SEO

How Do Enterprise & SaaS Marketing Software Solutions Differ?

Published

2 years ago

July 28, 2022

It’s no secret that software is a major driver of modern business.

Technological infrastructures are what services are built on these days, and it’s essentially a foregone conclusion to say that you can’t survive, much less compete, today without a strong software support system.

However, there are pros and cons to every decision you make intending to better your organization.

The decision between enterprise software or SaaS software as the model for your marketing and SEO infrastructure is certainly subject to the same laborious decision-making you apply to any other aspect of your business.

There is nothing inherently better or worse about enterprise or SaaS software. There are differences, to be sure, but which is right for you will come down to your business’s size, needs, and financial capabilities.

So, how do enterprise software and SaaS software differ?

Let’s find out.

Choosing Marketing Software For Your Business

Let’s say you’re the chief technology or marketing officer of an enterprise business (or anyone else who makes these decisions).

You know there are gaps in your abilities as a company to serve your customers, and you know that a significant portion of those gaps is due to technological deficiencies.

If you know your business and operations well enough, you can probably conjure up some solid ideas of where you’re currently falling short and what you need in a software upgrade.

Here are some examples of concerns you might raise:

Our current software infrastructure isn’t collaboration friendly, and the teams have complained about lost communication and productivity.
Customers say they have difficulty interacting with their accounts on our website, but we can’t address their concerns in the current system.
Our marketing software can’t integrate with various other applications, but we know that a new system would be able to handle them.

Knowing where you are with your needs vs. your capabilities is such a big step – and if you’ve already identified that there is a problem, congratulations.

Further congratulations are in order if you have the means and the approval to upgrade.

The next issue is already on the horizon, though, and it’s essentially the title of this post.

Which software model will be right for you, enterprise or SaaS?

You can’t know until you understand their differences, so let’s get into them.

What Is Enterprise Software, And Who Is It For?

Both types of software are meant to improve business operations by better serving the organization and its customers.

In its most basic form, enterprise software is the technology that meets the needs and solves the problems of enterprise businesses.

So, whatever an enterprise-level business needs to function, the software can handle, whether those needs involve customer relations, technical support, email integration across applications, or team collaboration.

Enterprise software creates efficiencies and allows for greater productivity.

However, here’s the crux of it, in contrast with SaaS software: Enterprise software is owned by the business.

It’s software that has been developed and installed on-site, and that can be accessed locally.

It’s proprietary software; once completed, the business owns it from top to bottom.

There are plenty of upsides to springing for enterprise software.

You choose the developers who have the technical capabilities you need.

You get to work with them to tell them everything you require regarding functionality and support, which is key because this will be your business’s software.

The software will do what you need it to, and its design will be based entirely on your operations.

To summarize: Enterprise software is custom-built for you and will respond to your every whim.

You host it on-site, know the security measures around that hosting, and are free to change its functionality as the need arises.

The matchup sounds perfect, but there is still a catch or two.

Full-stack custom software development is no easy task, so the price tag for a business to commission and own enterprise software can be hefty.

We’re talking about a number that most likely falls in the six-figure range, even up to three-quarters of a million.

If I could be flippant for a moment: They don’t call it enterprise software for nothing.

The implied conclusion is that enterprise software is meant for the most established enterprise companies – those with the freed-up budget to pay for custom-built proprietary software.

It is always going to be a question of convenience versus money.

Your enterprise software might cost a lot more upfront but it will pay dividends in its ease of use, full integration with all your other software components and generally low (but still present) upkeep costs over time.

What Is SaaS Software, And Who Is it For?

Now that you understand enterprise software and what it entails, the definition of SaaS software may be falling into place for you.

In contrast to enterprise software, SaaS refers to “software as a service.”

The greatest overall difference between the two is that SaaS is software that you pay a monthly subscription fee to use, not one that you own for yourself.

Like enterprise software, SaaS software is a valuable tool in streamlining business operations and ultimately bringing better services or products to your customers.

But let’s talk about the main differences.

