ElementsDaily » SEO

Google Local Results More Important Than Ever

Russ Lubin — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 19:12:03 +0000

Over this last weekend Google engineers rolled out a new “OneBox” search result format. A OneBox appears any time a Google search includes enough information about a local business for Google to determine that one business in particular is the result that searcher is looking for. Prior to this last weekend, the OneBox result was listed at the very top of the Google result screen with a map on the left and a link to the businesses’ website on the right. See the image to the right:

A OneBox result is a prize listing that most SEO experts shoot for as it highlights one specific listing above all others. This latest change to the OneBox makes that listing stand out even more as the business website listing for the OneBox now appears above the local map.

Now you might be wondering why merely changing the location of the resulting map and link to the businesses’ website would make any impact at all. Well, there are a couple of reasons. The first is that prior to the change only Google Places information appeared below the business link including the standard fare of the address, the phone number, hours of operation and links to the Google Places reviews should there be any. Now inside of the OneBox just below the URL to the company’s website Google is displaying the description meta-tag for the company which is normally stuffed with calls to action to entice users to click through.

The other benefit for listings in the new OneBox format is that Google has now redefined the fold of the page. When a surfer looks at any website, the top half of the screen is what will catch their eye and entice them into action. Links above the fold will draw far more attention and clicks than anything below the fold where the surfer is required to scroll down to get to the content below. It is reported that links above the fold receive 80% of the surfer’s clicks. So by pushing the company’s website link & meta-description above the map, Google has helped push more links below the visible page and arguably created a new visual fold line at the bottom of the graphical map. In doing so, Google is inferring that there is only one link on the result page that should matter.

Ok, but that’s only affecting the OneBox results which are very specific searches, correct? Indeed, but over the July 4^th weekend Google rolled out a test of a re-designed 7-Pack (7 local listings to the left of a map in a general search result) in which the map was moved to the right margin and Google listed the website’s meta description below the URL. What does this mean? It means the 7-Pack visually becomes a 3-pack as lower results are forced off of the bottom of the page (image courtesy of: Linda Buquet http://www.catalystemarketing.com/ ). No one outside of Google knows if this new 7-Pack will become a permanent feature in Google or when it will be put in place. What we do know is that obtaining high placements in Google’s local search results is becoming more and more critical to a website’s success.

Are You Losing PR When You Use a 301?

Russ Lubin — Mon, 03 May 2010 15:55:51 +0000

It’s funny, sometimes I crack open the old blog editor to write a post about a topic and end up writing about something completely different. That’s what happened today. While I was researching the use of using permanent redirects I stumbled upon a recent interview with Matt Cutts who happens to be Google’s mouthpiece to the SEO world. In that interview Matt Cutts says something pretty poignant which pretty much verified what had long been suspected, which was that 301 permanent redirects do not transfer all of their PR(Page Rank) to the new designated page or website.

“That’s a good question, and I am not 100 percent sure about the answer. I can certainly see how there could be some loss of PageRank. I am not 100 percent sure whether the crawling and indexing team has implemented that sort of natural Page Rank decay, so I will have to go and check on that specific case. (Note: in a follow on email, Matt confirmed that this is in fact the case. There is some loss of PR through a 301).”

Sometimes there is a need to move content from one area of your website to another or you might even need to change your whole domain when you receive a cease & desist order from an attorney. I myself have even used 301 redirects on my own sites when I went from shtml pages with ssi calls in them to php pages.

So now that we know that there is at least some loss of PR when using a 301 redirect should we just leave the old page where it is and create new pages in the right place? Well that’s a thought, but lets look at another point Matt Cutts makes about 301 redirects in that interview.

“Typically, duplicate content is not the largest factor on how many pages will be crawled, but it can be a factor. My overall advice is that it helps enormously if you can fix the site architecture upfront, because then you don’t have to worry as much about duplicate content issues and all the corresponding things that come along with it. You can often use 301 Redirects for duplicate URLs to merge those together into one single URL.”

