How to Win on Mobile: The Increasing Importance of Mobile Speed for Organic Search Rankings

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May 21, 2018 by

MOBILE SPEED EFFECTS ON ORGANIC SEARCH RANKINGS OVER TIME

Google recently came out with a new tool to help companies compare their mobile performance against their competitors and measure the impact that decreasing mobile page load times can have on revenue. It’s not surprising to anyone in the marketing world that the results are significant. Users are increasingly demanding of websites to load as fast as possible, with slower websites experiencing noticeable increases in bounce rate as well as drops in other engagement metrics like time on site, pages per session and event/goal completions.

This move by Google is the latest in a series of initiatives by the tech giant to emphasize the increasing importance of mobile experience in the modern internet landscape. Looking back to April 2015, Google updated their algorithm in a release dubbed by webmasters as “Mobilegeddon”, giving priority in their SERP rankings to mobile- and tablet-friendly websites when the query was made on a mobile device. In May of that same year, they released a statement saying that mobile searches exceeded those of desktop in 10 countries, including the US & Japan. In November 2016, they started experimenting with mobile-first indexing, wherein a site’s mobile version, if it had one, would be used as its primary version, with the desktop version being displayed only if a mobile version was not available. Those sites without a mobile version would most likely see a decline in their SERP rankings while sites with a mobile-friendly experience could receive a boost in rankings regardless of the device on which the search is being made. Fast-forward to January 2018, Google released a statement explicitly calling out the fact that page speed will now be a ranking factor on mobile searches like it has been on desktop starting in July of this year.

One question you may be having is why Google is taking such a strong stance on mobile. The answer is multi-faceted, but it all comes down to providing users with the best possible experience, which ultimately benefits both users and Google. By optimizing your site for a mobile user, using techniques such as responsive design, fast page load times, utilizing caching and providing high quality content, your site is more likely to be engaging to users and therefore rank higher on Google’s SERP. Google benefits by providing users with the highest-quality content in the top positions which builds trust and makes users more likely to use them in the future, while you benefit with increased website traffic, higher conversion rates, and more engagement with your site. It’s in Google’s best interest to keep this feedback loop continuing and to get webmasters to perpetually try to optimize their sites for an optimal user experience, which is why we’ve seen this progression from merely stating that mobile experience is important to announcing to the world that it is definitively a factor in their rankings and providing businesses withtools like the Impact Calculator that should encourage them to make strides in the short term to that effect.

TOOLS TO MEASURE THE IMPACT OF PAGE SPEED ON YOUR WEBSITE PERFORMANCE

Back to Google’s new mobile tools for a second. The top section of the page allows you to compare your site with those of your competitors to see how your mobile speed stacks up. This is a great tool for benchmarking and assessing if you’re currently ahead of, in line with, or way behind your competition. In the below example, we would recommend to our client that they make immediate changes to their website to get on level terms with their competition as they are lagging behind all but one of their competitors.

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Revenue Directors and business owners will most likely be more intrigued by the Impact Calculator, though. It will ask you for data regarding average monthly website visitors, average order value, and website conversion rate. Based on this information, it will give an estimate of how much incremental revenue can be generated by lowering your site’s mobile page load time on a scale in increments of 0.1 seconds from your site’s current load time down to their minimum threshold of 0.6 seconds.

If you play around with the slider function, you’ll notice that the faster a web page loads, the more incremental revenue it is expected to produce. We noticed that the relationship did not appear to be linear, so we tested a couple of our clients on the tool and found the following:

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Client 1 (Original Page Load Time of 5.0 Seconds)

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Client 2 (Original Page Load Time of 2.8 Seconds)

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As you can see from the graphs, incremental revenue starts to increase exponentially as page load times approach the minimum of 0.6 seconds. While that minimum isn’t currently attainable for many websites, it’s certainly something everyone should be striving for given the potential payoff.

The nice thing about decreasing page load times is that it positively affects other metrics that you may not have thought about. It’s obvious that bounce rate would decrease while time on site and pages per session would increase, but could this affect organic search results, too? While no one knows exactly what’s in Google’s search algorithm, we already know that they have come out and said that site speed is a ranking factor and that mobile page load speed will be a ranking factor starting in July. It’s also been shown through independent testing that the top positions in organic search results typically have lower than average bounce rates and higher than average time spent on that page. By increasing your mobile site speed, you’re helping your site’s pages rank better for organic results, thereby supplementing your other SEO efforts. As mentioned previously, higher organic rankings should produce higher website conversion rates and therefore more revenue, something every business owner can get behind.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT FOR HOTEL WEBSITES?

