Top SEO News: Week of March 19, 2012

Posted in Search Engine News by scarter, on March 19, 2012 | Leave a comment

Check out the top SEO, search engine and Internet marketing industry news stories from around the Web this week.

Bing Fires Two Marketing Execs Over Vendor Issues
According to Search Engine Land, Microsoft recently fired two Bing executives for “mismanagement of company assets and vendor procurement.”

Google Shares 7 Tips With Free Web Hosting Sites to Avoid Penalties
Google recently shared reasons why it will remove websites from its index. The main reason why a website would be removed is if it doesn’t meet Google’s quality guidelines. Google’s main objective is to rid its index of spam websites that its users have no need for.

Too Much SEO? Google’s Working on an “Over-Optimization” Penalty for That
According to Search Engine Land, Google’s Matt Cutts made an announcement that Google is working on a search ranking penalty for websites that are “over optimized” during a panel at SXSW. The new penalty will be launched within the next few weeks.

9 Hot Social Networks to Watch
Although they haven’t had the same amount of success as Facebook and Twitter or the seemingly overnight success of Pinterest and Foursquare, these social networks are worth paying attention to. Don’t miss out on these 9 up-and-coming websites designed to connect people online and in real life.

Bing, Not Google, Favors Wikipedia More Often in Search Results
According to a recent study, when you conduct searches on Bing you’re more likely to see Wikipedia in your search results than for the same search on Google.

Local Search Campaigns Equal More Calls to Your Business

Posted in Local Search Techniques, Local SEO by scarter, on March 15, 2012 | Leave a comment

According to Brafton news, a recent report from xAD stated that over half of local mobile search clicks result in calls directly to the business. The study’s results showed that people searching for businesses in their local area are very likely to purchase and a solid local presence online will allow them to find a business’s information easily and quickly.

Local search has a 7% click-through rate compared to display ads that have a .6% click-through rate. According to the study over 37% of people who click the links end up calling the business, requesting more information about the business, searching for directions or taking another action.

A local SEO campaign can help your local business make a prominent presence in the local listings so your customers will be able to find you. More online exposure means more phone calls to your business, so check out Local Splash’s local SEO services today.

Top SEO News: Week of March 12, 2012

Posted in Local SEO by scarter, on March 12, 2012 | Leave a comment

Check out the top SEO, search engine and Internet marketing industry news stories from around the Web this week.

Keeping Up With Google: Bing Launches New “Search Quality Insights” Series
Bing recently announced a new “Search Quality Insights” series so users can get a better understanding of how Bing creates its search results. Google launched a similar series in December called “Search Quality Highlights.” Find more details here.

Yahoo Sues Facebook Over 10 Patents
According to Mashable, Yahoo filed a complaint against Facebook

Pew Report: 65% View Personalized Search As Bad; 73% See It As a Privacy Invasion
According to a recent report released by Pew, many view personalized search as a bad thing. Almost three-quarters of people who participated in the survey believe that search engines gathering personal data to customize results is an invasion of privacy. Read more details about the report’s findings here.

What People Are Pinning on Pinterest
RJ Metrics recently conducted a study of approximately 1 million pins across 9,200 different users to discover what people are pinning on Pinterest. The results showed that the most popular pin categories included Home, Arts and Crafts and Style/Fashion. Read more for details.

Study: 72% of Consumers Trust Online Reviews as Much as Personal Recommendations
According to this year’s Local Consumer Review Survey, 72% of consumers say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Fifty-two percent of the people surveyed said that positive reviews make them more likely to do buy from a local business.

New Report Gives Insight on Local Ads on Mobile Devices

Posted in Local SEO, Mobile Ads by scarter, on March 8, 2012 | Leave a comment

According to the “Mobile Audience Insights Report,” recently published by JiWire, about 80% of consumers want the ads on their mobile smartphones to be relevant to their location. The report also shows that about 75% of the consumers who have seen location-targeted ads on their mobile devices have taken some kind of action after viewing it. Thirty-one percent of consumers clicked on the locally-targeted ad, 21% searched for the business’s location closest to them and 21% researched the brand further after seeing the mobile advertisement.

The report also showed that the way people responded to the local ads varied depending on what kind of mobile device they were using. Twenty-five percent of iPhone users were more likely to research the company after viewing the ad, 25% of Android users were more likely to search for the closet business location and 21% of Blackberry users were most likely to make a purchase immediately after viewing.

To view all of the findings, check out the full report from JiWire here.

