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Optimizing Your Site for Google’s New UX Criteria

MARCH 13, 2022

Google designed Core Web Vitals to improve the speed, interactivity, and layout of a site’s pages. So if you follow these Core Web Vitals, your site will be looking good in the eyes of Google. Who doesn’t want that?

Here’s what to know about Google’s Core Web Vitals and their UX criteria.

What Are the Core Web Vitals?

There are three Core Web Vitals that Google measures for a page’s user experience:

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): This measure looks at the time it takes for a page’s main content to load. Ideally it should load within 2.5 seconds.
First Input Delay (FID): This measure is the amount of time it takes your page to become interactive. This should take no longer than 100 milliseconds.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): This measure is for visual stability and looks at how often a user experiences unexpected shifts in a page’s content. Google has a layout-shift score, from the Google Search Console Core Web Vitals Report. The target is less than 0.1, with a score of zero being ideal.

So What Steps Can You Take to Please Google?

Implement lazy loading for your less essential content.
Compress and optimize your visuals for better load times.
Keep design simple and avoid bloated templates.
Know your largest on-page element the best to keep your main content fast.
Test your site on mobile (duh) for CTA functions and enabling Accelerated Mobile Pages.

Wanna see how your site is doing so far? Try Google’s PageSpeedInsights.

Check out the full UXmatters article to learn more about optimizing your site and the Core Web Vitals measurements.

The Top Tools for Marketing Research

MARCH 9, 2022

Conducting your own market research is a great way to determine what customers are looking for, industry trends, and new ways your product can fill gaps. Thanks to the internet…research can be backed by a wider net and is super accessible to the average person.

ToolsRush put together a list of over 25 easy-to-use (and mostly free) research tools out there! We can’t fit them all, but we wanted to list some of our favorites from each category.

Statistics: Pew Research Center for its reliable demographic information and industry statuses

Content Research: Feedly because it aggregates and tracks internet content into one place

Survey Tools: Typeform for its beautiful surveys and an amazing dashboard to analyze responses

Social Insights: Make My Persona for, as the name suggests, easy consumer persona generating

Research Automation: Zapier for the full-scale workflow automation and all its integrations

Ready to get your own research show on the road? When it comes to research, it helps to have a plan. Keep a few questions in mind before you get started:

What are you trying to find out?
What kind of information is available?
Where do you get the data from and how reliable is it?

Check out the full ToolsRush list to see what resources you could use for marketing research.

How to Prepare for Google’s “Topics” + Cookie Alternatives

MARCH 6, 2022

By now, everybody has been made aware that third-party cookie data is on the outs and will be phased out by Google in 2023. But, that hasn’t stopped advertisers from using them now without thinking about the potential for a “measurement blackout” down the line.

We’re here to give you the latest on Google’s privacy updates and what it means for your marketing.

How Topics work for users:

At the beginning of 2022, Google’s new Privacy Sandbox proposal introduced “Topics” that will replace Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC). FLoC, a type of web tracking, was the original alternative Google was going to take for its phase-out of third-party cookies. From a user’s POV, here is how Topics work:

Topics uses categories that represent a user’s top interests for that week based on browsing history.
They’re kept for three weeks and then old topics are deleted.
When browsing a participating site, Topics picks three categories to share with the site and its advertising partners.
Users can adjust their Chrome settings to see the Topics, remove them, or disable Topics completely.

What do Topics mean for advertisers?

Some fear: The goal of Topics is contextual advertising, so instead of individual user data, ad relevancy is going to depend on these interest categories. Advertisers are fearing a drop in accurate targeting and opt-ins in general, but time will tell on this.
Some waiting: Google is still releasing more information on Topics (such as the exact list of categories used). So there is still more to come on how marketers can get their strategies aligned to the major Google and Apple updates.
Some shifts: With that being said, cookies affect in-browser advertising. Many advertisers are leaning to the outlets they don’t affect –– paid search, social media, streaming audio/video, or CTV.

Learn more about how to prepare for Google’s Topics and what marketers think about it in Marketing Dive’s article.

Podcast Planning: 8 Formats to Consider

MARCH 1, 2022

Not all listeners enjoy the same type of podcast, so your choice of format has a big impact on your podcast.

Your format isn’t just about pleasing your listeners. It helps you plan! When you choose a consistent format to follow, it guides how you create content, if you invite guests (and who), and how you record episodes. So where do you start with choosing a podcast path? Let’s lay out some options.

