Archive for the ‘search engines’ Category

« Older Entries

How to use Twitter to prove you’re an absolute moron.

Posted by ben on July 28th, 2009

There’s been an overwhelming amount of love for Twitter this year, but Larry King might be single handedly responsible for starting my disenchantment with the most recent installment of the seemingly annual progression of the latest and greatest social media wunderkinds.  To be fair, my disenchantment began a few months ago, but a tweet a few days ago (2:58PM on July 26 to be exact) from Larry King’s official Twitter account (@kingsthings) sealed the deal:

Larry, I’ve got some news for you. For at least three reasons Twitter is the absolutely, positively WRONG medium to use for finding out why a Marathon is 26.2 miles.

First off, Larry, it demonstrates what we’ve kinda been suspecting all along – namely that you’re a no-talent, hack who’s risen to your station through merely the arbitrary caprice of fortune.  The standard answer to this question is pretty much conventional wisdom. I’ve taught middle school kids that could answer it.

Second, Larry, you can actually get your answer faster by using this crazy, new technology called a search engine. I’m sure this whole Internet thing is probably brand new to you and has to be pretty confusing (in fact, it’s probably pretty safe to assume that you’ve got some ghost writer Tweeting on your behalf to solicit the questions for your interview with Colin Powell that you’re unable to prepare on your own). But just in case you actually do get on the Internet someday, I created a demonstration of how this new-fangled thing called a “search engine” can help you find answers to life’s persistent questions.  Just CLICK HERE to see how it works!  Then, to get your answer click on the blue, underlined text at the top of the page that says “Marathon – Wikipedia the free encyclopedia”.

Third, Larry, the answer is actually more nuanced than you might think at first blush. Turns out that the distance from Marathon to Athens is shorter than 26.2 miles.  Turns out that primary historical sources disagree about whehter or not the first “Marathon runner” ran before or after the battle of Marathon.  Turns out that the 26.2 mile distance was the result of a series of last-minute changes made to the first modern marathon route established for the 1908 Olympics in London.  Maybe you knew that the standard answer wasn’t 100% accurate (I doubt it). But even if I stretch my imagination beyond the comprehensible and give you this benefit of the doubt, the fact still remains that crowd sourcing via your celebrity Twitter account is the least effective and most time consuming way to actually get your answer.  Just take a look at the overwhelming volume of responses your question generated by CLICKING HERE. You’ll notice something pretty quickly: a lot of people know some version of the standard answer, but nobody agrees on the more nuanced details.  If you’re really into crowd sourcing your answer, you should just cut to the chase and go to Wikipedia where the crowd sourcing has already been done for you.  Plus, Wikipedia has at least a modicum of editing that’s gone into their content.

Which brings me back to how Larry King finally brought about my disenchantment with Twitter.  In short, Twitter has become filled with crap and wading through all that crap takes more time and effort than regular people should have to put into it.  It takes a considerable investment of one’s time to follow Jeb’s advice about having a meaningful online converstaion and craft your Twitter network to a manageable level so that it’s actually useful and doesn’t become a ridiculous time sink.  What we need first and foremost in an answer is “correctness”. I have yet to find a better way to get “correctness” than by identifying an authority that can be trusted.  It’s way too easy to present the appearance of authoritativeness on the web without actually being an authority.  Just look at all the self-proclaimed authorities who wound up giving Larry a technically incorrect answer to his question.  Finding an authority is hard work (even off line).  Crowd sourcing via Twitter doesn’t get you any closer to an authoritative answer.  It just compounds the problem (especially when you use a celebrity account).  I know it’s tempting to think that crowd sourcing via Twitter is the way to go when it’s been so successful for Wikipedia, but Twitter just doesn’t work like Wikipedia.

