Started getting aware of the web technology and search engine marketing of your website? If you have not started marketing your website it is not too late you must start now without any further delay. Here are concrete reasons why you must market your website through search engines and directories.
* Your competitors are ranking well on the search engines.
Your competitors have opted for search engine optimization technology and started attracting your prospective customers. It is very frustrating that even though they are inferior in quality and services they are getting more and more business through internet marketing.
* Your customer and potential customer are surfing the web to find out your products.
Gone are the days when your potential customers are collecting initial information about your products and services through yellow pages and business directories. They have become more technology oriented and using internet to read and research about products and services. They shortlist good companies and start negotiations with them. If your site is not listed well in the search engine, you will miss the chance to quote.
* A well promoted website makes it easy for people to refer new customers to you.
For most of the businesses, referrals are the most crucial source of getting new customers. With a well promoted website, it becomes easy to encourage the referrals because customer can simply send your URL to their business contacts. Many times, referrals influence your potential customers to alternative manufacturer.
* Search Engine Optimization makes your website online global office which is open to your potential customer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Even when you are relaxing, your website is working for you. It is constantly giving information about your company, business, and services. Your prospective customer does not have to contact you personally for any kind of information about your company. They can only get in touch with you through email when they are convinced about getting into any type of business association with your company. This saves lot of your time and energy.
* From remote destinations or distant countries, your customers can buy your products and pay for them while sitting at their computer.
Online business or selling online has become so common across the world that irrespective of nature or value of the product, people close deal through website. You can do business with customers from any part of the world and their payment made directly into your bank account here you are sure about your payment as you will not dispatch the product without realization of money while there are instances in the local market that you have to send product first and then you get the payment. Chances are there you get payment very late but here you are doing business in cash and widening reach of your product across the world.
* Search engine marketing increases the value of your product.
You can have pages and pages about your company, products, and services in much more detailed form than anyone else can be able to offer. A well placed website in search engine can draw the attention of your prospective customers and get an opportunity to explain about superiority over your competitors.
* Any new product or updates in product range can reach your customer faster.
A well promoted site conveys the message through search engine listing. If your site is listed well in search engine, any updates in your website will be reflected faster as spider visits your site regularly. So when you introduce latest product or upgrade the product and your prospective customer is looking for upgraded product, your site will draw attention with the relevant keywords. So chances of getting new business will become faster. Just compare this fast updates of your website in search engine with reprinting, redesigning, and redistribution of your new sales brochure.
* Search engine marketing will help you to reach potential customers worldwide, nationwide, or locally without any extra cost.
Thanks to search engine marketing, wider the business prospect, lower the business promotion cost. It is rightly said search engine marketing is a gift of God to all small and genuine ambitious businessmen to reach globally. Just think if your website is listed well, and it opens all doors to business opportunities coming from all over the world.
* Search engine marketing can save lot of your money.
Just compare the cost of leaflet printing, magazine advertising and mailing versus the cost of search engine marketing. The scope of search engine marketing has wider reach vis-à-vis conventional marketing activities which is much more expensive than search engine promotion.
* Your website positioning in search engine increases your credibility
Imagine the miracle of technology, your website is listed above multimillion dollar companies or your company placed above world leader in your product range. In that case, your prospective customer will visit your website, which creates credibility at par with the multimillion dollar company. A high ranking website creates powerful impact on a potential customer & creates confidence in you. If your website is well designed and well positioned visitors will have no choice but to be impressed.
* You can test new products or services instantly at no extra cost
Once your site is positioned well in search engine, you can add any information to the website and list the same at ranking high in search engines. So based on response, you get about new services or products through search engines. You can make business decision about scope of new services or products. In other words, search engine marketing replaces conventional market research and get feed back from larger and wider audience at no extra cost.
* Search engine optimization helps you to stay in contact with potential customers.
There are chances that your prospective buyer is interested in your product but not ready to buy right now. So just to get information he will visit your site and collect the information but when he is ready to buy the product he will again search the internet. If you are with knowledgeable search engine marketing company, your position in search engine would have improved or remained the same position, giving more confidence to your prospective buyer. Staying top in search engine ranking keeps your company fresh in visitors mind.
* Leading in search engine proves that you are leader in your business too.
If your website is listed with high ranking in most of the search engine and directories, customers will see your website more wherever and whenever he surfs. This creates a solid impression about your company product and services in the mind of prospective buyer. In other words, it establishes leadership status in the mind of customer. This leads to more business opportunities. So be on top, go for search engine marketing with knowledgeable firm. This is the most effective and more economical marketing technology available on this planet.
http://www.topranker.in/seo_articles.htm
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
How search engine marketing tools can work for you: or, searching is really all about finding
Summary
This is the second of three articles. Part 1 appeared in the August issue of Information Outlook.
Search engine optimization and marketing covers a wide range of activities, many of which are similar to what a reference librarian, systems librarian, or market researcher does. Although the focus is the World Wide Web, many of the tools that are used have broader applications for special librarians.
Internal corporate processes. Web analytics tools measure and analyze corporate sales, customer preferences and problems, viable products and channels, and other issues that may provide answers for questions received by special librarians.
Competitive intelligence/market research. Keyword research, Web site saturation and popularity tools can provide information on a company's competitors: how they are marketing on the Internet, what they are spending on online marketing campaigns, how they are pricing their products.
Legal issues. Who Is tools can provide valuable information relating to copyright and trademark issues. Link Popularity tools can show who is deep-linking to your site. Log files, in conjunction with Who Is tools, can tell you who may be committing click fraud on your paid placement campaigns or spamming your e-mail servers.
Back end knowledge of how Web sites work. These tools can show you what may be keeping search engines from indexing your site and can highlight customer service issues.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FWE/is_10_9/ai_n15890934
This is the second of three articles. Part 1 appeared in the August issue of Information Outlook.
Search engine optimization and marketing covers a wide range of activities, many of which are similar to what a reference librarian, systems librarian, or market researcher does. Although the focus is the World Wide Web, many of the tools that are used have broader applications for special librarians.
