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Tag: paid search

  • Earn More Facebook Friends for Your Business with These 4 Tips

    According to the National Day Calendar, what we all know as February 11 is actually observed as National Make A Friend Day, not to be confused with June 8, which is National Best Friends Day (though we celebrate that here, too!). As it is described on the National Day Calendar website, new friends can broaden our horizons by guiding us to see with fresh perspectives, challenging us to try something new, and connecting us to opportunities, all of which are common features of Facebook friends.

    Friends Are for More Than Just People

    For this reason, people aren’t the only ones adding more friends to their Facebook lists. In fact, businesses, brand names, and even franchises have joined the world of Facebook. The more friends your company can make on social media sites such as Facebook, the more your audience grows, as will your SEO, and from there, the success of your business.

    Facebook itself understands this great significance of friendship, as it just recently celebrated its 12th anniversary with a new goal of having five billion of the world’s seven billion humans connected to the social network by 2030.

    But first, you have to know how to make those friends, so we’ve gathered four main ways to grow a Facebook friends list for your franchise.

    1. Post More Videos – It’s All About the Movement

    In the same way that YouTube grew to be so popular, Facebook Live is allowing people to broadcast in real time to their audiences directly from their mobile devices. The movement of the video in the News Feed catches the attention of those who are watching, and they’re more likely to share such content with their own group of friends, which will result in more views on your page, and from there, more friends.

    2. The Message – Communication Is Key

    The recently enhanced communication tools on Facebook help businesses offer real-time customer support through messages in the form of an online chat type of private messaging system. With this advanced messaging ability, your franchise can respond to conversations in private, more quickly, and with greater sensitivity than ever before.

    3. Pass It On – The Ripple Effect of Shareability

    Organic reach via Facebook is increasingly becoming a thing of the past, but there is one way around it, and it is through shared content. When you craft your Facebook status in a way that will encourage or entice your friends to pass it on to their friends, this will increase your reach, which will therefore lead to an increase in your list of friends.

    4. Advertise with a Purpose – Give Them What They Want

    When creating paid Facebook ads for your franchise, try to think with regards to what your audience wants more than what you seek. If you create an attention-grabbing, thought-provoking advertisement in a unique way, such as the carousel format available on Facebook, then you will be more likely to succeed. Along with that, create content that requires or encourages an interactive response from those who will view it. The more that people respond to what you post, the more others will see it and visit your Facebook page as a result.

    When it comes to the nature of growing a Facebook friends list for your franchise, think in the same way that you would if you were trying to make friends yourself. With that, you will personify your franchise in a way that makes it relatable to those who see your content, encouraging them to engage with you and therefore continuously add more friends to your list!

  • A War of Words: 4 Tips to Help Lawyers Win the Cost-Per-Click Bidding Wars

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    Whether a veteran attorney or a recent law school graduate, legal professionals have likely noticed that the world of generating leads and winning new clients has changed drastically. While tried and true marketing methods such as word of mouth and putting your picture on a billboard still have their place, effectively using online resources can have a huge impact in establishing a solid client base. In particular, paid online advertising for attorneys has become so vital that competition for keywords has skyrocketed. Although it may seem daunting and difficult to know how to begin, these critical tips can help you win the cost-per-click (CPC) bidding war.

    1. Understanding the Competition

    Consumers who are searching for a lawyer often turn to the Internet to conduct their research. With that in mind, marketing online has become an integral part of building and sustaining a law practice. When it comes to paid online advertising, it’s important to first understand your competition. Legal keywords are typically among the most expensive in Google AdWords, with terms related to “attorney” and “lawyer” topping the cost charts. High levels of competition naturally follow expensive keywords, as lawyers constantly place bids on the exact same terms. Try conducting your own competitive research and search the keywords in your geographic area to see for yourself what ads are getting top placement. Simply run a search on the keywords you’re hoping to target and see which keywords your competition is already bidding on. Take a look at their ads and start crafting a plan to make yours even better.

    Screen Shot 2016-01-05 at 9.04.41 AM

    2. Target Specific Keywords

    So how do you overcome the highly competitive landscape and win the bidding war in your online ads campaign? First, you should create a list of specific and relevant three- to five-word keywords to explicitly target. This is a trial-and-error process, and it takes time to accumulate useful data. A simple way to start is to use the Google AdWords Keyword Planner, which will help you compile specific keyword ideas. This tool will also help you determine average traffic and CPC for your potential keywords, and it will make suggestions based on your site’s URL. In addition, it’s critical to focus on relevancy and make sure that your keywords, your ads, and your landing pages all match the searcher’s intent. For example, if the keyword in your ad is “DWI lawyer,” the click should take the consumer to a page with content for “DWI lawyer.”

    How Can I Fight A DWI Charge?

    3. Use Negative Keywords

    Another crucial aspect of a successful paid online advertising campaign is the use of negative keywords. This allows you to stop your ad from appearing when you know that the consumer isn’t interested, which can help improve the click-through-rate of your ads. Using negative keywords informs Google that certain search queries are irrelevant to your practice, ensuring that you don’t pay for clicks that will not lead to conversions. You can start by using a free negative keyword tool like the one from Wordstream, which will return an extensive list of search terms that may not be related to your practice area. Using this tool is especially essential in the legal world, where you are bidding on expensive keywords that could result in unnecessary and costly clicks.

