Are Keyword Rankings Still Relevant?
As marketers, we used to make many decisions based on keyword rankings and, collectively, billions of dollars are spent on SEO and digital advertising based on them. You may want to rethink this strategy!
Slowly but surely, changes made – most notably by Google – disrupted how we use keyword rankings. As you might have noticed, Google analytics provides less visibility to results nowadays. We now get more “not provided” results regarding keywords which is due to their shift to secure searches. Google also reports keyword search rankings using ranges of numbers (between 10,000 and 20,000, for example) as opposed to providing a single number. This makes it harder to compare the effectiveness of different keywords and to plan a strategy accordingly.
The most recent and most interesting changes that make keyword data inaccurate and almost useless, are related to other variables Goggle is taking into consideration when displaying results in response to users’ searches. To provide better and more relevant search results personalized for each user, Google takes into consideration the user’s own past search history, the device they’re using to search, and their location at the time of the search.
For example, the search results using the keywords ’Thai Restaurant’ might yield a completely different list when you initiate the search while sitting in your office using your desktop, as opposed to driving around in your neighborhood using your smartphone. If you’ve been searching for Japanese and Chinese restaurants recently, the results you’d see could be different still!
The point is, that the approach of depending (mostly) on keyword rankings to determine SEO strategy and advertising budgets has become obsolete and unreliable. This is not to say that we should ignore keyword rankings all together… we should still examine be aware of keyword rankings to gain general insights, but we should not rely on them solely.
So, in a way, it is back to basics… for best results, make sure to have good content that people want to read and see. As a matter of strategy planning, don’t fret over the traffic to a single page (or one page at a time) and ‘blame’ the keywords. Consider cumulative traffic to pages with similar or related content, and make your decisions based on that.
Duke Merhavy, MBA, Ph.D.
President & Chief Marketing Officer
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Top 5 Reasons to Exhibit at Trade Shows
By Anna Kunz, Manager of Marketing Services at Fractional CMO & Marketing
Attending trade shows allows your company, whether big or small, to build a powerful marketing platform. Many businesses are put off by the expense of exhibiting at a trade show. After all, developing a great trade show exhibit, training your staff members, and traveling to the event requires an investment. Yet, a trade show can be a very smart decision, spearheading the way to building a more recognized brand and generate leads. Here are five valuable reasons to consider exhibiting in trade shows.
Discover Fresh Trends
Trade shows are a great place to learn about new trends, products, and resources. In addition, shows are an excellent opportunity to gain knowledge about your competition. Take advantage of the fact that their business information will be easily accessible, use this material to compare and assess strengths and weaknesses. See what your company needs to change or accomplish right now to meet your marketing goals. Learn about what trends are hot or what is fading. Whether you are attending, or participating, this experience will stimulate innovative ideas and creative ways to support your business to improve sales.
Lead Generation
Generate leads and identify potential customers. During the show, collect business cards, obtain an event directory, and use all other outlets provided to create a list of contacts to reach out to and follow up with on inquiries. You may want to consider offering show attendees a special deal. Take advantage of networking events and surveys that only take place at trade shows to help expose you and your brand to new people, new business, and new ways for your business to succeed.
Create Relationships
Trade shows offer the perfect platform to meet other businesses and form mutually beneficial alliances both vertically in the channel and with your pears. In addition, members of the press frequently attend trade shows and interview exhibitors, allowing you an opportunity to stand out and make a powerful impression on their audience.
Become Educated
Utilize all the resources trade shows offer, including workshops and classes. Ask questions and get answers instantly, even from other vendors or retailers. Trade shows allow for rapid communication and education.
Boost Moral
Working at an exhibitor booth is hard work. However, trade shows and the venues they are in, often include fun activities during off times. Most employees perceive working at a trade show a morale-booster for a host of reasons. Send your best employees (preferably, those in a sales capacity) to the trade show and allow them to have fun, in addition to working the booth.
Each year, trade shows offer the opportunity for buyers and sellers to meet face-to-face. In today’s world of digital communications there are fewer and fewer opportunities for buyers and sellers to interact in person – Trade shows are one of the better places to do so!
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