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Voice Search Optimization and the Future of Voice Search

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“Hey, Alexa! What’s the phone number to Best Buy?”

“Hey Google! What time does the pharmacy close?”

“Hey Siri! What’s the address to a car wash near me?”

There are many different types of questions you can directly ask a voice-enabled device that will utilize search results to provide answers but how does this relate to a local business? It is estimated that by 2020, nearly half of all searches will be a voice search. If your online assets are not optimized for voice search, you will eventually lose out on roughly 50% of searches!

Here are a few facts about voice search in its current state of usage:

  • 40% of adults utilize voice searches at least one time per day*.
  • According to Google, 20% of all mobile searches are by voice*.
  • 3 months after Windows 10 launched, 33% of searches were coming from voice*.

*Source: https://socialtriggers.com/voice-search/

The question that SMBs (small/medium sized businesses) should have is, “How can we keep our company relevant and optimized for voice searches?” We have a few suggestions that could help as voice searches become more utilized by consumers.

  1. Keep your Google Business Listing up to date. The Google Business listing might be the most important asset a company has online. It provides vital information such as address, phone number, business hours and other information that Google shows in traditional search results and is now utilizing the data in listings to respond to voice searches.
  2. Utilize long-tailed keywords on your website. Long-tailed keywords are keyword phrases that are 3-4 words. They are more specific compared to 1-2 word keyword phrases. Say, for example, that a person is searching for furniture. Most people are not going to just be searching for furniture in general but rather for more specific furniture items such as “kids bedroom furniture”. When adding long-tail keywords to your site, it is important to try to keep in mind how an average person would search for specific goods or services.
  3. Have a mobile-friendly website. Since many voice searches are performed on mobile devices, it is recommended that you have a very mobile-friendly version of your website. This not only includes the content but also the speed at which the page loads. The average voice search results page loads 52% faster than the average web page. Customers want results and they don’t want to wait for them.

As search engines in general continue to evolve, it is fair to say that voice search will evolve as well. If your SMB is not prepared, you could risk being left out of search results in the future. If you would like to consult with our team regarding voice search or any other digital advertising needs, send us a message and we will be happy to help!

Facebook Reporting Changes

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Effective April 30, 2019, Facebook is changing some ad performance metrics with the goal of improving their actionable insights. There are a few notable changes that apply to some popular types of ads. These include Relevance Score, Messaging Replies, and Cost per Messaging Reply.

Relevance Score

The relevance score of an ad is being replaced with a new set of diagnostics that are designed to be much clearer and more actionable. The new metrics are Quality Ranking, Engagement Rate Ranking, and Conversion Rate Ranking. These metrics should be easier to gauge the effectiveness of each ad depending on the audience reached. These metrics are best utilized together in order to understand ad relevancy and will be available for ads that ran after March 19.

Messaging Replies and Cost per Messaging Reply

On Facebook Messenger ads, it is important to understand exactly how users contact the business, the number of times they contacted, and if they are a new contact. In comes New Messaging Connections and Messaging Conversations Started. New Messaging Connections will show the number of new users that have messaged. This data is a bit more valuable compared to the total number of messages sent. Messaging Conversations Started will measure each new conversation after an original conversation is inactive for 7 days.

As advertisers, it is good to see Facebook continuously tried to improve the metrics it provides. As user expectations and ad space changes, it is only natural for metric to evolve with it. If you need help with any of your digital advertising needs please feel free to contact us.

Google Ad Extensions: How They Help Boost Ad Performance

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In an increasingly competitive market, businesses try to gain as much search engine page real estate as possible to make them stand out against the competition. However, gaining page real estate can be difficult as Google and other search engines continuously evolve the layout of search engine results pages. Advertising space on results pages has increased and advertisers must work to make their ads more robust than their competitors in order to stand out. On the Google Ads platform, advertisers utilize Ad Extensions to accomplish this goal.

What is an Ad Extension?

An Ad Extension provides additional information to the typical ad copy that give people more reasons to choose your business. As shown in the screenshot below, Ad Extensions are boxed in red. There are multiple types of ad extensions. In this case, the extensions include types, the location of the nearest store, and sitelinks that link to internal pages of the Nike website. Other types of extensions include phone calls, text messages, special pricing, and promotions.

Google Ad Extensions

How do Ad Extensions boost ad performance?