I used to think that Twitter was pretty cool and pretty useful before the proliferation of celebrity accounts from the likes of Larry, Oprah and Martha.  So it looks like I am now beating Jeb to the punch in writing his next latest-social-media-fad-jumps-the-shark-blog-post.   Why is it that all these social media sites go through the same cycle of explosive growth that eventually brings about their demise? I suspect it’s because no one’s figured out a really good way to make the hard work of identifying authorities become easy. Finding an answer “that works” by playing a numbers game through social media sites can work OK for a while so long as the numbers stay fairly small.  However, once they reach their critical mass these social media fads just implode. Plus, playing the social media numbers games just skirts the fact that the answer is by no means guaranteed to be authoritative.  In attempting to make finding an authority easy, Twitter seems to have thrown their lot in with the celebrities. Or have the celebrities high-jacked Twitter?  Either way, that celebrities have made a good thing bad should be pretty self-evident.  I hate to say it but it seems that counting backlinks and other artificial “signs of trust” like the search engine algorithms do is the best thing we’ve got going so far.

So, Google don’t be worried by Jeb’s post that opined whether Twitter is a Google-slayer.  It isn’t and it won’t be.  In fact, it’ll probably be something our kids and grandkids reference when making fun of our generation.  I can already hear my daughter incredulously asking her friends, “Can you believe our parents spent their time at work reading ghost writers typing ‘In da house ATL!!!’ on some rapper’s Twitter account?”.

And if you’re wondering, yes, I probably woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.  So feel free to flame me in the comments below for being so hard on the beloved institutions like Larry King and Twitter. But be forewarned: I’ll probably be just as snarky in my responses as I am now.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in google, search engine optimization, search engines, seo, social media, social networks, twitter | 14 Comments »

SEO Tip: Google Local Listings for Businesses

Posted by jeb on May 11th, 2009

Here’s a Search Engine tip that many businesses don’t know about but should. It’s really, really easy to have a nice Google Local listing for your business. Also, these local listings often show up above the normal organic listings. Here’s the thing, it’s much easier to get to the top of your Google Local listings than the top of the normal listings. Check out the screenshot below. (click on the image to see the live search, results may differ depending on whether you are logged in or not located in Indianapolis, etc)
Note how our client Antique Helper Auctions is at the top of the Local Business results and then #2 for the organic listings that start below.

Now there are some “tricks” to getting a top local listing but the Google Local listings run on a different algorithm than the normal listings. It is widely agreed that the Local listings are much less competitive since you are only competing against your local competition. Why does this matter? Look below at the results for the search “auctions”. Google knows I’m coming from Indianapolis by my IP address (I wasn’t logged in to my Google account for these screenshots btw) so it gives me local results mixed in with general results. It knows what I want is probably a local service. Most services have a mostly local customer base.


Have you created your Google Local account for your business? If not, do it today, it’s free, easy and will definitely result in business coming your way. Getting to the top of the local and organic listings won’t happen overnight. But we can help…. :)

Sign up for Google Local

Posted in search engine optimization, search engines, sem, seo | No Comments »

How Search Is Changing and more Twitter thoughts

Posted by jeb on March 11th, 2009

I think search as we know it is undergoing its biggest change since Google came on the scene with its nifty algorithms 10 years ago.

Since friends and family is the source we trust over all others including search engines, tv, radio, yellow pages etc, at least that is what I have read, we are seeing the rise of social media (i.e. your friends and family), and in particular Twitter, as a direct threat to Google in terms of driving search for business. It is certainly not an immediate threat to Google et al’s dominance in driving business but I think around the corner we will see Peer To Peer Search emerge as a real threat to the traditional algorithm driven search that currently dominates.

Cha Cha was on the right track with their human search engine but Twitter has the right model since their search engine is essentially free and personalized to each user based on who is following them. Google can’t currently compete with a good group of Twitter followers telling you what the best Thai restaurant is or what the best project management software is, etc. Google just isn’t that intelligent, or perhaps, that human. It’s just a really smart computer program that does many things well. But Google can’t actually go eat at a restaurant and give you a first hand account. But @twitterfriend has and they are happy to share their experience. So who are you going to go to for “reliable plummer”?

