How to Build a Marketing Technology Stack That'll Grow With You

Dear Marketing ops professionals, what will your marketing team look like six months from now? Or a year from now? How many people will you add? What new tools, systems, and data will you need?

There are a lot of potential questions you can ponder about the future of your business but there is one certainty you'll be dealing with: more. More data, more people, more process, more complex problems, and more questions around security and data privacy.

As your team and business scales, it’s important to incorporate marketing technology into your day to day processes. You’ll want to use tools that make your today processes easier, and will stay with you as you grow your business.

How is technology used in marketing?

Technology is used by marketers to execute their marketing campaigns. Marketers will use software that helps with task automation and data collection so they can get insights related to campaign activity and their impact on customers. 

For example, say that your team spends a significant amount of time emailing customers. The action feels repetitive, and it’s keeping people away from more pressing assignments. You may choose to utilize an email automation software, so less time is spent sending emails. You also want the software you use to track data related to those emails, so you gain an understanding of how your users interact with them. 

In brief, marketers use technology to make their jobs easier, and to understand their levels of success. The technology that marketers then choose to use to be successful in their marketing campaigns is known as their marketing tech stack.

What is a marketing tech stack?

As outlined above, a marketing tech stack is the tools that marketers use to execute elements of their marketing campaigns, from lead generation to customer satisfaction. There are hundreds of different tools to choose from when creating your marketing tech stack — 8,000 to be exact. 

At HubSpot, our Marketing Hub is an all-in-one platform that marketers can use to execute their campaigns. While this is not it’s only function, the software comes with a variety of tools to choose from, including Search Engine Optimization. The SEO tools bundle will assist you in optimizing your site for SEO rankings with keyword research tools, as well as as-you-type optimization advice while you're creating content.

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Ultimately, the technology you choose is meant to help you execute your campaigns from start to finish. 

Your Marketing Technology Roadmap

The reality is that there is no out-of-the-box method that will help you prepare for more. Your company is unique, and your perfect marketing stack is not going to look exactly like anyone else's. This is the time for choosing the right tech tools for your team, setting them up in a way that your future team can use and understand.

All of this, while ensuring a positive return on your marketing investment. (What could go wrong, right?)

We've been there, too. HubSpot's marketing operations team is all too familiar with the challenge of more, having tripled the size of our marketing team in just three years.

We've learned a lot along the way — so we gathered six insights from HubSpot's resident ops experts to ask what they wish they would have known when growing HubSpot's own marketing tech stack.

1. Keep systems simple.

Have you heard of the "keep it simple, silly" (KISS) principle? The term, originally coined by an aeronautical engineer in the US Navy, states that simplicity guarantees the greatest levels of user acceptance and interaction.

The term is used often in software design, for example, where function and instruction creep can make products unmanageable over time.

How do you prevent this happening in your own company as it continues to grow? Put your current strategy down on paper, and review the value of every stage of your process with your leadership team. Consider what processes could be done more efficiently, and what could be eliminated altogether.

"The #1 driver of complex business systems is complex business rules," says HubSpot Marketing Operations Manager Mark Metcoff. "If you can simplify your go-to-market strategy as much as possible, then regardless of how you structure your systems, you'll be heading in the right direction."

2. Aim for medium-term solutions.

In an ideal world, every decision you make about your tech stack today will work seamlessly for your team for years to come.

In reality, though, you are probably going to change systems a dozen times over the next few years if you continue to scale. You shouldn't worry about picking your forever tech, but do not settle for a tool that will become obsolete in 6 months, either.

"Aim for the medium-term," Metcoff suggests. "The costs of switching systems has never been lower, thanks to the emergence of more persistent datastores like customer data platforms that can under-lie front-office facing systems, and iPaaS solutions that allow you to integrate front-office providers for easy data transfer."

3. Strategy first, technology second.

As companies grow, it can be tempting to rely on technology to support processes that are still evolving. Usually, this happens when a team adopts powerful tools that have a lot of potential, and they try to mold their systems around it.

HubSpot's marketing operations team has made this mistake, too, and with an important takeaway: What sets apart truly powerful tech stacks isn't just about the technology.

"The tools themselves won't make you successful but rather how you use them," explains Kerri Harrington, HubSpot Marketing Ops Analyst.

Harrington has worked closely with HubSpot Partners, consulting many who were in the midst of building their tech stacks. She taught them to think about their tech stack not as the powerhouse behind their systems, but a vehicle to efficiently and effectively execute their strategy.

If you are still developing your strategy, she says, try drawing out and visualizing your tech stack. This gives you an opportunity to think critically about each tool, the purpose it serves, and where there is any overlap or duplication in your tools. Check out the "Stackies" competition for inspiration.

4. Document everything, and document it well.

Imagine opening your spice cabinet, ready to cook up a chicken curry, to find that nothing in the cabinet is labeled. Every spice and herb is in the same colored jar, with no ingredient label or expiration date.

Barring a noteworthy sense of smell, this project would not be very easy or enjoyable.

This is what it's like to step into a new role only to realize that over the years, your new team's processes and database have not been properly documented. This is common among growing companies, because as your database grows and your systems evolve, it's easy to end up with a lot of clutter, data integrity issues, and confusion.

Many will skip right over this — who likes to document? Who has the time to 'waste' a day of innovation to do seemingly admin work? We get it — But for the sake of your future team (and your future sanity), make sure you take the time to lay down the right foundation for data architecture.

"I can't tell you how many times we have to review the history of a change or 'walk through' the last couple of years on a topic," says Maggie Butler, Senior Marketing Enablement Manager. "It gets really, really hard if no one has documented anything."

One incredibly valuable resource HubSpot had during one of its growth spurts, she says, was the documentation built by our engineers that detailed in simple language how the logic and code worked. Aim for this level of documentation to be comprehensive across all applications, and easily accessible for everyone on your team.

In terms of Marketing, our Lead Management tool embodies the ‘document everything’ mantra. The tool can be used to create a database of all customer information, where you can view chronological timelines of every interaction customers have had with you. 

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5. Point solutions serve a purpose.

A point solution is a product or service that addresses one very specific need in a marketing organization.Sometimes, you just need to a piece of software to do a specific thing really, really well. There's no shame in it.

PieSync is a great example of this. If you use multiple different apps to execute your marketing strategy, keeping track of customer data from each app can be a tedious process. PieSync can be integrated with your CRM to streamline this process by syncing customer data from your favorite apps into one up-to-date database.

But keep in mind that every piece you do add to your infrastructure comes with its own compliance risks, technical challenges, maintenance and upkeep, and general administration.

"Also look closely at whether or not it needs to be integrated into your tech stack," explains Metcoff. "Sometimes point solutions work just fine in a silo."

If you have any point solutions in your current stack, think about how it fits into the bigger picture: how does it interact with the rest of your technologies, and what do you need to do to keep it running?

6. Aim for ease of use, but don't sacrifice the necessities.

There are a lot of options out there — so don't settle for less than what you need. At the end of the day, you need to choose a system that's easy for your team to pick up and use, but still has the power and flexibility you need to get things done.

The challenge with today's marketing automation tools is that they offer either enterprise-grade power or consumer-grade ease-of-use, but never both. As a result, many still go with the safe bet — overpriced, overly complicated, and under-utilized tools — which translates to spending more time on systems than on your customers.

With all of the tools available these days, there is no need to use clunky, complex, and time-consuming legacy software. We believe you shouldn't have to sacrifice productivity to get power, because the best tools combine both power and ease-of-use. When you focus on delighting your customers and creating great experiences instead of managing your software, you will grow better.

More can be a good thing.

Adding more can be terrifying, but more, more means you're growing. And it's never been a better time to be a marketing ops professional. With the wealth of powerful technology now available, it's easier than ever to grow your tech stack with a smart ops leader and the right strategy in place.

We believe this is paramount for any growing business, which is why you should expect more out of your marketing software and from the tech stack you build with it — your future team will thank you.

