Apr 29
Daily Search Forum Recap: April 29, 2008
in Search Engine Roundtable
Comments Off

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

Apr 29
SearchCap: The Day In Search, April 29, 2008
in Search Engine Land
Comments Off

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on
Search Engine Land and from other
places across the web

From Search Engine Land:


  • Google Adds Street Views To Step-By-Step Driving Directions
    The Google LatLong Blog announced that you can now see street views turn-by-turn (when available) when you are seeking out driving directions via Google Maps. For example, when driving from the Empire State Building to Times Square, you can see that Google has street views available for every turn. A…

  • Twitter Wrote This Column For Me
    By now you have probably seen a bunch of talk about Twitter. And after all of this talk you might be still thinking: OK, so what the heck is Twitter really and why should I care? How is it going to help my business at the end of the…

  • Yelp For Business: New Tools Allowing Local Businesses To Speak For Themselves & More
    As the phenomenon of local business ratings and reviews becomes more “institutionalized” and important, efforts are popping up to help businesses cope and/or take advantage of the trend. Merchant Circle is one business in the local space that has positioned itself as a platform for SMB “reputation management” as well…

  • The Art of Opportunistic Linking
    A couple weeks back I wrote a LinkWeek column here titled “Your Site’s Manifest Linking Destiny”. At the end of that column I closed with the following thoughts……

  • Google Showing Ranking Scores On AdWords?
    This morning I reported at the Search Engine Roundtable that several webmasters began noticing three values being displayed under some AdWords ads that might reveal some details on how Google may rank AdWords ads. The scores include the “Pscore,” “mCPC,” and “thresh.” Danny and I took guesses at what…

  • Microsoft Live Mobile Adds Product Search, “Find My Location”
    Microsoft has introduced enhanced mobile product search, at m.live.com. It shrinks down the content from the desktop product search into a bite-sized mobile presentation. You get images, reviews, product specifications and features. These things don’t come up for every category; however it’s a very nice presentation of information, and the…

  • Search Illustrated: Inside The Search Algorithm
    The Algorithm. If an SEO had a nickel for every time that phrase was mentioned in a day… Over time we’ve become more comfortable with the main triggers that affect search rankings. But, it’s leveraging the sum of all factors that can really give you an advantage over the…

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

Business Issues

Local, Maps & Mobile

Link Building

Microhoo

Paid Search & Contextual

Searching

SEM Industry

SEO & SEM

Social Media

Video, Music & Image Search

Web Analytics

Other Items

Recent Hot Items From Sphinn, Our Social News Sharing Site:

Apr 29
SearchCap: The Day In Search, April 29, 2008
in Search Engine Land
Comments Off

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on
Search Engine Land and from other
places across the web

From Search Engine Land:


  • Google Adds Street Views To Step-By-Step Driving Directions
    The Google LatLong Blog announced that you can now see street views turn-by-turn (when available) when you are seeking out driving directions via Google Maps. For example, when driving from the Empire State Building to Times Square, you can see that Google has street views available for every turn. A…

  • Twitter Wrote This Column For Me
    By now you have probably seen a bunch of talk about Twitter. And after all of this talk you might be still thinking: OK, so what the heck is Twitter really and why should I care? How is it going to help my business at the end of the…

  • Yelp For Business: New Tools Allowing Local Businesses To Speak For Themselves & More
    As the phenomenon of local business ratings and reviews becomes more “institutionalized” and important, efforts are popping up to help businesses cope and/or take advantage of the trend. Merchant Circle is one business in the local space that has positioned itself as a platform for SMB “reputation management” as well…

  • The Art of Opportunistic Linking
    A couple weeks back I wrote a LinkWeek column here titled “Your Site’s Manifest Linking Destiny”. At the end of that column I closed with the following thoughts……

