Episode 2 / May 19, 2017
Every Friday, the BlackTruck Media + Marketing team gathers around a microphone to discuss search industry insights and news. We also share relevant actions our listeners can take to improve their digital marketing.
In Episode 2 of The Redirect Podcast, the BlackTruck team discussed Amazon losing its 1-click checkout, link relevance vs. authority, The State of Internet Marketing from the team at WordStream, Google Assistant coming to iOS, and the testing of expanded carousel ads inside AdWords.
Amazon loses its 1-click patent
Jason shared an article from Distilled on Amazon losing its 1-click purchase patent this year. We can expect this feature to be used by other e-commerce sites as soon as they are legally able to implement it.
Takeaway: This applies to sites with e-commerce capabilities. If you sell services or products that customers would order repeatedly, or you know you have a returning user base, implement 1-click purchase option when it becomes legally available.
The State of the Internet Marketing Agency
Jason shared some highlights from WordStream’s State of the Internet Marketing Agency report. The report broke down topics such as how agencies and professionals price services for PPC and SEO, such as flat-fee, retainer based, percentage of ad spend, and charging set-up fees.
According to the report, 50% of agencies price with a flat fee or retainer, while 28% price according to a percentage of ad spend (anywhere from less than 10% to over 20%). (Many agencies use a hybrid approach.)
The report also noted that 64% of agencies charge set-up fees for new clients. This makes sense because setting up involves time and strategy work, and agencies should be compensated for this.
The industries reported to be most common among agencies’ PPC clients include e-commerce, home services, real estate, and auto.
Takeaway: It’s easy for agencies to price their services too low or too high, but it’s important to consider the value they deliver.
Other Topics:
Google Assistant is now available on iPhone, and has additional features, as noted at Search Engine Land.
Google AdWords has added expandable options in mobile that have carousel-style display.
A series on Search Engine Land highlighted opinions in the industry on whether authority or relevance has more value in link-building. The BlackTruck team agreed that highly relevant links, even if low in authority, are more valuable.
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