March 27, 2008
March 27, 2008
Social Media Pop Quiz: 3 Questions You'll Never Get Right
If you're following the PEW studies on Internet Life and Campaign '08, then you know the Presidential election will be won or lost online - or by whoever drinks the most wheatjuice on the campaign trail.
The election won't quite be "Go Vote at TNA Wrestling!" or counted by the TNAwrestling.com boys. (Except, maybe, in Florida.)
Politics makes strange bedfellows (Eliot, David, Jim) but nothing makes stranger bedfellows than social media and politics.
We're often asked by readers how they can prepare for a career in search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), and social media optimization (SEO). Well there's one way even we didn't think of: politics.
So here's a quiz you'll never get right without searching online:
1. Which director of social media is the former press secretary to the former Governor of the great state of Florida? (pictured while in office below)
2. Which social media panel is he or she speaking on in the next couple months? (Hint: think Wikipedia)
3. Where and when is the conference? (Hint: $100. off if you register by March 31)
Posted by Kevin Heisler at 11:59 PM | Permalink
SEO Barry Schwartz AKA RustyBrick Joins Search Engine Journal
While surfing the seamy underbelly of the Web we tracked down this scoop: former Search Engine Watch news editor Barry Schwartz AKA RustyBrick of SERoundtable fame has joined Loren Baker's Search Engine Journal, according to BlackHat Planet. We were unable to reach Barry, Search Engine Watch Forums member, to confirm the reasons behind his shocking move.
We know. You're as surprised as we are.
CORRECTION: Barry Schwartz DID NOT join Search Engine Journal.
However, the evidence shown (above) clearly indicates Barry Schwartz AKA RustyBrick is the pen-name for Ann Smarty AKA SEOSmarty.
How long SEO consultant Ann Smarty has been blogging as "RustyBrick" is not yet clear.
Exclusive! CORRECTION to the CORRECTION: Ann Smarty did indeed write the referenced post and apparently Barry Schwartz (who does in fact exist) is merely taking credit for Ann's post on Search Engine Journal.
We expect a full apology in writing from CartoonBarry soon.
UPDATE after the jump.
CORRECT CORRECTION to the CORRECTION: The renowned black hat SEO publication, Black Hat Planet, SCRAPED the Search Engine Journal post incorrectly. We patiently await their correction.
Our sincere apologies to all parties. We will (upon request) remove all links to Search Engine Journal, Search Engine Roundtable and SEOSmarty.com.
Posted by Kevin Heisler at 8:51 PM | Permalink
Search Headlines & Links: March 27, 2008
Want a snapshot of the day's search marketing news? Here we've collected today's top news stories posted to the Search Engine Watch Blog, along with search-related headlines from around the Web:
From the SEW Blog:
- Conversion Rates & The Value Of Outsourcing SEM/SEO
According to a new study, outsourced conversion rates are much higher. It may be that agencies that are specialists in a particular area see a wide cross-section of accounts and industries among their clients, and thus should be able to do a better job. - Google Ad Clicks Up, Down and Flat in Feb., Depending on Who You Ask
According to today's headlines, clicks on Google ads are dropping, flattening and experiencing a slowdown in growth - all at the same time! - Google Launches YouTube Insight - Google Analytics Lite
Today Google video search engine YouTube launched a free Web analytics tool. Think Google Analytics Lite: it's essentially a way to see how popular a video is over time combined with a global map that shows where it's popular. - SEW Experts: Creating a Link Building System
We, as industry insiders, often lose the pulse of the real world. Sometimes, we all need to take a step back and look at things from a new perspective, and realize that the majority of marketers are not immersed in search marketing as we are. - SEW Experts: Read Any Good SEO Books Lately?
Some people are looking for the right book to learn everything there is to know about SEM. Unfortunately, it doesn't exist. Still, there are several books out there that can help further your understanding of search marketing in general, or do a deep dive on a specific sub-topic.
Headlines & News from Elsewhere:
- What's the Fuss Over Local Search Anyway?, ClickZ Experts
- We Don't Need SEO Standards!, Search Engine Land
- Blogging - Step 1 of the Authority Building Process, Search Engine People
- What "Internet Marketers" Can Teach Search Marketers, SEO Fast Start
- Employer expectations are unrealistic for many search jobs, SEO Woman
Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 5:25 PM | Permalink
Conversion Rates & The Value Of Outsourcing SEM/SEO
I recently got my hands on Marketing Sherpa's newly released Landing Page Handbook. This detailed guide is packed full of industry information and practical case studies.
One of the things that jumped out at me was a table of conversion rate averages for different marketing tactics. The survey data was drawn from over 5000 active online marketers in a variety of settings.
In-house managed PPC Search - 3.84%
Outsourced managed PPC Search - 5.40%
Difference: 40%
In-house Natural Search Optimization - 2.62%
Outsourced Natural Search Optimization - 4.76%
Difference: 80%
As you can see, the outsourced conversion rates are much higher. Before I go any further, I must admit that this is not a scientific sample, and that self-selecting biases of various kinds are bound to obscure these results. We are not given any breakdown by industry or company sizes, or other critical information. However, at a high level the data makes perfect sense, since agencies must perform better to justify their fees and keep their client's loyalty and business.
