (but ",[52,26679,26680],{},"mostly off) the field.",[14,26682,26683,26684,26686],{},"In the spirit of continuing to learn myself ",[38,26685,11321],{}," help others learn, I'd like to share some of the things that Emmitt said to our group along with my reflections on those thoughts. Hopefully, Emmitt's words will help you continue to grow and learn as a human being or professional as well as they did for me.",[24,26688,26690,26691],{"id":26689},"on-the-benefits-of-losing","On the Benefits of ",[38,26692,26693],{},"Losing",[24025,26695,26696],{},[14,26697,26698],{},"According to Emmitt: \"It's amazing how opportunities to improve are ignored or even missed entirely when all you do is win. When you learn is when you lose and have to figure out why that happened.\"",[14,26700,26701],{},"Let me ask you this: how many post-mortums has your company held when you land a new client?",[14,26703,26704],{},"Probably a pretty small number (if any at all).",[14,26706,26707],{},"Now let's explore the opposite outcome: how many post-mortums have you held when you lost a current client or lost a bid for a new client?",[14,26709,26710],{},"That's right. Probably a lot more, huh!",[14,26712,26713],{},"Emmitt's experience was refreshing to hear. When the Cowboys were winning all day long, none of the locker room issues, contract disputes, family drama, or anything else mattered. Who cares, we're the best! We're winning!",[14,26715,26716],{},"According to Emmitt: that's a missed opportunity to get better. Those problems don't go away. They just become easier to tolerate.",[14,26718,26719,26720,26723],{},"While I certainly don't enjoy l losing, I'd like to make it a priority to look for learning opportunities when we win ",[38,26721,26722],{},"and also"," when we lose.",[24,26725,26727],{"id":26726},"seeking-to-understand-not-convert-your-teammates","Seeking to Understand - Not Convert - Your Teammates",[24025,26729,26730],{},[14,26731,26732],{},"Your way of doing things is not the only way. I seek to understand other people in my life. To treat them fairly. And to keep equal opportunity and equal justice in mind for all. That's what Lady Liberty says and that is what I believe.",[14,26734,26735],{},"Not many people outside of MKG know this meeting took place: Nearly a week after the horrific killing of George Floyd on May 25th our team met internally on Zoom video to discuss social justice and human rights.",[14,26737,26738],{},"During that meeting, I heard the following words repeated by my fellow team members:",[46,26740,26741,26744,26747],{},[49,26742,26743],{},"Horrified",[49,26745,26746],{},"Sad",[49,26748,26749],{},"Hopeful",[14,26751,26752],{},"As I listened to Emmitt speak about equal opportunity and equal justice for all Americans, my mind wandered back to the powerful, vulnerable, real conversation that MKG had internally. It's a conversation that I'll never forget.",[14,26754,26755,26756,212],{},"That internal conversation was a place to tell your MKG teammates how you feel. What you are experiencing right now. A place to talk and be ",[38,26757,26758],{},"heard",[14,26760,26761],{},"It wasn't a place to politic. There was no sharing news soundbites or articles.",[14,26763,26764,26765,26768],{},"Regardless of whether a team member spoke at all or listened during that meeting, it was a place where our common goal was to seek to understand each other. ",[38,26766,26767],{},"It was without a doubt the best meeting that I have ever been a part of in the 9 year history of MKG."," And I'll be forever grateful that my fellow teammates accepted the invitation to attend.",[24025,26770,26771],{},[14,26772,26773],{},"Growth comes from seeking to understand.",[24,26775,26777],{"id":26776},"dont-come-to-the-table-with-an-appetite-and-nothing-else","Don't Come to the Table with an Appetite and Nothing Else",[24025,26779,26780],{},[14,26781,26782,26783,26786],{},"In the business world, you've got to bring something to the table besides your appetite. Our construction company makes it a priority to give back to the business community. We make it a priority to bring in minority-owned businesses to bid projects as subcontractors. We ",[38,26784,26785],{},"don't give them anything"," though. We plug those business owners into a formal mentorship program that we've developed to guide them through the project. And we expect them to do an exceptional job. Someone helped out me when I first got into construction and real estate so I feel it's my responsibility to help out the next generation.",[14,26788,26789,26790],{},"This absolutely blew me away. Not only does Emmitt's construction company make it a priority to solicit bids from minority-owned businesses, but they also plug them into their mentorship program to make sure that they do an amazing job on that project ",[38,26791,26792],{},"and every single one that follows.",[14,26794,26795],{},"Think about it this way: Emmitt's company brings the client, makes it a priority to solicit bids from companies of all types and then gives extra attention to the winner of that bid to ensure that they do a standup job on the project. It's the modern day example of the parable \"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.\"",[14,26797,26798],{},"I'm not confident that MKG has found their mentorship stride just yet. But I know that bringing awareness to that fact will help us begin to put something together in the future.",[24,26800,26802],{"id":26801},"money-financial-gain-is-a-byproduct-of-performance","Money \u002F Financial Gain is a Byproduct of Performance",[24025,26804,26805],{},[14,26806,26807],{},"Money is a by-product of performance. If I perform at a high level, the money will take care of itself.",[14,26809,26810],{},"We've actually seen this happen with a pair of our clients in the past month. Even though they are doing business in the midst of a global pandemic, ExtraHop Networks and MariaDB are continuing to grow their businesses at a staggering rate.",[14,26812,26813,26814,26819,26820,26825,26826],{},"ExtraHop Networks was just named a ",[206,26815,26818],{"href":26816,"rel":26817},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.inc.com\u002Fprofile\u002Fextrahop",[210],"top place to work by Inc magazine"," as well as a one of ",[206,26821,26824],{"href":26822,"rel":26823},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.forbes.com\u002Fsites\u002Falanohnsman\u002F2020\u002F07\u002F03\u002Fai-50-americas-most-promising-artificial-intelligence-companies\u002F#57c640475c99",[210],"America's most promising Artificial Intelligence companies."," And MariaDB's investors piled on for another round of funding to ",[206,26827,26830],{"href":26828,"rel":26829},"https:\u002F\u002Ftechcrunch.com\u002F2020\u002F07\u002F09\u002Fmariadb-raises-25m-more-to-expand-its-skysql-cloud-database-platform\u002F",[210],"fuel the serious growth they've seen in he past 24 months.",[14,26832,26833],{},"As your company, team, rec league basketball team or neighborhood urban garden performs exceptionally well, the \"gain\" in whichever way you measure it will follow.",[24,26835,26837],{"id":26836},"thank-you-emmitt-thank-you-eo","Thank You Emmitt. Thank You EO.",[14,26839,26840],{},"The hour spent with Emmitt Smith was worth every second.",[14,26842,26843],{},"If you want to hear MKG's stance on social justice, business strategy or digital marketing please reach out to say hello and get a conversation started.",[14,26845,26846],{},"Until next month!",[14,26848,26849],{},[38,26850,26851],{},"Please note: I am paraphrasing Emmitt Smith's words from our meeting last month. I certainly don't want to represent his words as direct quotes nor does Emmitt endorse any of the follow-up opinions I personally have based on the experiences he shared.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":26853},[26854,26856,26857,26858,26859],{"id":26689,"depth":291,"text":26855},"On the Benefits of Losing",{"id":26726,"depth":291,"text":26727},{"id":26776,"depth":291,"text":26777},{"id":26801,"depth":291,"text":26802},{"id":26836,"depth":291,"text":26837},"2020-08-03","Explore the Benefits of Losing, Why it Matters to Seek to Understand, and howFinancial Gain is a Byproduct of Performance with this Month's Special Guest Emmitt Smith.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002F01b5ac49-23d9-4d43-9b6a-dfee3897196d.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-july-2020",{"title":26600,"description":26861},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-july-2020","UFYHC9T3M_c4eWyvvcP0_tROtgToCtzED1v2cvLOoK0",{"id":26869,"title":26870,"author":7,"authors":26871,"body":26872,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":27033,"description":27034,"extension":318,"img":27035,"imgAlt":7,"meta":27036,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":27037,"seo":27038,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":26870,"stem":27039,"updated":7,"__hash__":27040},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-june-2020.md","View from Here - June 2020 Update",[17174],{"type":11,"value":26873,"toc":27027},[26874,26881,26888,26892,26900,26903,26910,26913,26916,26919,26922,26928,26934,26939,26943,26946,26949,26959,26962,26972,26978,26988,26992,27001,27004,27007,27012,27017,27021],[14,26875,26876,26880],{},[206,26877,26879],{"href":26878},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-may-2020\u002F","Last month was the first time I used this venue to share things that were on my mind"," that did not relate directly to the work we do here at MKG.\nFrankly: It was incredibly refreshing for me.",[14,26882,26883,26884,26887],{},"Sticking with that trend, I'm going to continue to unpack what's on my mind. In this edition of ",[38,26885,26886],{},"The View from Here"," I plan to examine three lessons that have been on my mind over the past month.",[24,26889,26891],{"id":26890},"_1-never-quit-on-your-teammates","1. Never Quit on Your Teammates",[14,26893,26894,26895],{},"It took me a few months. I've finally finished up ",[206,26896,26899],{"href":26897,"rel":26898},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FThe_Last_Dance_(miniseries)",[210],"The Last Dance, the miniseries that ESPN put together about the Chicago Bulls run in the 1980's and 90's.",[14,26901,26902],{},"Man, 10 episodes is a lot of ground to cover!",[14,26904,26905,26906,26909],{},"One of the episodes focused on Scottie Pippen. In the 1994 playoffs, with the Bulls down by a couple points and only a few seconds left in the game, Scottie Pippen actually ",[38,26907,26908],{},"refused"," to enter the game.",[14,26911,26912],{},"The reason? Because the game winning play was designed for his teammate Toni Kukoc. Toni was to get off a last second shot in order to tie or win the game.",[14,26914,26915],{},"Scottie quit on his teammates.",[14,26917,26918],{},"After the game ended (Toni Kukoc sank a 3 point shot to give the Bulls the win) the team ran back into the locker room.",[14,26920,26921],{},"And nobody talked about the game-winning shot.",[14,26923,26924,26925],{},"Instead, one of the Bulls players called Scottie out right then and there. He expressed his feelings; ",[38,26926,26927],{},"that Scottie quit on the team when the team arguably needed him the most.",[14,26929,26930,26931,26933],{},"That made me think about moments when I've been quit on ",[38,26932,8189],{}," been the teammate who decided to quit before the game was over. I've been in both positions before in my life. Reflecting back on that made me feel determined to never, ever quit on a teammate again.",[14,26935,26936],{},[38,26937,26938],{},"Have you ever been quit on? Have you ever quit on someone else?",[24,26940,26942],{"id":26941},"simple-ftw","Simple, FTW",[14,26944,26945],{},"Simple thoughts. Simple questions.",[14,26947,26948],{},"When everything else is complex, hard to understand or gives you a migraine, thinking simple helps me stop digging myself into a hole.",[14,26950,26951,26952,1042,26955,26958],{},"Last month I finished reading ",[38,26953,26954],{},"the Art of Client Service.",[52,26956,26957],{},"Great read",". I highly recommend the book for anyone who works in consulting, marketing, PR or advertising. While some of the information is dated, there are loads of timeless lessons to learn in the pages of that book.",[14,26960,26961],{},"Here are three examples of simple yet powerful thinking.",[14,26963,26964,26967,26968,26971],{},[52,26965,26966],{},"1. Simple actions:"," Jerry Weintraub was the promoter who booked Elvis's shows. At the height of his career, Elvis himself mandated that every single seat in the venue needed to be occupied. ",[38,26969,26970],{},"He would only play in front of sell out crowds."," Jerry found himself in a bind one day when the 2 shows (an early matinee and prime time) did not sell out. In fact, the matinee had 5,000 unsold seats less than 24 hours before showtime. The simple action Jerry took: he told the venue to pull 5,000 seats and correctly declared it a sold out show :)",[14,26973,26974,26977],{},[52,26975,26976],{},"2. Simple questions lead to an idea:"," There was an enterprising young executive at American Express who worked with his ad agency to create the concept of Membership Miles (which eventually turned into AMEX Membership Rewards). The question that he\u002Fothers asked themselves was simple: why should credit card points only be allowed on a single airline? Why can't I rack up AMEX points to fly on any airline I please? A simple question led to an idea that is now the industry standard.",[14,26979,26980,26983,26984,26987],{},[52,26981,26982],{},"3. Observation is Simple (and often free!)"," An ad agency from Bozeman, Montana, won the advertising account for a regional telecom company. This client believed in their bones that their clientele was made up of upper\u002Fmiddle class Americans across the region. Instead of blindly believing the client, this ad agency decided to stake out a handful of stores to see who really came in. After a few days watching customers go in and out of the client's stores, the agency discovered that their customers were actually blue collar, paycheck-to-check workers. This changed ",[38,26985,26986],{},"everything"," in terms of how they spoke to their customers through the advertising and marketing components of their business.",[24,26989,26991],{"id":26990},"marcus-aurelius-the-og-stoic","Marcus Aurelius, the OG Stoic",[24025,26993,26994],{},[14,26995,26996,26997,8495],{},"According to its teachings, as social beings, the path to eudaimonia (happiness, or blessedness) for humans is found in accepting the moment as it presents itself, by not allowing oneself to be controlled by the desire for pleasure or fear of pain, by using one's mind to understand the world and to do one's part in nature's plan, and by working together and treating others fairly and justly. (",[206,26998,21713],{"href":26999,"rel":27000},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FStoicism",[210],[14,27002,27003],{},"With all that is happening in the world right now, a dose of stoicism has been very helpful for me at work as well as in my personal life.",[14,27005,27006],{},"Here are a few lines that have really been speaking to me from the writings of Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor, philosopher and famed Stoic who lived in the mid-100's AD.",[24025,27008,27009],{},[14,27010,27011],{},"Treat with respect the power you have to form an opinion.",[24025,27013,27014],{},[14,27015,27016],{},"Remember that man lives only in the present, in this fleeting instant: all the rest of his life is either past or gone, or not yet revealed.",[24,27018,27020],{"id":27019},"until-next-month","Until Next Month…",[14,27022,27023,27024,27026],{},"Let's see if I'm still feeling pensive or philosophical next month when it comes time to pen the next edition of ",[38,27025,26886],{}," :)",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":27028},[27029,27030,27031,27032],{"id":26890,"depth":291,"text":26891},{"id":26941,"depth":291,"text":26942},{"id":26990,"depth":291,"text":26991},{"id":27019,"depth":291,"text":27020},"2020-07-01","Never Quitting on Your Teammates. Roman Emperors who Doubled as Philosophers.This (and more!) in the June edition of the View from Here.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Flastdance-chicagobulls-title.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-june-2020",{"title":26870,"description":27034},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-june-2020","U_0NFQG05WYtViTSERLEH9dyPgkE_MhkDc20clgMmGA",{"id":27042,"title":27043,"author":7,"authors":27044,"body":27045,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":27292,"description":27293,"extension":318,"img":27294,"imgAlt":7,"meta":27295,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":27296,"seo":27297,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":27298,"stem":27299,"updated":7,"__hash__":27300},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-may-2020.md","View from Here -  May 2020",[17174],{"type":11,"value":27046,"toc":27286},[27047,27050,27053,27056,27059,27074,27081,27092,27098,27102,27105,27110,27113,27120,27123,27134,27137,27148,27151,27155,27161,27164,27167,27170,27175,27178,27181,27195,27199,27204,27207,27214,27217,27222,27228,27231,27234,27237,27240,27243,27248,27251,27254,27257,27268,27271,27274,27277,27283],[14,27048,27049],{},"These words are flowing from the fingertips of someone who just took a week of paid time off to get some rest & relaxation.",[14,27051,27052],{},"I'll be honest with you: It feels a little unusual to take time off while we are still in the midst of a global health as well as economic pandemic.",[14,27054,27055],{},"Even though MKG is a remote and people-first company, it took me a few days to pull the trigger on taking 4 days off to take care of myself as a human being.",[14,27057,27058],{},"Why, you ask? Well...",[132,27060,27061,27064,27067],{},[49,27062,27063],{},"Unemployment in the USA at a record high: Who am I to take time off when other people in my industry aren't working?",[49,27065,27066],{},"A global Pandemic requires a lot of communication: If I'm off for a week, how will I support Kerry and the team with internal communication as things change on a day-to-day basis?",[49,27068,27069,27070,27073],{},"Where will I go? What will I do? My wife lovingly emailed me a $400 WOW Air flight roundtrip from New York to Paris. Normally, I would have booked this flight and would be typing this update from Paris. No question - let's go! This was the first time that I had the thought: where will I go and what will I do when I am there? Wait...I can take time off and ",[52,27071,27072],{},"not go somewhere?? That's a thing people do?"," (yes, it is)",[14,27075,27076,27077,27080],{},"Fortunately my ",[206,27078,27079],{"href":23803},"business partner Kerry"," supported me in taking some time away from work.",[14,27082,27083,27084,27087,27088,27091],{},"And like all time off I take, I generally arrive at a point of ",[38,27085,27086],{},"wanting"," to get back to work again. ",[38,27089,27090],{},"Wanting"," for that first Monday back to be here soon. Because for me, that shows I am ready to re-engage my brain with the work that I do for a living.",[14,27093,27094,27095,27097],{},"Taking time off helped me reflect on a few things in my professional life. This month's ",[38,27096,25568],{}," post will take a moment to describe what I reflected on during my days off.",[24,27099,27101],{"id":27100},"reading-is-lighter-fluid-for-my-brain","Reading is Lighter Fluid for My Brain",[14,27103,27104],{},"A great basketball coach by the name of John Wooden is famous for saying the following phrase:",[24025,27106,27107],{},[14,27108,27109],{},"When you are through learning, you are through.",[14,27111,27112],{},"I'm an aggressive reader of spy novels, business literature, and (short) biographies on celebrities or public figures both alive as well as deceased.",[14,27114,27115,27116,27119],{},"Taking 4 days off (thanks to the service of our armed service men and women, I cashed in on the Memorial Day holiday here in the US to get Monday off gratis) really helped me read ",[38,27117,27118],{},"even more."," It was fantastic.",[14,27121,27122],{},"A few books that I crossed off my reading list included:",[132,27124,27125,27128,27131],{},[49,27126,27127],{},"The first three books in the Ryan Savage adventure series book (love some adventure books on the Kindle!)",[49,27129,27130],{},"The Art of Client Service, by Robert Solomon",[49,27132,27133],{},"Ask, a book that outlines what the author calls \"...a Counterintuitive Online Formula to Discover Exactly What Your Customers Want to Buy\"by Ryan Levesque",[14,27135,27136],{},"Each of those books taught or reminded me of something that I find useful. A few examples included (in order):",[132,27138,27139,27142,27145],{},[49,27140,27141],{},"A cay (known as Key or Caye), found down near the Florida Keys, is a \"small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef\" How cool is that? That means the Florida Keys are on top of a huge coral reef!",[49,27143,27144],{},"Some skills - such as earning trust in a business relationship - are timeless. They will never go out of style or lose their usefulness.",[49,27146,27147],{},"How to not ask questions if you actually want to get useful answers! Here's an example: think about excluding dinner options when you ask your significant other \"What should we have for dinner?\". Instead of saying 'iono...' back and forth for an hour start by asking what you don't want as well as why not so you can arrive at a decision.",[14,27149,27150],{},"Getting back to the title of this section: reading helps me sharpen the mental 'pencil' in my brain. It keeps me learning. Learning allows me to develop an interest in new or exciting things.",[24,27152,27154],{"id":27153},"a-team-is-a-team-no-matter-if-its-business-or-sports","A Team is a Team - No Matter if It's Business or Sports",[14,27156,27157,27158],{},"Earlier this year I started watching the documentary series ",[38,27159,27160],{},"The Last Dance.",[14,27162,27163],{},"This show documented the Chicago Bulls dynasty from the late 1980's and 90's.",[14,27165,27166],{},"As a big NBA basketball fan during that era -- Why'd you have to go and beat my beloved Supersonics in 1996 Finals, MJ!? -- I knew all about the team.",[14,27168,27169],{},"I finally had a chance to finish the series. The first thought that entered my brain was:",[24025,27171,27172],{},[14,27173,27174],{},"A team is a team - it doesn't matter if it's a marketing team at work or a professional. basketball team. Team dynamics exist everywhere in life.",[14,27176,27177],{},"Strong teams have players in all kinds of roles. Again, in business as well as basketball, there is often only one 'ball' that can be played with.",[14,27179,27180],{},"The Chicago Bulls dynasty showed the uncommon roles that were important such as:",[46,27182,27183,27186,27189,27192],{},[49,27184,27185],{},"Dennis Rodman: \"The Worm\", as he was affectionally known, was a rebounding and defensive machine. While very few people grow up playing hoops saying 'I'm going to get to the NBA so I can score 1.2 points and collect 30 rebounds every game and chase every loose ball that comes with 100 feet of me' that was who Dennis was! He was a defensive force with tons of energy.",[49,27187,27188],{},"The role players (Steve Kerr, Luc Longley, etc) stepped off the bench to give the starters a break.",[49,27190,27191],{},"The all star in the shadow of a God (Scottie Pippen): Can you imagine being one of the best players in the world ... and not even being the best player on your team? Absolutely. Scottie Pippen was exactly that person.",[49,27193,27194],{},"The coach who was more than a basketball coach. Phil Jackson was a teacher first and a basketball coach second. Very similar to John Wooden :)",[24,27196,27198],{"id":27197},"closing-out-with-a-pair-of-lessons-from-the-zen-master-himself-phil-jackson","Closing Out with A Pair of Lessons from the Zen Master Himself, Phil Jackson",[14,27200,27201],{},[75,27202],{"alt":77,"src":27203},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fphil-jackson-michael-jordan-832x447.webp",[14,27205,27206],{},"Phil Jackson - an 11 time NBA champion as a coach - was affectionately referred to as the Zen Master.",[14,27208,27209,27210,27213],{},"And while I remember him primarily as a basketball coach, watching ",[38,27211,27212],{},"The Last Dance"," reminded me that he possessed impressive mental abilities.",[14,27215,27216],{},"A few of the lessons that he taught me included:",[14,27218,27219],{},[52,27220,27221],{},"Windows of Time and the Importance of \"Now\"",[14,27223,27224,27225],{},"To Phil, everything was centered on focusing ",[38,27226,27227],{},"right now.",[14,27229,27230],{},"Not trying to do two things at once.",[14,27232,27233],{},"Not thinking about yesterday or tomorrow.",[14,27235,27236],{},"\"Now\" is the most important time. So give it your attention!",[14,27238,27239],{},"Michael Jordan understood this concept. Throughout the documentary it was mentioned that he had a maniacal focus on the present moment.",[14,27241,27242],{},"Seeing Phil and MJ focus on the present 20+ years after the fact was really helpful for me.",[14,27244,27245],{},[52,27246,27247],{},"Think Different",[14,27249,27250],{},"Phil was not your stereotypical basketball coach.",[14,27252,27253],{},"Phil liked to think differently. He liked to apply existing concepts in uncommon ways with his teams.",[14,27255,27256],{},"A few examples included:",[46,27258,27259,27262,27265],{},[49,27260,27261],{},"Native American culture and art",[49,27263,27264],{},"Breathing and mindfulness",[49,27266,27267],{},"Centering yourself to focus on the task at hand",[14,27269,27270],{},"While the phrase \"finding your breath\" is fairly common today, in the early 1990's it was not a phrase that the general public used.",[14,27272,27273],{},"Phil took these concepts of mindfulness, focusing on the breath (like in yoga) as well as preparation methods from Native American history and brought them to his teams.",[24,27275,27276],{"id":27019},"Until Next Month...",[14,27278,27279,27280,27282],{},"Don't hesitate to reach out if you want to ask me anything about the ",[38,27281,25568],{}," post this month!",[14,27284,27285],{},"We are also updating our website with a lot of new resource, service line and case study content!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":27287},[27288,27289,27290,27291],{"id":27100,"depth":291,"text":27101},{"id":27153,"depth":291,"text":27154},{"id":27197,"depth":291,"text":27198},{"id":27019,"depth":291,"text":27276},"2020-06-05","Read What CEO Mike Krass Discovered about Himself When I Took a Week of PTO During a Global Pandemic and Nationwide Recession","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fview-from-here-may-2020.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-may-2020",{"title":27043,"description":27293},"View From Here - May 2020","blog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-may-2020","BDuy8de2QFyFDmpx7LP88wBFteF8wpT6Tpmfe4B68Mo",{"id":27302,"title":27303,"author":7,"authors":27304,"body":27305,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":27478,"description":27479,"extension":318,"img":27480,"imgAlt":7,"meta":27481,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":27482,"seo":27483,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":27484,"stem":27485,"updated":7,"__hash__":27486},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fbe-so-good-they-fight-over-you.md","View from Here -  April 2020",[17174],{"type":11,"value":27306,"toc":27471},[27307,27312,27318,27321,27324,27327,27330,27333,27336,27339,27345,27348,27352,27360,27363,27377,27388,27393,27396,27400,27403,27409,27412,27418,27421,27424,27427,27439,27444,27451,27455,27458,27461,27464],[24025,27308,27309],{},[14,27310,27311],{},"It's hard to beat a person who never gives up. -- Babe Ruth",[14,27313,27314,27315,27317],{},"Since the early days of publishing ",[38,27316,25568],{}," I always had this habit of drafting updates that were external facing.",[14,27319,27320],{},"Client ABC Corp. won an award. Woot!",[14,27322,27323],{},"Our team member was recognized as a top 30\u002F40\u002F50 under 30\u002F40\u002F50. Yahoo!",[14,27325,27326],{},"Check out this amazing pizza dinner we took a client to in Chicago. Nom! Get in my bellay!",[14,27328,27329],{},"And if I'm being honest with you: there is nothing wrong with what we've been writing.",[14,27331,27332],{},"It was real.",[14,27334,27335],{},"It was a view into life at MKG.",[14,27337,27338],{},"It highlighted our heroes -- the clients whom we serve -- on a regular basis when they accomplished amazing things.",[14,27340,27341,27342,27344],{},"Again, nothing wrong with that at all. In fact I'm very fond of those ",[38,27343,25568],{}," updates!",[14,27346,27347],{},"This month I wanted to take a moment to share an experience that I had at the end of April that has stuck with me.",[24,27349,27351],{"id":27350},"meeting-a-real-life-olympian","Meeting a Real Life Olympian",[14,27353,27354,27355,212],{},"As a team, we had the pleasure of spending an hour (virtually!) with ",[206,27356,27359],{"href":27357,"rel":27358},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.teamusa.org\u002Fusa-bobsled-skeleton-federation\u002Fathletes\u002FLauren-Gibbs",[210],"Lauren Gibbs of the US Olympic Bobsled team",[14,27361,27362],{},"She shared her journey to the Olympics in Pyeongchang (Winter 2018), which included highlights such as:",[46,27364,27365,27368,27374],{},[49,27366,27367],{},"By her early 30's, she was driving a fast sports car and managing a team of 200+ sales reps as a Regional Sales Manager while happily living in Denver, Colorado",[49,27369,27370,27371],{},"On a whim, someone convinced her to attend first round tryouts for the US Olympic bobsled team in Colorado Springs. ",[38,27372,27373],{},"She had never even seen a bobsled before that day.",[49,27375,27376],{},"Fast forward 3.5 years later, she was standing on the podium accepting a Silver medal as one of the top Bobsled athletes in the 2018 Olympic Games",[14,27378,27379,27380,27382,27383],{},"Lauren was kind enough to share her journey, the high ",[38,27381,11321],{}," low-lights, as well as answer any questions that we had as a group. She also shared an amazing ",[206,27384,27387],{"href":27385,"rel":27386},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.dropbox.com\u002Fs\u002Fmn1sbayo4u0bu13\u002FPyeongchang-Recap.mp4?dl=0",[210],"sizzle reel video of their Silver medal winning run!",[14,27389,27390],{},[75,27391],{"alt":77,"src":27392},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Flauren-gibbs-speaks-to-mkg-marketing.webp",[14,27394,27395],{},"And that is where she said something that I wanted to share with you.",[24,27397,27399],{"id":27398},"be-so-good-they-fight-over-you","\"Be So Good They Fight Over You\"",[14,27401,27402],{},"One of our team members asked how Lauren went from being an Olympic team newbie to becoming the 2nd best bobsled team in the world at those Olympic games.",[14,27404,27405,27406,27408],{},"Specifically: How do you convince a sled Driver to pick ",[52,27407,11163],{}," as their brake-woman?",[14,27410,27411],{},"Lauren's answer was simple.",[24025,27413,27414],{},[81,27415,27417],{"id":27416},"be-so-good-that-they-fight-over-you","Be so good that they fight over you.",[14,27419,27420],{},"As she shared with us, Lauren didn't know a single thing about bobsled before she went to the 1st round tryouts in Colorado.",[14,27422,27423],{},"She didn't have parents who were Olympics athletes or who trained her from a young age.",[14,27425,27426],{},"In place of these disadvantages, Lauren focused on:",[46,27428,27429,27436],{},[49,27430,27431,27432,27435],{},"Accepting coaching, critiques and criticism as a chance to get better. If somebody wants to help you get better, ",[52,27433,27434],{},"accept their help."," Let them coach you up to become that much better!",[49,27437,27438],{},"Building on the first piece of advice: Never give up on continuing to get better!",[24025,27440,27441],{},[14,27442,27443],{},"And most importantly: Focus so intensely on becoming better than other people fight to have you on their sled.",[14,27445,27446,27447,27450],{},"According to Lauren, you don't need to convince people how good you are. Or politic your way to a top spot. Her path focused on becoming so good that ",[38,27448,27449],{},"every other sled driver fought"," to have her on their sled because they knew she was determined to win and could be trusted to do her job at an Olympic level.",[24,27452,27454],{"id":27453},"translating-that-for-us-non-olympians","Translating That For Us Non-Olympians",[14,27456,27457],{},"The advice -- Be so good they fight over you -- applies to any team.",[14,27459,27460],{},"It can be a business team. Sports team. Even a hobby.",[14,27462,27463],{},"Focus on becoming so good that folks fight to pick you for their team and, according to Lauren, everything will fall into place for you.",[14,27465,27466,27467],{},"If you want to learn what life is like behind the scenes at the Olympics, you can chat with Lauren yourself by booking one of her virtual experiences on Air BnB. ",[206,27468,27469],{"href":27469,"rel":27470},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.airbnb.com\u002Fexperiences\u002F1661397",[210],{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":27472},[27473,27474,27477],{"id":27350,"depth":291,"text":27351},{"id":27398,"depth":291,"text":27399,"children":27475},[27476],{"id":27416,"depth":297,"text":27417},{"id":27453,"depth":291,"text":27454},"2020-05-01","Be so good they fight over you","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002F112000335-olympic-rings-getty.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fbe-so-good-they-fight-over-you",{"title":27303,"description":27479},"View From Here - April 2020","blog\u002Fnews\u002Fbe-so-good-they-fight-over-you","DejrfKjoLeE4o_PBbiRUjuUbzCOeomPTI55oTrs0QEQ",{"id":27488,"title":27489,"author":7,"authors":27490,"body":27491,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":27604,"description":27605,"extension":318,"img":27606,"imgAlt":7,"meta":27607,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":27608,"seo":27609,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":27610,"stem":27611,"updated":7,"__hash__":27612},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-march-2020.md","View from Here - March 2020 Edition",[17174],{"type":11,"value":27492,"toc":27601},[27493,27496,27499,27505,27508,27511,27525,27532,27535,27543,27546,27549,27552,27557,27560,27564,27567,27570,27593],[14,27494,27495],{},"A lot has happened since the last edition of View from Here.\nI'm not going to repeat the highlights. We all know about the COVID-19 pandemic.",[14,27497,27498],{},"Instead, what I would like to do is write this edition from a more personal place.",[14,27500,27501,27502],{},"Because we have been asking all our clients: ",[52,27503,27504],{},"How are you doing?",[14,27506,27507],{},"Out of respect for their privacy, I won't be sharing their exact answers. But I will tell you that I've learned a tremendous amount about our clients by checking in with them as people first, and a client second.",[14,27509,27510],{},"Which led me to ask myself: how am I doing?",[46,27512,27513,27516,27519,27522],{},[49,27514,27515],{},"My family is healthy and practicing the correct dosage of physical distancing",[49,27517,27518],{},"Filled with hope (more on that below)",[49,27520,27521],{},"Blessed with friendships as well as family who care about my wife and I",[49,27523,27524],{},"Excited to rediscover passions around exercise (beach cruiser bicycle ftw!), sprucing up our garden (while not killing all the new plants), and reading more while watching less TV",[14,27526,27527,27528,27531],{},"If I could sum up ",[38,27529,27530],{},"How am I doing"," in a single sentence: I am spoiled rich with amazing things that don't come with a price tag.",[14,27533,27534],{},"Which leads me back around to Hope.",[14,27536,27537,27538,8495],{},"Seeing China and South Korea cross onto the other side of the epidemiological curve gives me hope that our day in the COVID-free sun will come, figuratively speaking. (source: ",[206,27539,27542],{"href":27540,"rel":27541},"https:\u002F\u002Fgisanddata.maps.arcgis.com\u002Fapps\u002Fopsdashboard\u002Findex.html#\u002Fbda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6",[210],"Johns Hopkins COVID-19 case dashboard",[14,27544,27545],{},"Neighbors that used to be strangers offering to help each other out with grocery store runs, supplies and - of course - toilet paper gives me hope.",[14,27547,27548],{},"An entire planet working together to limit the spread of this virus gives me hope.",[14,27550,27551],{},"Winston Churchill valued it over tanks, troops or armor during the dark moments of World War II. He was asked what the greatest weapon England possessed against the Nazi regime of Hitler: \"It was what England's greatest weapon has always been - hope.\"",[14,27553,27554],{},[75,27555],{"alt":77,"src":27556},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fgive-people-hope-mkg-marketing.webp",[14,27558,27559],{},"I'm filled with hope that we will make it through this pandemic. And I hope you are too.",[24,27561,27563],{"id":27562},"do-you-need-a-dose-of-hope","Do you need a dose of hope?",[14,27565,27566],{},"Distancing doesn't mean you have to cut out social interactions.",[14,27568,27569],{},"Hit us up on social media for a conversation, a shot of hope or just to chat :)",[46,27571,27572,27579,27586],{},[49,27573,27574,27575],{},"Facebook: ",[206,27576,27577],{"href":27577,"rel":27578},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002Fmkgmarketinginc\u002F",[210],[49,27580,27581,27582],{},"Twitter: ",[206,27583,27584],{"href":27584,"rel":27585},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.twitter.com\u002Fmkgmarketinginc\u002F",[210],[49,27587,27588,27589],{},"LinkedIn: ",[206,27590,27591],{"href":27591,"rel":27592},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fcompany\u002Fmkg-marketing\u002F",[210],[14,27594,27595],{},[38,27596,27597,27598,27600],{},"Hope is important for my own mental health (as well as Winston Churchill, too). Please note that Hope ",[52,27599,11321],{}," science combined together are what the world needs to get through the pandemic :)",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":27602},[27603],{"id":27562,"depth":291,"text":27563},"2020-04-01","The MKG team wants to know: How are you doing during COVID-19?","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fart-artistic-black-and-white-blank-311391.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-march-2020",{"title":27489,"description":27605},"View From Here - March 2020","blog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-march-2020","twSprNfACskNVm8s9NhPUGDFkADfmtJSAB-uaYhYywk",{"id":27614,"title":27615,"author":7,"authors":27616,"body":27617,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":27762,"description":27763,"extension":318,"img":27764,"imgAlt":7,"meta":27765,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":27766,"seo":27767,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":27768,"stem":27769,"updated":27770,"__hash__":27771},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fcoronavirus-effect-on-seo-traffic.md","The Coronavirus SEO Benchmark - Updated on April 27, 2020",[17174],{"type":11,"value":27618,"toc":27758},[27619,27622,27625,27636,27639,27647,27650,27659,27662,27674,27677,27682,27685,27688,27691,27694,27702,27708,27711,27716,27720,27723,27726,27740,27743,27746,27750,27753],[14,27620,27621],{},"Last Updated: April 27, 2020",[14,27623,27624],{},"Every month I sit down at my computer to reflect on the past month. This reflection starts with a few exploratory questions.",[24025,27626,27627,27630,27633],{},[14,27628,27629],{},"What have we accomplished as a business?",[14,27631,27632],{},"Where have our clients and the heroes that power those businesses succeeded?",[14,27634,27635],{},"How can we do more for our team members at work to help them lead happy, healthy and fruitful lives?",[14,27637,27638],{},"This exercise usually quiets my mind as the thoughts flow from my brain down onto the notebook paper I scribble on.",[14,27640,27641,27642,212],{},"This month was an exception. All I seem to be thinking or hearing about is ",[206,27643,27646],{"href":27644,"rel":27645},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cdc.gov\u002Fcoronavirus\u002F2019-ncov\u002Findex.html",[210],"Coronavirus (COVID-19)",[14,27648,27649],{},"In a discussion I had with a Dell team member earlier this month, the company has announced that all work travel to Asia is suspended until further notice. A few of our own clients have implemented a similar policy.",[14,27651,27652,27653,27658],{},"Bookmakers are ",[206,27654,27657],{"href":27655,"rel":27656},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.newsweek.com\u002Fcoronavirus-japan-update-tokyo-olympics-2020-odds-canceled-according-bookmakers-1489739",[210],"placing odds on the Tokyo Olympics being cancelled"," due to the virus.",[14,27660,27661],{},"And our clients are asking us about COVID-19 as it relates to Organic Search performance.",[46,27663,27664,27669],{},[49,27665,27666],{},[38,27667,27668],{},"Why is Organic Search traffic on the decline in China?",[49,27670,27671],{},[38,27672,27673],{},"How long will SEO traffic continue to decline in countries such as China?",[14,27675,27676],{},"Everyone has questions. Including ourselves! Here are a few that Jenna asked to her professional groups on Slack.",[14,27678,27679],{},[75,27680],{"alt":77,"src":27681},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002F997BEB3D-9FDC-4439-835C-D62FFC7B3DAC.webp",[14,27683,27684],{},"And it seems that very few people have any answers. In fact, nobody we asked in our professional groups had any answers to share with us!",[14,27686,27687],{},"So we took it upon ourselves to create a SEO traffic index to see how a sample of our client's are performing from an Organic Search traffic standpoint in China.",[14,27689,27690],{},"This index is something that we'll be updating on a regular basis to try to track the impact the Coronavirus has on our client's websites. While we are hopeful that this virus can be contained and a cure discovered by those in the medical community, we are cautious and also do not want to blindly believe that this virus will just go away on it's own.",[14,27692,27693],{},"As of the publish date of this post (March 2, 2020), this index looks at a small sampling of our client data. This includes clients with large as well as small websites comprised of:",[46,27695,27696,27699],{},[49,27697,27698],{},"100,000+ SEO sessions",[49,27700,27701],{},"SEO traffic from within China only",[14,27703,27704,27705],{},"As you can see, ",[52,27706,27707],{},"beginning in October 2020 China-based SEO traffic has been on the decline by more than 1\u002F3-rd at year end.",[14,27709,27710],{},"We will continue to update this post each month to see if this trend reverses.",[16784,27712],{"width":27713,"height":27714,"seamless":322,"frameBorder":16790,"scrolling":25905,"src":27715},600,371,"https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.google.com\u002Fspreadsheets\u002Fd\u002Fe\u002F2PACX-1vQXyrkEtW-2wUDZjr-7nyhMuLMfUjuzk396VJ8eXCeHbXeqEmL4AGjgWLGNllEzlI3BR3o_RgK5HznO\u002Fpubchart?oid=416656909&format=interactive",[24,27717,27719],{"id":27718},"the-effects-of-coronavirus-on-business-revenue-in-china","The Effects of Coronavirus on Business Revenue in China",[14,27721,27722],{},"Entrepreneurs' Organization, a global non-profit organization that I am a member of, regularly conducts surveys in hot\u002Fcold business climates to hear from their members.",[14,27724,27725],{},"They surveyed nearly 300 members who live\u002Frun businesses physically in China. Two alarming facts jumped out:",[46,27727,27728,27734],{},[49,27729,27730,27731],{},"According to the EO coronavirus survey, ",[52,27732,27733],{},"47 percent of EO members in China have lost 50 percent of their revenue.",[49,27735,27736,27737],{},"Among them, ",[52,27738,27739],{},"17 percent have lost 90 percent of their revenue.",[14,27741,27742],{},"While an n=278 sample size is by no means a declaration of statistical significance, those study results obviously caught my attention.",[14,27744,27745],{},"If you want to help in any way, EO Beijing has formed a 56-member volunteer task force dedicated to helping find and transport medical supplies. We can put you directly in contact with them if you email me directly should you want to lend a hand in any way.",[24,27747,27749],{"id":27748},"bookmark-this-page","Bookmark this Page!",[14,27751,27752],{},"We'll continue to update this data every month. If you smash the 'favorite', save to Pocket or bookmark buttons on your browser it will be easy for you to see what the small sample from our portfolio of clients is seeing in terms of SEO traffic performance in China.",[14,27754,27755],{},[38,27756,27757],{},"Update Note: We will be discontinuing the data updates for these graphs beginning in May 2020. If you would like to see the benchmark updated feel free to email us so we can personally deliver you the most up-to-date information.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":27759},[27760,27761],{"id":27718,"depth":291,"text":27719},{"id":27748,"depth":291,"text":27749},"2020-03-02","Curious How the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak is Affecting SEO Traffic in China? Read Our Monthly Update","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fhome-banner.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fcoronavirus-effect-on-seo-traffic",{"title":27615,"description":27763},"COVID-19 SEO Benchmarks","blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fcoronavirus-effect-on-seo-traffic","2020-03-27","Xfr-k5yIh0wRO3bZe6Ah5gbo1nJsn0GQ7goIagg6eNg",{"id":27773,"title":27774,"author":7,"authors":27775,"body":27776,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":28021,"description":28022,"extension":318,"img":28023,"imgAlt":7,"meta":28024,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":28025,"seo":28026,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":28027,"stem":28028,"updated":7,"__hash__":28029},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fremote-work.md","Remote Work Environments like MKG",[17174],{"type":11,"value":27777,"toc":28011},[27778,27781,27786,27789,27792,27795,27798,27801,27804,27807,27810,27814,27817,27820,27823,27826,27829,27832,27835,27838,27841,27845,27852,27858,27865,27869,27872,27875,27878,27881,27885,27888,27899,27902,27906,27909,27912,27923,27926,27930,27933,27940,27943,27946,27949,27952,27959,27963,27966,27971,27974,27991,27995,27998,28004],[14,27779,27780],{},"Here is a question that we hear all the time at MKG Marketing:",[24025,27782,27783],{},[14,27784,27785],{},"How is it possible for your team to work cohesively across three different time zones and from 7 different states?",[14,27787,27788],{},"To be honest: It's a great question!",[14,27790,27791],{},"We always describe MKG as a remote-first agency. This means that it's just as likely that someone will be working from their home office as it is that they'll be at a coffee shop or even - gasp! - at one of our offices in the Seattle, Vancouver, or New Orleans areas.",[14,27793,27794],{},"By describing ourselves as remote-first, what I'm saying in layman's terms is that we built the company to operate as a completely remote environment.",[14,27796,27797],{},"Our technology stack of Slack, Google Apps, Zoom, and Asana (to name a few of many!) support remote work.",[14,27799,27800],{},"The policies in our Employee Handbook that are followed by everyone (including Kerry and myself) are centered around a successful remote environment.",[14,27802,27803],{},"Celebrations for hitting company goals, completing rocks, or other projects are celebrated remotely via Zoom (well...sometimes we get together in person :) )",[14,27805,27806],{},"So let's come back to the question we've been hearing for years now: How does a remote-first work environment work for your team?",[14,27808,27809],{},"Treat this post like a journal of our thoughts and experiences. It will be updated on a regular basis and written in a very candid format so people can see what it's like to work in a remote-first environment like the one at MKG.",[24,27811,27813],{"id":27812},"it-all-starts-with-visible-values","It All Starts with Visible Values",[14,27815,27816],{},"We work really hard to integrate our company values into everyday life here at MKG.",[14,27818,27819],{},"For example: Let's look at how team members recognize each other publicly here at MKG.",[14,27821,27822],{},"MKG uses Slack for chat with Bonus.ly to recognize a colleague. These two programs have a direct integration with one another.",[14,27824,27825],{},"It doesn't matter what your role at the company is. Bonus.ly allows you to award 'Bonus Stars' to a colleague for a job or project well done. When you award these stars, it is posted publicly to the #Praise channel of our Slack instance. When you award somebody stars, it's required that you included a #Value at the end of your message (minimum of 1).",[14,27827,27828],{},"Were they upholding the MKG standard?",[14,27830,27831],{},"Keeping the Big Picture in mind?",[14,27833,27834],{},"Leading with a People First attitude?",[14,27836,27837],{},"Slack will reject the Bonus.ly message if there isn't a company value tied to it.",[14,27839,27840],{},"What's fun about bonus.ly stars is that you can total them up to be redeemed for gift cards to Home Depot, Starbucks, or dozens of other places directly tied into the bonus.ly platform. So it's not just being recognized by a peer with a company value tied to that recognition; there are real world rewards to being recognized!",[24,27842,27844],{"id":27843},"all-hands-meetings-annual-summit","All Hands Meetings & Annual Summit",[14,27846,27847,27848,27851],{},"Every quarter we host a virtual ",[52,27849,27850],{},"All Hands"," meeting on Zoom video chat.",[14,27853,27854,27855,27857],{},"The purpose of the ",[52,27856,27850],{}," meeting is to spend ~90 minutes or so discussing the health of the company, progress against Rocks\u002FGoals, and setting up the next fiscal quarter (or year). It's also an opportunity for Q&A from the entire team.",[14,27859,27860,27861,27864],{},"Additionally, we host an ",[52,27862,27863],{},"Annual Summit in person once every year",". We fly to the same city for 2-3 days, cover some of the company news like in the All Hands meeting, but really focus on team building activities.",[24,27866,27868],{"id":27867},"team-run-meetings-of-the-minds","Team Run \"Meetings of the Minds\"",[14,27870,27871],{},"Individual team members came up with biweekly internal \"meetings of the minds\" a few years ago.",[14,27873,27874],{},"Examples include the PPC Meeting of the Minds as well as the SEO Meeting of the Minds.",[14,27876,27877],{},"These are internal meetings held every few weeks where team members in those roles (SEO Experts, PPC Experts) get together to chat about what's happening in their respective worlds. It's a chance to share information, tips, and tricks. Solve problems for a client. Or just to shoot the breeze about the industry.",[14,27879,27880],{},"In my opinion, the coolest part about these meetings is that they are planned by the PPC or SEO team members (with AD support). It's not something that ADs mandate or that Kerry or myself require. It just organically started happening a few years back and now is something that is on the calendar for those team members every month.",[24,27882,27884],{"id":27883},"planning-rituals-via-zoom","Planning Rituals via Zoom",[14,27886,27887],{},"At MKG, we follow Scrum for planning purposes. This means that we have...",[46,27889,27890,27893,27896],{},[49,27891,27892],{},"Daily standup (we are currently doing this via Slack)",[49,27894,27895],{},"Weekly work planning meetings in the form of Sprint Planning",[49,27897,27898],{},"Retrospective meetings to review what's gone on in the past week",[14,27900,27901],{},"All of these planning rituals happen over a Zoom video chat. As the team has grown, we've joked about calling ourselves the Brady Bunch.",[24,27903,27905],{"id":27904},"remote-onboarding-buddy","Remote Onboarding Buddy",[14,27907,27908],{},"Every new hire gets what we call an onboarding buddy. Imagine this person like a sherpa to help you understand how MKG operates.",[14,27910,27911],{},"These buddies are connecting - at minimum - a few times a week on topics such as:",[132,27913,27914,27917,27920],{},[49,27915,27916],{},"How does our file structure work in Google Drive?",[49,27918,27919],{},"What am I supposed to do when X happens in Asana?",[49,27921,27922],{},"Are there expectations for when I'm on\u002Foffline? (this is in the Playbook but can be reinforced from an onboarding buddy)",[14,27924,27925],{},"We like to put onboarding buddies together who are in similar roles and time zones. It's difficult (not impossible, though) for onboarding buddies to be many time zones apart as the parts of their days that overlap are naturally different.",[24,27927,27929],{"id":27928},"over-communicate","OVER-communicate",[14,27931,27932],{},"Outside of our values, over-communicating might be the most important piece of a successful remote work environment.",[24025,27934,27935],{},[14,27936,27937],{},[52,27938,27939],{},"Remember: Nobody can turn around and SEE what you are doing.",[14,27941,27942],{},"Not feeling well and need to lay down for a few minutes? Let people know via Chat and your Slack status.",[14,27944,27945],{},"Walking your kids to the bus stop? Give us a 🚌 emoji on Slack to let you know where you are headed.",[14,27947,27948],{},"Need to go heads down on an intense work project? Let us know via Slack and set an Away message on your Email inbox.",[14,27950,27951],{},"What's worked well for us is to make sure everyone was comfortable from Day 1 sharing their physical status (Where am I? How am I?) anytime there was a change.",[14,27953,27954,27955,27958],{},"You can never communicate ",[38,27956,27957],{},"too much"," in a remote setting.",[24,27960,27962],{"id":27961},"accountability-in-a-remote-environment","Accountability in a Remote Environment",[14,27964,27965],{},"We hear this question all the time:",[24025,27967,27968],{},[14,27969,27970],{},"How is everyone held accountable when they are physically in the same office?",[14,27972,27973],{},"Accountability relies on a series of systems and\u002For processes that we've adopted over the years.",[46,27975,27976,27979,27982,27985,27988],{},[49,27977,27978],{},"Daily Standup: Every day the Account Director updates their colleagues on who is doing what and due by when via Zoom Chat messages in the appropriate chat channel",[49,27980,27981],{},"Weekly Retrospective: On Friday's we reflect on the previous week. What worked? Didn't?",[49,27983,27984],{},"Weekly Sprint Planning: Account Directors plot out tasks and projects each week for every team member\u002Fclient",[49,27986,27987],{},"Weekly 1-on-1's: Team members have a weekly or biweekly 1-on-1 meeting to discuss how life is going, what's happening at work at a high level as well as anything else that is on their mind.",[49,27989,27990],{},"We use Asana for project and task management. Overdue tasks flash a bright red color as they pile up ... too many of those and anyone in the agency can see that you are falling behind for some reason or other.",[24,27992,27994],{"id":27993},"to-be-continued","To be continued...",[14,27996,27997],{},"We're just getting started! As we continue to develop our remote first culture, the team will make additions to this post. So make sure to smash that 'bookmark' button on your browser, on Pocket, etc so you can find this easily in the future :)",[14,27999,28000,28001,212],{},"Does a remote first work environment sound attractive to you? Check out the jobs page of our website to see ",[206,28002,28003],{"href":24240},"open roles",[14,28005,28006,28007],{},"Are you interested in hiring experts digital marketing to help you scale your business? Schedule some time on AnDrae and Mike's calendar to explore how we might be able to help you: ",[206,28008,28009],{"href":28009,"rel":28010},"https:\u002F\u002F1zgok.share.hsforms.com\u002F2cOmJ7URST7aHvXaKILoupg?uuid=11a19469-5397-4111-90ab-08d517b6bddc?month=2020-02",[210],{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":28012},[28013,28014,28015,28016,28017,28018,28019,28020],{"id":27812,"depth":291,"text":27813},{"id":27843,"depth":291,"text":27844},{"id":27867,"depth":291,"text":27868},{"id":27883,"depth":291,"text":27884},{"id":27904,"depth":291,"text":27905},{"id":27928,"depth":291,"text":27929},{"id":27961,"depth":291,"text":27962},{"id":27993,"depth":291,"text":27994},"2020-02-07","This Post Reads Like a Journal, Outlining How Remote Work Environments likethe One at MKG Marketing Operate. Read On!","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FRemote Work - Green PS controller.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fremote-work",{"title":27774,"description":28022},"Remote Work Environments","blog\u002Fnews\u002Fremote-work","cRTSekrbqAjthQkZZnYLzTona1pygkjzw1aocS2Wq_w",{"id":28031,"title":28032,"author":7,"authors":28033,"body":28034,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":28281,"description":28282,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":28283,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":28284,"seo":28285,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":28032,"stem":28286,"updated":7,"__hash__":28287},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-january-2020-update.md","View from Here -  January 2020",[17174],{"type":11,"value":28035,"toc":28274},[28036,28045,28049,28052,28055,28059,28062,28065,28070,28079,28082,28086,28089,28092,28095,28217,28221,28226,28233,28237,28244,28247,28250,28258,28262],[14,28037,28038,28039,28044],{},"The roaring 20's are here! At least, that's what the ",[206,28040,28043],{"href":28041,"rel":28042},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002Fsearch?q=roaring-20%27s&src=typed_query&f=live",[210],"Twitterverse"," is calling this next decade that descended upon us on January 1st :)\nBuckle your seat belt so you can learn what the MKG team (and our fantastic clients) were up to in the first month of 2020.",[24,28046,28048],{"id":28047},"mkg-takes-on-chicago-san-jose-and-seattle-in-january","MKG Takes on Chicago, San Jose and Seattle in January",[14,28050,28051],{},"The MKG team hit the road hard in the first month of this new decade!",[14,28053,28054],{},"Check out some fun photos from team members as we were out visiting clients this past month.",[24,28056,28058],{"id":28057},"informatica-recognized-as-clear-mdm-leader","Informatica Recognized as 'clear' MDM Leader",[14,28060,28061],{},"The most recent Gartner Magic Quadrant report for the Master Data Management (MDM) category was released in January 2020.",[14,28063,28064],{},"Where did our client, Informatica, place in the report?",[24025,28066,28067],{},[14,28068,28069],{},"Informatica was named a Leader in the 2020 Gartner Magic Quadrant for MDM Solutions",[14,28071,28072,28073,28078],{},"As they say on their website:\"",[206,28074,28077],{"href":28075,"rel":28076},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.informatica.com\u002Fmagic-quadrant-MDM.html#fbid=vV7UyJBWihX",[210],"It isn’t easy to be named a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Master Data Management Solutions 4 times in a row",". But when it comes to our commitment to providing intelligence and innovation for our customers, only the best will do.\"",[14,28080,28081],{},"Congrats to Informatica for being placed in the top Leader position of this latest Gartner MQ report!",[24,28083,28085],{"id":28084},"mkg-our-association-client-featured-on-associationsuccessorg","MKG & our Association Client Featured on AssociationSuccess.org",[14,28087,28088],{},"AssociationSuccess.org featured MKG's paid acquisition strategy on their website in January 2020.",[14,28090,28091],{},"For the communications team at the TXOGA, the value lies in building a network of supporters — not in building membership.",[14,28093,28094],{},"Our client, Haley Emerson, was quoted as saying:",[24025,28096,28102],{"className":28097,"dataInstgrmCaptioned":77,"dataInstgrmPermalink":28099,"dataInstgrmVersion":28100,"style":28101},[28098],"instagram-media","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.instagram.com\u002Fp\u002FB7ZPFlvHlw_\u002F?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading","13"," background:#FFF; 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border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;",[28103,28186],{"style":28187}," width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)",[28103,28189,1042,28191,1042,28194,1042,28197],{"style":28190},"margin-left: auto;",[28103,28192],{"style":28193}," width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);",[28103,28195],{"style":28196}," background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);",[28103,28198],{"style":28199}," width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);",[28103,28201,1042,28203,1042,28206],{"style":28202},"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;",[28103,28204],{"style":28205}," background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;",[28103,28207],{"style":28208}," background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;",[14,28210,28212],{"style":28211}," color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;",[206,28213,28216],{"href":28099,"style":28214,"target":8877,"rel":28215}," color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;",[8879,28110],"A post shared by MKG Marketing Inc (@mkgmarketinginc)",[28218,28219],"script",{"async":322,"src":28220},"\u002F\u002Fwww.instagram.com\u002Fembed.js",[24025,28222,28223],{},[14,28224,28225],{},"“We view that grassroots database as people who are energy supporters and want to stay informed with all good about industry and lend a hand when we need their support.”",[14,28227,28228],{},[206,28229,28232],{"href":28230,"rel":28231},"https:\u002F\u002Fassociationsuccess.org\u002Fengage\u002Fwhy-you-should-pony-up-the-cash-for-your-social-media-strategy",[210],"Check out the details of the post over on their website",[24,28234,28236],{"id":28235},"whats-it-like-to-be-a-cmo","What's it like to be a CMO?",[14,28238,28239,28243],{},[206,28240,28242],{"href":28241},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Faverage-cmo-tenure-2018\u002F","Last year we wrote about an incredible stat:"," The average CMO tenure at a high growth startup is only 18 months from entry to exit of the role.",[14,28245,28246],{},"That's not a lot of time to try and get a lot done!",[14,28248,28249],{},"When Karola Karlson took over as the part-time CMO of MeetFrank, a recruiting business based primarily in Europe, she wrote about the experience of the role in the eyes of the CMO.",[14,28251,28252,28253,212],{},"Curious what your CMO peers think or do in the first few months on the job? I'd highly recommend giving ",[206,28254,28257],{"href":28255,"rel":28256},"https:\u002F\u002Fkarolakarlson.com\u002Fnew-cmo-meetfrank-case-study\u002F",[210],"Karola's post a read",[24,28259,28261],{"id":28260},"until-march-my-friends","Until March, my friends!",[14,28263,28264,28265,28268,28269],{},"If you have any questions for us directly, don't hesitate to ",[206,28266,28267],{"href":11956},"visit our contact page"," to ask them or hit us up on Twitter at ",[206,28270,28273],{"href":28271,"rel":28272},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002Fmkgmarketinginc",[210],"@mkgmarketinginc",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":28275},[28276,28277,28278,28279,28280],{"id":28047,"depth":291,"text":28048},{"id":28057,"depth":291,"text":28058},{"id":28084,"depth":291,"text":28085},{"id":28235,"depth":291,"text":28236},{"id":28260,"depth":291,"text":28261},"2020-02-03","Trips to Chicago, San Jose and Seattle. Clients Being Recognized as Leaders in their Space. This (and more!) in the January 2020 View from Here post.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-january-2020-update",{"title":28032,"description":28282},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-january-2020-update","QCBMiSgRfLLSQusIGVwu98GL5xLKtuT7KEVJLrQXc8g",{"id":28289,"title":28290,"author":7,"authors":28291,"body":28292,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":28706,"description":28707,"extension":318,"img":28708,"imgAlt":7,"meta":28709,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":28710,"seo":28711,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":28290,"stem":28712,"updated":7,"__hash__":28713},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-2019-in-review.md","View from Here -  2019 in Review",[17174],{"type":11,"value":28293,"toc":28702},[28294,28308,28311,28314,28317,28320,28323,28326,28332,28335,28343,28350,28367,28370,28385,28391,28394,28397,28401,28410,28413,28424,28430,28433,28436,28439,28449,28452,28455,28462,28465,28469,28476,28479,28482,28485,28488,28491],[24025,28295,28296,28299,28302,28305],{},[14,28297,28298],{},"You're off to Great Places!",[14,28300,28301],{},"Today is your day!",[14,28303,28304],{},"Your mountain is waiting,",[14,28306,28307],{},"So... get on your way!",[14,28309,28310],{},"For me, it's important to reflect in a space where I can allow my mind to wander.",[14,28312,28313],{},"No task list.",[14,28315,28316],{},"No time limit.",[14,28318,28319],{},"No mental boundaries.",[14,28321,28322],{},"No rules.",[14,28324,28325],{},"Like I said: just let my mind wander.",[14,28327,28328,28329],{},"As I found a quiet place to reflect earlier this month, my mind thought of the famous Dr Seuss book ",[38,28330,28331],{},"Oh, The Places You'll Go.",[14,28333,28334],{},"But instead of \"Oh, the places you'll go\" my mind kept thinking:",[24025,28336,28337],{},[14,28338,28339,28340],{},"Oh, the ",[52,28341,28342],{},"places we've been",[14,28344,28345,28346,28349],{},"And I was really thinking of the places that ",[52,28347,28348],{},"we"," as a company have been this year. Places that are points on a map such as:",[46,28351,28352,28355,28358,28361,28364],{},[49,28353,28354],{},"Denver",[49,28356,28357],{},"Hoboken, New Jersey",[49,28359,28360],{},"New York City",[49,28362,28363],{},"the Bay Area",[49,28365,28366],{},"Seattle",[14,28368,28369],{},"We also had the privilege of:",[46,28371,28372,28375,28378],{},[49,28373,28374],{},"Meeting new team members as they joined the team. They joined us from Fort Lauderdale, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Austin ... all new faces bringing their experience to the table",[49,28376,28377],{},"Striking up relationships with new clients that wanted to learn from our talented team",[49,28379,28380,28381,28384],{},"Investing more time in current client relationships to make sure we were doing everything that we could to help the client - ",[52,28382,28383],{},"the hero in our story"," - succeed",[14,28386,28387,28388],{},"As my mind continued to wander about the places we've been this year, it me like a bolt of lightning: ",[52,28389,28390],{},"this post would not be a recap of all the things that happened in 2019.",[14,28392,28393],{},"Instead, this is an opportunity to share the things I personally benefited from in 2019 that I plan to bring into the new year with me.",[14,28395,28396],{},"Put your seatbelt on. Let's talk about things that helped me in 2019 that will benefit me in 2020 as well!",[24,28398,28400],{"id":28399},"know-the-mission-you-are-on","Know the Mission You Are On",[14,28402,28403,28404,28409],{},"Kerry and I decided to read and self-implement ",[206,28405,28408],{"href":28406,"rel":28407},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.eosworldwide.com\u002F",[210],"Traction (also known as EOS",") this year.",[14,28411,28412],{},"One of the first exercises when implementing EOS is to outline your mission. They also refer to it as your ...",[46,28414,28415,28418,28421],{},[49,28416,28417],{},"Purpose",[49,28419,28420],{},"Cause",[49,28422,28423],{},"Passion",[14,28425,28426,28427],{},"After much deliberation, we uncovered that our mission at MKG is to ",[52,28428,28429],{},"Help our clients grow big. We live for our clients - the hero - to grow big and land \"whales\".",[14,28431,28432],{},"That's right: Our clients are the hero in the story of MKG.",[14,28434,28435],{},"It's our responsibility to support the heroes so we can accomplish great things together.",[14,28437,28438],{},"This is a mission statement that we are just beginning to communicate internally as well as outside of the company.",[14,28440,28441,28442,28445,28446,28448],{},"Knowing our mission has helped us clarify ",[52,28443,28444],{},"who"," we want to work with as well as ",[52,28447,1177],{}," we want to work together.",[14,28450,28451],{},"We aren't in the business of helping clients grow revenues by 1% every year.",[14,28453,28454],{},"We are working with high-growth businesses that are looking to grow by double (and sometimes even triple) digits every single year.",[14,28456,28457,28458,28461],{},"And while we aren't responsible for ",[52,28459,28460],{},"all of that growth ourselves",", we have to come to the table with a growth mindset. And a mission. A mission that we want to help our heroes GROW BIG.",[14,28463,28464],{},"You'll be hearing more about this mission in the future. Get excited :)",[24,28466,28468],{"id":28467},"an-attitude-of-gratitude-will-take-you-a-long-way","An Attitude of Gratitude Will Take You a Long Way",[14,28470,28471,28472,28475],{},"It's really difficult for me to ",[52,28473,28474],{},"be grateful"," when things aren't going well.",[14,28477,28478],{},"Being grateful helps quiet all that noise in your head.",[14,28480,28481],{},"I don't mean to say that sometimes those feelings aren't valid (or even true!).",[14,28483,28484],{},"I'm just saying that noise can drown out all the good you have to bring to the world. To your kids or spouse. To the clients who depend on you. To your neighbor who is constantly parking in your parking spot on the street.",[14,28486,28487],{},"Practice being grateful. For me, it helps to drown out all the negative thoughts in my head so that I can actually do something productive.",[14,28489,28490],{},"Over the Thanksgiving holiday a few of our team members contributed videos talking about things they were grateful for. Give it a listen in the link below. Let us know if you felt strongly about anything that we expressed gratitude for.",[24025,28492,28494],{"dataInstgrmCaptioned":77,"dataInstgrmPermalink":28493,"dataInstgrmVersion":8159,"style":28101},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.instagram.com\u002Ftv\u002FB5ZYpKcHmgn\u002F?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading",[28103,28495,1042,28496,28498],{"style":28105},[206,28497,1042],{"href":28493,"style":28108},[28103,28499,28500,28502],{"style":28113},[206,28501,1042],{"href":28493,"style":28108},[28103,28503,28504,28506],{"style":28116},[206,28505,1042],{"href":28493,"style":28108},[28103,28507,28508,28510],{"style":28119},[206,28509,1042],{"href":28493,"style":28108},[28103,28511,28512,28514],{"style":28122},[206,28513,1042],{"href":28493,"style":28108},[28103,28515,28516,28518],{"style":28125},[206,28517],{"href":28493,"style":28108},[28103,28519,28520,28522],{"style":28128},[206,28521,1042],{"href":28493,"style":28108},[28103,28523,28524,28536],{"style":28131},[206,28525,28526],{"href":28493,"style":28108},[28133,28527,28528],{"width":28135,"height":28135,"viewBox":28136,"version":28137,"xmlns":28138},[28140,28529,28530],{"stroke":28142,"strokeWidth":28143,"fill":28142,"fillRule":28144},[28140,28531,28532],{"transform":28147,"fill":28148},[28140,28533,28534],{},[28152,28535],{"d":28154},[28103,28537,28538,28540],{"style":28157},[206,28539,1042],{"href":28493,"style":28108},[28103,28541,28542,28544],{"style":28160},[206,28543,28161],{"href":28493,"style":28108},[28103,28545,28546,28548],{"style":28164},[206,28547,1042],{"href":28493,"style":28108},[28103,28549,28550,28552],{"style":28167},[206,28551,1042],{"href":28493,"style":28108},[28103,28553,28554,28556],{"style":28172},[206,28555,1042],{"href":28493,"style":28108},[28103,28557,28558,28560],{"style":28175},[206,28559,1042],{"href":28493,"style":28108},[28103,28561,28562,28564],{"style":28178},[206,28563],{"href":28493,"style":28108},[28103,28565,28566,28568],{"style":28181},[206,28567,1042],{"href":28493,"style":28108},[28103,28569,28570,28572],{"style":28184},[206,28571,1042],{"href":28493,"style":28108},[28103,28573,28574,28576],{"style":28187},[206,28575],{"href":28493,"style":28108},[28103,28577,28578,28580],{"style":28190},[206,28579,1042],{"href":28493,"style":28108},[28103,28581,28582,28584],{"style":28193},[206,28583,1042],{"href":28493,"style":28108},[28103,28585,28586,28588],{"style":28196},[206,28587,1042],{"href":28493,"style":28108},[28103,28589,28590,28600,28619,28623,28626,28629,28636,28643,28649,28652,28664,28667,28674,28678,28681,28688,28691,28694],{"style":28199},[206,28591,1042,28592],{"href":28493,"style":28108},[14,28593,1042,28595,28599],{"style":28594}," margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;",[206,28596,28598],{"href":28493,"style":28597}," color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;","Would it be #thanksgiving without a #thankful video? Take a look at some of our team members and learn what they are thankful for this year! We wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving! We are so thankful for you and your support.","\n ",[14,28601,28602,28605,28610,28611,28599,28617],{"style":28211},[206,28603,28604],{"href":28493,"style":28108},"A post shared by ",[206,28606,28609],{"href":28607,"style":28608},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.instagram.com\u002Fmkgmarketinginc\u002F?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading"," color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;"," MKG Marketing Inc"," (@mkgmarketinginc) on ",[28612,28613,28616],"time",{"style":28614,"dateTime":28615}," font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;","2019-11-28T05:04:21+00:00","Nov 27, 2019 at 9:04pm PST",[28218,28618],{"async":322,"src":28220},[24,28620,28622],{"id":28621},"be-client-friendly","Be Client Friendly",[14,28624,28625],{},"AnDrae and I spoke with a prospective client earlier this year.",[14,28627,28628],{},"This client was fairly marketing savvy.",[14,28630,28631,28632,28635],{},"He also ",[38,28633,28634],{},"knew what he didn't know."," Which is what brought him to the table to discuss bringing our team onboard.",[14,28637,28638,28639,28642],{},"He had a ",[38,28640,28641],{},"terrible"," client experience with his previous PPC agency.",[14,28644,28645,28646],{},"If you boiled it down to one key issue; the working experience was just ",[38,28647,28648],{},"not friendly for our client.",[14,28650,28651],{},"This agency had a process that was literally set in stone. There was no room for flexibility or discussion.",[24025,28653,28654],{},[14,28655,28656,28657,28660,28661],{},"It was like my needs didn't matter. The process was incredibly un-friendly for me - the client - and I felt like nothing I said would change that. That's the point that I decided to leave them. Because the process worked great for ",[52,28658,28659],{},"them"," - but it was ",[52,28662,28663],{},"awful for me!",[14,28665,28666],{},"At MKG we are constantly trying to improve the way our Directors, Experts and Strategists work with clients.",[14,28668,28669,28670,28673],{},"It's critical to remember that what is good for us ",[38,28671,28672],{},"is not always good for our client."," And like a financial planner who is a fiduciary, we should always do what is in the best interest of our clients.",[24,28675,28677],{"id":28676},"charging-into-2020","Charging into 2020",[14,28679,28680],{},"There's a lot going on with our team as we charge into the 2020 calendar year.",[14,28682,28683,28684,28687],{},"We're going to need a few sharp, smiling faces to join the team. Check out our ",[206,28685,28686],{"href":24240},"jobs page"," to see what's out there.",[14,28689,28690],{},"At the same time, we are looking to do more work with our current client portfolio. Also, we'd like to bring one or two new clients into the fold.",[14,28692,28693],{},"If you are in charge of marketing at a fast growing healthcare or technology business, we would love to listen to your goals for 2020 as well as any obstacles that are in your way. You can schedule time with AnDrae and myself by viewing our calendars.",[28103,28695,28698],{"dataUrl":28696,"style":28697},"https:\u002F\u002F1zgok.share.hsforms.com\u002F2cOmJ7URST7aHvXaKILoupg?uuid=11a19469-5397-4111-90ab-08d517b6bddc?primary_color=87e548","min-width:320px;height:630px;",[28218,28699],{"type":28700,"src":28701},"text\u002Fjavascript","https:\u002F\u002Fassets.calendly.com\u002Fassets\u002Fexternal\u002Fwidget.js",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":28703},[28704,28705],{"id":28399,"depth":291,"text":28400},{"id":28467,"depth":291,"text":28468},"2019-12-20","Oh, the places we have been in 2019. Listen to CEO Mike Krass as he talks about all the places we are going in 2020.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthis-must-be-the-place.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-2019-in-review",{"title":28290,"description":28707},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-2019-in-review","drvJJ6v6dd-TPYY84NPNglDGLonBI9koq-KtrRMFwK8",{"id":28715,"title":28716,"author":7,"authors":28717,"body":28718,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":28913,"description":28914,"extension":318,"img":28915,"imgAlt":7,"meta":28916,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":28917,"seo":28918,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":28919,"updated":7,"__hash__":28920},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-october-2019-update.md","View from Here - November 2019 Update",[17174],{"type":11,"value":28719,"toc":28904},[28720,28723,28727,28730,28733,28736,28741,28748,28752,28761,28764,28767,28771,28783,28786,28789,28793,28797,28800,28803,28816,28824,28828,28831,28836,28839,28842,28850,28875,28879,28882,28885,28888,28893,28897],[14,28721,28722],{},"Hoping that everyone had a spooktacular month of October (couldn't help myself) and is looking forward to the approaching holidays here in November and December.\nThere was so much going on with the team and our clients in the month of October. Let's take a look!",[24,28724,28726],{"id":28725},"dan-santos-of-maxim-integrated-launches-movember-page","Dan Santos of Maxim Integrated Launches #movember Page",[14,28728,28729],{},"One of our favorite clients - Dan Santos of Maxim Integrated - is raising money for cancer research in the month of November.",[14,28731,28732],{},"What's the best way to do that? By growing an amazing mustache and accepting donations!",[14,28734,28735],{},"Hear the 'why' behind Dan's #movember 'stache below:",[24025,28737,28738],{},[14,28739,28740],{},"My motivation is always, and will always be my Grandparents who both passed away from cancer. My 30 day pledge is “Go-Go-Go Moo-Stache!” Please help me drive Awareness.",[14,28742,28743,28744],{},"Interested and able to donate towards the cause? Check out his page here: ",[206,28745,28746],{"href":28746,"rel":28747},"https:\u002F\u002Fus.movember.com\u002Fmospace\u002F14088108",[210],[24,28749,28751],{"id":28750},"team-visits-new-mariadb-hq-in-redwood-city-ca","Team Visits New MariaDB HQ in Redwood City, CA",[14,28753,28754,28755,28760],{},"After months of anticipation, our client ",[206,28756,28759],{"href":28757,"rel":28758},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.mariadb.com?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=mkglovesmariadb",[210],"MariaDB"," finally moved their entire company - along with the Clustrix team as part of that acquisition link - into their brand new office in Redwood City, California.",[14,28762,28763],{},"You can almost smell the 'new office' scent through this photo that Adam took!",[14,28765,28766],{},"![]('\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FMariaDB Office - MKG Marketing Visit.webp')",[24,28768,28770],{"id":28769},"whats-in-the-box","\"What's in the Box?\"",[14,28772,28773,28778,28779,28782],{},[206,28774,28777],{"href":28775,"rel":28776},"https:\u002Fwww.extrahop.com",[210],"ExtraHop Networks"," published a new video to their YouTube channel that ",[38,28780,28781],{},"visually shows"," what it would be like to 'touch' or 'feel' encrypted network traffic.",[14,28784,28785],{},"Besides the visual concept of trying to guess at the content of encrypted network traffic or packets of information, it's fun to watch some of our client's try (and fail) to guess what is they are touching.",[14,28787,28788],{},"Warning: Keep your speaker volume on medium or low toward the end of the video!",[16784,28790],{"width":16786,"height":16787,"src":28791,"frameBorder":16790,"allow":28792,"allowFullScreen":322},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002F1rC64UPZFSs","accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture",[24,28794,28796],{"id":28795},"coo-kerry-guard-quoted-on-inccom","COO Kerry Guard Quoted on Inc.com",[14,28798,28799],{},"Last month Kerry was asked why MKG Marketing moved away from an unlimited vacation policy. Her answer (along with 5 or 6 other business owners) was then featured on Inc.com",[14,28801,28802],{},"We'll save you the click and share Kerry's answer below.",[24025,28804,28805,28810,28813],{},[14,28806,28807],{},[52,28808,28809],{},"Implement a 'use it or lose it' policy.",[14,28811,28812],{},"While unlimited vacation sounds like a dream, most companies that implement this type of policy find that it has the opposite effect: People have no incentive to take time off if it's unlimited.",[14,28814,28815],{},"\"We realized no one was taking any vacation and were burning themselves out, so we instituted a 'use it or lose it policy' -- 20 days a year, and what you don't use does not roll over,\" says Kerry Guard, COO of MKG Marketing. \"We went from no one taking days to people using every last one!\"",[14,28817,28818,28819],{},"Want to learn from some of the other responses? ",[206,28820,28823],{"href":28821,"rel":28822},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.inc.com\u002Fyoung-entrepreneur-council\u002Fheres-how-to-get-your-hardworking-team-to-actually-use-their-vacation-days.html",[210],"Check out the story on Inc.com",[24,28825,28827],{"id":28826},"mkg-joins-instagram","MKG Joins Instagram!",[14,28829,28830],{},"As we began to serve a larger percentage of ads on Instagram this year, we paused to ask ourselves a very simple question:",[24025,28832,28833],{},[14,28834,28835],{},"Why aren't we on Instagram as MKG?",[14,28837,28838],{},"Problem solved!",[14,28840,28841],{},"![]('\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FMKG Instagram Page.webp')",[14,28843,28844,28845],{},"You can check out our latest podcast episodes, photos of the team eating beignets as well as learn about how our company values come to life by ",[206,28846,28849],{"href":28847,"rel":28848},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.instagram.com\u002Fmkgmarketinginc\u002F",[210],"visiting our page",[14,28851,28852,28853,28858,28859,1042,28862,24127,28866,2504,28870,28874],{},"Big thanks to ",[206,28854,28857],{"href":28855,"rel":28856},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fchristinakay\u002F",[210],"Christina"," on our team for leading the content strategy and social media management of our Instagram ",[38,28860,28861],{},"as well as",[206,28863,28865],{"href":27577,"rel":28864},[210],"Facebook",[206,28867,21745],{"href":28868,"rel":28869},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fcompany\u002Fmkg-media-group\u002F",[210],[206,28871,21748],{"href":28872,"rel":28873},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002Fmkgmarketinginc\u002F",[210]," pages. Follow us on those networks to stay up to date with all things MKG!",[24,28876,28878],{"id":28877},"halloween-costume-remix","Halloween Costume Remix!",[14,28880,28881],{},"Did you see the throwback photos of different MKG team members from Halloween's past?",[14,28883,28884],{},"If you did: Make sure to go back and smash the 'like' button on your favorites!",[14,28886,28887],{},"If you have not: Go check them out and do the same!",[16784,28889],{"src":28890,"width":28891,"height":28892,"style":25904,"scrolling":25905,"frameBorder":16790,"allowTransparency":25906,"allow":25907},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002Fplugins\u002Fpost.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fmkgmarketinginc%2Fposts%2F3046487952091505&width=500",500,764,[24,28894,28896],{"id":28895},"thats-all-he-wrote","That's all He Wrote!",[14,28898,28899,28900,28903],{},"If you have any questions for us , don't hesitate to hit us up on Twitter at ",[206,28901,28273],{"href":28271,"rel":28902},[210]," where we can reply to your tweet or DM a response.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":28905},[28906,28907,28908,28909,28910,28911,28912],{"id":28725,"depth":291,"text":28726},{"id":28750,"depth":291,"text":28751},{"id":28769,"depth":291,"text":28770},{"id":28795,"depth":291,"text":28796},{"id":28826,"depth":291,"text":28827},{"id":28877,"depth":291,"text":28878},{"id":28895,"depth":291,"text":28896},"2019-11-01","Childhood Halloween Costumes. Mustache Fundraisers. MKG Joining the Wild Worldof Instagram. These Things (and more!) in the October issue of the View from Here.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fview-from-here-nov-2019-skydive-2500x700.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-october-2019-update",{"title":28716,"description":28914},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-october-2019-update","VzhLE01wURPtkzZ9zDxN3M3gF4iPQorNbHS1NZUjX6A",{"id":28922,"title":28923,"author":7,"authors":28924,"body":28925,"caption":7,"category":28982,"date":28983,"description":28984,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":28985,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":28986,"seo":28987,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":28923,"stem":28988,"updated":7,"__hash__":28989},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fculture\u002Fcant-fake-culture.md","You Can’t Fake Culture",[26458],{"type":11,"value":28926,"toc":28980},[28927,28930,28933,28936,28939,28942,28945,28948,28951,28954,28957,28977],[14,28928,28929],{},"“Culture” is one of the latest agency\u002Fcompany buzzwords floating around. It makes sense. Retention is a tough nut to crack right now and it’s becoming more and more apparent that liking where you work is important to people. It’s not just about salary and status, but more and more about whether it feels like a good personal fit. Enter the agency era of “Culture”.",[14,28931,28932],{},"The thing is, you can talk about culture all day long, you can include it in your mission statement, your values, even your slogan, but it can’t be forced or faked with a positive outcome.",[14,28934,28935],{},"Working at an agency where I have been a remote employee 90% of the time in the last year and most of my co-workers are in similar situations it could seem impossible that we have a real company culture. How do you create a culture with a team that you see a couple times a year at best?",[14,28937,28938],{},"A few weeks ago on our first morning of the MKG semi-annual work retreat we got ready to do an escape room. Some of us hadn’t seen each other in a year and a half, none of us had met every single team member in-person. We’d met up for dinner the night before to kick things off, but otherwise hadn’t had much time together. I wasn’t sure what to expect.",[14,28940,28941],{},"“No bathroom breaks and no phones” the facilitator said, no leaving the room until we’d figured out how to unlock the box with eight other people, two of which I’d never met in person before. The box had a number of different locks on it requiring different things to open, such as colors, numbers, and letters, each lock requiring a different set of components. The room had a variety of objects strewn about, themed around the movies, and each of us had been given a few clues as well to get us started.",[14,28943,28944],{},"I certainly didn’t expect an experience that was practically seamless in working through the puzzles and clues and watching team members, who had never met, spend an hour or more working through a single puzzle together.",[14,28946,28947],{},"I’d never been in an escape room type scenario, but I’d always pictured it as a team effort focusing on the same thing all together with someone\u002Fs running the show. And maybe escape rooms are like that some of the time, but for us it was another day at the office, just more fun and in-person.",[14,28949,28950],{},"Our team is geographically spread out in New Orleans, Philly, Cleveland, Seattle, and Portland areas. We don’t spend much in-person time because a lot of us have small kids and so a lot of travel is difficult and inefficient. But we zoom and we gif and we slack and as I saw in action in the escape room, we’ve built up a solid level of trust and comfort with each other.",[14,28952,28953],{},"In the room we rarely spent time as a full team focused on a single puzzle, we mostly spread out and worked in small teams that were fluid, people coming and going from puzzles as they want to. Having new perspectives popping up throughout solving puzzles offered help rather than hindrance time and time again. No one assigned roles and in the end, everyone had at least one strong contribution to solving a puzzle and opening a lock on the box. And we emerged victorious, unlocking all of the locks without using a single cheat clue",[14,28955,28956],{},"I’m not going to tell you all of our secret sauce, but here’s a few key pieces of MKG culture that I think really contributed to our escape room synergy:",[132,28958,28959,28965,28971],{},[49,28960,28961,28964],{},[52,28962,28963],{},"Everyone has a voice."," Good, Neutral, Ugly. I’ve heard it all. We ask questions, give feedback, and share points of view weekly with an agency retrospective and bi-weekly one on ones. None of us is always right, not even our founders, and we’re better for it. In the escape room this meant no one was afraid to speak up if they had an idea.",[49,28966,28967,28970],{},[52,28968,28969],{},"Trust."," We try not to micromanage (I’m an Account Director, I’ll be honest, sometimes it happens). As ADs we trust our team to be the experts on our client’s Digital Ads, SEO, and analytics needs. We may offer ideas or perspective but we defer to our experts on what needs to be done and the best way to do it. In the escape room the team self selected what they worked on when and rather than being disorganized or a mess, it allowed everyone to play to their strengths and efficiently move where they could contribute. Everyone had a hands on role rather than someone orchestrating without contributing.",[49,28972,28973,28976],{},[52,28974,28975],{},"Be silly."," This sounds corny, but it’s essential. Last week we had a 40 comment thread about chili on one of our slack channels. It started out of the blue and just caught fire. It was fun and a much needed outlet during a busy work week. I’ve gotten every single one of our team members to sing karaoke now, even the ones who claimed they wouldn’t. Being silly often means being vulnerable and establishes a level of comfort that can be surprising and extremely beneficial to your company culture. In the escape room we had to do a dance montage as one of the challenges and no one hesitated.",[14,28978,28979],{},"Our retreat next year is going to be in the Windy City and I’m already looking forward to it. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to our daily video calls, GIFs, and this Friday when everyone shares their halloween costumes.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":28981},[],"culture","2019-10-31","How culture brings synergy in working remotely and in person.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fculture\u002Fcant-fake-culture",{"title":28923,"description":28984},"blog\u002Fculture\u002Fcant-fake-culture","BAXI-jJjVR7fDUGSluOw1x-Dl7KRMEhs8ZaspCl8dgY",{"id":28991,"title":28992,"author":7,"authors":28993,"body":28994,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":29211,"description":29212,"extension":318,"img":29213,"imgAlt":7,"meta":29214,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":29215,"seo":29216,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":28992,"stem":29217,"updated":7,"__hash__":29218},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-september-2019-update.md","View from Here -  September 2019 Update",[17174],{"type":11,"value":28995,"toc":29203},[28996,28999,29013,29016,29020,29026,29029,29038,29041,29050,29053,29056,29060,29066,29069,29080,29083,29086,29089,29092,29095,29103,29112,29116,29119,29131,29134,29137,29141,29145,29148,29161,29172,29179,29183,29186,29189,29191,29194],[14,28997,28998],{},"2019 is officially two-thirds of the way over. Where has the year gone? As time continues to fly, September brings things like:",[46,29000,29001,29007,29010],{},[49,29002,29003,29004,29006],{},"Pumpkin spiced ",[52,29005,26986],{}," assaulting everyone's senses (latte's, candy corn, pie, bread, etc.)",[49,29008,29009],{},"School is back in session",[49,29011,29012],{},"Football can be found on TV at least 5 nights a week",[14,29014,29015],{},"Speaking of football, let's start there as we recap the last thirty days here at MKG Marketing.",[24,29017,29019],{"id":29018},"browns-fan-continues-to-claim-this-is-our-year","Browns Fan Continues to Claim \"This is our year!\"",[14,29021,29022,29023],{},"I've never met a fan base who was collectively ",[38,29024,29025],{},"all on brand and message.",[14,29027,29028],{},"Have you ever spoken to a Cleveland Browns fan? If so, I'm sure one of the first things that came out of their mouth was.",[24025,29030,29031],{},[14,29032,29033],{},[52,29034,29035],{},[38,29036,29037],{},"I'm telling you man this is our year!",[14,29039,29040],{},"The only other thing you'll hear them say when things are going poorly is...",[24025,29042,29043],{},[14,29044,29045],{},[52,29046,29047],{},[38,29048,29049],{},"Next year. I'm telling you next year is our year!",[14,29051,29052],{},"MKG's resident Cleveland Browns fan, Christina Kay, made it to one of their preseason games to cheer them on. Check it out!",[14,29054,29055],{},"![]('\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FCLE Browns Preseason NFL game.webp')",[24,29057,29059],{"id":29058},"some-of-mkgs-favorite-people-are-on-the-move","Some of MKG's Favorite People are on the Move",[14,29061,29062,29063],{},"A few of our favorite people that we've worked with in the past are ",[38,29064,29065],{},"on the move.",[14,29067,29068],{},"Steven Shapiro just joined CleverTap to lead their GTM plans for the Americas. We've worked with Steven over the past few years during his time at:",[46,29070,29071,29074,29077],{},[49,29072,29073],{},"Cloud product and services marketing at VMware",[49,29075,29076],{},"DevOps lead generation efforts at Weaveworks",[49,29078,29079],{},"Organic search growth at Informatica",[14,29081,29082],{},"Please join us in clicking on this link to say 'Welcome to CleverTap' to Steven on LinkedIn.",[14,29084,29085],{},"![]('\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FSteven Shapiro CleverTap and MKG Marketing.webp')",[14,29087,29088],{},"Another one of our favorite demand generation friends, Lindsey Reisbeck, recently joined DataStax as their Senior Director of Global Marketing Operations and Analytics.",[14,29090,29091],{},"While we sent Steven a few bottles of Napa red wine to help him ease into the new role, our team got creative and sent Lindsey a bundle of TaskRabbit credits to use as she sees fit.",[14,29093,29094],{},"Starting a new job often means long hours and TaskRabbit credits can help you get lunch delivered to your desk or have someone mow your lawn because you're just too busy to get to it!",[14,29096,29097,29098],{},"I'd also like to mention that Lindsey is hiring. Check out her ",[206,29099,29102],{"href":29100,"rel":29101},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fposts\u002Flindseyreisbeck_were-hiring-here-at-datastax-sr-marketing-activity-6568166765791105024-QG_x",[210],"job post here on LinkedIn!",[14,29104,29105,29106,29111],{},"![",[206,29107,29110],{"href":29108,"rel":29109},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fposts\u002Flindseyreisbeck%5D('\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FDataStax",[210],"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fposts\u002Flindseyreisbeck]('\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FDataStax"," hiring.webp')",[24,29113,29115],{"id":29114},"talking-about-marketing-with-el-centros-cohort-4","Talking about Marketing with El Centro's Cohort #4",[14,29117,29118],{},"I had the pleasure of meeting with the new cohort at the New Orleans chapter of El Centro. El Centro's mission is to provide financial education and counseling to individuals and entrepreneurs of different nationalities Latinas.",[14,29120,29121,29122,29127],{},"Should you want to learn more about this national organization, feel free to check out their website to learn more about the services and education they provide: [",[206,29123,29126],{"href":29124,"rel":29125},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.elcentrola.org\u002Fwhat-we-do.html%5D(",[210],"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.elcentrola.org\u002Fwhat-we-do.html](",[206,29128,29129],{"href":29129,"rel":29130},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.elcentrola.org\u002Fwhat-we-do.html",[210],[14,29132,29133],{},"The evening was full of energy: every single one of the business owners came prepared with questions as well as confirmed that they learned 2 or 3 things that they could do immediately to help improve the performance of their digital marketing efforts.",[14,29135,29136],{},"Check out the session on their Facebook",[16784,29138],{"src":29139,"width":28891,"height":29140,"style":25904,"scrolling":25905,"frameBorder":16790,"allowTransparency":25906,"allow":25907},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002Fplugins\u002Fpost.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Felcentrola%2Fposts%2F435327417191784&width=500",444,[24,29142,29144],{"id":29143},"new-clients-amperity-conviva-and-octapharma-usa","New Clients: Amperity, Conviva and Octapharma USA",[14,29146,29147],{},"August was a busy month as we put pen-to-paper with three fantastic new client organizations.",[14,29149,29150,29151,29154,29155,29160],{},"We were reunited with our old colleague ",[52,29152,29153],{},"Adam Sinnett at Amperity",". ",[206,29156,29159],{"href":29157,"rel":29158},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fposts\u002Fadamsinnett_seattle-seattlestartups-linkedintopstartups-activity-6575042842769661952-LlAg\u002F",[210],"LinkedIn named Amperity one of the hottest new companies in the United States of America."," Awesome news!",[14,29162,29163,29166,29167],{},[52,29164,29165],{},"Conviva"," is developing and bringing technology to market that every single one of you sees every day. ",[206,29168,29171],{"href":29169,"rel":29170},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.conviva.com\u002Fvideo-ai\u002F",[210],"Their product is used by brands like HBO, Hulu, Netflix, CBS and many more to measure video analytics for streaming service applications.",[14,29173,29174,29175,29178],{},"Not to be left out, after discussing how to best help bring their brands into the digital age we are thrilled to announce that we will be supporting ",[52,29176,29177],{},"Wilate, NUWIQ, IgCares and Cutaquig's"," digital marketing activity across search, social and analytics beginning in September.",[24,29180,29182],{"id":29181},"sneak-peak-denver-in-person-summit","Sneak Peak: Denver In-Person Summit",[14,29184,29185],{},"Later this month the entire team will be flying to beautiful Denver, Colorado, for 48 hours of team building activities.",[14,29187,29188],{},"Stay tuned for next month's update as we post video and photos from the Summit :)",[24,29190,28896],{"id":28895},[14,29192,29193],{},"You know how this part of the post goes: we're all finished for this month!",[14,29195,29196,29197,28268,29199,29202],{},"If you have any questions for me directly, don't hesitate to ",[206,29198,28267],{"href":11956},[206,29200,28273],{"href":28271,"rel":29201},[210]," where we can reply to your tweet or DM you in response.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":29204},[29205,29206,29207,29208,29209,29210],{"id":29018,"depth":291,"text":29019},{"id":29058,"depth":291,"text":29059},{"id":29114,"depth":291,"text":29115},{"id":29143,"depth":291,"text":29144},{"id":29181,"depth":291,"text":29182},{"id":28895,"depth":291,"text":28896},"2019-09-03","The meteoric rise of the Cleveland Browns this offseason. Some of MKG's favoritepeople on the move. This (and more!) in the September 2019 *View from Here* post.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fview-from-here-october-2019.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-september-2019-update",{"title":28992,"description":29212},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-september-2019-update","Si-qm5cWd-VEevE84FGfboNbEy24OM55HnrhMKMi0pw",{"id":29220,"title":29221,"author":7,"authors":29222,"body":29223,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":29360,"description":29361,"extension":318,"img":29362,"imgAlt":7,"meta":29363,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":29364,"seo":29365,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":29221,"stem":29366,"updated":7,"__hash__":29367},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-july-2019-update.md","View from Here -  July 2019 Update",[17174],{"type":11,"value":29224,"toc":29354},[29225,29240,29243,29247,29256,29265,29273,29276,29280,29283,29286,29289,29292,29295,29299,29313,29316,29327,29333,29338,29342,29345],[14,29226,29227,29228,29230,29231,1258,29235,29239],{},"We're on a roll now! July marks the third consecutive month of the ",[38,29229,25568],{}," blog series. If you didn't get a chance to read ",[206,29232,29234],{"href":29233},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-may-2019\u002F","the May 2019",[206,29236,29238],{"href":29237},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-june-2019\u002F","June 2019"," posts you can look them up here.",[14,29241,29242],{},"Allora (\"so...\" in Italian) ... what happened at MKG Marketing in the past 30 days?",[24,29244,29246],{"id":29245},"contentstack-wins-codie-award-for-best-content-management-platform","Contentstack Wins CODiE Award for Best Content Management Platform",[14,29248,29249,29250,29255],{},"Our client Contentstack delivers a phenomenal ",[206,29251,29254],{"href":29252,"rel":29253},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.contentstack.com\u002Fcms-guides\u002Fheadless-cms",[210],"headless CMS"," product that can serve the needs of engineers, marketers as well as business users.",[14,29257,29258,29259,29264],{},"We are thrilled to mention that they've been ",[206,29260,29263],{"href":29261,"rel":29262},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.siia.net\u002FSIIA-Announces-2019-CODiE-Award-Winners-for-Business-Technology",[210],"awarded the SIIA 2019 CODiE Award for Best Content Management Platform"," this Spring. Right on!",[14,29266,29267,29268],{},"Read more about this big win on the ",[206,29269,29272],{"href":29270,"rel":29271},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.contentstack.com\u002Fblog\u002Fannouncements\u002Fbest-content-management-platform-2019-siia-codie-award",[210],"Contentstack blog.",[14,29274,29275],{},"![]('\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fbest content management platform contentstack.webp')",[24,29277,29279],{"id":29278},"john-ballard-travels-to-spain","John Ballard Travels to Spain",[14,29281,29282],{},"John just returned from a week and a half of traveling through Spain. Check out a few of his photos from his time off!",[14,29284,29285],{},"Take a look at John (in the bright green shorts!) and his wife in Montserrat in Spain. This area is rumored to have a lot of UFO activity in the area ... spooky!",[14,29287,29288],{},"![Lots of UFO and Strange activity in this area]('\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FJ Ballard compressed monserat.webp')",[14,29290,29291],{},"And here is John photographed in front of the Sagrada Familia. While it's been under construction for over a century, it only took John a little bit more than a decade to finally visit Barcelona and enter the church ;)",[14,29293,29294],{},"![]('\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FJohn Ballard, Sagrada Family - MKG Marketing.webp')",[24,29296,29298],{"id":29297},"kerry-speaks-to-propellant-labs-about-people-first-culture","Kerry Speaks to Propellant Labs about People First Culture",[14,29300,29301,29306,29307,29312],{},[206,29302,29305],{"href":29303,"rel":29304},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fgeneswank\u002F",[210],"Gene Swank"," of ",[206,29308,29311],{"href":29309,"rel":29310},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.propellantlabs.com\u002F",[210],"Propellant Labs"," asked COO Kerry Guard to lead an HR and Culture discussion with the Propellant Labs incubator businesses.",[14,29314,29315],{},"Kerry covered:",[46,29317,29318,29321,29324],{},[49,29319,29320],{},"The role of Values in setting your culture",[49,29322,29323],{},"How HR is important at a fast-growing business",[49,29325,29326],{},"Q&A from other business owners",[14,29328,29329,29330],{},"If you have any questions for Kerry about culture or HR at a fast-growing company don't hesitate to mention or DM us on Twitter at ",[206,29331,28273],{"href":28271,"rel":29332},[210],[14,29334,29335],{},[75,29336],{"alt":77,"src":29337},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fkerry-guard-propellant-labs-values-20190626.webp",[24,29339,29341],{"id":29340},"thats-a-wrap","That's a wrap!",[14,29343,29344],{},"Lots of exciting things happening at MKG in the past 30 days - and even more are on the horizon!",[14,29346,29347,29348,28268,29351],{},"If you have any questions for me directly, don't hesitate to visit our ",[206,29349,29350],{"href":11956},"contact page",[206,29352,28273],{"href":28271,"rel":29353},[210],{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":29355},[29356,29357,29358,29359],{"id":29245,"depth":291,"text":29246},{"id":29278,"depth":291,"text":29279},{"id":29297,"depth":291,"text":29298},{"id":29340,"depth":291,"text":29341},"2019-07-01","Contentstack wins a CODiE Award. John Ballard Finally Visits the Sagrada Familiain Spain. Learn What Else Happened at MKG Marketing in the Past 30 Days.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FView from Here post July 2019.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-july-2019-update",{"title":29221,"description":29361},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-july-2019-update","rt7VmsM3-K-e9P40Rry4dWiEpysyptcLMxrobtmSwL4",{"id":29369,"title":29370,"author":7,"authors":29371,"body":29372,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":29488,"description":29489,"extension":318,"img":29490,"imgAlt":7,"meta":29491,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":29492,"seo":29493,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":29494,"stem":29495,"updated":7,"__hash__":29496},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fdemand-gen-marketer-zack-wooster-cloudian.md","Voice of the Demand Gen Marketer: Zack Wooster from Cloudian",[9],{"type":11,"value":29373,"toc":29482},[29374,29377,29380,29383,29386,29389,29392,29395,29398,29412,29416,29419,29429,29432,29435,29438,29442,29447,29451,29454,29460,29464,29467,29472,29479],[14,29375,29376],{},"We're constantly looking to meet (and exceed!) the needs of our Demand Generation Marketing clients.",[14,29378,29379],{},"The team reads some of the top Demand Generation (Demand Gen) blogs.",[14,29381,29382],{},"Follows Demand Gen experts on social media.",[14,29384,29385],{},"Plans and executes Demand Gen programs across Organic Search and Digital Ads.",[14,29387,29388],{},"We analyze the results of our Demand Gen programs on a daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly basis to try to drive growth for our clients.",[14,29390,29391],{},"And really it's our clients who are the hero's here: the women and men who are leading (or a part of!) Demand Gen marketing teams at high growth businesses here in the United States.",[14,29393,29394],{},"So we wanted to give the Demand Gen Marketer a voice. We want them to be heard!",[14,29396,29397],{},"Specifically we wanted to learn more about the following:",[46,29399,29400,29403,29406,29409],{},[49,29401,29402],{},"What is the consequence of status quo in your role (and don't just say 'its bad!')",[49,29404,29405],{},"What challenges do you face on a daily basis and how do you respond to these challenges?",[49,29407,29408],{},"Is there one thing that you fear most in your role? If more than one, share the top fears you face on a daily basis.",[49,29410,29411],{},"What risks do you take in your role? When you decide to take a risk, how do you approach the decision?",[24,29413,29415],{"id":29414},"enter-the-voice-of-the-demand-gen-marketer-study","Enter: the Voice of the Demand Gen Marketer Study",[14,29417,29418],{},"We just drafted and published our Voice of the Demand Gen Marketer study. The objective is to collect insights from Demand Gen leaders across the US to understand what similarities and differences they share (in aggregate) with regards to the four questions above.",[14,29420,29421,29422,29424,29425,29428],{},"Not only do ",[52,29423,28348],{}," as MKG want to understand this; we want to aggregate, analyze and distribute the results of the study ",[52,29426,29427],{},"back to Demand Gen Marketers and Leaders"," so they can hear from their own peers!",[14,29430,29431],{},"As we are collecting responses during the open study period, we'll be publishing a select few here on the blog as well as social media as individual responses.",[14,29433,29434],{},"That being said, please give a warm Internet welcome to Zack Wooster, Demand Gen Marketer at Cloudian!",[14,29436,29437],{},"While we don't want to share every single answer that Zack provided, we did",[24,29439,29441],{"id":29440},"what-is-the-consequence-of-status-quo-in-your-role","What is the consequence of status quo in your role?",[24025,29443,29444],{},[14,29445,29446],{},"If we present our numbers at a QBR or board meeting showing stagnant growth, it reflects horribly on all of Marketing’s efforts. Each sales person relies on marketing to bring them hot and qualified opportunities. Their paychecks depend on it. If your demand generation strategy is not bringing sales qualified leads, then all of Marketing may take the heat. The worst case scenario is if your KPIs don’t show growth, the pressure will fall upon the Marketing executives. It is not uncommon to see Marketing executives let go due to stagnant growth.",[24,29448,29450],{"id":29449},"curious-to-know-the-rest-of-zacks-answers","Curious to know the rest of Zack's answers?",[14,29452,29453],{},"We'll be posting Zack's responses to the other three questions on our Facebook page over the next few weeks.",[14,29455,29456,29457],{},"You can read those by visiting us on Facebook and smashing that 'like' button to get notified when we post updates: ",[206,29458,27577],{"href":27577,"rel":29459},[210],[24,29461,29463],{"id":29462},"want-your-voice-to-be-heard","Want your voice to be heard?",[14,29465,29466],{},"Are you a demand gen practitioner or leader at a high growth business here in the US?",[14,29468,29469],{},[38,29470,29471],{},"Then we would love to hear from you!",[14,29473,29474,29475],{},"All you have to do is click the hero image below to be directed to the study. Make sure your voice is heard and learn from your peers while you're at it! Follow this Google Form to take the study: ",[206,29476,29477],{"href":29477,"rel":29478},"https:\u002F\u002Fforms.gle\u002FmeMeketY7G6a47xK7",[210],[14,29480,29481],{},"![]('\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FShare Your Thoughts.webp')",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":29483},[29484,29485,29486,29487],{"id":29414,"depth":291,"text":29415},{"id":29440,"depth":291,"text":29441},{"id":29449,"depth":291,"text":29450},{"id":29462,"depth":291,"text":29463},"2019-06-09","Zack Wooster discusses his challenges, fears, and risks in being a Demand GenMarketer. Hear his voice.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fzack-wooster-cloudian-2.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fdemand-gen-marketer-zack-wooster-cloudian",{"title":29370,"description":29489},"Voice of the Demand Gen Marketer | Hard Questions Podcast","blog\u002Fnews\u002Fdemand-gen-marketer-zack-wooster-cloudian","6FIyA_8W2nNGlVxbISxMak_Eew2VuPM4bn60Mrxhbr8",{"id":29498,"title":29499,"author":7,"authors":29500,"body":29501,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":29702,"description":29703,"extension":318,"img":29704,"imgAlt":7,"meta":29705,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":29706,"seo":29707,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":29499,"stem":29708,"updated":7,"__hash__":29709},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-june-2019.md","View from Here -  June 2019 Update",[17174],{"type":11,"value":29502,"toc":29692},[29503,29507,29516,29522,29533,29536,29539,29543,29546,29549,29560,29563,29583,29590,29594,29603,29606,29618,29622,29626,29629,29632,29643,29646,29651,29655,29662,29668,29672,29675,29681,29683,29685],[24,29504,29506],{"id":29505},"view-from-here-june-2019","View from Here: June 2019",[14,29508,29509,29510,29512,29513,212],{},"Last month marked the first ",[38,29511,25568],{}," post on the blog. If you didn't get a chance to read that I'd highly recommend familiarizing yourself with the format by ",[206,29514,29515],{"href":29233},"reading the May 2019 post",[14,29517,29518,29519,29521],{},"As a quick reminder the monthly ",[38,29520,25568],{}," post will cover topics such as:",[46,29523,29524,29527,29530],{},[49,29525,29526],{},"Company goals (and progress to these goals)",[49,29528,29529],{},"News and current and new team members",[49,29531,29532],{},"Victories that our clients are seeing in a not-so-humble-brag format :)",[14,29534,29535],{},"We're going to write about these topics (and more!) using the lens of the past 30 days.",[14,29537,29538],{},"So ... what happened at MKG Marketing in the past 30 days?",[81,29540,29542],{"id":29541},"quarterly-all-hands-meeting-complete","Quarterly All Hands Meeting: Complete!",[14,29544,29545],{},"All-hands meetings at MKG are important because they help us live our value of Transparency. They also help align the team as we continue to deliver first class service to our clients.",[14,29547,29548],{},"Every quarter the team puts their digital marketing pencils down to spend 90 minutes talking about:",[46,29550,29551,29554,29557],{},[49,29552,29553],{},"Company mission, goals, strategy and performance",[49,29555,29556],{},"Celebrate people and accomplishments",[49,29558,29559],{},"Live Q&A",[14,29561,29562],{},"Our Q2 2019 all hands meeting was held on Friday, May 24th. During that meeting we discussed:",[46,29564,29565,29568,29571,29574,29577,29580],{},[49,29566,29567],{},"New faces on the team",[49,29569,29570],{},"An internal promotion (more on that below!)",[49,29572,29573],{},"Financial performance through the first half of 2019",[49,29575,29576],{},"Adjustment to our team and client structure",[49,29578,29579],{},"Sales and marketing activity that didn't work as well as we wanted it to in the first part of the year",[49,29581,29582],{},"Our pivot'd sales and marketing plans for the second half of 2019",[14,29584,29585,29586,29589],{},"Does your company have a regular meeting rhythm for All Company meeting? We'd love to hear about it on Twitter at ",[206,29587,28273],{"href":28271,"rel":29588},[210]," if you do!",[81,29591,29593],{"id":29592},"digital-marketing-session-with-el-centro","Digital Marketing Session with El Centro",[14,29595,29596,29597,29602],{},"The mission for ",[206,29598,29601],{"href":29599,"rel":29600},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.elcentrola.org\u002F",[210],"El Centro"," is to provide financial education along with sales, marketing and business counseling to individuals and entrepreneurs of different nationalities.",[14,29604,29605],{},"In May we had the opportunity to speak to a group of 8 business owners going through the 6-week El Centro accelerator program about the basics of digital marketing for their business.",[14,29607,29608,29609,29614],{},"If you want to learn more about El Centro's mission, you can check out the 2018 annual report on their website: [",[206,29610,29613],{"href":29611,"rel":29612},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.elcentrola.org\u002Fimpacto.html%5D(",[210],"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.elcentrola.org\u002Fimpacto.html](",[206,29615,29616],{"href":29616,"rel":29617},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.elcentrola.org\u002Fimpacto.html",[210],[16784,29619],{"src":29620,"width":28891,"height":29621,"style":25904,"scrolling":25905,"frameBorder":16790,"allowTransparency":25906,"allow":25907},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002Fplugins\u002Fpost.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Felcentrola%2Fposts%2F394698857921307&width=500",757,[81,29623,29625],{"id":29624},"john-ballard-joins-the-team","John Ballard Joins the Team",[14,29627,29628],{},"The team has continued to grow! Last month John Ballard joined the team as an SEO Expert, bringing us to 11 full time digital marketers.",[14,29630,29631],{},"A few fun facts about John:",[46,29633,29634,29637,29640],{},[49,29635,29636],{},"When it comes to fast casual, John is a huge fan of Raising Cane's and Izzo's Illegal Burritos (we've all got our food vices!)",[49,29638,29639],{},"A native of the great state of Texas, John now calls Philadelphia, PA home with his wife and two fur babies (aka dogs)",[49,29641,29642],{},"With more than 8 years of experience as an SEO along with more years of digital marketing expertise, John brings a ton of valuable knowledge to our client accounts",[14,29644,29645],{},"If you haven't already gone to LinkedIn to digitally wave \"hello\" to John, visit the link below to make him welcome as he gets his feet under him here at MKG Marketing.",[16784,29647],{"src":29648,"height":29649,"width":29650,"frameBorder":16790,"allowFullScreen":322},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fembed\u002Ffeed\u002Fupdate\u002Furn:li:ugcPost:6533727801151938560",808,487,[81,29652,29654],{"id":29653},"adam-bullock-promoted-to-account-director","Adam Bullock Promoted to Account Director",[14,29656,29657,29658],{},"After three years at MKG Marketing, we are proud to announce that ",[206,29659,29661],{"href":24266,"rel":29660},[210],"Adam Bullock earned a promotion to the role of Account Director.",[14,29663,29664,29665],{},"If you want to say congrats on the new role directly to Adam you can leave us a post on the wall of our Facebook company page by visiting this link: ",[206,29666,27577],{"href":27577,"rel":29667},[210],[81,29669,29671],{"id":29670},"jenna-returns-to-work-on-june-3rd","Jenna Returns to Work on June 3rd",[14,29673,29674],{},"After welcoming a new addition to their family earlier this year, Jenna is returning to work on Monday, June 3rd (that's today!)",[14,29676,29677,29678],{},"Feel free to welcome her back to work by leaving a post on the wall of our Facebook company page: ",[206,29679,27577],{"href":27577,"rel":29680},[210],[81,29682,29341],{"id":29340},[14,29684,29344],{},[14,29686,29196,29687,28268,29689],{},[206,29688,28267],{"href":11956},[206,29690,28273],{"href":28271,"rel":29691},[210],{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":29693},[29694],{"id":29505,"depth":291,"text":29506,"children":29695},[29696,29697,29698,29699,29700,29701],{"id":29541,"depth":297,"text":29542},{"id":29592,"depth":297,"text":29593},{"id":29624,"depth":297,"text":29625},{"id":29653,"depth":297,"text":29654},{"id":29670,"depth":297,"text":29671},{"id":29340,"depth":297,"text":29341},"2019-06-03","The quarterly all hands meeting. Adam being promoted. Jenna returning from MaternityLeave. And John joining the team. These are a few of the exciting things that happened in May at MKG Marketing!","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FView from Here - June 2019.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-june-2019",{"title":29499,"description":29703},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-june-2019","O_hXDoNaInoeNFmYZKV4aSL3B9-zd2ejgzUqM4NqsIg",{"id":29711,"title":29712,"author":7,"authors":29713,"body":29714,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":29934,"description":29935,"extension":318,"img":29936,"imgAlt":7,"meta":29937,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":29938,"seo":29939,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":29940,"updated":7,"__hash__":29941},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-may-2019.md","View from Here - May 2019 Update",[17174],{"type":11,"value":29715,"toc":29924},[29716,29720,29726,29739,29742,29745,29750,29757,29760,29769,29775,29778,29782,29785,29791,29794,29804,29807,29816,29819,29822,29830,29833,29837,29851,29854,29863,29868,29872,29875,29878,29884,29892,29895,29901,29909,29912,29914,29917],[24,29717,29719],{"id":29718},"view-from-here-may-2019","View from Here: May 2019",[14,29721,29722,29723,29725],{},"Here at MKG Marketing we take a lot of pride in being ",[206,29724,23988],{"href":23656},"with our team, clients and partners. As one of our company values, transparency encourages us to share news internally - which I do every Monday morning when I send a Weekly 1 Page Update to the team. The Weekly 1 Page Update discusses:",[46,29727,29728,29730,29733,29736],{},[49,29729,29526],{},[49,29731,29732],{},"Scheduling updates, such as a team member being on PTO",[49,29734,29735],{},"New team members joining the team",[49,29737,29738],{},"Business development updates, including a brief description of where different prospects are at in our sales pipeline",[14,29740,29741],{},"Hearing directly from the team, the internal-facing Weekly 1 Page Update is really helpful to keep everyone up to speed on the state of the agency.",[14,29743,29744],{},"As I reflected on the simple-yet-powerful impact of the Weekly 1 Page Update internally, I asked myself a question:",[24025,29746,29747],{},[14,29748,29749],{},"What if we updated the world on the state of MKG Marketing on a regular basis?",[81,29751,29753,29754,29756],{"id":29752},"enter-my-monthly-view-from-here-post","Enter: my monthly ",[38,29755,25568],{}," post.",[14,29758,29759],{},"Each and every month I plan to publish an update to let you - our clients, partners and blog subscribers - know what is happening here at MKG.",[14,29761,29762,29763,29765,29766,29768],{},"I settled on the name ",[38,29764,25568],{}," for a simple reason: my role at MKG Marketing allows me to see and hear nearly everything happening at the agency. And in the spirit of transparency I wanted to share that view in my monthly ",[38,29767,25568],{}," updates.",[14,29770,29771,29772,29774],{},"Some updates will be short. Others will be longer. There is no predetermined length of the update. As a coach of mine once said \"It'll take as long as it takes.\" The same applies each month in the ",[38,29773,25568],{}," update.",[14,29776,29777],{},"Let's get to this first update!",[81,29779,29781],{"id":29780},"new-clients-at-mkg-marketing","New Clients at MKG Marketing",[14,29783,29784],{},"We're pleased to announce that we have begun working with Bento for Business and Maxim Integrated in the past 30 days.",[14,29786,29787,29790],{},[206,29788,23703],{"href":23701,"rel":29789},[210]," provides \"Employee Expense Cards Exclusively For Business.\" In plain English; they provide employers with the power to provide physical\u002Fdigital debit cards that employees can expense purchases with as opposed to opening up a business credit card for every single employee that needs to spend money on behalf of the business.",[14,29792,29793],{},"Employers can control how much, where and when employees spend money. You can also turn cards on\u002Foff with a single click in their online or mobile application as well as set spending limits (e.g. \"Mike has a $1,000 limit before this card gets declined\") and get real-time alerts when employees are spending money on behalf of the business.",[14,29795,29796,29799,29800],{},[52,29797,29798],{},"Also I should mention that Bento for Business is hiring!"," Check out the careers page of their website to see the engineering, marketing, ops and other open roles between their Chicago and San Francisco offices (screengrab of openings below): ",[206,29801,29802],{"href":29802,"rel":29803},"https:\u002F\u002Fbentoforbusiness.com\u002Fcareers\u002F",[210],[14,29805,29806],{},"![]('\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fbento for business job openings april 2019.webp')",[14,29808,29809,29810,29815],{},"We are also thrilled to announce that ",[206,29811,29814],{"href":29812,"rel":29813},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.maximintegrated.com\u002Fen.html",[210],"Maxim Integrated"," has joined our active roster of SEO clients. They design, manufacture, and sell analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits.",[14,29817,29818],{},"While there are quite a few applications, Maxim Integrated develops integrated circuits (ICs) most commonly for the automotive, industrial, communications, consumer, and computing markets.",[14,29820,29821],{},"Besides bringing an exciting new client on board, we're ecstatic to be reunited with the awesome Dan Santos and his team (headed up by Jeanne Quach - hey Jeanne!) to take on large competitors like Texas Instruments (TI we're coming for you!) in the Search Engine Optimization arena.",[14,29823,29824,29825],{},"Check out some photos from our recent trip to their ",[206,29826,29829],{"href":29827,"rel":29828},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Ffeed\u002Fupdate\u002Furn:li:activity:6526942435082321920",[210],"global headquarters in San Jose, while you're at it!",[14,29831,29832],{},"![](\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002F'Maxim Integrated Global Headquarters Trip - April 2019.webp')",[81,29834,29836],{"id":29835},"contentstack-and-informatica-win-industry-awardsrecognition","Contentstack and Informatica Win Industry Awards\u002FRecognition",[14,29838,29839,29840,29845,29846],{},"Contentstack was recognized by a Gartner Peer Research study as one of the \"Best Web Content Management Software of 2019 as reviewed by customers\". You can see the ",[206,29841,29844],{"href":29842,"rel":29843},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gartner.com\u002Freviews\u002Fcustomers-choice\u002Fweb-content-management\u002FApr-2019",[210],"study on Gartner's site here","as well as ",[206,29847,29850],{"href":29848,"rel":29849},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fsearch\u002Fresults\u002Fcontent\u002F?keywords=contentstack-gartner&origin=SWITCH_SEARCH_VERTICAL",[210],"see posts about the news on LinkedIn.",[14,29852,29853],{},"![]('\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fgreg luciano gartner peer award.webp')",[14,29855,29856,29857,29862],{},"As for Informatica: For the 6th year in a row ",[206,29858,29861],{"href":29859,"rel":29860},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.informatica.com\u002Fipaas-magic-quadrant.html#fbid=3A4RL01jfQ6",[210],"Informatica has been named a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Integration Platform as a Service."," Makes us proud to be working with a client like that who has received such consistent recognition for being a leader in their field!",[14,29864,29865],{},[75,29866],{"alt":77,"src":29867},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fipaas-magic-quadrant-2019.webp",[81,29869,29871],{"id":29870},"who-are-the-new-faces-on-our-standup-everyday","Who are the New Faces on our Standup Everyday?",[14,29873,29874],{},"As most of our clients and partners know, MKG is a scrum-oriented company. This includes our team doing daily standup meetings to align our key priorities and tasks for the day.",[14,29876,29877],{},"There are a few new faces on these standup meetings!",[14,29879,29880,29883],{},[52,29881,29882],{},"Christina Kay"," joins the team most recently from BrightEdge as a SEO Strategist. She brings a decade of Digital Marketing experience to our clients and just recently completed her MBA in Social Media Marketing and Analytics while working full time.",[14,29885,29886,29887],{},"We are thrilled to welcome Christina to the team. ",[206,29888,29891],{"href":29889,"rel":29890},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Ffeed\u002Fupdate\u002Furn:li:activity:6521773475860930560",[210],"Do us a favor and say Hello to her by commenting on this welcome video on LinkedIn!",[14,29893,29894],{},"![]('\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FChristina Kay @ MKG Announcement.webp')",[14,29896,29897,29900],{},[52,29898,29899],{},"CJ Johnson"," joined the team a few weeks after Christina to lend a hand with our growing PPC and Paid Demand Generation practice. She'll be working out of our New Orleans office and brings nearly a decade of Paid Media experience to the table for our clients.",[14,29902,29903,29904],{},"Same as Christina, we are thrilled to welcome CJ to the team here at MKG. ",[206,29905,29908],{"href":29906,"rel":29907},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Ffeed\u002Fupdate\u002Furn:li:activity:6524665138514063360",[210],"Please make her feel at home by commenting on the video announcement on LinkedIn!",[14,29910,29911],{},"![]('\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FLiz Johnson welcome video - april 2019.webp')",[81,29913,29341],{"id":29340},[14,29915,29916],{},"Lots of exciting things happening at MKG in the past 30 days - and even more on the horizon in the next 30 \u002F 60 \u002F 90 day window.",[14,29918,29196,29919,28268,29921],{},[206,29920,28267],{"href":11956},[206,29922,28273],{"href":28271,"rel":29923},[210],{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":29925},[29926],{"id":29718,"depth":291,"text":29719,"children":29927},[29928,29930,29931,29932,29933],{"id":29752,"depth":297,"text":29929},"Enter: my monthly View from Here post.",{"id":29780,"depth":297,"text":29781},{"id":29835,"depth":297,"text":29836},{"id":29870,"depth":297,"text":29871},{"id":29340,"depth":297,"text":29341},"2019-05-01","Read the May 2019 Update from MKG Marketing CEO Mike Krass to Learn About New Team Members, Clients and News.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FView From Here - May 2019-1.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-may-2019",{"title":29712,"description":29935},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fview-from-here-may-2019","9VAipOTRo3jtrZEG8C8mPuLUMTNF0TiCKohUzXE4CKM",{"id":29943,"title":29944,"author":7,"authors":29945,"body":29947,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":30140,"description":30141,"extension":318,"img":30142,"imgAlt":7,"meta":30143,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":30144,"seo":30145,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":30146,"stem":30147,"updated":7,"__hash__":30148},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fbacklinks-number-1-criteria-for-ranking-well.md","Why Backlinks Are Not The Number 1 Criteria for Ranking Well in SEO",[29946],"Tammy Wood",{"type":11,"value":29948,"toc":30137},[29949,29952,29957,29964,29969,29972,29975,29984,29988,29991,30000,30003,30018,30021,30024,30027,30030,30033,30036,30067,30070,30073,30076,30105,30108,30115,30118,30125,30132],[14,29950,29951],{},"Part of my job, and to be honest one of my favorite parts as SEO Director role here at MKG, is answering clients questions about SEO as a whole, not just pertaining to their specific website. I was lucky to receive a great question today:",[24025,29953,29954],{},[14,29955,29956],{},"Someone just told me that backlinks is the #1 criteria for ranking well in SEO. Sure page load speed, tagging, schema, etc. are all important but backlinks is the most important. Is this accurate?",[14,29958,29959,29960,29963],{},"My answer as you’d expect was typical “SEO speak”, yes and ",[52,29961,29962],{},"NO",". Hard on the “No.” So we venture to “it depends” level of an answer.",[14,29965,29966],{},[52,29967,29968],{},"To Clarify:",[14,29970,29971],{},"Links are a part of Google’s algorithm.",[14,29973,29974],{},"Links are beneficial as a signal to Google of content on the page of website.",[14,29976,29977,29978,29983],{},"Links are easily manipulated through link purchasing and link building schemes, which prompted Google to release a major algorithmic update, across all domains. This update was named ",[206,29979,29982],{"href":29980,"rel":29981},"https:\u002F\u002Fsearchengineland.com\u002Flibrary\u002Fgoogle\u002Fgoogle-penguin-update",[210],"Penguin"," and released in 2012. The intent was to devalue links that were acquired for the sole purpose of building rankings through links.",[24,29985,29987],{"id":29986},"links-and-seo-in-2019","Links and SEO in 2019",[14,29989,29990],{},"All links are not counted equally. Link quality is more important than raw link quantity, which means that you’ll want to get links from relevant, high-authority domains and contain relevant, accurate anchor text.",[14,29992,29993,29994,29999],{},"If your website has a lot of low-quality, unrelated websites linking to your website, this may have a negative impact on your rankings — and you may even be at risk of a Google Penguin or “unnatural links” ",[206,29995,29998],{"href":29996,"rel":29997},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FGoogle_penalty",[210],"penalty",", this penalty can also include a partial link penalty.",[14,30001,30002],{},"Google is swift to assign a penalty and slow in recovery. A penalty can result in your entire URL \u002F Domain being “deindexed”, which means no longer searchable in the SERPs. Even by your brand name, that action is devastating to your business.",[14,30004,30005,1042,30008,1042,30015],{},[38,30006,30007],{},"“Overstock.com – During fiscal year 2011,",[206,30009,30012],{"href":30010,"rel":30011},"https:\u002F\u002Farchive.sltrib.com\u002Farticle.php?id=53632081&itype=CMSID",[210],[38,30013,30014],{},"Overstock.com",[38,30016,30017],{},"attributed a decrease from $1.08 billion to $1.05 billion in revenue to Google penalties.”",[14,30019,30020],{},"In some cases, such as a partial manual penalty, Google will just drop the offending URL’s from the index, which can be any page Google chooses, this is probably the most difficult to locate and resolve, even a partial penalty can cost your business money.",[14,30022,30023],{},"Anchor text refers to the clickable text (e.g. hyperlinked) in a link and when we conduct link audits, we review the anchor text of the links pointing to your website to see what kind of words they include. Analysis of the incoming anchor text is a large part of a backlink audit.",[14,30025,30026],{},"For years, Google has been penalizing websites for having over-optimized anchor text, so it’s important to keep your anchor text natural. A sign of a natural link profile is that most of the anchor text is brand-based (the name of your website or your company) with a smaller ratio of keyword-based anchor text (the non-brand keywords you want to rank for).",[14,30028,30029],{},"So, for example, if you have an unnatural concentration of valuable non-brand anchor text, you may be at risk of a Google penalty.",[14,30031,30032],{},"Another tool has given us the analysis that while you have a tremendous amount of links, they do offer value to the visitor, and have a varied amount of ‘influence’. All in all these are “ok”.",[14,30034,30035],{},"MKG believes there are several factors that trigger a possible penalty:",[46,30037,30038,30041,30044,30047,30050,30053,30056,30064],{},[49,30039,30040],{},"Widget Links & App Links with identical anchor text",[49,30042,30043],{},"100’s of links that respond with server errors or timeouts",[49,30045,30046],{},"Quality of the incoming links from smaller websites (most have a low domain score due to the nature of the website).",[49,30048,30049],{},"Links containing parametered URLs and use a 301 redirect to the homepage- this creates the appearance of manipulation via link schemes.",[49,30051,30052],{},"Lack of parameter handling rules within Google Search Console",[49,30054,30055],{},"Large amount of links from same domain",[49,30057,30058,30059],{},"Ratio of incoming links vs. number of domains\n",[46,30060,30061],{},[49,30062,30063],{},"e.g. 1000 incoming links from 30 domain",[49,30065,30066],{},"Participation in link buying scheme, these are identified by our staff",[14,30068,30069],{},"Penguin (the Google update that focuses on unnatural link schemes), is an aggressive update and often difficult to recover from. In certain situations the best option is to delete and recreate the page that has the unnatural anchor text and links.",[14,30071,30072],{},"Aside from unnatural and\u002For empty anchor text in tens of thousands links, another negative to the backlink profile is the domain authority of the linking site.",[14,30074,30075],{},"MKG reviews the entire backlink profile with the following questions in mind:",[46,30077,30078,30081,30084,30087,30090,30093,30096,30099,30102],{},[49,30079,30080],{},"What was the intent of the link? Is it designed to help users, or just to get better Google rankings?",[49,30082,30083],{},"Is the link on a site\u002Fpage that is not topically related to your website?",[49,30085,30086],{},"Was the link purchased?",[49,30088,30089],{},"Does the link use a keyword phrase as the anchor text?",[49,30091,30092],{},"Is the link site wide or in a footer (possible risk factors)?",[49,30094,30095],{},"Was the link editorially given by the webmaster?",[49,30097,30098],{},"Is the link on a site banned or penalized by Google?",[49,30100,30101],{},"Is the linking site part of a network of sites (especially if the network of site has low trust metrics or other spammy-characteristics)?",[49,30103,30104],{},"Is the link on a page with spun, low quality, or duplicate content?",[14,30106,30107],{},"The Penguin algorithm was created in order to catch websites that are cheating in order to get higher Google rankings. If the algorithm determines that a high number of your links are unnatural, then this lowers the amount of trust that Google puts in your site. As a result, your entire site, (not just the pages to which you have built unnatural links,) can struggle to regain rankings.",[14,30109,30110,30111,30114],{},"The only sites that will recover from Penguin are ones that did an extremely thorough link cleanup. In many cases, these sites may have disavowed some links that could have potentially been good links, but in my mind it's better to err on the side of caution if it gives you a better chance of getting ",[38,30112,30113],{},"all"," of the links that is causing the Penguin algorithm to distrust your site.",[14,30116,30117],{},"As the last refresh that was identified as Penguin, was in 2017 followed in 2018 this was rolled into the main algorithm of Google. These are now difficult to assign for ranking drops, as part of the overall algorithm so recovery and or penalty can happen at any time. Sadly, recovery isn't going to happen until Google decides your site is trustworthy and your URL is an authority on your industry.",[14,30119,30120,30121,30124],{},"Some sites will need to see ",[38,30122,30123],{},"two"," Penguin refreshes before recovery happens. The reason for this is that in some cases, it can take up to six months for your disavow file to be completely processed. Google has also announced that a partial “penguin” algorithm has been rolled into the main algorithm.",[14,30126,30127,212],{},[206,30128,30131],{"href":30129,"rel":30130},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.google.com\u002Fwebmasters\u002Fanswer\u002F66356?hl=en",[210],"Here is a list with examples and recommendations from Google",[14,30133,30134],{},[52,30135,30136],{},"MKG offers various solutions to this problem, if we locate issues with your backlink profile, MKG will walk you through the steps to a full recovery. We have a 100% success rate.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":30138},[30139],{"id":29986,"depth":291,"text":29987},"2019-02-22","Our SEO Director, Tammy Wood, says yes and NO. Hard on the “No.” Read why.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fgoogle-penguin-2.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fbacklinks-number-1-criteria-for-ranking-well",{"title":29944,"description":30141},"Backlinks Are Not Key To Ranking Well In SEO | MKG Marketing","blog\u002Fseo\u002Fbacklinks-number-1-criteria-for-ranking-well","OqRtH8xnKZdJIhb7VTOC8YKuAfwUcJm0sMwWNKy7EEE",{"id":30150,"title":30151,"author":7,"authors":30152,"body":30153,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":30344,"description":30345,"extension":318,"img":30346,"imgAlt":7,"meta":30347,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":30348,"seo":30349,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":30350,"stem":30351,"updated":7,"__hash__":30352},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002F2019-four-digital-advertising-predictions.md","Four Fab Predictions for Digital Advertising in 2019",[24268],{"type":11,"value":30154,"toc":30337},[30155,30158,30161,30165,30168,30175,30178,30193,30196,30199,30204,30207,30212,30216,30219,30222,30225,30228,30231,30236,30240,30243,30246,30249,30257,30260,30265,30269,30272,30275,30278,30283,30286,30289,30292,30297,30301,30304,30307,30310,30313],[14,30156,30157],{},"The digital advertising world experienced quite a bit of change in 2018. GDPR was instituted and the world of privacy and data was dissected and investigated as never before.\nWhat does that mean for 2019?",[14,30159,30160],{},"I have FOUR predictions that line up nicely with songs by The Beatles, which makes me happy. So tune in and read on!",[24,30162,30164],{"id":30163},"i-want-to-hold-your-hand","I Want To Hold Your Hand",[16784,30166],{"width":16786,"height":16787,"src":30167,"frameBorder":16790,"allow":28792,"allowFullScreen":322},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FjenWdylTtzs",[14,30169,30170,30171,30174],{},"Let me let you in on the context of the title of this song; ",[52,30172,30173],{},"Google"," wants to hold your hand.",[14,30176,30177],{},"The sheer amount of automation popping up in Google’s tool with:",[46,30179,30180,30183,30186],{},[49,30181,30182],{},"New ‘responsive’ Google search ads",[49,30184,30185],{},"Auto-creating ads on your behalf",[49,30187,30188],{},[206,30189,30192],{"href":30190,"rel":30191},"https:\u002F\u002Fsearchengineland.com\u002Fgoogle-tells-some-advertisers-it-will-handle-their-campaign-management-310931",[210],"Straight-up managing your account",[14,30194,30195],{},"This can be appealing at first blush. However, I’ve found responsive ads still are not making a major impact in terms of impression share. Also, auto-created ads lack the precision needed to capture someone’s attention with really well-written calls to action.",[14,30197,30198],{},"And don’t get me started on the account management automation…",[14,30200,30201],{},[52,30202,30203],{},"Don’t trust the company who makes the money on advertising to manage that advertising.",[14,30205,30206],{},"If 2018 was the year of automation popping up everywhere, 2019 is going to be the year ensuring we keep these things OFF.",[24025,30208,30209],{},[14,30210,30211],{},"And please say to me,\nYou'll let me hold your hand.",[24,30213,30215],{"id":30214},"let-it-be","Let It Be",[14,30217,30218],{},"Machine learning may be a 2017 buzzword, but the always buzzy “algorithms” and “system learnings” are still around and thriving.",[14,30220,30221],{},"And they seem to be getting better!",[14,30223,30224],{},"The best version of this I’ve found is Facebook Ads. Using Facebook’s pixel data to count conversions, Facebook actively finds users related to those converting. And it WORKS! It actually works. CPAs get better over time and the system actively learns.",[14,30226,30227],{},"For this account tweak, it’s a good reminder to sometimes just let it be. And platforms are getting better at using converting folks (whether due to a pixel or a similar audience) to find similar people. Even more reason to let it be!",[14,30229,30230],{},"We’ll see this trend continue in 2019. I predict they’ll call it something new and interesting. And it’ll be a feature.",[24025,30232,30233],{},[14,30234,30235],{},"Whisper words of wisdom,\nlet it be.",[24,30237,30239],{"id":30238},"in-my-life","In My Life",[14,30241,30242],{},"While the user intent behind searching for something will always be king (a la Google Paid Search), platforms are gaining more and more intel about their users; who they are and how they live their lives.",[14,30244,30245],{},"You can use Facebook\u002FInstagram targeting to get a very refined audience. People who have a wedding anniversary coming up. Folks in the top 10% household income bracket. The targeting possibilities are nearly endless.",[14,30247,30248],{},"This is going to spread beyond paid social.",[14,30250,6322,30251,30256],{},[206,30252,30255],{"href":30253,"rel":30254},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.searchenginejournal.com\u002Fbing-announces-linkedin-profile-targeting-for-bing-ads\u002F274695\u002F",[210],"ability to target someone via company, industry, or job function in Bing Ads"," is here-ish. And Google has ‘custom intent’ audiences that can actually use your website data to match people up to.",[14,30258,30259],{},"Mark my words; this is going to expand in 2019. Targeting will become better, even a little more ‘creepy’ as some people call it.",[24025,30261,30262],{},[14,30263,30264],{},"I know I'll often stop and think about them,\nIn my life, I love you more.",[24,30266,30268],{"id":30267},"please-please-me","Please Please Me",[14,30270,30271],{},"People are getting smarter on the Web.",[14,30273,30274],{},"They can see through the “Free This!” and “Free That!” type of messaging. And a bland white paper or a stale call to action will fail to capture somebody’s attention.",[14,30276,30277],{},"Some folks use ad blockers and literally block advertising from reaching them.",[14,30279,30280],{},[38,30281,30282],{},"So how do we, as digital marketers, fight through the noise or around these tools?",[14,30284,30285],{},"Ads are natively being integrated into our lives whether it be sponsored ‘stories’ in Facebook and Instagram, to native advertising stories in a list of articles.",[14,30287,30288],{},"There are certain parts of the page that people have trained their eyes to just not look at.",[14,30290,30291],{},"Digital advertising platforms are going to find more ways to natively add advertisements to their platforms. And with this, it’s important to PLEASE people more than ever before. It is going to take much more than stale headline. Ads will, more than ever before, need to be a benefit to somebody. A Chief Technical Officer needs a guide to increase efficiency in her data centers. Or a Web Developer needs to know why a particular tool will help them code in half the time.",[24025,30293,30294],{},[14,30295,30296],{},"Come on, come on, come on, come on,\nPlease, please me, woah yeah, like I please you.",[24,30298,30300],{"id":30299},"theres-nothing-you-can-do-that-cant-be-done","There's Nothing You Can Do That Can't Be Done",[14,30302,30303],{},"As online marketers, there will be tactics in 2019 that we will never have been able to do before.",[14,30305,30306],{},"And that’s super exciting!",[14,30308,30309],{},"From targeting certain individuals, to how we target those individuals; we will continue to see the landscape evolve.",[14,30311,30312],{},"But with data privacy at the forefront, along with more regulation like GDPR being put into place, it’ll be interesting to see how it all shakes out come 2020.",[14,30314,30315,1042,30318,1042,30325,1042,30327,1042,30334],{},[52,30316,30317],{},"Do you have any bold predictions? Think I’m off-base anywhere? Fire off a tweet at",[206,30319,30322],{"href":30320,"rel":30321},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002FMKGMarketingInc",[210],[52,30323,30324],{},"@MKGMarketingInc",[52,30326,11321],{},[206,30328,30331],{"href":30329,"rel":30330},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002Fmradambullock",[210],[52,30332,30333],{},"@MrAdamBullock",[52,30335,30336],{},"and let me know!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":30338},[30339,30340,30341,30342,30343],{"id":30163,"depth":291,"text":30164},{"id":30214,"depth":291,"text":30215},{"id":30238,"depth":291,"text":30239},{"id":30267,"depth":291,"text":30268},{"id":30299,"depth":291,"text":30300},"2019-02-04","I have FOUR Digital Advertising predictions for 2019 that line up nicely withsongs by The Beatles, which makes me happy. So tune in and read on!","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002F2019-digital-advertising-predictions.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002F2019-four-digital-advertising-predictions",{"title":30151,"description":30345},"2019 Digital Advertising Predictions","blog\u002Fppc\u002F2019-four-digital-advertising-predictions","3lj_34uRHkzTR2MjguynDHUPuSU1awulSrLI5ntWQOM",{"id":30354,"title":30355,"author":7,"authors":30356,"body":30357,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":30571,"description":30572,"extension":318,"img":30573,"imgAlt":7,"meta":30574,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":30575,"seo":30576,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":30577,"stem":30578,"updated":7,"__hash__":30579},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002F2018-recap-and-2019-vision.md","2018 Recap - What We Accomplished and Where We're Headed in 2019",[17174],{"type":11,"value":30358,"toc":30564},[30359,30366,30394,30398,30401,30404,30407,30421,30424,30430,30433,30436,30440,30443,30446,30454,30464,30468,30471,30474,30513,30517,30521,30524,30527,30530,30533,30537,30540,30548,30553,30558,30561],[14,30360,30361,30362,30365],{},"2018 featured ",[38,30363,30364],{},"a lot of positive momentum"," for the team at MKG Marketing. As I sit here in the second week of 2019, a few of the highlights from last year include:",[46,30367,30368,30377,30384,30391],{},[49,30369,30370,30371,2504,30374],{},"We helped more clients exceed their ",[52,30372,30373],{},"sales",[52,30375,30376],{},"pipeline create targets than ever before in the history of MKG",[49,30378,30379,30380],{},"Our team grew by another member and ",[206,30381,30383],{"href":30382},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fpeople-first-value-for-quarterly-goal-setting\u002F","implemented quarterly goals focused on new team member onboarding",[49,30385,30386,30387],{},"BrightEdge recognized our hard work with ",[206,30388,30390],{"href":30389},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002F2018-brightedge-edgie-award-winners\u002F","Informatica as we won an Edgie18 award in the SEO Performance & Results category",[49,30392,30393],{},"Hosted our first virtual company-wide Holiday Party for team members in Washington, Oregon and Louisiana",[24,30395,30397],{"id":30396},"exceeding-sales-and-pipeline-targets","Exceeding Sales and Pipeline Targets",[14,30399,30400],{},"At the core of the relationship, clients hire us to assist in meeting or exceeding their sales or pipeline create targets.",[14,30402,30403],{},"In short: They hire us to deliver outcomes!",[14,30405,30406],{},"And deliver outcomes we did in 2018.",[14,30408,30409,30410,30415,30416,30420],{},"As ",[206,30411,30414],{"href":30412,"rel":30413},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.geekwire.com\u002F2019\u002Fseattle-hybrid-cloud-security-startup-extrahop-touts-bookings-growth-says-ipo-path\u002F",[210],"Geekwire reported yesterday",", our client ",[206,30417,28777],{"href":30418,"rel":30419},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.extrahop.com\u002F",[210],"had their best year on record, crossing the $100,000,000 bookings mark while signing nearly two dozen client deals valued in excess of $1,000,000 each (both records for the company).",[14,30422,30423],{},"While we certainly can't take credit for all of this progress, our work on the Organic Search, Digital Advertising and Analytics fronts absolutely played a part in this growth!",[14,30425,30426],{},[75,30427],{"alt":30428,"src":30429},"ExtraHop Networks CEO, CTO and CPO","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FExtraHop_GeekWire-copy-630x391.webp",[14,30431,30432],{},"Other clients like Informatica, Contentstack, and MariaDB (to name a few) saw tremendous growth in both Paid and Organic traffic, web conversions and sales\u002Fpipeline create as well in 2018.",[14,30434,30435],{},"Again: We are hired to deliver outcomes. And in 2018 we generated more measurable business outcomes for our clients than in any year before!",[24,30437,30439],{"id":30438},"mkg-team-grows-and-focuses-on-onboarding","MKG Team Grows and Focuses on Onboarding",[14,30441,30442],{},"We're excited to have Karl join our team, bringing years of Digital Advertising and Omnichannel expertise along with him.",[14,30444,30445],{},"Additionally, we doubled down with our onboarding process by dedicating our quarterly team goal to focus on learning from and teaching things to Karl as he started with us full time.",[14,30447,30448,30449,2504,30451],{},"Because you know what? The toughest part of starting a new job is that everything is ",[52,30450,1235],{},[52,30452,30453],{},"unknown.",[14,30455,30456,30457,30459,30460,30463],{},"In order to mitigate the new and unknown, as well as live through our ",[206,30458,23657],{"href":23656},", we focused the ",[206,30461,30462],{"href":30382},"Q4 quarterly company goal"," on getting Karl (and the rest of the team) up to speed on all the ins-and-outs of working at MKG.",[24,30465,30467],{"id":30466},"brightedge-recognizes-mkg-as-seo-experts","BrightEdge Recognizes MKG as SEO Experts",[14,30469,30470],{},"During their annual Edgie Awards Ceremony, BrightEdge recognized MKG Marketing as SEO Experts when they awarded us with the Performance & Results award for our work growing Informatica's SEO traffic, conversion and sales pipeline created by double-digits year-over-year.",[14,30472,30473],{},"This was the biggest industry award that we won in 2018 and put MKG's name next to other winners such as IBM, Merkle and VMware (to name a few). Truly an honor for the collective hard work of Informatica and MKG to be recognized with an Edgie18 victory!",[24025,30475,30478,30508,30509],{"className":30476},[30477],"twitter-tweet",[14,30479,28852,30482,30486,30487,30489,30491,30492,30496,30497,11958,30500,1042,30504],{"lang":30480,"dir":30481},"en","ltr",[206,30483,30485],{"href":30484},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002Fbrightedge?