Internal corporate processes. Web analytics tools measure and analyze corporate sales, customer preferences and problems, viable products and channels, and other issues that may provide answers for questions received by special librarians.
Competitive intelligence/market research. Keyword research, Web site saturation and popularity tools can provide information on a company's competitors: how they are marketing on the Internet, what they are spending on online marketing campaigns, how they are pricing their products.
Legal issues. Who Is tools can provide valuable information relating to copyright and trademark issues. Link Popularity tools can show who is deep-linking to your site. Log files, in conjunction with Who Is tools, can tell you who may be committing click fraud on your paid placement campaigns or spamming your e-mail servers.
Back end knowledge of how Web sites work. These tools can show you what may be keeping search engines from indexing your site and can highlight customer service issues.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FWE/is_10_9/ai_n15890934
GeoTrust updates TrustWatch Search engine
INTERNET BUSINESS NEWS-(C)1995-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD
Additional features have been added to the TrustWatch Search engine by GeoTrust Europe Inc, a provider of identity verification solutions for e-business and digital certificates.
TrustWatch Search is a free trusted search service aimed at preventing consumers from being victims of identity theft, phishing scams and web-based fraud. It verifies the security of a website by placing a green, yellow or red verification symbol beside each search result and displays CNET's Certified Store rating data, allowing consumers to evaluate merchant sites using additional data.
As well as verifying secure sites for e-commerce and other transactions the service now also verifies a number of content sites.
TrustWatch Search offers a site report facility to include site verification and SSL encryption, store ratings and website reviews, security certification, site attribute information and privacy policies. It enables consumers to evaluate and verify the integrity of a website, review merchants and report suspicious, phishing-related activity.
Feedback is collected and evaluated by GeoTrust, forwarded to anti-fraud organisations as appropriate and kept for potential future use in TrustWatch ratings. The updated TrustWatch Search can be found as a search box in the TrustWatch anti-phishing toolbar from GeoTrust and through http://www.TrustWatch.com as a destination consumer search site.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BNG/is_2005_Oct_27/ai_n15761539
Additional features have been added to the TrustWatch Search engine by GeoTrust Europe Inc, a provider of identity verification solutions for e-business and digital certificates.
TrustWatch Search is a free trusted search service aimed at preventing consumers from being victims of identity theft, phishing scams and web-based fraud. It verifies the security of a website by placing a green, yellow or red verification symbol beside each search result and displays CNET's Certified Store rating data, allowing consumers to evaluate merchant sites using additional data.
As well as verifying secure sites for e-commerce and other transactions the service now also verifies a number of content sites.
TrustWatch Search offers a site report facility to include site verification and SSL encryption, store ratings and website reviews, security certification, site attribute information and privacy policies. It enables consumers to evaluate and verify the integrity of a website, review merchants and report suspicious, phishing-related activity.
Feedback is collected and evaluated by GeoTrust, forwarded to anti-fraud organisations as appropriate and kept for potential future use in TrustWatch ratings. The updated TrustWatch Search can be found as a search box in the TrustWatch anti-phishing toolbar from GeoTrust and through http://www.TrustWatch.com as a destination consumer search site.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BNG/is_2005_Oct_27/ai_n15761539
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Reviews of Two Legal Search Engines for Consumers
I'm a believer in the old adage "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing," but not when I need the services of a lawyer. I find that when I'm familiar with the basic legal facts about a matter, my lawyer and I can accomplish my goal with a minimum of confusion, in the shortest time possible.
For example, if I'm drawing up a will, it helps to know who can be chosen as an executor, what a living trust is, and how property can be divided, so that I can mull over my own preferences about these issues before seeing my attorney.
Of course, if my legal facts are not accurate, they will be less than worthless. Two specialized search engines that provide access to reputable legal information for consumers are USLaw.com and FindLaw for the Public.
USLaw.com - CLEAR, COMPREHENSIVE LEGAL INFORMATION FOR CONSUMERS
USLaw.com is without a doubt the best place to go for consumer information about legal matters. The information you'll find here is consistently well-organized, well-written and informative. Although the articles are not overly long, they are amazingly comprehensive, and touch on the major issues relating to a topic.
There are about 2,000 articles in USLaw's database. The main areas it covers are family law, employment, immigration, real estate, finance, health and injury, crime and the courts, commercial issues and small business. Most seem to have been written specifically for USLaw.com by professionals in various fields of law, or have been excerpted from books.
Although the number of documents in the database is not large, its scope is relatively limited - the common legal concerns of individuals and small businesses - so most searches result in a fairly long list of relevant, helpful articles.
Search Tips
No search operators are available in USLaw.com. Entering one or two search words having to do with your subject will usually retrieve the best results. For example, if you are withholding your rent payments because your landlord is not providing heat and you want to find information about the legal ramifications, you might enter
withhold rent
This would retrieve 13 articles, most with direct relevance to your subject (e.g. Landlord and Tenant: Solutions for Breach of the Warranty of Implied Habitability and Landlord and Tenant: When Payment of Rent is Excused).
Each search result includes the title of the item and a short description.
Special Features
Special features at USLaw include a search engine for locating USLaw.com prescreened attorneys in your area, plus two fee-based services - access to the advice of a staff lawyer either in real time or by e-mail, and a service enabling you to create your own legal documents.
FindLaw FOR THE PUBLIC - RETRIEVES LEGAL INFORMATION
FROM MANY SOURCES
FindLaw for the Public is part of FindLaw, a very large site that is geared to providing information for legal professionals. A particularly useful feature of FindLaw for the Public are the legal "guides" covering many areas of law that are of special interest to consumers. These guides contain links to various types of information and resources, including articles, FAQ's, legal forms, message boards, etc.
Search Tips
FindLaw for the Public gives you a choice of 10 databases to search (on its drop-down menu) - FindLaw, document library, legal dictionary, legal news, legal websites, all websites, US government sites, US Supreme Court, all Circuit Courts, and the US Constitution. For the average consumer, searching the legal websites will provide the most useful information.