Agencies that are specialists in a particular area see a wide cross-section of accounts and industries among their clients and should be able to do a better job. This is not a slam at their hard-working and capable in-house counterparts. It is an acknowledgment that our industry moves very fast, and unless you have a whole organization focused on keeping up with the changes, it is very difficult to stay up on the latest developments.
Marketing activities are the engine of growth for a company. They are not administrative cost centers. Many companies mistakenly try to save a little money by running their programs in-house. They do not realize the real cost is in the lost opportunities that they can not capitalize on. If your in-house program is profitable, that is not enough - you must consider the scale of your program and always question how much money you might be leaving on the table. Giant conversion rate differences such as the above can be turned into strategic weapons that let you soundly trounce your competition.
So next time you consider the in-source / outsource decision, consider opportunity as well as direct costs.
Posted by TimAsh at 2:59 PM | Permalink
Google Ad Clicks Up, Down and Flat in Feb., Depending on Who You Ask
According to today's headlines, clicks on Google ads are dropping, flattening and experiencing a slowdown in growth - all at the same time! New comScore data is being reported and there are more angles on the numbers than there are flavors at Baskin Robbins. So who's right? Everyone is, to a point.
Here's the reported data:
* February 2008 clicks are up 3% to 515 million over February 2007
* February 2008 clicks are down 3% from January 2008.
* January 2008 clicks were down 7.5% from December 2007.
I contacted comScore's Andrew Lipsman for more details and to ask him if these declines were seasonal as opposed to sensational:
"We do not publicly release our paid click data, it is sent exclusively to clients. I can confirm the information you cited is accurate. It’s fair to say that all things being equal, February will see sequential declines vs. January because it has fewer days. It is probably more important to look at the y/y trends with this data as opposed to sequential changes."
Certainly these numbers are not as impressive as we've seen for Google in recent years. But how much of this should be attributed directly to Google is uncertain. The broader economic slowdown combined with low consumer confidence is producing a slowdown in growth in many industries.
But Wall Street doesn't like uncertainty, and GOOG was down 11 points at the time of this post. Still, Google dominates the search engine market in the United States.
Posted by Nathania at 12:39 PM | Permalink
Google Continues Paid Links Crusade
According to Dave Naylor, the punishments Google is handing down for paid links appear to be retroactive. On his blog, Naylor outlines the case of a site that was recently penalized for selling paid links more than six months ago. According to Indigo Clothing's founder Alex Walker, the site had sold links in the past, but had removed them from its site about six months ago. The site was recently penalized by Google, and Matt Cutts indicated to Naylor that the cause was likely past sales of paid links.
While sites have been penalized for actively selling links, this case appears to be different. If Walker is indeed being truthful when he says they stopped selling links six months ago, that would mean that Google is punishing sites that have already stopped selling links. It will be interesting to see if this is indeed the case, and what the statute of limitations will be.
UPDATE: According to Matt Cutts, Google is NOT applying these penalties retroactively. "We first took action on this site months and months ago, back in 2007," Matt told me.
So it seems that webmasters that have stopped buying or selling links should not fear retribution by Google for their past actions, as long as they have removed the links from their sites.
Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 7:57 AM | Permalink
Google Launches YouTube Insight - Google Analytics Lite
Today Google video search engine YouTube launched a free Web analytics tool.
Think Google Analytics Lite: it's essentially a way to see how popular a video is over time combined with a global map that shows where it's popular.
The map? It's identical to Google Analytics. Hmmm, wonder if it will ever be integrated into the Google Analytics platform?
Google announced the tool in a blog post after midnight EDT stating Insight enables anyone with a YouTube account to view "detailed statistics" about the videos they upload.
So what insights will YouTube Insight provide?
1. how often a video's viewed in different geographic regions
2. how popular it is relative to all videos in a market over a period of time
3. how long until a video becomes popular (the fuzziest of fuzzy metrics)
4. what happens to video views as popularity peaks
What happens to video views when popularity peaks?
They go up? Then they go down?
If anybody knows for sure, ping me.
Posted by Kevin Heisler at 12:54 AM | Permalink
SEW Experts: Creating a Link Building System
We, as industry insiders, often lose the pulse of the real world. Sometimes, we all need to take a step back and look at things from a new perspective, and realize that the majority of marketers are not immersed in search marketing as we are. In today's Link Building column, "Creating a Link Building System," Sage Lewis goes back to link-building basics and offers a seven-step plan to get beyond linkbait and start getting ranked in the SERPs.
Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink
SEW Experts: Read Any Good SEO Books Lately?
Some people are looking for the right book to learn everything there is to know about SEM. Unfortunately, it doesn't exist. Still, there are several books out there that can help further your understanding of search marketing in general, or do a deep dive on a specific sub-topic. In today's Search Marketing Education column, "Read Any Good SEO Books Lately? Try These," Ron Jones offers some suggestions to add to your search marketing library.
Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink
