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Welcome to the ineedhits Search Engine Marketing blog, where we share the latest search engine and online marketing news, releases, industry trends and great DIY tips and advice.

We encourage you to get involved in our blog community - so share your opinions and experiences by leaving comments on our posts.

If you're looking for help with promoting your website - check out our range of affordable search engine marketing services.

Tuesday, January 31

New Tool: Google Toolbar 4 - Beta Release

Monday saw the release of yet another Google beta tool. The kings of beta released their latest toolbar (Google Toolbar 4) for both consumers and enterprise customers. The proposed key new functionality is increased personalization and customization, hopefully making it more user friendly.

Sundar Pichai, Google's project manager for client software stated "The major direction we have taken with this version is empowering users to really personalize, configure, and customize the toolbar to the way they'd like it to be."

The four main features are: custom buttons, centralized bookmarks, enhanced search, and a new sharing capability called "Send To".

Customer buttons can be created to provide access to set search or data sources like RSS feeds. Building on the access to Google's toolbar API, site owners can provide the toolbar to their visitors with links back their site.

The centralized bookmarks give users the ability to access their favorites through their Google account from any computer. This counters some of the functionality that sites like Del.icio.us were aiming to provide.

Enhanced search provides simultaneous suggestions while the user types based on popular Google searches and the user's previous search history. It also provides potential spelling corrections for search terms similar to those found on the Google search results pages.

"Send To" gives users a simple way to send web pages via email and/or instant messaging. Whilst this can be down through the menus in Internet explorer, the ability to do it directly form your search bar will provide a much easier access. It also includes functionality to send the pages directly to a Google hosted blog which will encourage users to keep their blogs more up-to-date.

The Enterprise version gives administrators the ability, through a windows installer framework, to turn features on and off. This will allow them to provide access to corporate data from the users' toolbar without having to update each machine.

Though currently available for use on Internet Explorer 6 and on Windows 2000/XP, Google suggests a Firefox version is not far off.

Upon my initial trial of the toolbar, the functionality is handy and relatively useful, but at the end of the day, there's only so much you can fit on one toolbar...or is there?

Go to the toolbar.google.com to get your hands on the latest version.

DIY Tip: Give your visitors a reason to stay!

Did you know that the average visitor spends over 3 hours per visit on Yahoo! sites? While that's not a realistic target for most websites, it should encourage website owners to want to understand the activity of visitors on their sites beyond just clicks and sales. It's an old adage, the longer you keep the audience captive, the greater your chance of convincing them.

Understanding how long visitors spend navigating through your site is an important metric for measuring the effectiveness of your web site. For example, if visitors on average are leaving website in less than 30 seconds, it would suggest that it is not meeting their needs for some reason.

Below are some tips and advice on ensuring you're making the most out of your visitors stay and encouraging them to stay longer.

1. Provide original and valuable material/content.
We always say content is king, but that applies to information outside your basic sales pitch and information. Additional information about your field/industry, or even your valuable expert opinions will give visitors a reason to remain on your website and increase their knowledge. The more original the material, the less likely they will go elsewhere to find it. These resources will improve your perceived level of authority in your field and the relevant content is a great search engine optimization tool.

2. Offer freebies or incentives for interacting with your site.
Outside of the buying process, online visitors love interactivity. By tempting them with offers and incentives, you will encourage them to participate with your site. Use tools that can assist your customer acquisition strategies like surveys or polls. This can give you great insights into your potential customer base; and furthermore help you build a prospect list. Let's face it; everyone loves a freebie or bonus, so they are more likely to undertake such online activities, which will inevitably cause them to extend their stay. Once you have them participating in such online interactivity, you have captured their attention, so make the most of the journey from there.

3. Quick loading pages are vital.
We've touched on this many times before, but the point can't be reiterated enough. Ensure your website design and hosting is optimized to ensure your pages load quickly. Online browsers are very impatient people, and they won't hesitate to go elsewhere for their needs if your site takes to long to load.

4. Look your best.
People judge a site in milliseconds, so unprofessional looking websites will turn visitors away. Your websites layout and appearance all work towards the overall branding of your online business. If you web pages come across in an unprofessional manner, people will be inclined to judge you poorly and leave. It's amazing how many good looking sites I've visited and kept searching through even though they offered irrelevant content.

