Earned Media Podcast: Recent Episodes
Eric Schwartzman
In this episode of the Earned Media Podcast, I sit down with Barry Adams, an SEO consultant from Polemic Digital, to discuss news SEO for publishers.
We explore Barry’s journey from a webmaster to an SEO specialist for news websites, and he shares invaluable insights into the unique challenges and strategies involved in optimizing news content for Google. Barry explains the intricacies of Google’s news ecosystem, the importance of structured data, and how news publishers can stay ahead in editorial content marketing, blogging, and digital news publishing.
We also discuss the recent Google search algorithm leak, the impact of AI on news publishing, and the delicate balance between ad revenue and user experience on news websites. Barry provides practical advice for news publishers on building direct audience loyalty and minimizing reliance on intermediaries like Google and social media platforms.
Timeline Summary
0:23 – Barry’s journey from webmaster to news SEO specialist.
1:13 – What is news SEO, and how does it differ from e-commerce, local, and B2B SEO?
2:03 – Google’s Top Stories and the fast-paced nature of news ranking.
3:46 – Challenges of getting news content indexed quickly.
5:40 – The role of social media in breaking news and its impact on news SEO.
7:14 – The competition among news publishers to rank in Top Stories.
9:22 – Why Google may not be the best source for the latest breaking news.
12:25 – The significance of Google Discover versus Top Stories for news traffic.
14:57 – Discussion on the Google search algorithm leak and its implications.
19:16 – Key takeaways from the leaked Google data.
23:24 – The impact of paywalls and ads on news SEO and engagement.
27:58 – How generative AI is changing the landscape of news publishing.
31:30 – Google’s introduction of AI overviews in search results and their potential impact.
38:37– The importance of building direct audience loyalty for news publishers.
40:56 – Final thoughts on Google’s capabilities and the future of SEO.
Links & Resources
• Polemic Digital
• Belfast Telegraph
• Google News
• Google Discover
• New York Times
• Perplexity AI
Closing Remarks
Thank you for tuning in to this insightful episode with Barry Adams. If you enjoyed the episode, please rate, follow, share, and review our podcast.
Your support helps us bring you more expert insights and in-depth discussions.
Stay connected with us for more episodes that keep you ahead in the dynamic world of SEO consulting.
Ecommerce SEO consultant Aleyda Solis discusses what’s up in ecommerce SEO since Google launched AI Overviews, in this episode of the Earned Media Podcast.
As e-commerce SEOs work generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Bing, and Perplexity into their workflows, e-commerce SEO experts and online retailers are grappling with Google’s attempts to leverage generative for search results.
Solis shares practical strategies to maximize opportunities and navigate the e-commerce SEO challenges posed by these transformations.
Ecommerce SEO: Google’s Integration of Transactional Functionalities(1:15) Solis highlights Google’s increasing integration of transactional functionalities within search results. For highly commercial keywords, like “black sneakers for men,” Google displays direct shopping options and detailed product information right there in the SERP. This shift reduces click-through rates (CTR) and the available space for traditional organic search results, positioning Google more as a competitor in the ecommerce space, than a simple search engine.
(2:45) Google’s Shopping Graph, which includes over 40 billion products, is a driving force behind this change. Solis explains that the integration with Merchant Center feeds is crucial for retailers. Platforms like Shopify, Wix, and WooCommerce facilitate the creation and management of these feeds, enhancing ecommerce sites’ presence in Google’s shopping features.
The Importance of Structured Data in Ecommerce SEO(5:20) Structured data is vital to product visibility in search results. Solis advises retailers to leverage search schema in e-commerce SEO to highlight key product variants like price, availability, and reviews. Tools like WooCommerce and various plugins make it easier to create and optimize these feeds. Properly implemented structured data ensures that products appear prominently in search results, but to drive traffic and conversions, you need to be price competitive because Google displays competing online retailers selling the same product in SERPs now.
Preparing for Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) in Ecommerce SEO(7:50) Solis speculates on the potential impact of Google AI Overviews (formerly known as SGE, although Google says they’re different products), which could streamline the search process by providing users with direct access to product details. This feature integrates Google’s Gemini large language model (LLM) to generate search results in a more graphically elegant, scannable way, with links to sources. This underscores the need for retailers to focus on enhancing their schema product feeds and structured data to maintain visibility.
Optimizing Product Detail Pages (PDPs) for Ecommerce SEO(10:05) Optimizing Product Detail Pages (PDPs) is not just about on-page SEO but also user engagement and conversion, as the Google leak may confirm. Solis emphasizes the importance of high-quality images, detailed product descriptions, and incorporating user reviews and expert insights. Many retailers overlook the potential of PDPs to drive traffic and conversions, missing significant opportunities in the process.
Ecommerce SEO and the Role of Merchant Center Feeds(12:30) Solis delves deeper into the importance of Merchant Center feeds and Google’s Shopping Graph. She explains that the Shopping Graph, which now includes over 40 billion products, is crucial for ecommerce SEO. The integration with Merchant Center feeds ensures that products are accurately represented in Google’s shopping features, enhancing their visibility and appeal to potential customers. Platforms like Shopify, Wix, and WooCommerce have made it easier for ecommerce sites to generate and manage these feeds, providing a seamless way to integrate with Google’s shopping functionalities.
Leveraging User-Generated Content and Expert Insights for Ecommerce SEO(15:00) In addition to optimizing PDPs, Solis highlights the value of user-generated content and expert insights. She suggests that incorporating reviews, testimonials, and expert opinions can significantly enhance the credibility and appeal of ecommerce sites. User-generated content not only provides social proof but also helps improve SEO by adding fresh, relevant content to product pages.
