SAGE: OUR BLOG
adj: wise through reflection and experience
Digital
Persona parameters for a user-centered content strategy
A user-centered content strategy is a critical component of delivering functional web design. I attended a couple of workshops at Confab this spring to strengthen my process-driven approach to web projects. Scott Kubie’s workshop about user-centered content strategy was about why we need to ‘fall in love’ with our users and map out meaningful journeys across our websites. Being user-centered [...]
ConversionXL Live 2018: Growth, Optimization & Testing
CXL Live is a digital conference about growth, optimization and testing. This year, 400 people attended from 22 different countries! I interacted with people from Norway, Japan, Netherlands, Australia, Taiwan, Hungary and Canada. This was my second year attending this conference and the speakers were again, incredible. The very first speaker of the conference, Bryan Eisenberg, ended up being one [...]
PPC Secret: Be a Storyteller for Your Audience
In April, the PPC Hero Conference brought leading professionals from around the world together in Austin, Texas, to learn the latest in top trends, tactics and strategies in the PPC world. PPC (pay-per-click internet advertising) is constantly changing, creating the opportunity for attendees to gain new insights into cutting-edge technologies. Some of the common themes throughout the conference included tips [...]
Outcomes Over Outputs: The Top Ways to Measure Earned Media
Attend any PR workshop, talk or webinar these days and you'll hear public relations professionals stressing the importance of measuring earned media in PR. “It’s so important.” “Don’t forget to measure!” “If you’re not measuring your work, you’re doing it wrong.” That’s great advice, but how exactly do we go about doing that? This post will provide insight on simple, [...]
Video SEO in 2018 and Beyond
Every once in a while, Google likes to shake things up for us. They make minor to major updates every day, and one of the big ones occurred between October 11th and October 12th this year. On October 12th, the prevalence of video carousels nearly doubled across the globe. This means that whether you're in the US or Germany, you're [...]
Google’s Home Service Ads Now Called Local Services Ads, Plus Other Changes
As Google releases a new product, we can expect the roll out to go slowly so they can correct errors and make updates as they go along. That way, once the product is working how they want, they can release a working product across wider audiences and not need to worry about as many issues. As we’re watching things progress [...]
What are Google Home Services Ads and Why Should You Care?
Chances are you’ve already heard about this Google program rolling out, but if you haven’t, let’s break it down. The Home Service Ads (HSAs) are here to help people find trustworthy professionals—specifically in the home services industry (think HVAC professionals, locksmiths, plumbers, etc.). It’s a result that will appear as a 3-pack at the top of the search engine results [...]
How Google is Changing the Home Services Category
All good things must come to an end. For SEOs, this means that we're constantly reinventing the wheel, studying Google and developing new strategies. Usually, it also means that the once easier and free method has become less easy and less free. For those of us in the home services category (or with clients in the home services category), things [...]
Data-driven design is the new redesign
“I don’t like the way our site looks. We should redesign the whole thing!” When the word “redesign” is muttered, thoughts rush our brains with new coats of paint, enhanced functionality, new messaging … but what for? Why is this redesign even on the table? Without data, decisions are based only on our thoughts. Data gives us the what and [...]
Nine Tricks to Increase Your Email Open Rate
Email marketing can be challenging. Here are nine simple tricks to increase your email open rate. Tip #1: Timing is everything – Most of us aggressively purge our emails between 5:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. to gain control of our day. If your email is not a priority, it will likely be flagged for review later or deleted. Avoid the [...]
