Antonis Konstantinidis

Some great tips here! Some of the best SEO tools are the ones you've never heard of...

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This site is an extremely interesting case. Brand in the finance sector. Destroyed by the HCU update 2023. Backlinks from digital PR (and paid links), albeit some of the digital PR ones are totally off-topic, and some look like paid DPR placements. The site increased its content by 1000 pages in a year, so I suggest that it might have used AI content to scale. The site is well-designed, with lots of E-E-A-T elements. My gut says this site was hit by multiple factors: a bit of waffly content, some link devaluation, and AI content. It looks like they've deleted over 1000 pages a matter of weeks after being hit, so perhaps they took a chance. An interesting case, might reach out to the owners of this one.

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I was chatting with Lee Waltham yesterday about the changing role of organic search in 2024. Wil Reynolds is a leader in the space and lays it out really well. "Gartner predicted a 25% drop in search traffic by 2026. In reality, my SEO traffic is already down 41% in 2024. But here's the surprising part: my newsletter signups are up 65%, and revenue remains steady." It's an interesting point and aligned with what we're seeing at Brandish | A Creative Agency— losing SEO traffic isn’t the end. There's less correlation between SEO traffic and leads now, with metrics like branded search and homepage visits becoming more relevant. We're talking a lot about this with our clients. It's a big part of why your creative approach is more critical than ever as a marketer. As research shifts to AI-driven search, how do we adapt our KPIs? Time to rethink our SEO strategies. Read Wil's full article here: https://lnkd.in/etJvr8a9 #SEO #GrowthMarketing #BrandedSearch

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We have a guest post by Dii Pooler today over on the PPC Chat web site: "A Simple Guide to PPC Attribution Models" https://lnkd.in/erns_nTk

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Getting a lot of traffic, leads or conversions from mobiles? Analyse the data, look at the CPL or ROAS and then if needed add a bid modifier to up the bids specifically on mobile results. This can be done at a campaign or ad group level. Strangely it is now hiding in the "When and where ads" showed page in the new UI. Always a good one to really drive in some bid efficiencies and push ad groups that are converting on mobile. #googleads #googleadsagency #googleadsexpert #digitalmarketing #paidsearch #freelancemarketing #sem #ppc

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Your Mileage May Vary… We had two great chats in the PPC Chat community this week with Ginny Marvin of Google Ads discussing Google Marketing Live and all of the new features and recommendations that came out of it. Lots of talk about AI generated content and assets, ads appearing in AI search results, the role of Ad Strength in our accounts and the role of Optiscore. One of my big takeaways was a reminder that every account is different. I mean, we all know this, but it is easy to get caught up in the hoopla of an event like GML and temporarily forget this basic tenet of PPC. The most important concept for you to remember as you sift through all of the GML announcements and begin to think about how/if they might work in your accounts is that your mileage may vary. We all know that much of what gets announced at this event is very e-commerce and large brand focused. And that’s ok. In some ways e-commerce is easier to solve for than lead generation when it comes to an ad platform. E-commerce has quick results (sale or no sale) whereas lead generation often has a much more meandering path to conversion. Again, that is ok. So when you’re thinking about things like Ad Strength or Optiscore, you want to be sure that you’re looking at what is best for your business (or your client’s business) when weighing actions to take and things to test. Google Ads might “think” your setup is less than optimal, but it might just work great for your account. Understanding that the diagnostic metrics you see in our account are just that - diagnostic from Google’s perspective, can save some headaches. Which announced features are you most interested in exploring? Which ones are giving you heartburn?

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Apparently, my book is for all ages. As proof, here's Kevin Ayres' daughter Malia, clearly engrossed in all things SEO. Get yourself (or your toddler) a copy here: https://lnkd.in/d3HDvVWn #SEO

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This might not need to be restated by many of you I follow, but there's a group of you who do need to take this in... Despina Konstantinidis wrote a great piece recently Guaranteed SEO Services: Here’s the Only SEO Guarantee That’s Not a Scam As someone who has worked for and with many employers and businesses trying to figure their way around this I encourage you to read this article (I'll post the link in the comments) Here's what Despina says, that I know for sure: 1. Fast results often mean dangerous or unethical tactics are used. 2. Initial results do not guarantee continued success. 3. Guaranteeing results that don't matter, i.e. ranking for topics or key terms unrelated to your business. Now here's how you avoid those traps. 1. Long term performance should be the promise - can they promise your business generates relevant leads based on the new traffic to your website? 2. That agency/consultant should be 100% focussed on growing your business. Full stop. If they aren't they don't understand strategy and feel the foundation of your SEO program should be built on purchased backlinks from irrelevant sites. (They should be working on leads, conversions, profit, ROI... in fact this is one of the first conversations I have with any potential client). 3. Track and reporting on performance regularly. This is something I see the cheaper freelancers always miss, along with any strategy. You should learn with your consultant or agency, what IS working, or should be included or is going in the right direction. And what the plan is to off set any negative trends. If you are working with an agency or consultant and none of this sounds familiar, on your next call, ask them directly for some good transparent insight into your campaign. Or if you aren't getting the help you need, reach out. I'd love to help. #seostrategy #guaranteedSEO #searchmarketing 3.

TikTok Has An Identity Crisis. Is it a Search Engine or TV Shopping? TikTok is trying to expand its user base and functionality, and I have to say, due to the writer's strike and the apparent lack of decent and new TV shows, I've been on TikTok a bit more. And one thing I've noticed is how similar it is to TV now. The scrolling entertainment is interrupted now and again with an infomercial. It's becoming a bizarre e-bay meets shopping TV experience. I'm not quite sure why so many people are trying to shift large bundles of toilet rolls, but I am impressed that people are able to make semi-entertaining videos trying to sell them. On the search side, there is a fair bit of choice now. You can click and buy from reputable shops and those that probably aren't. And you can see that from a shoppers trust perspective, they have a long journey ahead as a platform. This does raise some unique issues. YouTube followed/ copied its short video format to stop a mass exodus of platform users, and it worked. Facebook did the same. But will YouTube follow the e-commerce route? After all they already own the tech to make this happen. There is of course a big issue. Reports that TikToks user base is declining are rife. Complaints about platform ads/ too much shopping and even censorship are flirting around the tech media landscape. And yes, some of the 'infomercial' content is entertaining. It's not much different than going to your local market and seeing the 'slice it and dice it' displays. Here lies the issue that TikTok and others that follow this model. I'm going to TikTok to watch videos. Many use TikTok to search for information such as the 'restaurants in'. It does this kind of stuff really well. However, in what appears to be an identity issue, the platform needs to decide whether it's a search engine, an entertainment/ video platform, shopping TV, or a more entertaining version of eBay. Could it get past its problems? Of course. But as a user, I struggle to grasp what they would rather me do more. Watch stuff or buy stuff? For the search everywhere strategist, the same problem applies. Do I want to use TikTok to get more views that cause purchases off TikTok or to sell more stuff on the platform. Or both. And if both, attribution off platform is going to be interesting. And if on platform, ROI is going to be key.

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Google Ad Red Flag #1 🚩 I audit so many Google Ad accounts that just tick over. Often when you look at the last 12 months data; - No experiments or A/B tests have been run ❌ - The same 1 ad in each campaign has been running for ages ❌ - The same bidding strategies and settings have been used ❌ - Minimal new campaign testing and structure testing ❌ - Just keyword and bidding tweaks 😅 ❓ So my Google Ad Red Flag #1 is - ‘Not A/B testing’ and look I get it!….. I think people get scared to run tests BUT it’s one of the best ways to keep improving results Sometimes tests don’t work but you still learn from them and when they do work you can keep compounding your wins into better results What tests do you like to run in your paid ad or digital campaigns? #ppc #payperclick #googleads #searchmarketing #googleadvertising #sem

