Best Life Hacks

12 Spiritual Audiobooks That Changed My Perspective

4 November 2021 by
12 Spiritual Audiobooks That Changed My Perspective

Our sense of hearing is what enables us to connect to the world in so many vital ways. It allows us to communicate with others in a way that is different from the other senses. We hear the words others say, and listen closely for clues that reveal their true intent. For me, I have also found that hearing and listening not only bring pleasure; they can also make a difference in the overall quality of my life.

Although I have always had a thirst for knowledge, it was sometimes hard for me to gain full meaning just from the written word. I am an auditory learner, so I started using audiobooks as a way to learn. To me audiobooks are an immersive, educational, and entertaining experience. They improve my comprehension, and give me access to information that helps me learn more about a wide variety of topics.

I don’t just listen to audiobooks for business or marketing information alone. I also like insights that can help me become better as a person. Here is a list of 12 spiritual audiobooks that helped change my perspective. I am sharing them in case you might find them helpful for your own personal life journey.

  1. Loving What Is by Byron Katie and Stephen Mitchell: Here readers are challenged to answer four questions that are designed to change the way they think about life. This book gave me ideas that helped turn negative thoughts into positives, and changed how I react to people and events that cause stress in my life. Instead of focusing on what I wish “would be,” I now focus on trying to love what my current reality is.
  2. Ask and It Is Given by Esther Hicks and Jerry Hicks: The problem with attempting to manifest your own desires is that sometimes you don’t even know how to ask for or received what you want. This book offers 22 separate and powerful processes that help you identify and achieve your personal life goals. This is the power of positive thinking taken to an entirely new level.
  3. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, and It’s All Small Stuff by Richard Carlson: This may be an oldie, but it is still a good read, and a great listen! Just like Carlson says, I was allowing all the little everyday details to completely take over my life, so much so that I started losing focus on my much more important life goals. Instead of long, explanatory chapters, this collection of 100 short affirmations helps remind me on a regular basis of simple actions I can take that will have a big impact on how I can control my own destiny.
  4. The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck M.D.: Although it was first published in 1978 (and updated since then), this refreshing read gave me new insights into how traditional values and spiritual growth can change our life for the better. Life may indeed be difficult, but the author gently provides ways to bring fulfillment and peace.
  5. The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity by Edwene Gaines: This book addresses the question of what prosperity really means. In a world as money-centric as ours can be, that is certainly a deep question. What is more important – gaining money or gaining spiritual prosperity – and can those two goals co-exist? Can you follow the four laws: set specific financial and spiritual goals; forgive others and yourself daily; tithe ten percent of all you earn or receive; and find and commit to a divine purpose?
  6. Enneagram by Adam Night: An Enneagram is a model of the human psyche that is based on understanding nine interconnected personality types. This book offers a step-by-step guide to discovering your spiritual personality. The goal is to create better relationships by understanding yourself and others better. Be sure to take the included test!
  7. Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian L. Weiss M.D.: If you believe in exploring the lessons learned from your past lives, then this is the book for you. Although regression is often thought of as an alternative form of psychotherapy, this can be an interesting foray into your psyche in order to make more of your present life. What lessons have you already learned and have yet to learn?
  8. The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer: Do you know what is tying you down, and holding you back from reaching beyond the boundaries in your life? Are those boundaries of your own making? This #1 New York Times bestseller offers simple answers to some of life’s most perplexing questions. Find out what you can do to stop living with the habits and thoughts that keep you from achieving your very best being. You might be surprised by what you can achieve without those inner tethers!
  9. Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh: Although not strictly about organized religion, the author does draw heavily from the spiritual teaching traditions of Buddhism and Christianity to help readers commit to mindfulness, so they can find the connection between personal, inner peace and peace on earth.
  10. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle: The New York Times recognizes Tolle as one of “the most popular spiritual authors in the United States” for good reason. His guide to spiritual enlightenment forces you to reject the self-made concept of ego, and to live in the here and now that surrounds you. This can be a difficult task with all we try to accomplish, and all that works against you to keep you from your peace, but it is possible to relieve yourself of the psychological pain you experience by accepting what is and being present in the Now.
  11. An Invitation to Freedom by Mooji: Mooji is a Jamaican-born spiritual teacher who has attracted followers from around the world to his lessons on finding spiritual contentment by connecting with your true inner self. This book provides a guide to finding that sense of fulfillment we all seek, even in this cluttered, busy world. I enjoy the questions which force you to discover the truths in your life that can help lead you to emotional freedom.
  12. Out of Your Mind by Alan Watts: If you spend too much time living in your head, then it is time to get out of your mind and focus on new perspectives. A former Anglican priest who mixes in a generous appreciation of Zen Buddhism, Watts provides listeners/readers with twelve pinnacle teaching sessions. These help you break through the boundaries of your rational way of thinking, to help you expand your appreciation for that which Watts calls the “Great Game.”

Once you have used these books to make a start on understanding spirituality and its applications to life and work, I’m sure you will find many more on your own that will help lead you down the path to peace and prosperity. Feel free to share your insights and ideas with me, as I am always open to new concepts that can help change my perspective as I continue to grow into my own reality. Happy Travels!

Local Marketing | SEO Marketing | Social Media Marketing | Web Marketing

QR Codes Are Making A Comeback in 2021

9 May 2021 by
QR Codes Are Making A Comeback in 2021

Ever heard of QR codes?

Unless you work in the marketing industry, chances are you’ve probably only heard of them occasionally.

A QR code is essentially an enhanced version of the average barcode. However, they can hold roughly 350 times the amount of information that could be stored on a typical one dimensional barcode. 

