• The Best Active is Proactive When it Comes to Search Marketing

    February 24, 2012 From: Erin Hughes

    One thing search engine marketers know for sure is that search engine algorithms, processes and features will continue to evolve as the needs and expectations of its users do. Over time, search engines have optimized their own performance – they have become smarter, faster, more robust, and continue to offer new options for users searching for information. Given the dynamic nature of search engines, how successful we are in our search marketing strategies and sustaining client relationships is largely dependent on how we approach our craft.

    The Reactive Approach (Avoid as much as possible.)
    Often times search marketers approach an organic search strategy like we would a human maze at the state fair. We enter through the starting gate and follow a path until we run into a dead end. Once we hit a dead end—we stand still for a minute—scratch our heads and attempt to figure out a different path to help us successfully exit. While this reactive approach can work—it’s clunky, it doesn’t always sit right with clients, and it’s not indicative of subject matter expertise.

    Our clients (internally and externally), who invest significant time and resources into developing an organic search strategy, expect us to not only follow search engine best practices, but to be ahead of them.

    The Proactive Approach (Pick me, pick me!)
    While it’s impossible to always be ahead of every search engine change, we can position ourselves in such a way that mitigates their impact to our strategy and clients. Let’s return to the human maze analogy. What if, upon entrance to the maze, we received a map that showed us the way forward? What if search engines gave us a map to help us navigate their maze? Believe it or not, they have.

    When I switched careers from Web designer to search engine marketer, I knew nothing about organic search. I thought I did, but in reality I had no clue. To get my feet wet, I read through Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. All these years later, while so much has changed, two of Google’s most important quality guidelines have stayed the same:

    1. Make pages primarily for users, not for search engines
    2. Avoid tricks intended to improve search engine rankings

    I have found that, for the most part, Google only makes changes when it believes change can improve the customer experience. While some may argue how successful Google has been in some of its “improvement” hypotheses, I believe Google’s intent has remained consistent. If search marketers take to heart the notion of building for users and not for search engines, we’ve then essentially adapted a proactive mindset.

    What This Means:
    In a blog post by Rand Fishkin of SEOMoz, “How Google’s Panda Update Changed SEO Best Practices Forever – Whiteboard Friday,” Rand shares his thoughts on the term SEO becoming obsolete because SEO has evolved into so much more than just traditional organic search. And in order to be successful in search results, we have to adapt the mindset of a web strategist or inbound/performance marketer. This means that we have to evolve past the mental paradigm of SEO and broaden our skill set to include a meaningful understanding of:

    • User Experience Design
    • Information Architecture
    • Creative Concepts
    • Creative Copywriting
    • A/B and Multivariate Testing
    • Accessibility Guidelines
    • Web Analytics
    • Social Media Integration
    • Consumer Linguistics

    The bottom line is that Google generates revenue when its search results are high quality and useful to its users. That doesn’t mean just the search result on the search results page is quality and useful, but the entire customer journey is successful as well. If you are building your Web experiences and digital assets with overall quality and utility in mind, then you are already on the right path.

    Original blog post on www.conductor.com.

  • Automated SEO Is Not The Solution

    October 7, 2011 From: Adam Dince

    Written By:

    Over the past few years, I’ve heard several pitches from SEO automation companies who swear that their product is the ultimate solution.  And while some are very impressive and provide decent intelligence, there ain’t all that much difference between em’.  I’ve also had the opportunity to use a few of the top SEO automation tools in practice, and while somewhat helpful, I wouldn’t rely on them, on their own, to get me through a client engagement. 

    Then came an article on AdAge.com titled “As Growth of Search Marketing Slows, Agencies Change Tack”.  One of the most bothersome statements in the article was,

    “Pure search agencies are up against a wider swath of agencies that can buy technology to set up shop. Even some clients are licensing that technology themselves to handle search in-house.”

