Category Archives: Industry

Is a del.icio.us Site Widget helpful for SEO?

Natural Search / SEO, Search, Web 2.0, ,

Social bookmarking site del.icio.us released a website widget today that publishes the quantity of bookmarks and highlights most popular tags for a page in your site.

Del.icio.us is much more flexible than web browser favorites or bookmarks as you can store links to favorite websites online, allowing you to access the same bookmarks from any computer. Tagging, an increasingly popular means of organizing content, is employed so you can label your bookmarks with easy to remember terms, names, or keywords. Instead of the folder structure with which you are familiar through Windows or Internet Explorer, you simply click or search for one of your tags to retrieve all the sites you’ve saved about that tag. You might bookmark this blog with tags such as marketing, search, seo, comparison shopping, or online. Flickr uses the same concept allowing you to tag photos so they can be easily recalled or found by others.

The new widget is simple script added to a page as I’ve done to the left. It shows how many people have saved your site on del.icio.us with the most popular tags your audience has associated with the page. So, how is that helpful for SEO??

Keep in mind two basic principles of search engine ranking: relevant keywords found on your site and a measure of popularity determine if and where you appear for any given search. There are dozens of toolbars and websites through which you can gain insight to these qualifications but this widget simplifies that by constantly publishing for you the number of people that have saved your site and the tags they consider relevant. Let me be clear, the quantity of bookmarks does not influence your placement in search; the measure of popularity is merely a helpful guide while the tags listed are relevant, popular keywords you should consider. The del.icio.us widget is not a measure of page rank nor do the terms used to tag your site influence whether or not you show up on Google. Think of it as a quick snapshot of how many people enjoy a page in your site and the terms they use to classify it.

My only criticism that is that it can only be used at the page level; that is, you can only add a widget and get insight about a specific page. As such, bookmarks of our other content are considered separate and are only reported through a widget on its respective page. You can’t get stats about your entire website and I’d love to see how many have bookmarked any part of SEO’Brien with a list of the top tags for the site overall (I hope this blog would appear a little more popular than is suggested by the few bookmarks of this particular page).

Do me a favor and help me get to a hundred Bookmark SEO’Brien and grab a widget for your own site here.

Cash Back with jellyfish

eCommerce, Surplus

jellyfish, a promising and somewhat novel addition to the Comparison Shopping scene is a combination of Upromise or the Discover card and Woot; they accomplish both giving you cash back on purchases while a discount on a deal of the day increases until the supply of that offer is sold out. Given the press I’ve seen for jellyfish, merchants would be wise to sign up, at least to leverage their comparison shopping engine capabilities.

Smack, the deal of the day, is a special event for customers and merchants creating excitement for a product by promoting it with an increasing discount on a limited supply. The cash back amount continues to increase until the product is sold out. Hold out longer for a better deal but risk someone snatching it before you get the chance.
A limited number of items are available for the day and once they sell out, the Smack is closed until the next. Remember though that the cash back model is
similar to that of a Discover card, you still pay full price for the product, jellyfish credits your account the amount consistent with the cash back available at the time you react.

The rest of the site offers a similar but static cash back promotion on all
purchases. Here’s where I get skeptical; consider the following:

  • – An iPod Shuffle lists 2.3% cash back on PCMall’s total price of $78.44 making it $76.78 (jellyfish explains that Total price is total store price plus tax and shipping if provided by the store)
  • The Shuffle at PCMall is $74.99 with at least $10.99 shipping or $85.98
  • – A 27″ Flat Panel HDTV from Audiovox is $808.89 on Buy.com
    • Jellyfish gives you 2.3% back on $869.59

    Apparently ‘buyer beware’ still applies.

    The cash back is at least half of the amount paid to jellyfish by the merchant for the referral. Questionable math aside, I’m curious that looking at that iPod shuffle again, we see Crutchfield charges $86.98 with 14.1% cash back; they are paying a commission of at least 28% or $24. PCMall’s option is $78.44 with 2.3% cash back or 4.6% commission. They are paying jellyfish only $3.61.
    But it’s not the commission amounts or the prices themselves that are questionable. Take those commissions out of the respective prices and Crutchfield’s take is down to $62.63 for the sale while PCMall makes $74.83.
    Think of the insight jellyfish will have to merchant and consumer behavior. Clearly one is completely missing an opportunity by overpricing or missing out on the perception of substantial cash back or both are attempting slightly different models to woo the customer.
    Is the inflated Crutchfield price with 14% cash back more attractive or does PCMall have the better model showing the lower store price and naturally better deal albeit with a less back for the purchase? jellyfish knows.

    jellyfish is novel enough with attractive (but fairly standard) features such as price alerts and online chat support that I’m sold, as a merchant. Customers should be drawn to the promise of cash back but I sense a backlash if too many find it too confusing to determine a good deal.

