5 E-Commerce Marketing Red Flags

Posted on April 17, 2013 by seanhecking — No Comments ↓

Before making costly changes to your e-commerce website, consider a few of the red flags below

Optimizing an e-commerce website can be challenging. As a business owner or designer it’s hard to know what to do next that will have the greatest impact. Should I test a new landing page? Should I add more product description? Should I add a blog or redesign the home page? All of these are potential options but are you addressing the foundation of what makes a good e-commerce website? To help identify what needs the most attention there are five red flags below that should be a cause of concern for any website. If you notice any of these red flags, get a deeper analysis or website audit. An audit will uncover opportunities that can make a big difference, or at the very least help point you in the right direction.

Low Conversion Rates

You’ve noticed while digging into your web analytics that your e-commerce conversion rates seem low. What is a low conversion rate? It depends on your industry but for most e-commerce websites it’s in the 2-5% range. Lower than 1% and you definitely have some issues to address. You now know there is a problem, but what’s the solution?

“Let’s redesign the website!” Redesigning your website just because you have low conversion rates may not be the right solution. Redesigns can be costly and will often be a web design firms’ first reaction since they may not really understand the problem. Make sure you consult one or two experienced digital marketing professionals before giving the go ahead on a redesign. It could save you time and money spent fixing what isn’t broken.

“Let’s lower prices!” There are times when pricing something at $99.00 from $112.00 makes sense to increase orders. The average order value is in the range of $90-100 for US consumers (Source: Monetate E-commerce Report, 2012). Good information to know when pricing your products. Is your pricing structure preventing you from converting visitors?

Customers make a purchase decision on more than just price. Simply lowering prices may have a short term gain but consider the long term impact of conditioning your customers into seeing less value in your brand than they did before. Don’t get in the trap of lowering your prices to be the lowest. It’s a slippery slope.

“Let’s run a giveaway!” Make sure you are delivering value in other ways than just price, freebies or deep discounts. You may be less expensive than one of your competitors but is that competing website easier to use? If the answer is yes, lowering your price will not solve the problem. Help your customers solve problems through engaging content. Great content is another way to provide value and help justify a higher price.

It’s hard to say what may be causing low conversion rates but there may be a few metrics to consider. Make sure to review your search engine visitors. Do your search visits have a high bounce rate? Are you driving low quality visitors to your site? Are you running any new display ad or email campaigns? The website may not be your problem if the quality of your visitors is low. Low quality visitors typically leave your website quickly and rarely make a purchase. Look at each channel to make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck.

Slow Load Time

Most E-commerce website owners and web design firms have high speed internet connections and forget not everyone can access their website in the same way. Many mobile devices and tablets run on 3G networks that are often slower than broadband connections. A website that takes 2 seconds to load on a desktop PC with broadband could take 4-6 seconds to load on a slower connection. Search engines also like to see websites that load quickly and provide a positive browsing experience.

Check a few page speed tools to see how fast you website loads, you may be surprised how slow some of your web pages load. Slow page load time can really hurt conversion rates. No one wants to wait more than 2-3 seconds for a page to load. Have your SEO consultant run a few page speed reports to see where you stand.

Visitor Source Diversity

Take a peek at your web analytics reports again. Do you see a majority of your visitors coming from one source? Having most of your visitors coming from one source is a major red flag. If your website relies heavily on Google organic search for example, it may be time to explore other digital marketing channels.

A major downside of having more than 90% of your visitors coming from one source is when that source makes changes, and Google does this frequently, you feel the positive or negative impact of those changes more than you should. Get in touch with a marketing firm to help you evaluate other advertising channels to help diversify your visitor mix.

Social Media Activity

Social media may be relatively new compared to other marketing channels like email, search engines and online advertising but that doesn’t mean it should be ignored. Social media activity is growing at an exponential rate. Mobile web users for Facebook grew 85% year over year, Twitter 140% and Pinterest grew 4,225% (Source: Nielsen Social Media Study 2012).

