Personalized Advertising and How to Use it in Paid Search

Personalized advertising is not a new concept. In fact, it’s been around for years and has become more sophisticated as technology has evolved.

What used to be considered as spammy or intrusive marketing techniques are now commonplace with personalized advertising.

The benefits of using personalized ads can’t be ignored either.

Personalized ads offer higher click-through rates, lower cost per acquisition (CPA), and provide a better customer experience because they will see exactly what they want to see when browsing your site or searching on Google.

If used well, personalized advertising can also help you improve your organic search results.

In this article, I’ll outline how you can start incorporating personalized advertising into your paid search strategy.

What Are the Benefits of Personalized Advertising for Paid Search?

Personalized advertising helps get your message in front of potential customers at the right time.

It can also lead to better performance in digital search by tailoring your ads to the individual searcher.

There are many benefits of using personalized advertising in paid search with some of the most important including:

• Higher click-through rates (CTR): Personalized ads have been shown to get higher click-through rates than regular, non-personalized ads. Because they are more relevant to the individual user, they are therefore more likely to be interesting.
• Lower cost per acquisition (CPA): Since they are more relevant, personalized ads also tend to have a lower CPA which increases the likelihood of conversions.
• Better ROI: All of these benefits mean you’re likely to see better ROI from your personalized advertising campaigns than from non-personalized ones.

How to Leverage Personalization in Paid Search

Personalized advertising can go a long way in paid search, but it’s important to use it in the right way.

Customer data is an integral part of personalized advertising, so start by collecting it. There are lots of ways to do this, but the most common ones involve data collection tools like Google Analytics or Bing Webmaster.

From there, use these tips to get the most out of personalized advertising in paid search.

Use AI To Streamline Your Ads

Search engines like Google offer machine learning to make it easier to create more personalized ads.

Google Ads offers a number of AI-driven tools, including the ability to auto-generate ad headlines and descriptions based on the data you’ve collected about your customers. You can also use machine learning to target similar audiences for your ads.

With AI assistance, you can help match your offer with consumer needs, helping give your business the edge over competitors.

AI can also help you find more high-performance keywords or remove low-performing ads.

Create More Targeted Ads

Personalized advertising requires an understanding of who your customers are, where they live, and what they are looking for.

Google Ads allow you to create highly targeted ads based on a variety of factors, including:

• demographics
• location
• interests and habits
• past search behavior
• returning customers

Consider the following example. If you own a restaurant in New York City near Central Park, your ad targeting should include keywords related to your location as well as those that will appeal to local customers who are looking for a place to eat.

In this example, the ad could include language such as “located in Central Park” or “New York City restaurant near Central Park.”

The ads can get even more specific by targeting people who have recently searched for things like “dinner near me,” “walking distance from my hotel,” and “Central Park restaurants.”

​​Use Customer Match to Target Specific Customers

Once you have some customer data in hand, send that information into your Google Ad campaigns through Customer Match. This will allow you to target ads based on individual users’ search behavior.

For example, you can use Customer Match to target ads at users who have purchased something from your site in the past 30 days.

This feature is especially helpful if you want to reach out to customers who are likely ready for another purchase.

Customer Match can also help you optimize your campaigns by adjusting ad bids based on past customer activity.

For example, you can set a bid adjustment to receive more ad exposure to customers who have viewed or purchased items in specific categories.

This feature is great for targeting ads based on what you know about your customer’s interests and product preferences, helping you find potential new leads that fit within your existing target audience.

Other Customer Match features include:

• showing personalized ads in Gmail inbox tabs based on customer data
• targeting ads on YouTube segments that are similar to your own
• using personalized ads on the Google Display Network

Use Dynamic Search Ads

Dynamic Search Ads match user search terms to your ad to help fill gaps in keyword-based campaigns.

When a customer’s search is relevant to your product or service, Google will automatically show an ad for the most relevant page on your site that matches their search.

For example, this could be showing an ad for winter boots when a customer searches for “cold weather gear.”

Dynamic ads also update as you make changes to your website. All headlines and landing page content are pulled automatically from your site, ensuring you always have the most up-to-date content and CTAs to drive new customer traffic.

This feature is great for advertisers who want the ability to manage ad campaigns on a daily basis and optimize based on changing business goals and priorities.

Use Retargeting Strategies

Another great use for personalized advertising is Dynamic Remarketing. You can target ads specifically at users who have visited your website but haven’t made a purchase yet. This can be a great way to remind customers what they were interested in and nudge them towards completing a purchase.

Targeting returning customers is another great way to use personalized advertising. You can target people who have visited your website before or even those who have made a purchase from you in the past.

You can do this by including customer data in your remarketing lists. This could include things like email addresses, phone numbers, or even past purchase data.

When you target your ads to these customers, you can be sure they are more likely to convert because they have already shown an interest in your product or service.

Use Geotargeting

Geotargeting is a method of personalized advertising that allows you to target people based on their location. You can use this to target customers in a specific area, or even those who are visiting your city or town.

This is a great way to increase local sales and drive traffic to your physical store locations. It can also be used to target people who are traveling in your area.

In addition, geotargeting can be used to target people who are near your competitor’s location.

For example, if you’re one of many pizza restaurants in a neighborhood, you can use geotargeting to target customers who frequent your competitor’s shop, and draw them to your own business.

Personalized Advertising for Paid Search: Frequently Asked Questions  

Can search ads be personalized?

Yes, search ads can be personalized in a number of ways by using geotargeting, remarketing, location targeting, and Customer Match.

What is the benefit of personalized advertising?

Personalized advertising can result in increased sales and traffic to your physical store locations, as well as targeting people who are traveling in your area.

What are examples of personalized advertising in paid search?

Examples of personalized in paid search include ads that target specific locations, past customer behaviors such as abandoning a cart, or past customer interactions such as viewing a product or clicking on an ad.

How do I implement personalized advertising in paid search?

To establish the foundation for personalized ads, you must first set up goals and advanced segments within AdWords to determine which online behaviors indicate interest in your products and services.

Do personalized ads creep users out?

Personalized advertising has been shown to perform better with customers, as long as it is done correctly. The key to success with personalized ads is creating a balance between relevance and frequency, as well as being upfront about how and when data is being used.

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Conclusion: Personalized Advertising for Paid Search

Personalized advertising can be a powerful tool for your paid search campaigns.

When done correctly, it can lead to improved click-through rates and conversions.

By setting up goals and advanced segments in Google Ads, you can create personalized ads that are relevant to your customers’ interests.

Just be sure to be upfront about the kinds of information you are collecting from your customers, how it’s being used, and why.

NP Digital has been helping businesses achieve their marketing and advertising goals since 2017. If you need help setting up your personalized ads or just want someone to bounce ideas off of, contact us today!

Have you found success with personalized advertising?

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Facebook Lead Ads: What They Are and How to Use Them

It has 2.89 billion monthly active users, a global presence, and a massive influence on consumer buying decisions.

What am I talking about? Facebook, of course!

Given its broad audience, marketers and businesses can’t afford to ignore Facebook if they want a fresh pool of prospects to target.

However, there’s another reason why you should use Facebook: they provide many innovative tools to help anyone drive more attention to their products and services by targeting specific audiences.

One of those tools is Facebook lead ads.

What Are Facebook Lead Ads?

Facebook lead ads allow marketers to generate leads on Facebook among users who might be looking to buy your product or services.

Rather than the traditional landing page, these ads keep users on social media while the prospect fills out a simple lead form with basic details such as their name, email address, and other contact information.

When a prospect completes an “Instant Form”, they get added to the company’s email list where they receive updates and offers (if you have an active mailing list).

Alternatively, you can customize Facebook Instant Forms—making it easier to target your audience (and filter out non-relevant customers).

With Facebook lead ads, you can choose from several campaign types, including:

• demos
• downloads, like PDFs
• discounts
• event advertising

Facebook users will then see lead ads in different site areas, including news feeds, Messenger, and even articles.

How Facebook Lead Ads Work

Facebook lead ads work in much the same way as other advertising. You can create your adverts by going to Facebook’s Ads Manager.

Once there, you establish your budget while adding your descriptions, images/videos, and other design elements for a successful ad. You can also customize your ad by using specified interests or demographics to target your ideal audience.

Ads then get shown in users’ feeds, where they can respond to your offer, helping your ability to generate more leads.

From a user’s perspective, Facebook Lead Ads don’t look different from other link ads. Once clicked, they take the Facebook user to a form rather than a website, like in the example below.

When creating the Facebook lead ad form, you get to decide what information you’d like to ask for. Aside from the pre-filled data, you can also select from a list of custom questions types such as:

• multiple choice
• short answer
• store locator
• conditional
• appointment request

Benefits of Facebook Lead Ads

The most obvious benefit of Facebook lead ads is that they give prospects an easy way to provide their information—especially if you choose the pre-fill option—allowing you to collect leads in a more efficient and straightforward way.

As for marketer and small business owner benefits, you can customize questions for your forms, have a better chance at increasing conversions, and access a mix of new lead generation campaigns.

Some other significant benefits of Facebook lead ads are:

1. targeted audience segmentation
2. easy data collection
3. mobile responsiveness
4. a better understanding of your customers

As you can see, you’ve got plenty of reasons to explore these ads and get to know how they may work for you in your business.

Why Should Marketers and Small Businesses Use Facebook Lead Ads?

The reality is marketers and small business owners are busy and can’t be everywhere at once, even if you might want to be.

That means you need to focus your marketing efforts on maximizing success.

That’s why it makes sense to use tools like form-driven ads to capture leads efficiently and dynamically (without too much effort and time commitment on your part).

You can use Facebook lead ads in any number of ways, including:

1. finding prospects for your products/services
2. gathering subscriber details for newsletters
3. gaining insights into consumers behaviors
4. encouraging people to sign up for courses and events

Facebook Lead Ads Best Practices

There are plenty of ways to make the most of your Facebook lead ads. Let’s start with the basics.

A few best practices include:

• ensure your ads are in line with your business goals
• make sure your ad messaging is consistent with your brand
• create a clear and effective call to action (CTA)
• use CTAs that speak to your specific audience
• keep the ads simple
• spell out the benefits

Facebook has a heap of helpful suggestions too. These include:

1. Decide on the right budget and use ad scheduling.
2. Create lookalike audiences to help find your ideal customers.
3. Reach previous prospects with the Engagement Custom Audience feature.
4. Run ads on both Facebook and Instagram.
5. Add an engaging image/video.

Just a quick note: it’s definitely worth reading up on Facebook-published articles for a wealth of tips on increasing conversions from Instant Forms.

Before moving on, here are a few more things to consider:

• Find the right leads: By pairing Facebook lead ads with the platform’s audience selection and optimization tools, you can reach the right audience at the right time every time.
• Ask the right questions: Only you know what information you’re looking for from your audience. Ask the most important questions up top to ensure that you get the information you’re angling for.
• Integrate your CRM: Rather than losing your leads, you can integrate Facebook lead ads directly with your CRM, allowing your system to immediately reach out to interested parties.

Now you know what makes a great ad, let us look at some examples.

Examples of Great Facebook Lead Ads

Many brands in different niches are using Facebook lead ads to their advantage and, as you can see from the following examples, there’s a ton you can learn from them.

Let’s start with the Wealth Factory.

The Wealth Factory

Let’s face it. If someone is going to click on a link, they want to know what’s in it for them. When the benefits are clear, and they can see what they gain from clicking through, they are more likely to take that extra step.

That’s what The Wealth Factory does so well with its Facebook lead ads. The free PDF details the IRS’s tax benefits and lists 32 jobs that your child can do to help you in your business.

As you can see from the ad, the benefits include a sizable tax-free income for your child and a tax deduction for you as a business owner.

To find out more, Facebook users complete the super-short form and click send. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

This is an approach you can adapt for your campaigns.

Make the benefits clear and bullet point them, so people see at a glance what they’re set to gain, and you can encourage Facebook users to click through with a clear CTA.

Boux Avenue

Another proven technique guaranteed to inspire consumers to spring into action is offering a discount. After all, who doesn’t love a bargain?

That’s what Boux Avenue does with its Facebook lead ads form. Like the Wealth Factory, it’s very clear about the benefits of signing up (a 20 percent discount and a regular newsletter).

To make the decision even easier, Boux Avenue makes signing up a snap with pre-filled information and a CTA button.

Offering a discount is something most businesses can do, and by simplifying form completion, you’re increasing the chances of prospects clicking. Bear that in mind with your ads, and add a time limitation to discounts to create urgency.

How to Set Up Facebook Lead Ads

Creating Facebook lead ads involves some basic preparation.

First, Facebook advises businesses to familiarize themselves with the terms of service and its advertising policies. If you want to list some questions on your form, Facebook suggests you ask your legal team to look them over first.

Then there’s just one more bit of prep: you need the link for your privacy policy as it will appear on the form.

With all that done, you’re ready to start creating your first ad. It’s simple to do. Just follow these steps:

Creating a Successful Facebook Lead Ad

1. Log into your Facebook business account and click on “Publishing Tools.”
2. Go to the “Forms Library” on the left-hand side of the page and click.
3. Next, click “+Create”.
4. Select “New Form” or “Duplicate” if you already have a form.
5. Go to the “Create Form” window and fill out the “Form Name” box.
6. Now, go to the “Form Type” field and select which form you’d like. There are two choices: Selecting “More Volume” lets you make accessible fillable forms suitable for mobile users. While setting “Higher Intent” allows users to review and confirm their details first.
7. Next, go to the “Intro” section and create an introduction screen. Facebook has details on how to complete this stage. Here, you can add your images, headlines, and descriptions about your products/services.
8. Go to “Questions” and choose + “Add Question.” Facebook lets you list up to 15.
9. Next, move to the “Prefill Questions Section.” Fill out the description and explain how you intend to use or share the information people give you. Remember, you can’t use the info you gather for any other purpose other than the one you state.
10. Select any pre-filled information you want for your form. Select categories by clicking “+ Add Category.”
11. Go to “Privacy” and include your link text and the URL to the “Privacy Policy” box. You can also add a custom disclaimer by clicking “+Add Custom Disclaimer.”
12. Move to “Completion.” Put in your headline, descriptions, CTA button, and add a link. You can include up to 60 characters for Headlines and CTAs.
13. Click on the arrows on the top of “Form Preview.”
14. Select “Publish” or “Save Draft” if you want to edit later. Ensure all your details are as you want them because you cannot edit your Instant Form once you’ve published it.
15. Choose “Boost” to send out your form as an ad. Select your image/video, text, audience, length of publication, and budget.
16. Click “Promote.”
17. Congratulations! You’ve just created your first Facebook lead ad.

Frequently Asked Questions About Facebook Lead Ads

How much do Facebook lead ads cost?

Compared to other platforms, Facebook ads are not wildly expensive. On average, Facebook advertising costs $0.97 per click and $7.19 per 1000 impressions. These low numbers make advertising on Facebook extremely attractive to marketers across industries, with over seven million advertisers actively trying to engage consumers on the platform.

What are dynamic Facebook lead ads?

Dynamic Facebook lead ads are a cost-effective way to create and test ad variations and choose which one performs best. They allow advertisers to show different offers, images, and CTAs to each individual. Dynamic Facebook lead ads offer greater personalization and let you create locally relevant ads to enhance lead quality and increase sales.

What is the format of Facebook lead ads?

Ads come in-text links and carousels, and appear on different areas of the site, like feeds. Users see them labeled as “sponsored.”

Are there any tools for testing Facebook lead ads?

Marketo has a Facebook lead ads testing tool for checking functionality and Hevo Data has a similar tool. You can also measure parameters by adding them to your lead form.

Don’t forget to do some A/B testing as well to see which ads work best for your ideal audience.

Conclusion: Facebook Lead Ads

Facebook has a massive reach, which is why it makes sense for marketers and business owners to explore the available tools to get your products and services in front of a considerable audience. One of those tools is Facebook lead ads.

With the ability to create custom leads, Facebook lead ads provide significant advantages to advertisers.

Marketers can customize form fields, capture more prospect information, and target more relevant audiences while making the experience as simple as possible for users.

Aside from customization, Facebook lead ads offer many other advantages including increased conversions and getting a better understanding of your customers—making them an important part of any lead generation strategy.

