Since involvement with the search industry in 2001, we’ve used the SERP define as part of our reporting criteria to clients. It is one way to gauge effectiveness of natural search efforts. Once we show page one placement for a keyword or phrase then we show the amount of visits generated by that placement, then behavior of that traffic and the conversion of that traffic, pretty straightforward.
Now that personalized search define and custom SERPs are more common than ever, the search industry is left without a metric that it has used to dazzle current and prospective clients. It’s exciting when you can tell a client that they are #1 on Google for an important search query, but what do we as an industry do now that SERPs are difficult to replicate? What I see on my query is very likely to vary from what my client sees because of customized results. We can run the reports with personalized search off and advise clients to do the same so we can be on the same page, but results for their potential traffic will vary due to custom results that can be driven by geography, bookmarks, past queries and other information because engines want to drive the highest level of relevance for users.
This is great for users, but it can present some complexity for search marketers. This change in the search algorithm define places us in the same situation as more traditional marketing efforts. We can still monitor our visits and track them back to the engines, then proceed to return on investment and conversion. Though some search marketers may fear this transition we should be excited about it. We are now left to embrace more traditional, grown up methods of success like quantifiable growth, roi and increased revenue for our clients.
There are still many search marketers that point to their client SERPs and congratulate themselves for being masters of the universe. The real power of search lies in helping our clients complete the sales cycle (or other conversion goal), not just giving them placement on an engine. What does personalized search and custom SERP’s mean to SEO? Maybe it means it’s time for search to grow up and take its’ rightful place among traditional marketing strategies. Growing up means getting more responsible, and that’s good news for the industry and our clients.
As I’ve enjoyed the holidays, I’m reminded about how important foundational elements are to so many things. When it comes to preparing a great meal, there’s no fancy color coordinated table setting that will make up for a bad cut of meat. When it comes to hosting a party, it doesn’t matter if the food and cocktails are perfect if you didn’t invite people you like. It’s difficult to build anything sustainable on a rocky foundation. I meet with many business owners who want to skip the foundation. No matter where you are in your search marketing efforts take this quick quiz and determine if your foundation is solid and ready for building.
1 We’ve done thorough keyword research
2 We have good information architecture for our website
3 We have link popularity through strategic linking
4 We can be found for the keywords we’ve defined for our business
5 We know which search queries result in conversion
6 We understand our analytics
7 We send natural search traffic to other pages besides our home page
8 We have a plan for continued improvement
9 We’ve done competitive analysis and know what our competitors are doing
10 Our search goals are quantifiable so we can determine return on investment
If you don’t have these foundational elements, take some time to create a plan that addresses each. If you have mastered these elements, it’s time to start landing page optimization. We’ll talk about testing next post!
Three things happened at this week’s Search Engine Strategies show in Chicago that make me think that search is becoming mainstream. First, one of the keynotes called attendees “traditional search marketers”. How exciting to have the descriptor “traditional” next to a job that’s only a dozen years old. Second, one of the keynotes was Professor Emeritus Don Shultz from Northwestern University giving direction for search marketers to become integrated into the traditional marketing mix. Third, companies are creating their own internal search marketing departments. So what does this mean for you as a business owner? Search is becoming a more organized, respected discipline. This means there are higher standards within the industry holding search marketers accountable for the results they provide their customers. It also means that more education is available for clients. One of the biggest complaints of clients new to search marketing is that it is an almost mysterious discipline and companies are writing big checks to almost unknown entities for a marketing medium they don’t understand. Make sure that the search marketing agencies you engage have shown results and referrals for their customers. Educate yourself. Sign up for search marketing newsletters through ClickZ, Bruce Clay or attend a local search marketing organization meeting (in Oregon, that’s SEMPDX) so that you’re asking the right questions when you’re ready to hire a search marketing agency. Lastly, include your search marketing agency into your traditional marketing planning. A great deal of synergy exists when all marketing departments work together to optimize efforts. As search becomes mainstream, prepare to reap the benefits of search maturing and, as importantly for your business, expect the same level of accountability from your search marketing efforts as you do from your traditional marketing efforts.
Last month, I wrote a post, Top 10 List “Why 70% of SEOs Suck” and, as the Search Commander pointed out, this list works both ways. So here’s it is, Top 10 List “Why Some SEO Clients Suck”
10. They want to do search marketing because it’s the cool thing. Unencumbered by real business reasons, they decide that they’ll give their first born child and 30% of their marketing budget for search ranking.
