Content Marketing or Targeted Ads—Which is Best?

By | content marketing | No Comments

When it comes to the world of digital marketing, there are a wide variety of methods that advertisers use in an attempt to reach potential consumers. And for Internet marketing, there are perhaps few methods that have become more engrained than using content marketing and targeted ads. And while each method offers advantages that companies should be aware of, a more thorough investigation makes it quite clear that content marketing is the better choice for those looking to generate a top-notch return on investment.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is unique from other forms of advertising because it doesn’t necessarily go for the direct sale. Rather than interrupting a Web user’s experience (think of those oh-so-hated pop-up ads), content marketing seeks to add to the Web experience by providing useful information or decent entertainment related to a company’s product or industry.

So how does content marketing really make a difference? First and foremost, quality content marketing efforts that also utilize best SEO practices can help provide a serious boost to a company’s rankings in Google search results. For example, if your company’s blog consistently provides quality, informative articles, search engines pick up that information and use it as an indicator that your company is an authoritative source of industry information. And that in turn will help a website move up in the search rankings.

Content Marketing Institute also notes that customers are much more trusting of content marketing materials than traditional advertising, citing reports from Nielsen and TMG Custom Media that indicate the majority of potential customers are more likely to buy a new product from a company that provides customized articles and other forms of content (especially those not-always-easy-to-reach Millennials). After all, which seems more reliable—a banner ad telling you to “buy now” or an article that offers an in-depth explanation as to why a particular product or service is a worthwhile investment?

This can also pay off when it comes to social media efforts. In today’s digital landscape, social media should be part of each company’s content marketing strategy—and rather than simply pushing the latest sale or product through a company’s Facebook page, companies (and their content) are more likely to get quality engagement by promoting blogs, articles and other pieces of useful information through social media channels.

Targeted Advertising

While there is certainly some value to be gained from targeted ads, studies indicate that this digital marketing method is not as effective as content marketing for providing an SEO boost, gaining trust of customers, or even in generating sales leads.

Targeted advertising takes advantage of Web data to deliver advertisements to the consumers most likely to be interested in a particular product or service. This is typically determined based on past Web browsing history and other online activities. While this may narrow the number of Web users who see a particular advertisement, these ads are much more likely to be reaching the consumers that are interested in the associated product or service, making them more effective than non-targeted ad placements.

However, this process is far from perfect. As Forbes notes, 54 percent of American companies still claim that identifying the right groups to target remains a major challenge. While a company may know who its desired target audience is, correctly identifying these individuals online—even with the help of algorithms and big data—is far from an exact science.

These targeting methods also cannot change the fact that targeted banner ads and videos—while still able to reach a more relevant audience—are still advertisements that interrupt a user experience, rather than contribute to it, as content marketing does. As a result, many online users are distrustful of targeted ads in general, and these methods are not always effective, even when reaching the target audience—in fact, some studies have reported display advertising click-through rates to be as low as 0.1 percent.

The Comparison

While both content marketing and targeted digital ads can play a role in boosting online leads and sales, studies comparing the effectiveness of the two practices have made it clear that content marketing has a distinct advantage. A study published on Moz reports that “the companies with the highest [digital advertising] ROI focus on blogging, organic search, and content amplification.”

Blogs, organic search, content amplification—these are all terms that are extremely relevant to content marketing. Be it through creating a quality blog, publishing in-depth articles on third-party sites or further promoting such efforts through social media, these content marketing tactics not only increase consumer trust, but also provide a needed boost for SEO—results that generate sales and leads in a way that more traditional methods of advertising—targeted or not—simply cannot achieve.

So when it comes time to decide how your company’s advertising budget will be spent, choose wisely. Targeted ads may seem like the easier option, but an investment in content marketing will typically yield better results, making it well worth the investment.

