Search Engine Marketing
5 Tips For Your Foursquare Explore Social Strategy
If you haven’t claimed your foursquare profile yet, you might want to get on that asap! If the fact that the site’s database has 1.5 billion check-ins logged into the system isn’t enough of a an incentive, then perhaps knowing that foursquare has gone “search” online with their newest feature Explore with the website garnering 1 million unique visitors per day already could entice you.
By claiming your foursquare profile you can personalize it to suit your business and take advantage of integrating this platform into your social media (geo-location) strategy. In addition to checking-in, claiming badges and mayorships, now users can search for locations, deals, and places on their desktop using the Explore feature. Some people don’t like having a Foursquare account on their mobile phones and “checking-in” all the time, but would like to use this feature to see where their friends are checking-in and what they recommend. Foursquare Explore allows you to go online and search without having to use the platform as a check-in tool. It is useful for the end user to go through the 15 million tips that are gathered on the site already when deciding on where to go and what to eat… or drink!
Here are five tips to include in your strategy in order to ensure increased visits from Foursquare Explore to your company’s profile page:
- Regularly monitor your foursquare account. Review check-ins, comments, and tips to see what users are saying.
- Use QR codes to encourage check-ins, tips, and submissions.
- Promote Foursquare ads to encourage check-ins.
- Include sentiments and adjectives in your foursquare ad strategy (i.e. romantic, Friday, sweet, summer, wine list, etc…)
- Use keywords when posting deals on your foursquare account to help with search queries.
Happy searching!
Maryam
@socialmaryam
Tags: badges, explore, foursquare, geo-location, SEO, social, strategy, tips, visitors
Impact of Google +1 Button on Search Results
There is an ongoing conversation about the impact of the Google +1 button on search engine results. With Google’s +1 button push and integration in Google Webmaster Tools and Google Analytics, it is inevitable that the +1 button will influence Google’s search engine algorithm, and ultimately a website’s rank in search engine results.
The level of impact, however, is still unknown and will likely change overtime as Google tweaks the formula.
Here are three possible scenarios illustrating how the +1 button will influence search results.
+1 Clicks Reign Supreme
The first scenario is the simplest, where the more +1 clicks a page receives, the higher it will rank in search engine results. This scenario, although the easiest to conceptualize, is the most unlikely because it will be too easy for spammers to “game” the system. There are already people selling +1 clicks.
+1 Limited to Your Network
The second scenario involves social integration and personalized search results, where the more +1 clicks a page receives from people in your network, the higher it ranks in your search results. This means the absolute number of +1 clicks for the page do not matter, but only the clicks from your network. This scenario is much more likely as more users begin to use the Google+ network. This scenario also makes it difficult to “game” the system.
+1 Complexity
The most likely scenario is Google will develop a formula that will involve multiple factors that include the first two scenarios. Other factors that may determine the impact of the Google +1 button in search results include:
- the number of +1 clicks over time (a continuous number of clicks over time is better than a single spike)
- the most recent +1 click (more recent the better)
- the number of +1 clicks by users in your city (the more clicks by users in your area the better)
How do you think the Google +1 button will impact search results?
Victor
Tags: +1, google, plus 1, search engine, SEM
The Progression of Ad Cost & Measurement
The cost and measurement of advertising has changed over the years. Traditional advertising was all about eyeballs and the cost of it was based on how many people were “expected” to see the ad. I emphasize “expected” because traditional media channels were not able to track exactly how many people saw an ad.
Now, with the online medium, advertisement pricing and measurement are beginning to reflect the changing environment of consumer behaviour. People are no longer passively consuming information, they are reacting and taking action on information they see online.
Advertising goals are not just about eyeballs anymore. They are about a higher level of interaction, a stronger conversion measure, a profitable action.
It was a giant step when the cost per click model for online advertisement pricing was introduced. Advertisers were only charged when users clicked on an ad.
The next step forward is the pricing models being adopted by social media platforms. These pricing models make a closer connection between the cost of the ad and the goal of the advertiser.
For example, as of May 25, 2011, YouTube “will change the billing terms of all Promoted Videos campaigns from a Cost Per Click (CPC) basis to a Cost Per View (CPV) basis”. This means the promoted video ads will only cost the advertiser money if someone views the video.
Furthermore, the launch of Twitter’s Promoted Products also include unique pricing models. Promoted Tweets, for example, are charged on a cost per engagement (CPE) basis where advertisers only pay when users retweet, reply to, click or “favorite” a promoted tweet. On the other hand, Promoted Accounts are charged on a cost per follower (CPF) basis, which means advertisers are only charged when a user follows their account.
These pricing models help advertisers more accurately measure the return on investment. Gone are the days where advertisers are only looking for eyeballs. Measure everything you do to determine the best course of action.
Victor
Photo Credit: Nesster
Tags: advertising, cost, measurement, ROI, Twitter, youtube
Why Use Google Insights?
Google Insights is a great tool for market research. It can be used to identify the popularity of search terms (keywords) used on Google and any trends for specific search terms.
On the Google Insights website, you can select one of three ways to search: by search terms, by locations or by time ranges. You can then select filtering options to narrow down your search results. Below are two scenarios to help illustrate why you might use Google Insights for market research.
Scenario 1
You own a specialty mittens shop in Vancouver, British Columbia and you plan to launch your online marketing plan. However, you aren’t quite sure when to start advertising. If you start advertising too early in the year, you risk wasting your budget because no one is looking for mittens yet. If you advertise too late, you risk missing out on potential customers. What do you do?
A quick search on Google Insights by Search Terms reveals Google searches for mittens begin to pick up in September. This may provide more insight on when you should start your online marketing strategy.
Scenario 2
You are planning to create a new recreational website targeting people living in British Columbia, Canada. However, you don’t know what recreational activities British Columbian are most interested in. What do you do?
A quick search on Google insights by Locations reveals the top searches in the recreation category, in BC are:
- bike
- fishiing
- bikes
- boats
- horse
- patters
- bicycle
- horses
- crafts
- paintball
With this information, you might decide to focus on creating a niche website for bicycle enthusiasts or a website for fishing enthusiasts.
Once again, Google offers valuable information. You just need to know where to look.
Victor
Tags: google, insights, market research, mittens, trends, Vancouver, victor
3 Steps to Search Engine Optimize Your Website
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of helping search engines discover what your website is about. SEO is important because it helps a website be seen and found in search engine results.
SEO can be a complex process that involves continued refinements over time, often by SEO professionals. However, there are some simple steps anyone can take to get a website off on the right…er… foot.
- Keyword research. Build an initial list of keywords potential customers may use when searching for the product or service you offer. Input these keywords in Google’s Keyword research tool to discover more keywords. Also use the tool to identify the monthly search volume for each keyword. A keyword that has very low search volume may not be worth optimizing for the website.
- Update Website. Review the contents of your website. Identify which keywords on your list will be a natural fit for each webpage. Select 1 – 2 keywords for each webpage and incorporate these keywords in the page’s title tag, description tag and page content. It has been suggested that repeating a word should never exceed 6 times on a page… assuming the page has at least 3 paragraphs of text.
- Gather Links. Inbound links play an important role for search engine optimization. Inbound links are links on other people’s websites that link to your website. Each inbound link can be seen as a vote for your site. The more high quality inbound links you have, the better. You may be able to quickly gather your initial set of inbound links from business contacts and alliances related to your business sector.
These are the first steps to search engine optimize your website. Every little steps counts when building your overall online strategy.
Victor
Tags: keyword research, links, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, tags