You may be thinking that this all sounds great but it’s not currently a priority, and you’d rather focus budget and time on channels with predictable ROIs. The thing about that is, you’re wrong. Mobile traffic is increasing every year and has accounted for the majority of worldwide searches since 2015. Most of your users are most likely on mobile devices or will be in the near future. Also, in preparing for Google’s eventual worldwide switch to a mobile-first index, it’s even more important to have a mobile-friendly website and for mobile page load times to be lower, since a domain’s mobile site will be used as the primary site in Google’s search results. They are making it clear with their actions that this is the direction they want websites to move towards, with those who don’t comply being penalized and pushed further down the SERP, never to be seen again. It’s in your best interest to take the necessary steps to optimize your site for mobile now, and make a concerted effort to keep it that way moving forward. Mobile traffic and faster speeds are the future.

HOW TO USE PAGE SPEED TO IMPROVE YOUR SEARCH ENGINE PERFORMANCE

Get in touch with us today if you’d like more information on how GCommerce can help you gain incremental revenue from increased mobile site speed and optimize your site for a mobile experience.

10 Search Engine Marketing Trends Hotels Need to Know in 2017

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June 20, 2017 by

The top search engine marketers in the world met over 3 days in Seattle to discuss and present current and future trends within the industry, covering everything from how to obtain position 0 in the SERP to the exciting future of Voice Search and everything in between. Here’s a breakdown of what all hoteliers need to know about the present and future of search engine marketing for hotels.

  1. ROBOTS ARE TAKING OVER! EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY AND START USING CHATBOTS. It’s been proven for many years that live chat on your website boosts conversion rate but many hotels run into operational limitations. Independent hotels are stretched thin on operational staff and typically don’t have someone available to monitor and respond on their website’s live chat. There’s a solution and it’s called CHATBOTS. It’s not a new concept but platforms such as Bing are making it easier than ever to build your own. Just take a visit to The North Face or Skyscanner websites. These two sites are actively using chatbots to interact with visitors – helping them shop, find content and products as well as make purchases.
  2. START USING ADWORDS NEXT AS SOON AS YOUR ACCOUNT IS ELIGIBLE. Google Adwords is slowly rolling out access to their new version of Adwords called Adwords Next. It features a completely new user interface. While it does take a bit to get acquainted with the new layout, using the new version gives you access to important new features you can’t access in the old Adwords UI, such as promotion extensions & call bid adjustments.
  3. THE FUTURE OF SEARCH IS VOICE, BUT MOBILE IS NOW. The question on everyone’s mind and a breakout topic at this year’s SMX Advanced was “how do I optimize for voice search?” Alexa, Siri, Cortona, Google Home; there’s a smattering of new technology built upon voice search commands. The fact remains that this technology is still in its infancy and has many limitations. In an industry such as hotels where consumers rely so heavily on visual results to assist them in their research and purchase funnel, other devices continue to be more important for hotels. While voice search is something to be considered in search strategies for hotels moving forward (and there are a few tactics to help you now), hotels should be more focused on optimizing their mobile and desktop experiences before focusing on voice.
  4. LOCAL SEARCH WILL MOVE TOWARDS ADS – YOU’LL NEED TO PAY TO PLAY TO BE VISIBLE. Google reported a 53% increase in paid clicks YOY on their Q1 2017 earnings report. It’s no secret that they’re in this business for the money, they have to answer to shareholders and the majority of their income comes from advertising dollars. They’re constantly looking for ways to monetize the search results, which is evident from the evolution of the SERPs page year after year. One thing that was agreed on by every member of the Local Search Braintrust of experts at SMX Advanced was that Local Search results are going to become pay-to-play. This is apparent from the changes to the knowledge panel with Google’s Hotel CPC program that allows OTAs and hotels to present sponsored ads showing current rates, the launch of local ads on Google Maps, and their recent tests that show rates directly on map results.
  5. THE MOST EXCITING, NEW FEATURE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF RIGHT NOW FOR PAID SEARCH IS AUDIENCE TARGETING. On the last day, during the last session of SMX Advanced, a panel of SEM experts sat down for a Q & A session with the audience. One of the best questions to round out the series was “what is one thing you want to do to your paid search campaigns but haven’t had time to yet”. All of the experts voiced their excitement and goals for their paid search campaigns focused on better use of audience targeting. This includes:
    1. In-market (coming soon to Google & Bing)
    2. RLSA
    3. Customer match

Enhancements to audience targeting have been a focus of Google for a while now, most likely to compete with the incredible targeting options available within Facebook advertising. If you haven’t started testing different audiences in Google and Bing don’t wait. Options like RLSA and customer match are already proving successful for many advertisers. We can’t wait to test the new in-market audiences Google and Bing will be launching this year.