Embracing Visual and Interactive Content in Ecommerce SEO(17:45) Solis also emphasizes the importance of visual and interactive content in ecommerce SEO. High-quality images, videos, and interactive features such as 360-degree views and augmented reality can greatly enhance the user experience, leading to higher engagement and conversion rates. Visual content helps customers make informed purchasing decisions, reducing the likelihood of returns and increasing customer satisfaction.
Staying Updated with Google’s Algorithm Changes for Ecommerce SEO(20:20) Solis recommends a proactive approach to staying updated with Google’s frequent algorithm changes and new features. Tools like SEMrush and Screaming Frog are essential for continuously monitoring and optimizing website performance. Engaging with SEO communities and staying informed about industry trends is crucial for adapting to changes in the SEO landscape. Solis also mentions the importance of participating in industry conferences and webinars to stay ahead of the curve.
Practical Tips for Ecommerce SEO Success(22:35) Solis offers several practical tips for ecommerce SEO success:
• Leverage structured data: Ensure your product feeds are comprehensive and updated.• Optimize for AI Overviews: Prepare for AI Overviews by enhancing your product feeds and structured data. Be aggressive and populate as many content classes as possible.
• Improve PDPs: Focus on high-quality images, detailed descriptions, and user reviews to engage and convert users.
• Stay informed of Ecommerce SEO Trends: Use tools like SEMrush and Screaming Frog and engage with SEO communities to stay updated on industry trends.
Balancing SEO and User Experience in Ecommerce SEO(25:10) Solis discusses the delicate balance between optimizing for SEO and providing a great user experience. She emphasizes that while SEO is important, it should not come at the expense of user experience. Websites should be designed to meet users’ needs, providing them with valuable content and a seamless shopping experience. This balance ensures that visitors are not only drawn to the site through search engines but also stay and convert into customers.
The Future of Ecommerce SEO(27:50) Looking ahead, Solis shares her thoughts on the future of ecommerce SEO. She predicts that the integration of AI and machine learning will continue to shape the SEO landscape, with search engines becoming more sophisticated in understanding and delivering relevant content. Solis advises ecommerce businesses to stay adaptable and embrace new technologies to stay competitive in this evolving environment. Her insights provide a comprehensive roadmap for navigating the evolving ecommerce SEO landscape.
For a detailed exploration of these insights and more, listen to the full interview on the Earned Media Podcast. Subscribe to stay updated on the latest developments in SEO and ecommerce.
Google algorithm secrets are rarely leaked.
But in this special episode of the Earned Media Podcast, Mike King – who runs SEO consulting services provider iPullRank – discusses the future of SEO in the age of AI.
This podcast is being released just days after Mike’s bombshell blog post, which is taking the SEO world by storm, revealing explosive insights from leaked internal Google documentation.
This is an exclusive opportunity to hear Mike directly share his expertise and predictions about how AI will impact the evolving landscape of search and what SEO consultants need to do to stay competitive.
Google Algorithm Secrets RevealedInside Google’s AlgorithmMike King discusses the inner workings of Google’s ranking systems and the factors that influence search results, based on his extensive research and analysis.
Google’s Deceptive PracticesDiscover how Google has misled the SEO community about key ranking factors and the real role of domain authority, click data, and more.
The Impact of AI on SearchLearn how AI is reshaping the landscape of search and what it means for your SEO strategy. Mike delves into the implications of Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) and other AI-driven changes.
Actionable SEO InsightsMike provides practical advice on how to optimize for the new realities of search, including the importance of authoritative content, user engagement, and adapting to AI advancements.
Podcast Episode HighlightsTruth About Click DataContrary to Google’s public statements, click data plays a significant role in rankings. Mike King explains how this impacts your SEO efforts.
Importance of Writing with an Authoritative VoiceLearn why creating high-quality, authoritative content is more crucial than ever in the age of AI.
Actionable SEO StrategiesGet practical tips on how to optimize your site for AI-driven search engines and stay ahead of the competition.
Key SEO Discussion Points:Fragmentation of Search
The increasing diversity of search platforms and why it’s crucial to optimize for more than just Google.
AI and VerificationThe role of AI in search and the necessity for users to verify information through trusted sources like Google.
Google’s Core UpdatesHow recent updates are addressing AI content and the ongoing battle against spam.
Optimizing for Language ModelsBest practices for ranking in AI-driven search environments, based on Mike’s latest research.
About Mike KingMike King is the CEO and founder of iPullRank, a leading digital marketing agency specializing in SEO and content strategy. His recent post has ignited a heated discussion about the future of search, and now he’s here to share his expert insights.
Tune in and learn:• A deeper understanding of the future of search and SEO.
• Practical tips for leveraging AI in your search strategy.
• Insights directly from this thought leader behind the first comprehensive analysis of the internal documents leak from Google Search.
In this exclusive episode of the Earned Media Podcast, Lily Ray, VP of SEO strategy and research at Amsive, explores the challenges Google is facing with the influx of AI-generated content. Ray discusses Google’s March 2024 Broad Core Update, which is aimed at addressing the deluge of low-quality AI content rising in the SERPs.
Lily Ray has been methodically monitoring web rankings for thousands of keywords and websites and sharing her findings consistently on X (formerly Twitter) @lilyraynyc. A recent report from the Pew Research Center reveals that the percentage of adults in the US who are more concerned than excited about AI rose sharply from 38% of US adults in 2022 to 52% of US adults in 2023, and with good reason.
“I’ve never seen as much spam in Google’s results so blatantly in top positions. I’ve never seen so many big companies getting away with publishing really low-quality content that’s ranking prominently,” says Lily Ray, VP of search strategy and research at Amsive. “Probably 20 to 30 people every day message me desperately because either their websites are being outranked by spam or AI content, or their content is being scraped and plagiarized by AI tools.”
Lily Ray critiques the current state of search, highlighting a noticeable decline in quality and an uptick in spam. She also examines how major publishers have come to dominate search rankings, which raises concerns about the existing balance between authority and relevance within Google’s algorithms.