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw","@brightedge"," for awarding us with the 2018 Edgie Award in Performance and Results!",[5778,30488],{},[5778,30490],{},"Major congrats to the hardworking Informatica digital team, as well as our ",[206,30493,30495],{"href":30494},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002Fhashtag\u002FSEO?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw","#SEO"," partners, ",[206,30498,30324],{"href":30499},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002FMKGMarketingInc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw",[206,30501,30503],{"href":30502},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002Fhashtag\u002FShare18?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw","#Share18",[206,30505,30507],{"href":30506},"https:\u002F\u002Ft.co\u002FSkQutfKsky","pic.twitter.com\u002FSkQutfKsky","— Informatica (@Informatica) ",[206,30510,30512],{"href":30511},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002FInformatica\u002Fstatus\u002F1050166850858835968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw","October 10, 2018",[28218,30514],{"async":322,"src":30515,"charSet":30516},"https:\u002F\u002Fplatform.twitter.com\u002Fwidgets.js","utf-8",[24,30518,30520],{"id":30519},"virtual-holiday-party-1-complete","Virtual Holiday Party #1: Complete!",[14,30522,30523],{},"While our team members are concentrated in New Orleans, Washington State and Oregon, we are truly a distributed team that works equal amounts of time from physical offices together as well as remotely in a home office.",[14,30525,30526],{},"In order to throw a company-wide holiday party, we carved out two hours on one of our last workdays of the year to reflect as a team, enjoy some bubbly (in sparkling cider or Champagne form) and exchange white elephant gifts with one another.",[14,30528,30529],{},"The team collectively raved about closing out the year in a fun and reflective way - and we snapped some awesome pictures while we were celebrating!",[14,30531,30532],{},"![]('\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FMKG Marketing Virtual Holiday Party 2018.webp')",[24,30534,30536],{"id":30535},"what-does-2019-hold-in-store","What does 2019 hold in store?",[14,30538,30539],{},"This is simple: We want to bring our people first agency culture to as many team members (current\u002Fnew) and clients as possible in 2019.",[14,30541,30542,30543],{},"Jason Fried, Founder of Basecamp, ",[206,30544,30547],{"href":30545,"rel":30546},"https:\u002F\u002Fsignalvnoise.com\u002Fposts\u002F1022-you-dont-create-a-culture",[210],"described exactly what we have been building over the past seven years:",[24025,30549,30550],{},[14,30551,30552],{},"Real cultures are built over time. They’re the result of action, reaction, and truth. They are nuanced, beautiful, and authentic. Real culture is patina.",[24025,30554,30555],{},[14,30556,30557],{},"Don’t think about how to create a culture, just do the right things for you, your customers, and your team and it’ll happen.",[14,30559,30560],{},"Kerry and I truly believe that if we continue to take care of our team members they, in turn, will deliver top-notch service and results to our clients.",[14,30562,30563],{},"And that is exactly what we are going to do :)",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":30565},[30566,30567,30568,30569,30570],{"id":30396,"depth":291,"text":30397},{"id":30438,"depth":291,"text":30439},{"id":30466,"depth":291,"text":30467},{"id":30519,"depth":291,"text":30520},{"id":30535,"depth":291,"text":30536},"2019-01-16","2018 Was a Record Breaking Year for MKG Marketing. Hear from CEO Mike KrassAbout 2018 as well as our Plans for 2019.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FDreams don't work unless you do.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002F2018-recap-and-2019-vision",{"title":30355,"description":30572},"What We Accomplished and Where We're Headed","blog\u002Fnews\u002F2018-recap-and-2019-vision","qIdRM56eT7WPn1gVjxkkSuI9p80qwC5GLPYmaMmVp1o",{"id":30581,"title":30582,"author":7,"authors":30583,"body":30584,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":30794,"description":30795,"extension":318,"img":30796,"imgAlt":7,"meta":30797,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":30798,"seo":30799,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":30800,"stem":30801,"updated":7,"__hash__":30802},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fpeople-first-value-for-quarterly-goal-setting.md","Bringing our People First Value into Quarterly Goal Setting",[17174],{"type":11,"value":30585,"toc":30786},[30586,30593,30597,30600,30607,30625,30629,30632,30637,30640,30648,30651,30656,30659,30670,30673,30684,30688,30691,30705,30709,30716,30719,30724,30728,30731,30736,30741,30746,30749,30752,30757,30762,30767,30771,30774,30777,30783],[14,30587,30588,30589,30592],{},"We talk about values quite a bit on our website. The ",[206,30590,30591],{"href":23656},"subject even has it's own page for reference!","\nBut how do values actually translate from words on a screen to a useful, guiding tool to make good decisions?",[24,30594,30596],{"id":30595},"one-example-here-at-mkg-quarterly-team-goals","One example here at MKG: Quarterly Team Goals.",[14,30598,30599],{},"Each quarter we set and attempt to achieve a quarterly goal as a team. This is a measurable goal or objective that helps MKG continue to grow stronger as a team as well as become better service providers for our clients.",[14,30601,30602,30603,30606],{},"Some other context for having a ",[52,30604,30605],{},"quarterly theme"," includes:",[132,30608,30609,30619,30622],{},[49,30610,30611,30612,30615,30616,30618],{},"Companies often focus only on financial goals -- e.g. Sales -- as the only goal communicated throughout the organization. While Sales activity is important (hey, nobody is working for gummy bears around here!) on it's own this singular focus falls short of the mark. ",[52,30613,30614],{},"People"," drive sales activity - both team members and clients - and we recognize that with our ",[52,30617,24043],{}," value :)",[49,30620,30621],{},"Our amazing Account Directors like to plot PPC and SEO activities on a quarterly basis. We've learned that if you plan too far in advance and the ground will shift beneath our feet and plans will need to be changed. Quarterly themes align with our laser focused client goals over the 90 day course of a fiscal quarter.",[49,30623,30624],{},"Gives MKGers a fun reason to celebrate every 90 days! With the agency growing so steadily in the past year (new team members and client requests\u002Fsize) we want to create a cadence that celebrates the outcomes of our hard work on a regular basis.",[24,30626,30628],{"id":30627},"in-october-2018","In October 2018...",[14,30630,30631],{},"...Someone new joined the team and their timing coincided with a setting the Q4 2018 Quarterly Company Goal. Kerry and I thought about our values, the fact that they were new to the team and asked each other a question:",[24025,30633,30634],{},[14,30635,30636],{},"What's it like to start a new job?",[14,30638,30639],{},"My own initial responses were:",[46,30641,30642,30645],{},[49,30643,30644],{},"It's scary walking into the 'unknown' - new colleagues, clients, processes. It's all unknown!",[49,30646,30647],{},"Building on the point above: It's all new! There is no sense of order yet in your physical workspace, your schedule, etc. It's all new to you!",[14,30649,30650],{},"To live our People First value and assist Karl in getting up to speed faster (Velocity!!!) we decided to set the following goal in Q4 2018",[24025,30652,30653],{},[14,30654,30655],{},"Every team member must learn 3 and teach 3 things to Karl this quarter (6 total)",[14,30657,30658],{},"This was selected for a few reasons:",[46,30660,30661,30664,30667],{},[49,30662,30663],{},"Accelerates the speed of Karl learning client history, work styles of his colleagues and overall workflow process at MKG.",[49,30665,30666],{},"Reminds us of our “People First” value and mentality.",[49,30668,30669],{},"Shows the importance of making time to learn from one another.",[14,30671,30672],{},"In terms of the numeric goal:",[132,30674,30675,30678,30681],{},[49,30676,30677],{},"There are 8 MKG folks in total (minus Karl who makes 9).",[49,30679,30680],{},"Each needs to learn 3 \u002F teach 3 things (6).",[49,30682,30683],{},"8 x 6 = 48 total learns\u002Fteaches this quarter",[24,30685,30687],{"id":30686},"what-happens-if-we-hit-our-goal","What happens if we hit our goal?",[14,30689,30690],{},"And of course there will need to be a celebration if we achieve this goal. So how will we celebrate if\u002Fwhen we hit 48 learns-and-teaches?",[132,30692,30693,30699],{},[49,30694,30695,30698],{},[52,30696,30697],{},"Virtual pizza party:"," Will have pizza delivered to office locations for a late lunch over Zoom where we can put some carbs down, talk as a group and celebrate reaching our goal.",[49,30700,30701,30704],{},[52,30702,30703],{},"Matinee Movie Tickets",": After our late lunch, MKG will drop some movie passes in everyone's inboxes so we can take the late afternoon off to go enjoy a movie together with your colleagues in New Orleans, Portland Metro and Seattle Metro areas.",[24,30706,30708],{"id":30707},"sodid-we-hit-it","So...did we hit it?",[14,30710,30711,30712,30715],{},"As a group we had a total of ",[52,30713,30714],{},"Fifty (50!) Teaches-and-Learns"," between the beginning of October and the end of December.",[14,30717,30718],{},"Pizza party, here we come!",[14,30720,30721],{},[75,30722],{"alt":77,"src":30723},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fpizzaparty.gif",[24,30725,30727],{"id":30726},"what-did-we-learn-from-or-teach-to-karl","What did we learn from or teach to Karl?",[14,30729,30730],{},"Of the dozens of things that were learned from getting to know Karl, a handful of examples include:",[24025,30732,30733],{},[14,30734,30735],{},"LinkedIn Targeting! Karl showed me there's a lot of different filters including our favorite: target \"first connections\" from people at a certain company. Take \"Client X\" testimonial and target first connections of \"Client X\" to serve their connections relevant content.",[24025,30737,30738],{},[14,30739,30740],{},"How he got CPCs and CPA so low for \"Client Z. Seriously, amazing numbers...and sure, there's good intent there. But it worked SO WELL because of his bid strategy. Maximize clicks is a bid strategy I steer clear of because of potential for Google to abuse it...since you are relinquishing your control over individual keyword bids. But man, with a super high QUALITY SCORE and user intent...you can really, really kill it.",[24025,30742,30743],{},[14,30744,30745],{},"A GREAT display strategy for remarketing - use an image for conquesting THEN reuse the image",[14,30747,30748],{},"On the flipside: the team taught Karl two dozen very specific things about our clients, MKG process and overall workflow.",[14,30750,30751],{},"A few examples include:",[24025,30753,30754],{},[14,30755,30756],{},"Asana! Gave a deep dive into how Asana is setup and the processes we work with so he can hopefully find his own level of comfort in how much he wants to interact with Asana vs go through the Account Directors.",[24025,30758,30759],{},[14,30760,30761],{},"I taught Karl about Smart Display. Specifically, you cannot define by device (so 95% goes to mobile) and that you cannot update ad schedules (so it'll run 24\u002F7).",[24025,30763,30764],{},[14,30765,30766],{},"About Facebook Ads; optimizing for CONVERSIONS and not for CLICKS. Lots of garbage traffic via clicks. Always get a pixel firing and always optimize for conversions for exponentially better quality traffic.",[24,30768,30770],{"id":30769},"we-use-our-values-everyday","We use our values everyday",[14,30772,30773],{},"As we mentioned before, our values assist in making important decisions and guide the day-to-day life here at MKG.",[14,30775,30776],{},"If you're curious about working at MKG, mozy on over to our Jobs boards to see what roles we're looking to add to the team in the future.",[14,30778,30779,30780],{},"Here's a direct link to the jobs boards: ",[206,30781,30782],{"href":24240},"Jobs",[14,30784,30785],{},"![Jobs - MKG Marketing]('\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fwork at MKG hero.webp')",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":30787},[30788,30789,30790,30791,30792,30793],{"id":30595,"depth":291,"text":30596},{"id":30627,"depth":291,"text":30628},{"id":30686,"depth":291,"text":30687},{"id":30707,"depth":291,"text":30708},{"id":30726,"depth":291,"text":30727},{"id":30769,"depth":291,"text":30770},"2019-01-11","Read How MKG Uses Quarterly, Team-Wide Goal Setting Exercises to Live Throughour Five Core Values.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FLive By The Values.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fpeople-first-value-for-quarterly-goal-setting",{"title":30582,"description":30795},"Elevate Your Company Values Via Quarterly Goals","blog\u002Fnews\u002Fpeople-first-value-for-quarterly-goal-setting","d2u9lQsZ5CvPofw-zGO4aFdFjzQ_4jPRHgq6joYzwcA",{"id":30804,"title":30805,"author":7,"authors":30806,"body":30807,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":30928,"description":30929,"extension":318,"img":30930,"imgAlt":7,"meta":30931,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":30932,"seo":30933,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":30934,"stem":30935,"updated":7,"__hash__":30936},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fout-of-office-messages-to-create-unique-brand-memories.md","Using Out of Office Messages to Create Unique Brand Experiences",[17174],{"type":11,"value":30808,"toc":30926},[30809,30815,30818,30821,30830,30833,30836,30839,30842,30855,30865,30871,30877,30880,30883,30888,30891,30897,30900,30903,30906,30909,30912,30917],[14,30810,30811,30812],{},"A wise business leader once told me ",[52,30813,30814],{},"Every interaction with your company creates an experience, or memory, in that customers mind.",[14,30816,30817],{},"As an example: Think of the message you send by putting up an Out of Office reply on your work email account.",[14,30819,30820],{},"Most of the Out of Office messages I see go a little something like this:",[24025,30822,30823],{},[14,30824,30825,30826],{},"I will be out of the office on MONTH, DATE, YEAR. When I return to the office I will respond to you. If an emergency contact my colleague at ",[206,30827,30829],{"href":30828},"mailto:name@email.com","name@email.com",[14,30831,30832],{},"Nothing special. It's direct and to the point. It is fairly informative in the event of an emergency.",[14,30834,30835],{},"But think about the number of emails you receive in a day.",[14,30837,30838],{},"On average, I receive in the neighborhood of 150 emails per day.",[14,30840,30841],{},"What if your out of office message looked a little something like this.",[24025,30843,30844],{},[14,30845,30846,30847,30850,30851,30854],{},"Today I am out of the office for ",[38,30848,30849],{},"reason"," which will benefit you, my customers, in ",[38,30852,30853],{},"this, that and the other way",". When I return to the office I will respond to your note as soon as possible.",[14,30856,30857,30858],{},"Dale Carnegie mentions six keys to build trust with people (including customers) in his world-famous business book ",[206,30859,30862],{"href":30860,"rel":30861},"https:\u002F\u002Ffs.blog\u002F2012\u002F07\u002Fhow-to-win-friends-and-influence-people\u002F",[210],[38,30863,30864],{},"How to Win Friends and Influence People.",[14,30866,30867,30868],{},"Of the six ways to make people like you, Dale's fifth suggestion is to ",[52,30869,30870],{},"Talk in terms of the other person's interests.",[14,30872,30873,30874],{},"In short: ",[52,30875,30876],{},"Describe what's in it for them!",[14,30878,30879],{},"So when you are out of office at an industry conference ask yourself: How does this benefit my colleagues or customers.",[14,30881,30882],{},"![]('\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FTammy Wood MKG Marketing Out of Office.webp')As a MKG Marketing client it's immediately apparent how Tammy taking time from her workday will benefit their business in the long run:",[24025,30884,30885],{},[14,30886,30887],{},"I'll be attending classes to further improve my SEO Techniques so I can be of better service to all of you.",[14,30889,30890],{},"If Tammy receives as many emails as I do each day that means that 150 individual people saw that message about her developing her SEO skillset to be a better SEO leader for their business.",[14,30892,30893,30894],{},"I'm proud of the Memory (or Experience) that Tammy created with that Out of Office message. In fact, I've followed Tammy's lead and plan to call out ",[38,30895,30896],{},"why and how my absence from the office will benefit colleagues or customers in the long run.",[14,30898,30899],{},"Just like I did last week when I was out of office at a Development meeting.",[14,30901,30902],{},"![]('\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FMike Krass MKG Marketing Out of Office Message.webp')",[14,30904,30905],{},"Of the 150 or so emails that this auto-reply message went to, I received two separate notes from clients and partners that essentially said \"This is awesome! Have fun and learn a lot for us!\"",[14,30907,30908],{},"And that's a brand experience that will stay with the partner and client who replied to me.",[14,30910,30911],{},"If you'd like to hear a summary of this post on creating unique brand experiences please watch (and share!) my video below.",[16784,30913],{"width":30914,"height":30915,"src":30916,"frameBorder":16790,"allow":28792,"allowFullScreen":322},720,400,"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002F-ftpUY4uUC0?rel=0&showinfo=0",[14,30918,30919,30920,30925],{},"PS: A big 'thank you' to ",[206,30921,30924],{"href":30922,"rel":30923},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.terrapapagalli.art.br\u002F",[210],"Terra Papagalli Studios"," for the memorable cover photo of a parrot's feathers.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":30927},[],"2018-12-18","Every interaction with your company creates an experience, or memory, in your customers mind. Read a simple way to create a positive memory using your email's Out of Office message.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fout-of-office-email.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fout-of-office-messages-to-create-unique-brand-memories",{"title":30805,"description":30929},"Brand Experiences via Out of Office Messages","blog\u002Fnews\u002Fout-of-office-messages-to-create-unique-brand-memories","93rFgJcgzopCqS7YaqKfYiNF-Qy2-uc53qq03_37-YI",{"id":30938,"title":30939,"author":7,"authors":30940,"body":30941,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":31063,"description":31064,"extension":318,"img":31065,"imgAlt":7,"meta":31066,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":31067,"seo":31068,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":30939,"stem":31069,"updated":7,"__hash__":31070},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Ffacebook-organic-benchmarks-november-2018.md","Facebook Organic Post Benchmarks - November 2018",[17174],{"type":11,"value":30942,"toc":31060},[30943,30947,30954,30957,30962,30969,30976,30983,30986,30989,30996,30999,31007,31017,31033,31036,31041,31046,31049],[24,30944,30946],{"id":30945},"whats-a-good-amount-of-engagement-on-an-organic-facebook-post","What's a \"good amount\" of engagement on an organic Facebook post?",[14,30948,30949,30950],{},"Last week we published a simple-and-useful set of ",[206,30951,30953],{"href":30952},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Flinkedin-organic-benchmarks-october-2018\u002F","benchmarks for LinkedIn organic post engagement.",[14,30955,30956],{},"The tl;dr from that data analysis exercise found:",[24025,30958,30959],{},[14,30960,30961],{},"Including video in your LinkedIn post increases the likelihood of someone liking, sharing or commenting on the post by anywhere from 30% - 200%",[14,30963,30964,30965,30968],{},"Since Kerry and I have been posting a steady stream of ",[38,30966,30967],{},"at least"," one new story or video every week for the past five months, we wanted to see how that content performed when posted on Facebook as well.",[14,30970,30971],{},[52,30972,30973],{},[38,30974,30975],{},"We wanted a benchmark for a strong engagement rate when we publish organic posts containing Video, Images or Straight Text\u002FLinks.",[14,30977,30978,30979],{},"This data set was created by analyzing more than 1,000 organic posts that ",[206,30980,30982],{"href":27577,"rel":30981},[210],"MKG Marketing has published to our brands Facebook page.",[14,30984,30985],{},"Are you a visual person? Then check out the benchmarks by social metric (Likes, Shares and Comments) below!",[14,30987,30988],{},"![Facebook Organic Post Benchmarks - November 2018]('\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FFacebook post performance by post type.webp')",[14,30990,30991,30992,30995],{},"You can quickly see that video ",[52,30993,30994],{},"dominates"," engagement for organic posts for marketers like us on Facebook.",[14,30997,30998],{},"When it comes to landing a click, Video is:",[46,31000,31001,31004],{},[49,31002,31003],{},"2.2x more likely to get clicked on than image post",[49,31005,31006],{},"1.8x more likely to get clicked on than a link post",[14,31008,31009,31010,31013,31014],{},"When it comes to reactions (like, comment, share) ",[52,31011,31012],{},"Video"," is ",[52,31015,31016],{},"1.5x more likely to get a reaction than an image or link post.",[14,31018,31019,31020,1042,31023,31026,31027,31032],{},"And when it comes to ",[52,31021,31022],{},"Organic",[52,31024,31025],{},"Reach,"," an ",[206,31028,31031],{"href":31029,"rel":31030},"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.hubspot.com\u002Fmarketing\u002Ffacebook-organic-reach-declining",[210],"important metric as Facebook's algorithms have adjusted to reportedly only show page content to \u003C10% of fans (Source: HubSpot),"," Video reaches 2.3x more users than a link post and just about the same amount of users as an image post (+1% more).",[14,31034,31035],{},"We've also recorded a two-minute explanation of the benchmarks we uncovered for our fan page over the past seven years.",[16784,31037],{"src":31038,"width":25902,"height":31039,"frameBorder":16790,"allow":28792,"style":31040,"allowFullScreen":322},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FduKdw1TxpuY?rel=0&showinfo=0&ecver=2",360,"position:absolute;width:100%;height:100%;left:0",[14,31042,31043],{},[52,31044,31045],{},"How do our benchmarks compare to your own?",[14,31047,31048],{},"We'd love to hear if video is an equally affective publishing format for other brands as well.",[14,31050,31051,31052,31055,31056,31059],{},"Mention us on ",[206,31053,21748],{"href":28271,"rel":31054},[210]," at ",[206,31057,28273],{"href":28271,"rel":31058},[210]," with your own benchmark data - we'd be happy to aggregate and update this story!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":31061},[31062],{"id":30945,"depth":291,"text":30946},"2018-11-06","Facebook Organic Post Benchmarks across Post Types such as Video, Image and Link. Updated as of November 6, 2018.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fhero_21March_FBReactions.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Ffacebook-organic-benchmarks-november-2018",{"title":30939,"description":31064},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Ffacebook-organic-benchmarks-november-2018","1vN4CNM015WYgIK49vUzFXh79YOYhEeMjffRiBPARYw",{"id":31072,"title":31073,"author":7,"authors":31074,"body":31075,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":31227,"description":31228,"extension":318,"img":31229,"imgAlt":7,"meta":31230,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":31231,"seo":31232,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":31073,"stem":31233,"updated":7,"__hash__":31234},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Flinkedin-organic-benchmarks-october-2018.md","LinkedIn Organic Post Benchmarks - October 2018",[17174],{"type":11,"value":31076,"toc":31219},[31077,31081,31084,31087,31092,31100,31103,31110,31113,31116,31119,31134,31137,31141,31144,31151,31157,31161,31164,31167,31173,31179,31183,31186,31192,31198,31202,31205,31208],[24,31078,31080],{"id":31079},"whats-a-good-amount-of-engagement-on-an-organic-linkedin-post","What's a good amount of engagement on an organic LinkedIn post?",[14,31082,31083],{},"Over the past 18 weeks Mike and Kerry have been posting a lot of video and written content onto LinkedIn. Our posts talk about working at MKG, digital marketing trends and other sales or growth topics.",[14,31085,31086],{},"As we approach five solid months of publishing on LinkedIn, we began to get curious.",[24025,31088,31089],{},[14,31090,31091],{},"What is a good engagement rate for all of these posts that we are working on?",[14,31093,31094,31095],{},"We took to Google to find out, searching for ",[206,31096,31099],{"href":31097,"rel":31098},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fsearch?safe=strict&ei=SoPYW9DvBMTGjwSCu5GQDg&q=linkedin+post+benchmarks&oq=linkedin+post+benchmarks&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i22i30.1957.2831..2935...0.0..0.300.1514.0j2j4j1......0....1..gws-wiz.......0j0i71j0i20i263.RYEwmmcP-Ps",[210],"LinkedIn post benchmarks.",[14,31101,31102],{},"While a few of these results were quite helpful, there was one glaring issue.",[24025,31104,31105],{},[14,31106,31107],{},[52,31108,31109],{},"They were all outdated by at least 12 months or more!",[14,31111,31112],{},"Because of this gap we wanted to publish our own benchmarks from our experience. We plan to update these every quarter as more posts go up and data can be analyzed. This data set was created by analyzing the past 17 pieces of content I've personally published on LinkedIn.",[14,31114,31115],{},"If you're a video person (hey this post is about video content!) we've recorded a two-minute explanation of the benchmarks we have found over the past 18 weeks.",[14,31117,31118],{},"Check it out below.",[28103,31120,31125],{"className":31121,"style":31124},[31122,31123],"relative","w-full","padding-bottom: 56.25%",[16784,31126],{"src":31127,"frameBorder":16790,"allow":31128,"allowFullScreen":322,"className":31129},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FWDjYRDsvKuo","autoplay; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture",[31130,31131,31132,31133,31123],"absolute","top-0","left-0","h-full",[14,31135,31136],{},"More of a visual person? Then check out the benchmarks by social metric (Likes, Shares and Comments) below!",[81,31138,31140],{"id":31139},"average-comments-by-post-type","Average Comments by Post Type",[14,31142,31143],{},"And we're off! The first metric we reviewed, Average Comments by Post Type, had a clear leader.",[14,31145,31146,31147,31150],{},"The big takeaway here is: The average ",[52,31148,31149],{},"Organic Video Post on LinkedIn sees two comments"," per post.",[14,31152,31153],{},[75,31154],{"alt":31155,"src":31156},"Avg Comments per Linked Post","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Favg-comments-per-linked-post.webp",[81,31158,31160],{"id":31159},"average-shares-by-post-type","Average Shares by Post Type",[14,31162,31163],{},"Remember: We're all search marketers at heart!",[14,31165,31166],{},"A share to me as a marketing professional is similar to an inbound link: It's another person vouching for the message, content or data that you're presenting.",[14,31168,31169,31170],{},"The big takeaway here: ",[52,31171,31172],{},"Video and Text sees the most shares per post at just under 1 share per Organic post on LinkedIn.",[14,31174,31175],{},[75,31176],{"alt":31177,"src":31178},"Avg Shares per organic LinkedIn post.png","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Favg-shares-per-organic-linkedIn-post.webp",[81,31180,31182],{"id":31181},"average-likes-by-post-type","Average Likes by Post Type",[14,31184,31185],{},"Last but not least: How many likes does the average post type receive?",[14,31187,31188,31189],{},"The big takeaway: Any post with ",[52,31190,31191],{},"Video (either Video or Video+Text) gets 30% more likes than the average text-only post.",[14,31193,31194],{},[75,31195],{"alt":31196,"src":31197},"Avg Likes per Organic LinkedIn post.png","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Favg-likes-per-organic-linkedIn-post.webp",[24,31199,31201],{"id":31200},"what-can-you-a-fellow-marketer-do-to-help","What can you, a fellow marketer, do to help?",[14,31203,31204],{},"We'd love to get a larger data set to continue to update a useful benchmark for LinkedIn organic performance.",[14,31206,31207],{},"If you're interested in adding your data to this benchmark, please send the following to mike [at] mkg [dot] marketinginc [dot] com",[46,31209,31210,31213,31216],{},[49,31211,31212],{},"Post name",[49,31214,31215],{},"Post URL",[49,31217,31218],{},"Classification of Video, Video + Text or Text Only",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":31220},[31221,31226],{"id":31079,"depth":291,"text":31080,"children":31222},[31223,31224,31225],{"id":31139,"depth":297,"text":31140},{"id":31159,"depth":297,"text":31160},{"id":31181,"depth":297,"text":31182},{"id":31200,"depth":291,"text":31201},"2018-10-30","Read LinkedIn Organic Post Benchmarks that are Updated as of October 30, 2018.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Flinkedin connect.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Flinkedin-organic-benchmarks-october-2018",{"title":31073,"description":31228},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Flinkedin-organic-benchmarks-october-2018","QXyghcbERH1JHh7dJaK-XViUXNB6sak2v0XeaNn0bPE",{"id":31236,"title":31237,"author":7,"authors":31238,"body":31240,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":31336,"description":31337,"extension":318,"img":31338,"imgAlt":7,"meta":31339,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":31340,"seo":31341,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":31237,"stem":31342,"updated":7,"__hash__":31343},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fwhat-is-parallel-tracking.md","What is Parallel Tracking?",[31239],"Spencer Mayes",{"type":11,"value":31241,"toc":31330},[31242,31245,31249,31252,31255,31261,31264,31268,31271,31278,31282,31285,31288,31308,31312,31319,31322],[14,31243,31244],{},"Recently Google announced that parallel tracking will be required for all accounts starting October 30th 2018.",[24,31246,31248],{"id":31247},"so-what-is-parallel-tracking","So What is Parallel Tracking?",[14,31250,31251],{},"Parallel tracking exists to serve a third party tracker and the final URL at the same time, rather than sequentially. This saves load time and gives users a better experience.",[14,31253,31254],{},"The key phrase in the above definition is “third party tracker.”",[14,31256,31257,31258],{},"Google sent out an Ads announcement email to all advertiser in July 2018 with the subject line ",[52,31259,31260],{},"Important: AdWords parallel tracking will be automatically turned on.",[14,31262,31263],{},"Unfortunately, this email wasn’t very clear about this requirement and didn’t do the best job of explaining this important detail. The net-net of the email was: this parallel tracking requirement will only apply if you’re using a third party click tracker like Marin, Kenshoo, or something like Pardot’s Google Ads integration.",[24,31265,31267],{"id":31266},"does-parallel-tracking-effect-me","Does Parallel Tracking Effect Me?",[14,31269,31270],{},"Parallel tracking only effects you if you’re using a third party click tracking tool.",[14,31272,31273,31274,31277],{},"If you’re using a “standard” setup and just sending traffic to a website with no click tracking tools, ",[38,31275,31276],{},"(Google Analytics is not a third party click tracking tool)"," parallel tracking will not apply.",[24,31279,31281],{"id":31280},"what-if-i-am-using-a-third-party-click-tracker","What if I am using a third party click tracker?",[14,31283,31284],{},"Google’s recommendation is to reach out to the third party providers and find a solution.",[14,31286,31287],{},"A few of the bigger names have posted some instructions on setup. The following are what we have found today; we will update when more third party click trackers provide documentation.",[46,31289,31290,31299],{},[49,31291,31292],{},[206,31293,31296],{"href":31294,"rel":31295},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.prnewswire.com\u002Fnews-releases\u002Fmarin-software-streamlines-transition-to-googles-parallel-tracking-300727420.html",[210],[52,31297,31298],{},"Marin",[49,31300,31301],{},[206,31302,31305],{"href":31303,"rel":31304},"https:\u002F\u002Fhelp.salesforce.com\u002FarticleView?id=000272963&language=en_US&r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&type=1",[210],[52,31306,31307],{},"Pardot (Google Ads Integration)",[24,31309,31311],{"id":31310},"have-more-questions-about-parallel-tracking-or-google-ads","Have more questions about Parallel Tracking or Google Ads?",[14,31313,31314,31315,212],{},"Check out checklists, industry news, and guides in the ",[206,31316,31318],{"href":31317},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002F","Analytics section of our blog",[14,31320,31321],{},"More of a talker?",[14,31323,31324,31325],{},"Then schedule some time on our calendars for a brief analytics discussion using ",[206,31326,31329],{"href":31327,"rel":31328},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.scheduleyou.in\u002Fj5fVM4H",[210],"this calendar link.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":31331},[31332,31333,31334,31335],{"id":31247,"depth":291,"text":31248},{"id":31266,"depth":291,"text":31267},{"id":31280,"depth":291,"text":31281},{"id":31310,"depth":291,"text":31311},"2018-10-22","Parallel tracking exists to serve a third party tracker and the final URL at the same time, rather than sequentially. This saves load time and gives users a better experience.  See How.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fparallel-tracking.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fwhat-is-parallel-tracking",{"title":31237,"description":31337},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fwhat-is-parallel-tracking","Le4H5yy8AUBeZW5JlvsvlweU2ogjsZTG0uGTc0KG1VI",{"id":31345,"title":31346,"author":7,"authors":31347,"body":31348,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":31430,"description":31431,"extension":318,"img":31432,"imgAlt":7,"meta":31433,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":31434,"seo":31435,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":31346,"stem":31436,"updated":7,"__hash__":31437},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fduplicate-google-ads-campaign.md","Why I Duplicate All My Google Ads Campaigns",[24268],{"type":11,"value":31349,"toc":31426},[31350,31358,31361,31365,31373,31378,31381,31384,31387,31390,31407,31410,31413,31416,31420,31423],[14,31351,31352,31353],{},"One of my favorite clients forwarded a news story over to me Friday afternoon. It was the nightmare of any digital marketing professional.\n",[206,31354,31357],{"href":31355,"rel":31356},"https:\u002F\u002Fadexchanger.com\u002Fonline-advertising\u002Fmultimillion-dollar-oops-google-will-pay-publishers-for-the-night-of-the-yellow-ad\u002F?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWlRVNE1HWmtPVFV6TUdVdyIsInQiOiJYZDdDRzNZdnVxcGpzQkRiUDE5YkFWQ3Q0QlE0N3F4RndqMUdaNG4xMXRSa1paXC9JK1ZnRjI0RjJiRXJjc2ttdFBDMmxTVkdWVCtDUjJBeG1qaGc3UzdCXC9sc2NCWVdLVHZBcytwbmtSOXBVSElvMnNcL1hwSURJOWI3SVpLU0NFcyJ9",[210],"Due to misconfiguration, a campaign that ran for 45 minutes on the Google Display Network ended up costing $1.6 million.",[14,31359,31360],{},"While it ended up being the fault of somebody on Google’s own training team, it’s still a very costly mistake and it still gave me goosebumps.",[24,31362,31364],{"id":31363},"if-this-can-happen-to-somebody-who-works-at-google-it-can-happen-to-you","If this can happen to somebody who works at Google, it can happen to you.",[14,31366,31367,31368,31372],{},"There’s no denying that Google keeps some settings somewhat hidden that can end up costing companies money in areas they don’t want to (",[206,31369,31371],{"href":31370},"\u002Fresources\u002Fgoogle-ads-location\u002F","people in, or who show interest in, your targeted locations (recommended)",", I’m talking about you), but I’ve found one simple solution to ensure my campaigns are set up exactly how I want them to be every single time:",[24025,31374,31375],{},[14,31376,31377],{},"I duplicate all my campaigns.",[14,31379,31380],{},"I use Google AdWords Editor (time for a name update, eh, Google?) and copy an existing campaign then paste into the account and start from there.",[14,31382,31383],{},"Every. Single. Time.",[14,31385,31386],{},"Why?",[14,31388,31389],{},"All the settings are already correct.",[46,31391,31392,31395,31398,31401,31404],{},[49,31393,31394],{},"The silly “People who show interest in” your targeted location setting is turned off (on by default)",[49,31396,31397],{},"TV screens have a -100% bid modifier on (included in the mix by default)",[49,31399,31400],{},"Ad extensions are brought in when a campaign is duplicated (none added to the campaign by default)",[49,31402,31403],{},"Relevant audiences I have setup for RLSA are brought in when a campaign is duplicated",[49,31405,31406],{},"My bids\u002Fbudgets\u002FCPA targets are all updated and I’m not relying on Google’s sometimes-sketchy information for this",[14,31408,31409],{},"There are no questions, no chances in leaving things up to Google, and mistakes are far less likely to happen.",[14,31411,31412],{},"It also serves as a good reminder in terms of things you want to ensure gets passed along to other campaigns like mobile bidding, URL tracking template options, and more.",[14,31414,31415],{},"And, at the end of the day, it’s actually faster. No bloated UI. No guided campaign creation. Just you and a non-flashy program with tables of text.",[24,31417,31419],{"id":31418},"duplicate-dont-recreate","Duplicate Don’t Recreate",[14,31421,31422],{},"If you already have a campaign structure that you’re happy with, why blindly go through the campaign creation process with Google? Just duplicate what’s working and update it from there!",[14,31424,31425],{},"Don’t let the “Night of the Yellow Ad” happen to you!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":31427},[31428,31429],{"id":31363,"depth":291,"text":31364},{"id":31418,"depth":291,"text":31419},"2018-10-10","Due to misconfiguration, a campaign that ran for 45 minutes on the Google Display Network ended up costing $1.6 million. Prevent this from happening with one simple step.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fgoogle-ads.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fduplicate-google-ads-campaign",{"title":31346,"description":31431},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fduplicate-google-ads-campaign","sji2iVU1UyPXQj98DY11Lh9mE1qPyysEIQuwuUHOPvg",{"id":31439,"title":31440,"author":7,"authors":31441,"body":31442,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":31430,"description":31521,"extension":318,"img":31522,"imgAlt":7,"meta":31523,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":31524,"seo":31525,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":31440,"stem":31526,"updated":7,"__hash__":31527},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002F2018-brightedge-edgie-award-winners.md","MKG Wins 2018 BrightEdge Edgie Award",[9],{"type":11,"value":31443,"toc":31519},[31444,31470,31473,31496,31499,31516],[14,31445,31446,31447,31452,31453,31458,31459,2504,31464,31469],{},"Congratulations to our Informatica Team - SEO Expert, ",[206,31448,31451],{"href":31449,"rel":31450},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fchristianbullock\u002F",[210],"Christian Bullock",", our Analytics Expert, Spencer Mayes, and Account Director Jenna Hasenkampf for winning the ",[206,31454,31457],{"href":31455,"rel":31456},"https:\u002F\u002Fedgiesawards.splashthat.com\u002F",[210],"2018 BrightEdge Edgie Award for Performance and Results",". Thanks to our marketing team at Informatica, ",[206,31460,31463],{"href":31461,"rel":31462},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fsyedkashifali\u002F",[210],"Syed Ali",[206,31465,31468],{"href":31466,"rel":31467},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fmoniquewhite\u002F",[210],"Monique White"," for their partnership in guidance, trust, and implementation in bringing our recommendations and ultimately Informatica's business outcomes to life. We can make all the recommendations in the world, but until they are implemented, they are meaningless.\nIn early 2018 we became a BrightEdge certified agency. It was our goal to aggregate optimization opportunities and results from one place for all our clients. Thanks to our team's dedication in taking the time to really understand the platform and how to utilize it fully we were able to improve Informatica's impressions, sessions, and pipeline create.",[14,31471,31472],{},"Here was the submission by Christian Bullock that lead us to winning this award:",[24025,31474,31475,31478,31481,31484,31487,31490,31493],{},[14,31476,31477],{},"MKG Marketing has utilized BrightEdge to drive record-breaking first half 2018 organic search metrics for Informatica, an enterprise cloud data management company. These metrics include session growth, better crawl metrics, more organic search user form fills and increased organic search pipeline create.",[14,31479,31480],{},"Data Cube helped us find keyword targets to drive our on-page SEO strategy. Specifically, looking at search volume, competition and universal listing opportunities has fueled our organic search exposure. Q1 2018 was a record-breaking quarter, producing the highest quarterly organic traffic Informatica has ever generated with +32% Y\u002FY growth. Q2 2018 broke Q1's quarterly record. Combined, the first half of 2018 has generated a +23% increase in organic search sessions for Informatica.com.",[14,31482,31483],{},"ContentIQ allowed the team to clean up technical issues. Focusing on fixing severe and moderate issues from this site audit tool has allowed Informatica to have +12% more pages indexed in Google Search looking at the beginning of 2018 to the end of June. More pages included in the index equal more opportunities to rank.",[14,31485,31486],{},"Both of these tactics combined has Google Search Console reporting a +173% increase in organic search impressions from the first half of 2018 vs 2017.",[14,31488,31489],{},"Form fills from organic search users have flourished due to these metrics. Following organic search's footsteps, Q1 2018 was a record-breaking quarter with +93% more form fills Y\u002FY. Q2 2018 broke Q1's quarterly record for this metric as well. Combined, the first half of 2018 has generated a +73% increase in organic search form fills for Informatica.com.",[14,31491,31492],{},"Perhaps most important is how BrightEdge has helped Informatica's bottom line: organic search pipeline create. The first half of 2018 was a record-breaking period, with the highest first half of the year organic pipeline created ever. This was an 8% increase Y\u002FY.",[14,31494,31495],{},"We're excited about these results and utilizing BrightEdge further to push them to even higher record-breaking levels.",[14,31497,31498],{},"To distill that submission down to just the year-over-year organic search comparison results:",[46,31500,31501,31504,31507,31510,31513],{},[49,31502,31503],{},"+173% impressions",[49,31505,31506],{},"+73% conversion actions (form fills)",[49,31508,31509],{},"+23% sessions",[49,31511,31512],{},"+12% more pages indexed",[49,31514,31515],{},"+8% pipeline value",[14,31517,31518],{},"Our team is super pumped to have won this award! Other companies and agencies that we were able to contend with included McKesson, Merkle, Rogers, IBM and VMware, to name a handful.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":31520},[],"Thanks to all our hard work in conjunction with our Informatica marketing team we have won the 2018 BrigeEdge Edgie Award for Performance and Results!","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fbright-edge-edgie-award.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002F2018-brightedge-edgie-award-winners",{"title":31440,"description":31521},"blog\u002Fseo\u002F2018-brightedge-edgie-award-winners","fQhqAUCC-OVeKIu-o0tFn2kKYeeBT-WKtsKyolv40eg",{"id":31529,"title":31530,"author":7,"authors":31531,"body":31532,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":31583,"description":31584,"extension":318,"img":31585,"imgAlt":7,"meta":31586,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":31587,"seo":31588,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":31530,"stem":31589,"updated":7,"__hash__":31590},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fbusiness-outcomes.md","Why MKG Focuses on Business Outcomes",[17174],{"type":11,"value":31533,"toc":31580},[31534,31538,31542,31545,31548,31551,31556,31559,31566,31572],[24,31535,31537],{"id":31536},"the-goal-of-marketing-sales","The Goal of Marketing: Sales!",[16784,31539],{"width":16786,"height":16787,"src":31540,"frameBorder":16790,"allow":31541,"allowFullScreen":322},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FcIXKGw9KHCc?rel=0&showinfo=0","autoplay; encrypted-media",[14,31543,31544],{},"Over the summer one of our clients was speaking with me about the MarTech \"Arms Race\" that he is faced with every day.",[14,31546,31547],{},"The \"Arms Race\" he was referring to is one of systems, tools and platforms that make up his companies Marketing Technology stack. His stack has tools for Analytics, A\u002FB testing, Paid Media, Content Management...the list goes on.",[14,31549,31550],{},"While we discussed their Stack, he brought up a really blunt point:",[24025,31552,31553],{},[14,31554,31555],{},"The biggest question I ask any MarTech product or service vendor trying to get into our stack is \"Can I make my money back investing in you?\"",[14,31557,31558],{},"In other words: Will an investment in your product\u002Fservice return a larger amount of time, money or other resources than the initial investment?",[14,31560,31561,31562,31565],{},"That’s why MKG focuses on ",[52,31563,31564],{},"business outcomes"," in our measurement strategies.",[14,31567,31568,31569],{},"KPIs such as Traffic and Web Conversion bring new leads into your business. But at the end of the day we want to ultimately optimize our activity to drive ",[52,31570,31571],{},"business outcomes: pipeline and sales!",[14,31573,31574,31575,212],{},"This post was ",[206,31576,31579],{"href":31577,"rel":31578},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fpulse\u002Fdigital-marketing-agencies-hired-generate-more-revenue-mike-krass\u002F",[210],"originally published on LinkedIn",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":31581},[31582],{"id":31536,"depth":291,"text":31537},"2018-09-27","Watch our CEO Mike Krass Explain the Importance of Business Outcomes in yourDigital Marketing Activities.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fbusiness-outcomes.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fbusiness-outcomes",{"title":31530,"description":31584},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fbusiness-outcomes","ioLZSEgiM8WYEz7KW5Z7JEkDlRHps8RpQu84Ifs1eTE",{"id":31592,"title":31593,"author":7,"authors":31594,"body":31595,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":31661,"description":31662,"extension":318,"img":31663,"imgAlt":7,"meta":31664,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":31665,"seo":31666,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":31667,"stem":31668,"updated":7,"__hash__":31669},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Faverage-cmo-tenure-2018.md","Industry News - Average CMO Tenure Is About 18 Months",[17174],{"type":11,"value":31596,"toc":31658},[31597,31601,31604,31607,31610,31618,31621,31631,31634,31642,31649],[24,31598,31600],{"id":31599},"what-impact-can-your-marketing-deliver-in-547-days","What Impact Can Your Marketing Deliver in 547 Days?",[16784,31602],{"width":16786,"height":16787,"src":31603,"frameBorder":16790,"allow":31541,"allowFullScreen":322},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002F4p-DPcPOk0k?rel=0&showinfo=0",[14,31605,31606],{},"Last month I was speaking with an analyst who covers high growth businesses in the United States (Bay Area, Los Angeles, Northeast, Denver).",[14,31608,31609],{},"This analyst mentioned a shocking statistic to me.",[24025,31611,31612],{},[14,31613,31614,31615],{},"The average tenure of ",[52,31616,31617],{},"CMO at a high growth company is 18 months",[14,31619,31620],{},"547 Days. That's it!",[14,31622,31623,31624,31627,31628,31630],{},"After speaking with this analyst I had another conversation with a marketing executive in San Francisco. This executive mentioned that the board at her company operates ",[38,31625,31626],{},"the exact same way:"," either you can generate measurable growth from the marketing department in 18 months ",[38,31629,8189],{}," that CMO will find him\u002Fherself on the hot seat.",[14,31632,31633],{},"This is why MKG always brings new customers into our portfolio with the following exercises:",[46,31635,31636,31639],{},[49,31637,31638],{},"Measurement and Analytics Plan (inclusive of KPIs\u002FTarget #'s)",[49,31640,31641],{},"Meet with Sales stakeholder(s) to learn about the qualification and sales process for handling marketing leads",[14,31643,31644,31645,31648],{},"We go through these exercises because at the end of the day everybody is judged on ",[52,31646,31647],{},"Sales."," While marketing generates demand, the ultimate outcome we as MKG are charged with delivering is high-quality leads that our customer sale teams can work through.",[14,31650,31651],{},[38,31652,31653,31654],{},"Link to original post on LinkedIn: ",[206,31655,31656],{"href":31656,"rel":31657},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fpulse\u002Fwhat-change-can-you-drive-547-days-mike-krass\u002F",[210],{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":31659},[31660],{"id":31599,"depth":291,"text":31600},"2018-09-20","Recent Analyst Discussions Show The Average Tenure of a Chief Marketing Officer is 18 Months.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002F547-2500x700.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Faverage-cmo-tenure-2018",{"title":31593,"description":31662},"Average CMO Tenure Is About 18 Months","blog\u002Fnews\u002Faverage-cmo-tenure-2018","gOIa697QOBsiF0P7Y_sFOKXcRrL_hInLsmeaXq-eqp4",{"id":31671,"title":31672,"author":7,"authors":31673,"body":31674,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":31892,"description":31893,"extension":318,"img":31894,"imgAlt":7,"meta":31895,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":31896,"seo":31897,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":31898,"updated":7,"__hash__":31899},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Finformatica-seo-training.md","Operation SEO Training",[17174],{"type":11,"value":31675,"toc":31886},[31676,31679,31682,31691,31694,31699,31702,31705,31716,31725,31729,31732,31735,31744,31753,31756,31759,31762,31782,31785,31789,31792,31795,31798,31801,31813,31824,31835,31843,31846,31850,31853,31856,31859,31866,31870,31873,31880,31883],[14,31677,31678],{},"Last month we had the pleasure of welcoming two of our client stakeholders to our office in New Orleans.\nSyed and Monique represent Organic Media and Web Marketing for our client, Informatica.",[14,31680,31681],{},"While we have a healthy meeting cadence in place (every week + additional topic-specific meetings each month) there were some important strategic topics that we just hadn't been able to cover.",[14,31683,31684,31685,31690],{},"As we talked about the importance of these topics we realized that they deserved serious time and attention. They ",[206,31686,31689],{"href":31687,"rel":31688},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fpulse\u002Fman-island-kerry-guard\u002F",[210],"couldn't be handled remotely"," or as \"one-off\" discussions.",[14,31692,31693],{},"Our client's boss, Gary, has a great saying:",[24025,31695,31696],{},[14,31697,31698],{},"It's all important. It's up to us to prioritize and make time.",[14,31700,31701],{},"In an amazing show of making time, Syed and Monique joined Tammy and Christian in New Orleans for an intensive 2 day SEO training workshop.",[14,31703,31704],{},"We covered quite a few topics, with the highlights being:",[46,31706,31707,31710,31713],{},[49,31708,31709],{},"Explanation of Content Silos as they relate to Informatica.com",[49,31711,31712],{},"How search engines crawl a website or URL (complete with a New vs Old Google Search Console review)",[49,31714,31715],{},"Workflow: Past, present and future",[14,31717,31718,31719,31724],{},"While the bulk of our conversation was specific to ",[206,31720,31723],{"href":31721,"rel":31722},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.informatica.com",[210],"Informatica",", there were a few topics that could be valuable to any SEO or Digital Marketer wanting to improve the Organic Search performance of their website.",[24,31726,31728],{"id":31727},"content-silos","Content Silos",[14,31730,31731],{},"Content silos are difficult to explain over the phone or a Webex meeting.",[14,31733,31734],{},"Due to many factors -- including the depth of products and solutions presented to visitors on Informatica.com -- Content Silos are becoming a really important.",[14,31736,31737,31738,31743],{},"Our fellow SEO Cyrus Shepard agrees with their importance, noting ",[206,31739,31742],{"href":31740,"rel":31741},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002FCyrusShepard\u002Fstatus\u002F1034344400912957441",[210],"Content Silos as a Top 3 site architecture element"," to help your website rank better on Organic Search.",[14,31745,31746,31747,31752],{},"In our training session, Christian and Tammy decided to use ",[206,31748,31751],{"href":31749,"rel":31750},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002FMKGMarketingInc\u002Fstatus\u002F1032015786288795648",[210],"_Sammiches _"," (short for sandwiches, of course) as our Content Silo example.",[14,31754,31755],{},"![SEO Content Silo Visual Explanation]('\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FSammiches Explanation for SEO Content Silos.webp')",[14,31757,31758],{},"What's the best way to explain the concept of Content Silos for websites?",[14,31760,31761],{},"With the overarching theme of Sammiches, of course!",[46,31763,31764,31770,31776],{},[49,31765,31766,31767],{},"Content Silos begin with an overarching theme. In this case, we used ",[52,31768,31769],{},"Sammiches",[49,31771,31772,31775],{},[52,31773,31774],{},"Categories and Subcategories"," fall under that theme. For example: Sammiches have cheese.",[49,31777,31778,31781],{},[52,31779,31780],{},"Posts"," that live under the Subcategories can add more Sammich modifiers. In our example, Sammich cheese could be American, Swiss, Gouda ... you get the point.",[14,31783,31784],{},"Speaking of sammiches ... is it lunchtime yet? Nope? Only 9am? Ok, onwards to talk about how search engines crawl your website :)",[24,31786,31788],{"id":31787},"how-search-engines-crawl-a-website","How Search Engines Crawl a Website",[14,31790,31791],{},"Have you ever seen the code that returns when you crawl your own website?",[14,31793,31794],{},"Here's an example with our own homepage:",[14,31796,31797],{},"![Google Search Console URL Inspection]('\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FGSC URL Inspection: MKGMarketingInc.com.png')",[14,31799,31800],{},"Actually visualizing what your website \"looks like\" to search engines is a useful exercise for Web Marketers, as they can see how company templates and code pushes are seen, crawled and indexed by search engines.",[14,31802,31803,31804],{},"Now that we have a visual reference, we can follow ",[206,31805,31808,31809,31812],{"href":31806,"rel":31807},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fsearch\u002Fhowsearchworks\u002Fcrawling-indexing\u002F",[210],"Google's explanation for how they ",[38,31810,31811],{},"crawl and index"," content on your website:",[46,31814,31815,31818,31821],{},[49,31816,31817],{},"Google reviews previous crawls as well as sitemap's submitted by website owners",[49,31819,31820],{},"Google then crawls your website (or part of it) again",[49,31822,31823],{},"The search algorithms are looking for key signals — anything \"from keywords to website freshness\" — in order to update their index and rank your website\u002FURL accordingly",[14,31825,31826,31827,31832],{},"There is an amazingly simple -- and effective -- video that explains the way search engines such as Google organize information on the Internet. You can watch it here: [",[206,31828,31831],{"href":31829,"rel":31830},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fsearch\u002Fhowsearchworks\u002Fcrawling-indexing\u002F%5D(",[210],"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fsearch\u002Fhowsearchworks\u002Fcrawling-indexing\u002F](",[206,31833,31806],{"href":31806,"rel":31834},[210],[14,31836,31837,31838,8495],{},"For the folks who love a good visual, here is a humorous example of Web Crawlers, Googlebot and Web Content working together (Source: ",[206,31839,31842],{"href":31840,"rel":31841},"https:\u002F\u002Fseotinker.tk\u002Flearn-google-discovers-crawls-serves-web-pages\u002F",[210],"SEOTinker",[14,31844,31845],{},"![How Google Search Works]('\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FHow Google Search Works.webp')",[24,31847,31849],{"id":31848},"one-of-a-kind-experiences","One of a Kind Experiences",[14,31851,31852],{},"New Orleans is 300 years old and history seeps out of every cobbled stone street, locals restaurant or pirate bar across the city.",[14,31854,31855],{},"That history led Syed, Christian and I to visit Aidan Gill for Men, a barbershop whose namesake has been a barber for nearly 50 years. Aidan's experience as a barber dates back to his start in Dublin, Ireland, when he began cutting hair at the young age of 15.",[14,31857,31858],{},"Before we began the training days, the guys went in to get a straight shave and haircut.",[14,31860,31861,31862,31865],{},"Wondering why everyone looks so happy and relaxed? Barbers at Aidan Gill for Men put on slow jazz music and work through ",[38,31863,31864],{},"seven hot towels on your face"," before giving their clients a shave. Show me an insomniac that can stay awake through that many relaxing hot towels ;)",[24,31867,31869],{"id":31868},"recognizing-the-trip-for-what-it-was-work","Recognizing The Trip for What it Was: Work!",[14,31871,31872],{},"At our final dinner before everyone departed back home, I mentioned how inspiring it was to see key stakeholders take time and energy to make this training trip happen.",[14,31874,31875,31876,31879],{},"Everyone ",[52,31877,31878],{},"committed"," to the process of growing the SEO presence of Informatica.com",[14,31881,31882],{},"That's not something that a client and SEO agency can make happen every day. And I'm tremendously proud that we could make this happen.",[14,31884,31885],{},"By the way .... this is an annual work trip now, right? ;)",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":31887},[31888,31889,31890,31891],{"id":31727,"depth":291,"text":31728},{"id":31787,"depth":291,"text":31788},{"id":31848,"depth":291,"text":31849},{"id":31868,"depth":291,"text":31869},"2018-09-11","Informatica's Web Marketing Team Visits the MKG New Orleans office for an Intensive 2 Day SEO Training.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Finformatica-mkgmarketing-seo-training.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Finformatica-seo-training",{"title":31672,"description":31893},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Finformatica-seo-training","WDdsCzy9eyu5dF5KtVHCn_rETHVB_OBSfLUoT9M00T4",{"id":31901,"title":31902,"author":7,"authors":31903,"body":31904,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":31982,"description":31983,"extension":318,"img":31984,"imgAlt":7,"meta":31985,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":31986,"seo":31987,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":31902,"stem":31988,"updated":7,"__hash__":31989},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Faccount-director-reflections-flat-organization.md","Account Director Reflections: Flat Organization",[26458],{"type":11,"value":31905,"toc":31975},[31906,31912,31915,31918,31923,31927,31930,31935,31937,31944,31949,31951,31954,31959,31962,31965,31968],[14,31907,31908,31909],{},"At MKG, one of our standout attributes is that we hire subject matter experts, people with 8+ years of experience. We’re a flat agency with a senior staff which resonates with clients because there’s no bait and switch, the A-Team is who you get 100% of the time. And as an Account Director, this has meant some big adjustments in my role compared to my previous agency life.\n",[75,31910],{"alt":77,"src":31911},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Faccount-director-reflections-trust.webp",[24,31913,31914],{"id":7639},"Trust",[14,31916,31917],{},"I work with a team of peers. Some of them have more than ten years more experience than I do, so these aren’t people I manage, they’re people I partner with. I handle one-on-ones with two of them and it’s a very different relationship than I’ve had previously in agencies. I provide feedback and my perspective and in-turn I listen to their feedback and concerns. They’re smart senior people who are not just automatically going to hand over authority to a title, so I’ve had to earn their trust when it comes to prioritizing requests\u002Fworkloads, advocating for them with our executive team, and providing feedback. The more trust I earn, the more it frees them up to focus on their work because they’re not stressing about client expectations or addressing work issues. That’s my job.",[14,31919,31920],{},[75,31921],{"alt":77,"src":31922},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Faccount-director-reflections-accountability.webp",[24,31924,31926],{"id":31925},"personal-accountability","Personal Accountability",[14,31928,31929],{},"I work on a number of clients, as does most of my team. The only way this is possible is through everyone doing their job without needing micromanaging and appreciating each other’s strengths and understanding roles. We’re agile so we set priorities as a team each week on Monday and everyone manages their assigned tasks for the week. We have a 15 minute morning standup that we  cover anyone being overloaded or stuck and we don’t have formal work reviews as a team, these are managed as individual tasks. This leads to major efficiency through way fewer meetings and duplication of effort. But what about collaboration\u002Fbrainstorms you ask? This leaves more time for collaboration and brainstorming through not having to fight for time in a schedule full of meetings and allowing them to happen more organically. We are currently a team of 8 and it’s staggering at time how much work gets done in a week.",[14,31931,31932],{},[75,31933],{"alt":77,"src":31934},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Faccount-director-reflections-transparency.webp",[24,31936,24067],{"id":24066},[14,31938,31939,31940,31943],{},"Rather than play an inefficient game of telephone, relevant team members are on every project related call with the client(s). They’re all experienced enough to be in front of clients and this way they’re able to hear everything firsthand and ask questions\u002Fprovide feedback in real time. (",[38,31941,31942],{},"Here’s a secret clients, having stakeholders hear what you want first hand actually saves time from the meetings and discussions that I’d need to have otherwise","). This also allows clients to hear from the experts rather than an Account Director on their specific ideas\u002Fquestions. It can also cut down on work because questions\u002Fproblems can sometimes be handled live. It also goes back to trust, they trust me to lead the conversation and drive discussions around timing and scope, and I trust them to own the conversation around their areas of expertise.",[14,31945,31946],{},[75,31947],{"alt":77,"src":31948},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Faccount-director-reflections-people-first.webp",[24,31950,24043],{"id":24042},[14,31952,31953],{},"One of the biggest issues agencies face is turnover. When I worked in San Francisco, staying at an agency for 18 months was considered a reasonable amount of time. That can be really tough on a team because you’re constantly spending time and resources on boarding new team members and losing the strategy\u002Fvision that those team members had. As an account person, clients have always been my first priority, and working at MKG I’ve had to shift that. Yes I want to do great things for our clients, but at the end of the day my main priority is to do right by our team. At first I had a lot of clenched stomach feelings as I pushed back on some requests or enforced our work hours and our availability times, but to my surprise it’s lead to much healthier and productive client relationships. The proof in this is the vast majority of our clients come through referrals or clients moving to other companies and bringing us in. Through not over-promising I’m able to set realistic expectations with clients and they feel like they can depend on us to do great work when we say we’ll be able to. In turn, my team gives me the autonomy to manage client’s requests and our workload and make strategic decisions on how to best balance things because they see that not only am I looking out for them, but I’m also looking out for MKG with our clients. I used to struggle to get team members at other agencies to take a lunch, now I’m pushing my team to make sure they use all 20 of their vacation days. Turns out that people get a lot more done when they have regular time off to recharge.",[14,31955,31956],{},[75,31957],{"alt":77,"src":31958},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Faccount-director-reflections-team-pride.webp",[24,31960,24059],{"id":31961},"team-pride",[14,31963,31964],{},"There are no departments at MKG and this is really a game changer. Previously I’ve had to manage company goals, department goals, team goals, personal goals, and client goals. A sure way to never feel like you’re doing a great job, because how can you possibly be exceeding at that many different priorities and your day job? It’s also probably why goals for the year wouldn’t end up being set until about half way through. Plus department goals differ department to department and are frequently in direct odds with each other. We actually briefly tried to segment things as we got a little larger and the team rebelled, they didn’t want to be part of separate groups, they wanted to be one team, so we went back to doing things in a more unified way. Maybe someday we’ll get large enough to need some more segmentation, but I don’t see departments being part of MKG’s future because they run counter to a flat organization and at the end of the day we measure our success as a whole.",[14,31966,31967],{},"I’m coming up on a year with MKG in August and the changes in my day-to-day have been significant, but all pointing to what I think Account Management and agency life can and should be. Change can be really hard, but it’s not impossible, if your agency needs a baby step maybe just start with having less meetings?",[14,31969,31970,31971,31974],{},"Want to work with MKG? ",[206,31972,31973],{"href":11956},"Contact Mike Krass"," today and start working with our Senior Staff now.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":31976},[31977,31978,31979,31980,31981],{"id":7639,"depth":291,"text":31914},{"id":31925,"depth":291,"text":31926},{"id":24066,"depth":291,"text":24067},{"id":24042,"depth":291,"text":24043},{"id":31961,"depth":291,"text":24059},"2018-07-31","As an Account Director, working with senior staff in a Flat Organization meant some big adjustments in my role compared to my previous agency life. Read on.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Faccount-director-reflections-flatorg.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Faccount-director-reflections-flat-organization",{"title":31902,"description":31983},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Faccount-director-reflections-flat-organization","led7j5dVkVG7BMFpV7fQDABLiyuaYLamJ0ld_GwRDOQ",{"id":31991,"title":31992,"author":7,"authors":31993,"body":31994,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":32191,"description":32192,"extension":318,"img":32193,"imgAlt":7,"meta":32194,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":32196,"seo":32197,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":32198,"stem":32199,"updated":7,"__hash__":32200},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fmkg-7th-birthday.md","From Day 1 to 2,555 - Happy 7th Birthday to MKG Marketing!",[17174],{"type":11,"value":31995,"toc":32185},[31996,32007,32010,32015,32022,32042,32045,32049,32052,32055,32058,32061,32064,32070,32074,32077,32080,32083,32086,32089,32092,32095,32103,32106,32110,32124,32127,32133,32140,32143,32146,32152,32155,32158,32163,32167,32170],[14,31997,31998,32001,32002,9152],{},[206,31999,1414],{"href":32000},"\u002F"," is about to complete our 7th full year being in business, a feat in and of itself because only 50% of businesses survive to the 5 year mark (",[206,32003,32006],{"href":32004,"rel":32005},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bls.gov\u002Fbdm\u002Fus_age_naics_00_table7.txt",[210],"United States Bureau of Labor",[14,32008,32009],{},"Pause for celebration.",[14,32011,32012],{},[75,32013],{"alt":77,"src":32014},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fchris-pratt-celebration.gif",[14,32016,32017,32018,32021],{},"Celebrating our 7th birthday starts with a few critical ",[52,32019,32020],{},"THANK YOU’s"," to people who have existed in the MKG orbit. In no particular order I’d like to thank...",[46,32023,32024,32030,32036],{},[49,32025,32026,32029],{},[52,32027,32028],{},"The MKG team."," You are the engine that makes clients sprint toward us at full speed to ask “Can we please work together?” Bravo to each and every one of us for being fearless every single day at work.",[49,32031,32032,32035],{},[52,32033,32034],{},"Clients in our Portfolio."," We exist to serve your digital marketing needs. Thank you for being brave and trusting that our process is in the best interest of growing your business.",[49,32037,32038,32041],{},[52,32039,32040],{},"Partners in our Ecosystem."," There have been too many partners to count in our ecosystem. Know that us celebrating another year serving our customers and growing our talents as a team is possible because we have amazing partners who supplement\u002Faugment gaps in our service offerings.",[14,32043,32044],{},"Because you can do anything you’d like on your birthday (har har :) I’d like to take a moment to reflect on the past year at MKG.",[24,32046,32048],{"id":32047},"reflection-process-scale","Reflection: Process = Scale",[14,32050,32051],{},"In the past 365 days we added one Digital Marketing Expert to the MKG team: Jenna Hasenkampf, one of our rock-star Account Directors.",[14,32053,32054],{},"Jenna has a tremendous amount of experience implementing scalable processes that set expectations (amongst other benefits) with our clients and team members.",[14,32056,32057],{},"Thinking about all the work we’ve done in the past 365 days: I honestly feel like we are punching way above our weight class as an agency.",[14,32059,32060],{},"Process, combined with experienced Digital Marketing Experts, allow an agile agency like MKG to box with the heavyweights.",[14,32062,32063],{},"And while Jenna drove a lot of process implementation, the entire team embraced agile as a way of thinking to continuously improve these processes that allow us to serve our customers better.",[14,32065,32066,32067],{},"When asked what our secret sauce was for the past year, my honest answer would be ",[52,32068,32069],{},"Process with a heavy dose of Experience.",[24,32071,32073],{"id":32072},"reflection-product-market-fit-matters","Reflection: Product \u002F Market Fit MATTERS",[14,32075,32076],{},"For those who are unfamiliar, we begin the discovery process with new clients using a set of Scoping and Discovery questions.",[14,32078,32079],{},"These questions are a tool for the potential client to educate us about their business, industry and overarching needs.",[14,32081,32082],{},"For the first five years at MKG, we didn’t ask prospective clients to go deep on the way their product(s) or service(s) fit into the marketplace.",[14,32084,32085],{},"I have personally learned that is a mistake.",[14,32087,32088],{},"Regardless of annual revenue, years in business or capital investment, the one issue we weren't addressing completely in the discovery process with new customers was a lack of clarity around product\u002Fmarket fit.",[14,32090,32091],{},"Why does this matter?",[14,32093,32094],{},"Because without a clear, customer-driven answer to “Have we achieved product\u002Fmarket fit” our jobs become increasingly more difficult.",[46,32096,32097,32100],{},[49,32098,32099],{},"If the client doesn’t have a clear answer to product\u002Fmarket fit, how can we reach the appropriate prospects for them via SEO and PPC?",[49,32101,32102],{},"Hypothetically speaking: If we aren’t reaching prospects that represent personas of a potential customer, are we wasting our collective time, capital and energy?",[14,32104,32105],{},"Product\u002Fmarket fit matters for all businesses: Early stage ventures up to mature companies. It’s our teams job to dig deep with our clients to honestly answer “What makes you different and better?”",[24,32107,32109],{"id":32108},"reflection-strength-as-a-group","Reflection: Strength as a Group",[14,32111,32112,32113,32118,32119,25549],{},"Let’s take a ride into the wayback machine to high school history class: Who can tell me what a ",[206,32114,32117],{"href":32115,"rel":32116},"https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002Fk5WWiqxeS0k",[210],"Roman Phalanx formation","looks like? What about a ",[206,32120,32123],{"href":32121,"rel":32122},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FTestudo_formation",[210],"Turtle formation",[14,32125,32126],{},"If you have watched the action movie 300, you’ve actually seen both formations before.",[14,32128,32129,32130],{},"From the outside looking in, the value of these formations jumps out at you: They are strong, hard-to-penetrate fighting formations that are successful when executed well ",[52,32131,32132],{},"as an entire group.",[24025,32134,32135],{},[14,32136,32137],{},[52,32138,32139],{},"In short: They are strong as a single group.",[14,32141,32142],{},"Phalanx and Turtle formations can withstand losing positions here and there. But the moment large chunks of positions are lost the strength of the group begins to break down.",[14,32144,32145],{},"How does this relate to digital marketing?",[14,32147,32148,32149],{},"Over the past year at MKG I’ve noticed on multiple occasions that we are ",[52,32150,32151],{},"Strongest Together as a Team.",[14,32153,32154],{},"Anything that draws away from our team working together as a single group, like the Romans and their Phalanx or Turtle formations, draws focus and energy away from our common goals and visions.",[14,32156,32157],{},"The NBA Champion Golden State Warriors are a recent organization that highlighted Strength as a Group with their slogan \"Strength in Numbers.\"",[14,32159,32160],{},[75,32161],{"alt":77,"src":32162},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fgolden-state-warriors-strength-in-numbers-wallpaper-1.webp",[24,32164,32166],{"id":32165},"what-do-the-next-365-days-have-in-store-for-mkg","What do the next 365 days have in store for MKG?",[14,32168,32169],{},"Kerry and I have a few key objectives for the next year at MKG:",[46,32171,32172,32179,32182],{},[49,32173,32174,32175,32178],{},"Follow our ",[206,32176,32177],{"href":23656},"People First value"," to ensure MKG is a place of constant opportunity and growth for everyone who works here (including Kerry and I!)",[49,32180,32181],{},"Actively listen to our current customers to hear what they love about us as well as what we could be doing better for them.",[49,32183,32184],{},"Broadcast our deep service and industry experience to the relevant marketing audience by sharing tips, advice and case studies that they can actually use or learn from.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":32186},[32187,32188,32189,32190],{"id":32047,"depth":291,"text":32048},{"id":32072,"depth":291,"text":32073},{"id":32108,"depth":291,"text":32109},{"id":32165,"depth":291,"text":32166},"2018-07-25","Read our 7th Birthday Post to Hear Reflections on the Past 2,555 Days at MKG Marketing from CEO Mike Krass.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002F7th-Birthday-Post.webp",{"redirect_from":32195},"\u002Fmkg-7th-birthday\u002F","\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fmkg-7th-birthday",{"title":31992,"description":32192},"From Day 1 to 2,555 - Happy 7th Birthday!","blog\u002Fnews\u002Fmkg-7th-birthday","rWcx5hREPvhvvZnlls2otDOGVP2ZpOM3yHB_tsnFLV4",{"id":32202,"title":32203,"author":7,"authors":32204,"body":32205,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":32543,"description":32544,"extension":318,"img":32545,"imgAlt":7,"meta":32546,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":32547,"seo":32548,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":32203,"stem":32549,"updated":7,"__hash__":32550},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fhow-to-generate-xml-sitemap.md","How to Generate an XML Sitemap",[31451],{"type":11,"value":32206,"toc":32532},[32207,32210,32213,32217,32220,32236,32240,32243,32254,32258,32261,32348,32351,32428,32431,32435,32438,32441,32444,32448,32451,32460,32464,32467,32476,32484,32488,32491,32500,32503,32507,32510,32513,32516,32520,32529],[14,32208,32209],{},"XML Sitemap defined: A “cheatsheet” for search engines to see all of the 200 OK URLs that you want to have in their indexes for your domain.\nThis file gives search engines access into every single URL you want to have ranked for your domain in a way that doesn’t make search engines rely on their spiders or crawlers find them all.",[14,32211,32212],{},"An XML sitemap file is almost always present at the root of a domain (e.g. example.com\u002Fsitemap.xml).",[24,32214,32216],{"id":32215},"xml-sitemap-use-cases","XML Sitemap Use Cases",[14,32218,32219],{},"You should always have an updated XML sitemap readily accessible for search engines to grab. However, there are circumstances where you need to pay some extra attention to this all-important file:",[132,32221,32222,32225,32233],{},[49,32223,32224],{},"Site migration – If you’re changing URL structures, when these changes are pushed live you should have your XML sitemap file reflect the new URLs.",[49,32226,32227,32228,212],{},"News – If you’re generating news at a fairly frequent clip, you should ensure your XML sitemap updates with these new URLs. Also look into a ",[206,32229,32232],{"href":32230,"rel":32231},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.google.com\u002Fnews\u002Fpublisher-center\u002Fanswer\u002F74288?hl=en",[210],"Google News XML sitemap",[49,32234,32235],{},"International – Each international “version” of your site, whether it’s on a subdomain or a subfolder, should have its own XML sitemap file.",[24,32237,32239],{"id":32238},"special-considerations-for-xml-sitemaps","Special Considerations for XML Sitemaps",[14,32241,32242],{},"The following are some things you should keep in mind when thinking about creating an XML sitemap:",[132,32244,32245,32248,32251],{},[49,32246,32247],{},"One XML sitemap per domain. This means if you have a subdomain, you would need to create an XML sitemap for that subdomain only and place it at the root.",[49,32249,32250],{},"URL limitations. If you have more than 50,000 URLs, you need to create separate XML sitemaps. In this case, you would create a parent XML sitemap file (sitemap-index.xml) and then have this file link off to each sitemap XML file (sitemap1.xml, sitemap2.xml). This content is more for site owners who have a website with less than 50,000 URLs. If you do, you can consult the XML sitemap website with instructions on this practice here.",[49,32252,32253],{},"International. If you have International content, such as a version of your site on a subfolder level (example.com\u002Fes\u002F), you would want to create an XML sitemap for this “section” of the site and place it at that subfolder level (example.com\u002Fes\u002Fsitemap.xml).",[24,32255,32257],{"id":32256},"xml-sitemap-example","XML Sitemap Example",[14,32259,32260],{},"These files are always constructed in the same way, a protocol that all search engines agree and follow.",[24428,32262,32266],{"className":32263,"code":32264,"language":32265,"meta":77,"style":77},"language-xml shiki shiki-themes github-light github-dark","\u003Curl>\n    \u003Cloc>The URL “location” (https:\u002F\u002Fwww.example.org). The only critically important element to have.\n    \u003Clastmod>The last time the page content has changed. Moderately important to include. Should follow this format: YEAR-MM-DD (2018-07-03).\n    \u003Cchangefreq>How frequently will the page content change. Slightly important to include. Values you can use are:\n        + always\n        + hourly\n        + daily\n        + weekly\n        + monthly\n        + yearly\n        + never\n    \u003Cpriority>A scale from 1.0 to 0.0 on how much “value” you believe each page has. Slightly important to include. You would likely follow the URL structure of your website in deeming importance, such as:\n        + example.org - 1.0\n        + example.org\u002Fpage\u002F - 0.9\n        + example.org\u002Fpage\u002Fanother-page\u002F - 0.8\n\u003C\u002Furl>\n","xml",[24358,32267,32268,32273,32278,32283,32288,32293,32298,32303,32308,32313,32318,32323,32328,32333,32338,32343],{"__ignoreMap":77},[24436,32269,32270],{"class":24438,"line":321},[24436,32271,32272],{},"\u003Curl>\n",[24436,32274,32275],{"class":24438,"line":291},[24436,32276,32277],{},"    \u003Cloc>The URL “location” (https:\u002F\u002Fwww.example.org). The only critically important element to have.\n",[24436,32279,32280],{"class":24438,"line":297},[24436,32281,32282],{},"    \u003Clastmod>The last time the page content has changed. Moderately important to include. Should follow this format: YEAR-MM-DD (2018-07-03).\n",[24436,32284,32285],{"class":24438,"line":12172},[24436,32286,32287],{},"    \u003Cchangefreq>How frequently will the page content change. Slightly important to include. Values you can use are:\n",[24436,32289,32290],{"class":24438,"line":24485},[24436,32291,32292],{},"        + always\n",[24436,32294,32295],{"class":24438,"line":24495},[24436,32296,32297],{},"        + hourly\n",[24436,32299,32300],{"class":24438,"line":24505},[24436,32301,32302],{},"        + daily\n",[24436,32304,32305],{"class":24438,"line":24521},[24436,32306,32307],{},"        + weekly\n",[24436,32309,32310],{"class":24438,"line":24531},[24436,32311,32312],{},"        + monthly\n",[24436,32314,32315],{"class":24438,"line":24541},[24436,32316,32317],{},"        + yearly\n",[24436,32319,32320],{"class":24438,"line":24556},[24436,32321,32322],{},"        + never\n",[24436,32324,32325],{"class":24438,"line":24562},[24436,32326,32327],{},"    \u003Cpriority>A scale from 1.0 to 0.0 on how much “value” you believe each page has. Slightly important to include. You would likely follow the URL structure of your website in deeming importance, such as:\n",[24436,32329,32330],{"class":24438,"line":24576},[24436,32331,32332],{},"        + example.org - 1.0\n",[24436,32334,32335],{"class":24438,"line":24582},[24436,32336,32337],{},"        + example.org\u002Fpage\u002F - 0.9\n",[24436,32339,32340],{"class":24438,"line":24596},[24436,32341,32342],{},"        + example.org\u002Fpage\u002Fanother-page\u002F - 0.8\n",[24436,32344,32345],{"class":24438,"line":24601},[24436,32346,32347],{},"\u003C\u002Furl>\n",[14,32349,32350],{},"So an example of two URLs in a sitemap file would look something like this:",[24428,32352,32354],{"className":32263,"code":32353,"language":32265,"meta":77,"style":77},"\u003C?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?>\n\u003Curlset xmlns=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sitemaps.org\u002Fschemas\u002Fsitemap\u002F0.9\">\n    \u003Curl>\n        \u003Cloc>https:\u002F\u002Fwww.example.org\u002F\u003C\u002Floc>\n        \u003Clastmod>2018-07-03\u003C\u002Flastmod>\n        \u003Cchangefreq>daily\u003C\u002Fchangefreq>\n        \u003Cpriority>1.0\u003C\u002Fpriority>\n    \u003C\u002Furl>\n    \u003Curl>\n        \u003Cloc>https:\u002F\u002Fwww.example.org\u002Fpage\u002F\u003C\u002Floc>\n        \u003Clastmod>2018-07-03\u003C\u002Flastmod>\n        \u003Cchangefreq>weekly\u003C\u002Fchangefreq>\n        \u003Cpriority>0.9\u003C\u002Fpriority>\n    \u003C\u002Furl>\n\u003C\u002Furlset>\n",[24358,32355,32356,32361,32366,32371,32376,32381,32386,32391,32396,32400,32405,32409,32414,32419,32423],{"__ignoreMap":77},[24436,32357,32358],{"class":24438,"line":321},[24436,32359,32360],{},"\u003C?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?>\n",[24436,32362,32363],{"class":24438,"line":291},[24436,32364,32365],{},"\u003Curlset xmlns=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sitemaps.org\u002Fschemas\u002Fsitemap\u002F0.9\">\n",[24436,32367,32368],{"class":24438,"line":297},[24436,32369,32370],{},"    \u003Curl>\n",[24436,32372,32373],{"class":24438,"line":12172},[24436,32374,32375],{},"        \u003Cloc>https:\u002F\u002Fwww.example.org\u002F\u003C\u002Floc>\n",[24436,32377,32378],{"class":24438,"line":24485},[24436,32379,32380],{},"        \u003Clastmod>2018-07-03\u003C\u002Flastmod>\n",[24436,32382,32383],{"class":24438,"line":24495},[24436,32384,32385],{},"        \u003Cchangefreq>daily\u003C\u002Fchangefreq>\n",[24436,32387,32388],{"class":24438,"line":24505},[24436,32389,32390],{},"        \u003Cpriority>1.0\u003C\u002Fpriority>\n",[24436,32392,32393],{"class":24438,"line":24521},[24436,32394,32395],{},"    \u003C\u002Furl>\n",[24436,32397,32398],{"class":24438,"line":24531},[24436,32399,32370],{},[24436,32401,32402],{"class":24438,"line":24541},[24436,32403,32404],{},"        \u003Cloc>https:\u002F\u002Fwww.example.org\u002Fpage\u002F\u003C\u002Floc>\n",[24436,32406,32407],{"class":24438,"line":24556},[24436,32408,32380],{},[24436,32410,32411],{"class":24438,"line":24562},[24436,32412,32413],{},"        \u003Cchangefreq>weekly\u003C\u002Fchangefreq>\n",[24436,32415,32416],{"class":24438,"line":24576},[24436,32417,32418],{},"        \u003Cpriority>0.9\u003C\u002Fpriority>\n",[24436,32420,32421],{"class":24438,"line":24582},[24436,32422,32395],{},[24436,32424,32425],{"class":24438,"line":24596},[24436,32426,32427],{},"\u003C\u002Furlset>\n",[14,32429,32430],{},"You add the top lines to show this is an XML sitemap example and you add the trailing slash urlset to signify the end of the file.",[24,32432,32434],{"id":32433},"xml-sitemap-seo-importance","XML Sitemap SEO Importance",[14,32436,32437],{},"Like previously mentioned, XML sitemaps are cheatsheets for search engines. You can easily tell them to go out and crawl the listed URLs without having to rely on their spiders to find them all.",[14,32439,32440],{},"This can be both a blessing and a curse, whether your XML sitemap is up to date :)",[14,32442,32443],{},"We find that there is still some SEO value in having an up-to-date, maintained XML sitemap. While search engines (and their spiders) are getting smarter at finding all of the content for a domain and being able to crawl all types of content, why not give them a list of your URLs?",[24,32445,32447],{"id":32446},"how-to-generate-an-xml-sitemap-file-wordpress","How To Generate an XML Sitemap File - WordPress",[14,32449,32450],{},"If you’re using the WordPress platform, a whole slew of plugins give you the ability to create an XML sitemap for your website.",[14,32452,32453,32454,32459],{},"Perhaps the most popular way is by using ",[206,32455,32458],{"href":32456,"rel":32457},"https:\u002F\u002Fkb.yoast.com\u002Fkb\u002Fenable-xml-sitemaps-in-the-wordpress-seo-plugin\u002F",[210],"the Yoast plugin",". This plugin will also update your XML sitemap whenever any new content is posted on your site - automagically.",[24,32461,32463],{"id":32462},"how-to-generate-an-xml-sitemap-file-other-platforms-static-wix-etc","How To Generate an XML Sitemap File - Other Platforms (Static, Wix, etc.)",[14,32465,32466],{},"Never fear! If you’re using a CMS other than WordPress, there are still ways you can create and maintain an XML sitemap.",[14,32468,32469,32470,32475],{},"Our most-trusted tool is ",[206,32471,32474],{"href":32472,"rel":32473},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.xml-sitemaps.com\u002F",[210],"XML-Sitemaps",". This online tool will crawl and grab all of your URLs and automatically generate an XML sitemap. The limitation here is that the free version will only crawl up to 500 URLs.",[14,32477,32478,32479,212],{},"You can also use other tools to create XML sitemaps, such as ",[206,32480,32483],{"href":32481,"rel":32482},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.screamingfrog.co.uk\u002Fseo-spider\u002F",[210],"Screaming Frog SEO Spider",[24,32485,32487],{"id":32486},"checking-and-validating-your-xml-sitemap","Checking and Validating Your XML Sitemap",[14,32489,32490],{},"So you’ve created an XML sitemap file. Great! Now you should check and see if you did it right ☺",[14,32492,32493,32494,32499],{},"Google Search Console and ",[206,32495,32498],{"href":32496,"rel":32497},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bing.com\u002Ftoolbox\u002Fwebmaster",[210],"Bing Webmaster Tools",", the two places you should submit your XML sitemaps to if you have a primarily US-based website, offer input on whether they can “read” your sitemap files.",[14,32501,32502],{},"After validating your website, you’ll be able to have the option of giving each website your XML sitemap file URL address. When doing so, we recommend having them report to you about any errors they might be seeing. Maybe you didn’t close a tag properly. Or misspelled one of the labels. In any event, you want to make sure the validation comes back error free.",[24,32504,32506],{"id":32505},"submitting-an-xml-sitemap-file-to-google-and-bing-yahoo","Submitting an XML Sitemap File to Google and Bing \u002F Yahoo",[14,32508,32509],{},"Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools are the two destinations for you to navigate to in order to submit your file to search engines. If you followed the checking and validating instructions, you’ll be able to access these two sites to submit your XML sitemaps to each search engine.",[14,32511,32512],{},"Note that Bing Webmaster Tools includes both Bing and Yahoo search indexes.",[14,32514,32515],{},"These two destinations will also alert you to any issues in the future if they find any URLs in the XML sitemap returning 4xx errors or redirects. It’s a good idea to check up on the health of these files in both places on a weekly basis.",[24,32517,32519],{"id":32518},"any-questions","Any Questions?",[14,32521,32522,32523,32528],{},"We hope you’ve learned a little bit more about XML sitemaps, why they’re important, and how to generate and submit these files to search engines. Have questions? ",[206,32524,32527],{"href":32525,"rel":32526},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002Fintent\u002Ftweet?screen_name=MKGMarketingInc&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw",[210],"Tweet at us"," and we’ll get back to you!",[25078,32530,32531],{},"html .default .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-default);background: var(--shiki-default-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-default-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-default-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-default-text-decoration);}html .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-default);background: var(--shiki-default-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-default-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-default-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-default-text-decoration);}html .dark .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-dark);background: var(--shiki-dark-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-dark-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-dark-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-dark-text-decoration);}html.dark .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-dark);background: var(--shiki-dark-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-dark-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-dark-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-dark-text-decoration);}",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":32533},[32534,32535,32536,32537,32538,32539,32540,32541,32542],{"id":32215,"depth":291,"text":32216},{"id":32238,"depth":291,"text":32239},{"id":32256,"depth":291,"text":32257},{"id":32433,"depth":291,"text":32434},{"id":32446,"depth":291,"text":32447},{"id":32462,"depth":291,"text":32463},{"id":32486,"depth":291,"text":32487},{"id":32505,"depth":291,"text":32506},{"id":32518,"depth":291,"text":32519},"2018-07-06","A guide on what an XML Sitemap is, why it's important, how to generate one,  and then how to implement it. Get going.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fxml-sitemaps-generator.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fhow-to-generate-xml-sitemap",{"title":32203,"description":32544},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fhow-to-generate-xml-sitemap","IfFBnYFGT6LJs3pzRAOYg3nEBvDLQkUUbIsQ-fvVlQM",{"id":32552,"title":32553,"author":7,"authors":32554,"body":32555,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":32785,"description":32559,"extension":318,"img":32786,"imgAlt":7,"meta":32787,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":32788,"seo":32789,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":32553,"stem":32790,"updated":7,"__hash__":32791},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fgoogle-voice-search.md","SEO Voice Search Best Practices",[29946],{"type":11,"value":32556,"toc":32776},[32557,32560,32563,32566,32570,32573,32576,32581,32586,32589,32592,32596,32598,32600,32604,32608,32610,32612,32653,32658,32662,32666,32669,32680,32683,32686,32689,32693,32696,32699,32710,32713,32716,32719,32722,32725,32730,32735,32740,32742,32745,32768],[14,32558,32559],{},"With the growth in mobile voice searches digital marketing, including SEO, has moved to an AI predictive model. To keep pace with technology, the marketers have done several surveys and studies to get ahead of the emerging trend.",[14,32561,32562],{},"The range of virtual assistants, such as Siri, Cortana, Google Voice Search\u002FNow, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home, are collectively training people to search using their voices and to become more “conversational” with search and mobile devices.",[14,32564,32565],{},"While the research is compelling, this technology is still too new to have a complete picture and\u002For set best practices for SEO specifically.  However, there are several research studies from 2016- 2018 where a common theme has emerged.",[24,32567,32569],{"id":32568},"nlp-natural-language-processing","NLP : Natural Language Processing",[14,32571,32572],{},"Voice technology is another step in the direction of improving the user experience with semantics. RankBrain from Google further develops the use of user intent via NLP and other algorithm factors.",[14,32574,32575],{},"Marie-Claire Jenkins, a Ph.D. in Natural Language Processing and Artificial Intelligence at the University of East Anglia, defines NLP:",[14,32577,32578],{},[38,32579,32580],{},"\"It is the area of computing that deals with words. Words form texts, texts form collections of many texts, leading to an awful lot of words. This \"bag of words\" needs to be analyzed so that a machine can make sense of them. If it can't, there is no way of retrieving information from the texts and so they are in effect useless.",[14,32582,32583],{},[38,32584,32585],{},"Linguistic analysis is used to analyze and represent the texts. Once the computer can represent the language in some way (patterns, reoccurring words, synonymy...) the information in the texts can be manipulated. This mimics the human understanding of language. NLP is a subfield of artificial intelligence and computational linguistics.\"",[14,32587,32588],{},"Basically, Natural Language Processing (NLP) to recognize voice texture, interests, and behavior. With time, Google “learns” your language, accent, and other patterns in the way you speak, through your voice activated devices.",[14,32590,32591],{},"Now, and going forward Google’s RankBrain reinforces the AI used for voice searches, which focuses on the semantics and the wider contextual relevance of the user’s query.",[24,32593,32595],{"id":32594},"summary-of-our-most-interesting-findings","Summary of Our Most Interesting Findings:",[14,32597,32572],{},[14,32599,32575],{},[14,32601,32602],{},[38,32603,32580],{},[14,32605,32606],{},[38,32607,32585],{},[14,32609,32588],{},[14,32611,32591],{},[132,32613,32614,32617,32620,32623,32626,32635,32638,32644,32647,32650],{},[49,32615,32616],{},"PageSpeed appears to play a major role in voice search SEO. The average voice search result page loads in 4.6 seconds (52% faster than the average page).",[49,32618,32619],{},"HTTPS websites dominate Google’s voice search results. In fact, 70.4% of Google Home result pages are secured with HTTPS.",[49,32621,32622],{},"Google prefers short, concise answers to voice search queries. The typical voice search result is only 29 words in length.",[49,32624,32625],{},"Schema may not play a key role in voice search rankings. 36.4% of voice search results come from pages that use Schema (which is only slightly higher than the worldwide average of 31.3%).",[49,32627,32628,32629,32634],{},"Authoritative domains tend to produce voice search results significantly more than non-authoritative domains. Fortunately, the mean ",[206,32630,32633],{"href":32631,"rel":32632},"https:\u002F\u002Fahrefs.com\u002Fblog\u002Fdomain-rating\u002F",[210],"Ahrefs Domain Rating"," of a Google Home result is 76.8.",[49,32636,32637],{},"Content with high levels of social engagement tends to perform well in voice search. In fact, the average voice search result has 1,199 Facebook shares and 44 Tweets.",[49,32639,32640,32641,212],{},"Simple, easy-to-read content may help with voice search SEO. The average Google voice search result is written at a ",[52,32642,32643],{},"9th grade level",[49,32645,32646],{},"We found that very few voice search results had the exact query in their title tag. So, creating individual pages for each voice search query doesn’t appear to be an effective voice search SEO strategy.",[49,32648,32649],{},"The average word count of a voice search result page is 2,312 words. Therefore, Google tends to source voice search answers from long form content.",[49,32651,32652],{},"Content that ranks highly in desktop search is also very likely to appear as a voice search answer. In fact, approximately 75% of voice search results rank in the top 3 for that query.",[14,32654,32655],{},[75,32656],{"alt":77,"src":32657},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fvoice-search-results.webp",[24,32659,32661],{"id":32660},"optimization-techniques","Optimization Techniques",[81,32663,32665],{"id":32664},"content","Content",[14,32667,32668],{},"Content should be written at an easily understood level, on average a ninth-grade level, while being scannable for the key points of the page. Target keywords should be the long tail in nature and lead the user into schematic theming of the intent of the page.",[46,32670,32671,32674,32677],{},[49,32672,32673],{},"Use headlines",[49,32675,32676],{},"Short paragraphs",[49,32678,32679],{},"Separate out topics in a scannable format",[14,32681,32682],{},"Keyword research is the cornerstone of any content creation or optimization. When specifically targeting voice search.",[14,32684,32685],{},"Longer form content returns the top level results for voice search (so far), with over 2000 words per result. This may pose a problem for some of the top level landing pages on businesses’ website, however, as we move forward in creating new content length can become a higher priority.",[14,32687,32688],{},"Creating FAQ sections throughout the website is a way increase the opportunity for both voice search as well as queries that include “Who, What, Why, When or Where”.",[81,32690,32692],{"id":32691},"featured-snippets","Featured Snippets",[14,32694,32695],{},"Featured snippets (position 0) continue to be a significant benefit for URLs, the same is true for voice search results. Featured snippets are position zero and logically it makes sense to be the top result, in any type of search.  *Roughly 41 percent of voice search results came from Featured Snippets.",[14,32697,32698],{},"To increase our chances of being selected for a featured snippet, MKG takes a multi-pronged approach that includes:",[46,32700,32701,32704,32707],{},[49,32702,32703],{},"Content that clearly answers the question.",[49,32705,32706],{},"Clean code and tagging that Google can easily understand.",[49,32708,32709],{},"Positive user engagement signals.",[14,32711,32712],{},"MKG has identified opportunities for optimization for a featured snippet response does improve if you follow the content organizational model outlined below.",[14,32714,32715],{},"First, repeat the question that is the query, or which is implicit in the query, clearly and prominently on your web page.",[14,32717,32718],{},"Directly following the question, provide a short, direct, clear answer to the question.",[14,32720,32721],{},"Then, provide more information, data, images and so on to answer the question as fully and completely as possible.",[14,32723,32724],{},"One way to structure your content is to use what journalists refer to as “the inverted pyramid.” When following the inverted pyramid model, your page starts with the most important information that answers the question, then transitions to more detailed information, and finally wraps up with a broader look at the topic or perhaps a case study or an example.",[14,32726,32727],{},[75,32728],{"alt":77,"src":32729},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fvoice-search-content.webp",[14,32731,32732],{},[38,32733,32734],{},"Image Credit: The Air Force Departmental Publishing Office (AFDPO) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons",[14,32736,32737],{},[38,32738,32739],{},"SearchEngineland.com",[24,32741,2914],{"id":2913},[14,32743,32744],{},"Voice search is a new technology which will continue to modify how search engines evolve into voice and AI. While formatting specific content may increase the likelihood of inclusion in the results, there are no direct paths, on record yet. Common sense SEO rules still apply:",[132,32746,32747,32750,32753,32756,32759,32762,32765],{},[49,32748,32749],{},"Write for the visitors not search engines",[49,32751,32752],{},"Use simple explanations and language",[49,32754,32755],{},"Research your users\u002F visitors vocalize some common questions",[49,32757,32758],{},"Use long term keywords to expand on the schematic theme of the page",[49,32760,32761],{},"Optimize existing content to show in Featured Snippets",[49,32763,32764],{},"Continue to follow best practices",[49,32766,32767],{},"Create long-form content",[14,32769,32770,32771,212],{},"Additional reading:  ",[206,32772,32775],{"href":32773,"rel":32774},"https:\u002F\u002Fstorage.googleapis.com\u002Fguidelines-eyesfree\u002Fevaluation_of_search_speech_guidelines_v1.0.pdf",[210],"Google's newly-published Voice Search Quality Guidelines",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":32777},[32778,32779,32780,32784],{"id":32568,"depth":291,"text":32569},{"id":32594,"depth":291,"text":32595},{"id":32660,"depth":291,"text":32661,"children":32781},[32782,32783],{"id":32664,"depth":297,"text":32665},{"id":32691,"depth":297,"text":32692},{"id":2913,"depth":291,"text":2914},"2018-06-02","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fvoice-search-hero.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fgoogle-voice-search",{"title":32553,"description":32559},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fgoogle-voice-search","NVkZs_49p3WgV8K9L5TAIa1CnxU98W5JGA-nnhUiAe0",{"id":32793,"title":32794,"author":7,"authors":32795,"body":32796,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":32972,"description":32973,"extension":318,"img":32974,"imgAlt":7,"meta":32975,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":32976,"seo":32977,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":32794,"stem":32978,"updated":7,"__hash__":32979},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fgdpr-google-analytics.md","GDPR and Google Analytics",[31239],{"type":11,"value":32797,"toc":32966},[32798,32801,32805,32808,32811,32817,32823,32827,32830,32835,32841,32844,32848,32851,32856,32859,32866,32872,32881,32885,32888,32891,32896,32899,32904,32917,32924,32927,32932],[14,32799,32800],{},"With GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) right around the corner (May 25, 2018), it’s time to talk about how GDPR will impact Google Analytics. What changes need to be made to your analytics account to be compliant and not lose important data after May 25th?",[24,32802,32804],{"id":32803},"gdpr-background","GDPR Background",[14,32806,32807],{},"GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation. It is a group of regulations intended to give citizens of the European Union (EU) more control over how their personal information is used by companies and organizations online.",[14,32809,32810],{},"Why should you make sure Google Analytics is configured properly? Because fines for not being GDPR compliant are very high!",[14,32812,32813,32816],{},[52,32814,32815],{},"Lower level:"," Up to €10 million, or 2% of the worldwide annual revenue of the prior financial year, whichever is higher.",[14,32818,32819,32822],{},[52,32820,32821],{},"Upper level:"," Up to €20 million, or 4% of the worldwide annual revenue of the prior financial year, whichever is higher.",[24,32824,32826],{"id":32825},"is-gdpr-compliance-necessary","Is GDPR Compliance Necessary?",[14,32828,32829],{},"If, like most US businesses, your company has a web presence (marketing or sales) — or even if you run a location-independent survey that’s accessible to people in the EU — you may be subject to GDPR compliance.",[14,32831,32832],{},[38,32833,32834],{},"General global marketing doesn’t necessarily apply. For example, let’s say you’re a Texas-based company running a paid Facebook campaign (marketing a white-paper) and a man in Germany clicks on your advertisement and downloads your asset. GDPR likely won’t apply. BUT it absolutely would apply if that white-paper was titled “How Our Software Helps German Companies” and you have a dedicated landing page (with a .de domain suffix) for EU residents, and you accept euros and your advertisement is written in German.",[14,32836,32837,32838],{},"If you’re targeting data subjects in an EU country, if you’re monitoring behavior of EU residents as they visit your site, or if you’re regularly doing business within the EU, you should be GDPR compliant. ",[52,32839,32840],{},"If you’re unsure, consult your legal team.",[14,32842,32843],{},"Regardless of where you company stands with GDPR there are some Google Analytics issues that will be created with the roll out of GDPR.",[24,32845,32847],{"id":32846},"data-retention-settings","Data Retention Settings",[14,32849,32850],{},"Google recently released a data retention control feature. This feature allows you to manage how long Google stores user data on Google’ servers. The new default setting is 26 months, in the past there was no limit.",[14,32852,32853],{},[75,32854],{"alt":77,"src":32855},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fgdpr-ga-data-retention.webp",[14,32857,32858],{},"Retaining data may not seem that important on the surface, but Google has also stated that this setting does not affect most “standard reporting” based on aggregate data.",[14,32860,32861,32862,32865],{},"While Google spells out what reporting is NOT affected, it can be safe to assume that sampled data ",[38,32863,32864],{},"will"," be affected.",[14,32867,32868,32869],{},"A lot of the Google Analytics magic happens with ad-hoc reports that use sampled data. This sample data lets you slice and dice and use secondary dimensions to better analyze and find insights on the traffic and visitors to your site. It is assumed that this type of reporting will be limited unless you set your retention policy to “Do Not Automatically Expire.” This setting means that Google Analytics will keep all user data unless someone specifically request deletion. ",[38,32870,32871],{},"(Google is going to provide a user deletion tool in the upcoming days that will let users delete their records.)",[14,32873,32874,32875,32880],{},"Looking at the GDPR Data ",[206,32876,32879],{"href":32877,"rel":32878},"https:\u002F\u002Fec.europa.eu\u002Finfo\u002Flaw\u002Flaw-topic\u002Fdata-protection\u002Freform\u002Frules-business-and-organisations\u002Fprinciples-gdpr\u002Fhow-long-can-data-be-kept-and-it-necessary-update-it_en",[210],"collection policy",", you can see that personal data may be kept for reasons of scientific or historical research. Analytics at its core, is historical research enabling companies to learn from past data of user behavior, and to make improvements in the present and future.",[24,32882,32884],{"id":32883},"analytics-for-companies-impacted-by-gdpr","Analytics for Companies Impacted by GDPR",[14,32886,32887],{},"If you are a company that is affected by GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) or you just want to play it safe, modifications of your analytics profile\u002Faccount can be complicated.",[14,32889,32890],{},"Google Analytics is not GDPR compliant “out of the box” because it collects IP addresses from web visitors. Fortunately, you can anonymize IP addresses in Google Tag Manager by setting the field “anonymizeIp” to “true.” This will limit some geographic reporting; however, IP addresses don’t conclusively provide the most accurate locations of all users, in most cases.",[14,32892,32893],{},[75,32894],{"alt":77,"src":32895},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fgdpr-ga-analytics-companies-impact.webp",[14,32897,32898],{},"Additionally, most Analytics profiles have custom feature options including Remarketing or Advertising Features. These features collect data and use the data for advertising purposes.",[14,32900,32901],{},[75,32902],{"alt":77,"src":32903},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fgdpr-ga-data-collection.webp",[14,32905,32906,32907,32911,32912,212],{},"According to ",[206,32908,30173],{"href":32909,"rel":32910},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.google.com\u002Fanalytics\u002Fanswer\u002F2700409?hl=en",[210],", when using Google Analytics Advertising Features, you must also comply with the ",[206,32913,32916],{"href":32914,"rel":32915},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fabout\u002Fcompany\u002Fuser-consent-policy.html",[210],"European Union User Consent Policy",[14,32918,32919,32920,32923],{},"One ",[38,32921,32922],{},"short term"," option is to turn these features off, and see where the dust settles after GDPR is rolled out on the May 25, 2018.",[14,32925,32926],{},"The long term solution is to implement a cookie consent “opt-in,” preferably a “geo fenced” consent tool that only shows up for web visitors in GDPR countries. This consent should cover ALL cookies and personal data on the entire website, not just Google Analytics and is a much larger part of GDPR compliance strategy.",[14,32928,32929],{},[52,32930,32931],{},"Further Reading:",[46,32933,32934,32940,32946,32953,32959],{},[49,32935,32936],{},[206,32937,32938],{"href":32938,"rel":32939},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jeffalytics.com\u002Fgdpr-compliance\u002F",[210],[49,32941,32942],{},[206,32943,32944],{"href":32944,"rel":32945},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jeffalytics.com\u002Fdata-retention-controls-google-analytics\u002F",[210],[49,32947,32948],{},[206,32949,32952],{"href":32950,"rel":32951},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reshiftmedia.com\u002Fgdpr-google-analytics-adwords",[210],"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reshiftmedia.com\u002Fgdpr-google-analytics-adwords\u002F",[49,32954,32955],{},[206,32956,32957],{"href":32957,"rel":32958},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.portent.com\u002Fblog\u002Finternet-marketing\u002Fgdpr-29-things-marketers-must-know.htm",[210],[49,32960,32961],{},[206,32962,32965],{"href":32963,"rel":32964},"https:\u002F\u002Fadwordss.googleblog.com\u002F2018\u002F03\u002Fchanges-to-our-ad-policies-to-comply-with-the-GDPR.html",[210],"https:\u002F\u002Fadwords.googleblog.com\u002F2018\u002F03\u002Fchanges-to-our-ad-policies-to-comply-with-the-GDPR.html",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":32967},[32968,32969,32970,32971],{"id":32803,"depth":291,"text":32804},{"id":32825,"depth":291,"text":32826},{"id":32846,"depth":291,"text":32847},{"id":32883,"depth":291,"text":32884},"2018-05-20","Google Analytics changes for  compliance with GDPR and not lose important data after May 25th?","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fgdpr-coming.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fgdpr-google-analytics",{"title":32794,"description":32973},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fgdpr-google-analytics","ybvbaCm24s9WjMCb49FVfbb48bgv0qb04F13U0PMalI",{"id":32981,"title":32982,"author":7,"authors":32983,"body":32984,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":33161,"description":33162,"extension":318,"img":33163,"imgAlt":7,"meta":33164,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":33165,"seo":33166,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":33167,"stem":33168,"updated":7,"__hash__":33169},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fsearch-engine-user-optimization.md","Search Engine User Optimization - There’s no “U” in SEO",[31451],{"type":11,"value":32985,"toc":33155},[32986,32989,32992,33006,33012,33021,33028,33031,33034,33042,33047,33050,33056,33059,33065,33068,33071,33079,33082,33086,33089,33092,33095,33098,33101,33105,33108,33111,33114,33117,33120,33123,33126,33129,33133,33136,33139,33142,33145,33148,33152],[14,32987,32988],{},"... but there should be.",[14,32990,32991],{},"Those working in the SEO industry keep close tabs on search engine algorithm changes.",[46,32993,32994,32997,33000],{},[49,32995,32996],{},"How search engines are changing the way they’re displaying results.",[49,32998,32999],{},"How search engines spider web pages and impediments to that process.",[49,33001,33002,33003,212],{},"How search engines ",[38,33004,33005],{},"[insert a hundred other things]",[14,33007,33008,33009,212],{},"What is being lost with this focus on the search engine is ",[38,33010,33011],{},"thinking about the user",[14,33013,33014,33015,33020],{},"The SEO team here at MKG keeps our eyes and ears on ",[206,33016,33019],{"href":33017,"rel":33018},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.searchenginejournal.com\u002Fgoogle-algorithm-history\u002F",[210],"all of the algorithm changes"," search engines are rolling out… but I’d like to propose that we go a step further.",[14,33022,33023,33024,33027],{},"It’s something I’d like to call search engine ",[52,33025,33026],{},"user"," optimization.",[14,33029,33030],{},"SEUO.",[14,33032,33033],{},"It’s not just thinking of a website as a tool for search engines.",[14,33035,33036,33037],{},"Or evaluating a webpage’s on-page SEO based simply on ",[206,33038,33041],{"href":33039,"rel":33040},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.google.com\u002Fwebmasters\u002Fanswer\u002F7451184?hl=en",[210],"“SEO best practices.”",[14,33043,33044,212],{},[52,33045,33046],{},"SEOs need to think about the user first",[14,33048,33049],{},"How your web page result will be perceived by a user first before a search engine spider.",[14,33051,33052],{},[75,33053],{"alt":33054,"src":33055},"SEO Meta Description Boring Example","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fcybersecurity-boring-listing-serp.webp",[14,33057,33058],{},"vs",[14,33060,33061],{},[75,33062],{"alt":33063,"src":33064},"SEO Meta Description Optimized Example","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fcybersecurity-optimized-listing-serp.webp",[14,33066,33067],{},"Both elements include some “SEO best practices.” But one will absolutely stand out from the rest on the search engine results page.",[14,33069,33070],{},"Care to guess which?",[14,33072,33073,33078],{},[206,33074,33077],{"href":33075,"rel":33076},"https:\u002F\u002Fseopressor.com\u002Fblog\u002Fsecret-about-meta-description-that-improve-ctr\u002F",[210],"Here’s a case study"," about how focusing on optimizing purely the meta description for pages can lead to a click through rate increase of 3x.",[14,33080,33081],{},"In keeping users in mind when performing SEO, here is how MKG incorporates the “user” in our SEO process:",[24,33083,33085],{"id":33084},"decipher-keyword-research","Decipher keyword research",[14,33087,33088],{},"“How do users search for information that we’re providing?”",[14,33090,33091],{},"It’s a question that starts just about every web page optimization process we go through.",[14,33093,33094],{},"Instead of just providing a list of keywords and optimizing for the keywords with the highest search volume, it’s important to investigate the ‘why’ for each keyword. The intent of each query. Is it referential? Or transactional?",[14,33096,33097],{},"Decipher the keyword research and understand the trends of what you’re seeing.",[14,33099,33100],{},"Then think about the web page you’re optimizing. Will it satisfy the ‘why’ of the user’s intent with a search query? Or are we trying to shove a sales-heavy copy page (BOFU) to someone who is searching merely for information (TOFU)?",[24,33102,33104],{"id":33103},"evolve-seo-meta-data-messaging","Evolve SEO meta data messaging",[14,33106,33107],{},"Stand out from the crowd.",[14,33109,33110],{},"If ten organic search results are showing on a search engine result page and all are displaying SEO best practice title tags and meta descriptions, what is a search engine user to do?",[14,33112,33113],{},"Probably just click the first result and pray it’s the best one of the bunch.",[14,33115,33116],{},"Research suggests that the first result gets clicked the most.",[14,33118,33119],{},"What if you were ranked third on the page... but your result was different than the rest?",[14,33121,33122],{},"Might get some more clicks than a traditionally third-ranked result.",[14,33124,33125],{},"We know click through rate does influence rankings.",[14,33127,33128],{},"Congratulations - now your users are contributing to your SEO success.",[24,33130,33132],{"id":33131},"provide-value-every-time","Provide value - every time",[14,33134,33135],{},"We’re established that SEO is all about the user.",[14,33137,33138],{},"But it’s also about trust.",[14,33140,33141],{},"If a user visits your website and her first impression is a page where you’ve banged out 500 words in about 10 minutes about a subject that provides zero value about that subject, you bet she won’t be back to your site.",[14,33143,33144],{},"If a user visits your website and his first impression is a nifty newsletter sign-up lightbox within the first five seconds of his visit, he will be hard-pressed to come back.",[14,33146,33147],{},"Before publishing a piece of content, get a colleague or friend to review it. What do they think? Did they get anything out of it?",[24,33149,33151],{"id":33150},"focus-on-the-user","Focus on the user!",[14,33153,33154],{},"Treat your website visitors as royalty. Research how they’re searching for information, products or services you offer. Give them a reason why they should check out your web page listing on a search engine result page.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":33156},[33157,33158,33159,33160],{"id":33084,"depth":291,"text":33085},{"id":33103,"depth":291,"text":33104},{"id":33131,"depth":291,"text":33132},{"id":33150,"depth":291,"text":33151},"2018-05-13","Using SEO for Search Engine User Optimization- Write for the User","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fseou.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fsearch-engine-user-optimization",{"title":32982,"description":33162},"Search Engine User Optimization","blog\u002Fseo\u002Fsearch-engine-user-optimization","rSZ1rHRhdpRgdF3-QGQJLVhbfsCE2LBdN2IMqRbCJ64",{"id":33171,"title":33172,"author":7,"authors":33173,"body":33174,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":33247,"description":33248,"extension":318,"img":33249,"imgAlt":7,"meta":33250,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":33251,"seo":33252,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":33253,"updated":7,"__hash__":33254},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fbilled-cost-served-cost-adwords-breakout.md","You Got SERVED! Billed Cost vs Served Cost in the New Google Ads Interface",[24268],{"type":11,"value":33175,"toc":33245},[33176,33179,33184,33187,33190,33193,33198,33201,33204,33228,33231,33236,33239,33242],[14,33177,33178],{},"Fun fact - the ‘cost’ metric found in the Google Ads interface isn’t always the actual cost passed on to the client.",[14,33180,33181],{},[38,33182,33183],{},"Duh, Adam, of COURSE there are tiny fluctuations due to spammy clicks and other adjustments from Google.",[14,33185,33186],{},"Well, I’m talking about relatively large differences in the actual cost in the interface compared to the billed cost. This can make a big impact on the bottom line of a client budget for a month.",[14,33188,33189],{},"AND this ‘cost’ metric is the only metric used in Google’s API for reporting. That’s the trickiest part - it’s not the billed cost!",[14,33191,33192],{},"Thankfully, Google has added a nifty report titled “Overdelivery” that spells it out.",[14,33194,33195],{},[52,33196,33197],{},"I check this instead of the ‘cost’ listed in the interface, especially with clients that have display campaigns. Newly launched display campaigns, especially with broad targeting, can overspend significantly when first enabled before Google shuts them off.",[14,33199,33200],{},"In other words: make this a part of your routine!",[14,33202,33203],{},"To find this report:",[132,33205,33206,33213,33219,33225],{},[49,33207,33208,33209],{},"Click the “Reporting” graph button at the top right within the new Google Ads interface (this report is NOT available in the old interface).\n",[75,33210],{"alt":33211,"src":33212},"Google Ads Served vs Billed Report Step 1","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fadwords-served-billed-report-1.webp",[49,33214,33215,33216],{},"Choose “Predefined reports (formerly Dimensions)” then “Basic” then “Overdelivery.”\n",[75,33217],{"alt":33211,"src":33218},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fadwords-served-billed-report-2.webp",[49,33220,33221,33222],{},"Boomshackalacka! You’ve found the served and billed costs for all your campaigns! But it’s a little sloppy...so let’s change the format of the data. Click “Table” at the top left and change it to a “Bar Chart.” Yes, the image is broken. It’s been broken for at least 3 months.\n",[75,33223],{"alt":33211,"src":33224},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fadwords-served-billed-report-3.webp",[49,33226,33227],{},"Select “Served Cost” and “Billed Cost” then “Continue” to generate the report.",[14,33229,33230],{},"And voila! You have a super easy-to-read chart with your ACTUAL COST for your client. Here’s a recent example we had for a client of ours with a $5,000 budget:",[14,33232,33233],{},[75,33234],{"alt":33211,"src":33235},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fadwords-served-billed-results.webp",[14,33237,33238],{},"We ended a month at $4,970.93 spent of their $5,000.00 budget (99.4%...nice!).\nHowever, this client of ours loves popping into the interface and seeing what changes we’ve made, how things are looking, etc.\nThey were confused why we went $277.61 over budget that month",[14,33240,33241],{},"Turns out: we had spun up a few display campaigns and they overspent the first few hours they were on. We received confirmation from Google that we were not charged that spend because we had a daily budget in place.",[14,33243,33244],{},"I implore you to keep an eye on this particular report, especially if your ‘cost’ looks a bit funky.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":33246},[],"2018-04-23","How to produce a report in Google Ads that shows how much was served verse what was actually billed.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fadwords-served-billed-hero.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fbilled-cost-served-cost-adwords-breakout",{"title":33172,"description":33248},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fbilled-cost-served-cost-adwords-breakout","r_Btb0jUVTCIRYbhv1LceSFmb4OfuZwLBKrmje9iKcE",{"id":33256,"title":33257,"author":7,"authors":33258,"body":33259,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":33300,"description":33301,"extension":318,"img":33302,"imgAlt":7,"meta":33303,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":33304,"seo":33305,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":33306,"stem":33307,"updated":7,"__hash__":33308},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fbing-ads-fans.md","Join the Club! MKG Marketing is Officially a Bing Ads Fan",[24268],{"type":11,"value":33260,"toc":33297},[33261,33265,33274,33277,33283,33286,33291],[24,33262,33264],{"id":33263},"we-made-it-official","We Made It Official!",[14,33266,33267,33268,33273],{},"Bing Ads has ",[206,33269,33272],{"href":33270,"rel":33271},"https:\u002F\u002Fsearchengineland.com\u002Fbing-ads-launches-fan-community-program-dedicated-advertisers-293259",[210],"JUST"," rolled out a community program for its most dedicated advertisers - a Bing Ads fan club, of sorts.",[14,33275,33276],{},"And we would be silly not to join.",[14,33278,33279,33280],{},"Any agency purely focusing on Google Ads isn’t giving its clients the full landscape of search engine pay-per-click. Bing Ads can be a strong compliment to any paid media strategy. In fact, we’ve even seen ",[52,33281,33282],{},"Bing Ads outperform Google Ads for certain industries and verticals.",[14,33284,33285],{},"All with the advantage of much lower CPCs for highly-competitive auctions on the Google side. While somebody’s budget may only be able to get one click a day on Google, you can often squeeze 3-5 clicks in on the Bing side.",[14,33287,33288],{},[52,33289,33290],{},"Less traffic and lower CPCs means a more affordable way to dominate share of voice via Bing.",[14,33292,33293,33294],{},"Have any questions about when and how to use Bing Ads? ",[206,33295,33296],{"href":11956},"Drop us a line!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":33298},[33299],{"id":33263,"depth":291,"text":33264},"2018-03-05","We’re a big fan of Bing Ads at MKG - so we joined the fan club! How does Bing Ads compare to Google Ads?","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fbing-ads-fan.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fbing-ads-fans",{"title":33257,"description":33301},"A Bing Ads Fan","blog\u002Fppc\u002Fbing-ads-fans","A7WYjWI8j3Q7tjGtI10eCkBktqX6a-XF52FewBXG1gg",{"id":33310,"title":33311,"author":7,"authors":33312,"body":33313,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":33347,"description":33348,"extension":318,"img":33349,"imgAlt":7,"meta":33350,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":33351,"seo":33352,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":33353,"stem":33354,"updated":7,"__hash__":33355},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fdigital-marketing-agency-clutch-reviews.md","MKG Marketing is now Featured on Clutch",[9],{"type":11,"value":33314,"toc":33345},[33315,33330,33336,33339],[14,33316,33317,33318,33323,33324,33329],{},"We were recently featured on Clutch, the leading B2B ratings and reviews service for digital service solution providers. They comprehensively research ",[206,33319,33322],{"href":33320,"rel":33321},"https:\u002F\u002Fclutch.co\u002Fseo-firms\u002Fseattle",[210],"SEO companies",", consultants, ppc companies, social media advertisers and many more digital, and ",[206,33325,33328],{"href":33326,"rel":33327},"https:\u002F\u002Fclutch.co\u002Fseo-firms",[210],"SEO service providers",", and effectively map them with their unique research methodology. Their methodology is scored and ranked by an ‘ability to deliver’ which accounts for factors such as market presence, clientele, and reviews. Reviews are the most heavily weighted factor in their research because it is increasingly important for B2B companies to have them.",[14,33331,33332],{},[75,33333],{"alt":33334,"src":33335},"Clutch Leaders Matrix","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fmarket-leaders.webp",[14,33337,33338],{},"Buyers trust Clutch because of their detailed, unbiased, Clutch-analyst led reviews. Clutch provides case study-like reviews that detail a company’s technical prowess in addition to highlighting a company’s ability to provide superior customer satisfaction. We had a client share their feedback on their platform, and here’s what they had to say.",[14,33340,33341,33342,212],{},"We leveraged our years of experience to help Avalara reach their digital marketing goals they had set for their campaign. Our team collectively has over 50 years of experience, over 30,000 paid search conversions, and over 160 million impressions. We understand demand generation and we produce results for our clients, which is why 83% of them continue to work with us after initial launches. We are Google partnered and certified, and we bring big agency experience sans the big agency overhead so that we can remain flexible while delivering analytically driven results. Come learn more about the ",[206,33343,33344],{"href":23656},"our values",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":33346},[],"2018-02-21","See in depth client reviews about MKG Marketing.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fclutch-profile.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fdigital-marketing-agency-clutch-reviews",{"title":33311,"description":33348},"Featured on Clutch","blog\u002Fseo\u002Fdigital-marketing-agency-clutch-reviews","AunxH0u_844bqhAUr9UTlVF-_ikyt3l0kCKbdbI1BEc",{"id":33357,"title":33358,"author":7,"authors":33359,"body":33360,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":33481,"description":33482,"extension":318,"img":33405,"imgAlt":7,"meta":33483,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":33484,"seo":33485,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":33358,"stem":33486,"updated":7,"__hash__":33487},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fdelete-google-search-listing.md","Delete a Search Engine Result Listing from Google",[31451],{"type":11,"value":33361,"toc":33475},[33362,33365,33368,33371,33376,33383,33390,33394,33397,33400,33406,33409,33415,33418,33422,33425,33428,33431,33436,33439,33443,33446,33453,33456,33461,33464,33468],[14,33363,33364],{},"Uh oh.\nYou accidentally pushed a page live.",[14,33366,33367],{},"And it’s showing up in Google searches!",[14,33369,33370],{},"You’re probably asking out loud:",[24025,33372,33373],{},[14,33374,33375],{},"How can I quickly delete this listing from the search engine results page?!",[14,33377,33378,33379,33382],{},"Well, good news! Below are ",[52,33380,33381],{},"three ways"," you can ensure a page gets wiped out from Google, Bing, or Yahoo search engine results.",[14,33384,33385,33386,33389],{},"Note: you can only do this for ",[38,33387,33388],{},"owned"," web properties. That is, domains that you own.\nDo note that to be extra sure a URL doesn’t show in search results, we recommend doing a combination of these techniques, even three if you want to send the clearest signal to search engines.",[24,33391,33393],{"id":33392},"_1-google-search-console-bing-webmaster-tools","1. Google Search Console \u002F Bing Webmaster Tools",[14,33395,33396],{},"Hopefully you’ve already verified your website for both of these platforms. Verification is easy and you can heaps of terrific insights into the performance of your site.",[14,33398,33399],{},"Google Webmaster Tools allows you to “temporarily” block URLs. This should be used as a band-aid approach to quickly block a URL. You will need to then utilize the second or third way below to completely remove it from Google’s index.",[14,33401,33402],{},[75,33403],{"alt":33404,"src":33405},"Google Search Console temporarily remove URLs image","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fgoogle-search-console-temporarily-remove-urls.webp",[14,33407,33408],{},"Bing Webmaster Tools is a little more sophisticated with this way of removal. With BWT, you can remove a URL (not just temporarily) and also look to block off a subfolder.",[14,33410,33411],{},[75,33412],{"alt":33413,"src":33414},"Bing Webmaster Tools block URLs image","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fbing-webmaster-tools-block-urls.webp",[14,33416,33417],{},"Consider this way your frontline option before moving onto another.",[24,33419,33421],{"id":33420},"_2-robotstxt","2. Robots.txt",[14,33423,33424],{},"A robots.txt file is the one place search engine spiders go to look for pages or subfolders that they should not crawl.",[14,33426,33427],{},"This file and its specific format is one that all search engines understand.",[14,33429,33430],{},"The file format goes like this:",[14,33432,33433],{},[24358,33434,33435],{},"User-agent: * Disallow: \u002FURL-of-content-you-want-to-block\u002F",[14,33437,33438],{},"You can add just a ‘\u002F’ to disallow all crawling and indexation of your website. You can also input a subfolder to block off a subfolder or a specific URL, as the example above shows. Know that you start immediately after the domain in the structure, as search engine spiders can understand the domain that they’re on when looking at your robots.txt file.",[24,33440,33442],{"id":33441},"_3-robots-meta-tag","3. Robots meta tag",[14,33444,33445],{},"A robots meta tag is a tag that tells search engines to either index or noindex the page or follow or nofollow links on the page.",[14,33447,33448,33449,33452],{},"This tag is placed in the ",[24358,33450,33451],{},"\u003Chead>"," part of a web page’s code.",[14,33454,33455],{},"An example of robots.txt code that you would want placed for a web page that you don’t want indexed looks like this:",[14,33457,33458],{},[24358,33459,33460],{},"\u003CMETA NAME=\"ROBOTS\" CONTENT=\"NOINDEX, NOFOLLOW\">",[14,33462,33463],{},"Having this in your page code tells search engine spiders do not index this page and do not follow any of these links.",[24,33465,33467],{"id":33466},"stories-to-share-or-questions","Stories to share or questions?",[14,33469,33470,33471,33474],{},"Do you have any horror stories of pages you didn’t want to show up in search results? Please share via ",[206,33472,21748],{"href":30320,"rel":33473},[210],"! Also let us know if you have any questions about specific issues you may be having with URLs being included in a search engine index.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":33476},[33477,33478,33479,33480],{"id":33392,"depth":291,"text":33393},{"id":33420,"depth":291,"text":33421},{"id":33441,"depth":291,"text":33442},{"id":33466,"depth":291,"text":33467},"2018-02-12","Remove a listing TODAY! Learn how you can delete an owned-property search engine result listing from Google, Bing and Yahoo!",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fdelete-google-search-listing",{"title":33358,"description":33482},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fdelete-google-search-listing","PBFtnmMnDuCao-aEF9Y-dYtMRoHp1-2YnUAw3Hmbfk0",{"id":33489,"title":33490,"author":7,"authors":33491,"body":33492,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":33680,"description":33681,"extension":318,"img":33682,"imgAlt":7,"meta":33683,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":33684,"seo":33685,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":33686,"stem":33687,"updated":7,"__hash__":33688},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002F2017-in-review.md","It’s January 2, 2018. What just happened?",[17174],{"type":11,"value":33493,"toc":33673},[33494,33497,33500,33529,33532,33539,33543,33546,33550,33556,33559,33562,33565,33571,33575,33578,33590,33593,33604,33608,33611,33614,33620,33623,33628,33631,33636,33639,33644,33650,33655,33661,33666],[14,33495,33496],{},"2017 was an unbelievable time to be a part of MKG.",[14,33498,33499],{},"In the past 365 days…",[46,33501,33502,33505,33508,33511,33514,33517,33520,33523,33526],{},[49,33503,33504],{},"The team had two new babies and took a combined 180 days of maternity\u002Fpaternity leave (hooray for baby Lexi and Magnolia June!)",[49,33506,33507],{},"Our longest standing team member was diagnosed with lymphoma and subsequently beat back the disease between January and July of 2017",[49,33509,33510],{},"We grew from 5 to 8 full time team members",[49,33512,33513],{},"(un)officially we opened a new location (New Orleans baby!)",[49,33515,33516],{},"Gross sales were the highest ever over a 12 month period. Sales increased by nearly 64% year-on-year",[49,33518,33519],{},"MKG Marketing was invited into Google’s Elevator Program, a program that invites 200 Agency Partners across North America who have exhibited high growth potential to take part in Google sponsored business coaching, peer-to-peer training to improve operational and financial efficiencies as well as gives participants early access to sweet, sweet new Google widgets",[49,33521,33522],{},"Shed the multitude of tools, platforms and systems and made deeper commitments with our technology partners such as NinjaCat for reporting\u002Finsights as well as BrightEdge and Conductor on the SEO platform front.",[49,33524,33525],{},"Pacific Northwest team ventured to New Orleans for a week of work in the Big Easy",[49,33527,33528],{},"Separated from a small handful of customers when it became clear that MKG was no longer a good fit for in terms of services or contract size",[14,33530,33531],{},"When I look at this list of events and accomplishments I can’t help but stepping back to say:",[24025,33533,33534],{},[14,33535,33536],{},[52,33537,33538],{},"How in the heck did we survive 2017?",[24,33540,33542],{"id":33541},"how-and-why-we-survived-2017","How (and why) We Survived 2017",[14,33544,33545],{},"My experience over the past twelve months tells me we survived (and thrived) in 2017 for a few reasons.",[81,33547,33549],{"id":33548},"our-values-especially-people-first","Our Values (especially People First)",[14,33551,33552,33553,212],{},"With team members out for health or new parent reasons our values were put the test. ",[206,33554,33555],{"href":23656},"Especially “people first”",[14,33557,33558],{},"For those who were out, it was up to the rest of the collective team to pick up their responsibilities so that our clients wouldn’t even notice a difference in the quality of service we provide.",[14,33560,33561],{},"While the team was picking up additional responsibilities it was important for the team members who had taken time off (either in large chunks or sporadically here\u002Fthere) to truly be “off”.",[14,33563,33564],{},"The expectation for folks on parental and health leave wasn’t that you’d have to check emails, pull down reports or respond to client requests -- the expectation was that you’d use that time to turn your work brain “off” as much as possible while you focused on other important parts of your life (getting well again, welcoming a new child into the world, etc).",[14,33566,33567,33570],{},[52,33568,33569],{},"I won’t lie and say it was easy: It wasn’t",". But we didn’t hear any complaints from our clients (trust me - I asked quite a few of them how we were doing!) after we set the expectations of what we could accomplish with the resources we had to deploy on their behalf.\nIt took a special kind of selflessness from the entire team to make this possible.",[81,33572,33574],{"id":33573},"people-systems-and-process","People, systems and process",[14,33576,33577],{},"We produced more work for customers than in any year prior while adding three new faces to the team.\nThe difference in going from 5 team members to 8 was startling.",[46,33579,33580,33583],{},[49,33581,33582],{},"Reaching 8 team members exposed holes in system requirements and work processes",[49,33584,33585,33586,33589],{},"This also exposed some opportunities to get ",[38,33587,33588],{},"even better"," with our current written documentation and onboarding of new team members",[14,33591,33592],{},"What got us through this crazy year was a devotion to everything “process”. A few examples:",[46,33594,33595,33598,33601],{},[49,33596,33597],{},"Write down all the steps you take to perform a recurring task",[49,33599,33600],{},"Upload pre-formatted documents (PPT, Word document, etc) into our Google Drive server to quickly plug-n-play information in a pre-formatted fashion",[49,33602,33603],{},"Sharing tasks with other team members and asking them to follow your pre-written steps for recurring tasks. Can they complete the assignment as described?",[24,33605,33607],{"id":33606},"were-back-as-a-full-team","We’re back as a full team.",[14,33609,33610],{},"As of December 11, 2017 the entire gang is back together. Yahoo!",[14,33612,33613],{},"But what does “being back together” mean?",[14,33615,33616,33619],{},[52,33617,33618],{},"For our customers"," you will notice Adam (and our other team members) integrating seamlessly back into their core swim lanes. Instead of dividing up unassigned work evenly amongst the team to cover someone during an absence.",[14,33621,33622],{},"Tammy summarized this pretty eloquently:",[24025,33624,33625],{},[14,33626,33627],{},"Jessica and Spencer get to focus a bit more on individual tasks with Adam back.",[14,33629,33630],{},"Spencer revealed another silver lining benefit for our customers now that we’re all back together.",[24025,33632,33633],{},[14,33634,33635],{},"Additionally it means another person to bounce ideas off of and share giphys with in slack. (well...ok you the client won’t get to see the giphys but you’ll see the benefits of collaborating!)",[14,33637,33638],{},"Jessica mentioned the same collaborative advantage of having the entire team back.",[24025,33640,33641],{},[14,33642,33643],{},"I get my better PPC half back. Adam and I do a lot of chatting in the background about performance, ideas we have for clients, roadblocks, etc. It's nice to have that person back. We truly are a PPC team and help each other out a lot!",[14,33645,33646,33649],{},[52,33647,33648],{},"For the team"," we will be able to host our quarterly summit with all hands present so we can focus deeper on how we work, what we should do more\u002Fless of to help our clients be successful and align on our roles and responsibilities moving into the new year.\nOne example that the team mentioned of how this affects our roles:",[24025,33651,33652],{},[14,33653,33654],{},"We’d love to get in the same groove with PPC that we are with SEO. All our SEO projects work so much smoother now that Christian and Tammy have clear swim lanes and they're much better equipped to be able to pitch in and help each other.",[14,33656,33657,33660],{},[52,33658,33659],{},"For Kerry and myself"," we plan to slowly adjust our roles at MKG Marketing to work on the business more than we have in years past.\nTake the example of a seamstress: to ensure the long-term stability of her alterations shop, eventually she’ll need to sew fewer stitches each day and spend that time hiring talented tailors and seamstresses to help with those jobs. She’ll need to think about a financial plan to save money for a rainy day (one is always around the corner). She’ll need to work on marketing her business to customers who are ready to use her services today, tomorrow or even next year.\nKerry and I are hitting the point where our plan is to sew fewer stitches every day in 2018 (and beyond), instead focusing on compiling the right team and client portfolio to continue to build on the foundation we’ve seen grow in front of our eyes over the past 6 years.",[14,33662,33663],{},[52,33664,33665],{},"What does 2018 look like?",[14,33667,33668,33672],{},[206,33669,33671],{"href":33670},"\u002Fblog\u002F","Check back into the blog"," over the next 12 months to hear all the new and exciting things happening at MKG :)",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":33674},[33675,33679],{"id":33541,"depth":291,"text":33542,"children":33676},[33677,33678],{"id":33548,"depth":297,"text":33549},{"id":33573,"depth":297,"text":33574},{"id":33606,"depth":291,"text":33607},"2018-01-02","As a boutique digital marketing agency we have overcome the odds last year and through it all, came out on top.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002F2017-in-review.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002F2017-in-review",{"title":33490,"description":33681},"2017 A Year In Review","blog\u002Fnews\u002F2017-in-review","OCoG6Q4sYXosWHvPAHmGP7ony3lw0YxBm6l2jtW0I4Y",{"id":33690,"title":33691,"author":7,"authors":33692,"body":33693,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":34054,"description":34055,"extension":318,"img":34056,"imgAlt":7,"meta":34057,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":34058,"seo":34059,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":34060,"updated":7,"__hash__":34061},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fpage-load-speed.md","Page Load Speed | How to Make Your Website Faster to Rank Higher",[29946],{"type":11,"value":33694,"toc":34047},[33695,33704,33708,33740,33743,33749,33752,33778,33787,33791,33794,33800,33806,33814,33819,33825,33828,33943,33957,33960,33964,33967,33970,33976,33984,33988,33991,33996,33999,34005,34009,34012,34027,34033,34036,34044],[14,33696,33697,33698,33703],{},"A slow site is a poor experience for users. As a result, search engines tend to rank slower sites worse than faster sites. The site must load quickly and aim for 100% uptime. Until recently, Google would only offer suggestions on steps to take to improve page load speed using the ",[206,33699,33702],{"href":33700,"rel":33701},"https:\u002F\u002Fdevelopers.google.com\u002Fspeed\u002Fpagespeed\u002Finsights\u002F",[210],"Google PageSpeed Insights"," tool.",[24,33705,33707],{"id":33706},"googles-suggestions-to-improve-page-load-used-to-include","Google’s suggestions to improve page load used to include:",[46,33709,33710,33716,33722,33728,33734],{},[49,33711,33712,33715],{},[52,33713,33714],{},"Select a Reputable Hosting Provider:"," It is imperative for a business or organization to do their due diligence when choosing a provider asking specific questions as it pertains to page load speed is a priority.",[49,33717,33718,33721],{},[52,33719,33720],{},"Images that are Too Large (Heavy):"," Images which are too heavy to load can really lower your page speed, typically from a lack of compression. Google may prefer PNG for images that do not require high details like logos and JPEG for photos.",[49,33723,33724,33727],{},[52,33725,33726],{},"Too many\u002Fintrusive ads:"," Google has been penalizing websites that use excessive Ads and or interstitial ads ( pop ups, pop unders, etc), not only do these slow down your site, they also could get your site lowered in rankings.",[49,33729,33730,33733],{},[52,33731,33732],{},"Your theme or template:"," some highly designed themes on different CMS platforms, can contain a lot of effects can slow down every page in your site rendering it less user friendly.",[49,33735,33736,33739],{},[52,33737,33738],{},"Inline CSS \u002F Java:"," Having clean and fast loading code through use of externalizing javascript and CSS can improve page load speed and response time of the website.",[14,33741,33742],{},"In the summer of 2017 Google took the difficulty out of waiting for your internal development department to implement these optimizations.",[14,33744,33745],{},[75,33746],{"alt":33747,"src":33748},"Poor Site Speed Example","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fpoor-page-speed.webp",[14,33750,33751],{},"The results list out the best practices to increase the page load speed (Defined by Google):",[46,33753,33754,33757,33760,33763,33766,33769,33772,33775],{},[49,33755,33756],{},"Leverage browser caching",[49,33758,33759],{},"Eliminate render-blocking JavaScript and CSS in above-the-fold content",[49,33761,33762],{},"Optimize images",[49,33764,33765],{},"Minify JavaScript",[49,33767,33768],{},"Prioritize visible content",[49,33770,33771],{},"Enable compression",[49,33773,33774],{},"Minify HTML",[49,33776,33777],{},"Minify CSS",[14,33779,33780,33781,33786],{},"Following these general ",[206,33782,33785],{"href":33783,"rel":33784},"https:\u002F\u002Fdevelopers.google.com\u002Fspeed\u002Fdocs\u002Finsights\u002Frules",[210],"web performance best practices"," will help improve the site speed.",[24,33788,33790],{"id":33789},"render-blocking-javascript-and-css","Render Blocking JavaScript and CSS",[14,33792,33793],{},"Browsers wait for external JavaScript and CSS files to be fetched and loaded. If that JavaScript and CSS is required for the page to display and the files are big, then it can slow down a page's load time. It's an even bigger waste of load time when that JavaScript and CSS are not needed to display above-the-fold content.",[14,33795,33796,33799],{},[52,33797,33798],{},"Solution:"," To avoid JavaScript and CSS delaying page load time, consider the following implementations:",[14,33801,33802,33805],{},[52,33803,33804],{},"Asynchronously Load JavaScript:"," Asynchronous loading just means that the browser won't wait for that specific JavaScript to download and execute. The browser will continue loading the rest of the page. Be careful when the page display requires that JavaScript or the page may not work properly.",[14,33807,33808,33809,212],{},"Below is an example of how to asynchronously load an external JavaScript file using the async attribute, which is highlighted in yellow. Google's guide on render blocking JavaScript and CSS has more details on ",[206,33810,33813],{"href":33811,"rel":33812},"https:\u002F\u002Fdevelopers.google.com\u002Fspeed\u002Fdocs\u002Finsights\u002FBlockingJS#deferJS",[210],"how to use the async attribute",[14,33815,33816],{},[24358,33817,33818],{},"(\u003C)script async src=\"my.js\"(>)",[14,33820,33821,33824],{},[52,33822,33823],{},"Defer JavaScript:"," If any of the JavaScript files are not needed for the page to load properly, you can also defer them from loading until the rest of the page has rendered.",[14,33826,33827],{},"Below is an example of how to defer an external JavaScript file. Google's guide on render blocking JavaScript and CSS has more details on how to defer JavaScript.",[24428,33829,33833],{"className":33830,"code":33831,"language":33832,"meta":77,"style":77},"language-js shiki shiki-themes github-light github-dark","\u003Cscript type=\"text\u002Fjavascript\">\nfunction downloadJSAtOnload() {\nvar element = document.createElement(\"script\");\nelement.src = \"defer.js\";\ndocument.body.appendChild(element);\n}\nif (window.addEventListener)\nwindow.addEventListener(\"load\", downloadJSAtOnload, false);\nelse if (window.attachEvent)\nwindow.attachEvent(\"onload\", downloadJSAtOnload);\nelse window.onload = downloadJSAtOnload;\n\u003C\u002Fscript>\n","js",[24358,33834,33835,33855,33860,33881,33894,33905,33910,33915,33920,33925,33930,33935],{"__ignoreMap":77},[24436,33836,33837,33839,33841,33845,33849,33853],{"class":24438,"line":321},[24436,33838,24442],{"class":24441},[24436,33840,28218],{"class":24445},[24436,33842,33844],{"class":33843},"sScJk"," type",[24436,33846,33848],{"class":33847},"szBVR","=",[24436,33850,33852],{"class":33851},"sZZnC","\"text\u002Fjavascript\"",[24436,33854,24448],{"class":24441},[24436,33856,33857],{"class":24438,"line":291},[24436,33858,33859],{"class":24441},"function downloadJSAtOnload() {\n",[24436,33861,33862,33865,33867,33870,33873,33875,33878],{"class":24438,"line":297},[24436,33863,33864],{"class":24441},"var element ",[24436,33866,33848],{"class":33847},[24436,33868,33869],{"class":24441}," document.",[24436,33871,33872],{"class":33843},"createElement",[24436,33874,8463],{"class":24441},[24436,33876,33877],{"class":33851},"\"script\"",[24436,33879,33880],{"class":24441},");\n",[24436,33882,33883,33886,33888,33891],{"class":24438,"line":12172},[24436,33884,33885],{"class":24441},"element.src ",[24436,33887,33848],{"class":33847},[24436,33889,33890],{"class":33851}," \"defer.js\"",[24436,33892,33893],{"class":24441},";\n",[24436,33895,33896,33899,33902],{"class":24438,"line":24485},[24436,33897,33898],{"class":24441},"document.body.",[24436,33900,33901],{"class":33843},"appendChild",[24436,33903,33904],{"class":24441},"(element);\n",[24436,33906,33907],{"class":24438,"line":24495},[24436,33908,33909],{"class":24441},"}\n",[24436,33911,33912],{"class":24438,"line":24505},[24436,33913,33914],{"class":24441},"if (window.addEventListener)\n",[24436,33916,33917],{"class":24438,"line":24521},[24436,33918,33919],{"class":24441},"window.addEventListener(\"load\", downloadJSAtOnload, false);\n",[24436,33921,33922],{"class":24438,"line":24531},[24436,33923,33924],{"class":24441},"else if (window.attachEvent)\n",[24436,33926,33927],{"class":24438,"line":24541},[24436,33928,33929],{"class":24441},"window.attachEvent(\"onload\", downloadJSAtOnload);\n",[24436,33931,33932],{"class":24438,"line":24556},[24436,33933,33934],{"class":24441},"else window.onload = downloadJSAtOnload;\n",[24436,33936,33937,33939,33941],{"class":24438,"line":24562},[24436,33938,24680],{"class":24441},[24436,33940,28218],{"class":24445},[24436,33942,24448],{"class":24441},[132,33944,33945],{"start":297},[49,33946,33947,33950,33951,33956],{},[52,33948,33949],{},"Inline (JavaScript):"," If the external JavaScript or CSS needed to properly display the above-the-fold content page is small, then you can ",[206,33952,33955],{"href":33953,"rel":33954},"https:\u002F\u002Fdevelopers.google.com\u002Fspeed\u002Fdocs\u002Finsights\u002FBlockingJS#InlineJS",[210],"add it directly to your HTML",". This is known as \"inlining\" it into your page.",[14,33958,33959],{},"Technically, you're making the page bigger and slower by adding select snippets of JavaScript and CSS to the page. However, by being very careful about what JavaScript and CSS go into the page, your overall page load time can be improved.",[24,33961,33963],{"id":33962},"server-side-compression","Server-Side Compression",[14,33965,33966],{},"Smaller files are faster to download than larger files but it's difficult to individually compress every file on the site. There are a few commonly used files are found throughout the site that are slowing down the page load because they are uncompressed.",[14,33968,33969],{},"Web servers can compress certain file types before sending to browsers and significantly improve page speed. HTML, JavaScript, CSS, and other text-based files can be compressed up to 86% by enabling gzip compression on the web server. Images, videos, and audio are usually already compressed, so enabling gzip doesn't apply to them.",[14,33971,33972,33975],{},[52,33973,33974],{},"Apache:"," Use mod_deflate",[24428,33977,33982],{"className":33978,"code":33980,"language":33981},[33979],"language-text","AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text\u002Fplain\nAddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text\u002Fhtml\nAddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text\u002Fxml\nAddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text\u002Fcss\nAddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application\u002Fxml\nAddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application\u002Fxhtml+xml\nAddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application\u002Frss+xml\nAddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application\u002Fjavascript\nAddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application\u002Fx-javascript\n","text",[24358,33983,33980],{"__ignoreMap":77},[24,33985,33987],{"id":33986},"browser-caching","Browser Caching",[14,33989,33990],{},"Repeatedly downloading the same file wastes bandwidth. Browsers can cache local copies of certain files and avoid requesting the web server for the same file.