How retailers can dominate Black Friday 2018 using PPC advertising

Black Friday is still the busiest day for retailers with more than 137 million people in the US going out shopping over the four-day weekend, representing more than a third of the total population and a total spend of $717.5 billion.

The provides a huge opportunity for retailers who need to ensure that they have a robust PPC plan in place to ensure that they get the most out of the four-day weekend as having the wrong ads or bids can ruin the day for you!

In this article, I will run through several search strategies for preparing for the day that you can implement to ensure that this Black Friday is a huge success.

Black Friday promotion extensions

In terms of updating extensions you will need to ensure that you have promotion extensions in place as they will allow you to show a monetary or percentage discount alongside your search ads as shown below. There are options to set them up for both Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

These can be added at account level if you have a site-wide sale or as granularly as ad group level so you can reflect offers for specific products within your ads.

It’s best to create these extensions in advance and then use the scheduling option with the extensions to enable them on Black Friday and pause them at the end of the day on Cyber Monday.

Countdown timers

Countdown timers are a great way to create urgency and increase conversion rates. They are underutilised by advertisers so give you a great opportunity to stand out.

Countdown timers allow you to put a dynamic countdown timer into your ads that will count down each hour in real time.

Here is an example of how you could run a countdown ad for your Black Friday sale.

When PPC Hero ran a split test to determine the increase in performance that advertisers go by using this feature, they saw that CTR increased from 2.87% to 4.02%.

They also saw that the countdown timers resulted in a positive uplift in conversion rate towards the end of the sale. As the end of the sale neared the conversion rate jumped from 8.24% to 10.80% at its peak.

Increasing your budget

Increasing your daily budget for Black Friday will be a must for most retailers as search volumes for products will significantly increase. For example, here is the search volume for Macbooks on Black Friday last year:

You will see that the search volume for this term surged on Black Friday by around 40% and then peaked again on Cyber Monday. To ensure that you have full coverage it is going to be paramount that you budget 2-3x what you would usually spend on an average Friday to Monday long weekend.

You will also want to change your ad delivery options to accelerated, otherwise Google will try and pace your budget out over the day, which will result in you losing significant amount of impression share.

Schedule ads with Black Friday references

Referencing Black Friday in your ads is a great way to make sure they appear relevant.

A PPC ad reading: Cool sock fashion | fantastic fun fashion socks | Black Friday sale end in 2 hours

There are a couple of different ways that you can go about this. If you’ve not got much time you can simply change the headline 3 of your expanded text ads to “33% Off Black Friday Sale” for example.

If you’ve got more time, you may want to write new ad copies for Black Friday specifically and label these “Black Friday” and your current ads “Evergreen”. When Black Friday comes you can then simply filter your ads by label, pause the Evergreen ads and enable the Black Friday ad copy.

Add inventory references to your ads

Adding inventory references to your ads with ad customisers is a great way to create urgency as people can see how many of that item are left in stock in your ads in real time.

Here is an example of how you might want to use this on Black Friday.

A PPC ad for Gant Men's Navy Socks which ends with the words: only 5 left in stock.

You can even take this one step further and use this script to manage bids and pause ads when they become out of stock to reduce any wasted spend on Black Friday and make sure that every pound is effectively invested.

Conclusion

Black Friday is a great opportunity for retailers to drive sales, and this year will be no different. To get the most out of the long weekend it’s paramount that retailers utilise Google ads effectively and take full advantage of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday-specific features Google have added.

You should look to at the very least to add Black Friday promotion extensions to your ads and make reference to your Black Friday sale within your ad text as well as setting aside 2-3x as much budget as you would usually spend over a long weekend.

For those of you really looking to double down on performance, countdown timers and adding inventory references to your ads will help you create urgency around your Black Friday promotions and drive an uplift in performance.

By Wesley Parker, MD at Clicteq.

Artificial Intelligence Is Revolutionising Digital Marketing

Chatbot and Artificial Intelligence: Stock photo :)

Artificial Intelligence and digital marketing are beginning to go hand in hand. With the ability to collect data, analyze it, apply it and then learn from it- AI is transforming digital strategy. As it continues to advance, so will the capabilities to use it to improve digital marketing strategies and valuable customer insights for companies.

Here are 3 ways AI is changing digital marketing for the better.