QR codes saw a sharp increase in popularity when they were first introduced, but then started steadily declining in popularity when they were not widely adopted by Apple and Samsung smart phone manufacturers.

In addition, WiFi technology had made serving in-store advertising easier, which pushed QR codes further down the “must have” list.

During the month of June 2011, 14 million American mobile users scanned a QR code or a barcode. Some 58% of those users scanned a QR or barcode from their homes, while 39% scanned from retail stores; 53% of the 14 million users were men between the ages of 18 and 34.

QR code usage decreased to 9.76 million in 2018 but is expected to grow to a total of 15 million households by the end of 2021. This is largely due to the newer smart phones adopting the technology “natively”, meaning, you don’t need to download a third party app, it’s built right into the phone camera.

The pandemic also created a huge need for QR codes with contactless shopping and delivery. I t also created a need for communicating information without touching an item others had touched, too. This meant developing a way to communicate lots of information quickly without touch. Rather than reinvent the wheel, marketers and computer techs realized the power of QR codes to do exactly what is needed.

The humble QR code stepped in to provide a succinct way to communicate information and complete transactions. A business can provide a QR code for customers to scan that lets them instantly register for delivery programs, loyalty programs, etc. It provides a method of completing contact-free retail purchases via mobile wallet. According to Juniper Research, by 2025 about 2.2 billion people will use QR codes for payments. That’s nearly one-third of smartphone users – 29 percent.

QR CODE MARKETING 2

What is a QR code?

The term QR code refers to a Quick Response (QR) code. A smartphone can read this two-dimensional code using its camera. This lets retailers place these codes in store windows or at checkout stands or on the aisles of a store to provide consumers with a way of quickly scanning to obtain more information.

Consumers can also create QR codes using the retailer’s website or an app. These codes can contain the information from a coupon, gift certificate, or online order number. By displaying their cell phone at the register, the sales representative can scan the item using the register wand. Neither party needs to touch, and the entire transaction can occur through a clear plexiglass sneeze guard.

QR CODE MARKETING 3

Which country has the largest QR code adoption?

Asia, specifically China, uses QR codes most frequently. It has also seen the greatest adoption of e-wallets such as WeChat and AlliPay. In 2019, almost half of the point-of-sale payments in that country used QR codes, a total of 48 percent.

Plaid and PayPal have introduced a QR code option. This lets users of those two worldwide payment services use the technology to accept or make payments.

According to a 2019 Deloitte Mobile Consumer Survey, 91 percent of Australians own a smartphone. Only ten percent of those use QR payments though, says a Roy Morgan report from the same year. Australia’s mature market with widespread NFC and a massive 900,000 point of sale (POS) devices make it easy for the country’s residents to make contactless payments. In 2019, most of the country’s purchases were contactless – 83 percent. Since its populace would likely immediately adopt a QR code option, its federal government plans a national plan it will implement in 2021.

New Zealand joined the fray in 2020 when the Union Pay International (UPI) system it uses introduced a consumer payments QR code program. Australian retailers can also use the UPI system. Its competitor, Azupay, and the regional NSW government partnered to offer QR code payments.

QR CODE MARKETING 4

QR Codes = Simplicity and Usefulness

As part of a payments system, the simple technology has grown quickly due to its easy adoptability and adaptability. It requires no extra hardware since the user’s smartphone can scan the code to complete the transaction. This use of existing hardware also makes the QR code more convenient. Although a tiny two-dimensional picture, a single code holds lots of information. Its data capacity is such that it communicate payment, identity, and loyalty.

Some older phones require a separate app. Newer smartphones come ready to scan though. They use built-in software. This means any customer with a smartphone can install the app needed to read the codes which are also free.

Its only two drawbacks include risk of fraud since a customer could scan a fake code which results in them completing a phone call they’re charged for or otherwise losing money and privacy issues. The customer may not immediately understand what information the QR code accesses or uses.

QR CODE MARKETING 5

QR as a Marketing Tool

The QR code offers an opportunity for retailers to market their products or business more effectively. Because it can quickly communicate information, the codes provide a useful mechanism with many uses including:

  • Restaurants: communicating the entire menu through a code to eliminate hands-on menus. The restaurants’ website or app also enables touchless, contactless ordering.
  • Hotels: provide contactless check-ins, room service menus and ordering mechanisms, lighting and air conditioning controls.
  • Museums and art galleries: provide visitor maps and guides.
  • Medical facilities: communicate health education materials.

Other ways to use the QR code include as an advertising tool. Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram require a square photo or graphic.

When you create an ad on Facebook, it warns you not to use text. The reason for this is because ads with lots of text simply don’t perform that well. Using a QR code lets you embed the code in the center of the graphic, and this enables you to put all a large amount of text in the page which the QR code sends the visitor to.

You can communicate all the information you need in that one QR code.

Your one sentence headline can be concise and direct, while the QR code carries all of the extra information. Users can like your post and scan the QR code to gain access to more information. This lets you embed a paragraph on a code so you can provide users with details instead of the bare minimum.

Similarly, you use QR codes to sell products. A customer only needs to scan the code to order the product. You can set up an entire store on any platform even if it does not offer an e-commerce option or interface with a store environment like Etsy.

In Conclusion

QR codes can help you accept orders, take payments, advertise products, offer coupons, communicate information. You can create a QR code that houses your entire menu or sells a t-shirt.

Provide a QR code on a poster to link to a website with further information. Gyms can use them to educate consumers on how to use each piece of equipment or use them so patrons can check in on each apparatus.

Any time you need to graphically communicate lots of info at once, leverage a QR code. They’re not just for e-books anymore.

While they did wane in use for a little while, once people could not enter stores, they made a comeback.

