📓 The Creativ Brief: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Explained

WarnerBros Discovery embraces AI. Visa faces the FCC. Sports packages crumble. Streaming TV prices.

Sep 27, 2024

Search engine optimization is the practice of reverse engineering search algorithms to direct search traffic to your owned and operated sites.

Search is a bottom funnel metric, capturing existing demand for products and services. When you have highly searched IP, products, or known services in a competitive category, SEO is an essential tactic in an overall marketing mix.

To execute a successful SEO strategy, we conduct several steps to ensure a client ranks for the most relevant and highest trafficked terms.

First, we conduct extensive research on relevant terms that apply to your business. What are you selling, what’s your expertise, what are the intricacies of your product or service. Traffic gained from organic search only makes sense when it aligns with your objectives.

Second, we research where traffic already exists on search. This involved using several 3rd party tools to identify and locate existing search traffic across Google that aligns with relevant products and services we found during the previous step.

Third, we create a matrix that shows the intersection of relevant keyword terms for a business and existing search traffic in the market. The intersection of existing search demand and relevant business terms is the sweet spot.

From that intersection, we create Title Tag and Meta Descriptions, invisible on the actual website page, that unify a business’ services or products with search terms that consumers type into search engines. In the search example below, you will see that a Title Tag displays as the blue link while a Meta Description appears as the black text underneath.

In this search examples for ‘Dope shoes’ Dope Factory and Dope Shape Sneakers become the top search results through smart SEO strategies.

Together, these title and meta descriptions, bespoke to each page on your website, create the basis for your SEO strategy.

Once the main pages are tagged and indexed, we then create an ongoing content strategy to conquest/capture more and more search volume from an expanding network of search terms relevant to clients business.

To summarize, identify what you sell, identify existing search demand, and code your pages to reflect it.

3 Stories Dominating Media and Tech Headlines

Warner Bros. Discovery is collaborating with Google to incorporate AI technology into its Max streaming platform to automatically generate captions.

This partnership aims to improve caption accuracy and efficiency, particularly for unscripted content, by using Google’s Vertex AI, which can reduce captioning costs by up to 50% and speed up the process by 80%.

Why it matters: AI's growing role in streamlining media production and distribution will continue to spark industry debates over cost-saving benefits versus the potential for job displacement in the entertainment sector.

Visa is facing an antitrust lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice, who accuses the company of stifling competition by imposing high fees on merchants and paying off potential rivals.

The lawsuit claims Visa dominates the U.S. debit market by processing over 60% of transactions and profiting $7 billion annually from routing fees. The allegations maintain that their dominance derives through restrictive agreements with card issuers and merchants.

Why it matters: The FCC seems to have teeth again. The case highlights ongoing regulatory scrutiny of payment networks and could have significant implications for the broader fintech landscape, especially as the government pushes for consumer protection and lower transaction costs.

Kroenke Sports & Entertainment is partnering with Tegna to broadcast Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche games locally while also launching a direct-to-consumer streaming service, Altitude+.

In a move to increase exposure, 20 games from each team will air on free local channels, and the new streaming service will offer all games for $19.95 a month to fans in the Denver area, addressing gaps left by Altitude's absence on major cable providers like Comcast.

Why it matters: This shift reflects a broader trend of sports teams breaking from traditional pay-TV bundles, opting for a mix of streaming and local broadcasting to reach fans as the media landscape adapts to cord-cutting and evolving viewer preferences.

Creativ Spotlight - Creativ Insights to Launch at Advertising Week New York!

Celebrate the launch of Creativ Insights with our executive team! Enjoy a premium open bar, food, music, and lively banter with fellow marketing and media executives. Share your Advertising Week Insights, make new connections, and learn how machine intelligence is reinventing market research."

To RSVP, email Thays@creativstrategies.com or register via Partiful.

Stat of the Week - Streaming TV Prices up 73% Since 2019

2024 is the first year that each of the top 5 streaming services have reported profits.

Streaming TV prices have increased 73% overall from 2019 to 2024. Say goodbye to easy binging as CTV is starting to look like cable, with longform ads intertwined at the beginning and middle of shows.

The fact that top streaming services are now turning a profit, alongside rising subscription costs, shows how the streaming industry is evolving into a more commercialized space, where the focus on revenue is shifting how content is delivered, how viewers engage, and how platforms compete.

One Fun Thing - Advertising by Committee

A unified vision rarely occurs from committee. Committees generally water down creative and campaign ideas as multiple voices dilute the original message. Empower certain employees with good taste to make decisions. Don’t create by committee.