It’s clear social media is becoming a more prominent digital marketing channel. The strategy of passive social media activity misses out on potential gains in followers and influence. Customers only have enough time to follow so many brands or people. If you’re not part of their circle now or in the near future, it will become more difficult over time. With each passing week, there is more and more noise in social media which makes it harder to get followed. Take action today to make sure you don’t miss a wave of new customers. Don’t get obsessed with ROI when it comes to social. Social is an early stage introducer in the buying cycle and unless you are frequently running discounts or tweeting coupon codes, social will not have a lot of direct orders.

No Goal Tracking

By default, most analytics packages will show you visitors, search engine activity and more. With a little configuration you can see online orders, landing page goal conversions and more. Make sure you are tracking all the potential conversion points. Start tracking PDF downloads, email clicks, video views and more. These are important engagement metrics that a package like Google Analytics can help you track. You don’t need expensive analytics or automation software if you have the right tracking in place.

If you have some or all of these issues it’s worth talking to a digital marketing firm or consultant to have your program evaluated. A consultant will review your Google Analytics reports to see what’s missing and what needs added. They can help you create a budget for each marketing channel, plan and test. If you’re interested in learning more about e-commerce optimization, please contact us.

Posted in ecommerce, seo, social media marketing

10 SEO Tactics to Avoid in 2013

Posted on December 26, 2012 by seanhecking — 1 Comment ↓

We live in a very different search marketing world going into 2013 than we did at the end of 2011. Just think about all the changes that have happened in 2012. Google’s changes alone are enough to make your head spin.

Google launches Penguin to fight web spam link building tactics and over optimization
Google launches Panda updates #10 through #23 to their core algorithm in 2012, one of the most active years ever in search
Google’s 7 result SERP (search engine result page)
Mobile search advertising click growth of 339% year over year (2012 Q3 State of Paid Search Report)
Google’s average CPC or cost-per-click fell 10% (Adobe 2012 report)
Mobile clicks will account for roughly 25% of all visits from Google in 2013 (Searchenginewatch.com)
Google’s Venice update which localized organic results on broad search queries

New Year, Same Old Tactics?

It’s clear that we need to rethink how we approach search marketing in 2013. The same old tactics and the same approach simply will not work. After some thought, I’ve put together a list of the top 10 tactics to avoid going into the new year.

“Overuse of keywords can make Google crabby.”

SEO Tactics to Avoid in 2013

1. Keyword stuffing

Do I need to explain why this is a bad thing? If someone asked you where to find a good seafood restaurant in town, would you tell them “Go to the crab house crab restaurant near the beach, you’ll find crab on sale crab cakes all you can eat crab”? Overuse of keywords can make Google crabby.

2. META tags

If you’re doing anything with META tags these days other than optimizing them for click through performance, you’re likely causing more problems than making improvements. META tags will have little impact on search this year other than improving clicks to your website. Think of these like you would pay-per-click ad copy, make changes over time to see how they impact your overall clicks.

3. Over optimized web pages

There was a day when keywords in your URLs, titles and headings had a very positive impact to your search visibility. While it’s good to have some keywords in your page names and URLs, don’t over optimize those URLs and headings with long strings of keywords. Again, don’t repeat yourself too many times.

4. Website Directories

Avoid self proclaimed “SEO Friendly” directories for building links. For a long time (most of the 2000s) getting your website listed in various web directories meant positive results for your SEO campaign. Have a real plan in place to attract links and visitors. Few people use these directories today which translates into few visits from these websites. Beyond a handful of the major directories, most are a waste of money and time.

5. Blogging for SEO

Zzzzzz. Boring blogs for the sake of SEO will have little or no impact. If you’re running a blog and have nothing interesting to say or share, don’t waste your time. If your blog doesn’t generate followers in social media or generate links from other websites it will likely have little impact on your results. Focus on creating unique and engaging content for readers. Use content to help build a brand and attract new customers. Use content to truly help people and you will be rewarded with incoming visitors and sales.

6. Dismissing mobile search

Mobile search is for real, folks. Take a look at your web analytics and see how many people visit your website from tablets and smart phones. It’s likely that number is somewhere between 10-30% and growing each month. I’m not saying that you need to focus all your energy on mobile visitors but you should have a mobile strategy in place to address the potential positive and negative impact mobile has on your website. Now is the time to start testing campaigns in mobile to learn more about your customers.

