Daily Search Forum Recap: January 15, 2018

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Google My Business Videos Now Live
  About 10 days ago we reported some businesses and merchants were seeing video upload features in the Google My Business dashboard. Well, Google's Allyson Wright announced in a Google My Business Help thread on Friday that this feature is now fully live...
• Google Confirms AdSense Earnings Drops, Blames Issue To Crawler Access
  We have been reporting on the ongoing issues of AdSense publishers complaining about drops in earnings and ad display issues, resulting in drops in earnings. Well, finally...
• Google Reverse Image Search Matching Images Bug To Be Fixed
  Last week we reported on a possible bug or change with reverse image search in Google. Well, it is a bug...
• Larry Markovitz - The Search Community Honors You
  This is part of the say something nice about an SEO/SEM series - feel free to nominate someone over here. Larry Markovitz lives in Miami, Florida with his family and is the CEO of Markati Group...
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2018 With A Google Logo & Bing Theme
  Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the day America honors the American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement. Google honors Martin Luther King Jr. every year, it is an American holiday...
• Google Working On Cryptography? Make Payments Great Again Hat
  The other day, I spotted this photo on Twitter from one of the desks at the Google Boulder office with a ton of books on cryptography and on top of the books is a hat, a Trump style hat, that says Mak

Other Great Search Forum Threads:

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5 Reasons You Need Healthcare Digital Marketing To Grow Your Business

by Robert Clough

Do you want to grow your medical practice or healthcare supply company? Here's 5 reasons you need healthcare digital marketing to get more customers or clients.

The use of healthcare digital marketing has increased in the last few years. This is due to the adoption of internet devices by patients and physicians alike. 72 percent of internet users got health information online in 2013.

In fact, digital marketing is fast overtaking the traditional form of marketing. When you combine these facts, the need for healthcare digital marketing becomes obvious.

If you are not tech savvy, the most obvious question here is;

What is Healthcare Digital Marketing?

It is the application of digital marketing strategies in the healthcare industry. Digital marketing strategies include;

• Social media marketing

• Mobile marketing

• Search engine marketing

• Content marketing and others

It is an excellent way of marketing because it is cheaper than the traditional form. The staggering number of internet users makes it practical too. The opportunities are abundant; it would be unwise not to use it.

Why You Need Digital Healthcare Marketing to Grow Your Business

Here are five reasons you need healthcare digital marketing to grow your business.

Your Patients Are Now Online

The birth of the internet has changed how patients find their healthcare provider. Social media platforms make it even easier. An analysis shows that online information affects the way consumers perceive their health.

Patients are using internet devices more and spending more time online. As such, a healthcare provider would be a mistake not to take advantage of it. No matter your specialization, using healthcare digital marketing is vital for growth.

An impressive online image is appealing to both existing and potential patients.

Cheaper Way to Reach the Right Audience

The modern-day marketing is more precise than it used to be. Your target audience determines the strategy used.

Basically, for every product or service, a customer is willing to pay good money for it. Customers would preferably buy healthcare products like a Green Trousers Molift Smart 150 online than work into a store. The real question is, how do you find these potential customers?

There are plenty of social media platforms with audience scattered across the globe. Pick specific people based on their interests, demographics and more. In that way, you can advertise to the right customers every time. It's an efficient way to market your business.

If your healthcare business is small and you have no marketing budget, no worries. Digital marketing is the way to go. The more prominent corporation may hold the advantage in traditional marketing.

However, digital marketing levels the playing field. It doesn't matter how small you are; online presence is all you need.

Access to relevant digital marketing tool will give you a global reach at a low price. In comparison, you won't get far using traditional tools such as;

• Television

• Newspapers

• Banners and Posters

The list shows conventional marketing channels. Digital marketing is taking over from these channels because they've proven to be more efficient.

It's a Good Way to Interact with Patients

Healthcare digital marketing helps you stay on top of patients' evolving demands. It allows you to upgrade your product as their preferences change. Here is how that happens.

Interacting with your patients through social media ensures that you know what they're interested in. Through their expressed interests, you'll know their likes and dislikes. Efficient marketing is built on information like these. They pave the way for future offerings.

Apart from interaction, you'll also have the opportunity of engaging your client. Unlike traditional marketing which is one-sided, digital marketing is a two ways communication. Hear the opinion of customers through the use of social media platforms. They get to give you feedback about your healthcare product or service.

What do you get from this? Better product and services, and a stronger healthcare digital marketing plan.

Grow Your Online Reputation

A good branding is a necessity for the long-term growth of any business. It is the perception of the patients about your business. As such, it takes years to build. That was before the use of digital marketing. Now, small healthcare businesses are in a position to do just that.

The use of social media and targeted ads helps you to create an excellent experience for clients. Combine this with interactions and engagements; you are on your way towards building a strong brand.

