What are Google video results? Google video results come in two types: a standard result and a featured video. A standard video result includes a small thumbnail of the video, while a featured video screenshot takes up most of the page.

Video is here and growing. And the power of video marketing is one your company should be tapping into if it’s not already. In this article, we explain everything you need to know about getting video results to work for your business.

What are Google video results?

Video results come in two types: a standard result and a featured video. A standard video result includes a small thumbnail of the video, along with the title, the date posted, and the username of the YouTuber.

Meanwhile, a featured video is the top-most result of a search, and the screenshot takes up most of the page. There’s only one featured video per search.

Sometimes, Google will cut to a relevant timestamp in the video so the user can start watching it from the most relevant time.

See Google’s best practices for how to make your company’s videos easier for Google to find and display.

Example of Video Results

Let’s see a sample of what video results can look like. Say a user is looking for gardening advice. They might search for “how to plant a seed” in Google.

The first result is a featured video showing how to plant seeds, and you want your gardening company’s video to be in this prominent slot. Below the featured video, there are several other video results that appear.

What are the benefits of video results?

Video results can direct more traffic to your business and increase sales — over two-thirds of YouTube users say videos bring new brands to their attention.

Showing up in Google’s video results is another outlet for customers to engage with your website and offerings. They increase brand loyalty, as well.

If your company’s videos continually show up in search results, customers will become more devoted to the products and services your business offers.

What type of content are video results used for?

Videos are everywhere, so video results pop up for many types of content, like:

• How-tos
• Explainers
• Reviews
• Testimonials
• Vlogs
• Interviews
• Webinars

Instead of simply promoting your brand, make sure your videos are useful to your customers. They should teach people something they may not have known before.

Ready to create engaging videos for your business? Rank higher in search engines and attract more customers with the power of video marketing. Talk to a content specialist at ClearVoice today about creating a video marketing strategy for your brand.

The post Google Search Results Explained: Video Results appeared first on ClearVoice.

Precise search results, like those shown in Google News and Google Images, can decrease competition and simplify the process of finding specific information on a topic or industry. This is a vertical search result.

Your company can use vertical search results to your benefit, getting more targeted customers to see your products and services. This article explores the best search engine optimization strategies for vertical search results.

What is a Google vertical search result?

Picture vertical search results as a deep dive — a vertical plunge into a single topic. A vertical search engine, like Google News or Google Books, offers only niche (or vertical) search results.

For example, if you search for ‘Wild’ on Google Books, all the results narrow in on the book itself, like where to buy it and reviews.

The opposite type of search is horizontal, which gives you an ocean’s worth of results. A standard Google search is a horizontal search. If you search for ‘Wild’ there, you would see results about the movie adaptation, the author, The Minnesota Wild (the hockey team), and more.

Google Images, Videos, Flights, and Shopping are other examples of Google’s vertical search engines. Google crawls the web to find these vertical search results.

• Expedia for travel
• Amazon for products
• Redfin for homes
• LinkedIn for professional connections

Many of these external vertical search engines need users to manually input information, like a product or home listing.

Vertical Search Results On the Go

A sample of vertical search results can help you understand how they can work for your business. Say your company sells outdoor gear for women. You would choose several vertical search engines to focus on, like Amazon, YouTube, and Pinterest.

On your Amazon page, you want to make sure each of your products is optimized to appear first in the search results. Fo YouTube, you could include videos of women camping, biking, and kayaking. On Pinterest, you could post things like visual guides for essential skiing or camping gear.

What Vertical Search Results Can Give You

Making sure your company is listed and optimized on the correct vertical search engines increases sales. The narrower focus of the search means customers know exactly what they want and, thus, are closer to a sale. Yours could be the winning item.

It’s best to use SEO best practices only on search engines that will give you a return. There are many of these search engines — you can conduct a Google search for search engines in your business to find ones you may not know of. Each of these engines has its own SEO strategy.

What type of content is used for vertical search results?

Typically, vertical search results are used when a searcher is looking for information rather than a specific website or company. Someone might be looking for the best outdoor gear for women rather than searching for Patagonia’s new items.