Top SEO News: Week of March 5, 2012

Posted in Search Engine News by scarter, on March 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

Check out the top SEO, search engine and Internet marketing industry news stories from around the Web this week.

Google is Watching You (Or Not): New Privacy Policy Takes Effect Today
Google’s new privacy policy is now in effect. Google states that the new policy will “simplify privacy across Google’s many properties and make it possible for the company to build a range of new products and services for consumers, including on mobile.” Read more details here.

Localeze/15miles Fifth Annual comScore Local Search Usage Study Reveals SoLoMo Revolution Has Taken Over
According to a recent study, social, local and mobile (SoLoMo) is currently dominating the search marketplace. Read more about the study here.

Bing Testing New, Google-y Local Search Results
Bing’s new display for local search results looks very similar to Google’s local search results. Compare the two, read the full article here.

comScore Releases January 2012 U.S. Search Engine Rankings
comScore, a leader in measuring the digital world, released its monthly analysis of search. View the findings of the study here.

Foursquare Co-founder Naveen Selvadurai is Checking Out
Naveen Selvadurai, the co-founder of the social network, Foursquare recently announced that he will be leaving the company to pursue new projects.

Google’s Block Sites Feature Allows PPC Results Blocking

Posted in Local SEO, PPC Advertising, SEO News by scarter, on March 1, 2012 | 1 Comment

According to Search Engine Land, Google now allows users to block pay-per-click (PPC) ads from certain companies from showing up in their search results. This “block sites” feature was added in November and works whether you are signed in or signed out of your Google account.

The block sites feature used to allow users to block sites from both the web search results and the PPC results. However with the release of Search Plus Your World, the ability to block sites went away and hasn’t come back. Users can still block PPC ads from certain sites from showing up in their search results, which can definitely impair their paid marketing efforts. This is just another reason why focusing on the local search results is important. Users cannot block your business information from showing up there, which means you still have the chance to put your business in front of your ideal target audience, potential customers searching for your business in your area.

Local Splash can get your business on the first page of Google, check out our services here.

Facebook Releases Timeline for Brands

Posted in Social Media Marketing by scarter, on February 28, 2012 | Leave a comment

Starting March 30, all Facebook brand pages will be transformed into Facebook Timeline pages. The layout of the page will completely change once Timeline is enabled and it may take some time for you to get used to the look of your new page. However, just because the new Timeline is unfamiliar doesn’t mean it’s bad. In fact it’s going to be more aesthetically pleasing and will still give you the same opportunities to interact and engage your fans.

Cover image: One feature of the new Timeline is the cover photo. This is a large image featured at the top of the page. Businesses should use this image to feature something particularly captivating or a special they want to promote because it’s the first thing people will see when they visit your Timeline. Businesses can change this photo often in order to promote weekly deals or monthly contests.

History: Timeline is just that, a timeline that lays out posts the company has made in a vertical line format with events on either side of the line, one on top of the other. Timeline allows you to display company events that happened before Facebook was even created. You can go through your company’s history and mark milestones like when your company was founded, when it reached a certain number of employees, when your CEO was appointed, etc. This adds a personal touch to your company’s Timeline that fans appreciate. Timeline is meant to make Facebook more personal and when you get personal with your fans it encourages loyalty and trust.

Map: Timeline allows you to feature a map of your business location. You have the option to display the map or hide it so if people come into your business location, it’s best to display it. If you’re a business that primarily goes to your customers, it may be best to hide the map on your Timeline.

From now until March 30, you can preview your Timeline and publish it if you’re ready for the change now. Take this time to make sure all your business information is updated, figure out what you’re going to use for your cover photo and start mapping out what company milestones to include on your Timeline so you’re ready when it’s activated in a few days.

The Value of Pinterest to Your Brand

Posted in Local SEO, Social Media Marketing by scarter, on February 23, 2012 | Leave a comment

Pinterest is a new social network that has really taken off within the past few months. The visual site allows people to “pin” photos and videos they like onto their boards. Many people use these boards to plan events like a party or a wedding, but recently people have begun to create boards just for fun. Users can follow friends’ boards on the site and “repin” photos or videos from friends’ boards to their own as well as “like” photos and videos. Pinterest is now connected with Facebook so your Facebook friends can see what you are pinning.

Pinterest may seem useless to companies that aren’t centered around visuals, however you don’t need to be a photographer or designer to use this new social network for your advantage. Infographics and videos are also allowed on Pinterest and there are many advantages to pinning for your company.