How to Build a Marketing Technology Stack That'll Grow With You was originally posted by Local Sign Company Irvine, Ca. https://goo.gl/4NmUQV https://goo.gl/bQ1zHR http://www.pearltrees.com/anaheimsigns

Types of Blogs that Make Money in 2020

Blogging is an attractive activity because it can be a creative outlet for sharing your unique perspective with the world. Best of all, the opportunities are endless.

At the same time, you want to add value for your readers (and maybe even turn your passion into income). 

In this post, we lay out how to monetize a blog and provide examples of the most popular (and lucrative) types of blogs, all with the goal of helping you find inspiration as you get started with your own blog.

How Do Blogs Make Money?

Line any labor of love, blogging is still labor. Good news is that there are a number of ways to make money from that labor, including: 

• Advertising - Advertising networks such as Google AdSense will pay to show ads to your visitors. You get paid a commission for the clicks you earn. 
• Affiliate Marketing - You can get paid to promote products to your audience by joining an affiliate program such as Amazon Associates. You earn a commission from sales generated by your blog. 
• Lead/Demand Generation - You can always use your blog to promote your own business whether you provide a service, run an ecommerce store, sell digital products such as online courses, or run a subscription/ content model for exclusive content. 

Keep in mind, though, that none of these can work if you don't first create valuable content that attracts an audience. The last thing you need is to make your blog a billboard in the middle of a desert. 

With that said, there are some popular niches that do really well with blog monetization when implemented effectively.

1. Fashion

In this category, readers can find posts like fashion obsessions, back to school looks, makeup tutorials, and more. A common practice is to include sponsorships, like the one shown below with Vooray. The two brands collaborated on a gym bag in 2017, releasing it on the LSF blog and website:

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With brand partnerships, companies usually seek out heavy hitters in their industry and offer the brand the ability to design a product exclusively for base pay and a percentage of the profits. And, while this happens a lot in the beauty industry, it's definitely not an industry-specific idea.

2. Food

As a self-proclaimed foodie, food blogs are my favorite types of blog. They usually follow a similar content format of categorically-organized recipes. Some have videos to pair with those recipes, as well as social media channels that all connect to the blog in some way.

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Above is an example of one of my favorite food blogs, Minimalist Baker. Note how the title of the post contains information that might pull a foodie in — "5 minutes," and "plant-based". This recipe will appeal to anyone who searches for easy, no-fuss cooking.

Minimalist Baker provides this value to attract readers, and they use affiliate links to monetize their blog.

3. Sports

Sports blogs exist for every type of sport imaginable — even squash. If you have a passion for athletics and love writing, this may be the perfect intersection for you. From covering games to giving player insights, sports blogs are an important source for fans to catch up on what they missed.

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Like this screengrab from ESPN, sports blogs also report on news going on in the industry — these two stories are about the Super Bowl. So if you're thinking about doing a sports blog, you have options. You can either focus on a specific sport, or take a more holistic approach, like ESPN.

ESPN uses their website and blog as a companion for their media presence, to attract and retain viewers, but other sports blogs use banner advertising to monetize the traffic they earn.

4. Travel

If you love to go on trips and capture the moments, a travel blog might be right up your alley. There's something about travel blogs that are so relaxing, in my opinion — seeing pictures of gorgeous destinations is always a treat. That's why, if you're thinking of launching a travel blog, you might want to invest in a nice camera.

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For instance, look at this vibrant, colorful photo of the Charles River. (I'm probably a little biased, considering I live in Boston and commute over this river daily). To rank highly on the SERPs, you'll want to have high-quality images so travel enthusiasts are compelled to view your posts.

Travel blogs can use a number of avenues to generate income. Most commonly seen are banner ads, native ads, sponsored posts, and affiliate links for products such as suitcases or airline tickets.

5. Lifestyle

Lifestyle blogs are probably the most versatile of blog types. Aptly named, lifestyle blogs are about a person's life. What they like to do, where they like to eat and shop … think of a lifestyle blog as a website for influencers. Check out this lifestyle blog, Love Taza, as an example:

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A number of influencers use blogs as a way to market themselves and build a more solid following. Oftentimes, businesses will look for an influencers' blog or website to find out more information on them (as well as contact information) if they're interested in cultivating a partnership. If you're interested in becoming an influencer or simply want to share more of your life with friends and family, this might be the right blog for you.

You can monetize a lifestyle blog with affiliate links, native ads, and sponsored posts. Banner ads for ad networks also work well here.

6. Parenting

This is another guilty pleasure blog type of mine, mostly because parenting blogs have incredible interior decorating going on (another blog type, FYI). Parenting blogs usually give advice and share relatable stories to other parents, or those expecting.

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Parenting blogs can be a great resource to new parents, as well as a way to branch out into other outlets. Plenty of parenting blogs have added a YouTube channel to keep content fresh, more engaging, and expand into new target markets For instance, Happily Eva After, the parenting blog shown above, now has a thriving YouTube channel.

Parenting comes with a lot of opportunity for product purchases, so the opportunities for monetization are limitless.

7. Gaming

Gaming has turned into an industry that now typically happens online. Between downloadable content (DLCs) and games that depend on an internet connection, it's hard to be a gamer if you're not online. Because of that, gaming blogs are extremely popular.

From game announcements to corporate sponsorships, gaming blogs can go a couple of different ways. They can include game reviews, walkthroughs, cheat codes, or content codes. Since gaming YouTube channels attract a lot of fans, this type of blog can also grow into a YouTube channel all its own. Additionally, it's a good space for gamers to connect with each other, especially if you create opportunities for your readers to engage (like in the comments section of your blog).

You can monetize the blog with banner ads, or you can use the blog to drive demand for streaming channel where more views mean more money.

8. B2B/Marketing

You've probably guessed — this blog that you're currently reading is an example of the B2B/Marketing category. Because we offer marketing products as part of our CRM platform, we use our blog to help millions grow better, whether they use our products or not. 

By creating content for marketers, a marketing blog can attract marketers, and that's the target audience for a marketing software company. By providing value, you can increase your trust and authority in the industry, which can help the positioning of your goods or services with that demographic.

I want to make it clear that marketing isn't the only industry represented by B2B blogs. Instead, it's more of an example of the type of B2B blogs you can find out there.

If you're in a different industry, you can definitely use that as a cross-section for a B2B blog. For more information about B2B marketing and how a blog would look in that industry, check out our ultimate guide here.

9. Heath and Fitness

You may have heard of "Fitstagrams" (Instagram accounts dedicated to fitness journeys), but fitness blogs are also a dime and a dozen. These blogs recommend workout tips, healthy recipes, and sometimes offer full workout plans in a "How-to" format, like this post from Nerd Fitness.

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Fitness blogs can be a great companion to those looking to embark on their fitness journey. They're usually geared towards a holistic view on healthy living in general, not just working out. Readers might be interested on perfecting their fitness routine, finding new ways to make healthy eating exciting, or looking for motivation to stick to their fitness lifestyle.

This is not an expansive list. If you have an idea, see what can come of it. The good thing about blogs is that you can take it wherever you want, and if the content is compelling for a certain readership, money and notoriety comes after.

Here are some examples of high-grossing blogs and the categories they're in.

1. Love Sweat Fitness

Fitness blog Love Sweat Fitness, started by Katie Dunlap, is an expansive fitness blog offering content ranging from workouts, healthy recipes, and more. The blog pulls in over 7,000 organic (search) visits per month, and she uses her content to also promote the products in her ecommerce store.

2. Grammarly

Grammarly is a niche blog that offers writing tips, articles on grammar, and even advice for writing projects such as resumes, professional communication, and thesis papers. Their mission is "To improve lives by improving communication," and their helpful content generates over 14 million organic visits per month. They use the brand awareness generated by this visibility to promote their grammar app and extension, which has a free version and a premium (paid) version.

3. PC Gamer

PC Gamer is a blog that provides reviews, demos, and news updates on gaming and gamer tech. Their content generates over 13 million organic visits per month, and they monetize this traffic with affiliate links.