The episode delves into Google’s strategies for mitigating the exploitation of AI-generated content to manipulate search rankings, and the long-term implications for SEO consultants. Her insights provide a nuanced understanding of the evolving SEO landscape, influenced by advanced AI tools like ChatGPT. This discussion is essential for those interested in the future dynamics of maintaining organic search engine visibility and the strategic maneuvers required to succeed in SEO today.
For those interested in connecting with Lily Ray, she will be at the Knowledge Graph Conference in New York City on May 8th, and in Madrid, Spain, for a panel in late May. In June and July, she will speak at events in Berlin, Croatia, and Bologna, Italy, at the We Make Future conference.
Kasim Aslam is CEO of Solutions 8. He is a widely recognized thought leader in the search marketing arena, due to his exceptional track record of delivering exceptional PPC results and driving business growth through innovative marketing strategies. Sol8 manages $70M a year in PPC ad spending for roughly 200 clients of all sizes, from publicly traded brands to startups.
Throughout his career, Kasim has demonstrated a unique ability to understand the ever-evolving search marketing landscape and leverage his insights into the Google ecosystem to drive high-impact paid media marketing initiatives that achieve high multiple returns on ad spend. He is also the host of the Perpetual Traffic Podcast.
We met at the Affiliate Meet Market in Berlin last year, where he delivered the opening keynote address.
Google Advertising Trends Covered* Which types of products and services are easiest to sell through PPC advertising * Which product and service categories are most profitable online right now * How much it costs to hire a top Google ad agency to run your PPC campaigns * How he decides what companies to accept in his incubator program * How to create PPC ads that convert and drive qualified traffic * The role of AI in PPC advertising and the switch to Performance Max campaigns * And much, much more
Subscribe to the Earned Media Podcast via email, on Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.
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In this Affiliate Marketing Roadmap for Brands episode of the Earned Media Podcast (subscribe), Anna Gita, CEO of MaxWeb, which is one of the fastest-growing affiliate networks, explains what affiliate programs are and how they work.
I heard Anna’s keynote at The Berlin Meet Market. She spoke about the future of the affiliate marketing industry, and I was taken by her message that I immediately invited her to be a guest on the show. If you listened to my recent podcast with former Google Search Quality engineer Fili Wiese, I met him there too.
You can also listen to this podcast via Apple Podcasts or Spotify. The rest of this post is not so much an overview of my conversation with Anna, although it is somewhat informed by it. What follows are answers to frequently asked questions about affiliate marketing.
What’s the difference between Affiliate Marketing and Referral Marketing?Anna Gita, CEO Max Web, delivering her keynote at the Affiliate Meet Market in Berlin.While affiliate marketing and referral marketing are both performance-based marketing channels, affiliate marketers earn commissions for promoting products through tracking links, while referral marketers do not. Referral marketing is the acquisition of links from editorial content and influencers on social media.
Affiliate marketers earn money in two ways. First, they earn commissions for sending traffic to an advertiser’s landing or offer page, as long as the Earnings Per Click (EPC) exceeds the Cost Per Click (CPC). Second, they earn a Payout or commission if they traffic they send converts into a sale. Affiliate commissions are typically between 5-30%.
Referral marketing, on the other hand, is a type of word-of-mouth marketing that relies on digital PR, branded content, or individuals recommending a product or service to their friends and family. Much as Google Analytics defines referral traffic as the segment of traffic that arrives on a website through another source, such as a link on another domain.
Referral links can be acquired through press release distribution, media releases, product sampling, and other marketing tactics.
The main difference between affiliate and referral marketing is that affiliate marketing is focused on promoting products and services to earn commissions, while referral marketing is the collection of inbound links through unpaid activities.
How do I hire an affiliate marketer?There are four main ways advertisers tend to source and hire affiliate marketers:
- Join an affiliate network like MaxWeb: Affiliate networks are online marketplaces that connect merchants with affiliates. You can sign up as an advertiser and search for affiliate marketers who are interested in promoting your products.
- Use a recruitment agency: There are agencies that specialize in recruiting affiliates for advertisers, which are almost like hybrid employment/talent agencies. You can work with one of these agencies to find affiliates who are a good fit for your business.
- Attend industry events: Industry events, such as conferences and trade shows like Affiliate Summit West in Las Vegas, Jan. 23-25, 2023, are great places to meet affiliates and build relationships with them. It is also a good idea to approach keynote speakers and podcasters who focus on affiliate marketing because they may be able to help or make suggestions as well. If you are attending and would like to meet up to discuss your branded content or SEO needs, here's my calender at the conference. I am also looking for guests to interview for this podcast.
- Connect directly with affiliate marketers: If you know of specific affiliate marketers who you think might be a good fit for your brand, create your own affiliate program and contact them directly. But you need a way to generate tracking links to measure traffic and conversions from different affiliates. At a bare minimum, you’ll need a tool like Pretty Links.
But before you hire affiliate marketers, thoroughly vet all your candidates to make sure they’re a good fit for your brand. Look for affiliates with a proven track record, the right audience, and good work ethics. It's also smart to establish clear terms of service and expectations up front, to ensure everyone’s on the same page.
Outside the Affiliate Meet Marketing at Arena Berlin at Eichenstraße 4, where MaxWeb CEO Anna Gita delivered her Affiliate Marketing Roadmap keynote address.How much do affiliate marketers charge?What affiliate marketers charge varies based on experience, niche, and demand. Some affiliate marketers who are also bloggers charge a percentage of the sales they generate, while others want a flat fee or a combination of the two.
Commissions for affiliate marketers range from 5-50%, depending on the terms of the affiliate agreement and what’s being sold. Since their cost of goods is higher, advertisers selling physical products usually pay less in affiliate commissions than digital products, where inventory and distribution costs are negligible.
