Search Engine Optimization: Marketing Update 1/20/12
Posted by David Guerrera on Fri, Jan 20, 2012 @ 05:29 PM
Episode #184 - January 20th, 2012
Intro
- How to interact on Twtter: Include #MktgUp in your tweet!
- On the show today is Karen Rubin (@KarenRubin) and Mike Volpe (@MVolpe)
- As always, all the old episodes are in iTunes. If you like the show, please leave a 5-star review!
- Anyone is welcome to come by the show to watch as part of the live studio audience - 4pm Friday
- Question of the week: What are your best tips to improve online lead gen??
Headlines
Is Goggle Compromising their Search Engine for Google +
- http://battellemedia.com/archives/2012/01/our-google-conundrum.php
- Given that Google+ results are dominating so many SERPs these days, Google is clearly leveraging its power in search to build up Google+.
- Google has positioned Google+ as a sort of “mini Internet,” a place where you can find results for a large percentage of your queries.(My source is pretty direct about this: “Google has decided that beating Facebook is worth selling their soul.”)
- But if that’s how the world of Google works now, that means it’s very important that you tend your Google+ pages, so that you rank well in Google search. Google has pretty much gamed its own search engine to insure Google+ will succeed.
- I really have no choice but to play Google’s game, and tend to my Google+ page, be I a brand, a person, a small business…. are you getting the picture here? If you decide to NOT play on Google+, you will, in essence, be devalued in Google search, at least for the percentage of people who are logged in whilst using Google.
- Seems a bit off. Seems like Google is taking the first click away from me and directing it to a Google service.
- Marketing Takeaway: See if G+ pages are ranking for your key search terms.
New Age Search Optimization
- http://www.kunocreative.com/blog/bid/70764/Why-SEOs-are-Finding-Themselves-Reporting-to-Content-Marketing
- Some SEO practitioners are having a hard time adjusting to the many new changes in Google’s ranking algorithm, indexing system, and Google’s plunge into social media. On the other hand, content marketers are thriving in the SERPs.
- These changes have benefited the prolific content producers while hurting the traditional mathematician-type SEO’s ability to maximize organic web visibility.
- Two years ago Google’s sweet spot was easy to identify – Sculpt on-page factors, build lots of backlinks, have clean search-friendly code and make sure website architecture is flat.
- Google's changes have pushed content to the forefront while shrinking the importance of the technical SEO tactics mentioned above. Without lots of good quality content it’s much harder to maximize organic search visibility.
- Actually, it requires traffic from the greatest number of relevant keywords regardless of where they rank. SERP results are not what they used to be. Just because you get certain results doesn’t mean your neighbor will.
- The point is that by ignoring where you rank on a keyword phrase and focusing on how many keyword phrases drive traffic you can see large growth in organic search visibility.
- Kuno has seen a 556% increase in organic traffic by taking this approach and almost a half-point increase in the organic visit to lead ratio. The MarketingTechBlog.com credits 72% of their organic traffic from phrases which appear on the second page or beyond. Since we can’t track up to 30% of our keywords isn’t it about time to stop worrying about where they rank and focus on how many there are and how much traffic they drive?
- Marketing Takeaway: Stop worrying about where you rank and focus on creating great content around traffic driving keywords.
Death to SOPA!
- http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/sopa-protests-to-shut-down-web-sites/2012/01/17/gIQA4WYl6P_story.html?hpid=z1
- Americans woke up without some of the oddball essentials of online life. No Wikipedia. No Reddit, a compendium of links to stories and funny pictures that draws millions a day. And no I Can Has Cheezburger?, the world’s best-known collection of funny cat pictures.
- http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2012/01/wikipedia-sopa-blackout-congressional-representatives.html
- Wikipedia, the largest Web player to block access to its pages for a full 24 hours, reports that a whopping 162 million people experienced the blackout on the online encyclopedia's landing page. In addition, 8 million U.S. readers took Wikipedia's suggestion and looked up their congressional reps from the site.
- Google reported Wednesday that as of 1:30 PM PST, 4.5 million people had signed its petition asking lawmakers to reject the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House and the Protect Intellectual Property Act in the Senate.