Proprietary enterprise software represents a sea change in how your business handles things in-house.

SaaS software, meanwhile, won’t upset the flow of things too much.

It’s relatively easy to bring in because it was set up to work a certain way, and that’s how it will always work.

The provider’s support team can guide you in using the platform, and that’s another benefit: You have access to a help desk or customer service line for whatever you need regarding the software.

You can use the provider as a resource if you’re paying for the service.

The final major benefit to discuss with SaaS (one of the primary differences between SaaS and enterprise software) is the cost.

With SaaS, you pay a monthly fee to use the software, and that’s it.

If you need maintenance or updating with anything, it’s all accounted for and handled in your plan.

That monthly fee, by the way, will be significantly less than the upfront costs of hiring a development team to build you an infrastructure from scratch.

So, on one hand, SaaS is more immediately affordable than enterprise software, and its fee structure will allow you to predict your business’s future budget.

On the other hand, though, what you save in money, you pay for in convenience (at least somewhat).

SaaS can be custom-fitted to your needs as much as possible, but that’s the thing: its possibilities are limited.

You are not guaranteed functionality in all the areas your business requires, because it wasn’t built specifically for you.

In that vein, you also shouldn’t expect that SaaS software will be able to integrate all your current programs and applications because, once again, its functionality is limited to how it was originally built.

One final issue worth mentioning is that SaaS software makes some business leaders uncomfortable due to its shared hosting.

It depends on your philosophy on this topic, but with enterprise solutions, you’re running the security of your software and data.

With SaaS, you’re grouped with your provider and everyone using the platform.

A breach of one could mean a breach of others.

So, it behooves you to perform your due diligence on any SaaS providers you’re considering to get a handle on the security measures you can expect when you use the service.

Will You Choose Enterprise Or SaaS Software?

I hope you now feel much more comfortable deciding whether enterprise software or SaaS software is best for you and your marketing organization.

The pros and cons should be clear to you.

While enterprise software will be much more time-intensive and expensive, you will appreciate its fully customizable functionality.

And, just as you know that using SaaS software will afford you a much smaller price tag and predictable budget, you’ll also be aware that it may not do every little thing you need because it wasn’t made just for you.

Which one you choose comes down to your resources, business size, needs, and where you predict all of these things to be in the future.

More resources:

Featured Image: everything possible/Shutterstock

Related Topics:Differ Enterprise Marketing SaaS seo Software solutions

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SEO

brightonSEO Live Blog

Published

9 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

Hello everyone. It’s April again, so I’m back in Brighton for another two days of ~~sun~~, sea, and SEO!

Being the introvert I am, my idea of fun isn’t hanging around our booth all day explaining we’ve run out of t-shirts (seriously, you need to be fast if you want swag!). So I decided to do something useful and live-blog the event instead.

Follow below for talk takeaways and (very) mildly humorous commentary.

SEO

Google Further Postpones Third-Party Cookie Deprecation In Chrome

Published

12 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Max

Close-up of a document with a grid and a red stamp that reads "delayed" over the word "status" due to Chrome's deprecation of third-party cookies.

Google has again delayed its plan to phase out third-party cookies in the Chrome web browser. The latest postponement comes after ongoing challenges in reconciling feedback from industry stakeholders and regulators.

The announcement was made in Google and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) joint quarterly report on the Privacy Sandbox initiative, scheduled for release on April 26.

Chrome’s Third-Party Cookie Phaseout Pushed To 2025

Google states it “will not complete third-party cookie deprecation during the second half of Q4” this year as planned.

Instead, the tech giant aims to begin deprecating third-party cookies in Chrome “starting early next year,” assuming an agreement can be reached with the CMA and the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

The statement reads:

“We recognize that there are ongoing challenges related to reconciling divergent feedback from the industry, regulators and developers, and will continue to engage closely with the entire ecosystem. It’s also critical that the CMA has sufficient time to review all evidence, including results from industry tests, which the CMA has asked market participants to provide by the end of June.”

