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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, May 29

Google & Dell Commit Evil Search Sin?

Around this time last year, Google and Dell entered into a partnership that would see Google's web and desktop software preinstalled on Dell machines. A year on, Dell users are getting irritated that their machines are pushing them to error pages loaded with Google Ads, rather than editorial listings.

To get a quick background of the issue, let's look back to 2006, when Google CEO Eric Schmidt had this to say about the deal:

"The real reason we do this is for users. People turn the Dell machine on, and everything is integrated right there. (This deal) is a turnkey solution for search."

Another feature that Google 'integrated' into these machines was a "Browser Address Error Redirector" that sends those using Dell computers and trying to reach non-existent web sites to a Google page loaded with Ads.

For example, say you were trying to enter www.google.com and you accidentally left the 'm' of the '.com'. You would get redirected to a custom error page that looks like this.

This screenshot shows the page as it looks on my monitor. See how the top half is loaded with sponsored links and actual web search results only feature below the fold. Surely if Google "did this for the users" as Schmidt said - the organic web search results would feature first on this page.

To me, this feature seems to clearly destroy the user experience, instead trying to cash in on typo's and misspelling. After all, the financial details of the Google / Dell deal included shared revenue from search advertising fees - making this feature profitable for both companies.

Have Dell & Google committed an evil search sin? I'll leave this for you to decide.

Labels: Google

Why Local Businesses Need Google Sponsored Advertising

People are more than ever relying on search engines to find and contact their local businesses. This is resulting in an important shift in consumer behavior and is having a major impact on how local customers search for their products and services.

Noticeably market share is now being taken away from traditional print yellow pages and newspaper classified advertising and being spread into online advertising as businesses are finding better results for their advertising investment.

Nielsen/NetRatings conducted a survey last year to determine how U.S. consumers were using the Internet. 70 percent of the 2,866 respondents reported using the web to search for a local service business, with 46 percent doing so in the past 90 days. This trend is supported by data from COMScore, indicating that "local intent" is now driving up to 40 percent of all online searches.

This should be sending a very clear message to every local business out there that they should be taking a serious step towards the online advertising arena.

For those small business owners who don't know much about online advertising then a great place to start is with advertising on Google with either sponsored search or on Google maps/local search. The sponsored search listings appear on the right hand side adjacent to the web results in Google. While local search incorporates Google maps to show an advertisers location.

You may be thinking that the internet is too sparse to capture your local market but that trend is changing. Advertising on the internet has come a long way from what we saw even a year ago. If you advertise on Google then you have many geo-graphical targeting options. These options will cover you no matter what sized area you wish to target. You can choose from:

World-wide targeting
Country-wide targeting
Regional targeting
City targeting
And customized targeting that allows you to choose a certain distance from your business

This means that only searchers that are within this area can see your sponsored ads when searching from Google.

Let me explain using an example. Let's just say that I own a pizza shop on 12 Pizza Rd Atlanta, Georgia, that serves its local market with piping hot pizza's. I would set up a Google advertising account and then be able to choose from the following geographical areas to target.

The whole world (however this is probably not practical for my local pizza shop)
The entire US market (I think this is still a little broad)
The state of Atlanta (getting a little closer)
The city of Georgia (If I delivered to the whole city, then yes)
Or within x amount of miles of 12 Pizza Road, Atlanta, Georgia ( I think this is my best option)

Google then uses this information to match my advertisement to people searching from within this specified area, this matching of searchers and local business makes for a highly targeted result.

This is a very exciting time for local business with so many online advertising options available to increase your customer base. If you are a small or medium business that is not yet advertising online I would highly recommend that you make that step. Following your customers into the world of online search can be great for your business, however not being included can mean losing out on potential customers that cannot find you online.

The $100 Website Marketing Challenge - Experts Share Their Tips

The clever guy down at SEOish set 7 of the industry's top experts the challenge of recommending a website marketing strategy for people with a tight budget. As many of you will appreciate, it can be difficult to decide where you'll get the best "bang for your buck" in website marketing when you have limited finances.

The challenge set by Patrick at SEOish was:

"If you had to make a website soar but had only small chunks of money to spend on it what would you do? - (The "chunks" are 100 dollars, 250 dollars and 500 dollars.)

The experts who answered the challenge were:

Neil Patel - social media and optimization specialist.
Lee Odden - founder of TopSEO and regular search marketing speaker
Andy Beal - Blogging and SEM consultant - author of Marketing Pilgrim
Aaron Wall - The author of the infamous SEOBook.
Andy Hagans - Link baiting extraordinaire.
Kid Disco (CK Chung) - up and coming search engine marketer.
Todd Malicoat (Stuntdbl) - well known SEM and social media expert and blogger.
Patrick Sexton (feedthebot) - the author of the article.

Some of their ideas were great, some just common sense, and some tinged with a bit of good old fashioned internet marketer humor.

Rather than duplicating all their recommendations, I've made a summary of the best ideas below. If you want to read their recommendations in detail, pop over to SEOish.

The top recommendations across all experts were:

Proper web hosting is critical
Quality content is essential
Link building is the foundation of success
Never stop the learning process...

So here are some of the highlight recommendations:

"With $100... I think I would buy some cheap hosting, put up a WordPress CMS, find some good affiliate programs, and start writing and optimizing." Kid Disco

"I would make sure the standard site promotion tactics are in place: Optimized content creation, link building and especially online and offline networking. Do a great job of telling the story the site has to tell and get the attention of journalists writing about that industry. Become a trusted resource without demands for reciprocation from the media and they will reward you with generous coverage, as will the search engines."
Lee Odden

"If I only had a small amount of money and wanted to make a website soar I would leverage social media. You could potentially do it for free, but if I had $100 I would try and create 1 great piece of content and push it out on all of the social sites.... The overall goal would be to get these articles thousands of unique visitors and thousands of links so that the site could get some search love." Neil Patel

"If you do not have a website yet, use this money to acquire a real web host. Use caution when you choose a webhost, there are many possible pitfalls.... A good webhost will provide stats, easy access, and other goodies that make it worthwhile." Patrick Sexton

Top Humorous Recommendations:

"find an income source that can help me pay my living costs while I furiously learned" Aaron Wall

"$500 = I'd get a $250 roundtrip ticket to my nearest SES, SMX or PubCon conference. Spend $100 for a hotel for one night. Then blow the remaining $150 buying drinks at the bar for all the SEO's that hang out. It will be the best $500 you've ever spent!" Andy Beal - probably a serious recommendation - but could be pitching for a free drink ;)

I think that Stuntdbl summed up the bootstrap website marketing strategy best:

"I don't think there is one sure fire plan based on the amount of money you have, but the point is, that it shouldn't take MUCH money to make more if you do so strategically using the tools that are available to you. The power of e-mail alone is amazing. The power of a great article and web publishing is astounding. The power of good links and great rankings is mind boggling. The power of your voice and your mind can help you to up those chunks until you're playing with much bigger pieces. It takes some cajones, lots of dedication, and a workaholic mentality, but a lot can certainly be done with a little."

I hope you're inspired by some of their ideas and reaffirmed by others. More than anything, website marketing takes time and perserverence, and you need to remember to budget that in also.

How Local Results Fit Into Google Universal Search

Many have anticipated the release of Google Universal search results, and we've been watching as Google has played with their search engine results page (SERPs), tweaking it almost daily! The integration of vertical search (specialized searches such as blog, local, maps, books, image search etc) may just be the beginning of Universal search but its effects on search engine marketing are immediate.

What Search Results Used To Look Like
Local search results started appearing in the main web results of both Google and Yahoo! some time ago, however, we should start to see this happening with more regularity from now on, and with a different twist. Previously, local results displayed at the top of the SERPs, were they shown at all. According to the Google LatLong blog

"Previously we only showed local listings at the top of the results page, and since this was prime real estate, we would not display the listings if we were not certain that you were looking for a local business."

What Search Results Will Look Like Now

"Within the Universal search framework, we are now able to more smartly handle ambiguous queries. For example, for the query [san francisco bar] we can now satisfy users who are looking for the website of the Bar Association of San Francisco as well as those looking for a local place to get a drink."

Local businesses now have the opportunity to capitalize on appearing anywhere within the main web results for searches that may even have the slightest local relevance. Those businesses appearing in main web results, that also have a Google local listing, will now include a drop-down map and link to their Google Local profile page.

The top 3 local search results will appear in the Google OneBox for relevant search queries

Should you achieve a top 3 local ranking, you will also appear in the Google Local (OneBox) results within the SERPs on relevant searches!

The importance of local search and local search listings is undeniable. For any business wanting to see local customers through their 'door' (literally or metaphorically), a local listing, and more importantly an enhanced local listing, is critical. Fortunately, we've launched Local Search Listing - a new service to give your business instant localized online exposure and help increase your local traffic. Order a Local Search Listing now or find out more...

Labels: Google

Monday, May 28

Google's Feedburner Acquisition Is Their Most Important Yet

Another Google acquisition was the cry last week, and while this headline is starting to sound like a broken record, their now confirmed acquisition of Feedburner Inc. is the search engine giant's most important one in recent times.

Forget the billion dollar MySpace and DoubleClick deals; Feedburner could be Google's most important acquisition yet, especially considering the bargain price tag of only US$100 million, making it probably the buy of the year.

For those unfamiliar with Feedburner; it's the company that powers more blog and website RSS feeds than any other. Feedburner is as famous as the little orange RSS icon it powers on so many websites. The most remarkable part is that the company's success was simple: create a simple free service which perfectly services a vital need in one of the most prolific emerging social media markets, and you're users will do the rest.

So why is Feedburner such an important acquisition for Google?
As the blogosphere continues to grow out of control, RSS feeds are an integral way for bloggers to share content, and more importantly, a vital way for readers to track their favourite blogs.

If you're like me, you have an RSS aggregator that is filled with hundreds of posts daily, most of which are fed by Feedburner. While the feeds help me keep track of the latest content, it also means that I visit less blogs as I am able to screen content. So it's in these feeds that Google finds one of it's most significant advertising opportunities.

The potential exposure for feed advertisers will only continue to grow as more users resort to feed aggregators to collate and discover web content. Feedburner already burns over 700,000 feeds and has the likes of Verizon and Microsoft using their feed advertising to promote their services.

Google's intentions of controlling all the world's advertising mediums are obvious, so feed advertising was only a matter of time. The Feedburner acquisition was the easiest way to capture a lion share of the market, and at the bargain price they've paid, their competitors willing ruing another one that got away. Watch out as AdSense and potentially DoubleClick ads start appearing in your favourite blog feeds.

Labels: Google

NEW! Enhanced Local Search Listing

Increase your search engine traffic and exposure with Local Search Listing, ineedhits' targeted local search marketing solution. A Local Search Listing provides you with the essential marketing tools to drive local customers to your door - you don't even need a website!

What a Local Search Listing means for your business:

Instant Local Search Engine exposure
Personalized Online Local Profile
Submission to 35 Local Search Engines and directories
Customize and update your listing at any time
No website needed

Online Local Profile
Your Online Local Profile is live within minutes to give you instant locally targeted exposure. Create and customize your profile to display the information that you want your customers to see - from your address details to reviews, products and services offered, languages spoken and much more. Each Online Local Profile has a unique web address that is registered to your company, so if you don't have a website - no worries!

Any changes you make to your Online Local Profile page, are instantly updated online, so your customers will only ever see the latest information about your business. Your Local Search Listing also enables you to select from thousands of business categories, sub-categories and attributes (highly detailed information relating to your business expertise) to ensure you're capturing the right customers attention.

Submission to 35 Local Search Engines and Directories
A Local Search Listing provides monthly submission to 35 of the most popular local search engines and directories. Your Online Local Profile helps create an enhanced local search engine listing. With local search engine traffic growing rapidly and Google's recent introduction of Universal Search, your business will stay ahead of the competition with a comprehensive Local Search Listing.

