Welcome to the Fathom Blog
News & analysis on digital marketing & analytics
The Case for Mobile SEO
Mobile SEO – does it exist? If so, how important is it? And is it really that much different than the regular SEO we all know and love? Whether or not you’ve been told that developing a mobile site is vital to converting customers on that platform, there are a few things you should keep in mind:
- Mobile commerce is expected to reach $119 billion in sales by 2015
- Mobile advertising spend is estimated to grow to $19 billion by 2015
- Mobile sales will account for at least 8% of all online sales by 2015 (http://mobithinking.com/mobile-marketing-tools/latest-mobile-stats)
Although some experts in our field question the necessity of mobile SEO, there’s no denying the huge opportunity within mobile site development.
And I know what you’re thinking – If Apple, one of the leading pioneers in mobile Web browsing, doesn’t need a mobile website, why would I need one? It’s true that Apple has made one site that is desktop- and mobile-friendly, but this doesn’t mean that their approach could work for everyone or that you can ignore designing with mobile users in mind. Furthermore, Apple is in a unique position. Brands that are not as iconic will struggle if they do not embrace the mobile revolution because users will not grant the same patience or credibility to mobile sites with poor user experiences.
When people search on their smartphones, they typically have an immediate need and therefore, are much more likely to take an action:
- More than half of smartphone users make a purchase after searching: 68% visit a business and 53% make a purchase (40% of these purchases are made in-store)
- Local info seekers are ready to buy: 77% contact a business and 44% make a purchase (36% of these purchases are made in-store)
- 36% of local info seekers take action immediately after searching (http://www.gstatic.com/ads/research/en/2011_TheMobileMovement.pdf)
If your desktop site is already mobile-friendly, these statistics indicate that you are on the right track. If not, it’s time that you begin to incorporate mobile (and in some cases, local) search into your online strategy.
Mobile and smartphone usage has grown at such a rapid pace that many of us couldn’t have possibly foreseen the necessity of having mobile-friendly websites. If you have a successful desktop website, don’t think you have to dismantle everything and start from scratch. There are plenty of readily available mobile SEO best practices for those of us still developing digital marketing strategies in this portable computing world.
Paid Search: Top 10 Reasons Why Your Company Should Be Bidding on Branded Keywords
In the world of paid-search marketing, a common topic of debate is around bidding on your brand. Generally, 10-20% of our clients request us as paid-search marketers to pause branded campaigns/keywords because they feel we are either:
1. Wasting money on branded keywords for which they are already ranking organically
OR
2. Cannibalizing organic traffic
Now that the paid search market has matured, Google and others have been able to conduct statistically significant tests as to how bidding on branded keywords affects organic traffic. It really is a no-brainer—even with a limited budget, you should be bidding on branded search for the following reasons:
Sitelinks and Mobile Marketing
By now we’ve all heard of Google sitelinks. Some of us are even aware of enhanced sitelinks, if we were lucky enough to get on the white list for this beta. But, are you aware of the benefit of using sitelinks in your mobile marketing strategy? Let me enlighten you!
First, let me clarify what I mean by ‘mobile marketing.’ In this case, I am referring to campaigns within Google Adwords set to target only mobile devices. Also let me note that the client does not have a mobile site or landing page. The desktop landing page renders well enough on mobile devices to direct traffic there until a mobile page can be created.
When I first started running these mobile-targeted campaigns, I had not included sitelinks. To be honest, the idea hadn’t even crossed my mind. However, when I did a search from my cell phone for something unrelated to my client’s business, I noticed an ad with two sitelinks underneath and then organic listings. It was the only sponsored ad at the top of the screen. Because mobile ads typically display 2 ads at the top of the screen and 2 ads at the bottom, the addition of the sitelinks takes up the real estate of the 2nd ad.
