SEO News

The technology industry is lagging behind many other sectors when it comes to the proportion of women taking up entry level positions. This is according to US research by McKinsey in their new report: Women in the Workplace The study surveyed 132 companies which collectively employ more than 4.6m people. It shows that while 75% of CEOs in corporate America are saying gender equality is a top ten priority – and in the wake of the high-profile Gamergate controversy – tech is still woefully behind. Women entering the tech industry are far outnumbered by men and they lose ground on every step of the ladder The McKinsey report separates out key industries in the …

According to research from Borrell associates, SEO spending is forecast to reach $79.27 billion by 2020. However, the problem that many marketers face is actually elevating the importance of SEO within their organizations. In 2017 it is essential that SEO professionals secure the buy-in they need from their business leaders so they can accomplish their professional goals. Understanding how to do this will not only help the brand succeed, but it will also build your reputation as a marketer, paving the way for a successful future within the industry. This year we witness the rising importance of the micro-moment, the new mobile index, and the growing importance o…

A new Marin report says that if mobile device growth continues at its current pace, it will represent half of the clicks in paid search by December 2015. This and more in its 2014 annual report on mobile search advertising around the globe. Source: Search Engine Watch

Cannabis dispensaries want to be able to advertise their products using the same online channels as every other business and website. However, they're finding few opportunities to do so and Google, Twitter and Facebook aren't budging. Source: Search Engine Watch

If somehow you're still using article directories as a link building tactic in 2014, just don't. In his latest webmaster help video, Google's Matt Cutts confirms that links from article directories are bad and will give you no ranking benefits. Source: Search Engine Watch

Linking to URLs with a certain parameter can cause SEO issues such as duplication. Here's how to quickly and easily use information already available to you in Google Analytics to get a list of and find pages linking to a particular group of URLs. Source: Search Engine Watch

When you search Google or Bing for a well-known person combined with the word LinkedIn, that person's LinkedIn result will also feature rich snippet data containing their job title, where they work, and their location. Source: Search Engine Watch

NDN ranks ahead of Amazon, VEVO, Microsoft, Vimeo, and Turner Digital in the latest comScore video rankings. So, it's worth knowing more about an online video platform that says it "is disrupting the digital media industry in all the right ways." Source: Search Engine Watch

Expect to start seeing the impact of Hummingbird in full force, significant additions in natural language search capability, the impact of Google+ grow, guest posting take more hits, and sites with no mobile implementation take some rankings hits. Source: Search Engine Watch

Google has announced an update to location extensions that will let advertisers link their Google My Business and AdWords accounts to ensure consumers will receive the correct local information they need when they're ripe to purchase. Source: Search Engine Watch

Welcome to our weekly round-up of all the latest news and research from around the world of search marketing and beyond. This week we have new updates from Bing Ads and AdWords, plus a glimpse into the automated future where robots can write these search news round-ups instead of me. *kicks coffee machine for not pulling its weight* Upgraded URLs now available in Bing Ads According to a Bing Ads blog post this week, it has launched Upgraded URLs to simplify tracking campaign performance. With Upgraded URLs, you can quickly make updates to your tracking codes and keep your ads running. According to the post, the major benefits are: More efficient tracking …

Google is closing the doors on its social media service, Orkut, to focus on more profitable areas of its business. Source: Search Engine Watch

User-generated content is becoming an important part of content marketing, with consumers forming a part of a brand’s strategy. But how does this affect branded content? I recently talked to Rachel Meranus, Chief Marketing Officer at Olapic about the popularity of user-generated content and the recent trends marketers need to know. How do you see the future of earned content? The rise of visual user-generated content (or earned content) has fundamentally changed marketing and the conversation brands are having with their customers. Consumers are becoming more skeptical of advertising and celebrity endorsements and are now demanding a more authentic dialog with the …

Optimizing your ecommerce site for better rankings should be a top priority for any growth-focused business owner. Being on the first page is no longer enough to generate enough traffic, CTR, and sales, for 2016 and 2017, the main goal should be to rank 1 and I will tell you why. In 2011, a research conducted by Optify and published by Search Engine Watch showed that “websites ranked number one received an average click-through rate (CTR) of 36.4 percent; number two had a CTR of 12.5 percent; and number three had a CTR of 9.5 percent.” This report illustrates vividly the value of holding the number 1 spot in search results. In the article below, I will be shar…

The back-to-school and back-to-college retail audience spent an estimated $72.5 billion in 2013. Here's a look at how word choice in retail PPC ads during the back-to-school season (July 15 to September 15) can impact your campaign success. Source: Search Engine Watch

All online merchants now have access to Shopping campaigns, Google's Product Listing Ads program, which has been in beta since October. Shopping campaigns allow advertisers to see more product data within AdWords, among other structural changes. Source: Search Engine Watch

Programmatic is a game-changing technology in the advertising industry. According to ZenithOptimedia Programmatic Marketing Forecasts, it will grow by an astounding 31% in 2017 – and that’s faster than social media (25%) and online video (20%). At the same time, marketers using automation is on the rise: Dun & Bradstreet Report predicts almost 70% of B2B marketers plan to increase spending on programmatic advertising in 2017. So what can we expect from the year ahead and how should advertisers be prepared to take advantage of programmatic? RTB House – a global provider of retargeting technology powered by deep learning algorithms – has put together 3 top tren…

Trust has been a factor in the human economy forever. On the web, trust is at a premium. Smart businesses will focus substantial effort on creating trust for themselves via search engines, social media, and online reviews. Source: Search Engine Watch

The right Custom Reports can be incredible time savers. Instead of spending time digging around for important metrics, you can find what you need separated neatly into columns for some analysis that will lead to some actionable insight. Source: Search Engine Watch

Email marketing can be overwhelming, especially if you are new. Lots of tweaking, designing and testing. These eight tools will help you manage email marketing like a champ! Some of these tools may have a lot of alternatives but I left them out to keep this list clutter-free! You can find more tools in my previous article: 10 tools for generating red hot leads. 1. Optimize your site for lead generation: Hellobar http://annsmarty.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/hellobar.png The first thing to do when you are launching a website is to create effective opt-in forms. You can experiment with designs and placements for as long as you manage your website, but there’s…