When utilizing multiple ad extensions, an advertiser can increase their ad real estate by over 100%, as shown in the example above. With all the additional information provided through Ad Extensions, people are more likely to click on ads that contain them. The click-through-rate data for ads with extensions is clearly much higher than for those without.

When creating a Google Ads campaign, it is important to know ways to improve the overall ad content that a person will see. With the expertise of an experienced search marketer, you will see higher interaction rates with your ads. Let us know if Brand Ranch Media can help you improve your search marketing campaigns.

Facebook Location Ads: How to Maximize In-Store Opportunity for Retail

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Tracking conversions from digital marketing efforts can sometimes be a daunting task. This is especially true for brick and mortar retailers who may want to drive offline behavior and encourage people to visit their store. Keep in mind, 90% of US retail purchases are still made offline and 56% of store purchases are influenced by digital. These statistics show how important it is to track offline conversions.

At the forefront of tracking offline conversions from digital efforts is Facebook. They know that it is important to drive store visits in order to help increase sales. Currently Facebook is in the process of developing Location Ads on their Ads platform. A business can target potential customers by uploading each of their retail locations to Facebook. The ads platform will utilize automatic radius targeting to reach customers that are in close poximity to each location. You can utilize not only imagery to entice customers, but you can also provide an interactive map of your store location so that the customer can obtain directions from their current location. A tracking cookie will be placed on that customer’s Facebook app on their mobile device and if they end up visiting a store, an offline conversion will be counted and appear in the ad’s statistical data. Ads will then optimize and show to users who are most likely to visit stores once interacting with ads making it a powerful tool for retargeting campaigns.

Although store traffic conversion tracking is still in beta and not available to every Facebook Ad account, you are still able to optimize for reach in order to show your ad to the highest possible number of unique daily prospects. If you would like to learn more about how Facebook Location Ads can help your business, please contact us today!

Google Call Only Ads: A Case Study

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In today’s world of digital marketing, driving qualified leads is key. We all want to generate great web traffic that will eventually turn into a sale! In 2015, Google released Call Only ads on their Ads platform (formerly AdWords) but have only recently perfected targeting and conversion optimization. A Call Only ad shows on a mobile device when users search for keywords that match the keywords in the Google Ad campaign. According to a Google study, more than 70% of people using mobile search will call a business based on the results they receive.

We recently partnered with Google to help drive more qualified leads to a retail business in the automotive industry with multiple brick and mortar locations. According to the client, a standard qualified lead stems from phone calls lasting between 2 to 3 minutes. We were able to optimize the ads for a 2-minute phone call conversion. We then created Call Only ads in separate campaigns for each location. Finally, we collected the data over a 10-day period.

And the results are in….

  • Phone Calls: 150% increase from the previous period!
  • Conversions: 95% increase from the previous period!
  • Cost per Conversion: 38% decrease from the previous period!
  • Conversion Rate: 354% increase from the previous period!

As some final food for thought, the top five categories that value phone leads are auto, cable/telecom, financial services, home services, and travel. Speaking to a potential customer is far more valuable than just simply directing them to a website to maybe fill out a contact form. With the digital technologies available today, it is easier to track the effectiveness of digital campaigns.

If you or anyone you know could use some help with their digital marketing efforts, please feel free to contact us or give us a call at 713-309-6380.

YouTube SEO: How to Optimize Your YouTube Videos

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Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of getting traffic from non-paid search results. Other terms for this are “organic”, “natural”, or “free”. When you mention SEO, most people think “how can I be number 1 on Google?” There is another often-forgotten search engine: YouTube. As the second-most visited website Globally, there is great opportunity for businesses to capitalize on video production to promote on the web. People view billions of hours of video on YouTube every month. So, what is the best way to reach these viewers with topics of interest? In this week’s blog, we talk about YouTube SEO, ranking factors, and how to best optimize your video content.

YouTube Ranking Factors

Just as with ranking factors for websites, there are also ranking factors for YouTube content that will ultimately help determine where a video will appear when searched. Some of the top YouTube ranking factors include:

  • User Engagement – The duration of time that a user watches a video.
  • Video Comments – The number of comments left by viewers.
  • Subscribers – The number of subscribers to the channel after having watched a video.
  • Video Shares – The number of times the video was shared.
  • Using broad match keywords in the video title, description, and keyword tags.

Each of these factors are a part of the larger algorithm used by Google to determine where to place videos in search results. Other factors pertain to the content of the video itself relating to the quality of the content.

Create Engaging Video Content

It is important to create engaging video content that will keep the users engaged throughout the video as well as convert them to subscribers. It can be difficult to determine what content might engage users when starting a video marketing plan from scratch. Conducting some competitive analysis will give you insight as to what the competition is doing as well as what is working for them. This will help you to create high quality and engaging content that will keep viewers watching for longer periods of time.

Utilize “Old” SEO Tactics

When it comes to YouTube optimization, old SEO tactics are still relevant. It is important to utilize broadly matched keywords and include them in the video title, description, and keyword tags. Creating a custom thumbnail image can also help increase click-through-rates. You can customize these settings when uploading a video to YouTube but will likely need to employ some graphic design skills when creating a graphically pleasing thumbnail.

Promote YouTube Videos

Once a video is created, uploaded to YouTube using a branded channel, and utilizing some of those old SEO tactics, the video is ready for promoting. There are various channels through which to promote YouTube videos: blog, website, social media, etc. Promoting the video through as many channels as possible to reach the greatest number of viewers is a great strategy.

Please feel free to leave a comment or fill out a contact form with any inquiries you may have.  

Google Search Algorithm: Most Important Updates You Should Know From 2018

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Google Search Algorithm: Most Important Updates You Should Know From 2018

Throughout the year, Google makes updates to its Search Engine Algorithm that ultimately helps determine the order of which websites appear on search engine results pages (SERPs) for billions of search queries. In order to avoid losing site ranking, this information is crucial for webmasters performing SEO. This week, we will share our opinion on the most important Google Search Algorithm updates in 2018.

Core Search Update

On August 1, Google released an update categorized as a “broad core algorithm update” that had a big impact on major search categories such as Health, Vehicles, Beauty & Personal Care, Hobbies & Leisure, Arts & Entertainment, and many more. This was the largest core update from Google in 2018. Many websites in the Health and Wellness categories saw large decreases in impressions and traffic as a result of this update. It seems that Google was focused on E-A-T signals (Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trust). These signals determine the level of expertise that a website appears to have, the authoritativeness that the website holds in its industry, and the trust that users appear to place upon the information they gather from the website. All of these are determined by the amount of “good” content, the validity of the content, and the way users interact with the content through key performance indicators (KPIs) such as click-through-rate (CTR).

Chrome Security Warnings Update

In July, Chrome 68 (Chrome’s newest browser version) started marking any not HTTPS sites as “not secure”. Sites that did not have secured hosting (or an SSL certificate) started to appear differently in the browser.

https://www.blog.google/products/chrome/milestone-chrome-security-marking-http-not-secure/

As you can see in the example, sites without secured hosting appeared with a “Not secure” indication next to the web address. This shows that Google wants users to know when a site is not secure. A noted unsecure site may cause users not to visit a site. It is very important that a website has an SSL certificate to “prove” to the search engine and potential visitors that they can trust the site.

Mobile Speed Update

Also in July, Google announced that mobile page speed would be a ranking factor in mobile searches. Mobile page speed relates to how fast a mobile site loads as well as how long it takes for individual web pages to load within the mobile version of the site. Websites with a slower mobile experience will therefore appear lower on mobile SERPs. The only saving grace to this update is if the site delivers highly relevant and high-quality content. Website and business owners should be aware of the speed of the mobile versions of their site and consider the implications.

If you think that your business website might be experiencing issues due to search engine updates, please feel free to reach out to us so that we can help you get it back on track for success!

Facebook: How to Utilize Lead Ads to Increase Leads

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Facebook Lead Ads

There is a battle between large web-based firms for marketing revenue. In 2018, Google and Facebook duked it out with 37.2% of digital ad revenue going to Google leaving Facebook behind with 19.6%. While Google is clearly the front-runner, younger brother Facebook is making strides to diversify the types of ads they provide to advertisers that improve both lead generation and user experience. 

As advertisers, we know that most business owners want to see results from their marketing efforts, and one way they measure results and ROI is through the number of leads a campaign receives. Today, the majority of websites have integrated forms to collect user information (i.e. Newsletters, Blog entries, Special Deals, etc.). Facebook has made gathering this information easier for the user and more efficient for business owners. 

