What Matters 2022: Issue #1

It’s Here: Google’s Page Experience Update

This year, Google has many changes slated for 2022 with many launching this month. Google’s Page Experience rankings for desktop users will be completely rolled out by the end of March. Google Page Experience is described as “a set of signals that measure how users perceive the experience of interacting with a web page beyond its pure information value.” In simpler terms, Google wants to give kudos to websites with a high-quality user experience while giving a slap on the wrist to websites that don’t meet the standards of their signals. Signals include Core Web Vitals, mobile-friendliness, safe-browsing, HTTPs, and intrusive interstitial guidelines.

Make It Matter

This update should serve as a reminder of what matters for your immediate website updates, which hone in on your audience’s experience on your website. Start by ensuring that your content is catered to user experience and accessibility. If you want your website to be rewarded follow these steps:

• Use a responsive design
• Upgrade to HTTPS by getting a SSL certificate
• Increase the security of your site including better privacy standards and fraud reduction
• Get rid of anything that could be construed as an intrusive interstitial, such as obnoxious pop ups or redirects
• Clean up your backend code which can improve loading speed and overall user experience (e.g., remove unused JavaScript, rely on modern file formats, and minimize your large JF libraries with local CSS and JS libraries)
• Use a good caching plugin for faster loading times

What Wordle Teaches Us About Emotional Marketing

We wouldn’t truly be GMM if we didn’t love games that challenge our brains like Wordle, the viral word game everyone is talking about. That’s why we’re hooked on Wordle, the viral word game everyone is obsessing over. The puzzle gives users six attempts in the puzzle to figure out the word of the day. The catch is that there’s only one puzzle per day. No binging here! It’s really a simple concept, but why has this game become as viral as it is? Two words: Emotional Marketing.

Make It Matter

While it may sound trivial, there’s a powerful cognitive bias at play. People feel a connection, especially when they can relate on an emotional level. And our emotions are one of the strongest drivers of our actions. This is called the brain science connection and it drives the business world whether we’re conscious of it or not. Wordle creates an online community, most popular on Twitter, where we share those heightened experiences, frustrations, thrills—an array of puzzle-fueled emotions. That builds loyalty and strengthens the market position, making it difficult to get people to switch preferences or try new options. Think about giving a surgeon tools that make them the hero. Or helping to improve a patient’s quality of life. These are emotional connections that can last a lifetime.

Emotional marketing inspires us to act and make heartfelt decisions. When your life sciences company wants to connect with your audience on an emotional level, here are several strategies you can consider:

1. Understand your audience: Make sure you understand what moves your audience to be able to adapt an emotional marketing strategy successfully, What makes your audience feel good, sad, mad? Use that knowledge to foster relationships with your audience.
2. Use color to your advantage: Color is a powerful communication tool. The study of color psychology is how color is used to influence mood, action, or emotion.
3. Storytelling is important in emotional marketing: Capturing a story that your audience can relate to is vital for a successful emotional marketing strategy.
4. Creating a community: This is how Wordle is successful. The community that Wordle has created with their users will allow the game to continue to be successful.