Whether you use a tablet, smartphone, or a computer, you can create, obtain, or access a QR code. This makes it simpler for all sizes of businesses to utilize this technology and improve their sales, tracking, and customer service.

QR STUFF

If you’re searching for a free QR code generator, I evaluated and compared several tonight, and found this one to be best for my needs: https://www.qrstuff.com

100% Ad Free QR Codes

QR Stuff has QR codes that are guaranteed 100% ad-free, even for free users, so you can get on with promoting your product without someone else’s brand getting in the way.

I used this QR code generator successfully for my pest control Brezden Pest Control. They needed a QR code added on a few of their products so that technicians in the field could quickly pull up ingredient lists and instructions.

Here is QR Stuff FAQ:

Can I use the website as a free user?

Yes. You can create fully functional QR codes anonymously as a free user with no need to sign up or open an account. No sign-up = no email address harvesting = no spam from us 🙂

Also, unlike some others, our free QR codes aren’t crippleware that stop working 14 days later. Our free QR codes aren’t time-limited in any way, don’t expire, and are ad-free.

What’s the subscription fee for?

The subscription fee charged relates to providing time-based subscription access to the extended feature set of the website for the period of the subscription purchased.

Opening an account is required for paid subscribers in order to co-ordinate the functionality of your account and to allocate the QR codes you create to your account history (but still no spam!).

No component of the subscription fee relates to purchasing the QR codes themselves.

Will my QR codes “expire”?

No. The QR codes (and any underlying short URL’s) created by both free users and paid subscribers are permanent and will continue to function indefinitely, however temporary scan limits may apply as outlined below.

Can I use your QR codes commercially?

Yes. There are no restrictions on commercial use however temporary scan limits may apply as outlined below.

Are there any limits on use?

The short answer is Yes, but the reality is that the vast majority of users won’t be affected by them. These limits only apply to dynamic QR codes that use our (optional) URL shortener – QR codes that do not use our URL shortener (static QR codes) have no scan limits.

Free Users: While there are no limits on the number QR codes you can create as either a free or paid user, a limit of 50 scans per month is applied to each QR code created by free users. This monthly scan limit presently affects less than 0.001% of the QR codes in our system so it will not impact the overwhelming majority of users. If you anticipate that your QR code will be scanned more than 50 times per month, you should probably consider a paid subscription.

Current Full Paid Subscribers: There are no pre-set scan limits for QR codes associated with current (paid-up) full subscriber account.

Expired Full Paid Subscribers: A 50 scan/month limit is applied to QR codes associated with expired paid subscriber accounts. This scan limit for expired subscribers is a “per QR code” limit and is only applied to the individual QR codes that exceed the monthly 50 scan limit, and does not affect any other QR codes associated with the expired subscriber account. The scan limit is re-set at the start of each calendar month.

At our discretion a temporary Fair Use monthly scan limit may be applied to unusually high scan-volume QR codes (>30,000 scans/month) belonging to current paid subscribers. This Fair Use Policy limit is intended to ensure that the scan activity of a minority of users doesn’t adversely impact optimal platform performance for all users.

Don’t worry – current subscribers will be contacted well in advance if any of their QR codes are approaching a Fair Use threshhold so that we can work out a solution with them.

Collectively, these measures will only affect about 1 in every 10,000 users – the other 9,999 won’t even know that any limits exist 🙂

And just to reiterate – these limits only apply to dynamic QR codes (the QR codes that use our optional URL shortener). All other QR codes are unlimited.

What do I do if my QR codes are scan-limited?

Expired full subscribers simply need to renew their subscription and the scan limit status of their account will be automatically reset from expired to current.

Free users who upgrade to a full paid account (1 month or longer) can contact us to have the QR codes they created as free user moved to their subscriber account which will remove the 50 scans/month limit from them. This is a complimentary service for up to 10 QR codes.

Are your QR codes ad-free?

Yes. Both our free and paid QR codes are guaranteed 100% ad-free. If you see an ad after scanning one of our QR codes, the QR code scanning app that you’re using put it there.

Is a license required to create QR codes?

No. The QR code is clearly defined and published as an open ISO standard. Denso Wave owns the patent rights on the QR code creation process, and the methods used to encode and create them, but has chosen not to exercise those rights. The term “QR code” itself is a registered trademark of Denso Wave Incorporated.

The answer to the following questions is always “No”

  • Can I add a QR code to my account that I created somewhere else?
  • Can I get analytics from you for a QR code that I created somewhere else?
  • Can I have a free trial subscription?
  • I’m making my own QR code website. Can you tell me how you did everything on yours?

Local Marketing | PPC Marketing

Google Local Services Ads: 7 Tips & 3 Mistakes

8 May 2021 by
Google Local Services Ads: 7 Tips & 3 Mistakes

Google Local Service ads empower small businesses to advertise on Google and receive leads directly from potential customers. Google Local Service ads appear on the top of the SERP’s – or search engine results page – when people search for services within your area.

By interacting with the ads, they will be able to see a list of all of the participating local services that are associated with the entered keywords. It’s a powerful way to onboard local customers and garner trust from current clients.

Why You Would Want To Invest in Google Local Service Ads

Cost-effectiveness. Unlike other ad networks, participants of Google Local Service ads will only have to pay per lead, instead of per click with the lead pricing varying largely depending on your location, and the type of industry or niche you cater to. 

Businesses that participate with Google Local Service ads will be “Google Guaranteed.” This badge not only helps with your reputation, but it also indicates a dedication to customer service that is further backed by the search engine giant. As more customers become savvy as to where they spend their money, this Google Guarantee badge can be a significant differentiator between your business and competitors.

