Quick Series Recap…Part One was a discussion regarding personalized search and how search engines are factoring in your location and past search habits to return search results that will be more relevant to you personally. If you are keeping tabs on your website’s SERPs, you may be surprised how your positions will vary across multiple searchers.
Part 2: Bounce Rates Will Affect Your Search Engine Rankings
Another new ranking factor that Google is starting to integrate is bounce rates. A “bounce” is determined when a visitor lands on one page of your site and then leaves. Web analytics software programs track these occurrences and tally them up to establish your site’s “bounce rate”. If people are consistently landing on your site and then bailing, but they stick around and peruse your competitor’s site, what would we logically surmise from this situation? Their site must be more engaging. Google is going to give them credit for that and rank them higher. Can you blame them?
Google has done a spectacular job of flooding the web world with their free Google Analytics (GA) platform. On the website owner side of the coin, GA offers a plethora of analysis and reporting tools that provides an enormous amount of insight into how a website is performing. On the other side of the coin, Google is storing and mining all that data. And since GA has been so widely adopted, Google is keeping tabs on hundreds of thousands of sites.
I’m a GA user. They know my site’s bounce rate. I can only hope my bounce rate is helping my rankings.
Might your bounce rate be negatively affecting your rankings? Are you monitoring your bounce rate? Need help?
A few words to introduce this series… I started writing this as a single article, but realized quickly that my explanation/commentary of each trend was almost an article in itself. So, I’ve turned it into a 10 part series covering the 2009 Online Marketing Trends that I feel small businesses should know about and consider as part of their future marketing strategies. Here goes…
2009 Online Marketing Trends for Small Business – Introduction
“2009 is likely to be a challenging year for many businesses as the global economic slowdown takes hold. Digital marketing, however, looks set to continue its rapid growth, as its many solutions and advantages become even more apparent when marketing budgets are subjected to even greater constraints.”
As industry giants feel the pinch and scramble to maintain market share and mass appeal, small businesses are uniquely positioned to move quickly and flourish within the emerging marketplace of online consumers.
Let’s face facts…Tough economic times means more people using the internet to research products and services, and more people searching online for the best deals. Small businesses that focus on continually building a strong online presence will be positioned well to chip away at the market share of their slower, larger competitors.
The Strange Media report mentioned above lists 16 online marketing trends for 2009, several of which I will touch on here. But many trends within their report may be “over the heads” of most small businesses who are still getting their online legs. Instead of throwing a bunch of advanced digital marketing topics at you, I’d like to focus on 10 internet and search marketing trends that I feel small businesses should understand and can take advantage of quickly.
Part 1: Personalized Search
Also referred to as behavior-based search, personalized search is a set of ranking factors that Google and other search engines have gradually implemented within their already-complex search algorithms. For years, Google has been keeping tabs on how we search, what we search for and the types websites we frequent. They also know where we live (think “Big Brother”). Therefore, in an effort to provide us with the most relevant search results, they’re factoring our search patterns and location into their algorithms and presenting us with web pages that are not only good matches contextually, but also good matches geographically.
For example, I type “underwater basket weaving training” in Google. Before personalized search, top web page results may have been dominated by top trainers in San Diego, Tampa or even Cancun. Well, I live in Kansas, and when I’ve done searches with the term “training” in the past, I’ve always clicked on Kansas City-based companies. With personalized search, an underwater basket weaving trainer based in Kansas City may find themselves on the first page of the Google results when I’m searching for them.
There’s an additional wrinkle to this that I should mention. For those companies who have been hanging your hats on top Google rankings, realize that personalized search may throw off your analysis. Searching from your computer may be returning top rankings for your key terms, but doing the same search at another location may return a very different result. Just remember that a certain ranking position doesn’t necessarily dictate success. Converting website traffic into customers dictates success. Focus your success metrics on conversion rates and know that personalized search may play a significant role in bringing higher quality traffic (fewer bounces) to your site.
Does this make sense? Did I miss anything? Feel free to comment…
Stay tuned for Part 2: Bounce Rates Will Affect Your Search Engine Rankings – Subscribe to the series via e-mail or my RSS feed.