    Monkey on a computer

    Anyone can train a monkey to use the various automated SEO software tools out there, but you can’t train them to think critically.  If all you plan on doing is following recommendations from an automated tool, I’ll take you on any day!  As I’ve said and written many times before (as have many others), SEO is both an art and a science.  You can’t automate that!  Think about it, ultimately, if everyone uses the same tools and follows the same cookie cutter recommendations from automated reports, who wins?  I’ll tell you who wins, the brands and agencies that use people like me.  I’m not saying that these automated tools can’t be helpful.  With some of the good tools, you can quickly identify issues like

    • Keywords that have significant upward and downward movement
    • Meta-data that are too long or don’t contain keywords
    • Duplicated meta-data
    • Some high-level technical obstacles possibly preventing search engines from accessing your Website or pages
    • How competitors are doing in comparison to you and very high-level tactics to help gain ground on them

    Using SEO automation tools as a reference is ideal and is smart.  What’s not wise is leaning solely on these tools as the answer to being competitive in organic search.  These tools cannot help you:

    • Intimately understand a Website from a search perspective
    • Identify usability issues
    • Identify areas for information architecture improvements
    • Articulate different strategies depending on technology and enterprise constraints
    • Thoroughly use social media to boost organic search visibility, performance and CRM
    • Develop important relationships with bloggers, writers, publishers and key influencers
    • Explain many of the slick SEO strategies your competitors employ
    • When you’re meeting with stakeholders who are asking questions that a standard report can’t answer (which is more often the case than not)

    Last year, Google changed their algorithm over 500 times and sometimes twice a day.  http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/another-look-under-hood-of-search.html.  As Rand Fishkin stated in one of his great Google Panda posts,

    “Virtually everything you do on the Internet with your website can impact SEO today. That is especially true following Panda. The things that they are measuring is not, oh, these sites have better links than these sites. Some of these sites, in fact, have much better links than these sites. Some of these sites have what you and I might regard, as SEOs, as better content, more unique, robust, quality content, and yet, people, quality raters in particular, like them less or the things, the signals that predict that quality raters like those sites less are present in those types of sites.”

    One last note about Rand and SEOmoz.  Most of the automated SEO tools out there use SEOmoz data to power their results.  I highly highly recommend using SEOmoz as a solution for automation.  It’s affordable, smart, and in the right hands can provide awesome intelligence.

    But I digress… Real SEO is not a commodity as some in the digital space have suggested as of late.  Real SEO is not something that can be replicated by automation.  Real SEO is not just thinking about keywords and meta-data.  Much like doctors studying medicine to help patients… Real SEO is what’s practiced by experts who have dedicated their careers to understand code, content, brands, search engine algorithms and user preference.

    One of my math professors in college used to say to us,

    “If you’re going to use a calculator, you better be prepared to explain to me how you would solve for the problem without it.  That’s the only way to truly understand mathematics.  If you’re given a word problem, a calculator isn’t going to help unless you truly understand the question.”

    In conclusion… use tools… use as many of them as you can afford.  But it’s not wise to think that these tools can replace someone who truly understands search.  The Force without a Jedi Knight is just a BSO… bright shiny object.

  • Want To Be A Social Influencer?

    September 21, 2011 From: Adam Dince

    Written By:

    Have you ever known someone that’s the “go-to” person when you’ve needed information on a particular subject?  Or how about someone who is so knowledgeable and passionate about a topic that they inspire you to feel the same?

    A good friend of mine in Arizona, John, is a car aficionado.  He’s a walking Kelly Blue Book and car encyclopedia.  John loves cars—it’s his passion—and it’s inspiring.  When I first moved to Phoenix, I was a new college graduate, making very little money.  I was stuck driving an old beat-up Toyota Corolla that would have never gotten past the Arizona DMV inspection.  I desperately needed a new car, but I wasn’t making enough money nor had I been working in one place long enough to get financed for a reliable vehicle.  Then I met John.  John is so influential within the auto community, that he was able to make a few phone calls and get me into a brand new Nissan Sentra.  It was the first new car I ever owned.

    Over the years, John and I became good friends and we often talked about cars.  I was never a “car guy,” but John turned me into one.  Because of John, I became passionate about sports cars, driving fast, and wanted to be more like him.  As I began to grow in my career and started making better money, I was able to afford nicer things.  And what I wanted more than anything was brand new Ford Mustang convertible.  On a Saturday afternoon, I wandered into a Ford dealership and fell in love with a beautiful black top, red Mustang with tinted windows.  I knew I had to have that car. After a few frustrating hours of going back and forth with the sales guy on the price, I walked out of the showroom, called Johnny and asked for his help.  John said,

    Adam, while you’re sitting with the sales guy, call another dealership—tell them what you’re being offered, and I bet you’ll get them both into a bidding war.