Google Local Services Ads: 7 Tips & 3 Mistakes

Expanding your businesses reach beyond the traditional search ads. Google Local Service ads offers maximum exposure and visibility. 71% of online searchers interact with the first page of Google, with the majority only showing interest on the first page. Having a business at the top of the first page will create a traffic stream of quality visitors who are local and interested in your services.

7 Best Practices For Your Google Local Service Ads Campaign

Google Local Service Ads

1. Ensure that you are in the proper market. Currently, Google Local Service ads are only available to businesses within the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Within the United States, the local service ads cater to major cities as well as surrounding suburbs. Also, not all niches are eligible — Google has a list of industries that can participate in the Google Local Service ads program.

Google Local Service Ads

2. Become certified. Google requires all participating small businesses and service providers to complete a background check, with United States participants going through a self-service application via Pinkerton. To streamline the process, make sure that you have vital information at hand when applying to Google Local Service ads. These include the name of your business, accurate address and contact information, federal employer identification number, and the number of employees in your company. Each employee will have to pass a background check. For your Google Guarantee badge, you will need to provide additional information designating insurance and licensing information. 

Google Local Service Ads

3. Understanding what constitutes a “valid lead.” Since you are only charged for valid leads, you generate a more predictable return of investment. However, for the uninitiated, it may be confusing as to what factors Google uses to determine validity. These factors include text messages or emails from potential customers, voicemails, phone calls, and text messages, phone calls, or emails you made in response to missed calls. 

Google Local Service Ads

4. Creating Your Local Services Ad – doing it right the first time. The settings you choose when you create a profile will act as your targeting data, making it imperative that you provide accurate information. Include your business hours, specific service areas, job types, as well as your weekly budget. Keywords for Google Local Service ads are a bit different from AdWords. Keywords relevant to ad categories will trigger the ads. However,  those keywords need to include modifiers like “New York City cleaning services” or “electrician near me”. The good news is that you do not need to bid for keywords anymore — the ads are automatically triggered based on thousands of search terms at any given moment.

Google Local Service Ads

5. Be aware of what contributes to your ranking. As a small business owner, you must be aware of indicators to ensure that your ads are effective and cost-effective. The first is the vicinity your business has to the searcher. While this is relatively out of your control, make sure that you specify which areas you are servicing to initiate quality leads. Google will also prioritize small businesses with a higher review score. Generate customer reviews by incorporating it into your early advertising strategy. On the Google Local Service ads panel, you can ask customers for a review, giving you the option to personalize the sent message. Custom emails will encourage reviews from your past clients.

Google Local Service Ads

6. Your Google Local Service ads work with Google Home. Google is beginning to roll out Google’s Local Search ads that will connect to those who use Google Home to inquire about potential service providers in the area. Google Assistant will now provide Google Home users with a few nearby options. To increase your chance of Google Home recommending your service, you want to continuously collect reviews, provide top-tier service, and be highly responsive to inquiries. Google has shown a preference for active users.

Google Local Service Ads

7. Visit and revisit your inbound call structure. Whether you will be charged is largely dependent on your lead call time and habits. You do not want inbound calls to be riddled with unrelated questions and inquiries — this is a waste of time for your business, and you will be charged after a certain time on the phone.

To ensure that you do not experience time wasters, ask the right questions to find as much information as quickly as possible. Lead them to a specific goal, informing the caller what the next steps are going to be. Then once you have piqued their interest, quickly gather details like their contact information and inquire when you can call them back to confirm information and then thank them for their time.

Google Local Service Ads Infographc

Learn the 3 biggest mistakes to avoid when setting up Google Local Ads:

Subscribe to my monthly newsletter to be automatically re-directed to the 3 mistakes page.

Join 35,000+ business owners and get actionable website marketing advice delivered to your inbox.

Which of these tips will you put into practice?

Comment and share below!

Youtube Marketing

Tap Into Fan Power With New YouTube Select Sponsorships

20 April 2021 by

From record-breaking music video releases to never-before-seen conversations with celebrities, YouTube has become the virtual stage for the world’s biggest cultural moments. The top 10 videos from 2020 — reaching a total of 356 million collective views — brought the world together to game, to laugh, to share some good news and so much more. 

As home to the content people need and the creators they love, YouTube is where personal meets popular — with fan favorite channels like Naomi Campbell (500,000+ subscribers) and Zach King (10 million+ subscribers). In the U.S., YouTube is the #1 video content provider viewers would miss the most if it was no longer available.1  

To help brands engage peak audiences, build association and stay relevant when it matters most, today we’re announcing a bigger, better sponsorship program under YouTube Select in the U.S.

Expanding our YouTube Select sponsorship offering 

In addition to longstanding sponsorships available exclusively in the upfront like NFL Game Day All Access, new this year, we’re offering a rolling set of seasonal sponsorships available on a quarterly basis.

Our seasonal sponsorship offering focuses specifically on what’s prominent in culture during that time of year, like Mother’s Day, Summer Wellness or Women in Music during Women’s History Month. And most importantly, the breadth of the seasonal slate means advertisers have a much wider variety of opportunities to celebrate diverse communities and topics, and reach their audiences where they are watching. 

See below for a glimpse into some of the most exciting sponsorships coming up, available either upfront or through our new seasonal offering.

The Upfront Slate

Reaching over 30 million views in the 2020 season, NFL Game Day All Access will be returning to YouTube for a third season this fall.2 Streaming exclusively on the NFL YouTube channel, it gives fans an intimate look at the full game day experience, with wired sound from players and coaches. Advertisers will have the opportunity to sponsor the show for multiple episodes during the regular season and postseason.

