Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Search-Related Ads Rely on Poetry of Words, Google Maximisers go public

Worth a read....Search-Related Ads Rely on Poetry of Words, Numbers :By Chris Gaither, Times Staff Writer "What makes pitches tick and what makes Web surfers click? Google copywriters try to help marketers figure it out.

An entire industry of firms has sprung up to help advertisers. They try to take advantage of inefficiencies in the search-ad market, much as hedge funds seek to exploit inefficiencies in the financial markets.

Google too has a strong business interest in helping advertisers and their agencies. Better ads lead to more clicks, which generate more revenue for Google. And if advertisers are getting more sales through Google ads, they're likely to boost their spending.

So Google created the Maximizers, named after the group's founding member Max Erdstein, in 2000.

Google declined to say how many Maximizers it has or how many advertisers they work with.

At their desks at the Googleplex, as the company's headquarters are known, the Maximizers help advertisers select keywords, write ad copy and choose the correct "landing page." For example, shoppers who click on an ad for "Dora the Explorer" books should be whisked to the page where they can buy it, not the e-commerce site's home page.
"

Google

Creativity in online advertising lies in the math

Net Sense: www.marketwatch.com Bambi Francisco: "If you want to be a marketing manager in the Internet world, consider getting a PhD in mathematics. That's because advertising on the Internet involves millions of keywords, billions of Web pages, and millions of irrational and ephemeral surfing patterns conducted by millions of people.

Translation: Online advertising isn't just about a clever campaign, it's about mathematical computations. "

Francisco aslo looks ahead: "Wait until we create derivatives markets for keywords to handle futures in words and phrases like "holiday sales," or "Special iPods for Christmas." After all, there is a seasonal and predictable component to such words as they would likely be worth more to a retailer during the holiday shopping season.

In fact, advertising buyers and sellers may just as well be traders, much as my column last week suggested. See Net Sense: The Google exchange.

"Yahoo and Google are like exchanges," Siminoff agreed. Much like stock investing, the marketer is making "an investment in a keyword and trying to get a return on that keyword." "

Google

faganfinder.com urlinfo tool

URLinfo beta || Fagan Finder

"URLinfo is a tool for handling web pages: finding information about it, translating it, finding related pages, etc. To use it, type a URL (web page address) into the box in the top frame. Then choose a tab (such as General or Cache), and click on the name of the specific tool you wish to use. The Translate and Search tabs require a bit more, but should be self-explanatory. Click on the [info] link at the end of any tab for details about it. URLinfo includes 109 tools. "

Fagan Finder: URLinfo

Google

Monday, May 30, 2005

ODP Forum Closes Status Check Service; Time For The ODP To Close?

searchenginewatch.com Danny Sullivan asks: "ODP Forum Closes Status Check Service; Time For The ODP To Close?

Been wondering what's going on with your Open Directory submission? The Resource Zone site has long offered a way to ask ODP editors to do a site status check, a great safety valve for frustrated site owners. But now there's bad news. Via Search Engine Roundtable, news that this service has now been closed:"

response thread

Google

Saturday, May 28, 2005

Threads of the Web - Linking for Success

Threads of the Web - Linking for Success: "Threads of the Web - Linking for Success
By Scottie Claiborne " Usefull overview of link types to improve search engine visibility and bring traffic - including blog links...

She concludes: "Regardless of how they go about doing it from an algo standpoint, most experts agree that where the link comes from is going to matter to the search engines more in the near future. Relevant links are the way to go. Irrelevant links aren't likely to hurt you, but they are a lot of work if you don't get any benefit from them!

If you build your linking campaign with links from relevant sites from the beginning, you don't need to worry about the latest theories!"

Google

Friday, May 27, 2005

UK organic search engine marketing industry booming

The Optimiser Newsletter: "The UK search engine marketing industry could be worth as much as 600 million this year, a new report suggests.

According to estimates by E-consultancy, revenues in the UK will reach 598 million, representing about 70 per cent aggregate growth on 2004.

Continued pay-per-click growth and keyword inflation have boosted companies' spending on SEM, with an emerging trend towards the long-term benefits of organic optimisation as Adwords/Overture costs soar, the study predicts.

"There's also the increase in spending on organic search, which could spark sector-specific search wars, as companies up the ante and jostle for position. Then there's the impact of Google Local on the SME fraternity. There really is a lot going on - it is a good time to be in search marketing."

The company's 186-page report, "Search Engine Marketing - A Buyer's Guide 2005", profiles 23 credible UK specialists and includes best practice tips and tricks for UK firms."

Google

Ask or Jeeves? Rebranding...

The Optimiser Newsletter - 27 May 2005: "IAC has revealed that it is planning to axe either the 'Jeeves' or the 'Ask' from the search engine Ask Jeeves.

