Category: Search Engine Optimization

Preparing For Online Holiday Retail Success

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According to both the June, 2010 Manufacturing ISM Report on Business and the Non-Manufacturing ISM Report on Business the overall economy continues to grow, joblessness is decreasing  (somewhat), and growth is happening albeit at a slow rate. So what effect can we expect this to have on online holiday retail?  And what do we need to do to get ready for the online selling season?

In an interview with AdAge at the end of the holiday shopping season last year, Phil Rist of Big Research stated, “Whether they were saving on shipping or using an in-store coupon, shoppers dug through every avenue of potential savings before choosing to commit.”

Finding ways to help consumers still have what they desire while realizing what they save may be even more important this year in stimulating consumer spending online. By starting with targeted email campaigns to loyal customers for savings on items you already know to be of interest to them, you are attracting their attention to your brand.  Follow up emails and search engine marketing initiatives with highly targeted landing pages focused on the ways in which they can save will work to maintain that attention throughout the holiday shopping.

Something to keep in mind is women are typically early shoppers looking for bargains while most men are procrastinators who don’t really enjoy holiday shopping and end up spending more money at the eleventh hour. That’s not to say, necessarily, that men don’t like saving money.  Focus your efforts where you are sure to garner the attention you need to get the ball rolling.

Consider solidifying the attention of your loyal customers first, particularly women, who are the early shoppers, and solicit them to use word-of-mouth to help you get new customers. Here’s where social media plays an important role. Get the conversations started early enough so shoppers know to go to you to find not only the quality and selection they are after but most importantly the deals.

Now is the time to start planning and scheduling your online initiatives for the holidays. The best approach online is going to be cross-channel in order to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the search engines, email, your website, and social media. A well-coordinated approach that delivers the right messages to the right audience at the opportune time puts you in the best position to ensure your online holiday retail success.

Google “Mayday”: Long Tail SEO and Website Conversion

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Named for the time frame in which it came into fruition, “Mayday” refers to the permanent algorithmic change that will affect the way in which web pages are ranked by Google to match ‘long tail’ searches. A ‘long tail search’ refers to a keyword phrase that is three or more words in length. An example of a ‘long tail’ phrase is “antique window glass for a restoration project” versus the ‘short tail’ search phrase ‘antique window glass.’

Although short tail phrases typically have a higher search volume, it has been demonstrated that the more specific long tail search phrases have a higher conversion rate. This means that the more targeted the search the better chance you have of persuading the person to take the action that equals conversion at your site, such as submit an online form or place an online order.

Google typically makes about 400 or so algorithmic adjustments throughout the year for the express purpose of improving the quality of search results. This latest adjustment is a “rankings change, not crawling or indexing” designed to determine the best sites that match up to long tail queries. In order to rank well for long tail phrases, Google’s Matt Cutts suggests that first you ask yourself the following questions:

  • Do I have the highest quality site?
  • Am I showing up now for the most relevant searches?
  • What can I do to add great [new] content so people consider me an authority?

Cutts then suggests you remove anything off-topic [i.e. relevant content only].

The latest algorithmic change is permanent and primarily affects ‘long tail searches;’ however, if you follow Cutt’s straightforward advice and answer those all-important three questions honestly you’ll get a pretty good idea of what you have to do next to ensure you rank well for the ‘long tail’ phrases important to your business.

Look for more on this topic in my future blog post about “Ranking in Google.”

Google Promises Fresher Results with New“Caffeine” Search Index

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Carrie Grimes, one of Google’s brilliant software engineers, announced late in the day on Tuesday that Google has officially rolled out its much anticipated new search index coined “Caffeine.”

It promises “50% fresher results for web searches” and is the “largest collection of web content [they’ve] offered” to date.

In her blog post, Grimes explains that due to the rapidly expanding nature of web content, including videos, images, news and real-time updates, “the average web page is richer and more complex.” As a result the old way of indexing was no longer effective. “Searchers want to find the latest relevant content,” says Grimes, “and publishers expect to be found the instant they publish.” So “to keep up with the evolution of the web and to meet rising user expectations” the company developed “Caffeine.”

