SEO is generally divided in on-page, off-page and tech, each requiring a complete understanding of how search engines ‘view’ the website. While on-page and off-page can be taught to a novice, tech SEO requires some basic understanding behind the science of search engines. It doesn’t mean you should know to code but it would be a definite advantage to have the knowledge. One look at the execution requirements of structured data will make you wonder if it is worth the trouble. The question makes most SEO specialists give up before they start. Don’t lose heart. If you are one of the non-tech background SEO experts and want to start with structured data, this blog can be your starting point. Here’s why you should have structured data for your website Rich search results: May include styling and images Rich cards: Similar to rich snippets for mobile users Enriched search features: An immersive popup or an advanced interaction feature (see how job search results are featured these days) Enhancing Knowledge graph: Share information about the brand Enhanced breadcrumbs: Adding breadcrumbs to search results Carousel: Works great for news and videos Higher ranking Better traffic Higher CTR: Structureddata helps Google understand your website better. Three points to remember before starting Talking to machines is often about having a logical approach to things. For example, if you were to define a recipe, you would have the title, the ingredients, the prep time, the cooking time etc clubbed together followed by the step by step recipe. If you can logically define the hierarchy of things, you should eventually get a hang of structureddata. Have a tech person be ready on standby to help you before you start. Some parts of structureddatais straight forward. Other parts aren’t that simple. It’s best to have someone on standby to help you wade through the murky waters Always take a backup before you start. Once you implement the new code and something breaks, you can always go back to the old site and then figure how to fix things. Otherwise, you’ll be fighting fires on both ends. What is structured data? As the name suggests, structured data involves giving a structure to the data by organizing it in a way that gives a better understanding. This is also called ‘schema markup’. These terms are interchangeably used in the industry. While Google is smart enough to understand what your data says, it (and you) will be better off if Google can understand what your data means. Here’s a brief description for a microwave cake: In microwave safe bowl, put 2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp honey. Whisk well. Put in 1 tbsp flax seeds, 2 tbsp peanut butter and milk meal. Stir in. Then fold in dry ingredients – whole wheat flour, ½ tbsp cocoa powder, ½ tsp baking powder and a pinch of baking soda. Top up with peanuts. Put in the microwave at 800 power for 2 minutes. It will be ready. While this works for humans to an extent here’s what makes it simple for Google to understand. This followed by the step-by-step instruction, clear headers on the cooking time, calorie count and even user reviews, recipe rating, video and images can give Google a full view of the content of the web page. Let’s say, for example, that you have a cookbook website with recipes in the format of blogs and vlogs. Each recipe will have the name of the dish, the ingredients, their measurements, the cook time and the steps to make it. So, weren’t we always told that we need to write for humans first? The key difference to note here is that we may still classify things under these headers for humans but Google needs a little more than that. So how do we make things better for Google (and humans)? We use schema markup or structured data. There are three types that search engines will typically support – Microdata, JSON-LD, and microformats. Microdata is integrated via the page’s HTML while JSON-LD uses a Javascript object. Of these, JSON-LD is the most commonly used format (because Google supports it) so we will limit to it for our explanation here. It’s now time to have a look at schema.org where you’ll find A LOT of information on the implementation of schema markup for your website. It can be confusing if you aren’t accustomed to seeing codes. The good part is you don’t have to know all of it. Start by looking at Google’s guidelines on adding structured data. Here’s what it says: “Google Search works hard to understand the content of a page. You can help us by providing explicit clues about the meaning of a page to Google by including structured data on the page. Structured data is a standardized format for providing information about a page and classifying the page content; for example, on a recipe page, what are the ingredients, the cooking time and temperature, the calories, and so on” Here’s a quick view of a couple of key terms you need to know from an SEO perspective 1) Itemscope: Consider this to be the topic header Let’s try with our previous example. Below is the standard code we will write for the page. <div> <h1>Microwave cake</h1> <span>Recipe: Microwave cake in 5 mins</span> <span>Sweet Delights </span> <a href=”../bakery/microwave-cake.html”>Cup cake</a> </div> For the above, here’s how we will inform Google that this section is about a microwave cake recipe To start, we can change the first line of code to define the topic <div itemscope> <h1>Microwave cake</h1> <span>Recipe: Microwave cake in 5 mins</span> <span>Sweet Delights </span> <a href=”../bakery/microwave-cake.html”>Cup cake</a> </div> This means all the items defined within the itemscope now belongs to the particular topic. 1) Itemprop This allows you to tell google about the properties of the individual items. In our case, this can be the name of the dish. The code will look like this <h1 itemprop “name”>Microwave cake </h1> <span itemprop “Ingredient”>Wheat flour</span> <span itemprop “Ingredient”>Honey </span> You can find more examples here