The company's chief executive Barry Diller told an audience of media and executives that Ask Jeeves is likely to receive a sizeable cash injection for marketing and development, but added that its brand name was unlikely to survive."

Google

Page Hijack Exploit: 302, redirects and Google

Useful explanation....Page Hijack Exploit: 302, redirects and Google: "302 Exploit: How somebody else's page can appear instead of your page in the search engines. By Claus Schmidt.

Abstract:
An explanation of the page hijack exploit using 302 server redirects. This exploit allows any webmaster to have his own 'virtual pages' rank for terms that pages belonging to another webmaster used to rank for. Successfully employed, this technique will allow the offending webmaster ('the hijacker') to displace the pages of the 'target' in the Search Engine Results Pages ('SERPS'), and hence (a) cause search engine traffic to the target website to vanish, and/or (b) further redirect traffic to any other page of choice. "

Google

Thursday, May 26, 2005

Working with SEO clients

SEO Client Expectations by Jill Whalen of "High Rankings.com" and author of "The Nitty-gritty of Writing for the Search Engines."

The other day a new client of mine wrote to say how busy they were,
and although they wanted to proceed with an SEO campaign, they weren't
sure how much time they could personally invest in it. They asked me
to spell out what we'd be expecting from them and how much time it
might take. This client knew that a professional SEO campaign is a
team effort and wanted to be sure that they would be able to do their
part.

It was really a great question to ask.

Many clients never think about that aspect until the campaign has
already been kicked off and we start nagging them for things we'll
need to get started. For instance, there's some essential information
that needs to be provided by the company before any SEO work can get
off the ground. This includes target audience information, keyword
phrase ideas, recent statistics and reports, and info regarding the
overall goals of the campaign. It also helps to be provided with an
overview of any SEO work that may have been previously been done to
the site.

Once the campaign gets underway, there is some additional client
involvement needed. For example, during the keyword research phase,
the client will need to review the keyword lists and remove irrelevant
phrases, then order the relevant ones in terms of importance to their
business. It's critical to have the client involved in this phase,
because as much as we know the SEO side of things, the client will
always know their business better than we could.

We'd also need to run any copyediting and/or copywriting by the client
for their approval. Once these are approved, and HTML tags are
created, we'd need someone to create the HTML files or templates, and
then upload them to the client's server. This normally falls under
their Webmaster's jurisdiction, as many clients don't like to provide
full server access to anyone outside of their company.

The bottom line is that in the end, it is the client's site, and
therefore it's imperative to keep the lines of communication open at
all times -- especially where changes are being made to the visible
content on the site. At the beginning of any project, there will
generally be more client involvement necessary than later on in the
game. Once things kick into high gear, the approval process should be
much easier and less time-consuming.

In addition, we've found that clients appreciate it when we provide
them with our info in manageable chunks, instead of a ton of stuff to
approve at once. It also helps to have one point of contact and a
smart Webmaster on the client's side who can quickly and easily make
the recommended changes.

This info should help both SEOs and potential SEO clients understand
what might be expected of them during the SEO process. Getting it out
in the open before a contract is signed, and in fact, adding it to all
proposals, should avoid many problems and lag time once the campaign
begins.

Jill Whalen of High Rankings is an internationally recognized search engine optimization consultant and host of the free weekly High Rankings Advisor search engine marketing newsletter.

She specializes in search engine optimization, SEO consultations and seminars. Jill's handbook, The Nitty-gritty of Writing for the Search Engines teaches business owners how and where to place relevant keyword phrases on their Web sites so that they make sense to users and gain high rankings in the major search engines

Google

The Law of Unintended Consequence & SEO

Educational case study re re-design....://www.clickz.com/experts: "For pure-play e-commerce sites, a redesign or CMS switch can produce even more disastrous results. In one instance, I was called in to make repairs after the organization's Web-based sales dropped 75 percent 120 days after implementing a redesign and a CMS change. The implementation had drained business resources, so last-minute plans for a 301 permanent redirect database were scrapped. Implemented instead was a 302 temporary redirect to the home page only. The site didn't have an informative 404 error page.

In this case, a massive PPC campaign provided immediate relief for dwindling revenues, and a rewrite module was implemented to transform search engine unfriendly dynamic URLs into automatically updated static documents. File structure changes also had to be made to the site architecture so replicated content could be managed by the robots.txt file. Old key entry pages that had been indexed by the search engines received permanent redirects rather than triggering the 404 error page, which also got a makeover.

E-mail and viral marketing campaigns were simultaneously launched in time to impact the business's seasonal sales cycle. Revenue recovery (a return to comparable pre-redesign revenues after implementing the SEO plan) took about nine weeks. Stable revenue growth took about six months to achieve, as marketing costs were pared down to balance organic search engine referral increases.

