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  • Digital Advertising is the Elephant in the Room for Media Companies

    The rise of the World Wide Web that began at the fag end of the twentieth century has since then been dominating people’s attention spans and garnering eye balls unlike anything else the world has ever seen. 2015 will be the year that will see big wars being fought by media behemoths to conquer this space, the last frontier!

    People are getting comfortable with the online media and this has got the advertisers excited. Today brands are devising video advertisements tailor made for the online world rather than taking the ads running on the television and serving it to digital users. The advertisers’ switching to the digital arena is not a question of if but more about when, and 2015 seems to be the right time!

    The total US TV advertising spends rose a mere 2.6% to $11.4 billion for the third quarter. But the US online advertising spends for the same period rose by a staggering 22% to $8.7 billion! Now you don’t need a rocket scientist to see the writing on the wall, for the TV broadcasters!

    If the offline media companies are unable to adapt to the changing dynamics of people’s penchant to view digital content, then they might come up against some harsh realities in the not so distant future.

    The Digital Stomping Ground

    Hulu, the ad-supported online video service offering TV shows and movies and video clips is doing a roaring business. Though initially Hulu did not find much luck with advertisers, it is now a hot favorite among online advertisers! The owners of Hulu – Walt Disney Co., 21st Century Fox Inc., and Comcast Corp. are some of the biggest media companies on earth. Together they agreed to invest at least $750 million into the business venture in 2013, seeing the potential of online video consumption.

    But the billion dollar question to ask here is ‘will that be enough?’. Today it is not a labor intensive or a capital intensive economy but it is a knowledge intensive economy, all the way. All you need to look at, is a three year old photo messaging application developed by guys in their twenties, that is worth a staggering $10 billion dollars today! Yes, we are talking about Snapchat. That is the beauty of the online arena. Start-ups of today can become multi-billion dollar enterprises of tomorrow.

    This has got the media behemoths quite worried. What guarantees do they have that tomorrow some wunderkind will not come up with something that rivals Hulu. Now this would thoroughly challenge the old media barons in this new digital stomping ground that is the World Wide Web. Who knows tomorrow a dark horse from Silicon Valley might just challenge the 800-pound gorilla of the media landscape!

    Do share your thoughts on this issue!

    Contact us now to deploy integrated online advertising campaigns!

  • Google Maps, Yelp & Local SEO Insights

    Start the New Year with a new search engine marketing strategy that looks beyond your business website. If you think local SEO, Google Maps and directory sites like Yelp can push you to the top of search engine listings then go for it.

    The July 2014 Google Penguin algorithm update, provides greater relevance to local maps and directory services like Yelp. This way you get useful, relevant and accurate local search results that are tied more closely to traditional web search ranking signals. That means in many cases Local Maps and Yelp listings now rank above the regular business website listing.

    Check out this Google screenshot, the top results for the search query ‘bakery phoenix’.

    serach_engine_optimization_2015

    As you can see the top three results are Google map listings. And there are three more organic listings before you see the actual local business website. Thus, it is imperative that you pay attention to these listings on a regular basis and optimize your presence on Google Maps and directory sites.

    These are the steps you need to follow to optimize your business website:

    • Set up a Google My Business account

    By creating and verifying your local business with Google My Business, you get your business listed on Google for free. All your business information will be shown on Google Maps, on the search engine results page, and in Google+. Your customers will be able to post reviews. And, as a Google My Business account holder, you will be able to reply to reviews posted on Google+ directly from your dashboard.

    You’ll find that under Yelp for Business Owners. And if there are no matches, simply add your business to Yelp. You can get your Yelp business pages to rank on search engines just like your website. Google’s Pigeon algorithm is now paying close attention to local SEO. So users searching for facts on local businesses can now easily find Yelp reviews.

    • Optimize Your Listings

    Once your business is listed and your contact information verified, optimize your business information. Adding photos, contact business information, website URL, and such other information goes a long way to optimize. Your business can also offer good deals and you can respond to reviews more often.

