BlogThursday, January 19 2012
We pay very close attention to search rankings and social media trends. No doubt, search engines are trying to figure out a way to incorporate social signals (activity on social media sites) into search results. How much of an impact this currently has on search rankings is up for debate. So far, we don’t see a significant impact. We recommend that you participate in social media activities so you’re prepared for the day when social media becomes an important factor in search rankings. Evidently, that day is coming!
Social media certainly has a place in online marketing. Facebook has 800 million users (compare that to Google+'s 62 million) and more than 50% of Facebook users log on every day. Twitter has more than 100 million users and posts more than 250 million tweets per day. Facebook and other social media sites are great for reaching out to customers and building a community around your business. We'll be happy to talk to you about adding social media to your online marketing plan.
Wednesday, December 21 2011
 When it comes to evaluating website quality, we usually think in terms of robots. We talk about spiders and algorithms and so on. We know that Google has plenty of secrets about its search results that it won’t reveal to anyone. But there are reports that the 120+ page training manual for Google human search quality raters was recently leaked!
How Google uses the input from its search quality rating team is unclear but surely, it has some impact on search results. Maybe Google does this only to find and eliminate some of those websites that use less than ethical tactics to get page one results. (In other words, they don't belong on page one but have found a way to game the system.) Or, the data could be a big factor in search results. Only Google knows for sure.
Based on what we’ve read, it seems that the search quality raters evaluate 30-60 sites per hour. So that reinforces what we already know about designing a website and landing pages: you must make a good first impression, and quickly. Besides looking for a website’s relevance in relation to the search query, they’re also looking at page titles and snippets on the search results page. Keep that in mind when you’re working on your onsite SEO.
Wednesday, December 21 2011
 Pay-per-click advertising spend increased 20% in the US this year. Google controls the vast majority of the clicks and spend (estimated to be about 68%). Google is still on top and may be gaining ground—reportedly, it has taken back some of the market share that was lost to the Yahoo/Bing alliance.
Google has made strides in the past year to help advertisers attract only qualified traffic. Keyword settings and other tools have been improved and ads are unlikely to be triggered unless they are relevant to the search query. Consequently, Google is seeing an improvement in overall click-through-rate. A well structured campaign that uses the proper keyword settings can be a very efficient lead source.
Even with the improvements to the keywords settings and tools, it’s still very easy to make critical and costly mistakes. If you’re thinking of taking the do-it-yourself approach, we suggest you have an experienced PPC manager set up and launch the campaign. We’ll be happy to do that for you! Just give us a call.
Wednesday, December 21 2011
 Expect to see an IPO from Facebook in the very near future, probably by the spring of 2012. Reportedly, Facebook Inc. is considering raising about $10 billion in an initial public offering that would value the social-networking site at more than $100 billion. This is a strong signal that social media is only going to get bigger and more powerful and cannot be ignored by online marketers. Avoid it at your own peril! Ask us if you want to know how social media can tie in to your marketing plans.
Facebook recently got into trouble for violating privacy standards. In late November, Facebook and the US Federal Trade Commission announced a formal privacy settlement. Essentially, the proposed settlement “bars Facebook from making any further deceptive privacy claims, requires that the company get consumers’ approval before it changes the way it shares their data, and requires that it obtain periodic assessments of its privacy practices by independent, third-party auditors for the next 20 years.”
Facebook will likely put more energy into search marketing, including placement of ads in its mobile apps, now that it has to be more mindful of privacy issues.
Thursday, November 17 2011
 Google has finally opened its Google+ social network to businesses. Until a few days ago, connections on Google+ were people to people. That didn’t stop some businesses from trying to use Google+. Many of them were shut down amid much controversy. It appeared to many that Google’s approach to removing business profiles was random and unfair because some businesses were removed and others were not. The new business program is called “Google+ Pages.” You can create a page in one of five categories: (1) Local Business or Place, (2) Product or Brand, (3) Company, Institution or Organization, (4) Arts, Entertainment or Sports, and (5) Other. Keep in mind that Google+ Pages is a social platform, much like Facebook, and setting up a page doesn’t do much good if you don’t have measurable goals. Keeping up with the new tools, settings and frequent upgrades to social media sites is a job in itself. We offer a Social Media Marketing Service and can develop a custom social media campaign for you. Let us know if you have questions about using social media for your business. Tuesday, November 15 2011
We’re not surprised. Most of our clients get significantly more leads from SEO than any other online channel. We get great results from PPC and Social Media campaigns too and that’s because we set and measure goals. We’d be happy to give you recommendations on PPC and/or Social Media for your business. Saturday, October 15 2011
Google Analytics Won’t Keep You WaitingGoogle is also making headlines with the release of “Google Analytics Real-Time.” You’re now able to see how your search marketing campaigns impact your web traffic as it’s happening. Several companies offer real-time web analytics data, but not for free. “Google Analytics Real-Time” is free.For customers who want extra processing power, advanced analysis and 24/7 support, “Google Analytics Premium” is now available for a fee of $150,000 per year. This is the first time Google has offered a paid analytics service and obviously, this is for high-dollar businesses and large agencies. Saturday, October 15 2011
Government Antitrust Officials Have a Few Questions for Google
Friday, October 14 2011
There Are Customers Waiting for You on Social Media!
Tuesday, September 20 2011
Google’s Big Investment in Local Search
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When Facebook makes any change to its interface, you can expect plenty of complaints from Facebook users. And that’s just what happened a few weeks ago when Facebook introduced: 
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