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Category: News

Five for Friday: Beef Up Your Local SEO, Twitter Welcomes Newbies, and More

1. Google’s Domain Registration Service Now Open To All US Residents – Search Engine Journal

Google now has a proprietary domain registration service! What’s great about this service is that, like most Google products, it’s fully integrated with Gmail forwarding as well as other goodies provided by Google’s partners – Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, and Blogger. Streamlined and familiar, domain registration starts at $12, with additional add-ons available. For more information about this service in different countries, you can sign up to a mailing list.

2. A Step-By-Step Introduction to Amazon Product Ads – PPC Hero

Amazon has always been kind enough to direct customers to your product, and it sometimes even directs them straight to your website. With Amazon Product Ads, the company helps you become better at selling your wares the right way – with the consumer in mind, but the seller at heart. This article details the step-by-step process on how to utilize APAs to the fullest, and it educates you on the nuances of selling products online.

3. How to Have a Successful Local SEO Campaign in 2015 – Moz

These tips are typically a no-brainer for us optimizers, but as evinced by our recent SI Conference, there are nuances to local SEO, and SEO in general, that we sometimes just don’t see right off the bat. With the new Google updates, optimizing is getting more personal and organic than ever. Check out the interesting click map to see just how organic SERPs are becoming.

4. The Big List: 80 Of The Hottest SEO, Social Media & Digital Analytics Tools For Marketers – Marketing Land

Note: this is not a ranked list of SEO tools, but rather a running total of great tools out there at the moment. Perhaps we will see some of these in our near future as employees of Search Influence. It’s nice to see kind things said about the tools we currently use, if not only to solidify the reasons why we chose the ones we did.

5. Report: Twitter Planning New Home Page For Logged-Out Visitors – Marketing Land

As an avid Twitter user, I’ve always been concerned with the esoteric universe that is Twitter’s inner sanctum. What’s in a homepage, you ask? Well, currently Twitter leaves a lot to be desired (a marketing ploy perhaps); there’s no indication of what the user interface even remotely looks like based on their homepage. Reports indicate that, unlike many social media home pages, Twitter may give in to human curiosity and allow potential users to glimpse its inner workings.

Image Sources:

Oh Boy Gif

January 16, 2015
Five for Friday: Is Your Social Media In Good Hands? Link-Dieting & More

1. New Year, New Link Takedown – Search Engine Land

As we all know, many sites were put on Google’s naughty list thanks to Penguin’s distaste for bad links. Their next move? Request, request, request. Looking back on 2014, Google certainly got a lot of action. Torrent Freak reports that Google received a 75% increase in link removal requests in 2014 as compared to the previous year. We’re talking highs of 12 million URLs requested for removal per week. 2014 was clearly the year of cleanup.

2. Project Share Aware: Sugar Bowl Not So Sweet For Some – MarketingLand

An unsuspecting real-life couple, dubbed “oversharers” by Allstate, was burglarized during their outing to the Sugar Bowl. You might be wondering why an insurance company would do such a thing. Allstate’s latest campaign, Project Share Aware, aimed to alert the public to encroaching social media-savvy burglars. Long story short, if you’re telling people where you are in a public sphere, those without your best interest in mind (aka burglars) can take advantage of your oversharing. The event went as far as holding a fake online sale of the couple’s property using #MayhemSale on Twitter. Many claim this was just another ploy of Allstate’s fear-mongering advertising tactics, but it certainly made a few rethink their privacy settings. Although rattled, the couple did walk away a little sweeter with free Sugar Bowl tickets.

3. Modern Family: Device Edition – Search Engine Land

This may not come as a surprise, but if it’s not on a modern advertiser’s to-do list, it certainly needs to be. What am I referring to? Cross-device advertising. We’re talking about your new modern family, each member gazing at their device of the moment, whether it’s a PC, mobile, or tablet. John Crosley, Bing Columnist, argues that households engaging with multiple devices within one day tend to be more receptive to advertising. The overall goal? Reaching your audience, wherever they are and on whatever device they may be using at the moment. Let’s just say cross-device advertising is the Lily of Modern Family.

