How Can RankBrain Work With Inbound Marketing in 2016
Mar 26, 2016
10 min read
Inbound marketing has always revolved around how well your website ranks against its competitors on the search engines. Working on an SEO strategy to make the content optimized for searches has also been important, apart from making the content that provides information that the user is looking for.
In the latest news in the SEO world, Google came up with a new algorithm in 2015 called RankBrain which is said to be an artificial intelligence based on the advanced machine learning technology introduced into its search algorithm.
What it Means for Marketers?
The RankBrain algorithm that was introduced in 2015 has used features of artificial intelligence to learn things like user behaviour while he/she is on the web, trends in searches, queries that are most often searched for and other sources of input and on the basis of the results gathered it serves the users with the most relevant content that they are looking for.
RankBrain is said to dictate the results of search so much so that now it has become the third most important factor for search algorithm, i.e., it affects 15% of all queries served. Fifteen percent is a huge number to say if we compare the importance of other Google algorithm changes that are known to the marketing world- Panda affected 7.5% of english language queries.
The good side of this change was later realized when marketers learned that RankBrain hasn’t really damaged the SEO rankings of the website as much as it was predicted to be. It is said that RankBrain isn’t trying to regulate the rankings but rather it is more focused on interpreting user queries. The only potential damage has been called “Zombie Traffic” which is explained by search experts as:
“ Weird Types of users that are probably introduced by Google, are dwelling on the sites, not converting, slowly moving from page to page like zombies travel around the world.”
So it is a speculation that this so called Zombie traffic is coming from RankBrain algorithm learning process. What this means for users is they are being served in an efficient manner, who input in ambiguous or more human like natural language queries can expect to get more relevant results.
Analyzing and Repairing the damage
To analyze the damage it is important to know two things:
What was the purpose of the algorithm?
As explained above that RankBrain was introduced as an advanced machine learning system to learn about how users search over the internet, what keywords they use to search, and most importantly what can be implied from the search term.
What the Algorithm Did?
The impact on the websites was minimal, but as speculated some zombie traffic was introduced by the machine that crawls from page to page and makes its own index of pages so that it serves the page when it is most required.
Repairing the damage:
- Content is still the king and is going to be for the years to come. Content is what searchers are looking for and not for the website that is more optimized. They want a solution to their problem like how can we repair a washing machine at home, or location for the dinner to go tonight. Hence the next big thing in 2016 is going to be to make the content that answers the queries that people are searching for or the content that solves their problem.
- Make content that is approximately near to 100% uniqueness. Do not copy, syndicate or source your content from anywhere.
- Don’t focus too much on backlinking, though it is important but stuffing your content with too many links is also not helpful.
- Instead of stressing on the keywords just like the backlinking process, channel that energy towards writing better content that is more relevant and helpful for search queries of your target audience. Keeping a cap on keyword insertion do not focus on inserting keywords more than 2-3%, that means a maximum of 2-3 keywords per 100 words is more than enough.
Conclusion
Algorithms like RankBrain have upped the game of SEO and has made it very competitive for marketers. As we can think of this update has made changes in a good fashion to provide a better user experience and serve them with the content that is of utmost relevance. Such changes have proven to be constructive, enriching and profitable.
As long we are designing the content and websites for users and creating great content, we should be okay. Even if there is a destructive change in the algorithms in future, there’s always a way to recover.
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Online Marketing For Lawyers In 2024: A Complete Guide For Legal Marketing Trends.
