I have been getting a lot of questions about Google searches and privacy.  Following is a brief video from Google explaining their intent and its impact on user query tracking.  I’m sure there will be varying opinions and comfort levels about what Google is doing.

I am very intrigued though as to what this means for SEO.  As this concept develops, one cannot discount the importance of optimization and effective content.  Theoretically, this could organically result in more qualified prospects as the SERP may already be adjusted to what best “fits” that searchers needs.

Google is definitely King when it comes to vertical search. Unlike other engines that integrate third party verticals as an added service, Google actually owns, develops and manages its verticals based on user behavior. Responding to the “millions of search queries about music” Google gets every day, their latest addition is the Discover Music vertical search engine geared toward consumers.   It enables users to search artists, albums, songs or lyrics.  It even links directly to partner sites where one can purchase songs or view more detailed information about the song or related recording artists.

Google also integrates vertical results with the blended results of universal search.  From an end-user perspective the verticals provide users with a more direct path to what they want.  In this case a particular song or musical artist for example. Getting users quickly to the information they want is always Google’s top priority. They refer to this as “time to result” and they want that to be as little as possible.

The new music search engine offers tremendous opportunities for advertisers and businesses that target the consumer music market.  They are able to leverage AdWords or banner ads, for example, to sell tickets to concerts, t-shirts, fan paraphernalia, books, images, magazines and more as it relates directly to the musical artist or group that is of interest to the user.  Talk about a targeted match!

But the benefits don’t stop there. By understanding the power of Google’s vertical search it makes all the more sense to include elements on your site that satisfy the relevancy, user-friendly, and quality content demands needed to rank well organically in those verticals that offer value to your business.  Maybe the music vertical is not relevant to your business but Google Images, Blogs, and Video may be.  I’ll talk more about Google’s acquisition of YouTube and the opportunities it opened up for businesses in a later post.  The point is Google continues to launch verticals in response to user search behavior.  They know what users want and they are prepared to give it to them in the fastest time possible.

It is no wonder they are the #1 search engine in the world and continue to strengthen their lead.

Why not try it out?  Search for a song or artist in Google or try the new Discover Music vertical directly.

Have some fun with it!!

It was probably best expressed by the mathematician David Berlinski in his book “The Advent of the Algorithm: The 300-year Journey from an Idea to the Computer” (pub. 2000, Harcourt Press) where he poetically defines the characteristics of an algorithm:

An algorithm is a finite procedure,

written in a fixed symbolic vocabulary,

governed by precise instructions,

moving in discrete steps, 1,2,3…,

whose execution requires no insight, cleverness,

intuition, intelligence, or perspicuity,

and that sooner or later comes to an end.

For me the most profound statement here is: “whose execution requires no insight, cleverness, intuition, intelligence, or perspicuity.”  That is exactly the case regarding search engines.  The search engine spider that is busy traversing the internet in search of web page content to scan and index has no insight, no cleverness, no intuition, no intelligence, and certainly lacks all perspicacity!

Today it simply is not capable of understanding or attributing true meaning to what it finds.  It has a single ability and that is to follow precise instructions.

So what does all this have to do with you, your website content and your desire to rank well in the search engines?

Everything.

Understanding the fundamental differences between the capabilities of a search engine and those of a human being, both of whom are interacting with your web content, allows you to:

1. Select appropriate keyword phrases to help the search engines index and rank you effectively so you attract the right audience who will engage and convert
2. Develop effective content that works to satisfy both the requirements of the search engine spider and your target site visitor
3. Develop an architecture that guides both the instruction-following search engine spider and the very different thinking human visitor seamlessly through your content

It’s a tall order.  It’s like trying to plan a dinner where each guest has different food preferences.

Search engine optimization is really about finding the balance between doing what you can to help the search engine do its job effectively (deliver relevant content to its users) while doing what you can to help your targeted site visitor get what he needs from you so he can do his job more effectively.

Search engines are not human.  They don’t think on their own so they can’t understand your web content.  They can’t verify its accuracy or subjectively judge its quality.

But humans can.

Every time a human takes an action as a result of searching a keyword or phrase, that action is recorded and evaluated by the search engine developers and eventually turned into an instruction that becomes part of the algorithm that ultimately determines ranking results (designed to deliver web pages to their users in the most relevant order).

Search engines are governed by instructions.

If you want to rank well organically, and attract / convert targeted site visitors, it is up to you and your search engine optimization team to include what is needed by both the search engines and your site visitors so you can achieve your online business goals.

Only through strategically implemented search engine optimization on an ongoing basis can you keep up with the changing needs of the search engines and the very human responses of your targeted site visitors.  There is no quick path. There is only an effective path, an ineffective path, and a harmful path.

Which one are you on?

Recently Firefox celebrated its fifth year in an industry where there are few players but a lot of competition for user loyalty.  Breaking from the usual tradition of emailing a birthday card announcement or offering its loyal users some promotional item, Firefox developed a creative and inclusive way to celebrate and invite everyone to participate.

With a single page mini-site to celebrate their 5 year anniversary, the Firefox team marketed their “Spread Firefox” community marketing campaign.  Designed to be fun, lighthearted and interactive, the mini-site effectively utilizes multiple online media tools to further their branding and business objectives to increase visibility and user-ship.

1. Video: Easy-to-watch animated short that tells their story.  It can be viewed, downloaded to a computer, or shared via email or any of the social networking sites like Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, Digg, Live, Buzz Up!, Bebo, Reddit, Technorati, AIM, Yig, Yahoo…you name it and it is listed there along with an easy click to share feature built-in!
   Even after the party it lives on and can be accessed over the web.
2. Twitter Tweets: Congratulatory messages from loyal Firefox users posted plus a built-in tool that interacts with Facebook and Twitter, allowing you to post your own congratulatory message in addition to links that allow you to “Become a Fan” of Firefox on Facebook or to Follow their tweets (posts) on Twitter….keeping followers part of the conversation!
3. Upload Photos or Video: Featuring a built-in tool that interacts with Flickr that allows you to upload your own photos or video……a way of inviting followers to the party; also supports the understanding of “users as creators”.
4. An Interactive Project “Light the World”:  As a way to invite you to participate in Firefox’s “cause,” this section provides some fun, lighthearted photo/video “art” project suggestions and encourages you to upload them using the built-in upload tool described above.
5. Link to Mozilla (Firefox’s parent company) blog to read about how the web has changed: including “users as creators, mobile web, and what’s coming up in next five years.
6. Link to new Firefox for Mobile, allowing you to download the app.
7. Link to another art project ……“users as creators” idea again – hitting home that Firefox is about you and what you can do – inextricably linking you to the web browser (they hope!)
8. Sign up for email alerts: Not only did they include a built-in sign up tool but they had the foresight to include their Privacy Policy!
9. Link to the larger site dedicated to the Spread Firefox community marketing campaign…….enlisting followers to join the cause.

The beauty of the mini-site is the incredible long term marketing and branding value it offers.  First of all, by effectively using the tools and techniques of social networking (including a “users as creators” philosophy), it ties loyal users to Firefox giving them a sense of pride, ownership, belonging and contributing (very important!).  As loyal evangelists they will set out to support the “cause” to spread the word (word of mouth advertising) to get more people to use Firefox.  The company doesn’t try to hide this.  The “Spread Firefox” website is touted as the “Home of Firefox Community Marketing.”

If that doesn’t impress you then this will!  All of that linking out and backlinking (inbound links) to Firefox website/blog properties provides long term search engine optimization value.  Now for Firefox that may or may not be massively significant but think of the value it would offer you if you were to create such a mini-site that served to congregate and unite your loyal customers while increasing your PageRank and link popularity score by increasing the inbound links that point to your web pages.

The point is this: Firefox used the available tools of the web in a fun and creative way to rally its supporters and effectively advance its business objectives.

What’s stopping you from doing the same?!!

The decision to optimize for local search really has to do with the fact that what you offer is exclusively, or almost exclusively, relevant to an

audience within a fixed radius of where you are located.  If this is true for your business then it is definitely within your best interests to optimize for local search because your target audience will be searching locally.

So how do you optimize for organic local search?

Well, stuffing your title tag with state names and acronyms is not exactly the most effective way.  There are actually a variety of things you can do that will help you to establish good rankings in Google for local search.

1. The first step is to perform comprehensive keyword research to understand exactly how your target audience groups are searching locally for what you offer.
2. Register your business with Google’s Local Business Center.  This is a great service and it is free.  It allows you to create a business listing that will pinpoint your business on Google Maps as well as provide a searcher with basic business information that you have added to the listing, such as what services you offer, your hours of operation, your address, phone number and website, methods of payment you accept, and even a discount coupon if that is useful to you.  The service also provides you with free tracking and analytics letting you know exactly how many impressions were generated by a particular local search term, such as “NY waterproofing”, and what actions were taken such as “3 clicks to your website” or “1 click for more info on [Google] Maps.”   If you opt to take advantage of Google’s Local Search Engine Marketing program then you can open an account and manage a pay-per-click campaign that focuses on specifically targeted regions (called “Geo-Targeting”) such as States and even cities.  You will then be charged for each click based on the CPC and daily budget you have established within the campaign settings.
3. Find web pages and reputable directories that offer you an opportunity to include a link to your website, preferably for free.  Process Register is an example for industrial sellers.
4. Post an informative article or comment to support your local search initiative that links to your web pages from either your own blog, a reputable blog relevant to your business, or other information site.  Speak to the needs and interests of your local audience such as “On-Site Bead Blasting Services in Jacksboro Tennessee,” or “Importance of Mold Removal and Remediation for Soggy Long Island, NY Schools”
5. Mention the areas you cover in association with the services you offer within your headings and the body copy of your web pages.  This must be done elegantly so that it does not read like a laundry list.  If you are more of an engineer than a writer do yourself a favor and hire a professional copywriter.

The principles of good search engine optimization remain the same for local search: highly focused web pages optimized for ultimately one but no more three local search terms that your comprehensive keyword research indicates are, in fact, being searched by your target audience groups; web pages and urls free of errors; and inbound links coming from relevant reputable sources like directories and information sites, blogs and journals, that point to your local search targeted web pages.

As always, the more relevant traffic your local pages generate the higher your rankings in Google will be.