For example, this is a post about the best personal computers to buy for gaming, updated for 2020. The post brings readers suggestions about which computers are best for PC gaming, and nearly every product has an Amazon link.

Every time a user clicks on the Amazon link, the website earns a profit, as well as Amazon, which is one way the website can fund its expansive listicles.

4. Apartment Therapy

Apartment Therapy is a lifestyle blog that highlights interior design and home living topics, covering everything from trendy furniture to cleaning hacks and even money matters. It generates more than 1.6 million organic visits per month. It monetizes this traffic with sponsored posts (like the one below), banner ads, and affiliate links.

5. PS I'm on my way

PS I'm on my way is a travel blog run by Trisha Velarmino and as she travels the world and learns about other cultures. Her content earns over 1,400 organic visits per month (and more from social media), and she's been featured on a number of publications from Cosmo to Tripadvisor. She monetizes her blog by offering travel coaching services and digital courses. In addition, the sidebar on her blog includes banner ads.

6. Lauren Conrad

Lauren Conrad's blog is a lifestyle and fashion blog, and primarily reports on trends and product launches, bringing in more than 57,000 organic visits per month. Lauren Conrad is considered an influencer, and this status helps her earn partnerships to monetize her content.

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This piece highlights another fashion influencer, Jessi Burrone, the model for the photos in this post. LC and Burrone partner together on numerous shoots for the website.

 If seen sporting a brand's fashion, like Burrone is (she's wearing LC clothes in the photos), some followers might see that and say to themselves, "Well, now I need this sweater if Jessi has it."

7. Nerdwallet

Nerdwallet is an app for comparing credit cards and making smart money moves. Pretty much their whole business model revolves around their content, which drives over 11 million organic visits per month to their website. Their app is free, but they make money from affiliate partnerships with lending institutions and credit card companies.

8. Rookie Moms

Rookie Moms is a blog championing #MomLife and discussing all topics/issues related to parenting. Their blog is a powerhouse that brings in over 22,000 organic visits per month and generates income from banner ads and affiliate product links.

If you have passion to share and an audience ready to receive your insight, monetizing is definitely on the table once you start generating real interest. The hard part is getting started and creating the value that will get people to come. With a content management system and some elbow grease, you'll be well on your way.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in April 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Types of Blogs that Make Money in 2020 was originally posted by Local Sign Company Irvine, Ca. https://goo.gl/4NmUQV https://goo.gl/bQ1zHR http://www.pearltrees.com/anaheimsigns

4 Data-Driven Ways to Create More Targeted Ad Campaigns

Digital marketing is undergoing a revolution.

Agencies have more granular insight than ever before into how their campaigns are performing. The days of selecting media channels based on broad demographic data and relying on generalized ad impression numbers are over.

Marketers can now target specific audiences across multiple devices and measure engagement on each touch point, building comprehensive roadmaps to conversion. They can confirm the right users are seeing digital ads and even serve websites that are customized to each user with dynamically generated content.

The best part? Every engagement can be mapped to its respective touch point and measured. This empowers agencies to become better strategic advisors in letting clients know exactly what's working (and what isn't).

The driving force behind this seismic shift is data — the collection of it, tools to analyze it, and automation algorithms that use it to capture and nurture the best leads.

But how should agencies approach this new flux of data? What should they specifically focus on, and what can they afford to ignore?

This post will answer these questions and more. Let's dive in.

4 Data-Driven Ways to Create Better Targeted Ad Campaigns

Crafting data-driven campaigns doesn't have to be overly complicated or take months to implement. The foundation of a solid campaign that harnesses the power of data to reach the right audience can be built upon four primary tactics.

1. Get programmatic with media buying.

The old methods of buying media have been upended. The days of reviewing spreadsheets, endlessly negotiating rates, and committing to inflexible long-term contracts that you are stuck with — even after it becomes obvious that they aren't working — are over.

Programmatic buying is an automated method of purchasing digital media in real-time that is easily adjustable. That means if budgets change, if you want to test new messaging, or if placements aren't producing good results, media buys can be changed or scaled instantly.

According to eMarketer, 83.5% of US digital display ad dollars were transacted using programmatic technology in 2019.

In 2021, that number will close in on 90%, and US digital display advertisers are expected to invest nearly $80 billion.

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This process gives advertisers a direct avenue to be iterative with campaigns based on data received from first, second, and third party sources.

With access to enhanced data and the ability to implement changes based on what it reveals with no lead time, programmatic buying optimizes media placement quickly and gives advertisers the ability to make changes based on internal changes or external market forces immediately.

2. Verify the right people are seeing your ads.

Digital publishers and platforms have their own metrics for who views ads on specific channels, but the market changes quickly, and the data they offer is not always accurate.

If real prospects aren’t seeing your ads, then the money you spent placing them is a waste. It's important to verify that the numbers and demographics you’ve been promised match the reality of what is delivered.

The best way to accomplish this is through third-party ad verification — but if you aren't ready to make this investment, you can confirm for yourself that the tools and tactics used by advertising partners are working as promised.

Ensuring users actually see the ads that have been served to them can get tricky. Some platforms still use the legacy "impressions served" model where you pay for each impression the moment the ad loads — but how do you know it was seen?

This can get especially complex when it comes to videos — not only do you have to consider how much of the player is in view, you also need to know how much of the video was seen.

Guidelines from the Media Rating Council count a video ad as viewed when at least 50% of the ad is visible for two consecutive seconds.

3. Personalize websites with dynamic content.

Your client's website is made of dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of unique visual elements — but there's no reason they have to be presented the same way to every single visitor. They can, in fact, be customized to individual users based on what you know about them, providing dynamic content that is most likely to be relevant to them first.

You already expect your advertising partners to understand web visitors and only serve your ad to relevant targets. You can use the same logic to create different versions of your site that are displayed for each unique visitor.

Use the data that you have about each user to customize the experience. This data can come from browsing history, demographics, and your existing repository of consumer data.

Even if you have no data available on a specific user, your website can make intelligent customizations based on navigation behaviors starting with the first click. This personalization ensures that every user has the most engaging experience and sees relevant offers that guide them through the conversion funnel.

4. Use people-based measurement to track multiple devices.

Statista estimates that, by 2022, mobile will outpace desktops for total ad spend. But that doesn’t mean you can concentrate exclusively on mobile.

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The modern buying journey is not always linear — consumers enter and exit the funnel at will on different devices. They will interact with brands multiple times on computers, smartphones, and tablets before converting, and they expect a consistent experience the entire way. The only way to provide this is to track relevant data about each consumer — and you can't entirely accomplish this with device-specific technology like cookies.

Instead, people-based measurement uses unique identifiers that can track engagement across devices. This gives you the ability to measure ROI by channel, obtain accurate reach and frequency measurement, and even tie offline conversions to online interactions.

With so many touch points in today's sales funnels, attributing conversion to the "last click" is no longer an effective measure to base decisions on. The right messaging at every point is vital to keeping consumers moving on their journeys and you must tie it all to conversion.

Your Ad Campaign Shouldn't Be a Shot in the Dark

Without the visibility of data-driven tactics, the customer journey is difficult to track, and attributing conversions to the right engagements is nearly impossible.

Using the correct information to advise media buying, messaging placement, website, and touch point mapping elevate all of your marketing campaigns from shots in the dark to highly targeted efforts with the power to right the course on any specific element that misses the mark the first time.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in January 2017 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

4 Data-Driven Ways to Create More Targeted Ad Campaigns was originally posted by Local Sign Company Irvine, Ca. https://goo.gl/4NmUQV https://goo.gl/bQ1zHR http://www.pearltrees.com/anaheimsigns

What Is Ad Fatigue? + How to Diagnose & Cure It

To consider what ad fatigue is, let's start with an example.

Consider times you've changed the TV channel because you've seen the same ad ten times that night already.

