Webinar Recap: JCPenney’s SEO No-Go–What Went Wrong and What You Need to Do

February 24th, 2011 by Cynthia Everson

In case you missed yesterday’s webinar about JCPenney partaking in blackhat SEO, or you’ve been hibernating for the past couple weeks, here is a recap of what happened to JCPenney’s SEO rankings and what exactly went wrong.

JCPenney recently received a penalty from Google for purchasing links on sites all around the web in order to boost their ranks on highly competitive keywords, including “dresses”, “area rugs” and “bedding”. The number of links being built increased drastically during the holiday season and eventually raised some red flags with Google. Matt Cutts’s Google Spam Team went in to investigate, saw blackhat SEO strategies in place, and penalized JCPenney’s rankings—dropping their keywords from the first page down to the sixth and seventh.

What Went Wrong? There were three main problems with JCPenney’s SEO strategy:

1.  Drastically increased rate of link-building during the holiday season. Building so many links at once is what signaled the red flags. Each site has its own natural rate of link-building (i.e. how many links are built to your site without you doing anything), and you don’t want to push too far beyond that. To be safe, we never recommend building more than 50 links a month. Even that is on the high-end if you are building legitimate links to your site.

2.  Built links on irrelevant sites. Tiny links for bridal sets and fashion jewelry tucked into the bottom right corner of a site about cars may not bother a user, but this is a big problem for Google. The irrelevance of the links is a blackhat red flag to Google. Links should only be placed on relevant sites where they make sense and have value to both the search engine as well as the user.

3.  The main website could not be optimized. Surprisingly, the actual URLs that were ranking were not from the main JCPenney website. They were actually from a proxy server. The original site could not be optimized (probably due to backend issues), so a mirror site with cleaner URLs and optimized meta descriptions and keywords was built. Using a proxy server in itself is not a problem. However, it definitely would have been better if the site they wanted to promote was something that could be optimized and rank well on its own.

What should they have done? More than anything, patience is key with SEO. The holiday season may have rushed everything, but in the end it wasn’t worth the SEO campaign backfiring. Real SEO should take months, if not years (depending on how competitive the keyword) to get you onto the first page. If appropriate measures are taken and you abide by Google’s Webmaster policies, you can still ensure great rankings and measurable results.

Cynthia | @cynniebug

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Webmarketing123

The Top 5 SEO Mistakes in B2B Marketing

November 15th, 2010 by Webmarketing123

Many businesses believe that: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of today’s most effective marketing tactics. If done correctly, businesses can increase their ranking on search engine result pages as well as experience a boost in traffic to their site—resulting in increased lead generation and conversions. If your business is implementing SEO but you are still not seeing your site on the first page of Google, Yahoo or Bing, your execution may be off. In our November 10th webinar, Mike Turner, Search Marketing Executive discussed the Top 5 SEO Mistakes in B2B Marketing. Here is a recap in case you missed it:

1) Keywords are the most important aspect of SEO and if they’re not researched properly, they can be one of your biggest problems.

A keyword is typed in by a potential client so be sure you’re using consumer vocabulary and not company jargon. Another point is that the best keywords to invest in are usually phrases, as illustrated by this graph:

B2B-longtail-seo

Shown above, the one-word phrases are likely to have high competition from other sites and a high search frequency. The more descriptive phrases that are upwards of five words long are going to have low competition and a lower search frequency.

At Webmarketing123, we have found that the Keywords with the best ROI will be three to four words in length. These more descriptive terms will have a higher conversion rate than the single keyword searches. People who search using three to four word key phrases will generally be further along in their sales process, more informed and therefore more likely to make a purchase.

2)      Missing Keywords in content and text links.

Once you have the correct keywords, you want to make sure that they’re visible to Google spiders. Including Keywords in more places than just the written content of your site will improve your raking for those keywords. Here are a few places to include your keywords:

  • Title tags
  • Headings
  • Paragraph titles
  • Keywords in body copy
  • Anchor text in links
  • Image alt text

Pages can have as little as one to two keywords but should not have more than seven to ten. Too many keywords on one page will overload the user. Pages should flow nicely and make sense. You need to decide what the preferred landing page for a given search term will be. These could be called the blueprints of your site.

3)      Using content that search engines can’t read.

This is a common mistake because Google bots cannot read certain content and thus cannot give your site credit. Flash and images are not variables that go into a search engine’s algorithm.

flash

4)      Not creating fresh content.

If Google bots don’t see any new content they’re not going to visit your site regularly. An easy way to avoid this, especially for B2B companies, is to have a blog and regularly post keyword-rich content with links back to the primary website.