Moving Violation

The e-commerce business and its staff wouldn't have endured these hardships if management had consulted with a competent SEO expert before implementing a redesign or CMS switch. The ad-driven, content-based site wouldn't have teetered on the brink of ruin if planning for the site launch had included an organic SEO plan and an augmented advertising budget.

Where search engine referrals are concerned, the law of unintended consequence is merciless. Consult with a SEO expert before making critical decisions that could put your business out of business."

Google

Log File Analysis and SEO

searchengineguide.com
Kalena Jordan writes: "There is specific data about your web site that you should be looking at in your log files on a regular basis. Several variables should be examined monthly or even weekly to ensure your site design and page optimization is on the right track:
1. Entry Paths
2. Top Exit Pages
3.Single Access Pages
4. Most Requested Page(s) and Top Entry Pages
5. Page refreshes
6. Referring Domains and Referring URLs
7. Search Engine Referrals
8. Search Phrases
9. Landing pages for PCC Campaigns, etc.
10. Metric values that show a radical change from developing trends

She concludes: "Remember, your log files are gold mines filled with nuggets of information about your optimized web site. If you keep digging on a regular basis, you'll eventually strike it rich with success..."

Google

SEOmoz | SEO Quiz

Neat SEOmoz | SEO Quiz: "SEO Quiz "

Google

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Search Engines and King Content

searchenginewatch.com: Tony Wright reports from the Search Engine Strategies 2005 Conference, 2005, New York, NY, May 17, 2005

Lest ye forget: "Thousands of articles, books and forum entries detail how to make your site search engine friendly, but ultimately, one rule stands above the rest: Content is king."

Google

Copyright Infringment - SEO slant

Pursuing Copyright Infringers Scottie Claiborne writes: "As a website owner, if you find your copy on multiple sites without the proper credit, it makes YOU look like a possible copyright violator as well..."

Plus "copyright infringement on the Internet can impact your site in search engine rankings. Most of the search engines try to weed out duplicate content (but they aren't very good at it yet) and at the very least, display the most important version of the duplicate content first."

Claiborne recommends using Google alerts and Wayback machine to find copies and advises that you "Report infringers who refuse to remove your copy or give you proper credit to their ISP's and the search engines.

She also provides a host of links to relevent info including The Upside of Copyright Infringment for details on ISP's and reporting violations to them. Plus links as below to the copyright notification pages for various Search Engines, each of which has a mail/fax address and a specific procedure to follow.

Google: Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Yahoo! copyright
AOL Anywhere | Procedure for Making Claims of Copyright Infringement
Microsoft - Information on Terms of Use
Ask Jeeves Inc.

Google

Saturday, May 14, 2005

A Site With a 100 Percent Conversion Rate

www.clickz.com: "Which of the following goals helps plan a better Web site?
Increase sales conversions from 2 to 4 percent, a 100 percent increase.
Ensure 100 percent of visitors take the action planned for them to take."

Article has some pointers as to how to take the traffic from searches for transport info etc and convert them to buying whatever their travel related needs may be, assuming that people searching for travel/ transport info are likely to be undertaking a journey for a reason which will have needs attached to it. The goal = Identify those searchers (AKA travellers) needs and fulfill them.

Google

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Wikipedia search engine traffic up...

MediaPost : "WIKIPEDIA...the reference.... site that allows its users to create and edit its entries freely, is now the second most-visited reference Web site--up from number 13 at the beginning of last year, and number three in January, according to data released Monday by research firm Hitwise. Dictionary.com remains the most popular reference site on the Internet. Wikipedia also has been getting more hits from search engines lately. By March, the site was the 33rd most popular site in terms of receiving visits from search engines--up from the 146th most popular in June 2004"

Is the increased traffic due to Wiki's search engine optimisation, strategic partnerships, Google or others use for define operators etc or user behaviour changes?

Google

Monday, May 09, 2005

Yahoo: Claim Online Display Ads Boost Search

DMNews.com | News | Article: "A Yahoo Inc. study released today analyzing financial adviser client HarrisDirect's campaign claims that online display advertising increased the number of relevant searches by more than 61 percent.

Clicks on sponsored search advertising links leading directly to HarrisDirect's site at theharris.com also jumped 249 percent after a user was exposed to a display ad campaign, Yahoo said.

The study found that consumers exposed to the display ad campaign clicked on 139 percent more links to the HarrisDirect site via both sponsored and algorithmic links. "

Google

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

The Importance of an SEO Technical Site Review

www.searchengineguide.com Paul Bruemmer: "All search engine spiders must first be able to digest your content before they can post your high-ranking results. That's why a technical site review is the first step in Search Engine Optimization...

Many companies are neglecting the important back-end issues that can make their websites search-engine friendly....

