JB’s LinkedIn Update 17th September 2024
Jeremy Beckett
Director / Founder of Belmore Digital | Expert Digital Marketing Consultant | SEO, PPC, Social, Content, Performance, Email, Conversions, and Information Architecture
This week’s JB's Digital Updates are focused on preparing for the shifts in the digital landscape. With Google sunsetting Enhanced CPC, SearchGPT offering new challenges for SEO, and key insights into optimising content and email strategies, staying competitive means adapting quickly. Google’s ongoing secrecy over search data makes tracking ad performance tougher, and marketers must adjust their PPC strategies for efficiency. Read on for the latest insights and actionable tips (or you can watch the YT vid below).
Goodbye Enhanced CPC – Google Moves On
Google is officially retiring Enhanced CPC (cost-per-click) in March 2025. What’s that mean? It means if you’re currently relying on Enhanced CPC to optimise your bids, you’ll need to switch strategies soon. Google’s pushing advertisers to adopt machine learning-driven bidding options like Maximise Conversions or Maximise Conversion Value. More automation, less manual tweaking.
What does this mean for you? Well, if you’ve been hanging onto Enhanced CPC, it’s time to start testing alternatives. Google’s newer options, like Maximise Conversions, are driven by machine learning and are proving more effective for many advertisers. But don’t wait until the last minute—get testing now, or you’ll find yourself auto-migrated to Manual CPC.
This shift is part of Google’s broader push toward more advanced automation in advertising. If this sounds like a headache waiting to happen, it doesn’t have to be. Need help setting up your new campaigns or optimising for the shift? Let’s chat about PPC and Paid Social strategies.
6 Tips for Crafting an Email Marketing Calendar That Works
When it comes to email marketing, timing is everything. This article offers six key tips for building a winning email marketing calendar. The highlights? Personalisation, segmentation, and automation are your best friends. If you’ve been winging it with your email campaigns, it’s time to tighten up your process.
Planning ahead with a structured calendar helps you stay consistent and relevant in your communications. Whether it’s sending timely holiday promotions or nurturing your leads throughout the year, a calendar keeps you organised and prevents last-minute panic. Don’t underestimate the power of a well-timed email.
Consistency is key, but so is relevance. The strategies you set in your email campaigns can make or break your connection with your audience. Want to ensure your email game is on point? Let’s talk Email & CRM strategies.
SearchGPT: AI-Driven Search is Coming
SearchGPT is OpenAI’s new conversational search engine, designed to deliver direct answers, rather than the traditional list of links you get from Google. It’s built on generative AI and promises more context-driven responses, potentially changing the game for SEO. Expect a more interactive search experience, where users can ask follow-up questions and get immediate answers.
This development means marketers need to rethink how they structure content. Instead of focusing purely on keywords, the new challenge is creating content that serves user intent in a more natural, conversational way. This shift could change the types of content users find and engage with, especially for informational queries.
If this sounds like a big shift, it is. Now’s the time to review your SEO strategy and make sure your content answers questions in a way that can engage with this new AI-driven search. Let’s chat about SEO strategies to ensure you’re ready for the future of search.
领英推荐
Google Hiding Search Data While Advertisers Pay the Price
Recent findings indicate that Google is withholding key search term data from advertisers, leaving many in the dark about the performance of their ads. This means up to 40% of search term data could be hidden, limiting advertisers' ability to fully understand which terms are triggering their ads. While Google claims this is for privacy reasons, the lack of transparency feels more like a revenue-driven move. More details here.
For advertisers, this means that a significant portion of your ad spend is unaccounted for, making it difficult to optimise your campaigns effectively. Especially when using broad or phrase match keywords, the data gap is even more noticeable. The more data Google hides, the more you're forced to rely on their machine learning systems like Performance Max, which doesn't show search terms at all. It seems like Google is limiting data access to push its automation tools harder.
Transparency matters, especially when you’re spending big on ads. The immediate action you can take is to shift to exact match keywords where search term data is more transparent. If you are concerned about losing out on valuable insights, we can work together on improving your campaign strategy and tracking with better targeting. Let's talk about Digital Marketing Strategy to ensure you're maximising the effectiveness of your campaigns despite Google’s data gaps.
The Four Types of Content Buyers Want
According to MarTech, buyers are looking for four types of content: educational, engaging, inspiring, and entertaining. If you’re only hitting one or two of these, you’re leaving opportunities on the table. To maximise your content’s impact, mix it up and cater to different buyer personas.
Most businesses default to educational content, but there’s so much more you can offer. Entertaining or inspiring content can create emotional connections, while engaging content drives interaction. Start thinking of your content strategy like a balanced meal—mix the nutrients, and you’ll see better results.
Not sure if your content is resonating with your audience? Let’s talk about Content Strategy and how to make your messaging hit all the right notes.
Recent Belmore Digital Articles:
You may have missed these articles and be champing at the bit to read them :-)
Thanks, JB :-)
Digital marketing is always evolving, isn't it? With all these changes from Google, it's essential to stay on top of trends. How do you plan to adjust your strategies?