Business investment in marketing these days is soaring, especially in digital marketing. In fact, for the first time in a decade, marketing growth topped 10% from February 2021 to February 2022. According to the latest CMO Survey report, marketing spending grew by 11.8% compared to the previous 12 months. And it’s projected to grow even faster over the next year, to 13.6%. The CMO Survey, 28th edition (© Christine Moorman) The digital marketing channel specifically accounts for the bulk of that marketing spend, at 57.1%. According to that same report, digital marketing spend is expected to grow by a whopping […]

To point out the obvious: automation is everywhere in Google Ads. Google Ads automated features can make a lot of advertisers uncomfortable, and some of them should! As Google continues to push features that take control out of the advertisers’ hands like automated extensions, ad suggestions, Performance Max campaigns, and even auto-applied recommendations, it’s easy to feel like leaning on machine learning is a risky move.   However, there are forms of automation that can make your life a lot easier, but only when used the right way. I recently presented on this topic at SMX Advanced, and in this article, […]

Google experienced a rare, widespread outage on August 9. The cause of the outage is currently unknown. The post Google Experiences Rare, Widespread Outage appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web. Over the weekend we saw a lot of volatility in the Google search results…

LinkedIn is rolling out a new feature that allows users to add external links to photos shared in posts. The post LinkedIn Lets You Add Clickable Links To Photo Posts appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Update to structured data makes product review sites eligible for the new Pro & Con enhancement in Google Search. The post How Google Pros & Cons Update Impacts Product Review Sites appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Since its inception in 2015, the Search Engine Land Awards has recognized exceptional marketers on an annual basis — showcasing their outstanding work, providing well-earned exposure in coverage and interviews, and bestowing upon them the highest honor in search. But the road between deciding to begin an application and winning the award can be a long one. Although this year’s submission process has been significantly streamlined — it’s never been faster or easier to apply to the Search Engine Land Awards — there’s still a story that has to be told. And while the way in which you tell that […]

Winning an industry award is a rewarding, cost-effective way to generate publicity, attract new business, boost team morale, and stand apart from the competition. Enter the 2022 Search Engine Land Awards now for your chance to take home the highest honor in search! The final deadline is coming up fast – submit your application by Friday, September 9 to be considered by our esteemed judging panel, featuring John Lee – Head of Evangelism at Microsoft, Cyrstal Carter – Head of SEO Communications at Wix.com, Thom Craver, Director of Consumer Products at CBS News, and more. Not sure where to begin? Check out How to craft a winning Search Engine Land Awards entry: Past judges share […]

SMX Next returns online November 15-16, 2022, focusing on what’s working in search now and how to prepare for 2023. Search marketing is ever-changing. And we’ve seen a lot of big changes so far in 2022. Algorithm updates and SERP feature changes are making organic search harder. Automation is proving frustrating in paid search and social. Plus, the death of third-party cookies has been delayed. Again. Oh, and Google Analytics 4. It’s a lot.  SMX Next will help marketers regain control. If you’re an enthusiastic search marketer who has a passion for sharing knowledge and wants to give back to […]

How to quickly run Instagram Reels as ads. Meta is really pushing short-form video these days. And the latest proof is a new BOOST button on Instagram Reels. This gives you a simple way to run Instagram Reels as ads to audiences beyond your organic reach.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Instagram for Business (@instagramforbusiness)   What kind of Instagram Reels can be boosted? You can boost Instagram Reels that: Are less than 60 seconds Have a 9:16 aspect ratio (full-screen vertical) Do NOT contain 3rd-party content such as copyrighted music, GIFs, interactive stickers, […]

Done right, thought leadership content can earn your industry and customers’ trust while helping you rank for relevant keywords. Here’s how. The post Thought Leadership Content: What It Is And How To Use It appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Google has updated its Business Profile posts content policy to specify that Google now considers duplicate photos, posts, videos, and logos as spam. If you have duplicate photos, posts, videos, and logos on your Google Business Profile, your post may be removed but your listing won’t be suspended.

Several days ago we reported how Google was testing a web search feature for the image pack that keeps you within web search when you click on a specific image. Well, this image preview pack overlay feature seems to be fully live for me and others.

In the latest Search Off the Record podcast, Lizzi Sassman of Google asked Gary Illyes of Google about using a noindex on international URLs in an hreflang set. Gary said it can potentially lead to the whole cluster being noindexed.

Generating awareness and earning participation perfectly aligns with promotion through paid search and social advertising. The post How To Use Paid Search & Social Ads For Promoting Events appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

On Saturday, August 6th, we saw a lot of signals that there was another Google Search ranking algorithm update. It is not clear if these are tremors for the finished Google products reviews update from July 2022 or if this is something new and different.

SEO often exists on an island of its own.  Still.  In 2022. Getting buy-in for an SEO investment is already difficult enough. But we also face the challenge that many companies still question where it fits in with their overall marketing budget. You’d think we’d have this figured out by now. Are there technical aspects to SEO? Absolutely. But is technical all SEO is? Absolutely not. Not even close. SEO isn’t advertising. Most companies have PPC budgets in their overall marketing budget. One client I’ve worked with for several years gets about 60% of their traffic from organic search, yet […]