Helen P.

Did you think the UK's programmatic DOOH market was big enough at 29% of all campaigns? Think again! The market is expected to continue to grow over the next 18 months, with adoption set to rise to a whopping 36%!! 😱 This impressive growth is a testament to the medium's ability to revolutionise campaigns and leave an impact that actually matters. Not tried it yet? Give our team a shout to get started. #ProgrammaticDOOH #DOOHTrends #CreativeAgency #DigitalOutOfHome #AdvertisingAgency

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I read this response from the UK's Affiliate Performance Marketing Association website recently, about the ICO's call for views on Consent to Pay. It made for an interesting read and is something affiliate marketers really do need to keep abreast of as privacy and consent changes are taking place at different levels around the world. Take a look at the overall response here and let me know what are your thoughts? https://lnkd.in/gi9RR9Pw

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Interesting move from The Guardian. There’s no doubt X is nowhere near the platform Twitter was in its pomp, but it still carries influence & remains the most likely social platform for news to spread rapidly. Many clients I work with are questioning whether X is still a platform worth ploughing resource into. My response is: “What are you intending to use it for & what do you aim to achieve?” Then decide if it still has a place in your comms mix. You don’t have to be on every channel - especially if you have sparse resources overseeing your comms channels. #X #Guardian #SocialMedia https://lnkd.in/eSqUsb4c

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In an era where online presence is crucial for business success, understanding the significance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) cannot be overstated. Looking for ways to enhance your visibility and branding, build trust and credibility or for a higher return on investment? Reach out to us LOCALiQ_UK winners of SEO Agency of the Year in the UK Agency Awards 2024. #SEO #bevisible #onlinepresence

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As we prepare for 2025, now is the time to refine your PPC and video marketing strategies. 🎯 Our latest blog breaks down how a free PPC audit and video marketing review can help you: -Maximise your ROI -Create content that drives engagement -Stay ahead of the latest trends Check out the full post below to learn more about how we can help you optimise for success in 2025. 📣 #PPC #VideoMarketing #DigitalStrategy #2025Marketing

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If you use GA4, Floodlight Tags, Facebook Pixels, Google ads tags or any other website tracking you need to read on 👇 As you are (probably) aware - it is illegal for you to track any (yes, any) visitors from the EU, California or UK unless they give permission through a 'cookie consent' popup. In 2024 the Australian Privacy Act is due for an overhaul - and soon Australian Websites will need to roll cookie Consent out for Australian users too. Unfortunately, this is not as simple as ticking a box and installing the popup. My guide will help you understand how Cookie Consent Platforms (CMP's) work, and how to integrate them with your Google Tag manager. CookieYes - https://fas.st/t/gHhPooDF More info at bangdigital.com.au - https://lnkd.in/gmEAsEzy #cookieconsent #privacyawarenessweek #PAW #googleTagManger #cookies #ga4 #bangdigital

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Privacy regulation. Cookie deprecation. ID signal loss. It's a complicated time to be working in programmatic with a seriously shifting landscape. Clear Channel UK spoke to 10 industry figures at the coalface of programmatic DOOH about the benefits marketers are seeing in their approach for adding the channel to their digital strategies. From Cookies to Cohorts in Context, a free new report with expert analysis is out now 👇 https://okt.to/JnRM0E

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Useful resource, and true, Konstantinos Papadopoulos . If you’re investing that much in PPC, take your time to enhance your creatives. I know the idea of reaching new audiences faster is exciting for business owners, but you’ll save tons of time and money by having your assets optimized. Don’t skip this step. Optimize over a good base to avoid having to redo everything later. #googleads #digitalmerketing #ppc

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What most excites me from the Google Marketing Live updates… Just to add another post to the swathes of #gml2024 content, there are a few things that really stood out to me amongst the announcements. 🤑 Profit based bidding - this is something that has been much needed for years. Paid search can get expensive and historically optimising for profit has been a manual job so the updates are a welcome addition 📈Google Meridian will be rolling out later this year. It’s been very quiet since they initially released info about this but it sounds incredibly exciting and I can’t wait to get my hands on it! 🕹️More control and visibility over PMax - I know a lot of people who don’t trust the black box that PMax can become so hopefully this increases trust and helps us to get the most out of it 🤝Loyalty promotions in shopping ads - love this value add for returning customers 🤖 Ads above AI overviews - I know from speaking to a lot of advertisers that they were worried about how the overviews might affect ad visibility but, predictably, Google will allow ads to show above these which will bring peace of mind to some. All in all, some really exciting updates as we’re all still reeling from Google I/O (still collecting my thoughts in the aftermath of that one!) #digitalmarketing #paidmedia #paidadvertising

