Where’s Your Social Media Citizenship?

August 9th, 2010

Here’s a really cool info-graphic that’s been floating around our office today. Recreated by Flowtown from an earlier XKCD design, this map is a great illustration of the world’s social media distribution, in a geographical layout. If the entire world was made up of social media countries and bodies of water, every nation would be represented here. From the various dating and erotic social media platforms, to the internet superpower that Facebook has become – everyone’s accounted for!

2010 Social Networking Map

Take a dip in the warm waters of the “OMG WTF TTYL Ocean,” or paddle around the “Lake of Myspace Bands,” just below the land of “Defunct Social Networks.” Hike across the “Media Mountain Ranges” in the growing “Empire of Google,” and stake your claim on the “Rising Island of Google Buzz!”

In terms of sheer numbers, the user demographics for the more major social networks are pretty well illustrated and from this depiction it’s clear that Facebook has sped off and distinguished itself from the rest of pack.

However, we do miss snorkeling in the “Noob Sea” (not pictured in this map), so be sure to check out the original design by XKCD’s Map of Online Communities.

Peruse the design, tell us what you think and where you take your social media break. Just don’t get caught by your co-workers cruising the “Adultfriendfinder” coastline!

- Seth

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Yahoogle? A New Alliance of Search Engines in Japan

August 3rd, 2010

A week ago, I wrote a blog entry chronicling Google’s gradual move into Japan. I was living and working in Tokyo from April 2008 to April 2010, and in that two-year time-frame Google started popping up all over the place in a country that otherwise had been dominated by Yahoo Japan.

Fortunately, we hadn’t gotten around to publishing that blog post yet, because in it I concluded that Google would never have the presence in Japan that Yahoo has. Then last week I found out…they’re teaming up, forming an alliance of sorts. Not a merger (Yahoo will keep its logo and interface), but the organic search and paid results will be based on Google’s technology. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Google will take over Yahoo’s presence, per se, since the logo will remain Yahoo’s, but it does mean that they will hold a virtual monopoly over what you can find on the Internet in Japan.

As someone who has lived in Japan, I believe the real power of Yahoo Japan comes from their partnership with SoftBank, the largest cell phone provider in the country, that owns a 40% stake in Yahoo Japan (compared to Yahoo Inc.’s 35% stake). I used Softbank while I was in there and found myself, always a loyal user of Google in the US, slowly switching to Yahoo. I never had the chance to sneak into a Japanese person’s house to track their search engine usage, but the feeling I got was that most people used the Internet more on their cell phone than at home from a personal computer. Trains in Tokyo are an odd site. They’re jam-packed with people to the point that you can barely move at rush hour (and rush hour, by the way, is more like eight hours), and still most of the people are glued to their phones, either text messaging (a major Japanese pastime), surfing the web, reading the news, or even watching TV. With the default browser of the biggest cell phone provider set to Yahoo, the Yahoo search engine maintains a very high status.

I think the affinity for SoftBank in Japan goes beyond what we as Americans can understand as brand loyalty to a cell phone provider. Because mobile phones are such a way of life in Japan and marketing is as amazing as it is, it’s not uncommon to see the mascot, a big white dog who used to be a human father of a family of normal people, dangling from people’s bags or worn as slippers at home. I follow the dog on Twitter. He has a separate account from actual Softbank. Furthermore, Softbank sponsors a baseball team, the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, which plays at the Fukuoka Yahoo! JAPAN Dome. Sweet deal.

As proof of Softbank’s status in Japan, here’s a fascinating commercial, featuring Brad Pitt carrying a gigantic sumo wrestler.

Anyway…

I think the biggest concern among Japanese people that are keeping up with the news of this alliance is that the organic search results are going to be really different. It always seemed to me that when I ran a search in Japanese on Google, the results weren’t as relevant as the ones Yahoo Japan pulled up. But I’m not a native speaker, so I’m not really the person to ask.

So what does the future hold for Google Japan? Probably a lot. But with the Yahoo logo still staying up as the SoftBank default browser, I don’t know that their presence will surpass Yahoo’s dominance as the most popular search engine in Japan. Yahoo is pretty settled into the Internet world there and I highly doubt Google could take over the dominance of their weather reports, auctions (did you know they had auctions? I didn’t! ), and aforementioned train schedules. It would be pretty cool, though, if they took over Yahoo! JAPAN Dome and painted it multi-colored…

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Posted in Google Updates, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization | 2 Comments »

BingHoo? How the New Bing & Yahoo Alliance Works for your SEM!

July 30th, 2010

For those of you who missed our webinar on BingHoo! or want a refresher, here’s a brief recap of Wednesday’s presentation. Big thanks to Antonio, Travis and Ben for leading the way on this one—but more importantly, to everyone who tuned in. Thank you for your questions and comments – we appreciate the constant participation!

The subject of this week’s Webmarketing123 webinar was the emerging alliance between Bing (Microsoft) and Yahoo search engines. We have to stress the fact that although the two companies are teaming up for many SEO, PPC and web search purposes, this alliance is not to be misconstrued as a merger between Microsoft and Yahoo. BingHoo!, as it’s being called, will maintain the Yahoo interface, while all organic searches for web, images, video and queries, as well as paid search results, will be powered by Bing.

In addition to the 5 Pillars of SEO (Keywords, Site Content, Meta Content, URL’s, and In-bound Links) that we have discussed at length in other webinars, a few major points to take away from Wednesday’s BingHoo! webinar are as follows:

  • In the next year, as the alliance unfolds, focus more on optimizing for Bing than Yahoo. Be sure to have Bing Webmaster Tools installed.
  • After the transition, Bing will represent roughly 30% of overall search queries.
  • Incorporate and understand your new Bing webmaster tools and pay close attention to how the Bing Spiders crawl through your searches!

And here are a few tips on preparation for the new BingHoo! alliance:

  • Continue to place your main focus on Google, a.k.a. the King. Typically, what Google does is followed by Yahoo and Bing.
  • Look to optimize your searches using Bing algorithms – obtain “exact” domain matches whenever possible.
  • Keep in mind that Bing favors sub-domain or root-domain keywords, so be sure that your domain names are effectively optimized.
  • As always, be sure to obtain fresh in-bound links from a diverse array of sites. The greater variety of in-bound linkage that you have, the more traffic your site will receive.

As the effects of this alliance reveal themselves, the most important thing is to stay current on your company’s optimization. Look into in the future and plan for the long-term by planting the seeds for the release of new products within your keywords. Keep up with the pulse of your company’s keyword selection—it’s good practice to run a quarterly review of your keyword basket. Also, make sure that you’re in touch with your consumers and are able to effectively identify the language they use in regards to your company and products, as well as your industry as a whole.

With that said, keep your links fresh, keep your site content relevant and substantial, and optimize, optimize, optimize. SEO is the best way to boost traffic to your site!

Thanks again to everyone who participated in this week’s webinar. Next Wednesday’s webinar will be on integrating your SEO with social media. To sign up for next week’s webinar, please visit http://bit.ly/Web123-Webinar –it’s going to be a good one!

- Seth

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Cookies or Chocolate Chip Cookies? Which Keyword is Optimal for SEO?

May 28th, 2010

Yesterday’s webinar was all about the ABC’s of keywords optimization. Or as Travis puts it: “How much is that keyword worth to you?”

KEYWORDS are the FOCAL POINT of your SEO efforts. So naturally, identifying your highest impact keywords, and then strategically incorporating them into your site are crucial to your SEO success.

Keywords fall into two buckets: Head match and long-tail match. Head Match keywords are general searches, like “shoes” or “cookies”, whereas long-tail match keywords are more descriptive searches, like “women’s dress shoes” or “chocolate chip cookies”. Because long-tail keywords are more specific, they are better matched to the searchers needs, have less competition than generic head match keywords, and therefore can produce a high volume of impressions.

The first step in maximizing sales from SEO is setting the right keywords. This means focusing on a short and ideal list of key phrases your sales prospects and customers use to find you.

On May 5th or 6th 2010, depending on where you live, Google changed its search results page. One of the changes included the Google Wonder Wheel, a keyword expansion tool which shows related searches to your current search inquiry. The Wonder Wheel is an incredible tool and particularly helpful with finding other options for keywords.

Using the example that Travis used during the webinar, let’s say your company is in conveyor services.

In Google, search “conveyor systems” and on the left side of your screen click on “Wonder Wheel”.

5-26-10_wonder wheel_1

Here, you can see other keyword options, to help narrow your search. Since you are in the industrial sector, click on “Industrial Conveyor Systems”.

industrial-conveyor-systems

Boom! Now you have six other keyword options to help optimize your search. We’ll go with “belt conveyors”.

belt-conveyors

Other Key Tools and Highlights:

  • Google Insights – diagnose keyword search trends & its popularity in geographical regions
  • Google Analytics – helps you understand what your customers are typing in to find your website, and which keywords you need to push to optimize, or if you need to start a PPC campaign
  • Make sure that your company‘s terminology is in line with your customer’s terminology—the keywords they search for should be the ones you’re optimizing for!
  • Keyword selection is your foundation for optimization. Keyword selection takes 2-3 weeks, in order for the account management team, analysts, and engineering teams to understand your keyword selection base.

Choosing the right keywords are the KEY to success—wow, that was cheesy…but you get the point. See you at the next webinar!

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Google at it Again…

May 11th, 2010

Something that brought a smile to our faces today…second time we’ve seen this!

Google did it again.

google_bing

Who else has gotten this? Or thinks it’s as hilarious as we do? :)

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Posted in Google Updates | 1 Comment »

The Six Pillars of SEO — The Cliff’s Notes version

April 15th, 2010

I got six

Our Introduction to SEO webinar series continued today with The Six Pillars of SEO.  Here’s the two-minute, Cliff’s Notes version:

  1. Keywords:  These are the words you are optimizing around, the terms that you want to show up for when users search.
  2. Site Content:  Writing keyword-rich content helps search engine crawlers recognize your pages as relevant.
  3. Meta Content:  Customizing your page titles, meta content, and meta keywords, while old-school, are still best practice for optimization.
  4. URLs:  Using your keywords in your URLs will improve your rankings on results pages.
  5. Inbound Links:  When other sites link to your site as an authority, search engines are more likely to see you as one, too, moving you up the rankings.
  6. Content Silos:  Organizing your content into cohesive units helps search engine crawlers perceive your themes and find you more relevant.

And if you want to schedule a free site analysis for more details, click here.

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Spiders on Caffeine!

April 7th, 2010

Remember health class, or drug prevention week?  That was the first time I saw the webs of spiders on various mood-altering substances, distorted and holey compared to the classic orb design.  In today’s webinar, New SEO Fundamentals in a Google Caffeine World, I learned, much as I suspected, that Google spiders were not included in the experimental data.

Google spiders thrive on Caffeine, much like the rest of us.  The new Caffeine algorithm they use to index webpages works faster and more thoroughly.  Imagine a denser web that attracts more flies and catches a greater percentage of them.

The caffeinated spiders want fresh content, and lots of it.  They want to have the content grouped together with a logical flow, like a morning paper separated into sections for news, sports, and entertainment to go with their morning coffee.  Of course, they’re checking their favorite blogs at the same time, not to mention keeping up with Twitter and Facebook.  You can give them what they want by optimizing your pages to appeal to them with keyword-rich content and organized silos of information.  You can catch their attention with new posts and tweets.  They’ll reward you with higher placement in the rankings.

But, much like many folks after too many double espressos, the spiders can be a little jittery.  If your pages take a long time to load, they don’t have the patience to wait.  They’ll skip to something that they can see right now.

What to do?  Pay attention to content and architecture on your site.  Get involved with social media to get yourself placed in the real time listings on results pages and to engage others talking about your services or products.  And, perhaps, pick up a cup of coffee.

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Optimize Your Site by Using Long Tail Keywords – Indiana Jones Did!

March 31st, 2010

Today’s webinar, Long Tail Versus Short Tail Keywords, made me think of Indiana Jones.  (No, not because of the spiders crawling all over the webpages!)  In the opening credits with the sepia map in the background, the little plane traces its red line from exotic location to remote landing to middle of nowhere to the exact right spot to find the lost ark.