- http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/16/murdoch-launches-twitter-tirade-against-obama-google-over-online-piracy/
- Rupert Murdoch didn't waste any time using his newfound popularity on Twitter to make waves and take shots at some other major names.
- The media mogul took aim at the president and the leading Internet search engine after the White House announced over the weekend that it would not support legislation mandating changes to Internet infrastructure to fight online copyright and trademark infringement.
- @RupertMurdoch - So Obama has thrown in his lot withSilicon Valley paymasters who threaten all software creators with piracy, plain thievery.
- @RupertMurdoch - Piracy leader is Google who streams movies free, sells advts around them. No wonder pouring millions into lobbying.
- @RupertMurdoch - Understand more than all allege! Google great company doing many exciting things. Only one complaint, and it's important.
- Google spokesperson - Last year we took down 5 million infringing Web pages from our search results and invested more than $60 million in the fight against bad ads. ... We fight pirates and counterfeiters every day
- http://mashable.com/2012/01/20/sopa-is-dead-smith-pulls-bill/
- Lamar Smith, the chief sponsor of SOPA, said on Friday that he is pulling the bill “until there is wider agreement on a solution.”
- The move comes after widespread protest on the Internet on Wednesday by Wikipedia, Reddit and others. The sites signaled their displeasure with the bill by going dark. That day, several Congressmen dropped their support for SOPA and its Senate counterpart, PIPA. The latter bill has also been taken off the table for now.
- Marketing Takeaway: Controversial topics spur people to action... use that!
Social Word to the Wise: What are your best tips to improve online lead gen?
- relevant message --> remarkable, optimized content = lead generation engine
- using hubspot? ;)
- diversify lead sources, test, and abandon what doesn't work
- kylegport - Kyle Porter: become recognized in your industry for creating premium content so your stuff gets shared a ton
Scarcity of women causes men to spend more, save less
- http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/basics/story/2012-01-16/sex-and-spending/52604166/1
- University of Minnesota researchers asked groups of men to read news articles suggesting that their local population had either more men or women. They were then asked to indicate how much money they would save each month from a paycheck, as well as how much they would borrow on credit cards for purchases. When the articles suggested there was a surplus of men, the savings rate fell 42%, and the men were willing to borrow 84% more each month.
- The study also found real-life evidence of this behavior. In Columbus, Ga., where there are 1.18 single men for every single woman, the average consumer debt was $3,479 higher than it was 100 miles away in Macon, Ga., where there were 0.78 single men for every woman.
- While many commercials for male-oriented products feature beautiful women, the study's findings suggest that the image of one attractive woman surrounded by men would be more effective, says Vladas Griskevicius, professor of marketing at the Carlson School and lead author of the study. "That's what's likely to get men's testosterone ramped up," he says.
- Sex ratios don't affect women's financial decisions, but they do affect their expectations of how much men should spend on them, the study found. After reading an article stating that men outnumbered them, women expected men to spend more on dinners,Valentine's Day gifts and engagement rings.
- Marketing Takeaway: Try to understand the psychology that drives your buyers.
Worlds Longest Phone Call
- http://www.bostonseo.org/articles/584
- How do you market something that is not super exciting, like a phone card? Create something remarkable that is related to the producing.
- @BrianHawkins created a world record attempt for the world's longest phone call to help market Pingo's international calling cards.43 hours, 8 minutes, 55 seconds.
- http://www.ustream.tv/CHANNEL/AWORLDRECORDATTEMPT
- Two students from Harvard University inhabit two separate performance spaces, carrying on a conversation over the phone. The artists subject themselves to rules that a Guinness World Records official has mandated, and ordained referees are there to officiate, about what makes an authentic conversation. They are only allowed to pause for ten seconds between comments. Each performer must make a meaningful contribution, consisting of more than yes andno. They are not allowed to read or cite or script. They must never return to the same topic" twice. They must address only each other. But the biggest rule is … the conversation has to last.
- Marketing Takeaway: If you have a boring product, create something remarkable that is related to it.
Marketing Tip of the Week -