GA4 has Landed. Explore the Next Generation of Google Analytics

GA4 has Landed. Explore the Next Generation of Google Analytics

by | Jun 16, 2022 | Technology

According to Forbes, 50% of businesses say that big data and analytics have fundamentally changed practices and strategies in their marketing departments. And with the growth in analytics technology, end-user privacy has become one of the most demanding aspects of every business. Browsers and other platforms are making changes to core technologies such as the collection and use of tracking cookies. Meanwhile, end-users themselves are demanding more transparency and control over how their data gets used.

At the same time, the amount of data generated from countless touch points and platforms continues to increase exponentially. Therefore, businesses these days are investing more and more in managing and understanding website analytics. To attempt to navigate all of these without a modern measurement solution, you are leaving essential insights on the table that will impact your bottom line.

Against this backdrop comes the introduction of Google Analytics 4, your new cross-platform analytics solution, as Google will begin sunsetting Universal Analytics — the previous generation of Analytics — in 2023.

This blog post will provide you and your team with an analysis of Google Analytics 4 (GA4) vs. Universal Analytics (UA). We will also highlight the major differences between the two to help you to determine when is the right time to make the switch before Universal Analytics properties stop processing information.

What is Google Analytics 4?

Google Analytics 4 is a new version of Google Analytics that helps you and your team with your data analysis. GA4 is designed with visitor privacy at its core. It will help your business meet the ever-evolving customer needs and user expectations, with more comprehensive and granular controls for data collection and usage. Perhaps most importantly, GA4 will also no longer store IP addresses. These solutions and controls are especially necessary for today’s data privacy landscape, where users are increasingly expecting more privacy protections and control over their data. Now that you have a bit of background, let’s dive a bit deeper into the differences between the GA4 and UA.

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) vs Universal Analytics (UA)

GA4 is the new update on the block and is primed to officially dethrone UA on July 1, 2023; which means UA will stop processing site visitor activity on that day. Preparing your team and your business for the switch is critical. Let’s compare the two before UA’s final send-off so you know what to expect and have sufficient time to prepare.

Universal Analytics, was released in 2012 and is a version of Google Analytics that you have been using for years to gain insight into your website’s visitors. For instance, it has provided user IDs, tracking codes, and analytics configuration options. With these, you can gain more in-depth information about user behavior. For comparison’s sake, here’s a recap  of UA’s features:

Side Note: UA was built for a generation of online measurement that was anchored in the desktop web, independent sessions, and more easily observable data from cookies. This measurement methodology is quickly becoming obsolete.

  • User IDs: enables better activity reporting. When a user visits your company’s site — no matter how many browsers or devices they use — they’re recorded as a single person. This allows your developers to track your unique site visitor counts more accurately. Additionally, you can access Cross Device reports that will give you more in-depth information about user behavior.
  • Tracking codes: these are meant to help your team collect data on-site visitors. For instance, UA introduced Google Analytics Software Development Kits (SDKs) to track activity on mobile, and Analytics.js to measure how visitors are interacting with your site. 
  • Offline data: ​​lets you track data from outside sources like call centers. As a result, users can better understand customer behavior via offline data.
  • Custom metrics and enhanced eCommerce: customization options are available so you can gain specialized data that fits the goals of your business and learn more about your campaign’s progress. 
  • Organic Search Sources: Account owners can configure how organic searches get reported. Google Analytics will separate search traffic, labeled organic search traffic, from ads.
  • Session and Campaign Timeouts: This configuration considers how people can visit sites and then leave them open on their devices in favor of doing other things. This can skew your data reports or analytics on session length. So, you can adjust UA’s settings to end sessions after set periods.
  • Eliminating Referral Sources: In contrast to organic search traffic, you can find traffic from other sources, which you can label referrals. UA can log the domain name your user was on before getting to your site. So, you can take out domains from the referral source report.
  • Ignoring Search Terms. You can see what keywords Google users use to find your website in your analytics reports. Unfortunately, you can’t see every logged query, but you can see some of them. But, you can ignore some search terms so they won’t be counted as search traffic.