Month: August 2019
How to Create Your First LinkedIn Ads Campaign in 5 Simple Steps
LinkedIn is one of the most underrated social media platforms there is. A lot of people think it simply doesn’t have the kind of numbers that Facebook and Instagram do. But if you think about it, LinkedIn is really a curated platform. It may have only 575 million users (compared to Facebook and Instagram’s billion-plus users) but they’re largely white-collar professionals who are on the platform because they want to build their career or business in some way. In short, LinkedIn is a great place to get recognized— whether you’re a freelancer, a professional, or a business owner. And if you have a B2B company, then LinkedIn is probably the first place that you need to look at from a marketing perspective. Another challenge people sometimes find with LinkedIn is that it’s unfamiliar. So even though you know it’s an important platform you’re not always sure about how to go about using it. Most importantly, you’re not sure of how ads work on LinkedIn. And while it’s true that the platform can be a little unfamiliar, and that the cost per click is relatively expensive, there is no better way than LinkedIn ads to generate B2B leads in the short run. So in this article, we breakdown the whole LinkedIn Ads platform and help you launch your very first LinkedIn Ads campaign. Step 1: Build strong personal and company profiles LinkedIn allows people to see everything about a prospect before deciding whether to engage with them. This means your LinkedIn profile has to be spot on, and this includes both your personal profile and your company page. So first off, analyze your personal profile; make sure you haven’t missed out on anything that’s noteworthy and that will build your credibility as someone people want to do business with. As a next step, set up your company page. Here’s how you do it in just 2 clicks: Image Source Then add your company name and your profile URL. Image Source Although company pages can be fairly extensive, there are a few things that you need to add right off the bat. These include: Your cover image Your logo Your “about us” summary. This helps you with getting recognized in Google searches so make sure you include all the important keywords here. Your header and profile picture should reflect your brand. Many people just use their logo for their profile picture so that people immediately know who they’re dealing with. Ask everyone on your team to connect their profile with the company page so that any prospect knows they’ll be working with a solid team. Step 2: Share unique content Before you create ads on LinkedIn, you need to start by posting and promoting great content. This will give you valuable insights into the kind of content that works, helping you decide what content to spend your advertising budget on. LinkedIn is probably the most underrated content platform. There are about 9 billion content impressions every week on LinkedIn, and these are being driven by just 3 million users. What this means is you have an opportunity to get great engagement on your content without having to deal with too much competition. Here are a few things to keep in mind while promoting content on LinkedIn: Post content every day Consistency is an absolute must with LinkedIn. You can post a variety of content — from company updates to blog posts to industry articles to thought leadership pieces. It’s just important to share content every single day. Post snappy content A compelling headline, a brief but interesting introduction, and a clear CTA (Call to Action) are all prerequisites for good content. Also, make sure that your content is asking readers thoughtful questions and discussing their pain points, as opposed to talking about yourself. Use tags Tagging people and companies who might find your content relevant will help you get some quick likes and comments. This, in turn, will signal to LinkedIn that this is the content that they should share with a wider audience. Step 3: In-depth data analysis Go to the Engagement highlights on your business page to analyze the performance of your content. There are two main things you need to get from this exercise. Find out who is seeing your posts You need to make sure your posts are reaching the right audience. If that isn’t happening, experiment with changing the headlines to capture a more relevant audience. Knowing how to target the right audience is an important key to effective advertising on LinkedIn. Figure out which kind of content is working You also need to see which type of content is actually working well; in terms of tone, content format, topics, etc. This will help you make important decisions around which content you should be spending your ad budget on. Step 4: Sponsored content You are now ready to begin your LinkedIn ad campaign. There are 3 main options for your ad campaign. These include: Sponsored posts Text and dynamic ads Sponsored InMails. Sponsored posts are a good starting point because they reach a wider audience at a lesser cost compared to display ads and InMails. Plus, you already know which content is working well so you won’t have too much trouble there. Here are the steps you need to follow to begin your campaign: Go to your company page, go to the post you want to sponsor and click the Sponsor Now button 2. You’ll be taken to the Campaign manager. Click on Create Campaign. 3. Specify the campaign name and choose a campaign goal. For the first campaign, sending people to your website is probably the best goal. 4. Choose your target audience. The best feature about LinkedIn ads is how narrowly you can define your target audience so use this option well. 5. Choose your budget and bidding option. There are two bidding options – Cost Per Click (CPC) and Cost Per