Better User Experience

The most important aspect of a successful digital marketing strategy is great customer experience. When the content is relevant to the user, they are more likely to convert and become recurring customers and have brand loyalty. Artificial intelligence can significantly help with that in its ability to collect data and decide which content is the most applicable based on things like location, historical data and past behavior. When doing so, it gives the user the impression that the brand was built specifically for them.

For retail, AI can be a game changer for online shopping experiences with new advancements in augmented reality where customers can actually “try” a product before making a purchase. There are now apps where you can actually “try on” clothes to see how items will look on you without ever stepping foot into the store. This means less dissatisfied customers, lower returns and higher engagement online for a brand.

Voice search technology is also a great addition of AI in digital marketing that can get faster results. Companies can now write their site to coincide with virtual assistants like Alexa, Google Home and SIRI. If you do it correctly, you can move your brand to be the first result on a voice search which can really help with brand recognition.

Predictive Customer Behavior

Not only can AI personalize a customer experience on past behavior, but it can also predict behavior for new and existing users. With the help of data management platforms (DMP) collecting second and third-party data now, AI can collect information about your users across the internet and not just in a session on your site. This can help personalize to their needs automatically through journeys and profiles enabling you to target your potential leads and eliminating those unlikely to convert enabling you to concentrate on formulating and executing effective marketing strategies.

While it is far from perfect, AI is constantly collecting, analyzing and interpreting data to get smarter at utilizing it. With new algorithms, all the time, accuracy of customer journeys will get more efficient and help determine sales forecasting and ROI so that your business can provide the best experience for customers and right tools to help your business succeed.

Real-time customer support

One of the biggest things customers look for in a good digital experience is quick resolutions and response. With the introduction of AI chatbots, an automated tool that gives the impression of talking to an actual customer service person in real time, AI can deliver that experience in real time.

Chatbots can use terms to seem more “human-like” and can answer basic questions, track and fulfill orders and help solve simple issues. Facebook messenger has integrated the chatbot feature for company Facebook pages to help improve customer service for businesses. These bots can be available 24/7 and can reduce call wait time for customers having issues which can increase customer satisfaction overall.

Artificial intelligence continues to grow and improve and won’t slow down for a while. Implementing AI into your digital marketing strategy will help customers have a better experience and give your business the insights it needs to succeed.

Artificial intelligence continues to grow and improve and won’t slow down for a while. Implementing AI into your digital marketing strategy will help customers have a better experience and give your business the insights it needs to succeed.

By Nicole Martin @ Forbes.com

RIP Google+: Google to shut down Google+ after failing to disclose user data breach

This March, as Facebook was coming under global scrutiny over the harvesting of personal data for Cambridge Analytica, Google discovered a skeleton in its own closet: a bug in the API for Google+ had been allowing third-party app developers to access the data not just of users who had granted permission, but of their friends.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s almost exactly the scenario that got Mark Zuckerberg dragged in front of the US Congress. The parallel was not lost on Google, and the company chose not to disclose the data leak, the Wall Street Journal revealed Monday, in order to avoid the public relations headache and potential regulatory enforcement.

Disclosure will likely result “in us coming into the spotlight alongside or even instead of Facebook despite having stayed under the radar throughout the Cambridge Analytica scandal”, Google policy and legal officials wrote in a memo obtained by the Journal. It “almost guarantees Sundar will testify before Congress”, the memo said, referring to the company’s CEO, Sundar Pichai. The disclosure would also invite “immediate regulatory interest”.

Shortly after the story was published, Google announced that it will shut down consumer access to Google+ and improve privacy protections for third-party applications.

In a blog post about the shutdown, Google disclosed the data leak, which it said potentially affected up to 500,000 accounts. Up to 438 different third-party applications may have had access to private information due to the bug, but Google apparently has no way of knowing whether they did because it only maintains logs of API use for two weeks.

“We found no evidence that any developer was aware of this bug, or abusing the API, and we found no evidence that any profile data was misused,” Ben Smith, the vice-president of engineering, wrote in the blogpost.

Smith defended the decision not to disclose the leak, writing: “Whenever user data may have been affected, we go beyond our legal requirements and apply several criteria focused on our users in determining whether to provide notice.”

Digital Trends That Are Changing The Way We Market To Consumers in 2018

The world is changing, and technology is taking the lead. Today, everything is going digital -- entertainment, health, real estate, banking and even currencies. This is, however, understandable. In North America alone, 89% of the population is online according to data from statista.com.

