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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.

Friday, May 30

Another Yahoo! Search Algorithm Update

Yahoo! have just applied another update to their search ranking algorithm which will see changes in the Yahoo SERPS (search engine results pages). This update is the latest in a string of recent ranking algorithm tweaks with the previous update just over a month ago.

As per usual, the process does take some time, which will shuffle around some of the pages in the Yahoo! index. From the Yahoo blog:

"We'll be rolling out some changes to our crawling, indexing and ranking algorithms over the next few days, but expect the update will be completed soon. As you know, throughout this process you may see some ranking changes and page shuffling in the index."

Algorithm updates are especially important for webmasters because it gives a chance for any SEO efforts to be picked up and translated into ranking improvements.

Some comments in the Yahoo post indicate that the update may have changed the reliance on social sites and keywords in the URL, however I have not been able to confirm this. Below is the response from some users:

"The update had apparently begun. There appears to be less reliance on social sites in the SERPs than in the previous updates."

"There also appears to be even more reliance on the search term in the URL as well from my observations. Any one else noticed this?"

If you're still finding it tough to get included in Yahoo! using the standard free submission service, why not try our Y-Boost service which guarantees inclusion in only 7 days - or your money back!

Labels: Yahoo

Obama Spent $3.5 Million in Online Advertising, Most of it on Google

In yet another sign that online has become a dominant force of modern advertising, Clickz have just compiled some data indicating that Obama spent at least $3.47 million on online advertising between January and April this year. The biggest recipient of this money was Google who took over 82 percent of the total money spent.

One of the highest spending months was February this year, with around 1.9 million paid to online advertising companies. A breakdown of the expenditure is below:

As you can see a majority of the money went to Google, with other advertising networks such as Yahoo, Pulse360, AOL owned Quigo and Microsoft taking a large share. Facebook was the largest of the social sites taking around $9,000 in advertising revenue.

The Clickz article notes that Obama's team has shifted a lot of their budget towards performance based media, with donations and votes in mind. All of the top spending media firms offer cost-per-action programs which make it accountable and easier to measure the campaign success.

While the majority was spent on the above mediums, some influential blogs and websites also received healthy contributions over the period with Politico taking $36,000, CNN.com $24,000, and Gothamist ($2,800). These were most likely CPM (cost per thousand) based ads.

Politicians are just another industry that have recognized the power of online advertising in driving new donations and votes for their campaigns. If you're thinking of getting involved but don't know where to start, check our out fully managed Easy Search Advertising program.

Google Helping to Rid the Internet of Suspicious Sites

Google has recently released a new tool to help us avoid clicking onto dangerous websites in a Google search.

The new Safe Browsing feature highlights websites that may feature malicious content either in their coding or available downloads. It uses information obtained by an automated investigation system that looks for potential problems across the web.

The tool is similar to the recently released SearchScan by Yahoo! which was in association with McAfee's Site Advisor.

To use the tool, all you need to do is add the suspicious website's URL to the following:

http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?site=

Google will then return four sets of security details about that page. Which include:

(1) The current listing status of a site and also information on how often a site was listed in the past.

(2) The last time Google analyzed the page, when it was last malicious, what kind of malware Google encountered and so fourth.

(3) Has this site acted as an intermediary resulting in further distribution of malware?

(4) Has the site hosted malicious software in the past?

So if you come across any websites which you think look a little suspicious then just to be on the safe side it might pay to give Safe Browsing a go. Might also be worth checking your own website, to see if it has been listed as malicious at any point.

Google's Idea to Help us Plan Our Next Holiday!

It seems that Google wants to help you plan your next holiday. Recent news from BusinessWeek indicates that Google is considering putting into action plans to enter the travel area.

This new plan by Google would likely include video (perhaps from YouTube) and most likely be helped along by Google Maps.