I was able to record a recent presentation that I gave on social media, but the camera work, lighting and sound isn’t great, so here’s just the introduction so you can get a taste of the content.
Let me also set up the clip a little… I start the presentation by asking one of the audience members (Lance Tomlin) to be the “guinea pig” and provide some details about his company, including several “buzz words” or keywords that might relate to his products/services when used in a social situation or conversation.
During a web design and internet marketing workshop that I delivered last month in Las Vegas, I realized that I had been taking something for granted. As I delved into the search engine optimization (SEO) portion of my presentation, it occurred to me that my audience, communications staff from hospitals across the U.S., probably wouldn’t have the technical ability to effectively optimize their hospitals’ web sites for better search engine rankings. Come to think of it, I doubt that even many corporate marketers could dive into their site’s code and make the necessary page-level adjustments and database optimizations required for good SEO.
About a week after the workshop, I received my speaker evaluations. My realization was confirmed. Several attendees commented, “that SEO stuff seems pretty technical…I wish we could do more ourselves to help our rankings.”
Enter Stage Left: Off-Page Search Engine Optimization
Here’s the good news. “Off-page search engine optimization” is a specific set of optimization and internet marketing techniques that are executed outside (off) of your site, and require almost no technical expertise. All you need is your ability to use the internet, create content, and build relationships with others in your marketplace.
Off-page search engine optimization techniques revolve around the concept of link building, or getting other external websites to link to your site (a.k.a. backlinks). Why is this important? Because search engines determine your rankings based on relevance. And when other people link to your site’s content (backlinks), that tells the search engines that your content is relevant, high-quality and credible—which in turn helps you get ranked higher in the search engines.
So How Do We Get Backlinks?
Here’s a list of techniques that requires little or no technical expertise. It may be just what the doctor ordered for your ailing rankings:
Develop good, keyword-rich content. Good content is the ultimate driver of all things online. And keyword-rich content ensures that search engines will index it properly. If off-page SEO is the process of fishing for backlinks, content is your bait. The better your bait, the more bites (i.e. backlinks) you’re going to get.
Syndicate your content. Article-marketing websites, news release websites, and social bookmarking websites allow you to easily post articles and news within their directories that link back to your web site. If your content is high quality, there’s a good chance other websites and blogs will republish your content on their sites. Don’t forget to include a keyword-rich link back to your site within your content.
Ask partners, distributors, and reps to publish or link to your content. Leverage your business relationships to build backlinks.
Get links from well-established resource web sites. You may find that the top sites for your keywords in Google are resource sites—such as industry directories, online media, trade associations, or local organizations. You may even find an ad from CraigsList.com getting top position. These sites have gained authority through domain age and backlinks of their own, and a link from them would act as a valuable endorsement of your site in the search engine’s eyes.
Get listed in Google Local and Yahoo Local. These local business listings tie in with the Google and Yahoo mapping programs, and offer great placement at the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Participate in blogs and forums. Pick any industry and I’ll bet money that there are hundreds of blogs and forums (and thousands of people) conversing online about that industry. Do some research. Create some Google Alerts. Find your fishing hole. Start participating by commenting on blog posts related to your expertise. Provide some good, objective advice on industry forums. When asked to register for your blog and forum accounts, create a keyword-rich signature with a link back to your site.
Create a blog. A popular blog can reap HUGE dividends—not only for backlinks and search rankings, but also for your company’s overall sales. Do a search for “blog success stories” for plenty of examples. Keep in mind, however, that getting there takes a consistent effort. And if you can’t commit to it long-term, then don’t go there.
Participate in social networking sites. Due to the popularity of social networking sites like LinkedIn.com, and their good standing with search engines, creating a simple link to your company’s website within your profiles can easily produce several high-quality backlinks.
Getting the Most Out of Your Backlinks
While SEO is not an exact science, there are a few linking techniques that will ensure you’re spending your time wisely, and getting the full value out of each link. Here are a few pointers:
Keep a keyword list close by. Make sure to reference an up-to-date keyword list when writing any new content, including blog comments, forum posts, social networking site profiles…everything! Don’t have a keyword list? Google offers a great, free tool.