8 Website Design Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make

By | web development | No Comments

When it comes to the world of website design, there’s plenty of good, bad and ugly work to be found on the Internet. And if you want your site to be an attractive, SEO-friendly workhorse that consistently drives new customers to your business, then you certainly need to use the right design strategies.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of design mistakes implemented online every day. While some are only minor annoyances, others can make your site truly awful and cause some serious business losses. The following infographic takes a look at some website design mistakes you absolutely do not want to make.

Fusion 360 - 8 Website Desing Mistakes You Don't Want to Make (Fusion 360 Web Development)

Inside Google’s RankBrain Algorithm Update

By | SEO | No Comments

Google certainly loves to scare the marketers who spend their time researching the best SEO tactics, and the search engine giant has done it again with the recent announcement of its new “RankBrain” system. But what is RankBrain, and how is it going to affect the way Google ranks websites? While some of the details are still sparse, there are a few important facts that have come to light.

What is it?

First of all, RankBrain is not a replacement for Google’s Hummingbird search algorithm—but it is an important facet that will contribute to how Hummingbird will rank websites. Search Engine Land explains that RankBrain is “a machine-learning artificial intelligence system that’s used to help process its search results.”

Sounds fancy and confusing, right? In layman’s terms, RankBrain is a program that can basically learn new SEO-related information as it has more experience with online search. As more Web searches are conducted, RankBrain can gather data on the words and phrases that are used to make connections so that it can better deal with new searches that haven’t been conducted before.

According to Bloomberg, Google has since reported that RankBrain has become the “third-most important signal contributing to the result of a search query.” And the implementation of this AI has apparently proven effective. In the Bloomberg article, Google researchers explained that turning off RankBrain significantly decreased the quality of search results, damaging the overall user experience. Since RankBrain is able to learn and make new connections between even the most complex of searches, it can deliver better, more usable results to Web users.

RankBrain’s ability to refine results for never-before-done queries is especially important when one considers just how many searches are conducted every day. With literally billions of searches conducted each day, and an estimated 15 percent of said searches being completely new, there are hundreds of millions of new searches each day—which could certainly prove difficult for an SEO ranking algorithm to handle without a tool such as RankBrain.

Why Does it Matter?

Of course, the biggest question on every SEO guru’s mind is how the introduction of RankBrain will impact the effectiveness of their strategies. The truth of the matter is that RankBrain has been impacting online searches since earlier this year—but Google chose not to unveil news about this ranking signal until the end of October (possibly due to the widespread panic that came about when the company announced it’s “mobile-friendly” algorithm update).

In other words, this isn’t something like the “mobile-friendly” update where SEO experts have time to make changes to their Web design and content before the algorithm change starts affecting their search rankings—it’s already taking effect. However, since RankBrain is a learning machine that will continue to adapt the ranking signals it sends to Hummingbird, marketers can be sure that its importance will keep growing.

Of course, since Google hasn’t said much about what RankBrain actually looks for in determining what sites should be highly ranked for a particular search, it’s hard to know for certain what (if any) practices need to change in your SEO strategy.

A good rule of thumb is to continue with the adage “content is king.” Google has stated in the past that it would be putting an increased emphasis on delivering high-quality, relevant content in its search results—and since RankBrain also seems to be focused on delivering extremely relevant and useful results, it stands to reason that the better your content is, the more likely it will get ranked highly for a wide variety of search queries.

Another useful step would be to examine the results of your SEO strategy over the last few months. Since RankBrain was introduced earlier this year, it stands to reason that it will have been affecting your search rankings as well. If your standings in search results have been regressing in recent months, it’s probably a good idea to take a closer look at what your SEO strategy entails and double down on making sure all content you produce—both on-site and for third-party content marketing purposes—is of the highest quality possible.

In a perfect world, Google would not only reveal exactly how RankBrain works, but also what the two other most influential ranking factors are. But since that’s unlikely to happen anytime soon, we’ll simply keep watching the latest marketing trends and adjusting our strategies accordingly.

