PR 20/20 Blog

Key Takeaways From SEOmoz 2011 Search Engine Ranking Factors Report

By Keith Moehring | Posted Jun 17, 2011 | 7 Comment(s) | Filed in: Search Marketing
Every two years, SEOmoz publishes a Search Engine Ranking Factors report, in which it surveys the top SEO minds in the industry (132 this year), and asks them to rank the different elements that go into search ranking algorithms, from most important to least.

For the first time, SEOmoz also performed primary research this year by conducting 10,271 searches on Google and analyzing specific features of the ranking sites to see which elements correlated to higher rankings. NOTE: Findings show correlation, not necessarily causation.

Overall Ranking Factor Importance

Following is a breakdown of the highest-ranking factors, and the overall importance each has on a site’s ability to rank on a search engine result page (SERP), according to the experts.

The order of the bullets contained in each section is based on importance, but I consolidated different sections of the report to help simplify the concepts. See SEOmoz’s 2011 Search Ranking Factors for a more comprehensive, advanced breakdown.

Inbound Links — 42% of SERP Impact
- Number of unique websites that are considered important by search engines — have a high PageRank or mozRank — that link to a site or page. This is the highest-ranking factor when it comes to a website’s ability to rank for a search query.
- Number of unique inbound links that contain relevant keywords as the anchor text.
- Distance (how many links removed) the site is from a “trusted site,” such as a government (.gov) or university (.edu) site.
- Quantity of unique web pages (not to be confused with websites) linking to a site or a page.
- Topical relevance of a web page linking to a site or page.
Keyword Usage — 26% of SERP Impact

Domain Level

Search engines look for:
- Keywords in the domain and subdomain of a website.
- Order of keywords used first in the domain or subdomain (e.g. www.keywordABC.com will rank better than www.ABCkeyword.com).
Note: SEOmoz made sure to point out that they’ve seen a significant drop from years past in both the importance placed on this feature by its panel, as well as in correlation data.

On Page

For on-page keyword optimization, pay attention to the following page elements (in order):
- Page Title — The earlier that the keyword is used the better.
- Internal Link Anchor Text — Keyword is in the anchor text of internal links (links on your web pages to other pages on your site).
- URL — Keyword is in the page URL (e.g. example.com/keyword).
- Headlines (H1 tags) — Keyword appears first within the H1 tag.
- External Anchor Text — Keyword is in the anchor text of external links (links to other websites) on the page.
- Content — Keyword appears in the “content” area of a web page, within the first 100 words.
- Related Terms — The page includes terms related to the keyword (e.g. keyword = “camera”; related terms = “lens,” “photo,” and “zoom.”)
- Image Alt Text — Keyword included in image alt text tags.
- Sub Headlines — Keyword present in sub headlines (H2 tags); H3 tags are less significant.
- First Word Body Text — Keyword appears as the first word in the body section of the page.
Also mentioned, but very low on the list, are keyword density (the number of times a keyword appears on a page) and keyword use in meta description tags.

Social Media — 7% of SERP Impact
- The SEO experts agree that Twitter is the most important social network in regard to its impact on search engine algorithms. Specifially, the authority of a user tweeting links, and the quantity of tweets to a page.
- Facebook shares of a page.
- Authority of the user who is sharing the links.
- Votes and comments about a site on social bookmarking sites (e.g. Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon).
- Authority and quantity of links shared on Google Buzz.
It’s important to point out that SEOmoz’s primary correlation research found Facebook shares, activity, comments and likes to be the four highest social correlations to search engine rankings, with Tweets being fifth.

Brand Popularity — 7% of SERP Impact

Brand popularity also plays a significant role in search engine rankings. According to the experts, the most importact factors are:
- Search volume for a brand name.
- Quantity of brand mentions on websites and social sites.
- Volume of visits to brand sites based on the data collected by search engine browser tool bars, sugh as Google Toolbar and Bing Bar.
- Citations for the domain in Wikipedia.
- Claimed Google Places page.
- Active accounts on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Other Important Factors to Consider
- Unique, fresh content across the entire site.
- Bounce rate as tracked by the search engines. This refers to visitors that go to a site and then use the back button to return to the SERP. The lower the bounce rate, the better.
- Click through rate to your site on SERPs for relevant keyword searches.
- Number of error pages. This should be as close to zero as possible.
- Length of time you’ve owned a domain name — the longer, the better.
- Site page load time. Faster sites will achieve higher rankings.
From a URL structure point of view, SEOmoz’s correlation research shows that domains that include hyphens or numeric characters, or are longer, tend to perform worse than sites that do not. NOTE: The experts rank these three factors as some of the lowest in importance.

While this is a consolidated overview, I’d be interested to hear other’s feedback and main takeaways from SEOmoz’s 2011 Search Ranking Factors. Please share your insight in the comments below.

Image Credit: SEOmoz

Keith Moehring is business development manager and a senior consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Keith on Twitter @keithmoehring.

Stay updated: Subscribe to the PR 20/20 blog, check us out on Facebook or follow the team on Twitter.
Resist the Dark Side of SEO: A Cautionary Tale for Marketers

By Paul Roetzer | Posted Feb 13, 2011 | 4 Comment(s) | Filed in: Search Marketing
In an exceptional piece of modern-day investigative journalism by David Segal, the New York Times uncovered an elaborate JCPenney link-building scam, orchestrated by its former “black-hat” SEO firm.

Unbeknownst to JCPenney (allegedly), the firm built thousands of spammy paid links to JCPenney.com for key search terms such as “area rugs,” “dresses” and “furniture.”

The result was top rankings in Google for JCPenney products that most likely drove millions of organic site visits during the 2010 holiday season — a critical time for the retailer, which has seen sales sink to 2001 levels and is still reeling from the death of its catalog business. According to the Times, the No. 1 spot in Google for “dresses” alone could have generated as many as 3.8 million organic visits per month.