4. New Year’s Resolutions: Cutting Carbs or Social Media? – Community2Business

Which did you pick? If you picked social media, you’re probably in the right place. As you step into 2015, take some time to rethink how you’re reaching your audience. Some top tips include boosting visuals, knowing when the time is right, and monitoring your #HASHTAG.

First things first, if your post lacks engaging visual content such as images, memes, or infographics, your audience will likely yawn and pass through. Also, consider donning those visual-friendly social media platforms like Pinterest or Instagram. Tick, tock – we’re talking about time. Although articles regarding the perfect posting times abound, don’t forget you’re unique! Pay mind to your particular market or industry and play around with tools to measure what time is actually best for you to post. Finally, it’s time to discuss the beloved hashtag. While this is an incredibly relevant and useful tool, it can be abused. Make sure you are picking appropriate wording and wisely follow the rule of no more than three hashtags per post!

5. Boost Your Newsworthy-ness! – Business2Community

Based on an analysis of 2014 search trends, the most searched items were Robin Williams-related. This was followed up by the World Cup, ISIS, Frozen, and more. What can we take away from this? People want news! Alongside your SEO efforts, focus on making your business reflect the most recent, exciting news in the industry. As an added bonus, if you regularly update this information, it will be new news. And as we all know, Google loves to bask in fresh, updated content. Now, that’s killing two birds with one stone!

Image Sources:

Mayhem Last Item 4 Sale Tweet

Modern Family Gif

Mean Girls Gif

January 9, 2015
SI Scores A Home Run With Team Building, Bonding, and Kickball

Throughout the year, the team at Search Influence has come together multiple times for quarterly team-building events. In 2014, we had a Pelicans game outing, a crawfish boil, and a carnival. Our final team-building event was a highly anticipated celebration to end a successful year. On Friday, December 12th, all of the members of Search Influence attended the year-end event at Mid City Yacht Club.

Anyone who works at SI can tell you that these events are not only a blast, but also a great opportunity to get to know the new and old employees of our quickly growing team. At 3pm, everyone headed over to South St. Patrick Street to begin the festivities.

Members of the team brought loads of sweets and treats. The dessert table consisted of delicious pralines, meringues, a birthday cake to celebrate an employee’s birthday, and many more snacks to settle any sweet tooth cravings. After socializing for a while, some of the team gathered across the street at the local baseball field, where an intense game of kickball took place. Many team members played or cheered on the players.

All in all, this was yet another successful team-building event to end the year. All of us at Search Influence look forward to seeing what the 2015 team-building events have in store. Happy Building 🙂

December 30, 2014
The Christmas Influence: Coats For Kids Fundraiser Warms The Heart
As the holidays approached this year, I realized I was getting really caught up in gift shopping, party planning, and the usual hustle and bustle. I wanted to do something to help brighten the season for someone who may not have all those same opportunities. After brainstorming with my co-worker, Gabrielle, we thought we could try to get the whole office involved.

Former Influencer Caroline Robinson has stayed in touch with many of us since she left SI to work for Covenant House of New Orleans. She and her fiancé, Charles, have been members of our company kickball and dodgeball teams for the past few seasons. It was Gabrielle who suggested that our office initiative could benefit Covenant House, so we did some research and gave Caroline a call.

What we learned is that Covenant House is a shelter and safe haven for 150 at-risk, runaway, or homeless youth aged 16-22, and it’s just a few blocks away from our office. The staff provides food, shelter, clothing, resources, educational opportunities, and so much more to these young people, even helping them transition into independent living when they are ready. Caroline told us that many of them have never experienced Christmas or the holidays in a positive way before.

The organization always accepts non-perishable food products, gently used clothes, and similar items. We wanted to know if there was anything special or different we could do for them, given the time of year. Caroline let us know that some of the residents have toddlers and babies who also stay at Covenant House, and they are in desperate need of new winter coats this year. So we made it our goal to raise enough funds to purchase all 31 kids a new winter coat and deliver it to Covenant House in time for Christmas!

