Archive for the ‘Search Engines’ Category

Why Your Ecommerce Business Needs a Google Merchant Account

Monday, January 10th, 2011

Do you sell products and services online? If so, we at CyberMark highly recommend that you set up a Google Merchant account if you don’t already have one for your ecommerce business. Previously known as Google Base, a Google Merchant account helps your online products gain more exposure in Google. The following are just a few ways you can use your Google Merchant account to improve online sales:

  • Upload your product feed to Google.com and Google Product Search so that your products will show up more readily in Google searches.
  • Connect your Google Merchant account with Google Checkout for simple, handy and safe online transactions.
  • Sync your Google Merchant account with your Google AdWords account so that you can promote your uploaded products in pay-per-click ads.

CyberMark can help you set up your Google Merchant account, as well properly upload and update your product feed, check feed performance and so much more. Take your ecommerce business up a notch. Contact us today to get started.

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Google AdWords Introduces Automated Rules

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

In a recent blog post, Google AdWords announced that it is rolling out AdWords Automated Rules, which will enable AdWords users to handle their accounts without logging in on a daily basis. The new Automated Rules are intended to save time and simplify pay-per-click ad account management.

AdWords Automated Rules allows advertisers to set up automatic changes to specific areas of their account according to user-supplied criteria. The following are a few examples of the automated rules advertisers can create using this new feature:

  • Run special ads that promote a special offer late on a Sunday night when the offer goes live
  • Get more traffic on peak shopping days by automatically increasing your daily budget on Mondays and decreasing it on Wednesdays
  • Modify your Max CPC bids based on CTR or conversion rates

Currently, Automated Rules is only available to a few select PPC advertisers, but will become more widely available in the U.S. in coming weeks.

Please visit the help center for help setting up automated rules. For more information, here is an introductory video.

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Google Reveals New Place Search

Friday, November 5th, 2010

Last month, Google announced Place Search, a new way of displaying search results for local businesses. Place Search makes Place Pages, local business profiles with basic information such as address, telephone number and official website as well as both Google and third-party reviews, figure more prominently in Google search results. A dramatic change, Place Search is likely to have a considerable impact on local search engine optimization.

Before Place Search, when users googled a place, relevant local search results were presented in a “7-pack,” or seven basic listings for area businesses that most closely matched the search Accompanying the 7-Pack was a Google Map that showed the locations of these listings, which displayed at the top of search results. Here’s an example of what the 7-pack looked like using the search term “personal injury lawyer San Diego, CA”:

google 7-pack local search image

Now that Place Search is in effect, when users search for a keyword that Google’s algorithm detects as a regional keyword, Google automatically switches to Places search. In Places search, Google shows only local results, which are tagged with a red push pin. Each local search result shows the location’s basic identifying information, including street address, phone number and official website, with related results from third-party websites clustered beneath. For instance, here’s what pops up when you search for “personal injury lawyer san diego ca” today:

google place search image

Here’s a closer look at a single Place search result. Notice that this listing presents much more information than the bare-bones 7-pack listings.

Google Place Page Search Result

If it’s not apparent whether or not the user is searching for a place, Google will display a combination of local and regular web results. For example, a search for the ambiguous term “desert” from a computer with a Phoenix IP address turns up this screen:

Google local and web results screenshot

These search results are a mix of Place pages indicated with a red pushpin and regular web results such as the desert Wikipedia entry and a web page about desert biodomes.

Google’s new way of displaying local SERPs is likely to lead to a major change in local online marketing for regional businesses. Before the advent of Place Search, the goal was to land in the 7-Pack. Now, the focus will probably shift to making sure Place Pages are informative and fully fleshed out as well as getting links from third-party websites that will appear in the clustered results, such as Yelp, Citysearch, Insiderpages, Urbanspoon, TripAdvisor, Yahoo Local and Judysbook.

Place Search isn’t available in mobile search yet, but will be available soon.

As Google just launched Place Search, there are likely to be more changes in recent months. CyberMark will research these changes and their effects to help you adjust your local SEO campaign for the best results. To discuss how we can optimize your business online for Place Search, please contact us today.

Google Breaks New Internet Traffic Record

Thursday, October 28th, 2010

You may not be surprised to hear that Google is big, but you might be surprised at just how big. As of October 2010, Google comprises an average of 6.4 percent of all Internet traffic worldwide, a new record for largest share in Internet traffic. In fact, from January 2010 to October 2010 gained 1 percent in market share alone. Here’s a chart that shows Google’s growth since 2007:

google internet traffic share chart

If you factor in traffic offloaded by Google Globe Cache (GGC) deployments due to edge peering, Google makes up as much as 8 to 12 percent of all Internet traffic. Moreover, Google is growing faster than the Internet’s overall volume, which itself is growing at a rate of 40 to 45 percent annually.