The Times had an SEO expert, Doug Pierce of Blue Fountain Media, analyze JCPenney’s remarkable organic performance. Pierce described the program, “As the most ambitious attempt to game Google’s search results that he has ever seen.”

The Times turned over its findings to Google, which took “strong corrective action,” according to Matt Cutts, head of Google’s webspam team. JCPenney has since seen significant drops in its organic rankings due to algorithmic and “manual” adjustments by Google.

Does Google Show Preference to Major Advertisers?

The article gets even more interesting when the Times points out that this was the fourth occurrence Google was aware of in which JCPenney.com violated its guidelines. The intriguing part is that, according to an Advertising Age report, JCPenney spent $2.46 million a month on paid Google search ads, making it one of Google’s largest advertising partners.

Google categorically denies there is preference given to advertisers, but apparently this is a topic that has caught the interest of the European Union in its investigations of potential antitrust abuses by Google.

Marketing Lessons

So what can marketers learn from the JCPenney?

1) #DontMessWithTheCutts

To quote my colleague Keith Moehring, “#DontMessWithTheCutts.” Matt Cutts and Google’s webspam team are on a mission to protect the quality of Google’s search results. They are smarter than your SEO firm, and far more powerful. So it’s best to play by the rules.

Like anything else in life and business, just because the other guys are getting away with it (for now), doesn’t mean it’s OK to “cheat” the system.

2) Don’t Be Desperate

Decisions driven by desperation can be very dangerous to your business’ long-term health. Don’t let slow sales, or short-term demand for website traffic and leads, force you to sacrifice your integrity and your business’ reputation.

3) There are No Shortcuts or Guarantees in Search

If you’re not sure what your SEO firm is doing to generate links and traffic, then ask. Pleading ignorance when Google catches you will get you nowhere, so make sure you understand their tactics and that their response passes the “icky” test (i.e. that feeling you get in business when something just doesn’t feel legit, and most likely isn’t).

Authentic search engine optimization requires time, and a combination of on-page optimization (i.e. page titles, URLs, page descriptions, alt text, headers, copy), link building from credible sources and content publishing on your domain (blogs, videos, case studies, press releases, photos, ebooks).

Commit to doing it right over time, and you will reap the rewards.

4) Focus on Content & The Long Tail

Content publishing is the most powerful strategy available to build inbound links, boost search engine rankings, drive website traffic and generate leads.

Concentrate your efforts on attracting organic traffic from long-tail keyword phrases. The long tail applies to the collective strength of lower search volume, longer keyword phrases in the demand curve tail, and their ability to out-produce a relatively small number of top traffic-driving keywords at the head of the curve (or header phrases).

Resource: 9 Content-Driven Link Building Tips

The Dirty Little Secrets of Search

I highly recommend you read the full New York Times piece: The Dirty Little Secrets of Search

Paul Roetzer is founder and president of PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. He can be found on Twitter @PaulRoetzer.

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How to Generate Online Reviews

By Keith Moehring | Posted Dec 2, 2010 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Marketing, Search Marketing
According to Google, 20 percent of all searches are localized. As a result, the search engine recently started placing a much higher importance on local search results. There are a number of specific optimization tactics you can do to help your website start ranking better for these local searches.

However, I’d like to call attention to one in particular — online reviews. These are customer testimonials posted on sites like Yelp, Google, Yahoo! Local and online directories. Google aggregates these reviews and provides links to them on your company’s Places page (see below).

So how can you get customers to start writing reviews about you on these sites?

The first, and most important, thing to understand about online reviews is people have to want to do it. Begging and pleading are not viable options. Desperate guys are more likely to get a beer in the face than the girl (trust me).

To motivate someone to offer a positive review, you need to wow them with quality products and great service. Then, and only then, should you consider the following steps.

Step 1 — Take Their Temperature

Prior to launching any type of initiative to generate reviews, take your customers’ temperature. Monitor online chatter, talk to them one-on-one, or send an online survey that they can complete anonymously. Use the feedback you gather as an opportunity to make sure you are doing everything possible from a product and service quality standpoint to earn their positive reviews.

If you’re happy with the feedback, proceed to Step 2. If the feedback isn’t positive, use it to improve.

Step 2 — Identify Review Sites

Andrew Shotland from Local SEO Guide recently provided a list of the top 10 review sites for Google Places. This is the perfect place to start creating your list.

You should also look at your competitors' Google Places pages to find review sites that may be specific to your industry, or conduct a Google search for a keyword that describes your business + the term “reviews,” “rankings” or “testimonials” (e.g. PR Firm Reviews).

Identify 3-5 target review sites, create an account, claim your listing (many of these may already have your company profiled) and make sure your information is accurate and consistent with your website. Double check that your company name, physical address, phone number, website address and email address are all completely filled in and exactly match the information on your website and Google Places page. Also review the categories you are listed under and try to sync those as well.

Step 3 — Make It Simple

Put together a quick how-to flier or landing page that provides easy instructions for posting a review online. List step-by-step instructions and keep them basic. Don’t get bogged down in the details. Brevity is key. Also make sure to show your gratitude.