Continued Engagement With Regulators

Google reiterated its commitment to “engaging closely with the CMA and ICO” throughout the process and hopes to conclude discussions this year.

This marks the third delay to Google’s plan to deprecate third-party cookies, initially aiming for a Q3 2023 phaseout before pushing it back to late 2024.

The postponements reflect the challenges in transitioning away from cross-site user tracking while balancing privacy and advertiser interests.

Transition Period & Impact

In January, Chrome began restricting third-party cookie access for 1% of users globally. This percentage was expected to gradually increase until 100% of users were covered by Q3 2024.

However, the latest delay gives websites and services more time to migrate away from third-party cookie dependencies through Google’s limited “deprecation trials” program.

The trials offer temporary cookie access extensions until December 27, 2024, for non-advertising use cases that can demonstrate direct user impact and functional breakage.

While easing the transition, the trials have strict eligibility rules. Advertising-related services are ineligible, and origins matching known ad-related domains are rejected.

Google states the program aims to address functional issues rather than relieve general data collection inconveniences.

Publisher & Advertiser Implications

The repeated delays highlight the potential disruption for digital publishers and advertisers relying on third-party cookie tracking.

Industry groups have raised concerns that restricting cross-site tracking could push websites toward more opaque privacy-invasive practices.

However, privacy advocates view the phaseout as crucial in preventing covert user profiling across the web.

With the latest postponement, all parties have more time to prepare for the eventual loss of third-party cookies and adopt Google’s proposed Privacy Sandbox APIs as replacements.

Featured Image: Novikov Aleksey/Shutterstock

SEO

How To Write ChatGPT Prompts To Get The Best Results

Published

1 day ago

April 24, 2024

Max

How To Write ChatGPT Prompts To Get The Best Results

ChatGPT is a game changer in the field of SEO. This powerful language model can generate human-like content, making it an invaluable tool for SEO professionals.

However, the prompts you provide largely determine the quality of the output.

To unlock the full potential of ChatGPT and create content that resonates with your audience and search engines, writing effective prompts is crucial.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the art of writing prompts for ChatGPT, covering everything from basic techniques to advanced strategies for layering prompts and generating high-quality, SEO-friendly content.

Writing Prompts For ChatGPT

What Is A ChatGPT Prompt?

A ChatGPT prompt is an instruction or discussion topic a user provides for the ChatGPT AI model to respond to.

The prompt can be a question, statement, or any other stimulus to spark creativity, reflection, or engagement.

Users can use the prompt to generate ideas, share their thoughts, or start a conversation.

ChatGPT prompts are designed to be open-ended and can be customized based on the user’s preferences and interests.

How To Write Prompts For ChatGPT

Start by giving ChatGPT a writing prompt, such as, “Write a short story about a person who discovers they have a superpower.”

ChatGPT will then generate a response based on your prompt. Depending on the prompt’s complexity and the level of detail you requested, the answer may be a few sentences or several paragraphs long.

Use the ChatGPT-generated response as a starting point for your writing. You can take the ideas and concepts presented in the answer and expand upon them, adding your own unique spin to the story.

If you want to generate additional ideas, try asking ChatGPT follow-up questions related to your original prompt.

For example, you could ask, “What challenges might the person face in exploring their newfound superpower?” Or, “How might the person’s relationships with others be affected by their superpower?”

Remember that ChatGPT’s answers are generated by artificial intelligence and may not always be perfect or exactly what you want.

However, they can still be a great source of inspiration and help you start writing.

Must-Have GPTs Assistant

I recommend installing the WebBrowser Assistant created by the OpenAI Team. This tool allows you to add relevant Bing results to your ChatGPT prompts.

This assistant adds the first web results to your ChatGPT prompts for more accurate and up-to-date conversations.

It is very easy to install in only two clicks. (Click on Start Chat.)

Screenshot from ChatGPT, April 2024

For example, if I ask, “Who is Vincent Terrasi?,” ChatGPT has no answer.

With WebBrower Assistant, the assistant creates a new prompt with the first Bing results, and now ChatGPT knows who Vincent Terrasi is.