    So, I did it, and it worked.  I got the car at $5,000 less than the sticker price.  On top of that, I landed gap insurance and was able to extend my 3 year 30,000 mile warranty to a 5 year 100,000 mile warranty for no extra charge.

    The reason why I tell this story, is because we can learn a lot about becoming a social influencer from John.  Being a social influencer isn’t about automatic tweets, buying sponsored placements in social networks or gaming algorithms.  In my humble opinion, that’s all hogwash.  To me, being a social influencer means being considered both an online and offline trusted subject matter expert and being someone that people feel comfortable reaching out to.  It’s about being someone like Johnny.

    It’s a Gift

    I believe that people who are naturally gifted at socializing and networking in real life have the potential to be the most socially influential people on the Web.  Why?  Because they’ve got that “it” factor.  Some people are cut out to be powerful social influencers and others aren’t.  Let me tell you, I’ve sung my share of Van Halen tunes at Karaoke.  Will I ever be a David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar?  Not a chance.

    It’s Not Preachy

    Being a social influencer involves the art of communicating your knowledge and passion in a personal way.  We as people don’t like to be talked at or talked to, we don’t like impersonal messages, and we don’t like know-it-alls.  We like to connect with people who we can relate to and make us feel like we’re part of the community.

    Give your opinion and share your thoughts, but do it in a way that attracts people.

    It’s About Having a Point of View

    When I was asked to write for this blog, I was a bit apprehensive.  I said, “I don’t know if it’s wise.  I mean, I’m pretty opinionated and I don’t want to attract any negative attention to MRM from those that would disagree.”  Our General Manager, Mark Singer gave back some great coaching and said:

    “Don’t worry about being controversial.  It’s important to have a point of view no matter who does or doesn’t agree with it.”

    I’ve adopted that philosophy and have started blogging regularly for MRM, which helped lift my visibility within MRM and the IPG family of agencies.  So, speak your mind and get over your self-doubt.

    It’s About Quality Over Quantity

    It’s okay to ask people to read your content and to pass it on if it passes the smell test.  But ask politely and try to make it a personal request.  Also, please-please-please don’t beg for PR.  Teddy Roosevelt coined the phrase, “If you build it, they will come”.  I believe that to be the case in becoming a social influencer.  Put your wallets away and save your money on buying perceived equity.  If you’re putting out smart, sexy and engaging content, if you’ve got personality, if you’ve got a point of view, if you stay on point, and you distribute your content correctly, in time you’ll organically generate a following; thus leading you to a high quantity of quality followers without even asking.

    It’s About Having a Findable Repository of Content

    It’s one thing to tweet, share, comment, and participate in social networks.  It’s another thing to build a library of content that people can refer to when they need information.  In other words, have a place where you can show off your thought leadership.  I highly recommend creating a blog and keeping it up to date.  I also recommend socializing your content through Twitter, Facebook, G+, social communities, etc…

    Also, optimize your blog and its content for organic search.  When people look for information, they use search engines so it’s important to be findable.  On top of traditional SEO, integrate social functionality on your site that allows readers to socialize your content throughout the Web.  Finally, show your blog visitors that you’ve got people that read and trust your content.   Throw a Twitter and/or Facebook widget on your site that displays those who are following and/or like you.  If people enjoy reading your content, trust its legitimacy, and it’s easy to share, you’ll find that your work gets distributed to a variety of social places.  This amplification can and will lead to your success as a social influencer.

    I recently ran into someone who said, “Hey, I really enjoy reading your blog!”  I said, “You read my blog?”  And she said, “Yes! Of course I do!”  What a great compliment!

    It’s Organic

    Let’s be real folks… Rome wasn’t built in a day.  It takes time to become a thought leader and social influencer—the question is, is “Do you have the heart to stick it out?”  There are a lot of similarities between social media and organic search (SEO).  One of those similarities is that most of the time, results aren’t instant.  You’ve got to give it time and give your “brand” a chance to build up equity within the community.  Keep focused, keep on rockin’ it and in time, you’ll be influencing others.