Publicis to Acquire Digitas & Modem

Vendors / Agencies, , , , ,

Most of you are probably familiar with Modem Media or Digitas, both wonderful interactive marketing agencies; fewer with Publicis Groupe, the fourth-largest agency holding company. Today, Publicis announced that they will add Digitas to a burgeoning list of digital agencies media companies including ZenithOptimedia for $1.3 billion, paying Digitas shareholders $13.50 for each share.

Earlier this year, Publicis CEO Maurice Levy said he was looking to do an acquisition and talks of shakeup have circulated for years.

Some suggest digital and interactive investments will account for more than 10% of global communications and marketing in 2010; Digitas Inc., gives Publicis Groupe a powerful interactive media mix for the years ahead.

CometQuery better than Google? Really??

Google, Search, Web 2.0

Digg has generated some buzz for new search engine CometQueary citing “CometQuery provides fast results with thumbnails, like as seen on Ask.com. We may have a simple homepage but we also have a lot of power”

I say decide for yourself

These days, new search engines with better algorithms, faster results, or improved features are a dime a dozen; and each with their terribly original Yahoo/Google-esque name

But I am lost on the hype of CometQuery as a search for HP returns their support pages first and University of Nevada in Reno (though, perhaps, the engine is insightful knowing my holiday will be spent in Reno). The first two results for Lexus, are Australian sites with the third for Owners; where can I find more content to drool over the LS 460L?!?

One can easily predict a shake down in Search websites as Yahoo, Google, MSN, and Ask pick up the hot new technologies to add to their own. For now, stay focused on those that matter.

Search Engine Optimization : Part 3 : Page Titles

Natural Search / SEO, Search, , , ,

I hope my departure from my promise to deliver a detailed analysis of the top 10 things you can do for SEO has left you anxiously awaiting the next installment (and not discouraged you from sticking with me as my thoughts wander). Consider my other topics a commercial break from this 10 part mini-series (For my new readers, here’s part 1 and part 2). Let us get back to the show!

In recent years, you may have heard that Meta data is of little value to SEO. While it is true the meta keywords and descriptions are less valuable than when originally created, your page title is where you want to spend time.
Think of the title tag as the title of a movie, book, or magazine; it is, the first experience most users and customers have with your website. Would you go see Casino Royale if it was called “Movie”?

Before we get started, make sure you are familiar with the meta content and title of a page. When viewing the page source (in Internet Explorer select View from the Menu Bar then Source) search for content that looks like this:

<head>
<title>This is your website’s Page Title</title>
<meta name=”description” content=”Description of the article or contents of your page”>
<meta name=”keywords” content=”keywords and phrases related to the page”>
<head>

Notice this content is found within <head> containers (as opposed to <body> containers where the content appears) to helps characterize meta tags as the defining attributes of the website; that is, reference material.

The title of your page appears at the top of your browser and in natural search results.

Why are titles more important than the keywords or description?
Keywords and descriptions are used (to varying degrees) to determine the content of a page but the keywords are never actually seen by your audience while descriptions are used only by some engines as the actual description of your site. Because titles literally appear in the search results to serve as the title of a page, they are public and less likely to spam. Consider that any website can put “Britney Spears” in their list of meta keywords or description; unless your site is about Britney, that’s spam, engines therefore discount the value of that meta content. Websites are are not likely to put “Britney Spears” in the Title unless your page really is about Britney.

Most SEOs simply explain title optimization as ensuring the title is relevant to the content using popular keywords. Consider the following titles:

– Flat Panel, Projection, and HDTVs at Best Buy
– Televisions

– Nike Sports Apparel and Shoes
– Nike.com

Both sites appear prominently in search results (heck, we’re talking about Nike and Best Buy here) but were I searching for HDTVs at Best Buy, the first result, though it is to Best Buy, is a broken link. Now put yourself in the shoes of the customer, on Yahoo! the title of that result is just “HDTVs” while the second result says “HDTVs on sale @ Best Buy” Which is the best response to your search? Which would you choose considering you are looking for HDTVs at Best Buy? That second link, by the way, goes to Engadget.

