The Launchpad - Empire9’s Digital Marketing Blog

The Launch Pad

The greatest authors in the Empire (aka all of us under the watchful eye of the content team) have contributed the best bits of knowledge we can muster to bring this blog to life! From our take on current events in the tech space, to reviews, roll outs, and how-to guides – this blog is a way for our team to present learnings from their days on the tools and contribute to the wider digital marketing community.

Google’s AI Max

BY Empire9
October 23, 2025 / 3 MIN READ

Google has dropped another AI-powered feature into the ad world, & this one’s called AI Max. Read about this new search ad update on our blog now!

Black Friday Marketing for NZ Businesses: the last-minute survival guide.

BY Empire9
September 29, 2025 / 5 MIN READ

Brands are observing record-breaking e-commerce months with Black Friday deals launching weeks in advance in what has become a promotional period with more gravitas and uptake than Christmas.

Organic Social Media for SEO Success

BY Empire9
September 29, 2025 / 3 MIN READ

What if we told you your beautifully curated Instagram feed and witty LinkedIn posts are actually giving your SEO a quiet leg-up?

An Intro to NFC Displays for Google Reviews

BY Empire9
August 28, 2025 / 3 MIN READ

You provide a great service, the customer is beaming, and you seize the moment. "Would you mind leaving us a review?" They say, "Sure!" and then... nothing. Lets change that!

Old SEO vs New SEO

BY Empire9
August 13, 2025 / 5 MIN READ

SEO has changed massively. It’s not about how many times you mention a keyword, It’s about why someone is searching for it. What's the intent?

Create a GA4 Report for AI Search Sessions

BY Empire9
May 29, 2025 / 2 MIN READ

AI traffic is going to be increasingly important for your business. You want to be able to measure it. Heres a way to make a report in Google Analytics 4.

The Real Impact of Consent Settings on Your Website and Marketing

BY Empire9
April 29, 2025 / 1 MIN READ

Recent shifts in privacy and data collection laws mean websites now need to get the explicit thumbs-up before scooping up user data.

What is an SEO Migration?

BY Empire9
March 25, 2025 / 4 MIN READ

Need to learn about what an SEO migration is for your website move? This is the blog for you.

Is your ROAS target holding back growth?

BY Empire9
February 25, 2025 / 4 MIN READ

Are sky-high ROAS targets limiting your growth? A strategic approach to ad spend—balancing profitability.

Google Business Profile Chat

BY Empire9
February 7, 2025 / 1 MIN READ

Google Business Profile Chat is back with new WhatsApp and SMS messaging options. Connect with customers, share media, and build trust.

5 Quick Wins For SEO

BY Empire9
January 22, 2025 / 5 MIN READ

Investing a bit of time to get some quick wins on the board, can do wonders for your local SEO – especially if your competitors are ahead of the game in their digital efforts. We’ve done you a solid and comprised a hitlist of 5 simple things to get stuck into to improve your SEO

AEO – What is it and why do we care?

BY Empire9
January 22, 2025 / 3 MIN READ

All about Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO)

How to Avoid the Apple Tax: The Hidden Cost of Boosting Instagram Posts on your iPhone

BY Empire9
October 22, 2024 / 5 MIN READ

We don’t typically count ourselves as investigative journalists here at Empire9, but as tried and true digital marketers, and enthusiastic true crime podcast listeners… We gave it our best shot when a client came to us with an Apple tax problem.

Using carousels for LinkedIn engagement

BY Empire9
September 30, 2024 / 5 MIN READ

LinkedIn carousels (aka documents) are an incredible tool for engagement and education – as the algorithm rewards content that people spend time on with increased reach and impressions.

Make Stronger Video Ad Creative | Google’s ABCDs

BY Empire9
August 28, 2024 / 5 MIN READ

Google’s ABCD principles—Attention, Branding, Connection, and Direction—are more than just buzzwords; they’re backed by solid research from Kantar. If you’re keen to elevate your ads, and want to implement these principles. Read on to discover how to harness the power of the ABCDs!

Azira Ads

BY Empire9
July 26, 2024 / 5 MIN READ

We suspect our clients (and maybe even some of the team…) don’t completely understand the full breadth of capabilities of Azira aka Near ads

Demystifying Digital Marketing Acronyms

BY Empire9
May 22, 2024 / 3 MIN READ

It turns out we have a lot of acronyms that get thrown around & it's been brought to our attention that not everyone is catching what we're throwing. So we thought we'd break it down!