These searches are not necessarily aiming to buy anything and are more research-based or to learn something new. But that doesn’t mean they can’t lead to a sale.

Need help building an SEO strategy that will supercharge your content marketing results?

ClearVoice’s pool of experts, including content strategists and writers, can help you develop content that improves your rankings, boosts your reputation, and attracts new customers.

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What are Google shopping results? Google shopping results are both free and paid ads for products that appear in a Google search. 

Online markets are bigger than ever. However, these marketplaces are crowded, so now is the perfect time to make your products stand out above the rest. Using shopping results is one tactic you can deploy to get more of your merchandise in front of more customers.

What are Google shopping results?

You have probably seen shopping results before, but you may not have known what they were. Also known as product listing ads (PLAs), shopping results are both free and paid ads for products that appear in a Google search.

They contain the following features:

• A photo of your product
• A title
• The price
• Your store name
• Your average reviews, if applicable

For almost a decade, you could only get shopping results on Google for your products using paid ads. But in April 2020, Google opened it up to free advertisements, as well.

Enable shopping results by creating a Google Merchant Center account if your company doesn’t already have one. Then upload your products, making sure to format your listings appropriately. Finally, be sure to link your Google Ads account.

Shopping results at work

An example of shopping results might give you a better idea of how they work.

Let’s say your company sells clothing, and your best seller is a black hoodie. A potential customer searches for “buy black hoodie” on Google. The customer sees paid ads, including bottom and top ads, on the first page featuring pictures of the hoodies, names of the companies, prices, and potential starred reviews.

These results show up on a scrollable carousel for the shopper to browse so they can determine which one looks best quickly. If you have paid for Google Ads, your ad for a black hoodie may show up on the user’s front page.

Additionally, the customer can click on the Shopping tab, which will take them to both paid ads and organic listings. Any unpaid ads of yours would show up here.

Benefits of Google shopping results

Shopping results display product options without taking searchers away from the search page, which gives users information they can use to decide which item to buy.

This ease of use makes customers more likely to buy your product since they already know the major details when they click through to your site.

Also, shopping results offer small businesses a huge opportunity to advertise products for free on Google. This opportunity may be especially useful for any drops in sales with the fluctuation of the economy.

Additionally, your company may also decide that paid ads would give you a decent return on ad spend, thus making it lucrative to pay for Google Ads.

What type of content does Google’s shopping results work on?

Shopping results show up for searches with the intention of purchasing an item. It can be any item that is available for sale, from clothing to car tires to televisions. However, these results aren’t based on keywords.

Instead, to increase the chances that your ads will appear, your best bet is to make sure the data for the products in your Merchant Center fit with Google’s requirements.

The post Google Search Results Explained: Shopping Results appeared first on ClearVoice.

What are Google sitelinks? Google sitelinks are links that appear underneath a search result to your content. They increase the chances that someone will click through to your website and pay for your product.

When a potential customer searches for your website, you want your content to take up as much space on the results page as possible. Enter sitelinks. Google sitelinks appear underneath a search result as two, four, or six links to other content on your site.

They increase the chances that someone will click through to your website and pay for your product.

Let’s explore how best to use sitelinks to raise your web traffic.

What are Google sitelinks?

We all know that having links to your content far and wide in the online world is vital to spreading the word about your business. Sitelinks are no different.

A set of sitelinks is basically a group of subheadings in a Google search result that helps readers find their way around your site. Six is the maximum number (and the goal), but Google may display only two or four links. Only the first result for a keyword gets sitelinks.

The act of pulling sitelinks to display is automated by Google’s algorithms. Thus, you’ll need to build your website structure in a way that Google can easily understand and pull out relevant links. One way to help your chances is by having good anchor text for your website’s links.

How sitelinks could work for your company

An example might help you to better understand sitelinks and their function. Let’s say you run a website design company, and someone searches for your business online. If your company’s search result contains sitelinks — and is the first to appear on the page — two to six links to other pages on your website would appear under your company’s name.

