Customer Service Lessons from Microsoft
Posted by jak on August 31, 2007 at 12:02 PM
As a system administrator, I am not in the middle of SEO/SEM land for the most part, but I have come up with a blog topic that does relate to all of us: Customer Service.
I have been working in the computer industry for about 10 years now, and the one thing that seems pretty consistent is the fact that customer service has pretty much gone out the window. My latest experience is with Microsoft.
We recently implemented software from Microsoft that should have made it much easier to manage our customer contact information. For this purpose we moved from a stand-alone product to a network shared product. Both being Microsoft products, we figured no problem, right?
Wrong.
Microsoft was nice enough to provide a migration tool to expedite the process. Three out of four databases migrated just fine (after creating an SQL script to move the data that it could not import). The fourth database (the owners) crashed with an error that gave no indication as to why.
I tried many different ways to get the remaining data to migrate and each attempt failed miserably. After fruitlessly searching for any information on the problem, We finally decided it was time to bring Microsoft onboard and use their “pay per incident‎ service. After all, $250 was cheap after the amount of time being wasted on this already.
Welcome to Microsoft’s world of Customer Service. First you get to wait on hold for a tenth of your life. When you do finally get to open your case you are transferred around their phone system until you finally reach a message center. Oh no, you can’t just speak to a technician, you have to leave a message. After explaining your issue for the sixth time, your only a returned phone call away from having this all cleared up.
I won’t get into the gory details of it all, but it is over 3 months later and I’m still waiting on the hotfix. At least it was found to be a problem with Microsoft's migration tool and we didn’t have to pay their service fee. What a bargain. The only problem now is that I cannot even say, “Hey, we’re paying for this, fix it!‎
My point to all of this is that customers have the right to expect decent customer service when they have decided to spend their money with you. It doesn’t matter what industry you are in, the simple fact is that without our customers, we’re nothing. In the eyes of some corporations out there it seems to be just the opposite. Without them, we’re nothing. It’s almost as if they believe they’re doing us a favor by taking a look at this.
None of this is going to change the fact that I’m still waiting on the people at Microsoft for a hotfix, but I sure feel better.
Pontiac G6 Image Search - A Search Engine Challenge
Posted by duncan on August 30, 2007 at 08:53 AM
I set out last night to put the image search functions of Yahoo, Google, MSN's Live Search, and Ask to a challenge. Which engine would give me the best experience?
This is a blog entry on purely subjective like or dislike. Part of my goal was to pay attention to my immediate reactions once each search engine returned its image search results.
All I needed was a keyword phrase to type in to start my challenge. As a normal evening goes at my house, it wasn't long before something came up that needed to be searched.
The search topic revealed itself to me when I learned that someone I know was in the process of getting a new car. The car my friend plans to lease is the Pontiac G6 hardtop convertible. Perfect! I wasn't sure what the car looked like, but wanted to know immediately. Thus the search engine image search challenge began. The challenge ended up surprising me more than I thought it would.
For my image search challenge I used the following keyword phrase:
pontiac g6 hard top convertable
As you can see, I misspelled "hardtop" and "convertible". Go figure. I'd rather not chalk it up to my failed spelling abilities, but instead look at the reality that thousands of misspelled words are typed into the search engines everyday.
I think the most interesting thing that came from my challenge was the way the four major engines handled my misspellings.
You would think the search engines would handle misspelled keywords similarly. They do, but really only when it comes to their web search listings. The big difference I found was the way the engines handled misspelled keywords in the image search listings.
I concluded my image search challenge on this key point.
The winner? I liked Google the best because it did offer to correct my spelling errors, but at the same time gave me a healthy page of images, and many were of the very object I sought.
Yahoo, MSN, and Ask all stopped me, made sure I realized I couldn't spell, and forced me to click one more time before they were willing to give me the images I sought. Sure they were all relevant once I arrived, but why did I have to feel stupid in the process? Why the forced extra click with no images at all?
I thought I had failed to click the image search tab in each case. After all, if I click the images tab I expect some images no matter what. With the way people clomp around and rummage through the web, it doesn't seem like the best idea to tell them how stupid they are, when you can just give them what you pretty much know they want.
Here are the respective searches with screen shots (click to enlarge) so you can see how horrified I was when 3 different search engines returned a page that merely let me know I can't spell. Well, Yahoo, MSN, and Ask, I already knew I couldn't spell very well. And to Google, thank you for showing me some cool Pontiac cars.