2020 was the biggest year yet for gaming on YouTube, with 100 billion watch time hours and 40 million+ active gaming channels. Building on this momentum, we’re adding a brand new upfront opportunity with Summer Game Fest — the industry’s first fully digital and global gaming event. We’re also excited to bring back the upfront sponsorship for The Game Awards — one of the biggest nights in the gaming industry that celebrates the biggest achievements of the year, including high share of voice, in-show integration and more.

Additionally, brands will have the opportunity to put on their studio executive hats with YouTube Greenlight. YouTube Greenlight brings a group of emerging YouTube creators together to pitch an original series ideas based on specific advertisers goals. The sponsorship includes a custom creator pitch session, a fully funded creator original series with integrations and paid promotion across YouTube.

The Seasonal Slate 

Today, YouTube announced a continued focus on sustainability with new original programming coming later this year. A subset of these shows will be available for sponsorship as part of our Q4 sustainability seasonal package, alongside other opportunities with YouTube creators and content focused on sustainable impact. The sponsorship will be available for companies with strong commitments to building a better planet for everyone.

Additionally, the seasonal state offers new ways to connect with your audience during holidays like Mother’s Day. For Mother’s Day specifically, we’ve seen surges in interest for things like that special gift, the perfect song for mom and more. To help brands align with this moment on YouTube, we’re offering a variety of packages including ownership of top moms’ channel WhatsUpMoms and the ability to build your own high share of voice packages across top mom creator and celebrity channels.

We’re celebrating Black Music Appreciation Month with three different Black Music Month packages in June. Each sponsorship includes high share of voice across relevant playlists like R&B Wave or Essential 00’s Hip Hop, added value components and ownership of top channels like Joe Budden TV.

How advertisers are tapping into moments that matter most on YouTube

Mediacom partnered with their client and YouTube to honor women’s history through the lens of music. The partnership included development of custom creative assets to celebrate women’s history, plus 100% share of voice of contextual environments like Women’s History Month music playlists and the GRAMMY’s channel, which featured a Women in the Mix special.

Angelina Kim, Senior Partner & Group Director, Mediacom, said “This was an important opportunity to help our client connect with their audience, and drive engagement with the brand in the moments that matter most — all creatives drove significant increases in awareness and message association.”

The sponsorships shared today are just a sampling of what’s available. Reach out to your Google sales team to learn more about YouTube Select sponsorships available in the upfront, and throughout the year.

1.  Google/Talkshoppe, US, whyVideo study, n=2003 A18-64 Genpop video users, June 2020.
2. YouTube Data, Sep 2020 – Mar 2021

Source: Official Google Webmasters Blog

Google Marketing

Privacy First Web Advertising A Measurement Update

9 April 2021 by

In January, we shared how Google’s advertising teams have been evaluating the proposals in Chrome’s Privacy Sandbox, an open-source initiative to replace third-party cookies with viable privacy-first alternatives that can support the publishers and advertisers who help keep the web open and accessible.

Today, we’re going to explain how the latest proposals in the Privacy Sandbox can solve for key conversion measurement use cases on the web while preserving privacy – and we’ll also share a new resource to help you learn more about the overall initiative.

Conversion measurement

Chrome’s conversion measurement proposals center around an API that would have the capability to report both event-level and aggregated information. Event-level information is helpful when businesses need data to be more granular, such as deciding how much to bid on impressions or modeling conversions. Aggregated information is important for summarizing campaign performance, like reporting total conversion value or return on investment.

To make sure that the API preserves privacy, and that any data reported can’t be used to track individual people as they move across the web, the API uses one or more of the following techniques:

  • Aggregate the data that is reported so that each person’s browsing activity and identity remain anonymous among a large group of conversions.
  • Limit the amount of information reported about each conversion, so it’s not possible to expose the identity of the person behind the conversion.
  • Add “noise” to the data reported, which protects an individual’s privacy by including some random data along with the actual conversion results.

The Chrome team recently shared new proposals for how the API could apply these privacy considerations while reporting view-through conversions and cross-device conversions:

For view-through conversion measurement, Chrome proposes that advertisers use the event-level capability of the API to get a report on the conversions that happen on their website and are attributed to ad views across the web. The browser would enable this by registering the ad impressions that take place across websites and then matching any conversions that happen on an advertiser’s website back to the initial views. To prevent any conversion data from being used to track people individually, the Chrome API would limit the amount of information shared about each conversion and add noise to the data. 

Then, when advertisers are interested in reporting on the total number of view-through conversions, for a video ad campaign as an example, Chrome proposes that they can use the API’s aggregate reporting capability. This would allow advertisers to get more precise information on key metrics for the overall campaign without compromising people’s privacy. That’s because aggregate reporting keeps people’s identities and their browsing histories anonymous as it only shares data across a large group of conversions.

For cross-device conversion measurement, Chrome proposes that advertisers use the API’s event-level capability to report on the conversions that happen on their website and are attributed to ad views or clicks that happen on another device. This would only be possible if the people converting are signed into their browser across their devices. Access to this capability would enable cross-device measurement for all participating ad providers and networks.

The proposals in the Privacy Sandbox will change how measurement works for digital ads, but are designed to support key measurement use cases while protecting people’s privacy. We’re beginning to run simulations to understand how different use cases might be impacted by the privacy considerations made in Chrome’s various proposals and we look forward to sharing our findings in the near future.

Resources

We know that there are many questions about the Privacy Sandbox and that there is broad interest in learning more about each of the proposals. The Chrome team recently built a new website, privacysandbox.com, with an overview of this effort, FAQs, and links to additional resources. We’ll also continue to share regular updates about our work across Google’s ads teams to adopt the Privacy Sandbox technologies for our web advertising and measurement products.

