How Social Media Keeps Leaders Honest

David Jones of Havas and Mashable CEO Pete Cashmore recently sat down to talk about the responsibilities of the leaders of today to respond to social media, and how it holds them accountable.

“Google Clarifies: No, Ads Shouldn’t Help Rankings & No, SEO Isn’t Bad”  Recent comments made by a new Google employee have some SEO’s up in arms.  Apparently his comments included “SEO isn’t good for users” and “It’s a bug that you could rank highly in Google without buying ads.”  Curious to know what else he has to say and what reaction this has caused within the online community?  Via Search Engine Land.

“100 Million Americans Watch Online Video Per Day.  Up 43% Since 2010- comScore”  According to comScore Americans streamed 43.5 billion videos in December 2011 alone.  This is an increase of 44% over the previous year.  With this astronomical jump in online views, is television in trouble?  Via TechCrunch.

“The Next Big Social Network Is You”  Many companies are trying to address the now common social network exhaustion.  Between the constantly shifting policy changes and programming updates many users are getting tired.  This opinion piece shares that in the near future it will be less about your number of followers and more about a smaller group of well-connected individuals.  What do you think?  Via Information Week.

“5 Essential Spreadsheets for Social Media Analytics”  If you are involved in social media, and are a small business this post provides some useful tools for measuring your data.  Want to know the best part?  They’re free, customizable, and easy to use.  Via Mashable.

“Brand Storytelling Lessons You Can Steal from Hollywood”  Innovation, a term we seem to hear quite frequently these days.  As a content marketer innovation is especially important because not only must you attract customers, you must veer them away from your competition.  Paying close attention to Hollywood entertainment and the way that promotion is done in that industry is a great means for discovering new ideas.  Via Content Marketing Institute.

TopRank Team News

Alexis Hall – Report: National Marketers Love Local, Fail At Basic Tactics
This post discusses survey results from late 2011 which revealed that although many marketers have the perception they are highly invested in local advertising, survey results show they are failing when it comes to basic tactics, like management of local directory listings.  Those seemingly small tactics can have a big impact on local results, so if marketers are really invested in their online local presence, they must be diligent when it comes to education on all types of tactics.  Via Search Engine Land.

Ken Horst – Pinterest is quietly generating revenue by modifying user submitted pins
It appears as though Pinterest has found a way to monetize their site, even at this early beta stage.  Most people would say that’s a good thing however the way they are making money has some people crying foul.

Pinterest is using a service called SkimLinks to add an affiliate link wherever there is a link to a product page that has an affiliate program.  It’s not the idea that people are concerned about, it’s the fact that Pinterest is doing this without providing any disclosure to its users.  Via LLsocial.

Brian Larson – Bing Now A Full Point Ahead of Yahoo In Search Share-comScore
According to comScore, Bing is now a full point ahead of Yahoo! in search share. While Google’s search results are highly flavored by Google+, Bing receives streams of information from Facebook and Twitter. With Yahoo! In Bing’s rear view mirror, is Google next?  Via Search Engine Land.

Time to Weigh In:  What do you think of Pinterest’s money making tactics?  Smart move or too far?  With so many American’s consuming video on a daily basis, are you including video in your 2012 online marketing strategy?

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2012. | Online Marketing News: Pinterest’s Sneaky Tactics, Keeping Leaders Honest, 100 Million Videos Watched Per Day | http://www.toprankblog.com

Facebook in Numbers: Prior to the IPO

The big news in social media and business this week is Facebook’s new IPO.  This infographic from statista and creative commons shares some very interesting figures about Facebook, before it goes public.

Highlights include:

• In 2012 Facebook is expected to reach: 90% of U.S. Social Network Users & 60% of Internet Users.
• Assuming a valuation of $100 billion, Facebook would be work 67 to 100x’s it’s estimated 2011 net income.

The Social Media Buzz

“How to Harmonize Google+ With Your Other Social Platforms”  Search Plus has placed even more importance on blending your online marketing strategy in order to adhere to the social, personal, and personalized search algorithm.  This post offers some great tips on harmonizing Google+ with your current platforms.  Via Search Engine Watch.

“StumbleUpon Kills Direct Links, iFrames Everything”  With over 20 million users StumbleUpon may be getting some heat for their recent updates.  One particular change to be aware of is the removal of all direct links which point back to content sources from within the platform.  If you are a Stumbler I strongly recommend reading this article.  Via Search Engine Land.

“The Social Enterprise: Your Path to Job Security”  While it is not surprising that social networking technologies will receive increased budgets this year it is important to understand the shift that many industries are taking.  Social media has become a recognized method in which your customers and potential customers will consume information about your services.  Social media must be used a s tool to educate, communicate, and engage on an ongoing basis.  Via InformationWeek.

Your Brand & Your Customers

“Inside the mind of your buyers”  Each of your customers has something that makes them different.  It may be their specific pain points or their budget restrictions.  This article provides 6 helpful tips on how to close a sale by focusing on what motivates your customers to buy.  Via Entrepreneur.

“The big tip for 2012: Convergence is here”  The need for a multichannel strategy has been around for awhile.  However, this year marketers will be focusing more and more on the convergence of those strategies.  Some of the trends we are seeing these days are popular television shows encouraging viewers to interact via their mobile device or iPad in real time.  Since we are finding that many customers are multi-tasking the 4 tips within this article provide guidance on dealing with convergence and what steps you should take to keep up with a rapidly evolving means of communication.  Via Econsultancy.

“3 key features of Twitter brand pages”  This piece takes a deeper look at the changes rolled out by Twitter late last year and the potential impact for brands.  It covers changes such as the expanded header area, featured Tweets, and separating your mentions from replies.  Definitely worth taking a look.  Via Ragan.

Working as a Team to Bring You the News – TopRank

Alexis Hall – Pinterest Driving More Referral Traffic Than Google+
Reports are showing Pinterest is now driving more search referrals than Google+ and YouTube.  This post, from Search Engine Watch, explores the question if the online pin board can compete with Facebook and Twitter, featuring an interesting infographic from Monetate.  Via Search Engine Watch.

Brian Larson – Super Bowl Viewers Will Check Phones 10 Times During the Game
Sometimes it takes just the right stat or factoid to drive a point home. Mobile’s growth cannot be denied by any rational person, but how about this stat: super bowl viewers will check their smart phones 10 times during the game. That’s right, the most compelling and entertaining football game of the year, which is augmented by million dollar commercials and halftime performances from Grammy award winning artists, can’t keep viewers from the powerful pull of mobile. The real question isn’t whether you should engage in mobile marketing, but rather are you positioned to be on their screen when they check their phone one of those 10 times?  Via Mashable.

Emily Conley – Inside Facebook’s S-1 Filing: 845 Million Users, $3.7 Billion In Revenues In 2011
On Wednesday, Feb. 1st Facebook filed its S1 registration (which companies use to register securities with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission).  The filing makes public certain financial and user data, including:

• 2011 net income: $1 billion (up from $606 million in 2010)
• 2011 revenue: $3.7 billion (up from 1.97 billion in 2010)
• 2011 monthly users: 845 million (roughly 50% active on a daily basis)
• 2011 average daily photo uploads: 250 million

This article also delves into shareholder information and background on the company’s ‘hacker way’ culture centered on having a positive impact on the world. Some very interesting insights into this social media giant’s success!  Via Fast Company.

Ken Horst – 5 Ways to Brand Your New YouTube Profile
YouTube has provided users with a number of smart ways to get more out the Brand/Profile page.  Some of the great updates are the ability to add multiple custom URLs in an area that is clearly visible to users and the ability to create your own custom overly ad for your videos.  You can also prevent other ads from showing up on your videos.  Via Social Media Examiner.

Time to Weigh In:  Have you taken any steps to integrate Google+ with your other platforms?  If so what have you done that has worked?  When trying to get into the mindset of your potential customers, what is the most important thing you should know?

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2012. | Online Marketing News: Facebook IPO, Harmonize with Google+, Pinterest Dominates Traffic | http://www.toprankblog.com

The Social Job Seekers

The social media job market is hot! This infographic visualizes the 2011 Social Job Seeker Survey that was conducted by Jobvite.  It examines who the job seekers are and how they are utilizing social media to find jobs.  Some interesting statistics you may not be aware of:

• 61% of all employed Americans are open to a new job or actively looking for a new one.
• 4 out of 10 job seekers are “Super Social” and have 150+ contacts on Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedin.
• 1 in 6 job seekers found their last job through an online social network.

This Week in News About Google

“How to Get Actionable Data Out of Google Analytics”  Proper goal setting is second to none when running a website or blog.  If your goals are not properly setup then you are missing out on the most actionable metrics of your website.  This article provides some great tips on setting up and measuring your website goals.  Via KISSmetrics.

“Pages With Too Many Ads “Above The Fold” Now Penalized By Google’s “Page Layout” Algorithm”  Do you shove lots of ads at the top of your web pages? Think again.  The “page layout algorithm”  takes direct aim at any site with pages where content is buried under tons of ads. Via Search Engine Land.

“Google+ Now Lets You Share Straight From Search Results”  Aimed at making it easier for users to join or start discussions on particular topcis, Google+ has recently beefed up their search capabilities.  Additionally, Google+ will automatically attach search terms to your posted items.  Via Mashable.

“Google Real-Time Insight Finder”  This tool helps users make sense of data and spot emerging trends more quickly.  It also allows companies to gain insight in to attitudes, perceptions, and needs of your consumers so that you can adjust your strategy quickly to meet their needs.  Via YouTube.

“Google+ brands growing faster than brands on Twitter?”  A statistical comparison by Socialbakers shows that brands are growing their fan bases faster on Google+ than brands on Twitter.  How is this happening?  Read on to find out.  Via Socialbakers.

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Content Marketing for the Masses

“3 Content Marketing Ideas You Should Steal from Coca Cola” Heavy hitter Coca Cola has realized that a 30 second advertisement will no longer cut it.  They have instead turned to content marketing , which aims to double Coca Cola worldwide consumption by 2020.  Via copyblogger.

“3 (more) business blogging tips for beginners”  If you are one of the many bloggers with a new years resolution that includes doing more with your blog, then this post is for you.  What is the first step?  Be realistic!  Via SEO Copywriting.

“How to Overcome the 7 Most Crippling Blogging Challenges”  Time to take the “but’s” out of blogging.  This article does a great job of providing solutions for many of the excuses would be bloggers have today.  Via socialmediatoday.

The Social Media Beat

“7 Ways To Improve Your Social Media Skills and Influence” Social media sharing is still a very new role for many employees.  This article helps prepare newbies and social media dabblers for life in a social world.  Via Forbes.

“9 Small Business Social Media Success Stories”  Case studies speak for themselves.  Applying a real life example of success can make a large impact on your perception of a tactic or marketing strategy.  This post provides 9 great examples of how social media has helped small businesses grow.  Via Social Media Examiner.

“Facebook Expands Service That Lets Users Share Online Activities”  Facebook announced this week that they are adding over 60 new partners to a service which will allow users to let their friends know what they’re doing online from listening to music to news articles they are viewing.  Via Bloomberg.

“Twitter Acquires Social Aggregation Start-Up Summify”  Following Twitter’s other recent acquisitions it was announced today that Summify, a social news aggregation service has also been acquired.  If you’re a Summify user beware! Services will shut down in a few weeks.  Via Wired.

From the TopRank Newsroom

Alexis Hall – “Average Viewer Watched 23.2 Hours of Online Video Content in December”
According to the latest research from comScore Video Metrix, the average viewer watched 23.2 hours of online video content in December 2011.  That is a lot of time people are spending online, engaged with this channel. This post from Search Engine Watch discusses the impact of this research on marketers, including the reach of video advertising on YouTube.  Via Search Engine Watch.

Brian Larson – “PIPA and SOPA Co-Sponsors Abandon Bills”
SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) is on the minds of many marketers. From image sharing and content curation, to linking and keyword research, SOPA has the potential to drastically change the way we create, share, promote and optimize content. With the co-sponsor’s abandoning the bill, is this a sign that the public outcry was heard?  Via Mashable.

Ken Horst – “Twitter is adding 11 new accounts per second and could pass 500 million in February, says report”
If anyone is still holding out on starting a Twitter account, now would be the time to start thinking about it.  When Twitter hits 500 million, it will be very hard not to acknowledge Twitter as a strong channel for online marketing.  The trick is how to leverage Twitter and you can learn that by reading our post from earlier this month; 4 B2C Examples of How Companies are Using Twitter to Attract & Engage Customers.  Via The Next Web.

Emily Conley – “Yahoo’s Co-founder Jerry Yang Resigns”
Just weeks after the announcement of new CEO Scott Thomson joining Yahoo, the company’s co-founder Jerry Yang has announced his resignation.  Thompson called Yang’s 17 years with Yahoo a legacy of innovation and customer focus for the iconic brand.  2012 is shaping up to be an eventful year for Yahoo.  It will be noteworthy to follow how these changes trickle down to impact the world of SEO!  Via Search Engine Land.

Time to Weigh In:  What do you think of Google’s new search tactics?  Have they taken it too far?  Also, what other newsworthy items did you read this week that you think should be shared with our readers?

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2012. | Online Marketing News: Say NOPA to SOPA, Google+ Strikes Again, Coca Cola “Gets It”, Twitter Gobbles Up Summify | http://www.toprankblog.com

Who’s Using Google+?

The launch of Google+ in 2011 has put Google in the social networking boxing ring.  When it comes to user statistics some of them may surprise you.  This infographic by Flowtown shares some interesting information about the increasingly popular social media site.

• 63% of users are male
• Only 17% of users are considered active
• 61% of top 100 brands have a page on Google+

Online Marketing Tips & Tricks

“10 Brand-Building Steps For Beginners” For many companies 2012 marks the year that they will begin implementing a social media strategy.  This article provides 10 easy steps for those who have not yet many the plunge into social marketing.  Via Fast Company.

“5 Tricks from a LinkedIn Jedi” According to David Gowel many entrepreneurs are not using LinkedIn as well as they could.  Gowel also shares 5 key takeaways on marketing using LinkedIn for both newbies and Jedi’s in training.  Via Inc.

How Well Do You Know Your Audience?

What Comes Before The Landing Page – The Crucial Role Of Psychology-Driven SEO”  While landing page design is important, it is not the most important factor in attracting the right audience.  Knowing your prospects, understanding their pain, and speaking their language are all key components of creating a successful landing page.  Via Search Engine Land.

“How to know what your audience really wants” Chances are your audience isn’t interested in your sales message, your company news, or hearing from you in general.  What they are interested in are answers to their questions and solutions for their problems.  How can you stand out from the pack? Answer their questions and let them know why your unique solutions will help solve their problems. Via Chris G.

Internet News Hot Dish

“Daily Report: A Legal Battle Over a Twitter User’s Identity”  We find Twitter in the middle of yet another legal battle.  This time the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts is attempting to attain information regarding a Twitter account used to share information about the “occupy” protests.  What do you think?  Should this information be shared?  Via New York Times.

“5 Predictions for Social Media Law in 2012”  In 2011 there were numerous court battles caused by information shared via social networks.  As more and more companies begin utilizing social media as a sales and marketing tool we can except to see even more court battles, and laws being passed.  This article shares 5 predictions for changes to the law in 2012.  Via Mashable.

“Social marketing gems: Tools to make sense of chaos”  A social media strategy is only effective if you can measure it’s success.  Christopher Hosford shares four tools that can help measure, promote, and respond to your social media activity.  Via BtoB.

“Google Announces “Megasitelinks,” Image Search Improvements & Better Byline Dates” Starting in November 2011 Google began releasing a monthly overview of site changes to the public.  The release for December included over 30 changes!  This article provides a peak into some of the changes you may not be aware of.  Via Search Engine Land.

The TopRank Report = News from Our Team

Ken Horst – Branded Content Advertising Spend At All Time High
Branded content advertising hit an all time high in 2011.  In addition, 16% of companies surveyed said they would be aggressively shifting from traditional marketing to branded content in 2012.  Via MediaPost.

Top 3 reasons companies listed for using branded content;
1. Educate customers
2. Customer retention
3. Brand loyalty

Brian Larson – Google+ Sees Massive Membership Growth
I think this is a fascinating story detailing the resurgence of Google+. With the use of the social network flattening out in October, this new growth (largely the result of Google+ Business Pages) makes the social network that much more relevant to our audience.  Via Mashable.

Alexis Hall – NSTIC, Google & SEO
This interesting story features a video discussing the National Strategy for Trusted Identities  in Cyberspace (NSTIC) and the Identity Ecosystem, and what it means that sites like Google, PayPal and Equifax are now credentialed providers.  The article discusses the impact of credentialed providers on online privacy, data collection and why any of it matters for SEO.  Via Search Engine Watch.

Emily Conley – The 5 Things Yahoo’s New CEO Scott Thompson Should Do Right Away
This article outlines 5 things that newly appointed Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson (former president of PayPal) should do immediately to leave his mark on the Yahoo brand:

• Move on the buyout position – China-based web firm Alibaba (40% Yahoo owned) has expressed interest in purchasing Yahoo
• Fix the board – The board’s June 2010 failure to oust CEO Carol Bartz rubbed shareholders the wrong way
• Follow Google and choose a direction – Yahoo has positioned itself as an innovative tech company, but should hone in on what they currently do well and focus efforts there
• Fix the brand – Yahoo’s old brand image could use an innovative, technology-savvy update
• Build a strategy to compete with Facebook – Yahoo needs to stake a claim in the social media realm

It will be interesting to see how 2012 unfolds for Yahoo.  As one of the most visited sites on the web, Yahoo’s next steps could have a big impact on the world of SEO.  This is a story worth following!  Via Fast Company.

Today marks the end of the first full work week in 2012.  I’m curious to know if you’ve kept your personal and professional resolutions so far?.  If so, what were they?  Have a great weekend!

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2012. | Online Marketing News: Google+ Who?, Know Thy Customer, Social Media Law, TopRank Team News | http://www.toprankblog.com

Was 2011 the year Facebook killed Google? 

People don’t surf the web anymore, they socialize & share.  Consumer behaviors and expectations towards content discovery, consumption and engagement are always changing online and more-so in the past few years with the emergence of today’s social networks and media sharing sites. People use search engines and social networks to find answers, yes – but I’d argue that they use them differently.

As with Earned and Paid Media, Social Media inspires search. Whether initial awareness is created with a story in the media, an advertisement or a mention on a social media site, search is a logical next step. Consumers might get suggestions from friends on social networks but will also take those recommendations and search for them on Google to get more information like hours, reviews, directions and to view the business website.

Search Drives Social. The opposite is true as well. Consumers find things on Google and go to their social networks seeking validation. “Has anyone ever heard of XYZ product, does it work?” or “I’m thinking of going to ABC or 123 restaurants, which would you pick?”. People expect to find what they’re looking for in search as well as to interact with that content. In fact, if social content is well optimized for keywords and topics, companies can grow their networks by being easy to find on search engines as well as through the organic growth that occurs with friends and invites.

It’s a key lesson for marketers to look beyond search rankings and also into the usefulness and share-ability of their content. That’s why we’re such big proponents of  ”Optimize and Socialize“.  Make it easy for search engines and consumers to find and experience your content wherever they might be looking.

The reality of search engines and social networks is that consumers are definitely using social media at an increasing rate to find answers, ie products and services. At the same time, they are still using search independently or in concert with social networks.

Google Apples, Facebook Oranges. Comparing time on site statistics between Google and Facebook is ridiculous. “People spend about 16 percent of their time online just on Facebook – or more than they do on Yahoo, Google, AOL, and YouTube combined”, according to the article.  What about this statistic:  Every 60 seconds there are nearly as many Facebook status updates (695,000) as searches on Google (694,445). Is that really a relevant comparison?

Google wants you in and out – fast. Here’s the fundamental problem with comparing time on site between a search engine and a social network: The very nature of Google is to get users in and out as fast as possible. Leaving Google means a possible click on an ad. Clicks on ads means Google gets paid, period.

Facebook on the other hand, is designed to keep people on Facebook as long as possible.  Ads on Facebook typically send users to Fan Pages within Facebook. Facebook is creating it’s own internet of sorts, so a higher “time on site” is a success metric.  It’s simply not a useful comparison between Google the search engine and Facebook the social network.

2011 isn’t the year Facebook killed Google, it’s the year that Google finally opened the door to it’s social search potential with Google+.  In fact, Google+ doesn’t need to become a viable competitor to Facebook in order for it to be incredibly useful for Google. The social and search data Google can collect within it’s own platform is priceless along with social content creation against which ads can be run. I’d also make this important observation: Google’s efforts towards building a social network are far beyond Facebook’s offering as a search engine.

Google and Facebook compete for people’s time online, sure. But as marketers, it’s important to understand that consumers don’t necessarily see search and social networks as mutually exclusive. Search and social are different tools to find answers, but  in very complementary ways. Understanding those consumer preferences is a big advantage over those who focus entirely on SEO and rankings or exclusively on fans/friends/followers and engagement metrics.

My last thought on this is, while many marketers duke it out over Facebook vs. Google, smart marketers will be focused on understanding their customer’s preferences and behaviors. For one segment it might mean a primary focus on search and for another segment it might be social.

Paying attention to overall trends and platforms, especially with the new year, is important. But it’s also important to focus marketing investments in the places that matter to customers who buy and who share. If that means Facebook or social networking, great! If it means Google and SEO, great!  If you master the ability to use data to attract, engage and inspire your community of customers to buy and make referrals, platform arguments become a lot less important.

What do you think? Is Facebook killing Google? Do you see the search experience and social networking as mutually exclusive or complementary activities?

Here’s the full post on PC World.

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2012. | Was 2011 The Year Facebook Killed Google? | http://www.toprankblog.com

21 Social Media Marketing Trends for 2012

Curious to find out what 2012 could have in store for online marketers?  This presentation from DreamGrow shares 21 predictions on what 2012 could look like.

Highlights include:

• Social CRM making inroads
• Social media influencing more sales
• Social commerce on mobile devices

Facebook IPO and Most Popular Social Sites:

Social Media: Disasters

“Ocean Marketing vs. Penny Arcade: Paul Christoforo PR Disaster Goes Viral” Documented via email and enacted on numerous YouTube videos, this might be one of the most reprehensible exchanges in the history of customer service. A PR/Marketing contractor representing N-Control, a maker of modified game controllers for hardcore gamers and disabled people has been accused of insulting a customer, plagiarism, extorting a past client and shady SEO practices. Could it get any worse? Yeah. Domestic abuse.  Via International Business Times.

“Social media, rumors might have fed melee at MOA”  On Sunday December 25th it was rumored that rappers Lil Wayne and Drake were going to be making an appearance at Mall of America in Bloomington, MN.  In the afternoon mayhem broke out involving more than 200 young people, one of the most serious disturbances at the mall in over 15 years with 10 people arrested.  Via StarTribune.

“Top 5 Most Common Networking Mistakes”  Good networking is an art and a science.  While some people may not have an innate networking skill this article points out basic mistakes and how to avoid them.  Via Inc.

Network Growth: Exceeding Expectations

“Pinterest: Crazy Growth Lands it as Top 10 Social Site”  Pintrest has grown 4,000% over the past 6 months marking it as the number 10 social media site.  While most traffic comes from California and Texas, Pinterest also receives unusually high traffic from states like Utah, Alabama, and Tennessee.  Via cNet.

“Instagram Becomes the Largest Mobile Social Network” In the past two months Instagram has added over 2 million new users.  While currently only available on iPhone, Instagram is poised to outpace Foursquare, the largest mobile focused social network available today.  Via Social Fresh.

“Google+ may reach 400 million users by end of 2012”  Google+ is on average adding 625,000 new users per day.  While the numbers are reflecting total users not active users, there is no denying that Google+ is growing.  Via LA Times Blog.

Cashing in on Christmas:

“Final Christmas Push Propels U.S. Online Holiday Spending to $35.3 Billion, Up 15 Percent Versus Last Year”  Spending reflected in this report takes into account the first 56 days of the November – December holiday season.  It is said with certainty that Cyber Monday 2011 ranked as the heaviest spending day of the season for the second year in a row.  Via ComScore.

Battles In the Court & On the Screen

“A Dispute Over Who Owns a Twitter Account Goes to Court” How much is a Twitter follower worth?  In a world where social media influence can mean the difference between a new customer and a fruitless cold call, one company thinks it’s worth a lot.  The question remains, can a company claim ownership of an employee’s social media account, and what does that mean for employee’s posting during work hours?  Via NY Times.