Some challenges with Universal Analytics

Now that you have a good understanding of how Universal Analytics works, it is now important to understand some of the challenges the tool presents:

  • Data processing latency is 24-48 hours in UA and generally results in any reports you or your team run only being refreshed once a day.
  • UA does not support Cross-Device Reporting, you currently have to integrate a third-party software for this purpose which could be an extremely complex task.
  • Every user interaction can be sent to UA as an individual hit, but the number of hits is limited for each session and there is zero assurance that the excess hits will be processed. Here’s a screenshot from Google documentation showing how GA4 will improve upon this challenge which we will also discuss in more detail in the next section:

Now that we’ve looked at Universal Analytics features and functionality and some of the challenges it presents, let’s switch gears to Google Analytics 4. Below we explore just a few of the new features that come packed in Google Analytics 4 that are designed to better support your business.

  • Predictive analysis: you will now be able to track both websites and apps. Tracking app data was not a function of UA. GA4 uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to get more insights across more touch-points along your customer’s journey. Therefore, you can gain the data needed for predicting your audience’s next move.
  • Reports and automated table customization: Much like UA, GA4 has plenty of data tables. The difference? GA4’s tables are much more customizable in terms of dimensions and metrics and reports on landing page traffic. 
  • Anomaly detection: This feature deals with machine learning and AI, as well.You can adjust the anomaly detector’s sensitivity and time periods, allowing  Google to monitor your site and notify you when it detects anomalies or anything that was supposed to happen but didn’t. In a nutshell, GA4 can tell if a particular metric has something to do with your statistics or if something needs to be fixed on your website, saving you the time it would take to discover and investigate the anomalies yourself
  • Segment creation: you can now create audience segments with GA4. The incredible thing about this feature when comparing GA4 vs UA is that you can make segments without needing to save them with the new comparisons tool.
  • Events tracking: you can track most events in GA4 such as the basic, automatically tracked, and enhanced measurement events. If you can’t find desired events, you have the option to create new ones. Another perk of GA4 vs UA is that GA4 allows you to create 300 events for a property versus 22 in UA. 
  • Configuration tracking: you will now be able to mark events as ‘Conversions’ more easily. For example, in UA, you could track 20 permanent conversions, but with GA4, you can track as many as 30 conversions. Another new perk? Your team can delete them whenever you want.
  • Privacy consent mode: GA4 will now automatically anonymize IP addresses.

GA4 operates across platforms, does not rely exclusively on cookies, and uses an event-based data model to deliver user-centric measurement.

Bringing it all together

Although Universal Analytics offers a variety of privacy controls, Google Analytics 4 is designed with privacy at its core to provide a better experience for your website users. It helps businesses like yours meet evolving needs and user expectations, with more comprehensive and granular controls for data collection and usage. Most importantly, GA4 will also no longer store IP addresses. 

By bringing in these new functions, Google Analytics is continuing to improve the platform and provide solutions for you and your customers at every step of their user journey. These solutions and controls are especially necessary for today’s international data privacy landscape, where users are increasingly expecting more privacy protections and control over their data.

This may seem like a lot because it is. What’s your biggest concern about these updates and the health of your website?  Drop us a line with your concerns and questions. We live this stuff and would enjoy the discussion.

    Get expert help today!

    An InteractOne Senior Team Member will get back to you within a day.

    Drop Us a Line At:

    Or, if you prefer an old-fashioned phone call:
    Phone (USA): (513) 469-3346

    4665 Cornell Rd. Suite 255
    Cincinnati, OH 45241

    The Secret Sauce of Search Engine Marketing

    The Secret Sauce of Search Engine Marketing

    by | May 20, 2022 | eCommerce, SEO, Site Development

    Yes, we said it, the secret sauce is SEO.

    Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of increasing your website’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. In practice it is about making multiple impactful modifications to parts of your website. When viewed individually, these changes might seem like small incremental improvements, but when combined as a group, they can have a noticeable impact on your site’s user experience and performance in organic search results.

    Let’s consider a few telling statistics:

    • 68% of online experiences begin with a search engine.
    • Google (+ Google Images) currently holds 91.94% of the total search engine market share, followed by Bing, Yahoo!, Baidu, and YANDEX. 
    • 61% of B2B marketers stated that SEO and organic traffic generate more leads than any other marketing initiative. 
    • 70% of online marketers say that SEO is better than PPC for generating sales. 
    • The top page listed in a Google search has an average click-through rate of 32%.
    • 75% of people never scroll past the first page of search engines.

