Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®

Why California’s New Data Privacy Law Matters to Marketers Everywhere

Nick Nelson
Nick Nelson on Nov 18th, 2019
B2B Marketing, Digital Marketing, Marketing Industry News

There’s No Time Like the Present to Lock Down Your Data Privacy Practices

Be compliant or be complacent. These are the two options facing brands and marketers today, as data privacy laws continue to increasingly take hold.

For those paying attention, it’s been clear for some time that Europe’s GDPR regulations were only the beginning of a global effort to formalize and enforce protections for internet users and their personal data. But with California’s landmark privacy legislation, CCPA, set to become enforced in 2020, data privacy is no longer a distant foreign concern for American businesses, if it ever was.

Be compliant or be complacent. These are the two options facing brands and marketers today, as data privacy laws continue to increasingly take hold. @NickNelsonMN #dataprivacy #digitalmarketing Click To Tweet

What is the CCPA?

At a high level, the purpose of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is quite similar to that of GDPR: It’s about giving people transparency into, and control over, how their personal data is used by companies. 


Why California’s New Data Privacy Law Matters to Marketers Everywhere

Digital Marketing News: Top Ads 2017, Marketing Jobs 2018, Google Mobile First

Top 10 Most Watched Videos of 2017

The 10 Most Watched Ads on YouTube in 2017 – This impressive collection of work includes two video ads that exceeded 100 million views. Which was your favorite? Natalie Portman for Miss Dior or Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson” for Apple?  AdWeek

B2B Tech Buyers More Motivated by Reliability & Ease of Use Claims Than Price. A study by Lavidge of 400 B2B decision makers in the US reports that technology buyers prefer reliability (64) over low cost (49%) when justifying purchasing decisions. MarketingCharts

The 2018 Hiring Outlook for Marketing and Advertising Jobs. 46% of marketing and advertising executives say it is somewhat challenging to find skilled workers today; 7% say it is very challenging – MarketingProfs


Digital Marketing News: Top Ads 2017, Marketing Jobs 2018, Google Mobile First

Here we Grow Again: Welcome New VP Katie Uphus to TopRank Marketing

Here we grow again TopRank Marketing

TopRank Marketing evolved from PR to digital marketing agency in the mid 2000’s, right about the time our new VP of Operations got into agency project management.

Twelve years and multiple advancements from a creative agency Director of Production to Senior Director of Operations later, Katie Uphus has now joined the team as Vice President at TopRank Marketing.

Katie Uphus Lee Odden

Talent is what makes our agency magical for our B2B clients and we’re excited to bring Katie on board. Her experience developing teams, coordinating workflow and marketing operations will help us establish the framework for an environment where each of our team can become the best they can be in their respective roles.


Here we Grow Again: Welcome New VP Katie Uphus to TopRank Marketing

Digital Marketing News: Facebook Domination, Google Snippets & Twitter Sponsored Live Video

Facebook Remains the Dominant Social Platform [Infographic]
In North America, Facebook still gets more traffic than any other social media platform. In this infographic, you’ll discover statistics on loyalty, growth and reciprocity to understand why Facebook is essential for advertisers and news publishers.(Social Media Today)

Another Study Shows How Featured Snippets Steal Significant Traffic from the Top Organic Result
A new study by Ahrefs found that when a featured snippet is present on a Google page, the first organic result received a significant drop in click-through-rate (CTR). Learn who has the highest amount of featured snippets, how it affects search results and what triggers featured snippets. (Search Engine Land)


Digital Marketing News: Facebook Domination, Google Snippets & Twitter Sponsored Live Video

Digital Marketing News: State of Content, Direct Ads on Twitter & Google Attribution

Content Marketing Stats: The State of Content Marketing in 2017 [Infographic]
This infographic from our friends at MarketingProfs uncovers top content trends for B2B and B2C marketers in 2017. You’ll find insights on everything from top channels to budgeting and content goals.  (MarketingProfs)

Twitter is Offering Advertisers More Tools to Engage Consumers With Direct Messages
Twitter’s new Direct Message Cards that can include as many as four CTA buttons that will send users to specific content. The cards can also be used in organic tweets and are designed to encourage one-on-one conversations, making it easier for brands to connect with their audience. (AdWeek)


Digital Marketing News: State of Content, Direct Ads on Twitter & Google Attribution

Social Media Marketing Report: Does Your Engagement Measure Up?

If I had to sum up marketing’s relationship with social media in a single nerdy meme, it’d be this:

Yes, much as Obi-Wan Kenobi was dismayed to find that Anakin had turned to the dark side, many marketers feel betrayed by social media. Each platform offered the potential to build an audience and deliver content straight to their feeds. They were supposed to be a powerful tool for organic reach. But one by one, they fell to the dark side of the algorithm.