Step 4 — Ask, but Don’t Ask

Now it's time to start generating reviews. The art to this is to make it seem like you are not asking. To do so, take advantage of some of the following opportunities:
- After a lead becomes a customer - Individuals are most likely pretty high on you at the moment they become customers, so include information in a terms of agreement, on a receipt, or in contract paperwork that lets them know you’d value their feedback, and how they can provide it.
- After a customer walks in your store (physical or digital) - For those businesses with walk-in guests, hang fliers near doors and cash registers. For those with online guests, post badges from review sites (see right) throughout your site.
- After you've gotten to know them personally - Contact customers who you have built a good relationship with and ask if they would be willing to write a review of you.
- After they've read your bio - What better time to ask someone to write a review than when they are already on one of your target review sites. Include a call to action in your bio that says something like, "Have you ever been a [Company Name] customer? Please let us know about your experience by posting a quick review."
- By offering reviews - To receive reviews, consider offering reviews to those companies, partners and professionals you work with. Reach out to them and let them know you’d like to post an online review regarding your dealings with them. Ask where they would like this posted. Hopefully, they appreciate that you are taking the time to help them, and they chose to reciprocate.
- In a customer survey or email newsletter - Many companies periodically send out customer surveys or email newsletters. Why not include a call to action at the end of the survey, or somewhere in your newsletter, that asks people to offer an online review? Provide them the link to your “How-To” landing page (see Step 3).
Step 5 — Sweetening the Deal

Ethically, it is wrong to pay or bribe someone for writing a review of your business. Oh, and it’s against the rules on many review sites. There are, however, ways you can indirectly reward customers for their reviews.
- Online review site coupons - Offer incentives for people to visit one of your review sites. For example, many of these sites, like Yelp, give you the option to offer a coupon.
- Share reviews online - People like to be publicly recognized. Acknowledge those who took the time to post a review by adding reviews to your website, and featuring them in your email newsletter.
- Give them a link - Create a page of testimonials on your site and feature online reviews. Include the person or business' name and link to their social media profile or company website.
Step 6 — Responding to Negative Reviews

Obviously, one thing you have to be ready for is negative reviews. Treat them as opportunities to show the particular reviewer, and anyone else that reads it, that you are paying attention and willing to work to improve your performance. Check out this blog post from Outspoken Media on 5 Reasons NOT to Delete Negative Reviews.
- Don't get defensive - Take the high road. Comment back and show all who read the review that you are willing to work with anyone to ensure their satisfaction.
- Try to reach them directly - If possible, try to resolve the negative commenter's issue in a one-on-one environment, and take it offline. Ask if the commenter will send you a personal email to try to resolve the issue.
- Understand that you can't smooth over everything - No matter what you do, there will be some people who cannot be won back. Whether their experience was just that bad, or they are happy being unhappy, nothing you try will make them change their opinion. Move on.
Remember, a few negative, or neutral, reviews may not be a bad thing. If there is an endless list of great reviews, people and review sites may become skeptical about their validity.

Psychology Bonus - The Rule of Reciprocation

If you haven't read it already, I highly recommend, "Influence: Science and Practice," by Robert B. Cialdini. In it, he discuss the Rule of Reciprocation, a characteristic most of us possess that says, "we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us." In other words, we feel guilty about getting something without giving something in return, so we will try to repay the giver in some fashion.

You can use this to your advantage. Give customers great personalized service, a great product, and a great experience, and then make sure they know you value online reviews. Get creative, and experiment with different ways to direct customers to these review site.

Related Resources:
I would love to get your feedback and ideas you’ve tried, both good and bad, to generate reviews.

Keith Moehring is business development manager and a consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Keith on Twitter @keithmoehring.

Stay updated: Subscribe to the PR 20/20 blog, check us out on Facebook or follow the team on Twitter.
How to Optimize for Google's New Places Search

By Keith Moehring | Posted Nov 18, 2010 | 2 Comment(s) | Filed in: Internet Marketing, Search Marketing
“More than 20 percent of searches on Google are related to location.” - Google.

For those unfamiliar with local search engine optimization, I highly recommend you read this Local SEO Primer from Search Engine Land. This provides a good foundation on key concepts addressed in the following post, which covers reactions and insight from local search experts about the new prominence and importance Google has put on Places pages.

Google Introduces Places Search

On Oct. 10, Google began rolling out Places Search, which replaces Maps in the left-hand panel of search results pages. Places Search clusters results around specific locations so searchers can more easily compare results. For example, if you’re looking for restaurants in Cleveland, the search results will show you options as well as their locations, websites, phone numbers and customer reviews.

Melih Oztalay, in his post on Search Engine Journal, details Googles updates: “The local business listings results are also interesting in that they show quite a bit of information to a local customer or consumer. Of course the basic information like business name, address, phone number, telephone number, website link and location on the map is pretty standard. However, the number of customer reviews and the average star rating is prominent to the person searching. Translated, this means the local customer or consumer very quickly see if they want to even click on your local business listing or call you.”

In addition to Places Search, local business Places pages are starting to blend with organic website listings on main search results pages (see screenshot to the right).

According to Google, in its Places introduction post, “One of the great things about our approach is that it makes it easier to find a comprehensive view of each place. In our new layout you’ll find many more relevant links on a single results page—often 30 or 40. Instead of doing eight or 10 searches, often you’ll get to the sites you’re looking for with just one search. In our testing Place Search saves people an average of two seconds on searches for local information.”

Expert Reactions

Greg Sterling at Search Engine Land put together a pretty comprehensive overview of the changes. His biggest observation, “Local SEO was starting to focus on ‘getting into the 7 Pack.’ That’s all gone now. Now, fully fleshed out Place Pages will assume much greater importance, as will being present and reviewed in the various sites featured in the ‘clustered’ links.”

For those unfamiliar with the 7-pack, it was the map you used to see in the middle of search results pages for a query like "Cleveland bars" (see screenshot).

Sterling and several others, including Andrew Shotland of Local SEO Guide, also observed that local and vertical directories (Yelp, SuperPages, etc.) are being pushed down the search-results list in favor of Places pages, and as a result may not see as much traffic. (In a more recent post he mentions that he has not seen any significant decline in directory site traffic.)

David Mihm disagrees, however, in his post, A New Kind of Local Search Result: The ‘O-Pack’? He thinks the newly structured Places pages are a good thing for directories, “I actually don’t think this new UI is any worse for IYPs [Internet Yellow Pages] than the 7-pack was. In a lot of categories, I’m seeing prominent sites that are in that cluster ... like Yelp, Judy’s Book, and Citysearch–get direct clickthroughs from clustered review links right off the search result page (which they weren’t getting from the old 7-Pack).”