Getting consistent traffic on your practice website is an excellent way of doing this. Here are some ideas for getting that traffic;

• Post relevant content on your social media page

• Address clients' worries in the comment section of your website

• Guest post articles on authority websites and blogs

• Join existing conversations on Quora, LinkedIn, and Twitter

The idea here is to leverage social media, your website content, guest posts, and Q&A forums to win influence, and improve your online reputation.

Other Healthcare Businesses Are Doing It

That's right; your competitors are already using it. Ignoring digital marketing in this digital world is a sure way of killing your business. A review of the marketing strategies of your competitors will tell you how many have opted for digital marketing.

You are wondering, wouldn't that be repeating what others are doing?

Yes, it is. However, the key is for you to do it differently. Do it better than they did it. There are various options to choose from when employing digital marketing. Some of them are already outlined above.

Don't be afraid to experiment a little. Combine these options to market your healthcare business and showcase you're the unique services you offer. The plan has to fit your ideology and reflect your goals. Don't forget to keep everything within your budget.

Wrapping Things Up

Growth is necessary for success in any healthcare business. This growth can be achieved by building a strong brand for your business and increasing your customer base. Using an outdated marketing technique will only impede the progress. This is why you need healthcare digital marketing.

It's a cheap way of getting a global reach. And you can provide better products and services by engaging your clients. Moreover, all your competitors are already using it, don't get left out.

Are you are interested in learning more about using healthcare digital marketing to grow your business? Search Engine Guide provides a robust resource for your online healthcare marketing needs. Click here to enjoy our search engine optimization (SEO) tools.

Be sure and visit our small business news site.

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Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2018 Google doodle honors Dr. King & his dream for a better world

Google is marking Martin Luther King Day with a doodle designed by the guest artist, Cannaday Chapman.

According to Chapman, his image of a young girl on her father’s shoulders listening to Dr. King speak is meant to evoke Dr. King’s dream of creating a better world for all children.

“It may appear that this movement or any civil rights movement was brought about by one person, but it’s the people that have the power to bring change,” says Chapman whose artwork highlights Dr. King’s audience versus depicting an image of the civil rights champion.

Leading to a search for “Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2018,” the doodle was created in collaboration with the Black Googlers Network, an internal employee group focused on on empowering Google’s black community.

Chapman says he wants his artwork on Google’s homepage to inspire people to reflect on this moment in history.

“I would like people to remember that current events and our actions today will shape the future generations of tomorrow. What kind of example do we want to set for our children and our children’s children?”

When asked what Martin Luther King Day means to him, Chapman says Dr. King’s message is especially relevant for today and the remainder of civilization.

“Dr. King is most remembered for fighting for the rights of African Americans, but he fought for the rights of all Americans. He believed in fairness and equity for everyone,” says Chapman, “As a black man, I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing today if it wasn’t for him and the brave people of the civil rights movement.”

In addition to publishing an interview with Chapman on the Google Doodle Blog, Google shared a few of his initial sketches for the doodle:

Here is the full Martin Luther King Day image currently on Google’s homepage:

A professional artist and illustrator, Chapman’s work has appeared in a number of well-known publications, including The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Oprah Magazine — and now Google’s homepage in the US.

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About The Author

Amy Gesenhues is Third Door Media's General Assignment Reporter, covering the latest news and updates for Search Engine Land and Marketing Land. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including

MarketingProfs.com

,

SoftwareCEO.com

, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy's articles.

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Google to fix reverse image search bug

Google has confirmed it is working on a fix for a bug that is affecting reverse image search, which can be used to find related images, sites using an image and other sizes of an image.

Because of the bug, first reported on Thursday, the section of those search results that typically show “Pages that include matching images” no longer display the thumbnails of matching images or their dimensions.

Danny Sullivan, Google’s public liaison for search, confirmed the reverse image search bug on Twitter Saturday. Sullivan added that a fix is in progress and that it could “take up to a week for the fix to fully roll out to everyone.”

This is what you should see in the “Pages that include matching images” section of reverse image search results:

This is how that section appears — without the thumbnail images and images dimensions — as a result of the bug.

Again, this should be resolved within a week, according to Google.

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Understanding AdWords keyword match types for manufacturers

In a previous column, I addressed the challenges paid search advertising can present to industrial manufacturers who sell capabilities versus stock products.

Another challenge is the AdWords help files themselves. As an advertising platform, AdWords is geared more to retailers — when a platform uses common retail products to illustrate keyword strategies, it’s often hard to see how the example relates to keywords for complex manufacturing capabilities.

For example, under Basic Tips for Building a Keyword List, AdWords uses the example of men’s shoes:

If you’re a manufacturer offering a capability or products manufactured to engineers’ specifications for use in unique applications, it can be tough to come up with multiple basic categories if you’re thinking in terms of clothing items. “Well,” you might think, “we make precision machined parts,” or, “we electropolish stainless steel parts. I can’t think of another category.”

This confusion then carries over into keyword match type. “If you sell hats,” says one of the help files, then adding a “+women’s hats” will ensure your ads get shown.

