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Outlook for Search – Building High Rankings in 2012

January 5, 2012 By admin

Well, a New Year has passed and we bid farewell to 2011. It was certainly an exciting year, especially in search and online marketing which saw changes occur at warp speed.

Over the last few weeks of 2011, we took a break to assess the state of search engine optimization and where things were headed going into 2012. We do this in order to help our clients (…and readers of this blog) better understand where they should focus their online marketing efforts.

After reflecting on where we’ve been and where we’re going, we quickly realized that the lines between different types of search – namely organic, local, mobile and social – are now being blurred more than ever. Rather than web search strictly being the center of activity online, social is increasingly becoming the focus.

According to an exclusive web tutorial from Planet Ocean, web search was the sun and other types of search (…or planets) revolved around it. Now, instead of web search being the sun, social is quickly becoming the center of the universe with other types of search (…or planets) revolving around it.

As we’ve said here many times over the last year, being social is a critical strategy to being successful online – this will become even more critical in the coming year. A cursory review of search results for a variety of terms shows social mentions and engagement alongside traditional webpages.

Social is being aggressively integrated in Bing, who has partnerships with Facebook, Skype and Twitter. Google has basically bet the farm on its new social network Google +.

From these arrangements and others, we can ascertain that social sharing will increasingly integrate with web search. Going forward, social shares or votes will increasingly be the new links.

How many have liked, +1’d or otherwise made a comment regarding content on your site?

So how can I ensure my site continues to rank high in 2012?

Dominating your market online in the new year will require some tried and true methods mixed with some new ways of engaging your audience online.

Since the web has become increasingly social, it’s become increasingly democratized as well. Users will more and more be the driving force in determining which social networking platforms you ultimately adopt.

The key to all of this though is content – as in years past, successful online marketing will be driven by your ability to create reference grade content that helps the reader. In turn, this can lead to true engagement that builds trust and value.

Rather than a few pages earning links, success online will hinge more on how socially engaging your content is.

The more likes, +1s and buzz your content has, the better your business will do.

Besides content itself, freshness will also be a driving factor in maintaining and building high search rankings. It’s increasingly become clear that Google and others are placing a high value on ‘fresh’ content. Just in the last two months, we’ve seen Google make updates to its algorithms to reward sites with fresh content, especially in areas that are always changing.

This update though has sadly penalized some sites with great ‘evergreen’ content that’s been around awhile but still valuable. Repurposing this content will help you get around this ‘freshness’ problem, especially if you experienced a drop in rankings due to this latest update.

Also in 2012, expect to see more firms using social media tools for product development and testing as well as technical support.

What about mobile-based search? Will it continue to grow in 2012?

An emphatic yes!! It’s projected that by 2015, more users in the U.S. will access the Internet through their smartphones or tablets than a regular computer.

Mobile search is deeply tied into local search with over 40% of searches on a mobile device being for something local like a restaurant, doctor’s office or brick and mortar store. According to Google, 44% of searches from a mobile device in the 2011 holiday shopping season were for store locations and last-minute gifts.

With mobile devices, users can seamlessly float between mobile, local and product search as well as their social media activities.

In 2012, it’s imperative that local business establish their presence on places like Bing Local, Google Places, Foursquare and others. Don’t be hesitant to allow reviews – customer reviews give you an opportunity to address grievances and open yourself up to new ways of engaging customers.

So there you have it – things will continue to move at wharp speed in this new year – social and mobile is most certainly revolutionizing how people interact and find things they need.

Stay tuned to our search engine optimization blog as we slice and dice the trends and developments in the search marketing world. Most of all relax and have fun with the possibilities the online sphere will bring in 2012.

Other Posts You May Be Interested In

7 Strategies for Maintaining ‘Fresh’ Content

Preparing for the Mobile Revolution – Part I

Preparing for the Mobile Revolution – Part II

3 Ways Social Media, SEO and Content Marketing Work Together

Reputation Management – Maintaining & Enhancing your Company’s Good Name

Filed Under: Online Marketing, SEO Technology, Social Media Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Preparing for the Mobile Revolution – Part II

December 6, 2011 By admin

Simple things you can do to ensure you’re reaching potential customers through mobile smartphones

In our last post discussing mobile smartphones, we listed some astounding statistics on how rapid this technology is being adopted and how many users are projected to access the Internet through a smartphone in the coming years.

Many of the facts and figures we found (…some of which listed in Part I) certainly provided compelling reasons to begin thinking about smartphone technology and its role in your online marketing strategy.

In Part II, we’re going to delve in and examine the ‘how’ of building a website compatible for smartphone’ display…as far as marketing goes, it’s hard to say what works and what doesn’t. For now, let’s focus on making sure your site(s) can display on a mobile device and are properly optimized.

To start, one point from a HubSpot article on mastering mobile marketing pointed this out – “…the answer to how lies in not thinking about mobile as another PC but another limb for busy, active customers.”

That’s right – don’t look at mobile smartphones as yet another item on your long to-do list. Rather, think of it as another way customers can interact with your brand. Being accessible both through a computer and smartphone will most assuredly put you at the apex of businesses marketing online.

So getting started – the first step is for you to evaluate your users. Find out how many people visit your current site through a mobile device and which devices (I-Phone, Android, Blackberry) they use. Set realistic goals by optimizing popular content from your website for smartphones.

Next step is to understand mobile’s limitations and leverage its capabilities to your best advantage.

One of the most important things to remember is screen size and making sure your page(s) are viewable on the smaller smartphone screens. Images need to be sized properly to ensure they display and load quickly (…if images are so large they take up huge amounts of bandwidth, visitors are less likely to come back). Include ‘alt image’ descriptive copy that can display in lieu of an actual picture.

Also, if you have forms, keep them short. Studies have shown that users will not spend lots of time filling out a request form, especially on a smartphone. This goes for clicks too – don’t make your users click too many times to get to your content. The more clicks visitors have to make, the fewer of them who will stick around.

If you have a storefront for instance, including click-to-call functionality on your mobile site is an important component to have. Functionality for directions (…Google Maps) are invaluable in these cases as well.

And although mobile browsing should be more streamlined than desktop browsing, you shouldn’t neglect your calls-to-action.

One more important point – be sure you test your mobile site and content on different devices, just like you test regular web content on different browsers. Some will display certain things differently. It’s best to find this out in the beginning so you can make any necessary adjustments.

These items are just a few basic things to get you started. As we said earlier, mobile ‘marketing’ is still pretty new so there’s not much to report on what truly works. You can always consider developing an ‘app’ for I-Phones and I-Pads but it’s generally recommended you get the site down first. Apps are more for mid-level prospects anyway.

One of the best ways to learn what may work is to think about your experience using mobile smartphones. Let us know about some good mobile sites you’ve seen in the comments below.

 

Filed Under: Online Marketing, Tip of the Day Tagged With: , , , ,

Preparing for the Mobile Revolution – Part I

November 30, 2011 By admin

In all likelihood, you know someone with a mobile smartphone that’s able to get online, send/receive emails and do all kinds of nifty things. Adoption rates for this technology are much greater than even PCs and the Internet was in the 90s.

While that stat shocked me at first, it isn’t entirely surprising once you think about. Today, you can get a cutting-edge smartphone for $200 on up. Back in the day as some of us like to say (the ‘90s), it could cost anywhere from $600 on up to get online with a PC…and that’s a conservative estimate!!

Projections indicate that within the next 2 years, over a billion people will have access to the Internet through their mobile phones. Some say Internet usage through a mobile device will exceed that of laptops by 2015…presently, 25% of Internet users in the U.S. have opted for smartphones completely. In some places, people are completely bypassing the laptop and going straight for a mobile device.

Suffice it to say, businesses will have to (1) be sure their websites are compatible with mobile smartphones and (2) think about marketing strategies for reaching this burgeoning audience.

Those who do will definitely be ahead of the curve, especially considering the fact that only 6% of businesses are engaging in the medium according to Michael Tasner (…via HubSpot). Of small businesses, only 0.5% are doing any kind of mobile optimization and marketing.

Which brings us to our first reason for thinking about smartphones and your business – timing. Since so few businesses are employing mobile marketing at this time, you will certainly gain an edge before it becomes too cluttered. If you’re already marketing online, the costs though are fortunately relatively low.

Here are some other stats to consider (…courtesy of Google):

  • 67% of smartphone users research an item on their phone then buy it in a store
  • 53% of users purchase something as a result of their smartphone search
  • 89% of users do their searches with some degree of urgency

Considering its projected there will be over 100 million smartphone users in the U.S. by 2014, any business with a serious, integrated marketing strategy has to consider mobile. Forget about (…not completely) Google+ or other new things we’ve mentioned lately – mobile smartphones are growing at a very quick pace.

As Michael Tasner says “Mobile is growing faster than any other online-marketing method, tactic, or technique.”  Why wouldn’t you start thinking about how your websites and marketing strategies play into this?

Check back with us in a few days on a brief summary of how to make sure your website(s) are mobile compatible and a few marketing techniques to consider. Since it’s so new, marketers are still figuring out the best techniques. We’ll keep our readers updated as new practices emerge.

In the meantime, check back with us later in the week for more of the how rather than the why on marketing through mobile smartphones.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Online Marketing, Tip of the Day Tagged With: , , , ,

Partnership with SEO Advantage Yields Six-Fold Increase in Web Traffic

October 18, 2011 By admin

Strategic partnerships between firms are one important way businesses grow market share and revenues – especially in today’s troubled economy.

One partnership our search engine marketing firm engaged in last year with gold bullion dealer Provident Metals has seen tremendous success.

When we start working with a firm to grow their online presence and by extension, traffic and revenues, we set realistic goals to accomplish the desired end. In the case of Provident Metals, traffic and search rankings for the bullion dealer’s site increased well beyond anyone’s expectations.

Since formation of the partnership in mid-2010, Provident Metals’ website has seen over a 600% increase in web traffic. Much of this traffic has been driven by the exponential increase in the company’s page 1 Google rankings. Coupled with social media engagement and a re-designed online store, the bullion dealer has experienced much success since teaming up with our firm.

