By Ryan Hill
Whether you notice it or not, Google alters its search algorithm very frequently. So frequently, in fact, the MyAdvice team witnessed over 500 changes in 2014. This fast-paced search environment makes digital marketing experts’ jobs both exciting and frustrating at times.
Google never reveals the explicit details of their new or updated algorithms, so how organic search results will be affected is largely debated. One question that isn’t raised often enough is how these changing algorithms will affect your paid search campaign.
Our Digital Marketing Specialists want you to be as up to speed as possible and reassure you that we have your online marketing campaigns covered. Here are a few things to consider with Google’s most recent changes:
Increasing Your Quality Score
Although Google doesn’t actually tell us what affects the quality score of your ad campaign, it’s well known that one of the major factors is the quality of your website optimization. Maintaining a site that’s optimized for the user experience rather than old tactics like keyword stuffing and spammy link building will almost certainly increase your quality scores.
Increasing your ad campaign score will also lower your cost per click, consequently allowing you to reap more clicks from your budget.
Improving Landing Pages
Google used to see landing pages as unnecessary and potentially useless ways to drive traffic to your site. Now, the mentality is exactly the opposite! Having a landing page specifically for your offering, effectively providing an exceptional user experience, can greatly increase your quality score and click-through-rate (CTR). Just make sure that your landing page is relevant to the applied keyword search and the content is high quality.
This brings us to our final point…
Writing Content for Customers NOT Search Engines
Some online marketing companies get caught up with what Google wants to see on your website. What MyAdvice focuses on is what your customers want to find on your website. Based on the last 500 algorithm changes, we’ve noticed that search engines are increasingly geared toward more “human” results, as made evident by the difference in search results based on location, devices, and browsers (also referred to as “semantic search”).
Think of Google as wanting to be human. Scary right? Try using the voice search option on your phone, tablet, or computer to see how results differ by altering your search terms just a bit. If you voice search “football,” Google thinks that you want to see what games or teams are playing as opposed to showing results for stores that sell footballs. Find the terms that work for your business.
Algorithm Changes Don’t Need to be Scary
Whether your business manages its own paid search campaigns or an online marketing company maintains your accounts, make sure that you have a strategy to adjust for these Google algorithm changes. Understanding that keywords are not as important as content can sometimes be a difficult strategy to adopt, but it’s crucial to provide what your potential customers are searching for. If you don’t have a content marketing plan, it’s time to get one.
MyAdvice provides an expert team to implement a range of digital marketing strategies from Search Engine Optimization, Paid Advertising, Social Media, and Content Marketing to help guide your business through the constantly changing world of Google.