7. Not having time for social media

There’s always room for social media. When it comes to investing in online marketing often social media can take a back seat to traditional SEO, email marketing and general web design updates. Don’t let time and cost be an issue for getting your social media campaign started. With each Google update, we’ve seen more emphasis placed on social signals. The sooner you start your campaign, the farther ahead your team and company will be relative to competitors. It’s much more expensive to play catch up than it is to lead the way. The cost of marketing a business will only be greater in the future so plan and act now.

8. Traditional on page SEO

When I say “traditional SEO” what I really mean is search engine optimization as we knew it in 2005. In 2005 you would add lots of keyword rich copy to your website, move headings and other elements around the page to see what gives you the best rankings. On page optimization is starting to have less impact than it did just a few years ago. Unless you’re just starting a new business or e-commerce website, re-optimizing your on-page optimization will have little impact on search results in 2013.

9. Keyword rankings

To know where you stand in search engines, keywords are a good start but don’t focus on keywords alone. Keywords can be used as a guide and not an absolute measure of your campaign’s success. Are you improving your conversion rate while growing visitors? Are you targeting keywords based simply on volume projections? These are all questions you should ask when starting a campaign.

10. Loco for local

By not having a local search listing you are potentially missing out on local organic search results. An optimized Google+ local listing will also help you improve your placement among competitors.

Posted in blog marketing, ecommerce, seo, social media marketing

If You’re Not First, You’re… OK

Posted on November 29, 2012 by seanhecking — No Comments ↓

You’ve heard it from Ricky Bobby and other sports figures, “if you’re not first, you’re last.” Who really wants to finish second in sports? There is no super bowl trophy for the runner-up. We’re driven to be the best and shoot for the stars! These are all great competitive attributes when it comes to sports, business and almost every part of life. There are few times when being second, third, fourth or even fifth means anything.

Beware Those #1 in Google Claims

Contrary to what you may hear in marketing circles, being first for a given keyword in Google is not always the best use of time, money or effort. Companies will dig through keyword reports to identify those top 3-5 keywords where they must rank #1 in Google. Search engine optimization has a bad rap due to SEOs who clout #1 rankings or claim they will get you to the top in 30 days. These SEOs are the snake-oil salesmen of search and often churn through clients looking to grow their business quickly. The truth is, search takes time, there are no quick and easy ways to go from nowheresville to page 1. Search marketing goals should be measured in months and years and not weeks or days. SEO or SEM shouldn’t be the only marketing channels you use to drive visitors and sales to your website.

The Long Tail of SEO

Keywords are a great start to your search marketing campaign. It’s hard to know what your target audience is looking for without a good mix of potential keywords. What a keyword list leaves out is all the variations of that keyword and what’s called “the long tail” of search. When you first start optimizing a website you tend to see longer 3-5 word phrases appear before you see the 1-2 word keywords.

1-2 word keywords drive lots of search volume but may not be the highest converting or best keyword to own for your business. Reaching #1 in Google for that 1-2 word keyword may be throwing money at a low ROI target. Anyone who tells you should target a 1 word keyword or they’ll get you to #1 for a 1 word keyword should be looked at with skepticism.

Being #1 is Expensive in AdWords

In the Google AdWords pay-per-click marketing world, being #1 can drive lots of clicks but can be very expensive. Often searchers will click on the first result they see, the #1 listing in paid search, without giving much thought or reading the ad copy. This often results in a ton of high cost clicks to your website where the visitors have a high bounce rate. Not a great combination if you have a limited budget and need to get ROI on your ad dollars.

Shoot for Page 1

Organic keyword rankings these days are not achieved by building a ton of low quality directory links, comment spamming blogs or buying links from other websites. All of these will get you in some really hot water with Google if it doesn’t follow their quality guidelines. Beware of any SEOs that use link building schemes to get results. The results they get will be very short lived and could get your website filtered out of search results completely like many business owners experienced during the Penguin update in April 2012.

Make sure your search marketing program and any SEO consultant you work with has a long term vision and strategy to getting you results. Again, to get where you need to be in search is going to take a lot of work. If you’re just starting a website it could take many months, perhaps 1 or 2 years, before you begin to own page 1 results for a few of your target keywords. Don’t get discouraged, just be realistic about your short term goals.

