Apr 20, 2012 | Pay-Per-Click
For years PPC advertising was the stars online. Companies spent thousands on them but now they are slowly fading away and are slowly being buried in obscurity. What is PPC? PPC is paid search marketing. It is the process of increasing traffic by purchasing ads on major search engines such as Google and Bing. It also goes by another name, CPC or cost per click because you have to pay every time someone clicks on the ad. However, the future of PPC looks bleak. According to a recent report, only 18% of businesses using PPC have not recouped the money they invested. When it’s not working, get rid of it When something is no longer working, why would you still spend money on it? The same question can be asked of PPC. If it is failing, there is clearly no point in continuing with it. Although PPC can look like it is very easy to use and it may even look very effective from afar, it can be very deceiving. It is part of the various get rich quick schemes out there and we all know how those work out. Although PPC may have value, it has often been misused by a lot of people. If you are looking for short-term results, then PPC is for you but when used long-term it can be costly and ineffective. Users are filtering ads and less people are clicking on advertising. There are more alternatives which deliver results compared to PPC. Why is PPC failing? PPC may look like it is offering people a simple solution but there are concrete reasons why... read more
Apr 9, 2012 | SEO
Although minor changes in SEO can be expected from time to time, it has remained fairly the same for the most part. SEO has been driven by keywords which follow a common structure. It includes meta tags, links, content and a specific URL structure. You will always see keywords in SEO. The two have become inseparable. Even with Panda, Venice, Your World and Search Plus, keywords remain unscathed. However, according to Google Search Executive Amit Singhai, this could all change when human element enters the game. Semantic Search Explained Semantic search understands the user’s needs by using artificial intelligence. With it you will be able to come up with more refined answers because it focuses on the meaning of the query instead of just looking at the keywords. As you may already know, when you use Google today to search for information, it will give you results which are strictly based on the keywords you have entered. In summary, Google gives you guesses about the things you are looking for. Semantic search aims to change all this by taking a look at the words you have entered, their relationships, and what these words mean. Google will then be more able to recognize words and will be able to give you answers which are more accurate or closer to what you are looking for. Contrary to what most people think, semantic search is not a new concept. It is a concept which has been entertained as early as 2008. However, it has only been gaining more attention now. This is largely in part of Siri and Google Assistant, Google’s answer... read more
Jan 27, 2012 | Social Media
Google is the foremost search engine today. Everyone has heard about it and used it and quite a lot of people are familiar with it. Suffice it to say that Google has become indispensable in today’s age of technology and high-speed information. Now that social media is also gaining a lot of ground, Google has come up with their own version of a social site, Google+. Calls to join Google+, the newest social network site, have been quite overt. Those who register for a Gmail account automatically get Google+. In summary, the company has been making quite an effort to coerce people to join. However, for businesses Google has been more subtle. Since the search engine has incorporated its social network, businesses have found out that the lack of presence in Google+ can mean lower organic search results. Although companies today are quite accustomed to the rapid changes in the World Wide Web, this is something which they truly do not expect. Nowadays, if you want to have higher rankings in Google, it is a must to be familiar with social media marketing. In effect, Google has provided businesses with two things, an opportunity to boost SEO and move ahead of its competitors. How to Use Google+ for your Business How do you harness the power of Google+ for your business? Well, first you have to create a Google+ page. After you create the page, you can allow only one administrator or multiple administrators to run it. Set-u is quiet easy and quick. Get in to as many people’s circles as possible. Circles are like groups or friends lists... read more
Jan 20, 2012 | Google Updates
Google updates come once in a while although for the last two years the intervals between updates have been few and far in between. The latest update from Google, Panda, has affected a lot of people especially those who do not have quality content on their websites. After all it was designed to help weed out spammy sites from those which produce real and helpful content. The Panda updated has changed the SEO landscape considerably. No longer are website owners rushing to produce just any type of content. They are now concentrating more on quality instead of quantity. SEO, or search engine optimisation, is responsible for content quality, user experience, design and usage metrics. The good news is that webowners and writers need not be in the dark because Google has released a few clues to give everyone insight on how web engineers think and work so that everyone can create SEO friendly posts. However, content which is already on your site now must be fixed in accordance to algorithm rules so that you will not be hurt by Panda. True duplicates Duplicate content is one of the most frowned upon things when it comes to SEO. However, internal duplicate content is an entirely different thing from that of plagiarised content. Internal duplicate content happens when you create unique URLs for the same piece of content. This means that you will have two URLs pointing to the same page. You will be penalised if Google discovers this because it’s as if you’re trying to game the algorithms, albeit unintentional. They do not take to this very kindly. To solve... read more