Screenshot from ChatGPT, March 2023

You can test other GPT assistants available in the GPTs search engine if you want to use Google results.

Master Reverse Prompt Engineering

ChatGPT can be an excellent tool for reverse engineering prompts because it generates natural and engaging responses to any given input.

By analyzing the prompts generated by ChatGPT, it is possible to gain insight into the model’s underlying thought processes and decision-making strategies.

One key benefit of using ChatGPT to reverse engineer prompts is that the model is highly transparent in its decision-making.

This means that the reasoning and logic behind each response can be traced, making it easier to understand how the model arrives at its conclusions.

Once you’ve done this a few times for different types of content, you’ll gain insight into crafting more effective prompts.

Prepare Your ChatGPT For Generating Prompts

First, activate the reverse prompt engineering.

Type the following prompt: “Enable Reverse Prompt Engineering? By Reverse Prompt Engineering I mean creating a prompt from a given text.”

Screenshot from ChatGPT, March 2023

ChatGPT is now ready to generate your prompt. You can test the product description in a new chatbot session and evaluate the generated prompt.

Type: “Create a very technical reverse prompt engineering template for a product description about iPhone 11.”

Reverse Prompt engineering via WebChatGPT

Screenshot from ChatGPT, March 2023

The result is amazing. You can test with a full text that you want to reproduce. Here is an example of a prompt for selling a Kindle on Amazon.

Type: “Reverse Prompt engineer the following {product), capture the writing style and the length of the text :
product =”

Reverse prompt engineering: Amazon product

Screenshot from ChatGPT, March 2023

I tested it on an SEJ blog post. Enjoy the analysis – it is excellent.

Type: “Reverse Prompt engineer the following {text}, capture the tone and writing style of the {text} to include in the prompt :
text = all text coming from https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-bard-training-data/478941/”

Reverse prompt engineering an SEJ blog post

Screenshot from ChatGPT, March 2023

But be careful not to use ChatGPT to generate your texts. It is just a personal assistant.

Go Deeper

Prompts and examples for SEO:

Keyword research and content ideas prompt: “Provide a list of 20 long-tail keyword ideas related to ‘local SEO strategies’ along with brief content topic descriptions for each keyword.”
Optimizing content for featured snippets prompt: “Write a 40-50 word paragraph optimized for the query ‘what is the featured snippet in Google search’ that could potentially earn the featured snippet.”
Creating meta descriptions prompt: “Draft a compelling meta description for the following blog post title: ’10 Technical SEO Factors You Can’t Ignore in 2024′.”

Important Considerations:

Always Fact-Check: While ChatGPT can be a helpful tool, it’s crucial to remember that it may generate inaccurate or fabricated information. Always verify any facts, statistics, or quotes generated by ChatGPT before incorporating them into your content.
Maintain Control and Creativity: Use ChatGPT as a tool to assist your writing, not replace it. Don’t rely on it to do your thinking or create content from scratch. Your unique perspective and creativity are essential for producing high-quality, engaging content.
Iteration is Key: Refine and revise the outputs generated by ChatGPT to ensure they align with your voice, style, and intended message.

Additional Prompts for Rewording and SEO:
– Rewrite this sentence to be more concise and impactful.
– Suggest alternative phrasing for this section to improve clarity.
– Identify opportunities to incorporate relevant internal and external links.
– Analyze the keyword density and suggest improvements for better SEO.

Remember, while ChatGPT can be a valuable tool, it’s essential to use it responsibly and maintain control over your content creation process.

Experiment And Refine Your Prompting Techniques

Writing effective prompts for ChatGPT is an essential skill for any SEO professional who wants to harness the power of AI-generated content.

Hopefully, the insights and examples shared in this article can inspire you and help guide you to crafting stronger prompts that yield high-quality content.

Remember to experiment with layering prompts, iterating on the output, and continually refining your prompting techniques.

This will help you stay ahead of the curve in the ever-changing world of SEO.

More resources:

Featured Image: Tapati Rinchumrus/Shutterstock