Why Online Marketing For Lawyers Is The Need Of The Hour? If you are running an online legal firm, you might have implemented some law marketing strategies to expand your business. Every law school can provide the legal expertise, certification, and knowledge to a lawyer; however, marketing is something that they often fail to address. That is why you might have seen several law firms looking for a suitable attorney digital marketing agency. In today’s digital age, marketing is essential to generate profits or acquire new clients. Not just online attorneys and law firms, but almost every online business today is looking for some robust strategies that can help them drive more clients and business. According to a survey published in 2019, around 95% of small businesses plan to expand their budgets on digital marketing. Hence, the use of digital marketing strategies is pretty prevalent. The influence can be seen in the online legal sector. In the United States of America, the market size of online legal services in 2020 grew up to a market size of $9 billion. In fact, 70% of online legal firms claim that they gain new clients through their legal websites. From the perspective of online customers, we can notice how their demands have increased too. Today, 96% of the clients who need legal expertise use search engines to find an attorney or a law firm. As a law firm, you need to manage your online presence and legal internet marketing strategies. You need to know the latest law firm marketing strategies. Are you getting started with online legal marketing practices? Starting fresh can be overwhelming; however, you have to distinguish between methods that work for you and targets that hurt your online presence. Let’s look into the crucial elements of online legal marketing to see how your firm can stand out from the competition, attract more clients, and establish its presence over the internet. What is legal marketing? Legal marketing is a dynamic and deliberate process for increasing the visibility and awareness of a legal firm in order to attract new business. This complete strategy includes a variety of legal marketing strategies, such as traditional advertising, legal internet marketing, client relationship development, and legal networking. The purpose is to improve a law firm's brand, reputation, and visibility, resulting in more leads and commercial prospects. To remain competitive in the ever-changing legal marketing scene, you must focus on both conventional and digital channels. Success is dependent on using current best practices and techniques. Key parts include providing high-quality content that highlights the firm's competence, optimizing the website for search engines, actively connecting with potential clients on social media, cultivating meaningful collaborations with industry groups, and employing analytics. Top Law Firm Marketing Strategies Trends To Consider In 2023 Online Marketing For Lawyers Must Begin With The Brand! One of the essential elements of legal marketing is to establish your brand name. Legal marketing space is a highly saturated marketplace; it is way too overcrowded! Hence, you need to confirm your brand authority. A potential client should know about your expertise, your experience, your client success stories, etc. Therefore, you need to think about how do you want your customers to perceive your brand. Establishing a brand name also requires establishing unique experiences for the people. You must convey what value your law firm can add to their lives, how you can improve their life. Beyond everything, you need to have a unique style and voice; make sure you have a consistent style across all platforms. Create Client Personas To Bag Success Once you develop your brand name, you need to analyze your target audiences. For the same reason, you need to create a profile of an ideal client. This process is called "making a client persona." Client personas can help you enhance your digital marketing efforts. You must develop at least one persona for every legal service you offer; it'll help you flesh out a more targeted marketing strategy. You can consider metrics like demographics, goals, background, or pain points. Develop A Strategic Marketing Funnel To create an effective marketing funnel, you need to divide it into different stages. These stages are: Awareness stage: When clients recognize the pain problem, they start their search to define their burning issue. Consideration stage: When a client defines their problem and searches for the methods to solve it. Decision stage: The stage where the client actively looks for an attorney who can help them with their problem. When your law firm has a dedicated marketing funnel based on a client persona, you can drive more website visitors to your website. Your Law Firm Website For most visitors, the first impression of your website can create a significant impact on their purchase decision. You have to ensure that your website is agile, interactive, informative, fast, well-designed, and easy to navigate. Your website should have some informative pages that can help you add credibility to your website. These pages are relevant blogs, testimonials, FAQs, case studies, etc. How To Develop A Marketing Plan? Your marketing objectives should focus on solving the burning problem of your clients. You can set goals in your mind to develop a targeted online legal marketing plan. Having a robust marketing plan can help you attract the right client; it will minimize the wastage of resources. To develop an effective marketing plan, you can utilize marketing analytics, metrics measuring returns, KPIs, etc. Once you establish a defined goal, you must create a specific metric for it. Make sure you assign a metric to each of your marketing goals. You can also utilize Google Analytics that helps website owners to see how many visitors visit their website daily. Using these engagement analytics, you can see what progress your marketing team is making. You can also utilize CRM solutions to gain vital analytics into your marketing efforts. Here are some of the key elements of a marketing plan: Online Marketing Organic or SEO: SEO is the method of securing your website like a search engine-friendly website. Organic or SEO marketing helps a website rank higher on search engine results pages. Several factors determine the quality of your SEO practices, including links, keywords, local SEO, and metadata. For premium SEO services, you can consider hiring a professional SEO expert. PPC An essential thing to see with PPC ads is that they always redirect users to the landing page. You should create these landing pages specifically for each PPC ad. To enhance your paid email marketing campaign, your law firm can work on a dedicated landing page that should showcase the ad offered. Legal Directories One of the simple ways to boost your website’s SEO is by enhancing your