This means that relationships as much as content indexed in search engines (SEO) will drive your business down the road. Social Media sites facilitate relationships in the context of meaningful content. This forces transparency on companies which is difficult at times since their culture isn’t used to it. The company culture (translation executives) is used to controlling the message. But Zappos has it right- your culture is your brand now, whether you like it or not. Just accept that the Web is a harsh light and you can’t escape it’s glare. Might as well clean house.

hmmm, so what’s Google going to do about Twitter? I bet talks are going on right now for them to buy Twitter. And I also bet Twitter isn’t going to go cheap if at all. They know what they have- a super highway that everyone has set up shop on and now they just need to figure out how to charge a small toll. Google is good at that but they aren’t the only fish in that sea.

Posted in google, search engines, twitter | 2 Comments »

Don’t Waste Money On A Business Blog

Posted by ben on March 4th, 2009

Doing this when you add a blog to your website?

I was recently asked by a client whether or not they should add a blog to their new website. They were particularly interested in knowing from an SEO perspective whether or not it made sense relative to the keywords they wanted to go after. I’ve been asked this question a lot. Our clients are a smart bunch and they want to allocate their limited resources effectively. If they can save some money by trimming a feature out of their web development budget while not missing out on a greater opportunity cost, then they’re going to do so.

As far as SEO goes, a blog is almost always an excellent way to build up your presence in the search engines regardless of your market, keywords and competition. Nevertheless, the answer I usually give is “You might not want to waste your money.” (I’m definitely aware of the delicious irony as I compose and publish this on the medium of a business blog!)

There’s three things you must consider when deciding whether or not to add a blog to your site:

  1. Is Search Engine Marketing a minor part of your overall marketing effort? If so, then don’t bother with a blog.
  2. Will your organization consistently commit the time and/or money into regularly creating content (i.e. 2-4 blog posts/ week for 12-18 months)? If not, then definitely don’t bother.
  3. Will your organization commit the time to socially promoting your content? If not, then you probably don’t want to bother with a blog.

I suspect I’ve already inflamed some blog lovers and blog purists out there with #1. The blog purists tend to believe that “the journey is the destination” and that blogging is it’s own reward. While I’m sure this is the case for many bloggers, our clients are savvy business owners. They can certainly trim their web development budget and get the same personal edification and benefits by keeping a personal journal using old fashioned pen and paper for less than $5. I’m not going to advise our clients to shell out the extra cash to add a blog to their site, just because it can be a personally enriching exercise. Business Blogs have to give a return on investment that justify their cost.

However, the web development cost of a blog is just the tip of the iceberg. Building infrastructure into a website is the easy and affordable part. What you really need to ask is: are you willing to invest the time, energy, money and resources into developing and promoting your blog’s content? This can be a very substantial investment, but the rewards can be even greater. Here’s why:

Google loves blogs!

There are numerous reasons Google loves blogs and most pretty much boil down to them being a social proof of value for a particular piece of web content. One metric Google looks at on a blog post is how large and how active the comment thread is. I’ve seen a prominent national brand name badgered by a “Why Brand Name Sucks” blog post that shows right beneath their site on page 1 of the Google for a search of their own brand name. It has become THE magnet for that brand’s haters on the web. Anyone with a gripe against that brand that’s ever queried Google with the brand name appears to have read the blog and then shared their beef on the comment thread. It’s now a self-perpetuating feedback loop. That post is firmly entrenched on p1 right below the brand name’s own website (even though it has minimal backlinks and PageRank) which is too bad for the brand owner.

Also Google can be “gamed” via on-site structural tricks. Just repost identical content across multiple URLs and then shuffle those unique URLs across multiple keyword targeted category pages. Wash, rinse, repeat and presto! Instant and effective on-site SEO without the need for messy link building. Some might call that fishy, spammy or gamey, but no one disputes that it’s currently working.

Lastly and perhaps more compellingly, well written blogs that serve as linkbait can be a cornerstone of an organic link building campaign. For instance Jeb’s blog post on Compendium was interesting and controversial enough to get some in the blogosphere to join in the conversation and link back to his post that started the whole fracas. More natural backlinks coming into your site = better SEO! This is an SEO benefit that will survive many, many changes to the Google algorithm.

But here’s the catch!

After seeing all these SEO and SEM benefits to blogging you might think only an idiot wouldn’t bother adding one to their business website. However, there are two big catches you need to be aware of.

First, creating effective content takes time (or money to pay someone else to do it for you). Blogs start losing their value when you aren’t committed as an organization to blogging (i.e. to creating the content). At a minimum you’re looking at blogging at least 3-4 times a week for the first 12-18 months. Once your domain and blog get established and build some authority you can start to ease up the pace.

You can’t reasonably expect your web developer to write the content for you b/c it’s not their core competency. Jeb and I met with one of the owners of a local company that blogs on behalf of businesses for the business blog. It’s all they do. He seemed like a nice and able fellow and I’ve been wanting to try them out for some time. For some businesses with less time than money this could be a great solution.

Second, blogs have to be promoted which also takes time. If you build it, they will NOT come. Social bookmarking sites like Digg and Mixx, social networking sites like Facebook and SmallerIndiana, and the emerging wunderkind, Twitter, are all necessary tools. In the early days of Internet marketing you could use primitive, mechanical, spammy methods to promote a blog (or any site for that matter). But those don’t really work anymore. Successfully promoting a blog amounts to building a community around your brand and/or products/services.

So, for these tools to be effective you have to be social (after all they are first and foremost social media). This means seeking out like minded individuals that share common interests and having a conversation with them OUTSIDE your blog and ON the various social media channels. You might cringe at allocating resources to building content on other people’s sites, but it is a necessary evil. Building up a social network around each of these tools will require an investment of your organization’s time. Our own blog didn’t really take off until after Jeb built up his own Twitter network and then started using it to promote his blog posts.

If you have to pick one social media tool to focus your energy on, I’d currently recommend Twitter. It’ll one day implode under it’s own weight (like a super nova or MySpace), but should be good for at least a couple more years.

Well there you have it. Don’t waste your money on a business blog (unless search engine marketing is an important piece of your overall marketing efforts and you’re going to invest the time and effort into making it work). I defy you to get me to change my mind.

Posted in blogging, marketing, search engine optimization, search engines, sem, seo | 2 Comments »

A 7 Step Web Strategy to Save Your Business

Posted by jeb on March 1st, 2009
Is your business struggling to survive in the current economic environment? Are you seeing your cash reserves dwindle as new business drys up? Even if you are doing well I have the same advice- Use the web to save and grow your business.

Here’s a 7 step strategic plan that should fit most small businesses. Naturally a good deal of hustle will be needed to implement this kind of plan while doing everything else you need to do to keep your business afloat. There are businesses that can help you implement this plan as well- wink, wink. But if you can dedicate the time and resources I have no doubt that you will see serious ROI. I have seen it in my business and with many of our clients.

  1. An Effective Website- your website is really your front door and sales floor. If you had dozens of people coming to your door everyday, looking around and leaving then you would probably freak out! This is happening right now on your website. Your prospects are sticking their heads in, looking around, finding nothing of interest and moving on. An effective website is one that knows its audience, guides them quickly to where they want to be and removes obstacles for conversions or contact. An effective website is also an active one, updated often and doesn’t look dated. Think of a grocery. If you went every week to find the same thing wouldn’t you shop somewhere else? Don’t underestimate the importance of a fresh website. So make sure your new website is built on a Content Management System (CMS). This way you don’t have to pay a web company to make the updates you should be able to easily make with a CMS. This is really important since it plays into all your other efforts.
  2. Email Marketing- now that you have an effective website it’s time to build on your contacts. Now you have somewhere to link to without shame. Send out monthly email newsletters with specials, updates and useful information. Once you have this rolling you will want to divide your email list into interest categories in order to tailor the emails to different audiences. I also recommend doing some A/B testing with your email titles. It can really impact your open rate. There are many email list providers. I’ve been really happy with Constant Contact and have used them for the last 8 years with no major issues.
  3. Search Engine Marketing- time to step it up a notch. You are confident in your website and communication so now is a good time to increase your site’s traffic. There are many ways to do this but the most effective is using search engines. If you are a company serving a local audience then chances are people are already looking for your products or services. If you sell Widgets then people are searching for “City Name Widgets Store”. Make sure your site is optimized for this. Are you on the top of page one of Google for this and other related searches? If not then someone is eating your lunch. It doesn’t matter if you are best Widget maker in town. Google doesn’t know this unless you tell them. If you can’t get to the top organically (meaning showing up in the unpaid listings) then you can pay to be there. Regardless, you need to be there. Local search is increasingly important and there is a land grab going on around you. Start paying attention now and it will be much easier to get your spot on the first page of Google for your local search.
  4. Blogging- your website and email newsletters will get you some good results but in order to take it to the next level it’s time to establish yourself as an expert in your particular field. So if you know widgets better than anyone else around- prove it! Talk about what you know, share your knowledge. This benefits you two ways. The first is that it adds valuable content to your site. Your existing visitors will appreciate your insights and your site will become a destination for them if they need your knowledge/information or share your passion. Blogs really help create a comfort level with your prospects. Remember, these are real people so the more your site feels like a real person is behind it the more comfortable that prospect becomes. The second benefit is that your blogs will create new content that is indexed in search engines. So if you blog about “10 Tips on Installing Widgets in your House’s Thingabob” then you run a good chance of showing up for a related search. The people typing that search in are probably looking for the goods or service you offer so you are well on the way to gaining a new customer.
  5. Social Media Engagement- with an active blog you are well on the way to jumping in the Social Media waters! What is Social Media? It’s Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc. It is also a Webinar or Instant Messaging. Anything that using the web to create an environment for people to gather and have a conversation. So chances are you are already using Social Media on a regular basis. But I also bet you aren’t really finding it a good lead generation environment, yet. The key to Social Media is to focus on the relationship and not the sale. Sales as we once knew it is in danger of extinction. Instead of pushing products and services on people you must now enage them in a conversation. You will need to listen as much as talk. I personally find Twitter a great environment to quickly share information with others, get their feedback, join in their conversations and build relationships. Some relationships will never result in business, some will. That’s ok, I still get value from the conversations. Focus on meaningful conversations since those are the ones most likely to bring value to your life and business.
  6. Press Releases- time to toot your horn and blow the trumpets! You have really made some exciting changes that others should know about. Maybe you’ve set up a cool microsite for a special promotion or sponsored a series of events that you promoted across all your different platforms (website, email, social media, etc). So now is a good time to go after some earned media. Put together a concise but exciting press release letting everyone know about the cool stuff your company has been up to. How you’ve shirked the industry trends to grow in a downturn, how you’ve launched a new product and used these New Media tools to get the word out. Send it out to the local/industry press and also promote it using PRWeb.com. Make sure to add links back to your website when you send out the release!
  7. Analytics or Tweak and Repeat!- by now you should really be rolling with great website traffic, lots of leads or sales coming through your site, an active and meaningful online conversation with colleagues and prospects, good buzz in your industry, an overall increase in business and new energy in your team. So what now? Make sure when you set up your website and email marketing that you have good Analytics set up as well. For the web I recommend Google Analytics and Get Clicky. They give you two different ways of looking at traffic and both are valuable. For email I recommend using Constant Contact or another email list provider. This will let you see what emails were opened, what links clicked on, etc. Valuable stuff all around. Not everything you do will get the same return. So find out what works, tweak and repeat!

Want to add anything else? Please do below using the comments feature!

Posted in internet marketing, marketing, search engine optimization, search engines, sem, seo, smo, technology | 1 Comment »

« Older Entries