Top affiliates may also demand a fee for their services over and above their commission to cover the cost of creating original, dynamic blog posts or other expenses related to promoting the product or service.
Shop around and compare rates from different affiliates to get a sense of the going rate in your industry. You can also negotiate with affiliates to see if they are willing to lower their rates or offer other incentives in exchange for a long-term partnership.
Is there any audited research on how much gross revenue affiliate marketing programs generate?As might be expected, the amount of gross revenue generated by affiliates varies by industry, the quality of the affiliate program, and market demand for the product or service being sold.
According to a survey by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and Forrester Consulting, affiliate marketing accounted for roughly 10% of total US digital marketing spend in 2020. The survey also found that the average affiliate marketing program generated $20 in revenue for every $1 spent on it.
Another study by the Performance Marketing Association (PMA) that was reported in Forbes, found that affiliate marketing generated 16% of e-commerce sales in the US in 2020, and that affiliate marketers generated an average of $58 for every $1 invested in their programs.
Rakuten recently reported that Year-over-Year sales (2021 to 2022) on their advertiser network were the largest for the following categories:
Latest YoY affiliate marketing sales by vertical from Rakuten.Can affiliate marketers get sued?It is possible for affiliate marketers to be sued in certain circumstances, and it is also possible for advertisers to be held liable for their affiliate marketers’ activities.
This is one of the reasons it can be difficult for aspiring affiliate marketers to get approved to participate in affiliate marketing programs.
Here are a few examples of situations where an affiliate marketer might be sued:
- False or misleading advertising: If an affiliate marketer promotes a product or service using false or misleading claims, they could be sued by the merchant or by regulators for deceptive advertising.
- Intellectual property infringement: If an affiliate marketer uses another company's trademarks, copyrighted materials, or other intellectual property without permission, they could be sued for copyright or trademark infringement.
- Breach of contract: If an affiliate marketer violates the terms of their contract with a merchant, they could be sued for breach of contract.
- Fraud: If an affiliate marketer engages in fraudulent activity, such as selling counterfeit products or making false claims about a product or service, they could be sued for fraud.
In their Dotcom Disclosure Guidelines, the US Federal Trade Commission says affiliate marketers have a duty to disclose any financial relationships they have with companies they publish links to. But this regulation is very loosely enforced, and many affiliate marketers and direct advertisers ignore this requirement. If you’re interested in learning more about these requirements, I have a free, self-paced FTC Disclosure Guidelines Course.
One of the main benefits of using an affiliate network like MaxWeb is managing this risk since they vet their affiliates. But if you don't have the protection of an affiliate network, advertisers should carefully review their terms and ensure that they are complying with all applicable laws and regulations to manage against the risk of being sued.
What is the highest-paying product category for affiliate marketers?While there are always exceptions, these product categories tend to pay higher commission rates to affiliate marketers:
- Digital downloads: Affiliates who promote digital media products, such as video entertainment products, virtual reality experiences, ebooks, self-paced training courses, and monthly subscriptions, can often earn a high commission rate, as these products typically have higher price points and lower distribution costs.
- Software as a service: Affiliates who promote SaaS products usually earn higher commissions, since software products have high price points, cost very little to distribute, and the cost of inventory is zero.
- Home improvement: This category really took off after the lockdown, with everyone improving their home offices. Affiliates who promote home improvement products, such as fixtures, furniture, appliances, and home decor, earn high commissions, as these products tend to be expensive.
- Luxury brands: Affiliates who promote luxury brands, such as high-end fashion, accessories, jewelry, perfumes, skincare, fine and spirits, and watches, also earn a high commission rate, as these products are expensive to buy. To check if a luxury brand has an affiliate program, search the name of the brand plus “affiliate program,” and you are likely to find a landing page where you can sign up if the brand is running an affiliate marketing program.
Which country has the most affiliate marketers?The US is home to most affiliate marketers. Other countries where affiliate marketing is popular are the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and, interestingly enough, Germany.
What is the hardest part of affiliate marketing? The hardest part of affiliate marketing is making your first sale. It’s difficult for new affiliate marketers to get their footing and start earning commissions because they don’t have a strong understanding of the industry, the players, or sequencing, and lack experience with marketing and promotions.
Seasoned SEO consultants and online advertising specialists are among the best prepared to make the transition and often do to realize new revenue sources that are not reliant on providing digital marketing services to clients. Search engine optimization is one of the many ways affiliate marketers generate traffic, by setting up blogs and creating branded content designed to get found when buyers are problem-solving on Google.
Another challenge that affiliate marketers face is finding and promoting offers that are relevant to their audience. It is important for affiliate marketers to choose products that align with their audience’s interests, as this will increase the chances of making sales. However, finding the right products can be difficult, especially if the affiliate marketer is in a niche that has a limited number of products available.
Finally, competition can be a major challenge for affiliate marketers. With so many people vying for the attention of the same audience, it can be difficult to stand out and make a profit. This is especially true for new affiliate marketers, who may not have a lot of experience or a large following.
What traffic sources convert best in affiliate marketing?It is impossible to know which traffic sources will convert best in an affiliate marketing program because it depends on the product, the price, the audience, and the strength of the offer. And these are always different.
Nevertheless, the main traffic sources affiliate marketers use to drive traffic and convert visitors into customers include (not necessarily in order of importance):
- Content marketing and blog posts: Creating informative and engaging content on a blog or website can help attract visitors and build trust, making them more likely to make a purchase. Search engine optimization plays a role here as well.
- Social media: Social media platforms can be used to reach a large audience and target specific groups of people based on their interests and demographics.
- Email marketing and newsletters: Email lists can be a highly targeted and effective way to promote products to a relevant audience.
- Paid advertising: Paid advertising, such as Google AdWords or Facebook Ads, can be an effective way to reach a specific audience and drive traffic to a website or product page.