    • Online Customer engagement

    When reviews appear, responding to them shows all your customers that you care. It’s how you build trust. Yelp allows businesses to respond to user reviews either publically or privately. But Yelp frowns on soliciting reviews. Also, not all reviews will be good. But if you respond and work toward a solution in an amicable way, 40% of negative reviews turn positive. Whether good or bad, be upbeat when you engage and reply.

    Making Google My Business part of your SEO strategy for 2015 and getting your business listed on Google Maps and Yelp and the like will align you with prospective customers and keep you ahead of competition on the digital playing field. But keep in mind that this is not a onetime effort. It’s more of a continuing process that you need to build in to your search engine marketing strategy for 2015 and beyond.

    Contact us to deploy Local SEO for your business website now!

  • Content Marketing 2015 [Infographic]

    Today relevant, insightful and highly useful content can no longer be sidestepped in your digital marketing campaigns. A stellar content marketing deployment will separate the men from the boys of the digital arena, come 2015. Here’s a primer of all that you need to know in order to have a successful content marketing strategy. Go through the incisive infographic now.

    content-marketing_infogra

  • ‘Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web’ Shuttered

    Yahoo Directory that began service under the name ‘Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web’, a brainchild of the co-founders Jerry Yang and David Filo, has finally shut shop. This guide was a directory of websites that were listed under various headings which started way back in 1994. The way the websites were arranged here was in the form of a hierarchy rather than a searchable index of pages, unlike the prevalent norm today. It was an influential directory then, long before search engines were the de facto gateway to the Internet. Back in the day this directory was what people perused before browsing the Internet for information that they wanted.

    But there is no need for such a directory now as search engines can give you information on everything residing on the Internet with the right set of keywords, in a fraction of a second. But still the Yahoo Directory holds an emotional value to some people who want to reminisce of an era when search engines were still part of science fiction.

    yahoo-directory

    Image shows the original Yahoo Directory way back in 1995!

    Unfortunately, the advertisers serving ads on this nearly 20 year old platform will now have to find a new platform to deliver ads. Yahoo has shut down more than 60 services in the last two years and this  is a part of a giant restructuring program at the company. Due to intense competition from the likes of Google, et al, Yahoo has been steadily losing its edge.

    Under the charismatic CEO Marissa Meyer, Yahoo is looking for a mobile product strategy, all the way. All the products that don’t fall in line with this new company goal are ruthlessly terminated. This gives the company more resources to focus on cutting-edge technologies of tomorrow. Thus the Yahoo Directory has got the short end of the stick, in an era where tablets and smart phones rule the roost.

    Today it is unlike 1994 when the Internet was a novelty and a website directory was a beacon of respite for people trying to get aboard this new information super highway a.k.a the Internet! Fast-forward two decades and people clearly have no time for something like Yahoo Directory, when Internet is ubiquitous and inextricably associated with all things business and personal. Today time is a luxury that people just can’t afford to waste perusing a directory of websites on the Internet. Thus was written the epitaph of Yahoo Directory!

    So how do you view this decision of Yahoo to shutter its Directory services! Do let us have your views on it!

    Contact us for your website’s improved visibility on Search Engines now!

  • Top 5 SEO Trends for 2015 and much more…| Best of the Week

    This week’s hot news, events and videos from the online marketing and social media world.
    Content marketing efforts
    From the Position² Blog This Week:
    Top 5 SEO Trends for 2015
    What do you think are the SEO trends that will attract huge attention from digital marketers in 2015? Well, we have short-listed at least 5 that we think will make it big in the New Year.
    Top Stories this Week: Social Media
    Top Stories this Week: SEO, PPC and Digital Media
    Google tab manager Best of the Week Video
    Watch this video from PPC University to avoid common ad copy pitfalls. It helps you streamline your advertising strategy for better conversions.
    White Paper: Increase Visibility for Your Content by 4x
    Today’s traditional SEO is inadequate: Ignite your search results by accelerating visibility in more places than ever before.Download this White Paper and learn:

     

    • SEO, why the way we know it is not enough
    • Introducing and implementing Enterprise Visibility Accelerator (EVA)
    • Using multi-channel tracking tools for effective monitoring
    • How EVA benefits businesses.

