Google Voice – The important part is the voice part

Posted on March 12, 2012January 8, 2013

I’m not going to beat around the bush with this one. Google Voice is awesome. Even if you don’t have any idea what it is go sign up for it right now before you even finish reading this. OK maybe that is a little bit hasty but it does not take away from what a useful product Google Voice is.

The video below will give you some idea, but the one thing they don’t make a big enough deal of in the vid is the fact that you can pick a number from pretty much anywhere. Need a local number in Maryland but you live in Utah? Google Voice. Just let people call you in Maryland and they will get sent to you in Utah. No worrying about “phone companies” or “money”. I have no idea how they pull it off but they do.

And, on top of that, the forwarding feature really comes in handy. I have to admit that the transcribing is not the best and I’ve never used a lot of the features, but you really can’t beat the central point. Google Voice gives you reach where you didn’t have it before. So if you want to tell someone you live really far away so you can’t hang out with them, you can prove it by giving them your far away phone number. And then never picking up when they call. Or use Google Voice for good. Whichever you prefer. Either way it’s gold!

Local Marketing Online: Part 1: Intro

Posted on April 26, 2011

Local marketing has become one of the most powerful ways to reach and convert customers online. With more than 2.5 billion local searches a month on Google alone, Google has taken notice of this fact and recently initiated a direct marketing campaign in targeted regions throughout the US to promote its local marketing opportunities. The company sent, by FEDEX, to select businesses a white box containing brochures and offers about the benefits of Google Places and the company’s online advertising programs.

Google is smart. They’re taking advantage of the trend and so should you. Why? Because local searches are easier and less costly to convert as prospects are typically further along in the buying cycle. The key is making sure:

You can be easily found by your targeted audience groups
They can trust you because others have said so
You deliver the right message at the right time
They can easily contact you or visit your location
You’re easily identified online as an ‘authority’ for what you offer
You follow up in an appropriate manner with the appropriate communications
You deliver on what you promise, and maybe a little extra!

In this eight part series I will explain the multiple facets of local marketing online and how its various components are now cross-referenced by the search engines to determine an ‘authority score’ which affects web page rankings. This multi-part series will cover:

Web & Map Listings
Google Places
Search & Social Media
City Sites, Reviews & Recommendations
Share Your Content
Email Marketing
Pay Per Click Integration
Mobile Marketing
Optimized Web Design
Tracking & Reporting

Look for Part 2: Web & Map Listings, where you will learn about Google Places, web directories, maps, and the importance of claiming your online listings.

Read the Series:

Online Advertising and User Intent: Part 3: Search Engine Advertising

Posted on April 20, 2011

Many of you are familiar with search engine ads, and may even have engaged in an online advertising campaign through one of Google’s ad programs or through Microsoft’s AdCenter. If so, many of you may have spent an awful lot of money without garnering the kind of results you were expecting.

In my series Online Advertising and User Intent (see Part 1: Intro and Part 2: Social Media Advertising) I have been discussing how to develop effective online advertising campaigns and messages through the understanding of user intent. To recap, user intent refers to the reason the user went to that particular platform, such as a search engine, in the first place. So let’s take a look now at search engine advertising.

Search Engine Advertising

Unlike Facebook where users display their intent in their profile or in their posts, search engine users type their intent in the search query box by posing a search term that is in some way addresses a current need or “pain”. Because it is not possible to witness a search as it is taking place, it is only through historical data that an advertiser learns of user intent. Through an analysis of this historical data you can learn the ways in which to tactically target your audience groups as they search for what you offer.

The first place to look is at keywords. User intent can be identified to some extent by the terms they use to search for what you offer. Unfortunately it is difficult to know for sure what their intent is because users typically don’t specify ‘why’ they are looking for what you offer so you will have to make some assumptions. For example, if users typically type “mold removal long island” you can assume that a mold problem exists in homes in Long Island and users are looking for remediation. The point is to make an appropriate assumption that allows you to develop an ad that taps into:

Users need or perceived interest
What users are trying to accomplish ultimately
What users may feel concerning their need or interest
Their sense of urgency

Using the above example, it is easy to identify users’ ‘need or interest’ as ‘mold removal.’ Based on what you already know about your own business, you can also safely assume they are trying to accomplish getting rid of the mold, as well as the problem that is causing the mold. So the assumed scenario you are addressing is home owners in Long Island have a water problem that is causing their homes to develop mold. They are probably feeling pretty stressed about the situation so their sense of urgency is to find a way to get rid of it as quickly as possible without spending more than they can afford and to prevent it from ever happening again.

Now you have the information you need to develop a powerful text ad that speaks to the intent of the users who typed in ‘mold removal long island.’ It may look something like this:

Mold Removal Long Island
Stop wet basement problems now.
Free estimate. Call 1-800-000-0000.
www.YourMoldCompany.com

If we analyze this ad you can see how it satisfies the assumed user intent, namely, to find a solution to their mold problem in Long Island. The opening line addresses the problem by indicating the solution, mold removal, as well as the service location, Long Island. The second line addresses the assumed feeling and sense of urgency of users, which is to just get rid of the problem now and make sure it never comes back. The third line addresses the assumed need to manage costs. It also provides users with a quick way to get started on the solution: call the number. The fourth line is the link to your mold removal web page.