• Photos are more popular than articles. Photos catch the eye of Web users much faster than the words in an article and are often added to articles for that very reason. Infographics are very successful in particular because they provide factual information without resorting to the usual blocks of text. Many people are visual learners and a graphic simply explains the point faster than an article. Pinterest is a great place to display your Infographics and videos and allow others to learn and share information about your industry and company.

• Pinterest will help your SEO efforts. Every photo or video that is pinned links back to the website where it’s originally from. This helps build your link juice with inbound links and will drive traffic to your website.

• Build connections with your target audience. Like any other social media network, Pinterest gives brands a platform to share and interact directly with their target audience. Sharing interesting and visually captivating photos and videos will encourage your followers to repin and share with others.

• Pinterest allows users to target which topics they’re interested in. This means the people who are seeing your photos and videos are more likely to be interested in your company. Since everything you pin links back to your website, you could find potential customers on Pinterest.

So what are you waiting for? Ask for an invite to Pinterest and start pinning for your brand. You’ll start engaging a whole new audience and boost your SEO efforts.

How to Attract People to Your Facebook Page

Posted in Local SEO, Social Media Marketing by scarter, on February 21, 2012 | Leave a comment

So, you’ve built an awesome Facebook page for your business but you have no idea how to attract people to your page. Your problem is like many others on Facebook and finding people to “like” your page can be difficult. However, without fans, you won’t be able to connect directly with your target audience in order to ask their opinions, share special offers, etc. So how exactly do attract fans to your Facebook page? Here are a few great ways:

• Invite your friends to become fans. This is the easiest way to get fans quickly. Share your page on your own Facebook timeline and ask others to spread the word on their own timelines. You can also directly invite friends to like the page by clicking on the “Invite friends” link on the right side of your page. Then select the friends you want to invite and click “Submit.” Just be careful, you don’t want to annoy your friends with too many invites. Ask once and then periodically share your page on your own timeline but don’t overdo it.

• Add links to your Facebook page on everything from your blog to your email signature. You can tweet the link to your fan page, add it to your LinkedIn profile and any other social media networks you are part of. You can even advertise by printing your Facebook page link on receipts, making a window cling for your storefront or a fun free sticker to give out to customers.

• Already have an email subscriber list? Invite your opt-in email subscribers to “like” your brand on Facebook. Tell them what kind of posts they can expect from your brand to encourage them to want to become a fan.

• Add a link to your Facebook page from your personal Facebook profile. That way anyone who checks out your profile will be encouraged to go check out your page.

• Add a custom Welcome page to your Facebook business page. Custom Welcome pages are easy to create and can include photos and videos or highlight special promotions for your company. Sometimes companies advertise a contest or a game that you can only enter or play if you “like” the page. These custom Welcome pages are particularly successful.

• Use Facebook advertising. Using Facebook ads to drive people to your page is a great tactic; however unlike the rest of these techniques, it does cost money. You can use sponsored stories or come up with your own ads. Set the preferences so you are only targeting the people who would be interested in “liking” your brand. Facebook advertising offers a lot of ways to target so you can make sure the right eyes see your material.

• Provide interesting, engaging material. If you provide interesting, informative or entertaining material, people who see it will be more likely to share it with friends. The more sharing that occurs, the more people will be exposed to your page and be enticed to “like” it. Creating funny videos or informative and factual infographics are a great way to engage fans.

• Be casual. Remember, when dealing with social media, people want to hear from other people, not big companies. So be more casual on Facebook and save the corporate speak for your website. People hang out on social networks to see what friends are up to. Act more like a friend to your fans, share stuff that’s happening around the office or photos and bios of the employees who work at your company. People will appreciate being able to put a face to the brand and they’ll be more likely to communicate with you and trust you.

Twitter to Launch Advertising Campaigns for Small Businesses

Posted in Social Media Marketing by scarter, on February 17, 2012 | Leave a comment

According to the Twitter blog, starting in late March, Twitter will be introducing a new advertising offering for small businesses that will help them grow their businesses through the use of Promoted Tweets and Promoted Accounts.

Twitter partnered with American Express in order to make it simple for small businesses to advertise on Twitter. American Express card members based in the U.S. will also be able to try the new advertising platform before anyone else and American Express will even give $100 in free advertising to the first 10,000 businesses to sign up.

According to the blog, “successful small business owners intuitively know how to build meaningful relationships with their customers. They were the first to use Twitter to talk with consumers in real time and their creativity demonstrated Twitter’s potential as a marketing platform.”

As a small business owner, will you take advantage of the new Twitter marketing offerings next month?