Alternatively, think about occasions when you're so tired of hearing a certain commercial that you switch off your radio completely.

These are both examples of ad fatigue — an issue that occurs when users become too accustomed to a specific type of ad, thus reducing its effectiveness.

As marketers, it's crucial we continuously serve fresh, high-quality, and targeted ads to ensure your content continues to inspire your audience, rather than causing frustration.

Below, we'll discuss what ad fatigue is, common symptoms attributed to ad fatigue, and what you can do to fix it. Let's dive in.

What is ad fatigue?

Ad fatigue occurs when your audience sees your ads so often that they become bored with them and stop paying attention.

This, in turn, causes your campaigns to become less effective, prevents users from moving down the sales funnel, and ultimately hurts your company's bottom line.

Ultimately, the purpose of advertising is to turn new viewers into customers, which can't happen if you're over-serving your ads to the same viewers, or creating low-quality ads.

Fortunately, if you recognize ad fatigue early on, you can reverse its effects by building new campaigns. It may be as simple as altering the image you use on your Facebook ads, or using Google ad features to adapt text based on your audience's habits and preferences.

Alternatively, perhaps you need to employ a strategic schedule to make sure your ads are only served at the most relevant times so that you can achieve optimal ROI.

Whatever the case, we have a few tips and tricks to help you maximize your marketing success. Let's explore those, next.

3 Signs Your Audience Has Ad Fatigue

Perhaps you suspect that ad fatigue is affecting your campaigns, but you're not entirely sure how to detect it.

The following are some common symptoms that you might experience if your audience is growing tired of your ads:

1. Lower Click-Through Rates (CTRs)

Your click-through rates (CTR) are arguably among the most important metrics to measure when it comes to tracking and addressing ad fatigue. CTR demonstrates how engaging your ad is — and, in particular, whether it's convincing enough to compel visitors to explore your brand further.

For instance, if your ad displays a 10% discount on your new fall shoe line and it has a high CTR, you can assume the ad is effectively encouraging visitors to stop what they're doing, and take a look at your newly-discounted products.

If your CTR numbers fall considerably over time, it could be because you're boring your audience, and they're no longer willing to engage with your brand.

2. Less Engagement

Speaking of engagement, have you checked in to see how followers are interacting with your business on social media?

If people casually view your ads and move on, they're not really engaged — and an engaged audience is key to yielding comments and shares. If you're noticing reduced social engagement, it could be a sign that you've inflicted ad fatigue onto your followers in ways that make them less motivated to interact with all your content: both paid and organic.

3. Fewer Impressions

Social media algorithms are set up so that only the most relevant content appears at the top. The same goes for advertisements ­— paid social media ads will only appear if they're applicable for that particular user. This means that, if people aren't interacting with your paid posts, they're not as likely to see them in the future. So, if your impressions have decreased over time, it might be time to revamp your ad campaigns.

Like most obstacles in life, you can't remedy ad fatigue until you recognize that it's a problem. By examining the aforementioned metrics continuously over time, you'll get a better understanding of how your audience feels about your brand. Once you know that ad fatigue may be to blame for less-than-stellar campaign performance, you can make small-but-strategic improvements to breathe new life into your marketing strategy.

Let's take a look at a few potential ad fatigue cures now.

How Can You Cure Ad Fatigue?

It doesn't always take a ton of work to reduce ad fatigue. Sometimes, simple changes can be all you need to update the look and feel of your advertisements.

Here are three steps you can take to refresh your campaigns so that your audience will be more interested in the content you're sharing.

1. Update the background color of your display ads.

Everyone needs a change of scenery now and then.

We're often exposed to the same images over and over, which can be tiring and compel us to ignore the ads next time we see them.

Display ads can be particularly susceptible to ad fatigue because you're showing the same audience the same advertisement multiple times.

Luckily, there's a simple fix to avoid this conundrum: by changing the background color of your ads, you can refresh your audience's interest in your content. This small change is often enough to make your advertisements appear brand-new.

2. Customize your ads using ad customizers.

Google's ad customizers have been around for a few years now, and they're powerful tools for increasing conversions and maintaining ad freshness.

If you're running Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads, you might not be aware of the power that customizers hold, but it's time to change that — ultimately, Google's ad customizers ensure your ads stay fresh and relevant, while simultaneously creating a sense of urgency that entices your followers to click on your calls-to-action.

In short, ad customizers dynamically update your advertisements with content that's tailored to your audience, and deliver that content in a time-sensitive manner.

For instance, let's say you have a limited time, end-of-year promotion happening right now. Ad customizers allow you to get the word out about your promotion in real-time when it's most relevant to users. You can use this feature for one-time situations, recurring events, or location-specific opportunities. Even better, once you get them set up, ad customizations are pretty hands-off.

3. Rotate your ads frequently.

As a marketer, you know that schedules are important: you need a clear plan to keep all of your campaigns on-track.

That being said, showing an ad too many times to the same people can easily lead to ad fatigue.

Combat this issue by creating multiple ads and rotating them. These versions can all deliver the same content, but should include differences in text or design. This helps to keep your content fresh and allows you to optimize your campaigns based on which ads perform best. (A/B testing these ads can be an effective option for ensuring you're serving the highest-performing ads to your visitors.)

Keep in mind that when you're rotating your ads, you should also ensure that you're only delivering your messages at the most relevant times of day (and on the most relevant days). Include your rotations in your marketing calendar for streamlined execution and better results.

4. Monitor your campaigns.

It's not enough to write new copy or swap out your creative — you'll need to continuously track your ads to ensure fatigue doesn't set in with your updated campaigns. If you're not monitoring your ads' performance, you won't be able to tell if your audience has lost interest in them.

To keep ad fatigue on your radar, be sure to monitor frequency (the number of times users see your ads) and CTR (the number of times people click on your ads divided by the number of impressions). This allows you to identify ad fatigue early on and adjust your strategy accordingly.

How One Marketing Agency Cured Ad Fatigue

Zero Gravity Marketing (ZGM), a full-service digital marketing agency located in Connecticut, was put to the test when it came to curing ad fatigue for one of its clients. In this case study, a client was running a paid social media campaign that hadn't changed ad variations in over three months.

ZGM employed a strategic approach to improve organic traffic and turn visitors into loyal customers. To reduce the ad fatigue the client's audience was experiencing, the agency first identified and scaled back ineffective campaigns. Then, they took the following steps to refresh the existing PPC strategy:

• Conducted Keyword Research: ZGM's Search Engine Optimization (SEO) team conducted keyword research to pinpoint new, more effective search queries related to the client's brand. The PPC team then used these terms within the ads.
• Rewrote Ad Content: Leaning on the new keyword research, ZGM refreshed the campaign's messaging to be more relevant to the target audience.
• Set Up Goal Tracking: To better monitor progress, the team also set up goal tracking for social media button clicks, account log-in form fills, and more.

The results? ZGM's strategy quickly lent itself to significant improvements in campaign ROI. In just three months, the client experienced a 17% increase in organic traffic, and a 10% increase compared to the previous year.

No matter what type of business you run, your ultimate goal is to build brand awareness and turn leads into loyal customers. Of course, one of the best ways to do this is through fresh, relevant paid ads. As you move forward with your digital advertising strategy, be sure to update your campaigns from time to time to ensure your audience remains engaged. That way, you can avoid the negative effects of ad fatigue and see greater marketing success.

What Is Ad Fatigue? + How to Diagnose & Cure It was originally posted by Local Sign Company Irvine, Ca. https://goo.gl/4NmUQV https://goo.gl/bQ1zHR http://www.pearltrees.com/anaheimsigns

Learning SEO? The Beginner's List of Resources to Get Started

You can't get a degree in SEO. Books on SEO quickly become out-of-date.

Plus, there are hundreds of thousands of self-professed "SEO experts" out there, but far fewer people who actually understand what they're talking about, and can apply it.

And you can't swing a spreadsheet without hitting an article about SEO that's either misleading, or just plain wrong.