7 Actionable Tips to Give Your Content More Personality
It’s true- there are over 2 million blog posts being written every single day. So how do you engage readers in this era of short attention spans and information overload? The only way of effectively doing this is by creating unique content. But as our clients always ask us, “is any content really unique in today’s day and age?” Of course, most topics under the sun have already been written about. But unique content doesn’t mean you have to a unique topic. What it means is that you have to bring your unique perspective to the topic, whether that’s in the way you structure your article or the personality you bring to your content. In fact, content writing in a voice that’s interesting and unique can put a fresh spin on even the most mundane topics. So without further ado, here’s our pick of the 7 most effective ways to give your content more personality. Tip 1: Don’t write, talk Does that sound confusing? Believe it or not, this is one of the simplest ways to give your content more personality. Unfortunately, ever since school, we’ve been taught that’s there’s a difference between how we speak and how we write. So long-winded sentences, extensive vocabulary, and complex ideas meant you were a better writer. But that simply isn’t true. When you create content today, it has only one main purpose— to engage the reader. So a simple technique is to just imagine your reader is standing in front of you and you’re having a conversation with them. The words will be simple and direct; and will flow naturally. And your content will automatically become so much more engaging. Tip 2: Tell a powerful story Humans have been telling stories since the dawn of civilization, and there’s a reason for that. Stories immediately hook the reader and capture interest. Of course, you’re not always writing a compelling narrative. Sometimes, you’re writing a 1000-word guide on which building materials to use. Even in that case, use anecdotes. Anecdotes are an effective way of transforming a drab and dry piece. Every time you feel the pace is slowing down try and use a compelling anecdote. Of course, you need to find an anecdote that is both interesting but also relevant to the point you’re making. Also, try and sprinkle them through the content without going overboard. Too many anecdotes can be jarring and take attention away from the meat of the content. Tip 3: Craft a detailed buyer persona A buyer persona is basically a detailed account of an average reader of your blog. Put some time and effort into cultivating a buyer persona so that you’re able to understand your audience better than anyone else. Figure out who your reader is; how old they are, what gender they belong to, what their income is, whether they have kids, where they went to school, what their hobbies are, and so on. Once you start writing, always keep this buyer persona in mind and address your post to them. You’ll notice your writing immediately becomes more intimate, personalized, and effective. Tip 4: Tug at the heartstrings Jonah Berger analysed over 7000 articles from the New York Times to figure out what made a particular piece of content engaging. He found that stories that provoked an emotional response in readers — whether that was empathy, joy, frustration, pain, or even anger — were far more likely to be shared than stories that weren’t high on emotional content. If you’re stuck wondering how to make your staid content idea evoke an emotional response, just think of it from the reader’s point of view. Which pain point of theirs are you addressing with this piece? Why will they value what you have to say? Once you figure this out, writing an emotion-driven piece shouldn’t be hard. Tip 5: Formatting The right formatting is just as important as the actual words. You need to understand that in this age of frenetic content consumption, readers don’t always “read” content. Sometimes, they just scan it. So making your content easily scannable is the key. Formatting is actually one of the easiest tools to pick up. For starters, keep your paragraphs short; ideally no more than 100 words. This helps break the monotony for readers. Another technique is using subheadings to break down the text and let the readers know what’s coming next. Other techniques include using paragraph spacing, emphasizing important words and phrases by putting them in italics, using em and en dashes, and parentheses. Tip 6: Be interested in the topic This one can be tricky, especially for those of us who are professional writers. You may not always get to work on content ideas that you find inspiring or even interesting. But the trick is to move past this. The reason you’re writing that piece of content is because it will add value to someone who’s going to read it. This means that just because you don’t find the topic interesting, doesn’t mean no one else does. Instead of writing on a topic you don’t care about, take some time out to do your research. Not research on the topic, but rather research about and around the topic. Keep doing this till you find something about the topic that piques your interest. You’ll create a much more authentic piece if you’re actually passionate about what you’re writing. Tip 7: Break the rules When it comes to modern content, you don’t need to be a stickler for grammar rules. Starting a sentence with “and” or “but” is perfectly acceptable if it drives your point home better. As is using sentence fragments and even run-on sentences. The idea is to be unique, authentic, and relatable. Your customer needs to understand and identify with what you have to say — and if some rules get broken in the process, don’t sweat it. These tactics are fairly simple to implement, but they can really
Making the Online Offline connect for Your Campaigns