    The above stats from 2022 should be enough to convince you that SEO should be an essential part to the success of your eCommerce business.

    In this blog, we’ll demystify the SEO acronym and discuss why it is one of the most important digital marketing tactics. We’ll also take a deeper dive into how to target the ideal prospects you want to find your website through their search efforts, so they are motivated to visit your site and convert to paying customers.

    Why is SEO so important?

    Do you ever look on the third page of a Google Search? Most likely, you never go that far in your search. And that is the same for 90% of respondents in the Searchengineland report. This is precisely the reason why SEO is so important.

    Ongoing efforts should focus on both On-Page and Off-Page SEO. On-page SEO includes Content, Indexing, mobile views and effectiveness, structured data, security, performance, accessibility, technologies, branding, and domain. On-page helps search engines understand your website’s content and what your brand is all about. In doing so, search engines can determine whether your site is relevant to what a user is searching for when they type a query. Investing time and effort into a solid on-page SEO strategy can provide a better user experience to meet your visitors’ needs while meeting your own needs via better search presence, brand awareness, and more traffic. Off-page SEO includes backlinks, traffic, Google Analytics, Local Directories, and Social Profiles. Both contribute a little bit to the total rank, position and overall authority score of a page.

    Secret SEO Checklist Revealed!

    What most SEO “experts” don’t tell you, and what we will, is that search engines are actually not that different from people. In the same way, you’d look for books in a library, skim-read their content, and judge their quality, search engines do the same. Only the process is a lot faster and more methodical.

    ​​Search engines value content that’s original, credible, well-researched, and engaging (like the work we produce for clients right here at InteractOne). And Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs) value websites that are fast to load, simple to navigate, and mobile-friendly. Websites with clear page titles, URLs, and links also are search-friendly. After all, these are the things you and your customers would look for when browsing online.

    But how does an eCommerce marketing team optimize a website for search engines? By carefully crafting pages and content to make them as readable and valuable as they can be for your site visitors. Here’s a great place for your team to start:

      Choose niche keywords: It’s well-known that keywords are the words or phrases typed into search boxes when looking for something, for example, “Columbus takeout’ or ‘marathon training.’ Google looks for such keywords on websites and uses them to decide how relevant site content is to a specific search query. This means you need to choose keywords that align with your product or service and your customers needs or pain points and use them appropriately in content across your site. To identify your keywords, consider what your business offers and what makes it unique. Since many other businesses will likely share the same keywords, keep yours as specific to your offerings as possible. The trick is finding keywords with low competition and high search volumes. That’s where your expert team, like the folks at Interactone, needs to put in the work.

    Relevant title and image tags: ​​On each page of your website, relevant title tags should be present. Title tags let Google know what is on your page, and are the main text element used in search engine results, therefore it’s important to choose keywords and phrases that match user intent and align with the purpose of the search.

    Create quality content: You’ve heard it said time and time again that “content is king” and this is particularly true in the modern era of SEO. It is essential that you create unique and valuable content that is a worthwhile read for users. Whatever your industry may be, tailor your content according to the needs and pain-points of your audience. Stay on top of relevant trends, create “how-to” blog posts, and frequently update older content to make sure you’re continuing to serve your audience with useful and timely information, even after it’s initially published. For strategies on writing quality content, check out our blog, Content is King. Rule your Domain.

    URL domain: An SEO-friendly URL must be easy for both search engines and readers to digest. How can you make it so?  Create URLs that accurately describe whatever content is on the page. This allows the customer to anticipate what they will see if they click the link and gives SERPs the ability to index your content better. Avoid keyword stuffing and looking spammy by including just one or two keywords. If there are any unnecessary words in the URL, remove them for conciseness, as you want to aim for three or four words maximum since shorter URLs tend to rank better. Eliminate any randomly generated numbers, too, as they are not descriptive, make the URL unnecessarily longer, and lack relevance. Some additional tips include the usage of lowercase letters and separating words with hyphens.