When searching the legal websites, you can use the minus sign to exclude a word and quotation marks to indicate a phrase.
Results
The format of the items retrieved differ among the databases. Items resulting from a search of the legal websites contain the title, a description and the url.
Special Features
You can find lawyers in many specialties using FindLaw's extensive search engine. In addition, you can get information and advice relating to your topic, and read many sad stories at FindLaw's message boards.
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/search_engines/88089/1
For example, if I'm drawing up a will, it helps to know who can be chosen as an executor, what a living trust is, and how property can be divided, so that I can mull over my own preferences about these issues before seeing my attorney.
Of course, if my legal facts are not accurate, they will be less than worthless. Two specialized search engines that provide access to reputable legal information for consumers are USLaw.com and FindLaw for the Public.
USLaw.com - CLEAR, COMPREHENSIVE LEGAL INFORMATION FOR CONSUMERS
USLaw.com is without a doubt the best place to go for consumer information about legal matters. The information you'll find here is consistently well-organized, well-written and informative. Although the articles are not overly long, they are amazingly comprehensive, and touch on the major issues relating to a topic.
There are about 2,000 articles in USLaw's database. The main areas it covers are family law, employment, immigration, real estate, finance, health and injury, crime and the courts, commercial issues and small business. Most seem to have been written specifically for USLaw.com by professionals in various fields of law, or have been excerpted from books.
Although the number of documents in the database is not large, its scope is relatively limited - the common legal concerns of individuals and small businesses - so most searches result in a fairly long list of relevant, helpful articles.
Search Tips
No search operators are available in USLaw.com. Entering one or two search words having to do with your subject will usually retrieve the best results. For example, if you are withholding your rent payments because your landlord is not providing heat and you want to find information about the legal ramifications, you might enter
withhold rent
This would retrieve 13 articles, most with direct relevance to your subject (e.g. Landlord and Tenant: Solutions for Breach of the Warranty of Implied Habitability and Landlord and Tenant: When Payment of Rent is Excused).
Each search result includes the title of the item and a short description.
Special Features
Special features at USLaw include a search engine for locating USLaw.com prescreened attorneys in your area, plus two fee-based services - access to the advice of a staff lawyer either in real time or by e-mail, and a service enabling you to create your own legal documents.
FindLaw FOR THE PUBLIC - RETRIEVES LEGAL INFORMATION
FROM MANY SOURCES
FindLaw for the Public is part of FindLaw, a very large site that is geared to providing information for legal professionals. A particularly useful feature of FindLaw for the Public are the legal "guides" covering many areas of law that are of special interest to consumers. These guides contain links to various types of information and resources, including articles, FAQ's, legal forms, message boards, etc.
Search Tips
FindLaw for the Public gives you a choice of 10 databases to search (on its drop-down menu) - FindLaw, document library, legal dictionary, legal news, legal websites, all websites, US government sites, US Supreme Court, all Circuit Courts, and the US Constitution. For the average consumer, searching the legal websites will provide the most useful information.
When searching the legal websites, you can use the minus sign to exclude a word and quotation marks to indicate a phrase.
Results
The format of the items retrieved differ among the databases. Items resulting from a search of the legal websites contain the title, a description and the url.
Special Features
You can find lawyers in many specialties using FindLaw's extensive search engine. In addition, you can get information and advice relating to your topic, and read many sad stories at FindLaw's message boards.
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/search_engines/88089/1
Reviews of Two Legal Search Engines for Consumers
--Hi Paula, this is Janice, your SME. You accidentally posted two copies of this article today. I've dated the second copy into the distant future as a fix. I haven't made any other changes to the copy.----
I'm a believer in the old adage "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing," but not when I need the services of a lawyer. I find that when I'm familiar with the basic legal facts about a matter, my lawyer and I can accomplish my goal with a minimum of confusion, in the shortest time possible.
For example, if I'm drawing up a will, it helps to know who can be chosen as an executor, what a living trust is, and how property can be divided, so that I can mull over my own preferences about these issues before seeing my attorney.
Of course, if my legal facts are not accurate, they will be less than worthless. Two specialized search engines that provide access to reputable legal information for consumers are USLaw.com and FindLaw for the Public.
USLaw.com - CLEAR, COMPREHENSIVE LEGAL INFORMATION FOR CONSUMERS
USLaw.com is without a doubt the best place to go for consumer information about legal matters. The information you'll find here is consistently well-organized, well-written and informative. Although the articles are not overly long, they are amazingly comprehensive, and touch on the major issues relating to a topic.
There are about 2,000 articles in USLaw's database. The main areas it covers are family law, employment, immigration, real estate, finance, health and injury, crime and the courts, commercial issues and small business. Most seem to have been written specifically for USLaw.com by professionals in various fields of law, or have been excerpted from books.
Although the number of documents in the database is not large, its scope is relatively limited - the common legal concerns of individuals and small businesses - so most searches result in a fairly long list of relevant, helpful articles.
Search Tips
No search operators are available in USLaw.com. Entering one or two search words having to do with your subject will usually retrieve the best results. For example, if you are withholding your rent payments because your landlord is not providing heat and you want to find information about the legal ramifications, you might enter
withhold rent
This would retrieve 13 articles, most with direct relevance to your subject (e.g. Landlord and Tenant: Solutions for Breach of the Warranty of Implied Habitability and Landlord and Tenant: When Payment of Rent is Excused).
--Hi Paula, this is Janice, your SME. You accidentally posted two copies of this article today. I've dated the second copy into the distant future as a fix. I haven't made any other changes to the copy.----
I'm a believer in the old adage "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing," but not when I need the services of a lawyer. I find that when I'm familiar with the basic legal facts about a matter, my lawyer and I can accomplish my goal with a minimum of confusion, in the shortest time possible.
For example, if I'm drawing up a will, it helps to know who can be chosen as an executor, what a living trust is, and how property can be divided, so that I can mull over my own preferences about these issues before seeing my attorney.
Of course, if my legal facts are not accurate, they will be less than worthless. Two specialized search engines that provide access to reputable legal information for consumers are USLaw.com and FindLaw for the Public.