About Our Fundraiser
- We didn’t have a lot of time, but we figured we could challenge our fellow Influencers with a one-week donation drive.
- We asked our teammates to contribute in one or more of the following ways:
  - Monetary donations of whatever they were willing / able to contribute
  - Gently used clothing
  - Non-perishable food items
  - New personal care items such as:
    
    Bar soap
    
    Body wash
    
    Deodorant
    
    Toothpaste
    
    Toothbrushes
    
    Shampoo
    
    Hand/body lotion
  - Bath and hand towels
  - Sheets and blankets
- We set up a tree and some donation boxes in the office and collected donations through the end of the week.
- On Monday, December 22nd, we delivered our gifts to Covenant House and got to experience a quick tour of the facility.
Amount Raised: $600 in just a single week! This money was used to purchase 31 brand-new winter coats.

Covenant House

Caroline Robinson, former influencer and current volunteer coordinator/development associate for Covenant House in New Orleans, was able to provide info on Covenant House and its mission.

“Covenant House is a safe haven for homeless and at-risk youth ages 16-22. We also have toddlers and babies in our program because many of our young women are mothers. We provide food, shelter, clothing, medical attention, individual and family counseling, educational assistance, vocational and job training, life skills, and so much more. Over the past three years, the number of kids in our program has grown from 45 per night to 150 per night. We would love to give each and every one of these kids a Christmas they will never forget. Most Covenant House residents have never experienced a ‘traditional’ Christmas because their families either couldn’t or wouldn’t provide for them. Our goal is to give everyone a giant gift bag full of practical and fun items they’ll enjoy throughout the year. Every kid will receive what we consider the essentials: a winter coat, socks, underwear, gloves, pajamas, and hygiene products. From there, we provide at least one item from wish lists we receive from every resident. Wishes include video games, purses, baseball hats, jewelry, and more!

We’re always accepting donations and looking for volunteers. Only brand-new items are given out on Christmas Day, but gently used clothing is always accepted for our clothing donation room. We also accept non-perishable food. If you can’t help our kids this Christmas but want to get involved with Covenant House, you can provide a meal, do a service project to keep our grounds well maintained, or run for us in the Crescent City Classic! Covenant House is a charity beneficiary of the race this year, and we’re always looking for more runners.” – Caroline Robinson, Covenant House Volunteer Coordinator/Development Associate.

For more information on how to get involved, email Caroline Robinson at [email protected].
December 29, 2014
Five for Friday: Facebook Ads Get a Facelift, Google’s Panda Goes into Hibernation, and More!
1. Tips For Growing Traffic and Revenue Through Keyword Targeting – Search Engine Land

It is widely known throughout the tech world that choosing the right keywords is important when trying to draw more attention to your website. Trond Lyngbø discusses how to do this by gathering relevant information, prioritizing your targets, and taking appropriate action. He goes through each of these steps in detail and offers advice on which tools to use and how to narrow down your targeted keywords. Finally, he goes through your options on how to take action through content marketing, personalization, and more. Trond Lyngbø offers advice and suggestions on taking action with high search volume keywords and turning those leads into conversions.

2. What’s Next in SEO Trends – Venture Beat

With the new year approaching fast, people are wondering what’s next in SEO trends. Yoav Vilner discusses how the focus in 2014 has been on honest and well-built link profiles, unique and informative content, and a compatible mobile site.