\nSave bandwidth by enabling browser caching on the web server.",[14,33992,33993,33995],{},[52,33994,33974],{}," This is an example using Apache's latest mod_expires for caching specific file types.",[14,33997,33998],{},"Please note that the expiration times need to be customized to the site's needs.",[24428,34000,34003],{"className":34001,"code":34002,"language":33981},[33979],"\u003CIfModule mod_expires.c>\nExpiresActive On\nExpiresByType image\u002Fjpg \"access plus 1 year\"\nExpiresByType image\u002Fjpeg \"access plus 1 year\"\nExpiresByType image\u002Fgif \"access plus 1 year\"\nExpiresByType image\u002Fpng \"access plus 1 year\"\nExpiresByType text\u002Fcss \"access plus 1 month\"\nExpiresByType application\u002Fpdf \"access plus 1 month\"\nExpiresByType text\u002Fx-javascript \"access plus 1 month\"\nExpiresByType application\u002Fx-shockwave-flash \"access plus 1 month\"\nExpiresByType image\u002Fx-icon \"access plus 1 year\"\nExpiresDefault \"access plus 2 days\"\n\u003C\u002FIfModule>\n",[24358,34004,34002],{"__ignoreMap":77},[24,34006,34008],{"id":34007},"lossless-image-compression","Lossless Image Compression",[14,34010,34011],{},"Images often make up the biggest portion of a page's size. Applying lossless image compression shrinks the file size, keeps the same image quality, and speeds up page loads. Multiple images could be losslessly compressed across the site.",[14,34013,34014,34015,34020,34021,34026],{},"One thing to note: MKG finds it to be labor intensive and should be prioritized against other engineering needs. Lossless image compression reduces the file size without affecting image quality and results in faster page loads, especially for mobile devices. ",[206,34016,34019],{"href":34017,"rel":34018},"https:\u002F\u002Fnikkhokkho.sourceforge.net\u002Fstatic.php?page=FileOptimizer",[210],"FileOptimizer"," is a great all around image compression tool for jpg, gif, png, and other file types. Google also provides another ",[206,34022,34025],{"href":34023,"rel":34024},"https:\u002F\u002Fdevelopers.google.com\u002Fweb\u002Ffundamentals\u002Fperformance\u002Foptimizing-content-efficiency\u002Fimage-optimization#tools-and-parameter-tuning",[210],"list of image compression tools",".\nWhile the directions Google provides are valuable and a useful way to discuss with your web development team what needs to be done, yet Google has taken it a step further with the newest changes to the platform.\nIncluding a download of optimized files for your organization.",[14,34028,34029],{},[75,34030],{"alt":34031,"src":34032},"Download Optimized Files","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Foptimized-files.webp",[14,34034,34035],{},"With Google supplying the exact recommendations the ease of implementation and reduction of the bandwidth required from web development department.",[14,34037,34038,34039,11958],{},"Hope these tips were helpful. ",[206,34040,34043],{"href":34041,"rel":34042},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002Fintent\u002Ftweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmkgmarketinginc.com%2Fpage-load-speed%2F&via=crazywoody&text=Your-Question-Here&hashtags=seo",[210],"Feel free to ask questions via twitter about page load speed in the and I’ll respond",[25078,34045,34046],{},"html pre.shiki code .sVt8B, html code.shiki .sVt8B{--shiki-default:#24292E;--shiki-dark:#E1E4E8}html pre.shiki code .s9eBZ, html code.shiki .s9eBZ{--shiki-default:#22863A;--shiki-dark:#85E89D}html pre.shiki code .sScJk, html code.shiki .sScJk{--shiki-default:#6F42C1;--shiki-dark:#B392F0}html pre.shiki code .szBVR, html code.shiki .szBVR{--shiki-default:#D73A49;--shiki-dark:#F97583}html pre.shiki code .sZZnC, html code.shiki .sZZnC{--shiki-default:#032F62;--shiki-dark:#9ECBFF}html .default .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-default);background: var(--shiki-default-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-default-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-default-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-default-text-decoration);}html .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-default);background: var(--shiki-default-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-default-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-default-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-default-text-decoration);}html .dark .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-dark);background: var(--shiki-dark-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-dark-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-dark-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-dark-text-decoration);}html.dark .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-dark);background: var(--shiki-dark-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-dark-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-dark-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-dark-text-decoration);}",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":34048},[34049,34050,34051,34052,34053],{"id":33706,"depth":291,"text":33707},{"id":33789,"depth":291,"text":33790},{"id":33962,"depth":291,"text":33963},{"id":33986,"depth":291,"text":33987},{"id":34007,"depth":291,"text":34008},"2017-09-29","Page Load Speed and SEO, increase user engagement by speeding up your website.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fpage-load-speed.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fpage-load-speed",{"title":33691,"description":34055},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fpage-load-speed","HFdplzMUF6G2txk0kFRubxo57nrbS5PMaGBXfYDYOA4",{"id":34063,"title":34064,"author":7,"authors":34065,"body":34066,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":34243,"description":34244,"extension":318,"img":34245,"imgAlt":7,"meta":34246,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":34247,"seo":34248,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":34249,"updated":7,"__hash__":34250},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fgoogle-elevator-program.md","The Google Elevator Program Will Help MKG Serve Our Customers Better (September 2017)",[17174],{"type":11,"value":34067,"toc":34235},[34068,34076,34079,34084,34087,34096,34102,34110,34115,34118,34122,34125,34131,34151,34154,34158,34161,34165,34168,34171,34174,34178,34190,34193,34204,34207,34210,34214,34220,34223,34226,34229],[14,34069,34070,34071,212],{},"For those who haven’t heard Google’s Partner team has been running their ",[206,34072,34075],{"href":34073,"rel":34074},"https:\u002F\u002Fevents.withgoogle.com\u002Felevator-na\u002F",[210],"Elevator Program for the past few years",[14,34077,34078],{},"Every year Google selects up to 250 high growth\u002Fhigh performance agency partners in North America and Europe to participate in a day of peer-led learning exercises.",[24025,34080,34081],{},[14,34082,34083],{},"The outcome Google wants to achieve is to help agency partners deliver better work products to their clients.",[14,34085,34086],{},"When we were invited to the Elevator Program event in Austin I was a bit skeptical: Was this going to be a “drink the Google Kool Aid” style event? Taking an entire day to attend an off-site in Austin, Texas, where I was spoonfed Googleisms for 9 hours wasn’t my idea of a good use of time.",[14,34088,34089,34090,34095],{},"The feeling only got worse when I navigated to google.com and searched for “",[206,34091,34094],{"href":34092,"rel":34093},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fsearch?q=google+elevator+program&oq=google+elevator+program&aqs=chrome..69i57j0j69i64.3431j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8",[210],"Google elevator program","”. Immediately I noticed past announcements of agencies that were entered into this exclusive program - in fact the first few SERP’s were almost exclusively loaded up with websites ranking for the title “We were selected! Yay us!”",[14,34097,34098],{},[75,34099],{"alt":34100,"src":34101},"\"google elevator program\" SERP September 12 2017","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fgoogle-elevator-program-serp.webp",[14,34103,34104,34105,34109],{},"While MKG is certainly excited to add this to our list of ",[206,34106,34108],{"href":34107},"\u002Fabout\u002F","accolades and accomplishments",", publishing a “yay look at us!” blog post wasn’t how we wanted to spend an entire day of my time.",[24025,34111,34112],{},[14,34113,34114],{},"So why did I end up attending? Because our Google strategist provided testimonials from previous sessions that showed the agency partners were given Google systems, products and processes to use to serve their clients better.",[14,34116,34117],{},"It was all about improving the agency and client relationship. And that was more than enough to get me on a plane to Austin on September 11, 2017.",[24,34119,34121],{"id":34120},"so-what-was-the-agenda-for-the-day","So: What was the agenda for the day?",[14,34123,34124],{},"Google sent out this agenda to us a few weeks before the event.",[14,34126,34127],{},[75,34128],{"alt":34129,"src":34130},"Google Elevator Program Agenda","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fgoogle-elevator-program-agenda.webp",[46,34132,34133,34142,34145,34148],{},[49,34134,34135,34136,34141],{},"Now that we’ve gone through the Elevator training I’m able to translate these breakout sessions into plain English:\nIntroduction: ",[206,34137,34140],{"href":34138,"rel":34139},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Falexlangshur\u002F",[210],"Alex Langshur of Cardinal Path"," told us the origin story of how Cardinal Path came to be (the tl;dr - they merged with 2 other agencies to create one singular consulting firm) and laid out the ground rules for the day:\n++ Be open to the process of learning\n++ There are no stupid questions\n++ Have fun!",[49,34143,34144],{},"Real World Strategic Planning: This lecture and accompanying group exercise helped us learn how to more effectively build strategy alongside on behalf of our customers. How can we more efficiently “click in” with our customers to provide them more value? What have clients told Google (as well as Cardinal Path) that they want more of? Less of?",[49,34146,34147],{},"Pricing Strategies: An in-depth look at how different pricing models and structures allow agencies and their clients to receive the maximum amount of value from each other in the business partnership.",[49,34149,34150],{},"Sales and Negotiating: Not every agency owner is a sales guru. These two sessions walked us through the process of identifying what clients really need, articulating that in an easy-to-read way and powering through the sales and negotiation process so that agencies can begin delivering value to their customers as soon as possible in their engagement.",[14,34152,34153],{},"Last but not least: Alex asked us to finish the day with one to three actions that we, the agency owner, could take immediately that would help ourselves and our customers be more successful.",[24,34155,34157],{"id":34156},"our-two-key-takeaways-from-the-elevator-session","Our two key takeaways from the Elevator session",[14,34159,34160],{},"Become a more disciplined business from day #1\nIdentify our position on Grenier’s Growth Curve and prepare for the next phases",[81,34162,34164],{"id":34163},"business-discipline-is-a-huge-area-of-opportunity","Business Discipline is a Huge Area of Opportunity",[14,34166,34167],{},"Our team loves to exceed the expectations of our customers. But one thing I learned that I’m guilty of is not setting crystal clear expectations with our customers at the contract stage of the relationship.",[14,34169,34170],{},"From the top-on-down I learned HR, operations and sales proposal processes as well as a few handy exercises to do a better job of being disciplined in setting expectations with our customers from day one.",[14,34172,34173],{},"Once those expectations have been established it’s critical that we communicate amongst our team internally so that everyone is aware of them and feels empowered to stick to our guns.",[81,34175,34177],{"id":34176},"mkg-at-phase-4-in-the-grenier-curve","MKG at Phase 4 in the Grenier Curve",[14,34179,34180,34184,34185,9152],{},[75,34181],{"alt":34182,"src":34183},"MKG Marketing on Grenier's Curve","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fgoogle-elevator-program-grenier-curve.webp","\nGrenier’s Curve helps identify, anticipate and understand the root cause of problems for a fast-growing business (",[206,34186,34189],{"href":34187,"rel":34188},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.slideshare.net\u002FStephenDann1\u002Fgreiners-growth-curve",[210],"source",[14,34191,34192],{},"Walking through the Grenier Curve was helpful because it showed the phases we have successfully grown through:",[46,34194,34195,34198,34201],{},[49,34196,34197],{},"Phase 1: Creativity and the need for strong leadership",[49,34199,34200],{},"Phase 2: Grown through the phase where everyone needs direction. We mostly skipped this stage based on the level of experience we hire into the MKG team (nobody needs their hand held).",[49,34202,34203],{},"Phase 3: Grown through the delegation phase. We have tools, process and people that help everyone delegate work projects to the best stakeholder on the MKG team.",[14,34205,34206],{},"Currently I see MKG at phase 4 company on the Grenier Curve: Our current “crisis” (Grenier’s words - not mine) that we are growing through is reducing red tape wherever possible in our workflow.",[14,34208,34209],{},"Now that we’ve identified our current phase on the Curve it’s up to us to speak transparently to work through that phase of growth.",[24,34211,34213],{"id":34212},"the-ultimate-question-would-you-do-it-again","The Ultimate Question: Would you do it again?",[14,34215,34216,34217],{},"I’d give it a resounding ",[52,34218,34219],{},"YES!",[14,34221,34222],{},"Alex was an amazing mentor to lead the all-day session. As someone who has led day-long cohorts I know how difficult it is to “drive the boat”, so to speak, while making sure everyone walks away with a truckload of value from their time investment.",[14,34224,34225],{},"As fantastic as Alex was the fellow agency partners were even better. During the breakout sessions I learned just as much (if not more!) about how they charge for their services, the types of clients (and volume) they are equipped to take on as well as their future growth plans. Frankly there could have been an entire “speed dating” session where we discussed the agency’s future vision that partners would have gotten a lot of value from.",[14,34227,34228],{},"Last and most importantly: Every partner walked out of the Elevator session with systems, tools and processes that can have an immediate positive impact on their agency\u002Fclient relationship. Investing a single day of my time in exchange for those tools as well as training us up on how to use them was a fantastic decision on our part.",[14,34230,34231],{},[75,34232],{"alt":34233,"src":34234},"Google Sign Austin Texas","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fgoogle-elevator-program-sign.webp",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":34236},[34237,34238,34242],{"id":34120,"depth":291,"text":34121},{"id":34156,"depth":291,"text":34157,"children":34239},[34240,34241],{"id":34163,"depth":297,"text":34164},{"id":34176,"depth":297,"text":34177},{"id":34212,"depth":291,"text":34213},"2017-09-13","Learn How the Google Elevator Training Program in Austin this September will help MKG serve our customers better.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fgoogle-elevator-program.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fgoogle-elevator-program",{"title":34064,"description":34244},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fgoogle-elevator-program","tnJ0gNSICnBXOC0HFVuKF9QHWit9nbBpQIwraQ2iGA0",{"id":34252,"title":34253,"author":7,"authors":34254,"body":34255,"caption":7,"category":28982,"date":34283,"description":34284,"extension":318,"img":34285,"imgAlt":7,"meta":34286,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":34287,"seo":34288,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":34289,"updated":7,"__hash__":34290},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fculture\u002Fadam-bullock-paternity-leave.md","3 Months of Sweet, Glorious Paternity Leave",[24268],{"type":11,"value":34256,"toc":34281},[34257,34260,34263,34266,34269,34272,34275,34278],[14,34258,34259],{},"MKG Marketing is a special company.",[14,34261,34262],{},"From the passion that its employees showcase every day to its values as an agency, MKG Marketing is not your normal digital marketing agency.",[14,34264,34265],{},"And now you can add three-months paternity leave to what makes MKG special.",[14,34267,34268],{},"It's so very...progressive! And necessary! And I'm honored to be the very first individual to take the company up on this incredible benefit and take advantage of this precious time with my child.",[14,34270,34271],{},"And not just time with my new child: with my family. My wife needs my support. Our first child needs my support. Even my Old English Bulldog Winston (who is in for a shock when the second baby arrives) needs my support. Having a newborn is stressful enough, but without the proper support in place, it can quickly spiral to chaos.",[14,34273,34274],{},"As of a year ago, according to NPR, of all the countries in the United Nations, only a few South Pacific island nations, Suriname, New Guinea and the United States do not have a national paid parental leave law in place. This is unacceptable.",[14,34276,34277],{},"I'm proud that my employer offers this amazing benefit to their employees, and I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to grow the relationship with my new child, support my wife and son, and enjoy every moment.",[14,34279,34280],{},"And also give Winston the snuggles he will be demanding.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":34282},[],"2017-09-11","Read how Adam Bullock, director of Social Advertising, plans on spending the next three months with his wife, son, and new little girl.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fadam-bullock-paternity.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fculture\u002Fadam-bullock-paternity-leave",{"title":34253,"description":34284},"blog\u002Fculture\u002Fadam-bullock-paternity-leave","pAJf2gEPxWIaplk1n4YwfhCaDCnXjLLDHiYDdxE5Kj4",{"id":34292,"title":34293,"author":7,"authors":34294,"body":34295,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":34427,"description":34428,"extension":318,"img":34414,"imgAlt":7,"meta":34429,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":34430,"seo":34431,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":34432,"updated":7,"__hash__":34433},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fgoogle-ads-june-2017-benchmarks-by-industry.md","August 2017 Google Ads Benchmarks By Industry",[31239],{"type":11,"value":34296,"toc":34415},[34297,34300,34303,34307,34311,34314,34318,34324,34328,34334,34338,34341,34344,34350,34353,34359,34363,34366,34369,34372,34378,34381,34387,34391,34394,34397,34400,34406,34409],[14,34298,34299],{},"MKG has assembled Google Ads Benchmarks for August 2017.",[14,34301,34302],{},"From a collection of advertiser accounts in our Master Client Center (MCC) we saw the following Google Ads benchmarks in August 2017 for the Tech, Healthcare, and Travel Verticals.",[24,34304,34306],{"id":34305},"tech-vertical","Tech Vertical",[81,34308,34310],{"id":34309},"google-ads-display","Google Ads Display",[14,34312,34313],{},"While CTR and CPC have trended down month over month, conversion rate has seen a lift. Specifically for the tech vertical, this is a very common August trend as the summer generally performs lower than spring and fall months.",[5685,34315,34317],{"id":34316},"benchmark","Benchmark",[14,34319,34320],{},[75,34321],{"alt":34322,"src":34323},"August Tech Benchmarks for Google Ads Display","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Ftech-august-display-benchmarks.webp",[5685,34325,34327],{"id":34326},"month-over-month-trending","Month over Month Trending",[14,34329,34330],{},[75,34331],{"alt":34332,"src":34333},"August Tech Month over Month Trending for Google Ads Display","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Ftech-august-display-trending.webp",[81,34335,34337],{"id":34336},"google-ads-search","Google Ads Search",[14,34339,34340],{},"Search is a different story than display. Mostly because search impressions are down as a whole. Less people are searching for tech solutions, but those who are, are more likely to take action. Less impressions, means more competition which also explains the higher CPC.",[5685,34342,34317],{"id":34343},"benchmark-1",[14,34345,34346],{},[75,34347],{"alt":34348,"src":34349},"August Tech Benchmarks for Google Ads Paid Search","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Ftech-august-search-benchmarks.webp",[5685,34351,34327],{"id":34352},"month-over-month-trending-1",[14,34354,34355],{},[75,34356],{"alt":34357,"src":34358},"August Tech Month over Month Trending for Google Ads Paid Search","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Ftech-august-search-trending.webp",[24,34360,34362],{"id":34361},"healthcare-vertical","Healthcare Vertical",[14,34364,34365],{},"Healthcare is an always on vertical with no major changes month over month. We may see a shift come January and February as people generally make healthcare changes at this time. We'll circle back on this potential trend as the new year approaches.",[81,34367,34337],{"id":34368},"google-ads-search-1",[5685,34370,34317],{"id":34371},"benchmark-2",[14,34373,34374],{},[75,34375],{"alt":34376,"src":34377},"August Healthcare Benchmarks for Google Ads Search","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fhealthcare-august-search-benchmarks.webp",[5685,34379,34327],{"id":34380},"month-over-month-trending-2",[14,34382,34383],{},[75,34384],{"alt":34385,"src":34386},"August Healthcare Month over Month Trending for Google Ads Search","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fhealthcare-august-search-trending.webp",[24,34388,34390],{"id":34389},"travel-vertical","Travel Vertical",[14,34392,34393],{},"No surprises. Summer months show better CPCs, higher CTRs, and better Conversion Rates. As more people travel during the warm months while school is out and the weather is good.",[81,34395,34337],{"id":34396},"google-ads-search-2",[5685,34398,34317],{"id":34399},"benchmark-3",[14,34401,34402],{},[75,34403],{"alt":34404,"src":34405},"August Travel Benchmarks for Google Ads Search","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Ftravel-august-search-benchmarks.webp",[5685,34407,34327],{"id":34408},"month-over-month-trending-3",[14,34410,34411],{},[75,34412],{"alt":34413,"src":34414},"August Travel Month over Month for Google Ads Search","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Ftravel-august-search-trending.webp",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":34416},[34417,34421,34424],{"id":34305,"depth":291,"text":34306,"children":34418},[34419,34420],{"id":34309,"depth":297,"text":34310},{"id":34336,"depth":297,"text":34337},{"id":34361,"depth":291,"text":34362,"children":34422},[34423],{"id":34368,"depth":297,"text":34337},{"id":34389,"depth":291,"text":34390,"children":34425},[34426],{"id":34396,"depth":297,"text":34337},"2017-09-07","Check out these August Google Ads industry benchmarks by vertical.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fgoogle-ads-june-2017-benchmarks-by-industry",{"title":34293,"description":34428},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fgoogle-ads-june-2017-benchmarks-by-industry","xAB_uoqC8t0aqpcQvBfLdEFspSA_m_M_ZssbcsCiFu0",{"id":34435,"title":34436,"author":7,"authors":34437,"body":34438,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":34514,"description":34515,"extension":318,"img":32545,"imgAlt":7,"meta":34516,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":34517,"seo":34518,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":34519,"updated":7,"__hash__":34520},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fusing-screaming-frog-for-google-tag-manager.md","Using Screaming Frog for Google Tag Manager Implementation",[31239],{"type":11,"value":34439,"toc":34512},[34440,34443,34450,34472,34478,34481,34484,34486,34492,34495,34498,34504],[14,34441,34442],{},"As an agency MKG has audited a number of client’s Google Analytics accounts. With so many different ways to set up tracking in Google Tag Manager this can seem like a daunting task, but with the right tools it can be easy!\nToday I will walk through using Screaming Frog to check for GTM tags and ensure that any Google Tag Manager triggers are set up with “unique” variables so you are not inadvertently firing tags for buttons or links you don’t want to track.",[14,34444,34445,34446,212],{},"For example, one of our clients had a trigger and tag that fired on the rule “click_url” contains “mailto:” I could tell that many of the forms went to a support email address, but wasn’t 100% sure if there were any forms that would actually generate leads. In order to check I used ",[206,34447,34449],{"href":32481,"rel":34448},[210],"Screaming Frog’s Seo Spider tool",[132,34451,34452,34455,34458,34469],{},[49,34453,34454],{},"Open Screaming Frog",[49,34456,34457],{},"In the top menu go to Configuration” > Custom > Extraction",[49,34459,34460,34461,34464,34465],{},"In the “Extractor 1” field I used XPath and put in the simple command“\u002F\u002Fa",[24436,34462,34463],{},"starts-with(@href, 'mailto')","”\n",[75,34466],{"alt":34467,"src":34468},"Screaming Frog XPath","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fscreaming-frog-extractor-xpath.webp",[49,34470,34471],{},"Click “ok” and start the crawl, Screaming Frog will now crawl the site and provide all the email address links on the site in the “extractor 1 column\"",[14,34473,34474],{},[75,34475],{"alt":34476,"src":34477},"Screaming Frog XPath Confirmation","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fscreaming-frog-xpath.webp",[14,34479,34480],{},"A similar XPath string can also be used to identify which pages have Google Tag Manager or Google Analytics tracking on them and if there are multiple account_ids on the site.",[14,34482,34483],{},"UA- for analytics or GTM- for Google Tag Manager",[14815,34485],{},[14,34487,34488],{},[75,34489],{"alt":34490,"src":34491},"Screaming Frog Page Identifier","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fscreaming-frog-last-modified.webp",[14,34493,34494],{},"You can also extract using regex to answer simple questions like “is this click_id on multiple pages”?",[14,34496,34497],{},"To do so go to the same configuration field, but choose regex and enter your command. If you’re looking for an exact click_id like “submit_button_2” then no fancy code is needed. Just enter “submit button_2” and Screaming Frog will show you what pages have that click_id so you can check to make sure you’re tracking the correct click or form submission.",[14,34499,34500],{},[75,34501],{"alt":34502,"src":34503},"Screaming Frog RegEx","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fscreaming-frog-extractor-regex.webp",[14,34505,34506,34511],{},[206,34507,34510],{"href":34508,"rel":34509},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.screamingfrog.co.uk\u002Fseo-spider\u002Fuser-guide\u002Fconfiguration\u002F#custom-extraction",[210],"Screaming Frog’s support page"," also has more commands and tips on using their tool for Google Tag Manager and Analytics applications.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":34513},[],"2017-05-10","See how Screaming Frog can make Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics implementation easy!",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fusing-screaming-frog-for-google-tag-manager",{"title":34436,"description":34515},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fusing-screaming-frog-for-google-tag-manager","Hi7cnPb3B7Ps6izJXn8Rvbd5K0hT3UFtlHC-zGdYjQI",{"id":34522,"title":34523,"author":7,"authors":34524,"body":34525,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":34683,"description":34684,"extension":318,"img":34685,"imgAlt":7,"meta":34686,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":34687,"seo":34688,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":34689,"updated":7,"__hash__":34690},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fwhat-stops-companies-from-hiring-seo-firms.md","What Stops Companies from Hiring SEO Firms?",[17174],{"type":11,"value":34526,"toc":34677},[34527,34531,34534,34539,34546,34549,34573,34577,34580,34583,34597,34600,34611,34615,34618,34621,34624,34627,34631,34634,34642,34645,34674],[24,34528,34530],{"id":34529},"seo-firms-to-hire-or-not-to-hire","SEO Firms: To Hire or Not to Hire?",[14,34532,34533],{},"The Chief Executive at a large residential real estate development company asked me a really good question the other day:",[24025,34535,34536],{},[14,34537,34538],{},"Why would I hire your SEO firm instead of a full time employee?",[14,34540,34541,34542,34545],{},"I responded with the answer that I’ve found to be true about hiring consultants ",[38,34543,34544],{},"of any type"," over the course of my career.",[14,34547,34548],{},"Professional services consultants are most commonly hired for two reasons:",[46,34550,34551,34554],{},[49,34552,34553],{},"Specialty: A particular firm, agency or group specializes in certain types of services within particular industries, sectors or verticals. After they pass a vetting process, you are hiring rockstar partners as opposed to investing time and money into recruiting and managing a new batch of (potential) rockstars of your own.",[49,34555,34556,34557,34562,34563,34566,34567,34572],{},"Scale: Professional services firms exist to help their customers scale to support a specific need. Take ",[206,34558,34561],{"href":34559,"rel":34560},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Ftom-o-brien-841b6942",[210],"Tom O’Brien"," (VP of Legal at ",[206,34564,28777],{"href":30418,"rel":34565},[210],", one of our clients) or ",[206,34568,34571],{"href":34569,"rel":34570},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fsabine-chalmers-a7854032\u002F",[210],"Sabine Chalmers"," (Chief Legal Officer at Anheuser-Busch\u002FInBev) as prime examples; they drive the legal and general counsel strategy of the entire business but partner with third party law firms to help write policy, submit briefs and handle a lot of the day-to-day grunt work.",[24,34574,34576],{"id":34575},"lets-make-this-relevant-to-seo-why-would-companies-hire-third-party-seo-agencies","Let’s make this relevant to SEO: Why would companies hire third party SEO agencies?",[14,34578,34579],{},"I’d stick with my original answer - specialty and scale.",[14,34581,34582],{},"Let’s take a current client of ours (who will remain nameless) as an example.",[46,34584,34585,34591,34594],{},[49,34586,34587,34588,34590],{},"They are a B2B business with a long sales cycle. Buyers conduct months of diligence and research ",[38,34589,2887],{}," they even invite this company (and their competitors) into an RFP process.",[49,34592,34593],{},"This business sells software in the form of annual licenses, seats and service packages (e.g. “support”). They are a 8-to-9 figure business in terms of annual sales.",[49,34595,34596],{},"More than one-third of all net-new customers enter their sales funnel through Organic Search. Additionally, Organic Search has the highest lead-to-customer close ratio of any marketing channel.",[14,34598,34599],{},"So, why did they hire us to assist them?",[46,34601,34602,34605,34608],{},[49,34603,34604],{},"Their “SEO manager” is the Director of Web Marketing. She is responsible for web content, marketing automation, email marketing and SEO.",[49,34606,34607],{},"She has neither the time (scale) or SEO experience (specialty) to put together and execute a SEO strategy.",[49,34609,34610],{},"In this instance, she hires us for both our ability to scale (without bringing on liability to her team in the form of FTE’s) as well as our speciality working with global, enterprise software businesses to help grow their SEO performance.",[24,34612,34614],{"id":34613},"are-there-any-reasons-not-to-hire-an-seo-firm","Are there any reasons not to hire an SEO firm?",[14,34616,34617],{},"There are quite a few, in fact! Here are a few of the most common answers I give to businesses who are interested to invest in SEO for the first time.",[14,34619,34620],{},"Your business doesn’t sell anything online (no e-commerce goals from search). Why invest in showing up in search rankings if they won’t affect your bottom line online (or off)?",[14,34622,34623],{},"There isn’t any search activity for your specific niche. We use tools like Moz, Majestic SEO and BrightEdge (amongst many others) to determine this.",[14,34625,34626],{},"You don’t have an online presence of any kind. Hiring an SEO firm to take you from 0 to 100 is going to take a significant amount of time and capital that could be invested elsewhere to move your business forward.",[24,34628,34630],{"id":34629},"i-believe-that-i-a-need-to-grow-my-organic-search-presence-and-b-require-a-seo-firm-to-help-me-out-with-that","I believe that I a) need to grow my Organic Search presence, and b) require a SEO firm to help me out with that.",[14,34632,34633],{},"Awesome! I’m glad that Organic Search can play a strong role in your growth strategy.",[14,34635,34636,34637],{},"Before a business invests in SEO for the first time, I recommend that they read this fantastic ",[206,34638,34641],{"href":34639,"rel":34640},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reddit.com\u002Fr\u002FSEO\u002Fcomments\u002F4k3xiw\u002Fwhats_stopping_you_from_spending_money_on_seo\u002F",[210],"Reddit thread from 2016 titled What’s stopping you from spending money on SEO?",[14,34643,34644],{},"While there is a lot to unpack in this thread there are a few common themes that I’ll outline in bullets.",[132,34646,34647,34650,34653,34656,34659,34662,34665,34668,34671],{},[49,34648,34649],{},"Ambiguity between what is proposed and what is actually delivered: Businesses should conduct regular check ins (we meet with our SEO customers every week) to track the progress and format of what we proposed compared to what was actually delivered.",[49,34651,34652],{},"Clear explanation of approach and\u002For methods: A great case in point is our home grown 6-Point SEO Audit. When we tell clients we’re going to perform a SEO audit across their site, we show them each and every part of their website we’re going to audit as well as show them the tangible output they will receive.",[49,34654,34655],{},"Also mention why this approach could not be done \"in house\": While I can’t speak for other SEO firms, our SEO team members all have 10 or more years of experience working on SEO for websites both large and small. Does your company have the ability to hire a half dozen SEO’s with a collective 60+ years of experience? If so, then by all means lead this practice “in house”!",[49,34657,34658],{},"Lack of expertise or more expertise represented than actually possess: This one is tough to judge. Oftentimes we break our agreements into 90 or 180 day projects for the first year to show them our expertise with the option to cancel the contract if things are not working out.",[49,34660,34661],{},"Budget that is not appropriate for goals desired: There is an old saying “Champagne taste on a beer-bottle budget”. More often than not, you get what you pay for.",[49,34663,34664],{},"Assurances and\u002For projections to deliver results: Nothing in life is guaranteed. NOTHING! Anybody who can ‘guarantee’ SEO outcomes or results is handing you a bill of sale that they cannot 100% back up (in my opinion).",[49,34666,34667],{},"Confusion over the ROI of investing in SEO: I’ve heard this one many times and it was brought up on the Reddit thread. Compared to Paid Search (where you can easily quantify if clicks drive sales or conversion activity) SEO is a bit more ambiguous. Here’s an example: If you double your Paid Search budget, and the campaigns perform the same, you should expect to double the outcomes. The same cannot always be said for SEO.",[49,34669,34670],{},"SEO agencies with subpar\u002Fnot optimized websites of their own: The cobbler’s son has no shoes. SEO agencies are usually so busy optimizing other people’s websites that their own falls by the wayside. Be frank with these firms; why is your website not optimized for search? How come you don’t rank for any of the key terms or queries you should appear for?",[49,34672,34673],{},"A proven track record of long term ranking increases on multiple websites: We address this up front with all new customers by showing them SEO results for multiple clients over two or more years of working together. Net Promoter Score and client referrals could also help you assess whether this SEO firm will work for you or not.",[14,34675,34676],{},"Keep some of these points in mind as you go through the procurement process for a SEO agency.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":34678},[34679,34680,34681,34682],{"id":34529,"depth":291,"text":34530},{"id":34575,"depth":291,"text":34576},{"id":34613,"depth":291,"text":34614},{"id":34629,"depth":291,"text":34630},"2017-04-25","Read Some Common Objections or Obstacles that Companies Face When Deciding Whether to Invest in SEO as a Growth Channel.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fhire-seo-agency.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fwhat-stops-companies-from-hiring-seo-firms",{"title":34523,"description":34684},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fwhat-stops-companies-from-hiring-seo-firms","_lRtU2Gpo-cIizHXKwIP3G3rewgYRLW_PVmyx3BhV3c",{"id":34692,"title":34693,"author":7,"authors":34694,"body":34695,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":34948,"description":34949,"extension":318,"img":34789,"imgAlt":7,"meta":34950,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":34951,"seo":34952,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":34953,"updated":7,"__hash__":34954},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fgrowth-channels-best-roi-startups.md","Peer Study: What Growth Channels Provide The Best Marketing ROI for Startups?",[17174],{"type":11,"value":34696,"toc":34941},[34697,34705,34708,34711,34715,34718,34721,34724,34728,34731,34760,34763,34771,34774,34778,34781,34784,34790,34793,34796,34801,34804,34815,34819,34822,34833,34836,34839,34895,34898,34904,34908,34911,34925,34928],[14,34698,34699,34700,212],{},"Mike Krass first presented this story on stage at ",[206,34701,34704],{"href":34702,"rel":34703},"https:\u002F\u002Fnoew.org\u002Fevents\u002Fread\u002Fgrowth-readiness-pyramid-is-your-business-ready-for-growth-gasoline",[210],"New Orleans Entrepreneur Week 2017",[14,34706,34707],{},"What fancy 'marketing trend' has caught your attention recently: Account-based marketing for B2B companies? What about influencer marketing for consumer brands? Or virtual reality with the futuristic crowd?",[14,34709,34710],{},"The appropriate response before applying any of these techniques to your business should be:",[24,34712,34714],{"id":34713},"hold-the-presses-is-our-company-even-ready-to-plan-and-execute-on-those-opportunities","Hold the presses – is our company even ready to plan and execute on those opportunities?",[14,34716,34717],{},"Have we exhausted each level of the most efficient growth opportunities (word of mouth, referrals, etc.) before moving up the ladder to the next most efficient and profitable growth opportunity?",[14,34719,34720],{},"The purpose of my session at NOEW and this article are to:",[14,34722,34723],{},"Help readers answer a fundamental question: Is my business even ready to invest in traditional sales or marketing growth strategies?\nA step-by-step guide to answer bullet #1",[24,34725,34727],{"id":34726},"first-what-do-we-mean-when-we-say-marketing-or-growth","First, what do we mean when we say “marketing” or “growth”?",[14,34729,34730],{},"Are we referring to…",[46,34732,34733,34736,34739,34742,34745,34748,34751,34754,34757],{},[49,34734,34735],{},"Advertising?",[49,34737,34738],{},"Word of mouth marketing?",[49,34740,34741],{},"Social media marketing?",[49,34743,34744],{},"Search engine marketing?",[49,34746,34747],{},"Influencers?",[49,34749,34750],{},"Partnerships?",[49,34752,34753],{},"Inside\u002FChannel Sales?",[49,34755,34756],{},"Branding?",[49,34758,34759],{},"Design?",[14,34761,34762],{},"I find it helpful to reframe the question in terms of resources expended:",[46,34764,34765,34768],{},[49,34766,34767],{},"Time",[49,34769,34770],{},"Money",[14,34772,34773],{},"“Marketing” will cost your organization both time and money. So how should you invest these resources?",[24,34775,34777],{"id":34776},"how-do-i-use-my-time-and-money-most-efficiently","How do I use my time and money most efficiently?",[14,34779,34780],{},"There was this guy by the name of Steve Blank. Who invented something called the Investment Readiness Level chart.",[14,34782,34783],{},"Entrepreneurs can use Steve’s invention to determine if they are ready to raise venture capital (or not).\nSteve uses this invention to determine if he wants to invest in a startup (or not).",[14,34785,34786],{},[75,34787],{"alt":34788,"src":34789},"A thermometer","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Firl-thermometer.webp",[14,34791,34792],{},"We wanted to research and publish a Growth Readiness Level chart for sales, marketing, BD and other growth opportunities.",[14,34794,34795],{},"To create this Growth Readiness Level chart, we surveyed a set of peers with the goal of answering:",[46,34797,34798],{},[49,34799,34800],{},"What growth opportunities should startups\u002Fearly stage companies invest in and in what order?",[14,34802,34803],{},"Once we had the key question that we wanted to answer we needed to source a panel of peers to share their experience. We dipped into our own network and found a peer group interested to take the survey. Collectively, this group oversaw:\nAnnual growth budgets of $100k - $100MM+",[46,34805,34806,34809,34812],{},[49,34807,34808],{},"$100,000,000+ in annual sales",[49,34810,34811],{},"Average company size anywhere between 250 - 5,000 FTEs",[49,34813,34814],{},"Roles range from “Manager” to Vice President (VP)",[24,34816,34818],{"id":34817},"what-did-the-peer-study-find","What did the peer study find?",[14,34820,34821],{},"We asked the peer set to order the growth opportunities based on:",[46,34823,34824,34827],{},[49,34825,34826],{},"Effective at driving marketing or business outcomes",[49,34828,34829,34830,34832],{},"Time ",[38,34831,33058],{}," Money investment",[14,34834,34835],{},"Growth opportunities were ranked in the peer survey from most effective to least effective.",[14,34837,34838],{},"From top to bottom, the peers created an order of growth opportunities startups should invest their time and cash into:",[46,34840,34841,34844,34847,34852,34855,34858,34861,34864,34869,34872,34877,34880,34883,34886,34889,34892],{},[49,34842,34843],{},"A product with strong product\u002Fmarket fit",[49,34845,34846],{},"Content Strategy & Marketing",[49,34848,34849],{},[206,34850,34851],{"href":21094},"Search Engine Optimization (SEO)",[49,34853,34854],{},"Referral Marketing",[49,34856,34857],{},"Influencer Marketing",[49,34859,34860],{},"Public Relations",[49,34862,34863],{},"Email Marketing",[49,34865,34866],{},[206,34867,34868],{"href":21929},"Paid Search Advertising",[49,34870,34871],{},"Channel Sales",[49,34873,34874],{},[206,34875,34876],{"href":21929},"Social Media Advertising",[49,34878,34879],{},"Video Advertising",[49,34881,34882],{},"Partnerships",[49,34884,34885],{},"Outbound Sales \u002F Display Advertising",[49,34887,34888],{},"Broadcast Advertising (TV\u002FRadio)",[49,34890,34891],{},"Direct Buy Advertising",[49,34893,34894],{},"Outdoor advertising (billboards, transit advertising, stadium sponsorships)",[14,34896,34897],{},"Ranking these opportunities against efficiency at driving business outcomes as well as investment of time versus money, the peer survey discovered that product market fit as well as referrals\u002Finbound marketing channels were the best use of time and cash for startups.",[14,34899,34900],{},[75,34901],{"alt":34902,"src":34903},"growth-readiness-level","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Ffunnel-growth-readiness-level.webp",[24,34905,34907],{"id":34906},"summarizing-the-peer-feedback","Summarizing the peer feedback",[14,34909,34910],{},"In four bullets, the peer set said that startups should invest time and cash in the following growth channels (in order):",[46,34912,34913,34916,34919,34922],{},[49,34914,34915],{},"Product\u002FMarket Fit",[49,34917,34918],{},"Inbound\u002FChannel\u002FOutbound Sales",[49,34920,34921],{},"Inbound Marketing",[49,34923,34924],{},"Outbound Marketing",[14,34926,34927],{},"Curious to learn more about this peer survey? Want to ask Mike a question about the results?",[14,34929,34930,34931,34935,34936,34940],{},"Drop him an email at [",[206,34932,34934],{"href":34933},"mailto:mike@mkgmarketinginc.com","mike@mkgmarketinginc.com","]('mailto:",[206,34937,34939],{"href":34938},"mailto:mike@mkgmarketigninc.com","mike@mkgmarketigninc.com","?subject=Growth Readiness Pyramid Question').",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":34942},[34943,34944,34945,34946,34947],{"id":34713,"depth":291,"text":34714},{"id":34726,"depth":291,"text":34727},{"id":34776,"depth":291,"text":34777},{"id":34817,"depth":291,"text":34818},{"id":34906,"depth":291,"text":34907},"2017-04-19","Read Our 2017 Marketing Peer Survey That Answered the Question “What Growth Opportunities Should Startups Invest In?”",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fgrowth-channels-best-roi-startups",{"title":34693,"description":34949},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fgrowth-channels-best-roi-startups","_shCucKslWLfQGRhOZrtnmA2UzQOCGRHUKst0-wrV44",{"id":34956,"title":34957,"author":7,"authors":34958,"body":34959,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":35050,"description":35051,"extension":318,"img":34685,"imgAlt":7,"meta":35052,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":35053,"seo":35054,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":35055,"updated":7,"__hash__":35056},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fgoogle-search-tips-hire-seo-2017.md","Google Search Team Tips to Hire an SEO – February 2017",[17174],{"type":11,"value":34960,"toc":35047},[34961,34965,34974,34979,34987,35001,35008,35023,35041,35044],[24,34962,34964],{"id":34963},"so-how-do-you-hire-an-seo","So ... how do you hire an SEO?",[14,34966,34967,34968,34973],{},"This week Google updated the ",[206,34969,34972],{"href":34970,"rel":34971},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.google.com\u002Fwebmasters\u002Fanswer\u002F35291?hl=en",[210],"'Do you need an SEO?'"," page of their webmaster support center with a video that outlined four key steps all businesses should take once they have decided to hire an SEO expert to help increase their organic search rankings and performance.",[14,34975,34967,34976,34973],{},[206,34977,34972],{"href":34970,"rel":34978},[210],[14,34980,34981,34986],{},[206,34982,34985],{"href":34983,"rel":34984},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fmaileohye",[210],"Maile Ohye",", an 11 year Google veteran and Developer Programs Tech Lead, said that any SEO hiring process should follow these steps:",[132,34988,34989,34992,34995,34998],{},[49,34990,34991],{},"Conduct a 2-way interview with your potential SEO. Check that they seem genuinely interested in you and your business",[49,34993,34994],{},"Check their references.",[49,34996,34997],{},"Ask for (and you'll probably have to pay for) a technical and search audit.",[49,34999,35000],{},"Decide if you want to hire.",[14,35002,35003,35004,35007],{},"It's unique for Google Search or Webmasters team to make sure a definitive \"Here is how you do XYZ in Google Search\" statement. Looking at our own process for discovery and onboarding new SEO customers, these four recommended steps ",[38,35005,35006],{},"already exist"," in our flow!",[132,35009,35010,35013,35016],{},[49,35011,35012],{},"We vote on every client that walks through our doors. The vote (amongst FTE's of MKG) requires a 100% \"yes I would like to work with this customer\" response or we refer the client to another SEO consultancy.",[49,35014,35015],{},"After the initial discovery call, we ask the prospective client to speak to at least one of our customers before going any further in our discussion.",[49,35017,35018,35019,35022],{},"Our first order of business when hired is to perform our home grown ",[206,35020,35021],{"href":21094},"6-Point SEO Audit",". We audit technical and HTML aspects of your website, social signals, geographic ranking factors and more. A dummy template of this 6-Point Audit is shared with all prospective clients before they sign an agreement to work with us so they can tangibly see the output.",[14,35024,35025,35026,35031,35032,35037,35038,35040],{},"Additionally, Maile actually confirmed that it can take between ",[206,35027,35030],{"href":35028,"rel":35029},"https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002FpiSvFxV_M04?t=1m40s",[210],"4 and 12 months upon hiring the SEO to see results",". A ",[206,35033,35036],{"href":35034,"rel":35035},"https:\u002F\u002Fahrefs.com\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-long-does-it-take-to-rank\u002F",[210],"February 2017 hrefs study"," found that 95%+ of ",[38,35039,1235],{}," pages won't crack a top 10 SERP ranking in the first 12 months they are live, but for those that do it can take 2 to 6 months . This includes giving that resource time to perform an audit, put a plan in place, deploy changes to production and have search engines crawl and re-index those changes.",[14,35042,35043],{},"Check out Maile's tips in this video and let us know about YOUR experience hiring SEO's in the comments section of this post.",[16784,35045],{"src":35046,"width":25902,"height":31039,"frameBorder":16790,"allowFullScreen":322},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FpiSvFxV_M04?rel=0&controls=0",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":35048},[35049],{"id":34963,"depth":291,"text":34964},"2017-02-15","Google updated the Do you need an SEO? page of their webmaster support center with a video that outlined four key steps all businesses should take once they have decided to hire an SEO expert.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fgoogle-search-tips-hire-seo-2017",{"title":34957,"description":35051},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fgoogle-search-tips-hire-seo-2017","Ff8iDiIPsDUEtv6-tukZtwUpV0_ZR83kka-Ih525LL8",{"id":35058,"title":35059,"author":7,"authors":35060,"body":35061,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":35152,"description":77,"extension":318,"img":35065,"imgAlt":7,"meta":35153,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":35154,"seo":35155,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":35156,"updated":7,"__hash__":35157},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fexceeding-expectations-why-we-attended-the-cncf-cloud-native-road-show-in-portland-february-2017.md","Exceeding Expectations: Why We Attended the CNCF Cloud Native Road Show in Portland – February 2017",[24268],{"type":11,"value":35062,"toc":35149},[35063,35068,35071,35074,35083,35087,35090,35093,35097,35100,35105,35108,35111,35114,35119,35123,35126,35129,35133,35136,35139,35142,35145],[75,35064],{"src":35065,"alt":35066,"width":35067},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002F20170207_170807-e1486677103581.webp","Cloud Native Roadshow",320,[14,35069,35070],{},"When our team heard there was an event surrounding the deployment of Kubernetes and other cloud native technologies in production, we had to get there. We have a client who is in the same space, and knew the best way to learn about their audience is to meet them face-to-face.",[14,35072,35073],{},"The Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) hosted this particular event in Portland, Ore. on February 7, 2017. They are an open source project to advance the development of cloud native applications and services.",[14,35075,35076,35077,35082],{},"Of special note was the co-sponsor of the event ",[206,35078,35081],{"href":35079,"rel":35080},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.womenwhocode.com\u002Fportland",[210],"Women Who Code",". With over 1,800 members in the Portland, Ore., area, Women Who Code is a non-profit dedicated to inspiring women to excel in technology careers.",[75,35084],{"src":35085,"alt":35086},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002F20170207_145535.webp","Dan Kohn CNCF",[14,35088,35089],{},"Dan Kohn, the first Executive Director of Cloud Native Computing Foundation led off the afternoon, followed by Isaac Arias, CTO of Apprenda, and Brian Gracely, Director of Product Strategy at Red Hat.",[14,35091,35092],{},"Dan helped bring everything together from a 20,000 foot level, going over the brief history of the cloud. From Sun Microsystems in 2000 with non-virtualized hardware, to Heroku and the rise of PaaS in 2009, and the amazing growth propelled by Docker in 2013. The last half-decade, especially, has seen incredible growth in the space. The context of how we got to this point was valuable.",[75,35094],{"src":35095,"alt":35096},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002F20170207_155540.webp","Isaac Arias Apprenda",[14,35098,35099],{},"Isaac Arias from Apprenda dove into Containers 101 and detailed what they are, jobs they execute, and more.",[24025,35101,35102],{},[14,35103,35104],{},"One of the most interesting parts of the event was a question posed to the crowd:",[14,35106,35107],{},"How many of those in attendance use containers? Half of the audience raised their hand.",[14,35109,35110],{},"Then the follow-up question:",[14,35112,35113],{},"How many of those using containers had them in production?",[14,35115,35116],{},[52,35117,35118],{},"Only two hands were raised.",[75,35120],{"src":35121,"alt":35122},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002F20170207_162254.webp","Brian Gracely Red Hat",[14,35124,35125],{},"Red Hat's Brian Gracely finished the afternoon by going over a couple of use cases from Volvo and Amadeus, and then showed off how easily one can manipulate Kubernetes on a laptop.",[14,35127,35128],{},"If there was any doubt at the popularity of Kubernetes, it was put to rest by the simple fact that it is one of the most popular open source projects on Github EVER with over 22,000 users. And we felt the excitement, especially with so many companies, large and small, contributing to it.",[24,35130,35132],{"id":35131},"why-should-marketers-attend-these-type-of-events","Why should marketers attend these type of events?",[14,35134,35135],{},"What did we learn from attending this event? MKG Marketing's analyst Spencer has found that the developers he's worked with always had issues pushing code from development to production and Kubernetes alleviates these problems by allowing development and production to be \"the same” so it’s possible to know if something will work on production ahead of time and not have multiple iterations floating around.",[14,35137,35138],{},"Not only is this beneficial to developers, it also helps marketing by ensuring that websites\u002Fapps are operating correctly and ad dollars are not wasted by sending paid traffic to a bad user experience.",[14,35140,35141],{},"Most importantly, from a marketer's perspective, attending an event like this only helps in our understanding of the audience, of what's important to them, and we can speak the same language. It increases our knowledge, and we become stakeholders in the same industry of our clients.",[14,35143,35144],{},"(We encountered a murder of crows looking especially ominous at the end of the night, bonus .gif below!)",[75,35146],{"src":35147,"alt":35148},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthecrows.gif","PDX Crows",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":35150},[35151],{"id":35131,"depth":291,"text":35132},"2017-02-09",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fexceeding-expectations-why-we-attended-the-cncf-cloud-native-road-show-in-portland-february-2017",{"title":35059,"description":77},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fexceeding-expectations-why-we-attended-the-cncf-cloud-native-road-show-in-portland-february-2017","DE8cfyKtoJfLwgK6R6pab7krBel8Wg4FnW3b5TV-4Nk",{"id":35159,"title":35160,"author":7,"authors":35161,"body":35162,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":35245,"description":35246,"extension":318,"img":15852,"imgAlt":7,"meta":35247,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":35248,"seo":35249,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":35250,"updated":7,"__hash__":35251},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fmedia-transparency-predictions-for-2017.md","Media Predictions for 2017— Transparency and Trust",[17174],{"type":11,"value":35163,"toc":35241},[35164,35172,35175,35178,35189,35192,35201,35208,35211,35215,35218,35221,35224,35228,35231,35234],[14,35165,35166,35167],{},"On January 29th, the world's largest advertiser (Proctor & Gamble) said they ",[206,35168,35171],{"href":35169,"rel":35170},"https:\u002F\u002Fadage.com\u002Farticle\u002Fmedia\u002Fp-g-s-pritchard-calls-digital-grow-up-new-rules\u002F307742\u002F",[210],"refuse to work with any media partner that cannot meet the tenants of their new 5 point program that kicks in this year (2017).",[14,35173,35174],{},"Marc Pritchard, P&G's Chief Brand Officer, spoke to the program requirements at the Interactive Advertising Bureau's Annual Leadership Meeting at the end of January 2017.",[14,35176,35177],{},"These program requirements include (but are not limited to):",[132,35179,35180,35183,35186],{},[49,35181,35182],{},"Creation and observation of an industry-wide viewability metric, instead of \"one-off\" viewability metrics by platform",[49,35184,35185],{},"Fraud protection built into all media investments",[49,35187,35188],{},"Mandatory third-party verification of all media investments",[14,35190,35191],{},"Additionally, P&G is requiring more clarity in their contracts to ensure that media agencies, publishers and the advertiser (in this case, themselves) are aligned on the definition of ethical media practices. P&G said that more clarity on the contracting and procurement side of their business will hopefully eliminate rebate-based compensation practices as well as media partners working as principle and not agent on behalf of the advertiser.",[14,35193,35194,35195,35200],{},"For context, these rebates were discussed in the ",[206,35196,35199],{"href":35197,"rel":35198},"https:\u002F\u002Fweb.archive.org\u002Fweb\u002F20170712063344\u002Fhttps:\u002F\u002Fwww.ana.net\u002Fcontent\u002Fshow\u002Fid\u002Fpr-media-transparency",[210],"K2 Intelligence Media Transparency Report published in June 2016",". That report found that of  the 117 sources interviewed, 59 reported non-transparent business practices (50.4%), 34 reported seeing rebates (29%) and 33 sources reported principle transactions they found to be \"problematic\" (29%)",[14,35202,35203,35204,35207],{},"At MKG, one of our ",[206,35205,35206],{"href":23656},"core values is"," Exceeding Expectations. Following that value since day #1 of our agency, we have never considered making money off of non-transparent business practices such as rebates or acting as the principle in a media buying relationship between our customers (the advertiser) and publishers.",[14,35209,35210],{},"We'll continue to decouple the cost of the media and provide written proof in the form of publisher invoices to show our customers exactly how much they paid for the media they have in the market.",[24,35212,35214],{"id":35213},"who-should-care","Who should care?",[14,35216,35217],{},"This report changes nothing for MKG, but many of our competitors (both large and small agencies) will begin to hear uncomfortable questions about the true cost of the media they are using an agency as an agent to purchase on their behalf.",[14,35219,35220],{},"If I was an advertiser, I would work with my finance and legal counsel internally to research P&G's 5-point program and determine if and how it can be implemented within the company. This will likely include a lot of auditing up front and then ongoing audits over time.",[14,35222,35223],{},"As an agency head, I am taking a proactive approach to perform audits of our own and compiling a summary for all clients that we handled media capital for over the past 6 years at MKG. For those clients who acted as their own accounts payable arm for media capital, they already have all the invoices from publishers and know the exact cost of that media investment.",[24,35225,35227],{"id":35226},"what-effect-does-pgs-announcement-and-the-k2-report-have-on-our-industry","What effect does P&G's announcement and the K2 report have on our industry?",[14,35229,35230],{},"Marc Pritchard asked all the IAB annual summit attendees to follow the lead set by P&G. In my opinion, hearing other large advertisers adopt a similar set of standards (or P&G's 5-point program, verbatim) will be a telling sign if advertisers are ready to fight battles around transparency and ethical behavior. If P&G marches into this fight alone, then it's my opinion that while other advertisers may be concerned about this, they aren't willing to take action against these practices.",[14,35232,35233],{},"On the other hand, agencies will only respond to advertisers that set and regularly audit media partner requirements to hold them accountable. No accountability? No change will happen in the long run on the agency side.",[14,35235,35236,35237,212],{},"Here's a link to the ",[206,35238,35240],{"href":35169,"rel":35239},[210],"Proctor & Gamble announcement from the IAB Leadership Meeting",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":35242},[35243,35244],{"id":35213,"depth":291,"text":35214},{"id":35226,"depth":291,"text":35227},"2017-02-02","Marc Pritchard, P&G's Chief Brand Officer, spoke to the program requirementsat the Interactive Advertising Bureau's Annual Leadership Meeting at the end of January 2017.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fmedia-transparency-predictions-for-2017",{"title":35160,"description":35246},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fmedia-transparency-predictions-for-2017","1TKF5sCjVVv6J_xXoKJrcNFPbPxR72SUUBDseU-wggI",{"id":35253,"title":35254,"author":7,"authors":35255,"body":35256,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":35359,"description":77,"extension":318,"img":15852,"imgAlt":7,"meta":35360,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":35361,"seo":35362,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":35363,"updated":7,"__hash__":35364},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fhealthcare-marketing-trends-in-2017-costs-outcomes.md","Healthcare Marketing Trends in 2017: Costs & Outcomes",[17174],{"type":11,"value":35257,"toc":35354},[35258,35262,35276,35279,35288,35304,35307,35312,35316,35319,35322,35330,35333,35347,35351],[24,35259,35261],{"id":35260},"how-can-search-marketers-reduce-healthcare-marketing-costsorimprove-patient-outcomes","How Can Search Marketers Reduce  Healthcare Marketing Costs or Improve Patient Outcomes?",[14,35263,35264,35265,35270,35271,212],{},"Last week I had the honor of attention the ",[206,35266,35269],{"href":35267,"rel":35268},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.neworleansbio.com\u002Finnovationla\u002F",[210],"Innovation LA conference",", a life sciences and biotech event put on by the ",[206,35272,35275],{"href":35273,"rel":35274},"https:\u002F\u002Fneworleansbio.com",[210],"New Orleans BioInnovation Center",[14,35277,35278],{},"The conference featured panels exploring ways for early stage businesses to establish product\u002Fmarket fit or how to raise angel or venture capital to scale a biotech business, to name a few topics.",[14,35280,35281,35282,35287],{},"During the Angel & Seed Investment Funding panel, Cian C. Robinson, Executive Director of the Lafayette General Foundation, made two very  pointed comments about the challenges that a health system like ",[206,35283,35286],{"href":35284,"rel":35285},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.lafayettegeneral.com\u002F",[210],"Lafayette General"," is going to face headed into 2017:",[132,35289,35290,35297],{},[49,35291,35292,35293,35296],{},"Health systems need all the help they can get ",[52,35294,35295],{},"REDUCING COSTS",", as impending federal budget changes will remove",[49,35298,35299,35300,35303],{},"Health systems are now measured by ",[52,35301,35302],{},"IMPROVING OUTCOMES","; if a patient is discharged and returns within 30, 60 or 90 days insurance payers will not reimburse the full cost of their care",[14,35305,35306],{},"Since we have a handful of healthcare customers in our portfolio, I couldn't help but ask myself:",[24025,35308,35309],{},[14,35310,35311],{},"How are we helping our healthcare customers reduce costs or improve patient outcomes?",[24,35313,35315],{"id":35314},"step-1-reducing-healthcare-marketing-costs","Step 1: Reducing Healthcare Marketing Costs",[14,35317,35318],{},"A case study that came to mind quickly is the Paid Search work we've done for Planned Parenthood in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Hawaii and Alaska.",[14,35320,35321],{},"When they hired our team to manage Paid Search activity, the tenants they needed to deliver against were:",[46,35323,35324,35327],{},[49,35325,35326],{},"Capture search intent as the nature of search behavior changes (device, voice vs. text queries, etc)",[49,35328,35329],{},"Reduce cost of online appointments being scheduled",[14,35331,35332],{},"While I won't take you all the way down our strategic rabbit hole, I can highlight two strategic changes we executed for  Planned Parenthood that reduced their cost per appointment scheduled by more than 65%!",[132,35334,35335,35341],{},[49,35336,35337,35340],{},[52,35338,35339],{},"Mobile-First Paid Search Campaign Structure:"," Keyword research combined with an account audit revealed that Planned Parenthood booked most of their appointments online from users on a computer (laptop\u002Fdesktop). At the same time, the average age of appointment bookers was \u003C34 years old, a mobile-heavy audience segment. By building out campaign structures as well as landing environments that were mobile-first, we were able to completely flip the performance tables - now more than half of online appointments scheduled in those states come from a mobile device (usually a smartphone)",[49,35342,35343,35346],{},[52,35344,35345],{},"Rule & Bid Automation:"," Healthcare queries and search trends change  rapidly  based on the time of year. Think about it: Fall = back to school. This means welcome to cold and flu season. There are other trends as well! Our Paid Search Manager led the charge by setting up a series of Google Ads rules focused around catching these trends earlier and either automating big increases for keyword query performers on the rise OR cutting keywords out entirely before they ate up too many SERP impressions and clicks.",[24,35348,35350],{"id":35349},"improving-healthcare-outcomes-with-fewer-resources","Improving Healthcare Outcomes with Fewer Resources",[14,35352,35353],{},"We'd love to hear from you: Do you have any case examples or tactics where you've seen improved outcomes?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":35355},[35356,35357,35358],{"id":35260,"depth":291,"text":35261},{"id":35314,"depth":291,"text":35315},{"id":35349,"depth":291,"text":35350},"2016-11-21",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fhealthcare-marketing-trends-in-2017-costs-outcomes",{"title":35254,"description":77},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fhealthcare-marketing-trends-in-2017-costs-outcomes","9qnQavkAZovvPWnMybi8qIycwYsUEbH8rikpc_p7Too",{"id":35366,"title":35367,"author":7,"authors":35368,"body":35369,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":35424,"description":35425,"extension":318,"img":35426,"imgAlt":7,"meta":35427,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":35428,"seo":35429,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":35430,"updated":7,"__hash__":35431},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Ffacebook-power-editor-update-november-9-2016.md","Facebook Ad’s Power Editor",[24268],{"type":11,"value":35370,"toc":35418},[35371,35374,35378,35381,35384,35387,35391,35394,35397,35400,35404,35407,35410,35412,35415],[14,35372,35373],{},"While I was within Facebook Ad's Power Editor (their online tool for heavy-duty ad updates on the Facebook Ads platform) today, my interface refreshed and I was informed that there had been an update.",[24,35375,35377],{"id":35376},"woo-an-update","Woo! An update!",[14,35379,35380],{},"And that's NOT sarcastic! Facebook's Power Editor is a bit of a clunker; often hanging up, failing to load, or causing a multitude of any other weird, quirky errors.",[14,35382,35383],{},"But, news of an update was pretty exciting when it came on Wednesday, November 9, 2016.",[14,35385,35386],{},"Unfortunately, it appears to be just a bit of a UI update. But not totally unwelcome!",[24,35388,35390],{"id":35389},"tabs","Tabs",[14,35392,35393],{},"We've got tabs! ...and they work just fine!",[14,35395,35396],{},"To refresh your memory, before it was just a quick click of a little row on the left to get to campaigns \u002F ad sets \u002F ads:",[14,35398,35399],{},"Okay, so that makes it a little easier to navigate, but what else does this update include?",[24,35401,35403],{"id":35402},"go-on-select-something","Go On, Select Something...",[14,35405,35406],{},"So, one of the weirdest things about Facebook's Power Editor is how selecting an ad, ad set, or campaign is somewhat hidden and finnicky.",[14,35408,35409],{},"Good news! The new tabs give you an easy peek into how many of each are selected. Check it:",[24,35411,23466],{"id":23465},[14,35413,35414],{},"Not an earth-shattering update....but a step in the right direction.",[14,35416,35417],{},"What Facebook's Power Editor needs to do is make it easier to find information and have it work reliably. This one checks off the first need, and the jury is still out on the other.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":35419},[35420,35421,35422,35423],{"id":35376,"depth":291,"text":35377},{"id":35389,"depth":291,"text":35390},{"id":35402,"depth":291,"text":35403},{"id":23465,"depth":291,"text":23466},"2016-11-09","Facebook Ad's Power Editor updated today. Read what's new.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fpower.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Ffacebook-power-editor-update-november-9-2016",{"title":35367,"description":35425},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Ffacebook-power-editor-update-november-9-2016","2G3rzHrggu0gAEWLoZ0onlAaeYdq00jyDKBZdr7E5zo",{"id":35433,"title":35434,"author":7,"authors":35435,"body":35436,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":35542,"description":35543,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":35544,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":35545,"seo":35546,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":35547,"updated":7,"__hash__":35548},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fmkg-turns-five-years-old.md","MKG Turns FIVE Years Old Today",[17174],{"type":11,"value":35437,"toc":35536},[35438,35441,35444,35447,35458,35466,35470,35473,35476,35479,35483,35486,35489,35492,35495,35499,35502,35505,35512,35515,35520,35523,35526,35530,35533],[14,35439,35440],{},"Today is the day: we as a company are celebrating our fifth birthday.",[14,35442,35443],{},"To be clear, this is the day we incorporated the business officially  as a Limited Liability Corporation in the Washington state. Since then, we have become an S-Corp based in Washington state ... okay now I'm totally boring you and am going to move on.",[14,35445,35446],{},"Before we move forward, wouldn't it be fun to look backward?  As of this exact day 5 years ago Kerry and myself had:",[46,35448,35449,35452,35455],{},[49,35450,35451],{},"0 paying customers at MKG",[49,35453,35454],{},"We were going by 'MKG Media Group' and not the 'MKG Marketing' name",[49,35456,35457],{},"Had no idea what we were getting ourselves into starting a business completely from scratch",[14,35459,35460,35461,35465],{},"Our Search Marketing Director ",[206,35462,35464],{"href":31449,"rel":35463},[210],"Christian"," likes to set up conversations with only 3 words. In the spirit of Christian's \"3 word rule\", I'm going to allow myself three words (with an explanation for each) to describe what the past 5 years has been like for me personally at MKG.",[24,35467,35469],{"id":35468},"terrified","Terrified",[14,35471,35472],{},"This one word pretty much sums up the entire 2013 calendar year for me. After we landed our second client, I developed a habit of waking up with the cold sweats and shouting something like \"I promise we'll get your conversion rate up by end of the week!\"",[14,35474,35475],{},"Bringing on new clients (and then servicing the business) was on my mind 24\u002F7. It was a terrifying (and sometimes overwhelming) experience to be leading all on my own for the very first time.",[14,35477,35478],{},"It only took a year or so to get past the terrified stage. Next up, I felt ...",[24,35480,35482],{"id":35481},"inspired","Inspired!",[14,35484,35485],{},"MKG really began to click in 2014; We were bringing on really fantastic clients, our team was growing and the sky was the limit.",[14,35487,35488],{},"It was truly inspiring to see the way our clients began to cling onto every word our team members said. We were viewed as the lead subject matter experts, which can be attributed to the fact that our entire team was seasoned in the field of search marketing.",[14,35490,35491],{},"In fact, 2014 led to a new policy we began to implement at the end of 2015: Never hire someone with less than 5 years of practical subject matter expertise.",[14,35493,35494],{},"We now only look for experienced professionals because our clients love getting \"the A team\" (their words, not mine) in terms of the best of the best. We all started as a junior marketing associate at one point - but our clients expect more from our team than being given junior associates to attempt to grow their business. And that is why we won't hire anyone with less than 5 (or more) years of hands on experience. We need to put the best talent forward TODAY for our clients.",[24,35496,35498],{"id":35497},"humbled","Humbled",[14,35500,35501],{},"While I'm not  always  incredibly humble, I have learned the value of knowing when to eat a big slice of 'humble pie'.",[14,35503,35504],{},"This knowledge has led me to always look at the big picture and understand some things about the business world in general. Allow me to tell a story that illustrates this point.",[14,35506,35507,35508,35511],{},"About 18 months ago we were ",[38,35509,35510],{},"CRUSHING IT"," for one of our large SEO retainer clients. All the keyword phrases they wanted to rank for were moving up to the 1st page (and into top 3 positions in some cases). This was exactly what they tasked us to do. \"Help us rank for these 500 phrases - tell us what to do and we'll dedicate resources to make it happen.\" Our team did that! When we went in to present our monthly results, we were all excited and happy to show them how things were going.",[14,35513,35514],{},"You know what they said?",[24025,35516,35517],{},[14,35518,35519],{},"This is great, but our ecommerce revenue is down more than 10% as a whole month over month. We're getting killed out there.\nI was so excited. We had done our jobs to a T. But all they could think about was ecomm revenue being down on the whole.",[14,35521,35522],{},"As I opened my mouth to say something like \"But look at OUR numbers\", the VP of Marketing shut me down with a curt wave of the hand. He didn't want to hear anything more from us about our 'good news', because as a whole they were hurting. That's when I realized that I needed to shut up, eat that slice of humble pie, swallow our pride and say \"Alright. What can we do to help?\"",[14,35524,35525],{},"That experience will serve me well for years to come. You have to always keep the big picture or vision in sight.",[24,35527,35529],{"id":35528},"what-do-the-next-5-years-hold","What do the next 5 years hold?",[14,35531,35532],{},"If we've got anything to say about it, a whole lot :)",[14,35534,35535],{},"Stay tuned here on the blog for updates as they are announced.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":35537},[35538,35539,35540,35541],{"id":35468,"depth":291,"text":35469},{"id":35481,"depth":291,"text":35482},{"id":35497,"depth":291,"text":35498},{"id":35528,"depth":291,"text":35529},"2016-07-25","Today is the day: we as a company are celebrating our fifth birthday. See whatwe''ve learned.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fmkg-turns-five-years-old",{"title":35434,"description":35543},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fmkg-turns-five-years-old","t2Ir9mbWBYVz1A7YimsIlwuYVnsakdSbJivVlQAVWY0",{"id":35550,"title":35551,"author":7,"authors":35552,"body":35553,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":35630,"description":35631,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":35632,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":35633,"seo":35634,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":35635,"updated":7,"__hash__":35636},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fhttps-seo.md","Should you switch to HTTPS for SEO in 2016?",[31451],{"type":11,"value":35554,"toc":35628},[35555,35558,35566,35569,35572,35601,35604,35613,35616,35619,35622,35625],[14,35556,35557],{},"A question we got a lot from our clients is:",[24025,35559,35560],{},[14,35561,35562,35563,212],{},"Is it worth switching our site to HTTPS to benefit our site's SEO?\nAs of right now, MKG believes that for most websites ",[52,35564,35565],{},"there isn't enough of a benefit to switch to HTTPS due to the amount of planning and resources it will take to make a complete, 100%, bug free transition",[14,35567,35568],{},"However, if your site has terrific on-page SEO, a high domain authority, and you can't actively working on anything that allows your web dev team to implement this properly, then you could make this switch (but make sure to measure impact!).",[14,35570,35571],{},"How did we arrive at this answer? Well, both \"first-party\" and third-party data sources:",[46,35573,35574,35577,35580,35587,35594],{},[49,35575,35576],{},"Data from client website that has had HTTPS in place for about 8 months now (~15k organic search sessions a month)",[49,35578,35579],{},"Data from client website that has had HTTPS in place for about one week now (~1m organic search sessions a month)",[49,35581,35582,35586],{},[206,35583,35584],{"href":35584,"rel":35585},"https:\u002F\u002Fbacklinko.com\u002Fsearch-engine-ranking",[210]," - Brian Dean is a terrific SEO resource",[49,35588,35589,35593],{},[206,35590,35591],{"href":35591,"rel":35592},"https:\u002F\u002Fmoz.com\u002Fblog\u002Fhttps-tops-30-how-google-is-winning-the-long-war",[210]," - Dr. Pete is an incredibly sharp guy",[49,35595,35596,35600],{},[206,35597,35598],{"href":35598,"rel":35599},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.wired.com\u002F2016\u002F05\u002Fwired-first-big-https-rollout-snag\u002F",[210]," - nice transparent story about the challenges with moving to HTTPS",[14,35602,35603],{},"Longer story:",[14,35605,35606,35607,35612],{},"Google HTTPS ranking boost announcement ",[206,35608,35611],{"href":35609,"rel":35610},"https:\u002F\u002Fwebmasters.googleblog.com\u002F2014\u002F08\u002Fhttps-as-ranking-signal.html",[210],"happened about two years ago",". Since then big, well-known websites such as Amazon, Wikipedia have switched to using this protocol.",[14,35614,35615],{},"We have not seen any cases - either from sites we actively provide SEO services for or a third-party case study - that suggests a direct correlation between switching to HTTPS and getting better search engine rankings.",[14,35617,35618],{},"Moving to HTTPS takes meticulous planning, some $$$, and a great deal of time. Most companies we work with have ongoing, in-depth projects they are always currently working through. Switching to HTTPS, which is an immense project would completely envelop the client's time and take away from those projects. All in search for a possible minor ranking boost.",[14,35620,35621],{},"Sometimes, a minor ranking boost isn't possible. Sometimes - you can't necessarily beat specific pages in the SERPs. With this, a minor ranking boost doesn't help.",[14,35623,35624],{},"We've found better opportunities by testing title tags and meta descriptions to produce more impressions (higher rankings) and better click through rate. Doing this allows a similar \"minor ranking boost\" effect while testing two easily editable elements of a web page.",[14,35626,35627],{},"We'll check back in six months and see if a move to HTTPS makes sense for most websites. But for right now, you shouldn't look to make the move to HTTPS simply to help your website's SEO.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":35629},[],"2016-07-22","As of right now, MKG believes that for most websites there isn't enough of a benefit to switch to HTTPS due to the amount of planning and resources it will take to make a complete, 100%, bug free transition.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fhttps-seo",{"title":35551,"description":35631},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fhttps-seo","Epe_HEgOeJMgVyJO4u01gkaSM7K6Faw0qJWZGyrZzdc",{"id":35638,"title":35639,"author":7,"authors":35640,"body":35641,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":36055,"description":36056,"extension":318,"img":32657,"imgAlt":7,"meta":36057,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":36058,"seo":36059,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":36060,"stem":36061,"updated":7,"__hash__":36062},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002F301-redirect-chains.md","This One Exercise Will Improve Your Site Ranking Strength Now (Break the 301 Redirect Chains)",[31451],{"type":11,"value":35642,"toc":36042},[35643,35646,35649,35652,35655,35658,35660,35664,35671,35676,35682,35685,35689,35692,35695,35698,35729,35732,35749,35752,35758,35761,35765,35768,35771,35774,35777,35788,35795,35798,35809,35816,35820,35823,35826,35829,35836,35839,35842,35846,35849,35853,35856,35864,35867,35870,35873,35876,35879,35882,35885,35891,35894,35902,35906,35909,35916,35924,35927,35930,35933,35936,35939,35942,35949,35953,35962,35965,35972,35975,35979,35982,35985,35988,35991,35999,36002,36006,36015,36019,36022,36033,36036,36039],[14,35644,35645],{},"Imagine: You've optimized your website.",[14,35647,35648],{},"On-page SEO is dialed in.",[14,35650,35651],{},"You spent some time building inbound links to your authoritative pages.",[14,35653,35654],{},"Your technical SEO audits show no problems with crawls or technical issues of your website.",[14,35656,35657],{},"Surely there isn't anything left you can do that can have an incredibly positive impact on the ranking strength of not only a handful of pages but your entire domain.",[14,35659,18683],{},[16784,35661],{"src":35662,"width":25903,"height":35663,"frameBorder":16790,"allowFullScreen":322},"https:\u002F\u002Fgiphy.com\u002Fembed\u002F2mgJTRcGY8DaU",362,[14,35665,35666],{},[206,35667,35670],{"href":35668,"rel":35669},"https:\u002F\u002Fgiphy.com\u002Fgifs\u002Frose-ellen-dix-rosie-spaughton-and-2mgJTRcGY8DaU",[210],"via GIPHY",[14,35672,35673],{},[52,35674,35675],{},"Wrong!",[14,35677,35678,35679,212],{},"Today I'd like to show you how one easy exercise can help ",[52,35680,35681],{},"drastically improve your website's ranking strength",[14,35683,35684],{},"And it's all about 301 redirect chains.",[24,35686,35688],{"id":35687},"_301s-302s-and-you","301s, 302s and You",[14,35690,35691],{},"\"But wait!' you cry out. \"A 301 redirect are supposed to carrying page authority and 'link juice' from the old URL to the new URL?\"",[14,35693,35694],{},"Sure. This is true. Well, depending on who you believe.",[14,35696,35697],{},"Much like the SEO world as a whole, there's conflicting information out there:",[46,35699,35700,35707,35714,35721],{},[49,35701,35702],{},[206,35703,35706],{"href":35704,"rel":35705},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.seroundtable.com\u002Fgoogle-302-301-permanent-redirect-21045.html",[210],"Does Google treat 302 redirects as 301 redirects over time?",[49,35708,35709],{},[206,35710,35713],{"href":35711,"rel":35712},"https:\u002F\u002Fmoz.com\u002Flearn\u002Fseo\u002Fredirection",[210],"301 redirects retain 90-99% of link juice value.",[49,35715,35716],{},[206,35717,35720],{"href":35718,"rel":35719},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002FDuaneForrester\u002Fstatus\u002F311520451862069248",[210],"Bing's all good when they hit your 302 redirect multiple times and believe it was supposed to be a 301.",[49,35722,35723,35728],{},[206,35724,35727],{"href":35725,"rel":35726},"https:\u002F\u002Fjacquesmattheij.com\u002F301-redirects-a-dangerous-one-way-street",[210],"Even how 301s can be dangerous one-way streets when you want to bring back content to an old URL"," (my personal take is: no duh).",[14,35730,35731],{},"The fact of the matter is: people see 301s as being the \"good guys\" for SEO and 302s as being the \"bad guys.\" This is a fair assumption. However, opinions vary on how much link juice 301s really carry.",[14,35733,35734,35735,29154,35739,7000,35744,212],{},"Like mentioned above, ",[206,35736,35738],{"href":35711,"rel":35737},[210],"Moz mentions 90-99%",[206,35740,35743],{"href":35741,"rel":35742},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.seoblog.com\u002F2014\u002F06\u002Flink-juice-lost-301-redirect\u002F",[210],"Others mention \"most.\"",[206,35745,35748],{"href":35746,"rel":35747},"https:\u002F\u002Fsearchenginewatch.com\u002Fsew\u002Fhow-to\u002F2377744\u002Fyour-guide-to-301-redirects-for-seo",[210],"And some people even say 15% lost",[14,35750,35751],{},"In the video below, Matt Cutts explains it's about 10-15% lost:",[14,35753,35754],{},[206,35755,35756],{"href":35756,"rel":35757},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=Filv4pP-1nw",[210],[14,35759,35760],{},"So who do you believe? I'm going to go with the source from Google. And go for the lower part of the range: 15% of link juice is lost via a 301 redirect.",[24,35762,35764],{"id":35763},"the-problem-is","The Problem Is...?",[14,35766,35767],{},"Well, from this concept, not much. There isn't anything else you CAN do if you're moving content from one URL to a new URL. You're going to take this 15% loss and just roll with it.",[14,35769,35770],{},"The problem starts cropping up when you have multiple redirects in place: 301 redirect chains.",[14,35772,35773],{},"Let's imagine a website that is four years old. Over time, they've had a couple of redesigns, changed its CMS a couple of times, and added some content as well as taken some content away.",[14,35775,35776],{},"Each one of these events could have likely changed URL structure of the website. Let's say, over these 4 years, there were 10 of these events. And out of these 10 events, URLs were changed 3 times (due to permalink structure changes, an SEO recommending a URL change, etc.).",[14,35778,35779,35780,35783,35784,35787],{},"That means the site has accrued 3 ",[52,35781,35782],{},"redirect events"," over time. ",[52,35785,35786],{},"Redirect events"," are when a round of 301 redirects are submitted and pushed into product.",[14,35789,35790,35791,35794],{},"Every redirect in a chain has a ",[52,35792,35793],{},"compounding effect"," on how valuable the 301 redirect really is.",[14,35796,35797],{},"It's simple math:",[46,35799,35800,35803,35806],{},[49,35801,35802],{},"One redirect = 85% inbound link juice retention",[49,35804,35805],{},"Two redirects = 72.25% inbound link juice retention",[49,35807,35808],{},"Three redirects = 61.4125% inbound link juice retention",[14,35810,35811,35812,35815],{},"If you have four redirects in a 301 redirect chain, ",[52,35813,35814],{},"you're losing almost half of the inbound link juice"," that the original URL has accrued.",[24,35817,35819],{"id":35818},"deeper-redirect-event-insight-is-required","Deeper Redirect Event Insight Is Required",[14,35821,35822],{},"When you look at a redirect at a high level, you see old URL --> target URL. The tactics in our how to fix section will allow deeper insight, showing whether there are additional redirects in that high level view.",[14,35824,35825],{},"Instead of simply seeing the input \u002F output, you see everything involved. The inner-workings, so to speak, of a redirect event.",[14,35827,35828],{},"And you'd be surprised at how many times our SEO team has found 302 redirects contained within a redirect event.",[14,35830,35831,35832,35835],{},"This wrinkle - discovering potential 302 redirects - ",[52,35833,35834],{},"takes a compounding loss into a total loss"," for 301 redirect chains.",[14,35837,35838],{},"If we go by what most SEOs feel - that 302 redirects do not pass link value - then you're seeing a chain that breaks. One that stops simply siphoning your link juice away but instead just throws it all away.",[14,35840,35841],{},"Fortunately, there is a way to find redirect chains you might have and \"unwind\" them to maximize the amount of link juice you should be rightfully accruing. You'll also be able to find any 302 redirects that are hidden in redirect chains.",[24,35843,35845],{"id":35844},"how-to-fix-redirect-chains","How to Fix Redirect Chains",[14,35847,35848],{},"The following are two tactics you can use to identify any 301 redirect chain issues your website may have.",[81,35850,35852],{"id":35851},"for-large-websites-500-web-pages-or-more","For large websites (500 web pages or more)",[14,35854,35855],{},"You really need a tool here that helps automate the discovery process.",[14,35857,35858,35859,35863],{},"Fortunately, ",[206,35860,32483],{"href":35861,"rel":35862},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.screamingfrog.co.uk",[210]," (a personal and one that is a favorite for our entire SEO team) comes equipped with an easy-to-use way to find redirect chains and export them into an .xlsx for you to review.",[14,35865,35866],{},"You do need to configure Screaming Frog to follow any + all redirects it hits. To do so, navigate to:",[14,35868,35869],{},"Configuration >> Spider >> Advanced",[14,35871,35872],{},"And tick \"Always Follow Redirects.\"",[14,35874,35875],{},"Now - input the URL of the site into the \"Enter URL to spider\" box and start the crawl.",[14,35877,35878],{},"Once complete, you'll want to navigate to Reports >> Redirect Chains.",[14,35880,35881],{},"What you'll get is a Excel worksheet that outputs the following  (used a random website URL + replaced domain name for anonymity) :",[75,35883],{"src":35884},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fscreaming-frog-redirect-chain-output.webp",[14,35886,35887,35888,212],{},"In this example, you'll see that there are between two to three redirect chains found. As we figured above, you'll notice some 302s in the mix as well, which means ",[52,35889,35890],{},"there's no value being had from the redirect",[14,35892,35893],{},"Bonus here is that SEO spider can also find redirects for images. This is useful, particularly if you're looking to rank for universal results for keyword searches showing images on the search engine result page.",[14,35895,35896,35897,212],{},"Screaming Frog has an excellent resource walking you through this same process. ",[206,35898,35901],{"href":35899,"rel":35900},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.screamingfrog.co.uk\u002Faudit-redirects\u002F",[210],"You can see that here",[81,35903,35905],{"id":35904},"for-smaller-websites-specifically-you-do-not-have-access-to-screaming-frog-seo-spider","For smaller websites (specifically: you do not have access to Screaming Frog SEO Spider)",[14,35907,35908],{},"This is a bit tougher. You do not have access to Screaming Frog, which means you don't have access to a crawling tool.",[14,35910,35911,35912,35915],{},"What you should have access to is ",[206,35913,32498],{"href":32496,"rel":35914},[210],". This is Bing's version of Google Search Console. BWT offers a wealth of insight about your site on Bing.",[14,35917,35918,35919,212],{},"Importantly, for this exercise, is ",[206,35920,35923],{"href":35921,"rel":35922},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bing.com\u002Fwebmaster\u002Fhelp\u002Findex-explorer-e00d30b5",[210],"BWT's Index Explorer tool",[75,35925],{"src":35926},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fbing-webmaster-tools-index-explorer.webp",[14,35928,35929],{},"The following shows what BWT is reporting for our own website along with the \"301 redirects\" filer turned on (bolded)",[14,35931,35932],{},"By going to this view (Reports & Data >> Index Explorer), you'll be seeing a view of all of the URLs Bing's crawler tool has accessed on your website.",[14,35934,35935],{},"This helps our exercise because it also includes any 301 redirects the crawler has found.",[75,35937],{"src":35938},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fbing-webmaster-tools-index-explorer-URL-details.webp",[14,35940,35941],{},"This is the output shown when selecting a specific URL. Looks like an older URL, crawled three months ago with a 301 redirect HTTP code",[14,35943,35944,35945,35948],{},"Again, this is a useful view for a smaller website because it's quite manual. But what it will do is help you track down any 301 redirects search engines (Bing) has seen, last crawl, what the HTTP code was and ",[52,35946,35947],{},"even most important of all"," if there were any inbound links to the page.",[81,35950,35952],{"id":35951},"bonus-third-tactic-look-for-top-page-issues","Bonus third tactic: look for top page issues",[14,35954,35955,35956,35961],{},"If you want to look for low effort \u002F high impact redirect event instances, then navigate over to ",[206,35957,35960],{"href":35958,"rel":35959},"https:\u002F\u002Fmoz.com\u002Fresearchtools\u002Fose\u002F",[210],"Moz's Open Site Explorer tool",". Once there, input your home page URL then navigate to the \"Top Pages\" report.",[75,35963],{"src":35964},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fopen-site-explorer-http-status.webp",[14,35966,35967,35968,35971],{},"The list will automatically be sorted by page authority. This means ",[52,35969,35970],{},"any changes will be high impact ones",". I always investigate \"No data\" calls",[14,35973,35974],{},"If you find a 301 redirect chain or even a 302 in this list, boy oh boy, be on the lookout for some nice gains.",[24,35976,35978],{"id":35977},"measurement-strategy","Measurement Strategy",[14,35980,35981],{},"So you've audited your redirects, found some 301 redirect chain issues as well as discovered some 302s in the mix. You've collaborated with your IT team and they've fixed the problems.",[14,35983,35984],{},"Now what?",[14,35986,35987],{},"You should look at the following metrics for improving numbers. Benchmark where the numbers are now previous to your fix. Then look - at a weekly basis - to see how numbers change.",[14,35989,35990],{},"The metrics to look for improving numbers are:",[46,35992,35993,35996],{},[49,35994,35995],{},"Page authority of target URLs (e.g. the)",[49,35997,35998],{},"Overall domain authority",[14,36000,36001],{},"We've all been told: SEO is a long game. However, with 301 redirect chains, these changes can be reflected much quicker. Our SEO team has seen numbers start changing three weeks after a fix goes live, which in the SEO world is pretty darn fast.",[24,36003,36005],{"id":36004},"questions","Questions?",[14,36007,36008,36009,36014],{},"Feel free to reach out to me ",[206,36010,36013],{"href":36011,"rel":36012},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002Fchristianbk",[210],"on Twitter @christianbk"," and I can look to help OR comment below.",[24,36016,36018],{"id":36017},"ps-what-about-actually-fixing-fixing-the-redirects","P.S. What About Actually 'Fixing' Fixing The Redirects?",[14,36020,36021],{},"I consciously did not address this because, quite frankly, it's all about how your web server is set up, how your site is currently handling redirects (e.g. in a .htaccess file, as wildcards, etc.). I could spend an entire other blog post talking about this, quite frankly. But at its most basic point the 301 redirect chain fix process is:",[132,36023,36024,36027,36030],{},[49,36025,36026],{},"Remove the old redirect",[49,36028,36029],{},"Remove any of the \"chained\" redirects",[49,36031,36032],{},"Insert the new 1-to-1 redirect without the chain",[14,36034,36035],{},"This will then lead you to wonder:",[14,36037,36038],{},"\"What about the 'chained' redirect to the final URL?\"",[14,36040,36041],{},"You will then have to look and see where redirects of that URL are present in your list of redirects and make the change accordingly.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":36043},[36044,36045,36046,36047,36052,36053,36054],{"id":35687,"depth":291,"text":35688},{"id":35763,"depth":291,"text":35764},{"id":35818,"depth":291,"text":35819},{"id":35844,"depth":291,"text":35845,"children":36048},[36049,36050,36051],{"id":35851,"depth":297,"text":35852},{"id":35904,"depth":297,"text":35905},{"id":35951,"depth":297,"text":35952},{"id":35977,"depth":291,"text":35978},{"id":36004,"depth":291,"text":36005},{"id":36017,"depth":291,"text":36018},"2016-06-29","How one easy exercise can help drastically improve your website's ranking strength.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002F301-redirect-chains",{"title":35639,"description":36056},"Break 301 Redirect Chains","blog\u002Fseo\u002F301-redirect-chains","FRe2rixO3GqTWIJ4alGOS0-Wt9K1wLSd8P3jYbLhDqY",{"id":36064,"title":36065,"author":7,"authors":36066,"body":36067,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":36167,"description":36168,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":36169,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":36170,"seo":36171,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":36172,"updated":7,"__hash__":36173},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fmkg-google-premier-agency-partner.md","MKG: a Google Premier Agency Partner in 2016",[17174],{"type":11,"value":36068,"toc":36160},[36069,36073,36081,36085,36088,36091,36099,36103,36106,36109,36112,36128,36132,36135,36150,36154],[24,36070,36072],{"id":36071},"mkg-is-a-google-premier-agency-partner","MKG is a Google Premier Agency Partner",[14,36074,36075,36076],{},"Hot off the news wire: MKG has been named a ",[206,36077,36080],{"href":36078,"rel":36079},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fpartners\u002F?hl=en-US#a_profile;idtf=2090541156;",[210],"Google Premier Agency Partner!",[24,36082,36084],{"id":36083},"what-does-this-mean","What does this mean?",[14,36086,36087],{},"Google has changed the support process for their Google Ads, Analytics and Tag Manager products. In the past, every Google Agency partner had a dedicated account manager that stayed on the account for 30-90 days and then transitioned off to another agency account. This left a major onboarding\u002Fsupport gap nearly once per quarter (and 4 times in any given calendar year) for Agencies and the end client.\nAfter getting a lot of qualitative feedback on the ineffectiveness of this program, Google decided to not offer dedicated account managers to every single agency partner beginning in May of 2016.",[14,36089,36090],{},"Now, only 30% of all identified agencies receive dedicated Google account support. These agencies are considered Google Agency partners.",[14,36092,36093,36094,36098],{},"Of those 30%, only 10% are considered ",[206,36095,36097],{"href":36078,"rel":36096},[210],"Premier Agency Partners"," - we are one of them!",[24,36100,36102],{"id":36101},"what-does-this-status-get-you","What does this status get you?",[14,36104,36105],{},"Our status as a Google Premier Agency partner allows us to access resources that only a select few partners have access to.",[14,36107,36108],{},"The best part? This is NOT just limited to Google Ads support!",[14,36110,36111],{},"See the resources that we, MKG Marketing, have access to below:",[46,36113,36114,36117,36120],{},[49,36115,36116],{},"Google Analytics: Technical support for Google Analytics standard and Data Studio (standard). As many marketers know, Google Analytics support for their standard suite of products is non-existent. Our Premier status unlocks resources that are impossible to access without a Premier agency partner.",[49,36118,36119],{},"Google Tag Manager: Technical support for the Google Tag Manager product, regardless if you are deploying a Google product tag or another vendor tag.",[49,36121,36122,36123,36127],{},"Google Ads: Get a 1st look at all new ",[206,36124,36126],{"href":36125},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fcase-study-what-8-mm-in-sales-taught-us-about-youtube-advertising\u002F","beta products (such as offline conversion tracking",", new ad products, etc), support for new\u002Fexisting campaigns, unlimited translation of campaigns into any language (for free) and more. Really the access to beta products itself is worth it's weight in gold, as these opportunities are at our fingertips months (or even years) before they are available to other Google customers.",[24,36129,36131],{"id":36130},"a-few-benefits-that-we-glossed-over","A few benefits that we glossed over",[14,36133,36134],{},"I know this is all a lot to take in. But as Billy Mays used to say … “But wait … there’s more!”",[46,36136,36137,36140,36143],{},[49,36138,36139],{},"Translation Services for FREE: We have access to human, on-the-ground translation services provided by Google for more than 30 different major languages spoken across the globe. For any of our clients that run Search Network, Display Network or Video campaigns we can tap into those translation resources (Google employees in the field) to translate any Google Ads campaign copy as well as check for geo-political factors in the Google Ads creative (display, text and video). Most translation services charge $0.05 to $0.20 per word to translate Google Ads creative - we are able to cut that expenditure for our clients.",[49,36141,36142],{},"Unpublished Industry Research: Our Google account manager can share unpublished industry research for all Google Ads campaigns specific to a client, industry or category. This is especially helpful for benchmarking your performance against other advertisers across the Display, Video and Search Networks.",[49,36144,36145,36146,36149],{},"Digital (and Physical) Events: With a single phone call we can bring google resources to a virtual or physical meeting to provide strategic and\u002For technical support for your Google Ads, Analytics and Tag Manager needs. All you have to do is ask and ",[38,36147,36148],{},"voila"," Google will whisk off a dedicated human resource to help solve any issues you are having.",[24,36151,36153],{"id":36152},"want-to-know-more","Want to know more?",[14,36155,36156,36157,36159],{},"Then give us a call at 415-678-1331 or email Mike Krass at ",[206,36158,34934],{"href":34933}," to pose any problem your company needs help solving across Google Ads, Analytics and Tag Manager.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":36161},[36162,36163,36164,36165,36166],{"id":36071,"depth":291,"text":36072},{"id":36083,"depth":291,"text":36084},{"id":36101,"depth":291,"text":36102},{"id":36130,"depth":291,"text":36131},{"id":36152,"depth":291,"text":36153},"2016-06-27","MKG has been named a Google Premier Agency Partner! Read what this means for you as a client.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fmkg-google-premier-agency-partner",{"title":36065,"description":36168},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fmkg-google-premier-agency-partner","X7TB0gcymeb6u8M6Xu9GOm0Z032FwkMXq9NY4jVZXDE",{"id":36175,"title":36176,"author":7,"authors":36177,"body":36178,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":36372,"description":36373,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":36374,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":36375,"seo":36376,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":36377,"stem":36378,"updated":7,"__hash__":36379},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fword-count-seo.md","Word Counts for SEO: How Many Words Should Your Content \u002F SEO Elements Be?",[31451],{"type":11,"value":36179,"toc":36362},[36180,36183,36186,36189,36193,36196,36199,36216,36219,36222,36232,36237,36248,36253,36257,36260,36263,36267,36293,36297,36318,36322,36336,36340,36352,36356,36359],[14,36181,36182],{},"When it comes to SEO copywriting, know that there really isn't a hard set amount of words by page depth rule in place.",[14,36184,36185],{},"For SEO elements such as title tags and meta descriptions, there definitely are limits you want to look to not exceed.",[14,36187,36188],{},"What follows in this ultimate guide for SEO word counts are guidelines to help you make the most out of web page elements and content for SEO. This resource will continue to be updated when any new algorithm updates are made.",[24,36190,36192],{"id":36191},"seo-copywriting-for-content","SEO Copywriting for Content",[14,36194,36195],{},"The following are loose guideline to follow by page depth. This is because each website is different, and the user intent by page is going to also influence how many words you want to realistically display.",[14,36197,36198],{},"Our word count guidelines by page depth are as follows:",[46,36200,36201,36204,36207,36210,36213],{},[49,36202,36203],{},"Home page: 250 words",[49,36205,36206],{},"Primary level: 300 words",[49,36208,36209],{},"Secondary level: 350 words",[49,36211,36212],{},"Tertiary level: 400 words",[49,36214,36215],{},"Quaternary and deeper levels: 450 words",[14,36217,36218],{},"How we label page depth: domain.com\u002Fprimary\u002Fsecondary\u002Ftertiary\u002Fquaternary)",[14,36220,36221],{},"The following are facts that support our recommended word count guidelines:",[46,36223,36224],{},[49,36225,36226,36227,6109],{},"Google (in this case, John Mueller, Webmaster Trends Analyst at Google and one of the more outspoken employees who actually speaks about SEO) does not look for a specific number of words per page. They focus more on quality. ",[206,36228,36231],{"href":36229,"rel":36230},"https:\u002F\u002Fproductforums.google.com\u002Fforum\u002F#!topic\u002Fwebmasters\u002FZOfwb2gaOeo",[210],"Quote from John",[24025,36233,36234],{},[14,36235,36236],{},"There's no minimum length, and there's no minimum number of articles a day that you have to post, nor even a minimum number of pages on a website. In most cases, quality is better than quantity. Our algorithms explicitly try to find and recommend websites that provide content that's of high quality, unique, and compelling to users. Don't fill your site with low-quality content, instead work on making sure that your site is the absolute best of its kind.",[46,36238,36239],{},[49,36240,36241,36242,36247],{},"Google employs actual humans as \"quality raters\" to help make manual changes to search engine results. They follow a document with guidelines to help them make decisions. In this quality rater guidelines document (",[206,36243,36246],{"href":36244,"rel":36245},"https:\u002F\u002Fstatic.googleusercontent.com\u002Fmedia\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fen\u002F\u002Finsidesearch\u002Fhowsearchworks\u002Fassets\u002Fsearchqualityevaluatorguidelines.pdf",[210],"download the ~140 page PDF here, if interested","), it is stated:",[24025,36249,36250],{},[14,36251,36252],{},"An unsatisfying amount of MC (main content) is a sufficient reason to give a page a Low quality rating. This means that if a page is lacking in main content on the page, it can be a negative ranking factor.",[24,36254,36256],{"id":36255},"seo-element-word-character-counts","SEO Element Word \u002F Character Counts",[14,36258,36259],{},"The following are guidelines the MKG team follows when constructing two of the most important on-page SEO elements: a web page's title tag and a web page's meta description tag.",[14,36261,36262],{},"Know that the following elements of each web page should be unique. Duplication leads to search engine confusion, which leads to page cannibalization and sending a weaker signal to search engines as to what pages should rank for different keywords.",[81,36264,36266],{"id":36265},"title-tag-guidelines","Title Tag Guidelines",[46,36268,36269,36272,36275,36278,36281,36290],{},[49,36270,36271],{},"A title tag is your indicated clickable text for a web page's organic listing; search engines may chose to change it based on the query.",[49,36273,36274],{},"Write a title tag to be descriptive and make the searcher want to click on it.",[49,36276,36277],{},"The actual characters can exceed 55 characters; just know that an ellipsis will be displayed.",[49,36279,36280],{},"A search engine spider will crawl and \"read\" the entire tag content.",[49,36282,36283,36284,36289],{},"Ranking weight ",[206,36285,36288],{"href":36286,"rel":36287},"https:\u002F\u002Fahrefs.com\u002Fblog\u002Fon-page-seo\u002F",[210],"used to give priority to keywords used in the beginning of the tag",". This correlative factor is decreasing. As long as a keyword phrase is used anywhere in the tag, it will be effective.",[49,36291,36292],{},"A title tag remains one of the most important on-page SEO ranking factors.",[81,36294,36296],{"id":36295},"meta-description-tag-guidelines","Meta Description Tag Guidelines",[46,36298,36299,36302,36305,36312,36315],{},[49,36300,36301],{},"A meta description displays anywhere from 130-165 characters as a page's \"descriptive snippet\" in a web page's organic listing, based on pixel width of characters used.",[49,36303,36304],{},"The meta description may not show despite having one in place if search engines feel as if it doesn't match a user's query (in which case search engines will grab text from the page that they believe is the best relevancy for the query).",[49,36306,36307,36308,36311],{},"The keyword phrase you're targeting should be used anywhere in the text. If a keyword phrase that is used is matched to a user's query, ",[52,36309,36310],{},"that keyword phrase will be bold"," in your descriptive snippet.",[49,36313,36314],{},"A meta description tag carries no ranking weight.",[49,36316,36317],{},"A meta description tag can influence a page's click through rate greatly .",[81,36319,36321],{"id":36320},"text-headline-h1-tag-guidelines","Text Headline (H1) Tag Guidelines",[46,36323,36324,36327,36330,36333],{},[49,36325,36326],{},"No character restriction for this tag.",[49,36328,36329],{},"To test length: go to the page in a desktop browser window and on a mobile device. Make a UX-based decision.",[49,36331,36332],{},"Keyword phrase or keyword with modifier should be included in this tag.",[49,36334,36335],{},"One a single H1 tag instance should be used in a web page code.",[81,36337,36339],{"id":36338},"text-sub-headline-h2-h3-etc-tag-guidelines","Text Sub-Headline (H2, H3, etc.) Tag Guidelines",[46,36341,36342,36344,36346,36349],{},[49,36343,36326],{},[49,36345,36329],{},[49,36347,36348],{},"Topical terms should be used in these tags.",[49,36350,36351],{},"Don't make the page seem robotic in nature by using the keyword phrase + modifier in sub-headlines. Think about UX first then think if you can use a topical term.",[24,36353,36355],{"id":36354},"help-us-help-you","Help Us Help You",[14,36357,36358],{},"Did we not cover something you're curious about? Let us know in the comments below and we can update this guide accordingly.",[14,36360,36361],{},"Happy SEO word \u002F character counting!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":36363},[36364,36365,36371],{"id":36191,"depth":291,"text":36192},{"id":36255,"depth":291,"text":36256,"children":36366},[36367,36368,36369,36370],{"id":36265,"depth":297,"text":36266},{"id":36295,"depth":297,"text":36296},{"id":36320,"depth":297,"text":36321},{"id":36338,"depth":297,"text":36339},{"id":36354,"depth":291,"text":36355},"2016-06-21","How to ensure your seo title and meta description get impressions and clicks but not exceeding word count limits.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fword-count-seo",{"title":36176,"description":36373},"Word Counts for SEO","blog\u002Fseo\u002Fword-count-seo","YahPK5QgwSGnSnPViPVfoK7bi6oAJMcHjU14u5A_P2U",{"id":36381,"title":36382,"author":7,"authors":36383,"body":36384,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":36529,"description":36530,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":36531,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":36532,"seo":36533,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":36534,"updated":7,"__hash__":36535},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fcase-study-what-8-mm-in-sales-taught-us-about-youtube-advertising.md","YouTube Advertising",[17174],{"type":11,"value":36385,"toc":36522},[36386,36390,36398,36401,36418,36421,36425,36428,36431,36434,36437,36443,36446,36450,36458,36461,36467,36470,36473,36476,36490,36493,36497,36500,36503,36506,36512,36516],[24,36387,36389],{"id":36388},"youtube-is-the-2nd-largest-search-engine-in-the-world","YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world",[14,36391,36392,36393,36397],{},"Second only to ",[206,36394,30173],{"href":36395,"rel":36396},"https:\u002F\u002Fsearchengineland.com\u002Fyoutube-ranking-factors-getting-ranked-second-largest-search-engine-225533",[210],", naturally :)",[14,36399,36400],{},"So we decided to share some \"rules of the road\" based on campaign data from 8 clients in the Consumer Package Goods (CPG), Retail and Ecommerce verticals. These 8 campaigns racked up:",[46,36402,36403,36406,36409,36412,36415],{},[49,36404,36405],{},"More than 23,000,000 paid views",[49,36407,36408],{},"Over $8,000,000 in physical, retail store transactions",[49,36410,36411],{},"Triple-digit boosts in (direct) and Natural Search Engine traffic to our clients website",[49,36413,36414],{},"Average Return-on-Ad-Spend (ROAS) of 3x",[49,36416,36417],{},"Average of $3 in ecommerce revenue for every single impression served",[14,36419,36420],{},"Keep on reading to learn what our study of these eight clients and campaigns found.",[24,36422,36424],{"id":36423},"youtube-campaigns-generally-bump-search-engine-activity-by-2x-5x","YouTube Campaigns Generally Bump Search Engine Activity by 2x - 5x",[14,36426,36427],{},"The two clients that contributed to this study operate in the retail and CPG verticals, and their KPIs were to generate more in-store foot traffic to buy their products off a physical shelf.",[14,36429,36430],{},"While the two campaigns brought in more than  $8,000,000 (a 9x ROAS) in measurable retail sales lift, there was a secondary benefit that we did not anticipate: Major spikes in Natural and Paid Search traffic.",[14,36432,36433],{},"The retail product say a boost of 5x (515%, to be exact) in the number of Paid Search visitors that were making it to their website. The only thing that changed across their entire marketing mix? Investing in YouTube TrueView video campaigns.",[14,36435,36436],{},"The CPG client didn't do too badly themselves either: They saw a 2x bump in Natural Search traffic to their website. Same story on the marketing mix -  not a single change  besides investing in YouTube TrueView campaigns.",[14,36438,36439,36440],{},"We'd love to see if this secondary benefit is constant for all of our client campaigns over the next six months or so, but needless to say our study uncovered the fact that ",[52,36441,36442],{},"running YouTube Video Campaigns boosts Natural and Paid Search performance.",[14,36444,36445],{},"Wait back up ... did we say we can measure retail sales lift off YouTube video campaigns?",[24,36447,36449],{"id":36448},"trueview-campaigns-can-link-youtube-video-ads-with-retail-transactions","TrueView Campaigns Can Link YouTube Video Ads with Retail Transactions",[14,36451,36452,36453,36457],{},"While ",[206,36454,36456],{"href":36395,"rel":36455},[210],"Google did  set a beta program for Search Network"," into the wild that tracked offline (i.e. retail) activity at the end of 2015, we hadn't heard too much about this being rolled out for YouTube or Video Pre-Roll ads anytime soon.",[14,36459,36460],{},"Until now :)",[14,36462,36463,36464,36466],{},"Based on an NDA we've signed with our Google agency reps, we can't publish too too many details about 'how the sausage is made', so to speak. [If you want those details you're welcome to shoot me an email and ask]('mailto:",[206,36465,34934],{"href":34933},"?subject=Youtube in-store transaction post').",[14,36468,36469],{},"But needless to say, our team has been selected from a handful of Google agency partners (literally, ONE hand full) as certified  beta partners on this program.",[14,36471,36472],{},"And the ROAS and match rates are  solid.",[14,36474,36475],{},"Without giving too much away, here's how Google is able to track offline, retail transactions against Video campaigns:",[132,36477,36478,36481,36484,36487],{},[49,36479,36480],{},"Google partners with TWO independent, third-party data providers that bring in Credit Card and Loyalty\u002FMember card data from big-box retail stores and supermarkets of all sizes",[49,36482,36483],{},"The advertiser can segment their video ads to a control and test segment within specific zip codes. You'd want to focus your zips within 10 miles of retail locations where your product is sold.",[49,36485,36486],{},"The recommended timeframe is to serve video ads for 90 days, pausing campaigns on day 91 and instituting a 30 day \"dark\" policy where no campaign impressions are served",[49,36488,36489],{},"Circling back around to the third-party data partners ... Google provides a \"clean room\" at the conclusion of the campaign to measure all your campaign metrics (clicks, views, completions, etc) as well as ingest and process all the Credit Card and Loyalty card data to measure sales bumps in the key zip codes you've outlined",[14,36491,36492],{},"Being completely honest: Is this something that is brand spanking new? NO! (see the aforementioned Search Network beta last Winter).But the match rates on users and retail transactions are higher than any solution we've seen to date, which is extremely encouraging for CPG brands that need to justify their budgets and allocate resources where performance is best.",[24,36494,36496],{"id":36495},"trueview-campaigns-drive-ecommerce-activityexceptionally-wellfor-marketplace-businesses","TrueView Campaigns Drive Ecommerce Activity Exceptionally Well for Marketplace Businesses",[14,36498,36499],{},"Four of the eight clients included in this study represented a marketplace: Flowers, furniture, packaged foods and clothing (to be specific).",[14,36501,36502],{},"These marketplace businesses averages a ROAS of 3x for every dollar spent (right at the study average of ~3x) and we were able to actually measure revenue per impression ($3 earned for every impression earned - papow!)",[14,36504,36505],{},"And while it's still a relatively small sample size (eight clients\u002Fcampaigns of millions on YouTube each year), marketplace businesses tended to OVER-deliver against the Sales Forecasts put forward by our end clients. The study average was a sales increase of 7x in any given market, whereas marketplaces tended to see sales increases closer to 10x the target.",[14,36507,36508,36509],{},"Again, our sample size is fairly small. But what this tells us is that ",[52,36510,36511],{},"marketplace businesses (with many SKUs and product lines) are fantastic businesses to run YouTube TrueView campaigns against.",[24,36513,36515],{"id":36514},"have-some-more-questions","Have some more questions?",[14,36517,36518,36519,36521],{},"[Shoot me an email and ask nicely :)]('mailto:",[206,36520,34934],{"href":34933},"?subject=Youtube in-store transaction post')",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":36523},[36524,36525,36526,36527,36528],{"id":36388,"depth":291,"text":36389},{"id":36423,"depth":291,"text":36424},{"id":36448,"depth":291,"text":36449},{"id":36495,"depth":291,"text":36496},{"id":36514,"depth":291,"text":36515},"2016-06-13","YouTube advertising based on campaign. data from 8 clients, with MKG Marketing.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fcase-study-what-8-mm-in-sales-taught-us-about-youtube-advertising",{"title":36382,"description":36530},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fcase-study-what-8-mm-in-sales-taught-us-about-youtube-advertising","yZJEZ6kVL0HyDDxPfJcy8yOM_IfGqFsVsa-iuQ9UKZw",{"id":36537,"title":36538,"author":7,"authors":36539,"body":36540,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":36640,"description":77,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":36641,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":36642,"seo":36643,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":36644,"updated":7,"__hash__":36645},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fwe-have-to-go-back-adam-bullock-is-back.md","We Have to Go Back! Adam Bullock is BACK",[24268],{"type":11,"value":36541,"toc":36636},[36542,36545,36548,36552,36558,36561,36564,36584,36587,36592,36595,36600,36604,36607,36614,36622,36625,36628],[75,36543],{"src":36544},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Flost-we-have-to-go-back.gif",[14,36546,36547],{},"It's my second time with MKG Marketing and I could not be more thrilled to be working with this exceptional team!",[24,36549,36551],{"id":36550},"professional-background","Professional Background",[14,36553,36554,36557],{},[75,36555],{"src":36556},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Ftwins.webp"," Adam's on the top, Christian below. We took pictures of each eating breakfast. We're like that.",[14,36559,36560],{},"My name is Adam Bullock and I've been in the digital marketing game for quite some time, ever since I graduated from Washington State University (Go Cougs!) in 2005, in fact. I've spent time in the financial industry working with heavily regulated industries, at an ad agency working with local businesses, along with experience in the ecommerce realm running paid advertising over a couple of holidays.",[14,36562,36563],{},"In many professional career, I've been:",[46,36565,36566,36569,36572,36575,36578,36581],{},[49,36567,36568],{},"the paid advertising guy",[49,36570,36571],{},"the search engine optimization guy",[49,36573,36574],{},"the email marketing guy",[49,36576,36577],{},"the coffee guy ( gotta keep that pot full )",[49,36579,36580],{},"the content guy",[49,36582,36583],{},"and even the website guy",[14,36585,36586],{},"I love the simplicity and value of a good a\u002Fb test... and it just so happens my initials are AB.",[14,36588,36589],{},[52,36590,36591],{},"COINCIDENCE?",[14,36593,36594],{},"And finally, Christian Bullock, the Director or SEO here at MKG Marketing, is my twin brother.",[24025,36596,36597],{},[14,36598,36599],{},"I know some clients wish he had a clone and I'm happy to inform them that he kind of does.\nHere at MKG I'm the paid advertising guy with a little search engine optimization guy tossed in for good measure.",[24,36601,36603],{"id":36602},"personal-interests","Personal Interests",[14,36605,36606],{},"I'm currently enrolled as a graduate student at City University of Seattle in their Master in Teaching program, and studying to become a special education teacher. While marketing is a passion of mine, I'm looking forward to obtaining my teaching credentials and working with children with special needs. It remains to be seen if I'll find a way to transition to a life that includes both teaching and marketing, but doubt that my love for advertising will ever just fade away.",[14,36608,36609,36610,36613],{},"Don't worry, though, I'm ",[52,36611,36612],{},"all in"," when it comes to MKG Marketing, Inc.! I'm just spotlighting as a special education teacher in training on the weekends ( and sometimes very late nights... ).",[14,36615,36616,36617,212],{},"Aside from a massive amount of schoolwork and time in the classroom, I'm a mentor with 4Results Mentoring of Vancouver, Washington. So many children in the world need a positive influence, someone to listen, and someone to look up to. Consider becoming a mentor and make a difference in the life of a child. If you're in the Portland, Oregon\u002FVancouver, Washington area, I wholeheartedly recommend you checking out ",[206,36618,36621],{"href":36619,"rel":36620},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.4resultsmentoring.org\u002F",[210],"4Results Mentoring",[14,36623,36624],{},"I'm a parent, a husband, an uncle, a son, and a brother, and take each of those very seriously :)",[14,36626,36627],{},"I enjoy reading, good ( and yes, admittedly, kind of terrible ) television, and playing ice hockey.",[14,36629,36630,36631,36635],{},"Drop me a tweet at ",[206,36632,30333],{"href":36633,"rel":36634},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.twitter.com\u002FMrAdamBullock",[210]," if you have any digital marketing questions, want to chat The Bachelor\u002Fette (I told you,  terrible television), or want to say hi!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":36637},[36638,36639],{"id":36550,"depth":291,"text":36551},{"id":36602,"depth":291,"text":36603},"2016-05-31",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fwe-have-to-go-back-adam-bullock-is-back",{"title":36538,"description":77},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fwe-have-to-go-back-adam-bullock-is-back","UKP7xThLRMZbG_7yrHKQfsOfubmp8nhCMfCguuLaPcs",{"id":36647,"title":36648,"author":7,"authors":36649,"body":36650,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":36687,"description":36654,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":36688,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":36689,"seo":36690,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":36691,"updated":7,"__hash__":36692},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fnew-team-member-jessica-ward.md","New Team Member: Jessica Ward",[24263],{"type":11,"value":36651,"toc":36683},[36652,36655,36658,36660,36669,36672,36674],[14,36653,36654],{},"I know what you’re thinking, “She’s not new. I’ve been working with her since at least November, maybe even October.”",[14,36656,36657],{},"Well, you’re right! We've just been so busy, that I haven't been able to write this post until now. :)",[24,36659,36551],{"id":36550},[14,36661,36662,36663,36668],{},"I got the opportunity to work in digital marketing right out of college and haven’t looked back. I’ve worked in-house and at agencies. I’ve worked with companies that specialize in healthcare, SaaS products, consumer goods, and so many others that I’m having a hard time remembering them all at the time of this writing. I’m currently on the board for ",[206,36664,36667],{"href":36665,"rel":36666},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sempdx.org\u002F",[210],"SEMpdx",", a professional organization based in Portland, Oregon dedicated to informing and educating the community about Digital Marketing.",[14,36670,36671],{},"At MKG, I am the SEM Manager and Digital Strategist. Which means that I guide the strategy for our Paid Media accounts (paid search, display advertising, and social advertising) and also help with the every day management of these accounts.",[24,36673,36603],{"id":36602},[14,36675,36676,36677,36682],{},"I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, partaking in the many activities that Pacific Northwest affords its residents, reading a great book, and dancing around the house with my son. I also enjoy volunteering for ",[206,36678,36681],{"href":36679,"rel":36680},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org\u002F",[210],"Shriner's Hospital for Children in Portland",", which is an amazing organization. If you don't know about the services they provide, make sure to check out their website.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":36684},[36685,36686],{"id":36550,"depth":291,"text":36551},{"id":36602,"depth":291,"text":36603},"2016-05-17",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fnew-team-member-jessica-ward",{"title":36648,"description":36654},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fnew-team-member-jessica-ward","k2VJSvZQ0iJta3PZnA1QJ-ShfWyrP2LbBYcRUxw5dsA",{"id":36694,"title":36695,"author":7,"authors":36696,"body":36697,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":36756,"description":36757,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":36758,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":36759,"seo":36760,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":36761,"stem":36762,"updated":7,"__hash__":36763},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002F301-redirect-chains-intro.md","301 Redirect Chains, Intro to an Advanced SEO Topic",[17174],{"type":11,"value":36698,"toc":36753},[36699,36702,36716,36720,36723,36726,36729,36732,36735,36738,36741,36744,36747],[14,36700,36701],{},"This is a little bit of a teaser post, but we wanted to go over the concept of what a 301 redirect chain is.\nMore specifically:",[46,36703,36704,36707,36710,36713],{},[49,36705,36706],{},"What it is",[49,36708,36709],{},"Impact on your website",[49,36711,36712],{},"Impact on page authority",[49,36714,36715],{},"Whenever you're doing any type of site migration or if you're changing URLs a lot, how it's critical to look into this element and make sure none of the 301 redirects you have in place are chaining.",[24,36717,36719],{"id":36718},"so301-redirect-chains","So 301 redirect chains:",[14,36721,36722],{},"I'm going to give you a little bit of a tease here.",[14,36724,36725],{},"Essentially, you can think of a 301 redirect like this:",[14,36727,36728],{},"You go to from an old URL to a new URL. From a user standpoint, it's hardly noticeable. For a search engine one, it's definitely noticeable. A 301 redirect is like giving the post office a change of address card to search engines.",[14,36730,36731],{},"In this scenario you will retain anywhere from ninety-five to ninety-nine percent of any and all link authority and the page authority of that old URL.",[14,36733,36734],{},"With a redirect chain, you amplify the loss by two, three, four, five, six times.",[14,36736,36737],{},"Essentially you have knowingly (or unknowingly) set up a 301 redirect to a URL with another 301 redirect. This is a 2 chain redirect.",[14,36739,36740],{},"Now for a worst-case scenario: If you have a chain of five, you're only retaining sixty to seventy-five-ish percent of that page authority! If you're talking about a whole bunch of URLs that could have a significant impact on your website.",[14,36742,36743],{},"That's a little bit of a teaser of what we're going to be talking about in a future post. The next post will go deeper on the definition of a redirect chain, how to run a couple of reports using some free tools you may or may not have access to to find those 301 redirect chains, and how to fix them.",[14,36745,36746],{},"PS: If you want to read the only thorough review of this topic that I've ever found, read Dan Shure's \"Stop pulling my redirect chain!\"",[14,36748,36749],{},[206,36750,36751],{"href":36751,"rel":36752},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.google.com\u002Fwebmasters\u002Fanswer\u002F6033086?hl=en",[210],{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":36754},[36755],{"id":36718,"depth":291,"text":36719},"2016-04-26","This is a little bit of a teaser post, but we wanted to go over the concept of what a 301 redirect chain is.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002F301-redirect-chains-intro",{"title":36695,"description":36757},"What Are 301 Redirect Chains?","blog\u002Fseo\u002F301-redirect-chains-intro","zy-6dSPP7bzGE8I4n3HChsoWk7byqOEoUNtuFMEyfAg",{"id":36765,"title":36766,"author":7,"authors":36767,"body":36768,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":36875,"description":36876,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":36877,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":36878,"seo":36879,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":36880,"stem":36881,"updated":7,"__hash__":36882},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fvalue-based-pricing.md","Value Based Pricing for Marketing Agencies",[17174],{"type":11,"value":36769,"toc":36869},[36770,36778,36783,36791,36794,36798,36812,36815,36832,36836,36839,36844,36848,36851,36862,36866],[14,36771,36772,36777],{},[206,36773,36776],{"href":36774,"rel":36775},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FTheodore_Levitt",[210],"Ted Levitt from Harvard"," said it best:",[24025,36779,36780],{},[14,36781,36782],{},"...nobody ever buys a three-quarter-inch drill; they buy the expectation of a three-quarter-inch hole.",[14,36784,36785,36786,36790],{},"Traditionally ",[206,36787,36789],{"href":36788},"\u002Fexpert-digital-marketing-services\u002F","marketing services and consulting contracts","were priced in hours; each hour represented a single unit of billable time.",[14,36792,36793],{},"Makes sense, right?",[24,36795,36797],{"id":36796},"not-according-to-tim-williams","Not according to Tim Williams!",[14,36799,36800,36801,36806,36807,212],{},"Tim runs ",[206,36802,36805],{"href":36803,"rel":36804},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ignitiongroup.com\u002F",[210],"Ignition Group",", a consulting firm that consults with (ironically) ad and marketing agencies. And Tim says that selling ",[206,36808,36811],{"href":36809,"rel":36810},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fpulse\u002F20140818014955-2042198-why-outcomes-are-worth-more-than-services",[210],"outcomes  is far more accurate than selling services",[14,36813,36814],{},"Outcomes take the form of ...",[132,36816,36817,36820,36823,36826,36829],{},[49,36818,36819],{},"Business outcomes",[49,36821,36822],{},"Marketing specific",[49,36824,36825],{},"Customer related",[49,36827,36828],{},"Channel specific",[49,36830,36831],{},"Internal victories or political moves",[24,36833,36835],{"id":36834},"the-mkg-team-tends-to-agree-with-tim","The MKG Team Tends to Agree With Tim",[14,36837,36838],{},"Regardless of the specific type of services we contract with our clients, no 2 projects ever begin and end exactly the same.",[24025,36840,36841],{},[14,36842,36843],{},"In other words, no two contracts are ever alike",[24,36845,36847],{"id":36846},"so-how-do-we-price-our-contracts","So how do we price our contracts?",[14,36849,36850],{},"The variables we consider from a value and outcomes standpoint include:",[46,36852,36853,36856,36859],{},[49,36854,36855],{},"Unique-ness of the Scope of Work: Is this pretty straightforward or will it be highly custom based on what this client needs?",[49,36857,36858],{},"Outcome Desired: What are we asking to do here - grow traffic\u002Frankings nominally or affect bigger impact?",[49,36860,36861],{},"Total resources required: This includes human resources (hours invested), internal stakeholder resources (client marketing + engineering teams), tools and other financial resources we're likely to expend on the project",[24,36863,36865],{"id":36864},"how-does-your-company-purchase-consulting-services","How does your company purchase consulting services?",[14,36867,36868],{},"Share how you purchase consulting services in the comments section below.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":36870},[36871,36872,36873,36874],{"id":36796,"depth":291,"text":36797},{"id":36834,"depth":291,"text":36835},{"id":36846,"depth":291,"text":36847},{"id":36864,"depth":291,"text":36865},"2016-01-20","How brands and digital marketing agencies can build trust by having agencies get paid based on the client's outcomes.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fvalue-based-pricing",{"title":36766,"description":36876},"Digital Marketing Value Based Pricing","blog\u002Fnews\u002Fvalue-based-pricing","Cmm2f4XVQh7x05iaYRnpzE9JZwEqP_cVc9Mqmi4rLBY",{"id":36884,"title":36885,"author":7,"authors":36886,"body":36887,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":36928,"description":36929,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":36930,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":36931,"seo":36932,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":36933,"updated":7,"__hash__":36934},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Four-newest-addition-chris-trammell.md","The Newest Addition to MKG: Chris Trammell",[17174],{"type":11,"value":36888,"toc":36924},[36889,36893,36896,36907,36910,36914,36921],[24,36890,36892],{"id":36891},"i-joined-the-mkg-team-at-the-start-of-the-year-as-their-digital-marketing-strategist-intern","I joined the MKG team at the start of the year as their Digital Marketing Strategist intern.",[14,36894,36895],{},"A bit about myself:",[46,36897,36898,36901,36904],{},[49,36899,36900],{},"Before joining MKG, I spent two years with BBVA Compass Bank. I worked in their customer analytics division.",[49,36902,36903],{},"At BBVA, I helped build out the customer segmentation rules. We work with the retail banking division to develop reporting around product usage, cross-sell rates, retention, and other KPIs critical to marketing initiatives.",[49,36905,36906],{},"Did I forget to mention? I have three years experience in data mining and marketing analytics :)",[14,36908,36909],{},"Working at BBVA helped to sharpen my data mining and analytics skill set.  This in my core focus here at MKG; supporting our the analytics efforts for SEO and SEM clients.",[24,36911,36913],{"id":36912},"okay-let-me-tell-you-about-myself-outside-of-work","Okay ... let me tell you about myself outside of work",[14,36915,36916,36917],{},"When I am not building out marketing campaigns, I like to run trails and brew my own beer.  I also follow the financial markets and enjoy listening to talking heads make predictions they know nothing about.  You can find me on LinkedIn and ",[206,36918,21748],{"href":36919,"rel":36920},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002F@T_rammell",[210],[14,36922,36923],{},"Last but not least: I hold an MBA from the Berlin School of Economics and Law. Before living in Germany I earned an M.A. in Economics from the University of Alabama.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":36925},[36926,36927],{"id":36891,"depth":291,"text":36892},{"id":36912,"depth":291,"text":36913},"2016-01-06","Meet Chris Trammell. Our newest MKG addition from BBVA has joined to sharpen our Analytics Capabilities.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Four-newest-addition-chris-trammell",{"title":36885,"description":36929},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Four-newest-addition-chris-trammell","IxI8XPRYS1Jacw6rKuQgQDBfcrKVi4_r8OHdD9N0Z_Y",{"id":36936,"title":36937,"author":7,"authors":36938,"body":36939,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":37060,"description":36943,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":37061,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":37062,"seo":37063,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":37064,"stem":37065,"updated":7,"__hash__":37066},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fcreating-a-new-google-analytics-property-using-google-tag-manager-gtm.md","Creating a New Google Analytics Property Using Google Tag Manager (GTM)",[24263],{"type":11,"value":36940,"toc":37053},[36941,36944,36949,36952,36956,36973,36976,36980,36991,36994,36998,37001,37014,37018,37046,37050],[14,36942,36943],{},"Understanding how many people visit your website and what they do when they get there is important for everyone from the part-time blogger to the corporate CEO.",[24025,36945,36946],{},[14,36947,36948],{},"That's where Google Analytics comes into play - a robust, free tool that can help you understand the performance of your website.",[14,36950,36951],{},"This tutorial will help you create a new Google Analytics property using Google Tag Manager (GTM).",[24,36953,36955],{"id":36954},"step-1-create-new-property-in-google-analytics","Step 1: Create New Property in Google Analytics",[132,36957,36958,36967,36970],{},[49,36959,36960,36961,36966],{},"Go to the Admin section of ",[206,36962,36965],{"href":36963,"rel":36964},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fanalytics\u002F",[210],"Google Analytics"," and ensure you are in the correct account.",[49,36968,36969],{},"Click on Create New Property and complete the form for the new property.",[49,36971,36972],{},"Make note of the new property Tracking ID - designated with UA.",[75,36974],{"src":36975},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FGA-Create-New-Property.webp",[24,36977,36979],{"id":36978},"step-2-create-new-container-in-gtm","Step 2: Create New Container in GTM",[132,36981,36982,36985,36988],{},[49,36983,36984],{},"Login to Google Tag Manager and scroll down to the correct account.",[49,36986,36987],{},"Click on Create Container and complete the form for the new container.",[49,36989,36990],{},"Click on the new container name to update the tags and rules for it.",[75,36992],{"src":36993},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FGTM-Account.webp",[24,36995,36997],{"id":36996},"step-3-place-gtm-code-on-website","Step 3: Place GTM Code on Website",[75,36999],{"src":37000},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FGTM-Admin.webp",[132,37002,37003,37006],{},[49,37004,37005],{},"In the Admin tab for your new container, click on Install Google tag Manager to get your GTM code.",[49,37007,37008,37009,212],{},"Copy the code and paste it on all pages of your website immediately following the opening tag. For more information on installing the GTM code, visit the ",[206,37010,37013],{"href":37011,"rel":37012},"https:\u002F\u002Fdevelopers.google.com\u002Ftag-manager\u002Fquickstart",[210],"GTM Quick Start Guide",[24,37015,37017],{"id":37016},"step-4-create-a-new-tag-in-gtm","Step 4: Create a New Tag in GTM",[132,37019,37020,37026,37032,37043],{},[49,37021,37022,37023],{},"In the Container Overview, click on Add a New Tag. ",[75,37024],{"src":37025},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FGTM-Container.webp",[49,37027,37028,37029],{},"Complete the form for Google Analytics > Universal Analytics with the GA Tracking ID from Step 1. ",[75,37030],{"src":37031},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FGTM-GA-Tag-SetUp.webp",[49,37033,37034,37035],{},"Ensure the following settings are enabled\n",[46,37036,37037,37040],{},[49,37038,37039],{},"Display Advertising Features",[49,37041,37042],{},"Tracking Type is Pageview",[49,37044,37045],{},"For part four of the form, Fire On, select All Pages and click on Create Tag.",[24,37047,37049],{"id":37048},"step-5-publish-container","Step 5: Publish Container",[14,37051,37052],{},"Once you have ensured the first four steps have been completed, click the red publish button in the top right corner of your Google Tag Manager account.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":37054},[37055,37056,37057,37058,37059],{"id":36954,"depth":291,"text":36955},{"id":36978,"depth":291,"text":36979},{"id":36996,"depth":291,"text":36997},{"id":37016,"depth":291,"text":37017},{"id":37048,"depth":291,"text":37049},"2015-11-09",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fcreating-a-new-google-analytics-property-using-google-tag-manager-gtm",{"title":36937,"description":36943},"Create A Google Analytics Property via GTM | MKG Marketing","blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fcreating-a-new-google-analytics-property-using-google-tag-manager-gtm","lKxcKC8VDQsD3o0Pen0TTgnD_P9yCue8fNw0jLtIOKs",{"id":37068,"title":37069,"author":7,"authors":37070,"body":37071,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":37263,"description":37075,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":37264,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":37265,"seo":37266,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":37267,"stem":37268,"updated":7,"__hash__":37269},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fsubdomain-seo-case-study.md","Subdomain SEO Case Study: Getting the most SEO out of a suboptimal situation",[31451],{"type":11,"value":37072,"toc":37253},[37073,37076,37095,37099,37107,37110,37113,37116,37119,37122,37128,37131,37134,37138,37141,37145,37148,37157,37161,37164,37167,37170,37174,37177,37184,37187,37190,37193,37196,37199,37202,37206,37209,37212,37215,37218,37221,37224,37227,37234,37238,37241,37244,37247,37250],[14,37074,37075],{},"Our digital marketing agency has always preached:",[24025,37077,37078,37081],{},[14,37079,37080],{},"Subdomains are not ideal for a website's site architecture.\nAn organized site architecture (or information architecture) is crucially important for effective on-site SEO. With an optimized architecture, the benefits are:",[46,37082,37083,37086,37089,37092],{},[49,37084,37085],{},"Optimized flow of PageRank through web page",[49,37087,37088],{},"Natural topical associations between pages",[49,37090,37091],{},"Better crawling experience for search engine spiders",[49,37093,37094],{},"Better usability experience for site visitors",[24,37096,37098],{"id":37097},"set-up","Set-Up",[14,37100,37101,37102,212],{},"One of our clients - VMware - had a problem: they had set up a new subdomain and intended to use it as its main \"home\" for ",[206,37103,37106],{"href":37104,"rel":37105},"https:\u002F\u002Fvcloud.vmware.com",[210],"its hybrid cloud solution vCloud Air",[14,37108,37109],{},"Uh-oh - subdomain.",[14,37111,37112],{},"The bigger problem? The newly established subdomain destination (known as the vCloud Air microsite or simply the microsite moving forward) was competing against a domain (vmware.com) with over 135k inbound links and a domain authority score of 93.",[75,37114],{"src":37115},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FScreen-Shot-2015-07-01-at-3.53.00-PM.webp",[14,37117,37118],{},"For outside comparisons, buzzfeed.com has the same reported domain authority score as the main VMware.com domain. Use Mint.com? VMware.com also trumps that website in regards to domain authority..",[14,37120,37121],{},"This all meant that when someone searched for vCloud Air, the service page on the main domain would show up due to the strength of all of the metrics we just covered off on.",[14,37123,37124,37127],{},[52,37125,37126],{},"To boil it down in a tweet",": our goal was to get the microsite to be THE authoritative resource for anything vCloud Air and to show microsite listings on the SERP.",[14,37129,37130],{},"Think of it as a David (microsite) vs. Goliath (main vmware.com domain) situation... if they were related.",[14,37132,37133],{},"How did we tackle this subdomain SEO issue? Read on for tactics and results.",[24,37135,37137],{"id":37136},"tactics","Tactics",[14,37139,37140],{},"Our strategy to make the most of this subdomain situation and to start associating the microsite as the authoritative resource included two off-site tactics and one on-site:",[81,37142,37144],{"id":37143},"off-site-knowledge-graph-optimization","Off-Site: Knowledge Graph Optimization",[14,37146,37147],{},"We wanted search engines - specifically Google - to know straight from their semantic-search driven sources that the subdomain was the authoritative page for the vCloud Air product. So we went to these sources, two of many which includeWikipedia and Freebase, and ensured that the \"official\" product page for vCloud Air was the subdomain and not the main domain.",[14,37149,37150,37151,37156],{},"With semantic search showing up more and more in the form of enriched search engine results (answer cards, universal results such as images and video, carousels and expanded information for weather, transportation and ",[206,37152,37155],{"href":37153,"rel":37154},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fwebhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&es_th=1&ie=UTF-8#es_th=1&q=spice-girls",[210],"even the Spice Girls","), we wanted to ensure that search engines knew the authoritative URL for vCloud Air.",[81,37158,37160],{"id":37159},"off-site-influencer-program","Off-Site: Influencer Program",[14,37162,37163],{},"We find tremendous value in running uniquely set up influencer programs for our clients.",[14,37165,37166],{},"Not only do we see some of the highest referrer conversion rates from influencer-produced content clicks but all of links help in the form of inbound links going back to your site.",[14,37168,37169],{},"With the influencer program we crafted with vCloud Air, we had our brand ambassadors talking about the service, reviewing it, and linking back to the subdomain. This resulted in topical links built, which built up the site's authority from an off-page aspect.",[81,37171,37173],{"id":37172},"on-site-title-tag-optimization","On-Site: Title Tag Optimization",[14,37175,37176],{},"We looked to make a tweak to the single-most important ranking element on a web page - title tags - to help try to establish the subdomain as the authoritative vCloud Air website.",[14,37178,37179,37180,37183],{},"With title tags, ",[52,37181,37182],{},"search engines place weight more on words that appear at the front of the tag"," versus the end.",[14,37185,37186],{},"With this in mind, we tweaked title tags a bit to establish on-page authority.",[14,37188,37189],{},"Before our optimization recs, branded labeling was:",[14,37191,37192],{},"VMware vCloud Air",[14,37194,37195],{},"We recommended a change to:",[14,37197,37198],{},"Cloud Air by VMware",[14,37200,37201],{},"A small tweak, sure, but you're getting that brand that we're looking to rank for a bit closer to the beginning of the tag.",[81,37203,37205],{"id":37204},"results","Results",[14,37207,37208],{},"Search for \"vCloud Air\" yourself: we have a #1 and a #2 result, both with organic site links:",[75,37210],{"src":37211},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FScreen-Shot-2015-07-01-at-4.21.22-PM.webp",[14,37213,37214],{},"And even \"VMware vCloud Air\" ranking #1 with in-depth sitelinks:",[75,37216],{"src":37217},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FScreen-Shot-2015-07-01-at-7.40.29-PM.webp",[14,37219,37220],{},"Before these #1 rankings, search engines would serve a vmware.com page one day and a vcloud.vmware.com page before. Now? We get 100% impression share.",[14,37222,37223],{},"And the impact on organic traffic? Since we began grabbing more and more impression share for branded terms, look at this 12 month trend line:",[75,37225],{"src":37226},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FScreen-Shot-2015-07-01-at-7.51.12-PM.webp",[14,37228,37229,37230,37233],{},"That's ",[52,37231,37232],{},"an organic search traffic increase of 3.4X"," in a span of 12 months.",[81,37235,37237],{"id":37236},"takeaways","Takeaways",[14,37239,37240],{},"What should you do if approached with a subdomain situation like ours?",[14,37242,37243],{},"First, if you can convince your client (or if you're an in-house SEO, your execs) to move the subdomain to a subfolder and consolidate, then do that.",[14,37245,37246],{},"But if you're stuck with it, like we were, know that you need to tackle the problem of authority head on by establishing the subdomain as the most authoritative URL for what you're trying to rank for.",[14,37248,37249],{},"Do this by establishing off-page and on-page authority.",[14,37251,37252],{},"Then reap the traffic rewards :)",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":37254},[37255,37256],{"id":37097,"depth":291,"text":37098},{"id":37136,"depth":291,"text":37137,"children":37257},[37258,37259,37260,37261,37262],{"id":37143,"depth":297,"text":37144},{"id":37159,"depth":297,"text":37160},{"id":37172,"depth":297,"text":37173},{"id":37204,"depth":297,"text":37205},{"id":37236,"depth":297,"text":37237},"2015-07-06",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fsubdomain-seo-case-study",{"title":37069,"description":37075},"Subdomain SEO Case Study","blog\u002Fseo\u002Fsubdomain-seo-case-study","oMi05j4350hPpUmmsiG6IjSJOE-rG4YXzqlIWi_CwBc",{"id":37271,"title":37272,"author":7,"authors":37273,"body":37274,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":37471,"description":37278,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":37472,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":37473,"seo":37474,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":37475,"stem":37476,"updated":7,"__hash__":37477},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fsem-research-how-do-you-present-paid-search-build-outs.md","SEM Research: How Do You Present Paid Search Build Outs?",[17174],{"type":11,"value":37275,"toc":37463},[37276,37279,37282,37287,37290,37293,37296,37300,37307,37310,37313,37320,37324,37327,37330,37341,37345,37348,37351,37356,37359,37362,37365,37369,37372,37375,37392,37396,37399,37407,37410,37413,37416,37419,37423,37426],[14,37277,37278],{},"TL;DR - This post outlines the results from a recent Paid SEM survey we ran. The question we wanted an answer to: How do SEM pros present campaign build outs for feedback and approval?",[14,37280,37281],{},"It all started with one simple question:",[24025,37283,37284],{},[14,37285,37286],{},"How do other SEM professionals present Paid Search build outs for feedback or approvals?