    Create a good user experience: Make your website easy to navigate, with logical menus, clear page titles, and URLs that tell visitors what the page is all about. For example, instead of “www.trainers.com/123abc,” opt for “www.trainers.com/white-running-trainers.” Consider using breadcrumb trails at the top of your pages. These give one-click access to other pages on your site, and they’re good for SEO as you can weave keywords into them. So much of your online success is tied to the user experience of your website. Your marketing and development team need to be working in tandem to deliver a smooth and functional digital experience.

    Make your site mobile-friendly: Given that nearly half of all searches are done on mobile devices, optimizing your website to work well and look great on mobile devices is no longer a nice-to-have but a must-have. And it’s something that search engines consider in their rankings, too. Google says mobile-friendly sites show higher in search results and account for over half of searches on Google.com.

    Write unique meta descriptions: Meta descriptions are one of those small tasks that often get overlooked. Although Google has said meta tags are not a ranking factor, they are one of those small on-page SEO details you should incorporate into your content marketing strategy to optimize results. For tips on how to write unique meta descriptions, check out our blog, Meta Descriptions: Small Detail Costing You Big Traffic.

    Fast page loads: Neither humans nor search engines like slow websites. In fact, one-quarter of visitors will abandon a site if it takes longer than two seconds to load. If you think any of your pages are running slowly, you might want to perform a quick analysis and identify any areas for improvement. For more information on page speeds, check out our blog, ​​Perfect Page, Poor Traffic? Why Site Speed Matters.

    Outbound links: As previously mentioned, off-page SEO is just as important as on-page SEO. This involves building backlinks to your website from high-quality websites. You can do this by publishing guest posts on popular websites, participating in online discussions, and submitting your website to online directories such as Angi or Manta.

    Specific Calls to Action (CTA’s): As its name suggests, a call to action (CTA) compels a visitor to take action, such as clicking a link to visit a product page so they can purchase a product/service. The better your CTAs are, the more conversions you will get, and the better your on-page SEO.

    ​​Optimizing your website for SEO with some of these checklist items won’t yield overnight success. How come?  It’s a long-term investment in creating a seamless user experience and unique, engaging content regularly. If you commit to this, you will reap the rewards by attracting higher-quality traffic to your site and happier customers who trust and respect you, your expertise, and your business offering.

    Bringing it all together

    It is no small feat to implement a well-designed and effective SEO strategy for your eCommerce website. SEO strategy is something that you cannot ignore or overlook when planning to expand your online presence. While there are many channels through which you can market your business, nothing can overpower the impact of search engine optimization tactics and strategies. All businesses with an online presence, whether small or big, should be opting to implement SEO tactics into their marketing strategies. But given the long list of tactics described in this blog, savvy eCommerce teams or choosing to put their trust in experts like the team at InteractOne to implement advanced SEO practices. If you need help with Search Engine Optimization challenges, let us know, below. We’re digital marketing pros and are here to help.

      Get expert help today!

      An InteractOne Senior Team Member will get back to you within a day.

      Drop Us a Line At:

      Or, if you prefer an old-fashioned phone call:
      Phone (USA): (513) 469-3346

      4665 Cornell Rd. Suite 255
      Cincinnati, OH 45241

      Content is King. How to Rule your Domain.

      Content is King. How to Rule your Domain.

      by | Apr 26, 2022 | Digital Marketing, eCommerce

      The Internet is a vast sea filled with everything imaginable. It can be difficult for anyone to find your light on the water. How come? Truth is, there are a limited number of people who are desperately looking for a product, a service, or an answer to some question. And eCommerce merchants are all competing for their attention and traffic. Content marketing can be your beacon. Shining out across the water, making it easier for you and your new customer to find one another against what may seem like impossible odds.

      In this blog, we will discuss what content marketing is, why it is important for your bottom line, and ways to incorporate it into your marketing strategy for long-term success.

      Content Marketing Best Practices

      Content marketing is the process of explaining to customers, through written text, images or videos, how your product or service can solve their issues. It is not intended to be ‘sales-y’ but educational, explaining to customers how a product works, its benefits and the issues it can solve. It can also be about lifestyle or other issues connected to your offerings.

