💾 Google Getting Worse?

In Today's Issue

• Walk the Talk Webinar Today

• The Research Confirms Google’s Slide

• Growth Tips

• Moves That Move the Needle

• Barcodes: A Bygone Era?

• Missing Google Algorithm Updates?

• What If Advertising Was Honest?

Walk the Talk

One of the few people I know in marketing who talks as he walks is Chris "Mercer" Mercer. He is accountable. He is exactly what he promises. He cares about doing things the right way.

That’s why I am hosting a webinar to talk with him on Wednesday, the 24th (today) at 1 PM EST. The webinar is an extended version of a 60-second elevator pitch he gave me for measurement marketing on a car ride to the Austin airport last month, where he made me so pumped I would have run through a brick wall. It’s unlike anything I’ve seen before at scale, and it has me completely reconsidering how I think about measurement in a post-GA4 world.

You can join us here today. This isn’t one you’ll want to miss!

Researchers confirm what we already knew: Google results really are getting worse

It isn’t all in your head. And it isn’t just an isolated issue.

A team of German researchers spent a year analyzing the results of nearly 7,500 product review search queries. They found that high-ranking results were characterized by more SEO optimization, more monetization through affiliate marketing, and measurably lower text quality. They noted that all search engines (Bing, DuckDuckGo, Google) had significant problems and concluded that search engines seem to be losing the cat-and-mouse game with SEO spam.

The study casts doubt on the effectiveness of updates that aim to counter these practices and promote “people-first content.” It also begs the question of AI’s impact on search-optimized content marketing. What happens when generative AI draws from low-quality content to pump out higher volumes of lower-quality content?

Google responded by pointing out that the study’s narrow focus on product reviews obscures the overall quality and utility of the results delivered to the billions of queries they see every day. Google went on to point out that the study acknowledged the specific improvements they had implemented over the year and the higher quality of Google’s results.

Finding solutions to this problem is going to be tricky. A ban would punish all of the authentic sites that use affiliate marketing and SEO as revenue streams along with the bad actors who are gaming the system. What can you do?

I think that it’s important to be thoughtful in your approach and stick to best practices. A “when in Rome” approach will only turn search marketing into a race to the bottom. 

• This article from SearchEngineJournal reviews Google’s best practices for transitioning websites without taking an SEO hit. 

• Patrick Stox at Ahrefs has solid advice to help enterprise sites make quality SEO enhancements without getting overwhelmed by the sheer size of your site. 

• Aatif Mohd has tips on how to use Google Discover to drive organic traffic for eCommerce.

As SEO continues to grow,  agencies need to remember that there is no “easy button”. Complexity will force agencies to stay adaptable and use all of their resources to find solutions.

How 72,000+ CEOs & Marketers Start Their Day

We all agree marketing is the lifeblood of every business. 

But are you wondering which new customer acquisition channels brands are finding success with? Trying to figure out how to create landing pages that actually convert clicks into customers? Debating on taking Tik Tok seriously or not? 

Well more than 72,000+ world class CEOs, Founders, & Marketers are getting the answers to all of those questions and more by simply reading Growth Daily for 5 minutes every morning! 

Dubbed “The WSJ of marketing” by its readers, Growth Daily delivers the most impactful news, tips, tools, and insights for all things business growth!

Subscribe here to become a master growth marketer!

🎨 12 Design Best Practices for Landing Page Form Optimization

Brian Massey over at Conversion Sciences knows what it takes to get results from your landing pages. It’s about creating a user journey that guides visitors toward an informed choice. Here are his top recommendations for optimizing landing page templates.

If you want more of Brian’s best advice, you’ll be happy to know that his newest course is now available on DDU (you can start learning now with a 7-day trial).

🥰 The Economics of Fandom: How Brand Dedication Drives Revenue

We’ve been watching an interesting social experiment unfold in real time over the past few months. Gia Lee at Convince & Convert looks at the “Taylor Swift effect” on Travis Kelce’s social media following and jersey sales, Kansas City Chiefs ticket sales on StubHub, and more to highlight the difference between brand loyalists and fans.

While some branding “big dogs” have managed to cultivate loyal customers, Lee argues that no brand has yet achieved the kind of fandom that Taylor Swift or some KPop groups have. There are lessons to be learned from fandom. And, if the Taylor Swift effect is any indication, there will be big rewards for the brands that get it right.

📈By the Numbers: The Paid Channels Marketers Plan to Increase Spend On in 2024

Avaz Nanji over at MarketingProfs has done the hard work of breaking down the data from a recent survey conducted by Mediaocean.

The research was conducted in November of 2023, so you know the data is fresh. Knowing where marketers will be moving their budgets in the coming year is a great way to evaluate your own plans or prepare to meet your client’s demands. Take a look and see if you find any surprises in the responses!

The Last Days of the Barcode

Leave it to The Atlantic to find insightful questions about where we’re heading buried in the seemingly mundane minutiae of something so pervasive that we all take it for granted. Hanna Rosin sees the humble barcode as an invention that shaped our consumer appetites. Her conversation with editor Saahil Desai considers the balance between competition and cooperation that went into developing a technology that helped globalize consumer markets.

Desai argues that without the barcode, the era of big-box stores and billion-dollar franchises wouldn’t have been possible. But he goes on to note that the GS1, the organization that issues UPCs for products, has announced that they will stop issuing UPCs in 2027 in favor of QR codes.

It’s this move to QR codes that has Desai wondering what the future holds. After all, a barcode gives producers information about their products in the market. But QR codes have the potential to give marketers much more. Desai admits to feeling uneasy about the data harvesting and targeted advertising that he sees following on the heels of the transition to QR codes. But he also acknowledges the rapid disruptions that are inherent in the emergence of AI. Which leads him to wonder what comes next.

If there’s a lesson here, it’s found in the part of the conversation that focuses on the cooperation that went into developing a new technology that made immeasurable progress possible. But the potential for progress and peril exist side-by-side in every new technology.

Don't Miss Another Google Algorithm Update Ever Again!

Sick of being surprised by ranking algorithms and other key Google updates? Nick LeRoy sends out the #SEOForLunch newsletter every Tuesday. This email recaps everything you need to know about organic search updates in as little as your lunch break.  

Nick spends hours every single week reading, digesting, and curating ALL search engine updates. The #SEOForLunch includes ONLY the stuff that matters saving you hours of reading and guessing what matters for the world of organic search. Sign up for the #SEOForLunch

• What If Advertising Was Honest? - YouTube

• Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks - Business Unfiltered Podcast

• Latest YouTube Updates on Live streaming explained - YouTube

• SEO for a new website - Do this the first thirty days. - YouTube

• Avoid The Noise: How To Prove That Your SEO Matters - YouTube

• So What? Generative AI and Analytics - YouTube

• Is Google Really Getting Worse? - Niche Pursuits Podcast

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