Google Campaign Optimizer No Substitute for Experience
Posted by matt on August 29, 2007 at 09:59 AM
At the end of last month Google rolled out yet another optimization feature in AdWords. The Campaign Optimizer tool was rolled out to "help you fine-tune your advertising campaigns."
From the lay perspective this seems like a great addition to Google AdWords - a tool that can review & analyze an existing campaign and make recommendations for improvements.
Simply, the AdWords Campaign Optimizer suggests changes (mostly additions) to the list of keywords as well as their bids. Changes to the ad creative message may also be suggested. Daily budget changes (typically increases) are often recommended as well.
Research and testing by Oneupweb's paid search team revealed that this tool does everything but "fine-tune" an AdWords campaign. Test cases yielded scores of woefully irrelevant, broad match keyword suggestions as well as sky-high max CPC recommendations. All of which would have sent a perfectly profitable campaign into a tailspin.
Google’s help center states,
In order to ensure the success of your campaign, please review the Campaign Optimizer's automated proposals carefully. Some of the proposed changes may not suit your advertising goals, so only accept those changes that you like.
And that is the most sensible recommendation offered by this new tool.
Successfully finessing an existing paid search campaign requires a great deal of experience coupled with keen understanding of the broader marketplace as well as thorough knowledge of the industry and products or services being advertised. Above all else, recommendations for change need to be rooted in objectivity.
Remember, the goal of your pay per click campaign is to make you more money.
Ultimately, it's proof positive that there is no replacement for an experienced and knowledgeable paid search project management team.
Google Webmaster Tools Supports non-English Domain Names
Posted by steve on August 28, 2007 at 01:22 PM
Google has announced that Webmaster Tools is now allowing for the submission of non-English domains.
Up until this point, Webmaster Tools has only allowed for the registration of domain names which included letters of the English alphabet, numbers 0-9, as well as a hyphen character.
Through the new support of Internationalizing Domain Names in Applications (IDNA), a mechanism which processes non-English domain names, site owners are no longer limited to submitting domain names with only English letters and numbers.
Since launching Google Sitemaps back in June 2005 (which later became known as Webmaster Tools), Google has continued to add enhancements to its suite of webmaster tools, providing site owners with progressively more information about how Google sees their site, along with the necessary info to help them diagnose potential problems.
These free tools, which have helped webmasters to make their sites more Google-friendly, have previously been extremely difficult to utilize for those with non-English domains. When adding an IDNA domain, a workaround in Webmaster Tools enabled site owners to share and receive information from Google.
This information, however, was presented in an unfavorable format, making it difficult to parse and benefit from.
With the recent support of IDNA, non-English domains will now automatically be displayed in Webmaster Tools, making it much easier for site owners to communicate with Google. This enhancement will not only be beneficial for site owners operating solely from their non-English-speaking country, but global corporations with multiple international domains will now also have the ability to dissect numerous sites and take advantage of the increasingly-useful information provided by Webmaster Tools.
Optimize for Google Universal - Images
Posted by geoff on August 27, 2007 at 08:23 AM
This is the final blog post in our series of optimizing for Google Universal Search. Today, we are talking about image optimization. We'll also get into a few social media reasons why paying extra attention to your image content can be beneficial for driving traffic to your site.
Image Optimization for Google Universal Search
Until the launch of Google Universal Search, image optimization wasn't such a big deal. Image search was its own stand-alone vertical that, more often than not, had a lot of random, nearly non-related, results for the same keyword. Since images have been folded into Google Universal Search, however, this offers a new element of optimization for those looking to show relevance for integral parts of their organization's offerings.
Here is an example of images appearing in the results page of a Google web search:
Click Image to Enlarge
The Mechanics of Image Optimization for Google Universal Search
Even at this early stage of the game, there are recommended ways to approach image optimization for Google Universal Search. Image tags should contain the following elements for the best image optimization results.
- Image Source:
<img src="image.jpg">
The source attribute specifies the URL of the image you are using. Get the most from your source attribute by naming your pictures with terms related to the picture content and keyword, if possible. - Alt Attributes:
<img alt="descriptive text">
This is the text that displays in the event that the image does not render. It is also the single most important element of image optimization. This defines the content of the image for page readers and was initially designed for visually-impaired site visitors, in addition to search engine web crawlers.
Word your alt text carefully so as to avoid any potential spam issues. As with the step listed above, use text that is directly related to the picture content first and related to a keyword/page content second. - Title Attributes:
<img title="descriptive text">
Similar to alt text, this is the optional text that displays when a user mouses over an image. Often times, for image optimization, you can simply use the alt text in the title attribute as well. - Image Size:
<img width="225" height="250">
Include both the height and width of the image, in pixels. While this may not influence an image's position in Google Universal Search right now, it is a "best practices" step that gives engines more information should it be needed in the future.