These links might be for web pages like:

• About Our Team
• Services We Offer
• Blog
• Web Design News of the Month

One thing to note: You can’t pick which links appear as your company’s sitelinks. The algorithm does that for you. You might be happy with all the links except Web Design News of the Month in this instance. This might be an outdated blog post that you wouldn’t typically choose to highlight.

Sitelink attributes

Having sitelinks is like having an article placed above the fold in the newspaper — they allow your result to take up half of the searcher’s page. Higher visibility is always a plus. Plus, they push down the competition’s content, making the searcher more likely to click on your site.

Sitelinks also give your search result more credibility since they show that you have a lot of content relevant to the search, rather than a one-off blog post.

What content are sitelinks used for?

You can have either paid sitelinks with an ad campaign or organic sitelinks. They mostly appear with branded content. This content can be anything from a specific company to a website to a newspaper or magazine.

Talk to a content specialist at ClearVoice today about developing a robust content marketing strategy for your brand. Get high quality that delivers better results — and helps improve your SERP rankings.

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What is a Google review snippet? A review snippet is what may appear when someone searches for a business or website on Google. It may be a text excerpt from a written review or an average of your customer ratings. The average rating may appear as 1 out of 5 stars, for example.

Have you wondered how to get those five golden stars shining under your company name in a Google search? You’re looking to add a Google review snippet — and you need one, like, yesterday. Why? Online reviews are the new personal recommendation.

A review snippet can be a text excerpt from a written review or an average of your customer ratings. The average rating may appear as 1 out of 5 stars, for example.

Review snippets appear in a rich snippet or Google Knowledge Panel. Additionally, a review snippet can only work for a page on a website that is able to be reviewed, like a product page. It can’t be enabled on the home page of your website. Google provides useful documentation that details how to build web pages to allow for review snippets to appear.

A Google Review Snippet in Action

Here’s a review snippet example that can help you understand how it works.

Say you run a small pie shop. When you have a review snippet and someone types in a Google search for a local pie shop, 4.8 out of 5 stars appear under the name of your shop. This shows the searcher that customers love your pie shop and tells potential clientele that it’s worth stopping by.

The snippet result also has a brief excerpt from one review, saying, “Delicious and creative pies.” This text lets the searcher know that other customers enjoy the tasty and unique flavors of your pies.

Benefits of Review Snippets

Did you know that 49 percent of consumers say they trust online reviews as much as an endorsement from a loved one?

A Google review snippet gives your product or company an easy-to-read starred review. It also lends credibility to what you’re selling since it proves that other people have had success with it.

Additionally, the snippet might also include a short excerpt of text from a customer review that highlights what they like about your product or business.

Type of Content Used for Review Snippets

You can’t include a review snippet with all Google searches. Review snippets are available for specific content types, like:

• Books
• Recipes
• Courses
• Movies
• Local businesses
• Events
• Products
• Apps

Adding review snippets for these types of pages can help your company stand out from the crowd and bring your products instant credibility.

Improve your online presence with a comprehensive content marketing strategy. From high-quality blog posts to helpful social media posts, talk to a content specialist at ClearVoice about building your online reputation today.

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What is an SMB (small-to-medium business)? SMBs are classified based on their annual revenue (under $50MM for small, under $1B for medium) or their size (under 100 employees for small, under 1000 employees for medium), depending on who’s doing the classifying. As you might guess, SMBs are on the smaller side when compared to other businesses — but they’re worth your marketing efforts.

The term small-to-medium business (SMB) is a classification of a company or organization that relies on the number of employees and annual revenue for its definition. Gartner defines SMBs as bringing in less than $50 million in annual revenue for small businesses, and less than $1 billion in annual revenue for medium, or midsized, businesses. Small businesses have between 1 and 100 employees while medium-sized businesses employ between 100 and 999 people. Although there are several definitions of SMBs out there, these numbers are typical.