Google recently broke another record. In their earnings call last week, Google announced an unprecedented 2010 third-quarter revenue of $7.29 billion, an increase of 23 percent from the same time last year. Google shares rose above $615 to give the company a market cap of more than $195 billion.

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How to Improve Your Google AdWords Quality Score

Thursday, October 21st, 2010

Google AdWords Quality Score imageDo you do cost-per-click marketing with Google AdWords? If so, you’re probably aware that each keyword in your ad group is assigned a quality score. Ranging from 1 to 10 (with 10 being the best), your quality score indicates how relevant your keywords are. To determine quality scores, Google uses the following factors, among others:

  • Relevance of keyword to ads in its ad group
  • Relevance of keyword to matched ad to the search query
  • Historical click-thru rate (CTR) of keyword and matched ad in Google searches
  • Historical CTR of display URLs in ad group
  • Account history
  • Landing page quality
  • Your account’s performance in the region in which the ad will be displayed

Having a high quality score is important because it determines the cost and exposure of your campaign. To make sure your CPC ad has the highest quality score possible, we at CyberMark suggest the following tips:

Select keywords with care.

For best results, the keywords in your CPC ads should match your site goals. Keywords that aren’t relevant enough to the rest of your content will result in a low quality score.

Choose keywords that match your ad group’s theme as well as your landing page.

Use direct language in your ad.

The goals of your ad is to compel customers to take a specific action and to make your business stand out. Make sure your ad reads as straightforward as possible and contains a strong, clear and to-the-point call-to-action.

Cater to the right group.

In order to reach your target audience, structure your ad groups effectively. Give each product line, service or brand its own campaign. As separate campaigns, they will be easier to monitor and adjust accordingly. Also, choose appropriate locations and languages for your business. Only list your ad in the regions you’re trying to target.

Improve your click-thru rate.

A key factor in determining quality scores, the CTR is impacted by how relevant your PPC ad is, meaning the more effectively targeted your ad is, the more likely it is to get more clicks by potential customers. Make your CPC ad more relevant by using specific keywords and targeted placements as well as negative keywords that will filter out unwanted impressions and help you reach your target audiences.

Place ads carefully.

Where your ads are displayed in the Google Display Network can determine the success of your ad – at least in part. To find placements that are most relevant to the products and/or services you offer, try using Google AdWord’s placement tool and listing URLs, describing topics, browsing topics and selecting demographics.

Optimize your CPC landing page for conversions.

A good CPC landing page informs would-be customers of all the basic information they need to buy your product. Choose a landing page layout that is attractive and easy-to-navigate to help boost your conversations. For best results, put important information such as phone numbers in the top-left section of the page (where readers are most likely to see it), and make the requested action of the ad, whether buying a product, signing up for a service or giving to charity, as simple as possible; customers should be able to get what they want in three clicks or fewer.

At CyberMark, we can help you create and implement targeted, relevant pay-per-click ads. Our CPC advertising service includes choosing the right keywords, placements, content and more to make sure your ad is effective. To find out more about our CPC ad services, please contact us for more information.

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New Google Places Redesign Features Separated Reviews

Wednesday, October 20th, 2010

Last week, Google Places unveiled redesigned Place Pages, which are local search profiles linked to Google Maps. These newly designed Place Pages display Google user reviews and reviews from third-party websites such as TripAdvisor and UrbanSpoon separately. Indicated with a favicon, reviews from third-party websites are featured in a section titled “Reviews from around the web” along with charts that present the gist of the reviews. As an example, here’s the Place Page for Green Restaurant in Scottsdale, AZ:

Google Place Pages Reviews image

As Google said about the new “Reviews from around the web” section on its LatLong blog, “This section highlights reviews from a variety of sources, and helps you identify the sites that have high-quality, relevant information about a particular place. In many cases, this newly formatted section also provides a quick summary of what you can expect to see, including the number of reviews from each source and the average star rating that reviewers on that site gave a place.”

Google continued with, “We hope these changes to the way reviews are organized help you discover the most useful information about the places you care about from a diverse set of sources and voices.

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Google Analytics Replaces Site Overlay Features with In-Page Analytics

Monday, October 18th, 2010

Google Analytics announced Friday that it is replacing data superimposition tool Site Overlay, which Google admits “hasn’t worked as well as it could,” with In-Page Analytics. Both tools are designed to display data within a given webpage to help website owners better visualize how users navigate their site. Currently in beta testing, In-Page Analytics offers an improved user interface and more advanced features than Site Overlay. Here’s a video overview of In-Page Analytics:

Check out this Google Analytics Help Center guide for more information on using In-Page Analytics.