Rob Torres, Google's Managing Director for Travel, has said that the goal of Google's travel division "is to give users a destination where they can research travel plans, read user reviews, and see user uploaded videos and photos." "We are already so highly searched for travel." So I guess Google would like to make this new venture an all over one- stop shop for travel information.

Torres hasn't been too forthcoming with the timeframe for this project or even what Google's exact plans are. Be it a full- travel site, or just sponsored pages or a channel on YouTube - we will just have to "watch this space"! But with nearly a billion dollars in marketing for the project, you would suggest they won't be doing this half-heartedly.

Online travel spending exceeds $80 billion annually in the US, so this is a very strategic move by Google to try and leverage the success of the YouTube phenomenon to build extra revenue from those of us who actually have time to take a holiday.

Want 400% ROI on your Search Advertising? Google advertising optimization Tips!

Sharing client success isn't something we often do through this blog, as we focus more on the news and DIY side of the search engine marketing industry - But this tale is worthy of sharing.

Given the years of experience we have in Google advertising, generating strong ROI (return on investment) on brand new campaigns is fairly simple.

BUT - what happens when a company seeks your services wanting to improve on their existing Google advertising performance which is generating an ROI of 200% already!

You need to dig deep into your wealth of experience and search advertising knowledge to find the campaign elements that can be refined to extract even better results - especially when the industry is competitive.

And on this occasion, this is exactly what we did! And the result - days where ROI reached over 400%

Okay, so you want to know what we did - right? Of course you do.

Well - here's some of the skills of the trade we used! But don't tell everybody ;)

It's all about careful optimization. Once your search advertising foundations are in place - you need to tweak and refine, paying close attention to the micro-details. Here's some of the details and tactics we used:

1. Keywords that don't convert even with strong clickthrough get paused/removed (save them for later). It's the basics of search advertising, but every campaign needs a good clean out!

2. Implement negative keywords to block irrelevant traffic and save budget for the keywords that generate results - $$$$ not just clicks!

3. Start some scheduling. Almost every campaign converts better at certain times of the day, or certain days of the week. Constantly test to refine your scheduling and day parting.

4. Let go of Top spot. Being the top ad for every search is more about vanity than effective campaign management. Don't overspend for placement that doesn't improve results!

5. Let conversion drive your campaign adjustments. It sounds obvious, but it's easy to get caught up with the multitude of campaign variables (bids, CTR, quality scores, etc) and forget the ultimate goal - revenue.

Now, I can't disclose the company's name, but let's just say they were the top provider in a competitive e-tailing industry - and with ROI of 400%, they're sure to further assert themselves as leaders in the industry.

So if you've already got a Google advertising campaign that's performing well, but you think you haven't maximized its potential - then review some of the optimization strategies we used to drive campaign ROI to 400%

If you're thinking of starting a new search advertising campaign, why not speak to one of our advertising team and find out more about this amazing search advertising success story! Get the inside word by calling 1 866 873 5834 (free call for US & Canada). Other countries - click here.

Searchers Demand Top 10 Rankings - Don't be Ignored

You've all heard it before, a top 10 listing on the search engines is vital because 48 per cent of users don't look past the first page!

Guess what? - It's much worse!

A new report out suggests internet users are getting more impatient, and now a whopping 68 per cent of users make their choice from the top 10!

The study, tabled by Yahoo!, iProspect and JupiterResearch, paints a dark picture for website owners who are siting below the top 10 results! Theoretically, they are only exposing their sites to 32% of searchers by sitting off the first page.

Can you believe that 23% of searchers change their query or switch search engines if they don't find what they're looking for in the first few results? So Top 3 is where you really "need" to be.

And if traffic and exposure alone aren't enough to motivate your continued SEO efforts, the report also suggests that 39% of users believe that companies with top search engine placement are key players in their industry.

So if you placed your SEO on the backburner, or are wondering whether search advertising is useful for your business - this report highlights how important first page exposure on search engines like Google and Yahoo! is for your business.

