Imagine being able to take the best of the shopping experiences found in Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram, and then creating a spectacular mashup that resonates with consumers and encourages them to make purchases with a quick click. In essence, that’s what Google Images has done.

Where once items were displayed in isolation, they now are placed and photographed in the environment in which you would use them. Rather than look at a picture of a cup or plate against a bland, white background, you can see the place setting as it would be used: on a table. It’s a more authentic and engaging way to market products and services.

Shoppers can view multiple ads with different place settings ranging from informal to formal. The ad helps them visualize the product in their own home. With shoppable ads in Google Images, it’s all about the experience.

Shoppable ads

Shoppers turn to images first, and pictures sell products. With shoppable ads, advertisers can create a staged scenario that features several products in a single picture. The picture should suggest a lifestyle that the consumer would find appealing, and as he or she scrolls across the image, the prices appear on any of the items being offered for sale.

For now, shoppable ads are in testing mode with furniture retailers and art dealers who provide a picture of a room staged with their products. Imagine taking shoppable ads a step further.

Advertisers will be able to sell a complete experience by promoting a scenario. On a beach stands a colorful umbrella, and next to it, a few folding chairs. The children are tossing a beach ball, and a surfer is riding in to shore. As the shopper scrolls over each image in the picture, a brand and price appear. The result is a richer experience that is more likely to result in a sale.

Shoppable ads in Google Images allow consumers to identify, save and collect the images on boards they can refer to later. Suddenly, furnishing a room or even an entire home has never been easier because everything you need is right there, curated in the shoppable ads.

Showcase shopping ads

Some advertisers want to take the shopping experience to the next level, and for them, Google has created showcase ads. These ads offer multi-image formats that create a series of thumbnails you can enlarge and view full screen. The idea is to funnel sponsored content to interested consumers, encouraging them to become paying customers. The video format offers a richer context and more immersive experience for previewing a product. Through sponsorship, these showcase ads appear at the top of product keyword searches.

Shopping insights

Merging shoppable ads with Google Images makes sense. We’ve known for a long time that a picture is worth a thousand words, so it’s logical that pictures make the sale. Consumers are more likely to make a purchase after seeing an item rather than reading or hearing about it.
Most shoppers in the United States turn first to Google when making a purchase. You’ve done it, too. Now you can be there waiting for them with an immersive experience they’ll love.

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How Artificial Intelligence is Shaping SEO

The artificial intelligence revolution is already upon us. Between automated blog content, social media posts, and chatbots, it’s taking a more prominent place in the digital world. AI algorithms are improving at a breakneck pace, which is both thrilling and scary for marketers.

On the one hand, AI will make it easier to effectively target content and deliver it to relevant customers with little to no effort. On the other, AI technology is developing faster than most marketers can keep up. Not only that, but it has the potential to make certain jobs obsolete.

Despite the negative prospects, one thing is clear: artificial intelligence will play a major role in the SEO of tomorrow. Keywords, targeted ads, metrics, and other forms of data will become increasingly automated, providing real-time data aggregation solutions in ways we’ve never dreamed.

The Rise of AI in SEO

AI is already making significant inroads into various aspects of digital marketing. Automated content creation, sophisticated chatbots, and dynamic social media posts are just the beginning. AI algorithms are improving rapidly, a development that is both exciting and somewhat daunting for marketers.

AI simplifies targeting content and delivering it to relevant customers with minimal effort. However, the pace of development in AI technologies means that they can quickly outstrip the ability of marketers to keep up, potentially rendering certain jobs obsolete. Despite these challenges, AI’s role in SEO is becoming increasingly central.

Google’s Advanced AI Algorithms

Google has integrated AI into its search algorithms, with technologies like RankBrain and BERT enhancing how it understands and processes user queries. These advancements help Google deliver more relevant search results by understanding the context and nuances of language in search queries, going beyond simple keywords.

New Technologies Shaping SEO

1. Automated Content Generation: AI’s ability to generate contextually appropriate text will change how content is created, making processes faster and potentially more SEO-optimized.
2. Voice Search Optimization: As virtual assistants become more popular, optimizing for voice search will require a shift towards understanding and answering natural language queries.
3. Predictive Analytics: AI’s capability to predict trends and user behaviors offers SEO professionals advanced insights into optimizing their strategies ahead of time.
4. Multimedia Optimization: With AI’s growing ability to analyze images and videos, optimizing multimedia content for search engines will become increasingly important.
5. Personalization: AI can tailor experiences to individual user preferences, suggesting a shift towards more personalized content strategies in SEO.

AI’s Influence on Long-Tail Keywords

Google’s AI enhancements are making search engines more adept at handling long-tail queries, leading to better, more relevant search results. This improvement is pivotal because while these long-tail phrases may not drive high volumes of traffic individually, collectively, they contribute significantly to achieving more targeted and specific search results. As AI gets better at understanding and responding to these queries, users are likely to increase their use of long-tail searches due to their improved effectiveness.

Implications for Marketers

For marketers, the refinement of AI in search engines means several things:

1. Increased Importance of Long-Tail SEO: Websites that rank for long-tail keywords could see higher conversion rates, as these keywords are less competitive but highly specific. Marketers should focus on optimizing for long-tail phrases to capture this niche traffic.
2. Shift in Content Strategy: Content should answer very specific queries and include detailed, informative answers. This caters to the AI’s ability to match user intent more accurately, enhancing the likelihood of your content ranking higher.
3. Enhanced User Experience: With AI providing better answers, user satisfaction will likely increase. This improvement in user experience translates to better performance metrics for your site, like lower bounce rates and longer session durations.
4. Adaptation is Key: As AI continues to evolve, it may start to automate responses for broader terms even more effectively. Marketers need to stay agile, continually adapting their strategies to leverage AI advancements.