SMB is also a marketing term. It developed like all acronyms in the marketing world — to simplify communications. However, keep in mind that most small businesses don’t refer to themselves as SMBs. Thus, using the term when you’re connecting with potential clients could be off-putting.

Tips for Marketing to SMBs:

• Don’t call them an SMB or use other marketing jargon when communicating with them.
• Understand that they are likely low on resources and time, so try to solve that for them.
• Prove that you can help SMBs with their long-term sustainability.
• There’s less wiggle room in their budgets, so let them know their dollars will count for something.
• Use language that makes it clear you respect them as a small or medium business and will work as hard for them as for larger companies.
• Target SMBs directly on your website rather than relying on word-of-mouth.

Examples of Small-to-Medium Businesses:

1. Bike shops
2. Bakeries
3. Construction businesses
4. Mechanic shops
5. Freelancers and consultants
6. Professional IT services
7. Health care businesses
8. Personal trainers
9. Car dealerships
10. Hotels and inns

Need Help Scaling Your SMB Content?

If you’re a small-to-medium business, no one needs to tell you how challenging it is to compete with larger companies. But there is a solution where you can maximize your impact without breaking the bank. It might even save you money overall. And that’s outsourcing your SMB content creation to a trusted, proven partner like ClearVoice.

Our content creation plans are customized to fit your exact needs and budget. And when you work with us, you get experienced, top-tier creators to help you cost-effectively produce high-quality content.

Connect with us today to start the conversation.

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What is Facebook Analytics? Facebook Analytics is free data provided by Facebook that tracks your page’s likes, views, and more. It gives insight into your business’s audience and how they interact with your page that you can use to grow the interactions.

Facebook Analytics is also called Facebook Insights, and it provides a deep look into the 2.7 billion monthly users that interact with your business’s page on Facebook. The data helps you track results from your campaigns and posts and understand the Facebook algorithm.

Take note that you can only use this platform with a business’s Facebook page rather than a personal account. To view this data, navigate to your Facebook Analytics page. Then click on the Dashboards tab on the left-hand side of the page to view data for items like retention, journeys, and events.

The data shows detailed information for things like views, likes, clicks, new followers, orders, and engagement. It can also track Facebook ad results, as well as allow you to see results from each of your type of posts to understand better what resonates with your audience best. To get the most out of Facebook Analytics, you’ll need to take the information you learn to improve your results in the future. For example, you can better target a different audience based on age, location, device used to view based on what data you find. Then you’ll want to repeat what works.

Common uses for Facebook Analytics

• Find who you should be targeting with Facebook ads
• Create effective marketing funnels for your business
• Examine your business’s Facebook audience to adjust posting strategy
• See what’s working best for your audience
• Use the data to grow your audience
• Understand who goes from viewing your content to ordering from your business

The post Facebook Analytics appeared first on ClearVoice.

Keep reading for everything you need to know to use Canva to boost your visual appeal as a freelancer.

Canva basics for freelancers

Canva is a free online tool (with the option to upgrade to the paid Pro or Enterprise versions) that lets you design graphics for marketing, web, and other outreach. It’s easy to get the hang of once you know the basics, even if you don’t have a design background.

Here are a few pointers to get you started:

• Choosing a graphic: Canva has thousands of free templates for you to use that are already pre-sized for things like Instagram Stories and Facebook covers. Pick which one you want to start working on under the “Templates” tab.
• Selecting a design: Once you open a graphic, you can browse designs to find which one speaks to you.
• Editing a design: If you don’t like a color, font, or image in a template, you can change it. Browse other options that Canva offers, or upload your image to Canva to place in the template.
• Picking a brand color: It’s good to pick a color or colors you want to use throughout your marketing. Once you decide, be sure to write down the HTML color code. You can find this code if you hover your mouse over a color in Canva. It should look something like #ffc9e0.
• Downloading the graphic: When you click Download at the top of the screen, you can choose whichever download format is best for your purposes, like PNG, JPG, or PDF. Save it on your computer and use it when you’re ready.

Feel free to experiment with graphic sizing, as well. For example, a Twitter header can also work well as a website banner.