    Download the complimentary EVA White Paper now

    		 Know more about Enterprise Visibilty Accelerator(EVA)
    If you are reading this blog post via a RSS reader, please click here to subscribe.

  • Separating the Men from the Boys of Digital Marketing

    Separating men from boys of digital marketing

    2014 saw a huge deluge of digital marketers trying to solve business problems and some even offering  quick fix solutions in order to succeed in today’s dog-eat-dog world! We at Position² firmly believe that it is time to separate the men from the boys of the digital world. There needs to be a clarity of purpose in this space since every digital marketing activity is not for everybody.

    Demand creation for firms via paid acquisition, content marketing and supporting marketing operations are some of the mantras that we live by. Digital marketing is a dynamic space. A stand-up comedian once sarcastically commented that in the digital space “tomorrow’s technology has gone obsolete yesterday!” Jokes apart, that is the kind of demanding atmosphere that digital marketers need to work on a daily basis.

    Back to Basics

    Digital marketing is part art and part science. As a digital marketer you need to be able to balance both these aspects with aplomb if your clients are to get the best bang for their buck. Some of the important ways in which we work to deliver stellar results for our clients are –

    • Paid Acquisition – This arena has seen a lot of interest in the recent past and we believe with the right approach businesses can get great ROI. This includes pay per click advertising on search engines, bidding for ads on social networking sites, et al
    • Solving Real Business Problems – It is one thing to take things for granted in the digital world, quite another to deliver consistent results that surpass your client expectations. We at Position² let our actions speak on behalf of us
    • Content Marketing – This is going to be one of the defining factors of digital marketing in 2015 since there is a lot of untapped potential in content marketing that marketers need to harness going forward
    • Demand Creation – Business decision makers sometimes don’t know what they need until they are given the option to simplify or enhance their businesses. That is exactly why we go about doing what we do as far as demand creation is concerned for our B2B clients
    • Customized Solutions – We don’t make your business fit into our digital marketing model. That is not relevant today. We in fact, build a marketing model that is just right for your business. We believe businesses have unique needs and creating bespoke digital marketing solutions that are fully flexible is the only way to go
    • Cutting-edge Technology – Using technology where it is needed but with a human touch. You need to work in consonance with the latest tech developments in the digital world and let technology work for you and not the other way round.

    2015 promises to be a watershed year as far as digital marketing is concerned. The developments in the digital world will have huge implications on how you go about selling your products and services. We at Position² are in for the long run. We want to make a difference to our clients businesses and through their success will our success be ultimately reckoned!

    Do let us know your views on digital marketing in 2015 and beyond!

    Contact us now for integrated digital marketing to make your brand go places!

  • Top 5 SEO Trends for 2015

    2014 has been an eventful year in the online search space with more focus on making search experience user-friendly. Google’s algorithm updates like Google Panda 4.1, Google Penguin, all highlight the same issue. Additionally, new features on Google Webmaster & Google Analytics dashboard have enabled SEOs deliver better web-pages for the users.

    Position2 Shared Top SEO Trends for 2015

    Image Source

    It’s time for marketers to focus on 2015 and look at the techniques that will hold ground and begin showing results in the New Year!

    Top SEO Trends for 2015   

    • Optimizing for Mobile Search
    • Conversational Search
    • On-page Markup
    • Content Strategy
    • Website Architecture
    • Integration with Social Channels

    Mobile Search Optimization

    1 out of every 5 individuals in the world now owns a smartphone. With the rapid growth in the smartphone market, usage of Internet on mobile devices has reached a new high. With this trend in place, digital marketers are now particularly targeting users browsing via mobile devices with renewed interest. All kind of digital assets now need to be optimized for mobile. Google is now updating algorithms that reward sites rendering optimally on the mobile platform with a higher mobile ranking. Your site optimized for mobile combined with a great mobile UX feature will stand out as the winning factor in 2015.