Use anchor text (a.k.a. “link text”). Anchor text is words that actually make up a text hyperlink. Integrating keywords within your links plays a significant role in how search engines determine page relevance. It blows my mind when I see this on websites: “For more information on Bob’s high-quality taxidermy services, click here.” This link is almost worthless.
Quality vs. Quantity. Focus your time on getting links from high-quality, well-established websites. Five links from older, established websites can be much more powerful than 50 links from newer sites or blogs.
How Many Backlinks Do You Need?
As I wrapped up the off-page SEO portion of my Las Vegas workshop, one attendee asked about the number of backlinks needed to increase their rankings. This is a great question, but one that is hard to answer. As mentioned above, quality links will win over quantity. The best I can say is to find out where you stand compared to your competitors in the SERPs. Here’s a tool that can do that.
Lastly, analyzing your competitors’ websites can provide a wealth of insight into their backlinking efforts. A simple way to get this intelligence is to type “link:yourcompetitorurl.com” into the Google Search and Yahoo Search boxes. This will show you other sites that link to your competitors, which also may be good targets for your link building efforts.
The Catch: DIY SEO = Time Commitment
Warning…there’s a bit of a catch with off-page SEO. While little technical ability is required, a comprehensive link-building effort can turn into a full-time job. If you have the time or the manpower to manage this task internally, great. If not, the Something Creative SEO team would be happy to support you in this effort.
Recently I was approached by a friend to provide an estimate on a new website for his company. During our initial discussions, we talked about his company’s strategic goals, their audiences and the markets in which they serve. Also during our discussion, he mentioned the fact that his boss, the owner of the company, was not necessarily sold on the need to invest much money on the website since referrals are really their primary focus for generating new business.
As the owner of a referral-based small business myself, I certainly understand the notion that making a significant investment in something that may not bring a return might not be a smart move. But as a website developer, I have also seen first hand how a solid website can be the soft-selling opportunity that gives prospects the confidence to pick up the phone and call you.
Sales & Marketing Are a Lot Like Dating
I find it funny how sales and marketing can be a lot like dating. As a confident guy, you feel like you have a lot to offer a girl and most of the time, when in social situations, you can get her digits, which may or may not lead to something. But she hears good things about you from her friends, so she decides to take the next step and try out your goods (bare with me here people).
But what happens when a nice girl, who has just moved into the area and doesn’t know a lot of people, starts her search on the web? She’s busy with her new job and doesn’t really make it out to the social scene. Other than the web, she really has no way of knowing you exist and might just be her soul mate.
So she starts her search and finds a lot to choose from. There are big guys, little guys, and cute guys with lots of flash, but not much substance. She’s determined to find the right guy that “completes her”, but since you didn’t make a proper investment in your website, this match made in heaven may never happen.
There are a few key points within this analogy that I’d like to drive home…
You Can’t Be Everywhere at Once – While your personal networking efforts may always be your number one new business generator, you can’t be everywhere at once. Business growth really starts ramping up when you can duplicate your presence (your brand and your message) in many different, targeted mediums.
Search Engine Optimization/Internet Marketing – The internet is the first place people go to source products and services. And search engines are the driver. Period. In order to capitalize on these buying opportunities, search engine optimization and internet marketing strategies should play an ever-increasing role in your marketing efforts.
Perceived Value – First impressions are everything. If your site’s design and organization are subpar, your company will be perceived as the same, subpar. A proper investment in your website design and website architecture will go along way in raising the perceived value of your company.
Content Expectations – Every time a new visitor stumbles onto your website, they are looking for something, and they expect to find it. If they don’t, they move on. A solid website is one that has been carefully engineered to quickly provide the content that your target customers will need to make a buying decision. And the most effective content is professionally written and delivered as if you were providing it in person.
All Alone on a Saturday Night
Bottom line, it doesn’t necessarily take a big investment to build a solid website that can be found on search engines. The key here is to make an appropriate investment to build a site that can help you reach your goals for business growth. Not investing enough may leave you sitting at home alone on a Saturday night waiting for the phone to ring.