Do you use Facebook lead ads? How are they working for you?

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4 Useful Google Podcasts Manager Features

What’s the hottest piece of content right now? Podcasts.

Currently, there are over two million podcasts and more than 48 million episodes waiting for your ears to devour. It’s incredible growth considering there were only 500,000 podcasts in 2018.

That’s not all.

There’s considerable brand awareness and buying power on podcasts. Fifty-four percent of podcast listeners are more likely to make a purchase after hearing an ad on a podcast.

With the number of listeners (and their money) on the table, it’s not surprising that Google has entered the chat. The search engine giant recently unveiled its Google Podcasts Manager platform.

If you’re a publisher, you definitely want to check it out.

What Is Google Podcasts Manager?

Google Podcasts Manager is a free tool for monitoring your podcasts on Google. All you need to sign up is a Google account and a podcast feed.

Once your profile is set up, you’ll have access to a publisher dashboard. Here, you can see valuable insights on how well your show is performing, including hard-to-find data like when listeners start and stop listening, the exact types of devices they use (e.g., mobile vs. speakers) and how listeners found your show.

Besides the dashboard, Google launched a Podcasts Manager forum for publishers. Here, you can connect with other podcasters to learn tips and tricks for optimizing your podcast for Google.

What Google Podcasts Manager Is Not

Google Podcasts Manager is not a podcast host, meaning you can’t record or post your podcast directly through this program. Instead, the Manager focuses on monitoring the success of your existing show.

Yes, most hosts monitor your analytics as well. However, Google Podcasts Manager gives a different, perhaps more in-depth view.

Many hosts allow you to submit your podcast to Google Podcasts directly, meaning it should still appear on Google searches. However, the Google Podcast Manager makes sure this happens and gives you details you wouldn’t otherwise see. 

Why Should You Use Google Podcasts Manager?

Not sure if this latest Google product is worth your time? Here are some of the top benefits of the Google Podcasts Manager that’ll change your mind:

The Potential Reach

Without a doubt, one of the top reasons to use Google Podcasts Manager is the potential reach and discoverability. As the largest search engine globally, there’s a good chance your ideal listener is only a search term away from finding your podcast.

While using your host to submit to Google should make you findable on Google search results already, using Google Podcasts Manager gives you details that could help you extend your reach on the search engine. The Manager can also give you an idea of how people find your podcast. 

(Note: This podcast has only recently been added to Google Podcast Manager, so things are still in flux. If you’ve been around for a while and see low numbers here, it may simply have not caught up with your history.)

The Analytical Data

No matter what type of business you’re running, analytics play a big part in your success. By scrutinizing your data, you can get a clear idea of what works.

When you sync your show to the Google Podcasts Manager, you’ll get insights on:

• Audience retention: What percentage of your show is listened to?
• Total listens: How many listens each show and segment receives?

While most podcast hosts give information on the number of downloads or retention, you may not be able to get more detailed information. For instance, “retention” often means how many people downloaded your podcast each week; the data doesn’t mean they listened.

What percentage of your show was listened to? Forget about it! That’s a rare insight.

You can see this show below has between 34 percent and 100 percent of its tracked episodes listened to.  

That’s only scratching the surface of what the tool offers to help you create a successful podcast.

It’s Free to Use

Google Podcasts Manager isn’t the first podcast analytics tool to hit the market, but it’s free, unlike some competitors. 

To be honest, podcasts can be expensive to run. This is true whether you run your own personal podcast or a show on behalf of a brand. We’ve talked about Come Alive Creative before, and we’re bringing them back to show how expensive this can be.

If you’re doing everything yourself, you lose a lot of time, even if you don’t use a lot of money. Nothing is $0 except for a few hosts—and their free tiers often don’t give a ton of data. For a personal podcast (prices go way up for professional ones), you may look at:

• equipment cost: $2,000 (for high-quality equipment)
• production and editing: Up to $799 between software and time
• hosting: Free to over $100; free usually has few helpful details
• marketing: Varies but can be extremely expensive
• third-party assistance: Varies; may include other analytics sites, outsourced help, and more

You could spend thousands even if you do this entirely on your own!

This makes Google Podcasts Manager the perfect solution for publishers who want to cut down on some costs.

4 Google Podcasts Manager Features

Let’s take a deep dive into Google Podcasts Manager features and what makes this tool incredibly valuable for publishers.

1. Audience Insights 

Are you not seeing results with your podcast? Curious about how to replicate your one-hit-episode-wonder? The audience insights feature is where you’ll find all the juicy data.

You can see exactly which episode attracted someone from search and when they dropped off with a glance. 

That’s not all.

You can also see the exact search terms someone used to find your podcast. 

Talk about powerful stuff.

Podcast SEO is more important than ever before, and with Google rolling out this tool, it amplifies why you need to have control of what terms your content ranks for on the Internet.

Back to the analytics dashboard, you can jump between the different page views to see analytics on a show or episode level and gleam device breakdowns, play counts, retention by segment, and more.

Here’s a quick overview of the different page levels on Google Podcasts Manager:

• show-level page: landing page for show-level analytics
• show-level charts: charts for the number of times a user listens for at least five seconds each day and the total number of daily listens
• episodes table: total number of meaningful plays per episode, total number of plays within the first 30 days, average percentage of the episode listened to, and average length of the episode streamed or downloaded

2. Update Podcast Information

Whether you’re a brand running a podcast or a solo creator, you may need to update your podcast down the line. 

While your podcast host can often update this automatically, this isn’t always the case, and some podcast apps and managers make you jump through a billion hoops to update your information. Google Podcasts Manager makes this process straightforward.

For example, you may need to change your RSS feed if you switch hosts, like this podcaster who went from Anchor to Podbean.

You can also request a recrawl of your feed to make sure all information is quickly updated after changing a logo or description.

3. Get Your Podcast Indexed on Google 

If you want to get your podcast in search results, your podcast RSS feed and homepage need to be indexed by Google.

What does “indexed” mean?

It’s when the Google spiders have discovered your podcast show and episodes, processed the information, and stored it. Then, when someone searches for something related to your podcast topics, your episodes (if relevant) will appear in the search results.

The Google Podcasts Manager makes this whole process a breeze.

To check if your show is indexed, open Google Podcasts and search for your show.

Not there?

You can fix that with one of these methods:

1. Check your show is published with your hosting service.
2. Verify ownership with Google Podcasts Manager.
3. Request indexing of your homepage and RSS feed via the Google Search Console.

Keep in mind, after submitting a successful indexing request, it can take up to one week for a podcast to be entirely manageable.

4. Manage Your Feeds With Google Podcasts Manager

Not every podcast has one RSS feed.

You might have feeds for different topics like personal development, true crime, or veganism.

You could have a second containing all your episodes or one with your latest episodes.

If you have multiple RSS feeds, you want Google Podcasts Manager to choose the best one to serve. By using the podcasting tool, you can let Google know which feed is the most representative of your show.

Alternatives to Google Podcasts Manager

Want some more options to play around with? Here are some of the best alternatives to Google Podcasts Manager.

Chartable

Chartable can find a lot of analytics for you, including the expected things like the number of downloads and how things have changed over time.

It can also show you how your show compares globally or locally compared to other podcasts attached to Chartable.

However, you can also see that some of the valuable data isn’t available for free.  The level above is the free one; other options are Indie for $20 per month, which gives more detailed information but only holds data for up to a year, and Pro for $100 per month, which is comprehensive. They also offer an Enterprise level, which varies in cost.

Podtrac

Podtrac offers both analytics and advertising services. You can find a variety of analytics for free. Though their services appear to be pretty thorough, they work with a limited number of podcast hosting services. Podtrac’s analytics services are free.

Backtracks

Backtracks offers many of the same features as Google Podcasts Manager, but it starts at $39 per month. 

Your Podcast Host

Podcast hosts—where you upload and distribute your podcast—almost always include some kind of analytics. How much it costs and what type of analytics you get depends on your unique host and their pricing levels. 

A few of the most popular podcast hosts include Captivate, Buzzsprout, and Podbean.

How to Set Up a Google Podcasts Manager Account

Ready to set up your Google Podcasts Manager Account? Follow these steps, and you’ll have your show connected in a couple of minutes.

Step 1: Log into your Google account and go to the Add Feed homepage.

Step 2: Enter the RSS feed for your podcast. (Note: Your RSS feed may look different than this one.)

Step 3: Click on “Next Step” and confirm you’ve selected the right podcast.

Step 4: Click on “Next Step” and request a verification code.

Step 5: Enter the code and verify your ownership. (This one already was registered with Google Podcasts Manager, which may be the case even if you don’t realize it!)

Once Google is sure you’re the podcast owner, you’ll have access to your dashboard and all the above features.

Where is your RSS feed? Unless you entirely run things by yourself, it’s somewhere on your podcast host. If you can’t find it, contact them to ask. Google Podcasts Manager does not create your RSS feed. 

Google Podcasts Manager Frequently Asked Questions

Is Google Podcasts Manager free to use?

Yes, Google Podcasts Manager is free to use. All you need is a Google account to sign up.

What kind of data can you get from Google Podcasts Manager?

You can get insights on audience retention, the total number of plays, segment retention, top Google search terms, and more.

Is Google Podcasts Manager hard to use?

No, Google Podcasts Manager is easy and straightforward to set up and use.

Is Google Podcasts Manager helpful?

Yes! It can give you valuable insights into what your audience likes and how you can create a better podcast.

Conclusion: Google Podcasts Manager

There’s no denying Google’s relevance in the online space. It’s the biggest search engine globally, owns YouTube, and is now dipping its toes into the highly lucrative world of podcasting.

For publishers, this is good news. It allows you to monitor critical analytics and potentially improve your search engine rankings to grow your podcast.

With its in-depth insights and publishing tools, Google Podcasts Manager will help you understand what works, what has to go, and how to deliver the kind of content your audience wants to hear.

Are you using podcasts to reach a new audience for your business?

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Using the Google Search Trends 2021 Report to Generate Content Ideas

As marketers, we’re constantly attuned to Google’s ever-changing algorithm, keeping an eye toward shifts in prioritization and SERPs.

Google is pretty good at equipping users (and businesses) with information about what it considers important by providing resources like their search engine optimization (SEO) guides and the annual Search Trends report. 

The Google Search Trends report can be an incredible asset that allows you to dig into users’ search habits and gain access to a steady stream of content ideas.

In this blog, we’ll unpack how to mine the Google Search Trends report for content gold to flesh out your content calendar into 2022 and beyond. 

What Is the Google Search Trends Report?

Published each year, the Google Search Trends report aggregates the highest-ranking terms for the year.

Curious readers—or those of us looking for content ideas—can visit the mini-site to explore search volume through several lenses. 

You can break down by region and then topic, including categories like actors, TV shows, sports teams, songs, and many more.