As it is closely related to title tag information, don't forget that you can also use captions in the body text to provide more information about an image, which provides another opportunity to leverage your image optimization for overall image and page relevancy.
Image Optimization Beyond Google Universal Search
Google is not the only search engine that returns multimedia results. Ask.com does also. While Ask doesn't carry the same search traffic that Google does, the good news is that the same image optimization you do for Google Universal Search should also optimize you pretty well for Ask.
As social media continues to grow in popularity, so does the impact of images at those sites. A recent informal study at Adamantblog shows that approximately 40 percent of the items on the Digg front page were images. Further, Stumbleupon is also an image-heavy community. While we don't recommend using crazy photos just to get social media traffic, interesting or enlightening images that are properly optimized can go a long way to creating more traffic from more sources to your site.
In case you have missed them, please go back and check out our previous Google Universal Search optimization posts on News, Local, and Video.
For more a more in-depth look at Google Universal search, check out our Universal Search White Paper.
Finally, look at the ways successful internet retailers are leveraging different aspects and opportunities available with Google Universal Search. Please read our newest whitepaper, Once Again... There's Still Money On the Table.
Ask.com Should Buy Microsoft
Posted by vern on August 24, 2007 at 04:35 PM
I’m sure you’ve seen the recent TV spots for Ask.com. The latest round of ads certainly has my colleagues and I scratching our heads. Just what are they trying to accomplish? Sure any publicity is good publicity, but racing barstools? C’mon.
Shift gears to Microsoft (sorry, no pun intended) and the increased focus on their search offering. I’ve seen TV, print and online banner ads - tastefully done, not terrifically compelling, but clever enough.
Enough of the B2C marketing these two companies are doing to generate public traffic on their search engines. Let’s talk about customer service and follow through in the search marketing agency/search engine relationship.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I totally respect and certainly appreciate what our reps at the engines do for us. They provide a very valuable service and go the extra mile for us on a regular basis. It’s the bureaucracy, or lack thereof that they operate in.
Microsoft, being the behemoth that it is, seems to feed itself on paperwork and ever-changing procedures. Until recently new paid search account set-up with Microsoft has been a process that moved at a glacial pace. Again, I’m not blaming our agency reps. I know they’ve been as frustrated as I have been in dealing with the delays. Faxes were gobbled up with frightening regularity, procedures and forms saw weekly revisions.
Ask.com is at the other end of the spectrum. Theirs seem to be a more free-wheeling approach to administrative record-keeping. I’ve contacted our rep there and, no kidding, have had a new account live that very day, although billing has been a challenge for them on occasion.
What I’m advocating is a marriage of the two cultures that a merger would surely bring about - a perfect blend of accurate record-keeping with minimal paperwork. Microsoft must lose its propensity for administrative and procedural excess. An Ask.com acquisition and the "hungry for your business" attitude that follows would breathe new life into the aging infrastructure of Microsoft.
Sure, this is never going to happen. Given today’s credit crunch, Ask.com could never line up the financing.
Paid Search: Class of '87
Posted by on August 23, 2007 at 04:07 PM
I recently happened upon a blog from an SEM peer who attended his 20-year high school reunion. As he described his occupation to his former classmates, none of them understood the intricacies of search marketing, nor could they really grasp its overall significance. A few classmates even accused him of spamming them. I just think he’s really old.
Normally, after reading a post like this, I would have spent the day making smart-aleck references to events in 1987, like how I was eight years old back then and how he probably strutted around in ripped jeans, meticulously tight-rolled and severely marked up with black Sharpie replications of Poison’s band logo.
Instead, I was sent spiraling back to reality when I remembered that I’m attending my 10-year reunion on Aug. 24th. Though not as insanely old as the folks who graduated in ’87, I still have quite a few years under my belt and might want to begin considering ways of showing well for myself that are relatively close to my income and experiences. In other words, they would never believe I’m a former Boston Red Sox pitcher turned bar owner.
I’m proud to be a Paid Search Project Manager at Oneupweb and invite each day’s challenges with a thirst for more. But how do you explain “controlling CPA based on the CPC and SERP data while still minding budget and various other KPIs‎ to hundreds of people who may not understand search engines or even own a computer? SEM is more complex than the Iran-Contra affair.
Most of my family and friends are savvy enough to what my job entails, but only after multiple conversions beginning with, “What is it you do again?‎ that involve yet another revised explanation and my scornfully lowered right brow, a la Jim Varney.
