Posts tagged SEO
Google’s ‘streaming’ search engine – impressive but that’s about where it ends
Aug 25th
Google’s new streaming search engine will be well liked by users, but marketers are dubious of its benefits. Adam Bunn, head of SEO at Greenlight is one such marketer.
Google is supposedly testing a ‘streaming’ search engine which gives the searcher results even before they ask. Captured on video, the results pages can be seen to change according to the characters the enquirer types into the search box.
Google literally updates the results whilst the searcher is typing. According to Adam Bunn, Head of SEO at UK-based independent specialist search and social marketing agency Greenlight, although it is a very impressive demonstration of processing power, that’s about where it ends.
He said, “This is the second bizarre experiment we’ve seen Google try in the space of a few days, the first being the search engine results page (SERP) being dominated by one site. I’m dubious about the value it adds, and think if anything, people will be confused and turned off by it. Consequently, however Google is measuring success of this, the results probably won’t be positive enough to warrant rolling this out to all. In both cases I would be highly surprised if the experiment works.”
Adams notes the SERPS being dominated by one domain would obviously be big news if it happens, making brands searches that are dominated by one site all but pointless to target with SEO. However, he also stresses that the likelihood of Google rolling out either of these tests is low, and points out that Google does lots of tests all the time in its quest to improve the search experience.
“Given the number of tests Google conducts there are always going to be some that miss the mark,” he concludes.
Questions to ask your SEO agency - Part 2
Aug 10th
The digital era is well and truly in full flight. Just 10 years ago, some businesses were allocating minimal percentages of their marketing budgets to online, including SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Fast forward to 2010 and no business can afford to be without this element of the marketing mix.
Following are the second in our three-part series of questions:
Question 4: Do You Focus on rankings or delivering ROI by focusing on the right search terms?
It really does depend on the nature of your business. If you are an e-commerce based business, your agency’s focus ought to be on building traffic on top converting keywords. For a lead/quote based business, the emphasis would be placed on building traffic of top converting or lead keywords. Finally, if your business is based on traffic (e.g. a publisher), your agency should be giving the focus and attention to rankings. After all, it is very rare for people to look any further than page one on Google!
Question 5: Which industries have you done SEO work in?
The foundations of a sound SEO practice are easy to find in any decent agency, but experience within your specific industry sector can be more difficult. Each industry has its own eccentricities and it is always ideal to have your SEO provider know and understand these. Different fluctuations in your market, seasonality, market share and growth opportunities in your area of expertise are all elements that your SEO agency should be well versed on.
Question 6: How many clients have you done SEO for?
SEO is an ongoing project which cannot be quickly ’switched on’ and forgotten about. While important to acknowledge how many businesses your SEO provider has worked with, it’s far more vital to look at how long they have kept these relationships going. The longer the relationship, the better understanding you will have of how satisfied their current clients are.
Question 7: How experienced are the actual people that will work on my SEO?
It is important to look for SEO providers with a team that come from a solid marketing background - so they can understand where SEO will fit into your integrated marketing mix and how to best leverage their involvement to make your business a success. It is also important to keep an eye out for SEO providers who employ people with international experience. While Australians are hot on the heels of our UK and US counterparts in SEO and the Internet in general, these countries have been leading the way in online technology and marketing for many years.
This report has been republished with permission from the authors at Experian Hitiwse.
See also: Questions to ask your SEO agency - Part 1
Marketers still don’t know enough about SEO
Aug 3rd
A survey of marketers by SEO agency dotSEO reveals nearly a quarter of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) still don’t know much about search engine optimisation (SEO), despite Google being the first port of call for most people looking for goods and services.
A fifth of those surveyed said that although they know what SEO is, they don’t spend any of their marketing budgets on it. Only 14% identified SEO as being strategically important to their business. 23% of marketers were also unsure about the benefits delivered by using SEO, with 14% saying there were no benefits as far as they could tell.
The survey findings are revealed in a new dotSEO report entitled “Naked SEO”, which is designed to demystify what SEO actually entails. The full report can be downloaded by clicking here.
Naked SEO also includes the results of a new benchmark study into how 50 of the UK’s leading SMEs, as ranked by The Sunday Times, are optimising their websites for natural search. The study found that the majority are failing to take simple steps to improve search engine rankings, with only 28% using relevant keywords on their site.
The dotSEO benchmark study shows SMEs were generally getting the more basic SEO requirements right with, for example, 76% using heading tags in titles on their homepage and 64% using meta descriptions to give a good summary of the site. But at the more technical end, the results were poor, with only 22% of page titles beginning with a keyword and only 44% having a clearly visible sitemap.
Skip Fidura, Digital Director at dotSEO said: “SME marketers in the UK are clearly unsure about the benefits of SEO, which in turn means they aren’t making the simple changes to their websites that could dramatically affect their rankings. The SEO industry itself isn’t helping to educate businesses. Too often SEO techniques are shrouded in mystery as a dark art, not within the reach of ordinary marketers. Our report reveals how there are simple steps that any company can take to make tangible SEO improvements and drive real business returns.”
Back to the basics of SEO: The do’s and don’ts
Jun 18th
Despite many marketers now realising the importance of a good search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy, many are still struggling with the concept.
SEO remains as one of those areas in marketing that is often an afterthought, or left to be outsourced to the experts. But the fact is, it is an important element of the marketing mix that no marketer can ignore.
Today, I wanted to share some tips I’ve found through my boundless hours of internet surfing and a good piece of what not to do on Business Insider and the whitepaper ‘SEO for Marketers’ written by Gregg Holtsclaw, Director, Online Marketing at Delphic Sage.
Back to basics
“SEO suffers from an identity problem,” says Holtsclaw. “In most organizations, SEO is, rightfully, considered to be a marketing tactic. Whether that notion stems from SEO being a hot buzz word, or from the notion that it is “snake-oil,” the simple fact is; SEO is a marketing tactic. And as, any multi-channel retailer can attest too, a sales channel.
“SEO is now a core competency that every single organization must staff for - either internally or outsourced.”
Is calling SEO a core competency too bold?
Without a doubt, there has been an explosion in SEO efforts for companies of all sizes, including companies who almost solely are relying on SEO as their principal marketing vehicle because of a perception of SEO being low cost, long-lasting, and of course, effective.
What to remember when implementing an SEO strategy
The first step you should take in implementing SEO is integrating SEO into your branding plan actively.
To determine if you are actively incorporating SEO into your branding, consider five quick questions: Read the rest of this entry »
The Google alternatives
Jun 14th
This month, Google announced with a fanfare its new indexing system, Caffeine. In addition to the new moniker, suggesting an effect similar to the coffee scene in Alvin and the Chipmunks, came the information that “Caffeine takes up nearly 100 million gigabytes of storage in one database…”.
If you are an online business, that’s an exceptionally large haystack for your needle to be found in. It’s no wonder that smaller companies find it increasingly challenging to achieve good rankings on Google.
Google is still the primary source of new site visitors, but with so much competition you need other strings to your bow.
Here are some alternatives:
1. Other search engines
The merger of Yahoo!’s search business into Microsoft’s Bing will give MS almost 10% of the massive search market. Bing uses slightly different ranking factors from Google, giving more weight to keywords in the URL and to visual media. A site optimised for these factors could fare better on Bing than on Google.
2. Social sites
Social sites are the online equivalent of business networking. They are not for overt self-promotion, but places to interact with like-minded people, share information, provide comment and build a reputation. The main ones are LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, del.icio.us and Digg.
3. Marketplaces
Marketplaces like eBay, Amazon and PlayTrade are price-competitive and take a percentage of each sale. But they are great for building up a customer base which you can drive to your own site using email marketing and special offers, as well as offloading old and over-stocked items.
4. Affiliate marketing
At the last count, affiliate schemes like Affiliate Window accounted for 17% of online sales. The cost of entry can be fairly high, but the potential rewards speak for themselves.
5. Traditional marketing
Ciel Bleu sells country-style home accessories at craft fairs and the like, using its web site to sell and interact with customers between events. The site is optimised for Google, but does not rely on it. Thousands of other small businesses are effectively promoting their sites through advertising, direct mail, local marketing and even word of mouth.