USLaw.com - CLEAR, COMPREHENSIVE LEGAL INFORMATION FOR CONSUMERS
USLaw.com is without a doubt the best place to go for consumer information about legal matters. The information you'll find here is consistently well-organized, well-written and informative. Although the articles are not overly long, they are amazingly comprehensive, and touch on the major issues relating to a topic.
There are about 2,000 articles in USLaw's database. The main areas it covers are family law, employment, immigration, real estate, finance, health and injury, crime and the courts, commercial issues and small business. Most seem to have been written specifically for USLaw.com by professionals in various fields of law, or have been excerpted from books.
Although the number of documents in the database is not large, its scope is relatively limited - the common legal concerns of individuals and small businesses - so most searches result in a fairly long list of relevant, helpful articles.
Search Tips
No search operators are available in USLaw.com. Entering one or two search words having to do with your subject will usually retrieve the best results. For example, if you are withholding your rent payments because your landlord is not providing heat and you want to find information about the legal ramifications, you might enter
withhold rent
This would retrieve 13 articles, most with direct relevance to your subject (e.g. Landlord and Tenant: Solutions for Breach of the Warranty of Implied Habitability and Landlord and Tenant: When Payment of Rent is Excused).
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/search_engines/88088
I'm a believer in the old adage "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing," but not when I need the services of a lawyer. I find that when I'm familiar with the basic legal facts about a matter, my lawyer and I can accomplish my goal with a minimum of confusion, in the shortest time possible.
For example, if I'm drawing up a will, it helps to know who can be chosen as an executor, what a living trust is, and how property can be divided, so that I can mull over my own preferences about these issues before seeing my attorney.
Of course, if my legal facts are not accurate, they will be less than worthless. Two specialized search engines that provide access to reputable legal information for consumers are USLaw.com and FindLaw for the Public.
USLaw.com - CLEAR, COMPREHENSIVE LEGAL INFORMATION FOR CONSUMERS
USLaw.com is without a doubt the best place to go for consumer information about legal matters. The information you'll find here is consistently well-organized, well-written and informative. Although the articles are not overly long, they are amazingly comprehensive, and touch on the major issues relating to a topic.
There are about 2,000 articles in USLaw's database. The main areas it covers are family law, employment, immigration, real estate, finance, health and injury, crime and the courts, commercial issues and small business. Most seem to have been written specifically for USLaw.com by professionals in various fields of law, or have been excerpted from books.
Although the number of documents in the database is not large, its scope is relatively limited - the common legal concerns of individuals and small businesses - so most searches result in a fairly long list of relevant, helpful articles.
Search Tips
No search operators are available in USLaw.com. Entering one or two search words having to do with your subject will usually retrieve the best results. For example, if you are withholding your rent payments because your landlord is not providing heat and you want to find information about the legal ramifications, you might enter
withhold rent
This would retrieve 13 articles, most with direct relevance to your subject (e.g. Landlord and Tenant: Solutions for Breach of the Warranty of Implied Habitability and Landlord and Tenant: When Payment of Rent is Excused).
--Hi Paula, this is Janice, your SME. You accidentally posted two copies of this article today. I've dated the second copy into the distant future as a fix. I haven't made any other changes to the copy.----
I'm a believer in the old adage "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing," but not when I need the services of a lawyer. I find that when I'm familiar with the basic legal facts about a matter, my lawyer and I can accomplish my goal with a minimum of confusion, in the shortest time possible.
For example, if I'm drawing up a will, it helps to know who can be chosen as an executor, what a living trust is, and how property can be divided, so that I can mull over my own preferences about these issues before seeing my attorney.
Of course, if my legal facts are not accurate, they will be less than worthless. Two specialized search engines that provide access to reputable legal information for consumers are USLaw.com and FindLaw for the Public.
USLaw.com - CLEAR, COMPREHENSIVE LEGAL INFORMATION FOR CONSUMERS
USLaw.com is without a doubt the best place to go for consumer information about legal matters. The information you'll find here is consistently well-organized, well-written and informative. Although the articles are not overly long, they are amazingly comprehensive, and touch on the major issues relating to a topic.
There are about 2,000 articles in USLaw's database. The main areas it covers are family law, employment, immigration, real estate, finance, health and injury, crime and the courts, commercial issues and small business. Most seem to have been written specifically for USLaw.com by professionals in various fields of law, or have been excerpted from books.
Although the number of documents in the database is not large, its scope is relatively limited - the common legal concerns of individuals and small businesses - so most searches result in a fairly long list of relevant, helpful articles.
Search Tips
No search operators are available in USLaw.com. Entering one or two search words having to do with your subject will usually retrieve the best results. For example, if you are withholding your rent payments because your landlord is not providing heat and you want to find information about the legal ramifications, you might enter
withhold rent
This would retrieve 13 articles, most with direct relevance to your subject (e.g. Landlord and Tenant: Solutions for Breach of the Warranty of Implied Habitability and Landlord and Tenant: When Payment of Rent is Excused).
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/search_engines/88088
Monday, May 28, 2007
Surplus Of Search Engine Marketing Reports
It's been a busy few weeks for reports about search engine marketing issues, with three different publications having been released recently. They cover the issues of selecting a search engine marketing firm, which search engine marketing strategies seem to work and a review of how the web sites of Fortune 100 companies rate in terms of search engine friendliness.
The first, "Buyers' Guide to Search Engine Optimization & Positioning Firms," is an outstanding resource that fills a long-needed gap. There has simply never been this type of comprehensive guide to firms that conduct search engine marketing, and the report is a real must buy for anyone considering outsourcing their search engine marketing efforts.
Published by MarketingSherpa, the 100 page report covers 24 search engine marketing firms, with at least another 31 to be added over the coming months. Along with profiles of the firms, it also has an outstanding introduction to the many different ways that search engine optimization firms approach the task of building traffic. The report costs $119, when downloaded in PDF format, or $129 for a print version.
Who made the cut to be reviewed? A post for recommended search engine marketing firms was sent to several mailing lists frequented by web marketers. Over 100 responses came back, and a list of the initial 24 firms was compiled, when duplicates and subcontractors were removed. The concept was to use this type of survey to find what are the leading firms, at least in terms of reputation.
It was a good approach, especially in that since the SEO industry lacks any type of trade group to determine who is biggest. Nor does biggest necessarily mean the best. After all, independent consultants might perform outstanding work as well as firms with many employees. At least this report provides a first benchmark to "who's who" in the industry.
One part of the MarketingSherpa report calls search engines "the ultimate, cost-effective online guerrilla marketing tactic" and adds that "if search engines are not driving a solid percentage of your traffic, then you have not optimized properly." But what's a solid percentage? The report notes this could vary between 5 to 100 percent, depending on your overall marketing mix.
Isn't there a better figure that can be found? That's one of the questions several questions that "Search Engine Optimization Strategies: A Marketer's Perspective" aimed to answer.
I know this new 46-page report well, because I cowrote it with Search Engine Watch associate editor Chris Sherman for CyberAtlas. Whereas the MarketingSherpa report is a first in surveying SEO firms, the CyberAtlas report is a first in surveying so many web site owners about a wide-range of tactics they follow to achieve success with search engines. The report is $195, when downloaded in PDF format, using the special URL below.
The focus wasn't about specific search engine optimization techniques, such as how many search terms can go into a meta keywords tag. Instead, it was an overview of the collective search engine marketing experiences of over 400 web site owners and marketers.
For instance, we found that there was no conclusive answer to the "how much traffic should you get from search engines" question. Nearly as many respondents (24 percent) said they received more than 75 percent of their web traffic from search engines as those who indicated they got less than 25 percent. In fact, answers for the entire range of traffic volumes were nearly evenly matched in responses. Truly, how much traffic others get is no great measure of how well or poorly you are doing.
The report examined the take-up of paid participation programs. Paid submission to Yahoo and LookSmart and paid listings with GoTo were by far the most popular programs, each used by over 30 percent of those survey (you could select as many programs as you used). Paid inclusion from Inktomi and Google's paid placement programs also had some significant usage, around the 20 percent mark.
Another finding was that about half (46 percent) of those responding said they spent less than 0.5 percent of their annual marketing budgets on search engine optimization, which was pretty shocking, given that search engine listings are becoming widely recognized as one of the most targeted and cost-effective types of advertising available.
The third search engine-related report released recently comes from search engine positioning firm iProspect. The company surveyed the web sites of the Fortune 100 companies and found that 97 percent of them had some type of site architecture problem that might give them problems being found by search engines.
In particular, the report examined the use of JavaScript, Flash, frames and some popular dynamic delivery systems, all of which can may cause crawler-based search engines to miss indexing pages. The study also examined the use of title and both the meta keywords and description tags, as well as link popularity.
One fact from the report's press release is that the study found that half the companies reviewed had meta keyword tags. However, it determined that the tags didn't make use of key products or services offered by those companies. If they had, it might have increased the chances of the companies getting some valuable traffic from search engines.
The press release overstates the problem, however, suggesting that the lack of accurate meta data means that pages about products and services from these companies "will in all likelihood not appear in the query results." The web's major human powered search engines, such as Yahoo, make no use of meta data to compile their listings. In addition, Google -- one of the web's most popular crawler-based search engines -- also doesn't use the meta keywords tag. In these instances, accurate or inaccurate meta data would have no bearing on rankings.
The report is available in two forms. A $195 summary version provides an overview of findings, with some interesting comparisons to how things have changed since 1998 (better, but there's plenty of room for improvement), along with an industry-by-industry breakdown. The $2,000 full copy presumably provides a close up look at each company's web sites, providing details on problems that were found.
http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=2164261
The first, "Buyers' Guide to Search Engine Optimization & Positioning Firms," is an outstanding resource that fills a long-needed gap. There has simply never been this type of comprehensive guide to firms that conduct search engine marketing, and the report is a real must buy for anyone considering outsourcing their search engine marketing efforts.
Published by MarketingSherpa, the 100 page report covers 24 search engine marketing firms, with at least another 31 to be added over the coming months. Along with profiles of the firms, it also has an outstanding introduction to the many different ways that search engine optimization firms approach the task of building traffic. The report costs $119, when downloaded in PDF format, or $129 for a print version.
Who made the cut to be reviewed? A post for recommended search engine marketing firms was sent to several mailing lists frequented by web marketers. Over 100 responses came back, and a list of the initial 24 firms was compiled, when duplicates and subcontractors were removed. The concept was to use this type of survey to find what are the leading firms, at least in terms of reputation.
It was a good approach, especially in that since the SEO industry lacks any type of trade group to determine who is biggest. Nor does biggest necessarily mean the best. After all, independent consultants might perform outstanding work as well as firms with many employees. At least this report provides a first benchmark to "who's who" in the industry.
One part of the MarketingSherpa report calls search engines "the ultimate, cost-effective online guerrilla marketing tactic" and adds that "if search engines are not driving a solid percentage of your traffic, then you have not optimized properly." But what's a solid percentage? The report notes this could vary between 5 to 100 percent, depending on your overall marketing mix.
Isn't there a better figure that can be found? That's one of the questions several questions that "Search Engine Optimization Strategies: A Marketer's Perspective" aimed to answer.
I know this new 46-page report well, because I cowrote it with Search Engine Watch associate editor Chris Sherman for CyberAtlas. Whereas the MarketingSherpa report is a first in surveying SEO firms, the CyberAtlas report is a first in surveying so many web site owners about a wide-range of tactics they follow to achieve success with search engines. The report is $195, when downloaded in PDF format, using the special URL below.
The focus wasn't about specific search engine optimization techniques, such as how many search terms can go into a meta keywords tag. Instead, it was an overview of the collective search engine marketing experiences of over 400 web site owners and marketers.
For instance, we found that there was no conclusive answer to the "how much traffic should you get from search engines" question. Nearly as many respondents (24 percent) said they received more than 75 percent of their web traffic from search engines as those who indicated they got less than 25 percent. In fact, answers for the entire range of traffic volumes were nearly evenly matched in responses. Truly, how much traffic others get is no great measure of how well or poorly you are doing.
The report examined the take-up of paid participation programs. Paid submission to Yahoo and LookSmart and paid listings with GoTo were by far the most popular programs, each used by over 30 percent of those survey (you could select as many programs as you used). Paid inclusion from Inktomi and Google's paid placement programs also had some significant usage, around the 20 percent mark.
Another finding was that about half (46 percent) of those responding said they spent less than 0.5 percent of their annual marketing budgets on search engine optimization, which was pretty shocking, given that search engine listings are becoming widely recognized as one of the most targeted and cost-effective types of advertising available.
The third search engine-related report released recently comes from search engine positioning firm iProspect. The company surveyed the web sites of the Fortune 100 companies and found that 97 percent of them had some type of site architecture problem that might give them problems being found by search engines.
In particular, the report examined the use of JavaScript, Flash, frames and some popular dynamic delivery systems, all of which can may cause crawler-based search engines to miss indexing pages. The study also examined the use of title and both the meta keywords and description tags, as well as link popularity.
One fact from the report's press release is that the study found that half the companies reviewed had meta keyword tags. However, it determined that the tags didn't make use of key products or services offered by those companies. If they had, it might have increased the chances of the companies getting some valuable traffic from search engines.
The press release overstates the problem, however, suggesting that the lack of accurate meta data means that pages about products and services from these companies "will in all likelihood not appear in the query results." The web's major human powered search engines, such as Yahoo, make no use of meta data to compile their listings. In addition, Google -- one of the web's most popular crawler-based search engines -- also doesn't use the meta keywords tag. In these instances, accurate or inaccurate meta data would have no bearing on rankings.
The report is available in two forms. A $195 summary version provides an overview of findings, with some interesting comparisons to how things have changed since 1998 (better, but there's plenty of room for improvement), along with an industry-by-industry breakdown. The $2,000 full copy presumably provides a close up look at each company's web sites, providing details on problems that were found.
http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=2164261
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Spam Rules Require Effective Spam Police
What's spam? Search columnist Kevin Ryan wasn't quite correct in saying there are no standards in his recent article. Indeed, the two major search providers each publish standards about what they find unacceptable. Here they are: Google's and Yahoo's.
Ryan's summary of things to avoid, like other ones that have appeared recently from Shari Thurow (here and here) Dave Wallace and Jill Whalen, is a good one.
Clearly, knowing what's widely considered spam isn't hard. So why aren't people "playing by the rules?" Here are just a few reasons:
* The rules for each search engine aren't necessarily the same, though they do seem closer today than in the past.
* Some people have a "the cheaters are winning" mentality. If they see spam slip through, they feel like they should do the same (regardless of the fact that the "cheat" technique might not actually be what's helping a page rank well).
* Some people simply don't agree with the search engine rules. For example, they might justify the use of "hidden text" via cascading style sheets to make up for the fact that their home page has no text. To them, search engines are simply stupid for not accepting this.
* Some people simply don't care. As far as they're concerned, as long as a person gets to something relevant to their search topic, who cares how it came up?
How About Standards?
Ryan's commentary sees one solution to spam as a lobbying for standards. This idea has been floating around for ages and has gone nowhere.
SEM pioneer Paul Bruemmer pushed for search engine optimization certification back in 1998. But as I wrote then, just having a "rule book" doesn't mean and end to spam.
We also had a push in 2001 for search engine marketing standards, which also has gone nowhere in terms of reducing spam in search engines.
How About Better Search Engine Disclosure?
Want a real solution to the spam problem? Then let's have the search engines agree to publish lists of firms and companies that they have banned. That would help the consumer seeking an SEM firm to understand which firms to avoid. Or, if they do use a banned firm, at least they've been warned about the consequences if they still want to go with a "rule" breaker.
It's something I've suggested before, and the search engines themselves have discussed the idea at various times in the past. It's never gone forward, because the search engines seem fearful of legal actions, should they out-and-out call a firm a spammer.
Given this, it's with some sympathy that I've defended the still new SEMPO search engine marketing industry group, when it has come under fire for not trying to ensure its members adhere to search engine spam guidelines.
SEMPO recently posted a FAQ explaining why it has declined to do this. I feel even more forcefully. If the search engines aren't brave enough to enforce their own laws, why should the onus be on a third party group that doesn't even create these rules?
They Do Enforce!
Of course, search engines do police for spam. If they catch it, a page might be penalized for banned entirely. But that's not the same or as effective as providing an offenders list, for a variety of reasons.
* An offenders list ensures that people who aren't ranking well or aren't listed for perfectly innocent reasons can discover that their problems are NOT due to a spam penalty. Far too often, people assume that they've "accidentally" spammed when they haven't. That leads them to perhaps make changes they needn't do.
* Sometimes spam is simply allowed to continue on. Google is especially famous for this, preferring to seek "algorithmic" solutions to removing spam than perhaps to react immediately to spam reports and yank material. Why? Google says it wants to detect overall patterns and come up with more comprehensive solutions. Unfortunately, the waiting period for this fuels the "anything goes" fears that some search marketers have when they see spam escaping prosecution.
* Disclosure helps searchers, not just companies that want to be listed. We've seen press outcry over filtering of adult content or filtering content in response to national laws, with the idea that perhaps Google and other search engines should disclose what they remove. But as I've written several times before, no search engine discloses what they've removed for spam reasons. That's something a searcher might want to know.
Disclosure...
To further expand on my last point, Google currently provides you with two ways to discover if they've removed material because of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a US law that can cause search engines to bar listings. A DMCA case involving the Church of Scientology in 2002 is probably the most famous example of this.
Google provides DMCA takedown requests that they receive to the Chilling Effects Clearinghouse. So, do a search there for Google, and you can review the material Google's been asked to remove.
I don't believe that Yahoo does the same thing, provide copies of DMCA takedown requests. However, you can get some sense by searching for Yahoo at Chilling Effects. Ironically, this brings back requests to Google that were probably bulk directed to Yahoo and other search engines.
Google will also provide "inline" notification if it has removed or suppressed material that might otherwise have shown up in the results you were reviewing. For example, try a search for kazaa. At the bottom of the page, you'll see this notice:
In response to a complaint we received under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act,
we have removed 5 result(s) from this page. If you wish, you may
read the DMCA complaint for these removed results.
This is excellent disclosure (and not something I believe Yahoo or other search engines do). Google's not only telling you that they removed results, but you can also clickthrough to read the actual complaint that they reacted to.
...And Lack Of Disclosure
Now return to the spam issue. As a searcher, were you informed that material was removed from your search request? Nope. And might there be an economic incentive for search engines to ban sites? Absolutely. Removing sites may cause those sites to resort to taking out ads, exactly the accusation that Google came under (and strongly denied) at the end of last year, when many sites lost rankings.
Let's not single out Google. Long-time search engine marketer Greg Boser nearly brought an audience of search engine marketers to its feet in applause when he criticized search engines themselves as needing better standards during a session Search Engine Strategies in 2002.
One of the issues Boser complained about was how sites would get pulled, only to then hear from various search engines about how they could get back in in through advertising or paid inclusion.
Real-Life Disclosure Example
Want a real-life example of the need for disclosure? Earlier this month, NetIQ, the maker of WebTrends, purchased rank checking tool WebPosition. It was a pretty big deal. Perhaps someone may have gone to Google and done a search for webposition to find out more about the software.
Good luck finding the official WebPosition site. It's not in the top results, unusual given that Google built its reputation largely on providing good navigation to official sites. Why not? Because WebPosition has no pages listed in Google at all. For ages, I've not seen Google list pages from WebPosition. It's probably banned, but of course Google doesn't confirm these things. And as a searcher, it's not something that was disclosed to you.
The Google-WebPosition problem? Google doesn't like the burden the popular rank checking software places on its system, so explicitly warns people not to use it. But ironically, you'll notice that Google has no problems taking ads for the software from WebPosition's many resellers.
Let me stress -- similar things are happening at other search engines as well. The need for better spam disclosure is universal, not just a Google-specific problem.
Protect Yourself
Better disclosure would be helpful for so many reasons. It would help confused web site owners. It would help guide those seeking the many good, search engine marketing firms that diligently try to avoid trouble and play by the search engine rules. I'd love to see it happen.
Until it does -- or more likely, given that it may never come -- here are some additional suggestions to guide you.
* When it comes to spam, the search engines are the lawmakers. You operate within their borders and are subject to whatever rules they may or may not publish. Break the rules, and you can get tossed out of the country. So learn the rules, as much as you can -- assuming you want to avoid trouble.
* Outsourcing? Knowing the rules may not help, if the SEM company simply makes up its own euphemisms to cover up things search engines don't like. So get references. You might also try contacting the search engines themselves for advice about the company, but don't hold your breath waiting for a response. Still do it. Should you get banned, at least you have some evidence that you tried to do due diligence with the search engine themselves.
Looking for more on the topic of spam? Search Engine Watch members have access to the Search Engine Spamming page, which has a summary of things commonly considered bad to do, as well as a compilation of articles on the topic. The Search Engine Optimization Articles and Search Engine Marketing Articles pages also have a compilation of articles that touch on spam and past guidelines and standards attempts.
Another new spam resource is a scholarly paper that's just appeared out of Stanford, Web Spam Taxonomy. It's a nice summary, though not entirely accurate. Google still stands by the fact that it does not give out "URL spam" penalties for URLs that contain to many keywords in them (though I personally wouldn't do this, despite such assurances). And the example giving a meta keyword tag spam example in the report actually doesn't look like spam at all. But only a search engine could tell you for certain -- and none of them do.
For fun, you might also look at the new Black Hat SEO site. This is a humorous directory to unsavory search engine marketing pitches that have been received by Aaron Wall.
Finally, the Outsourcing Search Engine Marketing page is a compilation of articles covering advice on seeking out SEM firms to work with, such as the recent SEO outsouring one we published on this topic in SearchDay last month.
http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=3344581
Ryan's summary of things to avoid, like other ones that have appeared recently from Shari Thurow (here and here) Dave Wallace and Jill Whalen, is a good one.
Clearly, knowing what's widely considered spam isn't hard. So why aren't people "playing by the rules?" Here are just a few reasons:
* The rules for each search engine aren't necessarily the same, though they do seem closer today than in the past.
* Some people have a "the cheaters are winning" mentality. If they see spam slip through, they feel like they should do the same (regardless of the fact that the "cheat" technique might not actually be what's helping a page rank well).
* Some people simply don't agree with the search engine rules. For example, they might justify the use of "hidden text" via cascading style sheets to make up for the fact that their home page has no text. To them, search engines are simply stupid for not accepting this.
* Some people simply don't care. As far as they're concerned, as long as a person gets to something relevant to their search topic, who cares how it came up?
How About Standards?
Ryan's commentary sees one solution to spam as a lobbying for standards. This idea has been floating around for ages and has gone nowhere.
SEM pioneer Paul Bruemmer pushed for search engine optimization certification back in 1998. But as I wrote then, just having a "rule book" doesn't mean and end to spam.
We also had a push in 2001 for search engine marketing standards, which also has gone nowhere in terms of reducing spam in search engines.
How About Better Search Engine Disclosure?
Want a real solution to the spam problem? Then let's have the search engines agree to publish lists of firms and companies that they have banned. That would help the consumer seeking an SEM firm to understand which firms to avoid. Or, if they do use a banned firm, at least they've been warned about the consequences if they still want to go with a "rule" breaker.
It's something I've suggested before, and the search engines themselves have discussed the idea at various times in the past. It's never gone forward, because the search engines seem fearful of legal actions, should they out-and-out call a firm a spammer.
