It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since Search Leeds 2018. This year, with roughly 3,000 people attending, there were more stages and more speakers for the search team to take dibs on. We saw talks, panels and even battles about SEO, PPC, Social media, UX and more!
Here are some of the highlights.
Easy ways to find popular search terms
Rob Smith was arguably the most memorable presenter, thanks to his use of Love Island memes, gifs and videos. But Sophie Coley’s talk about ‘Why and how you should be using Google data way beyond traditional keyword research’ was one of the most useful.
Of course, as Sophie was from Answer the Public she showed us how to use the tool more effectively. How distracting is the man on that site? But she also mentioned AdWords Keyword Planner, and how to use Google Search itself to find ideas.
When typing into Google, we tend to scan to see if what we want is there and ignore the rest. But Google is giving up useful information! Google has gathered popular searches around that topic that can be used to optimise your website, inspire your next blog, or add to your FAQs. Sophie didn’t stop there though. When you fire up Google, try these ideas too:
- ‘What is digital marketing’
- ‘[space bar] digital marketing’
- ‘Digital marketing for’
- ‘Digital marketing like’
Some work better than others… If you try fashion-related searches you can find communities and spot trends. For example, typing ‘dresses like’ suggests the phrase ‘dresses like Ralph Lauren’. ‘Dresses for’ comes up with ‘dresses for weddings’. And so on.
What can you find by typing a product, service, sector or industry into Google?
Dark traffic in Google Analytics
One of the more technical talks was from Helen Pollitt, who spoke about the accuracy of Google Analytics data.
Ever wondered why so many hits to your site are from people typing in your domain name? These visits are classified as Direct traffic in Google Analytics, but Helen suggested that other sources of traffic are being incorrectly classified as Direct. Some Android mobile devices don’t always pass the correct information through to Analytics, and it’s the same with some encrypted Social Media apps.
Given the widespread use of Android devices and messaging apps, that could be a big chunk of wrongly-classified traffic. There’s also an issue with some Organic traffic being incorrectly classified as Referrals – although search engines like Ecosia can be added as organic sources in your Google Analytics settings or code.
Google Data Studio
You probably use Google Analytics, Google Search Console, maybe Google Ads – but have you heard of Google Data Studio? This less-well-known Google tool came up in several talks as a way to save time with reporting. It allows you to build powerful dashboards that update automatically with the latest information. Everything’s fully customizable, and you can either share a link with key stakeholders or download the report as a PDF.
We’ve been thinking about revamping our reports for a while, so we’re going to start using Data Studio to streamline the process.
Fake news for the win
One of the most entertaining talks of the day was from Oliver Brett at Screaming Frog. He outlined some PR campaigns they’d run based around fake products and services. Because the public and media aren’t sure if they’re real or not, it can generate a lot of interest.
Introducing the Privi-pee – a cape with suction cups that allows you to cover up when using a urinal. This completely fake product generated a ton of interest online, and even got on US TV!
It just goes to show how a little creativity can help your marketing efforts. If you decide to give this sort of thing a try, make sure everyone in the business is up for it and be sure to mark the product as out of stock!
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