With everything turning to digital, it means companies are also jumping online to market their businesses. And to survive the challenges of digital marketing, brands need to keep up with the latest trends. Successfully reaching one’s target audience is no longer just putting out TV and print ads. These days, social media is the new arena of digital marketers, as 3.3 billion people are active social media users.

Notably, according to January 2018 data, also from statista.com, 24% of the 5,700 global marketers who were surveyed revealed that social media has been an important part of their marketing for the past five years.

To keep up with the ever-changing scene, digital marketing experts need to stay in step with the evolving tech trends. Social media marketing companies like ours work tirelessly to research consumers and what makes them engage with brands. We try to find the best online solutions that will cater to our clients’ end-users’ queries in the easiest and most cost-efficient way possible -- be it by developing new technology or adapting to trends.

After much research, here are the leading digital marketing trends that are paving the way in 2018.

1. Interactive Chatbots

Chatbots have been around for some time now. The technology, which combines the use of text, voice and messaging to converse directly with consumers, has been used longer than virtual reality. But this year, it’s taking the spotlight.

According to a 2017 report by Grand View Research, the global chatbot market is estimated to see a compound annual growth rate of 24.3% and is projected to reach $1.25 billion by 2025. In 2017, LivePerson conducted a survey of 5,000 consumers based in six countries and found that 67% of those surveyed are using chatbots for customer support. Furthermore, 38% had positive feedback, and only 11% registered negative reactions to the technology.

Messaging applications such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp also make use of messenger bots that are customized to push out products and services. They do this not only by promoting the brands, but also providing the potential user a personalized customer service experience.

The main reason why this technology is so successful is likely that it answers the consumers’ need for information quickly and accurately. Chatbots can also collect data about their users, which feeds into improving interaction with them.

Of course, much like any other technology, there are a few things to note before adopting it. Marketers should consider where to use chatbots. For example, businesses with greater Facebook engagement may want to incorporate a chatbot in their Facebook Messenger; those who have more website traffic may benefit more from website chatbots.

Nonetheless, the tech not only provides a more efficient and responsive way to deal with customers; it is also more cost-effective than hiring customer relations staff.

2. Voice Search

As more and more people are on the go, the use of voice search and voice commands is increasing. Voice assistants are empowering mobile users to access information online and do certain tasks like never before. In the U.S. alone, the use of voice assistants is expected to grow by 128.9% in 2018, compared to 2017. That’s a total of 35.6 million Americans using the service at least once a month.

While the growth is positive, it is a big challenge for businesses as well. Unlike the usual online searches with pages upon pages of results, voice searches will only give the top, most related answer to a query. Businesses want to be that one result that matches a user’s voice query.

What does this mean for digital marketers? It means optimizing content to suit the requirements of voice searches. Publish content that solves or answers consumers’ queries. It’s also important to use natural conversational language, as well as longer phrases or full sentences as keywords. This not only helps the end-user but also makes the content voice-search-friendly.

3. Integrating AI And Blockchain Technologies

Blockchain technology is already disrupting the way the world views finance and financial systems. Its power is not limited to these sectors, however. In recent years, it has already expanded to digital marketing.

Technology has allowed marketers to track where their ads are placed and ensure that real consumers, rather than automated bots, are clicking on their ads. This makes customer engagement data more reliable and makes sure brands’ marketing assets are not being put to waste.

Consumers can also benefit from the transparent nature of blockchain technology, as it gives them more control over how their personal data should be used by advertisers. When consumer trust increases, the likelihood of them sharing personal information also surges. This helps marketers and companies to know them better.

There are a few game-changing services that can help marketers effectively track marketing efforts through blockchain, making sure that every penny is being put where it’s supposed to go. While this would mean additional expenses, the return on investment makes it worth the extra dollars by making sure every ad reaches the target audience.

4. Influencer Marketing

In today’s world, where social media is ubiquitous, people tend to gravitate toward experiences that are authentic and real. And potential customers are more likely to believe a real person over an advertisement about how good a certain product or brand is. This is where influencers come in.

While influencer marketing can be very effective, it may also be costly. To get the most out of a business’s marketing budget, marketers should choose their influencers carefully and make sure the ambassadors they use cater to and reach the right consumers. Using an effective hashtag that people can easily remember and adopt will further help the campaign.