“YouTube Slam Begins Video Clip Battles for Users’ Votes”  Each week YouTube will put user submitted videos head-to-head to battle it out on screen.  Users will be asked to submit a vote for their favorite video.  This contest is designed to keep visitors on YouTube for longer periods of time and deepen their connection to the site.  Via BBC.

Online Marketing News You Can Use = TopRank Team Edition

Ken Horst – “Google Will Change Web Marketing in 2012”
Google has designed a new method for websites to structure data so that its crawler can pull better information. These plans revolve around metadata that will allow Google to access more rich data about a topic.  This may be a wakeup call for marketers and web masters to start looking at the new data and plan for the deployment of the new code in order to improve or maintain rankings.  Via Harvard Business Review.

Emily Conley – “The 22 Best Infographics We Found in 2011”
This is a compilation of some of the best infographics released in the past year.  I thought this was a pretty cool trend feature to reflect on the past year and gear up for 2012!  Via Co.Design.

Alexis Hall – “77 of Top 100 Brands Now Have Google+ Pages”
This article from Marketing Land discusses the fast adoption of Google+ by businesses, since its launch on November 7th.  According to BrightEdge’s December SocialShare report, 77 of the top 100 brands now have Google+ pages. This adoption rate will likely continue to increase in 2012 as big and small businesses begin to leverage Google+.  Via Marketing Land.

Ken Horst – “Will Clever Sense Help Google Become The Perfect Search Engine?”
Google is beefing up its voice search capabilities with the recent purchase of Clever Sense.  Similar to Siri for Apple, Google’s new voice search app will remember things it learns about the user so that future search results are even more targeted.  As more people use voice search on their mobile devices, online marketers will need to learn what it takes, other than location, to acquire a high ranking in the SERP.  Via Search Insider.

Happy Birthday TopRank Online Marketing Blog!

We’ve celebrated our 8th year of blogging this week. Thank you to everyone who has subscribed, shared, linked, commented and reached out over the  years. It’s an honor to be a part of such an amazing community and in this world of information overload, we appreciate your attention a great deal.  Thank you!

Have A Safe Holiday Weekend!

From the entire team at TopRank Online Marketing

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2011. | A to Z Internet Marketing News: Happy Birthday TopRankBlog!, 2012 Marketing Predictions, Social Disasters, Cashing in on XMAS | http://www.toprankblog.com

Social Commerce Psychology [INFOGRAPHIC]

This is indeed an infographic of a different color.  Tab Juice has created a very interesting graphic which focuses on 6 mental rules of thumb that affect social commerce buying decisions.  In an online world flooded with infographics this one definitely stands out!

Did You Know?

• 81% of consumers receive advice from friends and family through a social networking platform.
• 50% of people have made purchases based on recommendations received through their social network.
• Over 25,000,000,000 pieces of content are shared on Facebook each month.

#Trending: Reflections of 2011 & Predictions for 2012

“150+ Content Marketing & Social Media Predictions for 2012”  This very extensive list of 2012 predictions includes some of the creme de la creme for online marketers including: even more from Google+, the year for video and mobile, and long-form content poised to make a comeback. Via Content Marketing Institute.

Were 2011’s Predictions a Home Run or a Swing & a Miss?
“Six Social Media Trends for 2012” It appears that many of David Armanos 2011 social media predictions were spot on.  One miss was that Facebook would get their location based services together (sadly they did not).  His outlook for 2012 appears to require companies and brands make it as easy as possible for consumers to interact, share, and engage.  Which trends do you think have the most legs? Via Harvard Business Review.

Back to the Whiteboard: Top Social Media Lessons of 2011
“The Top Ten Social Media Lessons of 2011” Part 1 of a two part post by Christopher Barger focuses on the lessons that we’ve learned about social media in the past year.  2011 was flush with an over abundance of new social media platforms, privacy concerns, and marketers still trying to figure out social media measurement.  Via Forbes.

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2011. | A-to-Z Internet Marketing News: Reflections & Outlooks, Facebook Addiction, Go Google+, Stats You Can Use, Social Fails | http://www.toprankblog.com

2011 Social Sharing Trends [INFOGRAPHIC]

A new infographic recently released by Clearspring provides a good overview of social sharing in the past year.  I especially liked the breakdown of shares by social media platform.

Facts You May Not Know You Didn’t Know:

• 73% of the top 10 shares were related to death & disaster
• Twitter makes up 52% of sharing in Japan
• Google sharing declines by 8% even with the addition of the +1 button

Is Google Scheming on Your Location?

“Google follows Currents launch with activity-recommendation tool Schemer and face recognition on Google+ Econsultancy” If you want to try out the new location based tool recently released by Google, get in line.  Currently in beta testing mode “Schemer” is an online application that allows users to make plans and explore suggestions for things to do.   In addition to launching new services Google+ is also putting it’s best face forward with a facial recognition feature.  Sounds like Google’s been busy!  But will it pay off in the end?  Via Econsultancy.

To Post or Not to Post – Is That the Question?

“Should you Post Press Releases in Social Media?”   We’ve all read them, and some of us may be guilty of writing them.  Dull and sometimes self serving press releases hit the inbox of reporters and news wires on a daily basis.  Some professionals have even begun using social media platforms to re-share the same information.  However, is a social media channel the right place for sharing a news release?  SPOLIER ALERT: The jury is still out.  Via Forbes.

Bet Your Bottom Dollar We’re Investing in Social & Email

“Marketers to Integrate Social Media and Email in 2012” It is no surprise that companies are continuing to invest in social media and email marketing strategies.  What you may find surprising is that over 68% of people surveyed are planning to integrate their social and email campaigns in 2012.  Overall, marketing budgets for 2012 appear to be on the upswing with 51% planning to increase marketing budgets in the new year.  Via MarketingProfs.

When it Comes to Measurement Take the Road Less Traveled

“The Social Media Measurement Imperative: Building Business Value” eMarketers recent interview with Irfan Kamal from Ogilby & Mather provides some good insight into measurement of online initiatives.  Irfran says that “we are measuring just because we can measure, instead of measuring what we need to measure.”  Moral of the story, the easiest data to collect may not be the data that truly has an impact on your bottom line.  Via eMarketer.

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2011. | A to Z Internet Marketing News: Tacky Social PR, Can You Measure Up, Is Sales #1?, Sharing 2011, Email/Social Become One | http://www.toprankblog.com

New Report on B2B Content Marketing for 2012:

This week started off right with the new report (pdf) from Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs:  ”B2B Content Marketing: 2012 Benchmarks, Budgets & Trends”. The report offers a great mix of insight into most and least effective content marketing tactics, social media tools, measurement, budgets and compelling data points like:

• 9 in 10 organizations market with content
• Content marketers use 8 different content marketing tactics (on average) in their mix
• The most popular content marketing tactics included social media, blogs, newsletters, case studies and events
• The least effective content marketing tactics: podcasts, mobile content, digital magazines

While SEO is mentioned in the context of measurement, “SEO Ranking”, there is no other mention of the role of search engine optimization in relation to content marketing in the entire report.  Either questions were not asked that allowed SEO to be indicated as a response or this is further evidence of the disconnect between content marketers and the role of search optimization as a key traffic driver for content. Either way, it reinforces our evangelism at TopRank for companies to invest in content creation as well as optimization and promotion. #optimize

Bloggers Beware:

“Crystal Cox, Oregon Blogger, Isn’t a Journalist, Concludes U.S. Court –Imposes $2.5 Million Judgement on Her”  Cox’s interview with Seattle Weekly sheds some light on a sticky situation.  One of Crystal Cox blogs contained highly critical information about a particular financial company and it’s co-founder.  The prosecution was able to convince the court that because Cox is not affiliated with a specific newspaper, magazine, news service, or network she is not covered under Oregon’s media shield law and therefore can be fined.  Via Seattle Weekly.

Brands New Twitter:

“The New Twitter: Everything You Need to Know” Twitter has revealed a slew of new features and design including Brand pages (like Google+ and Facebook). New features and labeling include: Home (news feed), Connect (Your @replies), Discover (Personalized news stream), Me (Your profile). Along with these revisions are brand pages which are customizable and the ability to embed individual tweets in web pages. Verdict? Did we ask for these changes Twitter? Via Mashable and Twitter.

In Google We Trust: But Does Google Trust You?

