SEO
6 Tips For Supercharging Google Display Network Performance
The Google Display Network (GDN) continues to be the largest contextual ad network on the internet.
It’s also a cost-effective way to jump into the market for awareness and re-engagement.
Chances are, your target audience can be found on the GDN.
The targeting options are endless. From reaching a brand-new audience with awareness efforts to retargeting your existing customers, the Google Display Network is an effective place to find the results you seek.
With the inevitable move toward automation in Google Ads, it’s important to understand the levers and mechanisms you can manipulate to reach optimal performance.
In this post, you’ll find six tips that will help you lean into automation while maintaining control of your campaigns.
1. Remarketing Campaigns
An obvious one, but this is by far the biggest opportunity: If you’re ever going to see any kind of return on the display network, you’re most likely to see it from remarketing.
Remarketing allows you to deposit a cookie via the browser of your website visitors.
You will then be able to display ads targeting those website visitors whenever they visit other sites also on the Google Display Network.
It might sound slightly creepy, but it works due to the fact the people seeing your ads are already familiar with your brand.
What’s more, remarketing has been proven to deliver lower CPAs, so it’s a great option for advertisers operating on a smaller budget.
Here’s how to set up a basic remarketing campaign to target users that have previously visited your website:
1. Set up remarketing and add a remarketing tag to all pages of your website.
2. Set up remarketing lists using the audiences tab within the Google Ads shared library:
3. Within a few days, your “All visitors” list will begin to populate. You can monitor this via the audiences tab in AdWords, as outlined above.
4. Once your chosen list has gained at least 100 visitors within 30 days, you’re ready to start remarketing.
To set up a new campaign, click +Campaign, then select your campaign objective. To enable all features, select “Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance:
Screenshot by author, March 20225. Select your campaign type for “Display Network Only”:
Screenshot by author, March 20226. Choose a target location, language, bid strategy, budget, and campaign name.
7. Click Save and continue.
8. Name your first ad group, set your default CPC bid (if applicable). Click How they have interacted with your business” under ‘Audience Segments’:
Screenshot by author, March 20229. In the ‘Select a category’ drop-down menu, choose from a variety of segments, including website visitors, app users, customer lists, and more:
Screenshot by author, March 202210. Choose one of the remarketing lists you previously created via the Audiences tab. In this example, we will be targeting ‘all website visitors’:
Screenshot by author, March 202211. Click Save and continue if you want to create your ads, or Skip ad creation if you want to do this later.
12. Once your ads have been created, they’re eligible to be served to all previous website visitors whenever they’re browsing sites on the GDN.
There are many useful posts on how to optimize remarketing campaigns, including how to set up appropriate frequency capping and how to monitor performance.
2. Target Similar Audiences
The Similar Segments feature within Google Ads attempts to find people with similar interests and browsing habits as your remarketing audiences.
If you have already set up remarketing, I would recommend targeting Similar Segments in their own ad groups to see if you can boost performance.
To target similar audiences, set up a new display campaign and select the ‘Similar to remarketing lists‘ option within the Display Network targeting settings:
Screenshot by author, March 2022Similar audiences allow you to increase the reach of existing remarketing campaigns to drive new users to your site who have similar browsing habits as previous website visitors.
Pro tip: I would always recommend segmenting remarketing lists and similar audiences into separate campaigns to monitor relative performance, rather than grouping them into a single campaign.
Similar segments will usually have a much larger audience pool than your remarketing lists.
3. Focus On Placements
Of all the targeting options available to advertisers on the Google Display Network, the best way of gaining granular control over where your ads are being served is by using managed placements.
If you use targeting methods like interests or topics, Google is essentially guessing which sites are relevant, meaning there’s a risk that your ads may be served on irrelevant websites.
By targeting placements, you’re able to select exactly which sites you want your ads to be displayed on, so it’s a safe option for advertisers just branching out into display advertising.
To set up placement targeting, navigate to the targeting settings of your display network campaign and choose ‘Placements‘ from the Ad targeting drop-down:
Screenshot by author, March 2022You can then choose specific placements from the list by searching for keywords or specific websites:
Screenshot by author, March 2022If you have a list of high-performing placements (websites), you can start to separate them into individual ad groups.
Then, you can more effectively manage your bids on the placements that are providing the best return.
4. Look Out For Mobile Apps
Are you using keyword, topic, or interest targeting?
Has it been a while since you monitored the placements your ads are being served on?
If so, chances are mobile games are wasting a huge chunk of your budget. This is an issue that has appeared largely due to kids using their parents’ mobile apps, which often leads to ads being clicked by accident.
How to check whether mobile games have been taking up a slice of your display budget: Navigate to your display network campaign, click the Placements tab for the campaign (under “Content” on the left-hand side), and then click “See Where Your Ads Appeared”:
Screenshot by author, March 2022You do have the ability to exclude mobile apps as a whole, or at the category level. Tips on how to exclude can be found here.
5. Target In-Market Audiences
In-market audiences are people whom Google has determined to be most interested in what you have to offer based on their browsing behavior and activity.
This audience comprises of users who are actively searching and comparing products and services matching those you offer.
To see if in-market audiences are a successful targeting method for you, set up a campaign via the ‘Interests and remarketing‘ tab.
Select In-market audiences from the drop down before checking which type of audience you’d like to target:
Screenshot by author, March 2022From there, you’ll find many different categories and sub-categories of In-Market audiences:
Screenshot by author, March 2022Pro tip: To get a true reflection of whether this targeting method could work for your business, make sure you split your in-market audience targeting into a separate campaign.
Then, pay close attention to the placements report to further refine performance over time.
6. Use Responsive Display Ads
Gone are the days of relying on static image testing to understand what resonates with users most.
In fact, Responsive Display ads are now the default ad type for this campaign. They are also showing more often than static ads because of the available inventory.
Responsive Display ads take a combination of headlines, descriptions, images, and videos (if applicable) that you choose for your campaign.
Google then mixes and matches based on available ad inventory to show the most relevant ad possible to each user.
Here’s an example of how to create a Responsive Display ad in the Google Ads interface:
Screenshot by author, March 2022The interface will update in real-time as you add your assets. Google will also benchmark your ad strength based on the variety and quantity of assets being provided.
The interface will also show examples of your ads mocked up in different Google properties, such as websites, apps, and Gmail.
Conclusion
The Display Network is a goldmine of opportunity – if you use it the right way.
Google’s reliance on automation can make or break campaign performance.
By choosing the right levers to pull in your campaign settings and selecting the most relevant audiences, you will have more control over campaign performance.
It’s always a good idea to double-check settings when setting up a campaign, as well as keep up-to-date on any industry changes that may affect your campaigns.
More Resources:
Featured Image: Sammby/Shutterstock
SEO
brightonSEO Live Blog
Hello everyone. It’s April again, so I’m back in Brighton for another two days of 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. sun, sea, and SEO!
SEO
Google Further Postpones Third-Party Cookie Deprecation In Chrome
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
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.)
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 2023You 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 2023ChatGPT 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.”
Screenshot from ChatGPT, March 2023The 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 =”
Screenshot from ChatGPT, March 2023I 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/”
Screenshot from ChatGPT, March 2023But 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
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