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We've recently been having an issue with some EU client's GA4 data, whereby the campaign for Google Ads is reported as (organic). It has affected up to 75% of their Google Ads data reported in GA4 and it occurred on 7 accounts beginning on the 9th/10th July. I had been trawling the internet to try and find out what the issue could be. We tried over 20 different "solutions", we reached out to GA4 and they ignored us, Google Ads Account Strategists pawed us off as usual (bearing in mind we're a Google Ads Premier Partner, but then this isn't a Google Ads issue...). Eventually one of our clients was escalated to what I can only describe as 2nd tier support for a different issue. When they said they'd be escalating us up to the next level of support I asked about the google / cpc > (organic) issue and they couldn't find any reference to it even after spending 20 minutes with us on hold whilst they spoke to colleagues. They decided to escalate this issue to the next level of support as well. Here is the response: "Issue 2: Regarding the missing campaign name attribution in GA4, we've identified a known bug impacting attribution of Google Ads traffic. This bug results in misattribution of Google Ads traffic to the "google/organic" channel. Our engineering team is actively working on a resolution. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience. Due to internal processes, a fix may take longer than anticipated." How is it that a known issue that directly affects data which Google expects us to use for decision making isn't being communicated to customers and users or even their own staff? Luckily my clients us the Google Ads Conversion Tags as their primary conversion sources in their accounts, but what if they used GA4 Conversions instead? Who would be liable? #google #paidsearch #ga4 #googleanalytics

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I'm starting to see 'shop ratings' showing in the UK for transactional intent keywords where a collection page is served. Early reports have seen that this helps massively with click through rate (so long as your reviews are good!) I imagine that the number of reviews will also matter, with sites that have more 5-star reviews seeing the biggest benefit. It's common knowledge that rich product results which show reviews can help CTR (both organically and via Google ads), but if they can help drive CTR to collections, too 0, it's win-win! You don't need any specific schema or Structured data to be eligible, but using a third-party review aggregator supported by Google will help. These include... Verified Reviews Trusted Shops PowerReviews Trusted Shops Bazaarvoice Trustpilot Review.io Reevoo Ekomi Yotpo Feefo The bottom line is if you're not actively encouraging your customers to leave positive reviews, you'll likely be gathering poorer ones, which can hurt your overall conversion rate. 👉 95% of users are likely to share bad experiences, while only 87% would share good experiences. 👉 54% share bad experiences with more than five people, compared to 33% who share good experiences.  👉 45% share their bad experiences on social media, while 30% share good experiences on social media. (source: https://lnkd.in/erhQsg6i) #ecommerce #seo #cro

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Had a business call me up out of the blue the other day, wanting me to review their Google Ads account and try to identify why performance had been decreasing over time despite pouring ever more money into ad spend and management fees over time. Here's where it got interesting. We agreed the terms - very much a one off review at this stage and unlikely to become ongoing management - and then the client reached out to the current agency that runs the account and said 'hey keep an eye out for an access request'. Now I'm the first to admit that nobody likes it when they are running an ads account for a client and then you see the dreaded email notification that a new user has been added to the account/requested access. But clients changing service vendors - not just for Google Ads but for anything - happens for many different reasons and is part and parcel of business life (as an aside, if you are the advertiser/client I think at the very least it's good manners to give your existing provider a clear heads up, rather than them finding out only from getting the system notification that new user has been added) Within 5 minutes of agreeing the project terms and my new client sending an email to their existing agency, I had a panicked phone call from the client. "We've been locked out of the account. All access has been removed and the agency now says the account is their property and all work belongs to them" The client now found themselves in a position where well into 5-figures of Google Ads ad spend per month was their responsibility (as it was their card on the account) but with absolutely no independent oversight/visibility of what was going on in terms of activity as they couldn't get into the account. The agency was unrelenting as well - "it's our account, we built it and ran it for you for several years, nobody else can have access or else our IP risks being stolen and therefore we won't be re-adding you. You'll get a report each month and that's it". If I had a dollar for every time I've seen an agency/freelancer throw such a wobbly so aggressively when the mere threat of losing work comes their way I'd be able to afford something off the value menu at McDonalds, as this behaviour isn't all that common. At least not when the advertiser/client pays the ad spend directly and originally set up the account. I explained that the client could have their access forcibly re-added by Google because they are the ultimate bill payer, that I would assist them in doing so, and that in my professional opinion such behaviour should mean the end of that working relationship ASAP. So, what has the outcome been? Unfortunately, the client was so "frightened" by the behaviour (and worried the account might be sabotaged resulting in detrimental performance) they've decided to stick with agency for the foreseeable future. There's a moral in this story, but for the life of me I can't find it.