Given this, it's with some sympathy that I've defended the still new SEMPO search engine marketing industry group, when it has come under fire for not trying to ensure its members adhere to search engine spam guidelines.
SEMPO recently posted a FAQ explaining why it has declined to do this. I feel even more forcefully. If the search engines aren't brave enough to enforce their own laws, why should the onus be on a third party group that doesn't even create these rules?
They Do Enforce!
Of course, search engines do police for spam. If they catch it, a page might be penalized for banned entirely. But that's not the same or as effective as providing an offenders list, for a variety of reasons.
* An offenders list ensures that people who aren't ranking well or aren't listed for perfectly innocent reasons can discover that their problems are NOT due to a spam penalty. Far too often, people assume that they've "accidentally" spammed when they haven't. That leads them to perhaps make changes they needn't do.
* Sometimes spam is simply allowed to continue on. Google is especially famous for this, preferring to seek "algorithmic" solutions to removing spam than perhaps to react immediately to spam reports and yank material. Why? Google says it wants to detect overall patterns and come up with more comprehensive solutions. Unfortunately, the waiting period for this fuels the "anything goes" fears that some search marketers have when they see spam escaping prosecution.
* Disclosure helps searchers, not just companies that want to be listed. We've seen press outcry over filtering of adult content or filtering content in response to national laws, with the idea that perhaps Google and other search engines should disclose what they remove. But as I've written several times before, no search engine discloses what they've removed for spam reasons. That's something a searcher might want to know.
Disclosure...
To further expand on my last point, Google currently provides you with two ways to discover if they've removed material because of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a US law that can cause search engines to bar listings. A DMCA case involving the Church of Scientology in 2002 is probably the most famous example of this.
Google provides DMCA takedown requests that they receive to the Chilling Effects Clearinghouse. So, do a search there for Google, and you can review the material Google's been asked to remove.
I don't believe that Yahoo does the same thing, provide copies of DMCA takedown requests. However, you can get some sense by searching for Yahoo at Chilling Effects. Ironically, this brings back requests to Google that were probably bulk directed to Yahoo and other search engines.
Google will also provide "inline" notification if it has removed or suppressed material that might otherwise have shown up in the results you were reviewing. For example, try a search for kazaa. At the bottom of the page, you'll see this notice:
In response to a complaint we received under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act,
we have removed 5 result(s) from this page. If you wish, you may
read the DMCA complaint for these removed results.
This is excellent disclosure (and not something I believe Yahoo or other search engines do). Google's not only telling you that they removed results, but you can also clickthrough to read the actual complaint that they reacted to.
...And Lack Of Disclosure
Now return to the spam issue. As a searcher, were you informed that material was removed from your search request? Nope. And might there be an economic incentive for search engines to ban sites? Absolutely. Removing sites may cause those sites to resort to taking out ads, exactly the accusation that Google came under (and strongly denied) at the end of last year, when many sites lost rankings.
Let's not single out Google. Long-time search engine marketer Greg Boser nearly brought an audience of search engine marketers to its feet in applause when he criticized search engines themselves as needing better standards during a session Search Engine Strategies in 2002.
One of the issues Boser complained about was how sites would get pulled, only to then hear from various search engines about how they could get back in in through advertising or paid inclusion.
Real-Life Disclosure Example
Want a real-life example of the need for disclosure? Earlier this month, NetIQ, the maker of WebTrends, purchased rank checking tool WebPosition. It was a pretty big deal. Perhaps someone may have gone to Google and done a search for webposition to find out more about the software.
Good luck finding the official WebPosition site. It's not in the top results, unusual given that Google built its reputation largely on providing good navigation to official sites. Why not? Because WebPosition has no pages listed in Google at all. For ages, I've not seen Google list pages from WebPosition. It's probably banned, but of course Google doesn't confirm these things. And as a searcher, it's not something that was disclosed to you.
The Google-WebPosition problem? Google doesn't like the burden the popular rank checking software places on its system, so explicitly warns people not to use it. But ironically, you'll notice that Google has no problems taking ads for the software from WebPosition's many resellers.
Let me stress -- similar things are happening at other search engines as well. The need for better spam disclosure is universal, not just a Google-specific problem.
Protect Yourself
Better disclosure would be helpful for so many reasons. It would help confused web site owners. It would help guide those seeking the many good, search engine marketing firms that diligently try to avoid trouble and play by the search engine rules. I'd love to see it happen.
Until it does -- or more likely, given that it may never come -- here are some additional suggestions to guide you.
* When it comes to spam, the search engines are the lawmakers. You operate within their borders and are subject to whatever rules they may or may not publish. Break the rules, and you can get tossed out of the country. So learn the rules, as much as you can -- assuming you want to avoid trouble.
* Outsourcing? Knowing the rules may not help, if the SEM company simply makes up its own euphemisms to cover up things search engines don't like. So get references. You might also try contacting the search engines themselves for advice about the company, but don't hold your breath waiting for a response. Still do it. Should you get banned, at least you have some evidence that you tried to do due diligence with the search engine themselves.
Looking for more on the topic of spam? Search Engine Watch members have access to the Search Engine Spamming page, which has a summary of things commonly considered bad to do, as well as a compilation of articles on the topic. The Search Engine Optimization Articles and Search Engine Marketing Articles pages also have a compilation of articles that touch on spam and past guidelines and standards attempts.
Another new spam resource is a scholarly paper that's just appeared out of Stanford, Web Spam Taxonomy. It's a nice summary, though not entirely accurate. Google still stands by the fact that it does not give out "URL spam" penalties for URLs that contain to many keywords in them (though I personally wouldn't do this, despite such assurances). And the example giving a meta keyword tag spam example in the report actually doesn't look like spam at all. But only a search engine could tell you for certain -- and none of them do.
For fun, you might also look at the new Black Hat SEO site. This is a humorous directory to unsavory search engine marketing pitches that have been received by Aaron Wall.
Finally, the Outsourcing Search Engine Marketing page is a compilation of articles covering advice on seeking out SEM firms to work with, such as the recent SEO outsouring one we published on this topic in SearchDay last month.
http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=3344581
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