Review should include:
Site Architecture and Applications

web server (e.g., Apache, Microsoft IIS, Sun)
program languages
web hosting
database technology
investigate web applications such as content management systems, site search, directories, and shopping carts
cookies and sessions (human vs. spider)
check of your HTTP response headers esp reproper use of 404 error pages.
Complete review of basics such as contact information, FAQ, privacy policy, various resources, site map and number of links on a site map page.

Site Navigation
image maps and image links, javascript and DHTML and how they are organized on the page
text links and form based navigation, redirection 301, 302 pages and META refresh
effectiveness and placement of your global navigation and functional sections such as news, forums, shopping, etc
review site search functionality, usability and logs.
Document Structure review of ytitle tags, META description and META keywords
page layout CSS and tables,headings (H1, H2 and page structure)
e effect of pop-ups and browser compatibility such as AOL, IE, Mozilla, Netscape, etc
effect of any plug-Ins, Flash or Java, scripts and stylesheets

Keyword Strategy & Copywriting
analyse primary themes and search terms, supporting keywords,their optimization and effectiveness in current content
use of landing pages and their URLS A
internal links (cross-linking) also related to the use of keywords and their placement
keywords and placement in outbound links.

Search Engine Positioning

Index saturation: the number of pages found and/or indexed in Google and the crawlability of the site
Identify potential duplicate content
link popularity, link quality and relevance
Check PageRank on Google toolbar and directory listings such as DMOZ and Yahoo. "

Google

Sunday, May 01, 2005

Worthless Shady Criminals: A Defense Of SEO

searchenginewatch.com: "Worthless Shady Criminals: A Defense Of SEO By Danny Sullivan,

Sullivan takes to task the widespread opinion that "Worthless. Shady. Criminals. Do SEO"

"This means you. That's how you're being described. Those characterizing search engine optimization this way are unfairly defining an entire industry, often ignorant of SEO issues, definitely stereotyping and shortsighted in not realizing the value SEO offers to every site.

I hope this article will educate some about why SEO is not all bad. At the very least, I want to examine how we've ended up in this sorry state of affairs and why it isn't helpful to critics and those doing SEO alike."

Sullivan runs through "good SEO tips that anyone should consider. They are specifically about ensuring that your existing content has no barriers preventing it from doing well with search engines."

And examines why SEO turned "into a synonym for many people to mean tricking search engines through bogus links, comment spam, and other unsavory tactics? It's happened because there are other flavors of SEO that have developed and dominated the impression of the industry."

Good practices he lists include the staples:

"Relevant content in HTML text that can be read by search engines. An all-image or Flash page is like showing a picture to a blind person. Search engines can't see the words in your images.

Relevant and unique HTML title tags on each page. Even in today's link-obsessed world, I still have people telling me that fixing their page title problem brought in better traffic.

Removing barriers to indexing. Sites constructed in frames, using dynamic delivery systems, session IDs and other issues can in some cases prevent search engines from reading their content. What you can't read, you can't show to others."

On negatives, Sullivan is particularly vexed by "Trackback link spam" and that "Emerging design standards mean that people are contemplating all new ways to lose sight of the main focus of CSEO, ensuring that good content on the page is made friendly to search engines by eliminating barriers and making use of particular page elements appropriately."

He offers further reading and concludes: "it also behooves everyone not to tar the entire industry with the same brush. For all the bad things that people want to lump under the umbrella of SEO (and really search engine marketing, of which SEO is just a part), there's also plenty of good. Decry a particular SEO tactic, if you want -- but don't decry the entire SEM industry as being rotten. If you want to do that, then here are some other stereotypes you'd also better buy into:

All car salesmen are crooks
All lawyers are crooks
Teachers teach because they can't do
Bloggers don't check facts
[Insert Race/Culture/Nationality Here] is [Insert Derogatory Comment/Stereotype Here]
Realistically, I don't expect the SEM reputation problem will go away. Could the industry do anything itself to help improve it? Pushing that there's "good SEO" or "ethical SEO" has been raised in the past and is a difficult issue for many reasons."

Over at High Rankings Search Engine Optimization Forum lyn makes the point that: "hyped up e-mails are their first or only exposure to SEO.....Imagine if the reputation of pharmacists was based on Viagra spam!"

Google

Yahoo! Search Marketing to Test Graphical Ads

clickz.com Where Google goes....: "Yahoo! Search Marketing is planning tests of graphical banner ads to be displayed on its pay-per-click contextual ad network, a spokesperson said... Currently, the company is considering a standard banner-sized placement that would begin as a graphical ad and then morph into a text creative. That change could be a fade or a flip, for example.

The tests come as Yahoo! is expected to broaden its contextual ad network to include smaller publishers, or launch a new network to encompass those sites."

Google
Creative Commons Licence
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.