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Yahoo! at SMX West and Real-Time Search

On March 5, 2010, In SEO, by Administrator

We had a great time at the SMX West conference this past week in Santa Clara, CA. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer kicked things off with his keynote speech, where he addressed several questions on the Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance. Yahoo! participated in several different panels throughout the week, including Thursday’s keynote “The State off [...]

We had a great time at the SMX West conference this past week in Santa Clara, CA. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer kicked things off with his keynote speech, where he addressed several questions on the Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance. Yahoo! participated in several different panels throughout the week, including Thursday’s keynote “The State off the Search Union” roundtable featuring David Roth, Director of Search Engine Marketing. (You can check out the full recap of this at Search Engine Land’s live-blog post.)

One of the hot topics discussed was real-time search, and I had the pleasure of sitting on a panel about that subject, titled “Real Time Search & the Major Search Engines.” Among other things, we discussed the real-time features we’ve rolled out for Yahoo! Search, like tweets in Yahoo! search results and getting the freshest information on developing news as well as some of the challenges and opportunities in this space.

In our down time I visited Yahoo!’s popular booth on the show floor – everyone loved our free coffee! Check out some of the highlights in the video below.

Ivan Davtchev

Yahoo! Search

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Are You Ready For Some Caffeine?

On January 2, 2010, In SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

Matt Cutts announced in early November that Google Caffeine would be available in one data center after the holidays. In other words, the new joy ride in search will begin in January 2010.
But what exactly is Google Caffeine and how could it possible impact search engine optimziation?
In August, when Google first introduced its beta-tested new [...]

Matt Cutts announced in early November that Google Caffeine would be available in one data center after the holidays. In other words, the new joy ride in search will begin in January 2010.

But what exactly is Google Caffeine and how could it possible impact search engine optimziation?

In August, when Google first introduced its beta-tested new search infrastructure, they announced that Google Caffeine would “let us push the envelope on size, indexing speed, accuracy, comprehensiveness and other dimensions.” Then Google began accepting test drives and feedback, but the site for that process has been taken down and replaced with a thank you message. So are you ready?

I suspect that by the end of January (this month) – maybe even by the end of the first or second week in January – we’ll start seeing some of new results of Google Caffeine. Any idea what that will entail?

I believe the Google Caffeine update will primarily focus on three things:

  • A ranking system that heightens the importance of page load speeds
  • A more focused relevance on real-time search data
  • Stricter spam controls

Why do I say this? Google’s own words – speed, accuracy, comprehensiveness.

Matt Cutts has already discussed the importance of page load times and I think we all see it coming. Page load speed will be taken into greater consideration on future search results. That will probably happen with Google Caffeine. And who can argue that the major search engines have already discovered real-time search? What you see in Google’s SERPs now is just a small taste. I expect that will be improved upon a thousand-fold.

The tricky one will be Google’s attempt to control spam. How the search engine will achieve greater comprehensiveness while de-listing or diminishing the rankings of spam sites is a mystery beyond my imagination, but I can see Google going there. Can’t you?

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What Is On Your SEO Christmas List?

On December 31, 2009, In SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

Now that Christmas 2009 is behind us, it’s time to start thinking about your SEO program and the Christmas and holiday season of 2010. OK, go ahead and groan. But you know it’s time. Well, if you own an ecommerce or retail website and if you depend on Christmas and holiday visitors to make [...]

Now that Christmas 2009 is behind us, it’s time to start thinking about your SEO program and the Christmas and holiday season of 2010. OK, go ahead and groan. But you know it’s time. Well, if you own an ecommerce or retail website and if you depend on Christmas and holiday visitors to make or break your annual sales numbers, now is the time to plan your search engine optimization efforts for the Christmas and holiday season of 2010. Years ago, people didn’t start thinking about Christmas until after Thanksgiving. The day after Turkey Day was the largest shopping day of the year (and still is). But in recent years I’ve noticed that marketers have started marketing for Christmas earlier and earlier. It now begins a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving. No sooner than you’ve gobbled up your yam and they’re hitting you with green and red. Festive, festive, festive!