“Are You Trusted by Google?”  Determining how Google calculates reputation scores has long been a mystery.  This article provides resources that give some teasers into how Google might use these scores but there is still no information provided on how exactly reputation scores are calculated.  Google’s new Agent Rank provides some clarification when it comes to +1 scores and as predicted, they are not all created equal.  Via SEO by the Sea.

Mobile is Your Daddy:

“How the Mobile Web Changes the SEO Landscape”  Mobile Internet usage is said to surpass desktop usage by 2014.  Something worth noting is that the way that users search using their mobile devices is also very different.  This presents a threat as well as an excellent opportunity for marketers to optimize for mobile.  This article provides some interesting insights into some of the ways that Internet usage is about to change. Via Forbes.

Dodging Social Media Risk:

“Too Many Wrong Messages on Social Media?  Try Leadership, Not Control”  Many organizations have found that the type of information their employees are sharing on social media reflects poorly on their brand and may have severe consequences.   The question many companies face is should they control the way that their employees share?   This article shares some great tips for educating employees on the do’s and don’ts of social media.  Via Social Business News.

SEO is the Bomb for SMBs:

“Survey Says SEO the Single Most Important Marketing Channel for SMBs”  A recent study by MerchantCircle/Reply.com surveyed 2,500 small business owners with some surprising results.  Search Engine Optimization is the marketing channel 32.9% of marketers would use if they had to choose just one making it the front runner by a landslide.  Facebook also ranked high as the most common marketing tool being used to promote their business online.   Via Search Engine Land.

Nominate TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog

“Nominate Your Favorite Social Media Blog: 3rd Annual Top 10 Social Media Blog Contest” Social Media Examiner is taking nominations for your favorite blogs that cover social media topics. Online Marketing Blog ranked #2 in this list of prestigious blogs along with Brian Solis, Jay Baer, Mitch Joel, Jason Falls, Olivier Blanchard, Gini Dietrich and many others. Please take a moment to nominate TopRankBlog.com for the 2012 list Via Social Media Examiner.

Was there any news this week that you think would be of interest to our readers?  As always we welcome any feedback that you have regarding our blog and what you would like to see more of.  Have a great weekend and we hope to see you again next week.

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2011. | A-to-Z Internet Marketing News: Bloggers Beware, Google Trust, Mobile SEO, New Twitter, SMBs Heart SEO | http://www.toprankblog.com

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2011. | A-to-Z Internet Marketing News: Google Redesign, Cyber Monday, Speed Linking, Self Serve Twitter Ads, Damn Humans | http://www.toprankblog.com

A perk I enjoy most from blogging and working in this industry is getting to meet and know smart marketers. Smart + funny just takes it to another level and you can count on Ann for plenty of both. Along with the accomplishments, contributions, influence and energy she brings to our industry, Ann is genuine and grounded, plus she’s not afraid to “tell it like it is”. I appreciate those qualities a great deal.

Read on to learn more about Ann plus her tips for marketers, brands, publishers and of course what’s hot in the future of online marketing:

Besides being the goddess of marketing and diva book author, where do you spend your time?

I spend most of my time right where I am right now: Online. In this case, I’m talking to you. But I spend a lot of time writing, connecting, emailing, creating online content, on Twitter and other social channels, and exploring new platforms, also known as “indulging my ADOS” (Attention Deficit… Ooh! Shiny!).

My latest shiny object is Instagram. I’m using it personally, but I’m always thinking about how brands can use it and other publishing tools. That kind of thing is endlessly interesting to me.

When I’m not right here, in front of the computer, I’m hanging out with my family—and trying to maintain eye contact with them even though I’m dying to check my iPhone (I keed!). At the risk of sounding like an eHarmony ad, I like walking my dogs, reading books with compelling characters, and taking walks on the beach.

What would you like to be doing in 2 years?

I have the best job in the world, so it’s hard for me to imagine doing anything different. Is “more of the same” a goal? : )

I’ve had such an amazing year: Our book is a best-seller, MarketingProfs continues to grow in interesting ways, and I feel lucky to be where I am. So I’d be thrilled to have this same level of energy for my work life in two years.

Besides smarts, writing skills and a sense of humor, what are the qualities great content marketers should have?

I love this question. And I love that you included a “sense of humor,” because I do think having a sense of humor and fun is critical. I’ve been talking for a long time about what to look for in a content hire, both 11 years ago and 11 (ish) days ago!  But I think the most important qualities include training as a journalist, writer, or similar, as well as business acumen, social DNA, and an amateur’s passion. Especially that last one: Is the person you want to hire already creating content just for the love of it, and not just because they get paid to do it? Have you heard them utter phrases like, “I am soooo blogging that…!”

Marketing has changed so much since 2000. What advice do you have for marketers to stay current and relevant?

It really has. But, at the same time, the fundamentals remain. What’s new is that we have new ways of communicating with customers or prospects… and them with us. That’s created all kinds of opportunities and helped marketing evolve in interesting ways.

The easiest way to stay current and relevant is to read MarketingProfs. I know that sounds like a pitch, but I’m quite sincere: We see our mission as educating marketers on what matters. We are constantly surveying the marketing landscape and bringing our readers information and know-how on the stuff they need to know, and not just the stuff that’s cool. In other words, we pay attention to all of it so you don’t have to… Isn’t that a relief?

Of course, there are other great sources of more in-depth and specific learning—including TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog ; )

As a publisher, what insights can you share for companies that want to shift toward “brand as publisher” content marketing in terms of strategy and organizational change? Or should they?

Brands really don’t have a choice. If they have a website, they are publishers. So the first thing is, Embrace it!

Then consider what Content can do for your business by answering that Why question: Why are we going to create what we want to create? What are our goals? What do we hope to accomplish?

That sounds obvious, right? But I’ve been speaking all around the country this past winter and early spring, and this is a critical, fundamental step that most companies completely miss. They start a blog because the CEO always wanted to be a writer, or they launch a Twitter stream because their competitors are there. And they have no sense of the strategy behind the tactics. They haven’t answered that Why question.

Organizationally, companies have to deputize a content person. Content won’t just happen unless someone owns it; unless someone is responsible for it; unless someone’s job is to create it, optimize it, share it—to make sure Content Happens.

So do what makes sense for your organization: Hire an editor, a chief content officer, an editor-in-chief, a chief blogging officer, a brand journalist, or whatever. But make sure someone has some power and authority, and the necessary smarts, to get things done.

Let’s say a new business owner asks you for startup marketing advice – a B2B technology company. What are the essential marketing steps they should consider?

Wow—big question! How much time do we have….? ; )

My short answer: Know who you are; know who you are targeting, or who you want to reach along the buying cycle (and how you are going to stand out in their mind through compelling content); and figure out how you are going to measure what works so you can rinse, repeat.

That’s at the strategic level. Then, you have to create your company’s story, and learn how to tell your story well. You then have to pick your tools and create great content, of course—especially with an eye toward search and social media, to reach your intended audience.

And since we are talking B2B, I’ll throw in one more bit of advice: Don’t forget to humanize your marketing and creating your content in an actual accessible, human voice. Even in B2B marketing, you are still talking to humans. So why is it that so many B2B companies talk like robots? I suppose they think it makes them sound more official and trustworthy if they toss around jargon, buzzwords and other Frankenspeak. But it doesn’t: It makes them sound like tools.

With MarketingProfs, how do you stay fresh with content ideas and topics?

We read TopRank’s Blog and other top-shelf publications. [From Lee: Now that's a compliment, thank you!] We see what resonates on Twitter and in other social channels. We listen to what people are talking about, what our members ask us for, especially when we ask them to identify their biggest marketing challenges. I also do a lot of “social prospecting”: I find a lot of MarketingProfs contributors or uncover hot topics by trolling social channels like SlideShare, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook.

At TopRank we’re big proponents of search, social and content marketing but so many companies operate these functions in silos. How do you think marketers can improve their ability to work across channels and departments and get support for a coordinated strategy?

To me, Content is the key. You can’t have an effective Search and Social strategy without first having a sound Content strategy. (Or at least, your search and social won’t be working as well as they could for you.) Content is the glue that knits everything together. Wait. I just totally mixed that metaphor. But you get the point. : )

Eric Schmidt of Google has been quoted saying every 2 days there’s as much information created as since the dawn of civilization to 2003. How do you deal with information overload both personally and in your own marketing?