    It’s About Being Scalable

    I’m considered to be an influencer within a pretty amazing network/group of digital professionals.  However, am I a Danny Sullivan or a Pete Cashmore?  As Whitney Houston would say, “Oh hell to the no!”  Will I ever be?  Who knows?  As I said above, it takes time to build up your reputation and prove yourself.

    I recommend looking at your reach of influence in scale.  When I started running again, I’d get frustrated by not hitting my goals.  I knew I had to run at least 30 minutes, but at about 18—my head would start saying, “Adam, you’re so tired… just stop now, you’ve ran long enough!”  And I would listen.  Then I started setting smaller goals for myself, like:  run for two minutes and then up the speed +.1.  Then run another two minutes and up the speed +.1.  In a matter of weeks, I was running for 40+ minutes and killing it on the distance.  It’s because I set small achievable goals for myself.

    Do the same with growing your social influence.  Set a long-term goal, but make sure you set smaller-achievable goals along the way to help you get there.

    It’s About Social Networking

    Being promoted by recognized social influencers can help you build credibility within the community you’re looking to influence.  It’s like high school all over again.  In order to be considered popular, you’ve got to hang with the popular crowd.  This doesn’t mean that you should be cliquish.  What it means is that you should spend time focusing on building relationships with those in your industry that have already built up considerable equity.  Once you’ve gained their trust and they can vouch for you—they will.

    It’s About Love

    You’ve got to love what you’re doing and love talking about it.  If your subject matter is a bore to you—your flame will burn out quickly.  If you love what you do, people will see that and it will catch on.  It’s infectious.

    Most social influencers are passionate about what they do.  Sometimes we’re referred to as “nerds” or “geeks”, but it’s a crown we wear proudly.  If you love what you do, then the rest will fall in place!

    In Closing

    There’s so much more to say about becoming a social influencer, but I think this post is long enough.  Please keep an eye out for more to come!

     

  • Google +1, Facebook “Like”, and Third-Party Cookies

    September 7, 2011 From: Adam Dince

    Written By:

    A few weeks ago, I had an interesting user-experience design meeting with a group of really smart digital folk.  One of my recommendations was to include Google’s +1 and Facebook’s “like” buttons on a client’s newly designed page templates.  To me, this was a no-brainer—why wouldn’t we include them?  I explained how vital social signals are becoming to search engine ranking algorithms and building the social equity of content.

    Everyone in the room agreed with the recommendation… that is, everyone except one of our brilliant measurement and analytics guys, Richard Hartstone, who mentioned that both Facebook and Google drop third-party cookies on to a user’s computer when someone uses the “Like” or “+1” buttons.  He then pointed out that the client has a strict policy against third-party cookies being transmitted via their site.

    Cookie Monster

    With privacy being such a hot button issue, it may just be a matter of time until legislation makes it much more difficult for marketers to use third-party cookies.  In Europe, Dutch politicians have taken a serious step in that direction.

    “The nightmare scenario of an opt-in/opt-out patchwork in Europe seems to be coming to fruition. After the sensible approach from the British government as to how to implement the EU’s ridiculously vague directive, Dutch politicians have decided to throw its growing digital media sector under the “privacy” bus. Yes, Dutch legislators have gone all-in with the directive, implementing a hard opt-in option for all “non-essential” cookie tracking. In a country where many highly-questionable misdemeanours are tolerated by society, it would seem that anonymous third party cookie tracking is seen as too much of a moral affront to privacy-sensitive politicians” http://goo.gl/Ws3MG

    Looming questions remain about what this all means for digital marketers, advertisers, and social networks.  Some are:

    • Are there other ways for social networks to leverage user-engagement without dropping third-party cookies?
    • How will brands fare that do not allow third-party cookies to be dropped from their site?
    • Will there be a point at which the major search engines minify the effect of social signals on organic search rankings because laws become too restrictive?

    Either way, the complexity of this issue is one of the many reasons I love digital advertising so much!

  • Conversation Marketing Goes Both Ways

    September 1, 2011 From: Adam Dince

    Written By:

    The combination of technology and social media has made it easier for brands and people to communicate and interact with each other in real-time.  It has given voice to the voiceless.  And it has allowed ordinary people to do extraordinary things.  The social media revolution has led to many new and innovative entrepreneurial endeavors and ways of communicating with each other.