Traditional offline marketers and businesses have always planned in advance for the Christmas and holiday season, but for SEO it is a different ball game. Search engine optimization takes a good 9+ months to really take hold. I’m not talking about indexing your website in the major search engines. I’m talking about performing a real targeted search engine optimziation campaign. The competition is so stiff in most industries now that you need at least a full year of solid SEO just to compete for the best keywords. So when I say it’s time to start thinking about Christmas 2010, I don’t mean selling. I mean planning and forming your SEO Christmas list!

If you have NOT optimized your website yet here is a SEO Christmas list for 2010:
1. Decide if you will wage the war on your own or hire a search engine optimziation firm for the new year.
2. Understand your online competition in the search engines.
3. Take the time to understand the types of keywords you want to target…do your research!
4. Make sure you have solid SEO plan in place, this includes getting accurate analytics working on your website.

If you HAVE a well performing SEO program, here is your SEO Christmas list for 2010:
1. Make sure you re-access all keywords that generated conversions throughout the year.
2. Look at any new competitors that might have arrived within your marketplace.
3. Continue to build highly relevant links to your website and continue to build your authority online.
4. Make sure your social media marketing program is up and running.

I hope my little SEO Christmas lists help you a bit for 2010. Are you ready to make 2010 a great year? I know I am! :)

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Search Engines Rank on Data Not Emotion

On December 30, 2009, In SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

I get many potential clients on the phone that have one goal in mind and that is to be on the first page of Google right next to their biggest competitor, wouldn’t’ we all? It is important to realize that to get ahead in life most websites need to first put their dues in. The [...]

I get many potential clients on the phone that have one goal in mind and that is to be on the first page of Google right next to their biggest competitor, wouldn’t’ we all? It is important to realize that to get ahead in life most websites need to first put their dues in. The same thing goes for websites as well. Websites need to show the search engines that they have earned their right to be in that high position or ranking in search results before they are actually allowed in. Each website needs to work their way up to that point, by marketing their businesses over time. Key point is that search engine optimization is about building your online authority and developing trust.

If you have a website and Wall Mart appears on the first page with Target and a few other major department stores what makes you think that after making a few changes to your website you will all of a sudden appear right next to them in the search results? Organic search takes a great deal of time and your website needs to prove to the search engines that you belong on that first page with some of the biggest brands in your space. For some competitive keywords this could take years and sometimes even longer than that. If you have a new website you can guarantee yourself that it will take a quite a while for your website to rank for certain competitive keywords. Do some research on the websites that might be parked in the first few pages of search results for your targeted keywords. You might notice that they have websites that been in the search engines for over ten years. This means that they have had a decade to allow their website to grow and build. It doesn’t matter if you think your website looks better or even if your company has a better standing in the industry. Search engines are readers and recorders of data. The major search engines rank individual pages of websites according to data and not emotion…it is important to acknowledge that!

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Blogging Helps SEO Efforts – Big Surprise!

On December 28, 2009, In SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

Over the past year or so, I have started to see more businesses and marketers and search engine optimization professionals suggest that blogging is the best kept SEO secret online. I’d have to agree. But I’ve been saying that for several years now. Why is blogging such a great SEO tool?

For starters, every time you [...]

Over the past year or so, I have started to see more businesses and marketers and search engine optimization professionals suggest that blogging is the best kept SEO secret online. I’d have to agree. But I’ve been saying that for several years now. Why is blogging such a great SEO tool?

For starters, every time you update your blog with excellent user focused content you invite the search engines back to crawl it. The major search engines really do love fresh content and every blog post is great search bot food. But, and this is even more important, each blog post is a separate web page, which means every time you publish a new blog post you are giving yourself one more opportunity to be found in the search engines.

