WebiMax Blog

One of your new, enthusiastic SEO clients, especially one who owns a local business, searches Google for one of his keywords only to see one of his pages ranking very well. Only a week into his campaign, he frantically calls his project manager to relay the awesome news only to learn the truth: his search results are just that, his.

In recent months, Google has been running a series on their blog relating to search improvements they make every month. The latest installment carries 30 improvements, from more rich snippets to better spam detection with Image Search. Todd touched on several of the updates, particularly the "Megasitelinks" improvement, how it delivers more relevant sitelinks based on location, and how that impacts SEO in his post on Monday. Here I want to touch on the improvements that have further location-specific implications and are international in nature thus having significant international SEO implications that are important for developers to be aware of.

Google, Google, Google!  Are you trying to dominate the SERPs on such major search engines as...well, Google?!  There's been a lot of talk about the brand lately.  Buying links, being unfriendly to Twitter, hiding owner reviews…despite best intentions, some brand behaviors have been weighed and measured…

It's been an interesting season for online marketing and the search engine optimization industry.  As SEO practitioners closely follow the evolution of search, it’s becoming more apparent personal trends and social media engagement are making way into the SERPs.  Google, the most coveted of SEs, suffered a blow to its ego in 2010, a year Facebook received more visitors.  2011 stats read a bit differently, yet at this point, Google can't ignore the sight of Facebook.  Perhaps G knew it was time to engineer a "move."  Google did move into the social media stratosphere, offering Google+, its own social service, but now it's a lot more…

Following yesterday's post, I continue today discussing the specifics of Forrester Research's recent study on the difference in social media use throughout the world. As we'll see there are very real implications for international SEO and marketing efforts as a whole. I'll present information reported by Forrester according to the three main takeaway points outlined yesterday.

The news of Google's self-penalization for violating their own TOS has been making headlines both in and outside the SEO community, but despite the negative press the search engine giant has generated on its own behalf, there is good news on the horizon for Google.

I read a good post today related to clients and their respective search engine optimization providers.  The author raises a good point, pointing focus to a sometimes-divide in understanding taking place between clients and SEO providers, especially regarding "results."  Both parties have responsibilities to foster understanding.  Providers must illustrate the usefulness and effectiveness of services and clients must clearly relay expectations and areas of need.  Of course, it's an ongoing process; regular communication is always paramount in any kind of marketing campaign. 

Social media is both a domestic and intercultural phenomena as individuals not only communicate with others from within their same borders but with those from other countries as well. The fact that the reach of social media platforms extends throughout the entire world is one of its greatest leverage points. Internet users in North America only make up a fraction (13%) of the total users online throughout the world. As a result, there is much more web landscape beyond our borders than within, and the more in tune with what is happening in these markets, the better off companies will be.

If you’re currently executing an online marketing strategy to get the word out about your business, you’ve probably signed up for a Facebook or Twitter account in order to increase your reach. You’ve no doubt heard from many different sources that you absolutely must have a social media presence these days in order to reach potential customers. And while having a Facebook page and a Twitter account is certainly recommended, it takes a little know-how in order to run an effective social media campaign.

We don't hear too much about Web 2.0 anymore, so are we in a post-Web 2.0 era then? Well, it never really went away, only infused its principles and characteristics into the everyday functioning of the internet. Privileging participation and information-sharing, Web 2.0 proclaimed that users are the drivers, creating the content and directing the online landscape.

A lot of major brands are making noise of late.  Facebook is expected to release its IPO.  Go Daddy changed company heads and its mind.  Google penalized itself.  Now, Yahoo has made a new pal, Scott Thompson, the president of PayPal, as its chief executive.

At the core of any SEO campaign, there are keyword analyses that produce a firm understanding of the terms that all efforts are geared around. This is essential and always completed early in campaigns usually after client identity and objectives have been established. This process, however, takes on a whole new look, and degree of relevance, when dealing with international SEO. As companies continually expand their presence into new markets internationally, they encounter a whole host of new challenges getting across their message.

I read a good post the other day presenting a copywriting sentiment; great content does not guarantee links and exposure.  It doesn't, unfortunately, despite the time, energy, and hopes of some scribers.  But, solid content is still solid content; there's use for it.  Content production facilitates search engine optimization campaign successes, but you can do more with your information.  If you are a currently discontent with your content, consider composing a strategic plan of attack regarding ongoing production.

Search engine optimization and overall online marketing create exposure for your brand.  As online opportunities increase, savvy brands make appropriate decisions and implementations.  For instance, if this was five to ten years ago, I would be unwaveringly blogging, beseeching EVERY business owner to develop a Web site.  That sentiment is old news; (I hope your brand has the main site!) today, I am passionately asking business owners to consider orchestrating mobile Web sites.

Do you think Facebook and Google+ would befriend one another on social sites? Google does a lot of things well; its search engine and paid ad platform are obvious examples. Google has enjoyed a lot of popularity and exposure in this century. Do you need to look something up online? Google it; Wait, ("Google" it?) isn't Google the brand name of the provided search engine, how did we make it into a verb? Google's savvy marketing is one reason.

Those of us within the search engine optimization industry are on the "inside," but we know savvy marketers adopt a number of perspectives to promote success.  For instance, when the brand "Google" is mentioned, I automatically think about the company's search engine and my contribution to clients' successes regarding SERPs.   However, things change, it's a new year, and as mentioned, it's beneficial to view things from multiple angles as an SEO practitioner.  (On second thought, am I limiting your view of me by branding myself a "search engine optimization" practitioner?  An industry source wonders if we should broaden the scope of our appellations.)