In 2015, he expects the focus to shift in a number of ways.
1. Addition of Social Layers: This will include putting faces on visitors and allowing them to get to know other visitors and even the website owners through social profiles like Spot.IM.
2. Increase of Visual Content: Websites with engaging visual content such as BuzzFeed are showing us that users are becoming more engaged when aided by a visual rather than a plain text site.
3. Defense Against Negative SEO: In 2015, businesses will need to work harder to protect themselves against negative SEO by securing a healthy link profile and proving to Google that the brand is legitimate.
3. Panda Goes on Holiday Vacation Too – Search Engine Roundtable

Panda has been one of Google’s most influential updates. Thanks to the update’s focus on quality content, advertisers have been striving to satisfy this furry animal since 2011. In this blog, Barry Schwartz discusses why we haven’t seen any updates or refreshes from Google’s Panda over the past month. He discusses how Panda has been known to go on vacation (or perhaps hibernation) during the holiday season and goes into more detail about when Panda was last updated.

4. Insight Into Which Products Drive Store Visits – Search Engine Watch

During the holiday season, advertisers are constantly trying to track their marketing efforts, asking questions like “What drives consumers to purchase?” and “How do we get customers to think of us first?” Yuyu Chen discusses a new Google AdWords metric called “store visit measurements,” which is added to its Estimated Total Conversions (ETC). Using data compiled from the company’s search ads, this tool tracks which products drive consumers to the store to make a purchase. Chen discusses privacy concerns as well as whether or not this feature will be available outside of the US.

5. The Redesign of Facebook Ads Yield High Results – Marketing Land

In April, Facebook redesigned its right rail ads by making them larger but less frequent. Ever since then, we have been awaiting the results of this redesign. In this blog, Martin Beck discusses Facebook’s announcement regarding the success of the redesign. He also discusses the success associated with these new ads and explains why they are cost efficient.
December 26, 2014
Five For Fridays: How To Get Yourself an Assistant, Get Rid of Spammy Links, and Go Evergreen!

1. Think Like a User – Search Engine Land

Sometimes we can get so caught up in trying to get attractive links that we forget why we are writing a piece of content in the first place. We try so hard to get people to read it that we fail to remember who it’s for. In one of her latest columns, Julie Joyce describes the importance of thinking like a user when trying to integrate links to our content. She gives us tips of where users really want links and how it could be helpful to go offline to see things from a different perspective.

2. Go EverGreen! – Search Engine Land

Why is it that some pieces of content seem to get more traffic year after year, while others die away to Internet uselessness? Neil Patel shows us the benefits of incorporating evergreen qualities to your content. These qualities can help your content continue to gain traffic and readers regardless of how long ago it was published. Even though it might take some ongoing work, he stresses the importance of relevance and quality so that your content can be seen for ages.

3. Penguin, What Have You Been Up To? – Search Engine Land

There has been a lot of debate about what magnitude the new Penguin algorithm update is going to have. In this article, Philip Petrescu shares data on Penguin’s latests impact. His data shows the effect the algorithm has had on low ranking websites and how it’s affected other countries of the world. He argues that the impact the algorithm has had depends on the rankings you currently have, the industry you are in, and who you’re competing against.

4. Say Goodbye to Spammy Links – Moz

Recently, Marie Haynes wrote a handy guide on how to use Google’s disavow tool. Even though this tool has been around for a while, it can still be confusing to use. With the constant updates Google is doing on its algorithms, it’s imperative to be on top of getting quality links to your site. This guide shows a step-by-step process to get rid of those spammy and unnatural links that are pointing to your website.

5. Stressed at Work? How About a Personal Assistant – Mashable

In this hectic world that we live in, most of us could use a little help. I know that I would love to have my own little minion. These five apps are here to become your own digital personal assistants. They can help you get organized, check the best route to work, store boarding passes, remind you of tasks, vocalize your social media feeds, and much more. Who would you hire as your virtual assistant?

Image Sources:

Thanks to Bill Selak for the number five image, Maria Sarfraz for the Google now image, and Splatito8127 for the Sequoia National Park image.

December 19, 2014
Two Turtle Doves Join Search Influence’s Flock

We are very excited to announce two new members who have joined the ever-growing Search Influence team! What better holiday gift is there?

Sarah Ledgerwood – Internet Marketing Team Lead

Born and raised in a small town in North Idaho right near the British Columbia border, Sarah graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Washington in Seattle, and she got her J.D. from American University in Washington D.C. A new resident of New Orleans, Sarah just recently moved from Seattle with her husband, three kids, and two basset hounds. Sarah is passionate about food and music, and she’s excited to join the team at Search Influence!

