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Search Marketing Strategies for 2011

January 7th, 2011 by Sarah Shakour

It’s a New Year and businesses are revamping their marketing efforts. In case you missed this week’s webinar on Search Marketing Strategies for 2011, here’s a recap to help your business reach your online marketing goals!

There were three Online Marketing Objectives discussed:

Goal 1: Increase Visibility on Search Engines

Goal 2: Build Traffic to Site

Goal 3: Maximize the Revenue Opportunity

Increase Visibility on Search Engines:

Studies show that 68% of search engine users only look at the first page of results. In addition, if you’re ranked number one on the first SERPs (Search Engine Results Page), you’re ten times more likely to get a click than someone who is ranked number ten (42 vs. 3% click through rate, respectively).

The first step to getting the most possible sales from SEO is optimizing for the right keywords. That means narrowing down a short list of ideal key phrases that your sales prospects and customers use to find your product.

• Keyword Expansion Tools: Wordtracker, Wordze, Keywordiscovery, Google’s SK tool

• Competitive Analysis : Scour competitors sites for missed keyword opportunities

• Customer Terminology : Talk to your sales team. What terminology do customers actually use?

• Analyze paid search data: Analytics data, internal site search, web logs

Which keywords bring the best (most qualified) visitors?

• Stages of Sales Cycle: Evaluate keywords by stage of sales cycle

• Keyword leverage analysis to determine which keywords are at a critical inflection point

in your rankings

The number of, and competitiveness of your keywords will then help you determine the optimal SEO strategy for your site.

Build Traffic to Site:

Once keywords are selected, they need to be targeted in the site content. Site content is very important because not only do search crawlers read it to index your site, but it is what customers see when they get to your site. For visitors, site content must be informative, engaging and compelling. For search engines, different aspects of site content must signal relevance.

You need to have keyword-rich content on each of your site’s pages, especially your homepage. Keep in mind; if you don’t write about it, you’re not going to rank for it–include essential keywords, keep your message simple and relevant. Most importantly, make sure it makes grammatical sense. Search engines can identify gratuitous keyword placement.

There is a simple way you can see what Google can read on your webpage. The easiest way is to go to the text only version of your cached page. This will bring up all the content that Google can read. You will notice that although your site may be visually appealing, Google can’t read pictures or fancy flash animations. That is why it is so important to have text, targeting your specific keywords in a fashion that makes sense.

Maximize the Revenue Opportunity:

If you have the bandwidth, then this is the ongoing analysis you need to do SEO correctly.

• Benchmarking in Place

• Track Spider Crawls

• Move up in Ranks

• You should see consistent upward movement on SERPS

• Tweak the site

• If you are not seeing that upward movement, then you need to adjust the key areas that we’ve discussed in the “5 pillars”

When measuring the impact of Search Marketing, look at:

• Organic (Non-Paid) Traffic

Non-paid best represents SEO efforts as all visitors arrive at your site through organic search

• Non-Branded Traffic
Brings you new customers who do not yet know about your company, but are looking for the products and services you offer

When measuring ROI of your Search Marketing efforts, first define what you consider a conversion. Is it filling out a form, downloading a whitepaper or completing a transaction on your shopping page? Analyze which keywords are leading to the most conversions–utilize those keywords and stop using the ones that are not driving qualified traffic. Also, determine where visitors abandon your site and improve the functionality of that area. By maintain, analyzing and reporting on your customers and qualified leads- you can make an immensely positive impact on your company’s bottom line.

-@SarahShakour

Tags: Conversions, Google, Google spiders, keywords, Search Engine Optimization, SEM, SEO, Webinar, Webmarketing123, Yahoo
Posted in Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization | No Comments »

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 10^thwebinar, 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:

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.

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.

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!

Tags: B2B Long Tail SEO, B2B marketing, Bing, Blogs, content silo, Conversion Rates, E-Commerce, facebook, Flash, Google, Google analytics, Google spiders, Highlights, inbound links, Keyword Phrases, keyword selection, keywords, long-tail keywords, Meta Content, qualified leads, ROI, Search Engine Optimization, SEM, SEO, Webinar, Webmarketing123, Yahoo
Posted in Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization | No Comments »

Share of Search: How to Measure Your Company’s Overall Search Volume

September 21st, 2010 by Travis Low

Companies continuously wonder what their online market share is. Ideally, they want to know how many people are searching for their company on search engine sites like Google, Yahoo and Bing. This information is especially important to them when reviewing how many people search on their brand versus a competitor brand.

Luckily, there is an easy way to measure your overall share of search by using web traffic tools like the Google Adwords Keyword Tool. With this tool, you can quickly find how many times your brand or your products are being searched in the previous month.

Your company can also look at non-branded keywords. These are keywords that do not contain your company name or the name of your branded products. Look for top performing keywords in your industry–they should be keywords that are being frequently searched for, convert really well and are industry wide keywords that describe your type of business.