A couple weeks back, I wrote a post about the changing dynamic between consumers and brands.  It could be the pesky, tenacious "recession," that won't go away like socially-inept relatives after the holiday season, making consumers a bit more perceptive and sensitive in the pocket.  Additionally, it could be the popularity of social media platforms and daily usage by consumers within all business verticals.  Considering a number of major brands have pulled "180s" last year regarding major decisions due to the reception of its consumers, it could be a sign of the times.  Will 2012 be the year of the consumer?

I read a good tweet today by a respected industry source regarding the changing landscape of optimization, relaying the sentiment that optimization involves search, share, and user experience.  I agree; "optimization" is a dynamic process these days, causing a brand to attend to many online aspects.  Brands, hoping to make the most of Web opportunities, arrange Web sites, social accounts, and other brand-related platforms to facilitate the intrigue of target markets.  With the insurgence and popularity of smart phones, mobile phone optimization is just another piece of the whole, optimization pie.

Social media is a buzz-worthy topic within the online marketing community.  A lot of options are getting rolled out by popular platforms.  Recently, Facebook and Twitter added social paid options, a great tool for businesses seeking more exposure.  Additionally, the former entity added "sponsored" stories to its newsfeeds.

I enjoy reading and writing about branding, how the public perceives a company.  Branding helps a company become "alive," creating associations related to colors, logo formations, slogans, short and long-term objectives, etc.

Most people have positive, cuddly associations to pandas.  Google changed that for a lot of online businesses back in February by implementing ongoing Panda updates.  Last week, an online source revealed data related to the updates' influence on search rankings.  It seems things are going as planned; the SERPs are populated with better results, indirectly tipping the cap to brands making modifications and SEO firms that helped.

No, I'm not suggesting spending your local store's dollars in exchange for "protection," but urging local owners to facilitate more inspection by local consumers.  The dynamic of a local owner is interesting.  On one hand, the disadvantage of a limited budget and larger competition is apparent.  However, local owners have the ability to secure lasting relationships with members of their target market, who live in the store's vicinity.

I joined the leagues of late-bloomer shoppers this week at local malls.  I know - what irony, an online marketing person neglecting cyber shopping for brick-and-mortar crowds!  I was standing in line at an electronics store and overheard a conversation taking place between two friends who were purchasing a game system for a third friend.  I thought that was a pretty cool sentiment and shared it with the two gents.  One quipped that the gift "wasn't just for him [the friend]" but for all of them to enjoy.  While it's commendable to be completely selfless this holiday season, small businesses, desiring to give consumers a little something this year, should remember some gifts give back, yielding positive returns.

I found myself traveling this week.  Wanting to maintain appearances for my dear mother, I strolled into a local, haircut chain establishment.  Coincidentally, my "stylist" was the owner, a man who bought into the franchise.  As one must divulge personal matters to hair stylists, I mentioned my interest in all things online marketing and inquired about his stores' efforts.  By the end of the ordeal, I was looking fresh and ready for a "Yelping in my Beemer" video as well as filled with a few thoughts regarding online marketing and tailored, consulting services.  As many marketers but few clients understand, online, one size does not fit all.

What's the broad-term-search competition like in your industry?  In most, it's intense.  Broad terms lose some luster for successful brands that have "made it," though ironically, the more popular a brand within an industry, the more likely it ranks well for broad terms of the industry, at the same time lessening its internal, marketing dependence on broad terms for traffic.  For instance, most, desiring the brand's product, would conduct an "iPhone" or "Apple" search rather than one for "cell phone" (though it's likely the brand's long-term engagement in online marketing has secured it good rankings regarding its respective industry's broad, search terms).

Would it be benefit your brand if consumers traded places with its executives?  I don't literally expect executives to become consumers of their own brand; but, I encourage them to think like customers often and much.  Empathy is the ability to relate to another person as if you're "walking in their shoes."  Ensure your marketing objectives spawn from empathetic sentiments.

Search engine optimization has always attracted outsider interest regarding the dichotomy of black and white-hat SEO specialists, the former party delivering unethical and SE-questionable practices.  As industry literature explains, black-hat practitioners give the industry a bad name, helping clients "game" the search engines.  Black hats help "game" the system; but, I think mutually ethically-questionable brands, using the unethical black hats are ultimately getting gamed and getting well-deserved desserts.

Mark Twain once quipped, "Clothes make the man.  Naked people have little or no influence on society."  Today, the humorous quote came to mind regarding on-site optimization.  Search engine optimization expands all the time; as SEs change algorithms, the definition and scope of search engine optimization services remains malleable.

I read an article yesterday in the NY Times discussing YouTube's new design and the wave of reactions, mostly negative, on the Web.  Relevant to the times and various "occupy" movements established throughout the country, people, specifically online consumers, are finding power in numbers, in some cases, making an influence, getting "heard."  Actually, I believe the amount of information sharing, and the little time needed to do so, changes the way brands make decisions.

Should your local business rely on search engine optimization or engage in social media optimization?  Both are strong, online marketing initiatives, but data released by the Pew Internet & American Life Foundation show this may influence some local businesses to deemphasize SMO.  It seems consumers, interviewed by land and cell phone lines, reported levering social media only 1% of the time to find information about local business, ostensibly making social media an ineffective marketing tool.