KEO Marketing » search engine optimization

Likes, +1s and SEO: Focus on Authority

Sheila — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 02:38:27 +0000

In the past couple years, social signals such as Facebook Likes and Google’s +1s has had an increasing role in effecting SEO. If you aren’t familiar with social signals, they are simply a measure of personalization when a user selects content that they deem worthy enough to share with a Like or +1, essentially endorsing the content for all to see. This plays an important role in SEO, and the bottom line is the importance of focusing on your own authority to increase your ranking via social signals.

When you are looking for a new doctor or a babysitter, you probably ask a trusted source, such as a friend for a referral. Online, content recommended by friends and acquaintances is often more relevant than content from complete strangers.

Because of this, social signals can be a useful trigger to Google when determining the relevance of your page to a user’s query. In theory, +1s and Likes can cause results to be re-ranked, based on your friends giving an endorsement to valuable content.

From a pure SEO perspective, getting a handful of Likes and +1s won’t really have a huge impact. However, getting an authoritative person in your space to share your content will probably be a big win, and this is an excellent goal for your social media campaigns. The reward is increased visibility within your target audience, branding authority and website traffic.

For more information on implementing a social media campaign to your online marketing strategy, contact KEO Marketing today for a free site audit!

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Search Engine Optimization: Google Introduces Panda 2.2 Update

dave — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 19:00:32 +0000

Google has recently confirmed that an update to the Panda filter has been approved and rolled out. The Panda 2.2 update appears to have been pushed out manually on June 16^th with webmasters and search engine optimization practitioners experiencing a variety of results. Some SEO practitioners have broken out of the original Panda filter while other practitioners are being hit by the filter for the first time.

According to SearchEngineLand.com, the Panda 2.2 update targets a common search engine optimization practitioner and webmaster complaint related to the initial Panda update: sites that republish content often outrank the original source of the content. The Panda 2.2 update is just the latest algorithm update issued by Google in an effort to continue to provide users the most relevant content. Additionally, Google has stated they will continue to update and tweak the Panda algorithm in order to provide the best search engine results possible.

For more information about search engine optimization, contact KEO Marketing.

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Local Search Engine Optimization Trends: Merchant Confidence Index

dave — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 19:00:00 +0000

MerchantCircle’s quarterly Merchant Confidence Index was recently released and has provided local search engine optimization practitioners with a bevy of interesting local data. The Merchant Confidence Index surveyed 4,942 small, local business owners throughout the United States regarding local marketing topics.

According to the Merchant Confidence Index, local business merchants are warming up to the idea of advertising on Facebook. Although, only roughly 22 percent of merchants have used Facebook Ads, nearly 65 percent said they would use the service again. Meanwhile, nearly two-thirds of local merchants said the have used Facebook for marketing.

Local merchants cited ease of use and flexibility to restart or pause campaigns as the two main reasons they would reuse Facebook Ads. Additional reasons included Facebook’s targeted display offering and the acquisition of new business. However, not all local merchants have had success using Facebook Ads. Nearly 70 percent of the local merchants who stated they would not use Facebook Ads again cited a lack of new business as the reason.

The survey also discussed group-buying, which had a low adoption rate among local merchants but high favorability. According to the survey less then 10 percent of merchants said they have used a group-buying site but more than three-quarters of users said they would offer a deal with a group-buying site again. Additionally, another 8.4 percent of merchants said they plan to use a group-buying site in the next six months.

It will be interesting to watch the group-buying market space, as well-known brands like Google and Facebook may overtake current market leaders LivingSocial and Groupon. According to the Merchant Confidence Index, say brand familiarity would lead them to choose Google Offers or Facebook Deals over current market leaders. Other reasons for choosing Google or Facebook include better local targeting, bigger audience size and brand reputation. The Merchant Confidence Index also discussed trends in Digital and Mobile Marketing.

For more information about local search trends and local search engine optimization, contact KEO Marketing.

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Instant Preview Feature Now Functional for PPC Advertisements

dave — Mon, 09 May 2011 19:00:25 +0000

Google recently announced the Google Instant Preview feature will now be functional for PPC advertisements in addition to organic search results. Users will now be able to see a preview of a landing page or PPC advertisement by simply scrolling over the magnifying glass icon to the right of the advertisement. This allows the searcher to preview the site and determine more quickly if the advertisement or landing page will lead them to a site that satisfies their search query. Instant Preview will also allow advertisers to provide more information to potential customers and hopefully reduce payment for clicks that will not result in a sale.

This update is sure to affect search engine marketers, search engine users as well as Google itself. Ideally, search engine marketers will benefit from the fact that they will be able to provide users more information ultimately resulting in less cost per conversion, search engine users will be able to more quickly judge if the landing page is likely to fulfill their search query and Google will provide better results to their users resulting in increased traffic.

For more information about pay-per-click advertisements and search engine marketing, contact KEO Marketing.

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