Here are 8 popular podcast formats to consider for your podcast:

The interview podcast – You have to start with a central host that can have great conversations, then bring on new guests. The interviews should bring unique expertise and experience.
The solo podcast – Instead of talking with guests for a perspective, it’s the experiences of a single host. It’s a popular format because all you need is you! Spice it up with listener input if you want (advice or callers).
The conversational podcast – The more the merrier! Bounce off another host without making it an interview-style conversation.
The panel podcast – Take your interview podcast, but pump up the number of guests to explore a topic with more experts.
The non-fictional storytelling podcast – Marketers and brands are always aiming to be good storytellers. While telling real-life events might not fit your brand, you can learn storytelling from this format.
The fictional storytelling podcast – Also known as “podcast theater.” Think of it like audio television for story entertainment.
The repurposed content podcast – This is popular for taking existing content and turning it into audio renditions, summaries, or segments to expand your reach.
Your own podcast – Remember, you’re not locked into one lane. You can always switch formats or combine them to make it work for your podcast and listeners. It’s authentic when you make it your own.

Check out real podcast examples, pros, and cons for each format on Castos’ post.

What are You “Supposed” to Post on Instagram Stories?

FEBRUARY 28, 2022

Stories are great because they can be delivered to users in a different way and algorithm than the regular post feed. But what content can you be putting out on your stories to use them to the best of their ability?

We’ll break that down, but let’s start with the different types of posts and their uses:

Reels for reach! You’re more likely to reach people from discovering your reels content
Carousel for educational content! These are often used to explain or display, with a higher chance of being saved for later.
Stories for staying top of mind! As we mentioned, it’s a different feed users are following and it’s current.

Note: There are always exceptions to these “rules.” When you notice some sort of content working for you, keep it up!

Katie Steckly is an Instagram entrepreneur that has a great educational YouTube for creators and businesses looking for help on content creation in the great, big, complicated digital world. From her experience, here are some ideas for Instagram stories:

Mini Training – Educate your audience by providing short QAs, 3-5 how-to slides, and quick tricks. Get started by thinking of the frequent questions you might get as a brand.
Stories…on Your Story – Entertain your audience by either recapping something or going live. Going live can be tricky if you’re unprepared or uncomfortable, but people enjoy seeing something in real-time. Plus, Instagram will notify your audience of when you go live.
Inspo! – Another layer of entertainment you can use stories for is a transformation or ideas stemming from a question you asked your audience earlier.
Stories for Highlights – Brands can use the Highlights section of Instagram to showcase features or past how-to’s. Think of what stories you can make to use for Highlights.

Check out Katie’s full video for all the examples and details for the types of stories listed here. And as a bonus, she has an additional video with 5 specific story ideas for businesses.

Edutainment + Video Content For Your Brand

FEBRUARY 27, 2022

We marketers love to Frankenstein words. Today’s term is “edutainment.” And it’s a pretty straightforward mix of education and entertainment.

Brands use edutainment all the time for product use and awareness campaigns. While infomercials may be coming to mind right now, the approach has become a little less direct. You can integrate edutainment into your video content on social media as well as your ads, but that entertainment factor has to ring true.

Why use edutainment?

It informs your target audience about the problem, solution, and your product.
It’s great for awareness, but can be used all throughout the customer journey.
It works! Edutainment marketing increases conversion, trust, and affinity for your product.

Ways to use edutainment in your video content:

Product Demos: The usual suspect. Obviously the best way to understand some products is to just show everyone how it’s done with a video.
Micro Ads: Now take your product demos and focus on a small part to inform on or demonstrate.
UGC Testimonials: TikTok has blown up edutainment with both organic and influencer videos being made to inform about a product.
Viral Relaters: We mentioned infomercials…They typically start with a relatable problem everyone has, add a little drama to it, and explain a product.
“Reasons Why” Videos: Similar to the previous relaters – present possible problems or pain points, then educate on the solution.

Check out the full post by VisCap Media for more examples and stats on edutainment.

Unique Company Swag Ideas

FEBRUARY 23, 2022

You either LOVE free swag, or you’re indifferent. But how many marketers enjoy buying swag and promotional items for their brand?… Not many.

Time to inject some inspo into your next swag purchases. Before we dive into the fresh ideas, let’s start with the essentials for any branded items you have.

Swag Requirements:

Go the extra mile for branding consistency.
It has to be useful! (With one exception – there is always an audience for stickers.)
Above all, quality items are what matters to a user.