“Caffeine” is the indexing system that “analyzes the web in small portions” in order to update the search index “on a continuous basis globally.” That means searchers will find “fresher information than ever before – no matter where or when it was published.”

The rate at which “Caffeine” indexes web pages is really quite astounding: “if this were a pile of paper it would grow three miles tall every second.” New information is added at a rate of “hundreds of thousands of gigabytes per day.” The amount of information the new search index stores, Grimes illustrates, “would need 625,000 of the largest iPods” that would “go for more than 40 miles” if stacked from end-to-end.

More and more people every day around the world turn to the internet to search for what they need. With “Caffeine” Google has made that search more effective and more relevant. Website owners hopeful of getting ranked will also need to keep their web content fresh and updated to maintain the attention of their target audience groups and “Caffeine.”

So grab a coffee and get moving!

In the meantime, if you’ve ever wondered, when you search on Google you’re not searching the “live” web.  You’re actually querying the content Google has already indexed.  Following is a great explanation of how it all works…

Evolution of a Website and a Marketing Partnership

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new business development tips

Around 14 years ago we met a company that had just completed their first website – a very basic “brochureware” site that at least gave them a presence on the web. We were not only able to bring strong ideas to the table about developing the site into a viable sales tool that also supported offline initiatives but also forged a relationship that  continues to the present day.

It’s an interesting evolution because it took some convincing to get the client to visualize the business development possibilities and to overcome complacency. In the beginning many clients consider whether a website is worth the investment so they often opt for something that requires a minimal investment. They don’t always get on board right away with the ideas presented. It becomes our job to demonstrate to the client how gains are possible by examining closely where leads are coming from.

Sometime between 2003-2006 this particular client had new questions such as “how much money do I have to allocate to my site to increase business and when will I make it back?”

So we pulled some stats from the existing site, laid out a strong plan with clear objectives and got busy with the next phase of enhancements. With the site changes, and some much needed search engine optimization, the website increased lead generation from a single lead per week to an average of one per day!

Now, depending upon your business, that may not sound like much but to this particular client a lead becomes a sale on average 25% – 35% of the time (conservatively). A single lead generally results in multiple sales to the tune of $50,000 to $100,000 over a 24-36 month period. So clearly the investment to upgrade the website was worth it!  No longer is it simply ‘brochureware’ but now it is a viable, revenue-generating sales tool that is even used by the client’s sales force as a sales tool.

By closely examining quantifiable gains we are able to determine what direction the client needs to take and make recommendations for development both online and offline that continue to yield positive results. The goal is always to understand the needs and behaviors of buyers and to ensure that collateral materials and multi-channel initiatives work collectively to achieve goals.

The goal of this post is not to impress you.  It is to impress upon you that having the right marketing partner who not only takes the time to understand your customers and their buying behavior, but who is capable of developing effective strategies and initiatives over time to help you reach your goals, is an invaluable asset to your business. Although our offices are 700 miles apart, there is no distance between the evolving needs of our client and our commitment to growing his business. Whatever compromises or modifications to our recommendations that have been made over the past 14 years, by staying focused on our client’s goals we continue to be able to produce gains throughout each stage of development.

Effective SEO Tip When Looking To Rank For Additional Key Word Phrases

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One of the biggest mistakes a site owner can make when trying to get certain web pages to rank well for additional terms is to dilute the effectiveness of an already high ranking page. It is a bad idea to add competing terms to a page that is already optimized and performing well. Additionally, it is a bad idea to attempt to optimize for similar but competing terms on a single page. The most effective approach is to create an entirely new web page that is highly focused on the particular keyword term or phrase for which you want to achieve higher ranking in Google.

Hopefully you have already done your comprehensive keyword research and have learned which of your target audience groups uses this particular term or phrase to search. It is important to identify the right target group first to ensure your newly created content is effective at both attracting and converting them. For example, if you market to both consumers and businesses, it is likely they refer to the same product using completely different language. Separate your lists and know which terms are used by consumers and which are used by businesses, or whatever your classification difference may be. Create compelling content that is highly focused on that particular term and that accurately addresses the type of customer group using the term to find you.

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