Deep down, I am prepared for the inevitable questioning, the looks of bewilderment, and even the defensive jujitsu stances they will take in fear of my alleged spamming racket, because I know exactly what my job is.
Each day I bring my clients closer to understanding their online presence and cultivating this image into how they envision their company. I write ad copy that my client’s future customers can relate to their needs. I know the customers’ minds, because I watch them scurrying through this giant internet ant farm. I use the analytic data that accrues to meet them in places we wouldn’t have known to look, armed with ad copy and landing pages their fellow customers have already embraced by saying, “Yes, this is where I want to do business.‎
By educating my former classmates about SEM, I will expand our industry and potentially drive more marketing dollars to the internet. If they join us here at Oneupweb, I may personally be given the chance to optimize their marketing campaigns and offer them the best possible return on their investments.
If I play my cards right, I could end the evening as victorious as Phil Simms in Super Bowl XXI, creating a saccharin-sweet ending like Adventures in Babysitting. Perhaps… or maybe this is just a foolish beat of my heart.
Bad SEM/PPC Advice: Keyword Insertion Creates High Quality Ads
Posted by adam on August 22, 2007 at 04:38 PM
I recently read a blog post entitled, "Session: Creating Compelling Ads", which summarizes one SEM professional’s conclusions from a recent SES lecture. The author describes how using dynamic keyword insertion in ad copy helps increase ad quality and effectiveness.
If after reading this post you’re not already convinced that the strategies he discusses are a bad idea, keep this quote from his blog in the back of your head:
Dynamic keyword insertion allows us as ad writers to appear much brighter and much more creative than we truly are…
I’d first like to point out the differences between compelling ads and high quality ads; trust me there’s a big difference.
A compelling ad will never motivate a searcher to purchase, submit their personal information or download your whitepaper. All an ad can do is motivate them to click through to your site.
A high quality ad is more than just compelling, it qualifies the searcher. It sets your company apart from the competition, and maybe most importantly it accurately describes your company’s offering.
Thinking that keywords are the only piece of PPC strategy that qualifies your audience is a thought every SEM professional should forget.
The basic theory of why dynamic keyword insertion is compelling is because it presents the searcher with copy featuring the exact words queried, and in attractive bold text. Keyword insertion, by itself, only makes the ad stand out from the group, provided most advertisers aren’t already using those same techniques. Keyword insertion does nothing to qualify clicks. Generally it increases CTR but decreases conversion rate.
This is from my experience and tests with both e-commerce B2B/B2C and lead generation clients. Don’t take my word for it, run your own test.
Which ad is more relevant, compelling, and accurate to your intentions if you’re in the market for a new LG 9400 mobile phone?
Or
The top ad doesn’t use keyword insertion, but is still bold and attractive to the eye. It’s much more descriptive of the phone’s features, and gives me the impression that I’ll find the exact model of phone I’m looking for.
The second ad uses dynamic keyword insertion. The headline grabs my attention because it matches my search exactly and if I’m price shopping I’ll like that they offer discounts and free shipping. The only problem is that when I click-through, CellPhoneShop.net doesn’t offer the LG 9400. This ad will have a great CTR, but no one will purchase. A perfect example of how keyword insertion can be very ineffective.
One of the first SEM lessons I learned was from one of my colleagues (Vern), which was that in a perfect world with an infinite amount of time, accounts would be set up bidding on one exact match keyword per campaign with one ad group that triggered one highly targeted ad that lands the searcher on a relevant page. Relevance is key to writing successful ads as well as developing strategy, not a user’s perception of relevance, as was demonstrated with the mobile phone example above.
Because I’m a rational professional, I understand that with some advertisers, keyword insertion has its place (eBay). I also understand that we don’t live in a perfect world, and that no one has the time to write an ad for every keyword that describes your 10,000 item product catalog.
Understand that using dynamic keyword insertion on a large scale is taking the easy way out; it’s a lazy way to manage PPC. Highly effective campaigns are a production of hard work, testing and human judgment, and not automated tools like bidding software, broad match keywords or dynamic keyword insertion.
Branded Keywords are SEM-sational!
Posted by andrew on August 21, 2007 at 10:56 AM
Research released recently by Atlas, a unit of Microsoft, indicates that bidding for so-called "branded" keywords is a waste of a search marketer’s precious budget. This research, however, is wrong.
Before explaining why I can so confidently state this, let’s take a look at Atlas's findings, based on 30 search ad campaigns with a reach of 120,000 users on Google, Yahoo!, and Microsoft.