So — how do you learn about SEO? Luckily, there are resources you can count on to always have trustworthy, valuable, and well-researched information.

To help you find them, I've put together a huge list of credible SEO resources in every category. If it's on this list, you can trust what it says.

Please note: If you try to listen, read, or engage with every resource on this list, you'll never have time for anything else. Think of it like a buffet — take a few things from the podcast section, enroll in a course or two, subscribe to three or four blogs ... you get the drift.

• SEO Podcasts
• SEO Newsletters
• SEO Courses
• SEO Blogs
• SEO Slack groups
• SEO Subreddits

SEO Podcasts

In the past few years, there's been an explosion of high-quality SEO-focused podcasts — which is great for anyone with a commute, dog who requires walking, partiality for learning on the go, or all of the above.

1. Skill Up

HubSpot's first season of Skill Up is all about SEO. In this series, HubSpot Director of Acquisition (and co-founder of Traffic Think Tank) Matthew Howells-Barby and Academy professor Jorie Munroe dive into everything a search-oriented marketer or SEO needs to know this year. They start with searcher intent, move to modern ranking and conversion strategies, review international SEO, share successful link-building plays, and end with the future of SEO.

Not too shabby for less than six hours of content.

2. SEO 101

This beginner-friendly show is designed to familiarize you with SEO concepts and best practices without overwhelming you with information. Each episode covers a few different topics. For example, episode 350 goes over image search, the validity of Moz's Domain Authority score, and JavaScript and SEO.

It's a good pick if you're just getting your feet wet.

3. Experts on the Wire

On this podcast, SEO expert and consultant Dan Shure interviews big names and fresh faces in search. Former guests include AJ Kohn, Dawn Anderson, Marie Haynes, Barry Schwartz, Kevin Indig, and more. And as that lineup suggests, Experts on the Wire covers a diverse range of topics — from mobile-first indexing and structured data to unique link-building strategies and even SEO for the music industry.

The episodes typically run an hour to an hour and a half. There are currently more than 110 in the archive, so if you enjoy this show, you've got a lot to listen to.

4. Authority Hacker

Is SEO just one piece of the puzzle for you? Authority Hacker might be the podcast for you. The hosts, Gael Breton and Mark Webster, draw heavily on their own experiences running effective online businesses.

You'll learn how to drive traffic to your store or website, nurture those visitors, and convert them into customers. Breton and Webster drop tons of SEO nuggets, but there's also lots of general advice, like how to hire a solid team, pick an expanding niche, or set your own salary.

SEO Newsletters

1. Tech Bound

I'm always excited to see a fresh edition of Kevin Indig's Tech Bound newsletter in my inbox.

Each week, Indig dissects a trend, idea, or piece of marketing news. To give you an idea, past newsletters have covered Google's push into the online travel agency (OTA) market, how to hire a great digital marketing team, and takeaways from Google's near-constant algorithm tweaks.

He also shares several links from around the web worth reading.

Indig has also started doing a lot of interviews (which he shares with the Tech Bound audience weeks before publishing them elsewhere). Previous interviewees include the former Director of SEO for eBay and Nick Eubanks, co-founder of Traffic Think Tank and FromTheFuture (there's some list overlap here!).

2. SparkToro Trending

Here's how it goes most weeks:

• 10 a.m.: I see a cool link on SparkToro Trending
• 11 a.m.: Someone shares the same link in HubSpot's SEO Slack channel
• 12 p.m.: I log onto Twitter and see several people I follow have tweeted the same link
• 4 p.m.: Someone shares the same link in one of the SEO Slack channels I'm in

In other words, if something appears on SparkToro's list of buzzy articles or tools, it's usually something I should be reading — which makes sense, as links are algorithmically chosen based on their popularity with the SEO and marketing Twitter community.

If you don't want to get addicted to refreshing Trending, subscribe to the email newsletter. You'll get the top links in your inbox every Tuesday and Friday.

3. #SEOForLunch

#SEOForLunch, a weekly newsletter from Nick LeRoy, has a great format. LeRoy shares a timely link, tells you what's important about said article, then gives you his take.

Following that, he recommends four to five posts from around the web worth your time.

4. tl;dr Marketing

In newsletter years, tl;dr Marketing has definitely been around a while — this one's been going strong since 2015. It's a curated collection of articles and resources that's perfect if you're short on time: each link has a straightforward explanation tagged by topic, so if you're not interested in, say, social media, you can skip over anything with that tag.

Absorb information best when you've got some visuals? Good news, there's plenty of screenshots in tl;dr.

SEO Courses

1. How to Build a Search Insights Report to Grow Organic Traffic to Your Blog

Want to learn how to recreate the process that helped HubSpot grow organic traffic to its blog by several million users per month in just a year? In this Academy course, I'll walk you through the exact workflow we use, sharing examples and actionable tips along the way.

It's broken up into two sections: the fundamentals of an effective content strategy, and building your own Search Insights Report.

Each lesson includes a few interactive exercises, making the process of putting together a Search Insights Report for your own property much simpler and more straightforward.

2. SEO Training

For a higher-level intro to SEO, try HubSpot's free SEO course.

It takes a little over an hour and a half to complete. In that time, you'll discover how to determine your site's SEO potential and develop a strategy, create content that'll rank, and build links to that content.

3. Serpstat Academy

You don't need to use Serpstat's SEO platform to take any of its short courses, which include Advanced Competitor Research, Backlink Analysis, How to Cold Pitch SEO courses, and more. While most of the lessons incorporate Serpstat, you can easily recreate the processes in the tool of your own choice.

4. Google Analytics Academy

If you're in SEO, you're almost certainly using Google Analytics. Google provides several different courses for getting yourself up to speed or taking your skills to the next level:

• Google Analytics for Beginners
• Advanced Google Analytics
• Google Analytics for Power Users
• Getting Started With Google Analytics 360

Successfully completing these courses will earn you certifications, which will boost your application during the job search.

5. Moz Academy

Each of Moz's 16 paid courses cover a different fundamental aspect of SEO: local SEO, reporting, on-page optimization, backlinks, keyword research, etc. The price of each course ranges from $49 (SEO fundamentals) to $595 (also SEO fundamentals, but with a certificate for completion).

6. SEMrush Academy

Like the other options on our list, SEMrush offers both courses and certifications. The cool thing about the latter? If you don't want to take the course before getting certified, you can take the exam immediately. This is a fun way of testing your knowledge in different areas of SEO — especially if you're preparing for an upcoming interview.

But back to the courses. Along with the usual suspects of topics (keyword research, link building, rank tracking, and so on), SEMrush also has courses on social media fundamentals, reporting and project management, and PPC.

7. DistilledU

Distilled's online "SEO university" encompasses two courses: an intro to SEO course that covers topics like information architecture, competitive research, and on-page SEO, and an intermediate one that goes over Excel skills, HTML, international SEO, and more.

Examples and exercises are weaved in throughout the videos, which makes the content more engaging and sticky.

Access costs $33 to $44 per month, depending on your plan. That might sound steep (especially considering many of the other courses on this list are free), but you also get to see every presentation given at SearchLove events — a well-regarded series Distilled runs. It's like a conference ticket that never expires.

SEO Blogs

Starting my career in blogging may have biased me, but blogs are by far my favorite way to keep up on SEO trends, new strategies, and interesting case studies.

For better or for worse, there's far more great content out there than you could possibly read — even if you did nothing else. Below are my favorite blogs (but please keep in mind, just because one isn't on this list doesn't mean it's unworthy of your time):

1. Search Engine Land

Whenever I'm looking for "breaking news" in the SEO world, I head to Search Engine Land. This website always has the latest information on all things search, from algorithm updates (both confirmed and unconfirmed) to Google My Business updates and DuckDuckGo changes.

There's also a good mix of evergreen content and opinion pieces.

One last note: You know a site is great when its founder decides to move on — and take a job as Google's Public Search Liaison. If that's not a sign of authority, I don't know what is.

