Google’s Quality Rating Program

At Google change is the only constant.  Google released a substantial algorithm update (known as  “Panda”) aimed increasing the relevance of search results.  An internal document was also recently uncovered that gives more insight into Google’s Quality Rating Program which includes guidelines for Quality Raters to manually review web sites.  Some of the techniques cited may get your site flagged as Spam.  The Quality Rating Program’s key factor in  judging a site is the’ “most likely intent” of the site.  Here are some basic tenants of the Program:

1.     Content Relevance.

• As always CONTENT IS KING!
• The relevance of the content is judged and rated against search queries on a sliding scale.   Relevance is rated as – “Vital”, “Useful”, “Relevant”, “Slightly Relevant”, “Off-topic”, and “Unratable”.  A search for any official entity (company, celebrity, politician) would be considered vital since you would expect to see “official” sites.  Relevance is more subjective under Vital down to Off Topic.
• Landing Pages.  I good landing page will match the specific query.  A detailed product page produces the best match.  The QRP specifically reviews landing pages.
• Copied Content isn’t automatically viewed as low quality.  It must be useful, well organized and not used deceptively (see Spam).

2.   Spam

• Spam pages are intended to deceive search engines and users and are flagged as such.  Google defines spam as   “A page that just contains freely available feeds and PPC ads, and was created just to make money, is spam.”  Spam is defined as having the INTENT to deceive.

There are some techniques that may be used legitimately, but could still earn a Spam Flag:

• Using  Javascript or CSS to hide content, or hidden Keyword Stuffing
• Using hyphenated keywords may be considered automated Keyword Stuffing
• Redirects and Cloaking that are often used with companies that change names or domains, but they are also commonly used by spammers.
• Duplicate Content used as link bait and surrounded by ads, PPC ads, and RSS Feeds.
• Search Pages surrounded by ads, PPC ads, and RSS Feeds.
• Pages (or pages that look like search pages) surrounded by ads,  PPC ads, and RSS

Google is always going to be updating it algorithms and processes in its quest to be a more perfect Google!  This is Google’s ongoing “Quest for the Grail” of search.  So what can we do?   Simply focus on the quality of the content you create,  seek and maintain quality links, and stay the course; otherwise you are just following the Quest.

Google Turns its Back on SEO!

Yesterday Google turned its back on its core principle “Focus on the user and all else will follow”!

Google announced that it will now be encrypting search result URLs by default for all users.  Google will still compile SEO analytic data but will no longer report the query terms that the user searched on to reach your site if the user is signed into a Google service (Google Analytics, Google+1, Gmail).

Anytime a user visits your site from an organic Google search you will no longer have access to the query terms if they are signed into a Google account or service during the search.  Those organic results will be massed into a new keyword: “not provided”.  What does this mean to you?   If you use organic keywords to optimize your ranking on search engines, you have just lost some of your data stream.  Professional SEO managers rely on this information to justify ranking results.  However, you will continue to see aggregate query data and paid search data with no change.

Google has justified this change as a security fix.  While there are some session and cookie hijacking issues, there are other ways to repair the holes.  It is interesting to note that this is Google’s #1 security concern while Street View is photographing people’s streets, homes, and anything else that gets captured on film during a photo drive by.   Google claims this will only affect a small percentage of traffic, but that would really depend on the target audience.   Web sites that serve a tech saavy audience could have a much higher percentage of their SEO data aggregated into the unusable “not provided” group.  No there is more happening here.

Google is embracing protectionism and its bottom line!  With its “do no evil” principle Google has been regarded as the framework for internet search and marketing, but this is a move towards being just another vendor.  Encrypting the search results protects Google’s bread and butter  from third-party ad networks.   Let’s see how long it will take before Google encrypts all search results and monetizes it into a paid data sharing service?  I wonder how many SEO’s will don their black hats then?

Breaking news!  MC Hammer just announced he plans to launch his own search engine similar to Microsoft’s Bing.   Here’s an environment where we need more competition.  Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ‘Em!

Five Everyday Tasks that can Boost your SEM Efforts

Your business must perform certain tasks in the process of doing business and existing as a business.  With a simple FREE tweak, some of these tasks can actually help boost your companies’ Search Engine Marketing (SEM) efforts.  SEM is all about traffic and links to your web site which increases the visibility on search engines.

Here is what you need to do to make your daily efforts work for you.  First, always want to make sure that the Company information/profile is correct.  Second,  include your Internet address and e-mail wherever possible.  Not difficult but very effective!

Here are five actions that businesses participate in every day that can boost your SEM efforts:

• Company Rating/Listing Sites (company.com, manta.com, local and state directories)

•  1-800 Directories (Inter800.com, Internettollfree.com, 1800canada.ca)

• Phone Directories (Yellow Pages, DEX. Yellow Book)

• Coupon Marketing- Why not put your internet address on your coupons?

• Advertise Job Openings- Let your potential employees (customers) learn about your company.

Yes this is a very mundane list.  They are actions that businesses perform every day, but they can increase traffic and provide quality links to your business with a simple tweak!

Five New Ways to Promote your Business

 

Marketing and Advertising have sure changed since the heyday portrayed in the “Mad Men” series. The biggest changes have been the fragmentation of target markets and the mediums to reach them. The pace of change is increasing. Every day it seems there is a new channel to your customers. Some make an impact and some simply disappear.

Here are five new(er) media marketing channels that have traction:

1. Social Media. Yes it has been around awhile, but new social media metrics are giving businesses insight into exactly how effective their social media strategies actually are. It is a direct link to the customers that want to hear your message. Embrace it, interact with your customers, and you will be rewarded.

2. Apps/Widgets. Develop smart phone apps and computer widgets keeps customers interacting with you. The most important goal is to make sure that your app/widget is useful. Share recipes, product information, create shopping lists, or give directions to your locations. If your app/widget is good, you may even discover a new revenue stream!

3. QR Codes. QR codes look like pixelated bar codes. You can activate a number of phone functions including email, IM and SMS, open a web browser, or download product information by scanning the QR code with a smart phone with a QR reader. The easiest place to find a QR code is in a magazine advertisement. The use of QR codes is evolving. Some newer places to find a QR codes are in couponing and on business cards. There is even a company that will paint a business’s QR code on the roof of their building so that the QR code will (eventually) be photographed by Google Earth.

4. Gamification. The explosion of “social gaming” has facilitated the acceptance of “Gamified” applications. Gamification is the use of game design techniques to solve problems and engage audiences. The goal is to encourage users to engage in desired behaviors in playing the game. The best example of this is Foursquare, although LinkedIn, Mint, GetGlue, and Shopkick have also effectively incorporated gaming principles.

5. Location Based Marketing. Users set up an account and “Check In” to locations to receive virtual badges, specials and discounts. This can be shared with friends or Facebook (if you are brave). Foursquare and Gowalla are the major players here. I have received a free appetizer from checking in at Chili’s. Fun… YES!

Here are five new ways to promote your business. Some may be great for your business and some might not be appropriate, but it important to know what is available. The key to successfully incorporating any of these channels into your marketing plan is consistency. There is no quick route to success, but incorporating any of these technologies could help. They are interesting. They are fun. And did I mention the free appetizer!

Website Redesign: Learn from Target’s Mistakes!

“Dear @Target I’ve been trying to spend money on your site ALL DAY and every time I try to check out I get a Bad Request page. FRUSTRATING”

That is not the tweet you want to read after your web site redesign!  But Target’s recent web site redesign has inspired many such comments.  Target decided to end its relationship with Amazon and take control of its online presence.  That redesign debuted on Aug 23 and still is not 100%. Some of the issues reported have been broken links, multiple prices listed, shopping cart problems, bridal/baby registries that would not update, and confirmed orders that were simply lost.  If you thought the situation could not get worse, Target launched its much-hyped Missoni for Target collection September 13th.  Target experienced near Black Friday traffic levels which crashed the site for several hours.  Unforgivable for an e-commerce web site!

Are you planning a website redesign?  Although your redesign may not be on Target’s scale, you can still learn from some of their errors.  Here are five suggestions to help you avoid some of the same issues:

•  Project Planning:  Without proper oversight, all project objectives will simply not be completed.   A project manager or team must verify that all milestones have been properly completed according to the project plan or you will have issues.
• Establish Strategic/Operational Hierarchy:  Target used over 20 consulting companies with conflicting responsibilities.  While you most likely will not be working with 20 companies, you may be teaming up with a few.  It is imperative that responsibilities be defined for each consultant and internal team.  You do not a want to start a major marketing campaign while your e-commerce site is functioning properly.
• Scalable Infrastructure:  You must plan for your future success!  Simply unforgivable for any an e-commerce web site!
• Test! Test! Test!   Customers expect a new web site to work better than the old one.  Test everything on your site to ensure it works as designed.  Then test again!  The absolutely worst thing an e-commerce site can do is to launch a site that does not work.  You will generate negative publicity! You will lose customers!
• Put Customers First:  The best way to deal with a business snafu is to acknowledge the problem, communicate with your customers, and actively work to fix the issue.  Use your call center personnel and social media channels to actively engage your customers, while fixing the issue.   If you ignore your customers you will lose their loyalty!

This might seem like a basic list but Target, the 22nd largest Internet retailer in the U.S., with $1.33 billion in sales last year, has proven how overlooking the basics can hurt you.  It could come at a worse time for Target.   According to the National Retail Federation 18% of consumers began their holiday shopping in September or earlier last year and an additional 19% beginning in October.   Hopefully Target can quickly recover from this error.  Hopefully you can avoid some of the same mistakes!