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Audience first SEO - great talk at last nights Northampton The Marketing Meetup. Key takeaways for all marketers 👇 1. Put the customer back into all your marketing planning. Great example from the world of SEO, where keyword platforms and algo hacks have overshadowed considering what customers want, feel and need. 2. Know your customer (and prospects). What is there intent at key stages and why did they decide to use you? What could you do better to meet their needs? This insight can then drive all your planning. And the overlaps that occur e.g. a content plan which feeds (and is feed) from SEO, which drives email subject lines and content promotion.... and round we go. 3. Fish where the fish are. Show up where your customers and prospects will see you. And be creative in your solutions here. What forums, Facebook groups and events do they use to find and solve the problems they have (which your service can solve) 4. Be helpful to establish trust and authority first, before you start 'selling.' Great talk Harry Evans - both inspirational and really well delivered. Thanks as always Penni Pickering and Jo Pickering for organising a great event. And thanks The ONE Group Ltd for the merch. How has putting the customer first impacted your marketing approach?

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When Google hints at another algorithm shake-up. Here’s how to prepare: Since 2020, Google has often timed big updates for November and December — right when you’re looking to close the year on a high. Here’s the likely scenario: 🔸We might see one or even two updates by year’s end. What to expect: 🔸 Rankings could be up and down during this period. Best course of action: 🔸 Hold off on major changes until things settle. If you notice fluctuations in your rankings, don’t react impulsively. Most updates stabilise in about 10 days, though major core updates can take up to four weeks. For e-commerce sites, especially when sales feel the impact, it’s natural to want to tweak things right away. However, acting without a clear strategy could actually hurt your rankings once things stabilise. Patience is essential! Here’s what you can do to minimise ranking volatility: ➤ Make sure your website is optimised for speed and technical performance. ➤ Focus on high-quality, well-researched content that serves your audience. ➤ Think about user experience first: ensure content genuinely answers users’ questions rather than being stuffed in for SEO purposes. ➤ Use Google Page Speed Insights to find performance issues, and coordinate fixes with your SEO team (FirstFound). ➤ Regularly audit and clean up your backlink profile—aim to do this every few weeks or monthly to keep things healthy. Take these steps now to stay prepared for what’s likely coming! www.firstfound.co.uk [email protected] 01619093400 #seo #searchengineoptimisation #googleupdates #firstfound

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Next Wednesday at 2pm (UK time), me and Amy Irvine are running a webinar where we'll dive deep into everything there is to know about link relevance. We'll be covering: - Why link relevance matters & what it actually means in the context of SEO. - How to measure link relevance objectively, rather than subjectively. - How to use link relevance insights to shape your digital PR strategy. - Our new link relevance analysis & reporting solution, Relevance by Digitaloft And, as part of this, I'll be sharing insights and a case study that shows how removing hundreds of irrelevant links (by 404'ing the campaign pages they linked to) turned around a site that was affected by numerous algorithm updates 👀 . Wanna join us? You'll find a link to sign up in the first comment. #SEO #digitalPR #linkbuilding #relevancebydigitaloft

