Welcome to the latest round-up of all things digital. This is where we look at the latest updates in the world of PPC, SEO, Content, Digital PR and International from the last two weeks.
Join our talented team to talk about what is happening in the digital marketing world. This month we are joined by four of our experts to discuss meta descriptions, how outdated content may be negatively impacting your search ranking, and TikTok, Twitter and Google Analytic changes.
Content
Charlotte Brindley - Content Executive
How to improve meta descriptions
Every piece of digital content needs a meta description and no matter how long it is, it must be summarised in 156 characters or 990 pixels. Not only does it have to be short, but it also needs to be attention-grabbing and inform the reader. That’s a lot of work for such a tiny space.
To earn that precious click, here are five ways to improve meta descriptions.
- Empower your writing. Meta descriptions written using powerful language will benefit more than most using additional content elements. To power up your descriptions, avoid using passive phrases, qualifiers (somewhat, most, etc), intensifiers (very, really, extremely etc) and first-person references.
- Don’t avoid punctuation. When you’re trying to squeeze in as much information as possible into that tiny character limit, it can be tempting to drop a comma or two. But when searchers scan the text, they understand the context of the content quickly, so it’s imperative to make it easy to understand at a glance. Think about how the description will appear: if the keywords and points are easy to pick out when scanning, then you’ve written a great meta description. If you have to read closely to get the gist, then it might be time to rewrite using fewer words and more sentences.
- Include keywords. There’s mixed advice about whether you should include keywords in your description if you’ve already included them in the title. Including them will reinforce your idea and achieve a more promotional approach. Crafting a compelling meta description isn’t about the perfect flow, it’s about convincing people to read and click on your content.
Is your outdated content negatively impacting your search ranking?
Many organisations will have a mountain of published content on their site and much of it will now be irrelevant and out of date. With so many tasks to achieve in a day, it might be tempting to leave it where it is, but outdated content may negatively impact your search ranking and visitors’ experience.
If you’re hesitant to delete content, then why not refurbish or update your posts? According to Search Engine Journal, your site will see better SEO and more page traffic by deleting and updating content every so often.
Grab your digital scissors and start hacking away at old content that doesn’t fit with your current business strategy or brand. Then add updated relevant keywords, write new paragraphs, and add links and visuals. Google loves recently published content so once you’re satisfied with your work, republish your posts.
PPC
Jack Fisher - Digital Paid Media Executive
TikTok's new attribution manager
TikTok has introduced attribution management with the ability to choose longer conversion windows according to your goals.
This allows more understanding and insight over the benefit that TikTok provides to e-commerce, as you will be able to take a longer view on how many conversions the platform drives further down the line. It also allows for more freedom to align your attribution with other platforms, meaning you can cross-compare to platforms such as Facebook and Snapchat.
Twitter rolls out branded likes
Twitter has begun rolling out ‘Branded Likes’ to advertisers in the US, UK and more. This feature lets advertisers customise the like button for 24 hours.
Advertisers will now have even more customisation options when running an advertising campaign on Twitter. It’s proven to generate high number of engagements when advertisers have customised the button so far, so it’s something that could elevate your campaign.
PR
Jennie Lindehoff – Head of Digital PR & Outreach
Twitters update changes no follow links
Twitter has since the start in 2008 always had no followed links in the bios and since 2009 also on all tweets. Why they changed it a couple of weeks ago is unknown, perhaps it was only a glitch when doing updates. Now the no followed link attribute is back to normal.
Followed or no followed links on Twitter, it should never be a link growth strategy. Most likely, even if followed, Google probably wouldn’t take them into account. Twitter is however fantastic if you want your digital PR campaigns to travel further and reach new audiences so keep adding links to useful and interesting content.
International
Hussnian Qaiser – International Digital Marketing Executive
Google Performance Max is taking over
Pmax is taking over ad tech and it is important for businesses to ensure they use this properly since the streaming market is very crowded, meaning very high competition. It breaks down how Pmax works and some scenarios it can be used in. This is important because, Pmax has been increased in popularity due to the focus from Google, but also due to benefits and the importance of having an advertising option which links up the entire consumer journey. This article further backing that showcases it too.
How Google Analytics is improving
Google Analytics revolutionised how companies can process their website data. Thanks to Analytics, companies went from doing this from 24 hours to real time. The article has also highlighted how Analytics will further improve to make it even easier for brands to access all the relevant data they would need for their clients.
For all brands and advertisers, Google Analytics plays a massive part in reporting and projects and underpins all of the performance marketing we do, so it’s more important that this is being used and leveraged by all.
Join us in two weeks, where we’ll be delivering more insight into the digital marketing world. Got a question about what we’ve covered today? Get in touch to find out how we can help grow your brand's digital footprint!
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