Ultimately, the traffic source that converts the best will depend on the specific product and audience being targeted, as well as the effectiveness of the marketing strategy being used. It may be necessary to try out multiple traffic sources and analyze the results to determine which ones are most effective for a particular product or audience.
What are good conversion rates for affiliate marketing offers?A conversion rate of 1-2% is considered to be average. Rates above 3% are above average. But rates vary depending on the product, price, audience, and offer. To calculate the conversion rate for an affiliate offer, divide the number of conversions by the number of offer or landing page visitors, and multiply by 100. For example, if an affiliate offer generates 100 sales from 5,000 visitors, the conversion rate is 2%.
What are some fo the leading affiliate marketing websites?While this list is by no means comprehensive, here are a few popular affiliate marketing websites:
- Amazon Associates: Amazon Associates is the affiliate program for Amazon, one of the largest e-commerce websites in the world. Amazon offers a wide range of products, making it a popular choice for affiliate marketers.
- AWIN: Part of the Axel Springer and United Internet Groups, with Commission Factory, Awin and ShareASale are powered by 17 offices worldwide, over 1,200 employees, 241,000 contributing publishers and 21,200 advertisers.
- Commission Junction (CJ): CJ is an affiliate marketing network that connects advertisers with publishers (affiliate marketers). CJ offers a wide range of products and services, making it a popular choice for affiliates.
- ClickBank: ClickBank is an affiliate marketing platform that specializes in digital products, such as ebooks, software, and online courses. ClickBank has a large selection of products and a simple platform, making it a popular choice for affiliates.
- MaxWeb: MaxWeb has some of the best-converting video sales letter (VSL) offers in the industry, fast response times, and friendly affiliate managers.
- Rakuten Marketing: Rakuten Marketing is an affiliate marketing network that connects advertisers with publishers (affiliate marketers). Rakuten offers a wide range of products and services, making it a popular choice for affiliates.
ConclusionUltimately, the right affiliate marketing website for your brand will depend on the products and services you are interested in promoting, as well as your target audience, offers, and marketing strategy.
But if you read this blog post, and listen to this podcast, you will be well on your way to understanding this growing internet marketing channel which drives 16% of ecommerce conversions in the US and Canada
For an audio Affiliate Marketing Roadmap, listen to this episode of the Earned Media Podcast with MaxWeb CEO Anna Gita.
The post 2023 Affiliate Marketing Roadmap from Anna Gita appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
SEO for news websites is a critical component of reach and frequency. In this podcast, I spoke with ESPN.com director of SEO Louisa Frahm about best practices when it comes to SEO for headlines, how to build an effective program to support SEO for publishers, and what she’s learned about creating resources to support SEO for journalists.
Louisa has a long history leading SEO for news websites. Before she joined ESPN.com, she was director of SEO at the Los Angeles Times, so she has experience in SEO for newspapers as well, so she also has experience in online newsroom best practices.
Search engine optimization for news websites is the art and science of creating online news coverage that can be easily found through Google News and Google organic search. Given that 86% of Americans get their news online, learning to cover the news in way that not only informs readers, but which grows audiences and drives sustainable traffic from search engines has become a crucial skill for journalists.
I started doing SEO for news websites in 2002 when I founded iPressroom, which was the first online newsroom management service. I sold the company in 2011 and remain a shareholder. Today, I am a Los Angeles SEO consultant helping organizations use editorial content to build mindshare, market share, and drive commerce. I also help publishers get their sites indexed by Google News, so contact me if I you need help.
SEO for News WebsitesAccording to Similarweb, ESPN.com is the 83rd highest-traffic website on the internet with nearly 580 million unique visitors a month who average 3.6 pages per visit and spend almost nine and a half minutes per session.
Over 70% of the traffic on the ESPN.com news website is direct, and 21% of that traffic comes from organic search at 21%. After that is traffic social media at less than 4%, then email at over 3%.
Interestingly enough, the top athlete names that are getting the most search results in organic traffic at ESPN.com are the tennis player Andy Murray first, followed by the combat fighter Connor McGregor, then combat fighter Patty Gimblett, and tennis player Rafael Nadal, which is curious because soccer, or baseball or basketball or football are bigger sports. Louisa explains why that is in this exclusive on SEO for News Websites.
SEO for JournalistsWhen Louisa started working with her analysts at ESPN to help reporters execute best Google News optimization practices, their objective was to make sure that every single team and every single sport was equally prioritized within her department’s workflow.
Her team leads SEO for Journalist training programs, essentially teaching writers the right formula for SEO to support SEO in journalism. Reporters can rely on her department as a resource for the appropriate amount of care and guidance. Her team is prepared to help journalists sort through the various aspects of each of the 4 types of SEO, which are on-page SEO (on-site SEO), off-page SEO (off-site SEO), technical SEO, and Local SEO
At a major news publisher like ESPN, journalists don’t have to worry about the simple stuff, like providing a publication date, making sure every page is reachable from at least one static text link, or adding structured data to their article pages. That kind of technical SEO Is done for the already. Louisa and I don’t talk much about Technical SEO in this podcast. We focus mostly on news SEO. But if you’re at a smaller publication or have a blog you want to get indexed on Google News, these technical SEO details matter too.
In the United States, ESPN.com dedicates a good amount of attention to the NFL, the MLB, and the NBA, since they drive a ton of traffic. College football is also huge, but combat and tennis have very dedicated fan bases. So the nice thing about SEO for news websites is that backlinks happen organically, which is how it should be. News sites don’t have to actively lure links. Since news outlets are authoritative, they become points of reference and get attributed naturally.
SEO Headlines JournalismTrending SEO Headlines in Journalism can be easily researched on Google Trends, which has a fantastic Real Time Stories view where you can see what the biggest stories are in organic search. Headlines matter a lot in SEO and Google Trends is a way to identify targets keywords. But the key is to effective SEO headlines is making sure to balance search engine needs with audience interest. You have to write for readers first, and search engines second.