“Errrr… but we do machining,” you’re thinking. “How do these matching options apply to us?”

Keyword match types — the “don’t hurt my brain” version

When you input your keywords into AdWords, you need to select the keyword match type: Broad, Modified Broad, Phrase, or Exact.

Keyword match types help control how Google searches will trigger your ads. If you match too broadly, your ads may get triggered by irrelevant searches, which can lead to costly non-converting clicks.

Match too tightly, and your ads may not trigger at all because of the dreaded “low search volume” message.

To facilitate understanding of match types for manufacturers just starting out in AdWords, I’ve used the analogy of print media advertising in the following examples. (PPC pros will know I’m taking some liberties using this analogy. But while it’s not perfect, it does communicate the main idea.)

All examples used are for illustrative purposes only. My agency has no relationship with any of the companies shown in the screenshots.

1. Broad match

Broad match is the default match type, and with it, you reach the widest audience. With Broad Match, your ad may appear when a user’s search query includes any word in your key phrase, in any order, along with variations of it — which you can see in Figure 1 for the search phrase “metal stamping.”

Notice how the second ad reads, “Stamp your own jewelry & metal,” while the third ad is for metal stamp kits from Amazon.

Using the print media analogy, Broad Match is the equivalent of putting an ad in the front section of a major urban newspaper, such as the Boston Globe. You’re reaching a wide audience with little segmentation.

Figure 1: Broad match example

2. Modified broad match

Let’s say your company makes die-cut metal parts. To segment your audience by application type, you can use modified broad match by placing a “+” sign in front of die-cut. Your keyword match would look like this: +die-cut metal stamping. The “+” sign tells Google to show your ads for broad match queries that include “metal stamping” plus this differentiator (Figure 2).

Modified broad match allows you to segment your audience while still keeping relatively high impression volumes (important if you’re also trying to build exposure for your company and its capabilities).

In print media, the equivalent of this type of matching would be placing an ad in the business section of the Boston Globe or in a trade publication the reaches multiple audience types. You still have broad reach, but you’re narrowing your audience.

Figure 2: Modified broad match example

3. Phrase match

Phrase match gives a higher level of control. When you add quotation marks to a keyword, you’re telling Google to show your ads for a phrase – including close variations and any words before or after the phrase.

For example, a company that makes machined or milled parts for aerospace applications could use the phrase match “machining aerospace.” Someone doing a search for “custom machining shops aerospace” might see the result in Figure 3.

The print media analogy here would be running your ad in a special tech section of a trade publication. You’re narrowing your reach but getting more targeted.

Figure 3: Phrase match example

4. Exact match

Exact match is the most restrictive match type. As the name suggests, your ad will only show if the user’s search query contains the exact keyword phrase or close variations thereof.

Unless you’re in a well-known industry, an exact match strategy can be tough for industrial manufacturers because it is so restrictive – and the search volumes very low for many esoteric keywords.

The analogy for exact match would be running your ad in a niche publication that targets your audience exactly — such as a tradeshow directory.

In conclusion

By clearly understanding the types of keyword matches in AdWords and how they work, you’ll achieve three things.

One, you’ll save a lot of money — because if you’ve read this carefully, you’ll know that “broad match” can quickly eat through your budget, just as it would if you advertised in your region’s newspaper.

Two, when you read through Google’s help files, you’ll have a better understanding of the concepts being communicated about keyword match types. Instead of clothing types, think industry or application type, for example. With AdWords, you want to balance getting impression share (and thus more clicks) with reaching your target audience through careful modified broad match and phrase match options.

And three, as you gain clarity, you’ll have more confidence to test match types to see what works for you.

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Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.

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About The Author

Dianna Huff, President of

Huff Industrial Marketing, Inc.

, helps small, family-owned industrial manufacturers grow through marketing. Dianna works with OEMs and contract manufacturers across the U.S.

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Automated, multichannel display advertising for small businesses finally coming to fruition

Roughly a decade ago, a variety of companies were trying to simplify and make (self-service) display advertising accessible to small businesses (SMB): AdReady, AdMission and iPromote. Today, only iPromote is still carrying that torch; the others have been acquired or exited the SMB market.

While they weren’t all the same and used different tools, it’s safe to say that these companies were well ahead of their time in one way or another. And most weren’t able to make good on their promises of simplicity and performance. Now, the market and technology have caught up and started to make automated cross-channel display advertising for SMBs a reality.

iPromote says its mission is “to make display advertising accessible and affordable to every business, regardless of budget, through technology designed from the ground up.” The company’s technology automates the ad-creation process by pulling creative assets from existing SMB websites and social media.

[Read the full article on MarTech Today.]

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About The Author

Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog,

Screenwerk

, about connecting the dots between digital media and real-world consumer behavior. He is also VP of Strategy and Insights for the Local Search Association. Follow him on

Twitter

or find him at

Google+

.

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