9. They don’t take time to learn the steps to good SEO. They underestimate both the complexity and the nature of SEO and they put less effort into an SEO Campaign than they would choosing a breakfast cereal.
8. They hire their cousins’ best friend because they heard he knows how to do SEO. Clients need to learn to ask the right questions, the most important of which is, “What have you accomplished for your clients”. They also need to ask more than the question about page one placement. Ask how search efforts have improved the bottom line.
7. They sit you down and ask “How do you do search marketing”. Really? If I do construction, would you sit me down and ask me how you build a house? Let’s say, just for argument sake, that I’m a contractor and I answer that question. I would give you the highlights, “We work with an architect to make plans and build the home to specification, we’ll need your help selecting materials, paint colors, tile, fixtures, appliances, etc.” Now let’s assume I’m a search marketer, when I explain that we start with understanding business objectives, then we do keyword research, competitive analysis and create a site with solid site architecture and exceptional content that facilitates strategic linking, they’re disappointed. It’s like it’s a secret club, and they just want the special handshake. That’s not how it works Spanky. (Spanky and Alfalfa, The Little Rascals, anyone?)
6. They want something for nothing. Ninety percent of proposals I submit to potential new clients get this reaction, “We can’t afford that”, without understanding what the value of an SEO campaign will net the company. They want you to build them a Mercedes and charge you for a Yugo. It’s our job to create a relationship between the cost of the campaign and the return on investment for clients and help them make decisions on acceptance or rejection of a search marketing budget based on ROI.
5. They consider using black hat search marketers. SEO clients should beware of search marketers who scream “Get your website number one on Google for $49.95!” and though their business savvy encourages them to run from such ploys, they can be swayed to engage in these practices just to get placement.
4. They want instant results. Good search marketing strategies take time to implement, we make short and long term goals for our clients so they can begin seeing results, but building a site with solid site architecture, relevant links and exceptional content take time, THEN it takes time for those strategies to get rewarded by the engines.
3. They want to do it themselves. I have 2 clients that came to me for proposals, went away to do it themselves, then came back to have it done the right way. Some clients believe “SEO isn’t rocket science, I can do it myself”, and spend a token amount of time learning about it and implementing a partial strategy that gets little result.
2. They think you just do it once. Good SEO/SEM requires long-term commitment. You don’t just do it once and turn your back on it, just as you wouldn’t buy one TV spot on the Super Bowl and quit other advertising campaigns. Products change, search queries change, competition changes, your SEO/SEM Campaign has to change and evolve as well.
1. They haven’t been educated. The number 1 reason SEO clients suck is because we haven’t done a good job as search marketers of educating them. I hate to pass the buck back to the industry, but that’s where some of the responsibility lies. We make it our job to educate our clients, give them achievable results and deliver. Maybe SEO clients would suck less if SEO’s suck less;)
Happy Thanksgiving!
SEMPDX, our local search marketing organization, held their new SEM 6-Pack Series last night. This innovative learning event was created to meet the needs of local search engine marketing (SEM) professionals and the business community. The event featured 6 different speakers presenting on 6 unique topics relating to SEM techniques and trends for 15 minutes each. The most helpful sections included case studies that demonstrated bottom line success using SEM strategies. Here are a couple of take aways:
*Kent Lewis-Anvil Media recommended creating a press room to encourage keyword rich content in one place as well as a way to organize your press materials for easy access for the organization as well as media players.
*Benjamin Lloyd-Amplilfy Interactive
Great content is only helpful if the engines can find it. Make sure to create site architecture that supports easy access to the bots.
*Scott Hendison-Search Commander
Research Wordpress plug ins for your blog, easy to implement and helpful to the engines.
*Scott McMahon-Engine Works
Create enticing content to raise awareness on social media sites, start with a great idea that engages the community, then create the strategy for sharing that content.
*Stan Davis-Striaght on Consulting
Remember to give respect to the basic foundation of good SEO-relevant title tags, meta data, header tags, alt+image tags, etc.
*Tom Hale-Thomas Creek Concepts
When doing PPC, track your efforts, use Google Analytics and pay attention to the metrics.