    While social communication has given us a way to engage online in a rich way, it has also amplified the reach of the egotistic and cliquish behaviors that we as humans tend to exude in real-life.  This is often evident in brand-to-consumer communication.  Big brands, advertisers, and influential social figures tend to act like divas in their communication styles.  In other words—they behave as though it’s our privilege to talk to them and not the other way around, even though the follower/customer is often the reason for the organization’s success.

    • How often have you noticed hundreds if not thousands of responses to a question a brand posted on Facebook, yet the brand hasn’t posted back once?
    • How many times have your replies to someone you follow on Twitter gone unrecognized?

    In 2010, e-Marketer reported that 36 % of new media users stop following brands due to lack of engagement and communication.

    Reasons US Media Users Stop Following Brands

    People who follow other people and/or organizations aren’t looking to be talked to or talked over… they’re looking for interaction.  Imagine asking a store clerk for help just to have them look the other way.  Would you continue to give them your business?  What if someone asked a question, and when you answered—there was no response back?  Would you be likely to respond to them again?  How many times would it take until you stopped volunteering feedback and found somewhere else to contribute?

    It’s as simple as the concept of a Website contact form.  If you fill out an on-line contact form, once submitted, you typically land on a confirmation page or at least get a confirmation email.  It lets you know that your message has been received and you feel validated.

    The bottom line is to ALWAYS consider:

    • Where you came from
    • What it took to get where you are now
    • Where you want to go in the future

    And remember—you can’t get there by yourself.

    Below are some high-level tips to be more effective and successful in communicating with your social media friends, followers and readers:

    • Facebook/Google +
      • Don’t post and coast:  Make sure to monitor user feedback and respond where appropriate
      • Set expectations:  If you can’t commit to providing feedback in a timely manner, just say so—people appreciate honesty
      • Tone:  Choose your tone of communication carefully and understand your audience.  Speak to and not at
      • Be randomly consistent:  You know who is actively engaging with you.  While responding to everyone is most likely impossible, it’s important to talk to your base and make them feel valued,  Create a contact calendar and be faithful to it
    • Twitter
      • “Thank you” goes a long way:
        • Publicly thank your new followers
        • Thank people who re-tweet your content
      • Don’t be pompous:
        • No one likes a big head, so be humble
      • Be gracious:
        • If you want your followers to take action, ask nicely and thank them for doing so
      •  Be real:
        • A personal touch to tweets will get people’s attention
    • Blog
      • Respond to as many of the comments on your blog posts as possible
      • Thank readers who subscribe to your feed
      • Let readers know that you value their opinion
      • Build relationships with engaged readers

    Last but not least—follow the golden rule.  It will take you a long way.

    Please visit Adam’s personal site at http://www.adamdince.com

  • Innovate with Transparency

    October 14, 2010 From: admin

    What’s the opportunity when there are no corporate secrets? When industries can be exposed and dissected by consumers and smart entrepreneurs, how do you become a preferred, even loved, brand? Embracing transparency as the driver of innovation can change your business and open up new levels of consumer involvement and brand love. The following five steps will help brands embrace a new way of thinking — and doing.

    The first step is acknowledging that in today’s digitally connected world, secrets are hard to keep. Last week, the Gates Foundation acknowledged what many already knew. They admitted the world’s largest charitable foundation is too secretive and hard to work with. New CEO Jeff Raikes published a critical report giving the foundation bad marks for communicating its goals and strategies, and for confusing people with its convoluted grant-making process. Many already knew this but openly embracing this reality has opened the doors to a new collaborative spirit for the foundation and its partners.

    The second step requires rethinking how a brand creates opportunities and exposes inefficiencies. One way to look at this is what author Rachel Botsman calls “idling capacity,” or the waste that exists in the things we own but hardly use. Botsman claims “almost 80 percent of the items people own are used less than once a month,” yet they sit idle right in front of us.