AdWords advertisers appear to be the biggest losers. The new results show maps in the right-hand column, where the sponsored links appear on most search result pages. Mihm says, “The fixed-position map not only moves positions 4-10 hundreds of pixels down the page, but it hides their ads and continues to draw attention from users as they scroll their way down the page (the map moves with searchers as they scroll). I think this will dramatically increase the required CPC for the top three slots in the AdWords auction (and thus Google’s bottom line) for these types of keywords.”

Google Places Impact on Marketers

According to Oztalay, “Businesses now have two marketing tools that need optimization: their website and their local business listing (i.e. Google Places page)... The process requires that you first claim your local business listing, followed by your initial update, and then you have to consider monitoring and managing the local business listing just like your website.”

Matt McGee agrees in his post, 5 Quick Impacts of Google’s New Local Search Results. “You’ve got the regular title and snippet listing, then from the Place Page you get a photo, address and phone information, a review snippet links to additional reviews on third-party sites, star ratings on the right, an overall review count, and a link to the Place Page. Moral of the story: build out those Place Pages, and fast.”

Mihm believes that traditional SEO factors for local businesses are beginning to again take precedence over local optimization strategies. “By and large, small business owners who have pursued long-term, best-practice SEO strategies across ALL fronts (organic, local, social, etc.) rather than chased Google’s algorithm, should be relatively unaffected by the change. Those who have put their faith (and $$$) in set-it-and-forget-it, fly-by-night PO-Box-near-the-centroid type strategies are probably regretting it. It’s clear that traditional organic factors (especially Title Tags and inbound links) are going to again be as important as they were back in 2006, before any Local results came out…but now business owners also have to be concerned with purely Local factors in addition.”

Another area of focus for marketers: generating online reviews. Review sites like Yelp, CitySearch, Yahoo! Local UrbanSpoon and Tripadvisor have a much greater prominence on the search results page now. In a blog post, Shotland identified what he sees as the Top 10 Review Sites in Google Places Search. In addition to these general sites, I recommend researching niche directories and review sites that are specific to your industry.

Mike Blumenthal calls out the importance of online reviews in his post, What are the implications of the new integrated Local Search results?, “Obviously, reviews and review management will only increase in importance in the reality defined by this new SERP... But imagine a Google defined marketing world where, to do well, a business not only needs to invest in SEO but in customer service upgrades as well.”

Stay tuned for an article that offers tips and recommendations for generating online reviews.

Are there any posts related to Google’s Places Search that you recommend? Please leave them in the comments.

Articles referenced:
Keith Moehring is business development manager and a consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Keith on Twitter @keithmoehring.

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Picks of the Week: Oct. 18-22

By Dia Dalsky | Posted Oct 22, 2010 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Marketing
In today’s Picks of the Week, our roundup includes: Search — defining the long tail and Google’s emphasis on local search; PR — Chevron PR hoax and The Washington Post discouragement of journalist social media engagement.

Search Marketing

SEO 101: Defining the Long Tail

For those who have heard the term ‘long-tail keywords,’ but don't know what it means; or for those who know what it means but don’t understand its significance to search marketing, I highly recommend reading Conversation Marketing’s Ian Lurie’s post, “SEO 101: Defining the long tail.”

Lurie defines long-tail keywords as, “Specific, niche search phrases, usually more than two words in length, that offer a low competition, low search volume and high searcher intent.”

In his post, Lurie provides an example from real data on how long-tail keywords that drive one or two visitors can add up to generate as much, if not more, traffic than a ‘head’ term (keywords made up of 1-2 words with high search volumes). He also provides evidence that long-tail terms drive traffic that is more likely to convert and generate more revenue.

A few statistics from SEOmoz on long-tail searches:
- Long-tail terms comprise 70% of all search queries.
- The top 1,000 terms searched only comprise of 10% of all search queries.
The main marketing takeaway from this article:
- Don’t worry about how high you’re ranking for a specific, high-search volume keyword.
- Concentrate search marketing activites around terms that most accurately reflect customer needs.
The main yardstick to measure the progress of your search marketing efforts is total organic traffic. Read the full article at: http://www.conversationmarketing.com/2010/10/long-tail-seo-101-defined.htm

Local Search

Google Puts Emphasis on Location in Search

Earlier this week, Mashable’s Ben Parr gave us an overview of Google’s new emphasis on location and location-based search. Google has updated its interface to place the location setting in the left-hand column of the search engine results page, and the location-based results on the right.

Google will automatically detect your location; however, if you wish to see results for a different city or for businesses within close proximity to a specific address, it also gives you the option to select a new location.

According to Parr, “While nothing has changed in the back-end of location-based search, the simple fact that Google has prominently placed it on the left-hand side, where millions of eyeballs will catch it, is not a small change. Google clearly understands that location plays a vital role in search, and with the rise of mobile and GPS, Google has been adding more and more location-based search features.”

The features will be available to users in more than 40 languages soon. Check out the full post on Mashable.com.

Public Relations: Damage Control

Pranksters Hijack Chevron Corporate-PR Efforts

Mock PR campaigns are no laughing matter to the companies, media outlets involved.

An Oct. 18 Advertising Age article by Rupal Parekh and Michael Bush explores the recent corporate PR hoax that hit oil giant Chevron. The article states that the hoax was far more elaborate than the BP Twitter feed hoax and was timed to the launch of a real ad campaign.

The article outlines the tactics employed by the purported pranksters (The Yes Men activist group), which included:
- A fake website that parodied the real ad campaign.
- Fake press releases with fake quotes.
- A fake story planted on a fake Ad Age site.
The question remains: What can, or should, media and marketing professionals do when faced with mock campaigns and fake media blitzes? The article concludes with a quote from Gene Grabowski, senior VP at Levick Strategic Communications.