How to use Canva for freelancing

1. Create a memorable logo.

Your logo is often the first thing potential clients notice about your online presence as a freelancer, and Canva can help you make a great one. The platform offers hundreds of editable logo templates as a starting point.

Also, if you need unique measurements (like for a podcast logo), you can click on “Create a Design” and choose “Custom dimensions” to make any graphic any size you wish.

2. Design social media posts.

Many internet browsers will engage better with a social media post that contains some sort of image. Why not make it a cool, branded graphic? The perfect sizing for things like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are already programmed into Canva, making it easy.

If you spend an hour every week designing your posts and pre-scheduling them, you may not have to bother with social media again.

3. Craft website graphics.

Your website is the window to your business. It’s the first stop for many possible clients when they’re vetting you, so it’s essential to make it inviting.

You have two website options on Canva: piece together website graphics in a DIY fashion or use Canva’s pre-formatted website templates. Search for “website” to find the pre-formatted choices, but keep in mind that these aren’t free.

Even if you’re not a design wizard, Canva can help you maximize your online impact.

Not into Canva? Check out our post detailing how to use two other visual storytelling tools. The most important thing is that you have fun with it and be creative.

Not sure where to begin? Speak with a content specialist about your upcoming content and design needs and goals.

More related articles:

• 9 Tools to Help Create Interactive Marketing
• Top 8 Reverse Search Image Tools and How to Use Them

The post How to Use Canva to Enhance Your Freelancing Business appeared first on ClearVoice.

However, there’s a new-but-not-new solution that you should look into — teamlancing. The movie industry has relied on it for years. Now freelancers have the opportunity to add it to their business.

Every freelancer can face isolation, especially if they work from the comfort of their home. Teamlancing involves working on — you guessed it — teams of people to get work done. Through teamlancing, you can collaborate with several different groups throughout the week, or keep it to one group. This collaboration can fill that need to work closely with others that many freelancers feel. Yet, you’ll still maintain the many benefits of freelancing, like working remotely and running your own business.

Keep reading for a primer on how teamlancing can help lonely freelancers work with others and add a collaboration into their days or weeks. Teamlancing is meant for anyone who needs a bit more team spirit in their workdays. No more one-person boat operation; now you can add to your crew.

The isolation of freelancing

It can be challenging to feel genuinely connected to others when you’re a freelancer. Whether you’re a writer, a designer, a coder, or going after another type of solo pursuit, you communicate with others mostly through chat or email. Much of your engagement with other people is written rather than verbal or in-person ⁠— especially now, during the pandemic.

This separation can cause you to feel disconnected from the world.

Plus, when you get to work, you often do it alone. Many freelancers and remote workers relish solitude, but too much of anything can be unhealthy. Loneliness can be twice as bad for our health as obesity, researchers say. Thus, freelancers must make it a point to include others in their work as much as they can.

Working from home plays a large part in feeling isolated, as well. After the pandemic lockdown, many companies are newly committing to making remote employees permanent. So working in isolation may not be a choice for some workers, even if they want to go into an office.

Luckily for you, teamlancing can be a part of the solution.

Understanding teamlancing

Teamlancing is a simple concept. It involves working with other creative individuals or groups to get a job done. The movie industry has done this since its founding. Creating a movie involves drawing in creative types that perform various tasks like directing, acting, controlling lighting cues, scriptwriting, and countless others. Teamlancing allows movies to get made.

What could teamlancing look like in a freelancer’s life? There are a lot of possibilities.

Maybe you’re pulled onto a team that’s working on finalizing a webinar for a client. You might be the writer, while someone else is the graphic designer, and another person is the editor. Or you’re a part of a group of people working on finalizing a phone app. You might be the mobile developer who designs the thing, while you also work alongside a designer, a back end developer, and a project manager. Each of you would be working remotely but in an interconnected way.

Teamlancing can help you feel more connected

Creatives can teamlance with one group or more than one at a time. The more groups you’re involved with, the more opportunity you’ll have for collaboration. Working on a virtual teamlance project typically includes video chats or phone calls with the same people regularly, so you get to know them better. You might even become friends with them, which is another positive to teamlancing ⁠— you can expand your friend circle.

If you’re the type of person who needs to collaborate with others to feel fulfilled, teamlancing can be an excellent solution. By working closely with other creatives, even from afar, you can feel more connected to others and the world. You’ll get feedback and valuable input from other professionals who want to help you grow in your craft. Also, you can learn how to critique others effectively, without stepping on any toes.

You may have begun freelancing to work alone, but if you find yourself feeling lonely, teamlancing can be a great tool to continue to work with others when you choose.

How do you start teamlancing?

If you’re wondering how to begin teamlancing, you have several options:

• Start your own teamlancing project
• Join an established team
• Try teamlancing with ClearVoice

Start your own teamlancing project

If you have a few creative friends or acquaintances, pull them on board to work with you on a project you pitch. Alone you’re great, but together you can soar – and suddenly qualify for projects you never considered in the past.

Join an established team

Maybe forming a team of your own seems like a hassle. In that case, you could start freelancing for an online or local client, like I did, who is looking to form a team. The company can pull in a few other skilled freelancers they are connected with, and you begin to work together.

Each of you is in charge of specific tasks the company needs to be done. You’ll meet virtually to go over updates, and you’ll get to know each other. This way, you’re not responsible for finding the right people, but you still get the benefits of working with others.

Try teamlancing with ClearVoice

ClearVoice has given me loads of experience with teamlancing. Because it has so many excellent freelancers in its pool, the platform provides a unique path to smooth collaboration. As a freelance writer, I have worked with many producers and editors on a longterm basis through ClearVoice.

Plus, I became a ClearVoice producer and immediately joined several different teams. As a producer, I started working with other writers, drafting briefs, and sending out assigned pieces. I work with the writers if they need to change the deadline or need an extension. Additionally, I have an employee assigned above me — a content strategist that communicates directly with the client. She makes higher-level decisions and allows me to focus on editing.

A few times a month, everyone on the project has a video call with the client to discuss any upcoming projects. These calls typically start with talking about how we are and how we are managing the pandemic, which is a welcome break from the monotony of working alone. Contributing to a dedicated team like this one helps me to feel connected to others, and this teamwork is built into the ClearVoice platform. I didn’t have to go searching for it.

ClearVoice has helped me to feel like a part of the broader creative community without having to do the work of putting together a teamlancing project on my own. The service was built as a fantastic teamlancing solution.

Other ways to decrease isolation as a freelancer

Reducing the amount of isolation you feel as a freelancer is vital, but it’s especially difficult during the COVID pandemic. Formerly, I would say to sit at a local coffee shop or join a nearby co-working space. However, many of these options are currently closed for the foreseeable future.

If you’re wondering what else you can do in these isolated times, we have a few suggestions.

• Take walks. Walking not only helps clear your head, but you might interact with your neighbors or community members while you’re out. Plus, spending time in nature can help you feel less alone.
• Smile at strangers — even through your mask. It can seem easier to ignore each other and get your task finished so you can go home, but smiling at someone can make you feel more connected to the world.
• Text or video chat with your friends and family. Maintaining close connections can help to remind you that you aren’t alone.
• Get a pet. Having an animal around the house can not only offer you furry friendship, but there are proven health benefits. The CDC says a four-legged friend can lower your blood pressure and cholesterol, all the while increasing your feelings of connectedness.

Try teamlancing to stave off isolation

For anyone feeling lonely or overly isolated these days, you’re not alone. Even if you enjoy working alone, it can be beneficial to add other people to your workday once in a while. And teamlancing can be the perfect solution. With teamlancing, you can continue to work remotely and run your own freelance company while still collaborating with others as much as you prefer.

If you feel like it’s time to row your boat closer to land for a day or two every week and experience working closely with others, turn to teamlancing. If you get your fill of people, you can always set sail again for the open ocean.

The post How Teamlancing Can Make Freelancing Less Lonely appeared first on ClearVoice.