Jan 17, 2012 | Social Media
Contrary to what most people think about social media, it is not useless. It can actually be very useful especially for businesses and entrepreneurs who are still getting their footing in the industry. It can get the word out to people and increase traffic to your site. It can be a very effective tool in getting to know your audience and customers. However, a lot of businesses are struggling with it. There is still a lot of misunderstanding between tools and concept and what each can offer. A lot of people are still asking why social media tools cannot be used like emails, advertising and direct mail. Who should own social media? Who should control it? The task of a marketer One of the most common questions today in social media is what a marketer has to do in order to get to know customers more. A good way to begin is by starting a conversation. Starting a conversation with your customers not only make them feel that their opinions matter and that they are important, it also helps you gain valuable insight into their buying practices. There are five things which are turning the business world upside down and they are: Niche marketing Loss of control Skepticism of customers Fragmented media Control of customers If you take the time to understand your customers, they will thank you profusely and you will be greatly rewarded. What to do now that things have changed? If you want to stay relevant in the industry, you have to keep up with the changing times and adapt as necessary. It is time to... read more
Jan 6, 2012 | Link Building
The year 2011 has all been about Google’s Panda algorithm and all the changes it brought with it. Panda is an update which highly favors quality content as a factor in page ranking. Google and users are just so tired of seeing spam on their search results. When they want to search for something, anything, they want to be given results which they can actually red, understand and use. If Google can identify authors, as well as sites which continue to make high-quality content, it would be very useful to serve nothing but the best content in search results pages. This is indeed a very good development for writers everywhere. I am certain that there are more than a handful of authors out there who would very much like to earn some authority when it comes to being consistent in producing excellent content. There are several good writers online but sadly only a few of them get a byline or an indicator that they did write excellent articles. They hardly get recognized. Even if they get a byline, bylines today are no longer trusted. There is a massive amount of plagiarized content and there are lots of false bylines. Google is now collecting author information and is even advocating for authors to take the necessary steps which will allow them to associate their content with their online identities. This will give Google the opportunity to make a connection between authors and the pieces they have written online, be it articles or blog posts. It is safe to assume that one day authors will get authoritative status depending on what... read more
Sep 5, 2011 | Social Media
Twitter is one of the most popular social networking sites today and millions of people all over the world have at least one Twitter account. If you have a Twitter account but is not actively using it, there is no better time than now to make it work for you. If you have been using your Twitter for quite some time now, you should take a good look at it, it might be time to reinvent it and start fresh. Give your Twitter a facelift. It is never too late to breathe new life to it. An updated Twitter can do a lot of wonders for you. Clean your Twitter Yes, clean your Twitter just like how you would when you do your spring cleaning. In Twitter universe, there are some things which you are better off without and that includes inactive followers; followers without profile pictures; and those who are not following back. Twitter has various tools which will allow you to filter by bulk so you do not have to waste too much time and effort. Set up lists Setting up lists is a very convenient way of grouping your followers and it aids further in tidying up your account. You will be able to easily identify themes and topics. Bothered by Twitter noise or posts which you do not have any interest in? Well, you will also be able to get rid of them by setting up lists. You can either have a closed list or an open list. An open list is something which all Twitter users can follow. On the other hand, a closed... read more
Jun 18, 2011 | Google Updates