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Google won’t index websites that do not work on mobile devices after July 5th.... If your website is not accessible using a mobile device, then Google will no longer index it and rank it. We thought Google’s mobile-first indexing initiative, which started in 2016, was completed last October. But it won’t really be fully done until after July 5th. “The small set of sites we’ve still been crawling with desktop Googlebot will be crawled with mobile Googlebot after July 5, 2024,” John Mueller from Google wrote on the Google blog. Mueller explained: “The largest part of the web is already being crawled like this, and there is no change in crawling for these sites.” However, “after July 5, 2024, we’ll crawl and index these sites with only Googlebot Smartphone.” So if your site is not accessible using a mobile device, then Google “will no longer” index it and thus rank it. Mobile accessibility is required for Google indexing. Yes, Mueller wrote, “If your site’s content is not accessible at all with a mobile device, it will no longer be indexable.” This is a long time coming. Google has finally drawn a line in the sand for sites that simply do not render on mobile. This doesn’t mean Google won’t index your site if it isn’t mobile-friendly. What Google is saying is that if your site simply does not render or load on mobile devices, then Google won’t index it. If you have a desktop template only, it is fine, assuming the desktop version loads on a mobile device. Some desktop crawling to continue. Google said that Google still sometimes uses the Googlebot Desktop crawler for product listings and for Google for Jobs. This means you may still see Googlebot Desktop in your server logs and reporting tools. What to do. If you aren't sure, contact me and I will audit your website and, if needs be, give you a solution. 📬 Website: www.firstfound.co.uk Email: [email protected] Tel: 01619093400 #seo #googleindex #searchengineoptimisation #firstfound #googleranking

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It looks like LinkedIn has hit pause on using UK user data for AI training after facing complaints from the ICO. It seems all the posts and complaints on the platform about this unsolicited decision really made a difference. Walking back the choice to opt everyone into AI training without clear consent shows that transparency and trust have to be at the core of these advancements. Users deserve a say in how their data is used and monetised. Good to see LinkedIn reassessing their approach, but it’s a lesson for all platforms: user data isn't just a commodity. It’s about trust, and that needs to be earned. #AI #DataPrivacy #TrustInTech #LinkedIn https://lnkd.in/exke6jju

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I hosted a 2-hour 'Training by Doing' session yesterday evening with a US web design agency via Zoom. Once I quickly understood where they are now and where they would like to get to when it comes to integrating SEO into their agency... I got them to share their screen, logged into one of their clients sites, and I talked them through making SEO tweaks/improvements live on the fly whilst explaining how to spot impactful opportunities, and talking through the why. It makes a massive difference than me just talking through a set of slides. Being hands-on doing the doing whist learning is so impactful. I also totally love it. #SEO #SEOTraining #WebDesign #Agency

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Bing Ads are sunsetting manual CPC bid strategy and defaulting to enhanced CPC as of 30th April. If you're keen to keep your CPC below a certain level, your base bids will still be honoured. Don’t usually see Bing make a move like this before Google! Interesting

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Props to Aleyda Solís and Danny Sullivan for bringing this lengthy, thought-provoking conversation. They cover some challenging areas, particularly the status of brands following the HCU (helpful content updates), which is the most interesting and talked-about right now. I do believe that Danny/search engineers at Google probably do want to take action on the current state of SERPs. That and there are no specific up/down weighting factors just because someone is a "big brand"... BUT, the issue here is down to belief and whether you want to take what has been said as truthful or not.  Google - from a Search PoV - has taken a lot of knocks this year and has been seen as misdirecting, misleading, or flat-out lying about certain elements. Some people are inclined NEVER to believe Google; I don't think that's probably all that helpful in the long run. The issue is, for those people who don't want to believe or trust it, can you blame them? Will it likely change significantly soon? Probably not.

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Google's New AI Search Engine: A Game Changer for SEO Google's latest update, the Search Generative Experience (SGE), is poised to transform how users interact with search results. Here’s an overview of the new features and their implications: Key Features of SGE: + AI-Powered Screenshots: Summarises long-form content with clickable links to relevant sections, enhancing user engagement. + Conversational Mode: Carries forward the context from previous queries to refine search results, providing more relevant information. + Vertical Experience for Shopping and Local Businesses: Generates detailed product summaries and enhances local search capabilities. + Paid Advertisements: Integrates with SGE, maintaining visibility and transparency of ads. Implications for Businesses: + Content Optimisation: Focus on E-EAT (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust) to improve rankings. + Adjusting Paid Ads: Emphasise long-tail keywords and broad match strategies. + Organic Traffic: Anticipate potential dips due to AI-generated answers, but aim for source link visibility. + Qualified Traffic: Expect higher conversion rates as users become more informed before clicking ads or website links. Preparing for SGE: Businesses should prepare for these changes by optimising their content and marketing strategies to align with Google's emphasis on helpful, user-focused content. If you need help, get in touch. 📬 Website: www.firstfound.co.uk Email: [email protected] Tel: 01619093400 #google #firstfound #seo #searchengineoptimisation #DigitalMarketing

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