Ever wonder how the “dog days of summer” got that name?
It is not because the temperatures make us all want to lie around panting.
Per usual, we online marketers are feeling changes firing up our industry. You know what they say – if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.
Or, read this post to catch up and cool off.
The Peak of Summer Heat in the Search Marketing Industry
The term “dog days of summer” refers to the hottest time of the year[i]. Ancient people realized Sirius, or “The Dog Star,” rose with the sun into the sky. People mistakenly thought it must help the sun crank up the summer heat, since it is usually the brightest star at night. Just a little something to keep in your back pocket for trivia night.
The “dog days” technically end in the last week of August, as summer comes to a close.
We have also experienced a change in the search seasons, the full effects of which are yet to be determined.
1. Bon Voyage, Authorship
Did you catch your pretty picture showing up in the SERPs less and less this year? Say “Sayonara!” to Authorship, which supposedly did not influence click-through rates anyway. Ahem. Moving on…
2. Pigeon is Pretty Aptly Named, Actually
We have certainly been seeing big changes in traffic to our sites and search rankings from Google Pigeon.
Local business review sites like Yelp are showing up higher in results, so you probably saw an uptick in referrals from that site species – Localis reviewus.
Pigeon just keeps dropping surprises on unsuspecting marketers, so you may want to read up on it. They could be unpleasant if you were not appropriately prepared.
If you already worked to target local customer segments, you are sitting pretty at this point. So far, it has been pretty good for our clients. Let us know your take on Pigeon!
- Researching Google Pigeon? Remember this April Fools’ PigeonRank prank?
- Read more about Pigeon’s effects and how to adjust your strategy from Search Engine Watch.
3. A Whole Lotta AdWords Updates
Callout Extensions – September 3rd
This announcement came from Google just a few days ago on their AdWords blog, for immediate rollout.
Callout extensions are additional sections of text within AdWords ads that provide your audience with a few more tantalizing tidbits of information. Or to put it more blandly, “highlight specific information about your products and services.”
This could be a win-win for those hoping to drive conversions on-site. While your CTR may decrease, seasoned SEMs know that campaigns are optimized through delivering qualified visitors. This can save you dollars lost due to false leads and drive down cost per acquisition.
Speaking of Cost Per Acquisition…
Sometimes marketers, shall we say, lose the forest for the trees. Creating conversions is great, but we ultimately want to increase the profit margin of our clients, right?
How do you know your ad dollars are driving the optimum profit margin? Google has kindly released a great guide on how to practice profit-driven marketing.
My thoughts? It looks an awful lot like my managerial economics class all over again, with a bit of accounting mixed in. Higher education professionals: take note in pushing these skills for marketers. This would make a fantastic addition to any modern marketing curriculum.
Click, and Then Call Me, Maybe?
Just when you thought your mind was free from Carly Jepsen’s ruthless grasp…how many years has it been? Sorry to bring it back up.
Google AdWords rolled out a fantastic new call-tracking feature that dynamically inserts a unique phone number on your site’s pages, after a click-through.
Learn more about Google AdWords website call conversions by reading our last blog post.