Purposes for Swag:

For Employees – Use it as a warm welcome or to help enforce company values.
For Gratitude – Use as gifts for holidays, prospects, and current clients.
For Promotion – It gives you a chance to show your brand personality or services. And sometimes it can be used for brand awareness.

Unique Swag Ideas:

Pens are great, but is that all there is? Let’s get into the fun stuff. Here are some real brand examples we love.

Commonsku’s Self-Promotion Packs – Promotional boxes are great in general, but Commonsku (a promotional item company) did it best by making their boxes for their “Sku Camp” conference camping gear themed.
Sun Bum’s Team USA Gorillas – Yes, it’s so weird. But it was part of a whole guerilla campaign of theirs for the Tokyo Olympics. People loved these items.
Panera’s “Get This Bread” Dog Bandanas – If it’s for their dogs, people eat it up. It’s just the law.
Indeed’s Baby Swag – When one of their employees welcomed a bundle of joy, Indeed sent them a bundle of Indeed baby swag!

These were just some of our favorites. Check out the full Social Commerce blog post for dozens of examples they had.

10 Ways to Beat Google Title Rewrites

FEBRUARY 22, 2022

In August 2021, Google announced that it would begin rewriting some title tags on the SERP. Some marketers are perfectly fine with Google taking the wheel, but some are not happy with them (plus, it’s happening very frequently).

But what can you do to prevent Google’s rewrites of your precious titles? Here are 10 things you can do:

Keep Your Title Length In Check: Google’s desktop results have a display limit of 650 pixels, so aim for between 51-60 characters.
Match the Title Tag to the H1: When the title is different than the H1, Google may choose to use the H1 instead.
Don’t Break the Title Into Sections: It’s common and tempting, but it leaves room for Google to choose one part of your title to remove. You should write your titles in more sentence-like language.
Use the Right Title Separator: If you must separate your titles, Google’s favorite separator appears to be the simple, short “-” en dash.
Use Parenthesis Instead of Brackets: Google also seems to prefer (parenthetical) text to [bracketed] text.
Use Keywords That Match User Search Queries: The more generic your title is, the more likely it will be rewritten. Check the top keywords users search and include them in your title.
Avoid Repeating Keywords: Keywords are great, but Google can sniff out when you’re “stuffing” them into titles. Use synonyms!
Avoid Irrelevant Boilerplate: “Boilerplate” is the non-unique text used across multiple pages like brand names. Only include it when relevant to a page.
Don’t Publish Half-Empty Titles: Duh, right? But marketers are still leaving empty titles or aren’t making them descriptive enough.
Keep Your Titles Up-To-Date: Check your titles after every content update.

Maybe you aren’t too concerned but would like to be notified: Ahrefs has a flag for “Page and SERP titles do not match.” Check out the full Zyppy article for real title examples.

TikTok Tactics: Your Quick Guide to Advertising on TikTok

FEBRUARY 21, 2022

We watched TikTok’s courses so you don’t have to! (But you still should because they’re super helpful and quick.)

TikTok’s guide to their advertising and analytics dashboard is five short videos, only 1-3 minutes long. Here are the takeaways of each one:

Introduction

TikTok starts by explaining that their platform is self-serving but will help marketers “level up” through campaigns.
Level 3 in each tactic is going to unlock the most features.

Tactic 1: Attribution (web + app)

Beginners can get conversion tracking without a development team.
Pixel developer mode includes event post-backs to enhance your algorithm experience. But this requires some more complex setup on the backend.
To enable the best possible attribution and sharing, learn about TikTok’s full advanced matching + events API.

Tactic 2: Targeting, Bidding, & Optimization

Each part of this tactic depends on the other. So instead of direct “levels,” targeting, bidding, and optimization act more like dominos in a circle.
To get started, you’ll need to learn more about TikTok’s ad targeting.

Tactic 3: Catalog

TikTok’s tools can help you create multiple, efficient automatic ads that reach the best audience.
This type of ad tactic through TikTok works best with brands that have large product selections.

Tactic 4: Creative

TikTok rewards innovative, fresh, and frequent content. “Ditch tradition and embrace authenticity.”
They encourage the reuse of branded content in different ways to test out audiences before using TikTok Spark Ads as direct ad options.
In Level 3, you’d have access to TikTok’s vast and growing partner system.

Check out TikTok’s full guide for all the educational tidbits at your fingertips before you get started with your TikTok campaigns.