      When visitors come to your site, they get the opportunity to go through your content at their own pace. Or – and this is even more powerful, prospects can search the Web for a topic of interest. If your content meets the search criteria, the prospect can link to your content on your site even if they had never heard of you before. Content marketing gives you the opportunity to tell your own story and gives visitors the opportunity to understand your business, your values, and your brand. There can be a sense of discovery, fulfillment, and delight when visitors find what they are looking for within your website or by connecting with your brand’s mission and values. Without original content on your site, or social channels, where else will the general public learn about your story, your expertise or your perspective?

      The Importance of Content Marketing

      Marketing is moving towards content creation rather than just paid ads and social media posts. This is because content can better address visitors’ pain points and turn them into customers. Content Marketing is the way to connect with customers, create relationships that can turn into sales, and can help your business to:

      • Attract new customers
      • Engage current customers
      • Build trust and credibility
      • Generate leads
      • Increase website traffic
      • Boost brand awareness

      Depending on how well your content matches the needs of your audience, you could see conversion rates increase at a rapid pace more so than if you had no content marketing plan in place. Not only does that mean a lot of leads, but you also have a chance to do some qualifying of potential customers before they even send their first inquiry.

      An easy way to think about your content is that it is your website, social media campaigns and other efforts, like email campaigns or newsletters. Without content and a strategy behind it, the content you create and the platforms in which it lives would simply be a blank page and not drive any traffic.

      In addition, content marketing is an opportunity to not only connect with your audience and tell them a story, but when done right it can help improve your SEO. After all, the more opportunities you have for Google to index your content, the more opportunities you have to be found in searches for a wide assortment of keywords. Oh, and don’t forget, all that content also gives your loyal fans (and new prospects) something to share, which can do even more for your business’s exposure!

      Begin Your Content Strategy with the End in Mind

      Despite the open nature of content marketing, you cannot just go about it haphazardly. There is a particular order to things, or there should be. You need to have a plan.

      Just like with any sort of marketing campaign, you have to deliver content in a way that makes sense and is consistent with the other content you have created in the past and will create in the future.

      Below are some steps that play a vital role in the development of your content marketing strategy to ensure consistency:

        Side Note: All content marketing must be created with the 3 stages of the Buyer’s Journey in mind. Prospects in the ‘Awareness’ stage are not ready to make a decision yet, so the content must be specifically tailored to them. Likewise, a prospect ready to make a decision is interested in more than just informative content.

        •  Set your business goals and objectives
        • Develop KPI’s
        • Know your audience and what you want to achieve with them
        • Assess your current market position and identify any gaps
        • Decide on content types and topics you want to cover to position your brand as the authority
        • Create an omni-channel content calendar to promote your copy

        Depending on how well your content matches the needs of your audience, you could see conversion rates increase at a rapid pace more so than if you had no content marketing plan in place. Not only does that mean a lot of leads, but you also have a chance to do some qualifying of potential customers before they even send their first inquiry.

        The Best Content Types

        The best content marketing is genuinely selfless. It does not overtly sell anything or promote a product. It simply delivers helpful information in an easy-to-understand format for an audience hungry for knowledge. But in all cases it presents information in a way that is consistent with your brand voice and presents your firm as experts. Useful site content comes in many shapes and sizes, including:

        Blog posts: Blogs are by and large one of the most popular forms of content marketing. Not only do they allow you to demonstrate your knowledge or provide your firm’s perspective on a given subject or product, but blogs live on SERPs for a long time – if you play your cards right. Blogs give you several ways to keep your business visible, including collecting inbound links and being excellent fodder for social media platforms. Your blogs can and should also be used to cross-promote other pieces of original content, which will help keep posts on a consistent schedule and ensure you remain relevant with your audience. We could go on and on about the number of ways a well-developed blog and supportive paid campaign can improve your long-term traffic and conversions but we’re trying to keep this blog to a readable length. If you need to make an impact with your content, contact us today.

        Ebooks and White Papers: This type of content marketing gives creators the opportunity to create more long-form and point-of-view pieces. These would include How-To Guides and videos, collections of previous works, and content that features a more narrative structure. Most merchants put this type of content behind a sign-up wall. The goal of these pieces of content is not only to educate, but also to be used as an exchange to gather prospective customer contact information to help build your mailing list.