While this report can certainly generate year-end nostalgia, it also offers a unique perspective into the terms that gained the most search volume and traction in the last year.

For marketers, that data can be gold.

Top Trends from the 2021 Google Search Trends Report

Regardless of what region you’re researching, you’ll find a common theme in this year’s report: perseverance.

2021 saw searchers looking for “how to heal” and “how to be hopeful.” This theme resonated in more concrete searches as well with high volume searches including, “how to start a business in 2021” and “how to get a job in 2021.”

Entertainment was another balm in a complicated year. We looked to Google for distraction and clarification, typing in searches like “Squid Game” and “Amanda Gorman.”

Here are a few other Google Search Trends that got a lot of attention around the globe this year:

• Australia vs India
• India vs England
• IPL
• NBA
• Euro 2021
• Copa América
• India vs New Zealand
• T20 World Cup
• Squid Game
• DMX

In the United States, here’s what users were most interested in overall:

• NBA
• DMX
• Gabby Petito
• Kyle Rittenhouse
• Brian Laundrie
• Mega Millions
• AMC Stock
• Stimulus Check
• Georgia Senate Race
• Squid Game

While these searches can entertain, they can also inform your content strategy, by helping you create content that users are likely to be interested in.

How to Use the Search Trends Report to Generate Content Ideas

Struggling to come up with fresh, new content ideas? I’m no stranger to the frustration that comes with this.

Using Google Search Trends, you can determine what topics users are interested in, increasing engagement while building relationships and good will.

Below, I’ll break down the five best strategies for harnessing the insights associated with the search trends report to generate content ideas. 

1. Use Popular Search Terms and Find a Unique Angle to Cover the Topic

While a blog post about the permanence of the cottagecore aesthetic might be popular, this topic may not align with your brand. However, also topping the aesthetics search list is “sage green,” a topic that might be related to more industries.

Whether you’re a small boutique or a landscaping company, you can take advantage of this particularly high-volume query and build out a content plan to address it.

Sage green might not be in your wheelhouse.

If that’s the case, look for other search terms that might meet your audience’s interest in some way. This part of the Search Trends report breaks down searches by different topics, including: 

• culture
• economy
• entertainment
• environment
• health and wellness
• news and events
• philanthropy
• representation
• sports

“How to maintain mental health” was searched more than ever in 2021—most industries could leverage that to provide mental health advice and tips to their audience. For example, I might write about how to maintain mental health as a remote digital marketer or how to help your remote team maintain their mental health.

By aligning your audience’s interest with a popular search query, you not only increase visibility of your content, you also offer your existing and would-be audience a fresh perspective within your industry.

2. Search for Topics Using the Search Bar

Suppose you’re curious about the search visibility behind a certain query. In that case, you can use the Google Search Trends report to explore how much a specific term resonates, as well as related queries and terms.

For example, we searched “digital marketing.”

In addition to highlighting the term’s prominence, the report also offers tons of valuable detail. We could build a content strategy with a pretty solid idea of what type of content will and won’t resonate from this one search.

In the “related topics” section, I see terms like education assessment and professional development, which means a list of digital marketing courses or training might do well.

Search the name of your industry and the main key terms you target and see what content ideas pop up.

3. Use the Google Trends Report to Find Topics that Appeal to Gen Z

In 2019, Gen Z officially outnumbered millennials, tallying 32.2 percent of the world’s population. 

Even more impactful, Gen Z makes up over 40 percent of U.S. consumers.

Consider this: a third of the world’s population is Gen Z. You’re doing your brand a huge disservice if you don’t consider how to speak to this massive, tech-empowered group.

After you’ve identified topics you know resonate through your search bar exploration, how can you ensure your content resonates with this unique group?

The answer is pretty straightforward.

Your content needs to be more interactive and appealing.

Here’s how to do that:

Create More Interactive Content

The more opportunities audience members have to interact with your content, the more likely they will.

By incorporating interactive elements, you encourage action. Next time you’re planning content, consider including a poll, stickers, or slider that allows your audience to truly engage with your brand.

Personalize Your Messages

Gen Z grew up amid a time of increased personalization. In fact, they’ve come to expect it. Be sure that you use every personalization opportunity to reach this coveted demographic. 

Time-Sensitive

Fear of missing out, or FOMO, is still very much a thing. Take advantage of this fear by incorporating time-sensitive offers into your content, forcing your audience members to take action or miss out on a one-day-only deal.

Make Your Content More Visually Appealing

It’s no secret that Gen Zers flock to platforms like Instagram and TikTok, home to bite-sized video content. Take advantage of this content preference by drawing inspiration from the short, visually appealing videos that spread like wildfire. 

4. Create Content Around Topics You’re Passionate About

It’s always easier to create compelling content around topics that resonate with you. As you peruse the 2021 Google Search Trends, keep an eye toward topics that resonate personally with both you and your brand identity.

Start by looking at the major search terms in each main topic I listed out above. Let’s say you work or own a coaching business and are looking for more topic ideas.

A quick look at popular “culture” topics shows us doom scrolling is the most popular topic in the culture section. How can you use that to your advantage? By matching it to your brand identity. 

As a coach, you might write about how to avoid doom scrolling, how doom scrolling impacts your job search, or create a challenge to encourage your followers to stop doom scrolling and improve their mental health (which was another popular search term, as you might recall!)

After identifying high-performing topics, create a content plan to address them. Will you create blog posts, ebooks, or courses? Can you use these ideas in other areas of your marketing, like paid ads?