Social Media’s Most Popular Hashtags

By | Social Media | No Comments

Ah, the hashtag. Never before has such a simple symbol been able to change the entirety of a money-making industry like the hashtag has for digital and social marketers. What began as a basic means of content categorization on Twitter has become much more widespread in recent years, currently involving the likes of Instagram, Pinterest and a host of other social media channels.

That said, regardless of social site or app, just any old hashtag won’t do. Moreover, for brands and marketing agencies to interact with the very audiences they hope to convert into loyal customers, only the best, most long-lasting of hashtags should be used on a regular basis. What are they, you ask? Well, the following infographic gives you a generic idea of what’s out there. Take a look and get to work.

Fusion 360 - Social Media's Most Popular Hashtags (Fusion 360 Agency)

5 Tips for Creating an Instagram Bio That Will Increase Followers

By | Social Media | No Comments

Social media marketing has become a staple service for many of America’s most successful ad agencies. Whether it be Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or LinkedIn, if real social success is to take place, it’s imperative that a hefty follower base be built and maintained.

Even newer, more up-and-coming social channels require such a tactic. Take Instagram, for example. With the aforementioned in mind, building followers can’t be limited to a simple follow/unfollow regiment.

Moreover, lesser known measures should be taken. Social profile optimization, amongst other things, allows for other accounts to see what you’re about and give you an immediate follow. Interested? Here’s a bit of information to get your Instagram bio as effective as possible:

Fusion 360 - 5 Tips for Creating the Perfet Instagram Bio (Fusion 360 Agency)

The Past, Present and Future of Emojis

By | digital marketing | No Comments

Emojis. You’re either using them or lying about not using them. Either way, if you have a smartphone, they’ve become a part of your daily communicative routine. Apart from doing an excellent job of conveying emotion, they’re quick, simple and fun to use.

However, emojis—or emoticons, as they’re also known—haven’t always been around. They didn’t just spring up out of nowhere. Truth be told, they come with a rather interesting past.

Simply put, having come from an exciting upbringing and currently seeing a prominent, game-changing role within the walls of most of America’s most successful digital marketing agencies, undoubtedly, the future of emojis is a bright one. Here’s the evidence on which such a claim comfortably rests:

Fusion 360 - The Past, Present and Future of Emojis (Fusion 360 Agency)

How to Be a Great Content Marketer

By | content marketing | No Comments

As is the case with just about anything in life, if you’re going to become an expert, a hefty amount of practice is going to be necessary.

In today’s digital day and age, as consumers continue to dictate what marketers must do to influence them, content marketing has quickly positioned itself as the most effective form of product- and service- pushing out on the World Wide Web.

Want to get involved here in Utah or elsewhere? Well, needless to say, if you’re to become a successful content marketer, there are some things you’re going to need to do before taking on your first client.

Maintaining a Successful Blog

By | content marketing | No Comments

Whether it be here in Utah or elsewhere, blogging isn’t as easy as you’d think it be. Seriously, if it were simply a matter of writing a few posts to gain global publishing fame, everyone would be doing it.

However, seeing as how digital audiences currently have access to more information than ever before, content – when coupled with strategic content marketing, social media and SEO strategies – can truly reach massive audiences.

Internet Usage and Mobile Interfaces

By | web development | No Comments

These days, be it here in Utah or elsewhere, you needn’t be seated at a computer to access the Internet.

Instead, many college students, stay-at-home moms and working professionals of all types opt for their smartphones as a means through which they get their respective digital fixes.

That said, there’s more to what users want than simply ease of accessibility from the web development teams that serve them. Does your mobile site deliver?

Likes and Dislikes of Web Development

By | web development | No Comments

Each and every day, from Utah to the farthest reaches of the East Coast, millions of Americans use the Internet. Because of this, it’s nearly impossible to avoid coming into contact with a website or two on some sort of a regular basis.

Some are great, and – unfortunately – some are not so great. That said, as far as web development is concerned, people’s preferences are often different from what web developers think their respective audiences want.