The best way to add Python into your workflow is to:

Think about what can be automated, especially when performing tedious tasks.

Identify any gaps in the analysis work you are performing, or have completed.

I have found that another useful way to get started learning is to use the data you already have access to, and from it using Python.

This is how I have learned most of the things I will be sharing in this article.

Learning Python isn’t necessary in order…

Google’s annual list of top trending search terms shows what the world turned to Google for during one of the most historic years on record.

“2020 was the year we asked “why?”” – Google states in the introduction to its report.

People asked “why?” more than ever before as they searched Google for answers to all types of questions, which you’ll see in the following section.

Users broke records for the number of times “what day is it?” was searched for in a year. Searches…

Twitter paused its verification program in 2017 because of confusion over what the program was about.

A top concern was that the verification signaled Twitter’s endorsement of the member. This perception of endorsement became worse as the program rolled out to the general public, at which point Twitter pulled the plug on the verification program.

Twitter announced it is relaunching it’s Verified Accounts program. Account verification features blue badges that are intended to…

A new year can mean a new paid media strategy. Learn eight changes marketing professionals must implement into their 2021 digital marketing plan.

Passing ads are a growing sector of the paid media world.

This is evidenced by the recent evolution of Instagram Reels as well as the widespread popularity of sources like TikTok, Instagram stories, and Facebook stories.

Basically, if it passes through the user’s streaming or browsing session, you can consider it a passing ad…

YouTube addresses 3 common myths about how it features content and explains what it takes for a video to appear in the coveted ‘Trending’ section.

The myths which are debunked by a member of YouTube’s creator content strategy team include:

YouTube Trending gives preferential treatment to specific creators.

YouTube Trending is exclusive to high profile creators.

There’s an ideal time to publish to get featured in Trending.

Before getting into these myths let’s…

For a long time, Instagram stumped marketers for companies that didn’t have a brand that easily translated into visual imagery.

If you didn’t have a physical product or appealing aesthetics, it was easy to feel like the platform wasn’t one your brand needed to worry about. But it’s becoming increasingly difficult to ignore Instagram in your social media strategy.

Another way to take advantage of longer-form written content is by curating Instagram Guides.

Originally…

What will be the big trends in PPC marketing and paid social in 2021? Here are 10 trends you need to know, according to 32 top experts.

In a normal year, PPC marketing is fairly unpredictable.…

Here's everything you need to know about Criteo's Retail Media platform, what it does for sponsored products, and how to get started

If you’ve been in the paid search industry for a few years, then you’ve probably heard about Criteo – or even used it.

You might also be familiar with Criteo Retail Media from back in the days when it could be described as an ad network for sponsored products, circa 2016 when Criteo acquired a company called Hooklogic.

Hooklogic had built a…

Executing successfully on SEO is a challenge for companies of all shapes and sizes.

Building the right set of resources from day one is the most critical component for success.

For mid-market and enterprise businesses, you’ll need to nail down these three elements to succeed in SEO.

Allocating limited dollars to the most effective actions.

Synchronizing complex workflows across multiple skillsets.

Iterating and innovating towards goals of continuous…

But despite all the challenges we’ve faced as humans this year, 2020 hasn’t been all bad.

After all, I welcomed my youngest son to the world this year, and I think he’s pretty great!

I also learned a lot about our industry, SEO, and I feel we should all pay close attention to what transpired this year and leverage that information to become better, more prepared search marketers moving forward.

It’s important to know that search intent and demand are fluid – and much…

2020 has been the year of uncertainty. Strategies changed overnight and clients’ budgets were no longer stable, which called for new approaches.

“How much should we invest?” is one of the questions that became critical. It’s one you’ll still have to tackle as CMOs are pressed to make the most out of shrinking marketing budgets.

To help your clients get back on track or manage growth in their vertical, you can create multiple business scenarios – from prosperity to hardship.…

Google's recently awarded patents touch on interesting topics like knowledge panels, machine learning, and more. Read about them here 

Welcome back to another week for the geeks.

The last few weeks were a bit uneventful, but I did come up with a few that really are worth a read.

As always, patents take some time to get into, but the more of them you read, the easier it gets.

So, please do take some time to click through and give them a full read.

It can…

Five search marketers contributed opinions on Google’s December 2020 Core Update. The observations offer interesting feedback on what may have happened.

In my opinion, Google updates have increasingly been less about ranking factors and more about improving how queries and web pages are understood.

Some have offered the opinion that Google is randomizing search results in order to fool those who try to reverse engineer Google’s algorithm.

I don’t share that…

The reasons why SEO doesn't work that range from unrealistic expectations to internal company factors to improper resource allocations. Check out 10 of them here.

As someone who has spent a significant part of their career working directly in search marketing, it’s rare that I can’t find a business case to be made for SEO being in the digital, and broader marketing mix.

There are few growing industries, businesses, or organizations that don’t have a web presence or some type of…

A quick SEO win for most sites is to include the top ranking keyword in the title tags that are missing them.

Think about it for a minute.

If a page is already ranking for a keyword and if that keyword is not present in its title, then that page could rank higher if we were to add that term in a natural way

Now, if you work on a site with hundreds, thousands, or millions of pages, doing this manually can become time-consuming and prohibitively expensive pretty…

As search marketers, we spend a great deal of time analyzing search query data. And for good reason!

That’s how we recognize when we’re matching to irrelevant queries and can add negatives. Or how we discover new queries that we never even imagined.

Are we always looking for the right things though?

Often we are scanning our SQR reports looking for intent, product types, themes, and more. What deeper layers are there? What about clues to gender, age, or even sexual…