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Link Building Tactics 101, Part 1

On December 20, 2009, In SEO, by Search Engine Watch

Link building is one of the most important elements to obtaining high rankings in the major search engines. It involves ongoing effort and a long-term strategy to ensure a Web site continues enjoying success in organic search results. …

Link building is one of the most important elements to obtaining high rankings in the major search engines. It involves ongoing effort and a long-term strategy to ensure a Web site continues enjoying success in organic search results. …

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Google and Yelp Could Change Local Search

On December 18, 2009, In SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

It looks like Google is about to acquire Yelp. No surprise, really. Is there a vertical Google hasn’t made a purchase in?
Two things happen when Google makes an acquisition in a vertical. A competitor comes along and outdoes them or Google develops the vertical into a profitable enterprise for itself. Notice I didn’t say Google [...]

It looks like Google is about to acquire Yelp. No surprise, really. Is there a vertical Google hasn’t made a purchase in?

Two things happen when Google makes an acquisition in a vertical. A competitor comes along and outdoes them or Google develops the vertical into a profitable enterprise for itself. Notice I didn’t say Google improves the vertical.

Well, Yelp pretty much owns the local business review vertical. There are very few companies even competing over that space. So if Google does acquire Yelp it will be one more vertical the search giant owns by virtue of its bigness. That’s not saying that local business reviews and local search will necessarily improve. But it will change.

All the major search engines already have local business centers, but at present they are nothing more than directories with bells and whistles. Sites like Yelp actually are better at attracting the local business audience. So Google will naturally want to advertise to that market and capture that audience. How will local search change?

For one thing, I think it will become pay per click advertising centered. I’d look to see how Google marries AdWords and Yelp to better help local businesses reach their target market. Another marriage that could ensue is Yelp and YouTube – local video search anyone? I see many great possibilities for improvement of Yelp with Google muscle behind it.

Yes, I think local search would change forever. How drastically is really anyone’s guess.

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The Most Essential SEO Data To Measure

On November 30, 2009, In SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

If you are doing your own search engine optimization or even you have have hired an SEO firm, then you’ll want to make sure that you measure certain data to determine whether or not your SEO efforts are paying off. There are all sorts of data that you can measure, but I’ve narrowed down the [...]

If you are doing your own search engine optimization or even you have have hired an SEO firm, then you’ll want to make sure that you measure certain data to determine whether or not your SEO efforts are paying off. There are all sorts of data that you can measure, but I’ve narrowed down the list to the ones that absolutely are essential data sets for every business owner or marketer to measure.

  1. Sales, Leads aka Conversions – At the end of the day all of your online and offline marketing efforts come down to increasing and generating sales for your business. Often many times people tend to loose sight of this key aspect and how truly important it is. The only difference is that search engine optimization is a long term and on going. Have patience and measure your sales and conversion increase over time.
  2. Organic Website Visitors – Tied directly into increasing conversions, over time the key measurable area is how many visitors is your website receiving as a result of your SEO efforts. This means out of all of the keyword phrases that you targeted on your website how many organic (from the 3 major search engines) visitors is your website getting. A simple way to break down the return on investment for this is to add up your monthly SEO service fee or your time (if doing your SEO on your own) and divide the into the money spent. Along with sales this is a good way to gauge how well things are going. I often explain to my SEO clients that if you are spending $5 on average per click for your PPC advertising (although not directly apples to apples with SEO visitors) but if you organic visitors on average cost $.25 then things are looking pretty good!
  3. Keyword Rankings – By keyword rankings I mean the actual search engine rankings of each page on your site for each keyword that is important to that page. If you have a 10-page website and each page has a primary and a secondary keyword that it has been optimized for, that’s 20 keyword rankings you should concern yourself with. Over the past several years keyword positioning has started to diminish as a key goal (I am so glad!). With universal search, social search and the keyword rankings that fluctuate sometimes daily based on datacenter and visitor location, this is still an important measurement, but 3rd on my list.
  4. Indexed Web Pages – How many pages you have indexed at each search engine is important. If your website has 100 pages published and you have 90 pages indexed at Google, 94 pages indexed at Yahoo!, 52 at Bing, and 87 at Ask, you’ve got a red flag. That 52 pages at Bing needs to be looked at more critically. Why only 52? Why isn’t Bing indexing more pages? Keep an eye on this metric and make sure that your pages are getting indexed.
  5. Inbound Links – Finally, the number of relevant inbound links your site has, and each page has, point to it. Obviously, link building is important so make sure your links are getting counted by Google webmaster tools. Also, be sure to build your links the right ways, through highly relevant incoming links from many different sources, over time.
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Is it Silly to Think Rankings Build Businesses?