Here are certain steps you can take to measure search volume:

1) Keyword Analysis: Figure out which keywords are getting a decent amount of traffic or keywords that are specific to your industry

2) Relative: Are these keywords related to your company, as well as your competitors? (i.e. Competitor A, Competitor B)

After you have compiled your list, enter your own analytics to figure out the number of visitors you receive using those keywords, then you can devise your search.

Now let’s give an example of Branded Share of Search: if companies within your industry are receiving 100,000 searches on company named keywords, and 30,000 of those 100,000 are for your company name, then your share of branded search would be at 30%.

As basic as these steps are, they can give your company better insight as to where you stack up against your competitors.

-@TravisLowSEO

Tags: Bing, Google, Google Adwords, Google spiders, keyword analysis, keywords, non-branded keywords, online market share, SEO, share of search, Webmarketing123, Yahoo
Posted in Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization | No Comments »

Here’s a Question: Does Anyone Use Facebook Questions??

September 10th, 2010 by Cynthia Everson

As you probably are well-aware by now, Facebook released Facebook Questions, a beta application, on its site at the end of July. The concept is similar to Yahoo! Answers, launched in July 2005, but the interface is, of course, very different.

I decided to go ahead and run a quick test. I asked the question everybody has been asking for the last 14-ish years:

“Is Tupac alive?”

Yahoo insisted that my question wasn’t long enough, however, and I had to edit it slightly. Let’s check out the different interfaces.

Thank you, Yahoo, for the spelling correction. I guess Yahoo isn’t big on proper nouns.

And here is Facebook, making me incredibly nervous about my ground-breaking decision to ask a question:

Note: They also had a few pictures of friends to the left in that gap, giving it a very Facebook-y social networking feel, but I whited them out for privacy purposes.

Both platforms asked me to categorize my questions to get the most qualified people to find my question.

Yahoo actually helps you out and makes some suggestions for you, while Facebook reserves its sweet simplicity.

The thing I found most striking about Facebook (possibly tied with its terrifying message about selling my soul to the world by posting my first-ever question) was how it tried to give the question-asking a more professional tone. As the question asker, my picture and job title were posted along with the question and I was automatically made a follower.

Could this professional edge be a throwback to LinkedIn’s questions platform? Hmm.

Now how about the quality of the answers?

Within five minutes, I had 11 answers on Yahoo, mostly saying the same thing, with the style ranging from angry-sounding “NO!” to poetry about him being “alive in every word spoken by a white rapper as he attempts to become famous [and] … in the crazy as [sic] ghetto hairdos that sisters wear.” I also got some nice details of his death and a couple of links back to Wikipedia. Thanks, everyone. Now I know.

Facebook, on the other hand, got me virtually zero answers. Technically, one. But from somebody I already know, which makes it hardly count if the point is that, as Facebook so loudly declared, it’s visible to “the world” to help me out in my quest for knowledge.

So what’s the conclusion? Well, first of all, I’ll admit, it’s not the most perfect test since the nature of the question is one that most people wouldn’t take seriously. But it was an interesting test run just to see which would rake in the most responses and to see if people are catching on to Facebook questions at all yet.

And of course, according to my 12 respondents, we can further conclude that Tupac lives on in our hearts, but not in body. Rest in peace, Tupac (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996).

- Cynthia

Tags: facebook, facebook questions, Is Tupac alive, LinkedIn questions, Social Media, Webmarketing, Webmarketing123, Yahoo, Yahoo questions
Posted in Social Media | 1 Comment »

Where’s Your Social Media Citizenship?

August 9th, 2010 by Seth Gutierrez

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!

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 demographic for all the major social networks are pretty accurately 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

Tags: adultfriendfinder, bebo, blogspotflixster, ebay, facebook, flickr, Flowtown, Google, google buzz, habbo, hi5, linkedin, match.com, myspace, phone apps, Social Media, social networking, social networks, The 2010 Social Networking Map, tumblr, twitter, wiki, wikimedia, xing, XKCD, Yahoo, youtube
Posted in Social Media | No Comments »

Yahoogle? A New Alliance of Search Engines in Japan

August 3rd, 2010 by Cynthia Everson

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…

Tags: alliance, Google, Japan, mobile search, organic search, paid search, search engines, Softbank, Yahoo, Yahoo Japan
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 by Seth Gutierrez

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

Tags: 5 pillars, Bing, Bing-Hoo!, Google, in-bound links, PPC, SEO, Webinar, Webmarketing123, Yahoo
Posted in Pay Per Click, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Webinar Highlights | No Comments »

Search Marketing Strategies for 2011

The Top 5 SEO Mistakes in B2B Marketing

Yahoogle? A New Alliance of Search Engines in Japan

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

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