See this is why mothers should not let their babies grow up to be SEO guys. If we absolutely need to move content we either end up losing some of our existing PR on a 301 redirect to the new content or we leave the old content in place and risk a duplicate content penalty which Matt Cutts confirms could be a factor in how many pages on our site gets crawled.

What I take away from that interview is that we should not have duplicate content on our pages and we should really 301 redirect pages with content that needs to be moved to their respective new pages at the cost of some of our PR. I guess that means that we should have bullet proof plans for our website layout prior to launching anything, but as anyone who has been in the traffic generation business can tell you adaptating to new strategies is paramount to maintaining success.

With The Power of my Deathray I Will Soon Rule The World

Russ Lubin — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:22:09 +0000

Ok, so I’m not actually a mad scientist bent on ruling the world, but the title of the article intrigued you enough to read this far, right? Well, that was the whole point of the title. If you follow the cool kids in the SEO game then you already know that one of the best ways to increase your rank in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Page) is by getting as many offsite links pointing to your website as possible. That increases your perceived popularity which is a major determining factor in your rankings. Those SEO cool kids use linkbait to draw in as many inbound links as possible, but very few of them will tell you exactly what linkbait is and why it is so important to their website’s success. Most likely they don’t want anymore competition than they already have.

Quite simply, linkbait is content placed on a website that will offers something worth linking to. A few excellent examples of linkbaits are super-nifty flash games like Radioactive Teddy Bear Zombies, something controversial like KFC Sells “Cancer-Linked Food” to Fight Breast Cancer or something inane and humorous like Britney Spears’ Father Mandates Bra on Public Outings…and you thought my title was a bit overboard? Ok, but each example linkbait web page was built to draw in those precious links, and look at that it worked because I linked to them in this article just now.

But how many of you actually read the full article or played the flash game on the websites in question? Here’s the thing, it doesn’t really matter. Those websites could get linked to by their titles alone. Content may be king, but titles draw links, which lead to more traffic pointing to that indexed content; and as I pointed out, they don’t have to be great titles at all just titillating.

What I’m trying to get at here is that titles are an important form of linkbait because they can bring in links and thereby increase your website’s search engine rankings. For more information on title creation check out Jeremy LaDuque’s 5 Tips for Effective Titles.

To Hyphenate or Not To Hyphenate Domain Names

Russ Lubin — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 03:58:45 +0000

When it comes purchasing domain names, I’ve seen a lot of my colleagues purchase hyphenated domains because the non-hyphenated versions were already taken by someone else. I don’t really think that’s a wise practice because most type-ins (surfers who type in a domain name rather than landing on a website via a search engine) will type in the name without the hyphens. In that case I just recommend spending a little bit of time and getting a bit creative to come up with a unique domain name.

But if you dismiss the type-in traffic, can a hyphenated name really hurt you? Not so according to Bing’s program manager, Brett Yount and Google software engineer Matt Cutts whose blog has become the voice of Google’s best practices for SEO. Both have publicly stated that hyphens in a URL act as keyword separators.

In fact, google actually recommends hyphenating keywords in a URL.

“Consider using punctuation in your URLs. The URL http://www.example.com/green-dress.html is much more useful to us than http://www.example.com/greendress.html. We recommend that you use hyphens (-) instead of underscores (_) in your URLs.” (Google Webmaster Central)

So why exactly is hyphenation important? Well let’s look at this domain name bostoncollegeofarts.com. Now let’s look at the same domain name punctuated two separate ways:

boston-college-of-arts.com
boston-college-o-farts.com
Which would you rather attend?

Now I realize that this is a silly example, but it does point out that the search engines are fallible and cannot always understand what keywords you are going after based on your URL. We also know that pages with keywords in their URL get ranked better than pages without. So am I really suggesting that you buy hyphenated domain names? Well yes, and no.