From what I can glean, the only "finding" was that 60 percent of visits to these campaigns came from branded keywords, while just 29 percent came from first-time visitors who searched on generic terms. The other 11 percent, presumably, came from return visitors who came through generic searches. And, for the record, a "branded" keyword here is defined as a company’s name or products, and associated misspellings or typos.
The study then estimates that such branded keywords typically eat up about half of the search budget for these campaigns. As a marketer who has spent my fair share of time collecting one- and three- and twelve-cent branded clicks, I find this tough to believe, but I'll take it on faith.
The conclusion, then, comes from Atlas's Vice President of Analytics, Young-Bean Song, who said, "The reality is that [branded searchers] are already intending to go to your Web site. What you're really paying for is a glorified Yellow Pages listing." (Quoted in AdWeek)
While the first part of the statement is generally the case on a branded search, the second part wholly underestimates the value of a well-written ad and the way that paid and organic listings work together.
In the same way that a well-constructed search marketing campaign will de-emphasize keywords for which the company positions well, allowing the organic listing to drive the revenue in those situations, a well-constructed branded campaign will emphasize different aspects of a product line that may not be available in a company’s natural listing.
A natural listing for a company name is generally a billboard, the "Yellow Pages listing" that Song referred to, a general summary of a company’s product line or target market. A strong paid listing should emphasize a different aspect of the company, preferably a high-margin offering or an add-on that might not normally be associated with the company. It should also, of course, feature that all-important call to action to better drive conversions.
Search marketers should track these branded terms as they do with any key-converting keyword in their campaign. Which language drives conversion rate? More importantly, perhaps, which language drives average order size?
The study also ignores paid search's value as a branding tool. Building customer trust is a constant battle, made easier when a well-targeted ad leads a user to a well-designed site displaying the information or products that were promised in the ad. While that user won't necessarily make a purchase as a first-time visitor, a good site experience is more likely to cause that user to have positive associations with that company. Those positive vibrations bring on a branded search, a branded click, and voila, a new customer. In the "last click wins" world of web analytics, this user is credited as a branded sale. Were it not for their initial, generic search, they'd have never been a customer at all.
Now, Atlas's study may represent a difference in scope. I sense that the report focused on a few behemoths - the Nikes, the United Airlines - mega-corporations whose names are known and who may draw a far larger percentage of clicks than an internet-only or catalog-based distributor only starting to build brand familiarity. (That is, the term Nike probably draws far more searches, advertisers, and clicks than the term "Acme Widgets.") It is highly possible that, in these cases, the cost, competitiveness, and volume of branded searches might outweigh the benefit in terms of converting new customers. These mega-corporations are also the exception - it’s called the Fortune 500 because there are only 500 of them, after all.
In the case of a small, building company, however, there’s never an excuse to avoid advertising on branded terms. Three-cent clicks are awesome.
Optimize for Google Universal - Video Results
Posted by samantha on August 20, 2007 at 12:00 PM
Welcome to the third installment of our 4-part series on optimizing for Google Universal Search. What's this week's focus? Video.
According to Google:
If you have video content, you can host it on Google Video, YouTube, or a number of other video hosting providers. If the video is a relevant result for the query, searchers can play the video directly from the search results page (for Google Video and YouTube) or can view a thumbnail of the video then click over to the player for other hosting providers. You can easily upload videos to Google Video or to YouTube.
If you haven't seen a video result appearing in a web search, here is an example:
Click Image to Enlarge
If you have video content that you'd like to see appear in Google's web results, you may be wondering where to start.
Submit to a Video Hosting Provider
The first step towards getting your video out there for the masses to see when they search on Google, is to submit your video content to a hosting provider. There are several video hosting providers that are drawn from when Google provides video results in the results pages. Of course, these providers include YouTube and Google Video.
Although Google says that there are other video hosting providers you can submit your videos to, I could not find information from Google on exactly who those providers are.
The upside to using Google Video or YouTube for hosting your video content is that when your video is returned in the results, users can watch the video from right within the search results page.
Optimize Video Information
When you upload your video content at YouTube or Google, you are presented with several opportunities to infuse your video with relevancy:
- Filename - When uploading your video, make sure that you give your content a relevant filename. If you have a video that is about a skateboarding cat, a relevant filename would include the words skateboarding and cat in it.
- Title - The title field is another opportunity for you to exhibit relevancy. For your video about a skateboarding cat, rather than having your title be 'Mittens', you'd probably want something along the lines of "Mittens - The Skateboarding Cat".
- Description - The description field is the perfect place for you to include a keyword-rich description about your content. If your video shows Mittens the Skateboarding Cat showing off his tricks at the Skate Park, you'll want to include that factoid here.