\nThis question has been burning a hole in our brains for years.",[14,37288,37289],{},"Our team currently presents Paid Search build outs using PowerPoint. We seek feedback and approval from clients directly in the document.",[14,37291,37292],{},"We have also tried using the HTML Export feature from Google Ads Editor. That export feature never worked well for presenting our work; the creative is tough to read.",[14,37294,37295],{},"Additionally, the newest version of Google Ads Editor removed this feature, making so that we had to keep an older version installed to even create an export.",[24,37297,37299],{"id":37298},"why-is-this-problem-important","Why is this problem important?",[14,37301,37302,37303,212],{},"Paid Search is a ",[206,37304,37306],{"href":37305},"https:\u002F\u002Fmartech.org\u002Fdisplay-eclipse-paid-search-ad-spend-2016-mobile-set-become-4th-largest-ad-medium","$55 billion dollar industry, according to ZenithOptimedia research",[14,37308,37309],{},"That means  a lot  of people are creating and presenting Paid SEM build outs!",[14,37311,37312],{},"We are total analytical nerds here at MKG. To answer this question, our team built a survey and deployed it to 20 SEM pro's.",[14,37314,37315,37316,212],{},"If you'd like, you can ",[206,37317,37319],{"href":37318},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.surveymonkey.com\u002Fr\u002FSEMbuildouts","visit this link to take the survey",[24,37321,37323],{"id":37322},"writing-our-survey","Writing our Survey",[14,37325,37326],{},"We outlined the key question up front: How do SEM's present build outs?",[14,37328,37329],{},"Based on this question, we needed answers to:",[46,37331,37332,37335,37338],{},[49,37333,37334],{},"Do SEM's  actually present their build outs?  Or are we making an incorrect assumption?",[49,37336,37337],{},"If SEM's do present build outs, what platform do they use? How long does it take them?",[49,37339,37340],{},"Are SEM's satisfied with the existing presentation process? What would they change?",[24,37342,37344],{"id":37343},"the-pitch-why-we-want-to-know-these-things","The Pitch - Why We Want to Know These Things",[14,37346,37347],{},"We have an idea for an alternative way to present Paid Search build outs.",[14,37349,37350],{},"Let us describe it below:",[24025,37352,37353],{},[14,37354,37355],{},"Stop presenting Paid Search buildouts using Excel or PowerPoint.",[14,37357,37358],{},"Use something interactive. A dashboard that display campaigns, ad groups, creative and keywords.",[14,37360,37361],{},"This dashboard uses a web hook to plug into Google Ads API. With a few clicks, your campaign will populate into a presentation-worthy view.",[14,37363,37364],{},"Want to collect feedback or approvals? The comments feature allows reviewers to write campaign feedback on the dashboard.",[24,37366,37368],{"id":37367},"the-key-insights","The Key Insights",[14,37370,37371],{},"Enough talk! Let's see the results.",[14,37373,37374],{},"The top five findings were:",[46,37376,37377,37380,37383,37386,37389],{},[49,37378,37379],{},"73% of SEM's present build outs for approval",[49,37381,37382],{},"More than half of SEM's use Excel or PowerPoint",[49,37384,37385],{},"47% are happy with Excel and PowerPoint",[49,37387,37388],{},"80% of SEM's  are interested in the product we described",[49,37390,37391],{},"Surveyed SEM's would pay up to $50 per month for that product",[24,37393,37395],{"id":37394},"are-these-results-accurate","Are these results accurate?",[14,37397,37398],{},"Good question.",[14,37400,37401,37402,212],{},"We used a ",[206,37403,37406],{"href":37404,"rel":37405},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.relevantinsights.com\u002Fresearch-tools#sthash.uc9vhS1N.dpbs",[210],"sample size and margin of error calculator from our good friends at Relevant Rankings",[14,37408,37409],{},"Take a look below.",[75,37411],{"src":37412},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FSEM-Survey-Sample-Size-and-Margin-of-Error.webp",[14,37414,37415],{},"According to this calculator, a sample size of 13 gives us a 90% confidence in data and 8% margin of error.",[14,37417,37418],{},"This is dependent on the response percentage, which we listed at 95% of SEM's  asked to take the survey.  ​",[24,37420,37422],{"id":37421},"want-full-access-to-the-results","Want full access to the results?",[14,37424,37425],{},"If you want access to the full results, share your email address in the form below.",[28103,37427,37429],{"id":37428},"mc_embed_signup",[37430,37431,37435],"form",{"id":37432,"action":37433,"method":37434,"name":37432,"noValidate":322},"mc-embedded-subscribe-form","\u002F\u002Fmkgmarketinginc.us5.list-manage.com\u002Fsubscribe\u002Fpost?u=3753c494c5a2f443984a3f660&id=7f32f70d6b","post",[28103,37436,37438,37444,37450],{"id":37437},"mc_embed_signup_scroll",[37439,37440,37443],"label",{"htmlFor":37441},[37442],"mce-EMAIL","Email your email to receive the survey results",[37445,37446],"input",{"id":37442,"name":37447,"required":322,"type":37448,"value":77,"placeholder":37449},"EMAIL","email","email address",[28103,37451,37453,37457],{"style":37452},"position: absolute; left: -5000px;",[37445,37454],{"tabIndex":37455,"name":37456,"type":33981,"value":77},-1,"b_3753c494c5a2f443984a3f660_7f32f70d6b",[37445,37458],{"id":37459,"name":37460,"type":37461,"value":37462},"mc-embedded-subscribe","subscribe","submit","Subscribe",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":37464},[37465,37466,37467,37468,37469,37470],{"id":37298,"depth":291,"text":37299},{"id":37322,"depth":291,"text":37323},{"id":37343,"depth":291,"text":37344},{"id":37367,"depth":291,"text":37368},{"id":37394,"depth":291,"text":37395},{"id":37421,"depth":291,"text":37422},"2015-05-11",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fsem-research-how-do-you-present-paid-search-build-outs",{"title":37272,"description":37278},"How To Present Paid Search Build Outs | MKG Marketing","blog\u002Fppc\u002Fsem-research-how-do-you-present-paid-search-build-outs","D_ovf1TM8MJkQIhwlH2gN7eXkVPN0vZCYrXOVx2UtMg",{"id":37479,"title":37480,"author":7,"authors":37481,"body":37482,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":37751,"description":77,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":37752,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":37753,"seo":37754,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":37755,"updated":7,"__hash__":37756},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fqa-optimizely-experiments.md","QA Optimizely Experiments: A 3-Step Guide",[17174],{"type":11,"value":37483,"toc":37740},[37484,37488,37497,37502,37506,37513,37516,37527,37533,37536,37540,37543,37546,37549,37557,37560,37568,37571,37575,37584,37587,37590,37593,37598,37601,37604,37628,37631,37634,37638,37641,37652,37656,37659,37662,37665,37669,37672,37675,37678,37695,37698,37701,37704,37707,37730,37734,37737],[24,37485,37487],{"id":37486},"how-do-you-qa-your-ab-testing-experiments","How do you QA your A\u002FB testing experiments?",[14,37489,37490,37491,37496],{},"When we first tried out ",[206,37492,37495],{"href":37493,"rel":37494},"https:\u002F\u002Foptimizely.com",[210],"Optimizely",", an A\u002FB testing tool, all we thought we had to do was to navigate to the 'Preview' option of the experiment variation and take a quick peak to QA the experiment.",[24025,37498,37499],{},[14,37500,37501],{},"Wrong!!!!!!\nOver the years, we've learned that the good-old-fashioned preview feature is only one of three different ways to perform quality assurance checks on your A\u002FB testing experiments.",[24,37503,37505],{"id":37504},"enter-the-3-step-qa-process","Enter: The 3 Step QA Process",[14,37507,37508,37509,37512],{},"As we have built and refined our own ",[206,37510,37511],{"href":24133},"conversion rate optimization"," process over the past three years, we discovered there were three critical step to QA Optimizely experiments.",[14,37514,37515],{},"Those steps are...",[132,37517,37518,37521,37524],{},[49,37519,37520],{},"Viewing an experiment in the Preview pane",[49,37522,37523],{},"Testing across multiple browsers and OS's",[49,37525,37526],{},"Using a Force Parameter to load a paused experiment on a live staging URL",[14,37528,37529,37530,37532],{},"In order for an experiment to be cleared for takeoff, our QA process dictated that it needed to pass all three steps in our QA process from a minimum of  two  different members of the ",[206,37531,1414],{"href":32000}," team.",[14,37534,37535],{},"That being said, here is the order of operations we follow each time we QA an experiment.",[24,37537,37539],{"id":37538},"step-1-the-preview-pane","Step #1: The Preview Pane",[14,37541,37542],{},"This is probably the easiest step in the process: Using the preview feature within your experiment.",[75,37544],{"src":37545},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FPreview-feature-of-Optimizely.webp",[14,37547,37548],{},"When we click on 'Preview', we're really looking for a few things:",[46,37550,37551,37554],{},[49,37552,37553],{},"Design: How does my design look? Sometimes this can change from the small-screen editor view to the blown up browser view that your site visitors will see.",[49,37555,37556],{},"Interaction: Do all the links click through, videos play, and interactive elements of the page operate as they should?",[14,37558,37559],{},"You can watch me mess around with the Preview feature at the 1:05 mark in the video below:",[14,37561,37562,37565],{},[206,37563],{"href":37564},"https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002Fb8m7nRobED8?t=1m4s",[206,37566,37564],{"href":37564,"rel":37567},[210],[14,37569,37570],{},"Once you have checked the design and interaction within Preview, it's time to move on to the Cross Browser Testing step.",[24,37572,37574],{"id":37573},"step-2-checking-experiments-across-browsers-operating-systems","Step #2: Checking Experiments Across Browsers & Operating Systems",[14,37576,37577,37578,37583],{},"Did you know that Optimizely has a partnership with ",[206,37579,37582],{"href":37580,"rel":37581},"https:\u002F\u002Fcrossbrowsertesting.com",[210],"crossbrowsertesting.com"," that makes their tool free for you?",[14,37585,37586],{},"Yup, that little link there!",[75,37588],{"src":37589},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fcross-browser-and-OS-testing.webp",[14,37591,37592],{},"Before Optimizely plugged that feature into the experiment editor, we used to have to load up a few virtual machines in Parallels Desktop, fire up every version of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari across both Windows  and  Mac in order to get a feel for how our experiment would render across browsers and operating systems.",[24025,37594,37595],{},[14,37596,37597],{},"No more I say!\nWhen you click on the cross-browsing testing option, you'll be taken to a web page that looks a little something like this (give it about 2 minutes to load):",[75,37599],{"src":37600},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FScreengrabs-from-Cross-Browser-Testing.webp",[14,37602,37603],{},"When we review the experiment across browsers and OS's, we look for a few things:",[132,37605,37606,37609,37612,37615],{},[49,37607,37608],{},"Mobile versus Desktop: How does this experiment render across both mobile and desktop devices? Oftentimes, we'll scrap the mobile version of the experiment  or  create a specific experiment  only for mobile devices.",[49,37610,37611],{},"Design versus Code: A regular issue we run into is that we used the 'Move & Rearrange' feature in the editor to move a button or block of text around the page. This will render differently across different browsers and OS's. Check your intended design versus the code output that browsers interpret for site visitors.",[49,37613,37614],{},"Windowed versus Full Page: The windowed view is essentially your 'above the fold' look at the experiment. Full page allows you to see the entire page, which is obviously better if you made changes deeper into the page.",[49,37616,37617,37618,37621,37622,37627],{},"Pro Tip: Completely ",[52,37619,37620],{},"ignore Windows Vista and XP"," screenshots. For reasons unknown to me, those two versions of Windows absolutely destroy your design. Fortunately for you, not many people still use ",[206,37623,37626],{"href":37624,"rel":37625},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.worldstart.com\u002Fhow-many-people-still-use-vista\u002F",[210],"Vista or XP"," :-)",[14,37629,37630],{},"One last word to the wise: There is a super handy 'download zipped screenshots' link at the bottom of the screenshot panel. We sometimes download these screenshots in order to pass them along to a client for approval or simply keep for our own QA-ing records.",[75,37632],{"src":37633},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fdownload-linked-screenshots-cbt.webp",[24,37635,37637],{"id":37636},"step-3using-the-force-parameter","Step #3: Using the force parameter",[14,37639,37640],{},"This is a trick that the Optimizely support team mentioned to us in a recent Optiverse Q&A session.",[24025,37642,37643],{},[14,37644,37645,37646,37651],{},"In essence, a force parameter allows you to force yourself to see a specific variation, even when it's paused.\nYou can read their ",[206,37647,37650],{"href":37648,"rel":37649},"https:\u002F\u002Fhelp.optimizely.com\u002Fhc\u002Fen-us\u002Farticles\u002F200107480",[210],"official documentation on that process here",", and we've outlined the steps to use the force parameter to perform QA below.",[81,37653,37655],{"id":37654},"step-1-enable-force-parameter-in-your-optimizely-account","Step 1: Enable Force Parameter in your Optimizely Account",[14,37657,37658],{},"Navigate to \"Settings\", then \"Privacy\" and then un-check the box marked \"Disable the Force Variation Parameter\" and hit the blue \"Save\" button.",[14,37660,37661],{},"By default, this feature is not available in your Optimizely account. And for good reason! If anybody was wise enough to use a force parameter, they could look at all of the experiments you have built in Optimizely even if you did not publish them.",[75,37663],{"src":37664},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FForce-URL-Parameter-in-Optimizely-2.webp",[81,37666,37668],{"id":37667},"step-2firing-a-paused-experiment-into-a-live-staging-link","Step 2: Firing a Paused Experiment into a Live Staging Link",[14,37670,37671],{},"Alright, now you've got Optimizely all set up to allow you to use force parameters.",[14,37673,37674],{},"So what does this actually look like?",[14,37676,37677],{},"A force parameter is comprised of three elements:",[132,37679,37680,37683,37689],{},[49,37681,37682],{},"Simple match experiment URL: This is the URL the experiment is running on",[49,37684,37685,37688],{},[24358,37686,37687],{},"?optimizely_xEXPERIMENTID",": The specific experiment ID",[49,37690,37691,37694],{},[24358,37692,37693],{},"=VARIATIONID",": The variation you want to fire. Using a tab system, Optimizely counts from left to right; from 0 to 1 to 2 to 3 ... As a rule of thumb, your original is always variation zero.",[14,37696,37697],{},"Wait ... what???",[14,37699,37700],{},"It'll look a little something like this:",[75,37702],{"src":37703},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fsample-force-parameter-URL.webp",[14,37705,37706],{},"Step-by-step, here is how you'll find the force parameter for your experiment.",[132,37708,37709,37712,37715,37718,37721,37724,37727],{},[49,37710,37711],{},"Open a tab in your browser and enter the simple match URL that you are experimenting on into the address bar.",[49,37713,37714],{},"In a separate tab, log into Optimizely and choose an experiment.",[49,37716,37717],{},"Go into 'Editor' mode.",[49,37719,37720],{},"Click on 'Options' dropdown on the far right and find 'Diagnostic' report.",[49,37722,37723],{},"Once you click on 'Diagnostic', you'll see a 9-digit 'Experiment ID' number. Write that down.",[49,37725,37726],{},"Choose the variation you'd like to see. Is it a simple A\u002FB test? Then variation zero is your original, and variation 1 is represented by the number 1.",[49,37728,37729],{},"Compile your force parameter URL and, opening a third tab in your browser, enter it into the address bar and hit enter.",[24,37731,37733],{"id":37732},"there-you-have-it","There you have it!",[14,37735,37736],{},"This is our three-step process to ensure every single conversion optimization experiment we launch is properly QA'd before hitting the 'Start' button.",[14,37738,37739],{},"Out of curiosity, how do the conversion marketers reading this post perform quality control checks on A\u002FB testing activity?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":37741},[37742,37743,37744,37745,37746,37750],{"id":37486,"depth":291,"text":37487},{"id":37504,"depth":291,"text":37505},{"id":37538,"depth":291,"text":37539},{"id":37573,"depth":291,"text":37574},{"id":37636,"depth":291,"text":37637,"children":37747},[37748,37749],{"id":37654,"depth":297,"text":37655},{"id":37667,"depth":297,"text":37668},{"id":37732,"depth":291,"text":37733},"2015-04-27",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fqa-optimizely-experiments",{"title":37480,"description":77},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fqa-optimizely-experiments","dLRuOWz22EZvptC0jKHypmnT_zVj1SQPbmmLLpcR4YY",{"id":37758,"title":37759,"author":7,"authors":37760,"body":37761,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":37835,"description":37836,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":37837,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":37838,"seo":37839,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":37840,"stem":37841,"updated":7,"__hash__":37842},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fenhance-your-brand-tweets-in-two-minutes-with-twitter-cards.md","Enhance your brand tweets in two minutes with Twitter Cards",[9],{"type":11,"value":37762,"toc":37833},[37763,37766,37772,37778,37781,37784,37815,37824,37827,37830],[14,37764,37765],{},"A client recently asked if there was a way to share an image with their Twitter posts through JetPack. I read a few documents to understand my options:",[14,37767,37768],{},[206,37769,37770],{"href":37770,"rel":37771},"https:\u002F\u002Fdev.twitter.com\u002Fcards\u002Ftypes\u002Fsummary-large-image",[210],[14,37773,37774],{},[206,37775,37776],{"href":37776,"rel":37777},"https:\u002F\u002Fdev.twitter.com\u002Fcards\u002Fcms-integration#plugin_yoast",[210],[14,37779,37780],{},"But at the end of the day I just felt overwhelmed and more confused than ever, so I went back to the original issue...",[14,37782,37783],{},"Share an image on Twitter along with the post. The post was already rendering the title and description, it was just missing an image and in the first piece of documentation there was code that read:",[24428,37785,37787],{"className":24430,"code":37786,"language":24432,"meta":77,"style":77},"<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\"> <meta\nname=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@nytimes\">\n",[24358,37788,37789,37807],{"__ignoreMap":77},[24436,37790,37791,37795,37798,37801,37804],{"class":24438,"line":321},[24436,37792,37794],{"class":37793},"sj4cs","<",[24436,37796,37797],{"class":24441},"meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\"",[24436,37799,37800],{"class":37793},">",[24436,37802,37803],{"class":37793}," <",[24436,37805,37806],{"class":24441},"meta\n",[24436,37808,37809,37812],{"class":24438,"line":291},[24436,37810,37811],{"class":24441},"name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@nytimes\"",[24436,37813,37814],{"class":37793},">\n",[14,37816,37817,37818,37823],{},"So all I did was change \"@nytimes\" to \"@mkgmarketinginc\" and drop both tags in the \u003Chead> of our website and now, if you go to ",[206,37819,37822],{"href":37820,"rel":37821},"https:\u002F\u002Fcards-dev.twitter.com\u002Fvalidator",[210],"Twitter Card Validator"," and put in the url to this post you'll see that we are now sharing the image.",[14,37825,37826],{},"Leave JetPack to create the meta title and description and these added tags will add the image.",[14,37828,37829],{},"Easy peasy lemon squeezy.\nLeave me a comment if you have any questions.",[25078,37831,37832],{},"html pre.shiki code .sj4cs, html code.shiki .sj4cs{--shiki-default:#005CC5;--shiki-dark:#79B8FF}html pre.shiki code .sVt8B, html code.shiki .sVt8B{--shiki-default:#24292E;--shiki-dark:#E1E4E8}html .default .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-default);background: var(--shiki-default-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-default-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-default-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-default-text-decoration);}html .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-default);background: var(--shiki-default-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-default-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-default-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-default-text-decoration);}html .dark .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-dark);background: var(--shiki-dark-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-dark-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-dark-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-dark-text-decoration);}html.dark .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-dark);background: var(--shiki-dark-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-dark-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-dark-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-dark-text-decoration);}",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":37834},[],"2015-04-22","How to share an image on Twitter using WordPress JetPack.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fenhance-your-brand-tweets-in-two-minutes-with-twitter-cards",{"title":37759,"description":37836},"Twitter Cards - Brand Tweets In Two Minutes","blog\u002Fseo\u002Fenhance-your-brand-tweets-in-two-minutes-with-twitter-cards","QGt9KZPkNOX2NufxJ2iohr2FxcCeHUC9Qn9ZvgOA8k8",{"id":37844,"title":37845,"author":7,"authors":37846,"body":37847,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":37888,"description":37889,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":37890,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":37891,"seo":37892,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":37893,"stem":37894,"updated":7,"__hash__":37895},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Ffacebook-ads-targeting-options-april-2015.md","Facebook Ads: Targeting Options in April 2015",[31451],{"type":11,"value":37848,"toc":37886},[37849,37852,37857,37860,37868,37871,37874,37877,37883],[14,37850,37851],{},"We received a great question from one of our clients recently. That question was:",[24025,37853,37854],{},[14,37855,37856],{},"What targeting options does Facebook Ads have?",[14,37858,37859],{},"After explaining the high-level options, the client replied with:",[24025,37861,37862],{},[14,37863,37864,37865,37867],{},"Yeah, but what are ",[52,37866,30113],{}," of the targeting options? Does Facebook have this available anywhere?",[14,37869,37870],{},"Much to our surprise, we couldn't find a resource that really showed in a comprehensive yet succinct view the wealth of different targeting options that Facebook Ads had available for advertisers.",[14,37872,37873],{},"So we decided to record it.",[14,37875,37876],{},"Below is a video that goes over each targeting option that Facebook has available in April 2015. We didn't click into each specific category (that would take far too long) but did want to highlight all of the different targeting options along with some use-cases on how powerful targeting can be with FB Ads.",[14,37878,37879],{},[206,37880,37881],{"href":37881,"rel":37882},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=P_ezbtSYfpU",[210],[14,37884,37885],{},"Is there anything you'd like us to cover more in-depth when it comes to targeting options for Facebook Ads? Let us know in the comments!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":37887},[],"2015-04-15","What targeting options does Facebook Ads have? Christian Bullock explains.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Ffacebook-ads-targeting-options-april-2015",{"title":37845,"description":37889},"Facebook Ads: Targeting Options","blog\u002Fppc\u002Ffacebook-ads-targeting-options-april-2015","kflupJmhKEG99H0CNccZ9H_V8v9Y5ioiPCZ488E2BKw",{"id":37897,"title":37898,"author":7,"authors":37899,"body":37900,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":38184,"description":38185,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":38186,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":38187,"seo":38188,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":38189,"updated":7,"__hash__":38190},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fcompetitive-seo-audit.md","How to Perform a Competitive SEO Audit for Executives",[17174],{"type":11,"value":37901,"toc":38176},[37902,37907,37910,37913,37921,37935,37942,37945,37950,37953,37956,37960,37963,37973,37976,37981,37984,37987,37991,37994,37997,38021,38024,38030,38033,38036,38040,38048,38051,38057,38060,38063,38066,38069,38072,38075,38079,38082,38085,38097,38100,38103,38106,38109,38112,38115,38118,38121,38124,38128,38131,38134,38137,38140,38143,38154,38157,38160,38163,38166,38169,38173],[14,37903,37904],{},[52,37905,37906],{},"TL;DR Version: A step-by-step guide to learn how to benchmark your websites ranking in search engines against competitors and compile your findings for an executive-level SEO conversation. Template download included!",[14,37908,37909],{},"Ever wonder how you stack up against your competitors on search engine results pages (SERPs)?",[14,37911,37912],{},"How about how much search engine market share you have compared to those same competitors?",[14,37914,37915,37916,212],{},"Even if you don't, there are tens of 1000's of people every day who do in fact look for that, as our friends over at Google Search Trends are kind enough to show us for the term ",[206,37917,37920],{"href":37918,"rel":37919},"https:\u002F\u002Ftrends.google.com\u002Ftrends\u002Fexplore?date=all&q=competitive+seo",[210],"competitive SEO",[14,37922,37923,37924,37929,37930,212],{},"If you're reading this story, then chances are you probably have also read Steve Webb's ",[206,37925,37928],{"href":37926,"rel":37927},"https:\u002F\u002Fmoz.com\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-perform-the-worlds-greatest-seo-audit",[210],"How to Perform the Worlds Greatest SEO Audit"," on the Moz blog as well as Hubspot's ",[206,37931,37934],{"href":37932,"rel":37933},"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.hubspot.com\u002Fmarketing\u002Fhow-to-conduct-competitive-seo-audit",[210],"How to Perform a Competitive SEO Audit to Outrank Industry Rivals",[14,37936,37937,37938,37941],{},"And you know what? Those are two ",[52,37939,37940],{},"killer guides"," to help you perform your very own competitive SEO audit.",[14,37943,37944],{},"The difference between those two (and the 1000's of other guides) is that this guide will teach you how to perform a competitive SEO audit that you can actually show to your executive team without having to say something embarrassing like:",[14,37946,37947],{},[75,37948],{"alt":77,"src":37949},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fseo-1st-position-serp.webp",[14,37951,37952],{},"Last but certainly not least, we're offering a downloadable template to show you how we perform competitive SEO audits for our clients.",[14,37954,37955],{},"Wahoo -- Let's get to it!",[24,37957,37959],{"id":37958},"setting-the-table","Setting the Table",[14,37961,37962],{},"To perform a competitive SEO audit, we recommend the following:",[46,37964,37965,37967,37970],{},[49,37966,36965],{},[49,37968,37969],{},"SimilarWeb",[49,37971,37972],{},"Raven Tools",[14,37974,37975],{},"Now, the most important thing I'll ask you to remember during this exercise is:",[24025,37977,37978],{},[14,37979,37980],{},"Remember who your audience is!",[14,37982,37983],{},"You are preparing an executive level analysis of where you stack up compared to your competitors on search engines. NEVER FORGET THAT!",[14,37985,37986],{},"Alright, let's dive in to our methodology.",[24,37988,37990],{"id":37989},"step-1-setting-up-your-analysis","Step 1: Setting up your analysis",[14,37992,37993],{},"Your executive-level competitive SEO audit needs to be brief, filled with only the most pertinent information and packed with lots of \"Here is what we're gonna do next...\" action items.",[14,37995,37996],{},"We like to set up our competitive SEO audits in the following way:",[46,37998,37999,38002,38005,38018],{},[49,38000,38001],{},"Overview Section: This section defines the purpose and tools used to conduct the audit. This is your classic \"setting the table\" part of the analysis.",[49,38003,38004],{},"Your Website versus Competitors: Use RavenTools and SimilarWeb to compare how your website ranks against competitors when it comes to traffic, links, depth of website and SERP elements.",[49,38006,38007,38008,38013,38014,38017],{},"Your Website versus the Universe: This step makes use of the new(ish) ",[206,38009,38012],{"href":38010,"rel":38011},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.google.com\u002Fanalytics\u002Fanswer\u002F6086666",[210],"benchmarking feature of Google Analytics",". Plug in your website's vertical and ",[52,38015,38016],{},"BAM"," you've got aggregated stats for websites just like your own.",[49,38019,38020],{},"Summary and Recommended Actions: This is the most important section of your audit! Write this section so that if it's the only thing an executive reads, she will immediately know the key facts and actions that are being taken.",[14,38022,38023],{},"I plugged in an example of what one of our own competitive audits looks like below for reference.",[16784,38025],{"src":38026,"width":27713,"height":27713,"frameBorder":16790,"marginWidth":38027,"marginHeight":38027,"scrolling":25905,"className":38028},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.slideshare.net\u002Fslideshow\u002Fembed_code\u002F46732266",0,[38029],"shadow-md",[14,38031,38032],{},"If you want to use or tweak our own audit template, we'd be happy to give it to you. Enter your email address below and then immediately check your email to confirm the request.",[14,38034,38035],{},"Now, let's walk through our process for comparing your website to a specific competitor set.",[24,38037,38039],{"id":38038},"step-2grab-competitive-traffic-data-from-similarweb","Step 2: Grab Competitive Traffic Data from SimilarWeb",[14,38041,38042,38043,38047],{},"If you've never used ",[206,38044,37969],{"href":38045,"rel":38046},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.similarweb.com\u002F",[210]," before, you're really missing out. For the purpose of your competitive SEO audit, you're going to use their free tool to track how much web traffic your competitors get.",[14,38049,38050],{},"Navigate yourself over to SimilarWeb.com and type in your website URL.",[14,38052,38053,38056],{},[75,38054],{"src":38055},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fsimilarweb.com-search.webp","The next step of the process will show you an estimate for web traffic (desktop only) for the previous 6 months.",[14,38058,38059],{},"As we've used the free version of SimilarWeb for about a year now, we've definitely run a few tests of our own and recognize that their estimates are +\u002F-t 10% to 15%. Take that into account mentally but leave the estimates alone.",[14,38061,38062],{},"We went ahead and inputted our own website into SimilarWeb. Here's what came back:",[75,38064],{"src":38065},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fsimilar-web-monthly-seo-traffic.webp",[14,38067,38068],{},"The final step here is to create an average traffic number from the past six months. Since SimilarWeb shows you projected month-by-month traffic estimates, you can total these up for yourself to confirm their estimates.",[14,38070,38071],{},"Once you have that number, drop it into an excel sheet that includes your own website  and  competitors. After you crank through all of your competitors data on SimilarWeb, you'll end up with a super duper fancy table that you can turn into a stunning bar graph like this to show traffic:",[75,38073],{"src":38074},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fcompetitive-SEO-audit-graph.webp",[24,38076,38078],{"id":38077},"step-3grab-competitivekeyword-ranking-data-from-raven-tools","Step 3: Grab Competitive Keyword Ranking Data from Raven Tools",[14,38080,38081],{},"Bam! You've got the traffic figures lined up side-by-side. Now it's time to get an idea for how you stack up against your competitors on search engine results pages (SERP's).",[14,38083,38084],{},"Why is this important?",[46,38086,38087,38094],{},[49,38088,38089,38090,38093],{},"Because every senior level exec I've ever reported to has asked \"Where do we show up on Google when you search for ",[24436,38091,38092],{},"core keyword phrase","?\"and this trend will probably continue until the end of time",[49,38095,38096],{},"SERP data helps you understand how search engine algorithms view your website compared to your competitors",[14,38098,38099],{},"We use Raven Tools to pull down this competitive keyword and SERP data, so your first step should be to log in to your Raven account and head to the \"Research Central\" tab:",[75,38101],{"src":38102},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FResearch-Central-Feature-Raven-Tools.webp",[14,38104,38105],{},"Next up, you'll drop in a keyword from the keyword research (I'm assuming) that your brand has done at some point.",[14,38107,38108],{},"For this example, we'll use the keyword 'marketing agency' and see the top 25 results, inclusive of SEO metrics like page authority, citation flow and more.",[75,38110],{"src":38111},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FResearch-Central-Raven-Tools-Keyword-Research.webp",[14,38113,38114],{},"You can keep track of these results in a Google sheet (alongside all the other SEO metrics), use Raven's Keyword  or Competitor Manager tool to track keyword performance.",[14,38116,38117],{},"Regardless of whether you store your data in a spreadsheet or Raven Tools, we recommend showing executives the top five keywords (in terms of importance) in your competitive SEO audit. All other keyword data should be hosted in a separate link or spreadsheet for review at a later date (remember, you're not trying to give the executives  all the data  - just the most critical information).",[14,38119,38120],{},"Here's an example of how we display this information from our audit template:",[75,38122],{"src":38123},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fcompetitive-SEO-audit-keyword-rankings.webp",[24,38125,38127],{"id":38126},"step-4-use-google-analytics-benchmarking-feature-for-industry-benchmarks","Step 4: Use Google Analytics' Benchmarking Feature for Industry Benchmarks",[14,38129,38130],{},"The most common question that we get from executives about SEO data is:  Okay, 'X, Y and Z' happened. But is our performance actually any good?",[14,38132,38133],{},"Seems like an easy question when you're in the weeds executing every day. But for an executive who possesses fair less context than you do, it's a huge barometer for them to understand how your website is doing.",[14,38135,38136],{},"One of our favorite new ways to grab industry benchmarking data is to log into Google Analytics and go to the 'Benchmarking' tool.",[75,38138],{"src":38139},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FGoogle-Analytics-Benchmarking-Feature.webp",[14,38141,38142],{},"And at this point you'll have three different report segments to review:",[46,38144,38145,38148,38151],{},[49,38146,38147],{},"Channels: How your website performs by different default channel groupings such as organic, paid, email and others",[49,38149,38150],{},"Location: Look at your website from a geographic view",[49,38152,38153],{},"Devices: Review your website benchmark position from a desktop, tablet and mobile standpoint",[14,38155,38156],{},"Here is a screengrab example:",[75,38158],{"src":38159},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FGoogle-Analytics-Benchmark-Tutorial-and-Definitions.webp",[14,38161,38162],{},"Again, remember who our audience is: execs!",[14,38164,38165],{},"While we provide a lengthy data backup, we like to display benchmarking data in a easy-to-read graph or set of bullet points.",[75,38167],{"src":38168},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FGoogle-Analytics-Benchmarking-Data-Analysis-Competitive-SEO-Audit1.webp",[24,38170,38172],{"id":38171},"wam-bam-thank-you-david-bowie-what","Wam-bam! Thank you David Bowie! (what?)",[14,38174,38175],{},"There are other metrics we throw into our competitive SEO audits, but for the sake of brevity (And because we're offering a downloadable template) we left those out of this post.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":38177},[38178,38179,38180,38181,38182,38183],{"id":37958,"depth":291,"text":37959},{"id":37989,"depth":291,"text":37990},{"id":38038,"depth":291,"text":38039},{"id":38077,"depth":291,"text":38078},{"id":38126,"depth":291,"text":38127},{"id":38171,"depth":291,"text":38172},"2015-04-08","A step-by-step guide to learn how to benchmark your websites ranking in search engines against competitors and compile your findings for an executive-level SEO conversation.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fcompetitive-seo-audit",{"title":37898,"description":38185},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fcompetitive-seo-audit","XHhlbMVOnnUC0iM-PT4ybOCU6Fu8uPdAly4OiIrzW6Q",{"id":38192,"title":38193,"author":7,"authors":38194,"body":38195,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":38514,"description":38515,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":38516,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":38517,"seo":38518,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":38519,"stem":38520,"updated":7,"__hash__":38521},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fgoogle-analytics-intelligence-events-what-are-they.md","Google Analytics: What are Intelligence Events?",[17174],{"type":11,"value":38196,"toc":38507},[38197,38202,38216,38219,38223,38231,38234,38239,38242,38245,38248,38251,38259,38262,38266,38269,38272,38275,38346,38349,38353,38361,38365,38368,38374,38377,38382,38385,38388,38391,38394,38397,38400,38403,38406,38409,38412,38420,38423,38426,38429,38435,38438,38441,38444,38447,38453,38456,38459,38464,38467,38470,38473,38476,38479,38482,38487,38490,38493,38498,38501,38504],[16784,38198],{"width":26246,"height":38199,"scrolling":25905,"frameBorder":25905,"allow":38200,"src":38201},300,"autoplay","https:\u002F\u002Fw.soundcloud.com\u002Fplayer\u002F?url=https%3A\u002F\u002Fapi.soundcloud.com\u002Ftracks\u002F196505160&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true",[28103,38203,38205,38210,38211],{"style":38204},"font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;",[206,38206,1414],{"href":38207,"title":1414,"target":8877,"rel":38208,"style":38209},"https:\u002F\u002Fsoundcloud.com\u002Fmkgmarketing",[8879,28110],"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;"," · ",[206,38212,38214],{"href":38213,"title":38214,"target":8877,"rel":38215,"style":38209},"https:\u002F\u002Fsoundcloud.com\u002Fmkgmarketing\u002Fwhat-are-google-analytics-intelligence-events","What Are Google Analytics Intelligence Events?",[8879,28110],[14,38217,38218],{},"For the TL;DR crowd: This podcast explores the intelligence events feature of Google Analytics. Listen to the audio above or skim through the excerpt and transcript below for more detailed information.",[24,38220,38222],{"id":38221},"google-analytics-intelligence-events-what-are-these-reports","Google Analytics Intelligence Events: What are These Reports?",[14,38224,38225,38226,38230],{},"As we mentioned in our post last week, ",[206,38227,38229],{"href":38228},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fgoogle-analytics-know-how-funnel-visualization-for-mobile-apps\u002F","Google Analytics Funnel Visualization Reports for Mobile Apps",", we hosted a Google Analytics meet up at our co-working space and got a really lively conversation going between Google Analytics practitioners and relative newbies.",[14,38232,38233],{},"Today's topic came from Max, a front-end web developer at Razor Frog web design:",[24025,38235,38236],{},[14,38237,38238],{},"What is the intelligence events feature? Do any Google Analytics users actually look at this?",[14,38240,38241],{},"First and foremost, let's define what intelligence events are straight from the Google support answers forum:",[75,38243],{"src":38244},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fdefinition-google-analytics-intelligence-events.webp",[14,38246,38247],{},"In plain English: intelligence events allow you to set up custom alerts when significant changes happen on your website.",[14,38249,38250],{},"A few use cases that we have implemented for our clients:",[132,38252,38253,38256],{},[49,38254,38255],{},"Revenue Spikes\u002FDips: For our clients that use the e-commerce tracking provided by Google Analytics, it's nice to know situations when revenue spikes or dips. We can set up automated email alerts and, if you configure your inbox correctly, these can actually push through as text messages to your mobile phone.",[49,38257,38258],{},"Segmented Traffic Spikes\u002FDips: We like to look at search engine traffic to our clients' websites  every single week.  We have found it's handy to set up a weekly intelligence event to fire if our search engine traffic has dropped, as it allows us to diagnose the problem that week instead of waiting to pull down SEO performance at the end of the month and letting performance possibly slide any further.",[14,38260,38261],{},"Now, here's how to set up an intelligence event.",[24,38263,38265],{"id":38264},"intelligence-events-video-step-by-step-set-up","Intelligence Events: Video & Step-by-Step Set Up",[14,38267,38268],{},"For the purpose of this exercise, I'm going to set up an intelligence event on our old website (retired circa January 2015) to monitor search engine traffic.",[16784,38270],{"src":38271,"width":16786,"height":16787,"frameBorder":16790,"allowFullScreen":322},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FECZQmIByj5Y",[14,38273,38274],{},"For those who don't want to watch the video, here are the steps outlined directly from Google Analytics support forum.",[132,38276,38277,38284,38304,38311,38332],{},[49,38278,38279,38280,38283],{},"Select the ",[52,38281,38282],{},"Reporting"," tab.",[49,38285,38286,38287,38290,38291,24127,38294,24127,38297,38300,38301,9152],{},"Navigate to any one of the ",[52,38288,38289],{},"Intelligence Events"," reports (",[52,38292,38293],{},"Overview",[52,38295,38296],{},"Daily",[52,38298,38299],{},"Weekly",", or ",[52,38302,38303],{},"Monthly Events",[49,38305,38306,38307,38310],{},"Above the table there is a tab labeled ",[52,38308,38309],{},"Custom Alerts",", click on that",[49,38312,38313,38314,38317,38318],{},"Next, you'll want to click **Manage Custom Events **and then, at the next screen, click the red ",[52,38315,38316],{},"+NEW ALERT"," button\n",[46,38319,38320,38323,38326,38329],{},[49,38321,38322],{},"Alert name : Enter a name for the alert.",[49,38324,38325],{},"Apply to : Select the reporting views to which you want to apply the alert.",[49,38327,38328],{},"Period : Select the frequency at which the alert can be generated (Day, Week, Month).",[49,38330,38331],{},"Send me an email when this alert triggers : Select this checkbox if you want to receive an email when the alert is generated. If you want other people to also receive email, open the other email addresses menu, click",[49,38333,38334,38335],{},"Click Set up your mobile phone to enter your mobile phone number.\n",[46,38336,38337,38340,38343],{},[49,38338,38339],{},"Alert Conditions :",[49,38341,38342],{},"This applies to : Select the dimension to which the alert applies.",[49,38344,38345],{},"Alert me when : Select the metric to which the alert applies, the condition that generates the alerts (e.g., Is less than, Is greater than), and enter the value for the condition (e.g., Is less than 20 ).",[14,38347,38348],{},"And there you have it! Your very own intelligence event is set up.",[24,38350,38352],{"id":38351},"any-other-questions","Any other questions?",[14,38354,38355,38356],{},"If you have any other questions, feel free to give me a shout directly over Twitter! Reach me at ",[206,38357,38360],{"href":38358,"rel":38359},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002Fmikekrass",[210],"twitter.com\u002Fmikekrass",[81,38362,38364],{"id":38363},"transcript-of-google-analytics-meet-up-onintelligence-events","Transcript of Google Analytics meet up on Intelligence Events",[14,38366,38367],{},"Max: For so many of our clients the dashboards are blank.",[14,38369,38370,38371],{},"Mike: Yeah. ",[24436,38372,38373],{},"laughs",[14,38375,38376],{},"Max: Like when you have 3 million visits it's much more fun to look through all the data.",[14,38378,38379,38380],{},"Mike: Yeah, I picked this on purpose. Yeah. ",[24436,38381,38373],{},[14,38383,38384],{},"Max: It actually works.",[14,38386,38387],{},"Mike: Yeah. Do you guys at Razorfrog use real-time at all?",[14,38389,38390],{},"Max: A little bit.",[14,38392,38393],{},"Scott: It's like, \"Oh, someone's on the desktop version of our site right now.\" Or, \"Who's on hold?\" Or, \"Where are they coming from?\"",[14,38395,38396],{},"Steve: It's cool, but I don't have any real uses for it, personally.",[14,38398,38399],{},"Max: I use it for a bitcoin app, and I thought it was cool just to see people around the world using it, but no use for it really besides entertainment.",[14,38401,38402],{},"Mike: Do you use this at all?",[14,38404,38405],{},"Rob: Yeah, it was one of those things, kind of cool, but it's hard to draw any conclusions from any of the sites to this...",[14,38407,38408],{},"Mike: Yeah, the only way we use it at all is to QA things, primarily e-commerce, or any kind of tracking links to our site. You can go into real-time and look at conversions for example. And if I was testing something, say I made a new goal or something wasn't working in Google Analytics, I'd load up real-time on my second monitor and just watch it. And then I'd run through the conversion process and see if it popped or not.",[14,38410,38411],{},"Max: Yeah, it's a lot easier when you have a lot of traffic.",[14,38413,38370,38414,38416,38417],{},[24436,38415,38373],{}," Yeah, because GA, normally the data that is ingested and then displayed is about three or four or five hours behind. And that's based on Pacific Time too. So sometimes when you need to QA something, it doesn't behoove you to wait six hours. You want to see if it worked right now. ",[24436,38418,38419],{},"laugh",[14,38421,38422],{},"Liz, you had a GA meeting this morning, didn't you?",[14,38424,38425],{},"Liz: No.",[14,38427,38428],{},"Mike: Okay.",[14,38430,38431,38432],{},"Liz: Yes, sir. ",[24436,38433,38434],{},"laughter",[14,38436,38437],{},"Mike: I'm trying to set you up.",[14,38439,38440],{},"Rob: Yeah, I use it for QA-ing like that too, but other use cases, just testing whether or not those pages are tagged or you can use that. I've been questioning whether it has a tag on it or not, you can just go there and you can see.",[14,38442,38443],{},"Male: Should it come up or not?",[14,38445,38446],{},"Mike: Yeah. It's in the content section; you see all these URL's that just jump up.",[14,38448,38449,38450,38452],{},"Steven: So I interviewed with some company, I don't remember what it was, but they used the real-time. They had it on a TV up a wall, and they would watch it, and that's how they would know if their site was down. They just look over, and all of a sudden...",[24436,38451,38434],{},", \"Oh no, we've got to go fix the site.\"",[14,38454,38455],{},"Rob: That's one way.",[14,38457,38458],{},"Mike: It's like a good down detector?",[14,38460,38461,38462],{},"Steven: Yeah. ",[24436,38463,38373],{},[14,38465,38466],{},"Female: I was going to say, it would be interesting to look at it during a cyber sale, or something like Cyber Monday or Black Friday.",[14,38468,38469],{},"Rob: Mm-hmm, yeah, definitely. That would be cool.",[14,38471,38472],{},"Mike: Especially for e-commerce you want to make sure the second that something went down you'd want to know.",[14,38474,38475],{},"Female: Yeah. Totally.",[14,38477,38478],{},"Mike: You wouldn't want to wait for a couple of minutes and then realize that you were missing out on sales.",[14,38480,38481],{},"Jen: we can really benefit from real?",[14,38483,38484,38485],{},"Liz: Yeah, we have. ",[24436,38486,38373],{},[14,38488,38489],{},"Mike: You guys have some downages?",[14,38491,38492],{},"Natalie: Not lately, but...",[14,38494,38495,38496,212],{},"Natalie: ...there has been. It always seems to happen on a holiday, though, so...",[24436,38497,38373],{},[14,38499,38500],{},"Liz: Not as much since we got the new websites.",[14,38502,38503],{},"Male: Never want to use it.",[14,38505,38506],{},"Max: Yeah. It only goes down when people use it.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":38508},[38509,38510,38511],{"id":38221,"depth":291,"text":38222},{"id":38264,"depth":291,"text":38265},{"id":38351,"depth":291,"text":38352,"children":38512},[38513],{"id":38363,"depth":297,"text":38364},"2015-03-23","Intelligence events allow you to set up custom alerts when significant changeshappen on your website.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fgoogle-analytics-intelligence-events-what-are-they",{"title":38193,"description":38515},"Google Analytics: Intelligence Events","blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fgoogle-analytics-intelligence-events-what-are-they","veUBzeH2t1pLW0wRsJmJbV5LXUZEIdZd9TY33OhXJlo",{"id":38523,"title":38524,"author":7,"authors":38525,"body":38526,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":38772,"description":77,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":38773,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":38774,"seo":38775,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":38776,"stem":38777,"updated":7,"__hash__":38778},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fgoogle-analytics-making-use-automated-reports.md","Google Analytics: Making Use of Automated Reports",[17174],{"type":11,"value":38527,"toc":38765},[38528,38531,38534,38538,38542,38544,38549,38557,38560,38564,38567,38570,38573,38581,38585,38588,38591,38594,38597,38600,38603,38607,38610,38613,38616,38619,38622,38625,38628,38631,38634,38637,38640,38643,38646,38649,38652,38655,38658,38661,38664,38667,38670,38672,38675,38678,38681,38684,38687,38690,38692,38695,38698,38701,38704,38707,38710,38712,38715,38718,38721,38723,38726,38729,38732,38735,38738,38741,38744,38747,38750,38753,38756,38759,38762],[16784,38529],{"width":26246,"height":38199,"scrolling":25905,"frameBorder":25905,"allow":38200,"src":38530},"https:\u002F\u002Fw.soundcloud.com\u002Fplayer\u002F?url=https%3A\u002F\u002Fapi.soundcloud.com\u002Ftracks\u002F195707412&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true",[14,38532,38533],{},"For the TL;DR crowd: This podcast explores the automated reports feature of Google Analytics. Listen to the audio above or skim through the excerpt and transcript below for more detailed information.",[24,38535,38537],{"id":38536},"google-analytics-what-areautomated-reports","Google Analytics: What are Automated Reports?",[14,38539,38225,38540,38230],{},[206,38541,38229],{"href":38228},[14,38543,38233],{},[24025,38545,38546],{},[14,38547,38548],{},"** My clients are asking for automated reports to be delivered by email. Any helpful hints on that front? **\nI personally have a few opinions (based on experience) with automated reports:",[132,38550,38551,38554],{},[49,38552,38553],{},"Automated Reports Contain Zero Analysis: These automated reports from GA are a blessing and a curse; with no analysis, really all they do is tell you facts and figures while leaving you guessing what actually drove that activity on your website or mobile app. In short: You end up with more questions than answers.",[49,38555,38556],{},"GA Automated Reports Should be Contained: Building on point #1 above, these reports can be super helpful if you a) set them up correctly, and b) read them correctly.",[14,38558,38559],{},"We have a few hard and fast rules when agreeing to send automated reports from Google Analytics.",[24,38561,38563],{"id":38562},"rule-1-macro-level-metrics-only","Rule #1: Macro-Level Metrics Only",[14,38565,38566],{},"The last thing you want to do is get completely bogged down in specific report details ... and then not be able to dive into the data to learn more.",[14,38568,38569],{},"Automated reports are  static --  you can't adjust the timing, play with the data or add additional segments for analysis. The report arrives as-is and cannot be changed, so design your report according.",[14,38571,38572],{},"As a point of reference, we tend to include the following elements in all automated reports:",[132,38574,38575,38578],{},[49,38576,38577],{},"Comparison: If you're looking at an automated report every month, then we want to wire it up so that it comes data to the  previous  month so some useful analysis can be display.",[49,38579,38580],{},"Core KPI's Only: Don't worry about adding pages per visit (unless you're a media outlet, of course :-D) but instead focus on core KPI's. Examples include e-commerce activity, sales data, lead activity, email opt-ins ... you get the point.",[24,38582,38584],{"id":38583},"rule-2-cadence-is-key","Rule #2: Cadence is Key",[14,38586,38587],{},"Don't bog your inboxes down by sending automated reports  every single day ; you won't even have time to read today's report half the time!",[14,38589,38590],{},"More importantly, the data you analysis day-over-day will put blinders on the big picture of your websites performance; namely sales activity, leads generated or email addresses captured (to name a few KPI's).",[14,38592,38593],{},"Here' s a highlighted screengrab that shows where you can set the cadence of these reports.",[75,38595],{"src":38596},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FGoogle-Analytics-Automated-Reports-Cadence.webp",[14,38598,38599],{},"If you have any questions about automated reports in Google Analytics, feel free to give us a shout!",[14,38601,38602],{},"For those interested in the transcript of our meet up, read along below:",[81,38604,38606],{"id":38605},"transcript-of-google-analytics-meet-up-on-automated-reports","Transcript of Google Analytics meet up on Automated Reports",[14,38608,38609],{},"Mike: Oh, Max, you guys were talking about automated reports in a PDF format on a weekly basis. So something like this.",[14,38611,38612],{},"Max: Yeah. We got a few set up, but they're just [pause] cumbersome. And I was trying to spend a while actually getting that content into a body of an email, which doesn't seem like it's possible using Google Analytics. I found some third party service which will do it, if I pay them, of course. It's actually a pretty nice little email. They're really digestible, nice charts and graphs right in line with text, as opposed to, \"Hey, look at this PDF, and stare at it for a while and try to figure out what it says.\"",[14,38614,38615],{},"Mike: Yeah.",[14,38617,38618],{},"Max: Because even a PDF, when you have a screen like this, isn't completely like, \"How am I doing? How are things?\"",[14,38620,38621],{},"[laughter]",[14,38623,38624],{},"Max: You have to really look at it to figure out what's going on.",[14,38626,38627],{},"Steven: You do get these PDF's to auto-send?",[14,38629,38630],{},"Max: Yeah.",[14,38632,38633],{},"Steven: So they send you weekly reports or whatever they want to?",[14,38635,38636],{},"Max: ...on site here.",[14,38638,38639],{},"Mike: You click on this little button called email, and say daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly. Pick the day. Normally it shows up in the early morning, like between 3 and 6 a.m.",[14,38641,38642],{},"Max: Yeah, it's got some smaller ones weekly and bigger ones monthly. And [pause] the briefmetrics.com are the ones who make the a little more digestible emails. I guess it's some guy that worked at Google Analytics, but came in for a slightly prettier version for pariahs. Kind of hard to digest.",[14,38644,38645],{},"Mike: [chuckle] Yeah.",[14,38647,38648],{},"Jen: See what you did there or like this?",[14,38650,38651],{},"Max: Yeah?",[14,38653,38654],{},"Mike: [laughs] So did your clients start asking for this or did you just bring it to them?",[14,38656,38657],{},"Max: A few. I'm thinking a lot of people would like more, though, and just don't even really know it's there or kind of forgot about it. Just for the most part it's, \"Hey, I'm using your sites, and here's how to use it. And here's where all your analytics are, and you're probably never going to go look at them, but you should.\"",[14,38659,38660],{},"Mike: Hmm.",[14,38662,38663],{},"Jen: Just so you know, I never look at our analytics.",[14,38665,38666],{},"Mike: Here we go. Liz or Rob, do you guys do any automated reports? Or is this not something you guys do at all?",[14,38668,38669],{},"Liz: We may? [laughs]",[14,38671,38621],{},[14,38673,38674],{},"Jen: It's really new for us, right?",[14,38676,38677],{},"Liz: Our Google Analytics, when we had it set up, was really bad. And within the last three months, our director of e-commerce has spent a lot of time cleaning it up and making new dashboards. So that's where I come in, just helping her, getting it set up. So we're still figuring out our reporting and how we're going to get it to our hotel properties which are our clients.",[14,38679,38680],{},"Mike: And to provide some context, you guys have what 30 or 40 or 50 hotels?",[14,38682,38683],{},"Jen: We have 32 right now, and a lot in the works. We just partnered with a new chat room company and that's going to bring in a lot more hotels. So it's good that we are doing this now, so we can bring down, [pause] so we can start their analytics correctly from the get go.",[14,38685,38686],{},"Mike: So that's 30 something, 32 individual analytics accounts that you guys look at.",[14,38688,38689],{},"Jen: Yes.",[14,38691,38428],{},[14,38693,38694],{},"Liz: And then, well, we do have, [pause] a lot of the hotels have their individual websites, as well as posts from our main corporate ones. So we look at the analytics of that as well. And then we have our media channels. So we use it for everything. We also have a loyalty club website so yeah.",[14,38696,38697],{},"Mike: Mm-hmm.",[14,38699,38700],{},"Max: One thing that's really nice about the dashboards, if you're not aware that you can import and export them. And so you can just search for analytics dashboards and find websites full of...",[14,38702,38703],{},"Rob: Interesting.",[14,38705,38706],{},"Max: ...e-commerce dashboards, and social media dashboards, and Dropbox dashboards...",[14,38708,38709],{},"Male: Or like WordPress type dashboards.",[14,38711,38615],{},[14,38713,38714],{},"Max: ...and really for anything.",[14,38716,38717],{},"Male: ...yeah you just...",[14,38719,38720],{},"Mike: On the left side it says new dashboards, and you can do blank or starter. [pause] I'm sorry; import from gallery is what Max is talking about.",[14,38722,38703],{},[14,38724,38725],{},"Mike: So you can pick any of these like these sections.",[14,38727,38728],{},"Max: ...all sorts you can end up with a hundred different ones to see what works.",[14,38730,38731],{},"Male: Uh-huh.",[14,38733,38734],{},"Max: ...or what makes sense.",[14,38736,38737],{},"Mike: So, some of these are really good. Like Occam's Razor Awesomeness is one of the best ones in my opinion. It's run by Avinash something, I can't pronounce his last name. Kaushik? Anyways, he's a GA evangelist. I think he's still a Google employee. And he's got Occam's Razor, his blog is one of the best Google Analytics blogs in the world. The guy's pretty awesome. So he's got a slew of dashboards that he really likes. And what's really nice is they have the ratings here too and how many people are using them. So it gives you an idea before you actually load this up and start monkeying with it. Like, \"Are people using this? And what do they think about it,\" which is nice.",[14,38739,38740],{},"Rob: Can you toggle between the different dashboards easily? Or are you just going to have to use one?",[14,38742,38743],{},"Max: Yeah, they show up a lot there on hot lists.",[14,38745,38746],{},"Mike: So I've got, for this client, we have four dashboards. One is for search-marketing, Twitter ads, LinkedIn, and Facebook. And so you just jump between them. These are all pretty basic.",[14,38748,38749],{},"Steve: The dashboards. Are some free and some you have to pay for?",[14,38751,38752],{},"Mike: They're all free. I've never paid for any.",[14,38754,38755],{},"Steve: ...paid ones.",[14,38757,38758],{},"Mike: Yeah. I know GA has shortcuts. I use this for smaller stuff. But sometimes it's really nice. This is harder to export and share with people, so it's nice to have the dashboard because you can actually share in the solutions gallery. Which means if you have a dashboard you really like you can upload it so other people can use it. Or you can share the template link. So say your client or your team hates getting up email in the morning, there's just a link that will always be constant and they can look at it at any given time. They'll just click on it.",[14,38760,38761],{},"Max: So a nice little hotlink?",[14,38763,38764],{},"Mike: Yeah. So if you're looking, like you can tell for this client we are looking, at advertising in SEO, we always look at generally the same metrics. So this will paint, maybe like three quarters of the story. Like with this SEO dashboard we can tell, \"Are trials up or down month over month when you do a comparison? Was revenue down month over month?\" And you can just easily take a look at whatever kind of comparison you want. And then you probably dive a little bit deeper into Google Analytics to find out the \"why,\" but it at least tells you where to poke, you know?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":38766},[38767,38768,38769],{"id":38536,"depth":291,"text":38537},{"id":38562,"depth":291,"text":38563},{"id":38583,"depth":291,"text":38584,"children":38770},[38771],{"id":38605,"depth":297,"text":38606},"2015-03-16",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fgoogle-analytics-making-use-automated-reports",{"title":38524,"description":77},"Google Analytics: Automated Reports","blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fgoogle-analytics-making-use-automated-reports","cFVxm9ehzSNbQ_nO4PNLMQ9BI6irfYlfhhopjFqpbEc",{"id":38780,"title":38781,"author":7,"authors":38782,"body":38783,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":38954,"description":77,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":38955,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":38956,"seo":38957,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":38958,"stem":38959,"updated":7,"__hash__":38960},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fgoogle-analytics-know-how-funnel-visualization-for-mobile-apps.md","Google Analytics Know How: Funnel Visualization for Mobile Apps",[17174],{"type":11,"value":38784,"toc":38949},[38785,38788,38791,38795,38804,38807,38816,38819,38822,38833,38836,38839,38843,38846,38849,38852,38855,38862,38865,38868,38871,38874,38877,38884,38887,38890,38893,38896,38899,38902,38905,38908,38911,38914,38917,38920,38923,38926,38931,38934,38937,38940,38943],[16784,38786],{"width":26246,"height":38199,"scrolling":25905,"frameBorder":25905,"allow":38200,"src":38787},"https:\u002F\u002Fw.soundcloud.com\u002Fplayer\u002F?url=https%3A\u002F\u002Fapi.soundcloud.com\u002Ftracks\u002F194435855&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true",[14,38789,38790],{},"For the TL;DR crowd: This podcast explores Google Analytics to find out where mobile app users drop off in the purchase process. Listen to the audio above or skim through the excerpt and transcript below for more detailed information.",[24,38792,38794],{"id":38793},"google-analytics-know-how-finding-out-where-users-drop-off-in-mobile-app-purchases-with-a-funnel-visualization-snapshot","Google Analytics Know How: Finding Out Where Users Drop Off in Mobile App Purchases with a Funnel Visualization Snapshot",[14,38796,38797,38798,38803],{},"A few weeks back I hosted the inaugural Google Analytics meet up at ",[206,38799,38802],{"href":38800,"rel":38801},"https:\u002F\u002Fnextspace.us?utm_source=mkgmarketinginc",[210],"NextSpace",", a co-working space based in San Francisco. As an active Google Analytics practitioner, I was interested in meeting up with non-practioneers to hear their use cases and questions about Google Analytics.",[14,38805,38806],{},"This initial meet up spawned a few really solid topics (more on those in a later post), but the one that we'll discuss today came from Carlos, an iOS developer here in San Francisco:",[24025,38808,38809],{},[14,38810,38811,38812,38815],{},"** Can I figure out where my app users drop off in the mobile checkout process? **\nLuckily for Carlos, the short answer is ",[52,38813,38814],{},"YES",". Using a Funnel Visualization report (example below), you can figure out at exactly what steps users dropped out of your purchase funnel.",[75,38817],{"src":38818},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FGoogle-Analytics-Funnel-Vizualization-Report.webp",[14,38820,38821],{},"It's pretty simply to wire up this report:",[132,38823,38824,38827,38830],{},[49,38825,38826],{},"Navigate to Conversions\"",[49,38828,38829],{},"Expand the \"Goals\" option",[49,38831,38832],{},"Click on \"Funnel Visualization\"",[14,38834,38835],{},"Voila!",[14,38837,38838],{},"For those interested in the full transcript, read along below:",[81,38840,38842],{"id":38841},"transcript-of-google-analytics-meet-up","Transcript of Google Analytics meet up",[14,38844,38845],{},"Liz: I'm Liz. I work for a hotel company, and we use Google Analytics exclusively for all of our traffic, and seeing our customer's path, clicking.",[14,38847,38848],{},"Scott: I'm Scott. I work at Razorfrog Web Design. We use Google Analytics to optimize sites, look at page feed, and that kind of stuff.",[14,38850,38851],{},"Max: I work with Scott. I'm Max. We use it for all our clients, some 150 various accounts that we're looking at right now, some much more than others. I'm trying to make sense of it for them, on their behalf, trying to look through it on our behalf, just where we can make improvements, for pages, and conversions, and goals. A lot more for our own site, with goal tracking, and Dropbox, and forms, and those units and things.",[14,38853,38854],{},"Carlos: Hi, I'm Carlos. I'm a developer. I installed it, and I want to know more.",[14,38856,38857,38858,38861],{},"Steven: I'm Steven. I'm a co-founder for a company called ",[24436,38859,38860],{},"inaudible 00:01:06",", and we use Google Analytics for tracking, and here to learn how to use it more.",[14,38863,38864],{},"Natalie: I'm Natalie, and I don't know anything about Google Analytics. I'm here to eat my lunch and listen to the sound of Mike's voice.",[14,38866,38867],{},"Jen: Me too.",[14,38869,38870],{},"Mike: Eat lunch. That's going in the meeting minutes. Eat lunch and listen to Mike. Jen seconds. All right.",[14,38872,38873],{},"Jen: We're the cheerleaders.",[14,38875,38876],{},"Steve: Hi I'm Steve. I'm currently taking some tech courses, but looking to do some development shortly. We just want to learn more about Google Analytics, details and specifics.",[14,38878,38879,38880,38883],{},"Rob: I'm Rob; I'm the founder of Senior Care Web Business. We use Google Analytics for user acquisition, where people are coming from, which channels have ROI. And then also conversion tracking, and what percentage of people are buying something, and where they are coming from so that we can make smarter business decisions. ",[24436,38881,38882],{},"pause"," And eat my sandwich.",[14,38885,38886],{},"Mike: Well, if we want to just start by just addressing use cases, I think Carlos had one out of the gate.",[14,38888,38889],{},"Carlos: Yep.",[14,38891,38892],{},"Mike:  So, I think Carlos your initial question was like, \"Where do people drop off?\" And in Google Analytics, there in the goals section you can do a funnel visualization. So, you can start from anywhere. But we should start from e-commerce.",[14,38894,38895],{},"Max: And you can make lots of them and save them all?",[14,38897,38898],{},"Mike: Yes.",[14,38900,38901],{},"Carlos: So you can basically decide what pages you are tracking at the go?",[14,38903,38904],{},"Mike: Well, Google Analytics, as long as you deploy it on your entire site, or the app, it will grab anything. So you can pick a page here. It just starts at like an index or an entrance. So in reality this is like the homepage. This is our client's homepage.",[14,38906,38907],{},"And there's not much in this goal, because you just basically go from the homepage to trial. And either you make it or you don't. So, you can see here that this shows about 40,000 people, or about a fourth, a little more than a fourth, just drop off. And they end up dropping off to just an exit the website, they make it to checkout but they don't go all the way. They end up going to a product page, a different product page.",[14,38909,38910],{},"So you can do this. This is probably a better funnel. Here we go. This is what it would look like for a shopping cart, so you can see the entrance here on the left. And then it's PD, this is our product pages and then they actually get into the cart. So it shows 10% of people make it to the cart.",[14,38912,38913],{},"And then there's individual phases. So a great thing here to see is that 98, almost 99% of people make it from the cart entrance to their billing info. And then you see the drop-off.",[14,38915,38916],{},"Max: If people wanted to check out, but then they change their minds when they're entering billing.",[14,38918,38919],{},"Mike: Yeah. So that's how we use this for this client is to call out those drop-offs. It's really tangible for this client because with 31,000 drop-offs, their product costs 80 bucks a month, or 80 bucks. So they're leaving $2.5 million on the table in the last month.",[14,38921,38922],{},"So we're not saying you're going to get all of that, because that's never possible, but you could at least get some of it.",[14,38924,38925],{},"Natalie: That's a lot!",[14,38927,38928],{},[24436,38929,38930],{},"chuckles",[14,38932,38933],{},"Mike: Yeah. So that's a good example of the question you had, Carlos.",[14,38935,38936],{},"Carlos: Mm-hmm. That absolutely completely answered that.",[14,38938,38939],{},"Mike: And you can do that all these goals that are set up are the same types of goals you can set up for mobile devices.",[14,38941,38942],{},"Carlos: Mm-hmm.",[14,38944,38945,38946,38948],{},"Mike: So, you can set up those goals for in-app purchases, ",[24436,38947,38882],{}," you know, downloads, anything like that.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":38950},[38951],{"id":38793,"depth":291,"text":38794,"children":38952},[38953],{"id":38841,"depth":297,"text":38842},"2015-03-09",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fgoogle-analytics-know-how-funnel-visualization-for-mobile-apps",{"title":38781,"description":77},"Google Analytics: Funnel Visualization for Mobile Apps","blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fgoogle-analytics-know-how-funnel-visualization-for-mobile-apps","mMFbYucjIL4o90hdpwSag_x12QFwNEt-QSq3cnSA1Ik",{"id":38962,"title":38963,"author":7,"authors":38964,"body":38965,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":39016,"description":39017,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":39018,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":39019,"seo":39020,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":39021,"updated":7,"__hash__":39022},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fadam-bids-mkg-media-group-adieu.md","Adam Bids MKG Marketing Adieu",[24268],{"type":11,"value":38966,"toc":39014},[38967,38970,38973,38976,38979,38982,38997,39000,39003,39011],[14,38968,38969],{},"Well gang, this is it. I'm hanging up my MKG watch.",[14,38971,38972],{},"I have made the exciting ( and, admittedly, somewhat intimidating ) decision to actively pursue a career in education. From my time as a mentor and volunteering in a 2nd grade classroom, working with children in a learning environment has become a passion of mine and I decided to not wait another second and get after it!",[14,38974,38975],{},"I've had the honor of working with the incredibly passionate and talented team at MKG Marketing for nearly a year. I can undoubtedly say that you would not be able to find a more dedicated, detail-oriented and hard-working digital marketing agency as MKG Marketing.",[14,38977,38978],{},"It's a small group...but they're dynamic, resourceful and nimble.",[14,38980,38981],{},"And that small group includes my identical twin brother, Christian.",[14,38983,38984,38985,38990,38991,38996],{},"It's been an unforgettable experience working with Christian. I've been able to witness him in his element. He's one of the foremost experts on search engine optimization ( while remaining somewhat of a hidden gem ), and has been able to conjure some amazing tricks out of his hat for MKG clients. In fact, he's running a project called ",[206,38986,38989],{"href":38987,"rel":38988},"https:\u002F\u002F365daysofseo.com\u002F",[210],"365 Days of SEO",", and you should ",[206,38992,38995],{"href":38993,"rel":38994},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fchannel\u002FUCNVdI1wEdvv_jj3IUvT31qA",[210],"subscribe to his YouTube channel"," for daily videos!",[14,38998,38999],{},"Being able to work together, we were able to have lunches together. And those lunches turned into running together. So, naturally, we decided to run a half-marathon! Going through the training and conquering the Columbia River Gorge Half-Marathon in October 2014 with him will be a memory I will always cherish.",[14,39001,39002],{},"I'm incredibly grateful to Mike and Kerry for believing in the Bash Brothers, and I'm proud of the results we all made together.",[14,39004,39005,39010],{},[206,39006,39009],{"href":39007,"rel":39008},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.twitter.com\u002Foriginaladman",[210],"Find me on Twitter",", where I'll likely be informing you of my own personal domain on the World Wide Web soon. I'll need SOMEWHERE to put my random marketing thoughts into the ether.",[14,39012,39013],{},"Bon voyage, MKG! I can't wait to see what you do next...",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":39015},[],"2015-01-30","Adam is off in pursuit of a new career as an educator. Read about his experience at MKG and his future plans as a teacher.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fadam-bids-mkg-media-group-adieu",{"title":38963,"description":39017},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fadam-bids-mkg-media-group-adieu","5P9niI6l4z4CsnefTLnYaLHNHCWSe51WE9D15KPd_eg",{"id":39024,"title":39025,"author":7,"authors":39026,"body":39027,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":39475,"description":39476,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":39477,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":39478,"seo":39479,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":39480,"updated":7,"__hash__":39481},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fyoutube-seo-best-practices.md","YouTube SEO Best Practices [Free Download]",[17174],{"type":11,"value":39028,"toc":39466},[39029,39033,39036,39050,39053,39073,39077,39080,39129,39133,39136,39236,39242,39245,39255,39275,39278,39309,39315,39332,39335,39338,39374,39377,39383,39400,39403,39409,39412,39416],[24,39030,39032],{"id":39031},"youtube-best-practices","YouTube Best Practices",[14,39034,39035],{},"YouTube is a pretty big deal. Let's look at the numbers:",[46,39037,39038,39041,39044,39047],{},[49,39039,39040],{},"More than 1 billion people visit YouTube each month.",[49,39042,39043],{},"Over 6 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube – that’s almost an hour for every person on Earth.",[49,39045,39046],{},"100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute.",[49,39048,39049],{},"According to Nielsen, YouTube reaches more US adults ages 18-34 than any cable network.",[14,39051,39052],{},"So how do you make sure your content is bubbling up to the top of YouTube’s search results? Here’s a list of tips, broken up into three different parts:",[132,39054,39055,39061,39067],{},[49,39056,39057,39060],{},[52,39058,39059],{},"Low Hanging Fruit"," – Easy steps to take to improve the general SEO of your videos.",[49,39062,39063,39066],{},[52,39064,39065],{},"Technical Tips"," – More technical in nature steps to improve overall SEO.",[49,39068,39069,39072],{},[52,39070,39071],{},"Don’t Forget"," – Things to do before and after your video is posted to improve the quality and shares of your video.",[24,39074,39076],{"id":39075},"the-low-hanging-fruit","The Low Hanging Fruit",[14,39078,39079],{},"Here are the basics you need to implement to make sure your video is covered for YouTube SEO.",[46,39081,39082,39088,39094,39100,39106],{},[49,39083,39084,39087],{},[52,39085,39086],{},"File Name:"," When preparing your video for upload, name your video files with your keywords in mind. YouTube will give your video preference if you use topical keywords in your file name. Include keywords closer to the beginning.",[49,39089,39090,39093],{},[52,39091,39092],{},"Video Title:"," As a general rule, include your company’s name in a video’s title. Make the title catchy and worthy of a click!",[49,39095,39096,39099],{},[52,39097,39098],{},"Video Description:"," Make the description at least 250 words and include your keyword 2-3 times in the description.",[49,39101,39102,39105],{},[52,39103,39104],{},"Valid Links:"," Direct viewers to related information on your website in your video’s description. You need to include a link in the description to where on your website viewers can find out more information. This is how you drive more traffic to your website. It allows for discovery of your product\u002Fcompany on YouTube and makes it easy to find more information where you want people to go – your website. Make sure your links are UTM-tagged and include bit.ly links to track clicks.",[49,39107,39108,39111,39112],{},[52,39109,39110],{},"Video Tags:"," Descriptive keywords that help YouTube’s discovery systems understand the video topic and therefore deliver it as a search result to new audiences. Remember:\n",[46,39113,39114,39117,39120,39123,39126],{},[49,39115,39116],{},"Each YouTube video offers an upload ability to add tags to the video. It is important to create tags that outline the most important topics for the video.",[49,39118,39119],{},"Include a mix of video-specific and more general (but still relevant) tags.",[49,39121,39122],{},"Only use enough tags to thoroughly and accurately describe your videos.",[49,39124,39125],{},"Update video tags when new and relevant viewership trends emerge.",[49,39127,39128],{},"Include keywords from your title in your video’s tags.",[81,39130,39132],{"id":39131},"channel-settings","Channel Settings:",[14,39134,39135],{},"In addition to having your videos optimized for SEO. Make sure your YouTube Channel is optimized as well.",[46,39137,39138,39144,39150,39156,39162,39168,39174,39180],{},[49,39139,39140,39143],{},[52,39141,39142],{},"Title:"," Include your company name in the title.",[49,39145,39146,39149],{},[52,39147,39148],{},"Visibility:"," Check the visibility to make your channel visible.",[49,39151,39152,39155],{},[52,39153,39154],{},"Email Location:"," Check the box so others can find your channel via email.",[49,39157,39158,39161],{},[52,39159,39160],{},"Channel Tags:"," This is the most important part of channel optimization. Choose three to five relevant keywords that are the same ones you use on your website. Separate each keyword with quotation marks.",[49,39163,39164,39167],{},[52,39165,39166],{},"Modules:"," Any modules are fine, but these three are necessary for optimization: Commenting, Subscriptions, and Friends.",[49,39169,39170,39173],{},[52,39171,39172],{},"Videos and Playlists:"," Always select the “My Uploaded Video” option in the featured content box. Always set one of your videos as the featured video. Check the box to play your featured video automatically.",[49,39175,39176,39179],{},[52,39177,39178],{},"Profile:"," Use your business name as the name of the profile. Write your exact website URL in the websites section. In your channel description, summarize the content of the channel and include a link to your company’s social media channels. In the “About Me” section, give a brief description of your company using targeted keywords.",[49,39181,39182,39185],{},[52,39183,39184],{},"Broadcasting and Sharing Options:",[46,39186,39187,39193,39199,39205,39210,39215,39220,39225,39230],{},[49,39188,39189,39192],{},[52,39190,39191],{},"Privacy:"," Set to Public",[49,39194,39195,39198],{},[52,39196,39197],{},"License:"," Select the standard YouTube license",[49,39200,39201,39204],{},[52,39202,39203],{},"Comments:"," Allow",[49,39206,39207,39204],{},[52,39208,39209],{},"Comment Voting:",[49,39211,39212,39204],{},[52,39213,39214],{},"Video Responses:",[49,39216,39217,39204],{},[52,39218,39219],{},"Rating:",[49,39221,39222,39204],{},[52,39223,39224],{},"Embedding:",[49,39226,39227,39204],{},[52,39228,39229],{},"Syndication:",[49,39231,39232,39235],{},[52,39233,39234],{},"Date and Map:"," Set the video’s location to the company address.",[14,39237,39238,39241],{},[52,39239,39240],{},"Captions and Subtitles:"," YouTube converts videos into Java, which makes the content unable to be crawled by search engines. By uploading a caption file, you give Google a giant block of copy to read. Transcribe the video into a .txt file. Use periods and commas to signify breaks in speech. This will help Google’s voice recognition service to time the captions properly. If the video contains no speech, use the annotations feature to create a caption with a call-to-action for the company website or social network page. Make sure the timing is set on the annotation to give the caption ample display time. Upload the transcript or caption file. It may take several minutes to process.",[24,39243,39065],{"id":39244},"technical-tips",[14,39246,39247,39250,39251,39254],{},[52,39248,39249],{},"Using Thumbnails on YouTube:"," Create an eye-catching thumbnail for your video. Hand-select a frame. You can edit it with Photoshop or any other image editor to accomplish this task. Make sure you name your thumbnail file with your main keyword of the video.\n",[52,39252,39253],{},"Build Your Subscribers:"," Subscribers receive notifications for new uploads in the main YouTube stream, this helps improve your organic views of your videos. Here are a few tips on how to grow subscribers:",[46,39256,39257,39263,39269],{},[49,39258,39259,39262],{},[52,39260,39261],{},"Be consistent"," – Upload videos on a consistent pace.",[49,39264,39265,39268],{},[52,39266,39267],{},"Provide value"," – In addition to promotional videos, don’t be afraid to film yourself speaking. This can give your audience someone to identify with.",[49,39270,39271,39274],{},[52,39272,39273],{},"Video annotation"," – Use video annotations to create a call to action to ask for subscribers. You can even add a “Subscribe” image to your video and draw a “Spotlight” annotation that links to your subscribe page.",[14,39276,39277],{},"Here are four ways you can create a call to action to get subscribers:",[132,39279,39280,39291,39297,39303],{},[49,39281,39282,39285,39286,39290],{},[52,39283,39284],{},"The Popup Link Method:"," Create a popup with a call to action to subscribe to your company’s YouTube channel. Just use this code ",[206,39287,39288],{"href":39288,"rel":39289},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fuser\u002FYOURUSERNAMEHERE?sub_confirmation=1",[210],". It will trigger a pop up asking viewers to subscribe to your channel. Use this on your social media channels.",[49,39292,39293,39296],{},[52,39294,39295],{},"The Website Badge:"," Add a badge on your website directing people to your YouTube channel. You can do this a few different ways.",[49,39298,39299,39302],{},[52,39300,39301],{},"The iFrame Method:"," Customizable to fit your website needs. If you want to display a box like that under your video and your have your video set to display at a certain size, you can add this below the video at the same width and it adds an amazing call to action for subscribers and looks like it is supposed to be there.",[49,39304,39305,39308],{},[52,39306,39307],{},"YouTube Javascript Subscribe Button Method:"," YouTube has ways to embed your channel on your website, just use the provided HTML code for your website.",[14,39310,39311,39314],{},[52,39312,39313],{},"Find Video Keywords:"," A normal search engine result page has 10 webpage results. However, Google has been updating the number of videos, news items, and extra information is displayed on this page. In general, Google tends to use video results for these types of keywords:",[46,39316,39317,39320,39323,39326,39329],{},[49,39318,39319],{},"How-to keywords",[49,39321,39322],{},"Reviews",[49,39324,39325],{},"Tutorials",[49,39327,39328],{},"Fitness \u002F Sports Related",[49,39330,39331],{},"Funny Videos",[14,39333,39334],{},"The easiest way to find video keywords is to search for keywords in your niche. Then see if any of the keywords you searched for have YouTube video results. Next, you need to check if there’s enough search volume for that keyword. (Just make sure your target keyword gets at least 300 average searches per month in Google. You can do this using Google Keyword Planner.)",[14,39336,39337],{},"Don’t forget! YouTube uses user experience metrics to determine the quality of your video. This includes:",[46,39339,39340,39346,39351,39357,39363,39369],{},[49,39341,39342,39345],{},[52,39343,39344],{},"Video retention:"," The percentage of your video people tend to watch.",[49,39347,39348,39350],{},[52,39349,39203],{}," If people comment, they probably enjoyed the video (or at least watched it).",[49,39352,39353,39356],{},[52,39354,39355],{},"Subscribes after watching:"," If someone subscribes to your channel after watching your video that sends a huge signal that you have an amazing video.",[49,39358,39359,39362],{},[52,39360,39361],{},"Shares:"," How many people share your video on social media channels.",[49,39364,39365,39368],{},[52,39366,39367],{},"Favorites:"," The number of people that favorite your video or add it to their “Watch Later” playlist.",[49,39370,39371],{},[52,39372,39373],{},"Thumbs Up \u002F Thumbs Down",[24,39375,39071],{"id":39376},"dont-forget",[14,39378,39379,39382],{},[52,39380,39381],{},"Make Your Video Awesome:"," In general, the more you put into your video, the more you’ll get out of it. Hire a professional videographer, pay an editor to add graphics and rent a studio. As long as your video is valuable and interested to watch, you are good to go. Just remember, quality matters so much because user engagement is the most important YouTube ranking signal.\nOnce published, share your video immediately. Here are some good starting places to share:",[46,39384,39385,39388,39391,39394,39397],{},[49,39386,39387],{},"Embed your video on a Google+ post with a description.",[49,39389,39390],{},"Share your video on all social media including Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.",[49,39392,39393],{},"Email your video link to your website email subscribers.",[49,39395,39396],{},"Create a blog post around your video.",[49,39398,39399],{},"Find linking partners for your videos.",[14,39401,39402],{},"When sharing, ask engaging questions with your audience. Statements like “We can’t wait to hear what you think!” and “Leave a comment in the video and let us know if you have any questions.”",[14,39404,39405,39408],{},[52,39406,39407],{},"Embed Your Videos in Blog Posts and Company Website:"," Whenever you write a blog post (on your site or as a guest blog post for anther site) ask yourself, “Where can I embed a YouTube video on this post?”",[14,39410,39411],{},"Don’t forget to include these videos on your company’s sitemap. Make sure you have a separate landing page for each video so search engines can find and index each video asset individually.",[24,39413,39415],{"id":39414},"additional-resources","Additional Resources",[46,39417,39418,39426,39434,39442,39450,39458],{},[49,39419,39420,39423],{},[206,39421],{"href":39422},"https:\u002F\u002Fbacklinko.com\u002Fhow-to-rank-youtube-videos",[206,39424,39422],{"href":39422,"rel":39425},[210],[49,39427,39428,39431],{},[206,39429],{"href":39430},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.forbes.com\u002Fsites\u002Fjohnrampton\u002F2014\u002F06\u002F12\u002Fvideo-seo-guide-optimization-best-practices\u002F",[206,39432,39430],{"href":39430,"rel":39433},[210],[49,39435,39436,39439],{},[206,39437],{"href":39438},"https:\u002F\u002Fsearchenginewatch.com\u002Fsew\u002Fhow-to\u002F2343365\u002F10-video-seo-tips-that-can-truly-impact-your-rankings",[206,39440,39438],{"href":39438,"rel":39441},[210],[49,39443,39444,39447],{},[206,39445],{"href":39446},"https:\u002F\u002Fmikegingerich.com\u002Foptimize-youtube-videos-seo\u002F",[206,39448,39446],{"href":39446,"rel":39449},[210],[49,39451,39452,39455],{},[206,39453],{"href":39454},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.prdaily.com\u002FMain\u002FArticles\u002FStepbystep_SEO_guide_for_YouTube_videos_11124.aspx",[206,39456,39454],{"href":39454,"rel":39457},[210],[49,39459,39460,39463],{},[206,39461],{"href":39462},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.scottbuehler.com\u002Fsocial-media\u002Fyoutube-guide\u002F",[206,39464,39462],{"href":39462,"rel":39465},[210],{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":39467},[39468,39469,39472,39473,39474],{"id":39031,"depth":291,"text":39032},{"id":39075,"depth":291,"text":39076,"children":39470},[39471],{"id":39131,"depth":297,"text":39132},{"id":39244,"depth":291,"text":39065},{"id":39376,"depth":291,"text":39071},{"id":39414,"depth":291,"text":39415},"2015-01-29","How you make sure your content is bubbling up to the top of YouTube’s search results.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fyoutube-seo-best-practices",{"title":39025,"description":39476},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fyoutube-seo-best-practices","75kqkz4djV9o64I85nlP7MYW7tLa8uyDjKyC9w2dW88",{"id":39483,"title":39484,"author":7,"authors":39485,"body":39486,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":39577,"description":39578,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":39579,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":39580,"seo":39581,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":39582,"updated":7,"__hash__":39583},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fgood-influencer-in-six-simple-steps.md","How to Be a Good Influencer in Six Simple Steps",[17174],{"type":11,"value":39487,"toc":39569},[39488,39491,39494,39497,39506,39509,39512,39516,39523,39527,39530,39534,39537,39541,39544,39548,39551,39555,39558,39561],[14,39489,39490],{},"This blog post is meant to help you become a better influencer online. With these six simple steps you’ll be able to attract companies interested in doing influencer outreach to score great perks like free swag, VIP access and cash for doing what you already love – creating content online and sharing that content with your friends.",[14,39492,39493],{},"It’s Wednesday afternoon and I’m sitting at a taproom celebrating my friend’s birthday. After making my beer selection, paying, and grabbing my pint, I immediately take out my phone, take a sip and check in my beer on Untappd.",[14,39495,39496],{},"“What are you doing?” a friend of the birthday girl asks. “Oh, hi, sorry, I’m a beer blogger so I’m checking in my beer before I forget.”",[14,39498,39499,39500,39505],{},"When I’m not working at MKG, I spend a lot of my time, reading, writing and trying beers. I run a blog called ",[206,39501,39504],{"href":39502,"rel":39503},"https:\u002F\u002Fbitesizebrews.com",[210],"BiteSize Brews"," that is all about beer. This blog gets me some pretty awesome perks, including trips, media passes to beer events and gift cards to breweries all over the US to try beers.",[14,39507,39508],{},"Professionally, I’ve managed an online personal finance community including freelance writers, trained sales teams on Microsoft products and done tons of outreach to online influencers for various products over the past six years. A majority of these online influencers are people just like me. They have full time professional jobs and then blog about their passions during their lunch breaks and after work.",[14,39510,39511],{},"Taking what I’ve learned professionally about influencers, plus the fact that I'm a blogger myself, I’ve come up with six simple steps you can do to make yourself more attractive to companies. (Assuming you are already creating awesome content and engaging with the online communities around your specific niche.)",[24,39513,39515],{"id":39514},"one-have-a-solid-twitter-bio","One: Have a solid Twitter Bio.",[14,39517,39518,39519,212],{},"State where you work, what you are affiliated with, what you like to do and where you are located (and don’t use those UMT location codes – no one has time to review where exactly that is.) Make sure your bio, profile photo and cover photos don’t have anything crazy, creepy or NSFW. Chances are your profile will be shared in some corporate meeting and reviewed by higher up managers who don’t know the niche community quiet as well as the marketing liaison you’ll be working with. Finally, include a link to your personal blog. Check out ",[206,39520,39522],{"href":39521},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fthe-anatomy-of-a-great-tweet\u002F","crafting tweets in one of our previous articles",[24,39524,39526],{"id":39525},"two-have-a-contact-page-on-your-blog","Two: Have a contact page on your blog.",[14,39528,39529],{},"The point of having a blog and wanting to get swag is making it simple for people in marketing to reach out to you. Create a dedicated space on your blog for this. Include a little bit about yourself, a photo, maybe some stats about your blog, links to your social media handles, and a way for people to reach you. Afraid of spam? Here are some options: contact form, spelling your email out, or a photo of your email address.",[24,39531,39533],{"id":39532},"three-respond-when-people-reach-out","Three: Respond when People Reach Out.",[14,39535,39536],{},"You have two options when people reach out to you with marketing opportunities: respond or ignore. Even if you aren’t interested, it is always best to send a simple message stating you aren’t interested. This stops the annoying emails like “Hey, just wanted to follow up and see if you received my email on…” If you are interested, send a quick note stating you are interested and ask for additional information.",[24,39538,39540],{"id":39539},"four-review-the-information","Four: Review the Information.",[14,39542,39543],{},"Like number three, you now have three different options after you receive additional information: decline, agree or negotiate for something better for you, your schedule or your community’s sake. Remember, it’s your blog. You can do what you want with it. Just because a company is offering your something, doesn’t mean you need to accept it. If you can’t do it based on time or other restrictions, say so. The worst thing you can do it say yes and then not follow through. (You wouldn’t do that to your boss or friends, would you?) It’s not professional and won’t get you recommended for future projects.",[24,39545,39547],{"id":39546},"five-keep-open-communication","Five: Keep Open Communication.",[14,39549,39550],{},"No one in marketing likes radio silence. We are a profession based on communication after all. Make sure you are constantly updating the marketing manager with what is going on: what is working, what isn’t, what you are thinking about posting, when it will be posted, when it actually is posted and any follow up you might have. It also helps to keep marketing managers in the loop on life stuff as well. A simple email of “Hey – my kid has the flu, I might need a couple more days.” Is a totally fair note to send, we are humans too.",[24,39552,39554],{"id":39553},"six-play-by-the-rules","Six: Play by the Rules.",[14,39556,39557],{},"If you say you are doing to do something, do it. Include the information you are supposed to include (copy, images, video, tracking codes, etc.) If you follow all the rules, create good work, chances are you’ll get recommended for more future projects and thus get more swag, money, and possibly a bonus. In addition, play nice, refer friends who might be interested in special promotions, take some risks and overall don’t bite the hand that feeds you (or at least gives you early access to a program).",[14,39559,39560],{},"There you go six simple steps to becoming a strong online influencer. Are you an online influencer? What have you done to step your game up? What are you goals for 2015?",[14,39562,39563,39564,212],{},"P.S. - Whenever, I talk about my blogging career, I have to give credit to my friend, Sean Ogle, he started a blog after his love of golf and gets tons of free trips all over the world because of it. While I don’t like golf, he inspired me to start blogging about beer so I could get some free beer swag every now and again. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t understand this community of online content creators or be able to do my professional job as successfully since now I can see things from both sides. ",[206,39565,39568],{"href":39566,"rel":39567},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.seanogle.com\u002Fentrepreneurship\u002Fhow-to-build-a-niche-site",[210],"Learn more about Sean and how to build niche sites here",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":39570},[39571,39572,39573,39574,39575,39576],{"id":39514,"depth":291,"text":39515},{"id":39525,"depth":291,"text":39526},{"id":39532,"depth":291,"text":39533},{"id":39539,"depth":291,"text":39540},{"id":39546,"depth":291,"text":39547},{"id":39553,"depth":291,"text":39554},"2015-01-22","Six simple steps to attract companies interested in doing influencer outreach to score great perks like free swag, VIP access and cash for doing what you already love – creating content online and sharing that content with your friends.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fgood-influencer-in-six-simple-steps",{"title":39484,"description":39578},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fgood-influencer-in-six-simple-steps","hNz6QcEyz0-2rPXejiUGS6j5XoSM526JK8L7Njpi9N0",{"id":39585,"title":39586,"author":7,"authors":39587,"body":39588,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":39738,"description":39739,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":39740,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":39741,"seo":39742,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":39743,"stem":39744,"updated":7,"__hash__":39745},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fit-may-be-time-to-include-bing-ads-in-your-marketing-mix.md","It May Be Time to Include Bing Ads In Your Marketing Mix",[24268],{"type":11,"value":39589,"toc":39732},[39590,39593,39596,39599,39606,39609,39615,39618,39626,39633,39644,39648,39651,39654,39657,39660,39663,39667,39670,39675,39678,39681,39684,39688,39691,39696,39699,39718,39722,39725],[14,39591,39592],{},"\"It's only just about Google online...\"",[14,39594,39595],{},"\"Just worry about your rankings on Google, don't worry about anything else.\"",[14,39597,39598],{},"\"Interested in advertising online? Put it all in Google.\"",[14,39600,39601,39602,39605],{},"Raise your hand if your digital marketing employee\u002Fagency\u002Fguru of choice has uttered any of the phrases above. Truth be told, ",[52,39603,39604],{},"we've also"," said these same things.",[14,39607,39608],{},"Well, my friends, the times are a-changin'. And I would be lyin' (had to) if I said any of the above today!",[14,39610,39611,39614],{},[52,39612,39613],{},"What's changed?"," Adoption of Windows 8 is growing and it features pretty deep integration with Bing by default.",[14,39616,39617],{},"It may be time to add Bing Ads to your digital marketing mix.",[14,39619,39620,39621,212],{},"What you see above is a monthly breakdown of operating system usage in 2014 (along with December 2013...more on that soon) from ",[206,39622,39625],{"href":39623,"rel":39624},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.w3schools.com\u002Fbrowsers\u002Fbrowsers_os.asp",[210],"W3Schools",[14,39627,39628,39629,39632],{},"What's the one line you see that had a trend of increasing month-over-month in 2014? ",[52,39630,39631],{},"Windows 8",". The dark blue line had a very consistent upward trend. Now, look at December 2013 to January 2014 specifically. Four operating systems had a positive bump from month-to-month (in order of least impressive increase to most impressive) :",[46,39634,39635,39638,39641],{},[49,39636,39637],{},"Linux grew by 0.1%",[49,39639,39640],{},"Mobile grew by 0.2%",[49,39642,39643],{},"Mac grew by 0.4%",[81,39645,39647],{"id":39646},"windows-8-grew-by-34and-continued-to-grow-sporting-a-71-growth-rate-over-the-course-of-2014","Windows 8 grew by 3.4%...and continued to grow, sporting a 7.1% growth rate over the course of 2014",[14,39649,39650],{},"So, the trend tells us there will be a bump this January, too!",[14,39652,39653],{},"So, now you're saying, \"Great, Adam, Windows 8 is growing. Why does that mean it's time to look at Bing Ads?\"",[14,39655,39656],{},"Bing is being integrated more and more into the Window ecosystem. By default, if you bring up the charm window on the right-hand side and hit search, you look for files on your local machine AND you'll notice suggestions below that list. These suggestions are directly from the Bing search engine. Tap on any of those suggestions and you'll be brought to a custom search engine result page. This page does not have ads on it, but it has an easy-to-spot \"Powered by Bing\" logo at the bottom.",[14,39658,39659],{},"And let's note forget, Bing is the default search engine for Internet Explorer. (And the metro version is superb) .",[14,39661,39662],{},"So, yes, more people are using Windows 8. And with deeper integration with Bing, some may make the switch based on familiarity alone.",[24,39664,39666],{"id":39665},"any-firefox-users-in-the-house","Any Firefox users in the house?",[14,39668,39669],{},"You may (or may not have) noticed a change in your default search engine...",[14,39671,39672],{},[52,39673,39674],{},"Yahoo! is Firefox's new default search engine.",[14,39676,39677],{},"And, if you didn't know, Bing Ads are displayed on Yahoo!.",[14,39679,39680],{},"This relatively new change isn't going to result in a huge shift (it's relatively easy to switch default search engines, anyway), but it's just another way that Bing is increasing traction.",[14,39682,39683],{},"And let's face it, most Internet Explorer users aren't the tech-savvy type that are changing their default search engines willy-nilly (sorry to anyone I just offended).",[24,39685,39687],{"id":39686},"there-is-one-big-disclaimer","There is one big disclaimer...",[14,39689,39690],{},"Some audiences skew toward Internet Explorer users, some audiences do not.",[14,39692,39693],{},[52,39694,39695],{},"You have the power to check whether or not Internet Explorer (and Windows) users are visiting your site right now...",[14,39697,39698],{},"Well, you should have the power (I'm assuming you have Google Analytics available because what's a website without Google Analytics?) .",[14,39700,39701,39702,39705,39706,39709,39710,39713,39714,39717],{},"Log into Google Analytics, click ",[52,39703,39704],{},"Audience"," then ",[52,39707,39708],{},"Technology"," and finally ",[52,39711,39712],{},"Browser & OS",". And check out the resulting information. (You can click ",[52,39715,39716],{},"Operating System"," directly underneath the graph to check out that relevant information, too.)",[24,39719,39721],{"id":39720},"what-does-this-all-mean","What does this all mean!?",[14,39723,39724],{},"If you've neglected Bing Ads 'simply because,' you should take some time to see if there's enough volume of IE\u002FWindows visitors to your site for your to consider Bing Ads.",[14,39726,39727,39728,39731],{},"Fortunately, MKG Marketing has experience managing Bing Ads accounts. If you're spending money on online advertising, and have never looked into Bing Ads as an advertising platform, ",[206,39729,39730],{"href":11956},"contact our team!"," We can dive into your website's analytics to see if Bing Ads may be a good fit, and can even set up a trial Bing Ads account. Because, you never know...",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":39733},[39734,39735,39736,39737],{"id":39646,"depth":297,"text":39647},{"id":39665,"depth":291,"text":39666},{"id":39686,"depth":291,"text":39687},{"id":39720,"depth":291,"text":39721},"2015-01-09","It may be time to add Bing Ads to your digital marketing mix. Read why.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fit-may-be-time-to-include-bing-ads-in-your-marketing-mix",{"title":39586,"description":39739},"Include Bing Ads In Your Marketing Mix","blog\u002Fppc\u002Fit-may-be-time-to-include-bing-ads-in-your-marketing-mix","MaXxQ8BqP5_trQ7km7lrBh-liW5A1Wj4ZWcEe6nX8ZQ",{"id":39747,"title":39748,"author":7,"authors":39749,"body":39750,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":39880,"description":39881,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":39882,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":39883,"seo":39884,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":39885,"updated":7,"__hash__":39886},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002F2014-year-review-spoiler-awesome.md","2014 Year in Review (Spoiler: It Was Awesome)",[24268],{"type":11,"value":39751,"toc":39874},[39752,39760,39763,39766,39769,39773,39776,39779,39783,39786,39790,39795,39798,39803,39806,39826,39831,39834,39839,39848,39851,39856,39864,39868,39871],[14,39753,39754,39755,39759],{},"We used the word ",[206,39756,39758],{"href":39757},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002F2013-in-review-for-mkg-media-group\u002F","'kickass' to describe 2013",". Well, how did we follow up a 'kickass' year?",[14,39761,39762],{},"With an awesome 2014!",[14,39764,39765],{},"(Playing the song below will significantly enhance this blog post - it's recommended you jam out.)",[16784,39767],{"width":26246,"height":38199,"scrolling":25905,"frameBorder":25905,"allow":38200,"src":39768},"https:\u002F\u002Fw.soundcloud.com\u002Fplayer\u002F?url=https%3A\u002F\u002Fapi.soundcloud.com\u002Ftracks\u002F128399415&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true",[24,39770,39772],{"id":39771},"our-awesome-clients","Our AWESOME Clients",[14,39774,39775],{},"We can't overstate how much we appreciate our clients. They believe in us and we constantly strive to go above and beyond their expectations.",[14,39777,39778],{},"We sincerely thank each and everyone client that we've had the opportunity to work with, past and present. We look forward to continuing to achieve and exceed business goals!",[24,39780,39782],{"id":39781},"our-awesome-group","Our AWESOME Group",[14,39784,39785],{},"We grew from three to five employees over the past year. Adam Bullock joined in March, and Jenna Forstrom hopped aboard in October. This has allowed us to become even more agile, turning around requests for clients in record time and has led to electrifying brainstorm sessions!",[24,39787,39789],{"id":39788},"our-awesome-highlights-of-2014","Our AWESOME Highlights of 2014",[14,39791,39792],{},[52,39793,39794],{},"What If...? Conference Philadelphia",[14,39796,39797],{},"Kerry and Christian not only attended the What If...? Conference in Philadelphia, but both had an opportunity to present! Kerry presented her talk which was called What If We Could Fly at 30,000 Feet? (embedded below) and Christian held a workshop called SEO for Startups .",[14,39799,39800],{},[52,39801,39802],{},"Actionable Blog Posts",[14,39804,39805],{},"We came STRONG this year! Here is a list of some of our favorites...",[46,39807,39808,39814,39820],{},[49,39809,39810],{},[206,39811,39813],{"href":39812},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fautomate-social-media-success-with-if-this-then-that\u002F","Automate Social Media Success with IFTTT (If This Then That)",[49,39815,39816],{},[206,39817,39819],{"href":39818},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002F5-words-use-website-5-words-avoid\u002F","5 Words to Use on Your Website (and 5 Words to Avoid)",[49,39821,39822],{},[206,39823,39825],{"href":39824},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fknowledge-graph-optimization-serp-thought-leader\u002F","Knowledge Graph optimization (or: Be a SERP thought leader)",[14,39827,39828],{},[52,39829,39830],{},"A Focus on Visual",[14,39832,39833],{},"The entirety of the Internet transitioned into a much more visual space. We had the sincere pleasure of running several visual campaigns for our clients and saw the power of the visual medium! We can't wait to integrate visual concepts into our campaigns moving forward.",[14,39835,39836],{},[52,39837,39838],{},"Supporting a Local Tech Movement",[14,39840,39841,39842,39847],{},"It's important to give back and support the community, and Christian and Adam took an opportunity to partner with the ",[206,39843,39846],{"href":39844,"rel":39845},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ipzgetin.com\u002F",[210],"Innovation Partnership Zone (IPZ)"," in southwest Washington State to help support the local tech community. We look forward to more networking functions and opportunities to nurture the growth of tech in the Pacific Northwest!",[14,39849,39850],{},"They even put Christian and Adam in their partners picture (and if that's not a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is...).",[14,39852,39853],{},[52,39854,39855],{},"MKG Day in November 2014",[14,39857,39858,39859],{},"The awesomeness of the year culminated in a team get-together in November 2014. The entire team was able to get together, review the previous year, and plan for the year moving forward. ",[206,39860,39863],{"href":39861,"rel":39862},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002Fmedia\u002Fset\u002F?set=a.752467351493588.1073741830.200444246695904&type=3",[210],"Check out our photo album on Facebook!",[24,39865,39867],{"id":39866},"what-does-2015-hold","What Does 2015 Hold?",[14,39869,39870],{},"From kickass, to awesome, to _____? We can't wait to make 2015 the best year it can be!",[14,39872,39873],{},"Stay tuned for case studies, tips 'n tricks and insightful news you can use on the MKG Blog.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":39875},[39876,39877,39878,39879],{"id":39771,"depth":291,"text":39772},{"id":39781,"depth":291,"text":39782},{"id":39788,"depth":291,"text":39789},{"id":39866,"depth":291,"text":39867},"2015-01-02","We used the word 'kickass' to describe 2013. Well, how did we follow up a 'kickass year? With an awesome 2014!",{"iframe":7},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002F2014-year-review-spoiler-awesome",{"title":39748,"description":39881},"blog\u002Fnews\u002F2014-year-review-spoiler-awesome","FOwmpmasgvdTbggs05s1ARLbEO1S8ZhaTwe-XK65hCE",{"id":39888,"title":39889,"author":7,"authors":39890,"body":39891,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":40056,"description":40057,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":40058,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":40059,"seo":40060,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":40061,"stem":40062,"updated":7,"__hash__":40063},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fwhat-mkg-marking-is-thankful-for-this-thanksgiving.md","What MKG Marketing is Thankful For This Thanksgiving",[24268],{"type":11,"value":39892,"toc":40047},[39893,39901,39904,39907,39911,39914,39920,39923,39926,39929,39932,39936,39939,39941,39944,39965,39969,39972,40003,40007,40012,40015,40018,40021,40025,40028,40031,40037,40040,40044],[14,39894,39895,39896,39900],{},"It's that time of the year! Being thankful isn't a new concept for the gang here at MKG Marketing. We spend time ",[206,39897,39899],{"href":39898},"\u002Fblog\u002Fculture\u002F5-things-ive-learned-in-the-32-month-journey-of-mkg-media-group\u002F","every single Friday"," discussing the things we're thankful for during the work week.",[14,39902,39903],{},"I decided to gather some thoughts from the team and share it with the world!",[14,39905,39906],{},"In order of response...",[24,39908,39910],{"id":39909},"what-adam-is-thankful-for","What Adam is Thankful For",[14,39912,39913],{},"This time of year is my absolute favorite. I love seeing family, friends and colleagues be so reflective and come together.",[14,39915,39916,39917,212],{},"I have to say ",[52,39918,39919],{},"family",[14,39921,39922],{},"And that doesn't just mean Mothers, Fathers, Brothers and Sisters: I mean the family that we find ourselves surrounded by in life.",[14,39924,39925],{},"It's the family of my work colleagues that make every day a pleasure. We challenge each other, help each other and do our best work when we work together.",[14,39927,39928],{},"It's the family of volunteers and educators that I've met in my recent foray into the world of giving back to the community.",[14,39930,39931],{},"And it's the family of clients that we have the honor of working with. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for our clients and we strive to meet and exceed their expectations every single day.",[24,39933,39935],{"id":39934},"what-christian-is-thankful-for","What Christian is Thankful For",[14,39937,39938],{},"I am thankful for the Internet.",[14,39940,31386],{},[14,39942,39943],{},"Without the Internet I wouldn’t have:",[46,39945,39946,39949,39952,39955,39962],{},[49,39947,39948],{},"Met my wife",[49,39950,39951],{},"Been able to be a Dad to the two best kiddos in the word",[49,39953,39954],{},"Have a job as a Director of Search",[49,39956,39957],{},[206,39958,39961],{"href":39959,"rel":39960},"https:\u002F\u002Ffireballwhisky.com\u002Frecipes\u002Fchristmas-hug\u002F",[210],"Been able to see how to make a Christmas Hug",[49,39963,39964],{},"Been able to \"be thankful\" for the Internet for MKG’s 2014 thankful Thanksgiving post ( Editor's note: Ooooh, so meta, Christian! )",[24,39966,39968],{"id":39967},"what-jenna-is-thankful-for","What Jenna is Thankful For",[14,39970,39971],{},"Jenna’s five things she’s super thankful for this Thanksgiving (in no particular order):",[132,39973,39974,39980,39986,39992,39998],{},[49,39975,39976,39979],{},[52,39977,39978],{},"Her amazing family and the ability to travel and see them."," Since last Thanksgiving, I’ve been able to go to San Fran to see my younger brother and his girlfriend, New England to see my extended family and Cambodia on holiday with my parents.",[49,39981,39982,39985],{},[52,39983,39984],{},"The “froommates” (friend + roommates)"," who come over for dinner every Wednesday night at the House on Holgate. I can’t image doing life without them.",[49,39987,39988,39991],{},[52,39989,39990],{},"Bridgetown Inc."," and their work providing for the homeless and low income families in the Portland metro area. We delivered 155 Thanksgiving baskets to low income families last weekend and it was a joy to help in that effort.",[49,39993,39994,39997],{},[52,39995,39996],{},"BULLET"," – My pup who’s about to celebrate his third birthday. For providing such comedy within the house as well as protection, warmth and snuggles.",[49,39999,40000,40002],{},[52,40001,1414],{}," – Being employed, with the freedom from working from home, with an awesome team of people who care about the work we do and each other. It’s been such a blessing to join the team.",[24,40004,40006],{"id":40005},"what-kerry-is-thankful-for","What Kerry is Thankful For",[14,40008,40009],{},[52,40010,40011],{},"People!",[14,40013,40014],{},"Our incredible teamwork of pulling together and helping one another. It’s been a theme this year and continues to impress me as we continue to get stronger as a team and remind ourselves that no one is on an island. We all succeed together and we all fail together, learning from our mistakes and working as a team to put process in place so we don’t have the same failures again.",[14,40016,40017],{},"We’ve had some tough times in learning this the hard way, but we continue to learn and grow and get better!",[14,40019,40020],{},"I love us. I love coming together in the morning, planning our day, and kicking our days off together. We’re awesome.",[24,40022,40024],{"id":40023},"what-mike-is-thankful-for","What Mike is Thankful For",[14,40026,40027],{},"Mike is thankful for sun, sand and surf.",[14,40029,40030],{},"(He's soaking up the sun in Hawaii right now, so I'll answer for him...)",[14,40032,40033,40034,40036],{},"Mike has recently posted a love letter to the automation goodness that is IFTTT (check out ",[206,40035,39813],{"href":39812},"), so I'm sure he's thankful for cool tech.",[14,40038,40039],{},"And, on a personal note, we're all so thankful for Mike that I know he's thankful for the rest of the team.",[81,40041,40043],{"id":40042},"have-a-wonderful-thanksgiving-holiday-from-the-team-at-mkg-marketing","Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday from the team at MKG Marketing!",[14,40045,40046],{},"Kudos to robyn_weisman on Instagram for the fun veggie turkey idea used in our cover photo!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":40048},[40049,40050,40051,40052,40053],{"id":39909,"depth":291,"text":39910},{"id":39934,"depth":291,"text":39935},{"id":39967,"depth":291,"text":39968},{"id":40005,"depth":291,"text":40006},{"id":40023,"depth":291,"text":40024,"children":40054},[40055],{"id":40042,"depth":297,"text":40043},"2014-11-26","It's that time of the year! Being thankful isn't a new concept for the gang here at MKG Marketing. We spend time every single Friday discussing the things we're thankful for during the work week.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fwhat-mkg-marking-is-thankful-for-this-thanksgiving",{"title":39889,"description":40057},"The Importance of Gratitude","blog\u002Fnews\u002Fwhat-mkg-marking-is-thankful-for-this-thanksgiving","uxeBPt0LV_Ilqk3ZQdH8biVMz9ofIIrjcpv7vhMABec",{"id":40065,"title":39813,"author":7,"authors":40066,"body":40067,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":40261,"description":40262,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":40263,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":40264,"seo":40265,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":40266,"stem":40267,"updated":7,"__hash__":40268},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fautomate-social-media-success-with-if-this-then-that.md",[9],{"type":11,"value":40068,"toc":40250},[40069,40073,40099,40105,40110,40118,40121,40124,40127,40135,40139,40142,40146,40149,40152,40161,40165,40168,40172,40175,40178,40181,40184,40187,40190,40193,40196,40199,40203,40206,40209,40212,40216,40219,40222,40225,40228,40231,40234,40237,40241,40244,40247],[24,40070,40072],{"id":40071},"what-issocial-media-automation-who-cares","What is social media automation & who cares?",[14,40074,40075,40076,24127,40081,40086,40087,40092,40093,40098],{},"The marketing world is hellbent on automating everything: programmatic advertising (from folks like ",[206,40077,40080],{"href":40078,"rel":40079},"https:\u002F\u002Frocketfuel.com?utm_source=mikekrass",[210],"Rocket Fuel",[206,40082,40085],{"href":40083,"rel":40084},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.dataxu.com\u002F?utm_source=mikekrass",[210],"Data Xu"," and more), ",[206,40088,40091],{"href":40089,"rel":40090},"https:\u002F\u002Fliveintent.com?utm_source=mikekrass",[210],"programmatic email marketing",", marketing automation from ",[206,40094,40097],{"href":40095,"rel":40096},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.marketo.com\u002F?utm_source=mikekrass",[210],"Marketo"," and more.",[14,40100,40101,40102,25549],{},"So how can folks ",[52,40103,40104],{},"automate some of their social media activity",[24025,40106,40107],{},[14,40108,40109],{},"By using If This Then That (IFTTT)!",[14,40111,40112,40117],{},[206,40113,40116],{"href":40114,"rel":40115},"https:\u002F\u002Fifttt.com\u002F?utm_source=mikekrass",[210],"IFTTT"," can automate some of the manual social activity (like sharing your favorite blog posts) from your favorite websites and increase engagement on your social channels.",[14,40119,40120],{},"There is one huge distinction to make: I AM NOT RECOMMENDING YOU AUTOMATE EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY.",[14,40122,40123],{},"This is simply a tactic to help broadcast more useful stories, graphics, videos, etc. from killer writers. And, you'll see in the bottom section, this tactic has worked really well in getting me more RT's, mentions, and followers on Twitter in an experiment I have been running for the past few months.",[14,40125,40126],{},"Bam! There it is. This guide will walk you through two things:",[132,40128,40129,40132],{},[49,40130,40131],{},"How you set up IFTTT to automate social media success",[49,40133,40134],{},"My own results from this experiment over the past 90 days",[24,40136,40138],{"id":40137},"how-to-set-up-ifttt-a-4-step-guide","How to Set Up IFTTT: A 4-Step Guide",[14,40140,40141],{},"There are four steps to set up IFTTT to auto-post awesome content from your favorite writers. Keep in mind, these are my four steps and I'm sure there are MANY other ways to go about this and get the same result.",[81,40143,40145],{"id":40144},"ifttt-setup-step-1-grab-rss-feed-url","IFTTT Setup Step 1: Grab RSS feed url",[14,40147,40148],{},"Even though Google's RSS product is dead, most websites still prominently feature an RSS feed icon (looks like a wifi symbol) on their websites near social media accounts or on a contact page.",[14,40150,40151],{},"Your first step is to scour the web, reading through your favorite author's websites and tracking down their RSS feed URL.",[14,40153,40154,40155,40160],{},"In the example below, I grabbed the RSS feed for ",[206,40156,40159],{"href":40157,"rel":40158},"https:\u002F\u002Fventurebeat.com?utm_source=mikekrass",[210],"VentureBeat",", a popular technology blog based in San Francisco.",[81,40162,40164],{"id":40163},"ifttt-setup-step-2-sign-up-for-ifttt-its-free","IFTTT Setup Step 2: Sign Up for IFTTT (it's free)",[14,40166,40167],{},"Head to IFTTT.com and set up an account. This is a free process that should take approximately 14 seconds.",[81,40169,40171],{"id":40170},"ifttt-setup-step-3-creating-your-recipe","IFTTT Setup Step 3: Creating your 'recipe'",[14,40173,40174],{},"A 'recipe,' as IFTTT calls them, is basically an automated command between two programs, social media accounts, etc.",[14,40176,40177],{},"At this point, you'll want to click on the 'browse' button once you've logged in. You are looking for a recipe that publishes a news story (Which will happen  every single time your favorite author publishes a story) to your social media account.",[14,40179,40180],{},"In my experience, the easiest recipe to use to autopost content is to push from an author's RSS feed (hence, gathering RSS feed URLs) to your social network (such as Twitter, Facebook, etc).",[14,40182,40183],{},"After clicking on 'browse' on the top menu bar, go ahead and type in the network you want to push from RSS. In this instance, I selected Twitter and searched for 'RSS twitter.'",[14,40185,40186],{},"I've used a few, but my favorite existing recipe is from a IFTTT user by the name of demoine (see screenshot below).",[14,40188,40189],{},"Go ahead and click on this option.",[14,40191,40192],{},"Now it's time to copy\u002Fpaste that RSS feed URL you have handy from your favorite site into the 'RSS feed link' box. Wahoo -- told ya that would come in handy!",[14,40194,40195],{},"Additionally, you have the option to customize the tweet (in this case) that will be sent out. I recommend making it sound somewhat unique; add #hashtags, use different intros and try to keep it short; keep in mind, the article title and url will be going in here too.",[14,40197,40198],{},"Then click 'Add Recipe.'",[81,40200,40202],{"id":40201},"ifttt-setup-step-4-verifying-your-recipe","IFTTT Setup Step 4: Verifying your 'Recipe'",[14,40204,40205],{},"Next step: Go to 'My Recipes' on the top menu bar. You'll need to make sure your recipe has a descriptive title and even test fire it to see it works.",[14,40207,40208],{},"Click on the top listed recipe. It will be the most recent one you created (which is shown in days and minutes).",[14,40210,40211],{},"Make sure that your recipe has a very descriptive title. This will allow you to recall which one is which, an important capability once you do this a few dozen times :-)",[24,40213,40215],{"id":40214},"the-results-to-date-how-is-this-going-mr-mike","The Results to Date: How is this going, Mr. Mike?",[14,40217,40218],{},"Okay Mr. Mike: you still haven't fully convinced me to automate some of the manual, tedious tasks in my social media activity.",[14,40220,40221],{},"But maybe if you showed me how it's worked for you over the past few months it would help!",[14,40223,40224],{},"Bam. No problem-o ladies and gentlemen.",[14,40226,40227],{},"During the past 91 days, I've gone from getting about 700 Twitter impressions on my shares per day to 725, a modest 4% increase.",[14,40229,40230],{},"I've gone from getting about 1 click per day on my shares to 2 clicks, a 50% jump (albeit small in volume, though).",[14,40232,40233],{},"Also, my followers have steadily increased by 14% (from 538 to 610 as of publishing this story).",[14,40235,40236],{},"As for RT's and and favorites, the numbers have held pretty steady there, continuing to average 1 of each on my personal Twitter account.",[24,40238,40240],{"id":40239},"in-closing-my-challenge-to-you-the-readers","In Closing: My challenge to you, the readers",[14,40242,40243],{},"This is a very contained and small experiment -- yet look at the results on my personal Twitter handle!",[14,40245,40246],{},"My challenge to you -- my readers -- is this: Who will use IFTTT to automate something bigger and better than my experiment?!",[14,40248,40249],{},"Share some ideas in the comments section below and I'll tackle them and share results in a separate blog post.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":40251},[40252,40253,40259,40260],{"id":40071,"depth":291,"text":40072},{"id":40137,"depth":291,"text":40138,"children":40254},[40255,40256,40257,40258],{"id":40144,"depth":297,"text":40145},{"id":40163,"depth":297,"text":40164},{"id":40170,"depth":297,"text":40171},{"id":40201,"depth":297,"text":40202},{"id":40214,"depth":291,"text":40215},{"id":40239,"depth":291,"text":40240},"2014-10-20","The marketing world is hellbent on automating everything: programmatic advertising (from folks like Rocket Fuel, Data Xu and more), programmatic email marketing, marketing automation from Marketo and more.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fautomate-social-media-success-with-if-this-then-that",{"title":39813,"description":40262},"Automate Social Media Success with If This Then That","blog\u002Fseo\u002Fautomate-social-media-success-with-if-this-then-that","Q17kqgFWKkKv2PQIaKJMtxck9cx2AXsn8RcninvtGOI",{"id":40270,"title":40271,"author":7,"authors":40272,"body":40273,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":40334,"description":40335,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":40336,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":40337,"seo":40338,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":40339,"stem":40340,"updated":7,"__hash__":40341},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fwhat-if-conference-in-philadelphia.md","How To Build An Intersectional Digital Marketing Team of Experts",[24268],{"type":11,"value":40274,"toc":40329},[40275,40279,40288,40291,40294,40301,40305,40312,40316,40319,40322],[24,40276,40278],{"id":40277},"get-ready-philly","Get ready, Philly!",[14,40280,40281,40282,40287],{},"Members of MKG Marketing will be presenting at the ",[206,40283,40286],{"href":40284,"rel":40285},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.thewhatifconference.com\u002Fattend",[210],"What If...? Conference"," in Philadelphia, PA.",[14,40289,40290],{},"The What If...? Conference is meant to bring entrepreneurs, technophiles, thought leaders, status quo challengers and more together to shake up the world! Focused on quick, actionable sessions, participants will get hands-on and work with presenters during workshops.",[14,40292,40293],{},"We are proud to be a sponsor of the conference and are sending two of our members to participate!",[14,40295,40296,40297,40300],{},"MKG Marketing CEO and Analytics Guru ",[206,40298,17174],{"href":40299},"\u002Fabout\u002Fteam\u002Fmike-krass\u002F"," will be presenting on the topic:",[24,40302,40304],{"id":40303},"what-if-you-stripped-away-all-your-data-points-but-1","What if... you stripped away all your data points but 1?",[14,40306,40307,40308,40311],{},"Director of Search ",[206,40309,31451],{"href":31449,"rel":40310},[210]," will be hosting a workshop during the \"What If...? Playground\" titled:",[24,40313,40315],{"id":40314},"what-if-you-were-findable-online-what-would-people-think","What if... you were findable online - what would people think?",[14,40317,40318],{},"If you will be in or around the Philadelphia area on October 17-18, consider attending the \"What If...? Conference.\" Not only will you be attending a truly unique conference, but you'll also be able to meet two members of the MKG team! Win\u002Fwin situation!",[14,40320,40321],{},"We hope to see you there!",[14,40323,40324],{},[206,40325,40328],{"href":40326,"rel":40327},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.eventbrite.com\u002Fe\u002Fwhat-if-conference-philadelphia-tickets-12397405975",[210],"Join Now!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":40330},[40331,40332,40333],{"id":40277,"depth":291,"text":40278},{"id":40303,"depth":291,"text":40304},{"id":40314,"depth":291,"text":40315},"2014-08-29","Kerry Guard and Christian Bullock to present at the What If...? Conference in Philadelphia. Look for updates on what they presented!",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fwhat-if-conference-in-philadelphia",{"title":40271,"description":40335},"Build A Intersectional Digital Marketing Team | MKG Marketing","blog\u002Fnews\u002Fwhat-if-conference-in-philadelphia","--rZ2w7QqOm3rKI2gxSf6Rml3949csr8ZgFboCdeY0g",{"id":40343,"title":40344,"author":7,"authors":40345,"body":40346,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":40488,"description":40489,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":40490,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":40491,"seo":40492,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":40493,"updated":7,"__hash__":40494},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fclubbing-google-3-ways-bing-beats-google.md","ClubBING Google: 3 Ways Bing Beats Google",[24268],{"type":11,"value":40347,"toc":40480},[40348,40351,40355,40358,40362,40375,40378,40381,40388,40392,40395,40398,40401,40410,40414,40423,40426,40430,40433,40436,40439,40464,40468,40477],[14,40349,40350],{},"As a marketer, I obviously prefer Google to Bing. And I would recommend that companies focus on Google rather than Bing the majority of the time.",[24,40352,40354],{"id":40353},"but-as-a-consumer-i-love-using-bing","But as a consumer, I love using Bing.",[14,40356,40357],{},"Yep, I'm not afraid to admit it. Hear me, world: I love Bing! I've boiled it down to three big ways that I believe Bing beats Google.",[24,40359,40361],{"id":40360},"but-google-is-king","But Google is King!",[14,40363,40364,40365,40370,40371,40374],{},"Of course, Borat is right, Google is very much the king. According to comScore data, ",[206,40366,40369],{"href":40367,"rel":40368},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.comscore.com\u002FInsights\u002FMarket-Rankings\u002FcomScore-Releases-June-2014-US-Search-Engine-Rankings",[210],"Google ruled June 2014"," with 67.6% market share in the U.S., with Bing the closest challenger at 19.2%. It should be mentioned, though, that Bing grew from May to June. And that's a trend! In June ",[52,40372,40373],{},"2013"," Google held 66.7% and Bing had 17.9% (both cannibalizing market share from faltering Yahoo!).",[14,40376,40377],{},"Being more popular doesn't make something better. The Backstreet Boys, Ghostbusters 2 and the sport of hockey have something to say about that.",[14,40379,40380],{},"So let me get to the point:",[14,40382,40383,40384,40387],{},"Here are three ways Bing offers a ",[52,40385,40386],{},"superior experience"," to Google.",[24,40389,40391],{"id":40390},"_1-the-bing-homepage-tells-me-everything-i-need-to-know","1) The Bing homepage tells me everything I need to know.",[14,40393,40394],{},"I adore the Bing homepage.",[14,40396,40397],{},"I love how trending news stories show up at the bottom so I can quickly know what's going on in the world.",[14,40399,40400],{},"Cats overrun island!? Be right back, clicking immediately...",[14,40402,40403,40404,40409],{},"I also enjoy seeing a new image every day. It feels fresh every time I load it up. Meanwhile, Google's home page is (purposefully) straightforward. That's fine, but it rarely offers anything compelling outside of a fun doodle every once in awhile. And don't get me started on ",[206,40405,40408],{"href":40406,"rel":40407},"https:\u002F\u002Fnews.google.com\u002F",[210],"Google News","; it looks like it hasn't updated its design since 2005.",[24,40411,40413],{"id":40412},"_2-bing-pays-me-and-you-to-use-their-search-engine","2) Bing pays me (and YOU!) to use their search engine.",[14,40415,40416,40417,40422],{},"You've probably heard this ad nauseam, but with ",[206,40418,40421],{"href":40419,"rel":40420},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bing.com\u002Freward",[210],"Bing Rewards",", Bing actually pays you to use its search engine. If I hit the limit of searches every weekday (which is pretty easy as a digital marketing professional), I end up earning enough for a $5 Starbucks card every month and a half.",[14,40424,40425],{},"In addition, the daily goals for extra credits teach you how to use Bing, and they can often be an interesting topics.",[24,40427,40429],{"id":40428},"_3-image-search-is-smart-useful-and-fun","3) Image search is smart, useful and fun.",[14,40431,40432],{},"Let me show you two searches for Crater Lake:",[14,40434,40435],{},"And",[14,40437,40438],{},"In my opinion, the Bing interface gives you more options to find what you're looking for. Google keeps the clean look, but Bing is more useful. That's merely personal preference, though, let me show you some magic when you click on an image:",[46,40440,40441,40447,40458],{},[49,40442,40443,40446],{},[52,40444,40445],{},"Quick ways to find alternate image sizes."," This little feature is very cool. Find a picture and want either a larger or smaller version? Click the \"Image Match\" button and it will show you different sizes of the same picture. Magic.",[49,40448,40449,40452,40453],{},[52,40450,40451],{},"Slideshow functionality."," Okay, I will readily admit that this is more flair than function, but perform a Bing image search for any meme and .gif and \"Play All\" wins. ",[206,40454,40457],{"href":40455,"rel":40456},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bing.com\u002Fimages\u002Fsearch?q=deal+with+it+gif&FORM=HDRSC2#view=detail&id=91BFF905D9496FA7C5D02B0FC7E0C91EE9A699C8&selectedIndex=1",[210],"Here you go, you won't regret clicking on this.",[49,40459,40460,40463],{},[52,40461,40462],{},"Intergrated \"Pin It\" button."," Why is the \"integrated\" part so special? Bing actually pulls the image from the source when you want to pin the image to Pinterest. If you have the \"Pin It\" extension installed, you can pin from a Google search but that Google search is the source, not where the image is located.",[24,40465,40467],{"id":40466},"do-i-have-you-convinced","Do I have you convinced?",[14,40469,40470,40471,40476],{},"Do yourself a favor and give ",[206,40472,40475],{"href":40473,"rel":40474},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bing.com",[210],"Bing"," a try!",[14,40478,40479],{},"What do you think? Am I off my rocker? Are there features on Bing that you prefer? Let us know in the comments below!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":40481},[40482,40483,40484,40485,40486,40487],{"id":40353,"depth":291,"text":40354},{"id":40360,"depth":291,"text":40361},{"id":40390,"depth":291,"text":40391},{"id":40412,"depth":291,"text":40413},{"id":40428,"depth":291,"text":40429},{"id":40466,"depth":291,"text":40467},"2014-08-01","Here are three ways to use Bing Ads to enhance your paid search efforts.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fclubbing-google-3-ways-bing-beats-google",{"title":40344,"description":40489},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fclubbing-google-3-ways-bing-beats-google","Ft4Z5P5Cw-ZCWedU5inzD7d2kBaxLOpdHGjz86HzBpU",{"id":40496,"title":39819,"author":7,"authors":40497,"body":40498,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":40659,"description":40660,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":40661,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":40662,"seo":40663,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":40664,"updated":7,"__hash__":40665},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002F5-words-use-website-5-words-avoid.md",[24268],{"type":11,"value":40499,"toc":40643},[40500,40503,40506,40510,40513,40516,40519,40523,40526,40529,40533,40536,40541,40546,40549,40554,40559,40562,40567,40571,40574,40579,40582,40586,40589,40592,40595,40599,40603,40606,40610,40613,40616,40619,40623,40626,40630,40633,40637],[14,40501,40502],{},"Too often, websites fail to convey the absolute awesomesauce that a company offers. Simply, it's in how a company chooses to describe their product\u002Foffering via the words on their website that can be its downfall.\nWe wanted to give you the \"secret sauce\" on how to properly describe your offering on your website, while also giving you the \"mustard.\" Because nobody likes \"mustard.\" The word itself isn't even appealing.",[14,40504,40505],{},"Read on for FIVE words to absolutely make sure are on your website and 5 words to CTRL-F and get rid of immediately.",[24,40507,40509],{"id":40508},"_5-words-to-use-on-your-website","5 Words to Use on Your Website",[14,40511,40512],{},"These words should be the entire basis of your website. They should be prevalent in headlines, copy and calls to action.",[24,40514,40515],{"id":11163},"You",[14,40517,40518],{},"Regardless of what you're offering, it's all about your customer\u002Fclient\u002Fuser\u002Fmember, isn't it? If a visitor can't understand how your offering fits into their life quickly and painlessly, they will leave.",[24,40520,40522],{"id":40521},"value","Value",[14,40524,40525],{},"Your offering's value needs to be stated\u002Fshown\u002Fshoved down a visitor's throat early and often. And if for whatever reason you don't want to use the actual word \"value,\" find a way to succinctly sum up what makes your offering appealing. Will it increase productivity by 20%? Save you $60 over a year? Hold 12 times its weight in liquid?",[14,40527,40528],{},"(The ShamWow really is amazing.)",[24,40530,40532],{"id":40531},"the","The",[14,40534,40535],{},"What's this? The word \"the?\" Believe it. If you truly want to make a headline impactful, add the word \"the\" to the beginning of it. Watch:",[14,40537,40538],{},[52,40539,40540],{},"Coffee That Gets Noticed",[14,40542,40543],{},[52,40544,40545],{},"The Coffee That Gets Noticed",[14,40547,40548],{},"Or:",[14,40550,40551],{},[52,40552,40553],{},"Destination for the World's Best Cup of Coffee",[14,40555,40556],{},[52,40557,40558],{},"The Destination for the World's Best Cup of Coffee",[14,40560,40561],{},"The word \"the\" makes something seem exclusive; just look at the dictionary for \"the.\"",[24025,40563,40564],{},[14,40565,40566],{},"Used to mark a noun as indicating the best-known, most approved, most important, most satisfying, etc.",[81,40568,40570],{"id":40569},"simple","Simple",[14,40572,40573],{},"Do you want more complicated? I don't. As a matter of fact, lots of people are turned off if something seems complicated. Why do you think the iPhone is so popular?",[14,40575,40576],{},[38,40577,40578],{},"rimshot",[14,40580,40581],{},"People want things fast, easy and they want it to be simple. If your offering isn't simple, there's a straightforward solution: make it seem simple.",[81,40583,40585],{"id":40584},"proven","Proven",[14,40587,40588],{},"The majority of those that surf the Internet are not willing to try something that doesn't have legitimacy. It needs to be proven, and things that are proven help ease the anxiety of visitors who may be on the fence about your offering.",[14,40590,40591],{},"Proven-what, though?",[14,40593,40594],{},"It can actually be proven-anything! Proven 4.5 average app rating on iTunes, proven to increase profits by 15%, etc. The one thing to remember, however, is the word \"proven\" means to \"demonstrate the truth or existence of (something) by evidence or argument.\" The only way using the word \"proven\" will work is to prove its existence by providing evidence.",[81,40596,40598],{"id":40597},"and-now-the-mustard-5-words-to-avoid-using-on-your-website","And now, the \"Mustard\" - 5 Words to Avoid Using on Your Website",[81,40600,40602],{"id":40601},"innovative","Innovative",[14,40604,40605],{},"Instead of labeling something as innovative, tell the visitor why it's innovative.",[81,40607,40609],{"id":40608},"unique","Unique",[14,40611,40612],{},"Does being unique instantly make something a good thing? If you're using \"unique\" to describe your offering, find a way to describe it better.",[81,40614,7813],{"id":40615},"original",[14,40617,40618],{},"This one is tricky! The original is rarely the best option. It's true! And not only that, the original can be outdated pretty easily. If you truly have a groundbreaking offering, I'll let you have this packet of mustard...",[81,40620,40622],{"id":40621},"discover","Discover",[14,40624,40625],{},"Why is the website visitor on your site? Don't tell them what they're already doing...",[81,40627,40629],{"id":40628},"might-should-could","Might, Should, Could",[14,40631,40632],{},"Don't write about what may happen, write about what will happen. Your offering might not improve someone's life, or could be life-changing: it is life-changing and it will improve someone's life. Make sure your verbs are putting website visitors in the right mindset.",[81,40634,40636],{"id":40635},"more-secret-sauce-less-mustard","More Secret Sauce, Less Mustard",[14,40638,40639,40640,212],{},"Whether building a website or looking to refresh a current web presence, MKG Marketing can help turn your website into a converting machine. Actionable copy with impactful words is one way we can help amplify your Web presence. ",[206,40641,40642],{"href":11956},"Contact us if you're curious about how we can amplify your conversion rate",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":40644},[40645,40646,40647,40648],{"id":40508,"depth":291,"text":40509},{"id":11163,"depth":291,"text":40515},{"id":40521,"depth":291,"text":40522},{"id":40531,"depth":291,"text":40532,"children":40649},[40650,40651,40652,40653,40654,40655,40656,40657,40658],{"id":40569,"depth":297,"text":40570},{"id":40584,"depth":297,"text":40585},{"id":40597,"depth":297,"text":40598},{"id":40601,"depth":297,"text":40602},{"id":40608,"depth":297,"text":40609},{"id":40615,"depth":297,"text":7813},{"id":40621,"depth":297,"text":40622},{"id":40628,"depth":297,"text":40629},{"id":40635,"depth":297,"text":40636},"2014-07-16","Here are five words to absolutely make sure are on your website and five words to CTRL-F and get rid of immediately.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002F5-words-use-website-5-words-avoid",{"title":39819,"description":40660},"blog\u002Fppc\u002F5-words-use-website-5-words-avoid","Fn4L_vGYLEQHZ7NQWZh3JLtVZICDNqqdPa4EVWqFkXA",{"id":40667,"title":40668,"author":7,"authors":40669,"body":40670,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":40781,"description":40782,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":40783,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":40784,"seo":40785,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":40786,"stem":40787,"updated":7,"__hash__":40788},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002F7-steps-for-starting-your-pinterest-account-the-right-way-part-2-from-vincent-ng-of-mcng-marketing.md","7 Steps for Starting Your Pinterest Account – The Right Way – Part 2",[24268],{"type":11,"value":40671,"toc":40773},[40672,40681,40689,40693,40696,40699,40703,40706,40709,40712,40715,40718,40722,40725,40728,40732,40735,40739,40742,40751,40754,40757,40761],[14,40673,40674,40675,40680],{},"This post is written by Vincent Ng, founder of ",[206,40676,40679],{"href":40677,"rel":40678},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.mcngmarketing.com\u002F",[210],"MCNG Marketing",", author of Pinterest to Profits with Pintalysis and the host of the Pinterest podcast, Pictures to Profits.",[14,40682,40683,40684,40688],{},"In the second part of this two-part blog series (",[206,40685,40687],{"href":40686},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002F7-steps-for-starting-your-pinterest-account-the-right-way-part-1-from-vincent-ng-of-mcng-marketing\u002F","read part one here!","), Vincent looks at the last 3 steps for starting a Pinterest account - the right way.",[24,40690,40692],{"id":40691},"step-4-connect-your-social-profiles","Step 4: Connect Your Social Profiles",[14,40694,40695],{},"You can connect your Twitter account with your Pinterest account. This is a great way for other people to connect with your business. However at this time you can’t connect your Facebook Business Page with it, you can only connect a personal Facebook page.",[14,40697,40698],{},"To do this, go to the desktop version of Pinterest and then click on the top right hand corner and click on your profile name next to your picture. A drop down menu will show up. Choose settings, and then scroll down to social networks.",[24,40700,40702],{"id":40701},"step-5-decide-the-type-of-boards-and-pins-you-want-to-share","Step 5: Decide the Type of Boards and Pins You Want to Share",[14,40704,40705],{},"It’s real easy to go crazy and pin everything under the sun, but like any good plan you need to ask yourself what your goal is when starting your Pinterest account. Are you using it to drive more sales to your e-commerce page, are you using it to generate more quotes and leads for your pet insurance company, or are you using it as way to increase brand awareness?",[14,40707,40708],{},"A big mistake that many Pinterest businesses’ make is that they pin irrelevant content, or pin popular content for the sake of getting more of the WRONG followers. My general advice when it comes to pinning is this - if you wouldn’t share your pin as a status update on Facebook, then don’t pin it.",[14,40710,40711],{},"Personally, I think PetPlan insurance is a company that can show the power of providing great resources that leads to generating quality leads and revenue using Pinterest. Petplan insurance is great because they provide quality resources to the right audience customers that are helpful.",[14,40713,40714],{},"They’re not just selling stuff. They also provide great pet entertainment tied into current events such as the #WorldCupPups, and show off what’s happening behind the scenes. But they had to make sure what they were pinning, and the boards they created were targeted to the audience they wanted to attract.",[14,40716,40717],{},"The proper planning led to 87% in new site traffic, and 12.5% increase in insurance quote requests for Petplan Insurance. Not bad huh?",[24,40719,40721],{"id":40720},"step-6-fill-in-your-boards-descriptions","Step 6: Fill In your Boards’ Descriptions",[14,40723,40724],{},"Filling in board descriptions can be vital. Imagine your website only had the title of your company, but no company description. Wouldn’t you feel a little confused? Ensure that you have a board description that is filled with search terms that your customers may be looking for on every board you create.",[14,40726,40727],{},"This will help with search results within Pinterest as well as search engines like Google. So by NOT putting in a description with search terms your customers are looking for, you’re losing out double.",[24,40729,40731],{"id":40730},"step-7-ensure-you-add-your-url-to-uploaded-photos","Step 7: Ensure you add your url to uploaded photos.",[14,40733,40734],{},"When you upload photos onto your Pinterest account, and they are related to your business, ensure that you’re linking them back to the site. Here’s the brilliant thing, the same photo doesn’t have to be used. Petplan insurance customized their pin with a headline that drove back to a blog post that didn’t have a picture, though having the same picture of a pin onto a redirected url does help.",[24,40736,40738],{"id":40737},"bonus-step-add-a-pin-it-button-to-your-website","BONUS Step: Add a Pin it Button to Your Website",[14,40740,40741],{},"Copyright may be a concern, and you may need to consult your legal team before you do this. But if you create pictures on your website or featured images in your blog that you don’t mind being used across the web, then you should definitely have a Pin it button for your site.",[14,40743,40744,40745,40750],{},"Making it easy for people to pin content from your web is vital. If your website has a lot of visuals you can type in ",[206,40746,40749],{"href":40747,"rel":40748},"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.pinterest.com\u002Fsource\u002F(yourwebsite.com)",[210],"www.pinterest.com\u002Fsource\u002F(yourwebsite.com)"," and see what people are pinning. You will need an account to see this information.",[14,40752,40753],{},"Just like a tweet button, a Pin it button can help your content be shared with the 70 + million users on Pinterest. What’s great is that Pinterest, is that pins have a half life that is thousands of times longer than content shared to Facebook and Twitter.",[14,40755,40756],{},"Those are tips that I have for you when starting off your Pinterest account for your business. Do you have other tips for businesses that want to launch on Pinterest? Please feel free to share in the comments.",[24,40758,40760],{"id":40759},"thank-you-for-sharing-vincent","Thank You For Sharing, Vincent!",[14,40762,40763,40764,40767,40768,212],{},"Vincent Ng is the founder of ",[206,40765,40679],{"href":40677,"rel":40766},[210],", and the author of Pinterest to Profits with Pintalysis and the host of the Pinterest podcast, Pictures to Profits. He has been an opening speaker along with Ryan Holmes, CEO of Hootsuite, at the International Internet Marketing Association’s conference. You can grab your free e-book on ",[206,40769,40772],{"href":40770,"rel":40771},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.mcngmarketing.com\u002Fwin-a-free-pinterest-consultation\u002F",[210],"How to Search Optimize Your Pins for Pinterest and Search Engines",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":40774},[40775,40776,40777,40778,40779,40780],{"id":40691,"depth":291,"text":40692},{"id":40701,"depth":291,"text":40702},{"id":40720,"depth":291,"text":40721},{"id":40730,"depth":291,"text":40731},{"id":40737,"depth":291,"text":40738},{"id":40759,"depth":291,"text":40760},"2014-07-10","In the second part of this two-part blog series Vincent looks at the last 3 steps for starting a Pinterest account - the right way.