Eric Knoepfler – Junior Internet Marketing Associate

Eric was born and raised in New Orleans and graduated from Loyola University in 2013 with a degree in journalism. He recently started a film production company with some friends, and they spend their weekends shooting weddings and original shorts. They’re finishing up a short horror film titled “Burial Mounds” that they hope to submit to a few festivals this coming summer. If there’s one fun fact to know about Eric, it’s that he has an irrational hatred for pickles.

If you would like to join our team and pull our SEO sleigh (delivering good rankings to all), visit our careers page and apply! We look forward to hearing from you.

December 17, 2014
Five For Friday: Google Language 101 – Metas, SEO, & Link Building Without Content
1. Link Building Without Content Creation – Search Engine Journal

A common misconception about link building is that content creation is a necessary part of it. While new content certainly helps, Jon Ball recently posted an article arguing that updating content is not always necessary, especially for small businesses that lack the resources to invest in new content. Small businesses, he claims, shouldn’t dismiss link building just because they think it is too costly or time-consuming. Fortunately, Ball offers five link building approaches that do not require content creation.

2. Google+ Finally Lets Us Pin Posts! – Marketing Land

Finally, Google+ users can highlight certain posts to make them stand out. Early last week, Google+ announced that users can now pin posts to the top of their pages. Google+ is a little late on the trend, as Facebook and Twitter have already offered this feature to users. So far, Google+ pinned posts are only visible on a desktop or Android device. What does this mean for businesses? With this new feature, you can increase the visibility of posts you want your users to see.

3. 2015: Over Half of Search Spending Goes to Mobile – Marketing Land

A new study conducted by eMarketer shows that in 2015, spending on mobile paid search ads and SEO is predicted to be at 50.1%. This is due to a change in consumer behavior, which has veered away from searching on desktops to show a preference for searching on tablets and smartphones.

4. Caution: Don’t Ignore Meta Descriptions – Search Engine Land

Google has continually stated that meta descriptions do not impact search engine rankings, which has led many people to disregard them. However, Neil Patel argues that these descriptions are still important. While the content in a meta description is not considered in Google’s search ranking algorithm, the click-through rate (CTR) is part of Google’s search ranking algorithm. Instead of ignoring meta descriptions, businesses should write optimized meta descriptions to increase CTR and overall site rankings.

5. Five “Googley” SEO Terms Explained – Search Engine Watch

Misunderstanding search industry terms could cost you an entire SEO campaign. Kristine Schachinger discusses five commonly misunderstood Google terms that can lead to negative implications in the long run. In Schachinger’s opinion, the most commonly misunderstood Google terms are:
1. Robots.txt
2. Google DNS
3. Penguin, Panda, Penalties
4. Duplicate Content Filter
5. PageRank
To avoid accidental negative SEO implications, she offers the correct definition and usage for each commonly misunderstood Google term.

Thanks to Christopher Sessums for the blue five and Trulia for the mobile app images!
December 12, 2014
We’re Thankful For Our Newest Influencers!

Great team members are as essential to our business as mashed potatoes are to Thanksgiving dinner. They’re the gravy to our SEO campaigns, the stuffing to our—you get the picture! Get to know a little bit about each of our newest influencers:

Ryan Eugene – Junior Account Associate

Born and raised in Silver Spring, MD, a suburb of Washington, DC, Ryan graduated from The College of William and Mary in May 2013. After working as a track and basketball coach at the National Cathedral School in DC, he moved to New Orleans to experience all there is to love about the Big Easy and be closer to his grandmother who lives in Thibodeaux, LA. In his spare time during the last few months, he appeared in an episode of NCIS: New Orleans and lifeguarded at the JCC. So if you’re planning a pool party and you need a lifeguard, he’s your guy!