When it comes to SEO headlines for televised programming, people want to know the date and time something’s one, as well as the channel. But these factors can be frustrated by different time zones and programs airing on different channels in different market. In the US, their 212 syndicated Nielsen-rated markets.
Based on her experience doing SEO for news publishers, Louisa says that checking the real-time articles trending in organic search is a great way to gauge what readers are interested in. She can see firsthand why headlines are important for SEO.
She can see which teams and players are trends, which is a great indication of what makes a good SEO headline and what’s most likely to grab the reader's interest. She can also which types of headlines are resonating most for any given needs break. It could be a straight forward news headline, a question headline, an emotional headline, a listicle, a how to or a reason why headline. All these formats have varying degrees of efficacy for different news beats and articles.
Subscribe to the Earned Media Podcast to hear the full interview about SEO for News Websites with ESPN.com SEO director Lousia Frahm.
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Fili Wiese is a former Google Engineer and member of the search quality team. I spoke to him after his keynote at the Affiliate Meet Market in Berlin in October 2022. Tech SEO Topics Covered: How to tell Googlebot what to crawl and what to ignore How to manage your crawl budget How to retain…
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In this episode of the Earned Media Podcast, learn how a small, family owned winery built a website that attracts more web traffic and drives more direct to consumer sales than most major wineries, without spending a nickel on advertising. This is an audio case study with my clients Ross and Jennifer Halleck, the owners…
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I did not write anything below the subhead in this blog post. The author is Jason Joseph, who writes for a service you can outsource writing to called Verblio. If you’re wondering whether or not Verblio is legit, this podcast and the post below are a live test of their service. If you’re looking for…
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There’s no fooling the search engines (read, Google). They’ve gotten too good at finding the best content for searchers, not the most tricked-up content marketing. That level of intelligent search challenges companies striving to reach potential customers by providing outstanding content. How do you create content that Google will deem the best and rank in…
The post Scaling Owned Media Editorial with ContentGrow [PODCAST] appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
I you’re in content marketing and you’ve never heard of Writer Access, this episode can help you make more money for you and your clients. I spoke with Writer Access CEO Byron White who built a marketplace that connects content marketers with freelance writers. It has star ratings, recommendations, writer portfolios and an escrow service…
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Owned media marketing is about leading a horse to water and making them drink. In the analog days, marketers led the horse to water, and sales made them drink. But online, where buyers self-educate and make purchasing decisions without talking to salespeople, marketers have to be able to create an online experience that converts attention…
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Demand for effective digital marketing leadership has never been higher. But despite all that demand, the supply of worthy and well-qualified digital marketing generalists, with the ability to coordinate owned, shared, earned and paid media remains scarce. It’s a good time to be a digital marketing consultant. Because the demand exceeds the supply. But what…
The post How To Pivot to Digital Marketing [PODCAST] appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
Automation and globalization drive growth. But at what cost? Companies are too good at using half baked algorithms and business process outsourcing firms to discourage us from contacting them. And short of retaining legal counsel – which is not economically feasible – there’s nothing you can do. Got a problem with something you bought? Either…
The post A Trip Switch for Automated Autocracy [PODCAST] appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
Social Networks rose to dominance on the promise of dethroning the mainstream media. No longer would broadcasters and print publishers have a chokehold on what stories got told. Who needs journalism or public relations to protect your reputation if you can bypass the gatekeepers and tell your story yourself? Direct-to-audience storytelling and personal branding were…
The post Social Media and Misinformation (PODCAST) appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
If you want to know how to hire a virtual assistant, this episode is for you. I spoke with Mashon Thomas, who specializes in helping clients retain, onboard and manage outsourced virtual assistants. She has been doing it for over a decade, having started as a freelancer herself on upwork. She spoke to me about…
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Inside the Harvard Business Analytics Program with Shonali Burke, an accomplished public relations, corporate communications professional and recognized PR measurement expert. Shonali recently completed the Harvard Business Analytics Program. In this episode of the Earned Media Podcast, she talks about why she decided to enroll, what exactly she learned, just how difficult the program was,…
The post Harvard Business Analytics Program Graduate and Ambassador Shonali Burke appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
Jake Swearingen, deputy editor at Business Insider has written for Consumer Reports, New York Magazine, The Atlantic, Wired, Slate and LA Weekly. In this exclusive interview we talk about Business Insider’s meteoric rise to name brand status, media opportunities for coverage and the post-pandemic small business retail rebound. Discussion Topics: How New York Magazine determines…
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Mike Prasad is the founder of TinySponsor, an influencer marketing platform that connects marketers with influencers, as well as Marketing Club on Clubhouse, a top 10 club globally and the biggest industry club on the platform with 270,000 members. Every Monday at 12pm PT Marketing Club hosts roundtable discussions on the latest marketing trends, case…
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New York Times technology correspondent Cade Metz talks about his new book Genius Makers: The Mavericks Who Brought AI to Google, Facebook, and the World, a nonfiction narrative about the tiny clan of artificial intelligence (AI) visionaries who are rapidly changing our world. Cade is a technology correspondent covering artificial intelligence, driverless cars, robotics, virtual…
The post Risks and Rewards of Artificial Intelligence with Cade Metz appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
Isaac Saul is a politics reporter who grew up in suburban Pennsylvania and has lived and reported all over the world. He has written for Daily Mail, HuffPost, New York Daily News, Vox, and many others. These days, though, he runs Tangle, an independent, ad-free, nonpartisan political newsletter distributed on Substack, a newsletter distribution platform…
The post Building a Profitable Substack Newsletter with Isaac Saul appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
Harry McCracken is an award-winning journalist and Technology Editor of Fast Company, a news media outlet dedicated to inspiring readers to think beyond traditional boundaries and create the future of business. In this podcast interview, Harry talks about regulating tech without ruining it, restoring trust in journalism, YouTube’s product strategy, and how to get featured…