On November 6, 2009, In Keywords, SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

Everybody I speak with is always so worried about where their website ranks in the search engines. To many times I speak with someone and they feel like their business is just going to sky rocket when they get onto that first page for a certain keyword they want to rank for. Yes rankings are [...]

Everybody I speak with is always so worried about where their website ranks in the search engines. To many times I speak with someone and they feel like their business is just going to sky rocket when they get onto that first page for a certain keyword they want to rank for. Yes rankings are important but they are not the reason why websites are successful. It is important for businesses and website owners to really understand that having a website rank does not equate to a successful business. Building a business online through a variety of proactive marketing efforts including search engine optimization is how you get your online business really growing.

Building an online business is simply that, a business. Finding loopholes in the search algorithm and pouncing on them does not help a website grow and prosper. All the major search engines are slowly closing those loop holes and leaving the flood gates wide open for websites and business owners that are looking to proactively brand themselves online the right way. I receive many calls from people asking me why their site does not get more conversions when it ranks on page one of a search result for their chosen keyword. They claim the website ranks well but nothing happens. Websites do not grow from rankings alone. This is where SEO has encountered a fundamental flaw in its life cycle. Too many people focus all their attention on rankings and not the actual process of building a business. Many out there practicing SEO have this theory that marketing a business is a direct reflection from search engine rankings. It is important to understand that the buying habits and patterns of all audiences across every vertical market are changing. The recent economic climate has caused many industries to change their buying behaviors. It has caused potential buyers to look at things in a new light before making any type of purchase or inquiry.

Online businesses are no different than any other type of business in the sense that buyers more so than ever require reassurance before they purchase anything and this happens with proactive branding. If a website owner approaches their website with marketing in mind the rankings will follow naturally over time. Assuming a website is already optimized the link building should be approached with marketing as the number one priority. Putting marketing as the main ingredient in any link building campaign allows a business to really build their brand and generate the right type of visitors. Website visitors are slowly starting to realize that even organic rankings don’t really mean that your business is the right business to do work with. Potential clients want to see your brand on sites like Facebook and Twitter being active in the community building trust for yourself or your brand. Trust is very important for potential customers and can only be obtained through proactive online SEO marketing.

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The List of Important Ranking Factors

On November 2, 2009, In Keywords, SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

The list of the most important search engine optimization factors is very large and continues to grow larger by the day. Well, maybe not growing too much larger. I mean, sometimes we hear about a new factor, but SEO hasn’t changed too drastically in ten years. Still, it doesn’t stay the same every day either. [...]

The list of the most important search engine optimization factors is very large and continues to grow larger by the day. Well, maybe not growing too much larger. I mean, sometimes we hear about a new factor, but SEO hasn’t changed too drastically in ten years. Still, it doesn’t stay the same every day either. So what is the most important search engine optimization factor?

Based on my experience and current industry data and trends, here is a short laundry list of important factors (in no particular order):

  • Number of inbound links - The trust factor of your website and growth of natural relevant links over time.
  • On-page content - Good, user focused quality website content.
  • Meta tags – Well crafted and relevant Title tags, etc.
  • Page authority of each page – Also known as Google Pagerank (although not as important these days).
  • Alt tags – Image tags that help the user experience on each page of a website.
  • Anchor text – The anchor text used on all inbound and internal linking to a website.
  • Age of a Domain – How old a domain happens to be, this is part of the trust factor or domain/website authority.
  • Code to Text Ratio – How much code is contained on the page in relation to the amount of relevant content on each page.
  • H1 and H2 tags – Headlines of well written optimized tags

Of course, there are hundreds of other factors that influence search engine positioning in the major search engines as well, some of them in a negative way. But what is the most important factor? Still, today, after over ten years of search engine optimization, quality, original content is the No. 1 factor that influences SEO. Focus on quality, original content and make everything else secondary. Not absent, but secondary.

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