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002F7-steps-for-starting-your-pinterest-account-the-right-way-part-2-from-vincent-ng-of-mcng-marketing",{"title":40668,"description":40782},"Start Your Pinterest Account The Right Way - Part  2  |","blog\u002Fppc\u002F7-steps-for-starting-your-pinterest-account-the-right-way-part-2-from-vincent-ng-of-mcng-marketing","w0AZ3ncFgaMFAq0JYwpE3GO2Wbaq2kZl3bZ51H7z_q8",{"id":40790,"title":40791,"author":7,"authors":40792,"body":40793,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":41003,"description":40802,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":41004,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":41005,"seo":41006,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":41007,"updated":7,"__hash__":41008},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002F7-steps-for-starting-your-pinterest-account-the-right-way-part-1-from-vincent-ng-of-mcng-marketing.md","7 Steps for Starting Your Pinterest Account – The Right Way – Part 1",[24268],{"type":11,"value":40794,"toc":40992},[40795,40800,40803,40807,40816,40819,40822,40826,40835,40844,40847,40856,40860,40863,40866,40875,40878,40881,40884,40887,40890,40898,40901,40904,40908,40912,40915,40929,40937,40945,40949,40958,40961,40964,40968,40971,40974,40980,40984],[14,40796,40674,40797,40680],{},[206,40798,40679],{"href":40677,"rel":40799},[210],[14,40801,40802],{},"This first part, in a two-part blog series, gives the basics of Pinterest and looks at the first 4 steps for starting a Pinterest account - the right way.",[24,40804,40806],{"id":40805},"what-is-pinterest","What is Pinterest?",[14,40808,40809,40810,40815],{},"Depending on whom you ask, Pinterest is many things to many people, but Pinterest refers to itself as a visual discovery tool. However, it’s not just a visual discovery tool because it really is so much more. It’s starting ",[206,40811,40814],{"href":40812,"rel":40813},"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.tailwindapp.com\u002Fpinterest-search-better-than-google\u002F",[210],"to become its own search engine",". It is now becoming more common for people to use Pinterest to search for lifestyle related inquiries, like recipes for diabetics, or children’s activities than on Google.",[14,40817,40818],{},"Pinterest is also a great place for you to do virtual scrapbooking. You can collect pictures from across the web as well as grab pictures from other Pinteret users and put them into your own collection. Each of these visuals is known as a pin, similar to a tweet on Twitter or a status update on Facebook.",[14,40820,40821],{},"Each pin must belong to a specific collection, and each collection is known as a board. Pinterest allows you to have up to 350 boards, including secret ones in case you want certain pins to remain private between you and a client, or maybe you’re using Pinterest to take over the world.",[24,40823,40825],{"id":40824},"pinterest-is-taking-over-the-world","Pinterest is Taking Over the World",[14,40827,40828,40829,40834],{},"In a way Pinterest is slowly taking over the world. The last reported number of global users for Pinterest was over 70 million in July of 2013. However the numbers would be quite a bit higher now. Data from Pinterest analytics company, Ahalogy, suggests that there are about ",[206,40830,40833],{"href":40831,"rel":40832},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.forbes.com\u002Fsites\u002Fjeffbercovici\u002F2014\u002F06\u002F24\u002Fstill-more-data-shows-pinterest-passing-twitter-in-popularity\u002F",[210],"53 million active users on Pinterest from the U.S alone",". With approximately one in three women using Pinterest, and 80% of the users on Pinterest are women.",[14,40836,40837,40838,40843],{},"Another startling fact is that ",[206,40839,40842],{"href":40840,"rel":40841},"https:\u002F\u002Fdigiday.com\u002Fplatforms\u002Fcan-pinterest-convince-brands-buy-mobile\u002F",[210],"93% percent of time spent on Pinterest"," is coming from mobile devices according to comScore.",[75,40845],{"src":40846},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002F2014\u002F07\u002F93-percent-Mobile-Usage-On-Pinterest.webp",[14,40848,40849,40850,40855],{},"Want to know another mind boggling fact that’s going to blow your mind away? According to ",[206,40851,40854],{"href":40852,"rel":40853},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.richrelevance.com\u002Fblog\u002F2013\u002F11\u002Frichrelevance-shopping-insights-study-unveils-how-social-platforms-fare-leading-into-holiday-2013\u002F",[210],"Rich Relevance"," the average order value of Pinterest users was $199.16 compared to Facebook users who spent $92.27.",[24,40857,40859],{"id":40858},"what-makes-pinterest-different-from-other-social-networks","What Makes Pinterest Different from other Social Networks?",[14,40861,40862],{},"What makes Pinterest quite different from other social networks is that it was the first big visual social media network that allowed people to process information, and to have the visuals linked back to a specific site.",[14,40864,40865],{},"Also the use of visual tiles that focussed on never ending scrolling was a smart feature to get people to stay on the site longer.",[14,40867,40868,40869,40874],{},"Pinterest’s design of using vertical tiles has been credited for influencing the way Google Plus did their redesign, as well as the way popular tech and social media site, ",[206,40870,40873],{"href":40871,"rel":40872},"https:\u002F\u002Fmashable.com\u002F",[210],"Mashable",", lay out there content.",[14,40876,40877],{},"Pictures make it easier for people to digest information. It also keeps our attention longer compared to plain texts. This is why you barely see any blogs that are purely text based now.",[14,40879,40880],{},"What’s brilliant about Pinterest, in my opinion, is that when you upload pins for your business, you can have it linked back to ANY website of you desire. Which I’ll go into a little bit later on how to do that.",[14,40882,40883],{},"Imagine that you’re flipping through a magazine at your local grocery store while you’re at the checkout, you pick up a copy of the Cosmo, and then you see an ad for a perfume you’re excited about. You want to know more, but you can’t, because...well it’s a piece of paper.",[14,40885,40886],{},"The customer, in their sense of heightened excitement, is left with one impression of your product, but not much engagement, and unfortunately due to her busy schedule forgot the name of the perfume. It happens.",[14,40888,40889],{},"With Pinterest, it’s different. A person can see a pin about the perfume, click on it, and she can land on a product page that tells them more about the product she’s excited about. Or if she isn’t ready to buy, she can add that pin to her board that’s dedicated to items she wants to buy in the near future.",[14,40891,40892,40893,212],{},"What’s fascinating about purchases on Pinterest is that about 47% of purchases “happened upon” the item they pinned and purchased, without the intent of searching for it according to a ",[206,40894,40897],{"href":40895,"rel":40896},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.visioncritical.com\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002Fpdf\u002Fwhitepaper-social-to-sale.pdf",[210],"study conducted by Vision Critical",[14,40899,40900],{},"The same study also reported that Pinterest purchasers were the most spontaneous when it comes to buying products. This doesn’t mean that they would buy a product immediately, but It means that when that Pinterest purchasers did the LEAST amount of additional research. 84% of purchases where the purchasers engaged with Pinterest bought their items within 3 weeks of a liking or pinning the product.",[14,40902,40903],{},"Now the question you have to ask yourself is how do you get a piece of the Pinterest pie?",[24,40905,40907],{"id":40906},"_7-steps-to-take-when-starting-a-pinterest-account","7 Steps to Take When Starting a Pinterest Account",[81,40909,40911],{"id":40910},"step-1-decide-to-open-a-business-or-personal-account","Step 1: Decide to Open a Business or Personal Account?",[14,40913,40914],{},"There are two different types of accounts. There are business and personal accounts. According to the terms and services of Pinterest, if you’re using your Pinterest account for any type of business, whether you’re a professional blogger, or if you’re a multinational conglomerate, you have to get a business account.",[14,40916,40917,40918,40923,40924,212],{},"Though it hasn’t been explicitly stated, if you are interested in using Pinterest’s API (not public) or interested in their ",[206,40919,40922],{"href":40920,"rel":40921},"https:\u002F\u002Ftechcrunch.com\u002F2014\u002F06\u002F05\u002Fpinterest-cpc-promoted-pins\u002F",[210],"advertising platform",", you should start a ",[206,40925,40928],{"href":40926,"rel":40927},"https:\u002F\u002Fbusiness.pinterest.com\u002Fen",[210],"business Pinterest account",[14,40930,40931,40932,212],{},"It’s also important to get a business account because it helps in the process of rich pins for products. A type of pin that’s valuable to e-commerce. Rich pins for products allow for pins to contain extra information to be shown on a pin, such as the price and whether the item is in stock. Here’s an example of one taken from ",[206,40933,40936],{"href":40934,"rel":40935},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.etsy.com",[210],"Etsy",[14,40938,40939,40940,212],{},"There are other rich pins that are available, such as article rich pins, movie rich pins, place pins, and recipe rich pins. To see what these pins are like, you can check out this ",[206,40941,40944],{"href":40942,"rel":40943},"https:\u002F\u002Fbusiness.pinterest.com\u002Fen\u002Frich-pins",[210],"article by Pinterest",[81,40946,40948],{"id":40947},"step-2-verify-your-business-account","Step 2: Verify Your Business Account",[14,40950,40951,40952,40957],{},"Most likely you’re going to open up a business account. Once that’s done you need to ",[206,40953,40956],{"href":40954,"rel":40955},"https:\u002F\u002Fbusiness.pinterest.com\u002Fen\u002Fverify-your-website",[210],"go and verify your account",". Pinterest lists all the steps that you need. A verified account indicates that the person who has the Pinterest account also has control of the website.",[14,40959,40960],{},"This can be extremely important for businesses that tend to have a lot of counterfeit products made. Without a checkmark next to your website on Pinterest, anybody can copy your Pinterest page or pretend to be your business.",[14,40962,40963],{},"There were a lot of counterfeit Nike Pinterest accounts out there before, and there still are some. Any person can recreate the Pinterest page to look like the one by Nike, and put their website down. But the only way I know if the account list legitimate is by the check mark that’s next to the official website of Nike.",[81,40965,40967],{"id":40966},"step-3-ensure-you-fill-out-your-profile","Step 3: Ensure You Fill out Your Profile",[14,40969,40970],{},"This might seem like a given, but it’s really important that you fill out your Pinterest account profile, and tell them what your account is about. Don’t try to be mysterious and aloof. Remember how I mentioned that 47% of purchases discover products by accident?",[14,40972,40973],{},"Tell people in your profile what it is that you do, and what your account is about. Imagine your account description as the accounts bio.",[14,40975,40976,40977,212],{},"Also if you can, put in keywords in the account description to help leverage ",[206,40978,40979],{"href":21094},"SEO (search engine optimization)",[81,40981,40983],{"id":40982},"stay-tuned-for-part-2-on-thursday","Stay Tuned for Part 2 on Thursday!",[14,40985,40763,40986,40767,40989,212],{},[206,40987,40679],{"href":40677,"rel":40988},[210],[206,40990,40772],{"href":40770,"rel":40991},[210],{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":40993},[40994,40995,40996,40997],{"id":40805,"depth":291,"text":40806},{"id":40824,"depth":291,"text":40825},{"id":40858,"depth":291,"text":40859},{"id":40906,"depth":291,"text":40907,"children":40998},[40999,41000,41001,41002],{"id":40910,"depth":297,"text":40911},{"id":40947,"depth":297,"text":40948},{"id":40966,"depth":297,"text":40967},{"id":40982,"depth":297,"text":40983},"2014-07-08",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002F7-steps-for-starting-your-pinterest-account-the-right-way-part-1-from-vincent-ng-of-mcng-marketing",{"title":40791,"description":40802},"blog\u002Fppc\u002F7-steps-for-starting-your-pinterest-account-the-right-way-part-1-from-vincent-ng-of-mcng-marketing","ebS-WE1776HN0VINLK02QusC8Hf9RbS3TXSe7L82ry4",{"id":41010,"title":41011,"author":7,"authors":41012,"body":41013,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":41193,"description":41017,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":41194,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":41195,"seo":41196,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":41197,"updated":7,"__hash__":41198},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fknowledge-graph-optimization-serp-thought-leader.md","Knowledge Graph Optimization - Be A SERP Thought Leader",[9],{"type":11,"value":41014,"toc":41179},[41015,41018,41027,41030,41034,41037,41041,41044,41047,41051,41054,41058,41061,41065,41068,41071,41075,41078,41084,41087,41090,41093,41096,41099,41107,41110,41113,41116,41123,41126,41129,41132,41135,41138,41141,41148,41151,41155,41158,41161,41164,41167,41170,41173,41176],[14,41016,41017],{},"The future of search. Enhancing search engine's search results. Could change search forever.",[14,41019,41020,41021,41026],{},"All of these phrases are what others have used to describe the ",[206,41022,41025],{"href":41023,"rel":41024},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.google.com\u002Fposts\u002Fanswer\u002F7534842?visit_id=636722958800262850-473470539&rd=2",[210],"Knowledge Graph",". That being said, are you able to have influence over this \"Knowledge Graph\" and have it potentially serve up what you choose?",[14,41028,41029],{},"Yes you most certainly can. But first-",[24,41031,41033],{"id":41032},"what-is-the-knowledge-graph","What is the Knowledge Graph?",[14,41035,41036],{},"The Knowledge Graph is a database of real-world things and how they are all connected. These relationships help search engines display information in a way that allows users to get information that they are looking for in a rich information way. The Knowledge Graph is, at its core, a key way search engines are trying to bring in semantic search to show the most relevant search results to users as possible. They're digging through various points of semantics based on your query, dipping in their database of relationships and things, and bringing to the forefront exactly what they feel you are searching for.",[24,41038,41040],{"id":41039},"knowledge-graph-examples","Knowledge Graph Examples",[14,41042,41043],{},"Not following? I completely understand. You need to think about the Knowledge Graph as something working in the background and not as an actual database of information. The Knowledge Graph isn't just one \"thing\"; it's many different data sources all smashed together into a big resource of information.",[14,41045,41046],{},"Let's look at some examples. I bet you'll be surprised at how much exposure you really have with the Knowledge Graph:",[81,41048,41050],{"id":41049},"google-instant","Google Instant",[14,41052,41053],{},"Wonder how search engines can predict what you're possibly typing out when performing a search? Not only is it due to the gazillions of data points that they have for search patterns and the like for each of their respective engines, but it's also all about digging into the knowledge graph and understanding if you're truly looking for Rio the film, Rio de Janiero the city, or other associations and relationships things have with the query of \"Rio.\"",[81,41055,41057],{"id":41056},"carousel","Carousel",[14,41059,41060],{},"Displays results as a carousel on the top of the page. Try searching for your favorite sports team; those carousel results show you a lot of information very quickly (for the record, Slow Bar is the best of the bunch in this screenshot).",[81,41062,41064],{"id":41063},"answer-box","Answer Box",[14,41066,41067],{},"An answer box is meant to show you the answer to your query from a reputable source that is displayed prominently on the results page.",[14,41069,41070],{},"All of these search enhancements are because of the Knowledge Graph. See? Knew you would be familiar with it.",[24,41072,41074],{"id":41073},"knowledge-graph-optimization","Knowledge Graph Optimization",[14,41076,41077],{},"So now that you know what the Knowledge Graph is, it's time to learn how you - a search marketer who wants to be on the cutting edge of SEO - can shape and potentially influence what shows up for knowledge graph information.",[14,41079,41080,41081],{},"The example we'll be walking through for this post is how we were able to ",[52,41082,41083],{},"influence what shows up for an answer box.",[14,41085,41086],{},"As covered above, search engines choose to display answer boxes from data sources in the knowledge graph to try to get the most qualified answer to the searcher as up front as possible.",[14,41088,41089],{},"After some hard work both on-site and off-site, we were able to influence the Knowledge Graph for it to predominately display an answer box for one of our clients - Zweena Health - for a query that helps position them as a thought leader in the health care space.",[14,41091,41092],{},"So, naturally, the next question you have is-",[14,41094,41095],{},"How Were We Able to Optimize The Knowledge Graph and How You Can Too",[14,41097,41098],{},"This section is split up into two different principles we needed to practice in order to get the Knowledge Graph to display results in our favor:",[132,41100,41101,41104],{},[49,41102,41103],{},"On-Site SEO",[49,41105,41106],{},"Off-Site SEO",[81,41108,41103],{"id":41109},"on-site-seo",[14,41111,41112],{},"In order to optimize a page to potentially become something that is trustworthy enough to be used as knowledge graph data, you need to realize why search engines are using the Knowledge Graph more and more in search result: they want to show quality content that appears to be wholly trustworthy.",[14,41114,41115],{},"In a general sense, first and foremost, it's important for your website to be in good standing with search engines. It needs to be established, have been around for awhile, and accrued some inbound links. Basically - search engines need to know that your site has some skin in the game.",[14,41117,41118,41119,41122],{},"Secondly - you need to produce a piece of ",[52,41120,41121],{},"quality content"," based on what you're trying to display for a Knowledge Graph result.",[14,41124,41125],{},"So you need to dedicate some real time into writing up a quality piece of content that provides value and that also covers what you're trying to show up for.",[14,41127,41128],{},"For Zweena, this meant spending hours crafting a page all about what a health record was all about. We answered questions like why people need a health record and the benefits of having an up-to-date record of your health. Of course, we also wired it up for SEO by ensuring we optimized certain elements of the page for our keyword target, including the title tag, main headline, several mentions in the copy and other secondary elements that we look to optimize. All in all - this is an insightful quality piece of content that is optimized for search.",[81,41130,41106],{"id":41131},"off-site-seo",[14,41133,41134],{},"With the article outline carefully pieced together, drafted, edited and then launched, we began our off-site SEO phase.",[14,41136,41137],{},"Naturally, when you read \"off-site SEO\", you associate words like \"link building\", \"outreach\", etc. This was all very true of an off-site SEO program and is something that we definitely strive to do for all of our pieces of content.",[14,41139,41140],{},"That being said - outreach fizzled for this. We contacted some folks who we thought could potentially link to it - no dice. Looked to include it in some introductory pieces of content about personal health records - didn't really take. Being an all-white hat SEO, we didn't do anything like comment spam or throw this link into any resource in any kind of spammy way.",[14,41142,41143,41144,41147],{},"Simply put - it wasn't a very marketable piece of content. It is - however - a tremendous, ",[52,41145,41146],{},"quality"," piece of content for a user in the awareness bucket of the buying cycle for our client.",[14,41149,41150],{},"So while it's completely buttoned-up in regards to on-page SEO - one part of the organic search ranking equation - it really isn't showing many results for the other piece of the equation - link building or numbers of links being pointed in its direction.",[81,41152,41154],{"id":41153},"impact","Impact",[14,41156,41157],{},"What kind of impact does having a knowledge graph result like this give you in regards to impressions and site traffic? It has to be driving a bananas amount of traffic to the website with people converting like crazy, right?",[14,41159,41160],{},"Not really.",[14,41162,41163],{},"That being said, in regards to the reported number of monthly searches by Google's Keyword Planner tool for that keyword search and similar variations where our answer card result shows, it's looking like we get a click through rate of between 60-80%. Not bad!",[14,41165,41166],{},"Google Webmaster Tools is reporting something quite different, though. Impression numbers are a bit higher, as they tend to be when you look at what GWT spits out versus what Google's keyword planner shows. Out of those impressions the CTR has been anywhere from 18%-25% - again much lower than the keyword planner \u002F\u002F Google Analytics mash-up earlier.",[14,41168,41169],{},"I believe the real click through rate is probably between those percentages. It's just so hard to exactly pinpoint given how inconsistent the data is between tools. My gut tells me we probably get about a 30% CTR from this answer card with the other 70% of users just reading the definition or not finding the result to be to their satisfaction.",[81,41171,41172],{"id":21494},"What Now?",[14,41174,41175],{},"We've seen first-hand how having an answer box result can directly impact traffic and results. We're naturally hard at work looking to optimize more content for other searches in the buying cycle for our client to see how it might influence results with users in the consideration or purchase phases.",[14,41177,41178],{},"Additionally - this is only touching on optimizing one piece of the knowledge graph pie (an answer box). In the time to come, we'll also share our insights and results from having our owned content be in other places of where knowledge graph data shows.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":41180},[41181,41182,41187],{"id":41032,"depth":291,"text":41033},{"id":41039,"depth":291,"text":41040,"children":41183},[41184,41185,41186],{"id":41049,"depth":297,"text":41050},{"id":41056,"depth":297,"text":41057},{"id":41063,"depth":297,"text":41064},{"id":41073,"depth":291,"text":41074,"children":41188},[41189,41190,41191,41192],{"id":41109,"depth":297,"text":41103},{"id":41131,"depth":297,"text":41106},{"id":41153,"depth":297,"text":41154},{"id":21494,"depth":297,"text":41172},"2014-06-23",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fknowledge-graph-optimization-serp-thought-leader",{"title":41011,"description":41017},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fknowledge-graph-optimization-serp-thought-leader","sRj-8GSQ5NnheHKk5yzT4hW5IDPcDh7xKq7CwdBXMMw",{"id":41200,"title":41201,"author":7,"authors":41202,"body":41203,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":41324,"description":41325,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":41326,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":41327,"seo":41328,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":41329,"updated":7,"__hash__":41330},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fduckduckgo-and-you-viewing-referral-traffic-and-how-to-advertise.md","DuckDuckGo and YOU: Viewing Referral Traffic & How to Advertise",[24268],{"type":11,"value":41204,"toc":41318},[41205,41213,41216,41219,41223,41226,41233,41244,41247,41256,41259,41262,41271,41275,41278,41281,41285,41288,41291,41295,41298],[14,41206,41207,41212],{},[206,41208,41211],{"href":41209,"rel":41210},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.duckduckgo.com",[210],"DuckDuckGo"," is booming to the tune of 1 billion searches in 2013. Are you curious how much traffic is coming to your website from the privacy-focused search engine? Or how you can advertise on it?",[14,41214,41215],{},"Read on for your DuckDuckGo primer to learn all you need to know.",[14,41217,41218],{},"Duck...duck...GO!",[24,41220,41222],{"id":41221},"what-makes-duckduckgo-unique","What Makes DuckDuckGo Unique?",[14,41224,41225],{},"First and foremost, DuckDuckGo was built to be a search engine that focuses on privacy. They claim to not track searches or mine data for advertising or other purposes.",[14,41227,41228,6109],{},[206,41229,41232],{"href":41230,"rel":41231},"https:\u002F\u002Fduckduckgo.com\u002Fabout",[210],"How DuckDuckGo describes their search engine in a nicely bulleted list",[46,41234,41235,41238,41241],{},[49,41236,41237],{},"Real Privacy. We don't track you.",[49,41239,41240],{},"Smarter Search. Get answers quicker.",[49,41242,41243],{},"Less Clutter. Fewer ads and reduced spam.",[14,41245,41246],{},"While #1 and #3 are pretty easy to see (hover over a link in a SERP and copy the link address in DuckDuckGo and compare to Google to see), smarter search is debatable. There's probably a bit of a learning curve to have DuckDuckGo deliver the info you need right off the bat every time.",[14,41248,41249,41250,41255],{},"The popularity of DuckDuckGo has exploded after the NSA and PRISM revelations. In a pretty snazzy move, they are ",[206,41251,41254],{"href":41252,"rel":41253},"https:\u002F\u002Fduckduckgo.com\u002Ftraffic.html",[210],"completely transparent about the traffic they receive",". Notice the latest milestone? DuckDuckGo has made the transition from ugly duckling to sexy duckling in their latest redesign.",[14,41257,41258],{},"Note: feel free to never search \"sexy duck\" in Google.",[14,41260,41261],{},"Moving on!",[14,41263,41264,41265,41270],{},"DuckDuckGo has made some updates to their site to include the introduction of features like image search, meanings of phrases (think Google's \"answer boxes\") and RECIPES (",[206,41266,41269],{"href":41267,"rel":41268},"https:\u002F\u002Fduckduckgo.com\u002F?q=tiramisu",[210],"search tiramisu"," and I dare you to not immediately start salivating). Wrap it all together in a much more refined interface and DuckDuckGo is starting to look the part of a proper search engine.",[24,41272,41274],{"id":41273},"alright-so-how-do-you-check-your-websites-visits-from-duckduckgo","Alright, So How Do You Check Your Website's Visits From DuckDuckGo?",[14,41276,41277],{},"Log in to your Google Analytics account and click on your website's profile. From here, click on \"Acquisition\" then the \"All Referrals\" drop-down and search for \"DuckDuckGo\" to the right.",[14,41279,41280],{},"Note: next.duckduckgo.com was a preview of their new interface pre-launch and the r.duckduckgo.com is a redirect URL.",[24,41282,41284],{"id":41283},"how-do-you-advertise-on-duckduckgo","How Do You Advertise on DuckDuckGo?",[14,41286,41287],{},"They syndicate through Yahoo! via the Yahoo-Microsoft search alliance. This means that in order to advertise on DuckDuckGo, you would need to sign up for a Bing Ads account and make sure you have the \"All search networks\" or \"Bing and Yahoo! syndicated search partners only\" radial buttons selected under \"Ad Distribution.\"",[14,41289,41290],{},"Note: You cannot just advertise on DuckDuckGo by itself. You can either advertise on Bing, Yahoo! and all their syndicated search partners, or just Bing\u002FYahoo!'s syndicated search partners. The dream of a \"Duck, Duck, Go\"-specific pun for your businesses' ad is no more.",[24,41292,41294],{"id":41293},"whats-next-for-duckduckgo","What's Next for DuckDuckGo?",[14,41296,41297],{},"Traffic is growing, their interface is looking better than ever and DuckDuckGo has capitalized on a captivating theme in this modern day and age: privacy. Their future is bright.",[14,41299,41300,41301,41306,41307,41312,41313,41317],{},"I hope this primer has answered any questions you may have about DuckDuckGo. I would encourage you to check them out (via their ",[206,41302,41305],{"href":41303,"rel":41304},"https:\u002F\u002Fduck.co\u002Fblog",[210],"blog",", on ",[206,41308,41311],{"href":41309,"rel":41310},"https:\u002F\u002Freddit.com\u002Fr\u002Fduckduckgo",[210],"Reddit"," or start ",[206,41314,41316],{"href":41209,"rel":41315},[210],"performing searches on their platform",") and keep an eye on this growing Google alternative.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":41319},[41320,41321,41322,41323],{"id":41221,"depth":291,"text":41222},{"id":41273,"depth":291,"text":41274},{"id":41283,"depth":291,"text":41284},{"id":41293,"depth":291,"text":41294},"2014-05-30","DuckDuckGo is booming to the tune of 1 billion searches in 2013. Are you curious how much traffic is coming to your website from the privacy-focused search engine? Or how you can advertise on it?",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fduckduckgo-and-you-viewing-referral-traffic-and-how-to-advertise",{"title":41201,"description":41325},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fduckduckgo-and-you-viewing-referral-traffic-and-how-to-advertise","KCjKhNT_rKbDOiZYayVgaGBjB3a7NbHDnytwkMKcYP4",{"id":41332,"title":41333,"author":7,"authors":41334,"body":41335,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":41421,"description":41422,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":41423,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":41424,"seo":41425,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":41426,"updated":7,"__hash__":41427},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fsparking-slow-clap-adding-value-beyond-core-service.md","Sparking the Slow Clap: Adding Value Beyond Your Core Service",[24268],{"type":11,"value":41336,"toc":41415},[41337,41345,41348,41353,41356,41364,41367,41372,41375,41378],[14,41338,41339,41340,25549],{},"One of the most important question for companies is how to get customers to stick around. Since this is MKG Marketing and we’re in the business of amplifying your awesomeness, we go one step further: how do you get your customers to sing your praises? To chant your name while fist-pumping from the rooftops? ",[206,41341,41344],{"href":41342,"rel":41343},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=N2-eRWgyGq8",[210],"To subconsciously hear an angelic chorus sing whenever they think of your company",[14,41346,41347],{},"How do you get your customers so pumped about your company they transform into brand evangelists?",[14,41349,41350],{},[52,41351,41352],{},"By adding value beyond your core service.",[14,41354,41355],{},"Do this and you’ll spark the slow clap.",[14,41357,41358,41363],{},[206,41359,41362],{"href":41360,"rel":41361},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bigstockphoto.com\u002F",[210],"BigStock"," provides me value beyond just being my go-to spot for stock photography.",[14,41365,41366],{},"They describe themselves as a “fast, easy-to-use marketplace for quality stock images” and I would wholeheartedly agree! But why are they the company I remember and the company I recommend to colleagues?",[14,41368,41369],{},[52,41370,41371],{},"Bigstock offers a free image of the week (which is why there is an Australian ostrich at the top of this blog post).",[14,41373,41374],{},"Granted, I can’t pick the exact image I want, nor do I have the option of downloading the previous week’s image, but it doesn’t matter! Free high-definition picture, woohoo! And when I go to their site, I usually end up searching for something random (don’t you when on a stock photography site?).",[14,41376,41377],{},"\"Hmm, I wonder if they have any images of bulldogs in formal attire...\"",[206,41379,41381,41384,41387,41391,41394,41398,41401,41405,41408,41412],{"href":41380},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bigstockphoto.com\u002Fimage-40678831\u002Fstock-photo-males-bulldog-with-two-females-all-dressed-in-formal-clothing-isolated-on-white-background",[14,41382,41383],{},"Of course they do.",[14,41385,41386],{},"BigStock goes above and beyond being a great stock photography website. They provide me, their fist-pumping evanglist, extra value! And that's awesome!",[24,41388,41390],{"id":41389},"but-adam-im-a-plumber","But Adam, I'm a plumber.",[14,41392,41393],{},"How could you add value to your customers? How about a monthly newsletter with tips on proper maintenance of pipes? Or a guidebook on how to keep a home safe in the winter?",[24,41395,41397],{"id":41396},"but-adam-im-an-owner-of-a-gyro-foodcart","But Adam, I’m an owner of a gyro foodcart.",[14,41399,41400],{},"Offer your customers recipes or ideas of side dishes that go well with gyros. Even a stamp card provides value!",[24,41402,41404],{"id":41403},"alright-mister-know-it-all-i-own-a-sports-card-shop","Alright, mister know-it-all, I own a sports card shop.",[14,41406,41407],{},"Educate your customers about the benefits of proper card storage, form a partnership with a local sports team for discounted tickets or hold promotional nights for particular sports, brands, the year of the card series, etc.",[24,41409,41411],{"id":41410},"but-adam-i-do-___-fill-in-the-blank","But Adam, I do ___ (fill in the blank).",[14,41413,41414],{},"By now, I know you get it. It doesn’t matter the industry, your product or your service: you have the ability to add value for your customer. And this added value transforms customers into evangelists who, like Conan below, may be prone to starting a slow clap in your honor.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":41416},[41417,41418,41419,41420],{"id":41389,"depth":291,"text":41390},{"id":41396,"depth":291,"text":41397},{"id":41403,"depth":291,"text":41404},{"id":41410,"depth":291,"text":41411},"2014-05-26","One of the most important question for companies is how to get customers to stick around. Since this is MKG Marketing and we’re in the business of amplifying your awesomeness, we go one step further: how do you get your customers to sing your praises? To chant your name while fist-pumping from the rooftops? To subconsciously hear an angelic chorus sing whenever they think of your company?",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fsparking-slow-clap-adding-value-beyond-core-service",{"title":41333,"description":41422},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fsparking-slow-clap-adding-value-beyond-core-service","Y5FPJSfCgVzuRzoOR9ITlwX0i6TyjjzEcjFdd6IeQlw",{"id":41429,"title":41430,"author":7,"authors":41431,"body":41432,"caption":7,"category":28982,"date":41615,"description":77,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":41616,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":41617,"seo":41618,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":41619,"updated":7,"__hash__":41620},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fculture\u002F5-things-ive-learned-in-the-32-month-journey-of-mkg-media-group.md","5 Things I’ve Learned in the 32 Month Journey of MKG Marketing",[9],{"type":11,"value":41433,"toc":41606},[41434,41438,41443,41446,41449,41452,41458,41461,41465,41472,41486,41493,41496,41500,41503,41508,41511,41514,41517,41521,41525,41528,41530,41544,41547,41551,41554,41557,41560,41565,41570,41575,41579,41582,41599,41603],[24,41435,41437],{"id":41436},"its-been-32-months-since-i-embarked-on-the-journey-of-starting-my-own-company","It's been 32 months since I embarked on the journey of starting my own company",[24025,41439,41440],{},[14,41441,41442],{},"As any entrepreneur can tell you, starting a company leads you to experience the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows.",[14,41444,41445],{},"When you're down, it seems like you'll never be able to get back up. When you're up, you constantly fret and worry about when your luck will run out. And taxes and government bureaucracy become company enemy #1 (in more ways than I can count).",[14,41447,41448],{},"It's like this shelf filled with soda's: no idea if or when everything will come crashing down or hold strong through to success.",[14,41450,41451],{},"The fact that we as a company have not only endured these highs and lows but EXCELLED and GROWN through them puts a smile on my face and reminds me how fortunate I am every single day.",[14,41453,41454,41455,41457],{},"Here at ",[206,41456,1414],{"href":32000},", we take a moment every Friday morning during our team status meeting to recall one thing we are glad or thankful for that week; it can be work or personal related.",[14,41459,41460],{},"So after two and a half years, I wanted to share with the world a few things that I'm grateful for.",[24,41462,41464],{"id":41463},"smart-hires-are-critical-to-early-stage-growth","Smart Hires are Critical to Early Stage Growth",[14,41466,41467,41468,41471],{},"Last January, we hired our first full time employee in ",[206,41469,31451],{"href":36011,"rel":41470},[210]," up in Portland, OR, by way of a few mutual friends who couldn't speak highly enough about his abilities.",[14,41473,41474,41475,41480,41481,212],{},"That summer, we hired an intern (",[206,41476,41479],{"href":41477,"rel":41478},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002FJaminDailey",[210],"Jammin' Jamin!",") who landed a few of our clients major press coverage and our company some press from his school, the ",[206,41482,41485],{"href":41483,"rel":41484},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.umt.edu\u002F",[210],"University of Montana",[14,41487,41488,41489,212],{},"And this Spring, we've begun the process of hiring on another absolute rock-star and biological clone of Christian's awesomeness -- ",[206,41490,24268],{"href":41491,"rel":41492},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fadamsbullock",[210],[14,41494,41495],{},"Along the way, we've learned one critical bit of information to help us hire absolute rock star employees: reach out to the smartest person you know in that field and ask who they would hire if they had the chance.",[24,41497,41499],{"id":41498},"great-companies-dont-happen-overnight","Great Companies Don't Happen Overnight",[14,41501,41502],{},"You may have heard this phrase:",[24025,41504,41505],{},[14,41506,41507],{},"Rome wasn't build in a day",[14,41509,41510],{},"Well, the same can be said for building a sustainable business that delivers value to their clients and the world as a whole.",[14,41512,41513],{},"In our case, it took approximately 12 - 18 months to really gain traction servicing the marketing needs of our best-fit clients.",[14,41515,41516],{},"Many start up successes (from Twitter to Facebook to Instagram and beyond) seem to 'come out of nowhere' -- in reality, this thinking couldn't be further from the truth. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone even attests to the fact that success doesn't happen overnight in this Wall Street Journal interview below:",[16784,41518],{"width":41519,"height":25903,"src":41520,"frameBorder":16790,"allowFullScreen":322},853,"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FjYKSy3ibGY0?rel=0",[24,41522,41524],{"id":41523},"learning-how-to-say-no","Learning How to Say 'No'",[14,41526,41527],{},"For the first time in our companies lifetime, we learned how to say 'no' to clients last year.",[14,41529,30751],{},[132,41531,41532,41535,41538,41541],{},[49,41533,41534],{},"NO, we don't want to pitch your business because it isn't the right fit for our company road map or skill set",[49,41536,41537],{},"NO, we don't want to continue working with you because we're just not the right fit",[49,41539,41540],{},"NO, giving us more money cannot change our minds on a recommendation we truly believe in",[49,41542,41543],{},"NO, we aren't the right company for you but can introduce you to a few people who might be better than us at that specific service",[14,41545,41546],{},"In short, we learned how to say NO to new business, bad hires and opportunities that simply weren't the right fit for where we wanted to take the company in 2013 and beyond.",[24,41548,41550],{"id":41549},"focus-100-of-your-time-on-making-customers-happy","Focus 100% of Your Time on Making Customers Happy",[14,41552,41553],{},"The allure of new business is a slippery slope.",[14,41555,41556],{},"If you don't take of your existing customers and focus on making them the happiest they can be you'll learn hard and fast how much it hurts to lose what you thought was a happy client: it feels like absolute s***, as if you've let them down more than anything.",[14,41558,41559],{},"Thankfully, most of the recent comments we've heard from our clients include happy thoughts such as:",[24025,41561,41562],{},[14,41563,41564],{},"You guys rock!",[24025,41566,41567],{},[14,41568,41569],{},"You guys make my life so much easier.",[24025,41571,41572],{},[14,41573,41574],{},"Thanks for thinking this through and coming back with an alternative solution -- we like this a lot!",[24,41576,41578],{"id":41577},"if-youre-not-growing-youre-dying","If You're Not Growing You're Dying",[14,41580,41581],{},"Saving the best for last (in my opinion!), I wanted to share a couple thoughts about growing a small business:",[132,41583,41584,41587,41590,41593,41596],{},[49,41585,41586],{},"Individual growth leads to company-wide growth -- one is essential for the other",[49,41588,41589],{},"Growth is fueled by opportunity. Invest appropriately in creating opportunity for employee growth, new business growth and industry growth",[49,41591,41592],{},"Growth is fueled by process; it may not be a sexy topic, but process allows companies to scale their operations and maintain what makes them special",[49,41594,41595],{},"Constant innovation goes hand in hand with growth; it's that hunger to never settle for 'the norm' and push beyond employee, client and company boundaries to do something better",[49,41597,41598],{},"Failure is critical to growth -- you can't hit home runs every time you step to the plate. Learn from your mistakes and never make the same one twice.",[24,41600,41602],{"id":41601},"calling-all-entrepreneurs-what-did-i-miss","Calling all entrepreneurs: what did I miss?",[14,41604,41605],{},"For all the fellow company builders reading this article: what do you think I missed? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":41607},[41608,41609,41610,41611,41612,41613,41614],{"id":41436,"depth":291,"text":41437},{"id":41463,"depth":291,"text":41464},{"id":41498,"depth":291,"text":41499},{"id":41523,"depth":291,"text":41524},{"id":41549,"depth":291,"text":41550},{"id":41577,"depth":291,"text":41578},{"id":41601,"depth":291,"text":41602},"2014-04-16",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fculture\u002F5-things-ive-learned-in-the-32-month-journey-of-mkg-media-group",{"title":41430,"description":77},"blog\u002Fculture\u002F5-things-ive-learned-in-the-32-month-journey-of-mkg-media-group","NnMHDs6eK2yW1PaOHvZ6TyTdE-fNcYUz3OgITvUU-ZU",{"id":41622,"title":41623,"author":7,"authors":41624,"body":41625,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":41779,"description":41780,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":41781,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":41782,"seo":41783,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":41784,"updated":7,"__hash__":41785},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fhow-to-chart-organic-search-ctr-curve-using-google-webmaster-tools.md","How to Chart Organic Search CTR Curve Using Google Webmaster Tools",[9],{"type":11,"value":41626,"toc":41771},[41627,41630,41633,41638,41641,41645,41648,41651,41654,41657,41660,41664,41667,41686,41688,41691,41705,41708,41712,41715,41718,41721,41724,41727,41731,41734,41737,41740,41743,41746,41750,41753,41757,41760],[14,41628,41629],{},"A few months back the team published our goals for 2014. These goals included personal as well as company growth ideals that we as a group and individuals wanted to strive to achieve.",[14,41631,41632],{},"Among many of our goals for this year, one of them stood out to amongst the rest:",[24025,41634,41635],{},[14,41636,41637],{},"Live a day in your co-workers shoes",[14,41639,41640],{},"That being said, I decided to live a day in the shoes of our Search Engine Marketing (SEM) expert, Christian Bullock",[24,41642,41644],{"id":41643},"my-mission-chart-ctr-by-organic-search-position","My Mission: Chart CTR by Organic Search Position",[14,41646,41647],{},"Search engine marketers really care a lot about keyword rankings; better rankings tend to lead to more traffic, conversions and revenue.",[14,41649,41650],{},"Folks at Catalyst and Slingshot SEO have released CTR curves by organic search position, but these were always based upon their own analytics data. See an example below:",[14,41652,41653],{},"But can you actually quantify the value of keyword improvements from position #5 to position #2 for your own brand?",[14,41655,41656],{},"Short answer: YES!",[14,41658,41659],{},"Using Google Webmaster Tools, you can calculate the traffic and monetary value of increasing the position on a specific keyword.",[24,41661,41663],{"id":41662},"step-0-setting-up-methodology","Step 0: Setting Up Methodology",[14,41665,41666],{},"This concept first came to me after reading an article on iPullRank titled Google Webmaster Tools Killed the CTR Study, which was inspired by a tweet from Moz's Cyrus Sheppard (see below):",[24025,41668,41670,41681,41682],{"className":41669},[30477],[14,41671,41672,41673,1042,41677],{"lang":30480,"dir":30481},"Wow, Webmaster Tools now showing exact keyword clicks for each URL. Ht ",[206,41674,41676],{"href":41675},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002Fthogenhaven?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw","@thogenhaven",[206,41678,41680],{"href":41679},"http:\u002F\u002Ft.co\u002FqOiD6wnuOl","pic.twitter.com\u002FqOiD6wnuOl","— Cyrus - Zyppy SEO (@CyrusShepard) ",[206,41683,41685],{"href":41684},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002FCyrusShepard\u002Fstatus\u002F420420895144824832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw","January 7, 2014",[28218,41687],{"async":322,"src":30515,"charSet":30516},[14,41689,41690],{},"With these two search marketing thought leaders showing the way, I decided to set up the following parameters for our CTR curve study example:",[46,41692,41693,41696,41699,41702],{},[49,41694,41695],{},"What We Want to Achieve: I wanted to understand the amount of drop off from the first few organic search positions -- is it as drastic as Slingshot and Catalyst CTR research had originally suggested?",[49,41697,41698],{},"Statistical Significance: Mike King's CTR research was based off a few hundred impressions and clicks. To build on his results, we wanted to look at hundred's of thousands of impressions and clicks to create a higher confidence in the results. Additionally, we only looked at search queries with 10+ impressions to weed out super long tail keywords.",[49,41700,41701],{},"Vertical: I decided to white label one of our e-commerce client's data, as they have a relatively deep website and have been around for 20+ years",[49,41703,41704],{},"Time Frame: We pulled this data for Q1 of this calendar year, 2014",[14,41706,41707],{},"So what are we waiting for? Let's get going!",[24,41709,41711],{"id":41710},"step-1-pulling-ctr-data-for-organic-search","Step 1: Pulling CTR data for organic search",[14,41713,41714],{},"To protect our client's data, we've shown all screenshots on MKG Marketing's Google Webmaster Tool profile.",[14,41716,41717],{},"The first step of this process is to log in to Google Webmaster Tools and visit the 'Search Traffic' section of the user interface.",[14,41719,41720],{},"As the drop down options expand, click on search queries.",[14,41722,41723],{},"This will drop you onto a page titled 'Search Queries'. You can clearly see the keyword queries that are generating impressions, clicks and avg. position on Google's search engine.",[14,41725,41726],{},"You'll want to select the correct dates (upper right corner) and then click on 'Download this table' option.",[24,41728,41730],{"id":41729},"step-2-chart-ctr-curve-data-in-excel","Step 2: Chart CTR Curve Data In Excel",[14,41732,41733],{},"Now that you've pulled down the data, you'll need create a small table and perform a SUMIF function to pull down impressions and clicks by ad position.",[14,41735,41736],{},"Take a look at the SUMIF table we created below (first 10 positions only):",[14,41738,41739],{},"Next up, make a simple line graph and you'll have CTR performance by organic search position for your brand!",[14,41741,41742],{},"At a high level, we can clearly see that positions #1 and #2 are the most valuable places for this e-commerce client to appear. Additionally, doing an in-depth analysis across long tail keywords would help us uncover the value of those keywords to our brand.",[14,41744,41745],{},"More importantly, this graph is telling us that we should target keywords ranked #3 or worse to try to capture a #2 or #1 ranking. The biggest and most attainable gains are those rank #3 keywords and turning them into a #2 or #1 ranking.",[24,41747,41749],{"id":41748},"step-3-analyze-ctr-performance-data","Step 3: Analyze CTR performance data",[14,41751,41752],{},"This simple chart should give analyst \u002F measurement team everything they need to understand where your most profitable keyword positions live for both first page search engine results page (SERP) rankings as well as for long tail keywords.",[24,41754,41756],{"id":41755},"in-conclusion-what-i-learned-by-playing-search-marketer-for-a-day","In Conclusion: What I Learned By Playing Search Marketer for a Day",[14,41758,41759],{},"I learned a few things (in no particular order) by working a day in Christian's shoes:",[46,41761,41762,41765,41768],{},[49,41763,41764],{},"Google Webmaster Tools (GWT) has a ton of valuable features and search marketers should take advantage of the capabilities it provides. Along with the CTR curve analysis, GWT also provides keyword data for impression, click and average position -- something that Google Analytics now pipes in as (not provided) traffic.",[49,41766,41767],{},"Looking at a CTR curve holistically is valuable, but breaking down CTR curve by branded versus non-branded keywords could help brands uncover potential big wins or insights based on how users are searching for their products on the web.",[49,41769,41770],{},"Give back to the search marketing community!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":41772},[41773,41774,41775,41776,41777,41778],{"id":41643,"depth":291,"text":41644},{"id":41662,"depth":291,"text":41663},{"id":41710,"depth":291,"text":41711},{"id":41729,"depth":291,"text":41730},{"id":41748,"depth":291,"text":41749},{"id":41755,"depth":291,"text":41756},"2014-04-14","In learning more about SEO, Kerry Guard learned how to Chart Organic Search CTR, for Search Director Christian Bullock.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fhow-to-chart-organic-search-ctr-curve-using-google-webmaster-tools",{"title":41623,"description":41780},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fhow-to-chart-organic-search-ctr-curve-using-google-webmaster-tools","C-Yx6-VSxdudeAETSLnZGcPff2dexrLYgKS_7nB-VzM",{"id":41787,"title":41788,"author":7,"authors":41789,"body":41790,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":41916,"description":41917,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":41918,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":41919,"seo":41920,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":41921,"updated":7,"__hash__":41922},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002F3-reasons-leave-google-adwords-management-experts.md","3 Reasons to Leave Google Ads Management to the Experts",[17174],{"type":11,"value":41791,"toc":41910},[41792,41795,41798,41801,41804,41808,41811,41814,41840,41845,41848,41853,41862,41865,41869,41874,41877,41880,41884,41887,41890,41893,41897,41900,41903,41907],[14,41793,41794],{},"As part of our 2014 Goals, specifically Mike's goal of having each of us step into each other's shoes, I decided to take a crack at being a Paid Search Director.",[14,41796,41797],{},"Let's just say, I have a new found appreciation for letting experts handle certain things, especially when it comes to spending money.",[14,41799,41800],{},"Note that our Search Director, Christian Bullock, held my hand through this experience so everything I did ultimately came out as if he would have done it, it just took me 3x longer.",[14,41802,41803],{},"If you don't have a hand-holder and you value your time, I would highly recommend working with a Search Director for these three main reasons:",[24,41805,41807],{"id":41806},"_1-google-is-in-the-business-to-make-money","1. Google is in the business to make money...",[14,41809,41810],{},"And they have no problem taking advantage of those who don't know what they're doing.",[14,41812,41813],{},"There are three types of search queries:",[46,41815,41816,41826,41832],{},[49,41817,41818,41821,41822,41825],{},[52,41819,41820],{},"Broad Match",": If you have a string of keywords like, \"meal planning\", you will show up in search for anything with meal and\u002F",[52,41823,41824],{},"OR"," planning",[49,41827,41828,41831],{},[52,41829,41830],{},"\"Phrase Match\"",": Let's use the same example of \"meal planning\" -- you will show up in search for anything that says \"meal planning\" or \"planning meal\"",[49,41833,41834,41839],{},[52,41835,41836],{},[24436,41837,41838],{},"Exact Match",": Your ad will only show when someone searches, \"meal planning\" exactly**",[14,41841,41842],{},[52,41843,41844],{},"How does Google take advantage of the unaware?",[14,41846,41847],{},"They default to a type of keyword matching called Broad Match Modifier.",[14,41849,41850],{},[52,41851,41852],{},"Why is this bad?",[14,41854,41855,41856,41861],{},"Let's take our example of \"meal planning.\" If we show up for anything like meal or planning, we could show up for something completely off topic like \"insurance plans\". That doesn't have anything to do with what ",[206,41857,41860],{"href":41858,"rel":41859},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.timefordinnerplanning.com",[210],"Time for Dinner"," does, and we would have paid for a ton of clicks if people weren't paying attention.",[14,41863,41864],{},"As a general rule, it's best to always go with the type of keyword matching called Phrase Match Modifier, this way you're not too broad and not too narrow with your keyword search.",[24,41866,41868],{"id":41867},"_2-it-takes-time","2. It takes time...",[14,41870,41871],{},[52,41872,41873],{},"Lots and lots of time.",[14,41875,41876],{},"On top of fumbling through the set-up process, including the process of linking accounts, implementing Google Tag Manager and dropping in conversion pixels, I have to go into Google Ads every day and tweak. EVERY. DAY.",[14,41878,41879],{},"Some of the daily tweaks included optimizing messaging, looking at time of day statistics, adding negative keywords, upping bids and so on and so forth.",[14,41881,41882],{},[52,41883,38084],{},[14,41885,41886],{},"Once, again, it comes back to money.",[14,41888,41889],{},"Here's an example in regards to negative keywords:",[14,41891,41892],{},"By using Google Analytics, and linking our Google Ads account, we are able to see exactly what a user searched for when they clicked on our ad. And a lot of what people searched for was around diet meal plans. Time for Dinner might help you with diet because it's all about eating healthy, but it's not part of it's core offering. Therefore, we went and added negative keywords around diet and plans so we didn't get wasted clicks off topic or brand.",[24,41894,41896],{"id":41895},"_3-its-soul-crushing","3. It's soul crushing.",[14,41898,41899],{},"If you have an obsessive data disorder like I do, you can lose your mind as you sit there in Google Ads and jam refresh waiting for the conversions to just roll in.",[14,41901,41902],{},"News flash: This takes days, sometimes weeks (depending on your spend) to dial your campaigns in and start to see results. Patience is a virtue only Search Directors seem to possess.",[24,41904,41906],{"id":41905},"in-conclusion","In conclusion",[14,41908,41909],{},"There's a clear reason why Search Directors exist, particularly our Google Ads genius, Christian Bullock, and I'm going to leave this to his expertise moving forward.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":41911},[41912,41913,41914,41915],{"id":41806,"depth":291,"text":41807},{"id":41867,"depth":291,"text":41868},{"id":41895,"depth":291,"text":41896},{"id":41905,"depth":291,"text":41906},"2014-04-09","Stepping into the Paid Search Director's shoes.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002F3-reasons-leave-google-adwords-management-experts",{"title":41788,"description":41917},"blog\u002Fppc\u002F3-reasons-leave-google-adwords-management-experts","T35-3EzjyYjtnK-Gt5FcQwkYS3Kf_WTFwaUg7aLimAU",{"id":41924,"title":41925,"author":7,"authors":41926,"body":41927,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":42142,"description":42143,"extension":318,"img":34234,"imgAlt":7,"meta":42144,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":42145,"seo":42146,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":42147,"updated":7,"__hash__":42148},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fgoogle-tag-manager-how-to-implement-custom-html-tags-on-click-listeners.md","Google Tag Manager: How to Implement Custom HTML Tags on Click Listeners",[31451],{"type":11,"value":41928,"toc":42125},[41929,41932,41937,41940,41943,41946,41949,41953,41956,41964,41967,41970,41981,41985,41988,41992,41996,41999,42003,42006,42010,42013,42016,42024,42027,42030,42033,42037,42041,42044,42048,42051,42055,42058,42062,42065,42068,42074,42077,42084,42088,42091,42094,42097,42099,42114,42117,42120],[14,41930,41931],{},"For all it's wonder and glory, there's one thing missing from the Google Tag Manager product.",[24025,41933,41934],{},[14,41935,41936],{},"Detailed Q&A forums!",[14,41938,41939],{},"We utilize Google Tag Manager (GTM) for the majority of our clients; it reduces the number of IT requests put in to engineering, helps us securely manage marketing tags across the entirety of our clients' websites, and ensures that we don't slow down our client's website with too many marketing tags.",[14,41941,41942],{},"But for the life of us, we cannot figure out why there isn't more troubleshooting assistance from Google (Google Product forums and elsewhere) available to loyal users of this product like ourselves.",[14,41944,41945],{},"That being said, we've decided to create Google Tag Manager University -- any time we run into a problem and find a solution to a GTM issue we'll blog about it on our site.",[14,41947,41948],{},"Today's issue revolves around ...",[24,41950,41952],{"id":41951},"how-to-implement-a-3rd-party-html-tag-on-to-a-click-listener","How to Implement a 3rd Party HTML Tag on to a Click Listener",[14,41954,41955],{},"For starters, let's define a click listener:",[46,41957,41958,41961],{},[49,41959,41960],{},"Part of the event listener library of functions within Google Tag Manager, an event listener allows marketers to tag website actions without bothering engineering",[49,41962,41963],{},"A click listener specifically allows marketers to track clicks (buttons, links, etc) on a single page",[14,41965,41966],{},"Now, the issue with implementing a custom HTML tag on a click listener is that it's actually a three step process that isn't entirely clear until you've gone through it a few times.",[14,41968,41969],{},"Those steps are:",[132,41971,41972,41975,41978],{},[49,41973,41974],{},"Create a click listener with properly formatted firing rules",[49,41976,41977],{},"Create a custom HTML tag tag and drop in your 3rd party HTML or image source code",[49,41979,41980],{},"Create a tag version and publish it live to the web",[24,41982,41984],{"id":41983},"how-to-create-a-click-listener-in-gtm","How to create a click listener in GTM",[14,41986,41987],{},"Let's visually walk through the steps to creating a click listener in Google Tag Manager.",[81,41989,41991],{"id":41990},"step-1-after-logging-in-to-your-google-tag-manager-account-click-the-icon-that-reads-create-and-select-tag","Step 1: After logging in to your Google Tag Manager account, click the icon that reads 'create' and select 'tag'.",[81,41993,41995],{"id":41994},"step-2-name-your-click-listener","Step 2: Name your click listener",[14,41997,41998],{},"Give your click listener a name that will help remind everybody what you are measuring. It's better to be too specific than not specific enough!",[81,42000,42002],{"id":42001},"step-3-select-the-tag-type","Step 3: Select the tag type",[14,42004,42005],{},"There will be an empty menu for a drop down labeled 'Tag Type'. Click on that drop down menu and scroll down to Event Listener >> Click Listener.",[81,42007,42009],{"id":42008},"step-4-create-a-firing-rule","Step 4: Create a firing rule",[14,42011,42012],{},"A firing rule tells this tag when to activate itself -- how should it know to record an activity on your website without a firing rule?",[14,42014,42015],{},"Hover to the top right part of your new tag screen and click on 'add rule'.",[14,42017,42018,42019,42023],{},"This will pop up a check box that allows you to select from existing rules or to create a new firing rule. For this example, we'll create a new rule to fire the tag when somebody reaches '",[206,42020,42021],{"href":42021,"rel":42022},"https:\u002F\u002Fxyz.com",[210],"', our clients website.",[14,42025,42026],{},"One thing to note: you might want to uncheck the box that reads 'check validation' but leave 'wait for tags' checked.",[14,42028,42029],{},"Then, you simply need to hit 'save' to save that tag you just created.",[14,42031,42032],{},"Voila! You have created a click listener tag!",[24,42034,42036],{"id":42035},"how-to-create-and-implement-a-custom-html-tag-to-fire-3rd-party-code-snippets","How to create and implement a custom HTML tag to fire 3rd party code snippets",[81,42038,42040],{"id":42039},"step-1-create-a-new-click-tag","Step 1: Create a new click tag",[14,42042,42043],{},"At your account's home screen, navigate to the red 'new' button and click on 'tag'. This will get you started to create that custom HTML tag you'll need to properly fire your 3rd party code.",[81,42045,42047],{"id":42046},"step-2-create-a-custom-html-tag","Step 2: Create a custom HTML tag",[14,42049,42050],{},"After you get to the 'new tag' screen, you'll want to name your custom HTML tag. Following that process, click on the 'tag type' drop down and select 'custom HTML tag'.",[81,42052,42054],{"id":42053},"step-3-drop-in-3rd-party-code-snippet","Step 3: Drop in 3rd party code snippet",[14,42056,42057],{},"Now it's time to drop in your 3rd party code. Remember, if it's a Javascript snippet you'll want to add script open and close elements appropriately.",[81,42059,42061],{"id":42060},"step-4-add-the-correct-firing-rule-to-the-custom-html-tag","Step 4: Add the correct firing rule to the custom HTML tag",[14,42063,42064],{},"This is perhaps one of the most important steps; you need to add the following firing two conditions as a firing rule to get your tag to work.",[14,42066,42067],{},"Those conditions are:",[24428,42069,42072],{"className":42070,"code":42071,"language":33981},[33979],"{{event}} equals gtm.linkClick\n{{element url}} contains \"\u003CEXAMPLE: USE URL OF YOUR OWN WEBPAGE>\"\n",[24358,42073,42071],{"__ignoreMap":77},[14,42075,42076],{},"This rule tells your tag to fire every time someone clicks on a link whose href contains the string of your link destination.",[14,42078,42079,42080,42083],{},"In our case, that would be \"EXAMPLE: USE URL OF YOUR OWN WEBPAGE\", although you all know that it should be a properly formatted URL such as '",[206,42081,42021],{"href":42021,"rel":42082},[210],"'",[81,42085,42087],{"id":42086},"last-steps-to-implement-this-rule","Last steps to implement this rule",[14,42089,42090],{},"Last but not least, you'll need to do create a new version of all these tags.",[14,42092,42093],{},"At the home screen, click on 'create a new version':",[14,42095,42096],{},"Now, you'll need to publish your container so that tag and it's attached rules actually go live on the web.",[24,42098,37733],{"id":37732},[14,42100,42101,42102,42107,42108,42113],{},"Using a de-bugging tool like ",[206,42103,42106],{"href":42104,"rel":42105},"https:\u002F\u002Fchrome.google.com\u002Fwebstore\u002Fdetail\u002Ftag-assistant-by-google\u002Fkejbdjndbnbjgmefkgdddjlbokphdefk?hl=en",[210],"Google Tag Assistant"," (Chrome browser extension) or ",[206,42109,42112],{"href":42110,"rel":42111},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ghostery.com\u002F",[210],"Ghostery"," (Chrome\u002FFirefox browser extension), you should be able to navigate through your site, click on the link you just created a rule for and watch the click listener and 3rd party code snippet fire.",[14,42115,42116],{},"For those who are more inclined to watching this via video, I've actually gone through and recorded myself doing these tasks in the video below.",[16784,42118],{"width":41519,"height":25903,"src":42119,"frameBorder":16790,"allowFullScreen":322},"\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FAEtFV3Ipklw?rel=0",[14,42121,42122],{},[52,42123,42124],{},"Share any questions, comments or concerns in our comments sections below!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":42126},[42127,42128,42134,42141],{"id":41951,"depth":291,"text":41952},{"id":41983,"depth":291,"text":41984,"children":42129},[42130,42131,42132,42133],{"id":41990,"depth":297,"text":41991},{"id":41994,"depth":297,"text":41995},{"id":42001,"depth":297,"text":42002},{"id":42008,"depth":297,"text":42009},{"id":42035,"depth":291,"text":42036,"children":42135},[42136,42137,42138,42139,42140],{"id":42039,"depth":297,"text":42040},{"id":42046,"depth":297,"text":42047},{"id":42053,"depth":297,"text":42054},{"id":42060,"depth":297,"text":42061},{"id":42086,"depth":297,"text":42087},{"id":37732,"depth":291,"text":37733},"2014-03-06","The issue with implementing a custom HTML tag on a click listener in Google Tag Manager is that it's actually a three step process that isn't entirely clear until you've gone through it a few times. See our step by step guide.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fgoogle-tag-manager-how-to-implement-custom-html-tags-on-click-listeners",{"title":41925,"description":42143},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fgoogle-tag-manager-how-to-implement-custom-html-tags-on-click-listeners","kvG63gL-RWBZS4-djhEMWodMm43ji-6daXtZ1LI3x3A",{"id":42150,"title":42151,"author":7,"authors":42152,"body":42153,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":42314,"description":42160,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":42315,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":42316,"seo":42317,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":42318,"updated":7,"__hash__":42319},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fsearchfest-2014-highlights-disappointments.md","SearchFest 2014: Highlights and Disappointments",[9],{"type":11,"value":42154,"toc":42303},[42155,42158,42161,42164,42168,42172,42175,42193,42213,42216,42228,42231,42243,42246,42257,42261,42264,42269,42272,42276,42279,42283,42286,42290,42293,42296,42300],[14,42156,42157],{},"I was fortunate to attend SearchFest 2014 in Portland, Oregon on February 28, 2014.",[14,42159,42160],{},"This is the eighth year that SearchFest has been put on in Portland and I've actually been to every single one except for SearchFest 2013. So, I've seen how this event has grown both in attendance as well as the quality of the speakers they bring in.",[14,42162,42163],{},"It was great seeing colleagues and meeting other search marketing professionals... but the draw of a conference are the sessions. And I have to say: there were some informative sessions as well as some stinkers.",[24,42165,42167],{"id":42166},"searchfest-2014-highlights","SearchFest 2014 Highlights",[81,42169,42171],{"id":42170},"standout-sessions","Standout Sessions",[14,42173,42174],{},"I focused on attending SEO sessions this year, as I thought those were the strongest sessions across all of the tracks for the day.",[14,42176,42177,42180,42181,42186,42187,42192],{},[52,42178,42179],{},"Structured Data for SEO: Which Markup Matters"," was one of the standouts of the day. I was already very familiar with Aaron Bradley (",[206,42182,42185],{"href":42183,"rel":42184},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002Faaranged",[210],"@aaranged",") as I had seem him speak before and knew that he really knows his stuff about structured data. Marshall Simmonds (",[206,42188,42191],{"href":42189,"rel":42190},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002Fmdsimmonds",[210],"@mdsimmonds",") really impressed me with his deck and presentation. My main takeaways from his presentation.\nType of markup and impact of implementation:",[46,42194,42195,42198,42201,42204,42207,42210],{},[49,42196,42197],{},"Authorship - minimal traffic impact",[49,42199,42200],{},"TV Reviews - medium traffic impact",[49,42202,42203],{},"Product reviews - Good traffic impact",[49,42205,42206],{},"Recipe - minimal traffic impact",[49,42208,42209],{},"In-Depth Article - good traffic (if you're not a big brand, good luck)",[49,42211,42212],{},"Video - fast indexation, significant impact",[14,42214,42215],{},"I LOVED this approach not only because that's how the session was supposed to be set up... but it gave me a list of actionable items to look to implement immediately.",[14,42217,42218,42221,42222,42227],{},[52,42219,42220],{},"Harder-Core SEO"," was another standout session due to the type of information and analysis that Dr. Pete Meyers (",[206,42223,42226],{"href":42224,"rel":42225},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002Fdr_pete",[210],"@dr_pete",") brought to the table. His deck wasn't like many of the others that we all saw at SearchFest (more on that later) in that it was fairly lean but focused on specifics, showing pie-chart data that proved that data doesn't have to be shown in a sexy way for it to be communicated well.",[14,42229,42230],{},"Dr. Pete is the Marketing Scientist at Moz, so his presentation had a lot of data behind it. I really liked how he was able to give some timelines as to how often in-depth articles tend to be refreshed when it comes to search engines re-jiggering what shows for that as well as how often based on a percentage of search queries specific schema markup showed in search results.",[14,42232,42233,42236,42237,42242],{},[52,42234,42235],{},"Link Building, Content Marketing, and Content Strategy"," was the last standout session I'll go over. John-Henry Schreck (",[206,42238,42241],{"href":42239,"rel":42240},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002FJHTScherck",[210],"@JHTScherck",") did a great job of being the lone presenter of the session. He hit on some great tools that I definitely have already bookmarked and \u002F or downloaded to look to add to my SEO tool-belt. His examples towards the end of his session were also great real-world looks at some companies who were \"doing the right thing\" and that I could go and see what type of strategy they were currently implementing.",[14,42244,42245],{},"So to recap, the reasons why these three sessions (or, rather, speakers) stood out to me were because their presentations:",[132,42247,42248,42251,42254],{},[49,42249,42250],{},"Were actionable",[49,42252,42253],{},"Had specific data shown",[49,42255,42256],{},"Included real-world examples",[24,42258,42260],{"id":42259},"conference-disappointments","Conference Disappointments",[14,42262,42263],{},"There were some things that disappointed me during SearchFest 2014. Margaret Chase Smith once said:",[24025,42265,42266],{},[14,42267,42268],{},"Every human being is entitled to courtesy and consideration. Constructive criticism is not only to be expected but sought.",[14,42270,42271],{},"That being said, here were my constructive criticisms of SearchFest 2014 and perhaps some about presenting at conferences in general:",[81,42273,42275],{"id":42274},"the-hardcore-seo-session-provided-little-to-no-value","The Hardcore SEO session provided little to no value",[14,42277,42278],{},"This was an \"intermediate\" session that was supposed to \"focus on hardcore SEO tactics.\" Instead, what I got from Simon was basically \"don't do stupid stuff\" and search engines unfortunately also do stupid things. From Kate I got some more actionable insights from but still nothing related to the session topic.",[81,42280,42282],{"id":42281},"harder-core-seo-was-only-half-interesting","Harder-Core SEO was only half-interesting",[14,42284,42285],{},"As I touched on above, Dr. Pete presented some very interesting data that included some good actionable items. Dennis Goedegebuure, head of SEO for Airbnb, basically presented how Airbnb developed neighborhood pages... and that was it. He seemed like a nice, sharp guy who very much knew what he was talking about but I got nothing out of his deck and talk.",[81,42287,42289],{"id":42288},"decks-that-are-100-slides-long","Decks that are 100+ slides long",[14,42291,42292],{},"I understand that the thinking here is to try to get away from boring bullet points, but when you're clicking through your slides at lightning speed and the slide that had the most substance that you have is one that includes not one but TWO pieces of stock photography, it's not a good deck. Period.",[14,42294,42295],{},"Condense your deck to only the slides that matter. Keep people interested and hanging on the edge of their seat as to what type of killer information the next slide is going to hold.",[24,42297,42299],{"id":42298},"searchfest-2014-some-good-some-bad","SearchFest 2014? Some Good, Some Bad",[14,42301,42302],{},"Will I be attending SearchFest 2015? Definitely. There were some great speakers who spoke about some very interesting topics. Looking forward to next year, I hope the event organizers can really ensure each presenter is presenting on what exactly the session is supposed to be about.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":42304},[42305,42308,42313],{"id":42166,"depth":291,"text":42167,"children":42306},[42307],{"id":42170,"depth":297,"text":42171},{"id":42259,"depth":291,"text":42260,"children":42309},[42310,42311,42312],{"id":42274,"depth":297,"text":42275},{"id":42281,"depth":297,"text":42282},{"id":42288,"depth":297,"text":42289},{"id":42298,"depth":291,"text":42299},"2014-03-03",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fsearchfest-2014-highlights-disappointments",{"title":42151,"description":42160},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fsearchfest-2014-highlights-disappointments","fFTr1vHrvII1G1A8ZGUKI3iweeaTucZBYR8vjcXfoOg",{"id":42321,"title":42322,"author":7,"authors":42323,"body":42324,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":42461,"description":42462,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":42463,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":42464,"seo":42465,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":42466,"updated":7,"__hash__":42467},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fplanning-analytics-vs-day-day-executional-analytics.md","Planning Analytics vs. Day-to-Day Executional Analytics",[9],{"type":11,"value":42325,"toc":42453},[42326,42330,42339,42343,42346,42349,42353,42356,42359,42373,42376,42380,42383,42390,42393,42396,42399,42419,42423,42426,42431,42434,42437,42440,42444,42447,42450],[24,42327,42329],{"id":42328},"it-was-just-one-of-those-amazing-conversations","It was just one of those amazing conversations",[14,42331,42332,42333,42338],{},"MKG uses ",[206,42334,42337],{"href":42335,"rel":42336},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.xplusone.net\u002F",[210],"x+1"," for all our programmatic media buying and data management platform (DMP) needs on behalf of our clients. They're transparent, have little down time and end up delivering great results for our clients.",[24,42340,42342],{"id":42341},"last-but-not-least-they-really-like-analytics","Last but not least, they really like analytics",[14,42344,42345],{},"Last week we had the opportunity to chat with William Sears, x+1's VP of Solution Architecture, about two different types of analytics that the marketing industry sees to date.",[14,42347,42348],{},"I've summarized our conversation below to show off the highlights of our conversation.",[24,42350,42352],{"id":42351},"insight-1-planning-analytics-vs-daily-execution-analytics","Insight #1: Planning Analytics vs. Daily Execution Analytics",[14,42354,42355],{},"Our conversation started with me asking Bill how he saw analysis in today's world of real time media bidding and cross-channel marketing.",[14,42357,42358],{},"Bill broke analytics down into two category:",[132,42360,42361,42367],{},[49,42362,42363,42366],{},[52,42364,42365],{},"Planning Analytics:"," Planning analytics is synonymous with creating a high-level, business results analysis strategy. Examples include three year projections or using predictive analysis using tools like Lev.ers or Palantir. Think about 'the big picture' of measuring marketing results.",[49,42368,42369,42372],{},[52,42370,42371],{},"Daily Execution Analytics:"," This is the day-to-day number crunching and algorithm writing. It is very much in the weeds. Have $5 left in your daily advertising budget? Great! What levers can be pulled to most efficiently spend that budget.",[14,42374,42375],{},"Bill noted that advertising technology companies like x+1 excel at daily executional analytics; the minutiae of analysis, while service partners like ourselves (marketing agencies) tended to excel at the planning analytics side of things.",[24,42377,42379],{"id":42378},"insight-2-connecting-the-dots-between-planning-analytics-vs-daily-execution-analytics","Insight #2: Connecting the Dots Between Planning Analytics vs. Daily Execution Analytics",[14,42381,42382],{},"Bill's next insight in our conversation may have been his most important:",[24025,42384,42385],{},[14,42386,42387],{},[52,42388,42389],{},"\"How do you connect the two?\"",[14,42391,42392],{},"In other words, how do you connect the day-to-day minutiae of 'here is what levers we are pulling on a per second basis' and connecting it with the bigger, business-level road map that outlines what marketers need to achieve.",[14,42394,42395],{},"Hint: Sometimes, you need an objective third party to manage this relationship. Let the ad tech partners battle it out in the trenches every day, but having an objective measurement partner whose sole purpose is to help establish, measure and communicate results to keep the business on track.",[14,42397,42398],{},"Definitions of connecting the dots across the three items mentioned above include:",[46,42400,42401,42407,42413],{},[49,42402,42403,42406],{},[52,42404,42405],{},"Establish:"," Otherwise known as creating a measurement strategy. This includes a systems audit, and meetings with senior-level stakeholders that establish buy in on the strategy, what is being measured and how results will be relayed within the organization.",[49,42408,42409,42412],{},[52,42410,42411],{},"Measure:"," Measurement step is essentially a never ending QA process. Are all the systems reporting accurately back to each other? What inconsistencies are we seeing? Additionally, this is the point where analysts identify trends and begin to put together 'the big picture'.",[49,42414,42415,42418],{},[52,42416,42417],{},"Communicating Results:"," Presenting to senior level staff? That normally dictates a presentation; large, cascading photos with huge numbers and line graphs to show results. Serving up results to marketing managers? That tends to dictate a more granular definition of what is happening in the trenches.",[24,42420,42422],{"id":42421},"insight-3-the-chef-goes-shopping","Insight #3: \"The Chef Goes Shopping\"",[14,42424,42425],{},"Have you ever gone to a really nice restaurant and done all the shopping in advance for the chef?",[24025,42427,42428],{},[14,42429,42430],{},"Yeah, right!",[14,42432,42433],{},"Bill made a great comment when he said The Chef Does All His Own Shopping.",[14,42435,42436],{},"The same advice goes a strong measurement strategy: The planning analysis partner needs to 'do their own shopping' to help serve the client's analytics needs.",[14,42438,42439],{},"For example, this partner could use the establish, measure and communicate approach, this partner uses numeric outcomes to act as the guide rails for a strong analytics strategy.",[24,42441,42443],{"id":42442},"what-did-we-miss","What did we miss?",[14,42445,42446],{},"Our team speaks with Bill on a regular basis; what topics did we miss out on?",[14,42448,42449],{},"Type any questions you have about our conversation in the comments section below and we'll be sure to answer any Q's addressed to our team as well as those directed at Bill and the x+1 team.",[14,42451,42452],{},"Additionally, if you want our articles delivered straight to your inbox the nano-second they are published or simply need a few more emails to delete each and every morning, enter your email address below.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":42454},[42455,42456,42457,42458,42459,42460],{"id":42328,"depth":291,"text":42329},{"id":42341,"depth":291,"text":42342},{"id":42351,"depth":291,"text":42352},{"id":42378,"depth":291,"text":42379},{"id":42421,"depth":291,"text":42422},{"id":42442,"depth":291,"text":42443},"2014-02-10","As a digital marketing experts, we need to look up, out and forward to our great KPIs like Pipeline create. But what are the nuonced, day-to-day, metrics that will lead us there?",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fplanning-analytics-vs-day-day-executional-analytics",{"title":42322,"description":42462},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fplanning-analytics-vs-day-day-executional-analytics","qoOJBC9D9hNFlJ0OrAQASLiLxTuulzWYO1wQxJNJ0B8",{"id":42469,"title":42470,"author":7,"authors":42471,"body":42472,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":42651,"description":42652,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":42653,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":42654,"seo":42655,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":42656,"updated":7,"__hash__":42657},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fsocial-signals-the-new-inbound-link-ranking-factor-for-organic-rankings.md","Social Signals: The New Inbound Link Ranking Factor for Organic Rankings",[9],{"type":11,"value":42473,"toc":42644},[42474,42492,42497,42500,42503,42512,42515,42518,42521,42525,42528,42531,42534,42539,42548,42551,42555,42558,42567,42574,42578,42597,42600,42603,42606,42613,42617,42620,42623,42627,42630,42638,42641],[14,42475,42476,42477,1042,42482,1042,42487,6109],{},"Everyone from Rand Fishkin of Moz to Neil Patel of KISSmetrics is ",[206,42478,42481],{"href":42479,"rel":42480},"https:\u002F\u002Fmoz.com\u002Fsearch-ranking-factors",[210],"saying",[206,42483,42486],{"href":42484,"rel":42485},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.quicksprout.com\u002F2014\u002F01\u002F31\u002Fhow-social-signals-impact-search-engine-rankings\u002F",[210],"it",[206,42488,42491],{"href":42489,"rel":42490},"https:\u002F\u002Fsearchenginewatch.com\u002Farticle\u002F2325343\u002FMatt-Cutts-Facebook-Twitter-Social-Signals-Not-Part-of-Google-Search-Ranking-Algorithms",[210],"lately",[24025,42493,42494],{},[14,42495,42496],{},"Social signals are proving to have influence over organic search ranking factors",[14,42498,42499],{},"For the most part, SEOs are blogging that social signals influence on organic search rankings is in it's infancy; that while it is a ranking factor it's not yet of the staples (e.g. link authority and on-page content optimization) of search engine rankings.",[14,42501,42502],{},"After doing some internal testing and doing some thinking of how search engines have historically ranked pages, I am confident in saying:",[24025,42504,42505],{},[14,42506,42507,42508,42511],{},"Social signals will start becoming a ",[52,42509,42510],{},"major ranking factor"," for Google in 2014.",[14,42513,42514],{},"You can quote me on that.",[14,42516,42517],{},"What is my thinking there, aside from our internal testing data that shows some good to conclude this?",[14,42519,42520],{},"Well, it all starts with a quick history lesson...",[24,42522,42524],{"id":42523},"google-came-along-and-changed-the-ranking-game","Google came along and changed the ranking game",[14,42526,42527],{},"Before Google came along, search engines ranked content based solely on what was on the page. On-page optimization ruled all.",[14,42529,42530],{},"This spurred the rise of keyword stuffing; putting white text on a page with white backgrounds, and utilizing the now useless meta keyword tag.",[14,42532,42533],{},"Google changed all this. What they set out to do was to take some ranking influence from this on-page optimization... but also look at what pieces of content people vouched for . How can you tell which article people \"vouch\" for more: Article A that's about cat pictures on the Internet or article B that's about cat pictures on the Internet? Both very similar, but have all of the SEO blocking and tackling in place. So which articles ranks highest?",[24025,42535,42536],{},[14,42537,42538],{},"By the number of inbound links each article received",[14,42540,42541,42542,42547],{},"The inbound linking factor that ",[206,42543,42546],{"href":42544,"rel":42545},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.webmasterworld.com\u002Fforum3\u002F13088-1-30.htm?highlight=dominic#msg160172",[210],"Google introduced in its \"Dominic\" update"," was what really set Google apart from the rest of search engines.",[14,42549,42550],{},"Low and behold, all search engines now place almost 50% of organic ranking weight to inbound link metrics (both on a domain and web page level).",[24,42552,42554],{"id":42553},"social-signals-are-the-new-vouching-method","Social signals are the new vouching method",[14,42556,42557],{},"Before social media became so predominant in our everyday life, linking to websites was the primary way of \"vouching\" for a page's content. This still holds true today: in fact, WordPress users create 40.5 million blog posts each month. This is simply one CMS platform!",[14,42559,42560,42561,42566],{},"Now with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and ",[206,42562,42565],{"href":42563,"rel":42564},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FList_of_social_networking_websites",[210],"hundreds of other popular social sharing platforms",", users can \"vouch\" by simply taking ten seconds and writing up 140 characters + a link about a web page. No longer does someone need to own a website in order to share content they like: social media makes this so easy a baby could do it.",[14,42568,42569,42570,42573],{},"Ok, maybe not ",[52,42571,42572],{},"THAT"," easy, but easy enough.",[24,42575,42577],{"id":42576},"but-matt-cutts-saidddddd","But Matt Cutts saidddddd!!!!",[14,42579,42580,42581,42585,42586,42591,42592,212],{},"Yes, ",[206,42582,42584],{"href":42489,"rel":42583},[210],"Matt Cutts recently said Facebook and Twitter social signals do not factor into search engine rankings"," (",[206,42587,42590],{"href":42588,"rel":42589},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=udqtSM-6QbQ",[210],"watch here","). This is interesting, because ",[206,42593,42596],{"href":42594,"rel":42595},"https:\u002F\u002Fsearchenginewatch.com\u002Farticle\u002F2050218\u002FMatt-Cutts-Social-Signals-Author-Authority-Ranking-Factors-Google-Realtime",[210],"back in 2010 he said Google did use social signals as a small ranking factor",[14,42598,42599],{},"So that's it right? Finito. End of discussion.",[14,42601,42602],{},"Not so fast.",[14,42604,42605],{},"Neil Patel, a guy I consider one of the sharpest online marketing individuals on the planet, put out recent findings that shows a very positive impact on rankings when you get some social media sharing clout behind a website. See below for that (this gifograph is too good):",[14,42607,42608,42609],{},"Courtesy of: ",[206,42610,42612],{"href":42484,"rel":42611},[210],"Quick Sprout",[24,42614,42616],{"id":42615},"what-were-seeing-vs-what-matt-cutts-is-telling-us","What We're Seeing vs. What Matt Cutts is Telling Us",[14,42618,42619],{},"We're all seeing social signals impacting organic search rankings. We're seeing it here with our client roster at MKG Marketing. Others are blogging about how they're seeing it. And Neil Patel shows some pretty hard evidence of this happening as well.",[14,42621,42622],{},"So, this about sums up my thoughts on Matt Cutts' recent video that we hit on above:\n",[24,42624,42626],{"id":42625},"our-theory-google-search-rankings-are-connecting-social-media-and-seo-at-the-hip","Our Theory: Google Search Rankings are connecting social media and SEO at the hip!",[14,42628,42629],{},"To summarize our point, search engines looking to share the most relevant results possible to a user lean on two important pieces of ranking information:",[46,42631,42632,42635],{},[49,42633,42634],{},"On-page optimization",[49,42636,42637],{},"Inbound link authority",[14,42639,42640],{},"Social signals have shown to have a positive relation to organic ranking factors. Even with Matt Cutts stating that Google doesn't take these into account currently, plenty of other bloggers as well as our own data shows otherwise.",[14,42642,42643],{},"Don't delay: social signals will be the third-highest ranking factor for websites. Get your social media marketing plan buttoned-up and be prepared when search engines start leaning more towards social signals in ranking factors.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":42645},[42646,42647,42648,42649,42650],{"id":42523,"depth":291,"text":42524},{"id":42553,"depth":291,"text":42554},{"id":42576,"depth":291,"text":42577},{"id":42615,"depth":291,"text":42616},{"id":42625,"depth":291,"text":42626},"2014-02-06","Social signals are proving to have influence over organic search ranking factors.See how.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fsocial-signals-the-new-inbound-link-ranking-factor-for-organic-rankings",{"title":42470,"description":42652},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fsocial-signals-the-new-inbound-link-ranking-factor-for-organic-rankings","Bk4CjYe7XWW1X0uc1ITNULlabsw7ce1szbCssiHI5KU",{"id":42659,"title":42660,"author":7,"authors":42661,"body":42662,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":42810,"description":42811,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":42812,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":42813,"seo":42814,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":42815,"updated":7,"__hash__":42816},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002F2013-in-review-for-mkg-media-group.md","2013 in Review",[9],{"type":11,"value":42663,"toc":42803},[42664,42667,42671,42674,42677,42681,42684,42687,42691,42694,42697,42700,42711,42714,42765,42769,42772,42796,42800],[14,42665,42666],{},"As we're approaching 2014, we wanted to take some time to reflect on how 2013 treated us. To be frank: 2013 was a kick-ass year for MKG Marketing. Allow us to explain why!",[24,42668,42670],{"id":42669},"our-clients","Our Clients",[14,42672,42673],{},"We couldn't be in the position that we are in now without our clients - both past and current. You trusted us to help grow your business, and we hope that our work rose to the occasion and delivered on your needs.",[14,42675,42676],{},"Many thanks goes out to you for allowing us to be your online marketing partner.",[24,42678,42680],{"id":42679},"our-people","Our People",[14,42682,42683],{},"2013 was the first year Christian Bullock, our Director of Search Engine Marketing (SEM), worked for MKG Marketing full time. Adding his skills to our team on a full-time basis supported a lot of the growth we experienced this year.",[14,42685,42686],{},"We would also like to thank Jammin' Jamin, who was our Summer intern this year and really took to his role with passion and gusto. He's now a Google Student Ambassador and we couldn't think of a better individual to fill in those shoes.",[24,42688,42690],{"id":42689},"our-focus-on-giving-back-to-the-internet","Our Focus on Giving Back to the Internet",[14,42692,42693],{},"Our entire team focused on producing timely, useful content for marketers to read and learn from.",[14,42695,42696],{},"This focus on developing quality content paid off -- big time!",[14,42698,42699],{},"As you can see in the Google Analytics screenshot, we made the following gains:",[46,42701,42702,42705,42708],{},[49,42703,42704],{},"6,303 more visits year-over-year",[49,42706,42707],{},"5,000 unique visitors year-over-year",[49,42709,42710],{},"7,843 pages viewed year-over-year",[14,42712,42713],{},"On that note, we also wanted to share our most-visited blog content for the past year. Below is a list of our top seven blog posts from 2013:",[46,42715,42716,42723,42730,42737,42744,42751,42758],{},[49,42717,42718,42722],{},[206,42719,42721],{"href":42720},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fhow-to-calculate-lifetime-value-of-a-loyal-customer\u002F","How to Calculate Lifetime Value of a Loyal Customer"," - this post breaks down the factors on how to calculate this value as well as an easy formula that can help you figure out this important metric for your own organization.",[49,42724,42725,42729],{},[206,42726,42728],{"href":42727},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fgoogle-tag-manager-what-it-is-3-fixes-to-common-problems\u002F","Google Tag Manager - What Is It and Three Fixes To Common Problems"," - this post explains what Google Tag Manager (GTM) is, what it is useful for, and some solutions for three common problems many users are experiencing with the tool.",[49,42731,42732,42736],{},[206,42733,42735],{"href":42734},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fthree-interactive-dashboarding-tools-your-company-should-be-using\u002F","Three Interactive Dashboarding Tools Your Company Should Be Using"," - this post  goes over three dashboard tools - Dashzen, Leftronic and GoodData - and goes over pros and cons for all three options.",[49,42738,42739,42743],{},[206,42740,42742],{"href":42741},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Ffour-characteristics-of-a-loyal-customer\u002F","Four Characteristics of a Loyal Customer"," - read four characteristics loyal customers all tend to share to help you identify and target potential loyal customers for your product or service.",[49,42745,42746,42750],{},[206,42747,42749],{"href":42748},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fcontent-marketing-bible-8-great-content-types-to-produce\u002F","Content Marketing Bible: 8 Great Content Types to Produce"," - view 8 types of content that tend to be well received in a content marketing strategy that you are looking to produce.",[49,42752,42753,42757],{},[206,42754,42756],{"href":42755},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fgoogle-authorship-a-how-to-guide\u002F","Google Authorship: A How-To Guide"," - see how you can follow 4 easy steps to get your Google+ profile hooked up to your site content so you can start getting authorship attribution on Google's search engine result pages.",[49,42759,42760,42764],{},[206,42761,42763],{"href":42762},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Ffour-things-to-consider-when-evaluating-banner-ad-creative\u002F","Four Things to Consider When Evaluating Banner Creative"," - we walk you through our process of evaluating whether or not banner creative is informative, eye-catching and actionable.",[24,42766,42768],{"id":42767},"so-what-does-2014-hold-in-store","So, What Does 2014 Hold in Store?",[14,42770,42771],{},"This next year holds quite a lot in store for the MKG Marketing team. Let us give you an idea of what we have planned:",[132,42773,42774,42781,42790,42793],{},[49,42775,42776,42777,42780],{},"Company Growth -- We're looking to add another talented digital marketer to the team in 2014. If you think you may be that individual, please ",[206,42778,42779],{"href":11956},"contact us"," and tell us why you believe you'd be a good fit for the team!",[49,42782,42783,42784,42789],{},"Revenue Growth -- In June, we set a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (",[206,42785,42788],{"href":42786,"rel":42787},"https:\u002F\u002Fmoz.com\u002Frand\u002Fvision-based-framework\u002F",[210],"BHAG term courtesy of Moz founder Rand Fishkin",") looking to triple our quarterly revenue by June 2014. Why this number? Because it allows us to comfortably add another member to the team, invest in our company and host fun company-wide events like National Go to San Diego Day (oh yes -- it's happening!)",[49,42791,42792],{},"Our Company Purpose Revealed: We'll be announcing our purpose as a company; the real reason why we exist in this world and how we strive to make a difference. Stay tuned for that!",[49,42794,42795],{},"Website Redesign -- With our company purpose exercise comes a ... SITE REDESIGN! Keep your eyes peeled for that as well.",[24,42797,42799],{"id":42798},"thats-a-wrap-on-2013","That's a Wrap on 2013!",[14,42801,42802],{},"With that in mind, we wish everyone a Happy New Year!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":42804},[42805,42806,42807,42808,42809],{"id":42669,"depth":291,"text":42670},{"id":42679,"depth":291,"text":42680},{"id":42689,"depth":291,"text":42690},{"id":42767,"depth":291,"text":42768},{"id":42798,"depth":291,"text":42799},"2013-12-23","As we approach 2014, we wanted to take some time to reflect on how 2013 treated us. To be frank, 2013 was a kick-ass year for MKG Marketing. Here's why!",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002F2013-in-review-for-mkg-media-group",{"title":42660,"description":42811},"blog\u002Fnews\u002F2013-in-review-for-mkg-media-group","K1w96TDJqb7_K5eyja5tY0lF3JDtmtcF0DZKwN0D6IA",{"id":42818,"title":42819,"author":7,"authors":42820,"body":42821,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":43027,"description":43028,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":43029,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":43030,"seo":43031,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":43032,"updated":7,"__hash__":43033},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fseo-web-design-tips-for-fast-growing-companies.md","SEO & Web Design Tips for Fast Growing Companies",[9],{"type":11,"value":42822,"toc":43010},[42823,42827,42836,42853,42856,42860,42863,42871,42879,42882,42890,42894,42897,42900,42903,42907,42910,42913,42917,42931,42935,42938,42941,42943,42947,42956,42959,42962,42965,42968,42971,42975,42978,42980,42983,42991,42994,42997,43000,43004,43007],[24,42824,42826],{"id":42825},"can-you-guess-who-the-fastest-growing-companies-are-in-the-us","Can You Guess Who the Fastest Growing Companies Are in the US?",[14,42828,42829,42830,42835],{},"Each year, ",[206,42831,42834],{"href":42832,"rel":42833},"https:\u002F\u002Fmoney.cnn.com\u002Fmagazines\u002Ffortune\u002Ffastest-growing\u002F",[210],"CNN Money releases their 100 Fastest Growing Companies list","that highlights the fastest growing companies in the United States. The criteria include:",[46,42837,42838,42841,42844,42847,42850],{},[49,42839,42840],{},"Revenue ($)",[49,42842,42843],{},"Revenue Growth (3 year)",[49,42845,42846],{},"Profit Growth (3 year)",[49,42848,42849],{},"Total Return (3 year)",[49,42851,42852],{},"Net Income ($ millions)",[14,42854,42855],{},"The companies tend to change each and every year, but one thing stays the same:",[24,42857,42859],{"id":42858},"these-companies-websites-all-could-use-a-lot-of-work","These Companies Websites' All Could Use a Lot of Work",[14,42861,42862],{},"From the overall website design down to the user experience (UX), many companies on the rise simply don't have time to freshen up their website as they continue to grow.\nUnfortunately for these companies, a smooth functioning and well-designed website is an essential sales tool for an organization.",[14,42864,42865,42870],{},[206,42866,42869],{"href":42867,"rel":42868},"https:\u002F\u002Fstatic.googleusercontent.com\u002Fmedia\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fen\u002Fus\u002Fenterprise\u002Fsearch\u002Ffiles\u002FGoogle_MaximizingWebsiteROI.pdf",[210],"Google advocates a proven methodical approach"," to website design and UX that features four steps, one of which we have highlighted below:",[24025,42872,42873],{},[14,42874,42875,42876],{},"Optimize the site by determining which combinations of site content and design ",[52,42877,42878],{},"drive the most conversions",[14,42880,42881],{},"With that said, we randomly selected three companies from this years 100 Fastest Growing Companies List and noted:",[46,42883,42884,42887],{},[49,42885,42886],{},"One minor change they could make that would greatly improve their website design and UX",[49,42888,42889],{},"One change they can make to their website's SEO to improve their search ranking.",[24,42891,42893],{"id":42892},"united-therapeutics","United Therapeutics",[14,42895,42896],{},"United Therapeutics creates products that address the unmet needs of medical patients.",[14,42898,42899],{},"With 33% revenue growth over the past three years, United Therapeutics is positioning themselves to continue delivering valuable medical technologies to the world for years to come.",[14,42901,42902],{},"So what's wrong with their website?",[81,42904,42906],{"id":42905},"no-clear-call-to-action","No Clear Call to Action",[14,42908,42909],{},"As you reach their homepage, what action do you think they want you to take next? Read about the company history? Contact the company directly?",[14,42911,42912],{},"A well designed website will usually highlight specific actions site visitors should take based upon images, buttons, color schemes & other design elements.",[81,42914,42916],{"id":42915},"on-the-note-of-a-lacking-call-to-action-a-few-organic-search-improvements-we-noticed-were","On the note of a lacking call to action, a few organic search improvements we noticed were:",[132,42918,42919,42925],{},[49,42920,42921,42924],{},[52,42922,42923],{},"Create separate product pages for the three products currently in market."," Right now, they display all three of their products' information on the same page. If they could create a separate page for each and optimize these by name of product, they would have a better chance at having a higher ranking organic search position.",[49,42926,42927,42930],{},[52,42928,42929],{},"Currently, they have entirely independent domains for each product.","  Best case scenario would be to have those rank first or second along with a separate page on the Unither.com domain with additional information. Right now they're being beat out by websites like RXList.com, Mayoclinic.com, and medicinenet.com in organic search rankings",[24,42932,42934],{"id":42933},"questcor-pharmaceuticals","Questcor Pharmaceuticals",[14,42936,42937],{},"Questcor is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of patients with serious, difficult-to-treat autoimmune and inflammatory disorders.",[14,42939,42940],{},"With a 85% revenue increase over the past three years, Questcor saw their initial growth in the early 2000's from the purchase of an anti-inflammatory drug called Acthar Gel. Made from the pituitary glands of pigs and approved by the FDA in 1952 and bought for the bargain price of $100,000, Questcor improved the product and increased the cost per unit by 16x in a few short years, leading to a massive spike in stock price and enabling R&D into other medical products.",[14,42942,42902],{},[81,42944,42946],{"id":42945},"cluttered-pages-with-high-text-density","Cluttered Pages with High Text Density",[14,42948,42949,42950,42955],{},"As our friend ",[206,42951,42954],{"href":42952,"rel":42953},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.hongkiat.com\u002Fblog\u002F11-common-mistakes-blunders-in-web-design\u002F",[210],"Hong Kiat wrote in 11 Common Mistakes in Web Design",", cluttered webpages that have a high text density are tough to consume for the visitor and lead to website bounces.",[81,42957,42916],{"id":42958},"on-the-note-of-a-lacking-call-to-action-a-few-organic-search-improvements-we-noticed-were-1",[14,42960,42961],{},"**Unique Meta Descriptions by Page:**Without a meta description tag, you rely on search engines, like Google and Bing, to predict what the most relevant snippet for your result should be.",[14,42963,42964],{},"By laying in meta description tags, you're able to control what the snippet will display,  allowing you to really hit on any messaging that you feel would sway a user into clicking on your result.",[14,42966,42967],{},"Meta descriptions do not influence ranking, but what they do affect click-through-rate on the search engine result page (SERP).",[14,42969,42970],{},"On a security note, we found a page on their website that displays names and email addresses for those taking charge of specific elements of their website. This page definitely should not be publicly viewable.",[24,42972,42974],{"id":42973},"taro-pharmaceutical-industries","Taro Pharmaceutical Industries",[14,42976,42977],{},"Simply put: Taro Pharmaceutical Industries develops, markets and researches prescription medications to many countries across the globe.",[14,42979,42902],{},[81,42981,42906],{"id":42982},"no-clear-call-to-action-1",[14,42984,42985,42986,42990],{},"Again, ",[206,42987,42989],{"href":42952,"rel":42988},[210],"Hong Kiat's article"," points out the dangers of having no real call to action on your website.",[81,42992,42916],{"id":42993},"on-the-note-of-a-lacking-call-to-action-a-few-organic-search-improvements-we-noticed-were-2",[14,42995,42996],{},"Taro also lacks title tags for MANY of their pages.",[14,42998,42999],{},"Having unique, optimized title tags helps improve on-page SEO as well as helping those pages show something that you can control on the search engine result page (a page's title tag is the clickable part of a web page's result).",[24,43001,43003],{"id":43002},"contrary-to-what-you-think-were-not-trying-to-be-jerks","Contrary to What You Think: We're not trying to be jerks!",[14,43005,43006],{},"We simply noticed that a few of the fastest growing companies have websites that don't accurately reflect the budding brand they are building.",[14,43008,43009],{},"There are many great web design resources out there. If you have a minute, please post some of your favorites in the comments section below!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":43011},[43012,43013,43014,43018,43022,43026],{"id":42825,"depth":291,"text":42826},{"id":42858,"depth":291,"text":42859},{"id":42892,"depth":291,"text":42893,"children":43015},[43016,43017],{"id":42905,"depth":297,"text":42906},{"id":42915,"depth":297,"text":42916},{"id":42933,"depth":291,"text":42934,"children":43019},[43020,43021],{"id":42945,"depth":297,"text":42946},{"id":42958,"depth":297,"text":42916},{"id":42973,"depth":291,"text":42974,"children":43023},[43024,43025],{"id":42982,"depth":297,"text":42906},{"id":42993,"depth":297,"text":42916},{"id":43002,"depth":291,"text":43003},"2013-12-12","What Do Many Fast Growing Companies All Have in Common? Subpar Websites! Read Our SEO & Web Design Tips for Fast Growing Companies to Fix This At Your Company.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fseo-web-design-tips-for-fast-growing-companies",{"title":42819,"description":43028},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fseo-web-design-tips-for-fast-growing-companies","5rMLrL3XZ7Y9WdzfyzQbY5BcSZl2DiGXg-WdbqAeyLU",{"id":43035,"title":43036,"author":7,"authors":43037,"body":43038,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":43136,"description":43137,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":43138,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":43139,"seo":43140,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":43141,"updated":7,"__hash__":43142},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002F4-reasons-video-is-critical-for-every-search-engine-optimization-strategy.md","4 Reasons Video is Critical for Every Search Engine Optimization Strategy",[9],{"type":11,"value":43039,"toc":43125},[43040,43044,43051,43055,43058,43062,43070,43074,43077,43081,43089,43093,43109,43113,43121],[24,43041,43043],{"id":43042},"more-than-2-billion-google-searches-display-video-results-every-day-is-your-brand-involved","More than 2 BILLION Google Searches Display Video Results Every Day: Is Your Brand Involved?",[14,43045,43046,43047,43050],{},"Earlier this year, we began providing more value to our clients by ",[206,43048,43049],{"href":21094},"expanding our search engine optimization capabilities and experience."," A large portion of that expansion included writing long & short form articles as well as producing infographics.",[24,43052,43054],{"id":43053},"but-in-our-opinions-static-content-wasnt-enough","But in our opinions, static content wasn't enough",[14,43056,43057],{},"We not only wanted to expand into producing and marketing high-quality video content, we HAD TO expand to deliver more value for our clients.\nEven though video content is more time consuming and expensive to create, here are four reasons why your brand should invest in video SEO:",[81,43059,43061],{"id":43060},"_1-62-of-google-searches-include-video","1. 62% of Google searches include video",[14,43063,43064,43065],{},"This represents more than 2.2 billion searches every single day!\nTo put this into perspective, there are more Google searches that display video results than the entire population of China ... IN ONE SINGLE DAY.\nAdditionally, take a look at the image at the top of this post: Would you rather see a video about the best diving spots in Hawaii or read about it in plain-text form?\nSource: ",[206,43066,43069],{"href":43067,"rel":43068},"https:\u002F\u002Fmarketingland.com\u002Finfographic-video-youtube-wins-google-universal-search-37971",[210],"Marketingland.com",[81,43071,43073],{"id":43072},"_2-video-is-50x-more-likely-to-get-organic-page-ranks-compared-to-plain-text-results","2. Video is 50x more likely to get organic page ranks compared to plain-text results",[14,43075,43076],{},"Forrester pulled together a list of the 40 most heavily searched keywords across Google.\nThis research found it's 50x more likely to land a video asset on the 1st page of a Google search compared to plain-text results. Additionally, an average of 1.5 video results appear on Google's 1st page, making up an average of 15% of all first page results.",[81,43078,43080],{"id":43079},"_3-video-results-have-a-41-better-ctr-than-plain-text-results","3. Video results have a 41% better CTR than plain-text results",[14,43082,9634,43083,43088],{},[206,43084,43087],{"href":43085,"rel":43086},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reelseo.com\u002Fvideos-ranking-universal-search-results-video-seo-study\u002F",[210],"study performed by aimCLEAR"," found that video results generated a 41% better CTR than plain-text results.\nDigging deeper, their research found that the visual element of thumbnails present in the listing were a key factor that improved CTR.",[81,43090,43092],{"id":43091},"_4-articles-that-include-video-assets-generate-3x-more-inbound-links","4. Articles that include video assets generate 3x more inbound links",[14,43094,43095,43100,43101,43105],{},[206,43096,43099],{"href":43097,"rel":43098},"https:\u002F\u002Fmoz.com\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-makes-a-link-worthy-post-part-1",[210],"Casey Henry of Moz"," found that video content is the perfect piece of content to create & market because it fits the mold of both a) valuable, and b) sharable.\nGiven the choice, wouldn't you want each one of your articles to generate three times more inbound links?\nSource:",[206,43102,7000],{"href":43103,"rel":43104},"https:\u002F\u002Fblogs.forrester.com\u002Finteractive_marketing\u002F2009\u002F01\u002Fthe-easiest-way.html",[210],[206,43106,43108],{"href":43097,"rel":43107},[210],"Moz",[24,43110,43112],{"id":43111},"keep-in-mind-quality-over-quantity","Keep in Mind: Quality over Quantity",[14,43114,32906,43115,43120],{},[206,43116,43119],{"href":43117,"rel":43118},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fyt\u002Fpress\u002Fstatistics.html",[210],"YouTube, more than 100 hours of video content is uploaded to YouTube every minute."," That's a lot of clutter to get lost in, so make sure the video content you produce is both a) valuable, b) sharable, and c) optimized for your audience.",[24,43122,43124],{"id":43123},"what-do-you-think-is-an-investment-in-video-content-going-to-help-or-hurt-your-search-engine-optimization-strategy","What do you think: Is an investment in video content going to help or hurt your search engine optimization strategy?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":43126},[43127,43128,43134,43135],{"id":43042,"depth":291,"text":43043},{"id":43053,"depth":291,"text":43054,"children":43129},[43130,43131,43132,43133],{"id":43060,"depth":297,"text":43061},{"id":43072,"depth":297,"text":43073},{"id":43079,"depth":297,"text":43080},{"id":43091,"depth":297,"text":43092},{"id":43111,"depth":291,"text":43112},{"id":43123,"depth":291,"text":43124},"2013-11-01","Learn 4 Key Reasons Why All SEO & Content Marketing Strategies Should Include Video As a Key Component to Driving Site Traffic & Product Sales",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002F4-reasons-video-is-critical-for-every-search-engine-optimization-strategy",{"title":43036,"description":43137},"blog\u002Fseo\u002F4-reasons-video-is-critical-for-every-search-engine-optimization-strategy","jZuCmzMfV1T6qvYBzd4Pndwl7XW6rG9LRhBdQhYeHIM",{"id":43144,"title":43145,"author":7,"authors":43146,"body":43147,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":43206,"description":43207,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":43208,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":43209,"seo":43210,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":43211,"updated":7,"__hash__":43212},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fmarketing-tests-strategic-or-tactical.md","Marketing Tests: Strategic or Tactical?",[9],{"type":11,"value":43148,"toc":43203},[43149,43153,43156,43161,43164,43167,43175,43178,43198],[81,43150,43152],{"id":43151},"how-do-you-properly-run-a-marketing-test","How Do You Properly Run a Marketing Test?",[14,43154,43155],{},"We were chatting with a prospective client the other day when she made the following comment.",[24025,43157,43158],{},[14,43159,43160],{},"I like this proposal. Let's run a test for the next six months to see how it performs.",[14,43162,43163],{},"\"That sounds great,\" I found myself saying \"But, we want to align on whether this is a Strategic Marketing test or a Tactical Marketing test.\"",[14,43165,43166],{},"In our opinion, the difference between the two is:",[46,43168,43169,43172],{},[49,43170,43171],{},"Tactical Marketing tests: These tests pit one marketing line item against another in a survival of the fittest. Two may enter -- only one will leave!",[49,43173,43174],{},"Strategic Marketing tests: These tests focus on a testing a larger strategic direction -- investing stronger in brand marketing to widen your prospective customer funnel, for example -- than a battle royale test of two tactics.",[14,43176,43177],{},"The client asked us how we approach determining the type of test. We mentioned using the following three guidelines:",[46,43179,43180,43186,43192],{},[49,43181,43182,43185],{},[52,43183,43184],{},"Success Criteria:"," How will success be decided? Is there a single metric success is judged upon, or are there a series of metrics involved?",[49,43187,43188,43191],{},[52,43189,43190],{},"Test Length:"," What is the appropriate test length in order to declare a winner? Understanding statistical significance of the data produced will help answer this question.",[49,43193,43194,43197],{},[52,43195,43196],{},"Action on Findings:"," Does the client plan to make widespread changes based on test results? That's likely a strategic test. If findings determine a small portion of marketing efforts, that could likely be a smaller tactical test.",[14,43199,43200],{},[52,43201,43202],{},"When was the last time you ran a strategic test? A tactical test? Tell us about your findings!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":43204},[43205],{"id":43151,"depth":297,"text":43152},"2013-08-29","Learn the Difference Between a Strategic & Tactical Marketing Test, as well as the Benefits and Outcomes of Each One.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fmarketing-tests-strategic-or-tactical",{"title":43145,"description":43207},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fmarketing-tests-strategic-or-tactical","xfhL4Mv-Dh3sEsLYiIYsWCX3ThEb3RjRcVJGmCZxv1k",{"id":43214,"title":43215,"author":7,"authors":43216,"body":43218,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":43431,"description":43432,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":43433,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":43434,"seo":43435,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":43436,"updated":7,"__hash__":43437},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fthe-anatomy-of-a-great-tweet.md","The Anatomy of a Great Tweet",[43217],"Jamin Dailey",{"type":11,"value":43219,"toc":43419},[43220,43224,43227,43230,43247,43251,43254,43260,43263,43267,43270,43273,43288,43291,43298,43301,43305,43314,43317,43321,43328,43331,43335,43338,43341,43345,43353,43364,43373,43382,43386,43389,43392,43395,43407,43412,43416],[24,43221,43223],{"id":43222},"whats-the-anatomy-of-a-great-tweet","What's the Anatomy of a Great Tweet?",[14,43225,43226],{},"In the article to follow, we're going to walk through 5 easy steps to Tweet like a pro.",[14,43228,43229],{},"Those steps are as follows:",[132,43231,43232,43235,43238,43241,43244],{},[49,43233,43234],{},"Content Subject: What it's About",[49,43236,43237],{},"Sub-Title: Create Proper Content Expectation",[49,43239,43240],{},"Give Credit Where Credit is Due",[49,43242,43243],{},"Provide Link to Original Article",[49,43245,43246],{},"Throw Down Some Hashtags!",[24,43248,43250],{"id":43249},"background-info","Background Info",[14,43252,43253],{},"Last week, one of our medical clients asked the question, \"How do I know if I am using Twitter correctly?\"",[14,43255,43256,43257,43259],{},"It became apparent to our marketing team here at ",[206,43258,1414],{"href":32000}," that they could benefit from a Twitter Best Practices guide.",[14,43261,43262],{},"If you have asked yourself a similar question, then you can benefit too! There are many ways to write an effective Tweet; the versatility of Twitter makes it a powerful marketing tool. Use this outline as a guide, keeping in mind that these recommendation are not set in stone.",[24,43264,43266],{"id":43265},"why-twitter","Why Twitter?",[14,43268,43269],{},"You may be new to Twitter, so before I show you the how, I want to explain the why behind it.",[14,43271,43272],{},"Twitter is a social media network that lets users share messages and ideas to an engaged, highly targeted audience.",[14,43274,43275,43276,43281,43282,43287],{},"Twitter may have just turned seven years old this year, but it is not a fledgling marketing channel. There are roughly ",[206,43277,43280],{"href":43278,"rel":43279},"https:\u002F\u002Farticles.washingtonpost.com\u002F2013-03-21\u002Fbusiness\u002F37889387_1_tweets-jack-dorsey-twitter",[210],"400 million tweets sent everyday"," and as of 2012,",[206,43283,43286],{"href":43284,"rel":43285},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.mediabistro.com\u002Falltwitter\u002Ftwitter-active-total-users_b17655",[210]," Twitter had 140 million active users with over 500 million registered users. ","It's a big deal!",[14,43289,43290],{},"Now lets jump into the anatomy of a tweet using a real example...see below:",[24025,43292,43293],{},[14,43294,43295],{},[52,43296,43297],{},"Top Tech Trends in Healthcare: Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act, via @jamiechurchill > ow.ly\u002FlFkPR #healthIT #ACA",[14,43299,43300],{},"Let's walk through each step, which I've color coded for your reference:",[81,43302,43304],{"id":43303},"step-1-subject","Step 1: Subject",[14,43306,43307,43308,43313],{},"In this example, \"",[206,43309,43312],{"href":43310,"rel":43311},"https:\u002F\u002Fblogs.perficient.com\u002Fhealthcare\u002Fblog\u002F2013\u002F05\u002F30\u002Ftop-technology-trends-in-healthcare-may-2013\u002F",[210],"Top Tech Trends in Healthcare","\", is the title of the article I am referencing; this article outlines a list of the top five tech trends in healthcare today.  It is not necessary to copy the article title word-for-word; in fact, I would recommend you modify it slightly otherwise you may appear \"spammy\" and automated.",[14,43315,43316],{},"The reason it works well here is because the article is a list of tech trends, and lists are sticky! They are simple to understand, quickly read and they do a great job of summarizing complicated or lengthy information.",[81,43318,43320],{"id":43319},"step-2-sub-title-give-the-audience-direction","Step 2: Sub-Title: Give the Audience Direction",[14,43322,43323,43324,43327],{},"The sub-title, ",[52,43325,43326],{},"Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act",", helps the reader know what he\u002Fshe is about to read. It is important that we create proper expectations for our audience. If you create a punchy title that has little to do with the actual article, the audience will feel duped when they visit your website!",[14,43329,43330],{},"It is important to engage with your audience and provide value. By creating relevant titles and sub-titles, we create proper expectations for our audience. Sub-titles are not always necessary; a great title can stand-alone.",[81,43332,43334],{"id":43333},"step-3-giving-credit-to-author","Step 3: Giving Credit To Author",[14,43336,43337],{},"Similar to a work-cited page, it's important to give credit where credit is due. The \"via\" is an example of a correct way to reference the author. Always include a space after it when composing your tweets.",[14,43339,43340],{},"Furthermore, by placing the \"@\" sign directly in front of the author's twitter handle, my tweet will show up in jamiechurchill's interaction stream. This increases engagement with that message -- wahoo! I always search Google or Twitter to ensure I have the correct Twitter handle.",[81,43342,43344],{"id":43343},"step-4-referencing-the-article","Step 4: Referencing the Article",[14,43346,43347,43348,43352],{},"The arrow \">\", signifies the reference to the online article. It needs a space before and after the link. \"",[206,43349,43351],{"href":43310,"rel":43350},[210],"ow.ly\u002FlFkPR","\" is a shortened URL from the original website article. Include a space after the link.",[14,43354,1411,43355,43357,43358,43363],{},[206,43356,1414],{"href":32000}," we use ",[206,43359,43362],{"href":43360,"rel":43361},"https:\u002F\u002Fsqueezecmm.com\u002F",[210],"sqz.co"," to shrink URLs, which allows us to see which content drove actual conversions. There are several other tools like Bit.ly and Ow.ly that will shorten and track clicks.",[14,43365,43366,43367,43372],{},"Follow this ",[206,43368,43371],{"href":43369,"rel":43370},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cssrex.com\u002Ftips-tricks\u002Ftop-25-url-shortener-tools-websites\u002F",[210],"link"," to see the top 25 URL shortening tools.",[14,43374,43375,43378,43379],{},[52,43376,43377],{},"Note:"," If you are Tweeting from a mobile phone, shortening the URL is not an option. You can still include a link from a phone, however, it will be cut off.  Viewers can still click on the link and it will function correctly. ",[206,43380,43381],{"href":43369},"Link",[81,43383,43385],{"id":43384},"step-5-hashtags","Step 5: Hashtags",[14,43387,43388],{},"Last but not least, the infamous Twitter hashtags.  Hashtags are case sensitive, so pay attention to how they appear on Twitter.",[14,43390,43391],{},"Hashtags should always be relevant to the article and the target audience. It is important to hashtag terms to position your message in front of the right audience; but stay away from tagging more than five terms in a single tweet because it looks \"spammy\".",[14,43393,43394],{},"In the color coded example above, I include hashtags at the end. However, you can tag words throughout the title as well. Tagging words in the title is useful when you are running out of space. Below are a few examples of hashtags used in different positions within a tweet**:**",[46,43396,43397,43404],{},[49,43398,43399,43400],{},"Stage 2 #MU: 10% Patient Use of #EHR to Qualify -- Should Raise Public Awareness of EHR Providers? Thoughts? @CMSGov > ",[206,43401,43402],{"href":43402,"rel":43403},"https:\u002F\u002Fow.ly\u002FlMIZh",[210],[49,43405,43406],{},"#bluebutton Will Be a Game Changer @Rypanhair & @rypan ... #HealthIT Will Focus on Patient-Centric #healthcare Moving Forward. You agree?",[14,43408,43409,43411],{},[52,43410,43377],{}," These are Influencer Engagement tweets and the format varies slightly from the above outline.",[24,43413,43415],{"id":43414},"readysetgo","Ready...Set...Go!",[14,43417,43418],{},"Now you are ready to tweet like a pro. Use this outline and give it a try.  See you in the Twitter-sphere!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":43420},[43421,43422,43423,43430],{"id":43222,"depth":291,"text":43223},{"id":43249,"depth":291,"text":43250},{"id":43265,"depth":291,"text":43266,"children":43424},[43425,43426,43427,43428,43429],{"id":43303,"depth":297,"text":43304},{"id":43319,"depth":297,"text":43320},{"id":43333,"depth":297,"text":43334},{"id":43343,"depth":297,"text":43344},{"id":43384,"depth":297,"text":43385},{"id":43414,"depth":291,"text":43415},"2013-06-12","Last week, one of our medical clients asked the question, 'How do I know if I am using Twitter correctly?' We're going to walk through 5 easy steps to Tweet like a pro.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fthe-anatomy-of-a-great-tweet",{"title":43215,"description":43432},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fthe-anatomy-of-a-great-tweet","4bHlKKEYh1DN9lsg7B0Hrjq-wmC6ZEr1Gf5YjGDfpi0",{"id":43439,"title":43440,"author":7,"authors":43441,"body":43442,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":43650,"description":43651,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":43652,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":43653,"seo":43654,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":43655,"updated":7,"__hash__":43656},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002F3-blog-content-tones-that-can-set-you-up-for-success.md","3 Blog Content Tones That Can Set You Up for Success",[17174],{"type":11,"value":43443,"toc":43641},[43444,43453,43456,43459,43467,43471,43474,43477,43486,43489,43492,43496,43500,43503,43511,43514,43534,43541,43545,43548,43556,43565,43569,43572,43575,43583,43586,43600,43603,43607,43610,43630,43633,43638],[14,43445,43446,43447,43452],{},"I recently read a blog post on ",[206,43448,43451],{"href":43449,"rel":43450},"https:\u002F\u002Fconversionxl.com",[210],"Conversion XL"," and I have to say, this guy is mean!",[14,43454,43455],{},"It's hard to care about what he's selling, because the tone of his content feels like he's either yelling at you or calling you an idiot, which as a potential client I don't really appreciate.",[14,43457,43458],{},"With that said, I'd like discuss:",[132,43460,43461,43464],{},[49,43462,43463],{},"Why tone matters in your blogging",[49,43465,43466],{},"Three types of blogging tones your content could have to set up a good relationship with your potential and current customers",[24,43468,43470],{"id":43469},"why-tone-matters-when-blogging","Why Tone Matters When Blogging",[14,43472,43473],{},"As I said in the example above, the tone of ConversionXL website is mean and because of it I have no interest in buying what he's selling.",[14,43475,43476],{},"I understand being assertive and conveying your expertise, but using negative statements such as the one below, you're pushing potential clients away before they've even met you.",[24025,43478,43479],{},[14,43480,43481,43482,43485],{},"So you have a landing page - or maybe 87 of them. ",[52,43483,43484],{},"Too bad you're screwing them up.","\nFirst of all, you don't know my website. How do you know I'm screwing it up?",[14,43487,43488],{},"In the same blog post Peep Laja goes on to say my headline sucks and I have no clear value proposition. How do you know Peep?  You've never been to my website?!?",[14,43490,43491],{},"As you can see, I'm getting angrier by the paragraph and it's clear that his tone is rubbing me the wrong way. It would have been a better approach to talk about  \"21 Best Practices to Follow and Improve your Conversion Rate\" .  Granted, not as \"punchy\" of a headline, but at least you're trying to sound helpful, not hurtful.",[24,43493,43495],{"id":43494},"three-types-of-tones-for-website-content","Three Types of Tones for Website Content",[81,43497,43499],{"id":43498},"_1-assertive","1. Assertive",[14,43501,43502],{},"You can talk about how awesome you are in a strong manner without coming off as a know-it-all.",[14,43504,43505,43510],{},[206,43506,43509],{"href":43507,"rel":43508},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.quicksprout.com\u002F",[210],"Neil Patel"," is probably the best example of this.  He knows he's amazing and conveys it in a really smart, lighthearted way.  The graphic below even shows Neils' shirt saying, \"I'm kind of a big deal.\"",[14,43512,43513],{},"There are many great ways Neil demonstrates his expertise and how you can benefit from his experience without belittling anything you've done or saying that you're stupid.",[46,43515,43516,43522,43528],{},[49,43517,43518,43521],{},[52,43519,43520],{},"Headline:"," Captivating Headline that is strong worded, but not negative.",[49,43523,43524,43527],{},[52,43525,43526],{},"Images:"," Bright images that set a tone of funny and quirky showing Neil's personality.",[49,43529,43530,43533],{},[52,43531,43532],{},"Body:"," The body of the content has a conversational tone that draws the audience in. You feel like Neil is having a conversation with you, not yelling at you.",[14,43535,43536,43537,43540],{},"Neil still uses strong language, like in the header, \"30 Quick Conversion Tips ",[52,43538,43539],{},"Every Marketer Needs to Know\"",". \"Every\" and \"Needs\" are both assertive words, but not negative or angry.",[81,43542,43544],{"id":43543},"_2-casual-conversational","2. Casual \u002F Conversational",[14,43546,43547],{},"Taking Neil's example and flipping it into something more laid back, he would use a header that was more like \"30 Things I Learned that You Could Benefit From\".  It's not aggressive what-so-ever, but it still shows he's trying to be helpful.",[14,43549,43550,43555],{},[206,43551,43554],{"href":43552,"rel":43553},"https:\u002F\u002Fsethgodin.typepad.com\u002F",[210],"Seth Godin"," is the king of casual content. Simple snippets he posts daily to speak his mind. He's never telling people what they have to do. This is effective because it's poignant and you can apply what he's saying to your everyday without feeling like he's shoving it down your throat.",[14,43557,43558,43559,43564],{},"Another blogger who has a similar style is ",[206,43560,43563],{"href":43561,"rel":43562},"https:\u002F\u002Fwilliejackson.com\u002F",[210],"Willie Jackson",". The difference is Willie's posts are not as obscure as Seth Godin's. He pays attention to his surroundings then reflects on how it impacts him, which in turn makes you think about how that could apply to you.",[81,43566,43568],{"id":43567},"_3-technical","3. Technical",[14,43570,43571],{},"The other tone you can convey is very matter of fact, or technical. Unlike assertive or casual tones, these posts don't convey an opinion but simply lay out the facts. A problem is laid out and you are walked through the solution.",[14,43573,43574],{},"No fuss. No muss.",[14,43576,43577,43578,43582],{},"Our own Search Director, ",[206,43579,31451],{"href":43580,"rel":43581},"https:\u002F\u002Fchristianbullock.net\u002F",[210],", does this very well.  He's a very straight forward technical writer, but still brings his personality through as to not have the content come off dry and boring.",[14,43584,43585],{},"In the example below, Christian walks us through what Google Tag Manager is and three common problems people have been running into. Watch the format here:",[132,43587,43588,43591,43594,43597],{},[49,43589,43590],{},"Defines what Google Tag Manager is",[49,43592,43593],{},"Explains why it's helpful",[49,43595,43596],{},"Walks through some potential problems",[49,43598,43599],{},"Lays out clear and easy solutions",[14,43601,43602],{},"Very straight forward with a very even tone.",[24,43604,43606],{"id":43605},"recap","Recap",[14,43608,43609],{},"To recap, there are three types of tones your blog posts can have:",[46,43611,43612,43618,43624],{},[49,43613,43614,43617],{},[52,43615,43616],{},"Assertive"," - Being direct and telling people what they need to know without being rude or calling your audience morons.",[49,43619,43620,43623],{},[52,43621,43622],{},"Casual"," - Laid back, full of your own opinions and views that users can take away and apply to their own lives.",[49,43625,43626,43629],{},[52,43627,43628],{},"Technical"," - Factual and devoid of a tone.  Straight facts that clearly lay out a problem and solution.  This does not mean it should lack personality, just your opinion.",[14,43631,43632],{},"No matter which tone you decide to use, just be consistent.",[14,43634,43635],{},[52,43636,43637],{},"We'd Like to Hear From You!",[14,43639,43640],{},"Do you need help with setting the tone of your blog content? Shoot us an email and let's chat for 15 minutes to see if we can help you get started in making sure you get off the right foot with your potential customers.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":43642},[43643,43644,43649],{"id":43469,"depth":291,"text":43470},{"id":43494,"depth":291,"text":43495,"children":43645},[43646,43647,43648],{"id":43498,"depth":297,"text":43499},{"id":43543,"depth":297,"text":43544},{"id":43567,"depth":297,"text":43568},{"id":43605,"depth":291,"text":43606},"2013-06-07","Read how your blog content writing style can have a big effect on how your readership remembers your brand.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002F3-blog-content-tones-that-can-set-you-up-for-success",{"title":43440,"description":43651},"blog\u002Fseo\u002F3-blog-content-tones-that-can-set-you-up-for-success","_b--AkmqhWfS2b19PkO41cS6cQhDl6nU2clPiVHQfGY",{"id":43658,"title":42749,"author":7,"authors":43659,"body":43660,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":44090,"description":44091,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":44092,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":44093,"seo":44094,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":44095,"updated":7,"__hash__":44096},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fcontent-marketing-bible-8-great-content-types-to-produce.md",[9],{"type":11,"value":43661,"toc":44080},[43662,43666,43678,43681,43684,43688,43693,43696,43701,43704,43724,43729,43736,43740,43744,43747,43751,43754,43774,43778,43781,43785,43789,43792,43796,43799,43812,43816,43819,43824,43828,43831,43835,43838,43858,43862,43865,43868,43875,43879,43883,43898,43902,43905,43927,43935,43940,43944,43947,43951,43954,43968,43972,43980,43983,43987,43991,43994,43998,44001,44015,44019,44024,44027,44029,44033,44037,44040,44044,44047,44066,44070,44073,44077],[24,43663,43665],{"id":43664},"what-types-of-content-should-you-produce","What Types of Content Should You Produce?",[14,43667,43668,43669,43673,43674,212],{},"Our previous post in the ",[206,43670,43672],{"href":43671},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-mkg-media-group-content-marketing-bible-a-six-part-series\u002F","Content Marketing Bible series"," focused on ",[206,43675,43677],{"href":43676},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fcontent-marketing-bible-creating-a-content-marketing-strategy\u002F","how to create a content marketing strategy",[14,43679,43680],{},"Within that post, we briefly touched on different types of content to utilize for your content marketing strategy.",[14,43682,43683],{},"This post will expand on that and focus exclusively on different types of content to utilize. Enjoy!",[24,43685,43687],{"id":43686},"_1-interviews","1. Interviews",[14,43689,43690],{},[52,43691,43692],{},"Why You Should Do It",[14,43694,43695],{},"One of the most underutilized content types are interviews. Interviews allow you to pick the brain of a person of authority on a specific topic and share their wealth of information with your readers -- what more valuable content could you ask for!",[14,43697,43698],{},[52,43699,43700],{},"Benefits",[14,43702,43703],{},"Aside from the valuable insights you'll likely glean from the interview, here are a few additional benefits:",[46,43705,43706,43712,43718],{},[49,43707,43708,43711],{},[52,43709,43710],{},"Added Exposure:"," Authority figure will likely promote their interview via social media, gaining your content additional exposure.",[49,43713,43714,43717],{},[52,43715,43716],{},"Easier to Produce:"," This content is less time consuming to create, as you can automate the process by sending a Google spreadsheet to your interviewee with the questions pre-written and simply format for publishing.",[49,43719,43720,43723],{},[52,43721,43722],{},"Future Opportunities:"," Oftentimes, we post an interview on our website and the interviewee returns months later and asks if he could do the same! This gains your brand additional exposure through the guest interview to be posted on their website.",[14,43725,43726],{},[52,43727,43728],{},"Example",[14,43730,43731,43732,212],{},"A great example of an interview post can be found ",[206,43733,43735],{"href":43734},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fguest-post-gretchen-sword-of-bloomberg-west\u002F","here when we interviewed Gretchen Sword of Bloomberg.com",[24,43737,43739],{"id":43738},"_2-blogging","2. Blogging",[14,43741,43742],{},[52,43743,43692],{},[14,43745,43746],{},"Blogging on a consistent basis is a great way to build up a steady stream of site traffic and leads to your website.",[14,43748,43749],{},[52,43750,43700],{},[14,43752,43753],{},"Aside from a steady stream of site traffic and leads, you should blog on a regular basis because:",[46,43755,43756,43762,43768],{},[49,43757,43758,43761],{},[52,43759,43760],{},"Database Marketing:"," Blogging on a regular basis gives your readers a good reason to opt in to your email and CRM databases, which allows you to communicate with them further down the road.",[49,43763,43764,43767],{},[52,43765,43766],{},"SEO:"," Steady content streams allow you to rank for search terms across Google, Bing & Yahoo that bring in the right type of site visitors (i.e. the kind you're writing for!).",[49,43769,43770,43773],{},[52,43771,43772],{},"Customer Engagement:"," Think that comment thread at the bottom of your blog posts is just for show? No way! As you provide information, your customers and site visitors can actively respond and provide feedback to your brand.",[14,43775,43776],{},[52,43777,43728],{},[14,43779,43780],{},"You're looking at one right now :-)",[24,43782,43784],{"id":43783},"_3-guest-blogging","3. Guest Blogging",[14,43786,43787],{},[52,43788,43692],{},[14,43790,43791],{},"Guest blogging allows your brand to tap into engaged content communities and provide your expert opinion. More importantly, it broadens your reach to additional customer segments who aren't current buyers ... but could be persuaded to be :-)",[14,43793,43794],{},[52,43795,43700],{},[14,43797,43798],{},"Aside from acting as an expert resource, guest blogging provides the following benefits",[46,43800,43801,43806],{},[49,43802,43803,43805],{},[52,43804,43766],{}," Providing an optimized piece of content offers you the chance to link back to your own website. Using the guest publications traffic, you can essentially 'rent' that link space for free as opposed to paying for keyword placement (i.e. paid search marketing)",[49,43807,43808,43811],{},[52,43809,43810],{},"Exposure:"," Opening up your brand to additional exposure from new customers is a great way to bring in new site traffic, leads & brand evangelists as they learn about your products and services",[14,43813,43814],{},[52,43815,43728],{},[14,43817,43818],{},"Take a look at the post below:",[132,43820,43821],{"start":12172},[49,43822,43823],{},"Images & Meme's",[14,43825,43826],{},[52,43827,43692],{},[14,43829,43830],{},"Images are fantastic link bait  and provide brands with the opportunity to create a shareable piece of content.",[14,43832,43833],{},[52,43834,43700],{},[14,43836,43837],{},"Additional benefits of producing images & meme's for content include:",[46,43839,43840,43846,43852],{},[49,43841,43842,43845],{},[52,43843,43844],{},"Linkbait:"," I can't say it enough - Images and memes are fantastic pieces of link bait and are extremely shareable.",[49,43847,43848,43851],{},[52,43849,43850],{},"Additional Exposure:"," Similar to interviews, many images & memes build off of an already popular topic. That being said, the creators of that topic love to see their creation live on and will likely re-share your content!",[49,43853,43854,43857],{},[52,43855,43856],{},"Great Short Form Content:"," Search engines definitely place value in long-form content, but if you are publishing content regularly you'll want to produce multiple formats to keep your community of readers coming back to consume your fresh, unique content.",[14,43859,43860],{},[52,43861,43728],{},[14,43863,43864],{},"Earlier this month, I posted the following meme based on Dos Equis' \"Most Interesting Man in the World\":",[14,43866,43867],{},"For those who are not aware, Buffer is a social media posting application for networks like Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn.",[14,43869,43870,43871,43874],{},"And within ",[52,43872,43873],{},"24 hours of tweeting this, the image received more than 20 RT's, 5 favorites & multiple 'this is awesomes!'"," from Twitter users who found the meme to be fun!",[24,43876,43878],{"id":43877},"_5-video","5. Video",[14,43880,43881],{},[52,43882,43692],{},[14,43884,43885,43886,43891,43892,43897],{},"Multiple ",[206,43887,43890],{"href":43888,"rel":43889},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.smartinsights.com\u002Fecommerce\u002Fmerchandising\u002Fproduct-page-videos-ecommerce\u002F",[210],"studies from agency marketers"," as well as ",[206,43893,43896],{"href":43894,"rel":43895},"https:\u002F\u002Fvisualwebsiteoptimizer.com\u002Fsplit-testing-blog\u002Fvideo-conversion-rate\u002F",[210],"online giants like Google"," have proven one thing: Video assets increase users time on site, website engagement & conversion rate. That's why you should invest in video -- period!",[14,43899,43900],{},[52,43901,43700],{},[14,43903,43904],{},"Aside from the obvious stated above, you should utilize video because:",[46,43906,43907,43913,43919],{},[49,43908,43909,43912],{},[52,43910,43911],{},"Great 'How it Works' Channel:"," Not everything is black and white...  sometimes, you need a little more explanation to describe how your product or service works.  Video accomplishes that task by engaging your website visitors.",[49,43914,43915,43918],{},[52,43916,43917],{},"Increase Your Social Referral Traffic:"," Social networks like YouTube and Vimeo have the ability to generate massive traffic spikes to your website as well as multigenerational sharing, meaning shares on shares on shares!",[49,43920,43921,43924,43925],{},[52,43922,43923],{},"Increase Your Organic Referral Traffic:"," Submitting video site maps to services like Google Video can increase the number of search queries your video content appears for, bringing in more site visitors from organic search results.\n",[52,43926,43728],{},[14,43928,43929,43934],{},[206,43930,43933],{"href":43931,"rel":43932},"https:\u002F\u002Fwistia.com",[210],"Wistia",", a video hosting & application service, does a great job of explaining how video improves site performance and why you should invest in their service.",[132,43936,43937],{"start":24495},[49,43938,43939],{},"Content Downloads",[14,43941,43942],{},[52,43943,43692],{},[14,43945,43946],{},"One of the oldest tricks in the inbound marketing book is to provide a valuable piece of content (industry report, 'how-to guide', etc) in exchange for a site visitors contact information. Gathering their contact information gives you permission to reach back out to them with additional marketing offers in the future!",[14,43948,43949],{},[52,43950,43700],{},[14,43952,43953],{},"Aside from building an email\u002FCRM database through content downloads, this content type is beneficial because of the following reasons:",[46,43955,43956,43962],{},[49,43957,43958,43961],{},[52,43959,43960],{},"'Passalong' Sharing:"," Many print publications, like Time or Newsweek, report on a metric called 'passalong' sharing. That means when one person gets a subscription on their magazine, they tend to pass it along to an additional 'x' amount of people. Content is the same -- as visitors download content, they tend to share with others.** **",[49,43963,43964,43967],{},[52,43965,43966],{},"Branding:"," Using services like SlideShare or LinkedIn Projects to host your content provides you with a public forum for people to see your content and learn about your brand. Guess what the last page\u002Fslide of every content download is? Contact information :-)",[14,43969,43970],{},[52,43971,43728],{},[14,43973,43974,43979],{},[206,43975,43978],{"href":43976,"rel":43977},"https:\u002F\u002Foptify.net",[210],"Optify",", a Seattle-based marketing automation company, regularly posts content that can be downloaded for free in exchange for contact information.",[14,43981,43982],{},"See an example below:",[24,43984,43986],{"id":43985},"_7-how-to-posts","7. How-to Posts",[14,43988,43989],{},[52,43990,43692],{},[14,43992,43993],{},"How-to posts provide you with the opportunity to get up on your soapbox and scream \"We know how to do really cool things, and we're going to explain how!\" They provide you with an opportunity to educate your site visitors and keep them coming back for expert advice.",[14,43995,43996],{},[52,43997,43700],{},[14,43999,44000],{},"Aside from being self-promoting, how-to posts are beneficial because:",[46,44002,44003,44009],{},[49,44004,44005,44008],{},[52,44006,44007],{},"Findable Search Engine Content:"," Millions of searches every day focus on one simple question: \"How do I do...\" Thanks to this it's easy to produce expert content by aligning with these exact search queries you will help your rank for long-tail keywords or phrases.** **",[49,44010,44011,44014],{},[52,44012,44013],{},"Great Community Builders:"," How-to posts let your community in on some of your 'special sauce', so to speak. And guess what? That's valuable content and will encourage your readers to become repeat visitors to learn the latest-and-greatest you have to offer.",[14,44016,44017],{},[52,44018,43728],{},[14,44020,44021,44023],{},[206,44022,9],{"href":23803},", our agencies COO, wrote a great post about implementing 3rd party tags into Facebook applications like ShortStack when she found that there wasn't much documentation online to troubleshoot issues.",[14,44025,44026],{},"And guess what? The post is one of our most popular pieces of content this year!",[14,44028,43818],{},[24,44030,44032],{"id":44031},"_8-list-posts","8. List Posts",[14,44034,44035],{},[52,44036,43692],{},[14,44038,44039],{},"List posts are easy to scan and consume. What does this mean? It means that they tend to get shared a lot! :-)",[14,44041,44042],{},[52,44043,43700],{},[14,44045,44046],{},"Aside from creating content that is shareable, list posts are valuable for the following reasons:",[46,44048,44049,44060],{},[49,44050,44051,44054,44055,44059],{},[52,44052,44053],{},"Highlight Service Providers:"," Great list posts generally highlight things 'to do' or companies to work with. An example of this site that we recently posted was ",[206,44056,44058],{"href":44057},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002F3-steps-every-brand-agency-should-take-to-launch-a-digital-marketing-campaign\u002F","3 Things to Do Before Launching a Digital Marketing Campaign",", written by COO Kerry Guard",[49,44061,44062,44065],{},[52,44063,44064],{},"Warning Posts:"," Reading a 'what not to do' post is sometimes more valuable than a what 'to do' post! Warning posts provide you with the opportunity to learn from someone else's mistakes",[14,44067,44068],{},[52,44069,43728],{},[14,44071,44072],{},"Once again, you're looking right at a list post :-)",[24,44074,44076],{"id":44075},"in-review","In Review",[14,44078,44079],{},"Just to be clear, there are WAY MORE than eight types of content you can add to your content calendar. The examples outlined above are some of the more commonly used & effective ways to produce content that helps achieve your brands marketing goals.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":44081},[44082,44083,44084,44085,44086,44087,44088,44089],{"id":43664,"depth":291,"text":43665},{"id":43686,"depth":291,"text":43687},{"id":43738,"depth":291,"text":43739},{"id":43783,"depth":291,"text":43784},{"id":43877,"depth":291,"text":43878},{"id":43985,"depth":291,"text":43986},{"id":44031,"depth":291,"text":44032},{"id":44075,"depth":291,"text":44076},"2013-05-28","Part 2 of our 6 Part Content Marketing Bible Outlines Eight Great Types of Content to Include in Your Content Marketing Strategy",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fcontent-marketing-bible-8-great-content-types-to-produce",{"title":42749,"description":44091},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fcontent-marketing-bible-8-great-content-types-to-produce","5lFRplGMNeFtgdSQKKl41_XO2eprH3L8oIjIM6A-_V4",{"id":44098,"title":44099,"author":7,"authors":44100,"body":44101,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":44290,"description":44291,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":44292,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":44293,"seo":44294,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":44295,"updated":7,"__hash__":44296},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002F3-steps-every-brand-agency-should-take-to-launch-a-digital-marketing-campaign.md","3 Steps Every Brand and Agency Should Take to Launch a Digital Marketing Campaign",[17174],{"type":11,"value":44102,"toc":44281},[44103,44106,44111,44114,44119,44122,44126,44129,44132,44135,44158,44162,44165,44168,44172,44189,44193,44216,44220,44223,44226,44234,44237,44240,44251,44254,44258,44261,44269,44272,44278],[14,44104,44105],{},"This post was created out of a conversation we had with a client recently when they blatantly told us:",[24025,44107,44108],{},[14,44109,44110],{},"Go run a paid search campaign for us, please.