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Joe Pulizzi is the best-selling author of Content Inc., Killing Marketing, and Epic Content Marketing, which Fortune Magazine named a “must-read business book.” He is the founder of digital content news site The Tilt and the Content Marketing Institute, which he sold in 2016, and the host of the Content Inc podcast and This Old…
The post Crypto Creator Coin Content Marketing with Joe Pulizzi appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
David Ratner has been a book publicist for over two decades, with extensive experience managing book publicity firms, book marketing companies, and book publicity consulting. The former president of one of the country’s largest book public relations agencies, he has worked with leading publishers, as well as hundreds of best-selling authors across all genres. These…
The post Making the New York Times Bestseller List with Book Publicist David Ratner appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
David Bloom is a writer at Forbes, TVRev, and Tubefilter, and is the host of the Bloom in Tech podcast. A long-time journalist for a range of daily newspapers in Memphis, Dallas and Los Angeles, he has also written for Red Herring, Variety and Deadline Hollywood. He spent a decade as an earned media advisor…
The post Tik Tok, Clubhouse and SVoD with Forbes Writer David Bloom appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
In this episode, Peter Kafka senior correspondent at Recode – the business and technology network from Vox Media – talks about his career as a journalist, what he likes to cover, podcasting, the dangers of just covering trending stories, and reporting beyond the bubble filter. Peter is also the host of Recode Media, the weekly…
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Rory Cellan-Jones is a technology correspondent for the BBC. He has covered numerous groundbreaking tech and business stories across the decades, from the late ‘90s dotcom bubble all the way to the rise of Google, Facebook, and the iPad. Often described as “the non-geek’s geek,” he aims to look at the impact of the internet…
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In this episode conversion rate optimization Tim Ash, CEO at TimAsh.com. He is a conversion optimization expert talks about the relationship of psychology and online sales. Tim has keynoted events all over the world for Google, Facebook, Pubcon and others. He’s the author of Unleash Your Primal Brain: Demystifying How We Think and Why We…
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Our guest for this episode is Joseph Romm, an American author, blogger and Phd in Physics from MIT who advocates reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming and increasing energy security and efficiency through green technologies. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as well as the founding…
The post Defending our Climate in the War Against Science with Joe Romm appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
In this episode Jeff Coyle, co-founder and CSO for MarketMuse, a company specialized in helping creators plan and craft content marketing campaigns to maximizes results, talks about what type of B2B content marketing is most effective and how he uses natural language processing to help clients determine the topics and subtopics they should be covering.…
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Crunchbase is a database with curated business information about private and public companies. Their service tracks investments and funding information, founding members and individuals in leadership positions, mergers and acquisitions. Crunchbase News covers startups and companies in the private sector. Their earned media news coverage puts your company in front of investors and media reporters.…
The post How To Pitch Stories to Crunchbase News with Christine Hall appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
“It’s anti science,” says Michael E. Mann PhD, distinguished atmospheric scientist and director of the Earth Sciences Center at Pennsylvania State University. “It’s a concerted, agenda-driven effort to communicate non scientific, unscientific beliefs. That’s what’s so dangerous today. That’s what vested interests have been advocating, have been pushing forward, have been spreading.” This isn’t what…
The post Climate Scientist Reveals Culprits in War Against Science appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
10 years ago, Doug Kessler, co-founder and creative director of Velocity Partners, predicted the content marketing deluge we are experiencing nowadays in the world of B2B content marketing. The internet is littered with bad content under click-worthy headlines, which makes it harder for good content to get considered because no one wants to risk wasting…
The post The Big Fat B2B Content Marketing Checklist appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
Dean Takahashi, who is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat, where he covers games, hardware, R&D, and other tech. I’ve known him for about fifteen years and have contributed guests under my byline as well over the years. Dean came to Silicon Valley in 1994, the year that Netscape went public. He says two of…
The post Getting Featured in VentureBeat with GamesBeat’s Dean Takahashi appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
In this episode, David Pogue talks about his latest book, How to Prepare for Climate Change: A Practical Guide to Surviving the Chaos. David has a great sense of humor, although the topic of his book and this podcast is no joke. I met him when he was keynoting a digital marketing conference that I…
The post Adapting to Climate Change with David Pogue appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
The process of creating content that captures, keeps and converts attention into measurable transactions is broken. You start by conducting keyword research, then you create content based on that research, then you edit, re-edit, wordsmith it, add links and wait for the world to discover it. But what if you could optimize from inception? Our…
The post 7-Steps to 200k Visitors Per Month with SEO appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
“The best content doesn’t win – the best promoted content wins.” You know by now that you need content, but a lot of companies make the mistake of thinking that content marketing stops when you hit the publish button. That couldn’t be further from the truth. As brands, we need to be thinking of content…
The post Mapping Content Marketing to Funnel Stages appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
What does it take to earn the confidence of angel investors? What does it take to get an early-stage startup funded? And what does it take in a post-pandemic environment? Angel investor Jeff Saling who is also executive director of StartUpNV, Nevada’s only State-Wide Business Incubator, which helps startups take business ideas from beta to…
The post Guide to Pitching Angel Investors with Jeff Saling appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
This episode is for: Digital marketers who want to explain what they do to people outside of tech. Anyone interested in understanding what digital marketing is. Clients curious what a digital marketer can do for them. I go through the 10 digital marketing skills that will be most in-demand in 2021 and teach you how…
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Before the internet, news media coverage was the only earned media coverage available to B2B technology companies. Now, bloggers, podcasters, influencers and other content creators have expanded the chorus of third-party voices, while the migration of ad dollars to the web has decimated the traditional trade and media landscape. If you’re at a B2B communications…