Effective search engine advertising requires you do some preliminary research to identify the search terms and phrases used to search for what you offer. Using these terms, you would then:

Identify the intent of users, which may be to solve a problem, learn about something, find a course to take, buy a product online, or some other reason
Make assumptions based on what you know about your own business that allow you to develop a scenario that enhances your understanding of the users’ intent
Develop highly focused ads that address the assumptions you made
Tell users what they need to do to fulfill their intent

The users intent must be effectively addressed on the corresponding landing page that the ad is tied to. A common mistake is to tie your ads to your company’s Home Page. In my example above, the mold company may also offer other services such as basement renovations. It is a waste of ad dollars, and time, to frustrate a user that clicks on an ad specifically speaking to their mold remediation need that dumps them on a home page forcing them to find the info they are looking for.

By creating a user path and tracking the conversions in your site analytics tools you can refine, A/B test and optimize your assumptions over time until you have a working formula you can count on.

In Part 4 of this series I will discuss how to apply the concept of user intent to online advertising on third party websites.

Read posts in this Series:

Online Advertising and User Intent: Part 1: Intro

Online Advertising and User Intent: Part 2: Social Media Advertising

Online Advertising and User Intent: Part 3: Search Engine Advertising

Online Advertising and User Intent: Part 4: 3^rd-Party Website Advertising

Local Marketing Benefits of Google Instant on Places

Posted on April 6, 2011

Recently Google announced the addition of Google Instant on Google Places. Google Instant is identified as a ‘search-as-you-type’ feature that delivers results automatically as you type, with no need to hit ‘Enter’ or click the ‘search’ button. As soon as you see what you need predicted in gray text you can stop typing and your search results will be listed below. The purpose of this search feature is to produce relevant search results in faster time. By understanding how the tool works and its goals, business owners can develop a local search engine optimization strategy that takes advantage of the types of search results offered to users.

To access the Places View local search tool, users simply click “Places” in the left-hand panel of Google. Once there, their searches will have place and map results that update as described above (i.e. search-as-you-type). All results are clustered around the location specified, such as New York City. A red pin identifies the location of each business on a map, and is accompanied by relevant information and links from across the web. And results now include 30 or 40 relevant links per page as opposed to the former 10. With all this information conveniently grouped, it is much easier for users to make comparisons as they search.

With this new local search feature, website owners will benefit greatly from a comprehensive local search engine optimization strategy that connects their on-site content with content they present on social media sites, review site, news sites, and other third-party websites. A few things to consider:

Keywords & Phrases: Strategically use your carefully researched and selected keywords and phrases for each type of highly focused content you represent so that more local search results are available. This also helps to develop your online ‘authority score.’
Online Reviews: Provide your customers with links to the various review sites where you are listed and encourage them to share their experiences working with your company.
Press Releases: Compose and post over the wire press releases optimized for the local search terms in your campaign.

The key to benefiting from the local marketing opportunities offered is to look at Google Instant on Places to understanding how it works and what it is trying to achieve. Then do all the things you need to do to help Google fulfill its objective to offer its users a larger selection of qualified, relevant local search results in a faster amount of time. When developing your local optimization strategy, to get the best results take into consideration all of your content, both on-site and off-site, so that you align your efforts across all your indexable local content collateral.

How Google’s Recent Changes Affect Your Business

Posted on March 2, 2011

Google recently announced important updates to its ranking algorithm (nicknamed “Farmer’s Update”) that will likely adversely affect website owners who do not provide users with a high quality and relevant search experience. The company stated:

“Our goal is simple: to give people the most relevant answers to their queries as quickly as possible.”

Currently released exclusively in the US, the latest Google update impacts 11.8% of user queries. The company stated the update is specifically targeting low-quality sites identified as “low-value add for users, copy content from other websites, or sites that are just not very useful” to reduce their rankings. At the same time, the new algorithm is designed to allow the “cream to rise to the top” as it were, specifically awarding higher rankings to high quality sites with “original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis, and so on.”

As always, if you want to be among the high quality sites rewarded with high rankings, you have to help Google to achieve their goal as stated above as well as support their efforts “to encourage a healthy web ecosystem.” So how do you do that? Here are some considerations:

Conduct comprehensive research to identify the language used by your targeted audience groups to search for what you offer
Conduct market research – send out surveys, study your (Google ;)) Web Analytics, study your inquiry and sales reports, monitor conversations and topics on social media related to your site / industry, monitor the news and trade journals that write about topics of interest to your targeted groups, etc. – to identify the interests of each of your targeted audience groups
Write professional, compelling, search engine optimized webcopy that covers the interests of your targeted audience groups
Include search engine optimized professional images that support your copy and allow users to identify their areas of interest
Create search engine optimized, user-friendly web pages that are designed to accurately represent what you offer as well as your professional image
Create search engine optimized calls-to-action (CTA’s) that guide users seamlessly through the conversion process to complete the action(s) you want them to complete.
Develop a flexible, search engine optimized site architecture that makes it easy for users (and search engine spiders) to visit (and “understand”) every page of your website
Develop search engine optimized off-site content (on websites other than yours such as social media sites or relevant third-party sites like news sites, journals, professional organizations, etc.) that establishes your authority for, and links to, the content represented in your search engine optimized website pages.

Google is working on many more changes that they believe “will substantially improve the quality of the pages” in the engine’s search results.

The key is to optimize for Google and for your targeted audience groups. An intelligent strategy requires the right mix of research, content development, and presentation.

Know who and what you’re targeting and present the highest quality possible to remain competitive. The formula is simple, but is takes discipline and ongoing commitment to be successful.

Danny Sullivan has a great write-up on the topic as well on SearchEngineLand’s site.