5. Make It Easy
Make your site easy to use. From the size of fonts down to navigation, the easier your site is for the user, the more likely they will stay. Visiting a website shouldn't be hard work. Make sure your layout, navigation and even simple things like color schemes and font sizes all work towards making the customer experience easy and enjoyable.

Now it might seem like this is all stating the obvious, but when you actually start understanding how long visitors do spend on your website, you will be amazed how small changes to these factors influence this key website effectiveness measure. Most importantly, when you get the science right, the longer they stay, should translate to higher sales for your online business.

Some of you are probably wondering how to measure this sort of information on your website. There are many web analytics programs available which will provide this plus many other important metrics. If you want to trial one with no commitment, give hitslink a go. We use it in-house and its simple, easy to use interface will make monitoring your website a breeze. Click here for a 30-day free trial.

Online Retailing: The Future's Bright But Are You Ready?

Online sales have been going through a boom period with strong year on year growth and what appears to be endless potential. As with all rosy scenarios, the cynics and speculators were quick to cast doubts on the long term viability of this sales rush. Post holiday period publicity has been forecasting some darker days for online retailing in 2006.

Well, industry analyst and research company, JupiterResearch has released a new report on Online Retailing which paints a significantly brighter picture but also gives some valuable insight on making the most of the maturing online marketplace.

According to the report, online retail sales are predicted to reach $95 billion this year, which constitutes an 18 percent increase from last year. Furthermore it forecasts online sales will grow 12 percent annually and exceed $144 billion by 2010.

These initial forecasts are being driven by the significant growth in new buyers entering the online marketplace and the increased net spending by people online.

When you consider $95 billion in 2006 will only constitute 5% of the $2.1 trillion spent in the U.S. retail market, e-tailing's long term growth sustainability will be governed by its ability to take retail share away from the offline marketplace.
Based on the growth predictions of the report, it "presents an enormous opportunity for retailers that embrace a well-integrated multi-channel operational strategy." And that's the key!

As with any mature market, there will be a plethora of operators all competing for a set group of consumers/shoppers. This will force businesses to get much smarter about their entire retailing process, especially online through stronger up-selling, greater focus on conversion and website usability, and importantly pricing. The increased competition will drive margins down, meaning that procurement and pricing will become a significantly more important consideration for small to medium sized businesses.

So while the prospects are great for the online retailing marketplace, serious online operators need to start consolidating and fine-tuning their retailing practice sooner rather than later. If you rely on the online retail market growth alone for your long term success, you are probably being too complacent!

Google, China and the U.S. Department of Justice

Google's corporate motto "Don't be evil" has come under severe attack with the company's decision to voluntarily censor the Chinese version of the search engine so that it meets the Chinese government's demands and Google is able to locate business operations within China itself. Google plans to only make four of its main offering available in China - Web, image and local search as well as Google News. With China being the second biggest Internet market worldwide, the battle for market share is critical, and Google's rivals, such as Yahoo! and MSN, already follow some self-censorship rules imposed by the Chinese government.

It is ironic that on the other hand, Google is the only search engine that has so far refused to hand over search data to the U.S. Department of Justice, which has placed subpoenas on this data to collect evidence supporting its case for the introduction of anti-porn legislation which was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. Google's reason for not complying with the subpoena was that the company believed that this "demand for information overreaches".

Googles competitors Yahoo!, MSN and AOL, which all were served similar subpoenas, have already complied with the request and handed over search data. While the search data cannot be used to identify individual search engine users, the Department of Justices requests raises questions about the responsibility of search engine companies to protect their users' privacy - and it raises the question why Google chose to comply with the demands of China, but not those of the United States Department of Justice.

Google AdWords for Airwaves

When Google recently bought dMarc Broadcasting, many headlines simply said "Google Buys Radio Station". In fact, dMarc is a technology company that runs a media network, remotely placing digital ads on radio stations equipped with the dMarc technology.

The dMarc technology has some amazing similarities with Google AdWords - instead of picking what keywords you want to bid on, you can select which radio station should play your audio ads at which time of the day. It's not that far-fetched to assume that Google will be introducing an auction-based system to sell this radio advertising, which would change the media buying landscape for radio airtime radically. While some industry insiders question whether an auction-based system would be accepted by advertisers and whether Google's advertiser base would show a lot of interest in radio advertising, you can even imagine more advanced applications of such technology - just think podcasting!

Combined with superior demographic knowledge that companies can collect from podcast subscribers, advertisers will be able to deliver individually targeted audio advertising to a perceptive audience virtually on a one-on-one basis. These new possibilities and emerging pricing models could change the face of radio advertising forever and turn podcasting into a advertising channel in its own right. You'd think that some radio executives must be getting pretty nervous right now!

Tuesday, January 24

DIY Tip: Are Your Product Pages Money Makers?

In a cyber world where returns on your marketing investment are crucial to your online longevity, conversion of visitors into paying customers is aim of the game. Many online businesses make the mistake of trying to drive all their internet traffic to their homepage, when in fact, it is usually more effective to get qualified traffic and direct them to more relevant pages - namely your product or brochure pages.

Almost all E-commerce sites have them (if you don't - you should), but many businesses neglect to optimize them for maximum conversion. Analysis of your key sales/information pages should be an on-going process, as you review your website in light of customer trends and industry changes. Below are some key areas that Jakob Nielsen, an internet usability guru, suggested in a recent article that should be considered when you look at evaluating your product pages.

Simplicity
The old KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle applies to most elements of the marketing process. None more so than your product pages. Crowding the page with as much information as is available, or as many products as possible only creates buyer confusion. And hoping that at least one of the many products presented will meet the visitors needs will more than likely lead to no sale at all.

The content should be focused and only present information that reinforces the decision process. One product highlight supported by features, variations available, pictures if helpful, pricing and any other relevant purchasing information (ie. delivery options, payment methods etc) is the core to your success. If you get these key elements right, your conversion should increase dramatically.

Navigate to the Sale
Once you have created the perfect product page as far as copy and pitch, the next challenge is to make the buying process as simple and obvious as possible. I donâ€™t know how many times I have been at a site and decided I am ready to buy, but lost interest because I didn't know how to complete the purchase. Remember completing the purchase is sometimes more complicated than just going to the cart and supplying credit card details. The ability to add accessories or choose product variations are all important parts of this purchasing process.

All these calls to action should be highly visible and can often be assisted by multiple placements on the page. This allows for people reaching the decision to buy at different points on the page. The best way to assess your pages ability to "navigate to the sale", is by getting an outsider to use the page and provide you feedback.

Inform to Convince
Whilst keeping it simple is very important, certain information is critical in people's decision making process. The lack of this detail could be the difference between making the sale or not. Whilst the core selling details should be front and center at the top of your product page, ensure any other relevant information is provided. This will avoid people encountering doubts about their purchase or needing to navigate away from the product page to find the information they require.

Below is Nielsen's key checklist for the successful product page:

1. Prominent and clear descriptive title and photo if applicable.
2. Provide ALL the information a shopper will need to buy your product
3. State product availability and delivery times (if applicable)
4. Support your product with guarantees and warranties where appropriate
5. MUST HAVE: prominent 'Buy' button

Okay, now go forth and make sure you are making the most out of your search traffic with your strongest selling tools; your product pages - performing at their best.

Google No Match for Yahoo! & Microsoft in Traffic Stakes!

When everyone's talking Google this and Google that, it's interesting to note that Yahoo! and Microsoft still get significantly more traffic to their web real estate than Google does. In the Nielsen/NetRatings breakdown for December 2005, Google only sits in a lowly 4th spot in the Top 10 of both web brands (which is a collection of websites with a consistent collection of branded content) and Top 10 parent companies (which is a consolidation of multiple domains and URLs which are owned by a single entity).

Admittedly, Yahoo! and Microsoft's web real estate act more as portals than as mere search engines, but when you consider how much time people spend on their sites, or across their networks, the mind boggles.

Microsoft was the clear leader in the Top Parent Company category holding a unique audience of almost 112 million visitors in Dec 2005. Yahoo! and Time Warner were a close second and third with approximately 104 million and 102 million respectively. Google lags behind in fourth spot with only 88 million, which in comparison is significantly less.