        Newsletters: Both paper and digital newsletters serve as regular reminders that your company still exists and that you are not just a well of knowledge, but the well of knowledge. After all, why would someone go out of their way to do a lot of research on a subject when they know they can trust you to deliver everything they need in a tidy package? Whether you offer a service or a product, well-designed and executed newsletters are a highly effective way to stay top of mind (and inbox) while connecting your audience to your most recently developed content.

        Video: ​​A video can grab a lot of attention in a short time, but its usefulness will depend mainly on your audience and the topic. Some people detest video content as they might come off as spam or too in-your-face whereas other people love video content and seek it out. In other words, you can think of it as a medium of extremes. A solid video best-practice is to turn off Autoplay features. The sound of your video, potentially buried in a browser tab is easily enough to send visitors BOUNCING off of your site. If your brand is well-served by video, use it liberally, but make sure to provide captions and a summary so people can fully appreciate the glory that is your video content no matter where they find it. Transcripts can help those users who detest sound, too.

        eCommerce videos are not only an essential part of digital marketing, but they are also a strategy by themselves. These are important not just for B2C companies but also B2B as they can explain a complex product or service using an engaging and straightforward narrative.
        When you are using videos to sell online, ensure your storyline solves a problem, highlights one key feature, and provides a clear CTA. Using these tactics, versus being too spammy or in your face will help you see results in no time.

        Infographics: The mark of an effective infographic is its ability to make complex information easy to understand and interesting at the same time by using as little text as possible and letting the imagery tell the story. Presenting information in such a compelling fashion encourages visitors to spend more time on your site, and share more of your content. A couple of examples of companies who have done infographics well can be found below:

        Workbooks and templates: These resources are great ways to keep your brand in front of buyers while continuing to inform. They should be designed for print and made as interactive and practical as possible. These can be built around any internal process or proficiency your brand can speak to with authority.

        Case studies: Build case studies with real numbers and complete stories. This will help keep the content focused on the value and results, not the brand.

        Bringing it all together

        At its core, content marketing is all about creating content that is interesting and engaging enough to get people to click on from a Web search and to stick around on your site. This can take many different forms, as discussed throughout this article, but the goal is always the same – to capture the attention of potential customers by presenting meaningful information from a position of authority and convert them into buyers.

        Are you looking for a way to improve your marketing efforts with great content marketing?

        We can help you build brand awareness, trust, and loyalty with your audience through great site content. Whether that entails helping you develop a site content strategy or direction for your copy by either writing it for you or working with you to edit existing content – we are here to help.

          Get expert help today!

          An InteractOne Senior Team Member will get back to you within a day.

          Drop Us a Line At:

          Or, if you prefer an old-fashioned phone call:
          Phone (USA): (513) 469-3346

          4665 Cornell Rd. Suite 255
          Cincinnati, OH 45241

          Meta Descriptions: Small Detail Costing You Big Traffic

          Meta Descriptions: Small Detail Costing You Big Traffic

          by | Mar 31, 2022 | Digital Marketing, eCommerce, Technology

          The list of elements on your webstore that ‘need work’ is seemingly endless. It’s easy for minor tasks to not receive priority when managing your firm’s growing eCommerce efforts. Meta descriptions are one of those small tasks that often get forgotten. Although Google has said meta tags are not a ranking factor, they are one of those small on-page SEO tasks you should incorporate into your content marketing strategy to optimize results.

          In this blog, we will ​​provide a quick guide about what meta descriptions are, why they are important. how to write them so they stand out in search engine result pages, and other tips to keep in mind when focusing on your site’s meta tags.

          So, what is a meta description?

          In short, a meta description is the short section of text that appears below a link in the Search Results page or in the preview section when you send a link. The purpose of a meta description is to describe what the page’s content is about, so people looking through a search results page know what to expect before they click. You can either write your own directly in your website’s CMS or search engines will pull content directly from your site to fill it in automatically.  Do you want to leave this sort of customer-facing assignment up to a computer program? It is important to write your own – so you control what visitors see and can ensure the description is an accurate representation of what your site is about.

          It is also important to note that meta descriptions are not a direct ranking factor. However, they can influence whether people will click on your webpage and indirectly influence your organic traffic.

          Why are meta descriptions so important for your SEO?