5. Identify New Niches

If you’re searching for a new niche, Google Search Trends is a great way to identify rapidly-expanding niches that may have content gaps you can fill.

To see search growth for a particular topic, simply set your search duration to “2003 to present,” so you can see long-term traffic on the topic.

This can also help you see when topics are most popular in a specific year, allowing you to plan your content publication around timeframes when Google users are historically searching for specific terms each year.

For example, topics around “fly fishing” tend to peak in the summer, when the weather’s nice. Tips for Black Friday marketing tend to peak in late November, as you might have guessed.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Google Search Trends 2021 Report 

What is the most searched thing on Google in 2021?

Globally, the highest-volume search term was “Australia vs India.” In the United States, the most searched term in 2021 was “NBA.”

How do you find what is trending on Google?

Google releases their year-end search trend report once a year. In these pages, you’ll find the highest-volume search phrases in a variety of different categories, as well as through a geographical lens. 

Throughout the remainder of the year, you can visit Google trends to see what the world is searching. 

How can you capitalize on search trends in marketing?

You can use search trends to power your content plan, perform keyword research, find seasonal trends, optimize your SEO strategy for video, and find related terms to outperform your competitors. 

What are the search trends for late 2021?

The most popular search trends for late 2021 include mammography, why people are quitting their jobs, back to work bonus, potluck, small business Saturday, and how to become a volunteer firefighter. 

Conclusion: Google Search Trends 2021 Report

The Google Search Trends report provides a nostalgic look at the year in review, with pop culture topics like Squid Game and news stories like the disappearance of Gabby Petito. However they’ve also given us a tool we need to gain greater visibility into search patterns. 

By mining these trends for insights into search patterns and behavior, you can create a content plan that speaks to the topics users care about.

The uses of the Google Search Trends report goes beyond content ideas. You can also perform in-depth keyword research, use popular trends in your ad copy, and find new niches to target. 

As you wade into your 2022 content planning, keep an eye toward the information Google has generously handed over—your click through rate (CTR) will thank you.

What’s the most useful thing you’ve learned from the Google Search Trends report?

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How to Protect Your Website from Hackers and Data Breaches

The number of website data breaches is steadily growing. Statista data shows the number of U.S. breaches rose from 662 to more than a thousand in recent years. 

Some industries like government and healthcare have been particularly affected. For instance, recent data by Verizon shows data breaches in the healthcare industry increased by 58 percent. 

You may be thinking, “What is a website data breach exactly, and should I be worried?”

Like most things in technology, there are no one-size-fits-all warning signs and solutions for website data breaches. However, understanding what these threats entail and learning effective ways to prevent and deal with them can make a huge difference to your business.

What Is a Website Data Breach?

A data breach occurs when information is taken from a system without the owner’s knowledge or authorization. This stolen data may include confidential details, personal data, trade secrets, and even sensitive information that could majorly threaten the organization’s security.

Some common examples of data stolen during a website data breach include:

• stolen passwords
• identity information (date of birth, email ID, location, etc.)
• credit card information
• banking details
• medical history

If a data breach occurs and this information is stolen for misuse, it could mean harm for both the business and the person whose information is being taken.

Think about it: If you’re a business owner handling sensitive customer information such as their financial history, you must protect this data. When a website data breach occurs, these personal details can be misused, leading to identity theft, empty bank accounts, and unauthorized transfers among other types of fraud.

Ecommerce businesses need to be particularly careful about website data breaches as most of their dealings happen online, so nearly all the information is at risk. 

This is important because you’re not just losing data but also money. Consider this: Data by RiskIQ suggests cybercrime costs organizations $2.9 million every minute, and major businesses lose $25 per minute as a result of data breaches. 

Do you still want to risk a data breach?

What Causes Data Breaches?

A data breach doesn’t need a trained hacker. Something as simple as losing your device can be enough for a website data breach to occur. Some other causes of website breaches include:

• Hacking: Various types of hackers work alone or in teams to compromise and sell sensitive data. This is one of the leading causes of data breaches and tends to cause the most damage as not only could you lose the data, but your entire system could be compromised.
  
• Accidental access: If you’ve ever logged in to a coworker’s computer for a minute and got access to sensitive information you weren’t supposed to see, it’s a data breach. This happens more often than you’d think, as many colleagues sometimes share a device to work on a common project.
  
• Internal spy: If an employee inside the company shares information to outsiders for money or other gains, the data is breached by an “internal spy.”

While these causes can be dangerous for businesses dealing with sensitive data (think payment processing apps), most of them can be prevented. To help you bolster your security, below we’ll talk more about common data breach strategies and how to protect your business against them. 

What Strategies Do People Use to Cause Data Breaches?

There are various strategies people use to cause website data breaches. These can be spontaneous or well-planned depending on the type of data being breached, whether it’s a solo or a team venture, and the purpose of the breach.

Here are some of the most common strategies cybersecurity experts recommend watching out for:

Phishing

Phishing attacks are designed to fool users into giving up their information. These look like genuine messages from trusted institutions but actually are clever traps designed by hackers to get access to your data.

Users who are not tech-savvy or those in a hurry may accidentally click on the false links and give away important information straight to the fraudsters.

Here’s an example of a phishing email impersonating Netflix:

Brute Force

Brute force attacks cause website data breaches by working through all possible combinations to crack your passwords. This used to take a long time as there could be endless variations of letters, numbers, and symbols to try, but nowadays the use of sophisticated software makes this process much easier. In fact, some hackers use fully automated brute force attacks.