These items may seem basic, but many sites are ignoring these foundational elements of good SEO/SEM and suffer the consequences. One of the successes of SEMPDX is that they are helping raise awareness about search marketing for professionals as well as for business owners. As a search professional I would encourage clients to begin participating in education and this is a great start. Here are a couple of upcoming events. SEM Hot Seat is a chance to get real search marketing advice from a panel of experts. The panelists will critique actual sites and address specific SEM questions / issues.
SEMPDX has a great selection of articles and they also host a forum for search marketing questions. MEDIA forte marketing will be presenting a 6-part series for our local Community Education program. Email me at lisa@mediafortemarketing.com if you’d like more info.
Though I’ve attended Search Engine Strategies conferences since 2001, I’m really enjoying and learning from Danny Sullivan’s search series, SMX, Search Marketing Expo. I attended SMX Advanced in Seattle this year and last week attended the SMX Social Media series in New York. We’ve been talking about social media marketing for about 3 years now, it had been pre-dominantly embraced by the 18-30 year old male demographic. It has now become a powerful venue for communication in niche and micro communities and people are coming up with some really smart ways to leverage the medium. Of course there are spammers who muddy the water and try to turn social media marketing into just one more unwanted advertising venue. Here are some topline items of discussion to help you start thinking about how to use SMM to raise awareness of your site.
The Good:
The web is such an enormous place and Social Networking sites have made it very easy to locate sites, blogs and communities that share your interests and needs online. Say you like wine (okay, let’s say I like wine;) and we have a wine client. I spend time at blogs such as wine camp and social networking sites such as corkd. These communities are superbly rich with wine content that is unique, interesting and helpful. They share wine reviews, recipes, wine events, harvest information and wine tasting recommendations. It’s enormously helpful to go to a handful of sites or blogs and get updates on wine scores, up and coming vintners, new recipes and events. It’s a great way to aggregate all of the best there is for wine content. This is the good of social media marketing. The good allows us to be privy to the best, most relevant, most illuminating content on the web.
The Bad:
Social media marketing is an open forum for discussion, content and links. Because link popularity is an important element of search optimization, it can also be a free for all of links to obscure viagra and cialis sites that have less-than-nothing to do with the social networking site you’re visiting. That’s the bad. Shame on them, propagators of this kind of activity should all be flogged. That said, think about your intention when you become involved in a social networking site. I have an interest in wine communities, I represent a wine client and if I spend my time on wine blogs pushing my client and their special of the week, I would be next for flogging. But if I spend time reading blogs, commenting fairly on cork’d about the 07′ harvest of Oregon Pinot Noir or sharing my grandmother’s pumpkin shrimp saute recipe (that by the way pairs beautifully with my clients’ 06′ Pinot Gris) then I’m being a good member of my community. Social networking is much like starting a friendship. What do you want from me and how can you add value? If you meet me in a coffee shop and start telling me all your problems and ask me to help you move I’m probably not going to get to know you, but if you meet me in a coffee shop and we’re friends for awhile and you add value to my life as a friend and you need help moving, I’ll be there for you. The bad is when people leave comment on social networking sites with total disregard for propriety and good manners.
The Ugly:
Okay, now I’m taking the gloves off. Spammers and black hat SEO’s should be flogged (did I mention that?) I have a corporate client for which we do monthly press releases. This last week, one of our releases was hi-jacked. This entry appeared under a tail search term for my client:
Avery® Print and Mail Center Announces ‘Direct Mail Dish’ Blog …
This site may harm your computer.
Avery Print and Mail Center (PMC), the direct marketing group of Avery … How to Self Direct Retirement Funds Into Real Estate (PR Newswire via Yahoo! …
blogged.sbmarketingservices.com/blogs/ how-to-direct-mail/112554/avery-print-and-mail/ -
Okay, couple of problems. Notice Google addition to this entry This site may harm your computer. not a message a company with an exceptional reputation wants to be associated with. Though the title even shows the registered mark, this BS marketing blog tries to create a relationship between our direct mail blog and some real estate scheme. Legal departments are involved and it will get resolved, but let me ask-what is the point? People aren’t stupid, this company has less-than-nothing to do with retirement real estate. How can hijacking someone else’s unrelated content be helpful to you?
Vertical Response, a very highly respected Email Marketing Program, had their site hi-jacked and were pummeled with some very bad PR (because someone thought this spammed up, hi-jacked site belonged to them). They are a classy outfit and handled the situation quickly and graciously, but what a nightmare.
