Being a marketing consultant at a professional services firm comes with many challenges. With a variety of clients across a wide range of industries, Trellist need to constantly think of new ways to approach marketing so we can support the needs of our clients. Luckily for us, we have rock star staff who are passionate about current marketing practices and finding the perfect way to help our clients succeed. We recently sat down with our Data Analyst for Client Services, Caroline Cefaly, who gave some insight into how analytics plays a crucial role in any marketing strategy. Check out our Q&A with Caroline below to pick up some helpful Trellist Tips.
- What topic excited you about marketing/got you into it?I realized my career was in marketing around one of my internships. I discovered analytics for the first time. I am naturally a very curious person and realizing that you can put actionable numbers behind all the marketing efforts a company produces fascinated me. I remember the first time launching a campaign and just sitting watching Google Analytics for days, looking at how the different elements all came together. Ever since then, I was hooked.
- What is your current favorite thing/trend in marketing?I've been into following virtual or augmented reality marketing. It is mind blowing to me that a piece of furniture you've had your eye on for months can now be virtually brought into your living room with just a simple smartphone camera. It shows how fast companies are changing and adjusting their marketing technology.
- What is the core update/algorithm shift?A Google Core Algorithm update is a shift that Google implements that will instantly affect search rankings and the way that Google populates organic search results.
- Why is it shifting?Google periodically shifts their algorithm to give marketers and web makers equal opportunities. This update is interesting because it is the first time Google has announced what they are shifting and when. The last Core Update occurred in December of 2020.
- How does it change Google (Search Rankings)?Google constantly crawls a website looking for ideal user experience, relevant keywords and many other things that affect a site's SEO and ranking. This update will be focusing on user experience. This is Google's statement on user experience for the update: "Page experience is a set of signals that measure how users perceive the experience of interacting with a web page beyond its pure information value. It includes Core Web Vitals, which is a set of metrics that measure real-world user experience for loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability of the page. It also includes existing Search signals: mobile-friendliness, safe-browsing, HTTPS, and intrusive interstitial guidelines."
- How does it change websites/keyword rankings?If a website does not meet many of these user experience requirements, your search rank will drop. Essentially, the website will be losing at lot of web traffic if they do not adjust.
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You mentioned "core vitals" in our conversation. What does that actually mean in relation to the shift?The algorithm will cause a shift in rankings by crawling your site and checking for core vitals. Anyone can measure their core vitals with page speed insights. Google has released the ranking signals for overall user experience:
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Core Web Vitals
- LCP (Largest Content Paint)
- FID (First Input Delay)
- CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)
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Safe-Browsing
- Shows if your site has been hacked, or if it is unsafe to browse.
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Mobile Friendly
- Monitors if your site is mobile friendly.
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HTTPS
- Makings sure your site is certified through your provider.
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Core Web Vitals
- When is it happening?This update started rolling out in the beginning of June and will finish updating toward the end of July or early August.
- Will companies be unprepared for the shift? If so, how?Some companies will, others will not. Since this is the first algorithm shift that Google has announced will be taking place, many companies have been preparing for this for months. Others are unaware and it will effect their SEO greatly.
- How can Trellist/our data analytics teams help these companies? What can our teams do better?Trellist and our analytics team can help provide a detailed website analysis and make recommendations to help improve website vitals and overall site health. Our teams can start informing our clients of the shift they will see in the traffic on their site/making recommendations on how to adjust with the shift.
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Can you give us some clarification on what these phrases mean?
- LCP (Largest Content Paint) - Measures how long it takes for the largest piece of context to load on the screen.
- FID (First Input Delay) - Measures how long it takes for a site to respond to the first interaction. Think a click on a button.
- CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) - The visual stability of a website. Do things jump around while the page is loading?