Google Ain’t No Dummy!

Google is smart and getting smarter about who they list in organic search results. Brands typically are not built over night, Google knows this. Once your company has earned quality links and earned social media shares, then you will see your online business take off. There will be much rejoicing! Maybe even a trip to Applebee’s to celebrate?

Posted in seo, social media marketing

5 Signs Your Twitter Was Hacked

Posted on October 24, 2012 by seanhecking — No Comments ↓

It’s 10:30 on a Tuesday night and you’re watching The Office re-runs when you get an email from one of your friends with the dreaded line “hey, I think your Twitter was hacked.” Your friend got a DM (or direct message) in their Twitter account from you but it’s not from you. Instantly you’re filled with thoughts of embarrassment, fear and anxiety but the problem is very common. What to do next?

Luckily there are a few good resources on the web covering tips on how to get your Twitter back in order. It’s important to know the warning signs your account has been tampered with. Below are a few signs your Twitter account or someone else’s may have been compromised by a hacker.

Don’t Click That Link!

#1 Hack Example:

“LOL… I am laughing so hard at this photo someone uploaded of me bit.ly/oAjsj3″

Your DM sounds like it was written by a teenager
Using LOL in the message is a giveaway there’s something fishy afoot
A URL shortening link like Bit.ly is commonly used but can be a red flag
Don’t click that link!

#2 Hack Example:

“I lost 12 pounds in 14 days. Take a look bit.ly/oAjsj3″

Wow, my best friend lost 12 pounds in only 14 days. I’ve got to see this! Hold up. Weight loss tweets are a giveaway your friend’s account is on the fritz. Don’t click that link!

#3 Hack Example:

“Allow me to share this incredible opportunity bit.ly/oAjsj3″

Sound too good to be true? Don’t click that link!

#4 – Strange Apps:

You notice some strange apps in your Twitter settings you don’t remember installing. Better uninstall those!

#5 – Dramatic Increase or Decrease in Followers:

If your account starts following 100s of new people or you are losing followers in large numbers, you might have been hacked.

How to fix?

Twitter Spam Resources:

Ok, so it’s time to fix. Below are some resources to help you get your Twitter account back in order.

Has Your Twitter Account Been Hacked? Here’s How to Fix it.
My Twitter has been hacked
7 steps to fix your Twitter

Happy Twittering.

Posted in social media marketing, twitter

A Newb’s Impression of Pubcon 2012

Posted on October 19, 2012 by seanhecking — No Comments ↓

Pubcon Las Vegas is an annual summit of search and social media professionals, business leaders and internet marketing experts from all over the globe. This year’s conference was my first, making me a Pubcon newb. Going into the event I didn’t know what to expect but did my best to narrow down which sessions to attend.

The sessions included topics such as Google+, social media and SEO, interactive website reviews and e-commerce tactics. Many sessions had high level overviews of strategy but some went into a deep dive of tactics used to better market your website.

Below are just a handful of sessions I attended and some of the takeaways for each. If you missed the conference (shame on you!), please comment below or contact me and I’d be happy to share my thoughts or answer any questions. You can also follow me on Twitter @seanhecking

Social Signals Effect on Search

This was the first session I attended at Pubcon and was lead by Marcus Tober, Rob Garner, Carolyn Shelby. Much of it focused on recent ranking influence tests in Google as of October 2012 and compared that data to a similar test in March of 2012. Some of the session highlights include;

Inbound link anchor text is becoming less important in how links impact your rankings
Google+ is having a bigger impact on search
A Google +1 can get your web pages indexed in minutes rather than hours or days
Pinterest and Google Chrome do not appear to have an impact on indexing
Facebook shares in large numbers do have an impact on indexing and rankings
Google AuthorRank is growing, currently 1% of search results
Facebook is working on a search engine that could have 1/5 of search market share

Overall a great session on social and search. It’s clear Google is headed in the direction of using social signals as a ranking factor with each major update. Facebook’s search engine will give marketers another channel to consider and may shift some of their focus to optimizing for Facebook.

E-commerce Product & Non-Product Pages

Two sessions in one lead by Bryan Eisenberg and Jeffrey Eisenberg. The sessions on e-commerce optimization offered many helpful tips on improving customer experience and growing sales. Lots of great tips on improving websites including;

Better images generally help improve conversions
Product videos work well in testing
Longer product descriptions also help, don’t just use what manufacturers provide
Free shipping is a powerful tool
Provide alternative payment options
Lists of 3 and 5 generally work well for shoppers

A/B and Multivariate Testing

One of the better sessions of the week covered page testing and optimization lead by John Marshall, Tim Mayer, Chris Goward, Jason Cooper. This session helped dispel some of the myths of testing and provided tips on how to get the most out of your tests. Some main points of this session included;

Careful when using bounce rate for your navigational pages, the home page and category pages may not be weighted correctly in Google Analytics
Don’t measure just on bounce rate and conversion rate, there are many factors
Avoid distractions and too many options for users
Reduce buyer anxiety
Website performance/speed can effect your conversions and search engine rankings
Be aggressive when testing, don’t waste time with too many small changes

Low Risk High Reward Link Building

Link building has come under fire in 2012 with the recent Google Penguin updates sending many websites southward in rankings due to low quality or over optimized links. The session was lead by Russ Jones, Dixon Jones, Greg Hartnett, David Klein. Some highlights from the session include;

Buy a book on writing, learn how to write well to help build more links
Build long term authority with search engines, a small one or two paragraph article will not do
Use videos when possible to build links
Bloggers (especially women bloggers) build the most links
Brainstorm and build/contact lists of “connectors” to help amplify your content
Well researched and longer blog posts/articles provide more opportunity to gain links

More Takeaways…

Google Disavow Link Tool – Matt Cutts from Google announced a new disavow link tool in Google Webmaster Tools to remove any unwanted spam websites linking to your website. It appears this tool may take several weeks for the link’s negative impact to be removed from your site.
People are the New Links – Individuals and their social media circles will be important to your website than individual links from web pages. Google AuthorRank will become a more important ranking factor in the future so be prepared.
Don’t Gamble with Shortcuts – There are no shortcuts to good optimization and marketing. Building your authority online takes many months, even years.

Final Thoughts

Pubcon Las Vegas 2012 was a great experience. I hope to return next year to learn more search and social strategies from the pros. What I found most remarkable about Pubcon is how accessible and friendly everyone was at the conference. I met lots of great people who were willing to share their insights and philosophy about the business. Some were new to the game and some had many years of experience since the early days of the internet.

If you have any questions or just want to learn more about ways to improve your online marketing, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Posted in search trends, seo, social media marketing

5 Social Media Link Building Tips

Posted on September 4, 2012 by seanhecking — No Comments ↓

Following celebrities is usually not the best path for social media influence

Social media is all the rage these days. Everyone from Katie Couric to Howard Stern is only a tweet away. Though celebrities have embraced Twitter, many people still do not completely understand how and why social is used for marketing. Most people associate Twitter with celebrities and news channels. For the most part, people who signed up for Twitter understand it can be used to stay up to date on the lastest news and trends.

4% of tweets are… news to me

With 140,000,000 users as of March 2012 on Twitter following all these news updates, only about 4% of tweets qualify as “news” according to Pear Analytics. 78% is pure conversation and babble. It appears much of what happens on Twitter would be a waste of time for marketers, right? Well, not entirely.

“Link” building becomes a four letter word

Going into 2011, link building was where much of a search engine marketer’s time was spent. Companies that performed SEO would focus on gaining hundreds of links back to their client’s website with the goal of gaining keyword rankings in Google. This strategy worked well, sometimes really well. In 2012 Google rolled out “Penguin” to fight spammy link building tactics and began to place slightly more value on social “signals” as a ranking factor for content. What this means is having links alone to your website with no social activity will have less impact than if you had shares and retweets.

Twitter… with a side of spam

Use Quantcast to explore your audience

Since link spam was so prevalent before Penguin, SEO’s could get results by simply creating hundreds of links to mediocre articles and web pages. Now there is more focus on creating engaging content that is more likely to get shared in social media. There is spam on Twitter for sure but search engines are (or should become) better at detecting spam in social. All it takes is for a Twitter account to be reported by the community as spam for the account to be removed.