That’s why the quality of your content is so critical. That’s where your story becomes so important. As Eric points out, all of us are flooded with Content on a regular basis. So the stuff that cuts through is the stuff that’s truly great! Companies that simply repost their press releases on their blogs and then wonder why they don’t get any comments aren’t the ones that are going to succeed.

A lot of time when I refer to content that “cuts through,” companies think I mean “viral.” I don’t.

Instead, I mean content that (as Len Stein says) is “packed with utility, seeded with inspiration, and is honestly empathetic.” Content that meets the needs of your customers in whatever way resonates best with them: that is, it makes them smarter, better educated, wittier, taller, and with better backhands and smarter kids! In other words: How can you help your customers and prospects with your content?

Retargeting, QR codes, social business, curation and gamification are some of the buzzing topics right now. What’s hot on your mind this year? Next?

Storytelling has emerged as a hot topic for marketers. Which makes sense, right? If you are creating content, it helps to get your story straight. ; )

Also: Mobile generally (and QR codes, gaming, social-location platforms like Foursquare).

As I said above, I like the bright and shiny new stuff, and I love to see what’s hot and new and fun.

But to tell you the truth, I think we have so many tremendous tools right now that are being sadly underused, or used in weirdly ineffective ways. I think most marketers feel overwhelmed. There are so many companies still trying to figure out the fundamentals of blogging or other social tools… and at the same time there are companies adopting other bright and shiny objects with no notion of the best way to actually use them.

Here’s an example: The other night we had takeout pizza. There was a QR code on the box that, when I scanned it with my iPhone, opened a Web page that gave me “the opportunity” to join the pizza company’s email list.

There are two problems with that: First, the page gave me no indication of why I should turn over my personal information, other than to vaguely refer to “specials.” Really? What’s in it for me?

The second problem was this: The page had about 10 fields (including my email, full name and address, etc.) Have you ever tried to fill out a form like that on an iPhone? So even if I wanted to give them my information—which I didn’t, by the way—they made it pretty difficult for me. Why make your customer work that hard?

That kind of marketing is pretty close to insane, isn’t it? Yet I see that and similar things all the time.

We’ve reviewed your excellent book with C.C., Content Rules, but what’s your most compelling reason people should buy and read it?

The naked pictures inside.

I’m kidding, of course.

(Or am I…?)

What resources do you rely on to stay current, informed and edu-tained?

I probably read all the same marketing and social media pubs you do. Also, as I said, I get a lot of information from social sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn (especially LinkedIn Answers) and poking around SlideShare when I have the time.

At the same time, I’m a big fan of feeding my brain in other ways: I’m a fan of autobiographies and memoirs (currently reading Tina Fey’s Bossypants) because I’m inherently nosy about other people. It’s interesting to me to see the way life shapes people. I read a lot of fiction of all sorts.

I love The New Yorker (although it’s a constant source of guilt, because I rarely have the luxury of getting through an entire issue).

And I love smart humor: My latest “edu-tainment” online discovery is DearBlankPleaseBlank.com, for reasons like this:

Dear world,
I dream of a day where we can cross roads without having our motives questioned.
Sincerely, chickens.

Actually, I take that back. It’s pure hilarity. There’s nothing remotely educational about it.

Excellent, thank you Ann!

You can find more from Ann by following her on Twitter (@marketingprofs) as well as at MarketingProfs and her book site, Content Rules.

So now that I’ve had my chance to interview Ann, how would YOU like to ask her a question?  Better yet, how would you like a chance to win a signed copy of Content Rules?

Just post your question for Ann below and the best question (picked by TopRank Online Marketing staff) will be selected by Thursday afternoon and answered on Friday along with credit and a link to the winners blog or Twitter account.  So put your thinking cap on and get creative with a question for Ann Handley!

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2011. | Wicked Smart Interview with Ann Handley of MarketingProfs | http://www.toprankblog.com

In 2008 Technorati added insights of individual bloggers to the report with an emphasis this year on women blogging. As a long time blogger and advocate of blogging for online marketing, I’ve always taken a lot of interest and insight from these reports.

For marketers and communications professionals seeking to better understand the changing nature of the social web and the role blogs pay within in it, here are some essential statistics from Days 1 & 2 (of 3) from the 2010 State of the Blogosphere Report:

1% of respondents blog full time and 21% blog for their own company or organization

2/3 of bloggers are male and 1/4 of bloggers have a household income of $100k or more

U.S. States with the highest concentration of bloggers: California (15%), New York (8%), Texas: (6%), Florida: (4%), Illinois (4%)

Most Bloggers update 2-3 times per week

33% of bloggers have worked as a writer, reporter, producer or on-air personality within traditional media

42% of respondents say they blog about brands they love or hate

34% of bloggers say they never talk about brands on their blog

25% of Bloggers blog from their smartphone

42% of bloggers use social media to follow brands

The primary influences on the topics covered are other blogs (25%) friends (16%) news websites (9%)

Bloggers spend more time on social media sites (9.9% computer 5.7% smart phone) each week than they do reading other blogs (9.2% computer 3% smart phone)

The Top 100 bloggers generate almost 500 times the articles as all bloggers

Facebook (49.7%) is more popular than blogs (47.1) as a top influencer of consumer purchases

For consumers, 46.1% trust traditional media less than they did 5 years ago and 36.7% think newspapers will not survive in the next 10 years

Conversely, 39% believe more people will be getting their news and entertainment from blogs than traditional media in the next 5 years

28.2% believe Facebook is being taken more seriously as a source of information

Consumers trust friends/family (89.3%) and traditional media more than social media as sources of information

More consumers trust friends on Facebook (51.8%) than blogs (45.6) as a trusted information source

The top success measurements bloggers use are:

• personal satisfaction (66%)
• quantity of posts/comments (51%)
• unique visitors (50%)
• links from other sites (39%)
• blog content shared on social sites (34%)

The top ways blogging has helped individuals with a business are:

• greater industry visibility (64%)
• acquired new customers, made sales (58%)
• built thought leadership (54%)
• asked to speak at conferences (32%)
• helped recruit employees (17%)

78% of bloggers surveyed are using Twitter with the most common purpose being to promote blog content (72%) and share links to interesting content (62%)

87% of bloggers surveyed use Facebook, and the majority (66%) do not have a page for their blog separate from their personal account

The most effective social media sites to promote blog content are Facebook (28%) and Twitter (26%) followed by LinkedIn (4%) StumbleUpon (3) Flickr (2) and YouTube (2)

The most common tactics mom bloggers use to promote their blogs include:

• commenting on other blogs (and hoping for reciprocity)
• Facebook
• tagging blog posts
• Twitter
• linking to other blogs from a blogroll

Obviously there’s a lot more data in Technorati’s full State of the Blogosphere report and more information will be published in part 3. Hopefully you’ll find some of these initial statistics useful for your own blogging efforts.

Parting Question:

Do you agree with the stats above. Do your own blog marketing activities or preferences sync up with bloggers overall or will mom bloggers?

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2010. | Essential Statistics from Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2010 | http://www.toprankblog.com

However, the recent implementation of Google Instant has resulted in a number of “instant” implementations on other types of search. Twitter has tempted us with the promise of real-time, all the time and Google’s effort at real-time results has resonated with a number of developers. How much it has resonated with the searching public at large, is not yet being disclosed.

Check out the following Instant Search applications and see which you like best:

YouTube Instant: Need videos NOW?! Try YouTube Instant by Feross Aboukhadijeh, who was offered a job by YouTube CEO Chad Hurley.

Google Images Instant: Apparently Demi Lovato has “D” nailed down but the puppies have the market cornered on the letter “p” using this instant Google image search site created by Michael Hart, who also created instant maps, instant Amazon and others. Oh, and he’s also looking for a job, Google.

Bing Instant: If you want an alternative to Google Instant, then check out the real “live search” version of Bing Instant made by Long Zheng.

iTunes Instant: Why not iTunes instant search? 15 year old Stephen Ou answered the call.

Meta Instant Search BL3NK: If you want a meta instant search experience, try BL3NK

Have you found other instant search applications? Any that are actually useful?

Here’s more info on Google Instant and what it means for searchers as well as search optimizers.

