Five years ago, we used to think that a major update to Facebook or Google every other month was fast. Within the past 14 days, we have had to update our team on at least 5 major updates happening in social media and search engines.
It seems as if things are moving exponentially faster. For TrustWorkz, it means that we’re adapting and specializing more and more. It’s what we do really well. For the small business owners that I’ve spoken to in the past 14 days, it means that they’re struggling even more to keep up with current Internet marketing trends.
While changes are exciting for our team (because we genuinely geek out about new opportunities), these updates have left small business owners and managers baffled by how they’re going to add another task to their plate. Here are 5 ways that the Internet has changed in the past 14 days, and how we’re already seeing the results!
Internet Marketing Updates that Small Businesses Should Know About
- Google AdWords Drops Right Side Ads: TrustWorkz takes a mobile first mindset to heart, and Google’s ad reconfiguration makes perfect sense when analyzing their decision from that standpoint. Dropping ads from the right side of the search results creates a cleaner user experience on desktop and on mobile, but it also puts more value on the top 3-4 ads that show above organic results (the unpaid search results).
This is great news! After just a few days, our customers using AdWords are experiencing anywhere between a 50% to 250% increase in leads this month over the same time period last year. Additionally, their search engine rankings are generating 20% more traffic and 50% more leads. - Snapchat On Demand Geofilters: If you follow me on Snapchat, then you know that I’ve unsuccessfully submitted Geofilters for my neighborhood. It turns out that you need a bit more of an artistic touch to be accepted. Another rule for Snapchat’s regular geo filters is that they cannot be used for events or businesses. A couple of weeks ago, Snapchat released On Demand Geofilters. This allows businesses, your neighborhood block party, and event promoters to create filters on a pay per day basis.
- New Facebook Ad Types: Facebook started to roll out two new ad types, which we were fortunate to get access to before a few others. Facebook Canvas and Facebook Lead ads officially rolled out. These are two new ad types that allow us two completely different goals. Canvas is exciting because of the visual effects and user experience. You can watch a demo of the ads below. Facebook Lead ads, which were first launched on Power Editor a couple of months ago, allow us to gather new sales leads using forms within Facebook rather than taking users away from Facebook and over to our website. We received our first lead within a few couple of hours of launching just one ad.
- Google Drops the PageRank: If you’re not in the Internet marketing world, then you probably don’t know about Google PageRank. Unfortunately, you have probably been hit up by a spam email or phone call from someone claiming to be an expert in Google search claiming that you need more links for your website. When I think about Google PageRank, I look back on everything that is wrong with Internet marketing agencies and why you probably feel like you have been burned by one in the past. Google dropping the public visibility of PageRank continues to move towards their desire to provide quality, authoritative content to searchers. This is a good thing for small businesses!
- Facebook Algorithm Changes… Again: Small businesses that take advantage of creative marketing that is value centric will love this update… Others will hate it. Facebook is changing their newsfeed algorithm to compete with Twitter and their Periscope Live app. The update should push Facebook Live (their live streaming tool built within the Facebook app) to the top of the newsfeeds for friends and followers of people going Live. Facebook Live is currently only available for personal accounts, but we anticipate that they will roll out for business page owners within the near future. You can start leveraging live streaming now before the Business Page rollout by using your personal account and connections.
As social media and search engines continue to make major additions and updates, small businesses must continue to adapt quickly. This will require constant vigilance to ensure that their businesses are easily found online.
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