Weekly Reading Picks| Volume 32

bobzhang

6 years ago

Bob’s Weekly Reading Picks

2019.8.18 volume 32

Content

1.Less than Half of Google Searches Now Result in a Click
2.How to Become an SEO Expert: The Definitive Guide
3.10 Ebooks About SEO You Should Download & Read Now
4.Giving Assistant on Bringing Altruism to the World of Cashback
5.The Ultimate Guide to Landing Pages
6.The Ultimate Guide to Marketing Trends in 2019
7.10 Problems Plaguing Influencer Marketing

1.Less than Half of Google Searches Now Result in a Click by Sparktoro

Three trends

The percent of searches available as organic traffic from Google is steadily declining, especially on mobile.
Paid clicks tend to increase whenever Google makes changes to how those results are displayed, then slowly decline as searchers get more familiar with spotting and avoiding them.
Google’s ongoing attempts to answer more searches without a click to any results OR a click to Google’s own properties are both proving successful. As a result, zero-click searches, and clicks that bring searchers to a Google-owned site keep rising.

What to do?

Find ways to get value from zero-click searches
Seek out keywords whose results have higher CTR opportunity
Get your content optimized on Google’s own properties (YouTube, Maps, Images, AMP, Knowledge Panels, etc.)
Hope that the recently opened investigations into Google’s anti-competitive behavior yield results (either findings that this behavior isn’t anti-competitive, or consequences that return market opportunity)

More Info

2.How to Become an SEO Expert: The Definitive Guide

CHAPTER 1: Learn SEO Essentials

Understand The Basics of HTML

How Search Engines Work

Important Search Engine Ranking Factors
Relevancy, Authority, Quality

CHAPTER 2: Master The 5 Keys of SEO

Finding and Choosing Keywords
Keyword research

Content Marketing
Beginner’s Guide to Content Marketing from Moz

Optimizing Content

Technical Optimization

Link Building

CHAPTER 3: Put SEO Into Practice

Work On Your Own Website

Take On Clients

Work Somewhere

CHAPTER 4: Test and Learn

Here are some relatively easy things to test:

Title tags (keyword optimization)
Title tags (organic CTR optimization)
Content formats (list posts vs. how-to posts)
Content lengths
Internal linking
External linking

CHAPTER 5: Implement Advanced SEO Strategies

Analytics

SEO Audits

SEO audit tutorial

User Experience

Tools

SEO software: SEO Marketing Hub
mega list of SEO tools

Local SEO

video by Sam Oh

Competitor Analysis

a starter guide to reverse engineering

International SEO

international SEO guide from Moz

Mobile Optimization

CHAPTER 6: Scale Your SEO Efforts

Scaling SEO Site Audits

Scaling Content

Scaling Link Building and Outreach

CHAPTER 7: Stay Current With Emerging Trends

Voice Search

Video SEO

Google Lens

Featured Snippet Optimization

User Intent

BobzNotes:

3.10 Ebooks About SEO You Should Download & Read Now

SEO for Beginners: An Introduction to SEO Basics
Search Engine Optimization All-in-One For Dummies
Advanced Technical SEO: A Complete Guide
Your Definitive Guide to Ecommerce Marketing in 2019
The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization
A Guide to Essential SEO Tools for Agencies
Local SEO: The Definitive Guide to Improve Your Local Search Rankings
The Complete Guide to On-Page SEO
Link Building for Beginners: How to Get Started
Technical SEO for Web Developers

More: Search Engine Journal’s Ebook Library

4.Giving Assistant on Bringing Altruism to the World of Cashback

Giving Assistant often gets grouped into the cashback and coupons categories but your model is quite different. Tell us about Giving Assistant and how it works.

LM: We work with over 1.5 million nonprofits in the US. We are giving shoppers the essential tools so they can buy the product they love, save some money, and also donate to a nonprofit if they want to.

We have three different funnels, which are the shoppers on the site, brands, and nonprofits.

Can you tell us a little bit more about your giving back programs and how Giving Assistant works with nonprofits?

LM: To a nonprofit, we are a fundraising platform. They look at us as a way to raise donations for their site.

There is another level of personal innovation on the site.

What do you think motivates advertisers to work with you?

LM: We have already developed something that the younger market is asking for. The next generation of purchasers has shown a 50% increase to want to shop for a cause.

We also work with a lot of brands that already have giveback programs and we will find ways we can tie that messaging in together.

How does Giving Assistant fit in with the expansion that is going on in the partnerships and affiliate industry? What can Giving Assistant bring to an advertiser that is really unique?

LM: Given the fact it is loyalty, the biggest differentiator is that we can lift up the brand and talk about something specific that’s important to the brand.

Loyalty isn’t just about savings anymore – it’s about changing the market and working with brands to make that impact. We need to educate the shopper on the brand rather than just pushing a product, sale or promotion.

Giving Assistant is a Certified B Corporation. Can you explain what that means, and how it ties back to your mission?

LM: Certified B Corporation is similar to fair trade – everything we do today is putting a positive impact on tomorrow.

Giving Assistant is not only is a platform giving people a space to shop, save and donate but as employees, we volunteer and work in a sustainable building, for example.

Do you have any parting advice for brands that are considering cause marketing?

LM: It is important to remember not to force someone into something. You should educate them and let them have the experience the way they want to. It all comes back to personalisation and ensuring the person gets the message the way that consumer wants.

5.The Ultimate Guide to Landing Pages

Landing Page Best Practices

Craft a benefit-focused headline
Choose an image that illustrates the offer
Write compelling copy that guides your visitor to the desired action
Include your lead form above the fold
Add a clear and standout call-to-action
Give away a relevant offer
Only ask for what you need
Remove all navigation
Make your page responsive
Optimize for search
Remember to use a thank you page

How to Design Your Landing Page

Landing Page Structure

Headline that grabs the visitors attention
Relevant Image that is relevant to your audience
Lead Form that sits above the fold to capture visitors’ information
CTA that is action-oriented and compelling
Copy/Description that informs and entices your visitor to complete your form

A/B Testing

Headline copy
Image
CTA color
Click triggers
Copy on the page
Lead form length and fields

More: Types of Landing Pages

6.The Ultimate Guide to Marketing Trends in 2019

General marketing trends
Content marketing trends (video, native)
Social media marketing trends (Instagram, Facebook, Influencer)
SEO marketing trends (voice search, mobile)
Technology marketing trends (AI, chatbot)
Privacy marketing trends (GDPR)

7.10 Problems Plaguing Influencer Marketing

Please note it’s written on NOVEMBER 12, 2018

#1: The Practice is Far Too Narrowly Defined
#2: Follower Counts + Keywords Are a Terrible Way to Select Influencers
#3: Measuring ROI is Remarkably Difficult
#4: Likes, Comments, Impressions & Website Visits Are Mediocre Measures of Impact
#5: Variance of Results is Too High
#6: Discovery of Sources of Influence is Manual & Difficult
#7: Transparency, Authenticity, and Integrity of Influencers
#8: The Power of the Networks
#9: Fake Followers, Fake Influencers, and Fake Numbers
#10: Over-Abundance of Some Types of Influencers; Almost Nothing Anywhere Else