    Screen Shot 2016-01-05 at 9.25.01 AM

    4. Optimize Your Landing Pages

    Now that your paid online advertising campaign is set up with specific and relevant keywords and you’re getting clicks from consumers searching for your exact type of practice, it’s important not to derail all of your efforts with ineffective landing pages. Your landing pages should be directly on point to the ads that the consumer clicked on. They will likely need to be continuously tweaked with different types of offers to see how people respond to them. You might want to consider using videos on your landing pages with subject matter explanations directly from a lawyer, or customer testimonials from successful cases. In addition, having a chat function on legal landing pages can be particularly critical for consumers who are hoping to have immediate answers to case-specific questions.

    Keeping your paid online advertising strategy focused on these tips will help you capture leads that you would have normally missed, allowing you to conquer the competitive CPC bidding war for attorneys.

  • Go Go Google Grantspro

    Nonprofit Marketing PPC Image - SearchInfluence

    Being a Google Grants Pro:

    So you’ve heard of Google Ad Grants … in fact, you applied to be a part of the program ages ago. IN FACT, you have been a part of the Google Ad Grants program since like 2005 and you’ve been running campaigns in AdWords to promote your mission and grow your nonprofit organization like a pro (and all on Google’s dime—$10,000 worth of dimes, to be precise).

    Well, that’s cool. Congrats on being a pro with your Google Ad Grants account. But what if we told you—you’re not really a pro until you get accepted into Google Grantspro?

    That’s right. After Google Ad Grants comes Grantspro, and along with Grantspro comes $40,000 of Cold. Hard. AdWords spending limit. Get excited. Your nonprofit organization is about to expand its reach to where it has never reached before…gain visibility where it was never visible before…increase awareness where it was never aware before!

    Wait. What?

    Becoming Eligible for Google Grantspro

    Ah, the good part. Pay attention.

    To become eligible for Google Grantspro, you must:

    • Currently be a part of the Google Ad Grants program. (What’s that? Oh, boy.)
    • Have conversion tracking installed and have successfully tracked at least one conversion.
    • Hit the Google Ad Grants budget cap for at least two different months over the past six months.
    • Currently be a part of the Google Ad Grants program. (What’s Google Ad Grants? Seriously?)
    • Have maintained an average account level click-through rate of 1 percent or higher over the past 6 months.
    • Be on good terms with the Google Ad Grants program.
    • Submit an online application for Google Grantspro.
    • Currently be a part of the Google Ad Grants Program. (How do I become a part of that? Come ON!)
    • Complete biweekly maintenance of your AdWords account.
    • Complete an annual survey.
    • Agree to share your impact or conversion data.

    Sounds simple enough, right? You just have to meet all of the above requirements and you’ll be good to go! Just kidding. Space is limited, and meeting the minimum eligibility requirements does not guarantee acceptance.

    It’s OK. Don’t cry. This is why we’re here: to make sure your application stands out to the College Admissions Rep so you get into your first choice school. Erhm…

    Seriously though, think of Search Influence as your admissions coach. We’ve been through this process before, and we’re familiar with every step of the Grantspro application process. This is part of our job. Get in touch and let us help your nonprofit rise above the rest!

     

  • Running With The Pack: Competing in Local Search Just Got Harder

    Running With The Pack: Competing in Local Search Just Got Harder

    Overnight on Aug. 6, Google updated search results for mobile and desktop searches from local seven-pack to a three-pack. This is not just in the United States; it seems to be worldwide and rolled out at one time. It’s really early to start dissecting this change, but I’m not seeing much good about it.

    What Does This Mean for Organic Search?

    For organic search, it means it’s even harder for searchers to find you. It looks as if these changes from Google are driving consumers to a business’ My Business page and perhaps encouraging more ad spending.

    Organic—Looking a Little Closer

    On Mobile

    Before Google rolled out this change, when a search on mobile gave local pack results, the user could immediately click on what they needed directly on the search results page, including:

    • Click-to-call
    • Click to get some directions
    • Click on the website

    Now, the mobile local pack only provides a click-to-call button:

    Mobile Local Pack Click Call Image

    If the searcher wants to visit the website for more info, they have another click in order to navigate to the My Business page:

    Navigate Google My Business Page Image

    On Desktop

    With the new update, I get the three-pack with no immediate click opportunities:

    DesktopThree Pack Google Image - Search Influence

    Update:

    Ryan Schulze, Senior Account Associate, commented, on this published post with an interesting correction. (It takes a village.)  He shows how some searches on desktop are giving the website link in the 3-Pack.  It suggests different search categories have different clicking opportunities.  I would guess this is based on percentage of search performed on mobile vs desktop.

    attorneys in new orleans 3 pack desktop

    Back to the story …

    I click on Parasol’s, thinking I will get its website or the Google My Business listing. Instead, it drives me to the local finder with ALL of the competitors right there!