But don’t throw away your social media channels just yet. After all, if you strike them down, they will become more powerful (sorry, that’s the last Star Wars reference). Instead, let’s have a clear-eyed assessment of what organic engagement looks like on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and see where to go from here.


Social Media Marketing Report: Does Your Engagement Measure Up?

Life After Vine: 5 Tips to Help Brands Move on With Video

life-after-vine

Vine, the social media app known for 6-second video loops, is shutting down. Twitter announced its decision to discontinue the video service in a press release last week.

According to Marketing Land, Vine debuted in 2013 when mobile video wasn’t really a thing. But the rise of Snapchat, and the addition of live video capabilities on Facebook and Instagram, has drawn Vine’s top stars, audiences and advertising dollars away from Vine. In addition, rolled out its own native video platform in January 2015, serving as yet another Vine rival, the publication noted.

For some, the loss of Vine seems to be part of the natural evolutionary cycle of the digital world. But others are saddened and even angry at the loss of the platform. Shortly after the announcement, in a The Verge article by Casey Newton, one of Vine’s co-founder Dom Hofmann reportedly said:


Life After Vine: 5 Tips to Help Brands Move on With Video

Not Provided – What Google’s Omission of Organic Keyword Data Means for Online Marketers

Not Provided Keywords

Something is missing! Can we fix it?

We started this week off with a bang – at least in the search world, with Google now redirecting all traffic to https, i.e. encrypted search.

What that means is, if you were wondering what keyword phrases people use on Google organic search to find your website, you’re out of luck.  While keywords are an important answer to the relevance of your website to buyers, now those answers are simply listed as (not provided).

Google has been masking keyword data for logged in users for about 2 years, so dealing with omitted keyword data is nothing new to agencies like yours truly at TopRank Online Marketing.


Not Provided – What Google’s Omission of Organic Keyword Data Means for Online Marketers

RIP Google Reader, External Keyword Tool is Next

Google Reader RIP

Click to open full infographic – Wordstream

Today Google has retired Google Reader joining a long list of other Google products that have been discontinued. See a full list by clicking the Wordstream infographic to the right.

The reason offered by Google: “usage of Google Reader has declined, and as a company we’re pouring all of our energy into fewer products.”

I suppose it’s to be expected when you have an organizational culture where 20% of your time can be spent experimenting on new projects. Of those that make it to market as betas, many will not become viable as contributions to the business.  Luckily, in the case of Google Reader there are plenty of alternatives like Feedly.


RIP Google Reader, External Keyword Tool is Next

TopRank Heads to the Windy City for SES Chicago 2012 #SESCHI

Chicago BeanOn Tuesday November 14th  we will be heading south for SES Chicago.  This will be my second SES event and I am looking forward to attending sessions to continue to educate myself in online marketing, and share it with our readers, all while hanging out in the city of Chicago.  I will be live blogging along with fellow TopRank-ers – Jolina Pettice, Evan Prokop and Miranda Miller.

When planning any trip, one of the first things I do is map out the stops which are a MUST SEE. Conferences are no different.  We follow online marketing best practices, and always have a game plan to ensure we can get the most out of the time spent at conferences.


TopRank Heads to the Windy City for SES Chicago 2012 #SESCHI

Online Marketing News: BlogWorld 2012, Facebook Still On Top, Twitter User Insight, Google Mobile Recommendations, TopRank In the News

BlogWorld 2012 – Day 1

TopRank Online Marketing CEO Lee Odden and I have spent the better part of this week at BlogWorld 2012 in New York City.  This was a great event in both the quality of the content, as well as the networking opportunities.  This video shares some insight into the attendees of this stellar event.  If you would like to learn more about what happened at BlogWorld be sure to take a peek at one of our posts covering the event:


Online Marketing News: BlogWorld 2012, Facebook Still On Top, Twitter User Insight, Google Mobile Recommendations, TopRank In the News

Online Marketing News: Facebook vs. Google Ads, 5 Conversion Tips, Google+ Local Launch, Google Penguin Refresh

Facebook Ads: Do they even work?

A recent infographic from WordStream asks the not so age old question: Facebook vs. Google, which is more valuable?  The findings of this infographic include:

  • Facebook: 51% reach of all Internet users
  • Google: 90% reach of all Internet users
  • Facebook Q1 2012 Revenues: $1.06 Billion
  • Google Display network Q1 2012 Revenues: $2.9 Billion

Featured Team Story

Jolina Pettice – 5 Conversion Marketing Tips – As Easy as Candy from a Baby?

I know from experience, wielding candy away from a baby (or in my case a toddler) isn’t actually that easy.  It takes purpose, planning and creativity. Easy or Not, here are 5 must-read tips for conversion marketing to make sure you outpace your competition and reap the sweet rewards.  Via Search Engine Land.


Online Marketing News: Facebook vs. Google Ads, 5 Conversion Tips, Google+ Local Launch, Google Penguin Refresh