\nThat was it. No background on why paid search was chosen, how it had been used in the past or who made the ultimate decision to invest in paid search marketing at this point in time.",[14,44112,44113],{},"We backed this client out of the weeds and asked them a question in response:",[24025,44115,44116],{},[14,44117,44118],{},"Could we have a quick conference call with your stakeholders to understand your needs instead of being 'yes men' & listening to your demands without having any background information?\nThis is a critical position for agencies to take to ensure that they launch a digital marketing campaign that will meet the brands needs & goals.",[14,44120,44121],{},"So, when brands plan digital marketing campaigns with their marketing agency, it's imperative that they follow the three steps outlined below instead of simply throwing work their direction:",[24,44123,44125],{"id":44124},"_1-client-to-hold-a-discovery-meeting","1. Client to Hold a Discovery Meeting",[14,44127,44128],{},"Brands should host a meeting with all internal stakeholders and agency partners to clearly outline  roles and responsibilities.",[14,44130,44131],{},"This is also a good time for the agency to ask questions around your brand, goals and past campaign performance.",[14,44133,44134],{},"The common questions we ask include:",[46,44136,44137,44140,44143,44146,44149,44152,44155],{},[49,44138,44139],{},"What are your overarching business goals?",[49,44141,44142],{},"Who are your primary and secondary target audiences?",[49,44144,44145],{},"What channels have you used in the past that worked?",[49,44147,44148],{},"What channels have you used in the past that haven't worked?",[49,44150,44151],{},"How are you measuring performance? Google Analytics? Omniture?",[49,44153,44154],{},"Would you mind providing us access to your analytics?",[49,44156,44157],{},"What is your overall budget inclusive of agency time, channel spend and tools?",[24,44159,44161],{"id":44160},"_2-agency-to-conduct-extensive-research","2. Agency to Conduct Extensive Research",[14,44163,44164],{},"Once your agency has received your information download in the discovery meeting, we like to conduct our own extensive research to get a clear understanding of the task at hand.",[14,44166,44167],{},"This includes the following work on the agency front:",[81,44169,44171],{"id":44170},"conduct-a-website-audit","Conduct a Website Audit:",[46,44173,44174,44177,44180,44183,44186],{},[49,44175,44176],{},"Are you ranking for the right keywords?",[49,44178,44179],{},"What's your content strategy?",[49,44181,44182],{},"Do you have strong, prominent calls to action?",[49,44184,44185],{},"What's the user flow? Can users easily sign up for your service or are there major road blocks?",[49,44187,44188],{},"Check web analytics to understand visitor traffic & insights",[81,44190,44192],{"id":44191},"conduct-a-marketing-channel-audit","Conduct a Marketing Channel Audit:",[46,44194,44195,44198,44201,44204,44213],{},[49,44196,44197],{},"What search engines are you showing up on for both paid and organic search listings?",[49,44199,44200],{},"What social channels are you registered on and how active are those channels?",[49,44202,44203],{},"Are you producing blog content? If so how often and how are you pushing out that content?",[49,44205,44206,44207,44212],{},"Using the ",[206,44208,44211],{"href":44209,"rel":44210},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ghostery.com\u002Fdownload",[210],"Ghostery App",", we'll look at what 3rd party tags are firing on your website",[49,44214,44215],{},"Understand audiences you're targeting and look to see if we can segment them into different groups to serve a more personalized, relevant user experience",[81,44217,44219],{"id":44218},"an-example-of-agency-research-for-noise-canceling-headphones","An Example of Agency Research for 'Noise Canceling Headphones'",[14,44221,44222],{},"Let's say your brand sells noise cancelling headphones and you tell us, your agency, to focus targeting exclusively to Apple users.",[14,44224,44225],{},"Two thoughts we have out of the gate:",[132,44227,44228,44231],{},[49,44229,44230],{},"Anything that has an audio jack can accept those headphones, so limiting it to Apple users might cause you to lose out on additional customer sets",[49,44232,44233],{},"Apple is a broad audience!  Anyone from a toddler with their parent's iPad to a business professional who uses her tablet for Facetime is a target customer for the cool, slick headphones you are marketing",[14,44235,44236],{},"With that being said, the target Apple user isn't wrong, we'd just recommend including Android and Windows users as well!",[14,44238,44239],{},"Additionally, this is where Segmentation comes into play. Take a look at a few examples of audiences below:",[46,44241,44242,44245,44248],{},[49,44243,44244],{},"Developers who need full concentration and zero outside noise when working",[49,44246,44247],{},"Tech users who appreciate good sound quality and want to block out the annoying commuter conversationalists",[49,44249,44250],{},"Musicians who need the right tools to do their job well and keep an edge over other musicians",[14,44252,44253],{},"Had we only listened to the instructions to target Apple users, we could have missed out on a large segment of potential customers!",[24,44255,44257],{"id":44256},"_3-agency-strategy-presentation","3. Agency Strategy & Presentation",[14,44259,44260],{},"Once we've held the discovery meeting and then performed our own research, it's up to the agency to pull their findings together and deliver a strategy that accomplishes the following:",[132,44262,44263,44266],{},[49,44264,44265],{},"Set us and you, the client, up for success",[49,44267,44268],{},"Use your budget effectively",[14,44270,44271],{},"We can't put enough emphasis on this fact: This strategy is NOT TACTICAL.  Instead, it's a high level presentation of what we want to accomplish and how we plan to do so, not including exact tactical parameters and budget.",[14,44273,44274,44277],{},[52,44275,44276],{},"Finally: This should be a conversation."," A recommendation is never final, as you know your brand better then an agency ever could.",[14,44279,44280],{},"Listen, provide feedback and help us help you achieve your goals.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":44282},[44283,44284,44289],{"id":44124,"depth":291,"text":44125},{"id":44160,"depth":291,"text":44161,"children":44285},[44286,44287,44288],{"id":44170,"depth":297,"text":44171},{"id":44191,"depth":297,"text":44192},{"id":44218,"depth":297,"text":44219},{"id":44256,"depth":291,"text":44257},"2013-05-24","COO Kerry Guard Walks Through the 3 Essential Steps Every Brand & Agency Should Take Before Launching a Digital Marketing Campaign",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002F3-steps-every-brand-agency-should-take-to-launch-a-digital-marketing-campaign",{"title":44099,"description":44291},"blog\u002Fppc\u002F3-steps-every-brand-agency-should-take-to-launch-a-digital-marketing-campaign","dogNuUal259N99mfLarbwD9EHgQYUFqEfYOegoAa8Xc",{"id":44298,"title":44299,"author":7,"authors":44300,"body":44301,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":44778,"description":44779,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":44780,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":44781,"seo":44782,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":44783,"updated":7,"__hash__":44784},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fcontent-marketing-bible-creating-a-content-marketing-strategy.md","Content Marketing Bible: Creating a Content Marketing Strategy",[9],{"type":11,"value":44302,"toc":44764},[44303,44314,44317,44322,44329,44333,44340,44357,44361,44364,44370,44373,44381,44384,44392,44396,44399,44402,44432,44436,44439,44442,44445,44448,44468,44471,44474,44477,44480,44491,44494,44497,44500,44503,44507,44514,44518,44521,44529,44533,44536,44539,44542,44545,44548,44552,44555,44558,44561,44565,44568,44571,44574,44577,44580,44585,44588,44591,44596,44599,44602,44607,44610,44613,44616,44620,44623,44626,44631,44634,44639,44642,44646,44649,44652,44656,44662,44665,44668,44671,44685,44688,44691,44694,44697,44700,44711,44714,44737,44739,44742,44759],[14,44304,44305,44306,44309,44310,44313],{},"As we announced last week, our team",[206,44307,44308],{"href":43671}," is producing a six-part series on content marketing"," to be distributed for ",[52,44311,44312],{},"FREE"," via e-book at the end of June.",[14,44315,44316],{},"This series was born out of one simple question from a few of our clients:",[24025,44318,44319],{},[14,44320,44321],{},"What steps does your team use to approach content marketing?",[14,44323,44324,44325,44328],{},"Let's start at the beginning: ",[52,44326,44327],{},"How we create a content strategy."," Enjoy!",[24,44330,44332],{"id":44331},"part-one-of-six-creating-a-content-marketing-strategy","Part One of Six: Creating a Content Marketing Strategy",[14,44334,44335,44336,44339],{},"This first part of our ",[206,44337,44338],{"href":43671},"six part series"," will walk you through the following steps to create the strategy behind your content marketing efforts:",[132,44341,44342,44345,44348,44351,44354],{},[49,44343,44344],{},"Leading with a Goal Driven Strategy",[49,44346,44347],{},"Outline Parameters",[49,44349,44350],{},"Roles & Responsibilities",[49,44352,44353],{},"Using Data to Create a Master Keyword Playbook",[49,44355,44356],{},"Creating a Content Calendar",[24,44358,44360],{"id":44359},"lead-with-a-goal-driven-strategy","Lead with a Goal Driven Strategy",[14,44362,44363],{},"First and foremost: All efforts should have tangible goals to measure success against.",[14,44365,44366,44367],{},"To be more specific, these goals should focus exclusively on macro conversions, i.e. ",[52,44368,44369],{},"REVENUE.",[14,44371,44372],{},"As your group begins the strategic planning process, lead the entire strategy with these goals in mind.  Every single idea your team brainstorms should focus on directly improving your bottom line performance. Great questions to consistently ask yourselves in the planning phase is:",[46,44374,44375,44378],{},[49,44376,44377],{},"What is the purpose of this content?",[49,44379,44380],{},"What actions would we like our site visitors to take after viewing \u002F as a result of viewing this content?",[14,44382,44383],{},"Some great examples of tangible goals to measure success against include:",[132,44385,44386,44389],{},[49,44387,44388],{},"Increase in revenue from organic search engine referrals",[49,44390,44391],{},"Measure conversion percentage in converting non-paying leads into paying customers from content, such as e-books, white papers or other valuable resources",[24,44393,44395],{"id":44394},"outline-parameters-for-your-content-strategy","Outline Parameters for Your Content Strategy",[14,44397,44398],{},"You're focused on revenue - great start! Now, the process of outlining your content marketing strategy begins with assembling company stakeholders to have a candid conversation.",[14,44400,44401],{},"Here are a few great questions to kick things off:",[46,44403,44404,44407,44410,44413,44420,44423,44426,44429],{},[49,44405,44406],{},"Initially, how long will our content marketing effort last? A year-long test ... Maybe two?",[49,44408,44409],{},"What resources are we going to invest?",[49,44411,44412],{},"Who leads this strategy? What success framework should be built up around that individual?",[49,44414,44415,44416,44419],{},"How ",[52,44417,44418],{},"exactly"," will success be measured?\nAt the conclusion of outlining your content strategy parameters, your group should have the following questions answered:",[49,44421,44422],{},"Test timeframe for your content marketing strategy",[49,44424,44425],{},"Resources to be invested; budgets, tools & actual human labor",[49,44427,44428],{},"Roles and responsibilities",[49,44430,44431],{},"Estimated outcomes & tangible goals of your content strategy",[24,44433,44435],{"id":44434},"fantastic-your-team-has-outlined-the-parameters-for-your-content-marketing-strategy","Fantastic! Your team has outlined the parameters for your content marketing strategy.",[14,44437,44438],{},"Next Up: Who is responsible & for what?",[24,44440,44350],{"id":44441},"roles-responsibilities",[14,44443,44444],{},"We briefly touched on roles & responsibilities above, but felt the need to drive home how important it is that your team understands who is performing what actions as well as who the responsible stakeholders are.",[14,44446,44447],{},"A good way to break down roles & responsibilities is outlined below:",[46,44449,44450,44456,44462],{},[49,44451,44452,44455],{},[52,44453,44454],{},"Strategic Direction:"," This is a senior-level stakeholder who is going to drive the overall vision of the content marketing strategy",[49,44457,44458,44461],{},[52,44459,44460],{},"Mid-Level Managers:"," This stakeholder is part manager, part in-the-weeds with the assistants executing the content strategy",[49,44463,44464,44467],{},[52,44465,44466],{},"Assistant-Level Employees:"," These are the skilled individuals 'in the trenches' who are creating and promoting content",[14,44469,44470],{},"One of our favorite ways to visually display this is through a traditional org chart, like the drawing seen below:",[24,44472,44353],{"id":44473},"using-data-to-create-a-master-keyword-playbook",[14,44475,44476],{},"At this point, it's time to determine what type of keywords your content will be created to rank for & bring in revenue from.",[14,44478,44479],{},"In most cases, we pull this data from the following sources:",[46,44481,44482,44485,44488],{},[49,44483,44484],{},"Google Keyword Research Tool",[49,44486,44487],{},"Paid Search Marketing Data (Google Analytics)",[49,44489,44490],{},"Organic Search Marketing Data (Google Analytics)",[14,44492,44493],{},"Let's walk through each one of these data sources and then show you how to assemble the data.",[81,44495,44484],{"id":44496},"google-keyword-research-tool",[14,44498,44499],{},"Google Keyword Tool aggregates keyword performance data for each and every search performed on the Google search engine and presents it in a monthly snapshot. This tool hosts historic and current keyword data that can be used by marketers to use for research purposes.",[14,44501,44502],{},"Follow the steps below to use this tool for keyword research:",[5685,44504,44506],{"id":44505},"step-1-direct-browser-to-google-keyword-tool","Step #1: Direct Browser to Google Keyword Tool",[14,44508,44509,44510],{},"Point your browser to the following URL ",[206,44511,44512],{"href":44512,"rel":44513},"https:\u002F\u002FGoogleAds.google.com\u002Fko\u002FKeywordPlanner\u002F",[210],[5685,44515,44517],{"id":44516},"step-2-authenticate","Step #2: Authenticate",[14,44519,44520],{},"To authenticate, you'll need to do one of two things:",[132,44522,44523,44526],{},[49,44524,44525],{},"Be currently logged in to your Google Ads account",[49,44527,44528],{},"Enter a captcha (if you don't have an Google Ads account)",[5685,44530,44532],{"id":44531},"step-3-type-in-beginning-phrases","Step #3: Type in Beginning Phrases",[14,44534,44535],{},"At this point, it's time to type in beginning thoughts on keywords or keyword phrases that your content will focus on.",[14,44537,44538],{},"For example: Examples relevant to this article include 'content marketing strategy', 'content strategy' & 'content marketing', as you can see in the screenshot below.",[14,44540,44541],{},"Notice the labels 'competition' and 'local monthly searches'?",[14,44543,44544],{},"Competition indicates the amount of search competition those keywords have on a scale of 'high', 'medium' or 'low'.",[14,44546,44547],{},"Local monthly searches indicates the volume of searches each keyword recieves in the US each month.",[5685,44549,44551],{"id":44550},"step-4-expand-on-beginner-phrases","Step 4: Expand on Beginner Phrases",[14,44553,44554],{},"Notice below the 'search terms' section of Google Keyword Tool is a section labeled 'keyword ideas'. See the screenshot below.",[14,44556,44557],{},"The 'keyword ideas' section includes similar keywords or keyword phrases that you may want to include.",[14,44559,44560],{},"All these keywords can be expanded by clicking on the blue arrow to the right of the term and selecting 'show more like this', as seen in the screenshot below:",[5685,44562,44564],{"id":44563},"step-5-export-research","Step 5: Export Research",[14,44566,44567],{},"While Google Keyword Tool is a great start, your team is going to want to include more data from paid & organic search sources to create a final version of your Master Keyword Playbook.",[14,44569,44570],{},"With that in mind, check the keyword searches & ideas that you would like to export and hit the 'download' button.",[14,44572,44573],{},"See screenshot below:",[14,44575,44576],{},"If your company is running paid search marketing campaigns through Bing Ads or Google Ads, the keyword performance data can be a gold mine to include in your Master Keyword Playbook.",[14,44578,44579],{},"Let's walk through the process to pull this data from Google Ads:",[14,44581,44582],{},[52,44583,44584],{},"Step #1: Log Into Google Ads or Google Analytics",[14,44586,44587],{},"In most cases, we connect Google Ads and Analytics so paid search data flows directly into the clients Google Analytics account.",[14,44589,44590],{},"In this example, we would log in to Google Analytics to extract Paid Search Marketing data.",[14,44592,44593],{},[52,44594,44595],{},"Step #2: Drill Down into Advertising Traffic",[14,44597,44598],{},"Within the 'traffic sources' tab on the left-hand side of your Google analytics account, you'll notice a section labeled 'Advertising'. Expand this section along with the following section, labeled 'Google Ads', to find Google Ads Paid Search data.",[14,44600,44601],{},"After expanding those two sections, then click on 'keywords'.",[14,44603,44604],{},[52,44605,44606],{},"Step #3: Export Keyword Data",[14,44608,44609],{},"Similar to the Google Keyword Tool, you can & should export this keyword data out of Google Analytics.",[14,44611,44612],{},"After selecting the correct date range, scroll to the top of the 'keywords' section and click on the 'export' button. We recommend exporting all data as a .csv",[14,44614,44615],{},"See an example in the screenshot below:",[81,44617,44619],{"id":44618},"organic-search-marketing-data","Organic Search Marketing Data",[14,44621,44622],{},"In Google Analytics, the approach to find organic search marketing data is almost exactly the same as the approach we just walked through to find Paid Search Marketing data.",[14,44624,44625],{},"Just to be thorough, let's walk through how to pull organic search keywords from Google Analytics:",[14,44627,44628],{},[52,44629,44630],{},"Step #1: Log Into Google Analytics",[14,44632,44633],{},"Navigate to your Google Analytics account and log in to your website profile.",[14,44635,44636],{},[52,44637,44638],{},"Step #2: Look at Organic Search Traffic Sources",[14,44640,44641],{},"Navigate to 'traffic sources', then click 'search'. After the 'search' tab expand, click on the 'organic' section.",[14,44643,44644],{},[52,44645,44606],{},[14,44647,44648],{},"One thing to notice here is how Google Analytics will display keyword performance data by default (opposed to sources, landing pages & more). These keywords are the data you want to export.",[14,44650,44651],{},"Just as we did with Paid Search Marketing data, you'll want to hit the 'export' button and select the file type as .csv.",[81,44653,44655],{"id":44654},"assembling-the-data-into-a-master-keyword-playbook","Assembling the Data into a Master Keyword Playbook",[14,44657,44658,44659],{},"At this point, you'll need to assemble the keywords you've extracted from the three sources noted above and create a ",[52,44660,44661],{},"Master Keyword Playbook.",[14,44663,44664],{},"This playbook will determine what  keywords to target  when creating content and act as your north star -- all content creation decisions should be made using this playbook!",[14,44666,44667],{},"More importantly, these keywords should be what we call 'commerce keywords', or keywords \u002F keyword phrases that drive toward a revenue-positive action. In our own Master Keyword Playbook, an example of using 'commerce keywords' is using the phrase 'how to find content marketing agency' as opposed to \"content marketing tips\".",[14,44669,44670],{},"In assembling your data, you are going to break down into two groups:",[132,44672,44673,44679],{},[49,44674,44675,44678],{},[52,44676,44677],{},"Broad Range Topics:"," Start with the 50,000 foot view, broad-range topics that you will create content around. Our own master keyword playbook includes broad range topics like 'Internet Marketing', 'Agency' & 'B2B Marketing' as those are broad client verticals and services that we perform",[49,44680,44681,44684],{},[52,44682,44683],{},"Tight-Knit Keyword Groups:"," Within your broad topics, you need to create tight keyword groupings. Using the 'Agency' example above, our keyword groups contain keywords queries such as 'social media marketing agency' and 'social media marketing services'",[14,44686,44687],{},"The goal here is simple: Expand into as many broad range topics as possible, then tighten up your keyword groups within these topics.",[14,44689,44690],{},"This should all be performed within an excel spreadsheet. When your team has assembled the three data sources into a single spreadsheet, you'll end up with a document that contains 4 - 8 broad range topics and hundreds of tight keyword groupings.",[24,44692,44356],{"id":44693},"creating-a-content-calendar",[14,44695,44696],{},"You're so close to launching your content marketing strategy! At this point, we have established your content strategy parameters, tangible goals, stakeholders involved & what you are going to write about.",[14,44698,44699],{},"It's now time to create a content calendar to outline the following:",[132,44701,44702,44705,44708],{},[49,44703,44704],{},"Publishing Frequency",[49,44706,44707],{},"Publishing Dates \u002F Times",[49,44709,44710],{},"Content Types to Publish",[14,44712,44713],{},"There are a number of great content calendar tools that will help your group collobrate across the entire organization. We've taken the time to list a few of our favorites below:",[46,44715,44716,44723,44730],{},[49,44717,44718],{},[206,44719,44722],{"href":44720,"rel":44721},"https:\u002F\u002Fcontently.com",[210],"Contently",[49,44724,44725],{},[206,44726,44729],{"href":44727,"rel":44728},"https:\u002F\u002Fwordpress.org",[210],"WordPress",[49,44731,44732],{},[206,44733,44736],{"href":44734,"rel":44735},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.divvyhq.com\u002F",[210],"DivvyHQ",[24,44738,44076],{"id":44075},[14,44740,44741],{},"Over this course of this post, we have covered how to do the following things:",[46,44743,44744,44747,44750,44753,44756],{},[49,44745,44746],{},"Lead with a Goal-Driven Content Strategy",[49,44748,44749],{},"Outline Parameters for a Content Marketing Strategy",[49,44751,44752],{},"Assign Roles & Responsibilities",[49,44754,44755],{},"Create a Master Keyword Playbook",[49,44757,44758],{},"Create a Content Calendar",[14,44760,44761],{},[52,44762,44763],{},"Next week, we'll build on our discussion of content calendars by dissecting & reviewing different types of content formats.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":44765},[44766,44767,44768,44769,44770,44771,44776,44777],{"id":44331,"depth":291,"text":44332},{"id":44359,"depth":291,"text":44360},{"id":44394,"depth":291,"text":44395},{"id":44434,"depth":291,"text":44435},{"id":44441,"depth":291,"text":44350},{"id":44473,"depth":291,"text":44353,"children":44772},[44773,44774,44775],{"id":44496,"depth":297,"text":44484},{"id":44618,"depth":297,"text":44619},{"id":44654,"depth":297,"text":44655},{"id":44693,"depth":291,"text":44356},{"id":44075,"depth":291,"text":44076},"2013-05-20","This Article Explains How to Create a Content Marketing Strategy. Establishing Goals, Outlining Parameters, Role & Responsibilities and using Data to Create a Master Keyword Playbook & Content Calendar.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fcontent-marketing-bible-creating-a-content-marketing-strategy",{"title":44299,"description":44779},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fcontent-marketing-bible-creating-a-content-marketing-strategy","SzWeNwSnQbSpxW5HruwYrhcKLklPruxYieh2j9XaYrY",{"id":44786,"title":44787,"author":7,"authors":44788,"body":44789,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":44838,"description":44839,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":44840,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":44841,"seo":44842,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":44843,"updated":7,"__hash__":44844},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-mkg-media-group-content-marketing-bible-a-six-part-series.md","The MKG Marketing Content Marketing Bible: A Six Part Series",[9],{"type":11,"value":44790,"toc":44835},[44791,44795,44806,44809,44829,44832],[24,44792,44794],{"id":44793},"content-is-king-dont-you-want-a-place-on-the-throne","Content is King: Don't you Want a Place on the Throne?",[14,44796,44797,44798,44801,44802,44805],{},"As clients continued to ask for our assistance with their content marketing strategy, we thought it would valuable to create a ",[52,44799,44800],{},"Content Marketing How-To Guide"," here on the blog for our loyal readers to learn more about our approach to ",[52,44803,44804],{},"Content Marketing Strategy"," here at MKG Marketing",[14,44807,44808],{},"During the next six weeks, we will discuss the following subjects:",[46,44810,44811,44814,44817,44820,44823,44826],{},[49,44812,44813],{},"Creating a Content Marketing Strategy",[49,44815,44816],{},"Description of Content Formats",[49,44818,44819],{},"Using Data to Determine What Content to Write",[49,44821,44822],{},"Using Data to Determine How Often to Publish Content",[49,44824,44825],{},"How to Promote Your Content",[49,44827,44828],{},"How to Measure the Success of Your Content Marketing Strategy",[14,44830,44831],{},"And if this couldn't get any better, at the conclusion of this series we will post the entire MKG Marketing Content Marketing Bible on our website as a free, downloadable e-book.",[14,44833,44834],{},"See you next week for Part 1: Creating a Content Marketing Strategy!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":44836},[44837],{"id":44793,"depth":291,"text":44794},"2013-05-14","A Six Part Series on Content Marketing: The MKG Marketing Approach to Creating a Strategy, What Content To Create, How Often to Publish Content, Content Promotion & Data Driven Decision Making.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-mkg-media-group-content-marketing-bible-a-six-part-series",{"title":44787,"description":44839},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fthe-mkg-media-group-content-marketing-bible-a-six-part-series","DJGcXUfJvU1RMr2WQvN95g-yg3YfLWfmvR0ICfFro3A",{"id":44846,"title":42721,"author":7,"authors":44847,"body":44848,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":45063,"description":45064,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":45065,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":45066,"seo":45067,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":45068,"updated":7,"__hash__":45069},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fhow-to-calculate-lifetime-value-of-a-loyal-customer.md",[9],{"type":11,"value":44849,"toc":45053},[44850,44854,44857,44864,44867,44893,44896,44900,44903,44914,44918,44927,44938,44942,44945,44948,44951,44962,44966,44969,45009,45013,45016,45019,45022,45033,45036,45041,45044,45049],[24,44851,44853],{"id":44852},"do-you-know-how-to-calculate-the-lifetime-value-of-a-loyal-customer","Do you know how to calculate the lifetime value of a loyal customer?",[14,44855,44856],{},"Marketers often discuss the lifetime value of a loyal customer as a key metric to compare alongside customer acquisition costs, retention & churn rate.",[14,44858,44859,44860,44863],{},"In this article, we'll walk through the process of ",[52,44861,44862],{},"calculating"," lifetime value using what's known as 'simple lifetime value' equation.",[14,44865,44866],{},"To begin with, I need to establish a few definitions:",[132,44868,44869,44875,44881,44887],{},[49,44870,44871,44874],{},[52,44872,44873],{},"Customer Lifetime Value:"," The total profit or loss seen from an individual customer over the 'life time' of their use of your product",[49,44876,44877,44880],{},[52,44878,44879],{},"Customer Acquisition Costs:"," Dollar amount your brand invests to acquire a single customer",[49,44882,44883,44886],{},[52,44884,44885],{},"Customer Retention:"," The percent of customers retained against the number of customers that approached you for a cancellation of service",[49,44888,44889,44892],{},[52,44890,44891],{},"Churn Rate:"," The rate at which customers churn, or cancel use of your service, over a specific period of time",[14,44894,44895],{},"Now that we have defined a few of the key terms to be discussed in this article, let's all step back for a moment and ask a question:",[24,44897,44899],{"id":44898},"how-is-your-brand-actually-measuring-the-full-lifetime-value-of-your-loyal-customers","How is your brand actually measuring the full lifetime value of your loyal customers?",[14,44901,44902],{},"We examine three key factors to measure customer lifetime value:",[132,44904,44905,44908,44911],{},[49,44906,44907],{},"Ability to measure across devices & marketing tactic",[49,44909,44910],{},"Understanding anonymous vs. known users",[49,44912,44913],{},"Tools needed to tie these points together",[81,44915,44917],{"id":44916},"factor-1-measuring-across-devices","Factor #1: Measuring Across Devices",[14,44919,44920,44921,44924,44925,6109],{},"In this day and age, one of the biggest tasks involved in measuring lifetime value is:\nCapturing and measuring lifetime value across devices is most commonly performed through ",[52,44922,44923],{},"aliases","\nLet's walk you through an example of creating and integrating ",[52,44926,44923],{},[132,44928,44929,44932,44935],{},[49,44930,44931],{},"Your website provides an anonymous identifier, \"user123\" for example, each time a unique individual visits from a new device (iPhone, iPad, PC)",[49,44933,44934],{},"When the anonymous user finally signs in, using an email form for example, they authenticate themselves",[49,44936,44937],{},"As the user continues to sign in across devices (iPhone, iPad, PC) using their email address, that authentication process brings the disparate aliases together to create a complete picture of that individual user",[81,44939,44941],{"id":44940},"factor-2-measuring-across-marketing-channels","Factor #2: Measuring Across Marketing Channels",[14,44943,44944],{},"Building on Factor #1 (Measuring Across Devices), it's equally important to understand the lifetime value of the marketing channel that drove each user to originally purchase your product or service.",[14,44946,44947],{},"For the sake of argument, let's discuss channel measurement in terms of last click attribution (as opposed to multichannel attribution).",[14,44949,44950],{},"Using aliases & authentication, you can measure individual customer value down to the unique marketing channel that drove customer acquisition in the following format:",[46,44952,44953,44956,44959],{},[49,44954,44955],{},"Customer Acquisition: How much investment did it take to acquire that customer originally?",[49,44957,44958],{},"Retention Rate: Did she stay a customer following a free trial \u002F initial sign up period? Or ...",[49,44960,44961],{},"Churn Rate: Was she part of the percent of users who cancelled their service following sign up?",[81,44963,44965],{"id":44964},"factor-3-tools-needed","Factor #3: Tools Needed",[14,44967,44968],{},"Your brand is ready to begin measuring customer lifetime value: Fantastic!\nLet's outline a short list showing of the  type of tools you'll need as well as a few examples of vendors that provide these capabilities:",[46,44970,44971,44992],{},[49,44972,44973,44976,44977,24127,44981,44986,44987],{},[52,44974,44975],{},"Web Analytics:"," A web analytics tool will allow you to create goal conversions & events to measure site engagement, marketing channel performance and product purchases. Examples of web analytics tool include ",[206,44978,36965],{"href":44979,"rel":44980},"https:\u002F\u002Fgoogle.com\u002Fanalytics",[210],[206,44982,44985],{"href":44983,"rel":44984},"https:\u002F\u002Fomniture.com",[210],"Omniture"," & ",[206,44988,44991],{"href":44989,"rel":44990},"https:\u002F\u002Fwebtrends.com",[210],"WebTrends",[49,44993,44994,44997,44998,45003,45004,45008],{},[52,44995,44996],{},"Data Management Platform:"," A data management platform provides you with the ability to create aliases, store anonymous customer data & integrate known customer data points for users who have authenticated. A low-fi (yet powerful) example of an aliasing tool is ",[206,44999,45002],{"href":45000,"rel":45001},"https:\u002F\u002Fkissmetrics.com",[210],"KISSmetrics",", while a more robust data management platform like ",[206,45005,42337],{"href":45006,"rel":45007},"https:\u002F\u002Fxplusone.com",[210],"would provide more customer data storage & usage capabilities",[24,45010,45012],{"id":45011},"a-sample-calculation-of-customer-lifetime-value","A Sample Calculation of Customer Lifetime Value",[14,45014,45015],{},"Now I'll caveat this calculation up front: There are a  number of ways to calculate customer lifetime value.",[14,45017,45018],{},"I'll just walk through what's known as 'Simple Lifetime Value' equation.",[14,45020,45021],{},"First up, let's get some definitions established:",[46,45023,45024,45027,45030],{},[49,45025,45026],{},"(span) = Average number of years customers remain loyal to 'Client XYZ'. For this example, let's assume average span is 20 years",[49,45028,45029],{},"(revenue) = Measured in months, this is the revenue the individual customer spends on your product. Let's assume your product costs $20 per month",[49,45031,45032],{},"(months) = measurement on an annual basis. Just as a reminder, there are 12 months in a year",[14,45034,45035],{},"Let's walk through a sample equation:",[24025,45037,45038],{},[14,45039,45040],{},"(months x revenue) x span",[14,45042,45043],{},"Now when we fill in some data pulled from the 'Client XYZ' archives:",[24025,45045,45046],{},[14,45047,45048],{},"(12 x $20) x 20 = $4,800\nThere you have it: Client XYZ's average lifetime customer value is $4,800.",[24,45050,45052],{"id":45051},"your-turn-try-plugging-in-your-own-company-data-into-the-model-outlined-above-and-see-what-comes-out","Your turn! Try plugging in your own company data into the model outlined above and see what comes out!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":45054},[45055,45056,45061,45062],{"id":44852,"depth":291,"text":44853},{"id":44898,"depth":291,"text":44899,"children":45057},[45058,45059,45060],{"id":44916,"depth":297,"text":44917},{"id":44940,"depth":297,"text":44941},{"id":44964,"depth":297,"text":44965},{"id":45011,"depth":291,"text":45012},{"id":45051,"depth":291,"text":45052},"2013-05-08","Walking Readers Through a Simple Lifetime Value Equation to Measure the Monetary Value of Loyal Customers",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fhow-to-calculate-lifetime-value-of-a-loyal-customer",{"title":42721,"description":45064},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fhow-to-calculate-lifetime-value-of-a-loyal-customer","ST_Cq4kQSBURg-LRASkEIxB-YlYzHFNjZbM6KHCAI_o",{"id":45071,"title":45072,"author":7,"authors":45073,"body":45074,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":45204,"description":45205,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":45206,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":45207,"seo":45208,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":45209,"updated":7,"__hash__":45210},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fhow-to-track-facebook-promotions-using-3rd-party-tags.md","How to Track Facebook Promotions Using 3rd Party Tags",[9],{"type":11,"value":45075,"toc":45193},[45076,45080,45093,45098,45102,45111,45115,45124,45128,45131,45136,45139,45142,45145,45149,45153,45156,45160,45163,45167,45181,45185],[24,45077,45079],{"id":45078},"can-we-track-our-marketing-efforts-if-we-drive-traffic-to-a-facebook-promotion-page","\"Can we track our marketing efforts if we drive traffic to a Facebook Promotion page?\"",[14,45081,45082,45083,45086,45087,45092],{},"Recently, one of our clients asked to drive ",[52,45084,45085],{},"ALL","  their digital marketing efforts, tracked by 3rd party tags, to a Facebook Promotion page.\nIn remembering what ",[206,45088,45091],{"href":45089,"rel":45090},"https:\u002F\u002Fkerryguard.com\u002Fhow-to-be-a-good-digital-marketing-partner\u002F",[210],"Don Draper said two weeks ago in Mad Men",", about saying yes when they should have said no, our initial gut instinct was to tell the client:",[24025,45094,45095],{},[14,45096,45097],{},"Absolutely not. With the way conversion tracking is set up right this minute, we cannot track performance on that Facebook Promotion page.\nInstead, we took a step back to test whether or not their 3rd party tags could be tracked through a Facebook Promotion Page.",[24,45099,45101],{"id":45100},"ask-questions","Ask Questions",[14,45103,45104,45105,45110],{},"Before we provide a solution to a client we first made sure we understood all the moving parts out of our control, in this case the only piece we didn't control was the Facebook page and how it was built.\nBy simply asking, \"How is this built? Are you using a specific program or writing it from scratch with HTML & CSS?\" We got a very simply response from our client that they were using ",[206,45106,45109],{"href":45107,"rel":45108},"https:\u002F\u002Fshortstack.com",[210],"Shortstack",", a free application to easily build Facebook Pages for promotions, sign-ups, photo contests, etc.",[24,45112,45114],{"id":45113},"research","Research",[14,45116,45117,45118,45123],{},"By having this information we were able to quickly look at any documentation Shortstack had on 3rd party tracking. The only ",[206,45119,45122],{"href":45120,"rel":45121},"https:\u002F\u002Fhelp.shortstackapp.com\u002Fmain-menu\u002Fmastering-shortstack\u002Fadvanced-widget-programming\u002F#TrackingReferrals",[210],"page"," we found was in regards to tracking referrals, but to track those we'd still need to implement 3rd party tags.\nSo we decided the best research is hands on research so we created a Shortstack account with a fake promotion to run a conversion test.",[24,45125,45127],{"id":45126},"trial-error","Trial & Error",[14,45129,45130],{},"By creating our own account we were able to walk through the user flow and see where the sign-up is confirmed.  In this case the only change was a simple copy addition, that simply said,",[24025,45132,45133],{},[14,45134,45135],{},"Thank you for your submission\nBecause it wasn't a separate landing page we weren't sure we were going to be able to track conversions at all. Before we gave up all hope and turn to our client to say no, we quickly walked one of our developers through the process he's said to place an image tag after the thank you copy.",[14,45137,45138],{},"After digging further into the functionality of Shortstack we were able to do just that.",[14,45140,45141],{},"Follow These 4 Steps to Track Your Own Facebook Promotions Using 3rd Party Conversion Tags",[14,45143,45144],{},"In staying with the Shortstack Facebook Promotion page application, follow the steps below:",[24,45146,45148],{"id":45147},"step-1-sign-in-to-shortstack","Step #1: Sign in to Shortstack",[24,45150,45152],{"id":45151},"step-2-open-the-promotion-page-app","Step #2: Open The Promotion Page App",[14,45154,45155],{},"Open your App that houses the promotion you need to track. In our case, \"Fake It 'Til You Make It\" is the test application we created.",[24,45157,45159],{"id":45158},"step-3-edit-the-promotion","Step #3: Edit the Promotion",[14,45161,45162],{},"Under 'edit widgets', click the pencil icon for Promotion.",[24,45164,45166],{"id":45165},"step-3-implement-image-tag","Step #3: Implement Image Tag",[46,45168,45169,45172],{},[49,45170,45171],{},"Scroll down to \"Override Labels, Messages, and Other Text\"",[49,45173,45174,45175,45180],{},"Replace \"Thank you for your submission\" with: Thank you for your submission \u003Cimg src=\"\u002F\u002F",[206,45176,45179],{"href":45177,"rel":45178},"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.googleadservices.com\u002Fpagead\u002Fconversion\u002Fxxxxxxx\u002F?value=0&label=xxxxxxxxxxxx&guid=ON&script=0",[210],"www.googleadservices.com\u002Fpagead\u002Fconversion\u002Fxxxxxxx\u002F?value=0&label=xxxxxxxxxxxx&guid=ON&script=0","\" style=\"height:1;  width:1\"\u002F>",[24,45182,45184],{"id":45183},"step-4-qa-test-to-confirm-tracking-is-operation","Step #4: QA Test to Confirm Tracking is Operation",[14,45186,45187,45188,45192],{},"We use the ",[206,45189,45191],{"href":42110,"rel":45190},[210],"Ghostery Plugin"," for Firefox & Chrome which allows us to see the conversion pixel fires in the purple box at the top right of our browser.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":45194},[45195,45196,45197,45198,45199,45200,45201,45202,45203],{"id":45078,"depth":291,"text":45079},{"id":45100,"depth":291,"text":45101},{"id":45113,"depth":291,"text":45114},{"id":45126,"depth":291,"text":45127},{"id":45147,"depth":291,"text":45148},{"id":45151,"depth":291,"text":45152},{"id":45158,"depth":291,"text":45159},{"id":45165,"depth":291,"text":45166},{"id":45183,"depth":291,"text":45184},"2013-05-06","A Step-by-Step Guide Describing How to Track Facebook Promotions Using 3rd Party Tags",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fhow-to-track-facebook-promotions-using-3rd-party-tags",{"title":45072,"description":45205},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fhow-to-track-facebook-promotions-using-3rd-party-tags","Z8rDNP_0rkosZ-OKY_yoOK_eEo9cre8DcEDL1nyeX24",{"id":45212,"title":45213,"author":7,"authors":45214,"body":45215,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":45381,"description":45382,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":45383,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":45384,"seo":45385,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":45386,"updated":7,"__hash__":45387},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fthree-interactive-dashboarding-tools-your-company-should-be-using.md","Three Interactive Dashboarding Tools Your Company Should be Using",[9],{"type":11,"value":45216,"toc":45371},[45217,45225,45228,45233,45236,45247,45255,45258,45261,45269,45272,45280,45289,45292,45306,45308,45319,45327,45330,45333,45336,45338,45349,45351,45356,45360],[14,45218,45219,45220,45224],{},"In our previous blog posts, we discussed ",[206,45221,45223],{"href":45222},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fthe-cost-return-on-investment-benefits-of-marketing-analytics\u002F","measuring the return on investment of marketing analytics"," and brought up the idea of a dashboard.",[14,45226,45227],{},"Just to review:",[24025,45229,45230],{},[14,45231,45232],{},"A dashboard is an interactive tool that aggregates all your data into a single view. Analytics from multiple sources are contained in one place, making it easier to assess your marketing progress.",[14,45234,45235],{},"In this post, we're going to look at three tools that will help you compile key metrics across multiple channels (such as social media, paid advertising, and organic website traffic) and visualize that data in an easy-to-use and actionable way.\nWe'll be taking a look at the following tools:",[132,45237,45238,45241,45244],{},[49,45239,45240],{},"Dashzen",[49,45242,45243],{},"LeftTronic",[49,45245,45246],{},"GoodData",[24,45248,45250,45251],{"id":45249},"_1dashzen","1. ",[206,45252,45240],{"href":45253,"rel":45254},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.dashzen.com\u002F",[210],[14,45256,45257],{},"The first tool we'll discuss is Dashzen.\nSetting Up the Tool\nDashzen is a 100-percent free tool that is currently in beta. Users log in to Dashzen online and create a dashboard that will aggregate raw data from places like Facebook, Google Analytics, YouTube, Salesforce, and GitHub to provide integrated insights into how your marketing efforts are doing.",[14,45259,45260],{},"The Pros",[46,45262,45263,45266],{},[49,45264,45265],{},"Features prebuilt templates & layouts, which make configuring the placement and sizing of gadgets within Dashzen an easy task",[49,45267,45268],{},"Great for smaller companies looking for a straightforward dashboard without extraneous bells and whistles",[14,45270,45271],{},"The Cons",[46,45273,45274,45277],{},[49,45275,45276],{},"Simplicity is both a pro and a con, as it limits the amount of customization you can build into this dashboarding tool",[49,45278,45279],{},"While easy to visualize your data, there is a lack of custom design elements that make visualizing your data in very specific ways nearly impossible",[24,45281,45283,45284],{"id":45282},"_2leftronic","2. ",[206,45285,45288],{"href":45286,"rel":45287},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.leftronic.com\u002F",[210],"Leftronic",[14,45290,45291],{},"Setting Up The Tool\nThe second free dashboard option is Leftronic. Leftronic is similar to Dashzen in that it offers real-time analytics in one place and has a 30-day free trial period.\nThe Pros",[46,45293,45294,45297,45300,45303],{},[49,45295,45296],{},"A 30-day free trial allows you to test drive the tool before investing in a premium version, no credit care",[49,45298,45299],{},"Choose from pre-built templates or fully customize the way your metrics are displayed on your dashboard",[49,45301,45302],{},"Ability to purchase dashboard bundles of dashboards to build out (5 \u002F 20 \u002F 100 \u002F etc)",[49,45304,45305],{},"White label solution offers the ability to remove all LeftTronic branding and customize branding to each individual client",[14,45307,45271],{},[46,45309,45310,45313,45316],{},[49,45311,45312],{},"Somewhat clunky user interface takes a little bit of getting used to when designing your dashboards",[49,45314,45315],{},"Only light\u002Fdark background available in most plans (outside of white label solution)",[49,45317,45318],{},"Inability to combine multiple sources in a single graph without using HTML\u002FXML, a great example being social sentiment & revenue on the same graph",[81,45320,45322,45323],{"id":45321},"_3gooddata","3. ",[206,45324,45246],{"href":45325,"rel":45326},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gooddata.com\u002F",[210],[14,45328,45329],{},"The Set Up",[14,45331,45332],{},"A third available dashboard tool is GoodData. GoodData is a tool that allows for Extract, Transform and Load (ETL) that delivers an extremely customized dashboard.",[14,45334,45335],{},"As a side note, GoodData is the preferred tool for a dashboard here at MKG Marketing.",[14,45337,45260],{},[46,45339,45340,45343,45346],{},[49,45341,45342],{},"Has numerous prebuilt connectors into the most widely used tools, such as Omniture SiteCatalyst, social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, etc) and Salesforce",[49,45344,45345],{},"Ability to write your own HTML\u002FXML connectors",[49,45347,45348],{},"GoodData engineering support to assist in building out custom connectors",[14,45350,45271],{},[46,45352,45353],{},[49,45354,45355],{},"Price is a consideration for brands, as there is a 'buy in' to implement this type of custom dashboarding solution",[24,45357,45359],{"id":45358},"questions-for-you-our-loyal-readers","Questions for You, our Loyal Readers!",[132,45361,45362,45365,45368],{},[49,45363,45364],{},"Have you used any of these tools before?",[49,45366,45367],{},"If you employ a different solution, which one?",[49,45369,45370],{},"If you aren't using any sort of dashboard tool to aggregate your analytics, let us know why not in the comments section!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":45372},[45373,45375,45380],{"id":45249,"depth":291,"text":45374},"1. Dashzen",{"id":45282,"depth":291,"text":45376,"children":45377},"2. Leftronic",[45378],{"id":45321,"depth":297,"text":45379},"3. GoodData",{"id":45358,"depth":291,"text":45359},"2013-04-24","A Review of Three Interactive Dashboard Tools -- Leftronics, DashZen & GoodData -- to Provide Marketers With a Single, Centralized View of their Business and Marketing Analytics",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fthree-interactive-dashboarding-tools-your-company-should-be-using",{"title":45213,"description":45382},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fthree-interactive-dashboarding-tools-your-company-should-be-using","6r6z_iAKrweV0OtXE7cN-jftnoj2lmi8mFNqmTiqeFo",{"id":45389,"title":45390,"author":7,"authors":45391,"body":45392,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":45514,"description":45515,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":45516,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":45517,"seo":45518,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":45519,"updated":7,"__hash__":45520},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fgoogle-tag-manager-what-it-is-3-fixes-to-common-problems.md","Google Tag Manager: What It Is & 3 Fixes to Common Problems",[9],{"type":11,"value":45393,"toc":45508},[45394,45397,45400,45408,45413,45416,45420,45423,45431,45434,45438,45441,45444,45449,45452,45457,45460,45464,45467,45475,45487,45491,45494,45505],[14,45395,45396],{},"We here at MKG Marketing are big fans of deploying Google Tag Manager on our clients' websites.\nFirst, if you're unfamiliar with what Google Tag Manager (GTM) is, this is how Google describes their product:\n\"Google Tag Manager makes it easy for marketers to add and update website tags -- including analytics, remarketing, and more & with just a few clicks, and without bugging the IT folks.\"",[14,45398,45399],{},"Sounds pretty sweet, right? It is! GTM code acts as a tag management system that places a \"container\" tag on your web page. Once in place, you're able to specify rules as to when you want specific pieces of code to show up in the container, such as:",[132,45401,45402,45405],{},[49,45403,45404],{},"Set up rules that have Google Analytics code fire on every page of a website",[49,45406,45407],{},"Set up a rule that lets Google Ads conversion code fire whenever someone hits a \"thank you\" page.",[14,45409,45410],{},[52,45411,45412],{},"Hashtag done",[14,45414,45415],{},"However, things aren't so cut and dry with GTM . The support documentation is lacking in some critical areas. The following are some answers to questions those who are thinking of using GTM might have that Google doesn't have any support documentation around.",[24,45417,45419],{"id":45418},"using-google-tag-manager-on-https-pages","Using Google Tag Manager on HTTPS pages",[14,45421,45422],{},"If you're going to be placing GTM code on a secure web page (https), then you'll need to make a small tweak to your Google Tag Manager code in order for it to work.",[14,45424,45425,45426,45430],{},"There are two instances in the Google Tag Manager code that starts with \"src=\". Change the following \"\u002F\u002Fwww\" to \"",[206,45427,45428],{"href":45428,"rel":45429},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww",[210],"\" for both.",[14,45432,45433],{},"This will then allow the GTM container code to accurately display on a secure web page.",[24,45435,45437],{"id":45436},"i-use-mediamind-ad-server-and-wish-to-use-gtm-to-deploy-that-code-can-i","I use MediaMind Ad Server and wish to use GTM to deploy that code. Can I?",[14,45439,45440],{},"Yes you can... but you need to tweak two lines of code.",[14,45442,45443],{},"First, you need to place the code in a custom image tag. This is an option you can select when creating a new tag. Then copy \u002F paste the code that was given to you from MediaMind. Now, you'll need to replace this line of code:",[14,45445,45446],{},[24358,45447,45448],{},"document.write('<scr'+'ipt src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fbs.serving-sys.com\u002FBurstingPipe\u002FActivityServer.bs?cn=as&ActivityID=XXXXX&rnd=' + ebRand + '\">');",[14,45450,45451],{},"With this line of code:",[14,45453,45454],{},[24358,45455,45456],{},"jQuery.getScript(\"https:\u002F\u002Fbs.serving-sys.com\u002FBurstingPipe\u002FActivityServer.bs?cn=as&ActivityID=XXXXX&;rnd=\" + ebRand);",[14,45458,45459],{},"Do know you need to place the correct ActivityID (which I have as XXXXX in the examples) in the tweaked line of code in order to track the desired activity.",[24,45461,45463],{"id":45462},"how-can-i-easily-check-if-gtm-is-installed-properly","How can I easily check if GTM is installed properly?",[14,45465,45466],{},"We like two specific Chrome extensions: Google Tag Assistant and Ghostery. The pros & the cons are:",[132,45468,45469,45472],{},[49,45470,45471],{},"Google Tag Manager will only report on Google-specific code",[49,45473,45474],{},"Ghostery will report on a whole slew of different code types, including beacons, advertising tags, privacy trackers and widgets",[14,45476,45477,45478,45482,45483,212],{},"You can find Google Tag Assistant ",[206,45479,45481],{"href":42104,"rel":45480},[210],"here"," and Ghostery ",[206,45484,45481],{"href":45485,"rel":45486},"https:\u002F\u002Fchrome.google.com\u002Fwebstore\u002Fdetail\u002Fghostery\u002Fmlomiejdfkolichcflejclcbmpeaniij?hl=en",[210],[24,45488,45490],{"id":45489},"should-i-look-to-deploy-gtm-for-my-own-clients-websites","Should I look to deploy GTM for my own \u002F clients' websites?",[14,45492,45493],{},"Yes and no. If you fall under the following scenarios, we would recommend looking to use GTM:",[46,45495,45496,45499,45502],{},[49,45497,45498],{},"Running paid search and are using conversion codes",[49,45500,45501],{},"Running a retargeting or remessaging program (get tags on specific pages with burn pixels to stop remarketing to customers who have already converted)",[49,45503,45504],{},"Have a possible need of adding code to a client's website in the future",[14,45506,45507],{},"If you have any questions, we've certainly built up quite a bit of knowledge about GTM and are happy to help. Feel free to contact me (social media links below) or comment on this blog post.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":45509},[45510,45511,45512,45513],{"id":45418,"depth":291,"text":45419},{"id":45436,"depth":291,"text":45437},{"id":45462,"depth":291,"text":45463},{"id":45489,"depth":291,"text":45490},"2013-04-19","Read about what Google Tag Manager is, three fixes to common problems users tend to have with the product, and to see if using GTM is something you should do.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fgoogle-tag-manager-what-it-is-3-fixes-to-common-problems",{"title":45390,"description":45515},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fgoogle-tag-manager-what-it-is-3-fixes-to-common-problems","whI5H5bufFGyPRheZmZHSbzNNko8yOCQhHkm5Zc_Kq0",{"id":45522,"title":45523,"author":7,"authors":45524,"body":45525,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":45684,"description":45685,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":45686,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":45687,"seo":45688,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":45689,"updated":7,"__hash__":45690},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fthe-cost-return-on-investment-benefits-of-marketing-analytics.md","The Cost, Return on Investment & Benefits of Marketing Analytics",[9],{"type":11,"value":45526,"toc":45680},[45527,45530,45541,45544,45559,45562,45565,45570,45577,45581,45584,45588,45591,45599,45603,45606,45614,45617,45620,45624,45627,45648,45651,45655,45658,45661,45668,45671,45674],[14,45528,45529],{},"In our experience, many clients initially view analytics as ...",[132,45531,45532,45535,45538],{},[49,45533,45534],{},"A value add service, attached to additional lines of business",[49,45536,45537],{},"Pre-packaged together with any kind of lead generation campaign",[49,45539,45540],{},"A sinkhole of a line item in their budget sheets",[14,45542,45543],{},"Why is this? Again, in our experience ...",[132,45545,45546,45549,45552],{},[49,45547,45548],{},"Analytics have been presented poorly to the client in the past",[49,45550,45551],{},"The client is presented with 30 slides worth of charts, graphs and numbers, but no real insights 'in between the lines'",[49,45553,45554,45555,45558],{},"This leads analytics meetings to be ... ",[38,45556,45557],{},"yawn"," ... you get the point",[14,45560,45561],{},"What I've described above is more of a worst case scenario: the zombie apocalypse of an analytics meeting, so to speak.",[14,45563,45564],{},"In reality, properly structured marketing analytics plans can allow brands and agencies to break down the granular performance of their marketing efforts, pull out insights, and reposition their marketing funnel (so to speak) to incorporate those insights into their efforts moving forward.\nWe often break down the value of a strong analytics practice with the following sentence:",[24025,45566,45567],{},[14,45568,45569],{},"The price of light is less than the cost of darkness",[14,45571,45572,45573,45576],{},"Focus on data efficiency: Invest in actually ",[52,45574,45575],{},"knowing the solution"," instead of guessing a potential fix and throwing marketing dollars recklessly at it.\nIn this article, we will break down some key points to assess the efficiency of your marketing analytics practice. Specifically, we will focus on the costs and return on investment of your marketing analytics.",[81,45578,45580],{"id":45579},"identifying-the-costs-of-marketing-analytics","Identifying the Costs of Marketing Analytics",[14,45582,45583],{},"The first step in looking at the cost of your marketing analytics plan is to identify various expenditures of all the different systems your company employs.\nThis is achieved by identifying two cat of costs you should break down: one is what we call \"humans\" and the second is \"tools\".",[5685,45585,45587],{"id":45586},"human-costs","Human Costs",[14,45589,45590],{},"Human cost is the people-power behind your analytic systems: the consultants, full-time employees, or outside agency you hire to assist with the process.\nIn terms of costs, there are a couple of considerations. Look at specific projects and ask the following:",[132,45592,45593,45596],{},[49,45594,45595],{},"\"Do I need to bring this in-house?\" If yes, you're going to be hiring full-time help.",[49,45597,45598],{},"\"Is the project one that can be outsourced?\" If so, there are two kinds of outsourcing - single person projects (What is her\u002Fhis cost?) or if it's a large amount of work that needs to be done, consider if a specialty agency is necessary.",[5685,45600,45602],{"id":45601},"tool-costs","Tool Costs",[14,45604,45605],{},"The other category of costs is tools (we call them robots here at MKG). These are the mechanical devices capturing and assembling your data.\nLook across your organization and ask the following:",[132,45607,45608,45611],{},[49,45609,45610],{},"What kind of tools do you need to measure your brand's analytics?",[49,45612,45613],{},"What tools do you already have, how many people use them, and what tools do you still need?",[14,45615,45616],{},"Running a tool inventory across your entire company's analytics systems, detailing who is using which tool and for what purpose, is the most helpful approach to determining costs.",[14,45618,45619],{},"Additionally, analyzing your tool costs will help you spot duplications - are multiple departments within your company using different tools for the same analysis - and pinpoint paid tools versus free ones.",[5685,45621,45623],{"id":45622},"evaluating-the-return-on-investment-of-marketing-analytics","Evaluating the Return on Investment of Marketing Analytics",[14,45625,45626],{},"The hard part is out of the way; you've broken down your companies analytics budget and now know how much your tools & humans cost!\nTo tangibly evaluate the return on investment, we often calculate how much time our clients' \"humans\" (employees, consultants, agencies, etc.) spend assembling data and pulling together spreadsheets.\nHow much time is spent assembling data every month?\nFor example, after running a similar inventory for one client, we discovered the following:",[46,45628,45629,45636,45642,45645],{},[49,45630,45631,45632,45635],{},"Client spent approximately ",[52,45633,45634],{},"50 hours per month assembling data"," (before any of it could even be analyzed!)",[49,45637,45638,45639],{},"On average, ",[52,45640,45641],{},"client paid a blended rate (employees, contractors, agencies, etc) of $100 per hour",[49,45643,45644],{},"50 hours per month x $100\u002Fhour = $5,000",[49,45646,45647],{},"It cost the client a total of $5,000 just to assemble their data every month. Not a single bit of analysis had been performed! We call this budget line item \"almost opportunity costs\", as in we \"almost had the chance to do something ...\"",[14,45649,45650],{},"Beyond the money sunk into \"almost opportunities\", consider if you had those 50 hours back for your employees, consultants and outsourced agencies? What could be achieved in terms of effective analysis; a step above that, those 50 hours could also be spent taking action, or making tweaks to improve performance, based on what the data is showing you.",[81,45652,45654],{"id":45653},"benefits-of-marketing-analytics-a-real-example-from-barack-obama-2008","Benefits of Marketing Analytics: A Real Example from Barack Obama 2008",[14,45656,45657],{},"A great study found that brands should spend approximately 20-percent of their yearly marketing budget on analytics . Most companies don't come close to that number.",[14,45659,45660],{},"A great example of a strong marketing analytics practice comes from the 2008 presidential election.",[14,45662,45663,45664,45667],{},"Barack Obama hired a campaign team chock full of data scientists to help execute A\u002FB and multivariate landing page tests to boost online campaign contributions using one of our favorite tools, ",[206,45665,37495],{"href":37493,"rel":45666},[210],". This team ran and measured a series of multivariate tests on President Obama's campaign contributions website and were able to collect the results and make optimizations almost instantaneously.",[14,45669,45670],{},"See a visual of this testing process below:",[14,45672,45673],{},"By making small changes to Obama's campaign contribution website, his team was able to see instantly what people responded to (or didn't) in real time.",[14,45675,45676,45677],{},"So how did this perform? Having immediate access, being able to gauge what worked, and adjusting the website accordingly resulted in a ",[52,45678,45679],{},"seven-figure boost in campaign contributions for President Obama.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":45681},[45682,45683],{"id":45579,"depth":297,"text":45580},{"id":45653,"depth":297,"text":45654},"2013-04-17","A Formula to Measure Costs of Marketing Analytics & The Potential Return on Investment of Investing in a Strong Marketing Analytics Practice.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fthe-cost-return-on-investment-benefits-of-marketing-analytics",{"title":45523,"description":45685},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fthe-cost-return-on-investment-benefits-of-marketing-analytics","KL1J_KEN90eBODLWi895PEhznu9QvRfhjgiq44CY2O0",{"id":45692,"title":45693,"author":7,"authors":45694,"body":45695,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":45817,"description":45818,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":45819,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":45820,"seo":45821,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":45822,"updated":7,"__hash__":45823},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Ffour-things-to-consider-when-evaluating-banner-ad-creative.md","Four Things to Consider When Evaluating Banner Ad Creative",[9],{"type":11,"value":45696,"toc":45812},[45697,45700,45708,45722,45725,45729,45738,45741,45755,45758,45765,45769,45778,45780,45794,45798],[14,45698,45699],{},"During a conference call earlier this week, the client brought up a great question:",[24025,45701,45702],{},[14,45703,45704,45705,45707],{},"How does your team evaluate banner ad creative? I mean, do you have certain guidelines to judge effectiveness prior to launching the banner advertising campaign?\nThe short answer: ",[52,45706,34219],{},"\nIn fact, there are four considerations we take into account when evaluating banner ad creative:",[132,45709,45710,45713,45716,45719],{},[49,45711,45712],{},"Clear Value Proposition",[49,45714,45715],{},"Clear Imagery",[49,45717,45718],{},"Character Limit",[49,45720,45721],{},"Actionable Call to Action (CTA)",[14,45723,45724],{},"To bring these considerations to life, let's examine a few banner campaigns we have run in the past.",[24,45726,45728],{"id":45727},"box-words-customer-acquisition-campaign","Box 'Words' Customer Acquisition Campaign",[14,45730,45731,45732,45737],{},"In one of the first case studies we developed following the creation of MKG Marketing, we worked with ",[206,45733,45736],{"href":45734,"rel":45735},"https:\u002F\u002Fbox.com",[210],"Box"," to create & execute a customer acquisition advertising campaign.",[14,45739,45740],{},"Looking at a sample of the banner ad creative used below, let's walk you through our evaluation process.",[132,45742,45743,45746,45749,45752],{},[49,45744,45745],{},"Value Proposition: Easy and quick! \"Simple, Secure Sharing From Anywhere\"",[49,45747,45748],{},"Clear Imagery: Cloud services product emphasized with white clouds & brand name",[49,45750,45751],{},"Character Limit: Uncluttered design drives user direct to call to action",[49,45753,45754],{},"Actionable CTA: Strong click here to begin a 'Free Trial' call to action",[14,45756,45757],{},"So, how'd we do?",[14,45759,45760,45761,11958],{},"Well, the campaign improved their cost-per-customer-acquisition metric by 51% and we won a ",[206,45762,45764],{"href":45763},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fmkg-media-group-wins-an-omma-award-for-online-advertising-creativity\u002F","2012 OMMA award for advertising creativity",[24,45766,45768],{"id":45767},"youeye-customer-acquisition-campaign","YouEye Customer Acquisition Campaign",[14,45770,45771,45772,45777],{},"When ",[206,45773,45776],{"href":45774,"rel":45775},"https:\u002F\u002Fyoueye.com",[210],"YouEye"," approached our team to help bring their user testing SaaS product to market, we jumped at the opportunity.",[14,45779,45740],{},[132,45781,45782,45785,45788,45791],{},[49,45783,45784],{},"Value Proposition: Three simple words: 'Insights for Websites'",[49,45786,45787],{},"Clear Imagery: Logo speaks directly to their value proposition. Green CTA button jumps off the page",[49,45789,45790],{},"Character Limit: Short sentence offers secondary CTA ('see for yourself') and then validation provided by Microsoft & Zappos client roster",[49,45792,45793],{},"Actionable CTA: 'Try It Today' pushes users to not only click through but to test drive the SaaS product",[24,45795,45797],{"id":45796},"so-next-time-you-are-evaluating-banner-creative-make-sure-to-ask-yourself","So next time you are evaluating banner creative, make sure to ask yourself ...",[132,45799,45800,45803,45806,45809],{},[49,45801,45802],{},"Is the value proposition stated in this ad clear? Do I immediately 'get it'?",[49,45804,45805],{},"Does my imagery align with the text-based value proposition? Is there a clear connection established between the two?",[49,45807,45808],{},"How many characters are in this ad? A good way to ensure the banner creative avoids clutter is to read through it: if it takes more than 2 - 3 seconds,  you've got too many words & images!",[49,45810,45811],{},"Lastly, is there a clear action that users are being instructed to take? Hint: 'Learn More' is not a clear action ...",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":45813},[45814,45815,45816],{"id":45727,"depth":291,"text":45728},{"id":45767,"depth":291,"text":45768},{"id":45796,"depth":291,"text":45797},"2013-04-08","There are Four Considerations to Note When Evaluating Banner Ad Creative: Clear Value Proposition, Clear Imagery, Character Limit & an Actionable Call to Action (CTA)",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Ffour-things-to-consider-when-evaluating-banner-ad-creative",{"title":45693,"description":45818},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Ffour-things-to-consider-when-evaluating-banner-ad-creative","lzmUfk1UK2kllvnVGbjWKXj32wGLQpA6Po1KJ266WHE",{"id":45825,"title":45826,"author":7,"authors":45827,"body":45828,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":45976,"description":45977,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":45978,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":45979,"seo":45980,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":45981,"updated":7,"__hash__":45982},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fwhat-youre-missing-without-integrated-marketing-analytics.md","What You're Missing Without Integrated Marketing Analytics",[9],{"type":11,"value":45829,"toc":45969},[45830,45834,45837,45840,45845,45849,45852,45855,45858,45869,45872,45879,45882,45885,45889,45892,45903,45906,45909,45920,45924,45927,45930,45933,45949,45953,45956,45959,45964],[24,45831,45833],{"id":45832},"introduction-to-integrated-marketing-analytics","Introduction to Integrated Marketing Analytics",[14,45835,45836],{},"Microsoft, one of our larger clients, has several different marketing communications running simultaneously; they run paid online advertising, organic & paid search marketing as well as social media and content marketing programs, just to name a few!",[14,45838,45839],{},"But, as large of a company as Microsoft is, they used to lack a way to aggregate this data into one single analytics view.",[24025,45841,45842],{},[14,45843,45844],{},"Enter: Integrated Marketing Analytics\nSo when you hear this sentence out loud ...\nWe don't completely understand how our social media efforts affect our online advertising ...\n... make sure to jump in and introduce the benefits of integrated analytics!",[24,45846,45848],{"id":45847},"current-state-of-marketing-analytics","Current State of Marketing Analytics",[14,45850,45851],{},"How does your brand acquire paying customers & how is that revenue action being measured and analyzed?",[14,45853,45854],{},"There is no shortage of measurement tools readily available to measure this - but often times they don't integrate well together.",[14,45856,45857],{},"Examples of tools include:",[46,45859,45860,45863,45866],{},[49,45861,45862],{},"Measuring Paid Media: For paid media (online advertising), you can use web analytics platforms like WebTrends, Google Analytics or Omniture",[49,45864,45865],{},"Measuring Owned Media: For measuring owned media (brand website), tools like Raven Tools or SEOmoz do a great job of measuring results",[49,45867,45868],{},"Measuring Earned Media: For measuring earned media (social), you can use a listening tool like Radian6, Alterian SM2 or PeopleBrowser",[14,45870,45871],{},"However, our clients have helped identify a weak point in using these tools:",[24025,45873,45874],{},[14,45875,45876],{},[52,45877,45878],{},"Everybody at our company is logging into their own tools & measuring their own insular analytics!",[14,45880,45881],{},"The social media director who looks at Radian6 will never dig in to WebTrends data because his job isn't to monitor site analytics; conversely, your site analytics person isn't keeping up with social media chatter surrounding your brand.",[14,45883,45884],{},"Each should care about the analytics of both avenues, because all the chatter they're working to promote is directed toward one central goal: REVENUE.",[24,45886,45888],{"id":45887},"benefits-of-integrated-analytics","Benefits of Integrated Analytics",[14,45890,45891],{},"Marketing revenue is often generated from 3 main activities:",[132,45893,45894,45897,45900],{},[49,45895,45896],{},"Paid Media",[49,45898,45899],{},"Owned Media",[49,45901,45902],{},"Earned Media",[14,45904,45905],{},"In our experience, marketing works harder for brands when the activities integrate & learn from other instead of functioning separately - a strategy that can only be measured with integrated analytics.",[14,45907,45908],{},"By placing an 'umbrella' over the top of your measurement tools and pulling those sources into an integrated view, you experience:",[46,45910,45911,45914,45917],{},[49,45912,45913],{},"Cost Savings: Instead of wasting financial resources by paying humans to integrate data in an analog fashion, invest in a tool that aggregates multiple data sources together for your team",[49,45915,45916],{},"Increased Efficiency: Stop wasting resources on aggregating disparate data sources and focus on what  action steps  could be performed to improve marketing performance",[49,45918,45919],{},"\"Single Window\" View: Empower your employees, from the C-suite down, to view marketing performance in one easy-to-consume location",[24,45921,45923],{"id":45922},"getting-started","Getting Started",[14,45925,45926],{},"We've introduced you to the concept of integrated marketing analytics, reviewed the current state of measurement & outlined the benefits received from investing in an integrated marketing analytics strategy.",[14,45928,45929],{},"So how do you get started?",[14,45931,45932],{},"Each brand is unique, but there are a few things to consider when investing in a solution like this:",[46,45934,45935,45938,45946],{},[49,45936,45937],{},"In-House or Outsource: Do you have the resources to build dashboards and, more importantly, analyze data & perform quality control checks on a regular basis?",[49,45939,45940,45941,45945],{},"Tools: What tools do you need to integrate? Also, what tool will you use to integrate them (homegrown option vs a pre-built framework, like ",[206,45942,45246],{"href":45943,"rel":45944},"https:\u002F\u002Fgooddata.com",[210],")?",[49,45947,45948],{},"Success: How will your integrated marketing analytics journey be measured as a whole? Will you measure the ROI of the investment? Improved marketing results?",[24,45950,45952],{"id":45951},"next-stop-integrated-analytics-ville","Next Stop: Integrated Analytics-ville!",[14,45954,45955],{},"In our next post, we'll discuss how to measure the return on investment of implementing an integrating marketing analytics plan within your organization.",[14,45957,45958],{},"In the meantime, we'll leave you with one of our favorite quotes from Nielsen Research Group founder Arthur Nielsen:",[24025,45960,45961],{},[14,45962,45963],{},"The price of light is less than the cost of darkness.",[46,45965,45966],{},[49,45967,45968],{},"Arthur Nielsen",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":45970},[45971,45972,45973,45974,45975],{"id":45832,"depth":291,"text":45833},{"id":45847,"depth":291,"text":45848},{"id":45887,"depth":291,"text":45888},{"id":45922,"depth":291,"text":45923},{"id":45951,"depth":291,"text":45952},"2013-04-02","An Introduction to the Benefits of Integrated Marketing Analytics, including an Analysis of the Current State of Marketing Analytics.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fwhat-youre-missing-without-integrated-marketing-analytics",{"title":45826,"description":45977},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fwhat-youre-missing-without-integrated-marketing-analytics","mdEZQaVpXFl4xuSZvyx97pVlFPLEoxVviihC9BAF60Y",{"id":45984,"title":45985,"author":7,"authors":45986,"body":45987,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":46089,"description":46090,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":46091,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":46092,"seo":46093,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":46094,"updated":7,"__hash__":46095},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fvalentines-day-remarketing-campaign.md","What Valentine’s Day Can Tell Us About Running a Remarketing Campaign",[9],{"type":11,"value":45988,"toc":46082},[45989,45992,45995,45999,46007,46010,46013,46017,46025,46028,46035,46039,46042,46045,46048,46051,46055,46058,46060,46063,46066,46070,46073,46076,46079],[14,45990,45991],{},"I'm of the opinion that loved ones should receive flowers on Valentine's Day. It's just in my DNA.\nThat being said, like other online shoppers, I did some research to see which flower delivering service was worthy of my business this year. In the back of my mind, I was going to go with the website that not only had the lower price... but also decided to remarket me in an attempt to come back to their site to place an order.",[14,45993,45994],{},"SPOILER (highlight for the short & sweet answer): I had to use both sites I did research on: 1-800 Flowers and ProFlowers.",[24,45996,45998],{"id":45997},"what-is-remarketing","What is Remarketing?",[14,46000,46001,46006],{},[206,46002,46005],{"href":46003,"rel":46004},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fads\u002Finnovations\u002Fremarketing.html",[210],"According to Google",", remarketing lets you show banner ads to users who've previously visited your website as they browse the Web.",[14,46008,46009],{},"Remarketing is something more and more companies are starting to include in their marketing portfolio. It's with good reason too, as remarketing gives brands the ability to customize an ad that is shown to a user based on browsing history on their website.",[14,46011,46012],{},"You can do some really creative stuff with remarketing, such as advertising a follow-up webinar to people who signed up and watched on one your site (my favorite example: show an upcoming 201 webinar to people who watched a 101 webinar) and even showing an ad with an extra discount for those who fell out of the purchasing conversion funnel.",[24,46014,46016],{"id":46015},"what-makes-valentines-day-the-perfect-case-study","What Makes Valentine's Day The Perfect Case Study",[14,46018,46019,46020,212],{},"Valentine's Day is like \"Black Friday\" for Florists. For fresh flower purchases, ",[206,46021,46024],{"href":46022,"rel":46023},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aboutflowers.com\u002Fflower-holidays-occasions-a-parties\u002Fflowers-for-valentines\u002Fvalentines-day-statistics.html",[210],"Valentine's Day ranks No. 1 out of all major U.S. holidays with 36% of holiday transactions and 40% of holiday dollar volume",[14,46026,46027],{},"With percentages that large, you bet online florist services will try to not only capture your business for V-Day... but for other holidays and special occasions.",[14,46029,46030,46031,46034],{},"Who knows? If I'm happy with my online floral delivery experience, I may just develop into a ",[206,46032,46033],{"href":42741},"loyal customer",". And as I covered in my previous blog post, these type of customers are $$$ for businesses.",[24,46036,46038],{"id":46037},"first-company-proflowers","First Company - ProFlowers",[14,46040,46041],{},"I had heard the name but never ordered anything from this website. After poking around, looking at their selection, and jotting down prices, I left.",[14,46043,46044],{},"Immediately after closing the tab, I saw an ad on another website:",[14,46046,46047],{},"\"Deal Of The Day\"? Reduced prices? And two items I had my eye on were in the ad?",[14,46049,46050],{},"ProFlowers went with the angle of trying to get me back to their site by advertising reduced prices. It worked, as I kept on seeing their ad as it followed me around the Internet and eventually ordered tulips with chocolates for both my Mom and Mother-in-law.",[24,46052,46054],{"id":46053},"second-company-1-800-flowers","Second Company - 1-800 Flowers",[14,46056,46057],{},"This was a website I was already familiar with, as I had used their service in the past. I feel like 1-800 Flowers has been around forever; surely they wouldn't need to use remarketing, right?",[14,46059,35675],{},[14,46061,46062],{},"After doing some research, I closed out of their window and started seeing ads like this:",[14,46064,46065],{},"Here they're doing almost a little bit of scare-tactic marketing. \"Quantities are limited - hurry up and order!\" That didn't really hook me (you're one of the biggest online florist service websites out there; are you really going to run out of flowers?) but I did like the \"Save 15%\" message. After clicking it and confirming the savings were for anything, I ordered roses for my wife.",[24,46067,46069],{"id":46068},"congratulations-you-both-won-my-business","Congratulations - you both won my business",[14,46071,46072],{},"Fortunately for those two websites, I was ordering multiple flower deliveries. This probably isn't the usual buying experience, as I would think most people using an online floral delivery service only have one order to make.",[14,46074,46075],{},"Both websites used remarketing to try to get me back to their website by offering discounts. I thought the ProFlowers remarketing ad has a better hook, as they directly showed two items I had looked at in their ad copy. They also mentioned how it was a daily deal... so I had to order that day or potentially lose on some significant savings.",[14,46077,46078],{},"What floral delivery service will I go with next year? Well, maybe I'll try to see which company is doing mobile click-to-call marketing and go with that one. We'll see!",[14,46080,46081],{},"Did you order flowers online for Valentine's Day? Did you notice any remarketing ads \"following you\" around the Internet? Let us know!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":46083},[46084,46085,46086,46087,46088],{"id":45997,"depth":291,"text":45998},{"id":46015,"depth":291,"text":46016},{"id":46037,"depth":291,"text":46038},{"id":46053,"depth":291,"text":46054},{"id":46068,"depth":291,"text":46069},"2013-02-12","How B2B Marketers can use Remarketing to build a stronger relationship with potential customers.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fvalentines-day-remarketing-campaign",{"title":45985,"description":46090},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fvalentines-day-remarketing-campaign","SSxNsVVrSFuFE76lLHos_LAgmmYmn595zeyVHtJ2W_Y",{"id":46097,"title":46098,"author":7,"authors":46099,"body":46100,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":46240,"description":46241,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":46242,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":46243,"seo":46244,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":46245,"updated":7,"__hash__":46246},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002F2012-b2b-marketing-trends-in-review.md","2012 B2B Marketing Trends in Review",[9],{"type":11,"value":46101,"toc":46235},[46102,46105,46108,46134,46137,46142,46145,46149,46152,46155,46161,46164,46168,46171,46174,46177,46183,46188,46191,46195,46203,46206,46209,46214,46223,46230],[14,46103,46104],{},"As we move farther into 2013, analyst data continues to roll in detailing 2012 digital marketing trends, case studies & discoveries.",[14,46106,46107],{},"Here at MKG Marketing, we've had the opportunity to carve out quite a niche as a B2B marketing agency over the past 17 months, working with clients such as:",[46,46109,46110,46117,46124,46129],{},[49,46111,46112],{},[206,46113,46116],{"href":46114,"rel":46115},"https:\u002F\u002Fmicrosoft.com",[210],"Microsoft",[49,46118,46119],{},[206,46120,46123],{"href":46121,"rel":46122},"https:\u002F\u002Fvmware.com",[210],"VMware",[49,46125,46126],{},[206,46127,45736],{"href":45734,"rel":46128},[210],[49,46130,46131],{},[206,46132,45776],{"href":45774,"rel":46133},[210],[14,46135,46136],{},"As a B2B marketing agency, we constantly have current & prospective clients ask us the following:",[24025,46138,46139],{},[14,46140,46141],{},"What's next for B2B marketing? What trends are you seeing that we can take advantage of?",[14,46143,46144],{},"With that in mind, we wanted to walk through some of the trends we saw in 2012 and share some of the advice we've been giving our current clients here in 2013:",[24,46146,46148],{"id":46147},"trend-1-social-media-accounts-for-only-2-of-b2b-traffic","Trend #1: Social Media Accounts for Only 2% of B2B Traffic",[14,46150,46151],{},"Our good friends at Optify produced a 2012 B2B marketing report that found social media channels accounted for only 2% of total traffic for B2B brands in 2012.",[14,46153,46154],{},"As you can see, the leading traffic sources were direct referrals & organic, at 40% & 41%, respectively.",[14,46156,46157,46160],{},[52,46158,46159],{},"WHAT THIS MEANS:","  Focus on making your site  FINDABLE.",[14,46162,46163],{},"That's right: content & organic search marketing are going to deliver ~81% of all site traffic, so B2B marketers need to focus on providing value back to their audience as well as ensuring that their site is positioned to bring in quality organic search leads.",[24,46165,46167],{"id":46166},"trend-2-twitter-rules-the-b2b-social-media-marketing-universe","Trend #2: Twitter Rules the B2B Social Media Marketing Universe",[14,46169,46170],{},"To proactively answer a common question from the first trend mentioned above: NO, do not give up on social media!",[14,46172,46173],{},"If you are a B2B marketer \u002F B2B marketing agency, you simply need to focus on the channels that are providing the most qualified visitors.",[14,46175,46176],{},"So, which social media channels are providing the best quality traffic?",[14,46178,46179,46180],{},"As you can see above, ",[52,46181,46182],{},"Twitter only drives 32% of site visitors, but provides B2B marketers with 82% of all social media leads!",[14,46184,46185,46187],{},[52,46186,46159],{},"  It's time to begin testing Twitter as a legitimate lead generation channel.",[14,46189,46190],{},"At MKG Marketing, we always analyze performance as a percentage: This exercise, among many, allows us to understand which traffic sources are generating quality leads and scale the marketing investment accordingly.",[24,46192,46194],{"id":46193},"trend-3-b2b-marketers-need-to-invest-in-their-website","Trend #3: B2B Marketers Need to Invest in Their Website",[14,46196,32906,46197,46202],{},[206,46198,46201],{"href":46199,"rel":46200},"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.hubspot.com\u002Fblog\u002Ftabid\u002F6307\u002Fbid\u002F31097\u002F12-Critical-Elements-Every-Homepage-Must-Have-Infographic.aspx",[210],"HubSpot, approximately 96% of landing page visitors"," are  not  ready to make a purchase when they visit your website.",[14,46204,46205],{},"With that stat top of mind, guess what B2B marketers are investing most heavily in during 2013?",[14,46207,46208],{},"That's right: 7-out-of-10 B2B marketers will be investing in website development with their 2013 budgets.",[14,46210,46211,46213],{},[52,46212,46159],{},"  A conversion friendly website is a B2B marketer's best friend.",[14,46215,46216,46217,46222],{},"As a marketer, you have ",[206,46218,46221],{"href":46219,"rel":46220},"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.kissmetrics.com\u002Fwhat-converting-websites-do\u002F",[210],"between 0 - 8 seconds to make a great first impression on your visitors before they leave the site",". B2B marketers need to have a sharp team of individuals to help design & implement landing page best practices & testing.",[14,46224,46225,46226,212],{},"If you don't have the personnel in place to support the design & implementation of this kind of strategy, ",[206,46227,46229],{"href":28271,"rel":46228},[210],"drop us a line on Twitter and we'd be happy to discuss",[14,46231,46232],{},[52,46233,46234],{},"What, if anything, do you think we missed in this recap?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":46236},[46237,46238,46239],{"id":46147,"depth":291,"text":46148},{"id":46166,"depth":291,"text":46167},{"id":46193,"depth":291,"text":46194},"2013-02-08","A review of three key B2B marketing trends uncovered during the 2012 calendar year: referral sources, the role of social media & the value of a good website.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002F2012-b2b-marketing-trends-in-review",{"title":46098,"description":46241},"blog\u002Findustry\u002F2012-b2b-marketing-trends-in-review","ic0aEpr2pyXALzRNOFZ6lfst8kkAEXfouG9KgXx9Fic",{"id":46248,"title":46249,"author":7,"authors":46250,"body":46251,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":46624,"description":46625,"extension":318,"img":46626,"imgAlt":7,"meta":46627,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":46628,"seo":46629,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":46630,"updated":7,"__hash__":46631},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Ffour-characteristics-of-a-loyal-customer.md","Characteristics of a Loyal B2B Customer",[9],{"type":11,"value":46252,"toc":46609},[46253,46258,46261,46264,46267,46271,46279,46283,46288,46291,46294,46299,46302,46306,46309,46312,46315,46319,46322,46330,46334,46337,46340,46345,46362,46365,46368,46372,46377,46385,46388,46393,46401,46409,46412,46417,46423,46429,46432,46436,46439,46442,46446,46449,46455,46461,46468,46471,46474,46477,46481,46484,46488,46497,46500,46503,46511,46515,46524,46527,46535,46539,46547,46561,46564,46568,46577,46584,46587,46590,46593,46596,46603,46606],[14,46254,46255],{},[38,46256,46257],{},"Update:",[14,46259,46260],{},"I wrote a post 8 years ago, about what makes a loyal customer, as we were (and are) in the business of delivering loyal customers to complex b2b brands. You can read the original post below.",[14,46262,46263],{},"Given, we ourselves have been in business for 10 years now, I thought it time to update this post to what we found makes B2B loyal customers. The original post works really well for consumer brands, but not necessarily B2B.",[14,46265,46266],{},"B2B characteristics of a loyal customer are similar, but how you keep them loyal are different.",[24,46268,46270],{"id":46269},"what-are-the-characteristics-of-a-loyal-b2b-customer","What are the Characteristics of a Loyal B2B Customer",[46,46272,46273,46276],{},[49,46274,46275],{},"They stick with you for years, even when times get tough",[49,46277,46278],{},"They refer you to colleagues and other companies",[24,46280,46282],{"id":46281},"characteristics-of-loyal-b2b-customer","Characteristics of Loyal B2B Customer",[14,46284,46285],{},[52,46286,46287],{},"Repeat Purchaser",[14,46289,46290],{},"At MKG, we've had some brands renew their contracts with us for 6+ years. We've wavered through turn over on both sides, dips in performance, and a pandemic.",[14,46292,46293],{},"We've also had our direct clients leave then bring us to their next job. The average span of a marketer at an organization is two years. We've worked with some individuals off and on for eight years. They leave their company, go to a new one, and bring us along.",[14,46295,46296],{},[52,46297,46298],{},"Referral",[14,46300,46301],{},"The other way you can see if you have loyal customers, is they tell people about you and new clients show up as a result. This is easier to measure and perpetuate in consumer brands. \"Invite 5 friends and your next box is free!\" B2B is more difficult. Reputations are on the line. If someone refers you and it doesn't go well, the person referred will go back to the original source and tell them all about it, making your client or direct contact feel bad. To be referred there has be to be a deep level of trust and clear outcomes.",[24,46303,46305],{"id":46304},"how-to-develop-and-retain-loyal-b2b-customers","How to Develop and Retain Loyal B2B Customers",[14,46307,46308],{},"Transparency: As part of our mission and core values, transparency is the core of who we are internally and externally. It's also why we had team members stay for 5 - 8 years. We don't shy away from tough conversations. We take time to understand what is going on, come up with a plan, then pull back the curtain. Not going to hit our KPIs? Why? What can we do to get as close as possible? Due to outside challenges beyond our or the client's control, like a Pandemic, do we need to reset expectations? Can we? Let's talk about it.",[14,46310,46311],{},"Accountability: We are very up front about our value of People First. As our client and as a member of our organization you are a person before you are a client or employee. In doing so, clear boundaries are set to instill that from day one. We have set hours. We do not send emails after work hours, nor pick up the phone, nor respond to text messages. Why? Because we work to LIVE. This allows us to set clear expectations. We use the SCRUM framework and sprint weekly so the clients know exactly what is promised each week. If they need something urgently, then we talk about what we can move around to accommodate it.",[14,46313,46314],{},"As a remote agency for the last 10 years, we've found that open communication is beyond key. We have bi-weekly check-ins with our clients where we don't just run through an agenda. We have an open dialog about where we are and where we're going. This is just one system that perpetuates transparency and accountability here at MKG Marketing, but in terms of building loyal customers it's one of the most important in terms of keeping that line of communication open on a regular basis.",[24,46316,46318],{"id":46317},"finding-loyal-customers","Finding Loyal Customers",[14,46320,46321],{},"The B2B customer has evolved. As I said earlier. The buyer's journey is not linear in B2B. The B2B Buyer needs two things:",[132,46323,46324,46327],{},[49,46325,46326],{},"To do their own research",[49,46328,46329],{},"Have a relationship with the brand",[81,46331,46333],{"id":46332},"researchers","Researchers",[14,46335,46336],{},"The funnel, while still important, is not linear. The buyer's journey is no longer, \"see it, like it, buy it,\" (unless it's me, in Fat Face, trying on all the clothes). Buyers want to be in charge of their own destiny. Not out of need or emotion, but because they are in the driver's seat, in control of making the decision. They no longer want to talk to sales people until they are ready to pull the trigger.",[14,46338,46339],{},"Which means as marketers, we need to provide all the content that buyers can research. We need to think through all the questions buyers would have and develop enough content they feel they can make an informed decision all on their own. Or, at least, mostly on their own.",[14,46341,46342],{},[52,46343,46344],{},"Branding",[14,46346,46347,46348,2504,46352,46356,46357,46361],{},"Identify your brand message. ",[206,46349,46351],{"href":46350},"\u002Fpodcasts\u002Fmarketing-leaders\u002Fgwen-lafage-convertible-branding\u002F","Gwen Lafage",[206,46353,46355],{"href":46354},"\u002Fpodcasts\u002Fmarketing-leaders\u002Fescaping-the-labyrinth\u002F","Tamsen Webber"," both talked to me about branding. First the importance of why you need to find your brand message, then how to find your red thread to get there. ",[206,46358,46360],{"href":46359},"\u002Fpodcasts\u002Fmarketing-leaders\u002Fneil-gordon-find-your-silver-bullet\u002F","Niel Gordon"," has a similar method to Tamsen, called finding your silver bullet. Whatever your method, make sure you have a clear brand message of what your company does, for who, and the value it brings based on the challenges your customer faces.",[14,46363,46364],{},"For instance, ours is:",[14,46366,46367],{},"What: A digital marketing agency\nWho: Complex B2B Brands\nHow: transparency\nand\nmeasuring outcomes end to end",[24025,46369,46370],{},[14,46371,24029],{},[14,46373,46374],{},[52,46375,46376],{},"Content Ideas",[14,46378,46379,46380,46384],{},"In terms of uncovering client's needs and questions they have, some of our podcast guests recommend finding your ",[206,46381,46383],{"href":46382},"\u002Fpodcasts\u002Fmarketing-leaders\u002Ffind-your-blue-ocean\u002F","blue wave"," by sitting in on client or sales calls or talking to your customer service teams. We send out a 45 day survey to make sure our client's initial interaction with us is more than what they were expecting.",[14,46386,46387],{},"You MUST talk to existing clients in some capacity to understand why they picked you and why they are still with you.",[14,46389,46390],{},[52,46391,46392],{},"Building Content",[14,46394,46395,46396,46400],{},"There are so many ways to build content now. While blogging is the standard, we have recommended client's build hubs around keywords they want to own. For ExtraHop they built a ",[206,46397,46399],{"href":46398},"\u002Fcase-studies\u002Fextrahop-seo-library\u002F","Library",". It's exactly that. Protocols they support and what each one means. While the traffic or sessions are awareness based, they're able to find new users that have never heard of them before, then message across LinkedIn, Facebook, and Display with value based messaging. Really helps build the remarketing pool.",[14,46402,46403,46404,46408],{},"Another way is to brainstorm how to take one piece of content and turn it into many, like ",[206,46405,46407],{"href":46406},"\u002Fpodcasts\u002Fmarketing-leaders\u002Fbreak-barrier-storytelling-content\u002F","Melanie Deziel"," talks about in her book The Content Fuel Engine. First start off with the medium you're most comfortable with, then see how else you can translate it to get in front of more people. Whether video, social, email, etc.",[14,46410,46411],{},"However, just because you build the content, doesn't mean they will come.",[14,46413,46414],{},[52,46415,46416],{},"Surround Your Audience",[14,46418,46419,46420,46422],{},"You need to ensure they can find your content via Google or Bing (yes, people still use Bing). ",[206,46421,746],{"href":21094}," is your best long game friend. It takes time to get the engine up and running, but if you're building content consistently, then make sure your SEO foundational elements are in place from keyword strategy, to thoughtful Title Tags, to click-able Meta Descriptions, permalink structure, and more.",[14,46424,46425,46426,46428],{},"Then, surround your audience across all different kinds of media from blogging to social to video to audio. ",[206,46427,24130],{"href":21929}," is like a faucet. You can certainly do this grass roots style. It takes time though and you may end up where you depend primarily on referrals and repeat customers. Incorporating Digital Advertising allows you to surround your audience at a greater scale.",[14,46430,46431],{},"Building loyal customers starts at the onset with the right content to build trust and engagement. It might feel like you're giving away your secret sauce and it should. By showcasing your expertise you're building trust. Yes, this takes time. Like I said, it's no longer a linear funnel. Buyers want to be seen, heard, and understood. Content can demonstrate that. Put your customer in the driver's seat. Let go of the wheel. The right content will put your customers on the road to your front door, you just need to let them navigate there on their own.",[81,46433,46435],{"id":46434},"relationship","Relationship",[14,46437,46438],{},"Just because they're now a paying customer doesn't mean the work stops there and you can sit back and coast. Customer service is more important now than ever. There is so much more competition out there. People can jump ship to other tools or services in the drop of a hat. Seeing, hearing, and understanding your customers must continue once they buy.",[14,46440,46441],{},"As I mentioned above. To build a relationship with your customers you need transparency and accountability. It should be built into your organization through your mission, values, process, and systems. If these two elements are systemic then the customer will keep coming back and telling others.",[24,46443,46445],{"id":46444},"get-started","Get Started",[14,46447,46448],{},"Interested in experiencing our transparent and accountable relationship for yourself? See what working with MKG Marketing looks like for the first year.",[14,46450,25789,46451,212],{},[206,46452,46454],{"href":46453},"\u002Fabout\u002Fapproach\u002F","our approach",[24,46456,46458],{"id":46457},"original-article-copy",[38,46459,46460],{},"Original Article Copy:",[14,46462,46463,46464,46467],{},"As you may have read, we're ",[52,46465,46466],{},"in the business"," of delivering loyal customers to our clients.",[14,46469,46470],{},"But what exactly is a loyal customer?",[14,46472,46473],{},"A loyal customer is the result of having a consistent emotional attachment, physical attribute-based satisfaction and perceived value of an experience, which includes the product or services. Consider who you yourself are loyal to and why.",[14,46475,46476],{},"The following are characteristics that help us identify customers who are (or could be) faithful to a service, product or brand:",[81,46478,46480],{"id":46479},"repeat-purchaser","Repeat purchaser",[14,46482,46483],{},"They keep coming back. And why do they keep coming back?",[5685,46485,46487],{"id":46486},"exceptional-customer-experience","Exceptional Customer Experience",[14,46489,46490,46491,46496],{},"Research company Access Development reported that ",[206,46492,46495],{"href":46493,"rel":46494},"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.accessdevelopment.com\u002Fcustomer-loyalty-statistics-2016-edition",[210],"79% of customers"," would take their business to a competitor within a week of experiencing poor customer service, while the estimated cost of customers switching their choice of businesses due to poor service is $1.6 trillion.",[14,46498,46499],{},"Now with social media and the internet, customer reviews are currency and customers know it. If they file a complaint and it doesn't get dealt with immediately you can expect they'll take it to Twitter, Yelp, or Google and make that complaint public.",[14,46501,46502],{},"Make sure you have a good customer experience in place. An easy way for people to contact you and an even easier way for your team to effectively respond immediately.",[14,46504,46505,46510],{},[206,46506,46509],{"href":46507,"rel":46508},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.capgemini.com\u002Fnews\u002F8-in-10-consumers-willing-to-pay-more-for-a-better-customer-experience-as-big-business-falls\u002F",[210],"Eight out of ten customers"," are willing to pay more for a better customer experience.",[5685,46512,46514],{"id":46513},"loyalty-programs","Loyalty Programs",[14,46516,46517,46518,46523],{},"Loyalty programs are proven to increase ",[206,46519,46522],{"href":46520,"rel":46521},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.forbes.com\u002Fsites\u002Fnicoleleinbachreyhle\u002F2016\u002F04\u002F20\u002Fcustomer-loyalty-in-todays-modern-retail-world\u002F#2e79744513c8",[210],"customer lifetime value by up to 30%","or more by increasing visit frequency, increasing spend per visit, and winning back lost customers.",[14,46525,46526],{},"Starbucks, Sephora, Gap are all examples of brands that offer REAL loyalty programs for rewarding you for each purchase, causing a loop of then buying more from them because of the points you received.",[14,46528,46529,46534],{},[206,46530,46533],{"href":46531,"rel":46532},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gap.com\u002Fbrowse\u002Finfo.do?cid=99996",[210],"GapCash"," is a great example of this. I recently dropped over $150 worth in Gap. They rewarded me $50 GapCash to be used in a specific time frame. I then went online and bought $200 worth of clothes in that time frame and once again spent $150. That's $150 I may not have spent otherwise or could have spent somewhere else. And because I spent $150 and online I got another $60. And now I'm stuck in a loop and because it's time stamped for weeks away from the original purchase I'm more likely to buy more than that $60 because it's all new inventory.",[81,46536,46538],{"id":46537},"advocates-for-your-brand","Advocates for your brand",[14,46540,46541,46542,46546],{},"When a consumer believes in a brand, they tell the world, especially women, and especially mom's. ",[206,46543,46545],{"href":46493,"rel":46544},[210],"74% of women"," said they would refer a friend to a loyalty program that they participate in compared to 67% of men. Women are more social and more willing to share their experiences with friends and family.",[14,46548,46549,46554,46555,46560],{},[206,46550,46553],{"href":46551,"rel":46552},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theskimm.com",[210],"TheSkimm"," is a newsletter that sums up the world news daily and is geared towards women. At the end of each newsletter it has a count of how many people you personally have referred. Once you reach 10 you become a ",[206,46556,46559],{"href":46557,"rel":46558},"https:\u002F\u002Ftheskimm.com\u002Fabout\u002F5er7Uanv5uK6eQYMiOsmaU\u002Fskimmbassadors",[210],"Skimm'Bassador",". The funny thing is, as an ambassador all you get is Skimm swag so that you can wear the brand and just promote it further. The real success of this isn't the swag, it's that chart at the bottom of the newsletter that shows how many people you've influenced. That's the driver.",[14,46562,46563],{},"![]('\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002FScreen Shot 2018-07-13 at 15.53.46.png')",[81,46565,46567],{"id":46566},"the-payoff","The Payoff",[14,46569,46570,46571,46576],{},"I recently went through the ",[206,46572,46575],{"href":46573,"rel":46574},"https:\u002F\u002Facademy.hubspot.com\u002F",[210],"HubSpot inbound marketing course materials"," and they say a brand HAS to be three things; human, holistic, and helpful.",[14,46578,46579,46580,46583],{},"It really comes down to what your company values are. As an example, here are ",[206,46581,46582],{"href":23656},"our company values",". Each value is about the human element whether it's taking care of our people and their families, recognizing that in order to grow and learn you need to fail, or reminding ourselves that no man is an island and we all need to work together.",[14,46585,46586],{},"The holistic piece is pulling those values through the whole company, marketing, and client relationships. Recognizing our clients are human too who have families and have failures we all learn from.",[14,46588,46589],{},"And everything we do as a company has to come back to: Are we helping our clients look their best.",[14,46591,46592],{},"To create repeat advocates you need great customer service and a loyalty program that is human, holistic, and helpful.",[14,46594,46595],{},"We can help fill your pipeline all day long with our PPC and SEO services and your existing sales cycle might have a killer close rate. By making sure you have great customer service and a killer loyalty program those initial buyers we drive for you, could have more bang for their buck then you even know but turning them into repeat customers who tell their friends, family, and colleagues.",[14,46597,46598,46599,212],{},"Do you already have great customer service and loyalty programs and you're ready to fill that engine with the right leads? ",[206,46600,46602],{"href":21299,"rel":46601},[210],"Request a discovery call with us",[14,46604,46605],{},"Hope to hear from you soon,",[14,46607,46608],{},"Kerry G",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":46610},[46611,46612,46613,46614,46618,46619],{"id":46269,"depth":291,"text":46270},{"id":46281,"depth":291,"text":46282},{"id":46304,"depth":291,"text":46305},{"id":46317,"depth":291,"text":46318,"children":46615},[46616,46617],{"id":46332,"depth":297,"text":46333},{"id":46434,"depth":297,"text":46435},{"id":46444,"depth":291,"text":46445},{"id":46457,"depth":291,"text":46460,"children":46620},[46621,46622,46623],{"id":46479,"depth":297,"text":46480},{"id":46537,"depth":297,"text":46538},{"id":46566,"depth":297,"text":46567},"2013-02-07","Discover the characteristics that define loyal B2B customers as well as, in our experience, how to find and keep those customers coming back for more.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fcharacteristics-loyal-customer.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Ffour-characteristics-of-a-loyal-customer",{"title":46249,"description":46625},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Ffour-characteristics-of-a-loyal-customer","I1uZO70nYxMZKsJMIk7y-W9rDJms7gsep8wFvIaAZB0",{"id":46633,"title":46634,"author":7,"authors":46635,"body":46636,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":46689,"description":46690,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":46691,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":46692,"seo":46693,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":46694,"updated":7,"__hash__":46695},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fsearch-engine-marketing-findings-from-vmware.md","Search Engine Marketing Findings from VMware",[9],{"type":11,"value":46637,"toc":46684},[46638,46641,46644,46647,46650,46654,46661,46664,46668,46671,46674,46678,46681],[14,46639,46640],{},"Throughout our relationship with their SMB marketing business unit at VMware, where we worked with their Go Pro & vCenter Protect Advanced product lines, we posted some tremendous wins from the search engine marketing (SEM) work we produced.",[14,46642,46643],{},"These wins ran through a gamut of landing page & multivariate testing executions as well as ad copy and keyword bidding strategies that not only helped produce better results for the VMware client but also helped refine our processes for future paid search marketing engagements.",[14,46645,46646],{},"We're fortunate here at MKG Marketing -- being a small Internet marketing agency makes us nimble . We can take past learnings and apply them to present and future engagements, which not only helps future clients but also how we as a search engine marketing agency actively approach and manage work as well.",[14,46648,46649],{},"Here are some learnings that we've taken  away from our working relationship with VMware:",[24,46651,46653],{"id":46652},"_1-work-like-every-day-will-be-your-last-for-the-client","1. Work like every day will be your last for the client",[14,46655,46656,46657,46660],{},"No, this doesn't mean that every work day you need to send out a \"farewell\" note! It means that first impressions ",[52,46658,46659],{},"AND"," last impressions truly count.",[14,46662,46663],{},"Just like in a marriage, you should never go to bed angry... in this case, you should never end your day on a poor note with a client. Strive to keep them happy and work like it's your last day with them.",[24,46665,46667],{"id":46666},"_2-that-competitor-research-you-did-it-will-help-you-in-the-future","2. That competitor research you did? It will help you in the future",[14,46669,46670],{},"Don't drag those competitive research docs into the trash bin!",[14,46672,46673],{},"Any and all competitive research that you did will help you in the future, whether a prospective client is in the same industry as said research or not. You can take whatever discovery you found and often apply it in future competitive research, whether it's specific keyword stemming findings that stood out to you, common keyword misspellings with high search volume and low competition, and more.",[24,46675,46677],{"id":46676},"_3-day-parting-analysis-may-surprise-you","3. Day parting analysis may surprise you",[14,46679,46680],{},"Before taking a deep-dive into the data and seeing which days of the week and hours of the day tended to produce the best performance, we were fairly certain conversions peaked during the middle of the day (10 am - 2 pm) and during the middle of the work week (Tuesday - Thursday). It seemed like a no-brainer, as both products were B2B solutions.",[14,46682,46683],{},"However, after doing some analysis, we found it was quite the contrary! After implementing these findings, we found that it helped boost performance across the board for their accounts.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":46685},[46686,46687,46688],{"id":46652,"depth":291,"text":46653},{"id":46666,"depth":291,"text":46667},{"id":46676,"depth":291,"text":46677},"2013-02-04","Read about what search engine marketing findings we took away with the Shavlik SMB marketing business unit we worked with and how we are applying those learnings to future clients.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fsearch-engine-marketing-findings-from-vmware",{"title":46634,"description":46690},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fsearch-engine-marketing-findings-from-vmware","UO4-JmNkJ0IHdxr96Dbr2M5VpnQxBBKlQRODTzxv3oY",{"id":46697,"title":42756,"author":7,"authors":46698,"body":46699,"caption":7,"category":315,"date":46837,"description":46838,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":46839,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":46840,"seo":46841,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":46842,"updated":7,"__hash__":46843},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fgoogle-authorship-a-how-to-guide.md",[9],{"type":11,"value":46700,"toc":46832},[46701,46710,46714,46717,46721,46724,46727,46731,46734,46737,46755,46758,46801,46804,46812,46817,46823,46829],[14,46702,46703,46704,46709],{},"It's important to stand-out on a search engine results page. Recent studies show that the top three organic results (that is, the results that show up below any paid search ads at the top of the page) receive the lion's share of clicks from users - 68% in fact (",[206,46705,46708],{"href":46706,"rel":46707},"https:\u002F\u002Fsearchenginewatch.com\u002Farticle\u002F2200730\u002FOrganic-vs.-Paid-Search-Results-Organic-Wins-94-of-Time",[210],"citation","). So if your result is below the top three results, you're already fighting an uphill battle to try to get users to click on your result.",[24,46711,46713],{"id":46712},"how-can-you-get-your-result-noticed-by-having-it-be-different-than-the-rest","How can you get your result noticed? By having it be different than the rest!",[14,46715,46716],{},"One of the easiest lowest hanging fruit action items you can do to get your result to stand out amongst the rest is participate in Google Authorship.\nWhat is Google Authorship?\nSee where the red arrow is pointing? This is Google Authorship in action. Notice how the blog \"Puck Daddy\" is the fourth result? According to the study linked to above, it's below the magical top three results. However, that site has Google Authorship enabled, which adds a headshot to the side of the result along with a snippet of G+ information such as how many circles the Author is in as well as a link to view more articles from the author.",[24,46718,46720],{"id":46719},"i-betcha-dollars-to-donuts-that-particular-result-is-clicked-on-more-than-8-of-the-time","I betcha dollars to donuts that particular result is clicked on more than 8% of the time.",[14,46722,46723],{},"This is what the study that was linked to above stated that the third-place result receives on average. Heck, it probably even beats out the reported 12% that the second-place result typically receives on average.",[14,46725,46726],{},"What's that you say? Only popular individuals can have their headshot appear in Google's organic search results?",[24,46728,46730],{"id":46729},"think-again","Think again!",[14,46732,46733],{},"The truth of the matter is that anyone can implement Google Authorship; it's simply a case of people not going through the steps to get it implemented. Several months ago, the steps presented by Google were a little muddy and lots of folks were having issues getting it implemented and having Google show Google Authorship properly for their site. Recently, Google has refined their steps but it's still a fairly confusing process.",[14,46735,46736],{},"Fortunately, we're put together a super-easy four step process on how you can get Google Authorship implemented for your website. Ready?",[132,46738,46739,46746,46749,46752],{},[49,46740,46741,46742],{},"Go here (when signed into your G+ account): ",[206,46743,46744],{"href":46744,"rel":46745},"https:\u002F\u002Fplus.google.com\u002Fauthorship",[210],[49,46747,46748],{},"Verify your email address. What Google is looking for is that you have an email address on the domain of which your content is on.",[49,46750,46751],{},"This then should automagically add \"yourdomain.com\" as one of your \"contributor to:\" list of websites in your G+ profile.",[49,46753,46754],{},"All of your \"owned content\" needs to have a link on the page to your G+ profile. You also need to ensure that the link has \"rel=author\" in it, as this is essentially telling Google, \"Hey! This is my content!\"",[14,46756,46757],{},"So the link I would use would be:",[24428,46759,46761],{"className":24430,"code":46760,"language":24432,"meta":77,"style":77},"\u003Ca\n  href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fplus.google.com\u002Fu\u002F0\u002F106102646493491560010?rel=author\"\n  rel=\"author\"\n  >Google+\u003C\u002Fa\n>\n",[24358,46762,46763,46770,46780,46790,46797],{"__ignoreMap":77},[24436,46764,46765,46767],{"class":24438,"line":321},[24436,46766,24442],{"class":24441},[24436,46768,46769],{"class":24445},"a\n",[24436,46771,46772,46775,46777],{"class":24438,"line":291},[24436,46773,46774],{"class":33843},"  href",[24436,46776,33848],{"class":24441},[24436,46778,46779],{"class":33851},"\"https:\u002F\u002Fplus.google.com\u002Fu\u002F0\u002F106102646493491560010?rel=author\"\n",[24436,46781,46782,46785,46787],{"class":24438,"line":297},[24436,46783,46784],{"class":33843},"  rel",[24436,46786,33848],{"class":24441},[24436,46788,46789],{"class":33851},"\"author\"\n",[24436,46791,46792,46795],{"class":24438,"line":12172},[24436,46793,46794],{"class":24441},"  >Google+\u003C\u002F",[24436,46796,46769],{"class":24445},[24436,46798,46799],{"class":24438,"line":24485},[24436,46800,24448],{"class":24441},[14,46802,46803],{},"(Obviously replace the link with your G+ profile URL)",[14,46805,46806,46807,46811],{},"That should be it! When implemented, you can check to see if everything has been implemented properly by using Google's rich snippets testing tool - ",[206,46808,46809],{"href":46809,"rel":46810},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fwebmasters\u002Ftools\u002Frichsnippets",[210],". Do know that sometimes it takes a day or two for Google to \"catch-up\" to all of the changes that are made.",[132,46813,46814],{"start":24485},[49,46815,46816],{},"PSYCHE! Remember? Only 4 steps!",[14,46818,46819,46820],{},"Tell us what you think. Is this process easy to follow? Did you implement Google Authorship for your own website? Did you see a noticeable bump in organic search results because of it? ",[52,46821,46822],{},"Let us know!",[14,46824,46825,46828],{},[38,46826,46827],{},"Edit"," And look! Right after this post went live:",[25078,46830,46831],{},"html pre.shiki code .sVt8B, html code.shiki .sVt8B{--shiki-default:#24292E;--shiki-dark:#E1E4E8}html pre.shiki code .s9eBZ, html code.shiki .s9eBZ{--shiki-default:#22863A;--shiki-dark:#85E89D}html pre.shiki code .sScJk, html code.shiki .sScJk{--shiki-default:#6F42C1;--shiki-dark:#B392F0}html pre.shiki code .sZZnC, html code.shiki .sZZnC{--shiki-default:#032F62;--shiki-dark:#9ECBFF}html .default .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-default);background: var(--shiki-default-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-default-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-default-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-default-text-decoration);}html .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-default);background: var(--shiki-default-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-default-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-default-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-default-text-decoration);}html .dark .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-dark);background: var(--shiki-dark-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-dark-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-dark-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-dark-text-decoration);}html.dark .shiki span {color: var(--shiki-dark);background: var(--shiki-dark-bg);font-style: var(--shiki-dark-font-style);font-weight: var(--shiki-dark-font-weight);text-decoration: var(--shiki-dark-text-decoration);}",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":46833},[46834,46835,46836],{"id":46712,"depth":291,"text":46713},{"id":46719,"depth":291,"text":46720},{"id":46729,"depth":291,"text":46730},"2013-01-22","How to Implement Google Authorship on Digital Content",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fseo\u002Fgoogle-authorship-a-how-to-guide",{"title":42756,"description":46838},"blog\u002Fseo\u002Fgoogle-authorship-a-how-to-guide","51Um-W41_sDRG8kxprUWoiWM8VpA9iA-3kbv1bMGBJk",{"id":46845,"title":46846,"author":7,"authors":46847,"body":46848,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":46905,"description":46852,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":46906,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":46907,"seo":46908,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":46909,"updated":7,"__hash__":46910},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fwelcoming-christian-bullock-to-the-mkg-team.md","Welcoming Christian Bullock to the MKG Team",[9],{"type":11,"value":46849,"toc":46897},[46850,46853,46857,46860,46863,46867,46870,46874,46877,46881,46884,46887,46891,46894],[14,46851,46852],{},"We're extremely happy to official announce:",[24,46854,46856],{"id":46855},"christian-bullock-has-joined-mkg-marketing-as-our-director-of-paid-search-marketing","Christian Bullock has joined MKG Marketing as our Director of Paid Search Marketing.",[14,46858,46859],{},"Christian joins us from Amplify Interactive, a search marketing agency based in Portland, Oregon, and brings more than seven years of paid search experience across a number of different clients & verticals with him.",[14,46861,46862],{},"Specific to our working relationship, Christian is going to lead the charge in establishing paid search best practices and driving measurable results for our clients who utilize our paid search marketing expertise.",[24,46864,46866],{"id":46865},"in-properly-welcoming-him-to-the-team-we-wanted-to-let-christian-tell-us-a-little-more-about-himself","In properly welcoming him to the team, we wanted to let Christian tell us a little more about himself.",[14,46868,46869],{},"So without further ado ...",[81,46871,46873],{"id":46872},"how-did-you-get-into-the-digital-marketing-industry","How did you get into the digital marketing industry?",[14,46875,46876],{},"It was pretty accidental, to be honest! After graduating from Washington State University (go Cougs!), I did what many tend to do: move back home with your parents. After about a week of watching The Price is Right and eating extremely sugary cereal for all three of my daily meals, I started looking for marketing jobs. I came across an ad that talked about \"search marketing\" and had never heard about it before (this is after majoring in Communications with an emphasis in Advertising). Read up a little about the fairly burgeoning industry at the time, thought it was something I could really prosper at, and the rest is history.",[81,46878,46880],{"id":46879},"why-do-you-like-working-in-the-digital-marketing-industry-and-paid-search-specifically","Why do you like working in the digital marketing industry (and paid search specifically)?",[14,46882,46883],{},"I feel like paid search strikes a great balance between art and science. The \"art\" aspect is learning about a client's industry, reading up on not only their solutions but who their competitors are and what their solutions entail, and figuring out the best way to cram a key benefit into a fairly restricted number of characters for a paid search ad. It's challenging but it's also pretty fun to learn about new industries.",[14,46885,46886],{},"The \"science\" aspect is all about testing. After you create different versions of ad copy: which one will outperform the others? After running an experiment and digging through the results,  why did one ad copy variation outperform the others? What's the next test? I definitely feel like I should be wearing a lab coat when I'm head-down in Excel worksheets and analyzing data.",[81,46888,46890],{"id":46889},"what-do-you-like-to-do-for-fun","What do you like to do for fun?",[14,46892,46893],{},"After watching ice hockey for years and loving the sport, I recently made the decision to start playing. One thing you should know: ice is slippery! Especially when you're wearing a shoe with a big, long blade on the bottom of it! This past summer my twin brother and I purchased hockey equipment, started taking skating lessons (because we needed to actually learn how to skate) and began playing for the Rangers, a C-level league team. We're currently in our league playoffs, but I'm happy to say that during my first \"regular season\" I had a goal, two assists and a handful of penalties. Pretty good!",[14,46895,46896],{},"I also like spending time with my family. Not that I'm biased, but I have the best daughter a Dad could ever ask for. My wife is a speech language pathologist and has gotten a kick out of analyzing her \"babble\" speech sounds and teaching her sign language.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":46898},[46899,46900],{"id":46855,"depth":291,"text":46856},{"id":46865,"depth":291,"text":46866,"children":46901},[46902,46903,46904],{"id":46872,"depth":297,"text":46873},{"id":46879,"depth":297,"text":46880},{"id":46889,"depth":297,"text":46890},"2013-01-07",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fwelcoming-christian-bullock-to-the-mkg-team",{"title":46846,"description":46852},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fwelcoming-christian-bullock-to-the-mkg-team","4Hy99voBGsO_J84kYX_Dva5wZoQPsunhElY0Fi3RW8s",{"id":46912,"title":46913,"author":7,"authors":46914,"body":46915,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":47074,"description":47075,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":47076,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":47077,"seo":47078,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":47079,"updated":7,"__hash__":47080},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fthree-things-to-consider-when-hiring-a-content-marketing-agency.md","Three Things to Consider When Hiring a Content Marketing Agency",[9],{"type":11,"value":46916,"toc":47069},[46917,46920,46923,46926,46929,46933,46936,46939,46953,46956,46959,46985,46989,46995,46998,47011,47014,47020,47023,47034,47037,47041,47044,47047,47061,47064],[14,46918,46919],{},"As brands look to create unique content to differentiate themselves from competitors and acquire new customers, an early question that often comes up is:",[14,46921,46922],{},"Should we do this ourselves or outsource this work to a content marketing agency?",[14,46924,46925],{},"When clients come asking us this question, we often tell them that they should outsource the work to an expert: Do it right and bring on a content marketing agency that specializes in producing valuable, sharable content as well as has experience pushing that content out to the world.",[14,46927,46928],{},"So, as you begin the process of finding the right content marketing agency, we recommend that you place an emphasis on the following three subjects.",[24,46930,46932],{"id":46931},"_1-analytics-metrics-tools","1. Analytics: Metrics & Tools",[14,46934,46935],{},"Ask prospective content marketing agency partners for a sample report of the success metrics they measured for other clients. Be sure to notice the difference between engagement metrics & revenue driving metrics.",[14,46937,46938],{},"For example:",[46,46940,46941,46947],{},[49,46942,46943,46946],{},[52,46944,46945],{},"Engagement Metrics:"," Examples of engagement metrics that content marketing agencies use are measuring keyword performance for bounce rate, time on site, pages per visit and number of returning visitors.",[49,46948,46949,46952],{},[52,46950,46951],{},"Revenue Driving Metrics:"," Examples of revenue driving metrics include increase in keyword performance for overall traffic, conversion rate through stages of your marketing funnel and an overall bump in actual revenue driven by specific keywords.",[14,46954,46955],{},"Now that you've gotten an initial view into the metrics that content marketing agency measures success against, another great question is: What tools allow you to measure these metrics?",[14,46957,46958],{},"In our experience, there are two different answers that commonly come up here:",[46,46960,46961,46967],{},[49,46962,46963,46966],{},[52,46964,46965],{},"Proprietary Analytics Tools:"," These tools were built in-house by the content marketing agency. They may pull bits and pieces from other providers, but essentially this is a custom-built tool-set that allows them to aggregate and analyze data.",[49,46968,46969,46972,46973,46978,46979,46984],{},[52,46970,46971],{},"Third Party Analytics Tools:"," Try out ",[206,46974,46977],{"href":46975,"rel":46976},"https:\u002F\u002Fradian6.com",[210],"Radian6",". Need a tool to measure organic keyword performance across the web? We love using ",[206,46980,46983],{"href":46981,"rel":46982},"https:\u002F\u002Fseomoz.com",[210],"SEOmoz",". Do vet the content marketing agencies' chops with these third party tools - make sure they know how to get value out of them!",[24,46986,46988],{"id":46987},"_2-content-creative-style-process","2. Content: Creative Style & Process ",[14,46990,46991,46992],{},"Another great question for clients to ask prospective content marketing agency partners is: ",[52,46993,46994],{},"What format do you create content in?",[14,46996,46997],{},"For example, content can take the form of:",[46,46999,47000,47003,47006,47008],{},[49,47001,47002],{},"Still photography (with or without annotations)",[49,47004,47005],{},"Infographics",[49,47007,31012],{},[49,47009,47010],{},"White papers",[14,47012,47013],{},"These are just a few examples that content marketing agencies will produce for you when showcasing past work.",[14,47015,47016,47017],{},"On the topic of content format, another great question to ask is: ",[52,47018,47019],{},"What is the process you take to come up with this content?",[14,47021,47022],{},"For example, we tend to hold an all-hands-on-deck briefing with the client and ask questions like:",[46,47024,47025,47028,47031],{},[49,47026,47027],{},"What data do you have that is interesting and can be publicly shared?",[49,47029,47030],{},"Where will this content live within your own company?",[49,47032,47033],{},"What actions do you see this content performing? Education, conversion, or maybe even both?",[14,47035,47036],{},"Following this briefing, we will work to put a content strategy together; this includes everything from frequency of content creation & publishing, themes of content and objectives that we hope to achieve through these efforts.",[24,47038,47040],{"id":47039},"_3-how-will-social-media-content-marketing-work-together","3. How Will Social Media & Content Marketing Work Together?",[14,47042,47043],{},"Before you can answer this question, you must be able to answer the following: Who will manage the social publication and marketing aspect of the content marketing strategy?",[14,47045,47046],{},"There are two obvious answers:",[46,47048,47049,47055],{},[49,47050,47051,47054],{},[52,47052,47053],{},"Social Media Handled In House:"," Many clients want to own the voice of their brand and, as such, will choose to bring the social publishing of this content strategy in house.",[49,47056,47057,47060],{},[52,47058,47059],{},"Outsource to a Content Marketing or Social Media Agency:"," In other instances, the client chooses to have their external content partner come in and handle these duties for them.",[14,47062,47063],{},"There is no right or wrong answer in this situation -- it simply depends on what the clients bandwidth is (in terms of expertise and employees) as well as preference (sometimes they want a specialist focusing on these efforts).",[14,47065,47066],{},[52,47067,47068],{},"So, Any Other Pressing Questions That We Missed When Hiring a Content Marketing Agency?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":47070},[47071,47072,47073],{"id":46931,"depth":291,"text":46932},{"id":46987,"depth":291,"text":46988},{"id":47039,"depth":291,"text":47040},"2012-12-13","Measuring Success Through Analytics, Content Style & The Relationship Between How Social Media and Content Marketing Work Together.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fthree-things-to-consider-when-hiring-a-content-marketing-agency",{"title":46913,"description":47075},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fthree-things-to-consider-when-hiring-a-content-marketing-agency","7pXvASemFUybdVH0iN-fY7sr7vqzDJ3ZWZqaqHCZnM0",{"id":47082,"title":47083,"author":7,"authors":47084,"body":47085,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":47142,"description":47143,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":47144,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":47145,"seo":47146,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":47147,"updated":7,"__hash__":47148},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fmkg-media-group-wins-an-omma-award-for-online-advertising-creativity.md","MKG Marketing Wins an OMMA Award for Online Advertising Creativity",[9],{"type":11,"value":47086,"toc":47137},[47087,47091,47111,47115,47120,47125,47129,47134],[24,47088,47090],{"id":47089},"big-news-coming-off-the-mkg-marketing-presses-we-won-our-first-award","Big news coming off the MKG Marketing presses: We won our first award!",[14,47092,47093,47094,47099,47100,47104,47105,47110],{},"In partnership with one of our favorite creative shops, ",[206,47095,47098],{"href":47096,"rel":47097},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ryanpartnership.com\u002F",[210],"Ryan Partnership San Francisco",", the work we did for ",[206,47101,47103],{"href":45734,"rel":47102},[210],"cloud collaboration client Box"," was honored with a ",[206,47106,47109],{"href":47107,"rel":47108},"https:\u002F\u002Fmediapost.com\u002Fommaawards",[210],"Media Post OMMA 2012"," award for online advertising creativity.",[24,47112,47114],{"id":47113},"also-take-a-look-at-what-ryan-partnership-had-to-say-about-mkg-marketings-involvement-in-the-campaign","Also, take a look at what Ryan Partnership had to say about MKG Marketing's involvement in the campaign:",[24025,47116,47117],{},[14,47118,47119],{},"MKG Marketing were essential partners in the success of the Box campaign. Their thought leadership and media creativity were essential in making this campaign a success. Kerry and Mike were on top of the details and negotiated great programs and rates with the pubs. We could not have won this award without them.",[46,47121,47122],{},[49,47123,47124],{},"Mark Yesayian, President of Relationship Marketing @ Ryan Partnership",[24,47126,47128],{"id":47127},"finally-click-on-the-screenshot-below-to-check-out-the-fantastic-mood-video-that-ryan-partnership-compiled-to-showcase-all-the-fantastic-results-of-the-box-words-campaign-to-the-omma-award-committee","Finally, click on the screenshot below to check out the fantastic mood video that Ryan Partnership compiled to showcase all the fantastic results of the Box 'Words' campaign to the OMMA award committee: ",[14,47130,47131],{},[206,47132,31012],{"href":47133},"https:\u002F\u002Fvimeo.com\u002F44129924",[14,47135,47136],{},"Excited to have won our first client award and looking forward to many more to come!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":47138},[47139,47140,47141],{"id":47089,"depth":291,"text":47090},{"id":47113,"depth":291,"text":47114},{"id":47127,"depth":291,"text":47128},"2012-10-22","In conjunction with Ryan Partnership we won our first OMMA Award for the Box Words Campaign.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fmkg-media-group-wins-an-omma-award-for-online-advertising-creativity",{"title":47083,"description":47143},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fmkg-media-group-wins-an-omma-award-for-online-advertising-creativity","PaXyCXbXVD6FMS5bOT7Jt-8fq2GLwyhXrFnV6u5vPIo",{"id":47150,"title":47151,"author":7,"authors":47152,"body":47153,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":47291,"description":47292,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":47293,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":47294,"seo":47295,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":47296,"updated":7,"__hash__":47297},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Ffour-ways-to-make-a-more-engaging-website-for-your-visitors.md","Four Ways to Make a More Engaging Website",[17174],{"type":11,"value":47154,"toc":47283},[47155,47159,47168,47171,47174,47178,47181,47184,47187,47190,47201,47205,47208,47220,47224,47241,47244,47247,47255,47258,47262,47265,47273,47276,47280],[24,47156,47158],{"id":47157},"as-a-website-operator-you-have-120th-of-a-second-to-capture-your-visitors-attention","As a website operator, you have 1\u002F20th of a second to capture your visitors attention",[14,47160,47161,47162,47167],{},"That statistic, as provided by our friends at ",[206,47163,47166],{"href":47164,"rel":47165},"https:\u002F\u002Flaunchtower.com\u002F",[210],"Launch Tower",", helps show that brands should be interested in finding ways to make their website more valuable & engaging to their visitors.",[14,47169,47170],{},"With that statistic in mind, how can brands go about creating a more engaging website for their visitors?",[14,47172,47173],{},"Here are four of our favorite ways to consider when evaluating website engagement:",[24,47175,47177],{"id":47176},"professionalism","Professionalism ",[14,47179,47180],{},"Would you buy a $200 pair of shoes from a naked stranger in the middle of a crowded area? How about a long-haired skater kid in tattered pants who was skipping third period geography to meet with you?",[14,47182,47183],{},"Didn't think so.",[14,47185,47186],{},"The way your site presents itself to the general internet population as a whole plays a large part in the way they engage with your site.",[14,47188,47189],{},"In this sense, professionalism can mean ...",[46,47191,47192,47195,47198],{},[49,47193,47194],{},"Clean design that is easy to navigate",[49,47196,47197],{},"Clear distinction between content, conversion points and advertising content (when applicable)",[49,47199,47200],{},"Attention to detail on the visual features of your site. Do you utilize static photography? Video? What visual pieces are included that keep users on site and engaged?",[24,47202,47204],{"id":47203},"ease-of-use","Ease of Use",[14,47206,47207],{},"We touched on this a bit in the professionalism tip above, but what specifically can you measure to understand how easy it is to use your site?",[46,47209,47210,47217],{},[49,47211,47212,47213,47216],{},"Page Load Speed: Are users kept waiting as your site loads when they click through or does the content load seamlessly? Services like ",[206,47214,36965],{"href":44979,"rel":47215},[210]," will report page load speed back to you, if configured properly.",[49,47218,47219],{},"Is Your Site Optimized for Browsing: In laymen's terms, this point focuses on engagement. Are users likely to read a single piece of content and exit the site, or does the site engage them to the point where they want to read one piece of content after the other?",[24,47221,47223],{"id":47222},"unique-content-value-added-opportunities","Unique Content & Value-Added Opportunities",[46,47225,47226,47235,47238],{},[49,47227,47228,47229,47234],{},"Freshness of Content: With Google's recent ",[206,47230,47233],{"href":47231,"rel":47232},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.seomoz.org\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-googles-panda-update-changed-seo-best-practices-forever-whiteboard-friday",[210],"Google Panda update earlier this year",", the search giant has placed an emphasis on producing unique and fresh content on a regular basis. In fact, 30% of the Google's first page organic search results are ranked accordingly because they are the freshest versions of search queries.",[49,47236,47237],{},"Give Non-Believers Something to Miss Out On: Giving visitors something to miss out on is a great way to boost engagement. Think about it this way: If you, the visitor, do not engage with the website past the first page view or return to the website ever again, what will you miss out on?",[49,47239,47240],{},"Added Value Opportunities: Give some added value. Not only should the site be easy to browse, but the value users will receive in exchange for their time and\u002For money should be an easy 'oh yes, i want that!' from their experience.",[14,47242,47243],{},"An additional example of added value opportunities ...",[14,47245,47246],{},"Take my friend Jun Loayza, who was running a service business a few years back and came in too high on a quote for a prospective client.",[14,47248,47249,47250],{},"Instead of immediately overreacting to their response of 'this is WAY too high', ",[206,47251,47254],{"href":47252,"rel":47253},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.junloayza.com\u002Fsales\u002Fwhat-am-i-worth\u002F",[210],"he simply offered some additional out-of-scope social media consulting time into the proposal, at zero cost to the client.",[14,47256,47257],{},"And they gave him the project.",[24,47259,47261],{"id":47260},"quality-testimonials","Quality Testimonials",[14,47263,47264],{},"I know this can't be stated enough, but having quality testimonials placed strategically across your website can give you enough 'street cred' within your browsing audience to make these visitors browse deeper into your website.",[14,47266,47267,47272],{},[206,47268,47271],{"href":47269,"rel":47270},"https:\u002F\u002Fquicksprout.com",[210],"Neil Patel, one of our great Seattle-based start up colleagues",", always places testimonials from well-known business leaders in the form of banner ads across his website.",[14,47274,47275],{},"These banners don't always directly drive revenue spikes (as in click, purchase large amount of goods or services immediately), but they do help new visitors to the site understand that Neil's companies have successfully worked with big-name clients.",[24,47277,47279],{"id":47278},"what-kind-of-things-do-you-do-to-engage-visitors-on-your-website","What Kind of Things Do You Do To Engage Visitors on Your Website?",[14,47281,47282],{},"Give us a shout with some of your tips in the comments section!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":47284},[47285,47286,47287,47288,47289,47290],{"id":47157,"depth":291,"text":47158},{"id":47176,"depth":291,"text":47177},{"id":47203,"depth":291,"text":47204},{"id":47222,"depth":291,"text":47223},{"id":47260,"depth":291,"text":47261},{"id":47278,"depth":291,"text":47279},"2012-10-08","How can brands go about creating a more engaging website for their visitors? Here's four ways.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Ffour-ways-to-make-a-more-engaging-website-for-your-visitors",{"title":47151,"description":47292},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Ffour-ways-to-make-a-more-engaging-website-for-your-visitors","9DEIqlCAG_PHCbEBAV-eVe8PelhyDUeHJawqowrIINc",{"id":47299,"title":47300,"author":7,"authors":47301,"body":47302,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":47462,"description":47463,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":47464,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":47465,"seo":47466,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":47467,"updated":7,"__hash__":47468},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fusing-social-media-to-make-a-difference.md","Using Social Media to Make a Difference",[17174],{"type":11,"value":47303,"toc":47456},[47304,47307,47310,47321,47324,47329,47332,47336,47339,47342,47345,47354,47357,47360,47369,47372,47380,47384,47387,47396,47399,47408,47411,47414,47418,47421,47424,47444,47448,47451],[14,47305,47306],{},"Social media allows consumers & brands to engage in a two-way conversation.",[14,47308,47309],{},"That conversation can center around...",[46,47311,47312,47315,47318],{},[49,47313,47314],{},"Customer support",[49,47316,47317],{},"Product development",[49,47319,47320],{},"Real-time feedback",[14,47322,47323],{},"All the traits mentioned above gather around one central concept:",[14,47325,47326],{},[52,47327,47328],{},"How brands can use social media to make a difference in the lives of their customers",[14,47330,47331],{},"With that in mind, how can brands use social media to make a difference in the lives of their customers?",[24,47333,47335],{"id":47334},"build-a-social-media-army","Build a Social Media Army",[14,47337,47338],{},"Whether that army is paid or unpaid, brands should build out a team to manage and grow the company footprint across all the demands the social sphere presents.",[14,47340,47341],{},"How many times have you mentioned a brand negatively on Facebook or Twitter based on a poor experience? Wouldn't it be nice to actually speak to and hear back from these companies as your problem is unfolding?",[14,47343,47344],{},"Take CalTrain, a local bay area train service, Twitter account for example:",[14,47346,47347,47348,47353],{},"Any time a train is delayed \u002F running ahead of schedule, ",[206,47349,47352],{"href":47350,"rel":47351},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002Fcaltrain",[210],"Caltrain"," will post it on their official Twitter feed for travelers convenience.",[14,47355,47356],{},"But you don't just need an army to manage bad press ...",[14,47358,47359],{},"A social army can help your brand grow. Establish dominance in your space. Become a trusted resource for news and information in real time.",[14,47361,47362,47363,47368],{},"A great example of a social army focused on growth is the ",[206,47364,47367],{"href":47365,"rel":47366},"https:\u002F\u002Fdevils.nhl.com\u002Fclub\u002Fnews.htm?id=614528",[210],"New Jersey Devil's 'Mission Control'"," group.",[14,47370,47371],{},"Mission Control is an unpaid group of up to 25 daily volunteers that manage and develop the NHL teams' social footprint across the web.",[14,47373,47374,47375,212],{},"Located inside the Prudential Center where the Devils play, they provide real-time team news, league information & additional 'members only' details to die hard Devils fans using the handle ",[206,47376,47379],{"href":47377,"rel":47378},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002Fdevilsgenerals",[210],"@DevilsGenerals",[24,47381,47383],{"id":47382},"understand-the-power-of-the-masses","Understand the Power of the Masses",[14,47385,47386],{},"Social media, inherently, is only as powerful as the number of users you can get to follow and promote your cause.",[14,47388,47389,47390,47395],{},"Take Matthew Walzer, a 16 year old who suffers from cerebral palsy, ",[206,47391,47394],{"href":47392,"rel":47393},"https:\u002F\u002Fmashable.com\u002F2012\u002F08\u002F08\u002Ftwitter-nikeletter-campaign\u002F",[210],"who wrote a letter to Nike CEO Mark Parker"," asking for easy-fasten Nike running shoes for patients that suffer from his same condition.",[14,47397,47398],{},"Nice Kicks, an online sneaker kingdom, got wind of the letter and began aggressively promoting its cause across the Twitter-sphere.",[14,47400,47401,47402,47407],{},"The official ",[206,47403,47406],{"href":47404,"rel":47405},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002F#!\u002Fsearch\u002F%23nikeletter",[210],"Twitter hashtag #nikeletter"," was adopted and companies from Finish Line to Pete Cashmore joined in the effort to put the letter in front of Parker.",[14,47409,47410],{},"So what does this teach us?",[14,47412,47413],{},"It's not enough to be simply 'present' in the social space; companies need to understand how to leverage the power of the masses to promote their cause.",[24,47415,47417],{"id":47416},"process-process-process","Process, Process, Process!",[14,47419,47420],{},"In order to build out an army or start a movement, organizations need to create and real-world test a social media process in order to actively make a difference in their customers lives.",[14,47422,47423],{},"A few elements that brands should be aware of in creating this process are:",[46,47425,47426,47432,47438],{},[49,47427,47428,47431],{},[52,47429,47430],{},"Hand Over the Keys to the Castle:"," Brands need to be okay with handing over partial control of their brand messaging. This environment is dominated by real-time information; the longer your team lags in providing said information, the quicker your audience will go to  unofficial sources  to obtain the information.",[49,47433,47434,47437],{},[52,47435,47436],{},"Transparency:"," Be transparent with your workers and your audience. Let employees know exactly what is acceptable and, more importantly, what is not acceptable.",[49,47439,47440,47443],{},[52,47441,47442],{},"Accept Mistakes:"," There will be mistakes. Get over it and make sure that employees own up to and learn from those mistakes.",[24,47445,47447],{"id":47446},"this-is-exciting","This is exciting!",[14,47449,47450],{},"While traditional \u002F traditional digital communication channels between brands and consumers had serious lag time in collecting R&D, customer complaints & advice, social has opened the floodgates for brands to learn what their audience is thinking about their brand in real time.",[14,47452,47453],{},[52,47454,47455],{},"Don't silence these users; embrace and listen to them.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":47457},[47458,47459,47460,47461],{"id":47334,"depth":291,"text":47335},{"id":47382,"depth":291,"text":47383},{"id":47416,"depth":291,"text":47417},{"id":47446,"depth":291,"text":47447},"2012-08-10","How can brands use social media to make a difference in the lives of their customers?",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fusing-social-media-to-make-a-difference",{"title":47300,"description":47463},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fusing-social-media-to-make-a-difference","k9etkokAvyvHw_HtMbC-9B8EhXtC6-MNaPuOj1w3J4o",{"id":47470,"title":47471,"author":7,"authors":47472,"body":47473,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":47549,"description":47550,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":47551,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":47552,"seo":47553,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":47554,"updated":7,"__hash__":47555},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fcustomer-service-is-objective-1.md","Customer Service is Objective #1",[17174],{"type":11,"value":47474,"toc":47545},[47475,47483,47492,47495,47498,47501,47505,47508,47511,47514,47517,47520,47524,47527,47530,47533,47536,47539,47542],[14,47476,47477,47478,47482],{},"Following the ",[206,47479,47481],{"href":47480},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fhighlights-from-id48-sf\u002F","IdeaMensch #ID48 conference here in San Francisco",", I wrote a blog post detailing all the great things I learned that evening.",[14,47484,47485,47486,47491],{},"One of the speakers, ",[206,47487,47490],{"href":47488,"rel":47489},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.modifywatches.com\u002Fabout.php",[210],"Modify Watches CEO Aaron Schwartz",", mentioned that customer service is** the most important  **factor in being a part of the Modify Watches team.",[14,47493,47494],{},"It's so important, in fact, that he used the following line ...",[14,47496,47497],{},"'There is only one fireable offense here at Modify Watches: Customer service is the most important part of this job. You can make a mistake that costs the company thousands of dollars, but if you mess up in customer service you are gone.'",[14,47499,47500],{},"With that in mind, we wanted to share a couple additional pieces of advice that MKG will be emphasizing in the short and long-term future of our agency ...",[24,47502,47504],{"id":47503},"listen-to-what-our-clients-both-want-and-need","Listen to What Our Clients Both Want AND Need",[14,47506,47507],{},"I came to the following realization last week: I needed a watch. I wanted one that was lime green.",[14,47509,47510],{},"When I couldn't find a lime green watch strap on their website, I tweeted and e-mailed the Modify Watches team asking where to find it.",[14,47512,47513],{},"Within 48 hours, I had a personalized email from their CEO with a link to the 'buy now' page of the lime green strap.",[14,47515,47516],{},"Even though it was just a small gesture like receiving a personalized email from their CEO with a link to what I needed, it showed that the Modify team is actively listening to the chatter generated from their contact forms & social channels and actively responding to inquiries in a timely manner.",[14,47518,47519],{},"What we as MKG plan to learn: Our clients need to communicate with their current and prospective customers (marketing). What we'd like to put an emphasis on is how, perfect world scenario, they want to communicate with these customers. We want to continue to provide highly customized marketing solutions that deliver on each individual clients goals.",[24,47521,47523],{"id":47522},"over-deliver-create-brand-ambassadors","Over Deliver & Create Brand Ambassadors ",[14,47525,47526],{},"Following all the customer service love I got after my lime green question hit the airwaves, I found an extra surprise when I opened the package containing my watch.",[14,47528,47529],{},"The team at Modify sent me an extra strap, free of charge!",[14,47531,47532],{},"Now, while a $25 strap on the house isn't the biggest monetary freebie around, it plays perfectly into their company motto of encouraging their customers to buy into the watch modifying experience and create a community of brand ambassadors powering the products success via word of mouth.",[14,47534,47535],{},"Think I'm not being serious?",[14,47537,47538],{},"In the past week, I've told at least 10 people about Modify, purchased a watch (lime green above!) and gotten a girls phone number as the result of her asking 'where did you get that awesome watch?'",[14,47540,47541],{},"And it's all the result of one thing: Modify over delivered and created a true brand ambassador out of me.",[14,47543,47544],{},"What we as MKG plan to learn: We need to find ways to go above and beyond the expectations of our clients so they too feel feel compelled to share how awesome their experience was in working with us.  