The internet is still relatively new and all of these hi-jacking, spamming, trademark issues are just beginning to have real world solutions and frankly it’s a nightmare if you’re ever on the wrong side of the spam. This kind of ugliness is reprehensible and unfathomable. Social media marketing, blogs and other easily editable sites have opened the door to content hijacking and all forms of desperate marketing ploys. This is the ugly. The ugly is when you ask for everything and you’re willing to give nothing.
The Fun:
Now we can talk about the fun. An agency representing Comedy Central presented at the show. In a session for Wikipedia, he outlined how Comedy Central leverages comments and additions to Wikipedia for South Park. They let brand evangelists share the message and Wikipedia and its’ guest are the better for it. Consumers trust the information because it isn’t coming from some big PR firm, it’s coming from the guy who has faithfully watched the show, gets the characters and shares fact about the program. This is the fun! How refreshing to see social media marketing at its’ best.
The take away? Let’s do our best to be good social networking citizens, just as we work to be good friends. Comment fairly and appropriately, be a good friend online and your friendship, good content and fair intent will be rewarded.
Last month, Rand Fishkin of seomoz.org posted “less than 30% of companies that spend money on organic search ranking services are getting a good deal” Read the full article
A big AMEN to that, here’s a Top 10 List of Why SEO’s Suck…
10. They want to be search marketers because it’s the cool new thing. It is cool, don’t get me wrong.
We go to cool conferences-Who went to the Web Attack conference years ago where Dennis Rodman rode his motorcycle onto the stage? Way cool;)
We wear cool clothes-My favorite swag this year, Acquisio Bid Management Tool T-Shirt reading simply “I hate doing this shit”.
We are trend setters. More than two years ago we were discussing the impact of social media, today my Aunt Debbie has a groovy page on MySpace and Social Media has its’ own conferences.
We have cool nicknames. My favorite search moniker? Search Commander, Scott Hendison. Love it!
We are great performers. Just check out our Google Karaoke YouTube from SES San Jose (okay, so we can’t sing, but we do have fun!)
Yes, search marketing is cool, but it’s a lot of work.
9. They only want to do the sexy stuff. Is it fun to get kudos for a high profile article or exciting new search placement, yes. Is it fun to create exceptional, relevant title tags and meta descriptions for every page? No, it’s tedious, it’s painstaking and you won’t get any pats on the back for doing it right. But you will struggle if you don’t take the time to implement this foundational element with care. Meta data may not mean as much to engines, but it means a great deal to searchers. If a searcher sees a page title that matches their search query they’re more likely to follow that “scent” and click thru. Commit to the process, grunt work and sexy stuff alike.
8. They don’t properly educate themselves. Don’t disrespect the industry or fellow search marketers by taking a 2-week Search Marketing certification course and then hanging out your shingle. Do an internship with a respected agency. Spend the money on SMX or SES conferences. Join a Search Marketing Organization, such as SEMPO or SEMPDX. Read books on search marketing. Commit time daily to blogs and forums dedicated to search marketing. Then when you execute your first project, do so with small, achievable goals.
7. They speak poorly of their competition. This industry is growing rapidly and it’s made up of very bright, highly skilled marketers and a handful of snake oil salesmen. Speak only well of your competition and if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything. There is plenty of work to go around. Nice is the new mean!
6. They focus on just one tactic. Today’s search marketing strategies require multiple tactics on many fronts. Start with best practice items first-good site architecture, exceptional unique content, relevant and strategic linking. Then begin employing Web 2.0 tactics that can help you get an edge. Create a solid foundation so your house will still be standing if Google nofollows every social media link on the planet or universal search takes more than a couple of months to roll out. It sounds trite, but don’t put all your eggs in one basket and don’t forget the basics.
5. They take projects inappropriate for their skill level. I attended my first Search Engine Strategies Conference in 2002. I’ve been in the industry since 1997 and involved in search since 2001. I provide exceptional results for clients, but if I had a new client with needs beyond my abilities I’d reach out to the appropriate resource for help. (If I were a podiatrist and someone showed up in my office for brain surgery, I’d refer them to a neurosurgeon). Your clients will appreciate your honesty and likely retain you for other projects more inline with your skill set because you were interested in their long-term success.