We'll guide you through optimizing and enhancing your Local Search Listing for maximum local search engine exposure and traffic. As local search explodes, this is the one search engine marketing product your company cannot do without! Order your Local Search Listing Now!

Tuesday, May 22

Yahoo! Closes Auctions as eBay Owns 94% of Market

Yahoo! has announced it will be shutting down its auction service as of June 16th 2007. The closure affects Yahoo!'s U.S. and Canadian listings with auction sites in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan to remain open.

The closure comes as little surprise with eBay commanding a huge 94% market share in the online auction segment. Hitwise research director LeeAnn Prescott noted that in the week ending 5th May, Yahoo! Auctions posted only a 0.19% share of the auction market:

The company stated the reason for closing the auction sites was "to better serve our valued customers through other Yahoo properties".

Online auction site eBid.net was quick to capitalize on the Yahoo! Auction news, announcing plans to offer U.S. and Canadian Yahoo! Auction customers a special offer to entice them to join. Yahoo Auction users can upgrade to a lifetime Platinum account membership on eBid.net for free, usually $99.99. The company will even allow users to import their Yahoo! feedback history. While somewhat sneaky, this is a great marketing effort on behalf of the company.

Labels: Yahoo

Yahoo!'s $1 Billion Bebo Bid

Rumors are running rife that Yahoo! is set to buy social networking site, Bebo, for as much as $1 billion. The story, started by The U.K's Telegraph has been circulating widely - speculation is now the name of the game.

TechCrunch states,

"The Telegraph isn't exactly known for breaking tech M&A stories, and the rumor has an exceptionally weak source - "according to silicon valley gossip" the article says. That sounds like something the Telegraph's correspondent overheard after ten or twelve cocktails last night at a party. And while I don't doubt that Yahoo is sniffing around Bebo, $1 billion seems a tad high for the service."

Is Bebo worth it? According to leaked documents, Yahoo! would have been willing to pay up to $1.62 billion for Facebook before talks fell through last year. In the last year interest in Bebo has also risen, with British Telecom rumored to offer $550 million in July 2006 for the company, and Viacom entering the scene a month later.

Bebo is much smaller than both MySpace and Facebook; however, they hold the major share of the UK social networking market and could be the entry into market that Yahoo! is looking for. According to ComScore, Bebo has 13.7 million unique users per month, each viewing an average of 20 pages per day! A bid of $1 billion would see Yahoo! paying around $73 per unique visitor, "which is certainly an acceptable cost per acquisition"!

Regardless of whether the offer is rumor or not - news that Yahoo! may be set to acquire social networking site Bebo has seen Yahoo! add 78 cents or 2.7% to its share price on the NASDAQ. If just a rumor has the market jumping (even a little bit) just imagine what could happen if Yahoo! actually do make the purchase!

Labels: Yahoo

Google to Eliminate AdSense Arbitrageurs

Late last week, reports emerged that Google was sending out 'account closure' emails to AdSense advertisers who were arbitraging the system with "made for AdSense" websites. These accounts will reportedly be disabled on June 1st, with all outstanding payouts to be made on this date.

Firstly, let's take a look at what exactly defines AdSense Arbitrage. Arbitrage in the AdSense system has been an issue almost from the conception of the program. Basically, arbitrageurs use Google AdWords and other means to send traffic to their website, which they monetize with Google AdSense. Example: I pay $0.05 per click to my website with Google AdWords but get paid $0.30 per click via AdSense - a profit of $0.25.

Generally, 'made for AdSense' (MFA) websites bring down the quality of the content network, which has become the main reason why many advertisers refuse to use it. Removal of these low quality sites is a good move by Google as many advertisers who abandoned the content network may return in light of its increase in quality.

According to a Google spokesperson, this is part of ongoing improvement to the program:

"At Google, we are always focused on how we can make the user experience as positive as possible while still providing value to our publishers and advertisers. As part of this effort, we continually conduct automated and manual reviews of publishers and sites that violate our policies. In some cases, violations of our program policies will result in termination from the AdSense program."

So the question remains, what will these arbitrageurs do now? Jennifer Slegg suggests the Yahoo! advertising network may see a sudden increase in this practice as many advertisers continue to try and monetize their traffic. Will Yahoo! follow Google's lead and ban these sites too? Let us know what you think via our blog comments!

Labels: Google, Google AdSense

Search Engine Power Play - Microsoft acquires aQuantive

The search heavyweights have all been busy on the acquisition front trying to secure their piece of the top end online advertising market. Microsoft is the last of the search trinity to flex its acquisition muscle, picking up aQuantive for a mere $6 billion.

After Google's recent purchase of DoubleClick for $3.1 billion, and Yahoo!'s less publicized buyout of Right Media for $680 million, this latest power play by Microsoft was not only expected by somewhat overdue.

aQuantive, owns interactive ad agency Avenue A RazorFish, advertising tool provider Atlas, and DrivePM, an online advertising network. While the company is definitely one of the bigger players in the market, the $6 billion price tag was a shock to many in the industry.

So why has Microsoft been so keen to spend big?

It's a case of last chance. After being beaten to the punch by Google in the DoubleClick deal, it was vital that Microsoft bought into the lucrative top end ad market and ensure this time - they weren't out bid.

The Microsoft executives will be ruing the one that got away with DoubleClick, and simply put, aQuantive was really the last major player up for grabs. If they were outbid again, which at that price was unlikely, they would have been essentially locked out of the market.

As Paul Kedrosky pointed out in his post about the deal, it might have been a deliberately aggressive approach by the tech giant.

"It's also a sign of newfound aggression from Microsoft, an example of it saying that it can play the price premium game, locking out competitors like Google and Yahoo by playing bid-'em-up."

aQuantive is definitely a handy addition to the Microsoft advertising arsenal, but I'm still not convinced the deal will help them gain ground on Google and Yahoo! in the online advertising race. Time will tell...

Google Universal Search - Changing the Search Marketing Game

At the recent Searchology press conference held at Google headquarters, Google unveiled its latest search enhancement, appropriately titled "Universal Search".

Universal Search will see Google updating its algorithm and interface to integrate all its various search verticals into one results page. So now when you enter a search query, relevant results from Google Maps, Google Images, Google Video, Google Blog Search, Google News and the other search categories will start appearing above the main web results.

Many of you will be asking why this is such a revelation.

Well it's significant on two levels:

1. User Experience
From a searcher's point of view, it makes the main results page more intuitive and user-centric. Universal Search removes the need to navigate to different pages to find "all" relevant content about a particular query. Whether you're looking for a local business, or trying to uncover a new video, it can all be done from the one place.

Google have taken it one step further, by actually embedding the results into the page, so now you can drill down into Google Local listings, or watch videos direct from the search engine results page.

2. Search Engine Marketing
By integrating all their various search options into one results area, Google has also expanded the focus of search engine marketing. Where businesses in the past focused primarily on Organic Search Engine Marketing (Search Engine Submission and Search Engine Optimization) and Paid Advertising (Pay-per-click sponsored listings), now it's equally important for them to focus on other search verticals.

Now, more than ever, businesses should be enhancing their exposure in sections like Google Maps (Google Local), Google Images, Google Video, Google Blog Search as significant improvements in exposure will be much easier in these less competitive verticals.

With the integration of other search content at the top of the search engine results page, it also presents businesses with the opportunity of getting that top ranking that might have eluded them in normal organic search engine marketing.

Our recent research into Google Local is testament to the opportunity that exists in focusing on other search verticals.

A search for "Hairdresser New York" generates 1,070,000 web results. However, the same search in Google Maps generates only 1,372 listings. So the odds of getting better exposure is much higher in Google Maps, and the best part is that top listings appear at the top of the web results anyway under the "Universal Search" model.

After all the interface testing that Google's been doing of late, it looks like Universal Search is here to stay, and rest assured that the other search engines are likely to follow the trend shortly. So the key for online businesses is to go out and make the most of the new exposure opportunities that Universal Search offers.

