Coming soon to a SERP near you…

Google's attempt to make some headway against Facebook in the "social media" wars is +1 (Plus One).  This new service allows searchers to +1 or "like" an SEM ad by clicking on a grayed out +1 to the far right of an ad.  The first thing that came to mind for me is if a click on +1 counts as a click against my PPC campaign & Google assures us it does not.

When a user "plusses" "+'s" (???) an sem ad not only does it show you've plussed it spreads your plus across your social media network showing your network you like the ad which is great for the advertiser.  The ad will also ideinfy people in your network that have also +1'd an ad.

While I think this is great for advertisers because I think it will increase quality score by driving more clicks, I'm not sure consumers uptake of "plussing" will be very high.  In my social media network it takes a LOT for me to push products on my friends (ok Mac's, iPad's & blackberry's excepted) I'm into liking news articles that impact myself or my  network & if it's a comment about my beloved hockey or baseball teams I'm in for that too.

What I don't think I'll be into is +1'ing a roofing contractor from an SEO ad I see during a search for a roofing contractor, cause really when you get right down to it if I'm going to +1 it wouldn't/shouldn't I already know the company rocks & therefore wouldn't I go directly to the website or at the very least click on the organic listing?

So it's probably an intitial test for Google to see how it plays out and we all know that Google let's things die (eventually) but there is already talk about expanding +1 into organic & google places listings.  At that point maybe it will get some traction but for now I'm not so concerned with it.  +1 is also only available in the US for now but at least you'll know what it is when you see it…. if it makes it.

What do you think?

This one is for my friend DJ Lexis at Music Is My Sanctuary.  Lexis is a colleague of mine that knows his search marketing, as much as he's a great search marketer he's an even better DJ & you should check out his Music Is My Sanctuary website.

During a conference call about a month ago when I was spouting off Organic Ranking & SEO, Lexis made a point that has been hitting home since then & has really impacted the conversations I have with clients.  Lexis was adament that we should only consider traffic from search engines as a COMPONENT of search marketing.  A piece of the pie that represents an overal strategy to drive traffic to a website.  I'd gotten to the point where I couldn't see the forest for the trees & in my case the trees are keyword phrases driving traffic to a website organically.

As Search Marketers we need to constantly be aware of ALL the sources that can drive traffic to our websites: portals, banner campaigns, email marketing, off-line marketing ~ everything.  We finally have tools that can tell us exactly where clients are coming from when they end up on our website & if we're soley focussed on SEO, we may miss other opportunities that include very cost effective means of driving traffic.

I've said it hundreds of times there are two things we need to be concerned with when managing search marketing for our clients….getting traffic to a clients website & converting that traffic into leads.  It seems pretty simple and it is, "What strategies can I employ to bring traffic to the website, what works best at driving traffic to a clients websites & is there a measurable return of investment (time or dollars)?"

All too often I've focussed on organic traffic from websites & it took Lexis to show me the error of my ways.

Thanks Lexis

Visit Lexis' websites at DJ Lexis & Music Is My Sanctuary

Google has threatened they were out to get content farms over the last few months & yesterday they backed it up when they released an algorithm update that will impact approximately 12% of ranking results in the US.  This new algorithm only impacts search results in the US, however, from where I sit we can be sure it will be rolled out across the globe once Google is satisfied with the results.

Google’s biggest concern, and what they are trying to eliminate is websites that copy content from the original sources.

Why is it so important to Google to eliminate content copying & site scraping?

We know that it’s Google’s number one priority to provide the most accurate result to a search.  Because content farms copy original content & have 1000′s of pages they end up ranking higher then the site with the original content.  With this change the content farm will disappear & the site with the original content will rank higher.

This reinforces the need to ensure your website utilizes original content & Search Engine Optimization strategies to rank higher properly.

Google also has taken a stand against selling links… even overstock.com has taken a big hit.  I applaud their ingenuity however as I’ve said a 1000 times, “For however smart you think you are & however you believe you can “trick” Google.  They have 10 times as many geniuses figuring out what you’re doing & stopping you from doing it.

In overstock.com’s case they developed programs for universities that offered discounts to students & staff that provided links back to their site.  When it came to light that overstock was exchanging discounts for links they took a hit.

a big hit

JC Penney was just in the news for a significant drop in rankings because Google realized they ad a number of suspicious links pointing at it that could be traced back to a link network intended to manipulate Google’s ranking algorithms.

The lesson here is do it right & don’t think you can trick Google… odds are you can’t ~ just ask JC Penney or Overstock.com

As SEO’s we often get so consumed with page load times, keyword density, Meta data – all the architecture “stuff” that goes into on-page optimization of a website.  even more often we arbitrarily TELL clients what users think/want/look for when searching for a product or service.  Unfortunately clients often blindly accept these claims.

The easiest answer & most difficult response to quantify is “It’s good for the user experience“.