Lead Ads streamline the process of collecting user data. Advertisers can create ads that provide information about the product or service. When the user clicks the ad, a form will open directly in Facebook to collect the user’s data that comes from their profile, such as name, phone number and email address. Forms can be fully customized. Leads are then saved within Facebook or can integrate into a CRM for follow up and remarketing campaigns.

As of now, the Google Ads platform does not provide a solution that is as user-friendly as Lead Ads. It’s always interesting to see the strides companies like Google and Facebook are making to improve the overall performance and optimization of digital ads.  

If you have any topics that you want to learn more about, drop us a note in the comments section and we would be happy to answer any questions you have!

Happy Thanksgiving from Brand Ranch Media!

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Thanksgiving is an important time to spend with loved ones and express our gratitude for what we have and who we are. Here our some of our favorite quotes about this special day:

“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” – Willie Nelson

“After a good dinner, one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations.” – Oscar Wilde

“What if, today, we were grateful for everything?” – Charlie Brown

“Thanksgiving, man. Not a good day to be my pants.” – Kevin James

“Let us remember that, as much has been given to us, much will he expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone from the entire team at Brand Ranch Media!

Mattress For Less & Landmark Furniture Partner With Houston Furniture Bank

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#HoustonStrong

Brand Ranch Media is proud to be a part of the partnership between Houston Furniture Bank, Mattresses For Less and Landmark Furniture.

Owner Brad Taylor has made two locations available for furniture drop off, in which every item will go to help those in and around the Houston area who were affected by the destruction from Hurricane Harvey. 

Please scroll down to learn more about the items in particular the Houston Furniture Bank is looking for and what else you can do to help in regards to recovery efforts. Each and every staff member at Mattresses For Less, Landmark Furniture, Brand Ranch Media and Houston Furniture Bank is proud to help the city of Houston during this time and moving forward.

20235 Katy Freeway
Katy, TX 77450

5900 North Freeway
Houston, TX 77076

Houston Furniture Bank

Recovery efforts from Hurricane Harvey are expected to continue for many months as thousands of families in the Houston area are still trying to recover and rebuild from the devastation.

That’s why Landmark Furniture, Houston Furniture Bank and Mattresses For Less have partnered together to help affected families by holding a Houston Strong Furniture Drive all day Saturday, December 2, 2017.

Help us support the Houston community by participating in the Houston Strong Furniture Drive by bringing your undamaged, gently-used furniture that can be placed in a new home to one of the drop-off locations on Saturday, December 2, 2017.

What To Donate

Houston Furniture Bank, Landmark Furniture and Mattresses For Less are very appreciative of your efforts to help support the Houston community. All home furnishings in good condition are welcome, but the following items are a priority for affected families:

  • Beds – mattresses/box springs
  • 4- to 6-person dinettes
  • Small sofas

Please note, Houston Furniture Bank will not take items that have the following conditions:

  • Tears
  • Deep cuts and scratches
  • Stains that are not supposed to be there
  • Holes
  • Missing parts
  • Fire damage
  • Water damage
  • Pet dander or fur
  • Have been subjected to “home repairs”

Drop Off Locations

Mattresses For Less/Landmark Furniture
20235 Katy Freeway
Katy, TX 77450

Mattresses For Less/Landmark Furniture
5900 North Freeway
Houston, TX 77076

Houston Furniture Bank
8220 Mosley Road
Houston, TX 77075

Volunteer

Volunteer at the Houston Strong Furniture Drive to help affected families recovering from the devastation left by Hurricane Harvey. To obtain additional information about volunteer opportunities, please contact us at 713-842-9771 or info@houstonfurniturebank.org.

Have gently used furniture? Want to make a BIG IMPACT? Come by our official drop-off locations at 5900 North Freeway OR 20235 Katy Freeway and let’s help our friends at Houston Furniture Bank make #HoustonStrong! The Furniture Drive is on Saturday, December 2, 2017. For more information please visit: houstonfurniturebank.org/recovery.

For more information, visit http://houstonfurniturebank.org/recovery/ or call (713) 842-9771.

Mattresses for Less and Landmark Furniture Locations

  • North Houston
  • Katy
  • Spring / The Woodlands
  • Webster / Clear Lake
  • Town & Country

Click here for a list of Mattresses For Less locations!

Click here for a list of Landmark Furniture locations!