In regards to web brand traffic, Yahoo! holds the top spot comfortably, with 103 million unique visitors alone. When you consider that Microsoft and MSN (separate for this category) sit in second and third spots and Google again stakes claim to fourth spot, Yahoo! is definitely ahead of the pack as far as traffic goes.

What's really amazing is that on average; Yahoo! visitors spend over 3 hours on the company's sites, whilst MSN visitors spend under two hours on Microsoft sites and less than an hour is spent on Google. Whilst Google still holds such a strangle hold on the search traffic, imagine the sort of traffic it would generate if it opened its domains to more portal style functionality. But then again, Google are supposedly focused on search and nothing but search... but for how long?

The World's Biggest Brands - Google At the Top!

As we reported recently, 2006 is the year when the big corporates are looking to search and online marketing for branding rather than just new sales. So it's only fitting that Brandchannel.com's report outlining the biggest global brands for 2005 has been releasedâ€¦

With previous years' results being less than predictable at times (in 2004, Arabic TV station Al Jazeera weighed in at fifth spot), this year has seen the technology and online brands stamp their name at the top of a far more conventional leader board.

The tussle for supreme honors has been a two horse race in recent times between Google and Apple, with both constantly trying to assert themselves as the world's dominant brand. In 2005, Google has taken the title, with Apple a very close second.

Entering the fray to take third spot was Skype, the most recognizable VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) provider who offers free or very cheap communication between people over the internet. Bought by eBay in Sept 2005, it will definitely be a pleasing result for the eBay executives, especially considering so many other VoIP providers are emerging and trying to gain a slice of Skype's market share.

Fourth and fifth spots go to the old favorites Starbucks and IKEA respectively. In the regional categories, the results introduce some lesser known global brands, but they could be a good indicator of future title takers. See below for the top 10 global brands and a breakdown of the top brands in the major regional areas:

Global Top 10:
1. Google
2. Apple
3. Skype
4. Starbucks
5. IKEA
6. Nokia
7. Yahoo!
8. Firefox
9. eBay
10. Sony

Asia/Pacific Top 10:
1. Sony
2. Toyota
3. Samsung
4. LG
5. HSBC
6. Singapore Airlines
7. Honda
8. Lonely Planet
9. Tiger Beer
10. Hello Kitty

Europe / Africa Top 10:
1. Nokia
2. IKEA
3. Skype
4. Zara
5. BMW
6. BBC
7. Adidas
8. Al Jazeera
9. H&M
10. Aramex

US / Canada Top 10:
1. Apple
2. Google
3. Starbucks
4. Target
5. Lance Armstrong
6. craigslist
7. Whole Foods
8. Coca-Cola
9. Oprah Winfrey
10. Amazon.com

For a complete breakdown of the 2005 Global Brands survey, visit www.brandchannel.com

Wednesday, January 18

Marketing Wisdom for 2006

Have you ever been to www.marketingsherpa.com? If not, definitely check out the site - it's a excellent resource for all sorts of online case studies and articles. You'll get great ideas on how to improve everything from email marketing to website conversion. Plus, the articles and case studies are great fun to read and include lots of examples of actual email designs, landing pages and "before/after" comparisons.

Every year, MarketingSherpa releases a PDF titled "Marketing Wisdom", which contains a collection of insights, test results and lessons learned in 2005, contributed by marketers from over 110 organizations. It's a very fascinating, inspiring and entertaining read. You can get your free copy of the PDF on http://wisdom.marketingsherpa.com/. Enjoy your marketing wisdom for 2006 - I certainly did!

Yahoo! Search Results Get A New Look

Speculation abounded in December last year that Yahoo! were planning to re-vamp their search results page. With the aim of the exercise to increase the number of clicks for advertiser's listings, and an improved search experience for users, time will tell whether the new layout will bear the promised fruit. With the release this week, it should operational as you read this.

The main change to the results is the shortening of sponsored text ads. Previously limited to 190 characters, the new format will restrict the ads to only 70 characters. This means advertisers will need to be more focused on getting their copy right to engage and convert the audience in less words.