Brok Kretzmann – Junior Internet Marketing Associate

Brok is from Minnesota. He loves extreme outdoor adventures—anything from an 85-mile bike ride to spelunking or free climbing. Brok is also a certified scuba diver. Music and technology, as a whole, are what he lives for. He jokes that you won’t ever find him without music of some kind.

Kate Mason – Junior Internet Marketing Associate

Kate is from Nashville, Tennessee. She graduated from USC in 2011 with degrees in Journalism and Anthropology. After traveling to Thailand and Cambodia this summer for two months, Kate moved to New Orleans for her next adventure. Kate’s secret talent is knowing every word to every song almost ever.

Paulina Rodriguez – Junior Web Developer

Paulina is originally from Los Angeles, California. She studied applied mathematics at UC Santa Cruz and Claremont Graduate University. Paulina is excited to be part of the development team. She enjoys watching extremely gory movies and can’t wait to try all the amazing food New Orleans has to offer!

Lauren Siegel – Product Management Intern

Lauren is a 2nd year Tulane MBA student concentrating in Marketing & Strategic Management and a New Orleans native. When she’s not getting down to business, Lauren enjoys any activity that relates to fashion, fitness, or food. Lauren also has a major Instagram problem, which mostly revolves around her 85-pound furry son named Pongo.

Join us in welcoming Ryan, Brok, Kate, Paulina, and Lauren! We’re excited (and very thankful!) to have you.

November 20, 2014
Five For Friday: Backlinks Back, Alright! The Missing Linkjuice & More

1. Blogs on Blogs
– Moz

Recently, Isla McKetta wrote an entry on The Moz Blog entitled “When Is a Blog the Right Form of Content Marketing?” Blogs have been championed as sure shots for improving online traffic and increasing a company’s influence. McKetta, however, argues that blogs are often overrated, and whether or not a business needs a blog depends on the type of business it is. The article provides concrete examples of when blogs are superfluous and marketing efforts would be better spent on other areas. It’s definitely worth reading.

2. Link Trouble
– Search Engine Land

Julie Joyce wrote a piece on why a website might not be as “linkworthy” as it could be. It’s common knowledge within the SEO realm that having other websites link to yours is vital. There are many steps that can be taken to optimize your site’s linking potential. While some of Joyce’s examples are somewhat obvious, such as including social sharing buttons, there are some important points that could be overlooked. For example, if your site has “atrocious writing,” it’s very unlikely that anyone will link to it.

3. Backlinks Matter
– Search Engine Watch

Adam Stetzer posted an article concerning why backlinks matter for small businesses. Stetzer argues that while small companies can’t afford to overlook backlinks when trying to rank higher on Google, they can’t take an easy way out either. According to Stetzer, low-cost deals offering “500 backlinks for $79” are actually dangerous for businesses because Penguin will view those links as spam and therefore suppress the business’ ranking. The article also discusses the relatively new concern of “Negative SEO” and how to avoid it.

4. How to Verify Apple Maps Listings Faster
– Mike Blumenthal

It has happened to just about everyone working in Internet marketing – while trying to verify a listing on Google or Apple Maps you’re forced to spend extraneous amounts of time retrieving a verification code over the phone and enter it in online. It seems as if these directories are trying their hardest to prevent you from taking control of the listing. Arbitrary factors, such as using a specific phone number too many times, can delay this process from anywhere between 5 minutes to an hour. Luckily, Justin Moseback of blumenthals.com has a trick to curb your time (and anger) spent on getting this task done.

5. Stuff: Where Should You Put it?
– Matt Cutts

When working within SEO, copious amounts of data are used every day. Therefore, it’s important to know where and how to store it most effectively. Matt Cutts has posted an in-depth article that explores the pros and cons of various data ecosystems. Ultimately, it seems, the best option is the one that molds the best to your business’ needs. However, there are some very convincing arguments for a few of them!

Image Sources:
Thanks to Dricker94 for the #5 pool ball image, and to Ministerio TIC Colombia for the typing image.

November 14, 2014