Welcome one and all to the eleventh instalment of our monthly round-up in 2018! November flew by as festive German markets opened everywhere and retail turned its attention to Christmas as shoppers hit the high street. The world was full of eventful moments including the Spice Girls announcing a new world tour (without Posh!), Lewis Hamilton won his fifth Formula 1 World Drivers Championship, and the world lost a genius as Marvel’s Stan Lee sadly passed away. The world of digital marketing was just as busy with plenty going on in SEO, Social Media, Digital PR and PPC! Take a seat, grab a cuppa and let Ricemedia take you through what you might have missed during November!
1. Black Friday spend exceeds $4bn on Mobile
In the US, spending on mobile during the big Black Friday event reached over $4bn. Data compiled by Salesforce showed that consumers generated 68% of retail site traffic from their mobile devices. More significantly, 54% of orders were made on smartphones. This represents a continued trend as the importance of mobile devices in marketing still grows. Find out more about this here.
2. Google now lets users add hashtags to Business Reviews
Searchable reviews can really help users decide on visiting a website or location, purchasing from a company or even ordering food online amongst other things. With Google now allowing hashtags in reviews on Maps and Google My Business, users can find them through search. Even old reviews can be edited to add friendly hashtags. Find out more here.
3. We shared our tips for a successful Christmas Social Media campaign
Towards the end of November and December, everyone’s focus is firmly on 25th December as festive celebrations take place across the world. With people enjoying the most wonderful time of the year, how can you use your social media to your advantage during this time? We shared our 12 Top Tips for Christmas Social Media Campaigns to drive engagement and turn more eyes on your brand. From competitions to Christmas imagery and festive hashtags, find everything you need for an engaging festive social media campaign.
4. Google My Business to get insights faster than ever before
To help businesses have a more accurate idea of how their GMB listing is doing, Google announced that more up-to-date data will be ready to view. Instead of data being three days behind, it will display data from as recent as the previous day. It is expected that this will roll-out within the next 3-6 months. Find out more here.
GIPHY.com
5. You might see fewer videos and images in Search Results
Search marketing platforms RankRanger and STAT Search Analytics noticed a drop in the percentage of time that video and image boxes were seen at the top of search results. Within their data they noticed a 20-30% drop in these features showing in both desktop and mobile search results. Those targeting vertical search to get a boost for a particular keyword phrase might see an impact on their organic traffic. Find out more here.
BigTunaOnline / Shutterstock.com
6. We shared our Tips for Quick Wins with your SEO Content
SEO is a long-term strategy which sees gradual improvements over time in terms of visibility in search engines and rankings. However, there are SEO Content Quick Wins You Can Do Right Now To Improve Rankings. From optimising existing content to targeting featured snippets, we have everything you need to give traffic to your website that little extra push.
7. You can now add Alt Text to Instagram photos
Alt tags are a great for targeting keywords but are most vitally used to help users with visual impairments to understand an image. Instagram have now added a way to include Alt text in images you post on the social network. You can access it through the advanced options just before you post an image. Find out more here.
PixieMe / Shutterstock.com
8. Google PageSpeed Insights now has data from Lighthouse
Having a website that loads fast on both mobile and desktop is one of Google’s ranking factors. Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool is helpful in identifying issues with a slow loading site. This tool has got even better in its latest update as it now incorporates data from both Google’s speed tool ‘Lighthouse’ and Chrome User Experience report. This thorough data will give you everything you need to improve your site. Find out more here.
9. Digital Media Advertising spend booms while traditional methods falter
As the UK advertising market continues to grow, so does the gap between money spent online and on traditional media such as TV and print. 60% of all advertising spend is now used on digital methods. In 2019, it is expected that spending will grow by 8.6% next year to £12.8bn. Businesses know that their audience is online which means they will spend big money to find them. Find out more here.
10. We counted down the Top 10 Ricemedia Blogs of 2018
You, the readers, have shown a lot of love for our insights on the blog. Whether it has been our look at 7 Helpful Screaming Frog Features or our Best PR Campaigns and Stunts of 2018 So Far, you have been there. Most of you really loved our look at The Best Google Doodle Games of All Time for a quick gaming fix! Our Top 10 Ricemedia Blogs of 2018 gives you the highlights of our blog!