    • This is not great if you’re in the three-pack because you must fight the competitors again for the searcher’s attention.
    • If you’re not in the three-pack, this levels the playing field. You have a chance to woo the searcher away from their initial choice.
    • If you are a searcher, it’s annoying because you have already indicated your preference with your first click, and Google forces you into an extra click to call the business. In addition, you are forced into viewing more choices after you made your decision.

    Desktop searches are losing ground to mobile, but desktop isn’t dead, and it still dominates search in some industries—usually those that skew to an older population.

    This does show us that it is still incredibly important to claim and optimize a Google My Business listing. Those Google My Business listings can get your business into the desktop local finder list, which is a long list of competition, so images and reviews are still important efforts to woo the searcher over to your business:

    Local Business Maps Pack Image - Search Influence

    Reviews on branded search results on desktop and mobile:

    Online Reviews Branded Search Image - Search Influence

    Online Business Reviews Mobile Image - Search Influence

    (FYI: if you’re ever in New Orleans in March, Parasol’s is a great place to be.)

    Early Data on Organic Visits

    I was chatting with Megan Lindsey, senior account manager at Search Influence, about the effect of this change for one client in particular. Lindsey sums it up nicely: “I imagine now since a searcher has to click on the business name and then once more on the ‘website’ button that people aren’t as inclined to keep clicking. I would think that most clients, even if they were in the top three maps results, are losing organic traffic because of it, but especially the ones who aren’t there anymore.”

    The early Google Analytics data supports Lindsey’s hypothesis. I found no great winners: Several clients’ Google organic was static, and several were worrisome. These clients are local businesses that are historically very strong in their markets. Over the weekend dates, there were 20 percent to 35 percent losses in organic website traffic, which seems to have rebounded Monday to Wednesday, so it appears things are still settling down.

    CLIENT A

    google / organic

    Aug. 7, 2015 – Aug. 10, 2015: 179 visits

    July 30, 2015 – Aug. 3, 2015: 285 visits

    % Change -37.19%

    Aug. 7, 2015 – Aug. 12, 2015: 319 visits

    July 31, 2015 – Aug. 5, 2015: 364 visits

    % Change -12.36%

     

    CLIENT B

    google / organic

    Aug. 7, 2015 – Aug. 10, 2015: 161 visits

    July 30, 2015 – Aug. 3, 2015: 210 visits

    % Change -23.33%

    Aug. 7, 2015 – Aug. 12, 2015: 161 visits

    July 31, 2015 – Aug. 5, 2015: 210 visits

    % Change -6.76%

     

    CLIENT C

    google / organic

    Aug. 7, 2015 – Aug. 10, 2015: 36 visits

    July 30, 2015 – Aug. 3, 2015: 54 visits

    % Change -33.33%

    Aug. 7, 2015 – Aug. 12, 2015: 58 visits

    July 31, 2015 – Aug. 5, 2015: 67 visits

    % Change -13.43%

     

    Have Calls Increased?

    The clients above usually do really well in the local pack and in organic website traffic, so let’s see what happened to their call volume. If you are a lucky business falling in the three-pack, consumers might be calling your business more now than visiting your website.

    When you log into the Google My Business page and go to Insights, this is the data you get:

    Phone Call Data 1 Image - Search Influence

    It’s severely limited and not really insightful. The date ranges are not customizable. There is no data after Aug. 8. I have to wait until next week to get any data on effects of call volume from the three-pack rollout, and I can’t compare to the previous week. I will have to do some elementary math that surely Google could program to ensure a better user experience.

    The data is summarized to the point of being so generalized it is virtually useless. This is 12 weeks of call data. I know Google can do better.

    Phone Call Data 2 Image - Search Influence

    It warns that call volume is “approximate and only significant values may be shown.”

    Also, the call numbers could be calls from three different sources: Google Maps, search and maps for mobile. This is so frustrating for business owners. I would want to know EVERY call I received! And I would want to know where I received the calls! Google has the data, and it just isn’t sharing with business owners.

    And Paid Search?

    On the first day of the this rollout, local search expert Mike Blumenthal made these early comments: “I am not sure what will happen on clicks for AdWords, but those businesses that were lower in the old display may feel compelled to double down on their AdWords activity.”

    I asked Jeanne Lobman, senior online advertising manager at Search Influence, to check it out and give us some input. “Those businesses that were previously only ranking in spots four to seven in the local pack (and nowhere organically) are now going to need to spend money on AdWords ads in order to be seen in the search engine results pages. Additionally, since Google has removed the website URL and the phone number from the local pack info, it could be beneficial to run AdWords in order to make sure searchers can easily find your phone number and call you (on desktop). This would be accomplished by using call extensions with your campaigns, which adds your phone number to your ad (as seen in the below example).

    Plastic Surgery Google Ad Phone Image - Search Influence

    On mobile, the local pack results do include the call button, but there’s no link to the website. When you click the local result on mobile, you are taken to the G+ page, which then has a link to the website. To avoid having that extra step, running an AdWords campaign on mobile ensures you can land people directly on your website with one click.”

    Lobman pulled some AdWords reports to see what impact this change may have had on click-through rate. She says it’s really too early to tell any effects, but the data so far suggests there seems to be an increase in clicks and impressions but little to no change in click-through rate, conversions and conversion rate.

    So Now What?

    We need to give it a little more time to settle in before we make any dramatic changes. When we looked at six days of organic visitor data versus four days of data, we see big improvements, so watching the data to make smart moves is the action item.

    Walk through the process that visitors might use to find your website online, and try to improve what you can control, such as adding phone numbers in your desktop AdWords ads or continuing to encourage reviews from your customers.

    Your engagement online is a reflection of how you engage with your customers in real life. Providing for the searcher with easy linking from ads, Google My Business images, reviews and informative website content is a long-term plan, and it’s a good one to win trust and authority.

     

     

  • Web Augmentation: 9 Tips to Get Your Plastic Surgery Practice Trending

    Web Augmentation for Medical Practice Marketing Image - Search Influence

    Every second, there are almost 50,000 unique searches on Google. With that much traffic, it’s crucial to establish your plastic surgery practice as an online authority. By using social media, search engine optimization, and paid search strategies, you’ll be able to climb to the top of Google’s rankings in short order.

    Tips for Social Media

    Utilize “Audience Insight” on Facebook

    As of March 31, 2015, there are 1.44 billion monthly active users on Facebook, making it the platform with the largest audience for your advertisements. With Audience Insight, Facebook helps you sort through your targeted demographics in order to understand the kind of content that is popular among them.

    Use targeted Facebook ads

    If you use targeted Facebook ads, you can choose what kind of Facebook users will see your microdermabrasion advertisements. Not only can you sort your audience by age, location, and gender, but you can also target them according to their relationship status, whether they have children, and their personal interests. Facebook fan-building campaigns are also effective in making patients and customers into fans.

    Tag and post about local events and businesses 

    If you want to maximize your visibility, you’ll have to post outside of your practice. By sharing posts about local events and businesses, you’ll increase your presence in the community. Your potential clients will start to follow and share your content if your page is a reliable source for interesting information. 

    Tips for Search Engine Optimization

    Research Longer Keywords

    A short keyword like “chemical peels” is a competitive keyword, which means a lot of practices will be using it. Try to find a longer keyword that your audience will search for, like “chemical peel for rough skin in NJ.”

    Host Webinars

    Live Internet events boost your SEO rankings because they keep your audience on your website for a long time. Set up some demonstrative or informational webinars that prove your expertise while optimizing your search results.

    Make Your Site Mobile-Friendly

    More and more people use their phones and tablets, rather than a computer, to browse the Internet. A mobile-friendly website will ensure that the information on your website is accessible to everyone. In fact, mobile website traffic for our plastic surgery clients’ websites averaged 48.6 percent. And that doesn’t include tablet traffic; it is purely mobile.

    Another way to pump up your plastic surgery website is to use natural content on your practice’s website. Find out about how medical marketing is making the switch to natural content.

    Tips for Paid Search

    Post Lots of Information on Your Landing Page

    By having a wealth of information on your landing page about topics that are relevant to your practice—such as eyelid surgery—you ensure that your potential client gets the knowledge they desire. When this happens, they’ll stay on your page longer, and their trust in your expertise will grow.

    Invest in High-Quality Video Production

    Potential clients will seek out videos demonstrating a procedure before they schedule an appointment for one. If your practice has a high-quality video demonstration of laser hair removal, 79 percent of the potential clients who watch it will visit your website. In addition to videos, other types of content can help attract patients searching online for your practice. Find out the four ways to drive conversions in the medical industry.

    Have Your Contact Information Readily Available

    The content you make available on your website is meant to inspire more people to come to your practice. Having your contact information readily available increases the chance that potential clients will call your site, visit it, or save it for later.

    Implementing these tips will get your plastic surgery practice trending in no time!

     

  • Five for Friday: Twitter Trends, #Mobilegeddon, the State of Moz, and More!

    1. Twitter Is Rolling Out Trends with Descriptions on the Web – Marketing Land

    TwitterTrendsListImageIn an effort to improve engagement with its more casual users, Twitter has made multiple changes to its platform. The most recent has just rolled out on mobile and web, offering descriptions and metrics on trending topics. Now, you can see what a trending topic means and how many other users have shared it.

    2. Moz’s 2014 Annual Report – Moz

    SEO authority Moz has just released their annual report for 2014, showing “many ups and downs.” Despite a few challenges this year, CEO Sarah Bird still proudly showcases the decrease in cost-of-revenue, increase in workplace diversity, and interesting work perks like charity donation totals and paid vacation. In this bid for transparency, we see another interesting example of tech company work culture.

    3. Mobilegeddon Is Here: Google’s Mobile-Friendly Algorithm Is Live! – Search Engine Journal

    Wondering what all the hubbub is about with Google’s new update? Normally, Google doesn’t give much warning ahead of its changes, but this one has been on the SEO world’s radar since last October. Google’s major mobile-friendly push will affect more sites than either Penguin or Panda. But don’t worry: if your site is already mobile-friendly, your ranking won’t be affected. If not, Google’s Webmaster Tools feature will tell you how to fix it.

    4. How Mobilegeddon Impacts Paid Search – PPC Hero

    Speaking of #Mobilegeddon, it’s very likely Google’s Ad Rank formula will be affected by the new mobile criteria. With the changes leading up to the algorithm rollout, we saw both organic search results and AdWords ads labelled with the “mobile-friendly” tag. So it’s not a stretch that AdWords ads will also be affected by how mobile-friendly a website is, both as a factor in the ranking formula and as it affects ad extensions and formatting.

    5. Game of Angels Maps Tech Influence Networks – Tech Crunch

    influencermapimage

    Developer Pierre-Jean Camillieri is trying to answer the question “who influences the influencers” with his new tool, Game of Angels. Though the program is in its early stages, it could help entrepreneurs connect with industry leaders who have the most online clout.

    The tool gives a visual map of influencers and their major connections based on the number of interactions they have. However, it’s currently limited to those Camillieri himself deems major influencers and industry leaders.

    Image Sources:

    Twitter Trends

    Influence Map

  • Google AdWords Cram Session: Don’t Let Google Kick You in The Ads

    To start off this post: yes, we are a Google Partner. No, we do not do Google’s laundry or cook romantic meals for Google. And we try our best not to steal Google’s side of the bed. We are, however, certified and qualified to help you with all aspects of your online advertising campaigns by building an appropriately aggressive website marketing strategy. So what makes us certified and qualified? Well, let me bring your attention back to our lovely Partner: Google.

    The Perks of Partnership

    Being a Google Partner has lots of perks. From access to live trainings to beta testing opportunities to extra support and professional networking (the list goes on and on, but feel free to peruse here), you can bet we love being a Google Partner. However, along with the perks come some requirements, one of which is obtaining certifications in Google’s products and services.

    One of these certifications focuses on proficiency in using Google AdWords, Google’s online advertising platform. This platform allows users to market their products or services in the Google search engine and affiliated sites. Still following? Great! Now, in order to become a certified Google AdWords advertiser, you will need to pass a couple of tests. In the upcoming paragraphs, I’m going to give you (1) a quick overview of each AdWords exam, and (2) a few general test-taking tips. You’re welcome.

    Google AdWords Exams

    GoogleAdwordsLogoImage

    There are a total of four exams for AdWords certification: Advertising Fundamentals, Advanced Search, Advanced Display, and Video Advertising. Google requires you to pass the Fundamentals test along with at least one of the advanced tests in order to become certified.  However, here at SI, we like to take both advanced tests for good measure. We’re thorough like that. After getting certified in AdWords, you then have the option of taking the Video Advertising exam.

    1. Advertising Fundamentals – 2 Hours. 90 Questions.
    This is the exam that covers all the basic features of AdWords. Questions will pop up on topics like campaign and ad group management, ad formats, and budgeting and bidding options. In order to pass this exam, you’ll need to achieve an 85% or higher. The good news? If you achieve a passing score, it’s valid for two years!

    2. Advanced Search – 2 Hours. 98 Questions.
    This exam goes more into detail on best practices for managing campaigns on Google’s Search Network and Search Partners. Questions will be on topics like ad and site quality, AdWords API, understanding ad performance, and performance optimizations. In order to pass this exam, you’ll need to achieve an 80% or higher. The validity period for this exam is one year.

    3. Advanced Display – 2 hours. 88 Questions.
    This exam focuses on best practices for advertising on the Google Display Network and on YouTube. Questions on this exam test your ability to plan, design, implement, measure, and refine display and video advertising campaigns. In order to pass this exam, you’ll need a score of 70% or higher. The validity period for this exam is one year.

    4. Video Advertising – 1.5 Hours. 74 Questions.
    This exam focuses on video ad campaign creation and management on YouTube and the Display Network. In order to pass, you’ll need a score of 85% or higher. The validity period for this exam is one year.

    General Tips

    VisitorsImage

    If you’re hoping for more test-specific tips, don’t worry…more posts on AdWords certifications to come. However, to get you started on your studying, here are a couple of general test-taking tips!

    1. First and foremost: have a plan. (What is this? Standardized Testing 101?) Don’t cram all the studying into one day or even one week and then rush through the exam hoping you’ll pass. Do this instead:

    • Set a realistic test date for yourself. Might I recommend giving yourself a one-month study period?
    • Take a look at the study guides provided by Google and come up with a time frame that will allow you to go over and understand each section of the study guide thoroughly.

    Google provides you with a wealth of studying material for each exam because Google wants you to succeed. Use the materials provided. Stick to a timeline. And don’t panic!

    2. Which brings me to my second tip: don’t panic. Google is a very forgiving partner and is big on second chances! If you don’t pass on your first try, you can try again in seven days.

    3. Log into AdWords and play around on the platform a little. Not only will this help familiarize you with the many aspects of the AdWords platform, but it will also give you a point of reference when going over the Google study guides for each exam. Plus, haven’t you heard of the phrase “hands-on learning?” It very much applies here.

    On that note, I’m going to cut myself short so you can process all the information you just read. If you’re interested in becoming AdWords Certified, click here. If you’re interested in getting some professional help from an awesome team of AdWords Certified Individuals, click around. You’re in the right place. We’re a Google Partner, after all!

    Thanks to Search Engine Land for the Google AdWords Image, to Google for the cute Google cartoon, and Renee Jacques for the cute cat gif!

  • TUTORIAL: A Google Gem That’s Trending Near You

    GoogleTrendsLogoMy clients frequently ask me how long it takes to rank higher on Google search page results. I explain that the process is gradual and not guaranteed due to a number of factors, such as the 200 plus “signals” that make up Google’s algorithm, the time it can take for Google to read our “signals,” creating a consistent online presence, etc. — the questions usually end there. I recently had a client challenge me beyond a basic explanation of SEO, digging into my keyword research, and inspiring me to explore the seasonal average search value.

    When the client asked me if I examined seasonal search value in my keyword research, I had to admit that I had not. It typically makes sense to look at average yearly search volume because, as stated above, the SEO process is gradual and we don’t want to target a term that will only help our clients in the short-term. This still left me wondering about seasonal search value, so I researched it. I was suspicious that seasonal search could help identify outside factors that affect the progress of SEO campaigns, and it may help lock-down industry standards that I wasn’t aware of.

    Google Ad Words’ Keyword Planner does allow you to select different date ranges to examine the monthly average value, but I wanted to find a tool that identified possible patterns in keywords. I should have known that Google already had a product for this: Google Trends.

    Google Trends’ Fun Facts:
    – Started in 2006
    – Remember “Google Insights for Search”? This tool put search data into graphs and merged with Google Trends in 2012
    – Medical researchers have attempted to predict outbreaks with this tool over the past few years
    – You don’t need a Google account to use this tool

    Visit the site and follow along with my tutorial

    When you visit Google Trends, you will see three columns of interesting data, so where should you start? The best place to start is with your goals in mind. Do you have specific keywords in mind that you would like to research and compare, or do you want keywords generated for you based around a topic? Either option is available here, along with many other unique features that make it a useful tool for SEO experts.

    GoogleTrends

    Here you will find 3 main categories: “Trending Now,” “July 2014 Charts” and “Explore in-Depth”. The first two categories could be used to brainstorm social media and blog ideas because you can see what’s being searched the most that day as well as a review of the past month’s top searches organized by topic.

    I am going to examine the third column on the page titled, “Explore in-Depth” because I find it most useful for SEO purposes. Still keep in mind the other two columns, however, because they relate to recent news and pop culture that’s also trending. The “Explore in-Depth” column shows two examples of ways you can examine topics and keywords. Click “More to Explore” at the bottom right-hand corner to see all of your search options.

    How to search by Keyword

    When you start adding “Topics” that you are interested in gaining search value for, you will also see a drop-down box appear which gives you different types of searches to select. The example below shows “Search term,” which would be the keyword or query, “Transportation Mode,” which is a category. Google will find keywords that fall into that category, and “Book by Deanne Sclar” which indicates a branded search for that book. Once again, think about your goals. If you have specific terms in mind that you want to research, then select the “Search Term” option. If you want to explore a category and see what keywords were searched the most under that category, select the category.

    GoogleTrendsTopicsImage

    GoogleTrendsTopicsMenuImage

    I first selected “Search Term” and filtered the dates of our search to July 2013-July 2014. As you’ll see below, I receive an “Interest over time” graph, but I am also given a “Regional List” category of countries who have searched for “auto repair” the most. I have also been supplied with “Related Searches” at the bottom of the page. Let’s explore these resources.

    GoogleTrendsTopicsInterestsImage

    Note that the numbers on these graphs are not absolute numbers. They are relative to each other to reflect a trend.

    “Numbers represent search interest compared to the highest point on the chart. If at most 10% of searches for a given region and time were for ‘pizza’ we’d consider this 100. Each point on the graph is divided by the highest point and multiplied by 100. When we don’t have enough data, 0 is shown.” -Google Support

    1. Interest over Time

    GoogleTrendsTopicsInterestsForecastImage

    This graph gives us a snapshot of the overall trend of searches for “auto repair” between July 2013 and July 2014. Hover over any point in the graph to see the exact score that Google Trends gave that time period of searches. After hovering over these points and comparing the highest score to the lowest, I realized that there was no dramatic change, but there was a slight decrease in late fall and early winter months.

    GoogleTrendsTopicsInterestsDecImage

    GoogleTrendsTopicsInterestsFebImage

    You may notice the letters next to what seems like random points on the graph. These letters represent times when news headlines included that keyword. This is an interesting tidbit of knowledge to consider. Knowing if the trend increased dramatically is important because it could be due to an outlying factor.

    GoogleTrendsTopicsInterestsNewsdayImage

    Fun Fact: Look at how the trend for the keyword “hurricane” was affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

    GoogleTrendsTopicsInterestsHurricaneImage

    You may notice the “Forecast” check box to the right of the “News Headlines” check box. This feature attempts to predict the upcoming trend of your search term. Note that you have to extend your start and end dates to make this option available. To yield the most accurate forecast, open the start and end dates to as wide as possible. This yielded the below results, showing the possibility of slight decreases in the fall and early winter months, with a continuous increase in the spring and summer months. Note that I had to hover over the graph points to figure out the dates because the graph does not let you zoom in.

    You could use this chart in conjunction with other keyword research tools such as Google Ad Words’ Keyword Planner to expect possible decreases or increases in certain keywords due to seasonal search value. For example, it’s not surprising that “ac repair” is not a particularly common search word during the winter months. Other keywords with seasonal value may not be as obvious, however, so resorting to Google Trends serve as one tool to help you crack the code when dealing with what seems to be seasonal increases or decreases in the search rankings.

    GoogleTrendsTopicsInterestsForecastImage

    2. Regional Interest

    “Regional Interest” displays larger areas that are searching for your keyword the most. While this is a useful tool for pinpointing countries and large cities, it does not typically show small cities or rural towns. In a global search (as shown below) the results help to narrow down the top countries searching for a keyword, and then the largest cities by clicking the “City” tab. The numbers represent the same calculated numbers as in the “Interest over time” section, so they are normalized and are the outcome of comparing the search volume to the area that searched for your keyword the most.

    For a business with a statewide, national or a global target audience, this map could help you pair the keyword with specific locations. It is possible that more people search “auto repair” in Detroit, while more people in Los Angeles search for “car repair”. This sounds like a slight difference, but the more precise you can be when choosing keywords, the higher your possible rate for success will be.

    In this case, the United States shows a dramatically higher interest in “auto repair” than any other country. You can click on each country to see a breakdown of interest within each one. You may also click the “City” link next to “Region” for the cities with the most interest in “auto repair” despite the country (demonstrated in the 2nd photo below).

    GoogleTrendsRegionalInterestsImage

    GoogleTrendsRegionalCityInterestsImage

    3. Related Searches

    If Google identifies your keyword with other similar terms that are being searched for, it will list them in the Related Searches section. This section is broken down by “Topics” and “Queries”.

    In this case, I received queries, but did not receive any topics. The message under “Topics” read, “not enough search volume to show results”. In keyword research, however, I would prefer to look at the queries because they are exact keywords. For example, “car repair” and “auto body repair” are the top two related queries listed for “auto repair” (shown below). You could use this list to find keywords that you may not have thought about researching, or to examine the similar keywords in relation to the keyword you are searching.

    GoogleTrendsRelatedSearches

    The “Rising” tab under “Queries” shows terms that have had a significant increase in searches compared to the previous year. As shown below, “mobile auto repair” has risen 160%. This does not mean that “mobile auto repair” is one of the highest searched terms overall, but it may be worth monitoring throughout the campaign to see if it continues to rise and could be important to rank well for. With the rise of mobile Internet usage, it makes sense that this term could continue to increase in value.

    Resources:

    Google’s Algorithym: http://www.google.com/intl/en-US/insidesearch/howsearchworks/algorithms.html

    Google Trends data calculation: https://support.google.com/trends/answer/4355164?hl=en&rd=1

    Google Ad Words’ Keyword Planner Tool (must be logged into Google Ad Words):

    https://adwords.google.com/ko/KeywordPlanner

    GoogleTrendsRelatedSearchesRisingImage

    Finding a Pattern:

    I started researching more specific auto terms and found that there was a seasonal pattern for the service, “auto detailing”. I would not make this seasonal observation a factor in whether to choose the term as a targeted keyword or not because there is consistent search value. Although, it may help explain a decrease of site traffic in the winter months if that occurs.

    It is easy to get caught up in looking for a direct cause and effect between SEO practices and search engine rankings or site traffic, but expanding your research to recognize seasonal patterns can give you a larger idea of how your industry is searched for online.

    My next tutorial will examine search results by “Topic” instead of specific keywords. Stay tuned to learn more about how this can help your SEO practices!

     

    Image Source:

    Google Trends Logo

  • 5 For Friday – Amazon Ad Challenge, Facebook Changes, Twitter Spam, & Google’s Snafu

    1) Amazon Takes on Google Adwords – Wall Street Journal

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    The war for Internet supremacy rages on between Google and Amazon. The increasingly competitive relationship between the two giants has grown even more strained as of late, but their tenuous relationship has survived largely because Amazon is one of Google’s largest advertisers for text ads. But that may change.

    Amazon is working on a competing in-house platform, and testing could commence as early as later this year. Using the plethora of shopping data the online retailer has amassed, the program could almost instantly become a major force against the search engine’s online ad dominance.

    2) Despite More Ads, Facebook Promises, “We Will Not Show More Ads” – Digiday

    Speaking of Internet giants, Facebook is in the news again. In a rather quiet update earlier this month, Facebook amended its advertising policy to allow marketers to show ads more frequently in users’ News Feeds.

    The update allows advertisers to show the same ad twice a day, as opposed to the previous once a day restriction. The new update also allows advertisers to show users two News Feeds ads per day from a page that they did not explicitly “Like,” again up from just one.

    Facebook emphasizes that you will not see more ads from various companies, just possibly more ads from the same company. A Facebook spokesperson said of the change, “This does not change ad load. We will not show more ads; rather, we are updating the spacing between ads, and relaxing some of the parameters around the insertion of ads.”

    Hmmm… more ads is more ads, no matter who they are from.

    3) More from Zuckerberg & Co: Facebook is Finally Cracking down in Upworthy-Style Click Bait – Gizmodo

    We’ve all seen it – an annoying, attention-grabbing headline like “No One Would Help This Little Girl from Being Bullied. What She Did Next Will Shock and Amaze You.”

    Of course, these headlines are designed only to generate clicks, but dang, am I intrigued. I mostly refuse to click them simply on principle, but even when I do succumb to the temptation, I am always disappointed.

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    Thankfully, Facebook is finally taking steps to eradicate this spammy click bait by looking at how long people actually read the articles they click on as well as comparing the click ratio to comments, “Likes,” and shares.

    Facebook also announced that links should be posted in a “link format” instead of shared in the status update and captions of photos. Posts that have links in the captions will be given less priority in the News Feed.

    4) Meet Twitter’s Spam-Fighting Tool – Marketing Land

    And now, a word from that other social media juggernaut: Last week, Twitter gave an inside look at their super spam-killing system known as BotMaker. Since launching the system recently, spam metrics have dropped 40% overall.

    BotMaker is designed to prevent spam content from being created, reduce the amount of time spam appears on Twitter, and reduce the reaction of new spam attacks. To accomplish this, Twitter uses a combination of systems that detect spam at various stages: Scarecrow (real time), Sniper (near real time), and Periodic (over extended periods of time). What makes it even more effective is its ability to adapt quickly with new models and rules to combat the ever-changing production and proliferation of spam.

    To learn more about the creation of BotMaker and how it works, feel free to dig in deep over on the Twitter Engineering Blog.

    5) Moving to HTTPS: Good or Bad? – Wall Street Journal

    Google recently announced it would be giving a boost in search rankings to encrypted websites. But in an effort to push site owners to switch to HTTPS, Google overlooked the fact that many web components, including its own Trusted Stores and AdSense, are not completely compatible with those types of sites yet.

    To protect sensitive info, sites were already required to have their checkout pages encrypted, but the announced rankings boost spurred many sites to try and convert all of their “non-sensitive” pages as well.

    This caused a bit of a problem with user experience. Trusted Stores is not compatible with basic encryption, meaning that the required badge cannot be displayed. Without this badge, Google will not accept HTTPS sites into the Verified Stores program.

    As for AdSense, Google now acknowledges that “if you convert your HTTP site to HTTPS, ads on your HTTPS pages might earn less than those on your HTTP pages.” This is because the HTTPS ads don’t compete in auctions with HTTP ads, which lowers rates. Whoops!

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    Image Sources:

    Amazon in Browser

    Do Not Push Button
    “Oops my bad”

  • 5 For Friday – Facebook Privacy, Google With Your Voice, and Yelp Videos!

    5-sand1. Facebook Defaults Posts From “Public” to “Friends” & Introduces Comprehensive Privacy Checkup
    – Marketing Land

    Facebook has finally launched a major change that may have an impact on their real-time efforts. With the privacy updates, users’ posts will now default to only be visible by friends, and all users will be encouraged to check on their privacy settings if they have not been updated recently. Greg Finn says he expects that this update may cause hashtags and real-time conversations to continue on their decline.

    2.Yelp Will Allow 12-Second Video Reviews Starting Next Month
    – Marketing Land

    Beginning in June, “Elite” users will be allowed to share their review of local businesses via a short video. These videos will first appear inline with the photos, but will eventually also appear along with the reviews like photos currently do.

    3.Google+ Introduces New Features That Automatically Generate Movies and Travelogues
    – Search Engine Journal

    Google+ launches Stories and Movies that will bring together your photos and videos to highlight your favorite moments from your travel or an event. Google’s Story will arrive within 24 hours after you return from your vacation. After you receive your story, you will be able to customize it and share it. Google+ Movies will include related photos and videos along with a soundtrack and special effects.

    4. Google Adds “Okay Google” Voice Search For All Chrome Users
    – Tech Crunch

    Users will first need to give Chrome permission to use the mic on their computer. Then you can simply go to Google.com and say “Okay Google” to trigger the voice search followed by your search request.

    GoogleChromeVoiceSearch

    5. Google Paid “Dealers Nearby” Appears To Have Gone Live
    – Mike Blumenthal

    Mike Blumenthal noticed that Google’s new paid ads (now appearing within the knowledge graph) are live. This seems to be only the case in the US according to the comments thread on Dr. Pete’s tweet regarding this update. Mike Blumenthal suggests that we may one day see Google selling competitors space in branded knowledge panels.