This is basic title optimization and the first step you should take to ensure titles are optimized for what customers might be searching. I want to share with you more advanced considerations. Keep in mind you are the marketer (a moment of your time off topic… please don’t tell me your SEO lives in IT or with web design. SEO should be the responsibility of marketing since you are talking to your customer and want to set priorities consistent with those of your marketing efforts) Keep in mind you are the marketer and you, in every other marketing channel, include a call to action, copy to grab the user’s attention, or a promotion to attract the customer. What makes SEO any different? Why would you not not make the same effort here? Now consider:

– Shop for Flat Panel, Projection, and HDTVs at Best Buy
– Compare Flat Panel, Projection, and HDTVs at Best Buy
– Televisions

– Find retailers for Nike Sports Apparel and Shoes
– Nike Sports Apparel and Shoes on sale at Nike.com
– Nike.com

Which is more compelling? Which is more likely to drive qualified traffic? Which, against the thousands of other pages in your site, is more likely to send a customer to the page they need?

Page title optimization is much more than relevance and keyword popularity. Go further, treat SEO as a marketing channel, and do your audience a service by helping them find the content in your site that responds to their need.

How effective is Google Base?

Comparison Shopping, Google, Insights / Research, , ,

Brian Smith today pointed out some challenges worth reading about Google Base.

For those of you unfamiliar with Base, consider it a comparison shopping engine where you can submit product to be searchable on Google. Like a CSE, you can describe any item you post with attributes and specs to help people find it when they do related searches. So what of Froogle you might ask? Well, we’re asking that too as mixed messages from the Googleplex suggest Base will replace Froogle or that they will both live on… maybe its that they’ll merge to Froogase… I can’t keep track. One thing is certain, Base distributes your products to Google Search as well as Froogle making it the must have channel for anyone in online commerce. In my experience, adding your Froogle datafeed to Google Base delivers an incremental 20-25% volume.

Differences and future aside, Google Base is worth your attention; even if you already use Froogle. Is anyone else working with both?

Search Behavior and a Proxy Site (yes, its a full day!)

Comparison Shopping, Insights / Research, Natural Search / SEO, Search, Vendors / Agencies, , , , , , , ,

The holidays sure keep us busy don’t they!? I confess my recent intermittent posts are not a result of the busy season but attention to new research and my support of a couple remarkable blogs.

I anxiously await the results of a comprehensive study of online searcher behavior correlated with online activity and time spent, all categorized by product type. That’s a complicated way of saying I’ve asked comScore to study what people search for and when, and what websites they consult and when, by product. Too many studies today are generalized to address the needs and questions of as many people as possible; in the process those studies fail to answer any real questions. Consider the Biggest E-Retail Day in History (is anyone surprised?), the Growth in Holiday E-Commerce Spending Driven by More Online Buyers Who Spend More, and Cyber Santa Shopping Stats Sky High, so what? This research and insight sensationalizes the season with big numbers and record setting performance but fails to deliver anything of real value for your business. Your brand and products’ strengths are unique to your catalog such that what you do and where you advertise must be unique to your experience. I want to know how my customers search and where they spend their time before making a purchase so I can market to them in the right place with the right message at the right time.
Consider going even further with such questions when you ask them yourself. How are those behaviors different for customers who buy direct (from a manufacturer or publisher) or indirect (retailer) and online vs. offline. I assure you, someone who buys online uses search differently than their neighbor who intends to buy in a store.

While managing that study, I’ve also spent more time with ComparisonEngines.com, Loveyourfeed.com, and NaturalSearchBlog. As you may have caught on, I endeavor to consider myself well rounded with experience in various types of online marketing; though my blog name suggests a focus on SEO (rather, it is more accurately a play on Search Engine O’Brien not Search Engine Optimization O’Brien), you have found my waxing and waning through various topics. These 3 sites are best in class for their respective fields and I’ve been honored with contributing my thoughts so, from time to time, you will find me there discussing Comparison Shopping, datafeeds, and natural search in more detail as a guest writer or contributor.

NaturalSearchBlog is a walk through Search Marketing and Optimization started by Stephan Spencer and Brian Klais of Netconcepts (a web design and consulting company specializing in search optimization of web sites and applications) and later joined by Chris Smith of SuperPages.com. I’ve always found their content refreshing and of tremendous value in stretching your perspective of search. While the blog is valuable I do intend to take this opportunity to share something of real value to you, a product available from NetConcepts called GravityStream.

Consider that a good website is a tug of war between user experience, conversion, and PR with SEO while being dependent on your company’s resources. Sure you can accomplish both user experience and SEO but doing so with limited resources is much more difficult. The new Nike site is a great example of tremendous success in developing for the user experience and PR though it fails to support natural search engines. GravityStream replicates your website giving you a canvas with which to design (redesign) and write exclusively for search by creating a version of the site to be seen only by search engines. You can change URLs (normalize them), remove scripted navigation, and rewrite content and titles. It effectively takes the management of that content out of IT and web design resources (unless you want to keep it there) and puts it in your hands, marketing’s hands, the SEO. Check it out.