- Permissions - Both YouTube and Google have the option to make the video private or accessible by the public. If you're looking to have your video appear in Google's search results, public is the way to go.
- One option that is available on YouTube is tagging. With tagging, you can assign keyword-rich tags (think of tags like labels) to your video.
So, now that you have an idea of how to optimize your video content for Google's Universal Search, what are you waiting for? Whether your video highlights Mittens the Skateboarding Cat showing off his mastery of a varial flip, or a new product that will help businesses maximize their efficiency, Google Universal Search can give you an edge over the competition.
Visit us again next Monday for the final installment of our Google Universal Search optimization series. You can also read last Monday's post about optimizing local content.
And, make sure you download our Universal Search White Paper.
Now Hiring Awesome People!
Posted by anne on August 17, 2007 at 04:21 PM
After two years of working with a leading online marketing company, my hiring tactics have changed dramatically. Prior to working with Oneupweb, my career had primarily been in the insurance industry. It was my naΓ―ve belief that recruiting insurance professionals would easily be transferred to hiring SEO professionals.
I was so wrong.
Very early, I learned that SEO folks prefer a slanted and off-beat sense of humor.
We don’t really care about dress codes or give much credence to a rigid business hierarchy or fancy titles. Happy employees create better output, which tends to bring more success for everybody involved. Sure, this industry isn’t a good fit for everyone; however, it’s crucial to work with people who have compatible personalities and a reliable work ethic. I believe it’s much easier to take someone with an awesome personality and great initiative and train them in SEO than it is to try training the bad attitude out of someone who may already have an extensive SEO background.
We are a small SEO/SEM firm, so it’s crucial that we all get along with each other, because the alternative of working around a bad apple is not an option. Many of us are transplants from other states, some are locals who have moved away to the big city only to return home for the quieter comforts and the higher quality of life available here.
Because of our diverse backgrounds, after-hours meetings at the local pub or weekend get-togethers are common. We all have unique senses of humor, ambitions, and hobbies; however, it’s the pleasant and complementary personality quirks that really make our company tick. Gossip at the water cooler just doesn’t happen; we all row in the same direction. That’s what works. The end goal is the same: we succeed - everyone succeeds.
What are some of the qualities we look for in hiring SEO folks? Here’s our How to Tell if You’re Awesome list:
‒ Be able to tough it out, because situations can become difficult or stressful;
‒ Know how to speak freely and honestly with others;
‒ Take initiative and know how to keep yourself busy;
‒ Have good sense of humor;
‒ Can you write well? You are going to do a lot of it;
‒ Be passionate about your job, the internet, SEO, and client success;
‒ Realize that, sometimes, you’ve just got to suck it up and get through some mundane tasks;
‒ Take possession of your work and be accountable for the struggles as well as the successes;
‒ Stay up on pop culture, literature, and technology;
‒ Be genuine.
It’s a tough industry. And while we’re not like the Roadrunner, with Wile E. Coyote chasing us all day, we do have anxious clients who believe in our proven ability to deliver results. As such, it can be hard to find that special someone who can be passionate about search and realize that sometimes, you have to crawl through the mud (keyword research, link building, etc.) for a client, and to uphold the hard-earned reputation of the company.
My goal is to find that someone who really embraces that work ethic, can roll up their sleeves and get down to it, then smile when the results roll in.
If you have thought about working for an SEO firm, and this attitude sounds good to you, please visit Oneupweb and take a peek at our career section. And if you are interested, be sure to include a cover letter. We love cover letters; it makes us want to look at the resume. Unless it’s just a bad cover letter. Nobody likes that. (That’s a joke, see? Well sort of a joke anyway. I mean, nobody really likes a bad cover letter. See, there’s another one.)
Broken Links - What's the Big Deal?
Posted by teal on August 16, 2007 at 04:41 PM
Broken links on a website are an indication that a site is not properly maintained and could be telling the engines, "we don't care about the user experience."
Broken links can also jeopardize the important internal link popularity. Instead of demonstrating that this destination page is a great resource for insert important keyword here, you are instead sending users and crawlers to a page that no longer exists, exists on someone's desktop, or never did exist.
So why are broken links more than just broken links? To help explain how broken links are harmful and why this is a fix that can potentially save customers, and search engine positions, I will explain how broken links look to users and search engines.
It is frustrating and deterring when I am browsing a site and there are broken images and links pointing to pages that aren't there. To me, a pretty critical browser, it demonstrates that the site is not maintained and if this company can't even update their images and links, can I even trust that their information is recent and relevant? Additionally, if this low level of care is put into their site, might I expect the same level of customer care?
