Here we are - 2020; a new year, a new decade. Having already taken a look ahead at what advertising trends will come to define the next 12 months, it’s high time we took a moment to glance back at 2019 and the content you were most interested in.
Below are the top 9 blog posts by number of pageviews published on the SearchStar blog in 2019.
1. How to Speed Up Your Google Data Studio Report
In 2019 we talked an awful lot about Google Data Studio - we think it’s a fantastic tool, and we use it in all our client reporting and for all our data visualization needs (even our in-house pool league).
One of the problems with tools like Data Studio is that you can feed it with so much data and so many connections that it gets bogged down. One of the biggest complaints we here is “my dashboard is too slow”. But Sian has the answer!
Read the blog post here >>>
2. SearchStar Acquired by Welocalize Inc.
The big news for SearchStar in 2019 was our acquisition by global translation and digital marketing services provider, Welocalize, Inc. It’s no surprise, then, that news of the harmonious takeover was our second most-read blog post of the year.
How are things going, you ask? Well, very nicely indeed. The acquisition has been a boon for our existing business, providing us with better resources, and has opened new doors and opportunities for us to sink our teeth into.
Read the blog post here >>>
3. How to Use Time Dependent Triggers in Google Tag Manager
Google Tag Manager is another of our favourite tools. It’s relatively simple, but incredibly powerful, enabling us/you to manage and deploy marketing tags to your website without having to modify the source code. Think Google Analytics tracking and the Facebook Pixel.
But sometimes simply adding code isn’t enough; you might want certain tags to fire at certain times. And that’s where triggers come in. As ever, Sian was on hand to talk readers through Time Dependent Triggers and explain how to schedule your tags in GTM.
Read the blog post here >>>
4. Conference Summary: Advertising and Growth, 2020 & Beyond
Our big event for 2019 was our annual full-day advertising conference at Bath’s Apex Hotel in October. And last year’s was the biggest and best to date, with around 350+ delegates (the venue can’t hold any more) attending from businesses across the UK.
With a clear theme of “growth”, the eight presentations were curated to give those present food for thought and real inspiration to evolve the thinking behind their digital marketing strategies and take advantage of cutting-edge developments in the industry.
You can read Ed’s fantastic summary of the day here >>>
5. A Guide to Google Detailed Demographics
At the very beginning of 2019 Google quietly expanded its demographic targeting options to offer new ‘Detailed Demographics’. And then Holly wrote all about them in what was, for a long time, THE most popular blog of last year.
It used to be that you could target advertising based on standard demographics like age, gender and location. Now, with Google’s new Detailed Demographics, advertisers can specifically target based on education, parental status, home ownership and marital status.
Read the blog post here >>>
6. Spotify Advertising: Everything You Need to Know
Spotify, as a business, continues to grow from strength to strength. And as its customer base grows, so does the opportunity for advertisers and impact of its advertising. If you’re looking for brand awareness and want to get your name out there, reaching the huge number of people listening to Spotify is a great way to do it.
But Spotify isn’t yet an established ad platform. So Dave took to the blog to explain a bit more about how it all works, what you can achieve and why you should consider it.
Read the blog post here >>>
7. What is Target CPA?
Machine learning is changing the way we interact with the world around us and paid search is no exception. Enter Target CPA, a Smart Bidding strategy within Google Ads that “sets bids to help get as many conversions as possible at the target cost-per-acquisition”.
If you’re a direct-response advertiser focused on driving conversions at a certain CPA this is, broadly speaking, the smart strategy for you. And we’ve written a guide to everything target CPA just for you.
Read the blog post here >>>
8. Display & Video 360 Creatives Module: An Introduction
As part of Google’s push to unify its products under the Google Marketing Platform banner, Doubleclick Bid Manager became Display & Video 360 (DV360). And a core component of DV360 is the ‘Creatives’ module, designed to help advertisers create and easily manage their own creative.
Traditionally, creative has been a huge barrier (and additional cost) to display advertising, but this new feature looks to tear that barrier down and open up opportunities for advertisers of all sizes and design capacities. And you can get started today with Will’s blog post!
Read the blog post here >>>
9. 3 Strategies for eCommerce Success on Facebook
2019 wouldn’t be complete without a mention for social media platform, Facebook. Though it had its troubles last year, it retained and even extended its status as the leading social media platform, especially where creating purchasing intent is the objective.
Facebook and its family of apps and services - Instagram, Messenger and the Audience Network - is absolutely at the forefront of driving this intent. With this is mind, Jo decided to take a look at the suped-up audience targeting and sophisticated product ad capabilities making all of this possible.
Read the blog post here >>>
