Monday, February 29, 2016

Google Cans Right-Side Ads & More Top Stories from February

When Google quietly decided to kill off ads on the right-hand side of its results pages earlier this month, it signaled one of the biggest changes to the SERP since AdWords first launched 16 years ago. Marketers the world over couldn’t believe Google would make such a bold change to such a familiar part of the digital landscape – but it did, and things will never be the same again.

Best of the WordStream blog February 2016

Of course, there was much more going on in the world of search besides Google’s historic decision to can right-side ads from the SERP, but it’s all too easy to miss what’s going on in the industry when you’re in the trenches. Check out the most popular posts from the WordStream blog from this month, and see what else proved popular with our readers in February.

1. Google Kills Off Right-Side Ads: What You Need to Know

Predictably, Larry’s analysis of Google’s decision to scrap ads on the right-hand side of the SERP was our most popular post of the month. In case you’re not sure of why Google chose to do this, or what it means for your campaigns, Larry has got you covered.

2. Cracking the Code on Gmail Ads: My 7 Best Tips

Gmail Ads can be remarkably powerful, but to many marketers, they remain somewhat mysterious. If you’re on the fence about whether to get started with Gmail Ads, Larry provides you with a ton of helpful information on why you should, as well as seven actionable tips on how to get the most out of this powerful ad format in our second-most popular post from February.

3. 25 Ways to Increase Sales Online

Making more online sales is the primary goal of countless businesses – and not just ecommerce companies, either. Despite the apparent simplicity of this goal, making more online sales can be much harder than it sounds. In our third-most popular post of this month, I offer 25 steps you can take immediately to increase sales online.  

4. The New Google SERP: 3 Changes & 3 Things That Haven’t Changed… Yet

The almost-overnight disappearance of ads from the right-hand side of the SERP was, understandably, major news in search. However, there’s more to the situation than meets the eye, and WordStream’s resident data scientist Mark Irvine went in search of answers. In this fascinating post, Mark dives deep into the data behind the restructuring to examine why this is such big news for digital marketers.

5. 10 Advertising Mistakes That Will Automatically Destroy Your Credibility

Erin certainly doesn’t pull any punches in our fifth-most popular post from February. Credibility is a precious commodity in today’s digital marketplace, and even simple, innocuous mistakes can ruin everything. If you’re making any of the mistakes in Erin’s list, you need to fix it – right now – or you could suffer much greater losses than a decline in traffic.

6. How to REALLY Run a Twitter Lead Generation Campaign

If you’re a regular reader of the WordStream blog, you’ll know that we’re firm believers in the power of Twitter as a lead-generation tool. In this post, Larry offers even more advice on how to get the most out of Twitter for lead gen, and offers tons of actionable strategies you can implement in your campaigns right away to start seeing more leads.

7. 10 Stats That Will Make You Rethink Marketing to Millennials

Despite being among the most highly coveted of marketing demographics, Millennials have a bad rep these days. In this post, Erin offers 10 fascinating statistics about marketing to this notoriously finicky demographic, and does so in a way that doesn’t reduce Millennials to the whiny, precocious snowflakes they’re often portrayed to be in the mainstream media. If your products are aimed at a Millennial audience, you need to read this post.

8. Gmail Ads Get a Facelift!

Personally, I can’t stand Gmail Ads. They can be highly effective, but my inbox is pretty much the last place I want to see any advertising (of course, I use an ad blocker, so I never see them anyway). Perhaps realizing that many people feel similarly, Google decided to give Gmail Ads a visual overhaul earlier this month. In this post, Cleo Hage tells you everything you need to know about the changes, and why they’re a good thing for advertisers.

9. How to Use AdWords Search Partner Data to Improve Your Campaigns

Data from Google’s Search Partners can be really useful, but many advertisers choose to omit or overlook it when setting up their campaigns. In this guest post, Tom Whiley of Hallam Internet explains why Google Search Partner data can be so useful, and how you can use it in your own campaigns.

10.  Do You Know Who Your Competitors Are? The 5 W’s of PPC Competitor Analysis

At WordStream, we often extol the virtues of paying close attention to what your competition is doing – but do you know who your competitors really are? In the final post of this month’s round-up, Maddie Cary of Seattle’s Point It Digital Marketing offers solid tips and some fascinating data on how you can more accurately identify who your competitors are, and figure out what they’re up to.

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