Recommended articles:

• The Periodic Table of SEO Factors (updated for 2019) (This is downloaded over 50,000 times a year)
• How to prioritize SEO tasks by impact
• Here's what happened when I followed Googlebot for 3 months

2. Search Engine Journal

Search Engine Journal is another reliable source for the latest news in SEO, SEM, and social media. Several posts are published each day — typically one more timely article, such as "Chrome May Warn Users of Slow Pages Before They Click," and two or three evergreen pieces, like "11 Reasons Your Website Can Have a High Bounce Rate."

Recommended articles:

• How to Choose a Domain Name That Will Stand the Test of Time
• The Three Pillars of SEO: Authority, Relevance, and Trust
• 140 Top SEO Experts You Should Be Following in 2019

3. Search Engine Roundtable

Barry Schwartz — who also contributes frequently to SEJ — runs this forum coverage site. What does "forum coverage" mean? Schwartz reports on the most relevant, interesting SEO discussions happening around the web.

And it's not just a recap. He connects the conversation to a larger trend or idea, so you always understand how it fits into the big picture.

There are also lots of fun pictures from the Google offices (it's nice to remember there are people behind the algorithm!).

Recommended articles:

• Vlog #25: Danny Sullivan On Working At Google & What He Sees Differently Now
• Vlog #22: Eric Enge On SEO Testing, Structuring Content & Managing Client Expectations
• Google: There Is Nothing To Optimize For With BERT

4. Distilled.net

Distilled, an online marketing agency, has a reputation for running a fantastic advanced SEO conference where every session is valuable and fresh — and its blog is no different.

From in-depth posts on technical SEO best practices and tool tutorials to thoughtful opinion pieces, Distilled's blog is a gold mine.

Recommended articles:

• Comprehensive Technical SEO Audit
• Search basics: the difference between URL structure and Information Architecture
• How to Present a Recommendation (these tips completely changed how I deliver recommendations both at HubSpot and with freelance clients!)

5. Blind Five Year Old

I try to read everything written by AJ Kohn, owner of SEO agency Blind Five Year Old. It's just that good. His posts are thought-provoking, insightful, and meaty. As if that weren't enough, he's funny!

Kohn doesn't publish too often — probably because each post is typically a mini-thesis — so I recommend going through the archives and then making sure you keep up with his new stuff.

Recommended articles:

• Algorithm Analysis in the Age of Embeddings
• The Invisible Attribution Model of Link Acquisition
• Analyzing Position in Google Search Console

6. Moz

Who hasn't cut their teeth on the Moz blog? It's a classic for a reason. Imagine you're in a meeting with your developers, and they hit you with a question about hreflang tags. You have no idea what an hreflang tag is — sounds like an unsuccessful sneeze — but you also know this is a tough crowd, and if you're clueless, you'll lose valuable internal capital.

So you quickly search "what are hreflang tags", find a Moz post, skim it, and glean enough in 15 seconds to look up and announce confidently, "Yes, we should use hreflang tags to help users searching in different languages find the localized pages on our site."

That's what Moz content does: it saves the day when you need to know something, ASAP. In addition to clear, comprehensive, trustworthy content, you should also check out Whiteboard Fridays. These weekly videos always break down interesting and relevant topics.

Recommended articles:

• Beginner's Guide to SEO (If you haven't read this, are you really in SEO?)
• Machine Learning 101 - Whiteboard Friday
• How to Create 10x Content - Whiteboard Friday

7. HubSpot

Our team has doubled down on posts about SEO in the past two years, and I'm proud of the results. Content falls into two main categories: experiments/case studies and best practices/foundational concepts.

This seminal post on topic clusters influenced an industry-wide shift in how websites organized their content, while this early post on updating old content helped marketers optimize their existing pages before that was a tried-and-true conference topic.

You can browse all of our SEO-related content — organized by level of expertise — on our SEO Topic Learning Path or check out the recommended articles below.

Recommended articles:

• How We Octupled Image Search Traffic to the HubSpot Blog in 1 Year
• The Ultimate Guide to Technical SEO
• The Ultimate Guide to Google Analytics

8. Seer Interactive

Seer Interactive, a digital marketing agency, publishes new posts nearly every day—and proving that quantity doesn't need to come at the expense of quality, all the content is helpful, easy to read, and most importantly, well-researched.

Many of their in-depth guides are in my bookmarks.

Recommended articles:

• Data Studio Tips for Non-Designers (this helped me put together some stunning reports)
• How to Calculate Your Own Click-Through Rate
• Screaming Frog Guide to Doing Almost Anything: 55+ Ways of Looking at a Tool (if you're new to Screaming Frog, this article is gold)

9. SparkToro

Officially, this is the SparkToro blog — but it's called Rand's Blog, and Rand Fishkin is the only one who posts.

Which is cool, because it means you get a lot of (thoughtful, well-argued) opinions in the mix, along with interesting data and case studies.

Fishkin shoots from the hip, and the industry is better for it.

Recommended articles:

• Less than Half of Google Searches Now Result in a Click
• Why Web Marketers Should Invest in Demand Creation
• Can You Still Blog Your Way to Visibility & Credibility?

10. SEO by the Sea

A lot of SEO blogs regurgitate the same ol' tips and tricks that everyone else is sharing. Not SEO by the SEA.

On this blog, Director of SEO Research at Go Fish Digital Bill Slawski summarizes and explains SEO-related patents. I won't lie, sometimes I have to read his posts a few times for the information to sink in, but it's always worth it.

Recommended articles:

• 20 Ways Search Engines May Rerank Search Results
• How Google May Handle Question Answering when Facts are Missing
• Using Ngram Phrase Models to Generate Site Quality Scores

11. Google Webmaster Central Blog

To stay on top of all the latest announcements from Google, check out the official webmaster blog. Every time a big change comes out — like when Google decreed you could only use the stars review schema for businesses that weren't yours — the SEO community publishes hundreds of hot takes, analyses, and predictions.

Follow-up posts are definitely worth looking at, but I recommend always going to the Google announcement first. Some takes are less accurate than others. If you've read the original post, you won't be misled.

Recommended articles:

• Rolling out mobile-first indexing
• What webmasters should know about Google's core updates
• The new evergreen Googlebot

12. Marie Haynes

I discovered Marie Haynes in the aftermath of the August 2018 "core update" — a.k.a. The MEDIC update. Haynes published an incredible analysis of MEDIC that was shared, well, everywhere.

She's become one of my go-to sources for learning more about specific algorithm updates and changes.

Recommended posts:

• E-A-T and SEO
• What can Google's Updated QRG tell us about quality in 2019?
• The June 3, 2019 Core Quality Update was a big one

13. Builtvisible

Digital agency Builtvisible's blog posts always manage to demystify confusing and technical topics in just a few thousand words.

The team also has a knack for publishing primers on interesting topics just as I'm thinking, "It would be useful to know how to do X," or, "I waste so much time on Y."

If you want to work smarter, this blog will be invaluable.

Recommended posts:

• An SEO's guide to XPath
• The Ultimate Guide to Log File Analysis
• How to use Google advanced search operators to find indexation and technical SEO issues

14. Search Wilderness

Paul Shapiro posts new content to Search Wilderness a few times a year. And I don't blame him — he's got a full plate! He's head of SEO for Catalyst, co-runs /r/BigSEO, and founded the Online Geniuses Slack community.

His credentials probably give you a good idea why the posts that do come out are worth every minute of your time.

Recommended articles:

• How to tag your keywords 10X faster and beat your SEO competition on insights
• Calculate Keyword Growth Using Google Trends, Python, and the Slope Formula

15. Onely

Confused by the impact JavaScript has on SEO? Yeah, me too. Onely's blog has been a lifesaver. The technical SEO agency publishes a lot of JavaScript-related content, from introductory guides to experiments and case studies.

Because Onely does so much work around JavaScript SEO, they have plenty of current data and examples to share.