"It's like a thumb trap, the more the company tries to defend itself, the more it becomes part of the story and that makes it more interesting. The company being attacked can't effectively fight back itself and that's why these tactics are so effective."

The web provides a platform for empowerment, which fortunately, and unfortunately, includes both a brand's friends and enemies.

Read complete article at: http://adage.com/article?article_id=146559

Social Media and Journalism

Washington Post Tells Journalists Not To Engage on Twitter

In response to a recent social media backlash, The Washington Post requested staffers not answer criticisms or speak on behalf of the publication through their personal Twitter accounts. Following the Oct. 11 publishing of a controversial article on gay teens who commit suicide after being bullied — "Guest Voices: Christian compassion requires the truth about harms of homosexuality" — a Post journalist took to Twitter to defend the article’s position on the issue.

“Even as we encourage everyone in the newsroom to embrace social media and relevant tools…

No branded Post accounts should be used to answer critics and speak on behalf of the Post, just as you should follow our normal journalistic guidelines in not using your personal social media accounts to speak on behalf of the Post.”- Excerpt from memo sent by Post Managing Editor Raju Narisetti.

The Good

It’s important to understand that the Post isn’t discouraging the use of social media by journalists. In fact, they encourage staff members to share articles and news with their personal networks. Rather, they are trying to avoid individuals representing the brand as a whole, without the authority to do so or prior to receiving guidance from the appropriate department.

“Perhaps it would be useful to think of the issue this way: when we write a story, our readers are free to respond and we provide them a venue to do so.”

Missed Opportunities

As a large organization, the Post is at a disadvantage in that it is unable to ensure each employee is fully informed and aware of the company’s public messaging on day-to-day occurrences. While someone might feel passionate about a topic, there is still an overall voice that companies wishes to bring forward to the general public and media.

That being said, Lavrusik points out, “Perhaps a clarification to ‘speak on behalf of the Post,’ could clear up what is okay for journalists to engage in dialogue. But it is also likely that some journalists will now avoid it altogether.” He brings up a good point that in today’s media world, social media should be supported, rather than frowned upon.

What were your favorite articles of the week? Comments are open for your opinions.

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Google Instant Impact on SEO and Business Marketing

By Keith Moehring | Posted Sep 14, 2010 | 7 Comment(s) | Filed in: Search Marketing
As many of you have likely read or seen, Google introduced Google Instant last Wednesday (read about Google Instant here). What immediately followed on industry blogs was a great deal of overreaction and guesswork as to what this means for search engine traffic, website rankings and SEO as an industry; some of it quite amusing as many experts don't have a problem calling out FUD (fear uncertainty doubt) reactions.

While some would argue it, the consensus from the online articles I've read (more than 15 at this point) is that SEO is NOT dead, and is in fact more important now than ever.

Many experts have offered great insight into Google Instant's impact on searcher behavior, but two quotes really stood out to me:

1. The line between first and second page listings is blurred:

"As you continue typing and narrowing your search, the instantly changing and refreshing results below the search box will be giving you more relevant results. So if you previously looked on the second page, now those same results come to the top of the pile for you." - Johanna Wright, director of product management for Google Insight (via AdAge).

2. Searchers don't have to commit:

"With Google Instant, searchers don’t have to commit to any search query. They can, you know, live a little. As they start typing “san francisco hotels” they’ll not only see suggestions, but they’ll see their search results change as they type, as they expand their search query into the long tail." - Andy Beal, Marketing Pilgrim

What I believe these two points, and many others that echo them, are saying is that searchers are going to dive deeper into their search queries than ever before. Matt Cutts also alluded to this in his blog post about Instant, as did Marissa Mayer, Google's VP of Search Products and User Experience on TechCrunch TV. As a query is typed, new suggestions pop up that the searcher may not have considered. On the fly, he/she will likely refine the search based on these suggestions to better qualify the results.

By exploring longer search queries, searchers are doing you a favor: Not only are they qualifying their search results, but they are qualifying themselves for your business. Andrew Shotland from Local SEO Guide ran an analytics test that supports the concept of Instant sending better qualified traffic.

So what does this mean for marketers? Now, more than ever, search marketers and SEOs must focus on optimizing their sites and producing quality content.

Here are several suggestions on how to better optimize your site for Google Instant. (SPOILER ALERT: You've probably heard all this before.)

1. Page Titles & Meta Descriptions

Page titles and meta descriptions have just become even more important. They are, in essence, your best chance to catch a searcher's attention. Your page title's catchiness and relevance will be one of the only things to stop a searcher from continuing to type their query.

Make the most of this opportunity by including the appropriate keywords and speaking directly to a searcher's pain point within the page title, as well as in the meta description.

2. Keyword Research

If you weren't using the Google Suggestion tool to generate keyword ideas before, you need to start now. As you type in a keyword you're evaluating, look at the suggestions Google provides and write down everything that applies to your business. Do this on multiple browsers and signed in to, and out of, your Google account. (The results will vary.) Also, make note of the order of the words in longer suggestions. Match your on-page optimization as closely as possible to these phrases.

And, don't do this just once. Keyword evaluation should become a monthly activity. Google's suggestions will change as it gathers more information about what people are clicking. Evolve your content and optimization strategies accordingly.

3. Content Focus

Once you've identified relevant keywords through Google Suggestions, start creating content around these terms. For example, write blog posts, create case studies and start using these terms in discussions on social networks. Remember, Google result pages list more than just websites now, including different content formats, social media trends and discussions.

4. Create Video

To go along with number three, start developing video content for your priority keyword terms. Video and images stand out on search engine result pages, and have a much better chance of catching a searcher's attention with Instant. You may have only a few seconds to make an impact before searchers continue typing, or refining, their search query.

If you post your videos to YouTube, this becomes even more important from a search engine perspective, as YouTube is a very powerful site. Therefore, video posts on YouTube improve the likelihood of topping a results page. As you know, the higher you appear on a results page, the better your chances of being seen and getting clicks.