The post 2021 B2B Tech Public Relations Briefing appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
For this episode of the Earned Media Podcast, we’re joined by 3 top social media influencers to discuss the new Talkwalker 2021 Social Media Trends Report, which predicts the top 10 social media marketing trends for the next year. Social Media Influencer Panel Gini Dietrich – Founder of Spin Sucks, creator of the PESO Model,…
The post Influencers Discuss Talkwalker Social Media Trends Report appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
If you’re in the world of digital marketing, lead generation, social media, or you’re simply a content creator wishing to increase your visibility and performance, chances are you’re constantly looking for new ways to improve your SEO. While there’s no shortage of websites, tools and courses designed for this purpose, few (if any) have proven…
The post New Content Marketing Optimization Platform appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
Ever wonder why some brands have better search results than others? Or how Google decides who gets rich results like knowledge panel, snippets, and image results? Brand search engine results are what you see when you Google a brand name. At some point in the B2B customer journey, your customers and prospects are going to…
The post Managing Your Reputation on Google with Jason Barnard appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
Email marketing best practices have changed more in the last 6 months than in the last 6 years. Pre-pandemic best practices aren’t best practices anymore. With everyone either out of work or working from home and kids distance learning, we’re all spending more time checking email. The result is an email marketing renaissance says Direct…
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There’s a strategy in search engine optimization called the Skyscraper technique that basically says if you want to rank high for a search phrase like “best pinot noir”, “production music licensing” or “cybersecurity firms”, you just search those terms, check out the top results and write a better, more comprehensive article then the top-ranking ones.…
The post Cause-Related SEO Puts Mission Before Math appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
AI, advanced algorithms, and big data have ushered us into a new era of marketing and consumption. We’ve seen disruptive technology impact consumer behavior and revolutionize our capabilities as marketers. But should we be skeptical — or more cautious — with how we implement the latest martech or use AI within the B2B customer journey?…
The post Algorithms, AI, and Accretion- Future of Digital Marketing in 2021 appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
If you’re wondering how to find a PR consultant to get press coverage for your startup, you’ve come to the right place. Whether you’re looking for a B2B tech PR specialist or someone to help with travel PR, hiring the right public relations person to handle your project can be tough. Who doesn’t want a…
The post How to Successfully Hire & Work With a PR Agency appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
When it comes to delivering well-timed, relevant messages as a brand, it’s important to know what’s going on in the world, your industry, and consumers’ minds. And you need to know what’s happening right now. We all talk about content marketing best practices. But it really starts with understanding the data around the types of…
The post What is Brand Monitoring? How to Use Social Media Monitoring Tools to Get Actionable Insights. appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
When presenting an argument, Western education stresses reliance on science, reason, and logic. But it turns out, that’s the wrong formula for creating viral content online. The reality is, we decide based on our emotions and rationalize our decision to ourselves based on information. Facts are not what persuade us. Sure, facts may be peppered…
The post MIT Physicist Explains Science of Viral Content appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
What if you could use your existing content and artificial intelligence to automate social media posting to all accounts and boost your engagement rates at the same time? Kate Bradley Chernis is the Founder & CEO of Lately, a startup with a platform that uses AI to autogenerate podcasts, videos and text articles into social…
The post Boosting Social Media Engagement with Artificial Intelligence appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
If you’re white like me, it can be easy to think, “If I’m not racist…there’s no racism.” Or, “I don’t see it, so it must not be happening.” But that would be denying the fact that the past influences the present or that our upbringing has no impact on our outlook. And that would be…
The post Racism in America: Now That We Can No Longer Ignore It, What Should We Do? appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
The phone rang. It was Toyota digital marketing calling. It was one of those phone calls that was exciting, scary and life-changing, all at the same time. Mind you, this was many moons before coronavirus or on demand webinar services like Zoom, GoToMeeting and Google Hangouts existed. In fact, it was before live webinar marketing…
The post How To Do a Live Streaming Webcast from Zoom to Social Media appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
This week on PR Tech Wednesdays, a panel of public relations specialists from motion picture, music and television came together to discuss the state of the entertainment industry. Entertainment Panel Erik Deutsch, Excel PR – Clients include the California Film Commission and the Association of Film Commissioners International Wynter Mitchell Rohrbaugh – 10 years of…
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While there’s plenty of competition from new outlets like Cheddar and Business Insider, Forbes is still one of the most influential business media brands in the world. As a result of their annual power lists, Forbes has an enormous brand cachet. It is a symbol of success and wealth, but it’s also so much more. It’s a community, helping business…
The post How To Become a Forbes Councils Member appeared first on Eric Schwartzman.
Lumen 5, Persado, Yoast and the #AI in PR tool stack from the Chartered Institute for Public Relations are just someone digital marketing tools I discussed with Linkedin Learning instructor Martin Waxman (@martinwaxman) on the Earned Media Podcast. We started with a passage from Arundahti Roy’s essay which appeared in the Financial Times “The Pandemic…
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Tactics for getting press coverage with digital PR are as broad and varied as the public relations agencies and clients that pursue them. The news media is influential, so everybody wants to get press. But everybody knows how to get it. In this post, I’m going to share the digital PR strategies Sarah Evans (@prsarahevans) uses to generate media…
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The benefits of brand monitoring tools for social media are not always apparent to the chief communications officers responsible for purchasing them. This is a conversation all about how to monitor your brand on social media. What is Brand Monitoring? If you have Google Analytics, why do you need premium social media monitoring tools, and…
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In this podcast, Bob Gold of Bob Gold & Associates and Kimberly Goodnight of Media Playground PR discuss the impact of the coronavirus on the public relations and media relations business. This is an audio replay of PR Tech Wednesdays, which you can attend live every Wednesday from 12-1pm PT. Sign up here.
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