  1. YOU SHOULD ALREADY BE USING SCHEMA/STRUCTURED DATA. A common theme across many SEO sessions was the use of Schema structured data markup to improve your presence within search results. From local search to voice search, all SEO experts agree – if you’re not using schema structured data throughout your site, you’re missing out on having the best-optimized pages for search engines. With such a low adoption rate by hotels so far, now is the time to implement schema structured data on your website and get ahead of the competition.
  2. GOOGLE IS NOT QUITE READY TO MOVE TO A MOBILE-FIRST INDEX. The two sessions where Google’s Gary Illyes stood up to speak were both packed to the brim, standing room only. Since what Google says is considered the holy grail of the search marketing world, a room full of SEOs waited with baited breath as he delivered cryptic statements about Google’s stance on a variety of questions. The biggest topic being the recently announced Mobile-first Index. If anything was apparent from the bits and pieces of information Gary would give up, it was that Google isn’t close to being ready to transition to a solely mobile-first index. If they made the switch now, it would risk poor results – considering many websites are still not providing a mobile-friendly experience. Gary also stated that Google may smear over desktop signals to mobile to fill in gaps of knowledge for the index. All of that being said, Google is still a ways out from transitioning to a mobile-first index and it probably won’t happen until 2018 at the soonest. So if you don’t have a mobile-friendly experience for your consumers – fix it now.
  3. SEM’S ACROSS ALL INDUSTRIES ARE SEEING INCREASES IN CPCS. It’s an unfortunate trend we’ve been seeing for clients over the past year and we’re not alone. CPCs keep going up. This was a concern voiced throughout the conference; SEMs across all industries are continuing to see a rise in CPC, most alarmingly for exact match branded keywords. These are supposed to be your most qualified, lowest cost-per-click keywords but they keep rising. One thought was that it came from a recent algorithm update in May but no one has an exact answer. It remains to be seen how CPCs will continue to rise and how much of an impact that might have on hoteliers.
  4. YOU NEED TO BE WORRIED ABOUT PAGE SPEED. There is a reason Google is pushing AMPs so much, they are worried about page speed – specifically for users on mobile devices, but it’s a true concern across devices. Any page taking longer than 5 seconds to load is too slow. Do what you can to minimize scripts, compress images and more to improve your page load time. Even minimal improvements in speed can make big differences in bounce rate and conversion rate of your website. Users’ expectations are getting even tougher; if your page doesn’t load fast enough, users are going to leave. According to a study by Kissmetrics, a 1-second delay in page response time can result in a 7% reduction in conversions (Kissmetrics Blog). Do you want to risk losing that revenue?
  5. CONTENT MARKETING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER. Content has always been important for SEO. The recent buzz word for content marketing is just a new packaging for something that SEO’s have been pushing for years. Google even came out and confirmed last year that content remains one of the top 3 ranking signals. It remains extremely important to have substantial, relevant content on your website that is valuable to your consumers. But, it’s important to remember there are no one-size/one-kind-fits-all solutions. The type of content that’s important for success differs by industry. Word content remains an important factor, with pages that rank in the top 10 consistently having at least 1,900 words (Search Metrics – Periodic Table of SEO Ranking Factors 2017). But it’s not just size that matters; the content and messaging also need to be relevant to the user’s intent. According to Search Metric’s 2017 ranking signals for hotel and travel websites, success is found with more image content. For hotel websites, success is more closely tied to having great visual content and great word content. Are there ways for your hotel to have more compelling visual and word content that better speak to your audience? If so, now is the time to implement it!

The Key to Effective Digital Marketing: Delivering Great Content

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March 2, 2017 by

“Content” is the trendy new word that’s been sweeping the digital marketing space for the last few years. Hundreds of webinars and thousands of blog posts have mentioned the topic, continually hitting home on how important it is to not only deliver good content but deliver great content. But to understand how to deliver great content, it’s important to understand what “content” is.

Content is every post, picture, piece of copy, or story you are trying to tell through your marketing efforts, it is everything you share with your audience. Rebecca Lieb likened content to the “atomic particle of marketing.” There is no marketing without content, regardless of channel. Creating effective and engaging content is the best digital marketing strategy you can adopt and is the foundation for digital marketing success.

IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU

Perhaps the first and most important thing to understand about delivering great content is this: it’s not about you. Content marketing is about your audience. In another post, we talked about boosting engagement with email marketing campaigns. One of the suggested steps is to ask yourself “Who am I targeting and what interests them?” This applies to any form of content marketing. If you aren’t considering who you are trying to market to and what they want, your content is going to fall flat. That being said, it’s still important to maintain your voice.

In a webinar from Skyword, one of their first steps to good content marketing is understanding your “why?” When we say “why”, we are referring to why you’re creating content in the first place. What do you want to give people? What do you want them to know about you? Why do you want them to read your content? One of the best content marketing campaigns of 2016 belonged to Deadpool. Everything from pre-release to post-release was crafted with the singular purpose of conveying to the reader that Deadpool was in no way, shape, or form, your regular superhero movie experience. Below is one of the many movie posters created for the box office hit.

Deadpool was, at its core, a satirical superhero movie with heart. In a world inundated with superhero after superhero, audiences were clamoring for something different and that’s exactly what Marvel gave them with Deadpool and it was their “why” for their content marketing strategy. Understanding your why is key to developing good, actionable content because it serves as a constant reminder of what you want your audience to know about and learn from you while still keeping them at the heart of your campaign.

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LEVERAGE YOUR ENVIRONMENT: DIGITAL AND PHYSICAL

So now that you know why you’re delivering content, how do you create or find it? There is a multitude of ways to create engaging content, but perhaps one of the easiest and most effective ways to do this is through leveraging your environment, both digital and physical. The 1888 Hotel in Sydney, Australia rebranded itself as an “Instagram hotel” using its creative and eye-catching interior to develop Instagram devoted spaces and using the Instagram photos and experiences of its guests to adorn its walls, website and social media feeds. Here is one of its website homepage modules promoting Instagram-worthy interiors:

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Utilizing hashtags, trending topics or even local and world news and events are all fair game for delivering great content. Find out what your audience is talking about and join the discussion. But remember that content isn’t just external, your guests, employees, and property-at-large are having unique experiences every day.

In 2014, The Lenox Hotel in Boston welcomed 120,000 new tenants to their property: bees. Yes, you read that correctly, they welcomed a colony of bees. The bees were brought in to produce honey that would be used for signature drinks and dishes created at The Lenox’s restaurant and lounge. Rather than just put up notices, GCommerce and The Lenox teamed up to rally behind the bees, creating bee-themed stay packages and content campaigns to generate buzz about the hotel’s unique news. This not only won them a Silver Award at the 2014 Adrian Awards but significantly increased their following and engagement for their email and social channels.

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This goes to show that great content is located all around you, both digitally and physically. To hear more about what’s going on around you, think about installing a suggestion box, creating an email account, or reminding guests and employees to share their stories as they interact with your brand.

CREATE STRONG HEADLINES

People definitely judge books by their cover, at least when it comes to content marketing. We’ve talked before about how important email subject lines are to email marketing campaigns and that extends to just about every piece of content marketing you do. Copyblogger released the following statistics about content headlines and what they mean for engagement:

  • 80% of people will read your headline
  • 20% of these people will read the rest of your content

With statistics like that, it’s clear that your headlines matter. So what can you do to make sure that you are creating strong headlines? Studies showthat headlines should stay in the 8-12 word range and be specific without being too gimmicky or sensational. In a world where clickbait is becoming increasingly popular and infamous, don’t deceive the reader with your headline, but don’t give it all away either. Try and utilize keywords as well, optimizing for SEO and social.

MEASURE, MEASURE, MEASURE

Digital marketing is all about generating actionable data and this should be no different in your content marketing strategy. One of the ways to do this is through conducting a content audit. This audit can be everything from metrics across content marketing campaigns to the quality of individual posts. Which campaigns or posts are seeing the most engagement and why? Is your content accurate and trustworthy? Is it linking to authoritative sources? Is it fresh? These are all questions that you should be asking yourself about your content. As George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.” So remember your content, why it did or did not perform, and understand how you can use that data in the future.

SUMMARY

Effective content marketing is the key to digital marketing success. Content affects everything from your search rankings and engagement to brand awareness and repeat conversions. Understanding your “why” and your audience sets the stage while leveraging your environment can provide fun, informative and engaging content for those following your brand. Just be sure to audit your content to obtain actionable data about the health of your content marketing program.

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