I'd love to hear other people's opinions on Google Instant and its effect on marketers.

Related Posts:
Keith Moehring is business development manager and a consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Keith on Twitter @keithmoehring.

Stay updated: Subscribe to the PR 20/20 blog, check us out on Facebook or follow the team on Twitter.
Optimizing Video For Your Website (Part 3 of 3)

By Keith Moehring | Posted Aug 18, 2010 | 2 Comment(s) | Filed in: Search Marketing
Part 1 of this blog series on video optimization discussed hosting options and beginner video best practices. Part 2 focused on optimizing your video on YouTube.

Part 3 is all about how to optimize video on your website. This information pertains to both embedded YouTube videos as well as those that use your website’s video player. We will detail activities you can do through your content management system (CMS), as well as activities that may require the support of a website developer, or someone with HTML coding expertise.

The Right File Format

Make sure that your video content is in one of the following file formates: .mpg, .mp4, .mov, .wmv, .asf, .avi, .ra, .ram, .rm or .fly. Google can index these file types. (Bing does not list the formats it can index.)

Its Own Page

When possible, make sure to give your video its own web page or blog post. The content around your video is an opportunity to tell search engines what it is about, so include keywords and be descriptive.

Optimization Activities With a CMS

Page Title (less than 60 characters)

Optimize the video’s page title as you would any other web page. Integrate your keywords, placing them first if possible. At the same time, make sure the title will grab your audience’s attention and entice them to click. This may be your only opportunity to get them to watch.

Meta Description

Also similar to standard on-page optimization, create a meta description that details what the video is about, integrates keywords and motivates searchers to click. Keywords in meta descriptions don’t carry much weight with search engines, but search engines often use a page’s meta description as the text under the main link on a results pages, and will bold terms that match the search query. You get up to 150-160 characters, so make them count.

URL

Be sure to integrate keywords into your page’s URL. For example, "www.DomainName.com/keyword-and-more-keywords." Keep URLs short and user friendly.

Description

The only way a search engine is going to understand what your video is about is if you literally spell it out for them. Create a description that is posted directly above or below the video. This description doesn’t have to be a word-for-word transcript, but it should highlight the main points covered in the video and integrate your targeted keywords.

However, if you prefer, you can include a transcript of the video to integrate additional, indexable content. For this, Adobe offers a tool, SubPly is a free online tool, and YouTube can automatically caption your video using voice recognition software. If you prefer to create your own transcript for an embedded YouTube video, follow these instructions. To add a transcript to a video hosted through your CMS, talk to your developer on the best way to create this file.

Comments

Make sure to allow viewers to leave comments. While comments don’t carry much weight with search engines, they are additional text that may get indexed, and a way for users to engage with your content.

Rating

Give viewers the option to rate your video in some manner. Again, search engines look at audience participation as one of the many factors to determine the strength of your video. Embedded YouTube videos can include this feature just by selecting it during the upload process. If you don’t use YouTube, ask your developer about adding this feature to your player.

Social Media Buttons

Search engines continue to utilize social media more to identify popular videos, trends and viral content, so make it easy for viewers to share your video. This includes share buttons for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and social bookmarking sites (e.g. Digg, Delicious, Reddit and StumbleUpon) as well as the ability for viewers to embed or copy and paste a link to your video on their site.

Advanced Video Optimization Activities

The following activities are a little more technical in nature, and may require the support of a web developer, depending on your internal capabilities.

Video Markup

Google supports two markup formats — Facebook Share and Yahoo! SearchMonkey RDFa — that enable you to add indexable information about the video directly in the HTML code. Here you can include the video’s title, description, thumbnail URL and source URL. The following Webmaster Central blog post provides additional information.

Video Sitemap Submission

Google now allows you to submit video sitemaps using Webmaster Central. Video sitemaps are integrated into your website’s XML sitemap, and must include at least the following five elements:
1. Title
2. Description
3. Play Page URL
4. Thumbnail URL
5. Raw Video File Location
I recommend reading the following video sitemap guide from Google. Bing does not offer this option yet.

Media RSS (mRSS)

mRSS feeds are RSS (Real Simple Syndication) modules capable of sharing media files, such as video, audio and images. Google enables you to submit your mRSS feed URL instead of, or in addition to, a video sitemap. With mRSS, search engines will automatically be alerted to any new video content you publish. Click here for more information about submitting mRSS feeds to Google (you’ll need to scroll half way down the page).

Additional Resources

For additional resources on optimizing video, I highly recommend reading this resource from Google and subscribing to ReelSEO.com.

Optimizing Video Series

Part 1: How to Optimize Video
Part 2: Optimizing Video on YouTube

Does anyone else have any advice on how best to optimize video for the web?

Keith Moehring is business development manager and a consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Keith on Twitter @keithmoehring.
Driven by Content Part 3: Content & SEO [VIDEO]

By Christina Capadona-Schmitz | Posted Aug 4, 2010 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Content Marketing
Websites have become the new front door to organizations, and serve as the foundation of integrated, inbound marketing campaigns. Unlike websites of the past that were static brochures, today's websites provide companies with the opportunity to regularly publish relevant, optimized and link-worthy content, such as eBooks, case studies and online videos.

In Part 3 of Driven By Content, Keith Moehring, who heads up PR 20/20’s SEO efforts, talks about websites and SEO, and creating content that can be easily shared and found.

Part 3 - Content & SEO

Managing Content

As part of a content marketing strategy, your corporate website needs to have a content management system (CMS). This enables users to update and create pages on a website in real time, and optimize these pages for search engines. CMS features can include blog platforms, online media rooms and RSS feeds, to publish and share content.

Content & SEO

The next layer of your website is search engine optimization (SEO), or the process of strengthening your website so it ranks better in search engines for specific keywords. Hosting your blog and media room on your website retains the SEO value of your content that is posted and shared.