The reality is who REALLY knows, we have our own ideas & preferences, we have what Google decides to tell us, we have analytics & A/B studies but what we don’t have are 1000 users to ask or watch while they are entering searches.  There are tools out there that can give us an idea but more often then not we have to go with our own experiences while keeping in mind what the clients end goal is.

When I speak to clients I talk about what searchers type when they want to find products the client offers (using keyword research tools) OR what clients type when they’re looking for the CLIENT. Starting from these points we can better understand how a website can work better to get the people who are looking for products the client sells but aren’t currently finding the client.  We do this by combing keyword research with current ranking reports, sometimes I’ll compare some of the clients biggest competitors sot he client can understand what they are up against.

Our next step is locking down the keyword phrases the client wants to rank better for & we build a plan to make the keywords appear better for Google within the clients website.

For more information on our process contact us.

If you think only the “big players” need worry about reputation management think again.  In today’s world positive or negative comments can make or break a campaign and even a company.  Liken Facebook or Twitter or even Google Places to the water cooler days of old, when a positive or negative experience was passed along at work by the water cooler or over the fence gardening or perhaps while visiting friends on a Friday evening.  Well times have changed and today’s water cooler or garden fence is now online.  Instead of telling one or two or perhaps three people a consumer can tell their entire group of friends or Twitter followers how they fared when dealing with a particular company or government office.  Just this week in Canada a Twitter campaign has resulted in the Federal Government putting a hold on a CRTC decision to force internet companies to begin metering usage.  While this decision has little impact on the “Big Boys” like Rogers & Telus or Bell the smaller players don’t have to remove their “unlimited” plans.

We know search engines put greater value on blogs and user generated content so a commentary on how great or “not-so” great your products or services are can have a lasting impact on your business.  Google pulls reviews from many different sources that a consumer wouldn’t normally see.  How you react to such reviews will say a lot about yourself & your company.

How do you find out what people are saying?  How do you stay abreast of statements made?  How do you react?

My first reaction is always one of frustration because, invariably there is a story behind the story a “he said, we said deal”.

Take breathe & make sure your reaction is more for everyone reading the review then the original writer.  At Unwired Web Solutions we recommend you respond in the positive with an attempt to correct the supposed wrongdoing.  Contact us for more information on how we can help you manage your reputation it’s worth it.

You've probably noticed another recent change Google has made in it's Search Engine, Google Local is now Google Places.  The wise people at Google haven't really changed the claiming process other then recommending post cards instead of a text message or phone call (which is a very awkward process for any business with a phone system that's less then 20 years old).  The front end has really changed ofter the implementation of Google Instant.

We have been advising our clients look into a very specific strategy for Google Places.  Given the changes to the search engine, specifically Google Instant, it is even more important to first claim your Google Places listing, then complete it as accurately as possible.  Because Google Places is taking more prominence on the search engine results page and even pushing organic listings down the page a bigger focus needs to be placed on Optimizing your Google Places listing.  Google is still giving priority placement to a few websites depending on page rank & value (typically positions 1, 2 or sometimes 3 appear above the Google Places listing) separating even more the top organic listing from the rest.

When there are lots of Google Places listings appearing, Google chooses the top seven & they push organic listings down or even onto page two.

To that end at Unwired Web Solutions we have launched a Google Places optimization program which does so much more then just claim your listing.

• Complete keyword research specific to Google Places clicks
• ensure claimed listing is completely filled out
• insert keyword based content
• create & upload video's to Google Places & You Tube monthly
• Submit your website listing information to the sources Google uses to verify your listing (which results in higher ranking)
• we do further directory submission for Google Places on a monthly bases
• Include monthly updates for specials & promotions & coupons

Visit our Google Places page for more information & to contact us for more information about optimizing your website for Google Places.

It’s been 5 months since Google launched Instant and I have to say I love how it works.

From a consumer experience standpoint, being able to extended my search phrase while I’m typing AND see results as I type is really great! It sure makes being on page one critically more important. I was speaking with a client last week & explaining Google Instant and his response was, “Wow, I knew something changed but didn’t know what it was. How does this impact my website & it’s ranking organically?”

Good question isn’t it?

I think we’re still waiting for official news from Google on the impact of consumers moving to page 2, 3, 4 etc of the SERP (Search Engine Results Page) but anecdotaly I believe Google Instant is having an incredible impact on how consumers search. I also believe that Google Instant makes Search Engine Optimization that much MORE important. As my client mentioned, he simply adds to the long tail phrase until he sees results he’s looking for. Which means quite obviously, consumers will look at fewer and fewer pages on the SERP. If they look at fewer pages in the SERP then being on page one is significantly more important. Identify your primary keywords & put even more emphasis on optimizing for them.

For smaller website that compete with the big players (in most case the big box competitors) they are at a further disadvantage because the head of the tail searches gives the bigger companies the advantage because they are at the top of the rankings for the head of the tail.

I guess we’ll have to wait & see how this all plays out.