It would be an understatement to say that Google’s Farmer update will have an effect when in truth it is estimated by the Online Publisher’s Association that Google’s Farmer Panda algorithm update would impact revenues by as much as 1 billion American dollars! That is indeed a lot of money! Sites which have been relying heavily on organic traffic saw their number plummet. There has been a lot of discussion, rumors and debate regarding the update and its effects. In order to get a clearer picture of what has been happening, it is best that we get the news straight from the horse’s mouth. It is best to speak to people behind the sites which have been impacted by all the changes. What is Panda The Panda update was meant to attack two categories of sites which Google deemed was polluting search results with sites that have either low quality and or spam content. According to Google, the objective was to drive spam levels lower. They also want to make the user’s search experience better by giving them only high-quality results. After just 24 hours of Panda’s launch, several sites have already reported steep declines in traffic. Publishers everywhere reacted with indignation as they saw their content as high-quality and relevant. What did they say? TheFind TheFind is one of the most popular shopping engines today and according to them although lots of sits such as blogs have reported drops in visitors, it has not affected them that much. Most of their business comes from mobile devices and as mobile usage continues to rise, they are also anticipating a... read more
Jun 7, 2011 | SEO
So much has been said about search engine optimization or SEO. Some say it is well on its way to becoming dead. However, others are saying that it is still important in today’s time. Before SEO even existed, one person has already discussed it, albeit in another term. This person has already said that in order for sites to be found, content should be friendly and informative enough for people to want to read it. Although search engines are the main way people find sites, it is not the only way contrary to what we have been made to believe. People are also able to find sites through advertisements, word of mouth, postings, links from other sites and web directions. Suffice it to say that there is more than a single way of finding sites. There are even times when this alternative methods work better than search engines. They allow you to reach a broader audience. Being too dependent on SEO SEO has been made to look like the salvation of businesses everywhere that people have become too dependent on it. They have forgotten other means of getting people to notice them. Any man who relies solely on Google to get the word out about his business is a fool. With the various updates by Google alone, there will be major changes which will make it not suitable to put so much trust on search engines. Is SEO dead? A lot are asking nowadays if SEO is dead. One of the latest updates from Google is that it will reward and put more emphasis on quality content. However, there... read more
May 17, 2011 | SEO
There has been a lot of talk about SEO being dead or already dying and for people to completely abandon it and look for new ways to have higher rankings in search engines. The SEO we used to practice before is no longer valid and it is high time to explore other options. Different people and different companies approach things differently. It is by doing so that they find out for themselves what truly works for them and what does not. However, there are those who cling to old habits even though it is already very obvious that it is not giving them the results they are looking for or want. Old habits can be very difficult to kick to the curb but if there are newer, better ways of doing things, they should be worth trying right? The same thing applied to link building. SEO is not yet dead. As a matter of fact, with all the updates and changes today, it has become even more important. Google has been penalizing sites left and right lately and these are sites with low quality content, as well as bought links. They want nothing but high quality content and organic search results. If you are guilty of some of these transgressions, it is time to clean your act up. Several researches have underscored the importance of organic search results and how people only want organic results. Google has raised its quality standards so sites which do not meet their criteria are getting affected. Social media and networks Search results are getting supplemented by social media and the content generated by... read more
May 11, 2011 | SEO
You probably have not heard if it especially if you are a Google fan but there is a search engine called Blekko. The company has long had a goal of providing better search results compared to its competitors. Blekko only gathers results from 3 billion trusted webpages and does not include information from content farms and others. It has recently announced that it has blocked more than a million websites from search results through the use of “AdSpam”. New sites will also not be added to Blekko’s trusted sites unless it has passed the engine’s guidelines. According to the company’s press release, the AdSpam algorithm will change search the way people know it. It is an algorithm especially created to search for spam rather than rank results. It has the ability to determine if the page is spam or not. Pages found to be spam will be immediately eliminated so they do not have a chance of appearing in search results. Interesting idea Blekko’s idea of blocking spam and preventing it from appearing in search results is only surely unheard of until now. Well, it may have been attempted before but it has not been successful or perhaps not remarkable enough to be recalled by people who use the Web. Yes, keeping spam out from search results will help but it might also bring with it effects which people do not look forward to. According to experts, Blekko’s latest move will not give them any benefits. Google and Blekko’s other competitor’s will actually be benefitting more from the company’s decision. Why is this? Because Google and other engines have... read more
May 5, 2011 | Google Updates
In a bid to crack down on sites which contain mostly spam, a lot of other good sites have also been erroneously tagged as spam. So, in order to prevent this, two of the biggest search engines have recently announced that they have a so-called “exception lists”. The list is for sites which might get hit by some algorithm signals. No, contrary to what some people may be thinking this list is not made to boost rankings or get more traffic, or exempt sites from changes in algorithms. However, Google might exclude some sites from the impact of particular ranking signals and this can potentially harm search results. To make it short, there are a signals used to detect spammy sites but the same signals might also catch a few sites which are innocent. A few years back, Google proudly said that there would be no whitelisting. However, people running the search engine have changed their minds. Although there is still no exempted site from Panda updates, there are sites exempted from a few signals and from various algorithm changes. It is just that there could be individual sites which have been excluded from certain signals which were part of the Panda update. This could be interpreted by many as an overall exception even if it is not. During the SMX West Conference, both Bing and Google admitted to the public that they do have exception lists for websites which have been affected by the Panda release. Although there is no exception yet for the overall Panda release, it does not mean that down the road Google might have... read more
Apr 14, 2011 | Video SEO
Although most companies today are concentrating on SEO to help promote their sites and get more traffic, everyone should know that there are other equally effective ways of getting the exposure you need to help you get your business to the top. Today purely text and content will not help you as much. You also have to utilize imagoes, videos, tweets and social media. There is a misconception that if you want to boost your SEO, you will have to empty your coffers. This can never be further from the truth. There are various things which you can use without spending a dime. A very good example is Youtube. With Youtube, you will be able to create a channel for free and upload videos. Every video you post can be indexed and tagged. This will increase the chances of your brand name appearing on natural searches. Create a channel Creating a channel in Youtube can easily be done, even an elementary student can do it. Once you have created your channel, you must seriously ponder what you are going to write about. Always keep in mind that content must be fresh, informative and entertaining. Never spin content or copy content from other sites because this will not help your SEO effort. A lot of you might be asking, who would want to watch a video which sells something. Well, the trick is not to present your product and your video as commercials. You have to give people something of value, something they can use. You do not want to shove products down their throats. Be creative when presenting your... read more
Feb 26, 2011 | Social Media
Social media has become very powerful nowadays and it has been used to serve more important purposes than sharing gossip with one another or the latest fashion trends. Believe it or not, social media is now being used to spread the word about revolutions, uprisings against governments and to express dislike about people in high places who do not do what they are supposed to do. Twitter has been instrumental to the recent Tunisian revolution and the Egyptian uprising. Twitter has been very helpful in spreading the word to everyone that the Egyptian government has even went as far as shutting it down as well as various social network platforms for fear that it would promote wider civilian unrest. Taking notice of social media CNN, one of the world’s biggest news channels has taken notice of the power of social media and its value to journalists in pointing them in the right direction of stories which will make some of the biggest impacts. People are realizing just how powerful social media can be in sharing vital information with one another, information which can change and affect their future. Despite the attempts of various government institutions in Egypt to block Twitter, Facebook and other social media, there was a Facebook page entirely devoted to the planned protests which had more than 80,000 followers. This means that 80,000 people were waiting for the latest news from that page. This is compared to just 20,000 followers from the previous day. Aside from CNN, Al Jazeera, another news outfit is also taking notice of the power of social media and how it is... read more
Feb 23, 2011 | SEO
