Google to Encrypt ALL Keyword Searches: What It Means for Your Inbound Marketing Efforts

cursorsGoogle is always tinkering with its algorithms and tools but the company recently phased in a big change that has millions of marketers and business owners talking: Going forward, 100 percent of all organic Google searches will now be covered by the engine’s secure search feature. While we could probably devote a whole thesis – and then some – to the subject, we want to break down what exactly it means for you.

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Directories still DIRECT business!

Back in the “olden days” of the internet (a.k.a. late 1990’s- early 2000’s), it was easy to get site traffic because, let’s face it, there were fewer websites.  In today’s world just about everyone you know has a website – you, your landscaper, your neighbor’s nephew who fixes PC’s in his basement… we’ve all got a little corner of the internet to ourselves, and one of the biggest challenges for a small business is to drive traffic (especially quality traffic) to your own site.

A great way to help in trafficking quality leads to your website, while maintaining control of your corporate brand, is being listed in trusted online directories that prospects may be turning to directly when in need of a your product or service.

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Wake up and start NAP’ing!

NAP = Name , Address, Phone Number

Has anyone noticed how many online directories there are out there on the great wide web?

In the world of print, even if the listing was free, one would disregard many of their choices based on the assumption that their target client is not referencing that specific directory or reading that certain publication.

On the web, we may not want to rush to judgement so quickly.

In fact, ignoring the wealth of opportunities to list your company online may be one of those things that could ultimately cause you greater pain than simply getting the job done.

Now is the time to claim your listing in online directories. Start with your Google Places page and your Google Profile page.

Move on to Yahoo Local, Bing Local, CitySearch (for all your city locations), Yelp (for all your city locations), Superpages, and as many of the web directories as you can find that may not be presenting your information accurately.

Since search engines scan the web for information and are now focused on cross-relating all the information they find that pertains to a specific company, it is important to ensure your information is consistent across the web.

Consistency must be maintained for:

  • Contact information including name, address, phone, email, and fax
  • Profile – what you offer and to whom – use your (well researched) keywords
  • Images – match your content and use your keywords in the met-data
  • Services – use your keywords here as well (but remember its not a turkey – so no stuffing)
  • Categories- select ones that best represent what you offer and in which you would expect to be found

If the web directories allow you to attach other documents, ensure they too are search engine optimized using the keywords from your hit list. Once again, your keywords are the glue that bond and maintain the consistency that builds your online identity and authority for the content you present.

Another important consideration is the way in which your online profiles affect your local and mobile search results.

With more than 74% of American users performing local searches (Kelsey Group) and 234 million mobile subscribers (comScore January 2011), buyers are relying on their Androids, iPhones, Blackberrys, and other mobile platform devices, to search and source locally for what they need.

Additionally, 25.3% (comScore January 2011) of mobile subscribers access social media and blogs. You can start to see why it is important to achieve and maintain consistency across these platforms.

If the search engines can see the consistency it is easier for them to rate your authority and deliver results that help you to reach your targeted audience groups, particularly for the rapidly expanding local and mobile search markets.

Local Marketing Online: Part 8: Pay Per Click Integration

Contrary to misguided belief, pay per click is not a ‘get rich quick’ local marketing opportunity. That’s not to say you can’t make money but the first thing you need to understand about pay per click search engine marketing programs is that they must be properly set-up and managed for them to fulfill your revenue-generating ambitions and provide you with lasting return-on-investment.

In this part of the series I will explain how pay per click search engine marketing programs can be thoughtfully integrated into your overall strategy to provide you with impactful results that work together with all your online local marketing initiatives to develop opportunities.

Branding is a big part of local marketing. Whether you offer a product, service, or information, you need to develop and reinforce your brand in the local areas you serve so your targeted audience groups think of you when they need what you offer. Online branding means appearing in the top search engine results for the terms related to what you offer. Achieving top listing positions organically for those all-important terms takes time and an on-going commitment to the objective. Although pay per click search engine marketing programs, such as Google’s AdWords, will not directly affect your organic listing results or the development of your online authority, they do provide you with a quick way to get in front of your targeted audience groups while your organic ranking campaign is underway.

Let me give you an example. One of my clients is a local service provider serving several counties in the Carolinas. As part of an overall strategy that involved the launch of a newly designed optimized website, development of social media, claiming listings in Google Places and other web directories,  generating online reviews, and a targeted email marketing campaign, we set-up and managed a pay per click AdWords campaign that focused on the principle services and products the company offers.

The objective of the campaign was two-fold: first to attract new customers to the targeted services and secondly, to reinforce and /or expand the reach of the brand. Organic listing results take time to develop but a well-managed AdWords campaign, for example, helps you to start building your targeted audience right away by providing you with a quick way to learn about and respond to their interest in what you offer.