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PPC News Daily - 9th October 2024 🔹 Key Updates ➡️ Google Ads Status Dashboard - Everything is operational after yesterday's service disruption. ➡️ Google Support Live Chat - Back online with more front desk workers available to assist. ➡️ Gross Profit Optimization Campaign Setting - A new feature available in certain regions for profit bidding and gross profit optimization in e-commerce accounts. ➡️ New Google Ads Design Test - A change of the user interface design with rounded boxes and a different menu directory layout. ➡️ PMAX Campaign Optimization - Renaming of 'text assets' to 'customization'. PPC Trends Report 2025 - Search Engine Journal's report on AI in PPC platforms, automation, and third-party cookie changes.

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How can I get more new customers like my best existing customers? ✨️ Is not a question, I get asked very often. I think possibly it's because CEOs, marketers and digital specialists aren't aware of the data gems you can find in your own Google Analytics and Google Search Console accounts. Even many Google Ads professionals stick to analysing data in Google Ads. When I first started in digital back in 1999, Google Analytics had yet to launch and we'd have to rely on server log counts to get traffic numbers and checkung in with the sales team to learn what leads converted to sales. Fast forward 20 years and we could track conversions and revenue in Google Analytics if set up correctly until GDPR arrived and we needed to gain consent via cookie banners to enable user tracking for marketing and remarketing purposes. Meaning up to 50% of our user data vanished due to declining cookies. Ouch 🥺 Now I think perhaps it's because I like to explore a new platform. Every time a new platform or version or update arrived, I go systematically through every screen, pressing all the buttons to see what happens. I must admit, GA4 was the steepest learning curve, my brain had to go through for a while but thankfully our Certified GA4 Specialist, Anne Charlotte Fleury made a 1 day GA4 course and tested it out on the ThoughtShift team back before the switchover from Universal Analytics in July 2022. What I found was that my favourite reports, the channel report, landing page report, Google Search queries report and Google Ads query report were all still there (even though Google has also unhelpfully moved their location since launch). So in GA4 you can still see: 👉 marketing sources driving traffic, leads and revenue 👉 landing pages driving traffic, leads and revenue 👉 search queries the website is found in Google search results for by impressions, clicks, leads and revenue 👉 Paid Google Search queries driving traffic, leads and revenue Armed with this data, my favourite approach is to slice and dice the data by highest volume of leads/revenue and highest conversion rate/highest average order versus highest traffic with no leads or revenue to identify where my best customers are coming from and what marketing I can test pausing to fund the best opportunities to gain more best customers with the saved budget proven not to deliver leads or revenue. Testing is critically important in making data-driven digital marketing decisions as if you do only have half the data reported, you need to consider having a statistically significant sample to begin with and know you can always reverse engineer the changes you made if you are carefully monitoring the impact and see a down side. Of course seeing an uplift is when you can do a little dance and go looking for more data gems to leverage 😎 How do you use GA4 and other data insight tools to bring more of your best customers to you? #GA4 #GoogleAnalytics

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Can ChatGPT do SEO for me? It depends…   Whilst ChatGPT is very good for very specific questions or augmenting existing knowledge, it isn’t useful enough yet for insightful analysis or providing nuanced advice—it misses vital context. 

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Such a key component to my growth as an SEOer is delegation. Delegating was pivotal in transitioning into an SEO manager and continues to persist as an independent consultant. The fact is, as strategists, we have to understand what resources we have, both internally and externally, that can support our vision... Whether it's working with a content team, DevOps, or your immediate team, and how they can best support you SEO program. This isn't a call to shout orders from a cushiony view from a manager's chair. This is a reminder that you are responsible for the SEO strategy, including the various pieces and routes, teams and processes, there in. #SEO #SEOtips #management

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So something I’ve learnt very well over the years of working and managing PPC. You can have all the relevant keywords, correct targeting, optimised bidding signals, custom audiences etc. But if you’ve got a website that dosent convert well or not at all, it’s honestly a waste of spend. Invest in CRO and your ads will elevate the performance.

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