          Even though there is no direct correlation between meta descriptions and higher rankings on Google, meta descriptions do play a vital part in SEO. Google uses click-through rate (CTR) as a way of working out whether your link is a good result. What this means is the more people that click on your site, Google considers you to be a good result and will – based on your position – move you up the rankings. This is why optimizing your meta description is so important.

          How to write a meta description effectively

          Simply put, if you don’t put work into your meta descriptions, you may be missing out on quality website traffic, new leads, and customers. So, how can you start writing powerful meta descriptions that drive clicks? Follow the guidelines below:

          Aim for the optimal length: ​​The right length doesn’t exist because it depends on the message you want to convey to a specific audience. However, Google generally truncates your meta snippet to 120-160 characters. Therefore, it’s best to keep meta descriptions long enough that they’re sufficiently descriptive, but short and snappy at the same time. Keep in mind that the “optimal” length will vary depending on the situation, and your primary goal should be to provide value and drive clicks.

          Use action-oriented copy: If you think about it, a meta description is just like call-to-action copy, it tells the audience exactly what visitors can do if they click. You should start your meta descriptions with action words like “Learn,” “Discover,” or “Grab” and then follow up with specific details about what your potential site visitor will get if they click.

          Include keywords: If the search keyword matches a part of the text in the meta description, Google will be more inclined to use it and highlight it in the search results. This will make the link to your site even more inviting. Google sometimes even highlights synonyms. In the example below, both the Academy Awards and Oscars are highlighted. Getting your results emphasized like that makes them stand out even more.

          Write compelling copy: Think of your meta description as advertising copy – if your snippet is boring what would motivate someone to click on your link? A page’s meta description should intelligently employ the page’s target keywords, in a natural, non-spammy way that compels the user to click through to the page. Google and other search engines often bold keywords from the user’s query in the description display, which draws the eye of the searcher. Try to match your descriptions to valuable search terms as closely as possible without over-optimizing them.

          Avoid quotation marks: When double quotation marks (“…”) are used within meta description HTML markup, Google recognizes them as signals to truncate the description from that point and will automatically cut off the rest of the text from the Search Engine Results Pages (SERP) snippet. To prevent this from happening, your best bet is to remove all non-alphanumeric characters from any of your meta descriptions. On the other hand, if quotation marks are important in your meta description, you can use the HTML entity rather than double quotes to prevent truncation.

          Don’t be misleading: If your meta description misleads your audience with content unrelated to what users should expect once they click they’re likely to leave quickly. That’s one sure way to get high bounce rates. Not only that, you might risk losing a viewer’s trust and/or mentally being blacklisted from them ever clicking on your site in the future. Be honest about who you are and what you do.

          Below are a few good examples of meta descriptions that incorporate all of the above tips:

          Hellofresh: They rank for the search query “recipe box subscription” and take a different strategy by using short, snappy sentences to make it enticing for a user to want to click to learn more.

          Mailchimp: When you see this search result for their pricing page, you can see the total package they put together with the compelling meta description and rich snippets. The description is concise but says everything it needs to. Then the rest of the rich snippets show more information on the same topic.

          Why are meta descriptions so important for your SEO?

          Meta descriptions on their own might seem like a small thing and many businesses might overlook their importance, but they are your chance to create the first impression of your site to visitors. By using our best-practice guide on how to write a great meta description, you will not only improve click-through rates, but also decrease bounce rates to gain even more traffic in the future. 

          Spend time to fix your metadata today and begin seeing the results of that effort tomorrow. And if you need help with this or other Search Engine Optimization challenges, let us know, below. We’re digital marketing pros and are here to help.

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            Magento is Now Adobe Commerce – All You Need to Know

            Magento is Now Adobe Commerce – All You Need to Know

            by | Mar 17, 2022 | Adobe/Magento, eCommerce

            To compete in hyper-competitive, oversaturated markets, companies can’t afford to be complacent. This is true for both mom-and-pop shops and Fortune 500s alike. And while the importance of continuously spurring innovation is universal for all brands, it’s especially critical within the world of Big Tech, an industry where even Goliaths can fall, and fall quickly, should they fail to evolve.