A well-run pay per click search engine marketing campaign is like having a neon sign that flashes every time users search for what you offer. They may not respond to the ad immediately. But now they know you exist and they have your company name “branded” in their thoughts. Before they reach out to you they may try to find more information online about your company, such as a review on Angie’s List or a shopping site. They will likely visit your website and they may even hope to find information about you on third-party blogs or social media sites. You can start to see how having the other elements of your local marketing strategy in place before you initiate a pay per click campaign is critical to your overall success.

Pay per click search engine marketing programs work best when integrated with a local marketing strategy that covers all the bases concerning how and where potential new business acquires information about your company before deciding to do business with you. It all starts with branding – letting them know you exist and keeping you foremost in their thoughts. From there, you have to use the variety of platforms available to establish your identity and develop your online authority in order to reap the long-term benefits that help you to meet your revenue-generating goals over the long haul.

In Part 9 of the Local Marketing Online series I will talk about the significance of the rise in popularity of Smartphones and the opportunities provided by mobile marketing.

Read the Series:

Local Marketing Online: Part 1: Intro
Local Marketing Online: Part 2: Web & Map Listings
Local Marketing Online: Part 3: Google Place
Local Marketing Online: Part 4: Search & Social Media
Local Marketing Online: Part 5: City Sites, Reviews & Recommendations
Local Marketing Online: Part 6: Share Content
Local Marketing Online: Part 7: Email Marketing
Local Marketing Online: Part 8: Pay Per Click Integration
Local Marketing Online: Part 9: Mobile Marketing
Local Marketing Online: Part 10: Optimized Web Design

Local Marketing Online: Part 6: Share Content

In Part 5 of this series: City Sites, Reviews & Recommendations, I discussed the impact of customer reviews on your local marketing search results and your online authority. Just as reviews and ratings are a form of recommendation, sharing your optimized, highly focused and strategically developed content by posting it to other social media and networking sites also functions as a recommendation.

You will recall in Part 5 that I discussed the Facebook ‘Like’ button that allows users to share your content on Facebook with Friends in their social circle. There are similar tools that make it very easy for you and your targeted readers to share your content on a variety of social media platforms.

Share Buttons: There are many widgets and tools that you can have implemented on your web pages that allow you and your readers to do just as the tool implies: share your content with others by email or via a variety of popular social networking platforms. Two of the most commonly implemented tools are the ‘Share’ button developed and provided by AddToAny and the ‘ShareThis’ widget by ShareThis.com.  Simply by clicking on the desired destination, such as Digg or StumbleUpon, for example, you or your readers can post the content directly to the other platform for others to interact with. Typically you or your readers must register with the destination social media site first before having access to post content. Once registered, a simple process of identification and classification of the type of content being posted is all that’s required to share it with others.

It is to your advantage to register with all the social media sites you feel are likely to reach your targeted audience groups so that you too have the opportunity to share your optimized, highly relevant content. You probably invested a lot of time and money to develop the content so why not get the most mileage out of it that you can. If you have prepared your content the right way by making it topical and ensuring it contains the search terms that are part of your authority building strategy, then it is likely to be found by your targeted audience groups on the other social platforms as well. The more your content is accessed, commented on, and shared, the greater your authority score and your chances of achieving top rankings for the terms important to your strategy.

Here are some social networking sites you should consider registering for:

Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Twitter
Bebo
Google Buzz
StumbleUpon
MySpace
Orkut
Technorati Favorites
LinkedIn
DailyMe
FriendFeed

A lot of these sites have login associations with Facebook, Twitter, and a few other popular social networking sites. This allows you to use your already established login, say your Facebook login, to access some of these other platforms. One thing to keep in mind: it is important to separate your business and your social accounts so you can accurately monitor results. For example, if you use Twitter for yourself, either socially or professionally, then establish a separate account for your business to market and promote it. Be attentive when you are making posts that you post to the accounts associated with your business so you can develop Friends, Followers, and Subscribers that will help you to build your online authority and improve your search engine rankings.

Tweet: Exclusive to Twitter, the Tweet button can be implemented with your website, blog, and other social media content, allowing users to Tweet a link on their account to your content as well as make comments that are publicly viewable. The Tweet button also publicly displays the number of Tweets your content has received by other users. Many Twitter users have also linked their account with the professional networking platform LinkedIn, which means your content will appear on two platforms as a result of a single tweet.

Sharing content is a form of recommendation that works to build your online authority and improve your search listing results by demonstrating the interest others have in it.

In Part 7 of the Local Marketing Online series I will talk about email marketing and how you can strategically follow-up with reader interest to turn Followers into Customers.

Read the Series:

Local Marketing Online: Part 1: Intro
Local Marketing Online: Part 2: Web & Map Listings
Local Marketing Online: Part 3: Google Place
Local Marketing Online: Part 4: Search & Social Media
Local Marketing Online: Part 5: City Sites, Reviews & Recommendations
Local Marketing Online: Part 6: Share Content
Local Marketing Online: Part 7: Email Marketing
Local Marketing Online: Part 8: Pay Per Click Integration
Local Marketing Online: Part 9: Mobile Marketing
Local Marketing Online: Part 10: Optimized Web Design