For digital marketers to become more effective, regularly assessing and evaluating strategies should be commonplace. Taking note of the latest digital marketing technologies and trends will be the driving force for success.

My interview with European CEO magazine

Even though 24option pivoted its entire product offering to forex and CFD less than a year ago,
it has grown extensively over the past several months

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with European CEO magazine for an interview regarding the new ESMA regulations on CFD trading and how these have impacted the Financial Trading industry in Cyprus and the rest of Europe.

You can find the article here:

https://www.europeanceo.com/finance/24option-profits-from-forex-pivot-amid-new-esma-regulations/

For those of you who are not familiar with the publication: European CEO is a leading subscription-based print and online publication, delivered quarterly to c-suite executives in 28 countries throughout Europe.

With a network of journalists reporting to headquarters in London, European CEO provides the numbers, detailed analysis, strategy and guidance needed to make qualified business decisions in Europe’s diverse marketplace. 

You can visit their website by clicking here or follow them on Twitter @europeanceo

My interview with World Finance Magazine - Summer 2018

Take a look at my interview in the Summer 2018 edition of Worldfinance Magazine, where I discuss the evolving regulatory and advertising requirements that are redefining the Forex and CFD industry landscape. My interview is on pages 126-127.

Marios Chailis Interview, Worldfinance Magazine Summer 2018 Edition

You can view the magazine here: https://www.worldfinance.com/magazine

Alternatively you can download a PDF version by clicking here.

2018 digital marketing challenges (and how to overcome them)

Digital marketing has become an important area, if not the primary area of focus, for most small-business leaders. But as the digital landscape continues to evolve, so do the challenges. 

Last month, Infusionsoft released the top five digital marketing trends for small businesses. It wasn’t surprising to see that most of the trends centered around the challenges that small businesses face when it comes to reaching potential customers in today’s digital age. 

So what are the most common digital marketing challenges businesses will face this year? And, more importantly, how do you overcome them? Here are three to know.

Challenge #1: Defining success

Some 46 percent of small-business leaders don’t know if their digital marketing strategies are working. This means that the majority of small businesses are spending their marketing budget on strategies they aren’t certain are working. 

How do you solve this challenge? There are really two keys: Take time to determine your goals, and identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) that drive toward that goal.

For example, if you want to generate more leads in 2018, set a goal, then find a way to measure things like inbound traffic, new potential leads, qualified leads, conversion rates, etc. Taking time to do the hard work of setting goals and KPIs before you get in the day-to-day grind of managing your digital marketing campaigns is essential for defining success. 

Challenge #2: Working with a limited budget

While they might be investing more in other areas, more than one-quarter of small- business leaders will try to get by in 2018 without spending more on digital marketing.

Whether you’re facing this challenge because you aren’t sure digital marketing works or you’re being asked to scale back, there are ways to overcome the obstacles around working with a limited budget.

Digital marketing works best when you focus on adding value to your customers. People are searching for your business (or businesses like yours) to help solve their problems. Some 93 percent of B2B sales start with search. Creating strategic content that helps them solve their problems not only helps you show up in search engines, but it also helps you earn their trust and attention as they’re learning about your brand.

Challenge #3: Finding enough time 

When asked about their biggest marketing challenge in 2018, respondents indicated that their No. 1 challenge was simply finding the time or resources for marketing. Struggling to find enough time and resources to devote to marketing is something I hear every week. And when they do focus on marketing, they spread thin in a hundred different other areas. 

The time problem can be difficult to solve. We still haven’t figured out how to add more hours in the day (although I’m hoping 2018 might be the year). This is why finding the an agency partner might be the way to go.

Finding a partner who understands your business and focuses on marketing so you can spend time focusing on the things only you can do (selling, leading your business, etc.) might be one of the best decisions you make this year. 

As we head into 2018, there’s a lot we can’t predict, but one thing I do know is that you will face challenges. Maybe it’s one of these three challenges. Maybe it’s something different. While you may not be able to control every situation you face, knowing there will be obstacles (and watching for them along the way) is something you can do ... and leading your business through challenges you absolutely can do this year.

By Samantha Owens Pyle: the owner and chief strategist of Green Apple Strategy, a Nashville, Tenn.-based marketing and branding firm.