Tuesday, May 27

Viacom to Sue Google Over YouTube Copyright Infringement

Viacom, an entertainment giant, has filed a $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube. The court case was originally filed in 2007 but was rewritten last month. In the updated version, the company argues that YouTube constantly allows copyrighted material to be posted on its site, including material from cable channels owned by Viacom, such as MTV and Comedy Central.

Google, the parent company of YouTube, has responded to the lawsuit by saying this "threatens the way hundreds of millions of people legitimately exchange information, news, entertainment and political and artistic expression".

Viacom argues that it has found more that 150,000 clips on YouTube which were not permitted, and that the site has done nothing to bring to an end the breach of copyright.

After the lawsuit was originally filed, YouTube launched an anti-piracy tool that was intended to check uploaded videos against the original content in an attempt to identify pirated clips. However Viacom believes that YouTube is still violating copyright laws.

Google maintains that YouTube meets its legal responsibility in protecting owner's content also confirming that YouTube has remained consistent with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1998.

Viacom's Executive Chairman Sumner Redstone said; "When we filed out lawsuit, we not only served our own interests, we served the interests of everyone who owns copyrights that they want protected... We cannot tolerate any form of piracy by anyone, including YouTube... they cannot get away with stealing our products".

The Vice President of Google has made it clear that they intend to fight the claims made by Viacom and settle this matter in court. No doubt this won't be the last we hear about this issue. Feel free to leave a comment on your opinion on the topic.

Monday, May 26

Do You Report Your Competitors to Google?

One of the hot topics in the blog community at the moment raises an interesting question about search engine competition and the practice of grey or blackhat SEO techniques in order to boost your rankings. Website owners have been divided over the question:

Do you report your competitors to Google if they're using spam or blackhat SEO techniques?

There's no doubt that as a small business owner, you always have to compete. Whether it's online or offline, there is always going to be other businesses looking to grab their share of the marketplace.

Unfortunately, with the online world, this competition is not always fair. Some competitors may be using questionable SEO techniques to "cheat" their way to better rankings and get ahead without being caught by Google. In this case, your only defense is to report these competitors to Google and hope they take action.

There have been a couple of polls in recent weeks which have given completely different answers - so we decided to run our own. Let us know what you think by answering the poll below:

In the end, it all comes down to personal preference. Some people may argue that we should all be treated on a fair playing ground - so reporting spam is ok, while others say to focus on improving your own website, and let Google deal with people who try and game the system.

I'm not going to give my personal opinion here, but i'd love to hear what you all think. Answer the poll above and let us know what you would do via our blog comments!

Labels: SEO

Microsoft's New "CashBack" Search Strategy

Last week, Microsoft announced a new search advertising strategy that aims to pay users who use the search engine to find and buy products from participating retailers. Nicknamed "the search that pays you back", Microsoft's Live Search Cashback is their latest attempt to make inroads on Google's dominant market share.

Users simply register for free and search for cashback deals at Live Search cashback. The listings then display the cashback savings you'll receive off the total price using this small icon:

. Every time you use the service, Microsoft sends you an email to confirm your savings and when your account reaches $5 you can claim the money.

Below is a screenshot of what the cashback pages look like within the search results. You can see that it lists the cashback amount you get from various stores and the bottom line price you will pay:

For businesses, the search advertising model is a cost per action program, where advertisers only pay when a purchase is made. It allows participating stores to list their products at a fixed CPA so they can lock in their ROI.

Microsoft's market share has been relatively steady for a while now claiming 9.1% of the total market behind Google and Yahoo!. Just 6 months ago they has 9.8% market share. Many analysts are calling the move a desperate attempt to gain market share - so it will be interesting to see how the public, and advertisers respond.

Labels: Microsoft

Google Shares Secrets of their Search Engine

Google has let us in on the inner working of its search engine in a recent blog post.

Understandably, Google has to be quite secretive about the "Google crown jewels" - the ranking algorithms. This is due to not wanting competitors stealing or copying it and also Google doesn't want web sites cheating the system. But, Google now plans to share a little more with us all.