I then did search for one of my client’s keywords and noticed our ad and then a competitor’s ad in the top of the screen. I immediately added sitelinks to the mobile campaigns in hopes of taking up all of the top real estate. Within a week, impressions, clicks, and even conversions had increased on these campaigns. When I searched the same keyword as before, I noticed my client’s ad with two sitelinks underneath at the top of the screen, followed immediately by my client’s organic listing. By the end of the month, conversions had doubled since the day of sitelinks launch and cost-per-conversion was still within our goal.
Including sitelinks in mobile-targeted campaigns is an easy addition that can yield great results. You not only better your chances of top exposure, you help eliminate competitor “interference” and increase your chances for conversions. In this case, conversions doubled. Why not take advantage of these ad extensions and see the difference they can make for you?
Breaking Down Big Data
What should I do with all this digital marketing data?
Tapping into large data sets can be a complicated task, but imagine all the possibilities you could uncover if you did. Digital signals come from all sorts of channels, and taking this data and turning it into actionable information can have a positive effect on your bottom line. Imagine taking all of your digital metrics like click-thru rates, page views, bounce rates, time on site, cost per click, et al., and turning them into information that your business can use to make scientific decisions. Finding reputable outside help to make sense of your “Big Data” can be profitable.
Big Data is hot in 2012, but what is it?
Defining Big Data is important because the term has been given a variety of different meanings. For some, the term simply means any set of data that has become so large that it can no longer be analyzed using normal database management tools. For Fathom’s purpose, Big Data presents a marketing opportunity. It indicates the process of taking large amounts of data from a variety of sources and using that data to uncover hidden patterns, correlations, and other useful information. This collection can be used to gain competitive advantages over even the toughest of competitors. The resulting insight from predictive analytics will also have a positive impact on your inbound marketing strategy and most importantly, your bottom line.
How do I know if a Big Data solution is needed for my company?
Not every company is an ideal candidate for a predictive analytics solution. Before you go “all in” with Big Data, you should have a few things already in place to ensure the data you are collecting is statistically significant. Big Data solution-seekers should have a high-energy inbound marketing plan in place. In order to make calculated predictive decisions, a company must have a strategic inbound marketing plan that produces a significant amount of digital signals. What this means is that you should have solid search-engine optimization, paid search, social media, and digital marketing presences before you dive into full data-based solutions.
We call this the “acquire” period of Big Data. Next, you need an efficient way to organize or integrate the data collected. Lastly, you need to analyze the organized data in order to understand what it implies and make educated decisions that give your business a competitive advantage.
If you deal with a lot of data, don’t lose sight of the opportunities today’s technology and digital marketing afford.
Comment: Feel free to share your thoughts.
Category: Analytics, Google Analytics, Predictive Analytics
The Power of Your Website’s Conversion Rate
Why is upping your conversion rate important?
It is one of the quickest and least expensive ways to increase leads and sales. Imagine this: if a website currently converts at 1% and “conversion optimization” increases conversions to 2%, that equates to a doubling of leads and sales.
If you want to improve your website’s conversions and generate more leads and revenue, ask yourself:
- What is the desired visitor action on a given page? Do you want visitors to make a call, complete a lead form or sign up for a newsletter?
Once you’ve identified the desired action, next identify and remove the roadblocks which are preventing conversions. Here are some common roadblocks and associated quick fixes:
- Lack of visitor confidence. Improve this by strategically displaying security seals, media mentions, 3rd-party ratings/reviews, testimonials, your privacy policy and satisfaction guarantees.
- Poor page experience. User experience can be improved by logical navigation; faster page load times; prominently displayed contact phone numbers; clear and specific calls-to-action, and by following many other usability conventions.
- Form frustration. Use the least amount of required fields as possible. Statistics typically show that for each additional required field, completion rates drop 10%. Less is more!
Fathom’s CEO, Scot Lowry, is often heard saying, “A #1 ranking won’t buy a loaf of bread,” and he is correct. High rankings are only valuable to your business if they garner qualified traffic and compel visitors to take action and convert.