Recommended articles:

• How Much Content is Not Indexed in Google in 2019?
• JavaScript & SEO Backfire – A Hulu.com Case Study
• Giphy's Visibility Drops: Conspiracy or Consequence?

16. Siege Media

The Siege Media blog sure is easy on the eyes. But even if the design looked straight out of 2009, I'd still read it: because the content is also really, really good.

Posts range from detailed case studies and expert round-ups to best practices and guides. You'll also find a lot of videos and podcasts (with transcripts and time stamps, in case you prefer reading to watching or listening).

Recommended articles:

• How to Get Image Snippets on Mobile
• When and Why the Skyscraper Technique Can Fail
• Why You Need 2x Content Not 10x Content (interesting countertake to the Moz post I recommended above)

17. Portent

Portent, a digital marketing agency, puts out a great range of content. From podcasting and link-building to Amazon and PPC, its blog will be useful to every type of marketer.

We're here, however, for the SEO posts, and luckily, Portent has that in spades. Like the best SEO advice, it's simple (to read) but sophisticated (in practice).

Recommended articles:

• A Developer's Guide To SEO (this should be required reading for every SEO, designer, and developer)
• How to Choose the Right Attribution Model for Your Vertical
• SEO 101: Defining the long tail (a critical concept that I don't hear talked about much)

18. Annielytics

To brush up on your analytical skills — or take them to the next level — beeline to Annie Cushing's blog. Cushing just released a book series called Making Data Sexy, so rest assured she knows her stuff.

While her blog was fairly quiet while she worked on the book, the archives are chock-full of great resources.

Recommended articles:

• Regular Expressions: Don't Use Google Analytics Without Them (Everyone in SEO should know RegEx)
• How To Pull Domains Out Of A List Of URLs In Excel [VIDEO]
• Excel's INDEX MATCH Alternative To VLOOKUP For Marketers [VIDEO] (Not to be hyperbolic, but Index Match has changed my life)

19. Go Fish Digital

This digital marketing and reputation management agency has educated SEOs and marketers since 2009.

Bill Slawski, the agency's director of SEO research (and author of SEO by the SEA, which is also on this list) publishes lots of great technical SEO content, like Contextual Knowledge Panels at Google and A Crowdsourcing Evaluation of Clustered Search Results. (There's no overlap between Slawski's articles for Go Fish Digital and his own blog — he's just prolific.)

You'll also find posts from other members of the team, from intern Kalina McKay (An Intro to Your First Link Building Campaign) to COO Daniel Russell (What Does Article 11 or "The Link Tax" Mean for SEO in the EU).

Many companies say they have a content-driven culture; Go Fish Digital actually walks the walk.

Recommended article (in addition to the ones linked above):

• Google's New Universal Search Results

20. Sterling Sky

Joy Hakwins is one of the foremost experts on local SEO and Google My Business — and luckily for everyone who works in local search, she frequently publishes her wisdom to her agency's blog.

You'll appreciate Hawkins and her team members' clear, matter-of-fact writing style as they demystify confusing, often contradictory Google My Business policies and local SEO best practices.

Recommended articles:

• How to Interpret Google My Business (GMB) Insights
• When Can Service-Based Businesses Have Multiple Google My Business Listings?
• [Quiz] The 2019 Local SEO Black Belt Quiz

21. DeepCrawl

I've never attended a Google Webmaster Hangout live, but I've read nearly every recap DeepCrawl has posted. The company has recapped nearly virtual Hangout for more than five years.

These recaps alone are worth the price of admission (or subscription), but you'll also find interviews with experts, best practices, and explanations of fundamental SEO concepts.

Recommended articles:

• Webmaster Hangout recaps
• How Do Search Engine Crawlers Work?
• Ask the Expert: Hamlet Batista Answers Your Automated Text Generation Questions

22. Botify

Want technical SEO and nothing but technical SEO? You'll appreciate the Botify blog. Apart from the occasional product-focused announcement, every blog post is tactical, in-depth, and data-backed.

Most articles include step-by-step instructions and screenshots, as well as handy breakdowns of relevant ideas or terms. Check this blog out when you're looking for inspiration or experiment ideas.

Recommended articles:

• Orphan Pages and SEO: Stop Hurting Yourself
• Is Page Depth a Ranking Factor?
• From Crawl Budget to Render Budget: How to Be an SEO in the Age of JavaScript

23. Merj

Hat tip to Ahrefs for introducing me to this blog. Every month, Merj publishes a roundup of technical SEO news, such as, "New Features Described in Chrome 76 Beta," and "Wayback Machine Adds Changes Feature."

If you're coming back from vacation, an intense, heads-down work period, or a cruise with no internet access, it's a fantastic resource for catching up again.

Recommended articles (in addition to the monthly roundup):

• Dynamic Classifications with Excel: LOOKUP + SEARCH
• A Technical SEO Teardown of UNIQLO

24. Internet Marketing Driver

Glenn Gabe, who leads the internet marketing agency GSQi, started this blog in 2012. Impressively, since then he's published at least once a month — usually more. His posts are in-depth, conversational, and packed with informative screenshots.

Gabe specializes in Google algorithm changes and SERP updates, analyzing victims and victors with a true zeal. He also shares SEO tool recommendations, improvements, and use cases.

Recommended articles:

• When The Hammer Falls – Analyzing Lyrics in the Google SERPs and Its Impact on Traffic [Case Study] (From 2015, but still incredibly relevant)
• Should You Remove Low-Quality Or Thin Content Versus Improving It? Seeing The Forest Through The Trees
• How To Use Scroll Depth Tracking, Adjusted Bounce Rate, and Average Time On Page As A Proxy For User Engagement and Content Quality

25. iPullRank

The iPullRank blog comes to you from the fine folks at the eponymous digital marketing agency. It has a healthy mix of marketing content, from local SEO and link building to UX and PR, and features custom videos, infographics, and visuals.

New posts go up approximately three times per month.

Recommended articles:

• Your Analytics Data Isn't Real And It's Only Getting Worse (the analytics apocalypse is here — get ready!)
• Mobile UX: 75 Best Practices For A Masterful Mobile Web
• 10 Ways Brands Forfeit Their Branded Search

SEO Slack Groups

SEO Slack communities are fantastic platforms for meeting other professionals, hearing about job opportunities and/or recruiting for your own team, sharing and discovering resources, and, of course, learning.

In my experience, there is too much of a good thing. If you're a member of several active groups, you might be overwhelmed by all the information and discussion. I'd recommend being an active participant in one or two groups versus a somewhat silent member of three or four.

1. Women in Tech SEO

I'm a member — and ardent supporter — of the Women in Tech SEO Slack group. Areej Abuali, the founder and leader, does a great job leading virtual meetups, moderating conversations, and keeping the group active.

Channels include Coding, Events, Analytics, Jobs, and Motivation.

2. Traffic Think Tank

Traffic Think Tank is a private community of SEOs that's available for a monthly or yearly fee. The content is designed to more than pay for itself — in addition to a network of marketers, consultants, and business leaders, you also get access to Q&As and webinars with the founders, as well as 300+ hours of tutorials, templates, and other resources.

3. Online Geniuses

This free SEO and marketing-focused community has more than 20,000 members. That scale can be both overwhelming and invaluable — while you may need to log off every now and again, the size means you can join local events, learn from hundreds of other people with your job title or facing similar challenges, and participate in AMAs with the likes of Nir Eyal and Guy Kawasaki.

SEO Subreddits

1. /BigSEO

More than 43,000 people belong to this subreddit, which, despite the name, encourages discussion and debate about all things inbound marketing. However, I've noticed most people tend to stick to SEO.

The most popular posts get anywhere between 20 and 300 comments; not bad for a more niche subreddit. While the quality of the advice can vary (as you'd expect from any open community), the AMAs are consistently excellent. Previous guests include Rand Fishkin, Aleyda Solis, and Bill Slawski.

2. /TechSEO

TechSEO is far smaller than /BigSEO, hovering around 6,500 members. Its focus is "the tech nerd side of SEO."

