Earlier this month, Google introduced “responsive search ads” which automate the search campaign optimization process using machine learning. Google takes up to 15 ad headlines and 4 description lines testing various combinations to identify the strongest ad creative for a given search query. According to Google, this kind of automated optimization of search campaign creative…
Search engine optimization (SEO) has evolved over the years, with many people pronouncing it “dead” periodically. Regardless of the label we use, digital presence management and optimization for search remains a critical marketing tactic. In the past 20 years SEO has dramatically changed and become more complex as the market has shifted. Maybe the term itself is somewhat outdated. But…
There are somewhere between 45 and 50 million smart speaker devices now in US homes, with some people owning multiple devices. Adoption is clearly starting to have an impact on the growth of other smart home tools and appliances. For our purposes here the question arises: are smart speakers simply for music, weather and traffic or will they see…
Facebook is announcing a new multi-channel marketing campaign called “Keep It Local,” which focuses on the role of small businesses in local communities. It also doubles as a promotion for Facebook marketing tools and services. The company says the campaign will “run for eight weeks in four US cities in Columbus, Nashville, San Diego and Sacramento,…
At its Google Marketing Live event (formerly Google Next) yesterday the company announced a number of new ad units, tools and analytics. Among them are: Responsive Search Ads Local Campaigns Maximize lift/smart bidding on YouTube Smart Shopping campaigns All these categories have in common that they’re highly automated and some of them are goal-based. You indicate the…
Roughly four years ago Google introduced “Store Visits” as part of its Estimated Total Conversions metrics. It was only available to large advertisers (e.g., QSR, retailers, hotels) with numerous locations. Now, the company is bringing offline visitation data and other “local conversion” analytics to small businesses. New “per-store” reporting will roll out globally by the end of the month. It…
We all know someone who will not buy a product or service without first reading reviews. This person will scour Google reviews to see real opinions. We all do this for multiple reasons, but typically the main idea is to boost our confidence. Being informed reduces our anxiety around a new experience. We don’t want…
Consumer search is evolving. We’ve already seen the change from desktop/laptop search to mobile search, and now we’re seeing the change from mobile search to voice search. Alpine.AI has estimated that about 1 billion voice searches are already being made on a monthly basis by users, and ComScore is predicting that 50% of all searches…
Only halfway through 2018 and the local and location-based marketing space looks much different than it did six months ago. From various high-profile deals and acquisitions, to major headlines from Facebook and Google, to GDPR, the local space continues to evolve and transform. To help you get a sense of the pulse among local marketers, we’ve…
This morning Amazon announced a new program called “Alexa for Hospitality” as well as a partnership with Marriott to install Echo devices in hotel rooms to act as a kind of “virtual concierge.” The initial rollout will be at “select” Marriott properties (e.g., Courtyard and others in that category) later this summer. Marriott is the largest hotel chain in…