link-building strategy. You can achieve this by listing your online firm on legal directories. Some directories are available for a free listing, while others are paid. Google My Business Your Law firm must claim its Google Business profile. Given the number of clients searching for attorneys via Google and legal directories, declaring your Google Business profile is a crucial way to get seen online. It’s a method to get noticed without spending any money on ads. Keeping your profile updated, replying to reviews, and adding a FAQ section to your list can help you increase your SEO metrics and online visibility on SERPs. Turn Your Visitors Into Your Clients Sales are the most integral part of your marketing funnel. To enhance your sales, you need to pay attention to your metrics, business goals, and existing marketing plan. You can improve or tweak your current strategies to gain more returns. You must also focus on enhancing the CTA buttons on your website. Make sure your website has a readily available form through which potential clients can reach out to you. To track your leads, you can utilize a CRM tool to help your law firm recognize its current progress and automate lead segregation. If you are looking to boost your marketing efforts, then Saffron Edge can be an attorney digital marketing agency that can help you get the best results. Let us know about your business goals today! Marketing Automation Marketing automation refers to the use of software to streamline and automate various marketing tasks. This includes activities such as sending personalized email campaigns to specific individuals or groups, scheduling and posting on social media platforms, and delivering tailored messaging and content. Marketing automation tools are designed to make these processes more efficient and effective. Some law firms have started using marketing automation software in the legal industry. Out of those who adopt marketing automation software, 44% observe a positive return on investment within a mere six months. These tools help them manage their digital marketing efforts more efficiently, ensuring that they can engage with their audience in a more targeted and personalized way. It's gaining momentum, especially among larger law firms, and will likely become more widespread soon. AI and Content Automation Artificial Intelligence (AI), specifically generative AI, plays a transformative role in content creation across various industries, including legal marketing. With the help of AI-driven technologies, such as chatbots, Natural Language Processing (NLP), and automated content generation, law firms can offer more personalized and efficient services to their clients. For instance, AI-driven tools like Writer can enhance blog and content creation by generating content securely and efficiently. AI is delivering cost savings and streamlining IT, business, and network operations for 54% of organizations. This technology not only streamlines content creation but also ensures that it's tailored to the specific needs and preferences of the target audience. Incorporate Videos Video content is the key to modern legal marketing strategies. More and more people are consuming video content on mobile devices, and search engines increasingly favor video content in their organic search results. As a result, law firms are optimizing their video content for mobile viewing to engage their target audiences better. Additionally, live streaming has become a popular method for law firms to engage with their clients and prospects. Webinars, Q&A sessions, and other live events provide valuable information and help build relationships with the audience. A consensus among 96% of marketers is that videos have played a pivotal role in enhancing user comprehension of their product or service. By creating educational and engaging video content, both solo attorneys and law firms can showcase their expertise and position themselves as thought leaders in their respective practice areas. This trend will likely continue as video content plays a significant role in legal marketing strategies. Podcasts for Case Studies and Interviews Podcasts have emerged as a valuable tool in legal marketing, especially for showcasing case studies and conducting interviews. Law firms increasingly use this medium to discuss real-world legal cases they have handled, providing in-depth analysis and insights into the challenges and solutions. These case study podcasts demonstrate a firm's expertise and offer a platform to educate the audience about various legal matters.Interviews with legal experts, attorneys, and industry professionals are also becoming a popular choice. They allow law firms to engage with thought leaders in the legal field, share their perspectives, and provide valuable information to their audience. Podcasts are a versatile and accessible format that allows law firms to connect with their clients and prospects more personally and engagingly. This trend is likely to continue growing as law firms recognize the power of podcasts in building authority and connecting with their audience. ...
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Developing Content For Customers In Various Stages Of Buying Cycle
The buyer’s journey is not too hard to understand in a thoughtfully designed sales funnel. A sales funnel is step-by-step progress taken by the customer in the entire life cycle. Traditionally, it’s been split up into three areas: Awareness: Right from the start when the customer becomes aware of his need of a product in your industry category, searches for options over the web- hopefully, finding your business in the process. Consideration: By now the customer has narrowed down his choice to 2-3 options and is looking deeper into the choices by directly comparing the pros/cons, processes, etc.). This usually happens for smaller or directly beneficial individuals, but for larger B2B transactions, this is also the stage when the person doing the research may have to present his findings to higher-ups for decision making. Decision/Purchase: After much of the effort by the sales team and interactions with the customer via email, phones, or social media, this would be the stage where the customer decides to buy from you or not. A study supports the fact that a customer is already 57% through the sales process before they even contact a sales representative, it’s obvious to have useful content in place on your site. But if you’re basing your content marketing strategy only on that three-step journey, you could be leaving a big hole in your strategy-making process. Ahead in the article, we are going to list out how content can be made and optimized along with the various stages of the buyer’s journey: Developing content for customers in the pre-purchase stage, content for current customers, and content for long term/advanced customers. Businesses also need to