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A Quick Guide to Google Analytics

Friday, October 8th, 2010

Google Analytics imageWith any search marketing campaign, it is important to track your progress in some way, whether its website traffic, lead generation or clicks from pay-per-click ads. By monitoring these metrics, you can more easily judge the success of your tactics. In the same vein, you can also identify tactics that haven’t been so successful. Google Analytics is an excellent tool for measuring the effectiveness of your Internet marketing efforts. A free web analytics service, Google Analytics displays all sorts of website data, in an easy-to-understand format no less. Here’s a quick rundown of the things you do with Google Analytics:

Monitor Data

Google Analytics displays a wealth of site metrics such as page views, referrers conversions, top content and bounce rate. Moreover, you can view data in several ways. Choose from a simple overview or a detailed report.

Create Custom Reports

With Google Analytics, you can create, edit, view and save reports that with site metrics and parameters you have selected. These reports are downloadable in several formats.

Geo-Targeting

With advanced geo-targeting tools such as a map overlay and heat map, you can find out where you’re getting the most traffic as well as identify areas to target with a stronger Internet marketing campaign.

Measure Up

Google Analytics allows you to compare your key performance indicators with the combined data of other websites in your industry so that you can determine whether or not you’re keeping up with the competition.

Link with Other Google Products

Connect Google Analytics with your Google AdWords accounts to view data and gain insights on your pay-per-click accounts. Link your Google Analytics and Google Checkout accounts to keep tabs on the performance of your online store.

If you need assistance setting up or using your Google Analytics account, we at CyberMark would be happy to help. We can also help you with any other web analytics tools you would like to use to track the growth of your site.  Just contact us with any questions you have.

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Will Google Instant Change SEO?

Thursday, October 7th, 2010

In September, Google launched Google Instant,  an AJAX-powered search enhancement that displays search results as users type their queries rather than after pressing enter. A new search predictor of sorts, Google Instant is designed to help save web surfers valuable searching time to the tune of about 2 to 5 seconds per search. However, many in the search marketing industry are speculating about what effects Google Instant will have on SEO.

Some think that it will change the SEO game entirely. For example, in a blog post reacting to the launch of Google Instant, PR executive Steve Rubel said that the new feature will “kill SEO.” Rubel says:

“No two people will see the same web. Once a single search would do the trick – and everyone saw the same results. That’s what made search engine optimization work. Now, with this, everyone is going to start tweaking their searches in real-time. The reason this is a game changer is feedback. When you get feedback, you change your behaviors.”

Others, like search marketing software company SEOmoz, see Google Instant as a relatively minor change in the scheme of things. As SEOmoz founder Rand Fishkin said in this blog post, Google Instant “changes less than your average algorithmic rankings update.” To exemplify his point, Fishkin shared a chart from MEC that compares 12 days’ worth of referring keyword phrases of varying length from five different sites before and after the launch of Google Instant:

google instant referring keyword analysis graph image

As the chart demonstrates, Google Instant hardly had a dramatic impact.

To illustrate his point further, Fishkin also shared SEOmoz’ Google Analytics data from before and after the launch:

SEOmoz Google Instant image

Like the MEC chart, these graphs indicate little to no change.

So what does CyberMark think of Google Instant? We believe that, although Google Instant will probably slightly modify search behavior over time, it’s certainly won’t kill SEO. With near-constant technological advances and search engine algorithms updates, what it means to be “optimized” is constantly changing and will continue to change. Google Instant is just one small change. As SEO experts, we promise to keep you updated on the latest in SEO techniques to keep your website competitive on the Internet.

AOL Shuts Down Propeller

Monday, September 27th, 2010

As Propeller posted on its home page last week, the AOL-operated social news site will cease to operate as of October 1.

Propeller shutdown image

Originally created by AOL subsidiary Netscape to contend with the uber-popular Digg, Propeller failed to capture a sizeable share of the social news market. Similar to Digg, Propeller users vote content up or down; the most popular stories of the day are displayed on Propeller’s home page.

The shuttering of Propeller is just one sign that social news is losing ground. Even Digg has seen a 26 percent decline in visitors since the end of August, according to Hitwise.  Many place the blame of this considerable plunge in traffic to the Digg 4, a widely unpopular redesign that launched in August. Conversely, Reddit, arguably Digg’s closest rival, has experienced a boom in traffic. Reddit traffic has jumped 15 percent for Reddit since the launch of Digg 4.

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