Paid search advertising can be misleading in its apparent simplicity. With a little experience in running paid campaigns through search engines, you will quickly come to realize that there is a reliable set of best practices governing this campaign channel. Even better, there are tangible methods for measuring returns, which simplifies the task of gauging the campaign. When you're driving a return, you can call the campaign a success.

But a deeper look into paid ad practices reveals that certain pitfalls could be severely limiting those returns, and, in some cases, may be setting you up for diminishing returns down the road. Maximizing opportunity is a critical component of paid search, and it often requires the involvement of a paid search marketing expert or a firm dedicated to implementing these strategies.

According to Search Engine Land, mobile search has officially become more popular than traditional desktop search. Google recently confirmed this long-anticipated event, reporting that "more Google searches take place on mobile devices than on computers in 10 countries, including the US and Japan." Google's figures count searches conducted through both mobile apps and mobile browsers, but these numbers are based only on smartphone data, as the company groups tablets with desktops.

Google's announcement solidifies the belief that marketers should be focused on developing campaigns with mobile in mind. This hard evidence of the shift in consumer behavior will be helpful in converting businesses that have remained skeptical of the rise of mobile.

In the wake of Google's Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird updates, SEO myths are plentiful and often seem credible. Things always seem to be changing. Is linking really beneficial? Is SEO dead? Is there a magic keyword that tops all search results? What techniques should you adopt and what should you avoid? Here are four debunked myths that will help you separate fact from fiction.

Yelp continues to prevent businesses from soliciting positive online reviews, but the website has created a new incentive for checking in to businesses that could provide an indirect path to better online reputation management.

According to Marketing Land, Yelp will now let businesses provide "check-in offers" to customers. It's a simple setup: businesses can give their customers small rewards, such as coupons or other gifts, in exchange for checking in through the app. In a roundabout way, this creates an opportunity for brands to get reviews that boost their online reputation.

A few years ago, Google introduced the world to a new marketing concept: the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT). An understanding of this marketing moment can be quite useful to both new businesses looking to break into the world of online marketing and established companies looking to grow their online presence. Here's a quick breakdown of the ZMOT and how you can use it to your advantage.

Identifying the Moment a Need Is Created

Google defines the ZMOT as the exact moment when a consumer has a need, intent or question that he or she would like to address through an online search. These questions can be anything from "What cleaners are most effective on hard water stains?" to "What pizza chains deliver in my area?" Brands that step up to answer these questions can gain a competitive advantage over brands that don't.

It's hard out there for brick-and-mortar retailers these days, thanks mostly to mobile retail. Just getting consumers in the door is a huge challenge because of trends such as showrooming and price-comparison apps, and there's no denying it: Today's consumer is — first and foremost — mobile.

Google's Mobile Focus Is Making Waves

According to a Google research study with Ipsos MediaCT and Sterling Brands, 87 percent of all consumers consult their smartphone screens before even setting foot in a retail outlet. Mobile shoppers can make smarter, faster and more efficient purchases. We're now seeing mobile-retail convergence between physical store locations, personalized apps and Internet marketing. And with Google's latest changes to its search algorithm, known in the industry as "Mobilegeddon," retailers who fail to make their sites more mobile-friendly are already seeing the negative impact in how their sites are ranked in smartphone search results. Forbes reported that 46 percent of Fortune 500 companies and 29 percent of the top 500 retail sites had not received Google's "mobile-friendly" designation. With top retail players struggling with Mobilegeddon, you might be wondering what chance you have.

Spring has finally sprung, and consumers are looking forward to getting their homes ready for summer. Tasks like fixing air conditioners, opening pools and getting home exteriors pressure-washed are appearing on to-do lists around the country — and residents will soon start contacting local businesses to help them cross these items off. Though word-of-mouth and local advertising play a part in connecting consumers with your business, the value of local online directory listings and proper listings management cannot be overstated.

Search Engine Watch reports, "Searches with local intent are more likely to lead to store visits and sales within a day. ... 50 percent of mobile users are most likely to visit after conducting a local search, while 34 percent of consumers on tablets or computers will go to a store." If your store listings aren't displayed correctly, you could miss out on valuable customers this spring and summer. Here are three key benefits of proper online listings management:

In 2015, it's reasonable to expect that most small and medium-sized businesses will have a social networking presence and make regular posts about promotions, new products and more. But while getting the word out about your business is a big piece of the social media puzzle, there's an even bigger component you may be missing: online reputation management.

You might be tempted to ignore online reviews and focus your efforts elsewhere, but research from New York Times best-selling author Bill Tancer suggests this could be a serious mistake. Speaking with Marketing Land, Tancer reveals that 80 percent of consumers check online reviews before making purchasing decisions — and what's in those reviews matters more than you might think.

Here are three best practices for developing a good online reputation:

If your business works within a specific geographic region, you want to build a corresponding local presence through SEO. Google's recent focus on building localized components into its algorithm — and the location-aware personal technology that now permeates society — makes this possible on a range of fronts. You can now expand your brand's local presence quickly by using digital solutions to advance your local SEO strategy.

This assumes, of course, that you avoid making certain mistakes. With SEO a constantly moving target and consumer behaviors adapting to new technology innovations, you're probably aware that the local SEO playbook keeps changing. It's important to make sure you're following best practices if you want to guarantee local SEO success, but it's easy to forget about some of them.

Here are three common mistakes that local brands make when developing an SEO strategy:

Responsive design is no longer an innovative alternative to traditional website creation: The rise of multiple devices and platforms has made it a necessity for brands catering to large, diverse audiences. Many companies have already converted their websites to a one-size-fits-all solution, increasing efficiency and appeal at an attractive price.

But some brands remain resistant to the new technology, despite consequences that can hurt their digital potential. If you continue to run a website without responsive design, your performance is suffering, whether you realize it or not. Here are some of the most common negative effects you might not even know you're facing: