Month: December 2013

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Blurring the Lines Between Paid and Organic

Check your vision that may be an ad you're looking at
Check your vision that may be an ad you’re looking at.

In 2013, I feel that Google has actively worked to blur the lines between paid and organic. With algorithms that forced businesses aggressively into Google AdWords, advertising that nearly blends in at the top of the page with organic results, Google+ Local ads that look like regular listings, and now Google Shopping ads that are scheduled to appear within the organic search results, paid ads are becoming the new “organic” way to drive traffic.

Just ask any consumer of your services, “how did you find me?” Nearly all will say “on Google”. But probe further and the consumer really does not know if they saw and organic link or a paid link.

With Google testing new ad layouts and new ad products they are pushing the envelop to move search placement almost into a fully paid arena. Although today on Google.com the ads at the top of the page sit inside a pink box, earlier this year they have sat in a very, very light blue or gray box, to being in a white box that matches the page with a small goldenrod box in front.

But Google’s not alone Bing is additionally testing some of these same exact formats. I believe that we will see even further blurring between paid and organic this next year with more emphasis on paid placement programs than paying firms to place your website content in the organic results.

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Not Provided Keyword Data in Analytics Work Arounds

In Google Analytics almost all organic search activity is being returned with a “not provided” tag masking the actual keywords used to find your content. If you are not advertising in Google AdWords, you may be totally in the dark as to what keywords visitors are using to find your web page content.

If you are looking to improve website visibility and popularity of your website, you may be struggling to figure out what keywords you should use for a landing page, topic for an e-newsletter or for that matter even the topic for a blog post.

Here are a few tips on how you can discover keywords and opportunities to incorporate into your content creation program by thinking outside the norm.

1. Use Google.com’s predictive text insertion to identify top search terms to see if you are covered. Click in to some of the searches you like and look carefully at the returned results. Do you see businesses like yours there or do you just see PDFs from colleges or government entities. Make sure the words you use for your final cut match with your business based on the returned results.

2. Use YouTube.com’s predictive text insertion in the search field to identify possible keyword variations you may not have considered. If you are video minded and see a possible keyword opportunity, consider making a video to fill that niche and place on that topic.

3. Use the Google AdWords Keyword Planner tool to do a reality check and see what type of competition you may face and look for alternative keyword variations.

4. Make sure to review your Google Analytics beyond the first page of results where you see the “not provided” as further down the page and back you will be able to see some of the actual keyword terms used to find you.

5. Make sure to review your Google Webmaster account to see what terms Google is showing as your query results. Although you may not see all the terms used to find you, you will be able to glean very specific insight as to city name, combinations, and top activity. If you feel you need professional help, we provide consulting services to help identify areas of opportunity.

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Remembering Keebler Our Spokesdog

Today on Christmas day we remember our spokesdog Keebler who passed away on October 10, 2013.

We know that Keebler is waiting for her Mom, Nancy McCord at the Rainbow Bridge to be reunited and that she is playing and having fun chasing squirrels while she waits.

Keebler our spokesdog is sorely missed and we are thinking about her today on Christmas.

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More on Google and Duplicate Content

I felt that this video clarification from Google lead spam engineer Matt Cutts was a worthy review. Make sure to read my comments underneath the video.

You can view this video at YouTube at http://youtu.be/mQZY7EmjbMA.

The key take away on this video is that Google is grouping duplicate content by their algorithm and is only showing the top result.

So who exactly does this impact? Thousands of e-commerce sites that all share the same product descriptions and previously were able to compete with each other. Now that landscape has changed, and changed significantly.

Here’s my own quote found on the video page:

“So, I think I understand then that this leaves e-commerce stores that have the same exact boiler plate content as 20 to 100+ other sites sitting squarely in the duplicate content category meaning that Google is grouping the product pages across the web and only showing one in the search results due to relevancy. I would bet that the one that shows is the one with the highest CTR or most social shares. Since last year the algorithm changes that Google has made have significantly changed how e-commerce stores (that do not have unique products or unique content) operate; forcing most into AdWords to get site traffic.”