More and more marketers today are becoming savvy to the power that search engines hold in dictating website traffic and overall sales for many companies. Small businesses have started to approach us regularly with requests for search engine optimization and an expectation that their site will magically start generating more leads. Yes, it’s no secret that Google can turn a small company’s website into its top sales vehicle in a very short period of time. But, achieving this success takes more than just a one-time search engine optimization effort.
First off, let me start with a few Wikipedia references so we’re all on the same page:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results for targeted keywords.
Search Engine Algorithms – The set of rules, instructions and equations used by search engines to analyze online content and determine relevancy.
In our ongoing quest to keep up with the latest search engine and internet marketing strategies, we often hear about the dramatic and sometimes devastating effects that a slight change in Google’s algorithms can have on companies’ bottom lines. These stories serve as good examples of why you don’t want to put all your eggs in the SEO basket.
While an initial SEO effort during the development and launch of a new website is definitely needed in today’s online marketplace, ongoing internet marketing strategies can be executed that will not only complement your SEO efforts and improve your overall traffic, but also help shield you from the ever-changing search engine algorithms.
That Was Some Good Squid
Talking about internet marketing strategies with clients often takes me back to the summers of my youth when my family used to all pile in the van and drive to Tampa, Florida to visit my retired grandparents. Their home backed up to the intercoastal waterway, which always meant great fishing. Immediately upon our arrival, my grandpa always broke out a plethora of fishing poles, grabbed some squid from the freezer and the whole family headed out on the dock to cast our lines. I tell you this story because within minutes, we’d have eight fishing lines in the water and my grandpa would say, “The more hooks we have out there, the more fish we’re gonna’ catch.”
Internet Marketing is no different. The more lines you cast with sharp hooks and enticing bait, the more fish you’ll bring in. Said another way…The more targeted online mediums you participate in and offer high-quality, original content, the more traffic you will generate for your site.
And as an added benefit, the fish you release back into the water are going to go tell their fish friends about the succulent squid they just tasted.
Internet Marketing Strategies That Work
Just like any successful marketing campaign, doing some research to get your bearings is a good place to start. We typically start with an audit of your industry’s online offerings to determine who is participating, what they are talking about, which websites are successfully providing these arenas, what your competition is doing and how you can get in the mix.
Using this information, it’s time to sit down and map out a plan for which internet marketing tasks are appropriate, feasible and within your marketing budget. Here are a few that typically make the cut:
Website Directory/Buyer’s Guides Submission – Getting listed in online industry directories and product/service buyer’s guides can help you hook influential industry practitioners and is a great source for backlinks, which increases your site’s overall page rank in many search engines.
Participation in Industry Blogs and Forums – Niche blogs and forums are powerful communication tools used by industry enthusiasts to converse about companies, products and services. Your genuine, consistent participation in these sites can reap significant rewards.
Corporate Blog/Forum Development– Is your industry behind the times? Can’t find blogs or forums that are covering your industry, products or services? If you build it, they will come…Being the first to offer an arena for candid discussion about your industry positions you and your company as the thought leader.
E-mail Marketing – When compared to traditional advertising, printed newsletters or direct mail, e-newsletters and e-blasts (electronic direct mail) are almost no-brainers since they can be executed quicker, are more cost effective and provide almost immediate customer feedback and marketing analysis.
Other Search Engine Marketing Strategies that Work
Comparing internet marketing tactics to search engine marketing tactics is a lot like comparing public relations to advertising. Public relations takes some work, but is often high-quality, free publicity, whereas successful advertising campaigns can be a significant expense.
That being said, search engine advertising (paid placement, Pay-Per-Click (PPC)) is among the most effective form of advertising on the planet today. Combine a well-funded Pay-Per-Click campaign with a high-quality website and you may find yourself swamped with new business in a matter of days.
A Consistent Effort Wins the Day
Regardless of your industry or marketplace, your potential customers are increasing their use of online mediums to research products and services everyday. And with all those fish swimming about, why not cast as many lines as possible, everyday? Many of the strategies and tactics outlined in this article can be executed affordably and come pre-packaged with powerful analysis tools that will show you real-time ROI. Please let us know if you would like help in implementing any of these programs for your company.
Part 2: Bounce Rates Will Affect Your Search Engine Rankings
2009 Online Marketing Trends for Small Business – Introduction