With limited attention span and mind space, most brands who want to create a sustained campaign recall tend to plan for a 360-degree campaign. This often means a campaign that encompasses print, radio, outdoors and digital. In some cases, it may also include in-store advertising and Below The Line (BTL) campaigns. Such campaigns do require a sizeable budget and a water-tight media plan to optimize spends. One of the biggest reasons to make this connection is that the performance tracking and ROI calculation becomes more tangible via the digital medium. Even if you share information vial all other media, you would ultimately prefer that your user comes and takes an action online so that the outcome is measurable. The best way to pick out ideas for such campaigns is by seeing how successful campaigns have been implemented so far. Let’s take a few examples. Online initiation to Offline execution: Events Event management is one industry that has tremendously benefited from the online campaigns resulting in offline outcomes. The simplest form of event marketing starts by creating an event page via Facebook. This works especially well for local events for a targeted user base. Let’s say you plan a conference for professionals in your industry, it will require a parallax landing page on your website along with a curated registration form and a payment gateway for paid events. Advertisements for premier events can start months before to give enough build-up time with content about the speakers, the opportunities the event brings and mirror stories about professionals attending it. Creating an online-offline campaign for the event The online channels you are most likely to use for a professional event is Linkedin which will allow you to target by industry and designation. This along with an email campaign to a relevant database can be a good starting point. After testing the waters with these channels, you can try out the search engine marketing route primarily via Google AdWords to see how it impacts your registration flow. The offline connect for the campaign can happen by directly identifying influencers for the campaign and reach out to them with an offline invite. Offline initiation for online execution: Let’s say that you want the final action of the user to happen online. Here you can create a website or microsite for the user to land on and complete the action – be it fill a lead, make a purchase or upload their contest entry. The promotion of the offer can happen via a variety of offline channels like print, in-store and radio. The online promotion can happen via a range of high-traffic websites. The best examples come from brands like Myntra, Jabong, Amazon and Flipkart who go all out to promote their sales. You’ll see their ad in newspapers, hear it on the radio and not miss it on your phone. Since most of these brands time their sales together, they also benefit by the cumulative visibility that rubs off from each other’s advertising. After all, it is a common trend for shoppers to check out multiple sites and go through endless scrolls before zeroing in on a purchase. Image Source Such campaigns have clearly proved their worth in ROI. Myntra added 5 lakh new users after its EOSS sale in 2018. This number along with a 10x sale prediction is only increasing every year. Try out an innovation One of the most innovative online-offline campaigns was done by Fox TV to promote their show The F Word. Digital posters with Gordon Ramsay were put up in the streets of Los Angeles. These were connected with microphones and cameras transmitting real-time data. As unsuspecting people walked by, the interactive poster had Gordon Ramsay speak to them real time! Another example of packaging innovation comes from McDonald’s. We all know that the children’s favourite Happy Meals comes with a toy that is the centre of attraction. In an innovation, McDonald’s converted its Happy Meal Box into a VR headset. The box came with dotted lines that could be folded into a VR contraption. Dubbed as ‘Happy Goggles’ these could be used by anyone with a smartphone to have a VR experience. Here are some quick things to remember to make your online-offline campaign successful Add online CTAs to build the offline-online connect All your offline campaigns should lead prospects to a landing page. This can be done either by directly giving them a simple, memorable URL. This can be a slightly complicated proposition if your landing page is not your homepage. In such cases, you can run promotional banners on your homepage to facilitate the journey or share a QR code. In the case of contests, you can ask people to complete an activity offline and upload their entry online to be eligible to participate. Use #tags #tags become a perfect channel for online-offline connect as it can be used and tracked across most of the popular social channels. #tags also solve the problem of having complicated URLs or avoid the trouble of scanning a QR code. Instead #tags can be used on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Create an offline story and continue it online Some brands often tend to use this style to build empowerment campaigns. Think of campaigns like Tata tea’s Jaago re which has become a movement in itself. Jaago re was popularized via TV campaigns. Today, long after the campaigns are off the TV and over a decade after it began, it continues to live on via online channels becoming a home for activism and public interest petitions. Another interesting thing to do is use the story-telling approach to narrate half the story online and ask the users to watch the conclusion online. Once you have them hooked, it is not difficult to make the sales pitch at the right time. Give out vouchers online which can be redeemed offline (or vice versa) If you are a restaurant who wants to increase walk-ins on a weekday, publicize your discount voucher online.