This graphic explains how a brute force attack works to cause website data breaches: 

Malware

Malware attacks capitalize on your device’s security flaws to gain access to your system. Hackers shove viruses and spyware into your system to view, access, lock or change your files, which causes a massive data breach.

In fact, data shows nearly half of the security professionals surveyed say ransomware and malware pose the biggest IT risks, so businesses should be extra careful to protect themselves against such cyber threats. 

How to Prevent Data Breaches

While every business that operates online faces some cyber threats, there are many ways to prevent data breaches or at least minimize their impact. Let’s take a look at some of them below.

Look for Vulnerabilities

No system is perfect. Every system, network, server, and device has a flaw that hackers use to grab access. The sooner you identify these flaws, the better you can protect your business from website data breaches. 

One way to do this is to proactively look for vulnerabilities in your security system. You can do this by using security software specifically designed to test your system for such vulnerabilities.

If you don’t want to rely on software, there’s another option for you. Many companies hire trained white-hat hackers to spot system vulnerabilities and patch them before other hackers can get a chance. This is more time-consuming but can also offer more reliable results, especially when it comes to larger organizations handling a lot of data.

Human testers are also better at recognizing patterns, so if there’s a recurring issue, paid white-hat hackers might be able to identify the problem before it’s too late. 

Train Your Employees

While human testers can be a great benefit to your organization, sometimes it’s your very own employees causing the very breaches you are trying to prevent.

Many incidents of website data breaches occur when employees accidentally leak information to people who do not have authorized access to this data. For instance, if an employee accidentally emails private information to a third-party client, or if sensitive information is leaked through a shared device in the office, this data is considered to be “accidentally” breached. 

It’s still harmful to the company, but it’s caused by human error, often due to the employee’s negligence, lack of technical knowledge, or skills in handling data.

Accidental website data breaches like these are easy to prevent through appropriate employee training to improve their understanding of data management. Organizations can use various programs like the Polymer DLP Behavioral Approach to train up their employees on cybersecurity. 

If a complete program is too big of a time or budget commitment, consider hosting small webinars. Invite a guest speaker or show a documentary that highlights the impact accidental website data breaches can have on a company, and how to prevent them.

These might sound like small steps offering minimal results, but training your employees early on can go a long way in securing your organization and minimizing the chance of accidental data breaches down the road.

Have Backups for Your Data

In some cases, despite your best attempts at preventing them, a website data breach can wipe out important information from your system. While it may or may not be able to be recovered, it’s always a good idea to backup any and all information that might be important.

This way, if data is stolen, you’re not completely lost. You still have something to fall back on. For this, you can invest in a cloud backup solution or use a third-party service depending on your company’s needs. 

Install a Firewall

Firewalls are one of the most basic yet secure ways to defend yourself against website data breaches. By installing a firewall, you will prevent unauthorized traffic and malicious software from entering your network. This can act as the first line of defense and work well with other security measures to minimize the threat of hackers and other cybercrimes.

Encrypt Sensitive Data

The process of encryption involves encoding data in a way that only authorized parties can read it. This is another basic but effective strategy to protect your business against website data breaches. 

Different types of encryption processes can safeguard confidential data that is only meant to be shared with specific people in an organization. Only these people will be able to access and share it, keeping it in tight circles.

Online payment apps, email service providers, and messaging apps like WhatsApp use encryption to protect user privacy and boost security around sharing personal information on these platforms. 

This graphic by Okta, explains encryption in simple terms:

Monitor Database Activity

Want something that gives you a high-level view of your security system? Consider monitoring database activity. This might be a new concept for many teams who are still in the early stages of adopting data security tech, but it’s worth taking a look at and can be effective for organizations of all sizes.

A database activity monitor (DAM) observes, identifies, and reports on database activities. These monitoring tools use real-time security technology to monitor all actions across the database. Additionally, they can detect abnormal and unauthorized activity, internally and externally, while gauging the effectiveness of your existing security protocols.

Like most other measures, this has multiple layers, and it’s important to consider your security needs before implementing any complex programs.

Website Data Breaches: Frequently Asked Questions

How common are website data breaches?

The number of data breaches happening in the United States is growing. For instance, Statista data shows the number of data breaches in the U.S. has drastically increased in recent years, from 662 breaches in 2010 to over a thousand breaches in 2020. 

Which industries are the most affected by website data breaches?

Data from TechRepublic shows 95 percent of data breaches occurred in the government, retail, and technology sectors. Healthcare and finance industries are also particularly affected by such cyber threats. Researchers at IBM found that the healthcare and financial industries spent the most time in the data breach lifecycle, which is 329 days and 233 days, respectively.

What is the most common cause of website data breaches?

Hacking has consistently been one of the most common causes of website data breaches. Human error is also a common cause, as a lot of confidential data is accidentally leaked by employees in the organization. Losing, sharing, and leaking passwords is also a type of human error that can lead to accidental website data breaches. 

What is the best way to prevent website data breaches?

Some of the best ways to protect your business from data breaches include: looking for vulnerabilities within your security system, training your employees to reduce the chance of accidental breaches, having a backup of important data, using a firewall, encrypting confidential information, and monitoring database activity. 

Conclusion: Website Data Breaches

In the age of the internet, cyber threats are expected—which means you need to be prepared. Learning more about what causes breaches and finding personalized solutions to prevent those attacks can go a long way in keeping your business—and customer information—safe.

If you’d like to take this a step further, learn how to effectively manage your website, get an SSL certificate, or focus on security and trust throughout your website.

Which cybersecurity technique will you use to protect your website from hackers and data breaches?

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