Get More from Search - Trends in Search & Social Media

Smaller companies often have more obstacles in doing business on the Internet. Although the tools are often the same – for instance, a dynamic website with shopping capabilities and live chat – it’s the traffic-generating methods that small businesses sometimes lack in either experience or budget. But there are low and no-cost methods to drive traffic – no matter the size of the company. Adopting tried-and-true search engine optimization (SEO) practices will improve visitor numbers while keeping costs down.

Basic SEO techniques include the use of abundant, brand and industry-relevant keywords and a healthy number of incoming links.

You’ve heard it before, but it’s never been more true: keyword-rich relevant content is the most essential tool in any good SEO strategy. The easiest way to increase keywords is to increase the content available on your site. Before launching your writing expedition (or hiring someone to write for you), give serious thought to the keywords that describe your products and services and that search engine users are most apt to use.  Steer clear, though, of reckless use of keyword-rich copy – it must be sensible, conversational and easy to read.

Location is also key for notifying search engine spiders to pay more attention to certain keyword-rich areas. For your best description language, focus near the top of the page, headline and header tags, hyperlinks (both inbound and outbound), and then, within the general content body.

Next, focus on the number of links coming into your site. More incoming links should improve your ranking in search engine results because as a general rule, search engines believe the more sites linking to a website, the more valuable content the site contains and is therefore a quality site for search engine users to visit.

One way to increase incoming links is to join forums that are relevant to your business. Just make sure that forum comments stay within the parameters of the posts. Also, one of the most common and most effective link-building strategies is to identify sites with similar content or audience demographics and exchange links. The effect is mutually beneficial.

Writing about your business or the needs of your customers and distributing that content to reputable informational or educational sites can be a great way to expand your influence. Just don’t forget to add a proper bio with a link back to your site. When you establish your site as an expert source, you might find that content sharing becomes a key to more traffic. Utilizing simple features such as “Email to a friend/colleague: can help spread the word about your business very easily. In the “Terms of Use” of your website, you can allow properly annotated reproductions of your articles by other sites, blogs, etc. which can also create a inbound links without much effort.

No matter how many people or dollars power your website, increasing traffic isn’t an easy task. It takes effort and diligence, but by incorporating tried-and-true development and content methods in the beginning and sustaining those efforts, will bring rewarding long-term results.

Market research in regards to search is on the rise and it is more in-depth than keyword research. Companies are beginning to use market research and analytics to more thoroughly understand their customers’ search and browsing intent.  Businesses are integrating the findings into their Web design strategy to create a more focused environment for a site visitor’s behavior, often focusing on personalization to deliver a better overall experience.

Many companies focus on keyword research instead of market research. They believe the hype that has been generated by the large search engines in an effort to increase their advertising sales that all websites need to do is focus on their keyword research and they will succeed. Unfortunately, many companies do not understand that to fully understand your keyword research they need to understand market research. To be able to fully comprehend the desires of your target market and generate keywords that will spark their interest, companies need to understand their market which means they need to research not just the keywords that will work but the market as a whole. Companies need to remember that for all the advances in search, searches are conducted by humans and humans are complex individuals.

In the future, the focus will be on finding out what the consumer wants, understanding their mindset and figuring out how they will search for what they want. If sites are able to provide the content and information they are looking for, then they will be able to match their product mix to the consumer’s personal choices. This will be able to be analyzed through the use of statistics such as time-on-site, page views, repeat visits, click-through rates, etc. Companies also have the option of utilizing site search statistical software to help improve your analytical research. If the companies are able to attract their target consumer then they will also attract the attention of search engines.

Search optimization is in a state of transformation at the corporate level, which will change the way that consumers and companies view search and therefore your site. If anything has changed, it is that the bar has been set higher for Search Engine Optimization.

These days, when the 40 and below crowd think about newspapers, they think of an older, leisurely mentality that no longer exists.  Newspapers have been tagged with an image that is antiquated and somewhat irrelevant. Something had to be done. Rather than become handicapped by this image, newspapers across the United States have decided to improve the view that people have of them. They didn’t do anything flashy or ostentatious and they didn’t eliminate the traditional newspaper. Instead, they provided their content online for a busy community to peruse at their leisure.

Newspapers decided that instead of forcing their consumer to go to the store and buy their product that they would offer it free online. Then you have to ask yourself, how do they make their money if people aren’t buying the newspaper they can get for free? Advertising. This same philosophy works for them online. Instead of selling print ads in their newspaper, they sell online ads on their website.

And their audience is responding – both in readership and in online purchases.

Another aspect that newspapers are tapping into is the blog market. Traffic for newspaper blogs for the top 10 online newspapers grew 210% from December 2005 through December 2006. If newspapers can get consumers to visit their blogs then they are likely to view the articles provided online. With the increase in traffic, newspapers have the opportunity to increase their advertising exposure and therefore are able to improve their advertising sales.

