SEO

Misconceptions & Making It Work

Published

2 years ago

April 8, 2022

To use Google Search Partners, or not? That is the question.

Maybe not for Hamlet, but certainly for paid search professionals everywhere.

When you create a new search campaign, you’re automatically opted into the display network and search partners by default.

This allows your ads to appear on properties owned by Google (like YouTube and Google Maps), companies they have partnered with (e.g., Amazon and Walmart), and other websites that sell ad placements.

Google doesn’t publish a complete list of search partners, but websites that show these ads must opt-in and in return, they receive a share of the advertising profits.

By extending your advertising campaigns beyond search engine results pages (SERPs) and onto additional websites that Google owns or partners with, the Google Search Partners network can be a useful tool for gaining additional traffic and conversions.

It allows you to place ads more widely and stand out from the crowd.

But it’s not without its drawbacks, which is why the commonly accepted best practice for most advertisers is to disable it.

The biggest downside is the lack of transparency and control. There is limited data about where your ads are displayed and you can’t prevent ads from displaying in placements with poor performance or controversial content.

Google’s Search Partners network also includes parked domains that can drain your budget without your ads ever being seen by real users.

You also have limited control over ad auctions, as bid modifiers cannot be used.

So, how do you make the search partners network work for your campaigns?

Let’s look at some of the ways you can use the Google Search Partners network to gain visibility and control while making sure it’s performing as well as possible.

5 Common Misconceptions About Google Search Partners

Before we jump into management tips, we should first cover exactly what the Search Partner network is and some of the common misconceptions.

Misconception 1: All Sites Included Are Smaller Search Engines

Despite being called “search partners,” the sites included within Google’s search partners are not all search engines.

In fact, Google defines its Search Partners as:

“Sites in the Search Network that partner with Google to show ads.
Search partners extend the reach of Google Search ads to hundreds of non-Google websites, as well as YouTube and other Google sites.
On search partners sites, your ads can appear on search results pages, on site directory pages, or on other pages related to a person’s search.”

Misconception 2: The Search Partners Are Only For Traditional Search Campaigns

Actually, the search partner network is also a good way to expand reach for shopping campaigns, as well.

Misconception 3: Just Because The Search Partners Didn’t Work Before Means They Never Will

In reality, so much can change with Google Ads in such a short amount of time, that it makes it worth testing – and retesting – different features.

In October 2018, Google launched Smart Bidding for search partner sites, with the goal of maximizing conversions at a similar CPC to Google Search.

This alone could make it worth another test if your campaigns had excluded search partners prior to that adjustment.

Misconception 4: The Most Granular Insight You Can Get Into Search Partners Is By Segmenting By Search Partner Network At The Campaign Level

While it’s true that we can’t see the search partner sites, there are other details that we can dig into, to help us understand performance a little better.

Keep reading, we’ll revisit this.

Misconception 5: If The CPA Is Higher In Search Partners, There’s Nothing That Can Be Done

While it’s true that advertisers have much less control on search partners than Google’s own search network because it can’t be split out on its own, there are ways to tweak results.

We just have to get a little bit more creative about how we go about it.

Low-Hanging Fruit On The Search Partner Network

If you haven’t tested the search partners before, or you’re wary of it for any reason, you might want to first aim for the low-hanging fruit.

Find your targets with the highest intent and test the search partners there first.

Your Brand Campaign

Many advertisers max out their brand campaigns if they have the budget.

The search partner network can be a great way to drive some additional volume for those searches.

Your RLSA Campaigns

Because these people have already been to your site, they’re more qualified than any ol’ searcher.

In this situation, I like to think of audiences as training wheels; it’s a good way to test without much risk.

Getting To The Bottom Of The Performance Delta

If you’re finding conversion volume in search partners but not at a return that is cost-effective, the first step is to try to identify the root cause of the poor performance so we can determine the best course of action.

Running a few quick reports can easily shine some light on problem areas.

Review Keyword Performance

Often if the search network isn’t performing, it could be because some of the terms are too broad and aren’t performing as well as some of the long-tail terms.

You can segment your keyword list by search network the same way that you would segment campaign performance.

Now, you can easily see which keywords are doing well on search partners and which are spending money without return – or converting but at a higher than acceptable cost.

Review Match Types

Another common reason that search partners might not perform as well is because performance might be skewed across match types.

By downloading the segmented keyword report, you can easily pivot the data to see how each of the match types performs across the networks.

Often, but not always, search partners tend not to perform as well on broad match keywords.

Review Device Usage

You might find that search partners don’t perform as well on mobile devices.

Segmenting your device data by search partners lets you zero in this. You might find that one device performs much better than the other.

Steps You Can Take To Improve Performance on Google Search Partners

Unfortunately, with Google’s search partners, you can’t see specific placements.

Therefore you also can’t exclude specific placements, target specific placements, or add bid modifiers to placements – or even the network in general.

That limits your options a bit but here’s what you can do:

Segment Out Your Campaigns By Match Type

If you find that the search partners are performing well on one or two match types, segment your campaigns out and then opt only for the match types that proved to perform well historically into search partners.

I would add a caveat that there would have to be enough volume from the search partners to warrant saving.

Only you can decide what that threshold is for your account, but I wouldn’t suggest a large-scale restructure for a small amount of volume.

Segment Out Your Campaigns By Device

If you find that the search partners are performing well on one device and not the other, you might consider splitting up the campaign and keeping only certain devices opted into search partners.

Again, this is really only warranted if there is proven volume worth saving.

Segment Out Your Campaigns By Match Type

If certain keywords perform really poorly on search partners, consider segmenting them out – but only if it’s not at a risk to a high volume of Google search conversions.

Segmenting Out An RLSA Campaign

If you find that certain audiences (first-party or third-party) added as observation-only perform better than the searchers outside of said audiences, you might consider breaking out an RLSA campaign and opting search partners in while keeping them out of the non-RLSA campaign.

Duplicating A Campaign Just For Search Partners

I know what you’re thinking: “Wait, what? We can’t bid on just search partners.”

You’re right!

However, you can duplicate your campaign and set the bids much lower than your current campaign so that Google’s search network won’t pick them up.

The good thing about this is that it doesn’t disrupt the performance of the keywords on the Google search network. You have to be careful, though.

If you pause things in the Google search campaign, that traffic may start re-routing to your second campaign.

Other Things To Consider

In Feb 2021, Google Ads applied structural and badge criteria updates to its partner program.

Partners still have to maintain at least a 70% optimization score to keep their badges, but they can now apply or dismiss recommendations based upon their own assessment, without penalties.

Benefits were also re-aligned to better meet the needs of partners in three key areas: Education & Insights, Access & Support, and Recognition & Rewards.

This change provides opportunities for advertising agencies and third parties that manage Google Ads on behalf of other brands to be recognized as expert digital agencies.

Key Takeaways

So, after all that, should you be using the Google Search Partner network? You didn’t really expect a simple answer, did you?

Remember, restructuring is never without its risks.

Keywords in new campaigns always start fresh, without any account history. Only you can decide if the potential risk is worth the conversion volume you can salvage.

Just make sure you can undo things in case performance doesn’t carry through. That is, pause (DON’T DELETE) keywords in your original campaign, so you can always go back if it doesn’t work.

And be aware that when you switch on Google Search Partners, you can expect to see a reduction in click-through rates in your aggregated reports.

This isn’t because your search click-through rate has dropped; it’s because the extra impressions you’re gaining have a very low click-through rate.

Even though your conversion rate will be much lower, the lower cost-per-click means that the cost per conversion will be similar to the Google Search Network.

As such, it’s probably worth giving Search Partners a test run on your account.

More Resources:

Featured Image: alphaspirit.it/Shutterstcok

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SEO

brightonSEO Live Blog

Published

2 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

5 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