4. They work alone. If you’re a technical genius, it can’t hurt to involve marketing and business development in your search strategy. If you’re a marketer, don’t dismiss IT work as “the techie stuff”. We need each other. One of my favorite parts of my job is hearing from different disciplines about what is most important. The truth (and our best results) can be found in our aggregated knowledge. If you can’t hire an employee, work with subcontractors who own a skill set you don’t. Knowing your abilities and limitations is the first step to greatness.
3. They don’t create expectations. I’d be willing to bet the reason why many business owners aren’t happy with their search results is that their agency isn’t setting expectations.
2. They over promise and under deliver. It’s okay to say, “we can’t win without a redesign” or “it will take 9 months to reach our goals”. It’s not okay to say “Yeah, we can do that” and then you don’t.
1. They don’t review business goals. Don’t just set a goal for search placement (20 keywords in page one results in 3 months). That doesn’t answer a business goal, ask about the goal your client is trying to reach-improved sales, more lead generation, increased white paper downloads. Attach a quantifiable goal to all of your search milestones and when you deliver, your clients will know you’re for real…then you’re on your way to not sucking.
If you’re a business owner looking for an SEO that doesn’t suck, get references and ask them to show you results.
So the next few posts I’ll be talking about last week’s Search Engine Strategies Conference (highlights: video search engines, ask.com 3D launch, social media impact, blog pages outpacing web pages for the first time probably by the end of this quarter, SEMPDX Karaoke of Love Shack on YouTube at the Google Dance…) But I want to start with a practical and simple strategy. Start a blog for your business. We recently created a blog for a client, they’ve only written a handful of posts, but already they’ve had user generated content on their winery site regarding a food and wine pairing recipe, “The recipe came out perfect and the wine was a great touch” and an event “So glad I found your site and came to the Diva Wine Picnic”. Many businesses don’t ask for user content, fearful they may not like what they have to say. User generated content (UGC) is a great way to begin having a dialogue with your customers. Worse case scenario, you learn about how to improve your business and customer experience, best case scenario, you get comments like the ones referenced earlier and it really doesn’t get any better than that. The blogsphere is full of comments about companies who shut the door on UGC and suffer the consequences. If you don’t start allowing dialogue online between you and your customers, they may just start without you. So how do you get started, did I already mention this? Start a blog for your business. Plan to post at least twice a month, plan to get involved in the conversation, comment (thoughtfully) on other blogs within your industry. Spend time reading a blog that you like so you get a feel for the interaction. Read a book about blogging, “Naked Conversations” has some great insight and case studies. Happy posting!
What is Google Universal Search? Search Guru (the Lance Armstrong of the SEO world) Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land notes, “Google is undertaking the most radical change to its search results ever, introducing a ‘Universal Search’ system that will blend listings from its news, video, images, local and book search engines among those it gathers from crawling web pages”.
Though this rolled out a couple of months ago, the roll out will take place over time and search marketers are just starting to see the impact. As video and other results take page one placement, traditional text entries will be pushed further down the list. What does this mean for your business? Prepare to communicate with your customers via video. When faced with a choice between text only option for a search query and a text option with video, it’s the theory that searchers may prefer rich media to help them with their search query.
We’ll learn more about Google Universal Search at Search Engine Strategies-San Jose, CA
The Wednesday Keynote Presentation will be from Marissa Mayer, Vice President of Search Products & User Experience at Google. We’ll learn about Google’s moves in search, including recent changes to add more personalized and “universal” search results and we’ll tell your more about it after the show!
You’ve heard of “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs”, the theory by Abraham Maslow that belonging is third only to physiological and safety needs. You need look no further than the organization of the web to understand that concept. If you want to “belong” on the web and learn about social networks, pick a topic that interests you (for me that’s food, wine, traveling, college prep for my teenage son) do some research about your favorite topic and you’ll find tons of information by people just like you sharing what they know about the topic.
User generated content has been around for awhile, but it has never been more powerful than it is today. MySpace was one of the pioneers of social media this is a great place to start learning about social networking and social media. The great part is that, though the internet gets bigger every day, it’s becoming easier to become a part of social networks. Don’t confuse social networking with advertising. Never use a social network as a way to shamelessly plug your product or service, rather utilize it as a way to educate and be educated. It’s true that social media is a great way to raise awareness about your business, but it should only be done with the best of intention. Try social networking for a personal interest or cause first, then think about how you can raise awareness about your business using this great Web 2.0 tool. Here’s a great starting point, create a profile on LinkedIn today.