If Indy had used Google, he might have started by typing in “ark.”  It’s a short-tail keyword, a mere three letters.  After paging through a zillion pages of Noah’s ark replicas, complete with zebras and chimpanzees, he’d get a little frustrated, but instead of lashing out at his trusty laptop with his whip, he’d get more specific.  He’d try typing “ark of the covenant.”  His little airplane is getting closer.  He still has to stop to rebut the scurrilous claims of Dr. Rene Belloq on Wikipedia, but that takes mere moments.  Then he tries the long tail search for “ark of the covenant Cairo” and Google gives him a handy amulet with an address.  His plane arrives and now all he has to do is beat the Nazis, survive the snakes, and rescue the girl.

Indy, like most searchers, is getting savvier in his techniques.  He’ll be quicker to find the temple of doom and the holy grail.  He’ll breeze right by the film versions of Doom and Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  By the time he gets to looking for the crystal skull, it’s a wonder the search takes long enough to film.

Similarly, the purveyors of lost arks and the like can make themselves easier to find by optimizing for exactly the kind of long tail keywords Dr. Jones used in his research.  While there are relatively few archaeologists and evil empires searching for precious relics, those who search for “ark of the covenant Cairo” are ready to buy.

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Education Friday! …On a Tuesday

January 11th, 2010

Thanks to our smart SEO Team (Antonio Espinoza & Mike Turner), we gathered on Tuesday to talk about the latest Google updates and how they will affect SEO early this year.  Here are some great answers to the questions we had during the presentation and some basic information on each topic–enjoy!

Topics discussed:

  • Google Caffeine Update
  • Google’s Real Time Search
  • Google Personalized Search Results

Google Caffeine

- Google is slowly rolling out this new algorithm and is currently using in one datacenter with wider usage this year.

- This particular algorithm indexes significantly more pages than the previous algorithm. This is important because the more pages Google indexes, the more competition you are going up against, meaning the more important to optimize your site to ensure that Google can crawl as many pages of your site as possible.

Real Time Search

- For certain searches that have enough social media content (It’s not yet known how many conversations trigger this) Google has started to show real time conversations about your business/keywords, often times above the organic listings. This is key because if you are not monitoring the conversations about your business/keywords you are missing a major opportunity to engage your prospects.

For example:

Google personalized Search Results

- Google has been customizing search results for some time now for those who are logged into with their Gmail accounts. Now, regardless of if you are logged in or not, Google will be serving up customized search results.

Here are some Frequently asked questions and answers that you may get from your prospects/clients:

Question: You say I’m ranked #3, but my computer says I’m ranked #7.  What’s going on?

Answer:  Are you logged in to your Google account?  If so, Google is remembering the links you click on and personalizing to what they think your preferences are.  If you are logged in, log out and try your search again. Here is a screenshot that shows what it looks like when you are logged in:

Question: I’m logged out, and it still is showing a different ranking than what you told me.

Answer:  Depending on what data center Google returns your results on, then there will be variations in search results.  Our server is based in Arizona, so we get results based around that.  If you’re in New York, your rankings are likely to be slightly different than ours.

Question: What if I’m logged out, and in the same data center as you, but still seeing different rankings?

Answer: Google has recently rolled out personalized results whether you are logged in or not.  Based on your search history, Google wants to provide more of what you are looking for naturally.

Google says that it does not always personalize searches, and you’ll know when they do, because there will be a button to the bottom-right of the search button that says, “View Customizations.” As shown in the below screen shot:

To get the same results do the following: You can always choose to disable the customization by either clicking “Web History” or “View Customizations”, and choosing the “disable” option.  After that, Google should not personalize your search results. Here is a screenshot of where the “Web History” button is located:

Final Question: I’m still worried about this Personalized Search.  What is this going to do to my site?

Answer: Google is constantly tweaking their algorithms, and we have the unique perspective of monitoring hundreds of SEO campaigns so that we can test what works and what doesn’t. Before the release of the Personalized Search feature on December 4th, Google was already personalizing searches, as long as you were logged in to your Google account.

From our experience, we’ve seen that when searchers are competitively shopping, they will most likely not convert on the first site they see.  They will do research, and as long as you’re within the top ranks, you will be found, making it more of a necessity to optimize your site to show up as high as possible for keywords that mean leads and sales to your business!

-Webmarketing123’s SEO Team

Hope you all had a safe and happy new year! Welcome, 2010!

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Posted in Google Updates, Search Engine Optimization, Webmarketing123.com | 13 Comments »