Yahoo! believes that the longer ads will be available on other areas of their network, which has some advertisers wondering whether 2 versions of their ad are required. It would appear that the shortened version of the text ads will simply be a truncated version of the original ads. So the first 70 words had better count.

Shorter ads shouldn't be anything new to paid placement advertisers, with Google using the shorter format from the get go. The new Yahoo! format won't be as easy to implement as replicating Google ads however, as advertisers need to bear in mind the user characteristics of the two distinctly different search engines and adapt their copy accordingly.

It will allow advertisers to more closely compare the results between their Google and Yahoo! campaigns, with many being concerned that the new changes will lose the qualifying benefits that the old Yahoo! format offered.

With Yahoo!'s entire PR effort centering on the new format's benefits for advertisers and users, one glaring omission was the huge increase in revenue available to Yahoo! by running even more sponsored results on their search pages. Hmmm - I wonder why? Well the proof of the pudding is in the eating as they say, so go and check out the new format for yourself. You can decide whether you feel it is more user-centric or not, and share your thoughts with the rest of us!

Tuesday, January 17

GooBerry - the New Google Mobile Search Deal

Everyone's talking mobile search at the moment with the major players wheeling and dealing to offer more mobile content and appropriate localized search offerings. Google's latest deal with BlackBerry (which could be called "GooBerry" but probably won't), will see them make significant inroads into the mobile marketplace.

The recently announced deal will see Google instant-messaging and Google Local supported on the BlackBerry wireless network. Mark Guibert, VP of Corporate Marketing for Research In Motion, makers of BlackBerry, suggests "Google Talk for BlackBerry and Google Local for mobile will offer additional flexibility to BlackBerry customers in terms of how, when and where they stay in touch."

The BlackBerry integration will include Google Talk instant messages in the email inbox, and access to the BlackBerry Calendar from Google Talk for meeting scheduling. Google Local will allow BlackBerry users to view maps, get access to directions and search for local businesses from the convenience of their handhelds. Google are even suggesting that it will include the Click-to-call feature; however this will be confined to the US in the short term.

Securing this deal with the widely used BlackBerry wireless network is great initiative from Google to assert itself on the mobile marketplace. It will also provide some great learning to expand across other mobile services. It's about time these portable business tools such as BlackBerry and other PDA types, gave us truly useful mobile functionality, like being able to research and book those important business lunches on the go!

MSN: Incubating Success with adLab

Search engine domination has been a two horse race for some time with Google and Yahoo! being the industry icons. Though MSN has been the clear cut third place holder, it has never really asserted itself as a potential contender for either of the top positions in recent years. That is until now!

The mistake of underestimating the power of search in the early days by Bill Gates and his executives has left MSN lagging behind in terms of search usage and, more importantly, technology for their platform.

There's no doubt the future of search engine marketing is stronger than that of any traditional medium at the moment, and accordingly, MSN have invested in their search future with the unveiling of adLab. A catchy abbreviation for AdCenter Incubation Lab, adLab is the hub of intelligence designed to give MSN the technology boost it needs to catch up to Google and Yahoo! in the battle for online marketing budgets.

This joint project between MSN's adCenter paid search, content, & targeted advertising platform and Microsoft Research, is comprised of 50 leading edge researchers given the mission to develop integrated and innovative advertising solutions that connect marketers with consumers.

Driven by consumer knowledge and behavioral data, the project is aimed at providing advertisers with rich targeting capabilities based on audience intelligence information while giving consumers a more relevant online experience.

The first AdLab innovation catching our attention is Video Hyperlink Ads. Imagine a system that detects products shown during a show or commercial, and provides viewers with the ability to zoom into the product and click through to detailed product information and purchase options.

This is the sort of intelligence that is the cornerstone of MSN's plans to re-emerge as a serious contender in the search marketing arena. With effective behavioral and contextual advertising being the next major steps for search advertisings evolution, it appears that Beijing based adLab could just be incubating MSN's future search success.

Tuesday, January 10

Google to Provide Navigation System for VW Cars?

Google's Larry Page has been cited in the German daily newspaper "Die Welt" as saying that Google and German car maker Volkswagen have agreed to jointly develop a new navigation system for VW cars. The navigation system is said to be based on Google's satellite imaging and mapping application Google Earth. Now that would add a whole new meaning to mobile search engine tools!

Volkswagen has declined to comment on the newspaper article.

The State of Search Engine Marketing - SEMPO Report

SEMPO, the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization, has released its latest research report (conducted by Radar Research, LLC and Intellisurvey) which gives a great overview of the state of the search engine marketing industry and prospects for the year ahead. Though most of the findings were to be expected, some surprises were brought to light.

Some of the key highlights are provided below:

U.S and Canadian SEM industry has grown from $4 billion to $5.75 billion in the last 12 months.
The Marketing Split:
- Paid placement or PPC (pay-per-click) accounts for 83% of this spend ($4.77 billion)
- SEO accounts for 11% of this spend ($643 million)
- Paid inclusion accounts for only 4% ($246 million)
SEMPO predicts that the search marketing industry in North America will grow to $11 billion by 2010.
The report reinforced that Google and Yahoo! are still the dominant search engines in the industry with 95% of search marketers advertising in Google and 65% with Yahoo!
46% of search marketers are running campaigns with Google AdSense and Yahoo! Search Content Match, while 38% engage Yahoo!'s paid inclusion program.
Even though MSN are new to the space, almost 30% of advertisers suggest they are running campaigns on its search engine.

Search Marketer's Goals for 2006:

62% said branding was their primary search marketing objective.
60% suggested that selling products was still a key goal.
Larger firms were more interested in generating leads and traffic for their websites, whereas smaller to medium firms were more focused on sales as the objective.
Considering these aims for the year ahead, apparently less than 24% actually track the impact of their online branding efforts, however the ROI focus is still prominent within the search marketing area with:
- 80% tracking website traffic
- 74% measuring conversion
- 69% measuring click-through

All in all some interesting findings, and even if the figures might be slightly skewed by the sample group, overall the trends aren't surprising and the prospects look fantastic for 2006. For more info on the research, visit SEMPO.

Yahoo! Launches Yahoo! Go at CES, Teams up with Sheraton Hotels

Yahoo! Go Goes for TV and Mobile Phones

Yahoo! chose the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to present a new range of products and services called Yahoo! Go. Yahoo! Go enables users to access content and information not only from a personal computer, but also from a cell phone and even from a television set. A large part of Yahoo! Go will be developed to integrate with Intel's Viiv digital home technology.

Yahoo! Go Mobile lets users use email, calendar and address book functions via their mobile phone. In 10 Asian and European countries, Yahoo! Go Mobile will be available pre-installed on several Nokia cell phone models in the coming weeks.

Yahoo! Go TV, which will be launched in the coming months, enables users with PC-connected television sets to search local movie listings, view digital photos on their TV, and Yahoo! is planning to make their music offering available on Go TV too.

Yahoo! Go Desktop contains the Yahoo! Widgets, which help users to automatically receive new online information without having to open an Internet browser and will also help users to stay connected with their local community via links to Yahoo! Local.

Your Yahoo! Home Away from Home Now at Sheraton Hotels

In separate news, Yahoo! also announced an industry first alliance with Sheraton Hotels, offering hotel guests a new way to stay connected to the Internet called "Yahoo! Link @ Sheraton".

According to Yahoo!'s press release, "Yahoo! Link @ Sheraton offers a convenient online experience that enables guests to surf the Internet, email loved ones, review local favorite attractions and even print up boarding passes. Customized features include free Wi-Fi and broadband Internet-enabled lounge installations in Sheraton hotel lobbies and a co-branded, locally-tailored portal website available on computers in the lounge areas and in guestrooms. Also available exclusively for Sheraton guests is a special premium service bundle that includes a 30-day free trial of several of Yahoo!'s most popular services including Yahoo! Music, Yahoo! Mail Plus, Yahoo! All Star Games, Yahoo! Finance Tracker and Yahoo! Briefcase."

Yahoo! Link @ Sheraton will be assessed during a six month trial period, with a longer term relationship dependent on the success of the trial. Both parties say they are committed to "aggressively pursuing" this initiative.