Udi Manber, Vice President Engineering, Search Quality explains further:

"Being completely secretive isn't ideal, and this blog post is part of a renewed effort to open up a bit more than we have in the past. We will try to periodically tell you about new things, explain old things, give advice, spread news, and engage in conversations."

Manber also explains that ranking is much harder than most people realize. This is due to languages being ambiguous and there being no standards of how to convey information. So the Search Quality team needs to be able to understand all web pages, which could be written by anyone.

"The most famous part of our ranking algorithm is PageRank, an algorithm developed by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who founded Google. PageRank is still in use today, but it is now a part of a much larger system. Other parts include language models (the ability to handle phrases, synonyms, diacritics, spelling mistakes, and so on), query models (it's not just the language, it's how people use it today), time models (some queries are best answered with a 30-minutes old page, and some are better answered with a page that stood the test of time), and personalized models (not all people want the same thing)."

This is only the first in a string of blog posts that Manber plans to provide to keep us informed of updates in Google search quality. To read the whole post, click here.

So what's Google's main focus? Manber explains that the key thing about search is that the expectation of users is growing rapidly and Google's overall main focus is to ensure that they continue to come up with new ideas to exceed user expectations and remain the number one search engine.

Microsoft Doesn't Want You to Read Books Anymore!

Microsoft has announced that they will no longer continue with Live Search Books and Live Search Academic.

The reason behind this axing is because both products do not fit into Microsoft's web strategy. Microsoft believes the next generation of search is about the "development of an underlying, sustainable business model for the search engine, consumer and content partner" and I guess books and academic publications just don't make the cut!

Satya Nadella, Senior Vice President Search, Portal and Advertising, said that "today we informed our partners that we are ending the Live Search Books and Live Search Academic projects and that both sites will be taken down next week. Books and scholarly publications will continue to be integrated into our Search results, but not through separate indexes."

"This also means that we are winding down our digitization initiatives, including our library scanning and our in-copyright book programs. We recognize that this decision comes as disappointing news to our partners, the publishing and academic communities, and Live Search users. "

This will surely work to Google's advantage, with their competing product, Book Search, already adding 3000 books per day to its index.

Sunday, May 25

Google Advertisers Beware - AdWords "Automatic Matching" Expanding

In what started as a small beta test in Feb 08, Google's "Automatic Matching" function is being made available to more AdWords advertisers. The controversial feature is expanding this weekend and you could be one of the lucky (or unlucky) ones without knowing it.

Let's see what Automatic Matching is before we lay judgment on its effectiveness.

The AdWords Help center describes Google AdWords Automatic Matching like this:

"Automatic matching is an optional feature that helps your ads reach targeted traffic missed by your keyword lists. It works by analyzing the ads, keywords, and landing pages in your ad group. It then shows your ads on search queries relevant to this information.

When automatic matching is first enabled, it dedicates a short period of time to gather information about your campaign. During this period, you won't see any change to your traffic levels. Once automatic matching has evaluated your campaign, your ads will start to show on additional relevant search queries."

At face value, Automatic Matching could help advertisers tap into traffic that they are overlooking due to small keyword lists, but there are some potential pitfalls for advertisers to consider:

Relevance of new exposure:
As with any computer generated relevancy, there is significant scope for error. Look at organic search results for example. Advertisers often employ small keyword sets deliberately for testing and targeting purposes, which an Automatic Matching algorithm won't be able to consider.

Budget Management:
While a campaign budget might not be fully used on a daily or monthly basis, many advertisers factor this performance into their overall campaign budgeting. With Automatic Matching set-up, you'll need to ensure your spend caps are accurate to avoid budget blowout.

Another concern is how they allocate your budget across all keywords. There is the risk that new terms will potentially steal budget away from your lower clickthrough but better converting terms.

Effectiveness of ads:
When you've carefully crafted ads based on a very niche set of keywords, it's difficult to believe that the Automatic Matching algorithm will only identify additional keywords that exactly match the ad/s. While Google suggests that their terms won't impact your quality score, they could generate lower converting clicks via keyword-ad mismatch, which the algorithm won't be able to measure.

Keyword Performance Tracking:
Automatic Matching offers aggregated reporting on Google's suggested keyword set, which makes monitoring performance (such as CTR and conversion) at a keyword level almost impossible. So how are you expected to expand your defined keywords based on Automatic Matching recommendations?

With the above as serious issues that need to be considered, the most controversial element of the Automatic Matching beta expansion is the auto opt-in approach Google has taken.

While the help center suggests it's a feature that you can "choose" to implement, they've taken it upon themselves to opt advertisers in by default. So for those of you who haven't checked your accounts over the weekend, you could find a surprise waiting for you on Monday morning. While it wont take effect until June 3rd, make sure to check whether you're included.

While Google's approach to rolling out Automatic Matching is questionable, and there are some obvious pitfalls to the feature (as discussed above), for advertisers that are struggling to generate traffic from their Google advertising - there might be merit in testing Automatic Matching on your campaigns.

Friday, May 23

Google Sites - Website Builder or Wiki Killer?

Google has taken the "corporate only" wraps off its Google Sites service and made it available to all users.

At its most basic level, Google Sites offers a simple website creation tool with all the standard WYSIWYG fanfare - made as simple as possible. Being that its a Google offering, it has all the social and multimedia integration you'd expect (e.g. video, pictures, calendars etc).

Don't have a domain? No problems. Your Google site can sit as a subdomain on the Google sites address e.g. sites.google.com/sites/[your site]

So is Google Sites worth investing your time and effort in? If your website looks like a throwback from the 80's, then it does offer a simple and FREE way to build a reasonable good looking basic website, with some pre-loaded themes to assist the creatively challenged.

Here's a quick one I whipped up for ineedhits.

It's all child play to create the site, with simple gadgets and inbuilt functions to make your site more interactive. Spread across three design tabs - you'll be able to change appearances, add analytics, and even allow others to edit, view and comment on the site.

That said, there are probably more feature filled website building tools out there that are free, (or almost free).

So the real value of Google Sites (in my opinion) is the collaborative nature of it. If you have a community group, or need an office intranet to share ideas and information, then Google sites could be the answer.

While it's not as feature rich as some of the other "wiki" style collaborative site builders out there (i.e. Basecamp), its Google product integration will place it in good stead in this growingly important space.

Tuesday, May 20

Yahoo! Stocks Rise with Microsoft's New Offer

After Microsoft's latest proposal to only buy parts of Yahoo!, stocks of the company have risen by almost 2% in premarket trading.

Similarly in February, when Microsoft initiated an earlier deal Yahoo!, stocks shot up from $19 to $28 the next day.

However at the beginning of May, when Microsoft walked away from negotiations, Yahoo! stocks fell by a dramatic 19% while Microsoft's stocks rose by around 3%. Over the last month Yahoo! stocks have slowly been rising back to around the $25 mark.

Microsoft has since moved away from previously more forceful tactics to dealing more openly with the company, contributing to the rising stocks.

Another factor behind this increase in stocks is Microsoft's interest of now only attaining parts of Yahoo! such as the search technology.

In the ongoing conflict between Microsoft and Google, Yahoo! has become a surrogate in the war between the two internet giants. With both the companies looking to take advantage of Yahoo!'s user base of over 500 million, and success in social media news, email and display advertising.

At this point it seems as though Yahoo! will "...emerge from this battle stronger than ever, with a more defined direction and proven leadership in Yahoo driven content distribution and display ad revenue partnerships." As speculated by Loren Baker from Search Engine Journal.

No doubt this won't be the end of this long running saga; we will keep you updated with any further developments. Feel free to leave a comment on your thoughts on the issue.