Do you have any other tips you want to share?
Bruce Townsend of ecommerce software specialist, Actinic.
Questions to ask your SEO agency - Part 1
Jun 7th
The digital era is well and truly in full flight. Just 10 years ago, some businesses were allocating minimal percentages of their marketing budgets to online, including SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Fast forward to 2010 and no business can afford to be without this element of the marketing mix.
Ranking your business in the various search engines is important for many reasons - brand awareness, traffic to your website and most importantly lead generation.
Experian Hitwise has been in the online space for many years and has learnt through clients and industry experience that there seem to be many ‘cowboys’ offering SEO services, ultimately promising the world, only to leave clients disillusioned and with no real results in sight.
So to avoid all the heart ache, expense and frustrations, we have put together the top 11 questions you should be asking an SEO agency before signing anything plus the answers they should be giving you!
Following are the first three questions in this three-part series:
Question 1: What is your SEO Methodology?
At the end of the day, if you’re paying any marketing agency money to build your business, that’s exactly what you should get in return - growth. The beauty of online is that it shows undeniable statistics about traffic, bounce rates and all of those other little gems that TV, radio and magazines have no real way of proving. You SEO agency must be dedicated to delivering services that positively impact your bottom line and ensure that both your SEO and business objectives are being achieved. SEO is certainly not a ’set and forget’ function - it is a constant learning, monitoring and tweaking process that should be carried out by experienced SEO professionals.
A highly consultative methodology should be employed to ensure your agency completely understands the habits and key drivers of your customers and how you can appeal to them in the most attractive way.
Question 2: How Important is Keyword Research and How Do You Do it?
Keyword research is very important - this is how Google and other search engines understand what your website is about and determines how to rank it accordingly on the search engine result pages. There are a range of highly developed software tools available on the market that your agency should have access to so they can learn exactly how and what your customers are typing into the search engines. This is how your SEO agency can then develop a baseline for these keywords through understanding what your main product offerings are - thus allowing them to provide relevant and impactful keywords to focus on.
Question 3: Do You Guarantee Results?
In short, no agency should ever promise this. This is because there are a wide range of variables from both your website and the search engines.
For example, each and every client is different and so are their resources. If an agency makes technical recommendations that will no doubt increase the likelihood of traffic, yet you do not have the budget or resource to make these changes, then the agency is somewhat limited to the success of the SEO campaign. It also depends on the nature of your business - the more competitive your relevant keywords are, (e.g. car insurance) the longer it will take to see movement within the rankings of search engines.
On the flip side, search engines are quite secretive with the algorithms they use and will often change them without notice. Therefore, the way an agency should work around this, is by utilising highly experienced SEO professionals to monitor the search engines regularly to identify any changes, big or small.
This report has been republished with permission from the authors at Experian Hitiwse.
Facebook looks to become your one-stop web shop
May 14th
Facebook has become closer to its dream of web user’s everything by allowing users to subscribe to magazines without having to leave their news feed.
It has long been suggested that Facebook will one day replace our need for Google, and this could be another step towards that dream of Zuckerberg’s. Not because people can buy magazines now through the site, but because Facebook is allowing users to do other web actions within the Facebook site, other than just ‘networking’, without ever having to actually leave.
Synapse, a division of Time that sells subscriptions for a number of publishers, is collaborating with Alvenda, a company that builds e-commerce applications, to introduce a system letting Facebook users buy print magazine subscriptions without leaving the site or even the Facebook news feed.
The system, which will be live in the US from July or August, will also allow Facebook users to expand those blurbs of magazine content that are now common in the news feed into full articles, complete with advertising – again without leaving the news feed, much less Facebook itself.
One of the benefits of such a scheme of course is the ability to capture a user’s information, instantly. This in turn will allow the magazine and its advertisers to deliver up targeted ads to that users and all of their friends.
When Facebook announced its ‘Open Graph’ at F8, it didn’t take long for commentators to tout the demise of Google. Facebook may be making strides to kill Google’s dominance of the web, but it has a long way to go to actually take-over its function. SEO, after all, is far from dead.
But, consumers don’t want to leave where they are on the web, wherever they are. And it is this fact that Facebook still needs to cash in on.
It’s clear why magazines would like to do actual business on Facebook – magazines are losing vast amounts of subscribers and Facebook has 450 million global users. But more than that, magazines have also been getting better at selling print subscriptions through the internet.
For example, Next Issue Media, a coalition of five print publishers, will sell print subscriptions along with editions tailored for tablet computers and e-readers.
As for its battle with Google, Facebook may be one of the most popular websites around, but it is still learning how to offer up the web. And Google does this for free and to non-registered users.
How to market your small business website with SEO
May 1st
Joe White from Moonfruit.com explains why now has never been a better time to take the necessary steps in making sure your business website is effectively marketed to target customers.
Natural search engine rankings are a great way for small companies with tight budgets to increase traffic to their website. Nobody can guarantee positions in rankings, but by systematically optimizing your website around key terms, you can make a big impact. However, it also doesn’t happen overnight and patience is needed while you establish your website. Keywords/phrases are the best place to start when looking to boost your website up the search engine rankings.
If you have a have a taxi company in Brighton, you want to choose keywords that relate to your business such as ‘Brighton taxis’. The general rule of thumb here is that that the more specific the terms are, the better the chance you have of it ranking higher. So instead of listing single words, a better approach is to use two or three word phrases associated with your site, as this cuts out a lot of unrelated results.
Build online communities
Through forums and blogs, you can create online communities on and around your website which will benefit your business’s website in a number of ways. The sense of community will enrich customers’ experience of your site and it will also give them a reason to return. Involve them on discussion boards, encourage them to post blogs, and they will come back to continue the conversation.
What SEO can do for you
Apr 28th
In this guest post, Techistan’s Susan Kennedy explains why your SEO strategy commands your constant attention.
Wikipedia defines search engine optimization as the procedure of raising the levels or traffic quality (traffic being visitors) to a website from the natural unpaid search engine rankings. In reality there are a lot more facets to it than just that.
SEO is generally split into two camps:
1) Page optimization;
2) Off page optimization.
Search engine optimization must be continually worked on. But why would you need to do that? To stay ahead of your competition by coming higher than them in the rankings list.
No matter what you think of them, Google are the king of the search engines. Everyone wants to get to the top of them. According to the Cornell eye tracking study the site listed in the No. 1 position in Google gets 50% of the clicks. The site listed in number 10 gets a meagre 2%. More clicks = more traffic. More traffic = more sales. That is if you have what the customers are looking for. Read the rest of this entry »
Google 99.9% sure it will shut China site: good news for Yahoo and Bing?
Mar 15th
Talks with China over censorship have got Google nowhere fast and the search engine giant is now “99.9%” certain to shut its Chinese search engine, according to weekend reports. But what will its China exit mean for other search brands and furthermore, search advertising?
If there were a set of traffic lights blocking Google competitors wishing to expand in China with a red light, it’d now turn green – or at least yellow.
There are more than 380 million internet users in China and the search engine market is now estimated to be worth over $1.5 billion. And it’s still growing! At a phenomenal rate, actually. From 2006 to 2010, it is expected to see a compound annual growth in excess of 30%.
But the Chinese internet market is still relatively young, and as the rest of the nation starts to get online, the size of its search market is set to rocket. Is it really a good idea for Google to get out?
Google seems to be holding its search engine to ransom. It’s annoyed it can’t get what it wants, but what Google is perhaps failing to realise is, if it exits China, it will lose a massive slice of the potential search marketing pie and could open the road for Yahoo to overtake it in the usage stakes.
Yahoo and Microsoft are on the path of assault and Bing is already doing incredibly well. Imagine if it goes into China and cleans up, picking up where Google left off. There’s a whole search worked out there, censorship or not, there’ll now be a huge gap in the search market in China.
Even though Yahoo has been present in China for some time, it has never enjoyed the popularity it would like – but China remains somewhat of an untapped market in an economy that is crying out for reform and change.
Recent Comments