Digital marketing insights.

This is the second article in our three-part series about how to do a site-wide update without demolishing your search ranking. We’ve previously discussed how to excel when launching a comprehensive redesign; in this post, we’d like to tell you how to successfully migrate your site to HTTPS.

Like a lot of marketers, you keep an eye on your analytics and user flows. And, you’ve probably spotted some inefficiencies in your site. So you might be itching to start a redesign project or you might even be in the middle of an overhaul. Let's do it right.

It can quickly become a problem for businesses when they have to deal with a mountain of low-quality leads. So, how can you make sure you’re not the guy or gal who jumps straight to contact before qualifying the company at the top of your search results?

One of the ways I work to extend the reach of my content is to take popular pieces and share them with my network via LinkedIn Pulse. Many of those self-syndicated pieces have been so well-received, they’ve generated big views and many new leads.

Given the SEO fallout around web directories of the past, there is a lot of confusion (and perhaps fear) around the use and effectiveness of local business directories, and rightfully so. They were known – once upon a time – as “link directories,” and auto-submitting your URL to hundreds of them for about the price of a bowl of poutine was pretty common.

How to maintain your focus when being swarmed by the masses.

Nearly everyone we meet is interested in having a number one ranking on Google for their business. But what percentage of those people are really thinking about what that would mean for their business day-to-day?

If you’ve been reading the Kayak blog with any regularity, you probably already know that Google has been making an effort to match buyers with businesses in their own geographic area. This is partly out of consumer preference – who doesn’t like buying local? – and partly as a result of mobile integration, which leads searchers to look for products and services while they are “on the go.”

WordPress is an amazing platform. Since its launch twelve years ago, it has grown to power over 25% of the ten million most popular websites – an impressive achievement by any measure. (The next most popular content management system is Joomla, with just 2.8% market share.)

Then you'll want to be aware of two critical decisions you'll need to make.

Given that the Kayak marketing team puts so much faith in the power of social, people are sometimes surprised to find out we think of adverts in social media to be the online equivalent of a playing a country music song at a dance club.

Not long ago, I posted a piece of unconventional advice: that you shouldn’t necessarily assume every small or local business needs search engine optimization. Despite what a lot of “experts” will tell you, there are some times when it just doesn’t make sense to devote your attention, energy, and resources to achieving a higher Google ranking.

Recently, I earned my 35,000th social media follower.

If you are one of the internet famous set, you might not be impressed those numbers. Although they are significant for me, it’s true that lots of influencers have much bigger networks than I do (and non-influencers have considerably fewer). But, if the size of my following doesn’t blow you away, the kind of engagement I get might.

Where do you find inspiration for your next website design? If you’re like many business owners and marketers we meet with, it might come from studying the competition.

"Do everything you can to rank on Google” is often the first thing we think about when it comes to promoting our websites. Certainly, search engine optimization is important to most website campaigns. But, should we always take it as a given that SEO needs to be our top priority?

If you’ve ever traveled on an airplane, you’ve heard the advice to “secure your own mask before attempting to help another passenger.” That’s a simple reminder we should take with ourselves more often.