Source: Official Google Webmasters Blog

Blog Marketing | SEO Marketing | Web Marketing

How To Create Blog Tags Automatically

9 March 2021 by
Blog Tag Generator

Achieving a #1 ranking on search engines requires a diligent approach in all aspects of your online marketing. This includes your website, social media, and online communications.

Many of my clients use blogs to share information and educate customers and prospects, but the one key strategy they often miss is blog tags.

Blog tags are those words or phrases that are used to describe a blog post. They are usually about one to three words long, and are attached as labels to your blog.

One function of blog tags is to help the search engine crawlers get a quick idea of what your content is all about. When created with search intent in mind, blog tags can help propel your content to the top or search engine results.

Another great benefit of blog tags is that they help visitors navigate the content on your site, especially as you continue adding content. Many companies use WordPress to create and upload blog content to their web pages.

Part of the uploading process asks you to designate which categories and tags should be applied to your blog. Tags are more specific than the categories.

Even though they are not required, I still highly recommend you add tags to each and every blog right from the start. After you have a number of blogs, WordPress offers up a list of your most common tags that you can click on to add to your piece.

WordPress uses these tags to create topic archive pages. Visitors searching for specific content can use these pages to instantly retrieve the information they want. This might require you to plan some sort of themes for your blog posts.

blog tag generator1

For example, most of my blog tags focus around topics like email marketing, SEO, PPC, social media and website design. Tags are not made-up words; they are real words or phrases that potential customers might use to learn more about the products and services you offer.

Best Practices for Blog Tags 

  • Keep them concise.
  • Avoid redundancy.
  • Be consistent across blogs.
  • Broad topics are better than narrow.
  • Keep the number of tags to a realistic number — not too few, not too many. Usually between 5-10 tags is just fine, unless you have something really special to tag!

Automating the Blog Tag Process

One helpful tip for creating blog tags is to perform keyword research first. This helps to uncover the tags you might want focus on in your blog content.

If you are really on your content game, and create a number of blog posts every month, adding blog tags might be easy for you, but either way, the process of manually adding tags each and every time can get a little tedious.

Fortunately there are some options which can help automate the blog tag process:

  • Auto Tag Creator: This plugin automatically converts keywords in a post/product title and category to tags upon saving. It includes a user-editable list of words you want the plugin to ignore. Activate the plugin through the WordPress Plugins menu.
  • Smart Tag Insert: Once you have defined a tags list, this plugin adds a box in the post editing page which looks for relevant tags based on post content. The most relevant are automatically selected (although the selection can be changed). Selected tags can be added with a click.
  • TagΒee Post Tagger: This is a simple plugin which proposes tags for your content.

This post is a great opportunity to tell you about the WORD ROBOT. This is a tool I created, and offer for free on my website.

WORD ROBOT automatically creates blog tags for your blog post by analyzing the keyword density. Simply paste in your article content and VOILA!

It also converts lower case and upper case letters, capitalize and uncapitalize, convert to mix case, and transform your text.

  • Sentence Case: The sentence case converter allows you to paste any text you like, and it automatically transforms it to a fully formed sentence structure. It works by capitalizing the very first letter in each sentence, and then goes on to transform the rest of the text into lowercase, and also converts each single lowercase “i” into a capital. Every letter after a full stop gets converted into an upper case letter, but it will not capitalize names or places.
  • Lower Case: If you are wondering how to uncapitalize text, this is exactly what the lower case text converter allows you to do. It transforms all the letters in your text into lowercase letters. Simply copy the text that you want to convert into a lowercase font, paste the text into the tool, and select the “lower case” tab option.
  • Upper Case: Sometimes you do want your text to be in all capitals. The upper case transformer takes any text provided and transforms all the letters into upper case. It essentially makes all lower case letters into CAPITALS, but still manages to keep upper case letters as they are meant to be.
  • Capitalized Case: There are times when you need the first letter of every word in a phrase capitalized. This might be for something like H1 and H2 content in your blog. The capitalized case converter automatically converts the starting letter of every word into upper case and leaves the remaining letters as lower case ones.
  • Title Case: When writing titles, especially in a Word Doc format, you frequently get those annoying notifications that certain words in a title should not be capitalized. The title case converter is perfect for those who are a bit unsure on how to title an upcoming essay. It ensures the correct letters are capitalized within the context of a title. Words such “an” or “of” will be left all in lower case, and words that are important will be converted to capitalize the initial letter.

Writing blogs, keeping content fresh on your website and updating social media sites can sometimes be tedious work.

Fortunately today’s technology offers a wide variety of specialized tools that can help automate some of the most mundane parts of each process.

Check out these tools and let me know in the comment box below if they help your blogging efforts?

Google Marketing

Charting A Course Towards A More Privacy First Web

3 March 2021 by

It’s difficult to conceive of the internet we know today — with information on every topic, in every language, at the fingertips of billions of people — without advertising as its economic foundation. But as our industry has strived to deliver relevant ads to consumers across the web, it has created a proliferation of individual user data across thousands of companies, typically gathered through third-party cookies. This has led to an erosion of trust: In fact, 72% of people feel that almost all of what they do online is being tracked by advertisers, technology firms or other companies, and 81% say that the potential risks they face because of data collection outweigh the benefits, according to a study by Pew Research Center. If digital advertising doesn’t evolve to address the growing concerns people have about their privacy and how their personal identity is being used, we risk the future of the free and open web.  

That’s why last year Chrome announced its intent to remove support for third-party cookies, and why we’ve been working with the broader industry on the Privacy Sandbox to build innovations that protect anonymity while still delivering results for advertisers and publishers. Even so, we continue to get questions about whether Google will join others in the ad tech industry who plan to replace third-party cookies with alternative user-level identifiers. Today, we’re making explicit that once third-party cookies are phased out, we will not build alternate identifiers to track individuals as they browse across the web, nor will we use them in our products.