…and make it easy for others to link towards your site by utilizing some of these tools:

  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Facebook & LinkedIn status/groups
  • Networks & Media
  • Digg
  • Delicious
  • StumbleUpon
  • Flickr
  • YouTube

5)       Being Activity-focused, not outcome-focused.
Set goals for keywords with high conversions. Google analytics and Webtrends are just two of the programs that you can use to determine conversion rates on your different keywords.

Be outcome-focused, not activity-focused. Focus on what matters—outcome!

Finally, here is a graph to help you keep your site SEO Friendly.

order-of-operations

This Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. (Pacific) to 12:00 p.m. we’ll be hosting our next webinar, How to Succeed with SEO During the Holidays–click here to register!

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Marketing Sherpa’s Real Truth about Social Media & SEO

October 26th, 2010 by Sarah Shakour

The key to getting your website to rank at the top of a search engine’s results is to implement SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Integrate SEO with SM (Social Media) and you’re sure to see your rankings and website’s popularity increase. In last week’s webinar, MarketingSherpa’s Real Truth About Social Media & SEO, Webmarketing123’s Paul Taylor (@Webmarketing123) and MarketingSherpa’s Todd Lebo (@ToddLebo) discussed how SM and SEO combine to help your business increase sales, lead generations and website rankings on Search Engine Result pages.

At Webmarketing123, we have the 5 Pillars of SEO. By following these tactics, your website will significantly improve its ranking on Search Engine Result pages. These 5 pillars include optimizing your Keywords, site content, Meta content, URLS and inbound links. Among SM users, 64% use keyword research to find what they are looking for vs. 59% of non SM users. Keyword research is one of the most important components of SEO–determining the language people use to describe products/services and what keywords they are using is crucial! In addition, 48% of SM users rely on link building to market their brand vs. only 37% of non SM users. See below:

Marketingsherpa-SM-graph

This chart indicates how all aspects of SEO are enhanced by the integration of SM. This correlation will only become more apparent as SM evolves.

There are many unique marketing benefits that SM provides. Having a SM presence:

  • Increases brand awareness
  • Builds community following
  • Helps establish loyalty and trust behind your brand (one of the most important benefits!)
  • Offers direct sales opportunities
  • Displays your SM results on the first page of Google

SEO has a lot of benefits as well that yield:

  • A higher ROI
  • 3RD Party Validation (Google determining your site’s relevance to search terms)
  • Improved flow of Traffic

Integrating SM with your SEO efforts will have far-reaching benefits for your website’s market presence. Your site will likely experience an increased number of inbound links, improving your current rankings and increasing click through rates on Search Engine Result pages.

Marketingsherpa-respondents-graph

MarketingSherpa research includes a mix of Social and Search data to improve inbound traffic, leads and conversion rates. Here are a few key takeaways to help your site reach its goals:

  • Optimize content for keywords using SM channels
  • SEO and SM work together to create a comprehensive online campaign.
  • The combination yields a stronger customer community, an increase in conversions and a higher ROI
  • SM will become more integrated in organic search results in the near future

-@SarahShakour

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Back to the Basics: Long Tail Keywords vs. Short Tail Keywords

October 18th, 2010 by Ray Mao

If you’ve ever seen one of our webinars, or know the first thing about SEM (search engine marketing), you know how essential keywords are to your SEO (search engine optimization) efforts. You may also know that keywords can be split up into 2 groups, long tail and short tail keywords.

Short tail keywords are generic or broad keywords that are highly searched. They lack any specificity that can characterize the user as uninformed about the search term. Also, unless your company is a giant monopoly and a household name in your industry, it’s going to be pretty tough (and expensive) to rank for and go after generic keywords. On the other hand, long tail keywords are phrases that are detailed. Though they are less widely searched, ranking for long tailed keywords will refine your audience and bring qualified users to your site, increasing your chances of conversion. Seems pretty simple, right? But with SEM, we know that’s not always the case.

Effects of Google Instant

With the new Google Instant that rolled out last month, the days of waiting for Google to deliver results are long gone. As you may have noticed, Google will actually deliver search results as you type– does this mean the end of long tail keywords? One might think that the months, perhaps years they have spent eliminating short tail keywords and going after the quality converting phrases will go to waste now that Google delivers instant results, but here’s what I think:

From a user perspective, I can see how Google Instant’s predictive search opens up a new can of worms for chasing keywords. I mean, who could resist a recommended search for juicy gossip about your favorite band when what you originally wanted were their tour dates–but really, how often will the predictive results influence a user’s search?  I’m willing to bet not that often. Only time will tell if Google Instant will have an effect on long tail keywords but after one month, I have not seen much of a change. Personally, I like predictive search. It shows me what else is being searched and rarely do I find myself getting carried off track by a predicted search term. If a user really knows what they are looking for, don’t you think they’re going to follow through with their search query? And if they don’t, they aren’t necessarily the users you want to bring to your site anyway.

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Webmarketing123

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

May 28th, 2010 by Webmarketing123

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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