What does voice innovation mean for search marketing?

The upsurge in the use of voice-controlled devices has rocked the way we, as people, behave. So many households now rely on gadgets like Alexa to play music, check the weather and turn out the lights. They’ve introduced a newfound level of convenience – and some would argue laziness – to consumers’ lives.

These same innovations have changed how some people buy – albeit usually simple commodities – online, and they’re even being used to settle...

Salesforce and Google ramp up data sharing partnership for CRM marketing

Following integration between their CRM and analytics products late last year, Salesforce and Google have announced that they will now share data between Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Google Analytics 360.

The tie-in between the two cloud-based products, which is already in trial with brands including Ticketmaster, would allow Salesforce customers to access insights from both platforms to build highly-personalised and reactive campaigns based on cross-channel...

The ultimate checklist for a successful websites launch: Marketer’s edition

It’s the 11th hour and the launch of the new website is imminent. Prospects and customers are primed and colleagues and senior management are stood in the wings, waiting in anticipation for this all-singing, all-dancing new website – god forbid that once it goes live something catastrophic happens. Every T should be crossed and each lowercase I dotted.

Marketers put complete faith in web designers and developers, but it’s worth knowing things to look out for –...

How to use visual analytics to optimise your retargeting strategy

Visual analytics, the ability to visually analyse data with software that allows you to ask and answer endless questions, helps marketers to decode the complex world of consumer retargeting. It allows them to understand who their customers are and why they behave the way they do. With data visualisation technology, consumer behaviour can be tracked in real time and analysed to predict future trends, allowing companies to keep their retargeting strategies relevant and up to...

Who won the Oscars Twitter battle?

As well as the usually hotly-contested battles for best director and actors, the Oscars in recent years has become a competition for social media dominance as well. Social analytics provide a good indicator of where the public interest lies, and whether this diverges with the industry narrative.

The news coverage of the annual awards bonanza was dominated by the ongoing scandal enveloping Hollywood. Two studies of social media on Twitter both in the run up to, and during the ceremony...

Emotions: The key to great UX

The success of marketing often depends on how effectively you can tap into the emotions of your target audience. A well-designed website, good navigation, intuitive UX and easy to understand copy make things simple and give your visitors a sense of control.

This can be a strong and positive emotion, which builds trust and helps customers or leads see value from your content and see your brand in a positive light.

This article looks at the value that UX brings to your customers...

Journey analytics show the customer experience through a different lens

Marketing directors can’t make decisions in a vacuum. They need information about their customers, their channels and all the touchpoints that help them to connect with each other. How can they deliver what the customer wants unless they can see through the customer’s lens?

Customer interactions with a brand are now defined as their ‘journey’ and it is insight into that journey that helps organisations to plan product roadmaps or launch new services. McKinsey...

How testing can harm sales

Testing is important in marketing. An ongoing cycle of testing, optimising and retesting helps to ensure that you’re always improving, and A/B and multivariate testing are incredibly popular for websites. Identifying the factors or combination of factors that deliver the best results is extremely valuable.

But one thing that is commonly overlooked is the impact of testing on websites – or specifically, on page load times.

Not everyone realises that third-party...

Analyse, report, repeat: Here’s what you need to be tracking

When your boss asks you how the online marketing efforts are doing, what do you say? “We’ve increased impressions by 30% and traffic is up 15%.” Do you know what that means for business growth? Does your boss?

Digital marketing is great for equipping businesses and marketers with the data to define their success and find unending opportunities for growth. Unfortunately, this also makes it incredibly difficult for marketing leaders to determine what truly matters to...

Product pages: make them perfect

As ecommerce continues its explosive growth, consumers are buying more than ever before.  Dollars are shifting to digital, with online sales projected to exceed $523 billion by 2020.

That’s a big deal.

At the same time, the landscape has also grown fiercely competitive and consumer-dominated.

More connected and empowered than ever before, today’s shoppers don’t just expect, they demand immersive, engaging digital experiences.

It’s...