5 tips for building links with social media

Getting links is still an important factor for improving your SEO. Getting linked to through social media is no easy task but if you take a strategic approach you should have some success over time. I’ve provided some tips below that should help you gain more earned links over time.

Create Engaging Content (shocker) - Unique copy, attractive images and video are all great ways to get shared and linked to in social media. Test different ways to present content and see what works for your audience. Tools like Quantcast are great for a high level view of who visits your website.
Timely Posts - Are you tweeting or sharing something on Facebook that’s been shared hundreds of times 2 months ago? It’s likely the sharing train has left the station and you missed it. If you find something interesting posted in the last few days or a hidden gem that hasn’t been shared due to poor promotion, when is the best time to share? Based on my experience, the 8:30am-10am EST and 11:30am-1pm EST time slots are key to getting your tweets or posts shared. You’ll hit most folks on the east coast in the morning and folks on the west coast & east coast during the 11:30am-1pm EST. Again, it’s always a good idea to test what times and days work best for your audience.
Share Hidden Gems – You would be surprised how much good content never makes it to the twitter-sphere (if that’s a word). Finding these hidden gems with Google keyword searches can turn up really interesting articles. You’ll position your social content as unique and “hard to find”, adding value to whom ever follows you. Hidden gems can also provide more shares for when you post your own content.
Follow the Less-Followed – If you’re trying to build influence, following celebrities or mass media networks may not be the best way to get your message heard. Even if you re-post or re-tweet content for these folks, you’ll likely get ignored. A good strategy would be to follow people who have some influence but haven’t reached 50,000 likes/followers or appeared on any red carpets.
Be Yourself – When I first joined Facebook and Twitter I was a little shy when it came to voicing my opinion or sharing my ideas. I’ve noticed over time it becomes much easier to just be yourself. Just like face to face networking, it’s often best just to be yourself. Everyone may not like what you have to say but does it matter? Care about the people who will listen to you and share what you have to say.

Posted in link building, seo, social media marketing

5 Pinterest Tips for Ecommerce

Posted on August 1, 2012 by seanhecking — No Comments ↓

The social bookmarking site Pinterest has become more and more popular in 2011 and now ranks among the top social media sites. Many ecommerce site owners are left scratching their heads, “this is great but how do I use Pinterest for my online store?”.

MDG Advertising put together an excellent video of why businesses should be using Pinterest. While most of the data is up to January of 2012, it shows the impact this social media tool has had in the past couple years.

Pinterest v Digg

The chart below shows just how fast Pinterest has grown in terms of popularity among web users. The rate of adoption is staggering when compared to similar bookmarking and social sharing sites like Digg.

Digg was recently purchased and redesigned this year and now resembles a combination of a news site and Pinterest. It will be interesting to see what happens to Digg over time with all the changes this year.

Pinterest Ecommerce Tips

If you own an ecommerce site and you’re considering using Pinterest for marketing, below are 5 tips to help you get started.

1. Set up your profile

Lowes may be one of the best examples of an ecommerce site effectively using Pinterest. Lowes uses a fun version of their logo and simple tagline. They also include links to their website and connected their page to twitter. To get started, simply sign up using an existing Twitter or Facebook account. I recommend setting these up as well to get the most out of social media and Pinterest.

2. Set up your boards

Pinterest “boards” act much like product categories do in ecommerce. Use fun category names that loosely relate to your brand and products. It’s also a good idea to include a few SEO keywords in your board name since the board will likely rank in search engines. I recommend not going too far with keywords since it could be a road block to getting your pins re-pinned and growing followers.

3. “Pin it” browser bookmark, mobile app & more

Make it easy to keep up with pinning your boards by installing the bookmark link on your browser. Also install the Pinterest mobile app to pin on the go. “Pin it” buttons and sharing icons also help visitors to your products and articles share this content with their followers for those who don’t have the browser bookmark.

4. Product pinning

When pinning a product, make sure to include the price of the product. By adding a “$” and price “99.99″, your product will now have an corner price overlay on each pinned image that includes the price you enter. This is especially helpful for ecommerce sites looking to include special offers or deals on products. This can be done by creating a board called “deals”, then adding those deals to that board.