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2010. | 5 Instant Search Engines & the Mash-up | http://www.toprankblog.com

In this interview, Brent shares his experiences with how optimizing news content for search engines works as well as the challenges and results from training journalists on how to use keywords to improve traffic to news content.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you work with a media company or online publisher, do you train writers, reporters, editors and journalists on how to optimize content with keywords? Have you tried and had great results? Have you tried and met strong resistance?

Check out Brent’s Blog here.

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2010. | Brent D. Payne on SEO for Journalists | http://www.toprankblog.com

In this video interview, Avinash talks about the value of communicating analytics information in more meaningful ways. He gives examples of metaphors he’s used to present important analytics information that helps others better understand the meaning and implications of the data. There are lessons here for companies that report tabular data with no insight and little creativity in communicating insight.

Click here to view the embedded video.

What creative ways have you found to communicate web analytics insights? Have you had nightmare experiences with web analytics reports?

Check out Avinash’s “must-read” web analytics blog, Occam’s Razor, here.

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2010. | Avinash Kaushik on Storytelling & Web Analytics | http://www.toprankblog.com

Essentially, in Google’s quest to improve user experience and increase speed, they’ve already lowered the time it takes to return results on a query.  The actual act of searching and refinement of queries by users is what takes time, so Google Instant is designed to shorten the time it takes for users to find what they’re looking for by showing search results as you type. If you’re logged in to Google, those results are personalized as they have since personalization was implemented.

Personalization has meant that different users searching on the same phrase can see different search results. That change affects the kind of SEO that focuses on specific queries and “ranking” over matching customer-centric keywords with useful content. Good optimization for search has everything to do with holistically viewing the SEO opportunities of any content that can be searched on (digital asset optimization) and presented to searchers. SEO has evolved as marketing designed to engage customers and help make it easier for the search engines to do their job and for customers to buy what it is they’re looking for. Good SEO drives revenue and business growth and is so far beyond the notion of “rankings” that people who say SEO is “irrelevant”, sound a lot like those that say the “world is flat”.

As with any big change there are the FUD (Fear Uncertainty Doubt) perpetrators when Google announces something new:  (Google Instant could lead to blackhat SEO problems and Google Instant Makes SEO Irrelevant). But there are also clever, interesting and smart insights coming out of the search community. Here are 10 posts that cover all aspects of Google Instant ranging from what it is, to how to get the most out of it as a user, what the impact is on SEO and PPC and suggestions on how to leverage Google Instant as a marketer.

Matt Cutts – Thoughts on Google Instant - Q: Does Google Instant kill search engine optimization (SEO)? A: No!  Q Will Google Instant change search engine optimization? A: I think over time it might. The ability to explore the query space and find out new things will inevitably lead to changes for SEO.

Nine by Blue (Vanessa Fox) – SEO is Dead and/or Irrelevant With Google Instant? – I’ve always advised looking at audience needs and building a site that addresses them holistically rather than fixating on ranking for a single keyword phrase. And that strategy continues to be a sound one in light of Google Instant.

Search Engine Land –  Google Instant: The Complete User’s Guide - Does Google Instant “Kill SEO” or Impact Rankings?  In my opinion (Matt McGee): no chance. As long as humans use search engines (like Google) to look for information online, that content will need to be optimized. A well-rounded approach to content development and optimization should actually benefit from Google Instant.

SEO Book – How Google Instant Changes the SEO Landscape - Google instant only increases the value of a well thought out SEO strategy. Why? Well… it consolidates search volume into a smaller basket of keywords. It further promotes the localization of results. It makes it easier to change between queries, so its easier to type one more letter than scroll down the page.

Google Webmaster Central – Google Instant: Impact on Search Queries – “With Google Instant, you may notice an increase in impressions because your site will appear in search results as users type.”

Fast Company – Why Google Instant Is Good for Microsoft – How could Bing ever set itself apart with Google’s reactionary mindset? The answer now is to simply stay where they are — remaining, in effect, as Google Classic.

AdAge – Google Instant Changes Game for Brands – At first blush, the real-time results appear to give more prominence to the web’s biggest brands. Google execs were quick to note that natural search results, and techniques companies use to land higher in Google search results, won’t change. But Johanna Wright, director of product management for Google Instant, said one difference is that they will direct users to “page two” results faster. “As you continue typing and narrowing your search, the instantly changing and refreshing results below the search box will be giving you more relevant results,” she said. “So if you previously looked on the second page, now those same results come to the top of the pile for you.”

Google AdWords Help – What is Google Instant? - Although Google Instant won’t change the way ads are served, ads and search results will now be shown for a new “predicted query.” Google Instant might increase or decrease your overall impression levels.

Search Engine Watch - Google Instant – 10 Things Marketing Teams Need to Know – Google Instant is of equivalent significance to marketers as the Universal Search update, which previously amalgamated their video, news, blogs, maps and image search properties into one search engine results page (SERPs). As was the case then, lost real estate for organic search results presented new opportunities for the savvy marketer. The same is likely to be true now.

FeedBlitz - SEO: Three Things you must do NOW with Google Instant - Disable Search Personalization, Search for your company / product / service and for pages you don’t control, make a comment that links back to your site, Repeat for competing companies, terms and products. Start a quick-hit SEO project and Tune your site for these terms.

It remains to be seen how much of an impact the preference towards brands and the change in impressions will have on marketers ability to leverage Google Insight in new ways.  Some marketers have already published tips on how to track Google Instant using Google Analytics, which will assist in developing insights on what has impact and will be instrumental in learning what to refine.

What do you think of Google Instant?  As a user? As a marketer?

A few additional posts worth checking out:

TechCrunch - Google Spam Fighter Matt Cutts Weighs In On The “Death” Of SEO (Or Lack Thereof)

Outspoken Media - Dear Mainstream Media – Please Remove Foot From Mouth

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2010. | 10 Resources on Google Instant & What it Means for Search Marketing | http://www.toprankblog.com

Spotlight on Search Interview: Mel Carson of Microsoft Advertising on How Microsoft Does Social Media and the Yahoo Bing Search Alliance

If you attend Search Marketing industry conferences, you’ve no doubt run into the ever optimistic and charming Mel Carson from Microsoft.  When I was last in London, Mel connected me with an excellent Fish n Chips that the pubs around Trafalgar Square couldn’t get close to.  Mel is active as an advocate of Microsoft Advertising , especially via social media channels and at conferences to the Webmaster and search marketing community. His work is global and very interesting. With the Bing and Yahoo convergence, I thought it was time we did an interview – and he agreed.

Mel has accomplished amazing things with Microsoft’s use of social media and other large companies could learn a lot from this interview where he talks about Microsoft’s use of social media and what impact the Yahoo Bing Search Alliance will have on search and search advertising.

Welcome Mel, it’s exciting times as usual in the search engine world. Please tell us, what has changed about your job at Microsoft since you were last here?

My role at Microsoft Advertising evolved about 18 months ago as a result of the work our team had been doing in social media for adCenter. We had been building up an engaged audience on the adCenter Blog and forums for 3 years and started the adCenter Twitter account and Facebook page.  Our engagement with our customers was such a success, it made sense for someone to start using social to tell marketers about all our other digital assets. So I started the Microsoft Advertising Blog which brings our readers news and insight in what we’re up to in display, mobile, games advertising and research.

I also head up our events calendar. Last year we covered nearly 40 digital conferences all over the world, and it’s my job to ensure we have people trained to blog and tweet from @MSAdvertising at those events and really bring them alive.

Sometimes we go the full monty and come armed with a film crew and interview folks. Perhaps my highlight was Twitter founder Biz Stone at Cannes 2009 , but this year was awesome as we got backstage access to the TED@Cannes conference we’d partnered with them and the Starcom Mediavest Group on.

We featured Microsoft Advertising in a post about B2B Social Media Winners, earlier this year and I’m wondering if you can share how your group developed their approach to the social web?

In February this year we published a white paper (pdf) which outlined our story and approach. We’ve been listening to our customers since the start of 2006, way before Twitter and Facebook hit the mainstream. We got involved because it made perfect sense to use the web to communicate in a two-way dialogue with adCenter customers who were expecting best practices, tips, tricks and news to be at their fingertips.

We started slowly with a blog and forum, and built the strategy through common sense and by reacting swiftly to the needs of our advertisers. Social media isn’t the proverbial “rocket science”. It’s an awesome extension of traditional marketing and research methods which enable you to glean feedback in real-time, and help people in ways that never existed before.

What guides your social media strategy and participation?