This is a continuation of the extremely customized, personal service we pride ourselves in delivering our clients.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":47546},[47547,47548],{"id":47503,"depth":291,"text":47504},{"id":47522,"depth":291,"text":47523},"2012-07-17","Following the IdeaMensch #ID48 conference here in San Francisco, I wrote a blog post detailing all the great things I learned that evening.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fcustomer-service-is-objective-1",{"title":47471,"description":47550},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fcustomer-service-is-objective-1","rlwz1KkFyUboJdJeqb-TpkS-bG9dv5z_IdcVmQRE000",{"id":47557,"title":47558,"author":7,"authors":47559,"body":47560,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":47697,"description":47698,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":77,"meta":47699,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":47700,"seo":47701,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":47702,"updated":7,"__hash__":47703},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fagency-advice-from-traction-agency-ceo-adam-kleinberg.md","Agency Advice from Traction CEO Adam Kleinberg",[9],{"type":11,"value":47561,"toc":47690},[47562,47571,47574,47577,47588,47591,47595,47598,47601,47604,47608,47611,47614,47634,47638,47641,47644,47647,47650,47653,47657,47660,47674,47678,47681,47684,47687],[14,47563,47564,47565,47570],{},"By way of a mutual contact, I had the opportunity to grab a quick cup of coffee with ",[206,47566,47569],{"href":47567,"rel":47568},"https:\u002F\u002Ftractionco.com",[210],"Traction Agency"," CEO Adam Kleinberg this week.",[14,47572,47573],{},"Traction calls itself an interactive agency, but they believe everything is interactive. They are part advertising agency, part innovation consultancy and have worked with brands such as Salesforce, Virgin Mobile & Walmart.",[14,47575,47576],{},"My goal in sitting down with Adam was to pick his brain about three things:",[46,47578,47579,47582,47585],{},[49,47580,47581],{},"Selling in new business",[49,47583,47584],{},"How to grow your agency",[49,47586,47587],{},"Understanding the hiring process\nAdam was more than gracious to share some bits of advice and we wanted to share these with our readers.\nPlease keep in mind, these tips are all paraphrased and should not be taken literally unless there are quotes around the statement.",[14,47589,47590],{},"Enjoy!",[24,47592,47594],{"id":47593},"tip-1-be-a-3rd-grader-and-go-make-friends","Tip #1: Be a 3rd Grader and Go Make Friends",[14,47596,47597],{},"Of all the great advice that I heard over the course of this conversation, this was the most valuable (and simple) piece of advice Adam shared about selling in new business ...",[14,47599,47600],{},"\"The best thing in the world you can do is become friends with somebody.\"\nTake all the complexities out of selling in your agency and stick with this one piece of advice. Any time you meet a potential business contact, do everything you can to build a rapport between yourselves.",[14,47602,47603],{},"You never know; that new friendship may not buy your lunch that very day. But down the line, the quality of that relationship will begin to pay off in the form of introductions, actual business opportunities and, worse case scenario, simply a good friend to grab a beer with and shoot the shit.",[24,47605,47607],{"id":47606},"tip-2-relationships-are-everything","Tip #2: Relationships Are Everything",[14,47609,47610],{},"Adam dropped this gem when I asked him when he found success selling in new business opportunities for Traction.",[14,47612,47613],{},"If I could boil down this part of our conversation to three micro-pieces of advice, they would be:",[46,47615,47616,47622,47628],{},[49,47617,47618,47621],{},[52,47619,47620],{},"Treat your relationships with a long term goal in mind:"," You're not going to sell in enormous contracts to clients who barely know you. It might take years and multiple job postings before that individual decides to work with your agency, so don't try and rush to the finish line and risk losing that relationship for good.",[49,47623,47624,47627],{},[52,47625,47626],{},"Trusting relationships help cut through the clutter:"," You know the quickest way to get fast tracked into a new piece of business? By having a trusting, lengthy relationship with the client. It's the quickest way to avoid taking part in 20 agency cattle call RFPs that suck all your agencies time and resources.",[49,47629,47630,47633],{},[52,47631,47632],{},"Relationships = friendships:"," I couldn't help but state this again; when people like you they want to work with you. Become friends with people and the professional opportunities will organically grow.",[24,47635,47637],{"id":47636},"tip-3-watch-your-numbers","Tip #3: Watch Your Numbers",[14,47639,47640],{},"Take an active role in understanding how each client or project your agency works on makes you money.",[14,47642,47643],{},"For example, there may be less exciting pieces of your business that brings in revenue (basic production services, consulting, etc) that can get overlooked in the general hoopla of executing really groundbreaking, out-of-the-box ideas.",[14,47645,47646],{},"But ...",[14,47648,47649],{},"... You don't want to overlook these revenue streams, as oftentimes they are consistent sources of revenue that keep the lights on and allow your agency to go out and pitch the more unique & exciting pieces of business.",[14,47651,47652],{},"Never overlook the importance of the basic 'bread-and-butter' services that your agency provides.",[24,47654,47656],{"id":47655},"tip-4-understanding-when-to-hire","Tip #4: Understanding When to Hire",[14,47658,47659],{},"A couple questions to ask yourself when it comes to staffing up your agency:",[46,47661,47662,47665,47668,47671],{},[49,47663,47664],{},"At what point could I use help? As in, when would it be  nice to have  an extra pair of hands?",[49,47666,47667],{},"Conversely, when do I feel that I  need  help?",[49,47669,47670],{},"What's this additional help worth to your agency in terms of dollars and cents? As in, what should you be paying for this help?",[49,47672,47673],{},"What will bringing on this help bring in terms of growth? Try applying a tangible value that will be recognized by hiring on this extra person.",[24,47675,47677],{"id":47676},"tip-5-stay-in-touch-with-people","Tip #5: Stay in Touch with People",[14,47679,47680],{},"This was my second favorite piece of advice that Adam gave me: learn how to stay in touch with your relationships.",[14,47682,47683],{},"For example, Adam has a contact that he grabs a beer with once every six months.",[14,47685,47686],{},"There are others that he contacts more \u002F less frequently, but he actively invests in the relationships he's built in the past to cultivate them into new opportunities for his agency in the future.",[14,47688,47689],{},"Don't get caught up in the allure of non-stop pitching of new relationships; make an effort to invest just as much in your existing relationships.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":47691},[47692,47693,47694,47695,47696],{"id":47593,"depth":291,"text":47594},{"id":47606,"depth":291,"text":47607},{"id":47636,"depth":291,"text":47637},{"id":47655,"depth":291,"text":47656},{"id":47676,"depth":291,"text":47677},"2012-07-10T00:00:00Z","Adam Kleinberg is CEO of Traction. Learn how Adam grew and then sold his business.",{"_schema":5792},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fagency-advice-from-traction-agency-ceo-adam-kleinberg",{"title":47558,"description":47698},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fagency-advice-from-traction-agency-ceo-adam-kleinberg","NHeqYUd8PYQgv2Z1471YXhj3xrz2XEqMxmJbCuTi2BI",{"id":47705,"title":47706,"author":7,"authors":47707,"body":47708,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":47803,"description":47804,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":47805,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":47806,"seo":47807,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":47808,"updated":7,"__hash__":47809},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fhighlights-from-id48-sf.md","Highlights from #ID48",[17174],{"type":11,"value":47709,"toc":47797},[47710,47719,47722,47726,47729,47734,47739,47743,47746,47751,47756,47760,47763,47768,47773,47777,47780,47783],[14,47711,47712,47713,47718],{},"Earlier this evening we had the pleasure to attend ",[206,47714,47717],{"href":47715,"rel":47716},"https:\u002F\u002Fideamensch.com\u002Fsan-francisco\u002F",[210],"IdeaMensch 48",", a 48 state tour put on my good friend Mario to help gather people who want to bring ideas to life.",[14,47720,47721],{},"In honor of a great evening, we wanted to share a couple highlights from a few speakers ...",[24,47723,47725],{"id":47724},"philip-rosedale-founder-of-second-life-coffee-and-power","Philip Rosedale \u002F\u002F Founder of Second Life & Coffee and Power",[14,47727,47728],{},"Philip discussed how amazing silicon valley is for people with great ideas and a drive to change the world.",[24025,47730,47731],{},[14,47732,47733],{},"'People think that entrepreneurs are crazy, but in fact starting a company in San Francisco is a safe bet. There is 10 times the start up density of other American cities here in Silicon Valley -- that's 5 times better than New York City and 3 times better than Seattle.'",[24025,47735,47736],{},[14,47737,47738],{},"'9 out of 10 companies do in fact fail, and being in an environment that is flush with these connections is priceless. San Francisco is a great place to completely bomb a company walk into a bar and meet next employer, co-founder or conceive the next big idea.'",[24,47740,47742],{"id":47741},"sarah-lacy-founder-of-pandodaily","Sarah Lacy \u002F\u002F Founder of PandoDaily",[14,47744,47745],{},"The most important thing we pulled from Sarah's speech revolved around hiring.",[24025,47747,47748],{},[14,47749,47750],{},"'I have a 24 hour hiring window. If we make an offer to a prospective employee, they have exactly 24 hours to accept or deny that offer before it is completely taken off the table.'",[24025,47752,47753],{},[14,47754,47755],{},"'We don't want to have to over sell employees. As we recruit new employees, we we hire individuals who are either immediately 100% in or not.'",[24,47757,47759],{"id":47758},"aaron-schwartz-founder-of-modify-industries","Aaron Schwartz \u002F\u002F Founder of Modify Industries",[14,47761,47762],{},"Aaron couldn't say it enough: customer service is the most important facet of Modify Watches customer experience.",[24025,47764,47765],{},[14,47766,47767],{},"'Customer service is focus #1 of everything that we do. We want to be proactive in the way that we make the customer's experience as great as possible.'",[24025,47769,47770],{},[14,47771,47772],{},"'Word of mouth is the result of a positive customer experience.'",[24,47774,47776],{"id":47775},"bring-wong-founder-of-kiip","Bring Wong \u002F\u002F Founder of Kiip",[14,47778,47779],{},"Brian's discussion centered around one central idea: Getting lucky.",[14,47781,47782],{},"He had a few pieces of advice to help generate some lucky.",[132,47784,47785,47788,47791,47794],{},[49,47786,47787],{},"Start Playing: Stop going to coffee, talking about it endlessly or comping up new designs ... Go out and start something!",[49,47789,47790],{},"Surround Yourself With Other Lucky People: Lucky people surround themselves with other successful individuals.",[49,47792,47793],{},"It's All About Relative Luck: Seeing the 'big picture' is important, but it's critically important to reward mini-victories along the way.",[49,47795,47796],{},"Think Really Big: Think really big!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":47798},[47799,47800,47801,47802],{"id":47724,"depth":291,"text":47725},{"id":47741,"depth":291,"text":47742},{"id":47758,"depth":291,"text":47759},{"id":47775,"depth":291,"text":47776},"2012-07-05","In honor of a great evening, we wanted to share a couple highlights from a few speakers from #ID48.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fhighlights-from-id48-sf",{"title":47706,"description":47804},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fhighlights-from-id48-sf","qci5uLKbVZG1FMR_dwNJDpffTy4Ck4vuw1b2ZpWwHhI",{"id":47811,"title":47812,"author":7,"authors":47813,"body":47815,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":47947,"description":47819,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":47948,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":47949,"seo":47950,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":47951,"updated":7,"__hash__":47952},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fguest-post-gretchen-sword-of-bloomberg-west.md","Guest Post: Gretchen Sword of Bloomberg West",[47814],"Gretchen Sword",{"type":11,"value":47816,"toc":47936},[47817,47820,47846,47850,47853,47856,47860,47863,47866,47869,47873,47876,47879,47882,47886,47889,47892,47896,47899,47902,47906,47909,47913,47916,47919,47923,47926,47929,47933],[14,47818,47819],{},"Today's guest post comes courtesy of one of our favorite media partners, Bloomberg West Coast Director Gretchen Sword.",[46,47821,47822,47828,47834,47840],{},[49,47823,47824,47827],{},[52,47825,47826],{},"Name:"," Gretchen Sword",[49,47829,47830,47833],{},[52,47831,47832],{},"Company:"," Bloomberg",[49,47835,47836,47839],{},[52,47837,47838],{},"Position:"," West Coast Director",[49,47841,47842,47845],{},[52,47843,47844],{},"140 characters or less:"," Bloomberg News is the most influential business news publisher in the world. I am also from New Jersey and proud of it!",[24,47847,47849],{"id":47848},"what-is-the-most-difficult-piece-of-your-digital-media-operation-to-explain-to-a-potential-client-how-do-you-overcome-this-obstacle","What is the most difficult piece of your digital media operation to explain to a potential client? How do you overcome this obstacle?",[14,47851,47852],{},"The most difficult piece of our operation to explain to a potential client is that mobile has already replaced newspaper media and sometimes digital, too.",[14,47854,47855],{},"Meaning: people are accessing their news and information from their mobile device in a way that we've truly never seen before - we don't wait to pick up the paper to learn that Whitney Houston died - someone either tweeted it, we got a breaking news alert or a friend's text message with the news.",[24,47857,47859],{"id":47858},"what-success-metrics-do-the-majority-of-your-clients-use-to-determine-success-failure-of-a-campaign","What success metrics do the majority of your clients use to determine success \u002Ffailure of a campaign?",[14,47861,47862],{},"Unfortunately, we're still stuck in the realm of click thru rate. Thankfully, we (as an industry) have moved out of the cost per click (read idiotic) model - but I maintain that just because you can measure something doesn't mean you should .",[14,47864,47865],{},"Here's a personal example:  my favorite home decor company (online only) is Serena & Lily.  I visit their website regularly.  Last night, (cleared cookies, new browser)I was on a cooking website and they served me an ad. I did not click on it.  I finished cooking, finished watching my TV show, cleaned the house, etc. etc - and then I thought, I'd like to see if Serena & Lily has anything new for me to check out!  So, I typed it into my browser.  Now, I'm sure that ad had a lot to do with why I wanted to check their site out.  But I took NO action from their digital banner.  My affinity for their brand drove me back to their site - on my own - but it certainly helped that I was exposed to the ad.",[14,47867,47868],{},"So, that's the message to digital marketers: your brand comes first. If it's solid, your digital messaging will only support that.",[24,47870,47872],{"id":47871},"whats-the-newest-hottest-shiniest-object-in-your-tool-bag-that-your-company-offers-to-clients","What's the newest \u002F hottest \u002F shiniest object in your tool bag that your company offers to clients?",[14,47874,47875],{},"Bloomberg unveiled the first ever iPad app that streams LIVE television at the end of last year.  It won 4 awards from Apple and has only been in market for about 4 months.  It won't have any competitors as we're a privately held news company so we can stream our content simultaneously online, on TV and now, on iPads.",[14,47877,47878],{},"The other feature of this app which is truly mind boggling is that as the live feed is coming across, text content on whatever the subject matter is is also educating the viewer on whatever they are watching.  We source tons of other news sources for this content - not just Bloomberg News.",[14,47880,47881],{},"It's hard to describe but easy to see why it's a game-changer when you download it - it's free as all of our products are. It's called Bloomberg TV+ so download it!",[24,47883,47885],{"id":47884},"do-you-prefer-to-work-with-clients-directly-or-use-an-agency-as-an-intermediary-why-pros-cons-of-each","Do you prefer to work with clients directly or use an agency as an intermediary? Why? Pros \u002F cons of each?",[14,47887,47888],{},"When pitching a big idea or an integrated marketing idea across our 7 multimedia properties, a client-direct meeting makes more sense than trying to get the various agencies and their various interests all together in a room.",[14,47890,47891],{},"When pitching digital or mobile, we need to have the digital agency in the room - there are SO many intricate pieces of the digital business which are really only intelligible to the client if the digital gurus are in the room.",[24,47893,47895],{"id":47894},"whats-the-biggest-problem-with-the-media-industry-today-how-is-your-company-addressing-it","What's the biggest problem with the media industry today? How is your company addressing it?",[14,47897,47898],{},"The biggest problem, sadly, in the media industry today is that little media companies are being edged out.  What that means is that the only publishers that will survive are those with a strong revenue models other than advertising.  When a media company doesn't have a mobile strategy or mobile apps, that to me is a clear indicator of their impending doom.",[14,47900,47901],{},"This is sad to me because the spectrum of opinions being reported are becoming binary and polarizing. My hope is that outlets like Twitter are allowing the spectrums of opinions to be heard again - but not on a large platform or a national scale.",[24,47903,47905],{"id":47904},"name-the-most-popular-trend-that-the-industry-your-clients-are-asking-you-about-specific-to-your-business-model","Name the most popular trend that the industry \u002F your clients are asking you about specific to your business model.",[14,47907,47908],{},"The popular trend that clients are asking us about is social:  how are business leaders using it, ARE they using it?  Do they gain valuable business insight from it? How should WE (advertisers) use it?",[24,47910,47912],{"id":47911},"how-many-of-your-friends-and-family-members-actually-understand-what-you-do","How many of your friends and family members actually understand what you do?",[14,47914,47915],{},"My friends and family enjoy hearing about my job:  it sounds glamorous and fun.  Very few of them understand the nitty-gritty, but, then again I don't understand the financial modeling that my father does or the family, genus, and species of plants like my mother does.",[14,47917,47918],{},"I very much value my friendships at work, though, and I feel confident that our team knows exactly what I do, because they do it too!",[24,47920,47922],{"id":47921},"where-do-you-see-digital-media-going-in-the-next-year-5-years-10-years","Where do you see digital media going in the next year? 5 years? 10 years?",[14,47924,47925],{},"I think the evolution of digital media will be tempered by the changing consumption patterns of the internet.  If Facebook invests and fundamentally changes the way people use the internet in 5 years, I look forward to being along for that ride.",[14,47927,47928],{},"10 years? I can't even begin to predict.  Just 6 years ago, I remember a 'mobile marketer' coming to talk with the team at Esquire Magazine (my first job) to explain how advertising might work on a mobile phone! We all thought she was bonkers - first, we'd have to have phones that had color!",[24,47930,47932],{"id":47931},"my-wild-card-question-is-what-does-the-internetchanging-media-consumption-represent-to-you","My wild-card question is: what does the internet\u002Fchanging media consumption represent to you??",[14,47934,47935],{},"And my answer is:  it represents the first visual representation of the connectedness of ALL beings. This is something innate, we all know we are connected.  But the internet allows us to SEE and FEEL how our actions affect others.  It also allows for a desensitizing - but that's for another blog post :-)",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":47937},[47938,47939,47940,47941,47942,47943,47944,47945,47946],{"id":47848,"depth":291,"text":47849},{"id":47858,"depth":291,"text":47859},{"id":47871,"depth":291,"text":47872},{"id":47884,"depth":291,"text":47885},{"id":47894,"depth":291,"text":47895},{"id":47904,"depth":291,"text":47905},{"id":47911,"depth":291,"text":47912},{"id":47921,"depth":291,"text":47922},{"id":47931,"depth":291,"text":47932},"2012-06-15",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fguest-post-gretchen-sword-of-bloomberg-west",{"title":47812,"description":47819},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fguest-post-gretchen-sword-of-bloomberg-west","qAfz5-XTF4a9wRLlM6eK0u8F7TjWvAyIeO6pX7JYFsk",{"id":47954,"title":47955,"author":7,"authors":47956,"body":47957,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":48010,"description":48011,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":48012,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":48013,"seo":48014,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":48015,"updated":7,"__hash__":48016},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fnext-up-for-digital-media-programmatic-premium.md","Next Up for Digital Media: Programmatic Premium",[17174],{"type":11,"value":47958,"toc":48006},[47959,47962,47966,47969,47977,47981,47990,47993,48001],[14,47960,47961],{},"As a digital media agency, we are constantly toeing the line between buying programmatic, hyper-effecient channels (DSP's, for example) and contextually relevant, brand-targeted environments (site direct).",[24,47963,47965],{"id":47964},"why-do-we-toe-this-line","Why do we toe this line?",[14,47967,47968],{},"Well, there are a few reasons:",[46,47970,47971,47974],{},[49,47972,47973],{},"Every client is different, thus requiring unique media mixes to deliver on their goals",[49,47975,47976],{},"DSP's & site direct buys provide very different opportunities to reach your target audience",[24,47978,47980],{"id":47979},"but-what-if-we-didnt-have-to-toe-this-line","But what if we didn't have to toe this line?",[14,47982,47983,47984,47989],{},"In a recent ",[206,47985,47988],{"href":47986,"rel":47987},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.clickz.com\u002Fclickz\u002Fcolumn\u002F2182900\u002Ftrend-digital-marketing-programmatic-premium",[210],"ClickZ article written by Data Xu CEO Mike Baker",", a hot new topic was brought up: programmatic premium media buying",[14,47991,47992],{},"Programmatic media buying would provide ...",[46,47994,47995,47998],{},[49,47996,47997],{},"Marketers the ability to serve the right message to the right consumer at the right time, reducing media waste and improving performance",[49,47999,48000],{},"Publishers could generate better performance & value from their premium inventory positions, helping them protect the cost of the unit",[14,48002,48003],{},[52,48004,48005],{},"As a media buyer, would you be willing to stop buying site direct altogether if a viable programmatic premium option existed?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":48007},[48008,48009],{"id":47964,"depth":291,"text":47965},{"id":47979,"depth":291,"text":47980},"2012-06-12","Why we toed the line in offering hyper=efficient channels like DSPs.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fnext-up-for-digital-media-programmatic-premium",{"title":47955,"description":48011},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fnext-up-for-digital-media-programmatic-premium","qladV9pi1rISUwO1U2Ro7OskNL0ZsN380E4qKnPbR3E",{"id":48018,"title":48019,"author":7,"authors":48020,"body":48021,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":48131,"description":48132,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":48133,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":48134,"seo":48135,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":48136,"updated":7,"__hash__":48137},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fthe-rising-popularity-value-of-mobile-devices.md","The Rising Popularity & Value of Mobile Devices",[17174],{"type":11,"value":48022,"toc":48124},[48023,48026,48035,48039,48042,48046,48049,48052,48069,48073,48081,48085,48088,48091,48104,48107,48111,48119],[14,48024,48025],{},"How much time are you spending on your mobile device?",[14,48027,48028,48029,48034],{},"According to a ",[206,48030,48033],{"href":48031,"rel":48032},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theatlantic.com\u002Fbusiness\u002Farchive\u002F2012\u002F05\u002Fthis-graph-is-disastrous-for-print-and-great-for-facebook-or-the-opposite\u002F257857\u002F",[210],"recent article in The Atlantic",", 10% of users time is spent on mobile devices. Why is this a relevant statistic?",[24,48036,48038],{"id":48037},"because-while-users-spend-10-of-their-time-on-mobile-devices-only-1-of-ad-spend-is-dedicated-to-these-devices","Because while users spend 10% of their time on mobile devices, only 1% of ad spend is dedicated to these devices",[14,48040,48041],{},"With such a great disparity in time spent and advertising spend, we still believe that mobile marketing is the future of media and advertising.\nHere's why ...",[24,48043,48045],{"id":48044},"diversity-of-tactics-on-mobile-devices","Diversity of Tactics on Mobile Devices",[14,48047,48048],{},"Agencies & brands have a plethora of mobile tactics to choose from to deliver their product message and brand experience to the target audience.",[14,48050,48051],{},"We can thank advancements in the following tactics that now help us more efficiently generate brand awareness, product consideration, purchase & brand loyalty.",[46,48053,48054,48057,48060,48063,48066],{},[49,48055,48056],{},"Mobile ad units",[49,48058,48059],{},"Mobile search",[49,48061,48062],{},"Mobile apps",[49,48064,48065],{},"Mobile web",[49,48067,48068],{},"SMS marketing",[24,48070,48072],{"id":48071},"mobile-experimentation-leading-to-new-opportunities","Mobile Experimentation Leading to New Opportunities",[14,48074,48075,48076,48080],{},"We discussed the rise of ",[206,48077,48079],{"href":48078},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Flocation-based-apps-at-sxswi\u002F","social discovery apps like Highlight and Banjo in a previous blog post",", and while many users label these ideas as 'creepy', the concepts behind social discovery are great fuel to the fire for others looking to expand the value of GPS-specific capabilities, open-graph technologies and social web as a whole.",[24,48082,48084],{"id":48083},"mobiles-influence-on-society-as-a-whole","Mobile's Influence on Society as a Whole",[14,48086,48087],{},"More than two-thirds of mobile users time on their device is spent conducting non-communication activities.",[14,48089,48090],{},"Great examples of this fact include ...",[46,48092,48093,48096],{},[49,48094,48095],{},"American's spend 94 minutes per day on mobile applications",[49,48097,48098,48103],{},[206,48099,48102],{"href":48100,"rel":48101},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theatlantic.com\u002Fbusiness\u002Farchive\u002F2012\u002F06\u002Fwhy-mobile-will-dominate-the-future-of-media-and-advertising\u002F258069\u002F",[210],"According to this article in The Atlantic",", mobile is poised to surpass television as the primary access point for media consumption",[14,48105,48106],{},"Each year, users rely on their mobile device more heavily as a source of information (as well as communication). As the mobile experience continues to improve, we believe that this reliance will continue to grow.",[24,48108,48110],{"id":48109},"dont-believe-us","Don't believe us?",[14,48112,48113,48114,212],{},"Well, then take into consideration the fact that there will be ",[206,48115,48118],{"href":48116,"rel":48117},"https:\u002F\u002Fsearchengineland.com\u002Fforecast-more-us-mobile-web-users-than-pc-by-2015-92516",[210],"more mobile web users than desktop web by 2015",[14,48120,48121],{},[52,48122,48123],{},"Is your brand prepared to embrace communicating with consumers on their mobile device?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":48125},[48126,48127,48128,48129,48130],{"id":48037,"depth":291,"text":48038},{"id":48044,"depth":291,"text":48045},{"id":48071,"depth":291,"text":48072},{"id":48083,"depth":291,"text":48084},{"id":48109,"depth":291,"text":48110},"2012-06-07","With such a great disparity in time spent and advertising spend, we still believe that mobile marketing is the future of media and advertising.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fthe-rising-popularity-value-of-mobile-devices",{"title":48019,"description":48132},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fthe-rising-popularity-value-of-mobile-devices","Nh_Ja2tziBhOfclSdzjDsSJtAEVkHNQ4d9mKYXWUJCA",{"id":48139,"title":48140,"author":7,"authors":48141,"body":48142,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":48248,"description":48249,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":48250,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":48251,"seo":48252,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":48253,"updated":7,"__hash__":48254},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Ffinally-a-brand-hits-a-home-run-with-facebook-ads.md","Finally, a Brand Hits a Home Run with Facebook Ads",[17174],{"type":11,"value":48143,"toc":48245},[48144,48153,48161,48164,48172,48175,48180,48183,48186,48197,48201,48240],[14,48145,48146,48147,48152],{},"In a recent announcement, ",[206,48148,48151],{"href":48149,"rel":48150},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.clickz.com\u002Fclickz\u002Fnews\u002F2181962\u002Fb2b-brand-facebook-ads-drove-sales",[210],"B2B marketing software giant HubSpot"," announced that running paid advertisements on Facebook generated a 71% increase in sales from social channels year over year.",[14,48154,48155,48156],{},"This news is huge for Facebook following the ",[206,48157,48160],{"href":48158,"rel":48159},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.businessweek.com\u002Farticles\u002F2012-05-22\u002Fwhy-gm-and-others-fail-with-facebook-ads",[210],"GM announcement that they would be eliminating their entire Facebook advertising budget",[14,48162,48163],{},"A couple other fun facts that Dan Slagen, HubSpot's head of paid lead generation efforts, disclosed were:",[46,48165,48166,48169],{},[49,48167,48168],{},"Return on investment from Facebook ads was 15% better than their other paid channels during the first quarter of this year",[49,48170,48171],{},"Site traffic to HubSpot.com from Facebook increased 39% year over year",[14,48173,48174],{},"Despite all the positive momentum that HubSpot saw from Facebook ads, Slagen was very cautious and realistic when he described their paid lead generation strategy ...",[24025,48176,48177],{},[14,48178,48179],{},"\"It's a fallacy that paid leads are easy,\" he said. \"It took time. We looked at planning. We looked at post-click issues. We looked at market seasonality and day-parting.\"",[14,48181,48182],{},"So now the all important question: What levers did HubSpot pull to deliver this performance?",[14,48184,48185],{},"Slagen cited ...",[46,48187,48188,48191,48194],{},[49,48189,48190],{},"'Like gating' offers on ebooks and product trials that were targeted at marketing directors & decision makers based upon their recent 'like' activity",[49,48192,48193],{},"Deployed sponsored stories to build on their existing momentum of users who had already 'liked' the HubSpot brand page",[49,48195,48196],{},"Created a custom 'Try HubSpot for 30 days free!' tab on their Facebook page",[24,48198,48200],{"id":48199},"what-this-all-tells-me-is-that","What this all tells me is that ...",[132,48202,48203,48209,48223],{},[49,48204,48205,48208],{},[52,48206,48207],{},"Treat Facebook Ads Like a Big Kid:"," This case study is living proof that Facebook ads deserve a share of marketers tactical time & energy in planning an effective campaign. Simply 'turning on likes' doesn't actually move the needle -- like any of the traditional or established digital mediums, you need to commit to a diverse marketing mix within the Facebook platform in order to generate real results.",[49,48210,48211,48214,48215],{},[52,48212,48213],{},"Facebook Can Generate Leads ... For the Right Brand:"," As other brands come forward with their pro & anti-Facebook advertising stories, it will be interesting to see which types of brands (B2B vs. B2C, for example) will band together and see the best performance.\n",[132,48216,48217,48220],{},[49,48218,48219],{},"For example, General Motors pulled their automobile advertising on Facebook.",[49,48221,48222],{},"Could cars technically be 'un-sellable' on Facebook?",[49,48224,48225,48228,48229],{},[52,48226,48227],{},"Agencies Need to Be Smarter:"," When your client comes to you and wants to gain '100,000 likes' just for shits and giggles, agencies need to have the wherewithal to ask intelligent questions:\n",[46,48230,48231,48234,48237],{},[49,48232,48233],{},"Why do you want 100,000 additional fans?",[49,48235,48236],{},"What do you hope to achieve by bringing on these fans?",[49,48238,48239],{},"Where does fan acquisition and hard business metrics collide for your brand in the social space?",[14,48241,48242],{},[52,48243,48244],{},"What are your thoughts on HubSpot's social success?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":48246},[48247],{"id":48199,"depth":291,"text":48200},"2012-06-04","In a recent announcement, B2B marketing software giant HubSpot announced that running paid advertisements on Facebook generated a 71% increase in sales from social channels year over year.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Ffinally-a-brand-hits-a-home-run-with-facebook-ads",{"title":48140,"description":48249},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Ffinally-a-brand-hits-a-home-run-with-facebook-ads","QJwH9hCRse_e5nYcn-ssRKUcfrKtraw7yTvOeRnwz1k",{"id":48256,"title":48257,"author":7,"authors":48258,"body":48259,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":48340,"description":48341,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":48342,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":48343,"seo":48344,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":48345,"updated":7,"__hash__":48346},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fending-all-bad-ads-across-the-web.md","Ending All ‘Bad Ads’ Across the Web",[17174],{"type":11,"value":48260,"toc":48336},[48261,48270,48273,48276,48294,48298,48301,48304,48307,48311,48314,48317,48331],[14,48262,48263,48264,48269],{},"We just read a ",[206,48265,48268],{"href":48266,"rel":48267},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.clickz.com\u002Fclickz\u002Fnews\u002F2180729\u002Fgoogle-killed-134-million-bad-ads-2011",[210],"great ClickZ article"," that examined what Google calls \"bad ads\" across their advertising platform.",[14,48271,48272],{},"According to their definition, \"bad ads\" are accounts or advertising creative that violates Google's terms of service & advertising policy across the web.",[14,48274,48275],{},"In the article, the following stats were uncovered:",[46,48277,48278,48281,48286,48289],{},[49,48279,48280],{},"In 2010, Google cancelled nearly 248,000 accounts for terms of service & advertising policy violations",[49,48282,48283],{},[52,48284,48285],{},"In 2011, that number exploded to nearly 824,000 cancelled accounts",[49,48287,48288],{},"In 2010, Google denied more than 56 million \"bad ads\", or ads that weren't compliant with it's advertising policies.",[49,48290,48291],{},[52,48292,48293],{},"That number jumped to 134 million ads denied in 2011",[24,48295,48297],{"id":48296},"so-why-is-this-topic-relevant","So why is this topic relevant?",[14,48299,48300],{},"Google has worked to improve its advertising platform and implemented new techniques to prevent so-called \"bad ads\" from running on its properties over the last few years.",[14,48302,48303],{},"The company has put policies in place that do not allow ads containing misleading claims, spam or malware.",[14,48305,48306],{},"Which leads us to the question ...",[24,48308,48310],{"id":48309},"do-your-media-partners-have-steps-in-place-to-ensure-that-they-are-not-running-bad-ads","Do your media partners have steps in place to ensure that they are not running \"bad ads\"?",[14,48312,48313],{},"More importantly, what steps do they have in place to stop it?",[14,48315,48316],{},"A couple examples of the proactive steps that Google has taken are:",[46,48318,48319,48322,48325,48328],{},[49,48320,48321],{},"Ads violating their policies will not be shown on Google or AdSense partner sites",[49,48323,48324],{},"For repeat offenders, Google bans not only advertisements but advertisers master accounts (at the MCC level)",[49,48326,48327],{},"Google uses a human rater system as one of its methods to check up on how the system is doing.",[49,48329,48330],{},"These human raters review a large set of sites that are advertised on Google to get a relevant statistical reading on their advertising platform. By using human raters, Google can calibrate their automated systems and ensure that the advertising experience is continuing to improve over time.",[14,48332,48333],{},[52,48334,48335],{},"So we ask again: what steps is your agency taking to avoid running \"bad ads\"?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":48337},[48338,48339],{"id":48296,"depth":291,"text":48297},{"id":48309,"depth":291,"text":48310},"2012-05-30","We just read a great ClickZ article that examined what Google calls \"bad ads\" across their advertising platform.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fending-all-bad-ads-across-the-web",{"title":48257,"description":48341},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fending-all-bad-ads-across-the-web","LJ9QA94oS4NmWP73fHUp5uN_cqfMwjDlRgaoiDiYxFg",{"id":48348,"title":48349,"author":7,"authors":48350,"body":48351,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":48428,"description":48429,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":48430,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":48431,"seo":48432,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":48433,"updated":7,"__hash__":48434},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fexamples-of-highly-clickable-banner-ads.md","Examples of Highly Clickable Banner Ads",[9],{"type":11,"value":48352,"toc":48422},[48353,48362,48365,48369,48378,48386,48390,48393,48396,48402,48406,48414],[14,48354,48355,48356,48361],{},"Mashable's new article, ",[206,48357,48360],{"href":48358,"rel":48359},"https:\u002F\u002Fmashable.com\u002F2012\u002F05\u002F28\u002F10-insanely-clickable-banner-ads\u002F",[210],"10 Amazingly Clickable Banner Ads",", examines ten highly creative and effective banner ads that are just begging to be clicked.",[14,48363,48364],{},"Here are a few of our favorites:",[24,48366,48368],{"id":48367},"nissan","Nissan",[14,48370,48371,48372,48377],{},"When users searched for a new car on ",[206,48373,48376],{"href":48374,"rel":48375},"https:\u002F\u002Fdubizzle.com",[210],"dubizzle.com",", Dubai's best resource for house & car hunting, Nissan wanted to be provide the most relevant advertising experience for their users.",[14,48379,48380,48381],{},"Based on the car options users selected (coupe, sedan, van) the corresponding ad creative pops up next to your search result.\n",[206,48382,48385],{"href":48383,"rel":48384},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?feature=player_embedded&v=dSkJoT6RM28",[210],"See the case study here",[24,48387,48389],{"id":48388},"ikea","IKEA",[14,48391,48392],{},"IKEA put their entire inventory in an interactive 300x250 web banner.",[14,48394,48395],{},"Instead of sending users to their website, Ikea allowed shoppers to browse their online inventory in the convenience of their banner ad.",[14,48397,48398],{},[206,48399,48385],{"href":48400,"rel":48401},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?feature=player_embedded&v=32Vt8cW0uWU",[210],[24,48403,48405],{"id":48404},"acura","Acura",[14,48407,48408,48409],{},"Acura tapped into a rich media execution on Wired.com to grab the attention of users visiting Wired.com\n",[206,48410,48413],{"href":48411,"rel":48412},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?feature=player_embedded&v=x2z83gJA60E#!",[210],"See a live demo of the ad here",[24,48415,48417],{"id":48416},"take-a-look-at-all-the-banner-ads-featured-by-clicking-here",[206,48418,48421],{"href":48419,"rel":48420},"https:\u002F\u002Fmashable.com\u002F2012\u002F05\u002F28\u002F10-insanely-clickable-banner-ads",[210],"Take a look at all the banner ads featured by clicking here",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":48423},[48424,48425,48426,48427],{"id":48367,"depth":291,"text":48368},{"id":48388,"depth":291,"text":48389},{"id":48404,"depth":291,"text":48405},{"id":48416,"depth":291,"text":48421},"2012-05-29","Mashable's new article, 10 Amazingly Clickable Banner Ads, examines ten highly creative and effective banner ads that are just begging to be clicked.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fexamples-of-highly-clickable-banner-ads",{"title":48349,"description":48429},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fexamples-of-highly-clickable-banner-ads","TdXeTmz4IO0OlEzUvk1Lbdy-Zxyewk6E9D_Up0BuqAE",{"id":48436,"title":48437,"author":7,"authors":48438,"body":48439,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":48524,"description":48525,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":48526,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":48527,"seo":48528,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":48529,"updated":7,"__hash__":48530},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fhow-to-design-effective-shock-ads.md","How to Design Effective ‘Shock Ads’",[17174],{"type":11,"value":48440,"toc":48518},[48441,48449,48452,48481,48485,48488,48492,48495,48499,48502,48506,48509],[14,48442,47983,48443,48448],{},[206,48444,48447],{"href":48445,"rel":48446},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.imediaconnection.com\u002Fcontent\u002F31829.asp",[210],"iMedia Connection article",", ROI DNA's VP of Branding Jim Nichols took a look at 9 different brands that used shock ads.",[14,48450,48451],{},"The brands included:",[46,48453,48454,48457,48460,48463,48466,48469,48472,48475,48478],{},[49,48455,48456],{},"Meth Project (photo above)",[49,48458,48459],{},"Super PAC",[49,48461,48462],{},"Dolce & Gabbana",[49,48464,48465],{},"Groupon",[49,48467,48468],{},"Top Chef",[49,48470,48471],{},"Sisley",[49,48473,48474],{},"L'Oreal Dermablend",[49,48476,48477],{},"Benetton",[49,48479,48480],{},"Febreze\nAfter grading each brands ad on a Win \u002F Lose scale, Nichols made the following conclusions about how to create effective shock ads.",[24,48482,48484],{"id":48483},"viscerally-connect-with-and-celebrate-the-lifestyle-and-values-of-the-user","Viscerally connect with and celebrate the lifestyle and values of the user",[14,48486,48487],{},"Sisley does that well, and stands out because its message is anathema to people who \"don't get it.\"\nSimilarly, Benetton speaks to an emerging set of values most common among young tastemakers.",[24,48489,48491],{"id":48490},"depict-more-relatable-situations-and-drama","Depict more relatable situations and drama",[14,48493,48494],{},"These are things that people can envision. The meth ads, like the example above, do this really well; we all know that the dire straits they depict actually happen.",[24,48496,48498],{"id":48497},"direct-emotional-reactions-to-a-clear-set-of-action-steps-that-tell-us-what-we-should-do-now-that-we-are-all-fired-up","Direct emotional reactions to a clear set of action steps that tell us what we should do now that we are all fired up",[14,48500,48501],{},"Febreze wins here.",[24,48503,48505],{"id":48504},"they-go-easy-on-complex-analogies","They go easy on complex analogies",[14,48507,48508],{},"Very few people study ads, so their meaning needs to be immediately accessible. The Dermablend message shows an incredible demonstration with a strong impact. There's visual proof of the products effectiveness.",[14,48510,48511],{},[52,48512,48513,48514],{},"Go check out the examples mentioned above by ",[206,48515,48517],{"href":48445,"rel":48516},[210],"clicking this link",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":48519},[48520,48521,48522,48523],{"id":48483,"depth":291,"text":48484},{"id":48490,"depth":291,"text":48491},{"id":48497,"depth":291,"text":48498},{"id":48504,"depth":291,"text":48505},"2012-05-22","In a recent iMedia Connection article, ROI DNA's VP of Branding Jim Nichols took a look at 9 different brands that used shock ads.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fhow-to-design-effective-shock-ads",{"title":48437,"description":48525},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fhow-to-design-effective-shock-ads","XlpG5PxHdockNkKyrdnSDeXmpP48bwXnIpRP9vsYpA0",{"id":48532,"title":48533,"author":7,"authors":48534,"body":48535,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":48598,"description":48599,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":48600,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":48601,"seo":48602,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":48603,"updated":7,"__hash__":48604},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Famazon-kindle-fire-to-begin-selling-ad-space.md","Amazon Kindle Fire to Begin Selling Ad Space",[17174],{"type":11,"value":48536,"toc":48593},[48537,48541,48544,48547,48558,48561,48564,48567,48571,48574,48577,48580,48584],[24,48538,48540],{"id":48539},"the-kindle-fire-is-amazons-best-selling-product","The Kindle Fire is Amazon's best selling product",[14,48542,48543],{},"With that in mind, Amazon has decided to sell ads on the device's welcome screen.",[14,48545,48546],{},"Here are some of the details:",[46,48548,48549,48552,48555],{},[49,48550,48551],{},"Minimum of $600,000 commitment must be made to get in on a welcome screen ad package",[49,48553,48554],{},"For $1,000,000, brands would gain access to 'special offers' section inventory and also be included in Amazon's public relations push",[49,48556,48557],{},"Campaigns would run for 2 month time frames",[14,48559,48560],{},"Initially, agency executives expressed concern over a couple points, including the fact that Amazon cannot guarantee the number of users \u002F devices that these welcome ads would appear on.",[14,48562,48563],{},"Another concern was whether these ads would be available on Kindle Fire's that are currently in users hands or only for the new generation of the Fire that Amazon is beginning to ship.",[14,48565,48566],{},"Which leads to another interesting question ..",[24,48568,48570],{"id":48569},"how-will-amazon-differ-this-experience-from-apples-iads","How will Amazon differ this experience from Apple's iAds?",[14,48572,48573],{},"If you recall, Apple initially had a entry point of $1 million to run ads on their iAds platform.",[14,48575,48576],{},"This number decreased rapidly (to $500k, then $300k & now $100k) as Apple found it difficult to sell such expensive packages without being able to guarantee performance.",[14,48578,48579],{},"Amazon will need to do a good job of communicating the value of these advertising placements to avoid a similar pricing fire sale, which would begin by defining the number of users that actually see the ads .",[24,48581,48583],{"id":48582},"for-more-information-on-amazons-new-advertising-opportunity","For more information on Amazon's new advertising opportunity ...",[14,48585,48586,48587,48592],{},"Check out this ",[206,48588,48591],{"href":48589,"rel":48590},"https:\u002F\u002Fadage.com\u002Farticle\u002Fdigital\u002Famazon-sell-ads-kindle-fire-screen-600k\u002F234830\u002F",[210],"Ad Age article"," that offers some additional details.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":48594},[48595,48596,48597],{"id":48539,"depth":291,"text":48540},{"id":48569,"depth":291,"text":48570},{"id":48582,"depth":291,"text":48583},"2012-05-18","Amazon has decided to sell ads on the device welcome screen. Here are some of the details.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Famazon-kindle-fire-to-begin-selling-ad-space",{"title":48533,"description":48599},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Famazon-kindle-fire-to-begin-selling-ad-space","wEpza2uMqoJiohgohAK2RM4EPB8HbB9W1B3oOIEH-7U",{"id":48606,"title":48607,"author":7,"authors":48608,"body":48609,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":48685,"description":48686,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":48687,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":48688,"seo":48689,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":48690,"updated":7,"__hash__":48691},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fwhat-big-companies-can-learn-from-start-ups.md","What Big Companies Can Learn From Startups",[17174],{"type":11,"value":48610,"toc":48679},[48611,48615,48618,48622,48625,48643,48647,48650,48662,48666,48674],[24,48612,48614],{"id":48613},"so-whats-the-advantage-of-operating-your-company-like-a-startup","So, what's the advantage of operating your company like a startup?",[14,48616,48617],{},"In my opinion, there are three distinct advantages:",[24,48619,48621],{"id":48620},"ability-to-make-decisions","Ability to Make Decisions",[14,48623,48624],{},"Startups have the ability to pull the trigger and act quickly. A few examples include:",[46,48626,48627,48634],{},[49,48628,48629,48630,48633],{},"Decision Making Timelines: Startups ",[52,48631,48632],{},"literally"," don't have time to waste -- every moment they waste brings them one step closer to running out of cash. Startups make decisions out of necessity in order to continue taking positive steps toward achieving their goal(s).",[49,48635,48636,48637,48642],{},"Fewer Moving Parts: As ",[206,48638,48641],{"href":48639,"rel":48640},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FRework-Jason-Fried\u002Fdp\u002F0307463745",[210],"Jason Fried wrote in Rework",", your company will never be a) smaller, and b) more nimble than it is at its inception. Embrace the fact that you have fewer moving parts and are able to quickly and efficiently make decisions.",[24,48644,48646],{"id":48645},"ability-to-pivot","Ability to Pivot",[14,48648,48649],{},"As we mentioned above, startups have to make decisions to continue making progress. With that in mind, startups clearly understand that...",[46,48651,48652,48659],{},[49,48653,48654,48655,48658],{},"Nothing is Permanent: Guess what? Decisions can be made to ",[52,48656,48657],{},"reverse"," poor choices that were previously made! Nothing is final, so stop acting like your brand can't pivot based upon real-time results of your decisions!",[49,48660,48661],{},"Pivoting: On that note, startups are able to pivot in order to be more successful. Pivot your target audience, product offering, company mission ... the list is endless!",[24,48663,48665],{"id":48664},"faith-in-their-employees","Faith in Their Employees",[46,48667,48668,48671],{},[49,48669,48670],{},"Employees become trigger men (and women): Startups have to place faith in their employees -- they must hire productive workers that buy in 100% to the companies mission and will give 110% to help make that vision a reality. With this in mind, they are empowered to make a lot of decisions on the fly and must be creative to get things done.",[49,48672,48673],{},"Employees love their work: Because you've empowered your employees to make decisions and be independently successful within your company, they begin to love their work. Hell, it's their work that you've given them the power to make decisions and act on! Embrace this!",[14,48675,48676],{},[52,48677,48678],{},"What do you think -- did I miss anything important?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":48680},[48681,48682,48683,48684],{"id":48613,"depth":291,"text":48614},{"id":48620,"depth":291,"text":48621},{"id":48645,"depth":291,"text":48646},{"id":48664,"depth":291,"text":48665},"2012-05-15","How and why to operate your business as a startup.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fwhat-big-companies-can-learn-from-start-ups",{"title":48607,"description":48686},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fwhat-big-companies-can-learn-from-start-ups","ZQbqErMhCBzAZsn-EGG4AibnkazrBRzZgu0iCaC7FVk",{"id":48693,"title":48694,"author":7,"authors":48695,"body":48696,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":48737,"description":48738,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":48739,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":48740,"seo":48741,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":48742,"updated":7,"__hash__":48743},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fwhat-facebook-can-teach-us-about-user-growth.md","What Facebook Can Teach Us About User Growth",[17174],{"type":11,"value":48697,"toc":48734},[48698,48707,48710,48714,48717,48731],[14,48699,48700,48701,48706],{},"Earlier today, I came across a great ",[206,48702,48705],{"href":48703,"rel":48704},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.quora.com\u002FWhat-are-some-decisions-taken-by-the-Growth-team-at-Facebook-that-helped-Facebook-reach-500-million-users",[210],"Quora thread","that discussed some of the decisions Facebook made to skyrocket it's user base to more than 500 million users.",[14,48708,48709],{},"Which made me think ...",[24,48711,48713],{"id":48712},"what-can-we-learn-from-facebooksuser-acquisition-strategy","What can we learn from Facebook's user acquisition strategy?",[14,48715,48716],{},"In terms of driving qualified leads and nurturing existing database contacts, there are four key questions your brand needs to ask itself.",[46,48718,48719,48722,48725,48728],{},[49,48720,48721],{},"How do I increase the rate of acquisition (i.e. user sign ups)?",[49,48723,48724],{},"What can I activate as many users as quickly as possible in their first 'N' days?",[49,48726,48727],{},"What are the levers for engagement & retention and how can I pull them?",[49,48729,48730],{},"How do I bring churned users back into the system to 'resurrect' them from the dead?",[14,48732,48733],{},"These questions are shown visually in the graphic above.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":48735},[48736],{"id":48712,"depth":291,"text":48713},"2012-05-14","A great Quora thread that discussed some of the decisions Facebook made to skyrocket it's user base to more than 500 million users.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fwhat-facebook-can-teach-us-about-user-growth",{"title":48694,"description":48738},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fwhat-facebook-can-teach-us-about-user-growth","J7PVeIi-Z6LkvQSR4bMSRv-ingXqkiACG0EBZIjsyF4",{"id":48745,"title":48746,"author":7,"authors":48747,"body":48748,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":48832,"description":48833,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":48834,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":48835,"seo":48836,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":48837,"updated":7,"__hash__":48838},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fchoosing-the-right-client-agency-partnership.md","Choosing the Right Client & Agency Partnership",[17174],{"type":11,"value":48749,"toc":48827},[48750,48759,48761,48765,48786,48790,48804,48808,48822],[14,48751,48752,48753,48758],{},"After reading this ClickZ article, ",[206,48754,48757],{"href":48755,"rel":48756},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.clickz.com\u002Fclickz\u002Fcolumn\u002F2172153\u002Fchoosing-partner-client-agency-relationship",[210],"Choosing the Right Partner: The Client-Agency Relationship",", we wanted to pass along a couple tips the author shared about building the right client \u002F agency relationship.",[14,48760,47590],{},[24,48762,48764],{"id":48763},"tip-1-make-sure-the-agencys-skills-closely-align-with-your-needs","Tip #1: Make Sure the Agency's Skills Closely Align With Your Needs",[46,48766,48767,48770,48773,48783],{},[49,48768,48769],{},"Situation: Many client-agency relationships fail because there is a mismatch between client needs and agency capabilities",[49,48771,48772],{},"Solution: When brands are evaluating agencies' capabilities, they should keep the following items in mind:",[49,48774,48775,48776,48779,48780],{},"Have a clear understanding of what you ",[52,48777,48778],{},"want"," and what you ",[52,48781,48782],{},"need",[49,48784,48785],{},"Don't let flashy presentation materials woo you -- make sure that the agency can deliver on their pitch",[24,48787,48789],{"id":48788},"tip-2-make-sure-the-agency-has-a-proven-track-record","Tip #2: Make Sure the Agency Has a Proven Track Record",[46,48791,48792,48795,48798,48801],{},[49,48793,48794],{},"Situation: Oftentimes, agencies have a tough time delivering their pitched solution on time, under budget and at a high quality of work",[49,48796,48797],{},"Solution: Verify the following things:",[49,48799,48800],{},"Track Record: What similar clients or programs have they executed before? How did they perform?",[49,48802,48803],{},"Their Process: What makes their process special? Can they articulate why it works?",[24,48805,48807],{"id":48806},"tip-3-make-sure-the-agency-can-play-well-with-others","Tip #3: Make Sure the Agency Can Play Well With Others",[46,48809,48810,48813,48816,48819],{},[49,48811,48812],{},"Situation: Clients tend to tap numerous agencies to deliver on offline, digital and creative marketing needs",[49,48814,48815],{},"Solution: Ask the following questions:",[49,48817,48818],{},"Experience: What other clients has this agency 'split duties' with across a set of marketing partners?",[49,48820,48821],{},"Process: When working with other agencies, what processes are put in place?",[14,48823,48824],{},[52,48825,48826],{},"What other tips does your brand have to share?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":48828},[48829,48830,48831],{"id":48763,"depth":291,"text":48764},{"id":48788,"depth":291,"text":48789},{"id":48806,"depth":291,"text":48807},"2012-05-08","After reading this ClickZ article, Choosing the Right Partner: The Client-Agency Relationship, we wanted to pass along a couple tips the author shared about building the right client \u002F agency relationship.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fchoosing-the-right-client-agency-partnership",{"title":48746,"description":48833},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fchoosing-the-right-client-agency-partnership","bd-1fhcA0hFZfL_KnxVE3Np6RwI1QqGloifXfWL4jxY",{"id":48840,"title":48841,"author":7,"authors":48842,"body":48843,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":48932,"description":48847,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":48933,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":48934,"seo":48935,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":48936,"updated":7,"__hash__":48937},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Funderstanding-the-customer-journey.md","Understanding the Customer Journey",[17174],{"type":11,"value":48844,"toc":48927},[48845,48848,48851,48855,48862,48866,48886,48889,48893],[14,48846,48847],{},"This article sets out to ask brands if they understand the journey customers make from the beginning to end of a purchase process.",[14,48849,48850],{},"We should probably establish a baseline, so I'll ask you all..",[24,48852,48854],{"id":48853},"does-your-brand-understand-a-day-in-the-life-of-its-target-consumers","Does your brand understand a 'day in the life' of its target consumers?",[14,48856,48857,48858,48861],{},"If the answer is yes, then we'd love to hear your opinion on our advice below.\nIf the answer is maybe (or even the brave ",[52,48859,48860],{},"'no'"," respondent out there), then we'd like to provide you with some direction to assist your brand \u002F agency as you attempt to answer this question.",[24,48863,48865],{"id":48864},"a-couple-good-questions-to-evaluate-your-customer-journeycompetencyinclude","A couple good questions to evaluate your customer journey competency include ...",[46,48867,48868,48874,48880],{},[49,48869,48870,48873],{},[52,48871,48872],{},"Value:"," Finding, integrating & focusing your brands value on the customers life",[49,48875,48876,48879],{},[52,48877,48878],{},"Environmental:"," Which physical and\u002For interactive touch points does your customer base interact with your brand?",[49,48881,48882,48885],{},[52,48883,48884],{},"Channel Selection:"," Similar to environmental, have you taken a deeper dive to understand which channels your customer base is predisposed to use?",[14,48887,48888],{},"While there are many more examples of actionable items to begin answering your customer journey conundrum, the three noted above should provide your organization with a great baseline to get the conversation started.",[24,48890,48892],{"id":48891},"on-top-of-the-advice-listed-above-here-a-few-resources-to-refer-to","On top of the advice listed above, here a few resources to refer to ...",[46,48894,48895,48903,48911,48919],{},[49,48896,48897,48902],{},[206,48898,48901],{"href":48899,"rel":48900},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.intelligentpositioning.com\u002Fblog\u002F2011\u002F05\u002Fthe-value-in-understanding-the-customer-journey\u002F",[210],"The Value of Understanding the Customer Journey"," (via Intelligent Positioning)",[49,48904,48905,48910],{},[206,48906,48909],{"href":48907,"rel":48908},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.marketingweek.co.uk\u002Funderstanding-the-customer-journey-is-vital\u002F3029107.article",[210],"Understanding the Customer Journey is Vital","(via Marketing Week)",[49,48912,48913,48918],{},[206,48914,48917],{"href":48915,"rel":48916},"https:\u002F\u002Feconsultancy.com\u002Fus\u002Fblog\u002F9501-tracking-the-customer-journey-with-marketing-attribution-new-report",[210],"Tracking the Customer Journey with Attribution","(via eConsultancy)",[49,48920,48921,48926],{},[206,48922,48925],{"href":48923,"rel":48924},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.mckinseyquarterly.com\u002FThe_consumer_decision_journey_2373",[210],"The Consumer Decision Journey","(via McKinsey)",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":48928},[48929,48930,48931],{"id":48853,"depth":291,"text":48854},{"id":48864,"depth":291,"text":48865},{"id":48891,"depth":291,"text":48892},"2012-05-07",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Funderstanding-the-customer-journey",{"title":48841,"description":48847},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Funderstanding-the-customer-journey","KPbQBaIlpBvoIjBbxi39K-CrPph3GnZrdR_ydMA6QdA",{"id":48939,"title":48940,"author":7,"authors":48941,"body":48942,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":49037,"description":49038,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":49039,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":49040,"seo":49041,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":48940,"stem":49042,"updated":7,"__hash__":49043},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fthree-tips-for-user-acquisition.md","Three Tips for User Acquisition",[17174],{"type":11,"value":48943,"toc":49032},[48944,48958,48961,48965,48968,48971,48974,48977,48980,48983,48987,48990,48993,48996,48999,49002,49006,49009,49012,49015,49018,49021],[14,48945,48946,48947,48952,48953,212],{},"Brian Balfour, the CMO of ",[206,48948,48951],{"href":48949,"rel":48950},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.boundless.com\u002F",[210],"Boundless",", shared some great advice in this ",[206,48954,48957],{"href":48955,"rel":48956},"https:\u002F\u002Fonstartups.com\u002Ftabid\u002F3339\u002Fbid\u002F82788\u002FBuilding-It-Is-Not-Enough-5-Practical-Tips-On-User-Acquisition.aspx",[210],"OnStartups article Building is Not Enough: 5 Practical Tips for User Acquisition",[14,48959,48960],{},"Based on our own experience, we wanted to expand on three of Brian's tips in a little more detail.",[24,48962,48964],{"id":48963},"_1-dont-test-a-lot-of-channels-at-once","1. Don't Test a Lot of Channels at Once",[14,48966,48967],{},"Brian calls it the old 'throw everything up on the wall see what sticks' strategy, which is a pretty accurate way to describe what happens.",[14,48969,48970],{},"In the past, we experimented with this strategy by purchasing media from 6 - 10 different ad networks for a campaign. And guess what happened?",[14,48972,48973],{},"The campaign bombed.",[14,48975,48976],{},"We learned that in purchasing media, you must focus your efforts on a few key media partnerships to avoid stretching your budget, data segments and available inventory too thin.",[14,48978,48979],{},"The same can be said for a multichannel strategy.",[14,48981,48982],{},"Avoid turning everything loose (SEM, social, display, etc) all at once simply 'for the sake of going live' ... Instead, employ a roll out strategy for each channel that allows your brand to test & optimize each individual channel before moving on to the next.",[24,48984,48986],{"id":48985},"_2-understand-that-paying-for-users-is-okay","2. Understand that paying for users is okay",[14,48988,48989],{},"All new users are acquired directly or indirectly.",[14,48991,48992],{},"An example of direct user acquisition would be running paid search ads.",[14,48994,48995],{},"Indirect acquisition would be SEO or viral acquisition, which is seen as 'free' from a media standpoint but actually has a price tag attached to it in terms of man hours.",[14,48997,48998],{},"The speed at which your brand learns how to acquire new users means everything:  the quicker you can learn what does \u002F doesn't work to acquire new users, the better.",[14,49000,49001],{},"So don't fight direct user acquisition programs -- embrace a paid user acquisition strategy to learn quicker!",[24,49003,49005],{"id":49004},"_3-avoid-the-ab-testing-death-trap","3. Avoid the A\u002FB Testing Death Trap",[14,49007,49008],{},"'But what if we change the purchase button to blue instead of orange ...'",[14,49010,49011],{},"'How about we move the copy to THIS side of the email ...'",[14,49013,49014],{},"These are all examples of marketers falling into the A\u002FB testing abyss: They end up testing so many versions of marketing programs that the data generated by the efforts becomes inconclusive (and worse, sucks up your precious time to analyze).",[14,49016,49017],{},"While it's great to A\u002FB test creative, landing pages & lead forms, you want to be careful about the amount of energy your company puts into these efforts.",[14,49019,49020],{},"Instead, it would be better to focus on testing things like:",[46,49022,49023,49026,49029],{},[49,49024,49025],{},"Messaging: Are you connecting the right audience to the right message?",[49,49027,49028],{},"Targeting: What audience targeting tweaks could you make to bring in more users?",[49,49030,49031],{},"Activation Methods: What different channels, strategies or tools could you utilize to activate new users?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":49033},[49034,49035,49036],{"id":48963,"depth":291,"text":48964},{"id":48985,"depth":291,"text":48986},{"id":49004,"depth":291,"text":49005},"2012-05-03","Brian Balfour, the CMO of Boundless, shared some great advice in this OnStartups article. Building is Not Enough: 5 Practical Tips for User Acquisition.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fthree-tips-for-user-acquisition",{"title":48940,"description":49038},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fthree-tips-for-user-acquisition","0IpvVVc0FEzpqO5MGHIh4EsZTGJ01Sn-I5HoShQJAGk",{"id":49045,"title":49046,"author":7,"authors":49047,"body":49048,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":49254,"description":49255,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":49256,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":49257,"seo":49258,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":49046,"stem":49259,"updated":7,"__hash__":49260},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fvision-moving-forward-for-mkg-media-group.md","The Future of MKG Marketing",[9],{"type":11,"value":49049,"toc":49240},[49050,49054,49067,49074,49077,49080,49085,49088,49092,49095,49098,49112,49116,49119,49142,49145,49149,49152,49155,49158,49161,49165,49168,49172,49175,49179,49182,49185,49189,49192,49195,49198,49201,49205,49208,49211,49215,49218,49221,49224,49228,49234,49237],[24,49051,49053],{"id":49052},"a-lot-has-been-happening-with-us-here-at-mkg-marketing","A lot has been happening with us here at MKG Marketing!",[14,49055,49056,49057,49061,49062,49066],{},"We've continued to work with ",[206,49058,49060],{"href":45734,"rel":49059},[210],"our first client",", brought on a new ",[206,49063,49065],{"href":45774,"rel":49064},[210],"SaaS client here in the Bay Area",", started working with 'secret national retailer X' (more details to come!) and have a surprise client or two up our sleeve that we're excited to introduce publicly.",[14,49068,49069,49070,49073],{},"Our newest client, ",[206,49071,45776],{"href":45774,"rel":49072},[210],", has given us office space.",[14,49075,49076],{},"Mike has stopped doing hot yoga (and is miserable without it).",[14,49078,49079],{},"Okay, maybe the last one was a little bit off track ...",[14,49081,49082],{},[52,49083,49084],{},"... But ...",[14,49086,49087],{},"... great news isn't all that we wanted to share with you -- We wanted to give you, our readers & clients, an update on the vision of where this agency is going and how we are continuing to improve our services every single day.",[24,49089,49091],{"id":49090},"our-history","Our History",[14,49093,49094],{},"We used to simply sell ourselves as a display media buying shop -- all we did was plan & buy display media space for clients.",[14,49096,49097],{},"That quickly (and quite rapidly) began to change. In our companies lifetime, we have transitioned to providers of ...",[46,49099,49100,49103,49106,49109],{},[49,49101,49102],{},"Planning and buying display media only",[49,49104,49105],{},"Introduced mobile & social, giving us the ability to communicate across multiple digital media channels",[49,49107,49108],{},"Grew to focus on measurable media across all channels (including traditional) with a heavy emphasis in digital",[49,49110,49111],{},"Continue to represent a measurable media offering, but our 'secret sauce' has changed in the way that we deliver these results -",[24,49113,49115],{"id":49114},"our-updated-vision-the-not-so-secret-sauce","Our Updated Vision -- The 'Not-So-Secret Sauce'",[14,49117,49118],{},"Our original model of how we delivered results for our clients was -",[46,49120,49121,49127,49133],{},[49,49122,49123,49126],{},[52,49124,49125],{},"Reach:"," Understand who your actionable audience is and reach as many of those users across the web",[49,49128,49129,49132],{},[52,49130,49131],{},"Teach:"," Teach these users about your brands product \u002F service",[49,49134,49135,49138,49139],{},[52,49136,49137],{},"Convert:"," Convert this audience, analyze their characteristics, and go acquire more users like them\nWe have recently shifted to a more powerful model of acquiring and, more importantly, ",[52,49140,49141],{},"retaining customers.",[14,49143,49144],{},"The one liner to describe what we are focusing on is ...",[24,49146,49148],{"id":49147},"were-in-the-business-of-generating-customers-not-transactions","We're in the business of generating customers -- NOT transactions ",[14,49150,49151],{},"An example of a transaction is when I go to the mall and buy a pair of Vans sneakers once a year.",[14,49153,49154],{},"A customer is someone that will purchase a pair of Vans sneakers every single month.",[14,49156,49157],{},"See the difference?",[14,49159,49160],{},"12 product purchases compared to 1. We want to identify and nurture existing 'transactions' into becoming loyal 'customers'.",[24,49162,49164],{"id":49163},"so-how-does-it-work","So how does it work?",[14,49166,49167],{},"There are three key components to our 'not-so-secret sauce' ...",[81,49169,49171],{"id":49170},"step-1-conversion","Step 1: Conversion",[14,49173,49174],{},"Focus on converting users across the web. We'd like to deliver a tangible return on media investment metric back to you, the client.",[81,49176,49178],{"id":49177},"step-2-what-do-these-users-look-like","Step 2: What do these users look like?",[14,49180,49181],{},"Analyze and interpret the demographic, psychographic, purchase behaviors, and other big data characteristics of our converting audience.",[14,49183,49184],{},"Turn this data into actionable insights to feed into our conversion engine and deliver more qualified leads for you -- the client.",[81,49186,49188],{"id":49187},"step-3-lead-nurturing","Step 3: Lead nurturing",[14,49190,49191],{},"Not only do we want to drive conversions and understand what those users look like; we want to utilize tools and create strategies that will continue to nurture these 'transactions' into 'customers'.",[14,49193,49194],{},"In our opinion, lead nurturing is one of the most under serviced capabilities in our market. Many agencies that I speak with find that it's the 'clients job' to nurture their own leads  -- that the agencies role is simply to 'bring the horse to the trough to eat'",[14,49196,49197],{},"NO WAY, JOSE",[14,49199,49200],{},"We are in it together with our clients, and we want to provide the ability to not only 'bring the horse to the trough' but to keep the lines of communication open with said 'horses' by continually engaging and nurturing these users into becoming loyal customers.",[24,49202,49204],{"id":49203},"how-will-this-help-you-our-readers","How will this help you -- our readers?",[14,49206,49207],{},"For our readers, you're going to see a wider range of marketing \u002F technology related content published here on the Digi Rules blog.",[14,49209,49210],{},"To deliver on our 'not-so-secret sauce', we need to be on top of every new opportunity -- that's one of our core values as an agency.",[24,49212,49214],{"id":49213},"how-will-this-help-you-our-prospective-and-existing-client-base","How will this help you -- our prospective and existing client base?",[14,49216,49217],{},"For prospective and existing clients, we'll continue to refine the process of generating and nurturing qualified leads, and as this happens our ability to deliver 'customers' instead of 'transactions' will continue to improve over time.",[14,49219,49220],{},"This sounds so simple, and that's the way we want it to be: We continue to work our MKG tails off and make our 'not-so-secret sauce' better and better -- You continue to reap the benefits and look like a rock star within your organization.",[14,49222,49223],{},"We'd have it no other way :-)",[24,49225,49227],{"id":49226},"thanks-for-stopping-in-were-looking-forward-to-the-future","Thanks for stopping in. We're looking forward to the future!",[14,49229,49230,49231,212],{},"Please, don't hesitate to reach out with any questions you have in by sending us an ",[206,49232,49233],{"href":11956},"email here",[14,49235,49236],{},"Go Forth & Conquer,",[14,49238,49239],{},"Mike",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":49241},[49242,49243,49244,49245,49246,49251,49252,49253],{"id":49052,"depth":291,"text":49053},{"id":49090,"depth":291,"text":49091},{"id":49114,"depth":291,"text":49115},{"id":49147,"depth":291,"text":49148},{"id":49163,"depth":291,"text":49164,"children":49247},[49248,49249,49250],{"id":49170,"depth":297,"text":49171},{"id":49177,"depth":297,"text":49178},{"id":49187,"depth":297,"text":49188},{"id":49203,"depth":291,"text":49204},{"id":49213,"depth":291,"text":49214},{"id":49226,"depth":291,"text":49227},"2012-04-30","We have shifted from simple media planning and buying. See where we're going.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fvision-moving-forward-for-mkg-media-group",{"title":49046,"description":49255},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fvision-moving-forward-for-mkg-media-group","9gIWvkalSujQgsyKW9AAO4AU79MEDBVbwv-RcxQxNQs",{"id":49262,"title":49263,"author":7,"authors":49264,"body":49265,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":49352,"description":49269,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":49353,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":49354,"seo":49355,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":49263,"stem":49356,"updated":7,"__hash__":49357},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fthree-facebook-metrics-to-track.md","Three Facebook Metrics to Track",[17174],{"type":11,"value":49266,"toc":49345},[49267,49270,49274,49277,49281,49284,49287,49290,49293,49297,49306,49308,49311,49314,49317,49321,49324,49327,49335,49339],[14,49268,49269],{},"901 million worldwide users. Nearly 500 million mobile users. Over $2 billion in annual advertising revenue.",[24,49271,49273],{"id":49272},"yep-were-talking-about-facebook","Yep, we're talking about Facebook.",[14,49275,49276],{},"As Mark Zuckerberg continues to build his social networking empire, we'd like to share a few ways to measure the paid and organic success of your Facebook marketing efforts.",[24,49278,49280],{"id":49279},"engagement-talking-about-this","Engagement: 'Talking About This'",[14,49282,49283],{},"Through a series of new rules and regulations, Facebook is placing more value on one metric above the rest:",[14,49285,49286],{},"Engagement",[14,49288,49289],{},"Facebook wants to reward brands with highly engaged online audiences, hence their new 'talking about this' metric.",[14,49291,49292],{},"The 'talking about this' metric rewards brands that have developed a loyal following of users on Facebook, as opposed to big brands who have users that 'like' the brand page but rarely visit or interact with the brand on a regular basis.",[24,49294,49296],{"id":49295},"segmented-likes","Segmented Likes",[14,49298,49299,49300,49305],{},"By plugging into Facebook advertising tools like ",[206,49301,49304],{"href":49302,"rel":49303},"https:\u002F\u002Fcompasslabs.com",[210],"Compass Labs",", marketers are able to measure top-performing keywords, media preferences and see a customer profile of who is 'liking' your brand page.",[14,49307,38084],{},[14,49309,49310],{},"Well, you want to make sure that your advertising is attracting the correct type of customer to engage with your brand.",[14,49312,49313],{},"For example, we were running a campaign for a national retail brand. The campaign was generating five times more likes than when the client managed the program in house ... but half of the likes were coming from 13 - 17 year olds who are unlikely to turn into paying customers.",[14,49315,49316],{},"By catching this fact early, we were able to segment that age group out and only target Facebook users that were older and had a higher HHI (i.e. those who would actually buy the products we were offering).",[24,49318,49320],{"id":49319},"redirected-sales","Redirected Sales",[14,49322,49323],{},"We're beginning to measure sales on a clients website that were referred from Facebook advertising.",[14,49325,49326],{},"By creating a custom tab with an offer, deal or coupon, we can measure users who not only 'like' the brand page but who interact with the custom tab and then purchase a product or service on our clients website.",[14,49328,49329,49330],{},"Using our algorithm, we are then able to place a number on the value of a 'like' for each individual brands Facebook page, much ",[206,49331,49334],{"href":49332,"rel":49333},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.eventbrite.com\u002Fpressreleases\u002Feventbrite-unveils-social-commerce-data-revealing-dollar-values-consumer-social\u002F",[210],"like Eventbrite did.",[24,49336,49338],{"id":49337},"do-you-know-the-value-of-your-social-marketing-efforts","Do you know the value of your social marketing efforts?",[14,49340,49341,49342],{},"If not, ",[206,49343,49344],{"href":11956},"give us a shout",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":49346},[49347,49348,49349,49350,49351],{"id":49272,"depth":291,"text":49273},{"id":49279,"depth":291,"text":49280},{"id":49295,"depth":291,"text":49296},{"id":49319,"depth":291,"text":49320},{"id":49337,"depth":291,"text":49338},"2012-04-27",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fthree-facebook-metrics-to-track",{"title":49263,"description":49269},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fthree-facebook-metrics-to-track","upae-t6CSf9ycjoB-1EubQV2axtW0ayLnsKrqt8IeJs",{"id":49359,"title":49360,"author":7,"authors":49361,"body":49362,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":49489,"description":49366,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":49490,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":49491,"seo":49492,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":49360,"stem":49493,"updated":7,"__hash__":49494},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fthe-nfl-draft-of-advertising.md","The NFL Draft of Advertising",[17174],{"type":11,"value":49363,"toc":49482},[49364,49367,49371,49374,49377,49381,49384,49387,49391,49394,49397,49400,49411,49418,49422,49425,49428,49431,49451,49455,49462,49465,49477],[14,49365,49366],{},"Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Trent Richardson and more will headline the bright lights of New York City tonight.",[24,49368,49370],{"id":49369},"thats-right-tonight-is-the-2012-nfl-draft","That's right: Tonight is the 2012 NFL Draft.",[14,49372,49373],{},"Literally thousands of hours have gone into evaluating these soon-to-be professional athletes; interviews, film study, phone calls to ex-coaches ... well, you get the point.",[14,49375,49376],{},"Which made us think ...",[24,49378,49380],{"id":49379},"how-do-marketing-agencies-evaluate-talent","How do marketing agencies evaluate talent?",[14,49382,49383],{},"While we can only speak for the way that we evaluate talent, I'm confident that our process is the result of past agency tutelage and experience.",[14,49385,49386],{},"So without further ado, here is how MKG Marketing evaluates talent ...",[24,49388,49390],{"id":49389},"referrals-references","Referrals & References",[14,49392,49393],{},"Anytime we need to bring on an extra pair of hands, the first thing I do is reach out to someone in that specific industry that I trust.",[14,49395,49396],{},"The first thing I ask that person is: Who's doing 'XYZ' really well right now?",[14,49398,49399],{},"Followed by:",[46,49401,49402,49405,49408],{},[49,49403,49404],{},"Have you personally worked with this individual \u002F agency before?",[49,49406,49407],{},"What have others said to you about this individual \u002F agency?",[49,49409,49410],{},"Would you hire them again?",[14,49412,49413,49414,49417],{},"This exercise helps me get a great firsthand account of their expertise ",[52,49415,49416],{},"AS WELL AS"," connects me with other references that I can contact if I feel like we need additional background.",[24,49419,49421],{"id":49420},"the-social-setting-gauntlet","The Social Setting Gauntlet ",[14,49423,49424],{},"Anybody can put on a shirt and tie, sit straight backed in a conference room and robotically answer interview questions.",[14,49426,49427],{},"So, next time we need to hire somebody to look out of place, uncomfortable and generally unhappy to sit in a conference room for 40 hours a week, I'll start using this tactic.",[14,49429,49430],{},"Instead, we like to get people \u002F groups into social settings where we can have a candid conversation about what we need and if they can provide it for us. We prefer this for the following reasons:",[46,49432,49433,49439,49445],{},[49,49434,49435,49438],{},[52,49436,49437],{},"Candid Answers:"," Being in a social setting (lunch, happy hour drinks, etc) helps lower anxiety and, eventually, let their guard down. We get to see a more candid version of the person we would potentially be working with instead of a scripted, robotic answering machine.",[49,49440,49441,49444],{},[52,49442,49443],{},"How They Treat Others:"," Watch how interviewees treat the wait staff at a bar as well as the patrons surrounding your table. Do they hold doors open for others and constantly thank the waitress? Conversely, does he oogle at the waitress when she walks by and scold others for being noisy?",[49,49446,49447,49450],{},[52,49448,49449],{},"Distractions, distractions, distractions:"," Social settings, like many things in life, are filled with distractions. How does the interviewee handle these distractions?",[24,49452,49454],{"id":49453},"this-isnt-a-one-night-stand","This Isn't a One Night Stand",[14,49456,49457,49458,49461],{},"We are always looking for quality partnerships -- usually ",[52,49459,49460],{},"FAR"," in advance of actual need -- and I am always completely transparent with potential partners as soon as we sit down.",[14,49463,49464],{},"We want to sit down and learn about your business over the course of a few conversations. You're not going to bed with us on the first date, so please treat our relationship with respect and understand that we need to vet you \u002F your team.",[14,49466,49467,49472,49473,49476],{},[206,49468,49471],{"href":49469,"rel":49470},"https:\u002F\u002Fridejoy.com",[210],"Ridejoy",", a startup based here in San Francisco, actually interviewed their community manager for ",[52,49474,49475],{},"36 hours"," (over a weekend, no less) before they decided to extend her an offer (read about it)",[14,49478,49479],{},[52,49480,49481],{},"So, How Do You Evaluate Potential New Employees?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":49483},[49484,49485,49486,49487,49488],{"id":49369,"depth":291,"text":49370},{"id":49379,"depth":291,"text":49380},{"id":49389,"depth":291,"text":49390},{"id":49420,"depth":291,"text":49421},{"id":49453,"depth":291,"text":49454},"2012-04-26",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fthe-nfl-draft-of-advertising",{"title":49360,"description":49366},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fthe-nfl-draft-of-advertising","RSRf6bKfzfoXOmILAoxpVEWioMDHZ-ECyciVlOp_nCw",{"id":49496,"title":49497,"author":7,"authors":49498,"body":49499,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":49629,"description":49630,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":49631,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":49632,"seo":49633,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":49497,"stem":49634,"updated":7,"__hash__":49635},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fthree-steps-to-marketing-automation-paradise.md","Three Steps to Marketing Automation Paradise",[17174],{"type":11,"value":49500,"toc":49623},[49501,49504,49508,49511,49514,49518,49521,49524,49553,49557,49560,49563,49570,49574,49577,49618],[14,49502,49503],{},"Ever wonder how your company could simplify the way they communicate with their customers?",[24,49505,49507],{"id":49506},"youre-not-alone","You're not alone",[14,49509,49510],{},"In fact, there are numerous companies who have built their products and services up around the idea of automating traditionally cumbersome marketing tasks.",[14,49512,49513],{},"Take a look below at the three ways brands can reach marketing automation paradise.",[24,49515,49517],{"id":49516},"programmatic-media-buying","Programmatic Media Buying",[14,49519,49520],{},"Save time and energy by plugging into real time bidding partners and demand side platforms that are able to programmatically purchase digital media space based upon the advertisers set parameters.",[14,49522,49523],{},"Great examples of RTB and DSP partners include:",[46,49525,49526,49532,49539,49546],{},[49,49527,49528],{},[206,49529,40085],{"href":49530,"rel":49531},"https:\u002F\u002Fdataxu.com",[210],[49,49533,49534],{},[206,49535,49538],{"href":49536,"rel":49537},"https:\u002F\u002Fmediamath.com",[210],"Media Math",[49,49540,49541],{},[206,49542,49545],{"href":49543,"rel":49544},"https:\u002F\u002Fturn.com",[210],"Turn",[49,49547,49548],{},[206,49549,49552],{"href":49550,"rel":49551},"https:\u002F\u002Ftriggit.com",[210],"Triggit",[24,49554,49556],{"id":49555},"marketing-automation-partners","Marketing Automation Partners",[14,49558,49559],{},"Marketers work hard to acquire new customers, but what are they doing to encourage a long-term engagement with these customers?",[14,49561,49562],{},"Marketing automation is an all-inclusive lead nurturing tactic that allows brands to continuously communicate with their prospects & customers.",[14,49564,49565,49569],{},[206,49566,40097],{"href":49567,"rel":49568},"https:\u002F\u002Fmarketo.com",[210]," is a great example of a lead nurturing SaaS platform that allows marketers to do this.",[24,49571,49573],{"id":49572},"marketing-dashboards","Marketing Dashboards",[14,49575,49576],{},"Using tools such as attribution and data management platforms, marketers can measure the effect of all their marketing efforts in one simple-to-read",[46,49578,49579,49598],{},[49,49580,49581,1042,49584,24127,49588,24127,49593],{},[52,49582,49583],{},"Data Management Platforms:",[206,49585,42337],{"href":49586,"rel":49587},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.xplusone.com\u002F",[210],[206,49589,49592],{"href":49590,"rel":49591},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bluekai.com\u002Fdmp\u002F",[210],"Blue Kai",[206,49594,49597],{"href":49595,"rel":49596},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aggregateknowledge.com\u002Findex.html",[210],"Aggregate Knowledge",[49,49599,49600,1042,49603,24127,49608,24127,49613],{},[52,49601,49602],{},"Attribution Models:",[206,49604,49607],{"href":49605,"rel":49606},"https:\u002F\u002Fattributionmanagement.com\u002F",[210],"ClearSaleing",[206,49609,49612],{"href":49610,"rel":49611},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.c3metrics.com",[210],"C3 Metrics",[206,49614,49617],{"href":49615,"rel":49616},"https:\u002F\u002Fadometry.com",[210],"Adometry",[14,49619,49620],{},[52,49621,49622],{},"Which of the tactics above is your company utilizing?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":49624},[49625,49626,49627,49628],{"id":49506,"depth":291,"text":49507},{"id":49516,"depth":291,"text":49517},{"id":49555,"depth":291,"text":49556},{"id":49572,"depth":291,"text":49573},"2012-04-25","Ever wonder how your company could simplify the way they communicate with their customers? You''re not alone.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fthree-steps-to-marketing-automation-paradise",{"title":49497,"description":49630},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fthree-steps-to-marketing-automation-paradise","JewsOL46L0pWjR45yV0y8Dst6aZyrwP3buigtC6_4Ic",{"id":49637,"title":49638,"author":7,"authors":49639,"body":49640,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":49739,"description":49740,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":49741,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":49742,"seo":49743,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":49638,"stem":49744,"updated":7,"__hash__":49745},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fthree-myths-about-audience-targeting-cookies.md","Three Myths About Audience Targeting & Cookies",[17174],{"type":11,"value":49641,"toc":49733},[49642,49657,49660,49664,49666,49670,49673,49676,49679,49683,49692,49695,49698,49701,49705,49708,49711,49714,49728],[14,49643,49644,49645,49650,49651,49656],{},"Last Week, ",[206,49646,49649],{"href":49647,"rel":49648},"https:\u002F\u002Finvitemedia.com",[210],"Invite Media","'s James Lancelot wrote an ",[206,49652,49655],{"href":49653,"rel":49654},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.adexchanger.com\u002Fdata-driven-thinking\u002Fcookie-wars\u002F",[210],"Ad Exchanger article"," that mentioned the current state of 'cookie wars' happening in the digital media industry.",[14,49658,49659],{},"Lancelot made a wise statement: the old model of buying multiple ad networks in order to reach 100% of your audience across the web is horrifically inefficient.",[24,49661,49663],{"id":49662},"with-that-in-mind-we-wanted-to-debunk-a-few-myths-about-buying-audiences-using-cookies","With that in mind, we wanted to debunk a few myths about buying audiences (using cookies)",[14,49665,46869],{},[24,49667,49669],{"id":49668},"buying-multiple-ad-networks-will-help-reach-your-total-audience","Buying Multiple Ad Networks Will Help Reach Your Total Audience",[14,49671,49672],{},"Some media buyers believe that buying multiple ad networks will allow them to reach their complete target audience during any given campaign.",[14,49674,49675],{},"In fact, most (if not all) ad networks have access to the inventory exchanges and are able to purchase the exact same set of cookies (i.e. audience-specific inventory).",[14,49677,49678],{},"There's no need to purchase the inventory through multiple ad networks; each media partner will be competing against each other for the exact same set of cookies, effectively making your media cost soar through the roof.",[24,49680,49682],{"id":49681},"buying-direct-from-exchanges-is-your-best-option","Buying Direct from Exchanges is Your Best Option",[14,49684,49685,49686,49691],{},"Many media partners act as their own exchange sources -- ",[206,49687,49690],{"href":49688,"rel":49689},"https:\u002F\u002Fquantcast.com",[210],"Quantcast"," is a great example -- and it can be tempting to buy media direct from these partners.",[14,49693,49694],{},"DON'T.",[14,49696,49697],{},"Use a network or Demand Side Platform (DSP) to purchase the inventory on your behalf.",[14,49699,49700],{},"Purchasing through one of the aforementioned partners allows you to sit above all the exchanges and cherry pick 'exchange inventory' (i.e. audience cookies) at the most efficient price.",[24,49702,49704],{"id":49703},"blind-faith-in-your-media-partners-cookie-verticals","Blind Faith in Your Media Partners' Cookie Verticals",[14,49706,49707],{},"The granularity of audience inventory -- for example, buying users who are 'in market for buying shoes online' -- is absolutely astounding. It's that kind of data that allows planners to tap into the true potential of their media plans to drive performance.",[14,49709,49710],{},"But don't take your media partners cookie data on blind faith.",[14,49712,49713],{},"Ask them how they classify, sort & categorize these cookies. Great questions include:",[46,49715,49716,49719,49722,49725],{},[49,49717,49718],{},"Where are you collecting \u002F buying your cookie data from?",[49,49720,49721],{},"What algorithm do you use to classify each user?",[49,49723,49724],{},"How many iterations of this algorithm have existed within your company?",[49,49726,49727],{},"Who built the algorithm? Why did your company tap him \u002F her to do so?\nMake sure to understand how your media partners 'secret sauce' works.",[14,49729,49730],{},[52,49731,49732],{},"In your experience, what other audience buying myths did we forget to mention?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":49734},[49735,49736,49737,49738],{"id":49662,"depth":291,"text":49663},{"id":49668,"depth":291,"text":49669},{"id":49681,"depth":291,"text":49682},{"id":49703,"depth":291,"text":49704},"2012-04-23","The old model of buying multiple ad networks in order to reach 100% of your audience across the web is horrifically inefficient.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fthree-myths-about-audience-targeting-cookies",{"title":49638,"description":49740},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fthree-myths-about-audience-targeting-cookies","pu2QCLgbR7c66jiCV2o7vEx-nHHMlXWLaoJQeo5Jp9w",{"id":49747,"title":49748,"author":7,"authors":49749,"body":49750,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":49862,"description":49863,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":49864,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":49865,"seo":49866,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":49748,"stem":49867,"updated":7,"__hash__":49868},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fwhat-amcs-the-pitch-missed-from-wdcw.md","What AMC’s ‘The Pitch’ Missed from WDCW",[17174],{"type":11,"value":49751,"toc":49852},[49752,49761,49764,49773,49783,49792,49800,49804,49806,49810,49813,49821,49824,49828,49831,49834,49838,49841,49844,49847],[24,49753,49755,49756],{"id":49754},"by-now-many-of-you-may-have-heard-of-amcs-new-showthe-pitch","By now, many of you may have heard of ",[206,49757,49760],{"href":49758,"rel":49759},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amctv.com\u002Fshows\u002Fthe-pitch",[210],"AMC's new show: The Pitch",[14,49762,49763],{},"The Pitch pits two opposing ad agencies against each other to compete for an assignment from a nationally-recognized brand.",[14,49765,49766,49767,49772],{},"Many of the larger ad agencies ",[206,49768,49771],{"href":49769,"rel":49770},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.forbes.com\u002Fsites\u002Fwillburns\u002F2012\u002F03\u002F22\u002Fthe-real-reason-the-big-ad-agencies-avoided-amcs-the-pitch\u002F",[210],"turned down the opportunity to appear on The Pitch",", citing the fact that they didn't want to give away their 'secret sauce' for all the world to see.",[24,49774,49776,49777,49782],{"id":49775},"my-former-employer-wdcw-accepted-the-invitation-to-compete","My former employer, ",[206,49778,49781],{"href":49779,"rel":49780},"https:\u002F\u002Fwdcw.com",[210],"WDCW",", accepted the invitation to compete",[14,49784,49785,49786,49791],{},"In an ",[206,49787,49790],{"href":49788,"rel":49789},"https:\u002F\u002Fadage.com\u002Farticle\u002Fagency-viewpoint\u002Fappearing-pitch\u002F233748\u002F",[210],"Ad Age article published earlier this month",", WDCW principal Tracy Wong did a fantastic job of detailing why WDCW was unafraid to take on the challenge.",[14,49793,49794,49795],{},"There were many things left out of the 42 minute first episode of The Pitch, which ",[206,49796,49799],{"href":49797,"rel":49798},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.forbes.com\u002Fsites\u002Fwillburns\u002F2012\u002F04\u002F20\u002Famcs-the-pitch-behind-the-scenes-part-2-tracy-wong-wdcw\u002F",[210],"Tracy touched on during this Forbes interview.",[24,49801,49803],{"id":49802},"as-a-former-wdcw-ite-i-wanted-to-share-a-couple-classic-wdcw-isms-that-tracy-left-unmentioned-that-others-in-our-industry-could-learn-from","As a former WDCW-ite, I wanted to share a couple classic 'WDCW-isms' that Tracy left unmentioned that others in our industry could learn from",[14,49805,47590],{},[24,49807,49809],{"id":49808},"lesson-1-check-your-ego-at-the-door","Lesson #1: Check your ego at the door",[14,49811,49812],{},"As a seasoned creative director, Tracy has seen a LOT of egos during his time in this industry. And even through all of the success he has experienced, he'll always be the first to tell someone to check their ego at the door.",[14,49814,49815,49816],{},"To paraphrase his acceptance speech at the ",[206,49817,49820],{"href":49818,"rel":49819},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.addyseattle.com\u002F",[210],"Seattle ADDY Awards in 2011:",[14,49822,49823],{},"'This industry doesn't need any more assholes; ego-driven, selfish, me-me-me-me-me type characters who think they're better than everybody else. Check your ego at the door and get on board with your team -- YOUR AGENCY -- and focus on producing good work as a group.'",[24,49825,49827],{"id":49826},"lesson-2use-your-superhero-powers-for-good","Lesson #2: Use your superhero powers for good",[14,49829,49830],{},"Tracy loved to use this phrase.",[14,49832,49833],{},"Life is not all about making money; at some point, you need to use the superhero powers that were bestowed upon you to work on something that will benefit the greater good.",[24,49835,49837],{"id":49836},"lesson-3-the-democracy-of-ideas","Lesson #3: The Democracy of Ideas",[14,49839,49840],{},"Tracy touched on this during his Ad Age article, but I believe it's worth revisiting a second time.",[14,49842,49843],{},"WDCW has built their culture around the concept that ideas come from a combined collection of thoughts -- that it's not up to a single person to come up with the 'big idea', but instead that everyone should come together to help bring this idea to life.",[14,49845,49846],{},"Focus on the bringing the broader group together as your agency is ideating and you'll benefit from a more diverse collection of ideas that are generated.",[14,49848,49849],{},[52,49850,49851],{},"So, what does your agency believe in?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":49853},[49854,49856,49858,49859,49860,49861],{"id":49754,"depth":291,"text":49855},"By now, many of you may have heard of AMC's new show: The Pitch",{"id":49775,"depth":291,"text":49857},"My former employer, WDCW, accepted the invitation to compete",{"id":49802,"depth":291,"text":49803},{"id":49808,"depth":291,"text":49809},{"id":49826,"depth":291,"text":49827},{"id":49836,"depth":291,"text":49837},"2012-04-21","Recap of The Pitch - what creative agency won when pinned up against each other.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fwhat-amcs-the-pitch-missed-from-wdcw",{"title":49748,"description":49863},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fwhat-amcs-the-pitch-missed-from-wdcw","me9DQqr8VEGc2pA7vdvuXTnOm7KZECaj8eXfGVJdUy4",{"id":49870,"title":49871,"author":7,"authors":49872,"body":49873,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":50043,"description":49877,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":50044,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":50045,"seo":50046,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":50047,"updated":7,"__hash__":50048},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fbrand-building-101-communicating-without-words.md","Brand Building 101: Communicating Without Words",[9],{"type":11,"value":49874,"toc":50036},[49875,49878,49881,49892,49895,49899,49902,49906,49909,49913,49916,49919,49952,49956,49959,49962,49994,49998,50001,50004,50031],[14,49876,49877],{},"Building a brand is one of the more complex and intricate pieces of the marketing mix.",[14,49879,49880],{},"Building a brand sets out to...",[46,49882,49883,49886,49889],{},[49,49884,49885],{},"Elicit an emotional response every time a consumer sees it",[49,49887,49888],{},"Be memorable",[49,49890,49891],{},"Prove it's superiority over your competitors",[14,49893,49894],{},"and most importantly ...",[24,49896,49898],{"id":49897},"building-a-brand-boils-down-to-one-thing-recognition","Building a brand boils down to one thing: Recognition ",[14,49900,49901],{},"Which leads me to the question:",[24,49903,49905],{"id":49904},"is-your-brand-able-to-communicate-without-using-words","Is your brand able to communicate without using words?",[14,49907,49908],{},"To illustrate my point, I've highlighted three brands who are able to communicate without saying a single word.",[24,49910,49912],{"id":49911},"_1-nike","1. Nike",[14,49914,49915],{},"Nike's trademark swoosh logo is the perfect example of a symbol that speaks on Nike's behalf without saying a single word.",[14,49917,49918],{},"Taking the criteria that I laid out above, here are my reactions to seeing this brand symbol.",[46,49920,49921,49924,49927,49940],{},[49,49922,49923],{},"Elicit an emotional reaction every time a consumer sees it",[49,49925,49926],{},"Reminds me of Friday night under the lights -- my high school football games -- where the only pair of cleats I ever wore were Nike's",[49,49928,49888,49929],{},[46,49930,49931],{},[49,49932,49933,49934,49939],{},"In a long line of memorable promotions, Nike worked with the University of Oregon to ",[206,49935,49938],{"href":49936,"rel":49937},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=-CbDwkyHnk8",[210],"project their logo on the side of Camelback Mountain in Arizona",", a stunt that generated a tidal wave of free media promoting the stunt",[49,49941,49891,49942],{},[46,49943,49944],{},[49,49945,49946,49947],{},"The people have spoken: ",[206,49948,49951],{"href":49949,"rel":49950},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FNike,_Inc.",[210],"Nike is the leading provider of athletic shoes and apparel",[24,49953,49955],{"id":49954},"_2-apple","2. Apple",[14,49957,49958],{},"The Apple logo, a symbol nearing extinction prior to Steve Jobs returning to captain the Apple ship, is recognized the whole world over as consumers gobble up iPods, iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, Mac Minis ... well, you get the point.",[14,49960,49961],{},"Again, let's take the criteria that I laid out above to examine Apple's brand.",[46,49963,49964,49966,49969,49981],{},[49,49965,49923],{},[49,49967,49968],{},"Trendy and aesthetically beautiful products that are extremely user friendly to operate",[49,49970,49888,49971],{},[46,49972,49973],{},[49,49974,6322,49975,49980],{},[206,49976,49979],{"href":49977,"rel":49978},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=4oAB83Z1ydE",[210],"Think Different advertising campaign"," of the late 90's remains one of the most popular (and arguably successful) advertising campaigns of the 20th century",[49,49982,49891,49983],{},[46,49984,49985],{},[49,49986,49987,49988,49993],{},"Again, the people have spoken: Apple's iPad 3 release saw ",[206,49989,49992],{"href":49990,"rel":49991},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.techradar.com\u002Fnews\u002Fmobile-computing\u002Ftablets\u002Fnew-ipad-3-tops-3-million-sales-in-3-days-1072324",[210],"3 MILLION UNITS SOLD","in the first three days they hit the shelves",[24,49995,49997],{"id":49996},"_3-brian-wilson","3. Brian Wilson",[14,49999,50000],{},"Yes, mister 'fear the beard' himself!",[14,50002,50003],{},"Since winning the World Championship in 2010, Wilson has rocketed up the celebrity charts. Using his 300-esque beard and hot-tempered pitching style, Wilson has become a household name.",[46,50005,50006,50008,50011,50024],{},[49,50007,49923],{},[49,50009,50010],{},"Slightly terrified that Brian will pull a Leonitus and separate one (or more) of my limbs from my body",[49,50012,49888,50013],{},[46,50014,50015],{},[49,50016,50017,50018,50023],{},"Please refer to this ",[206,50019,50022],{"href":50020,"rel":50021},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=iLsDZjIH7sE",[210],"Taco Bell commercial"," that Brian starred in",[49,50025,49891,50026],{},[46,50027,50028],{},[49,50029,50030],{},"Wilson is believed to be one of the best closers in all of baseball right now",[14,50032,50033],{},[52,50034,50035],{},"What steps are your team taking toward building a memorable brand?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":50037},[50038,50039,50040,50041,50042],{"id":49897,"depth":291,"text":49898},{"id":49904,"depth":291,"text":49905},{"id":49911,"depth":291,"text":49912},{"id":49954,"depth":291,"text":49955},{"id":49996,"depth":291,"text":49997},"2012-04-16",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Fbrand-building-101-communicating-without-words",{"title":49871,"description":49877},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Fbrand-building-101-communicating-without-words","SbYEICD_JiNkoFoNRruUrFJHNOeK9-96RJYtmcMTrjM",{"id":50050,"title":50051,"author":7,"authors":50052,"body":50053,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":50118,"description":50069,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":50119,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":50120,"seo":50121,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":50122,"updated":7,"__hash__":50123},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fwhat-hilary-rosen-can-teach-us-about-focusing-your-mobile-ad-campaign.md","What Hilary Rosen Can Teach Us About Focusing Your Mobile Ad Campaign",[9],{"type":11,"value":50054,"toc":50112},[50055,50063,50067,50070,50073,50077,50080,50083,50087,50090,50093,50096,50099,50103,50106,50109],[14,50056,50057,50058,6109],{},"In the latest politicial mishap, democratic party strategist ",[206,50059,50062],{"href":50060,"rel":50061},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.forbes.com\u002Fsites\u002Fsamanthaettus\u002F2012\u002F04\u002F13\u002Fann-romney\u002F",[210],"Hilary Rosen uttered the following comment about Ann Romney",[24,50064,50066],{"id":50065},"ann-romney-has-never-worked-a-day-in-her-life","'Ann Romney has never worked a day in her life.'",[14,50068,50069],{},"In the spirit of always learning from other people's mistakes, we realized there could be no better way to learn from Rosen's mistake than to identify a couple ways to focus a mobile advertising campaign!",[14,50071,50072],{},"I know we're stretching here, but stick with us and we'll take you to the promised land ...",[24,50074,50076],{"id":50075},"_1-content","1. Content",[14,50078,50079],{},"Imagine that the Democratic National Committee was running a mobile ad campaign in political-heavy mobile apps like CNN or MSNBC.",[14,50081,50082],{},"As Hilary Rosen utters the phrase mentioned above, you are buying up all inventory around political content (breaking news, politics section, etc) and your DNC advertisement shows up directly next to a negative story about your brand.\nLesson Learned: Do you have a transparent view into the type of content your mobile message is running alongside?",[24,50084,50086],{"id":50085},"_2-device","2. Device",[14,50088,50089],{},"Again, referring to Rosen's comments mentioned above, how would you react if you had seen her make that statement on live TV? If you read the statement in a newspaper article? If you heard it over the radio?",[14,50091,50092],{},"The channel that is presenting the information is critical in the way the user interprets it and formulates an opinion in their head.",[14,50094,50095],{},"The same can be said for the device that a mobile ad campaign targets -- if your product or service is focused on Android devices, yet you buy inventory on iPhones \u002F iPads, how is the user supposed to react to a disconnected message like that?",[14,50097,50098],{},"Lesson Learned: Be cognizant of the creative and technical implications of running mobile ad campaigns across different devices.",[24,50100,50102],{"id":50101},"_3-in-app-vs-mobile-web","3. In-App vs. Mobile Web",[14,50104,50105],{},"Building on point #2, device, where is your mobile ad campaign being delivered to the user? Is the advertising being served in actual mobile apps, or is the message sent out across mobile websites?",[14,50107,50108],{},"The creative implications of in-app vs mobile web are significant, and agencies should understand those differences and be able to interpret which option(s) are best for their clients.",[14,50110,50111],{},"Lesson Learned: You can't serve a 'Dunk Tank Hilary Rosen!' interactive ad across mobile websites -- understanding your clients options to deliver their message is key in making sure the creative execution works effectively.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":50113},[50114,50115,50116,50117],{"id":50065,"depth":291,"text":50066},{"id":50075,"depth":291,"text":50076},{"id":50085,"depth":291,"text":50086},{"id":50101,"depth":291,"text":50102},"2012-04-13",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fwhat-hilary-rosen-can-teach-us-about-focusing-your-mobile-ad-campaign",{"title":50051,"description":50069},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fwhat-hilary-rosen-can-teach-us-about-focusing-your-mobile-ad-campaign","25F5m3jzCITwhK8d9mBwRw0C31Zr2yqDny48B_JYrRY",{"id":50125,"title":50126,"author":7,"authors":50127,"body":50128,"caption":7,"category":11966,"date":50195,"description":50132,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":50196,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":50197,"seo":50198,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":50126,"stem":50199,"updated":7,"__hash__":50200},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Finterview-with-goodway-group-managing-director-coo-jay-friedman.md","Interview with Goodway Group Managing Director \u002F COO Jay Friedman",[9],{"type":11,"value":50129,"toc":50190},[50130,50133,50154,50156,50159,50162,50165,50167,50170,50173,50176,50179,50181,50184,50187],[14,50131,50132],{},"In our running series of blog posts featuring influential members of the digital media industry, we're proud to feature Jay Friedman's comments in today's blog post.",[46,50134,50135,50140,50145],{},[49,50136,50137,50139],{},[52,50138,47826],{}," Jay Friendman",[49,50141,50142,50144],{},[52,50143,47838],{}," Managing Director \u002F COO",[49,50146,50147,1042,50149],{},[52,50148,47832],{},[206,50150,50153],{"href":50151,"rel":50152},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.goodwaygroup.com\u002F",[210],"Goodway Group",[24,50155,47849],{"id":47848},[14,50157,50158],{},"Ad serving without a doubt because it is the central nervous system of all display\u002Fmobile\u002Fvideo.  Ad serving drives bidding, auctions, RTB, creative testing, dynamic creative, and a whole host of other elements of digital media that make digital media so malleable and successful.",[14,50160,50161],{},"So many people I've spoken to simply can't get their head around the fact that 1,000 bids can pour into a system to decision bids and creative in .12 seconds and that within .4 seconds all the decision making is done and the ad is on its way to serving - all without the user realizing what is being done as the page loads.",[14,50163,50164],{},"But, to understand digital media outside of SEM and affiliate this is required knowledge.  I'll also say that any time I've taken the time to explain how this works I've never had anyone walk away confused.  It's not that hard once it's put into layman's terms.",[24,50166,47895],{"id":47894},[14,50168,50169],{},"I won't speak to media overall but I'll respond to the digital ecosystem within all media.  I honestly believe one of the biggest problems in digital media is the notion that it is actually a good thing to bash our industry publicly by leaders within our industry.  Not one week passes without seeing an article or quote from a speech from an industry thought leader that details all of the \"problems\" with our industry and why they don't blame clients for not spending more in digital.  This is ridiculous.  Who does this?",[14,50171,50172],{},"First, pointing out problems while providing solutions is a good thing.  Pointing out problems without solutions is awful.",[14,50174,50175],{},"Second, most of these comments are wrong anyway.  Take the notion of \"banner blindness\".  Really? People don't see banners anymore?  Then why does brand study after brand study show improvements in all major brand metrics throughout a campaign?",[14,50177,50178],{},"More examples are available via our blog.",[24,50180,47922],{"id":47921},[14,50182,50183],{},"This one is easy.  Programmatic buying (real time decision making\u002Fbidding on an impression by impression, user by user basis) is the biggest and most radical change to happen to the media agency business since computers were put on buyers' desktops.",[14,50185,50186],{},"Those who master programmatic buying will win the digital game and ultimately the TV game.  TV will ultimately become programmatically buyable and insertable.  It's the current holy grail.  Right now content creators and delivery companies (cable\u002FATS\u002Ffiber) are scared to death of it.",[14,50188,50189],{},"Just like the transition away from physical media to digital within the music industry, the industry will go this way.  As iTunes did for digital music, someone else will do for programmatic TV buying.  And the agencies who are already masters will have a big advantage.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":50191},[50192,50193,50194],{"id":47848,"depth":291,"text":47849},{"id":47894,"depth":291,"text":47895},{"id":47921,"depth":291,"text":47922},"2012-04-11",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Findustry\u002Finterview-with-goodway-group-managing-director-coo-jay-friedman",{"title":50126,"description":50132},"blog\u002Findustry\u002Finterview-with-goodway-group-managing-director-coo-jay-friedman","tYrSQN4VaUfqR1ALj8hhSfszD8JqoX5Y-cBmTi1_KcY",{"id":50202,"title":50203,"author":7,"authors":50204,"body":50205,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":50298,"description":50299,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":50300,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":50301,"seo":50302,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":50203,"stem":50303,"updated":7,"__hash__":50304},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fwhat-brands-can-learn-from-instagram.md","What Brands Can Learn from Instagram",[9],{"type":11,"value":50206,"toc":50292},[50207,50216,50220,50223,50227,50230,50244,50247,50250,50253,50257,50260,50263,50266,50270,50273,50281,50284,50287],[14,50208,50209,50210,50215],{},"Unless you've been living under a rock for the past 18 hours, it's likely that you've heard the news that ",[206,50211,50214],{"href":50212,"rel":50213},"https:\u002F\u002Fnews.cnet.com\u002F8301-31322_3-57411422-256\u002Ffacebook-buys-instagram...but-for-what\u002F",[210],"Facebook is set to acquire the mobile photo genius company known as Instagram for a cool $1 billion"," (cash plus stock).",[24,50217,50219],{"id":50218},"so-what-does-this-have-to-do-with-marketing-your-brand","So What Does This Have to Do With Marketing Your Brand?",[14,50221,50222],{},"Glad you asked! For your reading pleasure, here are three great lessons that brands can learn from the Facebook acquisition of Instagram.",[24,50224,50226],{"id":50225},"_1-forget-the-kiss-analogy-make-your-product-stupid-proof","1. Forget the KISS Analogy: Make Your Product 'Stupid Proof'",[14,50228,50229],{},"Using the Instagram app on your mobile device is a four step process:",[132,50231,50232,50235,50238,50241],{},[49,50233,50234],{},"Open the app",[49,50236,50237],{},"Take a photo",[49,50239,50240],{},"With a single tap of the screen, apply a crazy cool filter that makes you look like a photo journalist",[49,50242,50243],{},"Drop a caption on the image and share with out to all your social networks (Instagram will geo-tag the location all on it's own)",[14,50245,50246],{},"That's it!",[14,50248,50249],{},"You want your product or service to be 'stupid proof' so your audience is able to a) use it themselves, and b) sell it's use to their peers.",[14,50251,50252],{},"At the same time, you don't want to make it so 'stupid proof' that it's a useless product or service. Which leads to item #2 ...",[24,50254,50256],{"id":50255},"_2-make-your-users-customers-look-like-rock-stars","2. Make Your Users \u002F Customers Look Like Rock Stars",[14,50258,50259],{},"With one simple product feature, photo filters, Instagram gave the ability to take quality pictures through a combination of different 'lenses' to the masses.",[14,50261,50262],{},"If you were one of the early users of the app, I'm sure you began noticing the picture perfect photos being uploaded by friends on your social networks and wondering 'how the heck did they get that on camera????'",[14,50264,50265],{},"With one simple feature, Instagram allows everyone to become a photography rockstar on their mobile device!",[24,50267,50269],{"id":50268},"_3-focus-on-key-features-benefits-to-your-customers","3. Focus on Key Features \u002F Benefits to Your Customers",[14,50271,50272],{},"In line with Instagram making itself 'stupid proof', the founding team focused on doing a couple things really well:",[132,50274,50275,50278],{},[49,50276,50277],{},"Take professional-looking pictures",[49,50279,50280],{},"Make those photos extremely easy to share out to all your social networks",[14,50282,50283],{},"I have to say it one more time ... That's it!",[14,50285,50286],{},"By focusing on doing a couple things really well instead of producing a large quantity of average products, features, services, etc, you're able to build a loyal brand following that will spread those key features to the masses.",[14,50288,50289],{},[52,50290,50291],{},"What Will Your Company Learn from the Instagram acquisition?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":50293},[50294,50295,50296,50297],{"id":50218,"depth":291,"text":50219},{"id":50225,"depth":291,"text":50226},{"id":50255,"depth":291,"text":50256},{"id":50268,"depth":291,"text":50269},"2012-04-09","Unless you've been living under a rock for the past 18 hours, it's likely that you've heard the news that Facebook is set to acquire the mobile photo genius company known as Instagram for a cool $1 billion (cash plus stock).",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fwhat-brands-can-learn-from-instagram",{"title":50203,"description":50299},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fwhat-brands-can-learn-from-instagram","uLouC5uh8mKcNdGLHK2Y6vD_g5JtMzbU1m6xPg4uPo4",{"id":50306,"title":50307,"author":7,"authors":50308,"body":50309,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":50351,"description":50352,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":50353,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":50354,"seo":50355,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":50307,"stem":50356,"updated":7,"__hash__":50357},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fdoes-your-brand-need-dynamic-media-pricing.md","Does Your Brand Need Dynamic Media Pricing?",[9],{"type":11,"value":50310,"toc":50347},[50311,50319,50322,50326,50329,50340,50344],[14,50312,50313,50314,50318],{},"In our previous blog entry, ",[206,50315,50317],{"href":50316},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fhow-useful-is-dynamic-media-pricing\u002F","How Useful is Dynamic Media Pricing",", we examined the pros & cons of using RTB media partners in your digital media plans.",[14,50320,50321],{},"But a bigger question still remains ...",[24,50323,50325],{"id":50324},"as-a-brand-how-do-you-know-if-rtb-is-right-for-your-marketing-efforts","As a brand, how do you know if RTB is right for your marketing efforts?",[14,50327,50328],{},"Here are a few sample questions to ask yourself:",[46,50330,50331,50334,50337],{},[49,50332,50333],{},"What is our desired 'end action' that we want users to take on our site? More importantly, do we have one?",[49,50335,50336],{},"As long as ad verification tools like AdSafe or Double Verify are in place, are we okay giving up some control over how many impressions we get on specific sites?",[49,50338,50339],{},"Are we equipped to analyze with the reams of extremely valuable data that RTB platforms will produce for us? Do we need to bring in help to analyze said data?",[24,50341,50343],{"id":50342},"rtb-platforms-are-changing-the-digital-media-landscape-but-are-they-right-for-your-brand","RTB platforms are changing the digital media landscape -- but are they right for your brand?",[14,50345,50346],{},"Let us know why or why not in the comments section.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":50348},[50349,50350],{"id":50324,"depth":291,"text":50325},{"id":50342,"depth":291,"text":50343},"2012-04-06","In our previous blog entry, How Useful is Dynamic Media Pricing, we examined the pros & cons of using RTB media partners in your digital media plans.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fdoes-your-brand-need-dynamic-media-pricing",{"title":50307,"description":50352},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fdoes-your-brand-need-dynamic-media-pricing","7cqAvajHGEILyofHE1P0ElaYEK6yJR0Q9HU_9mzk7H0",{"id":50359,"title":50360,"author":7,"authors":50361,"body":50362,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":50470,"description":50405,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":50471,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":50472,"seo":50473,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":50360,"stem":50474,"updated":7,"__hash__":50475},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fmeasuring-social-roi-using-adobe-google.md","Measuring Social ROI using Adobe & Google",[9],{"type":11,"value":50363,"toc":50462},[50364,50367,50389,50393,50396,50399,50403,50406,50410,50413,50421,50425,50428,50431,50442,50445,50449,50452,50455,50458],[14,50365,50366],{},"In the ‘good old days’ of marketing, measuring campaign success used to be a very simple task.",[46,50368,50369,50375],{},[49,50370,50371,50374],{},[52,50372,50373],{},"Step 1:"," Go out and spend a bunch of money",[49,50376,50377,50380,50381],{},[52,50378,50379],{},"Step 2:"," Measure product sales before & after campaign went to market\n",[46,50382,50383,50386],{},[49,50384,50385],{},"Increase in sales = SUCCESS!",[49,50387,50388],{},"No increase \u002F decrease in sales = Failure",[24,50390,50392],{"id":50391},"needless-to-say-definitely-not-the-most-accurate-way-to-measure-success","Needless to say: Definitely not the most accurate way to measure success",[14,50394,50395],{},"With the advent of digital media channels — paid, owned & earned — measuring campaign success has become a real task, especially in the owned space.",[14,50397,50398],{},"Which begs the question...",[24,50400,50402],{"id":50401},"how-is-your-company-measuring-owned-or-social-media-performance","How is your company measuring owned, or social, media performance?",[14,50404,50405],{},"Here are a few tools your brand can use to measure everything from vanity metrics to hard ROI performance in the social media space.",[24,50407,50409],{"id":50408},"adobe-socialanalytics","Adobe SocialAnalytics",[14,50411,50412],{},"Adobe's social product allows brands to track activity across social media platforms as well as note users who wind up on your website. If you sell something on your website, their platform can connect that social activity to a sale.",[14,50414,50415,50420],{},[206,50416,50419],{"href":50417,"rel":50418},"https:\u002F\u002Fmashable.com\u002F2011\u002F05\u002F03\u002Fsocial-gaming-marketing\u002F",[210],"Take their Expedia campaign",", for example. Expedia put up $1 million in prizes and simply required users to RSVP five other Facebook users to enter the contest. When Adobe crunched the numbers, they realized that the 750% increase in Facebook fans beat the existing cost-per-fan benchmark by 4.5 times!",[24,50422,50424],{"id":50423},"google-social-reports","Google Social reports",[14,50426,50427],{},"Google Social allows marketers to tap into their existing Google analytics dashboard to measure social ROI.",[14,50429,50430],{},"There are just a few differences in the Google product as compared to Adobe:",[46,50432,50433,50436,50439],{},[49,50434,50435],{},"Google is free",[49,50437,50438],{},"Facebook and Twitter do not provide ‘like’ data and other social environment metrics",[49,50440,50441],{},"The data completely revolves around your own website",[14,50443,50444],{},"Another capability Google provides is ‘assisted conversions’, which allows brands to see that a user interacted with the brand website days, weeks and even months ago, then returned at a later date to convert.",[24,50446,50448],{"id":50447},"whats-still-missing-when-measuring-social-roi","What's still missing when measuring social ROI?",[14,50450,50451],{},"Both Adobe and Google have made great first attempts with their social measurment platforms, but as a brand \u002F agency there is still something missing from the equation:",[14,50453,50454],{},"Talented planners and analysts.",[14,50456,50457],{},"Having the shiniest new bike on the block is only as great as being able to reach the pedals — the same goes for planning and measuring your social activity online. If your company doesn’t have the talent internally \u002F an agency in place to measure this activity, then tapping into an analytics tool isn’t going to help.",[24,50459,50461],{"id":50460},"so-who-is-the-resident-planning-analytics-expert-at-your-company","So who is the resident planning \u002F analytics expert at your company?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":50463},[50464,50465,50466,50467,50468,50469],{"id":50391,"depth":291,"text":50392},{"id":50401,"depth":291,"text":50402},{"id":50408,"depth":291,"text":50409},{"id":50423,"depth":291,"text":50424},{"id":50447,"depth":291,"text":50448},{"id":50460,"depth":291,"text":50461},"2012-04-02",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fmeasuring-social-roi-using-adobe-google",{"title":50360,"description":50405},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fmeasuring-social-roi-using-adobe-google","zyNDFRmPrxGKN1oB0V-MhQj389VoeH-5h1wP242Xnfk",{"id":50477,"title":50478,"author":7,"authors":50479,"body":50480,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":50563,"description":50564,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":50565,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":50566,"seo":50567,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":50478,"stem":50568,"updated":7,"__hash__":50569},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Funveiling-social-rewards-for-tv-viewing.md","Unveiling Social Rewards for TV Viewing",[9],{"type":11,"value":50481,"toc":50559},[50482,50490,50499,50502,50505,50531,50535,50538,50552,50556],[14,50483,50484,50489],{},[206,50485,50488],{"href":50486,"rel":50487},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.intomobile.com\u002F2012\u002F02\u002F22\u002Fviggle-app-pays-users-watch-tv\u002F",[210],"Viggle"," is an iOS application that pays users to watch television.",[14,50491,50492,50493,50498],{},"The Viggle application is best described as a TV version of ",[206,50494,50497],{"href":50495,"rel":50496},"https:\u002F\u002Fshazam.com\u002F",[210],"Shazam",", the popular mobile application that identifies music by listening and relaying back artist, album and song title to the user.",[14,50500,50501],{},"So what does Viggle do and how does it work?",[14,50503,50504],{},"Well -",[46,50506,50507,50513,50519,50525],{},[49,50508,50509,50512],{},[52,50510,50511],{},"First:"," As you're sitting down to watch television, open the app and check in to the television program you are tuned into",[49,50514,50515,50518],{},[52,50516,50517],{},"Second:"," To verify that you're actually tuned in to the program you checked in to, Viggle will listen to the audio coming from the television and either confirm or deny your check in",[49,50520,50521,50524],{},[52,50522,50523],{},"Third:"," Set your phone down and forget it. If your program is confirmed (i.e. if you're actually watching the show you checked in to) you will be awarded points for every minute you watch",[49,50526,50527,50530],{},[52,50528,50529],{},"Fourth:"," These points accumulate over time and can eventually be redeemed for gift cards \u002F offers at Best Buy, Burger King and more",[24,50532,50534],{"id":50533},"viggle-also-connects-to-your-social-networks-allowing-users-to-share-which-television-programs-theyre-watching-to-friends-family","Viggle also connects to your social networks, allowing users to share which television programs they're watching to friends & family",[14,50536,50537],{},"At this point in time, there are only a few down sides I see to the Viggle model:",[46,50539,50540,50546],{},[49,50541,50542,50545],{},[52,50543,50544],{},"Fraudulent Viewing:"," Yes, Viggle will verify that you're tuned into the show you checked in to, but are users actually paying attention the entire time or simply leaving their phones next to the television?",[49,50547,50548,50551],{},[52,50549,50550],{},"Measurable Results:"," At some point, Viggle will need a 2.0 version that allows brands to include more engaging and\u002For measurable actions for users to take in order to back into more concrete performance metrics",[24,50553,50555],{"id":50554},"viggle-and-other-similar-products-that-pop-up-could-change-the-way-users-engage-with-traditional-and-digital-content-moving-forward","Viggle, and other similar products that pop up, could change the way users engage with traditional and digital content moving forward.",[14,50557,50558],{},"How will your brand utilize tactics like these in the future?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":50560},[50561,50562],{"id":50533,"depth":291,"text":50534},{"id":50554,"depth":291,"text":50555},"2012-03-30","Viggle is an iOS application that pays users to watch television.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Funveiling-social-rewards-for-tv-viewing",{"title":50478,"description":50564},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Funveiling-social-rewards-for-tv-viewing","YiYer6BgG9v4jCmhxCk8geN-05zbmkJcPUVu3Jr-_Lc",{"id":50571,"title":50317,"author":7,"authors":50572,"body":50573,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":50623,"description":50624,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":50625,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":50626,"seo":50627,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":50317,"stem":50628,"updated":7,"__hash__":50629},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fhow-useful-is-dynamic-media-pricing.md",[9],{"type":11,"value":50574,"toc":50619},[50575,50586,50589,50593,50596,50607,50611,50614],[14,50576,50577,50578,2504,50581,50585],{},"Real time bidding, or RTB, is the process in which media platforms like ",[206,50579,40085],{"href":49530,"rel":50580},[210],[206,50582,40080],{"href":50583,"rel":50584},"https:\u002F\u002Frocketfuel.com",[210]," dynamically bid on every single impression that you \"the advertiser\" has agreed to purchase.",[14,50587,50588],{},"This means that an ad buyer, through the platform of their choice, can value each individual opportunity to buy an ad impression based upon audience, site data & more before agreeing to purchase said impression.",[24,50590,50592],{"id":50591},"so-what-does-that-have-to-do-with-dynamic-media-pricing","So What Does That Have To Do With Dynamic Media Pricing?",[14,50594,50595],{},"Well, bidding on each individual impression in real time drives down the actual cost you are paying for every single impression, as not all impressions are created equal.\nA few items that RTB platforms evaluate include:",[132,50597,50598,50601,50604],{},[49,50599,50600],{},"Based on third-party data, does the user who is about to receive an impression match up with other actionable users (click, purchase, etc)?",[49,50602,50603],{},"Is the environment (i.e. site the impression will appear on) conducive with the type of content that drives actions? Also, is it brand safe content?",[49,50605,50606],{},"After purchasing the impression, will the RTB platform be able to back into the agreed-upon key performance benchmark?",[24,50608,50610],{"id":50609},"companies-like-the-aforementioned-data-xu-make-100000-decisions-per-second-when-evaluating-impressions-in-real-time","Companies like the aforementioned Data Xu make 100,000 decisions per second when evaluating impressions in real time!",[14,50612,50613],{},"The examples listed above are just three of hundred's of thousands  that RTB systems utilize to make purchasing through their platforms more efficient and effective.",[14,50615,50616],{},[52,50617,50618],{},"How does your company use RTB to make media plans more efficient?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":50620},[50621,50622],{"id":50591,"depth":291,"text":50592},{"id":50609,"depth":291,"text":50610},"2012-03-29","Real time bidding, or RTB, is the process in which media platforms like Data Xu and Rocket Fuel dynamically bid on every single impression that you \"the advertiser\" has agreed to purchase.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fhow-useful-is-dynamic-media-pricing",{"title":50317,"description":50624},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fhow-useful-is-dynamic-media-pricing","iRF4UHNOoQQ3BwKXP7907xIY1xEKT9k8kYcQ6f7rMi4",{"id":50631,"title":50632,"author":7,"authors":50633,"body":50634,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":50715,"description":50716,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":50717,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":50718,"seo":50719,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":50632,"stem":50720,"updated":7,"__hash__":50721},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fmerging-digital-real-life.md","Merging Digital & Real Life",[9],{"type":11,"value":50635,"toc":50709},[50636,50644,50647,50650,50654,50657,50661,50670,50679,50683,50686,50690,50698,50701,50704],[14,50637,50638,50639,212],{},"The future is here, and it goes by the name of ",[206,50640,50643],{"href":50641,"rel":50642},"https:\u002F\u002Ftacocopter.com",[210],"Tacocopter",[14,50645,50646],{},"With one simple install of the Tacocopter app on your smartphone, a remote-controlled flying apparatus (photo below) will be sent to your GPS location with your favorite order of tacos.",[14,50648,50649],{},"While there is some debate about whether Tacocopter is real or not (and for the record, we hope to god it is), the subject thatTacocopter brings up is an interesting one.",[24,50651,50653],{"id":50652},"how-is-your-company-merging-digital-data-with-real-life-offerings","How is your company merging digital data with real life offerings?",[14,50655,50656],{},"Here are a couple examples of ways your brand could merge digital data and real life offerings.",[24,50658,50660],{"id":50659},"augmented-reality","Augmented Reality",[14,50662,50663,50664,50669],{},"Companies like ",[206,50665,50668],{"href":50666,"rel":50667},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.layar.com\u002F",[210],"Layar"," allow brands to use their smartphone to access a custom made alternate reality offering.",[14,50671,50672,50673,50678],{},"Their crown jewel, Layer Vision, is a smartphone browser that can turn any analog \u002F static product into a interactive experience in and of itself. A great example is their partnership with Linda Magazine (",[206,50674,50677],{"href":50675,"rel":50676},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?feature=player_embedded&v=ldU9OvCgi8I",[210],"click here to see video footage of what the experience is like","), which turned a static print publication into an interactive experience that users could engage with.",[24,50680,50682],{"id":50681},"visual-search","Visual Search",[14,50684,50685],{},"The best example of visual search is Google Goggles, an Android application that allows users to take photos and search the web for information on products.",[24,50687,50689],{"id":50688},"listening-to-social-chatter","Listening to Social Chatter",[14,50691,50692,50697],{},[206,50693,50696],{"href":50694,"rel":50695},"https:\u002F\u002Flocalresponse.com",[210],"Local Response",", a hot new start up based out of New York, offers a new tool to advertisers that allows them to engage with users in real time.",[14,50699,50700],{},"Anytime a user on Twitter, Foursquare, Instagram and a host of other location-based applications mentions the brand \u002F keyword terms, brands can offer a coupon or serve an advertisement that can be clicked on using at 'at mention'.",[14,50702,50703],{},"Hot dog sales slumping? Run a special where anybody who checks into the ball game gets a free hot dog with the purchase of a cold beer.",[14,50705,50706],{},[52,50707,50708],{},"So I ask again: How is your company engaging consumers from digital to real life?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":50710},[50711,50712,50713,50714],{"id":50652,"depth":291,"text":50653},{"id":50659,"depth":291,"text":50660},{"id":50681,"depth":291,"text":50682},{"id":50688,"depth":291,"text":50689},"2012-03-27","The future is here, and it goes by the name of Tacocopter.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fmerging-digital-real-life",{"title":50632,"description":50716},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fmerging-digital-real-life","4-wQvy10nOYd5d-xukETj2Td4n9lvALOkIYtVvmQ1-Y",{"id":50723,"title":50724,"author":7,"authors":50725,"body":50726,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":50789,"description":50790,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":50791,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":50792,"seo":50793,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":50724,"stem":50794,"updated":7,"__hash__":50795},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fhow-pinterest-can-shape-marketing-forever.md","How Pinterest can Shape Marketing Forever",[9],{"type":11,"value":50727,"toc":50782},[50728,50731,50734,50737,50741,50747,50756,50759,50762,50766,50769,50772,50778],[14,50729,50730],{},"Mitt Romney's wife, Ann, is posting family photos on the site.",[14,50732,50733],{},"Reese Witherspoon told the world that it was a \"collection of the most amazing, wonderful craftiness on earth\" on the Conan O'Brien show.",[14,50735,50736],{},"The U.S. Army has issued a Pinterest 'how-to guide', as it's been described.",[24,50738,50740],{"id":50739},"pinterest-is-here-to-stay","Pinterest is here to stay.",[14,50742,50743,50744],{},"In February 2012, Pinterest drove more referral traffic than Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn & YouTube ... ",[52,50745,50746],{},"combined.",[24,50748,50750,50751],{"id":50749},"yet-investor-extraordinaire-andreessen-horowitz-nearly-passed-on-the-company","Yet investor extraordinaire Andreessen Horowitz ",[206,50752,50755],{"href":50753,"rel":50754},"https:\u002F\u002Ffinance.fortune.cnn.com\u002F2011\u002F10\u002F10\u002Fventure-capital-deals-21\u002F",[210],"nearly passed on the company.",[14,50757,50758],{},"What changed his mind?",[14,50760,50761],{},"A female researcher on staff tugged relentlessly on his sleeve and urged him to reconsider.",[24,50763,50765],{"id":50764},"so-whats-the-point-here","So what's the point here?",[14,50767,50768],{},"The point is this: Pinterest is the perfect example of a product \u002F service that blew up by reaching what was initially thought of as an unprofitable or non-existant market.",[14,50770,50771],{},"Take this quote from Andreessen: \"Our industry historically - do we produce products initially aimed primarily at men or women? You'd have to say men.\"",[14,50773,50774,50777],{},[52,50775,50776],{},"And he's right:"," Brands have the ability to become complacent with their current audience, which could lead to them missing out on previously unseen target segments.",[24,50779,50781],{"id":50780},"is-your-brand-missing-a-critical-undiscovered-piece-of-your-target-audience","Is your brand missing a critical \u002F undiscovered piece of your target audience?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":50783},[50784,50785,50787,50788],{"id":50739,"depth":291,"text":50740},{"id":50749,"depth":291,"text":50786},"Yet investor extraordinaire Andreessen Horowitz nearly passed on the company.",{"id":50764,"depth":291,"text":50765},{"id":50780,"depth":291,"text":50781},"2012-03-23","Brands have the ability to become complacent with their current audience,which could lead to them missing out on previously unseen target segments.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fhow-pinterest-can-shape-marketing-forever",{"title":50724,"description":50790},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fhow-pinterest-can-shape-marketing-forever","p6Xez8bGPJQTIFCpl4zKWOVimURhpu5rItdMDoOHzXE",{"id":50797,"title":50798,"author":7,"authors":50799,"body":50800,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":50892,"description":50893,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":50894,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":50895,"seo":50896,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":50798,"stem":50897,"updated":7,"__hash__":50898},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002F3-ways-to-make-your-website-more-social.md","3 Ways to Make Your Website More Social",[9],{"type":11,"value":50801,"toc":50886},[50802,50805,50808,50811,50815,50818,50822,50825,50833,50837,50840,50843,50860,50864,50867,50870,50881],[14,50803,50804],{},"According to ComScore, social media is now the number one online activity.",[14,50806,50807],{},"Facebook notes that there are 60 billion 'likes' every month and 250 million photos uploaded each day.",[14,50809,50810],{},"YouTube shows that 100 million people take a social action (defined as a like, share, comment) every week on their site.",[24,50812,50814],{"id":50813},"so-how-is-your-brand-encouraging-users-to-engage-with-content","So how is your brand encouraging users to engage with content?",[14,50816,50817],{},"Here are three sure fire ways boost the amount of social sharing that happens on your website.",[24,50819,50821],{"id":50820},"remove-the-hassle-of-sharing","Remove the hassle of sharing",[14,50823,50824],{},"A couple of tips here:",[46,50826,50827,50830],{},[49,50828,50829],{},"Fill your posts with concise, shareable meta data ... That way, when someone shares your content an accurate description will accompany it, making it more likely that others in the users social network will check your brand out",[49,50831,50832],{},"Place share buttons in easy to find locations across your website",[24,50834,50836],{"id":50835},"incentivize-sharing","Incentivize Sharing",[14,50838,50839],{},"Using an incentive to encourage users to share your content is a great way to create buzz around your brand and\u002For product.",[14,50841,50842],{},"A couple examples of incentivized sharing could be:",[46,50844,50845,50848,50851,50854,50857],{},[49,50846,50847],{},"Sweepstakes",[49,50849,50850],{},"Giveaway",[49,50852,50853],{},"VIP access to premium content",[49,50855,50856],{},"Sneak peaks at content",[49,50858,50859],{},"Content download triggered by a social share",[24,50861,50863],{"id":50862},"choose-your-social-networks-wisely","Choose your social networks wisely",[14,50865,50866],{},"It's likely you've seen websites that have 50 share buttons across the bottom of all their blog posts -- in fact, I doubt that you've actually heard of more than a couple of those social sharing networks!",[14,50868,50869],{},"Chances are that if you haven't heard of those social networks, then neither have your customers. To help make the decision on which social networks to include, ask yourself the following questions:",[46,50871,50872,50875,50878],{},[49,50873,50874],{},"Which social networks are currently driving the most traffic?",[49,50876,50877],{},"Which social networks have a large enough audience to invest your time in?",[49,50879,50880],{},"Which social networks are your competitors using?",[14,50882,50883],{},[52,50884,50885],{},"How many social networks does your brand use?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":50887},[50888,50889,50890,50891],{"id":50813,"depth":291,"text":50814},{"id":50820,"depth":291,"text":50821},{"id":50835,"depth":291,"text":50836},{"id":50862,"depth":291,"text":50863},"2012-03-22","Here are three ways to not only bring people to your site, but keep them there and bring their friends.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002F3-ways-to-make-your-website-more-social",{"title":50798,"description":50893},"blog\u002Fppc\u002F3-ways-to-make-your-website-more-social","XIq-QWLpfbdrm1LxyDDTeYml7HMG8A3q0nUNIasjqM8",{"id":50900,"title":50901,"author":7,"authors":50902,"body":50903,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":50937,"description":50938,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":50939,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":50940,"seo":50941,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":50901,"stem":50942,"updated":7,"__hash__":50943},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fad-age-interactive-marketing-spend-forecast.md","Ad Age Interactive Marketing Spend Forecast",[9],{"type":11,"value":50904,"toc":50933},[50905,50914,50918,50929],[14,50906,50907,50908,50913],{},"Last summer, ",[206,50909,50912],{"href":50910,"rel":50911},"https:\u002F\u002Fadage.com\u002Farticle\u002Fdigital\u002Finteractive-marketing-spend-hit-76-6b-2016\u002F229444\u002F",[210],"Ad Age published a five year interactive marketing forecast"," that was produced by Forrester.",[24,50915,50917],{"id":50916},"the-highlights-include","The highlights include ...",[46,50919,50920,50923,50926],{},[49,50921,50922],{},"Mobile spend is growing by 38% year over year and will reach $8.2 billion by 2016",[49,50924,50925],{},"Search marketing will continue to own the largest piece of the spending pie and will grow from $18 billion to more than $33 billion in 2016",[49,50927,50928],{},"Display advertising spend will triple by 2016",[24,50930,50932],{"id":50931},"how-is-your-brand-spending-its-marketing-dollars","How is your brand spending its marketing dollars?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":50934},[50935,50936],{"id":50916,"depth":291,"text":50917},{"id":50931,"depth":291,"text":50932},"2012-03-21","Highlights from the Ad Age Interactive Marketing Spend Forecast.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fad-age-interactive-marketing-spend-forecast",{"title":50901,"description":50938},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fad-age-interactive-marketing-spend-forecast","IO02QXLY79-AHDV9-9ykL83unJnIPajEdmBErApwgJA",{"id":50945,"title":50946,"author":7,"authors":50947,"body":50948,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":51022,"description":50952,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":51023,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":51024,"seo":51025,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":50946,"stem":51026,"updated":7,"__hash__":51027},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fthe-rise-of-near-field-communication-nfc.md","The Rise of Near Field Communication, or NFC",[9],{"type":11,"value":50949,"toc":51016},[50950,50953,50962,50966,50977,50981,50989,50993,51009,51013],[14,50951,50952],{},"You may or may not have heard about near field communication, or NFC, as it's begun to pick up steam over the past year or so.",[14,50954,50955,50956,50961],{},"NFC is the technology behind ",[206,50957,50960],{"href":50958,"rel":50959},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fwallet\u002F",[210],"Google Wallet"," as a mobile payment processor, specifically ...",[24,50963,50965],{"id":50964},"what-is-nfc","What is NFC?",[46,50967,50968,50971,50974],{},[49,50969,50970],{},"NFC technology is a short-range tool that operates on wireless frequencies. It works by connecting a user's mobile device, equipped with an NFC antenna or specially programmed SIM \u002F SD data card, to a receiver to transfer money",[49,50972,50973],{},"Using NFC requires no set up ahead of time; you simply touch or tap your smartphone to the receiver",[49,50975,50976],{},"The user must be within a few feet of the receiver to create a NFC transaction",[24,50978,50980],{"id":50979},"how-is-nfc-being-used","How is NFC being used?",[46,50982,50983,50986],{},[49,50984,50985],{},"Right now, a lot of the activity around NFC is in the mobile payment space",[49,50987,50988],{},"In the long run, NFC's capability to connect a consumer's mobile handset to the face-to-face experience of a store visit could be of value as brands look to integrate a more digital shopping experience into their customers lives",[24,50990,50992],{"id":50991},"how-can-brands-marketers-tap-into-nfc","How can brands & marketers tap into NFC?",[46,50994,50995,50998,51006],{},[49,50996,50997],{},"Marketers can use NFC to connect with consumers 'in real life', via their mobile devices",[49,50999,51000,51001],{},"Imagine in-retail signage that prompts users to check their smartphone for a coupon, deal or offer that is redeemable immediately\n",[46,51002,51003],{},[49,51004,51005],{},"Connecting user data from a 'mobile wallet', as Google dubs their NFC product, to create a custom- tailored shopping experience based upon  past shopping activity, demographic and geographic data",[49,51007,51008],{},"Based on this data, create more 'sticky', or loyal, customers that continually return to purchase good \u002F services from your brand",[24,51010,51012],{"id":51011},"keep-in-mind-not-all-smartphones-are-nfc-enabled","Keep in mind, not all smartphones are NFC enabled",[14,51014,51015],{},"It's important to understand the number of consumers that have the appropriate NFC antenna or SIM\u002FSD card to actually create this experience for the consumer.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":51017},[51018,51019,51020,51021],{"id":50964,"depth":291,"text":50965},{"id":50979,"depth":291,"text":50980},{"id":50991,"depth":291,"text":50992},{"id":51011,"depth":291,"text":51012},"2012-03-20",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fthe-rise-of-near-field-communication-nfc",{"title":50946,"description":50952},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fthe-rise-of-near-field-communication-nfc","_AMyAi9zWgpWjpEjlwMc2oMFdNPhHWWPB-2CW5uSUnk",{"id":51029,"title":51030,"author":7,"authors":51031,"body":51032,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":51125,"description":51126,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":51127,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":51128,"seo":51129,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":51030,"stem":51130,"updated":7,"__hash__":51131},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fthe-rise-of-social-shopping.md","The Rise of Social Shopping",[9],{"type":11,"value":51033,"toc":51116},[51034,51046,51050,51053,51057,51066,51070,51073,51076,51080,51089,51093,51102,51106,51109,51112],[14,51035,51036,51037,51042,51043,51045],{},"As this recent ",[206,51038,51041],{"href":51039,"rel":51040},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.clickz.com\u002Fclickz\u002Fcolumn\u002F2158498\u002Fshopping-social",[210],"ClickZ article, Shopping is Social,","pointed out, placing a check out cart on your brands Facebook page is ",[52,51044,6920],{}," an engaging social shopping strategy.",[24,51047,51049],{"id":51048},"social-is-all-about-engagement","Social is all about engagement.",[14,51051,51052],{},"So how can brands use social shopping to engage with their consumers?",[24,51054,51056],{"id":51055},"group-buying","Group Buying",[14,51058,51059,51060,51065],{},"A great example of group buying is Target's ",[206,51061,51064],{"href":51062,"rel":51063},"https:\u002F\u002Fapps.facebook.com\u002Fgivewithfriends\u002F",[210],"\"Give with Friends\"",", which allows groups of Facebook friends to chip in to buy and send Target gift cards that can be redeemed online or in store.",[24,51067,51069],{"id":51068},"incentivized-sharing","Incentivized Sharing",[14,51071,51072],{},"Walmart.com used to run an incentivized coupon offer for users at the final stage of the online check out process.",[14,51074,51075],{},"At the final stage of the check out process, users were shown an option to 'share this purchase with 5 Facebook friends'. Doing so would unlock an instant ' x% off'  coupon that would be applied immediately to their purchase.",[24,51077,51079],{"id":51078},"local","Local",[14,51081,51082,51083,51088],{},"Another Walmart example includes the ",[206,51084,51087],{"href":51085,"rel":51086},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002FWalmart5402?sk=app_216359575057664",[210],"Walmart My Local"," Facebook app. This app allows users to select their local Walmart location and get served deals or coupons based on location.",[24,51090,51092],{"id":51091},"connecting-shopping-data","Connecting Shopping Data",[14,51094,51095,51096,51101],{},"American Express' ",[206,51097,51100],{"href":51098,"rel":51099},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002Famericanexpress?v=app_216352075054740",[210],"Like, Link, Love","  application links Facebook data with users AmEx purchase history to deliver personalized coupons based upon Facebook likes & interests.",[24,51103,51105],{"id":51104},"pop-up-gift-shop","Pop Up Gift Shop",[14,51107,51108],{},"In a unique PR-driven strategy, Heinz enabled it's UK-based residents to purchase a can of 'Get Well Soup' through their Facebook fan page.",[14,51110,51111],{},"Over the course of the 4 week program, the brand sold 2,127 cans of soup -- with 1 in 8 fans purchasing a can of soup -- and saw a 200% increase in 'likes'.",[24,51113,51115],{"id":51114},"so-how-is-your-brand-using-social-to-encourage-purchases","So, How is Your Brand Using Social to Encourage Purchases?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":51117},[51118,51119,51120,51121,51122,51123,51124],{"id":51048,"depth":291,"text":51049},{"id":51055,"depth":291,"text":51056},{"id":51068,"depth":291,"text":51069},{"id":51078,"depth":291,"text":51079},{"id":51091,"depth":291,"text":51092},{"id":51104,"depth":291,"text":51105},{"id":51114,"depth":291,"text":51115},"2012-03-19","As this recent ClickZ article, Shopping is Social,pointed out, placing a check out cart on your brands Facebook page is not an engaging social shopping strategy.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fthe-rise-of-social-shopping",{"title":51030,"description":51126},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fthe-rise-of-social-shopping","WOob5EtXKkq8t45_JDp_ha8O8SmuaKsU7G2NMSvi1YI",{"id":51133,"title":51134,"author":7,"authors":51135,"body":51136,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":51241,"description":51242,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":51243,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":51244,"seo":51245,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":51134,"stem":51246,"updated":7,"__hash__":51247},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fthe-top-four-digital-marketing-resources-on-the-web.md","The Four Best Digital Marketing Resources on the Web",[9],{"type":11,"value":51137,"toc":51233},[51138,51142,51145,51148,51151,51154,51158,51166,51175,51179,51186,51194,51198,51207,51210,51214,51222,51225,51228],[24,51139,51141],{"id":51140},"what-on-earth-makes-these-mkg-guys-experts","What on earth makes these MKG guys experts?",[14,51143,51144],{},"First of all, we don't claim to be the end-all-be-all of digital media & marketing knowledge ... Far from it, in fact.",[14,51146,51147],{},"We consume a large amount of industry newsletters, attend events and grab drinks with marketers coast-to-coast while discussing the latest and greatest.",[14,51149,51150],{},"Yes, our lives are so difficult :-)",[14,51152,51153],{},"As a gift to you and yours on this Friday afternoon, here are four of the best digital marketing resources on the web.",[81,51155,51157],{"id":51156},"_1-clickz","1. ClickZ",[14,51159,51160,51165],{},[206,51161,51164],{"href":51162,"rel":51163},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.clickz.com\u002F",[210],"ClickZ"," publishes daily content and delivers newsletters about media planning & buying, analytics, trainings \u002F white papers & interactive jobs direct to users inboxes every single morning.",[14,51167,51168,51169,51174],{},"They also have ",[206,51170,51173],{"href":51171,"rel":51172},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.clickz.com\u002Fstats",[210],"extremely handy tools","that we've used to explain media math and walk clients through the calculation of success metrics.",[81,51176,51178],{"id":51177},"imedia-connection","iMedia Connection",[14,51180,51181,51185],{},[206,51182,51178],{"href":51183,"rel":51184},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.imediaconnection.com\u002F",[210]," works to connect the entire marketing community in a two-part strategy:",[46,51187,51188,51191],{},[49,51189,51190],{},"Content: Like ClickZ, iMedia publishes daily content on digital marketing & media on a daily basis to keep users up to date on the latest and greatest",[49,51192,51193],{},"Events: iMedia hosts regular events (iMedia Agency Summit, Brand Summit, Mom's Summit, etc) that cater to specific focuses or verticals within marketing",[81,51195,51197],{"id":51196},"digital-tonto","Digital Tonto",[14,51199,51200,51201,51206],{},"The brain child of ",[206,51202,51205],{"href":51203,"rel":51204},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.digitaltonto.com\u002F",[210],"Greg Satell",", Digital Tonto is a niche digital marketing blog that discusses media, optimization & technology all from one crisp, coherent voice (enter: Greg Satell).",[14,51208,51209],{},"Digital Tonto is a refreshing place to read up on industry news as well as the actual human experience of working in this industry.",[81,51211,51213],{"id":51212},"adexchanger","AdExchanger",[14,51215,51216,51217,51221],{},"An extremely niche resource, ",[206,51218,51213],{"href":51219,"rel":51220},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.adexchanger.com\u002F",[210]," focuses on ideas around digital media optimization.",[14,51223,51224],{},"On top of that, AdExchanger aggregates various trainings, resources, job listings & industry events.",[14,51226,51227],{},"Last but not least, they also release a regular 'state of the industry' post that details influentials in the community changing jobs, starting companies, as well as any other big headlines that just happened.",[14,51229,51230],{},[52,51231,51232],{},"So there you have it ... Happy Friday!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":51234},[51235],{"id":51140,"depth":291,"text":51141,"children":51236},[51237,51238,51239,51240],{"id":51156,"depth":297,"text":51157},{"id":51177,"depth":297,"text":51178},{"id":51196,"depth":297,"text":51197},{"id":51212,"depth":297,"text":51213},"2012-03-16","Here's how we stay up to date with the fast moving Digital Marketing world.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fthe-top-four-digital-marketing-resources-on-the-web",{"title":51134,"description":51242},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fthe-top-four-digital-marketing-resources-on-the-web","XF6Y3zAvB1vWMoVvuJqQ3lS2CTJkr4YGnBeBPupYoqA",{"id":51249,"title":51250,"author":7,"authors":51251,"body":51252,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":51331,"description":51332,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":51333,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":51334,"seo":51335,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":51250,"stem":51336,"updated":7,"__hash__":51337},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Finterview-with-the-adometry-brain-trust.md","Interview with the Adometry Brain Trust",[9],{"type":11,"value":51253,"toc":51321},[51254,51261,51279,51281,51284,51288,51291,51293,51296,51298,51301,51303,51306,51308,51311,51313,51316,51318],[14,51255,51256,51257,51260],{},"Todays guest post comes courtesy of our good friends at ",[206,51258,49617],{"href":49615,"rel":51259},[210]," out of Seattle.",[46,51262,51263,51268,51273],{},[49,51264,51265,51267],{},[52,51266,47826],{}," Colin Robinson",[49,51269,51270,51272],{},[52,51271,47838],{}," Director of Sales, West, at Adometry",[49,51274,51275,51278],{},[52,51276,51277],{},"What Adometry Does:"," Adometry is a digital analytics company that provides ad verification & attribution services. Our goal is to improve the effects of online advertising through actionable insights & metrics.",[81,51280,47849],{"id":47848},[14,51282,51283],{},"I'd say the value of scientific attribution and the need for a more accurate solution (vs. last click) has become generally accepted in our industry. (But I'll emphasize 'generally'. It depends on who we're speaking with.) It's the description of our methodology that seems to be the first obstacle. Many feel an algorithmic approach to anything screams 'black box'. Our goal is to be as transparent as possible in describing our methodology and how we calculate fractional conversion credit.",[81,51285,51287],{"id":51286},"how-and-when-do-you-utilize-first-or-third-party-data-sources-to-pitch-business-to-enhance-campaign-performance","How and when do you utilize first or third party data sources to pitch business? To enhance campaign  performance?",[14,51289,51290],{},"Adometry leverages 3rd party data (from demographic data providers) to help advertisers & agencies understand WHO they're reaching (in real-time) and HOW those audiences are converting. With so much media buying taking place at the audience level it's become imperative that marketers confirm they're reaching the intended audience and understand how that audience is engaging with their brands.",[81,51292,47859],{"id":47858},[14,51294,51295],{},"A majority of the marketers we speak with still live and die by the last click\u002Fview methodology. They know it's inaccurate but it's engrained in their DNA. Until only recently there hasn't been sophisticated alternatives.",[81,51297,47885],{"id":47884},[14,51299,51300],{},"Adometry works with both advertisers & agencies, we have no preference. My role is focused on agencies but we have sales reps calling directly into the brands. We believe it's important to work with both sides to communicate our value.",[81,51302,47895],{"id":47894},[14,51304,51305],{},"The biggest problem is still the reliance on last click\u002Fview. Even though many believe it's inaccurate it can be difficult to adopt new technologies. We take an educational approach, explaining the state of the industry, how it's become critical to use a more-advanced solution and the added benefit to using an attribution platform.",[81,51307,47905],{"id":47904},[14,51309,51310],{},"I think cross-channel attribution, in particular, is very popular these days. Trying to understand the effects that display has on search, for example, and assigning credit to the appropriate channel has become important for any marketer to understand.",[81,51312,47912],{"id":47911},[14,51314,51315],{},"Probably 1 in 10. Certainly not my parents. :)",[81,51317,47922],{"id":47921},[14,51319,51320],{},"As it relates to attribution, I think just in the next year or two there will be a big focus on merging offline data with online data. We're able to do that currently to a certain extent, but to actually attribute conversions on a person by person basis using offline & online is really the holy grail.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":51322},[51323,51324,51325,51326,51327,51328,51329,51330],{"id":47848,"depth":297,"text":47849},{"id":51286,"depth":297,"text":51287},{"id":47858,"depth":297,"text":47859},{"id":47884,"depth":297,"text":47885},{"id":47894,"depth":297,"text":47895},{"id":47904,"depth":297,"text":47905},{"id":47911,"depth":297,"text":47912},{"id":47921,"depth":297,"text":47922},"2012-03-14","Todays guest post comes courtesy of our good friends at Adometry out of Seattle.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Finterview-with-the-adometry-brain-trust",{"title":51250,"description":51332},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Finterview-with-the-adometry-brain-trust","J107GKZhf2n5JHEB76r6ig99H27_Dwbp44kpkNtqklc",{"id":51339,"title":51340,"author":7,"authors":51341,"body":51342,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":51440,"description":77,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":51441,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":51442,"seo":51443,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":51340,"stem":51444,"updated":7,"__hash__":51445},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Flocation-based-apps-at-sxswi.md","Location Based Social Apps Take over SXSW",[9],{"type":11,"value":51343,"toc":51431},[51344,51348,51351,51354,51358,51361,51369,51373,51376,51379,51383,51386,51389,51393,51396,51399,51403,51406,51426],[24,51345,51347],{"id":51346},"highlight-glancee-banjo-sonar","Highlight. Glancee. Banjo. Sonar.",[14,51349,51350],{},"These are just a few of the location-based social apps that have taken over Austin, Texas' South by Southwest interactive conference this year.",[14,51352,51353],{},"So how do they work and what do they do?",[81,51355,51357],{"id":51356},"highlight","Highlight",[14,51359,51360],{},"Highlight uses your Facebook profile to match you up with users nearby who share the same interests.",[14,51362,32906,51363,51368],{},[206,51364,51367],{"href":51365,"rel":51366},"https:\u002F\u002Ftechcrunch.com\u002F2012\u002F03\u002F03\u002Fmyhighlight\u002F",[210],"TechCrunch",", Highlight is interested in becoming a personal CRM system; helping users remember new friends names along with time & place they met.",[81,51370,51372],{"id":51371},"glancee","Glancee",[14,51374,51375],{},"Like Highlight, Glancee uses a connection with your Facebook profile to match up with other users.",[14,51377,51378],{},"Unlike Highlight, Glancee doesn't show users exact physical location on a map. Instead, you are listed as 'about 4 miles away' from users, who are ranked by number of common interests and physical proximity.",[81,51380,51382],{"id":51381},"banjo","Banjo",[14,51384,51385],{},"Banjo utilizes data from Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Instagram & more to provide users with a more actionable 'out-of-the-box' experience than simply relying on Facebook connections alone.",[14,51387,51388],{},"The app also lets you know when your connections are nearby, even if they are not actively using the Banjo application.",[81,51390,51392],{"id":51391},"sonar","Sonar",[14,51394,51395],{},"This app seperates your connections with 'relevant friends' represented by potential friends based upon the interests listed on your social profiles.",[14,51397,51398],{},"Sonar uses data from all the same networks as Banjo, including LinkedIn.",[81,51400,51402],{"id":51401},"but-wait-theres-more","But wait, there's more!",[14,51404,51405],{},"Others who made a splash on the locaiton-based app scene at SxSW this year include:",[46,51407,51408,51411,51414,51417,51420,51423],{},[49,51409,51410],{},"Intro",[49,51412,51413],{},"EchoEcho",[49,51415,51416],{},"KisMet",[49,51418,51419],{},"Glassmap",[49,51421,51422],{},"ntro",[49,51424,51425],{},"Mingle",[14,51427,51428],{},[52,51429,51430],{},"Next up: How are brands going to market their products \u002F services using location based applications?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":51432},[51433],{"id":51346,"depth":291,"text":51347,"children":51434},[51435,51436,51437,51438,51439],{"id":51356,"depth":297,"text":51357},{"id":51371,"depth":297,"text":51372},{"id":51381,"depth":297,"text":51382},{"id":51391,"depth":297,"text":51392},{"id":51401,"depth":297,"text":51402},"2012-03-12",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Flocation-based-apps-at-sxswi",{"title":51340,"description":77},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Flocation-based-apps-at-sxswi","v2-P0DcETTxA2Wsctg2y5qpRJFmcZT_nn4PdMq5eqvc",{"id":51447,"title":51448,"author":7,"authors":51449,"body":51450,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":51485,"description":51486,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":51487,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":51488,"seo":51489,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":51448,"stem":51490,"updated":7,"__hash__":51491},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fonline-ad-spending-nearing-200-million-mark.md","Online Ad Spending Nearing $200 Million Mark",[9],{"type":11,"value":51451,"toc":51481},[51452,51461,51464,51468,51471,51474,51478],[14,51453,51454,51455,51460],{},"A new ",[206,51456,51459],{"href":51457,"rel":51458},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.clickz.com\u002Fclickz\u002Fnews\u002F2158194\u002Fonline-political-spending-hit-usd159-million-2012",[210],"Borrell Associates report"," found that $159.2 million will be spent on digital advertising and email marketing this sales cycle.",[14,51462,51463],{},"To put that into perspective ...",[81,51465,51467],{"id":51466},"that-represents-aminuscule15-of-total-political-ad-spending-across-all-channels","That represents a minuscule 1.5% of total political ad spending across all channels",[14,51469,51470],{},"TV, direct mail, telemarketing and other media channels account for more than 98% of the** $9.8 billion **that is estimated to be spent by the conclusion of this election cycle.",[14,51472,51473],{},"We'd like to open this question up to you -- our audience -- to answer the following ...",[81,51475,51477],{"id":51476},"why-do-you-think-online-ads-only-account-for-a-fraction-of-the-budget-compared-to-other-media-channels","Why do you think online ads only account for a fraction of the budget compared to other media channels?",[14,51479,51480],{},"Look forward to your responses.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":51482},[51483,51484],{"id":51466,"depth":297,"text":51467},{"id":51476,"depth":297,"text":51477},"2012-03-09","A new Borrell Associates report found that $159.2 million will be spent on digital advertising and email marketing this sales cycle.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fonline-ad-spending-nearing-200-million-mark",{"title":51448,"description":51486},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fonline-ad-spending-nearing-200-million-mark","bbBx8S7hxTUgDm1uiLZYYGCwoanIaZkMYebhXMmSLRs",{"id":51493,"title":51494,"author":7,"authors":51495,"body":51496,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":51545,"description":51546,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":51547,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":51548,"seo":51549,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":51494,"stem":51550,"updated":7,"__hash__":51551},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fthree-media-channels-that-nurture-leads.md","Three Media Channels that Nurture Leads",[9],{"type":11,"value":51497,"toc":51542},[51498,51501,51505,51508,51537],[14,51499,51500],{},"There are a million and one ways to generate awareness or create buzz around your brand.",[24,51502,51504],{"id":51503},"but-how-can-media-agencies-nurture-bottom-of-the-funnel-leads","But how can media agencies nurture bottom of the funnel leads?",[14,51506,51507],{},"Here are a few examples ...",[46,51509,51510,51516,51522,51525],{},[49,51511,51512,51515],{},[52,51513,51514],{},"Email Marketing:"," Perhaps the most traditional way to nurture leads, brands collect email addresses through lead gen forms or e-newsletter sign ups from users who have agreed to receive email communications about news, discounts and events the brand has to offer.",[49,51517,51518,51521],{},[52,51519,51520],{},"SMS Marketing:"," Also known as short codes, SMS marketing allows consumers to opt-in to regular communication from a brand via text message. Specials and discounts are popular with SMS marketing, as users simply bring in their cell phone with the coupon and are able to redeem on the spot.",[49,51523,51524],{},"This also makes it extremely  simple to track ROI generated from these SMS campaigns.",[49,51526,51527,51530,51531,51536],{},[52,51528,51529],{},"Search Retargeting:"," Media partners like ",[206,51532,51535],{"href":51533,"rel":51534},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.chango.com\u002F",[210],"Chango"," have the ability to serve banner ads to users who recently typed in a relevant search query into Google, Bing or Yahoo search engines. Unlike email and SMS marketing, which require a user to opt into the program, search retargeting simply utilizes existing search data to nurture leads who are actively seeking out your product or service.",[14,51538,51539],{},[52,51540,51541],{},"How does your company push leads through the purchase funnel?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":51543},[51544],{"id":51503,"depth":291,"text":51504},"2012-03-08","Email, test, and remarketing are all easy ways to nurture your leads into customers.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fthree-media-channels-that-nurture-leads",{"title":51494,"description":51546},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fthree-media-channels-that-nurture-leads","3r98oLW7xix3mFxgUiBgEkTrVenA8To--URQFoHJVxw",{"id":51553,"title":51554,"author":7,"authors":51555,"body":51556,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":51623,"description":51624,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":51625,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":51626,"seo":51627,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":51554,"stem":51628,"updated":7,"__hash__":51629},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fhow-to-rush-limbaugh-your-audience-online.md","How to “Rush Limbaugh” Your Audience Online",[9],{"type":11,"value":51557,"toc":51621},[51558,51570,51573,51575,51580,51583,51613,51618],[14,51559,51560,51561,51566,51567],{},"As of yesterday morning, the ",[206,51562,51565],{"href":51563,"rel":51564},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.hollywoodreporter.com\u002Fnews\u002Frush-limbaugh-sponsor-exodus-sandra-fluke-station-loss-297057",[210],"exodus of advertisers from the Rush Limbaugh"," radio program reached a new high: ",[52,51568,51569],{},"Forty.",[14,51571,51572],{},"After publicly calling Georgetown student Sandra Fluke a 'slut' and 'prostitute' who should have to post video of herself having sexual intercourse on the internet in order to go before congress to argue that health insurance should cover birth control, Limbaugh's radio program is watching sponsors sprint away from their advertising commitments.",[14,51574,48709],{},[24025,51576,51577],{},[14,51578,51579],{},"Is it possible to be a 'Rush Limbaugh' advertiser to consumers online?",[14,51581,51582],{},"Here are a few ways you could offend your target audience, online consumers and internet users as a whole when advertising online:",[46,51584,51585,51591,51594,51600,51606],{},[49,51586,51587,51590],{},[52,51588,51589],{},"Ignore Frequency Caps:"," Delivering thousands of impressions a day to users who are not taking action on your message is a quick way to infuriate online consumers.",[49,51592,51593],{},"Try implementing a frequency cap to avoid this gross over-communication.",[49,51595,51596,51599],{},[52,51597,51598],{},"Speaking Down to Your Audience:"," Look in the eyes of your target audience -- is the message your brand is using to communicate demeaning, ignorant or in poor taste? Yes, we know that Old Spice & Dos Equis style humor is all the rage right now, but be careful how you speak to consumers.",[49,51601,51602,51605],{},[52,51603,51604],{},"Poor User Experience:"," You deliver an impression to an online consumer, who takes action by clicking on the ad, leading them to a Iowa-style corn maze landing page where they have no idea how to obtain the offer they clicked on or where to find support for their questions.",[49,51607,51608,51609],{},"Click on your own ads and go through the user flow of your conversion funnel, ",[206,51610,51612],{"href":51611},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fidentifying-holes-sales-funnel\u002F","just like we recommended in this blog post.",[14,51614,51615],{},[52,51616,51617],{},"Feel free to share your own thoughts on Rush Limbaugh-esque advertising situations.",[14,51619,51620],{},"PS -- MKG Media has no political ties, religious discriminations, gender \u002F sexual orientation biases or satanistic views. We're from San Francisco, so all we ask is for a happy and healthy world to surround ourselves with. Thanks for recycling!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":51622},[],"2012-03-07","As of yesterday morning, the exodus of advertisers from the Rush Limbaugh radio program reached a new high: Forty.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fhow-to-rush-limbaugh-your-audience-online",{"title":51554,"description":51624},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fhow-to-rush-limbaugh-your-audience-online","YRdKhHeqAxu4ND_iZGTf3ztuiJhiTt69mQzdqi0Usdc",{"id":51631,"title":51632,"author":7,"authors":51633,"body":51634,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":51699,"description":51638,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":51700,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":51701,"seo":51702,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":51632,"stem":51703,"updated":7,"__hash__":51704},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fthe-super-tuesday-of-digital-media.md","The Super Tuesday of Digital Media",[9],{"type":11,"value":51635,"toc":51695},[51636,51639,51643,51646,51688,51692],[14,51637,51638],{},"Super Tuesday is upon us -- Voters in 10 states will participate in caucuses and primaries that will award more more delegates in the Republican presidential nomination than all the caucuses and primaries that have come before it.",[24,51640,51642],{"id":51641},"so-what-is-the-digital-mediaequivalentof-super-tuesday","So, what is the digital media equivalent of Super Tuesday?",[14,51644,51645],{},"While there isn't just one day that takes the cake, there are a couple than compete for the top spot.",[46,51647,51648,51666,51672],{},[49,51649,51650,51653,51654,51659,51660,51665],{},[52,51651,51652],{},"Black Friday:"," Want access to all the best deals without having to get off the couch? Lucky for you, sites dedicated to Black Friday deals such as ",[206,51655,51658],{"href":51656,"rel":51657},"https:\u002F\u002Fblackfriday.info",[210],"Black Friday Info"," & ",[206,51661,51664],{"href":51662,"rel":51663},"https:\u002F\u002Ftheblackfriday.com",[210],"The Black Friday"," that will catalogue all the deals you're interested in and help you redeem them with no more than the click of your mouse.",[49,51667,51668,51671],{},[52,51669,51670],{},"Cyber Monday:"," In this election cycle, Cyber Monday is the equivalent of Mitt Romney on steroids. Overstock, Dealio & Amazon all set up specific sections of their sites to cater to the hordes of traffic that will descend upon online retailers on this day. Last year, US based shoppers spent more than **$1.25 BILLION ** on Cyber Monday, making it only the second day in a calendar year that has topped the $1 billion mark.",[49,51673,51674,51677,51678,51683,51684,51687],{},[52,51675,51676],{},"Week after Christmas:"," In our experience, the week after Christmas generates massive traffic spikes and performance increases in consumer-focused media campaigns. How could this be? Simple: Gift exchanges and returns. Aside from receiving gifts that are unappreciated, many consumers ",[206,51679,51682],{"href":51680,"rel":51681},"https:\u002F\u002Farticles.cnn.com\u002F2011-01-12\u002Ftech\u002Fgift.card.exchange.sites_1_gift-cards-plastic-jungle-preferred-gift?_s=PM:TECH",[210],"receive gift cards that need redeeming."," Ipso facto, consumers are ",[52,51685,51686],{},"still"," shopping after all the presents have been torn open!",[24,51689,51691],{"id":51690},"these-are-just-a-few-examples-of-super-tuesday-esque-digital-media-holidays","These are just a few examples of Super Tuesday-esque digital media holidays.",[14,51693,51694],{},"Year in and year out, these are the heavy hitters of the digital media space. How does your brand communicate with consumers on these days?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":51696},[51697,51698],{"id":51641,"depth":291,"text":51642},{"id":51690,"depth":291,"text":51691},"2012-03-06",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fthe-super-tuesday-of-digital-media",{"title":51632,"description":51638},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fthe-super-tuesday-of-digital-media","AqnqtrL0IPtMg9IKjON9sIw06CoS3N-bjcctxn1QM6Y",{"id":51706,"title":51707,"author":7,"authors":51708,"body":51709,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":51795,"description":51713,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":51796,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":51797,"seo":51798,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":51707,"stem":51799,"updated":7,"__hash__":51800},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fboosting-on-site-conversion-performance.md","Boosting On Site Conversion Performance",[9],{"type":11,"value":51710,"toc":51790},[51711,51714,51718,51721,51732,51736,51742,51746,51785],[14,51712,51713],{},"Recently, I spoke to a channel marketer who mentioned her company was having issues converting people with their online marketing efforts.",[24,51715,51717],{"id":51716},"so-i-asked-her-what-is-the-flow-or-path-to-conversion-for-this-program","So, I asked her: What is the flow, or path, to conversion for this program?",[14,51719,51720],{},"She responded with ...",[46,51722,51723,51726,51729],{},[49,51724,51725],{},"First, the user has to 'like' the brand on Facebook",[49,51727,51728],{},"Then, the user is directed to sign up for the brands e-mail newsletter",[49,51730,51731],{},"Finally, the same user receives an email that must be clicked on. This final action will take them to the brand website, where the user converts",[24,51733,51735],{"id":51734},"my-next-question-for-her-have-you-ever-gone-through-your-own-conversion-path","My next question for her: Have you ever gone through your own conversion path?",[14,51737,51738,51739],{},"Her brand was suffering from the fantastic delusion that consumers actually cared about the extraneous channels they were being exposed to during the path to conversion. They were overwhelming users, causing an alarmingly high percent of users to drop off during the path to conversion, an issue I talked about in ",[206,51740,51741],{"href":51611},"this blog post.",[24,51743,51745],{"id":51744},"here-are-a-couple-best-practices-to-examine-when-your-conversion-paths-are-underperforming","Here are a couple best practices to examine when your conversion paths are underperforming ...",[46,51747,51748,51754,51765,51776],{},[49,51749,51750,51753],{},[52,51751,51752],{},"Do Consumers Know Where to Start:"," Look at the conversion path on your site -- is there a clear starting point that is emphasized?",[49,51755,51756,51757],{},"If you bury the 'start here' button at the bottom of your homepage, it's likely that you'll have issues getting users started on the conversion path\n",[46,51758,51759],{},[49,51760,51761,51764],{},[52,51762,51763],{},"Keep Your Path Focused:"," Brands make the mistake of mashing multiple programs together that don't truly  belong -- for example, asking a consumer to 'like' you on Facebook in the middle of the shopping cart check out process is a little off base.",[49,51766,51767,51768],{},"Are you trying to sell product or promote your Facebook page? Make up your mind, as they're two very separate initiatives.\n",[46,51769,51770],{},[49,51771,51772,51775],{},[52,51773,51774],{},"How Much Are You Asking For:"," Use the K-I-S-S analogy -- Keep it simple stupid. Asking for too much, too personal or irrelevant information (in the eyes of the consumer) will lead to fall off during the conversion path.",[49,51777,51778,51779,51784],{},"For example, to get a free ",[206,51780,51783],{"href":51781,"rel":51782},"https:\u002F\u002Fsquare.com",[210],"Square"," mobile payment reader Square wanted to know my social security number. It was that one question that made me abandon sign up at the very last step of the conversion path.",[14,51786,51787],{},[52,51788,51789],{},"Please share any experiences you've had in the comments below.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":51791},[51792,51793,51794],{"id":51716,"depth":291,"text":51717},{"id":51734,"depth":291,"text":51735},{"id":51744,"depth":291,"text":51745},"2012-03-02",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fboosting-on-site-conversion-performance",{"title":51707,"description":51713},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fboosting-on-site-conversion-performance","zll4lJtlIU2piudI_2Y7myYNNpdA21dE6orvYCHicOs",{"id":51802,"title":51803,"author":7,"authors":51804,"body":51805,"caption":7,"category":23562,"date":51869,"description":51809,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":51870,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":51871,"seo":51872,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":51803,"stem":51873,"updated":7,"__hash__":51874},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fwhat-daytona-500-can-teach-us-about-marketing.md","What The Daytona 500 Can Teach Us About Marketing",[9],{"type":11,"value":51806,"toc":51866},[51807,51810,51814,51817,51827,51830,51836,51848,51861],[14,51808,51809],{},"Monday's latest rendition of the Daytona 500 featured it all: A super wreck on the second lap, drivers updating their Twitter accounts mid-lap and even someone slamming into a maintenance vehicle on the track.",[24,51811,51813],{"id":51812},"but-id-like-to-explore-a-couple-things-that-the-daytona-500-can-teach-us-marketers","But I'd like to explore a couple things that the Daytona 500 can teach us marketers ...",[14,51815,51816],{},"Here are a couple selling points I've noticed that Daytona presents itself with that marketers within other verticals could learn from:",[14,51818,51819,51822,51823,51826],{},[52,51820,51821],{},"Element of Scarcity:"," There are 38 NASCAR Sprint Cup races every single season, yet how many non-race fans can actually name an event outside of the Daytona 500? That's right: There are literally ",[52,51824,51825],{},"thirty seven"," other races to watch in the Sprint Cup Series, yet Daytona takes the cake every single year as the race.",[14,51828,51829],{},"This false sense of scarcity generates an organic super buzz around the Daytona 500 that is unseen in any other event. NASCAR does a great job of selling up their coup-de-grace; their Super Bowl, so to speak, just like Apple coyly convinces grown men and women to wait outside their stores as they release the newest version of the iPhone, iPad, iWhatever ...",[14,51831,51832,51835],{},[52,51833,51834],{},"Communicate Across Channels:"," NASCAR blankets television, local radio stations and online channels with a very simple message -- watch in person \u002F on television as a group of grown men drive in circles for the next four hours. They understand that their current and potential fans consume content across a variety of different mediums and go out of their way to make sure that they have messaging strategies in place that speak to any and all potential viewers in their native media environment.",[14,51837,51838,51841,51842,51847],{},[52,51839,51840],{},"Identifying Unlikely Communication Channels:"," When ",[206,51843,51846],{"href":51844,"rel":51845},"https:\u002F\u002Fiwantherjob.com",[210],"my good friend"," told me she was taking her social chops to the next level by accepting a job at Phoenix International Raceway, I was a little unsure of how she could apply her unquestionably amazing skillset within the NASCAR circle. Then she reminded me: she became friends via Twitter with NASCAR movers and shakers at all levels.",[14,51849,51850,51851,51856,51857,51860],{},"Still think the NASCAR audience is still mainly an analog crowd? Social media is so popular within NASCAR that driver Brad Keselowski actually ",[206,51852,51855],{"href":51853,"rel":51854},"https:\u002F\u002Ftechland.time.com\u002F2012\u002F02\u002F28\u002Fdaytona-500-crash-brings-nascar-driver-100000-twitter-followers\u002F",[210],"tweeted"," while waiting for the race to re-start following a fiery crash during the race. The result? Keselowski nearly ",[52,51858,51859],{},"quadrupled his follower count"," (from 65,000 to more than 200,000) and received nearly as much earned media play time as the eventual race winner, Matt Kenseth.",[14,51862,51863],{},[52,51864,51865],{},"What other industries or brands are doing a great job of marketing themselves like NASCAR?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":51867},[51868],{"id":51812,"depth":291,"text":51813},"2012-02-28",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fwhat-daytona-500-can-teach-us-about-marketing",{"title":51803,"description":51809},"blog\u002Fnews\u002Fwhat-daytona-500-can-teach-us-about-marketing","Y1Jp7iH8Xd9vInXGtSO_1_G00f5oo7IKxvyeoc9qfZA",{"id":51876,"title":51877,"author":7,"authors":51878,"body":51879,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":51934,"description":51883,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":51935,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":51936,"seo":51937,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":51877,"stem":51938,"updated":7,"__hash__":51939},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fmeasuring-qualified-leads.md","Measuring Qualified Leads",[9],{"type":11,"value":51880,"toc":51931},[51881,51884,51888,51891,51926],[14,51882,51883],{},"At some point in your working life, it's inevitable that this subject will be brought up by the client ...",[24,51885,51887],{"id":51886},"our-conversions-are-booming-but-how-do-we-understand-if-these-are-quality-leads","Our conversions are booming, but how do we understand if these are quality leads?",[14,51889,51890],{},"Here are three different ways to measure or justify the quality of leads that your online marketing programs are driving:",[46,51892,51893,51904,51915],{},[49,51894,51895,51898,51899],{},[52,51896,51897],{},"Trial to Paid:"," How many of the users that converted on a free, time-based trial of your product are actually moving from the free to paid version?\n",[46,51900,51901],{},[49,51902,51903],{},"If you're seeing significant drop off from free to paid, then it's likely that you're driving unqualified leads who just wanted to download your white paper, not actually become a loyal user of your product",[49,51905,51906,51909,51910],{},[52,51907,51908],{},"Life Time Value:"," Once a lead is brought into your system, how much are they worth toward your company's bottom line?\u003C>\n",[46,51911,51912],{},[49,51913,51914],{},"Life time value is a great metric to measure against financial services or other long sales cycle type industries (insurance is another good category to use LTV for)",[49,51916,51917,51920,51921],{},[52,51918,51919],{},"Per Order Value:"," Every time a user hits the 'Buy Now' button on your website, how much money are they forking over?\n",[46,51922,51923],{},[49,51924,51925],{},"Hotels, resorts & casinos are smart to use this metric. For example, a hotel room on the Las Vegas strip is always more expensive on a Friday \u002F Saturday night compared to a Tuesday.",[14,51927,51928],{},[52,51929,51930],{},"What verticals have you worked in? How did you measure the quality of your incoming leads?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":51932},[51933],{"id":51886,"depth":291,"text":51887},"2012-02-27",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fmeasuring-qualified-leads",{"title":51877,"description":51883},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fmeasuring-qualified-leads","lAQ-B3UDtvMhzKfMagf-eKMxdtDSdMIKnmN-M5F8JVM",{"id":51941,"title":51942,"author":7,"authors":51943,"body":51944,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":52020,"description":52021,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":52022,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":52023,"seo":52024,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":52025,"stem":52026,"updated":7,"__hash__":52027},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fbuilding-an-actionable-analytics-practice.md","Building an Actionable Analytics Practice",[9],{"type":11,"value":51945,"toc":52015},[51946,51959,51962,51966,51969,51977,51981,51984,51995,51998,52001,52012],[14,51947,51948,51949,1042,51954,51958],{},"Andrew Edwards wrote a great article on ",[206,51950,51953],{"href":51951,"rel":51952},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.clickz.com\u002Fclickz\u002Fcolumn\u002F2122892\u002Fanalytics-bridge",[210],"ClickZ titled",[206,51955,51957],{"href":51951,"rel":51956},[210],"The Analytics Bridge to Nowhere","; the premise of the article centered around many companies' short sighted-ness when it comes to establishing and executing actionable analytics programs.",[14,51960,51961],{},"With that in mind, we wanted to provide a quick roadmap that clients and agencies alike can use to help guide initial conversations to establish their own actionable analytics plans.",[24,51963,51965],{"id":51964},"general","General ",[14,51967,51968],{},"These questions come in at the 50,000 foot level and should guide the analytics plan from the very beginning. As such, preliminary answers to these questions should be made in advance of the actual analytics plan going live and referred to throughout the life of the program as success benchmarks.",[46,51970,51971,51974],{},[49,51972,51973],{},"What insights do you hope to discover?",[49,51975,51976],{},"How long will you commit to digging for these discoveries?",[24,51978,51980],{"id":51979},"man-power","Man Power ",[14,51982,51983],{},"While there are many tools that can help collect, slice & dice your data, at the end of the day you need a trained analyst consuming and relaying the information back to the team as a whole.",[46,51985,51986,51989,51992],{},[49,51987,51988],{},"Who do you have in place to analyze the data on day 1 \u002F day 30 \u002F day 90 \u002F day 360?",[49,51990,51991],{},"Will this person be given \"the conch\", so to speak, to share their findings with the group on a regular basis?",[49,51993,51994],{},"Will you empower your torch bearers to act on the data in real time?",[24,51996,51997],{"id":37204},"Results ",[14,51999,52000],{},"We hinted at this in the general questions section above, but setting and measuring success against a specific goal is of the utmost importance. Otherwise, how else are you going to justify this expense when budget reviews come up next year?",[46,52002,52003,52006,52009],{},[49,52004,52005],{},"Agree to a series of time-stamped check ins to review with the 'powers that be' -- be sure to hold everyone accountable to these check ins and don't let anyone wiggle out of the meeting",[49,52007,52008],{},"Get sign off stating that the project will receive enough time to run its course. No 2 week 'OH SHIT!' stages should take place, because you've established up front that you're not canning the project because the results aren't exactly what you want to see right out of the gate",[49,52010,52011],{},"Just as your company has agreed to success metrics, you also want to establish an exit strategy if things aren't going as planned. Use a question like 'How does this project end?' to kickstart this conversation",[14,52013,52014],{},"Again, these are just some initial thoughts that brands \u002F clients can use to build out their analytics practices. Feel free to suggest your own ideas in the comments section below.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":52016},[52017,52018,52019],{"id":51964,"depth":291,"text":51965},{"id":51979,"depth":291,"text":51980},{"id":37204,"depth":291,"text":51997},"2012-02-24","Andrew Edwards wrote a great article on ClickZ titled The Analytics Bridge to Nowhere; the premise of the article centered around many companies' short sighted-ness when it comes to establishing and executing actionable analytics programs.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fbuilding-an-actionable-analytics-practice",{"title":51942,"description":52021},"Building an Actionable Analytics Practice| MKG Marketing","blog\u002Fppc\u002Fbuilding-an-actionable-analytics-practice","0WoEDALYtk2_h4sOu_IBora4wCzMh7778bnRA0uxxzE",{"id":52029,"title":52030,"author":7,"authors":52031,"body":52032,"caption":7,"category":22012,"date":52108,"description":52040,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":52109,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":52110,"seo":52111,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":52030,"stem":52112,"updated":7,"__hash__":52113},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fidentifying-holes-sales-funnel.md","Identifying ‘Holes’ in Your Sales Funnel",[9],{"type":11,"value":52033,"toc":52100},[52034,52037,52041,52045,52057,52061,52066,52070,52092,52096,52098],[14,52035,52036],{},"The other day, we walked you through the process of measuring mobile marketing conversions using an online conversion funnel.",[24,52038,52040],{"id":52039},"today-wed-like-to-show-marketers-how-to-identify-holes-gaps-and-general-inefficiencies-in-online-conversion-funnels","Today, we'd like to show marketers how to identify holes, gaps and general inefficiencies in online conversion funnels.",[81,52042,52044],{"id":52043},"situation-1-tons-of-leads-begin-the-sign-up-process-yet-few-actually-complete-the-entire-lead-generation-form","Situation #1: Tons of leads begin the sign up process, yet few actually complete the entire lead generation form.",[46,52046,52047,52050],{},[49,52048,52049],{},"Possible Solution: Does your lead gen form ask for too much information or require sensitive information? Look at the sign up process from the eyes of your consumer and ask yourself \"Would I actually answer these questions if I was a potential customer?",[49,52051,52052],{},[46,52053,52054],{},[49,52055,52056],{},"Tip: Try going timing yourself as you go through the purchase \u002F sign up process on your own product.",[81,52058,52060],{"id":52059},"situation-2-inconsistent-flow-of-users-through-each-step-of-the-sign-up-purchase-process","Situation #2: Inconsistent flow of users through each step of the sign up \u002F purchase process.",[46,52062,52063],{},[49,52064,52065],{},"Possible Solution: Say you get 95% of users through to step 2, 90% through to step 3 and then only 35% through to the fourth and final step. Take a look at the flow of questions between 3 and 4; What are you asking the user for? How could you acquire that information in a different way?",[81,52067,52069],{"id":52068},"situation-3-the-form-asks-for-too-much-sensitive-information","Situation #3: The form asks for too much sensitive information.",[46,52071,52072,52081],{},[49,52073,52074,52075,52080],{},"Possible Solution: Try using a service like ",[206,52076,52079],{"href":52077,"rel":52078},"https:\u002F\u002Fdemandbase.com",[210],"DemandBase",", which collects non-personally identifiable information (non PII, for short) such as industry, category \u002F vertical, HHI, SIC code, etc and can populate those pieces of the form in the background without the consumer being asked.",[49,52082,52083],{},[46,52084,52085],{},[49,52086,52087,52088,52091],{},"Tip: A bit low fi, but have you re-considered internally whether you ",[52,52089,52090],{},"really need"," information that sensitive?",[24,52093,52095],{"id":52094},"drop-us-a-note-in-the-comments-section-if-youve-ever-come-across-a-conversion-path-issue-and-well-get-back-to-you-with-a-response","Drop us a note in the comments section if you've ever come across a conversion path issue and we'll get back to you with a response!",[14,52097,49236],{},[14,52099,49239],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":52101},[52102,52107],{"id":52039,"depth":291,"text":52040,"children":52103},[52104,52105,52106],{"id":52043,"depth":297,"text":52044},{"id":52059,"depth":297,"text":52060},{"id":52068,"depth":297,"text":52069},{"id":52094,"depth":291,"text":52095},"2012-02-23",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fidentifying-holes-sales-funnel",{"title":52030,"description":52040},"blog\u002Fmarketing-analytics\u002Fidentifying-holes-sales-funnel","2vuZTrx5ke2im-4IuCu0IScsIpRYa6SJTMeDWeXbHE0",{"id":52115,"title":52116,"author":7,"authors":52117,"body":52118,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":52141,"description":77,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":52142,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":52143,"seo":52144,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":52145,"stem":52146,"updated":7,"__hash__":52147},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fmeasuring-mobile-marketinig-conversions.md","Measuring Mobile Marketing Conversions",[9],{"type":11,"value":52119,"toc":52138},[52120,52124,52127,52135],[24,52121,52123],{"id":52122},"how-the-heck-do-i-measure-performance-of-my-mobile-marketing-campaigns","How the heck do I measure performance of my mobile marketing campaigns?",[14,52125,52126],{},"Building on yesterdays 3 Examples of Mobile Marketing Genius post, the next step would be to share an example of how an agency like ours would measure the effectiveness of mobile marketing conversion events",[14,52128,52129,52130,52134],{},"Courtesy of our good friends at ",[206,52131,45002],{"href":52132,"rel":52133},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.kissmetrics.com\u002F",[210],", here's one example of how to measure performance from a mobile promotion: a conversion funnel.",[14,52136,52137],{},"Tomorrow, we'll show you how to identify and correct issues along the conversion path that apply to both mobile and web marketing campaigns.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":52139},[52140],{"id":52122,"depth":291,"text":52123},"2012-02-22",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fmeasuring-mobile-marketinig-conversions",{"title":52116,"description":77},"Measuring Mobile Marketing Conversions| MKG Marketing","blog\u002Fppc\u002Fmeasuring-mobile-marketinig-conversions","U2UtXpX-_QqOZOgzkCKawwcHLEwAop7EP9FnyOmB8ww",{"id":52149,"title":52150,"author":7,"authors":52151,"body":52152,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":52239,"description":52240,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":52241,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":52242,"seo":52243,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":52150,"stem":52244,"updated":7,"__hash__":52245},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fthree-examples-mobile-marketing-genius.md","Three Examples of Mobile Marketing Genius",[9],{"type":11,"value":52153,"toc":52237},[52154,52157,52183,52186,52229,52232],[14,52155,52156],{},"You've probably heard the statistics about smartphone ownership; mobile is the next marketing frontier. Just to brush up, let me remind you that ...",[46,52158,52159,52167,52175],{},[49,52160,52161,52166],{},[206,52162,52165],{"href":52163,"rel":52164},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.comscore.com\u002FPress_Events\u002FPress_Releases\u002F2011\u002F11\u002FcomScore_Reports_September_2011_U.S._Mobile_Subscriber_Market_Share",[210],"According to comScore",", 40% of all mobile devices in the US are smartphones",[49,52168,52169,52174],{},[206,52170,52173],{"href":52171,"rel":52172},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.idc.com\u002Fgetdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS23028711",[210],"IDC found that by 2015,","more US internet users will access the web on a mobile device than by computer",[49,52176,52177,52182],{},[206,52178,52181],{"href":52179,"rel":52180},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ft.com\u002Fcms\u002Fs\u002F2\u002F6ecd4a0a-280a-11e1-a4c4-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1mdUycRwv",[210],"A second IDC study","reported that nearly 1 billion smartphone handsets will be purchased in 2015\nSo, how are brands going to communicate their product message to all these smartphone users?",[14,52184,52185],{},"Here are three ways to engage consumers on their wireless device.",[46,52187,52188,52205,52217],{},[49,52189,52190,52192,52193,52198,52199,52204],{},[52,52191,51520],{}," SMS marketing campaigns collect opt-in users who agree to receive occasional text messages containing coupons or last-minute deals they can physically bring into a store to redeem upon purchase. Our good friend Derek Johnson, CEO of SMS marketing company ",[206,52194,52197],{"href":52195,"rel":52196},"https:\u002F\u002Ftatango.com",[210],"Tatango",", has a ",[206,52200,52203],{"href":52201,"rel":52202},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.tatango.com\u002Fsms-marketing-how-it-works",[210],"great graphic describing how easy"," it is to engage consumers using SMS marketing.",[49,52206,52207,52210,52211,52216],{},[52,52208,52209],{},"Engaging Creative Executions:"," A great example of a company utilizing high-impact creative is ",[206,52212,52215],{"href":52213,"rel":52214},"https:\u002F\u002Fzumobi.com",[210],"Zumobi",", a mobile marketing company based out of Seattle that uses expandable microsites within mobile applications as well as full-page loading screen executions that take over the screen when an application is loading new data. These types of executions are all user initiated and literally take over the entire screen, allowing brands to speak directly to the consumer with no content or other advertisers to compete with.",[49,52218,52219,52222,52223,52228],{},[52,52220,52221],{},"Advertising Downloads:"," Mobile vendors like ",[206,52224,52227],{"href":52225,"rel":52226},"https:\u002F\u002Ffiksu.com",[210],"Fiksu"," are able to drive mobile application downloads using mobile advertising. Not only that, but these companies can tier downloaders into specific segments based upon how much they use the application post-download, making it easier to find a more loyal user base as opposed to a one-and-done user that won't use the application more than once.",[14,52230,52231],{},"These are just a couple examples of how brands can engage users on their mobile device. So just out of curiousity ...",[14,52233,52234],{},[52,52235,52236],{},"How are you engaging consumers on their mobile devices?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":52238},[],"2012-02-21","How are brands going to communicate their product message to all these smartphone users?",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fthree-examples-mobile-marketing-genius",{"title":52150,"description":52240},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fthree-examples-mobile-marketing-genius","923qO9KQvTLpn_l6LR9P2R0eHVajO9KO4KnDuPf1aDU",{"id":52247,"title":52248,"author":7,"authors":52249,"body":52250,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":52305,"description":52306,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":52307,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":52308,"seo":52309,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":52248,"stem":52310,"updated":7,"__hash__":52311},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fvalue-of-customers-by-digital-channel.md","Value of Customers by Digital Channel",[9],{"type":11,"value":52251,"toc":52303},[52252,52261,52264,52272,52275,52298],[14,52253,52254,52255,52260],{},"ClearSaleing, the analytics and attribution provider, ",[206,52256,52259],{"href":52257,"rel":52258},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.emarketer.com\u002FArticle.aspx?R=1008845&awid=6273373231268389210-3483",[210],"provided data to eMarketer","that showed the average revenue per order & revenue per click based upon which paid & earned media touch points consumers interacted with online.",[14,52262,52263],{},"The data showed ...",[46,52265,52266,52269],{},[49,52267,52268],{},"Social and display were the top two performers in terms of average revenue per order.",[49,52270,52271],{},"Social and paid search were the top two performers in terms of average revenue per click.",[14,52273,52274],{},"Aside from the top line numbers, the data also shows agencies the following:",[46,52276,52277,52283,52292],{},[49,52278,52279,52282],{},[52,52280,52281],{},"Price Dictates Tactic:"," Paid search and affiliate programs, two strategies that generate extremely cost efficient conversions, were the two lowest performers in terms of average revenue per order. How could this be? While we have no idea which products \u002F prices were being analyzed in this study, one could argue that paid search and affiliate marketing would be better suited for less expensive items that experience a shorter sales cycle (like iPod chargers and shampoo) as opposed to longer sales cycles (like a brand new Jaguar XK-8, for example).",[49,52284,52285,52288,52289,52291],{},[52,52286,52287],{},"Social Acts as Bottom Funnel:"," In terms of driving top revenue per order ",[52,52290,46659],{}," revenue per click, social acts like a bottom of the funnel tactic. Bottom funnel tactics are conversion tactics; strategies that are prime drivers in closing the sale with the consumer online. This proves that users are really turning to their social networks to engage with brands, obtain advice from friends, and ultimately make a purchase decision.",[49,52293,52294,52297],{},[52,52295,52296],{},"Multi-Channel Strategies Work:"," Agencies need to be at the forefront of pushing multi-channel strategies, or engagements that utilize multiple channels (mobile, web, comparison shopping sites), to generate awareness and trial \u002F purchase from consumers online.",[14,52299,52300],{},[52,52301,52302],{},"How is your agency utilizing multiple channels to find, educate and convert your target audience?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":52304},[],"2012-02-17","How each digital marekting channel can impact your bottom line.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fvalue-of-customers-by-digital-channel",{"title":52248,"description":52306},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fvalue-of-customers-by-digital-channel","eTdc7DvCcfupmtsQyIPypM8CZ1NbsKzADxLIUUNRWVg",{"id":52313,"title":52314,"author":7,"authors":52315,"body":52316,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":52366,"description":52367,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":52368,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":52369,"seo":52370,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":52314,"stem":52371,"updated":7,"__hash__":52372},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fmetrics-you-should-be-using.md","Metrics You Should Be Using",[9],{"type":11,"value":52317,"toc":52364},[52318,52327,52330,52359],[14,52319,52320,52321,52326],{},"A couple days ago, ",[206,52322,52325],{"href":52323,"rel":52324},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.imediaconnection.com\u002Farticle_full.aspx?id=30946",[210],"Rocket Fuel's VP of Analytics Jarvis Mak wrote an article","detailing the metrics agency professionals should be using to determine the success of their online media campaign.",[14,52328,52329],{},"Through his extensive experience at Rocket Fuel, Havas Digital, Nielsen (and much, much more), Jarvis shared the following insights:",[46,52331,52332,52338,52353],{},[49,52333,52334,52337],{},[52,52335,52336],{},"Use Life Time Value (LTV) As a Metric:"," Focus on the quality of the leads you're producing; that is, generate leads that are going to convert for you ten times over. Especially in retail and finance, where promotions generate a large percentage of one-time shoppers, you want to invest more to acquire quality leads that are going to become repeat customers.",[49,52339,52340,52343,52344,1258,52347,52352],{},[52,52341,52342],{},"Measure Brand Lift & Purchase Intent:"," Measuring purchase intent and brand perception is a great way to get a real-time snapshot of your market. This can be accomplished by serving a Vizu brand study, which has qualitative questions of users within the ad unit, from a learning platform like ",[206,52345,40085],{"href":49530,"rel":52346},[210],[206,52348,52351],{"href":52349,"rel":52350},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.legolas-media.com\u002F",[210],"Legolas"," that will deliver the surveys to the appropriate audience and optimize campaign segments based off of the responses (amongst other things).",[49,52354,52355,52358],{},[52,52356,52357],{},"Don't Optimize to CTR:"," Through extensive research, iMedia produced a study that showed optimizing only to click-through-rate excluded a large volume of inventory that would have reached optimal customer segments. This goes back to acquiring quality conversions; the study found that 'click-ier' segments did actually produce the same volume of conversions or quality, high LTV customers as the optimal customer segments did.",[14,52360,52361],{},[52,52362,52363],{},"So, what metrics is your agency using to determine the success of your campaign?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":52365},[],"2012-02-16","A couple days ago, Rocket Fuel's VP of Analytics Jarvis Mak wrote an articledetailing the metrics agency professionals should be using to determine the success of their online media campaign.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fmetrics-you-should-be-using",{"title":52314,"description":52367},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fmetrics-you-should-be-using","5UXfjUvJ6Nbk4tCTrtpTDoGi4sdpUkzz0jT-jJUJquA",{"id":52374,"title":52375,"author":7,"authors":52376,"body":52377,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":52417,"description":52381,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":52418,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":52419,"seo":52420,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":52375,"stem":52421,"updated":7,"__hash__":52422},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fhow-your-online-media-team-can-win-best-in-show.md","How Your Online Media Team Can Win Best In Show",[9],{"type":11,"value":52378,"toc":52414},[52379,52382,52386,52389,52409],[14,52380,52381],{},"Inspired by this years Westminster Dog Competition, in which Malachy the Pekingese took Best in Show, we wanted to explore how clients can take home the Best in Show prize within their own companies.",[24,52383,52385],{"id":52384},"how-can-you-a-marketing-manager-take-home-best-in-show-for-your-online-marketing-efforts","How can you, a marketing manager, take home Best in Show for your online marketing efforts?",[14,52387,52388],{},"Well, you can start with the following:",[46,52390,52391,52397,52403],{},[49,52392,52393,52396],{},[52,52394,52395],{},"Be Accountable For Your Investments:"," Every time you allocate your companies hard earned cash you need to be accountable for the results. That means if things go south, you need to be able to determine where the problem stemmed from and prove to your superiors that you can fix it next time around. If your online media investment was successful, then you need to shout the results from the roof top of your building so that others take note.",[49,52398,52399,52402],{},[52,52400,52401],{},"Measure Everything:"," It's difficult to figure out if you failed \u002F succeeded if you haven't set performance goals up front. Take the time to put together a road map of what success looks like; this will make your working relationships with online media partners and vendors go much more smoothly as everybody has agreed to what success looks like up front.",[49,52404,52405,52408],{},[52,52406,52407],{},"Focus on Long Term Learnings:"," While immediate success will keep your budget healthy, long term learnings are beginning to shape the online media landscape. Work with partners who are able to serve up informed insights from media buys so that you can learn more about the audience you are interacting with online.",[14,52410,52411],{},[38,52412,52413],{},"Just as a disclaimer, these thoughts are a combination of our own personal views as well as other opinions that have been shared with me by other agencies. At no point do we claim to know what clients go through on a daily basis; we just know what it's like to work with productive \u002F not-so-productive clients and wanted to share some tips we've picked up along the way.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":52415},[52416],{"id":52384,"depth":291,"text":52385},"2012-02-15",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fhow-your-online-media-team-can-win-best-in-show",{"title":52375,"description":52381},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fhow-your-online-media-team-can-win-best-in-show","xUM-Ss8Asf1ocSX70iTcm8R4CSdm6Dmu0TmL6EWXzjw",{"id":52424,"title":52425,"author":7,"authors":52426,"body":52427,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":52512,"description":52513,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":52514,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":52515,"seo":52516,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":52425,"stem":52517,"updated":7,"__hash__":52518},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fnai-reports-ad-networks-compliant-with-privacy-code.md","NAI Reports Ad Networks Compliant with Privacy Code",[9],{"type":11,"value":52428,"toc":52503},[52429,52432,52435,52439,52442,52446,52449,52455,52459,52462,52466,52470,52473,52476,52495],[14,52430,52431],{},"With Valentines Day upon us, men and women alike are probably wondering why they're receiving ads for flowers.com and 'making that special someone happy on this special day'.",[14,52433,52434],{},"This is called Online Behavioral Advertising (OBA). For example, if you visit flowers.com and, after navigating off the site to somewhere else on the internet, you are served an advertisement for flowers.com, you have been targeted based on your past browsing behaviors.",[24,52436,52438],{"id":52437},"compliance","Compliance",[14,52440,52441],{},"Just in time for this Valentines Day, the National Advertising Initiative (NAI) conducted a study amongst ad networks to ensure they were up to date on all OBA rules and regulations.",[81,52443,52445],{"id":52444},"according-to-the-nais-annual-report-a-new-record-60-ad-networks-were-in-compliance-with-current-oba-regulations","According to the NAI's annual report, a new record 60 ad networks were in compliance with current OBA regulations.",[14,52447,52448],{},"The NAI confirmed that this years findings represents a jump of nearly 100% in OBA compliant ad networks year over year.",[14,52450,52451,52452,52454],{},"Compliance is based on ad networks ",[52,52453,6920],{}," collecting any personally identifiable information and showing a blue 'ad choices' button (as you see on the left) in the corner of the ad unit that allows users to opt out of behaviorally targeted advertising.",[24,52456,52458],{"id":52457},"opt-outs","Opt-Outs",[14,52460,52461],{},"The ad choices button shows exactly which companies are targeting you and allows users to opt out, or tell those companies not to target them, based on their online browsing behaviors.",[81,52463,52465],{"id":52464},"w-hat-is-interesting-is-that-of-the-65-million-people-who-actually-clicked-the-blue-ad-choices-button-to-see-who-was-targeting-them-only-14-of-those-users-actually-chose-to-opt-out-of-behavioral-advertising","W hat is interesting is that of the 6.5 million people who actually clicked the blue 'ad choices' button to see who was targeting them, only 14% of those users actually chose to opt out of behavioral advertising.",[24,52467,52469],{"id":52468},"what-this-means","What This Means",[14,52471,52472],{},"If 86% of users still chose to receive behaviorally relevant advertising, does this mean users don't care about sharing their browsing behaviors for more relevant advertising?",[14,52474,52475],{},"The short answer: It's still too early to decide. What we can suggest are the following timelines and metrics to measure this issue:",[46,52477,52478,52484,52489,52492],{},[49,52479,52480,52483],{},[52,52481,52482],{},"Problem:"," Since OBA compliance just kicked off in 2010, there is still less than two full years of data to analyze.",[49,52485,52486,52488],{},[52,52487,33798],{}," Measure year over year increase \u002F decrease of the following metrics:",[49,52490,52491],{},"Number of 'ad choices' button expands",[49,52493,52494],{},"Number of opt-outs based upon 'ad choices' expands\nBy measuring these metrics year over year, we can identify insights around how users are responding OBA compliance \u002F opt-out advertising.",[14,52496,52497,52498],{},"For more information on OBA compliance regulations, check out the definition by ",[206,52499,52502],{"href":52500,"rel":52501},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.doubleverify.com\u002Fsolutions\u002Fad-networks\u002Foba-compliance\u002F",[210],"Google's Double Verify ad verification platform.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":52504},[52505,52508,52511],{"id":52437,"depth":291,"text":52438,"children":52506},[52507],{"id":52444,"depth":297,"text":52445},{"id":52457,"depth":291,"text":52458,"children":52509},[52510],{"id":52464,"depth":297,"text":52465},{"id":52468,"depth":291,"text":52469},"2012-02-14","What Online Behavioral Advertising is and how to make sure your compliant.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fnai-reports-ad-networks-compliant-with-privacy-code",{"title":52425,"description":52513},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fnai-reports-ad-networks-compliant-with-privacy-code","QEXS2rh1nJOC0Nie_kujAFYGKoyJaKnqG5GI_qrOuV0",{"id":52520,"title":52521,"author":7,"authors":52522,"body":52523,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":52563,"description":52564,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":52565,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":52566,"seo":52567,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":52521,"stem":52568,"updated":7,"__hash__":52569},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fyouth-consuming-video-everywhere-except-on-tv.md","Youth Consuming Video Everywhere — Except on TV",[9],{"type":11,"value":52524,"toc":52559},[52525,52534,52538,52541,52544,52547,52551,52554],[14,52526,52527,52528,52533],{},"According to recent ",[206,52529,52532],{"href":52530,"rel":52531},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nytimes.com\u002F2012\u002F02\u002F09\u002Fbusiness\u002Fmedia\u002Fyoung-people-are-watching-but-less-often-on-tv.html",[210],"Nielsen research",", television viewership is through the roof amongst the 65+ demographic.",[24,52535,52537],{"id":52536},"the-same-does-not-hold-true-for-the-35-and-under-crowd","The same does not hold true for the 35 and under crowd.",[14,52539,52540],{},"In Q3 2011, Adults 25-34 watched 4 1\u002F2 fewer hours of over-the-air TV than they reported in Q3 2010.",[14,52542,52543],{},"For the first time ever, the Super Bowl was broadcast online as well as on traditional, over-the-air TV. 2.1 million users tuned in online -- the most ever to tune in online for a single sporting event.",[14,52545,52546],{},"Because he has mastered Apple's swipe-to-unlock motion, a reader's 8-month old newborn is watching Baby Einstein on an iPad instead of on a traditional TV set.",[24,52548,52550],{"id":52549},"an-8-month-old-choosing-an-ipad-over-a-traditional-tv-screen","An 8 month old choosing an iPad over a traditional TV screen!",[14,52552,52553],{},"Brands and agencies must learn how to adapt the medium they deliver their product message on in order to reach this declining group of youngsters who have taken their eyeballs from traditional TV viewing to third screens such as smartphones, tablets and computer screens.",[14,52555,52556],{},[52,52557,52558],{},"Brands must learn to communicate with the right audience in the right place -- and now on the right device",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":52560},[52561,52562],{"id":52536,"depth":291,"text":52537},{"id":52549,"depth":291,"text":52550},"2012-02-13","According to recent Nielsen research, television viewership is through the roof amongst the 65+ demographic.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fyouth-consuming-video-everywhere-except-on-tv",{"title":52521,"description":52564},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fyouth-consuming-video-everywhere-except-on-tv","2g2OovKMxs1axkCk60la5Xo5yPUqgkKXig9NpyCT108",{"id":52571,"title":52572,"author":7,"authors":52573,"body":52574,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":52611,"description":52612,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":52613,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":52614,"seo":52615,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":52572,"stem":52616,"updated":7,"__hash__":52617},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fimedia-interview-with-ted-mcconnell.md","iMedia Interview with Ted McConnell",[9],{"type":11,"value":52575,"toc":52609},[52576,52579,52582,52602],[14,52577,52578],{},"Earlier this year, Sarah Fay (Chairman of Board of Governors for ad:tech and iMedia) discussed advertising measurement with Ted McConnell, the new EVP of Digital at the Advertising Research Foundation.",[14,52580,52581],{},"I didn't want to spoil the entire interview, so instead I pulled out a few gems that Ted provided in the first ten minutes of their conversation.",[46,52583,52584,52590,52596],{},[49,52585,52586,52589],{},[52,52587,52588],{},"Observing is better than asking:"," In the research industry, marketers always ask people specific questions they want answered. Now, we have the ability to observe people. Difference between asking and observing is that observing is the only way to get out the box and discover new questions \u002F insights that you hadn't initially thought about. (3:00 mark)",[49,52591,52592,52595],{},[52,52593,52594],{},"Attitudes & Behaviors:"," In the past marketers used to look at behaviors and, with that information, assume that certain attitudes (in-market for ...) would apply to the user. Moving forward, Ted wants to see marketers identify attitudes first, which puts us in a position to predict behaviors like clicks, conversions, etc (4:30 mark)",[49,52597,52598,52601],{},[52,52599,52600],{},"Delivering Value:"," Focus your social teams on creating value for the users consuming your brands content. Make sure that every bit of content your team produces delivers value to the user and avoid producing 'fluff material' (my wording, not Ted's) that mainly benefits you, the brand (6:30 mark)",[14,52603,52604,52605],{},"You can watch the video in it's entirety by clicking on the link to the right: ",[206,52606,52572],{"href":52607,"rel":52608},"https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002Fg7qIZ7ffDNI",[210],{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":52610},[],"2012-02-10","Sarah Fay discussed advertising measurement with Ted McConnell, the new EVPof Digital at the Advertising Research Foundation.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fimedia-interview-with-ted-mcconnell",{"title":52572,"description":52612},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fimedia-interview-with-ted-mcconnell","qo8uAunvktshxFH-kELHk4qLDLbK0jRO1-9M8KmF1HU",{"id":52619,"title":52620,"author":7,"authors":52621,"body":52622,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":52672,"description":52673,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":52674,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":52675,"seo":52676,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":52620,"stem":52677,"updated":7,"__hash__":52678},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fusers-not-customers.md","Target Users, Not Customers",[9],{"type":11,"value":52623,"toc":52668},[52624,52628,52637,52640,52644,52647,52655,52658,52663],[24,52625,52627],{"id":52626},"whats-the-difference-between-a-user-and-a-customer","What's the difference between a user and a customer?",[14,52629,52630,52631,52636],{},"Yesterday, I had the pleasure of listening to a ",[206,52632,52635],{"href":52633,"rel":52634},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.digiday.com\u002Fagency\u002Fcan-agencies-attract-top-tech-talent\u002F",[210],"DigiDay interview with Aaron Shapiro",", the CEO of digital agency Huge in New York city, when Aaron brought up the concept of a user versus a customer.",[14,52638,52639],{},"Specifically, Aaron was discussing how the digital customer should really be defined as the digital user; that is, everyone must have a digital strategy of how they are going to interact and speak to their users online because they are many more users (think Facebook, Twitter, etc) than there are customers.",[24,52641,52643],{"id":52642},"business-is-being-defined-by-the-internet","Business is being defined by the internet.",[14,52645,52646],{},"There is no such thing as an 'offline business' anymore. Here's why:",[132,52648,52649,52652],{},[49,52650,52651],{},"In 2012, 50% of transactions will be a result of digital. This means that the product was either  bought online or the user researched the product online and then went into their local bricks-and-mortar retailer and purchased there.",[49,52653,52654],{},"89% of users research a purchase online before pulling the trigger -- regardless of whether they purchase in store or over the web",[14,52656,52657],{},"According to Aaron, this means brands need to establish a digital relationship with this individuals. They need to classify them as users of their product, not simply customers.",[14,52659,52660],{},[52,52661,52662],{},"As a brand, what are you doing to establish a relationship with your users?",[14,52664,52665],{},[52,52666,52667],{},"As an agency, what are you doing to establish a relationship with your users?",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":52669},[52670,52671],{"id":52626,"depth":291,"text":52627},{"id":52642,"depth":291,"text":52643},"2012-02-09","The difference between a user and a customer and how to get new users who will move into becoming customers.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fusers-not-customers",{"title":52620,"description":52673},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fusers-not-customers","3HPd_Fr8CBlU7swEatRrJWlZTwX82esuK69MJdmNa-Q",{"id":52680,"title":52681,"author":7,"authors":52682,"body":52683,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":52749,"description":52750,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":52751,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":52752,"seo":52753,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":52681,"stem":52754,"updated":7,"__hash__":52755},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fis-advertising-ever-free.md","Is Advertising Ever Free?",[9],{"type":11,"value":52684,"toc":52745},[52685,52692,52700,52704,52707,52711,52714,52742],[14,52686,52687,52688,52691],{},"Proctor & Gamble CEO Bob McDonald's recent comments regarding Facebook advertising being ",[52,52689,52690],{},"free"," lit up the phone lines amongst ad agency professionals.",[14,52693,52694,52695],{},"To frame this conversation correctly, let me share his comment from the ",[206,52696,52699],{"href":52697,"rel":52698},"https:\u002F\u002Fseekingalpha.com\u002Farticle\u002F322722-procter-gamble-s-ceo-discusses-q2-2012-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=qanda",[210],"P&G Q4 earnings call:",[81,52701,52703],{"id":52702},"with-things-likefacebook-and-googleand-others-we-find-that-the-return-on-investmentof-the-advertising-when-properly-designed-when-the-big-idea-is-therecan-be-much-more-efficient-one-example-is-our-old-spicecampaign-wherewe-had-18-billion-free-impressions","\"... with things like Facebook and Google and others, we find that the return on investment of the advertising, when properly designed, when the big idea is there, can be much more efficient. One example is our Old Spice campaign, where we had 1.8 billion free impressions.\"",[14,52705,52706],{},"Now, what Bob is referring to as 'free impressions' is the fact that the string of Old Spice videos generated views, shares, likes, etc, which he is quantifying as \"impressions\"",[81,52708,52710],{"id":52709},"but-the-question-remains-were-those-really-free","But the question remains: Were those really 'free'?",[14,52712,52713],{},"The short and sweet answer? No, they were not free. Here's why:",[46,52715,52716,52722,52728],{},[49,52717,52718,52721],{},[52,52719,52720],{},"Production:"," At one point the star of the commercials, Isaiah Mustafa, was cranking out real-time responses to questions asked on the Old Spice YouTube channel. Who do you think was doing lighting, camera work, editing, etc etc the entire time? More importantly, who was paying Isaiah?",[49,52723,52724,52727],{},[52,52725,52726],{},"Agency fees:"," Running with the same example above, Wieden & Kennedy was driving the real-time response concept. Do you think that their creative directors, account management team, production team, etc etc works for free?",[49,52729,52730,52733,52734,52737,52738,52741],{},[52,52731,52732],{},"Measurement:"," With all the of the time and effort that went into the real-time response concept, how were they to figure out if it '",[52,52735,52736],{},"actually worked'"," or not? P&G needed a dedicated team of analytics pros to track all of the data and craft the story it was telling them.\nBob McDonald was technically correct with his comment because he P&G did not pay any ",[52,52739,52740],{},"media costs"," to generate the 1.8 billion 'impressions'. But, there are always hidden costs involved in executing different promotional opportunities.",[14,52743,52744],{},"Make sure to speak with your agency about exactly how they are billing you to ensure that no costs are being swept under the rug as you cut them check after check every month.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":52746},[52747,52748],{"id":52702,"depth":297,"text":52703},{"id":52709,"depth":297,"text":52710},"2012-02-08","Proctor & Gamble CEO Bob McDonald's recent comments regarding Facebook advertising being free lit up the phone lines amongst ad agency professionals.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fis-advertising-ever-free",{"title":52681,"description":52750},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fis-advertising-ever-free","9bFvAhCYQBd8ujYlf1nyNLGdIVD_bdouCTwtKr3V-Z0",{"id":52757,"title":52758,"author":7,"authors":52759,"body":52760,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":52801,"description":52764,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":52802,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":52803,"seo":52804,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":52758,"stem":52805,"updated":7,"__hash__":52806},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002F2012-super-bowl-ads.md","The Super Bowl of Ads",[9],{"type":11,"value":52761,"toc":52797},[52762,52765,52767,52771,52779,52783,52794],[14,52763,52764],{},"Since America just experienced the biggest advertising day of the year, the Super Bowl, we wanted to take a moment to call out a couple winners and losers that stood out to us during the big game.",[14,52766,46869],{},[24,52768,52770],{"id":52769},"winners","Winners",[46,52772,52773,52776],{},[49,52774,52775],{},"Acura: Not only is the new Acura NSX absolutely gorgeous, but Acura was able to create a bidding war that involves inner-city ziplines and jetpack-propelled squirrel suits between Jerry Seinfield and Jay Leno. Does it get any better than that?",[49,52777,52778],{},"Fiat: It took me a moment to realize they were speaking Italian (I am conversational level), as I was potentially distracted by the visual aspect of the commercial, but I thought that this commercial was really attention grabbing. Changing the spoken language to Italian acted like the use of white noise; it changes the audio 'line' of a string of commercials, so to speak, that uses something so different than what appeared previously that it causes to viewer to listen up to decipher what the difference is.",[24,52780,52782],{"id":52781},"losers","Losers",[46,52784,52785,52791],{},[49,52786,52787,52788,52790],{},"Teleflora.com: A good example of how ",[52,52789,6920],{}," to sell something using sex. I'm unsure if Adriana Lima really understood the level of sexual innuendo her part delivered when she said the line \"Give and you shall receive\", but it just looked like a smutty way to promote online flower services. Teleflora should hire a couple senior-level female members on their team to prevent this type of abomination from occurring in the future.",[49,52792,52793],{},"Jack in the Box: I love bacon just as much as the next red-blooded American does, but to marry a piece of bacon? And have the closing line be 'You may now eat the bride'? Ugh, pass me the Doritos instead.",[14,52795,52796],{},"The actual measurable results of these Super Bowl ads won't be apparent until we see these advertisers profit \u002F loss sheets at the end of this fiscal quarter, but we just wanted to start your week off with our opinion on the winners and losers of the big game.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":52798},[52799,52800],{"id":52769,"depth":291,"text":52770},{"id":52781,"depth":291,"text":52782},"2012-02-06",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002F2012-super-bowl-ads",{"title":52758,"description":52764},"blog\u002Fppc\u002F2012-super-bowl-ads","1RFovCubUbk68xxTBlVRXbbiN3zUbBBv9Tb5QI3e3Ek",{"id":52808,"title":52809,"author":7,"authors":52810,"body":52811,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":52886,"description":52887,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":52888,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":52889,"seo":52890,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":52809,"stem":52891,"updated":7,"__hash__":52892},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fanatomy-of-a-display-campaign-messaging-target-audience.md","Anatomy of a Display Campaign: Messaging Your Target Audience",[9],{"type":11,"value":52812,"toc":52881},[52813,52816,52819,52823,52826,52837,52845,52850,52853,52857,52860,52863,52867,52870],[14,52814,52815],{},"After defining your audience next determine what your target audience needs to know and what actions they should take to find out more.",[14,52817,52818],{},"This is one of the most important pieces of the campaign as this is what will be measured and optimized against to improve your campaign over time.",[24,52820,52822],{"id":52821},"first-message","First, message.",[14,52824,52825],{},"This can be as simple as a tag line that you already use.  Or it can be more robust and in a story telling fashion to convey a point such as how this product will create more productivity and save your target money. What ever the message, make it:",[46,52827,52828,52831,52834],{},[49,52829,52830],{},"Concise: Short, sweet, & to the point",[49,52832,52833],{},"Clear: Make sure your audience knows exactly how this product can help them",[49,52835,52836],{},"Targeted: Now that your audience is defined, make sure your message speaks directly to that target as mentioned in the previous part 1 under, \"When should each target be used?\"",[14,52838,47983,52839,52844],{},[206,52840,52843],{"href":52841,"rel":52842},"https:\u002F\u002Fadage.com\u002Farticle\u002Fdigital\u002Ffacebook-taps-levi-s-apple-exec-lead-marketing\u002F232529\u002F",[210],"article on Adage",", the new market global director for Facebook, formerly the director of Levi's & Apple, made the statement in regards to how an iPhone was developed and how she translates that into her marketing approach:",[24025,52846,52847],{},[14,52848,52849],{},"It was first and foremost about the user experience. And that's how I approach marketing, that theme of focusing on what's important to the customer. -- Rebecca Van Dyck, Facebook Head of Global Marketing",[14,52851,52852],{},"The message should be handled in the same manner. Through messaging you're telling your customer you know what is important to them.",[24,52854,52856],{"id":52855},"second-call-to-action-cta","Second, call-to-action (CTA)",[14,52858,52859],{},"This copy is usually in a button or next to an arrow directing users to click and go to the website. It gives users purpose to click. This is where your audience knows how they can learn more about your product whether through a free trial, downloading a free white paper, or getting a free quote.",[14,52861,52862],{},"Note, how \"free\" was used in all three examples.  It helps users know you're not asking for money, and you really do want them to learn more.  If you're pushing for a product purchase be clear and say, \"Buy now\". It's best to be direct. You'll experience less drop of and get better return from the users who do click.",[24,52864,52866],{"id":52865},"finally-multiples","Finally, multiples",[14,52868,52869],{},"Use several messages and CTA executions to allow for testing, learning, and optimizing:",[46,52871,52872,52875,52878],{},[49,52873,52874],{},"One message may work better over another",[49,52876,52877],{},"One CTA may drive more initial downloads upfront & another more revenue in the long run",[49,52879,52880],{},"Most ad servers have creative optimization tools where they look down to the placement level to deliver a creative that is performing best in that spot",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":52882},[52883,52884,52885],{"id":52821,"depth":291,"text":52822},{"id":52855,"depth":291,"text":52856},{"id":52865,"depth":291,"text":52866},"2012-02-04","Once your audience is defined now you need to figure out what message will resonate with that target for your display campaign. Be sure to test multiple banner messages and calls to action in an effort to optimize towards the best results.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fanatomy-of-a-display-campaign-messaging-target-audience",{"title":52809,"description":52887},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fanatomy-of-a-display-campaign-messaging-target-audience","Pxmg7GT9BdHAU7llWKXlD1RQVoCk507LQDEEdcUmiDA",{"id":52894,"title":52895,"author":7,"authors":52896,"body":52897,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":52926,"description":52927,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":52928,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":52929,"seo":52930,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":52895,"stem":52931,"updated":7,"__hash__":52932},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fhow-to-combat-unseen-ads-online.md","How to Combat Unseen Ads Online",[9],{"type":11,"value":52898,"toc":52923},[52899,52907,52911,52914],[14,52900,32906,52901,52906],{},[206,52902,52905],{"href":52903,"rel":52904},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.comscore.com\u002FPress_Events\u002FPress_Releases\u002F2012\u002F1\u002FcomScore_Introduces_Validated_Campaign_Essentials",[210],"ComScore research released in January of this year",", 31% of online ad impressions are never even seen by an end user.\nLet me be clear ...",[24,52908,52910],{"id":52909},"every-1-of-3-impressions-your-campaign-delivers-has-the-chance-to-go-unseen-by-the-end-user","Every 1 of 3 impressions Your Campaign Delivers Has the Chance to Go Unseen by the End User",[14,52912,52913],{},"So, how can we combat this heinous misuse of your hard-working media dollars?\nHere are a few options:",[46,52915,52916,52917,52920],{},"\n- Impression Caps: Require that all network, DSP and exchange partners cap the number of impressions that a single user sees on a daily \u002F weekly \u002F monthly basis\n- Cookie Data: Keep tabs on the impression caps you implemented by checking frequency reprots in your ad server. These reports will use third party cookie data to ensure if your media partners are indeed keeping true to their frequency cap promise or not.\n- Transparency from Media Partners: Demand that your media partners show you frequency reports on their end (to double check against your ad server data) and remind them constantly of their promise to cap impression delivery to each and every user.\n",[14,52918,52919],{},"This post was not meant to scare off potential online advertisers -- instead, this post illustrates the amount of stewardship online campaigns require in order to generate successful results, which is the end goal for every client.",[14,52921,52922],{},"Go Forth & Conquer,\nMike",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":52924},[52925],{"id":52909,"depth":291,"text":52910},"2012-02-03","According to ComScore research released in January of this year, 31% of online ad impressions are never even seen by an end user.\nLet me be clear ...",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fhow-to-combat-unseen-ads-online",{"title":52895,"description":52927},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fhow-to-combat-unseen-ads-online","gsq0S0NO3_T0F88qIc-K_L5mEM_FWgkKmJiuvuXFWhg",{"id":52934,"title":52935,"author":7,"authors":52936,"body":52937,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":52982,"description":52983,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":52984,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":52985,"seo":52986,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":7,"stem":52987,"updated":7,"__hash__":52988},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fsetting-accurate-metrics-facebook-ipo.md","Setting Accurate Metrics",[9],{"type":11,"value":52938,"toc":52977},[52939,52942,52946,52954,52957,52961,52964,52967,52971,52974],[14,52940,52941],{},"Today's post will be short, sweet and centered around one of the hottest topics in Sillicon Valley & Wall Street over the past few days:",[24,52943,52945],{"id":52944},"the-facebook-ipo","THE FACEBOOK IPO",[14,52947,52948,52953],{},[206,52949,52952],{"href":52950,"rel":52951},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bloomberg.com\u002Fnews\u002F2012-02-01\u002Fshares-of-facebook-may-be-five-times-as-expensive-as-google-s-in-offering.html",[210],"According to Bloomberg",", Facebook is seeking a valuation between $75 - $100 billion while attempting to raise $5 billion in cash. This valuation would be more than 5 times larger than the public offering that Google generated in 2004. The difference between settling on a $75 billion valuation or scoring the $100 billion number is absolutely astronomical -- especially for early stage employees who are licking their chops as they calculate the estimated value of their stock options.",[14,52955,52956],{},"Now what does this have to do with media again, exactly?",[24,52958,52960],{"id":52959},"simple-setting-accurate-metrics","SIMPLE: SETTING ACCURATE METRICS",[14,52962,52963],{},"The importance of setting accurate metrics up front, which is something MKG prides itself in doing with current and prospective clients, is of enormous importance.",[14,52965,52966],{},"While MKG may not be buying $75 or $100 billion dollars worth of media for a single client at one time, buying millions of dollars worth of media (which we do happen to do) can still result in setting horrifically underacheiving \u002F overachieving metrics.",[24,52968,52970],{"id":52969},"the-value-mkg-brings-as-an-agency-is-in-our-ability-to-assist-you-the-client-in-setting-aggressive-yet-accurate-metrics","The value MKG brings as an agency is in our ability to assist you, the client, in setting aggressive, yet accurate, metrics.",[14,52972,52973],{},"Once we set those metrics, it's off to the races and time for us to go out and crush your current benchmarks.",[14,52975,52976],{},"We look forward to setting metrics with you soon :-) ... And yes, we will consist accepting Facebook stock options as form of payment.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":52978},[52979,52980,52981],{"id":52944,"depth":291,"text":52945},{"id":52959,"depth":291,"text":52960},{"id":52969,"depth":291,"text":52970},"2012-02-02","What you can learn from the Facebook IPO when setting accurate metrics.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fsetting-accurate-metrics-facebook-ipo",{"title":52935,"description":52983},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fsetting-accurate-metrics-facebook-ipo","sEv53ceNdNzysuz0SevzjeLS7ELpkAELhxndm1M0C-E",{"id":52990,"title":52991,"author":7,"authors":52992,"body":52993,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":53063,"description":53064,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":53065,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":53066,"seo":53067,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":52991,"stem":53068,"updated":7,"__hash__":53069},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fwhen-to-advertise-like-blake-griffin-dunks.md","When to Advertise like Blake Griffin Dunks",[24268],{"type":11,"value":52994,"toc":53060},[52995,53008,53011,53015,53022,53025,53051],[14,52996,52997,52998,53001,53002,53007],{},"Los Angeles Clippers superstar Blake Griffin's dunk on Kendrick Perkins was ",[52,52999,53000],{},"absolutely  epic"," (if you haven't seen it, ",[206,53003,53006],{"href":53004,"rel":53005},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=AbyOevVAYQI",[210],"click here)"," and reminded me of a conversation I recently had with a client.",[14,53009,53010],{},"The client wanted to know ...",[24,53012,53014],{"id":53013},"when-should-i-have-media-andor-advertising-in-the-market","When should I have media and\u002For advertising in the market?",[14,53016,53017,53018,53021],{},"In essence, they wanted to know if they should be advertising like Blake Griffin dunks -- ",[52,53019,53020],{},"as in all the time"," -- or if there is a strategy commonly used to determine key messaging timeframes.",[14,53023,53024],{},"To help guide the conversation, I began the question with the following:",[46,53026,53027,53033,53039,53045],{},[49,53028,53029,53032],{},[52,53030,53031],{},"Peak Season:"," When is the peak sales season of your company \u002F industry? How much historical data do you have to support this fact?",[49,53034,53035,53038],{},[52,53036,53037],{},"Off-Peak Season:"," Could you steal market share from competitors during your industries off-peak seasonal time frame? Again, do you have historical data to support your response?",[49,53040,53041,53044],{},[52,53042,53043],{},"Product Announcements:"," Notice that Verizon advertises launch dates of new Android 4G smartphones nearly a month in advance? They use the Hollywood 'Coming to a Theatre Near You on ....\" to build buzz around their launches.",[49,53046,53047,53050],{},[52,53048,53049],{},"Company Announcements:"," Are you about to hire Steve Balmer away from Microsoft to run your company? A huge company announcement would be a great time to deliver your brand \u002F product message.",[14,53052,53053,53054,53056,53057,53059],{},"Advertisers don't ",[52,53055,48782],{}," to be advertising like Blake Griffin dunks year round. What they ",[52,53058,48782],{}," to do is use the questions above to kickstart the conversation.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":53061},[53062],{"id":53013,"depth":291,"text":53014},"2012-02-01","Should you be using digital advertiinsg all the time? Yes. Here's why.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fwhen-to-advertise-like-blake-griffin-dunks",{"title":52991,"description":53064},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fwhen-to-advertise-like-blake-griffin-dunks","YAmbrM-EUpyb0mIepSBN1yVITgFtHLZko-ZEJk1Oo8s",{"id":53071,"title":53072,"author":7,"authors":53073,"body":53074,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":53171,"description":77,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":53172,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":53173,"seo":53174,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":53072,"stem":53175,"updated":7,"__hash__":53176},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fanatomy-of-a-display-campaign-target-audience.md","Anatomy of a Display Campaign: Target Audience",[9],{"type":11,"value":53075,"toc":53165},[53076,53080,53083,53091,53099,53103,53106,53109,53120,53123,53134,53137,53141,53144,53147,53150,53154],[24,53077,53079],{"id":53078},"who-should-be-the-target","Who should be the target?",[14,53081,53082],{},"Target Audience is the users who will best respond to your brand.",[46,53084,53085,53088],{},[49,53086,53087],{},"Who was this product made for?",[49,53089,53090],{},"Who's best to drive the most revenue?",[14,53092,53093,53094,212],{},"For example, Box launched their product initially for anyone who wanted to access their files from anywhere. Their founder Aaron Levie soon discovered that a product like this was missing in businesses and knew more revenue would be generated from business then consumers. The product itself shifted to be more collaborative and network based and so did their marketing strategy. Find out more about Box and Aaron Levie on this latest article from ",[206,53095,53098],{"href":53096,"rel":53097},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pcmag.com\u002Farticle2\u002F0,2817,2396723,00.asp",[210],"PC Mag",[24,53100,53102],{"id":53101},"be-more-specific-but-not-too-specific","Be more specific, but not too specific.",[14,53104,53105],{},"Consumer targets can be defined by several different aspects such as demographic, hobbies\u002Factivities, education, etc. as they should be. Consumer targets are vast and if not narrowed down millions of dollars can be spent trying to reach a user just once.",[14,53107,53108],{},"Business to business (B2B) targets can be viewed more linear:",[46,53110,53111,53114,53117],{},[49,53112,53113],{},"Decision maker (purchasers)",[49,53115,53116],{},"IT professional (installers)",[49,53118,53119],{},"End user (users)",[14,53121,53122],{},"B2B targets can get complicated quickly similar to consumer targets such as looking at business size, industries, departments, etc. Unless your product was made for that specific audience alone, chopping impressions up into too many pieces will:",[46,53124,53125,53128,53131],{},[49,53126,53127],{},"Get expensive quickly",[49,53129,53130],{},"Lose learning about new segments that are revenue drivers",[49,53132,53133],{},"Exhaust the segment by delivering to many impressions to one specific person",[14,53135,53136],{},"To quickly elaborate on that last point... as said earlier, consumer targets are HUGE. Everyone can be a consumer, but not everyone is in business.  Narrowing B2B targets too far can get expensive, create creative burn-out more quickly, and make the data statistically insignificant.",[24,53138,53140],{"id":53139},"when-should-each-target-be-used","When should each target be used?",[14,53142,53143],{},"Start with the decision maker because they're ultimately making the purchase.  If this user proves hard to crack or needs coaxing layer in the IT Professional, but make sure the campaign aligns with this new, very different audience. Decision makers want to know this product is going to increase revenue.  IT Professionals want to know how easy the product is to install and get end users to adapt. Decision makers read Forbes. IT Professionals read TechCrunch.",[14,53145,53146],{},"Know your audience.",[14,53148,53149],{},"If including the end user in a campaign, focus messaging on productivity.  How is this going to save time and help users complete their real work.  Also, this is a broad audience. Anyone can be an end user.  Site & placement assignment can be much more broad and less expensive, however they're not going to drive revenue up front. They'll download the free trial or check out the video, but then they'll need to climb their internal corporate political ladder to convince the higher decision maker power.  So, when asking end users to get involved be prepared for a long wait in your revenue pipe line.",[24,53151,53153],{"id":53152},"all-in-all","All in all:",[46,53155,53156,53159,53162],{},[49,53157,53158],{},"Define your audience based on who is most likely to purchase and drive revenue",[49,53160,53161],{},"Walk the fine line of narrowing down to a more specific target",[49,53163,53164],{},"Align your message and placement with your audience",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":53166},[53167,53168,53169,53170],{"id":53078,"depth":291,"text":53079},{"id":53101,"depth":291,"text":53102},{"id":53139,"depth":291,"text":53140},{"id":53152,"depth":291,"text":53153},"2012-01-29",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fanatomy-of-a-display-campaign-target-audience",{"title":53072,"description":77},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fanatomy-of-a-display-campaign-target-audience","zz--cxR5_Ul2dVJKV2rAcp_SmK2NUwNOuRJgUTMSla4",{"id":53178,"title":53179,"author":7,"authors":53180,"body":53181,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":53230,"description":53231,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":53232,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":53233,"seo":53234,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":53179,"stem":53235,"updated":7,"__hash__":53236},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fmeasurable-media.md","Defining Measurable Media",[17174],{"type":11,"value":53182,"toc":53228},[53183,53189,53203,53206,53223],[14,53184,53185,53188],{},[52,53186,53187],{},"Measurable Media"," is the idea that a single impression can be mapped all the way to a final end conversion. A conversion can be defined as an end action that is or either leads to a sale, for example:",[46,53190,53191,53194,53197,53200],{},[49,53192,53193],{},"A final purchase",[49,53195,53196],{},"Trial sign-up",[49,53198,53199],{},"Product download",[49,53201,53202],{},"E-mail sign-up",[14,53204,53205],{},"We identify who converted, look at their online make up and behavior (demographics, psychographics and more) and find more users that match the converting profile. Our solution increases sales and drives down the cost per lead.\nMeasurable Media is  not:",[46,53207,53208,53211,53214,53217,53220],{},[49,53209,53210],{},"Click-through-rate",[49,53212,53213],{},"Cost per click",[49,53215,53216],{},"Website visits",[49,53218,53219],{},"Page Views",[49,53221,53222],{},"Time spent\nThe final three are better categorized as engagement metrics, knowing how people interacted on the site so optimizations can be made for the best user experience. Mapping these back to which banner or placement got a person there isn't necessary and doesn't show how a campaign performed.",[14,53224,53225],{},[52,53226,53227],{},"If a certain dollar amount is invested it's natural and logical to want to know what the return was.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":53229},[],"2012-01-05","Measurable Media is the idea that a single impression can be mapped all the way to a final end conversion.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fmeasurable-media",{"title":53179,"description":53231},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fmeasurable-media","-mACYQ_5j6l2ss5NjLA9CgS1WHp9MwhjcAkGaYEoKC0",{"id":53238,"title":53239,"author":7,"authors":53240,"body":53241,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":53269,"description":53245,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":53270,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":53271,"seo":53272,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":53239,"stem":53273,"updated":7,"__hash__":53274},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fdont-give-up-on-the-ctr.md","Don’t give up on the CTR",[9],{"type":11,"value":53242,"toc":53267},[53243,53246,53249,53252,53261,53264],[14,53244,53245],{},"When talking to vendors several have said they do not pay attention to CTR (click-through-rate) as the CPA (cost-per-acquisition) is what matters.",[14,53247,53248],{},"There needs to be a balance between all aspects of a measurable campaign from CTR (click-through-rate), CPC (cost-per-click), CAR (continued-action-rate), and CPA (cost-per-acquisition).  It's a funnel. In order to help improve the CPA, improve the CTR. If your message is being put in front of the right people more often more people will click through and ultimately convert.",[14,53250,53251],{},"Also, in the first couple of weeks it's not clear as to what is working best because you may not yet be accounting for delayed conversions or view-through conversions.  CTR allows you to optimize your creative and messaging immediately. You can initially see what creative is working best where and optimize to have them delivered there more often.",[14,53253,53254,53255,53260],{},"In ClickZ's article ",[206,53256,53259],{"href":53257,"rel":53258},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.clickz.com\u002Fclickz\u002Fcolumn\u002F2116346\u002Fclick-dead-misunderstood",[210],"Is the Click Dead or Just Misunderstood?"," they give two examples about where the click matters in advertising, the Like button on Facebook and in Google Ads. 93% of Facebook users click the Like button and of that 51% are more likely to purchase the product. For Google Ads and Search there was a study done that showed the  importance of organic search and paid search and how there was brand recall across both. This is very similar to view and click conversions in display advertising showing that just as important are the impressions as the click itself.",[14,53262,53263],{},"Impressions and clicks are both needed to get to the CTR and if you measure CTR you'll get an initial response on how your creative is performing. If optimized towards putting which creative performs best where on targeted impressions there is a strong correlation between CTR and CAR. When working on tech client I was optimizing the CTR against targeted placements, optimizing the creative towards the better performing click-through-rates, and the CAR improved over the length of a campaign, opposed to when I didn't optimize the creative against those targeted placements and just let the campaign run.",[14,53265,53266],{},"CTR does not tell you that your campaign was or was not successful. At the end of the day success is measured against your conversions and what ultimately filters into dollars or an ROI. But, to get there all aspects of the campaign need to be paid attention to and optimized against, even the CTR.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":53268},[],"2011-10-12",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fdont-give-up-on-the-ctr",{"title":53239,"description":53245},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fdont-give-up-on-the-ctr","-alvce8b24PBNqJJ53iQvDnB6z8-qQld2WXJVwiSV04",{"id":53276,"title":53277,"author":7,"authors":53278,"body":53279,"caption":7,"category":3693,"date":53317,"description":53318,"extension":318,"img":7,"imgAlt":7,"meta":53319,"minutes":321,"navigation":322,"path":53320,"seo":53321,"seodescription":7,"seotitle":53277,"stem":53322,"updated":7,"__hash__":53323},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fminimums-matter.md","Minimums Matter for Maximum Results",[17174],{"type":11,"value":53280,"toc":53315},[53281,53292,53295,53298,53301,53304,53312],[46,53282,53283,53286,53289],{},[49,53284,53285],{},"Cost per click -  no minimum, but results achieved through constant manual optimization",[49,53287,53288],{},"Cost per acquisition - no minimum, but results achieved over longer spans of time",[49,53290,53291],{},"Cost per thousand impressions - $25k minimum with maximum results achieved with minimal manual optimizations",[14,53293,53294],{},"Cost-per-click is the most  cost  effective.  Google Display Network is the most popular for this purchase model. You create a list of keywords then Google scans for content that contains the most keywords within the articles then delivers your ad. You only pay per click.",[14,53296,53297],{},"Little spend is needed to get this up and running, but in order to achieve results that were worth the spend, hourly optimizations need to be spent, constantly looking at which keywords are driving the most clicks and end actions. It's time consuming and results aren't guaranteed. The more you spend the more data that is delivered and a quicker rate so smarter optimizations can be made less frequently and you'll achieve better results.",[14,53299,53300],{},"Cost per acquisition is less common and is only successful when there is an action or acquisition that is free and easy for users to access. Minimums are also not required, but if little money is invested then you'll be bidding on terms and placements that have very little visibility. It could take a very long time for you to meet your goals.",[14,53302,53303],{},"A CPM-priced DSP (or learning platform) delivers best results, providing the most premium content, guaranteeing better control over placement and alignment with the right target audience. However, minimum spend and timing for a national campaign are required, for two reasons:",[46,53305,53306,53309],{},[49,53307,53308],{},"Demand Side Platforms (DSPs) need enough data to be considered statistically significant.",[49,53310,53311],{},"DSPs need time to learn. It takes about two weeks for Demand-Side-Platforms to get enough data needed for them to start making optimizations.",[14,53313,53314],{},"CPM is the strongest platform in terms of delivering results. It's also less manual as it uses technology that identifies users based on behavioral browsing from users who have already converted.  $25,000 is usually a required minimum. While this feels like a lot of money for smaller brands, this kind of spend is usually spent on a CPC or CPA campaign, but over a longer period of time and the results are not as strong.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":53316},[],"2011-09-21","For branded campaigns, minimums matter when buying CPM media. See why.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fppc\u002Fminimums-matter",{"title":53277,"description":53318},"blog\u002Fppc\u002Fminimums-matter","IeZ5WNZFxfix-B9ghjU4prQtAKf39QoQyaE8ZgohbDQ",[53325,53375,53430,53477,53523,53572,53619,53666,53728,53784,53850,53894,53930,53972,54016],{"id":53326,"title":53327,"body":53328,"date":7,"description":53362,"extension":318,"images":53363,"isLeader":322,"jobTitle":53365,"linkedIn":53366,"meta":53367,"name":13895,"navigation":322,"path":53368,"quote":53369,"quoteCite":53370,"ref":53366,"seo":53371,"sequence":297,"stem":53372,"team":53373,"twitter":7,"updated":7,"website":7,"__hash__":53374},"team\u002Fteam\u002Falanna-moman-rawden.md","Alanna Moman Rawden",{"type":11,"value":53329,"toc":53359},[53330,53335,53338,53341,53344,53348],[14,53331,53334],{"className":53332},[53333],"text-lg","Alanna graduated from the University of Alabama in 2004. She started her career at an advertising agency in Birmingham, AL, and has spent most of her career in Account Leadership roles working on consumer brands like Verizon Wireless, Books-A-Million, Toys ‘R’ Us, and Hard Rock Hotel & Casinos. In 2015, she left the agency world with a desire to gain more digital advertising experience, which led to her running a one-person digital department for a regional credit union.",[14,53336,53337],{},"Account Direction has always been a natural fit for Alanna because she enjoys managing projects, big picture strategy, and building relationships. She chose to come back to the agency world when she learned about MKG and our People First values.",[14,53339,53340],{},"She is most proud of the impact she had on her previous company by creating a positive and supportive environment for those she managed. ",[14,53342,53343],{},"Alanna enjoys spending time with her husband and two teenage daughters, has a very eclectic taste in music, and is an obsessive Hamilfan.",[81,53345,53347],{"id":53346},"fun-facts","Fun facts",[46,53349,53350,53353,53356],{},[49,53351,53352],{},"In college, she won a radio contest for her youngest brother to have dinner with Nickelback. The band spent the entire evening trying to convince her, then 15-year-old, brother to drop out of school.",[49,53354,53355],{},"She once spent 3 hours convincing a famous country singer to get off his tour bus to shoot a commercial that her client had contracted him to be in.",[49,53357,53358],{},"Her family is a big fan of True Crime, and they binge Crime Junkie on every road trip.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":53360},[53361],{"id":53346,"depth":297,"text":53347},"Meet Alanna Moman-Rawden, one of MKG Marketing’s amazing Account Directors, bringing 15+ years of account leadership and direction to the table.",{"landscape":53364},"alanna-moman-rawden.webp","Director, People & Culture","alanna-moman-rawden",{},"\u002Fteam\u002Falanna-moman-rawden","I am the one thing in life I can control. I am inimitable. I am an original.","Aaron Burr, Hamilton",{"description":53362},"team\u002Falanna-moman-rawden","Leadership","WPmQvGfbA7GjEpvcVEps9YUFm4Ihb7jAlxEbp7tr3IA",{"id":53376,"title":53377,"body":53378,"date":7,"description":53417,"extension":318,"images":53418,"isLeader":53420,"jobTitle":53421,"linkedIn":53422,"meta":53423,"name":53377,"navigation":322,"path":53424,"quote":7,"quoteCite":53370,"ref":53425,"seo":53426,"sequence":53427,"stem":53428,"team":53421,"twitter":7,"updated":7,"website":7,"__hash__":53429},"team\u002Fteam\u002Falicia-antonow.md","Alicia Antonow",{"type":11,"value":53379,"toc":53415},[53380,53385,53388,53393,53396,53401,53404,53409,53412],[14,53381,53382],{},[52,53383,53384],{},"How I Got Into Digital Advertising",[14,53386,53387],{},"With a background as a nurse, my journey into digital advertising began unexpectedly when I back to Ann Arbor, Michigan. A Google Partner approached me to assist with healthcare content and ads. I quickly discovered a passion for the field, and with Google Ads sales training followed by SEM training, I was hooked.",[14,53389,53390],{},[52,53391,53392],{},"What I Love About Paid Search",[14,53394,53395],{},"Every campaign is like a unique puzzle, even within the same industry. Variations in geography, audiences, and keywords make each project different. I enjoy leveraging the full suite of Google products—Search, Display, Demand Gen, and YouTube—because they work best when integrated. The ever-evolving nature of the work keeps me inspired and challenged.",[14,53397,53398],{},[52,53399,53400],{},"Why I Chose MKG Marketing",[14,53402,53403],{},"I was drawn to MKG Marketing for its people-first culture. The company recognizes that we are all human, with lives outside of work, and fosters a supportive environment that values balance and well-being.",[14,53405,53406],{},[52,53407,53408],{},"Fun Facts About Me",[14,53410,53411],{},"I’m an avid traveler and love immersing myself in different cultures. Before having kids, my husband and I spent at least three months each year exploring the world.",[14,53413,53414],{},"I take cooking classes with locals wherever I go and love scuba diving whenever there’s water nearby.\nMy kids are my world—seeing their faces light up when experiencing something new brings me the greatest joy.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":53416},[],"Meet Alicia Antonow, one of MKG Marketing’s saavy digital ads experts, bringing 15+ years of hands on execution and strategy to the table.",{"landscape":53419},"alicia-antonow.webp",false,"Digital Advertising Experts","alicia-a-36459bb5",{},"\u002Fteam\u002Falicia-antonow","alicia-antonow",{"description":53417},54,"team\u002Falicia-antonow","dX6MgSjdInEGV2mLfl0Uv4cjJ2Si5idzNXLe33_xMZY",{"id":53431,"title":53432,"body":53433,"date":7,"description":53464,"extension":318,"images":53465,"isLeader":53420,"jobTitle":53467,"linkedIn":53468,"meta":53469,"name":53432,"navigation":322,"path":53470,"quote":7,"quoteCite":7,"ref":53471,"seo":53472,"sequence":53473,"stem":53474,"team":53475,"twitter":7,"updated":7,"website":7,"__hash__":53476},"team\u002Fteam\u002Favery-davis.md","Avery Davis",{"type":11,"value":53434,"toc":53461},[53435,53439,53442,53445,53448,53450],[14,53436,53438],{"className":53437},[53333],"\nAvery began his digital marketing career at a tech startup focused on ID scanning and facial recognition software. In addition to gaining a deep understanding of paid media and analytics, this peaked his interest in cybersecurity and tech in general. He then transitioned to agency life where he specialized in SaaS marketing.\n",[14,53440,53441],{},"Over the years, Avery has touched a variety of verticals including health and beauty, eCommerce, medical\u002Fpharma, education, and more. He is drawn to agency life because of the variety of clients he is able to work with and, in turn, learn from.",[14,53443,53444],{},"Although he’s touched several areas of digital marketing, Avery feels most at home when doing Account\u002F Project Management as well as Copywriting.",[14,53446,53447],{},"As is the theme with many of our staff, Avery was drawn to MKG because of our culture. In Avery’s words “MKG shares the same values as I do in both my professional and my personal life. When I saw that we meshed so well, this was an opportunity I couldn’t refuse!”",[81,53449,53347],{"id":53346},[46,53451,53452,53455,53458],{},[49,53453,53454],{},"Avery is an avid racquetball player. Having first gotten into the sport in college, he’s had lots of fun playing over the years. He tries to get to the court at least once a week.",[49,53456,53457],{},"Avery is a hobby bartender and enjoys making, tasting, and learning about different drinks. He’s mainly a Kentucky bourbon guy but also loves Japanese whisky!",[49,53459,53460],{},"Avery is a black belt in Pasaryu. This is a Korean mixed martial art which includes karate, kung fu, and Taekwondo. He has also trained and competed with weapons: nunchucks and samurai sword just to name a couple!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":53462},[53463],{"id":53346,"depth":297,"text":53347},"Avery Davis is an Account Superivor here at MKG Marketing.",{"landscape":53466},"avery-davis.webp","Account Supervisor","avery-davis-114055191",{},"\u002Fteam\u002Favery-davis","avery-davis",{"description":53464},59,"team\u002Favery-davis","Account Services","ysXkJK5t3F27trCgdjC7IRHXNs-Qxp9YxjH9QT3gDqQ",{"id":53478,"title":6025,"body":53479,"date":7,"description":53509,"extension":318,"images":53510,"isLeader":53420,"jobTitle":23547,"linkedIn":53512,"meta":53513,"name":6025,"navigation":322,"path":53514,"quote":53515,"quoteCite":53516,"ref":53517,"seo":53518,"sequence":53519,"stem":53520,"team":53521,"twitter":7,"updated":7,"website":7,"__hash__":53522},"team\u002Fteam\u002Fjared-gerling.md",{"type":11,"value":53480,"toc":53507},[53481,53484,53487,53490,53493,53496],[14,53482,53483],{},"Jared's journey into digital marketing started with answering a classified ad for a company looking for people with writing backgrounds for a position in SEO. As a graduate of Michigan State University with a degree in Creative Writing, this sounded like the perfect opportunity.",[14,53485,53486],{},"This small agency taught him SEO from the ground up, and, after taking a break from digital marketing to receive his MA from DePaul University, Jared jumped back into the field at a medium-sized agency out of Chicago as an SEO analyst.",[14,53488,53489],{},"Since then, Jared has worked for large and small marketing agencies for over a decade, providing expert SEO services in almost every industry that has a website on the internet. And with his background in writing, Jared feels most at home in the content and customer facing side of SEO and digital marketing.",[14,53491,53492],{},"It was first and foremost the people that drew Jared to MKG. Everyone at MKG has been so in tune with his values and his personality, and they've made his time at MKG easily the best experience of his career.",[14,53494,53495],{},"Fun Facts:",[46,53497,53498,53501,53504],{},[49,53499,53500],{},"I love to travel with my wife. We've been to many incredible places over the years, and are always on the lookout for our next destination.",[49,53502,53503],{},"I was a college rower in my younger days. I rowed mostly eights as a port, and competed against some of the best schools in the nation...and lost to most of them.",[49,53505,53506],{},"I love a really good French Martini.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":53508},[],"Meet Jared Gerling, one of MKG Marketing’s thoughtful SEO Experts, bringing 10+ years of experience, intentionality, and creativity to the team.",{"landscape":53511},"jared-gerling.webp","jaredgerling",{},"\u002Fteam\u002Fjared-gerling","The truth is, most of us discover where we are heading when we arrive.","Calvin (Calvin and Hobbes)","jared-gerling",{"description":53509},55,"team\u002Fjared-gerling","SEO Experts","1TbRdjbaY8GvD4YbpM3Pm85IGECKXrMtdVY8OquXFkg",{"id":53524,"title":53525,"body":53526,"date":7,"description":53559,"extension":318,"images":53560,"isLeader":53420,"jobTitle":53562,"linkedIn":7,"meta":53563,"name":53565,"navigation":322,"path":53566,"quote":7,"quoteCite":7,"ref":53567,"seo":53568,"sequence":53569,"stem":53570,"team":7,"twitter":7,"updated":7,"website":7,"__hash__":53571},"team\u002Fteam\u002Fkathy-obrien.md","Kathy Obrien",{"type":11,"value":53527,"toc":53556},[53528,53532,53535,53540,53543,53545],[14,53529,53531],{"className":53530},[53333],"\nKathy loves details and has managed the finer details of business her entire career.  She started her career in Center City, Philadelphia working for several law firms.  After she was married and had her first son, she left the bustling city to work closer to home at an international publishing company.  In 1994, Kathy and her husband Bill moved with their two sons to Charlotte, North Carolina.  They eventually completed their family with two more boys born in Charlotte.\n",[14,53533,53534],{},"In 2000 they relocated to Chester County, a suburb of Philadelphia. After a hiatus and four sons, Kathy returned to work in Chester County. This time, she gave retail a whirl so that she could be home when her school age boys were home. She quickly found out Ann Taylor was employing one of their best customers. Kathy then spent the following 10+ years in the Non-Profit arena where she did whatever needed to be done to further the mission. No job was too big, small, or unimportant to tackle.",[24025,53536,53537],{},[14,53538,53539],{},"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.\nMother Teresa",[14,53541,53542],{},"By February 2020, Kathy was eager to build something for herself and her family. She set off on a new adventure of starting her own business when she was connected with Kerry, Mike, and MKG. Having commuted and worked outside of the home for 10+ years, she was ready to work from home and have a better life balance. She followed the rainbow and found MKG in her pot of gold. MKG is like no other firm or organization for which Kathy has worked. Their standard of people first is evident in every team member, every decision, every meeting, every interaction. They live their standard.",[81,53544,53347],{"id":53346},[46,53546,53547,53550,53553],{},[49,53548,53549],{},"Kathy’s dislikes: fruit & chocolate together and Tuesday.",[49,53551,53552],{},"Family: Kathy met her husband Bill in Wildwood, New Jersey after their high school graduations during “Senior Week”. They have 4 sons and 2 grandsons. There hasn’t been a girl born in the O’Brien family in 32 years! You will often hear Kathy saying her boys are the best 4 gifts she’s ever been given.",[49,53554,53555],{},"Special talent: Baking. Her boys’ (Bill included) favorites are Spritz Cookies and Chocolate Chip Cookies. There is a running family debate as to whether Ricotta Cookies are cookies or biscuits. At Christmas time, Kathy has been known to hide cookies to save some for guests.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":53557},[53558],{"id":53346,"depth":297,"text":53347},"Meet Kathy O’Brien, MKG Marketing’s amazing executive assistant who consistently supports all of MKG across the many needs of the company.",{"landscape":53561},"kathy-obrien.webp","Executive Assistant",{"imageDescription":53564},"Kathy O’Brien, MKG Marketing’s Executive Assistant, in front of a gray background | MKG Marketing","Kathy O'Brien","\u002Fteam\u002Fkathy-obrien","kathy-obrien",{"description":53559},80,"team\u002Fkathy-obrien","lRwZA7wCSBsHC6ufODo6kKfYgfp9Nf-RTYoTK1zEMo0",{"id":53573,"title":9,"body":53574,"date":7,"description":53604,"extension":318,"images":53605,"isLeader":322,"jobTitle":53607,"linkedIn":53608,"meta":53609,"name":9,"navigation":322,"path":53611,"quote":53612,"quoteCite":53613,"ref":53614,"seo":53615,"sequence":321,"stem":53616,"team":53373,"twitter":53608,"updated":7,"website":53617,"__hash__":53618},"team\u002Fteam\u002Fkerry-guard.md",{"type":11,"value":53575,"toc":53601},[53576,53580,53587,53594,53596],[14,53577,53579],{"className":53578},[53333],"Kerry Guard (she\u002Fher) is a mom of twins - boy and a girl. She understands what work life balance really looks like and is on a mission to build a company that honors parents having a career and a life. She’s out to prove you really can have both with policies like ensuring 20 days of vacation each year, no client emails after 6PM or weekends, unlimited sick days, and everyday flexibility.",[14,53581,53582,53583,53586],{},"She also hosts our podcast, ",[206,53584,53585],{"href":23528},"Back on T-R-A-C-K",", which brings eight digital marketing experts to your ears every quarter.",[14,53588,53589,53590,53593],{},"Kerry is responsible for HR. If you’d like to join MKG where people are first and your expertise matter, Kerry will be with you through the entire interview process ensuring each candidate meets the necessary requirements and gets a fair shot. Want to join MKG and Kerry’s mission of bringing People First to as many people as possible? Check out our ",[206,53591,53592],{"href":24240},"Jobs page"," and see if we have a position right for you!",[81,53595,53347],{"id":53346},[46,53597,53598],{},[49,53599,53600],{},"Kerry now lives in Guernsey — a tiny nook in the world between England and France. Come visit for a spot of tea any time!",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":53602},[53603],{"id":53346,"depth":297,"text":53347},"Meet Kerry Guard, one of MKG Marketing’s founders. She currently fills the role of CEO of MKG as well as hosting the podcast, Back on T-R-A-C-K.",{"landscape":53606},"kerry-guard.webp","Founder & CEO","kerryguard",{"imageDescription":53610},"Kerry Guard, MKG Marketing’s Owner\u002FCEO, stands on a street in Guernsey with the Town Church behind her | MKG Marketing","\u002Fteam\u002Fkerry-guard","I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness — it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.","Brené Brown","kerry-guard",{"description":53604},"team\u002Fkerry-guard","https:\u002F\u002Fkerryguard.com","YRwfwzeXtTw6ls2uWUIyTaK1IWSJr1nWG76vYHgqCgU",{"id":53620,"title":20716,"body":53621,"date":7,"description":53654,"extension":318,"images":53655,"isLeader":53420,"jobTitle":53657,"linkedIn":53658,"meta":53659,"name":20716,"navigation":322,"path":53660,"quote":7,"quoteCite":7,"ref":53661,"seo":53662,"sequence":53663,"stem":53664,"team":53421,"twitter":7,"updated":7,"website":7,"__hash__":53665},"team\u002Fteam\u002Fleigh-snyder.md",{"type":11,"value":53622,"toc":53651},[53623,53627,53630,53633,53636,53639,53642,53645,53648],[14,53624,53626],{"className":53625},[53333],"\nLeigh has over 15 years of experience of managing Paid Search campaigns. She started her career at Solid Cactus, a full service eCommerce agency in Wilkes Barre Pennsylvania. Having no experience in Paid Search, she learned as she went, starting out in the earlier days of Google Adwords, when Adwords Editor wasn't even being used yet.\n",[14,53628,53629],{},"Leigh loves to create accounts and watch them grow, even more she loves to take a poorly performing account and turn it around. Watching the KPIs increase from changes she has made or new ideas she implements, keeps her career exciting.",[14,53631,53632],{},"Managing a wide variety of accounts that include local car dealerships, worldwide clothing stores, online supplement shops to plastic surgeons and much much more, Leigh brings a vast knowledge of creative ways in managing accounts.",[14,53634,53635],{},"While working the majority of her career in local offices, the options for expanding her career were becoming less and less. She decided to apply for a remote job (before it was the norm) and was able to get experience that wasn't as prevalent in the smaller area in which she resides.",[14,53637,53638],{},"After working from home for the past 6 years the opportunities kept coming and when MKG reached out to her, she knew that there was something special about them and decided to take the leap. The people first environment is not just talked about here, but it is practiced everyday. MKG Marketing is unlike anywhere she has ever worked.",[14,53640,53641],{},"Outside of work, Leigh enjoys spending time with her husband Dustin, their blended family (Emma, Casey, Jake & Brayden) and their dog Millie.",[14,53643,53644],{},"The kitchen is where you will always find her, she loves to cook and bake all things Gluten Free and no one ever knows. When they are not at a swim meet or a baseball game they love swimming in their pool, long walks on the local trails, renovating their house and binging shows.",[81,53646,53647],{"id":53346},"Fun Facts",[14,53649,53650],{},"Although it was just was a short time, at age 19 Leigh drove cross country from a small town in PA and moved to Hollywood Hills, CA. Her view from her kitchen window was the Hollywood sign. Not a bad first apartment.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":53652},[53653],{"id":53346,"depth":297,"text":53647},"Meet Leigh Snyder, one of MKG Marketing’s amazing digital advertising experts, bringing 15 plus years of experience to the team",{"landscape":53656},"leigh-snyder.webp","Digital Advertising Expert","leighasnyder",{},"\u002Fteam\u002Fleigh-snyder","leigh-snyder",{"description":53654},50,"team\u002Fleigh-snyder","tY2JnqulQK9AU4TGRfATRnob3Thk9e9yAPu6iKBPA_s",{"id":53667,"title":53668,"body":53669,"date":7,"description":53716,"extension":318,"images":53717,"isLeader":53420,"jobTitle":53719,"linkedIn":53720,"meta":53721,"name":53668,"navigation":322,"path":53723,"quote":53724,"quoteCite":53668,"ref":53720,"seo":53725,"sequence":24505,"stem":53726,"team":7,"twitter":7,"updated":7,"website":7,"__hash__":53727},"team\u002Fteam\u002Fmarketing-leadership\u002Fceleste-jacroux.md","Celeste Jacroux",{"type":11,"value":53670,"toc":53713},[53671,53679,53682,53689,53693],[14,53672,53674,53675,53678],{"className":53673},[53333],"\nCeleste Jacroux is a Go-to-Market architect for companies ready to graduate from \"random acts of marketing\" to a predictable revenue engine. As the Founder of ",[52,53676,53677],{},"Swell Marketing Advisors"," and a strategic partner to MKG, she brings deep expertise in aligning product, sales, and marketing into a cohesive GTM strategy.",[14,53680,53681],{},"Celeste understands that for founders, the hardest phase is often bridging the gap between a great product and the market that needs it. She specializes in clarifying positioning, defining ideal customer profiles (ICPs), and building the strategic roadmap that turns vision into traction.",[14,53683,53684,53685,53688],{},"At MKG, Celeste steps in as a Marketing Leader for our ",[52,53686,53687],{},"Marketing Leadership + Activation"," clients. She provides the senior-level direction and GTM rigor, working hand-in-hand with MKG’s activation teams to ensure that strategy doesn't just sit in a deck—it gets executed, measured, and optimized for growth.",[81,53690,53692],{"id":53691},"expertise","Expertise",[46,53694,53695,53701,53707],{},[49,53696,53697,53700],{},[52,53698,53699],{},"Go-to-Market Strategy:"," Launching new products and entering new markets with precision.",[49,53702,53703,53706],{},[52,53704,53705],{},"Positioning & Messaging:"," Translating complex tech into clear customer value.",[49,53708,53709,53712],{},[52,53710,53711],{},"Sales & Marketing Alignment:"," Ensuring the revenue team is fighting the same battle.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":53714},[53715],{"id":53691,"depth":297,"text":53692},"Meet Celeste Jacroux, a strategic GTM partner to MKG and Founder of Sweel Marketing Advisors. She leads Go-to-Market strategy for high-growth companies.",{"landscape":53718},"celeste-jacroux.webp","Fractional GTM Leader | Founder, Swell Marketing Advisors","celeste-jacroux",{"imageDescription":53722},"Celeste Jacroux, Founder of Swell Marketing Advisors and MKG Partner","\u002Fteam\u002Fmarketing-leadership\u002Fceleste-jacroux","A great product doesn't win on its own. It wins when the story, the strategy, and the sales motion all pull in the exact same direction.",{"description":53716},"team\u002Fmarketing-leadership\u002Fceleste-jacroux","xCdtcFdNV4sp78oidUDMCvxluqrG5iEdRJkxxEAOYq0",{"id":53729,"title":9,"body":53730,"date":7,"description":53776,"extension":318,"images":53777,"isLeader":53420,"jobTitle":53778,"linkedIn":53608,"meta":53779,"name":9,"navigation":322,"path":53780,"quote":53612,"quoteCite":53613,"ref":53614,"seo":53781,"sequence":24485,"stem":53782,"team":7,"twitter":53608,"updated":7,"website":7,"__hash__":53783},"team\u002Fteam\u002Fmarketing-leadership\u002Fkerry-guard.md",{"type":11,"value":53731,"toc":53773},[53732,53736,53758,53764,53767,53769],[14,53733,53735],{"className":53734},[53333],"\nKerry Guard (she\u002Fher) is the strategist founders call when they are tired of guessing. As the CEO of MKG Marketing, she doesn’t just run the agency; she steps into the trenches with clients as a Fractional Marketing Leader. She specializes in helping founders navigate the \"Growth Valley\"—building the systems, strategy, and teams required to scale from traction to expansion.",[14,53737,53738,53739,24127,53742,53745,53746,53749,53750,53753,53754,53757],{},"Her recent work focuses on bringing enterprise-level rigor to growing businesses. She serves as the strategic marketing engine for a diverse portfolio, including ",[52,53740,53741],{},"Rutkowski Law Firm",[52,53743,53744],{},"Fulcrum Enterprise Group",", and ",[52,53747,53748],{},"Premier Office Movers",", where she aligns revenue goals with marketing execution. Whether she is translating complex tech into a go-to-market narrative for ",[52,53751,53752],{},"Avalanche Fusion",", or helping ",[52,53755,53756],{},"Extraordinary Advisors"," amplify their message, Kerry brings clarity and momentum to every leadership team she joins.",[14,53759,53760,53761,53763],{},"She is also the host of ",[206,53762,53585],{"href":23528},", where she interviews CMOs and Founders to uncover the human stories behind high-growth companies.",[14,53765,53766],{},"Kerry proves that high performance doesn't require burnout. As a mom of twins, she built MKG on a \"People First\" methodology—championing policies like 20 vacation days and zero after-hours emails—because she knows that rested, respected experts drive the best ROI.",[81,53768,53347],{"id":53346},[46,53770,53771],{},[49,53772,53600],{},{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":53774},[53775],{"id":53346,"depth":297,"text":53347},"Meet Kerry Guard, MKG Marketing’s CEO and Principal Strategist. She works directly with founders to build scalable marketing engines while hosting the podcast, Back on T-R-A-C-K.",{"landscape":53606},"Fractional Marketing Leaders",{"imageDescription":53610},"\u002Fteam\u002Fmarketing-leadership\u002Fkerry-guard",{"description":53776},"team\u002Fmarketing-leadership\u002Fkerry-guard","oOXvRk_JAfbvrAQoDmPize2X6zquuQG1YD5msODvKcE",{"id":53785,"title":53786,"body":53787,"date":7,"description":53837,"extension":318,"images":53838,"isLeader":53420,"jobTitle":53840,"linkedIn":53841,"meta":53842,"name":53844,"navigation":322,"path":53845,"quote":53846,"quoteCite":53844,"ref":53841,"seo":53847,"sequence":24495,"stem":53848,"team":7,"twitter":7,"updated":7,"website":7,"__hash__":53849},"team\u002Fteam\u002Fmarketing-leadership\u002Flaura-mcaliley.md","Laura Mcaliley",{"type":11,"value":53788,"toc":53834},[53789,53793,53803,53806,53812,53814],[14,53790,53792],{"className":53791},[53333],"\nLaura McAliley is the growth strategist founders call when they are ready to turn early traction into sustainable momentum. As the Founder of Pebble Marketing and a key Marketing Leadership partner for MKG, Laura bridges the gap between high-level vision and the gritty execution required to scale.",[14,53794,53795,53796,31055,53799,53802],{},"Her track record speaks the language of investors and boards. She has successfully scaled SaaS startups from seed stage through to exit, most notably orchestrating a ",[52,53797,53798],{},"3x revenue lift",[52,53800,53801],{},"Security Journey"," that led to a successful acquisition.",[14,53804,53805],{},"Laura thrives in the \"messy middle\" of growth. Whether she is navigating the complexities of a Fortune 100 account or launching a scrappy go-to-market strategy for a new startup, her approach is the same: build the brand, unlock the revenue, and get the business investor-ready.",[14,53807,53808,53809,53811],{},"At MKG, Laura acts as a Fractional CMO for our ",[52,53810,53687],{}," clients, bringing the senior firepower needed to professionalize your marketing function without the full-time executive headcount.",[81,53813,53692],{"id":53691},[46,53815,53816,53822,53828],{},[49,53817,53818,53821],{},[52,53819,53820],{},"SaaS Scaling:"," From Seed to Exit",[49,53823,53824,53827],{},[52,53825,53826],{},"Revenue Operations:"," Aligning marketing spend with sales outcomes",[49,53829,53830,53833],{},[52,53831,53832],{},"Brand Strategy:"," Positioning startups for acquisition and investment",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":53835},[53836],{"id":53691,"depth":297,"text":53692},"Meet Laura McAliley, a strategic partner to MKG and Founder of Pebble Marketing. She serves as a Fractional CMO, helping founders scale from seed to exit.",{"landscape":53839},"laura-mcaliley.webp","Fractional CMO | Founder, Pebble Marketing","laura-mcaliley",{"imageDescription":53843},"Laura McAliley, Fractional CMO and Founder of Pebble Marketing","Laura McAliley","\u002Fteam\u002Fmarketing-leadership\u002Flaura-mcaliley","Founders don't need another slide deck. They need a roadmap to revenue and a partner willing to get their hands dirty to build it.",{"description":53837},"team\u002Fmarketing-leadership\u002Flaura-mcaliley","ke5GsAQwur6LBbt6guZUCgKQT6MJJm8UL5XCaXjVnZM",{"id":53851,"title":17174,"body":53852,"date":7,"description":53880,"extension":318,"images":53881,"isLeader":53420,"jobTitle":53883,"linkedIn":53884,"meta":53885,"name":17174,"navigation":322,"path":53887,"quote":53888,"quoteCite":53889,"ref":53890,"seo":53891,"sequence":24541,"stem":53892,"team":7,"twitter":53884,"updated":7,"website":7,"__hash__":53893},"team\u002Fteam\u002Fmike-krass.md",{"type":11,"value":53853,"toc":53878},[53854,53858,53861,53864],[14,53855,53857],{"className":53856},[53333],"A proud Washington State University alum — Go Cougs! — who grew up on the west coast of the United States, Mike has lived on three continents during his lifetime.",[14,53859,53860],{},"Over the past decade Mike has led MKG Marketing in becoming a 7-figure business, joined the global Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) as a member as well as holds a seat on their Board of Directors and mentored other business owners through organizations like Idea Village, EO and General Assembly.",[14,53862,53863],{},"When he’s not at work, Mike enjoys:",[46,53865,53866,53869,53872,53875],{},[49,53867,53868],{},"Riding his beach cruiser bike in the park.",[49,53870,53871],{},"Reading business and spy novels (often at the same time — ask him how many half finished books he’s currently reading on his Kindle!)",[49,53873,53874],{},"Traveling the world.",[49,53876,53877],{},"Flying N5478N — his trusty 1981 Cessna 182.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":53879},[],"Meet Mike Krass, one of MKG Marketing’s founders. He currently drives the big picture vision for the agency and supports biz dev and sales efforts.",{"landscape":53882},"mike-krass.webp","Owner\u002FVisionary","mikekrass",{"imageDescription":53886},"Mike Krass, MKG Marketing’s Owner\u002FVisionary, standing in front of St. Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter of New Orleans | MKG Marketing","\u002Fteam\u002Fmike-krass","Focus on the road, not the wall.","Alvin Alexander","mike-krass",{"description":53880},"team\u002Fmike-krass","WCJwOrpm4HOYHMODFwHdEILqPkcZwTSZUakkr3-n3rs",{"id":53895,"title":12110,"body":53896,"date":7,"description":53916,"extension":318,"images":53917,"isLeader":322,"jobTitle":53919,"linkedIn":53920,"meta":53921,"name":12110,"navigation":322,"path":53922,"quote":53923,"quoteCite":53924,"ref":53920,"seo":53925,"sequence":12172,"stem":53926,"team":53927,"twitter":53928,"updated":7,"website":7,"__hash__":53929},"team\u002Fteam\u002Fnathan-stenberg.md",{"type":11,"value":53897,"toc":53914},[53898,53902,53905,53908,53911],[14,53899,53901],{"className":53900},[53333],"Our SEO Expert, Nathan, comes to MKG with an extensive background in digital marketing from front-end development to omni-channel marketing strategy.",[14,53903,53904],{},"He discovered SEO as part of a tech support job with a template website company where he was supporting clients with their websites. There he defined and developed the standards and processes that the SEO team would use for keyword research as well as the writing and implementation of the optimization. He then leveraged these standards to create an add-on subscription-based SEO product called “SEO Boost” which provided clients with a more proactive SEO service for their websites. This resulted in him providing keyword research and optimization recommendations for close to 1,500 websites during his tenure.",[14,53906,53907],{},"From there Nathan moved into the agency world, staring with a small boutique firm in Portland, OR, providing SEO audits and recommendations for clients ranging from small businesses to enterprise e-commerce companies.",[14,53909,53910],{},"He then moved to a larger agency and, once again, developed the SEO Team processes as the agency transitioned from an email-focused agency to a full-service digital marketing agency. During this time, Nathan was able to explore different areas of digital marketing strategy and really developed an understanding and passion for omni-channel marketing.",[14,53912,53913],{},"When Nathan is not working, he enjoys spending time with his partner and two children. You can find him playing casual sports, music, and Overwatch as well as snowboarding and cooking.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":53915},[],"Meet Nathan Stenberg, one of MKG Marketing’s Digital Marketing Strategist, with an extensive background in digital marketing from front-end development to omni-channel strategy. ",{"landscape":53918},"nathan-stenberg.webp","Director, Strategy","nathan-stenberg",{},"\u002Fteam\u002Fnathan-stenberg","Repetition is the path to mastery.","Zenyatta",{"description":53916},"team\u002Fnathan-stenberg","Marketing Strategists","natestenberg23","1moy0e42nEoQgH0weNaASdQ6FTDWXwC5TDftv5YS3tU",{"id":53931,"title":12108,"body":53932,"date":7,"description":53960,"extension":318,"images":53961,"isLeader":53420,"jobTitle":53657,"linkedIn":53963,"meta":53964,"name":12108,"navigation":322,"path":53965,"quote":53966,"quoteCite":53613,"ref":53967,"seo":53968,"sequence":53969,"stem":53970,"team":53421,"twitter":7,"updated":7,"website":7,"__hash__":53971},"team\u002Fteam\u002Fnick-bare.md",{"type":11,"value":53933,"toc":53958},[53934,53938,53941,53944,53947],[14,53935,53937],{"className":53936},[53333],"Nick Bare's college offered a digital technology and culture degree and heI ended up taking some communications and marketing classes as well and liked the thought of them all lining up with each other. Once he graduated, he landed a role in paid search and has been doing it for nine+ years now.",[14,53939,53940],{},"He loves that there's always a challenge to tackle. He enjoys taking on new accounts and getting into the weeds to see what can help them turn around and start driving more efficient leads.",[14,53942,53943],{},"He's most proud of being a dad.",[14,53945,53946],{},"Interesting facts:",[46,53948,53949,53952,53955],{},[49,53950,53951],{},"Born with a cleft lip and palate and has had seven surgeries in his life",[49,53953,53954],{},"Watched the Seahawks win Super Bowl 48 with his dad in New York",[49,53956,53957],{},"Travels around the country to visit all the MLB stadiums with his son",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":53959},[],"Meet Nick Bare, one of MKG Marketing’s Digital Advertising Expert, bringing 15 plus years of experience to the team. ",{"landscape":53962},"nick-bare.webp","nickbare",{},"\u002Fteam\u002Fnick-bare","We can choose courage or we can choose comfort, but we can't have both.","nick-bare",{"description":53960},52,"team\u002Fnick-bare","yVusNcEIbiAvdPE02qyDKE_aINcQ0QMXSeyOKv9x5PE",{"id":53973,"title":53974,"body":53975,"date":7,"description":53960,"extension":318,"images":54002,"isLeader":53420,"jobTitle":54004,"linkedIn":54005,"meta":54006,"name":53974,"navigation":322,"path":54007,"quote":54008,"quoteCite":54009,"ref":54010,"seo":54011,"sequence":54012,"stem":54013,"team":54014,"twitter":7,"updated":7,"website":7,"__hash__":54015},"team\u002Fteam\u002Fprachi-sarin.md","Prachi Sarin",{"type":11,"value":53976,"toc":54000},[53977,53980,53983,53986],[14,53978,53979],{},"Prachi has worked in marketing for over 10 years across various industries, but digital marketing has always been her true interest. She finally got the opportunity to pursue it when she moved to the United States and joined MKG as an apprentice, embarking on her digital marketing journey.​",[14,53981,53982],{},"Why I Joined MKG Marketing:\nI joined MKG Marketing because of its people-first culture, transparency, and commitment to growth. It’s a place where I can learn, contribute, and work with a team that genuinely cares.",[14,53984,53985],{},"Fun Facts About Me:",[46,53987,53988,53991,53994,53997],{},[49,53989,53990],{},"I love to read detective, thriller, and mystery books and watch shows in the same genre.",[49,53992,53993],{},"I’m a mom to twin girls—they are my world! Watching them grow, learn, and explore life brings me joy.",[49,53995,53996],{},"I love cooking for my family. It started with my husband, who’s a foodie, and now we cook together for our daughters.",[49,53998,53999],{},"Our family also enjoys playing video games—it’s our way to unwind and have fun together.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":54001},[],{"landscape":54003},"prachi-sarin.webp","Digital Marketing Coordinator","prachisarin",{},"\u002Fteam\u002Fprachi-sarin","We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things because we're curious, and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.","Walt Disney","prachi-sarin",{"description":53960},75,"team\u002Fprachi-sarin","Digital Marketing","LjXpVTmZn-XwzExAyq2igbw_fHhrVcf4nOLoEmURbEQ",{"id":54017,"title":15470,"body":54018,"date":7,"description":54032,"extension":318,"images":54033,"isLeader":322,"jobTitle":54035,"linkedIn":54036,"meta":54037,"name":15470,"navigation":322,"path":54038,"quote":54039,"quoteCite":54040,"ref":54041,"seo":54042,"sequence":291,"stem":54043,"team":53373,"twitter":7,"updated":7,"website":7,"__hash__":54044},"team\u002Fteam\u002Fsam-ellsworth.md",{"type":11,"value":54019,"toc":54030},[54020,54024,54027],[14,54021,54023],{"className":54022},[53333],"Sam has over 15 years of experience managing the development of marketing campaigns for national and global brands. She started her career in San Francisco, working in account management at ad agencies, where she managed a range of successful marketing campaigns from Super Bowl TV spots and fully-integrated product launches to social media campaigns and events.",[14,54025,54026],{},"After 12 years in San Francisco, Sam and her husband decided it was time to leave the big city and find a slower pace of life, settling down outside of Burlington, Vermont. Sam spent her first couple years in Vermont working remotely for a San Francisco agency and then as the Marketing Director at a local craft brewery before joining the MKG team. She was drawn to MKG due to our people first value and the opportunity to get to focus on a few specific, results driven marketing tactics.",[14,54028,54029],{},"Outside of work, Sam spends her time with her husband, 4-year-old daughter and chocolate lab exploring Vermont and all it has to offer — from hiking, skiing and enjoying all the local food to growing their backyard garden and working on a never-ending list of house renovations.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":291,"depth":291,"links":54031},[],"Meet Sam Ellsworth, one of MKG Marketing’s amazing Account Directors, who brings over 15 years experience managing marketing campaign development. ",{"landscape":54034},"sam-ellsworth.webp","Director, Client Services","samantha-ellsworth-40875866",{},"\u002Fteam\u002Fsam-ellsworth","Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.","Dr. Seuss","sam-ellsworth",{"description":54032},"team\u002Fsam-ellsworth","Xb0ljkUHaVzTObdBxfiOxIpE5jcK9HSfgiMlBhd8fuc",1787823208145]