    Position2 - Mobile Search Optimization is the most trending factor in SEO

    Image Source

    Conversational Search

    Hummingbird update stressed on words as part of search queries. Phrases with conversational words are now given priority and web pages that provide a solution to these conversational queries now rank higher rather than pages that just tend to “match” these keywords. Hummingbird makes an effort to understand the real intent of a searcher rather than just the syntax.

    Conversational search queries will continue to gain more importance in 2015 – the reason being these kinds of queries address the “actual” need or the search intent. Keyword & Content strategy in 2015 should be a combination of long-tail and keywords which address Latent Sematic Indexing (LSI).

    On-page Markup:

    Schema markup should serve as a great way to display rich snippets although these may not be the only ranking factor. Schema markup helps improve click-thorugh rates as search results for schema-enabled pages have a higher tendency to boost trust among visitors.

    Content Strategy

    Content still is the “King” of SEO. The only thing that would require a re-alignment is the kind of strategy required towards content generation. Content going forward needs to be a blend of long-tail & conversational keywords. Content generation can be in various forms – websites, blogs, rich-media assets like Press Releases, PDFs, PPTs & Videos. Content syndication in lieu of link building should be the mantra. Association with other sites needs to be carefully evaluated before committing, more so after the announcement of Google Penguin 3.0. Content calendars need to be in place to serve as placeholders for developing fresh on-site content.

    Website Architecture

    Site structure & content placement will have a key role to play. The way websites are built emphasizing user navigation & other usability factors, will be a pivotal factor to rank higher on Search Engines.  Websites need to have a clear navigation, neat URL structure and an organized content architecture. All these aid in improving bounce rates and avg. session duration which are now amongst the varied factors considered for better ranking on Google. Diagnostic tools like Google Webmaster and other online tools like Moz should be of great help to diagnose and repair errors.

    Social Media Integration

    Not to be left behind in the race for SEO, is Social Media. Social posts too now have the power to rank well on Search results. As Matt Cutts says “Facebook and Twitter pages are treated like any other pages in our web index, so if something occurs on Twitter or Facebook and we’re able to crawl it, then we return that in our search results”. Leveraging Google+ & YouTube will go a long way in helping website optimization. Prominence should be given to generate additional content using Blogs, data/product sheets and spread them across the web using social media platforms. Social sharing buttons need to be integrated across websites & blogs for a better experience. Overall focus of marketers should be to give users an enhanced experience on Search – be it via a website, blog, digital asset or social post.

    Contact us now for SEO deployment that delivers real results!

    Have a Great Year ahead & Happy Searching in 2015!

  • Mobile Advertising Set to Dominate

    The stage is set for the explosion of mobile advertising in the year 2015. Finally digital marketers are able to connect all the dots, tie all the loose ends, dot the i’s and cross the t’s. As a digital marketer your digital advertising strategy should be more mobile-centric, in order to reap rich dividends.

    Today’s users don’t need bulky desktops or laptops to enjoy a seamless web experience. As far as mobile form factor is concerned, smartphone and tablet screen size is large, the data speeds are awesome, and prices are affordable. More people today are browsing the Internet on the go. All this makes targeting prospects using mobile devices, lucrative and irresistible.

    The Mobile Paradox

    igital_mobile-ad-spending

    Comparing the above two spending, it is apparent that mobile advertising is still in its infancy. But that doesn’t mean that the mobile Internet users are a minority, anymore. For the first time since Internet was conceptualized, mobile internet users have actually overtaken non-mobile internet users. This gap will only widen in the days and years to come.

    internet_mobile-internet-penetration

    The above charts show a comparison of number of mobile ‘Internet users‘ vs. the total number of ‘Mobile phone users‘. The mobile Internet users’ statistics can no longer be ignored. Digital marketers not having a mobile marketing strategy will feel the heat, come 2015.

     A Peek into the Mobile Internet Paradigm

    Having a mobile-friendly version of all your online assets, be it demos, applications, sales materials, communications, et al is no longer optional. It is critical. People use the Internet for not just checking emails and catching up with friends on social networking sites but also to research about products and services. As a B2B digital marketer, it is high time you realize that your target audience is making influential business decisions while on the move.

    You cannot have a mobile marketing strategy just as an add-on to your overall digital marketing strategy. You need to deliver top-notch mobile experience at all times. Have a mobile-first strategy for marketing, sales, advertising, SEO, CRM and such other things in order to stay ahead of the curve in 2015 and beyond.

    How will the mobile form factor shape your advertising strategy in 2015 and beyond? Do let us know.

    Contact us now for a targeted mobile advertising campaign.

  • Evolution of Content Marketing and much more…| Best of the Week

    This week’s hot news, events and videos from the online marketing and social media world.
    Content marketing efforts
    From the Position² Blog This Week:
    Evolution of Content Marketing
    ‘ Content is King’ is not just a cliché. Personalized content can propel your marketing campaigns from being just good to great. Read this blog to learn more about ways to deploy personalized content marketing now.
    Top Stories this Week: Social Media
    Top Stories this Week: SEO, PPC and Digital Media
    Google tab manager Best of the Week Video
    Watch this Whiteboard Friday video anchored by Rand Fishkin. He talks about organizing your web content to let Information Architecture help you in SEO
    White Paper: Increase Visibility for Your Content by 4x
    Today’s traditional SEO is inadequate: Ignite your search results by accelerating visibility in more places than ever before.Download this White Paper and learn:

    • SEO, why the way we know it is not enough
    • Introducing and implementing Enterprise Visibility Accelerator (EVA)
    • Using multi-channel tracking tools for effective monitoring
    • How EVA benefits businesses.

    Download the complimentary EVA White Paper now

    		 Know more about Enterprise Visibilty Accelerator(EVA)
    If you are reading this blog post via a RSS reader, please click here to subscribe.

  • Google Launches “Store Visits”

    It’s an exciting time to be a digital marketer. You never know what’s in store for you in the digital world as you are in for a surprise the every other day. Google has just come up with a very pragmatic way to measure the effectiveness of your AdWords campaigns. Going forward it will try and link you online marketing campaigns to your offline sales!

    Since the last few years tablet and smart phone usage has proliferated quite sensationally around the world. People are using it more and more to visit ecommerce sites on the go. Due to the mobile form factor , the Internet user’s location can be determined easily and this is the basis for Google’s ‘Store Visit’ to see the light of the day.

    But there are privacy concerns as well. Google which had previously been embroiled in litigation regarding privacy now wants to steer clear of any such issues, with the launch of this new feature. It has reassured users that their data or location details will never be revealed to the advertisers.

    A New Era for Digital Marketers

    Even in this day and age of digital marketing, the truth is that brick and mortar stores have not seen much of a dent in their sales. With Google’s ‘Store Visit’ all those ecommerce players who have a physical store can now rejoice. Using  a customer’s location, the store’s AdWords campaign can now be mapped to actual footfalls in the physical store. This is one metrics with the highest efficacy to determine the true return on investment of your digital campaign and this has got the digital marketers quite excited.

    Imagine you are marketing online for client’s hotel booking using the Google AdWords program. This ‘Store Visits’ tool gives you a direct way to gauge the impact of your online advertising campaign. Your customer’s location will be tracked by Google and if the same customer comes to your client’s hotel and books a room then you can rest assured that your advertising has really paid off.

    This will definitely make more marketers to tread the digital path. Now you can not only drive sales to your offline business store front but you can measure the effectiveness of your digital marketing campaign in a tangible way too!

    Will you be registering for the Google ‘Store Visits’ for you business!

    Do let us know!

    Contact us now for highly effective digital marketing campaigns offering tangible results!