Embracing AI in Your SEO Strategy

The future of SEO is deeply intertwined with AI. This means moving beyond traditional keywords and backlink strategies to embrace semantic search optimization, predictive analytics, and personalized content. Marketers have unprecedented opportunities to refine their SEO strategies thanks to AI.

For example, the Associated Press uses algorithms to create thousands of articles, highlighting the potential of AI in content creation. This technology not only enhances keyword optimization but also extends across all marketing efforts, regardless of industry or niche.

New AI Technologies Enhancing SEO

GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer)

GPT models, such as GPT-3 and GPT-4, are powerful tools for creating high-quality content quickly. They can generate blog posts, social media updates, and even complex reports, helping marketers maintain a consistent content flow without compromising quality.

Key Benefits of GPT for SEO:

• Automated Content Creation: Generate large volumes of content efficiently.
• Enhanced Keyword Integration: Seamlessly include relevant keywords within natural-sounding text.
• Content Variation: Produce multiple versions of content to avoid duplication and improve SEO.

Claude

Claude, an AI developed by Anthropic, focuses on ethical AI usage and advanced natural language processing. It helps create content that is not only SEO-friendly but also ethical and user-focused.

Key Benefits of Claude for SEO:

• Ethical Content Generation: Ensures content adheres to ethical guidelines, enhancing brand reputation.
• Advanced Natural Language Understanding: Improves content relevancy and user engagement.
• User-Centric Content: Focuses on creating valuable and informative content for users.

Gemini

Gemini, Google’s AI-powered tool, offers predictive analytics and insights that can revolutionize how marketers approach SEO.

Key Benefits of Gemini for SEO:

• Predictive Analytics: Anticipate trends and adjust strategies proactively.
• SEO Insights: Gain deep insights into search behaviors and patterns.
• Optimized Campaigns: Improve the effectiveness of marketing campaigns through data-driven decisions.

Forging a New Marketing Path

As AI reshapes digital marketing, staying ahead means adapting quickly and effectively. Ensure your marketing team is ready to leverage AI for better content targeting, more effective ad placements, and smarter content creation.

With artificial intelligence coming to prominence, marketers have access to more opportunities than ever before. Consider the fact that the Associated Press has been using algorithms to create more than 3,000 articles every quarter. AI will usher in an era of perfected keyword optimization and accuracy, and it will touch universal marketing efforts regardless of niche or industry.

Don’t fall behind when AI changes the face of digital marketing as we know it. Contact Exults at 866-999-4736 to request a quote. From custom websites to mobile compatibility, we can assist with all your current and future digital marketing needs, even as times change.

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The internet is full of distractions. As I was typing the first sentence to this blog, I got sucked into the Buzzfeed Quiz “What % Draco Malfoy Are You?”

For the record, I’m 53% and I’m upset about it. 

Luckily, Google provides us with worthwhile distractions like news about self-driving cars, innovative gadgets, and one of their latest projects AI Experiments.

What the heck is Google’s AI Experiments?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the future, and Google wants you to participate. AI Experiments is a site where you can play games that showcase machine learning. It’s also a site where coders can submit their own experiments for others to play around with. All the code is open source to make it easier for new games to be built.

Google explains it best in their informational video on the project…

So, what is Google’s Quick Draw all about?

Quick Draw is a game where you try to draw an object on your screen in under 20 seconds and the AI tries to guess it. It showcases machine learning with images. Over time the AI learns from previous doodles to correctly guess the object. This is the same vein of technology that is able to guess people’s faces in your photos or correctly identify objects in pictures.

Here’s how you play…

Step 1: Head to the Quick Draw page

Step 2: Hit “Let’s Draw”, and doodle whatever it asks you to draw.

Step 3: Repeat a total of 6 times

Step 4: After your results show up, click on any result

Step 5: See how and why the AI guessed what it guessed

It’s fascinating, scary, fun, and educational all the same time!

And if you think that you’re a terrible doodler and the AI will never guess… trust me, you’re wrong. Below is proof that terrible doodles don’t matter. This is one of my sessions with the Quick Draw, sped up. 

Why this is important?

AI’s can process, store, and analyze large amounts of data much faster than humans. By improving machine learning, we speed up the progress of AI.

Whether it’s your search results, Netflix recommendations, or translating software that helps you communicate with someone in China without knowing a lick of Mandarin, AIs help make the world around us more efficient and relevant.

How’d the Exults team do

I fully encourage you to play around with Quick Draw, but before you do, take a look at our team’s doodles. Some were better than others. Some were more inadvertently hilarious than others :-p

Chad, Search Specialist that has somehow caused me nightmares with his arm drawing

Danielle, Director of Operations that got real lucky with that “crocodile” drawing

Libby, Design Specialist who has apparently discovered hell’s unicorn

Lydia, Engagement Specialist who clearly needs to integrate asparagus into her diet

Nick, Lead Designer who could’ve done better if he wasn’t distracted by listening to ESPN New York 98.7 while playing

Romayne, SEO Director who yelled at his computer screen when the AI couldn’t guess the pineapple (I mean, come on)

Tony, Creative Director Cheater

How’d you do? Let us know in the comment section below.

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