Mastering Google Reviews

BY Empire9
May 16, 2024 / 4 MIN READ

Google Reviews are one of the most powerful digital tools available to your business. Not only can they establish trust and authority with potential customers, they can also enhance your local search engine optimisation (SEO), helping your business to appear more prominently in local search results.

WTF are cookies?

BY Empire9
April 29, 2024 / 4 MIN READ

It's a fair question - they come up a lot, and many of us don't ask that question! You might find yourself accepting them just to get into a site faster, or rejecting them because you don't understand what you are even agreeing to. Turns out, both are super valid actions!

How to write a blog post

BY Empire9
April 17, 2024 / 7 MIN READ

Your best practice guide for blog post writing with real human brains in an age of AI overload.

TikTok vs America – the latest in the saga

BY Empire9
March 25, 2024 / 5 MIN READ

If we had to explain it to teenagers in 2015, we'd say "oh em gee the USA and TikTok are having one outs" and they'd say "what's TikTok?"

2024 Bulk Sender Guidelines – What you need to know

BY Empire9
February 26, 2024 / 2 MIN READ

The 2024 Bulk Sender Guidelines for Yahoo and Google are out - so we are breaking them down!

Why you should invest in a brand search campaign

BY Empire9
November 29, 2023 / 3 MIN READ

Clients often ask why they should allocate budget to target their own brand in Search Engine Marketing campaigns.

The Empire9 Digital Ownership Checklist

BY Empire9
November 28, 2023 / 2 MIN READ

Your guide to keeping your brand assets safe, secure, and accessible amidst attrition.

Festive Season Digital Prep

BY Empire9
October 31, 2023 / 3 MIN READ

How to get your online things sorted before you go offline for a bit! And maybe take this as a reminder to book the Christmas party!

How to Digitally Prepare for a Physical Move

BY Empire9
October 30, 2023 / 2 MIN READ

Changing premises in the near future? We have the digital checklist you need for that peace of mind online.

The August 2023 Google Core Updates

BY Empire9
September 21, 2023 / 3 MIN READ

After an intense debrief with the SEO team, we can confirm these updates are a rather large deal. As we know (and are a wee bit afraid of) Google is making a significant shift toward AI with the upcoming Generative Search Experience expected later in the year.

What is the Conversions API?

BY Empire9
August 16, 2023 / 2 MIN READ

This one pertains to Meta advertising. In its most simplistic form, the Conversion API is a digital connection between Meta and your website/server/app/CRM that strengthens your marketing data.

All about: Structured Data

BY Empire9
June 21, 2023 / 2 MIN READ

Heard our SEO team throw this term around? Structured data is code (known as "schema.org") that you put on your webpage to help search engines like Google understand what your page is all about.

As specialists in a variety of Digital Marketing areas, from Search Marketing to Paid Advertising, Social Media, Content and beyond – there is sure to be something you can gain from having a peruse through our corner of the Internet. If there’s a topic you want us to get among – slide into our DMs @empire9agency

Of course, if you need some assistance over on your own corner of the Internet, we have just the team for the job. Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter—The Observatory—your go-to resource to stay up to date with our latest insights, office antics, general industry news, and other tips and tricks for digital domination.

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The Launch Pad

Google’s AI Max

BY Empire9 October 23, 2025 / 3 MIN READ

Black Friday Marketing for NZ Businesses: the last-minute survival guide.

BY Empire9 September 29, 2025 / 5 MIN READ

Organic Social Media for SEO Success

BY Empire9 September 29, 2025 / 3 MIN READ

An Intro to NFC Displays for Google Reviews

BY Empire9 August 28, 2025 / 3 MIN READ

Old SEO vs New SEO

BY Empire9 August 13, 2025 / 5 MIN READ

Create a GA4 Report for AI Search Sessions

BY Empire9 May 29, 2025 / 2 MIN READ

The Real Impact of Consent Settings on Your Website and Marketing

BY Empire9 April 29, 2025 / 1 MIN READ

What is an SEO Migration?

BY Empire9 March 25, 2025 / 4 MIN READ