This subreddit also hosts a lot of AMAs. There's some overlap with the guests on /BigSEO; however, /TechSEO has also gotten Alexis Sanders, Gary Illyes, and John Meuller.

If you're looking for a good place to find and share technical resources, ask advanced questions, and learn from the tech SEO greats, join this subreddit.

3. /SEO

At 113,000 subscribers, /SEO is the largest subreddit of the group. That's both a blessing and a curse: the typical posts gets more engagement, but there's more misinformation.

/SEO does not host official AMAs, although occasionally someone will do an impromptu one (like AMA: SEO'd a site from $0/mo to $30,000/mo in earnings within 3 years).

Newer SEOs will get the most out of this subreddit.

I hope this helps you as you continue to learn more about SEO. If you've discovered a helpful resource from the list, let me know on Twitter @ajavuu.

Learning SEO? The Beginner's List of Resources to Get Started was originally posted by Local Sign Company Irvine, Ca. https://goo.gl/4NmUQV https://goo.gl/bQ1zHR http://www.pearltrees.com/anaheimsigns

The 11 Best Social Media Dashboard Tools & Apps

When implementing your social media strategy, it's easy to realize that manually posting on multiple different websites, multiple times a day, isn't optimal for your busy schedule. But it's not easy to tell from a baseline or pricing page which tools are not only the best for efficiency but best for your business.

Instead of spending hours of extra research combing through all of your options and sitting through countless demos and free trials, we've compiled a list of the best social media dashboards that fit your budget and brand.

These social media dashboards are optimized for every type of SMB; whether you're a social media team or a party of one, these apps will help you accomplish your goals in a streamlined, efficient way.

1. HubSpot

Price: Included in Professional version ($800/mo) or Enterprise version ($3,200/mo)

Why it's great: All-in-one social media software

With HubSpot's social media management tool, you get an all-inclusive package. Connect up to 300 accounts and schedule up to 10,000 posts a month. Plus, for super in-depth planners, you can schedule posts up to 3 years in advance.

HubSpot's social media management features include monitoring mentions and engagement, and provides full analytic reports. You're able to schedule posts all in one place without leaving the system.

2. Later

Price: $9, $19, $29, $49 per month, and enterprise pricing

Why it's great: Instagram scheduling

While you can connect Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest profiles, Later is best for Instagram scheduling. This is because of its image-based content calendar scheduling, so you can see a bird's eye view of your brand in a monthly, visual format.

Image Source

Later is also an Instagram partner, which means it integrates with Instagram's API. This partnership means your account information will stay completely safe, which is important for Instagram Business accounts that have Shopping set up.

3. Sendible

Price: $29 up to $299 per month

Why it's great: Agency-based management

Are you a social media or marketing agency? Sendible may be the answer to unkempt management: it's a tool fit for an agency with clients. It helps you streamline how you manage brands and offers a couple unique features that help you succeed.

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Sendible has a royalty-free image search tool and a Canva integration. Sendible also has social listening tools, a Reports function, scheduling, and post previews. To put it simply: this is a full dashboard and suite of tools to put your client accounts all in one place.

4. Tailwind

Price: $9.99 up to $799.99 per month, or enterprise pricing

Why it's great: Pinterest and Instagram management

Tailwind is a very unique program, providing services for two apps normally not paired with each other: Pinterest and Instagram. It makes sense, however, considering both apps focus on visual multimedia. Offering a full media dashboard with scheduling, social listening, and analytics tools, Tailwind also has a few interesting program-specific services.

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First, it gives suggestions about how to improve Instagram and Pinterest performance. It also comes with a way to promote Pinterest content and manage Instagram user-generated content. If your brand is heavily focused on visuals, Tailwind may be right for you.

5. Sprout Social

Price: $99 up to $249 per user per month

Why it's great: Team-based management

Sprout Social is a dashboard platform that's focused entirely on social media teams. What you get for your money is a full suite of tools, including options that allow you to create and schedule posts, social listening tools, and most of all: analytic data.

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The analytic tools are the shining star of Sprout Social. Expansive, in-depth reporting is available. If that's a focus for your brand, consider Sprout. They make the reports so professional and easy to read, there's no editing required.

6. MeetEdgar

Price: $49/month

Why it's great: 100% automated scheduling

MeetEdgar is an app with a different approach to social media management, is. All users do is upload categorically-based content into their account and create time slots for when they want their account to post said content.

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Then, according to the time slots and categories, the app will schedule and upload content. If you want your Twitter account to post a meme at 11 AM on a Thursday, MeetEdgar would search through the "Meme" category of content you've already uploaded, schedule, and post it.

Managers might like this option, if they don't have enough time to constantly schedule and upload content. They can plug in their entire content calendar at the start of the month and remove the heavy lifting for the next few weeks.

Post-enhancing dashboards such as these three can take care of your social strategy without losing any of quality.

1. TweetDeck

Price: Free
Why it's great: Twitter dash management

TweetDeck is amazing if you're tired of flipping back and forth through the different tabs on Twitter. It’s a free extension of twitter (no download required) that automatically gives you your account's Home, Notifications, Trending, and Messages in a dashboard view.

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This app is especially handy for posting quickly. You can engage with your Twitter in-app, and it feels like a much faster method of running your account than the in-browser functionality . Plus, TweetDeck automatically updates with any new notifications.

2. TweetStats

Price: Free
Why it's great: Free basic Twitter analytics

This little website is super handy if you don't have the budget to pay for analytic tools. TweetStats can give you the analytics of any Twitter account in about two minutes. The website displays graphs of when you've tweeted, the volume of tweets, time you usually tweet, and your most used words and hashtags.

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Using TweetStats is especially helpful if you want to view the ecosystem of your Twitter. Are you staying on-brand? Are you meeting your tweet goals? What hashtags can you elevate the use of?

3. TubeBuddy

Price: Free plan, or $9 up to $49 per month
Why it's great: YouTube management

If you have a large YouTube presence, consider TubeBuddy. TubeBuddy offers a hefty suite of perks to present a full dashboard. Categories include video dashboard, video SEO, bulk processing, promotion, data & research, and productivity.

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The screenshot above features one of TubeBuddy's card template features. Card templates streamline the process of uploading and finalizing YouTube videos, making it easier to sort videos into a playlist on your channel.

You can install the program for free on Chrome, working sort of like an extension. The free plan gives you access to analytics, productivity, and SEO tools to get started. TubeBuddy is also a YouTube Partner and integrates with Alexa.

4. MavSocial

Price: Free plan, or $19 up to $499 per month
Why it's great: Visual-based streamlined management

This is a great post-enhancing tool. MavSocial has a focus on visual-based management, and as such, offers unique perks, like editing multimedia content and a stock photo digital library. With the editing tools, you can add filters to your photos, crop, and search for royalty-free images.

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On top of all of this, MavSocial has a full dashboard suite, meaning you can schedule content and engage with followers. MavSocial supports YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The app is also an Instagram Partner.

5. Hootsuite

Price: Free plan, or $29 up to $599 per month
Why it's great: All-in-one social media management

Hootsuite is a popular social media tool and boasts over 15 million users. The free plan lets you add three social accounts from different platforms on one screen and has a limit on how many posts are available to make.

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While user-friendly, Hootsuite is an expansive app. You can create ads, running an ROI report on those ads, and also has options to schedule and create posts. Note that you can only post on your Instagram using the scheduler, if you have an Instagram Business account.

Every business is unique, and so is every social media dashboard. Because of that, finding the best fit can be daunting. Covering all your bases can be simplified with a social media dashboard, as well as building a community and social presence.

If you want to take a crack at building your own content calendar that'll help you plan your social media posts, check out our article here.

The 11 Best Social Media Dashboard Tools & Apps was originally posted by Local Sign Company Irvine, Ca. https://goo.gl/4NmUQV https://goo.gl/bQ1zHR http://www.pearltrees.com/anaheimsigns