Google confirms rolling out a broad core search algorithm

Google confirms rolling out a broad core search algorithm update earlier this week

Google has confirmed rumors that a search algorithm update took place on Monday. Some sites may have seen their rankings improve, while others may have seen negative or zero change.

Google has posted on Twitter that it released a “broad core algorithm update” this past Monday. Google said it “routinely” does updates “throughout the year” and referenced the communication from the previous core update.

Google explained that core search updates happen “several times per year” and that while “some sites may note drops or gains,” there is nothing specific a site can do to tweak its rankings around these updates. In general, Google says to continue to improve your overall site quality, and the next time Google runs these updates, hopefully, your website will be rewarded.

Google explained that “pages that were previously under-rewarded” would see a benefit from these core updates.

Here is the statement Google previously made about this type of update:

Each day, Google usually releases one or more changes designed to improve our results. Some are focused around specific improvements. Some are broad changes. Last week, we released a broad core algorithm update. We do these routinely several times per year.

As with any update, some sites may note drops or gains. There’s nothing wrong with pages that may now perform less well. Instead, it’s that changes to our systems are benefiting pages that were previously under-rewarded.

There’s no “fix” for pages that may perform less well, other than to remain focused on building great content. Over time, it may be that your content may rise relative to other pages.

How to Measure the Velocity of the Customer Journey

Dental Lab Marketing teams need to be able to show measurable results for the marketing function to be seen as an investment. Influencing the customer journey and shortening sales cycles is one way to achieve this. Most customer journey maps define stages and channels, but how can marketers measure their influence on those customers taking that journey through the funnel?

At DentalLabSupport, we create ways for marketers to understand the customer journey. We do this by tracking sales cycles and average velocity between stage transitions. These are indicators that content, events and other marketing touchpoints are driving prospects through the funnel faster.

These are also great indicators for planning, as well. In this blog post, we show how to approach and use customer journey data, namely velocity metrics.

Velocity as a Go-to-Market Performance Indicator

Implementing marketing attribution also adds dates to every touchpoint, including touchpoints where there is a stage transition. Knowing this we can derive the average number of days between stage transitions as a measure for velocity.

There are several uses for velocity data. Starting at a high level, if you’re a marketing leader, you want to understand performance across your different market segments. If this is the first time you’re seeing data like this, you can discover the customer journey in more detail, asking yourself whether this is what you expect.

If you’re entering a new market, measuring velocity gives you a baseline benchmark, and a great place to start when thinking about next year’s goals for that market. For example, if you want to invest in sales enablement for this new market, you’ll be able to track improvements in velocity.

If you’re tracking velocity across quarters or months, you can use it as an early warning system when important lead transitions have slowed. Lastly, if you are launching a campaign in a market, you can see whether that campaign correlates with faster velocity.

For more information, contact DentalLabSupport.com at 1.888.715.9099 or info@dentallabsupport.com

The 5 Types Of Direct Mail Campaigns

David H. Khalili, Founder of DentalLabSupport.com

Direct mail has been always been an essential marketing tool here at DentalLabSupport, and I suspect it will continue to be effective for a long time coming. In this post, we’ll explore why it’s so popular and how to take advantage of direct mail to increase marketing alignment with sales and more importantly, close more revenue.

Why is Direct Mail so Effective?

First of all, it stands out and makes a great impression. In the world of cold emails and auto-dialers, direct mail shows a high level of commitment (financially) and breaks through the noise. In other words, it gets noticed more than other marketing tactics.

Second, it scales linearly instead of with diminishing return like ads. In other words, the cost per box is the same as you send more, but for ads the next click costs more than the last one.

Finally, it aligns marketing with sales. Sales teams love direct mail. They see how it benefits them more than some other marketing channels and it’s much easier to integrate into sales stages and processes.

Why is Direct Mail Gaining Popularity?

In addition to being an effective marketing channel, it’s getting more popular because of increased interest in account-based marketing (ABM) and technologies like PFL that help marketers (including us at DentalLabSupport) scale direct mail.

Having a service and technology for direct mail has been crucially important at DentalLabSupport. Not only can you tap into existing expertise, but the technologies integrate deeply with LabCell CRM, an exclusive marketing software developed for dental labs, for automated sending, task follow up for sales, and simple tracking in attribution solutions.

Marketing attribution helps us measure the effectiveness of running ads, sending direct mail, and follow up outreach by sales teams all in one attribution model.

Another added benefit is that services like DLS provide better economies of scale for assembling and sending boxes. Internally, we wouldn’t be able to do this cost efficiently.

Five Ways to Take Advantage of Direct Mail

After a few years of experimentation and deep discussions with other marketing leaders, I’ve learned there are 5 distinct direct mail “plays”  and campaigns to execute. They are awareness, appointment, shareable, closer, and advocacy plays.

Awareness mailers are designed to make a positive first impression. The call to action is light (if it exists at all). Think of this as a billboard or TV ad. For example, we’re sending printed versions of our DLS magazine.

Appointment mailers, or sometimes called “meeting makers,” are the bread and butter of direct mail. These have strong call-to-actions, often times come with an incentive, and are used to convert warmer leads into opportunities. We’re sending chocolates along with an Amazon gift card.

Shareable mailers are designed to get more people involved in the deal and help you grow the number of champions at the receiving company. This can be something simple like a box of cupcakes or something clever like a popcorn machine for their office.

Closer mailers, or sometimes called “clutter busters,” are sent to the decision maker of the deal. Closer mailers can also be used to help accounts and opportunities that have stalled. These are highly branded and personalized. It can be something physical like a bottle of wine with a Forrester report on your product, or an experience like tickets to join you in a suite at a sporting event.

Advocacy mailers are for new customers. They are designed to help turn customers into advocates who spread your brand both internally at their companies and externally to others. We’re sending branded boxes with branded swag, a custom letter, and handouts for the champion to share with the rest of the marketing team.

Conclusion

If you haven’t experimented with direct mail or account-based marketing before, feel free to contact us to learn more.  DentalLabSupport.com 1.888.715.9099  info@dentallabsupport.com.