From the search engine crawler's perspective, a similar image is portrayed. Google Webmaster Guidelines explicitly recommends to "Check for broken links and correct HTML" because this indicates that the site is well maintained and will likely provide the user with a good experience. Google and the other engines certainly don't want to send users to broken up sites that are going to frustrate visitors - this looks bad for them too!
Furthermore, from a search engine crawler's perspective, broken links negate a strong internal linking structure which can also reduce opportunity for successful and complete crawling and indexing. Think about it, the bots use the links to move from page to page within a site, and when they are consistently running into road blocks, you risk partial crawling, thus partial indexing.
The internal linking structure of a site also promotes strong internal link popularity so when broken links are present, you are wasting an opportunity to help increase the relevancy of another page of your site.
In the end, fixing broken links is a simple first step to maintaining your site. By ensuring that links aren't pointing to private directories, development sites, pages that no longer exist, etc., you could improve site usability, encourage a complete crawl, increase the number of pages of your site indexed by the search engines, and potentially increase positioning.
The Cash on the Table is Yours β Pick It Up
Posted by carly on August 15, 2007 at 01:16 PM
Certainly not a phrase you’d hear in college. Probably not a phrase you’ll hear ever. Why? Because if you walk by the table, and there’s money on it – you pick it up. You see a dollar on the sidewalk – you pick it up. Andrew Jackson stares longingly at you from the inside of the dryer – you pick him up, fold him up, and put him in your pocket. Finder’s keepers. Right?
So what exactly am I talking about? Why am I writing about finding money? Because there are many out there who don’t even realize that the money (so to speak) is even on the table.
Even more of you know that it’s there but are far too intimidated by the gigantic national brand that’s leaving it there. Trust me. Listen to me. Pick it up!
Now, from the mountains of research that I have done in my time here at Oneupweb I know that blogs aren’t generally well received when they are self promoting. So I apologize in advance but trust me when I tell you that this post will inspire you. You will benefit greatly from reading our latest study:
Internet Retailer Study 2007, Once Again... There’s Still Money on the Table.
Notice the title of the paper. It’s the third time in four years that we have done this study – and still we’re reporting money on the table. Third time’s a charm. Read the study, be inspired and then give us a call.
We’ll help you pick it up.
Optimize for Google Universal - Local Results
Posted by sarah on August 13, 2007 at 09:24 AM
In the second part of our 4-part series on how to optimize your site for Google Universal, today we are going to focus on Google Maps and local results.
What is Google Maps?
Available at maps.google.com, Google Maps allows users to search for local business listings, get driving directions, and more. It's convenient because you can enter in a search term such as "traverse city restaurant", and not only will Google Maps bring up a list of restaurants complete with phone numbers and addresses, but it also maps out their exact locations, like this:
Click Image to Enlarge
How is information from Google Maps incorporated into Universal Search?
Here's a good example: a few months ago, I was trying to find a phone number for the local Discount Tire store. I entered "discount tire traverse city" into Google's web search box, and voila- all the information I needed was right there in front of me on the search results page: phone number, map and all:
Click Image to Enlarge
Side Note: Because Discount Tire came up so prominently in the SERPS (define), I actually did not click on the business listing. So keep in mind that Universal search may cause clients to pay a visit to your brick-and-mortar location instead of your website, and those kinds of visits can be harder to track.
Another Side Note: See how the second listing is for Junior's Discount Tire and Wheel? This is a great example of how a business can take advantage of Google Universal and Google Maps- even without a web site.
How can I optimize my Google Maps Profile for Universal Search?
The first thing you should do in order to optimize for Google Maps is to formally verify your site with Google. This can be done either via mail or by phone, and helps Google to verify the authenticity of your business.
You should also take advantage of the detailed information that you can provide to Google - and potential customers - within this section. This includes:
- Required Information:
This includes basic things such as your address and phone number, as well as company name and description. Be sure that your company name and company description contain your most important keywords that you want your business to be found on. Remember that users will be reading this text too, so copy should be well-worded and concise but also pique their interest. - Hours & Payment:
And if your business has standard hours of operation or forms of payment, take the opportunity to tell your customers about them here. - Photos:
A new feature that was just recently added, Google Maps now allows businesses to upload 10 photos to their profile, something that Amical (a local TC restaurant) is already using to their full advantage (yum!). - Custom Attributes:
Whether you want to add an "areas served" section or a "sample dinner menu" section, Google also allows you to add all kinds of descriptive custom attributes about your business. - Reviews
Not only does Google Maps itself now allow anyone to log in and post a review next to a business listing, but Google also incorporates reviews from a variety of other online sites, such as Yelp.com, JudysBook.com, and many more. Whatever your niche is, ensure that you're also building a presence on other local online directories and resources as well. - Coupons
Google Maps also has the ability for your business to feature coupons. What better way to stand out from the pack?
Click Image to Enlarge
Incorporation of Google Maps into Google Universal results not only represents how optimizing your site for Google extends to a wider variety of resources than ever before, but it also demonstrates how the presence of local search is continuing to expand online, offering users instant access to phone numbers, reviews, maps, and so much more than traditional off-line directories have ever been able to offer.
Want to find out more about optimizing your site for Google Universal? Read last Monday's post about optimizing news content. And visit us next Monday for the third installment in our 4-part series.
Also, don't forget to download our Universal Search White Paper.
Cats, Big Dogs & PPC Management
Posted by Christopher on August 10, 2007 at 03:56 PM
I've worked with a number of clients who have approached us, dejected, with the feeling there's not a level playing field online, especially when it comes to paid search marketing.
Let's say you own and operate a fairly large, but regionial, personal electronics chain. Three or four stores. You're facing a ton of competition from big boxes, so you want to expand to sell your products on a national level, to free yourself from the constraints of geography. The way to make this happen is via online marketing.
But, dang, there's a whole lot of competition online too. Look at who's out there: the same big boxes—national chains with billion-dollar marketing budgets that allow them to simply "own" keyword terms. As the Director of Marketing of the smaller operation with a smaller budget, you think, "We can't compete with that." Hence the dejection.
Here comes the metaphor: You're a cat; they're a dog.
Think of the "big dogs" literally as big, fat, lazy dogs. Just laying there, taking up PPC real estate. All but unconscious. Think of your campaign as smaller, more nimble. You exploit niches, you turn on a dime, your campaign is fluid and whip smart.
You're proactively strategizing to take advantage of the gaps left by the massive. You're never satisfied with yesterday's success (I stole that, by the way, from Vern, our Director of Paid Search Services. It's OK; I told him I was taking it.)
You're a cat.
And to the big dogs with their big, bloated, lazy campaigns you're a fuzzy blur that just stole their jerky treat.
To CMS or not to CMS?
Posted by jason on August 09, 2007 at 11:32 AM
That's the ultimate question.
The answer, however, is not quite as easy to determine. While this posting is not meant to provide a full explanation of the benefits vs. risks associated with implementation of a content management system, it is meant to provide you with a few tidbits of information to get you thinking before you start using a CMS as an overall solution to a website redesign project.
Content management systems have come about to facilitate the consolidation of web publishing. The idea behind them is to organize information so that it's easily retrievable, updatable, and flexible in how it can be reformatted and retransmitted. And usually, they do this very well. But there are a few misnomers out there, so you have to watch out.
CMS's are often touted as a way to publish and ultimately manage a website for those with little to no web development experience. Companies may see them as a means allowing managers to post their own web content without the need for a developer. While this may sound like a good idea, there are several things to consider before you take on a website redesign with a CMS in mind.
- A CMS is not a turnkey solution. It takes a lot of customization to maintain a professional brand image. Simply uploading your logo in the default slot and writing a few articles won't cut it. So don't cut your web guy loose yet!
- SEO must always be at the top of your list when planning a website redesign, and while most CMS's claim to be "search engine friendly," this doesn't mean they do a great job at it. Many require third party plug-ins to create a URL structure that search engines can read and follow.
- Of all tasks in a content management project, the creation, editing, and migration of content are probably the most frequently underestimated in the project plan. This means after building your templates and implementing your design, you still have to get all of your content into the system.
- Many CMS's feature WYSIWYG editors to allow you to format text as if using a word processor. However, many will add custom formatting tags when you do this, overriding your style sheets. And many require basic html tags to be used when inputting content. So copying and pasting directly out of your favorite word processor won't always work.
I recently went down this road and found that the benefits didn't outweigh the drawbacks for our company. Our content doesn't change that often; SEO is a top priority; and absolute freedom of design is important to us. We want to design and build our site the way we want it to look and function - not simply skinning an application with its own set of rules.
Overall, I think a CMS has a lot of potential and may be right for your company, but I highly recommend doing a lot of research and ultimately consulting with CMS professionals and an SEO firm before deciding to go with an off-the-shelf CMS system.
To learn more, listen to episode 4 in our online marketing drama series, One for the Money - "Designs on Disaster".