Now that the new site design is complete and a large catalog of informative content is established, we’re now working to target some super-competitive phrases related to PM’s industry – think ‘gold bullion’, ‘silver bullion’ and others.

Dominating these keyword phrases will vault Provident Metals into the elite circles of the bullion industry.

We’ll continue to work with Provident Metals to build informative web content that builds search rankings and engages the reader to act. Providing timely and informative content is key to building thought leadership and trust with customers.

We’re excited to be working with such a reputable company that prides itself on superior customer service. Stay tuned for more important updates on our exciting work. In the meantime, read more about the partnership in our latest press release.

And if you’re searching for an online partner dedicated to helping businesses grow, contact search marketing consultants at SEO Advantage today to find out how you can effectively harness online channels to build website traffic and revenues.

Filed Under: SEO Advantage Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Driving Higher Leads and Free Promotion for a Fraction of the Cost

June 22, 2011 By admin

How companies can engage online followers and evaluate performance to build product awareness and a loyal following

 

In today’s uncertain economy, many companies are looking for lower cost ways to reach new customers. Many traditional advertising venues like TV, print and radio – known as ‘outbound marketing’ – not only carry a high cost, but simply don’t yield the benefits they once did.

In fact, HubSpot compared the average cost-per-lead for inbound vs. outbound marketing in a recently published e-book and found the average cost for inbound, or online channels, was 62% lower than traditional marketing channels.

If you’re reading this web marketing blog, you’re probably already aware of the vast potential the web offers entrepreneurs, small businesses and even large companies. You’ve certainly seen the cultural & technological shift toward smart phones and other devices that facilitate web-based commerce, information and relationships.

Understanding the myriad of options for harnessing these online channels is a big challenge for many, even professionals

In terms of your business, just how do you go about successfully using the web to drive leads, revenues and engagement?

Well that’s a pretty broad question that could take all day. But going a step further and as the title of this post says, how can you better engage online followers and turn them into ‘evangelists,’ which if pursued in a methodical way, can yield tremendous results.

Many large brands like Coca-Cola and M&Ms are able to do this on a large scale.

In fact any company, be it they’re a well known brand or a small enterprise, can capture much more traffic and engagement by doing a few simple things…data in fact shows companies who blog see 79% more Twitter followers.

Data also shows company’s who blog see, on average, 55% more website visitors.

What methods should I use to meet these kinds of goals?

The general consensus and methodology for accomplishing more web traffic, Twitter followers and general engagement online is to:

1.       Create outstanding content that’s timely and informative

2.       Optimize content for both search engines and people

3.       Promote this content strategically through various channels and analyze the results

Content itself can come in many forms – articles, e-books, blog posts, video, white papers, press releases, photos and so on. Content in fact can be re-packaged and distributed in other ways (i.e. take a series of blog posts and make a ‘podcast,’ which you can eventually turn into an e-book).

One important part of your content should be a blog. Blogging gives you the opportunity to talk about more appealing topics with your audience and make interesting correlations. Your blog is where you can target long-tail keywords, attract more inbound links and generate conversations in your comment section.

But to really drive conversions, you can’t just write something and throw it up there. While you will see increased traffic, conversions are what you really desire. To boost this number, you should also include what’s known as a ‘call-to-action’ at the end of each of your blog posts. As you will see at the end here shortly, we will include some instruction, suggestion or invitation on what you can do next.

Now that we’ve covered traffic and conversions, what about the free promotion part?

Here’s where it can get a little tricky but with persistence, many companies have seen tremendous benefit from actual social media engagement.

Before you do anything though, you need to listen to the groups of people talking about your industry…this ‘buzz’ is important to understanding where and how you can engage people online.

There are many tools available like Google Alerts, Twilert (Twitter), TweetDeck (Twitter) and others to help you do this.

Once you’ve evaluated where the ‘buzz’ in your industry, it’s time to go engage these prospective and current customers. For B2C companies, Twitter is a commonly used tool where companies can easily build a following. Sometimes, these followers post ‘thank you’ messages or other promotional type language talking about their experience.

But in order to make this happen effectively, you need to – be responsive, answer questions and respond to complaints in a timely and respectful matter

Being a good ambassador, sharing good content and carefully evaluating the ‘buzz’ on your company and industry will certainly yield a strong online following.  Some of these followers will in turn praise your products and services to their friends online.

As you can probably tell, this new type of ‘word-of-mouth’ advertising is quite powerful.

In the old days (…and even still today), many successful enterprises thrived on word-of-mouth advertising, which hardly costs anything except a good reputation and quality work.

Today, social media, blogs and discussion boards are changing the way people find information. Having your own ‘evangelists’ out there who share their good experiences will have big impacts on new customers seeing if what you offer suits their needs.

To learn more about these tactics for social media engagement, check back with us again or take a little while to review the e-book from HubSpot. And check out related posts below to see how this all ties together with other elements of marketing a business online.

Related Posts

Making your Content Work for You in Better, More Valuable Ways

Which Social Media Channel is Right for My Business?

WordPress CMS – The Easiest Way to Build an Optimized Site

Content Marketing over Traditional Advertising – Making the Case

Filed Under: Online Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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