We realize this means other providers may offer a level of user identity for ad tracking across the web that we will not — like PII graphs based on people’s email addresses. We don’t believe these solutions will meet rising consumer expectations for privacy, nor will they stand up to rapidly evolving regulatory restrictions, and therefore aren’t a sustainable long term investment. Instead, our web products will be powered by privacy-preserving APIs which prevent individual tracking while still delivering results for advertisers and publishers.

Privacy innovations are effective
alternatives to tracking

People shouldn’t have to accept being tracked across the web in order to get the benefits of relevant advertising. And advertisers don’t need to track individual consumers across the web to get the performance benefits of digital advertising. 

Advances in aggregation, anonymization, on-device processing and other privacy-preserving technologies offer a clear path to replacing individual identifiers. In fact, our latest tests of FLoC show one way to effectively take third-party cookies out of the advertising equation and instead hide individuals within large crowds of people with common interests. Chrome intends to make FLoC-based cohorts available for public testing through origin trials with its next release this month, and we expect to begin testing FLoC-based cohorts with advertisers in Google Ads in Q2. Chrome also will offer the first iteration of new user controls in April and will expand on these controls in future releases, as more proposals reach the origin trial stage, and they receive more feedback from end users and the industry.

This points to a future where there is no need to sacrifice relevant advertising and monetization in order to deliver a private and secure experience. 

First-party relationships are vital

Developing strong relationships with customers has always been critical for brands to build a successful business, and this becomes even more vital in a privacy-first world. We will continue to support first-party relationships on our ad platforms for partners, in which they have direct connections with their own customers. And we’ll deepen our support for solutions that build on these direct relationships between consumers and the brands and publishers they engage with.

Keeping the internet open and accessible for everyone requires all of us to do more to protect privacy — and that means an end to not only third-party cookies, but also any technology used for tracking individual people as they browse the web. We remain committed to preserving a vibrant and open ecosystem where people can access a broad range of ad-supported content with confidence that their privacy and choices are respected.  We look forward to working with others in the industry on the path forward.

Source: Official Google Webmasters Blog

Google Marketing

Providing Better Product Information For Shoppers

26 February 2021 by

Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information, and organizing product information for shoppers and retailers is an essential part of this mission. In the last year, we’ve introduced several new experiences that enable brands and retailers to list their products for free on Google, whether that’s on Google Search through a product knowledge panel or on the Shopping tab.

To best help users find your content and products in Search, we recommend that websites clearly identify products mentioned.

In the following sections we provide guidelines for manufacturers, retailers, and publishers on how to ensure that Google understands the products they are selling or referencing.

How Google identifies products online and offline

Google relies on accurate and trusted product data to precisely identify products that are available for shoppers.

We recommend providing clear product identification, as this helps Google to match offers to products, and to match products to relevant search queries. You can improve Google’s understanding of products by using unique product identifiers like Global Trade Item Number (GTIN™), Manufacturer Part Numbers (MPNs), and brand names. When using product identifiers, we recommend that the identifiers follow these best practices:

  • Uniqueness: Each product should have a unique identifier that can consistently and accurately be shared across the ecosystem and identify a product in both the physical and digital worlds of commerce.
  • Verifiability: Identity of a product (for example, who is the manufacturer) and other product data should be verifiable through a trusted source. This allows marketplaces to verify that product data is accurate and complete through global registries, the organizations that issued and manage the identifiers.
  • Global Reach: With ecommerce making the world more connected, relying on an identification system that can be used across the ecosystem globally will help keep product identification seamless for stakeholders in all countries.

Google adopted use of GTINs as the standard in 2015 so that retailers could reach more customers online.

For products that are sold through a variety of sellers and marketplaces, registering products with the GS1 Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) System provides internationally recognized standard identifiers for unique identification of products both in physical stores and on e-commerce platforms. Registration makes it possible for consumers to identify the source of the product.

Tips for brands and manufacturers

Brands and manufacturers can submit product data through Google Manufacturer Center for free, and as part of this process, share the product information to uniquely identify the products to Google. Below are some tips to ensure that Google understands the data that you are providing:

  • Ensure your products have GTINs: Your products must have unique Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) to use Manufacturer Center. To learn how to assign GTINs to your products, visit the GS1 website in your local region.
  • Don’t reuse product identifiers: GTINs should never be shared across multiple products; a single product should map clearly to a single GTIN. Reuse of GTINs can cause marketplace catalog data to become out of date and inconsistent, creating confusion. By obtaining product identifiers from unauthorized sources (for example, identifiers sold through bankruptcy proceedings), you run the risk of establishing identity on the foundation of a previously registered product or company.
  • Follow best practices for product identifiers for custom products: In certain situations (for example, artisan products, customizable products, or one-off products), a brand can adopt a proprietary approach to solve product identity by managing its products with unique Stock Keeping Unit numbers (SKUs) or Manufacturer Part Numbers (MPNs). The key here is for manufacturers to incorporate the principles around uniqueness, verifiability and global reach to ensure the benefits of having product identifiers materialize.

Tips for retailers and 3rd-party sellers 

Retailers should ensure accurate product identification on their websites. In addition to general guidelines around GTIN, Google recommends:

  • Submit high quality product data: Submit structured data to Google in a product feed or add structured data markup to your website.
  • Provide a GTIN, when GTINs exist: Retailers must provide GTINs when they’re selling products that have GTINs. The GTIN can be included in both the product feed as well as the page’s structured data. If a product does not have a GTIN, retailers and 3rd-party sellers should rely on brand and manufacturer parts numbers to identify the product.
  • Use valid and unique GTINs: Don’t reuse existing GTINs for a new product. Retailers should not invent GTINs and should not register their own GTINs with GS1, unless they are also the manufacturer of the product.

Tips for online publishers 

When publishers create content, like reviewing products or sharing the latest deals for a given product, it’s important that the products in those reviews be accurately identified. This allows users to find those reviews when searching for products on Google. Google recommends:

  • Use exact product names: Publishers should mention the exact name of the products that are mentioned on the page. This makes it easier for users, and search engines, to understand exactly which product is referenced.
  • Use structured data: We recommend adding structured data, including the GTIN, when reviewing products. This makes it easier for search engines to better understand when to show your pages in search.
  • Use valid and unique GTINs: GTINs should never be invented or “borrowed” from other products just to provide a GTIN identifier on the content.

Product identity is critical in commerce because it ensures that businesses and consumers accurately understand the origin and unique identity of a product. This also applies to the web and Google Search, where an accurate understanding of a product helps to show the right product to the right user at the right time.

Source: Official Google Webmasters Blog

Best Life Hacks | Blog Marketing | Web Marketing

How I Learned Vocal Tonality

12 February 2021 by
Vocal Tonality

Have your heard yourself lately?

Learn these secrets to sounding like a celebrity.

There is a saying that some people learn visually, but that’s not the only way to learn or take in information. I have always been an auditory learner. Because of that, I’ve had a real connection to audiobooks almost since they were invented. I love to learn anything. 

Audiobooks today have become such an easy way for me to satisfy that thirst for learning I have. If you’re reading this, you understand that a little. You want to learn from audiobooks too. 

One thing that’s always fascinated me about audiobooks is how the narrators use their voices to tell a story. If you are an audio learner like me, you don’t even need to see the person or the character to really get a sense of what story they are telling you. I’m intrigued by this. It is an actual thing called vocal tonality. 

Vocal tonality refers to how your words resonate, and the phonation of your voice. Phonation is what happens with your vocal cords, while resonation refers to the other parts of your mouth and throat that make up words and sounds. That includes the larynx, pharynx, jaw, teeth, and lips.

Princeton University develops speakers that they call Word Smart speakers. They are among the most brilliant voice over workers on the planet. They’ve learned this craft of vocal tonality.

I’ve checked out a few audiobooks on vocal tonality that I think you will like that can help you master this. That includes the Word Smart product. Have a look, and see what you can do with your own voice afterward.


The Sound of Your Voice by Dr. Carol Fleming

Dr. Carol Fleming is a speech pathologist, a speech expert, and a consultant with speech communication. She’s developed this book that will help you to listen to how your voice sounds, and develop it into the voice that you want it to be. She calls it “voice image.” What does your voice sound like to the rest of the world? That’s a voice image. Dr. Fleming shows you what the fundamentals of voice image are and takes you through the process of understanding your voice better.

Through this book, you will understand more what your own voice says about you. You learn how to diagnose and analyze your own voice. You begin to understand what its problems are, and how to correct them. If you want to learn regional dialects or mannerisms, the tools are here to practice those. You also learn things like how to become more confident in your voice, and how to make it sound stronger and more clear.

What I liked about this one is that it focuses more on interpersonal communication, and it is not entirely about the business sense of things. You may not learn how to speak professionally here, but you will learn the basic skill of sounding more confident when you speak to people. This is a skill that can be built upon if you want to use your vocal tonality professionally.

Vocal Awareness by Arthur Samuel Joseph MA 

For many people, the first thing they get to know about you is your voice. When you call your bank for the first time, for example, the first thing they get to know about you is your voice. Are you aware of how that comes across? This is what fascinates me about audiobooks. If you have no idea what the narrator looks like, you can get an entire perception of someone by just listening to them. Vocal Awareness by Arthur Joseph tells you how to understand this identity part of your voice so that you can control more of what people see in you when they hear your voice.

Here you learn how to master your voice and coordinate it in your life in a way that is powerful. It’s an excellent tool to become more aware of what you sound like. We don’t often get to hear what we sound like or understand our own voice identity, and I love that this book gives you the tools to do that.

Voice of a Leader by Arthur Samuel Joseph

Another thing I love learning about audiobooks and their narrators is how much we learn about a person when we hear them speak. This concept goes beyond vocal identity and picturing a certain person when we hear them. Voice of a Leader by Arthur Samuel Joseph is an excellent sequel to Vocal Awareness. This is a book that is used by a number of professionals in speaking, from politicians to corporate executives. If you’re practicing the art of vocal tonality for professional purposes, this book is a good one to hit in the middle of your journey. Start off just learning how to learn more about your voice, and you will find that you’re taking this craft to an entirely new level.

One thing I liked doing when I listened to this is I took a recording of my voice before I listened to the book, and after. After I used the principles in this book to study my voice more. I really felt like I got to know myself better. That helped me to improve my vocal tonality. This book is worth the try.

Word Smart Genius Edition by The Princeton Review, Michael Freedman

Word Smart is Einstein-level vocal tonality work. This comes right from The Princeton Review, and it is used by the best in the world. It doesn’t feel like you are learning Princeton-style the whole time. You definitely get the sense that this is higher-level learning at a very elevated level. However, you have examples that make you laugh, monologues you will enjoy, and little quizzes that make it easy to retain information.

You also get some good vocabulary lessons here. These are words you’ve never heard of, most of the time, and it makes the process fun. The work here is done in a very clever but easygoing way that makes the process of learning something fascinating very easy. This one is a must-have, and worth every penny.

Study Vocal Tonality Today

There isn’t one book here that I recommend over the others. They are all industry leaders developed by industry leaders. Get them all. I learned so much more about vocal tonality, and me, by working with these audiobooks. Have fun!

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