While incorporating important keywords into your website content, or on-page optimization, can help boost your search engine rankings, it is the off-page optimization that really has the most impact, accounting for nearly 85% of your site’s value. By developing great content that people will want to share and link to, you can have a direct impact on your off-page optimization. Social media also plays a role in SEO, as search engines are now indexing profile status updates, tweets, videos and more.

When it comes to SEO, it’s all about publishing remarkable, optimized content that your audience will want to consume, share and link to.

For questions on SEO and its role in content marketing, you can contact Keith direct at keith@pr2020.com, or connect with him on Twitter at @keithmoehring.

Resources:

You don’t need to be a web expert or programmer to set yourself up to succeed in content marketing. What you do need is to understand how optimization, content management systems and social publishing platforms set the stage for successful campaigns. You can then use this knowledge to activate the tools that help you focus on creating content that can be shared and found by the audiences that matter most.

For more resources on SEO, check out the following:

PR 20/20 posts:
All things SEO:
Local Search:
- David Mihm
Video SEO:
- ReelSEO
Navigating the Driven by Content Series

Part 1: PR 20/20 Assistant Vice President Christina Capadona-Schmitz covers “What is Content Marketing?” and why it matters to today’s organizations (3:44).

Part 2: PR 20/20 Inbound Marketing Manager Laurel Miltner discusses online publishing and the idea of content & community, the role of social media in content marketing (8:55).

Part 3: Keith Moehring, who leads PR 20/20's search engine optimization efforts, talks about websites, content management systems, online publishing tools and how SEO can impact content marketing (8:42).

Part 4: PR 20/20 President Paul Roetzer shares the importance of your brand in content marketing, how content marketing is connected to PR and who you should trust to tell your story through content (7:06).

Part 5: PR 20/20 Content Services Manager Christy Barksdale ties it together, in planning your publishing strategy, giving your content legs on the web and furthering your leadership position through content curation (5:43).

Keith Moehring is business development manager and a consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Keith on Twitter @keithmoehring.

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4 Tips for Giving Your Content Legs

By Christy Barksdale | Posted May 13, 2010 | 2 Comment(s) | Filed in: Content Marketing
Content marketing has become a hot topic for marketing professionals across many industries. A core component of an inbound marketing strategy, content marketing can help level the playing field for many businesses — no matter their size — and is the driving force behind generating leads and building loyalty.

However, content alone cannot deliver results. It is the powerful marriage of content and community that really has the potential to impact a company’s positioning as a thought leader, and influence buying decisions. As my colleague Christina Capadona-Schmitz stated in her “What is Content Marketing?” blog post,

“While many understand the benefits of investing in the production of captivating content pieces, without community building activities, established distribution channels, and the internal commitment to a long-term strategy, the content will not travel far beyond the place it is published on the Web.”

Here are four tips for enhancing your content footprint:

1) Know Your Audience and Their Needs

Before content is shared, it has to be consumed by people who find it interesting and/or useful. In order for your content to appeal to your target audiences (thus enhancing its sharing potential), you must know the purpose of your marketing efforts.

Understanding your buyer personas is crucial before any content marketing strategy can be developed. You must ask:
- Whom am I trying to reach?
- What are their needs?
- What are their pain points?
- What is important to them?
- How do they best consume information?
- What can I develop that will be of use to them?
- How can I leverage my expertise to alleviate these concerns?
2) Optimize for Searchers

Optimizing your content to get found is crucial. Buyers today use Internet searches to make informed purchasing decisions, and while product and price are obvious factors, by offering valuable resources (free of sales pitches) your company builds trust and influence, and has a better shot at earning the sale.

Make sure your content is easy for customers and prospects to find by incorporating targeted keywords in both on-page and off-page optimization. Use buyer persona research to determine keywords that will most likely be used by your audience; don’t get caught up in industry jargon.

Here are some useful resources for optimizing a few specific types of content:
- Blog Posts: SEO’s Magic Bullet
- Videos: How to Use Video SEO to Jump to the Top of Google Search Results
- PDFs (i.e. eBooks, white papers, case studies): What You Don’t Know About Optimizing PDFs Can Hurt You
For short-term impact, consider activating a targeted pay-per-click (PPC) campaign to help jumpstart content consumption.

3) Get Social

One of the greatest satisfactions of creating content is the opportunity to share it with your community and see your ideas spread. To achieve this, here are some tactics to consider:
- If you’re launching a new ongoing program, such as a blog or eNewsletter, notify your audience ahead of time through established means of communication.
- If you already have a blog up and running, use it to announce new content pieces. Invite readers to browse, view or download the content, and encourage them to share it with others.
- Share on social networks, which provide great platforms for promoting your content and engaging in conversations about the topic at hand. Also, be sure to include sharing buttons alongside your content, to encourage others to share it as well.
- Include links to your content in your email signature. By making content a part of your daily communications, you help to keep it top-of-mind for your customers and prospects.
Remember: community is also about supporting your peers. Be sure to share useful resources from others in your industry, not just your own content. By supporting each other, you can develop a great community with mutually beneficial relationships.

4) Repurpose Existing Content

Bring new life and context to “old” information, extend its reach and provide valuable content in formats that appeal most to your varied audience preferences. For example:
- Package a series of blog posts or presentations on a particular topic into an eBook.
- On the flip side, break apart an eBook into a series of blog posts.
- For more technical pieces, such as white papers, develop an educational webinar (or vice versa).
- Customize an eBook or podcast for specific vertical markets.
- Use recently developed content to help populate and supplement original content in your monthly eNewsletter.
When considering new mediums for existing content, remember how your buyer personas prefer to consume information, and use formats they are comfortable with.

Savvy B2B Marketing offers some great insight on the dos and don’ts of repurposing content. Also check out Ardath Albee’s “The Rule of 5 for B2B Content Development.”

Putting It All Together

Ensuring that your content gets found, consumed and shared can be a daunting task for many marketers. But, by understanding your buyer personas, optimizing your content, embracing community and offering information in multiple formats, your chances of success are much greater.

Don’t forget that content marketing strategies are never perfect from the start – keep track of what content is resonating well with your personas and what is not, and be willing to adapt your strategy accordingly.

So, what’s your company’s secret to giving your content legs?

Christy Barksdale is content services manager and consultant for PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow her on Twitter: @ChristyBarks.

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SEO's Magic Bullet

By Keith Moehring | Posted Jan 27, 2010 | 2 Comment(s) | Filed in: Content Marketing, Search Marketing, Social Media
The concept of a Magic Bullet is an intriguing one — a magical solution to solve a vexing problem without the fear of any side effects. This is especially true in search engine optimization, where there is so much money to be made by ranking at the top of a Google search result page for a key term.

Well, what if I told you...

... Search Engine Optimization may just have a “Magic Bullet,"

And it is BLOGGING.

Half of you just stopped reading. You were ready to hear something new and exciting, and instead were given the same ole same old. Allow me to explain.

Several months ago, SEOmoz.org released their Search Engine 2009 Ranking Factors. (For those who don’t subscribe to this blog, you’re missing out on some of the most advanced and useful thinking on the topic.)

The 2009 Ranking Factors rate the importance of search engine ranking factors based on the opinions of 72 SEO experts. Below I’ve detailed how a blog can impact the factors ranked as “very high importance” or “high importance.”

(It is important to note that while blogging can have a big impact on the factors below and growing your business, to have the greatest success, it should be one part of a comprehensive marketing strategy that includes search marketing, social media, content publishing, and PR. Learn more here.

On-Page (Keyword-Specific) Ranking Factors:

Keyword Use Anywhere in the Title Tag (Very High Importance)

Blogging makes it simple to continuously generate new Web pages, all with keyword-rich Title Tags. In most blogging platforms, your Title Tag is taken from your headline, and if you follow SEO best practices, you are already integrating keywords here anyway.

Keyword Use as the First Word(s) of the Title Tag (High Importance)

This again falls in-line with writing effective headlines. By positioning your keywords near the beginning, you can easily satisfy this factor. Word of caution however, don’t get to focused on search engines when writing headlines. First and foremost, headlines should be written to catch the attention of your readers. Always be thinking user-friendly first, optimization second. Search engines are smart enough to understand what you’re optimizing around.

Keyword Use in the Root Domain Name (High Importance)

If your company is looking to boost its site's search engine rankings through blogging, don’t worry about this factor. For a blog to provide the maximum SEO value it must be attached to your site as a subdirectory or subdomain (i.e. www.CompanyName.com/blog or blog.CompanyName.com). The root domain name should ALWAYS be your main site.

On-Page (Non-Keyword) Ranking Factors

Existence of Substantive, Unique Content on the Page (High Importance)

Blogs give you a medium to consistently publish new, original content that addresses specific subject matters. By keeping in mind your buyer personas and objectives, there is no limit to how much keyword-rich, unique content you can create.

Recency (freshness) of Page Content (Moderate Importance)

As Russ Jones commented in the SEOmoz post, “If Google only ranked the ‘tried and true,’ their results would be old and outdated.” A blog gives you the ability to quickly publish timely content. The more often search engines find new content, the more frequently they’ll return to your site. Every new blog post you create is another page for Google, and other search engines, to index.

Page-Specific Link Popularity Ranking Factors

Keyword-Focused Anchor Text from External Links (Very High Importance)

At first look, it may appear that you have no influence over what anchor text people use in their links. Not exactly true. Typically, when creating links, others will use the title/headline of your post — another reason to focus on getting keywords in your headlines. Something else to keep in mind — a number of bloggers understand the value of keywords in link anchor text and may automatically integrate words you use, or even consider changing their anchor text if you ask nicely.

External Link Popularity (quantity/quality of external links) (Very High Importance)

The beauty of quality, useful blog content is that if you share it using the right social-media channels (i.e. Twitter, LinkedIn, Digg, StumbleUpon, etc.), your network will spread it for you. As more people see your content, the chances of generating links increase exponentially. Always be trying to grow your reach through social media in tandem with writing good, useful blog content.

Diversity of Link Sources (many root domains) (Very High Importance)

This goes hand-in-hand with External Link Popularity (above). The greater your social media reach, the broader your audience of potential linkers. Consider pushing the boundaries of your niche and expanding how you can impact other topics or industries through disruptive innovation. The more you can do this, the more diverse your audience will become.

Page-Specific TrustRank (whether the individual page has earned links from trusted sources) (High Importance)

The Internet is full of online resources created by thought leaders expanding their industry’s thinking on a specific topic. Support your posts by citing these resources with links from within your content. If the source is using analytics, they will see any traffic coming from your post to theirs, consequently making them aware of you. If your post supports their thinking, and they find value in your content, the chance of them linking to you increases.

Topic-Specificity/Focus on External Links Sources (whether external links to this page come from topically relevant pages/sites.) (High Importance)

Blogging gives you the opportunity to become a thought leader. Your blog can amplify your reach to thousands of people who are interested in learning about your subject matter, many of whom are probably writing about similar topics on their own blogs. The more of a resource you are, the more your links you can expect.

Keyword-Focused Anchor Text from Internal Links (High Importance)

Integrate your blog posts throughout your site, whether it’s through a feed on your homepage, links on related product or service pages, links from other blog posts, or a list of posts in a media room. If you’re using a feed, your keyword-rich headlines should do the trick. If you’re linking from within page content you have complete control over what words you use as anchor text. Use your priority keywords, and consider using synonyms on different pages to expand the terms for which the search engines index your post.

View SEOmoz’s full list of search ranking factors. See the 72 SEO experts who collaborated on this project.

Keith Moehring is a consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Keith on Twitter @keithmoehring.

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