Microsoft Advertising is an intensely customer-centric organization. It’s our advertisers, and potential advertisers, that guide us through where they go for news and information and what they tell us they need in order to be better marketers.

By investing in a team to monitor and engage with our paying customers, we hope we’re demonstrating that we’re open to feedback, want to build the best products and services we can, and are excited to provide insight through research and case studies that resonate with marketers all around the world.

What are your social media goals and how do you measure them? Or is it more accurate to say, what are your business goals that involve social media and how do you measure them?

Bit of both really. We look at growth as an indicator. Be it number of followers or fans, visitors to the site, number of answers to forum questions by other forum members, links from other blogs and news sites. The more reach we have, the more people we can tell our story to and let folks know we’re here and willing to help.

The other big ROI metric is how far we help lower support costs. It’s not cheap to have a call center, so if we can answer questions online through a carefully crafted blog post or tweeted link to the best information, we’re not incurring costs and we’re reaching more people with that information. A happy and informed advertiser is likely to spend more, so the two together increase the bottom line.

Return on In-action is another. What would people think if we weren’t operating in the social space? What would be the business implications of not having an early warning system in place?

How do you structure and manage listening and engagement?

We cover about 16 hours a day as I’m based in London and we have a team in Seattle. I’ll look after things from 9am GMT until about 6pm when it’s 10am PST and the US team takes over. We have various alerts set up on Twitter clients and monitoring tools and pretty much know within minutes if we have a problem or someone needs help.

We have rules of engagement which are pretty straightforward. We ask for actionable insight if an advertiser has an issue and have escalation paths internally to get things fixed.

Again, it’s common sense. You need a plan, you need outcomes and you need a team that can be flexible and personable.

A virtual smile goes a long way in this industry!

What listening or social media management tools do you recommend?

We recommend using lots. We trial, test and use a number of platforms, widgets and gizmos that all do different things with varying degrees of accuracy and success. The important thing is to find tools that are enablers and build a picture from the data they expose.

What challenges have you had gaining buy-in to social media projects and how did you overcome them?

To be honest, we’ve not had too much difficulty getting buy-in because we’ve always kept a step ahead by demonstrating the value of what we’re doing. I think many businesses dive into social media marketing with no plan around measurements of success.

Because we set out with the commitment to measure everything and tell compelling stories as we went, the business knows and relies on our data and successes now to be successful in itself.

Microsoft was called out recently as being one of the most, if not THE most social brands out there.  We get it and will continue to invest because it works well for us.

What is one great example of a social media success that like to share the most? It can be Microsoft or anyone else.

My favorite story that I’ve used in countless presentations is about how my old headmaster, who is a Benedictine monk, called me up many years ago to advise him on a search campaign to promote his website through which he wanted to recruit monks.

We set it up and 3 years later he actually did sign up one chap who found his site while searching for inspiration on the web. You can read the full story here.

Just goes to show how search and social are intertwined.

A story more close to home is obviously the Windows 7 Launch where Marty Collins and her team managed to garner 221 million impression of earned media running up to and post launch of the biggest selling piece of software ever. Check out the case study here.

If you were to give advice to a friend starting a small business on how they should get involved with social media, what would that checklist look like? What would the essentials be?

Figure out some goals and work back. Don’t think “social media” as in the tools. Think “social media marketing” as in the discipline. Research your market, find out who’s using what platform and build your value exchange around it. Make sure there are social elements in all your marketing endeavors. Have everything built for discovery and sharing. Measure as much as you can and use the data to inform decisions in other part of the business.

Oh….and don’t ever stop. Getting off the social train is not an option now it’s gathered so much pace under so much steam.

Enough of this social media, let’s talk about Microsoft and Yahoo. I know there’s the Search Alliance website and this clever little video, but can you sum up a few things for our readers who might not read Search Marketing publications?  Without any corporatePRspeak, what does the integration of Microsoft and Yahoo search mean to marketers?

It’s all on the www.searchalliance.com website. More volume with less effort. Now you’re optimizing for two marketplaces instead of three so you should see a return on time investment. More volume means we can make quicker decisions on which innovations will work best for marketers in the future.

What will it mean to consumers?

Having scale will mean speedier innovating of search results, which means those decisions consumers are looking to make get made quicker. More satisfied customers means a more loyal fan base, and as a result, we could increase share making our advertisers happy too!

What innovations in search technology (from a user perspective) are you excited about?

Bing Maps without a doubt – check out this Ted Talk with Blaise on some of the incredible innovation going on in his team.

How important is social media to the future of traditional search?

What’s traditional search these days? Ten blue links? It’s all moving so quickly but there’s no doubt that social media marketing is having an effect on search results. When you have algos associated with consumers liking content – YouTube, Facebook and others – when they’re added into the traditional mix, it makes for interesting times with optimization.

If you just take a look at what Bing has released lately in terms of social it’s obvious we feel it’ll be an integral part of how we all interact and make decisions going forward.

How do you stay current with search and social media and all the marketing, technology and communication channels that follow?

I subscribe to loads of newsletters, watch my Twitter feed and travel to many conferences around the world. We have a great ecosystem of learning and notifying here at Microsoft as well, so I pick up a lot of knowledge here internally.

Thanks Mel!

Post Script: Both Mel and I will be speaking at a new Search Engine Strategies conference being held in Hong Kong next week. Mel will be on a keynote panel, “Keynote Panel: Increasing ROI through B2B Lead Generation” and I will be on a panel about “The Business Value of Social Media”.  Here’s a video on this new event from Matt McGowan and Mike Grehan of Incisive Media.

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2010. | Interview: Mel Carson of Microsoft Advertising on Social Media | http://www.toprankblog.com

I caught up with Chris to talk about his take on SEO and social media.  He had pretty strong opinions about people who are too aggressive and not always relevant in the social connections they’re making.  This is what he had to say:

You can find Chris online by Googling “chris“. How’s that for the effect of links on search engine visibility?

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2010. | Chris Pirillo on SEO & Social Media @ OpenCa.mp | http://www.toprankblog.com

Click here to view the embedded video.

Of course, we couldn’t talk to someone like Dave at Yahoo without mentioning the transition of search results to Bing over on the Yahoo site. What does this mean for SEO? What does it mean for Paid Search?  What’s the fate of Site Explorer and where does it fit within Bing Webmaster Tools? Is SEO good or bad for search engines? How much of a signal does social media provide search engines? We discuss these topics and more.

Thanks Dave!

Blog: Industrial Strength SEM
Twitter: DaveRothSays

The video is available in 480 and 780 formats as well, just click on the size drop down.

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2010. | Video Interview: Dave Roth of Yahoo | http://www.toprankblog.com

The search engine marketing industry changes often, so it’s pretty interesting to see some of the predictions made in some of those older interviews. Below are 10 more recent SEO interviews from client side practitioners or search engine employees that you can get a lot of value from in terms of understanding how facilitating SEO works in organizations, SEO and social media, resources, tools and specific SEO tips.

Vanessa Fox – Ex Googler, now at Nine by Blue on Marketing in the Age of Google

Matt Evans of Monster.com on Agency vs. In-House SEO

Michael Nguyen of Shopzilla & Bizrate.com on Huge Ecommerce Website SEO

Scott Skurnick of Edmunds.com on Enterprise SEO

Dan Perry, SEO Director at Turner Broadcasting on Big Brand Publisher SEO

Tim Ash of SiteTuners on Landing Page Optimization

Alex Bennert, Chief Search Strategist at The Wall Street Journal on Very Large Website & Publisher SEO

Maile Ohye, Developer Programs Tech Lead at Google on Google Webmaster Central

Laura Lippay – Recently left Yahoo for Nine by Blue on SEO at a Search Engine

Todd Malicoat – Consultant and Faculty at Market Motive on the Search Marketing Industry

Other interviews worth mentioning, albeit a bit older, include: Danny Sullivan, Tim Mayer, Mike Grehan, Matt Cutts, Andy Beal, Melanie Mitchell, Adam Lasnik, Jill Whalen, Eric Ward, Heather Lloyd-Martin, Andy Atkins-Kruger, Adam Audette, Neil Patel.

Be sure to watch TopRank’s YouTube channel for video interviews with search and internet marketers that we’ll capture during the SES San Francisco conference this week.

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2010. | 10 Essential SEO Interviews | http://www.toprankblog.com