Use Social Media to Build your Business!

Social media is a great tool to promote and build your business and it should be an integral aspect in your marketing plan.

• Innovator Buzz:  Just like most things in life, the originator gets the praise and everyone else is just a follower!  Be the first and enjoy the spotlight!   Don’t fret if you do not have the first website on raising Tasmanian Goats, consistency and content win this race!
• Easy to Start:   You can start a Facebook page or a blog in an hour or less.  You do not need any specialized programming knowledge.   Most blogging sites have themes and design already build in to the service.  All you need to do is pick what services you what and fill in the blanks to get started.
• Cost Effective:   Using social media is relatively inexpensive.  Most sites are FREE! The only real cost is your time.   If you establish a site you must post updates on a regular basis.  There is nothing worse than having a stale web site or social media profile.  It can actually hurt your business.
• Establish Expertise:  Think of your business as a story… share the story! Tell your customers about your company and products. Why they are important?  As you share more insight about your company and products, you will increase your influence as an expert in your field.   Share your enthusiasm for your products with potential customers and they will respond!
• Expand your Market:  Some surveys indicate that 90% of people will research a purchase on the internet before committing to the purchase.  New customers will find you through your web site and your social media influence.   Your stories, hints, suggestions, and other content will establish you as an expert in your field and give your company credibility.  Prospective customers will respond!
• Build Community:  Use your social media services to stay in contact with your customers and benefit from getting instant feedback on your efforts.   These are your loyal repeat customers!  Respond to inquiries or complaints, fix any issues that are brought to your attention, and promote new items or specials to your subscribers.   If you treat your customers well they will promote your business.

Do you have questions? We can help! We are your Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Experts!   Let us develop a comprehensive marketing strategy to maximize your online investment.  Get a free no obligation quote from us for Social Media or Search Engine Optimization services!

Is a Mashup in Facebook’s Future ?

Facebook desperately wants to ensure that it that remains at the top of the pack in the realm of social media!  Facebook updated itself on the heels of Google opening itself up to the world.  Does anyone think this is simply a coincidence?

Yes the fight for social media dominance is heating up.  Facebook’s answer is to add elements of its two main rivals Twitter and Google+.   Facebook users now have the Ticker (Twitter) which is a real time update box on the upper right of the screen and now allows longer posts (Google).    The ability to subscribe to a user’s updates without friending them (Google and Twitter) is a great addition to Facebook.  It is a tremendous profile improvement for public figures and celebrities, but it also includes one great feature that would serve the Facebook greater good if it was rolled out to all users.  The ability to easily screen what kind of updates you see from each of your friends is something that is sorely missing.   That alone would have managed one of the biggest frustrations of Facebook users: The inability to reclaim their Status feed from the seemingly endless pollution of Mafia Wars and Farmville posts.

Will this be enough for Facebook to remain the King of Social Media?  Facebook’s update has not been well received thus far.  It would make sense that Facebook would take advantage of the environment it has created and use its users to crowdsource its upgrades, or at least foster some consensus with its users.  If Facebook has proven anything, it is that Facebook will do what Facebook wants to do!  The drama will continue as Facebook announces more changes later today at 10 am PST.   Will users be even more upset by the new updates?  How much say should users have over a service that they use but do not pay for?

5 Great SEO plugins for WordPress

WordPress is one of the most commonly used content management systems and blogging platform. Part of what makes it so popular is the easy user interface with the ability to install plugins that allow for shortcuts. Being that our company works in the realm of Online Marketing and SEO we have developed a list over the years of great SEO plugins for your website or blog.

5.  Tweet, Like, Google +1, and Share – This great plugin allows you to easily generate the top 4 social sharing icons anywhere in your site with a few clicks. The best and easiest plugin to make your site more social! Download here

4.  NoFollow Link – Everyone knows that when you post a blog article or have a page on your website that  contains outbound links you should  add a no follow tag. The only problem is going in and manually editing your links to add rel=”nofollow” on every link is a pain! With this plugin you simply click the link then click the no follow button straight from your WYSIWYG panel. This is a great tool for people creating any external links. Download here 

Are You Writing Shallow Content?

With all the new Panda updates to Google’s algorithm regarding both poor content and low quality links more and more people are turning to content creation as their saving grace when it comes to ranking. But there’s one big problem with that, people are creating new original content but simply put it’s too shallow, people not investing enough time and effort in the content they create to make people actually engage!

Changing Domains? Read This Before You Do!

There comes a point in time in all of our lives when we need to change domains whether it’s from branding changes, legal reasons, or you just plain want to change it. If you have been on the web for any considerable amount of time the last thing you want to do is lose all the hard work you have put in and have to start from scratch. If you follow our step by step guide you should only see a slight dip and things should be back up and running smoothly in no time!