 

 

 

 

In a recent study by the Newspapers Association of America (NAA), it found that 82% of the people who visit newspaper sites on a daily basis are more likely to make purchases online. This study will help newspapers leverage their advertising campaign to corporations and enable them to increase their advertising business. To find out more information about online newspaper growth, you can visit www.digitaledge.org, the NAA’s digital-media analysis website and www.emarketer.com, a streamlined, e-business research solution.

Why do you read a newspaper? Read a magazine? Watch television? Listen to the radio? The answer to all of these questions is content. That’s right…content. If advertisements were the only things offered in the newspapers or magazines you read, television stations you watch and radio stations you listen to, or if the articles, programs and music were always the same, would you continue to use these media devices? The answer is no. Since this is the case, wouldn’t the same thing apply to your website? To improve the optimization of your website you need to provide fresh, new content on a consistent basis.

Content brings to a website what articles bring to a newspaper and magazine. Without it newspapers and magazines would be empty and stale. This also applies to websites. When robust content is added to your website it will help to improve your page ranking and site visitations. Another of the benefits is that you won’t get one-time only site visitors but rather, people who will come back on a consistent basis to read and interact with the new content that has been created.

It’s great that content will dramatically help your visitor acquisitions and retention rates, but what happens if you’re fresh out of ideas and resources? That’s the perfect time to identify online copywriters and content contributors with tried and tested written skills. You’ll need people with industry knowledge, a willingness to learn or some sort of following (i.e. bloggers, columnists or industry experts) because the aim is that they develop compelling content about what you do and how it makes your customers lives better.

Once you realize the benefits of improving the content on your website and are actually able to initiate it, then you can send people to your website in a few different ways. There are different services that are offered on the Internet that can assist you in getting your information out to the general public. One of the ones you can use is www.digg.com, a blog site, which allows you to post articles on their website with a link back to your site. If you really need some inbound links and inexpensive coverage, www.payperpost.com is a fee based system used to hire authors to write articles about your website. www.sitepronews.com offers a slew of actionable information on how to get more traffic to your site the right way, and for the long-term.

Advertising, whether it is for a brick-and-mortar store or an online website, can be one of the highest expenses for a company. This is true whether the company is advertising online or in traditional media. You need to think about a couple of different factors before you decide on the path you want your company to take and determine if it will fit into your budget. You need to have a well thought out plan that has been researched and your company has determined that it is the best course of action for the company.

Let’s take a look at online advertising and review some smart steps to take before your company jumps into the vast opportunity of online advertising.

One of the factors you need to decide on is: will your company create the advertising plan in-house or are you are going to outsource it? If your company already has an advertising department in-house, then you need to determine if they will be able to fulfill your online needs, or whether a new recruit with online experience would more efficiently accomplish your goals.

You might think that advertising is advertising, and it is to some extent, but the way you advertise in traditional media does not typically translate to online. For instance, if one of your traditional methods is local newspaper advertising, and you insert a discount coupon for the first 100 customers, that will not work online because your audience is suddenly global. Even online local newspaper advertisements are going to a larger audience which should be considered when you offer limited or local discounts.

If you’re going to outsource, you’ll want to consider several aspects before you decide on the scale of your project and the size and specialty of the company you will contract with.

Do you need a full-service agency that can handle paid and natural search optimization, vertical search, rich media and viral campaigns or a specialty firm focused on one discipline?  Budget may limit your choices somewhat.

Once you’ve determined the type of firm, interview several companies and once you present your first-stage goals and ideas, ask them how they’d strategize your online advertising campaign. Ask for referrals and talk to their customers with similar budgets. Query the agencies for their perspective and you’ll likely learn a lot in the interview process.

Look for flexibility and a firm that wants their customers to learn along the way. It is also important to remember that there will always be adjustments in your advertising campaign. You’ll need to be flexible too. The online marketplace is growing and morphing rapidly and everyone has to catch up or switch gears at some point.�

When you’re ready to make your decision, keep in mind that budget and shiny new methods are very important, but it’s always wise to align yourself with an agency that captures your vision and shares similar philosophies.  Steer clear of those that operate in a vacuum, expecting you to trust the methods as long as the outcome is profitable. The Internet is one place where word of mouth – both good and bad – spread faster than any other medium.

When you start looking for an online advertising company, there are some websites you can go to that will assist you in asking the questions that will help your business succeed. Some of these are: www.marketingprofs.com (free and inexpensive articles, case studies and seminars for online marketers), www.marketingexperiments.com (for learning what really works), and www.responsys.com (full marketing and email services lifecycle marketing).

Is the touch and feel element of shopping in person really worth the hassle? More consumers responded with their wallets and an implied “not always” by pouring 24% more dollars into online shopping in 2006 compared to the previous year. Interestingly, it would appear that consumers are not only increasingly satisifed with the online shopping experience, they also trust the shipping giants to deliver orders on time, despite tight deadlines, according to a new report by comScore.