Personally I would actually buy both the hyphenated and non-hyphenated domain names. I would set up my content on the non-hyphenated domain name and redirect the hyphenated domain name traffic to the former. I would point a few links to the hyphenated name however in the hopes that those links would add some clarification to my keywords and let a redirect handle any link juice loss, but I’ll touch more on domain redirection for SEO benefits in another post.

When it comes to file names or directories I almost always hyphenate them. That way I can make sure that the search engines are crystal clear about what keywords I am going after on that specific page and I know I’m not going to lose on type-in traffic beyond the root domain. Besides according to the guys who work at the major players in the search engine game, it can’t hurt.

The Inbound Advantage: Tips to Evolve Your Company’s Marketing Strategy

Jeremy LaDuque — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:36:48 +0000

“Companies should focus the majority of their marketing budget on inbound, not outbound initiatives,” said Jeremy LaDuque, CEO of Elements Inc., creator of ElementsLocal™, a new software solution for companies that increasescompany leads through maximized search engine results. “When you push your message out far and wide with little discretion, you’re essentially crossing your fingers that it will resonate with a few individuals. Inbound marketing generates leads that are more abundant and credible, as potential customers seeking your services have been attracted organically through search engines, blogs and social media.”

ElementsLocal helps company networks shift from traditional outbound marketing tactics like Pay-Per-Click advertising, which are costly and offer little lasting value, by bolstering the company’s Internet presence through the creation of local, autonomous and brand-compliant web sites for each company location.

For many companies who’ve become reliant on advertising, cold-calls and purchased e-blast lists, the shift to SEO and social media can seem intimidating. However, it doesn’t have to be, and in today’s economic climate, there’s no better time to make sure marketing dollars are used efficiently, says LaDuque.

He offers the following tips to help companies jump on the inbound marketing bandwagon:

Get Local. Instead of relying on just one national web site for the entire company network, provide cross-linked autonomous and brand-compliant web sites for each location. As the franchisor, you benefit from:

A “network effect” of hundreds of web sites, each displaying relevant content about the company, being seen by search engines, which increases rankings and visibility

An ability to leverage each company by allowing other branches to customize (according to franchisor specifications) their web site with local content and local e-marketing campaigns

1. Get Optimized. Some simple ways to get started with search engine optimization:

a. Focus the attention of each webpage to just a few keywords

b. Add relevant content about those select key words to that webpage

c. Add those keywords to the title and meta tags of that webpage

2. Get Social. Social media is the fastest-growing segment of the Internet, and best of all, it’s much less expensive than most other marketing tactics. Get your franchise on board by:

a. Participating in social media sites such as Facebook and You Tube. Start a corporate Facebook profile and seek out fans or upload informative – or even humorous – videos that have “pass-along” potential, such as an engaging company story or client testimonials. This will help attract more visitors to your web site, increase your exposure within a larger audience and boost your search engine ranking.

b. Using a blog and/or Twitter to publish information about your business. Gaining “followers” or subscribers not only increases the audience for your company message, but also helps you gain valuable insight from the comments consumers leave on your posts.

3. Get Efficient. Inbound marketing efforts are highly track-able, so employ various strategies to monitor the efficiency of your efforts. This will allow you to repeat what’s working, discontinue what’s not, and gauge what’s providing you with the best return on investment (ROI). Some helpful hints:

a. First, establish exactly what it is you want to track and make sure you have a way to measure what you want to track

b. Use statistical programs like Google Analytics to monitor web site traffic behavior – from number of pages viewed to length of time on the site

c. Use landing pages to track specific ad campaigns and/or marketing initiatives

d. Track throughout – from campaign to conversion to sale!

“As companies start to ‘think inbound’ in their marketing strategies, they’ll attract customers who are appropriate for and receptive to the company message,” said LaDuque. “This competitive advantage will not only save companies money, but will also help them build lasting and loyal relationships with clients.”