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Tag: paid search
A Look at Paid Search Advertising in the Era of Voice Search
Have you had the pleasure of listening to your friends or coworkers shout commands into Amazon’s Echo device powered by Alexa yet?
“Alexa, play Passionfruit by Drake.”
Even if you don’t own an Alexa-enabled device, chances are you’ve heard similar commands. Maybe you’ve even heard the word “Alexa” so much that you can’t bear to hear it again.
Whatever the case, we’re now in the middle of an era where voice search has become a reality. Digital assistants like Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant are completely changing the way we search.
The benefits of voice search are tangible and easy to see, but what does the rise of voice search mean for brands and advertisers? Or, more specifically, how will marketers need to adapt to create ads in the era of voice search?
Natural Language Processing has transformed search
With the advent of better Natural Language Processing (NLP) – technology able to recognize conversational language – marketers are faced with an interesting quandary: Produce relevant results, or get left behind.
The evolution of NLP has made it so that searchers are no longer bound by a keyboard, but rather, are able to articulate exactly what they’re looking for without having to repeat specific words to get the results they need.
And it’s only going to evolve more and more. By 2021, it’s estimated that close to two billion people worldwide will be actively using digital assistants like Alexa, Cortana and Google Assistant.
Just think of where we’re already at with voice search and the devices they power:
- Voice-activated remotes like Roku and Comcast
- Voice-activated assistants like Cortana in Nissan vehicles
- Voice-activated Google searches on mobile phones
This trend is only going to continue. Expect more and more internet of things (IoT) integration into our lives, especially when driverless cars start becoming more ubiquitous.
The current state of paid search
As marketers, we’re well-versed in how paid search ads operate — we create ads that entice people to click on them and, hopefully, convert. Generally, we know there are two specific things we can work on to improve ads if they’re not converting – revising ad copy and updating images. The general structure of text ads hasn’t changed for years. The specific mechanisms (radio, billboards, TV, internet, etc.) may have changed a great deal, but the format basically stayed the same… until now.
Incorporating ads into voice search
“Marketers need to think about screenless advertising and playing in a world where they can create closer connections because customers are actually speaking to [the company].”
Amazon has already been pushing customers to use Alexa to make purchases with voice commands. This push aligns with the direction Amazon has been moving in for awhile – trying to remove every barrier standing between their customers and a purchase (think of those Dash buttons that you simply need to push a button to place an order).
What role will ads play in this type of purchase flow?
Using Amazon’s Alexa as a model, let’s try and establish what future voice search ads might look like.
The most obvious difference between voice search and conventional search engines is that users won’t always be able to see search results, which may act as a barrier to conversion. (Note: Amazon recently unveiled the Echo Show, which provides a 7-inch touchscreen as part of its offering. That way, you have all the same flexibility you have with the voice search, but a visual component as well.)
When a consumer performs a voice search, the command is probably going to be more specific, and more conversational, since we can’t instantly see what the ad says to confirm before purchase. So, in order to effectively serve ads that match searcher’s voice commands, marketers need craft ads that reflect the change in search behavior.
How do we do that?
Companies like Microsoft are already betting on a future of “screenless advertising” by shifting their focus from making ads that are just visually appealing to users.
“While that effort and quest isn’t going to go away, screenless advertising will be an important complement to this, as people and consumers start speaking to their personal assistants in a variety of physical environments, but mostly while they are on the go,” said Rik van der Kooi, Microsoft’s VP of Advertising Sales and Marketing, in an interview with AdExchanger.
“Marketers need to think about screenless advertising and playing in a world where they can create closer connections because customers are actually speaking to [the company].”
Where do we go from here?
For marketers, this is an exciting shift, because it allows us to deliver more relevant messages and offers to our customers. Instead of using lots of text to produce ads that might not produce conversions, we can begin to shift towards creating ads that produce meaningful connections to our customers and give them the things that they’re looking for.
Ultimately, that’s how we can embrace voice search as a means of delivering exactly what our customers want.
Dominate Google’s Search Results by Following These 3 Steps
Google’s search engine results page (SERP) layout routinely adapts as Google tests new features and updates ranking factors. The protean approach has given the search engine a variety of result types available for any given search. For instance, a search for “pizza” may result in a SERP consisting of a paid ad for a nearby pizza restaurant, a map pack of local pizza restaurants, organic results for websites with pizza recipes and a knowledge panel on the history of pizza.
Google’s collage of search result options has made it essential for brands to embrace a variety of tactics to increase visibility in search results. Local listings, organic results and paid ads are different entities but they have the same end goal and share ranking factors in Google’s algorithm. Brands looking to boost search visibility should avoid treating them as separate campaigns and embrace a holistic strategy that maximizes the potential of each tactic.
No. 1: Local search engine optimization (SEO)
Local SEO is the foundation of a digital strategy aimed at increasing visibility. The main goal of local SEO is to make sure a brand’s location information is accurate and consistent across the web. This includes accurate listings on local directory sites, data aggregators and search engines, as well as consistent information on the brand’s website.
Accurate and consistent business information is one of the most important ranking factors in Google’s search algorithm. Google uses citations (i.e., mentions of the local business information) to reinforce the legitimacy of a brand’s location information. Google also checks the citation information against the location information on the brand’s website, so it’s important to make sure all location data matches.
No. 2: Organic SEO
If local SEO is the foundation needed to increase search visibility, then organic SEO is definitely the backbone. Local SEO establishes relevancy and legitimacy to Google, but it doesn’t cover all the core aspects of organic SEO like technical SEO and content optimization.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO is the behind-the-scenes optimizations like schema markup, metadata and site structure. Optimizing technical site elements around keywords related to your services or products will help search engines understand your site’s content and increase organic rankings for keywords related to your industry.
Content optimization
Content optimization is the public-facing elements like blog posts, location pages and landing pages. Producing unique content that speaks to your business and naturally includes keywords will also help with organic rankings as Google can read and interpret content. Google also takes into consideration how often you publish new content, so producing a steady stream of fresh material is crucial for remaining relevant.
Local and organic SEO go hand-in-hand by influencing one another and sharing many of the same ranking factors. A perfect example of this is publishing unique content on each location page of a brand’s website. This can help raise the domain authority of the website, which is one of the most important ranking factors for both organic results and local listings.
No. 3: Paid search ads
The last piece of SERP real estate to tackle on Google is paid search ads. Ads can appear at the top and bottom of the search results on any device. Some ad types are only available to certain industries that allow for additional features. One example is Google shopping ads, which provide users detailed information about products they can purchase online.
Paid search and SEO strategy should align as there’s a lot of overlap between the two. This means optimizing for similar keywords and focusing campaigns on the same products and services. One way to make the two strategies work together is by publishing unique content on each paid search landing page on your website. This should increase your paid search campaign’s quality score, which will lead to lower costs per click on your ads while also adding fresh content to your website and boosting organic visibility.
Bringing it all together
Unified management allows for deeper insights in terms of reporting and attribution. This allows you to provide a holistic view of your digital campaigns and determine:
- Which strategies are producing the most traffic
- Which campaigns are performing the best
- Which campaigns or campaign tactics need attention
If you are looking to increase visibility on Google, devising a strategy that includes local SEO, organic SEO and paid search is a great place to start. For more information on increasing your visibility on Google, contact us today.