    Whipcar, for example, connects consumers to other consumers who share their cars when they are not in use. The “magic” is the connection — the delight in realizing that, of course, cars sit around all day. Why not recognize and leverage this obvious fact? This is a great example of studying the obvious and finding a collaborative solution. Can brands spot these opportunities hiding in plain site? Sometimes they might not be obvious brand extensions or services, but every industry can find new dots to connect.

    The third step is to get out of the way and make information visible and fuel consumer control. First Direct Bank in the UK is HSBC’s only digital bank. The First Direct Web site is a model of transparency, as it connects consumers to other consumers (unheard of for a bank, by the way) and openly solicits feedback and product advice in a public forum on the home page and via a mobile interface, not buried in a company blog.

    New companies are rushing to make consumer control a business by itself. Bynamite, a new San Francisco start-up tracks consumers search, e-commerce and ad network behavior — but as a service, to the consumer. The software organizes a consumer’s digital footprint via a dashboard and actually lets the consumer control their online profile on a daily or weekly basis. With this kind of transparency consumers can visually see how companies are tracking, targeting and manipulating their personal information. If you are asking yourself “How will my brand operate in this environment? How will I add value, engage consumers and, most of all, build an emotional connection?” you are asking the right questions.

    The fourth step is to understand the implications and resulting opportunities from unlimited bandwidth. According to The New York Times, this September the FCC. will most likely approve the biggest expansion yet of unlicensed airwaves, opening the door to Wi-Fi networks that will eliminate the need to find wireless hot spots. This will create the foundations for new services and platforms. First will come coverage over entire companies, universities and events. Next will come always-on super speed access to rural areas allowing for “smart electric grids, remote health monitoring and, for consumers, wireless Internet without dead zones.”

    This leads to the last and final step: admitting a brand does not have all the answers and committing to “shared values” with consumers. Marketers are schooled to offer lofty claims and promises but in today’s social web these are easily exposed. If there are no secrets; if untapped opportunities are right before our eyes; if the consumer is in control, like it or not; then we must commit organizations to understanding and practicing “shared values” to build brand equity going forward.

    In fact, recent industry research conducted by health provider Kaiser Permanente discovered consumers were actively turned off by brands that claimed to “have the answer.” Consumers knew brands didn’t have the answer. Instead, consumers wanted straight talk about how brands were “trying to find the answer” and were striving to be better. Their research showed consumers wanted to join in emotionally and materially to strive with the company as long as the trust implicit in shared values was maintained.

    And this gets to the real day-to-day issue facing every brand today — managing the struggle between holding back and protecting versus letting go and embracing the dialog. Brands are scared to death of being exposed or releasing a “secret.” But the reality — yes, the reality — is that there are no more secrets. Worried about making a mistake in the social space? Mistakes are made every day anyway, just ask Tylenol and BP. Embracing a dialogue will give you the perfect forum for addressing the mistakes companies have and always will make. Remember, it’s not the mistake, it’s how you deal with it that everyone remembers.

    Harnessing the power of “shared values” requires a new kind of commitment and discipline. It requires asking hard questions about where your brand should be and what it should do. Does the consumer really expect to see you on social networking sites? Is that where your brand will be built? What kind of discovery contracts can we build with consumers? The answers will lead to a platform of shared values and deepened and trusting consumer relationships.

  • Social Media ‘Like’ Is Beautiful? Jonathan Kish

    July 11, 2010 From: admin

    05.20.10, 11:45 AM EDT

    Marketers should take pause before embracing Facebook’s ”Like” button. Jonathan Kish With Facebook approaching 500 million users worldwide, a virtual battle of giants is brewing between Facebook and Google–a battle over users, and more important, over data. Facebook’s revenue is still dwarfed by Google’s, but it appears Facebook is slowly gaining the upper hand in terms of valuable user data. Thanks to recent developments, the site might collect user information that no other company, even Google ( GOOG – news – people ), has been able to collect so far.

    Forbes-JonathanKish

  • Think Technology Will Bring You Closer to the Consumer? Think Again

    From: admin

    Intuitively, it makes sense to believe that we all live in a post-digital age, and that we’re all fully matured, “digital” consumers. We now assume that technology is an abundance instead of a scarcity, and that the computing grid will be there for us wherever and whenever we want it — just as we expect the light to turn on when we flip the switch.

    http://adage.com/digitalnext/post?article_id=144463