SEO or search engine optimisation is not rocket science and it cannot give you the results you want overnight. It takes effort, time and research and without all these three components, it would be quite difficult to succeed or get top rankings. A deeper understanding of SEO is necessary to make the most out of it and to make it work for you. Improving you awareness and increasing your knowledge about SEO can only be done by finding out more about it. Your thirst for SEO knowledge will serve you well into the future. It is important for everyone to remember that there is so much more to SEO than keywords. Where is SEO going? Where is SEO really heading? Although we might have different experiences when it comes to SEO, some may be advanced while others may only be new, one thing is for sure, people think that SEO is a race to the finish line in terms of producing the most quality content. Understanding the basics of SEO will go a long way. You must be able to determine opportunities and take advantage of those which present themselves to you. No chance must be wasted in boosting your presence and gaining the lead over other companies. Search engines are leaving us clues as to how we will be able to better utilise SEO to our advantage. However, it’s also important to take a break once in a while so that you do not lose sight of what is truly important. Your ultimate goal in putting a huge effort in gaining the top spot and getting your message... read more
Feb 22, 2011 | Link Building
Link building is important if you would like to direct more traffic to your website. However, there is no single linking strategy which works for everyone all the time but this type of services still flourish. Some companies and people even purchase this type of service from providers based overseas who have a difficult time speaking English. Fortunately for companies everywhere today, link building is becoming more and more specialized. There are now areas of specialization such as social media. As you may have already noticed, social media has become such a formidable force in today’s age and any company who chooses to ignore or does not pay enough attention to social media will lose out. Everybody is using it and it is a very effective tool to get you’re the word out to people regarding the service or product you are offering. There are several providers today who can provide you what you need in order to get more traffic and better rankings. There are services for social bookmarking, link buying, link selling, link getting and link tweeting. Mobile devices People who access websites from mobile devices are also an audience that must not be forgotten. This group is another link building challenge because some sites will not be able to display properly on mobile devices. It is necessary to also have your site cater to mobile users. According to experts, soon there will be a need for specialists of mobile versions of websites. If there is not any now, you can expect them to start advertise their services very soon. Since most sites also have mobile versions,... read more
Feb 11, 2011 | Website Optimisation
There has been a significant shift in marketing, from the old to the new one. The waves of innovation have come to change a lot of things. Now marketing in the Internet age is mostly driven by web search through phones and PCs. Results can now be measured more easily, a wide variety if audience is targeted and there is accountability for everything. Information today can be share and accessed through the click of a button. However, this fast-paced world has made some people lose sight of just how significant the value of the future we are making. In order not to lose perspective of things, it is advisable to take a step back to have a better view of the horizon. This will help give us more inspiration to do what we need to do. So, how can conversion optimisation help change the future for us? Marketing Now Driven by Technology Without a doubt, the development of technology in the current times has made it a driving force in marketing. For the last 3 decades, marketing and management have relied heavily on outside vendors, as well as IT to provide them what they need. However, the landscape is changing now. Today, there are several software applications used in marketing, conversion optimisation is just one of them, which help change the experience of audiences in a global scale. Marketing and technology are interwoven that it would be quite difficult to extricate them from one another. When savvy marketing ideas and technology are combined, conversion optimisation will thrive. If you take away one from the other, it would futile and... read more
Jan 5, 2011 | Reputation Management
What people say about you online, whether positive or negative, can have a very big effect on your business. In a world where information spreads very fast, it is must for companies, regardless of the size, to make sure that they have untarnished reputations online. A bad review can change the course immediately and you could easily lose thousands of customers in just an hour. The reputation which you have worked so hard for in years can easily be destroyed in minutes. Technology today has changed how consumers purchase things or services. They often check online not only for the product but for the company which is offering the product. They have more access to information today and they are using this power to their advantage. Because they have ready access to company profiles and customer feedback, it is important for businesses everywhere to make extra efforts in making sure that they have an excellent reputation. How should businesses go about it? Make sure that your business is properly represented. One of the easiest ways to guarantee that your customers will keep coming back to you and attract new customers at the same time is by creating accurate profiles of your business on the Internet. There are many websites which allows you to do this and some of them are Citysearch and YellowPages.com. There are also mobile versions of these sites. After all, you should not ignore mobile users. With these sites, you will be able to easily update your business’ name, address, website, store hours, so on and so forth. You can also post picture of the products... read more