understand the fact that a customer journey does not end when they become customers. If you stop creating content for people after they became customers, you could be ruining your retention rates or making customers feel that they you left them in cold as soon as you got their money. Developing Content For Prospects in The Pre-Purchase Stage To get it all started you must have the data from your previous or current customers that let you know that: What questions did they have in mind before they purchased your products? How did they skim through your competitors and make a choice of buying from you? Was there any hiccup or a second thought while making the purchase decision? Did you have a hard time finding answers to any specific questions about the product/service? Such case studies could prove to be helpful at any stage of the process. Answers to these questions will let you jump-start right into creating on-site content, whether it is blogs, or FAQ/knowledge base entries. But, to warn you, nobody wants to hard sell or get obsessed with selling and differentiating their product/service in every blog post on their website. Content marketing institute lists some suggestions for types of content that work well for B2B businesses in the pre-purchase stage. Developing Content For Current Customers After the sale has happened, there is the vital step of “keeping your commitments” and “maintaining customer loyalty”. So how do you plan to keep your customers happy? Did you guarantee that your product could solve a specific problem faced by the customers? Then it had better deliver. In addition to all this, there are natural emotions or hiccups along the way after making a purchase: Buyer’s remorse New influencers and decision-makers Resentment or aggression Distrust Failure to build value Every customer is bound to go through a post-sale evaluation of the decision they made to purchase the product. Failure on your part to keep commitments and drive home value and you’ll be opening doors for your competitions to make the next sale. For many businesses, this means tailoring content for mainly two departments in charge of project delivery, and customer service. Content regarding project delivery: Building trust with customers Addressing customer inquiries Does your customer understand the features? Pointing out new needs Content regarding customer service: Addressing customer emergencies Solving common product issues Continuing to build trust Explaining sensitive issues These are some of the key areas where businesses focus on creating content. There are many other issues that might be addressed by content marketing and are unique to your industry. Hence you need to look out for those issues in coordination with the sales team or the customer service team. Developing Content For Long Term/Advanced Customers Here you are creating content that helps customers get past the “my product is good enough, but it could be better” area. Now is the time to create customer loyalty or customer advocacy. Within your client base, there will be a small percentage of people who truly love what you sell. In such cases, word-of-mouth still reigns supreme and hence you should create content to encourage these customers to speak about you. Some of the key points that need to be addressed during this stage: Go the extra mile to provide your customers extra from what they have already purchased. You should always be the next choice of making a purchase whenever the time comes. Repurposing content for the current customers so that it is easily shareable, enables you to create a sales team outside your business venture. This also lets your business open up to new communities related to your current customers. These communities might not have heard about your business before but may have the need that your products can meet. Conclusion Content marketing can fit any size of the business. You just need to answer the common questions or hurdles that your prospects face before making a purchase decision from you, even if they have bought it- are they satisfied with it, what steps is your company taking to ensure that it maintains long-term relationships with the existing clients. ...
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Don’t Overlook Social Media in your Internet Marketing campaign!
The rise of social media in the past decades Since the inception of the internet to the introduction of the first social media site Six degrees back in 1997 to becoming an indispensable part of marketing for businesses globally, social media has come a long way in the past two decades and how! LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram have become social media magnates, helping build and strengthen personal or professional connections. But that's not the extent of how social media is being utilized. Business of all scale; SME or large are leveraging from what different social media platform has to offer. While almost a decade ago, not many businesses were investing in building their online presence but now not having a social media page for your business, today would be unusual and a significant loss of opportunities. While what was primarily focused on targeting private individuals to share their thoughts and connect with like-minded people, soon began to garner not just private but those of certain business sector. Take, for instance, spurge in the video games with the internet, made video and game developer realize how they can better connect and market their skills and expertise. Similarly, Myspace proliferation became a ground for the fledgling brands to get the producer and big music agencies to notice them and give them a chance to showcase their talents in front of the world. An example of how social media has evolved for business purpose is, when sensing the pattern, Facebook, which was initially only a student only website opened itself for businesses to attract and engage their target audience. The shift that has been brought into marketing with its unique approach has helped companies better understand their customers and market directly to them via organic marketing. Such is the evolution of social media into a powerful marketing tool that 90% of businesses in the United States are invested in social media marketing. Speaking of investment, it is expected that social media marketing spending will increase almost 10 billion from what it was in 2014, i.e., 17 billion US dollar in 2019. Considered the second most effective marketing channel, with 63% agreeing to its ability to strengthen the business's relationship with potential and existing customers, social media marketing has changed the entire marketing landscape and its operations. While the foundation of building and strengthening relationship remains the same, the ones being addressed here have changed from individual to target audience. With the technology advancing and escalating usage of smartphone, making social media more accessible it should not come as a surprise that the total number of social media users worldwide, as of 2019 are 3.2 billion. Do you know how much time is spent on social media daily? Per the Global Web Index 2018 report, a user spends 2 hours 22 minutes on a social media platform. Imagine the opportunities that businesses and brands can take advantage of from the data mentioned above. With social media changing the face of marketing, it is crucial for brands to plan and execute their campaigns through these various channels. How will internet marketing without social media cost your business? A subset of digital marketing, internet marketing comprises of several components necessary to ensure a brand’s success on online platforms, one of which is social media marketing. With millions of users spending a considerable amount of time on social media, overlooking it would be losing out on the business and profitability, it has the potential to bring. But if you are still fishing for a reason, as to why social media marketing should be made an integral part of the internet marketing campaigns, then take a look at the ways your business will suffer if you do otherwise: Gone are the days when social media was only used for advertising the launching of the products. Now, as the platforms are evolving, not investing in social media means losing considerable traffic. Social media has the potential to drive more traffic than your traditional search engines. There are no other marketing techniques like social media that lets marketers take control of their brand, improve their social presence by interacting with the consumers, working on improving themselves with their apparent changes. By overlooking social media in your internet marketing campaigns, you would be hindering your growth and the possibility to bolster your position on the internet. Can you overlook the fact that despite being one of the most cost-effective techniques, social media has a broader reach, and that's not it. The audience being advertised by your services to are tactfully selected to be the respective field’s easily influenced ad crucial customer base. After all, there must be a reason why 73% of marketers believe that social media marketing has been effective in steering the business ahead and boosting their sales. How incorporating social media in your internet campaign help your business? Incorporating social media in your internet campaigns will make it look less like an ad and more like a story or conversation starter, giving your business a chance to connect with the audience on an emotional level. Unlike other marketing techniques, social media has the power to make a brand look less like a salesperson devoid of emotion and more like a person willing to provide them with valuable information. Most of the marketing platforms come with the advertisement that interrupts the thought process and perception of the audience about the brand but utilizing social media tunes out these ads and allows marketers to engage the customers in a more relevant manner. With social media, businesses can pique interest in consumers by starting a conversation around the brand or the product/services it is offering, thereby attracting new customers and driving revenue. Social media is a useful tool for enhancing customer experience, as users have the freedom to share positive/negative feedback, their experiences, their concerns, their suggestions, which a business can pick out from and use effectively to improve their services. This is not to say that other internet marketing techniques are any less potent, but social media marketing is in a league of its own and going by the looks of it, shall continue to remain the same, helping the business expand with its unique and technologically advanced approach. Potent social media strategies for SME and large corporations One size fits all approach will never work when devising social media strategies. And just because posting and sharing have been the foundation of it, does not mean that social media entails just that. A robust social media strategies should consist of: GOAL Have you decided on what is your goals behind implementing the policy on social platforms? Is it brand awareness? Driving web traffic? Increasing online sales? Generating new leads, or just extending customer support? Have a clear understanding of what you wish to achieve out of the campaign and then devise a plan. PLATFORM Just because there are so many platforms does not mean you will benefit from all of them. Depending upon your scale and which platform your target audience is more active on, you should decide accordingly. Take, for instance, LinkedIn is right for B2Bs; Instagram is good for visual content primarily. Businesses that want to reach a wider audience should market on Facebook, while those who plan to share timely updates and relevant articles should utilize twitter. CONTENT While content is the king, not creating and optimizing it right on social media platforms can prove detrimental to the brand. Create content that resonates with the existing customer base and potential consumers. Furthermore, it is essential to have a periodically updated social media schedule to make sure everyone in the team is on the same page. TOOLS Take advantage of everything that is trending in your industry, depending upon the impact they are having on the customers. Social tools include Facebook love videos, Instagram stories, and other platform-specific tools which can help escalate your growth on social channels. ADS One of the social tools, advertisements are a common feature of social media platforms. It is not necessary that you have to run an announcement about your product and services, making it look intentional. You can run ads to grow awareness, and that might help enhance your audience reach, boost your sales. You can run webinars, promote giveaways and discounts, products, e-books, etc. To get maximum benefits out of your ads, you can create targeted advertisements, create multiple versions of it and an even better step would be to optimize it for specific metrics which could either reach, clicks, etc. Realizing its significance and the intricacies involved in effectively handling social media platforms, an increasing number of businesses are turning to qualified and experienced social media marketing professionals to make sure that their campaigns are strategized in a manner that they extensively contribute to their business goals and objectives. Saffron Edge, a comprehensive marketing solution provider with a dedicated team of social media marketing experts in New Jersey will ensure your brand stands out of the crowd on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, while you entirely focus on attaining your business objectives. ...
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