Labels: Google

Tuesday, May 15

"Google Not Sexist" Claims Company

Late last week a digg post got a lot of attention with users claiming the search giant Google was sexist. The post relates to the search results of the phrase "she invented" with Google suggesting a 'sexist' alternative.

While browsing digg last week a story caught my eye that claimed Google discriminated against women when certain search phrases were entered. The story highlights the search "she invented" which Google returns the suggestion of "Did you mean: he invents".

On further investigation by the Chicago Tribune, it turns out Google makes similar suggestions for the terms "she owns", "she intelligent" and "she responsible." Oddly enough if you Google the alternative of these terms, for example "he invents", Google does not suggest "she invents" as a search result.

In an effort to seek clarity on the matter, a writer from the Chicago Tribune contacted Google to get the final word on the issue. Here is their reply:

"Google develops its own spell-checking algorithms based on sophisticated machine learning methods, using cues from aggregated user input, Web documents, and many other sources."

"The algorithm provides a 'best-guess' alternative suggestion that we think might improve the search results, and is completely generated without human input. It can be thought of as a suggestion offer, rather than a definitive answer."

So it seems the Google suggestions are completely automated, dispelling any wrongdoing or sexist claims on behalf of Google. Rather, these search suggestions should be seen as a reflection on our search trends and history.

P.S. Search suggestions aren't all one sided, after all a search for "she stupid" does return a suggestion for "he stupid" :-)

Labels: Google

4 Easy Tips to Improve Your Conversion

Getting traffic to your website is only the first step. Once visitors arrive at your website, the aim is to convert them into making a 'sale'. A sale doesn't have to be a purchase from your website, it's simply used to represent the desired action you would like the user to take. For example, this could include, completing a sign-up form, subscribing to your newsletter, receiving a phone call, almost anything. There are a range of elements that can help to improve conversion, so below we've listed our top 4 tips to convert visitors into sales!

Start Tracking Your Visitors
It's no use employing measures to increase your conversion if you don't have a benchmark to improve against! One of the easiest ways to start tracking your website conversion and a whole range of other statistics is with hitslink. Hitslink is a free service that allows you to track a range of statistics, including conversion in real time. Another great free statistics program worth trying is Google Analytics.

Simple Design and Navigation
Don't make it overly complicated for visitors to navigate around your website, or they may become frustrated and leave. Stick with a simple navigation structure that is common throughout all pages of your website. This way, visitors will always know where to look for more information.

Show Visitors You're Trustworthy
If you're asking for sensitive customer information such as payment details, you need to instill confidence in potential customers that you are a trustworthy and reputable business. The first step should be using best practice encryption whenever customer details need to be transferred. Secondly, try including client testimonials, case studies and verification from industry bodies such as TRUSTe and VeriSign.

Impact at Decision Time
When customers come to your website, they will often make a decision about your products after reading a few of your web pages and the information contained on them. One thing to remember is that often, customers will be seeking different information about your products which might not be written on each product page.

A great way to influence each visitor's decision is with real time interaction via a live chat service. LivePerson offer a fantastic live chat service which can be used to close a sale or assist a customer, directly when they are ready to make a decision. Best of all ineedhits customers get a free trial of the service and whole range of extra services.

If you would like more information on our conversion tips head over to the conversion page on our website.

The Importance of an Enhanced Google Local Business Listing

The other day I was chatting to a friend of mine from West Seneca, New York and he shared with me his experience using Google Local to find a pest control business in his area. It really highlights the growing importance of Local Search and the real value of an enhanced listing for local businesses.

He said he went to Google Local and typed in "Pest Control West Seneca, New York" and was presented with 10 pest control companies in the area. He clicked on the first company "Good Riddance Pest Control & Water Damage Restoration" and was shown all the information he needed including all their services, what they specialize in, payment methods accepted, when the business was started, contact details and even some customer reviews which helped him make a decision to the company. I reproduced his search and here's a screenshot of what he saw.

Tom said that he also checked a few of the other businesses listed on the first page to see what information they provided. I have summarized the information presented on a few of the other listings on the first page.