  • Google Showing Ranking Scores On AdWords?
    This morning I reported at the Search Engine Roundtable that several webmasters began noticing three values being displayed under some AdWords ads that might reveal some details on how Google may rank AdWords ads. The scores include the “Pscore,” “mCPC,” and “thresh.” Danny and I took guesses at what…

  • Microsoft Live Mobile Adds Product Search, “Find My Location”
    Microsoft has introduced enhanced mobile product search, at m.live.com. It shrinks down the content from the desktop product search into a bite-sized mobile presentation. You get images, reviews, product specifications and features. These things don’t come up for every category; however it’s a very nice presentation of information, and the…

  • Search Illustrated: Inside The Search Algorithm
    The Algorithm. If an SEO had a nickel for every time that phrase was mentioned in a day… Over time we’ve become more comfortable with the main triggers that affect search rankings. But, it’s leveraging the sum of all factors that can really give you an advantage over the…

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

Business Issues

Local, Maps & Mobile

Link Building

Microhoo

Paid Search & Contextual

Searching

SEM Industry

SEO & SEM

Social Media

Video, Music & Image Search

Web Analytics

Other Items

Recent Hot Items From Sphinn, Our Social News Sharing Site:

Apr 29
When you monitor the blogosphere, what do you see?
in Search Engine Guide
Comments Off

by Mack Collier

If you’ve read my posts here or were able to hear me speak at Small
Business Marketing Unleashed in Houston, you know what a believer I am
in businesses monitoring the blogosphere.  It’s a must for businesses
to know what bloggers are saying about them, because then they can
respond.  But how do you know the correct way to respond?  It depends
on what you find.

So by now you have hopefully started monitoring the blogosphere and have subscribed to Google Blog Searches for your business and/or have Google Alerts set up (for more info on how to start monitoring the blogosphere, check out this post).  Now you need to know how to use this information, based on what you are finding.  Here’s four possibilities and how you can react:

1 - You find nothing.  You’re monitoring the blogosphere, but no one is blogging about you.  If you’re a small business, it’s entirely possible that you’ll be in this position.  You have an awareness problem, and in this scenario, blogging will help you boost your awareness, provided that you have the staff and time to blog.  If so, go for it!  If you are already blogging and still no one is blogging about you, then you probably need to spend more time OFF your blog, and work on engaging readers in THEIR space, not yours.

2 - You find very little, a mix of good and negative feedback.  This means that bloggers know about you, but aren’t saying much.  This likely means that you aren’t communicating with bloggers very well.  Make a point to respond to the bloggers that are mentioning you, focusing first on the bloggers that are evangelizing your business, as well as the ones that are complaining about you.  The fact that some bloggers are writing about you tells you that there IS an interest in your business, but you can likely make bloggers more interested, and positive about your business, if you spend more time on responding to and communicating with them.  Blogging will likely help here (if done correctly), but your main goal should be to strengthen your existing communication with bloggers.

3 - You find plenty of feedback from bloggers, most of it is positive.  This is the sweet spot, and if you are in this position, odds are you are already doing what you should be doing, and should just keep on truckin’.  No business can satisfy everyone, but if the majority of the people are evangelizing your business, then you are doing something right.  Just remember to stay connected to and respond to the bloggers that are talking about your business.  Yes even the ones that are slamming you ;)

4 - You find plenty of feedback from bloggers, most of it is negative.  This is a problem but you can work to solve it easily enough.  If you are in this situation, the odds are that you are doing nothing to respond to bloggers, and they aren’t too pleased with your lack of communication.  Additionally, they are probably blogging to each other about how you won’t respond, which is leading to even more negative blog posts. 

The good news is, if you’ll start responding to these bloggers, you’ll likely find that the tone of their posts will improve dramatically.  At this point, much of their negativity is likely simply coming from the fact that you are ignoring them.  When you start responding, you should see their posts become much more positive. 

But the key point here is to get in the habit of monitoring the blogosphere.  No matter what you find when you do (even if it’s nothing), presents an opportunity for you to use the blogosphere to grow your business!

Want more from your web site?
Search Influence can help! Targeted Traffic. Increased Revenue. Results Guaranteed. Customized Internet Marketing you can afford.

Apr 29
Who’s Robert Clough? Hint: He’s Not a Cartoon Dog
in Search Engine Guide
Comments Off

by Jennifer Laycock

If you’re new around here, you’ve probably never heard of Robert Clough. If you’ve been around here for years, you’ve probably decided Robert Clough is my imaginary friend…someone I made up to pin the blame on when things go south. The truth is he’s a real person. The folks who attended SBM Unleashed last week know this and thanks to Anita Campbell, the whole world now knows it.

Smile Robeeerrrttt!Anita spent some time talking to Robert at our show last week and wrote up what may well be the first interview with Robert I’ve seen published since I came on board four years ago. Sure, there’s been the odd occasion where his personality has come out…but there was still little to prove he was an actual person. He also rarely gets as much credit for the site as he deserves, so it was refreshing to see someone remind the world of my “silent” partner.

So, for the full story on Robert, Search Engine Guide, why puppy is our mascot and where we’re going in the future, check out Anita Campbell’s great piece: “The Small Business Leader You Have Probably Never Met.”

Want more from your web site?
Search Influence can help! Targeted Traffic. Increased Revenue. Results Guaranteed. Customized Internet Marketing you can afford.

Apr 29
Selling a Product or Are you Selling Yourself?
in Search Engine Guide
Comments Off

by Stoney deGeyter

There are two important questions that every business needs to be able to answer:

What’s in it for me?

and

Why should I buy from you?

The first questions, when answered correctly, helps sell your product or service, but it doesn’t necessarily close the deal. In order to get the deal sealed and money in hand you have to be able to answer the second question sufficiently.
This is where a lot of businesses go wrong. They focus on one of these two questions but not both. Let’s break these down a bit:

What’s in it for me?

To sell your product or service you have to explain to the user why they need your product or service in the first place. But it isn’t as simple as telling them they need a new car battery to replace the old car battery. They need a battery that is reliable enough or powerful enough that they can be confident that it’ll work whenever and wherever they need it. Your audience might already know that they need a newly landscaped yard, so don’t tell them that. Instead, tell them they want a yard that will provide them a luxurious outdoor getaway that is functional for quiet summer evenings under the stars, as well as a place where the kids can play away in complete safety and security.

But as I already said, this question doesn’t close the deal. It merely provides your audience with the key selling points, convincing them that you have what they want. But they also know that there may be other people out there that also have what they want. This is why the second question is so critical.

Why should I buy from you?

Once your audience is convinced to buy the product or service that you offer, you have to make the case that you’re the one they want to buy it from. The simple fact that you have the product or service to sell is not enough.

Ask yourself, what makes you different from the dozens or possibly even hundreds of others out there doing the same thing? Can you make the case for yourself in a way that is appealing? Do you just sell the same car batteries as everyone else or do you test regularly to make sure you sell only the most reliable batteries? And what makes your testing process better than anyone else’s?

I’ve said in a previous article that great businesses are not necessarily those that do something unique, it’s those that do something in a unique way. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling car batteries, landscaping services, or diaper products. Whatever it is you do, find a unique approach. Provide something extra that nobody else is doing. Look for an unmet need in your industry that you can capitalize on.

Selling your products is one thing, but you’ve also got to be able to sell yourself. The products will sell, it’s just a matter of where and by who. You want to be the where and who.

What makes you unique?

So what is it that makes you unique? If you don’t know, think about it, do a little research
and find out.

Want more from your web site?
Search Influence can help! Targeted Traffic. Increased Revenue. Results Guaranteed. Customized Internet Marketing you can afford.

Apr 29
Google Adds Street Views To Step-By-Step Driving Directions
in Search Engine Land
Comments Off

The Google LatLong Blog announced that you can now see street views turn-by-turn (when available) when you are seeking out driving directions via Google Maps.

For example, when driving from the Empire State Building to Times Square, you can see that Google has street views available for every turn. A camera icon, next to each step of the directions are available to click on. Clicking on the camera shows you Street View imagery for that turn.

Click to continue reading…

Apr 29
Google Adds Street Views To Step-By-Step Driving Directions
in Search Engine Land
Comments Off

The Google LatLong Blog announced that you can now see street views turn-by-turn (when available) when you are seeking out driving directions via Google Maps.

For example, when driving from the Empire State Building to Times Square, you can see that Google has street views available for every turn. A camera icon, next to each step of the directions are available to click on. Clicking on the camera shows you Street View imagery for that turn.

Click to continue reading…

Apr 29
Social Search: It’s Time For Monetization
in Search Engine Watch
Comments Off

Contrary to popular belief, social marketing doesn’t have to be painted with visions of Big Brother. As a publisher, you cannot have a better segmentation methodology — in real time and without any bias — than the one that organically grows on your site.

Apr 29
Yahoo! Outsources its Messenger Phone Calls to Jajah
in Search Engine Roundtable
Comments Off

According to a Yahoo News report, Yahoo will be outsourcing the Internet telephone functions of its instant messaging program to the startup Jajah.

Of course, this is great news for the startup — but forum members wonder why Yahoo seems to be outsourcing a lot of its internal affairs. However, that may not necessarily be a bad thing, as another forum member says. The less important things are fine if outsourced; the more important things are when one needs to worry. As long as they focus on what they’re good at and keep it internal (web, email, search), that’s the way to go and avoids the distractions that can cause the company to go into turmoil.

Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld.

Apr 29
Twitter Wrote This Column For Me
in Search Engine Land
Comments Off


By now you have probably seen a bunch of talk about Twitter. And after all of this talk you might be still thinking: OK, so what the heck is Twitter really and why should I care? How is it going to help my business at the end of the day? Rather than writing this column myself - I decided to let Twitter (or more specifically my extended Twitter network) write it for me. This is me on Twitter (feel free to add me). So let’s get started…

The best way to demonstrate the usefulness or power of something is to show real examples. I started this experiment at approximately 5:20 PM EST on Monday afternoon. Within 1 hour, I had over 80 different replies that answered all of my questions and more. Within 1 hour I had reached out to people from all over the world and they had reached back.

It all started with this simple question: “How would you describe twitter in 140 characters or less?”

Click to continue reading…

Apr 29
Google Announces Software for VisualRank, Precision Image Search
in Search Engine Roundtable
Comments Off

The New York Times reports that “Google researchers say they have a software technology intended to do for digital images on the Web what the company’s original PageRank software did for searches of Web pages.” The algorithm, dubbed VisualRank, weighs and ranks images that look most similar.

WebmasterWorld members fear that this could be a problem for spammers — just like folks aim to build links for PageRank, so too this may happen in the image arena.

However, it may build traffic to images too, which some individuals are hoping for.

Perhaps this is the beginning of greater software technologies that will “index audio spoken in videos” and podcasts. Those transcription services would be super cool.

Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld and DigitalPoint Forums.

Apr 29
Yelp For Business: New Tools Allowing Local Businesses To Speak For Themselves & More
in Search Engine Land
Comments Off

As the phenomenon of local business ratings and reviews becomes more “institutionalized” and important, efforts are popping up to help businesses cope and/or take advantage of the trend. Merchant Circle is one business in the local space that has positioned itself as a platform for SMB “reputation management” as well as marketing.

Local search provider Yelp has now added tools that make it easier for local businesses to communicate with reviewers and to gain perspective on activity on their profiles.

Click to continue reading…

Apr 29
The Art of Opportunistic Linking
in Search Engine Land
Comments Off


Link WeekA couple weeks back I wrote a LinkWeek column here titled “Your Site̵