            One of the most important ways that major players embrace this ethos of ceaselessly optimizing their product offering is through mergers and acquisitions. Facebook expanding its reach and impact with the acquisition of Instagram is a great example. Adobe, the multinational software giant, is no exception to this business practice. Nearly three years after acquiring the Magento platform, Adobe is in its final stages of an integration that has been happening behind the scenes for some time now; a unified Adobe Commerce brand that will not only increase their business but yours, as well.

            In this blog post, we will discuss what this rebrand and the latest round of updates means for you, your business, and your webstore.

            What does the Adobe-Magento integration mean?

            ​​Magento has been a key part of the Adobe family for some time, providing the eCommerce element that was missing from its fantastic digital ecosystem.

            Yet this renaming comes at a crucial time in the company’s growth and signifies the direction it is heading now and into the future.

            What does this all mean for customers and merchants?

            The licensed version formerly known as “Magento Commerce Edition” will now be known as “Adobe Commerce”. The “Magento Open Source”, formerly known as “Magento Community Edition”, will keep the Open Source name. The important thing to remember when you’re skimming this site or you’re in the Adobe Portal and you see “Adobe Commerce”, is that it is still the same Magento Commerce Edition you know and love but with a name that reflects its new owner.

            The Adobe Commerce platform will offer the best of both the Adobe and Magento brands: a world-class, open-source B2B and B2C eCommerce platform, plus a java-based content management system capable of crafting personalized digital experiences for customers.

            How will you benefit from the acquisition?

            Adobe Commerce customers should be excited about what the future holds with this rebrand. With these new integrations, there are both immediate and long-term benefits, including:

            Progressive Web Applications (PWA) Studio: this new development will make PWA development ownership faster, cheaper, and easier to launch multiple international sites that require multi-currency and multi-language support. PWA Studio enables merchants to use the same cloud hosting for their back-end and storefront. Consequently, you can create an integrated eCommerce site with increased engagement, conversion rates, and revenue.

            AI-Powered Site Search: This feature offers search-as-you-type results that become smarter over time using Adobe Sensei AI. Analyzing shopper behavior, this search feature will fine-tune results to increase conversions and provide reporting on ‘no result’ searches so that you can optimize for those as well.

            Product Recommendations for B2B: Originally launched as a B2C feature that used consumer data to create personalized suggestions to enhance the user experience and increase sales, Adobe Commerce turns this feature into a tool that can be utilized by B2B businesses. The feature does all this by automatically analyzing shopper behavior, conversion factors, contextual and item popularity across the storefront. The product recommendations engine will soon accommodate different recommendation rules such that you can include different prices depending on varying buyer catalogs. With less manual input, this feature is a valuable asset to monitor campaign performance and boost your ROI. It can also be integrated into your PWA Studio storefront.

            Adobe Sign Integration: Need a signature to finalize transactions? This e-signing software is being integrated directly into Adobe Commerce so that buyers can complete their purchase directly on your website without having to disrupt the transaction flow to sign contracts on another platform, or via email, when completing purchase orders, contracts, service agreements, waivers, warranties, and subscriptions. This seamless integration will simplify the purchase process, reduce drop-offs, and increase sales.

            New Financing Tool: Looking for capital to scale up your business? The new financing solution that comes from a collaboration between Abobe Commerce and Wayflyer, allows you to use funds to boost inventory and/or vamp up your online marketing efforts. This tool will allow you to add inventory during peak online business seasons and invest in interest and demand-generation activities, such as discounted programs. You will also be able to utilize the Wayflyer Analytics tool to provide insights on your digital marketing campaigns and adjust your marketing funds input to maximize profits.

            Bringing it all together

            By bringing in new functions such as Live Search and Adobe Sign to Adobe Commerce, Adobe is continuing to improve the platform and provide solutions for customers every step of their user journey.

            This may seem like a lot, because it is. Adobe Commerce is becoming more sophisticated by the day. What’s your biggest concern about these updates and the health of your webstore? Tell us all about it.

              Get expert help today!

              An InteractOne Senior Team Member will get back to you within a day.

              Drop Us a Line At:

              Or, if you prefer an old-fashioned phone call:
              Phone (USA): (513) 469-3346

              4665 Cornell Rd. Suite 255
              Cincinnati, OH 45241