5. Good images

Remember to use good quality images of anything you pin. High quality and unique images are more likely to get re-pinned. It important if you’re adding your own products as pins that your ecommerce site have quality images that are more likely to get shared. Don’t be afraid to repin other cool products unless they are a direct competitor. Find similar niche products to pin that may interest your shoppers.

+6. Have fun

Pinning can be fun and a great way to meet new and interesting people. Best of luck and happy pinning!

Posted in pinterest, social media marketing

New Era of SEO

Posted on May 21, 2012 by seanhecking — No Comments ↓

As many of you may already have read, Google recently updated their algorithm in late April 2012. The change, called “Penguin”, has impacted high ranking websites and even helped some sites improve in rankings. This has left many business owners and companies wondering “why did this happen” and “how do I get my rankings back?”. To help explain why some sites fell and why other sites improved, lets look at the why search engines change their algorithms.

Quality – Search engines like Google are always trying to improve the quality of their search listings. They understand the practice of SEO exists so they are constantly looking for ways to stay one step ahead of activities used to alter search rankings that can impact quality. To do this search engines must find signals other than keywords and web page copy to determine which sites to list on page one. This is why the quality of your incoming links and social media engagement are becoming a bigger part of how search engines determine rankings.

Pssst… No More Secrets – To stay ahead of SEOs trying to alter results, search engines like Google keep the method of ranking sites somewhat a mystery. General best practices are common to many SEOs but the difference between ranking #12 and #7 for a given keyword may come down to a few secrets only known by experienced search marketers. The days of these secrets having a 3-5 spot listing impact on a site may be numbered. Industry secrets are starting to have less of an impact on search rankings which makes a truly engaging user experience all that more important.

Subject Matter Matters – For years SEOs have used traditional link building tactics, copy writing and keywords to optimize for a given keyword. While it is important to have some keywords strategically placed on your site, keywords alone will begin to have less impact. Google has already figured out what your site is generally about and even knows other keyword terms related to your site. Search engines are looking for sites that create great content around a given subject matter and have shared content within a community (read: social media).

It will be interesting to see what new changes appear in the coming months but it’s clear things are headed in a new direction. What do you think will be the next major shift by Google?

Posted in search-engine-optimization, seo, social media marketing

Online Marketing Predictions for 2012

Posted on January 3, 2012 by seanhecking — No Comments ↓

Location Apps Find Their Place

This is one that’s been talked about for years but is now starting to become a reality. Foursquare has become more popular, as have many other location based apps. According to Ad Age, more online adults became familiar with location apps (from 16% in 2010 to 30% in 2011). Location apps will become more wide spread with customers looking to take advantage of loyalty rewards and special offers used by marketers to drive foot traffic to stores.

Gone in a Flash

Adobe Flash animation, once a must have on every home page, will become obsolete as older versions of Internet Explorer (IE8 & IE7) begin to fade. With growing adoption of the iPad tablet, which does not support Flash, many publishers will opt for HTML5 to deliver interactive content for the web and mobile devices.

Social CMS Websites

New content management tools and software will continue to gain in popularity as website owners look to get more out of their investment. Tools that help companies integrate their social media presence with their website will continue to grow. Companies that use these tools will look to leverage Facebook, Twitter and other social media channels to grow their brand. Tools like PHP Fox and Social Engine will help site owners grow loyalty and improve customer service.

SEO Content Strategy Trumps Tactics

A mid-2011 report from SEMPO and Econsultancy notes a decline in SEO spending and an increase in Social Media spending during the same period. With social media taking more of the investment pie, online marketers will need to set a SEO strategy that focuses on social media. With much of social media results coming from good content, marketers will need to continue to place more emphasis on generating quality content people want to share on Twitter and Facebook. Simply adding keywords to pages and building a handful of links will fail to get results.

Mobile App Marketing Takes Off

To have real staying power in search engines and social media, content will require links, tweets, likes, etc. Content like info graphics and videos will still have an impact, but marketers will need to find ways to make the content more engaging. As more content viewing shifts from websites to apps, marketers will look to take advantage of mobile/tablet apps to gain the most exposure. Fisher-Price is doing a great job with their mobile app marketing efforts to support their products.

What are some of the online marketing trends you see in 2012 that will have the biggest impact?

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